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UNIVKKSITV  (>>■ 

CALIFOKNIA. 


Plate  2. 


Varieties  of  meat  with  thenwst  d^stm^n  Enmus 

See  £o(^laruitiort^  ofl^lcctes. 


THE 


FARMER'S  AND   PLANTER'S 

ENCYCLOPEDIA 


OP 


RURAL  AFFAIRS; 


BMBRACINO 


ALL    THE    MOST    RECENT    DISCOVERIES 

ur 

SUITED  TO  THE  COMPREHENSION  OF  UNSCIENTIFIC  READERS. 

BY 

CUTHBERT  W.  JOHNSON,  Esq.,  F.R.S. 


WITH   EXTENSIVE  ADDITIONS  ADAPTING  THE  WORK   TO   THE   UNITED  STATES, 

AND   NUMEROUS   ENGRAVINGS   OF  ANIMALS,  IMPLEMENTS,  AND   OTHER 

SUBJECTS   CONNECTED   WITH   AGRICULTURE. 

BY 
GOUVERNEUR    EMERSON,  M.D., 

or  TEE  AJUaiCAN   PHILOSOPHICAL  80CIKTT,  PENNSTLVAmA  ACADBMT  OP    KATOBAL  SCIENCES; 
jnaXtD  8TATXS  AORICCLTU&AL    SOCIETT,  ETC.,  ETC. 


^   .   .  ^.^.      .     .o       J^  1  B  R  A  K  Y 
3^vi%ni  €iiim  of  1868. 

UNIVERSITY   <H' 

^^  CALIFOirNlA. 

PHILADELPHIA: 


J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  &  00, 
1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1867,  by 

GOUVERNEUR    EMERSON, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


•  ^SAf 


i:n  IV  K Ksrrv  of  j; 

GAl."  ■■■;■■■' i  '     ' 

PREFACE 

TO 

THE  REVISED  EDITION  OF  1868. 


M.  F.  Le  Play, — one  of  the  closest  observers  of  the  age,  distinguished 
by  his  capacity  to  lay  aside  all  prejudice  and  pride  of  opinion,  and  found 
his  conclusions  upon  evidence  derived  only  from  the  most  exact  and 
reliable  data,  —  one  whose  active  and  well  adjusted  mind  has  long  been 
devoted  to  investigations  connected  with  the  conditions  and  developments 
of  all  the  great  branches  of  industry, — the  imperial  counsellor  and  com- 
missioner-general, charged  with  the  organization  and  direction  of  the 
several  Universal  Expositions  held  in  Paris  from  1855  to  1867,  —  thus 
expresses  his  views  of  the  important  position  to  which  Agriculture  is 
entitled  among  the  diversified  branches  of  industry.* 

The  agricultural  product  superior  to  all  others  is  wheat,  which,  next  to 
milk,  contains  most  of  the  indispensable  elements  required  to  sustain  the 
human  body.  Wheat  takes  from  the  earth  a  large  amount  of  phosphorus, 
the  essential  element  for  the  formation  of  bones,  although  in  most  soils 
hardly  a  trace  of  it  is  perceptible.  This  wonderful  concentration  in  wheat 
of  the  materials  of  the  human  body,  —  the  mysteries  of  which  science  has 
only  begun  to  reveal,  —  evidently  furnishes  the  primary  foundation  for 
the  grandest  developments  of  population  and  the  highest  achievements 
of  civilization. 

Agriculture  holds  out  to  families  the  most  permanent  prospect  of  em- 
ployment and  subsistence.  It  adapts  itself  with  admirable  pliancy  to  all 
the  relations  of  industry,  whether  on  a  limited  or  extensive  scale.  It 
organizes  itself  spontaneously  in  accordance  with  the  intellectual  or  moral 
condition  of  families  and  the  diverse  circumstances  under  which  these 
may  exist.     It  establishes  between  the  family,  the  soil,  the  plants,  and 


*  La  R^forme  Sociale  en  France  — Deduite  de  I'observation  compar^e  des  peuples  Euro- 
p6ens.  Par  M.  F.  Le  Play,  Auteur  des  Ouvriers  Europ^ens,  Commissaire  General  aux  Ex- 
positions Universelle  de  1855,  de  1862,  et  de  1867. 

(iii) 


IV  •      PREFACE.  \ 

animals,  a  harmony  whicli  serves  to  perfect  the  pleasures  of  the  domestic 
circle,  and  develop  in  the  human  breast  an  attachment  to  the  birthplace. 
It  furnishes  mankind  with  nearly  all  things  necessary  to  existence,  and 
thus  secures  true  independence,  affording  a  protection  from  the  corrup- 
tions which  so  often  prevail  among  the  inhabitants  of  cities.  In  a  word, 
the  interest  of  the  land-owner  is  so  intimately  identified  with  the  general 
interests  of  the  country  at  large,  that  the  most  worthy  rural  proprietors 
everywhere  constitute  the  class  best  fitted  to  direct  public  affairs. 

Under  all  these  considerations,  agriculture  offers  to  the  human  race  the 
chief  means  for  its  multiplication,  independence,  and  moral  progress. 
More  than  any '  other  active  branch  of  industry,  it  gives  character  to 
national  life.  In  the  order  of  the  material  world  and  the  province  of 
labor,  it  is  the  power  which  best  carries  out  the  objects  of  creation. 

The  preeminence  of  agriculture  over  other  arts  has  been  so  often  pro- 
claimed among  the  ancients  as  well  as  the  moderns,  that  it  may  be  regarded 
as  an  axiom. 

Even  in  the  eighteenth  century,  in  France,  a  melancholy  epoch  charged 
with  so  many  vices  proceeding  from  the  influence  of  courtesans  cor- 
rupted by  luxury  and  idleness,  the  administrators  of  public  affairs  were 
obliged  to  make  an  official  acknowledgment  of  their  respect  for  agri- 
culture. 

"Among  the  useful  arts,"  says  Cicero,  "there  is  none  superior  to 
Agriculture,  none  more  fruitful,  none  more  agreeable,  none  more 
worthy  of  a  freeman." — De  Officiis. 


LI  15  li  A  \i  i 
UNIVJOKSITY   OF 

CALIFOUNIA. 


'^--^. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES, 


PLATE  1. 

Short-Homed  Cows, 


PLATE  2.    p.  1117. 

Varieties  of  Wheats  with,  the  most  destructive  Ene- 
mies. 

a,  Summer  or  Spring  Wheat. 

b,  Winter  or  Lammas  Wheat. 

c,  Egyptian  Wheat 
rf,  Turgid  Wheat 
€,  Polish  Wheat 

/,  Spelt  Wheat 

g.  One-grained  Wheat 

h,  The  Wheat  Fly  of  Scotland,  New  Eng- 
land, &c.,  the  larva  or  worm  of  which  destroys 
the  grain  in  the  head  or  chaff. 

t,  One  of  the  Worms  magnified. 

Ar,  The  Hessian  Fly,  which  attacks  the  stem 
near  its  root 

/,  A  portion  of  Wheat  Straw  affected  with 
Rust,  magnified,  to  show  the  parasitic  plant  or 
fungus  giving  rise  to  the  disease  called  Rust, 
Blight,  and  Mildew. 

m,  Another  portion  of  a  Diseased  Stem  in  a 
green  state,  and  before  the  fungus  is  quite  ripe. 

n,  The  small  portion  marked  1  (I)  is  still 
more  strongly  magnified. 

0,  p,  q,  r,  s,  t,  M,  Very  highly  magnified  repre- 
sentations of  the  Fungus  Parasite  in  different 
stages  of  growth  and  maturity. 

0,  Showing  it  in  the  young  state;  p,  full- 
grown  ;  g,  two  plants  bursting  and  shedding 
their  seeds  when  under  water  in  the  micro- 
scope ;  r,  two  plants  bursting  in  a  dry  place  ; 
»,  apparently  abortive ;  t,  seeds  in  a  dry  state; 
u,  a  small  part  of  the  bottom  of  a  pore  with 
some  of  the  parasitic  fungi  growing  upon  it 

PLATE  3.   p.  139. 

Barley t  OatSy  Buckwheaty  and  MiUeL 

a,  b,  c,  d,  Varieties  of  Barley. 
«,  White,  or  Common  Oat 
/,  Siberian  or  Tartarian  Oat 
g,  Common  Buckwheat 
hy  Tartarian  Buckwheat 
t,  Emarginated  Buckwheat 
k,  German  Millet 
/,  Common  Millet 
m,  Italian  Millet 
n,  Polish  Millet 
o,  Indian  Millet 


PLATE  4,    p.  1044. 
Ricey  Sugary  TobaccOy  SfC, 

Oy  Canary  com. 

b,  Rice  Plant 

c,  Wild  Rice. 

d,  Sugar  Cane. 

e,  Indigo  Plant 

/,  Virginian  Tobacco  Plant 
g,  Common  Green  Tobacco. 
h,  Havanna  Repanda  Tobacco, 
i,  Quadrivalvis  Tobacco  of  the  Rocky  Moin- 
tains. 
ky  Mana  Tobacco  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

PLATE  5.    p.  575. 

Hay-Grasses  adapted  to  particular  Soih  and  Situa* 
tions. 

The  first  group  exhibits  the  Tall  Hay-Grasses 
of  temporary  duration ;  the  second  group,  Tall 
Hay-Grasses  of  permanent  duration  ;  the  third 
group.  Grasses  adapted  to  particular  soils  and 
situations. 

a,  Ray  or  Rye-Grass  (Lolium  perenne)y  Pe- 
rennial Darnel,  Perennial  Rye-Grass. 

b,  Orchard  Grass,  or  Cock's-foot  {Dactylis 
glomerata), 

c,  Woolly  or  Creeping  Soft  Grass  {Holcus 
mollis). 

cc,  Tall  Oat-like  Soft  Grass,  Andes  Grass 
{Holcus  avenaceus). 

d,  Meadow  Barley-Grass  (Hordeum  pratense). 
dd.  Meadow,  or  Fertile  Fescue  {Festuca  pro- 

tensis). 

e,  Tall,  or  Infertile  Fescue  {Festuca  elatwr). 
/,  Spiked,  or  Darnel  Fescue  Grass  {Festuca 

loliaced). 

g,  Meadow  Foxtail  (Mopecurus  pratensis). 

h,  Great,  or  Smooth-stalked  Meadow  Grass, 
Spear-Grass  (Poa  pratensis). 

t,  Rough-stalked  Meadow  Grass  (Poa  tnr 
via  lis). 

A;,  Timothy,  or  Meadow  CatVtail  (Phleum 
pratense). 

I,  Floating  Fescue  (Festuca  fluitans). 

my  Water  Meadow  Grass  {Poa  aquaticd). 

n,  Fiorin  {Agrostis  stolonifera). 

PLATE  6.    p.  576. 

Grasses. 
The  first  group  exhibits  the  Early  Pasture 
Grasses ;  the  second  and  third  groups  Pastuw 

V 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES. 


Grasses  adapted  to  particular  soils  and  situa- 
tions. 

a,  Sweet-scented  Vernal  Grass  {ArUhox- 
anthum  odoratum). 

h,  Downy  Oat-Grass  (^Avena  pubescens). 

c,  Annual  Meadow  Grass  {Poa  annua). 

d,  Fine  Bent  {Agrostis  vulgaris  mutica). 

e,  Narrow-leaved  Meadow  Grass  (Poa  an- 
gustifolia). 

//Dog's-tail  Grass  (Cynosurus  cristatus). 
g,  Hard  Fescue  (Festitca  duriitscula). 
h,  Smooth  Fescue  (Festuca  glabra), 
iy  Long-awned  Fescue  {Festuca  hordeiformis). 
k,  Sheep's  Fescue  (Festuca  ovina), 
I,  Alpine  Meadow  Grass  (Poa  alpina). 
m,  Turfy  Hair  Grass  (Aira  ccespitosa). 
n,  Common    Quaking    Gross^  or    Ladies' 
Tresses  (Briza  media). 

PLATE  7.    p.  577. 
Grasses,  ^c,  found  in  Fields  and  Meadows, 

a,  Field  Brome  Grass  (Bromus  arvensis). 

b,  Soft  Brome  (Bromus  mollis). 

c,  Darnel  (Lolium  temukntinn).  The  Chess 
or  Cheat  of  Europe. 

d,  White  Darnel  (Lolium  arvense). 

e,  Welsh  Fescue  (Festuca  Cambrica). 

f,  Crab,  or  Finger  Grass  (Digitaria  sanguis 
nalis). 

g,  Red  Top  (Tricuspis). 

h,  Blue  Grass  (Poa  compressa). 
i,  Creeping  Soft  Grass,  or  Couch  Grass. 
k,  Creeping  Dog's  Tooth  (Cynodon  dactylon). 
I,  Upright  Sea  Lime  Grass,  Star,  or  Bent 
(Elymus  arenarius). 
m.  Matt  Grass  (Psamma  arenarium). 
n,  Gama  Grass. 

o,  Scott's  Grass  (Panicum  hirtellum). 
p,  Guinea  Grass  (Panicum  poly gamum). 
q,  Cow  Wheat  (Melampyrum  pratense). 
r,  Tare,  or  Common  Vetch  (Vicia  sativa). 
s,  The  Lentil  (Ervum  lens), 
t,  Chick-Pea  (Cicer  arietinum). 
u,  Spanish  Lentil  (Lathyrus  sativus). 
V,  Canadian  Lentil  (Vicia pisiformis), 
w,  White  Lupine  (Lupinus  albus.) 

PLATE  8.     p.  339. 

Plants  cultivated  for  Hay  or  Herbage, 

fl,White,or  Creeping  CIover(rn/oZittmrepens). 

b,  Common  Red,  or  Biennial  Clover  (Trifo- 
lium  pratense). 

c,  Meadow,  or  Cow  Clover  (Trifolium medium). 

d,  Yellow,  or  Shamrock  Clover  (Trifolium 
procumbens). 

e,  Lupuline  Clover  (Medicago  lupulina). 

f  Flesh-coloured,  or  Roussillon  Clover  (Tri- 
folium incarnatum). 

g,  Saintfoin  (the  Bourgogne  or  Esparcette  of 
the  French). 

h,  Lucern  (Medicago  sativa). 

i.  Yellow  Lucern  (Medicago  falcata). 

k.  Long-rooted  Clover  (Trifolium  macro- 
'■kizum). 

PLATE  9.    p.  619. 

Inferior  Herbage,  Plants  occasionally  cultivated. 

a,  Burnet  (Poterium  Sanguisorba). 
d,  Spurry  (^erguia  arvensis). 


c.  Furze  or  Whin  (Ulex  Europeeus), 

d.  Common  Broom  (Spartium  scoparum), 

e.  Spanish  Broom  (Spartium  juaiceum), 

f.  Parsley  (Apium  petrosilinum). 

g.  Bird's-foot  Trefoil  (Lotus  corniculatus). 

h,  Lotus  Tetragonolobus  (Lotier  cultiva,  Fr.). 
i.  Ripple  Grass,  or  Ribwort  Plantain  (Plai^ 
tago  lanceolata). 

k,  Yarrow  (Millefeuille,  Fr.). 

PLATE  10.    p.  1108. 
Weeds  and  Plants  troublesome  to  the  Farmer, 

a.  Cockle,  or  Corn   Campion  (Agrostemma 
Git  ha  go). 

b.  Mellilot  Clover  (Trifolium  officinalis). 

c.  Tares.    Smooth    Tare    (Ervum   tetrasper* 


d.  Black  Bindweed  (Polygonum  Convolvulus), 

e,  Dodder  (Cuscuta  Europcea). 

f,  Mellilot  trefoil  of  Switzerland. 

g.  Charlock,  or  Wild  Radish  (Raphans  iJo- 
phanistrum). 

h,  Hariff,  Cleavers,  &c.  (Galium  Aperine), 

i.  Couch  Grass  (Triticum  repens). 

is.  Rest  Harrow  (Ononis  spinosa). 

I,  Colt's-foot  (Tussilago  Farfara). 

m,  Corn  Mint  (Mentha  arvensis). 

n.  Black  Foxtail  (Alopecurus  agrestis), 

0,  Wild  Carrot  (Daucus  Carota). 

p.  Hedge  Parsley,  or  Dill  (Torilis  infesta), 

q,  Fool's  Parsley  (JEthusa). 

r,  Bawd-Money.    Fennel.     (Meum  bwnias), 

s,  Corn  Poppy  (Papaver  Rhceas). 

t.  Buttercup  (Ranunculus  bulbosus). 

u,  Blufi  Bottle.  Ragged  Robin.  (Centaurea 
Cyanus). 

Vy  Mayweed.  Stinking  Chamomile.  (An- 
themis  Cotula). 

V,  V,  St.  John's  Wort  (Hypericum). 

w,  Ox-eye  Daisy  (Chrysanthemum  Leucanthe* 
mum). 

w  w,  Chamomile  Feverfew  (Matricaria  Cha- 
momilla). 

X,  Common  Fumitory  (Fumaria  officinalis  vel 
vulgaris). 

X  X,  Yellow  Toad-Flax  (Linaria  vulgaris). 

y,  Cinquefoil  (Potentilla  Pennsylvanica). 

y  y,  Soap  Wort.  Bouncing  Bet.  (Saponaria 
officinalis). 

PLATE  11.  p.  628. 

Russian  Bee-Hive  and  Echium  vulgare,  called 
in  Russian  Ciniak. 

1,  The  Hive  with  the  upper  door  removed 
so  as  to  show  the  interior,  and  arrangement  of 
the  honey  frames,  a,  Movable  doors ;  b,  woodea 
pegs ;  c,  movable  pieces  on  which  the  doors 
are  supported ;  d,  slats  separating  the  comb 
from  the  doors ;  e,  frames  in  which  the  honey 
is  deposited ;  /,  entrances  with  slides. 

2,  One  of  the  Honey  Frames  drawn  out. 

3,  Grating,  or  Adapter. 

4,  Movable  Board  for  separating. 

5,  A  Transverse  Section  of  the  Hive,  show- 
ing, at  /,  the  places  of  entrance ;  at  a,  the 
depth  to  which  the  frames  extend ;  and  at  c, 
one  of  the  combs. 

6,  The  Echium  vulgare,  or  Ciniak,  with  its 
Root,  Efflorescence,  and  nut-like  Fruit. 


EXPLANATION  OF  PLATES. 


ffl 


PLATE  12.    p.  292. 
Cattle. 
.  Short-Horned  Bull. 
2,  Ayrshire  Cow. 
8,  Devon  Bull,  2  years  old. 

PLATE  13.    p.  638. 

Horsts, 
a,  Arabian. 
6,  English  Racer, 
c,  English  Hunter, 
rf,  English  Improved  Hackney. 
$,  English  Black  Horse. 
/,  English  Draught  Mare. 
g.  Suffclk  Punch. 
h.  Clydesdale  Horse, 
t,  Trish  Racer. 
k  Shetland  Pony. 

PLATE  14.    p.  421. 
Grain  DrilU, 

1.  Cooke's  Grain  Drill. 

2.  The  same  arranged  as  a  Horse  Hoe,  or 

Cultivator. 

3,  Suffolk  Corn  and  Manure  Drill. 

4,  Groundsell's  Patent  Drop  Drill. 
r>,  Pennock's  Grain  Drill. 

PLATE  16.    p.  603. 
Harr(fw$t  ExtirptUortj  and  Scari/ien, 

1,  Gang  of  Harrows. 

2,  Berwickshire  Harrow. 

3,  Biddell's  Extirpating  Harrow. 

4,  Harrow  Tooth. 

6.  Finlayson's  Self-cleaning  Cultivator,  or 
Scarifier. 

PLATE  16.    p.  667. 
Destructive  Imeett,  tfc, 

1  The  OakPruner  {Elaphidion  putator).  See 
Borers,  page  205. 

2,  Locust  Tree  Borer  {Clytw  JUxmonu).  See 
page  206. 

^  Potato- vine  Bug  (^Criocvri$  triUmeatay 


4,  Cucumber  F.ea  (Haltica  striolaia),  Mag 
nified.    See  pages  172  and  173. 

5,  May  Beetle,  or  Dor  Bug  (JPhyllophaga 
quercina)      See  pages  172,  173. 

6,  Pine  Tree  Weevil  (Hylobius  pales),  A 
most  destructive  msect  to  the  Southern  pine 
forests.     See  Wkkvils, 

7,  Moih  ot  the  Com  Cut-Worm  (Jgrotis 
clandestina).     See  Cut- Worm. 

8,  Female  Fly  of  the  Peach  Tree  Worm 
{^geria  exitiosa).     See  Pear  Tree  Borer. 

9,  Bee,  or  Wax  Moth  (^Gallerea  cereana).  See 
page  168. 

The  three  msects  which  follow  are  to  be  re- 
garded ai5  friendly  to  the  interests  of  man,  as 
they  prey  upon  those  which  are  destructive. 

10,  Caravus  Gorgi,  one  of  a  large  family 
which  preys  upon  caterpillars,  &o* 

11,  Lady  Bird,  or  Lady  Bug  (Coccinella  borea- 
lis).  This  insect  lives  upon  plant-lice  and 
other  injunous  insects. 

12,  Trogus  Fulvis,  an  insect  of  the  Ichneu- 
mon Family,  which  commit  great  havoc  among 
caterpillars  and  grubs.    See  Ichneumoit  Flies. 

N.  B.  Most  of  the  subjects  of  this  plate  were 
furnished  expressly  for  this  work  by  Professor 
Haldeman,  of  Marietta,  Pennsylvania,  and 
drawn  under  his  inspection  by  Miss  Lawson, 
of  Philadelphia- 


PLATE  17.    p.  902. 

Ploughs. 

a,  The  Holland,  or  Rotterdam  Plough. 
6,  Small's  Chain  Plough. 
e,  (/,  East  Lothian  Plough,  two  views,  witii 
scale  of  feel,  &c. 
«,  English  Swing  Plough. 
/,  Skeleton  Plough  of  Kent 
g,  Subsoil  Ploughing. 
K,  English  Plough  Head, 
t,  Scotch  Plough  Head. 
At,  Ploughshare  tor  Stony  Ground. 
/,  Ploughshare  for  Clear  Ground, 
m,  m,  Skim  Coulters. 
n.  Wheel  Coulters. 
0,  Smith's  Subsoil  Plough. 


INTRODUCTION 

TO 

KEVISED     EDITION    OF    1868 


"  To  render  Agriculture  more  productive  and  beneficial  to  all,  it  is  necessary  that  its  principlofl 
fhonld  be  better  understood,  and  that  we  should  profit  more  from  the  experience  of  each  other,  and 
by  the  example  of  other  countries  which  excel  us  in  this  great  business." — Buel. 


The  Farmer's  and  Planter's  Encyclopaedia  here  presented  to  the  American 
public,  is  based  upon  the  well-known  "  Farmer's  Encyclopaedia  and  Dictionary  of 
Kural  Affairs,"  originally  published  in  England  by  Cuthbert  W.  Johnson, — than 
whom  no  higher  authority  exists  upon  matters  connected  with  agriculture  in  a  country 
where  this  great  branch  of  industry  is  carried  to  such  perfection.  All  the  informa- 
tion collected  and  condensed  by  this  eminent  author  is  of  that  accurate  and  practical 
kind  which  cannot  fail  to  diflfuse  the  most  valuable  instruction.  This  rule  has  been 
applied  in  regard  to  materials  subsequently  added  in  order  to  adapt  the  work  to  the 
wider  field  offered  by  the  diversified  climate  and  soils  in  the  United  States. 

The  absence  of  speculative  views,  with  the  very  practical  and  matter-of-fact  character 
of  the  information  given  upon  all  subjects  treated  of,  will  perhaps  be  found  to  consti- 
tute the  highest  recommendation  of  **  C.  W,  Johnson's  Farmers'  Encyclopaedia,  and 
Dictionary  of  Rural  Affairs." 

The  comparatively  limited  range  of  English  Agriculture  is  strongly  contrasted  with 
the  diversity  of  culture  met  with  in  the  United  States.  A  work  limited  to  an  account 
of  productions  of  the  soil  and  climate  of  England  would  leave  out  many  of  the 
most  important  crops  which  exact  the  attention  of  the  American  farmer  and  planter. 
Hence  the  necessity  of  adapting  a  book  of  the  kind  to  the  new  localities  into  which 
it  is  introduced.     This,  as  may  be  well  supposed,  presents  a  task  of  no  small  labour. 

It  has  been  charged  upon  agriculturists,  that  improvements  in  husbandry  encounter 
great  opposition,  and  generally  work  their  way  very  slowly ;  whereas  inventions  and 
improvements  made  in  the  manufacturing  and  mechanic  arts  are  seized  upon  and  put 
to  profit  almost  as  quickly  as  promulgated.  The  late  and  justly  celebrated  Mr.  Coke, 
of  Holkam,  England,  the  great  benefactor  of  his  own  country,  and,  indeed,  of  every 
other  country  where  agriculture  is  cherished,  succeeded,  by  the  adoption  of  an  en- 
lightened course  of  tillage,  in  converting  a  sandy  and  comparatively  sterile  district 
into  one  of  very  great  productiveness.  But,  though  his  improvements  were  on  so 
large  a  scale,  and  the  results  so  very  striking  to  observers,  such  was  the  general 
ignorance,  apathy,  or  prejudice  prevailing  in  the  neighbouring  counties,  that  he  esti- 
mated the  rate  at  which  his  improved  process  spread  around  him,  at  only  about  three 
miles  a  year.  A  better  condition  of  things  would  seem  to  exist  at  present  in  the 
United  States,  doubtless  owing  to  the  extension  of  education.  It  is  but  a  few  years 
since  the  treatises  on  agricultural  chemistry  by  Liebig  and  J.  F.  W.  Johnston  were 
introduced  into  this  country,  and  although  these  abound  in  the  technicalities  of 
science,  they  have  been  so  eagerly  sought  after  that  many  editions  of  each  work  have 
passed  through  the  press. 

The  advances  in  agricultural  improvement  have,  of  late  years,  been  in  what  mathe- 
maticians call  a  geometrical  ratio,  the  pace  increasing  with  great  celerity  at  every  suc- 
cessive step.  In  proportion  as  the  influences  of  modern  education  become  diffused,  the 
savage  characteristics  of  man  are  softened  down,  and  the  better  feelings  of  his  nature  ac- 


3  INTRODUCTION. 

quire  predominance.  Bloody  and  desolating  wars  are  viewed  in  their  true  light,  and 
the  useful  arts  of  peace  appear  the  only  proper  sources  of  individual  pleasure  and 
national  prosperity.  '  As,  among  these  arts,  none  possesses  tlie  vital  importance  of 
agricuhure,  from  its  furnishing  the  means  of  immediate  subsistence,  so  it  may  .fairly 
be  said,  no  other  excites  at  the  present  day  a  greater  and  more  pervading  interest 
throughout  Europe  and  America,  with  all  who  seek  independence  or  the  gratification 
of  the  most  rational  of  tastes. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  possess  advantages  for  the  prosecution  of 
agricultural  pursuits,  which,  for  variety  and  extent,  surpass  those  enjoyed  by  any 
other  people  on  the  globe.  They  occupy  the  greatest  portion  of  the  North  American 
continent,  embracing  all  varieties  of  soil  and  surface,  with  a  climate  which  in  the 
southern  parts  admits  the  culture  of  many  of  the  most  valuable  productions  of  the 
tropics,  whilst  the  northern,  limits  verge  upon,  but  do  not  reach  the  less  favoured 
regions  where  too  severe  and  enduring  frost  entails  a  scanty  vegetation. 

Commencing  nearest  the  tropical  limits,  the  chief  attention  of  the  planter  is  direct- 
ed to  the  culture  of  the  sugar-cane,  rice,  tobacco,  indigo,  and  especially  cotton,  more 
of  which  last  is  raised  in  the  Southern  States  than  in  all  the  rest  of  the  world  besides. 
In  the  amount  of  sugar  procured  from  the  cane,  Louisiana  takes  the  lead,  though 
Florida,  Alabama,  and  others  of  the  extreme  southern  states  produce  considerable 
quantities.  South  Carolina  yields  the  most  rice,  which  has  also  been  raised  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  throughout  the  Southern  States,  and  even  as  high  as  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
and  southern  Virginia.  The  cotton  region  is  still  more  extensive,  spreading  through- 
out the  extreme  southern  and  south-western  states,  from  the  Atlantic  far  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  rising  into  middle  Virginia,  and  even  the  lowest  portion  of  Delaware 
In  the  quantity  of  tobacco  produced,  Virginia  stands  foremost,  being  followed  succes 
sively  by  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  etc. 

The  Middle  States  raise  in  the  greatest  abundance,  maize  or  Indian  corn,  Avheat, 
rye,  barley  and  oats,  whilst  in  a  large  portion  of  the  Northern  States,  the  wheat, 
rye,  oat,  potato,  and  especially  grass  crops,  are  extremely  productive  and  valuable. 
Although  maize  is  most  extensively  cultivated  in  the  middle  states,  it  is  abundant 
in  almost  every  section  of  the  country,  and  from  its  affording  so  large  an  amount 
of  the  food  of  man  and  animals,  is  universally  regarded  as  the  most  valuable  cereal 
crop  of  the  United  States.  Besides  these  there  are  many  other  rich  products  of  the 
fields  and  forests,  which  enter  largely  into  the  aggregate  of  national  wealth. 

The  first  history  of  American  Agriculture  differs  from  that  of  countries  in  the  old 
world,  where  the  advances  in  the  arts  were  slow,  and  every  acquisition  marked  by 
rudeness  and  simplicity.  Not  so,  however,  in  America,  whose  intelligent  European 
settlers  came  with  all  the  appliances  of  advanced  civilization,  prepared  to  chop  down 
the  forests  and  clear  away  the  thickets  which  had  so  long  encumbered  the  ground  and 
furnished  a  scanty  subsistence  to  the  savage  hunter.  For  a  time  the  roots  obstructed 
the  plough  and  prevented  the  deep  turning  of  the  soil:  but  they  afforded  no  impedi- 
i«ent  to  the  raising  of  grain  crops,  since  the  light  virgin  mould,  abounding  in  the 
alkalies  and  all  other  elements  of  fertility,  required  but  the  slightest  stirring  of  the 
surface  to  answer  the  purposes  of  the  plough  and  harrow.  Here  then  commenced 
the  career  of  the  American  planter  and  farmer,  upon  a  capital  accumulated  by  nature 
herself  through  the  most  gradual  accessions.  Rich  harvests  of  grain,  crops  of  tobacco 
and  other  products  sent  to  Europe  and  sold  at  high  prices,  stimulated  to  renewed  ex- 
ertions, and  the  generous  soil  was  subjected  to  a  scourging  course  of  tillage,  by  which 
many  of  the  essential  elements  of  its  fertility  were  finally  exhausted  without  any 
compensating  additions.  In  Virginia,  where  the  primitive  settlements  were  made, 
large  tracts  of  many  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  acres,  the  once  profitable  cul- 
ture of  which  is  shown  by  the  extensive  ruins  of  stately  mansions,  now  lie  waste 
and  uncultivated,  or  are  covered  with  a  new  growth  of  the  oak  and  pine,  renewing 
forests  to  which  the  deer,  once  driven  away,  has  returned. 

The  lands  bordering  on  the  Atlantic  have  thus  been  worn  out  by  successive  years 
of  culture  without  adequate  help,  the  thinnest  soils  first,  and  next  the  deeper  moulds. 
But  let  not  those  whose  lots  are  cast  in  other  and  more  prosperous  parts  of  the  Union 
sympathize  over  the  decayed  fortunes  of  once  flourishing  districts,  and  overlook  theii 
own  gradual  decline.  It  is  in  vain  for  the  farmers  of  the  western  valleys  and  prairies 
to  boast  of  the  depth  and  inexhaustible  productive  powers  of  their  lands.     With  every 


INTRODUCTION.  8 

crop,  some  of  the  elements  of  fertility  must  of  necessity  be  removed,  and  the  greater 
the  crops  the  speedier  the  exhaustion,  unless  some  adequate  compensation  be  made. 
The  following  fact,  stated  in  the  fifth  volume  of  that  valuable  American  periodical, 
"  The  Cultivator,"  shows  the  progress  of  deterioration  in  one  of  the  finest  wheat  dis- 
tricts in  the  whole  country. 

**  Thomas  Burrall,  Esq.,  has  a  most  excellent  wheat  farm  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Geneva,  (New  York,)  which  he  began  to  clear  and  improve  twenty-one  or  twenty- 
two  years  ago,  and  on  which  he  has  made  and  applied  much  manure.  Mr.  Bur- 
rail  informed  us,  in  the  summer  of  1836,  that  he  had  noted  down  the  average  product 
of  his  wheat  crop  every  year ;  that  dividing  the  twenty  years  into  three  periods,  he 
found  that  his  wheat  had  averaged  twenty-nine  bushels  per  acre  during  the  first  of 
these  periods  ;  twenty-five  bushels  the  acre  during  the  second ;  and  but  twenty  bushels 
tlie  acre  during  the  third  period — thus  showing  a  diminished  fertility  of  nearly  one- 
third,  under  what  may  there  be  denominated  a  good  system  of  husbandry." 

All,  then,  who  are  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  even  those  now  luxuriating 
upon  the  most  fertile  soils,  must,  sooner  or  later,  be  reduced  to  the  necessity  of  adding 
to  their  fields  some  of  tlie  agents  of  fertility,  and  of  adopting  new  means  by  which 
they  can  obtain  crops  that  may  be  compensating  and  profitable. 

The  late  Judge  Buel,  in  referring  to  a  picture  drawn  by  the  Hon.  James  M.  Gar- 
nett,  of  the  deteriorated  condition  of  Virginia  agriculture,  says : — "  Let  not  the 
Northerners  take  credit  to  themselves,  from  this  outline  of  old  Virginia  husbandry,  or 
from  the  ingenuous  detail  of  the  causes  which  brought  it  to  so  low  a  condition.  Though 
not  exacdy  the  like  causes  have  operated,  the  same  deteriorating  system  of  husbandry 
has  prevailed  with  us,  though  perhaps  to  a  more  limited  extent.  Though  we  have 
personally  attended  more  to  the  art — to  the  practice — yet  we  have  been  equally  defi- 
cient in  the  science  with  our  brethren  in  Virginia— equally  indifferent  to  the  study 
and  application  of  the  principles  upon  which  good  husbandry  must  ever  be  based. 
And  although  we  may  have  begun  earlier  in  the  business  of  reform,  whether  from 
necessity  or  from  choice  we  will  not  say,  we  are  still  too  defective  in  practice  to  boast 
of  our  trivial  acquirements.  The  truth  is,  we  have  regarded  the  soil  as  a  kind  mother, 
expecting  her  always  to  give,  without  regarding  her  ability  to  give.  We  have 
expected  a  continuance  of  her  bounties,  though  we  have  abused  her  kindness,  and 
disregarded  her  maternal  admonitions.  We  have  managed  the  culture  of  the  soil  as  a 
business  requiring  mere  animal  power,  rather  than  as  one  in  which  the  intellect  could 
be  brought  largely  to  co-operate." 

"But,"  continues  the  judge,  in  the  full  fervour  of  his  zeal  for  the  promotion  of 
agriculture,  "there  is  a  redeeming  spirit  abroad.  The  lights  of  science  are  beaming 
upon  the  agricultural  world,  and  dissipating  the  clouds  of  superstitious  ignorance 
which  have  so  long  shrouded  it  in  darkness.  The  causes  which  have  for  some  time 
been  actively  operating  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  other  arts,  and  to  elevate  the 
character  of  those  who  conduct  them,  are  extending  their  influence  to  agriculture." 

The  course  of  tillage  followed  in  America  since  its  first  settlement,  and  with  such 
exhausting  and  disastrous  eflfects  upon  the  soil,  has  been  of  late  aptly  styled  the  old 
system,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  New  Husbandry^  which  last  consists  in  the  employ- 
ment of  means  calculated  not  only  to  arrest  and  prevent  the  exhaustion  of  soils,  but  to 
increase  their  productiveness.  It  is  indeed  gratifying  to  know  that  in  many  parts  of 
our  country  which  have  suffered  from  the  impoverishment  of  the  land ;  agriculture 
has  for  many  years  shown  signs  of  progressive  improvement,  reduced  farms  having 
been  brought  into  increased  value,  and  the  products  of  many  of  them  being  raised 
even  above  the  amount  aflfbrded  in  the  days  of  their  first  exuberant  culture.  Thi^ 
has  occurred  in  New  England,  in  the  Valley  of  the  Hudson,  in  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, the  upper  portion  of  the  Peninsula  including  Delaware  and  Eastern  Mary 
land,  in  several  parts  of  Western  Maryland,  Old  or  Eastern  Virginia,  etc. 

It  is  the  chief  object  of  the  numerous  and  many  admirable  agricultural  publications 
so  extensively  circulated  at  the  present  day,  as  well  as  of  the  active  societies  everywhere 
instituted,  to  set  forth  the  principles  and  practical  details  of  the  new  system  of  hus- 
bandry, and  to  demonstrate  the  advantages  resulting  from  the  judicious  application  of 
manures  and  all  sorts  of  fertilizing  agents  ;— from  good  tillage  ;— from  proper  rotation 
of  crops; — from  the  assistance  to  be  derived  from  root-culture ;— from  the  substitution 
for  naked  fallows,  of  clover  and  other  good  fallow  crops.     All  these  means  are  to  be 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

adopted  in  conjunction  with  ample  draining,  with  or  without  the  additional  advantages 
derived  from  sub-soil  ploughing. 

Many  of  the  processes  which  may  be  resorted  to  in  carrying  out  the  new  system 
are  in  a  great  degree  mysteries  to  thousands  in  the  United  States,  although  familiarly 
known  and  long  employed  in  other  countries,  where  with  not  half  the  natural  advan- 
tages the  labour  of  the  husbandman  is  far  better  rewarded.  Such  has  been  the  agri- 
cultural improvement  effected  in  Flanders,  that  the  whole  country  may  almost  be 
styled  a  garden,  each  acre  being  capable  of  supporting  its  man.  Scotland,  in  little 
more  than  half  a  century,  has  changed  from  comparative  unproductiveness,  into  one 
of  the  richest  agricultural  districts  in  Europe.  In  Great  Britain,  the  products  of  the 
grain  harvests  have  increased  within  sixty  years,  from  one  hundred  and  seventy  to 
tiiree  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  bushels.  The  system  inculcated  by  the  new 
principles,  has  even  in  some  districts  of  our  own  country,  where  they  have  been  well 
followed  up,  increased  the  value  of  farms,  two,  three,  and  four  hundred  per  cent.— . 
from  twenty  and  thirty  dollars  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre.  "  It  has,"  says  Buel, 
*'  made  every  acre  of  arable  land,  upon  which  it  has  been  practised  ten  years,  and 
lying  contiguous  to  navigable  waters,  or  a  good  market,  worth,  at  least,  one  hundred 
dollars,  for  agricultural  purposes." 

The  zeal  for  the  promotion  of  good  husbandry  which  pervades  the  country  at  large, 
is  displayed  in  the  geological  surveys  which  have  been  finished,  or  are  in  progress,  in 
most  of  the  states ;  in  the  agricultural  surveys  in  several  others,  together  with  the 
liberal  premiums  appropriated  by  legislative  authority,  and  innumerable  societies,  foi 
the  encouragement  of  every  thing  tending  to  improve  and  advance  the  agricultural 
interests.  It  is  also  shown  by  the  extensive  circulation  of  the  many  periodicals  de- 
voted in  whole  or  in  part  to  agricultural  subjects,  through  every  seG^ioQ  of  o^r  ex- 
tensive country.  In  these,  matters  of  greater  or  less  interest  are  brought  before 
thousands  of  persons  interested  in  rural  pursuits,  and  sufl&ciently  educated  to  compre- 
hend and  discuss  the  merits  of  most  of  the  questions.  It  might  appear  invidious  to 
single  out  the  names  of  particular  publications,  all  of  which  are  more  or  less  instructive, 
and  some  highly  so.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  single  one  from  which  information 
may  not  be  gained  the  value  of  which  would  greatly  transcend  the  ordinary  pit- 
tance obtained  from  subscribers.  Indeed,  the  extremely  low  prices  of  the  annual 
subscriptions  to  nearly  all  our  American  agricultural  periodicals  are  so  far  from  being 
remunerative,  that  their  editors  may  claim  to  be  regarded  as  missionaries  devoted  to  a 
high  cause,  and  willing  to  labor  almost  without  hire  for  its  promotion. 

Book-farmers  have  long  suflfered  under  general  discredit,  and  been  exposed  to 
abundance  of  taunt  and  ridicule,  even  from  their  own  agricultural  brethren.  Doub* 
less  the  imperfection  of  much  of  the  scientific  data  furnished  and  practised  upon  has 
often  given  occasion  to  unsatisfactory  results.  But  the  rapid  progress  of  science 
has  developed  new  facts,  and  furnished  much  more  accurate  information.  Undei 
the  direction  of  Davy,  agricultural  chemistry  made  vigorous  advances.  His  many 
splendid  discoveries,  and  especially  his  demonstration  that  the  common  alkalies,  pot- 
ash and  soda,  and  the  alkaline  earths,  magnesia,  lime,  and  alumine,  were  not  simple 
elementary  substances,  but  the  oxides  of  metals,  seemed  to  give  a  new  impulse  to 
those  who  sought  to  make  chemistry  subserv'ent  to  agriculture.  But  even  with  the 
brilliant  achievomt*iits  of  Davy  and  the  subsequent  valuable  researches  of  Count  Chaptal 
in  France,  agricultural  chemistry  remained  very  imperfect.  Too  exclusive  attention 
had  been  devoted  to  the  mineral  constituents  of  soils.  Most  gratifying  and  important 
results  have  been  since  obtained  through  the  able  investigations  of  several  eminent 
French  chemists,  among  whom  we  may  name,  Raspail,  De  Saussure,  Braconnot,  and 
^oussingault,  all  of  whom  have  devoted  special  attention  to  ascertaining  the  nature 
and  properties  of  organic  substances  entering  into  the  composition  of  soils.  What 
England  commenced  by  Davy,  and  France  followed  up  so  ably  by  her  distinguished 
chemists  just  named,  Germany  seems  to  have  the  honour  of  almost  perfecting 
through  the  brilliant  achievements  of  her  chemist.  Dr.  Liebig,  the  highly  important 
results  obtained  by  whom  have  been  recently  placed  before  the  world  in  his  trea- 
tises on  "Agricultural  Chemistry,'^  etc.  The  interesting  developments  made  in  these 
works,  of  the  chemical  agencies  operating  in  the  various  stages  and  conditions  of  growth, 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

"maturity,  and  subsequent  decomposition  of  vegetable  and  animal  substances,  and  the 
mutual  relations  subsisting  between  these  and  the  earth  and  atmosphere,  have  drawn 
upon  Liebig  the  admiration  of  all  Europe  and  America. 

It  must,  nevertheless,  be  owned  that  though  generally  adopted,  the  accuracy  of 
some  of  liiebig's  results  has  been  more  than  questioned  by  distinguished  chemists  in 
Europe  and  the  United  States.  The  particulars  of  these  and  the  effects  of  the  several 
agencies  acting  upon  the  life  of  vegetables  and  animals,  will  be  found  in  the  Encyclo- 
paedia of  Agriculture,  arranged  under  various  heads,  such  as.  Soils,  Humus,  Carbon, 
Oxyofen,  Azote  or  Nitrogen,  Hydrogen,  Ammonia,  etc. 

Whilst  agriculture  has,  within  the  last  few  years,  been  thus  receiving  such  rich 
tributes  from  abroad,  many  scientific  investigators  of  the  highest  merit  have  been 
zealously  and  successfully  engaged  in  the  United  States,  in  experimental  researches 
which  have  added  greatly  to  the  stock  of  useful  knowledge.  Among  these,  it  would 
be  signal  injustice  to  pass  unnoticed  the  names  of  Professors  Jackson  and  Dana  of 
Massachusetts,  who  have  devoted  great  attention  to  the  analyses  of  soils,  the  chemical 
composition  and  properties  of  humus  as  found  in  ordinary  mould,  and  in  peats  and 
bog-nmd,  the  results  of  which  have  been  published  in  the  reports  of  the  Agricultural 
and  Geological  Surveys  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  separate  essays.  Professors  Rogers 
and  Booth  of  Philadelphia,  the  former  in  his  Geological  Report  of  New  Jersey,  and 
the  latter  of  Delaware,  have  furnished  numerous  and  highly  accurate  analyses  of  the 
valuable  calcareous  marls  and  green-sand  deposits  found  so  abundantly  in  the  states 
named,  as  well  as  in  others  of  the  middle  and  southern  regions,  together  with  much 
information  relative  to  the  application  of  these  inexhaustible  agents  of  fertility. 
The  works  of  Dr.  Harris  on  Destructive  Insects,  Dr.  Flint  on  Grasses,  and  Prof  S. 
W.  Johnson,  of  Yale  College,  on  Fertilizers,  etc.,  are  rich  contributions  to  agricul- 
tural knowledge. 

The  success  with  which  science  has  developed  the  agencies  concerned  in  the 
various  stages  and  processes  of  vegetation,  and  the  certainty  with  which  deficiences 
of  soil  can  now  be  detected  and  remedied,  have  suddenly  elevated  agriculture  from 
the  condition  of  an  art  under  the  guidance  of  common  observation  and  ^pirical  ex- 
periment, to  a  science  regulated  by  recognised  principles  of  induction.  We  are 
indeed  much  mistaken  if  the  day  has  not  arrived  when  the  successes  of  the  book-farmer 
shall  cause  his  incredulous  brother  farmer  of  the  old  routine  system,  to  cease  his 
taunts  and  spend  some  of  his  leisure  hours  in  searching  into  books  containing  modern 
information  in  regard  to  matters  of  husbandry. 

In  preparing  the  work  for  the  American  farmer,  the  editor  has  had  several  objects 
to  fulfil.  Of  these,  one  of  the  principal  was  the  reduction  of  the  price,  the  cost  of 
the  imported  copy  being  so  great  as  to  prevent  any  extensive  circulation  of  it  in  the 
United  States.  Much  of  the  irrelevant  and  less  important  materials  in  the  original 
have  been  omitted,  their  place  being  supplied  by  the  addition  of  information  con- 
nected with  the  interests  of  American  husbandry.  In  the  selection  of  such  informa- 
tion, the  editor  has  to  acknowledge  his  great  indebtedness  to  distinguished  writers  at 
home  and  abroad,  who  have  contributed,  by  elaborate  works,  separate  treatises  and 
communications  in  periodicals,  to  promote  the  cause  of  agriculture. 

The  American  edition  will  contain  a  far  greater  number  of  plates  and  figures  illus- 
trating the  various  subjects;  notwithstanding  which,  its  cost  will  be  only  about  one- 
fourth  that  of  the  imported  work. 

However  many  books  one  may  possess  treating  of  the  innumerable  subjects  con- 
nected with  country  life,  one  standard  and  comprehensive  volume  should  always  be 
at  hand  for  ready  reference. 


a2 


THB 


L  1  J3  1 I 

UNIVEK81T, 

CALIFORNIA 


AEMER'S    ENCYCLOPEDIA, 


AKD 


DICTIONARY  OF  RURAL  AFFAIRS. 


lATE     (French,  abbatre;    Spanish,  aha- 

' i  Italian,  abbatere);  to  beat  down.  In  com- 
merce, lo  let  down  the  price  in  selling. 

In  law,  means  the  beating  down  or  removal 
of  an  obstruction  or  nuisance,  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  common  law  of  England,  any  per- 
son may  remove,  provided  he  does  it  in  a 
peaceable  manner,  so  as  not  to  occasion  a 
breach  of  the  peace,  such  as  the  obstruction 
of  an  ancient  light,  which  is  a  private  nuisance, 
or  the  erection  of  a  gate  across  a  common 
road,  which  is  a  public  nuisance,  and  which 
any  one  may  beat  down  and  remove. 

ABELE  TREE  (F<fpulus  alba).  European 
White  Poplar,  or  Dutch  Beech,  otherwise  call- 
ed the  Arbeel.  The  Abele  is  a  tree  of  very 
rapid  growth,  but  seldom  exceeds  forty  or  fifty 
feet  in  height.  The  leaves  are  lai^e,  and  di- 
vided into  three,  four,  or  five  lobes,  which  are 
indented  on  their  edges. 

This  tree  is  not  to  be  considered  as  a  native 
of  England.  Hartlib,  in  his  "  Complete  Hus- 
bandman," 1659,  states  that  some  years  ago, 
there  were  ten  thousand  Abeles  at  once  sent 
over  into  England  from  Flanders,  and  trans- 
planted into  many  counties ;  that  the  timber  is 
incomparable  for  all  sorts  of  wooden  vessels, 
especially  trays ;  and  that  butchers'  trays  can- 
not be  made  without  it,  it  being  so  exceedingly 
light  and  tough. 

"A  specimen  of  their  advance,"  says  Eve- 
lyn, "  we  have  had  of  an  Abele  tree  at  Sion, 
which  being  lopped  in  Feb.  1651,  did,  by  the 
end  of  October,  1652,  produce  branches  as  big 
as  a  man's  wrist,  and  seventeen  feet  in  length. 
As  they  thus  increase  in  bulk,  their  value  ad- 
vances likewise,  which,  after  the  first  seven 
years,  is  annually  worth  one  shilling  more. 
The  Dutch,  therefore,"  he  continues,  "look 
upon  a  plantation  of  these  trees  as  an  ample 
portion  for  a  daughter."  Besides  the  uses  of 
the  wood  before  stated,  it  is  considered  good 
for  wainscoting,  for  floors,  laths,  and  packing 
cases ;  and,  from  the  boards  of  it  not  splitting 
by  nails,  but  closing  over  the  heads,  it  is 
esteemed  superior  to  deal  for  the  latter  pur- 
pose.   It  i«  found  to  answer  for  works  under 


water.  Peaty  and  low  damp  soils  are  the  mosi 
proper  for  the  Abele,  and  in  these  it  is  well 
worthy  the  attention  of  the  forest  planter.  It 
should  never  be  planted  near  the  margins  of, 
nor  in  grass  fields,  for  it  extends  its  roots 
under  the  grass  to  a  great  distance,  and  sends 
up  numerous  shoots.  The  Abele  is  propa- 
gated by  layers,  cuttings,  and  off-shoots  or 
suckers.  The  month  of  February  is  the  best 
season  for  planting  the  cuttings.  In  two  years, 
many,  if  not  all  that  have  rooted,  will  be  fit  to 
plant  out  for  good,  on  the  sites  where  they  are 
to  remain  for  timber.  The  size  of  the  plants 
considered  the  best  for  final  transplantation,  is 
from  one  and  a  half  to  three  feet  in  length,  but 
much  larger  plants  will  succeed  very  well  by 
paying  proper  attention  to  keep  the  roots  as 
perfect  as  possible. 

The  Abele  is  sometimes  made  a  variety  of 
the  Gray  Poplar  (Populus  canescevs),  and  seve- 
ral British  as  well  as  foreign  botanists  have 
confounded  the  two  species,  but  they  are  very 
distinct. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  the  Abele,  aris- 
ing from  local  circumstances.  The  variety, 
called  on  the  continent,  Polan  de  Holland,  is 
preferable  for  avenues  and  for  landscape  gard- 
ening, from  its  rapid  growth,  its  majestic 
height  and  aspect,  and  from  its  fine  white 
leaves  contrasting  well  with  the  green  of  other 
leaves.  There  are  some  magnificent  ones 
near  the  Hague,  and  more  particularly  exten- 
sive avenues  of  them  along  most  of  the  high- 
ways in  the  lower  districts  of  Belgium,  near 
Bruges  and  Ghent.  It  is  so  common  on  the 
romantic  banks  of  the  Rhone,  that  some  French 
authors  call  it  Arbre  du  Rhone. 

According  to  M'Intosh,  the  best  cuttings  are 
taken  from  the  wood  of  the  preceding  year; 
and  when  made,  each  cutting  should  be  nine 
inches  in  length,  and  planted  in  nursery  lines 
eighteen  inches  apart,  and  the  cuttings  about 
six  inches  distant  from  each  other.  When  in- 
serted in  the  ground,  they  should  be  put  ir, 
deep  enough  to  resist  the  drought ;  and  if  onl  v" 
two  inches  of  the  top  appear  above  ground,  it 
will  be  found  suflicient.  In  two  years,  or  three 
at  most,  these  cuttings  will  be  fully  grown  to 
fit  them  for  being  finally  planted  out:  but  if 

7 


ABIES. 


ABORllON. 


they  are  to  remain  the  third  year  in  the  nur- ' 
sery,  they  ought  to  be  taken  up  and  re-planted 
at  a  greater  distance.    The  Abele  often  sends  i 
up  naturally  vast  numbers  of  suckers  from  its  j 
roots,  and  such  are  sometimes  used  for  young 
plants;     cuttings    are,    however,    preferable. 
Langley  asserts  that    he    has   known    great 
quantities  produced  by  chips  only,  where  the 
trees  have  been  hewed  after  felling ;  and  one 
of  our  earliest  authors  has  proposed  ploughing 
down  these  chips,  with  a  view  to  produce  an 
economical  coppice. 

Amongst  other  uses  of  this  tree,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that,  on  the  Continent,  the  wood  of 
the  larger  branches  is  prized,  on  account  of  its 
lightness,  for  making  wooden  shoes ;  while  the 
smaller  twigs  are  used  for  fire-wood.  By 
splitting  the  wood  into  thin  shavings,  like  tape 
or  braid,  the  stuff  called  spurterie  used  for 
hats,  is  manufactured.  These  shavings  are 
always  made  from  green  wood.  One  work- 
man can,  with  the  aid  of  a  child  to  carry  off 
the  shavings,  keep  several  plaiters  employed. 
The  ancient  Greek  athletoe  wore  crowns  made 
of  the  branches  of  this  tree,  because  it  was 
sacred  to  their  patron  deity,  Hercules.  (Julius 
Pollux,  de  Ludis.     Miller's  Did.) 

ABIES.  In  botany,  the  Fir  or  Pine  tree 
genus,  well  known  for  the  valuable  timber  ob- 
tained from  many  of  the  varieties.  The  origin 
of  the  Latin  name  is  unknown,  that  of  the 
English  appellation  is  the  Saxon  Furh-wude, 
fir-wood.     See  Fir  Trke. 

ABLACTATION  (Latin,  ablado).  The 
weaning  of  an  animal.  Also  a  method  of 
grafting,  without  cutting  the  scion  from  the 
stock. 

ABORTION  (Latin,  abortio).  In  •'veteri- 
nary surgery,  miscarriage,  slipping,  slinking, 
casting,  or  warping,  all  meaning  the  expulsion 
of  the  fiptus  at  so  early  a  period  of  pregnancy  as 
to  render  it  impossible  for  it  to  live.  The  im- 
mediate causes  appear  to  be  the  death  of  the 
foetus,  or  derangement  in  the  functions  of  the 
womb  or  its  dependencies,  arising  from  some 
external  cause  or  causes  operating  on  the  mo- 
mer.  Amongst  these  operating  causes  may  be 
reckoned  too  much,  or  too  little  food,  producing 
plethora  or  emaciation ;  sudden  fright  acting 
on  the  nerves,  or  sympathy  with  certain  smells 
or  sights,  such  as  the  smell  or  sight  of  blood, 
of  bones,  of  horns,  and  particularly  of  the 
aborted  foetus  of  another  animal ; — on  a  simi- 
lar principle,  perhaps,  to  that  which  causes 
even  some  strong-nerved  men  to  faint  away 
on  witnessing  a  surgical  operation.  Acci- 
dents, also,  such  as  falls,  bruises,  over-driving, 
or  fatigue,  and  the  like,  may  frequently  bring 
on  abortion. 

The  signs  of  approaching  abortion  are,  great 
languor,  uneasiness,  and  restlessness-  some- 
times a  discharge  of  bloody  matter,  and  the 
sudden  filling  of  the  udder,  similar  to  the  signs 
of  approaching  parturition. 

Abortion  in  the  Horse. — Abortions  very  fre- 
quently happen  among  mares.  This  often 
arises  in  consequence  of  over-exertion  during 
the  latter  period  of  pregnancy.  Mares  are 
liable,  also,  very  frequently,  to  various  acci- 
dents in  their  pastures,  which  may  be  the 
cause   of  their  slipping  their  foal,  such  as 


kicks,  tumbling  into  holes  and  litches,  ovcfi 
exerting  themselves  to  get  over  .'<  aces,  and  the 
like.  On  this  account,  when  a  mare  is  near 
her  time,  she  should  be  kept  by  herself,  in  some 
convenient  place.  But  there  is  another,  and 
we  suspect  a  very  general,  cause  of  these  ac- 
cidents in  mares ;  we  mean  a  stinting  of  them 
in  their  food,  either  in  quantity  or  quality.  It 
appears,  indeed,  that  some  imagine  that  the 
mare,  when  she  is  in  foal,  may  be  turned  out 
almost  any  where :  but  this  opinion  is  ill 
founded ;  for  although  the  mare  does  not  re- 
quire to  be  kept  so  high  in  condition  as  when 
she  is  at  hard  work,  yet  she  is  not  to  be  turned 
out  into  a  pasture  where  she  may  be  in  a  man- 
ner starved:  but  how  often  do  we  see  the 
mare-in-foal  on  the  worst  piece  of  ground  in 
the  whole  farm,  exposed,  during  the  rigorous 
winter  season,  to  endure  the  cold,  as  well  as  to 
put  up  with  scanty  food.  Every  well-informed 
farmer  knows  that  the  slinking  of  the  foal  is 
often  the  consequence  of  such  treatment.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  the  mare  is  not  worked 
at  all,  and  indulged  with  too  high  keep,  she  is 
almost  equally  in  danger  of  abortion,  her  high 
condition  having  a  tendency  to  cause  inflam- 
mation and  other  disorders;  and  these  de- 
ranging the  reproductive  organs,  frequently 
produce  miscarriage.  It  would  seem,  then, 
that  moderate  exercise  and  diet  are  best  suited 
as  means  to  avoid  the  misfortune  of  the  pre- 
mature exclusion  of  the  foal. 

Abortion  in  the  Cow. — Abortion  occurs  of- 
tener  in  the  cow  than  in  all  other  domestic 
animals  put  together.  Perhaps  it  is  one  of 
the  greatest  annoyances  the  proprietor  of  cows 
has  to  encounter,  and  unfortunately,  for  aught 
we  see  to  the  contrary,  it  is  likely  so  to  con- 
tinue; for  in  spite  of  the  improved  state  of 
veterinary  medicine,  and  the  researches  of 
skilful  veterinary  surgeons,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  abortion  still  continues  as  frequent 
and  annoying  as  ever.  The  causes  are  fre- 
quently involved  in  obscurity ;  but  it  may  be 
mentioned,  that  an  extremely  hot  and  foul  cow- 
house, a  severe  blow,  violent  exertion,  starva- 
tion, plethora,  an  overloaded  stomach,  internal 
inflammations,  constipated  bowels,  bad  food  or 
water,  improper  exposure,  and  the  like,  will 
now  and  then  produce  abortion.  Any  thing 
whatever,  indeed,  that  seriously  affects  the 
health  of  the  animal  in  general,  or  the  state  of 
the  reproductive  organs  in  particular,  may  do 
so.  But  abortion  occurs  again  and  again 
when  no  such  causes  as  those  enumerated  can 
be  traced.  The  disease,  if  such  it  may  be 
called,  as  we  think  it  may,  is  even  said  to  be 
infectious.  No  sooner  does  it  show  itself  in  one 
animal  than  it  is  seen  in  another,  and  another, 
till  it  has  spread  over  the  most  part  of  the  cow- 
house. Some  say  this  is  to  be  attributed  to  the 
odour  arising  from  the  things  evacuated.  Pos- 
sibly it  may  be  so,  there  is  nothing  unreason- 
able in  the  supposition ;  for  although  we  cannot 
perceive  the  smell,  nor  account  for  its  peculiar 
influence,  it  is  still  quite  within  possibility 
that  such  an  odour  does  exist,  having  the 
power  attributed  to  it.  There  can  be  no  great 
harm,  however,  in  acting  as  if  we  were  as- 
sured that  the  mischief  has  its  origin  in  the 
source  so  commonly  supposed,  provided  we  do 


ABORTION. 


ABORTION. 


ant  shut  our  ey  >s  to  an)'  other  which  accident 
or  invest igation  may  reveal.  In  the  meantime, 
the  number  of  abortior.s  may  be  diminished  by 
carefully  avoiding  all  those  causes  which  are 
known  to  be  capable  of  producing  it.  Let  the 
cows  be  regularly  fed  ;  let  their  food  be  good, 
and  in  proper  quantities ;  let  them  have  water 
as  often  as  they  will  take  it;  avoid  sudden  ex- 
posure to  cold  or  heat ;  and,  above  all,  let  the 
cow-house  be  well  ventilated.  Prohibit  all 
manner  of  rough  usage  on  the  part  of  those 
who  look  after  the  cows,  whether  they  be  preg- 
nant or  not.  If  any  of  them  accumulate  flesh 
too  rapidly,  gradually  reduce  their  allowance; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  if  any  become  emaci- 
ated, discover  the  cause,  and  remedy  it,  always 
by  slow  degrees.  Sudden  changes  in  the 
matter  or  mode  of  feeding  should  also  be 
avoided.  The  same  sort  of  diet  docs  not 
agree  equally  well  with  all  the  cows  ;  and  this, 
in  general,  is  indicated  by  undue  relaxation, 
or  constipation  of  the  bowels;  this  should  be 
watched,  and  removed  at  once.  Attention  to 
these,  and  many  other  minor  circumstances, 
will  amply  repay  the  proprietor  for  the  little 
additional  trouble. 

"  That  improper  or  too  little  food,'*  says  Mr. 
Lindsay,  "  is  a  prominent  cause  of  abortion,  is 
strongly  indicated  by  the  following  facts.  A 
friend  of  mine,  a  respectable  grazing  fanner, 
kept  a  dairy  of  twenty-two  cows,  ten  of  which 
slipped  calf  at  different  periods  of  parturition. 
The  summer  had  been  very  unfavourable  in 
every  respect,  both  as  regarded  the  ground 
"where  the  cows  were  pastured,  and  in  getting 
in  the  hay  crop.  He  had  little  or  no  hay  of  the 
last  year's  growth,  and  the  hay  of  that  year 
when  cut  into  was  in  a  very  bad  state ;  but  as 
he  had  no  other,  he  was  obliged  to  give  it  to 
his  cattle.  The  consequence  was  as  men- 
tioned above ;  and  besides,  many  of  his  stock 
died  of  various  disorders  ;  and  many  of  those 
which  recovered  remained  long  weakly." 

"The  most  common  cause  of  abortion  in 
cows,"  says  White,  "  is  improper  feeding  dur- 
ing winter  and  spring,  before  they  are  turned 
to  pasture.  The  filthy  pond-water  they  are 
often  compelled  to  drink,  and  feeding  on 
the  rank  fog-grass  of  October  and  Novem- 
ber, especially  when  covered  with  hoar-fro5>t, 
are  likewise  frequent  causes  of  miscarriage. 
I  remember  a  farm  near  Berkeley,  in  Glouces- 
tershire, which  afforded  a  striking  proof  of  the 
injuries  of  stagnant  pond- water,  impregnated 
wiiiidungani  urine.  This  %rm  had  been 
given  up  by  three  farmers  successively,  in 
consequence  of  the  losses  they  sustaiuod 
through  abortion  ii^their  cattle,  thoir  not  being 
in  season  (that  is,  not  conceiving),  red  water, 
end  other  diseases.  At  length  a  Mr.  Dimmery, 
after  suffering  considerably  in  his  live  itock 
for  the  first  five  years,  suspected  that  the  water 
of  his  ponds,  which  was  extremely  filthy, 
might  be  the  cause  of  the  mischief.  He  ther-^ 
fore  dug  three  wells  upon  his  farm,  and  having 
fenced  round  the  ponds  to  prevent  his  cattle 
from  drinking  there,  caused  them  to  be  sup- 
plied with  well-water,  in  stone  troughs  erected 
for  the  purpose;  and  from  this  moment  his 
live  stock  begin  to  thrive,  became  uncom- 
monly healthy,  and  the  quality  of  the  butcer 


'  and  cheese  made  on  his  farm  was  greatly  inv- 
proved.     It  should  be  observed,  that  on  this 
farm   the  cattle  were   regularly  ied  with  good 
;  hay  during  the  winter,  and  kept  in  good  pas- 
I  ture  in  summer :  so  that  there  cannot  exist  a 
j  doubt  that  the  losses  sustained  by  Mr.  Dim- 
mery were  entirely  attributable  to  the  unv/hole- 
some  water  the   animals  were  compelled  to 
drink." 

"In  order,"  adds  Mr.  White,  "to  show  that 
the  accident  of  warping  may  arise  from  a  viti- 
ated state  of  the  digestive  organs,  I  shall  here 
notice  a  few  circumstances  tending  to  corro- 
borate this  opinion.  In  January,  1782,  all  the 
cows  in  the  possession  of  farmer  D'Euruse, 
near  Grandvilliers,  in  Picardy,  miscarried.  The 
period  at  which  they  Avarped  was  about  the 
fourth  or  fifth  month.  Tlie  accident  was  attri- 
buted to  the  excessive  heal  of  the  preceding 
summer;  but  as  the  water  they  were  in  the 
habit  of  drinking  was  extremely  bad,  and  th<!)' 
had  been  kept  upon  oat,  wheal,  and  rye  stra  ,v^ 
it  appears  to  me  more  probable  that  the  great 
quantity  of  straw  they  were  obliged  to  eat  in 
order  to  obtain  sufficient  nourishment,  and  the 
injury  sustained  by  the  third  stomach  in  ex- 
pressing the  fluid  parts  of  the  masticated  mass, 
together  with  the  large  quantity  of  water  they 
probably  drank  while  kept  upon  this  dry  food, 
was  the  real  cause  of  their  miscarrying.  A 
farmer  at  Charentin,  out  of  a  dairy  of  twenty- 
eight  cows,  had  sixteen  slip  calf  at  different 
periods  of  gestation.  The  summer  had  been 
very  dry,  and  during  the  whole  of  this  season 
they  had  been  pastured  in  a  muddy  place, 
which  was  flooded  by  the  Seine.  Here  the 
cows  were  generally  up  to  their  knees  in  mud 
and  water,  and  feeding  on  crowfoot,  rushes, 
and  the  like.  Part  of  the  stock  had  recently 
been  brought  from  Lower  Normandy,  where 
they  had  all  been  affected  with  indigestion  by 
feeding  upon  lucerne,  from  the  effects  of  which 
they  had  been  relieved  by  the  operation  of 
paunching.  In  one,  the  opening  made  was 
large  enough  to  admit  the  hand  for  the  purpose 
of  drawing  out  the  food ;  the  rest  were  ope- 
rated on  with  a  trocar.  In  1789,  all  the  cows 
in  the  parish  of  Beaulieu,  near  Mantes,  mis- 
carried. All  the  land  in  this  parish  was  so 
stiff  as  to  hold  water  for  a  considerable  time ; 
and  as  a  vast  quantity  of  rain  fell  that  year, 
the  pastures  were  for  a  long  time,  and  at  seve- 
ral periods,  completely  inundated,  on  which 
the  grass  became  sour  and  rank.  These,  and 
several  other  circumstances  which  have  fallen 
under  my  own  observation,  plainly  show  that 
keeping  cows  on  food  that  is  deficient  in  nutri- 
tion, and  difiicult  of  digestion,  is  one,  if  not 
the  principal,  cause  of  their  miscarrying.  It 
is  stated  by  Mr.  HandAvin,  that  feeding  in  pas- 
tures, when  covered  with  while  frost,  has  been 
observed  to  occasion  abortion  in  these  ani- 
mals." 

If  there  be  any  probability  of  a  cow  miscar- 

rj'ing  from  exposure  to  any  of  the  common 

causes    already  enumerated,  let  her  by  all 

I  means  be  put  apart  from  the  others ;  and  let  a 

skilful  person  attend   to  the  evil  from  which 

I  she  is  expected  to  suffer.    If  the  approach  of 

!  abortion  be  evident,  bleeding  may  be  had  re- 

I  course  to;  for  if  it  do  not  check  abortion,  ir 


ABORTIVE. 


ABSCESS. 


will  yet  do  no  harm  though  it  take  place. 
When  there  are  any  premonitory  symptoms 
of  abortion,  t^iey  are  precisely  the  same  as 
those  which  present  themselves  in  ordinary 
labour,  with  the  exception  of  their  being  less 
marked. 

Fumigation  of  the  cow-house  is  resorted  to 
as  one  of  the  means  of  preventing  the  sprear' 
of  abortion  :  tar,  sulphur,  gunpowder,  feathers, 
and  the  like,  are  burned  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  the  odour.  We  have  never  seen  a 
single  instance  of  the  practice  being  attended 
with  the  smallest  success ;  while  it  is  obvious 
that,  if  carried  beyond  a  certain  point,  it  may 
produce  the  very  evil  it  is  intended  to  remove 
or  mitigate. 

It  is  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of 
this  complaint,  that  those  cows  that  have  once 
miscarried  are  particularly  liable  to  do  so 
again  at  the  same  period  of  their  succeeding 
pregnancy.  Greater  care  is  therefore  requisite 
to  guard  against  those  causes  which  do,  or  are 
supposed  to,  excite  it.  The  treatment  of  abor- 
tion, when  it  does  take  place,  differs  not  from 
that  adopted  in  cases  of  parturition,  only  that 
the  cow  which  miscarries  should  be  removed 
with  all  that  belongs  to  her  from  among  preg- 
nant cows. 

If  the  signs  of  approaching  abortion  be  dis- 
covered early,  the  accident  may  sometimes  be 
prevented.  If  the  cow  is  in  good  condition, 
then  immediately  let  it  be  bled  to  the  extent  of 
five  or  six  quarts,  and  the  bowels  opened  with 
half  a  pound  of  Epsom  salts,  three  or  four 
drams  of  aloes  in  powder,  or  as  many  ounces 
of  castor  oil,  administered  in  a  quart  of  gruel ; 
but  if  the  cow  is  in  very  poor  condition,  and 
the  miscarriage  is  anticipated  from  her  having 
beea  exposed  to  cold,  it  would  be  more  advan- 
tageous to  avoid  bleeding,  and  give  her  a  warm 
gruel  drink,  with  an  ounce  of  laudanum  in  it. 
If  after  this  abortion  does  take  place,  let  her  be 
kept  in  a  comfortable  place  by  herself;  and  if 
the  after-birth  has  not  passed  off,  let  no  injudi- 
cious and  unnecessary  administration  of  vio- 
lent forcing  medicines,  such  as  capsicum  or 
hellebore,  be  given.  Nature,  with  a  little  as- 
sistance, is  generally  equal  to  the  perfect  re- 
storation of  the  animal. 

Abortion  in  the  Sheep.  Ewes  are  much 
subject  to  abortion,  in  consequence  of  the 
numerous  accidents  they  are  liable  to,  such  as 
fright,  overdriving,  being  worried  or  run  with 
dogs,  a  remarkable  instance  of  which  came 
under  ray  own  observation.  A  pack  of  hounds, 
in  pursuit  of  a  hare,  got  among  a  flock  of 
sheep  belonging  to  a  farmer,  and  so  hurried 
and  alarmed  them,  that  thirty  out  of  a  flock  of 
two  hundred  ewes  prematurely  dropped  their 
lambs.  It  is  the  same  in  sheep  as  in  the  other 
cases  of  domestic  animals, — scarcity  of  food, 
and  exposure  to  severe  cold,  having  a  great 
tendency  to  make  the  ewes  prematurely  drop 
their  lambs,  or  produce  them  weakly  and  crip- 
pled at  the  full  time  ;  and  although  there  may 
be  a  little  danger  in  giving  too  much  food, 
such  as  allowing  them  \o  feed  all  the  winter 
on  turnips,  the  danger  is  trifling  compared 
with  the  starving  system.     {Miller.) 

ABORTIVE.    A  term  appLed  by  gardeners 
and  iarmers  to  flowers,  seeds,  and  fruits,  which 
10 


do  not  come  to  Uiaturity,  in  consequence  of  ex 
ternal  injury  from  the  weather,  from  insects, 
or  other  causes  affecting  their  growth.  Thus  ■ 
fruit  often  becomes  abortive,  in  consequence 
of  cold  winds  or  frosts  in  spring  checking  the 
flow  of  the  nutritive  juices;  and  after  losing 
its  healthy  colour  it  shrivels,  and  falls.  The 
same  effects  arise  when  the  leaves  of  fruit- 
branches  are  devoured  by  caterpillars,  or  the 
fruit-stalks  sucked  by  insects  (Ap.'iides,  Cocci, 
&c.).  The  only  preventives  are  sheltering 
from  cold,  and  destroying  the  insects. 

ABSCESS  (Latin,  abacesftus).  In  veterinary 
surgery,  a  circumscribed  cavity  in  an  animal, 
containing  matter.  [In  common  language,  an 
imposthume  or  gathering.]  The  deposition 
of  matter  in  a  solid  part  of  the  body  is 
always  preceded,  and  in  some  degree  ac- 
companied, by  inflammation.  The  local  symp- 
toms are,  pain  on  pressure,  heat,  swelling, 
hardness,  and,  Avhere  it  can  be  seen,  redness. 
These  are  easily  recognised,  in  proportion  as 
the  inflamed  part  is  near  the  external  surface. 
If  the  part  in  which  an  abscess  is  about  to 
form  be  soft,  yielding,  and  well  supplied  with 
blood,  it  soon  softens  and  points,  the  pain  di- 
minishes, the  skin  becomes  thin,  a  fluid  is  felt 
fluctuating  under  it,  and  by  and  by  the  skin 
bursts,  or  a  portion  of  it  drops  out,  and  the 
matter  escapes.  What  is  called  the  process 
of  granulation  succeeds  to  this ;  and,  provided 
the  matter  be  completely  evacuated,  and  the 
outlet  be  such  as  not  to  retain  any  that  may 
form  subsequently,  the  cavity  soon  fills  up. 

Such  are  the  different  stages  of  an  ordinary 
abscess.  The  general  health  of  the  animal  is 
rarely  affected ;  but  if  an  abscess  form  in  a 
dense  unyielding  texture,  in  a  part  which  can- 
not without  much  difficulty  accommodate  it- 
self to  an  increase  of  volume,  then  the  swelling 
may  be  less,,  but  the  animal  will  endure  a 
great  deal  more  pain,  [as  is  often  exemplified 
under  similar  circumstances  in  the  disease 
called  felon  or  whitlow  in  the  finger  or  human 
hand.]  The  irritation,  indeed,  is  sometimes  so 
great,  from  this  cause,  as  to  induce  fever,  and 
even  death;  and  hence  the  formation  of  an 
abscess  in  the  foot  of  an  irritable  horse  is 
not  an  unfrequent  cause  of  death.  During 
the  deposition  of  the  matter  in  such  cases, 
we  have  general  symptoms  added  to  those 
termed  local.  There  is  loss  of  appetite, 
thirst,  a  hot  skin,  quick  and  hard  pulse, 
constipated  bowels ;  in  short,  the  animal 
is  fevered.  When  an  abscess  forms  in  a 
part  remote  from  the  surface,  its  presence  is 
not  easily  recognised.  The  general  practi- 
tioner has  here  an  advantage  over  the  veteri- 
nary surgeon.  The  expressed  feelings  of  the 
patient,  and  the  occasional  slight  shivering  fits 
which  accompany  the  formation  of  matter,  are 
guides  which  the  veterinary  surgeon  can 
rarely  or  never  command.  The  shivering,  if 
it  occurs,  passes  unobserved,  and  the  animal 
can  give  no  account  of  himself;  dissection, 
therefore,  sometimes  reveals  large  abscesses, 
whose  existence  was  not  even  suspected  dur- 
ing life.     Fortimately  these  are  not  frequent. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance,  and  one  that 
well  illustrates  the  preservative  principle  of  a 
living  being,  that,  unless  there  \e  some  r  40- 


ABSCESS. 


chanical  ()bstacle,  as  in  the  case  of  the  horse's 
foot,  the  matter  always  seeks  its  exit  by  an  ex- 
ternal opening.  If  this  were  not  a  law  in  the 
animal  economy,  and  if  the  matter  were  to 
spread  indiscriminately  on  all  sides,  it  might 
not  only  accumulate  to  an  enormous  extent, 
and  produce  much  destruction,  but  by  en- 
croaching upon  vital  organs,  it  might  be  a  very 
frequent  cause  of  death.  The  instances  of 
such  a  thing  happening  are  rare ;  but  they  are 
easily  accounted  for  by  the  presence  of  some 
mechanical  obstacle  which  the  absorbents 
could  not  overcome.  Why  an  abscess  should 
point  at  one  part  rather  than  another,  is  truly 
wonderful ;  but  it  is  not  more  so  than  almost 
every  other  process  of  importance  in  the  ani- 
mal economy.  We  may  attempt  to  explain  it; 
but,  in  truth,  to  perceive  that  such  is  the  case, 
and  that  because  it  would  have  been  wrong 
had  it  been  otherwise,  is  as  far  as  we  can  pro- 
ceed. We  know  that  the  absorbents  remove  a 
portion  of  that  side  of  the  cavity  which  is  next 
to  the  external  surface ;  but  we  do  not  know 
what  urges  them  to  act  on  thai  side  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  other ;  and,  perhaps,  in  a  practical 
point  of  view,  we  need  not  care  to  know. 

The  causes  of  abscess  may  in  general  be 
traced  to  an  injury  done  to  the  texture  of  a 
part,  or  to  the  introduction  of  some  foreign 
sabst?.nce  by  which  it  is  irritated.  In  the  for- 
mer, the  formation  of  matter  is  a  part  of  the 
process  by  which  the  injury  is  repaired ;  in  the 
latter,  it  becomes  necessary  to  interpose  a 
bland  insensible  medium  between  the  sur- 
rounding parts  and  the  irritating  substance, 
while  the  same  means  serve  to  expel  it  Thus 
a  severe  bruise,  the  insertion  of  a  thorn,  a  nail, 
or  any  similar  agent,  may  be  followed  by  an 
abscess. 

The  treatment  of  an  ordinary  abscess  is 
very  simple;  as  a  general  rule,  the  matter 
should  be  evacuated  as  soon  as  discovered. 
Let  a  broad-shouldered  lancet  be  used,  and  let 
the  opening  be  made  sufficiently  large ;  and, 
what  is  of  still  more  consequence,  let  it  be  at 
the  lowest  part  of  the  tumour,  in  order  that  the 
cavity  may  be  completely  and  constantly 
drained.  The  general  practitioner  has  some 
scruple  about  making  an  artificial  opening, 
often  for  good  reasons.  His  patients  dread  the 
lancet  more  than  a  tedious  ciir-;  while  the 
skin  is  thinner,  and  consequet  the  natural 
outlet  is  sooner  formed.  But  in  ;he  horse,  and 
the  dog.  a 'id  still  more  in  li.e  ox,  the  skin  is 
thick,  itb  removal  proportionally  slow,  and  the 
natural  process  is  both  tedious  and  painful. 
It  is,  therefore,  better  both  for  the  animal  and 
his  owners,  to  have  an  artificial  outlet  made 
for  the  matter  as  soon  as  the  abscess  is 
brought  to  a  head,  either  naturally,  or  by  the 
application  of  a  bran  poultice.  Little  more  is 
necessary  than  to  keep  the  part  clean ;  trim 
the  hair  from  the  edges  of  the  orifice,  and  by 
applying  hogs'-lard,  prevent  the  acrid  dis- 
charge from  adhering  to,  and  removing  the 
hair  from  the  skin  beneath.  Let  no  pretender 
stuflf  the  cavity  with  a  candle,  or  tent  of  tow, 
or  rowels,  or  any  *hing  else.  All  these  inter- 
fere with  nature's  operations,  prevent  the 
escapp  of  the  matter,  produce  fistula,  and  other 
evils,  often  far  more  serious  than  the  original 


ABSORBENTS. 

abscess.  If  the  cavity  do  not  fill  up  so  readily 
as  might  be  expected,  allow  the  animal  a  little 
more  nourishing  food  than  that  recommended 
for  invalids ;  and  inject  once,  (  r  even  twice  a 
day,  a  liniment  composed  of  equal  parts  of 
spirits  of  turpentine  and  sweet  oil;  or,  if  the 
matter  discharged,  instead  of  being  thick,  pale 
yellow,  and  without  smell,  be  dark-coloured, 
variegated,  and  smell  offensively,  a  solution 
of  chloride  of  lime,  or  one  to  three  drachms 
of  nitre  in  six  ounces  of  water,  may  be  used. 
A  hernial  tumour  [or  rupture]  has  been 
mistaken  for  an  abscess :  and,  in  consequence, 
the  blacksmith  has  plunged  a  lancet  into  the 
gut,  or  inserted  a  row^el.  This  is  a  most  un- 
likely mistake  for  a  veterinary  surgeon  to 
make.  The  heat,  the  pain,  the  rigidity,  and 
the  situation  of  an  abscess,  would  be  sutficient 
to  distinguish  it  from  a  hernial  swelling.  If 
there  be  met  with  a  tumour  without  heat  or 
pain,  very  compressible,  elastic,  and  situated 
on  the  belly,  the  veterinary  surgeon  would 
pronounce  it  a  rupture,  or  hernia;  and  of 
course  would  never  dream  of  touching  it  with 
the  lancet. — Miller. 

ABSORBENT  SOILS.  Such  soils  as  im- 
bibe water.  See  Earth,  the  use  of,  to  vegeta- 
tion. 

ABSORBENTS.  In  veterinary  medicine, 
those  drugs  are  termed  absorbents  that  are 
given  internally  for  the  purpose  of  neutralizing 
any  acid  which  forms  in  the  stomach  and 
bowels,  in  consequence  of  impaired  digestion. 
Prepared  chalk  is  generally  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. Those  medicines  are  likewise  termed 
absorbents  which  are  applied  externally  for 
absorbing  moisture.  Armenian  bole,  calamine, 
flour,  and  the  like,  are  employed  in  this  way. 
They  are  sometimes  dusted  between  folds  of 
the  skin  when  galled,  and  raw  from  friction, 
blisters,  or  grease.  They  are  likewise  useful 
in  canker  of  the  horse's  foot,  foul  in  the  foot 
of  cattle,  foot-rot  in  sheep,  and  sores  between 
the  toes  of  dogs ;  and  they  are  beneficial  in 
some  forms  of  mange,  in  staying  bleeding, 
and  assisting  the  cure  of  a  penetrated  joint. 

Absorb EXTs.  In  veterinary  physiology,  a 
class  of  vessels  whose  office  it  is  to  convey  the 
product  of  digestion,  and  the  residue  of  nutri- 
tion into  the  circulation,  to  be  mixed  with  and 
repair  the  waste  of  the  blood.  They  are  di- 
vided into  lacteals  and  lymphatics.  The  for- 
mer are  all  situated  in  the  cavity  of  the  belly; 
and  by  extremely  minute  mouths,  opening  on 
the  inner  surface  of  the  stomach  and  intes- 
tines, they  receive  the  nutritious  portion  of  the 
food,  and  carry  it  to  a  vessel  which  runs  along 
the  left  side  of  the  spine,  and  which,  in  its 
turn,  empties  itself  iato  the  left  jugular  vein. 
The  lymphatics  are  distributed  over  every 
portion  of  the  frame,  at  least  over  every  po  r- 
tion  that  contams  blood.  Their  different 
branches  are  so  minute  and  so  numerous,  that 
a  celebrated  anatomist  who  attempted  their 
dissection,  is  said  to  have  thrown  down  his 
knife  in  despair,  exclaiming,  "  that  the^  body  i^ 
entirely  composed  of  absorbents."  The  uses 
of  the  lymphatics  are,  to  remove  the  residue 
of  nutrition ;  and  when  the  supply  of  food  is 
deficient,  to  remove  such  portions  of  the  bodr 
as  can  be  spared  and  converted  into  blood.     It 


ABSORPTION. 


ABSORPTION. 


is  they  that  effect  the  removal  of  parts  which 
disappear  without  the  action  of  external 
agents.  The  lymphatics  ultimately  empty 
their  contents  into  the  same  vessel  as  the  lac- 
teals  ;  and  they  follow,  in  their  distribution 
through  the  body,  the  same  course  as  the 
veins.  In  the  horse  they  are  liable  to  a  dis- 
ease termed  farcy  ;  and  in  all  animals  they  a^-e 
frequently  inflamed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a 
sore.  The  absorbents,  both  lacteals  and  lym- 
phatics, are  very  delicate  in  their  sides,  nearly 
transparent,  have  numerous  valves  which 
compel  their  contents  to  flow  only  in  one  di- 
rection ;  and  their  larger  trunks  have  numerous 
glandular  bodies  on  them.  The  use  of  these 
glands  is  not  well  known ;  but,  from  one  or 
two  circumstances,  it  would  appear  that  they 
have  to  produce  some  change  on  the  fluid 
which  passes  through  them  before  it  is  fit  to 
mingle  with  the  blood. 

ABSORPTION.  An  important  process  in 
vegetable  physiology.  As  plants  are  not  fur- 
nished with  any  individual  organ  similar  to 
the  mouth  of  animals,  how,  it  may  be  asked, 
do  they  effect  the  introduction  of  food  into 
their'  bodies ;  Is  it  by  the  general  surface  of 
their  stem,  leaves,  or  roots,  or  by  any  peculiar 
part  of  these  1  By  whatever  part  it  may  enter, 
it  must,  at  any  rate,  pass  through  the  covering 
of  the  outer  bark  (epidermis),  which  the  earlier 
physiologists  thought  it  could  not  do,  but  by 
means  of  pores  more  or  less  visible.  Yet 
some  of  them  describe  the  outer  bark  as  being 
so  close  and  compact  a  texture,  that  the  eye, 
aided  even  by  the  best  microscopes,  "was  un- 
able to  discover  in  it  the  slightest  vestige 
either  of  pores  or  of  apertures.  But  Hedwig 
and  De  CandoUe  detected  superficial  pores  in 
the  leaves,  at  least,  of  many  plants ;  and  so 
will  any  one  else,  who  will  be  at  the  trouble 
of  repeating  their  observations  with  lenses  of 
similar  powers. 

The  next  difficulty  was  with  regard  to  the 
outer  bark  (epidermis)  of  the  flower,  fruit,  and 
root.  No  pores  had  been  detected  in  the 
flower  and  fruit,  though  it  was  evident  that 
they  were  refreshed  and  invigorated  by  the  ac- 
cess of  moisture  and  of  atmospheric  air  ;  and 
no  pores  had  been  detected  in  the  root,  though 
it  was  evident  that  the  whole  of  the  nourish- 
ment which  the  plant  derives  from  the  soil 
must  of  necessity  pass  through  the  root.  It 
was  also  evident  that  no  aliment  could  be 
taken  up  by  the  plant,  except  in  the  state  of  a 
liquid,  or  of  a  gass — that  is,  by  absorption  or 
by  inhalation,  as  the  chyle  is  taken  up  into, the 
animal  lacteals,  or  the  air  into  the  cells  of  'the 
lungs.  The  greediness  with  which  plants  ab- 
sorb water  was  perceived  and  acknowledged 
even  in  the  earliest  times,  and  even  by  men 
who  were  not  botanists.  Anacreon,  in  one  of 
his  little  trifles  in  honour  of  drinking,  makes 
the  very  trees  of  the  forest  drink : 

'H  yrj  ncKaiva  irivei, 

Ilivev  6i  Sevdfic'  avrfiv.  Ode  xix. 

"The  black  earth  drinks,  and  the  trees  drink  it;" 

that  IS  the  moisture  v/hich  it  contains. 

By  merely  immersing  in  water  a  plant  of 
almost  any  species   of  moss   that  has  been 
8om«    time    gathered,    or    long    exposed    to 
2 


drought,  so  as  to  have  had  its  leaves  shrivel- 
led up,  the  moisture  will  immediately  begin  to 
penetrate  the  plant,  which  will  thereby  resume 
its  original  verdure;  an  experiment  which 
proves  the  fact  of  tlie  entrance  of  moisture 
into  the  plant  through  the  outer  bark  (epider^ 
mis). 

It  might  be  doubted  whether  any  of  the 
moisture  tiius  imbibed  had  passed  through  the 
root.  But  if  the  bulb  of  a  hyacinth  is  placed  on 
the  mouth  of  a  glass  bottle  filled  with  water, 
so  as  that  the  smaller  roots  (radicles)  only 
shall  be  immersed,  the  water  is  imperceptibly 
exhausted,  and  the  plant  grows.  The  mois- 
ture must,  consequently,  have  passed  through 
the  root.  Plants  seem,  indeed,  to  be  peculiarly 
well  adapted  for  the  absorption  of  fluids  by  the 
roots,  from  the  infinite  number  of  little  absor- 
bent fibulous  sponges  (spongin/x),  in  which 
the  fine  fibres  of  the  root  terminate.  It  is 
owing  to  this  important  property  that  the 
scientific  gardener,  in  the  transplanting  of  his 
young  trees,  or  the  scientific  and  ornamental 
planter,  in  the  transplanting  of  his  trees  of 
full  growth,  is  so  extremely  careful  to  pre- 
serve entire  even  the  minutest  fibres  and  ex- 
tremities of  the  root.  Sir  Henry  Steuart's 
P/ufiter's  Guide  has  taught  him  the  great  im- 
portance of  these  little  organs. 

Hales  instituted  a  variety  of  experiments  to 
show  the  absorbing  power  of  roots,  and  the 
force  with  which  it  acted;  as  did  also  Duha- 
mel  and  Marriotte,  to  show  the  absorbent 
power  of  leaves.  But  the  most  complete  set 
of  experiments  upon  the  absorbent  power  of 
leaves  is  that  of  M.  Bonnet,  of  Geneva,  M'hose 
main  object  was  to  ascertain  whether  the  ap- 
sorbing  power  of  both  surfaces  of  a  leaf  was 
alike.  With  this  view  he  placed  a  number  of 
leaves  over  water,  so  as  that  they  only  floated 
on  it,  but  where  not  immersed  ;  some  with  the 
upper  surface,  and  others  with  the  under  sur- 
face, applied  to  the  water.  If  the  leaf  retained 
its  verdure  the  longer  with  the  upper  surface 
on  the  water,  the  absorbing  power  of  the  upper 
surface  was  to  be  regarded  as  the  greater ;  but 
if  it  retained  its  verdure  the  longer  with  the 
under  surface  on  the  water,  then  the  absorbing 
power  of  the  under  surface  was  to  be  regarded 
as  the  greater.  Some  leaves  were  found  to  re- 
tain their  verdure  the  longer  when  moistened 
by  the  upper  surface,  and  some  when  moist- 
ened by  the  under  surface ;  and  some  were 
indifferent  to  the  mode  in  which  they  were  ap- 
plied to  the  water.  But  the  inference  deduci- 
ble  from  the  whole,  and  deduced  accordingly 
by  Bonnet,  was  that  the  leaves  of  herbs  absorb 
moisture  chiefly  by  the  upper  surface,  and  the 
leaves  of  trees  chiefly  by  the  under  surface. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  singular  difference 
between  the  absorbing  surfaces  of  the  leaf  of 
the  herb,  and  of  the  tree  1  The  physical  cau33 
might  be  the  existence  of  a  greater,  or  of  a 
smaller  number  of  pores,  found  in  the  leaves 
of  the  herb  and  tree  respectively.  The  cliemi- 
cal  cause  would  be  the  peculiar  degree  of  affi- 
nity existing  between  the  absorbing  organs  and 
the  fluid  absorbed.  Duhamel  seems  to  have 
been  content  to  look  to  the  physical  cause, 
merely  regarding  the  lower  surface  of  the  leaf 
of  the  tree  as  being  endowed  with  the  greater 


ABSORPTION. 


ABSORPTION. 


caj-acitv  of  absorbing  moisture  chiefly  for  the  J 
purpose  of  catching  the  ascending  exhalations 
which  must  necessarily  come  in  contact  with 
it  as  they  rise,  but  which  might  possibly  have 
e*caped  if  absorbable  only  by  the  upper  sur- 
face, owing  to  the  increased  rapidity  of  their 
ascent  at  an  increased  elevation  ;  and  regard- 
ing the  upper  surface  of  the  leaf  of  the  herb  as 
being  endowed  with  the  greater  absorbing 
power,  owing  to 'its  low  stature  and  the  slow 
ascent  o{  exhalations  near  the  earth.  This  did 
not  tlirow  much  light  upon  the  subject;  and 
the  experiments  were  still  deemed  insufficient, 
as  not  representing  to  us  the  actual  pheno- 
menon of  vegetation,  though  the  fact  of  the 
absorption  of  moisture  by  the  leaf  is  fully 
confirmed. 

If,  after  a  long  drought,  a  fog  happens  to 
succeed  before  any  rain  falls,  so  as  to  moisten 
the  surface  of  the  leaves,  plants  begin  to  re- 
vive, and  to  resume  their  verdure  long  before 
any  moisture  can  have  penetrated  to  their 
roots.  Hence  it  follows  incontestibly,  either 
that  moisture  has  been  absorbed  by  the  leaf,  or 
that  exhalation  has  been  suddenly  stopped  by 
closing  the  poreS  of  the  leaf,  or  both.  The  ef- 
ficacy of  rain  and  of  artificial  waterings  may 
be  accounted  for  partly  on  the  same  principle ; 
for  they  have  not  always  penetrated  to  the  root 
when  they  are  found  to  have  given  freshness 
to  the  plant  by  either  or  both  of  the  processes 
just  alluded  to.  The  moisture,  then,  that  enters 
the  plant  as  an  aliment,  is  taken  up  by  means 
of  the  pores;  or,  in  default  of  visible  pores, 
merely  by  means  of  the  absorbent  power  of  the 
outer  bark  (epidermis)^  not  only  of  the  root 
and  leai",  but  often,  as  it  is  to  be  believed,  of 
the  other  parts  of  the  plant  also,  at  least  when 
they  are  in  a  soft  and  succulent  state. 

It  is  to  the  modern  improvements  in  pneu- 
matic chemistry,  and  to  them  alone,  that  we 
are  indebted  for  our  knowledge  of  the  real 
functions  of  the  leaves  of  plants,  and  of  their 
analogical  resemblance  to  the  lungs  of  animals, 
it  being  now  proved  indisputably  that  the 
leaves  of  plants  not  only  contain  air,  but  do 
both  inhale  and  respire  it.  It  was  the  opinion 
of  Dr.  Priestley  that  they  inhale  it  chiefly  by 
the  upper  surface ;  and  it  has  been  shown  by 
Saussure  that  their  inhaling  power  depends 
entirely  vpon  the  integrity  of  their  organisa- 
tion. A  bough  of  Cactus  Opuntia,  detached 
from  the  plant  and  placed  in  an  atmosphere 
of  common  air,  inhaled  in  the  course  of  a 
night  four  cubic  inches  of  oxygen  ;  but  when 
placed  in  a  similar  atmosphere,  after  being  cut 
to  pieces  and  pounded  in  a  mortar,  no  inhala- 
tion took  place.  The  inhalation  of  air,  there- 
fore, is  no  doubt  effected  by  the  pores  of  the 
outer  bark  (epidermis)  of  the  leaf. 

It  is  important  to  attend  particularly  to  the 
distinction  pointed  out  above,  that  it  is  not  the 
whole  of  the  root  which  is  endowed  with  the 
power  of  absorbing  nourishment,  but  only  the 
points  of  the  root  fibres,  termed  spongelets. 
The  surface  of  the  root  whose  outer  bark  has 
acquired  a  certain  consistence  does  not  absorb 
the  moisture  of  the  soil  in  contact  with  it ;  but 
the  roots,  and  also  the  smallest  rootlets,  con- 
stantly lengthen  at  their  extremities  ;  and  these 
extremilies  are  composed  of  a  fine  cellular 


tissue,  compact,  spongy,  and  the  whole  neAvly 
developed,  possessing  in  a  high  degree  the 
hygroscopical  faculty  proper  to  vegetable 
tissue. 

M.  Carradori  {Dei^U  Organi  Assorhmti)  ha?, 
remarked  that  there  is  a  slight  absorption, 
either  by  the  surface  of  the  roots,  or  by  the 
fugacious  hairs  with  which  the  roots  of  young 
plants  are  often  furnished:  but  this  effect 
seems  owing  to  general  hygroscopicity ;  and 
he  himself  agrees  that  this  absorption  is  ex- 
tremely feeble,  especially  in  old  and  woody 
roots,  comparatively  with  that  which  takes 
place  at  their  extremities.  These  experiments, 
however,  are  not  made  with  such  minute  accu- 
racy as  to  enable  us  to  appreciate  this  com- 
parison. 

When  we  cut  a  branch  of  a  tree  and  plunge 
it  into  water,  its  woody  tissue  thus  laid  bare 
iiuickly  absorbs  a  quantity  of  water;  and  in 
this  manner  is  the  life  of  branches  preserved 
which  are  kept  for  ornamental  purposes,  but 
this  efl^ect  has  a  limit.  The  extremity  which 
has  been  cut  and  plunged  in  the  water  it:  not 
renewed,  as  in  the  case  of  the  root;  and  iS, 
consequently,  more  or  less  quickly  altered  or 
deteriorated  by  being  in  contact  with  the  water. 
We  renew  its  action  by  cutting  off  the  rotting 
extremity,  and  thus  place  a  new  and  healthy 
surface  in  contact  with  the  liquid.  The  water 
which  in  this  manner  penetrates  into  the 
woody  tissue  of  vegetables,  preserves  their  ex 
istence,  at  least  for  a  certain  time,  as  if  it  en- 
tered by  the  spongelets.  This  is  the  same 
thing,  we  may  rest  assured,  in  these  pheno- 
mena, as  is  presented  in  the  developement  of 
the  cuttings  of  trees,  which  are  also  nourished 
in  general  only  through  the  water  sucked  up 
by  the  surface  of  their  denuded  wood.  These 
means  of  nutrition  are,  however,  accidental  or 
artificial ;  and  absorption  is  a  natural  opera- 
tion by  the  spongelets  in  general,  or  by  the 
suckers  in  some  vegetable  parasites.  M.  Sen- 
nebier  observed  that,  if  we  divide  a  plant  into 
three  parts,  the  roots  as  far  as  the  crown,  the 
stem  as  far  as  the  branches,  and  the  leafy  top, 
then  plunge  the  lower  ends  of  these  into  water, 
the  whole  three  will  pump  up  a  certain  quan- 
tity, but  the  leafy  parts  more  than  the  others. 
This  absorption  particularly  takes  place  at  the 
cut  surface,  where  the  woody  parts  are  laid 
bare. 

A  branch  of  raspberry  put  in  water  and  ex 
posed  to  the  sun  has  absorbed  a  hundred  and 
fifty  grains,  but  only  imbibed  eight  grains  when 
the  division  has  been  covered  over  with  wax. 
It  sucked  up  no  more  when,  having  the  divided 
part  covered,  it  was  plunged  in  the  whole  of  its 
length,  than  when  only  a  short  zone  at  the  ex- 
tremity was  immersed.  This  proves  that  the 
outer  bark  is  impenetrable  to  water. 

The  woody  portion,  when  laid  bare,  sucks 
up  moisture  in  every  way ;  that  is  to  sa)'-,  when 
we  cut  a  branch  and  place  it  in  the  water,  it 
sucks  it  up,  either  when  put  into  it  by  the 
upper  or  by  the  lower  cut  part.  The  habitual 
or  upright  direction,  however,  appears  to  offer 
certain  fiicilities  for  this  more  than  an  inverse 
one.  This,  indeed,  results,  first,  from  the  ob 
servation  of  M.  Pollini  {Elem,  dl  Bolan.,  i.  281) 
for  the  watery  juices  mount  a  little  less  high 
B  1^ 


ABSORPTION. 


ABSORPTION. 


in  the  branches  placed  in  an  inverse  direc- 
tion ;  secondly,  from  the  observation  of  com- 
mon gardeners,  and  of  Mr.  T.  A.  Knight,  that, 
in  the  cuttings  made  in  an  inverse  manner,  it 
is  more  frequently  only  the  lower  buds  which 
are  developed,  and  not  the  higher  ones,  as 
happens  in  those  made  in  a  direct  manner.  It 
is  necessary,  in  order  to  render  these  experi- 
ments comparative,  that  the  horizontal  cuttings 
be  made  equal ;  and,  as  we  were  doubtful 
whether  this  circumstance  had  been  taken  into 
consideration,  we  made  the  following  experi- 
CQent : — We  placed  two  branches  of  willow  in 
tvater,  the  one  in  a  direct  manner,  the  other 
inverted,  and  contrived  in  such  a  manner  that 
thei.e  two  absorbing  bodies  were  equal ;  but 
the  branch  which  was  placed  inverted  pushed 
its  roots  a  little  slower  than  the  direct  one. 
(Mem.  stir  les  Lenticdles,  Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  1825, 
Jan.,  pp.  18,  19.) 

The  wood  tends  not  only  to  absorb  the  water 
by  its  transverse  section,  but  also  'engthways. 
Thus  we  placed  in  water  [^Ibid.,  p.  4)  a  branch 
of  willow,  the  section  of  which  was  covered 
with  mastic,  but  which  had  the  part  immersed 
denuded  of  the  bark  by  taking  off  a  cortical 
ring  of  an  inch  in  length.  This  branch  pushed 
its  buds  and  roots  in  a  manner  similar  to  the 
branches  which  are  immersed  by  a  transverse 
section. 

The  hygrometrical  power  of  wood  is  such 
that  when  we  expose  it  to  the  air  it  easily  im- 
bibes the  surrounding  moisture;  and,  when 
preserved  in  shady  places,  it  never  dries  of 
itself.  Count  Rumford  {Mem.  sur  le  Bois  et  le 
Charhon:  8vo,  Paris,  1812)  dried  in  an  oven  a 
piece  of  wood  taken  from  the  interior  of  a 
beam  which  had  been  placed  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  in  a  battlement,  and  observed 
that  it  lost  about  ten  per  cent,  of  its  own 
weight;  and  he  thinks  that  this  is  the  greatest 
degree  of  natural  desiccation  which  wood  can 
attain  in  our  climate.  An  oak  faggot,  exposed 
eighteen  months  in  the  air,  and  which  might 
be  regarded  as  excellent  wood  for  burning,  lost 
twenty-four  per  cent.  The  same  experimenter 
observed  that,  when  chips  of  wood  have  been 
well  dried  in  a  stove,  on  their  exposure  to  the 
open  air  they  very  freely  imbibe  water.  If 
these  chips  are  placed  for  twenty-four  hours  in 
a  room,  the  extremes  of  this  power  of  absorp- 
tion have  proved  to  be,  on  one  side,  the  Lom- 
bardy  poplar,  whose  chips,  five  inches  long  by 
six  lines  broad,  have  sucked  up  0-87  grains ; 
and,  on  the  other,  a  billet  of  oak  of  the  same 
dimensions,  which  sucked  up  1*40  grains. 
When  the  same  chips  were  exposed  for  eight 
successive  days,  it  was  found  that  they  did  not 
increase  in  weight  if  the  air  had  remained  at 
the  same  temperature,  but  they  lost  in  weight 
if  the  air  became  more  heated.  This  experi- 
ment, then,  proves  that  the  absorption  is  rapid; 
and  that  the  equilibrium  it  attains  will  be 
determined  by  the  surrounding  atmosphere, 
and  certainly  also  by  its  own  hygrometrical 
power. 

These    necessary  conditions   of   existence 

have  been  effected  by  the  organization  of  the 

spongelets  as  organs  of  suction,  and  by  the 

u  ature  of  the  water,  which  is  abundantly  dif- 

14 


fused  over  nature,  and  also  impregnated  with 
their  principal  nourishment. 

The  nature  of  the  action  of  the  spongelets  is 
remarkable  in  this,  thai  the  choice  which  they 
seem  to  make  of  the  matter  which  they  absorb 
does  not  appear  to  be  determined  by  the  na- 
tural wants  of  the  plant,  but  the  facility  is  less 
or  more  influenced  by  the  nature  of  the  liquids. 
Thus,  M.  Theodore  de  Saussure  {Reck.  Chim.^ 
ch.  8)  found,  that  if  we  pla(fc  plants  in  water, 
with  which  is  mixed  s'ugar,  gum,  or  the  like, 
the  spongelets  will  absorb  a  greater  proportion 
of  water  than  of  the  materials  which  are  dis- 
solved in  it;  for  the  water  which  remained 
after  the  experiment  was  more  saturated  than 
before  the  roots  were  put  into  it.  Again,  if  we 
plunge  the  roots  into  different  solutions,  they 
will  absorb  so  much  the  more  of  these  in  pro- 
portion to  their  fluidity,  although  at  the  same 
time  such  solutions  may  be  injurious  to  the 
plant,  and  yet  will  they  absorb  a  less  propor- 
tion of  viscous  matter,  although  this  may  con- 
tain more  nutritive  materials.  Thus,  of  blue 
vitriol  (.sulp/iafe  of  copper),  the  most  hurtful 
of  the  substances  employed,  they  absorbed  a 
large  quantity,  but  a  very  small  quantity  of  the 
gum,  which  is  not  injurious.  When  we  placed 
plants  in  solutions  of  gum,  of  diflerent  degrees 
of  thickness,  we  found  that  the  quantity  absorb- 
ed was  smaller  in  proportion  as  the-  solution 
was  more  viscous.  Sir  H.  Davy,  also,  observed 
that  plants  perished  in  those  solutions  in  which 
there  was  a  large  quantity  of  sugar  or  gum ;  and 
prospered  when  the  solutions  had  only  a  small 
quantity  of  either.     (Agricultural  Chem.) 

The  effect  of  the  viscosity  is  obviated  when 
we  put  the  roots  in  water  Avhich  hoids  organic 
matters  in  suspension.  Thus,  the  drainings 
of  dunghills,  and  impure  waters,  are  taken  up 
by  the  roots  in  smaller  quantities  than  pure 
water.  It  should  seem  that  these  particles 
have  a  tendency  to  obstruct  the  imperceptible 
pores,  passages,  or  cells  of  the  spongelets.  M. 
Th.  de  Saussure  remarks  that  analogous  laws 
may  be  observed  in  the  case  of  liquids  in 
which  different  substances  are  dissolved,  the 
more  fluid  being  absorbed  in  a  greater  quan- 
tity than  others.  It  would  accordingly  appear 
that  the  roots  exercise  a  kind  of  choice  in  the 
soil ;  but  that  the  choice,  far  from  being  relative 
to  the  wants  of  the  plants,  is  a  circumstance 
purely  mechanical. 

On  the  other  hand,  M.  Pollini,  who  h^ 
repeated  these  experiments,  found  that  of  the 
solutions  of  different  substances  in  water,  the 
roots  sucked  up  different  quantities,  without 
any  apparent  regard  to  their  viscosity.  Thus 
he  constantly  found,  he  says,  that  the  roots 
absorbed  more  of  common  salt,  or  of  potass, 
than  of  the  acetate  or  of  the  nitrate  of  lime, 
and  more  of  sugar  than  of  gum.  He  found,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  if  he  cut  the  extremity  of  a 
root,  the  water  which  entered  by  the  wound 
contained  indifferently  all  the  calts  which  had 
been  dissolved  in  the  water;  and  the  portion 
which  remained  after  absorption  did  not  con- 
tain more  than  before.  ('Sogirio  di  Osserv.  e  di 
Sperienze  sulla  Veget.  degli  Albert  :  Verona, 
1815.) 

Another  circumstance   remarkable  in  the 


ABSTERGENr  REMEDIES. 


ACACIA  TREE. 


experitnents  which  we  have  before  detailed  is, 
that  the  disors^anized  tissue  of  the  spongelets 
appears  to  ^'ive  a  much  freer  passage  to  the 
juices  than  that  which  had  been  uninjured. 
Thus  plants  can  only  Ive  for  two  or  three 
days  in  a  solution  of  blue  vitriol  {sulphate  of 
cupper),  of  which  they  absorb  a  large  quan- 
tity ;  \vhile  they  will  live  eight  or  ten  days  in 
a  solution  of  gum,  of  which  they  absorb  only  a 
very  little.  Branches  cut  and  plunged  in  the 
different  solutions  follow  similar  laws,  and 
absorb  both  water  and  its  solutions. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  spongelets  of  dif- 
ferent species  of  plants  are  not  all  organized 
in  a  uniform  manner,  and  that  there  are  some 
which  more  easily  admit  of  certain  substances ; 
but  microscopical  observations  are  still  far 
from  accounting  for  these  differences,  and  the 
facts  drawn  from  culture  are  equally  obscure 
in  directing  our  judgment  upon  the  point. 

The  manner  in  which  plants  of  different 
kinds  exhaust  the  soil  relatively  to  each  other, 
the  general  action  of  manures,  the  prodigious 
number  of  different -plants  which  we  can  cul- 
tivate in  the  same  patch  of  a  garden,  tend  to 
prove  that  the  differences  of  absorption  in 
vegetables  are  of  great  importance.  Instead 
of  the  variety,  however,  of  aliments  which  sus- 
tain the  life  of  animals,  we  find  among  vege- 
tables a  great  uniformity  of  the  substances 
absorbed.  The  quantity  of  liquid  absorbed  at 
different  epochs  of  the  life  of  plants,  and  under 
the  inrtuence  of  difi*erent  atmospherical  cir- 
cumstances, appear  more  intimately  connected 
r-ith  the  ascent  of  the  sap  than  with  its  suction. 
Absorption  varies  according  to  the  state 
of  the  plants  and  the  periods  of  their  growth ; 
going  on  more  rapidly  in  proportion  as  the 
leafing  is  rapid.  At  the  time  of  flowering  and 
fruiting,  also,  more  nourishment  is  absorbed 
from  the  soil.  We  likewise  know  that  absorp- 
tion, as  well  as  the  progression  of  the  fluids 
absorbed,  depends  greatly  on  the  influence  of 
heat  and  light;  that  it  is  most  active  in  spring, 
that  it  diminishes  in  autumn,  and  is  reduced 
almost  to  nothing,  if  it  do  not  altogether  cease, 
in  winter. — Miller. 

ABSTERGENT  REMEDIES,  in  farriery, 
are  those  used  for  the  purpose  of  resolving  or 
discussing  tumours  and  concretions  on  the 
joints  and  other  parts  of  animals.  They 
mostly  consist  of  volatile,  stimulant,  and  sapo- 
itaceous  matters. 

ACACIA  TREE  {Ritbinia  Pseud-Acocia  Lin- 
ncBus).  The  Acacia  tree  is  well  known  in 
ATnerica,  from  which  it  was  introduced  by  the 
name  of  the  Locust  tree.  It  grows  very  rapidly 
in  the  early  stages  of  its  progress ;  so  that  in  a 
few  years,  from  seeds,  plants  of  eight  and  ten 
feet  high  may  be  obtained.  It  is  by  no  means 
uncommon  to  see  shoots  of  this  tree  eight  or 
ten  feet  high  in  one  season.  The  branches 
are  furnished  with  very  strong,  crooked  thorns; 
the  leaves  are  winged  with  eight  or  ten  pairs 
of  leaflets,  egg-oblong,  bright  green,  entire,  and 
without  foot-stalks.  The  flowers  come  out 
from  the  branches  in  pretty  long  bunches,  I 
hanging  down  like  those  of  the  laburnum,  or 
the  still  more  lovely  Wistaria  sinensis.  Each 
flower  grows  on  a  slender  foot-stalk,  smelling 
▼er}'  sweet.    It  is  of  a  white  colour,  but  there 


is  a  rose-red  variotv.  It  blows  in  June;  and 
when  the  tree  is  full  of  bloom  makes  a  hand- 
some appearance,  and  perfumes  the  whole  air 
around.  The  flowers  are  followed  by  seed- 
pods,  oblong,  flat,  having  a  longitudinal  rib 
next  the  seeding  suture,  on  the  outside  of  that 
being  drawn  out  into  a  membranous  margin; 
one-celled,  and  two-valved.  The  seeds  are 
sometimes  as  many  as  sixteen,  kidne)'-shaped, 
ending  in  a  hooked  beak,  like  a  lens,  and  are 
of  a  rusty  colour. 

In  North  America,  where  this  tree  grows  to 
a  very  large  size  indeed,  the  wood  is  raucn 
valued  for  its  duration.  Most  of  the  houses 
which  were  built  at  Boston  in  New  England, 
on  the  first  settling  of  the  English,  were  con- 
structed of  this  wood ;  and  since  then  it  has  been 
much  used  in  America  fur  various  purjioses. 

The  seeds  of  the  Acacia  tree  were  first 
brought  to  Europe  by  M.  Jean  Robin,  nursery- 
man to  the  King  of  France,  and  author  of  a 
"History  of  Plants."  M.  Robin  brought  the 
first  seeds  from  Canada;  in  consequence  of 
which,  succeeding  botanists  have,  in  honour  to 
his  name,  termed  the  genus  Robinla  to  which 
the  Acacia  tree  belongs.  Soon  after  its  intro- 
duction into  France,  the  English  gardeners 
received  seeds  from  Virginia,  from  which 
many  trees  were  raised. 

The  wood,  when  green,  is  of  a  soft  texture, 
but  becomes  very  hard  when  dry.  It  is  as 
durable  as  the  best  white  oak  of  North  Ame- 
rica, and  esteemed  preferable  for  axletrees  of 
carriages,  trenails  for  ships,  and  many  other 
important  purposes.  The  turner  finds  the  wood 
of  the  Acacia  hard  and  well  suited  to  his  pur- 
pose, and  is  delighted  with  its  smooth  texture 
and  beautifully  delicate  straw  colour. 

The  tree,  when  aged,  abounds  with  certain 
excrescences  or  knots,  which,  when  polished, 
are  beautifully  veined,  and  much  esteemed  by 
the  cabinet-maker.  It  makes  excellent  fuel, 
and  its  shade  is  said  to  be  less  injurious  than 
that  of  any  other  tree ;  while  the  leaves  aiford 
wholesome  food  for  cattle.  A  gentleman  in 
New  England  sowed  several  acres  of  it  for 
this  purpose  alone. 

It  has  been  employed  with  signal  success  in 
Virginia  for  ship  building,  and  is  found  to  be 
very  superior  to  American  oak,  ash,  elm,  or 
any  other  wood  they  use  for  that  purpose.  In 
^ew  York  it  has  been  found,  after  repeated 
trials,  that  posts  for  rail-fencing,  made  of  the 
Acacia  tree,  stand  wet  and  dry  near  the  ground 
better  than  any  other  in  common  use,  and  will 
last  as  long  as  those  of  swamp  cedar. 

The  Acacia  tree  seems  happily  adapted  to 
ornamental  planting.  Whether  as  a  single 
tree  upon  the  gra-,  feathering  to  the  ground 
line,  or  as  a  stai_^ard  in  the  shrubbery,  tower- 
ing above  a  monotonous  mass  of  sombre  ever- 
greens, the  Acacia  has  great  charms  for  us, 
and  may  justly  be  called  a  graceful  tree;  and 
although  its  light,  loose,  and  pleasing  foiJage 
admits  the  light,  and  seems  to  harmonize  so 
delightfully  with  the  polished  lawn,  or  the 
highly  cultivated  shrubbery  (and  there  is 
hardly  a  shrubbery  to  be  found  without  them), 
yet  we  should  like  much  to  see  the  Acacia  tree 
planted  in  the  woods  everyAvhere,  where  fore»t 
timber  is  an  object  of  attention. 


ACACIA  TREE. 


ACACIA  TREE. 


tn  France  the  Acacia  trge  appears  to  have 
been  more  generally  diffused  throughout  the 
country  than  [in  England] ;  for  it  does  not  only 
ornament  their  gardens,  and  shade  their  public 
walks,  but  the  sprightly  foliage  of  this  beauti- 
ful tree  shines  through  their  woods  and  forests 
in  every  direction ;  so  much  so  that  it  might 
be  taken  for  an  indigenous  inhabitant  of  the 
soil. 

In  one  of  the  Memoirs  by  the  Agricultural 
Society  at  Paris,  the  properties  of  this  tree  are 
very  highly  extolled.  Its  shade,  it  is  said,  en- 
courages the  growth  of  grass.  Its  roots  are 
so  tenacious  of  the  soil,  and  shoot  up  such 
groves  of  suckers,  that  when  planted  on  the 
banks  of  rivers  it  contributes  exceedingly  to 
fix  them  as  barriers  to  check  the  incursions 
of  the  stream.  Acacia  stakes,  too,  are  more 
durable  than  any  other  known  wood. 

The  choicest  pieces  only  of  the  best  oak 
timber  are  applied  to  the  purpose  of  trenail- 
making  in  ship-building;  and,  as  the  Sussex 
oaks  are  generally  reckoned  the  best,  most 
shipwrights,  even  in  the  north,  have  them  from 
thence,  and- the  demand  for  them  is  so  great, 
that  trenail-making  is  there  become  a  very 
considerable  manufacture.  If  it  be  proved 
that  the  Acacia  tree  is  equal  to  our  best  oak 
for  this  important  purpose  in  our  naval  archi- 
tecture, then  do  we  strongly  recommend  (and 
we  write  practically)  to  every  landed  proprie- 
tor to  plant  the  Acacia  as  a  forest  tree,  more 
especially  as  it  will  grow  upon  almost  any 
description  of  soil,  but  more  particularly  upon 
sandy  or  gravelly  shallow  soils,  where  the  oak 
does  not  thrive. 

In  forty  years  the  Acacia  tree  will  grow 
sixty  feet  high,  and  will  girth  six  feet,  three 
feet  from  the  ground;  and,  although  brittle 
in  a  young  state,  the  characteristics  of  the 
timber  of  a  grown  tree  are  toughness  and 
elasticity. 

As  a  durable  timber,  it  has  been  proved  that 
nothing  can  exceed  the  Acacia  wood,  when  of- 
.proper  age.  But  there  is  one  important  use  to 
which  these  trees  may  be  applied,  which  has 
hitherto  escaped  the  notice  of  the  planter, 
namely,  hedges.  From  its  rapidity  of  growth 
it  forms  a  fence  capable  of  resistance  in  one- 
fourth  of  the  time  of  any  other  plant  hitherto 
Hsed  for  that  purpose.  Had  we  to  fence  in  a 
whole  estate,  we  should,  in  preference  to  all 
others,  plant  Acacias.  They  bear  clipping, 
and  may  be  raised  to  twenty  or  thirty  feet  high, 
if  required,  and  are  so  strong  that  no  animal 
can  force  through  them.  The  only  instance 
of  an  Acacia  hedge  we  know  of,  on  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe,  is  to  be  seen  round  part  of  the 
boulevani  ..i  the  city  of  Louvain.  Plants  for 
this  purpwse  should  be  taken  from  the  nursery 
lines  four  feet  high.  At  every  point  where  the 
stems  cross  one  another,  a  natural  union  or 
grafting  takes  place,  and,  as  the  stems  in- 
crease in  size,  the  spaces  between  will  gradu- 
ally decrease ;  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  few 
/ears  the  fence  becomes  a  complete  wooden 
wall,  not  occupying  a  space  more  than  twelve  \ 
or  fifteen  inches,  forming  a  barrier  that  no  ; 
animal  can  force.  Fences  of  this  description 
may  either  be  made  on  the  level  ground,  or 
concealed  from  the  distant  view. 
16 


It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  name  com* 
monly  given  to  this  tree  by  the  Americans, 
namely,  Locust  tree ;  for  the  Locust  ireu 
(Hi/menaea  Courbaril)  is  a  native  of  South 
America. 

In  the  arboretum  of  the  gardens  of  the  Hor- 
ticultural Society  of  London,  there  is  a  prouf, 
perhaps  the  very  best  proof  that  this  country 
affords,  of  the  great  rapidity  of  gtowth,  and 
also  the  beauty  of  this  truly  interesting  and 
highly  valuable  tree.  About  twelve  years  ago, 
this  aboretum  was  planted  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  introducing  the  trees  of  all  countries — 
the  research  of  enterprising  men.  The  Acacia 
was  planted  with  the  other  individuals  of  this 
very  splendid  collection,  and  the  result  has 
been,  that  the  Acacia  has  made  greater  pro- 
gress than  any  of  the  oaks,  the  ash,  the 
elm,  the  maple,  or,  indeed,  any  of  the  hard- 
wooded  timber  trees  within  the  wall  of  the 
gardens. 

The  Acacia  trees,  in  their  rapidity  of  growth, 
are  exceeded  only  by  a  few  of  the  poplar  and 
willow  tribes. 

There  is  a  singular  character  about  the 
suckers  of  this  tree.  They  are  rarely  seen  to 
appear  on  the  lawn,  but  in  the  shrubbery  fre- 
quently. They  rise  smgly,  not  like  the  elm, 
and  other  trees,  in  thick  masses,  choking  one 
another,  but  they  start  out  of  the  ground  at 
once,  with  all  the  boldness  and  vigour  of  a 
healthy  shoot  from  a  powerful  stool ;  and  in  a 
sheltered  situation  will  grow,  the  same  year, 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  long  from  the 
ground ;  and  it  is  the  more  remarkable,  thai 
these  suckers  grow  in  this  vigorous  way 
immediately  under  the  shade  of  the  parent, 
and  other  large  trees.  What  is  also  very 
singular,  so  strongly  are  they  attached  to 
the  root  below  the  ground,  at  the  insertion, 
that  they  are  very  rarely  from  accident  dis- 
placed. 

Mr.  William  Lindsey  mentions  a  very  strik- 
ing instance  of  the  astonishing  rapidity  of  the 
growth  of  this  tree.  He  observed  a  strong 
shoot  make  its  appearance  in  one  of  the  woods 
at  Chiswick,  and  he  had  the  curiosity  to  see 
what  would  be  the  result  by  applying  a  stake 
to  this  sucker  for  protection.  By  the  end  of 
the  season,  it  was  twenty  feei  high,  and  mea- 
sured three  inches  in  circumference.  When 
the  full-grown  old  Acacia  trees  are  felled,  the 
following  year  hundreds  of  suckers  will  stari 
up  from  the  roots  in  a^  directions,  and  grow 
as  freely  as  if  a  fresh  plantation  had  been 
carefully  made.  So  that,  on  the  score  of 
economy,  we  know  of  no  tree  that  can  be 
planted  equal  to  the  Aca(ua.  As  an  under- 
wood, it  far  exceeds  any  other  tree  in  produce 
and  for  stakes,  arbour-poles,  hop-poles,  and 
for  pale-fencing,  there  is  no  wood  equal  to  the 
Acacia.  In  America,  the  use  of  the  Acacia 
has  been  confined  to  trenails  of  ships,  in  con- 
sequence of  its  scarcity.  But  were  it,  either 
in  that  or  this  country,  as  plentiful  as  oak,  it 
would  be  applied  for  more  purposes  in  naval 
architecture,  such  as  knees,  floor-timbers,  and 
foot-hooks,  being  far  superior  to  oak  for  its 
strength  and  duration ;  and  from  the  tree  ar- 
riving much  sooner  at  perfection,  and  spreaJ* 
ing  into  so  many  branches,  it  affords  full  as 


ACACIA  TREE. 


!ar»e  a  proportion  of   crooks  and  compass- 
ti     >er  as  the  oak  tree. 

A  cubic  foot  of  Acacia,  in  a  dry  state, 
weighs  from  forty-eight  to  fifty-three  pounds' 
weight.  If  we  compare  its  toughness,  in  an 
unseasoned  state,  with  that  of  oak,  it  will  not 
be  more  than  8-100  less.  Its  stiffness  is  equal 
to  99-100  of  oak ;  and  its  strength  nearly 
96  100;  but,  if  it  were  properly  seasoned,  it 
might,  possibly,  be  found  much  superior  to  oak 
in  strength,  toughness,  and  stiffness.  A  piece 
of  Acacia,  unseasoned,  two  feet  six  inches 
long,  and  an  inch  square  in  the  vertical  sec- 
tion, broke  when  loaded  with  a  weight  of  two 
hundred  and  forty-seven  pounds  avoirdupois. 
Its  medium  cohesive  force  is  about  11-500 
pounds.     {Dictionary  of  Architecture.) 

"We  are  not  aware  that  this  tree  has  added 
in  any  shape  to  the  list  of  medicines.  The 
Acacia  of  the  shops  was  formerly  made  from 
the  unripe  pods  of  the  true  Acacia  tree;  but 
of  later  years,  the  Acacia  Germanica  of  the 
shops  is  made  from  unripe  sloes,  and  is  pre- 
ferred as  an  astringent  medicine  to  the  true 
Acacia. 

The  Acacia  i*'  easily  propagated  from  seeds 
or  suckers.     (Mii/er.) 

[The  following  highly  interesting  account  of 
this  tree,  and  the  mode  of  cultivating  it  in  the 
United  Slates,  is  given  by  Dr.  8.  Ackerly. 

"The  cultivation  of  the  locust  tree,  on  Long 
Island,  and  in  other  parts  of  the  slate  of  New 
York,  has  been  attended  to  with  considerable 
profit  to  the  agricultural  interest,  but  not  with 
that  earnestness  which  the  importance  of  the 
subject  demands.  This  may  have  arisen 
from  the  difficulty  of  propagating  it  by  trans- 
planting, or  not  understanding  how  to  raise  it 
from  the  seed. 

•  •  •  •  • 

"The  locust  is  a  tree  of  quick  growth,  the 
wood  of  which  is  hard,  durable,  and  princi- 
pally used  in  ship-building.  To  a  country  situ- 
ated like  the  United  States,  with  an  extensive 
line  of  sea-coast,  penetrated  by  numerous  bays, 
and  giving  rise  to  many  great  rivers,  whose 
banks  are  covered  with  forests  of  extraordi- 
nary growth,  whose  soil  is  fertile,  rich,  and 
variegated,  and  whose  climate  is  agreeably  di- 
versified by  a  gradation  of  temperature;  to 
such  a  country,  inhabited  by  an  industrious 
and  enterprising  people,  commerce,  both  fo- 
reign and  domestic,  must  constitute  one  of  the 
principal  employments.  As  long  as  the  coun- 
try possesses  the  necessary  timber  for  ship- 
building, and  the  other  advantages  which  our 
situation  affords,  the  government  will  continue 
to  be  formidable  to  all  other  powers.  We  have 
within  ourselves  four  materials  necessary  for 
the  completion  of  strong  and  durable  naval 
structures.  These  are  the  live-oak,  l>cust,  cedar, 
and  pine,  which  can  be  abundantly  supplied. 
The  former  is  best  for  the  lower  timb^s  of  a 
ship,  while  the  locust  and  cedar  form  the  upper 
works  of  the  frame.  The  pine  supplies  the 
timber  for  decks,  masts,  and  spars.  A  vessel 
built  of  live-oak,  locust,  and  cedar,  uill  last 
longer  than  if  constructi^d  of  any  other  wood. 
Naval  architecture  has  arrived  in  thb  place 
and  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  to  as  great 
perfection,  perhaps,  as  in  any  other  country  on 
3 


ACACIA  TKEE. 

the  globe.  Our  '  fir-built  frigates'  have  been 
compared  with  the  British  oak,  and  stood  me 
test ;  and  in  sailing,  nothing  has  equalled  the 
fleetness  of  some  of  our  sharp  vessels.  The  pre- 
servation and  cultivation  of  these  necessary 
articles  in  ship-building,  is  a  matter  of  serious 
consideration.  It  might  not  be  amiss  to  sug- 
gest to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to 
prohibit  the  exportation  of  them.  The  pine 
forests  appear  almost  inexhaustible,  and  Ihey 
will  be  so  in  all  probability  for  many  genera- 
tions to  come  ;  but  the  stately  cedars  of  Mobile, 
and  the  lofty  forests  of  Georgia,  where  the  live- 
oak  is  of  a  sturdy  growth,  begin  to  disappear 
before  the  axe  of  the  woodsman.  The  locust, 
a  native  of  Virginia  and  Maryland,  is  in  such 
demand  for  foreign  and  domestic  coubumption, 
that  it  is  called  for  before  it  can  attain  its  full 
growth.  It  has  been  cultivated  as  far  eastward 
as  Rhode  Island,  but  begins  to  depreciate  in 
quality  in  that  state.  Insects  attack  it  there, 
which  are  not  so  plentifully  found  in  this  state, 
or  its  native  situations.  These  give  the  timber 
a  worm-eaten  appearance,  and  render  it  less 
useful.  The  locust  has  been  extensively  raised 
in  the  southern  parts  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
but  the  call  for  it  has  been  so  great,  that  few 
trees  have  attained  any  size  before  they  were 
wanted  for  use.  Hence  they  are  in  great  de- 
mand, and  of  ready  sale,  and  no  ground  can 
be  appropriated  for  any  kind  of  timber  with  so 
much  advantage  as  locust.  Besides  its  appli- 
cation to  ship-building,  it  is  extensively  used 
for  fencing  ;  and  for  posts,  no  timber  will  last 
longer,  in  or  out  of  the  ground.  On  Long 
Island,  where  wood  is  scarce  and  fencing  tim- 
ber in  great  demand,  the  locust  becomes  of 
much  local  importance  from  this  circumstance 
alone,  independent  of  its  great  consumption  in 
this  city  among  the  ship-builders.  In  naval 
structures  it  is  not  exclusively  applied  to  the 
interior  or  frame.  In  many  places  where 
strength  is  wanting,  locust  timber  will  bear  a 
strain  which  would  break  oak  of  the  same 
size.  Thus  an  oak  tiller  has  been  known  to 
break  near  the  head  of  the  rudder  in  a  gale  of 
wind,  which  has  never  happened  Avith  a  locust 
one.  Tillers  for  large  sea  vessels  are  now 
uniformly  made  of  locust  in  New  York.  It  is 
the  best  timber  also  for  pins  or  trenails 
(commonly  called  trunnels),  and  preferable  to 
the  best  of  oak.  The  tree  generally  grows 
straight  with  few  or  no  large  limbs,  and  the 
fibres  of  the  wood  are  straight  and  parallel, 
which  makes  it  split  well  for  making  trenails, 
with  little  or  no  loss  of  substance.  These  are 
made  in  considerable  quantities  for  exportation. 
"  The  locust  tree  does  not  bear  transplanting 
well  in  this  part  of  our  country,  but  this  in  all 
probability  arises  from  the  custom  of  cutting 
off'  the  roots,  when  taken  up  for  that  purpose. 
Most  of  the  roots  of  the  locust  are  long,  c)^lin- 
drical,  and  run  horizontally  not  far  under  the 
surface.  In  transplanting,  so  few  of  the  roots 
are  left  to  the  body  of  the  tree  removed,  that 
little  or  no  support  is  given  to  the  top,  and  it 
consequently  dies.  If  care  was  taken  not  to 
destroy  so  much  of  the  roots,  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  those  transplanted  would  live 
and  thrive.  So  great  has  been  the  difficulty  in 
raising  the  locust  in  this  way,  that  another 
b2  17 


ACACIA  TREE. 


ACANTHUS. 


method  of  propagating  it,  has  been  general!}' 
resorted  lo.  Whenever  a  large  tree  was  cut 
down  for  use,  the  ground  for  some  distance 
around  was  ploughed,  by  which  operation  the 
roots  near  the  surface  were  broken  and  forced 
up.  From  these  roots  suckers  would  shoot  up, 
and  the  ground  soon  become  covered  with  a 
grove  of  young  trees.  These,  if  protected 
from  cattle,  by  being  fenced  in,  would  grow 
most  rapidly,  and  the  roots  continuing  to  ex- 
tend, new  shoots  would  arise,  and  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years,  a  thrifty  young  forest  of  locust 
trees  be  produced.  The  leaves  of  the  locust 
are  so  agreeable  to  horses  and  cattle,  that 
the  young  trees  must  be  protected  from  their 
approach.  When  growing  in  groves  they  shoot 
up  straight  and  slender,  as  if  striving  to  out- 
top  each  other,  to  receive  the  most  benefit  from 
the  rays  of  a  genial  sun. 

"Another  ditliculty  has  arisen  in  propagating 
the  locust,  from  inability  to  raise  it  from  the 
seed.  The  seed  does  not  always  come  to  per- 
fection in  this  part  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  if  it  does,  it  will  not  sprout,  unless  pre- 
pared before  planting.  The  method  best 
adapted  to  this  purpose  was  proposed  by  Dr. 
Samuel  Bard ;  but  it  is  not  generally  known, 
or  if  known,  is  not  usually  attended  to.  When 
this  shall  be  well  understood  and  practised,  the 
locust  will  be  easily  propagated,  and  then,  in- 
stead of  raising  groves  of  them,  the  waste 
ground  along  fences,  and  places  where  the 
Lombardy  poplar  encumbers  the  earth,  will  be 
selected  to  transplant  them,  as,  by  having  them 
separated  and  single,  there  will  be  an  economy 
in  using  the  soil,  the  trees  will  grow  much 
better,  and  the  timber  be  stronger. 

"Doctor  Bard's  method  of  preparing  the  seeds 
was  to  pour  boiling  water  on  them,  and  let  it 
stand  and  cool.  The  hard  outer  coat  would 
thus  be  softened,  and  if  the  seed  swelled  by 
this  operation,  it  might  be  planted,  and  would 
soon  come  up.  This  has  been  followed  with 
success  in  Long  Island;  and  on  a  late  visit  to 
North  Hempsted,  I  was  led  to  admire  Judge 
Mitchell's  nursery  of  young  locust  trees,  plant- 
ed in  the  spring. 

**  The  judge  took  a  quantity  of  seed  collected 
on  this  island,  and  put  it  in  an  earthen  pitcher, 
and  poured  upon  it  water  near  to  boiling.  This 
he  let  stand  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then 
decanted  it,  and  selected  all  the  seeds  that  were 
any  ways  swelled  by  this  application  of  heat 
and  moisture.  To  the  remainder  he  made  a 
second  libation  of  hot  water,  and  let  it  remain 
also  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  made  a  second 
selection  of  the  swelled  seeds.  This  was  re- 
peateda  third  time  on  the unchangedones,  when 
nearly  all  were  swelled,  and  then  he  prepared 
the  ground  and  planted  them.  He  planted  the 
seeds  in  drills  about  four  feet  apart,  and*  in 
eight  or  ten  days  they  were  all  above  ground, 
and  came  up  as  regular  as  beans,  or  anv  other 
seeds  that  are  cultivated  in  gardens.  When  I 
saw  them,  the  middle  of  July,  they  were  about 
a  fool  high,  all  thrifty  and  of  a  good  colour 
and  condition. 

•*It  is  the  judge's  intention  lo  leave  them  in 

their  present  situation  about  three  years,  and 

then  transplant;  and  provided  he  does  not  mu- 

uia»  tnc  roots  ii»  removing  them,  they  will 

ii 


bear  transplanting,  live,  and  thrive,  and  be  the 
most  productive  forest  tree  that  a  farm  can 
have.  This  method  of  preparing  the  seeds 
and  planting  the  locust,  cannot  be  too  warmly 
recommended  to  the  farming  interest.  Oa 
Long  Island,  where  fencing  timber  is  growing 
scarce,  the  cultivation  of  the  locust  tree  is  of 
great  moment.  In  the  centre  of  the  island,  on 
and  about  Hempsted  plains,  when  there  Is  no 
timber  at  all,  it  must  be  a  most  valuable  acqui- 
sition ;  and  from  the  trials  made  in  raising  it 
from  the  seed,  all  difficulty  must  be  removed 
to  its  extensive  cultivation." 

After  this  account  was  written.  Judge  Mit- 
chell transplanted  the  young  trees  referred  to, 
on  a  side  hill  of  waste  ground  which  had  lain 
for  many  years  uncultivated,  and  his  farm  was 
soon  improved  by  the  addition  of  a  large  grove 
of  valuable  locust  trees,  in  the  most  thrifty  con- 
dition. 

When  planted  out  from  the  nursery,  the 
young  trees  must  be  protected  from  cattle, 
which  are  fond  of  the  young  buds. 

Professor  Henshaw  lately  made  some  expe- 
riments, with  the  view  of  determining  how  far 
the  vitality  of  the  seeds  of  the  locust  acacia 
was  impaired  by  heat.  He  put  some  of  these 
seeds  into  boiling  water ;  others  he  actually 
boiled  1|,  3,  6,  and  even  15  minutes  ;  he  plant- 
ed them  afterwards  in  the  earth,  and  they  all 
sprouted  and  grew  in  half  the  time  that  seeds 
did  which  had  not  been  boiled  or  soaked.] 

ACACIA.  The  Rose  Acacia  (Lat.  Rohinia 
hispidd).  This  graceful  shrub  is  a  native  of 
North  America.  It  grows  twenty  feet  high, 
when  the  soil  and  situation  agrees  with  it,  and 
its  beautiful  rose-coloured  drooping  flowers 
bloom  in  June.  It  often  blows  again  in  July 
and  August.  Its  branches  are  covered  with 
prickles  till  they  are  two  years  old,  when  they 
fall  off.  This  gives  it  the  appellation  of  hispida^ 
or  hairy.  It  loves  a  good  soil,  and  is  very 
hardy.  The  flowers  bloom  on  the  wood  of  the 
same  year;  therefore  the  plants  should  be 
shortened  every  season,  unless  they  are  planted 
in  a  shrubbery,  in  which  case  cut  away  only 
the  dead  wood.  The  smooth  tree  Acacia  (Lat. 
Mimom  Julibnssin)  is  a  green-house  shrub, 
and  a  native  of  the  Levant,  but  it  succeeds  in 
the  open  ground  if  carefully  sheltered  from 
frost  and  cold  wind.  It  loves  a  fresh,  light 
mould,  and  blows  its  beautiful  rose-coloured 
flowers  in  August.  It  is  multiplied  by  layers. 
The  Sponge  tree  Acacia  (Lat.  Mimosa  fumesiana) 
is  also  a  green-house  shrub ;  but  it  will  thrive 
in  the  open  air  if  very  carefully  protected.  I 
comes  originally  from  St.  Domingo,  and  i 
August  it  throws  out  a  small  head  of  sweet 
scented  yellow  flowers.  It  loves  a  good  rich 
soil,  with  a  sheltered  south  aspect.  It  is  raised 
by  seed,  and  multiplied  by  layers.  (L.  Johnson.) 

ACANTHA.    The  prickle  of  thorny  p  ants. 

ACAifTHIS.   The  plant  called  grouncsel. 

ACANTHUS  (Lat.).  The  name  of  the  herb 
bear's  breech,  remarkable  for  being  the  model 
of  the  foliage  on  the  Corinthian  capital.  Mil- 
ton, in  his  Paradise  Lost,  iv.  696,  speaks  of  it, 

"  On  either  side 
Jicanthva,  and  each  odorous  bushy  shrub, 
Fenced  up  the  verdant  wall." 

Todd's  JohnsofU 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS. 

In  modem  botany,  Acanthus  is  a  genus  of 
herliaccous  plants  found  in  the  South  of 
Europe,  Asia  Minor,  and  India,  belonging  to 
the  natural  order  Acanfhactap. 

ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS.  This  term 
has  been  applied  to  the  act  of  accustoming 
plants  to  'uipport  a  temperature  or  a  climate 
dilferent  from  that  in  which  they  are  found 
originally  growing.  This  differs  from  natu- 
ralization, which  is  the  act  of  transporting  or 
transferriag  a  plant  into  a  country  dilferent 
from  its  native  place  of  growth.  Nobody  can 
deny  the  possibility  of  these  naturalizations; 
but  there  are  some  doubts  upon  the  acclima- 
tions of  plants,  doubts  which  have  been  corro- 
borated by  M.  Schubler  (Linnfea,  1829,  p.  16) ; 
and  it  renders  this  important  question  the  more 
deserving  of  examination,  that  the  facts  which 
are  reported  are  complex  and  somewhat  con- 
tradictory. 

On  the  one  hand,  we  see  wild  plants  appear 
fixed  within  the  same  climate  from  the  epoch 
of  which  we  have  any  knowledge,  and  culti- 
vated trees,  such  as  the  olive,  that  have  for 
many  centuries  kept  within  the  same  limit. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  see  certain  trees, 
such  as  the  horse-chestnut,  which,  although 
originally  from  the  tropics,  have  reached  as 
far  north  as  Sweden.  We  see  that  in  garden- 
ing, the  Aucubajaponica  and  the  Pseoniu  Mouiun, 
after  having  been  cultivated  in  the  hothouse, 
have  passed  into  the  greenhouse,  and  now  flou- 
rish in  the  open  air.  But  before  we  infer  from 
these  facts  the  possibility  of  acclimation,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  analyze  them  more  fully. 

Taking  the  instance  of  a  plant  which  may 
have  been  placed  at  the  first  in  the  hothouse, 
and  ai'terwards  cultivated  in  the  open  ground, 
what  are  we  to  conclude,  but  that,  while  igno- 
rant of  its  nature,  and  while  its  rarity  rendered 
it  more  precious,  we  were  unwilling  to  run  the 
risk  of  losing  iu  There  is  not  a  gardener,  or 
one  who  has  had  the  management  of  a  botanic 
garden,  who  has  not  made  such  calculation  a 
hundred  times,  and  who,  doubtful  of  success, 
has  been  led  to  follow  this  prudent  course  with 
a  multitude  of  plants.  Those  plants  which  are 
received  from  tropical  countries  are  usually 
thus  treated,  on  the  supposition  that  they  par- 
take of  the  general  nature  of  plants  brought 
from  those  countries ;  and  we  afterwards  try, 
by  groping  in  the  dark,  those  which  form  ex- 
ceptions to  the  general  law.  We  thus  succeed 
in  naturalizing  some  of  them;  but  this  does  not 
yet  prove  that  they  have  been  acclimated,  for 
they  have  not  been  exposed  on  their  arrival  in 
ihe  climate  they  were  afterwards  seen  to  sup- 
port. Even  had  this  been  done,  the  experiment 
would  have  been  frequently  doubtful ;  for  when 
plants  arrive  in  Europe  they  are  for  the  most 
part  weak,  and  too  young  to  try  the  experiment 
with ;  while  every  one  knows  that  young 
plants,  such  as  those  of  the  bead  tree  and  the 
silk  tree,  will  thrive  in  a  temperate  climate  in 
their  adult  age,  if  they  are  very  vigorous  when 
planted,  but  which  are  easily  destroyed  by  the 
frost  when  young. 

An  exact  knowledge  of  the  manner  of  living 
of  each  species  tends  to  explain  some  of  the 
illusions  which  we  are  apt  to  fall  into  on  this 
subject.    Thus,  when  a  plant  newly  arrived  in 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PI  ANTS 

Europe,  and  consequently  little  known,  is  cul- 
tivated in  the  open  ground,  it  often  happens 
that  it  is  placed  in  a  soil  or  a  position  contrary 
to  its  nature,  that  it  is  watered  too  much  or  too 
little,  and  that  it  is  pruned  unseasonably,  and 
the  like;  it  consequently  perishes  without  the 
temperature  of  the  climate  being  to  blame 
Some  years  afterwards  its  nature  becomes 
better  known,  and  the  management  which  it  re 
quires  ;  it  is  planted  anew  in  the  open  ground 
is  properly  cultivated,  and  it  succeeds,  and  we 
then  say  it  is  acclimated,  while  it  is  simply 
naturalized. 

The  greater  number  of  cultivators  think 
that  plants  produced  from  seeds  collected  in 
the  same  country  are  much  stronger  than  those. 
produced  from  foreign  seeds,  and  make  this  an 
argument  to  prove  the  doctrine  of  acclima- 
tion. Sir  Joseph  Banks  (Trans.  Horl.  Sue.  i. 
21),  in  particular,  adduces  in  favour  of  this 
opinion  the  culture  of  Zizania  aquatica,  esta- 
blished by  him  at  Spring  Grove ;  but  he  also 
relates  that  the  first  seeds  collected  in  England 
produced  delicate  plants,  and  the  second  strong 
plants,  so  that  this  example  proves  as  much 
against  as  in  favour  of  the  theor}-.  Dr.  Mac- 
culloch,  also  (Journ.  of  Science,  1825,  p.  20 ; 
Ferusa.  Bull.,  Sc.  Agr.,  ix.  p.  262),  in  his  Essay 
on  the  Island  of  Guernsey,  strongly  doubts  this 
pretended  superiority  of  plants  coming  from 
seeds.  We  will  net  slop  to  notice  that  this 
opinion  is  in  opposition  to  the  very  generally 
received  idea,  that  the  changing  of  seeds  is 
useful.  We  do  not  think  it  less  probable  that 
those  seeds  taken  from  trees  supposed  to  be 
languishing,  in  consequence  of  not  being  yet 
properly  acclimated,  produce  young  plants 
much  stronger  than  those  which  are  taken 
from  trees  more  healthy,  and  growing  in  their 
natal  soil.  We  will  not  discuss  that  which 
certain  cultivators,  such  as  M.  J.  Street  (Trans. 
Hort.  Soc,  viii.  1 ;  Ferussac,  Bull.,  Agr.),  assert, 
that  the  individual  plants  coming  from  cuttings 
are  much  stronger  than  those  coming  from 
seeds;  but  we  will  ask  whether  this  experi- 
ment has  been  made  with  any  degree  of  cer- 
tainty, that  is  to  say,  in  a  comparative  manner; 
and  when  the  fact  is  so,  that  native  seeds  have 
had  better  success,  whether  this  may  not  have 
arisen  from  the  circumstance  that  certain  sorts 
of  seeds  do  not  succeed  well  when  they  are  not 
sown  immediately  after  maturity,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  coffee  plant,  or  perhaps  from  their  being 
a  greater  number  of  seeds  to  dispose  of,  and 
more  of  them  sown  1  In  fine,  supposing  that 
experiments  are  in  accordance  with  the  ad- 
mitted opinion,  does  this  prove  any  thing  more 
than  that  a  tree  which  produces  good  seed  is 
of  a  nature  to  accommodate  itself  to  the  soil; 
and  is  not  this  rather  a  proof  of  naturalization 
than  of  acclimation?  Let  us  see  if  there 
exist  any  clearer  proofs  of  the  reality  of  accli- 
mation. 

One  of  the  principal  results  of  culture  is  th« 
formation  of  varieties  which  otherwise  would 
have  no  existence  in  nature,  and  which  have 
diflTerent  degrees  of  susceptibility  according  to 
the  temperature.  We  know  that  these  varie- 
ties, in  many  instances,  are  much  more  delicate 
than  the  wild  species.  We  may  instance  •- 
varieties  of  double  flowers,  which   are    ; 

19 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS. 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS. 


hardy  than  those  of  single  varieties  of  the 
same  species  ;  varieties  ot  white  flowers,  which 
are  generally  less  hardy  than  red  or  yellow 
varieties ;  and  the  varieties  of  the  oleander, 
with  double  rose-red  flowers,  and  with  single 
white  flowers,  are  often  killed  by  the  frost, 
while  the  common  oleander,  with  single  rose- 
red  flowers,  may  stand  the  winter. 

It  is,  however,  those  species  produced  by 
culture,  and  chiefly  by  hybridizing,  which  are 
of  a  more  hardy  nature  than  the  wild  species. 
Now  we  conceive  that  the  choice  of  these  va- 
rieties aflTords  the  means  of  introducing  certain 

irts  into  climates  where  the  original  species 
ould  not  have  succeeded.  This  effect  is 
most  apparent  in  such  varieties  as  have  under- 
goAe  some  change  in  the  season  of  vegetation : 
thus  the  late  variety  of  the  walnut  tree,  which 
we  call  St.  John's  walnut,  will  thrive  in  those 
localities  where  the  frosts  are  felt  late  in  the 
spring,  and  where  the  common  walnut  tree  is 
soon  killed  by  the  cold.  Thus  the  very  early 
varieties  of  the  vine  will  bear  fruit  in  certain 
climates,  where  either  from  there  being  little 
heat,  or  from  the  rapid  approach  of  autumnal 
frosts,  other  varieties  would  not  succeed. 

There  exists,  in  many  species  of  plants,  the 
remarkable  phenomenon  of  certain  individuals 
being  more  early  or  more  late  than  others,  with- 
out our  being  able  to  attribute  the  circum- 
stance to  the  influence  of  locality ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  we  cannot  perceive  any  sen- 
sibls  difference  in  the  organization.  Now,  by 
car^t^ully  collecting  the  seeds,  or  the  layers,  or 
the  tubercles,  or  grafts,  of  such  early  and  late 
varieties,  we  obtain  artificially  such  agricul- 
tural sorts  or  varieties  as  present  certain  use- 
ful qualities,  and  such,  in  particular,  as  will 
thrive  in  climates  where  the  original  species 
would  not  succeed.  For  example,  by  gather- 
ing the  tubers  of  such  potatoes  as  ripen  first, 
and  by  repeating  the  same,  many  times  in  suc- 
cession, we  may  by  this  means  obtain  a  va- 
riety M'hich  will  ripen  in  three  months.  To 
us,  such  a  variety  is  of  no  more  advantage 
than  in  giving  us  an  early  vegetable ;  but  if 
cultivated  in  climates  farther  north,  it  might 
introduce  the  useful  culture  of  the  potato  in 
places  where  this  was  previously  unknown. 
Attentive  observation  of  such  species  and  va- 
rieties may  furnish  means  of  advancing  the 
culture  of  certain  vegetables  beyond  their  ordi- 
nary limits.  For  example,  if  the  varieties  of 
the  olive  brought  from  the  Crimea,  which  ap- 
pear less  affected  with  cold  than  European 
varieties,  should  come  to  be  introduced  on  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  or  if  they  should 
propagate  extensively  the  variety  caWedCaillou 
in  Provence,  we  might  be  led  to  conclude  that 
the  olive  is  accustomed  to  a  greater  degree  of 
cold,  although  there  might  only  be  the  substi- 
tution of  a  hardier  sort  for  a  more  delicate 
one. 

In  fine,  although  we  are  not  authon'^pd  to 
observe  that  the  vegetable  tissue  cann  )t,  by 
the  effects  of  habit,  accustom  itself  to  a  differ- 
ent temperature  than  that  of  its  native  climate; 
and  although  we  are  disposed  to  recognise,  in 
many  cases,  this  influence  of  habit,  yet  the 
preceding  facts  seem  to  lead  to  the  following 
inferences :  1.  That  if  certain  species  of  vege- 
20 


tables  are  susceptible  of  being  acclimated,  this 
occurs  within  very  narrow  limits ;  and  we  fre- 
quently exaggerate  these  limits  by  confounding 
acclimation  with  naturalization.  2.  That  the 
cases  in  which  acclimation  appears  to  take 
place  in  reality,  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively, 
comprise  species  where  there  is  a  formation 
of  new  varieties,  or  where  we  have  managed 
to  change  the  season  of  the  vegetation  of 
plants,  as  arising  from  periodicity.  3.  That 
practical  results,  almost  as  important  as  those 
of  acclimation,  more  properly  so  called,  are 
obtained  by  ably  following  up  certain  pro* 
cesses  of  culture.     (  Miller's  Dictionary.) 

[A  sensible  and  eloquent  writer  in  ths 
American  Jonrnal  of  Geology,  has,  in  a  paper 
upon  the  "Acclimating  Principle  of  Plants," 
treated  the  subject  in  a  highly  interesting 
manner,  and  illustrated  it  by  referring  to  many 
instances  where  plants  have  actually  adapted 
their  growth  and  habits  to  a  great  extent  of 
country,  and  diversity  of  latitude.  His  views, 
it  will  be  seen,  are  not  in  exact  accordance 
with  those  contained  in  the  preceding  article 
upon  a  similar  topic.  They  are,  however,  cal- 
culated to  be  particularly  interesting  in  the 
meridian  of  the  United  States. 

"Plants,"  observes  the  writer  referred  to 
"  have  directly  no  locomotive  powers,  but  indi 
redly,  they  have  in  a  great  degree  the  faculty 
of  changing  their  places,  and,  consequently, 
their  climate.  The  embryo  germ  wrapped  in 
a  kernel,  or  seed,  is  virtually  a  plant,  ready  to 
germinate  when  thrown  upon  its  parent  earth, 
and  affected  with  heat  and  moisture.  It  is  in 
a  most  portable  shape,  and  can  be  transported 
with  ease  to  an  unlimited  distance.  Nature  in 
many  instances  superadds  to  seeds,  wings, 
down,  feathers,  and  chaflT,  by  which  they  be- 
come buoyant,  and  are  carried  by  the  winds 
of  heaven,  by  the  storms  rhat  sweep  the  forest, 
and  by  the  streams,  and  currents  of  rivers,  and 
th«'  ocean,  to  an  immense  distance,  and 
through  many  degrees  of  latitude  !  They  be- 
come finally  deposited  in  some  genial  soil,  and 
at  one  remove,  or  through  a  succession,  they 
occupy  extensive  regions.  Nature  manifests 
her  great  care  of  the  embryo,  by  coating  some 
of  her  seeds  with  shells,  which  protect  them 
from  the  attacks  of  insects,  and  the  action  of 
the  elements  ;  others  have  bitter,  narcotic,  or 
poisonous  qualities,  which  forbid  animals  eat- 
ing them ;  and  many  are  filled  with  oily,  or 
resinous  matter,  which  resists,  for  ages,  and 
even  centuries,  the  action  of  the  elements,  un- 
less acted  upon  by  the  proper  degret  jf  heat 
and  moisture.  By  such  qualities  they  endure, 
and  await  a  suitable  time  and  conveyance  to 
their  destined  place,  in  order  to  extend  and 
vary  their  families. 

Birds  also  convey  the  seeds  of  plants  in 
their  crops  over  a  wide  extent,  before  they  be- 
come triturated  and  digested  ;  and  when  these 
winged  carriers  die,  or  decay,  from  accident 
or  age,  the  seeds  are  deposited,  and  take  root 
in  some  distant  land.  Animals  also  convey 
them  in  their  stomachs  to  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, and  pass  them  uninjured  by  the  powers 
of  digestion. 

Man,  more  provident  than  all,  to  whom 
plants  are  necessary,  whose  suppori,  whose 


r 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS. 

eomforts,  and  whose  pleasures  connect  him 
with  them,  carries  their  choice  seeds,  slips, 
and  scions,  far  and  wide.  His  interests  foster 
their  growth,  his  attentions  enrich  their  pro- 
ducts, and  his  skill  and  science  preserve  their 
existence,  and  adapt  them  to  their  new  condi- 
tion. In  an  improved  community,  man's 
wants  multiply;  he  has  occasion  for  the  more 
varied  and  rich  fruits ;  more  abundant  and 
luxurious  clothing,  and  furniture  of  vegetable 
growth ;  odours  to  regale  his  senses,  vegetable 
flavours  to  pamper  his  appetites,  and  all  the 
medicinal  plants  to  heal  his  various  diseases, 
and  invigorate  his  shattered  constitution.  He 
attaches  himself  to  agriculture  and  horlicul- 
turr  :  plants  become  his  companions ,  he  car- 
ries a  creative  resource  into  those  departments, 
and  by  his  attentions,  forms  new  varieties  and 
excellences,  unknown  to  the  wild  state  of 
vegetable  existence.  Such  are  the  means  na- 
ture has  provided  for  the  propagation  and 
extension  of  plants ;  such  are  the  indirect 
locomotive  powers  they  possess.  We  must 
no  longer,  therefore,  consider  vegetables  such 
inert  and  sluggish  beings. 

Human  care,  and  the  providences  of  nature, 
have  given  to  many  plants  a  great  extent  of 
climate  and  latitude,  an  enlarged  growth,  and 
an  increased  and  improved  product  Let  us 
bring  together  such  instances  as  are  within  the 
knowledge  of  all,  and  which  ought  to  stimulate 
cur  cultivators  to  greater  efforts. 

The  valley  of  the  Euphrates  was  doubtless 
he  native  region  of  all  those  fine  and  delicious 
fruits  wiTich  enrich  our  orchards,  and  enter  so 
largely  into  the  luxury  of  living.  We  thence 
derived  all  the  succulent  and  nutritious  vege- 
tables that  go  so  far  to  support  life  ;  and  even 
tLe  farinaceous  grains  appertain  to  the  same 
region.  The  cereal  productions  began  in  that 
same  valley  to  be  the  staff  of  life. 

Our  corn,  our  fruit,  our  vegetables,  our 
roots,  and  oil,  have  all  travelled  with  man 
from  Mesopotamia  up  to  latitude  60°,  and  even 
farther,  in  favourable  situations.  The  cares 
of  man  have  made  up  for  the  want  of  climate, 
and  his  cultivation  atoned  for  this  alienation 
from  Iheir  native  spot.  The  Scandinavians 
of  Europe,  the  Canadians  of  North  America, 
and  the  Samoides  of  Asia,  a/e  now  enjoying 
plants  which  care  and  cultivation  have  natu- 
ralize<\  in  their  bleak  climes.  Melons  and 
peaches,  with  many  of  the  more  tender 
plant  J  and  fruits,  once  almost  tropical,  have 
reached  the  45th  degree  of  latitude  in  perfec- 
tion, and  are  found  even  in  50°.  R^ce  has 
trav  ^lled  from  the  tropics  to  36°,  and  that  of 
Notlh  Carolina  now  promises  to  be  better  than 
that  of  more  southern  countries.  The  grape 
has  reached  50°,  and  produces  good  wine  and 
fruit  in  Hungary  and  Germany.  The  orange, 
lemon,  and  sugar-cane,  strictly  tropical,  grow 
>yell  in  Florida,  and  up  to  31  i°,  in  Louisiana, 
and  ihe  tVuit  of  the  former  much  larger  and 
better  than  under  the  equator. 

Annual  plants  grown  for   roots  and  vegeta- 
bles, and  grain,  go  still  farther  north  in  pro- 
portion, than  the  trees  and  shrubs,  because 
their  whole  growth  is  matured  in  one  summer;  j 
and  we  know  that  the  developement  of  vegeta-  | 
fion  is  much  quicker  when  spring  does  open  j 


ACCLIMATION  OF  PLANTS. 

in  countries  far  to  the  north,  than  in  the  tn- 
pics.  In  Lapland  and  on  Hudson's  Bay,  th#> 
full  leaf  is  unfolded  in  one  or  two  weeks, 
when  spring  begins,  although  it  requires  six 
or  eight  weeks  in  the  south.  Nature  makes 
up  in  despatch  for  the  want  of  length  in  her 
seasons,  and  this  enables  us  to  cultivate  the 
annual  plants  very  far  to  the  north,  in  full  per- 
fection. The  beans,  pumpkins,  potatoes,  peas, 
cabbages,  lettuce,  celery,  beets,  turnips,  and 
thousands  ol  others,  seem  to  disregard  climate, 
and  grow  in  any  region  or  latitude  where  man 
plants  and  cherishes  them.  The  fig  is  becom- 
ing common  in  France;  the  banana,  pine- 
apple, and  many  other  plants,  have  crossed  the 
line  of  the  tropics,  and  thousands  of  the  plants 
valuable  for  food,  clothing,  and  medicine,  and 
such  as  are  cultivated  for  their  beauty,  fra- 
grance, or  timber,  are  extending  their  climates, 
and  promise  much  comfort  and  resource  to 
man.  Plants  lately  introduced,  whose  cultiva- 
tion has  not  run  through  many  ages  or  years, 
have  acquired  but  little  latitude  in  their  growth, 
and  jihow  but  little  capacity  to  bear  various 
climates,  because  time  has  not  yet  habituated 
them  to  such  changes,  and  human  cares  have 
not  imparted  to  them  new  habits  and  new 
powers. 

Nothing  can  be  effected  by  suddenness  in 
acdimating  plants;  too  quick  a  transition 
would  shock  them  ;  it  must  be  a  very  gradual 
process,  embracing  many  years,  and  many 
removals.  The  complete  success  that  has  at- 
tended the  plants  first  named,  the  earliest  com- 
panions of  man,  proves  this.  In  the  more 
recent  plants,  success  is  exactly  in  proportion 
to  the  length  of  time  that  a  plant  has  been  in 
a  train  of  experimental  culture. 

The  most  striking  method  of  testing  the 
effect  of  climate  on  plants,  is  to  carry  suddenly 
back  to  the  south,  such  as  have  been  extended 
far,  and  become  habituated  to  a  northern  cli- 
mate. Such  plants  have  so  much  vigour,  and 
the  habit  of  a  quick  and  rapid  growth  so  firmly 
fixed  on  them,  by  a  long  residence  in  the  north, 
that  when  suddenly  taken  to  the  south,  al- 
though the  season  be  long  and  ample,  they 
continue,  from  habit,  to  grow  and  mature 
quick,  and  obtain  the  name  of  rare-ripe ;  be- 
cause they  do  not  take  half  of  the  time  to 
mature,  that  those  of  the  same  family  require, 
which  have  never  been  so  changed.  Garden- 
ers give  us  early  corn,  peas,  fruit,  and  turnips, 
by  getting  seed  from  places  far  to  the  north; 
and  cotton  growers  renew  the  vigour  of  the 
plant  by  getting  the  most  northern  seed.  This 
practice  is  common  in  the  case  of  most  plants, 
and  is  founded  on  the  supposition  that  planfi 
do,  and  can  acquire  habits. 

The  fact  supported  in  the  first  number  of  the 
American  Journal  of  Geology  and  Natural 
Science,  "that  plants  are  most  productive  near 
the  northern  limit  in  which  they  will  grow," 
that  they  bear  more  seed  or  fruit,  and  have 
more  vigour  of  constitution,  offers  much  en- 
couragement to  agriculturists.  This  proves 
that  it  is  not  a  meager,  stinted  existence,  de- 
void of  profit  or  productiveness,  that  we  give 
to  plants,  by  pushing  their  culture  far  north, 
but  a  strong  and  healthful  growth,  one  that 
repays  the  labour  and  attention,  by  a  great*" 


ACER. 


ACIDS. 


pr  iduct  than  belongs  to  more  southern  situ- 
ations. 

Every  view  that  we  can  take  of  this 
interesting  subject,  every  fact  within  our 
knowledge,  whether  drawn  from  the  actual 
state  of  cultivation,  or  from  physiological  in- 
vestigations into  the  habits,  nature,  and  con- 
struction of  plants,  goes  to  show  that  plants 
do  become  acclimated,  both  in  the  natural  ard 
artificial  Avay,  to  a  great  extent.  Enough  has 
been  witnessed  to  prove  that  plants  have  a  phy- 
sical conformation,  that  does  accommodate 
itself  to  circumstances,  and  have  capacities 
more  extensive  than  are  generally  ascribed  to 
them  :  enough  has  been  realized  to  encourage 
farther  efforts,  and  to  give  us  hopes  of  much 
future  benefit." 

As  allied  to  this  subject  see  Climate,  influ- 
ence of,  on  the  Fruiffulness  of  Plants.] 

AccouxTS,  Fabm.     See  Fakm  accounts. 

ACER.  The  Roman  name  for  a  genus  of 
trees,  comprehending  different  species  of  the 
large  deciduous  kind,  as  the  sycamore,  &c. 
See  Maple  Tree. 

ACETIC  ACID,  and  ACETUM,  terms  em- 
ployed to  signify  Vinegar,  which  see. 

ACETOSA.     See  Sorrel. 

ACHILLEA.  A  genus  of  plants  consisting 
of  sixty  or  seventy  species,  found  exclusively 
in  the  colder  climates  of  the  northern  hemis- 
phere. They  are  all  herbaceous,  perennial 
weeds  of  little  importance,  except  to  botanists, 
and  are  only  seen  in  cultivation  in  the  collec- 
tions of  the  curious. 

ACIDS  (Lat.  acefum ;  Goth,  aceit  ,•  Sax. 
aecer»).  Liquids  and  other  substances  are 
called  acids,  which  commonly,  but  not  always, 
affect  the  taste  in  a  sharp,  piercing,  and  pecu- 
liar manner.  The  common  way  of  trying 
whether  any  particular  liquor  hath  in  it  any 
acid  particles  is  by  mixing  it  with  syrup  of 
[blue]  violets,  when  it  will  turn  of  a  red  colour; 
but  if  it  contains  alkaline  or  lixivial  particles, 
it  changes  that  syrup  green.  [The  blue  liquor 
obtained  by  steeping  purple  cabbage  leaves  in 
hot  water,  is  also  a  convenient  test  liquor  for 
acids  as  well  as  alkalies.]  They  combine 
with  various  earths,  alkalies,  and  metallic  ox- 
ides, and  form  the  peculiar  class  of  bodies 
called  salts.     (Todd's  Johnson.) 

[In  agricultural  chemistry,  the  acids  are  di- 
vided into  the  inorganic  and  organic.  The  first 
kind,  or  inorganic,  are  derived  from  sources 
wholly  mineral.  The  second  kind,  or  organic, 
are  derived  from  animal  or  vegetable  orga- 
nized substances.  The  sulphuric  acid,  or  oil 
of  vitriol,  is  one  example  of  a  mineral  or  in- 
organic acid.  It  exists  abundantly  in  nature, 
combined  with  mineral  bases,  as  in  plaster  of 
Paris,  where  it  is  combined  with  lime,  forming 
the  sulphate  of  lime,  or  gypsum.  Muriatic 
acid  is  another  very  abundant  inorganic  or  mi- 
neral acid,  and  abounds  in  sea-salt,  combined 
with  soda,  forming  the  muriate  of  soda  or  com- 
mon salt.  Nitric  acid,  or  aquafortis,  is  another 
of  this  class  of  acids,  existing  abundantly  in 
the  well  known  substance  called  saltpetre,  or 
nitrate  of  potash.  Thtae  three  constitute  the 
principal  inorganic  or  mineral  acids. 

As  all  ve^tables  contain  acids,  these  may 
l»e  resrarded  as  essential  to  their  life.  But  these 


acids  do  not  always  exist  in  a  free  state,  being 
generally  combined  with  some  of  the  alkalies  or 
alkaline  substances,  such  as  potash,  soda,  lime, 
and  magnesia.  "These  bases  evidently  regulate 
the  formation  of  the  acids,  for  thediminution  of 
the  one  is  followed  by  a  decrease  of  the  other : 
thus,  in  the  grape,  for  example,  the  quantity  of 
potash  contained  in  its  juice  is  less,  when  it 
is  ripe,  than  when  unripe  ;  and  the  acids,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  are  found  to  vary  in  a 
similar  manner.  Such  constituents  exist  in 
small  quantity  in  those  parts  of  a  plant  in 
which  the  process  of  assimilation  is  most  ac- 
tive, as  in  the  mass  of  woody  fibre  ;  and  their 
quantity  is  greater  in  those  organs  whose  of- 
fice it  is  to  prepare  substances  conveyed  to 
them  for  assimilation  by  other  parts.  The 
leaves  contain  more  inorganic  matters  than 
the  branches,  and  the  branches  more  than  the 
stem.  The  potato  plant  contains  more  potash 
before  blossoming  than  after  it. 

"Now,  as  we  know  the  capacity  of  saturation 
of  organic  acids  to  be  unchanging,  it  follows 
that  the  quantity  of  the  bases  united  with  them 
cannot  vary,  and  for  this  reason  the  latter  sub 
stances  ought  to  be  considered  with  the  strict- 
est attention  both  by  the  agriculturist  and 
physiologist. 

"We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  a  plant  in 
a  condition  of  free  and  unimpeded  growth  pro- 
duces more  of  its  peculiar  acids  than  it  re- 
quires for  its  own  existence ;  hence,  a  plant, 
on  whatever  soil  it  grows,  must  contain  an  in- 
variable quantity  of  alkaline  bases.  Culture 
alone  will  be  able  to  cause  a  deviation. 

"In  order  to  understand  this  subject  clearly^ 
it  will  be  necessary  to  bear  in  mind,  that  any 
one  of  the  alkaline  bases  may  be  substituted 
for  another,  the  action  of  all  being  the  same. 
Our  conclusion  is,  therefore,  by  no  means  en- 
dangered by  the  existence  of  a  particular  al- 
kali in  one  plant,  which  maybe  absent  in  others 
of  the  same  species.  If  this  inference  be  cor- 
rect, the  absent  alkali  or  earth  must  be  sup- 
plied by  one  similar  in  its  mode  of  action,  or 
in  other  words,  by  an  equivalent  of  another 
base. 

"Of  course,  this  argument  refers  only  to  those 
alkaline  bases,  which,  in  the  form  of  organic 
salts,  form  constituents  of  the  plants.  Now, 
those  salts  are  preserved  in  the  ashes  of  plants, 
as  carbonates,  the  quantity  of  which  can  be 
easily  ascertained. 

"  From  these  considerations  we  mustperceive, 
that  exact  and  trustworthy  examination  of  the 
ashes  of  plants  of  the  same  kind  growing  upon 
different  soils  would  be  of  the  greatest  import- 
ance to  vegetable  physiology,  and  would  decide, 
whether  the  facts  above  mentioned  are  the  re- 
sults of  an  unchanging  law  for  each  family  of 
plants,  and  whether  an  invariable  number  can 
be  found  to  express  the  quantity  of  oxygen 
which  each  species  of  plant  contains  in  the 
bases  united  with  organic  acids.  In  all  proba- 
bility, such  inquiries  will  lead  to  most  import- 
ant results  ;  for  it  is  clear,  that  if  the  produc- 
tion of  a  certain  unchanging  quantity  of  an 
organic  acid  is  required  by  the  peculiar  nature 
of  the  organs  of  a  plant,  and  is  necessary  to 
its  existence,  then  potash  or  lime  must  be  ta- 
ken up  by  it,  in  order  to  form  salts  with  this  acid 


ACIDS. 

that  if  these  lo  aot  exist  in  sufficient  quantity 
in  the  soil,  other  bases  must  supply  their  place'; 
and  that  the  progress  of  a  plant  must  be  wholly 
arrested  when  none  are  present. 

"  Seeds  of  the  Sjlsola  Kali,  when  sowh  in 
common  garden  soil,  produce  a  plant  contain- 
ing both  potash  and  soda;  while  the  plants 
grown  from  the  seeds  of  this  contain  only  salts 
of  potash,  with  mere  traces  of  muriate  of  soda. 
(Cadet.) 

"The  existence  of  vegetable  alkalies  in  com- 
bination with  organic  acids  gives  great  weight 
to  the  opinion,  that  alkaline  bases  in  general 
are  connected  with  the  developemeni  of  plants. 

"  If  potatoes  are  grown  where  they  are  not 
supplied  with  earth,  the  magazine  of  inorganic 
bases,  (in  cellars  for  example,)  a  true  alkali, 
called  Solanin,  of  very  poisonous  nature,  is 
formed  in  the  sprouts  which  extend  towards 
the  light,  while  not  the  smallest  trace  of  such 
a  substance  can  be  discovered  in  the  roots, 
h-  rbs,  blossoms,  or  fruits  of  potatoes  grown  in 

Ids.     (Otto.) 

•  When  roots  find  their  more  appropriate 

sufficient  quantity,  they  will  take  up 

iioiher."— (Li«6/^»  Organic  Chem.^] 

„  uble  acids  abound  in  most  plants ;  thus. 

Acetic  acid  {vinegar^  is  found  in  the  chick 

I  (Ciccr  arieiinum)y  in  the  elderberry  (Sl«m- 

H9  nigra),  in  the  date  palm  tree  (Fhanix 

lylifera),  and  in  numerous  others. 

i'he    Oxalic  acid  is  found  combined   with 

;ash  in  the  Oxali»  AcetoMlla,  or  wood-sorrel 

v iience  its  name),  and  many  other  plants; 

i.iiited  with  lime,  it  is  detected  in  the  root  of 

•  rhubarb,  in  parsley,  fennel,  soapwort, 
lills,  &c.;  and  in  an  uncombined  state  in 
'  liquid  which  exudes  from  the  Ciccr  aricti- 

num,  [chick  peot  or  Spanitth  Garbimza,] 

Tartaric  Acid  [or  Cremor  tartar]  is  com- 

iily  procured  from  tartar  or  tartrate  of  pot- 

I  (whence  its  name).    It  has  been  detected 

.  plants,  such  as  in  gr^es,  tamarinds, 

s,  white  mulberries,   the   Scotch   fir, 

rass,  dandelion,  Ac.  &c. 

Acid  has  been  found  in  oranges  and 

,  cranberries,  red  whortleberrj',  bird- 

-■rry,  woody  nightshade,  the  hip,  and  the 

won. 

Malic  Acid  is  the  only  acid  existing  in  the 
apple,  [pear,]  barberry,  plum,  sloe,  elder,  ser- 
vice, &c.  It  is  found  with  the  citric  acid  in 
the  gooseberry,  currant,  bleabcrry,  cherr)', 
strawberry,  raspberry,  &c. ;  combined  with 
lime,  it  is  found  in  the  house-leek,  wakerobin, 
Sec. ;  and  with  potash  and  lime,  in  rue,  garden 
purslane,  madder,  spinach,  lilac,  mignionette, 
&c. 

Benzoic  Acid. — ^This  acid  is  found  in  ben- 

roin,  balsam  of  Tolu,   storax,   &c.;    and   in 

marjoram,  clary,  chickpea.  Tonkin  bean,  &c. 

The  Frussicj  or  Hi/droeyanic  Acid,  exists  in 

'  urel  leaves,  peach  blossoms,  bitter  almonds, 

wcTS  of  the  sloe,  leaves  of  the  bay-leaved 

; '  low,  &c. :  there  is  little  doubt  but  that  all  the 

I  liter  almond  kernels  contain  this  acid. 

Gallic  Acid  abounds  in  the  barks  of  many 
.nis,  such  as  the  elm,  oak,  chestnut,  beech, 
lilow,  elder,  plum  tree,  sycamore,  birch, 
Try  tree,  sallow,  mountain  ash,  poplar, 
zel  common  ash,  sumach,  &c. 


Hviirogeii 

Acetic  acid  -  -  6-35 

Oxalic  acid  -  -  0244 

Tartaric  acid  -  -  3  951 

Citric  acid  -  -  3800 

Benzoic  acid  -  -  5- 16 

Gallic  acid  -  •  5  00 


At.  IDS. 

These  are  the  chief  vegetable  acids.  There 
are  others  which  have  been  detected  occa- 
sionally ;  such  as  the  moroxylic,  in  the  Morm 
alba,  or  M'hite  mulberry;  the  boletic,  in  the 
Boletus  pseudo-igyiiarius ;  [a  species  of  mush- 
room,] the  meconic,  in  opium ;  tho  kinic,  in 
the  bark  of  the  Cinchona  ufficinaVs  ,•  the  cam- 
phoric from  camphor;  the  suberic  fioir.  cork, 
&c.;  but  none  of  these  are  of  that  importajice 
to  the  cultivator  to  require  a  particular  notice 
in  this  place.  The  composition  of  the  princi- 
pal vegetable  acids  is  much  more  similar  than 
the  intelligent  farmer  might  be  inclined  to 
suspect,  as  will  be  readily  seen  from  a  com 
parison  of  the  following  table  of  their  composi- 
tion, chiefly  by  M.  Berzelius : — 

CarboB.  Oxv?en. 

4683  4682 

33'::22  66  534 

36167  50-882 

41  309  64-831 

74-41  2043 

56-64  3836 
(.Thomson's  Chem.) 

[The  organic  acids  of  animal  origin  are,  like 
those  obtained  from  vegetables,  very  numerous. 
As  examples,  there  are,  the  formic  acids,  first 
obtained  from  ants,  but  now  ascertained  to 
exist  in  sugar  and  some  other  vegetable  sub- 
stances: Lactic  acid,  obtained  from  milk; — 
Uric  acid,  procured  from  human  urine,  and 
Hippuric  acid,  from  the  urine  of  the  horse  and 
other  animals  when  stall-fed :  Margaric  and 
Stearic  acids  from  fat,  etc.  The  Phosphoric 
acid,  though  found  combined  with  minerals,  is 
very  abundant  in  the  animal  system,  being 
combined  with  lime  to  form  the  bones,  and  ex- 
isting in  the  urine  and  other  fluids  and  solids, 
in  union  with  alkaline  bases,  forming  phos- 
phates of  soda,  potash,  lime,  and  magnesia- 
Phosphoric  acid  has  also  been  found  in  all 
plants,  the  ashes  of  which  have  been  examined 
by  chemists,  always,  however,  in  combination 
with  potash,  soda,  magnesia,  or  lime.  Most 
seeds  contain  certain  quantities  of  the  phos- 
phates formed  by  the  union  of  phosphoric  acid 
with  some  one  or  more  of  the  alkalies  just 
named.  In  the  seeds  of  difierc." '  'rinds  of  grain, 
there  is  abundance  of  phosphate  of  magnesia. 

Phosphoric  acid,  in  one  or  other  of  its  com- 
binations, plays  indeed  an  important  part  in 
agriculture,  and  is  an  indispensable  constituent 
of  all  good  land. 

"  The  soil  in  which  plants  grow  furnishes 
them  with  phosphoric  acid,  and  they  in  turn 
yield  it  to  animals,  to  be  used  in  the  formation 
of  their  bones,  and  of  those  constituents  of  the 
brain  which  contain  phosphorus.  Much  more 
phosphorus  is  thus  afforded  to  the  body  than  it 
requires,  when  flesh,  bread,  fruit,  and  husks 
of  grain  are  used  for  food,  and  this  excess  in 
them  is  eliminated  in  the  urine  and  the  solid 
excrements.  We  may  form  an  idea  of  the 
quantity  of  phosphate  of  magnesia  contained 
in  grain,  when  we  consider  that  the  concre- 
tions in  th..  toecum  of  horses  consist  of  phos- 
phate of  magnesia  and  ammonia,  which  must 
have  been  obtained  from  the  hay  and  oats  con 
sumed  as  food.  Twenty-nine  of  these  stones 
were  taken  after  death  from  the  rectum  cf  h 
horse  belonging  to  a  miller  in  Eberstadt,  tha 
total  weight  of  which  amounted  to  3  lbs. 

23 


ACINUS. 


ACORNS. 


"  It  is  evident  that  the  seeds  of  wheat  could 
not  be  formed  without  phosphate  of  magnesia, 
which  is  one  of  their  invariable  constituents  ; 
the  plant  could  not,  therefore,  under  such  circum- 
stances attain  its  proper  developement,  so  far  as 
its  fructification  was  concerned."] 

The  Creuic,  is  another  organic  acid  lately  dis- 
covered by  Berzelius.  From  its  containing  ni- 
trogen and  being  a  constituent  in  all  fertile 
soils,  it  is  believed  to  exercise  a  beneficial  action 
on  vegetation.  It  is  always  accompanied  by  the 
Apocreinc  acid,  changed  from  the  crenic  by  oxy- 
dation. 

ACINUS.     The  stone  of  any  berry. 

ACONITE.     3ce  Wolfsbane. 

ACORNS.  The  seed  or  fruit  of  the  oak ; 
Bcejin,  Saxon,  from  ac,  an  oak,  and  copn,  corn 
or  grain ;  that  is,  the  grain  or  fruit  of  the  oak. 

The  Greeks  had  a  tradition,  that  the  oak  was 
the  first  created  tree ;  and  hence,  having  a 
similar  idea  as  to  the  Arcadians  being  the  first 
created  men,  they  compared  them  to  the  oak. 
Virgil  tells  us  to 

"Thresh  the  wood, 

For  masts  of  oak,  your  father's  homely  food." 

And  Ovid  corroborates  their  use : — 

"Content  with  food  which  nature  freely  bred, 
On  wildings  and  on  strawberries  they  fed, 
Cornels  and  bramble  berries  gave  the  rest, 
And  fallen  acorns  furnieh'd  out  a  feast." 

Turner,  who  is  the  earliest  English  author 
on  this  subject,  writes,  "  Oke,  whose  fruit  we 
call  uotrn,  or  an  eykorn  (that  is,  the  corn  or 
fruit  of  an  cyke),  are  hard  of  digestion,  and 
nourish  very  much,  but  they  make  raw  hu- 
mores.  Wherefore,  we  forbid  the  use  of  them 
for  meates."  They  were  long  the  food  of  the 
early  Greeks,  as  they  are  of  the  lower  order 
of  Spaniards,  even  to  this  day ;  but  then  it 
must  be  remembered,  that  the  acorns  of  Spain 
are  more  sweet  and  nutritious  than  those  of 
England.  And  yet  the  early  Britons  certainly 
eat  them :  their  priests,  or  Druids,  taught  them, 
that  every  thing  that  was  produced  on  the  oak, 
even  to  the  parasitical  mistletoe,  was  of  hea- 
venly origin,  a  superstition  which  was  com- 
mon, also,  to  thp  Persians  and  the  Massagetse. 

The  Saxons  valued  them  chiefly  fbr  fatten- 
ing swine.  Their  king  Ina,  in  the  seventh 
century,  gave  them  a  law,  respecting  the  fat- 
tening of  their  swine  in  the  oak  woods,  which 
privilege  was  called  a  pawnage,  or  pannage. 

The  oak  is  often  mentioned  in  Holy  Writ,  as 
the  oak  of  Ophra,  Judges  vi.  1 1 ;  of  Shechem, 
Gen.  XXXV.  4;  and  of  "Deborah's  Grave,  Gen. 
XXXV.  8.     See  Oak. 

Although  acorns  are  said  to  have  been  the 
primitive  food  of  mankind,  at  present  they  are 
only  used  in  raising  young  oaks,  or  for  the 
purpose  of  fattening  deer  and  hogs,  for  which 
last  they  are  said  to  be  a  very  proper  and  use- 
ful kind  of  food. 

In  Gloucestershire,  according  to  Mr.  Mar- 
shall, they  are  in  high  esteem  among  the  far- 
mers, who  seem  to  be  as  anxious  about  them 
as  their  apples.  They  consider  them  as  the 
best  means  of  fatting  hogs,  and  think  they 
make  the  bacon  firm,  and  weigh  better  than 
bean-fed  bacon.  The  price  of  acorns  there-  is 
from  \s.  6d.  to  2s.  per  bushel,  according  to  the 
season  and  the  price  of  beans.  Few  are  sold, 
24 


however;  every  farmer  collecting  his  own,  or 
letting  his  pigs  feed  upon  them. 

Some  care  is  necessary  to  be  taken  when 
hogs  are  fed  upon  acorns,  for  otherwise  they 
will  be  subject  to  constipation,  and  the  disease 
called  the  garget.  These  may,  however,  be 
avoided,  by  mixing  laxative  substances  with 
them,  and  not  allowing  them  to  have  too  many 
at  a  time ;  at  first  a  few,  twice  a  day  is  often 
enough ;  afterwards  three  times  a  day.  The 
hogs,  while  they  eat  this  food,  should  not  be 
confined  to  the  stye,  but  be  suffered  to  run  at 
large  ;  for  if  their  liberty  be  too  much  abridged, 
they  never  thrive  well,  or  grow  fat  on  this  sort 
of  food. 

In  Hertfordshire,  and  the  New  Forest  in 
Hampshire,  it  is  no  uncommon  thing,  with  the 
management  above  directed,  and  the  assistance 
of  a  little  wash,  and  a  few  grains  now  and 
then,  for  a  farmer  to  kill  several  hogs  in  a 
season,  which  weigh  from  eight  to  ten  score, 
and  sometimes  even  more.  Hogs  fed  in  this 
way  make  very  good  well-flavoured  meat ;  but 
it  is  not  thought  by  some  so  fine  as  when  they 
are  taken  up,  and  four  or  five  bushel  of  pease 
or  barley-meal  given  to  each  to  complete  their 
fattening. 

"  The  pigs  are  gone  acaming,^^  is  a  very  com- 
mon provincialism  (see  Mr.  Wilbrahanis  Che- 
shire Glossary);  and  the  expression  is  also  con- 
firmed by  Shakspeare's  "  full-flcomW  boar." 

Acorns  are  sometimes  given  to  poultry,  and 
would  be  found  an  advantageous  food  for  them, 
when  dried  and  ground  into  meal. 

Tusser,  speaking  of  acorns,  says, 

"  Some  left  among  bushes  shall  pleasure  thy  swine. 
For  fear  of  a  mischief,  keep  acorns  from  km©  " 

They  are  considered  injurious  to  cows,  because 
they  swell  in  their  stomachs,  and  will  noi 
come  up  to  the  cud  again  ;  which  causes  them 
to  strain  as  it  were,  to  remit,  and  to  draw  their 
limbs  together. 

In  medicine,  a  decoction  of  acoms  is  reput- 
ed good  against  dysentaries  and  colics.  Pliny 
states, "  that  acorns  beaten  to  powder,  an  d  mixed 
with  hog's  lard  and  salt,  heal  all  hard  swell- 
ings and  cancerous  ulcers  ;  and  when  reduced 
into  a  liniment,  and  applied,  stays  haemor- 
rhage."    (Phillips  Fruits.) 

When  employed  for  raising  oak  timber  from, 
the  method  of  planting  the  acorns,  which  is 
practised  by  some,  is  to  make  holes  to  receive 
them,  at  the  distance  of  12  or  15  inches  from 
each  other,  in  an  oblique  direction,  so  as  to 
raise  up  a  tongtie  of  turf  under  which  they 
are  to  be  deposited,  and  where  they  require  no 
farther  kind  of  nursing.  In  the  course  of  from 
twenty  to  thirty  years,  in  this  mode  of  planting, 
the  spot,  it  is  said,  will  be  fit  to  be  coppiced, 
that  is,  partially  cut  down  as  underwood,  leav- 
ing the  most  healthy  plants.  The  thinnings 
may  be  sold  for  railing,  and  generally  fetch  a 
good  price.  A  better  method  is,  however,  to 
j  dibble  them  on  land  that  has  been  properly 
'  prepared  by  ploughing  or  digging,  which  may 
:  be  done  by  women,  three  or  four  within  a 
square  yard ;  or  they  may  be  sown  broad-casi, 
when  the  surface  is  fine  and  moist,  and  rolle^.^ 
in  with  alight  roller.  The  former  is  probably 
the  better  practice.  They  may  likewise  be  sei 
about  the  middle  of  November,  by  a  land  chain. 


ACORUS. 

a  quarter  of  a  rod  asunder,  and  six  inches 
apart  in  the  rows;  dibbling  them  in,  zigzag, 
alternately  on  either  side  a  line  stretched 
tightly  on  the  surface,  with  blunt-pointed  dib- 
bles, letting  a  little  mould  fall  down  to  the 
bottoms  of  the  holes,  to  prevent  water  lodging 
round  them,  and  burying  them  about  two 
inches  beneath  the  surface.  Each  square  rod, 
when  planted  in  this  way,  takes  132  acorns, 
nearly  a  pint,  when  they  are  middle-sized, 
which  is  equal  to  two  statute  bushels  and  a 
half  on  an  acre.  The  expense,  in  England,  of 
planting  acorns  in  this  manner  is  about  5*.  an 
acre.     See  PLAyxiNc. 

ACORUS,  from  the  Greek  «t,  privative,  and 
«:*»,  the  pupil  of  the  eye.  The  botanical  name 
0*1  a  plant  of  the  thistle  kind,  that  produces  the 
drug  called  in  the  shop  Calamus  arumaticus.  It 
is  found  abundantly  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
freshwater  marshes.  The  ancient  practice  of 
strewing  the  floors  with  the  leaves  of  these 
sweet  rushes  is  still  kept  up  in  some  of  our 
cathedral  churches  upon  certain  high  festivals. 
The  plant,  which  belongs  to  the  natural  order 
Aroideie,  flourishes  luxuriantly  in  loose,  moist 
soils,  and  sends  forth  many  deep-green,  long 
sword-shaped  leaves  from  its  perennial,  creep- 
ing, and  horizontal  stems.  It  seldom  flowers, 
but  the  blossoms  which  it  sends  forth  are  of  a 
greenish  colour.  The  root,  or  more  properly 
tfie  stem,  is  the  part  which,  when  dried,  is 
used  medicinally,  occasionally  as  a  stimulant. 
It  is  slightly  acrid  and  aromatic.  (Thonuun^s 
Dispensary.'^ 

ACRE  (aecpe,  Sax.  Acre,  Lye  says,  is 
common  to  all  the  European  languages.  Sax. 
Die).  He  might  have  added  further,  that  it  is 
an  Eastern  word ;  and  that  agr^  akoro,  and  akko- 
rariy  denote  in  the  Hebrew,  Syriac,  and  Arabic, 
a  field,  a  husbandman.  So  the  Saxon  aeccep- 
mon,  a  husbandman.  Wachter,  in  his  Glos- 
sary, gives  ukerman,  a  day-labourer.  {TudcTs 
Johnsirn.)  In  Shakspeare^a  King  Lear,  we 
have — 

•*  Search  ev  try  acre  In  the  high  grown  field. 
And  bring  him  to  our  eye." 

The  prevai  ing  and  standard  measure  of  land 
in  Britain.  \n  acre  in  England  contains  4 
square  rood:  ;  a  rood,  40  perches,  rods,  or 
poles,  5h  ya.ris,  or  16^  feet  each,  according  to 
the  statute  ir  the  act  passed  in  1824,  for  the 
equalization  of  weights  and  measures  through- 
out the  UniieJ  Kingdom,  which  is  in  this  in- 
stance confirmatory  of  the  old  law  of  England. 
But  in  some  parts  of  England  there  are  other 
measur<?s  under  the  same  designation  of  acre. 
For  example,  in  Devonshire,  and  part  of  So- 
merset, 5  yards  (instead  of  5^)  have  been 
reckoned  to  a  perch;  in  Cornwall,  6  yards 
(anciently  called  the  Woodland  perch);  in 
Lancashire,  7  yards  ;  in  Cheshire  and  Stafford- 
shire 8  yards;  in  the  Isle  of  Purbeck,  and 
some  parts  of  Devonshire,  15  feet  and  1  inch. 
In  the  common  fields  of  Wiltshire  and  the 
neighbouring  counties,  120  poles,  or  3  roods, 
were  reckoned  to  an  acre. 

The  Irish  acre  is  7840  square  yards,  and  is 
equal  to  1  acre,  2  roods,  and  19  poles,  nearly, 
of  English  measure. 

The  Scorch  acre  contains  5760  square  Scotch 
4 


ACRE 

ells,  and  is  equal  to  1  acre.  1  rood,  2  poles 
nearly,  of  English  measure. 
The  following  Table  shows  the  comparative- 
quantity  of  each  of  the  above  measures  :— 

A.  R.  P. 

120  3   20    Devonshire  customary  measure.l 

119  2   26    Isle  of  Purbeck,  ditto, 

84  0     4    Cornish  or  Woodland  ditto,           |     '^'|"^'  ^° 

61  2   37i  Lancashire  or  Irish  ditto,               y       *"" 

47  1      2i  Cheshire  and  Staffordshire  ditto,        statute 

133  2     0    Wiltsliire  tenantry  ditto,                      **^'^3- 

79  I     6^  Scotch  measure. 


The  French  acre,  or  arpent,  according  to  Mr. 
Greave's  calculation,  consists  of  100  perches 
of  22  feet  each,  amounting  to  48,400  squar 
French  feet,  which  are  equal  to  51,691  square 
English  fleet,  or  very  near  one  acre,  and  three 
quarters  of  a  rood,  English  measure.  The 
Strasburg  acre  is  about  half  an  English  acre. 

Table  exhibiting  the  Number  of  Plants  which 
may  be  raised  on  a  Perch  of  Land,  at  different 
distances : — 

In  a  perch  are  272^  square  feet,  or  39,204 
square  inches.    A  perch  will  contain 


Trees  or 

Inches 

Nunil>cr  of  Inches 

Square  Inches 

Plants. 

over. 

asunder. 

tu  each. 

2450 

4 

4  by    4 

16 

1960 

,  , 

5—4 

20 

1633 

12 

6—4 

24 

1069 

,  , 

6—6 

36 

816 

36 

8—6 

48 

612 

36 

8—8 

64 

490 

4 

10—8 

80 

392 

4 

10  —  10 

100 

!        272 

36 

12  —  12 

144 

1        261 

54 

15  —  10 

150 

An  acre  will  contain 


Trees  or 
Plants. 


108 

160 

134 

302 

435 

680 

888 

1089 

1210 

1361 

14.52 

1555 

1815 

2178 

2722 

2904 

3630 

4840 

5445 

7260 

8712 

10,890 

19,305 

21,780 

43,560 


Inches 
over. 


360 

144 

72 
60 
40 
48 


20 


Number  of  feet 
asunder. 


20 

16^ 

18 

12 

10 

8 

7 
8  by  5 

6 
8   —4 

6  —5 

7  —4 
6  —4 
5    —4 

4  —4 

5  —3 
4   —3 

3  —3 

4  —2 
3  —2 
2^  —  2 
2  —2 
1^-1^ 
2    —1 

1 


Square  feet 
to  each 


400 

272i 

324 

144 

100 

64 

49 

40 

36 

32 

30 

28 

24 

20 

16i  / 

15 

12 


2''^ 


ACRE. 


ACRE. 


A  Table  for  reducing  Square  Yards  into  Acres,  Roods,  and  Perches. 


Sq.  Yds. 


30 

60 

91 

121 

151 


A.      R.      P. 


1,100 
1,200 
1,300 
1,400 
1,500 
1,600 
1,700 
1,800 
1,900 
2,000 


2,100 
2,200 
2,300 
2,400 
2,500 
2,600 
2,700 
2,800 
2,900 
3,000 


3,100 
3,200 
3,300 
3,400 
3,500 
3,600 
3,700 
3,800 
3,900 
4.000 


4,100 
4,200 
4,300 
4,400 
4,500 
4,600 
4,700 
4,800 
4,900 
5,000 


5,100 
5,200 
5,300 


200 

0 

0 

7 

300 

0 

0 

10 

400 

0 

0 

13 

500 

0 

0 

17 

600 

0 

0 

20 

700 

0 

0 

23 

800 

0 

0 

26 

900 

0 

0 

30 

1,000 

0 

0 

33 

0  1 
0  1 
0  1 


0  1 
0  2 


0  2 
0  2 
0  2 


0  2 

0  2 

0  2 

0  2 


0  3 
0  3 


1  0 
1  0 
1  0 


36 
0 
3 
6 

10 
13 
16 
20 
23 
26 


29 

33 

36 

39 

3 

6 

9 

13 
16 
19 


22 

26 

29 

32 

36 

39 

2 

6 

9 

12 


16 
19 
22 
25 
29 
32 
35 
39 
2 
6 


12 
15 


Sq.  Yds. 


5,400 
5,500 
5,600 
5,700 
5,800 
5,900 
6,000 


6,100 
6,200 
6,300 
6,400 
6,500 
6,600 
6,700 
6,800 
6,900 
7,000 


7,100 
7,200 
7,300 
7,400 
7,500 
7,600 
7,700 
7,800 
7,900 
8,000 


8,100 
8,200 
8,300 
8,400 
8,500 
8,600 
8,700 
8,800 
8,900 
9,000 


9,100 
9,200 
9,300 
9,400 
9,500 
9,600 
9,700 
9,800 
9,900 
10,000 


10,100 
10,200 
10,300 
10,400 
10,500 
10,600 
10,700 
10,800 
10,900 
11,000 


0  19 

0  22 

0  2d 

0  29 


1  15 


18 
21 
25 
28 


1  31 


35 
38 
1 
5 
8 
11 
2  15 
2  18 
2  21 
2  24 


2  28 

2  31 

2  34 

2  38 


3  18 


3  21 

3  24 

3  27 

3  31 

3  34 

3  37 


0  11 


0  14 

0  17 

0  20 

0  24 


27 
30 
34 


0  37 

1  0 


Sq.Yds. 


11,100 
11,200 
11,300 
11,400 
11,500 
11,600 
11,700 
11,800 
11,900 
12,000 


12,100 
12,200 
12,300 
12,400 
12,500 
12,600 
12,700 
12,800 
12,900 
13,000 


13,100 
13,200 
13,300 
13,400 
13,500 
13,600 
13,700 
13,800 
13,900 
14,000 


14,100 
14,200 
14,300 
14,400 
14,500 
14,600 
14,700 
14,800 
14,900 
15,000 


15,100 
15,200 
15,300 
15,400 
15,500 
15,600 
15,700 
15,800 
15,900 
16,000 


16,100 
16,200 
16,300 
16,400 
16,500 
16,600 
16,700 
16,800 


1   7 
1  10 


1  23 
1  27 
2  1  30 


1  33 
1  37 


0 
3 

7 
10 
13 
17 
20 
23 
26 
30 


2  33 
2  36 


2  3 
2  3 
2  3 


0 
3 
6 

2  3  10 
2  3  13 
2  3  16 
2  3  20 


3  23 


2  3  26 
2  3  29 

3  33 

3  36 

3  39 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 


3  0  19 

3  0  22 

3  0  26 

3  0  29 

3  0  32 

3  0  36 

3  0  39 

3  1  2 

3  1  6 

3  1  9 


3  1  12 

3  1  16 

3  1  19 

3  1  22 

3  1  25 


1  29 


32 
35 


Sq.Yds. 


16,900 
17,000 


17,100 
17,200 
17,300 
17,400 
17,500 
17,600 
17,700 
17,800 
17,900 
18,000 


18,100 
18,200 
18,300 
18,400 
18,500 
18,600 
18,700 
18,800 
18,900 
19,000 


19,100 
19,200 
19,300 
19,400 
19,500 
19,600 
19,700 
19,800 
19,900 
20,000 


20,100 
20,200 
20,300 
20,400 
20,500 
20,600 
20,700 
20,800 
20,900 
21,000 


21,100 
21,200 
21,300 
21,400 
21,500 
21,600 
21,700 
21,800 
21,900 
22,000 


22,100 
22,200 
22,300 
22,400 


3     1     39 
3     2       2 


22.500  I  4 


26 


Waierson^s  Manual  of  Commerce, 


ACRIMONY. 

Table  of  Land  Measure, 

In  an  acre  are 
4  roods,  each  rood  forty  perches. 
160  perches,  sixteen  feet  and  a  half  each. 
4,840  square  yards,  nine  feet  each. 
^^  43,560  square  feet,  144  inches  each. 
^^H  174,240  squares  of  six  inches  each,  thirty-six 
HP  incties  each. 

8,272,640  inches,  or  squares,  of  one  inch  each. 

ACRIMONY  (Acrtmonia,  Lat.).  A  sharp 
property  in  some  plants  and  vegetables,  by 
which  they  excoriate  and  blister  the  tongue, 
mouth,  or  other  parts  of  the  body,  on  being 
applied  to  them.  The  nature  of  this  sort  of 
acrimony  has  not  yet  been  sufficiently  exa- 
mined by  chemical  investigation.  It  seems  to 
differ  in  some  measure  according  to  the  nature 
of  the  plants;  as  in  the  common  onion,  water- 
cresses,  cabbages,  &c.,  a  part  of  their  acrimony 
is  lost,  by  their  being  exposed  to  a  boiling  heat ; 
while  other  kinds,  as  ginger,  capsicum,  arum, 
&c.,  do  not  become  much  milder  by  undergo- 
ing that  process. 

The  juice  of  the  fungous  excrescences  of 
some  trees  possess  so  much  acrimony  as  to  be 
capable  of  blistering;  and  some  kinds  of 
fungi  contain  a  juice  or  liquor  of  a  very  cor- 
rosive quality ;  and  it  is  probably  on  this  ac- 
count that  many  of  those  which  are  commonly 
procured  disagree  so  much  with  the  patient, 
when  made  use  of  as  articles  of  diet.  By 
being  more  perfectly  stewed,  or  otherwise  pre- 
pared by  mean*?  of  heat,  they  might  most 
likely  be  rendered  safe  and  nutritious.  Much 
caution  should,  however,  be  used,  even  when 
thus  prepared,  in  eating  such  kinds  as  are  un 
known.  "There  be  some  plants,"  says  Bacon, 
in  his  Nat.  J  list.,  "that  have  a  milk  in  them 
when  they  are  cut ;  as  figs,  old  lettuce,  sow- 
thistles,  spurge.  The  cause  may  be  an  incep- 
tion of  putrefaction :  for  those  milks  have  all 
an  acrimony,  though  one  would  think  they 

|.     should  be  lenitive." 

^  ADAPTER  {Adapto,  Lat.).  In  the  manage- 
ment of  bees,  is  a  board  used  to  place  the 
hives  or  glasses  upon. 

ADDER  (Aerrep,  aerrop,  nattt)ne,  as  it 
seems,  from  eicceji,  Sax.  poison;  Moes-Goth. 
nadr,  vipera ;  Teut.  adder).  A  viper,  a  poison- 
ous reptile,  perhaps  of  any  species.  In  com- 
mon language,  however,  adders  and  snakes  are 
not  the  same,  the  term  adder  being  generally 
understood  to  imply  a  viper.  See  Aximal 
Poisoxs.  V. 

ADKPS.  In  veterinary  science,  animal  oil 
or  fat.  The  fat  differs  in  different  animals;  and 
hence  it  has  received  different  names.  In  the 
horse  it  is  called  grease ;  in  the  ox  and  sheep, 
tallow,  fat,  suet ;  and  in  the  hog,  hog's  lard. 
At  a  low  temperature  alj  these  possess  various 
degrees  of  consistence ;  but  in  the  living  ani- 
mal, they  all  exist  in  a  fluid  state,  and  are  dis- 
tributed over  various  parts  of  the  body.  An 
immense  quantity  of  fat  is  often  found  in  the 
belly,  all  deposited  in  extremely  small  cells, 
which  have  no  communication  with  each 
other.  No  fat  is  ever  found  within  the  skull. 
Fat  performs  important  functions  in  the 
animal  economy.     When  the  supply  of  ali- 


AEROLITES. 

ment,  for  example,  is  greater  than  the  demand, 
the  surplus  is  stored  away  in  the  form  of  fat; 
and  when  the  demand,  either  from  deficiency 
of  food,  over-exertion,  or  disease,  becomes 
greater  than  the  supply,  then  the  absorbents 
carry  the  fat  into  the  circulation,  and  thus,  for 
a  time,  the  evils  that  would  very  soon  arise 
from  a  defect  in  the  quantity  of  blood  are  pre- 
vented. Some  animals  accumulate  fat  more 
readily  than  others.  Health,  a  round  chest,  a 
short  back,  and  tranquil  temper  are  highly 
favourable  to  its  formation;  and  when  to  these 
qualities  are  added  inaction,  clean  litter,  and  a 
plentiful  supply  of  nourishing  food,  the  animal 
is  soon  fit  for  the  butcher.  A  warm  atmo- 
sphere, provided  it  be  a  pure  one,  is  also 
favourable  to  fattening.  [See  Lard  Oil,  &c.] 
{Miller's  Dictionary). 

AERATION.  The  process  by  which  the 
soil  is  exposed  to  the  air  and  imbued  there- 
\Tith,  air  being  indispensable  to  the  healthy 
growth  of  plants.  When  a  flower-pot  is  filled 
with  rather  dry  earth,  if  it  be  plunged  under 
water  a  profusion  of  air-bubbles  will  be 
seen  to  rise,  owing  to  the  water  penetrating 
between  the  particles  of  the  dry  earth,  and 
forcing  out  the  air  previously  lodged  there. 
As  the  more  loose  and  porous  a  soil  is,  the 
greater  quantity  of  air  it  will  contain,  it  will 
follow,  that  the  more  a  soil  is  ploughed  and 
harrowed,  or  dug  and  raked,  the  better  it 
will  be  aerated — one  of  the  chief  beneficial 
effects  of  frequently  repeating  these  opera- 
tions. 

Besides  the  direct  influence  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, the  agency  of  water  is  all-important  in 
the  process  of  aeration.  All  water  openly  ex- 
posed contains  more  or  less  atmospheric  air; 
and,  in  consequence  of  this,  it  acquires  an 
agreeable  taste,  always  destroyed  by  boiling, 
which  renders  it  vapid  and  disagreeable,  by 
expelling  the  air.  The  importance  of  air  con- 
tained in  water  to  the  growth  of  plants  appears 
from  water  being  found  beneficial  in  propor- 
tion as  it  has  had  opportunities  of  becoming 
•mixed  with  air.  But  the  best  water,  with  re- 
spect to  the  properties  of  the  air  it  contains,  is 
rain,  which,  falling  in  small  drops,  often  tossed 
about  by  the  wind,  has  an  opportunity  of  col- 
lecting a  large  proportion  of  air,  and,  accord- 
ing to  Liebig  (Organic  Chem.),  ammonia, 
during  its  descent  to  the  earth ;  and  hence  the 
smaller  the  bore  of  the  holes  in  a  garden  water- 
ing-pot, the  better;  and  the  more  minutely  the 
garden-engine  scatters  the  water,  the  more  ad- 
vantageously, so  far  as  the  air  is  concerned. 

There  is  another  point  of  view  in  which 
aeration  appears  beneficial,  arising  from  the 
excrementitious  matters  thrown  into  the  soil 
by  growing  plants,  as  ascertained  by  M.  Ma- 
caire;  for  as  these  matters  become  decom- 
posed in  the  processes  of  fallowing,  irrigation, 
and  draining,  the  gases  there  produced  would 
not  so  readily  be  carried  off  from  the  soil,  but 
for  a  due  circulation  of  the  common  air 
through  the  earth.  See  Gases,  their  use  to 
vegetation.     (Miller's  Dictionary). 

AEROLITES  (From  the  Greek  an?,  air,  and 
\i6'.i,  a  stone).  Meteoric  stones,  bodies  that 
fall  from  the  heavens.  The  origin  of  these 
remarkable  bodies  is  still  a  mystery. 

27 


AFRICAN  MARIGOLD. 


AFTER-GRASS. 


AFRICAN  MARIGOLD  (Togites  erecta, 
Lin.).  A  favourite  hardy  annual,  which  does 
not  come  from  Africa,  as  its  name  would  indi- 
cate, but  from  Mexico.     See  MAiiiGotn. 

AFTER-GRASS,  or  AFTERMATH.  The 
second  crop  of  grass,  or  that  which  springs 
after  mowing,  or  the  grass  cut  after  some 
kinds  of  corn  crops. 

The  composition  of  the  after-grass  generally 
varies  considerably  from  that  of  the  first  or 
spring  crop.  The  nutriment  of  the  latter,  from 
most  of  the  grasses,  is  materially  less  than 
that  of  the  former.  This  was  clearly  ascer- 
tained by  the  elaborate  experiments  of  the  late 
Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  the  results  of  which  are  dis- 
persed throughout  his  valuable  work  on  the 
Grasses.    To  give  a  few  instances  only — 

First  Crop.      Second  Crop 
dr.    gr.  dr.      gr. 

64  dr.  of  round-pankled  cock's-foot 

grass  alTorded  of  nutritive  matter  2  1  12 

Meadow  fox-tail  grass  -  -  3  1  2  0 
Lar>rer-ieaved  creeping  bent-crested 

do^'s-tail  grass        -       -        _  4  1  2       2 

Hani  fescue  grass       -       -        -  3  2  11 

VVelcii  fescue  grass  -        -  2  1  11 

yellow  oat  grass         -      -       -  3  3  11 

And  the  same  remark  applies  to  the  rye-grass 
{Lolium  perenne),  not  only  of  upland  pastures 
but  of  meadows.  Thus,  Sinclair  found  (Hurt. 
Gram.  Wub.  384)  that  this  grass  when  flower- 
ing, taken  from  a  water  meadow  that  had  been 
fed  off  with  sheep  till  the  end  of  April,  yielded 
of  nutritive  matter  72  grs. 

But  the  same  grass  from  the  same  meadow 
which  had  not  been  fed  off,  yielded  100  grs. 

The  same  weight  of  this  grass,  from  a  rich 
old  pasture  that  had  been  shut  up  for  hay  at 
the  same  time,  yielded  of  nutritive  matter  95 
grs.  But  the  grass  from  the  same  field,  which 
had  not  been  depastured,  yielded  120  grs. 

Some  of  them,  however,  contain  exactly  as 
much  nutritive  matter  in  the  aftermath  as  in 
the  first  crop :  thus,  64  drs.  of  the 

First  Crop.      Latter  Crop, 
dr.    gr.  dr.      gr. 

Bweet-scented  soft  grass  yielded  4      1  4        1 

Smooth-stalked  meadow  grass  13  13 

Short  blue  meadow  grass        -  2     0  2       0 

Cow  grass             -        -           -  2      1  2        1 

Creeping  fescue           -           -  12  12 

and  one  or  two  were  found  to  contain  more 
nutritive  matter  in  the  aftermath  than  in  the 
first  CI  op:  thus  64  drs.  of  the 

First  Crop.      Latter  Crop' 
dr.    gr.  (ir.     gr. 

Sweet-scented  vernal  grass  yielded    13  2        1 

In  the  vicinity  of  London  most  of  the  after- 
grass, or  second  crop,  was  formerly  made  into 
hay,  and  was  considered  of  considerable  value 
for  the  ewes  of  suckling  lambs,  and  milch 
cows;  but  in  harvesting  this  crop,  so  as  to 
make  it  sell  well,  great  nicety  is  requisite,  the 
nature  o2  after-grass  being  more  soft,  spongy, 
and  porous  than  the  first  growth,  and  conse- 
quently more  liable  to  be  hurt  by  rains.  The 
practice  is  therefore  on  the  decline. 

In  the  midland  counties  their  management 
of  the  feeding  off  the  after-grass  is  in  general 
judicious.  It  is  commonly  suffered  to  get  up 
(o  a  full  bite  before  it  is  broken,  and  not  turned 
in  upon  as  .»oon  as  the  hay  is  off,  or  suffered  to 
stand  unti.  much  of  it  becomes  improper  for 
the  food  of  animals.  Farmers,  however,  make 
28 


a  point  of  saving  autumnal  grass  for  spring 
feed,  and  contend  that  it  is  the  most  certain, 
and,  on  the  whole,  the  best  spring  feed  yet 
known.  This  would  seem  to  be  a  wasteful 
practice,  at  least  in  respect  to  the  more  for- 
ward after-grasses.  These  ought  certainly  to 
be  broken  sufficiently  early  to  be  eaten,  without 
waste,  before  winter  setSe.in;  and  the  latest, 
that  is  to  say,  the  shortest,  may  be  shut  in  for 
spring  feed.  If  after-grass  be  too  long  and 
gross,  it  is  apt  to  lodge,  and  rot  upon  the 
ground  in  winter ;  therefore,  on  rich  lands,  it 
ought  always  to  be  more  or  less  off  before  Mi- 
chaelmas, in  order  to  prevent  its  being  wasted 
or  lost  in  the  winter. 

It  is  rem.arked  by  the  author  of  "  Practical 
Agriculture."  that,  "  In  some  districts  much  of 
the  after-grass  is  frequently  cut  and  made  into 
a  green  soft  sort  of  hay,  as  has  been  already 
mentioned ;  but  in  others  it  is  fed  off  by  live 
stock  in  the  autumn."  And  that  "  both  modes 
may  be  useful  under  different  circumstances. 
In  situations  where  plenty  of  manure  can  be 
procured,  as  near  large  towns,  and  where  the 
chief  dependence  is  upon  the  sale  of  hay,  or 
where  lamb-suckling  prevails,  it  may  fre- 
quently be  a  beneficial  practice  to  take  a  se- 
cond crop  of  hay,  as  the  first  may  by  that 
means  be  more  fully  spared  for  sale,  the  after- 
crop supplying  the  cows  or  other  cattle  that 
may  be  kept  on  the  farm.  But  in  cases  where 
manure  cannot  easily  be  obtained,  and  there  is 
no  local  practice  carried  on  which  requires 
such  sort  of  hay,  it  is  better  to  let  it  be  fed  off 
by  stock  than  run  the  risk  of  exhausting  and 
injuring  the  ground  by  taking  off  repeated 
crops.  There  is  also  another  circumstance,'* 
he  says,  "to  be  considered  in  this  business, 
which  is,  that  of  the  state  of  the  land  in  respect 
to  dryness,  as  where  it  is  low,  wet,  and  very 
retentive  of  moisture,  it  may  be  often  more 
hurt  by  the  poaching  of  the  cattle  in  feeding 
off  the  herbage  than  by  a  second  crop  of  hay." 
But  that, "  independent  of  these  considerations, 
it  may,  in  general,  be  a  more  safe  and  usual 
.practice  to  eat  off  the  after-grass  by  stock,  and 
only  take  one  crop  of  hay,  as  by  such  means  a 
more  abundant  annual  produce  may  be  afford- 
ed, and  the  land  sustain  less  injury." 

It  is,  however,  added,  that  "  where  a  crop  of 
rowen  is  made  into  hay,  the  most  profitable 
application  of  it  is  probably  in  the  foddering 
of  such  cows  as  are  in  milk ;  as  it  is  well 
suited,  by  its  grassy  quality,  and  its  not  heat- 
ing so  much,  when  well  made,  as  other  sorts 
of  hay  in  the  stack,  to  afford  a  large  flow  of 
milk.  It  is  this  reason  that  induces  the  cow 
farmers  to  cut  their  grass  so  many  times  in  the 
summer.  Another  beneficial  application  of 
this  hay  is,  as  has  been  seen,  in  the  feeding  of 
such  ewes  as  are  employed  in  the  suckling  of 
house-lambs  during  the  winter  season ;  the 
intentiorf  in  this  case  is  the  same  as  in  that  of 
the  preceding  instance.  There  is  another  ad- 
vantageous use  to  which  this  sort  of  produce 
may  be  applied,  which  is  that  of  supporting 
young  calves,  and  all  sorts  of  young  cattle  that 
are  kept  as  store  stock."  And  that,  "  where 
sheep  require  the  support  of  hay  in  the  winter 
season,  it  is  also  well  adapted  to  that  use." 

In  the  manner  of  feeding  after-grass,  there  ii 


AGARIC  OF  THE  OAK. 


also  much  variety  in  different  districts.  "  It 
has,"  the  same  author  says,  "been  observed 
by  a  farmer  in  Middlesex,  that  the  condition  on 
which  he  rents  his  farm  is  that  of  taking  out 
the  cattle  at  Michaelmas,  but  that  sheep  remain 
till  February."  In  tliat  county  the  practice  is 
to  turn  on  the  cattle  immediately  after  mow- 
ing ;  but  in  the  northern  districts,  this  grass, 
to  whicli  they  have  given  the  name  of  eddish,  is 
kept  till  November,  or  even  a  later  period,  for 
the  purpose  of  furnishing  fat  stock,  or  for  the 
pasturage  of  milch  cows,  from  which  a  supe- 
rior quality  of  cheese  is  made,  and  by  which 
time  it  has  attained  a  considerable  head:  how- 
ever, this  latter  practice  would  seem  to  be 
attended  with  some  loss,  as  has  been  shown 
from  its  being  trodden  and  trampled  under 
foot.  In  the  stocking  of  after-grass,  Marshall 
found  the  midland  graziers  of  opinion,  that  one 
cow  to  an  acre,  on  well-grown  after-grass,  was 
an  ample  stock.  Good  grass-land  may,  how- 
ever, admit  something  more ;  and  instead  of 
pasturing  of  rowen,  or  after-grass,  by  heavy 
cattle  in  the  autumn,  to  avoid  poaching  the 
ground,  particularly  at  a  late  period  in  that  or 
the  winter  season,  it  has  been  recommend^ 
by  Dr.  Wilkinson,  "to  confine  the  consumption 
of  this  grass  principally  to  the  support  of 
sheep,  unless  in  very  favourable  seasons,  or 
where  the  soil  is  uncommonly  dry ;  in  which 
cases  milch  cows,  or  other  heavy  cattle,  may 
be  admitted  without  inconvenience." 

In  some  places  it  is  the  practice,  as  "  where 
there  is  a  great  scarcity  of  spring  feed,  to  re- 
serve after-grass  in  the  autumn  for  spring 
use."  Some,  on  the  basis  of  experience,  con- 
tend that  it  is  the  most  certain,  and,  on  the 
whole,  the  best  spring  feed  yet  known.  It 
would  seem,  however,  as  has  been  shown,  to 
be  a  wasteful  practice,  at  least  in  respect  to 
tlie  more  forward  after-grasses.  The  for- 
wardest  ought  certainly  to  be  eaten  without 
waste  before  winter  sets  in;  and  the  latest, 
that  is,  the  shortest,  be  shut  up  for  spring  feed. 
Arthur  Young,  it  is  stated,  found,  from  repeat- 
ed experiments,  as  suggested  above,  "  that  old 
after-grass  feeds  sheep  that  give  milk  better 
than  turnips,  which  are  more  adapted  to  the 
fattening  of  stock  ;  and  that  this  grass  holds  to 
a  period,  if  wanted,  when  most  other  resources 
fail,  the  last  half  of  April  and  the  first  half  of 
Ma)' — periods  always  of  want  and  difliculty, 
where  rye-grass  is  not  sown."  Marshall  also 
assures  us,  that  as  a  certain  and  wholesome 
supply  of  food  for  ewes  and  lambs  in  the  early 
spring,  the  preserved  pasture  is  to  be  depended 
on  as  "  the  sheet  anchor,  in  preference  to  tur- 
nips, cabbages,  or  any  other  species  whatever, 
of  what  is  termed  spring  feed:"  and  the  same 
thing  has  been  experienced  by  Dr.  Wilkinson, 
who  has  observed,  that  "  this  food  with  him 
afforded  a  more  nutritive  and  healthful  quality 
of  milk  from  the  ewes  to  their  tender  lambs 
than  turnips,  even  in  their  best  state."  But 
however  useful  after-grass  pastures  may  be 
under  this  management,  there  is  evidently  a 
great  loss  of  food  incurred  by  it,  especially  in 
severe  winters.  (^Sinclair's  Hart.  Gram. ;  Lowe\f 
Prac.  As^.) 

AGARIC  OF  THE  OAK.  [Spunk,  or  touch- 
^ood.]     In  farriery,  a  substance  sometimes 


AGE  OF  ANIMALS. 

employed  for  restraining  the  bleeding  of  small 

vessels. 

AGARICUS.     See  Mushroom. 

AGAVE.  In  botany,  comprehends  those 
plants  which  gardeners  call  American  aloes. 

AGE  OF  ANIMALS.  The  age  of  a  horse 
may  be  ascertained  by  his  mouth,  and  the  exa- 
mination of  his  teeth,  till  he  is  eight  years  old, 
after  which  the  usual  marks  commonly  wear 
out.  These  are  usually  forty  in  all ;  of  which 
twenty-four  are  double  teeth,  and  from  their 
office,  denominated  grinders,  four  tushes,  or 
corner  teeth,  and  twelve  fore-teeth. 

The  first  which  appear  are  the  foal-teeth, 
which  generally  begin  to  show  themselves  a 
month  or  two  after  foaling ;  they  are  twelve  in 
number,  six  above  and  six  below,  and  are 
easily  distinguished  from  the  teeth  that  come 
afterwards,  by  their  smallness  and  whiteness, 
having  some  resemblance  to  the  incisores,  or 
fore-teeth  of  man. 

When  the  colt  is  about  two  years  and  a  half 
old,  he  commonly  sheds  the  four  middlemost 
of  his  foal-teeth,  two  above  and  two  below; 
but  sometimes  none  are  cast  till  near  three 
years  old.  The  new  teeth  are  readily  distin- 
guished from  the  foal-teeth,  being  much 
stronger,  and  always  twice  their  size,  and  are 
called  the  nippers  or  gatherers,  being  those  by 
which  horses  nip  off  the  grass  when  they  are 
feeding  in  the  pastures,  and  by  which,  in  the 
house,  they  gather  their  hay  from  the  rack. 
When  horses  have  got  these  four  teeth  com- 
plete, they  are  reckoned  to  be  three  i^^ears  old. 

When  they  are  about  three  and  a  "half,  or  'n 
the  spring  before  they  are  four  years  old,  they 
cast  four  more  of  their  foal-teeth,  two  -fti  the 
upper  and  two  in  the  lower  jaw,  one  on  each 
side  the  nippers  or  middle  teeth  ;  so  that  when 
you  look  into  a  horse's  mouth,  and  see  the  two 
middle  teeth  full  grown,  and  none  of  the  foal- 
teeth,  except  the  common  teeth,  remaining, 
you  may  conclude  he  is  four  that  year,  about 
April  or  May.  Some,  indeed,  are  later  colts, 
but  that  makes  little  alteration  in  the  mouth. 

The  tushes  appear  near  the  same  time  with 
the  four  last-mentioned  teeth,  sometimes  sooner 
than  these,  and  sometimes  not  till  after  a  horse 
is  full  four  years  old ;  they  are  curved  like  the 
tushes  of  other  animals,  only  in  a  young  horse 
they  have  a  sharp  edge  all  round  the  top  and 
on  both  sides,  the  inner  part  being  somewhat 
grooved  and  flattened,  so  as  to  incline  to  a 
hollow. 

When  a  horse's  tushes  do  not  appear  for 
some  time  after  the  foal-teeth  are  cast,  and  the 
new  ones  come  in  their  room,  it  is  generally 
owing  to  the  foal-teeth  having  been  pulled  out 
before  their  time,  by  the  breeders  or  dealers  m 
horses,  to  make  a  colt  of  three  years  old  ap- 
pear like  one  of  four  that  he  may  be  the  more 
saleable ;  for  when  any  one  of  the  foal-teeth 
have  been  pulled  out,  the  others  soon  come  m 
their  places ;  but  the  tushes  having  none  thai 
precede  them,  can  never  make  their  appear 
ance  till  their  proper  time,  which  is  when  a 
horse  is  full  four,  or  coming  four ;  and  there- 
fore one  of  the  surest  marks  to  know  a  four- 
year  old  horse  is  by  his  tushes,  which  are  then 
verv  small,  and  sharp  on  the  tops  and  edges. 

At  the  time  when  a  horse  comes  five,  •? 
c2  2Q 


AGE  OF  ANIMALS. 


AGE  OF  ANIMALS. 


rather  in  the  spring  before  he  is  five,  the  cor- 
ner teeth  begin  to  appear,  and  at  first  but  just 
equal  with  the  gums,  being  filled  with  flesh  in 
the  middle.  The  tushes  are  also  by  this  time 
grown  to  a  more  distinct  size,  though  not  very 
large  :  they  likewise  continue  rough  and  sharp 
on  the  top  and  edges.  But  the  corner  teeth 
are  now  most  to  be  remarked ;  they  differ  from 
the  middle  teeth  in  being  more  fleshy  on  the 
inside,  and  the  gums  generally  look  rawish 
upon  their  first  shooting  out,  whereas  the  others 
do  not  appear  discoloured.  The  middle  teeth 
arrive  at  their  full  growth  in  less  than  three 
wieeks,  but  the  corner  teeth  grow  leisurely, 
and  are  seldom  much  above  the  gums  till  a 
horse  is  full  five ;  they  differ  also  from  the 
other  fore-teeth  in  this,  that  they  somewhat  re- 
semble a  shell ;  and  thence  are  called  the  shell- 
teeth,  because  they  environ  the  flesh  in  the 
middle  half-way  round  ;  and  as  they  grow,  the 
flesh  within  disappears,  leaving  a  distinct 
hoUowness  and  openness  on  the  inside.  When 
a  horse  is  full  five,  the  teeth  are  generally 
about  the  thickness  of  a  crown-piece  above 
the  gums.  From  five  to  five  and  a  half  they 
will  grow  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  high,  or 
more  :  and  when  a  horse  is  full  six,  they  will 
be  near  half  an  inch,  and  in  some  large  horses 
a  full  half-inch  above  the  gums. 

The  corner  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw  fall  out 
before  those  in  the  under,  so  that  the  upper 
corner  teeth  are  seen  before  those  below ;  on 
the  contrary,  the  tushes  in  the  under  gums 
came  out  before  those  in  the  upper. 

When  a  horse  is  full  six  years  old,  the  hol- 
lowness  on  the  inside  begins  visibly  to  fill  up, 
and  that  which  was  at  first  fleshy  grows  into  a 
brow^nish  spot,  not  unlike  the  eye  of  a  dried 
garden-bean,  and  continues  so  till  he  is  seven ; 
with  this  difference  only,  that  the  teeth  are 
gradually  more  filled  up,  and  the  marks,  or 
spots,  become  fainter,  and  of  a  lighter  colour. 
At  eight,  the  mark  in  most  horses  is  quite  worn 
out,  though  some  retain  the  vestiges  of  it  a 
longer  time ;  and  those  who  have  not  had  a 
good  deal  of  experience  may  sometimes  be 
deceived  by  taking  a  horse  of  nine  or  ten  years 
old  for  one  of  eight.  It  is  at  this  time  only, 
when  a  horse  is  past  mark,  that  one  can  easily 
err  in  knowing  his  age ;  such  practices  are  used 
to  make  a  very  young  horse  or  colt  appear  older 
than  he  really  is,  by  pulling  out  the  foal-teeth 
before  their  time,  which  may  be  discovered  by 
feeling  along  the  edges  where  the  tushes  grow, 
for  they  may  be  felt  in  the  gums  before  the 
corner  teeth  are  put  forth ;  whereas,  if  the  cor- 
ner teeth  come  in  some  months  before  the 
tushes  rise  in  the  gums,  we  may  reasonably 
suspect  that  the  foal-teeth  have  been  pulled  out 
at  three  years  old. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  mention  the  tricks  that 
are  used  to  make  a  false  mark  in  a  horse's 
mouth,  by  hollowing  the  tooth  with  a  graver, 
and  burning  a  mark  with  a  small  hot  iron  ;  be- 
cause those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  true 
marks  will  easily  discover  the  cheat  by  the 
size  and  colour  of  the  teeth,  by  the  roundness 
and  uiuntness  of  the  tushes,  by  the  colour  of 
the  false  Tuark,  which  is  generally  blacker  and 
nicrr  impressed  than  the  true  mark,  and  bv 
SO 


other    circumstances    which    denote  the  ad 
vanced  age  of  horses. 

After  the  horse  has  passed  his  eighth  vear, 
and  sometimes  at  seven,  nothing  certain  can 
be  known  by  the  mouth.  It  must,  however, 
be  remembered,  that  some  horses  have  but  in. 
diflerent  mouths  when  they  are  young,  and 
soon  loose  their  mark ;  others  have  their 
mouths  good  for  a  long  time,  their  teeth 
being  white,  even,  and  regular  till  they  are 
sixteen  years  old  and  upwards,  together  with 
many  other  marks  of  freshness  and  vigour ; 
but  when  a  horse  comes  to  be  very  old,  it 
may  be  discovered  by  several  indications,  the 
constant  attendants  of  age ;  such  as  his  gums 
wearing  away  insensibly,  leaving  his  teeth 
long  and  naked  at  their  roots ;  the  teeth  also 
growing  yellow,  and  sometimes  brownish.  The 
bars  of  the  mouth,  which  in  a  young  horse 
are  always  fleshy,  and  form  so  many  distinct 
ridges,  are  in  an  old  horse,  lean,  dry,  and 
smooth,  with  little  or  no  rising.  The  eye-pita 
in  a  young  horse  are  generally  filled  up  with 
flesh,  look  plump  and  smooth ;  whereas,  in  an 
old  one,  they  are  sunk  and  hollow,  and  make 
him  look  ghastly.  There  are  also  other  marks 
which  discover  a  horse  to  be  very  old,  as  gray 
horses  turning  white,  and  many  of  them  being 
all  over  flea-bitten,  except  their  joints.  This, 
however,  happens  sometimes  later,  and  some- 
times sooner,  according  to  the  variety  of  colour 
and  constitution.  Black  horses  are  apt  to 
grow  gray  over  their  eyebrows,  and  very  often 
a  I      III,  J 


AGE  OF  ANIMALS. 


over  a  great  part  of  their  faces  ;  and  all  horses, 
when  very  old,  sink  more  or  less  in  their  backs  ; 
and  some  horses  that  are  naturally  long- 
backed,  grow  so  hollow  with  age,  that  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  fit  them  with  a  saddle. 

The  various  progressive  changes  that  take 
place  in  th<?  appearance  of  the  teeth  of  horses 
at  ditfeient  ages,  from  a  few  weeks  old  (marked 
a  in  fg.)  to  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7,  8,  10,  12,  and  18 
years,  may  be  seen  in  the  foregoing  dental  map, 
constructed  by  Mr.  Blaine  {Encyc.  of  Rural 
Sports,  273). 

Age  of  Neat  Cattle.  The  age  o^cows,  oxen,  and 
bulb,  is  known  by  the  teeth  and  horns.  At  the 
end  of  about  two  years  they  shed  their  first 
fore-teeth,  which  are  replaced  by  others,  larger, 
but  not  so  white  ;  and  before  five  years  all  the 
incisive  teeth  are  renewed.  These  teeth  are 
at  first  equal,  long,  and  pretty  white  ;  but  as 
the  animals  advance  in  years,  thej'  wear  down, 
become  unequal  and  black.  When  three  years 
old,  neat  cattle  also  experience  a  considerable 
change  in  the  structure  of  their  horns,  after 
which  period  these  appendages,  like  the  second 
or  permanent  teeth,  preserve  the  same  charac- 
ter. During  the  first  year  of  the  animal's  age, 
two  small,  smooth,  pointed,  and  neatly  formed 
horns  make  their  appearance  attached  to  the 
head  by  a  kind  of  button.  This  conformation 
continues  during  the  first  three  years,  after 
which  the  button  moves  from  the  head,  being 
impelled  by  a  homy  cylinder.  Thus  the  horns 
continue  growing  as  long  as  the  animal  lives, 
as  is  indicated  by  the  annual  joints,  which  are 
easily  distinguished  in  the  horn,  and  by  which 
the  age  of  the  creature  may  be  easily  known ; 
counting  three  years  for  the  point  of  the  horn, 
and  one  for  each  of  the  joints  or  rings.  Dis- 
honest dealers  sometimes  obliterate  these  rings 
by  shaving  or  filing  the  horns,  in  order  to  con- 
ceal the  age  of  the  beast. 

Age  of  Sheep. — The  age  of  these  animals  is 
known  by  their  having,  in  their  second  year, 
two  broad  teeth  ;  in  their  third  year,  four  broad 
teeth ;  in  their  fourth  year,  six  broad  teeth ; 
and  in  their  fifth  year,  eight  broad  teeth  before. 
After  which,  none  can  tell  how  old  a  sheep  is 
while  their  teeth  remain,  except  by  their  being 
worn  down. 

About  the  end  of  one  year,  rams,  wethers, 
and  all  young  sheep,  lose  the  two  fore-teeth 
of  the  lower  jaw ;  and  they  are  known  to  want 
the  incisive  teeth  in  the  upper  jaw.  At 
eighteen  months,  the  two  teeth  joining  to  the 
former  also  fall  out ;  and  at  three  years,  being 
all  replaced,  they  are  even  and  pretty  white. 
But  as  these  animals  advance  in  age,  the  teeth 
become  loose,  blunt,  and  afterwards  black. 
The  age  of  the  ram,  and  all  horned  sheep,  may 
also  be  known  by  their  horns,  which  show 
themselves  in  their  very  first  year,  and  often 
at  the  birth,  and  continue  to  grow  a  ring  annu- 
ally to  the  last  period  of  their  lives. 

Age  of  Goats. — The  age  of  these  animals  is 
known  by  the  same  marks  as  those  of  sheep, 
as,  by  their  teeth,  and  the  annular  rings  on 
their  horns. 

Age  of  Plants. — This,  however  difficult  to  as- 
certain, may  be  attempted  in  various  ways,  as 
from  their  general  appearances  and  growth. 
The  continuance  of  life  is  extremely  different 


AGE  OF  TREES. 

in  plants,  and  from  this  difference,  they  are 
generally  divided  into  annual,  biennial,  and 
perennial. 

The  infancy  of  plants,  like  that  of  animals, 
is  marked  by  the  characters  of  weakness  and 
tenderness  ;  in  the  youthful  state  they  acquire 
beauty  and  size,  the  vessels  attract  and  convey 
their  juices ;  the  full  growth  is  crowned  with 
the  robust  fibre,  and  full  exercise  of  all  its 
functions  ;  the  fruit  therefore  ripens ;  but  old 
age  advancing,  the  vessels  begin  gradually  to 
harden  and  lose  their  tone,  they  droop,  the 
juices  move  no  longer  with  equal  celerity  as 
in  youth,  the  vital  powers  cease,  and  they  die. 

Age  of  Trees. — The  age  of  some  trees  may  be 
determined  from  the  number  of  ligneous  annuli 
or  rings.  In  many  sorts  of  trees  it  is,  how- 
ever, very  difficult  to  distinguish  these,  and  in 
others,  utterly  impossible.  Some  trees  arrive 
to  an  astonishing  age ;  thus,  the  cedars  of  Le- 
banon have  existed  for  2000  years.  In  Eng- 
land, the  oak  is  the  most  durable. 

Many  instances  of  the  extreme  old  age  of 
trees  exist  in  [England  and  elsewhere.]  At 
EUerslie,  three  miles  from  Paisley,  at  the 
birthplace  of  William  Wallace,  is  an  oak,  in 
which,  according  to  the  tradition  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, that  celebrated  chieftain  once  shel- 
tered himself  with  many  of  his  folloM-ers.  And 
many  others  either  till  lately  or  still  abound  in 
England;  for  instance,  there  was  one  at  Lang- 
ley  Wood,  near  Downton  {Dudsley,  An.  Reg.^ 
1758,  p.  116),  supposed  to  be  of  1000  years' 
growth;  then  there  is  the  oak  of  William 
Rufus,  in  the  ncAv  Forest ;  the  Fairlop  oak  of 
Hainault  Forest ;  Fisher's  oak  on  the  road  to 
Tonbridge;  Hern's  oak  in  Windsor  Forest: 
Queen  Elizabeth's  oak  at  Heveningham,  in 
Suffolk ;  the  Whinfield  oak,  near  Appleby,  all 
of  great  antiquity.  (^Phillip's  Fruits;  Withers 
on  Planting.) 

At  Ankerw}'ke,  near  Staines,  is  a  yew  tree, 
that  has  certainly  been  growing  there  since 
the  time  of  King  John  ;  and  at  Fountain's  Ab- 
bey, in  Yorkshire,  there  are  yew  trees  that  are 
probably  some  centuries  older ;  and  the  cele- 
brated Spanish  chestnut  tree,  growing  in  Lord 
Ducie's  park,  atTortworth,  in  Gloucestershire, 
which  in  the  reign  of  .Tohn  was  called  the 
Great  Chestnut  of  Tortworth,  was  certainly 
growing  there  in  the  days  of  William  of  Nor- 
mandy. 

At  Trons,  in  the  Grisons,  there  existed  in 
1798,  a  lime  tree  which  was  a  celebrated  plant 
in  the  year  1424,  and  which,  when  last  mea- 
sured, was  51  feet  in  circumference.  The  age 
of  this  specimen  could  not  have  been  less  than 
580  years. 

In  the  year  1776  there  existed  in  the  palace 
garden  of  Granada  some  famous  cypresses, 
which  were  thought  to  have  been  at  least  800 
or  900  years  old. 

Some  of  the  trees  of  oriental  countries,  how 
ever,  attain  to  still  greater  ages  than  any  of 
these  :  thus  the  Baobab  trees  of  Africa,  accord 
ing  to  Adanson,  are  5150  years  old;  and  De- 
candolle  considers  the  deciduous  cypress  trees 
of  Chapuitepec  in  Mexico  to  be  still  older. 

It  would  seem,  that,  after  a  certain  age,  all 
trees  decrease  in  their  rapidity  of  growth,  a 
fact  of  some  importance  to  be  known  to  plant- 


AGENTS. 


AGRICULTURE. 


ers  ;  the  oak,  for  instance,  beJ  ween  its  fortieth 
and  sixtieth  years ;  the  elm  after  its  fiftieth ; 
the  spruce  after  its  fortieth ;  the  yew  after  its 
sixtieth  :  of  this  rate  of  growth,  Decandolle  has 
constructed  an  interesting  table,  showing  the 
rate  of  increase  in  diameter  of  certain  trees, 
such  as  the  Oak,  Larch,  Elm,  Spruce,  Yew, 
every  10  years  from  1  to  150  years. 

Mr.  Waistell  has  constructed  tables  respect- 
ing the  growth  of  timber,  showing  every  fourth 
year,  from  12  to  100,  the  progressive  annual 
increase  in  the  growth  of  trees,  and  gradual 
decrease  in  the  rate  per  cent,  per  annum,  that 
the  annual  increase  bears  to  the  whole  tree. 

AGENTS.  [In  England.]  Land  agents,  are 
very  commonly  persons  of  the  legal  profes- 
sion, little  conversant  with  the  ordinary  details 
of  farming  affairs.  This  is  not  always  a  de- 
sirable state  of  things — it  often  leads  to  oppres- 
sion, to  discord,  and  to  very  bad  farming. 

An  agent  cannot  bind  his  principal  beyond 
the  extent  of  his  limited  authority  (Fenn  v.  Har- 
rLson,  3  T.  R.  575).  For  although  a  principal 
is  bound  by  all  the  acts  of  his  general  agent, 
yet  where  he  appoints  an  agent  for  a  particu- 
lar purpose,  he  is  only  bound  to  the  extent  of 
the  authority  given. 

"  Agreements  for  a  lease,  made  with  an  agent 
who  acts  under  a  power  of  attorney,  and  a 
lease  executed  by  such  agent  in  pursuance  of 
the  agreement,  shall  bind  the  principal."  (i/a- 
m'tlton  V.  Clinricarde,  1  Bro.  P.  C.  341.) 

AGISTMENT.  A  term  seemingly  from  the 
the  old  law  French  word  glste^  which  signifies 
a  lying-place,  and  therefore,  as  applied  to  cat- 
tle, supposes  pasturing.  Agistment  accord- 
ingly is  the  pasturing  of  cattle,  the  property 
of  another,  on  the  payment  of  a  certain  sum 
of  money,  or  other  valuable  consideration; 
and  the  animals  thus  grazed  are  sometimes 
CdiWeA glstments.  "If,"  says  Blackstone,  "a  man 
takes  in  a  horse  or  other  cattle  to  graze  and 
depasture  in  his  grounds,  which  the  law  calls 
agistment,  he  takes  them  upon  an  implied  con- 
tract to  return  them  on  demand  to  the  owner. 
{Cro.  Car.  271.)  But  he  cannot  like  an  inn- 
keeper retain  them  till  payment."  Agistment 
also  means  the  profit  arising  from  this  prac- 
tice. The  tithe  of  agistment  is  the  tenth  part 
of  the  value  for  the  keeping  or  depasturing 
8uch  cattle  as  are  liable  to  pay  it ;  but  it  may 
be  avoided  by  cutting  the  grass  for  stall-feed- 
ing. 

AGREEMENT.  A  very  considerable  pro- 
portion of  the  lands  of  England  are  held  by 
agreements  between  the  landlord  and  the 
tenant.     See  Leases. 

These  are  best  made  in  writing,  although 
'not  absolutely  necessary  for  terms  not  exceed- 
ing three  years.  {Crosby  v.  Wordswur/h, 
6  East,  602.)  An  agreement  to  make  a  lease 
is,  in  equity,  a  good  lease.  (Hamilton  v.  Card- 
ness,  2  Bro.  P.  C.  12.5.)  But  whether  an  instru- 
ment shall  amount  to  a  present  lease  or  only 
as  an  agreement  for  a  future  lease,  will  depend 
on  the  intention  of  the  parties,  to  be  collected 
from  the  instrument  itself.  (Morgan  v.  Bissett, 
3  Taunton,  65.  Baxter  v.  Browne,  2  W.  Black. 
673.)     [See  Cus  poms  of  Couxties.] 

AGRICUI  TOR  (Lat.  a  husbandman).  The 
word  in  our  language  is  modem,  but  is  getting 
33 


into  common  use.  It  is,  however,  more  gene- 
rally written  agriculliirist,  and  is  intended  to 
imply  one  who  is  skilled  in  the  art  of  cultivat- 
ing the  ground.     (Todd's  Johnson.) 

AGRICULTURE,  HISTORY  OF  (Lak 
agi'icultura).  The  art  of  cultivating  the  ground; 
tillage,  husbandry,  as  distinct  from  pasture. 
(Todd's  Johnson.) 

I  shall,  in  the  present  article,  limit  myself  to 
a  brief  historical  sketch  of  agriculture,  which 
became  one  of  the  sustaining  arts  of  life  as 
soon  as  man  was  ordained  to  earn  his  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  In  the  garden  of 
Eden,  whose  fertile  soil  and  genial  clime  ap- 
pear to  have  combined  in  maturing  a  continued 
variety  and  unfailing  succession  of  vegetable 
sustenance,  agricultural  operations  were  un- 
known ;  for  that  which  came  spontaneously  to 
perfection  required  no  assistance  from  human 
ingenuity ;  and  where  there  is  no  deficiency 
there  can  be  no  inducement  to  strive  for  im- 
provement. That  period  of  perfection  was 
but  transitory ;  and  the  Deity  that  had  placed 
man  in  the  garden  "  to  dress  it  and  keep  it," 
eventually  drove  him  thence  "  to  till  the  earth 
from  whence  he  was  taken."  (Gen.  ii.  15  ;  iiL 
23.) 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  agriculture 
has  been  an  improving  art;  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  but  that  it  will  go  on  advanc- 
ing as  long  as  mankind  continues  to  increase, 

Man,  in  his  greatest  state  of  ignorance,  is 
always  found  dependent  for  subsistence  upon 
the  produce  of  the  chase ;  but,  as  population 
increases,  recourse  must  be  had  to  other 
sources  of  food.  And  we  find  in  the  shepherd's 
life  of  the  early  ages,  the  first  step  to  agricul- 
tural art,  the  domestication  of  animals,  which 
it  was  found  to  be  more  convenient  to  have 
constantly  at  hand,  rather  than  to  have  to  seek 
precariously  at  the  very  time  they  were  re- 
quired. As  the  increase  of  population  still 
went  on,  and  the  flocks  and  the  herds  had  pro- 
portionately to  be  enlarged,  one  favourite  spot 
would  be  found  too  small  for  the  subsistencfe 
of  the  whoJe ;  and,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham 
and  Lot,  they  would  have  to  separate  and  find 
pasturage  in  different  districts.  This  separa- 
tion into  tribes  could  not  proceed  beyond  a 
certain  extent ;  and  when  the  land  was  fully 
occupied,  recourse  would  by  necessity  be  had 
to  means  of  increasing  the  produce  of  given 
surfaces  of  soil  instead  of  enlarging  their  ex- 
tent. With  Abraham  and  Isaac  it  is  very 
evident  that  wheat  and  the  other  fruits  of  the 
earth  were  the  rare  and  choice  things  of  their 
country ;  but  Avhen  such  nations  once  learned, 
as  they  might  from  the  example  of  Egypt,  the 
resource  such  products  were  in  periods  of  fa- 
mine, arising  from  mortalities  among  their 
cattle,  they  would  soon  pursue  their  interests 
by  cultivating  them.  This  completed,  the  ac- 
quirement of  property  in  land  for  the  space  not 
only  long  occupied,  but  upon  which  the  occu- 
pier had  bestowed  his  labour,  built  his  habita- 
tion, and  had  enclosed  from  injury  by  vagrant 
animals,  would  be  acknowledged  to  be  his 
without  any  one  stopping  to  inquire  what  right 
he  had  to  make  the  enclosure. 

When  once  thus  located,  experience  and 
observation  would  soon  teach  the  employment 


AGRICULTURE. 

of  manures,  irrigation,  times  of  sowing,  and 
other  necessary  operations ;  and  ev^ery  gene- 
ration would  be  wiser  in  the  art  than  that 
which  preceded  it.  This  especially  has  oc- 
curred in  these  more  northern  climates,  where 
art  and  industry  has  to  compensate  for  a  defi- 
ciency of  natural  advantages.  "Enlarging 
numbers,"  observes  Mr. Sharon  Turner,  "only 
magnify  the  effect;  for  mankind  seem  to 
thrive  and  civilize  in  proportion  as  they  mul- 
tiply; and,  by  a  recurrent  action,  to  multiply 
again  in  proportion  as  they  civilize  and  pros- 
per." In  this  manner  improved  modes  of  cul- 
tivation, the  introduction  of  new  species,  and 
of  mure  fruitful  varieties  of  agricultural  pro- 
duce, have  universally  kept  pace  with  an  in- 
creasing population.  This  resting  upon  a 
basis  of  facts,  vindicates  the  wisdom  of  Pro- 
vidence, and  refutes  Mr.  Malthus's  superficial 
theory  of  over-production.  The  agricultural 
produce  of  England  has  gradually  increased 
from  the  insignificant  amount  that  was  its 
value  in  the  time  of  the  Roman  invasion,  to 
the  enormous  annual  return  of  200,000,000/.; 
and  it  is  very  certain  that  in  this  countr>',  and 
much  more  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  the 
produce  is  a  mere  fraction  of  what  the  total 
soil  is  capable  of  returning. 

Agriculture  is  the  art  of  obtaining  from  the 
earth  food  for  the  sustenance  of  man  and  his 
domestic  animals ;  and  the  perfection  of  the 
art  is  to  obtain  the  greatest  possible  produce 
at  the  smallest  possible  expense.  Upon  the 
importance  of  the  art,  it  is  needless,  therefore, 
to  insist;  for  by  it  every  country  is  enabled  to 
support  in  comfort  an  abundant  population. 
On  this  its  strength  as  a  nation  depends  ;  and 
by  it  its  independence  is  secured.  An  agricul- 
tural country  has  within  itself  the  necessaries 
and  comforts  of  life;  and,  to  defend  these, 
there  will  never  be  wanting  a  host  of  patriot 
soldiers. 

Of  the  pleasure  attending  the  judicious  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil,  we  have  the  evidence  of 
facts.  The  villa  farms  sprinkled  throughout 
our  happy  land,  the  establishments  of  Holk- 
ham,  Woburn,  &c.,  would  never  have  been 
formed  if  the  occupation  connected  with  them 
was  not  delightful.  We  have  an  unexception- 
able witness  to  the  same  fact  in  the  late  Mr. 
Roscoe,  the  elegant,  talented  author  of  the 
Lives  of  Lorenzo  de  Medici  and  of  Leo  the 
Tenth.  Mr.  Roscoe  was  the  son  of  an  exten- 
sive potato  grower,  near  Liverpool.  In  the 
cultivation  of  that  and  other  farm  produce,  he 
had  been  an  active  labourer;  and  he  who  thus 
had  enjoyed  the  delights  that  spring  from  lite- 
rary pursuits,  and  from  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  has  left  this  recorded  opinion,  "If  I  was 
asked  whom  I  consider  to  be  the  happiest  of 
the  human  race,  I  should  answer,  those  who 
cultivate  the  earth  by  their  own  hands." 

We  have  but  little  information  to  guide  us 
as  to  the  country  in  which  man  first  cultivated 
the  soil ;  nor  of  that  in  which  he  first  settled 
after  the  deluge.  Thus  much,  however,  is  cer- 
tain, that  we  have  the  earliest  authentic  ac- 
count of  the  state  of  agriculture  as  it  existed 
among  the  Egyptians  and  their  bond-servants, 
the  Israelites.  From  the  former,  probably,  the 
Greeks  were  descended.    The  Romans,  at  a 


AGRICULTURE. 

later  period,  were  a  colony  from  Greece  ;  and 
from  the  Romans  the  other  countries  of  Europe 
derived  their  earliest  marked  improvement  in 
the  arts. 

Our  brief  history  of  the  progress  of  agricul- 
ture, then,  will  be  divided  into,  1.  The  agricul- 
ture of  the  Egyptians  and  other  eastern 
nations ;  2.  The  agriculture  of  the  Greeks ; 
3.  The  agriculture  of  the  Romans;  4.  The 
agriculture  of  the  Britons,  including  a  cursory 
notice  of  its  present  state  among  the  chief 
nations  of  Europe. 

I.  The  Aghiculture  of  the  Egxptiaks, 
Israelites,  and  other  earlt  Eastern 
Nations. 

Every  family  of  these  primitive  i.v.tio'is  had 
its  appointed  district  for  pasturage,  ii  it  pur- 
sued a  pastoral  life ;  or  its  allotted  enclosure, 
if  it  was  occupied  by  tilling  the  earth.  There 
was  no  distinction  in  this  respect  between  the 
monarch  and  his  people:  each  had  a  certain 
space  of  land  from  which  he  and  his  family 
were  to  derive  their  subsistence. 

The  Egyptians,  as  well  as  the  Israelites, 
were  flock-masters.  The  latter  were  particu- 
larly so;  and,  as  Joseph's  brethren  said  to 
Pharaoh,  "their  trade  was  about  cattle  from 
their  youth."  {Gen.  xlvi.  34.)  When,  there- 
fore, they  came  into  Egypt,  they  desired  the 
low-lying  land  of  Goshen,  as  producing  the 
most  perennial  of  pasture.  {Gen.  xlvii.  4.)  It 
is  true  that  the  same  authority  says,  "Every 
shepherd  is  an  abomination  unto  the  Egyp- 
tians;" but  this  was  because,  about  a  century 
before  the  arrival  of  Joseph  among  them,  a 
tribe  of  Cushite  shepherds  from  Arabia  had 
conquered  their  nation,  and  held  them  in  sla/- 
very ;  till,  after  a  sanguinarj-  contest  of  thirty 
years,  they  regained  their  liberty  about  twenty- 
seven  years  before  Joseph  was  promoted  by 
Pharaoh.  That  the  Egyptians  were  flock- 
masters  is  certain,  from  many  parts  of  the 
Scriptures.  Thus,  when  Pharaoh  gave  per- 
mission to  the  Israelites  to  dwell  in  Goshen, 
he  added,  as  he  spoke  to  Joseph,  "And  if  thou 
knowest  any  men  of  activity  among  them,  then 
make  them  rulers  over  my  cattle"  {Gen.  xlvii. 
6.) ;  and  when  the  murrain  came  into  Egypt, 
it  was  upon  their  horses,  asses,  camels,  oxen, 
and  sheep.  {Exod.  ix.  3.) 

The  attention  and  care  necessary  to  be  paid 
to  their  domestic  animals  were  evidently  well 
known  and  attended  to;  for  when  they  pro 
posed  to  settle  in  a  land,  their  first  thought 
was  to  build  "sheepfolds  for  their  cattle.** 
{Numb,  xxxii.  16.)  They  had  stalls  for  their 
oxen  {Hab.  iii.  17),  and  for  all  their  beasts 
Thus  King  Hezekiah  is  said  to  have  made 
"  stalls  for  all  manner  of  beasts,  and  cotes  for 
flocks;  moreover,  he  provided  him  possessions 
of  flocks  and  herds  in  abundance"  (2  Chron 
xxxii.  28) ;  and  that  this  abundance  exceeded 
the  possessions  of  the  greatest  of  our  mqderi. 
flock-masters,  we  may  readily  acknowledge, 
when  we  read  that  "  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  was 
a  sheep-master,  and  rendered  unto  the  king  ol 
Israel  100,000  lambs,  and  100,000  rams,  with 
the  wool."  (2  Kings,  iii.  4.)  ^ 

They  prepared  the  provender  for  their 
horses  and  asses  of  chaff,  or  cut  straw  and 

33 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


barley.  (Judges,  xix.  21 ;  1  Kings,  iv.  28.) 
Our  translation  does  not  explicitly  state  this, 
but  it  is  clear  in  the  Hebrew  original. .  (Dr. 
KennicotCs  xxivth  Codex;  Harmtr's  Observa- 
tions, i.  423.)  It  is  also  certain,  from  the  He- 
brew original,  that  they  tied  up  calves  and 
bullocks  for  the  purpose  of  fattening  them 
(Jerem.  xlvi.  21 ;  Amos,  vi.  4,  &c.,  Parkhursv^s 
Hebrew  Lexicon,  673)  ;  and  that  they  were  ac- 
quainted with  the  arts  of  the  dairy  "  Surely 
the  churning  of  milk,"  says  Solomd.i,  "bring- 
eth  forth  butter"  (Prov.  xxx.  31)  ;  and  Sapiuel 
speaks  of  the  "cheese  of  kine."  (2  Sam.  xxvii. 
29.)  The  chief  vegetable  products  cultivated 
by  these  eastern  nations  were,  wheat,  barley, 
beans,  lentils,  rye,  the  olive,  and  the  vine. 
(Exod.  ix.  31;  Levit.  xix.  10;  '2,  Sam.  xvii. 
28,  &c.) 

The  scanty  notices  which  we  have  of  their 
tillage,  give  us  no  reason  to  doubt  that  they 
were  skilful  husbandmen.  The  name  for  till- 
age (Obed)  emphatically  expresses  their  idea 
of  it ;  for  it  literally  means  to  serve  the  ground. 
(Parkhurst,  508.)  And  that  the  cares  and  at- 
tention necessary  were  well  sustained,  is  evi- 
denced by  the  fact,  that  David,  for  his  extensive 
estate,  had  an  overseer  for  the  storehouses  in 
the  fields ;  another  over  the  tillage  of  the 
ground ;  a  third  over  the  vineyards ;  a  fourth 
over  the  olive  trees ;  two  to  superintend  his 
herds ;  a  seventh  over  his  camels  ;  an  eighth 
to  superintend  his  flocks ;  and  a  ninth  to  attend 
similarly  to  the  asses.  (1  Chron.  xxvii.  25 — 
31.) 

Of  their  ploughing,  we  know  that  they  turned 
op  the  soil  in  ridges,  similarly  to  our  own 
practice ;  for  the  Hebrew  name  of  a  husband- 
man signifies  a  man  who  does  so.  (Parkhurst, 
93.)  That  they  ploughed  with  two  beasts  of  the 
same  species  attached  abreast  to  the  plough. 
(Deut.xxix.lQ.)  That  the  yoke,or  collar  was  fast- 
ened to  the  neck  of  the  animal ;  and  that  the 
plough,  in  its  mode  of  drawing  the  furrows,  re- 
sembled our  own ;  for  we  read  of  their  sharp- 
ening the  coulter  and  the  ploughshare.  (1  Sam. 
xiii.  20,  &c.)  Ploughing  was  an  operation 
that  they  were  aware  might  be  beneficially 
performed  at  all  seasons ;  for  Solomon  men- 
tions it  as  a  symptom  of  a  sluggard,  that  he 
will  not  plough  in  the  winter  (Prov.  xx.  4);  and 
that  too  much  care  could  not  be  devoted  to  it, 
they  expressed,  by  deriving  their  name  for 
ploughing  from  a  Hebrew  root,  which  signifies 
silent  thought  and  attention.  (Parkhurst,  24:4.) 

Their  sowing  was  broadcast,  from  a  basket 
(Amos,  xi.  13  ;  Psalm  cxxvi.  6) ;  and  they  gave 
the  land  a  second  superficial  ploughing  to 
cover  the  seed.  It  is  true  that  harrowing  is 
mentioned  in  our  translation  (Job,  xxxix.  10)  ; 
but  Schultens  and  other  Hebraists  agree  that 
harrowing  was  not  practised  by  them.  Rus- 
^•elI,  in  remarking  upon  the  mode  of  cultivation 
now  practised  near  Aleppo,  says,  "  No  harrow 
is  used,  but  the  ground  is  ploughed  a  second 
time  after  it  is  sown,  to  cover  the  grain." 
(Parkhurst,  720.) 

The  after-cultivation  apparently  was  not 
neglected;  they  had  hoes  or  mattocks,  which 
they  employed  for  extirpating  injurious  plants. 
"On  all  hills,"  says  the  prophet,  "that  shall 
tw  digged  with  the  mattock,  there  shall  not 
34 


come  thither  the  fear  of  briers  and  thorns." 
(Isa.  vii.  25.)  In  those  hot  climates  a  plentiful 
supply  of  moisture  was  necessary  for  a  health- 
ful vegetation;  and  the  simile  of  desolation, 
employed  by  the  same  prophet,  is  "  a  garden, 
that  hath  no  water."  (/««.  i.  30.)  In  Egypt 
they  irrigated  their  lands  ;  and  the  water  thus 
supplied  to  them  was  raised  by  an  hydraulic 
machine,  worked  by  men  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  modern  tread-wheel.  To  this  practice 
Moses  alludes,  when  he  reminds  the  Israelites 
of  their  sowing  their  seed  in  Egypt,  and  water- 
ing it  with  their  feet,  a  practice  still  pursued 
in  Arabia.  (Deut.  xi.  10 ;  Niebuhr,  Voyage  en 
Arahie,  i.  121.) 

When  the  corn  was  ripe,  it  was  cut  with 
either  a  sickle  or  a  scythe  (jer.  1.  16;  Joel,  iii. 
13),  was  bound  into  sheaves  (Psalm  cxxix.  7; 
Dent.  xxiv.  19,  &c.),  and  was  conveyed  in 
carts  (Amos,  ii.  13),  either  immediately  to  the 
threshing-floor  or  to  the  barn.  They  never 
formed  it  into  stacks  as  we  do.  These  pas- 
sages in  the  Scriptures  (Exod.  xxii.  6  ;  Judg, 
XV.  5;  Job,  V.  26)  refer  exclusively  to  the 
thraves  or  shocks  in  which  the  sheaves  are 
reared  as  they  are  cut.  (Harmer's  Observ  iv. 
145,  &c.)  The  threshing-floors,  as  they  are 
at  the  present  day,  were  evidently  level  plats 
of  ground  in  the  open  air.  (Judg.  vi.  37; 
2  Sam-,  xxiv.  18 — 25,  &c.)  They  were  so 
placed  that  the  wind  might,  at  the  time  of  the 
operation,  remove  the  chief  part  of  the  chaff. 
They,  perhaps,  had  threshing-floors  under 
cover,  to  be  used  in  inclement  seasons ;  for 
Hosea  (ii.  35),  speaking  of  "the  summer 
threshing-floors,"  justifies  such  surmise.  The 
instruments  and  modes  of  threshing  were  va- 
rious. They  are  all  mentioned  in  these  two 
verses  of  the  prophet ;  "  Fitches  are  not 
threshed  with  a  threshing  instrument,  neither 
is  a  cart-wheel  turned  upon  the  cummin,  but 
the  fitches  are  beaten  out  with  a  staff",  and  the 
cummin  with  a  rod.  Bread-corn  is  bruised 
because  he  will  not  ever  be  threshing  it,  nor 
break  it  with  the  wheel  of  his  cart,  nor  bruise 
it  with  his  horsemen."  (Isaiah,  xxviii.  27,  28.) 
When  the  seed  was  threshed  by  horses,  they 
were  ridden  by  men ;  and  when  by  cattle,  al- 
though forbidden  to  be  muzzled  (Dm/,  xxv.  4), 
yet  they  were  evidently  taught  to  perform  the 
labour.  (Hosea,  x.  11.)  The  "instrument'* 
was  a  kind  of  sledge  made  of  thick  boards, 
and  furnished  underneath  with  teeth  of  iron. 
(Isaiah,  xli.  15;  Parkhurst,  242,  412.)  The 
revolving  wheels  of  a  cart,  and  the  various 
sized  poles  employed  for  the  same  purpose 
need  no  further  comment.  To  complete  th 
dressing  of  the  corn,  it  was  passed  through 
sieve  (Amos,  ix.  9),  and  thrown  up  against  the 
wind  by  means  of  a  shovel.  The  fan  was, 
and  is  still,  unknown  to  the  eastern  husband- 
men ;  and  where  that  word  is  employed  in  our 
translation  of  the  Scriptures,  the  original 
seems  to  intend  either  the  wind  or  the  shoveL 
(Isaiah,  xxx.  24;  Jer.  xv.  7;  Parkhurst,  183, 
689.) 

Of  their  knowledge  of  manures  we  know 
little.  Wood  was  so  scarce  that  they  con- 
sumed the  dung  of  their  animals  for  fueU 
(Parkhurst,  764.)  Perhaps  it  was  this  defi- 
ciency of  carbonaoc'?-is  matters  for  their  lands 


AGRICULTURE. 


that  makes  an  alteniion  to  fallowing  so  strictly 
enjoined.  {Levit.  xix.  23  ;  xxv.  3;  Husea,  x.  12, 
&c.) 

The  landed  estates  were  large,  both  of  the 
Kings  and  of  some  of  their  subjects;  for  we  read 
that  Uzziah,  king  of  Judah,  '*  had  much  both  in 
the  low  country  and  in  the  plains ;  husband- 
men also,  and  vine-dressers  in  the  moun- 
tains and  in  Carmel,  for  he  loved  husbandry" 
(2  Chron.  xxvi.  10) ;  that  Elijah  found  Elisha 
with  twelve  yoke  of  oxen  at  plough,  himself 
being  with  the  twelfth  yoke  (1  Kimrs,  xix.  19)  ; 
and  that  Job,  the  greatest  man  of  the  east,  had 
14,000  sheep,  6000  camels,  1000  yoke  of  oxen, 
and  1000  she-asses.  (7«6,  i.  3  ;  xlii.  12.)  In 
the  time  of  Isaiah,  the  accumulation  of  landed 
property  in  the  hands  of  a  few  proprietors  was 
so  much  on  the  increase,  that  a  curse  was  ut- 
tered against*  this  engrossment.  "  Wo  unto 
tliem,"  says  the  prophet,  "  that  join  house  to 
house,  that  lay  field  to  field,  till  there  be  no 
place,  that  they  may  be  placed  alone  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth."     (haiah,  v.  8.) 


II.     TUE    AcRICUtTUBE    OF    TUE    GrEEKS. 


1.  Anriont  implement  from  a  tombstone  at  Athens. 
2   The  Greek  plough.    3.  The  apade.    4  and  5.  Hoes. 

Revelation  has  taught  us  to  offer  up  our 
prayers  and  thanksgivings  for  all  benefits  to 
the  one  omni-beneficent  Creator  and  provider 
of  the  universe.  The  less  enlightened  ancients, 
whose  religion  was  mythological,  equally  con- 
vinced with  ourselves  of  the  existence  of  some 
divine  first  cause  and  providence,  like  us  of- 
fered up  their  votive  petitions  and  hymiis  of 
praise,  though  the  objects  of  their  worship 
were  as  many  as  the  benefits  or  the  evils  to 
which  man  is  subject. 

Agriculture  was  too  important  and  too  bene- 
ficial an  art  not  to  demand,  and  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  were  nations  too  polished  and  dis- 
cerning not  to  afford  to  it,  a  very  plentiful  se- 
ries of  presiding  deities.  They  attributed  to 
Ceres — as  their  progenitors,  the  Egyptians,  did 
to  Isis — the  invention  of  the  arts  of  tilling  the 
soil.  Ceres  is  said  to  have  imparted  these  to 
Triptolemus,  of  Eleusis,  and  to  have  sent  him 
as  her  missionary  round  the  world  to  teach 
mankind  the  best  modes  of  ploughing,  sowing, 
and  reaping.  In  gratitude  for  this,  the  Greeks, 
about  1356  years  before  the  Christian  era,  es- 
tablished, in  honour  of  Ceres,  the  Eleusinian 
mys4eries,  by  far  the  most  celebrated  and  en- 
during of  all  their  religious  ceremonies  ;  for 
they  were  not  established  at  Rome  till  the  close 
of  the  fourth  century.  Superstition  is  a  pro- 
lific weakness  ;  and,  consequently,  by  degrees, 
every  operation  of  agriculture,  and  every  pe- 
riod of  the  grow^lh  of  crops,  obtained  its  pre- 
siding and  tutelary  deity.  The  goddess,  TerrOy 
waj  the  guardian  of  the  soil ;  Stercutius  pre- 


AGRICULTURE. 

sided  over  the  manures  ;  Volutia  guarded  the 
crops  whilst  evolving  their  leaves  ;  Flora  re- 
ceived the  still  more  watchful  duty  of  shelter- 
ing their  blossom ;  they  passed  to  the  guardian- 
ship of  Ladantia  when  swelling  with  milky 
juices;  Rubigo  protected  them  from  blight; 
and  they  successively  became  the  care  of  Hos- 
tilina,  as  they  shot  into  ears ;  of  Matura  as 
Jhey  ripened ;  and  of  Tutelina  when  they  were 
reaped.  Such  creations  of  polytheism  are  fa- 
bles ;  but  they  are  errors  that  should  even  now 
give  ri'se  to  feelings  of  gratification  rather  than 
of  contempt.  They  must  please  by  their  ele- 
gance ;  and  much  more  when  we  reflect  that  it 
is  the  concurrent  testimony  of  anterior  nations, 
through  thousands  of  years,  that  they  detected 
and  acknowledged  a  Great  First  Cause. 

Unlike  the  arts  of  luxury.  Agriculture  has 
never  been  subject  to  any  retrograde  revolu- 
tions ;  being  an  occupation  necessary  for  the 
existence  of  mankind  in  any  degree  of  com- 
fort, it  has  always  continued  to  receive  their 
first  attention  ;  and  no  succeeding  age  has  been 
more  imperfect,  but  in  general  more  expert,  in 
the  art  than  that  which  has  preceded  it.  The 
Greeks  are  not  an  exception  to  this  rule;  for 
their  agriculture  appears  to  have  been  much 
the  same  in  the  earliest  brief  notices  we  have 
of  them,  as  it  was  with  the  nation  of  which 
they  were  an  offset.  The  early  Grecians,  like 
all  new  nations,  were  divided  into  but  two 
classes;  landed  proprietors,  and  Helots,  or 
slaves;  and  the  estates  of  the  former  were 
little  larger  than  were  sufficient  to  supply  their 
respective  households  with  necessaries.  We 
read  of  princes  among  them ;  and  as  we  dwell 
upon  the  splendid  details  of  the  Trojan  war, 
associate  with  such  titles,  unreflectingly,  all 
the  pageantry  and  luxury  of  modern  potentates, 
that  are  distinguished  by  similar  titles.  But 
in  this  we  are  decidedly  wrong ;  for  there  was 
probably  not  a  leader  of  the  Greeks  who  did 
not,  like  the  father  of  Ulysses,  assist  with  his 
own  hands  in  the  farming  operations.  {Ho- 
mer's Odyss.  1.  xxiv.)  Hesiod  is  the  earliest 
writer  who  gives  us  any  detail  of  the  Grecian 
agriculture.  He  appears  to  have  been  the 
contemporary  of  Homer ;  and,  in  that  case,  to 
have  flourished  about  nine  centuries  before 
the  Christian  era.  His  practical  statements, 
however,  are  very  meager  ;  we  have,  therefore, 
preferred  taking  Xenophon's  (Economics  as  our 
text,  and  introducing  the  statements  of  other 
authors,  as  they  may  occur,  to  supply  deficien- 
cies or  to  afford  illustrations. 

Xenophon  died  at  the  age  of  ninety,  359 
years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  The  follow- 
ing narrative  of  the  Greek  agriculture  is  from 
his  "  Essay,"  if  not  otherwise  specified. 

In  Xenophon's  time  the  landed  proprietor 
no  longer  laboured  upon  his  farm,  but  had  a 
steward  as  a  general  superintendant,  and  nu- 
merous labourers,  yet  he  always  advises  the 
master  to  attend  to  his  own  affairs.  "  My  ser- 
vant," he  says,  "  leads  my  horse  into  the  fields, 
and  I  walk  thither  for  the  sake  of  exercise  in 
a  purer  air;  and  when  arrived  where  my  work- 
men are  planting  trees,  tilling  the  ground,  and 
the  like,  I  observe  how  every  mmg  is  per- 
formed, and  study  whether  any  of  these  opera- 
tions may  be  improved."    After  his  ride,  hw 

3n 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


servant  took  his  horse,  and  led  him  home, 
"taking  with  him,"  he  adds,  "to  my  house, 
such  things  as  are  wanted,  and  I  walk  home, 
wash  my  hands,  and  dine  off  whatever  is  pre- 
pared for  me  moderately."  "No  man,"  he 
says,  "  can  be  a  farmer,  till  he  is  taught  by 
experience ;  observation  and  instruction  may 
do  much,  but  practice  teaches  many  particu- 
lars which  no  master  would  ever  have  thought 
to  remark  upon."  "  Before  we  commence  tife 
cultivation  of  the  soil,"  he  observes,  that,  "  we 
should  notice  what  crops  flourish  best  upon  it; 
and  we  may  even  learn  from  the  weeds  it  pro- 
duces, what  it  will  best  support." 

"  Falliiivhff,  or  frequent  ploughing  in  spring 
or  summer."  he  observes.  "  is  of  great  advan- 
tage ;"  and  Hesiod  advises  the  farmer  (  Works 
and  Days,  50)  always  to  be  provided  with  a 
spare  plough,  that  no  accident  may  interrupt 
the  operation.  The  same  author  directs  the 
ploughman  to  be  very  careful  in  his  work. 
"  Let  him,"  he  says, "  attend  to  his  employment, 
and  trace  the  furrows  carefully  in  straight 
lines,  not  looking  around  him,  having  his  mind 
intent  upon  what  he  is  doing."  Ibid.  441 — 443. 

Theophrastus  evidently  thought  that  the  soil 
could  not  be  ploughed  and  stirred  about  too 
much,  or  unseasonably;  for  the  object  is  to 
let  the  earth  feel  the  cold  of  winter  and  the 
sun  of  summer,  to  invert  the  soil,  and  render 
it  free,  light,  and  clear  of  all  weeds,  so  that  it 
can  most  easily  afford  nourishment.  {De  Cau- 
gis  Plant,  lib.  iii.  cap.  2,  6.) 

Xenophon  recommends  green  plants  to  be 
ploughed  in,  and  even  crops  to  be  raised  for 
the  purpose  ;  "  for  such,"  he  says,  "  enrich  the 
soil  as  much  as  dung."  He  also  recommends 
earth  that  has  been  long  under  water  to  be  put 
upon  land  to  enrich  it,  upon  a  scientific  prin- 
ciple which  we  shall  explain  under  Iuriga- 
Tiox.  Theophrastus,  who  flourished  in  the 
fourth  century  b.  c,  is  still  more  particular  upon 
the  subject  of  manures.  He  states  his  convic- 
tion that  a  proper  mixture  of  soils,  as  clay 
with  sand,  and  the  contrary,  would  produce 
crops  as  luxuriant  as  could  be  effected  by  the 
agency  of  manures.  He  describes  the  pro- 
perties that  render  dungs  beneficial  to  vegeta- 
tion, and  dwells  upon  composts.  {Hist,  of 
Plants,  ii.  cap.  8.)  Xenophon  recommends  the 
stubble  at  reaping  time  to  be  left  long,  if  the 
straw  is  abundant;  "  and  this,  if  burned,  will 
enrich  the  soil  very  much,  or  it  may  be  cut  and 
mixed  with  dung."  "  The  time  of  sowing," 
says  Xenophon,  "must  be  regulated  by  the 
season ;  and  it  is  best  to  allow  seed  enough." 

Weedx  were  carefully  eradicated  from  among 
their  crops ;  "  for,  besides  the  hindrance  they 
are  to  corn,  or  other  profitable  plants,  they 
keep  the  ground  from  receiving  the  benefit  of  a 
free  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air."  Homer 
describes  Laertes  as  hoeing,  when  found  by  his 
son  Ulysses.     (0(h/ss.  xxiv.  226.) 

Water-courses  and  ditches  were  made  to  drain 
away  "  the  wet  which  is  apt  to  do  great  damage 
10  corn." 

Homer  describes  the  mode  of  threshing  corn 
by  the  trampling  of  oxen  (7//ac?,  xx.  lin.  495, 
&c.)  •  and  to  get  the  grain  clear  from  the 
straw,  Xenophon  observes,  "  the  men  who  have 
the  care  of  the  work  take  care  to  shake  up  the 

a6 


straw  as  they  see  occasion,  flinging  into  the 
way  of  the  cattle's  feet  such  corn  as  they  ob- 
serve to  remain  in  the  straw."  From  Theo- 
phrastus and  Xenophon  combined,  we  can  also 
very  particularly  make  out  that  the  Greeks 
separated  the  grain  from  the  chaff  by  throwing 
it  with  a  shovel  against  the  wind. 

III.  The  Agriculture  of  the  Romans. 
2 


1,  2,  3,  Ploughs  used  by  the  Romans  in  different  agea 
4.  The  yoke  for  fixing  the  cattle.  6.  The  reaping  hook 
6.  The  scythe. 

It  is  certain,  that  at  a  very  early  age  Italy 
received  colonies  from  the  Pelasgi  and  Arca- 
dians ;  and  that,  consequently,  with  them  the 
arts  of  Greece  were  introduced ;  and  we  may 
conclude  that  there  was  then  a  similarity  in 
the  practice  of  agriculture  in  the  two  coun- 
tries. 

About  753  years  before  the  nativity  of  Christ, 
Romulus  founded  the  city  of  Rome,  whose  in- 
habitants were  destined  to  be  the  conquerors 
and  the  improvers  of  Europe.  The  Roman 
eagle  was  triumphant  in  Egypt,  Persia,  Greece, 
Carthage,  and  Macedon  ;  and  the  warriors  who 
bore  it  on  to  victory,  in  those  and  other  coun- 
tries, being  all  possessors  of  land  of  a  larger 
or  smaller  extent,  naturally  introduced,  upon 
their  return,  any  superior  vegetable,  or  im- 
proved mode  of  culture,  which  they  observed 
in  those  highly  civilized  seats  of  their  victories. 

Thus  the  arts  of  Rome  arrived  at  a  degree 
of  superiority  that  was  the  result  of  the  accu- 
mulated improvements  of  other  nations  ;  and. 


b 


AGRICULTURE. 


finally,  when  Rome  became  in  turn  the  con- 
quered, the  victors  became  acquainted  with 
this  accumulated  knowledge,  and  diffused  it 
over  the  other  parts  of  Europe. 

Of  the  agriculture  of  the  early  Romans  we 
know  but  little ;  but  of  its  state  during  the 
period  of  their  greatest  prosperity  and  improve- 
ment, we  fortunately  have  ver}^  full  informa- 
tion. Cato  in  the  second,  and  Varro  in  the 
first  century  before  the  Christian  era,  Virgil, 
at  the  period  of  that  event,  Columella  and 
Pliny  but  few  years  subsequentl}%  and  Palla- 
dius  in  the  second  or  fourth  centurj',  each 
wrote  a  work  upon  agriculture,  which,  with 
the  exception  of  that  by  Columella,  Ijave  come 
down  to  us  entire. 

From  these  various  authorities  we  derive 
full  information;  and  we  are  convinced  that 
many  of  our  readers  will  be  surprised  a*  the 
correct  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  cultivation 
possessed  by  that  great  nation. 

1.  Size  of  the  Roman  Farms. — When  Romu- 
lus first  partitioned  the  lands  of  the  infant  state 
among  his  followers,  he  assigned  to  no  one 
more  than  he  could  cultivate.  This  was  a 
space  of  only  two  acres.  (Varro,  i.  10;  Pliny, 
xvii.  1 1 .)  After  the  kings  were  expelled,  seven 
acres  were  allotted  to  each  citizen.  {Pliny, 
xviii.  3.)  Cincinnatus,  Curius  Dentatus,  Fa- 
bricius,  Rcgulus,  and  others,  distinguished  as 
the  most  deserving  of  the  Romans,  had  no 
'arger  estates  than  this.  Cincinnatus,  accord- 
4ng  to  some  authorities,  possessed  only  four 
acres.  {Ibid.,-  Columella,  i.  3,  &c.)  On  these 
limited  spaces  they  dwelt,  and  cultivated  them 
with  their  own  hands.  It  was  from  the  plough 
that  Cincinnatus  was  summoned  to  be  dictator 
{Livy,  iii.  26)  ;  and  the  Samnian  ambassadors 
found  Curias  Dentatus  cooking  his  own  repast 
of  vegetables  in  an  earthen  vessel.  {Plutarch, 
in  vita  Cato.  Cens.) 

Some  of  the  noblest  families  in  Rome  derived 
their  patronymic  names  from  ancestors  desig- 
nated after  some  vegetable,  in  the  cultivation 
of  which  they  excelled,  as  in  the  examples  of 
the  Fabii,  Pisones,  Lentuli,  Cicerones,  and  the 
like.  (Pliny,  xviii.  1.)  In  those  days,  "when 
they  praised  a  good  man,  they  called  him  an 
^agriculturist  and  a  good  husbandman :  he  was 
thought  to  be  very  greatly  honoured  who  was 
thus  praised."  (Cato,  in  Prsef.)  As  the  limits 
of  the  empire  extended,  and  its  wealth  increas- 
ed, the  estates  of  the  Roman  proprietors  became 
very  greatly  enlarged;  and,  as  we  shall  see 
more  particularly  mentioned  in  our  historical 
notices  of  gardening,  attained  to  a  value  of 
80,000/.  (Plutarch  in  vit.  Morius  et  Lucullus.) 
Such  extensive  proprietors  let  portions  of  their 
estates  to  other  citizens,  who,  if  they  paid  for 
them  a  certain  rent,  like  our  modem  tenants, 
were  called  Coloni  (Columella,  i.  7;  Pliny, 
Epist.  X.  24)  and  Politores,  or  Partiarii,  if  they 
shared  the  produce  in  stated  proportions  with 
the  proprietor.  (Pliny,  Epist.  vii.  30,  and  ix. 
37,  &c.)  Leases  were  occasionally  granted, 
which  appear  to  have  been  of  longer  duration 
than  five  years.  (Ibid.  ix.  37.) 

2.  Distinction  of  Soils. — Soils  were  charac- 
terized by  six  different  qualities,  and  were 
described  as  rich  or  poor,  free  or  stiff,  wet  or 
dry.  (Colum.  ii.  2.) 


AGRICULTURE. 

The  best  soil  they  thought  had  a  blackish 
colour,  was  glutinous  when  wet,  and  friable 
when  dry;  exhaled  an  agreeable  smell  when 
•ploughed,  imbibed  water  readily,  retaining  a 
sufficiency,  and  discharging  what  was  super- 
fluous ;  not  injurious  to  the  plough  irons  by 
causing  a  salt  rust;  frequented  by  crows  and 
rooks  at  the  time  of  ploughing;  and,  when  at 
rest,  speedily  covered  with  a  rich  turf.  (  Virg. 
Georg.  ii.  203,  217,  238,  248  ;  Plimj,  xvii.  5.) 

Vines  required  a  light  soil,  and  corn  a  heavy, 
deep,  and  rich  one.  (Virg.  Georg.  ii.  29;  Catoy 
vi.) 

3.  Manures. — The  dung  of  animals  was  par- 
ticularly esteemed  by  the  Romans  for  enrich- 
ing their  soil.  "  Study,"  says  Cato,  "  to  have 
a  large  dunghill."  (Cato,  v.)  They  assidu- 
ously collected  it  and  stored  it  in  covered  pits, 
so  as  to  check  the  escape  of  the  drainage. 
(Colum.  i.  6;  Pliny,  xvii.  9,  and  xxiv.  19.) 
They  sowed  pulverized  pigeons'  dung  and  the 
like  over  their  crops,  and  mixed  it  with  the 
surface  soil  by  means  of  the  sarcle  or  hoe. 
(Colum.  i.  16  ;  Cato,  xxxvi.)  They  were  aware 
of  the  benefit  of  mixing  together  earth  of  oppo- 
site qualities  (Ibid.),  and  of  sowing  lupines 
and  ploughing  them  in  while  green.  (  Varro,  i. 
23.)  They  burnt  the  stubble  upon  the  ground, 
and  even  collected  shrubs  and  the  like  for  the 
similar  purpose  of  enriching  the  soil  with 
their  ashes.  ( Virg.  Georg.  i.  84 ;  Pliny,  xvii, 
6,  25.) 

Pliny  also  mentions  that  lime  was  employed 
as  a  fertilizer  in  Gaul,  and  marl  in  the  same 
country  and  Britain  ;  but  we  can  only  surmise 
hence  that  they  were  also  probably  employed 
by  the  Romans.  (Pliny,  xvii.  8,  and  xvii.  5.) 

4.  Draining. — The  superfluous  water  of  soils 
was  carried  off  by  means  both  of  open  and 
covered  drains.  (Colum.  ii.  2,  8  ;  Pliny,  xvii. 
c. ;  Virg.  Georg.  i.  109.)  Cato  is  very  particu- 
lar in  his  directions  for  making  them.  (Cato, 
xliii.  clx.) 

5.  Crops. — They  cultivated  wheat,  spelt, 
barley,  oats,  flax,  beans,  pease,  lupines,  kidney- 
beans,  lentils,  tares,  sesame,  turnips,  vines, 
olives,  willows,  and  the  like.  To  cite  the  au 
thorities  who  mention  each  of  these  would  be 
needless,  for  they  are  noticed  in  all  the  Roman 
writers  upon  agriculture.  Of  the  relative  im- 
portance or  proportion  in  which  the  crops 
were  profitable  to  the  Romans,  we  have  this 
judgment  of  Cato  : — "If  you  can  buy  100  acres 
of  land  in  a  very  good  situation,  the  vineyard 
is  the  first  object  if  it  yields  much  wine ;  in 
the  second  place,  a  well-watered  garden ;  in 
the  third,  a  willow  plantation  ;  in  the  fourth, 
an  olive  ground ;  in  the  fifth,  a  meadow ;  in 
the  sixth,  corn  ground;  in  the  seventh,  an 
underwood,  a  plantation  yielding  stout  poles 
for  training  the  vine;  and  in  the  ninth,  a  wood 
where  mast  grows."  (Cato,  i.) 

They  made  hay,  and  the  process  appears  to 
have  been  the  same  as  in  modern  timt.s.  After 
being  cut  it  was  turned  with  forks,  piled  into 
conical  heaps,  and  finally  into  stacks  or  under 
cover.  But  the  mowing  was  imperfectly  per- 
formed ;  for,  as  soon  as  the  hay  was  removed 
from  the  field,  the  mowers  had  to  go  over  it 
again.  (  Farro  ;   Colum.  ii.  22.) 

6.  Implements.— The  plough  consisted  of  »" 

D  37 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


veral  parts  :  the  beam  to  M-hich  the  yoke  of  the 
oxen  M'as  fastened ;  the  tail  or  handle  termi- 
nated in  a  cross  bar,  with  which  the  ploughman 
guided  the  instrument;  it  had  a  ploughshare, 
the  share-beam  to  which  it  was  fixed,  and  two 
mould-boards,  a  coulter,  and  a  plough-staff  for 
cleaning  the  ploughshare.  {Ooid.  Pont.  i.  8, 
57;  Virg.  G.  i.  170 ;  Pliny,  xvii.  18,  19.)  Some 
of  their  ploughs  had  wheels,  and  some  were 
without  coulters  and  earth-boards.  Besides 
this,  they  had  spades,  rakes,  hoes,  with  plain 
and  with  forked  blades,  harrows,  mattocks, 
and  similar  implements. 

7.  Operations. — Ploughing  was  usually  per- 
formed by  two  oxen,  though  three  were  some- 
times employed.  They  were  yoked  abreast, 
and  trained  when  young  to  the  employment. 
{Cicero,  in  Verr.  iii.  21 ;  Col.  vi.  2,  10  ;  Pliny, 
xviii.  18 ;  Virg.  G.  iii.  163,  &c.)  They  were 
usually  yoked  by  the  neck,  but  sometimes  by 
the  horns.  {Pliny,  viii.  45;  Colum.  ii.  2.) 
There  was  but  one  man  to  a  plough,  which  he 
guided,  and  managed  the  oxen  with  a  goad. 
{Pliny,  Epist.  viii.  17.) 

They  sometimes  ploughed  in  ridges,  and 
sometimes  not.  They  did  not  take  a  circuit 
when  they  caifte  to  the  end  of  the  field,  as  is 
our  practice,  but  returned  close  to  the  furrow. 
They  were  very  particular  in  drawing  straight 
and  equal  sized  furrows.  (  Pliny,  xviii.  1 9,  s.  49.) 

They  seem  to  have  ploughed  three  times  al- 
ways before  they  sowed  (  Varro,  i.  29)  ;  and  to 
stiff  soils  even  as  many  as  nine  ploughings  were 
given.  (  Virg.  G.  i.  47  ;  Pliny,  xviii.  20  ;  Pliny, 
Epist.  V.  6.)  The  furrows  in  the  first  plough- 
ing were  usually  nine  inches  deep.  When  the 
soil  was  only  stirred  about  three  inches,  it  was 
called  scarification.  {Pliny,  xviii.  17 — 19.) 
They  usually  fallowed  their  land  every  other 
year.     {Vij-g.  G.  i.  71.) 

Sowing  was  performed  by  hand,  from  a  bas- 
ket ;  and  that  it  might  be  performed  regularly, 
the  hand  moved  with  the  steps.  {Colum.  ii.  9  ; 
Pliny,  xviii.  24.)  The  seed  was  either  scat- 
tered upon  the  land  and  covered  by  means  of 
rakes  and  harrows,  or  more  commonly  by  sow- 
ing it  upon  a  plain  surface,  and  covering  by  a 
shallow  ploughing,  which  caused  it  to  come  up 
in  rows,  and  facilitated  the  operation  of  hoeing. 
{Pliny,  xviii.  20.)  They  were  particular  as  to 
the  time  of  sowing,  the  choice  of  seeds,  and 
the  quantity  sown.  (  Varro,  i.  44 ;  Pliny,  xviii. 
24,  s.  55  ;    Virg.  G.  i.  193,  &c.) 

Weeding  was  performed  by  hoes,  hooks,  and 
by  hand. 

In  dry  seasons  the  crops  were  watered. 
{Virg.  G.  i.  106.)  If  they  appeared  too  luxu- 
riant they  were  fed  off.     (Ibid.  193.) 

Reaping  and  mowing  were  the  usual  modes 
of  cutting  down  the  corn  crops,  but  the 
ears  were  sometimes  taken  off  by  a  toothed 
machine,  called  butilium,  which  «:eems  to  have 
been  a  wheeled  cart,  pushed  by  oxen  through 
the  corn,  and  catching  the  ears  of  corn  between 
a  low  of  teeth  fixed  to  it,  upon  the  principle  of 
the  modern  daisy  rake.  In  Gaul,  the  corn  was 
cut  down  by  a  machine  draAvn  by  two  horses. 
{Varro,  i.  50;  Virg.  G.  i.  317;  Colum.  ii.  21  ; 
Pliny,  xviii.  30.)  They  do  not  seem  to  have 
ver  bound  their  com  into  sheaves.  {Colum. 
1.) 

as 


!     Threshing  was  performed  by  the  trampling 
'  of  oxen  and* horses,  by  flails,  and  by  means  of 
I  sledges  drawn  over  the  corn.  {Pliny,  xvii.  30 ; 
\  Colum.  i.  6;   Virg.  G.  iii.  132;   Tibullus,  i.  5, 
I  22 ;    Varro,   i.  52.)     The  threshing-floor  was 
circular,   placed    near    the    house,   on    high 
ground,  and  exposed  on  all  sides  to  the  winds. 
It  was  highest  in  the  centre,  and  paved  with 
stones,  or  more  usually  with  clay,  mixed  with 
the  lees  of  the  oil,  and  very  carefully  consoli- 
dated. {Colum.  i.  6;   Varro,  i.  2;   Virg.   G.  i. 
178  ;  Cato,  xci.  and  cxxix.) 

Dressing  was  performed  by  means  of  aseive 
or  van,  and  by  a  shovel,  with  which  it  was 
thrown  up. and  exposed  to  the  wind.  {Varro^ 
i.  52 ;  Colum.  ii.  21.)  It  was  finally  stowed  in 
granaries  or  in  pits,  where  it  would  keep  fifty 
years.  {Pliny,  xviii.  30  ;  Varro,  i.  57.) 

8.  Animals. — Oxen,  horses,  asses,  mules, 
sheep,  goats,  swine,  hens,  pigeons,  pea-fowls, 
pheasants,  geese,  ducks,  swans,  guinea-fowls, 
and  bees,  are  mentioned  by  various  authors  as 
products  of  the  Roman  farms.  Directions  for 
breeding  many  of  these  are  given  in  the  third 
and  fourth  books  of  the  Georgics. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  Roman  agriculture ; 
and  in  it  our  readers  will  doubtless  find  suffi- 
cient evidence  to  warrant  them  in  agreeing 
with  us,  that  it  was  but  little  different  from  that 
pursued  by  the  present  farmers  of  England. 
We  are  superior  to  them  in  our  implements, 
and  consequently  in  the  facility  of  performing 
the  operation  of  tillage  ;  we  perhaps  have  su- 
perior varieties  of  corn,  but  we  most  excel 
them  in  our  rotation  of  crops,  and  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  stock.  We  differ  from  them,  also, 
in  not  practising  the  superstitious  rites  and 
sacrifices  which  accompanied  almost  all  their 
operations  (see  Cuto,  cxxxiv.  c.)  ;  but  of  the 
fundamental  practices  of  agriculture,  they  were 
as  fully  aware  as  ourselves.  No  modern  wri- 
ter could  lay  down  more  correct  and  compre- 
hensive axioms  than  Cato  did  in  the  following 
words  ;  and  whoever  strictly  obeys  them  will 
never  be  ranked  among  the  ignorant  of  the 
art.  "  What  is  good  tillage  7"  says  this  oldest 
of  the  Roman  teachers  of  agriculture ;  "  to 
plough.  What  is  the  second  ?  to  plough.  The 
third  is  to  manure.  The  other  part  of  tillage 
is  to  sow  plentifully,  to  choose  your  seed  cau- 
tiously, and  to  remove  as  many  weeds  as  pos- 
sible in  the  season."     {Caio  Ixi.) 

Such  is  an  epitome  of  their  agricultural 
knowledge ;  a  knowledge  which  has  since  in- 
creased, and  can  only  in  future  be  added  to  by 
attending  to  this  advice  of  another  of  their 
writers.  "  Nature,"  he  observes,  "  has  shown 
to  us  two  paths  which  lead  to  a  knowledge  of 
agriculture — experience  and  imitation.  Pre- 
ceding husbandmen,  by  makmg  experiments, 
have  established  many  maxims ;  their  poste- 
rity generally  imitate  them  ;  but  we  ought  n«t 
only  to  imitate  others,  but  make  experiments, 
not  directed  by  chance,  but  by  reason." 
{Varro,  i.  18.) 

IV.   The  Agiuculture  of  Englats^d. 

The  historian  of  English  agriculture  has  not 
the  least  trace  of  authority  from  which  he  can 
obtain  information  of  its  state  beyond  the  pe 


IT 

nuawnen  the  I 


AGRICULTURE. 

tn  the  Romans  invaded  this  island,  and 
the  annals  of  even  that  period  are  meager  and 
unsatisfactory. 

When  Cocsar  arrived  in  England,  about  55 
B.  c,  he  describes  the  Cantii,  or  inhabitants  of 
Kent,  and  the  Belgoe,  inhabiting  the  modern 
counties  of  Somerset,  Wilts,  and  Hants,  as 
much  more  advanced  than  the  rest  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  habits  of  civilized  life.  They  culti- 
vated the  soil ;  employed  marl  as  manure ; 
stored  their  cornnnthreshed,  and  freed  it  from 
the  chaff' and  bran  only  as  their  daily  demands 
required.  The  interior  inhabitants  lived  chietly 
upon  milk  and  tlesh,  being  fed  and  clothed  by 
the  produce  of  their  herds.  "  The  country," 
adds  Cassar,  "  is  well-peopled,  and  abounds  in 
buildings  resembling  these  of  the  Gauls,  and 
they  have  a  great  abundance  of  cattle.  They 
are  not  allowed  to  eat  either  the  hen,  the  goose, 
or  the  hare,  yet  they  take  pleasure  in  breeding 
them."  {Cos,  v.  c.  10  ;  Utrabo,  iv.  305  ;  Diodor. 
Sic.  V.  301 ;  Pliny,  xvii.  4.)  Cicero,  in  one  of 
his  letters,  says,  "  There  is  not  a  scruple  of 
money  in  the  island ;  nor  any  hopes  of  booty, 
but  in  slaves;  (Lib.  iv.  Ep.  17)  ;  a  description, 
that  the  industry  and  intelligence  of  succeed- 
ing ages  has  rendered  singularly  inapplicable. 
The  ftrst  steps  in  that  improvement  were  owing 
to  the  Romans  themselves.  Rutilius  has  ele- 
gantly and  correctly  said,  that  Rome  filled  the 
world  with  her  legislative  triumphs,  and  caused 
all  to  live  in  on«  common  union,  blending  dis- 
cordant nations  into  one  country,  and,  by  im- 
parting a  companionship  in  her  own  acquire- 
ments and  laws,  formed  one  great  city  of  the 
world. 

Agricola  was  the  chief  instrument  in  impart- 
ing to  the  Britons  the  improved  arts  and  civi- 
lization of  the  Romans.  "To  wean  them  from 
their  savage  habits,  Agricola  held  forth  the 
baits  of  pleasure,  encouraging  the  natives,  as 
well  by  public  assistance  as  by  warm  exhorta- 
tions, to  build  temples,  courts  of  justice,  and 
commodious  dwelling-houses.  He  bestowed 
encomiums  on  such  as  cheerfully  obeyed ;  the 
slow  and  uncomplying  were  branded  with  re- 
proach ;  and  thus  a  spirit  of  emulation  diffused 
itself,  operating  like  a  sense  of  duty.  To  es- 
tablish a  plan  of  education,  and  give  the  sons 
ef  the  leading  chiefs  a  tincture  of  letters,  was 
part  of  his  policy.  By  way  of  encouragement 
he  praised  their  talents,  and  already  saw  them, 
»by  the  force  of  their  natural  genius,  rising  su- 
perior to  the  attainments  of  the  Gauls.  The 
consequence  was,  that  they  who  had  always 
disdained  the  Roman  language  began  to  culti- 
vate its  beauties.  The  Roman  apparel  was 
seen  without  prejudice,  and  the  toga  became  a 
fashionable  part  of  dress.  By  degrees,  the 
charms  of  vice  gained  admission  to  their 
hearts ;  baths,  porticos,  and  elegant  banquets 
grew  into  vogue  ;  and  the  new  manners,  which 
in  fact  served  only  to  sweeten  slavery,  were  by 
the  unsuspecting  Britons  called  the  arts  of 
polished  humanity."  {Tacitus,  Agricola,  xxi.) 
Thus  eloquently  does  Tacitus  describe  the  dif- 
fusion of  the  Roman  arts  among  the  early  na- 
tives of  England ;  and  that  agriculture  was 
one  of  those  in  which  they  so  rapidly  improved, 
is  attested  by  the  fact  that  in  the  fourth  century 
the  Emperor  Julian,  having  erected  here  gra- 


AGRICULTURE. 

naries  in  which  to  store  the  tributary  corn  that 
he  exacted  from  the  natives,  at  one  time  sent  a 
fleet  of  600  large  vessels  to  convey  away  the 
store  they  contained.  Julian  himself  particu- 
larizes the  transaction.  "If,"  says  Gibbon, 
"we  compute  those  vessels  at  only  seventy 
tons  each,  they  were  capable  of  exporting 
120,000  quarters  ;  and  the  country  which  could 
bear  so  large  an  exportation  must  have  attained 
an  improved  state  of  agriculture."  {Dec.  and 
Fall  of  Rom.  Emp.  c.  xix.) 

Possessing  this  improved  agriculture,  Eng- 
land was  successively  subdued  by  the  Saxons, 
the  Danes,  and  the  Normans ;  but  as  these  all 
came  to  improve  their  fortunes,  and  to  win  the 
comforts  of  life,  agriculture  continued  to  flou- 
rish :  her  operations  were  interrupted,  her  pro- 
ducts destroyed,  in  whichever  direction  swept 
the  tide  of  war;  but  no  sooner  was  peace  re- 
stored than  the  inhabitants,  though  of  varied 
extraction,  united  their  knowledge  in  the  pur- 
suit of  this  art,  on  which  not  only  their  com- 
fort, but  their  existence  chiefly  depended.  A 
similar  summary  observation  applies  to  all 
succeeding  ages ;  and  our  agriculture  has  con- 
tinued slowly  to  improve  in  spite  of  every  ob- 
stacle that  has  occasionally  delayed,  or  that 
has  permanently  retarded  its  advance. 

1.  Tenures — Size  of  Estates. — The  native 
Britons,  it  is  very  certain,  appropriated  but 
small  portions  of  the  land  for  raising  corn,  or 
other  cultivated  vegetables,  and  the  rest  of  the 
country  was  left  entirely  open,  affording  a 
common  pasturage  for  their  cattle,  and  pan-^ 
nage  for  their  swine.  Under  the  Roman 
government,  we  have  seen  that  the  extent  of 
cultivated  ground  must  have  considerably  in- 
creased,* yet  the  oldest  writers  agree,  that  by 
far  the  greatest  proportion  of  the  country  was 
occupied  by  heaths,  woods,  and  other  unre- 
claimed wastes. 

When  the  Saxons  established  themselves  in 
the  island,  an  almost  total  revolution  in  the 
proprietorship  of  the  lands  must  have  occur- 
red. The  conquest  was  only  accomplished 
after  a  bloody  struggle ;  and  what  was  won 
by  the  sword  was  considered  to  possess  an 
equitable  title,  that  the  sword  alone  could  dis- 
turb. In  those  days  it  was  considered  that  the 
lands  of  a  country  all  belonged  to  the  king ; 
and  on  this  principle  the  Saxon  monarchs 
gave  to  their  followers  whatever  districts  they 
pleased,  as  rewards  for  the  assistance  afforded 
in  the  conquest,  reserving  to  themselves  cer- 
tain portions,  and  imposing  certain  burdens 
upon  each  estate  granted.  (  Coke's  Littleton,  1. 
58.  2 ;  Blackstone's  Comm.  45,  &c.)  This  was 
only  a  continuance  of  that  feudal  system  that 
prevailed  upon  the  Continent. 

As  this  feudal  system  declined,  and  was 
finally  extinguished  in  the  twelfth  year  ff 
Charles  II.,  so  proportionally  did  the  landed 
interest  increase  in  prosperity.  Freed  from 
the  burden  of  furnishing  a  soldier  and  hi'» 
armour  for  every  certain  number  of  acrf*, 
and  all  restrictions  as  to  lands  changing  hands 
bemg  removed,  and  the  numerous  impositions 
being  got  rid  off",  with  which  the  lords  op- 
pressed  their  sub-infeudatories,  it  soon  becamt 
a  marketable  species  of  property;  and,  a» 
money  and  merchandibi  increased,  and  the 
^  39 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


proprietor  lived  less  upon  his  estate,  it  soon 
became  the  most  eligible  plan  for  both  landlord 
and  tenant,  that  the  whole  rent  should  be  paid 
in  money. 

Of  the  size  of  these  early  farms  we  have  no 
precise  information;  but,  from  the  laws  of 
Ina  We  may  perhaps  conclude  that  a  hide  of 
land,  equal  to  about  100  or  120  acres,  was  the 
customary  size ;  for,  in  speaking  of  the  pro- 
duce to  be  given  to  the  lord  for  ten  hides,  the 
law  speaks  of  the  smallest  division  of  each 
county  of  which  it  was  particularly  cognisant; 
namely,  of  ten  families,  or  a  tithing,  as  they 
were  collectively  called.  Again,  Bede  ex- 
pressly calls  a  hide  of  land  familia,  and  says 
it  was  suificient  to  support  a  family.  It  was 
otherwise  called  mansum,  or  manerium,  and 
was  considered  to  be  so  much  as  one  could 
cultivate  in  a  year. 

War  succeeded  war,  and  chivalry  and  the 
chase  were  the  engrossing  occupations  of  the 
landed  proprietors  during  the  whole  of  the 
middle  ages;  yet  amid  all  these  convulsions, 
and  all  this  neglect,  agriculture  continued  to 
obtain  a  similar  degree  of  attention,  and  its 
practitioners  to  occupy  a  similarly  humble, 
yet  more  independent  station  of  life.  Bishop 
Latimer  flourished  in  the  first  half  of  the  six- 
teenth century ;  and  Lis  father  was  among  ihe 
most  respectable  yeomen  of  his  time,  yet  his 
farm  evidently  did  not  exceed  100  acres.  "My 
father,"  says  Latimer,  "was  a  yeoman,  and 
had  no  lands  of  his  own  ;  he  had  only  a  farm 
of  three  or  four  pounds  by  the  year,  at  the 
utmost;  and  hereupon  he  tilled  as  much  as 
kept  half  a  dozen  men.  He  had  a  walk  for  100 
sheep ;  and  my  mother  milked  thirty  kine," 
&c.  {Latimer's  Sermons,  p.  30.)  But  Ihat  this 
class  of  society  was  then  not  very  refined,  is 
proved  by  Sir  A.  Fitzherbert,  in  his  Book  of 
Husbandry,  declaring,  "It  is  the  wife's  occupa- 
tion to  winnow  all  manner  of  corn,  to  make 
malt,  to  wash  and  wring,  to  make  hay,  to  shear 
corn,  and  in  time  of  need  to  help  her  husband 
to  fill  the  muckwain,  or  dung-cart ;  to  drive 
the  plough,  to  load  corn,  hay,  and  such  other ; 
and  to  go  or  ride  to  the  market ;  to  sell  butter, 
cheese,  milk,  eggs,  chickens,  capons,  hens, 
pigs,  geese,  and  all  manner  of  corn." 

This  race  of  farmers,  and  this  extent  of 
farm,  continued  much  the  same  till  the  closing 
years  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  wife, 
indeed,  had  long  previously  ceased  to  partici- 
pate in  the  above-mentioned  drudgery,  but  she 
still  attended  the  dairy,  and  sold  its  products 
at  market,  as  her  husband  still  participated  in 
the  usual  labours  of  his  farm ;  but  in  the  latter 
half  of  that  century,  and  thence  to  the  present 
time,  a  diflTerent  class  of  men  have  engaged  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  accumulation 
of  wealth  from  the  vast  increase  and  improve- 
ment of  manufactures  and  commerce,  the 
diffusion  of  better  information,  and  the  in- 
creased population,  have  all  contributed  to  this 
effect.  Individuals  engage  in  the  pursuit 
whose  education  and  habits  require  a  larger 
income  for  their  indulgence  than  can  be 
afforded  by  the  profits  of  a  small  farm ;  and, 
consequently,  in  districts  having  the  most  fer- 
hie  soils,  farms  of  from  300  to  500  acres  are 
very  common ;  whilst  in  less  productive  dis- 
40 


tricts  they  extend  even  to  1000  ah'-  ^000  acres* 
With  the  present  expenditure  of  vent,  tithe, 
taxes,  rates,  and  labour,  and  the  reduced 
prices  of  agricultural  produce,  farms,  even 
of  those  extents,  cannot  yield  a  profit  sufficient 
to  support  the  farmer  of  refined  habits.  And 
if  the  present  artificial  system  of  corn  laws  is 
removed,  we  do  not  see  any  possible  rct^ult  but 
a  return  to  smaller  farms,  and  a  more  labour- 
ing class  of  tenants ;  for  it  admits  of  perfect 
demonstration,  that  small  farms,  having  that 
manual  labour,  and  that  careful  tillage  which 
small  plots  obtain,  return  a  more  abundant 
produce  than  those  which  are  too  large  to  be 
so  attentively  cultivated. 

Enclosure  of  Land. — It  is  a  rule,  founded 
upon  general  observation,  that  the  most  en- 
closed country  is  always  the  best  cultivated  i 
for,  as  Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert  observed,  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  live  stock  may  be 
better  kept,  and  with  less  attendance,  closes 
be  better  alternately  cropped,  and  the  crops 
better  sheltered  in  inclement  seasons,  "if  an 
acre  of  land,"  he  concludes,  "be  worth  six- 
pence an  acre  before  it  is  enclosed." 

We  have  seen,  already,  that  hedges,  ditches, 
and  other  fences,  marked  the  boundaries  of 
the  early  Saxon  estates  ;  and  these  were  cer- 
tainly not  adventitious  distinctions,  for  they 
are  mentioned  in  most  of  the  Saxon  grants  of 
which  we  are  aware,  and  are  strictly  regulated 
and  protected  by  law.  If  a  tenant  omitted  to 
keep  his  farm  enclosed,  both  in  winter  and 
summer,  and  to  keep  his  gate  closed,  if  any 
damage  arose  from  his  hedge  being  broken 
down,  or  his  gate  being  open,  he  was  declared 
to  be  legally  punishable.  (  Wilkins,  Leges  Sax, 
21.)  If  a  freeman  broke  through  another's 
hedge  he  was  fined  6s-.  (Ibid.) 

As  woollen  manufactures  improved,  the  de- 
mand for  broad  cloths  became  excessive,  not 
only  in  England  but  in  the  continental  na- 
tions; and  the  consequent  consumption  of 
wool  was  so  large,  and  the  price  was  so  en- 
hanced, that  self-interest  dictated  to  the  landed 
proprietors,  even  in  the  reign  of  Henry  III., 
that  the  enclosure  of  their  manorial  wastes,  on 
which  to  feed  sheep  upon  their  own  account, 
or  to  let  out  as  pasture  farms,  would  be  a 
source  of  extensive  emolument.  The  statutes, 
of  20  Hen.  3,  13  Edw.  1,  and  others,  were  con- 
sequently passed  for  sanctioning  and  regu- 
lating the  practice.  The  demand  for  woollens  « 
continued,  and  became  so  great,  that  rapidity 
of  manufacture  was  the  chief  consideration. 
"  Yet  as  ill  as  they  be  made,"  says  King  Ed- 
ward VI.,  in  his  private  journal,  "  the  Flemings 
do  at  this  time  desire  them  wonderfully."  The 
consequences  are  depicted  by  the  same  genuine 
authority.  "The  artificer  will  leave  the  town, 
and  for  his  mere  pastime  will  live  in  the  coun- 
try ;  yea,  more  than  that,  will  be  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  will  scorn  to  have  it  denied  him,  so 
lordly  be  they  now-a-days ;  for  they  are  not  con- 
tent with  2000  sheep,  but  they  must  have  20,000, 
or  else  they  think  themselves  not  well.  They 
must  have  twenty  miles  square  their  own  land, 
or  full  of  their  farms :  four  or  five  crafts  to  live 
by  is  too  little.  Such  hell-hounds  be  they.** 
(Edward  the  Sixth's  Remains,  p.  101.)  The 
rents  of  land  were  consequently  enormously 


AGRICULTURE. 


raised,  and  the  corn  farmers  were  mined. 
"  They  everywhere,"  says  Roger  Ascham,  "  la- 
bour, economize,  and  consume  themselves 
to  satisfy  their  owners.  Hence  so  many 
families  dispersed,  so  many  houses  ruined,  so 
many  tables  common  to  every  one,  taken 
away.  Hence  the  honour  and  strength  of 
England,  the  noble  yeomanry,  are  broken  up 
and  desrroyed."  {Ascham' s  Epistles,  293 — 295.) 
Bishops  Story,  Latimer,  and  others,  raised 
their  voices  in  their  behalf,  and  hurled  their 
invectives  from  the  pulpit  upon  those  who  op- 
pressed them.  "Let  them,"  said  Latimer,  in  a 
sennon  preached  before  the  king,  "  let  them 
have  sutlicient  to  maintain  them,  and  to  find 
them  in  necessaries.  A  plough  land  must 
have  sheep  to  dung  their  ground  for  bearing 
corn  ;  they  must  have  swiue  for  their  food,  to 
make  their  bacon  of;  their  bacon  is  their  veni- 
son, it  is  their  necessary  food  to  feed  on, 
which  they  may  not  lack ;  they  must  have 
other  cattle,  as  horses  to  draw  their  plough, 
and  for  carriage  of  things  to  the  markets,  and 
kine  for  their  milk  and  cheese,  which  they 
must  live  upon,  and  pay  their  rents." 

The  short-sighted  executive  of  that  period 
endeavoured  to  prevent  these  enclosures  by  a 
prohibitory  proclamation,  as  the  legislature 
had  done  by  the  statutes  4  Hen.  7,  c.  16,  19. 
There  doubtless  was  great  distress,  and  always 
will  be  upon  any  sudden  change  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  national  industry,  and  in  none  more 
extensively  than  in  the  return  from  an  agri- 
cultural to  a  pastoral  mode  of  life.  But,  as  is 
observed  by  one  of  the  most  impartial  of  our 
historians,  "every  one  has  a  legal  and  social 
right  of  employing  his  property  as  he  pleases  ; 
and  how  far  he  will  make  his  use  of  it  com- 
patible with  the  comforts  of  others,  must  be 
always  a  matter  of  his  private  consideration, 
with  which  no  one,  without  infringing  the  com- 
mon freedom  of  all,  can  ever  interfere.  That 
no  national  detriment  resulted  from  this  exten- 
sive enclosure — no  diminution  of  the  riches, 
food,  and  prosperity  of  the  country  at  large,  is 
clear  to  every  one  who  surveys  the  general 
state  and  progress  of  England  with  a  compre- 
hensive impartiality."  {Turners  History  of 
Edward  the  Sixth,  &c.)  "  The  landlord,"  he 
further  observes,  "  advanced  his  rent,  but  the 
farmer  also  was  demanding  more  for  his  pro- 
duce." 

The  evil  of  converting  arable  to  pasture 
land  cured  itself.  The  increased  growth  of 
wool  in  other  countries,  and  the  improvement 
of  their  manufactures,  by  degrees  caused  the 
production  of  it  in  England  to  diminish :  and 
as  dearths  of  corn  accrued,  and  the  consequent 
enormous  increase  of  its  value  rendered  its 
growth  more  lucrative,  pasture-land  gradually 
returned  to  the  dominion  of  the  plough. 

Since  that  period  enclosures  have  gone  on 
with  various,  but  certainly  undiminished,  de- 
grees of  activity.  More  than  3000  enclosure 
bills  were  passed  in  the  reign  of  George  III. 
The  land  so  enclosed  was,  and  is,  chiefly  dedi- 
cated to  the  growth  of  corn ;  but  since  the  field 
culture  of  turnips  was  introduced  in  the  seven- 
teeth,  of  mangel  wurzel  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, and  other  improvements  in  agricultural 
practice,  every  farm  is  ecabled  to  combine 
6 


AGRICULTURE. 

the  advantages  of  the  stock  and  tilla'^e  hns- 
bandry.  "^ 

Implemen1s.~lx  is  very  certain  that  the  state 
of  any  art  is  intimatelv  connected  with  that  of 
Its  instruments.  If  these  are  imperfect  it  can- 
not be  much  advanced ;  and  this  is  so  univer- 
sally the  case,  that  agriculture,  of  course,  is  no 
exception. 


1.  Norman  plough,  with  the  hatchet  carried  by  the 
plouphnian  for  breaking  the  clods.  2.  Sowing,  as  re- 
presented bj  Striitt.  3.  Reaping.  4.  Threshing.  5.  Whet- 
ting.   6.  Beating  hemp. 

We   find,  in   the  earliest  of  our  national 
records,  that  the  plough,  the  most  impc;rtant 
implement  of  husbandmen,  was  then  of  £.  very 
rude  construction.     In  general  form  it  rudely 
resembled  the  plough  now  employed,  but  the 
workmanship  was  singularly  imperfect.    This 
is  no  matter  of  surprise  ;  for  among  the  early- 
inhabitants  of  this  country  there  were  n»»  arti- 
ficers.    The  ploughman  was  also  the  piough- 
wright.    It  was  a  law  of  the  early  Britoni  that 
no  one  should  guide  a  plough  until  he  could 
make  one;  and  that  the  driver  should  make 
the  traces,  by  which  it  was  drawn,  of  withs  or 
twisted  willow,  a  circumstance  which  affords 
an  interpretation  to  many  corrupt  terms  at 
present  used  by  farming  men  to  distinguish 
the  parts  of  the  cart  harness.    Thus  the  womb 
withy  has  degenerated  into  wambtye  or  wanly e,- 
withtn  trees  into  whipping  or  Whipple  trees ,-  be- 
sides which  we  have  the  tail  withes,  and  some 
others  still  uncorrupted.    {Leges  WaUicse,  283 
—288.)     We  read,  also,  that  Easterwin,  Abbot 
of  Wearmouth,  not  only  guided  the  plough  and 
winnowed  the  corn  grown  on  the  abbey  land?, 
but  also  with  his  hammer  forged  the  instru- 
ments  of  husbandry  upon  the  anvil.    {Bede, 
Hist.  Abb.  Wearmoth,  296.)     Whether  the  early 
British  or  Saxon  ploughs  had  wheels  is  uncer- 
tain, but  those  of  the  Normans  certainly  had 
such   appendages.      Pliny   says    that  whtels 
were  first  applied  to  ploughs  by  the  Gau)u 
D  2  4» 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


The  Britons  were  forbidden  to  plough  with 
any  other  animal  than  the  ox;  and  they  attached 
any  requisite  number  of  oxen  to  the  plough. 
The  Normans  had  been  accustomed,  in  their 
light  soils,  to  employ  only  one,  or  at  most  two. 
{Leges  Wiilliae,  288;  Motiffaucon's  Monumens 
dt  Monarckie  Frangois  I.  Planche,  47 ;  Giraldus 
Cainbrensis^c.  17.) 

The  gigantic  and  universal  impulse  that 
seemed  simultaneously  to  affect  the  human 
mind  in  the  sixteenth  century,  tended  to  the 
improvement  of  sciences  which  could  not  be 
benefitted  without  agriculture  sharing  in  the 
ood.  Metallurgy  and  its  subservient  arts,  and 
pplied  mathematics,  were  thus  assistant  to 
mproving  the  plough.  It  received  the  first 
improvement  among  the  Dutch  and  Flemings 
in  the  sixteenth  century ;  and  still  more  so  in 
Scotland  in  the  following  one. 

The  common  wooden  swing-plough  is  the 
state  to  which  it  was  brought  in  the  last-named 
country,  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  still  is 
known  in  many  countries,  as  the  improved 
Scotch  plough.  The  first  author  of  the  improved 
form  is  differently  stated.  A  man  of  the  name 
of  Lummis  has  by  one  writer  this  credit  as- 
signed to  him,  though  he  learned  the  improve- 
ment in  Holland.  He  obtained  a  patent  for  his 
form  of  construction  ;  but  another  ploughman, 
named  Pashley,  living  at  Kirkleathem,  pirated 
his  invention.  The  son  of  Lumrais  established 
a  manufactory  at  Rotherham  in  Yorkshire, 
whence  it  is  sometimes  called  the  Rotherham 
plough ;  but  in  Scotland  it  was  known  as  the 
Dutch  or  Patent  Plough.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Rotherham  plough  is  said  to  have  been 
made  at  that  town  in  1720,  or  ten  years  before 
Lummis's  improvements.  The  grandmother 
of  the  Earl  Buchan,  Lady  Stewart  of  Goodtrees, 
near  Edinburgh,  is  also  named  as  an  improver. 
She  invented  the  Rutherglen  plough,  formerly 
much  employed  in  the  west  of  Scotland.  Mr. 
Small,  in  1784,  and  Mr.  Bailey,  in  1795,  pub- 
lished upon  the  proper  mathematical  form  of 
this  implement.  In  the  fourth  volume  of  the 
Transactions  of  the  Highland  Society,  and  in  the 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture  for  Februar)'', 
1829,  there  are  also  two  valuable  Essays  upon 
the  same  subject.  In  1811  this  plough  came 
very  generally  to  be  made  of  cast  iron.  (Amos's 
Essay  on  Agricultural  Machines,  Survey  of  W. 
Riding  of  Yorkshire,  Sec.) 

Wheel  ploughs  have  been  commensurately 
improved.  The  objects  to  be  attended  to  in  the 
formation  of  a  plough,  and  that  is  the  best 
which  attains  to  them  most  effectually,  are, 
first,  that  it  shall  enter  and  pass  through  the 
oil  with  the  least  possible  resistance ;  se- 
condly, that  the  furrow-slice  be  accurately 
turned  over;  and,  thirdly,  that  the  moving 
power  or  team  shall  be  placed  in  the  most 
beneficial  line  of  draught. 

Scarifiers  and  horse  hoes  are  implements 
wnich  were  unknown  till  within  about  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Hoeing  by  manual  labour  had,  in 
very  early  ages,  been  partially  practised ;  for 
the  earliest  writers,  we  have  seen,  recom- 
mended particular  attention  to  the  cutting 
down  and  destroying  of  weeds.  But  to  Jethro 
Tull,  is  indisputably  due  the  honour  of  having 
first  demonstrated  the  importance  of  frequent 


hoeing,  not  merely  to  extirpate  weeds,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  pulverizing  the  soil,  by  which 
process  the  gases  and  moisture  of  the  atmos= 
phere  are  enabled  more  freely  to  penetrate  to 
the  roots  of  the  crop.  The  works  of  Tull  ap- 
peared between  the  years  1731  and  1739. 

Drills. — We  noticed,  when  considering  the 
Roman  agriculture,  that  the  Romans  endea- 
voured to  attain  the  advantages  incident  to 
row-culture  by  ploughing  in  their  seeds.  A 
rude  machine  is  described  in  the  Transactions 
of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  as  having  been 
used  immemorialiy  in  India  for  sowing  in 
rows.  The  first  drill  for  this  purpose  intro- 
duced into  Europe  seems  to  have  been  the  in- 
vention of  a  German,  who  made  it  known  to 
the  Spanish  court  in  1647.  {Harte's  Essays  mi 
Husbandry.)  It  was  first  brought  much  into 
notice  in  this  country  by  Tull,  in  1731 ;  hut  the 
practice  did  not  come  into  any  thing  like  ge- 
neral adoption  till  the  commencement  of  the 
present  century.  There  are  now  several  im- 
proved machines  adapted  to  the  sowing  of 
corn,  beans,  and  turnips.     See  Duills. 

Draining,  as  we  have  seen,  was  attended  to 
by  the  Romans,  and  it  was  unquestionably 
practised  in  Britain  during  the  middle  ages ; 
for  where  lands  were  too  retentive  of  moisture, 
or  abounded  in  springs,  the  obvious  remedy 
was  to  remove  it  by  drains.  This,  however, 
and  far  simpler  operations,  are  seldom  per- 
formed in  the  most  correct  mode  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  sciences  connected  with 
their  success.  Draining  was  never  correctly 
understood  till  the  scientific  observations  of 
Dr.  Anderson,  and  the  practical  details  of  Mr. 
Elkington,  about  the  year  1761,  placed  it  upon 
a  more  enlightened  and  correct  system.  The 
important  benefits  that  have  arisen  from  the 
adoption  of  this  system  are  very  extensive ; 
and  the  acknowledgment  of  1000/.,  voted  to 
Mr.  Elkington,  was  a  just  testimony  that  the 
landed  interest  appreciated  the  boon,  and  that 
the  benefiter  of  this  country  is  duly  estimated 
by  its  legislature. 

There  are  numerous  kinds  of  drain  ploughs. 
The  mole  plough  was  invented  by  a  Mr.  Adam 
Scott,  and  improved  by  a  Mr.  Lumley  of 
Gloucestershire  during  the  present  century. 

The  past  and  the  present  century  have  also 
given  birth  to  machines  totally  unknown  in 
previous  ages  ;  of  these  are  rollers,  machines 
for  haymaking,  reaping,  threshing,  and  dress- 
ing; and  if  to  these  be  added  the  immense  im- 
provement that  has  taken  place  in  the  form 
and  quality  of  all  other  agricultural  imple- 
ments, the  saving  of  labour,  and  the  power  to 
pursue  the  necessary  operations  neatly  and 
well,  will  be  found  to  be  incalculably  pro- 
moted. 

Crops. — It  is  probable  that  wheat  was  not 
cultivated  by  the  early  Britons ;  for  the  cli- 
mate, owing  to  the  immense  preponderance  of 
woods  and  undrained  soil,  was  so  severe  and 
wet,  that  in  winter  they  could  attempt  no  agri- 
cultural employments ;  and  even  when  Bcde 
wrote,  early  in  the  eighth  century,  the  An^lo- 
Saxons  sowed  their  wheat  in  spring.  {Bedels 
Works,  p.  244.)  The  quantity  cultivated  iji  the 
reign  of  Henry  III.  does  not  appear  to  have 
exceeded  the  quantity  necessary  for  the  year's 


AGRICULTURE. 

consumption;  for  in  a  very  wet,  inclement 
year,  1270,  wheat  sold  for  six  pounds  eight 
shillinofs  per  quarter,  which,  calculating  for 
the  difference  of  the  value  of  money,  was 
equal  to  twenty-five  pounds  of  our  present  cur- 
rency. It  continued  an  article  of  comparative 
luxury  till  nearly  the  17th  century  commenced; 
for  in  the  household  books  of  several  noble 
families  it  is  mentioned  that  mnnchetf,  and 
other  loaves  of  wheat  flour,  were  served  at  the 
master's  table,  but  there  is  only  notice  taken 
of  coarser  kinds  for  the  servants.  That  the 
cultivation  of  wheat  was  very  partial  in  the 
reif^n  of  Elizabeth  is  attested  by  Tusser,  who, 
writing  at  that  period,  says, — 

"In  Sii/Tolk  Renin,  whereas  wheat  iievi^r  jyrew. 
Good  husbandry  used,  good  wheat-land  I  knew." 

As  the  climate  has  improved  by  the  clearing 
and  drying  of  the  surface  of  the  country,  so 
proportionally,  has  the  cultivation  of  wheat 
extended. 

It  was  probably  owing  to  the  fickle  and  in- 
clement climate  of  England  rendering  the 
successful  completion  of  harvest  a  much  rarer 
and  more  hazardous  event  than  now,  that  our 
forefathers  made  on  the  occasion  such  marked 
and  joyous  festivities.  We  do  not  know  the 
motive  that  actuated  the  farmer,  but  no  dread 
of  an  uncertain  harvest  could  have  made  him 
more  prompt  and  vigorous,  who,  in  1289,  cut 
and  stored  200  acres  of  corn  in  two  days. 
'J'hc  account  is  given  in  "  The  History  of  Haw- 
stead."  About  250  reapers,  ihatchers,  and 
others,  were  employed  during  one  day,  and 
more  than  200  the  next.  The  expenses  of  the 
lord  on  this  occasion  axe  thus  stated  : — Nine- 
teen reapers,  hired  for  a  day  at  their  own 
board,  Ad.  each ;  eighty  men  one  day,  and  kept 
at  the  lady's  board.  Ad.  each ;  140  men,  hired 
for  one  day,  at  Zd.  each ;  wages  of  the  head 
reaper,  6«.  %d. ;  of  the  brewer,  3*.  Ad. ;  of  the 
cook,  3*.  Ad. ;  thirty  acres  of  oats,  tied  up  by 
the  job,  U.  8d. ;  three  acres  of  wheat,  cut  and 
tied  up  by  the  job,  U.  llrf.;  five  pair  of 
gloves,"  &c. 

Barley  is  probably  the  grain  which  was 
most  cultivated  by  the  early  Britons.  The  re- 
presentation of  it  occurs  upon  their  coins. 
{Camden's  Britannia,  by  Gibson,  Ixxxviii.)  It 
was  not  only  the  grain  from  which  their  pro- 
genitors, the  Cymri,  made  their  bread,  but 
from  which  they  made  their  favourite  bever- 
age, beer. 

Oats  being  well-known  and  cultivated  by  the 
Germans  and  other  continental  nations  when 
Pliny  wrote,  they  were  probably  known  also 
to  this  island  in  the  earliest  ages.  In  all 
periods,  even  to  the  present  time,  lyead  made 
of  oatmeal  has  been  a  very  prominent  part  of 
the  food  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern  parts 
of  Britain.  "In  Lancashire,"  says  Gerarde, 
in  1597,  "it  is  their  chiefest  bread-corn,  for 
jamrocks,  haver-cakes,  thorffe-cakes,  and  those 
which  are  called  generally  OcJen-cakes ;  and 
for  the  most  part  they  call  the  grain  haver, 
whereof  the}  Jo  likewise  make  drink  for  want 
of  barley."  It  is  so  hardy  that  it  is  admirably 
calculated  for  a  cold  climate,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  soil  in  which  it  will  not  be  pro- 
ductive. In  southern  climates  it  will  not 
flourish. 


AGRICULTURE. 

"Rye,"  says  Gerarde,  grcweth  very  plenti- 
fully in  the  most  parts  of  Germany  and  Polo- 
ma,  as  appeareth  by  the  great  quantity 
brought  into  England  in  times  of  scarcity  of 
com,  as  happened  in  the  year  1596;  and  at 
other  times,  when  there  was  a  general  want  of 
bread-corn,  by  reason  of  the  abundance  of 
rain  that  fell  the  year  before,  whereby  great 
penury  ensued,  as  well  of  cattle,  and  all  other 
victuals,  as  of  all  manner  of  grain.  It  groweth, 
likewise,  very  well  in  most  places  of  England, 
especially  towards  the  north." 

Its  hardiness  probably  rendered  it  a  prin- 
cipal grain  with  the  early  Britons ;  but  as  it  is 
a  great  impoverisher  of  the  soil  upon  which  it 
grows,  and  the  grain  makes  very  inferior 
bread,  it  is  now  cultivated  to  a  very  small 
extent. 

Peas  have  been  extensively  cultivated  in 
England  from  a  very  early  period ;  but  they 
have  been  much  less  since  the  bean  has  be- 
come a  more  general  field  crop,  which  it  did 
not  till  within  the  present  century.  Lentils 
were  brought  to  England  about  1548.  Gerarde 
says  he  had  heard  they  were  cultivated  as  fod- 
der near  Waterford.  Maize,  or  Indian  corn, 
was  made  known  in  England  in  1562.  It  is 
commonly  cultivated  in  the  south  of  France 
as  a  field  crop,  and  for  the  same  purpose  was 
tried  in  England  in  1828,  at  the  recommenda- 
tion of  Mr.  Cobbett,  but  it  has  not  succeeded. 
Tares,  in  1566,  according  to  Ray,  were  grown 
as  a  seed  crop,  and  given  to  horses,  mixed 
with  oats  and  peas,  though  they  were  some- 
times cut  green  as  fodder.  This  is  now  their 
chief  use. 

Potatoes  were  introduced  from  South  Ame- 
rica, by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  about  1586.  Sir 
Robert  Southwell,  President  of  the  Royal  Soci- 
ety, informed  the  Fellows,  in  1693,  that  his 
father  introduced  them  into  Ireland,  having 
received  them  from  Sir  Walter.  (MS.  Jourruu 
of  Royal  Society.)  It  long  continued  to  be 
neglected  by  gardeners.  In  1663,  however, 
attention  was  drawn  to  its  extensive  culture. 
But  notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  the  Royal 
Society  to  effect  this  purpose,  potatoes  did  not 
become  a  field  crop  till  the  early  part  of  the 
last  century.  They  became  so  in  Scotland 
about  1730,  a  day-labourer  of  the  name  of 
Prentice  having  the  honour  of  first  cultivating 
them  largely  two  years  previously.  Every 
county  of  England  now  grows  them  exten- 
sively, ancashire  and  Cheshire  are  particu- 
larly celebrated  for  them.  In  the  counties 
round  London,  especially  in  Essex,  about  two 
thousand  acres  are  annually  cultivated  for 
supplying  the  metropolis  with  this  root. 

Turnips  and  clover,  though  known  in  Eng- 
land during  time  immemorial,  were  never 
much  cultivated  in  the  field  before  the  early 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  and  we  men- 
tion them  together,  because  their  introduction 
among  the  farmer's  crops  caused  the  greatest 
improvement  in  the  art  that  it  ever  received. 
In  1684,  it  is  observed  as  a  modern  discovery, 
"  sheep  fatten  very  well  on  turnips,  these  prov- 
ing an  excellent  nourishment  for  them  in 
hard  winters,  when  fodder  is  scarce ;  for  they 
will  not  only  eat  the  greens,  but  feed  on  the 
roots  in  the  ground,  scooping  them  out  even 

*3 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


to  the  very  skin."  This  is  the  first  notice  we 
have  of  feeding  ofl'  turnips ;  and  the  same 
authority  adds,  "  ten  acres  sown  with  clover, 
turnips,  &c.,  will  feed  as  many  sheep  as  one 
hundred  acres  would  have  done  before." 
{Houghton's  Collections  on  Hushtmdry,  &c.,  iv. 
142 — 144.)  Brown,  Donaldson,  and  all  other 
writers  upon  agriculture,  agree,  that  the  intro- 
duction of  the  improved  mode  of  cultivating 
these  crops  revolutionized  the  art  of  hus- 
bandry. Previously,  light  soils  could  not  be 
cropped  Math  advantage  ;  there  was  no  rotation 
that  the  judgment  could  approve.  Tusser,  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  in  the  following  homely, 
lines,  tells  us  that  two  corn  crops  were  grown 
consecutively  and  then  a  fallow;  and  many 
authorities  could  be  quoted  to  show  that  some 
soils  were  fallowed  on  alternate  years,  so  that 
they  afforded  only  one  crop  in  two  years. 

"  First  rie  and  then  barlie,  the  champion  saies, 
Or  wheat  before  barlie,  be  champion  w.iies  : 
But  drinii  before  bread-corn,  wiih  Middlesex  men, 
Then  laie  on  more  compas,  and  fallow  agen." 

But  now,  by  the  aid  of  green  crops,  a  fallow 
usually  occurs  but  once  in  four  years.  "  Clo- 
ver and  turnips,"  it  has  been  observed,  "  are 
the  two  main  pillars  of  the  best  courses  of 
British  husbandry;  they  have  contributed 
more  to  preserve  and  augment  the  fertility  of 
the  soL  for  producing  grain,  to  enlarge  and 
improve  breeds  of  cattle  and  sheep,  and  to 
afford  a  regular  supply  of  butcher's  meat  all 
the  year,  thaa  any  other  crops."  It  was  pre- 
viously a  difficult  task  to  support  live  stock 
through  the  winter  and  spring  months ;  and  as 
for  feeding  and  preparing  cattle  and  sheep  for 
market  during  these  inclement  seasons,  the 
practice  was  hardly  thought  of,  and  still  more 
rarely  attempted. 

Mangel  wurzel  has  only  been  cultivated  by 
the  farmer  for  a  few  years  past  Its  chief  ad- 
vantage is,  that  as  it  will  succeed  upon  tena- 
cious soils  which  will  not  produce  turnips,  it 
enables  farms  in  which  such  soils  predomi- 
nate to  support  a  larger  quantity  of  live  stock. 
Its  cultivation  seems  on  the  increase,  its  fat- 
tening qualities  being  good,  the  produce  heavy, 
and  liability  to  failure  small. 

Hops,  although  indigenous  to  England,  were 
little  attended  to,  and  never  employed  in  brew- 
ing till  the  sixteenth  century ;  and  then,  when 
they  began  to  be  more  used,  the  citizens  of 
London  petitioned  parliament  to  prevent  them 
as  a  nuisance.  "  It  is  not  many  years  since," 
says  Walter  Blith,  writing  in  the  year  1653, 
"  the  famous  city  of  London  petitioned  against 
two  nuisances,  and  these  were  Newcastle 
coals,  in  regard  of  their  stench,  «fec.,  and  hops, 
in  regard  they  would  spoil  the  taste  of  drink 
and  endanger  the  people."  (English  Improver 
Improved,  3d  ed.  240.) 

There  are  many  other  crops  occasionally 
cultivated  by  the  farmer  which  may  be  enu- 
merated here,  and  most  of  them  first  exten- 
sively cultivated  within  the  last  150  years,  but 
which  in  this  place  will  require  no  further 
notice — such  as  the  artificial  grasses,  rape, 
mustard,  caraway,  coriander,  flax,  hemp,  buck- 
vheat  or  brank,  teasel,  madder,  saintfoin, 
mcerne,  cabbage,  carrots,  and  others. 

General  cultivation. — We  have  no  informa- 
44 


tion  as  to  whether  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Britain  varied  their  modes  of  ploughing  with 
the  nature  of  their  soil.  They  sometimes 
ploughed  with  two  oxen,  sometimes  with  more ; 
some  ploughmen,  represented  in  very  old  pic- 
tures, evidently  drove  the  team  as  well  as 
guided  the  plough ;  but  it  was  usual  for  them 
to  have  a  driver.  There  is  a  very  old  Saxon 
dialogue  extant,  in  which  a  ploughman,  in 
stating  his  duties,  says,  "  I  go  out  at  day-break, 
urging  the  oxen  to  the  field,  and  I  yoke  them 
to  the  plough — the  oxen  being  yoked,  and  the 
share  and  coulter  fastened  on,  I  ought  to 
plough  one  entire  field  or  more.  I  have  a  boy 
to  threaten  the  oxen  with  a  goad,  who  is  now 
hoarse  through  cold  and  bawling.  I  ought, 
also,  to  fill  the  bins  of  the  oxen  with  hay,  and 
water  them,  and  carry  out  their  soil."  {Tur- 
ner^s  Anglo-Saxon}!,  ii.  546,  ed.  5.)  Repeated 
ploughings  and  fallowings,  to  prepare  the  soil 
for  wheat,  was  the  common  practice  ;  for  Giral- 
dus  Cambrensis,  speaking  of  the  Welsh,  says, 
with  astonishment,  "  they  ploughed  their  lands 
only  once  a  year,  in  March  or  April,  in  order  to 
sow  them  with  oats ;  but  did  not,  like  other 
farmers,  plough  them  twice  in  summer  and 
once  in  winter,  to  prepare  them  for  wheat." 
{Descript.  Cambria;,  c.  viii.) 

In  a  law  tract,  called  Fleta,  and  written  early 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  are  given  several 
agricultural  directions,  especially  upon  dress- 
ing and  ploughing  fallows.  In  summer,  the 
ploughing  is  advised  to  be  only  so  deep  as  to 
bury  and  kill  the  weeds ;  and  the  manure  not 
to  be  applied  till  just  before  the  last  ploughing, 
which  is  to  be  deep.  (Fleta,  lib.  ii.  c.  73.) 

Sowing  was  anciently  performed  in  all  cases 
by  hand.  In  the  famous  antique  tapestry  of 
Bayeux,  a  man  is  represented  sowing.  The 
seed  is  contained  in  a  cloth  fastened  round  his 
neck,  is  supported  at  the  other  extremity  by 
his  left  arm,  and  he  scatters  the  seed  with  his 
right  hand. 

All  agricultural  writers,  from  the  earliest 
era  to  the  present,  have  recommended  the  seed 
to  be  soaked  in  some  medicament  or  other 
previously  to  sowing.  Virgil  recommends  oil 
and  nitre  for  beans ;  others  direct  the  employ- 
ment of  urine ;  and  Heresbachius,  who  wrote 
in  1570,  mentions  the  juice  of  the  houseleek. 
"  Sow  your  ridges,"  says  the  same  author, 
"  with  an  equal  hand,  and  all  alike  in  every 
place,  letting  your  right  foot,  especially,  and 
your  hand  go  together.  Wheat,  rye,  barley, 
oats,  and  other  large  seeds  must  be  sown  with 
a  full  hand,  but  rape  seeds  only  with  three 
fingers."  (Googe's  Heresbachius,  246.) 

The  tapestry  of  Bayeux,  already  mentioned, 
represents  a  man  harrowing ;  one  harrow  only 
being  employed,  and  one  horse.  In  the  time 
of  Heresbachius,  though  harrowing  was  the 
usual  mode  of  covering  the  seed,  yet  he  r^ys, 
"  in  some  places  it  is  done  with  a  board  tied 
to  the  plough."  Rakes  seem  to  have  been 
employed  by  the  Anglo-Saxons  ;  for  the  accu- 
rate researches  of  Mr.  Turner  do  not  appear 
to  have  discovered  any  mention  of  other  im- 
plements that  were  employed  by  them  for  the 
purpose.  (Hist.  Anglo-Sax.  ii.  544.) 

We  find  no  very  early  mention  made  of 
hoeing  by   any  English   agricultural  writer. 


AGRICULTURE. 

Though  there  is  generally  some  directions  for 
•*  plucking  up  the  naughty  weeds."  Heresba- 
chius  is  the  first  that  we  have  met  with  who 
notices  the  advantage  of  loosening  the  surface 
of  the  soil  about  growing  crops.  "  Sometimes," 
he  says,  "raking  is  needful,  which,  in  the 
spring,  loosens  the  earth  made  clung  by  the 
cold  of  winter,  and  letteth  in  the  fresh  warmth. 
It  is  best  to  rake  wheat,  barley,  and  beans 
twice.  Moreover,  they  break  asunder  with  a 
roller  the  larger  and  stiffer  clods."  {Guoge's 
Heresbuchius,  [printed  in  1578,]  256.)  It  was 
not  till  the  time  of  Tull,  1731,  that  the  due  im- 
portance of  this  was  appreciated. 

Of  the  other  operations  of  agriculture,  as 
reaping,  mowing,  stacking,  and  the  like,  there 
seems  no  need  of  making  mention:  they  were 
performed  much  in  the  same  way  as  now. 
"  Corn,"  says  the  author  last  quoted,  "  should 
be  cut  before  it  is  thorough  hard ;  experience 
teacheth  that  if  it  be  cut  down  in  due  time,  the 
seed  will  grow  to  fulness  as  it  iieth  in  the 
barn."  (Googe'a  Heresbac/ttus,A06.)  According 
to  Henry,  the  practice  with  our  ancestors  was 
for  the  women  to  thresh  and  the  men  to  reap. 
(Hist,  of  Britain,  vi.  173.) 

Irrigation  seems  to  have  been  practised  in  a 
few  places  in  Britain  from  the  time  of  the  Ro- 
mans, there  being  meadows  near  Salisbury 
which  have  been  irrigated  from  time  immemo- 
rial. Lord  Bacon  mentions  it  as  a  practice 
well  understood  in  his  time  (1560 — 1626)  ;  and 
at  the  same  period,  1610,  appeared  a  work  by 
Robert  Vaughan,  detailing  the  mode  of  "sum- 
mer and  winter  drowning  of  meadows  and 
pastures,  thereby  to  make  those  grounds  more 
fertile  ten  for  one."  It  was  not,  however,  till 
the  close  of  the  last  century  that  the  attention 
of  agriculturists  was  much  aroused  to  the  sub- 
ject. The  writings  of  Boswell,  Wright,  West- 
ern, and  others,  between  the  years  1780  and 
1824,  partially  awakened  the  farmers  to  the 
importance  of  the  practice.  The  best  exam- 
ples of  it  are  to  be  observed  in  Gloucestershire 
and  Wiltshire  ;  but  it  is  now  one  of  the  prac- 
tices of  farming  that  is  the  most  undeservedly 
neglected.  Mr.  Welladvise  was  its  great  pro- 
moter in  Gloucestershire. 

Live  Stock. — Cattle  and  sheep  were  the  chief 
riches  of  the  Britons  when  they  became  first 
known  to  the  Romans  (Ceesar,  v.  c.  x.),  and 
they  are  still  a  great  source  of  our  agricultural 
riches. 

Sheep. — In  a  very  early  Anglo-Saxon  MS.  a 
shepherd  is  represented  as  saying,  "  In  the  first 
part  of  the  morning  I  drive  my  sheep  to  their 
pasture,  and  stand  over  them  in  heat  and  in 
cold  with  dogs,  lest  the  wolves  destroy  them. 
I  lead  them  back  to  their  folds,  and  milk  them 
twice  a  day  ;  and  I  move  their  folds  and  make 
cheese  anv^  butter."  (Turner's  Angli-Sax.  ii. 
54 1^) 

This  attention  to  sheep  was  attended  with  so 
much  success  that  they  became  an  object  of 
acquirement  by  the  continental  nations ;  and 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  at  the  time  a  treaty 
of  peace  was  concluded  with  Spain  (1466),  a 
license  was  granted  by  that  monarch  "  for  cer- 
tain Coteswold  sheep  to  be  transported  to 
Spain,  as  people  report,  which  have  there  so 
multiplied  anl  increased,  that  it  hath  ramed 


AGRICULTURE. 

the  commodity  oi'England  much  to  the  Spanish 
profit,  and  to  the  no  small  hinderance  of  the 
gain  which  was  beforetimes  in  England  raised 
of  them."  (HaWs  Chronicle,  266.  Holimhed, 
668.)  The  sheep  thus  exported  were  probably 
improved  by  attention  and  climate  till  they  had 
become  that  breed  of  Merinos  which  was  re 
imported  to  this  country  early  in  the  present 
century.  The  statute  3  H.  6,  c.  2,  forbids  the 
exportation  of  sheep.  The  fears  which  old 
chroniclers  may  have  ignorantly  entertained, 
that  the  exporting  of  sheep  would  be  injurious 
to  our  native  commerce,  have  in  all  succeed- 
ing years  been  proved  to  be  fallacious.  The 
demand  for  our  wool  was  so  large,  and  the 
consequent  increase  of  the  breed  of  sheep  was 
so  great,  that  an  impolitic  legislature  in  1533 
endeavoured  to  check  it.  The  preamble  of  the 
act  states,  that  "  divers  of  the  king's  subjects, 
to  whom  God  of  his  goodness  hath  disposed 
great  plenty  and  abundance  of  moveable  sub- 
stance, now  of  late,  within  few  years,  have 
daily  studied,  invented,  and  practised  ways 
and  means  to  accumulate  into  few  hands,  as 
well  great  multitudes  of  farms  as  great  plenty 
of  cattle,  and  in  especial  sheep,  putting  such 
lands  as  they  can  get  to  pasture  and  not  to 
tillage,  whereby  they  have  not  only  pulled 
down  churches  and  towns,  and  enhanced  the 
old  rates  of  the  rents,  and  that  no  poor  man  is 
able  to  meddle  with  it,  but  also  have  raised 
the  prices  of  all  manner  of  corn,  cattle,  &c., 
almost  double  above  the  prices  accustomed,  to 
the  great  injury,  &c.,  of  his  majesty's  sub- 
jects ;  and  as  it  is  thought  that  the  greatest 
occasion  of  this  accumulation  is  the  profit  that 
Cometh  of  sheep,  which  now  be  come  to  a  few 
persons'  hands  of  this  realm,  that  some  have 
24,000,  some  20,000,  &c.,  by  which  a  good 
sheep  for  victual,  that  was  accustomed  to  be 
sold  for  2*.  4rf.,  &c.,  is  now  sold  for  65.,  &c. ; 
which  things  thus  used  be  principally  to  the 
high  displeasure  of  Almighty  God,  to  the  decay 
of  the  hospitality  of  this  realm,  to  the  diminish- 
ing of  the  king's  people,  and  to  the  let  of  cloth- 
making,"  &c.  It  then  enacts,  that  no  one  shall 
have  more  than  2000  sheep  ;  though,  as  a  sub- 
sequent section  declares  every  hundred  to  con- 
sist of  six  score,  the  limited  number  was  2400. 
And  it  further  enacts,  that  no  man  shall  have 
above  two  farms.  (25  H.  8,  c.  13.) 

Harrison,  who  died  in  1593,  describes  our 
sheep  as  very  excellent,  *'  sith  for  sweetness 
of  flesh  they  pass  all  other.  And  so  much  are 
our  wools  to  be  preferred  before  those  of  Milesia 
and  other  places,  that  if  Jason  had  known  the 
value  of  them  that  are  bred  and  to  be  had  in 
Britain,  he  would  never  have  gone  to  Colchis 
to  look  for  any  there."  (Description  of  Englandj 
prefixed  to  Hulinshed,  220.)  Heresbach,  ivho 
was  a  contemporary,  gives  such  a  description 
of  the  best  form  and  qualities  of  sheep,  that  it 
is  evident  that  the  excellence  of  the  breed  was 
not  the  mere  effect  of  chance.  (Googe's  Heres- 
bach. 1376.)  From  that  period  till  the  latter 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Ave  are  not  ac- 
quainted with^any  efforts  further  to  improve  it. 
This  last-mentioned  period  was  .he  era  of  tho 
improvements  effected  by  Mr.  Bakewell  and 
his  pupils,  the  Messrs.  Culley.        ^.    ,  ,      . 

Bakewell  was  born  in  1726,  at  Ditchley  m 

15 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


Leicestershire,  and  about  the  year  1755  com- 
menced those  experiments  wliich  finally  efiect- 
ed  a  greater  improvement  in  our  sheep  than 
was  ever  effected  in  any  species  of  ajt^ricultu- 
ral  produce  by  the  exertions  of  one  individual. 
He  travelled  over  England,  Ireland,  Holland, 
and  other  places,  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
the  various  breeds  of  cattle,  and  by  careful  se- 
lections, and  judicious  crosses,  succeeded  in 
procuring  a  stock  that  obtained  for  the  Ditch- 
ley  sheep  a  previously  unheard  of  excellence. 
Fortunately  the  English  agriculturists  appre- 
ciated the  importance  of  his  success  ;  and  it  is 
a  fact  that,  in  1789,  three  of  his  rams,  the  pro- 
duce of  one  birth,  were  let  for  the  breeding 
season,  for  1200  guineas,  and  the  whole  pro- 
duce of  his  letting  was  at  least  3000  guineas. 
One  of  his  rams  obtained  for  Mr.  Bakewell,  in 
one  season,  800  guineas  ;  and  when  it  is  taken 
into  the  calculation,  that  the  same  animal 
served  for  his  own  flock,  it  produced  for  its 
owner  in  that  year  1200  guineas.  Mr.  Bake- 
well  died  in  1795. 

Messrs.  Culley  introduced  these  improve- 
ments into  Northumberland,  and  the  other 
northern  counties  of  this  island.  When  they 
first  settled  in  that  district,  the  sheep  kept  there 
were  large,  slow-feeding,  long-woolled  animals ; 
and  a  breed  between  those  and  the  Cheviot 
sheep.  These  breeds  rarely  became  fat  before 
they  were  three  years  old ;  but  the  Leicesters 
introduced  by  the  Messrs.  Culley  were  sold  fat 
at  little  more  than  a  year  old.  They  at  first 
met  with  much  opposition  ;  but  as  it  was  soon 
seen  they  were  improvers,  and  not  mere  inno- 
vators, the  flocks  have  generally  been  made  to 
improve  by  their  example.  They  became  the 
general  patrons  of  improvement,  and  their 
great  attention  to  minutiae,  unremitting  indus- 
try, and  superior  cultivation,  gave  birth  to  a 
spirit  of  emulation,  and  their  own  merits  were 
rewarded  with  a  liberal  success.  For  several 
years  they  occupied  farms  to  the  amount  of 
about  8000/.  per  annum.  They  had  pupils 
with  liberal  premiums  from  all  parts ;  and 
these  again  were  the  means  of  m.aking  known, 
not  only  their  enlightened  husbandry,  but  the 
encouraging  illustration  they  afforded  of  in- 
dustry, economy,  and  intelligence  duly  re- 
warded. 

Merino  sheep  were  imported  by  George  III. 
in  the  years  1788  and  1791.  This  breed  at- 
tracted much  attention  in  1804,  when  his 
majesty  commenced  his  annual  sales.  Dr. 
Parry,  Lord  Somerville,  and  others  have 
paid  considerable  attention  to  them;  but  the 
climate  of  England  has  a  considerable  effect 
in  deteriorating  their  fleeces,  and  the  flesh  is 
too  indifferent  to  permit  them  to  be  much  en- 
couraged in  a  country  where  mutton  is  so 
considerable  an  article  of  food.  (Hunfs  Agri- 
cultural Memoirs ,-  GenVs  Magazine ,-  Enc.  Bi-it.) 

Mr.  Ellman,  of  Sussex,  during  an  enlight- 
ened practice  of  more  than  fifty  years  has 
brought  the  South  Down  variety  of  sheep  to  a 
state  of  the  highest  improvement.  Perhaps 
the  best  description  of  the  varieties  of  the 
jheep  reared  in  England  has  been  written  by 
Ihis  gentleman  for  "Baxter's  Agricultural  Li- 
brary." 

Cattle,  a.i  we  have  already  noticed,  have  al- 
46 


ways  been  a  prominent  production  of  Great 
Britain.  They  were  mentioned  by  Caesar, 
Strabo,  and  other  ancient  writers.  They  have 
ever  since  continued,  more  or  less,  particularly 
to  engage  the  attention  of  the  husbandman,  not 
only  for  the  dairy  and  the  plough,  but  also  as 
j  a  source  of  food.  The  breeding  of  cattle,  how- 
!  ever,  had  been  so  much  neglected  for  the  more 
profitable  pasturage  of  sheep,  tnat  in  1555, 
an  act  of  parliament  was  passed  to  remedy 
the  evil.  The  preamble  states  that,  "  For- 
asmuch as  of  late  years  a  great  number  of 
persons  in  this  realm  have  laid  their  lands, 
farms,  and  pastures,  to  feeding  of  sheep,  oxen, 
runts,  scrubs,  steers,  and  heifers,  &c.,  having  no 
regardor  care  to  breed  up  youngbeasts  or  cattle, 
whereby  is  grown  great  scarcity  of  cattle  and 
victual ;"  and,  therefore  it  is  enacted  that  a 
cow  shall  be  kept  wherever  are  sixty  sheep, 
and  a  calf  reared  where  there  are  one  hundred 
and  twenty,  &c.  (2  &  3  Phil  «V  Mary,  c.  3.) 
Many  other  legislative  enactments  occur  in  the 
records  of  that  and  contiguous  periods ;  but 
reason  and  interest  are  better  promoters  of  im- 
provement than  acts  of  parliament.  A  due  at- 
tention to  the  breedingof  cattle  was  first  aroused 
by  Mr.  Bakewell,  who  has  just  been  mentioned 
as  an  improver  of  sheep.  He  let  bulls  for  150 
guineas  during  four  months,  and  5  guineas  per 
cow  M^as  no  uncommon  charge.  Pedigrees 
have  been  preserved  of  different  animals  with 
as  much  care  as  those  of  race-horses.  The 
attention  and  care  that  have  thus  been  paid  to 
their  breeding  have  met  with  an  appropriate 
recompense.  In  no  other  country  is  there  to 
be  found  such  breeds  of  cattle  ;  and  that  none 
are  so  highly  estimated,  is  proved  by  the  prices 
that  have  been  given  for  individuals.  {Mar- 
shalVs  Midland  Counties,  i.  334  ;  Parkinson  on 
Lire  Stock,  ii.  469.)  ^ 

Horses. — That  the  ancient  Britons  had 
horses  with  which  they  impelled  their  war 
chariots,  we  know  upon  the  authority  of  those 
who.had  seen  them — Caesar,  Strabo,  and  others. 
In  the  epitome  of  Dion  Cassius,  by  Xiphelin, 
those  horses  are  described  as  small  and  swift. 
They  appear  not  to  have  been  usually  employed 
in  the  operations  of  agriculture  ;  and  their  em- 
ployment was  not  considered  desirable  ;  for  in 
the  old  Cambrian  laws,  oxen  are  exclusively 
directed  to  be  employed.  (Leges  Wallicae,  288.) 
Under  the  Saxons,  and  still  more  under  the 
Normans,  who  flourished  here  in  an  age  that, 
from  its  excelling  in  noble  horsemanship,  has 
been  distinguished  as  the  chivalric,  the  breed 
of  horses  was  undoubtedly  improved.  "Richard 
De  Rulos,  Lord  of  Brunne  and  Deeping,  was 
much  addicted  to  agriculture,  and  delighted  in 
breeding  horses  and  cattle."  (Jngulphus's 
Chron.  lib.  i.) 

In  the  year  1494,  the  exportation  of  horses 
was  so  extensive,  and  the   price  of  them  so 
much  enhanced,  that  an  act  of  parliament  or- 
dained that  none  should  go  out  of  the  realm 
without  the  king's  license  (2  H.  8,  c.  6 ;  32,  c 
13  ;  33,  c.  5)  ;  but  these  being  evidently  intend- 
ed for  the  improvement  of  war  horses,  "  for  the 
!  defence  of  the  realm,"  would  only  collaterally 
1  benefit  those  employed  by  the  husbandman.  Il 
I  was  provided  by  the  second  of  the  acts  jusi 
;  quoted,  tnai  no  stallion  should  be  kept  that  di«* 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


not  measure  fifteen  hands  from  the  sole  of  the  ! 
hoof  to  the  highest  part  of  the  wither ;  each 
hand  to  be  four  standard  inches.  We  find, 
however,  that  at  this  period  draught  horses  [ 
were  fine  and  powerful  animals,  for  Harrison, 
who  lived  at  this  era,  and  whose  appendix  to 
Holinshed  we  have  before  quoted,  after  ex- 
pressing his  admiration  of  them,  says,  that  five 
or  six  of  them  would  draw  with  ease  three  thou- 
sand weight  of  the  greatest  tale  for  a  long 
journey.  We  must  remember,  too,  that  in 
those  days  the  roads  were  totally  different  from 
what  they  are  at  present.  It  is  within  the  me- 
mory of  persons  still  living  in  the  hundreds  of 
Essex,  that  no  more  than  a  load  of  wheat  was 
ever  sent  out  in  a  wagon,  the  roads  there 
being,  until  within  less  than  a  half  a  century, 
exceedingly  bad. 

We  have  already  noticed  that  in  the  tapestry 
of  Bayeux  a  man  is  represented  harrowing 
with  a  horse.  This  tapestry  was  woven  in 
the  year  1066,  and  this  representation  is  the 
first  notice,  of  which  we  are  aware,  of  the 
horse  being  employed  in  agriculture.  The 
first  attempt  that  historians  notice,  to  improve 
the  breed  of  our  husbandry  horses,  was  in  the 
reign  of  King  John.  Tyrant  and  despot  as  he 
was,  yet  his  evil  qualifications  gave  two  bene- 
fits to  England.  His  tyranny  gave  birth  to 
Magna  Charta;  and  his  pride,  rendering  it 
hateful  to  him  to  see  foreigners  surpass  him 
in  the  excellence  of  their  horses,  induced  him 
to  import  100  stallions  from  Flanders;  and 
from  that  era  may  be  dated  the  improvement  of 
our  draught  horses.  His  object  did  not  entirely 
succeed ;  for  a  century  subsequently,  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  II.,  we  find  that  horses  were 
still  imported  from  Lombardy  and  Flanders. 
W^e  have  already  noticed  some  of  the  enact- 
ments to  improve  the  breed  of  horses,  but 
these  shared  the  fate  of  most  other  compulsory 
measures ;  for  when  Elizabeth  summoned  her 
forces  to  defend  her  realm,  in  the  prospect  of 
a  Spanish  invasion,  she  could  obtain  no  more 
than  3000  cavalry. 

Sir  A.  Fitzherbert,  who  wrote  in  the  reign 
of  Henry  VIII.,  says,  in  his  Boke  of  Husbandry, 
— "  A  husbande  may  not  be  without  horses  and 
mares,  and  specially  if  he  goe  with  a  horse- 
plough,  he  must  have  both;  his  horses  to 
droive,  and  his  mares  to  brynge  colts  to  up- 
holde  his  stocke,  and  yet  at  many  times  these 
may  droive  well  if  they  be  well  handled." 
The  roguery  of  horsedealers  was  an  early  sin  ; 
for  one  of  the  old  Cambrian  laws  provides, 
that  the  purchaser  of  a  horse  shall  have  three 
nights  to  ascertain  whether  he  is  infected  with 
the  .staggers  ;  three  months  to  prove  his  lungs ; 
and  twelve  months  to  discover  whether  he  is 
infected  with  the  glanders.  For  every  blemish 
not  discovered  before  purchasing,  if  it  was  not 
in  the  ears  or  tail,  one  third  of  the  price  was 
to  be  returned.  {Laws  of  Howell  Dhu.)  The 
deceptions  practised  by  the  dealers  in  horses 
IS  still  proverbial ;  and  there  does  not  appear 
with  their  fraternity  to  have  been  any  interme- 
diate age  of  innocence  ;  for  Sir  A.  Fitzherbert 
•ays,  "  Thou  grayser,  that  mayest  fortune  to 
be  of  myne  opinion  or  condytion  to  love 
koartes,  and  young  coltes  and  foles  to  go  among 


thy  cattle,  take  hede  that  thou  be  not  beguiUid 
as  I  have  been  a  hundred  times  and  more.  And 
first,  thou  shall  knowe  that  a  good  horse  has 
fifty-four  properties ;  that  is  lo  say  two  of  a 
man,  two  of  a  badger,  four  of  a  lion,  nine  of 
an  oxe,  nine  of  a  hare,  nine  of  a  fox,  nine  of 
an  asse,  and  ten  of  a  woman." 

Since  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  every  variety 
of  horses  has  been  gradually  improving,  in 
England,  and  four  kinds,  tne  Suffolk  Punch, 
the  Cleveland  bays,  the  Clydesdale,  and  the 
Lincolnshire  or  dray,  are  surpassed  by  no 
country  in  the  world.  The  numerous  cart 
stallions  attending  every  market  town  during 
the  covering  season,  is  an  attestation  that  this 
care  is  not  on  the  decrease.  It  is  stated,  as  a 
further  proof,  that  a  few  years  since  a  Suffolk 
cart-mare  and  her  oflfspring  sold  at  Woodbridge 
Lady-day  fair  for  1000/. 

Pigs  have  been  among  the  usual  animals 
fostered  by  the  farmer  in  times  at  least  as 
early  as  the  Anglo-Saxons.  In  those  days 
they  were  evidently  the  most  numerous  of  their 
live  stock ;  scarcely  an  estate  is  mentioned 
without  its  being  stated  that  it  afforded  /;a«- 
nage,  or  mast  in  its  wood,  for  such  a  number 
of  swine.  They  were  a  very  prominent  por- 
tion of  their  wealth;  and,  indeed,  a  chief  ne- 
cessary, for  they  were  in  winter  obliged  to  use 
almost  exclusively  salted  meat,  and  the  great 
preponderance  of  woodland  supported  best 
this  kind  of  stock.  {Turner's  Anglo-Saxons, 
iii.  22.)  Heresbach  is  particularly  earnest  in 
commending  the  pig;  and  after  mentioning  it 
as  abominable  to  the  Jews,  says,  with  a  boast- 
ful feeling  that  made  him  forget  its  impiety, 
"  I  believe,  verily,  they  never  tasted  the  flitches 
of  Westphaly." 

Enactments  occur  in  our  statute  book,  in 
1225  and  1534,  regulating  the  pannage  of 
swine.  There  are  now  a  great  many  varieties 
of  pigs,  everj'  district  of  Englant^Varying  in 
the  size  and  qualities  of  those  it  prefers.  Some 
attention  has  of  late  years  been  \  aid  to  im- 
prove the  stock,  but  in  general  they  have  been 
too  much  neglected.  We  have  not  particu- 
larized the  progress  of  husbandry  in  Scotland, 
because  previously  to  the  time  of  its  union 
with  this  country.  Lord  Karnes  and  Mr.  Fletcher 
agree  that  its  agriculture  was  deplorable ;  and 
since  then  the  improvement  of  the  art  in  that 
most  generally  enlightened  part  of  tiie  island 
has,  in  many  districts,  outstripped,  and,  in 
most,  at  least  kept  pace  with  that  of  England ; 
and  its  future  advance  will  probably  surpass 
that  of  England,  because  good  education  is 
more  completely  diffused  among  its  inhabi- 
tants. 

Ireland  is  in  general  deplorably  behind  in 
all  the  arts  of  life  ;  nor  will  this  be  obvialed 
until  the  effect  of  education  and  wealth  is  more 
generally  felt  and  appreciated  by  its  generous 
and  hospitable,  but  far  from  wealthy  nlmbi- 
tants. 

Wales,  for  the  most  part,  has  an  agriculture 
as  bad  as  that  of  Ireland  ;  and  we  cannot  have 
much  hope  of  its  improvement,  when  Mr. 
Adam  Murray,  in  his  evidence  before  the  Com 
mittee  of  Agriculture  in  1833,  stated  that  the 
Welsh  have  a  great    antipathy  againsv    Bt> 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


Saxons,  or  Sassenachs ,-  and  that  they  take 
every  advantage  of  any  Englishman  that  settles 
iimong  them. 

V.     CoXTINENTAL    AoUICULTURE. 

We  have  now  brought  to  a  conclusion  our 
;:5ketch  of  the  progress  of  agriculture.  The 
limits  of  our  work  preclude  us  from  giving 
here  more-  of  the  ample  details  that  have  come 
under  our  notice  in  the  research  for  the  ma- 
terials, of  which  we  have  given  the  abstract. 
We  have  not  withheld  oar  attention  from  the 
husbandry  of  other  nations,  but  have  found 
little  concerning  the  history  of  their  progress 
in  the  art;  and  the  examination  of  their  present 
operations  made  it  so  apparent,  that  with  the 
exception  of  Flanders,  they  were  all  so  much 
behind  in  general  practice,  that  the  conviction 
is  forced  upon  us,  that  little  instruction  could 
be  obtamed  from  its  detail.  Several  of  them, 
however,  excel  us  in  some  particular  points: 
and  in  noticing  these  we  shall  avail  ourselves  of 
the  opportunity  to  enfore  the  importance  of 
extra  attention  to  them  upon  our  own  agricul- 
turists. 

Flanders. — This  country  was  certainly  the 
first  of  modern  countries  to  improve  tlie  prac- 
tice of  agriculture.  Its  farmers  were  the  first 
tutors  of  England;  and  from  the  time  of  Sir 
Richard  Weston,  who  published  an  account  of 
their  husbandry,  in  1645,  till  that  of  the  Rev. 
T.  Radcliff  in  1819,  the  Flemish  husbandmen 
have  continued  models  of  neat  and  economi- 
cal farming.  In  this  respect  we  fall  short  of 
them.  It  is  a  leading  principle  with  them  to 
make  their  farms  closely  resemble  gardens. 
Consequently,  to  effect  this,  the};-  have  small 
farms,  and  devote  their  efforts  to  these  three 
grand  points — the  accumulation  of  manure — 
the  destruction  of  weeds — and  the  frequent  and 
deep  pulverization  of  the  soil.  We  recom- 
mend for  the  perusal  of  our  readers  the  w^ork 
(^Tour  in  Flanders)  published  by  Mr.  Radcliff, 
and  the  Flemish  Husbandry  of  the  Society  for 
the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  and.we  are 
convinced  that  they  will  benefit  by  the  time  so 
occupied.  We  do  not  expect  that  they  will 
induce  them  to  try  to  cultivate  a  large  surface 
of  land  with  the  minute  accuracy  of  a  garden  ; 
but  it  might  pursuade  them  to  adopt  that  more 
cleanly  system  of  cultivation  which  is  the  only 
one  that  is  permanently  profitable. 

We  shall  only  remark  more  particularly 
upon  the  assiduous  care  the  Flemish  farmers 
bestow  upon  the  collection  of  manures. 

They  were  the  first  among  the  moderns  to 
raise  crops  for  the  sake  of  ploughing  them  in 
"whilst  growing;  and  theycontmue  if  more  ex- 
tensively man  any  other  nation.  This  prac- 
tice, we  may  say,  is  entirely  neglected  by  our 
farmers';  but  if  they  knew  sufficient  of  che- 
mistiy  to  understand  how  much  fertilizing  ma- 
terials such  green  crops  impart  to  the  soil,  it 
(vould  ue  a  practice  more  extensively  adopted. 
Every  fragment  of  animal  and  vegetable  mat- 
ter is  preserved  by  the  Flemish  farmers  for 
the  fertilizing  of  their  lands ;  and  the  ready 
HXie  which  all  such  decomposable  substances 
meet,  is>  one  cause  of  the  broom  and  the  bar- 

w  succeeding  in  keeping  their  town  so  scru- 
bs 


pulously  neat.  Saw-dust,  chips,  and  similar 
refuse  all  tend  to  increase  their  composts  ;  and 
on  their  barren  land§  trees  are  frequently 
planted  for  the  purpose  of  creating  in  time  a 
fertile  soil  by  the  agency  of  their  falling 
leaves. 

Their  dunghills  are  so  constructed  that  all 
the  drainage  is  collected  in  cisterns,  with 
which  liquid  is  mixed  the  emptyings  of  privies, 
pulverized  rape  cakes,  and  the  like  ;  and  this 
most  fertilizing  compound  is  conveyed  to  their 
fields  by  means  of  barrels  fixed  on  wheels, 
and  is  spread  by  means  of  a  scoop,  2840  gal- 
lons per  acre  being  allowed  for  their  flax  crop. 
(Johns,  on  Li(/.  Manure.) 

The  slovenly  management  of  his  dunghill 
is  one  of  the  most  general  specimens  of  the 
ignorance  or  carelessness  of  a  farmer.  He 
allows  the  most  soluble  and  valuable  portions 
to  drain  away ;  and  treats  with  ridicule  the 
idea  of  carrying  out  manure  in  a  liquid  form. 
As  this  arises  from  ignorance  and  bigoted  at- 
tachment to  old  practice,  it  should  excite  our 
pity  more  than  our  anger.  Liquid  manures, 
notwithstanding  stupidity  and  prejudice,  are 
amongst  the  best  of  fertilizers,  and  will,  in  a 
coming  age,  be  generally  employed,  since  it  is 
a  fallacy  to  argue  that  they  cannot  be  employed 
on  a  large  scale  ;  for  the  comparative  expense 
of  preparation  and  application  is  unquestiona- 
bly smaller  on  a  large  scale  than  on  a  less. 

Holland. — The  husbandry  of  this  country  is 
almost  exclusively  confined  to  the  dairy  and 
to  stall  feeding.  There  are  two  points  in  their 
practice  in  which  other  farmers  would  do  well 
to  imitate  them. 

It  is  a  common  prejudice  that  a  cow  for  the 
dairy  should  never  be  fat.  This  is  thus  far 
true,  namely,  that  if  a  cow  inclines  to  fatten 
easily,  she  does  not  yield  so  much  milk  as  one 
that  generates  fat  less  readily.  But  a  good 
dairy  cow,  that  is,  one  that  secretes  milk 
abundantly,  will  not  fatten  whilst  in  that  con- 
dition, and  therefore  the  abstaining  from  giving 
them  nutritive  food  is  an  erroneous  conclusion. 
The  Hollanders  know  that  the  contrary  is  the 
correct  practice,  and  once  a  day,  or  oftener, 
they  give  their  cows  rape  cake,  and  other  nu- 
tritious preparations.  The  iguorance  of  the 
common  English  practice  is  evident  from  this 
fact,  that  without  one  exception,  other  ani- 
mals, when  suckling,  are  always  kept  much 
higher  than  at  other  periods. 

The  other  point  of  their  practice  that  merits 
imitation  is  the  cleanliness  with  which  they 
keep  all  their  animals.  It  M'ill  excite  a  laugh 
with  some  of  our  agricultural  readers,  when 
we  recommend  not  only  the  most  scrupulous 
daily  cleaning  and  washing  out  of  cow-sheds, 
pig-styes,  and  the  like,  but  that  the  animals 
themselves  should  be  cleaned.  This,  however, 
is  not  a  mere  speculative  precept,  for  the  na^ 
tional  example  of  Holland  attests  its  utility. 
We  have  known  the  beneficial  effects  of  such 
treatment  upon  the  health  of  cows  and  pigs  in 
this  country.  But  in  the  absence  of  all  facts, 
if  the  farmer  would  but  allow  his  own  common 
sense  to  direct  him ;  if  he  would  but  reflect 
that  no  animal  will  thrive  that  is  not  healthy; 
that  his  horse  becomes  diseased  if  not  kept 
clean ;   and  that  by  no  possibility  can  it  be 


AGRICULTURE. 

otherwise  but  that  fetid  stenches,  and  encum- 
bering filth  must  tend  to  breed  disease,  he 
would  not  allow  so  baleful  a  neglect  to  con- 
tinue. It  is  fulile  to  urge  that  where  stock  is 
large,  the  attendance  to  such  treatment  is  im- 
possible ;  for  if  it  is  beneficial  it  will  pay  to 
adopt  it ;  and  no  one  should  engage  in  a  larger 
concern  than  he  can  manage  in  the  most  bene- 
ficial mode. 

Germany. — The  inhabitants  of  the  diflferent 
districts  of  this  extensive  empire  pay  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  cultivation  of  timber  trees. 
The  number  of  German  books  on  the  subject 
is  excessive. 

It  is  a  subject  which  has  of  late  years  been 
gaining  much  attention  also  in  England,  and 
planting  will  probably  be  still  further  extended 
over  many  cxf  the  poorer  soils  that  at  present 
will  not  pay  whilst  producing  corn. 

The  careless  and  ignorant  manner  in  which 
the  labourer  is  allowed  to  mutilate  timber  trees 
that  grow  upon  most  farms,  cannot  be  too  se- 
verely deprecated.  To  train  trees  correctly, 
requires  as  much  judgment  as  any  operation 
in  which  the  gardener  or  forester  is  concerned. 
Not  ail  unnecessary  wound  should  be  inflicted 
upon  them ;  for  the  process  of  healing  each 
wound  not  only  deducts  so  much  from  the 
growth  of  the  tree,  but  is  usually  the  intro- 
ducer of  decay.  Yet  the  hedger,  with  no  other 
instrument  than  his  bill,  is  generally  allowed 
an  unguided  use  of  so  unfit  and  mutilating  a 
tool. 

Lombardy. — ^In  this,  and  most  of  the  other 
Italian  states,  all  rivers,  and  in  some,  even  all 
springs,  are  considered  to  be  the  property  of 
the  government,  for  they  are  the  source  of 
a  considerable  revenue.  Any  one  desiring  a 
canal  from  a  river  has  to  pay  for  it  to  the 
government ;  and  he  may  cut  it  through  an- 
other person's  ground  without  the  latter  having 
the  power  to  prevent  it,  upon  paying  the  value 
of  the  land.  Such  canals  are  considered  as  im- 
proving the  value  of  an  estate,  for  they  irrigate 
not  only  their  grass  lands,  but  their  corn,  vines, 
and  other  crops, .  numerous  little  channels 
being  cut  for  the  purpose  down  the  ridges. 
The  water  from  a  river  is  purchased  at,a  certain 
price  for  so  many  hours'  or  days'  run  in  the 
year,  through  a  sluice  of  a  stated  dimension. 
Arthur  Young  mentions  that  the  fee-simple  of 
an  hiHir's  run  per  week  through  a  particular 
sized  sluice  at  Turin,  sold  in  1788,  for  1500 
livres.  Watered  lands  usually  let  for  one 
third  more  than  lands  that  are  unwatered. 

We  have  already  noticed,  and  shall  again 
have  to  recur  to  the  subject  of  irrigation ;  but 
we  could  not  but  notice  the  above  national  evi- 
dence in  favour  of  what  we  know  to  be  one  of 
the  most  beneficial  practices  neglected  by  our 
agriculturists. 

Tuicunif. — Sismondi  informs  us  that  it  is  the 
practice  in  this  country,  where  he  was  himself 
for  five  years  a  cultivator,  to  trench  one-third 
of  the  farm  every  year  with  the  spade,  bring- 
ing the  lower  soil  to  the  top.  This  mode  of 
culture  bringing  a  new  soil  for  the  promotion 
of  vegetation,  for  it  has  been  in  a  manner 
lying  two  years  fallow,  is  sanctioned  by  reason 
a?  well  as  confirmed  by  practice.  We  are  not 
tnp  advocates  of  a  general  system  of  spade 
7 


AGRICULTURE. 

husbandry.  There  are  objections  to  it  thai  at 
present  are  insuperable.  But  we  do  recom- 
mend, and  that  from  our  own  experience,  its 
partial  adoption.  There  is  no  parish  in  Eng- 
land in  which  many  of  the  labourers  are  not 
out  of  employ  during  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  year.  Perhaps  the  average  of  the  poor's 
rates  were  10«.  in  the  pound  upon  the  farmer's 
rental;  and  this  might  have  been  reduced 
more  than  one  half,  if  every  farmer  had  em- 
ployed one  man  in  spade  husbandry  for  every 
thirty  acres  he  cultivated.  Thus  he  would 
have  had  some  return  for  the  money  he  ex- 
pended ;  and  the  saving  of  horse  labour,  and 
the  benefit  of  the  extra  cultivation,  would  have 
turned  the  balance  in  his  favour,  and  he  would 
thus  have  got  rid,  in  a  great  dej^ree,  of  the 
worst  of  all  outlays — an  outlay  without  a  pos- 
sibility of  a  return. 

I  have  searched  various  statements  of  the 
agriculture  of  the  other  European  countries ; 
but  though  I  am  gratified  by  the  conviction 
that  they  are  all  more  or  less  improving,  yet 
in  almost  all  their  practices,  except  the  culture 
of  the  vine,  they  are  very  far  behind  England. 
For  that  reason  I  leave  them  unnoticed,  be- 
cause there  is  no  instruction  to  be  extracted 
from  a  detail  of  deficiencies  that  have  already 
been  overcome.  Upon  a  revision  of  the  whole, 
I  may  remark  that  agriculture,  in  common 
with  all  other  kinds  of  knowledge,  is  always 
flourishing,  in  proportion  to  the  freedom  of  the 
people.  Spain,  subjugated  by  its  despotic 
monarchy  and  priesthood,  has  an  agriculture 
imperfect  and  degraded  beyond  that  of  any 
other  European  nation.  Flanders  has  always 
had  a  liberal  government,  and  its  agriculture 
improved  before  our  own,  and  is  its  equal 
now. 

By  freedom,  I  mean  security  of  property  and 
person,  unrestricted  discussion  of  every  virtu- 
ous opinion,  and  an  untainted  distribution  of 
justice.  With  us,  the  era  that  introduced  such 
freedom  into  England  was  that  of  the  Reform- 
ation, confirmed  and  strengthened  by  the  ex- 
clusion of  the  Stuarts  in  1688. 

The  introduction  of  the  scholastic  philoso- 
phy, which  revived  that  activity  of  mind 
which  the  Grecian  vanity  had  so  much  abused, 
and  the  Romans,  by  their  gross  habits,  had  so 
long  paralysed;  the  mathematical  sciences 
which  the  Grecians  had  imported  from  Alex- 
andria and  had  forgotten;  that  natural  and 
experimental  knowledge  which  neither  the 
Grecians  nor  Romans  had  ever  much  or  per- 
manently pursued ;  the  reformation  of  religion, 
which  removed  from  the  mind  that  incubus 
that  forbad  man  to  trust  to  his  own  reason,  but 
made  it  the  bond-slave  of  interested  ignorance  • 
the  invention  of  printing,  which  became  the 
mighty  engine  of  diffusing  accumulated  know- 
ledge ;  were  all  events  that  preceded  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  rendered  it  an  era  splendid 
by  the  general  improvement  which  it  afforded 
in  all  the  arts  and  sciences.  These  have  justly 
been  represented  as  forming  a  circle,  for  they 
are  so  united,  so  blended  together,  and  so  co- 
assistant,  that  one  cannot  be  improved  withoat 
the  benefit  being  shared  in  some  way  by  the 
others. 

Agriculture  participated  in  the  general  pro- 
"  E  49 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGRICULTURE. 


p^-ess ;  and  the  impetus  that  was  j^iven  to  the  i 
hupian  mind,  tutoring  it  to  follow  reason  rather  ' 
than  habit,  was  feU  by  the  cultivators  of  the 
soil.  The  eighteenth  and  present  centuries 
have  been  those  in  which  the  improvement 
has  been  marked,  and  the  instances  of  which 
have  already  been  noticed.  The  reason  of 
this  is  to  be  found  in  its  having  then  very 
generally  engaged  the  attention  of  a  more  en- 
lightened class  of  society.  The  noblemen,  the 
gentry,  and  even  the  monarch  of  England,  be- 
came practical  agriculturists;  and  under  the 
patronage  of  George  III.,  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
Lords  Sheffield,  Suffield,  and  Albemarle,  Coke, 
Western,  and  many  others,  it  was  sure  to  ob- 
tain the  benefit  of  all  the  improved  knowledge 
of  the  day.  In  1723  was  instituted  the  Society 
of  Improvers  in  the  Knowledge  of  Agriculture 
in  Scotland;  in  1749,  the  Dublin  Agricultural 
Society;  in  1777,  the  Bath  and  West  of  Eng- 
land Society;  in  1784,  the  Highland  Society 
of  Scotland;  in  1793,  the  London  Board  of 
Agricultare,  and  the  Royal  Agricultural  So- 
ciety of  England  in  1838.  The  last  chiefly 
through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  W.  Shaw  and 
Mr.  Handley,  Lord  Spencer  and  the  Duke  of 
Richmond.  This,  although  supported  entirely 
by  voluntary  subscriptions,  promises  to  be  of 
the  highest  advantage  to  agriculture,  and  by  its 
excellent  arrangements,  of  which  carefully 
avoiding  all  political  discussions  is  a  promi- 
nent feature,  it  now  includes  in  its  copious  list 
of  members,  men  of  all  parties,  who  are  united 
not  for  the  sake  of  indirectly  forwarding  party 
objects,  but  for  the  improvement  in  all  its  im- 
portant branches  of  practical  agriculture. 
The  fate  of  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  which 
erpired  about  the  year  1812,  from  the  with- 
drawal by  government  of  the  annual  parlia- 
mentary grant  for  its  support,  should  operate 
as  a  warning  to  all  other  agricultural  societies ; 
for  this  society  failed,  not  from  a  want  of 
talent  or  of  industry,  but  from  its  efforts  being 
paralysed,  and  its  resources  curtailed  by  its 
being  considered  the  society  of  a  party,  and 
made  the  arena  for  the  discussion  and  promul- 
gation of  political  doctrines.  From  none  of 
these  have  arisen  any  splendid  discoveries,  for 
such  are  not  to  be  made  in  agriculture  :  there 
can  never  arise,  so  far  as  we  can  foresee,  any 
Newton  or  Watt  in  this  art ;  but  they  have 
eftected  and  are  accomplishing  all  that  such 
associations  can  be  expected.  They  have  oc- 
casioned the  collision  of  opinion,  they  have 
stimulated  the  desire  of  improvement,  and 
they  have  promoted  the  general  communica- 
tion of  its  acquirements.  The  general  im- 
provements introduced  into  agriculture,  under 
the  auspices  of  these  valuable  societies,  have 
been,  amongst  several  others,  1.  The  general 
introduction  of  green  crops  ;  2.  The  improve- 
ment of  agricultural  machinery,  such  as  the 
drill,  the  thrashing-machine,  the  plough,  &c.; 

3.  Better  breeds  of  all  kinds  of  live   stock ; 

4.  Better  and  more    numerous   varieties   of 
seeds. 

Of  the  benefits  conferred  by  other  sciences 
upon  agriculture,  by  chemistry,  botany,  and 
physiology.  I  shall  hereafter  have  much  to 
say.  They  are  branches  of  knowledge  hitherto 
too  seldom  combined  with  practical  skill  to 
50 


have  yet  accomplished  much ;  but  of  what 
they  are  capable  of  achieving,  an  estimate 
may  be  formed  from  the  perusal  of  De  Cau- 
dolle's  Physiologic  Vegetale.  "It  is  certain," 
as  the  writer  of  this  has  elsewhere  observed, 
"that  a  cultivator  of  the  soil  should  have  a 
knowledge  of  botany  and  of  chemistry.  With- 
out the  first  he  will  be  unable  to  understand 
terms  and  observations  that  must  occur  in 
every  well-written  work  on  his  art;  unable  to 
comprehend  the  nature  and  habits  of  the  ob- 
jects of  his  culture,  or  to  render  observations 
which  he  makes  intelligible  to  others  or  even 
to  himself.  Chemistry  is  of  as  much,  if  not 
greater,  importance  to  him.  The  nature  of 
soils,  of  manures,  of  the  food  and  functions  of 
plants,  would  all  be  unknown  but  from  the 
analyses  which  chemists  have  made.  Science 
can  never  supersede  the  dung-hill,  the  plough, 
the  spade,  and  the  hoe;  but  it  can  be  one  of 
their  best  guides — can  be  a  pilot  even  to  the 
most  experienced."  {Baxter's  Agricultural  Li- 
brary, 110.) 

Oif  the  literature  of  agriculture,  I  have  little 
to  say  in  this  place.  From  the  days  of  Hesiod 
until  the  sixteenth  century,  the  authors  upon 
this  art  were  very  few ;  but  from  that  period  to 
the  present,  they  have  continued  to  increase"; 
and  its  literature,  if  now  collected,  would  form 
a  copious  library. 

There  have  been  professorships  of  agricul- 
ture for  some  tim*;  proposed  at  the  Universities 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge.  There  was  one 
appointed  at  Edinburgh  in  1790,  and  the  chair 
is  now  (1841)  filled  by  Mr.  Low ;  another  at 
Oxford  in  1840,  of  which  Mr.  Daubeny  is  the 
present  holder. 

A  prejudice  too  generally  existed  amongst 
farmers  against  the  agricultural  knowledge 
contained  in  books ;  but  now  they  are  gene- 
rally better  educated,  this  prejudice  will  cease. 
Ignorance  is  always  bigoted  and  obstinate , 
and  it  is  the  same  mental  sterility  which  made 
the m  jealous  of  all  new  practices,  that  made 
the  Irish  persist  in  fastening  their  horses  to  the 
plough  by  their  tails,  until  it  was  absolutely 
prohibited  by  the  government.  The  Irish  said 
in  defence  of  their  practice  what  some  English 
farmers  say  in  defence  of  theirs,  however  erro- 
neous, "  My  grandfather  did  well  enough  this 
way."  Such  foolish  observations  amount  to 
no  more  than  this,  "  We  will  not  trj-  to  im- 
prove." This  race  of  stagnant  cultivators  is 
gradually  disappearing;  and  those  who  are 
succeeding  them,  we  see  reason  to  believe,  are 
more  enlightened,  and  consequently  more 
ready  to  adopt  improvements.  We  most 
heartily  rejoice  at  this ;  and  we  hope  to  see 
them  more  and  more  a  class  of  reading  men. 
Practice  must  ever  be  their  chief  tutor,  as  in 
all  other  arts;  but  likewise,  as  in  all  other 
arts,  that  practice  will  always  be  the  most  cor- 
rect in  its  details  which  is  founded  upon 
scientific  knowledge.  {G.  W.  Johrison.  Miller's 
Gard.  Diet,  by  Orr  Sf  Co.) 

[Agriculture  itt  the  Uxited  States. 

A  glance  into  the  agricultural  history  of  the 
United  States  has  been  given  in  the  introduc- 
tion to  this  work.    It  will  not  therefore  bo 


AGRICULTURE. 


necessary  to  say  much  upon  that  topic  here, 
where  the  agricultural  resourses  of  the  Re- 
public will  be  mainly  dwelt  upon. 

Notwithstanding  the  desolation  to  which  a 
scourging  course  of  tillage  has  reduced  so 
many  of  the  once  rich  acres  in  the  Atlantic 
states,  the  agricultural  productions  of  the 
country  are  exceedingly  abundant.  Until  very 
recently,  the  value  of  these  products  has  been 
a  subject  for  conjecture  and  approximate  com- 
putation. The  act  of  Congress  for  taking  the 
Census  of  1840,  provided  that  the  persons  en- 
gaged in  enumerating  the  population,  should 
collect  facts  so  as  to  show  the  amount  of  the 
products  of  husbandry,  as  well  as  of  every 
other  branch  of  industry  pursued  throughout 
the  country.  A  fund  of  authentic  information 
of  the  highest  interest  has  been  thus  obtained, 
exhibiting  not  only  the  aggregate  value,  but 
the  relative  proportions  the  several  products 
of  agriculture,  commerce,  the  forests,  and  the 
manufactures,  bear  to  each  other. 

As  the  agriculture  of  the  country  yields  the 
immediate  means  of  subsistence,  so  does  it 
furnish  the  basis  of  commerce,  and  the  various 
branches  of  industry,  all  of  which  must  prosper 
or  languish  according  to  the  good  or  bad  suc- 
cess attending  rural  affairs. 

"  Land  and  trade,"  says  a  quaint  old  English 
writer,  "  are  twins,  and  ever  will  wax  and 
wane  together.  It  cannot  be  ill  with  trade  but 
lands  will  fall,  nor  ill  with  lands,  but  trade  will 
feel  it."  (Sir  Joseph  Child.) 

"  In  the  pursuit  of  agriculture,"  says  a  sen- 
sible writer  in  Hunt's  Magazine,  "  we  are,  in 
effect,  advancing  the  other  great  interests  of 
the  country,  a  fact  which  we  are  too  apt  to 
forget  in  discussing  any  single  interest  with 
ex-parte  views.  We  will  take  the  mere  subject 
of  commerce,  which  is  supposed  to  be  inimi- 
cal to  the  other  interests  of  the  nation,  and 
what  a  mighty  spring  is  given  to  the  internal 
trade  of  the  country  by  agricultural  enterprise, 
looking  at  the  actual  condition  of  the  trans- 
portation of  agricultural  products  upon  the 
principal  lines  of  commercial  communication, 
both  at  the  east  and  we»;t.  How  large  a  por- 
tion of  the  freights  is  furnished  by  the  agricul- 
ture of  the  south  to  the  ships  which  are  con- 
tinually plying  from  its  ports  to  the  inland 
ports  of  our  own  territory,  and  to  the  prominent 
cotton  markets  abroad.  Of  the  vessels  that  are 
daily  taking  in  their  cargoes  in  the  harbours 
of  Charleston  and  New  Orleans,  and  the  inter- 
vening ports,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  princi- 
pal portion  of  those  freights  is  derived  from 
the  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco,  and  rice,  as  well  as 
the  other  agricultural  staples  of  the  surround- 
ing territory.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the 
commerce  of  the  Mississippi :  and  we  find  the 
numerous  steam  ships  and  flat  boats  which 
ply  upon  that  river  during  the  season  of  navi- 
gation, are  laden  with  the  agricultural  products 
of  the  states  that  border  its  banks,  or  that  are 
sent  down  through  the  interior  by  the  Ohio. 
The  commerce  of  the  lakes  is  maintained,  more- 
over, in  a  great  measure  by  the  transportation 
of  the  agricultural  produce  of  the  great  states 
of  Ohio,  Illinois  and  Michigan,  lying  upon  their 
borders,  to  the  eastern  markets  :  and  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  can»l  and  rail-ioad  trans- 


AGRICULTURE. 

portation  of  the  greater  number  of  the  states 
as  well  as  our  coastwise  trade.  Furthermore, 
if  we  examine  the  decks  and  holds  of  the  ships 
which  are  constantly  setting  sail  from  cur 
commercial  towns  both  at  the  east  and  south, 
we  find  that  agriculture  supplies  the  great 
bulk  of  the  cargoes  which  are  exported  abroad. 
It  is  agriculture  indeed  which  gives  life-blood 
to  the  trade  and  commerce  of  the  country,  and 
is  doubtless  as  important  to  the  solid  vigour  of 
commercial  enterprise  as  nutritious  food  to  the 
health  of  the  human  body.  Withdraw  this  re- 
source from  our  commerce,  and  the  veins  and 
arteries  of  the  commercial  system  would  sink 
into  a  state  of  collapse,  exhijjiting  the  cadave- 
rous and  pallid  hue  of  disease  and  starvation. 
Of  the  amount  of  the  several  species  of  agri- 
cultural products  yielded  by  the  country,  we 
are  furnished  with  the  following  statements. 
An  estimate  of  the  products  of  labour  and  cap- 
ital in  the  U.  S.,  for  the  year  1848,  is  given, 
as  a  means  of  comparison  with  more  recent 
statements  which  follow. 


Agricultural  PrO' 
ducts. 

Wlieiit  (a)   

Indian  corn 

Barley ,... 

Rye 

OatB -... 

Buckwheat 

Potatoes 

Beans 

Peas -. 

Flaxseed -... 


Hay 

Hemp  and  Flax. 


Tobacco    

Cotton -... 

Rice 

Sugar        (including 

maple) 

Sillc  cocoons 

Hops 

Beeswax  (6)  .... 
Honey 


Molasses  (c) 

Wine 

Pasturage,  annual 
value 

Value  of  the  residu 
Mm  of  crops:  straw 
chaff,  &c.  (d) 

Manure  (e) 


Products  of  orchards 

Value  in  1840 

Increase  25  per  cent 


Products  of  gardens 

Number    estimated 
at  3,000,000  . . . 


Products  of  nurseries 
Value  of  in  1840  . . 
Increase  25  percent 

Live  stock  and  its 

products. 
Sheen,  No.  in  1848, 
W^ool,  pounds  .... 
Neat  cattle,  number 

in  1848  

Swine,    number    in 
1848 ^ .  •  • 


Quantities 


Bushels. 
126,364,600 
583,150,000 
6,222,0.50 

32,951,500 
185,500,000 

12,523,000 
114.475,000 

10,000,000 

20,000,600 
1,600,000 

Tons. 
15,735,000 
100,000 

Pounds. 

218,909,000 

1,066,000,000 

119,199,500 

275,000,000 

400,000 

1,506,301 

789,.525 

23,685,750 

Gallons. 
9,600,000 
500,000 


Dollars. 
7,256,904 
1,814,226 

Annual  value, 
cstimattd  at  15 
dolU.  per  garden 


593,5.34 
148,383 


25,000,000 
60,000,000 

18,714,482 

35,000,000 


Dollars 

1  15 

59 

65 

65 

35 

50 

30 

1  00 

87, 

1  20 


8  00 
180  00 


04 
07 
03 

05 
2  00 


30 


Dollars 

145,319,290 

344,0.58,-500 

4,044,332 

21,418,475 

64j925,000 

6,266,500 

32,-342,500 

10,000,000 

17,500,000 

1,920,000 


125,880,000 
18,000,000 


8.7.56,360 
74^620,000 
3,575,985 

13,750,000 

800,000 

140,96 

165,80 

2,368,575 


2,736,000 
500,000 

60,768,136 


100,000,000 
60,000,000 


1.119,866,420 
9,071,130 

45,000,000 
741,917 


54,813,047 
18,000,0« 


51 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGROSTIS. 


Estimate — co7itimced. 


Butchers^  meat  (g) 
including  mutton, 
beef,  &  pork,  lbs. 

Value  ol"  hides,  pelts 
and  tallow 

Increase  ot" neat  cat- 
tle in  1818,  estima- 
ted at  3  per  cent. 
6incel8l7,  in  num- 
ber 4 19,U7,  at  $10 
per  head 


Horses,  mules  fr  asses 
Number  in  1848.... 
Value  of  incr'se  (la- 
bour not  estimated 

Poultry. 

Value  in  1840 

Increase  25  percent. 

Eggs,  No .  consumed 

Live  geese  feathers 

lbs. 

Products  of  the  dairy. 

Value  in  1840 

Increase  23  percent. 
Milk,  value  of 


Products  of  the  forest., 
including  lumber, 
furs,  and  .skins  .. 

Firewood,  No.  c'ds 


Products  of  the  fishe- 
ries, including 
whale,  cod,  mack- 
erel, and  all  other 
fislieries ^  . .. 


Capital  employed  in 
comtrif'rce,  trade,  Sf 
internal  transport- 
ation  - . . 

Profits  at  6  per  cent. 

Manufactures. 
Products,  value  of . 

Mines. 
Products  of,  inclu- 
ding iron,  lead, 
gold,  silver,  mar- 
ble, gr.-inite,  salt, 
coal,  &c.  &c 


Banking  and  insu 
rnnce. 

Bank  capital 

Capital  of  insurance 

companies 

Profits  of 


Money  loaned  at  inte- 
rest. 
Profits  of .. 


Rentals. 
Of  houses  and  lands 

I         Professions. 
Profits  of ^. 


Quandtiet. 


3.664,934,000 


5,419,586 


9,344,410 

2,330,102 

1.084,300,000 

2,000,000 


33,787,008 

8.446.750 

20:000,000 


25,000.000 


400,000,000 


212,000,000 


Dollars 
04 


i  cent 
50 


1  50 


Dollars. 
146,597,360 

20,000,000 


4,401,470 


8,129,350 


11,680,512 
5,421,500 

1,000,000 


42,233,758 
20,000,000 


277,553,950 


22,250,000 
37,500.000 


59,750,000 
17,581,339 

24,000,000 
I 
-.     550,000,000 

75,000,000 

20,000,000 

20,000,000 
50,000,000 
50,000,000 


2.323,561,756 


(a)  The  estimates  above  given  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Patents,  for  1848,  are  founded  upon 
the  bases  furnished  in  the  census  returns  for  1840, 
with  the  addition  of  22  per  cent.,  that  being  the 
computed  increase  of  population  since  that  period. 
The  prices  are  generally  the  average  prices  of 
the  different  articles  in  the  New  York  market. 
The  quantities  and  values  of  hemp,  flax,  hops, 
beeswax,  molasses,  wine,  products  of  orchards 
52 


and   nurseries,  have  25  per  cent,  allowed   foi 
-  increase,  except  where  later  information  justifies 
a  departure  from  this  rule. 

(A)  The  census  of  1540  contains  no  returns 
of  honey.  Bevan  estimates  30  pounds  of  honey 
for  each  pound  of  wax  produced,  and  this  is  taken 
as  the  basis  of  the  present  estimate. 

(c)  A  little  more  than  45  gallons  of  molasses 
are  allowed  by  authors  treating  on  the  subject 
of  sugar-growing  and  manufacture,  for  every 
1000  lbs.  of  cane  sugar. 

(d)  In  France  11|  per  cent,  upon  the  value  of 
the  products  of  the  land  and  forest  is  allowed 
for  the  refuse  of  crops.  From  the  returns  of 
estimates  made  by  farmers  in  various  parts  of 
the  Union  in  1818,  it  appears  that  many  allow  1 
ton  of  straw  to  20  bushels  of  wheat  and  other 
small  grain  produced,  and  1  ton  of  fodder  for 
about  25  bushels  of  Indian  corn.  The  straw  is 
valued  at  $2.50,  and  the  fodder  at  S2  per  ton : 
very  low  prices.  If  to  *hese  be  added  the 
refuse  of  the  cotton,  sugar,  rice,  and  other  crops, 
it  will  make  the  total  value  exceed  $100,000,000. 
In  England,  the  annual  value  of  straw  alone, 
used  for  thatching,  &c.,  is  estimated  at  about 
$40,000,000. 

(«?)  The  average  price  of  manure  in  the  pre- 
sent estimate  is  6Cj  cts.  per  cord.  The  value 
of  the  manure  produced  in  England  was  com- 
puted, in  1835,  at  329,300,000  l§ads,  valued  at 
about  $295,000,000,  exclusive  of  the  drOppings 
from  grazing  stock,  equal  to  about  ^  more. 

(g)  See  Food  and  Venttlation. 

[AGRICULTURAL  PRODUCTS,  Consump- 
tion OF.  To  one  who  examines  statements  of 
the  agricultural  products  of  various  kinds  every 
year  yielded  in  such  immense  quantities,  it 
seems,  at  first  glance,  difficult  to  imagine  how 
these  can  all  be  consumed,  before  fresh  crops 
would  glut  the  markets  and  do  away,  for  a 
time,  with  the  labours  and  profits  of  the  hus- 
bandman. It  is,  however,  only  necessary  for 
one  to  inquire  into  the  consumption  of  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil  constantly  going  on  in  some 
of  the  most  populous  countries  and  cities,  to  give 
him  courage  to  persevere  in  his  productive  ef- 
forts, even  with  renewed  ardour.  It  has,  for 
example,  been  estimated  that  the  daily  con- 
sumption of  corn  in  England  and  Ireland,  is, 
1,238,096  bushels  of  wheat  and  barley;  besides 
annually,  100,000  bags  of  rice,  and  450,000,000 
lbs.  of  sugar.  The  immediate  products  of  the 
grasses,  which,  consumed  by  animals,  forms 
the  food  of  man,  constitutes  an  amount  almost 
inconceivable.  In  London  alone  there  is  an- 
nually consumed  155,000,000  lbs.  of  butcher's 
raeat.  Of  cheese,  another  production  of  grass, 
11,500  tons  are  annually  introduced  into  Lon- 
don, from  Cheshire,  about  20,000  tons  from 
Warwickshire,  besides  that  imported  from  many 
other  countries.  Of  butter,  the  annual  con- 
sumption is  about  50,000,000  lbs.,  the  produce 
of  300.000  cows;  and  in  London^  between  9  and 
10,000  cows  are  kept  for  the  supply  of  milk  to 
the  inhabitants,  which  produce  annually  about 
30,000,000  qts.  (Johnso7i's  Lectures  on  Botavy.)'] 

Agricultural  Products  of  the  U.  S.  in  1860, 
made  from  Census  returns.  Column  A  in- 
cludes 23  Eastern,  Northern,  Middle,  and  West- 
ern States  ;  Column  B  includes  the  Southern 
States  of  Virg.,  Tenn.,  N.  Car.,  S.  Car.,  Georg., 
Flor.,  Alab.,  Missis.,  Louis.,  Tex.,  and  Ark. 


^B   Products. 


AGKICULTURE. 


Horses,  numbers. 

Mules do 

Cattle do 

Sheep do 

Swine do 

"Wool pounds. 

Cheese do 

Butter do 

Wheat. ...bushels. 

Rye do... 

Indian  corn,  do... 

Oats do... 

Barley do- 
Buckwheat. ..do... 

Potiitoes do... 

Peas  &  beans,  do... 

Hops pounds. 

Hay tons. 

Tobacco,   pounds. 

Cane  sugar  ...do... 

Maple  f  ugar..do... 

Cane  mo- 
lasses....givUons 

Maple  mo- 
lasses   do... 

Sorghum 
molasses  ...do... 

Rice i>onnd9. 

Cotton,  bales, 

400  iK>unds. 

Wine ^'allons. 

Clover  seed,buHh8. 

Grass  seed... .do  .. 

Yalao  of  market 
gardens  

Value  of  orchard 
products 

Value  of  home 
uianutactureti... 

Value  of  live  stock 

Value  of  Hlaugh- 
tert>d  animals... 

Value  of  farm  im- 
plements and 
nuichinery 

Value  of  farms.... 


6,277,950 

390,457 

16,675.107 

17,198,219 

19,180,379 

50,lS:l,626 

104,996,049 

399,76;j,525 

13S,^09,133 

18,792,013 

647,02y,514 

152.168,667 

15,433,29' 

17,114,949 

107,372,255 

3,544,140 

10.993,807 

18,004,443 

230,a43,321 


37,772,717 


1,631,832 
6,860,801 


1,639,197 
881,868 
791,698 

$13,209,603 

16,839,327 

e,8W.161 
707,900,731 

130,549,764 


162,131,142 
4,767,474,861 


1,980,357 

881,384 

12,080,208 

6,097,587 

16,780,312 

9,748,702 

7u2,60o 

59,909,127 

31,36fi,Ny4 

2,17. •5,033 

280.665,014 

19,920,408 

1S0,292 

•536,112 

44,287,4321 

11,555,606 

16,018 

1,069,283 1 

199,021,430 1 

301,922,000 

1,090,851 

16,313,903 

312,467 

1,316,241 
187,320,581 

6,192,746 
211,622 
46.931 

los.no 

$2,091,282 

2,867,015 

14..'562,300 
390,962,274 

81,482,301 


Total. 


7,258,307 

1,271,841 

28,755,315 

23,295,806 

35,960,691 

59,932,328 

105,788.652 

459,672.652 

170,176,027 

20,965,046 

827,694,528 

172,089.095 

15,613,589 

17,651.061 

151,659,687 

15,099,746 

11,009,825 

19,073,726 

429,364,751 

301,922,000 

38,863,568 

16,313,903 

1,944,299 

7,176,042 
187,320,581 

6,192,746 

1,850,819 

928,799 


$15,300,886 
19,60«,842 

24,226,461 

1,098,863,005 

212,032,085 


83,993,793     246,124,935 
,870,938,9-20  6,638,413,771 


The  territory  of  the  United  States,  in  1867, 
contains  2,936,166  square  miles,  or  1,879,146,- 
240  acres.  When  the  hite  Russian  possessions 
are  added,  the  total  will  be  3,491, 553  sq.  miles, 
of  640  sq.  acres  each. 

(For  further  particulars  of  States  and  coun- 
ties, see  Census  of  U.  S.  for  lb60,  aud  sum- 
mary in  the  Report  of  the  Commission  of 
Patents  for  1862.) 

Valuation  of  Taxed  Property. 
In  1791,  estimated  $750,000,000 

1816,  estimated  1,800,000,000 

1850,    Official  valuation     7,135,780,228 
1860,         "  '♦  16,159,616,068 

Showing  an  increase  in  the  last  decade  alone 
of  $9,023,835,840,  equal  to  130  per  cent,  for 
last  10  years. 

A  very  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  sud- 
den and  surprising  development  of  prosperity 
fis  perhaps  furnished  by  the  completion  of  ca- 
nals and  railways  on  which  the  products  of 
vast  tracts  of  fertile  Western  lands  have  been 
brought  to  the  sea-board.  During  the  ten 
years  ending  in  1860,  the  sum  of  $413,541,510 
was  expended  within  the  interior  central 
group,  known  as  the  "  food-exporting  States," 
in  constructing  11,212  miles  of  railway.  The 
total  number  of  miles  of  railroad  in  the  U.  S. 
amount,  in  1867,  to  40,000. 

The  public  lands  belonging  to  the  govern- 


AGRICULTURE. 

ment  amounted  in  1862  to  964,901,625  square 
acres.  The  quantity  surveyed  and  ready  for 
sale  was  135,142,999  acres.  This  land  is 
granted  gratuitously  to  actual  settlers,  or  sold 
at  prices  not  exceeding  $1.25  per  acre  to 
othei'S  than  settlers. 

Population  of  the  JJ.  S.  from  Census  returns  made 
in  1850-60,  showing  the  increase. 


States. 

1850. 

1860. 

Per  cent, 
increase. 

California 

92,597 
370,792 

91,532 
851,470 
988,416 
192,214 

982,465" 

583,169 

994,514 

683,034 

397,654 

6.077 

682,044 

317,976 

489,555 

3,097,394 

1,980,329 

13,294 

2,311,786 

147,545 

314,120 

305,391 

365,439 
460,147 
112,216 

1,711,951 

1,350,428 
674,913 
107,206 

1,155,684 
628,279 

1,231,066 
687,049 
749,113 
172,123 

1,182,012 
326,073 
672,035 

3,880,735 

2,339,551 
52,465 

2,906,115 
174,620 
315.098 
775,881 

310.37 
42.10 
22.60 

101.06 
36.63 

256.64 

Delaware 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

17.64 

7.74 
23.79 
17  84 

Maine 

Massjichusetts 

Michigan 

88  38 

Minnesota. 

Missouri 

73  30 

New  Hampshire 

New  Jersey 

2^55 
37  27 

New  York 

Ohio 

25.28 
1814 

Oregon  

294  65 

25.71 

Rhode  Island 

Vermont 

18.35 
0  31 

Wisconsin 

12 ''9 

Total 

15,793,308 

22,030,199 

Population  of  11  Southern  States. 


771,623 
209,897 
87,445 
906,185 
517,762 
606,526 
869,039 
668,507 

1,002,717 
212,592 

1,421,661 

964,201 
435,450 
140,425 

1,057,286 
708,002 
791,306 
992,622 
703,708 

1,109,801 
604,215 

1,596,318 

24.96 

Arkansas 

107.46 

Florida 

60.59 
16.67 

IiOuisiana 

36  74 

Mississippi     

30  47 

North  Carolina. 

South  Carolina  

14.20 

6.27 

10.68 

184.22 

Virginia 

12.29 

Total 

7,273,954 

9,103,333 

The  increase  of  population  since  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  government  has  been  as  fol- 
lows :  — 
1790,    3,929,827, 

1800,    5,305,937,  increase  35.02  per  cent. 
1810,    7,239,814,        "        36.45 
1820,    9,638,191,        '*        33.13         «' 
1830,  12,866,020,         "        33.49         " 
1840,  17,069,453,        "        32.67         " 
1850,  23,191,876,        **        35.87         " 
1860,  31,445^080,        "        35.59 
The  increase  from  foreign  emigration  has 
been  a  yearly  average,  for  40  years,  of  126,- 
560,  and  for  the  10  years  previous  to  1860 
270,761. 

Of  5,062,414  arrivals  from  foreign  countries 
in  40  years,  from  1820  to  1860,  there  were 
from 

Ireland 967,366 

England 302,665 

Scotland 47,800 

Wales 7,935 

Great  Britain  and  Ire-  ^    ^^^ 

land 1,425,018=2,750,784 

e2  53 


AGRICULTURE. 


AGROSTIS. 


Germany 1,546,976 

Sweden 36,129 

^     Denmark  and  Norway  ..  5,640=1,688,646 

■''  France 208,063 

Italy 11,302 

Switzerland 37,732 

Spain 16,245 

British  America 117,142 

China,  (in  California  al- 
most exclusively,)  ...  41,443 
All  other  countries,  or 

unknown 291,558=     723,485 


6,062,414 

The  increase  of  the  whole  population  of  the 
United  States  in  the  seven  decades,  from  1790 
to  1860,  is  very  nearly  at  the  rate  of  33J  per 
cent,  for  10  years. 

Though  a  very  few  years  have  elapsed  since 
the  hitherto  almost  mythic  land  of  California 
came  into  possession  of  those  capable  of  de- 
veloping its  extraordinary  resources,  surpris- 
ing progress  has  already  been  made.  To  say 
nothing  of  its  almost  infinite  mineral  wealth, 
its  agricultural  advantages  are  incalculable, 
and  the  cereal  products  are  perhaps  eclipsed 
by  those  of  its  fruit-growing  capacities.  Es- 
pecially is  its  soil  and  climate  adapted  to  the 
vine  and  the  production  of  wines,  which  even 
now  rival  the  best  vintages  of  Europe,  and 
will  doubtless  soon  eclipse  them  in  the  markets 
of  the  world.  They  are  recommended  not  only 
by  their  general  purity  and  grateful  qualities, 
but  by  their  being  more  readily  digested  and 
freed  from  excess  of  acids  and  other  oflfensive 
qualities  which  often  render  European  wines 
irritating  and  unwholesome.  This  remark  is 
particularly  applicable  to  the  Sonoma  hocks, 
and  to  the  Angelica  and  other  wines  of  Los 
Angelos.  Some  of  the  red  wines,  misnamed 
Port,  rival  the  Burgundy  and  Hermitage  of 
Southern  France  in  their  rich  violet  bou- 
quet. 

AGROSTIS.  The  bent  grass.  An  exten- 
sive genus  of  grasses,  which  from  their  gen- 
eral character  of  thriving  best  on  marshy  or 
wet  soils,  are  of  comparatively  little  value  to 
the  farmer.  In  America  they  have  obtained 
little  notice ;  but  in  England  they  are  often 
made  of  considerable  account,  and  the  follow- 
ing varieties  are  noticed. 

Agrostis  alba,  or  white  bent,  smaller  than 
other  varieties,  with  roots  difficult  to  extir- 
pate in  clay  soils.  Late,  unproductive,  and 
but  little  nutritive.  A  great  exhauster  of  the 
soil.  • 

Agrostis  canina,  var.  mutica.  A  useless  va- 
riety of  brown  bent,  or  Creeping-stalked  brown 
bent.  Common  in  deep  bogs.  A  diminutive 
plant.     Worthless. 

Agrostis  canina  capillaris.  Fine-panacled 
brown  bent,  or  tufted  bent.  Common  in  old 
pastures,  or  poor  and  moist  clay  soils.  Called 
winter  fog,  in  England.     Of  no  value. 

Agrostis  lobata.     Lobed,  or  sea-side  bent. 
Agrostis  nivea.     Snowy  bent,  or  straw-col- 
ored bent  grass. 

Agrostis  Palusiris,  or  marsh-bent.    See  Fio- 
EEN  Grass  and  Agrostis  Stolonifera,  p.  577. 
Agrostis  Mexicana.   Naturalized  in  England, 
54 


where  it  grows  best  in  calcareous  and  clay 
soils.  Hardy,  but  without  superior  nutritious 
properties. 

Agrostis  ramorissima,  lateral-branching  bent 
grass.  Nearly  allied  to  the  A.  Mexicana.  Re- 
markable for  the  number  of  branches  that 
issue  from  its  joints,  and  woody  nature  of  its 
stem. 

Agrostis  repens,  creeping  rooted  bent,  or 
white  bent.  This  is  a  species  of  couch  grass 
very  difficult  to  eradicate,  the  roots  striking 
deeper  than  the  plough,  and  shooting  up  from 
the  least  particle  left  in  the  ground.  Hand- 
picking  is  the  most  eflFectual  means  of  de- 
struction. 

The  Agrostis  stolonifera,  (var.  Latifolia,)  or 
long-leaved  creeping  bent,  or  fi  or  en,  is  repre- 
sented in  Plate  No.  X.  of  the  Hay-grasses,  n. 

It  appears  to  be  much  superior  in  point  of 
productiveness  and  nutritive  qualities  to  the 
other  varieties  of  Agrostis  stolonifera,  from 
which  it  differs  so  little  in  appearance  as  to 
make  it  difficult  to  discriminate  between  them. 
This  variety  appears  to  be  confined  to  rich  old 
pasture  land,  whilst  the  others  are  found  in 
different  soils,  the  clays,  light  sands,  moors, 
bogs,  marshes,  bottoms  of  ponds  and  ditches, 
etc. 

Several  years  ago  the  Agrostis  stoloni- 
fera was  introduced  into  England  by  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Richardson,  under  the  name  of  Fio- 
ren.  He  published  an  account  setting  forth 
its  characteristics,  with  experiments  showing 
its  nutritive  qualities,  from  which  it  would 
appear  to  be  a  valuable  grass  for  some  situa- 
tions, at  least  in  the  moist  climates  of  England 
and  Ireland, 

The  variety  which  has  been  called  by  bota- 
nists Agrostis  vulgaris,  is  common  in  fields 
laying  out  in  grass,  and  has  doubtless  given 
the  name  to  the  genera,  derived  from  the  Greek 
word  Agros,  a  field.  The  well-known  Herds,  or 
Red-top  of  the  Middle  and  Northern  States  be- 
long to  this  family,  and  has  received  the  name 
of  Foul  Meadoio  Grass  from  the  difficulty  with 
which  it  is  eradicated  when  it  has  once  ob- 
tained a  footing. 

Another  variety  is  called  White-top. 

There  has  been  much  prejudice  existing 
against  the  different  species  of  Agrostis  in  gene- 
ral ;  but  let  the  proprietor  of  a  rich  ancient 
pasture  divest  a  part  of  it  of  this  grass  entire!)', 
and  the  value  of  the  plant  will  be  demonstrated 
in  the  comparative  loss  of  late  and  early  herb- 
age. The  cock's  foot  grass  is  superior  to  the 
larger  variety  of  the  creeping  bent,  in  the  pro- 
portion nearly  of  11  to  9.  The  meadow  fescue 
is  also  superior  to  florin  in  nearly  the  like  pro- 
portion as  cock's  foot  The  meadow  fox-tail  grass 
is  inferior  to  florin  in  the  proportion  nearly  of 
6  to  7.  When  cultivated  separately,  for  the 
purpose  of  green  food  or  hay,  fiorin  requires  to 
be  kept  perfectly  clear  of  weeds,  its  couchant 
habit  of  growth  affording  great  encouragement 
for  the  health  of  upright  growing  plants — 
under  this  circumstance,  weeds.  It  flowers  in 
England  about  the  second  and  third  weeks  of 
July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  about  the  second  and 
third  weeks  of  August.  The  mo'le  of  convert- 
ing fiorin  into  hay,  duting  the  winter  months, 
is  amply  detailed  in  Dr.  Richardson's  publica- 
tions on  Fiorin.    Full  information  will  ihere 


AGROSTIS. 


AGROSTIS. 


be  likewise  found  on  the  productive  powers, 
uses,  modes  of  cultivation,  &c.,  of  this  grass, 
deduced  from  the  Doctor's  own  experiments. 

Agrostis  strida.  Rock  bent;  upright  bent. 
Trichudiuin  rupestre  (Schrader).  This  species 
being  inferior  to  the  common  bent  in  most 
points,  its  value  to  the  agriculturist  can  be  but 
little.  The  only  property  that  renders  it  worthy 
of  notice  is,  the  small  degree  in  which  it  im- 
poverishes the  soil :  when  cultivated  on  a  poor, 
silicious,  sandy  soil,  the  produce,  though  some- 
what inferior,  continued  for  six  years,  without 
diminishing  in  the  yearly  quantity,  and  without 
any  manure  being  applied ;  a  circumstance 
which  was  not  manifested  in  any  other  species 
of  grass. 

AiTiostis  vulgaris  canina.  Awned  fine  bent. 
(Brown  bent,  or  Agrostis  caninoy  Wither. 
Arr.  Smit/ts  Engl.  Flora,  Agrostis  vulgaris 
var.  /2.  Du.  var.  1.)  As  this  is  a  much  less 
common  plant  than  the  variety  of  Agrostis 
vulgaris  before  described,  and  as  it  differs  so 
much  from  that  variety  in  the  properties  which 
constitute  the  farmer's  distinguishing  charac- 
ters of  grasses,  the  name  canina  is  here  added. 
The  vulgaris  mutica  is  more  common  to  sandy 
soils  ;  the  v.  canina  to  clayey  soils.  The  weight 
of  nutritive  matter  in  which  the  produce  of 
one  acre  of  the  awnless  variety  of  Agrostis 
vulgaris  canina  exceeds  that  of  the  awned  va- 
riety is  151.8.  The  comparative  merits  of  the 
Agrostis  vulgaris  exceed  those  of  the  Agrostis 
vulgaris  canina  nearly  as  2  to  1.  The  crop  of 
the  awnless  variety  is  greater  than  that  of  the 
awned,  but  it  is  much  less  nutritive,  being  as 
10  to  7;  the  spring  and  autunm  produce  is 


likewise  superior.  Neither  of  these  varieties 
appears  to  be  of  much  value  to  the  farmer. 
The  rust  attacks  the  culms  and  leaves  of  both 
varieties  which  gives  the  plants  a  dirty  brown 
appearance ;  the  Agrostis  vulgaris  is  always 
free  from  this  disease.  The  brown  bent 
flowers  in  the  second  and  third  weeks  of  July, 
and  ripens  the  seed  in  the  end  of  August. 

Agrostis  vulgaris  muticu.  Common  bent;  fine 
bent  grass.  [See  Plate  6,  d,  of  Hay  Grasses.] 
This  species  has  four  varieties,  according  to 
Dr.  Schrader.  The  first  is  distinguished  by 
being  awned  (see  Agrostis  vulgaris  canina,  and 
Trichodium  caninurn)  ;  the  second  by  awnless 
and  diseased  flowers  (see  Agrostis  pumila  of 
Willd.  Spec.  Plant,  i.  p.  371)  ;  the  third  by  its 
diseased  awned  flowers ;  the  fourth,  by  having 
the  flowers  viviparous,  Agrostis  sylvatica. 

The  common  bent  is  one  of  the  earliest  of 
the  bent  grasses  ;  in  this  respect  it  is  superior 
to  every  other  of  this  family ;  but  inferior  to 
several  of  them  in  the  quantity  of  produce  it 
aflbrds,  and  the  nutritive  matter  it  consumes. 
It  is  the  most  common  grass  on  natural 
sandy  pastures ;  and  even  on  more  tenaceous 
soils,  that  are  elevated  and  exposed,  it  is  fre- 
quent. It  flowers  from  the  third  week  of  June 
till  the  second  week  of  July,  and  the  seed  is 
ripe  the  beginning  of  August. 

The  following  tabular  arrangement  shows 
at  a  glance  the  proportional  value  of  the  seve- 
ral varieties  of  Agrostis,  in  seed  and  in  flower, 
and  their  yield  per  acre  of  green  and  dry  pro- 
duce on  various  soils,  and  comparative  quali- 
ties of  nutrition. 


DeKriptioo. 


Green  Pro- 
duce per  Acre. 


Dry  Produce 
per  Acre. 


Produce  per  Acre 
of  Nutrive  matter. 


Agrostis  alba.  In  flower,      -        -        -  -  - 

—     canina,  in  (lower           -        -  -  - 

caiiiua,  when  seed  ripe           _  -  . 

palugtris,  in  flower       -         -  -  - 

pa/uji(ri»-,  when  seed  ripe      -  -  - 

repens,  in  flower,           _        -  -  - 

btolonifera  arittata,  in  flower 

stvlonifera  arijitata,  in  December 

ttolonifera  an^stifolia,  when  seed  ripe 

stoluntfera  anguatifoha,  in  December    - 

canina  ca)>i//artA,  ill  flower    -  -  - 

cawina/w-i-./arnj,  in  flower 

canina /(uicu/am,  in  seed      -  -  - 

mexicana,  in  flower        -        -  -  - 

ntrea,  in  flower     -        -        -  -  - 

nirea,  when  seed  ripe            -  -  . 

raiHcsissigima,  in  flower         -  -  - 

stolonifera  latifolia,  in  flower 

stolonifera  lattfolia,  seed  ripe 

lobata,  in  flower             _        .  _  _ 

lobata,  seed  ripe    -        -        -  -  - 

\ strtcta,  in  flower            _       -  -  - 

j stricta,  seed  ripe    -        -        -  -  - 

vulgaris  mutico,  in  flower     ,  -  - 

vulgaris  viutita,  in  seed        -  -  - 

vulgaris  canina               _        _  -  - 


Clay 
Bog 


Clayey  loam 
Bog 


Sandy  ?.^m 
Sandy 

C  Rich,  black,  siiici-  ^ 

\        OU8,  sandy        j 

Sandy 

Strong  clayey  loam 
Peal 

Silicious  sand 

Bog 

Silicious  sand 

Sandy  loam 


ibi. 

8,167  8 

5,445  0 

6.135  10 

10,209  6 

13,612  8 

6,125  10 

8,848  0 

10,209  6 

16,335  0 

17,015  0 

4,764  6 

2,722  8 


4.083  12 


3,471  3 
1,497  6 
2,603  5 
4,534  3 
5,445  0 
2,679  15 
4,210  12 
4,594  3 
7,350  12 
8,507  8 
1,310  3 
680  10 
1,429  5 


lbs. 

2,255  3  12 
148  14  0 
239  4  8 
438  10  0 
584  14  0 
287  2  0 
368  10  0 
438  10  15 
765  11  0 
930  8 
148  14 
85  1 
239  4 


^9,057  8  0 


6,125  10 
4,764  6 
28,586  4 
17,696  4 
19,057  8 
6,806  4 
6,125  10 
9,528  12 
7,486  14 
10,209  6 
9,528  12 
6,125  10 


6,670  2  0 

2,603  6  4 

1,310  3  4 

1,  434  0  0 

7,742  1  12 

8,575  14  0 

3,403  2  0 

2,679  15  6 

4,764  6  0 

2,713  15  14 

4,594  3  8 

4,764  6  0 

2,603  6  4 


0 
0 
4 
0 

595  8  12 

239  4  8 
148  14  3 
893  5  0 
967  12  3 
1,042  3  5 
319  0  11 
287  2  3 
251  3  15 
175  7  9 
531  11  3 
251  3  15 
239  4  8 


This  family  of  grasses  has  been  held  in  little 
esteem  by  farmers,  principally  on  account  of 
their  lateness  of  flowering.  (^Sincluir^s  Hort. 
Gram. ;  Smith's  Eng.  Hot.) 

[Several  of  the  species  thus  enumerated,  as 
existing  in  England,  have  found  their  way  to 
America,  doubtless  introduced  mixed  in  grain 
and  grass  seeds.  They  are,  however,  so  dry 
and  wiiy  as    to  be  esteemed  of  little  or  no 


value  to  the  farmer,  Among  these  are,  the 
—  A.  vulgaris,  which  Pursh,  the  celebrated 
botanist,  says,  is  common  in  all  grassy  field.,, 
flowering  in  July.  This  is  doubtless  the 
species  which  gives  name  to  the  genera,  de 
rived  from  Agros,  a  Greek  word  signifying  a 
field.  Dr.  Darlington  says  it  is  the  grass  ex 
tensively  known  in  the  Middle  States  as  Herd* 
or  Red-top,  and  sometimes  in  the  Eastern  State* 

55 


AIR, 


AIRA. 


called  Foul  Meadow  Grass.  The  last  name 
being  evidently  derived  from  the  great  difficulty 
with  which  it  is  eradicated  when  it  has  once 
obtained  a  footing.  The  grass  called  white-top, 
appears  to  be  a  variety  of  Herds.  There 
seems  to  be  considerable  obscurity  and  confu- 
sion in  the  descriptions  given  of  this  grass. 
The  common  characteristics  of  the  plant,  as 
seen  in  the  meadows  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr. 
Darlii  gton  says,  resemble  those  of  the  A,  alba, 
the  W  hite  or  Yellow  Tops  of  the  Eastern  States. 
Itaff'.fds  a  tolerably  good  pasture  for  cattle, 
and  ..'.  valuable  m  swampy  grounds,  which  its 
Too'x.  lend  to  consolidate ;  but  it  is  not  much 
estf  <»jried  for  hay,  and  is  now  seldom,  if  ever, 
an  cbject  of  special  cultivation  in  the  Middle 
Stages.  The  Pennsylvania  farmers  are  so  op- 
po'jed  to  having  Herds  grass  rooted  in  their 
fields  and  meadows  that  they  reject  clover  and 
every  other  grass,  seed  in  which  the  least 
Herds  appears.  Among  the  species  found  in 
the  United  States,  are  the  following — 

A.  pungens,  or  Virginian Agrostis,  frequenting 
dry,  sandy  banks,  and  road-sides,  flowering  in 
the  southern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  in  August. 
This  species  diflers  much,  in  habit,  from  most 
others. 

A.  cinna,  common  on  rivers  and  islands  be- 
low tide-water,  from  Canada  to  the  Carolinas, 
flowering  in  June,  &c. 

A.  jiincea,  found  in  barren,  sandy  places, 
from  New  Jersey  to  Florida  ;  flowering  from 
July  to  August. 

-1.  laterifulia,  found  in  rich  soil  on  the 
edges  of  woods  from  New  York  to  Florida, 
especially  in  the  western  countries,  where  it 
appears  to  be  of  more  value.  In  the  southern 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  it  affords  an  indifferent 
pasture  in  the  latter  part  of  summer,  but  is  not 
regarded  as  of  much  consequence,  which  may 
indeed  be  said  of  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  Ame- 
rican species  of  agrostis. 

The  late  Judge  Peters  introduced  the  florin 
into  PhiLadelphia  county,  in  1812,  by  import- 
ing a  quantity  of  the  strings  or  layers  from 
which  it  is  always  propagated  in  Ireland.  For 
some  reason  its  cultivation  has  not  been  kept 
up,  and  at  present  it  is  difficult  to  be  found  in 
America.  When  once  it  has  obtained  a  foot- 
ing in  a  suitable  soil,  it  is  scarcely  to  be 
eradicated,  for  which  reason  it  is  not  adapted 
to  the  alternate  system  of  husbandry.] 

AIR  {Air,  French,  aer,  Lat).  The  element 
or  thin  medium  in  which  terrestrial  animals 
move  and  breathe,  and  which  surrounds  the 
earth  to  a  considerable  height.  See  Atmo- 
sphere and  Gases. 

AIRA.  A  genus  of  grasses,  of  which  there 
are  but  few  species  capable  of  being  cultivated 
to  advantage  as  field  grasses. 

Aira  aqwdicn.  Water  hair-grass.  This  plant 
is  an  aquatic,  found  naturally  growing  in  the 
mud  of  standing  pools,  or  running  waters  in 
England.  It  is,  therefore,  unfit  for  cultivation. 
Mr.  Curtis  says,  that  it  is  the  sweetest  of  the 
British  grasses;  but  there  are  several  species 
which  contain  more  sugar,  in  proportion  to  the 
other  ingredients  which  compose  their  nutri- 
tive matter,  as  the  Glyceric  Jliiitans,  Elymus 
arcfiarius.  Poa  nemoralis  var.  angustifolia,  Poa 
nqkotica 


Aira  csespilosa.  Turfy  hair-grass ;  hassock 
grass.  [See  Plate  6.  of  Pasture  Grasses,  m.] 
This  grass  is  of  a  ver}'  innutritions  nature ; 
but  even  if  it  had  greater  nutritive  powers,  the 
extreme  coarseness  of  the  foliage  would  render 
it  unfit  for  cultivation.  It  delights  in  moist 
clayey  soils,  where  the  water  stagnates ;  but  is 
found  in  almost  every  kind  of  soil,  from  the 
dry  sandy  heatli  to  the  bog.  It  forms  dense 
tufts  in  pastures  very  disagreeable  to  the  sight, 
which  are  termed  hassocks,  bull's  faces,  &c., 
by  farmers.  It  is  a  most  difficult  plant  to  ex- 
tirpate, when  in  considerable  quantity.  Some 
persons,  to  get  rid  of  it,  dig  up  the  tufts,  and 
fill  up  the  holes  with  lime  compost ;  this,  no 
doubt,  would  answer  the  end,  at  least  for  a  few 
years,  if  all  the  roots  were  destroyed ;  but  this 
is  never  the  case:  a  circle  of  roots  is  left, 
which,  in  one  or  two  seasons,  produce  larger 
hassocks  than  before ;  and  besides,  when  the 
hassocks  are  numerous,  the  expense  attending 
this  process  is  considerable.  Others  depend 
on  occasional  mowings  to  keep  the  hassocks 
under;  but  this  is  productive  of  little,  good, 
particularly  if  the  mowing  of  the  tufts  be  de- 
ferred till  the  autumn,  which  I  believe  is  the 
common  practice.  I  have  found  no  treatment 
weaken  or  retard  the  growth  of  grass  so  much 
as  cutting  it  closely,  before  and  after  the  first 
tender  shoots  appear  in  the  spring.  But  the 
only  effectual  and  most  profitable  mode  of  ex- 
tirpating this  grass  is  by  first  paring  and  burn- 
ing the  surface  of  the  land,  and  by  making 
proper  drains,  to  correct,  as  much  as  possible, 
the  tenacious  nature  of  the  soil ;  in  this  case 
surface-drains  are  as  necessary  as  those 
termed  hollow.  Sand  should  likewise  be  ap- 
plied during  the  course  of  crops  taken  previous 
to  returning  the  land  again  to  permanent  pas- 
ture, if  such  should  be  desirable,  from  its  local 
situation ;  as  that,  for  instance,  of  a  park  oi 
policy.  This  grass  flowers  about  the  third 
week  in  July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  towards  the 
end  of  August. 

Aira  cristata.  Crested  hair-grass.  Poa  cris- 
lata.  Crested  meadow-grass.  Host.  ii.  p.  54, 
t.  75.  This  native  grass  was  formerly  ranked 
by  botanists  under  the  genus  Poa,  but  has 
since  been  referred  to  that  of  Aira,  to  which  it 
is  more  closely  allied.  The  produce  of  this 
species,  and  the  nutritive  matter  it  affords,  are 
equal  to  those  of  the  Festuca  ovina  at  the  time 
the  seed  is  ripe ;  they  equally  delight  in  dry 
soils,  though  the  Aira  cristata  will  thrive  well 
and  remain  permanent  in  soils  of  a  moist  and 
clayey  nature,  which  is  different  from  the  Fes 
iuca  ovina.  The  greater  bulk  of  the  produce 
of  the  Aira  cristata,  in  proportion  to  its  weight, 
makes  it  of  inferior  value  to  the  Festuca  ovina. 
In  some  parts  of  the  country  it  grows  on  dry 
pastures  plentifully,  where  it  appears  to  be  but 
sparingly  eaten  by  cattle,  particularly  if  the 
pasture  be  not  overstocked.  Rye-grass  (Lo' 
Hum  perenne),  sheep's  fescue  {Festuca  ovina), 
yellow  oat-grass  {Arena  Jlavescens),  crested 
dog's  tail  {Ci/nosurus  cristatus),  meadow  barley 
{Hordeum  prutense),  flexuose  hair-grass  {Aira 
Jlextiosa),  are  all  preferred  by  cattle  to  the 
crested  hair-grass.  The  nutritive  mntter  of 
this  grass  differs  but  little  in  its  composition 
from  those  of  the  above ;  it  approaches  nearest 


AIRING 

to  ftat  of  the  Aira  fiexnos\i,  differing  only  in 
having  less  bitter  extractive  matter  and  of 
more  tasteless  mucilage;  but  the  soft  hairy 
foliage  of  the  grass  appears  at  once  the  cause 
of  this  dislike  in  cattle  to  eat  it.  It  flowers 
about  the  first  week  in  July,  and  the  seed  is 
ripe  about  the  beginning  of  August. 

Aira  Jlexuosa.  Zig-zag  hair-grass ;  wavy 
mountain  hair-grass.  Tiie  Aira  Jlexuosa  is 
much  more  productive  on  its  natural  soil  than 
the  Fesluca  ovina ,-  but  it  requires  a  deeper  soil 
though  not  a  richer.  The  Festuca  ovina  is 
more  common  among  heath,  the  Aira  Jlexuosa 
among  furze,  though  both  grasses  frequently 
grow  intermixed  on  the  same  soil.  To  those 
who  attempt  the  improvement  of  such  soils  in 


ALBURNUM. 

a  secondary  manner  only,  this  species  of  hair 
grass  appears  to  be  the  best  of  those  grasses 
natural  to  the  soils  in  question,  and  may  form 
a  principal  part  of  a  mixture  of  seeds  for  that 
purpose  of  improvement.  The  produce  of 
this  grass  on  a  heath  soil  is  superior  to  that 
on  a  clayey  loam  in  the  proportion  of  2  to  1. 
The  proportional  value  in  which  the  grass  at 
the  time  of  flowering  exceeds  that  of  the  latter- 
math,  is  as  8  to  7.  Flowers  in  the  first  week 
of  July.    Seed  ripens  in  August. 

In  England  the  proportionate  value  of  the 
dilferent  varieties  of  Aira  as  deduced  from  ex- 
periments may  be  ascertained  by  reference  to 
the  following  classified  table  of  results : 


DeacriplioD. 


Aira  aquatiea^  in  flower 

c<rspitoaa,  se«d  ripe 

criaiata,  in  flower 

crisiata,  seed  ripe 

ftrTuota,  in  flower 

flezuosa,  seed  ripe 


C  Mud  covered  with 
t  water 

Clay 
Sandy  loam 

Ueatb  on  clay 


Green  Produce 
per  Acre. 


10,890   0   0 


10,209  0 

10,890  0 

6,(S06  4 

10,209  6 

9,528  12 


Dry  Produce 
per  Acre. 


3,267 

3,318 
4,900 
3,103 
3,318 
3,573 


Produce  j.er  Acre 

of  Nutritive 

Matter. 


lbs. 
382    13    10 


319 
340 
127 


AIRING.  In  the  management  of  horses. 
Implies  the  exercising  them  in  the  open  air, 
which  is  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  them 
when  performed  with  moderation,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances  or  state  in  which  they 
are  in  respect  to  their  health  and  the  nature 
of  their  keep.  By  this  means  their  legs  are 
prevented  from  swelling,  their  stomachs  im- 
proved, and  their  wind  rendered  more  free  and 
perfect. 

AIR  VESSELS,  of  vegetables,  are  certain 
horizontal  vessels  of  large  diameter,  that  pass 
through  the  bark  of  trees  to  the  alburnum,  [or 
white  internal  bark.]  These  horizontal  vessels 
Dr.  Darwin  supposes  to  con'ain  air,  enclosed 
in  a  thin  moist  membrane,  which  may  serve 
tlie  purpose  of  oxygenating  the  fluid  in  the  ex- 
tremities of  some  fine  arteries  of  the  embryo 
buds,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  air  at  the 
broad  end  of  the  e^^  is  believed  to  oxygenate 
the  fluids  in  the  terminations  of  the  placental 
vessels  of  ihe  embryo  chicken. 

ALBUMEN  is  the  name  given  by  chemists 
to  the  impure  glossy  viscid  liquid,  which  forms 
the  white  of  an  egg.  This  white  is  composed 
chiefly  of  albumen  mixed  with  some  mucus, 
soda,  and  sulphur 

Albumen  unites  readily  with  water,  and 
when  heated  to  165°  it  coagulates  into  a  white 
solid  mass ;  but  when  mixed  with  ten  times 
its  weight  of  water,  it  no  longer  is  coagulated 
by  heat.  It  is  composed,  according  to  the 
analysis  of  MM.  Gay  Lussac  and  Thenard,  of 

Carbon  ..--__  52-883 

Oxygen 23  872 

Hydrogen  .-..__  7-540 

Azote  ------  15-705 

{Reck.  Phya.  Chem.  ii.  332.)  100  000 

Albumen  (which  is  nearly  identical  in  com- 
position with  the  gluten  of  vegetables),  is  one 
of  the  most  important  and  common  of  all  the 
animal  substances.    It  abounds  in  bones,  mus- 
8 


{Sinclair  s  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.) 

cle,  the  membrane  of  shells,  sponges,  &c.; 
and,  according  to  the  experiments  of  Hatchett, 
cartilage,  nails,  horns,  hair,  &c.,  are  almost 
entirely  composed  of  it.  (Tho/nsorij  vol.  iv. 
p.  407.) 

ALBURNUM.  An  integument  composed 
of  a  soft  white  substance,  scarcely  perceptible 
in  some  sorts  of  trees,  situated  between  the 
liber  and  the  wood.  In  the  oak  and  elm  it  is 
hard  and  very  conspicuous.  It  is  as  it  were 
an  imperfect  wood,  not  having  acquired  that 
state  of  consistence  necessary  to  perfect  wood ; 
hence  it  may  be  compared  to  the  cartilage  in 
animals,  which  at  length  becomes  bone.  This 
state  must  necessarily  be  passed  through  be- 
fore wood  can  be  formed.  The  hardness  of 
this  substance  is  in  proportion  to  the  vigour 
of  the  plant  or  tree. 

The  vessels  of  the  alburnum  in  their  living 
state  possess  the  property  of  conveying  the 
sap-juice,  which  is  propelled  upwards  in  the 
early  spring,  by  the  absorbent  terminations 
of  the  roots,  as  visible  in  decorticated  oaks, 
the  branches  of  which  expand  their  buds  like 
those  of  the  birch  and  vine  in  the  bleeding 
season.  That  the  vessels  of  the  alburnum  in 
their  living  state  occasionally  act  as  capillary 
syphons,  through  which  the  sap-juice  is  first 
pushed  upwards  by  the  absorbent  extremities 
of  the  roots,  and  afterwards  returns  down- 
wards, partly  by  its  gravitation,  in  branches 
bent  below  the  horizon,  appears  from  an  ex- 
periment of  Dr.  Walker ;  and  lastly,  that  the 
vessels  of  the  alburnum,  after  their  vegetable 
life  is  extinct,  possess  a  power  of  capillary  at- 
traction of  the  sap-juice,  or  of  permiitinr  it  to 
pass  through  them  occasionally,  appears  from 
the  following  experiment: — A  branch  tf  a 
young  apple-tree  was  so  cankered,  that  the 
bark  for  about  an  inch  round  it  was  totally 
destroyed.  To  prevent  the  alburnum  from 
becoming  too  dry  by  exnaiation,  this  det^ayed 


ALCOHOL. 

part  was  covered  with  thick  white  paint :  in  a 
few  days  the  painting  was  repeated,  and  this 
ihree  or  four  times,  so  as  to  produce  a  thick 
coat  of  paint  over  the  decayed  part,  or  naked 
alburnum,  extending  to  the  ascending  and 
descending  lips  of  the  wound ;  this  was  in 
spring,  and  the  branch  blossomed  and  ripened 
several  apples. 

AliCOJHOL  is  the  name  first  given  by  tae 
alchemists  (it  came  originally  from  Arabia)  to 
the  liquid  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  wine, 
beer,  and  other  fermented  spirits.  These  seem 
to  have  been  known  in  the  earliest  ages: 
Noah,  who  planted  a  vineyard,  drank  wine ; 
and  the  heathen  writers  deemed  the  invention 
worthy  of  being  ascribed  to  their  greatest 
kings  and  heroes.  Beer,  there  is  little  doubt, 
was  invented  by  the  Egyptians.  They  cer- 
tainly used  it  in  the  da.ys  of  Herodotus.  The 
Germans  drank  it  extensively  when  Tacitus 
wrote.  These  were  probably  the  purest  varie- 
ties of  alcohol  then  generally  made ;  although 
they  were  known  in  the  dark  ages,  and  it  is 
probable  have  been  employed  in  the  North  of 
Europe  from  a  very  remote  period.  The  pro- 
cess, however,  of  separating  the  impure  alco- 
hol from  these  is  very  easy:  upon  subjecting 
the  wine  or  wash  to  a  moderate  heat,  the  spirit 
arises,  and  is  easily  collected  in  a  worm  sur- 
rounded by  cool  water.  It  is  in  this  way  that 
gin  is  procured  from  the  distillation  of  fer- 
mented barley  or  other  grain ;  rum  from  mo- 
lasses ;  brandy  from  wine.  It  must  not  be 
supposed,  however,  that  the  product  of  these 
distillations  is  pure  alcohol,  for  even  the 
strongest  brandy  contains  between  forty  and 
fifty  per  cent,  of  water.  The  first  who  pro- 
cured alcohol  in  a  state  of  tolerable  purity  is 
supposed  to  have  been  Arnold  of  Villa  Nova, 
a  celebrated  alchemist  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. When  impure  alcohol  is  concesntrated 
by  repeated  distillations,  and  by  mixing  it 
with  some  salt,  like  the  salt  of  tartar,  that 
has  a  strong  attraction  for  water,  it  gradually 
parts  with  a  considerable  portion  of  its  water, 
and  becomes  reduced  in  specific  gravity 
to  about  0.820 ;  that  of  commerce,  however, 
is  rarely  of  less  specific  gravity  than  0.8371. 
At  the  greatest  strength,  however,  at  which  it 
has  been  observed,  such  as  that  of  0.792, 
which  M.  Lowitz  olstained  by  repeatedly  dis- 
tilling rectified  spirits  from  potash,  it  possesses 
the  following  properties: — it  is  transparent, 
colourless,  of  a  strong  agreeable  penetrating 
taste,  and  produces  when  swallowed  intoxica- 
tion. It  does  not  freeze,  even  by  exposure  to 
he  most  intense  cold ;  it  is  very  volatile,  boil- 
ng  at  176°  of  Fahrenheit,  and  in  a  vacuum  at 
56°.  It  unites  with  water  in  all  proportions, 
and  is  entirely  combustible,  burning  without 
leaving  any  residuum.  Alcohol,  according  to 
the  analysis  of  M.  Saussure,  is  composed  of 

Hydrogen         ---__-    13-70 
Carbon  -        -        -        -        -        -    5198 

Oxygen     -------    34-32 

^wf  son's  Chem.  vol.  ii.  p.  39.)  100  00 

The  following  table  will  show  the  ordinary 
proporti^^n  of  alcohol  per  cent,  by  measure  in 
various  fluids,  according  to  the  experiments 
of  Ffofessor  Brande. 
58 


ALDER  TREE. 

Port 81-40 

Ditto         -------  25-83 

Madeira 19  34 

Ditto 2442 

Sherry      -------  lS-25 

Ditto         ---..--  19-83 

Claret 12  91 

Calcavella         - 18  10 

Lisbon       -------  18-94 

Malaifa     -------  17-26 

Bucellag   -------  1840 

Red  Madeira 1840 

Maitiisy  Madeira      -----  JO-40 

Marsala    -        -        -        -        -        -        -  25  87 

Ditto 17  26 

Red  Cliampapne       -        -        -        -       -  11-30 

White  Champagne  -----  12-80 

Burgundy          ---._-  14-53 

Diito 11-85 

White  Hermitage     -----  1743 

Red  Hermitage         -        -        -        -        -  12  32 

Hock 14-37 

Ditto         -------  8-88 

Vin  de  Grave   ------  1280 

Frontignac        ------  12-79 

Coti-Roti           ------  12-32 

Roussillon         -.-__-  17-26 

Cape  Madeira  ------  18-11 

Cape  Mupchat  ------  18-25 

Constantia        .        -        .        .        ,        2  17-75 

Tent 13-30 

Sheraz      -------  15-52 

Syracuse  -------  15-28 

Nice 14-63 

Tokay 9-88 

Raisin       -------  2577 

Grape        -------  18-11 

Currant    -------  2055 

Gooseberry       -       -       -       -       -       -  1184 

Elder         --.-._.  9-87 

Cider         -_-.-..  9-87 
Perry         -        -        -        -        -        -        -9  87 

Brown  Stout    ------  6-80 

Ale    -------        -  8-S3 

Brandy 5339 

Rum         -----__  53-68 

Hollands  or  Gin       -----  51-60 

The  spirits  distilled  from  different  fermented 
liquors,  says  Davy,  differ  in  their  flavour,  for 
peculiar  odorous  matters  or  oils  rise  in  most 
cases  with  the  alcohol.  The  spirit  from  malt 
usually  has  an  empyreumatic  taste,  like  *hat 
of  oil  formed  by  the  distillation  of  vegetable 
substances.  The  best  brandies  seem  to  owe 
their  flavour  to  a  peculiar  oily  matter,  formed 
probably  by  the  action  of  tartaric  acid  upon 
alcohol ;  and  rum  derives  its  characteristic 
taste  from  a  principle  in  the  sugar  cane.  The 
cogniac  brandies  contain  prussic  acid.  {Davy^ 
Chem.  Phil.  135.) 

ALCOVE  (Span,  a/co^fl/  Dan.  atA-ot;e/  bjit 
originally  from  the  x\rab.  alkob'ba).  A  recess 
in  gardens  or  pleasure-grounds. 

ALDER  TREE  (Alnus  gluiinosa,  Gscrinev ; 
Betula  Alnus,  Linn.).  The  common  Alder  [of 
England]  appears  generally  as  a  shrub ;  but 
if  allowed  to  attain  maturity  it  will  grow  to  a 
stately  tree.  The  bark  in  old  trees  is  blackish, 
and  full  of  clefts;  on  the  young  shoots  it  is 
smooth,  and  of  a  purplish  hue.  The  leaves 
have  a  dark  green  colour,  and  roundish  shape, 
resembling  those  of  the  hazel,  nicked  on  the 
margin,  smooth,  and  clammy  to  the  touch. 
The  foot-stalk  is  about  an  inch  long ;  the  leaf- 
ribs  on  the  under  side  have  spongy  balls  at  the 
angles,  as  in  the  leaves  of  the  lime  tree.  The 
male  catkins  are  cylindrical,  appear  in 
autumn,  and  remain  on  the  tree  till  spring. 
The  female  catkins  are  of  a  short  conical  form, 
like  a  small  fir  cone. 

[In  England]  the  alder  is  often  planted  as  a 
coppice-wood  in  wet  and  boggy  places  wherB 
no  other  trees  will  thrive,  and  cut  down  every 


ALDER  TREE. 

tenth  or  twelfth  year  for  poles.  It  may  also  [ 
be  often  used  to  advantage  on  swampy  ground  j 
for  fences,  and  may  be  conveniently  trained  to 
any  desired  height.  The  young  trees  may  be 
planted  to  great  advantage  for  securing  the 
banks  of  water-courses  from  the  torrents.  We 
certainly  know  of  no  tree  so  well  adapted  to 
this  purpose  as  the  alder;  for,  on  account  of 
the  numerous  suckers  which  it  constantly 
sends  up  from  the  bottom,  and  the  very  fibrous 
nature  of  their  roots,  the  banks  become  in 
time  one  mass  of  strongly  interwoven  roots. 

Wherever  it  may  be  desirable  to  complete  a 
prospect  by  extending  plantations  over  sterile 
cold  ground,  water-galls,  or  boggy  swamps,  no 
tree  we  know  of  is  equal  to  the  alder,  even  in 
a  picturesque  point  of  view. 

The  generality  of  trees  acquire  picturesque 
beauty  by  age.  Some  of  the  largest  alders  to 
be  seen  in  England  are  growing  in  the  Bishop 
of  Durham's  park  at  Bishop-Auckland,  and 
some  very  fine  ones  are  to  be  found  in  his 
Grace  the  Duke  of  Northumberland's  grounds 
atSion  House.  Mr.  Beevor  mentions  an  alder 
in  his  garden,  which,  at  four  feet  from  the 
ground,  measured  upwards  of  sixteen  feet  in 
circumference. 

Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder  says,  "In  very 
many  instances  we  have  seen  the  alder  put  on 
so  much  of  the  bold  resolute  character  of  the 
oak,  that  it  might  have  been  mistaken  for  that 
tree  except  for  the  intense  depth  of  its  green 
colour. 

The  wood  of  the  alder  is  used  [in  Europe] 
for  making  charcoal  and  heating  ovens,  and  is 
valuable  for  piles,  pumps,  sluices,  and  in  ge- 
neral for  all  works  under  water ;  "  because," 
says  Pliny,  "  it  will  endure  for  many  years." 
It  is  said  to  have  been  used  under  the  Rialto 
at  Venice ;  and  we  are  told  that  the  morasses 
about  Ravenna  were  piled  with  it  in  order  to 
lay  foundations  for  building  upon.  In  Flan- 
ders and  Holland  it  is  raised  in  great  quantities 
for  this  purpose.  It  serves  also  many  domestic 
and  rural  uses,  such  as  for  cart-wheels,  spin- 
ning wheels,  milk-vessels,  bowls,  spoons,  and 
other  turnery  ware,  troughs,  handles  of  tools, 
clogs,  pattens,  and  wooden  heels.  The  roots 
and  knots  furnish  a  beautiful  veined  wood  for 
cabinets.  The  Scottish  Highlanders  often 
made  chairs  of  it,  which  are  very  handsome, 
and  of  the  colour  of  mahogany. 

Sir  Thomas  Dick  Lauder  tells  us  that  the 
old  trees,  which  are  full  of  knots,  cut  up  into 
planks,  make  very  handsome  tables.  "We 
have  seen  some  of  these,"  says  the  baronet, 
"made  from  some  enormous  trees  that  grew 
at  Dalwick,  on  the  property  of  Sir  John  Nas- 
myth,  in  Peebleshire ;  and  no  foreign  wood  we 
have  ever  seen  can  match  them  for  beauty." 

The  bark,  though  nearly  superseded  by  log- 
wood, is  used  by  dyers,  tanners,  and  leather- 
dressers;  and  also  by  fishermen  for  dyeing 
their  nets.  Both  the  bark  and  young  shoots 
dye  yellow,  and  with  a  little  copperas,  a  yel- 
lowish grey,  very  useful  in  the  demitints  and 
shadows  of  flesh  colour  in  tapestry.  The 
shoots  cut  in  March  will  dye  a  cinnamon 
colour;  and  a  fine  tawny,  if  they  be  dried  and 
powdered.  The  fresh  wood  yields  a  dye  the 
colour  of  rappee  snuflf.    The  catkins  dye  green, 


ALDER  TREE. 

and  the  bark  is  used  as  a  basis  for  black.  The 
bark  and  leaves  have  been  sometimes  employed 
in  tanning  leather,  the  Avhole  tree  being  very 
astringent. 

The  alder  delights  in  a  very  moist  soil, 
where  few  other  trees  will  thrive  : — 

"The  Alder,  owner  of  each  waterish  soil." 

Fairfax's  Tasso, 

It  is  also  an  old  opinion  that  it  does  not  in- 
jure grass,  but  rather  nourishes  its  growth : — 
**  The  Alder,  whose  fat  shadow  nourisheth  ; 
Each  plant  set  neere  to  him  long  flourisheth." 

J^y.  Browne. 

Marshall  is  of  a  very  different  opinion.  "  In 
low  swampy  situations,"  he  says,  "  where  ths 
ground  cannot  be  drained  but  at  too  great  an 
expense,  the  alder  may  be  planted  with  pro 
priety  and  advantage  ;  but  wherever  the  soil  is 
or  can  be  made  pasturable,  the  alder  should  by 
no  means  be  allowed  to  gain  a  footing.  Its 
suckers  and  seedlings  poison  the  herbage  ;  and 
it  is  a  fact  well  known  to  the  observant  hus- 
bandman, that  the  roots  of  the  alder  have  a 
peculiar  property  of  rendering  the  soil  they 
grow  in  more  moist  and  rotten  than  it  would 
be  if  not  occupied  by  this  aqueous  plant 
Plantations  of  alders  should  therefore  be  con- 
fined to  swampy,  low,  unpasturable  places; 
except  when  they  are  made  for  the  purpose  of 
ornament ;  and  in  this  case  the  native  species 
ought  to  give  place  to  its  more  ornamental 
varieties,  of  which  Hanbury  makes  five, 
namely,  the  log-leaved  alder,  the  white  alder, 
the  black  alder,  the  hoary-leaved  alder,  and  the 
dwarf  alder."  ( On  Planting,  ii.  37.)  The  cut- 
leaved  is  a  pretty  variety. 

It  is  propagated  by  layers,  cuttings,  or 
truncheons,  about  three  feet  in  length.  Such 
truncheons  are  often  employed  for  securing 
the  banks  of  rivers,  either  by  planting  them 
very  close,  or  crosswise.  For  general  pur- 
poses, however,  we  approve  of  raising  the 
young  trees  by  layers. 

The  distance  at  which  these  trees  should  be 
placed,  if  intended  for  a  coppice,  is  a  yard 
square ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  seven  years, 
when  they  may  be  felled  for  poles,  every  other 
stool  may  be  taken  away ;  and  if  the  small 
lateral  shoots  be  taken  off  in  the  spring,  it  will 
very  much  strengthen  the  upright  poles,  pro- 
vided a  few  small  shoots  be  left  at  certain  dis- 
tances upon  the  trunk,  to  detain  the  sap  for  the 
increase  of  its  bulk. 

The  alder  may  be  raised  from  seeds  sown  in 
beds  in  the  same  way  as  is  usual  for  birch , 
but  propagation  by  truncheons  or  layers  is  the 
most  speedy  process  for  obtaining  young 
plants. 

The  best  time  for  planting  alder  truncheons 
is  in  February  or  March.  They  should  be 
about  three  feet  in  length,  sharpened  at  one 
end,  and  the  ground  loosened  with  an  instru- 
ment before  they  are  thrust  into  it,  lest  7  the 
stiflfhess  of  the  soil  the  bark  should  be  torn  off, 
which  may  prevent  their  growing.  They  should 
be  put  into  the  earth  about  two  feet,  t»  prevent 
their  being  bloA\Ti  out  of  the  ground  by  strong 
winds.  After  they  have  made  stout  shoots,  the 
plantations  should  be  cleared  from  all  such 
weeds  as  grow  tall,  othertvise  they  will  over^ 
bear  the  young  shoots ;  but  when  they  hav 


ALDER  TREE. 


ALDERNEV:  CO  WW. 


made  good  heads,  they  will  keep  down  the 
weeds,  and  will  require  no  further  care. 

If  they  be  raised  by  laying  down  the 
branches,  it  must  be  performed  in  October ; 
and  by  the  October  following,  they  will  have 
taken  root  sufficiently  to  be  transplanted  out; 
which  must  be  done  by  digging  a  hole,  and 
loosening  the  earth  in  the  place  where  each 
plant  is  to  stand,  planting  the  young  trees  at 
least  a  foot  and  a  half  deep,  cutting  off  the 
top  to  about  nine  inches  above  the  surface, 
which  will  occasion  them  to  shoot  out  many 
branches. 

Mr.  South,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Letters 
and  Papers  of  the  Bath  and  West  of  England 
Society,  has  stated,  ihat,  on  planting  a  wagon- 
load  of  truncheons  in  such  situations  as  have 
been  described  above,  they  all  appeared  to  suc- 
ceed by  throwing  out  strong  shoots  the  first 
sumnioi ,  but  that  the  year  following  they  all 
died,  not  having  struck  a  single  root.  Con- 
cluding that  this  did  not  depend  on  any  defect 
in  the  soil,  he  planted  it  again  with  small- 
rooted  slips,  taken  from  old  stubs,  few  of 
which  failed,  most  of  them  having  been  since 
repeatedly  cut  for  brush-wood,  poles,  and  other 
purposes ;  and  of  those  planted  single,  he  ob- 
serves, one  has  formed  a  conical  top  of  great 
beauty,  and  that  its  bole  is  three  feet  seven 
inches  in  circumference  midway  between  the 
branches  and  the  ground.  From  this  statement 
it  would  seem,  that  the  best  mode  of  securing 
the  growth  of  those  trees  is  the  planting  of 
the  rooted  slips,  which  can  be  easily  done,  as 
great  quani'ities  of  young  shoots  are  annually 
thrown  out;  f/om  about  the  roots  of  this  sort  of 
irees. 

Where  there  are  plantations,  or  much  of  this 
sort  of  wood  on  a  farm,  Arthur  Young  advises 
that  it  should  be  cut  when  the  bark  will  peel, 
and  be  immediately  soaked  in  a  pond  for  two 
months,  as  by  this  means  the  wood  is  so  much 
hardened  as  to  be  greatly  improved  in  its 
quality. 

[Among  the  species  of  alder  found  in  the 
United  States  Michaux  describes  only  two 
species,  the  Alnus  serrulata,  or  Common  Alder, 
abounding  in  the  Northern,  Middle,  and  Western 
States  on  the  borders  of  streams  and  especially 
in  places  covered  with  stagnant  water.  Its  ordi- 
nary size  is  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height,  seldom 
attaining  more  than  two  inches  in  the  diameter 
of  its  stem.  It  blooms  in  January,  the  sexes 
being  separate  on  the  same  stock.  The  barren 
flowers  resembling  those  of  the  birch.  The 
common  alder  is  too  small  to  be  applicable  to 
any  use  in  the  arts,  and  from  its  inferiority  of 
size,  it  will  probably  one  day  give  place  to  the 
European  Alder. 

The  Alnus  G/aticn,  or  Black  Alder,  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  species  of  the  genus.  It  is 
unknown  in  the  Southern,  rare  in  the  Middle 
States,  and  in  the  North-eastern  States,  where  it 
is  more  frequently  found,  much  less  multiplied 
than  the  common  alder.  It  grows  a  third  taller 
than  the  latter  species,  attaining  sometimes 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height  and  eight 
inches  in  diameter.  Its  leaves  are  similar  in 
-<hapf ,  out  a  third  larger.  The  bark  of  the  trunk 
nnd  of  the  secondary  branches  is  smooth, 
gk>6sy,  and  of  a  deep  brown  colour  sprinkled 
60 


with  white.   It  is  employed  by  hatters  for  dying 
black.    (North  American  Si/lva.)] 

ALDERNEY  COWS.  This  admired  bree(? 
of  cows  is  in  general  fine-boned,  but  small  and 
ill-made,  and  of  a  light  red  or  yellowish  colour. 
Cows  of  this  breed  are  most  frequently  met 
with  in  England  about  the  seats  of  the  opulent, 
from  their  milk,  tliough  smaller  in  quantity^ 
being  more  rich  in  quality  than  that  of  most 
other  kinds,  and  yielding  from  the  same  mea- 
sure a  larger  proportion  of  cream  and  batter, 
which  is  of  a  beautiful  yellow  colour  and  fine 
flavour.  They  are  much  inclined  to  fatten, 
and  their  beef  has  a  very  fine  grain,  and  is  well 
tasted,  but  rather  more  yellow  or  high-coloured 
than  that  of  other  sorts. 

Mr.  Lawrence  in  his  general  treatise  on 
cattle,  however,  supposes,  "that  the  cattle  of 
the  islands  on  the  French  coast  are  collectively 
known  by  the  name  of  Alderney ;"  and  that 
"  these  are  a  variety  of,  and  smaller  than,  the 
Norman ;  light  red,  yellow,  dun,  and  fawn- 
coloured  ;  short,  wild-horned,  deer-necked,  with 
a  general  resemblance  to  that  animal ;  thin, 
hard,  and  small-boned;  irregular,  often  very 
awkwardly  shaped."  But  he  considers  this  de- 
scription to  refer  chiefly  to  the  cows.  He 
thinks  "  they  are  amongst  the  best  milkers  in 
the  world  as  to  quality,  and  in  that  respect  are 
either  before  or  immediately  next  to  the  long 
horn,  but  that  in  weight  of  butter  for  inches 
they  are  far  superior  to  all.  He  has  been  as- 
sured by  a  respectable  friend,  that  "  an  Alder- 
ney strayed  cow  during  the  three  weeks  she 
was  kept  by  the  finder  made  nineteen  pounds 
of  butter  each  week;  and  the  fact  was  held  so 
extraordinary,  as  to  be  thought  worth  a  memo- 
randum in  the  parish  books."  And  it  is  added, 
that  "  the  Norman  and  island  cattle  make  fat 
very  quick,  and  for  their  bulk  arrive  at  consi- 
derable weight.  The  beef,"  in  his  opinion,  "  is 
of  the  first  class,  very  fine  grained,  in  colour 
yellow,  or  of  a  high  colour,  with  a  bluish  cast 
and  elastic  feel,  which  denotes  the  closest 
grained,  most  savoury,  and  finest  meat."  It  is 
in  his  recollection,  that,  "  some  years  since,  a 
heifer,  bred  between  Alderney  and  Kentish 
home-bred  stock,  and  fattened  on  cabbages  and 
carrots,  made  one  hundred  and  fifty  stone, 
dying  uncommonly  fat."  On  this  ground  he 
supposes,  that  "this  species  is,  in  course,  a 
proper  cross  for  the  large  and  coarse-boned  •, 
but  in  that  view  he  would  prefer  the  real  Nor- 
mans  from  the  Continent,  as  generally  better 
shaped  than  the  islanders."  He  likewise 
states,  that  "many  persons  near  the  metropolis, 
and  along  the  south  and  western  coast,  maki 
a  trade  of  importing  these  cattle,  which  are 
extremely  convenient  for  private  families,  and 
make  a  good  figure  in  parks  and  lawns." 

Mr.  Culley,  however,  remarks,  that  they  are 
a  breed  of  cattle  too  delicate  and  tender  to  be 
much  attended  to  by  the  British  farmer,  and 
not  capable  of  bearing  the  cold  of  this  island, 
especially  the  northern  parts  of  it. 

By  an  experiment  which  is  stated  in  the  Re- 
port for  the  Connti/  of  Kent,  made  between  a 
large  home-bred  cow  of  eight  years  old  and  a 
small  Alderney  of  two  years  old,  it  appears 
that  the  home-bred  cow  in  seven  days  gave 
thirty-five   gallons  of  milk,  which  made  teu 


ALB. 


ALEHOOF. 


pdnnds  and  three  ounces  of  butter,  and  the  ' 
Alderney  cow,  in  the  same  length  of  time,  gave 
only  fourteen  gallons  of  milk,  but  which  made 
six  pounds  and  eight  ounces  of  butter. 

Very  useful  cattle  may  be  bred  by  crossing 
these  cows  with  short-horned  bulls.  The  late 
Mr.  Hunter  also  produced  a  very  beautiful  cow 
from  the  Alderney  by  a  buffalo,  which  is  said, 
in  the  Middlesex  Report,  to  have  kept  plump 
and  fat,  both  in  summer  and  winter,  on  much 
less  food  than  would  be  sufficient  to  support  a 
beast  of  the  same  size  of  the  ordinary  breed. 

ALE  (Sax.  eale).  A  liquor  obtained  from 
the  infusion  of  malt  and  hops  by  fermentation. 
Ale  differs  from  beer  chiefly  by  having  a 
smaller  proportion  of  hops.  There  are  differ- 
ent sorts  of  ale  brewed,  such  as  strong  ale, 
table  ale,  pale  ale,  and  brown  ale.  The  pahe 
ale  is  made  from  malt  which  has  only  been 
slightly  dried,  and  is  generally  considered  as 
of  a  more  viscid  quality  than  the  brown  ale, 
which  is  produced  from  malt  that  has  been 
roasted,  or  very  hard  dried.  (Milkr.)  See 
Bekr  and  Bhewixo.  The  fertility  of  the  soil 
in  grain,  and  its  being  not  proper  for  vines, 
put  the  Egyptians  upon  drinlcing  ale,  of  which 
they  were  the  inventors.  (Arbuthnof.) 

A  liquor  made  from  fermented  barley  is 
mentioned  by  Herodotus  (I.  ii.  c.  77) :  the 
earliest  manufactured  kind  of  intoxicating 
liquid  was  probably,  however,  mead.  Tacitus 
notices  the  use  of  beer  by  the  Germans.  Pliny 
•ffescribes  it  as  common  to  all  the  nations  of 
the  west.  It  has  long  been  a  favourite  bever- 
age of  the  inhabitants  of  England.  Our  Saxon 
and  Danish  forefathers  drank  beer  to  excess. 
They  regarded  it  as  the  drink  allotted  to  those 
admitted  into  the  Hall  of  Odin.  Ale  is  named 
amongs;  the  laws  of  King  Ina;  and  it  was 
long  thj  custom,  when  the  Norman  princes 
were  on  the  throne,  to  regulate  its  price  by 
statute;  thus,  in  1272,  it  was  ordained  that  a 
brewer  should  sell  two  gallons  of  ale  in  a  city 
for  a  penny,  or  three  or  four  gallons  for  the 
same  price  in  the  country. 

Hops  were  apparently  first  used  for  beer  in 
Germany,  and  in  the  Dutch  breweries  about 
the  year  1400 ;  but  they  were  not  used  gene- 
rally in  England  until  about  ihe  year  1600. 
Henry  Vin.,  in  1530,  even  forbade  the  brewers 
to  mix  hops  in  their  beer;  and  yet,  according 
to  Beckmann  (Hist,  of  Inv.  vol.  iv.  p.  336), 
plantations  of  hops  had  begun  to  be  formed  in 
England,  a.  b.  1552  :  The  distinction  between 
ala  and  beer  is  thus  stated  by  Dr.  Thomson: 
*'Both  are  obtained  by  fermentation  from  the 
malt  of  barley,  but  they  differ  from  each  other 
in  several  particulars,  ale  is  light-coloured, 
brisk,  and  sweetish,  or  at  least  free  from  bit- 
ter; while  beer  is  dark-coloured,  bitter,  and 
much  less  brisk.  Porter  is  a  species  of  beer, 
and  is  what  was  formerly  called  strong  beer. 
The  original  difference  between  ale  and  beer 
was  owing  to  the  malt,  from  which  they  were 
prepared.  Ale  malt  was  dried  at  a  very  low 
heat,  and  consequently  was  of  a  pale  colour ; 
while  beer  or  porter  malt  was  dried  at  a  higher 
temperature,  and  had  in  consequence  acquired 
a  brown  colour.  This  incipient  charring  had 
developed  a  peculiar,  and  agreeable  bitter 
taste,  which  was  communicated  to  the  beer 


along  with  the  dark  colour.  This  bitter  taste 
rendered  beer  more  agreeable  to  the  palate,  and 
less  injurious  to  the  constitution  than  ale.  It 
was  manufactured  in  larger  quantities,  and 
soon  became  the  common  drink  of  the  lower 
ranks  in  England.  When,  during  the  wars  of 
the  French  Revolution,  the  price  of  malt  was 
very  materially  increased,  the  brewers  found 
out  that  a  greater  quantity  of  wort  of  a  given 
strength  could  be  procured  from  pale  malt, 
than  from  brown  malt;  the  consequence  was, 
that  pale  malt  was  to  a  considerable  extent 
substituted  for  brown  malt  in  the  brewing  of 
porter  and  beer.  The  wort  now,  however, 
was  paler,  and  wanted  that  agreeable  biiier 
flavour  which  characterized  porter.  The  por- 
ter brewers  endeavoured  to  remedy  these  de- 
fects by  several  artificial  additions,  such  as 
burnt  sugar,  quassia,  &c.,  and  most  of  which 
the  chief  London  porter  brewers  have,  I  be- 
lieve, long  since  discontinued."  Brewers  are 
obliged,  under  the  6  Geo.  4,  c.  81,  to  take  out 
an  annual  license,  for  which  they  pay  if  b^et.- 
ers  of  strong  beer. 


Barrels. 
20 
2.000 
20,000 
40,000 
40,000 


L.    ». 

0  10 

3    0 

30    0 

60    0 

75    0 


Of  not  exceeding  _        _        - 

Of  exceeding  1,000  and  not  exceeding 

—  10,000  — 

—  30,000  — 
Exceeding     -        -        -        -        - 

Considering  the  increase  of  population  in 
England,  the  consumption  of  beer  has  not 
materially  increased  since  1787,  as  the  follow- 
ing table  of  the  beer  brewed  in  this  country  in 
various  years  will  show. 


Tean  endins 
6,hJ»ly. 

Strong  Beer. 

- 1 

Table  Beer. 

1787 
1797 
1807 
1817 
1825 

Barrels. 

4,426,482 
5,839,627 
5,577,176 
5,236,048 
6,500,664 

Barrels. 

485,620 

584,422 

1,732,710 

1,453,960 

1,485,750 

The  number  of  barrels  of  beer  exported 
from  England  is  considerable  and  increasing, 
amounting  in  the  years  ending  the 

5th  of  January,  1826  to  53,013  barrels. 
—  1828  —  59,471       — 

_  1830  —  74,902       — 

(M'Culloch's  Did.  of  Com.) 

ALEHOOF  (Hedera  terrestris.  From  ale, 
and  hoopt:,  head).  Ground-ivy,  so  called  by 
our  Saxon  ancestors,  as  being  their  chief  in- 
gredient in  ale.  This  wild  plant  creeps  upon 
hedge  banks,  at  the  foot  of  trees,  and  in  every 
shady  place,  flowering  in  spring.  It  takes  root 
at  every  joint,  like  the  strawberry  runners, 
and  its  leaves  are  roundish  and  notched  at 
their  ed^es,  becoming  a  purple  colour  as  the 
spring  advances.  Its  flowers  are  blue,  and  its 
roots  fibrous.  This  plant  has  a  peculiar  and 
strong  smell ;  and  it  is  best  gathered  when  in 
flower.  It  is  an  excellent  vulnerary  or  wcund- 
herb,  applied  outw^ardly,  and  taken  inwardly. 
An  ointment  made  from  alehoof,  or  ground- 
ivy,  is  very  healing  to  ulcers  and  fistula.  The 
decoction  of  the  herb  drank  daily  for  a  con- 
tinuance is  deemed  useful  for  cleansmg  the 
stomach,  promoting  the  proper  secreticns,  and 
sweetening  the  blood.  [The  old  writers  are 
full  of  commendations  of  the  medical  virrae^ 
of  ground-ivy,  which  are  extolled  for  a  great 


F 


61 


ALEXANDER. 


ALKALI. 


variety  of  ailments  and  "  griefs,"  operating  as 
a  diuretic,  and  being  excellent  in  disorders  of 
the  lungs  and  breast.]  It  obtained  its  name  of 
Alehoof  among  the  poor,  who  infuse  it  in  ale 
or  beer,  and  drink  it  warm  for  all  internal  ail- 
ments.    (L.  Johnson.) 

ALEXANDER  (Hipposelimtm).  This  gar- 
den vegetable  has  been  superseded  by  celery, 
yet  it  is  an  excellent  vegetable,  and  grows 
abundantly  wild  almost  everywhere  in  Eng- 
land. The  seeds  and  root  are  hot  and  dn^like 
those  of  parsley,  and  preparations  of  them  are 
much  in  use  as  a  popular  medicine. 

[Some  wild  species  of  Alexander  are  known 
in  the  United  Stares.   (See  F/or.  Ces.)] 

ALIMENT  (Lat.  alimentum).  That  which 
nourishes,  nutriment  or  food. 

Of  alimtntary  roots,  some  are  pulpy  and 
very  nutritious,  as  turnips  and  carrots.  These 
have  a  fattening  quality.  {Arbulh.  on  Ailments.) 
See  Gasks,  Eakth,  Watkr,  &c. 

The  food  of  animals,  whether  of  a  solid  or 
liquid  kin(J,  should  be  adapted  to  their  different 
organs  both  in  quantity  and  quality,  in  order 
that  they  may  exist  in  the  most  perfect  state. 
It  is  observed,  that  nature  directs  every  animal, 
instinctively,  to  choose  such  substances  for  food 
as  are  best  adapted  to  its  health  and  support ; 
but  as  some  are  withdrawn  from  their  natural 
condition  for  the  convenience  of  man,  and,  in 
their  domesticated  state,  are  fed  on  artificial 
productions,  not  of  their  own  choice,  it  be- 
comes a  matter  of  serious  importance  to  the 
owners  of  cattle,  horses,  &c.,  to  make  them- 
selves acquainted  with  their  nature  and  habits, 
and  also  with  the  qualities  of  those  substances 
which  are  usually  designed  as  food  for  tliem, 
since  there  is  no  doubt  but  errors  in  the  choice 
of  the  latter  must  be  a  fruitful  source  of  disease. 
Besides,  in  the  view  of  the  grazier,  some  sorts 
of  food  may  be  much  more  advantageous  in 
the  quality  of  fattening  animals  than  others — 
a  circumstance  of  vast  importance.  See 
Food. 

ALKALI.  The  word  alkali  comes  from  an 
herb  oalled  by  the  Egyptians  kali,-  by  us  glass- 
wort.  This  herb  they  burnt  to  ashes,  boiled 
the  ashes  in  water,  and  after  having  evaporat- 
ed the  water,  there  remained  at  the  bottom  a 
white  salt — this  they  called  sal  kali  or  alkali. 
{Todd's  Johnson.)  The  word  is  of  Arabic  ori- 
gin ;  according  to  Albertus  Magnus  it  signifies 
"  the  dregs  of  bitterness."  ( Thomson,  vol.  ii. 
p.  49.) 

The  chief  alkalies  found  in  plants  are  potash 
and  soda ;  amironia,  it  is  true,  is  produced  by 
the  distillation  of  certain  vegetables,  but  it  is 
a  product  of  the  distillation  ;  and  again,  mor- 
phia is  obtained  from  opium,  quinia  from  the 
Peruvian  bark,'  &c. ;  but  these  alkaline  sub- 
stances are  but  rarely  met  with  by  the  cultivator, 
and  do  not  involve  any  very  important  facts  of 
vegetable  chemistry. 

Potash  is  found  in  all  vegetables  growing  at 
a  distance  from  the  sea ;  that  of  commerce  is 
procured  by  merely  burning  the  vegetable, 
irashing  the  ashes  in  water,  and  evaporating 
the  solution  of  potash  thus  obtained  to  dryness. 
In  this  manner  the  potash  of  commerce  is 
made.  The  proportion,  however,  of  potash, 
existing  ia  plants  varies  very  considerably,  as 
62 


may  be  seen  from  the  following  table  of  the 
quantities  of  ashes  and  potash  obtained  from 
100  parts  of  various  plants: — 


Sallow 

Ashei. 

Potash. 

2-8 

0-'285 

Elm       - 

- 

236727 

0-39 

Oak       - 

_ 

1-35185 

0  15343 

Pi.plar 

_ 

123476 

0-07481 

Horribeain     - 

. 

11283 

01254 

B«ach 

- 

0  58132 

0-14572 

Fir 

_ 

0-34133 

Rue  brandies 

. 

3379 

0-55 

Common  nettle 

. 

10-67186 

2  5033 

Common  thistle 

_ 

4-04265 

0-53734 

Fern      - 

4  00781 

06259 

Stalks  of  maize 

8-86 

1-75 

Wormwood  - 

9744 

7-3 

Fumitory 

21-9 

7-9 

Trifolium  pratense 

0078 

Vetches 

-        - 

2-75 

Beans,  with  their  stalks 

20 

Thomson's  Chem.  iv.  189. 

The  potash  thus  obtained,  however,  must 
not  be  regarded  as  a  pure  alkali,  for  it  contains 
almost  always  a  small  portion  of  various  salts, 
such  as  the  sulphate  of  potash,  muriate  of  pot- 
ash, sulphate  of  lime,  phosphate  of  lime,  &c. 

Soda  abounds  in  marine  plants  generally  to 
a  much  greater  extent  than  potash  does  in  the 
vegetables  of  inland  districts ;  the  barilla  of 
Spain  is  extracted  from  the  salsola  sativa  and 
vermiculata,  and  some  of  these  plants  yield 
nearly  20  per  cent,  of  ashes,  which  contain 
about  2  per  cent,  of  soda. 

The  union  of  alkalies  with  acids  forms  the 
class  of  bodies  known  as  the  alkaline  salts. 

[Plants,  in  their  growth,  derive  certain  ele- 
ments for  their  subsistence  from  the  atmos- 
phere, namely,  carbonic  acid,  water,  and  am- 
monia, the  decomposition  of  the  last  furnish- 
ing their  nitrogen.  They,  however,  require  other 
materials  for  the  perfection  of  certain  organs 
or  parts  appropriated  to  the  performance  of 
special  functions,  such,  for  example,  as  the 
perfection  of  the  seed,  which  is  destined  to  re- 
new the  plant.  These  elements  are  furnished 
by  the  soil,  and  consist  of  salts  or  alkaline 
substances,  such  as  potash,  soda,  lime,  alumine, 
magnesia,  metallic  oxids,  and  phosphates.  The 
proportion  of  these  contained  in  soils  regulate, 
in  a  great  degree,  their  capacities  for  the  pro- 
duction of  diflerent  plants. 

Connected  with  agricultural  philosophy,  the 
alkalies  are  subjects  of  the  deepest  interest. 

The  salts  of  potash  and  soda,  and  of  the  al- 
kaline earths  or  minerals,  lime,  alumine,  and 
even  magnesia,  can  be  obtained,  by  burning 
and  certain  chemical  processes,  from  parts  of 
the  structure  of  all  plants.  This  shows  the 
great  importance  of  alkalies,  and  alkaline  sub- 
stances, to  the  growth  and  welfare  of  every  pro- 
duct of  the  soil.  It  follows  also  that  with  every 
crop  removed,  a  portion  of  the  potash,  etc., 
must  be  removed  from  the  land.  To  compen- 
sate for  such  losses,  ashes,  farm-yard  manure, 
&c.,  supply  alkalies  to  the  soil,  along  with 
other  fertilizing  substances.  In  rocky  districts 
of  country  natura.1  sources  exist  from  whence 
the  soil  derives  a  regular  supply  of  potash, 
namely,  the  disintegration  of  granite,  and  de- 
composition of  its  felspar  and  mica,  both  of 
which  contain  this  alkali. 


ALKALI. 


Ttvr  years  after  gypsum  was  introduced  I 
into  general  use,  farmers  began  to  observe  a  \ 
diminution  of  their  hay  crops,  and  to  condemn  | 
it  as  an  exhauster  of  the  soil.  But  this  charge  | 
against  plaster  was  not  well  founded,  at  least 
in  the  sense  it  was  made. 

The  numerous  instances  given  by  Liebig, 
of  the  importance  of  the  alkalies  and  metallic 
oxides  on  vegetation,  show  that  their  influence 
has  been  too  much  overlooked.  It  has  been 
thought  remarkable  by  some  vegetable  physi- 
ologists, that  those  cereal  grasses  which 
furnish  food  for  man,  should,  as  it  were, 
follow  him  wherever  he  goes.  The  reason  is 
lO  be  found  in  the  fact,  that  none  of  our  grain 
plants  can  produce  perfect  seeds,  or  seeds 
yielding  farina,  without  a  greater  supply  of 
phosphate  of  magnesia  and  ammonia  than 
can  be  found  in  regions  where  these  salts, 
resulting  from  organized  vitality,  are  less 
abundant.     {Cultivator.) 

Plants  growing  on  a  soil,  containing  a  due 
mixture  of  earthy  ingredients,  always  select  a 
proportion  of  each,  according  to  their  several 
capacities  or  wants.  It  is  a  lact  of  the  highest 
practical  value  to  the  agriculturist  to  know, 
that  where  a  soil  which  originally  contained 
all  the  elements  essential  to  the  production  of  a 
crop,  becomes  exhausted  of  one  alkaline  or 
earthy  element,  another  may  be  substituted  so 
as  to  compensate  for  the  privation.  "Where, 
for  example,  there  is  a  deficiency  in  a  soil  of 
the  alkaline  earth — lime,  the  addition  of  potash, 
soda  or  magnesia,  alt  of  which  exist  in  the 
ashes  of  wood  and  other  vegetable  substances, 
may  be  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  making 
it  up.  Thus,  plants  when  growing  in  a  soil 
where  there  is  no  potash  will  make  up  the 
deficiency  by  taking  up  soda,  if  this  last  alkali 
be  present. 

Plants  which  grow  on  or  near  the  sea-shore 
assimilate  or  take  up  soda  instead  of  potash. 
Sea-salt  consists  almost  entirely  of  soda,  and 
the  sea  is  therefore  to  be  regarded  as  the  great 
source  of  this  alkali.  It  is,  however,  found  in 
England  and  many  other  countries  in  the  form 
of  native  rock  salt,  and  also  exists  in  most 
soils  combined  with  potash.  The  soda  of  com- 
merce is  usually  obtained  from  the  ashes  of 
plants  growing  on  the  sea  coast,  just  as  potash 
is  procured  from  the  ashes  of  tn^es  and  other 
vegetables  growing  inland.  (See  Soda,  Kelp,&c.) 

The  sowing  of  the  earth  with  salt  has  from 
the  earliest  times  been  deemed  an  infallible 
means  of  producing  total  barrenness,  and  the 
excess  of  any  salt  in  a  soil  is  still  known  to 
be  destructive  of  fertility. 

The  perfect  developement  of  a  plant  is,  never- 
theless, according  to  Liebig,  dependent  on  the 
presence  of  due  proportions  of  the  alkalies  or 
alkaline  earths,  since,  when  these  substances 
are  totally  wanting,  its  growth  -will  be  arrest- 
ed, and  when  they  are  only  deficient  it  must 
be  impeded.  "Let  us  compare,"  says  this  emi- 
nent chemist,  "  two  kinds  of  trees,  the  wood  of 
which  contains  unequal  quantities  of  alkaline 
bases,  and  we  shall  find  that  one  of  these 
grows  luxuriantly  in  several  soils,  upon  which 
the  others  are  scarcely  able  to  vegetate.  For 
example,  10,000  parts  of  oak  wood  yield  250 


ALKALI. 

parts  of  ashes,  tne  same  quantity  of  fir-wood 
only  83,  of  linden-wood  500,  of  rye  440,  and 
of  the  herb  of  the  potato-plant  1500  parts. 

"Firs  and  pines  find  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
alkalies  in  granitic  and  barren  sandy  soils,  in 
which  oaks  will  not  grow  ;  and  wheat  tlirives 
in  soils  favourable  for  the  linden-tree,  bf  cause 
the  bases,  which  are  necessary  to  bring  it  to 
complete  maturity,  exist  there  in  sufficienl 
quantity.  The  accuracy  of  these  conclusions, 
so  highly  important  to  agriculture  and  to  the 
cultivation  of  forests,  can  be  proved  by  the 
the  most  evident  facts. 

"  All  kinds  of  grasses,  the  Eqtiisetaceas,  for 
example,  contain  in  the  outer  parts  of  their 
leaves  and  stalk  a  large  quantity  of  silicic  acid 
and  potash,  in  the  form  of  acid  silicate  of 
potash.  The  proportion  of  this  salt  does  not 
vary  perceptibly  in  the  soil  of  corn-fields,  be- 
cause it  is  again  conveyed  to  them  as  manure 
in  the  form  of  putrefying  straw.  But  this  is 
not  the  case  in  a  meadow,  and  hence  we  never 
find  a  luxuriant  crop  of  grass  on  sandy  and 
calcareous  soils  which  contain  little  potash, 
evidently  because  one  of  the  constituents  in- 
dispensable to  the  growth  of  the  plants  is 
wanting.  Soils  formed  from  basalt,  grau- 
wacke,  and  porphyry  are,  cxteris  paribus,  the 
best  for  meadow  land,  on  account  of  the  quan 
tity  of  potash  which  enters  into  their  composi 
tion.  The  potash  abstracted  by  the  plants  is 
restored  during  the  annual  irrigation.*  That 
contained  in  the  soil  itself  is  inexhaustible  in 
comparison  with  the  quantity  removed  by 
plants. 

"But  when  we  increase  the  crop  of  grass  in 
a  meadow  by  means  of  gypsum,  we  remove  a 
greater  quantity  of  potash  with  the  hay  than 
can,  under  the  same  circumstances,  be  restored. 
Hence  it  happens,  that  after  the  lapse  of  seve- 
ral years,  the  crops  of  grass  on  the  meadows 
manured  with  gypsum  diminish,  owing  to  the 
deficiency  of  potash.  But  if  the  meadow  be 
strewed  from  time  to  time  with  wood-ashes, 
even  with  the  lixiviated  ashes  which  have 
been  used  by  soap-boilers,  (in  Germany  mr.ch 
soap  is  made  from  the  ashes  of  wood,)  then 
the  grass  thrives  as  luxuriantly  as  before. 
The  ashes  are  only  a  means  of  restoring  the 
potash. 

"  A  harvest  of  grain  is  obtained  every  thirty' 
or  forty  years  from  the  soil  of  the  Luneburg 
heath,  by  strewing  it  with  the  ashes  of  the 
heath-plants  {Erica  vulgarin)  which  grow  on 
it.  These  plants  during  the  long  period  just 
mentioned  collect  the  potash  and  soda,  which 
are  conveyed  to  them  by  rain-water ;  and  it  is 
by  means  of  these  alkalies,  that  oats,  barley 
and  rye,  to  which  they  are  indispensable,  are 
enabled  to  grow  on  this  sandy  heath. 

♦  A  very  high  value  is  attached  in  Germany  to  the 
cultivation  of  grass  as  winter  provision  for  cattle,  and 
the  greatest  care  is  used  in  order  to  obtain  the  greatest 
possible  quantity.  In  the  vicinity  of  Liegen  (a  town  m 
Nassau),  from  three  to  five  perfect  crops  are  obtained 
from  one  meadow,  and  this  is  effected  by  covering  the 
fields  with  river-water,  which  is  conducted  over  tne 
meadow  in  spring  by  numerous  small  canals.  This  la 
found  to  be  of  such  advantage,  thatsupposingajmeadovv 
not  so 
thus  watered 

cultivation  o.  ,  . 

coasidered  to  be  the  best  in  all  Germany.—/-. 


o  be  of  such  advantage,  that  supposing  a  meauow 
treated  to  yield  1,000  lbs.  of  hay,  then  from  on« 
itered  4,500  lbs.  are  produced.  In  respect  to  the 
tion  of  meadows,  the  country  around  Liegen  M 


C3 


AI.KALL 


aLKALL 


"The  woodcutlerfi  in  the  vicinity  of  Heidel- 
borg  have  the  priv/lege  of  cuUivating  the  soil 
for  their  own  use,  after  felling  the  trees  used 
for  making  tan.  Before  sowing  the  land  thus 
obtained,  the  branches,  roots,  and  leaves  are 
in  every  case  burned,  and  the  ashes  used  as  a 
manure,  which  is  found  to  be  quite  indispen- 
sable for  the  growth  of  the  grain.  The  soil 
itself,  upon  which  the  oats  grow  in  this  dis- 
trict, consists  of  sandstone ;  and  although  the 
trees  find  in  it  a  quantity  of  alkaline  earths 
sufficient  for  their  own  sustenance,  yet  in  its 
ordinary  condition  it  is  incapable  of  producing 
grain. 

"The  most  decisive  proof  of  the  use  of  strong 
manure  was  obtained  at  Bingen  (a  town  on 
the  Rhine),  where  the  produce  and  develope- 
ment  of  vines  were  highly  increased  by  ma- 
nuring them  with  such  substances  as  shavings 
of  horn,  &c.,  but  after  some  years  the  forma- 
tion of  the  wood  and  leaves  decreased  to  the 
great  loss  of  the  possessor,  to  such  a  degree, 
that  he  has  long  had  cause  to  regret  his  de- 
parture from  the  usual  methods.  By  the  ma- 
nure employed  by  him,  the  vines  had  been  too 
much  hastened  in  their  growth ;  in  two  or 
three  years  they  had  exhausted  the  potash  in 
the  formation  of  their  fruit,  leaves,  and  wood, 
so  that  none  remained  for  the  future  crops,  his 
manure  not  having  contained  any  potash. 

"There  are  vineyards  on  the  Rhine,  the 
plants  of  which  are  above  a  hundred  years  old, 
and  all  of  these  have  been  cultivated  by  ma- 
nuring them  with  cow-dung,  a  manure  con- 
taining a  large  proportion  of  potash,  although 
very  little  nitrogen.  All  the  potash,  in  fact, 
which  is  contained  in  the  food  consumed  by  a 
cow  is  again  immediately  discharged  in  its 
exfcrements. 

"  The  experience  of  a  proprietor  of  land  in 
the  vicinity  of  GtJttingen  offers  a  most  remark- 
able example  of  the  incapability  of  a  soil  to 
produce  wheat  or  grasses  in  general,  when  it 
fails  in  any  one  of  the  materials  necessaiy  to 
their  growth.  In  order  to  obtain  potash,  he 
planted  his  whole  land  with  wormwood,  the 
ashes  of  which  are  well  known  to  contain  a 
large  proportion  of  the  carbonate  of  that  alkali. 
The  consequence  was,  that  he  rendered  his 
land  quite  incapable  of  bearing  grain  for  many 
years,  in  consequence  of  having  entirely 
deprived  the  soil  of  its  potash. 

"The  leaves  and  small  branches  of  trees 
contain  the  most  potash  ;  and  the  quantity  of 
them  which  is  annually  taken  from  the  wood, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  employed  as  litter, 
contain  more  of  that  alkali  than  all  the  old 
wood  which  is  cut  down.  The  bark  and  foli- 
age of  op.ks,  for  example,  contain  from  6  to 
9  per  cent,  of  this  alkali;  the  needles  of  firs 
and  pines  8  per  cent. 

"  With  every  26.50  lbs.  of  fir-wood,  which 
are  yearly  removed  from  an  acre  of  forest, 
only  from  0-114  to  0-53  lbs.  of  alkalies  are 
abstracted  from  the  soil,  calculating  the  ashes 
at  0-83  per  cent.  The  moss,  however,  which 
covers  the  ground,  and  of  which  the  ashes  are 
known  to  contain  so  much  alkali,  continues 
uninterrupted  in  its  growth,  and  retains  that 
potash  on  the  surface,  which  would  otherwise 
»c  easily  penetrate  with  the  rain  through  the 
64 


I  sandy  soil.  By  its  decay,  an  abundant  provi- 
j  sion  of  alkalies  is  supplied  to  the  roots  of  the 
trees,  and  a  fresh  supply  is  rendered  unneces- 
sary. 

"  The  supposition  of  alkalies,  metallic  oxides, 
or  inorganic  matter  in  general,  being  produced 
by  plants,  is  entirely  refuted  by  these  well- 
authenticated  facts. 

"  It  is  thought  very  remarkable,  that  those 
plants  of  the  grass  tribe,  the  seeds  of  which 
furnish  food  for  man,  follow  him  like  the  do- 
mestic animals.  But  saline  plants  seek  the 
sea-shore  or  saline  springs,  and  the  Chenopo- 
dium*  the  dunghill  from  similar  causes.  Sa- 
line plants  require  common  salt,  and  the  plants 
which  grow  only  on  dunghills,  need  ammonia 
and  nitrates,  and  they  are  attracted  whither 
these  can  be  found,  just  as  the  dung-fly  is  to 
animal  excrements.  8o  likewise  none  of  our 
corn-plants  can  bear  perfect  seeds,  that  is, 
seeds  yielding  flour,  without  a  large  supply  of 
phosphate  of  magnesia  and  ammonia,  sub- 
stances which  they  require  for  their  maturity 
And  hence,  these  plants  grow  only  in  a  soil 
where  these  three  constituents  are  found  com- 
bined, and  no  soil  is  richer  in  them,  than  those 
where  men  and  animals  dwell  together ;  where 
the  urine  and  excrements  of  these  are  found 
corn-plants  appear,  because  their  seeds  cannot 
attain  maturity  unless  supplied  with  the  con- 
stituents of  those  matters. 

"When  we  find  sea-plants  near  our  salt- 
works, several  hundred  miles  distant  from  the 
sea,  we  know  that  their  seeds  have  been  car- 
ried there  in  a  very  natural  manner,  namely, 
by  wind  or  birds,  which  have  spread  them 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  earth,  although 
they  grow  only  in  those  places  in  which  they 
find  the  conditions  essential  to  their  life. 

"The  first  colonists  of  Virginia  found  a 
country,  the  soil  of  which  was  similar  to  that 
mentioned  above ;  harvests  of  wheat  and 
tobacco  were  obtained  for  a  century  from  one 
and  the  same  field  without  the  aid  of  manure, 
but  now  whole  districts  are  converted  into  un- 
fruitful pasture  land,  which  without  manure 
produces  neither  wheat  nor  tobacco.  From 
every  acre  of  this  land,  there  were  removed  in 
the  space  of  one  hundred  years  1,200  lbs.  of 
alkalies  in  leaves,  grain,  and  straw;  it  became 
unfruitful,  therefore,  because  it  was  deprived 
of  every  particle  of  alkali,  which  had  been 
reduced  to  a  soluble  state,  and  because  that 
which  was  rendered  soluble  again  in  the 
space  of  one  year,  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy 
the  demands  of  the  plants.  Almost  all  the  cul- 
tivated land  in  Europe  is  in  this  condition; 
fallow  is  the  term  applied  to  land  left  at  rest 
for  further  disintegration.  It  is  the  greatest 
possible  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  temporary 
diminution  of  fertility  in  a  soil  is  owing  to  the 
loss  of  humus;  it  is  the  mere  consequence  of 
the  exhaustion  of  the  alkalies. 

"  Let  us  consider  the  condition  of  the  country 
around  Naples,  which  is  famed  for  its  fruitful 
corn-land;  the  farms  and  villages  are  situated 
from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  miles  distant  from 
one  another,  and  between  them  there  are  no 


♦  Chenopodium  album,  called  in  the  United  State* 
Lamb's  Quarter,  a  troublesome  weed  about  gardens  and 
houses. 


ALKALI. 


ana  consequently  no  transportation  of 
manure.  Now  corn  has  been  cultivated  on 
this  land  for  thousands  of  years,  without  any 
part  of  that  which  is  annually  removed  from 
the  soil  being  artificially  restored  to  it.  How 
can  any  influence  be  ascribed  to  humus  under 
such  circumstances,  when  it  is  not  even  known 
whether  humus  was  ever  contained  in  the 
soil] 

"The  method  of  culture  in  that  district  com- 
pletely explains  the  permanent  fertility.  It 
appears  very  bad  in  the  eyes  of  our  agricul- 
turists, but  there  it  is  the  best  plan  which  could 
be  adopted.  A  field  is  cultivated  once  every 
three  years,  and  is  in  the  intervals  allowed  to 
serve  as  a  sparing  pasture  for  cattle.  The 
soil  experiences  no  change  in  the  two  years 
during  which  it  there  lies  fallow,  further  than 
that  it  is  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the  wea- 
ther, by  which  a  fresh  portion  of  the  alkalies 
contained  in  it  are  again  set  free  or  rendered 
soluble.  The  animals  fed  on  these  fields  yield 
nothing  to  these  soils  M'hich  they  did  not 
formerly  possess.  The  weeds  upon  which  they 
live  spring  from  the  soil,  and  that  which  they 
return  to  it  as  excrements,  must  always  be  less 
than  that  which  they  extract.  The  field,  there- 
fore, can  have  gained  nothing  from  the  mere 
feeding  of  cattle  upon  them ;  on  the  contrary, 
the  soil  must  have  lost  some  of  its  constitu- 
ents. 

"  Experience  has  shown  in  agriculture,  that 
wheat  should  not  be  cultivated  after  wheat  on 
the  same  soil,  for  it  belongs  with  tobacco  to 
the  plants  which  exhaust  a  soil.  But  if  the 
humus  of  a  soil  gives  it  the  power  of  producing 
corn,  how  happens  it  that  wheat  does  not 
thrive  in  many  parts  of  Brazil,  where  the  soils 
are  particularly  rich  in  that  substance,  or  in 
our  own  climate,  in  soils  formed  of  mouldered 
wood;  that  its  stalk  under  these  circumstances 
attains  no  strength,  and  droops  prematurely? 
The  cause  is  this, — that  the  strength  of  the 
stalk  is  due  to  silicate  of  potash,  and  that  the 
corn  requires  phosphate  of  magnesia,  neither 
of  which  substances  a  soil  of  humus  can 
afibrd,  since  it  does  not  contain  them;  the 
plant  may  indeed,  under  such  circumstances, 
become  an  herb,  but  will  not  bear  fruit. 

"  Again,  how  does  it  happen  that  wheat  does 
not  flourish  on  a  sandy  soil,  and  that  a  calcare- 
ous soil  is  also  unsuitable  for  its  growth, 
unless  it  be  mixed  with  a  considerable  quan- 
Uty  of  clay  1  It  is  because  these  soils  do  not 
contain  alkalies  in  sufficient  quantity,  the 
growth  of  wheat  being  arrested  by  this  circum- 
stance, even  should  all  other  substances  be 
presented  in  abundance. 

"Trees,  the  leaves  of  which  are  renewed 
annually,  require  for  their  leaves  six  to  ten 
times  more  alkalies  than  the  fir-tree  or  pine, 
and  hence,  when  they  are  placed  in  soils  in 
which  alkalies  are  contained  in  very  small 
quantity,  do  not  attain  maturity.*  When  we 
see  such  trees  growing  on  a  sandy  or  calcare- 

♦  One  thousand  parts  of  the  dry  leaves  of  oaks  yielded 
55  pTrts  nf  ashps,  of  which  24  parts  consisted  of  alkalies 
soluble  in  water  ;  the  same  quantity  of  pine  leaves  gave 
only  29  parts  of  ashes,  which  contained  46  parts  of 
■Oiuble  sails  (De  Sauasure  ) 
9 


ALKALL 

ous  soil,— the  red-beech,  the  service-tree,  and 
the  wild-cherry,  for  example,  thriving  luxuri- 
antly on  limestone,  we  may  be  assured  that 
alkalies  are  present  in  the  soil,  for  they  are 
necessary  to  their  existence.  Can  M^e,  then, 
regard  it  as  remarkable,  that  such  trees  shcald 
thrive  in  America,  on  those  spots  on  which 
forests  of  pines  which  have  grown  and  col- 
lected alkalies  for  centuries,  have  been  burnt, 
and  to  which  the  alkalies  are  thus  at  once 
restored;  or  that  the  Spartium  scoparium. 
Erysimum  latifollum,  Blltum  capitatum,  Senecio 
viscosus,  plants  remarkable  for  the  quantity  of 
alkalies  contained  in  their  ashes,  should  grow 
with  the  greatest  luxuriance  on  the  localities 
of  conflagrations.* 

"  Wheat  will  not  grow  on  a  soil  which  has 
produced  wormwood,  and,  vice  versa,  worm- 
wood does  not  thrive  where  wheat  has  grown, 
because  they  are  mutually  prejudicial  by  ap- 
propriating the  alkalies  of  the  soil. 

"  One  hundred  parts  of  the  stalks  of  wheat 
yield  15*5  parts  of  ashes  (H.Duvy);  the  same 
quantity  of  the  dry  stalks  of  barley,  8-54  parts 
(Schrader) ;  and  one  hundred  parts  of  the 
stalks  of  oats,  only  4-42; — the  ashes  of  all 
these  are  of  the  same  composition. 

"  We  have  in  these  facts  a  clear  proof  of 
what  plants  require  for  their  growth.  Upon 
the  same  field,  which  will  yield  only  one  har- 
vest of  wheat,  two  crops  of  barley  and  three 
of  oats  may  be  raised. 

"  All  plants  of  the  grass  kind  require  silicate 
of  potash.  Now  this  is  conveyed  to  the  soil, 
or  rendered  soluble  in  it  by  the  irrigation  of 
meadows.  The  equisetacex,  the  reeds  and 
species  of  cane,  for  example,  which  contain 
such  large  quantities  of  siliceous  earth,  or  sili- 
cate of  potash,  thrive  luxuriantly  in  marshes, 
in  argillaceous  soils,  and  in  ditches,  streamlets, 
and  other  places,  where  the  change  of  water 
renews  constantly  the  supply  of  dissolved 
silica.  The  amount  of  silicate  of  potash  re- 
moved from  a  meadow,  in  the  form  of  hay,  is 
very  considerable.  We  need  only  call  to  mind 
the  melted  vitreous  mass  found  on  a  meadow 
between  Manheim  and  Heidelberg  after  a 
thunder-storm.  This  mass  was  at  first  sup- 
posed to  be  a  meteor,  but  was  found  on  exami- 
nation (by  Gmelin)  to  consist  of  silicate  of 
potash;  a  flash  of  lightning  had  struck  a 
stack  of  hay,  and  nothing  was  found  in  its 
place  except  the  melted  ashes  of  the  hay. 

"  Potash  is  not  the  only  substance  necessary 
for  the  existence  of  most  plants,  indeed  it  has 
been  already  shown  that  the  potash  may  be 
replaced,  in  many  cases  by  soda,  magnesia, 
or  lime  ;  but  other  substances,  besides  alkalies, 
are  required  to  sustain  the  life  of  plants. 

The  soil  in  which  plants  grow  furnishes 
them  with  phosphoric  acid,  and  they  in  turn 
yield  it  to  animals,  to  be  used  in  the  formanon 
of  their  bones,  and  of  those  constituents  of  the 
brain  which  contain  phosphorus.    Much  more 

♦  After  the  great  fire  in  London,  large  quantities  of  the 
Erysimum  latifolium  were  observed  growing  on  the  spots 
where  a  fire  had  taken  place.  On  a  similar  occasion,  the 
Blitum  capitatum  was  seen  at  Copenhagen,  the  Senfcw 
viscosus  in  Nassau,  and  the  Spartium  scoparium  mLan- 
guedoc.  After  the  burnings  of  forests  of  pines  in  North 
America  poplars  grew  on  the  same  soil.  ^Franklin.) 
f2  6£ 


ALKANET. 


ALLOTMENT  SYSTEM. 


phosphorus  is  thus  afforded  to  the  body  than  it 
requires,  when  flesh,  bread,  fruit,  and  husks  of 
grain  are  used  for  food,  and  this  excess  in 
them  is  eliminated  in  the  urine  and  the  solid 
excrements.  We  may  form  an  idea  of  the 
quantity  of  phosphate  of  magnesia  contained 
in  grain,  when  we  consider  that  the  concre- 
tions in  the  coecum  of  horses  consist  of  phos- 
phate of  magnesia  and  ammonia,  which  must 
have  been  obtained  from  the  hay  and  oats  con- 
sumed as  food.  Twenty-nine  of  these  stones 
■were  taken  after  death  from  the  rectum  of  a 
horse  belonging  to  a  miller  in  Eberstadt,  the 
total  weight  of  which  amounted  to  3  lbs. ;  and 
Dr.  F.  Simon  has  lately  described  a  similar 
concretion  found  in  the  horse  of  a  carrier, 
which  weighed  1^  lb.  * 

"It  is  evident  that  the  seeds  of  corn  could 
not  be  formed  without  phosphate  of  magnesia, 
which  is  one  of  their  invariable  constituents  ; 
the  plant  could  not  under  such  circumstances 
reach  maturitv."  {Organic  Chemistry.)'] 

ALKANET  {Ancliusa,  Lat.).  this  plant 
is  a  species  of  bugloss  with  a  red  root,  brought 
from  the  southern  parts  of  France,  and  used 
in  medicine..  It  grows  wild  in  Kent  and  Corn- 
wall, but  in  other  counties  only  in  gardens. 
It  flowers  in  summer,  and  its  root  becomes  red 
in  Autumn.  The  root  is  astringent :  the  leaves 
not  so  much  so.  [The  puccoon  {Batschia 
Canadensis)  is  called  alkanet  in  the  United 
States.     See  Flor.  Ces.  p.  118,  obs.] 

ALLIUM.     See  Oniox,  Garlic,  Leek,  Sha- 

XOT,  CuiVF.S,  &C. 

ALLOTMENT  SYSTEM.  This  designation 
has  been  applied  in  England  to  a  plan  for 
bettering  the  condition  of  the  poor,  by  allotting 
to  each  family  in  a  parish  an  extent  of  ground 
for  the  purpose  of  cultivation  with  the  spade. 

Under  the  article  Aghicultuke  it  is  noticed, 
that  in  England,  during  the  feudal  times,  an 
allotment  system  existed.  Its  object,  however, 
was  different ;  the  lords  of  the  soil,  having  an 
interest  in  obtaining  as  many  tenants  as  they 
could,  for  their  power  was  proportionate  to 
their  number,  portioned  their  estates  into  as 
many  small  allotments  as  they  could  obtain 
family  tenants,  receiving  in  return  certain 
days  of  military  or  other  service. 

When  the  feudal  system  was  destroyed,  the 
lords  let  their  lands  in  a  similar  manner,  re- 
ceiving as  rent  certain  quantities  of  labour 
from  the  tenant,  or  produce  of  the  land  he 
rented ;  although,  it  not  being  now  an  object 
to  maintain  the  number  of  their  tenants,  but 
rather  to  acquire  an  increased  return  of  pro- 
duce, and  to  obtain  a  prosperous  tenantry,  no 
obstacle  was  thrown  in  the  way  of  increasing 
the  size  of  farms.  Land  was  left  like  any 
other  subject  of  investment,  and  a  man  ob- 
tained as  much  as  his  means  of  cultivating 
permitted,  or  as  he  found  to  be  profitable. 
These  were  powerful  limitations,  for  money 
was  scarce,  and  the  agriculturists  were  chiefly 
tenants,  labourers  for  hire  being  few. 

In  the  fourteenth  century  occurred  the  great- 
est revolution  that  ever  happened  to  the  agri- 
culture of  England.  The  increased  demand 
for  wool  in  the  Netherlands  and  at  home,  ren- 
ii^red  the  breeding  of  sheep  much  more  profit- 
able than  the  growing  of  corn,  and  conse- 
66 


quently  the  arable  lands  were  converted  intc 
pastures.  England  had  been  very  closely  cul- 
tivated, and  the  small  or  cotter  farms  were 
extremely  numerous.  These  were  now  gene- 
rally exterminated,  and  the  land  proprietor  be- 
coming a  great  flock-master,  converted  them 
all  into  one  breadth  of  grazing  land.  "  Yoar 
sheep,"  says  Sir  Thomas  More  in  his  U/opia, 
"that  were  wont  to  be  so  meek  and  tame,  and 
such  small  eaters,  are  now  become  such  great 
devourers,  and  so  wild,  that  they  eat  up  and 
swallow  down  the  very  men  themselves." — 
"  One  covetous  and  unsatiable  cormorant,  and 
very  plague  of  his  native  country,  compasses 
about  and  encloses  many  thousand  acres  of 
ground  together  within  one  pale  or  hedge,  the 
husbandmen  are  thrust  out  of  their  own,  or  else, 
either  by  covin  and  fraud,  or  by  violent  op- 
pression, they  are  put  beside  it,  or  by  wrongs 
and  injuries  they  be  so  wearied  that  they  be 
compelled  to  sell  all;  by  one  means  or  other, 
either  by  hook  or  by  crook,  they  must  needs 
depart  away,  poor,  silly,  wretched  souls,  men, 
women,  husbands,  wives,  fatherless  children, 
widows,  woful  mothers  and  their  young  babes, 
and  their  whole  household,  small  in  substance 
and  much  in  number,  as  husbandry  requireth 
many  hands.  For  one  shepherd  or  herdsman 
is  enough  to  eat  up  that  ground,  to  the  occu- 
pying whereof  about  husbandry  many  hands 
were  required." 

Some  few  of  the  cotter  farmers  were  reduced 
to  the  grade  of  hired  shepherds  ;  others  became 
artisans,  a  still  smaller  number  retained  a  plot 
of  land,  but  a  large  portion  (for  even  monastic 
support  was  now  abolished)  became  beggars, 
who,  as  all  records  agree,  infested  England. 
This  gave  birth  to  the  poor  laws,  and  the  same 
reign  of  Elizabeth  was  the  era  of  an  etfort  to 
remedy  the  evils  which  had  arisen  from  this 
destruction  of  small  farms. 

It  had  been  experienced  that  though  the 
tenants  of  those  small  farms  had  been  poor, 
yet  none  of  them  were  paupers  ;  it  was  tliere- 
fore  thought  that  every  mode  of  recurring  to 
such  a  system  must  be  beneficial ;  and  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  opinion  an  act  of  parlia- 
ment was  passed,  commanding  that  to  every 
cottage  that  should  be  erected,  four  acres  of 
ground  should  be  allotted.  This  first  sugges- 
tion of  the  allotment  system  failed.  The  quai>- 
tity  of  ground  allotted  was  too  large,  and  from 
its  interfering  with  the  just  liberties  of  the 
landed  proprietors,  this  act  was  repealed  in 
the  last  century. 

As  the  value  of  all  farming  produce  in- 
creased from  various  causes,  the  profits  be- 
coming commensurately  large,  cultivators  re- 
quired more  extensive  forms,  consolidation 
proceeded,  and  in  1709  the  first  enclosure  act 
passed  ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  present 
the  small  occupiers  have  gradually  further 
diminished,  as  their  right  of  commonage 
and  the  like  was  taken  away  by  the  four  thou- 
sand enclosure  bills  that  have  smce  been 
enacted. 

When  small  farmers  are  deprived  of  their 
tenements,  they  become,  if  they  continue  agn- 
culturists,  farming  labourers.  It  becomes  a 
subject  of  very  great  political  importance, 
therefore,    to    ascertain    how    the    character 


r 


ALLOTMENT  SYSTEM. 


and  comfort  of  these,  who  are  now  by  far 
the  most  numerous  class  in  society,  can  be 
best  promoted.  It  would  be  here  misplaced 
to  examine  how  the  system  of  poor  laws  has 
served  in  various  ways  to  debase  and  depress 
them ;  our  present  object  must  beto  consider 
how  the  allotment  system  may  De  the  best 
made  to  promote  contrary  effects. 

This  system,  we  have  noticed,  suggested  it- 
self to  the  legislature  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth, 
but  it  was  of  very  limited  operation. 

On  the  Continent,  a  system  of  larger  allot- 
ments was  partially  adopted  in  the  year  1707, 
in  the  Duchy  of  Cleves,  but  we  are  not  aware 
that  the  example  was  followed,  till,  after  the 
lapse  of  more  than  a  century,  the  Dutch  go- 
vernment, in  1818,  divided  tracts  of  poor  soil 
at  Frederick's  Oord,  and  other  places,  into  al- 
lotments of  seven  acres.  The  government 
provided  overseers  to  notice  the  moral  con- 
duct and  industry  of  the  tenants;  advanced 
capital  when  needed,  which  was  to  be  repaid; 
and  an  annual  rent  was  to  be  returned.  Manual 
labour  was  exclusively  adopted.  The  expense 
of  establishing  each  individual  was  22/.  6».  4d. ; 
and  the  annual  excess  of  produce  over  the 
subsistence  of  the  family,  after  deducting  the 
rent,  twelve  shillings  per  acre,  was  8/.  2s. 
4d.  {M.  de  Kirehoff.  Jacob  on  the  Com  Trade, 
&c.) 

About  the  year  1800,  Dr.  Law,  Bishop  of 
Bath  and  Wells,  commenced  the  allotment 
system ;  Sir  H.  Vavasour  communicated  to 
the  Board  of  Agriculture,  about  the  same  pe- 
riod, some  experiments  demonstrating  the  great 
benefit  of  "the  Flemish,"  or  "field-gardening 
husbandry;"  and,  in  1802,  Charles  Howard, 
Esq.  followed  the  example. 

"  On  Pulley  Common,  in  Shropshire,"  says 
Sir  W.  Pulteney,  "  there  is,  at  least  there  was, 
a  cottager's  tenement  of  about  612  square 
yards,  somewhat  more  than  one-ninth  of  an 
acre.  The  spade  and  the  hoe  are  the  only 
implements  used,  and  those  chiefly  by  his 
wife,  that  he  may  follow  his  daily  labour  for 
hire.  The  plot  of  land  is  divided  into  two 
parcels,  whereon  she  grows  wheat  and  pota- 
toes alternately.  In  the  month  of  October, 
when  the  potatoes  are  ripe,  she  takes  off  the 
stalks  of  the  plants,  which  she  secures  to  pro- 
duce manure  by  littering  her  pig.  She  then 
goes  over  the  whole  with  a  rake,  to  collect  the 
weeds  for  the  dunghill.  She  next  sows  the 
wheat,  and  then  takes  up  the  potatoes  with  a 
three-pronged  fork ;  and  by  this  operation  the 
wheat  seed  is  covered  deep.  She  leaves  it 
quite  rough,  and  the  winter  frost  mellows  the 
earth  ;  and  by  its  falling  down  in  the  spring  it 
adds  vigour  to  the  wheat  plants.  She  has  pur- 
sued this  alternate  system  of  cropping  for 
several  years  without  any  diminution  of  pro- 
duce. The  potato  crop  only  has  manure.  In 
1804,  a  year  very  noted  for  mildew,  she  had 
firteet  Winchester  bushels  of  wheat  from  272 
square  yards,  being  four  times  the  general 
averaging  crop  of  the  neighbouring  farmers. 
It  is  to  be  wished  such  instances  of  cottage 
industry  were  more  frequent;  and  more  fre- 
quent they  would  be,  were  proper  means  made 
use  of  to  invigorate  the  spirit  of  exertion  in 
the  laboui  ing  class." 


ALLUVIUM. 

Since  that  period  the  patrons  of  the  system 
have  been  very  numerous.  The  clergy  have 
been  especially  promoters  of  this  system. 

Where  this  system,  well  regulated,  has  been 
tried,  and  the  experience  is  now  very  exten- 
sive, the  results  have  been  most  happy.  The 
condition  of  the  poor  has  been  ameliorated;  by 
rendering  them  more  independent,  they  have 
become  more  contented  and  more  careful ;  bet- 
ter as  citizens,  and  better  as  individuals. 

If  the  allotments  much  exceed  a  quarter  of 
an  acre,  or  in  any  way  approach  to  the  nature 
of  cotter  farms,  a  proportionate  blow  is  made 
at  that  employment  of  capital  and  talent  in 
agriculture  which  has  raised  it  to  its  present 
improved  state. 

"  The  advantages  attending  this  system," 
says  a  clerical  writer  in  the  Christian  Ob- 
server for  1832,  "besides  the  comfort  of  the 
poor  man,  are  the  diminution  of  the  poor's 
rate,  and  the  moral  improvement  of  the  la- 
bourer. Since  this  plan  has  been  in  opera- 
tion, the  poor-rate  has  been  steadily  declining 
from  about  320/.  to  about  180/.  per  annum, 
with  the  prospect  of  still  further  diminution. 
When  the  farmer's  work  is  scarce,  the  poor 
man  finds  profitable  employment  on  his  patch 
of  ground,  which  if  he  had  not  to  occupy  him, 
he  would  be  sent  to  idle  upon  the  roads  at  the 
expense  of  the  parish.  The  system  has  the 
further  and  very  important  eflfeot  of  improving 
his  character.  When  the  labourer  has  his 
little  plot  of  ground,  from  which  he  feels  he 
shall  not  be  ejected  as  long  as  he  conducts 
himself  with  propriety,  he  has  an  object  on 
which  his  heart  is  fixed ;  he  has  something  at 
stake  in  society ;  he  will  not  hang  loose  on  the 
community,  ready  to  join  those  who  would  dis- 
turb it;  so  much  so,  that  in  the  late  riots,  no 
man  in  the  parish  showed  any  disposition  to 
join  them." 

From  the  year  1828  to  the  present  time,  nu- 
merous paniphlets  upon  this  subject  have  ap- 
peared, and  for  further  information  readers  are 
referred  to  those  of  Dr.  Law,  and  of  Messrs. 
Scobell,  Scrope,  Banfill,  Denson,  Blackistcn, 
Withers,  &c. 

ALLOWANCES  TO  TENANTS.  Such  as 
are  agreed  to  be  made  to  them  on  their  quitting 
farms,  or  under  any  other  circumstances.  See 
Customs  of  Counties  and  Appraisement. 

ALLUVIUM,  or  ALLUVION  (from  the  La- 
tin Alluvio,  "  an  inundation"),  is  a  term  which, 
in  the  English  language,  has  no  very  defined 
meaning.  Some  authors  use  it  to  designate  all 
those  rocks  which  have  been  formed  by  causes 
now  acting  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  includ- 
ing those  of  volcanic  origin ;  while  others,  ad- 
hering to  the  literal-  meaning  of  the  original 
term,  confine  its  application  to  deposits,  what- 
ever be  their  character,  that  have  resulted 
from  inundations.  Neither  of  these  definitic  ms 
convey  the  same  meaning  as  is  usually  at- 
tached to  the  word,  the  one  includmg  toe 
much,  the  other  too  little.  The  term  has  beeu 
badly  selected,  but  is  used  in  its  proper  app  i- 
cation  to  designate  all  those  deposits  recently 
formed,  or  now  forming,  by  the  agency  ot  wa- 
ter, whether  from  an  uninterrupted  and  con- 
stant  stream,  or  from  casual  mundation. 

All   streams,  lakes,  rivers,   seas,  and   tJie 


ALLUVIUM. 


ALLUVIUM. 


ocean  itself,  hold  a  large  quantity  of  earthy- 
matter  in  mechanical  solution,  which  they  de- 
posit in  their  beds.  The  character  of  the  sedi- 
ment is  governed  by  the  nature  of  the  rocks 
over  which  the  waters  flow;  and  the  quantity 
depends  partly  upon  the  constitution  of  the 
rocks,  and  partly  upon  the  power  of  the  water. 
If  the  rock  be  easily  destroyed,  and  a  large 
body  of  water  flow  over  it  with  a  considerable 
velocity,  the  destructive  effect  will  be  great, 
and  much  worn  materials  (detritus)  being 
formed,  the  stream  will  have  a  thick  and  tur- 
bid appearance.  The  same  effect  is  frequently 
produced  by  the  discharge  of  a  number  of  tri- 
butary streams  into  a  river,  all  of  which  accu- 
mulate a  greater  or  less  quantity  of  the  earths 
over  which  they  flow. 

The  distribution  of  water  at  the  present 
time,  and  I  more  particularly  refer  to  rivers, 
is  very  different  from  that  of  former  periods. 
The  majority  of  the  valleys  through  which 
rivers  are  now  flowing,  have  been  produced 
by  the  action  of  water,  which,  running  from 
higher  lands,  has  not  only  scooped  them  out, 
but  has  spread  over  them  the  worn  material 
which  it  accumulates  in  its  passage.  By  the 
operations  which  have  since  been  going  on, 
the  waters  have  been  collected  together  in 
comparatively  narrow  channels  of  consider- 
able permanency.  On  this  account,  the  influ- 
ence of  water  that  flows  over  the  portions  of  the 
earth  inhabited  by  terrestrial  animals  is  great- 
ly restricted ;  and  the  production  of  new  beds 
of  rock  or  soil  is  rather  an  accidental  than  a 
necessary  consequence. 

But,  although  the  influence  of  water  has 
been  thus  confined,  all  lands,  and  especially 
the  surfaces  of  mountainous  districts,  are  un- 
dergoing change,  and  the  superficial  covering 
of  one  district  is  conveyed  to  another.  The 
showers  of  heaven  are  constantly  sweeping 
away  the  soil  and  decomposed  rocks  of  the 
uplands  into  the  valleys,  over  which  they  are 
transported  by  streams  and  rivers,  the  larger 
and  heavier  particles  falling  to  the  bottom,  the 
smaller  being  united  with  the  water  in  mechani- 
cal mixture.  That  portion  of  earthy  matter 
which  is  carried  away  from  a  district  by  the 
running  water,  is,  as  far  as  the  district  itself 
is  concerned,  the  most  valuable,  being  the 
superficial  covering  or  soil,  and  would  be  for 
ever  lost  to  that  portion  of  the  earth  inhabited 
by  man,  were  it  not  arrested  in  its  passage  to 
the  ocean,  by  deposition  in  the  bed  of  the 
river,  or  on  those  lands  which  the  waters  may 
happen  to  overflow. 

It  is  well  known  to  those  who  have  visited 
elevated  districts,  that  many  mountains  are 
already  deprived  of  their  soils,  and  are  but  the 
skeletons  of  the  earth,  without  covering  or  life. 
By  this  action  the  valleys  are  in  the  process  of 
elevation,  and  the  mountains  of  depression ; 
and  if  we  could  conceive  it  to  proceed  without 
limitation,  we  may  imagine  a  time  when  all 
the  varieties  of  elevation  and  depression,  which 
now  give  beauty  to  the  surface,  will  be  de- 
stroyed, and  an  entirely  different  condition  of 
the  distribution  of  land  and  water  will  be 
established.  But,  at  the  same  lime,  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  these  changes,  as  far  as  they 
Uave  hitherto  proceeded,  have  been  advanta- 
88 


geous  \o  man,  whatever  might  be  their  result 
under  the  conditions  to  which  we  have  alluded. 
The  mountainous  regions  are,  from  their  ele- 
vation, less  suited  to  the  progression  of  so- 
ciety, so  intimately  connected  with  agricultu- 
ral prosp£rity,  than  the  plains.  As  we  rise 
above  the^Vel  of  the  sea,  the  atmosphere  be- 
comes more  rarified,  and  the  cold  more  in- 
tense, both  of  which  are  injurious  to  vegeta 
tion  in  general,  and  unsuited  to  promote  the 
comfort  of  animal  life.  The  plains  are,  there- 
fore, preferred  by  men  when  they  congregate 
together,  and  form  societies.  It  cannot  be 
considered  an  unwise  or  unfit  result,  that  the 
lowlands  should  be  enriched  with  alluvial 
soils,  produced  by  the  destruction  of  the  rocks 
and  natural  soils  of  mountainous  regions.  It 
is  reported  of  Dioclesian,  that  he  told  his  col- 
league, Maximilian,  he  had  more  pleasure  in 
the  cultivation  of  a  few  potherbs  which,  in  the 
gardens  of  Spalatro,  grew  in  the  soil  that  on 
the  top  of  Mount  Hoemus  had  only  produced 
moss  and  dittany,  than  in  all  the  honours  the 
Roman  empire  could  confer.  From  the  defini- 
tion I  have  given  of  the  word  "alluvium,"  I 
must  include  the  gravels  and  sands  that  are  of 
recent  formation  among  the  alluvial  deposits  ; 
but  our  attention  is  chiefly  directed  to  the  soils, 
or  those  beds  which  are  suited  to  sustain  vege- 
table life.  It  is  true  that  the  gravels  may  be 
made  available  for  the  cultivation  of  some 
plants,  but  the  beds  which  are  so  used  belong 
rather  to  that  class  of  rocks  denominated  dilu- 
vial by  geologists,  than  to  the  deposits  of  which 
we  are  speaking. 

If  we  trace  the  circumstances  under  which 
alluvial  soils  are  formed  to  their  cause,  we 
shall  find  that  they  have  their  origin  in  the  fall 
of  heavy  rains,  and  the  melting  of  snows,  in 
mountainous  regions.  The  water,  in  its  pas- 
sage to  the  valleys,  collects  the  superficial  soil 
and  decomposed  earthy  material  that  lies  in  its 
path,  and  transports  them  into  the  channels  to- 
wards which  it  flows.  The  streams  that  are 
formed  on  the  mountain  slopes  are  generally 
united  together  before  they  reach  the  plains, 
and  form  impetuous  torrents,  overcoming  all 
obstacles,  until  their  velocity  is  lost,  when,  in 
their  winding  courses,  they  meet  each  other, 
and  form  rivers. 

Rivers,  in  every  part  of  their  course,  are 
subject  to  inundation;  when,  throwing  their 
waters  over  a  considerable  space,  they  deposit 
the  earthy  materials  they  have  accumulated. 
If  such  inundations  had  not  occurred,  the  ac- 
cumulated worn  materials  (debris)  would  have 
been  deposited  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  or  car- 
ried into  the  lake  or  sea  where  the  waters 
themselves  are  discharged.  There  are  abun- 
dant instances  on  record  of  the  filling  up  of 
rivers  by  the  worn  materials  (detritus),  which 
have  been  carried  into  their  courses;  and  any 
river  of  our  own  country  will  afford  a  limited 
example  of  this  result.  Many  rivers  and  es- 
tuaries, which  a  few  years  since  were  navi- 
gable, have  ceased  to  be  so  on  account  of  the 
large  amount  of  alluvial  matter  deposited  in 
their  beds;  and  many  of  our  towns,  which 
were  once  populous  and  wealthy,  have  on  this 
account  become  poor  and  almost  deserted.  If 
we  would  see  the  effect  of  the  transport  of  worn 


ALLUVIUM. 


materials  into  lakes,  we  cannot  have  a  more 
favourable  opportunity  than  in  Switzerland. 
Many  of  the  lakes  of  this  sublime  and  majestic 
country  are  rapidly  fiUinj;^  from  this  cause; 
and  ill  some  of  them  water  plants  are  seen 
above  the  surface  of  the  water,  out  when  a 
river  suffers  inundation,  the  earthy  matter, 
which  is  held  in  mechanical  mixture,  is  ar- 
rest ed,  and  deposited  on  the  land  that  is  over- 
flowed, and  a  richly  productive  soil  is  formed. 
One  or  two  examples  may  illustrate  these  re- 
marks. 

The  Ganges  annually  overflows  its  banks, 
and  deposits  a  rich  alluvial  soil  over  the 
country  it  inundates.  This  magnificent  river 
was  supposed  to  take  its  rise  on  the  northern 
side  of  the  Himalaya  mountains,  until  it  was 
proved,  in  1819,  by  Lieutenant  Webb,  that  all 
the  streams  which  unite  to  give  its  existence, 
take  their  rise  on  the  south  side  of  the  Hindoo 
Coast,  or  Snowy  Mountains.  The  melting  of 
the  snows,  and  the  heavy  periodical  rains  aug- 
ment the  volume  of  the  water,  and  by  the  end 
of  June,  before  the  rainy  season  has  com- 
menced iu  the  low  country,  the  river  has  ge- 
nerally risen  fifteen  feet;  but  after  the  rains  in 
Bengal  it  usually  attains  a  height  of  thirty-two 
feet  above  its  ordinary  level.  By  the  end  of 
July  all  the  low  countries  adjoining  the  Ganges 
and  the  Burrampooter  are  overflowed,  and  no- 
thing but  houses  and  trees  are  seen  for  many 
miles  inward.  The  province  of  Bengal  is 
divided  into  two  nearly  equal  parts  by  the 
Ganges ;  and  as  a  large  portion  of  the  country 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  is  low,  it  is  especially 
exposed  to  inundation,  from  which  circum- 
stance it  probably  derives  its  name,  such  dis- 
tricts being  called  beng.  A  deep  bed  of  rich 
soil  is  deposited  during  the  period  of  the  over- 
flow, and  the  vegetable  productions  are  of  the 
most  varied  and  luxuriant  character.  Rice, 
wheat,  barley,  tobacco,  indigo,  cotton,  the  mul- 
berry, and  the  poppy,  are  all  cultivated  with 
success  on  the  alluvial  soils. 

It  is  well  known  that  Egypt  has  been  from 
time  immemorial  indebted  to  the  overflow  of 
the  Nile  for  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  as  well  as  for 
the  means  of  irrigating  the  land.  The  an- 
cients seem  to  have  been  altogether  at  a  loss 
to  account  for  the  periodical  overflow  of  this 
river;  and  when  we  consider  the  appearances 
before  them,  we  are  not  surprised  at  the  diffi- 
culties they  experienced.  They  observ^ed  it  in 
a  country  that  was  not  moistened  by  a  drop  of 
rain,  and  where  it  was  unaided  by  a  single 
stream,  and  yet,  at  its  stated  period,  it  began 
to  lift  its  waters  from  their  bed,  and  rising 
higher  and  higher,  overflowed  its  banks,  and 
spread  itself  like  a  sea  over  Lower  Egypt,  re- 
freshing the  parched  earth  with  moisture,  and 
aiding  its  productiveness  with  the  formation 
of  a  superficial  covering  of  rich  loam.  The 
philosophers  speculated  without  success  upon 
Its  cause ;  but  while  they  were  disputing  as  to 
the  origin  of  the  phenomenon,  year  by  year 
the  Nile  rose,  and  left  the  evidence  of  its  be- 
neficial sway  in  the  richness  of  the  crops  and 
the  luxuriance  of  the  countr)%  From  the  in-  [ 
vestigations  that  have  now  been  made,  we  ! 
know  that  the  rise  of  the  Nile  is  occasioned  , 
by  the  rains  which  fall  on  the  high  mountains 


ALLimUM. 

in  the  interior  and  tropical  regions,  and  not,  as 
many  of  the  ancients  supposed,  from  the  Ete- 
sian winds,  which,  blowing  periodically  from 
the  north,  prevent  the  waters  from  reaching 
the  sea. 

The  great  importance  of  rivers,  as  agents  in 
the  production  of  alluvial  soils,  cannot  be 
more  strongly  proved  by  any  positive  evidence 
than  by  a  consideration  of  the  state  of  Austra- 
lia, a  country  remarkable  for  the  fewness  of 
its  rivers,  and  the  general  poverty  of  its  soil 
Contrary  to  all  precedents,  the  richest  soils  iu 
this  land,  excepting  the  alluvial,  are  found  on 
the  summits  of  hills.  The  fires  which  so  fre- 
quently happen  on  the  plains,  the  peculiar 
character  of  the  vegetation  (chiefly  consisting 
of  ever-greens),  and  the  sparing  distribution 
of  water,  are  the  principal  causes  of  the  steri- 
lity of  this  otherwise  desirable  country.  There 
are,  however,  spots  which,  covered  with  allu- 
vial soil,  can  rival  the  richest  and  most  culti- 
vated districts  of  England;  and  the  compari- 
son of  these  with  other  lands  impresses  the 
observer  the  more  strongly  with  the  great  im- 
portance of  the  natural  provision  for  ihe  resti- 
tution of  that  portion  of  the  earth  inhabited  hy 
man,  by  the  deposition  of  new  earthy  matter 
and  a  virgin  soil.  The  alluvial  flats  of  the 
Nepean,  the  Hawksbury,  and  the  Hunter 
rivers,  are  spoken  of  by  all  writers  as  remark 
able  for  their  fertility.  The  rich  valley  in 
which  the  Lake  Alexandrina  is  situated  may 
be  noticed  as  another  example  of  the  influence 
of  alluvial  soils.  The  country  around  this 
lake  appears  to  be  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  fertile  in  Australia ;  and  a  glance  at  the 
map  will  immediately  inform  the  inquirer  of 
the  cause.  It  is  so  situated  as  to  receive  the 
worn  materials  of  the  mountain  chain  that 
ranges  along  the  promontory  of  which  Cape 
Jervis  is  the  southern  point,  and  also  to  obtain 
moisture  at  all  times  from  the  lake,  and  a  re- 
novating soil  whenever  it  may  overflow  its 
banks. 

Alluvial  soils  are  produced  by  the  discharge 
of  mountain  streams  into  valleys,  as  well  as  by 
the  overflow  of  rivers.  We  have  already  ex- 
plained the  manner  in  which  they  collect  the 
superficial  covering  of  mountainoiis  districts, 
and  being  charged  with  earthy  matter,  bring  it 
into  the  plains.  This  may  be  deposited  before 
the  streams  are  united  together  in  an  individual 
channel  as  well  as  after,  and  should  this  be 
done,  the  valley  may  be  covered  with  alluvial 
products.  The  formation  of  a  river  is  a  pro- 
cess which  requires  time,  and  many  changes 
must  happen  before  the  flowing  waters  can 
form  for  themselves  a  local  habitation ;  obsta- 
cles must  be  removed,  a  bed  must  be  scooped 
out,  and  an  outlet  must  be  formed,  in  the  per- 
formance of  which  earthy  matter  must  be  ac- 
cumulated, and  extensive  deposits  be  formed. 

A  third  cause  in  the  production  of  alluvial 
deposits  may  be  mentioned.  Tlu'  sea  is  mak- 
ing great  inroads  upon  many  of  its  shores, 
carrying  on  a  destructive  war  against  the 
cliff's  that  vainly  endeavour  to  oppose  its  force; 
while  on  the  other  hand  it  is  in  some  instances 
receding  from  the  shores  against  which  it  once 
beat ;  and  thus,  as  though  to  recompense  nian 
for  what  it  takes  away,  gives  to  him  a  portioo 

6ii 


ALLUVIUM. 

of  its  own  territor}\  Those  districts  which  are 
thus  added  to  the  land  are  usually  superposed 
by  a  fine  rich  alluvial  soil,  as  also  are  those 
which  have  at  a  former  period  been  covered 
by  the  sea,  and  would  be  at  the  present  day, 
were  it  not  for  the  ingenuity  and  works  of  man. 

The  districts  in  which  are  situated  New  Or- 
leans in  America,  and  Missolonghi  in  Greece, 
are  chiefly  alluvial,  and  nearly  the  whole  of 
Holland  has  the  same  character,  and  can  only 
be  described  as  a  district  of  which  man  has 
robbed  the  ocean.  That  part  of  the  coast  of 
Germany  which  is  bordered  by  the  North  Sea 
is  alluvial,  and  additipns  are  constantly  made 
to  the  shores  by  the  gradual  depositions  of 
earthy  matter  upon  the  immense  flats  which 
extend  along  them.  The  first  sign  of  vegeta- 
tion on  these  lands  is  the  appearance  of  the 
saltwort  (Salicornia  maritima],  which  is  suc- 
ceeded by  the  sea  grass  (Foa  marif ima),  'dnd 
when  the  land  is  very  rich,  by  the  marsh  star- 
wort  (Anter  Tripolium).  The  land  is  after- 
wards dyked,  and  used  as  pasture  for  sheep 
and  cattle  ;  so  that  the  spot  over  which  the  sea 
has  perhaps  for  ages  exercised  an  undisputed 
control,  is  brought  under  the  power  of  man  in 
Estate  most  admirably  adapted  tosuit  his  wants. 

In  Lincolnshire  and  other  parts  of  the  Eng- 
lish coast,  where  the  land  is  beneath  the  level 
of  high-water  mark,  unfruitful  districts  are 
often  restored  to  a  state  of  fertility  by  the  re- 
moval of  the  artificial  banks  that  prevent  the 
sea-water  from  flowing  over  it.  In  this 
way  the  land  is  thrown  open  to  the  sea, 
and  as  the  tide  rises,  it  is  covered  by  water, 
which,  being  overcharged  with  earthy  matter, 
deposits  in  two  or  three  years  a  bed  five  or 
six  feet  thick  of  rich  soil,  which  may  be 
brought  under  cultivation  by  the  exclusion  of 
the  agent  that  was  instrumental  in  its  produc- 
tion.    (See  Wakping.) 

But  it  may  be  asked,  whence  does  the  sea 
obtain  the  earthy  matter  with  which  it  abounds  ? 
Rivers  discharge  themselves  into  the  ocean, 
and  it  has  been  already  stated  that  their  waters 
are  charged,  more  or  less,  with  the  superficial 
soil  of  mountainous  countries,  and  the  de- 
stroyed materials  of  rocks.  A  part  of  this 
may  be  arrested  by  occasional  or  periodical 
inundations,  and  by  deposition  in  the  bed  of 
the  river,  but  a  large  quantity  must  still  be 
cp.rried  into  the  ocean.  It  must  also  be  re- 
membered that  the  water  which  is  conveyed 
in  a  channel  is  constantly  endeavouring  so 
to  arrange  its  course  as  to  suflTer  the  least 
possible  resistance.  In  this  attempt,  it  attacks 
the  banks  that  confine  it,  and  widens  its 
course,  precipitating  much  earthy  matter  into 
the  stream,  to  be  removed  by  the  flowing  water. 
It  frequently  happens,  and  especially  after  the 
fall  of  heavy  rains,  that  the  water  at  the  mouths 
of  rivers  is  thick  and  turbid  from  the  quantity 
of  alluvial  matter  it  holds  in  solution,  and  very 
many  large  rivers  are  rendered  unsafe  for  na- 
vigation by  the  existence  of  large  bars  of  sand 
or  clay  at  their  outlet. 

But  the  sea  is  not  merely  a  passive  recipi- 
ent of  the  product  of  destructive  causes,  but 
iS  itseL  a  cause.  Sea  coasts  are  constantly 
suffering  depredation  by  the  action  of  the 
waves  that  beat  upon  them.  Whether  we  look 
70 


ALLUVIUM. 

at  the  soft  and  almost  unresisting  rocks  of  the 
eastern  coast  of  England,  or  the  hard  primary 
rocks  of  Devonshire,  Cornwall,  and  the  Shet- 
land Isles,  the  same  results  will  be  observed. 
During    the  stormy  months  of  winter,  when 
the  waves  are  tossed  upon  the  coasts  with  an 
almost  uncontrolled  violence,  no  rock  is  suffi- 
ciently hard  to  resist  its  energy,  and  when  un- 
ruflled  by  a  passing  breeze  in  the  months  of 
summer,  its  influence  upon  the  softer  rocks  is 
hardly  less  destructive,  though  more  insidious, 
for  it  then  attacks  the  base  of  the  cliffs,  and 
removing  the  support  of  the  superincumbent 
mass,  causes  the  precipitation  of  large  portions 
into  the  sea.     By  these  two  causes  the  sea  is 
provided  with  the  materials  for  the  formation 
of  alluvial    soils.     Some    estimate    may    be 
formed  of  the  violence  and  extent  of  these 
causes,  by  an   examination   of    the    present 
state  of  the  German  Ocean,  one  fifth  of  which 
is  covered  by  banks  that  appear  to  have  been 
produced  in  the  same  way  as  the  alluvial  soils 
on  the  northern  coast  of  Germany. 

Water,  then,  is  a  most  powerful  agent  in  the 
destruction  and  production  of  rocks,  and  were 
there  no  conservative  principle,  the  changes 
that  are  going  on  would  be  more  extensive 
than  they  are  in  the  present  day.     The  floods 
to  which  some  rivers  are  subject  are  so  impe- 
tuous that  they  frequently  sweep  away  all  op- 
posing objects,  and  involve  an  entire  district 
in  ruin.    These  effects,  however,  are   much 
more   common  in   countries    that  are  thinly 
covered  by  vegetation  than  in  those  where  it 
is  luxuriant,  for  it  acts  as  a  conservative  agent, 
increasing  the  power  of  the   resistance,  by 
binding  the  soil  more  closely  together.    This, 
therefore,  will  account  for  the  diminished  influ- 
ence of  floods  upon  lowlands,  and  for  the  fre 
quent  deposition  of  rich   and  fertile  alluvial 
soils. 

The  composition  of  the  alluvial  soils  that 
have  been  brought  under  cultivation  is  exceed- 
ingly various ;    but    they   are    generally  re- 
markable for  their  fertility,  and  are  admirably 
suited  for  pasture  lands.     "In  general,"  says 
Sir  Humphry  Davy,  "the  soils,  the  materials 
of  which  are  most  various  and  heterogeneous, 
are  those  called  alluvial,  or  which  have  been 
formed  by  the  deposition  of  rivers  ;  many  of 
them  are  extremely  fertile.    I  have  examined 
some   productive  alluvial   soils,  which   have 
been  very .  different  in  their  composition.     A 
specimen  from  the  banks  of  the  river  Parret  in 
Somersetshire,  afforded  me   eighty  parts  of 
finely  divided  matter,  and  one  part  of  silicious 
sand ;  and  an  analysis  of  the  former  gave  the 
following  result ; 
Carbonate  oflime  -        -        -        -        -  360  parts. 

Alumina        -------    25 

Silica  -------20 

Oxide  of  iron        ------      8 

Vegetable,  animal,  and  saline  matter  -        -    19 

"  A  rich  soil  from  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
Avon,  in  the  valley  of  Evesham,  in  the  Wor- 
cestershire, afforded  me  three-fifths  of  fine  sand 
and  two-fifths  of  impalpable  matter.    This  last 
consisted  of — 
Alumina      -------41  parts< 

Silica  --------42 

Carbonate  of  lime        -----      4 

Oxide  of  iron       -__-.-      5 
Vegetable,  animal,  and  saline  matter         -     8 


ALMOND. 


ALMOND. 


"  A  soil  yielding  excellent  pasture,  from  the 
valley  of  the  Avon,  near  Salisbury,  afibrded 
one  eleventh  of  coarse  silicious  sand,  and  the 
finely 'divided  matter  consisted  of — 


Alumina       _----. 

Silica   -        - 

Carbonate  of  lime  _  -  _  . 
Oxide  of  iron  _  -  -  -  . 
Vegeiuble,  animal,  and  saline  matter 


7  parts. 
14 
63 

2 
14." 


Another  striking  cause  of  the  fertility  of  al- 
luvial soils  will  come  more  properly  under  Ir- 
BiGATiox. — ( Miller's  Dictionary.) 

ALMOND,  Silver-leaved  (Lat.  Amygdalus  ar- 

fentea).  A  beautiful  shrub  originally  from  the 
iCvant.  It  grows  from  eight  to  ten  feet  high, 
and  blows  rose-coloured  flowers  in  April.  Its 
leaves  are  covered  on  both  sides  with  a  sil- 
very-coloured down,  but  they  do  not  appear 
till  the  flowers  arc  gone.  All  the  almond  tribe 
are  hardy,  and  will  bear  any  situation,  if  the 
soil  is  tolerably  good.  Propagate  by  grafting 
upon  the  bitter  almond  or  a  plum  stock.  The 
double  dwarf  almond.,  Lat.  Amygdalus  pumila, 
is  a  smaller  shrub,  with  pale,  rose-coloured 
double  flowers,  blowing  in  May,  and  again  in 
September.  The  common  dwarf  almond^  Lat. 
Amygdalus  nana^  grows  only  three  feet  high, 
and  is  a  native  of  Russia.  It  blows  its  pink 
fl<nvers  in  March  and  April.  Propagate  by 
seed,  or  grafting  upon  the  bitter  almond  or 
plum  stocks.  Trinr.  away  dead  wood,  but 
prune  seldon ,  they  rarely  require  pruning. 
(L.  Johnson.) 

ALMOND  TREE  (Amygdalus,  Linnaeus  ; 
amand,  Fr.).  Derived  by  Menage  from  amandala, 
a  word  in  low  Latin  ;  by  others  from  Allemand, 
a  German,  supposing  that  almonds  came  to 
France  from  Germany.  But  the  Spanish  have 
almendra ;  and  perhaps  amand,  amandola,  and 
this,  are  all  referable  to  amygdalum,  as  that  is 
to  ujuuyif'jLxiz*.  {Todd's  Johnson.)  More  than  one 
species,  and  several  varieties  of  this  well 
known  genus  are  cultivated  in  England,  chiefly 
for  the  beauty  of  their  early  spring  flowers 
The  common  almond  tree  {Amygdalus  com- 
munis, Linnceus)  is  a  native  of  northern  Africa, 
and  so  late  as  Uie  time  of  Cato  had  not  been 
introduced  into  Italy,  as  he  calls  the  fruit 
Greek  nuts  (nuce."  Grsecx).  It  was  introduced 
into  Britain  about  1548.  It  will  grow  to  the 
heij^ht  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  dividing  into  a 
head  of  numerous  spreading  branches.  The 
leaves  very  much  resemble  those  of  the  peach 
but  they  proceed  from  buds  both  above  and 
below  the  flowers.  There  are  also  small  glands 
on  the  lower  saw-toothing  of  the  leaves.  The 
form  of  the  floM-ers  is  not  very  diflerent  from 
those  of  the  peach,  but  they  come  out  usually 
in  pairs,  and  vary  more  in  their  colour,  from 
the  fine  blush  of  the  apple  blossom  to  a  snowy 
whiteness.  The  chief  obvious  distinction  is 
in  the  fruit,  which  is  flatter,  with  a  leather-like 
covering,  instead  of  the  rich  pulp  of  the  peach, 
and  the  nectarine,  and  it  also  opens  spontane- 
ously when  the  kernel  is  ripe.  The  shell  of 
the  almond  is  never  so  hard  as  a  peach  stone, 
and  is  sometimes  even  tender  and  exceedingly 
brittle.  It  is  flatter,  smoother,  and  the  furrows 
or  holes  are  more  superficial  than  those  of  the 
peach  stone. 

Varieties  qf  the  common  almond. — 1.  The  nuts 


about  an  inch  and  a  quarter  long,  with  a  hard 
smooth  shell;  the  kernel  not  valuable.  The 
seedlings  are  used  in  France  to  bud  peaches 
upon. 

2.  Bitter  :  fruit  of  a  large  size. 

3.  Bitter:  with  a  tender  shell;  fruit  of  a 
large  size. 

4.  Bitter  :  with  a  hard  shell ;  fruit  of  a  laige 
size. 

6.  Sultan :  fruit  of  a  small  size. 

6.  Grand  Sultan  :  fruit  of  a  small  size. 

7.  Sweet:  with  a  tender  shell,  or  tender- 
shelled  Sultan ;  fruit  of  a  moderate  size. 

8.  Sweet :  with  a  half  hard  shell. 

9.  Sweet :  with  a  hard  shell. 

10.  Long-fruited:  hard-shelled;  fruit  of  a 
large  size. 

11.  Peach  almond:  fruit  of  a  large  size. 

12.  Brittle  :  fruit  of  a  moderate  size. 

We  are  not  certain  whether  the  French  va- 
rieties, called,  \.  Amande  douce  a  coque  dure; 
2.  Amande  douce  a  coque  tendre ,-  3.  Amande 
des  dames ;  and  4.  Amande  princesse,  coincide 
with  any  of  the  preceding. 

The  whole  of  the  varieties  generally  pro- 
duce a  profusion  of  blossoms,  which  vary  a 
little  in  colour  from  a  fine  rose  to  a  pale  blush. 
They  closely  resemble  each  other  in  foliage, 
the  principal  distinction  being  in  the  fruit, 
which  differs  either  as  to  its  form,  its  size,  or 
its  taste. 

In  the  south  of  Europe,  as  in  France,  Spain, 
Portugal,  and  Italy,  the  almond  is  cultivated 
very  extensively  as  a  standard  fruit  tree,  the 
varieties  there  being  very  numerous.  They 
export  the  fruit  to  every  quarter  of  the  globe. 
The  kernel  of  the  almond  is  the  part  used,  and 
when  it  is  green,  ripe,  or  dried,  it  furnishes  a 
most  agreeable  addition  to  the  dessert.  It  is 
also  used  to  a  very  great  extent  in  confection- 
ary, perfumery,  cookery,  and  medicine. 

The  general  purpose  of  introducing  the  tree 
into  gardens  and  pleasure  grounds  in  England 
is  for  the  great  beauty  of  its  blossoms,  which 
are  not  only  handsome,  but  being  produced  in 
such  profusion  as  they  usually  are  at  so  early 
a  period  of  the  spring  season,  before  the  foliage 
appears,  become  extremely  conspicuous  and 
highiy  ornamental;  a  circumstance  which 
renders  the  tree  a  most  desirable  shrubby  plant. 

The  common  almond,  and  its  varieties,  blos- 
som earlier  than  the  dwarf  kinds,  from  which 
circumstance  the  blossoms  of  the  latter  are 
very  rarely  damaged  by  spring  frosts,  but  the 
other  kinds,  when  planted  in  situations  shel- 
tered from  the  east  winds,  are  generally  pre- 
served from  sustaining  damage. 

Propagation. — All  the  species  and  varieties 
are  propagated  by  seeds,  budding,  grafting, 
layers,  and  occasionally  they  will  produce 
suckers,  which  may  be  successfully  planted 
out.  When  stocks  for  budding  or  grafting 
upon  are  wanted,  or  new  varieties  desired, 
these  are  obtained  by  sowing  the  fruit  stones, 
though  they  may  be  budded  or  grafted  on 
i5iussel-plum  stocks. 

The  stones  of  the  last  season's  produce 
should  be  sown  in  October,  upon  a  bed  of  light 
rich  soil,  about  three  inches  apart,  and  cov'erec; 
four  inches  deep  with  fine  soil.  This  is  mdis 
pensable  ;  for  when  the  soil  is  left  in  lumps,  the 


ALMOND. 


ALOPECURUS. 


shoots  are  often  forced  into  a  crooked  direc- 
tion, and  this  causes  the  trunk  to  be  de- 
formed, and  unfit  to  become  a  fine  tree. 
When  the  surface  of  the  seed-bed  has  been 
smoothed,  a  covering  of  rotten  tanner's  bark, 
or  leaf  mould,  to  the  depth  of  two  inches, 
must  be  laid  upon  it,  which  being  light,  pre- 
vents the  fruit-stones  from  being  damaged 
by  any  severity  of  winter.  At  the  beginning 
of  May  this  covering  of  bark  or  leaves  mu3i 
be  raked  clean  off  the  bed.  The  stones  might 
be  reserved  till  spring,  and  be  sown  at  the  end 
of  March,  but  the  plants  do  not  come  so  cer- 
tainly as  when  sown  in  autumn.  An  addi- 
tional advantage  of  an  autumn  sowing  is,  that 
the  plants  come  up  about  six  weeks  or  two 
months  earlier  than  those  sown  in  spring; 
consequently  the  plants  become  vigorous  and 
well  rooted  the  first  year,  and  thereby  not  liable 
to  be  thrown  out  of  the  ground  by  thaws  suc- 
ceeding frost  in  the  following  winter. 

During  summer,  care  must  be  taken  to 
pull  up  all  weeds,  when  very  young,  for  if 
they  be  allowed  to  get  strong  before  pulling 
out,  this  operation  is  apt  to  injure  the  roots 
of  the  almond  plants. 

When  almond  stones  have  been  sown  in 
spring,  it  will  be  necessary  at  the  approach  of 
the  succeeding  winter  to  have  the  beds  covered 
with  rotten  tanner's  bark,  or  leaf  mould,  scat- 
tering it  an  inch  deep,  or  more,  amongst  the 
plants,  a  covering  which  will  tend  to  prevent 
the  plants  being  injured  or  thrown  out  by  frost. 

In  the  second  spring  after  the  sowing,  the 
plants  should  be  taken  up,  carefully  preserving 
all  the  fibrous  roots,  a  care  which,  as  they  are 
but  sparingly  produced,  will  be  essentially  ne- 
cessary. The  plants  must  be  transplanted  in 
rows,  at  two  feet  apart,  row  from  row,  and  a 
foot  and  a  half  distant  in  the  rows.  Here  they 
may  be  trained  to  form  standards,  half  stand- 
ards, or  dwarfs,  and  be  regulated  and  prepared 
either  for  wall  training  or  shrubbery  planta- 
tions. For  both  purposes,  attention  will  be 
requisite  during  summer  and  winter,  to  thin 
out  the  branches,  reserving  only  a  suitable 
number  for  the  future  limbs  of  the  tree,  and 
these  so  far  apart  that  they  may  not,  in  any 
future  stage  of  growth,  be  liable  to  rub  against 
each  other,  which  standard  trees  would  be 
liable  to ;  for  if  this  be  not  avoided,  gum 
would  be  exuded  at  such  injured  parts,  and 
the  speedy  decay  of  the  tree  be  the  conse- 
quence. 

Almond  plants  intended  for  training  against 
walls  should  have  some  stakes  fixed  in  the 
form  of  a  trelis,  to  which  the  branches  should 
be  secured  in  a  proper  form,  so  that  they  may 
be  suited  to  the  position  of  the  wall  on  their 
final  removal.  {Miller's  Dictionary.) 

[In  many  parts  of  the  Middle  and  Southern 
United  States,  the  climate  admits  the  almond 
tree  to  mature  its  fruit.  The  kind  with  a  hard 
and  smooth  shell  will  ripen  ir  New  Jersey  and 
the  southern  part  of  Prnnsylvania,  near  Phila- 
delphia. A  communication  published  in  the 
15th  vol.  of  the  American  Farmer  states  that 
the  more  tender  and  valuable  soft-shell  kind 
have  been  brought  to  perfection  at  Cambden, 
Kent  County,  Delaware,  which  is  about  eighty 
miles  south  of  Philadelphia.] 
72 


ALOPECURUS.  A  genus  of  grasses  of  the 
foxtail  kind,  of  which  there  are  several  species, 
some  of  which  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage 
in  the  field. 

Alapecurus  agrestis.  Slander  foxtail-grass. 
{Alopecurus  myosuroides.  Curt.  Lond.)  One  ol 
the  most  inferior  species  of  this  grass.  The 
herbage  it  produces  is  comparatively  of  no 
value  whatever.  It  appears  to  be  left  un- 
touched by  every  description  of  cattle.  The 
seed  is  produced  in  considerable  abundance, 
and  is  eaten  by  the  smaller  birds,  as  well  as 
by  pheasants  and  partridges.  This  annual 
species  of  foxtail-grass  is  distinguished  from 
the  perennial  meadow  foxtail  (Alapecurus  pro- 
tensis)  by  the  total  want  of  woolly  hairs  on  the 
spike,  so  conspicuous  in  that  of  the  A.  pra- 
tensis.  The  Rev.  G.  Swayne  observes,  that  it 
is  a  very  troublesome  weed  in  many  places 
among  wheat,  and  execrated  by  farmers  under 
the  name  of  black  bent. 

"  I  have  always,"  says  Mr.  Sinclair,  "  found 
it  prevalent  in  poor  soils,  particularly  such  as 
had  been  exhausted  by  avaricious  cropping. 
It  is  most  difficult  to  extirpate  when  once  in 
possession  of  the  soil ;  for  it  sends  forth  flow- 
ering culms  during  the  whole  summer  and 
autumn,  till  frost  arrests  it;  so  that  it  can  bear 
to  be  repeatedly  cut  down  in  one  season,  with- 
out suffering  essentially  by  the  process.  In- 
deed, it  will  be  found  a  vain  and  unprofitable 
labour  to  attempt  the  removal  of  this  grass  by 
any  other  means  than  the  opposite  to  that 
which  gave  it  possession  of  the  soil,  which  is 
judicious  cropping.  To  return  land,  in  this 
state,  to  grass,  in  the  hope  of  overcoming  this 
unprofitable  plant,  will  be  found  of  little  avail. 
I  have  witnessed  this  practice,  and  the  slender 
foxtail,  instead  of  disappearing  in  these  in- 
stances, re-appeared  with  the  scanty  herbage, 
and  in  greater  health  and  abundance.  The 
soil  must  first  be  got  into  good  heart  by  very 
moderate  and  judicious  cropping,  which  in- 
cludes the  proper  application  of  manure,  a 
skilful  rotation  of  crops,  and  the  most  pointed 
attention  to  the  destruction  of  weeds ;  which 
last  can  only  be  effected,  in  this  sense,  by 
adopting  the  drill  or  row  culture  for  the  crops 
After  this  the  land  may  be  returned  to  grass 
for  several  years  with  every  prospect  of  suc- 
cess. It  flowers  in  the  first  week  of  July,  and 
successively  till  October. 

Alapecurus  arundinaceus.  Reed-like  foxtail- 
grass.  The  substance  of  the  culms  and  leaves 
of  this  grass  is  coarser  than  that  of  the  Alnpe-^ 
curus  pratensis  i  and  the  root  is  so  powerfully 
creeping  as  to  render  its  introduction  into 
arable  land  a  matter  of  great  caution.  The 
produce  and  nutritive  powers  are  very  consi- 
derable ;  it  is  an  early  grass,  producing  culms 
at  an  early  period  of  the  spring,  and  continu- 
ing to  vegetate  vigorously  through  the  summer 
and  autumn.  It  cannot  be  recommended  as  a 
constituent  of  permanent  pasture ;  but  as  a 
grass  to  cultivate  by  itself,  to  a  certain  extent, 
for  green  food,  or  for  hay,  it  offers  advantages 
in  the  superior  produce  and  nutritive  powers 
above  stated.  It  grows  stronger,  and  attains 
to  a  greater  height,  than  the  A.  Tauntoniensis ; 
but,  owing  to  the  roots  spreading  wile,  being 
large,  and  requiring  a  consequent  greater  sup 


ALOPECURUS. 


ALOPECURUS. 


ply  of  nourishment  from  the  soil,  the  produce  i 
stands   thinner  and  proves  less  weighty  than 
the  crops  atlorded  by  that  variety.    It  flowers 
in  April  or  early  in  May,  and  continues  to  pro- 
dace  flowering  culms  until  the  autumn. 

AhiperuruK  bulbosus  geniculatus.      Bulbous-  j 
rooted,  knee-jointed,  foxtail-grass.     The.  pro- 
duce and  nutritive  powers  of  this  perennial  ! 
grass  are  so  inconsiderable  as  to  justify  a  con- 1 
elusion  that  it  is  comparatively  of  no  use  to 
the  agriculturist.     I  have  found  it  but  seldom 
in  a  wild  state.    It  grows  on  a  soil  of  a  drier 
nature  than  the  fibrous-rooted  variety,  to  be 
spoken  of  hereafter.     When  raised  from  seed 
on  a  moist  soil,  it  still  retains  the  bulbous  root, 
which  goes  the  length  to  prove,  that  if  it  is  not 
a  distinct  species,  it   is  at  least  a  permanent 
variefi/. 

Alopecurus  genicHlains,  Knee-jointed, foxtail- 
grass.  There  are  two  varieties  of  this  species 
of  foxtail-grass :  the  present,  which  is  by  far 
the  more  common,  is  distinguished  from  the 
other  by  its  fibrous  root  and  greater  size  ;  the 
less  common  variety  has  a  bulbous  root.  The 
A.  bulbusus  may  be  distinguished  from  the  bul- 
bous-rooted variety  of  the  knee-jointed  species, 
by  its  upright  culms,  which  want  the  knee- 
jointed  form  so  conspicuous  in  the  culms  of 
the  former.  {Sm.  Ent^l.  Flnra.)  It  is  a  peren- 
nial, and  grows  commonly  in  surface  drains, 
and  at  the  entrance  of  cattle  ponds,  particu- 
larly where  the  soil  is  clayey.  It  does  not 
appear  to  be  eaten  with  much  relish  by  either 
cows,  horses,  or  sheep.  Its  nutritive  powers 
are  not  considerable,  and  its  sub-aquatic  natural 
place  of  growth  excludes  any  recommendation 
of  it  for  cultivation.  Flowers  in  the  first 
week  of  June,  and  during  the  summer.  [This 
species  is  designated  by  Professor  Dewey  as 
the  true  foxtail-grass,  which  in  Massachusetts 
grows  in  wet,  muddy  bottoms,  flowering  in 
July.] 

Alopecurus  prntensis.  Meadow  foxtail-grass. 
[See  Plate  5,  of  Pastcre  Guassks,  g.]  This 
grass  is  a  native  of  Britain  and  most  parts  of 
Europe,  from  Italy,  through  France,  Germany, 
Holland,  to  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden,  and 
Russia. 

Under  the  best  management,  it  does  not  at- 
tain to  its  fullest  productive  powers  from  seed 
till  four  years;  hence  it  is  inferior  to  the 
cock's-foot  grass  for  the  purposes  of  ultimate 
cropping,  and  to  many  other  grasses  besides. 
The  herbage,  however,  contains  more  nutritive 
matter  than  that  of  the  cock's-foot,  though  the 
tveight  of  grass  produced  in  one  season  is  con- 
siderably less.  It  thrives  well  under  irrigation, 
keeping  possession  of  the  crowns  of  the  ridges ; 
and  is  strictly  permanent.  Sheep  are  very 
fond  of  it ;  when  combined  with  white  clover 
only,  the  second  season  on  a  sandy  loam,  it  is 
sufficient  for  the  support  of  five  couple  of  ewes 
and  lambs  per  acre.  As  it  only  thrives  in  per- 
fection on  lands  of  an  intermediate  quality  as 
to  moisture  and  dryness,  and  also  being  some- 
what longer  in  attaining  to  its  full  productive 
state  than  some  other  grasses,  its  merits  have 
been  misunderstood  in  many  instances ;  and 
in  others,  as  in  the  alternate  husbandry,  it  has 
I  en,  by  vome  persons,  set  aside  altogether. 
10 


In  many  rich  natural  pastures,  it  constitates 
the  principal  grass.  Though  not  so  weL 
adapted,  therefore,  for  the  alternate  husbandrv, 
it  is  one  of  the  best  grasses  for  pernianeiit  pas- 
ture, and  should  never  form  a  less  proportion 
than  one-eighth  of  any  admixture  of  diflerent 
grasses  prepared  for  that  purpose ;  its  merits 
demand  this,  whether  in  respect  to  early 
growth,  produce,  nutritive  qualities,  or  perma- 
nency. It  has  been  observed  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Swayne,  (in  his  Gramina  Puscua,  a  work 
which  contains  much  valuable  information  on 
the  subject  of  grasses),  that  nearly  two-third 
of  the  seed  is  constantly  destroyed  by  insects 
according  to  my  experiments,  this  evil  may  be 
almost  entirely  obviated  by  suffering  the  first 
culms  of  the  season  to  carry  the  seed.  It  flowers 
in  April,  May,  and  June,  according  as  it  may 
have  been  depastured  earlier  or  later.  Seed 
ripe  in  June  and  July,  according  to  the  season 
of  flowering.  The  meadow-foxtail  constitutes 
part  of  the  produce  of  all  the  richest  pastures 
I  have  examined  in-Lincolnshire,  Devonshire, 
and  in  the  vale  of  Aylesbury.  In  Mr.  West- 
car's  celebrated  pastures  at  Creslew  I  found  it 
more  prevalent  than  in  those  of  Devonshire 
and  Lincolnshire. 

Experiments  tend  to  prove  that  there  is 
nearly  three-fourths  of  produce  greater  from  a 
clayey  loam  than  from  a  silicious  sandy  soil, 
and  that  the  grass  from  the  latter  soil  is  of 
comparatively  less  value  in  the  proportion  of 
3  to  2.  The  culms  produced  on  the  sandy 
soil  are  deficient  in  number,  and  in  every  re- 
spect smaller  than  those  from  the  clayey  loam ; 
which  satisfactorily  accounts  for  the  difference 
in  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  afforded 
by  equal  quantities  of  the  grass.  It  is  not  the 
strength  and  rankness  of  the  grass  that  indi- 
cates the  fitness  of  the  soil  for  its  growth,  but 
the  number  and  quality  of  the  culms.  The 
proportionate  value  in  which  the  grass  of  the 
latter-math  exceeds  that  of  the  flowering  crop 
is  as  4  to  3  ;  a  difference  which  appears  extra- 
ordinary when  the  quantity  of  flowerins'  culms 
is  considered.  In  the  Anthnxanfhum  odnratum 
the  proportional  difference  is  still  greater,  the 
latter-math  being  to  the  flowering  crop  in  nu- 
triment nearly  as  9  to  4.  In  the  Poa  trivialis 
they  are  equal ;  but  in  all  the  later-flowerin§ 
grasses  that  have  culms  resembling  tho.  e  ot 
the  meadow-foxtail  and  sweet-scented  vernal, 
the  greater  proportional  value  is  always,  on  the 
contrary,  found  in  the  grass  of  the  floAvenng 
crop.  Whatever  the  cause  may  be,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  loss  sustained  by  taking  these 
grasses  at  the  time  of  flowering  is  consider 
able.  In  ordinary  cases,  this  seldom  happens 
in  practice,  because  these  grasses  perfect  their 
seed  about  the  season  when  hay-harvest  gene- 
rally commences,  unless  where  the  pasture  has 
been  stocked  till  a  late  period  in  the  spring, 
which  cannot,  in  this  respect,  be  productive 
of  any  ultimate  advantage,  but  rather  loss. 
The  proportional  value  which  the  grass,  at 
the  time  the  seed  is  ripe,  bears  to  that  at  the 
time  of  flowering  is  as  3  to  2.  The  superiority 
of  the  produce  from  a  light  loam  over  that 
from  a  clayey  soil  is  as  4  to  3. 

Alopecurus  Tauntonensis  Taunton  s  meado 


ALPACA. 


ALPACA. 


foxtail-grass.  This  holds  a  middle  station  be- 
tween the  Ahipecurus  pratensis  and  Alopecurus 
arundlnaceus. 

The  produce  and  nutritive  powers  of  the  se- 


veral species  of  Alopecurus,  may  eas  Jy  be  seen 
by  a  reference  to  the  following  analytical 
classification  (Sinclair's  Hart.  Gram.)  : — 


Description  of  Grass. 


.Alopecurus  agresti'',  in  flower  •. 
^.  bulbosus  geiiiculatus,  in  flower 
.A.  pratensis,  in  April,  •? 

,  in  flower, 

,  in  flower 

V ,  seed  ripe 


Soil. 


Sandy  loam 

Clayey  loam 

Silicious  sand 
Clayey  loam 


Green  Pro- 
duce per  Acre. 


lbs. 

8,167  8 

5,445  5 

9,528  12 

20,418  12 

8,507  13 

12.931  14 


Dry  Produce 
per  Acre. 


lbs. 

3,164  14 
1,089     0 


6,125  10  0 
2,5.52  5  8 
5,819    5    8 


I'loiiuee  per  Acre 
of  Nuirivtt  matter 


223  5 
85  1 
483  14 
478  9 
132  14 
454  10 


ALPACA.  A  peculiar  breed  of  Peruvian 
sheep,  for  whose  introduction  into  England 
considerable  efforts  have  been  recently  made. 
A  very  excellent  "Memoir"  upon  these  inte- 
resting animals  has  recently  (1841)  been  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  William  Walton,  from  whose 
work  are  gathered  the  following  interesting 
facts  : — "  When  the  Spanish  adventurers  under 
Pizarro  crossed  the  isthmus  of  Panama  and 
reached  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  they  bent 
their  steps  /lards  Peru,  and  arriving  there 
found  the  inhabitants  in  possession  of  two  do- 
mestic animals,  the  beauty  and  utility  of  which 
excited  their  admiration.  They  also  ascer- 
tained that  two  others,  alike  in  species,  al- 
though varying  in  properties,  existed  in  a  wild 
state.  Struck  with  the  analogy,  and  always 
disposed  to  see  objects  of  comparison  with  the 
productions  of  their  own  land,  the  Spaniards 
tailed  this  new  breed  of  cattle  Carneros  de  la 
lierra,  or  country  sheep,  and  in  their  use  of 
them  imitated  the  natives.  Acosta,  one  of 
the  earliest  naturalists  who  embarked  for  the 
New  M^'orld,  wrote  an  account  of  these  inte- 
resting animals,  derived  from  personal  obser- 
vation ;  and  that  account,  which  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  1590,  is  perhaps  the  best  ever 
penned.  He  says  (Historia  Natural  y  Moral  de 
los  Indias,  lib.  iv.  c.  41),  "There  is  nothing  in 
Peru  more  useful,  or  more  valuable,  than  the 
country  sheep  called  llamas,  and  they  are  as 
economical  as  they  are  profitable.  From  them 
the  natives  obtain  both  food  and  clothing,  as 
we  do  in  Europe  from  sheep,  and  besides  use 
them  as  beasts  of  burden.  They  require  no 
expense  in  either  shoeing,  packsaddles,  bridles, 
or  even  barley,  serving  their  masters  gratui- 
tously, and  being  satisfied  wiih  herbage  picked 
up  on  the  wastes.  Thus  did  Providence  pro- 
vide the  Peruvians  with  sheep  and  beasts  of 
burden  united  in  the  same  animal,  and  on  ac- 
count of  their  poverty,  seems  to  have  wished 
that  they  should  enjoy  this  advantage,  free 
from  expense,  as  pastures  in  the  highlands  are 
abundant.  These  sheep  are  divided  into  two 
kinds  ;  the  one  called  paco  bears  a  heavy  fleece 
of  wool,  while  the  others  have  only  a  short  coat, 
and  are  better  adapted  for  carrying  burdens. 
They  have  a  long  neck,  similar  to  the  camel, 
and  this  they  require ;  for  being  tall  and  up- 
right, they  stand  in  need  of  an  elongated  neck 
to  reach  their  food.  The  colours  of  both  ani- 
mals vary,  some  being  entirely  white,  others 
entirely  black,  and  occasionally  particoloured. 
The  meat  is  good,  that  of  the  fawn  is  best  and 
most  delicate,  although  the  Indians  use  it  spa- 
74 


ringl)'-,  their  principal  object  in  rearing  this 
breed  of  cattle  being  to  avail  themselves  of  its 
wool  for  clothing  and  of  its  services  to  carry 
loads.  The  wool  they  were  accustomed  to 
spin  and  weave  into  garments,  one  of  their 
kinds  of  cloth,  called  huasca,  being  coarse  and 
in  more  general  use ;  while  the  other,  known 
by  the  name  of  cuinbi,  was  of  a  finer  and  more 
delicate  quality.  Of  the  latter  they  still  make 
mantles,  table-covers,  quilts,  and  various  arti- 
cles of  ornamental  dress,  which  are  durable, 
and  have  a  gloss  upon  them,  as  if  partly  made 
of  silk.  Their  mode  of  weaving  is  peculiar  to 
themselves,  each  side  of  the  web  being  alike ; 
nor  in  a  whole  piece  is  it  possible  to  discover 
an  uneven  thread  or  a  knot.  The  Peruvian 
incas,  or  emperors,  kept  experienced  masters 
to  teach  the  artof  making  the  cutnbi, or  superfins 
cloth,  the  principal  part  of  whom  resided  m 
the  district  of  Capachica,  where  they  had  pub- 
lic establishments,  and  with  the  aid  of  plants 
gave  to  it  various  colours,  bright  and  lasting. 
The  men  and  women  in  the  highlands  were 
mostly  manufacturers,  having  looms  in  their 
own  houses,  which  precluded  the  necessity  of 
going  to  market  to  purchase  clothing." 

"The  Indians  still  possess  large  droves,  con- 
sisting of  400,  or  1000  head  each,  which  they 
load,  and  with  them  perform  journeys,  travel- 
ling like  a  string  of  mules  and  carrying  wine, 
coca,  corn,  chuiio  (a  nutritive  food  made  from 
potatoes,  first  frozen,  and  afterwards  reduced 
to  powder),  quicksilver,  and  other  articles  of 
merchandise,  and  more  especially  that  which, 
of  all  others,  is  the  most  valuable,  viz.,  silver, 
ingots  of  which  they  bear  from  Potosito  Arica, 
a  distance  of  seventy  leagues,  as  they  formerly 
did  to  Arequipa,  more  than  twice  as  far.  Oftea 
have  I  been  astonished  at  seeing  these  droves 
carrying  1000  or  2000  ingots,  valued  at  more 
than  300,000  ducats,  journeying  slowly  on  with 
no  other  guard  than  a  few  Indians,  who  chiefly 
served  to  load  and  unload,  or,  at  mo.^  t,  two  or 
three  Spaniards.  They  sleep  in  the  open 
country ;  and  though  the  journey  is  long,  and 
the  protection  afforded  so  extremely  weak,  no 
part  of  the  silver  is  ever  missing.  The  load 
usually  carried  by  each  animal  is  from  four  to 
six  nrrobas,  (each  arroba  has  twenty-five  lbs.)  ; 
and  if  the  journey  is  long  they  do  not  travel 
beyond  three  or  four  leagues  per  day.  The 
drivers  have  their  known  resting-places,  where 
they  find  pasture  and  water,  and  on  arriving 
there,  unload,  pitch  their  tents,  light  a  fire  and 
dress  their  own  food,  while  the  bearers  of  their 
burdens  are  turned  out  loose." 


I 


ALPACA. 


He  further  remarks  that  the  flesh  of  these 
animals  w.is  jerked  and  made  into  cugharqui, 
or,  as  'he  Spaniards  call  it,  cecina,  which  kept 
good  for  a  considerable  time,  and  was  in  very 
general  request  "  Both  species,"  he  says, 
"  ar^  uceuytomed  to  a  cnid  climate^  and  thrive  best 
in  the  highlunds.  Often  does  it  happen  that 
they  are  covered  with  snow  and  sparkling  with 
icicles,  and  yet  healthy  and  contented."  Speak- 
in*^  of  the  vicunas,  the  same  author  observes 
that  they  are  wild  and  timid,  inhabiting  the 
punas,  or  snowy  clifTs,  and  are  alfected  by 
neitiM'r  rain  or  snow.  To  tins  he  adds  that 
tliey  are  gregrarious,  extremely  tieet,  and  that 
on  nifeiini(  a  travellrr,  or  beaM  of  the  forest, 
they  lly  away,  collecting  and  driving  their 
young  before  them.  He  further  alarms  that 
the  vicuna  wool  is  as  soft  as  silk,  made  into 
fine  stufl^s,  and  requires  no  dyeing;  adding, 
that  many  persons  also  considered  it  medici- 
nally useful  in  cases  of  pains  in  the  loins  and 
oiht*r  parts  of  the  body,  in  consequence  of 
which  they  had  mattresses  made  of  it 

Inca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  a  native  of  Peru, 
was  the  next  Spaniard  of  note  who  described 
the  Camtm$  de  ia  tierra^  and  subjoined  are  his 
leading  remarks: — ''The  domestic  animals 
which  God  was  pleased  to  bestow  on  the  In- 
dians, congenial  to  their  character  and  like 
them  in  disposition,  are  so  tractable  that  a 
child  may  guide  them,  more  particularly  those 
1  to  bear  burdens.  (Generally  they 
imas,  and  the  keejper  Uama^michec. 
....  fi,»  i.r.r.T  icmd  is  called  A u- 
sembling  the  wild 
(  h  it  only  differs  in 

iuur,  the  tame  breeds  being  seen  of  all  hues, 

';Tf'as  the  wild  ones  hare  only  one,  and  that 
iit  brown.  The  height  of  the  domestic 
IS  that  of  a  deer,  and  to  no  animal  can 
ii«hI  so  justly  as  the  camel,  except- 
.  are  smaller  and  have  no  hunch 
..<.v  1.  The  skin  was  anciently  steeped 
in  tallow,  in  order  to  prepare  it,  after  which 
the  Indians  used  it  for  shoes,  bat  the  leather 
not  being  tanned,  they  were  obliged  to  go  bare- 
footed in  rainy  weather.  Of  it  the  Spaniards 
now  make  bridles,  girths,  and  cruppers  for 
saddles.  The  llama  formerly  served  to  bear 
loads  from  Cusco  to  the  mines  of  Poiosi,  in 
dri'ves  of  800  or  1000,  each  animal  canning 
three  or  four  arrobas.  The  paco  was  chiefly 
valued  for  its  flesh,  but  more  especially  for  its 
wool,  lone,  but  excellent,  of  which  the  natives 
made  cl(<ths,  and  gave  to  them  beautiful  and 
ne\  er-lading  colours." 

The  Peruvian  sheep  are  peculiar  to  that 
part  of  South  America,  bordering  on  the  Pa- 
cific, which  extends  from  the  equator  beyond 
the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  that  long  and  enor- 
mous ranee  of  mountains  known  as  the  Andes 
Cordilleras.  Along  this  massive  pile  every 
imaginable  degree  of  temperature  may  be 
found  in  successive  gradation.  Below  stretches 
a  narrow  strip  of  land,  washed  by  the  sea, 
where  the  heat  is  intense  and  it  never  rains, 
but  where,  owing  to  heavy  dews  and  filtration 
from  the  mountains,  vegetation  is  luxuriant 
and  an  eternal  spring  reigns.  As  one  ascends, 
the  aspect  of  the  country  changes,  and  new 
plants  appear;  but  no  sooner  are  the  middle 


ALPACA. 

summits  gained,  and  the  sun  has  lost  his 
power,  than  those  cold  and  icy  regions  rise  up, 
one  above  the  other,  called  by  the  natives 
punas,  which  are  again  crowned  with  rocky 
crests,  broken  by  deep  ravines  and  rugged 
chasms,  and  presenting  a  wilderness  of  crags 
and  clifls  never  trodden  by  the  human  footstep, 
and  never  darkened,  except  by  a  passing 
cloud,  or  the  eagle's  wing.  In  this  land  of  mist 
and  snow,  or  rather  in  the  hollows  which  sur- 
round it,  feed  the  guanaco  and  vicuna,  at  an 
elevation  of  12,000  or  14,000  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea;  while  in  the  lower  regions, 
stretching  immediately  under  the  snowy  belt, 
and  where  the  Indian  fixes  his  abode  at  a 
height  from  8,000  to  12,000  feet,  may  be  seen 
pasturing  those  flocks  of  llamas  and  alpacas 
which  constitute  his  delight,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  principal  part  oi"  his  property. 

Here,  amidst  broken  and  precipitous  peaks, 
on  the  parapets  and  projecting  ledges,  slightly 
covered  with  earth,  or  in  the  valleys  formed 
by  the  mountain  ridges,  like  the  Pyrenean 
chamois,  the  llama  and  alpaca  pick  up  a  pre- 
carious subsistence  from  the  mosses,  lichens, 
tender  shrubs,  and  grassy  plants  which  make 
their  apppearance  as  the  snow  recedes ;  or, 
descending  lower  down,  revel  in  the  pajonales, 
or,  as  they  are  called  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  iehuuUs — natural  meadows  of  the  ichu 
plant,  the  favourite  haunts  of  the  tame  and 
wild  kinds.  Thus  the  hand  of  man  never  pre- 
pares food  for  either  species — both  readily  find 
it  on  their  native  mountains.  Besides  the  ex- 
tremes of  cold,  these  animals  have  equally  to 
endure  the  severities  of  a  damp  atmosphere, 
for  while  below  it  seldom  rains,  in  the  summer 
months,  when  evaporation  from  the  sea  is 
abundant,  clouds  collect,  and  being  driven 
over  the  lower  valleys  by  strong  winds  from 
the  south  and  west,  and  condensed  by  the  cold, 
burst  on  the  highlands,  where  the  rain  falls  in 
torrents,  amidst  the  most  awful  thunder  and 
lightning. 

However  bleak  and  damp  the  situation,  little 
does  it  matter  for  an  animal  requiring  neither 
fold  nor  manger,  and  living  in  wild  and  deso- 
late places,  where  the  tender  is  often  obliged 
to  collect  the  dung  of  his  flock  to  serve  as  fuel 
for  himself.  Although  delicate  in  appearance, 
the  alpaca  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  hardiest  ani- 
mals of  the  creation.  His  abstinence  has 
already  been  noticed.  Nature  has  provided 
him  with  a  thick  skin  and  a  warm  fleece,  and 
as  he  never  perspires,  like  the  ordinary  sheep, 
he  is  not  so  susceptible  of  cold.  There  is, 
therefore,  no  necessity  to  smear  his  coat  with 
tar  and  butter,  as  the  farmers  are  obliged  to 
do  with  their  flocks  in  Scotland,  a  process 
which,  besides  being  troublesome  and  expen- 
sive, injures  the  wool,  as  it  is  no  longer  fit  to 
make  into  white  goods,  nor  will  it  take  light 
and  bright  colours.  In  the  severest  winter  the 
alpaca  asks  no  extra  care,  and  his  teeth  being 
well  adapted  to  crop  the  rushes  and  coarse 
grass  with  which  our  moors  abound,  he  will 
be  satisfied  with  the  refuse  left  upon  them.  In 
a  word,  he  would  live  where  sheep  must  be  ii3 
danger  of  starving. 

The  importations  of  sheep's  wool  from  Feru 
into  Liverpool,  principally  alpaca,  have  st*tad 


ALPACA. 


ALTITUDE. 


ily  advanced  since  the  article  became  known 
to  the  manufacturer, — the  best  proof  of  its 
ivorth.  In  1835  they  amounted  to  8,000  bales  ; 
m  1836,  to  12,800;  in  1837,  to  17,500:  in  1838, 
to  25,765;  in  1839,  to  34,543;  and  in  1840,  to 
34,224 — more  than  quadrupled  in  six  years. 

In  the  Custom  House  returns,  it  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  alpaca  wool  is  not  distinguished 


from  the  ordinary  kinds  arriving  fi;m  Pern. 
The  total  imports  for  the  last  five  years  of  all 
sheep's  wool,  distinguishing  from  Peru  (includ- 
ing alpaca)  and  other  parts,  and  also  of  red» 
or  vicuna  wool,  together  with  raw  and  thrown 
silks,  and  goat's  hair  or  wool,  and  mohair 
yarn,  are  here  subjoined  -• — 


Sheep's  wool : 

From  Peru 
Other  parts 

Total 

Red  Wool : 

From  Peru 
Other  parts 

Total 

Raw  silk 
Tlirowii  silk 
Goat's  hair  or  wool 
Moliair  yarn 

18.36. 

1837. 

1838. 

1839. 

1840.           1 

ibj. 

953,974 
63,284,677 

1,914,137 
46,464,957 

)b». 
2,303,794 
50,289,846 

2,145,106 
55,228,.349 

lbs. 
2,762,439 
46,630,638 

64,238,651 

48,379,094 

52,593,640 

57,373,455 

49,393,077 

1,248 

78 

614 

294 
421 

4,465 
2,003 

7,940 
34,377 

42,317 

1,326 

614 

715 

6,468 

4,453,081 

396,660 

1,117,629 

89,298 

4,146,481 

231,203 

602,373 

29,199 

3,458,959 

265,130 

942,770 

20,546 

3,746,248 

225,268 

992,188 

13,645 

3,758,841 

288,994 

989,257 

2,664 

With  regard  to  the  number  of  these  sheep 
now  in  England,  and  their  capability  of  being 
naturalized,  Mr.  Walton  adds,  "Mr.  Bennett, 
of  Farindon,  had  a  pair  of  llamas  sent  to  him 
from  Peru  twenty  years  ago,  and  fed  them  as 
sheep  are  usually  fed,  with  hay  and  turnips  in 
the  winter.  From  his  own  experience  he 
found  that  they  are  particularly  hardy  and 
very  hmg-lived.  He  increased  his  stock,  and 
has  actually  had  six  females  at  a  time  which 
have  had  young  ones.  Of  these  very  few  have 
died.  The  number  of  Peruvian  sheep  in  the 
kingdom  at  present  (July  1841)  [is  short  of 
100,  chiefly  distributed  in  parks].  The  exist- 
ence of  this  number  among  us,  supported  by 
their  healthy  appearance,  as  reported  to  me 
from  every  quarter  where  I  have  been  able  to 
institute  inquiries,  is  a  better  proof  of  the  ca- 
pacity of  Andes  sheep  to  adapt  themselves  to 
our  climate,  than  any  further  arguments  or 
elucidations  which  I  could  adduce." 

[The  demand  for  alpaca  wool  in  England, 
which  the  table  indicates  is  rapidly  increasing, 
certainly  shows  that  it  is  well  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  North  American  farmers  to  make  the  ex- 
periment of  raising  Peruvian  sheep.  At  a  late 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  the  Arts  and  Sciences,  Mr.  Daw- 
son made  a  communication  on  the  subject  of 
the  introduction  into  England,  of  a  species  of 
Auchenia,  or  Llama  of  South  America,  and 
presented  specimens  of  alpaca  wool,  in  its  na- 
tural and  manufactured  states,  resembling  silk, 
and  without  being  dyed,  as  black  as  jet.  Na- 
turalists distinguish  five  species  of  the  llama, 
all  of  which  afibrd  wool.  But  the  alpaca  alone 
has  fine  wool,  from  six  to  twelve  inches  long, 
and  the  vicuna  wool,  like  the  fur  of  the  beaver, 
at  the  base  of  its  coarser  hair.  It  is  capable 
of  tne  finest  manufacture,  and  is  especially 
adapted  to  such  fabrics  as  the  finest  shawls. 
The  yarns  spun  in  England  are  mostly  sold  in 
France  for  the  shawl  trade,  at  from  $1.50  to 
j^3.50  per  pound,  according  to  quality,  the  price 
<>f  the  wool  in  a  natural  state  being  about  fift)- 
c«  ts  per  pound.  This  wool  is  naturally  free 
from  grease,  in  which  resnect  it  diflfers  materi- 
76 


ally  from  that  of  common  sheep,  and  the  ani- 
mal requires  no  washing  before  shearing.  Mr. 
Daw^son  remarked,  that  it  was  not  certain 
whether  the  alpaca  could  be  made  to  thrive  in 
Great  Britain.  The  last  remark  might  raise  a 
doubt  v/hether  it  could  be  raised  to  advantage 
in  the  United  States.  Should  it  be  proved  that 
the  alpaca  was  not  adapted  to  any  part  of 
Great  Britain,  it  would  furnish  no  solid  argu- 
ment against  their  adaptation  to  the  climate  of 
the  United  States,  especially  the  Northern 
States,  and  the  mountainous  districts  every- 
where. An  interesting  account  of  this  animal 
will  be  found  in  the  third  volume  of  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer.] 

ALTERATIVE  MEDICINES.  In  farriery, 
are  such  medicines  as  possess  a  power  of 
changing  the  constitution,  without  any  sensi- 
ble increase  or  diminution  of  the  natural 
evacuations. 

ALTERNATE  HUSBANDRY.  That  sort 
of  management  of  farms,  which  has  one  part 
in  the  state  of  grass  or  sward,  while  the  other 
is  under  the  plough,  so  as  to  be  capable  of 
being  changed  as  there  may  be  occasion,  or  as 
the  nature  of  the  land  may  require.  This  sys- 
tem of  management  is  supposed  to  lessen  the 
expense  of  manure,  and  keep  the  land  more 
clean.     (See  Husbandry.) 

ALTITUDE  (Lat.  alitudo,  from  alius,  high). 
In  vegetable  physiology,  altitude  or  elevation 
of  surface  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is  equiva- 
lent to  a  receding,  whether  north  or  south, 
from  the  line  of  the  equator,  600  feet  of  altitude 
being  thought  to  be  equal  to  a  degree  [of  lati- 
tude.] Hence  it  follows  that  all  varieties  of 
climate,  and  consequently  all  varieties  of 
vegetable  habitat,  may  exist  even  in  the  same 
latitude,  merely  by  means  of  variety  in  the 
altitude  of  the  spot.  This  was  found  by  Tourne- 
fort  to  be  literally  the  fact,  during  his  travels 
in  Asia.  At  the  foot  of  Mount  Ararat  he  met 
with  plants  peculiar  to  Armenia;  above  these 
he  met  with  plants  which  are  found  also  in 
France  ;  at  a  still  greater  height  he  found  him- 
self surrounded  with  such  as  grow  in  Sweden, 
and  at  the  summit,  with  such  as  vegetate  ia 


ALTITUDE. 

the  p«»lar  regions.  Baron  Humboldt,  in  his 
Personal  Narrative,  gives  us  a  similar  account 
of  the  several  zones  of  vegetation  existing  in  a 
height  of  3730  yards  on  the  ascent  of  Mouiit 
Teneriffe.  The  first  zone  is  the  region  of  vin<s, 
extending  from  the  shores  of  the  ocean  lo  a 
height  of  from  400  to  600  yards,  well  culti- 
vated, and  producing  date  trees,  plantain>, 
olives,  vines,  and  wheat.  The  second  zone  is 
the  region  of  laurels,  extending  from  about 
600  to  1800  yards,  producing  many  plants  with 
showy  flowers,  and  moss  and  grass  beneath. 
The  third  zone  is  the  region  .of  pines,  com- 
mencing at  1920  yards,  and  having  a  breadth 
of  850  yards.  The  fourth  zone  is  the  region 
Retama,  or  broom,  growing  to  a  height  of  nine 
or  ten  feet,  and  fed  on  by  wild  goats.  The  last 
zone  is  the  region  of  grasses,  scantily  covering 
the  heaps  of  lava,  with  crj'ptogamic  plants  in- 
termixed, and  the  summit  of  the  mountain 
bare. 

This  accounts  for  the  great  variety  of  plants 
which  is  often  found  in  no  great  extent  of 
country;  and  it  may  be  laid  down  as  a  botani- 
cal axiom,  that  the  more  diversified  the  surface 
of  the  country,  the  richer  it  will  be  in  species, 
at  leaust  in  the  same  latitudes.  It  accounts, 
also,  for  the  want  of  correspondence  between 
plants  of  dirterent  countries,  though  placed  in 
the  same  latitudes  ;  because  the  mountains,  or 
ridges  of  mountains,  which  may  be  found  in 
the  one  and  not  in  the  other,  will  produce  the 
greatest  possible  difference  in  the  character  of 
the  genera  and  species.  To  this  cause  we 
may  ascribe  the  diversity  that  often  actually 
exists  between  plants  growing  in  the  same 
country  and  in  the  same  latitudes ;  as  between 
those  of  the  north-west  and  north-east  coasts 
of  North  America,  as  also  of  the  south-west 
and  south-east  coasts ;  the  former  being  more 
mountainous,  the  latter  more  flat.  Sometimes 
the  same  sort  of  difference  takes  place  between 
the  plants  of  an  island  and  those  of  the  neigh- 
bouring continent ;  that  is,  if  the  one  is  flat  and 
the  other  mountainous ;  but  if  they  are  alike 
in  their  geographical  delineation,  they  are 
generally  alike  in  their  vegetable  productions. 

[Meteorologists  generally  compute,  that  as 
land  rises  above  the  level  of  the  sea  or  tide- 
water, the  temperature  of  its  climate  grows 
colder  at  the  rate  of  1°  Fahrenheit,  for  every 
300  feet  or  100  yards  of  elevation.  It  has 
however  been  found  that  the  decline  of  tem- 
perature on  rising  above  the  common  level  of 
the  sea,  is  less  where  large  tracts  of  country 
rise  gradually  than  when  the  estimate  is  made 
either  by  balloon  ascension,  or  scaling  the 
sides  of  isolated,  and  precipitous  mountains. 
A  striking  illustration  of  this  is  offered  by  the 
ridges  and  valleys  of  the  great  I^immaleh 
mountains  of  Southern  Asia,  where  immense 
tracts,  which  theory  would  consign  to  the 
dreariness  of  perpetual  congelation,  are  found 
richly  clothed  in  vegetation  and  abounding  in 
vegetable  and  animal  life.  At  the  village  of 
Zonching,  14,700  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  in  lat.  31°  36  N.  Mr.  Colebrook  found 
flocks  of  sheep  browsing  on  verdant  hills ;  and 
at  the  village  of  Pui,  at  about  the  same  eleva- 
tion, there  are  produced,  according  to  Captain 
Gerard,  the  most  luxuriant  crops  of  barley. 


ALUMINA. 

wheat,  and  turnips,  whilst  a  litUe  lower  the 
ground  is  covered  with  vineyards,  groves  of 
apricots,  and  many  aromatic  plants. 

The  elTecis  of  gradual  elevation  in  lessening 
the  falling  off  in  temperature,  is  manifested 
upon  a  moderate  scale  in  our  own  country. 
The  [annual]  mean  temperature  of  Eastport, 
Me.,  for  example,  is  42°.95,  whilst  that  of  Fort 
Snelling  in  the  same  latitude,  but  far  in  the 
interior,  with  an  elevation  of  some  600  or  800 
feet  above  the  sea,  is  2°.88  higher,  namely, 
4r>°.83,  instead  of  being  two  or  three  degrees 
colder,  to  correspond  with  the  law  of  eleva- 
tion.    {Amer.  Med.  Jour.  .July,  1842.)] 

ALUM     (Lat.  Alumen).    The   sulphate  of 
alumina  and  potash  of  the  chemist,  [or  com- 
mon alum],  is  composed,  according  to  the  ana- 
lysis of  Berzelius  {Ajin.  de  Chim.  82 — 258),  of 
Sulphuric  acid        -----       3423 
Alumina         ------        10  86 

Potash 981 

Water  ------       4500 

99-90 

In  veterinary  practice,  alum  in  powder  is 
sometimes  used  externally  for  destroying 
trifling  excrescences,  arresting  bleeding,  &c. 
A  little,  very  finely  powdered,  is  occasionally 
blown  through  a  quill  into  the  eye  for  the  pur- 
pose of  removing  specks  of  long  standing. 

Alum  lotion  is  prepared  by  dissolving  from 
six  to  eight  drachms  of  alum  powder  in  two 
pints  of  water.  This  forms  an  inexpensive 
and  tolerably  efficacious  application  for  mild 
forms  of  grease,  cracks  in  the  heels  of  horses, 
and  for  superficial  sores  of  all  kinds.  It  should 
not  be  used  till  the  surrounding  inflammation 
has  been  subdued  by  time  or  proper  remedies. 
In  its  weakest  state,  the  alum  lotion  is  service- 
able in  the  cankered  ear  of  dogs,  and  wounds 
or  ulcers  of  the  mouth  in  any  animal. 

Alum  ointment  is  composed  of  one  drachm 
of  the  powder  to  one  ounce  each  of  turpentine 
and  hog's  lard,  incorporated  by  heating.  This 
supplies  the  place  of  the  lotion  when  the  sores 
are  apt  to  become  dry  and  hard.  It  is,  how- 
ever, very  little  used. 

Burnt  alum  is  made  by  boiling  a  solid  piece 
of  the  salt  on  an  iron  plate  over  a  fire  till  it 
becomes  quite  dry  and  white,  taking  care  not 
to  make  the  heat  so  strong  as  to  decompose  it 
This,  in  powder,  is  sometimes  used  for  specks 
in  the  eye.  (Miller's  Dictionary.) 

ALUMINA.  The  pure  earth  of  clay,  was  so 
named  from  having  been  obtained  in  a  state 
of  the  greatest  purity  from  alum,  in  which 
salt  it  exists  combined  with  sulphuric  acid, 
and  potash.  This  earth  when  pure  has  but 
little  taste,  and  no  smell.  The  earthy  smell 
which  clay  emits  when  breathed  upon,  is 
owing  to  the  presence  of  oxide  of  iron.  Its 
specific  gravity  is  2-00.  When  heated  it  parts 
with  a  portion  of  water,  and  its  bulk  is  consi- 
derably diminished.  Hence  most  clay  lands 
are  apt  to  crack,  by  their  contraction  in  dry 
weather.  There  is  little  doubt,  from  the  expe- 
riments  of  Davy,  but  that  alumina  is  the  oxide 
of  a  metal,  which  has  been  denominated 
aluminum,  although  he  did  not  succeed  m  pro- 
curing  it  in  a  separate  state. 

Of  all  the  earths  alumina  is  found  in  plants 
in  the  smallest  proportions,  32  ounces  of  the 
g2  77 


ALVEARIUM. 


AMERICAN  BLIGHT. 


iaeds  of  wheat  only  contain  0-6  of  a  grain,  and 
those  of  the  barley  and  the  oat  only  about  4  grains. 

If  some  clay  be  dissolved  in  water,  and  some 
nqua  ammonia  (hartshorn)  be  added  to  it,  the 
mixture  will  assume  a  milky  whiteness,  and  if 
left  to  stand  awhile,  a  white  substance  will  be 
precipitated,  called  in  chemical  language  alu- 
mina. Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston  does  not  regard 
this  as  a  nourishing  element  to  plants.  Its  dse 
in  soils  he  considers  entirely  mechanical,  bind- 
ing the  other  materials  together  by  its  tenacity, 
so  as  to  furnish  that  degree  of  stiffness  necessary 
for  the  support  of  plants.  Liebig  takes  a  ditfer- 
ent  view  of  the  subject.  "  It  is  known,"  he 
says,  "  that  the  aluminous  minerals  are  the 
most  widely  diff'used  on  the  suface  of  the  earth, 
and,  as  we  have  already  mentioned,  all  fer- 
tile soils,  or  soils  capable  of  culture,  contain 
alumina  as  an  invariable  constituent.  There 
must,  therefore,  be  something  in  aluminous 
earth  which  enables  it  to  exercise  an  influ- 
ence on  the  life  of  plants,  and  to  assist  in 
tlieir  developement.  The  property  on  which 
this  depends  is  that  of  its  invariably  containing 
potash  and  soda. 

"Alumina  exercises  only  an  indirect  influ- 
ence on  vegetation,  by  its  power  of  attracting 
and  retaining  water  and  ammonia ;  it  is  itself 
very  rarely  found  in  the  ashes  of  plants,  but 
silica  is  always  present,  having,  in  most  places, 
entered  the  plants  by  means  of  alkalies."  (Lie- 
big.)]  (See  Earths  ;  their  use  to  vegetation.) 
{Davy,  El.  Chem.  Phil.  ;  Thomson's  System  ,- 
Professor  Schiibler,  Jour.  Roy.  Ag.  Sac.  vol.  i. 
p.  177;  [Liebig' s  Organic  Chem.]) 

ALVEARIUM.  A  term  sometimes  employed 
to  signify  a  bee-hive. 

AMAUROSIS.  In  farriery,  is  a  total  blind- 
ness, without  any  altered  appearance  in  the 
eye.  [This  irremediable  affection  proceeds 
from  a  paralysis  of  the  nerve  of  sight,  or 
optic  nerve.] 

AMBLE.  In  horsemanship,  is  a  peculiar 
kind  of  pace,  in  which  both  the  horse's  legs  of 
the  same  side  move  at  the  same  t'me.  In  this 
pace  the  horse's  legs  move  nearer  to  the 
ground  than  in  the  walk,  and  at  the  same  time 
are  more  extended :  but  what  is  most  extraor- 
dinary in  it  is,  that  the  two  legs  of  the  same 
side,  for  instance,  the  off"  hind  and  fore  leg, 
move  at  the  same  time  ;  and  then  the  two  near 
legs,  in  making  another  step,  move  at  once ; 
the  motion  being  performed  in  this  alternate 
manner,  so  that  the  sides  of  the  animal  are 
alternately  without  support,  or  any  equilibrium 
between  the  one  and  the  other,  which  must 
necessarily  prove  very  fatiguing  to  him,  being 
obliged  to  support  himself  in  a  forced  oscilla- 
tion, by  the  rapidity  of  a  motion,  in  which  his 
feet  are  scarcely  off  the  grqjmd.  For  if  in  the 
ambip  he  lifted  his  feet  as  in  the  trot,  or  even 
in  a  walk,  the  oscillation  would  be  such,  that 
he  could  not  avoid  falling  on  his  side. 

Those   who  are   skilled    in    horsemanship 
observs,  that  horses  which  naturally  amble, 
never    trot,  and   that    they  are   considerably 
weaker  than  others.     Colts  often  move  in  this 
manner,   especially  when    they   exert    them-  j 
selves,  and  are  not  strong  enough  to  trot  or  ; 
gallop.     Most  gc'od  horses,  which  have  been  ' 
over-worked,  and  r-n  the  decline,  are  also  ob- 
served voluntarily  tf   amble,  when  forced  to  a  ; 
78 


motion  swifter  than  a  walk.  The  amble  may, 
therefore,  be  considered  as  a  defective  pace, 
not  being  common,  and  natural  only  to  a  very 
feu-  horses,  which,  in  general,  are  weaker  thaK 
others.  Add  to  this,  that  such  amblers  as 
seein  the  strongest  are  spoiled  sooner  man 
those  which  trot  or  gallop. 

AMEL4];0RN.  A  diseased  sort  of  grain, 
[resembling  spelt.] 

AMELIORATING  CROPS.  In  husbandr-, 
are  such  as  are  supposed  to  improve  the  land  s 
on  which  they  are  cultivated.  Carrots,  turnips, 
artificial  grasses,  such  as  contain  a  large  pro- 
portion of  nutritious  materials,  and  many  other 
green  vegetable  products,  especially  if  fed  off, 
[or  ploughed  in,]  are  considered  as  ameliorat- 
ing; but  all  kinds  of  crops,  carried  off' the  land, 
are  in  some  degree  or  other  exhausters  of  the 
ground;  and  green  crops,  such  as  have  been 
just  mentioned,  are  only  less  so  than  crops  of 
grain  or  other  ripe  vegetables.  The  improve- 
ment of  lands,  therefore,  by  what  are  commonly 
termed  ameliorating  crops,  depends,  in  a  great 
measure,  upon  the  culture  which  the  ground 
receives  while  they  are  growing,  and  the 
returns  which  they  make  to  it  in  the  way  of 
manure,  after  being  consumed  by  animals. 

AMELIORATING  SUBSTANCES.  In  agri- 
culture,  are  such  substances,  as,  when  applied 
to  land,  render  it  more  fertile  and  productive. 

AMERICAN  BLIGHT.  [A  popular,  but 
very  inappropriate  name  used  in  England  to 
designate  the  injurious  effects  upon  apple  trees 
caused  by  a  species  of  plant-louse  or  Aphis, 
(the  Eriosoma  mali,  of  Leach,  and  the  Aphis 
lanigera,  of  Illiger.)  Its  American  origin  is 
rendered  doubtful  from  the  fact  that  nursery- 
men in  the  Middle  States  have  never  witnessed 
the  mischievous  effects  described  as  common 
in  Europe  from  this  kind  of  blight.]  A  de- 
tailed account  of  the  insect  is  given  in  the 
Journal  of  a  Naturalist,  which,  with  the  correc- 
tion of  a  few  errors  and  oversights  of  the 
author,  we  shall  now  follow. 

Early  in  summer,  and  even  in  spring,  about 
March,  a  slight  hoariness  is  observed  upon  the 
branches  of  certain  species  of  our  orchard 
fruit.  As  the  season  advances  this  hoariness 
increases,  and  becomes  cottony ;  and  toward 
the  middle  or  the  end  of  summer,  the  upper 
sides  of  some  of  the  branches  are  invested  with 
a  thick,  doAvny  substance,  so  long  as  at  times 
to  be  sensibly  agitated  by  the  air.  Upon  exa- 
mining this  substance,  we  find  that  it  conceals 
a  multitude  of  small,  wingless  creatures,  which 
are  busily  employed  in  preying  upon  the  limb 
of  the  tree  beneath.  This  they  are  \vell  enabled 
to  do,  by  means  of  a  beak  terminating  in  a  fine 
bristle  ;  this  being  insinuated  through  the  bark, 
and  the  sappy  part  of  the  wood,  enables  the 
creature  to  extract,  as  with  a  syringe,  the 
sweet,  vital  liquor  that  circulates  in  the  p.ant. 

This  terminating  bristle  is  not  observable 
in  every  individual,  from  being  usually,  when 
not  in  use,  so  closely  concealed  under  the 
breast  of  the  animal,  as  to  be  invisible.  In  the 
younger  insects  it  is  often  manifested  by  pro- 
truding, like  a  fine  termination,  to  the  vent 
(a7ius)  ;  but  as  their  bodies  become  length- 
ened, the  bristle  is  not  in  this  way  observable. 
The  pulp  wood  {alburnum)  being  thus  wound- 


ERICAN  BLIGHT. 

cd,  rises  up  in  excrescences  and  nodes  all 
over  the  branch,  and  deforms  it;  the  limb, 
deprived  of  its  nutriment,  grows  sickly ;  tlie 
leaves  turn  yellow,  and  the  part  perishes. 
Branch  after  branch  is  thus  assailed,  until 
they  become  leafless,  and  the  tree  dies. 

]*lant  lice  (^Aphides),  in  general,  attack  the 
ro  *nger  and  softer  parts  of  plants ;  but  this 
;5':  ect  seems  easily  to  wound  the  harder  bark 
of  the  apple,  and  does  not  always  make  choice 
of  the  most  tender  branch.  They  give  a  pre- 
ference to  certain  sorts,  but  not  always  the 
most  rich  fniits,  as  cider  apples,  and  wildings, 
are  greatly  infested  by  them ;  and  from  some 
unknown  cause,  other  varieties  seem  to  be 
exempted  from  their  depredations.  The 
Wheeler's  russet,  and  Crofton  pippin,  have 
never  been  observed  to  be  injured  by  them ; 
and  the  insect  is  so  fastidious  in  its  selections, 
that  it  will  frequently  attack  the  stock  or  the 
graft,  leaving  the  one  or  the  other  untouched, 
should  it  consist  of  a  kind  not  to  its  liking. 
This  insect  is  viviparous,  or  produces  its 
young  alive,  forming  a  cradle  for  them  by  dis- 
charging from  the  extremities  of  its  body  a 
quantity  of  long,  cottony  matter ;  which,  be- 
coming interwoven  and  entangled,  prevents  the 
young  from  falling  to  the  earth,  and  completely 
envelopes  the  parent  and  the  offspring.  In 
this  cottony  substance,  we  obscr^'c,  as  soon  as 
the  creature  becomes  animated  in  the  spring, 
and  as  long  as  it  remains  in  vigour,  many 
round  pellucid  bodies,  which  at  the  first  sight 
look  like  eggs,  only  that  they  are  larger  than 
we  might  suppose  to  be  ejected  by  the  animal. 
They  consist  of  a  sweet  glutinous  fluid,  and 
are  not  the  eggs  but  the  discharges  of  the  in- 
sects. In  the  autumn,  the  winds  and  rains  of 
the  season  partly  disperse  these  insects ;  and 
we  observe  them  endeavouring  to  secrete 
themselves  in  the  crannies  of  any  neighbour- 
ing substance.  Should  the  savoy  cabbage  be 
near  the  trees  whence  they  have  been  dis- 
lodged, the  cavities  of  the  under  sides  of  its 
leaves  are  commonly  favourite  asylums  for 
them.  Multitudes  perish  by  these  rough  remo- 
vals, but  numbers  yet  remain ;  and  we  may 
find  them  in  the  nodes  and  crevices,  on  the 
under  sides  of  the  branches,  at  any  period  of 
the  year,  the  long,  cottony  vesture  being  nearly 
all  removed ;  but  still  they  are  enveloped  in  a 
fine  short  downy  clothing,  to  be  seen  by  a  mag- 
nifier, proceeding  apparently  from  every  suture 
or  pore  of  their  bodies,  and  protecting  them  in 
their  dormant  state  from  the  moisture  and 
frosts  of  our  climate.  This  insect  in  a  natural 
state,  usually  awakens  and  commences  its 
labours  very  early  in  the  month  of  March  ;  and 
the  hoariness  on  its  body  may  be  observed  in- 
creasing daily;  but  if  an  affected  branch  be 
cut  in  the  winter,  and  kept  in  water  in  a  warm 
room,  these  creatures  will  awaken  speedily, 
spin  their  cottony  nests,  and  feed  and  discharge 
as  accustomed  to  do  in  a  genial  season.  [For 
further  particulars  relating  to  the  habits  of 
these  and  other  similar  insects,  see  Aphis  and 
Aphldiava.'] 

Hemedies. — A  considerable  number  of  me- 
thods have  been  proposed  for  getting  rid  of  the 
insect  in  question.  White-washing,  or  wash- 
ing with  lime-water,  has  been  tried,  but  is  not 


AMERICAN  CRESS. 

so  efficacious  as  thp  application  of  any  gluti- 
nous substance,  which  may  cover  the  insects 
and  dry  over  them.  Double  size  or  glue, 
liquefied  by  heat,  and  applied  by  means  of  a 
brush,  particularly  in  March,  when  the  insects 
begin  to  show  more  cottony  than  in  winter,  is 
a  very  effectual  remedy,  if  no  crevice  of  a  tree 
is  left  unsized.  This,  however,  may  be  dis- 
solved by  the  rain,  and  therefore  a  varnish  is 
recommended  by  Mr.  Knapp,  as  follows  :  "  Melt 
about  three  ounces  of  resin  in  an  earthen  pip- 
kin, take  it  from  the  fire,  and  pour  it  into  three 
ounces  of  fish  oil ;  the  ingredients,  perfectly 
unite,  and  when  cold,  acquire  the  consistence 
of  honey.  A  slight  degree  of  heat  will  liquefy 
it,  and  in  this  state  paint  over  every  node  or 
infected  part  in"  your  tree,  using  a  common 
painter's  brush.  This  I  prefer  doing  in  spring, 
or  as  soon  as  the  hoariness  appears.  The  sub- 
stance soon  sufficiently  hardens,  and  forms  a 
varnish,  which  prevents  any  escape,  and  stifles 
the  individuals.  After  this  first  dressing,  should 
any  cottony  matter  appear  round  the  margin 
of  the  varnish,  a  second  application  to  these 
parts  will,  I  think,  be  found  to  effect  a  perfect 
cure.  The  prevalence  of  this  insect,"  adds 
this  author,  "gives  some  of  our  orchards  here 
the  appearance  of  numerous  white  posts  in  an 
extensive  drj'ing  ground,  being  washed  with 
lime  from  root  to  branch ;  a  practice,  I  appre- 
hend, attended  with  little  benefit.  A  few  of 
the  creatures  may  be  destroyed  by  accident ; 
but  as  the  animal  does  not  retire  to  the  earth, 
but  winters  in  the  clefts  of  the  boughs,  far  be- 
yond the  influence  of  this  wash,  it  remains  un- 
injured, to  commence  its  ravages  again  when 
spring  returns." 

All  oily  or  resinous  substances,  however, 
being  prejudicial  to  trees,  Mr.  George  Lindley 
recommends  vinegar  as  a  wash  for  young 
trees ;  and,  as  less  expensive  for  old  trees,  a 
sort  of  paint,  composed  of  one  gallon  of  quick- 
lime, half  a  pound  of  flowers  of  sulphur,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  lamp-black,  mixed  with 
boiling  water  to  the  consistence  of  whitening 
for  white-washing,  and  laying  it  on  rather 
more  than  blood  warm  with  a  brush.  This 
should  be  done  in  March,  and  again  in  August 
when  the  winged  insects  spread  from  tree  to 
tree. 

Mr.  Couch,  as  a  cheap  and  certain  remedy, 
recommends  three  quarters  of  an  ounce  of  sul- 
phuric acid  [oil  of  vitriol],  by  measure,  to  be 
mixed  with  seven  ounces  and  a  half  of  water. 
It  should  be  applied  all  over  the  bark  by  means 
of  rags,  the  only  parts  excepted  being  the  pre- 
sent year's  shoots,  which  it  would  destroy. 
This  destroys  moss  and  lichens,  as  well  as  in- 
sects ;  and  if  applied  in  showery  weather,  will 
be  washed  into  every  crevice  in  which  they 
can  harbour. 

AMERICAN  CRESS  (Lepidium  virgmi- 
cum).  From  act-/?,  a  scale,  on  account  of  the 
form  of  the  seed-vessel.  For  the  winter  stand- 
ing crops,  a  light  dry  soil,  in  an  open  but  warm 
situation,  should  be  allotted  to  it,  and  for  the 
summer,  a  rather  moister  and  shady  border  is 
to  be  preferred.  In  neither  instance  is  it  re- 
quired to  be  rich.  It  is  propagated  b)  seed, 
which  must  be  sown  every  six  weeks  f'-om 
March  to  August,  for  summer  and  autumn,  but 

7i) 


AMERICAN  GRASS. 


AMMONIA 


only  one  sowing  is  necessary,  either  at  the  end 
of  August,  or  beginning  of  September,  for  a 
supply  during  winter  and  spring.    It  may  be 
sown  broadcast,  but  the  most  preferable  mode 
is  in  drills  nine  inches  apart.     Water  may  be 
given  occasionally  during  dry  weather,  both 
before  and  after  the  appearance  of  the  plants. : 
If  raised  from  broadcast  sowings,  the  plants  j 
are  thinned  to  six  inches  apart;  if  in  drills,  i 
only    to   three.      In   winter  they    require   the  [ 
shelter  of  a  little  litter  or  other  light  covering  ; ' 
and  to  pre%''ent  them  being  injured  by  its  pres- 
sure, some  twigs  may  be  bent  over  the  bed,  or 
some  light  bushy  branches  laid  amongst  them, 
which  will  support  it.    The  only  cultivation 
they  require  is  to  be  kept  clear  of  weeds. 

In  gathering,  the  outside  leaves  only  should 
be  stripped  otf,  which  enables  successional 
crops  to  become  rapidly  fit  for  use.  When  the 
plants  begin  to  run,  their  centres  must  be  cut 
away,  which  causes  them  to  shoot  afresh.  For 
the  production  of  seed,  a  few  of  the  strongest 
plants  raised  from  the  first  spring  sowing  are 
left  ungathercd  from.  They  tiower  in  June  or 
July,  and  perfect  their  seed  before  the  com- 
mencement of  autumn.  (G.  W.  Johnson^ s  Kit- 
chen Gurdtn.) 

[This  plant  in  America  is  commonly  called 
wild  pepper-grass.  It  is  frequent  in  fields  and 
on  roadsides  in  the  Middle  States.] 

AMERICAN  GRASS.  A  term  sometimes 
applied  [in  England]  to  a  species  of  agrostis. 

AMMONIA.  The  name  given  by  chemists 
to  the  volatile  alkali,  from  its  being  first  pre- 
pared in  the  East  from  camels'  dung  near  to  a 
temple  dedicated  to  Jupiter  Amnion.  It  is 
known  in  commerce  under  the  name  of  harfs- 
fiorn,  ml  v/datile,  &c.,  and  is  prepared  by  the 
dry  or  destructive  distillation  of  animal  sub- 
stances. It  is  formed  also  most  commonly 
wherever  animal  substances  undergo  putre- 
faction.   It  is  composed  of 

Hydrogen       --.---_        0- 125 
A/.ote  or  nitrogen  -       -        -       -        175 

Ammonia  is  usually  produced  in  the  state 
of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  or  united  with  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  and  in  this  state,  or  in  fact  in 
combination  with  most  other  acids,  it  forms 
salts,  which  possess  peculiarly  fertilizing  pro- 
perties. This  alkali  fulfils,  there  is  little  doubt, 
a  very  important  part  in  many  organic  ma- 
nures. It  is  a  very  universally  diffused  sub- 
stance, has  been  detected  in  rain-water  and 
even  in  snow,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  that 
it  exists,  and  prejudicially  too,  to  the  health  of 
the  inhabitants,  in  the  atmosphere  of  many 
places  crowded  with  animal  life.  {Liehig's 
Organic  Chem.  76,  77.)  Wherever  this  alkali 
is  detecte!  in  a  substance,  such  as  it  commonly 
is,  for  instance,  in  urine,  gas-water,  &c.,  the  most 
excellent  effects  may  be  anticipated  to  vegeta- 
tion by  its  use.  Fresh  urine  contains  phosphate 
of  ammonia,  muriate  of  ammonia,  and  lactate  of 
ammonia,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  fertilizer 
more  powerful  in  its  effects  than  this. 

[One  of  the  most  important  discoveries  bear- 
ing up<m  agriculture  perhaps  ever  made,  is 
that  just  promulgated  by  Liebig,  of  the  exist- 
ence in  the  atmosphere  of  ammonia.  Davy 
ajd  other  chemists  of  the  highest  celebrity  had 
80 


analyzed  the  air  collected  from  .he  most  sicklv 
locations  where  impurities  might  certainly  be 
expected  to  exist,  but  with  their  nicest  tests 
and  best  conducted  experiments  they  failed  te 
detect  any  essential  difference  in  the  composi 
tion  of  the  insalubrious  air  taken  from  the 
deadly  coast  of  Africa,  and  that  collected  from 
the  most  elevated  and  healthy  parts  of  Eui^ope. 
The  analyses  of  the  air  of  the  different  places 
all  gave  the  same  proportions  of  the  gaseous 
constituents,  namely,  oxygen,  nitrogen,  and 
carbonic  acid.  It  was  evident,  therefore,  that  if 
other  matters,  in  addition  to  the  gases  named 
and  watery  vapour,  existed  in  the  air,  some 
other  means  must  be  found  to  demonstrate  their 
presence ;  and  happily,  the  genius  of  Liebig 
devised  a  plan  by  which  this  has  been  effected 
so  far  as  the  presence  of  ammonia  is  con- 
cerned. He  knew  that  ammonia  had  a  strong 
affinity  for  water,  by  which  it  is  promptly  ab- 
sorbed, and  that  although  it  could  be  diffused 
through  such  a  great  bulk  of  air  as  to  be 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  chemical  tests,  it 
might  nevertheless  be  taken  up  by  rain-water, 
and  washed  down  in  sufficient  quantity  to  be- 
come apparent.  Experiments  made,  in  his 
laboratory  at  Geissen,  with  the  greatest  care 
and  exactness,  fully  confirmed  his  views,  and 
placed  the  presence  of  ammonia  in  rain-vv^ater, 
and  consequently  in  the  atmosphere,  beyond  a 
doubt.  It  had  hitherto  escaped  detection  be- 
cause no  one  thought  of  searching  for  it  in  the 
same  way.  A  single  pound  of  rain-water  con- 
tains as  much  of  the  gas  of  ammonia,  as  is 
diffused  through  28,800  cubic  feet  of  air, 
namely,  only  one-fourth  of  a  grain. 

"All  the  rain-water  employed  in  this  inquiry," 
says  Liebig,  "  was  collected  600  paces  south- 
west of  Geissen,  whilst  the  Avind  was  blowing 
in  the  direction  of  the  town.  When  several 
hundred  pounds  of  it  were  distilled  in  a  copper 
still,  and  the  first  two  or  three  pounds  evapo- 
rated with  the  addition  of  a  little  muriatic  acid, 
a  very  distinct  crystallization  of  sal-ammoniac 
was  obtained ;  the  crystals  had  always  a  brown 
or  yellow  colour. 

"Ammonia  may  likewise  be  always  detected 
in  snow-water.  Crystals  of  sal-ammoniac  Avere 
obtained  by  evaporating  in  a  vessel  with  muri- 
atic acid  several  pounds  of  snow,  which  were 
gathered  from  the  surface  of  the  ground  in 
March,  when  the  snow  had  a  depth  of  ten 
inches.  Ammonia  was  set  free  from  these 
crystals  by  the  addition  of  hydrate  of  lime. 
The  inferior  layers  of  snow,  which  rested  upon 
the  ground,  contained  a  quantity  decidedly 
greater  than  those  which  formed  the  surface. 

"  It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  the  ammo- 
nia contained  in  rain  and  snow-water  pos- 
sessed an  offensive  smell  of  perspiration  and 
animal  excrements, — a  fact  which  leaves  no 
doubt  lespecling  its  origin. 

"Any  one  may  satisfy  himself  of  the  presence 
of  ammonia  in  rain,  by  simply  adding  a  little 
sulphuric  or  muriatic  acid  to  a  quantity  of  rain 
water,  and  evaporating  this  nearly  to  dryness 
in  a  clean  porcelain  basin.  The  ammonJa 
remains  in  the  residue,  in  combination  Avi'Ji 
the  acid  employed;  and  maybe  detected  either 
by  the  addition  of  a  little  chloride  of  plafnr.i;  . 
or  more  simply  by  a  little  powdered  lime,  wh.cii 


AMMONIA. 


separates  the  ammonia,  and  thus  renders  its 
peculiar  pungent  smell  sensible.  The  sensa- 
tion which  is  perceived  upon  moistening  the 
hand  with  rain-water,  so  different  from  that 
produced  by  pure  distilled  water,  and  to  which 
the  term  softness  is  vulgarly  applied,  is  also 
due  to  the  carbonate  of  ammonia  contained  in 
the  former.  A  small  quantity  of  ammunia 
water,  added  to  wliat  is  commonly  called  hard 
water,  will  give  it  the  softness  of  rain  or  snow- 
water. 

"The  ammonia  which  is  removed  from  the 
atmosphere  by  rain  and  other  causes,  is  as 
constantly  replaced  by  the  putrefaction  of  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  matters.  A  certain  portion 
of  that  which  falls  with  the  rain  evaporates 
again  with  the  water,  but  another  portion  is, 
we  suppose,  taken  up  by  the  roots  of  plants, 
and,  entering  into  new  combinations  in  the 
different  organs  of  assimilation,  produces  al- 
bumen, gluten,  quinine,  morphia,  cyanogen, 
and  a  number  of  other  compounds  containing 
nitrogen.  The  chemical  characters  of  ammo- 
nia render  it  capable  of  entering  into  such 
combinations,  and  of  undergoing  numerous 
transformations.  We  have  now  only  to  con- 
sider whether  it  really  is  taken  up  in  the  form 
of  ammonia  by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  in  that 
form  applied  by  their  organs  to  the  production 
of  the  azotized  matters  contained  in  them. 
This  question  is  susceptible  of  easy  solution 
by  well-known  facts. 

•*In  the  year  1834,  I  was  engaged  with  Dr. 
Wilbrand,  professor  of  botany  in  the  univer- 
sity of  Giessen,  in  an  investigation  respecting 
the  quantity  of  sugar  contained  in  the  different 
vari(;ties  of  maple  trees,  which  grew  upon 
soils  which  were  not  manured.  We  obtained 
crystallized  sugars  from  all,  by  simply  evapo- 
rating their  juices,  without  ihe  addition  of  any 
foreign  substance ;  and  we  unexpectedly  made 
the  observation,  that  a  great  quantity  of  ammo- 
nia was  emitted  from  this  juice,  when  mixed 
with  lime,  and  also  from  the  sugar  itself  during 
its  refinement.  The  vessels,  which  hung  upon 
the  trees  in  order  to  collect  the  juice,  were 
watched  with  greater  attention,  on  account  of 
the  suspicion  Uiat  some  evil-disposed  persons 
had  introduced  urine  into  them,  but  still  a  large 
quantity  of  ammonia  was  again  found  in  the 
form  of  neutral  salts.  The  juice  had  no  colour, 
and  had  no  reaction  on  that  of  vegetables. 
Similar  observations  were  made  upon  the  juice 
of  the  bircn-tree;  the  specimens  subjected  to 
experiment  w^ere  taken  from  a  wood  several 
miles  distant  from  any  house,  and  yet  the  clari- 
fied juice,  evaporated  with  lime,  emitted  a 
strong  odour  of  ammonia. 

"The  products  of  the  distillation  of  flowers, 
herbs,  and  roots,  with  water,  and  all  extracts 
of  plants  made  for  medicinal  purposes,  contain 
ammonia.  The  unripe,  transparent,  and  gela- 
tinous pulp  of  the  almond  and  peach  emit 
much  ammonia  when  treated  with  alkalies. 
(Kobiquet.)  The  juice  of  the  fresh  tobacco- 
leaf  contains  ammoniacal  salts.  The  water, 
which  exudes  from  a  cut  vine,  when  evapo- 
rated with  a  few  drops  of  muriatic  acid,  also 
yields  a  gummy  deliquescent  mass,  which 
evolves  much  ammonia  on  the  addition  of 
lime.  Ammonia  exists  in  every  part  of  plants, 
11 


AMMONIA. 

in  the  roots  (as  in  beet-root),  in  the  stem  (of 
the  maple-tree),  and  in  all  blossoms  and  fruit 
in  an  unripe  condition. 

"The  juice  of  the  maple  and  birch  contain 
both  sugar  and  ammonia,  and  therefore  afford 
all  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  formation 
of  the  azotized  components  of  the  branches, 
blossoms,  and  leaves,  as  well  as  of  Miose  which 
contain  no  azote  or  nitrogen.  In  proportion  as 
the  developement  of  those  parts  advances,  the 
ammonia  diminishes  in  quantity,  and  when 
they  are  fully  formed,  the  tree  yields  no  more 
juice. 

"  The  employment  of  animal  manure  in  the 
cultivation  of  grain,  and  the  vegetables  which 
serve  for  fodder  to  cattle,  is  the  most  convinc- 
ing proof  that  the  nitrogen  of  vegetables  is 
derived  from  ammonia.  The  quantity  of  gluten 
in  wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  is  very  different; 
these  kinds  of  grain  also,  even  when  ripe,  con- 
tain this  compound  of  nitrogen  in  very  differ- 
ent proportions.  Proust  found  French  wheat 
to  contain  12-5  per  cent,  of  gluten;  Vogel 
found  that  the  Bavarian  contained  24  per  cent. ; 
Davy  obtained  19  per  cent,  from  winter,  and 
24  from  summer  wheat;  from  Sicilian  21,  and 
from  Barbary  wheat  19  per  cent.  The  meal 
of  Alsace  wheat  contains,  according  to  Bous- 
singault,  17-3  per  cent,  of  gluten;  that  of 
wheat  grown  in  the  "  Jardin  des  Plantes"  26*7, 
and  that  of  winter  wheat  3-33  per  cent.  Such 
great  differences  must  be  owing  to  some  cause, 
and  this  we  find  in  the  different  methods  of 
cultivation.  An  increase  of  animal  manure 
gives  rise  not  only  to  an  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  seeds,  but  also  to  a  most  remarkable 
difference  in  the  proportion  of  the  gluten  which 
they  contain. 

"Animal  manure,  as  we  shall  afterwards 
show,  acts  only  by  the  formation  of  ammonia. 
One  hundred  parts  of  wheat  grown  on  a  soil 
manured  with  cowdung  (a  manure  containing 
the  smallest  quantity  of  nitrogen),  afforded 
only  11'95  parts  of  gluten,  and  64-34  parts  of 
amylin,  or  starch ;  whilst  the  same  quantity, 
grown  on  a  soil  manured  with  human  urine, 
yielded  the  maximum  of  gluten,  namely  35*1 
per  cent.  Putrefied  urine  contains  nitrogen  in 
the  forms  of  carbonate,  phosphate,  and  lactate 
of  ammonia,  and  in  no  other  form  than  that  of 
ammoniacal  salts. 

"  Putrid  urine  is  employed  in  Flanders  as  a 
manure  with  the  best  results.  During  the 
putrefaction  of  urine,  ammoniacal  salts  are 
formed  in  large  quantity,  it  may  be  said  exclu- 
sively ;  for,  under  the  influence  of  heat  and 
moisture,  urea,  the  most  prominent  ingredient 
of  the  urine,  is  converted  into  carbonate  of  am- 
monia. The  barren  soil  on  the  coast  of  Peru 
is  rendered  fertile  by  means  of  a  manure  called 
Guano,  which  is  collected  from  several  islands 
on  the  South  Sea.  It  is  sufiicient  to  add  a 
small  quantity  of  guano  to  a  soil,  which  con- 
sists only  of  sand  and  clay,  in  order  to  procure 
the  richest  crops  of  maize.  The  soil  itself 
does  not  contain  the  smallest  particle  of  or- 
ganic matter,  and  the  manure  employed  is 
formed  only  of  urate,  phosphate,  oxalate,  and 
carbonate  of  ammonia,  together  with  a  few 
earthy  salts.  {Bonssingault,  Ann.  de  Chim.  et 
de  Phys.  t.  Ixv.  p.  319.) 


AMMONIA. 


AMMONIA. 


"  Ammonia,  therefore,  must  have  yielded  the 
nitrogen  to  these  plants.  Gluten  is  obtained 
not  only  from  corn,  but  also  from  grapes  and 
other  plants ;  but  that  extracted  from  the  grapes 
is  called  vegetable  albumen,  although  it  is 
identical  in  composition  and  properties  with 
the  ordinary  gluten. 

"  It  is  ammonia  which  yields  nitrogen  to  the 
vegetable  albumen,  the  principal  constituent 
of  plants ;  and  it  must  be  ammonia  which 
forms  the  red  and  blue  colouring  matters  of 
flowers.  Nitrogen  is  not  presented  to  wild 
plants  in  any  other  form  capable  of  assimila- 
tion. Ammonia  by  its  transformation,  fur- 
nishes nitric  acid  to  the  tobacco  plant,  sun- 
flower, Chenopodium,  and  Borago  officinalis, 
when  thev  grow  in  a  soil  completely  free  from 
nitre.  Nitrates  are  necessary  constituents  of 
these  plants,  which  thrive  only  when  ammonia 
is  present  in  large  quantity,  and  when  they  are 
also  subject  to  the  influence  of  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun,  an  influence  necessary  to  eff'ect  the 
disengagement  within  their  stem  and  leaves 
of  the  oxygen,  which  shall  unite  with  the  am- 
monia to  form  nitric  acid. 

"  The  urine  of  men  and  of  carnivorous  ani- 
mals contains  a  large  quantity  of  nitrogen, 
partly  in  the  form  of  phosphates,  partly  as 
urea.  Urea  is  converted  during  putrefaction 
into  carbonate  of  ammonia,  that  is  to  say,  it 
takes  the  form  of  the  very  salt  which  occurs 
in  rain-water.  Human  urine  is  the  most  pow- 
erful manure  for  all  vegetables  containing 
nitrogen  ;  that  of  horses  and  horned  cattle  con- 
tains less  of  this  element,  but  infinitely  more 
than  the  solid  excrements  of  these  animals.  In 
addition  to  urea,  the  urine  of  herbivorous  ani- 
mals contains  hippuric  acid,  which  is  decom- 
posed during  putrefaction  into  benzoic  acid 
and  ammonia.  The  latter  enters  into  the  com- 
position of  the  gluten,  but  the  benzoic  acid 
often  remains  unchanged ;  for  example,  in  the 
Anthoxanthum  odoratum.  The  late  Professor 
Gorham  obtained  from  Indian  corn  a  substance 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  Zeine,  according  to 
whose  analysis  it  contains  no  nitrogen;  but 
ammonia  has  since  been  obtained  from  it." 

It  has  always  been  a  popular  opinion 
among  husbandmen,  that  snow  contained  some 
fertilizing  salts,  as  winter  crops  were  gene- 
rally observed  to  thrive  best  after  being  long 
covered  with  snow.  Common  observation  is 
here  fully  sustained  by  science,  since  ammo- 
nia, one  of  the  greatest  of  fertilizers,  may 
always  be  detected  in  snow-water,  the  inferior 
layers  next  the  ground  containing  the  largest 
proportion. 

The  following  interesting  calculation  is 
given  by  Liebig.  "  If,"  says  he,  "  a  pound  of 
rain-water  contain  one-fourth  of  a  grain  of 
ammonia,  then  a  field  of  40,000  square  feet 
must  receive  annually  upwards  of  80  pounds 
of  ammonia,  or  05  pounds  of  nitrogen ;  for,  by  i 
the  observations  of  Schuhler,  which  were  for-  [ 
merly  alluded  to,  about  700,000  pounds  of  rain 
fall  over  this  surface  in  four  months,  and  con- 
sequently tlie  annual  fall  must  be  2,-500,000 
pounds.  This  is  much  more  nitrogen  than  is 
contamod  in  the  form  of  vegetable  albumen 
and  giuten,  in  2,650  pounds  of  wood,  2,800 
pounds  of  hay,  or  200  cwt.  of  beet-root,  which 
82 


are  the  yearly  produce  of  such  a  field,  but  it  i« 
less  than  the  straw,  roots,  and  grain  of  corn 
which  might  grow  on  the  same  surface  would 
contain." 

As  to  the  source  from  which  the  ammonia 
difiused  in  the  atmosphere  is  derived,  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  refer  to  the  fact  that  ammonia  is  the 
last  product  of  the  putrefaction  of  animal  bo- 
dies, all  of  which,  whether  large  or  infinitely 
small,  yield  their  nitrogen  to  the  atmosphere 
in  the  form  of  ammonia.  This  cannot  remain 
long  in  the  air,  as  every  shower  of  rain  must 
absorb  and  convey  it  to  the  earth.  "  Hence  also, 
rain-water  must,  at  all  times,  contain  ammonia, 
though  not  always  in  equal  quantity.  It  must 
be  greater  in  summer  than  in  spring  or  in 
winter,  because  the  intervals  of  time  between 
the  showers  are  in  summer  greater ;  and  when 
several  wet  days  occur,  the  rain  of  the  first 
must  contain  more  of  it  than  that  of  the 
second.  The  rain  of  a  thunder-storm,  after  a 
long  protracted  drought,  ought  for  this  reason 
to  contain  the  greatest  quantity  which  is  con- 
veyed to  the  earth  at  one  time." 

Is  it  asked  what  direct  proof  exists  that 
ammonia  acts  so  favourably  in  promoting 
vegetation"?  The  answer  is  furnished  in  the 
results  of  experiments  made  by  Sir  Humphry 
Davy,  in  which  the  beaks  of  retorts  containing 
fermenting  manures  were  introduced  into  the 
soil  among  the  roots  of  grass,  which  was  thus 
made  to  grow  more  luxuriantly  than  that  in 
other  places.  The  gases  emanating  from  re- 
torts containing  similar  manure  Vere  exa- 
mined and  found  to  consist  chiefly  of  ammonia. 
Sir  Humphry  considered  such  results  as  prov- 
ing conclusively  the  advantage  of  applying 
manures  to  soils  in  a  recent  and  fermenting 
state.     (See  Azote  or  Nitrogen.) 

Dr.  Liebig's  discovery  of  the  great  fertilizer 
ammonia  in  rain-water  has  led  to  a  most  sim- 
ple and  beautiful  explanation  of  the  manner  in 
which  gypsum  or  plaster  of  Paris  acts  in  pro- 
moting the  growth  of  plants,  a  matter  which 
has  been  a  subject  of  great  speculation  and 
controversy,  but  which  would  seem  to  be  fully 
settled  at  last. 

"  The  evident  influence  of  g5'psum  upon  the 
growth  of  grasses, — the  striking  fertility  and 
luxuriance  of  a  meadow  upon  which  it  is 
strewed, — depends  only  upon  its  fixing  in  the 
soil  the  ammonia  of  the  atmosphere,  which 
would  otherwise  be  volatilized  with  the  water 
which  evaporates.  The  carbonate  6f  ammonia 
contained  in  rain-water  is  decomposed  by  gyp- 
sum, in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  in  the 
manufacture  of  sal-ammoniac.  Soluble  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  and  carbonate  of  lime  are 
formed ;  and  this  salt  of  ammonia  possessing 
no  volatility  is  consequently  retained  in  the 
soil.  All  the  gypsum  gradually  disappears, 
but  its  action  upon  the  carbonate  of  ammonia 
continues  as  long  as  a  trace  of  it  exists.  The 
action  of  gypsum  as  well  as  that  of  chloride 
of  lime  (bleaching  salts)  really  consists  in 
their  giving  a  fixed  condition  to  the  nitrogen, 
or  ammonia  which  is  brought  into  the  soil,  and 
which  is  indispensable  to  the  nutrition  of 
plants. 

"  Water  is  absolutely  necessary  to  eflect  the 
decomposition  of  the  gypsum,  on  account  of  its 


w 

dllhcnit  solul 


AMYLACEOUS. 


Iimchlt  solubility  (1  part  of  gypsum  requires 
400  parts  of  water  for  solution),  and  also  to 
assist  in  the  absorption  of  the  sulphate  of  am- 
monia by  the  plants;  hence  it  happens,  that 
the  intluence  of  gypsum  is  not  observable  on 
diy  tields  and  meadows. 

"The  decomposition  of  gypsum  by  carbonate 
of  ammonia  does  not  take  place  instantane- 
ously ;  on  the  contrary,  it  proceeds  very  gradu- 
ally, and  this  explains  why  the  action  of  the 
gvpsum  lasts  for  several  years."  (Ori^.  Cheni.)] 
'AMYLACEOUS.  A  term  applied  to  such 
farinaceous  seeds,  grains,  and  roots,  as  contain 
much  of  the  fine  flour  from  which  starch  is 
made,  and  in  which  chiefly  consists  their  nu- 
tritive principle. 

ANALYSIS  {Gr.irdKuc-ic).  In  a  general  sense, 
signifies  the  resolution  of  compound  bodies 
into  their  original  or  constituent  principles. 

Analysis  of  SoUji. — The  means  of  ascertain- 
ing the  nature,  properties,  and  proportions  of 
the  different  materials  of  which  they  are  com- 
posed. The  chemical  examination  of  the  soil 
affords  perhaps  more  certain  and  more  valua- 
ble information  to  the  farmer,  for  the  improve- 
'  ment  of  its  fertility,  than  any  other  mode  of 
investigation.  The  apparatus  and  the  experi- 
ments, necessary  for  even  the  most  accurate 
experiments,  are  by  no  means  so  ditficult  as  it 
is  often  believed  is  the  case.  It  is,  in  fact,  a 
very  erroneous  conclusion,  that  an  extensive 
or  an  expensive  apparatus  is  necessary  to 
carry  on  even  the  most  valuable  chemical 
researches.  The  laboratory  of  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  chemical  philosophers  of  his  day, 
that  of  Dalton  of  Manchester,  contained  appa- 
rently but  a  poor  collection  of  glass  bottles,  re- 
torts, crucibles,  fragments  of  wine-glasses,  &c. 

The  following  descriptions  of  the  philoso- 
phically-accurate mode  adopted  by  Sir  Hum- 
phry Davy  for  the  analysis  of  soils,  [and  of 
the  more  easily  repeated  plans  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Rham,  of  England,  and  Dr.  Dana,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, are  given  nearly  in  their  own  words. 
The  first  is  taken  from  his  Elements  of  As^i- 
cuUural  Chemistry^  the.  second  from  the  first 
volume  of  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  England,  p.  46,  and  the  last 
from  Priftssor  Hitchcock's  Report  of  the  Geologi- 
cal Survey  of  Massachusetts.]  It  may  be  well 
to  premise  that  four  earths  are  almost  always 
the  chief  constituents  of  all  cultivated  soils, 
viz.,  silica  (flint),  alumina  (clay),  carbonate 
of  lime  (chalk),  and  carbonate  of  magnesia. 
These  are  mixed  together  in  an  endless  variety 
of  proportions,  and  are  interspersed  with  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  remains,  salts,  &c.,  to  an 
equally  varying  extent.  It  is  to  ascertain  the 
presence  and  the  extent  of  these  substances 
that  the  analysis  of  soils  is  so  necessary  and 
.«:o  valuable  to  the  farmer. 

"The  instruments  required  for  the  analysis 
of  soils,"  said  the  illustrious  Davy,  "  are  few 
and  but  little  expensive.  They  are  a  balance 
capable  of  containing  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
common  soil,  and  capable  of  turning  when 
loaded  with  a  grain ;  a  set  of  weights  from  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  troy  to  a  grain ;  a  wire 
sieve  sufficiently  coarse  to  admit  a  mustard- 
Bee  d  through  its  apertures ;  an  Argand  lamp 
and  stand ;  some  glass  bottles ;  Hessian  cruci- 


ANALYSrs. 

bles  ;  porcelain  or  queen's  ware  evaporaHn<' 
basins;  a  Wedgewood  pestle  and  mortar''; 
some  filters  made  of  half  a  sheet  of  blotting- 
paper,  folded  so  as  to  contain  a  pint  of  liquid, 
and  greased  at  the  edges ;  a  bone  knife,  and 
an  apparatus  for  collecting  and  measuring 
aeriform  fluids. 

"  The  chemical  substances  or  r^-agents  re- 
quired for  separating  the  constituent  parts  of 
the  soil  are  muriatic  acid  (spirit  of  salt),  sul- 
phuric acid  (oil  of  vitriol),  pure  volatile 
(ammonia),  dissolved  in  water,  solution  of 
prussiate  of  potash  and  iron,  succinate  of  am- 
monia, soap-lye,  or  solution  of  potassa,  solu- 
tions of  carbonate  of  ammonia,  of  muriate  of 
ammonia,  of  neutral  carbonate  of  potash,  and 
nitrate  of  ammonia. 

"In  cases  when  the  general  nature  of  th,e 
soil  of  a  field  is  to  be  ascertained,  specimens 
of  it  should  be  taken  from  different  places,  two 
or  three  inches  below  the  surface,  and  exa- 
mined as  to  the  similarity  of  their  properties.  Ji 
sometimes  happens  that  upon  plains  the  whole 
of  the  upper  stratum  of  the  land  is  of  the  same 
kind,  and  in  this  case  one  analysis  will  be  sufli- 
cient ;  but  in  valleys,  and  near  the  beds  ol 
rivers,  there  are  very  great  differences ;  and  it 
now  and  then  occurs  that  one  pan  of  a  field  is 
calcareous,  and  another  part  silicious,  and  in 
this  case,  and  in  analogous  cases,  the  portions 
different  from  each  other  should  be  separately 
submitted  to  experiment." 

Soils,  when  collected,  if  they  cannot  be  im- 
mediately examined,  should  be  preserved  in 
phials  quite  filled  with  them,  and  closed  wim 
ground  glass  stoppers.  The  quantity  of  soil 
most  convenient  for  a  perfect  analysis  is  from 
two  to  four  hundred  grains.  It  should  be  col- 
lected in  dry  weather,  and  exposed  to  the  at- 
mosphere till  it  becomes  dry  to  the  touch. 

The  specific  gravity  of  a  soil,  or  the  relation 
of  its  weight  to  that  of  water,  may  be  ascer- 
tained by  introducing  into  a  phial,  which  will 
contain  a  known  quantity  of  water,  equai 
quantities  of  water  and  of  soil,  and  this 
may  be  easily  done  by  pouring  in  water  till  it 
is  half  full,  and  then  adding  the  soil  till  the 
fluid  rises  to  the  mouth ;  the  difference  between 
the  weight  of  the  soil  and  that  of  the  water 
will  give  the  result.  Thus  if  the  bottle  con- 
tains 400  grains  of  water,  and  gains  200 
grains  when  half  filled  with  water  and  half 
with  soil,  the  specific  gravity  of  the  soil  will 
be  2-,  that  is,  will  be  twdce  as  heavy  as  water; 
and  if  it  gained  165  grains,  its  specific  gravity 
would  be  1825-,  water  being  1000-.  It  is  of  im- 
portance that  the  specific  gravity  of  a  soil 
should  be  known,  as  it  affords  an  indication  of 
the  quantity  of  animal  and  vegetable  matter  it 
contains  ;  these  substances  being  always  most 
abundant  in  the  lighter  soils. 

The  other  physical  properties  of  soils  should 
likewise  be  examined  before  the  analysis  is 
made,  as  they  denote  to  a  certain  extent  their 
composition,  and  serve  as  guides  in  directing 
the  experiments.  Thus  silicious  soils  are 
generallv  rough  to  the  touch,  and  scratch  glass 
when  rubbed  upon  it ;  ferruginous  soils  are  of 
a  red  or  yellow  colour,  and  calcareous  soils  ar« 
soft.  ,  ,  . 

1.  Soils,  though  as  dry  as  they  can  be  mau 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


by  ca^tinued  exposiire  to  air,  in  all  cases 
contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  water, 
which  adheres  with  great  obstinacy  to  the 
earths,  and  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  and 
can  only  be  driven  off  from  them  by  a  consi- 
derable degree  of  heat.  The  first  process 
of  analysis  is  to  free  the  given  weight  of 
soil  from  as  much  of  this  water  as  possible, 
without,  in  other  respects,  affecting  its  compo- 
sition, and  this  may  be  done  by  heating  it  for 
ten  or  twelve  minutes  over  an  Argand  lamp 
in  a  basin  of  porcelain  to  a  temperature  equal 
to  300°  Fahrenheit;  and  if  a  thermometer  is 
not  used,  the  proper  degree  may  be  easily  as- 
certained by  keeping  a  piece  of  wood  in  con- 
tact with  the  bottom  of  the  dish  ;  as  long  as 
the  colour  of  the  wood  remains  unaltered  the 
heat  is  not  too  high,  but  when  the  wood  begins 
to  be  charred  the  process  must  be  stopped.  A 
small  quantity  of  water  will  perhaps  remain  in 
the  soil,  even  after  this  operation,  but  it  always 
affords  useful  comparative  results;  and  if  a 
higher  temperature  were  employed,  the  vege- 
table or  animal  matter  would  undergo  decom- 
position, and,  in  consequence,  the  experiment 
be  wholly  unsatisfactory.  The  loss  of  weight 
in  the  process  should  be  carefully  noted,  and 
when  in  400  grains  of  soil  it  reaches  as  high 
as  50°,  the  soil  may  be  considered  as  in  the 
greatest  degree  absorbent  and  retentive  of 
water,  and  will  generally  be  found  to  contain 
much  vegetable  or  animal  matter,  or  a  large 
proportion  of  aluminous  earth.  When  the  loss  is 
only  from  20°  to  10°,  the  land  may  be  con- 
sidered as  only  slightly  absorbent  and  retentive, 
and  silicious  earth  probably  forms  the  greatest 
part  of  it. 

2.  None  of  the  loose  stones,  gravel,  or  large 
vegetable  fibres  should  be  divided  from  the 
pure  soil  till  after  the  water  is  drawn  off;  for 
these  bodies  are  often  themselves  highly  ab- 
sorbent and  retentive,  and  in  consequence  in- 
fluence the  fertility  of  the  land.  The  next 
process,  however,  after  that  of  heating,  should 
be  their  separation,  which  may  be  easily  ac- 
complished by  the  sieve,  after  the  soil  has 
been  gently  bruised  in  a  mortar.  The  weights 
of  the  vegetable  fibres  or  wood,  and  of  the 
gravel  or  stones,  should  be  separately  noted 
down,  and  the  nature  of  the  last  ascertained ; 
if  calcareous,  they  will  effervesce  with  acids  ; 
if  silicious,  they  will  be  sufficiently  hard 
to  scratch  glass  ;  and  if  of  the  common  alumi- 
nous class  of  stones,  they  will  be  soft,  easily 
cut  with  a  knife,  and  incapable  of  effervescing 
with  acids. 

3.  The  greater  number  of  soils,  besides 
gravel  and  stones,  contain  larger  or  smaller 
proportions  of  sand,  of  various  degrees  of 
fineness ;  and  it  is  a  necessary  operation  (the 
next  in  the  process  of  analysis)  to  detach  them 
from  the  parts  in  a  state  of  more  minute  divi- 
sion, such  as  clay,  loam,  marl,  vegetable  and 
animal  matter,  and  the  matter  soluble  in  water. 
This  may  be  effected  in  a  way  sufficiently  ac- 
curate, by  boiling  the  soil  in  three  or  four  times 
its  weight  of  water,  and  when  the  texture  of 
the  soil  is  broken  down,  and  the  water  cool,  by 
agitating  the  parts  together,  and  then  suffering 
them  10  rest.  In  this  case,  the  coarse  sand  will 
pmerally  separate  in  a  minute,  and  the  finer  in 

84 


two  or  three  minutes,  whilst  the  highly  divided 
earthy,  animal,  or  vegetable  matter  will  remain 
in  a  state  of  mechanical  suspension  for  a 
much  longer  time;  so  that  by  pouring  the 
water  from  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  after  one, 
two,  or  three  minutes,  the  sand  will  be  princi- 
pally separated  from  the  other  substances, 
which,  with  the  water  containing  them,  must 
be  poured  into  a  filter,  and  after  the  water  has 
passed  through,  collected,  dried,  and  weighed. 
The  sand  must  likewise  be  weighed,  and  the 
respective  quantities  noted  down.  The  water 
of  lixiviation  must  be  preserved,  as  it  will  be 
foimd  to  contain  the  saline,  and  soluble  ani- 
mal or  vegetable,  if  any  exist  in  the  soil. 

4.  By  the  process  of  washing  and  filtration, 
the  soil  is  separated  into  two  portions,  the  most 
important  of  which  is  generally  the  finely  di- 
vided matter.  A  minute  analysis  of  the  sand 
is  seldom  if  ever  necessary,  and  its  nature 
may  be  detected  in  the  same  manner  as  that 
of  the  stones  or  gravel.  It  is  always  either 
silicious  sand,  or  calcareous  sand,  or  a  mixture 
of  both.  If  it  consist  wholly  of  carbonate  of 
lime,  it  will  be  rapidly  soluble  in  muriatic 
acid,  with  effervescence ;  but  if  it  consist 
partly  of  this  substance,  and  partly  of  silicious 
matter,  the  respective  quantities  may  be  ascer- 
tained by  weighing  the  residuum  after  the  ac- 
tion of  the  acid,  which  must  be  applied  till  the 
mixture  has  acquired  a  sour  taste,  and  has 
ceased  to  effervesce.  This  residuum  is  the 
silicious  part ;  it  must  be  washed,  dried,  and 
heated  strongly  in  a  crucible:  the  difference 
between  the  weight  of  it,  and  the  weight  of  the 
whole  indicates  the  proportion  of  calcareous 
sand. 

5.  The  finely  divided  matter  of  the  soil  is 
usually  very  compound  in  its  nature ;  it  some 
times  contains  all  the  four  primitive  earths  or 
soils,  as  well  as  animal  and  vegetable  matter  • 
and  to  ascertain  the  proportions  of  these  with 
tolerable  accuracy  is  the  most  difficult  part  of 
the  subject. 

The  first  process  to  be  performed  in  this  part 
of  the  analysis,  is  the-  exposure  of  the  fine 
matter  of  the  soil  to  the  action  of  muriatic 
acid.  This  substance  should  be  poured  upon 
the  earthy  matter  in  an  evaporating  basin,  in  a 
quantity  equal  to  twice  the  weight  of  the  earthy 
matter,  but  diluted  with  double  its  volume  of 
water.  The  mixture  should  be  often  stirred  and 
suffered  to  remain  for  an  hour  or  an  hour  and  a 
half  before  it  is  examined.  If  any  carbonate 
of  lime,  or  of  magnesia,  exist  in  the  soil,  they 
will  have  been  dissolved  in  this  time  by  the 
acid,  which  sometimes  takes  up  likewase  a 
little  oxide  of  iron,  but  very  seldom  any  alu- 
mina. 

The  fluid  should  be  passed  through  a  filter, 
the  s-^'lid  matter  collected,  washed  with  rain- 
water, dried  at  a  moderate  heat,  and  weighed. 
Its  loss  will  denote  the  quantity  of  solid  matter 
taken  up.  The  washings  must  be  added  to 
the  solution,  which,  if  not  sour  to  the  taste, 
must  be  made  so,  by  the  addition  of  fresh  acid, 
when  a  little  solution  of  prussiate  of  potassa 
and  iron  must  be  mixed  with  the  whole.  If  a 
blue  precipitate  occurs,  it  denotes  the  presence 
of  oxide  of  iron,  and  the  solution  of  the  prus- 
siate must  be  dropped  in,  till  no  farther  effect 


^^    produced. 


ANALYSIS. 


produced.  To  ascertain  its  quantity,  it 
must  be  collected  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
solid  precipitates,  and  heated  red ;  the  result 
is  oxide  of  iron,  which  may  be  mixed  with  a 
little  oxide  of  manganese. 

Into  the  fluid  freed  from  oxide  of  iron  a 
solution  of  neutralized  carbonate  of  potash 
must  be  poured  till  all  effervescence  ceases  in 
it,  and  till  its  taste  and  smell  indicate  a  consi- 
derable excess  of  alkaline  salt.  The  precipi- 
tate that  falls  down  is  carbonate  of  lime :  it 
must  be  collected  on  the  filter,  and  dried  at  a 
heat  below  that  of  redness.  The  remaining 
fluid  must  be  boiled  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour, 
when  the  magnesia,  if  any  exist,  will  be  pre- 
cipitated from  it,  combined  with  carbonic 
acid,  and  its  quantity  is  to  be  ascertained  in 
the  same  manner  as  that  of  th^arbonate  of 
lime.  If  any  minute  proportion  of  alumina 
should,  from  peculiar  circumstances,  be  dis- 
solved by  the  acid,  it  will  be  found  in  the  pre- 
cipitate with  the  carbonate  of  lime  ;  and  it 
may  be  separated  from  it  by  boiling  it  for  a 
few  minutes  with  soap-lye,  suflicient  to  cover 
the  solid  matter:  this  substance  dissolves  alu- 
mina, without  acting  upon  carbonate  of  lime. 

Should  the  finely  divided  matter  be  sufti- 
ciently  calcareous  to  eflfervesce  very  strongly 
with  acids,  a  very  simple  method  may  be 
adopted  for  ascertaining  the  quantity  of  carbo- 
nate of  lime,  and  one  sufficiently  accurate  in 
ail  common  cases. 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  in  all  its  states 
contains  a  determinate  proportion  of  carbonic 
acid,  /.  e.  nearly  43  per  cent.;  so  that  when  the 
quantity  of  this  elastic  fluid  given  out  by 
any  soil  during  the  solution  of  its  calcareous 
matter  in  an  acid  is  known,  either  in  weight  or 
measure,  the  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime 
may  be  easily  discovered. 

When  the  process  by  diminution  of  weight 
is  employed,  two  parts  of  the  acid  and  one 
part  of  the  matter  of  the  soil  must  be  weighed 
in  two  separate  bottles,  and  very  slowly  mixed 
together  till  the  effervescence  ceases.  The 
difference  between  the  weight  before  and  after 
the  experiment  denotes  the  quantity  of  carbonic 
acid  lost:  for  every  4J  grains  of  which  10 
grains  of  carbonate  of  lime  must  be  estimated. 

6.  After  the  calcareous  parts  of  the  soil  have 
been  acted  upon  by  muriatic  acid,  the  next 
process  is  to  ascertain  the  quantity  of  finely 
divided  insoluble  animal  and  vegetable  matter 
that  it  contains.  This  may  be  done  with  suf- 
ficient precision,  by  strongly  igniting  it  in  a 
crucible  over  a  common  fire  till  no  blackness 
remains  in  the  mass.  It  should  be  often  stirred 
with  a  metallic  rod,  so  as  to  expose  new  sur- 
faces continually  to  the  air :  the  lo^s  of  weight 
that  it  undergoes  denotes  the  quantity  of  the 
substance  that  it  contains  destructible  by  fire 
and  air. 

It  is  not  possible  without  very  refined  and 
difficult  experiments,  to  ascertain  whether  this 
substance  is  wholly  animal  or  vegetable  mat- 
ter, or  a  mixture  of  both.  When  the  smell 
emitted  during  the  incineration  is  similar  to 
that  of  burnt  feathers,  it  is  a  certain  indication 
of  some  substance,  either  jinimal,  or  analo- 
gous to  animal  matter,  and  a  copious  blue 
fla^ae  at  the  time  of  ignition  almost  always  de- 


ANALYSIS. 

notes  a  considerable  proportion  of  vegetable 
matter.  In  cases  when  it  is  necessary  that  the 
experiment  should  be  very  quickly  performed, 
the  destruction  o/  the  decomposible  substances 
may  be  assisted  by  the  agency  of  nitrate  of 
ammonia,  which  at  the  time  of  ignition  may 
be  thrown  gradually  upon  the  heated  mass,  in 
the  quantity  of  20  grains  for  every  100  of 
residual  soil.  It  accelerates  the  dissipation  of 
the  animal  and  vegetable  matter,  which  it 
causes  to  be  converted  into  elastic  fluids,  and 
it  is  itself,  at  the  same  time,  decomposed  and 
lost. 

7.  The  substances  remaining  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  vegetable  and  animal  matter 
are  generally  minute  particles  of  earthy  matter 
containing  usually  alumina  and  silica,  with 
combined  oxide  of  iron  or  of  manganese.  To 
separate  these  from  each  other,  the  solid  mat- 
ter should  be  boiled  for  two  or  three  hours 
with  sulphuric  acid,  diluted  with  four  times 
its  weight  of  water ;  the  quantity  of  the  acid 
should  be  regulated  by  the  quantity  of  solid 
residuum  to  be  acted  on,  allowing  for  every 
100  grains  two  drachms,  or  120  grains  of 
acid. 

The  substance  remaining  after  the  action  of 
the  acid  may  be  considered  as  silicious,  and  it 
must  be  separated  and  its  weight  ascertained, 
after  washing  and  drying  in  the  usual  manner. 
The  alumina,  and  the  oxide  of  iron  and  man- 
ganese, if  any  exist,  are  all  dissolved  by  the 
sulphuric  acid :  they  may  be  separated  by 
succinate  of  ammonia  added  to  excess,  which 
throws  down  the  oxide  of  iron,  and  by  soap-lye, 
which  will  dissolve  the  alumina,  but  not  the 
oxide  of  manganese :  the  weights  of  the  ox- 
ides ascertained  after  they  have  been  heated  to 
redness  will  denote  their  quantities. 

Should  any  magnesia  and  lime  have  escaped 
solution  in  the  muriatic  acid,  they  will  be  found 
in  the  sulphuric  acid:  this,  however,  is  rarely 
the  case ;  but  the  process  for  detecting  them 
and  ascertaining  their  quantities  is  the  same  in 
both  instances.  The  method  of  analysis  by 
sulphuric  acid  is  sufiiciently  precise  for  all 
usual  experiments  ;  but  if  very  great  accuracy 
be  an  object,  dry  carbonate  of  potash  must  be 
applied  as  the  agent,  and  the  residuum  of  the 
incineration  (6.)  must  be  heated  red  for  half 
an  hour,  wdth  four  times  its  weight  of  this  sub- 
stance in  a  crucible  of  silver,  or  of  well  baked 
porcelain.  The  mass  obtained  must  be  dis- 
solved in  muriatic  acid,  and  the  solution  evapo- 
rated till  it  is  nearly  solid  ;  distilled  water  must 
then  be  added,  by  which  the  oxide  of  iron  and 
all  the  earths  except  silica  will  be  dissolved 
in  combination  as  muriates.  The  silica  after 
the  usual  process  of  lixiviation  must  be  heated 
red  :  the  other  substances  may  be  separated  in 
the  same  manner  as  from  the  muriatic  and 
sulphuric  solutions.  This  process  is  the  one 
usually  employed  by  chemical  philosophers 
for  the  analysis  of  stones. 

8.  If  any  saline  matter,  or  soluble  vegetable 
or  animal  matter,  is  suspected  in  the  soil,  i 
will  be  found  in  the  w^ater  of  lixiviation  used 
for  separating  the  sand.  This  w^ater  must  be 
evaporated  to  dryness  in  a  proper  dish,  at  a 
heat  below  its  boiling  point.  If  the  solid  matter 
obtained  is  of  a  brown  colour  and  inflamma 

H  85 


ANALYSIS. 

ble,  it  may  be  considered  as  partly  vegetable  ex- 
tract. If  its  smell  when  exposed  to  heat  be  like 
that  of  burnt  feathers,  it  contains  animal  or  albu- 
minous matter;  if  itbe  white, crystalline, and  not 
destructible  by  heat,  it  may  be  considered  prin- 
cipally as  saline  matter.  The  saline  compounds 
contained  in  soils  are  very  various.  The  sul- 
phuric acid  combined  with  potash  or  sulphate 
of  potash  is  one  of  the  most  usual.  Common 
salt  is  also  veiy  often  found  in  them  ;  likewise 
phosphate  of  lime,  which  is  insoluble  in  water, 
but  soluble  in  muriatic  acid.  Compounds  of 
the  nitric,  muriatic,  sulphuric,  and  phosphoric 
acids,  with  alkalies  and  earths,  exist  in  some 
soils.  The  salts  of  potash  are  distinguished 
from  those  of  soda  by  their  producing  a  pre- 
cipitate in  solutions  of  platina ;  those  of  lime 
are  characterized  by  the  cloudiness  they  occa- 
sion in  solutions  containing  oxalic  acid ;  those 
of  magnesia  by  being  rendered  cloudy  by  so- 
lutions of  ammonia.  Sulphuric  acid  is  detected 
in  salts  by  the  dense  white  precipitate  it  forms 
in  solutions  of  baryta ;  muriatic  acid,  by  the 
cloudiness  it  communicates  to  solution  of  nitrate 
of  silver ;  and  when  salts  contain  nitric  acid, 
they  produce  scintillations  by  being  thrown 
upon  burning  coals. 

9.  Should  sulphate  or  phosphate  of  lime  be 
suspected  in  the  entire  soil,  the  detection  of 
them  requires  a  particular  process  upon  it. 
A  given  weight  of  it,  for  instance,  400  grains, 
must  be  heated  red  for  half  an  hour  in  a  cruci- 
ble, mixed  with  one  third  of  powdered  char- 
coal. The  mixture  must  be  boiled  for  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  in  a  half  pint  of  water,  and  the 
fluid  collected  through  the  filtre  and  exposed 
for  some  days  to  the  atmosphere  in  an  open 
vessel.  If  any  notable  quantity  of  sulphate  of 
lime  (gypsum)  existed  in  the  soil,  a  white  pre- 
cipitate will  gradually  form  in  the  fluid,  and 
the  weight  of  it  will  indicate  the  proportion. 

Phosphate  of  lime,  if  any  exist,  may  be 
reparated  from  the  soil  after  the  process  for 
gypsum.  Muriatic  acid  must  be  digested  upon 
the  soil  in  quantity  more  than  sufficient  to  sa- 
turate the  soluble  earths  :  the  solution  must 
be  evaporated,  and  water  poured  upon  the 
solid  matter.  This  fluid  will  dissolve  the  com- 
pounds of  earths  with  the  muriatic  acid,  and 
leave  the  phosphate  of  lime  untouched.  It 
will  not  fall  within  the  limits  assigned  to  this 
article  to  detail  any  processes  for  the  detection 
of  substances  which  may  be  accidentally 
mixed  with  the  matters  of  soils.  Other  earths 
and  metallic  oxides  are  now  and  then  found  in 
them,  but  in  quantities  too  minute  to  bear  any 
relation  to  fertility  or  barrenness,  and  the 
search  for  them  would  make  the  analysis  much 
more  complicated,  without  rendering  it  more 
useful. 

10.  Where  the  examination  of  a  soil  is  com- 
pleted, the  products  should  be  numerically 
arranged  and  their  quantities  added  together, 
and  if  they  nearly  equal  the  original  quantity 
of  soil,  the  analysis  may  be  considered  as  ac- 
curate. It  must,  however,  be  noticed  that  when 
phosphate  or  sulphate  of  lime  are  discovered 
by  the  independent  process  just  described  (9), 
a  correction  mnst  be  made  for  the  general  pro- 
cess, by  subtracting  a  sum  equal  to  their 
weight  from  the  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime 

86 


ANALYSIS. 

obtained  by  precipitation  from  the  muriati« 
acid.  In  arranging  the  products  tlie  form 
should  be  in  the  order  of  the  experiments  by 
which  they  were  procured.  Thus  I  obtained 
from  400  grains  of  a  good  silicious  sandy  soil 
from  a  hop  garden  near  Tonbridge  Kent, — 

Oraina. 

Of  water  of  absorption  .        -        _        _        .    jg 

Of  loose  stones  and  gravel,  principally  ailicious         53 
Of  iindeconiposed  vegetable  fibres         -        -        -     14 
Of  fine  fiiiicious  sand      ------  218 

Of  minutely  divided  matter,  separated  by  agitation 
and  filtration,  and  consisting  of  Grain*. 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)        -        -     19 
Carbonate  of  maiEtnesia     -        -        -      3 
Matter  destructible  by  heat,  princi- 
pally vegetable       -        -        -        -    15 

Silica 21 

Alumina    ...       -        -        -    13 
Oxide  of  iron    -----      5 

Soluble  milter,  principally  common 

salt  and  vegetable  extract      .        -      3 
Gypsum     ------      2 

—        81 
Loss        -        -        -        -    21 

400 

The  loss  in  this  analysis  is  not  more  than 
usually  occurs,  and  it  depends  upon  the  im- 
possibility of  collecting  the  whole  quantities 
of  the  different  precipitates,  and  upon  the  pre- 
sence of  more  moisture  than  is  accounted  for 
in  the  water  of  absorption,  and  which  is  lost 
in  the  different  processes. 

When  the  experimenter  is  become  acquaint- 
ed with  the  use  of  the  different  instruments, 
the  properties  of  the  re-agents,  and  the  rela- 
tions between  the  external  and  chemical  quali- 
ties of  soils,  he  will  seldom  find  it  necessary  to 
perform,  in  any  one  case,  all  the  processes 
that  have  been  described.  When  his  soil,  for 
instance,  contains  no  notable  proportions  of 
calcareous  matter,  the  action  of  the  muriatic 
acid  (7.)  may  be  omitted.  In  examining  peat 
soils,  he  will  principally  have  to  attend  to  the 
operation  by  fire  and  air,  and  in  the  analysis 
of  chalks  and  loams,  he  will  often  be  able  to 
omit  the  experiment  by  sulphuric  acid  (9.). 

In  the  first  trials  that  are  made  (adds  Davy) 
by  persons  unacquainted  with  chemistry,  they 
must  not  expect  much  precision  of  result;  ma- 
ny difficulties  will  be  met  with ;  but,  in  over- 
coming them,  the  most  useful  kind  of  practical 
knowledge  will  be  obtained  ;  and  nothing  is  so 
instructive  in  experimental  science  as  the  de- 
tection of  mistakes.  The  correct  analyst 
ought  to  be  well  grounded  in  general  chemical 
information;  but  perhaps  there  is  no  bettei 
mode  of  gaining  it  than  that  of  attempting 
original  investigations.  In  pursuing  his  ex- 
periments, he  will  be  continually  obliged  to 
learn  the  properties  of  the  substances  he  is 
employing  or  acting  upon  ;  and  his  theoretical 
ideas  will  be  more  valuable  in  being  connected 
with  practical  operations,  and  acquired  for  the 
purpose  of  discovery. 

Such  were  the  excellent  rules  for  analysis 
prescribed  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy.  With  the 
still  more  simple  directions  of  the  Rev.  W. 
Rham,  I  shall  conclude  this  paper. 

A  portion  of  the  earth  to  be  analysed  may 
be  dried  in  the  sun  or  near  a  fire  until  it  feels 
quite  dry  in  the  Hand.  It  is  then  rerluced  to 
powder  by  the  fingers,  or  by  rolling  it  on  a 
deal  board  with  a  wooden  roller,  so  as  to  sepa- 


IT 

rate  ine  partici 


ANALYSIS. 


le  particles,  but  not  to  grind  them  :  any  ' 
small  stones  above  the  size  of  a  pea  must  be  j 
laken  out.  If  these  form  a  considerable  part 
of  the  soil,  their  proportion  must  be  ascertained  | 
by  weight;  their  nature  and  quality  may  be  j 
afterwards  examined :  this  being  a  very  simple 
operation,  and  obvious  to  the  sight,  need  not 
be  described.  Where  the  stones  and  pebbles 
are  evidently  accidental,  they  may  be  over- 
looked, as  having  little  influence  on  the  ferti- 
lity :  the  dry  earth,  cleared  from  stones,  should 
be  accurately  weighed ;  and  it  is  convenient  to 
take  some  determined  quantity  of  grains,  as 
1000,  500,  or  250,  according  to  the  accuracy 
of  the  instruments  at  hand.  This  portion 
should  be  put  into  a  shallow  earthen  or  metal 
vessel,  and  heated  over  the  fire,  or  a  lamp,  for 
about  ten  minutes,  stirring  it  with  a  chip  of 
dry  wood ;  the  heat  should  not  be  so  great  as 
to  discolour  the  wood.  It  may  then  be  allowed 
to  cool,  and  be  weighed  again ;  the  loss  of 
weight  indicates  the  water  which  remained 
uncombined  after  the  soil  appeared  quite  dry. 
This  is  the  first  thing  to  be  noted.  The  power 
of  retaining  water  without  any  external  appear- 
ance of  moisture  is  greatest  in  humus  (a  mo- 
dern term  for  very  finely  divided  organic 
matter),  next  in  clay,  both  of  which  readily 
absorb  it  from  the  atmosphere;  carbonate  of 
lime  does  so  in  a  less  degree,  and  silicious 
sand  least  of  all.  This  moisture  occupies  the 
pores  of  the  soil,  and  is  very  different  from  the 
water,  which  is  combined  with  clay  as  a  part 
of  its  substance,  and  to  which  it  owes  its 
ductility ;  for  when  this  last  is  expelled  by  a 
great  heat,  the  clay  loses  its  quality,  and  ap- 
proaches to  the  nature  of  sand.  Pounded  brick 
will  not  bind  with  water,  and  porcelain  reduced 
to  fine  powder  has  all  the  properties  of  silicious 
sand  in  the  soil.  The  finer  the  division  of  the 
particles  of  the  soil,  the  greater  will  be  its 
power  of  absorbing  and  retaining  water ;  but 
in  a  soil  where  clay  greatly  predominates,  the 
lumps  sometimes  become  so  hard  and  baked 
by  tne  sun  that  the  moisture  cannot  penetrate ; 
and  in  this  case  the  power  of  absorption  is 
much  diminished.  Hence  loams  in  which 
there  is  a  good  proportion  of  humus  have  a 
greater  power  of  absorption  than  the  pure 
earths.  Taking  all  circumstances  into  consi- 
deration, it  will  be  found  that  the  soils  w^hich 
most  readily  absorb  moisture  are  also  the  most 
fertile,  and  therefore  it  is  important  to  ascer- 
tain their  power  of  absorption.  This  can  be 
found  by  comparison.  Equal  portions  of  dif- 
ferent soils,  dried  as  before,  are  placed  in  the 
opposite  scales  of  a  good  balance,  and  left  ex- 
posed for  some  time  to  a  moist  atmosphere ; 
that  which  preponderates  has  the  greatest 
power  of  absorption ;  the  degree  is  measured 
by  the  difference  of  the  acquired  weights. 
Another  important  circumstance  is  the  specific 
gravity  of  a  soil.  The  different  earths  have 
very  different  specific  gravities;  and  humus 
being  lighter  than  any  mineral  earth,  the 
lightness  of  the  soil  is  a  sure  indication  of  its 
richness,  excepting  where  this  lightness  is 
occasioned  by  an  excess  of  undecomposed 
vegetable  matter,  or  peat.  Humus,  when 
nearly  pure,  has  specific  gravity  varying  from 
1-2  to  1*5;  fine  porcelain  clay,  2;  chalk,  about 


ANALYSIS. 

2-3;  silicious  sand  from  2-5  to  2*7;  mixe«| 
soils  have  specific  gravidas  varying  according 
to  the  proportions  of  their  component  parts'. 
Those  in  which  clay,  chalk,  and  humus  abound, 
and  which  are  generally  the  most  fertile,  are 
the  lightest.  The  sandy  soils  are  heavier,  and 
the  more  so  if  they  contain  oxides  of  iron,  or 
of  other  metals ;  and  it  is  well  known  that  the 
ferruginous  sands  are  the  most  barren.  The 
common  expression  oUighf,  when  applied  to  a 
sandy  soil,  has  no  reference  to  its  specific  gra- 
vity, but  merely  to  the  force  required  to  plough 
it.  No  carrier  would  say  that  a  loose  sandy 
road  was  a  light  one.  The  easiest  and  readiest 
method  of  determining  the  specific  gravity  of 
earth,  or  any  substance  which  is  of  a  loose 
texture,  is  that  described  by  Dr.  Ure  in  his 
Philosophy  of  Manufactures  (p.  97),  as  employed 
by  him  to  ascertain  the  specific  gravities  of 
cotton,  wool,  silk  and  flax.  It  is  as  follows : — 
Take  a  narrow-necked  phial,  capable  of  hold- 
ing four  or  five  ounces  of  water;  mark  a  line 
round  the  middle  of  the  neck  with  the  point  of 
a  diamond,  oi;  a  file ;  fill  the  phial  up  to  the 
mark  with  river  or  rain  water,  and  poise  it 
with  sand,  or  any  other  substance,  in  a  scale  ; 
then  put  1000  grains*  weight  in  the  same 
scale  with  the  phial,  and  pour  out  water  till 
the  equilibrium  is  restored.  In  the  vacant 
space,  which  is  evidently  equal  to  the  bulk  of 
1000  grains  of  w^ater,  introduce  the  soil  till  the 
water  rises  to  the  mark  in  the  neck ;  then  put 
into  the  opposite  scale  grain  weights  suflftcient 
to  restore  the  equilibrium.  The  number  of 
grains  required  for  this  purpose  will  denote 
the  specific  gravity  of  the  soil  compared  to 
water  as  1000.  Suppose,  for  example,  that 
silicious  sand,  which  is  2*7  times  denser  than 
water,  is  poured  into  the  vacant  space,  it  will 
require  2-700  grains  to  fill  the  space  occupied 
by  the  1000  grains  of  water ;  and  thus  we  have 
the  specific  gravity  without  any  calculation. 
If,  instead  of  1000  grains,  we  use  only  500,  or 
250,  the  result  will  be  the  same,  if  we  multiply 
the  grains  in  the  other  scale  by  2  or  4. 

We  will  give  a  few  examples  of  soils,  of 
which  the  specific  gravity  has  been  carefully 
determined. 

A  rich  garden  soil,  which  contained,  per 
cent., — 

Clay       .... 

Silicious  sand 

Calcareous  sand    - 

Carbonate  of  lime 

Humus  .        -        - 

had  a  specific  gravity  of  2-332. 
A  good  loam,  consisting  of — 

Clay 

Silicious  sand 

Calcareous  sand    - 

Carbonate  of  lime  - 

Humus 
had  a  specific  gravity  of  2-401. 

A  poorer  soil,  of  which  the  component  yarts 
were, — 


52-4 

36-5 

1-8 

20 

7-3 


-  51  •« 

-  427 

-  0-4 

-  2-3 
.  3-4 


Silicious  sand 
Clay 

Calcareous  sand 
Carbonate  of  lime  - 
Humus 


640 

323 

1-2 

1-2 

IS 


had  a  specific  gravity  of  2-526. 

These  examples  suffice  to  show  that  the  spe- 
cific gravity  of  a  soil  is  some  tolerable  ind.^a- 

87 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


tion  of  its  fertility.  It  cannot,  however,  be 
emirely  relied  upon  in  the  absence  of  other 
proofs ;  for  there  may  be  many  different  mix- 
tures of  earths  which  will  have  the  same  spe- 
cific gravity,  although  they  may  differ  greatly 
in  their  fertility ;  bu.  H  will  facilitate  the 
analysis,  and  often  detect  "nistakes  in  the  pro- 
cess, if  the  result  does  not  aurord  with  the  sne- 
cific  gravity  found.  We  proceed  now  to  the 
analysis.  The  portion  of  soil  which  has  been 
deprived  of  all  its  water,  as  described  above, 
must  be  sifted  through  metallic  sieves  of  dif- 
ferent fineness;  the  first  is  made  of  a  perforated 
tin  plate,  the  holes  of  which  are  about  one- 
twentieth  of  an  inch  in  diameter :  whatever 
does  not  go  through  this  is  put  by.  The  re- 
mainder is  successively  passed  through  two  or 
three  more  sieves,  increasing  in  fineness  to  the 
last ;  which  is  of  the  finest  wire-cloth,  having 
from  150  to  170  threads  in  an  inch:  whatever 
passes  through  this  is  an  impalpable  powder. 
Thus  we  have  already  a  division  of  the  soil, 
according  to  the  size  of  its  particles : — 1,  the 
coarse  grit  left  in  the  first  sieve ;  2,  the  finer 
grit  in  No.  2 ;  3,  fine  sand  in  No.  3  ;  and  4,  im- 
palpable powder,  which  has  passed  through 
the  last  sieve.  To  facilitate  this  part  of  the 
operation,  the  sieves  may  be  made  so  as  to  fit 
into  one  another,  like  the  filterers  in  a  coffee- 
biggin,  the  last  fitting  into  a  tin  pot  which  will 
hold  about  a  pint  of  water ;  a  cover  being 
made  to  fit  on  the  top  sieve,  the  instrument  is 
complete.  (See  fig.)  Thus,  all 
the  sifting  may  be  done  at 
once  without  any  loss.  Any 
lumps    which    are    not    tho- 

1  roughly  pulverized  must  be 
broken.  The  coarser  sand 
left  in  the  sieve.  No.  I,  must 

2  now  be  washed  with  pure 
water,  to  detach  any  fine  dust 
adhering    to   it ;    what    runs 

3  through  may  be  used  to  wash 
No.  2,  in  the  same  manner; 
and  then  may  pass  through 
No.  3  to  the  impalpable  mat- 
ter which  passed  through  all 

4  the  sieves.  A  sutficient  quan- 
tity of  water  must  be  used  to 

render  the  whole  of  this  last  nearly  fluid. 
There  will  then  be  three  different  portions  of 
the  washed  soil  left  in  the  sieves,  and  a  por- 
tion of  impalpable  matter  diffused  through  the 
water  in  the  lower  division  of  the  instrument. 
This  last  is  the  principal  object  of  analysis, 
and  that  to  which  Sir  Humphry  Davy  usually 
confined  his  attention,  merely  noticing  the  pro- 
portion of  coarser  sand  in  the  soil.  It  contains, 
no  doubt,  the  great  principle  of  fertility  and 
nutrition ;  and  the  effect  of  the  coarser  parts 
may  be  considered  as  chiefly  mechanical ;  but 
they  may  much  affect  the  fertility  of  the  finer 
parts,  and  are  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
the  scKi  in  which  they  are  blended:  they  con- 
sequently deserve  a  more  minute  examination, 
to  which  we  will  return. 

In  the  mean  time,  our  attention  shall  be  di- 
lected  to  the  composition  of  the  finer  earth  in 
No.  4,  which  is  mixed  with  water  in  a  semi- 
fluid state.    This  is  well  shaken,  and  suddenly 
88 


poured  into  a  deep  glass  vessel,  and  allowed 
to  settle  for  a  few  minutes,  when  the  heavier 
earth,  which  is  sand,  will  be  deposited,  and  the 
lighter  may  be  poured  off  suspended  in  the 
water.  It  requires  some  little  practice  to  effect 
this  at  once,  but  a  few  trials  will  soon  enable 
any  one  to  do  it.  This  operation  may  be  re- 
peated until  all  sand,  of  which  the  particles 
are  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  is  separated.  The 
earth  and  water  decanted  out  of  this  last  vessel 
are  now  poured  into  a  glass  tube,  eighteen 
inches  long.  No.  1,  the  bore  of  which  is  less 
than  an  inch  ;  one  end  is  stopped  with  a  cork 
fitted  into  it,  and  the  other  has  a  small  lip  for 
the  convenience  of  pouring  out  the  contents. 
In  a  short  time,  there  will  be  a  further  deposi- 
tion of  earth,  which  will  be  principally  alu- 
mina. What  remains  suspended  in  the  water 
over  it  is  gently  poured  off  into  another  similar 
tube  (No.  2) ;  this  will  contain  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  humus,  which  will  take  some 
hours  to  be  deposited  in  the  form  of  a  fine 
brown  mud.  The  contents  of  the  tube  No.  1 
may  now  have  a  little  more  water  added  to 
them:  after  being  well  shaken,  the  tube  may 
be  set  upright,  and  left  for  half  an  hour  to 
settle :  what  remains  suspended  in  the  water 
after  this,  must  be  added  to  the  humus  in  the 
tube  No.  2.  After  some  time,  this  will  also  be 
deposited,  and  the  clear  water  may  be  decanted 
off.  The  mud  which  remains  is  put  on  filtering 
paper  in  a  glass  funnel;  and  when  all  the 
water  has  drained  from  it,  it  is  dried  over  the 
fire,  and  weighed. 

This  is  the  most  important  portion  of  the 
soil.  The  fine  earths  deposited  in  the  tube 
No.  1  will  consist  of  very  fine  particles  of 
sand,  clay,  and  perhaps  carbonate  of  lime. 
The  sand  will  appear  deposited  in  the  bottom 
of  the  tube.  The  clay  may  be  easily  diffused 
in  the  water  above  it,  by  stirring  it  carefully 
with  a  small  rod,  without  reaching  the  sand.  It 
may  then  be  decanted  with  the  water  into 
another  tube  (No.  3),  and  allowed  to  settle. 
This  part  of  the  operation  may  be  carried  to 
much  perfection  by  great  care,  and  by  examin- 
ing the  results  occasionally  with  a  small  mi- 
croscope; but  for  all  common  practical  pur- 
poses it  is  sufficient  to  separate  the  vegetable 
earth  from  the  mineral,  and  the  particles  of 
sand  from  the  finer.  The  contents  of  No.  1 
having  been  collected,  as  well  as  those  of 
No.  3,  are  dried  over  the  fire,  and  accurately 
weighed.  The  same  is  done  with  the  earth 
which  remains  on  the  sieves.  All  the  water 
in  which  the  earths  have  been  diffused  and 
washed  is  collected  and  passed  through  filter- 
ing paper,  and  then  set  over  the  fire  in  a  com- 
mon saucepan.  It  is  boiled  away  gently,  until 
it  is  reduced  to  a  small  portion,  which  begins 
to  look  turbid.  The  complete  evaporation  is 
finished  in  an  evaporating  dish  as  slowly  as 
possible ;  and  the  residue  is  the  soluble  matter 
contained  in  the  soil.  It  will  be  sufficient  to 
dry  and  weigh  this,  as  its  further  analysis 
would  require  more  skill  and  chemical  know- 
ledge than  we  suppose  in  the  operation.  Salts 
may  be  detected  by  the  taste,  or  by  the  crystals 
formed  in  the  evaporation ;  but  unless  there  is 
a  decided  saline  taste,  the  whole  may  be  consi 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


•red  as  soluble  humus,  and  the  immediate 
fertility  of  the  soil  depends  greatly  on  the 
quantity  of  it. 

To  recapitulate  what  has  been  obtained, 
we  shall  have  the  coarse  grit  in  sieve  No.  1 ; 
the  sand  in  Nos.  2  and  3;  the  fine  earth 
separated  in  the  tubes,  Nos.  1  and  3;  the 
hunms  in  tube  No.  2,  and  on  the  filtering 
paper,  and  on  the  soluble  parts  in  the  evapo- 
rating dish.  All  these  substances  must  be 
well  dried  over  the  fire,  as  was  done  with  the 
soil  at  first,  and  each  separated  part  accurate- 
ly weighed:  the  sum  of  them  ought  to  be 
equal  to  the  original  portion  of  soil  subjected 
to  analysis  after  the  water  was  drawn  off';  but 
there  always  is  a  loss,  even  with  the  most  ex- 
perienced analyser;  this  loss  will  be  princi- 
pally in  the  finer  parts  which  are  dissipated  in 
the  operation.  But  the  analysis  is  not  yet 
completed :  we  have  separated  the  sand,  clay, 
and  humus,  but  there  may  be  a  portion  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  in  the  form  of  sand,  or  of  finely 
divided  earth  mixed  with  the  other  earths.  To 
ascertain  this,  each  portion,  excepting  the  hu- 
mus, is  put  into  a  separate  cup,  and  a  little 
muriatic  acid,  diluted  with  four  times  its  own 
weiglit  of  water,  is  poured  on  it :  if  there  is 
any  eff'ervescence,  it  shows  the  presence  of 
carbonate  of  lime  ;  diluted  acid  is  then  added 
gradually,  as  long  as  the  eflfen-escence  is  re- 
newed by  the  addition.  When  this  ceases, 
and  the  water  continues  to  have  an  acid  taste, 
more  pure  water  is  added,  and  each  portion 
separately  filtered,  dried,  and  weighed.  The 
loss  of  weight  in  each  of  these  gives  the  quan- 
tities of  carbonate  of  lime  dissolved  by  the 
muriatic  acid,  and  which  has  passed  with  the 
water  in  the  form  of  muriate  of  lime.  The 
different  weights  being  now  collected,  the  re- 
sult of  the  operations  may  be  set  down.  There 
may  be  many  mineral  substances  in  the  soil, 
which  this  mode  of  analysing  will  not  detect ; 
and  s(>nie  of  these  may  materially  affect  the 
fertility.  In  most  cases  there  will  be  some- 
thing to  indicate  the  presence  of  metals.  Iron 
abounds  in  most  soils :  when  the  quantity  is 
considerable,  it  will  be  detected  by  pouring  a 
decoction  of  gall-nuts  into  the  water  which 
has  washed  the  earth;  it  will  immediately  be- 
come of  a  bluish  dark  colour.  The  other  me- 
tals are  not  of  frequent  occurrence.  Sulphate 
of  lime  or  gypsum,  and  also  magnesia,  are 
found  in  some  soils;  but  the  separation  of 
them  can  only  be  effected  by  those  who  are 
well  acquainted  with  chemistry-:  they  fortu- 
nately occur  very  seldom,  and  the  places 
where  they  are  found  are  generally  well 
known.  For  all  practical  purposes  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  ascertain  the  proportion  of  sand, 
clays,  carbonate  of  lime,  and  humus,  which 
any  soil  contains.  Many  soils  which  have 
been  highly  manured,  contain  portions  of  un- 
decomposed  vegetable  substances,  and  fibres 
of  roots :  these  will  be  found  mixed  with  the 
coarser  earths  separated  by  the  sifting:  not 
being  a  part  of  the  natural  soil,  they  need  not 
be  taken  into  the  account ;  but  they  may  be 
separated  by  washing  the  earths,  as  they  are 
much  lighter,  and  will  come  over  in  the  first 
decantations  They  mav  be  dred  and  weighed, 
l3 


I  and  the  quantity  set  down  in  the  result,  if  it  ig 
j  desirable.  Some  very  barren  sands,  contain- 
!  ing  very  little  argillaceous  earth  or  humus, 
may  readily  be  known  by  the  copious  sandy 
deposit  which  they  rapidly  make  when  dif- 
fused through  water.  Good  natural  loams  are 
not  so  easily  judged  of;  but  the  preceding 
mode  of  analysis  will  in  general  detect  their 
intrinsic  value.  When  a  soil  contains  peaty 
matter,  it  is  easily  discovered  by  the  irregular 
black  particles  which  are  visible  in  it.  Peat 
differs  from  humus  only  in  being  in  a  different 
state  of  decomposition,  and  containing  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  tannin  :  when  acted  upon 
by  lime  or  alkalies,  and  brought  into  a  state 
of  greater  decomposition,  it  is  not  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  humus  in  its  qualities.  The 
only  instruments  absolutely  required  for  the 
foregoing  analysis  are,  in  the  first  place,  twc 
good  balances,  one  capable  of  weighing  a 
pound  and  turning  with  a  grain,  and  one 
weighing  two  ounces  and  turning  with  the 
tenth  part  of  a  grain.  Next,  the  combination 
of  sieves  which  we  have  described,  and  which 
may  easily  be  made  by  any  tinsmith.  But  any 
sieves  of  the  required  fineness,  whether  of 
metal,  horse-hair,  or  silk,  provided  thsy  be  of 
the  proper  texture,  will  answer  the  purpose 
for  a  trial.  Some  earthen  or  glass  jugs,  and 
two  or  three  glass  tubes,  18  inches  long,  open 
at  both  ends,  which  may  be  obtained  at  any 
glass-blower's  or  chemist's,  a  glass  funnel, 
and  some  filtering  paper,  M'ill  complete  the 
apparatus.  The  only  chemical  substance  in- 
dispensable to  the  analysis  is  some  muriatic 
acid,  commonly  called  spirit  of  salt.  A  little 
test-paper  to  detect  acids  in  the  water  with 
which  the  soil  has  been  washed,  and  an  infu- 
sion of  gall-nuts  to  ascertain  the  presence  of 
iron,  may  be  useful.  A  small  glass  phial  will 
serve  for  the  specific  gravities.  The  whole 
of  these  instruments  and  materials  may  be 
procured  for  a  very  small  sum.  If  the  fore- 
going process  is  carefully  followed,  any  per- 
son, however  unaccustomed  to  chemical  ope- 
rations, will  soon  be  enabled  to  satisfy  him- 
self as  to  the  composition  of  any  soil  of  which 
he  desires  to  know  the  comparative  value.  He 
must  not  be  disheartened  by  a  few  failures  at 
first.  However  simple  every  operation  may 
appear,  it  requires  a  little  practice  and  much 
patience,  if  we  would  come  to  a  very  accurate 
result.  Every  portion  must  be  dried  to  the 
same  degree  before  it  is  weighed :  minute  por- 
tions  which  adhere  to  the  vessels  when  dried 
must  be  carefully  collected  by  scraping  and 
brushing  off  with  a  feather :  pieces  of  filtering- 
paper  and  linen  must  be  weighed  before  they 
are  used,  that  small  portions  of  matter  adher- 
ing  to  them  may  be  ascertained  by  the  in- 
crease of  weight.  By  attending  to  these  par- 
ticulars, it  is  surprising  how  nearly  the  whoie 
original  weight  is  accounted  for  in  the  sum- 
ming up  of  the  separate  parts.  If  this  mecha- 
nical analysis  should  be  thought  lightly  of  by 
experienced  chemists,  let  them  only  carefully 
analvse  a  portion  of  soil  by  this  process,  and 
then  another  by  any  more  perfect  mode,  and 
compare  the  importance  of  the  results  as  re- 
gards practical  agriculture.  The  object  is  to 
H  2  8^ 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


ascertain  the  productive  powers  of  the  soils ; 
and  for  this  purpose  the  separation  of  the  dif- 
ferent earths  is  sufficient,  in  the  present  im- 
perfect state  of  our  knowledge  of  the  mysteries 
of  vegetation.  The  process  which  we  have 
described,  simple  as  it  is,  may  yet  be  too  te- 
dious for  the  farmer  who  is  desirous  of  speedily 
comparing  different  soils;  and  we  will  indicate 
a  still  simpler  method  of  ascertaining,  neaiiy, 
the  composition  of  a  soil,  and  a  simple  instru- 
ment by  which  it  may  be  done.  Take  a  glass 
tube,  ^ths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  three 
feet  long;  fit  a  cork  into  one  end  and  set  it 
upright;  fill  it  half  full  of  pure  water;  take 
nearly  as  much  water  as  has  been  poured  into 
the  tube,  and  mix  with  it  the  portion  of  soil 
which  is  to  be  examined,  in  quantity  not  more 
than  will  occupy  6  inches  of  the  tube ;  pour 
the  mixture  rapidly  into  the  tube,  and  let  it 
stand  in  a  corner  of  a  room,  or  supported 
upright  in  any  way ;  in  half  an  hour  it  may 
be  examined.  The  earths  will  have  been  de- 
posited according  to  the  size  and  specific  gra- 
vity of  their  particles.  The  portion  still  sus- 
pended in  the  water  may  be  allowed  to  settle ; 
and  there  will  appear  in  the  tube  layers  of 
sand,  clay,  and  humus,  which  may  be  mea- 
sured by  a  scale,  and  thus  the  proportion 
nearly  ascertained.  When  a  farmer  is  about 
to  hire  a  farm  of  which  the  quality  is  not  well 
known  to  him,  he  may  be  much  assisted  in  his 
judgment  by  this  simple  experiment,  if  he  has 
no  time  or  opportunity  for  a  more  accurate 
analysis.  For  the  glass  tube  may  be  substituted 
one  of  tin  or  zinc  two  feet  in  length,  with  a 
piece  of  glass  tube  a  foot  long  joined  to  it  by 
means  of  a  brass  collar  or  ferule  with  a  screw 
cut  in  it,  which  is  cemented  to  the  glass,  and 
screws  on  the  metal  tube;  and  thus  the  instru- 
ment may  be  made  more  portable.  When  the 
water  has  been  poured  oflT,  and  the  earths 
only  remain,  the  cork  may  be  taken  out  and 
the  contents  pushed  out  on  a  plate,  by  means 
of  a  rod  and  a  plug  which  exactly  fits  the  inter- 
nal diameter  of  the  tube.  They  may  thus  be 
more  particularly  examined.  The  result  of 
various  accurate  analyses  of  soils  shows  that 
the  most  fertile  are  composed  of  nearly  equal 
quantities  of  silicious  and  argillaceous  earths 
in  various  states  of  division,  and  a  certain 
proportion  of  calcareous  earth,  and  of  humus 
in  that  state  in  which  it  attracts  oxygen  and 
becomes  soluble,  giving  out  at  the  same  time 
some  carbonic  acid.  No  chemist  has  yet  been 
able  to  imitate  the  process  of  nature  in  the 
formation  of  this  substance ;  and  the  circum- 
stances which  are  most  favourable  to  it  are 
not  yet  fully  ascertained.  Here  is  the  proper 
field  for  the  application  of  science  and  accu- 
rate chemical  analysis.  As  an  example  of  an 
ana'ysis  will  be  useful  to  those  who  may  ae- 
sirc  to  try  the  proposed  method,  we  will  add 
one  actually  made  under  very  unfavourable 
circumstances,  and  without  any  apparatus ; 
the  onlv  instrument  at  hand  were  scales  and 
weights  of  tolerable  accuracy,  three  glasses  a 
foot  long,  and  1^  inch  in  diameter,  belonging 
to  French  lamps,  a  tin  coffee-strainer,  a  piece 
of  fine  gauze,  and  a  very  fine  cambric  pocket- 
iaandkerchief.  A  little  muriatic  acid  was  ob- 
90 


I  tained  at  the  apothecary's.  The  soil  to  be 
]  analyzed  was  taken  from  a  piece  of  good 
arable  land  on  the  south  side  of  the  slope  of 
j  the  Jura  mountains  in  Switzerland.  Its  spe» 
I  cific  gravity  was  taken  as  described  before, 
[  and  found  to  be  2-358  nearly.  500  grains  of 
I  the  dry  soil  were  stirred  in  a  pint  of  water, 
and  set  by  in  a  basin.  To  save  time,  500 
'  grains  more  of  the  same  soil  were  weighed, 
;  after  having  been  dried  over  the  fire.  It  was 
well  pulverized  with  the  fingers,  and  sifted 
,  through  the  coffee-strainer,  then  through  gauze, 
and,  lastly,  through  the  cambric  handkerchief. 
'  Some  portion  was  left  behind  at  each  sifting. 
I  The  two  first  portions  were  washed  in  the 
strainer  and  the  gauze.  The  residue  was  sand 
of  two  different  degrees  of  fineness,  which, 
when  dried,  weighed,  the  coarser,  24  grains, 
the  next,  20  grains.  The  earth  and  water 
which  had  passed  through  the  strainer  and 
the  gauze  were  now  strained  through  the  cam- 
bric, and  left  some  very  fine  sand  behind, 
which,  dried,  weighed,  and  added  to  what  had 
remained  on  the  cambric,  when  sifted  in  a  dry 
state,  weighed  180  grains.  All  that  which  had 
gone  through  the  cambric  was  mixed  with 
water  in  a  jug  and  stirred  about.  The  heavier 
earth  subsided,  and  the  lighter  was  poured  in 
one  of  the  lamp-glasses,  which  had  a  cork 
fitted  into  it,  and  was  placed  upright.  In 
about  two  minutes  there  was  a  deposit,  and 
the  lighter  portion  was  poured  into  a  similar 
glass,  where  it  was  left  some  time  to  settle. 
In  this  a  slower  deposition  took  place,  and  in 
about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  muddy  water 
was  poured  oflTinto  the  third  glass.  The  three 
glasses  were  placed  upright,  and  left  so  till  the 
next  day.  In  the  first  glass  was  some  very 
fine  earth,  apparently  clay;  in  the  second  the 
same,  but  more  muddy;  and  in  the  third  no- 
thing but  thin  mud.  The  contents  of  No.  3 
were  divided  between  No.  1  and  No.  3,  by 
pouring  off  the  muddy  part  into  No.  i3  after 
some  of  the  pure  water  had  been  poured  oflf, 
and  the  remaining  earth  into  No.  1 ;  they  were 
then  left  to  settle.  As  much  water  as  appeared 
quite  clear  over  the  sediment  was  decanted  off. 
The  sediment  was  poured  on  a  plate  by  taking 
the  cork  out  of  the  tube,  which  was  cleaned 
with  a  piece  of  fine  linen,  which  had  been 
carefully  dried  and  accurately  weighed.  The 
plates  were  examined,  and  some  of  the  lighter 
part,  which  floated  on  the  least  agitation,  was 
poured  from  one  plate  to  another,  until  it  was 
thought  that  all  the  humus  had  been  separated. 
Most  of  the  water  could  now  be  poured  off  the 
earths,  by  inclining  the  plates  gently,  without 
any  muddiness.  It  was,  however,  passed 
through  a  piece  of  filtering-paper,  which  haa 
been  previously  dried  and  weighed.  The 
earth  was  slowly  dried,  by  placing  the  plates 
on  the  hearth  before  a  good  fire,  until  they 
were  quite  dry,  and  so  hot  that  they  could  not 
be  easily  held  in  the  hand.  The  deposit  left 
in  the  jug  was  poured  on  a  plate,  and  a  little 
muddy  part,  which  was  observed,  was  poured 
ofl' with  the  water  on  another.  This  was  again 
transferred,  and  the  finer  added  to  that  which 
was  in  the  second  plate.  Collecting  now  all 
the  separate  portions,  there  were  found 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS 


Gra'iM 

Of  coarse  sand      -.--_.  24 

Finer  sand               ------  20 

Very  fine  sand        ---...  iso 

Clay  deposited  in  the  jug,  and  first  plate  dried  240 

Deposit  in  the  second  plate             .        .        ^  24 

—  on  the  filtering  paper         .        .        .  i^ 

—  on  the  linen  rag         -        -        -        .  o^ 


Leaving  10  grains  to  be  accounted  for. 

Each  portion,  except  the  three  last,  was  now 
put  into  a  cup,  and  diluted  muriatic  acid 
poured  over  them :  an  effervescence  appeared 
in  ail  of  them,  which  continued  on  the  audition 
of  diluted  acid,  and  when  the  contents  of  the 
cups  were  stirred  with  a  piece  of  tobacco-pipe 
They  were  left  till  the  next  day,  when  all  effer- 
vescence ceased,  and  the  calcareous  part 
seemed  entirely  dissolved :  pure  water  was 
added  to  dissolve  all  the  muriate  of  lime  which 
had  been  formed.  After  some  time,  the  clear 
liquor  was  poured  off,  and  the  remainder  was 
strained  through  filtering-paper,  and  dried  on 
plates  before  the  fire.  The  earths  were  now 
found  to  weigh,  respectively,  20,  17,  162,  and 
182-5  grains,  having  lost  4,  3,  18,  and  57'.'> 
grains  of  calcareous  earth  dissolved  by  the 
acid.  The  soil  and  water  which  had  been  put 
by  in  a  basin  were  now  repeatedly  stirred,  and 
poured  into  a  filter,  and  more  water  was  passed 
through  the  earth  to  wash  out  all  the  soluble 
matter:  all  the  water  was  boiled  down  and 
evaporated,  and  left  two  grains  of  a  substance 
which  had  the  appearance  of  a  gum  with  a 
little  lime  in  it.  Thus  the  loss  was  reduced 
to  eight  grains,  a  very  small  quantity,  consi- 
dering the  means  used  in  analyzing  the  soil. 
The  corrected  account,  therefore,  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 


Silicious 


Calcareous 
sand. 

Impalpable 
earth. 


Specific  gravity,  2358. 

C  Coarse 

-J  Finer   -        -        . 
(.Very  fine     - 
r  Coarse 
^  Finer 
(.Very  fine     - 
relay     -        -        . 
<  Carb.  of  lime 
(^Hiinius 
Soluble  matter 
Loss         ... 


GraiM. 
199 


17  I 
62  i 


3V  25 


182-5 
57-5 


Or,  in  round  numbers, —  500 

40  per  cent.  Sand.  ■ • 

36        —        Clay. 
17        —        Calcareous  earth. 
5'5     —        Vegetable  earth,  or  humus. 
0-5     —        Soluble  matter. 

From  the  composition  of  this  soil,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  it  is  a  most  excellent  loam,  capable 
of  producing  with  good  tillage  and  regular 
manuring  every  kind  of  grain,  artificial 
grasses,  and  roots  commonly  cultivated.  The 
field  from  which  the  soil  was  taken  was 
always  considered  to  be  of  superior  quality. 
This  simple  rule  will  suffice  to  enable  any  one 
to  analyze  any  soil  of  which  he  desires  to  know 
the  component  parts,  so  far  as  they  affect  the 
general  fertility.  To  ascertain  minute  por- 
tions of  salts  or  metals,  or  any  peculiar  im- 
pregnation of  the  waters,  must  be  left  to 
practical  chemists.  To  those  who  may  be  in- 
clined to  try  the  analysis  of  soils,  it  may  be 
interesting  to  compare  the  results  of  their  own 
experiments  with  some  which  have  been  ob- 
tained with  great  care.  Thaer  in  his  very  ex- 
cellent work  on  Rational  Husbandry,  •wviHen  in 
German  and  translated  into  French,  has  given 
a  table  in  which  different  soils  analyzed  by 
him  are  classed  according  to  their  compara 
five  fartility,  which  is  expressed  in  numbers, 
100  being  the  most  fertile.    .;>>■" 


^ 


No. 


CUy. 


74 

81 
79 
40 

14 

20 
58 
56 
60 
48 
68 
38 
33 
28 
23^ 


Garb,  of 
Li  in*. 


Finely  diTided 

Organic  Matter, 

or  Uomua. 


10 
4 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

u 


Comparative 
Value. 


Rich  allavlal  soils. 


/'■*'•■'.„ 


.  c 


(■  The  value  of  this  could  not  be  fixe3,H  if  Wb 
\     grass  land  ;  perhaps  bog-earth 


Good  wheat  and  barley  lands. 

Barley  land  not  fit  for  wheat. 

Poor  sand,  fit  only  for  oats  or  buckwheat. 


The  above  table  is  the  result  of  very  patient 
investigation,  the  natural  fertility  of  each  soil 
being  ascertained  by  its  average  produce  with 
common  tillage  and  manuring. 

[In  describing  his  new  method  of  analyzing 
soils,  Dr.  Dana,  the  distinguished  American 
chemist,  sets  out  by  stating  that  p;eine  consti- 
tutes the  basis  of  all  the  nourishing  part  of 
vegetable  manures.  By  the  term  geine,  he 
means  all  the  decomposed  organic  matter  of 
the  soil,  chiefly  derived  from  decayed  vegetable 
matter.  Animal  substances,  he  says,  produce 
a  simil2r  compound  containing  azote  or  nitro- 


gen. There  may  be  undecomposed  vegetable 
fibres  so  minutely  divided  as  to  pass  through 
the  sieve,  but  as  one  object  of  this  operation 
is  to  free  the  soil  from  vegetable  fibre,  the  por- 
tion will  be  quite  inconsiderable,  and  can  only 
aflfect  the  amount  of  insoluble  geine.  When 
so  minutely  divided,  it  will  probably  pass  into 
soluble  geine  in  a  season's  cultivation.  Geine, 
or  the  vegetable  nourishing  matter  of  soils, 
exists  in  two  states,  in  one  of  which  it  is  solu 
ble  in  water,  &c.,  whilst  in  the  insoluble  state 
it  resists  the  solvent  power  of  water.  Soluble 
geine  he  considers  the  immediate  food  of  grow- 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


mg  plants,  whilst  insoluble,  geine  becomes 
food  after  sufficient  exposure  to  air  and  mois- 
ture. Hence  the  reason  and  result  of  till- 
age. 

Rules  of  AnfJysis. — "  1.  Sift  the  soil  through 
a  fine  sieve.  Take  the  fine  part;  bake  it  just 
up  to  browning  paper. 

"2.  Boil  100  grains  of  the  baked  soil,  with 
50  grains  of  pearl  ashes,  saleratus  or  carbonate 
of  soda,  in  four  ounces  of  water,  for  half  an 
hour;  let  it  settle ;  decant  the  clear;  wash  the 
grounds  with  four  ounces  boiling  water ;  throw 
all  on  a  weighed  filter,  previously  dried  at  the 
same  temperature  as  was  the  soil,  (1) ;  wash 
till  colourless  water  returns.  Mix  all  these 
liquors.  It  is  a  brown-coloured  solution  of  all 
the  soluble  geine.  All  sulphates  have  been 
converted  into  carbonates,  and  with  any  phos- 
phates, are  on  the  filter.  Dry  therefore  that, 
with  its  contents,  at  the  same  heat  as  before. 
Weigh — the  loss  is  soluble  geine. 

"  3.  If  you  wish  to  examine  the  geine ;  pre- 
cipitate the  alkaline  solution  with  excess  of 
lime-water.  The  geate  of  lime  will  rapidly 
subside,  and  if  lime-water  enough  has  been 
added,  the  nitrous  liquor  will  be  colourless. 
Collect  the  geate  of  lime  on  a  filter ;  wash  with 
a  little  acetic  or  very  dilute  muriatic  acid,  and 
you  have  geine  quite  pure.     Dry  and  weigh. 

"4.  Replace  on  a  funnel  the  filter  (2)  and 
its  earthy  contents;  wash  with  two  drachms 
muriatic  acid,  diluted  with  three  times  its  bulk 
of  cold  waier.  Wash  till  tasteless.  The  car- 
bonate and  phosphate  of  lime  will  be  dissolved 
with  a  little  iron,  which  has  resulted  from  the 
decomposition  of  any  salts  of  iron,  beside  a 
little  oxide  of  iron.  The  alumina  will  be 
scarcely  touched.  We  may  estimate ^11  as 
salts  of  lime.  Evaporate  the  muriatic  solution 
to  dryness,  weigh  and  dissolve  in  boiling 
water.  The  insoluble  will  be  phosphate  of 
lime.  Weigh — the  loss  is  the  sulphate  of 
lime ;  (I  make  no  allowance  here  for  the  dif- 
ference in  atomic  weights  of  the  acids,  as  the 
result  is  of  no  consequence  in  this  analysis.) 

"5.  The  earthy  residuum,  if  of  a  grayish 
white  colour,  contains  no  insoluble  geine — test 
it  by  burning  a  weighed  small  quantity  on  a 
hot  shovel — if  the  odour  of  burning  peat  is 
given  off,  the  preserfce  of  insoluble  geine 
is  indicated.  If  so,  calcine  the  earthy  resi- 
duum and  its  filter — the  loss  of  weight  will 
give  the  insoluble  geine ;  that  part  which  air 
and  moisture,  time  and  lime,  will  convert  into 
soluble  vegetable  food.  Any  error  here  will 
be  due  to  the  loss  of  water  in  a  hydrate,  if  one 
be  present,  but  these  exist  in  too  small  quan- 
tities in  'granitic  sand'  to  affect  the  result. 
The  actual  weight  of  the  residuary  mass  is 
*  granitic  sand.' 

"  The  clay,  mica,  quartz,  &c.,  are  easily  dis- 
tinguished. If  your  soil  is  calcareous,  which 
may  be  easily  tested  by  acids;  then  before 
proceeding  to  this  analysis,  boil  100  grains  in 
a  pint  of  water,  filter  and  dry  as  before,  the 
loss  of  weight  i?  due  to  the  sulphate  of  lime, 
even  the  sulphate  of  iron  ma}  V^**  so  consider- 
ed ;  for  the  ultimate  result  in  cultivation  is  to 
convert  this  into  sulphate  of  lime. 

"  Test  the  soil  with  muriatic  acid,  and  having 
thus  removed  the  lime,  proceed  as  before,  to 
92 


determine  the  geine  and  insoluble  vegetable 
matter. 

"  In  applying  Dr.  Dana's  rules  given  in  the 
text,  to  the  soils  of  Massachusetts,  I  found  it 
necessary  to  adopt  some  method  of  carrying 
forward  several  processes  together.  I  accord- 
ingly made  ten  compartments  upon  a  table, 
each  provided  with  apparatus  for  filtering  and 
precipitations,  also  ten  numbered  flasks,  ten 
evaporating  dishes,  and  a  piece  of  sheet-iron 
pierced  with  ten  holes,  for  receiving  the  same 
number  of  crucibles.  I  provided,  also,  a  sheets 
iron  oven,  with  a  tin  bottom  large  enough  to 
admit  laa  filters,  arranged  in  proper  order,  and 
a  hole  in  the  top  to  admit  a  thermometer.  The 
sand  bath  was  also  made  large  enough  for 
receiving  the  ten  flasks.  In  this  manner  I  was 
able  to  conduct  ten  processes  with  almost  as 
great  facility  as  one  could  have  been  carried 
forward  in  the  usual  way." 

As  before  stated.  Dr.  Dana  regards  geine  as 
the  basis  of  all  the  nourishing  part  of  vegetable 
manures.  The  relations  of  soils  to  heat  and 
moisture,  he  says,  "  depend  chiefly  on  geine. 
It  is  in  fact,  under  its  three  states  of  'vegetable 
extract,  geine,  and  carbonaceous  mould,'  the 
principle  which  gives  fertility  to  soils  long 
after  the  action  of  common  manures  has 
ceased.  In  these  three  states  it  is  essentially 
the  same.  The  experiments  of  Saussure  have 
long  ago  proved  that  air  and  moisture  convert 
insoluble  into  soluble  geine.  Of  all  the  pro- 
blems to  be  solved  by  agricultural  chemistry, 
none  is  of  so  great  practical  importance  as  the 
determination  of  the  quantity  of  soluble  and 
insoluble  geine  in  soils.  This  is  a  question  of 
much  higher  importance  than  the  nature  and 
proportions  of  the  earthy  constituents  and 
soluble  salts  of  soils.  It  lies  at  the  foundation 
of  all  successful  cultivation.  Its  importance 
has  been  not  so  much  overlooked  as  under- 
valued. Hence,  on  this  point  the  least  light 
has  been  reflected  from  the  labours  of  Davy 
and  Chaptal.  It  needs  but  a  glance  at  any 
analysis  of  soils,  published  in  the  books,  to  see 
that  fertility  depends  not  on  the  proportion  of 
the  earthy  ingredients.  Among  the  few  facts, 
best  established  in  chemical  agriculture,  are 
these :  that  a  soil,  whose  earthy  part  is  com- 
posed wholly,  or  chiefly,  of  one  earth ;  or  any 
soil,  \vi\h  excess  of  salts,  is  always  barren ; 
and  that  plants  grow  equally  well  in  all  soils, 
destitute  of  geine,  up  to  the  period  of  fructifica- 
tion,— failing  of  geine,  the  fruit  fails,  the  plants 
die.  Earths,  and  salts,  and  geine,  constitute, 
then,  all  that  is  essential;  and  soils  will  be 
fertile,  in  proportion  as  the  last  is  mixed  with 
the  first.  The  earths  are  the  plates,  the  salts 
the  seasoning,  the  geine  the  food  of  plants 
The  salts  can  be  varied  but  very  little  in  their 
proportions,  without  injury.  The  earths  admit 
of  wide  variety  in  their  nature  and  proportions. 
I  would  resolve  all  into  '  granitic  sand ;'  by 
which  I  mean  the  finely  divided,  almost  impal- 
pable mixture  of  the  detritus  of  granite,  gneiss, 
mica-slate,  sienite,  and  argillite ;  the  last, 
giving  by  analysis,  a  compound  very  similar 
to  the  former.  When  we  look  at  the  analysis 
of  vegetables,  we  find  these  inorganic  prin- 
ciples constant  constituents — silica,  lime,  mag- 
nesia, oxide  of  iron,  potash,  soda,  and  sulphui  ic 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


and  phosphoric  acids.  Hence,  these  will  be 
found  constituents  of  all  soils.  The  phosphates 
have  been  overlooked  from  the  known  diffi- 
culty of  detecting  phosphoric  acid.  Phosphate 
of  lime  is  so  easily  soluble  when  combined 
with  m^jcilage  or  gelatine,  that  it  is  among  the 
first  principles  of  soils  exhausted.  Doubtless 
the  gcod  effects,  the  lasting  effects,  of  bone 
manure,  depend  more  on  the  phosphate  of 
lime,  than  on  its  animal  portion.  Though  the 
same  plants  growing  in  different  soils  are 
found  to  yield  variable  quantities  of  the  salts 
and  earthy  compounds ;  yet  I  believe,  that  ac- 
curate analysis  will  show,  that  similar  parts  of 
the  same  species,  at  the  same  age,  always 
contain  the  inorganic  principles  above  named, 
when  grown  in  soils  arising  from  the  natural 
decomposition  of  granite  rocks.  These  inor- 
ganic substances  will  be  found  not  only  in 
constant  quantity,  but  always  in  definite  pro- 
portion to  the  vegetable  portion  of  each  plant. 
The  effect  of  cultivation  may  depend,  there- 
fore, much  more  on  the  introduction  of  salts 
than  has  been  generally  supposed.  The  salts 
introduce  new  breeds.  So  long  as  the  salts 
and  earths  exist  in  the  soil,  so  long  will  they 
form  voltaic  batteries  with  the  roots  of  grow- 
ing plants;  by  which,  the  *granitio  sand'  is 
decomposed  and  the  nascent  earths,  in  this 
state  readily  soluble,  are  taken  up  by  the  ab- 
sorbents of  the  roots,  always  a  living,  never  a 
mechanical  operation.  Hence,  so  long  as  the 
soil  is  granitic,  using  the  term  as  above  defined, 
so  long  is  it  as  good  as  on  the  day  of  its  depo- 
sition ;  salts  and  geine  may  vary,  and  must  be 
modified  by  cultivation.  The  universal  diffu- 
sion of  granitic  diluvium  will  always  afford 
enough  of  the  earthy  ingredients.  The  fertile 
characterof  soils,  I  presume,  will  not  be  found 
dependent  on  any  particular  rock  formation 
on  which  it  reposes.  Modified  they  may  be,  to 
a  certain  extent,  by  peculiar  formations ;  but 
all  our  grantic  rocks  afford,  when  decomposed, 
all  those  inorganic  principles  which  plants 
demand.  This  is  so  true,  that  on  this  point 
the  farmer  already  knows  all  that  chemistry 
can  teach  him.  Clay  and  sand,  every  one 
knows :  a  soil  too  sandy,  too  clayey,  may  be 
modified  by  mixture,  but  the  best  possible 
mixture  does  not  give  fertility.  That  depends 
on  salts  and  geine.  If  these  views  are  correct, 
the  few  properties  of  geine  which  I  have  men- 
tioned, will  lead  us  at  once  to  a  simple  and 
accurate  mode  of  analyzing  soils, — a  mode, 
which  determines  at  once  the  value  of  a  soil, 
from  its  quantity  of  soluble  and  insoluble 
vegetable  nutriment, — a  mode,  requiring  no 
array  of  apparatus,  nor  delicate  experimental 
tact, — one,  which  the  country  gentleman  may 
apply  with  very  great  accuracy ;  and,  with  a 
little  modification,  perfectly  within  the  reach 
of  anv  man  who  can  drive  a  team  or  hold  a 
plough."] 

ANALYSIS  OF  VEGETABLES.  The  pro- 
cess or  means  by  which  such  bodies  are  re- 
solved into  tlieir  constituent  or  elementary 
principles.  (See  Chemistrt,  or  Vegetable 
Chkmistht.) 

CONCENTRATED  FERTILIZERS  have  of 
late  years  come  into  almost  universal  use  among 
farmers  in  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and 


have  contributed  to  resuscitate  worn-out  farma 
and  double  and  quadruple  the  products  of  land 
in  many  impoverished  neighbourhoods  to  which 
more  bulky  manures  could  not  formerly  be 
transported  at  a  reasonable  rate.  Hence  it  be- 
comes of  the  highest  importance  to  the  agri- 
cultural interests  that  farmers  should  have 
some  means  of  ascertaining  their  composition 
and  estimating  their  commercial  value,  and 
this  can  only  be  accurately  determined  through 
analysis. 

The  chief  substances  classed  as  artificial 
manures  have  been  most  ably  examined  by 
Professor  Samuel  W.  Johnson,  Agricultural 
Chemist  in  Yale  College,  from  whose  published 
Essays  we  take  the  following  estimates  of  their 
respective  values  in  their  different  forms  and 
conditions. 

Comparative  commercial  value  of  manures. 

The  commercial  value  of  a  manure  may  be 
quite  independent  of  its  real  agricultural  value, 
though  it  usually  depends  considerably  on  its 
routed  agricultural  value.  The  scarcity  of  a 
substance,  the  cost  of  preparation  and  trans- 
portation, the  demand  for  it  on  account  of  other 
than  agricultural  uses  —  all  these  considera- 
tions of  course  influence  its  price.  It  is  com- 
mercially worth  what  the  dealer  can  get  for 
it,  so  much  per  bushel  or  ton. 

Valuation  of  manures. —  What  substances  are  to 
be  regarded  as  commereially  important  in  costly 
manures. 

In  any  fertilizer  which  is  sold  as  high  or 
higher  than  half  a  cent  a  pound,  there  are 
but  three  ingredients  that  deserve  to  be  taken 
account  of  in  estimating  its  value.  These  are 
ammonia,  phosphoric  acid,  and  potash.  Every 
thing  else  that  has  a  fertilizing  value  may  be 
more  cheaply  obtained  under  its  proper  name. 
If  the  farmer  needs  sulphuric  acid,  he  pur- 
chases gypsum:  if  he  needs  soda,  common 
salt  supplies  him.  Everything  but  these  three 
substances  may  be  procured  so  cheaply,  that 
the  farmer  is  cheated  if  he  pays  ten  dollars 
per  ton  for  a  manure,  unless  it  contains  or 
yields  one  or  all  of  these  three  substances  in 
considerable  proportion. 

Mechanical  condition  of  manures. 

Nothing  is  so  important  to  the  rapid  and 
economical  action  of  a  manure  as  its  existing 
in  a  finely  pulverized  or  divided  state.  All 
costly  fertilizers  ought  to  exist  chiefly  as  fine, 
nearly  impalpable  powders,  and  the  coarser 
portions,  if  any,  should  be  capable  of  passing 
through  a  sieve  of  say  eight  or  ten  holes  to 
the  linear  inch.  The  same  immediate  bene- 
fits are  derived  from  two  bushels  of  bones 
rendered  impalpably  fine  by  treatment  with 
oil  of  vitriol,  ten  bushels  of  bone-dust,  and 
one  hundred  bushels  of  whole  bones.  Fine- 
ness facilitates  distribution,  and  economizes 
capital. 

Chemical  condition  of  manures— State  of  solttbtl- 
ity,  ^c. — Ammonia,  potential  and  actual — Phos- 
phoric acid,  soluble  and  insoluble. 

The  solubility  of  a  manure  is  a  serious 
question  to  be  considered  in  its  valuation. 
We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  ammonia  as 
existing  in  two  states,  viz.,  actual  and  poten- 
tial. By  actual  ammonia,  we  mean  ready- 
formed  ammonia ;  by  potential  ammonia,  tfiat 


ANALYSIS. 


ANALYSIS. 


which  will  result  by  decomposition  or  decay — 
*'  that  which  exists  in  possibility,  not  in  act." 
Now  the  former  is  almost  invariably  soluble 
with  ease  in  water,  and  is  thus  readily  and 
immediately  available  to  plants ;  while  the 
latter  must  first  become  "actual"  by  decay, 
before  it  can  assist  in  supporting  vegetation. 

In  Peruvian  guano,  we  have  about  half  of 
the  ammonia  ready  formed,  and  easily  soluble 
in  water;  the  remainder  exists  in  the  form  of 
uric  acid,  which  yields  ammonia  by  decay  in 
the  soil,  but  may  require  weeks  or  months  to 
complete  the  change.  In  leather  shavings  or 
woollen  rags  the  ammonia  is  all  potential ;  and 
as  these  bodies  decay  slowly,  they  are  of  less 
value  than  guano  as  sources  of  ammonia.  Oil- 
cake (linseed  and  cotton  seed)  contains  much 
potential  ammonia,  and  in  a  form  that  very 
speedily  yields  actual  ammonia. 

We  do  not  know  with  what  precise  results 
the  process  of  the  decay  of  ammonia-yielding 
bodies  is  accomplished  in  the  soil.  Out  of  the 
soil,  such  bodies  do  not  give  quite  all  their 
nitrogen  in  the  form  of  ammonia :  a  portion 
escapes  in  the  uncombined  state,  and  thus 
becomes  unavailable. 

Phosphoric  acid  may  occur  in  two  different 
states  of  solubility ;  one  readily  soluble,  the 
other  slowly  and  slightly  soluble  in  water. 
The  former  we  specify  as  soluble,  the  latter  as 
insoluble  in  phosphoric  acid.  In  Peruvian 
guano  we  find  3.5  per  cent,  of  soluble  phos- 
phoric acid,  existing  there  as  phosphates  of 
ammonia  and  potash.  The  remaining  10  to 
12  per  cent,  is  insoluble,  being  combined  with 
lime  and  magnesia.  In  most  other  manures, 
genuine  superphosphates  excepted,  the  phos- 
phoric acid  is  insoluble. 

Among  those  phosphates  which  are  here 
ranked  as  insoluble,  there  exist  great  differ- 
ences in  their  availability,  resulting  from  their 
mechanical  condition.  The  ashes  of  bones, 
and  the  porous  rock-guano,  when  finely  ground, 
exprt  immediate  effect  on  crops,  while  the 
dense,  glassy,  or  crystallized  phosphorite  of 
Hurdstown,  N.  J.,  and  the  fossil  bones  (so- 
called  coprolite  of  England),  are  almost  or 
quite  inert  unless  subjected  to  treatment  with 
oil  of  vitriol. 

The  reasonable  price  of  phosphoric  acid,  ammo- 
nia, and  potash. 

Insoluble  phosphoric  acid. — There  are  several 
substances  now  in  market,  which,  as  fertil- 
izers, are  valuable  exclusively  on  account  of 
their  content  of  phosphoric  acid ;  which, 
moreover,  are  at  present  the  cheapest  sources 
of  this  substance  that  possess  the  degree  of 
fineness  proper  to  an  active  fertilizer.  These 
substances  are  the  phosphatic  guanos,  (from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  &c.,)  and  the  refuse  bone- 
black  of  the  sugar  refineries.  From  them  we 
can  easily  calculate  the  present  lowest  com- 
mercial value  of  phosphoric  acid.  If  we  di- 
vide the  price  per  ton  of  the  guano,  $35,  by 
the  number  of  pounds  of  phosphoric  acid  in  a 
ton,  which,  at  40  per  cent.,  amounts  to  800 
pounds,  then  we  have  the  price  of  one  pound 
as  nearly  4J  cents. 

Refuse  bone-black  may  be  had  for  $30  per 
ton  ;  it  usually  contains  32  per  cent,  of  phos- 
phoric acid.  The  same  division  as  above 
94 


gives  us  4f  cents  as  the  cost  of  phosphoric 
acid  per  pound. 

In  this  report  I  shall  adopt  the  average  of 
these  figures,  viz.  4^  cents,  as  the  reasonable 
price  of  insoluble  phosphoric  acid. 

Phosphoric  acid  is  much  cheaper  in  crushed 
bones;  but  this  material  is  not  in  a  suitable 
state  of  division  to  serve  as  the  basis  of  a  fair 
estimate. 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid.  —  This  is  nearly  al- 
ways the  result  of  a  manufacturing  process. 
Professor  Way,  chemist  to  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society  of  England,  estimates  its  worth 
at  10^  cents  per  pound.  Dr.  Voelker,  of  the 
Royal  Agricultural  College  of  England,  and  Dr. 
Stoeckhardt,  the  distinguished  Saxon  Agricul- 
tural Chemist,  reckon  it  at  12  J  cents  per  pound. 
They  have  deduced  these  prices  from  that  of 
the  best  commercial  superphosphates.  In 
this  report  the  price  will  also  be  assumed  at 
12^  cents.  This,  I  believe,  is  considerably 
more  than  it  is  really  worth,  but  is  probably 
the  lowest  rate  at  which  it  can  now  be  pur- 
chased. 

Actual  ammonia.  —  One  of  the  cheapest 
sources  of  this  body  is  Peruvian  guano.  Al- 
though it  contains  several  per  cent,  of  poten- 
tial ammonia,  yet  the  latter  is  so  readily  con- 
verted into  actual  ammonia,  that  the  whole 
effect  of  the  manure  is  produced  in  one  sea- 
son, and  therefore  we  may  justly  consider  the 
whole  as  of  equal  value  with  actual  ammonia. 

Good  Peruvian  guano  contains : 

2  per  cent.,  or  40  pounds  per  ton,  of  potash; 

3  '*  '*  "  60  "  "  "  soluble 
phosphoric  acid ; 

12  per  cent.,  or  240  pounds  per  ton,  of  insol- 
uble phosphoric  acid ;  and  yields 

16  per  cent.,  or  320  pounds  per  ton,  of  am- 
monia. 

If  we  add  together  the  values  of  the  potash 
and  of  the  phosphoric  acid,  soluble  and  insol- 
uble, and  subtract  the  same  from  the  price  of 
guano,  we  shall  arrive  at  the  worth  of  the  am- 
monia— namely,  $45.10  per  320  lbs.,  or  about 
14  cts.  per  pound. 

This  price,  14  cents  per  pound,  will  be  em- 
ployed in  these  estimates. 

Potential  ammonia,  (flesh  or  other  animal 
matter.)  The  value  of  this  varies  so  greatly, 
being,  for  example,  as  uric  acid  in  guano,  not 
inferior  to  actual  ammonia,  while  in  woollen 
rags  it  is  not  worth  more  than  one-half  as 
much,  that  we  can  fix  no  uniform  price,  but 
must  decide  what  it  shall  be,  in  each  special 
case,  separately. 

Potash.  The  value  of  potash  is  diflScult  to 
estimate,  because  it  may  vary  exceedingly  ac- 
cording to  circumstances.  Wood  ashes  are  its 
chief  sources ;  these  are  poor  or  rich  in  pot- 
ash according  to  the  kind  of  tree  that  yields 
them,  and  the  soil  on  which  it  has  grown.  It 
may  vary  from  five  to  twenty  per  cent. 
Stoeckhardt,  who  estimates  the  value  of  am- 
monia at  twenty  cents,  makes  potash  worth 
four  cents  per  pound.  The  price  of  potashes 
cannot  serve  as  a  guide,  for  they  are  never 
used  for  agricultural  purposes.  Four  cents  is 
certainly  high  enough  for  this  country  if  it  is 
correct  for  Germany. 


■•^W-j I. t 


ANALYSIS. 


Potash  may  he  usually  neglected. 

Most  concentrated  manures  contain  very 
little  or  no  potash.  In  guano  it  rarely  ex- 
ceeds three  per  cent.  Superphosphate  of  lime 
can  contain  none  of  consequence.  Potash 
cannot  be  economically  added  to  manufactured 
manures,  because  nearly  pure  potash,  or  even 
the  raw  material  from  which  it  is  extracted, 
viz.  wood  ashes,  has  a  higher  commercial 
value  for  technical  than  for  agricultural  pur- 
poses. Besides,  potash  is  not  generally  de- 
ficient in  soils,  and  therefore  farmers  do  not 
wish  to  pay  for  it  as  an  ingredient  of  costly 
manures.  It  is  only  when  a  manure  is  pro- 
fessedly sold  as  containing  much  potash,  that 
this  ingredient  deserves  to  be  taken  account 
of  in  its  valuation. 

Computing  the  money-valtie  of  concentrated  ma- 
nures. 

In  what  immediately  precedes,  is  contained 
the  data  for  calculating  approximatively  the 
price  that  can  be  afforded  for  a  high-priced 
manure,  if  we  have  before  us  the  results  of  a 
reliable  analysis.  The  actual  calculation  is 
very  easy,  and  has  been  illustrated  already  in 
deducing  the  value  of  ammonia  from  Peruvian 
guano.  We  give  here  a  resume  of  the  prices 
adopted  in  this  report,  viz.: 

Potash,  per  pound 4    cts. 

Insoluble  phosphoric  acid,  per  pound,    4J  •• 
Soluble  ♦•  *♦  "  12J  " 

Actual,  and  some  forms  of  potential 

ammonia 14     " 

As  a  further  example  of  the  calculation, 
here  may  follow  the  details  of  the  valuation 
of  a  superphosphate  of  lime.  Analysis  gave 
the  following  percentages: 

Actual  ammonia 239,  say    2,4 

Potential     "        1.06,    '*      1.0 

Soluble  phosphoric  acid  ...  2.56,    '*      2.6 
Insoluble       '*  "     ...22.98,    '*    23.0 

Multiplying  the  percentage  of  each  ingre- 
dient by  its  estimated  price,  and  adding  to- 
gether the  products  thus  obtained,  gives  the 
value  of  one  hundred  pounds;  this  taken 
twenty  times,  gives  us  the  worth- of  a  ton  of 
two  thousand  pounds,  namely  36.80  per  ton. 

In  the  case  before  us,  the  quantity  of  po- 
tential ammonia  is  so  small  that  we  may 
reckon  it  with  the  actual  ammonia  without 
materially  influencing  the  result. 

Lime.  —  Its  agency  in  liberating  potash, 
soda,  &c.  Burned  lime,  while  in  its  caustic 
Btate  (freshly  slaked  or  hydrate),  exerts  great 
activity  in  decomposing  the  insoluble  organic 
as  well  as  inorganic  constituents  in  any  soil. 
This  is  demonstrated  by  the  chemist  who, 
■wanting  to  separate  potash  and  soda  from  a 
portion  of  earth,  heats  this  red-hot,  in  a  cru- 
cible, with  a  portion  of  lime.  After  cooling, 
all  the  potash  and  soda  contained  in  the  por- 
tion of  earth  can  readily  be  washed  out  by 
simply  passing  water  through  it. 

Carbonate  of  lime  added  to  a  soil  will  also 
effect  the  liberation  of  potash,  soda,  and  am- 
monia present,  but  it  will  require  considerable 
time.  Caustic  lime  produces  these  effects  at 
once.  Hence  the  great  advantage  of  applying 
lime  to  land  in  a  caustic  state  —  when  a  com- 


ANALYSIS. 

paratively  small  portion  will  do  the  work  for 
which  a  very  large  quantity  of  effete  carbonate 
of  lime  would  be  required.  As  a  matter  of 
economy,  this  knowledge  is  of  the  greatest 
consequence. 

Another  important  agency  of  lime  is  in  de- 
composing the  insoluble  silicates,  phosphates, 
etc.,  and  rendering  these  soluble  so  as  to  be 
readily  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  growing 
plants. 

Oyster-shells.— 100  parts,  according  to  Kane's 
analysis,  contain 

Carbonate  of  lime 98.5 

Phosphate  of  lime 1.0 

Animal  membrane 0.5 

100.0 
From  this  it  would  appear  that  100  bushels 
of  oyster-shells  would  contain  1  bushel  (say 
75  or  80  lbs.)  of  phosphate  of  lime  —  in  ad- 
dition to  98J  bushels  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

Gas  Lime,  or  refuse  lime  from  gas-works. 
This  has  been  analyzed  and  found  to  vary  in 
its  constituents  in  the  various  places,  accord- 
ing to  the  composition  of  the  lime  employed 
and  other  causes.  The  following  analysis, 
reported  by  Professor  Johnson,  of  England, 
shows  results  obtained  from  this  refuse  from 
the  gas-works  of  Edinburgh  and  London. 

Edinb.  London.  Edinb.  London. 
Water  and  coal  tar  12.91  9.59  12.91  9.59 
Carbonate  of  lime  69.04  58.88  67.39  56.41 
Hydrate   of  lime, 

(caustic,) 2.49     5.92 

Sulphate  of  lime, 

(gypsum,) 7,33     2,77     16.45     29.32 

Sulphite  and  hypo- 
sulphite of  lime     2,28  14.89 
Sulphuret  of  cal- 
cium      0.20    0.36 

Sulphur 1.10    0.92 

Prussian  blue 2.70    1.80      2.70       1.80 

Alumina  and  oxide 

of  iron 3.40  3.40 

Insoluble    matter, 

(sand,  &c.) 0.64     1.29      0.64       1.29 

98.69  99.82  100.00  101.81 
From  the  above  analysis  it  appears  that  the 
two  most  noxious  constituents  —  sulphite  and 
hyposulphite  of  lime  —  constitute  14  per  cent, 
and  more  in  the  sample  from  the  London  Gas 
Works,  whilst  it  only  makes  about  2  per  cent, 
of  the  sample  from  Edinburgh.  As  these 
forms  of  lime  are  pernicious  to  vegetation,  un- 
favourable results  might  be  reported  from  the 
gas  lime  in  which  they  most  abound,  which 
would  be  contradicted  by  those  who  used  tho 
lime  from  places  where  these  constituents  were 
present  in  minuto  proportions.  Hence  the 
great  importance  of  determining  the  qualities 
or  constituents  of  gas  lime  before  making  use 
of  it.  In  Philadelphia  the  gas  lime  is  made 
from  oyster-shells.  In  other  cities,  stone  lime 
is  employed  in  the  gas-works.  Any  danger 
from  the  noxious  ingredients  often  contained 
in  gas  lime  may  be  removed  by  composting 
with  muck,  peat,  or  barn-yard  manure,  and 
suffering  to  remain  long  enough  to  admit  of 
the  noxious  substances  being  converted  into 

95 


ANDES  GRASS. 


ANDES  GRASS. 


harmless  compounds  through  sufBcient  expo- 
sure to  atmospheric  and  chemical  agencies. 

There  are  many  different  opinions  among 
farmers  in  regard  to  the  agricultural  value  of 
gas  lime,  some  preferring  it  to  ordinary  car- 
bonate of  lime,  while  others  believe  it  greatly 
inferior,  and  even  pernicious  to  vegetation. 
In  some  parts  of  England  the  farmers  will  not 
haul  it  away  when  given  to  them. 

Gas  lime  contains  a  considerable  portion  of 
sulphur.  When  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
this  must  combine  with  oxygen  and  form  sul- 
phurous acid,  the  union  of  which  with  the  lime 
and  ammonia  generally  present,  form  sul- 
phates of  lime  and  ammonia,  both  valuable 
fertilizers.  The  amount  of  the  sulphate  of  lime 
thus  produced  must  often  be  very  large. 

[ANDES  GRASS.  The  Holcm  avenacens  of 
some  writers,  and  Arena  elafior  of  others.  Oat 
Grass,  and  sometimes  Tall  MeadoAV  Grass. 
(Plate  5,  ee.)  A  perennial  cultivated  grass, 
flowering  in  the  Middle  States  in  May,  and 
ripening  its  seeds  in  July.  (Flor.  Cestrica.) 
Its  name  would  imply  that  it  came  originally 
from  the  mountains  of  South  America,  whereas 
the  English  botanists  treat  of  the  Holcus  avena- 
ceus,  or  Avena  elatior,  as  a  native  of  Britain. 
The  Andes  Grass  was  introduced  to  the  notice 
of  American  farmers  several  years  ago,  when 
its  merits  were  perhaps  too  highly  extolled, 
which  has  contributed  to  its  being  now  esti- 
mated much  below  its  real  worth.  Perhaps, 
too,  that  those  who  have  reported  unfavour- 
ably of  the  value  of  Andes  Grass,  have  mis- 
taken some  other  plant  for  it,  a  very  common 
occurrence,  leading  to  great  discrepancy  of 
opinion.  This  grass  is  certainly  highly  prized 
by  many  persons  in  the  Middle  States,  where, 
especially  in  the  state  of  Delaware,  it  is  fre- 
quently, though  not  very  extensively,  cultivat- 
ed. It  grows  luxuriantly  in  soils  of  clay  loam, 
even  of  a  very  light  description,  affording  very 
early  as  well  as  late  pasture.  Even  an  open 
spell  in  winter,  with  a  few  warm  days,  will 
start  this:  grass  to  vegetating  so  rapidly  as  to 
furnish  a  good  bite  to  cattle.  The  grass  grows 
very  tall,  and  the  hay,  if  left  too  late  before 
cutting,  is  coarse.  It  grows  in  tufts,  is  very 
durable,  and  extremely  difficult  to  eradicate 
from  the  soil  when  once  well  set.  This  last 
circumstance  perhaps  constitutes  the  most 
common  objection  to  its  introduction  into 
fields  and  meadows.  It  stands  drought  well, 
and  would  probably  be  found  a  highly  valu- 
able grass  for  southern  pastures.  It  certainly 
deserves  more  attention  than  it  now  receives, 
and  is,  we  think,  destined  to  be  much  more  ex- 
tensively cultivated  as  a  permanent  pasture 
grass.  Its  durability  renders  it  unfit  for  alter- 
nate husbandry. 

Frf^ni  Colman's  Fouich  Report  of  the  Agri- 
culture of  Massachusetts  the  following  pas- 
sage is  extracted. 

"  The  tail  meadow  oat  {Avcna  elatior)  has 
been  cultivated  in  the  county.  This  grass  is  not 
familiar  to  our  farmers,  but  the  success  which 
has  attended  its  cultivation  encourages  its  ex- 
tension. A  Virginia  farmer  of  the  highest 
authority  speaks  of  it,  after  fifteen  years'  ex- 
perience, as  a  hardy  plant,  bearing  drought 
snid  frost,  heat  and  cold,  better  than  any  other 
96 


grass  known  to  him.  A  Pennsylvania  farmer 
pronounces  it  of  all  other  grasses  the  earliest, 
latest,  and  best  for  green  fodder  or  hay.  It 
blossoms  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  is 
preferred  to  all  others  by  horned  cattle.  It 
must  be  cut  seasonably  or  it  becomes  hard 
like  straw.  A  Middlesex  farmer,  who  has  cul- 
tivated it  several  years,  and  whose  authority 
is  of  the  highest  character,  confirms  the  above 
statements  of  its  excellence  both  for  grazing 
and  hay.  He  says,  from  its  early  flowering  it 
is  adapted  to  be  sown  with  red  clover,  and  is 
fit  to  be  cut  about  the  first  of  June.  His  own 
account  is  as  follows  : 

" '  In  the  spring  he  sowed  with  barley  a  field 
of  four  acres,  and  put  on  2^  bushels  of  oat- 
grass  seed,  5  lbs.  of  red  clover,  cand  2  lbs.  of 
white  clover  seed,  to  the  acre.  The  soil  was 
thin,  and  had  been  exhausted  by  long  crop- 
ping. On  the  3d  of  June  in  the  following  year 
it  was  cut,  and  gave  two  tons  to  the  acre  of 
the  finest  and  best  hay,  either  for  cattle  or 
horses,  he  ever  had  in  his  barn.' 

"He  thinks  three  bushels  of  seed  should  b? 
sown  to  the  acre.  It  is  well  adapted  for  graz- 
ing on  poor  and  exhausted  lands,  as  well  as 
on  those  of  a  richer  quality.  It  is  a  fortnight 
earlier  than  the  common  grasses,  and  through- 
out the  dryest  weather  exhibits  a  green  ap- 
pearance. From  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  in 
good  condition,  he  obtained  over  20  bushels 
of  w-ell-cleaned  seed. 

"  The  late  John  Lowell,  a  man  behind  no 
other  in  his  intelligent,  successful,  and  disin- 
terested efforts  to  advance  the  cause  of  an  im- 
proved agriculture  in  Massachusetts  and  New 
England  generally,  says  that,  'under  his  cul- 
tivation, it  has  proved  a  most  valuable  grass, 
and  fully  sustained  its  high  character.  It  is  a 
very  early  and  tall  grass,  yielding  a  good  bur- 
den. It  will  start  rapidly  after  cutting.  It  is 
a  perennial  and  enduring  grass,  and  on  his 
first  experiment  it  lasted  seven  years  without 
the  necessity  of  renewal.' 

"  A  farmer  in  Waltham  objects  to  sowing  the 
tall  meadow  oats  and  the  herdsgrass  (Timothy) 
together,  as  they  do  not  ripen  at  the  same  time. 
The  tall  meadow  oats,  when  I  visited  him, 
would  be  ready  for  the  scythe  in  ten  days,  or 
about  the  middle  of  June,  while  the  herds- 
grass,  at  the  same  time,  had  not  begun  to  show 
its  head. 

" '  This  grass — Avena  elatior,  tall  oat  grass — 
sends  forth  flower-straws  during  the  whole 
season;  the  latter  math  contains  nearly  an 
equal  number  with  the  flowering  crop.  It  is 
subject  to  the  rust,  but  the  disease  does  not 
make  its  appearance  till  after  the  period  of 
flowering.  It  affects  the  whole  plant,  and  at 
the  time  the  seed  is  ripe  the  leaves  and  straws 
are  withered  and  dry.  This  accounts  for  the 
superior  value  of  the  latter  math  over  the  seed 
crop,  and  points  out  the  propriety  of  taking 
the  crop  when  the  grass  is  in  flower.  The  nu- 
tritive matter  afforded  by  this  grass,  when 
made  into  hay,  according  to  the  table  is  very 
small.'     {Geo.  Sinclair.) 

"J.  Buel  speaks  of  his  *  field  experiments 
with  this  grass  not  being  so  successful  as  he 
expected — owing  partly  to  the  seed  not  vege- 
tating well ;   and  panly,  he  supposed,  to  thy 


ANETHUM. 


ANIMALS. 


soil  (a  light  sandy  loam)  not  being  sufficient- 
ly strong  and  tenacious.' 

"Taylor,  o-f  Virginia,  says  that,  'according 
to  his  experience,  it  will  not  succeed  in  lands 
originally  wet,  however  well  they  are  drained.' 

"The  opinion  of  the  farmers  generally  in 
this  county  is  in  favour  of  cutting  herdsgrass 
(Timothy)  early  rather  than  late  ;  perhaps  for 
the  reason  that  the  hay  is  then  of  a  bright 
green,  and  on  this  account  commands  in  the 
city  market  a  higher  price.  If  we  can  rely 
upon  chemical  examination  in  determining 
the  nutritive  properties  of  grasses,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  grain  in  this  respect,  in  cut- 
ting herdsgrass  when,  its  seed  is  ripe  over  cut- 
ting it  when  in  floAver.  is  as  86-1  to  37-2."] 

ANETHUM.     See  Dill  and  Fexxel. 

ANEURISM.  In  farriery,  a  throbbing  tu- 
mour, produced  by  the  dilatation  of  the  coats 
of  an  artery  in  some  part  of  the  body  of  an 
animal.  Aneurisms  in  the  limbs  may  be  cured 
by  making  an  incision,  exposing  the  artery, 
and  tying  it  above  and  below  the  tumour  with 
a  proper  ligature. 

ANGELICA  (Angelica  Archangelicd).  This 
plant  was  formerly  blanched  and  eaten  like 
celery ;  but  at  present  its  tender  stalks  are  the 
only  part  made  use  of,  which  are  cut  in  May 
for  candying. 

It  grows  in  gardens,  and  also  wild.  It 
flowers  in  July  and  August  in  England,  and 
the  roots  perish  after  the  seed  has  ripened. 
This  plant  grows  as  high  as  eight  feet;  the 
stalks  robust,  and  divided  into  branches.  The 
flowers  are  small,  and  stand  in  large  clusters 
of  a  globular  form.  Two  seeds  follow  each 
flower. 

It  may  be  grown  in  any  soil  and  exposure, 
but  flourishes  best  in  moist  situations ;  conse- 
quently the  banks  of  ponds,  ditches,  &c.,  are 
usually  allotted  to  it.  It  is  propagated  by 
seed,  which  is  to  be  sown  soon  after  it  is  ripe, 
about  September,  being  almost  useless  if  pre- 
served until  the  spring,  as  at  that  season  not 
one  in  forty  will  be  found  to  have  preserved 
its  vegetative  powers ;  if,  however,  it  be  ne- 
glected until  that  season,  the  earlier  it  is  in- 
serted the  better.  It  may  be  sown  either 
broadcast  moderately  thin,  or  in  drills  a  foot 
asunder,  and  half  an  inch  deep.  When  arrived 
at  a  height  of  five  or  six  inches,  they  must  be 
thinned,  and  those  removed  transplanted  to  a 
distance  of  at  least  two  feet  and  a  half  from 
each  other,  either  in  a  bed,  or  on  the  sides  of 
ditches,  &c.,  as  the  leaves  extend  very  wide. 
Water  in  abundance  must  be  given  at  the  time 
of  removal,  as  well  as  until  they  are  establish- 
ed; but  it  is  better  to  discontinue  it  during  their 
further  growth,  unless  the  application  is  regu- 
lar and  frequent.  In  the  May  or  early  June  of 
the  second  year  they  flower,  when  they  must 
be  cut  down,  which  causes  them  to  sprout 
again ;  and  if  this  is  carefully  attended  to,  they 
will  continue  for  three  or  four  years,  but  if 
permitted  to  run  to  seed,  they  perish  soon  after. 
A  little  seed  should  be  saved  annually  as  a  re- 
source in  case  of  any  accidental  destruction 
of  the  crop.   (G.  W.  Johnaoiis  Kitchen  Garden.) 

Angelica  is  fragrant  when  bruised,  and  every 
part  of  it  is  medicinal.  The  bruised  seeds  are 
ilie  most  powerful.  They  are  cordial  and  su- 
13 


dorific.  Three  table-spoonfuls  of  the  distilled 
water  is  a  remedy  for  liatulence  and  pains  in 
the  stomach.  A  paste  of  the  fresh  rout  of  an- 
gelica, beaten  up  in  vinegar  used  to  be  carried 
by  physicians  in  times  of  great  contagion,  to 
apply  to  the  nose.  Some  preferred  holding  a 
dry  piece  in  their  mouths,  to  resist  infection. 
It  has  always  been  celebrated  against  pestika 
tial  and  contagious  diseases.  The  stalks  of 
the  angelica  candied  are  much  esteemed  in 
winter  desserts  as  a  sweetmeat  in  England. 
The  Laplanders  boil  or  bake  the  stalks  till  ex- 
tremely tender,  and  eat  them  as  a  delicacy. 
The  seeds  bruised  are  cordial,  stomachic,  and 
sudorific.    (L.  Johnson.) 

ANGINA.  ■  In  farriery,  a  name  sometimes 
applied  to  the  quinsy,  or  what  in  animals  is 
termed  anticor. 

ANGLE-BERRY.  In  farriery,  a  sort  of  fleshy 
excrescence,  to  which  cattle  and  some  other 
animals  are  subject  under  different  circum- 
stances ;  and  are  supposed  to  proceed  from  a 
rupture  of  the  cutaneous  vessels,  which  give 
vent  to  a  matter  capable  of  forming  a  sarcoma^ 
or  fleshy  excrescence.  They  frequently  appear 
upon  the  belly  and  adjacent  parts,  hanging 
down  in  a  pendulous  manner. 

ANGORA  GOAT.  A  particular  species  of 
goat. 

ANIMAL.  A  creature  that  is  endowed  with 
life,  and  commonly  with  spontaneous  motion, 
though  in  some  cases  without  it.  They  are 
distinguished  in  general  from  vegetables  by 
having  motion,  though  this  gives  us  no  perfect 
definition,  as  there  are  entire  classes  of  ani- 
mals which  are  fixed  to  a  place,  as  the  litho- 
phytes  and  zoophytes,  which  are  produced  and 
die  upon  the  same  spot;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
certain  vegetables  have  as  much  motion  in 
their  leaves  and  flowers  as  certain  animals. 
However,  by  attending  to  the  most  general 
characters,  they  may  be  defined  to  be  bodies 
endued  with  sensation  and  motion  necessary 
to  preserve  their  life.  They  are  all  capable 
of  reproducing  their  like :  some  by  the  union 
of  the  sexes,  produce  small  living  creatures; 
others  lay  eggs,  which  require  a  due  tempera- 
ture to  produce  young ;  some  multiply  without 
conjunction  of  the  sexes ;  and  others  are  re- 
produced when  cut  in  pieces  like  the  roots  of 
plants.  See  Botany.  For  periods  of  Breeding 
and  Hatching,  with  other  interesting  facts  con- 
nected with  the  subject,  see  Gestation  and  In- 
cubation. 

ANIMALS,  DANGEROUS.   See  Nuisance. 

ANIMALS,  WILD,  STEALING  OF.  In 
England  no  larceny  at  common  law  (says  Mr. 
Archbold  in  his  Crim.  Law,  p.  165)  can  be 
committed  of  such  animals,  in  which  there  is 
no  property  either  absolute  or  qualified ;  as  of 
beasts  that  are  ferae  naturae,  and  unreclaimed, 
such  as  deer,  hares,  and  conies,  in  a  forest, 
chase,  or  warren  ;  fish,  in  an  open  river  or 
pond  ;  or  wild  fowls,  rooks  for  instance  (Han- 
man  V.  Ilocketl,  2  B.  «&  C.  934;  4  D.  &  R.  518) 
at  their  natural  liberty.  (1  Hale,  511 ;  Fast 
366.)  But  if  they  are  reclaimed  or  confined, 
and  may  serve  for  food,  it  is  otherwise  ;  for  of 
deer  so  enclosed  in  a  park  that  they  may  be 
taken  at  pleasure,  fish  in  a  trunk  or  net,  and 
pheasants  or  partridges  in  a  mew,  larceny  ma 
I  9^ 


ANIMALS. 


ANIMAL  MANURES. 


be  committed.  (1  Hale,  511 ;  1  Hawk.  c.  33, 
s.  39.)  Swans,  it  is  S9,id,  if  lawfully  marked, 
are  the  subject  of  larceny  at  common  law,  al- 
though at  large  in  a  public  riv^er  {Dalt.  Just. 
c.  156) ;  or  whether  marked  or  not  if  they 
be  in  a  private  river  or  pond,  {lb.)  So, 
all  valuable  domestic  animals,  as  horses,  and 
all  animals  Homitse  naturae,  which  serve  for  food, 
as  swine,  sheep,  poultrjs  and  the  like,  and  the 
product  of  any  of  them,  as  eggs,  milk  from  the 
cow  while  at  pasture  (Foster,  99),  wool  pulled 
from  the  sheep's  back  feloniously  (R.  v.  Martin, 
1  Leach,  171),  and  the  flesh  of  such  as  are 
ferae  nuturx,  may  be  the  subject  of  larceny. 
(I  Hale,  511.)  13ut  as  to  all  other  animals 
which  do  not  serve  for  food,  such  as  dogs,  fer- 
rets though  tame  and  saleable  {R.  v.  Spearing, 
R.  &  R.  250),  and  other  creatures  kept  for 
whim  and  pleasure,  stealing  these  does  not 
amount  to  larceny  at  common  law.  (1  Hale, 
512.)  But  now,  to  course,  hunt,  snare,  or  carry 
away,  or  kill  or  wound,  or  attempt  to  kill  or 
wound,  any  deer  kept  or  being  in  the  enclosed 
part  of  any  forest,  chase,  or  purlieu,  or  in  any 
enclosed  land  wherein  deer  are  usually  kept,  is 
felony,  punishable  as  simple  larceny;  and  if 
committed  in  the  unenclosed  part  of  any  forest, 
chase,  or  purlieu,  the  first  offence  is  punishable 
upon  summary  conviction  by  fine  not  exceed- 
ing 50/.,  and  the  second  after  a  previous  con- 
viction is  felony,  and  punishable  as  simple  lar- 
ceny. (7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  29,  s.  27.)  Summary 
punishment  may  also  be  imposed  by  fine,  not 
exceeding  20/.,  upon  any  person  who  shall  have 
in  his  possession,  or  upon  his  premises,  with 
his  knowledge,  any  deer,  or  the  head,  skin,  or 
other  part  thereof,  or  any  snare  or  engine  for 
the  taking  of  deer,  without  satisfactorily  ac- 
counting for  such  possession  (7  &  8  G.  4,  c. 
29,  s.  27) ;  or  who  shall  set  or  use  any  snare 
or  engine  whatsoever  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
or  killing  deer  in  any  part  of  any  forest,  chase, 
or  purlieu,  whether  enclosed  or  not,  or  in  any 
fence  or  bank  dividing  the  same  from  any  land 
adjoining,  or  in  any  enclosed  land  where  deer 
are  usually  kept,  or  shall  destroy  any  part  of 
the  fence  of  any  land  where  deer  are  then  kept. 
(7  «&  8  G.  4,  c.  29,  s.  28.)  To  take  or  kill  hares 
or  coneys  in  the  night-time,  in  any  warren  or 
ground  lawfully  used  for  the  breeding  or  keep- 
ing of  the  same  is  a  misdemeanor;  and  to 
take  and  kill  them  in  any  warren  or  ground  in 
the  da5''-time,  or  at  any  time  to  set  any  snare 
or  engine  for  the  taking  of  them,  is  punisha- 
ble upon  summary  conviction  by  fine.  (7  & 
3  G,  4,  c.  29,  s.  30.)  Stealing  dogs,  or  any 
beast  or  bird  ordinarily  kept  in  a  state  of  con- 
finement, not  being  the  subject  of  larceny  at 
common  law  (7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  29,  s.  31)  ;  know- 
ingly being  in  possession  thereof,  or  of  the 
skin  or  plumage  thereof  (7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  29, 
s.  32);  killing,  wounding,  or  taking  any  dove- 
house  pigeon,  under  such  circumstances  as 
shall  not  amount  to  larceny  at  common  law 
(..ee  R.  V.  Brooke,  4  C.  &  P.  131 ;  7  &  8  G.  4, 
c  29,  s.  33),  is  punishable  upon  summary  con- 
viction by  fine,  imprisonment,  and  whipping, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  offence.  So,  to 
take  or  destroy  any  fish  in  any  water  which 
shall  run  through,  or  be  in  any  land  adjoining 
i/[  Delonging  to  the  dwelling-house  of  any  per- 
98 


son,  being  the  owner  of  such  water,  and  having 
a  right  of  fishery  therein,  is  a  misdemeanor; 
and  to  take  and  destroy  fish  in  any  other  water, 
being  private  property,  or  in  which  there  shall 
be  any  private  right  of  fishery  ;  and  to  destroy 
fish  by  angling,  in  the  day-time,  in  either  de- 
scription of  water  is  punishable  u})on  summa- 
ry conviction  by  fine,  varving  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  offence.  (7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  29,  s.  34.) 
And,  lastly,  to  steal  any  oyster  or  oyster  brood 
from  any  oyster  bed,  laying,  or  fishery,  being 
the  property  of  another,  and  sufficiently  marked 
out  or  known  as  such,  is  larceny  ;  and  to  use 
any  dredge  or  any  net,  instrument  or  engine 
whatsoever  within  the  limits  of  such  oyster 
fishery  for  the  purpose  of  taking  oysters  or 
oyster  brood,  although  none  be  taken,  or  to 
drag  upon  the  soil  of  any  such  fishery  with 
any  net,  instrument,  or  engine,  is  a  misde- 
meanor. (7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  29,  s.  36.) 

ANIMAL  CHEMISTRY.     See  Chkmistrt. 

ANIMAL  MANURES.  For  the  information 
I  have  to  furnish  with  regard  to  animal  ma- 
nures, I  must  refer  the  farmer  to  other  heads 
of  this  work,  such  as  FAUM-YAHn  Manure, 
Night-soil,  Boxes,  Liaum  Maxuue,  Fish, 
&c.  A  very  elaborate  paper  by  Dr.  C.  Spren- 
gel,  translated  by  Mr.  Hudson,  will  be  found 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Roy.  Ag.  Soc.  of  Eng.,  vol. 
i.  p.  455,  and  to  that  I  am  indebted  for  most  of 
the  general  observations  on  animal  manures 
in  this  article.  The  excrements  of  animals 
vary  with  the  age  of  the  animal,  its  food,  &c. 
That  of  young  animals  is  poorer  than  that  of 
the  aged,  for  the  young  and  growing  animal 
requires,  for  its  nourishment  and  increase  in 
size,  a  greater  proportion  of  the  phosphate  of 
lime,  and  other  solid  ingredients  of  its  food, 
than  the  more  aged  animal,  because  the  excre- 
ments or  refuse  matters  of  the  vegetables  con- 
sumed are  proportionately  diminished  in  quan- 
tity and  in  richness.  The  richer  the  food,  too, 
the  better  is  the  quality  of  the  manure.  That 
from  animals  fed  upon  oil-cake  is  the  richest ; 
then  that  from  corn-fed  animals ;  then  that 
from  green  crops,  hay ;  and,  lastly,  that  from 
straw-yard  cattle  is  decidedly  the  poorest. 
Then  again  the  water  consumed  by  animals  to 
some  extent  influences  the  quantity  of  their 
manure.  In  the  water  usually  drank  by  an 
ox,  amounting  daily  to  about  80  lbs.,  is  often 
found  from  half  an  ounce  to  an  ounce  of  sa- 
line matter.  These  consist  of  gypsum,  com- 
mon salt,  carbonate  of  lime,  and  carbonate  of 
magnesia.  "  It  may  be  alv/ays  regarded,"  as 
is  observed  by  M.  Sprengel,  •'  as  an  indication 
that  the  excrements  of  animals  contain  many 
powerfully  manuring  substances  when  they 
pass  quickly  into  the  putrefactive  state,  and 
develope  a  large  quantity  of  the  offensive  gases, 
ammonia;  for  in  such  cases  they  contain  not 
only  much  sulphur,  phosphorus,  and  nitrogen, 
but  an  abundance  also  of  chlorine,  soda,  pot- 
ash, lime,  and  magnesia,  the  whole  of  which 
are  so  much  the  more  important  in  vegetation, 
as  the  soil  manured  with  the  excrements  is 
deficient  in  these  particular  substances." 

The  mode  in  which  animal  fertilizers  ope- 
rate, varies,  however,  according  to  their  chemi- 
cal composition.  Some  are  enriching  from 
possessing  peculiar  saline  substances,  which 


ANIMAL  POISONS 


ftre  direct  food  for  plants.  Thus  bones  abound 
ivith  phosphate  of  lime.  Night-soil  and  urine 
do  the  same.  Farm-yard  compost  contains 
all  the  essential  ingredients  of  the  farmer's 
crops,  and  they  all  copiously  yield,  by  their 
decomposition,  the  gases  of  putrefaction, 
such  as  the  carburetted  hydrogen,  and  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  as  well  as  various  easily 
decomposible  salts  of  ammonia;  all  of  which 
are  found  to  be  highly  nourishing  when 
applied  to  the  roots  of  the  plants,  or  even  to 
their  leaves.  And,  in  fact,  some  of  the  most 
powerful  of  the  animal  fertilizers,  such  as 
train-oil,  whale-blubber,  &c.,  can  yield  the 
plant  nothing  else :  they  do  not  contain  either 
saline  or  earthy  matters.  It  is  their  gaseous 
elements  only,  therefore,  which,  when  applied 
to  the  roots  of  vegetables,  produces  such  a 
rankness  of  growth,  such  a  dark  green,  as  the 
farmer  invariably  finds  to  follow  in  moist  sea- 
sons from  their  use. 

The  quantity  of  animal  manures  employed 
in  England  besides  that  produced  by  the 
farmer's  live  stock,  is  annually  increasing,  and 
it  is  a  happy  circumstance  that  it  is  so.  Not 
only  are  sprats  and  other  cheap  fish  bought  up 
in  every  direction,  but  all  northern  Europe, 
and  even  the  South  Sea,  is  searched  for  bones  ; 
refuse  train  oil,  and  greaves  are,  to  a  conside- 
rable extent,  also  used,  and  there  are  several 
manufactories  in  the  metropolis  for  the  prepa- 
ration of  manure  powders  of  an  animal  de- 
scription, such  as  the  urate  of  the  London  Ma- 
nure Company,  and  the  disinlected  night-soil 
of  M.  Poittevin.  These  are  both,  especially 
the  first,  powerful  enrichers,  and  are  admirably- 
adapted  for  application  by  the  drill. 

ANIMAL  POISONS.  Several  animals  are 
furnished  with  liquid  juices  of  a  poisonous 
nature,  which,  when  injected  into  fresh  wounds, 
occasion  the  disease  or  death  of  the  wounded 
animal.  Well  known  examples  are  furnished 
by  the  sting  of  serpents,  bees,  scorpions,  spi- 
ders, &c.  The  poison  of  the  viper  is  a  yellow 
liquid,  which  lodges  in  two  small  vesicles  in 
the  animal's  mouth.  These  communicate  by  a 
tube  with  the  crooked  fangs  which  are  hollow, 
and  terminate  in  a  small  cavity.  When  the  ani- 
mal bites,  the  vesicles  are  squeezed,  and  the 
poison  forced  through  the  fangs  into  the 
wound.  This  poisonous  juice  occasions  the 
fatal  etfects  of  the  viper's  bite.  If  the  vesi- 
cles be  extracted,  or  the  liquid  prevented  from 
flowing  into  the  wound,  the  bite  is  harmless. 
It  hns  a  yellow  colour,  resembling  gum,  but  no 
taste ;  and  when  applied  to  the  tongue  occa- 
sions numbness.  The  poison  of  the  viper, 
and  of  serpents  in  general,  is  most  hurtful 
when  mixed  with  the  blood.  Taken  into  the 
stomach,  it  kills  if  the  quantity  be  considera- 
ble. Fontana  has  ascertained  that  its  fatal  ef- 
fects are  proportional  to  its  quantity  compared 
with  the  quantity  of  the  blood.  Hence  the 
danger  diminishes  as  the  size  of  the  animal 
increases.  Small  birds  and  quadrupeds  die 
immediately  when  they  are  bitten  by  a  viper ; 
but  to  an  adult  the  bite  seldom  proves  fatal. 
"Sweet  oil,"  says  Mr.  Beckford,  "has  long 
been  esteemed  as  a  certain  antidote  to  the  bite 
of  a  viper  ;  some  should  be  applied  to  the  part, 
and  some  taken  inwardly ;  but  the  common  J 


AJOU  CABBAGE. 

cheese-rennet,  externally  applied,  is  asserted  to 
be  a  more  efficacious  remedy  than  oil.  Ammo- 
nia, or  spirits  of  hartshorn,  has  also  been  pro- 
posed as  an  antidote.  It  was  introduced  in  con- 
sequence of  the  theory  of  Dr.  Mead,  that  the 
poison  was  of  an  acid  nature.  The  numerous 
trials  of  that  medicine  by  Fontana  robbed  it 
of  all  its  celebrity;  but  it  has  been  lately  re- 
vived and  recommended  by  Dr.  Ramsay'as  a 
certain  cure  for  the  bile  of  the  rattlesnake." 
{Phil.  Mag.  vol.  xvii.  p.  125.) 

The  I'jenom  of  the  bee  and  the  wasp  is  also 
a  liquid  contained  in  a  small  vesicle,  forced 
through  the  hollow  tube  of  the  sting  into  the 
wound  inflicted  hy  that  instrument.  From  the 
experiments  of  Fontana  we  learn  that  it  bears 
a  striking  resemblance  to  the  poison  of  the 
viper.  That  of  the  bee  is  much  longer  in 
drying  when  exposed  to  the  air  than  the  venom 
of  the  wasp.  The  sting  of  the  bee  should  be 
immediately  extracted ;  and  the  best  applica- 
tion is  opium,  and  olive  oil ;  one  drachm  of 
the  former  finely  powdered,  rubbed  down  with 
an  ounce  of  the  latter,  and  applied  to  the  part 
affected  by  means  of  lint,  which  should  be 
frequently  renewed.  (See  Bee.)  The  poison 
of  the  scorpion  resembles  that  of  the  viper. 
But  its  taste  is  hot  and  acid,  which  is  the  case 
also  with  the  venom  of  the  bee  and  the  wasp. 
No  experiments  upon  which  we  can  rely  have 
been  made  upon  the  poison  of  the  spider 
tribe.  From  the  rapidity  with  which  these 
animals  destroy  their  prey,  and  even  one 
another,  we  cannot  doubt  that  their  poison  is 
sufliciently  virulent.  {Mead  aiid  Fontana  on 
Poisons;  Thomson's  Chem.  vol.  iv.  pp.  531 — 
533.) 

[Soft  poultices  of  fresh  flesh,  bread  and  milk, 
or  in  the  absence  of  these,  even  mud,  are  excel- 
lent applications  to  stings  of  insects  and  even 
the  bites  of  the  most  venomous  snakes.  The 
vaunted  specifics  recommended  in  such  cases 
for  internal  use,  are  not  to  be  compared  in  effi- 
cacy with  the  timely  application  of  a  poultice  of 
the  flesh  of  a  chicken  or  other  animal  recently 
killed.  The  flesh  of  the  rattle-snake  itself  is  in 
some  parts  of  America  reckoned  to  possess  spe- 
cific virtues,  and  doubtless  will  answer  nearly, 
if  not  quite  as  well,  as  any  other  good  soft- and 
moist  poultice,  which  will  seldom  fail  to  effect 
a  cure  when  promptly  applied  and  frequently 
renewed.  In  this  way  the  irritation  and  in- 
flammation induced  by  the  poison  in  the  part 
bitten  is  often  arrested  at  once,  and  prevented 
from  extending  to  vital  parts.  These  conclu- 
sions are  the  results  of  experiments  made  with 
the  poison  of  the  rattle-snake,  in  which  the 
most  celebrated  Indian  and  other  specifics 
were  used  with  little  if  any  advantage.] 

ANJOU  CABBAGE.  An  excellent  vege- 
table both  for  the  kitchen  and  the  food  of  cattle. 
The  great  Anjou  cabbage,  said  the  Marquis 
de  Turbilly,  is  one  of  the  most  useful  legumin- 
ous plants  for  country  use.  It  will  grow  in 
almost  any  soil,  not  excepting  even  the  most 
indifferent,  provided  it  be  sufficiently  dung»»d. 
The  seeds  of  this  cabbage  are  commonly  sown 
in  June,  in  a  quarter  of  good  mould,  in  the 
kitchen-garden,  and  watered  from  time  to  time 
in  case  of  drought.  The  plants  will  rise  pretty 
speedily,  and  should  be   thinned  soon  after. 


ANNONA. 


ANNOTTA. 


wherevei  they  stand  too  thick.  The  next  care 
is  to  keep  them  free  from  weeds  whilst  they 
continue,  by  hoeing  the  ground  between  them. 
About  the  first  of  November  (probably  Sep- 
tember or  October  would  be  better  in  this  cli- 
mate), they  should  be  transplanted  into  the 
field  where  they  are  to  remain.  They  should 
be  planted  there  in  trenches  dug  with  a  sppde, 
pretty  deep;  that  is,  they  should  be  buried 
almost  up  to  the  leaves.  The  distance  between 
them  should  be  two  feet  or  two  feet  and  a  half 
every  way,  according  to  the  soil.  Particular 
care  should  be  taken  never  to  plant  them  with 
a  dibble,  as  gardeners  plant  other  sorts  of  cab- 
bages. A  layer  of  dung  should  be  spread  along 
the  bottom  of  the  trench,  and  the  roots  of  the 
transplanted  cabbages  covered  therewith.  The 
mould  taken  out  should  then  be  returned  back 
upon  the  dung ;  and,  as  the  trench  will  then 
no  longer  hold  it  all,  there  will  remain  a  ridge 
between  each  row  of  cabbages.  Towards  the 
middle  of  the  ensuing  May,  the  ground  should 
be  well  stirred  between  the  plants  with  a  spade, 
or  some  other  proper  instrument,  and  its  whole 
surface  laid  quite  level.  After  this,  nothing 
more  remains  to  be  done,  except  pulling  up 
the  weeds,  from  time  to  time,  as  they  appear. 

In  the  month  of  June,  such  of  these  cabbages 
as  are  already  large,  and  do  not  turn  in  their 
leaves  for  cabbaging,  but  still  continue  green, 
begin  to  be  fit  for  use,  and  soon  arrive  at  their 
full  perfection,  which  they  retain  till  the  next 
spring,  when  they  begin  to  run  up,  and  after- 
wards blossom.  Their  seeds  ripen  towards 
the  end  of  July,  and  what  is  intended  for  sow- 
ing should  then  be  gathered.  In  Anjou,  when 
these  cabbages  are  entirely  run  up,  they  gene- 
rally grow  to  the  height  of  seven  or  eight  feet ; 
sometimes  they  reach  to  eight  feet  and  a  half, 
or  nine  feet;  nay,  some  have  even  been  seen 
of  a  greater  height.  From  the  month  of  June, 
when  these  cabbages  begin  to  be  fit  for  use, 
their  leaves  are  gathered  from  time  to  time, 
and  they  shoot  out  again.  The}'-  are  large, 
excellent  food,  and  so  tender  that  they  are 
dressed  with  a  moment's  boiling.  They  never 
occasion  any  flatulencies  or  uneasiness  in  the 
stomach ;  and  are  also  very  good  for  cattle, 
which  eat  them  greedily.  They  likewise 
greatly  increase  the  milk  of  cows.  Such  are 
tiie  properties  of  this  kind  of  cabbage,  which 
is  greatly  esteemed  in  the  districts  formerly 
denominated  Anjou,  Poitou,  Brittany, Le  Maine, 
and  some  other  neighbouring  provinces.  In 
the  first,  farmers  were  formerly  bound  by  their 
leases  to  plant  early  a  certain  number  of  these 
cabbages,  and  to  leave  a  certain  number  of 
them  standing  when  they  quitted  their  farms. 

ANNONA  {Triloba).  The  North  American 
Papaw.  This  is  the  only  sort  which  will  grow 
in  the  open  air  in  England.     [See  Papaw.] 

ANNOTTA,  or  ARNOTTA  (Fr.  rocnu  ; 
Ger.  orkan ;  It.  oriana).  In  rural  economy, 
anatto  or  arnatto,  for  it  is  written  in  various 
ways,  is  a  colouring  substance,  or  dye,  ob- 
tained from  the  skin  or  pulp  of  the  kernel  of 
the  Blxa  ordlana  of  South  America  and  the 
West  Indies. 

Of  the  preparation  of  this  matter  from  the 

red  pulp  which  covers  the  seeds,  Mr.  Miller 

gives  the  following  account : — The  contents  of 

100 


the  fruit  are  taken  out  and  thrown  into  a 
wooden  vessel,  where  as  much  hot  water  is 
poured  upon  them  as  is  necessary  to  suspend 
the  red  powder  or  pulp,  and  this  is  gradually 
washed  off'  with  the  assistance  of  the  hand,  or 
of  a  spatula,  or  spoon.  When  the  seeds  appear 
quite  naked,  they  are  taken  out,  and  the  wash 
is  left  to  settle  ;  after  which  the  water  is  gently 
poured  away,  and  the  sediment  put  into  shal- 
low vessels  to  be  dried  by  degrees  in  the  shade. 
After  acquiring  a  due  consistence,  it  is  made 
into  balls  or  cakes,  (which  are  known  in  com- 
merce as  the  flag,  or  cake,  and  roll  arnotta,  and 
comes  chiefly  from  Cayenne,)  and  set  to  dry  in 
an  airy  place  until  it  be  perfectly  firm.  Some 
persons  first  pound  the  contents  of  the  fruit 
with  wooden  pestles ;  then,  covering  them 
with  water,  leave  them  to  steep  six  days. 
This  liquor  being  passed  through  a  coarse 
sieve,  and  afterwards  through  three  finer  ones, 
it  is  again  put  into  the  vat  or  wooden  vessel, 
and  left  to  ferment  a  week ;  it  is  then  boiled 
until  it  be  pretty  thick,  and  when  cool  spread 
out  to  dry,  and  afterwards  made  up  into  balls, 
which  are  usually  wrapped  up  in  banana 
leaves. 

Arnotta,  when  of  good  quality,  is  of  the  co- 
lour of  fire,  bright  within,  soft  to  the  touch,  and 
capable  of  being  dissolved  in  water.  But  the 
substance  commonly  met  with  under  this  name 
is  a  preparation  made  by  the  druggists,  in 
which  madder  is  probably  a  principal  ingre- 
dient; it  is  of  a  brick  colour,  and  a  hard  com- 
pact texture.  Arnotta  is  much  used  in  Glou- 
cestershire, and  other  cheese  counties,  a.nd  in 
the  butter  dairies.  The  method  of  using  the 
soft,  or  genuine  sort,  is  simply  by  dissolving 
such  a  quantity  as  is  necessary  in  a  small  por- 
tion of  milk ;  allowing  such  particles  as  will 
not  dissolve  to  settle  to  the  bottom.  The  milk 
thus  coloured  is  then  poured  off,  and  mixed 
with  that  which  is  to  be  made  into  cheese. 
But  when  the  hard  preparation  is  used,  pieces 
of  it  are  frequently  under  the  necessity  of  being 
rubbed  against  a  hard,  smooth,  even-faced 
pebble,  or  other  stone,  being  previously  wetted 
with  milk  to  forward  the  levigation,  and  to 
collect  the  particles  as  they  are  loosened.  For 
this  purpose,  a  dish  of  milk  is  generally  placed 
upon  the  cheese-ladder ;  and,  as  the  stone  be- 
comes loaded  with  levigated  matter,  the  pieces 
are  dipped  in  the  milk  from  iime  to  time,  until 
the  milk  in  the  dish  appear  to  be  sufficiently 
coloured.  The  stone  and  the  "  colouring" 
being  washed  clean  in  the  milk,  it  is  stirred 
briskly  about  in  the  dish ;  and,  having  stood  a 
few  minutes  for  the  suspended  particles  of 
colouring-matter  to  settle,  is  returned  into  the 
cheese-cowl ;  pouring  it  off  gently,  so  as  to 
leave  any  sediment  which  may  have  fallen 
down  in  the  bottom  of  the  dish.  The  grounds 
are  then  rubbed  with  the  finger  on  the  bottom 
of  the  dish,  and  fresh  milk  added,  until  all  the 
finer  particles  be  suspended:  and  in  this  the 
skill  in  colouring  principally  consists.  If  any 
fragments  have  been  broken  off  in  the  opera- 
tion, they  remain  at  the  bottom  of  the  dish  : 
hence  the  superiority  of  a  hard  closely-textured 
material,  which  will  not  break  off  or  crumble 
in  rubbing.  The  decoction  of  arnotta  has  a 
peculiar  smell  and  a  disagreeable  flavour.   An 


ANNUAL  MEADOW-GRASS. 

ounce  of  arnotta  will  colour  about  twenty 
cheeses  of  10  or  12  lbs.  each.  The  rolls 
usually  weigh  2  or  3  oz.  each.  In  Gloucester- 
shire, it  is  usual  to  allow  1  oz.  to  a  cwt.  of 
cheese;  in  Cheshire,  8  pennyweights  to  a 
cheese  of  60  lbs.  By  the  Spanish  Americans, 
it  is  mixed  with  their  chocolate.  The  average 
annual  import  of  arnotta  [into  England]  in 
the  tliice  years  ending  in  1831,  was  128,528 
lbs.  (Camp.  Farm. ,  M^Culludi's  Com.  Did. ,- 
Grays  Supplement ;  Loudon's  Encyc. ,-  Thom- 
son's Chem.) 

ANNUAL    MEADOW-GRASS.      See  Poa 

ASXI'A. 

ANNUAL  PLANTS.  Such  as  are  only  of 
one  year's  duration,  or  which  come  up  in  the 
spring  and  die  in  the  autumn.  They  are  fre- 
quently denominated  simply  annuals.  Wheat, 
oats,  barley,  beans,  peas,  &c.,  are  of  this  kind. 

ANNULAR,  Having  the  form  or  resem- 
blance of  a  ring.  This  appearance  is  observed 
in  the  wood  of  some  kinds  of  trees  after  they 
have  been  cut  down ;  and  in  the  horns  of 
cattle  and  sheep,  by  which  their  ages  may  in 
some  measure  be  ascertained. 

ANODYNE.  In  farriery,  a  term  applied 
to  such  medicines  as  ease  pain  and  procure 
sleep. 

ANOREXY.  In  farriery,  a  term  applied  to 
a  want  of  appetite. 

ANT.  A  sort  of  insect,  extremely  injurious 
to  pasture  lands  and  gardens ;  in  the  former 
by  throwing  up  hills,  and  in  the  latter  by  feed- 
ing on  the  fruit,  &c.  The  best  methods  of 
keeping  them  from  trees,  are  those  of  having 
the  earth  round  them  constantly  dug  up,  and 
the  application  of  saw-dust,  coal-ashes,  or 
other  matters  of  the  same  kind,  about  their 
roots.  The  same  purpose  may  be  effected  by 
covering  the  bottom  part  of  the  trees  with  tar ; 
but,  as  it  is  prejudicial  to  the  trees,  night-soil 
may,  perhaps,  answer  better;  as  it  is  found  to 
destroy  them  when  spread  upon  or  put  into 
their  hills.  A  liquor,  prepared  by  boiling  rain- 
water with  black-soap  and  sulphur,  has  been 
made  use  of  for  destroying  those  animals,  it  is 
said,  with  considerable  success.  Where  this 
liquor  is  employed,  care  should  be  taken  that 
tiie  ground  where  they  inhabit  be  perfectly 
saturated  with  it. 

ANT-HILLS.  The  habitations  of  ants,  con- 
sisting of  little  eminences,  composed  of  small 
particles  of  sand  or  earth,  lightly  and  artfully 
laid  together.  These  hills  are  very  detrimental 
to  the  farmer,  depriving  him  of  as  much  land 
as  the  hills  cover,  which  may  often  be  com- 
puted at  a  tenth  part,  or  more,  of  his  grass- 
lands. And  in  some  places,  where  negligence 
has  sntTered  them  to  multiply,  almost  half  of  it 
has  been  rendered  useless,  the  hills  standing 
as  thick  together  as  grass-cocks  in  a  hay-field : 
and  what  is  very  surprising  is,  that,  by  some, 
this  indolence  is  defended,  by  affirming,  that 
the  area  or  superficies  of  their  land  is  thereby 
increased  ;  whereas  it  is  well  known  that  very 
little  vv  no  grass  ever  grows  thereon ;  and, 
therefore,  if  the  surface  be  increased,  the  pro- 
duce is  proportionably  decreased. 

In  order  to  remove  the  hills,  and  destroy  the 
Insects,  it  has  been  a  custom  in  some  places, 
at  the  beginning  of  winter,  and  often  when  the 


ANTHOXANTHUM  ODORATUM. 

weather  was  not  very  cold,  to  dig  up  the  ant- 
hills three  or  four  inches  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  then  to  cut  them  in  pieces,  and 
scatter  the  fragments  about.  But  this  practice 
only  disseminates  the  ants,  instead  of  destroy- 
ing them,  as  they  hide  themselves  among  the 
roots  of  the  grass  for  a  little  time,  and  then  col- 
lect themselves  together  again  upon  any  little 
eminence,  of  which  there  are  great  numbers 
ready  for  their  purpose,  such  as  the  circular 
ridges  round  the  hollows  where  the  hills  stood 
before.  It  is,  therefore,  a  much  better  method 
to  cut  the  hills  entirely  off,  rather  lower  than 
the  surface  of  the  land,  and  to  let  them  lie 
whole  at  a  little  distance,  with  their  bottom  up- 
wards :  by  this  means  the  ants,  who  continue 
in  their  habitations  until  the  rains,  running 
into  their  holes  of  communication,  and  stag- 
nating in  the  hollows  formed  by  the  removal 
of  the  hills  and  the  frosts,  which  now  readily 
penetrate,  will  be  destroyed.  If  a  little  soot  is 
sown  on  the  places,  it  will  contribute  to  the 
intended  effect.  The  hills,  when  rendered 
mellow  by  the  frosts,"may  be  broken  and  dis- 
persed about  the  land.  By  this  method  of 
cutting  off  the  hills,  one  other  advantage  is 
gained :  the  land  soon  becomes  even  and  tit 
for  mowing,  and  the  little  eminences  being  re- 
moved, the  insects  are  exposed  to  the  rain, 
which  is  destructive  to  them.  In  wet  weather 
these  insects  are  apt  to  accumulate  heaps  of 
sandy  particles  among  the  grass,  called  by 
labourers  sprout-hills,  which  quickly  take  off 
the  edge  of  the  scythe.  These  hills  which  are 
very  light  and  compressible,  may  be  removed 
by  frequent  heavy  rolling. 

ANTHELMINTIC.  In  farriery,  a  term  ap- 
plied to  such  remedies  as  are  supposed  to 
destroy  or  carry  off  the  worms  which  lodge  in 
the  intestines  of  an  animal. 

ANTHOXANTHUM  ODORATUM.  The 
sweet-scented  vernal  grass.  [See  Plate  6,  a.] 
This  grass  constitutes  a  part  of  the  herbage 
of  English  pastures  on  almost  every  kind  of 
soil,  attaining  its  greatest  perfection  on  the 
deep  and  moist,  loving  shady  places,  such  as 
the  skirts  of  woods.  Its  very  early  growth 
and  hardiness,  with  the  superior  nutritive  pro- 
perties of  its  latter-math,  give  it  high  claims 
in  the  composition  of  all  permanent  pastures. 
In  England  it  comes  into  flower  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April,  and  in  Pennsylvania  about  the 
middle  of  May,  the  seed  ripening  in  both  coun- 
tries about  the  second  week  in  June.  In  the 
moist  climate  of  England  it  continues  throw- 
ing up  flower  stalks  till  the  end  of  autumn, 
but  in  Pennsylvania  the  efflorescence  is  con- 
fined to  spring.  When  properly  combined  with 
other  grasses,  and  mown  at  maturity,  it  gives 
to  the  hay  a  peculiarly  delightful  fragrance.  ^ 

The  cause  of  the  high  flavour  for  which  Phi- 
ladelphia "  May  butter"  is  so  highly  celebrated, 
has  hitherto  been  a  matter  of  vague  specala- 
tion.  This  superior  flavour,  like  that  distm- 
guishing  the  Eppiug  and  Cambridge  butter  ot 
the  London  market,  has  very  naturally  been 
ascribed  to  something  eaten  by  the  cows ;  but 
this  something  has  never  yet  been  defined  OP 
specified  so  as  to  enable  persons  m  other  locali« 
ties  to  avail  themselves  of  it  for  the  improvo 
ment  of  their  own  pastures  and  dairy  products 
1 2  101 


ANTICOR. 


APHERNOUSLI. 


The  Aiuerican  editor  of  the  Farmer's  Ency- 
clopoedia  claims  to  have  traced  the  source  of 
the  peculiar  flavour  of  Philadelphia  "  May  but- 
ter" to  the  sweet-scented  vernal  grass  natural- 
ized and  abounding  in  the  pastures  within 
marketing  distance  of  the  city.  He  assigns 
the  following  reasons  for  this  conclusion.  1. 
In  the  dairy  region  around  Philadelphia  the 
vernal  grass,  with  its  vanilla  fragrance,  coi  sti- 
tutes  the  predominant  spring  herbage  on  all 
pasture-fields  and  meadows  left  several  years 
unploughed.  The  older  the  pasture  the  greater 
the  proportion  of  the  vernal  grass,  and  the 
higher  flavoured  the  butter.  2.  The  flavour 
continues  during  the  development  of  this  grass, 
and  invariably  declines  with  its  seeding,  after 
which  the  cattle  push  its  dry  stems  aside  in 
search  of  fresher  herbage.  3.  The  sweet- 
scented  vernal  grass  is  shown  by  chemical  ana- 
lysis to  contain  an  aromatic  essential  oil,  the 
basis  of  which  is  benzoic  acid  or  flowers  of  ben- 
zoin. This  is  abundant,  and  can  be  distilled  so 
as  to  furnish  a  delightful  perfume.  As  the 
milk  of  animals  is  so  very  susceptible  of  ac- 
quiring disagreeable  tastes  from  substances  fed 
upon,  it  is  natural  to  infer  that  it  may  be  im- 


bued with  agreeable  flavours  could  the  propef 
agents  for  this  purpose  be  presented  in  their 
food.  That  the  benzoic  acid  is  the  proximate 
cause  of  the  peculiar  fine  flavour  of  butter 
made  from  pastures  where  the  sweet-scented 
vernal  grass  abounds,  he  has  shown  by  several 
experiments  made  in  diflerent  places  where  the 
floAvers  of  benzoin  given  to  cows  produced 
the  characteristic  flavour.  Fi-om  20  to  oO  grains 
of  the  benzoin  was  administered  twice  a  day, 
previously  mixed  with  a  little  rye  or  wheat 
flour,  then  stirred  up  with  some  hot  water  and 
mingled  with  the  customary  mess. 

Hitherto,  but  little,  if  any,  exact  knowledge 
has  been  acquired  in  regard  to  the  effects  of 
particular  grasses  in  improving  the  flavour  of 
dairy  products,  or  the  meat  of  animals.  The 
abundant  presence  of  the  sweet-scented  vernal 
grass  in  pastures  will,  it  is  believed,  not  only 
contribute  a  rich  flavour  to  dairy  products, 
but  to  the  mutton  and  beef  of  cattle  and  sheep 
pastured  upon  it. 

[See  Dr.  Emerson's  communication  to  J.  S. 
Skinner,  on  the  subject  of  Philadelphia  butter, 
originally  published  in  the  Farmer's  Library 
for  April,  1846.] 


Description  of  Gr 


Anthoxanthnm  odoratum,  on  Ist  Apfil 

,  in  flower    - 

,  seed  ripe  - 

,  latter-math 


Brown  sandy  loam 


Green  Produce 
per  Acre. 


lbs. 

3,4S8  0  0 

7,827  3  0 

6,125  10  0 

6,806  4  0 


Dry  Produce 
per  Acre. 


2,103      8    14 
1,837     11      0 


Produce  per  Acre 

of  Nutritive 

Matter. 


95 
122 
311 


6  0 

4  12 

1  1 

4  8 


ANTICOR.  In  farriery,  a  disease  among 
horses,  arising  from  an  inflammation  in  the 
gullet  and  throat,  or  a  kind  of  quinsy.  The 
swelling  sometimes  extends  as  far  as  the 
sheath ;  and  is  attended  with  fever,  great  de- 
pression, weakness,  and  a  total  loss  of  ap- 
petite. 

ANTIDOTE.  See  Poisoir,  and  Animal  and 
Vegetable  Poisons. 

ANTIMONY,  SULPHURET  OF.  In  far- 
riery, a  mineral  substance,  of  a  shining,  stri- 
ated appearance,  hard,  brittle,  and  very  heavy. 
It  is  employed  as  a  remedy  in  many  diseases 
of  horses  and  other  animals,  and  is  said  to 
have  been  given  to .  fattening  cattle  and  hogs 
with  advantage.  An  ounce  is  the  common 
quantity  for  a  full-grown  animal,  which  may 
be  repeated  according  to  circumstances.  It  is 
composed  according  to  Dr.  J.  Davy  {Phil. 
Trans.  1812,  p.  231),  of 


Antimony 
Sulphur 


100 
34-960 


ANTISEPTIC  SUBSTANCES.  In  agricul- 
ture, are  such  substances  as  have  a  tendency 
to  resist  the  putrefaction  and  decay  of  animal 
and  vegetable  matters. 

ANTISPASMODICS.  In  farrier)%  are  such 
medicines  as  are  suited  to  cure  spasmodic  af- 
fections. Opium,  assafoBtida,  and  the  essential 
oils  of  many  vegetables,  are  the  most  powerful 
remedies  of  this  kind. 

ANTLER  (Fr.  andoulUer).  Properly  the 
first  briuiches  of  a  stag's  horns  ;  but,  popularly 
and  generally,  any  of  his  branches,  and  so 
used,  by  poetic  license,  in  all  our  modern 
authors. 

102 


AORTAL  ARTERIES,  of  vegetables.  The 
large  vessels  destined  to  convey  the  elaborated 
juice  or  blood  of  plants  to  the  leaves  and  ex- 
tremities, are  so  denominated  by  Dr.  Darwin. 

APERIENTS.  In  farriery,  are  such  reme- 
dies as  are  calculated  to  keep  the  bowels  of 
animals  in  a  gentle  open  state. 

APHERNOUSLI,  or  ARKENOUSLL  A 
species  of  fir,  pine,  or  pinaster,  which  grows 
wild  on  the  Alps. 

The  timber  of  this  tree  is  frequently  large, 
and  has  many  uses  for  internal  work.  The 
branches  resemble  those  of  the  spruce-fir:  but 
the  cones  are  more  round  in  the  middle,  being 
of  a  purplish  colour,  shaded  with  black.  The 
bark  of  the  trunk,  or  bole  of  the  tree,  is  not 
reddish  like  the  bark  of  the  pine,  but  of  a 
whitish  cast  like  that  of  the  fir.  The  husk,  or 
sort  of  shell,  which  encloses  the  kernels,  is 
easily  cracked,  and  the  kernels  are  covered 
with  a  brown  skin,  which  peels  oflf;  they  are 
about  as  large  as  a  common  pea,  triangular 
like  buckwheat,  and  white  and  soft  as  a 
blanched  almond;  of  an  oily  agreeable  taste, 
but  leaving  in  the  mouth  that  small  degree  of 
asperity  which  is  peculiar  to  wild  fruits,  and 
is  not  unpleasant.  These  kernels  sometimes 
make  a  part  in  a  Swiss  dessert ;  they  supply 
the  place  of  mushroom-buttons  in  ragouts,  and 
are  also  recommended  in  consumptive  cases. 

Wainscoting,  flooring,  and  other  joiner's 
work,  may  be  made  with  the  planks  of  apher- 
nousli.,  which  is  a  wood  of  a  finer  grain,  and 
more  beautifully  variegated  than  deal,  and  the 
smell  is  more  agreeable.  The  aphernousli  is 
a  tree  of  a  healthy,  vigorous  growth,  and  will 
bear  removing  when  it  is  young,  even  in  dry 


APHIDIANS. 


APHIDES. 


warm  weather.  From  this  tree  is  extracted 
a  white  odoriferous  resin.  The  wood  also 
makes  excellent  tiring  in  stoves,  ovens,  and 
kilns. 

[APHIDIANS.  A  group  of  minute  insects, 
which  includes  those  commonly  called  plant- 
lice.  Some  of  these  insects  have  the  power  of 
leaping,  like  the  leaf-hoppers,  from  which,  how- 
ever, they  differ.  These  hoppers  are  by  no 
means  so  prolific  as  other  kinds  of  plant-lice, 
since  they  produce  only  one  brood  during  the 
year.  They  live  in  groups,  composed  of  about 
a  dozen  individuals  each,  upon  the  stems  and 
leaves  of  plants,  the  juices  of  which  they  im- 
bibe through  their  tubular  beaks.  The  young 
are  often  covered  with  a  substance  resembling 
fine  cotton  arranged  in  flakes.  This  is  the  case 
with  some  which  are  found  on  the  alder  and 
birch  in  the  spring  of  the  year. 

Another  tribe  of  aphidians  called  Thrips, 
are  very  small  and  slender  insects,  exceed- 
ingly active  in  their  motions.  They  live  on 
leaves,  flowers,  buds,  &c.  Their  punctures 
appear  to  poison  plants,  and  often  occasion 
deformities  in  the  leaves  and  blossoms.  The 
peach  tree  sometimes  suflers  severely  from 
their  attacks,  as  from  those  of  the  true  plant- 
lice  ;  and  they  are  found  beneath  the  leaves,  in 
little  hollows  caused  by  their  irritating  punc- 
tures. The  same  applications  that  are  em- 
ployed for  the  destruction  of  plant-lice  may  be 
used  with  advantage  upon  plants  infested  with 
Thrips.  (Dr.  Harris's  Report  on  Destructive 
Insects.)] 

[APHIDES,  or  plant-lice,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called,  are  found  upon  almost  all  parts 
of  plants,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  plant  which 
does  not  harbour  one  or  two  kinds  peculiar  to 
itself.  They  are  exceedingly  prolific,  and 
Reaumur  has  proved  that  one  individual,  in 
five  generations,  may  become  the  progenitor 
of  nearly  six  thousand  millions  of  descendants. 
It  often  happens  that  the  succulent  extremi- 
ties and  stems  of  plants  will,  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time,  become  completely  coated 
with  a  living  mass  of  little  lice.  These  are 
usually  wingless,  consisting  of  the  young  and 
of  the  females  only ;  for  winged  individuals 
appear  only  at  particular  seasons,  usually  in 
the  autumn,  but  sometimes  in  the  spring,  and 
there  are  small  males  and  larger  females. 
After  pairing,  the  latter  lay  their  eggs  upon  or 
near  the  leaf-buds  of  the  plant  upon  which 
they  live,  and,  together  with  their  males,  soon 
afterwards  perish.  The  genus  to  which  plant- 
lice  belong  is  called  Aphis,  from  a  Greek  word 
signifying  to  exhaust  They  hatch  out  in  the 
spring  and  immediately  begin  to  pump  up  sap 
from  the  tender  buds,  stems,  and  leaves,  in- 
crease rapidly  in  size  and  quickly  come  to  ma- 
turity. 

"  Plant-lice  seem  to  love  society,  and  often 
herd  together  in  dense  masses,  each  one  re- 
maining fixed  to  the  plant  by  means  of  its  long 
tubular  beak;  and  they  rarely  change  their 
places  till  they  have  exhausted  the  part  first 
attacked.  The  attitudes  and  manners  of  these 
little  creatures  are  exceedingly  amusing. 
When  disturbed,  like  restive  horses,  they  be- 
gin to  kick  and  sprawl  in  the  most  ludicrous 
manner.    They  may  be  seen,  at  times,  sus- 


pended by  tiieir  beaks  alone,  acvt  throwing  up 
their  legs  as  if  in  a  high  frolic,  but  too  much 
engaged  in  sucking  to  withdraw  their  beaks. 
As  they  take  in  great  quantities  of  sap,  they 
would  soon  become  gorged  if  they  did  not  get 
rid  of  the  superabundant  fluid  through  the  two 
little  tubes  or  pores  at  the  extremity  of  their 
bodies.  When  one  of  them  gets  running-over 
full,  it  seems  to  communicate  its  uneasy  sen- 
sations, by  a  kind  of  animal  magnetism,  to  the 
whole  flock,  upon  which  they  all,  with  one  ac- 
cord, jerk  upAvards  their  bodies,  and  eject  a 
shower  of  the  honeyed  fluid.  The  leaves  and 
bark  of  plants  much  infested  by  these  insects, 
are  often  completely  sprinkled  over  with  drops 
of  this  sticky  fluid,  which,  on  drying,  becomes 
dark  coloured,  and  greatly  disfigures  the  foliage. 
This  appearance  has  been  denominated  honey- 
dew;  but  there  is  another  somewhat  similai 
production  observable  on  plants,  after  very  dry 
weather,  which  has  received  the  same  name, 
and  consists  of  an  extravasation  or  oozing  of 
the  sap  from  the  leaves.  We  are  often  ap- 
prized of  the  presence  of  plant-lice  on  plants 
growing  in  the  open  air  by  the  ants  ascending 
and  descending  the  stems.  By  observing  the 
motions  of  the  latter  we  soon  ascertain  that  the 
sweet  fluid  discharged  by  the  lice  is  the  occa- 
sion of  these  visits.  The  stems  swarm  with 
slim  and  hungry  ants  running  upwards,  and 
others  lazily  descending  with  their  bellies 
swelled  almost  to  bursting.  When  arrived  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  plant-lice,  they 
greedily  wipe  up  the  sweet  fluid  which  has  dis- 
tilled from  them,  and,  when  this  fails,  they 
station  themselves  among  the  lice,  and  catch 
the  drops  as  they  fall.  The  lice  do  not  seem 
in  the  least  annoyed  by  the  ants,  but  live  on 
the  best  possible  terms  with  them ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  ants,  though  unsparing 
of  other  insects  weaker  than  themselves, 
upon  which  they  frequently  prey,  treat  the 
plant-lice  with  the  utmost  gentleness,  caress- 
ing them  with  their  antennae,  and  apparently 
inviting  them  to  give  out  the  fluid  by  patting 
their  sides.  Nor  are  the  lice  inattentive  to 
these  solicitations,  when  in  a  state  to  gratify 
the  ants,  for  whose  sake  they  not  only  seem  to 
shorten  the  periods  of  the  discharge,  but  actu- 
ally yield  the  fluid  when  thus  pressed.  A  sin- 
gle louse  has  been  known  to  give  it  drop  by 
drop  successively  to  a  number  of  ants,  that 
were  waiting  anxiously  to  receive  it.  When 
the  plant-lice  cast  their  skins,  the  ants  in- 
stantly remove  the  latter,  nor  will  they  allow 
any  dirt  or  rubbish  to  remain  upon  or  about 
them.  They  even  protect  them  from  their 
enemies,  and  run  about  them  in  the  hot  sun- 
shine to  drive  away  the  little  ichneumon  flies 
that  are  forever  hovering  near  to  deposit  their 
eggs  in  the  bodies  of  the  lice." 

Plant-lice  differ  much  in  form,  colour,  length 
of  tubes,  &c.  The  Rose-louse  (Aphis  Rosas) 
has  a  long  tube.  The  cabbage-louse  (Aphts 
Brassicse)  has  also  long  honey-tubes,  its  body 
being  covered  with  a  whitish  mealy  substance. 
This  species  is  very  abundant  on  the  lower 
side  of  cabbage-leaves  in  the  month  of  Au- 
gust. The  largest  species  of  plant-lice  ob- 
served by  Dr.  Harris,  he  found  m  clusters 
beneath  the  limbs  of  the  pig-nut  hickory.    He 

103 


APHIDES. 


APHIDES. 


also  found  another  large  species  living  on  the 
under  side  of  the  branches  of  various  kinds 
of  willows,  and  clustered  together  in  great 
numbers.  This  species,  the  Doctor  thinks, 
cannot  be  identical  with  the  willow-louse  de- 
scribed by  Linnseus.  When  crushed,  it  com- 
municates a  stain  of  a  reddish  or  deep  orange 
colour. 

Some  plant-lice  live  in  the  ground,  and  de- 
rive their  nourishment  from  the  roots  of 
plants,  which  they  often  exhaust  and  destroy. 
Indian  corn  crops  frequently  suffer  severely 
from  their  depredations,  especially  when  the 
soil  is  light  and  reduced.  They  are  generally 
of  a  white  colour,  and  are  closely  clustered  to- 
gether on  the  roots.  Dr.  Hairis,  from  whose 
Report  all  the  information  upon  this  subject  is 
obtained,  says  that  he  never  has  been  able  to 
ascertain  whether  these  are  of  the  same  spe- 
cies as  the  root-lice  described  by  European 
writers.  It  is  stated  by  those  great  entomolo- 
gists, Kirby  and  Spence,  that  ants  bestow  the 
same  care  upon  the  root-lice  as  upon  their 
own  ofispring,  defending  them  from  the  attacks 
of  other  insects,  bringing  them  in  their  mouths 
to  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  give  them  the 
advantage  of  the  sun,  &c.  The  sweet  fluid 
which  exudes  from  them  whilst  pumping  in 
the  sap  of  the  roots,  forms  the  chief  nourish- 
ment of  the  ants  and  their  young. 

"The  injuries  occasioned  by  plant-lice  are 
much  greater  than  would  at  first  be  expected 
from  the  small  size  and  extreme  weakness  of 
the  insects ;  but  these  make  up  by  their  num- 
bers what  they  want  in  strength  individually, 
and  thus  become  formidable  enemies  to  vege- 
tation. By  their  punctures,  and  the  quantity 
of  sap  which  they  draw  from  the  leaves,  the 
functions  of  these  important  organs  are  de- 
ranged or  interrupted,  the  food  of  the  plant, 
which  is  there  elaborated  to  nourish  the  stem 
and  mature  the  fruit,  is  withdrawn,  before  it 
can  reach  its  proper  destination,  or  is  conta- 
minated and  left  in  a  state  unfitted  to  supply 
the  wants  of  vegetation.  Plants  are  differently 
affected  by  these  insects.  Some  wither  and 
cease  to  grow,  their  leaves  and  stems  put  on 
a  sickly  appearance,  and  soon  die  from  ex- 
haustion. Others,  though  not  killed,  are  great- 
ly impeded  in  their  growth,  and  their  tender 
parts,  which  are  attacked,  become  stunted, 
curled,  or  warped.  The  punctures  of  these 
lice  seem  to  poison  some  plants,  and  affect 
others  in  a  most  singular  manner,  producing 
warts  or  swellings,  which  are  sometimes  solid 
and  sometimes  hollow,  and  contain  in  their 
interior  a  swarm  of  lice,  the  descendants  of  a 
single  individual,  whose  punctures  were  the 
original  cause  of  the  tumour.  I  have  seen 
reddish  tumours  of  this  kind  as  big  as  a 
pigeon's  egg,  growing  upon  leaves,  to  which 
they  were  attached  by  a  slender  neck,  and 
containing  thousands  of  small  lice  in  their  in- 
terior. Naturalists  call  these  tumours  galls, 
oecause  they  seem  to  be  formed  in  the  same 
way  as  the  oak-galls  which  are  used  in  the 
making  of  ink.  The  lice  which  inhabit  or  pro- 
duce them  generally  differ  from  the  others,  in 
having  shorter  antenna ,  being  without  honey- 
lubes,  and  in  frequently  being  clothed  with  a 
104 


kind  of  white  down,  which,  however,  disappears 
when  the  insect  becomes  winged. 

"  These  downy  plant-lice  are  now  placed  in 
the  genus  Eriosoma,  which  means  woolly  body, 
and  the  most  destructive  species  belonging  to 
it  was  first  described,  under  the  name  of  Aphis 
lanis;era,  by  Mr.  Hausmann,  in  the  year  1801, 
as  infesting  the  apple-trees  in  Germany.  It 
seems  that  it  had  been  noticed  in  England  as 
early  as  the  year  1787,  and  has  since  acquired 
there  the  name  of  American  blight,  from  the 
erroneous  supposition  that  it  had  been  import- 
ed from  this  country.  It  was  known,  however, 
to  the  French  gardeners  for  a  long  time  pre- 
vious to  both  of  the  above  dates,  and,  accord- 
ing to  Mr.  Rennie,  is  found  in  the  orchards 
about  Harfleur,  in  Normandy,  and  is  very  de- 
structive to  the  apple-trees  in  the  department 
of  Calvados.  There  is  now  goody  reason  to 
believe  that  the  miscalled  American  blight  is 
not  indigenous  to  this  country,  and  that  it  has 
been  introduced  here  with  fruit-trees  from  En- 
rope.  Some  persons,  indeed,  have  supposed 
that  it  was  not  to  be  found  here  at  all ;  but  the 
late  Mr.  Buel  has  stated  that  it  existed  on  his 
apple-trees,  and  I  have  once  or  twice  seen  it 
on  apple-trees  in  Massachusetts,  where,  how- 
ever, it  still  appears  to  be  rare,  and  conse- 
quently I  have  not  been  able  to  examine  the 
insects  sufficiently  myself.  The  best  account 
that  I  have  seen  of  them  is  contained  in 
Knapp's  'Journal  of  a  Naturalist,'  from  which, 
and  from  Hausmann's  description,  the  follow- 
ing observations  are  chiefly  extracted. 

"The  eggs  of  the  woolly  apple-tree  louse  are 
so  small  as  not  to  be  distinguished  without  a 
microscope,  and  are  enveloped  in  a  cotton-like 
substance  furnished  by  the  body  of  the  insect. 
They  are  deposited  in  the  crotches  of  the 
branches  and  in  the  chinks  of  the  bark  at  or 
near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  especially  if 
there  are  suckers  springing  from  the  same 
place.  The  young,  when  first  hatched,  are 
covered  with  a  very  short  and  fine  down,  and 
appear  in  the  spring  of  the  year  like  little 
specks  of  mould  on  the  trees.  As  the  season 
advances,  and  the  insect  increases  in  size,  its 
downy  coat  becomes  more  distinct,  and  grows 
in  length  daily.  This  down  is  very  easily  re- 
moved, adheres  to  the  fingers  when  it  is 
touched,  and  seems  to  issue  from  all  the  pores 
of  the  skin  of  the  abdomen.  When  fully 
grown,  the  insects  of  the  first  brood  are  one 
tenth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  when  the  down 
is  rubbed  off,  the  head,  antennas,  sucker,  and 
shins  are  found  to  be  of  a  blackish  colour,  an 
the  abdomen  honey-yellow.  The  young  are 
produced  alive  during  the  summer,  are  buried 
in  masses  of  th^  down,  and  derive  their  nou- 
rishment from  the  sap  of  the  bark  and  of  the 
alburnum  or  young  wood  immediately  under 
the  bark.  The  adult  insects  never  acquire 
wings,  at  least  such  is  the  testimony  both  of 
Hausmann  and  Knapp,  and  are  destitute  of 
honey-tubes,  but  from  time  to  time  emit  drops 
of  a  sticky  fluid  from  the  extremity  of  the 
body.  These  insects,  though  destitute  of  wings, 
are  conveyed  from  tree  to  tree  by  means  of 
their  long  down,  which  is  so  plentiful  and  so 
light,  as  easily  to  be  wafted  by  the  winds  of 


TEWumn,  and  th 


APHIDES. 


fumn,  and  thus  the  evil  will  gradually  spread 
tiiroujjhout  an  extensive  orchard.  The  nume- 
rous punctures  of  these  lice  produce  on  the 
tender  shoots  a  cellular  appearance,  and  wher- 
ever a  colony  of  them  is  established,  warts  or 
excrescences  arise  on  the  bark ;  the  limbs  thus 
attacked  become  sickly,  the  leaves  turn  yellow 
and  drop  off;  and,  as  the  infection  spreads 
from  limb  to  limb,  the  whole  tree  becomes 
diseai»ed,  and  eventually  perishes.  In  Glou- 
cestershire, England,  so  many  apple-trees  were 
destroyed  by  these  lice  in  the  year  1810,  that 
it  was  feared  the  making  of  cider  must  be 
abandoned.  In  the  north  of  England  the  apple- 
trees  are  greatly  injured,  and  some  annually 
destroyed  by  them;  and  in  the  year  1826  they 
abounded  there  in  such  incredible  luxuriance, 
that  many  trees  seemed,  at  a  short  distance,  as 
if  they  had  been  whitewashed. 

"  Mr.  Knapp  thinks  that  remedies  can  prove 
efficacious  in  removing  this  evil  only  upon  a 
small  scale,  and  that  when  the  injury  has 
existed  for  some  time,  and  extended  its  inllu- 
ence  over  the  parts  of  a  large  tree,  it  will  take 
its  course,  and  the  tree  will  die.  He  says  that 
he  has  removed  this  blight  from  young  trees, 
ajid  from  recently  attacked  places  in  those 
more  advanced,  by  painting  over  every  node 
or  infected  part  of  the  tree  with  a  composition 
consisting  of  three  ounces  of  melted  resin, 
mixed  with  the  same  quantity  of  fish  oil,  which 
is  to  be  put  on  while  warm  with  a  painter's 
brush.  Sir  Joseph  Banks  succeeded  in  extir- 
pating the  insects  from  his  own  trees  by  re- 
moving all  the  old  and  rugged  bark,  and  scrub- 
bing the  trunk  and  branches  with  a  hard  brush. 
The  application  of  the  spirits  of  tar,  of  spirits 
of  turpentine,  of  oil,  urine,  and  of  soft  soap, 
has  been  recommended.  Mr.  Buel  found  that 
oil  sufliced  to  drive  the  insects  from  the  trunks 
and  branches,  but  that  it  could  not  be  applied 
to  the  roots,  where,  he  stated,  numbers  of  the 
insects  harboured.  The  following  treatment, 
I  am  inclined  to  think,  will  prove  as  success- 
ful as  any  which  has  heretofore  been  recom- 
mended. Scrape  off  all  the  rough  bark  of  the 
infected  trees,  and  make  them  perfectly  clean 
and  smooth  early  in  the  spring ;  then  rub  the 
trunk  and  limbs  with  a  stiff  brush  wet  with  a 
solution  of , potash,  as  hereafter  recommended 
for  the  destruction  of  bark-lice ;  after  which 
remove  the  sods  and  earth  around  the  bottom 
of  the  trunk,  and  with  the  scraper,  brush,  and 
alkaline  liquor  cleanse  that  part  as  far  as  tl  e 
roots  can  conveniently  be  uncovered.  The 
earth  and  sods  should  immediately  be  carried 
away,  fresh  loam  should  be  placed  around  the 
roots,  and  all  cracks  and  wounds  should  be 
filled  with  grafting  cement  of  clay  or  mortar. 
Small  limbs  and  extremities  of  branches,  if 
infected,  and  beyond  reach  of  the  applications, 
should  be  cut  off  and  burned." 

Dr.  Harris  found  in  Massachusetts  several 
other  species  of  Eriosoma  or  downy  lice,  in- 
habiting various  forest  and  ornamental  trees, 
some  of  which  he  thinks  may  have  been  in- 
troduced from  abroad. 

Remedies.  With  regard  to  the  best  means 
of  destroying  plant-lice,  Dr.  Harris  recom- 
mends as  follows :  *'  Solutions  of  soap  or  a 
U 


APHIDES. 

mixture  of  soap-suds  and  tobacco  water,  used 
warm,  and  applied  with  a  watering  pot  or  with 
a  garden  engine,  may  be  employed  for  the  de- 
struction of  these  insects.  It  is  said  that  ho» 
water  may  also  be  employed  for  the  same  pur- 
pose with  safety  and  success.  The  water, 
tobacco-tea,  or  suds,  should  be  thrown  upon 
the  plants  with  considerable  force,  and  if  they 
are  of  the  cabbage  or  lettuce  kind,  or  other 
plants  whose  leaves  are  to  be  used  as  food, 
they  should  subsequently  be  drenched  tho- 
roughly with  pure  water.  Lice  on  the  extre- 
mities of  branches  may  be  killed  by  bending 
over  the  branches  and  holding  them  for  seve- 
ral minutes  in  warm  and  strong  soap-suds. 
Lice  multiply  much  faster,  and  are  more  inju- 
rious to  plants,  in  a  dry  than  in  a  wet  atmo- 
sphere; hence  in  green  houses,  attention  should 
be  paid  to  keep  the  air  sufficiently  moist ;  and 
the  lice  are  readily  killed  by  fumigations  with 
tobacco  or  with  sulphur.  To  destroy  subter- 
ranean lice  on  the  roots  of  plants,  I  have  fount 
that  watering  with  salt  water  was  useful,  if 
the  plants  were  hardy;  but  tender  herbaceou.' 
plants  cannot  be  treated  in  this  way,  but  may 
sometimes  be  revived,  when  suffering  from 
these  hidden  foes,  by  free  and  frequent  water- 
ing with  soap-suds." 

A  solution  of  whale  oil  soap,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  two  pounds  of  sonp  to  fifteen  gallons: 
of  water,  is  recommended  as  the  best  known 
means  of  destroying  plant-lice,  and  other  in- 
sects i))jurious  to  plants,  flowers,  and  fruits. 
It  was  first  made  known  by  Mr.  Haggerston, 
of  Boston,  who  desij  led  it  originally  for  the 
destruction  of  the  rose  slug,  and  received  a  pre- 
mium of  $125  from  the  Massachusetts  Horticul- 
tural Society  for  his  discovery.  In  preparing 
the  solution  of  soap,  the  weight  required  for  use 
IS  to  be  taken  and  dissolved  in  boiling  water 
in  the  proportion  of  a  pound  to  a  quart.  Strain 
this  strong  solution  through  a  fine  wire  or  hair 
sieve,  which  takes  out  the  dirt,  and  prevents 
its  stopping  the  valves  of  the  engine,  or  rose 
of  the  syringe.  Then  add  cold  water  to  bring 
it  to  the  proper  strength,  namely,  about  two 
pounds  of  the  soap  to  fifteen  gallons  of  water, 
and  apply  to  the  rose  bush,  or  other  plant,  with 
a  hand  engine  or  a  syringe,  using  as  mucn 
force  as  practicable,  saturating  every  part  of 
the  foliage.  What  falls  on  the  ground  will  not 
be  lost,  but  do  much  good  in  destroying  worms 
and  enriching  the  soil.  From  its  trilling  cost, 
it  can  be  used  with  profusion,  a  hogshead  of 
136  gallons  costing  only  about  45  cents.  Tlie 
soap  sells  for  about  6  or  7  cents  per  pound. 
Early  in  the  morning,  or  in  the  evening,  is 
the  proper  time  for  making  the  application. 
Among  other  insects  mentioned  by  Mr.  Hag 
gerston  as  destroyed  by  the  solution  of  whale 
oil  soap,  are  the  Aphis,  or  plant-louse,  which 
goes  by  the  name  of  the  brown  fly;  an  insect 
not  quick  in  motion,  very  abundant  on,  and 
destructive  to,  the  young  shoots  of  the  rose, 
peach  trees,  and  many  other  plants ;  and  thf 
black  fly,  a  very  troublesome  and  destructive 
insect,  that  infests  the  young  shoots  of  the 
cherry  and  the  snowball  tree.  "  I  have  never," 
he  says,  "known  any  positive  cure  for  this 
insect  until  this  time." 


APIUM. 


APPRAISEMENT. 


"Two  varieties  of  insects  that  are  (destruc- 
tive to  and  very  much  disfigure  evergreens, 
the  Balsam  or  Balm  of  Gilead  fir  in  particular; 
one  an  aphis,  the  other  very  much  like  the 
rose-slug. 

"  The  above  insects  are  all  destroyed  by  one 
application,  if  properly  applied  to  all  parts  of 
the  leaves ;  the  eggs  of  most  insects  continue 
to  hatch  in  rotation  during  their  season;  to 
keep  the  plants  perfectly  clean,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessary to  dress  them  two  or  three  times." 

As  every  plant  has  its  insect  destro)^ers,  so 
have  these  their  created  enemies  to  keep  them 
in  check.  If  this  was  not  so,  the  astonishing 
fecundity  of  plant-lice  would  make  them  far 
more  formidable  than  at  present.  Indeed  it  is 
difficult  to  say  where  the  plague  might  end. 
The  destroyers  of  plant-lice  described  by  Dr. 
Harris  are  of  three  kinds. — The  first  are  the 
young  or  larvae  of  the  hemispherical  beetles 
familiarly  known  by  the  name  of  lady-birds, 
and  scientifically  by  that  of  Coccinella.  These 
little  beetles  are  generally  yellow  or  red,  with 
black  spots,  or  black,  with  white,  red,  or  yellow 
ijpots  ;  there  are  many  kinds  of  them,  and  they 
are  very  common  and  plentiful  insects,  gene- 
rally diffused  among  plants,  living  upon  plant- 
lice,  and  thus  performing  a  great  service  to 
the  husbandman  and  gardener. 

The  second  kind  of  plant-lice  destroyers  are 
the  young  of  the  golden-eyed  lace-winged  fly 
(Chrisopa  perla),  a  fly  of  a  pale  green  colour, 
with  four  wings  resembling  lace,  and  eyes  of 
the  brilliancy  of  polished  gold,  as  its  generic 
name  implies.  But,  notwithstanding  its  bril- 
liancy, it  is  extremely  disgusting,  from  the 
oflfensive  odour  it  exhales.  It  makes  great 
havoc  among  the  plant-lice. 

The  third  and  last  enemy  are  the  maggots 
or  young  of  various  two-winged  flies  belonging 
to  the  genus  St/rphus,  many  of  which  flies  are 
black,  with  yellow  bands  on  their  bodies.  The 
eggs  are  laid  and  the  destructive  maggot 
hatched  immediately  among  the  sluggish  lice 
which  become  its  victims. 

The  more  minute  account  given  by  Dr.  Har- 
ris, of  the  nature  and  habits  of  all  these  in- 
sects, is  extremely  interesting.  (See  his  Report 
upon  Destructive  Insects  submitted  to  the  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts  in  1841.)] 

APIUM.     See  Celkky  and  Patislet. 

APOPLEXY.  In  farriery,  is  a  disease  which 
is  often  called  the  staggers,  to  which  horses 
and  other  animals  are  subject,  and  by  which 
they  drop  down  suddenly,  without  sense  or 
motion,  except  a  working  of  the  flanks.  (See 
Shkep,  Diseases  of.) 

APPETITE.  Horses,  more  than  most  other 
creatures,  are  subject  to  diseases  of  the  sto- 
mach, particularly  to  a  want  of  appetite,  and 
a  vitiated  or  voracious  appetite. 

Want  of  appetite  is  when  a  horse  feeds  poor- 
ly, and  is  apt  to  mangle  his  hay,  or  leave  it  in 
the  rack,  and  at  the  same  time  gathers  little 
flp..h,  his  dung  being  habitually  soft,  and  of  a 
pale  colour.  This  state  of  the  stomach  evi- 
dently arises  either  from  some  error  in  respect 
of  diet  and  management,  want  of  grass,  or  from 
R.  relaxed  constitution,  in  which  the  stomach 
106 


and  bowels  are  more  particularly  affected  with 
debility.  This  weakness  of  the  digestive  or- 
gans may  be  either  accidental  or  constitution- 
al ;  and  it  may  proceed  from  the  use  of  food 
administered  m  an  improper  state,  such  as  too 
much  scalded  bran,  or  hot  meal  of  any  kind, 
which  relaxes  the  tone  of  the  stomach  and 
bowels,  and  ultimately  produces  a  weak  di- 
gestion, and  consequently  a  loss  of  appetite* 
The  best  method  to  strengthen  and  recover 
horse*;  in  this  state,  is  to  give  them  gentle 
exercise  in  the  open  air,  especially  in  dry 
weather;  never  to  load  their  stomachs  with 
large  feeds ;  and  to  keep  them  as  much  as 
possible  to  a  dry  diet,  indulging  them  now  and 
then  with  a  handful  of  beans  among  their  oats. 
But  where  the  disorder  has  been  caused  by 
over-feeding  with  dry  food,  and  the  neglect  of 
proper  evacuation  and  exercise,  mashes,  with 
gentle  saline  purges,  would  seem  to  be  the 
most  suitable  remedies  ;  and  where  horses  do 
not  gain  strength  under  the  above  manage- 
ment, a  run  at  grass  will  most  probably  be 
the  readiest  method  of  removing  their  com- 
plaints. 

APPLE.    See  Malus. 

APPLES  OF  LOVE  (Poma  amoris ;  to- 
mato). These  apples  are  juicy,  and  large  fruit, 
growing  upon  a  low  plant  in  gardens.  The 
flowers  are  yellow  and  small ;  when  the  fruit 
ripens,  it  becomes  red,  containing  soft  juicy 
pulp  and  seeds.  Its  juice  is  cooling  to  the 
system,  and  is  applied  externally  to  remove 
eruptions  upon  the  skin.  (L.  Johnson.)  See 
Tomato. 

[APPLE-TREE  BLIGHT,  and  Apple-tree 
lice.    See  Aphides  and  Blight.] 

[APPLE-TREE  BORER.  The  larva  of  a  kind 
of  beetle.     See  Borers.] 

APPRAISEMENT.  It  is  not  only  custom- 
ary,  but  essential  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
good  condition  of  a  farm,  that  the  outgoing 
tenant  should  be  induced  to  carry  on  the  pro- 
per course  of  husbandry  up  to  the  period  of  his 
quitting  the  farm  ;  notwithstanding  that  much 
of  the  labour  and  manure  he  bestov/s  is  for  the 
benefit  of  crops  which  a  succeeding  tenant  wih 
reap.  Hence  the  good  practice  has  arisen,  that 
the  outgoing  tenant  shall  be  allowed  for  these 
matters,  according  to  agreement,  or,  in  its  ab- 
sence, by  the  custom  of  the  district,  which 
varies   considerably.      (See   Custom   of  thk 

COUJTTIES.) 

The  following  real  appraisement  of  a  farm 
in  Surrey,  by  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  an  eminent 
appraiser  of  the  Haymarket,  London,  will  af- 
ford the  young  farmer  a  complete  view  of  the 
matters  usually  included  in  such  appraise- 
ments. It  is  usual  for  these  valuations  to  be 
made  by  appraisers,  one  being  appointed  by 
the  outgoing,  and  the  other  by  the  incoming 
tenants,  M-ho  choose  an  umpire  to  decide  in 
case  of  diflference. 

[The  document  cannot  fail  to  be  acceptable 
to  the  American  farmer,  since  it  comi^unicates 
so  many  interesting  facts  relating  to  the  esti- 
mates of  putting  in  crops,  the  value  of  manures, 
various  workings,  rent,  rates,  taxes,  &c.,  in 
England.] 


APPRAISEMENT. 

Appraisement  of  the  Tenant's  Property  on  the  Farm^  County 

of  Surrey,  made  this  'Z^th  September,  1841. 
From  ,  outgoing  tenant. 

To  ,  incoming  tenant. 

By  ,  outgoing  tenant's  appraiser. 

And  ,  incoming  tenant's  appraiser. 

Made  according  to  the  terms  of  the  Lease,  which  says,  "  at  leaving  the  Landlord  or  Incoming 
Tenant  shall  pay  for  the  Turnips,  Leys,  Seeds  sown,  and  Crops  in  or  on  the  Ground,  Plough- 
ings.  Dressings,  Half  Dressings,  Fallows,  Half  Fallows,  and  preparations  of  the  Land  for  the 
Manure  and  Underwoods,  according  to  their  growth,  and  all  other  Matters  and  Things  accord- 
ing to  the  Custom  of  the  County." 

The  farm  is  principally  a  light  turnip  soil,  and  consists  of— 

Arable        ------        227^  acres. 

Grass 48      — f     r    p    ]  >      i.     y 

Wood 24      -Jj   I    »>    i^'    'A    it 

Hedges 10      — 

309^  '  \     '   •     ',    !         :    !•  \- 

And  has  been  very  highly  cultivated  on  the  Scotch  Drill  system. 

DRESSING  AND  TILLAGES,  viz.,  ^1 1  ^  1  i '  O  1  (  ^% 


LosoK  FiBLB,  17  kcTL^i.— Swedes. 

£         5. 

d. 

£      ».   d. 

Ploughed,  2  horses,  three  times 

at  10s. 

25  10 

0 

Ridging  and  splitting    -            -            -            - 

-      145. 

11   18 

0 

Ox  harrowed,  four  times           -            -            - 

-       l5.  6rf. 

5     2 

0 

Small  harrowed,  eight  times    -            -            - 

9d. 

5     2 

0 

Rolled  twice      -            -            -            -            - 

-        l5. 

1   14 

0 

Handpicking    -            -            -            -            - 

- 

0  17 

0 

Dung,  295  loads            -            -            -            - 

-        65. 

88  10 

0 

Seed,  2  lb.  per  acre,  per  lb.      - 

-         l5. 

1    14 

0 

Drilling             -            .            -            -            - 

-         l5. 

0  17 

0 

Scuffling  twice              -            .            .            - 

-        25.  6d. 

4     5 

0 

Hand-hoeing     -            -            -            -            - 

-      8*. 

6  16 

0 

Handpicking,  rent,  rates,  and  taxes,    - 

-    305. 

25   10 

0 

177  15     0 

Lower  Loam  Pit,  12  Acres. — Preparing  for 

Wheat. 

Half  dressing,  230  loads  dung  -            -            - 

at  35. 

34  10 

0 

Ploughed  twice,  2  horses          -            -            - 

-    105. 

12     0 

0 

Harrowed,  Finlayson                 -            -            - 

-      35. 

1   16 

0 

Ox  harrowed  twice                    -            -            - 

-     ls.6d. 

1   16 

0 

'SO      2      0 

Middle  Loam  Pit,  7^  Acres.— &«<fo 

OU        <*        V 

One  year's  ley               -            -            -           - 

at  605. 

22  10     0 

Upper  Loam  Pit,  10  Kcnj.9.— Seeds. 

Two  year's  ley               .            -           -           - 

at  405. 

20     0     0 

Lower  Blighs,  7  Acres.— Pm  Stubble, 

Half  dressing,  110  loads  dung   - 

at  35. 

16  10    0 

North  Blighs,  8  Acres.— WAco/  after  Clover. 

Clover  ley          -            -            -            -            • 

at  605. 

24     0 

0 

Ploughed,  3  horses        -            -            -            - 

-    125. 

4  16 

0 

Harrovsred  small,  four  times      -            -            - 

9d. 

1     4 

0 

Seed,  16  bushels            -            -            -            - 

-    105. 

8     0 

0 

Drilling              _            -            .            -            - 

-      35. 

1     4 

0 

39     4     0 

South  Blighs,  7^  Acn^s.— Wheat. 

Composition  earth  and  lime,  164  loads 

at    35. 

24  12 

0 

Ploughed,  3  horses        .            -            -            - 

-     125. 

4  10 

0 

Harrowed  small,  four  times      -            -            - 

9d. 

1     2 

6 

Seed,  15  bushels            .            -            -            - 

-     105. 

7  10 

0 

Drilling                          35. 

Carryforward,  -       £ 

1     2 

6 

38  i       0 

364  18     0 
107 

APPRAISEMENT. 


£    s. 

d. 

£     ».    d.   j 

Brought  forward 

364  18    0 

Upper  Blighs,  13  Acaxs  — Tares. 

Ploughed,  2  horses        -            -                         -            at  10s. 

6  10 

0 

Harrowed  small,  four  times      -            -            -            -          9d. 

1   19 

0 

Rolled,  2  horses             -            -            -            -            -     Is.  6rf. 

0  19 

6 

Seed,  26  bushels            -            -            -            -            -  12s, 

15  12 

0 

Drilling                          -           -            -           -            -     3s, 

1   19 

0 

26  19     S 

East  Bliohs,  5  Acres.— Turnips,  after  Tares  fed  off. 

Tillages  for  the  tares    ------ 

5     0 

0 

Ploughed  twice,  3  horses          -           -            -            at  12s. 

6     0 

0 

Harrowed,  ox,  twice     -            -            -            -           -     Is.  6rf. 

0  15 

0 

Harrowed  small,  four  times      -            -            -            . 

9d 

0  15 

0 

Ridging  and  splitting                -            -            -            . 

■   14s. 

3  10 

0 

Rolled,  2  horses,  twice              -            -            -            . 

■      ls.6rf. 

0  15 

0 

Dung,  85  loads              -            -            -            .            . 

6s. 

25  10 

0 

Seed,  2  lbs.  per  acres               -            -            -            . 

.     Is. 

0  10 

0 

Drilling              -            -            -            - 

.     Is. 

0     5 

0 

Scuffling  three  times 

■     2s.  6c?. 

1   17 

6 

Hoed  twice        -            -            -          ■  - 

.     8s. 

2     0 

0 

Rent,  rates,  and  taxes                -            -            -               30s. 

7  10 

0 

54    7     6 

TEif  Acres,  10  Acres.— C/bwer. 

One  year's  ley              -            -            -            -            at  60s. 

30     0     0 

Ox  House,  14  Acres. — Turnips. 

Ploughed  three  times,  2  horses            -            -            at  10s. 

21     0 

0 

Harrowed,  ox,  twice     -            -            - 

-     Is.  6rf. 

2     2 

0 

Harrowed  small,  four  times 

9rf. 

2     2 

0 

Rolled  small,  twice 

9rf. 

1     1 

0 

Ridging  and  splitting    - 

.   14s. 

9  16 

0 

Dung,  220  loads 

-     6s. 

66     0 

0 

Seed,  28  1b. 

-     Is. 

1     8 

0 

Drilling              -            .            - 

-     Is. 

0  14 

0 

Scuffling  twice 

.     2s.  Qd. 

3  10 

0 

Hoed  twice 

-     8s. 

5  12 

0 

Rent,  rates,  and  taxes               -         "  • 

.  30s. 

21     0 

0 

134     5     0 

Stack  Yard,  12  Acres.- Mn/gr  Beans. 

Ploughed,  3  horses        -            -            -            -           at  12s. 

7     4 

0 

Harrowed  small,  four  times                  -            -            -          9c?. 

1   16 

0 

Beans,  24  Bushels        -            -            -            -            -     5s. 

6     0 

0 

Drilling             -            -            -            -            -            -     3s. 

1  16 

0 

16  16     0 

West  Field,  7  Acres. — Clover  Seeds. 

Half  dressing,  145  loads  dung             -            -           at    3s. 

21   15 

0 

Half  fallow                    -            ...            -  50s. 

17  10 

0 

Seed  and  sowing            -            -            -            -            -   16s. 

5  12 

0 

44  17     0 

East  Starte  Acre,  8  Acres.- /St^erfes  after  Rye,  Sheep  fed. 

Tillages  for  the  rye       - 

8     0 

0 

Ploughed  twice,  2  horses 

at  10s. 

8     0 

0 

Ridging  and  splitting    - 

-  14s. 

6  12 

0 

Harrowing  small,  4  times 

9rf. 

1     4 

0 

Dung,  139  loads 

-     6s. 

41   14 

0 

Seed,  16  lbs. 

-     Is. 

0  16 

0 

Drilling              -            -            - 

-     Is. 

0     8 

0 

Scuffling  three  times    - 

-     2s.6rf. 

3     0 

0 

Hoeing  twice 

-     8s. 

3     4 

0 

About  li  acre  reploughed  and  resown 

1   10 

0 

Rent  and  taxes              -----  30s. 

12     0 

0 

Carry  forward,    -    £ 

85    8     0 

757  11     0 

108 


APPRAISEMENT. 


Brought  forward 

West  Starve  Acre,  7^  Acres. — Clover. 

Half  dressing,  125  loads  dung 

Half  dressing  fallow  ... 

Seeds     ------ 

Sawd  Pit,  15  Acres. — Rye, 

Ploughed,  2  horses        .  -  -  - 

Harrowed  small,  four  times  -  -  - 

Seed,  30  bushels             -  -  -  - 

Drilling,             -            -  -  .  - 

Upper  KEirirxL  Field,  10  Acres. — Seeds. 

Half  dressings,  165  loads  dung 

Half  dressing  fallow    -  -  -  - 

Seeds  mixed,  and  sowing         -  -  - 

Lower  Kexnel  Field,  14  Acres. — Seeds. 

Half  dressings,  240  loads  dung 

Half  dressing  fallow    -  -  -  - 

Seeds  mixed,  and  sowing         -  -  . 

Upper  Poitd  Field,  14  Acres. — Seeds. 


at    35. 

-  605. 

-  165. 


at  105. 


9d. 


5s. 

35. 


at    35, 

-  505. 

-  165. 


at    35. 

-  505. 

-  165. 


Ley  one  year  old 
Ashes,  1000  bushels 
Carting,  &c.,  50  loads 


at  605. 

Hd. 
-     l5. 6d. 


Lower  Poxd  Field,  11  Acres. — Bean  Stubble, 
Nothing. 

Middle  Coxmoit,  7  Acres. — Potatoes. 
Crop  laid  at  49  tons      -  -  -  -  at  50*. 

Manure. 

In  West  Blighs,  dung  162  loads       -  -  -     55. 

In  yards,  dung  100  loads       -  -  -  -     45. 

Ashes,  7  lumps  ------ 

Straw. 

Wheat,  32  loads  -            -            -            -           at  285. 

Oat,  58  loads  -----  24*. 

Bean,  14  loads  -----  205. 

Pea,  41  loads  -            -        .    -            -            -  245. 

Hay. 

Meadow,  18  loads  -            -            -            -           at  8O5. 

Rve  grass,  14  loads  -----  855. 

Clover,  27  loads  -----  905. 

N.  B.  By  the  term  of  the  lease,  the  tenant  has  the  right  to 
sell  off  the  hay  and  straw,  which  is  therefore  put  at  a  market 
price. 

Underwoods. 

The  Grove,  7  acres,  9  years'  growth            -  at  IO5. 

The  Lower  Wood,  5  acres,  7  years'  growth  -   IO5. 

The  Shaw,  2  acres,  6  years'  growth               -  -    lOs. 

The  Kennel  Wood,  10  acres,  2  years'  growth  -   10». 

The  standing  stuff  in  hedge-rows,  after  allowing 
for  re-making,  all  at 


(Signed) 


£    s.    d. 


18  15     0 

18  15     0 

6     0     0 


7  10  0 

2     5  0 

7  10  0 

2     5  0 


24  15     0 

25  0     0 
8     0     0 


36  0  0 
35  0  0 
11     4     0 


42  0  0 
5  4  2 
3  15     0 


40  10     0 

20     0     0 

3   10     0 


44  16  0 

69  12  0 

14     0  0 

49     4  0 


72     0     0 

59  10     0 

121   10     0 


31   10  0 

10     0  0 

6     0  0 

10     0  0 


By 
By 


for  the  outgoing  tenant, 
for  the  incoming  tenant. 


£     s.    rf. 
757  11     0 


43  10  0 

19  10  0 

57  15  0 

82    4  0 

50  19  2 

0    0  0 

122  10  0 

64    0  0 

177  12  0 

253     0  0 


57  10 
16     0 


JE1702 


K 


109 


APRICOT. 


ARBOR  VIT^. 


APRICOT  (Armeniaca  vulgaris).  The  name 
of  the  apricot  has  been  thought  to  be  derived 
from  apricus,  open  and  exposed  to  the  sun,  or 
from  praecox,  early  ripe ;  but  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  word  is  a  corruption  of  the  Ara- 
bic name  of  the  fruit.  In  England,  it  is  one 
of  the  earliest  wall-fruits,  and  held  in  the 
highest  estimation.  The  fruit,  when  gathered 
young  to  thin  the  crop,  makes  an  excellent 
tart ;  and  when  ripe,  it  is  second  to  no  fruit 
for  preserves  or  jam  :  it  gives  an  excellent 
flavour  to  ice,  and  makes  a  delicious  liqueur  : 
of  all  the  fruits  used  in  pastry,  none  is  more 
beautiful  or  agreeable  than  the  ripe  apricot. 
To  prolong  the  enjoyment  of  this  fruit  in  its 
natural  state,  we  should  be  careful  to  plant  the 
earliest  variety  in  the  warmest  situation,  as 
the  frost  often  injures  the  blossoms  unless  it  is 
protected  by  a  glass  shutter.  The  apricot,  as 
well  as  the  plum,  may  be  kept  for  our  dessert 
two  or  three  weeks  later,  by  gathering  it  when 
half  ripe,  and  placing  it  in  an  ice-house,  a 
dairy,  or  any  cool  place,  where  it  slowly 
ripens. 

Apricots,  if  not  too  ripe,  agreeably  astringe 
and  strengthen  the  stomach ;  but  like  all  other 
perfumed  watery  fruit,  it  loses  its  aromatic 
and  tempting  flavour,  becomes  clammy,  and 
is  less  easy  of  digestion,  when  over-ripe  :  they 
should  therefore  be  gathered  at  least  twenty- 
four  hours  before  they  acquire  the  last  degree 
of  maturity. 

Of  this  excellent  fruit,  thirty-nine  varieties 
have  been  described  in  the  Horticultural  So- 
ciety's catalogue.  For  a  small  garden,  Mr. 
Lindley  recommends  the  following  selection. 

Breda  Peach  apricot. 

Brussels.  Red  masculine. 

Hemskirke.  Roman. 

Large  early.  Royal. 

■Moorpark  Turkey. 

The  Moorpark  and  Turkey  have  been  recom- 
mended where  variety  is  not  wanted,  the  for- 
mer being  fine,  and  a  good  bearer ;  the  latter 
not  a  good  bearer,  but  very  fine.  The  apricot 
requires  a  rich  soil,  rather  lighter  than  the 
apple  and  pear. 

Budding  is  generally  performed  from  the 
middle  of  June  to  the  end  of  July,  on  mussel 
plum  stocks  two  or  three  years  old.  The  Breda, 
peach  apricot,  royal,  and  a  few  others  are 
those  generally  budded  upon  the  mussel,  "  and 
although,"  Says  Mr.  Lindley,"  the  Moorpark  is, 
for  the  most  part,  budded  upon  the  common 
plum,  on  which  it  takes  freely,  yet  I  am  per- 
suaded that  if  it  were  budded  on  the  mussel, 
the  trees  would  be  better,  last  longer  in  a  state 
of  vigour,  and  produce  their  fruit  superior 
both  in  size  and  quality." 

In  planting  out  trees  for  training,  young 
plants,  or  those  called  maiden  plants,  should 
be  made  choice  of,  being  far  preferable  to  those 
which  have  been  headed  down,  and  stood  two 
years  in  the  quarters  of  the  nursery ;  observ- 
ing, in  all  cases,  without  exception,  that  the  bud 
should  stand  outwards,  and  the  wounded  part 
where  the  stock  has  been  headed  down,  in- 
ward?., or  next  the  wall.  The  apricot  in  gene- 
ral bears  chiefly  upon  the  young  shoots  of  the 
preceding  year,  and  also  upon  small  spurs 
110 


rising  on  the  two  or  three  year  old  fruit 
branches.  The  pruning  of  wall-apricots  com- 
prehends both  a  summer  and  a  winter  course 
of  regulation.  In  May,  the  summer  pruning 
commences  by  the  disbudding  and  removal  of 
the  superfluous  shoots,  and  shortening  the 
smaller  shoots  to  half  an  inch,  which  will  oc- 
casion many  of  them  to  form  natural  spurs 
for  blossoms  at  the  base.  This  should  be 
carefully  done  with  a  sharp  thin-bladed  knife 
Care  must  also  be  taken  to  select  and  train  as 
many  of  the  best  placed  young  shoots  as  maj 
be  wanted  to  form  the  figure  of  the  tree,  pro- 
ceeding thus  from  year  to  year,  till  it  is  com- 
pletely furnished,  both  in  its  sides  and  middle', 
for  there  ought  not  then  to  be  a  blank  space  in 
any  part  within  its  extent. 

For  the  winter  pruning  of  apricots,  every 
shoot  should  be  shortened  according  to  its 
strength,  none  being  permitted  to  exceed  18 
inches,  while  a  few  will  require  to  be  even  less 
than  6.  By  pruning  thus  short,  and  training 
the  branches  thus,  the  trees  will  be  kept  in 
vigour,  the  fruit  will  always  attain  its  full  size 
under  favourable  circumstances,  and  its  quality 
will  be  good. 

When  the  fruit  is  found  to  be  too  numerous 
and  growing  in  clusters,  thinning  must  be  re- 
sorted to  in  May  and  June,  leaving  the  most 
promising  fruit  singly,  at  three  or  four  inches 
distance ;  or  from  about  two  to  six  on  the  re- 
spective shoots,  according  to  their  strength.  The 
retained  fruit  should  in  all  instances  be  situated 
at  the  sides  of  their  respective  shoots,  and  no 
fore-right  fruit  be  suffered  to  remain  ;  for  these 
being  exposed  to  the  full  power  of  the  sun, 
will  perish  before  they  can  arrive  at  maturity. 
In  the  United  States,  where  the  changes  of 
atmospheric  temperature  are  so  sudden  and 
great,  the  apricot  seldom  produces  well  in  the 
open  air.  The  trees  in  outside  culture  should 
not  be  too  much  sheltered,  so  as  to  encourage 
a  too  early  flow  of  sap.  The  smooth  surface 
of  this  fruit  subjects  it  to  the  attacks  of  the 
curculio.  For  the  Middle  States  the  two  most 
favourite  varieties  are  the  Moorpark  and 
Breda.  The  Golden  Dubois,  Burlington,  Van- 
dementer,  and  Peach  are  also  recommended. 

China  and  Japan,  where  the  apricot  is  ex- 
tensively cultivated,  may  yet  supply  the  U.  S. 
with  choice  varieties. 

ARBOR  VIT^  {Thuja).  The  generic 
name  of  this  tree  is  a  corruption  from  0y*  of 
Theophrastus,  or  thya  of  Pliny,  which  were 
derived  from  the  verb  thyo,  I  perfume  ;  as  the 
thya  of  the  ancients  gave  out  an  aromatic 
smoke  when  it  was  burnt.  It  is  called  arbor 
vitae,  or  tree  of  life,  because  it  keeps  in  full 
leaf  winter  and  summer  ;  and  not  in  allusion 
to  the  tree  of  life  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Genesis.  The  first  mention  we  have  of  it  in 
England  is  by  Gerard,  in  his  History  of  Plants, 
which  was  published  in  1597.  He  tells  us  that 
it  was  then  growing  plentifully  in  his  garden 
at  Holborn,  where  it  flowered  about  May,  but 
it  had  not  then  ripened  seed. 

•'The  Thuja  from  China's  fruitful  lands," 

being  of  a  brighter  green  and  thicker  verdure, 
has  nearly  superseded  the  arbor  vitae  of  Ca« 
nada  in  our  plantations.    It  is  well  adapted  to 


ARBUTUS. 


screen  private  walks  or  low  buildings,  as  it 
gives  out  Hat  spreading  branches  near  the 
ground;  but  it  has  a  sombre  appearance,  un- 
less associated  with  more  cheerful  foliage,  or 
ornamented  by  some  gay  climbing  plant,  as 
the  everlasting  pea,  the  flaming  nasturtium,  or 
our  native  bindweed. 

The  arbor  vitoe,  which  we  have  borrowed 
from  the  extremity  of  the  east  and  of  the  west, 
as  a  mere  ornament  to  our  pleasure-grounds, 
forms  an  article  of  utility  and  profit  to  the  in- 
habitants of  its  native  soil.  It  is  reckoned  the 
most  durable  wood  in  Canada,  where  it  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  white  cedar.  All 
the  posts  which  are  driven  into  the  ground, 
and  the  palisades  round  the  forts,  are  made  of 
this  wood.  The  planks  in  the  houses  are  made 
of  it;  and  the  thin  narrow  pieces  of  wood 
which  form  both  the  ribs  and  the  bottom  of  the 
bark  boats  commonly  made  use  of  there,  are 
taken  from  this  wood,  because  it  is  pliant 
enough  for  the  purpose,  when  fresh,  and  also 
because  it  is  very  light.  The  thuja  wood  is 
reckoned  one  of  the  best  for  the  use  of  lime- 
kilns. Its  branches  are  used  all  over  Canada 
for  brooms,  which  leave  their  peculiar  scent  in 
all  the  houses  where  they  are  used.  The  arbor 
vita?  affords  [a  popular  remedy  for  rheumatic 
and  some  other  complaints  among  the  Indians 
and  settlers  of  North  America.] 

The  finest  trees  are  always  raised  by  seed, 
but  they  are  more  easily  propagated  by  layers 
or  cuttings.     (Phil.  Syl,  Fl>r.) 

ARBUTUS.  A  genus  of  evergreen  shrubs 
which  is  characterized  by  its  fruit  being  a 
berry,  containing  many  seeds.  The  only  va- 
riety necessary  to  be  enumerated  in  these 
pages  is  the  Arhutus  unedo,  or  strawberry  tree. 

In  Pliny's  time,  when  Rome  abounded  in 
wine  and  oil,  they  called  the  tree  uuedn,  which 
was  an  abridgment  of  unum  edo,  meaning, 
»*  You  will  eat  but  one."  It  has  the  name  of 
strawberry-tree  with  us,  because  its  berries  so 
nearly  resemble  in  appearance  that  delicious 
fruit.  It  is  found  growing  spontaneously  on 
rocky  limestone  situations  in  the  west  of  Ire- 
land, particularly  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  near 
the  lake  of  Killarney,  where  the  peasants  eat 
the  fruit.  The  arbutus  is  a  native  of  the  south 
of  Europe,  Greece,  Palestine,  and  many  other 
parts  of  Asia. 

Horace  celebrates  the  shade  of  this  tree : — 

"  Nunc  viridi  membra  sub  arbuto 
Stratus." 

But  Virgil  describes  its  foliage  as  rather  thin 
(Eel.  vii.),  and  recommends  the  twig  as  a 
winter  food  for  goats. 

The  arbutus  tree  succeeds  best  in  a  moist 
soil,  for  when  planted  in  dry  ground  it  seldom 
produces  much  fruit.  It  is  therefore  recom- 
mended to  place  it  in  warm  situations  ;  and  if 
the  earth  is  not  naturally  moist,  there  should 
be  plenty  of  loam  and  rotten  neat's  dung  laid 
about  its  roots,  and  in  dry  springs  it  should  be 
plentifully  watered. 

The  arbutus  trees  may  be  propagated  by  ^ 
layers,  but  they  are  principally  raised  from  : 
seed ;  and  they  require  to  be  kept  in  pots  for  | 
several   years  before  they  are  ready  for  the 
plantation.     We  meet  with  a  variety  of  this  , 


ARROW-HEAD. 

I  tree  in  our  shrubberies  with  double  blossoms, 
and  another  with  red  flowers.  Aiton  enume- 
rates five  different  species  of  the  arbutus,  and 
j  there  are  several  varieties  of  them  in  the  JPari- 
sian  gardens  not  to  be  seen  ii  our  shrubberies. 
The  leaves  of  the  arbutus  are  said  to  be  use- 
fully employed  by  tanners  in  preparing  their 
leather.     (Fhil/ips^s  Si/lra  Fbi-ifem.) 

This  beautiful  evergreen  grows  to  the  height 
of  ten  and  fifteen  feet.  Its  flowers,  which  are 
of  a  yellowish  white  or  red  colour  bloom  in 
September,  October,  and  November,  and  are 
succeeded  by  the  fruit,  which  remain  till  the 
flowers  of  the  following  year  are  full  blown, 
thus  giving  the  tree  a  beautiful  appearance. 

ARCHED.  A  term  employed  among  horse- 
men. A  horse  is  said  to  have  arched  legs 
when  his  knees  are  bent  archwise.  This  only 
relates  to  the  fore-quarters,  and  the  infirmity 
sometimes  happens  to  such  horses  as  have 
their  legs  spoiled  in  travelling. 

ARGILLACEOUS.  [Clayey.]  Containing 
clay. 

ARM  OF  A  HORSE.  A  term  applied  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  fore-leg. 
ARNOTTO.     See  Anxotta. 
AROMATIC.     An  epithet  applied  to  such 
plants,  and  other  bodies,  as  yield  a  fragrant 
odour,  and  have  a  warm  spicy  taste. 

AROMATIC  REED  (Acorm  cnlamus).  The 
common  sweet-flag.  A  marshy  perennial  plant 
of  the  easiest  culture,  flowering  from  June  till 
August,  which  grows  among  rushes  in  moist 
ditches  and  watery  places,  about  the  banks  of 
rivers,  but  not  very  general.  Root,  thick, 
rather  spongy  ;  leaves,  erect,  two  or  three  feet 
high,  bright  green,  near  an  inch  broad.  It 
rarely  flowers  unless  it  grows  in  water,  but 
when  it  does  bloom,  it  puts  forth  a  mass  of 
very  numerous,  thick-set,  brownish  green 
flowers,  which  have  no  scent  except  when 
bruised.  Every  part  of  the  herbage  is  stimu- 
lant, and  very  aromatic,  but  the  roots  are  espe- 
cially so.  The  dried  root  powdered  is  used  by 
the  country  people  of  Norfolk,  [England,]  for 
curing  the  ague.  It  is  atfirmed  to  possess  car- 
minative and  stomachic  virtues,  having  a 
warm,  pungent,  bitterish  taste,  and  is  fre- 
quently used  in  preparing  bitters,  though  it  is 
said  to  impart  a  nauseous  flavour.  It  is  the 
Calamus  aromnticus  of  the  shops,  and  Linnoeus 
says,  the  roots  powdered  might  supply  the 
place  of  foreign  spices.  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p. 
1 57 ;  Paxton's  Bot.  Did.  ;  Willich's  Dunu 
Enci/c.) 

ARPENT.  The  French  name  for  an  acre. 
[The  French  arpent  contains  51,691  square 
English  feet,  or  very  nearly  one  acre  and  three- 
quarters  of  a  rood  English  measure.] 

ARROW-GRASS  (Triglochm).  Perennial 
marsh  herbs,  of  which  there  are  two  kinds,  the 
marsh  arroAV-grass  and  the  sea  arrow-grass, 
both  perennials,  flowering  from  May  till  Au- 
gust. They  grow  in  wet  boggy  meadows  and 
salt  marshes,  &c.,  abundantly,  and  are  very 
grateful  to  domestic  cattle,  the  herbage  con- 
taining  a  large  proportion  of  salt.  (Eng.  Flor, 
vol.  ii.  p.  200.)  . 

ARROW-HEAD  {Sagittana  sagittifoha, 
from  sagUta,  an  arrow;  because  of  the  resem- 
blance of  the  leaves  to  the  head  of  that  weapon) 


ARROW-ROOT. 


ARTICHOKE. 


[In  England,]  an  indigenous,  aquatic,  perennial 
herb,  flowering  in  July  or  August.  Root, 
tuberous,  nearly  globular,  with  many  long 
fibres.  It  is  industriously  cultivated  in  China 
for  its  esculent  properties :  its  mealy  nature 
rendering  it  easily  convertible  into  starch  or 
Hour.  It  is  much  relished  by  most  cattle. 
Nothing  is  more  variable  than  the  breadth  and 
size  of  the  floating  leaves,  which  are  dimi- 
nished almost  to  nothing  when  deeply  im- 
mersed in  the  Avater,  or  exposed  to  a  rapid 
current.  Hence  has  arisen  the  several  varie- 
ties mentioned  by  authors,  but  which  the 
slightest  observation  will  discover  to  be  eva- 
nescent. This  plant,  especially  the  seed,  was 
formerly  supposed  to  possess  medicinal  pro- 
perties, which  time  and  improved  knowledge 
have  demonstrated  to  be  imaginary.  The 
leaves,  however,  feel  cooling  when  applied  to 
the  skin ;  hence  they  have  been  used  and  may 
be  serviceable  as  a  dressing  to  inflamed  sores. 
(Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iv.  p.  144  ;  Willich's  Dorn. 
Enci/c.) 

[ARROW-ROOT.  This  nutricious  flour, 
which  constitutes  a  very  mild,  light,  agreeable 
and  easily  digested  article  of  diet,  so  much 
resorted  to  for  the  sick  and  convalescent,  and 
also  for  children,  is  the  fecula  or  starch  most 
commonly  obtained  from  the  root  of  a  plant 
called  Maranfa  arundinacea.  It  is  a  native  of 
South  America,  where,  as  well  as  in  the  West 
Indies,  it  is  extensively  cultivated.  It  grows 
also  in  Florida,  in  the  southern  parts  of  which 
it  is  manufactured  at  the  very  low  price  of  6 
to  8  cents  per  lb.  The  low  price  at  which 
arrow-root  is  sold  at  Key  West  and  other  parts 
of  Florida,  allows  of  its  being  used  for  the 
common  purposes  of  starch,  and  also  for  the 
preparation  of  niceties  for  the  table,  being  in 
fact  often  substituted  for  the  ordinary  bread- 
stufls.  Though  thus  cultivated  in  the  south, 
still  most  of  that  used  is  imported  from  the 
West  Indies  and  Brazil,  the  best  coming  from 
Bermuda.  The  mode  generally  pursued  in 
the  West  Indies  for  obtaining  the  fecula  from 
the  root  and  subsequently  preparing  it,  is  as 
follows  : — The  roots  are  dug  up  when  a  year 
old,  washed,  and  then  beat  into  a  pulp,  which 
is  thrown  into  water,  and  agitated  so  as  to 
separate  the  starchy  from  the  fibrous  or  stringy 
portion.  The  fibres  are  removed  bv  the  hand, 
and  the  starch  remains  suspended  in  the  water, 
to  which  it  gives  a  milKy  colour.  This  milky 
fluid  is  strained  through  coarse  linen,  and  allow- 
ed to  stand  that  thr  fecula  may  subside,  which 
is  afterwards  washed  with  a  fresh  portion  of 
water  and  then  dried  in  the  sun.  The  powder 
is  a  light  white  colour,  sometimes  having 
small  masses  easily  crushed.  It  is  a  pure 
starch  like  that  obtained  from  wheat,  potatoes, 
and  several  other  vegetable  substances,  espe- 
cially the  plant  called  in  the  West  Indies 
Jatnipa  Muni/iof,  which  yields  the  substance 
called  Tapioca,  used  for  similar  purposes  with 
arrow-root.] 

[ARROW-WOOD.  A  name  given  in  the 
United  Stales  to  a  shrub  {Viburnum)  the 
young  and  straight  branches  of  which  were, 
according  to  Marshall,  formerly  used  by  the 
aborgines  for  making  arrows.  The  slender 
siemi,  when  the  pith  is  removed,  afford  good 
112 


fuse-sticks  for  blasting  rocks.  Ten  or  twelve 
species  of  Viburnum  are  enumerated  in  the 
United  States.  (See  Darlingfun^s Flor.  Ceslrica.)] 

ARSENIC.     See  Poison. 

ARTEMISIA.     See  WouMwoons. 

ARTESIAN  WELLS  have  been  so  named 
from  the  opinion  that  they  were  first  used  in 
Artois,  in  France.  These  wells  have  been 
found  extremely  beneficial  in  the  low  lands  of 
Essex  and  Lincolnshire,  and  in  some  other 
districts  where  good  water  is  scarce,  and  that 
of  the  surface  of  indifferent  quality.  Some 
practical  knowledge  of  geology  is  necessary  in 
order  to  fix  wiih  judgment  upen  the  most 
eligible  spot  for  sinking  these  wells,  or  else 
much  labour  and  expense  may  be  uselessly 
applied.  They  are  formed  by  boring  with  a 
long  auger  and  rod  to  such  a  depth  into  the 
earth,  that  a  spring  is  found  of  sufficient  power 
to  rise  to  and  run  over  the  surface. 

ARTICHOKE  (Cynara).  From  cmere,  ac- 
cording to  Columella,  because  the  land  for 
artichokes  should  be  manured  with  ashes. 
["  A  plant  little  cultivated  in  America,  but 
very  well  worthy  of  cultivation.  In  its  look 
it  very  much  resembles  a  thistle  of  the  big- 
blossomed  kind.  It  sends  up  a  seed  stalk, 
and  it  blows,  exactly  like  the  thistle  that  we 
see  in  the  Arms  of  Scotland.  It  is,  indeed,  a 
thistle  upon  a  gigantic  scale.  The  parts  that 
are  eaten  are,  the  lower  end  of  the  thick  leaves 
that  envelope  the  seed,  and  the  bottom  out  of 
which  those  leaves  immediately  grow.  The 
whole  of  the  head,  before  the  bloom  begins  to 
appear,  is  boiled,  the  pod  leaves  are  pulled  off 
by  the  eater,  one  or  two  at  a  time,  and  dipped 
in  butter,  with  a  little  pepper  and  salt,  the 
mealy  part  is  stripped  off  by  the  teeth,  and  the 
rest  of  the  leaf  put  aside,  as  we  do  the  stem  of 
asparagus.  The  bottom,  when  all  the  leaves 
are  thus  disposed  of,  is  eaten  with  knife  and 
fork.  The  French,  who  make  salads  of  almost 
every  garden  vegetable,  and  of  not  a  few  of  the 
plants  of  the  field,  eat  the  artichoke  in  salad. 
They  gather  the  heads,  when  not  much  bigger 
round  than  a  dollar,  and  eat  the  lower  ends  of 
the  leaves  above  mentioned  raw,  dipping  them 
first  in  oil,  vinegar,  salt  and  pepper ;  and,  in 
this  way,  they  are  very  good.  Artichokes  are 
propagated  from  seed,  or  from  offsets.  If  by 
the  former,  sow  the  seed  in  rows  a  foot  apart, 
as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground.  Thin 
the  plants  to  a  foot  apart  in  the  row;  and,  iu 
the  fall  of  the  year,  put  out  the  plants  in 
clumps  of  four  in  rows,  three  feet  apart,  and 
the  rows  six  feet  asunder.  They  will  produce 
their  fruit  the  next  year.  When  winter  ap- 
proaches, earth  the  roots  well  up  ;  and,  before 
the  frost  sets  in,  cover  all  well  over  with  litter 
from  the  yard  or  stable.  Open  at  the  breaking 
up  of  the  frost;  dig  all  the  ground  well  be- 
tween the  rows ;  level  the  earth  down  from  the 
plants.  You  will  find  many  young  ones,  or 
offsets,  growing  out  from  the  sides.  Pull  these 
off,  and,  if  you  want  a  new  plantation,  put 
them  out,  as  you  did  the  original  plants.  They 
will  bear,  though  later  than  the  old  ones,  that 
same  yea.T.  As  to  sorts  of  this  plant,  there  are 
two,  but  they  contain  no  difference  of  any  con- 
sequence: one  has  its  head,  or  fruit  pod, 
round,  and  the  other  rather  conical.    As  to  the 


ARTICHOKE. 


ARTICHOKE. 


quantity  for  a  family,  one  row  across  one  of  sucker  must  be  removed  and  every  bud  rubbed 
tJie  plats  will  be  sufficient."  {Cobbett^s  Ame-  off,  otherwise  more  will  be  produced,  to  the 
rican  Gardener.)]  i  detriment  of  those  purposely  left.    These  must 


Those  plants  produce  the  finest  heads  which 
are  planted  in  a  soil  abounding  in  moisture, 
but  in  such  they  will  not  survive  the  winter. 
Manure  must  be  applied  every  spring,  and  the 
best  compost  for  them  is  a  mixture  of  three 
parts  of  well-putrefied  dung,  and  one  part  of 
fine  coal-ashes.  They  should  always  have  an 
open  exposure,  and,  above  all,  be  free  from  the 
influence  of  trees ;  for,  if  beneath  their  shade 
or  drip,  the  plants  spindle,  and  produce  worth- 
less heads.  For  planting,  these  must  be  slipped 
ofl^  in  March  or  early  in  April,  when  eight  or 
ten  inches  in  height,  with  as  much  of  their 
fibrous  roots  pertaining  as  possible.  Such  of 
them  should  be  selected  as  are  sound  and  not 
woody.  The  brown,  hard  part,  by  which  they 
are  attached  to  the  parent  stem,  must  be  re- 
moved ;  and  if  that  cuts  crisp  and  tender,  it  is 
evidence  of  the  goodness  of  the  plant ;  if  it  is 
tough  and  stringy,  the  plant  is  worthless. 
Further,  to  prepare  them  for  planting,  the  large 
outside  leaves  are  taken  off  so  low,  that  the 
heart  appears  above  them.  If  they  have  been 
some  time  separated  from  the  stock,  or  if  the 
weather  is  dry,  they  are  greatly  invigorated  by 
being  set  in  water  for  three  or  four  hours  be- 
fore they  are  planted. 

They  produce  heads  the  same  year,  from 
July  to  October,  and  will  continue  to  do  so 
annually,  if  preserved  in  succeeding  years, 
from  May  until  June  or  July;  consequently,  it 
is  the  practice,  in  order  to  obtain  a  supply 
during   the   remainder  of   the    summer   and 


autumn,  to  make  an  annual  plantation  in  some,  milk.    The  heads  of  the  second  crop  of  arti 


moist  soil,  as  the  plants  are  not  required  to 
continue. 

As  often  as  a  head  is  cut  from  the  perma- 
Rent  bed,  the  stem  must  be  broken  down  close 
to  the  root,  to  encourage  the  production  of 
suckers  before  the  arrival  of  winter.  In  No- 
vember or  December  they  should  receive  their 
winter's  dressing.  The  old  leaves  being  cut 
away  without  injuring  the  centre  or  side 
shoots,  the  ground  must  be  dug  over,  and  part 
of  the  mould  thrown  into  a  moderate  ridge 
over  each  row,  close  about  the  plants,  but 
leaving  the  hearts  clear.  If  this  dressing  is 
neglected  until  severe  frosts  arrive,  or  even  if 
it  is  performed,  each  plant  must  be  closed 
round  with  long  litter  or  pea  haulm  :  it  is,  how- 
ever, a  very  erroneous  practice  to  apply  stable- 
dung  immediately  over  the  plants,  previous  to 
earthing  them  up,  as  it  in  general  induces 
decay.  Early  in  February  all  covering  of  this 
description  must  be  removed.  In  March,  or  as 
soon  as  the  shoots  appear  four  or  five  inches 
above  the  surface,  the  ridges  thrown  up  in  the 
winter  must  be  levelled,  and  all  the  earth  re- 
moved from  about  the  stock  to  below  the  part 
from  whence  the  young  shoots  spring.  All  of 
these  but  two,  or  at  most  three  of  the  straightest 
and  most  vigorous,  must  be  removed,  care 
being  taken  to  select  from  those  which  proceed 
from  the  under  part  of  the  stock ;  the  strong 
thick  ones  proceeding  from  its  crown,  havin 


be  separated  as  far  apart  as  possible  without 
injury,  the  tops  of  the  pendulous  leaves  re- 
moved, and  the  mould  then  returned,  so  as  to 
cover  the  crowns  of  the  stocks  about  two 
inches.  Some  gardeners  recommend,  as  soon 
as  the  ground  is  levelled,  a  crop  of  spinach  tc 
be  sown,  which  will  be  cleared  off  the  ground 
before  the  artichokes  cover  it ;  but  this  mode 
of  raising  or  stealing  a  crop  is  always  in  some 
degree  injurious. 

Although  the  artichoke,  in  a  suitable  soil,  is 
a  perennial,  yet  after  the  fourth  or  fifth  year 
the  heads  become  smaller  and  drier.  The  bods, 
in  consequence,  are  usually  broken  up  after 
the  lapse  of  this  period,  and  fresh  ones  formed 
on  another  side. 

If  any  of  the  spring-planted  suckers  should 
not  produce  heads  the  same  year,  the  leaves 
may  be  tied  together  and  covered  with  earth, 
so  as  just  to  leave  their  tops  visible,  and,  on 
the  arrival  of  frost,  being  covered  with  litter, 
so  as  to  preserve  them,  they  will  afford  heads 
either  during  the  winter  or  very  early  in 
spring. 

As  a  vegetable,  the  artichoke  is  wholesome, 
but  not  very  nourishing ;  and  as  a  medicine, 
it  is  of  little  use.  Sir  John  Hill,  M.  D.,  states 
having  known  patients  cured  of  jaundice,  by 
perseverance  in  this  medicine  alone,  without 
combining  its  virtues  with  any  other  plant; 
but  the  statement  of  Sir  J.  Hill  is  of  no  value 
in  the  present  day.  The  flowers  of  the  arti- 
choke have  the  property  of  rennet  in  curdling 


chokes,  when  dried,  are  excellent  baked  in 
meat  pies,  with  mushrooms,  as  they  dress 
them  in  France.  ( G.  W.  Juhnson's  Kitchen  Gar- 
den.) 

ARTICHOKE,  JERUSALEM  (Helmnthus 
iuberosus,  from  'Hxioc,  the  sun,  and  uvboc,  a  flower). 
It  flourishes  most  in  a  rich  light  soil,  with  an 
open  enclosure.  Trees  are  particularly  inimi- 
cal to  its  growth.  As  it  never  ripens  its  seeds 
in  England,  the  only  mode  of  propagation  is 
by  planting  the  middle-sized  tubers  or  cuttings 
of  the  large  ones,  one  or  two  eyes  being  pre- 
served in  each.  These  are  best  planted  towards 
the  end  of  March,  though  it  may  be  performed 
as  early  as  February,  or  even  in  October,  and 
continued  as  late  as  the  beginning  of  April. 

They  are  planted  by  the  dibble,  in  rows, 
three  feet  by  two  feet  apart,  and  four  inches 
deep.  They  make  their  appearance  above 
ground  about  the  middle  of  May.  The  only 
attention  necessary  is  to  keep  them  free  from 
weeds,  and  an  occasional  hoeing  to  loosen  the 
surface,  a  little  of  the  earth  being  drawn  up 
about  the  stems.  Some  gardeners,  at  the  close 
of  July  or  early  in  August,  cut  the  stems  off 
about  their  middle,  to  admit  more  freely  the 
air  and  light;  in  other  respects  it  may  oe 
beneficial  to  the  tubers. 

The  tubers  may  be  taken  up  as  wanted  dm« 
ing  September;  and  in  October,  or  as  soon  as 


„ ^  ^_ ^  ^_ , ^    the  stems  have  withered,  entire  for  preserva- 

ha7dV'oodv*s\emrar?p7oductive'of  indifferent  '  tion  in  sand,  for  winter's  use.  They  should  be 
heads.  Those  allowed  to  remain  should  be  raised  as  unbroken  as  possible,  for  the  smalJ- 
tarefully  preserved  from  injury.    Every  other  ,  est  piece  of  a  tuber  will^ vegetate,  and^appear 


ARTIFICIAL  GRASSES. 


ASH. 


in  the  spring;  for  which  reason  they  are  often 
allotted  some  remote  corner  of  the  garden;  but 
their  culinary  merits  certainly  demand  a  more 
favourable  treatment.  (C.  W.  Johnson's  Kitchen 
Garden). 

The  Jerusalem  Artichoke  ihxivQS  well  in  the 
United  States  on  soft,  moist,  and  it  is  said  even 
on  peaty  soils.  This  root  is  abundant  in  the 
English  and  French  markets,  where  it  sells  for 
a  little  more  than  the  price  of  Irish  potatoes. 
The  fibres  of  the  stems  may  be  separated  by 
maceration  similar  to  hemp,  so  as  to  be  capa- 
ble of  being  manufactured  into  cordage  or 
cloth,  as  is  practised  in  some  parts  of  Europe, 
where  the  plant  is  an  object  of  field  culture, 
especialh"  on  the  poor  and  sandy  soils.  The 
artichoke  will  yield,  with  similar  culture,  30 
per  cent,  more  than  the  potato,  and  if  the  land 
be  poor,  they  will  yield  at  least  double  the 
quantity  per  acre  that  can  be  raised  with  tiie 
potato,  and  the  expense  of  culture  is  no  more. 
They  are  particularly  adapted  to  the  climate 
and  soil  of  the  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
and  being  hardy,  can  be  left  during  the  fall 
and  winter  in  the  ground  to  be  rooted  up  by 
hogs,  great  numbers  of  which  may  be  thus 
fattened  at  little  expense.  Or  they  may  be 
taken  up  and  given  to  all  kind  of  stock,  for 
which  purpose  it  is  more  requisite  to  steam 
them  than  potatoes.  One  of  the  chief  objec- 
tions urged  against  their  culture  is,  that  not 
being  killed  in  winter  by  the  frost,  they  grow 
among  the  crops  which  succeed  them.  But 
this  is  a  comparatively  trifling  objection.  The 
Jerusalem  artichoke  certainly  deserves  more 
attention  from  farmers  than  it  now  gets  in  the 
United  States. 

ARTIFICIAL  GRASSES.     See  Grasses. 

ARUM.  Common  Cuckow-pint,  or  Wake- 
Robin  {Arum  macutatum).  See  Wakk-Robin 
and  IxniAX  Tuiixip. 

ARUNDO.  A  genus  of  grasses  in  which  a 
number  of  useful  species  was  once  compre- 
hended ;  but  in  consequence  of  the  altered 
views  of  botanists  regarding  the  limits  of  ge- 
nera, it  is  now  confined  to  the  Arundo  donux, 
and  the  species  most  nearly  agreeing  with  it. 
These  are  grasses  of  considerable  size,  some- 
times acquiring  a  woody  stem,  and  found  only 
in  the  warm  parts  of  the  world.  The  Arundo 
is  closely  allied  to  the  genus  Saccharum,  the  last 
of  which  includes  the  sugar-cane.  (Penny 
Cychp.) 

Arundo  arenaria.  Sea-reed,  marram,  starr, 
or  bent.  (See  Plate  7,  o.)  The  nutritive  mat- 
ter of  this  grass  affords  a  large  portion  of  sac- 
charine matter  when  compared  with  the  pro- 
duce in  this  respect  of  other  grasses.  The 
Elymus  arenuriiis,  however,  affords  about  one- 
third  more  sugar  than  the  present  plant.  The 
quantity  of  nutritive  matter  afforded  by  the 
Elymus  arenarlns  is  superior  to  that  afforded 
by  the  Arundo  arenaria,  in  the  proportion  of  4 
to  5.  From  experiments  as  to  the  produce,  it 
would  appear  that  the  A.  arenaria  is  unworthy 
of  cultivation  as  food  for  cattle,  out  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  salt  spray.  But  from  the  habit 
of  the  plant  in  its  natural  place  of  growth,  it  is 
of  great  utility,  particularly  when  combined 
with  the  Elymus  arenarius,  in  binding  the  loose 
•ands  of  the  sea-shore,  and  thereby  raising  a 
114 


natural  barrier,  the  most  lasting  against  'he 
encroachments  of  the  ocean  upon  the  land.  So 
far  back  as  the  reign  of  William  III.,  the  im- 
portant value  of  the  Elymus  urenarius  and 
Arundo  arenaria  was  so  well  appreciated  as  to 
induce  the  Scottish  parliament  of  that  period 
to  pass  an  act  for  their  preservation  on  the 
sea-coasts  of  Scotland.  And  these  provisions 
were,  by  the  British  parliament  in  the  reign  of 
George  I.,  followed  up  by  other  enactments,  ex- 
tending the  operation  of  the  Scottish  law  to  the 
coasts  of  England,  and  in  passing  further  penal 
ties  for  its  inviolability,  so  that  it  was  rendered 
penal,  not  only  for  any  individual,  not  even  ex- 
cepting the  lord  of  the  manor,  to  cut  the  bent,  but 
for  any  one  to  be  in  possession  of  any  within 
eight  miles  of  the  coast.  This  plant  is  likewise 
applied  to  many  economical  purposes ;  hats, 
ropes,  mats,  &c.,  being  manufactured  from  it. 
(Sinclaiys  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.) 

ASCARIDES.     See  Woiois,  Ixtestixal. 

ASH  (Frdxinus  excelsior).  This  tree  was 
called  by  the  Greeks  jutKiu,  and  by  some  /uixi*. 
The  Latins,  it  is  thought,  named  it  Fraxinus, 
quia  facile  frangitur,  to  express  the  fragile  na^ 
ture  of  the  wood,  as  the  boughs  of  it  are  easily 
broken.  We  are  thought  to  have  given  the 
name  of  ash  to  this  tree,  because  the  bark  of 
the  trunk  and  branches  is  of  the  colour  of 
wood-ashes,  whilst  some  learned  etymologists 
aflirm  that  the  word  is  derived  from  the  Saxon 
ffipe.  Virgil  tells  us  that  the  spears  of  the  Ama^- 
zons  were  of  this  wood,  and  Homer  celebrates 
the  mighty  ashen  spear  of  Achilles.  Many  of 
the  ancient  writers  highly  extolled  the  ash.  It 
has  been  asserted  that  serpents  have  such  an 
p antipathy  to  the  ash,  that  they  will  not  ap- 
proach even  within  its  morning  or  evening 
shadows;  and  Pliny  tells  us  (he  says  upon  ex- 
perience), that  if  a  fire  and  serpent  be  sur- 
rounded by  ash  boughs,  the  serpent  will  sooner 
run  into  the  fire  than  into  the  boughs.  There 
are  many  other  superstitious  notions  attached 
to  the  ash,  which  it  would  be  foreign  to  our 
purpose  to  notice. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  ash, 
among  which  are,  1.  The  weeping,  which  forms 
a  beautiful  arbour  when  grafted  upon  a  lofty 
stem  •  it  is  said  to  have  originated  incidentally 
in  a  field  at  Garntingay,  Cambridgeshire:  2. 
The  entire  leaved :  3.  The  curl-leaved,  which 
has  a  dark  aspect :  and,  4.  The  wasted. 

Ash  plantations  have  lately  been  formed  in 
many  parts  of  the  kingdom  to  a  very  consider- 
able extent.  The  Romans  used  the  ash-leaves 
for  fodder,  which  were  esteemed  better  for  cat- 
tle than  those  of  any  other  tree,  the  elm  ex- 
cepted: and  they  were  also  used  for  the  same 
purpose,  before  agriculture  was  so  well  un- 
derstood, and  our  fields  clothed  with  artificial 
grasses.  In  Queen  Elizabeth's  time,  the  in- 
habitants of  Colton  and  Hawkshead  Fells  re- 
monstrated against  the  number  of  forges  in 
the  country,  because  they  consumed  all  the 
loppings  and  croppings  which  were  the  sole 
winter  food  for  their  cattle.  In  the  north  of 
Lancashire  the  farmers  still  lop  the  tops  of  the 
ash  to  feed  their  cattle  in  autumn,  when  the 
grass  is  on  the  decline ;  the  cattle  peeling  off 
the  bark  as  food.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin  tells 
us,  that  in  forests  the  keepers  make  the  deer 


w 

orovSe  on  sum 


ASH. 


e  on  summer  evenings  on  the  sprays  of 
ash,  that  they  may  not  stray  too  far  from  the 
walk.  The  branches  are  frequently  given  to 
deer  in  time  of  frost.  The  ash-tree,  in  early 
days,  served  both  the  soldier  and  the  scholar. 
It  was  also  a  principal  material  for  forming 
the  peaceable  implements  of  husbandry,  as  it 
continues  to  be  with  us  to  this  day,  in  the 
snape  of  carts,  wagons,  teeth  and  spokes  of 
wheels,  harrows,  rollers,  &c.  The  gardener 
recognises  it  in  his  rake-stem,  spade-tree,  and 
other  tool  handles.  The  hop-planter  knows  its 
value  for  poles,  the  thatcher  for  spars,  the 
Guilder  for  ladders,  the  cooper  for  hoops,  the 
turner  for  his  lathe,  the  shipwright  for  pulleys, 
the  mariner  for  oars  and  ship-blocks,  the 
fisherman  for  tanning  his  nets  and  drying  his 
herrings  ;  the  wheelwright  employs  it  usefully, 
and  the  coach-maker  profitably,  whilst  the  ca- 
binet-maker palms  it  off'  upon  us  as  green 
ebony.  The  ashes  of  this  wood  afford  very 
good  potash,  and  the  bark  is  used  in  tanning 
calf-skins,  and  dyeing  green,  black,  and  blue. 
The  ash-keys  were  formerly  gathered  in  the 
green  state,  and  pickled  with  salt  and  vinegar, 
and  served  to  table  for  sauce. 

Were  we  to  transcribe  all  we  have  seen 
written  on  the  medicinal  virtues  of  this  plant, 
it  might  naturally  be  asked  how  it  happens 
that  we  do  not  meet  our  ancestors  upon  earth, 
who  had  in  this  tree  a  cure  for  every  malady  1 
The  Arabian  as  well  as  the  Greek  and  Roman 
physicians,  highly  extol  the  medicinal  proper- 
ties of  the  seed  which  the  Latins  named  lii>ffua 
avig,  bird's  tongue,  which  it  resembles.  Drs. 
Taner,  Robinson,  and  Bowles,  are  amongst  the 
later  physicians  who  commend  the  good  quali- 
ties of  this  little  seed.  The  common  ash  pro- 
pagates itself  plentifully  by  the  seed,  so  that 
abundance  of  young  plants  may  be  found  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  ash-trees,  provided  cattle 
are  not  sutTered  to  graze  on  the  land.  It  pro- 
duces its  leaves  and  ket/s  in  spring,  and  the 
seeds  ripen  in  September.  The  foliage  changes 
its  colour  in  October.  (Baxter's  Lib.  Ag.  Kn.,- 
Phillips's  Syl.  Flur.)  [Michaux  states  that 
eight  species  of  ash  are  mentioned  by  botanists 
as  indigenous  to  Europe,  whilst  a  much  greater 
number  exist  in  the  United  States.  Probably 
more  than  thirty  species  can  be  found  east  of 
the  Mississippi.  A  striking  resemblance  runs 
through  the  whole  genus ;  but  it  is  the  white  ash 
of  America,  the  wood  of  which,  by  its  strength 
and  elasticity,  is  adapted  to  so  many  useful 
purposes,  that  bears  the  nearest  resemblance 
to  the  common  ash  of  Europe.] 

ASHES  {Goi\i.  atzgoy  oz^o,  dust ;  Sax.  apca ; 
Dutch  and  Germ,  asche ;  Su.  Goth.  aska). 
"  Ashes  contain  a  very  fertile  salt,  and  are  the 
best  manure  for  cold  lands,  if  kept  dry,  that 
the  rains  doth  not  wash  away  their  salt." 
(Mnrf.  Husb.;  Todd's  Johnson.) 

The  use  of  ashes  may  be  traced  to  a  very 
early  age.  The  Romans  were  well  acquainted 
with  paring  \nd  burning.  Cato  recommends 
the  burning  oJthe  twigs  and  branches  of  trees, 
and  spreading  them  on  the  land.  Palladius 
says,  that  soils  so  treated  would  require  no 
other  manure  for  five  years.  They  also  burnt 
their  stubbles,  a  practice  common  among  the 
Jews.  The  ancient  Britons,  according  to  Pliny, 


ASHES. 

used  to  burn  their  wheat-straw  and  stubble, 
and  spread  the  ashes  over  the  soil.  And  Con- 
radus  Heresbachius,  a  German  counsellor,  in 
his  Treatise  on  Hiishandry,  published  in  1570 
which  was  translated  by  Googe,  tells  us,  p.  2o) 
that  "  in  Lombardy,  they  like  so  well  the  use 
of  ashes,  as  they  esteem  it  farre  aboue  any 
doung,  thinking  doung  not  meete  to  be  used  for 
the  unholsomnesse  thereof." 

It  is  the  earthy  and  saline  matters  of  the 
burnt  soils,  and  combustibles  emplo3'ed, 
which  constitute  the  substance  of  the  ashes 
employed  in  agriculture.  Their  use  as  a  ma- 
nure is  very  general  in  most  parts  of  England, 
although  many  errors  are  usually  committed 
in  their  application,  and  much  erroneous  rea- 
soning wasted  in  accounting  for  their  unsuc- 
cessful application  in  some  districts,  or  their 
general  success  in  others.  Those  usually  em- 
ployed for  agricultural  and  horticultural  pur- 
poses in  this  country  are,  1.  The  ashes  of 
coal ;  2.  Ashes  of  wood ;  3.  Peat  ashes  ;  4.  The 
ashes  from  turf,  as  in  paring  and  burning; 
5.  The  ashes  of  burnt  clay;  6.  The  ashes  from 
soap-boilers.  I  will  remark  upon  these,  in  the 
order  in  which  I  have  enumerated  them. 

1.  Cotd  Ashes. — The  only  analysis  of  coal 
that  I  am  acquainted  with  is  that  of  earth-coal, 
by  M.  Klaproth :  he  found  it  to  be  composed  of— 


Volatile  matter 

Charcoal 

Lime 

Sulphate  of  lime 

Oxide  of  iron    - 

Alumina 

Sand 


■=82-5 


62  25 

20  25 

02  00') 

0205 

0100  ^=17-5 

0005  I 

11  05  J      

100 


The  combustion  of  the  coals  dissipates  al- 
most all  the  gaseous  matters,  and  much  of  the 
charcoal ;  and  the  ashes,  therefore,  will  consist 
almost  entirely  of  the  various  earths,  a  small 
portion  of  charcoal,  and  the  saline  matters  of 
which  the  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  and  lime 
constitute  about  a  fourth. 

The  presence  of  these  last-named  substances 
gives  to  the  coal-ash  almost  all  its  value  as  a 
fertilizer,  for  these  ashes  are  always  most 
beneficially  applied  to  those  crops  which  con- 
tain sulphate  of  lime  in  sensible  quantities, 
such  as  to  lucern,  sainfoin,  red-clover,  &c.  In 
the  garden,  they  are  more  often  employed  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  walks,  and  to  prevent 
the  ravages  of  garden-nSice,  than  as  a  manure ; 
or,  when  they  are  employed  as  an  addition  to 
the  soil,  it  is  generally  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties, on  stifi"  clay  soils,  with  the  intention,  by 
the  mechanical  operation  of  the  cinders,  of 
rendering  the  soil  more  friable  and  permeable 
by  the  gases  of  the  atmosphere.  As  a  top 
dressing  for  lucern,  red  clover,  sainfoin,  and 
other  grasses,  there  is  no  application  superior 
to  coal  ashes.  This  fact  was  clearly  proved 
in  some  comparative  experiments  made  by 
Lord  Albemarle,  with  a  variety  of  manures, 
as  a  top  dressing  for  sainfoin.  He  found  coal 
ashes  far  superior  in  value  to  any  other  ferti- 
lizer. As  a  manure  for  gardens,  it  is  generally 
employed  in  quantities  much  too  large ;  and 
thence  an  idea  has  been  entertained  by  many 
gardeners,  that  coal  ashes  are  minncal  to 
plants  and  trees.  Mr.  Loudon  has  given  seve- 
ral experiments  of  this  description.     In  these, 

116 


ASHHS. 


ASHES. 


one  gardener  imbedded  his  potted  chrysan- 
themums, by  placing  a  "large  handful"  at 
the  bottom  of  each  of  his  pots,  and  then  was 
surprised  that  other  pots,  not  thus  partly  filled, 
produced  better  plants.  Another  "horticultural 
friend"  states  the  case  of  a  Scotch  gardener, 
who  "  coated  over,"  for  two  successive  years, 
his  garden  with  coal  ashes ;  and  then  our  ex- 
perimentalist, who  was,  doubtless,  a  persever- 
ing character,  finding  that,  with  this  over-dose 
of  cinders,  the  "  fruit  trees  did  not  thrive  so 
well  as  he  expected,"  actually  took  them  up, 
and  placed  them  under  a  "substratum  of  ashes, 
in  order  to  lay  them,"  as  he  said,  "  dry  and 
comfortable."  The  trees  of  course  grew  worse, 
and  were  taken  up.  (Gard.  Mag.  vol.  vi.  p. 
224.)  It  is  to  be  lamented  that  such  trials  as 
these  are  ever  brought  forward;  they  are 
merely  sources  of  erroneous  conclusions,  and 
strong  proofs  of  the  ignorance  of  those  who 
have  thus  been  wasting  their  master's  time 
and  property. 

Mr.  Loudon  has,  in  another  place  (Gard. 
Mag.  vol.  ii.  p.  406),  given  some  experiments 
of  a  very  different  character,  which  I  shall 
give  in  his  correspondent's  own  words : — "  I 
sowed,  on  the  15th  of  May,  1826,  three  rows 
of  Swedish  turnips.  No.  1,  was  manured  with 
well-rotted  dung  from  an  old  melon  bed.  No.  2, 
with  the  tops  of  cabbages  just  come  into  bloom. 
No.  3,  with  coal  ashes.  They  vegetated  about 
the  same  time,  but  the  row  manured  with  the 
cabbage-tops  seemed  to  suifer  most  from  the 
drought ;  the  season  being  hot  and  dry,  they 
made  little  progress  until  the  end  of  August, 
and  in  November  they  were  a  middling,  or 
rather  a  bad  crop.  The  row  manured  with 
coal  ashes  had,  all  along,  a  more  luxuriant 
appearance  than  the  other  two.  The  rows 
were  20  yards  in  length,  3  feet  apart,  and  15 
inches  from  plant  to  plant  in  the  row.  I  took 
them  up  in  February,  and  they  weighed  as  fol- 
lows :— No.  1,  78  lbs.;  No.  2,  88  lbs. ;  No.  3, 
121  lbs.;  which  is  very  much  in  favour  of  the 
coal  ashes."  It  may  be  remarked,  that  sulphate 
of  lime,  which  abounds  in  coal  ashes,  is  found 
in  very  sensible  quantities  in  turnips.  In  the 
garden,  coal  ashes  are  very  useful  when  spread 
ovf  r  the  surface,  to  prevent  the  depredations 
of  garden-mice  ;  they  cannot  burrow  through 
them ;  and,  in  the  case  of  early  sown  peas,  it 
will  be  found  that  the  peas  covered  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  with  coal  ashes,  say  a 
quarter,  or  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  will  be 
three  or  four  days  earlier  than  those  to  which 
the  ashes  have  not  been  applied.  This  may 
be  attributed  to  the  greater  heat  absorbed  from 
the  sun  by  the  black  coal  ashes. 

Wi>od  Ashes. — The  wood  of  various  trees,  &c., 
has  been  analyzed  by  M.  Saussure,  Jun.;  the 
following  was  the  result  {Chem.  Rec.  Veg.)  : — 


1000  parts  of  the  dry  wood  of  a  young 

oak,  yielded      -        .        -        - 
1000  ditto  of  the  hark  of  oak 
1000  ditto  of  perfect  oak  wood     - 
1000  ditto  of  poplar  wood     -        -        - 
1000  ditto  of  poplar  hark       -        -        - 
1000  ditto  of  wood  of  hazel 
1000  ditto  bark  of  ditto  -        -        - 

1000  ditto  wood  of  mulberry 
1000  ditto  bark  of  ditto  -        -        - 

1000  ditto  wood  of  hornbeam 
116 


-  2 

-  60 

-  2 

-  8 

-  72 

-  5 
.  62 

-  7 

-  89 
.  6 


1000  ditto  bark  of  ditto 

1000  ditto  wood  of  horse-chestnut 

1000  ditto  straw  of  wheat 

1000  ditto  branches  of  the  pine  - 


134 
35 
43 
15 


100  parts  of  these  ashes  were  found  to  consist 
of  the  following  substances,  in  varying  propor- 
tions. I  have  arranged  the  results  in  a  tabular 
form,  by  which  my  readers  will  readily  ascer- 
tain the  composition  of  the  ashes  procured  by 
the  combustion  of  various  woods,  barks,  &c.: — 


II 

4 

^1 

^1 

Z  9 
"1 

Silica. 

fl 

So 

Loes. 

100  parts  of  ashes    of 

young  oak  dry  wood, 

contain      -     -     -    - 

260 

28  5  11225 

012 

1- 

•58 

Bark  of  ditto,  ditto    - 

70 

4-5  )63-25 

0  2.') 

1-75 

22-75 

Perfect  oak  wood,  do. 

38-6 

4-5    32- 

2- 

2-25 

20  65 

Poplar  wood,  ditto    - 

16-75  27- 

3-3 

1-5 

24-5 

j  Poplar  bark,  ditto 

6- 

5-8  ,60- 

4- 

15 

23-2 

iWood  of  the  hazel,  do. 

24-5 

35-       8- 

0  25 

0-12 

.S2-2 

[Bark,  ditto,  ditto   -    - 

12-5 

5-5  '54- 

0-2.5 

1-75 

26- 

Mulberry  wood,  ditto 

21- 

2-25  56- 

0-12 

025 

20-38 

(Cut  in  November.) 

1 

Bark  of  ditto,  ditto     - 

7- 

8-5  '45- 

15-25 

1-12 

?:-i3 

Wood  of  hornbeam    - 

22- 

23-      26- 

012 

2-25 

26-63 

Bark,            ditto     -     - 

4-5 

4-5    59- 

1-5 

0-12 

30-38 

Wood  of  chestnut  -     - 

9-5 

— 

Straw  of  wheat      -     - 

225 

6-2     1- 

61~5 

1- 

7-8 

Branches  of«the  pine  - 

15- 

— 

— 

The  soluble  salts  of  these  ashes  are  chiefly 
carbonate  and  muriate  of  potash.  The  earthy 
phosphates  are  the  phosphates  of  lime  and 
magnesia  (or  the  principal  salt  of  bones)  ;  the 
earthy  carbonates  are  those  of  lime  (chalk), 
and  magnesia ;  silica  is  the  pure  earth  of  JUnt,- 
and  the  oxides  were  those  of  iron  and  manga^ 
nese. 

The  cultivator  will  readily  see,  by  the  results 
of  these  valuable  investigations,  the  reason 
why  wood  ashes  are  so  much  superior  to  those 
from  coal  as  a  manure.  The  ashes  from 
wood,  he  will  notice,  contain  a  very  consider- 
able proportion  of  the  phosphates  of  lime  and 
magnesia ;  those  from  the  hazel,  containing  35 
per  cent.,  and  those  from  the  wood  of  young  oak 
25  per  cent.,  essential  vegetable  ingredients,  of 
which  the  ashes  from  coal  are  entirely  desti- 
tute. The  phosphate  of  lime,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, is  the  chief  fertilizing  constituent 
of  bones,  in  which  valuable  manure  it  is  inva- 
riably present,  in  proportion  varying  from  37^ 
per  cent,  in  the  bones  of  the  ox,  to  35  per  cent, 
in  those  of  the  hare.  Wood  ashes  also  contain 
a  considerable  proportion  of  carbonate  of  pot- 
ash, a  salt  which  is  more  or  less  present  in  all 
vegetable  substances,  and  for  which,  therefore, 
it  must  be  highly  serviceable  as  a  food.  The 
carbonate  of  potash,  too,  promotes  the  disso- 
lution of  dead  vegetable  substances,  and  it 
also,  from  its  attraction  of  moisture  from  the 
atmosphere,  must  promote  an  increased  sup- 
ply to  the  soil.  Wood  ashes  are  often  very 
judiciously  added  to  common  manure,  the 
quality  of  which  is  much  improved  by  the  mix- 
ture. The  leaves  of  trees,  when  burnt,  gene- 
rally produce  more  ashes,  or  potashes  as  they 
are  called,  (from  being  formerly  produced  by 
burning  vegetable  substances  in  large  open 
pots),  than  the  branches,  and  the  stem  of  the 
tree  the  least  of  all ;  herbs  produce  four  or 
five  times,  and  shrubs  three  or  four  times  as 
much  as  either.    All  vegetables  produce  more 


ASHES. 


ASHES. 


ashes  if  burnt  when  green  than  when  they  are 
previously  dried.  Davy  {Lectures,  p.  113)  has 
given  a  table  of  the  quantity  of  potashes  fur- 
nished by  the  combustion  of  various  common 
vegetable  substances,  which  I  shall  here  insert, 
as  the  cultivator  will  see  by  it  that  there  is  a 
very  remarkable  difference  in  the  quantity  pro- 
duced by  equal  weights  of  different  trees  and 
plants. 


10,000  parts  of  the  poplar  produced 

—  —  beech  — 

—  —  oak  — 

—  —  elm  — 

—  —  vine  — 

—  —  thistle  — 

—  —  fern  — 

—  —  cow  thistle  — 

—  —  beans  — 

—  —  vetches         — 

—  —  wormwood  — 

—  —  fumitory      — 


Parts  of 
Potashe*. 

-  7 

-  12 

-  15 

-  39 

-  55 

-  53 

-  62 

-  196 

-  200 

-  275 

-  730* 

-  790 


Peat  Ashes. — Peat  ashes  are  made  in  many 
parts  of  England  for  the  use  of  the  fanner  by 
burning  peat  in  large  heaps,  after  it  has  been 
sufficiently  dried  by  the  heat  of  the  sun ;  and 
for  grass  lands  and  turnips  they  have  been 
found  a  very  valuable  manure.  They  are 
usually  applied  as  a  top  dressing.  The  com- 
position of  peat  ashes  more  nearly  resembles 
that  of  coal  ashes  than  those  from  wood  or 
vegetables — which  is  a  result  hardly  to  be  ex- 
pected, when  we  consider  that  the  immense 
beds  of  peat,  or  turf,  as  it  is  sometimes  called, 
which  are  dispersed  over  Britain,  are  evidently 
composed  of  the  remains  of  vegetable  sub- 
stances ;  trunks  of  trees,  leaves,  fruits,  stringy 
fibres,  the  remains  of  water  mosses,  &c.,  and 
this  in  some  places  to  a  depth  of  15  yards. 
Peat  ashes  were  analyzed  by  Davy,  with  much 
care  :  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  owe 
most  of  their  fertilizing  properties  to  the  pre- 
sence of  gj'psum  (or  sulphate  of  lime).  In 
the  Berkshire  and  Wiltshire  peat  ashes,  he 
discovered  a  considerable  portion  of  it.  The 
Newbury  peat  ashes  he  found  to  be  composed 
of  from  one-fourth  to  one-third  gypsum,  and  in 
the  peat  ashes  of  Stockbridge  and  Hampshire, 
a  still  larger  proportion  of  the  same  substance. 
The  other  constituents  of  peat  ashes  are  cal- 
careous, aluminous,  and  silicious  earths,  with 
varying  quantities  of  sulphate  of  potash,  a 
little  common  salt,  and  occasionally  oxide  of 
iron,  especially  in  the  red  varieties  of  peat 
ashes. 

« These  peat  ashes,"  said  Davy,  "  are  used 
as  a  top  dressing  for  cultivated  grasses,  particu- 
larly sainfoin,  clover,  and  rye-grass.  I  found 
that  they  afforded  considerable  quantities  of 
gj^sum,  and  probably  this  substance  is  inti- 
mately combined  as  a  necessarj'  part  of  their 
woody  fibre ;  if  this  be  allowed,  it  is  easy  to 
explain  the  reason  why  it  operates  in  such 
small  quantities ;  for  the  whole  of  a  clover  or 
sainfoin  crop  on  an  acie,  according  to  my  esti- 
mation, would  afford,  by  incineration,  only 
three  or  four  bushels  of  gypsum.  In  examin- 
ing the  soil  in  a  field  near  Newbury,  which  was 
taken  from  below  a  footpath,  near  the  gate, 
where  gypsum  could  not  have  been  artificially 
furnished,  I  could  not  detect  any  of  this  sub- 

♦  Hence  potash  was  formerly  called  "  salt  of  worm- 
wood." 


stance  m  it,  and  at  the  very  time  I  collected 
the  soil,  the  peat  ashes  were  applied  to  the 
clover  in  the  field.  I  have  mentioned  certain 
peats,  the  ashes  of  which  afford  gypsum :  but 
it  must  not  be  inferred  from  this,  that  all  peals 
agree  with  them.  I  have  examined  various 
peat  ashes  from  Scotland,  Ireland,  Wales,  and 
the  northern  and  western  parts  of  England, 
which  contained  no  quantity  that  could  be 
useful ;  and  these  ashes  abound  in  silicious, 
aluminous  earths,  and  in  oxide  of  iron.  Lord 
Charleville  found  in  some  Irish  peat  ashes, 
sulphate  of  potash.  Vitriolic  matter  is  usually 
found  in  peats  ;  and  if  the  soil  or  substratum 
IS  calcareous,  the  ultimate  result  is  the  produc- 
tion of  gypsum.  In  general,  when  a  recent 
potash  emits  a  strong  smell  resembling  that  of 
rotten  eggs  (sulphuretted  hydrogen),  when 
acted  upon  by  vinegar,  it  will  furnish  gypsum.'* 
{Agric.  Chem.  p.  336.) 

In  the  valley  of  the  Kennet,  in  Berkshire, 
where  the  peat  ashes  are  made  in  very  consi- 
derable quantities,  and  are  used  by  the  farmers 
as  a  manure  for  both  grass  and  turnips,  they 
are  sold  at  three-pence  per  bushel,  and  are  ap- 
plied at  the  rate  of  40  or  50  bushels  an  acre 
broadcast.  On  most  grass  lands  there  is  no 
dressing  equal  to  them ;  and  on  some  soils, 
near  to  Hungerford,  they  produce  the  most 
luxuriant  crops  of  grass,  in  cases  where  the 
effects  of  common  farm-yard  manure  are 
hardly  perceptible.  As  a  manure  for  turnips, 
they  answer  best  in  wet  seasons.  In  very  dry 
weather,  the  crops  growing  on  the  ashed  land 
are  described  by  the  farmers  as  putting  on  a 
"burned"  appearance. 

Peat  ashes  are  extensively  employed  in 
Flanders  as  a  manure ;  they  are  carefully  pre- 
served by  the  householders,  who  burn  turf  or 
peat,  and  are  sold  to  the  farmers  by  the  bushel, 
in  the  same  way  that  those  of  Newbury  are  in 
England.  Their  use  is  chiefly  confined  to  clo- 
ver, for  which  purpose  they  are  an  excellent 
top  dressing.  Mr.  Radcliffe,  in  his  Agriculture 
of  Flanders,  has  given  an  analysis  of  these 
ashes,  from  which  the  farmer  will  see  they  owe 
nearly  all  their  fertilizing  properties  to  the 
presence  of  12  per  cent,  of  gypsum.  100  parts 
are  composed  of — 


Silicious  earth      ------    32 

Sulphate  of  lime 12 

Sulphate  and  muriate  of  soda      -        -        -      6 

Carbonate  of  lime 40 

Oxide  of  iron       ------     3 

Loss      --------7 

100 


Paring  and  burning  Ashes. — This  is  hardly 
the  place  to  enter  into  the  often  argued  and 
yet  undecided  question,  as  to  the  advantages 
of  paring  and  burning.  It  is  pretty  universally 
agreed,  that  the  practice  is  highly  injurious  to 
sandy  soils,  beneficial  to  clay  lands,  and  sti . 
more  advantageous  to  those  of  a  peaty  descrip- 
tion ;  that  is,  to  soils  where  there  is  an  excess  of 
inert  vegetable  remains.    The  cultivator  of  the 

I  soil  will  see,  by  the  results  of  the  analysis  by 
Davy  of  the  ashes  produced  by  the  paring  and 

I  burning  of  three  different  descriptions  of  soil, 
the  usual  products  of  paring  and  burning.    200 


ASHES. 


ASHES. 


grains  of  the  ashes  from  paring  and  burning  a 
chalk  soil  in  Kent,  yielded  that  great  chemist 

80  grains  of  chalk, 
11       —       gypsum, 
9        —        charcoal, 
15        —        oxide  of  iron, 

3        —       saline  matter,  consisting  of  sulphate  of 
potash,  muriate  of  magnesia,  and  ve- 
getable alkali, 
82       —       alumina(clay),  and  silica  (flint). 


According  to  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Boys,  who 
has  published  a  treatise  upon  paring  and  burn- 
ing, it  appears  that  on  the  chalk  soils  of  Kent, 
about  2660  bushels  of  ashes  are  usually  pro- 
duced by  paring  and  burning  an  acre  of  ground, 
and  that  this  quantity  of  ashes,  which  he  cal- 
culates will  weigh  172,900  lbs.,  will  contain 

Chalk 69,160  lbs. 

Gypsum 9,509 

Oxide  of  Iron 12,967 

Saline  matter        -----    2,594 
Charcoal -    7,781 

The  second  specimen  of  ashes  was  from  a 
soil  at  Colerton,  in  Leicestershire,  composed 
of  three-fourths  sand,  one-fourth  clay,  and 
about  4  per  cent,  of  chalk. 

100  grains  of  the  ashes  yielded 

6  grains  charcoal, 

3      —      common  salt,  sulphate  of  potash,  and  a 

trace  of  vegetable  alkali, 
9      —      oxide  of  iron, 
82     —     sand,  clay,  and  chalk. 

loo 

The  third  variety  of  ashes  was  produced  by 
paring  and  burning  a  stiff  clay  soil  at  Mount's 
Bay,  in  Cornwall. 

100  grains  of  these  were  found  to  contain 

8  grains  of  charcoal, 

2       —       common  salt,  and  other  saline  matters, 

7  —       oxide  of  iron, 
2       —       chalk, 

81       —       clay  and  sand. 

100 

Such  are  the  ashes  from  paring  and  burning. 
The  cultivator  of  the  soil  will  judge  whether 
any  of  these  products  are  required  by  his  land, 
and  whether  all  the  good  results  of  paring 
and  burning  might  not  be  generally  obtained 
by  other  means,  without  destroying  that  large 
portion  of  the  vegetable  matters  of  the  turf, 
destroyed  during  combustion.  In  those  cases, 
however,  where  it  is  practicable  to  transfer  the 
ashes  produced  by  paring  and  burning  a  chalk 
soil  to  a  clay,  or,  vice  versa,  the  ashes  of  a  clay 
soil  to  a  chalk,  the  result  must,  in  general,  be 
highly  and  permanently  beneficial  to  both. 

The  Ashes  of  burnt  Clay. — The  composition 
of  the  ashes  of  burnt  clay,  although  varying 
according  to  the  earthy  proportions  of  the  soil, 
will  be  found  pretty  generally  to  accord  with 
th'^  analysis  of  the  ashes  from  the  clay  soil, 
/rom  Mount's  Bay,  given  above  under  the  head, 
J'aring  and  btirning  Ashes.  Clay  burning  is 
practised  with  decided  success  in  many  dis- 
tricts of  England,  and,  in  every  point  of  view, 
is  by  far  the  most  eligible  mode  of  producing 
ashes  for  manure ;  for  the  soil  of  the  field  is 
not  thereby  impoverished  of  its  vegetable  re- 
mains, the  cla^' which  is  burnt  being  generally 
118 


procured  from  ditches,  banks,  hedgerows,  &c. 
The  account  of  clay  burning,  given  several 
years  since  by  General  Vavasour,  of  Melbourne 
Hall,  in  Yorkshire,  is  so  practical  and  satisfac- 
tory,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than  quote  his  own 
words: — "I  would  recommend  to  a  beginner, 
that  the  kiln  should  be  made  small,  about 
three  yards  wide,  and  six  yards  long  in  the  in- 
side;  as  he  becomes  more  skilful,  they  n: ay 
be  made  larger.  The  walls  of  the  kiln  are  to 
be  made  of  sods,  two  feet  thick  at  the  bottom, 
and  one  foot  thick  at  the  top,  leaving  two  Hues 
on  each  side,  and  one  at  each  end,  about  one 
foot  square;  these  walls  may  be  built  at  first 
four  feet  high.  We  then  put  in  the  wood,  be- 
ginning with  the  larger  pieces  at  the  bottom, 
particularly  near  the  flues,  supported  by  sods 
to  keep  them  open,  adding  tops  of  firs,  or  any 
brushwood,  until  the  kiln  is  nearly  filled.  It 
might  be  burnt  witli  coal  or  peat,  if  more  con- 
venient. Cover  the  wood  with  a  layer  of  clay 
taken  from  some  bank  or  ditch  in  the  field,  and 
which  has  been  digged  sometime  before  to  dry ; 
it  is  not  necessary  that  it  should  be  very  dry. 
The  fire  is  then  to  be  lighted  at  the  tiue  by 
means  of  straw  previously  placed  there.  The 
greatest  care  is  required  that  the  fire  shall  not 
escape  at  the  top ;  but  fresh  clay  constantly 
thrown  on,  wherever  it  seems  likely  to  burn 
out,  at  the  same  time  not  overloading  the  kiln, 
so  as  to  put  out  the  fire.  As  the  quantity  of 
clay  is  increased,  the  walls  should  be  raised, 
keeping  them  a  foot  higher  than  the  clay. 
About  six  feet  will  be  as  high  as  can  be  conve- 
niently burned.  The  chief  art  seems  to  be,  to 
procure  a  great  mass  of  fire  at  first,  and  to  let 
the  fire  rise  through  the  clay  as  you  go,  to  let  it 
smoke  in  every  part  at  the  top,  but  not  to  burn 
out.  My  men,  who  burnt  by  contract,  watch 
the  kilns  by  night  and  day.  I  have  applied  the 
ashes  almost  exclusively  for  wheat,  upon  a  clay 
soil,  spreading  them  on  a  fallow  after  the  last 
ploughing,  and  harrowing  them  in  with  the 
seed,  at  the  rate  of  30  tons  per  acre,  on  80 
acres.  The  longer  the  ashes  remain  upon  the 
land,  before  harrowing,  the  better,  that  the 
lumps  may  fall,  and  mix  with  the  soil.  If  the 
walls  are  well  made,  one  end  may  be  taken 
down,  and,  after  the  kiln  is  emptied,  rebuilt  for 
a  second  burning ;  if  not  likely  to  stand,  they 
may  be  entirely  burned  in  a  succeeding  kiln. 
If  the  weather  should  not  be  moist,  the  kilns 
will  burn  for  some  weeks,  as  the  clay  will  con- 
tinue hot  long  after  the  wood  is  consumed.'* 

Clay  ashes  have  been  used  to  a  very  con- 
siderable extent  by  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  of  Spring 
Park,  near  Croydon,  on  several  of  his  farms, 
and  with  the  most  decided  success.  This  ex- 
cellent farmer  and  land-agent  has  the  clay  dug 
out  in  pits,  that  it  may  be  more  readily  dried. 
He  burns  in  heaps  ;  and  employs  as  fuel  col- 
lections of  hedge-clippings,  furze,  &c. ;  and 
these  he  thinks  it  best  not  to  use  in  too  dry  a 
state,  since  one  great  object  in  clay-burning, 
he  is  of  opinion,  is  to  produce  a  steady  moul- 
dering heat,  not  too  fast.  A  fire,  therefore, 
should  not  be  suffered  to  flame.  The  fire  in 
the  heaps  usually  works  against  the  wind, 
when  those  heaps  are  properly  made.  He  ap- 
plies about  150  bushels  of  the  ashes  per  acre; 
pays  Id.  to  l^d.  per  bushel  for  burning;  dress- 


ASHES. 


ASHES. 


lug  wit^  them  with  ^reat  advantage  all  kinds 
of  soil,  lor  turnips,  &6. 

Mr.  Poppy,  of  Witnesham,  in  a  pamphlet 
published  in  1830,  after  giving  various  direc- 
tions for  burning  clay,  adds: — "Salt  (the  only 
inexhaustible  universal  manure,  besides  burnt 
earth)  does  not  increase  the  bulk  of  straw; 
and  although  it  may  be,  and  is,  beneficial  to 
corn,  it  will  not  be  very  extensively  used,  be- 
cause its  benefit  is  not  apparent  to  the  eye : 
burnt  earth  produces  an  abundance  of  straw. 
I  have  seen  the  corn  so  luxuriant  on  the  sites 
of  the  heaps,  where  due  caution  was  not  used 
in  laying  a  floor  of  earth  under  the  fire,  that  it 
was  rotted  on  the  ground,  and  destroyed  the 
clover  plant.  I  have  seen  the  beans  on  the 
site  of  a  burnt-earth  heap  even  too  luxuriant; 
and  potatoes  and  mangel  wurzel  a  double  pro- 
duce to  the  rest  of  the  crop.  There  is  no  limit 
to  burning  earth  on  stiff  clay  soils,  because 
the  most  sterile  subsoil^  brought  up  purposely  by 
the  plough  will,  by  the  action  of  fire,  be  con- 
verted into  useful  manure.  If  it  is  converted 
into  staple,  it  increases  the  depth  of  titheable 
soil,  and  acts  both  physically  and  mechani- 
cally." The  Suffolk  plan  of  clay-buming  is 
similar  to  that  adopted  in  Yorkshire.  "  The 
common  mode  of  burning  earth  is  to  dig  old 
borders,  surfaces  of  banks,  &c.;  turn  it  over, 
and,  when  dry,  cart  it  to  a  heap,  and  bum ; 
formerly  much  wood  was  used,  but  haulm, 
straw,  dry  weeds,  and  a  few  bushes,  whins,  or 
any  thing  of  that  kind,  may  be  employed  ;  then 
build  a  circular  wall  of  turfs  around  it,  cover 
the  heap  slightly  with  turfs  and  earth,  and  set 
fire  to  it  in  sever.al  places ;  feeding  with  the 
most  inflammable  materials  at  first,  afterwards 
clay  or  any  earth  will  burn ;  when  all  the  earth 
is  on  the  heap,  the  walls  may  be  pulled  down 
and  thrown  on,  raising  it  by  degrees  as  the  fire 
ascends,  in  the  shape  of  a  cone,  till  all  is  con- 
sumed." 

The  expense  of  this  kind  of  clay-buming  is 
thus  estimated  by  Mr.  Poppy : — 

£  8.  d. 
Labour,  digging,  and  burning  100  loads,  at  9d. 

per  load -3  15    0 

Filiine,  \s.  6d.  per  score— 7s.  6d. ;  carting  three 

horses  and  two  carts,  16».  -  -  -  -  1  3  6 
Filling  and  spreading  after  burning,  34f.  per  acre  0  15  0 
Carting,  and  laying  oni  over  two  acres      -        -  0  16    0 


Toul  per  100  loads 


£6    9    6 


Or  3/.  is.  9rf.  per  acre  for  50  loads,  or  U.  id. 
per  load. 

Clay-burning,  according  to  Mr.  Poppy,  is 
certainly  not  a  modem  Suffolk  improvement. 
"I  have  constantly  seen  it  practised  for  half 
a  centurj';  and  the  oldest  man  I  ever  con- 
versed with  on  the  subject,  spoke  of  it  as  com- 
mon as  long  as  he  could  remember.  I  have  a 
workman  on  the  farm  who  is,  I  think,  upwards 
of  eighty  years  of  age,  and  has  always  followed 
tlie  vocation  of  burning  earth," 

The  Ashes  from  Soap  Boilers. — Soap  boilers' 
ashes  are  a  mixture  of  a  peculiar  description; 
they  are  principally  the  insoluble  portion  of 
the  barilla,  potashes,  or  kelp,  employed  in 
soap-making,  mixed  with  cinders,  lime,  salt, 
and  other  occasional  additions ;  and  also  with 
muriate  of  potash,  common  salt,  and  other 
saline  matters. 


The  quantity  of  pearl  and  potashes  import, 
ed  into  the  United  Kingdom  is  very  consider- 
able; in  1837,  it  amounted  to  147,329  cwis.; 
in  1838,  to  127,101  cwts.:  of  barilla  and  alkali 
in  the  same  year  were  imported  102,135  owls, 
and  72,587  cwts.  {M'CuHoch's  Dictionary  of 
Commerce.) 

The  insoluble  portion  of  barilla  consisvi 
principally  of  lime,  charcoal,  sand,  and  oxide 
of  iron.  The  insoluble  portion  of  potash,  or 
ashes,  as  they  are  denominated  by  the  trad?, 
will  consist  of  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
same  ingredients,  added  to  a  varying  portion 
of  phosphate  of  lime.  Much  difference  of 
opinion  has  subsis-ted  among  farmers  with  re- 
gard to  the  advantages  of  soap-makers'  ashes. 
It  has  been  recommended  as  very  useful  upon 
strong,  cold  soils,  on  peat  moss,  and  on  cold, 
wet  pastures.  The  quantity  recommended  to 
be  applied  per  acre  by  Arthur  Young,  was  60 
bushels  for  turnips ;  to  be  harrowed  in  with 
the  seed.  For  wet  grass  lands,  six  loads  per 
acre.  For  wet  arable  soils,  seven  loads  per 
acre.  He  describes  the  immediate  effects  as 
very  great.  For  poor  loamy  land,  ten  loads 
per  acre :  the  effect  very  satisfactor3\  Dr.  Co- 
gan,  who  has  written  a  paper  on  the  use  of 
soap  ashes,  has  given  this  letter  of  one  of  his 
correspondents,  whom  he  describes  as  a  plain, 
sensible  farmer: — "My  experience  of  soaper's 
ashes  is  confined  to  the  application  of  it  as  a 
top  dressing  on  pasture  land.  About  twelve 
years  ago,  I  agreed  with  a  soap  boiler  for  1500 
tons  of  soapers'  ashes.  I  used  to  apply  about 
twenty  wagon  loads  per  acre,  and  a  single 
bushing  would  let  the  whole  in.  I  was  laughed 
at,  and  abused  by  every  body  for  my  folly: 
these  wiseacres  alleging  that  my  land  would  be 
burned  up  for  years,  and  totally  ruined ;  all 
which  I  disregarded,  and  applied  my  soaper's 
ashes  every  day  in  the  year,  reeking  from  the 
vat,  without  any  mixture  whatever. 

"I  tried  a  small  quantity  (^ay  six  acres), 
mixed  up  with  earth  ;  but  I  found  it  was  only 
doing  things  by  halves.  My  land  never  burned, 
but,  from  the  time  of  the  application,  became 
of  a  dark  green  colour,  bordering  upon  black, 
and  has  given  me  more,  but  never  less  than 
two  tons  per  acre,  ever  since,  upon  being 
hat/ned,  forty-two  days,  viz.  from  May  31  to 
July  11.  The  ground  I  so  dressed  was 
twenty-four  acres  ;  and  I  have  had  120  sheep 
(hogs  of  the  new  Leicester  breed),  upon  the 
ground  from  last  August  to  this  day  (March  2); 
but  I  allowed  them  plenty  of  hay:  and  although 
they  were  culled  in  August  last,  as  the  worst  I 
had  out  of  700  lambs,"  and  selected  for  this 
ground  on  purpose  to  push  them,  they  are  now 
as  good  as  the  best  I  have." 

As  by  far  the  most  considerable  portion  of 
soap  ashes  is  lime  and  chalk,  wherever  lime 
or  calcareous  matter  is  a  fertilizer  to  the  soil, 
soap-makers'  ashes  will  generally,  if  not  in- 
variably, succeed ;  but  they  must  be  applied 
in  quantities  nearly  as  large  as  if  lime  was 
employed. 

Such  are  the  chief  agricultural  properties 
of  the  various  ashes  hitherto  employed  m 
agriculture.  The  research  is,  however,  by  no 
means  nearly  exhausted,  for  these  fertilizers 
have  showed  the  fate  generally  attendant  upon 

119 


ASHES. 

all  agricultural  or  horticultural  investigations: 
they  have  been  lauded  as  equally  beneficial  to 
every  description  of  soil,  and  in  all  situations; 
or  they  ^have   been   condemned,  with   equal 
folly,  by  the  results  of  blundering  trials — be- 
gun in  ignorance,  continued  without  care,  and 
perhaps  nearly  forgotten  in  the  hurry  of  a  con- 
clusion. 

They  furnish  ingredients,  such  as  the  car- 
bonate of  lime,  carbonate  of  potash,  charcoal, 
phosphate    of   lime,    sulphate   of   lime,  &c., 
which,  in   limited  q.uantities,   enter   into   the 
composition  of  all  plants,  as  an  absolute  con- 
stituent part ;  and  for  these  they  must,  accord- 
ing to   the  natural  deficiency  of  the   soil   in 
these  ingredients,  be  extremely  useful.     They 
absorb  moisture  from  the  atmosphere,  too,  in 
quantities  much  superior  to  what  is  generally 
believed,  and  in  this  property  the  ashes  of 
burnt  clay  and  coal  ashes   considerably  ex- 
ceed   both    chalk,    lime,   gypsum,  and  even 
crushed  rock  salt,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  re- 
sult of  the  experiments  given  under  the  head 
Maxuiies. 

Some    very  valuable  comparative   experi- 
ments  on   the   influence  of   ashes   upon   the 
growth  of  potatoes  were  made  by  the  Rev.  Ed- 
mund Cartwright,  of   Hollenden    House,   in 
Kent.     ( Com.  Board  of  Agric,  vol.  iv.  p.  370.) 
"The  soil  on  which  these  experiments  were 
made  was  previously  analyzed:    400  grains 
gave — 
"Silicioiis  sand,  of  different  degrees  of 

fineness  ......     280  grs. 

Finely  divided  matter        -        -        -        -      104 

Loss  in  water    -.--_.        ig 


ASPARAGUS. 

Another  series  of  experiments  was  made  b] 
Dr.  Cartwright,  upon  a  cold,  wet,  tenaciouf 
clay,  with  burnt  clay,  wood-ashes,  and  soot;  ir 
all  of  which  tne  clay  ashes  had  a  decided  supc 
riority  of  efl'ect.  The  following  table  showf 
the  quantity  of  manure  applied  per  acre,  anc 
the  produce  of  the  land  thus  fertilized.  {Tram 
Svc.  Arts,  vol.  xxxvi.) 


400 


The  finely  divided  matter  contained — 

"Carbonate  of  lime       .        -        -        .        _ 

Oxide  of  iron  -        -        .        .        . 

Loss  by  incineration  (probably  vegetable 

decomposing  matter)      .... 

Silex,  alumina,  &c.  -       -       .       _ 


18  grs. 

7 

17 
62 


"It will  appear,"  says  Mr. Cartwright,  "from 
the  above  analysis,  that  these  experiments 
could  not  have  been  tried  upon  a  soil  better 
adapted  to  give  impartial  results;  for  of  its 
component  parts  there  is  no  ingredient  (the 
oxide  of  iron  possibly  excepted)  of  sufficient 
activity  to  restrain  or  augment  the  peculiar 
energies  of  the  substances  employed."  The 
beds  were  laid  out  and  planted  on  the  same 
day,  the  14th  of  April ;  they  were  manured  as 
in  the  following  table.  These  beds  were  each 
forty  yards  in  length,  and  one  yard  wide. 
Every  bed  was  planted  with  a  single  row  of 
potatoes,  "and,  that  the  general  experiment 
might  be  conducted  with  all  possible  accuracy, 
each  bed  received  the  same  number  of  sets?' 
The  potatoes  were  taken  up  on  the  21st  of  Sep- 
tember wnen  the  produce  of  the  beds  were  as 
follows : — 


Land  without  any  manure  produced,  per 
acre      .... 

with  60  bushels  of  wood-ashes   - 

60  bushels  of  wood-ashes,  salt  8 

bushels  ... 

peat  363  bushels  ... 

. . —  peat  ashes   368    bushels,    salt   8 

bushels  ... 

— peat  363  bushels,  salt,  8  bushels  - 

120 


Potatoes  in 
Bushels. 


157 

187 


217 

I5y 


185 
171 


Produce  per  Acre. 

Swedes. 

Po'atoes. 

Barley. 

bush. 

T  r 

Burnt  clay,  400  bushels  - 

25      2 

480 

Wood  ashes,  100  bushels 

23     12 

456 

4      2 

Soot    50      

16  m 

432 

4      2 

Soil  simple     ... 

10      4 

340 

3      0 

The  operation  of  burning  clay  produces  but 
a  slight  chemical  alteration  in  the  composition 
of  the  clay ;  its  tenacity  is  merely  destroyed, 
and  a  portion  of  soot  and  of  carbonized  animal 
and  vegetable  remains  are  diiffused  through 
the  ashes;  added  to  which,  the  ashes  of  the 
wood  employed  for  the  burning,  which  usually 
contain  a  quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime  and 
potash,  are  mixed  up  with  the  mass.  (Johnson 
on  Fertilizers,  296;  Brit.  Farm.  Map;.,  vol.  L 
p.  58.) 

ASPARAGUS  (from  the  Greek  aLTTrapxy.^,  a 
young  shoot  before  it  expands).     Tliere  are 
only  two  varieties,  the    red-topped   and  the 
green-topped;    the   first  is   principally  culti- 
vated.    There  are  a  few  sub-varieties  which 
derive  their  names  from  the  places  of  their 
growth,  and  are  only  to  be  distinguished  for 
superior  size  or  flavour,  which  they  usually 
lose  on  removal  from  their  native  place.     The 
soil  best  suited  to  this  vegetable  is  a  black, 
fresh,  sandy  loam,  made  rich  by  the  abundant 
addition  of  manure ;  it  should  be  neither  tena- 
cious from   the  too   great  preponderance  of 
clay,  nor  too  dry  from  a  superabundance  of 
silica,   but   should   be    retentive  of  moisture 
chiefly  by  reason  of  its  richness.     To  raise 
fine  roots  for  hot-beds,  they  may  be  raised  in  a 
much  moister  soil   {Miller's  Dictionary) ;    but 
for  natural  productions  this  will  not  answer,  as 
such  plants  are  much  shorter  lived.     The  site 
of  the  beds  should  be  such  as  to  enjoy  the  in- 
fluence of  the  sun  during  the  whole  of  the  day, 
as  free  as  possible  from  the  influence  of  trees 
and  shrubs,  and,  if  choice  is  allowed,  ranging 
north  and  south.     The  subsoil  should  be  dry, 
or  the  bed  kept  so,  by  being  founded  on  rubbish 
or  other  material  to  serve  as  a  drain.    The 
space  of  ground  required  to  be  planted  with 
this  vegetable  for  the  supply  of  a  small  family 
is  at  least  eight  rods,  if  less,  it  will  be  incapa 
ble  of  affording  one  hundred  heads  at  a  time 
(Marshall  says  six  rods  will  afford  this  quan- 
tity), so  that  part  must  be  kept  two  or  three 
days  after  it  is  cut,  especially  in  ungenial  sea- 
sons, to  allow  time  for  the  growth  of  more  to 
make  a  sufficient  number  for  a  dish.     Sixteen 
rods  will,  in  general,  affi)rd  two  or  three  hun- 
dred every  day  in  the  height  of  the  season. 
To  raise  plants  the  seed  may  be  sown  from  the 
middle  of  February  to  the  beginning  of  April ; 
the  most  usual  time  is  about  the  middle  of 
March.     The  best  mode  is  to  insert  them  by 
the  dibble,  five  or  six  inches  apart  and  an  inch 
below  the  surface,  two  seeds  to  be  put  in  each 


■r 

hole :  or  they  i 


ASPARAGUS. 


)le ;  or  they  may  be  sown  in  drills  made  the 
same  distance  asunder,  or  broadcast.  If  dry 
weather,  the  bed  should  be  refreshed  with  mo- 
derate, but  frequent  waterings,  and  if  sown  as 
late  as  April,  shade  is  required  by  means  of  a 
little  haulm  during  the  meridian  of  hot  days, 
until  the  seeds  germinate.  Care  must  be  taken 
to  keep  them  free  from  weeds,  though  this 
operation  should  never  commence  until  the 
plants  are  well  above  ground,  which  will  be  in 
the  course  of  three  or  four  weeks  from  the 
time  of  sowing.  If  two  plants  have  arisen  from 
the  same  hole,  the  weakest  must  be  removed 
as  soon  as  that  point  can  be  well  determined. 
Towards  the  end  of  October,  as  soon  as  the 
stems  are  completely  withered,  they  must  be 
cut  down,  and  well-putrefied  dung  spread  over 
the  bed  to  the  depth  of  about  two  inches :  this 
serves  not  only  to  increase  the  vigour  of  the 
plants  in  the  following  year,  but  to  preserve 
them  during  the  winter  from  injury  by  the 
frost.  About  March  in  the  next  year,  every 
other  plant  must  be  taken  up,  and  transplanted 
into  a  bed,  twelve  inches  apart,  if  it  is  intended 
that  they  should  attain  another,  or  two  years' 
further  growth,  before  being  finally  planted 
out ;  or  they  may  be  planted  immediately  into 
the  beds  for  production.  It  may  be  here  re- 
marked, that  the  plants  may  remain  one  or  two 
years  in  the  seed-bed  ;  they  will  even  succeed 
after  remaining  three,  but  if  they  continue  four 
they  gfenerally  fail:  it  is,  however,  nearly  cer- 
tam  that  they  are  best  removed  when  one  year 
old,  for  the  earlier  a  plant  can  possibly  be  re- 
moved, the  more  easily  does  it  accommodate 
itself  to  the  change,  and  less  injury  is  it  apt  to 
receive  in  the  removal.  Some  gardeners  sow 
the  seed  in  the  beds  where  they  are  to  remain 
for  production.  This  mode,  too,  has  the  sanc- 
tion of  Miller.  The  time  for  the  final  removal 
is  from  the  middle  of  February  until  the  end 
of  March,  if  the  soil  is  dry  and  the  season 
warm  and  forward;  otherwise  it  is  better  to 
wait  until  the  commencement  of  April.  The 
plan  which  some  persons  have  recommended, 
to  plant  in  autumn,  is  so  erroneous,  that,  as 
Miller  emphatically  says,  the  plants  had  better 
be  thrown  away.  Mr.  D.  Judd  has  mentioned 
(  Trans.  Hort.  Soc.  Loud.,  vol.  ii.  p.  236)  a  very 
determinate  signal  of  the  appropriate  time  for 
planting,  which  is,  when  the  plants  are  begin- 
ning to  grow :  if  moved  earlier,  and  they  have 
to  lie  torpid  for  two  or  three  mouths,  many  of 
them  die,  or  in  general  shoot  up  very  weak. 

Immediately  that  the  buds  begin  to  swell 
they  should  be  removed,  and  this  may  easily 
be  ascertained  by  occasionally  opening  the 
ground  down  to  the  stool.  A  successful  expe- 
riment, tried  by  Mr.  J.  Smith,  gardener  to  the 
Earl  of  Kintore,  would  evince  that  one  year 
old  asparagus  plants  may  be  removed  even  as 
late  as  June.  The  stems  of  his  plants,  at  the 
time  of  removal  in  that  month,  were  twelve  or 
fifteen  inches  high :  they  were  removed  and 
treated  with  the  greatest  care,  the  earth  being 
gently  pressed  round  the  root,  and  water  given 
plentifully ;  but  although  the  experiment  per- 
fectly succeeded,  for  none  of  them  died,  and 
although  they  surpassed  in  growth  those  left  in 
the  seed-bed — so  much  so,  that  they  might  have 
been  cul  from— -yet  still,  for  many  reasons,  we 
16 


ASPARAGUS. 

are  justified  in  considering  that  this  must  h:  • 
been  tried  under  accidental  or  very  favoura..-3 
circumstances  of  soil  and  season,  and  it  re- 
quires repeated  experiments  from  different 
counties  before  the  practice  is  confirmed. 
{Caled.  Hort.  Mem.,  vol.  i.  p.  71.)  In  forming 
the  beds  for  regular  production,  it  is  customary 
to  have  them  four  or  five  feet  wide.  In  the 
first  instance,  they  have  three  rows  of  plants, 
in  the  latter  four.  The  site  of  the  bed  being 
marked  out,  the  usual  practice  is  to  trench  the 
ground  two  spades  deep,  and  then  to  cover  it 
with  well-rotted  manure  from  six  to  ten  inches 
deep;  the  large  stones  being  sorted  out  and 
care  taken  that  the  dung  lies  at  least  six  inches 
below  the  surface.  To  mix  the  manure  with 
the  soil  eflfectually,  Mr.  D.  Judd,  before  men- 
tioned, trenches  his  ground  two  feet  deep,  three 
times  successively  during  the  autumn  or  win- 
ter, at  intervals  of  a  fortnight,  and  then  Jays  it 
in  ridges  until  wanted,  performing  the  work  in 
the  absence  of  rain  or  snoAv:  he  justly  ob- 
serves, that  the  preparation  of  the  soil  is  of 
more  consequence  to  be  attended  to  than  all 
the  after  management.  {Tra?is.  Hort.  Sue. 
Lond.,  vol.  ii.  p.  234.) 

In  France,  however,  where  the  beds  are  cele- 
brated for  the  number  of  years  they  continue 
in  production,  a  pit  is  dug  five  feet  in  depth, 
and  the  mould  that  is  raised  from  it  sifted, 
care  being  taken  to  reject  all  stones,  even  as 
small  as  a  filbert ;  the  best  part  of  the  mould  is 
laid  aside  for  making  up  the  bed.  The  bed  is 
then  formed  as  follows,  beginning  at  the  bot- 
tom; six  inches  deep  of  common  manure — 
eight  of  turf,  very  free  from  stones — six  of 
manure — six  of  sifted  earth — eight  of  turf — 
six  of  very  rotten  dung — eight  of  best  earth  ; 
finally,  this  last  layer  of  mould  is  well  incor- 
porated with  the  adjoining  one  of  dung.  The 
bed  is  then  ready  for  the  reception  of  the 
plants.  (Dr.  M'Culloch,  in  the  Ceded.  Hort. 
Mem.)  The  plants  being  taken  from  the  seed- 
bed carefully  Avith  a  narrow,  prolonged  dung- 
fork,  with  as  little  injury  to  the  roots  as  possi- 
ble, they  must  be  laid  separate  and  even  to 
gether,  for  the  sake  of  convenience  whilst 
planting,  the  roots  being  apt  to»  entangle,  and 
cause  much  trouble  and  injury  in  parting 
them.  They  should  be  exposed  as  short  a  time 
as  possible  to  the  air;  and  to  this  end  it  is  ad- 
visable to  keep  them  until  planted  in  a  basket, 
with  a  little  sand,  and  covered  with  a  piece  of 
mat.  The  mode  of  planting  is  to  form  drills 
or  narrow  trenches,  five  or  six  inches  deep 
and  a  foot  apart,  cut  out  with  the  spade,  th 
line  side  of  -^ach  drill  being  made  perpendicu- 
lar, and  against  this  the  plants  are  to  be 
placed,  with  their  crowns  one  and  a  half  or 
two  inches  below  the  surface,  and  twelve 
inches  asunder:  in  France  eighteen  are  al- 
lowed. The  roots  must  be  spread  out  wide  in 
the  form  of  a  fan,  a  little  earth  being  drawn 
over  each  to  retain  it  in  its  position  whilst  the 
row  is  proceeded  with.  If  the  plants  have  bt^ 
gun  to  shoot,  it  is  the  practice  in  France  io 
remove  the  sprouts,  and  with  this  precaution 
the  planting  is  successfully  performed  as  late 
as  July,  and  if  any  of  those  die  which  weru 
first  planted,  they  are  replaced  at  that  season 
This  is  a  practice  to  be  avoided  as  much  a;. 
^  L  121  . 


ASPARAGUS. 


ASPARAGUS. 


possible,  for  it  obviously  must  weaken  the 
plants,  and  be  particularly  detrimental  to  such  I 
young  plants.  For  the  sake  of  convenience,  j 
one  drill  should  be  made  at  a  time,  and  the  | 
plants  inserted  and  covered  completely  before  j 
another  is  commenced;  the  two  outside  drills  i 
must  be  each  six  inches  from  the  side  of  the  | 
bed.  When  the  planting  is  completed  the  bed 
is  to  be  lightly  raked  over,  and  its  outline  dis- 
tinctly marked  out.  Care  must  be  had  never 
to  tread  on  the  beds — they  are  formed  narrow 
to  render  that  unnecessary — for  every  thing 
tending  to  consolidate  them  is  injurious,  as, 
from  the  length  of  time  they  have  to  continue 
without  a  possibility  of  stirring  them  to  any 
considerable  depth,  they  have  a  natural  tend- 
ency to  have  a  closer  texture  than  is  beneficial 
to  vegetation.  Water  must  be  given  occasion- 
ally ill  dr}'-  weather  until  the  plants  are  estab- 
lished. The  paths  between  the  beds  are  to  be 
tAVo  and  a  half  feet  wide.  Throughout  the 
year  care  must  be  taken  to  keep  the  beds  clear 
of  weeds.  In  the  latter  end  of  October  or  com- 
mencement of  November  the  beds  are  to  have 
their  winter  dressing:  the  stalks  must  be  cut 
down  and  cleared  away,  and  the  weeds  hoed 
off  into  the  paths,  care  being  taken  not  to  com- 
mence whilst  the  stems  are  at  all  green,  for  if 
they  are  cut  down  whilst  in  a  vegetating  state, 
the  roots  are  very  prone  to  shoot  again,  and 
consequently  are  proportionably  weakened. 
This  habit  might  perhaps  be  taken  advantage 
of  in  assisting  our  forcing  this  esculent;  cut- 
ting down  the  summer-produced  stems  of  such 
stools  as  are  intended  for  the  hotbed,  a  consi- 
derable time  before  -they  lose  their  verdant  co- 
lour, would  give  them  a  natural  tendency  to 
shoot  again,  and  consequently  assist  the  effect 
of  the  artificial  heat  employed.  It  is  generally 
recommended  not  to  add  any  manure  until  the 
bed  has  been  two  or  three  years  in  production, 
and  then  only  to  apply  it  every  other  year ;  but 
I  consider  it  much  more  rational  to  manure 
regularly  every  year  from  the  time  of  forming 
the  bed,  though  in  less  quantity  than  if  done 
every  other  year.  I  put  on  about  two  inches 
of  well  decayed  hotbed.  By  this  means  a  con- 
tinued and  regular  supply  of  decomposing 
matter  is  kept  up,  which  is  not  so  perfectly 
effected  by  the  usual  mode ;  and  from  the  ex- 
periments purposely  instituted  by  Miller,  we 
learn,  that  on  the  richness  of  the  ground  and 
warmth  of  the  season  the  sweetness  of  aspara- 
gus depends ;  in  proportion  to  the  poverty  of 
the  soil  it  acquires  a  strong  flavour.  The 
dung  needs  merely  to  be  laid  regularly  over 
the  bed,  and  the  weeds,  as  well  as  some  ma- 
nure, to  be  sl'ghtly  pointed  into  the  paths, 
some  of  the  mould  from  which  must  be  spread 
to  the  depth  of  two  inches  over  the  dung  just 
laid  upon  the  beds.  In  France  the  asparagus 
beds  at  this  season  are  covered  with  six  inches 
depth  of  manure  and  four  of  sea  sand  if  pro- 
curable, otherwise,  of  river  sand  or  fine  earth. 
No  forking  is  required ;  but  the  boundaries  of 
ihe  bed  must  be  marked  out  distinctly,  as  they 
should  be  kept,  indeed,  at  all  times.  In  the 
end  of  March  or  early  in  April,  before  the 
plants  begin  to  sprout,  the  rows  are  to  be 
itirred  between  to  a  moderate  depth  with  the 
asparagus  fork,  running  it  slantingly  two  or 
122 


three  inches  beneath  the  surface,  as  the  object 
is  merely  to  ^ir  the  surface  and  slightly  mix 
it  with  the  dung.  Great  care  must  be  taken 
not  in  the  least  to  disturb  the  plants.  Some 
gardeners  recommend  that  the  beds  shoul(? 
only  be  hoed  again,  so  fearful  are  they  of  the 
injury  which  may  be  done  to  the  stools ;  but 
if  it  be  done  carefully  as  above  directed,  the 
fork  is  the  best  implement  to  be  employed,  as 
by  more  effectually  loosening  the  soil,  it  is  by 
far  the  most  beneficial  in  its  effects  upon  the 
plants.  This  course  of  cultivation  is  lo  be 
continued  annually,  but  with  this  judicious 
modification,  that  earth  be  never  taken  from 
the  paths  after  the  first  year,  but  these  merely 
be  covered  with  dung,  and  which  is  only  to  be 
slightly  dug  in ;  for  every  gardener  must  have 
observed  that  the  roots  of  the  outer  row  extend 
into  the  alleys,  and  are  consequ*'ntly  destroyed 
if  they  are  dug  over ;  and  rather  than  that 
should  take  place,  the  beds  should  have  no 
winter  covering,  unless  mould  can  be  obtained 
from  some  other  source,  as  asparagus  does  not 
generally  suffer  from  frost,  as  is  commonly 
supposed.  In  May  the  beds  are  in  full  pro- 
duction of  young  shoots,  which,  when  from 
two  to  fiv^e  inches  high,  are  fit  for  cutting,  and 
as  long  as  the  head  continues  compact  and 
firm.  Care  must  be  taken,  in  cutting,  not  to 
injure  those  buds  which  are  generally  rising 
from  the  same  root,  in  various  grades  of  suc- 
cessional  growth  within  the  ground.  The 
knife  ought  to  be  narrow-pointed,  the  blade 
about  nine  inches  in  length,  and  saw-edged: 
the  earth  being  carefully  opened  round  the 
shoot,  to  observe  whether  any  others  are 
arising,  the  blade  is  to  be  gently  slipped  along 
the  stalk  until  it  reaches  its  extremity,  where 
the  cut  is  to  be  made  in  a  slanting  direction. 
It  almost  always  occurs  that  the  same  stool 
produces  a  greater  number  of  small  heads 
than  large  ones,  but  the  latter  only  should  be 
cut;  for  the  oftener  the  former  are  removed, 
the  more  numerously  will  they  be  reproduced, 
and  the  stools  will  sooner  become  exhausted. 
Great  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  seed.  For 
the  obtaining  it,  some  shoots  should  be  marked 
and  left  in  early  spring,  for  those  which  are 
allowed  to  run  up  after  the  season  of  cutting 
is  over,  are  seldom  forward  enough  to  ripen 
their  seeds  perfectly.  In  choosing  the  shoots 
for  this  purpose,  those  only  must  be  marked 
which  are  the  finest,  roundest,  and  have  the 
closest  heads ;  those  having  quick  opening 
heads,  or  are  small  or  flat,  are  never  to  be  lefL 
More  are  to  be  selected  than  would  be  neces- 
sary if  each  stem  would  assuredly  be  fruitful ; 
but  as  some  of  them  only  bear  male  or  unpro- 
ductive blossoms,  that  contingency  must  be 
allowed  for.  Each  chosen  shoot  must  be  fas- 
tened to  a  stake,  which,  by  keeping  it  in  its 
natural  position,  enables  the  seed  to  ripen 
more  perfectly.  The  seed  is  usually  ripe  in 
September,  when  it  must  be  collected,  and 
left  in  a  tub  for  four  or  six  weeks,  for  the  pulp 
and  husk  of  the  berry  to  decay,  when  it  may 
be  well  cleansed  in  water.  The  seeds  sink  to 
the  bottom,  and  the  refuse  floats  and  will  pass 
away  with  the  water  as  it  is  gently  poured  off. 
By  two  or  three  washings  the  seeds  will  be 
completely  cleansed ;  and  when  perfectly  dried 


ASPARAGUS. 

by  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air,  may  be  stored 
for  use.  Some  gardeners  keep  them  in  the 
pulp  until  the  time  of  sowing,  unless  required 
to  be  sent  to  a  aistance. 

To  force  Asparagus. — Such  plants  must  be 
inserted  in  hotbeds  as  are  five  or  six  years' 
old.  and  appear  of  sufficient  strength  to  pro- 
duce vigorous  shoots :  when,  however,  any  old 
natural  ground  plantations  are  intended  to  be 
broken  up  at  the  proper  season,  some  of  the 
best  plants  may  be  selected  to  be  plunged  into 
a  hotbed  or  any  spare  corner  of  the  stove 
bark-beds.  When  more  than  ten  years  old, 
they  are  scarcely  worth  employing.  To  plant 
old  stools  for  the  main  forcing  crop,  is,  how- 
ever, decidedly  erroneous ;  for,  as  Mr.  Sabine 
remarks,  if  plants  are  past  production,  and 
unfit  to  remain  in  the  garden,  little  can  be  ex- 
pected from  them  when  forced.  The  first 
plantation  for  forcing  should  be  made  about 
the  latter  end  of  September:  the  bed,  if  it 
works  favourably,  will  begin  to  produce  in  the 
course  of  four  or  five  weeks,  and  will  continue 
to  do  so  for  about  three ;  each  light  producing 
in  that  time  300  or  400  shoots,  and  stfTording  a 
gathering  every  two  or  three  days.  To  have 
a  regular  succession,  therefore,  a  fresh  bed 
must  be  formed  every  three  or  four  weeks,  the 
last  crop  to  be  planted  in  March  or  the  early 
part  of  April:  this  will  continue  in  production 
until  the  arrival  of  the  natural  ground  crops. 
The  last-made  beds  will  be  in  production  a 
fortnight  sooner  than  those  made  about  Christ- 
mas. 

The  J^A  must  be  substantial,  and  propor- 
tioned to  the  size  and  number  of  the  lights, 
and  to  the  time  of  year — being  constructed  of 
stable  dung,  or  other  material.  The  common 
mode  of  making  a  hotbed  is  usually  followed  ; 
but,  as  Mr.  Sabine  remarks,  the  general  ap- 
pearance of  forced  asparagus  in  December 
and  the  two  following  months,  gives  a  suffi- 
cient indication  of  defective  management.  The 
usual  mode  he  considers  erroneous,  inasmuch 
as  that  the  roots  of  the  plants  come  in  contact 
with,  or  are  over,  a  mass  of  fermenting  matter; 
and  the  mode  of  raising  potatoes  practised  by 
Mr.  Hogg,  which  will  be  hereafter  stated,  first 
suggested  the  plan  for  obviating  this  defect,  and 
it  has  been  confirmed  as  correct  by  the  suc- 
cessful practice  of  Mr.  Ross,  gardener  to  E. 
Ellice,  Esq.,  of  Brentford,  wht»,  by  planting  his 
asparagus  in  the  tan  of  his  exhausted  pine 
pits,  which  consist  of  eighteen  inches  of 
leaves,  and  over  that  the  sr.me  depth  of  tan, 
and  applying  hot  dung,  successively  renewed, 
round  the  sides,  and  thus  keeping  up  a  good 
heat,  produced  in  five  weeks  asparagus  so 
fine,  and  by  admitting  as  much  air  as  possible 
during  the  day,  of  such  good  colour  and  so 
strong,  as  nearly  to  equal  the  natural  ground 
crops.  It  is  the  best  practice  to  plant  the  as- 
paragus in  mould  laid  upon  the  tan,  which,  or 
some  other  porous  matter,  is  indispensable  for 
the  easy  admission  of  the  heat  from  the  linings. 
The  bed  must  be  topped  with  six  or  eight 
inches  of  light  rich  earth.  If  a  small  family 
is  to  be  supplied,  three  or  four  lights  will  be 
sufiicient  at  a  lime ;  for  a  larger,  six  or  eight 
will  not  be  too  many.  Several  hundred  plants 
may  be  inserted  under  each,  as  they  may  be 


ASPARAGU 

crowded  as  close  as  possible  ^/)gether;  from 
500  to  900  are  capable  of  being  -nserted  under 
a  three-light  frame,  according  to  their  size. 
In  planting,  a  furrow  being  drawn  the  whole 
length  of  the  frame,  against  one  side  of  it  the 
first  row  or  course  is  to  be  placed,  the  crowns 
upright,  and  a  little  earth  drawn  on  to  the 
lower  ends  of  the  roots ;  then  more  plants 
again  in  the  same  manner,  and  so  continued 
throughout,  it  being  carefully  observed  to  keep 
them  all  regularly  about  an  inch  below  the 
surface ;  all  round  on  the  edge  of  the  bed  some 
moist  earth  must  be .  banked  close  to  the  out- 
side roots. 

If  the  bed  is  extensive,  it  will  probably  ac- 
quire a  violent  heat ;  the  frames  must  there- 
fore be  continued  off  until  it  has  become  regu- 
lar, otherwise  the  roots  are  liable  to  be  de- 
stroyed by  being,  as  it  is  technically  termed, 
scorched  or  steam-scalded.  When  the  heat  has 
become  regular  the  frames  may  be  set  on,  and 
more  earth  be  applied  by  degrees  over  the 
crowns  of  the  plants,  until  it  acquires  a  total 
depth  of  five  or  six  inches.  The  glasses  must 
be  kept  open  an  inch  or  two,  as  long  and  as 
often  as  possible,  without  too  great  a  reduction 
of  temperature*  occurring,  so  as  to  admit  air 
freely  and  give  vent  to  the  vapours,  for  on  this 
depends  the  superiority  in  flavour  and  appear- 
ance of  the  shoots.  The  heat  must  be  kept  up 
by  linings  of  hot  dung,  and  by  covering  the 
glasses  every  night  with  mats,  &c.  The  tem- 
perature at  night  should  never  be  below  50°, 
and  in  the  day  its  maximum  at  62°.  In  gather- 
ing, for  which  the  shoots  are  fit  when  from  two 
to  five  inches  in  height,  the  finger  and  thumb 
must  be  thrust  down  into  the  earth,  and  the 
stem  broken  off  at  the  bottom.  This  excellent 
vegetable  possesses  some  diuretic  properties. 
Its  juice  contains  a  peculiar  crystallizable 
substance,  which  was  discovered  by  Vauquelin 
and  Robiquet,  and  named  by  them  Asparagine. 
It  is  hard,  brittle,  colourless,  and  in  the  form 
of  rhomboidal  prisms  :  its  taste  is  nauseous. 
The  decoction  of  the  plant  is  sometimes  used 
on  the  Continent  as  a  diuretic ;  but  it  is  rarely 
or  never  prescribed  in  England.  M.  Dubois, 
of  Paris,  has  submitted  asparagus  berries  to 
fermentation,  and  procured  a  spirit  from  them 
by  distillation,  with  which  he  makes  an  excel- 
lent liqueur.  {Diet,  des  Drogues ,-  G.  W.  John- 
so7i''s  Kitchen  Ga7-den,  81  ;  Miller''s  Dictionori/ ; 
Trans.  Horf.  Soc.  Lond.  vol.  ii.  pp.  234,  26^, 
361 ;  Dr.  Macrulhch,  Caled.  Horf.  Mem.  vol.  i.) 

ASPEN  TREE  {Populas  Tremnla).  This  is 
a  branch  of  the  poplar  family,  which  derives 
its  Latin  name  from  the  incessant  trembling 
of  its  leaves.  The  English  name  is  from  the 
German  espe,  which  is  the  general  name  for 
all  poplars.  The  heart-shaped  leaves  adhere 
to  the  twigs  by  a  long  and  slender  stalk,  :he 
plane  of  which  is  at  right  angles  to  that  o'  the 
leaf,  and  consequently  allows  them  a  J'iuch 
freer  motion  than  other  leaves  that  have  their 
planes  parallel  with  their  stalks.  This,  with 
their  cottony  lining  below,  and  their  hairy 
surface  above,  causes  that  perpetual  motion 
and  quivering,  even  when  we  cannot  perceive 
by  other  means  the  least  breath  of  air  stirring 
in  the  atmosphere.  This  trepidation  is  attende*) 
of  course  with  a  rustling  noise,  on  which  ac< 

123 


ASPEN,  AMERICAN. 


AS8. 


count  country  people  often  call  it  ratiler.  The 
aspen  tree  may  be  planted  so  as  to  ornament 
large  grounds,  but  its  effect  is  lost  when 
crowded.  When  it  meets  the  eye  as  a  fore- 
ground to  plantations  of  firs,  it  has  both  a 
pleasing  and  singular  appearance,  as  its  foliage 
changes  with  the  wind  from  a  silver  gray  to 
a  bright  green,  for  when  the  sight  goes  with 
ihe  wind,  it  catches  only  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves  which  are  covered  with  a  pale  floss ; 
but  when  it  meets  the  current  of  air,  the  tree 
presents  the  upper  surface  of  its  foliage  to  the 
view ;  thus  its  tints  are  as  changeable  as  its 
nature  is  tremulous.  Like  its  relative,  the 
poplar,  this  tree  is  of  speedy  growth,  and  will 
thrive  in  any  situation  or  soil,  but  worst  in  clay. 
It  is  cultivated  to  the  greatest  advantage  on 
such  as  are  inclined  to  be  moist,  without  hav- 
ing much  stagnant  surface  water.  In  such 
situations  they  sometimes  grow  to  a  conside- 
rable size.  It  is  accused  of  impoverishing  the 
land,  and  its  leaves  are  charged  with  destroy- 
ing the  grass,  whilst  its  numerous  roots,  which 
spread  near  the  surface,  will  not,  it  is  said, 
permit  any  thing  else  to  grow.  The  wood  is 
extremely  light,  white,  soft,  and  smooth,  but  it 
is  of  little  value  as  timber,  being  chiefly  used 
for  making  milk-pails,  wooden  shoes,  clogs, 
and  pattens,  &c.  From  its  lightness  it  might, 
however,  probably  be  used  to  advantage  for 
the  construction  of  common  field-gates.  The 
bark  is  the  favourite  food  of  beavers,  whilst 
the  leaves  and  the  stalks  form  the  nourishment 
and  birthplace  of  the  tipula  juniperina,  a  spe- 
cies of  long-legged  fly.  The  aspen  tree  will 
not  bear  lopping,  like  other  species  of  the  pop- 
lar. ( Phillip's  Si/lva  Flurifera.) 

[ASPEN,  AMERICAN  (Pnpulus  Tremu- 
loides).  This  species  of  poplar  is  common  in 
the  northern  and  middle  sections  of  the  United 
States,  and  Michaux  thinks,  still  more  common 
in  Lower  Canada.  The  same  author  remarks, 
that  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
'"'Iphia,  where  he  observed  it,  it  appeared  to 

^fer  open  lands  of  a  middling  quality.  Its 
«.  -  dinary  height  is  about  30  feet,  and  its  diame- 
ter 5  or  6  inches.  It  blooms  about  the  20th  of 
April,  10  days  or  a  fortnight  before  the  birth 
of  the  leaves.  Of  all  the  American  poplars, 
this  species  ha3  the  most  tremulous  leaves, 
the  gentlest  air  being  sufficient  to  throw  them 
Into  great  agitation. 

The  wood  of  the  American  aspen  is  light, 
soft,  and  without  either  strength  or  durability. 
The  most  useful  purpose  which  the  wood  sub- 
serves, is  perhaps  the  furnishing  of  thin 
laminoe,  for  the  manufacture  of  women's  hats, 
light  baskets,  &c.  The  tree  is  considered  very 
inferior  to  several  species  of  the  same  genus, 
the  Virginia  poplar,  for  example,  which  is 
three  times  as  larg^-;,  more  rapid  in  its  growth, 
and  of  a  more  plea  ing  appearance. 

The  large  American  aspen  {Popxthm  grandl- 
dentala),  belongs  rather  to  the  Northern  and 
Middle,  than  to  the  Southern  Slates.  In  the 
most  northerly  districts  it  is  rather  a  rare  tree,  so 
that  a  person  may  perhaps  travel  several  days 
without  seeing  one.  For  this  reason,  Michaux 
thinks  it  has  been  confounded  with  the  preced- 
ing species,  which  is  more  multiplied.  It  sur- 
passes the  trembling  aspen  in  height,  on  which 
124 


account  it  has  received  from  Michaux  ita 
name.  It  grows  as  favourably  on  uplands  as 
on  the  border  of  swamps,  and  attains  a  height 
of  about  40  feet,  with  10  or  12  inches  in  di- 
ameter. In  the  spring,  the  leaves  are  covered 
with  a  thick  white  down.  The  wood  is  light, 
soft,  and  unequal  to  that  of  the  Virginia  and 
Lombardy  poplars.  It  possesses  few,  if  any 
valuable  qualities  for  the  arts,  and  is  only 
valuable  for  its  agreeable  foliage,  which  enti- 
tles it  to  a  place  in  yards  and  ornamental  gap- 
dens.    {Michmix's  Am,  St/lva.)] 

ASS  (Fr.  Ane ;  Ger.  Esel;  It.  Asino ;  Lat. 
Asinus).  A  well-known  and  useful  domestic 
animal,  whose  services  might  be  rendered  even 
still  more  useful  for  various  purposes  of  hus- 
bandry, if  it  were  properly  trained  and  taken 
care  of.  Buffbn  has  well  observed,  that  the 
ass  is  despised  and  neglected,  only  because  we 
possess  a  more  noble  and  powerful  animal  in 
the  horse;  and  that  if  the  horse  were  unknown, 
the  care  and  attention  which  are  lavished  upon 
him  being  transferred  to  his  now  neglected 
and  despised  rival,  would  have  increased  the 
size,  and  developed  the  mental  qualities  of  the 
ass,  to  an  extent  which  it  would  be  difficult  to 
anticipate,  but  which  Eastern  travellers,  who 
have  observed  both  animals  in  their  native 
climates,  and  among  nations  by  whom  they  are 
equally  valued,  and  the  good  qualities  of  each 
justly  appreciated,  assure  us  to  be  the  fact. 

Indeed  the  character  and  habits  of  these  two 
quadrupeds  are  directly  opposed  in  almost 
every  respect  The  horse  is  proud,  fiery,  and 
impetuous,  nice  in  his  tastes,  and  delicate  in 
constitution;  like  a  pampered  menial,  he  is 
subject  to  many  diseases,  and  acquires  artifi- 
cial wants  and  habits  which  are  unknown  in 
a  state  of  nature. 

The  ass,  on  the  contrary,  is  humble,  patient, 
and  quiet,  and  bears  correction  with  firmness. 
He  is  extremely  hardy,  both  with  regard  to  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  his  food,  contenting 
himself  with  the  most  harsh  and  disagreeable 
herbs,  which  other  animals  will  scarcely  touch. 
In  the  choice  of  water  he  is,  however,  very 
nice  ;  drinking  only  of  that  which  is  perfectly 
clear,  and  at  brooks  with  which  he  is  ac- 
quainted. 

This  animal  is  very  serviceable  to  poor  cot- 
tagers, and  those  who  are  not  able  to  buy  or 
keep  horses ;  especially  where  they  live  near 
heaths  or  commons,  the  barrenest  of  which 
will  keep  the  ass,  who  is  contented  with  any 
kind  of  coarse  herbage,  such  as  dry  leaves, 
stalks,  thistles,  briers,  chaff,  and  any  sort  of 
straw.  Animals  of  this  sort  require  very  little 
looking  after,  and  sustain  labour,  hunger,  and 
thirst,  beyond  most  others.  They  are  seldom 
or  never  sick ;  and  endure  longer  than  most 
other  kinds  of  animals.  They  may  be  made 
useful  in  husbandry  to  plough  light  lan'!b,  to 
carry  burdens,  to  draw  in  mills,  to  fetch  water, 
cut  chaff,  or  any  other  similar  purposes.  They 
are  also  very  serviceable  in  many  cases  for 
their  milk,  which  is  excellent  for  those  who 
have  suffered  from  acute  diseases,  and  are 
much  weakened;  and  they  might  be  of  much 
more  advantage  tD  the  farmer,  were  they  used, 
as  they  are  in  foreign  countries,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  breeding  mules. 


ASS. 


ATMOSPHERE 


The  subjugation  of  the  ass  appears,  from  the 
records  of  the  Bible,  to  have  preceded  that  of 
the  horse  ;  and  we  infer  from  the  same  autho- 
rity, that  this  subjugation  took  place  prior  to 
that  of  the  dog. 

The  structural  difference  between  the  horse 
and  the  ass  are  trifling  ;  perhaps  that  on  which 
the  very  diflerent  tones  emitted  by  the  voice 
depends  is  one  of  the  most  striking.  In  all 
other  essential  points  the  organization  of  the 
horse  and  ass  is  the  same ;  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  lengthened  ears  of  the  ass,  their 
form,  size,  and  proportions  in  a  wild  state,  they 
diflfer  but  little ;  consequently,  they  possess 
conditions  more  favourable  to  the  multiplica- 
tion of  species  than  those  afforded  by  any 
other  nearly  allied  animals.  The  ass  is,  pro- 
perly speaking,  a  mountain  animal ;  his  hoofs 
are  long,  and  furnished  with  extremely  sharp 
rims,  leaving  a  hollow  in  the  centre,  by  which 
means  he  is  enabled  to  tread  with  more  secu- 
rity on  the  slippery  and  precipitous  sides  of 
hills  and  precipices.  The  hoof  of  the  horse, 
on  the  contrary,  is  round  and  nearly  fiat  under- 
neath, and  we  accordingly  find  that  he  is  most 
serviceable  in  level  countries;  and  indeed  ex- 
perience has  taught  us  that  he  is  altogether 
unfilled  for  crossing  rocky  and  sleep  moun- 
tains. As,  however,  the  more  diminutive  size 
of  the  ass  rendered  him  comparatively  less 
important  as  a  beast  of  burden,  the  ingenuity 
of  mankind  early  devised  a  means  of  remedy- 
ing this  defect,  by  crossing  the  horse  and  ass, 
and  thus  procuring  an  intermediate  animal, 
uniting  the  size  and  strength  of  the  one  with 
the  patience,  intelligence,  and  sure-footedness 
of  the  other. 

The  varieties  of  the  ass  in  countries  favour- 
ab-C  10  their  developement  are  great.  In  Guinea 
the  asses  are  large,  and  in  shape  even  excel 
the  native  horses.  The  asses  of  Arabia  (says 
Chardin)  are  perhaps  the  handsomest  animals 
in  the  world.  Their  Coat  is  smooth  and  clean; 
they  carry  the  head  elevated,  and  have  fine  and 
well  formed  legs,  which  they  throw  out  grace- 
fully in  walking  or  galloping.  In  Persia,  also, 
they  are  finely  formed,  some  being  even  stately, 
and  much  used  in  draught  and  carrying  bur- 
dens, while  others  are  more  lightly  propor- 


tioned, and  used  for  the  saddle  by  persons  of 
quality,  frequently  fetching  the  large  sum  of 
400  livres ;  and  being  taught  a  kind  of  easy 
ambling  pace  are  richly  caparisoned,  and  used 
only  by  the  rich  and  luxurious  nobles.  With 
us,  on  the  contrary,  the  ass  unfortunately  ex- 
hibits a  stunted  growth,  and  appears  rather  to 
vegetate  as  a  sickly  exotic,  than  to  riot  in  the 
luxuriant  enjoyment  of  life  like  the  horse. 

The  diseases  of  the  ass,  as  far  as  they  are 
known,  bear  a  general  resemblance  to  those 
of  the  horse.  As  he  is  more  exposed,  however, 
and  left  to  live  in  a  state  more  approaching  to 
that  which  nature  intended,  he  has  few  dis- 
eases. Those  few,  however,  are  less  attended 
to  than  they  ought  to  be ;  and  it  is  for  the  ve- 
lerninary  practitioner  to  extend  to  this  useful 
and  patient  animal  the  benefit  of  his  art,  in 
common  with  those  of  other  animals.  The  ass 
is  seldom  or  never  troubled  with  vermin,  pro- 
bably from  the  hardness  of  its  skin.  {Blaine's 
Encyc.  Rural  Sports.) 

ASTRINGENT  (^s/m?go,  Lat.).  In  farriery, 
a  term  applied  to  such  remedies  as  have  the 
property  of  constringing  or  binding  the  parts. 

ATMOSPHERE.  The  name  given  to  the 
elastic  invisible  fluid,  which,  to  a  considerable 
height,  surrounds  our  globe.  It  is  composed 
chiefly  of  two  simple  or  undecomposed  gases, 
viz. : — 


Azote,  or 
Oxygen 


iitrogen 


7916 
20  84 


100- 


It  contains,  also,  about  Tyhis^^  of  its  weight 
of  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  fixed  air,  a  considera- 
ble portion  of  aqueous  vapour  (which  is  always 
the  most  considerable  in  amount  in  dry  wea- 
ther), and  occasionally  foreign  substances, 
called  Aerolites.  The  average  proportion  m 
which  these  exist  in  the  atmosphere,  are — 


Air 

Watery  vapour 

Carbonic  acid  gas 


100- 


{Thomson's  Chem.  vol.  iii.  181.)  It  fulfils  a 
very  essential  ofiice  with  regard  to  the  growth 
of  plants.     (See  Gases,  their  Use  to  Vege- 


MoNTHLT  Atmospherical  Observatiohts. 


Jan. 

Feb. 

March. 

April. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Deo.    j 

Barometer,  average  mean  \ 

29-921 

30-067 

29  843 

29S81 

29-888 

30036 

29-874  29-891 

29-931 

29-774 

29-776 1  29-693 

height  in  inches 
Highest     - 
Lowest 

3 

30-770 
28-890 

30-820 
29  170 

30  770 
28-870 

30-540 
29-200 

30  380 
29-160 

30-460 
29600 

30-300  30-260 
29-390  29-350 

30-410 
29410 

30610 
28-740 

30-270!  30-320 
29  080 129- 1 ':0 

Thermometer,         average! 
mean    temperature  in   f 

31  1 

38- 

43-9 

49-9 

54- 

58-7 

61- 

616 

57-8 

48-9 

42-9 

393 

degrees 

Highest      - 
Lowest 

J 

52- 
11- 

53- 
21- 

66- 
24- 

74- 
29- 

70- 
33- 

90- 
37- 

76- 
42- 

82- 
41- 

76- 
36- 

68- 
27- 

62- 
23- 

55-. 
17- 

Rain,  mean   quantity 

inches 
Evaporation  of  earth 

in") 
in| 

1-483 
0-413 

0-746 
0-72 

1-440 

1-488 

1-786 
2-290 

1-653 
0-286 

1-830 
3-760 

2-516 
3-293 

1-453 
3-327 

2-193 
2620 

2073 

1-488 

2-400 
O-770 

2-426 
0-516 

inches  (mean) 

fVinds  in  days : 
North     -        -        - 
North-east      - 
East        .        _        - 
Houth-east     - 
South     -        -        - 
South-west    - 
West      - 
North-west    - 

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£  2 


125 


ATMOSPHERE 


ATMOSPHERE 


TATioiT  )  The  composition  of  the  atmosphere 
is  always  the  same,  although  it  has  been  ana- 
lyzed when  obtained  from  the  most  elevated 
mountains,  the  lowest  marshes,  from  crowded 
cities,  and  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  in  all 
winds,  and  in  all  states  of  the  barometer. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  atmosphe- 
ric mean  temperatures  in  various  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  Territories,  not  only  for  the 
whole  year,  but  for  each  month.  It  is  abridged 
from  Dr.  Forry's  Treatise  upon  the  Climato- 
logy of  the  United  States.  The  mean  tempe- 
ratures of  some  other  celebrated  places  in  the 
old  world,  are  subjoined  for  the  purpose  of 
comparison. 

The  mean  temperatures  of  the  various  mili- 
tary posts,  are  the  results  of  90  observations 
for  each  month,  and  1095  for  each  year.  The 
rule  followed  for  computing  the  mean,  was  that 
adopted  by  the  regents  of  the  University  of 
New  York,  viz.: — Take  the  lowest  morning 
temperature,  the  highest  afternoon  tempera- 
ture, and  the  temperature  an  hour  after  sunset. 
The  mean  of  these  observations  for  the  day  is 


found,  by  adding  together  the  first,  twice  the 
second  and  third,  and  the  first  of  the  next  day, 
and  dividing  the  same  by  six.  To  most  common 
observers  this  will  appear  rather  an  intricate 
mode  of  attaining  an  object  which  is  so  con- 
veniently, and,  in  general,  so  satisfactorily  ac- 
complished by  the  very  simple  process  of 
dividing  the  sum  of  the  highest  and  lowest  ob- 
servations during  the  day.  Strictly  speakings 
the  mean  temperature  of  a  day  is  equal  to  the 
sum  of  the  temperature  observed  by  the  ther- 
mometer every  hour  or  every  minute,  divided 
by  the  number  of  hours  or  minutes  in  the  day. 
The  hourly  changes  of  atmospheric  tempera- 
ture have  actually  been  observed  for  a  con- 
tinued year  in  some  instances,  among  which 
we  may  mention  that  at  the  Arsenal  at  Frank- 
ford,  near  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1835 — 6, 
conducted  under  the  superintendence  of  Capt. 
Mordecai,  of  the  United  States  army.  The 
results  of  these  hourly  observations  are  pub- 
lished in  the  19th  volume  of  the  Journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  New  Series. 


PLACES 

OF 

OBSERVATION 


MEAN  TEMPERATURE  OF  EACH  MONTH. 


I         I 


Fort  Vancouver,  Oregon  Territory,  -  •  - 
Fort  Brsdy,  Outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  -  • 
Hancock  Barracks,  Houlton,  Maine,  -  -  • 
Fort  .Snelling,  at  the  confluence  of   the  St 

Peter's  aiiid  Mississinpi, 

Fort  Sullivan,  Eastpori,  Maine,  -  .  -  • 
Fort  Howard,  Green  b^7,  Wisconsin,    •    • 

Fort  Preble,  Portland,  Jiiine, 

Fort  Niagara,  Yojngsviwn,  N.  Y.  •  •  •  • 
Fort  Constitution,  Pcrts:uouth,  N.  H.  •  - 
Fort  Crawford,  Prairie  du  Chien,  -  •  •  - 
Council  Blufff,  near  the  junction  of  the  Platte 

and  Missouri, 

Fort  Wolcolt,  Newport,  R.  I. 

Fort  Armstrong,  Rock  Island,  Illinois,    -    - 

West  Point,  New  York. 

Fort  Trumbull.  New  London,  Conn.,  •  • 
I  Fort  C'>lunibus,  New  York  Harbour,  -  -  • 
i  Fort  Mifflin,  near  Philadelphia,      .... 

Washington  City,  U.  C. 

Jett'erson  Barracks,  near  St.  Louij,  •  -  - 
Fort  Monroe.  Old  Point  Comfort,  Va.,    -    - 

Fort  Gibson,  Arkansas, 

Fort  Johnston,  Coast  of  North  Carolina,     - 

Augusta  Arsenal,  Georgia, 

Fort  Moultrie,  Charleston  Harbor,  -  -  • 
Fort  Jessup,  near  Sabine  River,  Louisiana,  • 
Cantonment  Clinch,  near  Pensacola,  -  -  - 
Petite  Coquille,  near  New  Orleans,  •  •  . 
Fort  Marion,  St.  Augustine,  Florida,  •  •  . 
Fort  King,  Interior  of  East  Florida,  •  •  - 
Fort  Broiike,  'J'ampa  Bay,  Florida,  .  •  • 
Key  West,  or  Thompson's  Island 


;—  43-—  43 


22-28 
26  48 


Foreign  Climates,  designed  for  t?te  purpott 

of  comparison. 
Edinburgh,  Scotland,    • 
London,  Enghnd,     -    • 
Environs  of  London,    • 
Paris,  France,     -    -    • 
Nice.  Italy,     -    -    .    - 
Montpelier,  France, 
Home,  Italv,   -    • 
Naples.  Italy,  -    - 
Madeira,  Island  of 
Cairo,  EgypI 


39  54  39-60 1 45-84 
40-44  42-64  48 — 
78  41-51  46  89 
40-50;43-5O  49-6(1 
51-45;r.7-— 
45—  47— '53-—  60— 
49-45  5205  56-40  64-50 
54-50  52-— :5--— 166-50 
58  50  61-06  62-S0:63— 
56-12  64-58  77-90l78-26 


45-52  33-1 
4V84  32-80 
49  27  33-36 
47-22  35 -831 27 -35 
47  51  34  29(21  — 
49-28  38-4n'3l-32 

5S-94  48  l2]39-32 

59-09!  50-43  40-32: 33- ■>8 
11-60  45-45  330b{l804 
65-24  53  65,38  50  24  21 

J-e.'*  54-45  43-39'36-53  j 

vJ-67  64-58!  39-82  i  30-53 

i  e2-87  53-11  43-64  38-10 

^68  02  5810 ;46-70  43-95  ! 

i  66-72|55-S2'44-05l35'g6  | 

■  73-35  57  20;44.40i37-l6  ' 

)68-50!57-l7;44-93',39-36 

I  6S-57;56-84;47-37|4-'07 

)  72  72 '63-78  53-49  47-82 

65-95! 54-12  46-20 

69-11 160-13:53  83 

65-84156-36152-49 

67-32  57-56i  52-81 

68  29  58-55;.53  17 

70-27  b1 -13  5807 

72-12  6?-09|61-68 

73-83  63-55(60-92 

r2-81  6l-9si59-'25 

"5-23  69-06  64-42 

76-76  73-23  "0  08 


57-74  55-61  48  37 
52  58-80  51-78 
61-35  66-22  50-24 
65-20160-40 '52-40 
74-30169-35  61  85 
75— 171-—  61-— 
74-02(69-50  63-60 
76-50  72-50  65-—' 
73-— 71-50  67  50 
85-82  79  16  72-32 


43-47 
40-93 
44-20 
53-70 
52— 
58-80 
64-50 
6270 
62-961 


38-50 
39-58 
37  66 
39-20 
48-60 
46  — 
4962 
.50  50 
60  50 
61-34 


For  further  information  relative  to  weather, 
and  atmospheric  conditions  in  general,  see  Ba- 
ROMKTKR,  Climate,  Temperature,  &c. 

ATROPHY.  In  farriery,  a  morbid  wasting 
and  emaciation,  attended  with  a  great  loss  of 
strength  in  animals. 

AUGER,  BORING.  An  implement  for  bor- 
ing into  the  soil.  An  auger  of  the  above  kind, 
wnen  made  of  a  large  size,  and  with  different 
pieces  to  fix  on  to  each  other,  may  be  very 
usefully  apniieJ  to  try  the  nature  of  the  under 
soil,  the  discovering  springs,  and  drawing  off 
-2« 


water  from  lands,  &c.  In  order  to  accomplish 
the  first  purpose,  three  augers  will  be  neces- 
sary ;  the  first  of  them  about  three  feet  long, 
the  second  six,  and  the  third  ten.  Their  diame- 
ters should  be  near  an  inch,  and  their  bits 
large,  and  capable  of  bringing  up  part  of  the 
soil  they  pierce.  An  iron  handle  should  be 
fixed  crossways  to  wring  it  into  the  earth,  from 
whence  the  instrument  must  be  drawn  up  as 
often  as  it  has  pierced  a  new  depth  of  about  six 
inches,  in  order  to  cleanse  the  bit,  and  examine 
the  soil. 


AUGER,  DRAINING. 


A  VENA. 


AUGER,  DRAINING.  An  instrument  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose  of  boring  into  the  bot- 
toms of  drains  or  other  places,  in  order  to 
discover  and  let  off  water.  It  is  nearly  similar  j 
to  that  made  use  of  in  searching  for  coal  or  | 
other  subterraneous  minerals.  The  auger, 
shell,  or  wimble,  as  it  is  variously  called,  for 
excavating  the  earth  or  strata  through  which 
it  passes,  is  generally  from  two  and  a  half  to 
three  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter ;  the  hollow 
part  of  it  one  foot  four  inches  in  length,  and 
constructed  nearly  in  the  shape  of  the  wimble 
used  b)'  carpenters,  only  the  sides  of  the  shell 
come  closer  to  one  another.  The  rods  are 
made  in  separate  pieces  of  four  feet  long  each, 
that  screw  into  one  another  to  any  assignable 
length,  one  after  another  as  the  depth  of  the 
hole  requires.  The  size  above  the  auger  is 
about  an  inch  square,  unless  at  the  joints, 
where,  for  the  sake  of  strength,  they  are  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  more. 

There  is  also  a  chisel  and  punch,  adapted 
for  screwing  on,  in  going  through  hard  gravel, 
or  other  metallic  substances,  to  accelerate  the 
passage  of  the  auger,  which  could  not  other- 
wise perforate  such  hard  bodies.  The  punch 
is  often  used,  when  the  auger  is  not  applied, 
to  prick  or  open  the  sand  or  gravel,  and  give 
a  more  easy  issue  to  the  water.  The  chisel  is 
an  inch  and  a  half  or  two  inches  broad  at  the 
point,  and  made  very  sharp  for  cuuing  stone; 
and  the  punch  an  inch  square,  like  the  other 
part  of  the  rods,  with  the  point  sharpened  also. 

As  it  is  remarked  by  Johnstone,  in  his  ac- 
count of  Elkington's  mode  of  draining,  to  judge 
when  to  make  use  of  the  borer  is  a  difficult 
part  of  the  business  of  draining.  Many  who 
have  not  seen  it  made  use  of  in  draining,  have 
been  led  into  a  mistaken  notion,  both  as  to  the 
manner  of  using  it  and  the  purpose  for  which 
it  is  applied.  They  think,  that  if  by  boring 
indiscriminately  through  the  ground  to  be 
drained,  water  is  found  near  enough  the  sur- 
face to  be  reached  by  the  depth  of  the  drain, 
the  proper  direction  for  it  is  along  these  holes 
where  water  has  been  found ;  and  thus  make 
it  the  first  implement  that  is  used.  The  con- 
trary, however,  in  practice,  is  the  case,  and  the 
auger  is  never  used  till  after  the  drain  is  cut; 
and  then  for  the  purpose  of  perforating  any 
retentive  or  impervious  stratum,  lying  be- 
tween the  bottom  of  the  drain  and  the  reser- 
voir or  strata  containing  the  spring.  Thus  it 
greatly  lessens  the  trouble  and  expense  that 
would  otherwise  be  requisite  in  cutting  the 
trench  to  that  depth  to  which,  in  many  in- 
stances, the  level  of  the  outlet  will  not  admit. 
The  manner  of  using  it  is  simply  thus : — in 
working  it,  two,  or  rather  three  men,  are  ne- 


cessary. Two  stand  above,  on  each  side  of 
the  drain,  who  turn  it  round  by  means  of  the 
wooden  handles,  and  when  the  auger  is  full 
they  draw  it  out ;  and  the  man  in  the  bottom 
of  the  trench  clears  out  the  earth,  assists  in 
pulling  it  out,  and  directing  it  into  the  hole, 
and  who  can  also  assist  in  turning  with  the 
iron  handle  or  key  when  the  depth  and  length 
of  rods  require  additional  force  to  perform  the 
operation.  The  workmen  should  be  cautious 
in  boring  not  to  go  deeper  at  a  time,  without 
drawing,  than  the  exact  length  of  the  shell, 
otherwise  the  earth,  clay,  or  sand,  through 
which  it  is  boring,  after  the  shell  is  full,  makes 
it  very  difficult  to  pull  out.  For  this  purpose 
the  exact  length  of  the  shell  should  be  regu- 
larly marked  on  the  rods,  from  the  bottom  up- 
wards. Two  flat  boards,  with  a  hole  cut  into 
the  side  of  one  of  them,  and  laid  alongside  of 
one  another  over  the  drain,  in  the  time  of 
boring,  are  very  useful  for  directing  the  rods 
in  going  down  perpendicularly,  for  keeping 
them  steady  in  boring,  and  for  the  men  stand- 
ing gn  when  performing  the  operation. 

AVENA.  A  genus  of  grasses;  the  oat- 
grass.  Some  of  the  species  may  be  cultivated 
to  advantage  in  suitable  situations,  intermixed 
with  a  due  proportion  of  other  grasses. 

AvenaJIavescens.  Golden  oat,  or  yellow  oat- 
grass.  This  is  one  of  those  grasses  which 
never  thrives  when  cultivated  simply  by  itself: 
it  requires  to  be  combined  with  other  grasses 
to  secure  its  continuance  in  the  soil,  and  to 
obtain  its  produce  in  perfection.  It  thrives 
best  in  England  when  combined  with  the  Hor- 
deum  pratenae  (meadow  barley),  Cynosurus 
cristatus  (crested  dog's-tail),  and  Anthoxtmtum 
odoratum  (sweet-scented  vernal -grass).  It 
affects  most  a  calcareous  soil,  and  that  which 
is  dry.  It  grows  naturally,  however,  in  al- 
most every  kind  of  meadow :  it  is  always 
present  in  the  richest  natural  pastures  in  Eng- 
land where  its  produce  is  not,  however,  very 
great,  nor  its  nutritive  qualities  considerable. 
The  nutritive  matter  it  affords  from  its  leaves, 
(the  properties  of  which  are  of  more  import- 
ance to  be  known  than  those  of  the  culms,  for 
a  permanent  pasture  grass,)  contains  propor- 
tionally more  bitter  extractive  than  what  is  con- 
tained in  the  nutritive  matters  of  the  grasses 
with  which  it  is  more  generally  combined  in  na- 
tural pastures,  and  which  have  just  now  been 
mentioned.  This  latter  circumstance  is  the 
chief  claim  it  has  to  a  place  in  the  composition 
of  the  produce  of  rich  pasture  land ;  but  more 
particularly,  if  the  land  be  elevated,  and  with- 
out good  shelter,  this  grass  becomes  more 
valuable,  as  it  thrives  better  under  such  cir- 
cumstances than  most  other  grasses,  and  sheep 


Deseriplion  of  Gnus. 


Avetid  fiaveseena,  in  flower 

in  seed  ripe 
latter-math 


A  frateneis,  in  flower 

,  in  seed,  ripe  - 


Jl.  fubeseens,  in  flower 
,  in  seed,  ripe 


Clayey  loam 
Sandy  loam 


Green  Produce 
per  Acre. 


Ibi. 

8,167  8 

12,251  4 

4,083  12 

6,806  4 

9,528  12 

15,654  6 

6,806  4 


Dry  Produce 
per  Acre. 


lbs. 

2,858  10 

4,900  8 

1,871  11 

2,858  10 

5,870  6 

1,361  4 


Produce  per  Acre 

of  Nutjitive 

Matter. 


lbs. 
478    9 
430  11 

79  12 
239  4 
148  14 
366  14 
212  11 


(Sinclair's  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.) 
^  127 


AVENA. 


AVENUE. 


eat  it  as  readily  as  they  do  most  others.  The 
need  is  very  small  and  light ;  but  it  vegetates 
I'reely  if  sown  in  the  autumn,  or  not  too  early 
in  the  spring.  I  have  sown  the  seeds  of  this 
grass  in  almost  every  month  of  the  year,  and 
after  making  due  allowance  for  the  state  of  the 
weather,  the  third  week  in  May,  and  the  first 
week  of  August  to  September,  were  evidently 
the  best.  It  flowers  in  England  in  the  fiist, 
and  often  in  the  second  week  of  July,  and  ri- 
pens the  seed  in  the  beginning  of  August.  The 
value  of  the  grass,  at  the  time  of  flowering,  is 
to  that  at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe,  as  5  to  3. 

The  value  of  the  grass,  at  the  time  of  flower- 
ing, exceeds  that  of  the  latter-math,  as  3  to  1  ; 
and  the  value  of  the  grass  at  the  time  the  seed 
is  ripe  is  to  that  of  the  latter-math,  as  9  to  5. 

Avena  pratcnds.  Meadow  oat-grass.  This 
species  of  oat-grass  is  much  less  common 
than  the  Avena  pubescens,  or  Avena  Jluvescens. 
It  is  found  more  frequent  on  chalky  than  on 
any  other  kind  of  soils:  I  have  also  found  it 
in  moist  meadows  as  well  as  on  dry  heaths. 
This  property  of  thriving  on  soils  of  such 
opposite  natures  is  not  common  to  the  diflTer- 
ent  species  of  grass.  When  this  grass  was 
planted  in  an  irrigated  meadow,  the  produce 
did  not  appear  to  exceed  that  which  it  afford- 
ed on  a  dry  elevated  soil,  though  it  appeared 
more  healthy,  by  the  superior  green  colour 
of  the  foliage;  and  it  thus  appears  to  thrive 
under  irrigation.  The  produce  and  nutri- 
tive powers,  however,  seem  to  be  inferior  to 
many  other  species  of  the  secondary  grasses. 
The  produce  or  value  of  the  yellow  oat  is  su- 
perior to  that  of  the  meadow  oat  in  the  pro- 
portion nearly  of  7  to  3.  The  downy  oat-grass 
is  also  superior  to  the  meadow  oat-grass 
in  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  it  affords 
from  the  crops  of  one  season,  in  the  proportion 
nearly  of  3  to  2.  From  these  facts  and  obser- 
vations it  cannot  justly  be  recommended  for 
cultivation  in  preference  to  either  of  the  two 
species  with  which  it  has  now  been  compared. 
Its  nutritive  matter  contains  a  less  proportion 
of  bitter  extractive  and  saline  matters  than 
any  other  of  the  oat-grasses  that  have  been 
submitted  to  experiment.  It  flowers  in  July, 
and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  August. 

Avena  puheficens.  Downy  oat-grass.  [See 
Plate  6,  bJ]  This  grass  has  properties  which 
recommend  it  to  the  notice  of  the  agriculturist, 
being  hardy,  and  a  small  impoverisher  of  the 
soil ;  the  reproductive  power  is  also  consider- 
able, though  the  foliage  does  not  attain  to  a 
great  length  if  left  growing.  Like  the  Poa 
prafensis,  it  seldom  or  never  sends  forth  any 
flowering  culms,  after  the  first  are  cropped, 
which  is  a  property  of  some  value  for  the  pur- 
pose of  permanent  pasture,  or  dry  soils,  whi^-h 
are  sooner  impoverished  by  the  growth  of 
plants  than  those  that  are  moist.  Among  the 
secondary  grasses,  therefore,  I  hardly  know 
one  whose  habits  promise  better  for  the  pur- 
pose now  spoken  of.  The  nutritive  matter  it 
aflfords  contains  a  greater  proportion  of  the 
bitter  extractive  principle  than  the  nutritive 
matter  of  those  grasses  that  aflfect  a  similar 
soil,  which  lessens  its  merits  in  those  respects 
and  must  prevent  its  being  employed  in  any 
considerable  quantny  as  a  constituent  of  a 
128 


mixture  of  grasses  for  laying  down  such  soils 
to  grass.  In  one  part  of  Woburn  Park,  where 
the  soil  is  light  and  silicious,  the  downy  oal 
grows  in  considerable  abundance.  The  downy 
hairs  which  cover  the  surface  of  the  leaves  of 
this  grass  when  growing  on  poor,  dry,  or 
chalky  soils,  almost  disappear  when  cultivated 
on  richer  soils.  The  crop  at  the  time  of  flower- 
ing is  superior  to  that  at  the  time  the  seed  is 
ripe,  in  the  proportion  nearly  of  5  to  3.  The 
grass  of  the  latter^math,  and  that  at  the  time 
the  seed  is  ripe,  are  of  equal  proportional  va- 
lue. It  flowers  in  the  second  or  third  week 
of  June,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  about  the  begin- 
ning or  in  the  middle  of  July. 

[Avena  elatior.     See  Axoks  Grass. 
Avena  saliva.     Cultivated  oats. 
Avena  sterllis.      Animated   oats,   grown   in 
gardens  as  a  curiosity.] 

AVENS,  COMMON,  or  HERB  BENNET 
(Geuni  urbanum).  An  indigenous  perennial 
plant,  which  grows  plentifully  in  woods  and 
about  shady  dry  hedges,  psoducing  small  bright 
yellow  flowers  from  May  till  August.  The 
stalks  of  this  useful  plant  attain  two  feet  high, 
they  are  erect,  round,  finely,  hairy  branched  at 
the  upper  part,  bearing  several  flowers.  The 
root  consists  of  a  root-stock  and  many  stont 
brown  fibres,  which  are  astringent,  and  in  some 
degree  aromatic  in  spring.  They  are  said  to 
impart  an  agreeable  clove-like  flavour  when 
infused  in  beer  or  wine.  In  medicine,  the 
powdered  root  of  the  common  avens  has  been 
employed  with  good  effect  in  conjunction  with 
Peruvian  bark,  or  quinine,  in  cases  of  ague 
and  intermittent  fever,  and  it  is  also  valuable 
in  long-standing  cases  of  diarrhoea,  and  in  the 
last  stage  of  dysentery.  The  dose  is  from 
thirty  to  sixty  grains.  Sheep  are  extremely 
fond  of  its  herbage,  which  may  likewise,  when 
young,  be  used  for  culinary  purposes,  and 
especially  in  the  form  of  salad.  It  is  stated 
(Trans,  of  Swed.  Acad.)  that  if  a  portion  of  the 
dried  root  be  placed  in  a  bag  and  hung  in  a 
cask  of  beer,  it  will  prevent  the  beer  from 
turning  sour.  There  is  a  variety  of  this  plant 
called  the  great-flowered  avens.  (Eng.  Flora, 
vol.  ii.  p.  429  ;    Wil/ich's  Dom.  Ency.) 

AVENS,  WATER.  A  variety  of  the  before- 
named  plant,  which  is  common  in  moist  mea- 
dows and  woods,  especially  in  mountainous 
C(?untries,  and  is  not  rare  in  the  north  of  Eng^ 
land,  Scotland,  Wales,  nor  even  in  Norfolk, 
It  has  drooping  flowers,  which  distinguish  it 
from  the  common  avens.  It  is  readily  pro- 
duced by  transplanting  the  wild  roots  into  a 
dry  gravelly  soil,  by  which  the  flowers  become 
red,  as  well  as  double  and  proliferous,  with 
many  strange  changes  of  leaves  into  petals, 
and  the  contrary.     (Smith's  Eng.  Flora.) 

AVENUE  (Fr.).     An  alley  or  walk  planted 

on  each  side  with  trees.  These  kinds  of  walks 

were  formerly  much   more  the  fashion  than 

they  are  at  present.     When  they  are  to  be 

made,  the  common  elm  answers  wery  well  for 

the  purpose  in  most  grounds,  except  such  as 

are  very  wet  and  shallow,  and  is  preferred  to 

j  most  other    trees,  because   it  bears    cutting, 

I  heading,  or  lopping  in  any  manner.  The  rough 

j  Dutch  elm  is  approved  by  some,  because  of  its 

.  quick  growth ;  and  it  is  a  tree  that  will  nc ' 


AVERAGES. 


AZOTE. 


oj'y  bear  removing  very  well,  but  that  is  green 
in  the  spring  almost  as  soon  as  any  plant  what- 
ever, and  continues  so  equally  long.  It  makes 
an  incomparable  hedge,  and  is  preferable  to 
all  other  trees  for  lofty  espaliers.  The  lime  is 
very  useful  on  account  of  its  regular  growth 
and  fine  shade ;  and  the  horse-chesnut  is  pro- 
per for  such  places  as  are  not  too  much  ex- 
posed to  rough  winds.  The  common  chesnut 
does  very  well  in  a  good  soil,  or  on  warm  gra- 
vels, as  it  rises  to  a  considerable  height  when 
planted  somewhat  close ;  but,  when  it  stands 
single,  it  is  rather  inclined  to  spread  than  grow 
tall.  The  beech  naturally  grows  well  with  us 
in  its  wild  state,  but  it  is  less  to  be  chosen  for 
avenues  than  others,  because  it  does  not  bear 
transplanting  well.  The  abele  may  also  be 
employed  for  this  use,  as  it  is  adapted  to  al- 
most any  soil,  and  is  the  quickest  grower  of 
any  forest  tree.  It  seldom"  fails  in  transplant- 
ing, and  succeeds  very  well  in  wet  soils,  in 
which  the  others  are  apt  to  suffer.  The  oak  is 
but  seldom  used  for  avenues,  because  of  its 
slow  growth. 

The  old  method  of  planting  avenues  was  by 
regular  rows  of  trees,  a  practice  which  has 
been  adhered  to  till  lately;  but  now,  when  they 
are  used,  a  much  more  ornamental  way  of 
planting  them  is  adopted,  which  is  by  setting 
the  trees  in  clumps  or  platoons,  making  the 
opening  much  wider  than  before,  and  placing 
tlie  clumps  of  trees  from  one  to  three  hundred 
feet  distant  from  each  other.  In  these  clumps 
there  should  alwavs  be  planted  either  seven  or 
nine  trees;  but  it  must  be  observed  that  this 
method  is  only  proper  to  be  practiced  where 
the  avenue  is  of  considerable  length,  as  in  short 
walks  such  clumps  will  not  appear  so  sightly 
as  single  rows  of  trees.  The  avenues  made 
by  clumps  are  the  most  suitable  for  large 
parks.  The  trees  in  the  clumps  in  such  should 
be  planted  thirty  feet  asunder;  and  a  trench 
thrown  up  round  each  clump  to  prevent  the 
deer  from  coming  to  the  trees  and  barking 
them. 

AVERAGES  (Fr.  aver,-  Lat.  averagium). 
In  the  corn  trade,  is  the  average  amount  of  the 
prices  at  which  the  several  kinds  of  corn  are 
sold  in  the  chief  corn  markets  of  England,  as 
ascertained  by  the  returns  of  certain  inspec- 
tors, according  to  the  act  of  the  9  G.  4,  c.  60. 
(See  Conx  Laws.) 

AVERDUPOIS,  or  AVOIRDUPOIS 
WEIGHT  (^Avolr  du  poid,  Fr.,  Dr.  Johnson 
says,  but  he  should  have  added,  averia  ponde- 
m,  Lat.,  literally  goods  of  weight,  goods  sold 
by  weight ;  aver  in  old  French,  and  avoir  in 
modern,  signifying  goods,  like  the  low  Lat. 
averiiim,  averuniy  avere).  That  kind  of  weight 
commonlj'^  made  use  of  for  weighing  most 
kinds  of  large  and  coarse  goods,  as  cheese, 
butter,  salt,  hops,  flesh,  wool,  &c.  According 
to  it,  sixteen  drachms  make  an  ounce,  sixteen 
ounces  one  pound,  one  hundred  and  twelve 
pounds  one  hundred  weight,  and  twenty  hun- 
dred weight  one  ton.  It  is  most  commonly 
written  avoirdupois. 

AVIARY  (Lat.  avis,  a  bird).  A  place  set 
apart  for  the  feeding  and  propagating  birds. 

AWNS  (Goth,  ahana;  Sw.  agri).    The  nee- 
dle-like  bristles  which  form  the    beards  of 
17 


wheat,  barley,  and  other  grasses.  T\ie  word 
is  in  some  parts  of  England  pronounced  ails 
and  i/es. 

AXIS  (Lat.,  axel,  Sw.),  or  axle-tree.  The 
strong  piece  of  wood  or  iron  which  supports 
the  weight  of  wagons,  carts,  carriages,  &c.,  and 
round  the  extremities  of  which  the  wheels 
turn. 

AZALEA.  American  honey-suckle ;  the 
white-flowered  (Lat.  Azalea  viscosa).  A  hardy 
shrub  growing  three  feet  high,  and  blowing  its 
white  flowers  in  June  and  July.  Azalea  nudi- 
Jlira,  also  a  native  of  North  America,  grows 
three  feet  high,  with  red  flowers,  blooming  in 
May  and  June ;  and  Azalea  pontica,  a  native 
of  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Black  Sea,  bloom- 
ing yellow  flowers  in  May :  it  grows  three  feet 
high.  These  hardy  shrubs  love  shade  and  a 
moist  soil.  Propagate  by  layers  and  suckers : 
the  seed  does  not  ripen  well  in  this  climate. 
Do  not  prune,  only  cut  out  the  dead  wood. 
Remove  the  young  well-rooted  plants  with  a 
good  ball  of  earth  in  the  autumn  or  early  in 
spring. 

AZOREAN  FENNEL  {Anethum  azoricum, 
or  Finochio ;  from  Av^bov,  on  account  of  its  run- 
ning up  straight).  A  plant  kept  in  kitchen 
gardens ;  it  is  not  in  much  esteem  here,  its 
peculiar  flavour  being  agreeable  to  few  pa- 
lates. In  Italy,  and  some  other  countries,  it  is 
served  with  a  dressing  like  salads. 

AZOTE  is  as  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  nitrogen.  The  name  of  azote  (derived  from 
the  Greek  at,  from,  and  ^ot,  life),  was  given  to 
it  by  the  French  chemists,  from  animals  being 
unable  to  breathe  it  [in  a  state  of  purity.]  This 
gas,  which  constitutes  79-16  parts  per  cent,  of 
the  air  we  breathe,  was  discovered  in  1772  by 
Dr.  Rutherford.  Before  his  time  there  had  been 
much  confusion  with  regard  to  the  composi- 
tion of  the  atmospheric  and  other  gases ;  they 
were  chiefly  regarded  by  the  old  chemists  as 
being  all  of  the  same  kind,  but  mixed  with 
various  unknown  substances.  When  all  the 
oxygen  is  absorbed  from  a  confined  portion 
of  atmospheric  air,  the  remainder  is  nearly 
pure  azote ;  it  is  known  only  in  the  state  of 
gas.  Azotic  gas  is  invisible  and  elastic,  and 
has  no  smell;  its  specific  gravity  is  0.969. 
Animals  cannot  breathe  it  [in  a  pure  state :] 
when  they  are  placed  in  a  jar  of  it,  they  die 
as  rapidly  as  if  immersed  in  water ;  neither 
will  it  support  combustion.  It  unites  with 
oxygen  in  various  proportions ;  thus,— 

Parts.  Parts. 

1-75  azote  and  2   oxygen  forms  nitrous  gas. 

1-75        —       5  —  nitric  acid,  or  aquafortis. 

1-75        _       4178       —  nitrous  acid. 

Azote,  or  nitrogen,  abounds  in  animal  sub 
stances,  for  it  forms  16-998  per  cent,  of  gela 
tine ;  15-705  per  cent,  of  albumen  (white  of 
eg%),  &c.,  and  these  are  commonly  present  in 
all  animal  substances.  Azote  unites  also  with 
hydrogen  gas,  and  forms  the  volatile  alkali 
ammonia,  which  is  composed  of— 


Azote  - 
Hydrogen 


26  parts 
74 


Now,  as  both  these  substances  exist  m  am 
mal  matters,  when  such  substances  putrefy,  or 
are  subjected  to  the  destrucuve  distillation, 


AZOTE. 


AZOTE. 


they  rendily  unite  and  form  the  volatile  alkali 
ammonia. 

Azote  exists  also  in  gluten;  and  wherever 
this  substance  is  present  in  vegetable  matter, 
there,  in  consequence,  azote  is  to  be  found, 
but  otherwise  it  does  not  often  enter  into  the 
composition  of  vegetable  substances.  And  yet 
it  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  although  azote  can- 
not be  regarded  as  a  direct  food  of  plants,  yet 
most  of  those  substances  which  contain  it  are 
exceedingly  grateful  to  them,  such  as  ammo- 
nia, saltpetre,  animal  matter,  &c. ;  and  again, 
vegetables  certainly  emit,  and  probably  inhale, 
this  gas.  Thus  some  plants  of  Vinca  minor 
being  made  to  vegetate  in  a  confined  portion 
of  air  for  six  days,  and  the  composition  of  the 
air  being  ascertained  by  M.  Saussure  (Rech. 
Chirn.  p.  40),  the  following  were  the  results  in 
cubic  inches : — 


Composition  of  atmosphere, 
when  put  in.  when  lalien  out. 

Azote  -  -  211-92  -  -  -  218.95 
Oxygen  -  -  5633  -  -  -  7105 
Carbonic  acid  -      21.75        -        -        -        000 

290-  290. 

The  plants,  therefore,  had  evidently  in- 
creased the  proportion  of  azote  and  oxygen, 
but  had  entirely  exhausted  the  air  of  its  car- 
bonic acid  gas. 

Similar  experiments  made  with  the  Mentha 
aguafica,  Cactus  opuntia,  Lythrum  salacaria, 
and  the  Finns  genevensis,  afforded  similar  re- 
sults. 

Azote,  therefore,  evidently  fulfils  a  more  con- 
siderable office  in  vegetable  economy  than  we 
are  yet  exactly  aware  of,  and  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  considerable  discoveries  are  yet 
to  be  made  in  the  investigation  of  its  uses  to 
vegetable  life.  See  Gases,  their  use  to  vege- 
tation. (Davy's  Chem.  Phil.  p.  255 ;  Thomson's 
Chem.) 

[The  chief  element  contained  in  vegetable 
substances  resorted  to  for  the  support  of  ani- 
mals, is  azote  or  nitrogen.  On  the  other  hand 
we  see,  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  plants  ap- 
propriating carbon  as  the  prime  element  of 
their  structure.  The  quantity  of  food  which 
animals  take  for  their  nourishment  diminishes 
or  increases  in  the  same  proportion  as  it  con- 
tains more  or  less  of  the  substances  yield- 
ing nitrogen.  A  horse  may  be  kept  alive  by 
feeding  it  with  potatoes,  which  contain  a  very 
small  quantity  of  nitrogen;  but  life  thus  sup- 
ported is  a  gradual  starvation ;  the  animal  in- 
creases neither  in  size  nor  strength,  and  sir\ks 
unde"-  every  exertion.  The  quantity  of  rice 
which  an  East  Indian  eats  astonishes  the  Eu- 
ropear.  oi  American ;  but  the  fact  that  rice 
contains  less  nitrogen  than  any  other  grain,  at 
once  explains  the  circumstance. 

"  We  cannot  suppose,"  says  Liebig,  "  that 
a  plant  would  attain  maturity,  even  in  the  rich- 
est vegetable  mould,  without  the  presence  of 
matter  containing  nitrogen ;  since  we  know 
that  nitrogen  exists  in  every  part  of  the  vege- 
table structure.  The  first  and  most  important 
question  to  be  solved,  therefore,  is  :  How  and 
in  what  form  does  nature  furnish  nitrogen  to 
vegetable  allumen,  and  gluten,  to  fruits  and 


"This  question  is  susceptible  of  a  very  sun 
pie  solution. 

"  Plants,  as  we  know,  grow  perfectly  well  in 
pure  charcoal,  if  supplied  at  the  same  time 
with  rain-water.  Rain-water  can  contain  nitro- 
gen only  in  two  forms,  either  as  dissolved  at- 
mospheric air,  or  as  ammonia.  Now,  the  nitro- 
gen of  the  air  cannot  be  made  to  enter  into 
combination  with  any  element  except  oxygen, 
even  by  employment  of  the  most  powerful 
chemical  means.  We  have  not  the  slightest 
reason  for  believing  that  the  nitrogen  of  the 
atmosphere  takes  part  in  the  processes  of  as- 
similation of  plants  and  animals  ;  on  the  con- 
trary, we  know  that  many  plants  emit  the  nitro- 
gen, which  is  absorbed  by  their  roots,  either  in 
the  gaseous  form,  or  in  solution  in  water.  But 
there  are,  on  the  other  hand,  numerous  facts, 
showing  that  the  formation  in  plants  of  sub- 
stances containing  nitrogen,  such  as  gluten, 
takes  place  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of 
this  element  which  is  conveyed  to  their  roots 
in  the  state  of  ammonia,  derived  from  the  pu- 
trefaction of  animal  matter. 

"Ammonia  is  a  compound  gas,  consisting 
of  one  volume  of  nitrogen  and  three  volumes 
of  hydrogen.  It  is  produced  during  the  de- 
composition of  many  animal  substances.  It 
is  given  off  when  sal-ammoniac  and  lime  are 
rubbed  together.  It  was  formerly  called  vola- 
tile alkali. 

"Ammonia,  too,  is  capable  of  undergoing 
such  a  multitude  of  transformations,  when  in 
contact  with  other  bodies,  that  in  this  respect 
it  is  not  inferior  to  water,  which  possesses  the 
same  property  in  an  eminent  degree.  It  pos- 
sesses properties  which  we  do  not  find  in  any 
other  compound  of  nitrogen ;  when  pure,  it  is 
extremely  soluble  in  water ;  it  forufs  soluble 
compounds  with  all  the  acids ;  and  when  in 
contact  with  certain  other  substances,  it.  com- 
pletely resigns  its  character  as  an  alkali,  and 
is  capable  of  assuming  the  most  various  and 
opposite  forms." 

With  regard  to  the  sources  from  which 
vegetables  draw  those  supplies  of  nitrogen,  so 
essential  to  their  growth  and  developement, 
Liebig  makes  the  following  observations : — 

"  Let  us  picture  to  ourselves  the  condition 
of  a  well-cultured  farm,  so  large  as  to  be  in- 
dependent of  assistance  from  other  quarters. 
On  this  extent  of  land  there  is  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  nitrogen  contained  both  in  the  corn  and 
fruit  which  it  produces,  and  in  the  men  and 
animals  which  feed  upon  them,  and  also  in 
their  excrements.  We  shall  suppose  this  quan- 
tity to  be  known.  The  land  is  cultivated  with- 
out the  importation  of  any  foreign  substance 
containing  nitrogen.  Now,  the  products  of 
this  farm  must  be  exchanged  every  year  for 
money,  and  other  necessaries  of  life,  for  bodies 
therefore  which  contain  no  nitrogen.  A  cer- 
tain proportion  of  nitrogen  is  exported  with 
corn  and  cattle;  and  this  exportation  takes 
place  every  year,  without  the  smallest  com- 
pensation ;  yet  after  a  given  number  of  years, 
the  quantity  of  nitrogen  will  be  found  to  have 
increased.  Whence,  we  may  ask,  comes  this 
increase  of  nitrogen?  The  nitrogen  in  the 
excrements  cannot  reproduce  itself,  and  the 


BACCIFEROUS. 


BAKING. 


eLfth  cannot  yield  it.  Plants,  and  consequent- 
1)-  animals,  must  therefore  derive_their  nitro- 
gen from  the  atmosphere."    (Org.  Cheni.) 

B. 

BACCIFEROUS  (from  hacca,  a  berry,  and 
fero,  to  bear).  A  term  applied  to  trees  bear- 
ing berries. 

BACK,  the  spine.  The  back  of  a  horse 
should  be  straight,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
strong :  when  it  is  hollow,  or  what  is  termed 
sadiUe-bucktd,  the  animal  is  generally  weak. 

Back  sore.  A  complaint  which  is  very  com- 
mon to  young  horses  when  they  first  travel. 
To  prevent  it,  their  backs  should  be  cooled 
every  time  they  are  baited,  and  now  and  then 
washed  v/ith  warm  water,  and  wiped  dry  with 
a  linen  cloth.  The  best  cure  for  a  sore  back 
is  a  lotion  of  1  oz.  of  Goulard's  extract  (sugar 
of  lead  and  vinegar),  1  oz.  of  turpentine,  1  oz. 
of  spirit  of  wine,  and  1  pint  of  vinegar. 

Back  sinews,  sprain  of  the.  This  is  often  oc- 
casioned by  the  horse  being  overweighted,  and 
then  ridden  far  and  fast,  especially  if  his  pas- 
terns are  long ;  but  it  may  occur  from  a  false 
step,  or  from  the  heels  of  the  shoes  being  too 
much  lowered.  Sprain  of  the  back  sinews  is 
detected  by  swelling  and  heat  at  the  back  of 
the  lower  part  of  the  leg;  puffiness  along  the 
course  of  the  sinews  ;  extreme  tenderness,  so 
far  as  the  swelling  and  heat  extend ;  and  very 
great  lameness. 

The  first  object  is  to  abate  the  inflammation, 
and  this  should  be  attempted  by  bleeding  from 
the  plate  vein ;  by  means  of  which  blood  is 
drained  from  the  inflamed  part.  Next,  local 
applications  should  be  made  to  the  back  of 
the  leg,  in  the  form  of  fomentations  of  water 
sufficiently  hot  and  frequently  repeated.  At 
the  same  time,  as  much  strain  as  possible 
should  be  taken  from  the  sinew,  by  putting  a 
high  calkin  on  the  heel  of  the  shoe. 

BACON.  Probably  from  baken,  that  is,  dried 
flesh.  Dr.  Johnson  says,  and  Mr.  Home  Tooke 
contends,  that  it  is  evidently  the  past  participle 
of  the  Saxon  bacan,  to  bake  or  dry  by  heat. 
(Div.  of  Pur.  vol.  ii.  p.  71.)  I  may,  however, 
refer  perhaps  as  strongly  to  the  old  French 
bacon,  which  means  dried  flesh  and  pork.  The 
Welsh  also  have  bacwn.  The  flesh  of  the  hog 
after  it  has  been  salted  and  dried,  and  it  is 
either  smoked  or  kept  without  smoking,  when 
it  is  termed  green  bacon.     {Todd.) 

Such  hogs  as  have  been  kept  till  they  are 
full  grown,  and  have  then  attained  to  a  large 
size,  are  for  the  most  part  converted  to  the 
purpose  of  bacon.  The  seasons  for  killmg 
hogs  for  bacon  are  between  October  and 
March,  but  it  of  course  varies  according  to 
custom  and  circumstances  in  peculiar  districts. 
The  process  of  curing  bacon  is  so  well  known 
throughout  the  country,  that  it  is  scarcely  ne- 
cessary to  add  any  thing  on  the  subject ;  but 
the  following  practical  hints  may  not  be  with- 
out their  utility.  In  order  to  have  good  bacon, 
the  hair  should  be  sweated  oflT,  not  scalded,  the 
flesh  will  be  more  solid  and  firm.  The  best 
method  of  doing  this  is  to  cover  the  hog  thinly 
with  straw,  and  to  set  light  to  it  in  the  direction 
of  the  wind.     As  the  stra^  is  burnt  ofi",  it 


should  be  renewed,  taking  care,  however,  not 
to  burn  or  parch  the  ikin.  After  both  sides 
have  been  treated  in  this  way,  the  hog  is  to  be 
scraped  quite  clean,  but  water  must  not  be 
used.  After  the  hog  has  been  properly  cut  up, 
the  inside,  or  flesh-side  of  each  flitch  is  to  be 
well  rubbed  with  salt,  and  placed  above  each 
other  in  a  tray,  which  should  have  a  gutter 
round  its  edge  to  drain  off"  the  brine.  Once  in 
four  or  five  days  the  salt  should  be  changed, 
and  the  flitches  i'requentl}'-  moved,  putting  the 
bottom  one  at  top,  and  then  again  at  the  bot- 
tom. Some  persons,  in  curing  bacon,  add  for 
each  hog  half  a  pound  of  bay  salt,  and  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  saltpetre,  and  one  pound 
of  very  coarse  sugar  or  treacle.  Very  excel- 
lent  bacon  may,  however,  be  made  with  com- 
mon salt  alone,  provided  it  be  well  rubbed  in, 
and  changed  sufliciently  often.  Six  weeks,  in 
moderate  weather,  will  be  time  sufficient  for 
the  curing  of  a  hog  of  twelve  score.  Smoking 
the  bacon  is  much  better  than  merely  drying 
it.  The  flitches  should,  in  the  first  place,  be 
rubbed  over  with  bran  or  fine  saw-dust  (not 
deal),  and  then  hung  up  in  a  chimney  out  of 
the  rain,  and  not  near  enough  to  the  fire  to 
melt.  The  smoke  must  be  from  wood,  stubble, 
or  litter.  If  the  fire  is  tolerably  constant  and 
good,  a  month's  smoking  will  be  sufficient. 
The  flitches  are  afterward  frequently  preserved 
in  clear,  dry  wood  ashes,  or  very  dry  sand. 

The  counties  of  England  most  celebrated  for 
bacon,  are  York,  Hants,  Berks,  and  Wilts. 
Ireland  produces  great  quantities,  but  it  is 
neither  so  clean  fed,  nor  so  well  cured  as  the 
English,  and  is  much  lower  priced.  Of  the 
Scotch  counties,  Dumfries,  Wigtown,  and 
Kirkcudbright,  are  celebrated  for  the  excel- 
lence of  their  bacon  and  hams,  of  which  they 
now  export  large  quantities,  principally  to  the 
Liverpool  and  London  markets.  The  imports 
of  bacon  and  hams  from  Ireland  have  increas- 
ed rapidly  of  late  years.  The  average  quan- 
tity imported  during  the  three  years  ending  the 
25th  of  March,  1800,  only  amounted  to  41,948 
cwt. ;  whereas  during  the  three  years  ending 
with  1820,  the  average  imports  amounted  to 
204,380  cwt. ;  and  during  the  three  )•  ears  ending 
with  1825,  they  had  increased  to  338,218  cwt. 

In  1825  the  trade  between  Ireland  and  Great 
Bdtain  was  placed  on  the  footing  of  a  coasting 
trade ;  and  bacon  and  hams  are  imported  and 
exported  without  any  specific  entry  at  the 
Custom-house.  We  believe  the  imports  of 
bacon  into  Great  Britain  from  Ireland  amounts, 
at  present,  to  little  less  than  500,000  cwt.  a 
year.  The  quantity  of  bacon  and  haras  ex- 
ported from  Ireland  to  foreign  countries  is 
inconsiderable,  not  exceeding  1500  or  2000 
cwt.  a  year.  The  duty  on  bacon  and  haras 
being  8s.  the  cwt.  is  in  effect  prohibitory. 
See  Provisions  Trade. 

BAIT  (Sax.  baran,  German,  baitzen).  A  feed 
of  oats,  or  any  other  material  given  to  an  ani- 
mal employed  in  travelling  or  labour.  These 
should  always  be  proportioned  to  the  condition 
of  the  animal,  and' the  nature  of  his  labour.  It 
also  signifies  any  thing  applied  with  the  view 
of  catching  an  animal.  ,  .  ,  ,  .  k«o« 

BALK.  A  piece  of  land  which  has  not  beea 
turned  up  in  ploughing. 

lol 


BAKING  OF  LAND. 


BALSAM. 


BAKING  OF  LAND.  A  term  applied  to 
?uch  kinds  of  land  as  are  liable,  from  the  large 
proportions  of  clayey  or  other  matter  which 
they  contain,  to  become  hard  and  crusty  on  the 
surface.  In  order  to  prevent  this,  the  best 
practice  is  to  lessen  the  tenacity  of  such  soils 
by  the  application  of  substances  capable  of 
rendering  them  more  open  and  friable,  as 
lime,  and  other  calcareous  materials,  .ich 
earthy  composts,  sand,  &c. 

BALL.  Whatever  was  round  was  called  by 
the  ancients  either  bal,  or  bel^  and  Likewise  bol 
and  bill.  In  farriery,  a  well-known  form  of 
medicine,  for  horses  or  other  animals,  which 
may  be  passed  at  once  into  the  stomach.  They 
should  be  made  of  a  long  oval  shape,  and 
about  the  size  of  a  small  e^g,  being  best  con- 
veyed over  the  root  of  the  tongue  by  the  hand. 
This  method  of  administering  medicines  is 
preferable  in  most  cases  to  that  of  drenches. 
I  subjoin  the  recipes  for  a  few  of  those  balls 
most  commonly  used  by  the  farmer. 


Mild  Physic  Ball. 


drachms. 


Barbadoes  aloea      -       -       - 

Powdered  ginger    -       -        -        -    2    

Castile  soap  -        -        -        -    2     

Oil  of  cloves  -        -        r        -  20  drops. 

Syrup  of  buckthorn  sufficient  to  form  a  ball. 

Strong  Physic  Ball. 

Barbadoes  aloes      -       -        -       .    8  drachms. 

Ginger,  powdered  -        -        -       -    2    

Castile  soap  _        «        -        _    2    

Oil  of  cloves  _        _       _        -  20  drops. 

Syrup  of  buckthorn  sufficient  to  form  a  ball. 

Calomel  Ball  for  a  Riding  Horse. 

Calomel  -----    l  drachm. 

Aloes,  powdered     -       -       -       -    6    

Ginger,  powdered   -       -        -        -    2    

Castile  soap  -        -        _        -    2    

Oil  of  cloves  _        -        _        -  20  drops. 

Syrup  of  buckthorn  sufficient  to  make  into  a  ball. 

Calomel  Ball  for  a  Cart  Horse. 


Aloes,  powdered     -        -        - 
Otherwise  same  as  the  last. 

Diuretic  Ball. 


-    8  drachms. 


4  ounces. 


-    2 


Castile  soap 
Nitre,  powdered     - 
Rosin,  powdered    - 

Oil  of  juniper  _        -        _        -      ^ 

Aniseed  powder  and  treacle  sufficient  to  make  into 
eight  balls. 


Cordial  BalL 


Cummin  seed,  powdered 
Aniseed,  powdered 
Caraway  seed,  powdered 
Liquorice  powder 
Ginger,  powdered 


-  4  ounces. 

-  4 

-  2  


Honey  sufficient  to  make  into  balls  the  size  of  a 
hen's  egg. 

BALM,  or  BAUM  {Melissa  officinalis.  From 
Gr.  /ui\i,  honey,  on  account  of  the  bee  being 
supposed  to  collect  it  abundantly  from  their 
ftcwers).  Balm  is  used  both  as  a  medicinal 
and  culinary  herb.  The  leaves  are  employed 
green,  or  dried. 

The  soil  best  suited  to  its  growth  is  any  poor 
fjj;iable  one,  but  rather  inclininj  to  clayey  than 
s..t.jcious.  Manure  is  never  required.  An 
frsiern  aspect  is  best  for  it.  It  is  propagated 
oy  ottsets  of  the  roots,  and  by  slips  of  the 
<mng  shoots.  The  first  mode  may  be  prac- 
132 


tised  any  time  during  the  spring  and  autumn, 
but  the  latter  only  during  May  or  June.  If 
offsets  are  eiriployed,  they  may  be  planted  at 
once  where  they  are  to  remain,  at  ten  or  twelve 
inches ;  but  if  by  slips,  they  must  be  inserted 
in  a  shady  border,  to  be  thence  removed,  in 
September  or  October,  to  where  they  are  to 
remain.  At  every  removal,  water  must  be 
given,  if  dry  weather,  and  until  they  are  esta- 
blished. During  the  summer  they  require  only 
to  be  kept  clear  of  weeds.  In  October  the  old 
beds  require  to  be  dressed,  their  decayed  leaves 
and  stalks  cleared  away,  and. the  soil  loosened 
by  the  hoe  or  slight  digging. 

Old  beds  may  be  gathered  from  in  July,  for 
drying,  but  their  green  leaves,  from  March  to 
September ;  and  those  planted  in  the  spring 
will  even  afford  a  gathering  in  the  autumn  of 
the  same  year.  For  drying,  the  stalks  are  cut 
with  their  full  clothing  of  leaves  to  the  very 
bottom,  and  the  process  completed  gradually 
in  the  shade.  (G.  W.  Johnson^ s  Kitchen  Gar- 
den.) 

This  very  common  and  well-known  plant  in 
our  kitchen  gardens  is  fragrant  in  smell,  and 
its  root  creeps  and  spreads  rapidly  and  abund- 
antly. It  flowers  in  July,  and  is  best  taken  as 
an  infusion  when  fresh,  as  it  loses  considerable 
power  when  dried.  Its  medicinal  qualities  are 
derived  principally  from  the  proportion  of  vola- 
tile oil,  resin,  and  bitter  extractive,  which  it 
contains.  It  is  occasionally  used  in  conse- 
quence of  its  moderately  stimulant  powers,  in 
conjunction  with  more  potent  drugs,  to  produce 
profuse  perspiration.  Mixed  with  honey  and 
vinegar,  it  forms  a  good  gargle  for  an  inflamed 
sore  throat. 

BALSAM  (Impatiens  Balsamina).  This  fa- 
vourite flower  is  a  native  of  the  East  Indies 
and  Japan,  where  the  natives,  according  to 
Thunberg,  use  the  juice  prepared  with  alum 
for  dyeing  their  nails  red.  It  is  a  tender  an- 
nual, rising  from  one  to  two  feet  high,  with  a 
succulent  branchy  stem,  serrated  leaves,  and 
various  coloured  flowers.  It  blows  from  July 
to  October,  and  its  flowers  are  single  and 
double,  red,  pink,  white,  or  variegated.  It 
loves  a  good  soil,  and  shelter  from  a  hot  sun. 
It  blooms  very  handsomely  in  a  window.  Sow 
the  seed  early  in  March  in  a  hot  bed.  Put  the 
plants  singly,  and  accustom  them  by  degrees 
to  the  open  air.  Place  them  in  larger  pots,  or 
put  them  out  iri  the  garden  in  May.  They  will 
require  no  watering,  after  being  well  rooted. 
Stir  the  earth  round  each  plant  frequently,  and 
do  it  gently,  with  a  small  trowel. 

The  varieties  are  infinite,  but  not  so  marked 
or  permanent  as  to  have  acquired  names. 
The  seed  from  one  plantwill  hardly  produce  two 
alike* 

This  plant,  which  has  been  introduced 
into  almost  every  flower-garden  in  the  coun- 
try, is  commonly  called  Lady's  Slipper.  Seve- 
ral species  of  the  genus  are  found  in  the 
United  States,  and  ^ave  been  described  by 
Pursh,  Nuttall,  Darlington,  and  other  botanists. 
One  of  these,  the  Pale  Impntlens,  known  by  the 
popular  names  of  Yellow  Balsam,  Snap-weed, 
and  Touch-me-not,  is  frequent  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  other  states,  in  moist,  shaded  grounds 
and  along  streams,  where  its  gamboge  yellow 


BALSAM. 


BARB 


flowers  appear  from  July  to  September.    The  I 
most  common  species,  however^  is  the  Fulvous 
or    Tawny  Impatiens,  or    Touch-me-not,   the 
flowers  of  which  are  of  a  deep  orange  colour,  : 
with   numerous  reddish  brown    spots.     The  j 
tender  and  succulent  stems  of  this  plant  af-  j 
ford  a  domestic   application  to   inflamed  tu-  j 
mours,  being  bruised  in  the  form  of  a  poultice. 
It  has  sometimes  been  used  for  dying  salmon- 
red.     {NuttalVs  Genera,  Darlington's  Flora  Ces- 
trica.)     The  popular  name  of  this  plant  must 
not  lead  to  its  being  confounded  with  another, 
also  called  Lady's  Slipper,  the  Stemless  Cypri- 
pedium,  a  very  different  plant. 

BALSAM  TREE  {Tacamahacca).  This  tree 
possesses  considerable  medicinal  virtues.  It 
is  known  among  us  as  the  Tacamahac  tree, 
from  its  similitude  to  the  real  tree  of  that  name, 
which  is  a  native  of  the  East  and  of  America. 
The  leaves  of  our  balsam  tree  are  long,  of  a 
dusky  green  on  the  outside,  and  brown  under- 
neath. The  buds  of  the  tree  in  spring  are  very 
fragrant,  and  a  sticky  substance  surrounds 
each  bud,  Avhich  adheres  to  the  fingers  on 
touching  them.     (See  Tacamahacca.) 

BAN-DOG.  A  corruption  of  band-dog,  a 
large  kind  of  fierce  dog,  which  was  formerly 
kept  chained  up  as  a  watch-dog. 

BANDS.  The  cords  by  means  of  which 
sheaves  and  trusses  are  tied.  They  are  formed 
of  twisted  straw  or  hay. 

Bands,  where  the  straw  is  tender,  should  be 
made  in  the  morning,  that  they  may  not  crack; 
for  the  straw  will  not  twist  so  well  after  the 
sun  is  up.  The  turning  of  three  or  four  of  the 
stubble  or  bottom  ends  of  the  straw  to  the  ears 
of  the  band  sometimes  tend  greatly  to  add  to 
their  strength  and  toughness. 

The  bands  for  the  sheaves  should  not  be 
spread  out,  except  in  fair  weather,  because 
they  will  grow  sooner  than  any  other  part  of 
the  corn  if  rain  should  come  ;  for  they  cannot 
dry,  on  account  of  their  lying  undermost.  But 
though  the  bzinds  may  be  made  while  the  morn- 
ing dew  is  upon  them,  the  sheaves  ought  never 
to  be  b(uind  up  wet ;  for,  if  they  are,  they  will 
grow  mouldy. 

BANE.  The  disease  in  sheep  generally 
termed  the  rot. 

BANE  BERRIES  (Actxa),  and  BLACK 
BANE  BERRIES  ^Herb  Christopher).  Pe- 
rennial herbs,  natives  £f  cold  countries,  with 
compound  or  lobed  cut  leaves  and  clustered 
white  flowrs.  The  berries  of  the  former 
are  black,  red,  or  white,  of  the  latter,  purplish, 
bUck,  juicy,  the  size  of  currants,  and  have 
fetid,  nauseous,  and  dangerous  qualities.  In 
England  these  herbs  are  found  sometimes  in 
bushv,  mountainous,  limestone  situations. — 
(Smith's  Engl.  Fbtra.) 

Several  species  of  Actaca,  or  Bane-berry  are 
found  in  the  United  States.  Among  those 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Darlington,  as  met  with  in 
Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  are  the  Race- 
mose Actnca,  commonly  called  Black  Snakerooi, 
a  perennial,  common  in  rich  woodlands,  in 
which  the  white  flowers  rising  above  most 
other  surrounding  plants,  are  very  conspicuous 
in  the  month  of  June.  The  plant  has  an  op- 
pressive, disagreeable  odour  when  bruised. 
The  root  is  sjmewhat  mucUaginous  and  as- 


tringent; and  is  aveiy  popular  medicine  'bi 
man  and  beast.  For  the  former,  it  is  used  la 
infusion  or  decoction,  chiefly  as  a  remedy  in 
diseases  of  the  breast.  Many  persons  consider 
it  almost  a  panacea  for  a  sick  cow.  Its  virtues, 
however,  are  probably  overrated.  Another 
species  is  the  White  Actasa,  or  White  Cohosh, 
found  in  rocky  woodlands,  flowering  in  May, 
and  not  so  common  as  the  former.  lis  berries 
also  diflfer  from  those  of  the  Black  Snakeroot, 
being  oval,  about  a  fourth  of  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter, milk  white,  or  often  tinged  with  purple 
when  fully  ripe.  (Flor.  Cestricu.) 

BANE-WORT.     See  Deadly  Nightshade. 

BANGLE-EARS.  An  imperfection  in  the 
ears  of  horses. 

BANKS,  of  rivers  and  marshes,  &c.,  (banc. 
Sax.).  In  agriculture,  are  heaps  or  mounds  of 
earth  piled  up  to  keep  the  water  of  rivers, 
lakes,  or  the  sea,  from  overflowing  the  grounds 
which  are  situated  contiguous  to  them  on  the 
inside.     (See  Embaxkmknts.) 

The  common  law  of  England  is  very  severe 
against  those  who  wantonly  or  maliciously  in- 
jure or  destroy  embankments. 

The  7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  30,  s.  12,  enacts  that  if 
any  person  shall  unlawfully  and  maliciously 
break  down  or  cut  down  any  sea-bank,  or  sea- 
wall ;  or  the  bank  or  wall  of  any  river,  canal, 
or  marsh,  whereby  any  lands  shall  be  over- 
flowed or  damaged,  or  shall  be  in  danger  of 
being  so,  or  shall  unlawfully  and  maliciously 
throw  down,  level,  or  otherwise  destroy  any 
lock,  sluice,  or  flcod-gate,  or  other  work  on  any 
navigable  river  or  canal,  every  such  offender 
shall  be  guilty  of  felony;  and,  being  convicted 
thereof,  shall  be  liable,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
court,  to  be  transported  beyond  the  seas  for 
life,  or  for  any  term  not  less  than  seven  years, 
or  to  be  imprisoned  for  any  term  not  exceeding 
four  years ;  and  if  a  male,  to  be  once,  twice,  or 
thrice  publicly  or  privately  whipped  (if  the 
court  shall  so  think  fit),  in  addition  to  such  im- 
prisonment. 

For  protecting  embankments  exposed  to 
water  washing  against  them,  a  thick  coat  of 
the  joint  grass,  or,  as  it  is  likewise  called,  the 
Bermuda  grass,  {Cynodon  dactylon,  PI.  7,  k,) 
is  one  of  the  best  means  that  can  be  adopted 
It  is  of  a  remarkably  creeping  nature,  and 
grows  very  luxuriantly  where  no  other  grass 
will  live,  as  on  the  sea-coast,  and  on  poor  loose 
soils.  It  is  taken  advantage  of  by  the  rice 
planters  oi"  the  Southern  States,  whose  exten- 
sive embankments  are  much  exposed  to  the 
washing  of  water  against  them,  and  which  are 
greatly  protected  from  injury  by  the  dense  mat 
of  joint  grass  made  to  grow  upon  them.  Its 
extirpation  is  extremely  difficult  where  it  has 
once  got  possession.  Mr.  Nuttall  says  there 
is  only  one  species  (the  C.  dadylon)  common 
to  Europe,  North  America,  and  the  West  India 
Islands.    (NuttalPs  Genera.) 

BANNOCK.  The  Scotch  name  for  a  small 
loaf  or  cake. 

BARB.  A  general  name  for  horses  import 
ed  from  Barbary.  The  barb,  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  African  racers,  is  to  be  met 
with  throughout  Barbary,  Morocco,  Fez,  1  ri- 
poli,  and  Bornou.  It  seldom  exceeds  fourteen 
hands  and  a  half  in  height.  The  countenance 
M  l***^ 


BARBERRY. 


BARBERRY. 


cf  the  barb  is  usually  indicative  of  its  spirit, 
and  the  facial  line,  in  direct  contradiction  to 
that  of  the  Arabian,  is  often  slightly  rounded; 
the  eyes  are  prominent;  the  ears,  though  fre- 
quently small  and  pointed,  are  occasionally  ra- 
ther long  and  drooping :  the  neck  is  of  sufficient 
length  ;  the  crest  is  generally  fine  and  not  over- 
laden with  mane  ;  the  shoulders,  are  flat  and 
oblique ;  the  withers  prominent,  and  the  chest 
almost  invariably  deep ;  the  back  is  usually 
straight ;  the  carcass  moderately  rounded  only ; 
the  croup  long,  and  the  tail  placed  rather  high ; 
the  arms  and  thighs  being  commonly  muscu- 
lar and  strongly  marked ;  the  knee  and  hock 
are  broad  and  lOW  placed;  the  back  sinews 
singularly  distinct  and  well-marked  from  the 
knee  downwards ;  the  pasterns  rather  long, 
and  the  feet  firm,  and  but  moderately  open. 

The  barb  requires  more  excitement  to  call 
out  his  powers  than  the  Arabian;  but  when 
sufficiently  stimulated,  his  qualities  of  speed 
and  endurance  render  him  a  powerful  antago- 
nist, while  the  superior  strength  of  his  fore- 
hand enables  him  to  carry  the  greater  weight 
of  the  two.  The  Godolphin  barb,  which  was 
imported  from  France  into  England,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  last  century,  about  25  years 
after  the  Darley  Arabian,  was  one  of  those 
most  worthy  of  note.  The  former  appears  to 
have  rivalled  the  latter  in  the  importance  of 
his  get.  He  was  the  sire  of  Lath,  Cade,  Ba- 
braham,  Regulus,  Bajazet,  Tarquin,  Dormouse, 
Sultan,  Blank,  Dismal,  and  many  other  horses 
of  racing  note ;  and  without  doubt,  the  Eng- 
lish blood-breeds  were  more  indebted  to  the 
Darley  Arabian  and  the  Godolphin  barb  than 
to  all  the  other  eastern  horses  which  had  pre- 
viously entered  the  country.  Among  other 
barbs  of  some  notoriety  introduced  in  the  18th 
century,  we  may  mention  the  Thoulouse,  the 
Curwen  Bay,  Old  Greyhound,  St.  Victor's, 
Tarran's  Black,  Button's  Bay,  Cole's  Bay,  and 
Compton's  Barb.  (Blaine's  Encyc.  Rural  Sports, 
p.  243.) 

BARBERRY,  COMMON,  or  PIPPERIDGE 
BUSH  (Ber ben's  vulgaris).  In  England  an  in- 
digenous thorny  shrub,  bearing  bunches  of 
pale  yellow  drooping  flowers  in  May,  which 
are  succeeded  by  oblong  scarlet  berries,  ripen- 
ing in  September.  The  branches  are  flexible, 
covered  with  alternate  tufts  of  deciduous,  egg- 
shaped,  pinnated  leaves,  finely  fringed  on  the 
edge.  Sharp,  three-cleft  thorns  rise  at  the 
base  of  each  leaf-bud.  The  barberry  likes 
any  kind  of  soil,  and  makes  good  hedges.  It 
may  be  propagated  by  seed,  or  by  layers, 
which  should  remain  two  years  before  they 
are  removed.  The  gross  shoots,  if  the  shrub 
stands  singly,  should  be  pruned  away,  and  it 
will  fruit  better.  The  berries  are  gratefully 
acid,  and  the  juice,  when  diluted  with  water, 
may  be  used  as  lemonade  in  fevers.  The 
leaves,  eaten  in  salad,  are  like  sorrel.  The 
fruit,  made  into  conserve,  is  good.  It  is  also 
excellent  as  a  pickle  and  a  preserve. 

The  common  barberry  bush  is  a  native  of 
England;  and  notwithstanding  the  high  state 
of  cultivation  that  kingdom  has  now  arrived 
at,  it  is  still  to  be  found  growing  wild  in  manv 
parts  of  the  northern  counties.  Gerarde  says 
in  his  time  (1597),  most  of  the  hedges  near 
134 


Colnbrook  were  nothing  else  but  barberry 
bushes.  It  is  -now  very  properly  introduced 
into  our  gardens  and  shrubberies,  being  both 
ornamental  and  useful ;  but  it  should  not  be 
planted  near  the  house  or  principal  walks,  on 
account  of  its  oflensive  smell  when  in  blossom. 
The  flowers  are  small,  but  beautiful ;  and,  on 
their  first  appearance,  have  a  perfume  similar 
to  that  of  the  cowslip,  which  changes  to  a  pu- 
trid and  most  disagreeable  scent,  particularly 
towards  the  evening,  and  at  the  decay  of  the 
flowers.  Barberries  are  of  an  agreeable,  cool- 
ing, astringent  taste,  which  creates  appetite. 
The  fruit  and  leaves  give  an  agreeable  acid  to 
soup.  The  Egyptians  were  used  to  employ  a 
diluted  juice  of  the  berries  in  ardent  and  pesti 
lential  fevers  ;  but  it  is  merely  an  agreeable 
acidulous  diluent.  The  inner  bark,  with  alum, 
dyes  a  bright  yellow,  and  in  some  countries  is 
used  for  colouring  leather,  dyeing  silk  and  cot- 
ton, and  staining  wood  for  cabinet  and  other 
purposes.  Cows,  sheep,  and  goats  are  said  to 
feed  on  the  leaves :  but  horses  and  swine  re- 
fuse them.  A  very  singular  circumstance  has 
been  stated  respecting  the  barberry  shrub : 
that  grain  sown  near  it  becomes  mildewed, 
and  proves  abortive,  the  ears  being  in  general 
destitute  of  grain ;  and  that  this  influence  is 
sometimes  extended  to  a  distance  of  300  or 
400  yards  across  a  field.  This,  if  correct,  is 
a  just  cause  for  banishing  it  from  the  hedge- 
rows of  our  arable  fields,  for  which  otherwise 
its  thorny  branches  would  have  made  a  desir- 
able fence. 

I  will  cite  a  few  instances  which  have  been 
brought  forward  in  proof  of  the  injurious 
effects  of  this  plant  upon  standing  corn.  Mr. 
Macro,  a  very  respectable  farmer  at  Barrow, 
in  Suffolk,  planted  a  barberry  bush  in  his  gar- 
den, on  purpose  to  ascertain  the  disputed  fact. 
He  set  wheat  round  it  three  succeeding  years, 
and  it  was  all  so  completely  mildewed,  that 
the  best  of  the  little  grain  it  produced  was 
only  about  the  size  of  thin  rice,  and  that  with- 
out any  flour.  He  adds,  that  some  which  he 
set  on  the  opposite  side  of  his  garden  on  one 
of  the  years  before  mentioned,  produced  very 
good  grain,  although  the  straw  was  a  little 
mildewed.  From  this  observation,  Mr.  Phillips 
was  induced  to  try  the  experiment  by  sow 
ing  clumps  of  canary  seed  x.i  his  shrubbery. 
Those  which  were  planted  immediately  under 
the  barberry-bush  certainly  produced  no  seed  ; 
but  other  plants  of  this  grass  yi^^lded  seed,  al- 
though not  at  many  yards'  distance.  The  cele- 
brated Duhamel  and  M.  Boussonet,  who  have 
paid  such  particular  attention  to  agriculture, 
assure  us  that  there  is  no  just  reason  for  as- 
cribing this  baneful  effect  to  the  barberry- 
bush  ;  and  Mr.  G.  W.  Johnson  is  of  the  same 
opinion.  (See  Milbew.)  On  the  other  hand, 
we  have  it  affirmed  to  be  most  destructive  and 
injurious  to  all  kinds  of  crops  of  gram  and 
pulse,  as  proved  by  various  observations,  ex- 
periments, and  testimonies,  made  in  Branden- 
burgh,  Hanover,  Prussia,  and  Germany.  (See 
Com.  Board  of  Agr.,  vol.  vii.  pp.  18 — 126;  and 
the  writer  there  says,  towards  the  conclusion 
of  his  article,  "To  those  still  inclined  to  re- 
gard the  barberry  as  innocent,  notwithstanding 
all  the  above  proofs  to  the  contrary,  I  would 


BARILLA. 


BARK. 


only  make  the  request  that  they  no  longer  nrge 
their  opinion  on  abstract  and  general  grounds, 
nntil  they  have  collected  the  result  of  impar- 
tial observation  and  careful  experiment." 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Singer,  in  the  Trans.  High  Sac, 
vol.  vi.  p.  340,  in  considering  the  barberry  as 
the  cause  of  rust  or  mildew  on  corn  crops, 
says,  when  quoting  the  survey  of  Dumfries- 
shire, "  On  one  farm  alone,  that  of  Kirkbank, 
the  tenant  lost  about  100/.  in  his  oat-crops 
yearly ;  and  altogether  the  annual  damage  in 
the  county  was  considerably  above  1000/.  The 
views  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  and  of  some  intel- 
ligent practical  farmers,  relative  to  the  evil 
influence  of  the  Berheris  vtilgaris,  induced  the 
late  Admiral  Sir  William  Johnstone  Hope  to 
give  orders  for  the  total  extirpation  of  the 
barberry  bushes  which  grew  intermixed  with 
thorns  in  his  hedgerows;  and  since  that  was 
done,  and  for  above  twenty  years,  no  such  dis- 
temper has  appeared  in  these  fields.  The  same 
Ihing  has  been  done  in  some  parts  of  Ayrshire, 
and  the  like  result  has  followed.  These  facts," 
adds  Dr.  Singer,  "appear  to  indicate  some  con- 
nection between  the  occurrence  of  rust  or  mil- 
dew on  growing  com  and  the  neighbourhood 
of  barberry  bushes.**  Phillips  inquires  {Pom. 
Brit.),  whether  the  blighting  effects  of  this 
shrub  may  not  in  some  degree  be  accounted 
for  by  its  May-flowers  alluring  insects,  which 
breed  on  the  branches,  and  then  feed  their 
progeny  on  the  nutritious  juices  of  the  sur- 
rounding blades  of  young  cornl 
BARILLA.  Sec  Soda. 
BARING  Ronh  of  Trees.  A  practice  former- 
ly much  adopted,  but  which  later  experience 
has  shown  to  be  highly  injurious  and  hurtful 
to  their  growth. 

BARK  (Dan.  harek;  Dutch,  berck;  from  the 
Teutonic  hers^m,  to  cover).  The  rind  or  cover- 
ing of  the  woody  parts  of  a  tree.    The  bark  of 
trees  is  composed  of  three  distinct  layers,  of 
which  the  outermost  is  called  the  epidermis, 
the  next  the  parenchyma,  and  the  innermost,  or 
that  in  contact  with  the  wood,  the  cortical  layers. 
The  epidermis  is  a  thin,  transparent,  tough 
membrane ;  when  rubbed  off,  it  is  gradually 
reproduced,  and  in  some  trees  it  cracks  and 
decays,  and  a  fresh  epidermis  is  formed,  push- 
ing outwards  the  old:   hence  the  reason  why 
so  many  aged  trees   have  a  rough   surface. 
The  parenchyma  is  tender,  succulent,  and  of 
a  dark  green.  The  cortical  layer,  or  liber,  con- 
sists of  thin  membranes  encircling  each  other, 
and  these  seem  to  increase  with  the  age  of  the 
plant.    The  liber,  or  inner  bark,  is  known  by 
its  whiteness,  great  flexibility,  toughness,  and 
durability:  the  fibres  in  its  strucUire  are  lig- 
neous tubes.  It  is  the  part  of  the  stem  through 
which  the  juices  descend,  and  the  organ  jn 
which  the  generative  sap  from  whence  all  the 
other  parts   originate   is    received  from   the 
leaves.    The  bark  in  its  interstices  contains 
cells  which  are  filled  with  juices  of  very  varj'- 
ing  qualities ;  some,  like  that  of  the  oak,  re- 
markable for  their  astringency;    others,  like 
the  cinnamon,  abounding  with  an  essential  oil ; 
others,  as  the  Jesuits'  bark,  containing  an  al- 
kali ;  some  mucilaginous ;  many  resinous.  Se- 
veral of  these  barks  have  been  analysed  by 
tar'ous  chemists:    they  have  found  them  to 


consist  chiefly  of  carbon,  oxygen ,  and  hydro 
gen,  with  various  saline  and  earthy  substances, 
{Thorn.  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  231.) 

M.  Saussure  {Chem.  Rtc.  Feg.)  found  in  100 
parts  of  the  ashes  of  the  barks  of  various 
trees  the  following  substances : — 


Soluble  salts    - 
Earthy  phosphates 
Earlliy  carbonates 
Silica 
Metallic  oxides 


Oak. 

Hazel. 

Poplar.  1 

7. 

125 

6- 

3- 

55 

5-3 

66- 

54- 

60- 

1-5 

025 

4- 

'2- 

1-75 

1-5 

Mui-    I  H. 
berry.  |  bn 


8-5  I 
45-  I 
1512! 

112; 


15 

4-5 

59- 
1-5 
0  12 


From  this  analysis  the  farmer  will  see  that 
the  earthy  and  saline  ingredients  of  the  bark 
of  forest  trees  must  be  considerable  fertilizers  : 
it  is  only  to  the  slowness  with  which  refuse 
tanner's  bark  undergoes  putrefaction  that  its 
neglect  by  the  cultivator  must  be  attributed. 
It  might  certainly,  however,  be  mixed  with 
farm-yard  compost  with  very  considerable 
advantage,  as  has  been  often  done  with  saAV- 
dust  and  peat,  in  the  manner  so  well  described 
by  Mr.  Dixon  of  Hathershew  {Jonrn.  of  Roy, 
Eng.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  135),  see  Farsi-Yard 
Manure;  and  in  itshalf  putrefied  or  even  fresh 
state  it  produces  on  some  grass  lands  very  ex 
cellent  effects  as  a  top  dressing;  and  in  in 
stances  where  carriage  is  an  object,  even  its 
ashes  would  be  found,  from  the  quantity  of 
earthy  carbonates  and  phosphates  whtch  they 
contain,  a  very  useful  manure. 

The  different  uses  of  barks  in  tanning  and 
dyeing  are  numerous  and  important.  The 
strength  or  fineness  of  their  fibres  is  also  of 
consequence :  thus,  woody  fibres  are  often  so 
tough  as  to  form  cordage,  as  exemplified  in  the 
bark  of  the  lime,  the  willow,  and  the  cocoa- 
nut;  the  liber  of  some  trees,  as  for  example 
the  lime  and  the  paper  mulberry,  is  manufac- 
tured into  mats  ;  and  it  is  scarcely  requisite  to 
refer  to  hemp  and  flax  for  spinning  and  weav- 
ing. The  bark  of  the  papyrus,  or  flag  of  the 
Nile,  was  first  used  for  paper;  that  of  the 
mulberry  is  still  employed  in  the  cloth  of  Ota- 
heite ;  that  of  the  powdered  Swedish  pines,  as 
bread  for  the  poor  peasants  of  Scandinavia. 
In  England,  the  bark  of  the  oak  is  used  for 
affording  tannic  acid  in  the  manufacture  of 
leather;  but  other  barks,  such  as  that  of  the 
Spanish  chestnut  and  the  larch,  are  also  em- 
ployed. The  following  table  of  Davy  will 
show  the  relative  value  of  different  kinds  of 
bark  to  the  tanner:  it  gives  the  quantity  of 
tannic  acid  afforded  by  480  lbs.  of  different 
barks  in  that  great  chemist's  own  experiments 
{Led.  p.  83.) 

Average  from  the  entire  bark  of—  lbs- 
Middle-sized  oak,  cut  in  sprinsr  -        -        -        -  *^ 

. •  cut  in  autumn         -        -        '  i\ 

Spanish  chestnut         '    .\       '       '        '       "  33 

I        r       r  13 

-  11 

-  If. 

-  10 

-  9 
.     11 

.        .        -  15 

.        -  8 

-  14 
.        -        -  1« 

-  32 


Leicester  willow  (large  size) 

Elm     ------- 

Common  willow  (large)       -       -        - 

Ash 

Beech    «'------ 

Horse  cbestnut 

Sycamore    ------ 

Lombardy  poplar         -       -       -       - 

Birch -        ■ 

Hazel  -----"" 
Blackthorn  .-----' 
Coppice  oak         -----' 
Larch,  cut  in  autumn  -        -      /„.'   ,t' 
White  interior  cortical  layers  of  oak  baric 


35 


BARKING. 


BARKING. 


The  difference  of  seasons  makes  a  consider- 
able variation  in  the  produce  of  tannic  acid ; 
it  is  the  least  in  cold  springs.  The  tannic  acid 
most  abounds  when  the  buds  are  opening,  and 
least  in  ilie  winter;  4  or  5  lbs.  of  good  oak 
bark  of  average  quality  are  required  to  form 
1  lb.  of  leather.  The  consumption  of  oak  bark 
in  Great  Britain  is  about  40,000  tons,  more 
than  one  half  of  which  is  imported  from  the 
Netherlands. 

Cork  is  the  outer  bark  of  a  species  of  oak, 
which  grows  abundantly  in  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope. The  average  quantity  imported  annually 
is  about  44,.551  cwts. 

The  quantity  of  Quercitron  bark,  which  is 
the  production  of  black  oak  {Quercus  nigra), 
is  22,62.5  cwts. 

Tlie  quantity  of  Cinchona,  or  Perttvian  bark, 
is  on  an  average  about  300,000  lbs.,  but  the 
consumption  does  not  exceed  45,000  lbs. :  the 
remainder  is  re-exported. 

The  bark  of  trees  is  best  cleansed  from  the 
parasitical  mosses  with  which  it  is  wont  to  be 
infected,  by  being  washed  with  lime-water  or 
a  solution  of  common  salt  in  water  (4  oz.  to  a 
gallon),  applied  by  a  plasterer's  brush. 

BARK-BEETLES,  see  Pine-tkee  Beetle, 
or  Weevil. 

BARK-BOUND.  A  disease  common  to 
some  fruit  and  other  trees,  which  is  capable  of 
being  cured  by  making  a  slit  through  the  bark, 
from  the  top  of  the  tree  to  the  bottom,  in  Fe- 
bruary or  March ;  where  the  gaping  is  pretty 
considerable,  fill  it  up  with  cow-dung,  or  other 
similar  composition. 

BARKING  IRONS,  are  instruments  for  re- 
moving the  bark  of  oak  and  other  trees.  They 
consist  of  a  blade  o^-  Knife  for  cutting  the  bark, 
while  yet  on  the  trunk,  across  at  regular  dis- 
tances, and  of  chisels  or  spatulae,  of  different 
lengths  and  breadths  for  separating  the  bark 
from  the  wood. 

BARKING  OF  TREES,  the  operation  of 
stripping  off  the  bark  or  rind.  It  is  common 
to  perform  the  operation  of  oak-barking  in  the 
spring  months,  when  the  bark,  by  the  rising  of 
the  sap,  is  easily  separated  from  the  wood. 
This  renders  it  necessary  to  fell  the  trees  in 
these  months.  The  tool  commonly  made  use 
of  in  most  countries  is  made  of  bone  or  iron. 
If  of  the  former,  the  thigh  or  shinbone  of  an 
ass  is  preferred,  which  is  formed  into  a  two- 
handed  instrument  for  the  stem  and  larger 
boughs,  with  a  handle  of  wood  fixed  at  the  end. 
The  edge  being  once  given  by  the  grinding- 
stone,  or  a  rasp,  it  keeps  itself  sharp  by  wear. 

In  Europe,  two  descriptions  of  persons  are 
usually  employed  in  this  business,  the  hagmen 
or  cutters,  and  the  barkers.  The  latter  chiefly 
consists  of  women  and  children.  The  cutters 
should  be  provided  with  ripping-saws,  widely 
set,  with  sharp,  light  hatchets,  and  with  short- 
handled  pruning-hooks.  The  barkers  are  pro- 
vided with  light,  short-handled,  ashen  mallets, 
the  head  being  about  eight  inches  long,  three 
inches  diameter  in  the  face,  and  the  other  end 
blunt,  somewhat  wedge-shaped;  with  sharp 
asher  wedges,  somewhat  spatula-shaped,  and 
which  may  either  be  driven  by  the  mallet,  or, 
b<  ing  formed  with  a  kind  of  handle,  may  be 
pushed  with  the  hand;  and  with  a  smooth- 
13" 


'  skinned  whin,  or  other  land-stone.  The  cut- 
ters are  divided  into  two  parties  ;  hatchet-men, 
who  sever  the  stem,  and  hook-men,  who  prune 

:  it  of  small  twigs,  and  cut  it  into  convenient 
lengths.  Small  branches  and  twigs  are  held  by 
one  hand  on  the  stone ;  the  bark  is  then  strip- 
ped off,  and  laid  regularly  aside,  as  in  reaping 
of  corn,  till  a  bundle  of  convenient  size  be 
formed.  The  trunk  and  branches,  as  large  as 
the  leg,  &c.  are  laid  along  the  ground ;  the  bark 
is  started,  at  the  thick  end,  by  thrusting  or 
driving  in  the  wedge,  which,  being  run  along 
the  whole  length,  rips  it  open  in  an  instant; 
the  wedge  is  applied  on  both  sides  of  the  in- 
cision, in  the  manner  of  the  knife  in  skinning 
a  sheep.  A  skilful  barker  will  skin  a  tree  or 
branch  as  completely  as  a  butcher  a  beast. 
But  the  point  most  particularly  to  be  observed 
in  this  art  is,  to  take  off  the  bark  in  as  long 
shreds  or  strands  as  possible,  for  the  con- 
venience of  carriage  to,  and  drying  it  on,  the 
horses.  These  are  formed  of  long  branches  ; 
and  pieces  of  a  yard  in  length,  sharpened  at 
one  end,  and  having  a  knag  at  the  other  to  re- 
ceive and  support  the  end  of  the  former. 

The  horses  or  supports  may  stand  within 
four  or  five  feet  of  each  other,  and  are  always 
to  be  placed  on  a  dry,  elevated  spot,  that  the 
bark  may  have  free  air  in  drying.  At  the  end 
of  each  day's  work,  the  bark  is  carried  to,  and 
laid  across,  the  horses,  to  the  thickness  ot 
about  six  or  eight  inches.  The  large  pieces 
are  set  up  on  end,  leaning  against  the  horses, 
or  they  are  formed  into  small  pyramidal  stacks. 
Due  attention  must  be  paid  to  turning  the  bark 
once,  or  perhaps  twice  a  day,  according  to  the 
state  of  the  weather.  Good  hay  weather  is  good 
barking  weather.  Gentle  showers  are  bene- 
ficial ;  but  long  continued  rains  are  productive 
of  much  evil;  nor  is  the  bark  the  better  for 
being  dried  too  fast.  A  careful  hagman  will 
take  pains  to  lay  the  strong  pieces  of  the  trunk 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  shoot  off  the  wet,  in 
continued  rains,  from  the  smaller  bark  of  the 
extremities ;  at  the  same  time,  preserving  as 
much  as  possible  the  colour  of  the  inner  bark, 
and  consequently  the  value  of  the  whole,  by 
turning  the  natural  surface  outwards.  For  it 
is  chiefly  by  the  high  brown  colour  of  the  inner 
rind,  and  by  its  astringent  effect  upon  the  pa- 
late when  tasted,  that  the  tanner  or  merchant 
judges  of  its  value.  These  properties  are  lost, 
if  through  neglect,  or  by  the  vicissitudes  of  the 
weather,  the  inner  bark  be  blanched  or  ren- 
dered white. 

After  it  becomes  in  a  proper  state,  that  is 
completely  past  fermentation,  if  it  cannot  con 
veniently  be  carried  off  the  ground  and  housed, 
it  must  be  stacked.  An  experienced  husband- 
man who  can  stack  hay  can  also  stalk  bark. 
But  it  may  be  proper  to  warn  him  against 
building  his  stalk  too  large,  and  to  caution  him 
to  thatch  it  well. 

The  method  of  drying  bark  in  Yorkshire  is 
generally  the  common  one  of  setting  it  in  a 
leaning  posture  against  poles  lying  horizontally 
on   forked  stakes.     But  in  a  wet  season,  or 

'when  the  ground  is  naturally  moist,  it  is  laid 
across  a  line  of  top-wood,  formed  into  a  kind 

I  of  banklet,  raising  the  bark  about  a  foot  from 

[  the  ground.    By  this  practice  no  part  of  the 


BARK-LICE. 


BARK-LICE. 


bark  is  suffered  to  touch  the  ground :  and  it  is, 
perhaps,  upon  the  whole,  the  best  practice  in 
all  seasons  and  situations. 

BARK-LICE.  The  mischiefs  effected 
through  these  minute  insects,  to  fruit  and  other 
valuable  trees,  are  far  greater  than  is  generally 
supposed,  and  hence  every  farmer  and  gar- 
dener must  be  interested  in  becoming  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  nature  and  habits 
of  so  formidable  an  enemy.  For  the  following 
exceedingly  interesting  account  of  bark-lice 
commonly  met  with  in  the  eastern  states,  we 
are  indebted  to  our  eminent  countr)'man.  Dr. 
I'hadeus  William  Harris  of  Massachusetts, 
who  was  employed  by  that  extremely  liberal 
and  enlightened  state  to  write  an  account  of 
the  "  Insed.i  Injurious  to  Vegetal  inn, ^''  and  made 
his  report  to  the  legislature  in  1841.  His 
treatise  upon  the  subject  forms  a  large  octavo 
volume  of  460  pages. 

"  The  celebrated  scarlet  in  grain,  which  has 
been  employed  in  Asia  and  the  South  of  Eu- 
rope, from  the  earliest  ages,  as  a  colouring 
material,  was  known  to  the  Romans  by  the 
name  of  Coccus,  derived  from  a  similar  Greek 
word,  and  was,  for  a  long  time,  supposed  to  be 
a  vegetable  production,  or  grain,  as  indeed  its 
name  implies.  At  length  it  was  ascertained 
that  this  valuable  dye  was  an  insect,  and  others 
agreeing  with  it  in  habits,  and  some  also  in 
properties,  having  been  discovered,  Linnxus 
retained  them  all  under  the  same  name.  Hence 
in  the  genus  Coccus  are  included  not  only  the 
Thn/a  of  the  Phoenicians  and  Jews,  the  Kermes 
of  the  Arabians,  or  the  Coccus  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  but  the  scarlet  grain  of  Poland, 
and  the  still  more  valuable  Cochenille  of 
Mexico,  together  with  various  kinds  of  bark- 
lice,  agreeing  with  the  former  in  habits  and 
structure.  These  insects  vary  very  much  in 
form ;  some  of  them  are  oval  and  slightly  con- 
vex scales,  and  others  have  the  shape  of  a 
muscle  ;  some  are  quite  convex,  and  either 
formed  like  a  boat  turned  bottom  upwards,  or 
are  kidney-shaped,  or  globular.  They  live 
mostly  on  the  bark  of  the  stems  of  plants :  some, 
however,  are  habitually  found  upon  leaves, 
and  some  on  roots.  In  the  early  state,  the 
head  is  completely  withdrawn  beneath  the 
shell  of  the  body  and  concealed,  the  beak  or 
sucker  seems  to  issue  from  the  breast,  and  the 
legs  are  very  short  and  not  visible  from  above. 
The  females  undergo  only  a  partial  transforma- 
tion, or  rather  scarcely  any  other  change  than 
that  of  an  increase  in  size,  which,  in  some 
species  indeed,  is  enormous,  compared  with 
tlie  previous  condition  of  the  insect ;  but  the 
males  pass  through  a  complete  transformation 
before  arriving  at  the  perfect  or  winged  state. 
In  both  sexes  we  find  threadlike  or  tapering 
antenncp,  longer  than  the  head,  but  much 
shorter  than  those  of  plant-lice,  and  feet  con- 
sisting of  only  one  joint,  terminated  by  a  single 
claw.  The  mature  female  retains  the  beak  or 
sucker,  but  does  not  acquire  wings ;  the  male 
on  the  contrary  has  two  wings,  but  the  beak 
disappears.  In  both  there  are  two  slender 
threads  at  the  extremity  of  the  body,  very  short 
in  some  females,  usually  quite  long  in  the 
males,  which  moreover  are  provided  with  a 
18 


stylet  at  the  tip  of  the  abdomen,  which  is  re 
curved  beneath  the  body. 

"  The  following  account  drawn  up  by  me  in 
the  year  1828,  and  published  in  the  seventh 
volume  of  the  'New  England  Farmer,'  p.  186, 
187,  contains  a  summary  of  nearly  all  that  is 
known  respecting  the  history  and  habits  of 
these  insects.  Early  in  the  spring  the  bark- 
lice  are  found  apparently  torpid,  situated  lon- 
gitudinally in  regard  to  the  branch,  the  head 
upwards,  and  sticking  by  their  flattened  infe- 
rior surface  closely  to  the  bark.  On  attempt- 
ing to  remove  them  they  are  generally  crushed 
and  there  issues  from  the  body  a  dark  co 
loured  fluid.  By  pricking  them  with  a  pin, 
they  can  be  made  to  quit  their  hold,  as  I  have 
often  seen  in  the  common  species,  Coccus  hes- 
peridmn,  infesting  the  myrtle.  A  little  later  the 
body  is  more  swelled,  and,  on  carefully  raising 
it  with  a  knife,  numerous  oblong  eggs  will  be 
discovered  beneath  it,  and  the  insect  appears 
dried  up  and  dead,  and  only  its  outer  skin  re- 
mains, which  forms  a  convex  cover  to  its 
future  progeny.  Under  this  protecting  shield 
the  young  are  hatched,  and,  on  the  approach 
of  warm  weather,  make  their  escape  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  shield,  which  is  either  slightly 
elevated  or  notched  at  this  part.  They  then 
move  with  considerable  activity,  and  disperse 
themselves  over  the  young  shoots  or  leaves. 
The  shape  of  the  young  Coccus  is  much  like 
that  of  its  parent,  but  the  body  is  of  a  paler 
colour  and  more  thin  and  flattened.  Its  six 
short  legs,  and  its  slender  beak  are  visible 
under  a  magnifier.  Some  are  covered  with  a 
mealy  powder,  as  the  Coccus  cacti,  or  cochenille 
of  commerce,  and  the  Coccus  adonidum,  or 
mealy  bug  of  our  green-houses.  Others  are 
hairy  or  woolly;  but  most  of  them  are  naked 
and  dark-coloured.  These  young  lice  insert 
their  beaks  into  the  bark  or  leaves,  and  draw 
from  the  cellular  substance  the  sap  that  nou- 
rishes them.  Reaumur  observed  the  ground 
quite  moist  under  peach-trees  infested  with 
bark-lice,  which  was  caused  by  the  dripping 
of  the  sap  from  the  numerous  punctures  made 
by  these  insects.  While  they  continue  their 
exhausting  suction  of  sap,  they  increase  m 
size,  and  during  this  time  are  in  what  is  called 
the  larva  state.  When  this  is  completed,  the 
insects  will  be  found  to  be  of  diiferent  magni- 
tudes, some  much  larger  than  the  others,  and 
they  then  prepare  for  a  change  that  is  about  to 
ensue  in  their  mode  of  life,  by  emitting  from 
the  under-side  of  their  bodies  numerous  little 
white  downy  threads,  which  are  fastened,  in  a 
radiated  manner,  around  their  bodies  to  the 
bark,  and  serve  to  confine  them  securely  in 
their  places.  After  becoming  thus  fixed  they 
remain  apparently  inanimate ;  but  under  these 
lifeless  scales  the  transformation  of  the  insect 
is  conducted ;  with  this  remarkable  difl'erence, 
that,  in  a  few  days  the  large  ones  contrive  to 
break  up  and  throw  off,  in  four  or  five  flakes, 
their  outer  scaly  coats,  and  reappear  m  a  very 
similar  form  to  that  which  they  before  had; 
the  smaller  ones,  on  the  contrary,  contmue 
under  their  outer  skins,  which  serve  instead 
of  cocoons,  and  from  which  they  seem  to 
shrink  and  detach  themselves,  and  then  bo- 
m2  137 


BARK-LICE. 


BARK-LICE. 


come  perfect  pupce,  the  rudiments  of  wings, 
antennae,  feet,  cfec,  being  discoverable  on  rais- 
ing the  shells.  If  we  follow  the  progress  of 
these  small  lice,  which  are  to  produce  the 
males,  we  shall  see,  in  process  of  time,  a  pair 
of  threads  and  the  tips  of  the  wings  protruding 
beneath  the  shell  at  its  lower  elevated  part, 
and  through  this  little  fissure  the  perfect  in- 
sect at  length  backs  out.  After  the  larger  lice 
have  become  fixed  and  have  thrown  off  their 
outer  coats,  they  enter  upon  the  pupa  or 
chrysalis  state,  which  continues  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  according  to  the  species. 
But  when  they  have  become  mature,  they  do 
not  leave  the  skins  or  shells  covering  their 
bodies,  which  continue  flexible  for  a  time 
These  larger  insects  are  the  females,  and  are 
destined  to  remain  immovable,  and  never 
change  their  place  after  they  have  once  be- 
come stationary.  The  male  is  exceedingly 
small  in  comparison  to  the  female,  and  is  pro- 
vided with  only  two  wings,  which  are  usually 
very  large,  and  lie  flatly  on  the  top  of  the 
body.  After  the  insects  have  paired,  the  body 
of  the  female  increases  in  size,  or  becomes 
quite  convex,  for  a  time,  and  ever  afterwards 
remains  without  alteration;  but  serves  to 
shelter  the  eggs  which  are  to  give  birth  to  her 
future  off'spring.  These  eggs,  when  matured, 
pass  under  the  body  of  the  mother,  and  the 
latter  by  degrees  shrink  more  and  more  till 
nothing  is  left  but  the  dry  outer  convex  skin, 
and  the  insect  perishes  on  the  spot.  Some- 
times the  insect's  body  is  not  large  enough  to 
cover  all  her  eggs,  in  which  case  she  beds 
them  in  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  down 
that  issues  from  the  under  or  hinder  part  of 
her  body.  There  are  several  broods  of  some 
species  in  the  year ;  of  the  bark-louse  of  the 
apple-tree  at  least  two  are  produced  in  one 
season.  It  is  probable  that  the  insects  of  the 
second  or  last  brood  pair  in  the  autumn,  after 
which  the  males  die,  but  the  females  survive 
the  winter,  and  lay  their  eggs  in  the  following 
spring. 

"  Young  appie-trees,  and  the  extremities  of 
the  limbs  of  older  trees  are  very  much  subject 
to  the  attacks  of  a  small  species  of  bark-louse. 
The  limbs  and  smooth  parts  of  the  trunks  are 
sometimes  completely  covered  with  these  in- 
sects, and  present  a  very  sin^larly  wrinkled 
and  rough  appearance  from  the  bodies  which 
are  crowded  closely  together.  In  the  winter 
these  insects  are  torpid,  and  apparently  dead. 
They  measure  about  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in 
length,  are  of  an  oblong  oval  shape,  gradually 
decreasing  to  a  point  at  one  end,  and  are  of  a 
brownish  colour  very  near  to  that  of  the  bark 
of  the  tree.  These  insects  resemble  in  shape 
one  which  was  described  by  Reaumur  in  1738, 
who  found  it  on  the  elm  in  France,  and 
Geoffroy  named  the  insect  Coccus  arborum 
linearis,  while  Gmelin  called  it  conchiformis. 
This,  or  one  much  like  it,  is  very  abundant 
,  upon  apple-trees  in  England,  as  we  learn  from 
Dr.  Shaw  and  Mr.  Kirby;  and  Mr.  Rennie 
states  that  he  found  it  in  great  plenty  on  cur- 
rant-bushes. It  is  highly  probable  that  we  have 
received  this  insect  from  Europe,  but  it  is 
somewhat  doubtful  whether  our  apple-tree 
bark-louse  be  identical  with  the  species  found 
13» 


'  by  Reaumur  on  the  elm  ;  and  the  doubt  seems 
to  be  justified  by  the  difference  in  the  trees  and 
i  in  the  habits  of  the  insects,  our  species  being 
'  gregarious,  and  that  of  the  elm  nearly  solitary. 
j  It  is  true,  that  on  some  of  our  indigenous 
1  forest-trees  bark-lice  of  nearly  the  same  form 
i  and  appearance  have  been  observed ;  bilt  it  is 
by  no  means  clear  that  they  are  of  the  same 
species  as  those  on  the  apple-tree.  The  first 
account  that  we  have  of  the  occurrence  of 
bark-lice  on  apple-trees,  in  this  country,  is  a 
communication  Ijy  Mr.  Enoch  Perley,  of  Bridge- 
town, Mame,  written  in  1794,  and  published 
among  the  early  papers  of  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Society.  These  insects  have  now 
become  extremely  common,  and  infest  our  nur- 
series and  young  trees  to  a  very  great  extent.  In 
the  spring  the  eggs  are  readily  to  be  seen  on 
raising  the  little  muscle-shaped  scales  beneath 
which  they  are  concealed.  These  eggs  are  of  a 
white  colour,  and  in  shape  nearly  like  those 
of  snakes.  Every  shell  contains  from  thirty 
to  forty  of  them,  imbedded  in  a  small  quantity 
of  whitish  friable  down.  They  begin  to  hatch 
about  the  25th  of  May,  and  finish  about  the 
10th  of  June,  according  to  Mr.  Perley.  The 
young,  on  their  first  appearance,  are  nearly 
white,  very  minute,  and  nearly  oval  in  form. 
In  about  ten  days  they  become  stationary,  and 
early  in  June  throw  out  a  quantity  of  bluish 
white  down,  soon  after  which  their  transforma- 
tions are  completed,  and  the  females  become 
fertile,  and  deposit  their  eggs.  These,  it  seems, 
are  hatched  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  and 
the  )^oung  come  to  their  growth  and  provide 
for  a  new  brood  before  the  ensuing  winter. 

"  Among  the  natural  means  which  are  pro- 
vided to  check  the  increase  of  these  bark-lice, 
are  birds,  many  of  which,  especially  those  of 
the  genera  Paras  and  Regnlus,  containing  the 
chickadee  and  our  wrens,  devour  great  quan- 
tities of  these  lice.  I  have  also  found  that 
these  insects  are  preyed  upon  by  internal 
parasites,  minute  ichneumon  flies,  and  the 
holes  (which  are  as  small  as  if  made  with  a 
fine  needle),  through  which  these  little  insects 
come  forth,  may  be  seen  on  the  backs  of  a 
great  many  of  the  lice  which  have  been  de- 
stroyed by  their  intestine  foes.  The  best  ap- 
plication for  the  destruction  of  the  lice  is  a 
wash  made  of  two  parts  of  soft  soap  and  eight 
of  water,  with  which  is  to  be  mixed  lime 
enough  to  bring  it  to  the  consistence  of  thick 
white-wash.  This  is  to  be  put  upon  the  trunks 
and  limbs  of  the  trees  with  a  brush,  and  as 
high  as  practicable,  so  as  to  cover  the  Avhole 
surface,  and  fill  all  the  cracks  in  the  bark. 
The  proper  time  for  washing  over  the  trees  is 
in  the  early  part  of  June,  when  the  insects  are 
young  and  tender.  These  insects  may  also  be 
killed  by  using  in  the  same  way  a  solution 
of  two  pounds  of  potash  in  seven  quarts  of 
water,  or  a  pickle  consisting  of  a  quart  of  com- 
mon salt  in  two  gallons  of  water. 

"There  has  been  found  on  the  apple  and 
pear  tree  another  kind  of  bark-louse,  which 
differs  from  the  foregoing  in  many  important 
1  particulars,  and  approaches. nearest  to  a  spe- 
i  cies  inhabiting  the  aspen  in  Sweden,  of  which 
;  a  description  has  been  given  by  Dalman  in  the 
,  '  Transactions  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Sci- 


Plate  3. 


VAHIETIES  OF  BAR  Ll.Y.  OA'I  S.  lU'CKWH  K  VT  AN  D    Ml  LI. K  I 


J.  1  IU{  A  a  V 

UN  IV  KUSli  V   OF 
CALli'O   ;aL\ 


BARK-LICE. 


rrces  of  Stockholm.'  for  the  year  1825,  under 
the  name  of  Coccus  cri/ptogumus.  This  species 
is  of  the  kind  in  which  the  body  of  the  female 
is  not  large  enough  to  cover  her  eggs,  for  the 
protection  whereof  another  provision  is  made, 
consisting,  in  this  species,  of  a  kind  of  mem- 
branous shell,  of  the  colour  and  consistence 
almost  of  paper.  In  the  autumn  and  through- 
out the  winter,  these  insects  are  seen  in  a  dor- 
mant state,  and  of  two  different  forms  and 
sizes  on  the  bark  of  the  trees.  The  larger 
ones  measure  less  than  a  tenth  of  an  inch  in 
length,  and  have  the  form  of  a  common  oyster- 
shell,  being  broad  at  the  hinder  extremity,  but 
tapering  towards  the  other,  which  is  surmount- 
ed by  a  little  oval  brownish  scale.  The  small 
ones,  which  are  not  much  more  than  half  the 
length  of  the  others,  are  of  a  very  long  oval 
shape,  or  almost  four-sided  with  the  ends 
rounded ;  and  one  extremity  is  covered  by  a 
minute  oval  dark-coloured  scale.  These  little 
shell-like  bodies  are  clustered  together  in  great 
numbers,  are  of  a  white  colour  and  membran- 
ous texture,  and  serve  as  cocoons  to  shelter 
the  insects  while  they  are  undergoing  their 
transformations.  The  large  ones  are  the  pupa- 
cases  or  cocoons  of  the  female,  beneath  which 
the  eggs  are  laid ;  and  the  small  ones  are  the 
cases  of  the  males,  and  differ  from  those  of  the 
females  not  only  in  size  and  shape,  but  also  in 
being  of  a  purer  white  colour,  and  in  having 
an  elevated  ridge  passing  down  the  middle. 
The  minute  oval  dark-coloured  scales  on  one 
of  the  ends  of  these  white  cases  are  the  skins 
of  the  lice  while  they  were  in  the  young  or 
larva  state,  and  the  white  shells  are  probably 
formed  in  the  same  way  as  the  down  which 
exudes  from  the  bodies  of  other  bark-lice,  but 
which  in  these  assumes  a  regular  shape,  vary- 
ing according  to  the  sex,  and  becoming  mem- 
branous after  it  is  formed.  Not  having  seen 
these  insects  in  a  living  state,  I  have  not  baen 
able  to  trace  their  progress,  and  must  therefore 
refer  to  Dalman's  memoir  above  mentioned, 
for  such  particulars  as  tend  to  illustrate  the 
remaining  history  of  this  species.  The  body 
of  the  female  insect,  which  is  covered  and 
concealed  by  the  outer  case  above  described, 
is  minute,  of  an  oval  form,  wrinkled  at  the 
sides,  flattened  above,  and  of  a  reddish  colour. 
By  means  of  her  beak,  which  is  constantly 
thrust  into  the  bark,  she  imbibes  the  sap,  by 
which  she  is  nourished ;  she  undergoes  no 
change,  and  never  emerges  from  her  habita- 
tion. The  male  becomes  a  chrysalis  or  pupa, 
and  about  the  middle  of  July  completes  its 
transformations,  makes  its  escape  from  its 
case,  which  it  leaves  at  the  hinder  extremity, 
and  the  wings  with  which  it  is  provided  are 
reversed  over  its  head  during  the  operation, 
and  are  the  last  to  be  extricated.  The  perfect 
male  is  nearly  as  minute  as  a  point,  but  a 
powerful  magnifier  shows  its  body  to  be  divided 
into  segments,  and  endued  with  all  the  im- 
portant parts  and  functions  of  a  living  animal. 
To  the  unassisted  eye,  says  Dalman,  it  appears 
only  as  a  red  atom,  but  it  is  furnished  with  a 
pair  of  long  whitish  wings,  long  antennee  or 
horns,  six  legs  with  their  respective  joints,  and 
two  bristles  terminating  the  tail.  This  minute 
insect  perforates  the  middle  of  the  case  cover- 


BARLEY. 

ing  the  female,  and  thus  celebrates  its  nuptials 
with  its  invisible  partner.  The  latter  subse- 
quently deposits  her  eggs  and  dies.  In  due 
time  the  young  are  hatched  and  leave  the  case, 
under  which  they  were  fostered,  by  a  little 
crevice  at  its  hinder  part.  These  young  lice, 
which  I  have  seen,  are  very  small,  of  a  pale 
yellowish  brown  colour,  and  of  an  oval  shape, 
very  flat,  and  appearing  like  minute  scales. 
They  move  about  for  a  while,  at  length  become 
stationary,  increase  in  size,  and  in  due  time 
the  whitish  shells  are  produced,  and  the  in- 
cluded insects  pass  from  the  larva  to  the  pupa 
state.  The  means  for  destroying  these  insects 
are  the  same  as  those  recommended  for  the 
extermination  of  the  previous  species.  (See 
Aphis,  Tuiiips,  &c.) 

"Many  years  ago,  when  on  a  visit  from 
home,  I  observed  on  a  fine  native  grape-vine, 
that  was  trained  against  the  side  of  a  house, 
great  numbers  of  reddish  brown  bark-lice,  of  a 
globular  form,  and  about  half  as  large  as  a 
small  pea,  arranged  in  lines  on  the  stems.  An 
opportunity  for  further  examination  of  this 
species  did  not  occur  till  the  last  summer, 
when  I  was  led  to  the  discovery  of  a  few  of 
these  lice  on  my  Isabella  grape-vines,  by  see- 
ing the  ants  ascending  and  descending  the 
stems.  Upon  careful  search  I  discovered  the 
lice,  which  were  nearly  the  colour  of  the  bark 
of  the  vine,  partly  imbedded  in  a  little  crevice 
of  the  bark,  and  arranged  one  behind  another 
in  a  line.  They  drew  great  quantities  of  sap, 
as  was  apparent  by  their  exudations,  by  which 
the  ants  were  attracted.  Further  observations 
were  arrested  by  a  fire  which  consumed  the 
house  and  the  vines  that  were  trained  to  it." 
{Harris^ sTreatise  on  Insects.) 

BARLEY  (Lat.  hordeum).  A  species  of 
bread  corn,  which  in  Europe  ranks  next  to 
wheat  in  importance,  and  of  which  there  are 
several  varieties.  The  generic  name  seems 
either  hordeum,  from  horreo,  on  account  of  its 
long  awns,  or,  as  it  was  anciently  written, 
fordeum,  rather  from  <j>2^./?fiD,  to  feed  or  nourish, 
whence  pog^e»  and  forbea,  and,  changing  the  b 
into  d,  fordeum.  (  Vossius.)  The  name  is,  how- 
ever, derived  by  Junius  from  the  Hebrew  na. 
The  plant  belongs  to  the  natural  order  Grami- 
nex,  or  grasses.  It  readily  accommodates 
itself  to  any  climate,  bearing  the  heat  of  the 
torrid  zone,  and  the  cold  of  the  frigid,  and 
ripening  in  both  equally  well.  Of  the  genus 
Hordeum,  says  Professor  Low,  the  following 
species  may  be  enumerated  as  cultivated  for 
their  seeds : — 

\.  Two-rowed  barley  (^Hordeum  distichum), 
PI.  3,  a. 

2.  Two-rowed  naked  barley  {H.  GymnodiS' 
iichum). 

3.  Two-rowed  sprat,  or  battledore  barley 
(H.  dlsticho-zeocrifon).     PI.  3,  d. 

4.  Six-rowed  winter  barley  {H.  hexastichum). 
PI.  3,  b.      . 

5.  Six-rowed  naked  barley  {H.  Gymno-hexa- 
sfichum).  ,„ 

6.  Six-rowed  sprat,  or  battlebore  barley  {M 
I  hexasticho-zeocriton).  .     . 

I      The  two  leading  species  of  this  gram  m  cul- 

tivation  are  (No.  1.)  the  two-rowed,  or  common 

j  barley,  and  (No.  4.)  the  six-rowed  barley.  Thtf 


Barley. 


BARLEY. 


minor  varieties  of  two-rowed  barley  are  nume- 
rous, and  are  distinguished  chiefly  by  the 
quality  of  the  grain,  and  by  their  habit  of  early 
or  later  ripening ;  and  some  varieties  are  more 
productive  than  others :  effects  apparently  de- 
pendent upon  differences  of  climate  and  situ- 
ation. 

Barley  is  an  annual  plant,  but  like  wheat  it 
may  be  sown  in  autumn,  and  then  it  acquires 
the  habit  of  later  ripening,  and  is  termed  winter 
barley. 

Two-rowed  naked  barley  is  said  to  have 
been  introduced  into  England  in  the  year  1768. 
It  is  now  little  cultivated,  and  is  by  some  as- 
serted, though  without  any  evidence,  to  merge 
into  the  common  species. 

The  next  species,  two-rowed  sprat,  or  battle- 
dore barley,  is  scarcely  cultivated  in  England, 
the  shortness  of  the  straw  being  regarded  as 
an  objection ;  but  it  is  much  esteemed  in  Ger- 
many, where  it  is  termed  rice  barley,  owing  to 
its  smelling  like  rice  in  boiling,  when  it  is  de- 
corticated. 

The  fourth  enumerated  species  is  six-rowed 
barley.  When  sown  before  winter,  this  species 
acquires  the  habit  of  late-ripening,  and  is  then 
termed  winter  barley. 

One  of  the  kinds  of  six-rowed  barley,  and 
the  best  known  in  this  country,  is  here,  bear, 
or  bigg.  Bigg  ripens  its  seeds  in  a  shorter 
period  than  the  two-rowed  barleys.  It  is  culti- 
vated very  generally  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
in  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope, and  in  the  south  of  England  for  green 
iood  in  spring,  and  for  this  purpose  is  sown 
early  in  the  autumn.  The  number  of  its  grains 
is  greater  than  in  the  two-rowed  kinds,  but 
they  do  not  weigh  so  heavy  in  proportion  to 
their  bulk.  It  is  hence  regarded  as  an  inferior 
crop,  and  is  only  cultivated  in  the  more  elevated 
parts  of  the  country.  It  ripens  very  early  when 
sown  in  spring,  thence  the  advantages  which  it 
possesses  in  a  late  climate.  {^Luw's  Prac.  As^r. 
p.  240.) 

The  six-rowed  naked  barley  is  cultivated  in 
various  parts  of  Europe,  and  is  greatly  es- 
teemed for  its  fertility.  In  some  parts  of  Ger- 
many it  is  regarded  as  the  most  valuable  kind 
of  barley,  and  by  the  French,  on  account  of 
its  supposed  productiveness,  it  has  been  termed 
orge  celeste.  An  excellent  variety  of  this  naked 
barley  has  been  produced  by  Mr.  C.  Alderman, 
of  Kintbury,  in  Berkshire,  and  M.  Mazucco, 
in  a  French  paper,  earnestly  recommends  the 
more  general  cultivation  of  naked  barley,  as 
he  states  that  it  weigh''  a"  much  as  the  best 
wheats,  and  its  quality  resembles  them  so  much 
that  it  may  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  making 
good  bread,  and  also  for  pearl  barley.  In 
mountainous  countries,  its  produce  is  twenty- 
four  to  one.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  iii.  p. 
373.)  This  and  the  other  superior  kinds  of 
barley  deserve  more  attention  than  they  have 
yet  received.  Mr.  Warren  Hastings,  (in  an 
article  in  the  Com.  to  the  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  vi. 
p.  304),  after  twelve  years'  experience  in  the 
cultivation  of  naked  barley,  very  justly  ob- 
serves, "  thai;  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  promote  the  cultur**  of  this  sort  of  grain." 
"  It  is,"  he  adds,  "  the  corn  that,  next  to  rice, 
gives  the  greatest  weight  of  flour  per  acre,  and 
140 


it  may  be  eaten  with  no  other  preparation  than 
that  of  boiling.  It  requires  little  or  no  dress- 
ing when  it  is  sent  to  the  mill,  having  no  husk, 
and  consequently  produces  no  bran.  It  is 
gathered  into  the  barn,  and  may  even  be  con- 
sumed, when  the  seasons  are  favourable,  in 
about  eighty  or  ninety  days  after  being  sown; 
and  there  is  no  species  of  grain  belter  calcu- 
lated for  countries  where  the  summer  is  short, 
provided  the  vegetation  be  rapid." 

The  last  of  the  species  to  be  mentioned, 
says  Professor  Low,  is  six-roAved  sprat,  or 
battledore  barley.  This  has  been  sometimes 
termed  six-rowed  barley ;  whereas  the  charac- 
ter of  six-rowed  barley  does  not  belong  to  it 
alone.  An  examination  of  the  plant  will  show 
that  it  is  the  common  battledore  barley,  with 
all  the  florets  entire.  Much  confusion  has 
arisen  in  the  arrangement  by  agriculturists  of 
the  cultivated  barleys,  and  in  an  especial  de- 
gree, by  their  speaking  of  four-rowed  and  six- 
rowed  kinds.  There  is,  however,  no  barley  to 
which  the  term  four-rowed  can  be  applied. 
Barley  is  termed  two-rowed,  or  six-rowed,  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  its  fertile  florets.  In 
two-rowed  barley,  one  row  of  florets  on  each 
of  the  two  sides  of  the  spike  is  fertile,  and 
consequently  one  row  of  seeds  on  each  side  is 
perfected. 

In  six-rowed  barley,  three  rows  on  each  side 
are  perfected.  In  this  sense  only  it  is  termed 
six-rowed  barley.  But  there  is  no  species 
known  to  us  in  which  only  two  rows  on  each 
side  of  the  spike  are  fertile.  Slightly  examined, 
indeed,  six-rowed  barleys  frequently  present 
the  appearance  of  four  rows ;  but  this  is  in 
appearance  only,  for  such  barleys  have  always 
the  three  rows  on  each  side  perfect.  In  poor 
soils  and  unfavourable  situations,  two  of  the 
rows  run  much  into  each  other,  and  this  has 
perhaps  given  rise  to  the  mistake ;  but  the 
tw(.  rows  which  thus  run  into  each  other  in 
appearance  are  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  ra- 
chis.  I  have  ventured,  adds  Professor  Low 
(from  Avhose  work  the  above  preliminary  ob- 
servations are  taken),  to  propose  a  new  ar- 
rangement of  the  cultivated  barleys ;  under 
which  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Hordtum  vulgare 
of  some  botanists  is  Hordeum  hexnsftchum,  and 
that  of  the  Hordeum  hexastichum,  of  some  bota- 
nists is  Hordeum  hexasficko-zeocriton.  Particu- 
lar varieties  have  been  in  great  repute  at  differ- 
ent times,  when  first  introduced,  and  then  seem 
to  have,  on  many  soils,  lost  their  superiority. 
"  Of  this  kind  is  the  Moldavian  barley,  which 
Avas  much  sought  after  some  years  ago;  and 
lately,  the  Chevalier  barley,  so  called  from  the 
gentleman  who  first  brought  it  into  notice,  has 
risen  into  great  repute.  It  is  said,  that,  having 
observed  an  ear  of  barley  in  his  field,  greatly 
superior  to  the  rest,  he  carefully  sowed  the 
seed,  and  cultivated  it  in  his  garden,  till  he  had 
a  sufficient  quantity  to  sow  a  field.  It  has 
since  been  extremely  multiplied  and  diffused 
through  the  country.  Some  eminent  malisters 
and  brewers  have  declared,  that  it  forms  more 
saccharine  matter  than  any  other  sort;  and 
the  trials  hitherto  made  have  convinced  m.ost 
agriculturists  that  it  is  not  only  heavier  in  the 
grain,  but  more  productive.  In  1832  Lord 
Leicester,  who  was  always  foremost  in  all  agri- 


BARLEY. 


cultural  experiments  and  improvemvmts,  sowed 
a  considerable  portion  of  land  with  this  b  "rley, 
and  the  result  is  said  to  have  been  perffe".tly 
satisfactory.  In  1833  two  acres  of  Chevak°r 
barley  were  sown  in  the  same  field  with  somv" 
of  the  best  of  the  common  barley.  The  soil 
was  poor,  light  sand,  but  in  good  order  and 
very  clean.  The  produce  of  the  whole  was  nearly 
the  same,  4  quarters  per  acre  ;  but  the  Cheva- 
lier barley  weighed  57  lbs.  per  bushel,  while 
the  common  barley  weighed  only  52.  This 
gives  the  farmer  an  advantage  of  ten  per  cent. 
The  sample  was  very  fine,  and  the  whole  that 
the  cultivator  could  spare  was  eagerly  pur- 
chased by  his  neighbours  for  seed  at  his  own 
price.  It  is  long  in  the  ear,  and  very  plump, 
and  the  plant  tillers  so  much,  that  half  a  bushel 
of  seed  may  be  saved  per  acre.  This  is  proba- 
bly owing  to  its  grains  being  all  perfect,  and 
vegetating  rapidly.  The  straw,  like  that  of  the 
other  long-eared  barleys,  appears  weak  in  pro- 
portion to  the  ear ;  it  is  said  also  to  be  harder, 
and  not  so  palatable  to  cattle.  These  are  cir- 
cumstances which  experience  alone  can  as- 
certain. That  hitherto  it  has  a  decided  supe- 
riority over  the  common  sorts,  no  one  who  has 
tried  it  fairly  in  well-prepared  lands  seems  to 
deny."  (Penny  Ci/c.) 

A  new  and  seemingly  very  superior  variety 
has  lately  been  introduced,  called  the  Annat 
barley.  (See  Quart.  Jotirn.  of  Agr.  vol.  v.  p. 
618.)  It  is  the  produce  of  three  ears  which 
were  picked  by  Mr.  Gorrie  in  a  field  in  Perth- 
shire, in  the  harvest  of  1830,  since  which  pe- 
riod it  has  been  grown  at  Annat  Gardens, 
thence  its  name.  In  1834,  it  was  sown  on  a 
ridge  in  the  middle  of  a  field,  with  common 
barley  on  the  one  side  and  Chevalier  barley  on 
the  other.  In  balk  of  straw  it  seemed  to  have 
the  advantage  of  both  these  kinds  ;  it  was  five 
days  earlier  ripe  than  the  former,  and  about  a 
fortnight  before  the  latter,  and  it  was  also  2^ 
lbs.  per  bushel  heavier  than  the  Chevalier.  At 
a  meeting  of  the  Stoke  Ferry  Farmers'  Club, 
in  February  of  the  present  year  (1841),  it  was 
stated  by  one  of  the  members,  that  the  Cheva- 
lier was  decidedly  the  best  stock  for  good  bar- 
ley land;  but  for  very  poor  soils  he  preferred 
the  Moldavian  ;  though,  probably  even  this  was 
surpassed  by  the  stock  usually  known  as  the 
old  field  barley.  The  Annat  barley  was  allud- 
ed to  by  one  gentleman  who  had  tried  it  last 
season ;  but  not  having  thrashed  it,  he  could 
only  say  that  from  its  appearance  it  augured 
well.  He  always  adopted  the  drill  system, 
using  wide,  winged  coulters,  so  as  to  disperse 
the  grain  in  the  rows  as  much  as  possible,  giv- 
ing the  field  the  appearance  of  having  been 
ploughed  in.  Very  little  difference  of  opinion 
existed  as  to  the  superiority  of  the  Chevalier 
over  any  other  variety,  on  the  average  of  soils. 
One  member  had  grown  15  coombs  an  acre  on 
it;  but  he  acknowledged  it  was  on  very  excel- 
lent land.  A  curious  fact  was  elicited  in  con- 
nection with  this  stock  of  barley ;  which  was, 
that  however  much  the  crop  might  be  laid  and 
beaten  down,  either  by  storms  or  its  own  weight, 
the  grain  did  not  receive  that  injury  to  which 
any  other  sort  under  similar  circumstances 
would  be  liable.  {Brit.  Farm. Mag.vol.  v. p.  190.) 


BARLEY. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  general  supe- 
riority of  the  Chevalier  as  a  malting  barley. 
Its  introduction  has  occasioned  a  complete  re- 
volution in  certain  districts,  v/here  formerly  no 
such  thing  as  malting  barley  was  thought  of. 
It  is  one  of  the  greatest  improvements  of  mo- 
dern times,  and  now  commands  a  higher  price 
in  the  market  than  other  barleys  by  two  or 
three  shillings  a  quarter. 

Barley  is  evidently  a  native  of  a  warmer  cli- 
mate than  Britain ;  for  in  this  moist  atmosphere 
it  is  observed  to  degenerate,  when  either  ne- 
glected or  on  a  poor  soil.  We  have  the  best 
authority  for  its  having  been  cultivated  in 
Syria  so  long  back  as  3153  years;  therefore 
that  part  of  the  world  may  be  fairly  fixetl  as 
its  native  soil.  We  find  that  the  Romans  ob- 
tained barley  from  Egypt,  and  other  parts  of 
Africa,  and  Spain.  It  was  also  grown  in 
France,  as  Columella  calls  one  variety  of  bar- 
ley Galaticum. 

Barley,  like  all  grains,  is  liable  to  diseases, 
namely  smut,  the  burnt  ear,  blight,  and  mil- 
dew :  for  an  account  of  which  I  must  refer  the 
reader  to  these  words.  It  is  also  apt  to  germi- 
nate in  the  ear  even  before  it  is  reaped,  in  wet 
weather,  giving  the  ear  a  singular  appearance, 
and  rendering  the  grain,  even  when  kiln-dried, 
unfit  for  malting,  and  only  of  use  to  feed  fowls 
or  pigs.  The  diseases  of  barley  are  not  so  n'> 
mcrous  or  fatal  as  those  of  wheat.  It  is  at- 
tacked by  the  larvce  of  certain  flies.  The  smut, 
which  attacks  it  in  a  partial  degree,  is  gene- 
rally the  fungus  uredo  segetum. 

Barley  is  now  extensively  cultivated  in  most 
European  countries,  in  America,  and  in  the 
temperate  districts  of  Asia  and  Africa.  It  may 
also  be  raised  between  the  tropics,  but  not  at 
a  lower  elevation  than  from  3000  to  4000  feet, 
and  then  it  is  not  worth  cultivating.  In  Spain 
and  Sicily  it  produces  two  crops  in  the  year. 
Large  quantities  of  barley  have  been  for  a 
lengthened  period  raised  in  Great  Britain.  Re- 
cently, however,  its  cultivation  has  been  sup- 
posed, though  probably  on  no  good  grounds,  to 
be  declining.  In  1765,  Mr.  Charles  Smith  esti- 
mated the  number  of  barley  consumers  in 
England  and  Wales  at  739,000 ;  and  as  a  large 
proportion  of  the  population  of  Wales,  West- 
moreland, and  Cumberland  continue  to  subsist 
chiefly  on  barley  bread,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  this  estimate  may  not,  at  present,  be  very 
wide  of  the  mark.  "  Barley"  (husked),  says 
Pliny,  "was  the  most  ancient  food  in  old  times, 
as  will  appear  by  the  ordinary  custom  of  the 
Athenians,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Me- 
nander,  as  also  by  the  surname  given  to  the 
sword  fencers,  who,  from  their  allowatice  or 
pension  of  barley,  were  called  Hurdearii,  bav- 
ley  men."  (Book  xviii.  chap.  7).  It  was  not 
until  after  the  Romans  had  learned  to  cultivate 
wheat,  and  to  make  bread,  that  they  gave  bar- 
ley to  their  cattle.  They  made  barley-meal 
into  balls,  which  they  put  down  the  throats  of 
their  horses  and  asses,  after  the  manner  of  fat 
tening  fowls,  which  was  said  to  make  them 
strong  and  lusty. 

There  are  no  means  of  ascertammg  whether 
barley  was  cultivated  in  Britain  .vhen  the  Ro- 
mans discovered  that  country;  but  as  Ca-stT 

141 


BARLEY. 


BARLEY. 


found  corn  g  •owing  on  the  coast  of  Kent,  it  is 
probable  tha.  this  species  of  grain  had  been 
obtained  from  Gaul. 

In  the  rotation  of  crops,  barley  may  succeed 
to  summer  fallow,  to  potatoes,  turnips,  or  any 
other  green  crop,  and  to  any  of  the  pulse  crops. 
It  novvr  generally  follows  turnips  iu  England, 
and  is  a  very  important  crop  in  the  rotation, 
best  adapted  to  light  soils.  The  principal  bar- 
ley counties  of  England  are  Norfolk,  Suffolk, 
Cambridge,  Bedford,  Herts,  Leicester,  Notting- 
ham, the  upper  parts  of  Hereford,  Warwick, 
and  Salop.  The  produce  varies  according  to 
soil,  preparation,  season,  &c.,  from  about  25 
to  60  or  70  bushels  an  acre.  The  usual  crop 
is  from  28  to  36  or  38  bushels.  The  Winches- 
ter bushel  of. good  English  barley  generally 
weighs  about  50  lbs.;  but  the  best  Norfolk  bar- 
ley sometimes  weighs  53  or  54  lbs.  Its  pro- 
duce in  flour  is  about  12  lbs.  to  14  lbs.  of  the 
grain. 

Barley  is  said  to  contain  65  per  cent,  of  nu- 
tritive matter;  wheat  contains  78  per  cent.  A 
bushel  of  barley  weighing  50  lbs.  will  there- 
fore contain  about  32  lbs.  of  nutriment;  while 
a  bushel  of  wheat  weighing  60  lbs.  contains 
47  lbs.  Good  oats  weighing  40  lbs.  contain 
about  24  lbs.  of  nutritive  matter;  s.o  that  the 
comparative  value  of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats, 
in  feeding  cattle,  may  be  represented  by  47, 
32,  and  24,  the  measure  being  the  same.  The 
experiments  on  which  this  calculation  is 
founded  were  carefully  made  by  Einhof,  and 
confirmed  on  a  large  scale  by  Thiier,  at  his 
establishment  at  Mogelin,  the  account  of  the 
results  being  accurately  kept. 

Barley  is  a  tender  plant,  and  easily  hurt  in 
any  stage  of  its  growth.  It  is  more  hazardous 
than  wheat,  and  is,  generally  speaking,  raised 
at  a  greater  expense,  so  that  its  cultivation 
should  not  be  attempted  except  where  the  soil 
and  climate  are  favourable  for  its  growth. 
There  is  no  grain  perhaps  m  re  affected  (says 
Baxter,  in  his  Lib.  of  Agr.  Knowledge,  p.  36,) 
by  soil  and  cultivation  than  barley,  the  same 
species  exhibiting  opposite  qualities,  modified 
by  the  nature  of  the  soil  from  which  it  is  pro- 
duced ;  these  opposite  productions  of  the  same 
individual  will,  if  sown  at  the  same  period,  on 
the  same  land,  and  under  the  same  course  of 
cultivation,  exhibit  corresponding  differences, 
which  pre  manifested  during  the  growth  of  the 
crop,  and  subsequently  in  the  quality  of  the 
sample  when  in  hand.  Thus  the  finest  sam- 
ples, the  growth  of  suitable  and  well-cultivated 
lands,  would,  if  sown  on  a  poor  and  sterile 
soil,  become  alike  coarse  in  appearance,  and 
indifferent  in  quality.  This  fact,  however  im- 
portant, has  hitherto  but  little  engaged  the  at- 
tention of  the  farmer;  and  the  spring  or  early 
barley  is  therefore  indiscriminately  sown,  as 
being  found  more  productive  for  the  purpose 
of  malting  than  any  of  the  afore-mentioned 
varieties.  The  sprat,  or  battledore  barley, 
makes  good  malt;  and  being  short  and  erect 
in  the  ear,  and  tapering  in  the  stem,  is,  on 
strong  lands,  less  liable  to  injury  from  falling, 
and  is  consequently 'preferred  by  a  few  indi- 
V  iduals.  The  common,  or  long-eared  barley, 
being  long  in  the  ear  and  weak  in  the  straw, 
IS  very  Halle  to  lodge  early,  whereby  the  grain 
142 


I  is  rendered  inferior  in  quality,  and  is,  there- 
j  fore,  not  extensively  cultivated.    Naked  bur- 
ley,  or  wheat  barley,  is  so  termed  in  conse- 
j  quence  cf  the  grain  separating  readily  from 
;  the  chaff  Avhen  thrashed.    It  is  a  native  of  the 
j  north,  and  will  bear  sowing  early  iu  the  sea- 
!son;   it  is  not,  however,  in  much  estimation 
in  the  south  of  England,  and  is  seldom  culti- 
vated, although  it  makes  strong  malt,  and  is 
excellent  for  fattening  of  hogs  and  cattle.  Win- 
ter barley,  or  square-eared  barley,  is  grown  to 
a  considerable  extent  in  the  north-western  part 
of  England,  and  in  Scotland.     It   is  usually 
sown  for  the  feeding  of  sheep  in  the  south  of 
England,  and  mixed  with  tares  for  the  soiling 
of  cattle.  •  As  food  for  sheep,  it  is  far  more 
productive  than  rye,  as  it  admits  of  being  fed 
down  every  two  or  three  days  during  summer; 
and  if  intended  for  seed,  it  may  previously  be 
fed  off  by  sheep  early  xT  tiie  season,  without 
injury  to  the  crop. 

The  land  that  produces  he  best  barley  is 
generally  of  a  silicious,  light,  dry  nature ;  for 
a  good  melloAv  preparation  and  free  soil  are 
essential  to  the  growth  of  malting  barleys. 
Cold,  wet  soils,  which  are  peculiarly  retentive 
of  water,  are  ill  adapted  to  the  growth  of  this 
grain,  both  in  reference  to  its  weight  and  its 
malting  qualities.  The  whole  matter  of  bar- 
ley and  its  straw  contains  more  silicious  par- 
ticles than  that  of  any  other  grain  cultivated 
by  the  British  farmer;  and  hence  one  reason 
why  a  sandy  soil  is  most  congenial  to  the 
growth  of  this  plant.  Barley  is  propagttted  by 
seed,  sown  either  broadcast  or  in  drills,  the 
quantity  varying  according  to  the  quality  of 
the  soil,  cultivation,  and  time  of  sowing ;  less 
being  required  on  rich  mellow  lands  than  on 
poor  soils ;  early  sowing,  with  good  tillage,  re- 
quiring less  seed  than  the  late  sowing  with  in- 
different tillage.  The  quantity  of  seed  gene- 
rally varies  from  2|  to  4  bushels  the  acre  (or 
sometimes  more),  when  sown  broadcast;  but 
when  drilled,  the  quantity  of  seed  need  not  ex- 
ceed two  bushels  to  the  acre. 

Barley  is  an  early  ripening  grain.  It  may 
be  sown  at  a  late  period,  but  the  sooner  the 
better.  The  more  early  that  barley  can  be 
sown,  the  produce  in  grain  is  the  surer,  though 
the  bulk  of  the  straw  will  be  less.  The  com- 
mon sprat  barleys  may  be  sown  from  the 
second  week  in  March,  if  the  weather  prove 
dry,  until  the  10th  of  May.  The  bigg,  a  variety 
of  the  winter  barley,  will  stand  against  the 
wind,  and  may  be  sown  either  in  the  autumn 
or  the  beginning  of  March.  The  bear,  or 
square  barley,  should  be  sown  as  early  in  the 
autumn  as  the  clearing  of  the  harvest  will 
admit,  and  may  be  sown  after  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  or  any  pulse  crop,  being  a  plant  of  sturdy 
growth.  In  the  choice  of  seed,  great  care 
should  be  taken  that  it  is  not  of  a  reddish  hue, 
\  as  in  that  case  it  is  more  than  probable  that  a 
>  great  part  of  it  will  never  vegetate ;  the  sample 
should  be  of  a  pale,  lively  colour,  and  uniform. 
Some  farmers,  not  aware  of  its  importance,  are 
in  the  habit  of  sowing  thin  corn ;  but  unless 
the  land  is  quite  adapted,  from  its  nature  and 
cultivation,  for  the  fullest  encouragement  of 
the  plant,  it  will  in  the  end  be  found  a  "penny- 
j  wise  and  pound-foolish"  speculation.    In  aJI 


BARLEY. 


BARLEY. 


cases  it  will  be  well  for  the  farmer  to  select 
the  finest  samples  and  the  plumpest  grain ;  for 
in  unfavourable  seasons  the  crop  from  thin 
grain  is  always  delicate,  and  assumes  an  un- 
kindly hue,  whilst,  on  the  contrary,  plump  seed 
throws  up  strong,  healthy  stems,  capable  of 
resisting  the  effects  of  inclement  seasons,  and, 
in  more  congenial  weather,  pushing  forth  with 
renewed  vigour  and  redoubled  strength.  In 
England,  barley,  for  the  most  part,  succeeds 
best  after  turnips,  tares,  potatoes,  carrots,  man- 
gel wurzel,  or  other  green  ameliorating  crops ; 
but  does  not  succeed  so  well  after  wheat  or 
other  white  straw  crops,  nor  after  rape  so  well 
as  other  green  crops,  except  on  ihe  South 
Downs  of  Sussex,  and  certain  lan^s  adjoining 
the  sea-coast,  where  both  the  quantity  of  grain 
is  greater,  and  the  quality  better,  after  wheat 
(particularly  wheal  sown  upon  a  clover  ley), 
and  also  after  rape,  than  from  any  other  course 
of  tillage.  The  lands  require  more  or  less 
ploughing,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil, 
and  the  state  in  which  it  is  found  after  the  sea- 
son for  the  working  of  it  commences.  On  re- 
tentive soils,  as  compact  gravelly  clay,  if  the 
turnips  have  been  fed  off  during  wet  weather, 
the  earth  breaks  up  in  large  clods,  and  requires 
to  be  reduced  by  the  roller,  and  at  least  a  se- 
cond ploughing  should  be  given  before  the 
barley  cim  be  safely  sown.  On  light  soils  of 
the  best  quality  one  ploughing  may  be  suffi- 
cient ;  but  if  the  land  is  twice  ploughed  in  the 
spring,  as  soon  as  it  is  sufficiently  dry  for  that 
purpose,  it  will  be  found  amply  to  repay  both 
the  labour  and  expense.  After  the  grass-seeds 
are  sown,  the  barley-land  admits  of  no  further 
tillage.  Should  any  larger  weeds  appear,  they 
may  be  pulled  up  by  the  hand ;  but  it  is  the 
evidence  of  bad  husbandry  if  a  spring-sown 
barley  crop  requires  weeding  during  the  com- 
paratively short  period  in  which  it  is  on  the 
ground.  If  weeding  be  necessary,  it  should  be 
attended  to  early,  or  the  crop  will  be  injured 
by  treading,  and  the  roller  should  be  used  be- 
fore the  blade  becomes  spindled. 

In  the  harvesting  of  barley  more  care  is  re- 
quisite than  in  taking  any  other  of  the  white 
crops,  even  in  the  best  of  seasons  ;  and  in  bad 
years  it  is  often  found  very  difficult  to  save  it. 
When  the  period  of  harvest  arrives,  barley 
must  be  allowed  to  be  sufficiently  ripe,  but  not 
become  what  is  termed  "  dead  ripe."  It  may 
be  cut  either  by  the  scythe  or  the  sickle.  Bar- 
ley, says  Professor  Low,  on  account  of  the 
soflncis  of  its  stem,  and  the  tendency  of  its 
ears  to  vegetate,  is  more  apt  to  be  injured,  and 
even  destroyed,  by  wet  weather  than  any  of 
the  other  cereal  grasses.  For  this  reason  the 
safer  course,  in  a  humid  climate  like  ours,  is 
to  place  it  when  cut  down  in  sheaves  and 
shocks,  and  not  to  allow  it,  as  is  frequently 
practised,  to  lie  loose  upon  the  ground.  By 
some  farmers,  however,  it  is  suffered  to  lie  in 
the  fields  until  the  straw  is  quite  dry,  being 
turned  over  early  in  the  morning  while  the 
dew  is  still  upon  it.  This  practice,  they  say, 
is  found  to  improve  the  colour  of  the  skin,  and 
thereby  render  the  grain  of  more  value  to  the 
maltster.  It  should  never  be  carried  unless 
perfectly  dry,  otherwise  it  is  in  danger  of  being 
heated  in  the  mow,  which  reduces  the  value 


very  materially,  for  the  undue  action  of  the 
heat  destroys  the  spear,  or  germination  of  the 
grain ;  the  mailing  process  is  consequently 
very  unequally  performed,  and  as  the  duty  has 
to  be  paid  upon  the  whole  bin,  maltsters  will 
scarcely  purchase  such  samples,  unless  for 
the  purpose  of  grinding,  and  then  always  at 
an  inferior  price.  It  will  be  prudent,  there- 
fore, not  to  carry  barley  until  the  heat  of  the 
sun  has  evaporated  the  dew  from  it,  when  it 
should  be  carried  in  a  perfectly  dry  state  the 
remainder  of  the  day,  until  the  dew  is  again 
deposited  in  the  evening.  It  is  a  very  common 
practice  to  sow  clover  and  other  grass  seeds 
with  this  crop ;  but  great  care  must  be  taken 
that  they  are  thoroughly  harvested,  for  other- 
wise considerable  fermentation  will  be  created, 
and  the  sample  injured.  It  not  unfrequently 
occurs,  that  when  it  is  supposed  to  be  wei? 
harvested,  heat  is  soon  found  to  subsist  iu  the 
mows,  which  should  be  daily  examined,  by 
placing  a  long  iron  spit,  that  should  be  kept  for 
that  purpose,  deep  into  the  mow ;  when,  if  the 
heat  is  found  to  increase,  no  delay  should  take 
place,  but  the  middle  should  be  instantly  cut 
asunder,  and  taken  out  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  mow,  when  it  will  generally  escape 
without  further  injury.  This  operation,  how- 
ever, must  not  be  deferred,  as  the  injury  sus- 
tained rapidly  increases.  By  heating  in  the 
stalk,  it  quickly  becomes  discoloured  and  in- 
jured. When  barley  is  grown  in  large  quan- 
tities, it  is  usual  to  tread  the  mows  with  horses 
or  oxen,  to  get  as  much  as  possible  into  the 
bams,  in  which  case  more  guarded  caution  is 
necessary  than  when  thrown  losely  over  the 
floor. 

This  grain  should  never  be  thrashed  by  a 
machine,  as  the  injury  done  thereby  is  fre- 
quently of  a  very  serious  nature ;  it  bruises 
the  malting  spear,  which  is  as  injurious  to  the 
maltsters  as  if  heated  in  the  mow,  and,  there- 
fore, should  be  guarded  against.  Care  must 
also  be  taken  not  to  have  too  large  heaps  lying 
together  without  frequent  examination,  as,  un- 
til it  has  undergone  a  proper  fermentation  in 
the  mow,  it  will  be  very  apt  to  heat  in  the 
heap  ;  in  order  to  prevent  which  it  requires  to 
be  moved  daily,  or  every  other  day,  till  cleaned 
up  from  the  chaff,  which,  from  the  fineness  of 
its  texture,  scarcely  admits  the  introduction  of 
air,  and  consequently  promotes  fermentation. 

The  principal  demand  for  barley  in  Great 
Britain  is  for  conversion  into  malt,  to  be  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  ale,  porter,  and  British 
spirits;  and  though  its  consumption  in  this 
way  has  not  certainly  increased  proportionally 
to  the  increase  of  wealth  and  population,  still 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  grounds  for  sup- 
posing that  it  has  diminished. 

But  it  is  not  only  the  most  useful  for  making 
into  malt,  it  is  the  best  food  for  promoting  the 
fattening  of  hogs,  after  they  have  been  fed  to  a 
certain  extent  with  beans,  peas,  &c.,  from 
which  it  has  been  found  that  the  meat  is  not 
only  more  tender,  but  increases  in  boiling 
whilst  the  meat  of  those  fed  on  beans  and 
peas  alone  has  not  only  been  hard,  but  has  not 
yielded  any  increase.  Barley  is  employed  for 
various  other  purposes.  It  is  excellent  for 
fattening  poultry.    The  flour  is  snll  used  m 

43 


BARLEY. 

some  parts  for  bread;  but  the  bread,  though 
sufficiently  nutritious,  is  dark  and  strong- 
tasted.  Barley,  in  its  green  state,  especially 
the  Siberian  winter-barley,  makes  excellent 
spring  food  for  milch  cows,  as  is  well  known 
to  the  cow-keepers  about  London ;  it  comes  in 
early,  and  greatly  increases  the  milk.  For 
sheep  it  is  more  nourishing  than  rye,  and  is 
earlier.  When  fed  off  quite  close  in  April,  it 
will  spring  up  again,  and  on  good  land  pro- 
duce a  fair  crop  of  grain  in  August ;  but,  in 
general,  it  is  ploughed  up  as  soon  as  it  is  fed 
off,  and  succeeded  by  spring  tares  or  turnips. 
It  is  also  good  food  for  horses,  when  given  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  in  small  proportion  with 
oats,  sparingly  at  first,  and  after  being  soaked 
in  water,  and  allowed  to  vegetate.  It  is  in  ge- 
neral use  in  the  south  of  Europe  {Com.  Board 
of  Agr.  vol.  vi.  p.  298).  Mixed  with  other 
grain,  in  its  ground  state,  it  has  been  found  an 
excellent  food  for  fattening  bullocks.  The 
straw  is  employed  partially  for  fodder,  but 
chiefly  for  litter.  It  is  lighter  than  the  straws  of 
oats  and  wheat,  and  less  esteemed  than  either. 
The  awns  are  given  to  stock,  either  in  their 
natural  state  or  boiled.  Malt  is  the  great  pur- 
pose, hoAvever,  to  which  barley  is  applied  in 
this  country.  To  understand  the  process  of 
malting,  it  may  be  necessary  to  observe,  that, 
in  the  germination  of  grasses  and  grains  be- 
fore the  young  plant  is  produced,  the  fecula 
of  the  seed  is  changed  by  the  heat  and  moist- 
ure of  the  earth  into  sugar  and  mucilage. 
Malting  grain  is  only  an  artificial  mode  of 
effecting  this  object.  The  grain  is  steeped  in 
cold  water  during  a  certain  period ;  the  water 
is  then  allowed  to  drain  off,  the  grain  is  spread 
out  into  a  deep  heap :  it  gradually  heats,  the 
rootlets  begin  to  shoot  out,  afterwards  the  plu- 
mula  begins  to  grow ;  and  when  this  has  grown 
to  a  certain  extent  within  the  grain,  the  further 
germination  is  checked  by  exposing  the  grain 
on  a  kiln,  heated  by  fire  to  such  a  degree  as 
extinguishes  the  vitality  of  the  seed.  At  this 
period  it  is  found  that  the  starch  is,  in  a  great 
measure,  converted  into  saccharine  matter, 
and  by  subsequent  fermentation,  or  distillation, 
either  beer  or  spirits  is  obtained.  (See  Fer- 
MKXTATiox,  Malting,  and  Brewing.)  It  is 
only  necessary  to  add  here  that  malt  requires 
the  best  and  heaviest  barley,  with  its  germinat- 
ing powers  entire. 

Barley  was  formerly  in  general  use  in  Eng- 
hnd  as  bread  corn :  it  is  still,  for  this  pur- 
pose, much  used  on  the  Continent.  It  is  gene- 
rally used  in  the  warmer  climates  as  the  food 
for  iiorses,  for  which  purpose,  in  fact,  it  ap- 
pears to  answer  equally  as  well  as  oats.  In 
this  country,  in  some  seasons,  a  considerable 
saving  may  be  made  by  using  for  this  purpose 
inferior  barley.  This  was  done  in  the  season 
of  1840  by  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  of  Spring  Park, 
who  sold  his  oats  at  the  same  price  that  he 
gave  for  the  barley.  And  to  this  end  the  farmer 
should  remember,  that  two  parts  of  barley  are 
luUy  equal,  in  feeding  properties,  to  three  parts 
vf  oats  In  Germany  they  grind  the  barley, 
and  form  it  into  cakes,  with  which  they  feed 
their  horses ;  and  it  is  no  unusual  circum- 
stance, in  travelling  in  that  country,  to  see  the 
144 


BARLEY. 

driver  take  a  slice  of  the  loaf  with  which  he 
baits  his  horses. 

Wine  made  from  malt,  when  kept  to  a  pro- 
per age,  has  a  good  body,  and  a  flavour  nearly 
as   agreeable   as   the   generality   of   Madeira 
wines.     The  wort  of  malt  is  useful  in  scurvy, 
but  it  is  apt  to  increase  the  diarrhoea  which 
attends  that  disease.     Barley  was  used  by  the 
ancients  for  many  medicinal  purposes.     Pot 
barley,  pearl  barley,  and  French  barley,  are 
only  barley  freed  from  the  husk  by  a  mill ;  the 
distinction  between  them  being,  that  the  pearl 
barley  is  reduced  to  the  size  of  small  shot,  all 
but  the  very  heart  of  the  grain  being  ground 
away.     For  a  description  of  the  mode  of  ma- 
nufacture, I^refer  the  reader  to  the  Penny  Cy- 
clop, vol.  iii.  p.  466.     Barley-water  is  a  decoc- 
tion of  either  of  these,  and  is  reputed  soft  and 
lubricating;   a  very  useful  cooling  drink  or 
gruel  in  many  disorders,  and  is  recommended 
to  be  taken  with  nitre  in  fevers.    Its  use  is  of 
great  antiquity,  as  Hippocrates  wrote  a  whole 
book  on  the  merits  of  gruel  made  of  barley. 
Barley-water  is  an  admirable  liquid  to  admi- 
nister any  medicine  in,  being  pleasant,  emol- 
lient,  and  cooling.      The  French  or   Scotch 
barley  is  principally  used   to  thicken   broth 
and  soup. 

The  German  chemist,  Einhof,  has  analysed 
ripe  barley,  and  found  100  parts  to  consist  of 
70-05  parts  of  meal,  18-75  of  husk,  and  11-20 
of  water.     The  meal  he  found  to  contain  67-18 
parts  of  starch,  5-21  of  uncrystullizable  sugar^ 
4-62  of  gum,  3-52  oi  gluten,  1-15  of  albumen, 
0-24  of  superphosphate  of  lime,  and    10-79  of 
water  and  loss,  in  100  parts.     The  husk  con- 
tains a  bitter  principle  which  is  tasted  in  the 
decoction  of  entire  barley. 

M.  Saussure  has  carefully  analysed  the  ashes 
produced  by  burning  barley  and  its  straw,  and 
the  result  of  his  experiments  is  given  in  Re- 
cherches  Chem.  sur  la  Veg.,  Paris,  1804. 

The  grain  reduced  to  ashes,  with  its  skin, 
gave,  out  of  100  parts,  18  of  ashes,  which  con- 
tained:— 

Potash      -------    18- 

Phosphate  of  potash         -        -        -        -      92 

Sulphate  of  potash  -        -        -        -      1*5 

Muriate  of  potash    -----      0*25 

Earthy  phosphates  -----    3'25 

Silica 35-5 

Metallic  oxides          .        _        -        -        -      0*25 
Loss 28 

100- 

1000  parts  of  the  straw  produced  42  of  ashes, 
containing : — 

Potash 16- 

Sulphate  of  potash  -----      35 
Muriate  of  potash     -----      0*5 

Earthy  phosphates   -----  7-75 

Earthy  carbonates    -----  12  5 

Silica 57- 

Metallic  oxides  -        -        -        -        -      0  5 

Loss 2'25 

100- 

These  products  no  doubt  vary  in  different 
soils ;  but  the  proportion  of  silica  in  the  straw 
and  in  the  skin  of  barley  is  remarkable.  This 
barley  grew  on  a  chalky  soil.  In  addition  to 
these  the  cubic  saltpetre,  or  nitrate  of  soda,  is 
usually  found  in  minute  proportions  in  barley. 


BARLEY  GRASSES. 


Tlie  average  price  in  England,  per  Win- 
chester quarter  of  barley,  according  to  M'Cul- 
loch,  was  in 

£  s-  d.  £  s.  d. 

1771  -  -  1  5  8  1815  -  -  1  10  3 

1775  -  -  1  6  0  1819  -  -  2  6  8 

17N)  -  -  0  17  0 

1785  -  -  1  4  0  Perlmp.  Quar. 

1790  -  -  1  5  6  18-20  -  -  1  13  10 

1795  -  -  1  17  8  1825  -  -  2  0  1 

1800  -  -  3  0  0  1830  -  -  1  12  7 

1803  -  -  2  4  8  1835  -  -  1  9  11 

1810  -  -  2  7  11  1840  -  -  1  12  8 

The  account  in  imperial  quarters  of  the  fo- 
reign barley  and  barley-meal  entered  for  home 
consumption  every  five  years  since  1815,  was 
(Mcculloch's  Com.  Diet.)— 

•  Qr». 

1815 -  160- 

1820 

1^25 270-679 

1830 -  52-107 

1835    -.--...  137-374 

The  annual  average,  from  1801  to  1825,  of 
barley  imported  into  England,  in  Winchester 
quarters,  was  from 

Qn. 
Russia     .        -        -        -        .        .        -      7112 
Sweden  and  Norway      -        -        .        -        -987 

Denmark         ......  18-808 

Prussia -        -  18718 

Germany  ----__  84-839 

Netherlands    ......      9-500 

France  and  Southern  Europe  .        -      I  097 

United  States  -        -        -        ■        .  31- 

British  North  America  -        -       -       -  51- 

Other  countries       .....      2-194 

Ireland    .......  33331 

For  further  particulars  as  to  its  consumption 
and  culture,  see  Smith's  Tracts  on  the  Com 
TradCy  2d  edit.  p.  182  ;  Penny  Cyclop.,  vol.  iii. 
p.  461;  Brown  on  Rural  Affairs,  vol.  ii.  p.  42; 
and  Elements  of  Pruc.  Agr.,  by  Pr^.  Low,  p. 
246,  &c. ;  to  which  last-named  valuable  work 
I  have,  in  this  and  other  articles,  been  under 
verv  considerable  obligation. 

(Phillips  Cult.  VefT.i  M'Cull>ch*s  Com.  Diet.; 
Com.  Board  nf  Ag.  vol.  vi. ;  Uitchin,  in  Baxter's 
Ag.  Lib. ;  Professor  Low's  El,  of  Ag. ;  Brande's 
Diet,  of  Science.) 

Barley,  in  the  United  States,  is  cultivated 
almost  exclusively  for  the  breweries,  the  grain 
being  rarely  given  to  cattle,  and  barley-bread 
being  unknown  to  native  Americans. 

BARLEY  GRASSES.  Some  coarse  kind 
of  grasses  which  are  known  under  the  several 
names  of  meadow  barley  grass  (Plate  7,  d), 
wall  barley  grass,  way-bennet,  and  mouse  bar- 
ley, and  are  of  little  use  to  the  farmer.  (See 
HonnEu.H  murinum,  and  H.  pratense.) 

BARLEY  HUMMELLER.  This  is  an  in- 
strument worked  by  the  hand,  which  is  em- 
ployed when  the  threshing  machine  is  not  in 
use,  or  performs  its  work  imperfectly.  It  con- 
sists of  a  set  of  parallel  iron  plates  fixed  to  a 
frame,  and  worked  by  the  hand  like  a  paver's 
instrument.  The  barley  to  be  hummelled  is 
laid  upon  the  barn-floor,  and  by  repeated 
strokes  of  th;  hummeller,  is  freed  from  its 
awns.  Messrs.  Grant,  wheelwrights  of  Aber- 
deenshire, have  described  this  instrument  very 
fully,  with  some  improvements,  in  Trans.  High. 
S»c.  vol.  iv.  p.  334. 

BARM.  The  foam  or  froth  of  beer  or  any 
other  liquor  in  a  state  of  fermentation,  which 
ii  used  as  a  leaven  in  the  making  of  bread, 
&x.    (See  Yeast.) 

19 


BARN  OWL. 

BARN.  A  covered  building,  constructed  for 
the  purpose  of  laying  up  grain,  &c.  Farms 
should  always  be  furnished  with  barns  pro- 
portioned to  the  quantity  of  grain  they  produce; 
but  since  the  practices  of  stacking  and  thrash- 
ing by  mills  have  become  more  general,  there 
is  much  less  need  of  large  barns.  They  should 
have  a  dry  situation,  and  be  placed'  on  the 
north  or  north-east  side  of  the  farm  yard,  so 
that  the  sun  at  noonday  may  shine  "on  th 
thrashing-floor,  and  the  lean-toos  for  stock  in 
the  yard  be  thus  open  only  to  the  south.  Every 
farm  should  have  at  least  two  thrashing-floors, 
that  different  kinds  of  grain  may  be  thrashing 
at  the  same  time.  Barns  may  either  be  con- 
structed of  timber,  or  be  built  of  brick  or  stone, 
whichever  the  country  affords  in  the  greatest 
plenty,  but  wooden  barns  are  the  best  for  the 
corn ;  and  in  either  case  there  should  be  such 
vent-holes  or  openings  in  their  sides  or  walls  as 
to  afford  free  admittance  to  the  air,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  mouldiness  that  would  otherwise 
occur  from  the  least  dampness  lodging  in  the 
grain.  The  foundations,  and  for  two  feet  out 
of  the  ground,  are  best  made  of  brick  or  stone, 
on  account  of  greater  solidity,  and  the  protec- 
tion from  vermin ;  the  whole  may  be  roofed 
with  either  thatch,  slate  (\vhich  is  the  best  of 
all),  or  tiles,  as  can  be  most  conveniently  pro- 
cured. They  should  have  two  large  double 
folding  doors  facing  each  other,  one  in  each 
side  of  the  building,  for  the  convenience  of 
carrying  in  or  out  wagon-loads ;  and  these 
doors  should  be  of  the  same  breadth  as  the 
thrashing-floor,  to  afford  the  more  light  and 
air.  Formerly,  a  much  larger  expenditure  in 
the  number  and  size  of  these  buildings  was  in- 
curred than  is  now  requisite,  since  the  practice 
of  stacking  has  become  general.  It  is  found 
that  all  grain  is  a  better  sample  from  stacks 
than  from  barns ;  vermin  have  less  chance 
of  injuring  it,  indeed  may  be  set  at  defiance, 
and  at  harvest  the  corn  may  admit  of  being 
carried  two  days  sooner  for  stacking  than  for 
housing. 

BARNACLES.  A  name  given  to  horse 
twitchers  or  brakes,  a  sort  of  instrument  used 
by  farriers  to  put  upon  horses'  noses,  when 
they  will  not  stand  quietly  to  be  shod,  bled,  or 
dressed. 

BARN  OWL  (Sfrix  Jlammea).  The  white, 
or  screech  owl,  unlike  some  of  the  species,  is 
resident  in  England  throughout  the  year, 
and  is  so  peculiar  in  the  colour  of  its  plumage, 
and  so  generally  diffused,  that  it  is  probably  the 
best  known  of  all  the  British  species  of  owls. 
It  inhabits  churches,  barns,  old  malting  kilns, 
or  deserted  ruins  of  any  sort,  and  also  holes  in 
decayed  trees.  If  unmolested,  the  same  haunts 
are  frequented  either  by  parent  birds  or  their 
offspring,  for  many  years  in  succession.  As  a 
constant  destroyer  of  rats  and  mice,  and  that 
to  a  very  considerable  extent,  the  services  per- 
formed by  barn  owls  for  the  agriculturists  have 
obtained  for  these  birds  toleration  at  least, 
while  by  some  they  are,  as  they  deserve  to  be, 
strictly  protected  in  return  for  benefits  received. 
Unless  disturbed,  these  birds  seldom  leave  their 
retreat  during  the  day ;  and,  if  the  place  of 
concealment  be  approached  with  caution,  and 
a  view  of  the  bird  obtained,  it  will  generally 
N  145 


BAROMETER. 


BAROMETER. 


be  observed  to  have  its  eyes  closed  as  if 
asleep.  About  sunset,  the  pair  of  owls,  par- 
ticularly when  they  have  youn"^,  issue  forth  in 
quest  of  food,  and  may  be  observed  flapping 
gently  alonj?,  searching  lanes,  hedgerows,  or- 
chards, and  small  enclosures  near  outbuildings. 
"In  this  irregular  country,"  says  White  of 
Selborne,  "  we  can  stand  on  an  eminence  and 
see  them  beat  the  fields  over  like  a  setting  dog, 
and  often  drop  down  in  the  grass  or  corn.*' 
Besides  rats  and  mice,  they  feed  on  shrews, 
small  birds,  insects,  &c.,  and  have  sometimes 
been  known  to  capture  and  eat  fish.  It  is  said 
of  this  owl,  that  when  satisfied,  it  will  hide 
the  remainder  of  its  meat  like  a  dog.  The 
barn  owl  lays  from  three  to  five  eggs,  which 
are  oval  and  white,  measuring  one  inch  six 
lines  in  length,  and  one  inch  three  lines  in 
breadth.  Young  birds  are  found  from  July  to 
September,  and  occasionally  as  late  as  Decem- 
ber. The  young  birds  are  easily  tamed,  and 
live  in  harmony  with  other  birds.  The  barn  owl 
is  common  in  most,  if  not  all  the  counties  of 
England,  and,  according  to  Mr.  Thompson,  it 
is  also  the  most  common  owl  in  Ireland.  In 
Scotland,  it  is  less  numerous.  Over  the  tem- 
perate part  of  the  European  continent,  and  in 
North  America,  it  is  generally  diffused.  Its 
form  and  colour  are  too  common  to  need  de- 
scription. The  whole  length  of  the  bird  is 
about  fourteen  inches.  (  YarreWs  Brit.  Birds, 
Tol.  i.) 

BAROMETER.  The  word  is  derived  from 
two  Greek  words,  which  signify  the  measurer 
of  weight.  This,  the  most  valuable  instrument 
for  meteorological  observations  in  the  farmer's 
possession,  was  invented  about  the  middle  of 
the  17th  century,  by  Torricelli,  an  Italian  phi- 
losopher. Some  observations  of  Galileo  had, 
perhaps,  led  the  way  to  the  discovery  ;  the  at- 
tention of  this  great  philosopher,  according  to 
a  well  knoAvn  story,  having  been  drawn  to  the 
fact  that  water  would  not  rise  higher  than  32 
feet  in  a  tube  exhausted  of  air,  by  some  work- 
men of  the  Duke  of  Florence,  who  had  vainly 
endeavoured  to  construct  a  comon  lifting  pump 
to  raise  water  a  greater  height.  Galileo  ex- 
plained the  phenomenon,  by  saying  that  nature 
had  a  horror  of  a  vacuum,  but  that  this  horror 
had  its  limits.  It  was  found  by  Torricelli,  that 
a  column  of  water  of  about  32  feet  exactly 
balanced  the  weight  of  the  atmosphere  which 
surrounds  our  earth,  and  that  this  was  equal 
to  the  weight  of  a  column  of  mercury  of  about 
88  inches.  Now  this  column  of  mercury, 
under  various  outward  shapes,  forms  the  ba- 
rometer, or  weather-glass,  so  useful  to  the  far- 
mer. For  as  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere 
commonly  varies  with  approaching  changes  in 
Ihe  weather,  the  consequent  rise  or  fall  of  the 
mercury  merely  marks  its  amount :  one  end  of 
the  mercurial  tube  is  hermetically  sealed  and  is 
void  of  air,  so  that  the  quicksilver  rises  or 
falls  in  it  unresisted  ;  but  the  other  end  of  the 
tube  is  open,  and  the  atmosphere  forces  the 
mercury  through  this,  by  pressure  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  fluid  mercury  in  the  cistern.  Thus, 
th*»  atmosphere  operates  by  its  varying  pres- 
sure. When,  therefore,  the  quicksilver  Hses, 
the  atmospheric  pressure  is  increasing  ;  when 
\i  Jails,  the  pressure  is  diminishing. 
146 


The  more  dense  the  state  of  the  atmosphere, 
the  higher  the  mercury  will  rise  in  the  instm- 
ment.  It  is  a  popular  notion  that  the  atmos- 
pheric pressure  must  be  greatest  when  the  air 
is  thick  and  cloudy.  The  term  density,  when 
applied  to  the  condition  of  the  atmosphere  and 
its  relations  with  the  barometer,  means  specific 
weight,  without  reference  to  its  clearncL?  or 
cloudiness.  Vapour  or  moisture  in  the  air  al- 
ways lessens  its  weight,  and  the  more  vapour, 
whether  this  be  invisible,  or  in  the  condensed 
states  constituting  fogs  and  clouds,  the  less  the 
weight  or  density  and  pressure  upon  the  ba- 
rometer. 

It  is  more  from  this  rising  and  falling  of  the 
barometer,  observes  Mr.  Forster,  than  from  its 
height  or  lowness,  that  we  are  to  infer  fair  or 
foul  weather.  In  very  hot  weather  the  falling 
of  the  mercury  indicates  thunder:  in  winter, 
the  rising  indicates  frost ;  and  in  frosty  weather, 
if  the  mercury  fall  three  or  four  divisions, 
there  will  follow  a  thaw ;  but  in  a  continued 
frost,  if  the  mercury  rises  it  will  snow.  When 
foul  weather  happens  soon  after  the  falling  of 
the  mercur}%  it  will  not  continue ;  and,  on  the 
contrary,  you  may  expect,  if  the  weather  be- 
comes fair  as  soon  as  the  mercury  rises,  that 
it  will  be  of  short  duration.  In  foul  weather, 
when  the  mercury  rises  much  and  high,  and 
so  continues  for  two  or  three  days  before  the 
foul  weather  is  quite  over,  then  expect  a  con 
tinuance  of  fair  weather  to  follow. 

The  words  usually  inscribed  on  the  scale 
plates  of  barometers,  such  as  "  Very  Dry,"  "  Set 
Fair,"  "  Fair,"  etc.,  etc.,  are  extremely  falla- 
cious, and  have  tended  to  bring  the  instrument 
into  great!  discredit  as  a  weather  glass.  We 
may  perhaps  except  "  Stormy,"  for  when  the 
lowest  falls  happen,  they  are  always  the  pre- 
cursors of  very  high  winds  and  storms.  The 
words  inscribed  are,  perhaps,  better  indica- 
tions of  the  weather  in  England  than  on  the 
American  side  of  the  Atlantic.  It  must  be 
evident  that  when  a  barometer,  with  a  scale 
plate  marked  as  usual,  is  carried  to  high 
and  mountainous  positions,  the  mercurial  co- 
lumn falls,  and  has  its  relations  with  the  words 
on  the  scale  plate  entirely  changed.  The  per- 
son who  wishes  to  make  the  barometer  useful 
in  foretelling  the  changes  of  weather  in  the 
United  States  must  throw  aside  all  dependence 
upon  inscriptions,  with  the  exception  mention- 
ed, and  study  its  fluctuations  with  reference 
to  the  prevailing  winds,  dew-point,  and  other 
conditions  of  the  weather  at  the  time.  Rain  or 
snow  is  frequently  preceded  by  a  rise,  instead 
of  a  fall,  of  the  mercurial  column,  and  a  fall 
of  the  barometer  often  indicates  the  cessation 
of  rain. 

The  rise  in  the  mercurial  column  generally 
indicates  a  northerly  wind.  The  highest  con- 
ditions of  the  barometer  in  the  United  States, 
near  the  Atlantic,  commonly  preceoe  north- 
easterly storms  of  rain  and  snow.  The  very 
highest  elevations  have  been  attended  Avith 
very  cold  weather  and  a  light  wind  from  the 
north,  followed  by  snow  or  rain  within  forty- 
eight  hours.  A  subsidence  of  the  mercury  ge 
nerally  indicates  wind  from  a  southerly  point, 
and  should  this  be  so  far  round  as  to  blow  from 
land,  the  fall  of  rain  or  snow  will  commonly 


BARREL. 


BARROWS. 


cease,  for  a  while  at  least.  When,  during  a 
wet  spell  oi  weather,  the  wind  has  veered  to 
the  south-easterly  points,  with  a  cessation  of 
rain,  the  wind  rising  to  east  and  north-east  is 
generally  preceded  or  attended  by  a  rise  of  the 
barometer  and  a  renewal  of  the  rain.  When 
the  wind  has  been  from  the  south  and  south- 
west, with  a  moist  condition  of  the  atmosphere, 
or  high  dew-point,  a  rise  of  the  barometer  in- 
dicates that  the  wind  is  coming  from  a  point 
north  of  west,  and  a  clearing  up  shower  about 
to  ensue. 

'J'he  following  tabular  view  is  intended  to 
show  the  manner  in  which  the  mercurial 
column  of  the  barometer  fluctuates  at  Phila- 
delphia, a  position  in  the  United  States,  which 


may  be  regarded  rather  central  and  removed 
from  the  extremes  of  more  northerly  and 
southerly  situations.  The  higher  north,  the 
greater  the  fluctuations  of  the  barometer.  The 
observations  were  carefully  made  during  the 
year  1842,  by  Mr.  Owen  Evans,  a  member  of 
the  Committee  on  Meteorology,  of  the  Franklin 
Institute  of  Pennsylvania.  The  graduation  of 
his  barometer  agrees  with  that  of  the  standard 
constructed  for  the  Committee  on  Meteorology, 
by  which  the  instruments  distributed  to  the  va- 
rious counties  of  Penns}dvania  are  regulated. 
The  elevation  of  the  place  of  observation  is 
about  30  feet  above  high-water  mark  of  the 
Delaware.  The  means  are  corrected  for  tem- 
perature to  42°  Fahr. 


Mean  of  Bamnieter  for  each  month  of 
the  year  184*2,      -        _        -        . 

Greatest  height  at  the  hours  of  obser- 
vation,        -.      -        -        -        - 

Lowest  falls  at  the  hours  of  observa- 
tion,     


Jao. 
3004 


Feb. 

3000 


30-63  30-4: 
29-53  2912 


March 
3004 


April 
29- '.)5 


30  51J30  4-2 
a9-62j29  57 


May 

2'JIO 
3031 
•29-60 


June. 
29-92 
30-41 
2'J-70 


July.  Au?. 
29-90  29-98 
30-30  30-37 
29-78  29-75 


Sept. 

29  97 
30-22 


30-00 
30-34 


Nov. 
3001 
30-43 


29-63^29-66  29-37 


29-99 
30-47 
29-32 


30-63 
29-12 


Many  are  the  natural  indications  of  vegetables 
which  portend  changes  in  the  weather ;  thus, 
the  Pimpernel,  or  Red  Chickweed  (Anagallis. 
arvensis),  is  styled  the  poor  man's  weather- 
glass. This  little  plant  blooms  in  June,  in 
stubble  fields  and  gardens,  and  continues  in 
flower  all  the  summer.  When  this  plant  is 
seen  in  the  morning  with  its  little  red  flowers 
widely  extended,  we  may  generally  expect  a 
fine  day ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  a  sign  of  rain 
when  its  petals  are  closed.  (The  Farmer^s  Al- 
manac.) 

The  following  table  has  been  constructed 
from  a  long  series  of  observations  made  in 
London  ;  they  will  apply,  however,  to  a  consi- 
derable distance  around  the  metropolis  : — 


Barometer, 

-rbermoiDeter, 

Mean  qnasiity 

January     - 

mean  Height 

mean  Tempera- 
ture. 

iDcbea. 

29-921 

361 

1-483 

February  - 

30067 

38- 

0746 

Marcli 

29843 

43-9 

1440 

April 

29  881 

49-9 

1-786 

May 

29  898 

54- 

1-853 

June 

30  020 

587 

1-830 

July 

29-874 

61 

2-516 

August 

29891 

616 

1-453 

September 

29-931 

57-8 

2-193 

October      - 

29-774 

48-9 

2073 

November 

29-776 

42-9 

2-400 

December  - 

29-693 

39-3 

2-426 

BARREL.  A  cask  or  vessel  for  holding 
liquids,  particularly  ale  and  beer.  Formerly 
the  barrel  of  beer  in  London,  contained  only 
32  ale  gallons  =■  32^  Imperial  gallons.  By  a 
statute  of  1  W.  &  M.,  the  ale  and  beer  barrels 
were  equalized  for  every  part  of  England,  ex- 
cept London,  and  ordered  to  contain  34  gallons ; 
but  it  was  enacted  by  43  Geo.  3,  c.  69,  that  36 
gallons  of  beer  should  be  taken  to  be  a  barrel ; 
and  by  the  6  Geo.  3,  c.  58,  it  is  enacted,  that 
whenever  any  gallon  measure  is  mentioned  in 
any  excise  law,  it  shall  always  be  deemed  and 
taken  to  be  a  standard  Imperial  gallon.  At 
present,  therefore,  the  barrel  contains  36  Impe- 
rial gallons.  It  may  be  worth  while  observing, 
that  the  barrel  or  cask  is  exclusively  the  pro- 


duce of  European  ingenuity,  and  that  no  such 
article  is  known  to  any  nation  of  Asia,  Africa, 
or  America,  who  have  not  derived  it  from  Eu- 
ropeans. The  term  barrel  was  formerly  used 
to  denote,  in  a  rough  way,  other  sorts  of  goods. 
Thus,  a  barrel  of  salmon  was  42  gallons;  a 
barrel  of  soap,  256  pounds.  In  common  lan- 
guage, any  hollow  cylinder  is  called  a  barrel. 
Air  and  water-tight  iron  barrels  coated  with 
waterproof  composition  are  now  used  in  the 
navy,  and  might  be  made  useful  to  the  farmer. 
(APCulloch's  Com.  Did.,-  Brande's  Did.'  of 
Science.) 

A  measure  for  Indian  corn,  in  Maryland,  Vir- 
ginia, and  other  Southern  States,  containing 
10  bushels  in  the  ear  =  to  3  flour  barrels. 

BARREN  FLOWERS  are  those  which 
either  have  stamens  and  no  pistil,  or  which 
have  neither  stamens  nor  pistil.  The  latter 
are  the  production  of  art. 

BARREN  SOILS,  in  general,  owe  their 
sterility  to  the  presence  of  too  great  a  propor- 
tion of  particular  earths — saline,  or  organic  mat- 
ters. No  soil  can  be  productive  in  which  19 
parts  out  of  20  are  composed  of  any  one  earth  or 
other  substance.  The  improvement  of  such 
soils  constitutes  the  great  art  of  all  manuring 
and  tillage.  Lands  containing  an  excess  of 
calcareous,  matter  may  be  improved  by  tne  ad- 
dition of  clay  or  sand.  Sands  may  be  dressed 
with  clay  or  marl,  or  vegetable  matter.  Where 
organic  matters  are  in  excess,  the  earths  may 
be  applied.  Water  must  be  removed  by  drain 
ing.     (Davi/'s  Ledures,  p.  203.)     See  Soils. 

BARROWS.  The  common  term  for  tumuli, 
or  huge  mounds  of  earth  which  were  raised  in 
former  times  over  the  bodies  of  heroes  and 
warriors  :  many  of  which  exist  to  the  present 
day  on  the  plains  of  Wilts  and  the  downs  of 
Dorset,  Surrey,  Sussex,  and  other  counties. 
Barrow  is  also  the  name  for  a  hog,  and  for  any 
kind  of  carriage  moved  or  borne  by  the  hand. 
The  most  common  barrows  in  use  at  present 
are  the  wheel-barrow,  which  is  employed  for 
the  carriage  of  light  loads,  as  of  earth  to  short 
distances,  lime  for  building,  manure  from  the 

147 


BARS. 


BASS. 


heaps  for  spreading,  and  the  like.  The  hand- 
barrow  is,  under  certain  circumstances,  substi- 
tuted for  the  wheel-barrow.  The  load-barrow 
IS  used  for  carrying  filled  sacks  to  and  from 
the  granary,  &c. 

BARS.  In  farriery,  a  term  applied  to  those 
portions  of  the  crust  or  hoof  of  horses  that  are 
reflected  inwards,  and  which  form  the  archrs 
that  are  situated  between  the  heels  and  the 
frog. 

Bars  of  a  Horse^s  Mouth. — The  fleshy  rows 
that  run  across  the  upper  part  of  the  mouth, 
and  reach  almost  quite  to  the  palate,  very  dis- 
tinguishable in  yome  young  horses.  They 
form  that  part  of  the  mouth  on  which  the  bit 
should  rest,  and  have  its  efiect. 

BAR-SHOE.  A  particular  kind  of  shoe, 
which  is  sometimes  of  necessity  used  to  protect 
a  tender  frog  from  injury,  the  hinder  part  of  the 
shoe  being  thickened  and  hollowed  over  the 
.TOg ;  but  unless  it  is  made  exceedingly  heavy, 
it  will  soon  be  flattened  down,  and  in  the  mean 
time  it  will  most  injuriously  presi  upon  the 
heels. 

BARTER  (Span,  baratar ,-  Fr.  harrater ,-  Ital. 
barratare,  which  signify  to  cheat  as  well  as  to 
barter:  hence  also  our  word  barratry).  The 
exchanging  one  commodity  for  another,  with- 
out the  payment  of  money.  The  term  barter 
seems  to  have  been  derived  from  the  lan- 
guages of  southern  Europe.  This  rude  mode 
of  trade  grows  into  desuetude  as  a  country  or 
nation  advances  in  commercial  knowledge, 
and  progresses  in  civilization  ;  and  even  where 
an  actual  exchange  of  commodities  does  take 
place  between  merchants  and  traders,  their 
comparative  value  is  expressed  by  certain 
current  moneys,  and  balanced  accordingly,  and 
not  by  the  proportionate  value  one  article  bears 
to  another.  The  exchange  of  a  civilized  peo- 
ple amongst  themselves,  or  with  other  coun- 
tries, are  principally  carried  on  by  bills  of 
exchange.  The  actual  money  payments  in  a 
country,  by  no  means  represent  the  amount  of 
its  commercial  transactions.  {Penny  Cyclop.) 

BARTH.  A  provincial  term,  which  sig- 
nifies a  warm  enclosed  place  or  pasture  for 
calves,  lambs,  and  other  young  animals. 

BARTON,  or  BARKEN  (Sax.  bepe-tun,  an 
area).  A  term  employed  in  some  districts  to 
signify  the  yard  of  a  farm-house.  Blount  de- 
scribes this  word  as  meaning  the  demesne 
lands  of  a  manor;  the  manor-house  itself,  and 
sometimes  the  out-houses.  Most  of  our  old 
lexicographers  explain  it  as  an  enclosed  place, 
or  inner  yard,  where  poultry  is  kept,  or  hus- 
bandr)'^  used.  Blount's  is  the  provincialism  of 
the  west  of  England ;  the  latter  is  still  used  in 
other  places. 

BASIL,  SWEET  (Ocymum.  Probably  from 
o^cD  and  ju»/oi),  on  account  of  its  lasting  fra- 
grance). A  culinary  aromatic  exotic  used  in 
salads  and  soups ;  the  peculiar  flavour  of 
motk-turtle  soups  is  chiefly  derived  from  this 
valuable  pot-h^irb.  There  are  two  species  com- 
monly cultivated,  both  annuals,  and  originally 
coming  from  the  East  Indies.  1.  The  sweet- 
scented  or  larger  basil  (O.  hasilicum),  and, 
2.  The  dwarf-bush  oasil  (0.  minimum).  They 
til  rive  most  in  a  rich  light  soil,  entirely  free 
{mm.  any  overshadowing  body;  but  they  re- 
US 


quire,  especially  for  the  earliest  plants,  a  she*, 
tered  border.  In  wet  earth,  the  seed  always 
rots. 

BASIL,  COMMON  WILD  (Ckenopodium 
vulgare).  This  is  also  slightly  aromatic,  and 
is  a  perennial  succulent  herb,  growing  in 
bushy  places,  about  hedges,  and  by  road  sides, 
on  a  gravelly  or  chalky  soil.  The  herb  rises 
about  a  foot  high  on  a  wavy,  light  green,  hairy 
stem,  with  ovate  leaves,  an  inch  long,  serrated, 
and  the  ribs  beneath  armed  with  bristly  hairs. 
The  whole  of  the  flowers  are  also  bristly,  on 
branched  hairy  stalks,  both  arising  from  the 
axilla  of  the  leaves  and  the  top  of  the  stem,  of 
a  light  purple  colour.  The  flowers  blow  in 
July  and  August.  This  plant  flourishes  abun- 
dantly in  gardens.  It  is  well  known  among 
kitchen  herbs.  Its  very  odour  is  fragrant  and 
refreshing. 

BASIL -Thyme.  Field  Thyme  (Thymus 
acina).  A  leafy,  small  annual  plant,  much 
branched  and  spreading,  but  scarcely  nine 
inches  high,  with  acute,  bluntly  serrated 
leaves,  rough  at  the  edges,  and  islightly  aro- 
matic. The  flowers  are  in  axillary  whorls  of  a 
bluish  colour,  variegated  at  the  tip  with  white 
and  dark  purple ;  six  on  a  whorl  on  simple 
-stalks.  It  grows  luxuriantly  in  cultivated 
fields,  especially  on  a  sandy,  gravelly,  or 
chalky  soil.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.) 

BASIL.     The  skin  of  a  sheep  tanned. 

BASILISK.  (Lat.)  The  name  for  a  serpent. 

BASIN,  or  BASON  (Fr.  bnssin .-  It.  bacino). 
In  agriculture,  a  natural  or  artificial  hollow  or 
excavation  in  the  ground,  for  the  reception  and 
preservation  of  water.     See  Poxi>. 

BASKETS  (Basged,  Welsh  ;  bascauda,  Lat 
probably  from  bass,  of  which  baskets  were  often 
made).  They  are  made  principally  of  the  in 
terwoven  twigs  of  willow,  osier,  and  birch,  &c., 
but  frequently  also  of  grass,  rushes,  splinters 
of  wood,  straw,  &c.  They  are  made  to  hold 
all  sorts  of  dry  goods,  and  constructed  of  every 
variety  of  quality  and  shape,  from  the  small 
fruit-pottle  to  the  bushel  basket.  For  market 
baskets  the  osiers  are  used  whole.  Besides 
the  vast  quantities  made  in  England,  some  of 
the  finer  kinds  are  imported  under  an  ad  valo- 
rem duty  of  20  per  cent.  In  1832  this  dut}'^  pro- 
duced 1044/.  Is.  9d.,  showing  that  the  value  of 
the  foreign  baskets  entered  for  home  consump- 
tion in  the  same  year  had  been  5221/.  18s.  9d. 
The  fishing  basket,  pannier,  or  creel  for  the 
angler,  should  be  made  of  wicker-work,  with 
two  openings  for  a  leather  strap  to  pass 
through,  which  strap  should  encircle  one 
shoulder  and  be  buckled,  so  thai  it  may  be  let 
down  or  taken  up  as  occasion  may  suit.  There 
are  great  varieties  of  these  panniers;  some  are 
made  of  sufficient  width  to  carry  a  fish  of  four 
or  fivo  pounds  at  full  length. 

BASS.  The  material  of  which  packing 
mats  are  made.  It  consists  of  the  bark  of  the 
lime  tree. 

The  American  Bass  wood,  or  American 
Lime,  or  Linden  (Tllia  Americana),  abounds 
in  the  forests  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  exists 
in  Canada,  but  is  most  common  in  the  more 
northern  portions  of  the  United  States.  It  be- 
comes less  frequent  towards  the  south,  and  in 
Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  is  found 


EASTARP  ALKANET. 


BAY  OF  A  BARN. 


only  on  ihe  mountains.  Michaux  says  he 
found  this  species  of  lime  tree  most  abundant 
in  the  Genessee  country,  bordering  on  Lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario,  where  it  frequently  consti- 
tutes two-thirds,  and  sometimes  the  whole  of 
the  forests.  The  sugar  maple,  the  white  elm, 
and  the  white  oak  are  the  trees  with  which  it 
most  frequently  associates.  On  newly  cleared 
land  its  stump  and  roots  frequently  sprout, 
causing  no  little  trouble  to  the  settler 

The  presence  of  the  lime  tree  indicates  a 
loose,  deep,  and  fertile  soil.  It  is  sometimes 
more  than  eighty  feet  high  and  four  feet  in 
diameter.  Its  straight  and  even  trunk,  termi- 
nating in  an  ample  and  tufted  summit,  forms 
a  beautiful  tree. 

The  wood  is  white  and  soft.  In  the  Northern 
States,  where  the  tulip  poplar  does  not  grow,  it 
is  used  for  the  pannels  of  carriage  bodies  and 
the  seats  of  Windsor  chairs.  It  is,  however, 
apt  to  split,  and  is  not  considered  equal  to  pop- 
lar for  such  and  other  useful  purposes.  (North 
Amer.  Si/lva.)  The  American  Lime  tree  or 
Linden  is  extensively  cultivated  in  Europe, 
where  its  larger  leaves  easily  distinguish  it 
from  the  European  Lime  or  Linden,  which 
last  bears  such  sweet  blossoms,  perfuming  the 
air  like  the  mock  orange.  The  European  Lin- 
den is  so  much  the  prey  of  insect  borers  and 
caterpillars  as  to  make  its  preservation  ex- 
tremely difficult,  especially  in  cities.  The 
American  Linden  escapes  much  better. 

BASTARD  ALKANET  (Corn  Gromwell, 
Lithosjjermum  arvense).  An  annual  weed  com- 
mon in  waste  grounds  and  corn-fields,  espe- 
cially among  rye,  flowering  in  May  and  June. 
It  may  be  easily  known  by  its  tapering  root, 
with  a  bright  red  bark,  which  communicates 
its  colour  to  oily  substances,  as  well  as  to  pa- 
per, linen,  and  pale  faces;  arid  it  is  therefore 
occasionally  used  by  the  young  girls  in  Sweden 
to  colour  their  cheeks.  This  colouring  matter 
is  also  used  to  tinge  some  ointments,  especi- 
ally lip-salves,  of  a  red  colour.  From  the  root 
usually  rises  a  single  stem,  about  a  foot  high, 
rough,  and  generally  branched  and  spreading 
at  the  top  ;  sometimes  decumbent.  The  flowers 
are  small  and  white,  surrounded  with  five  long, 
narrow,  hairy  leaves.  Wildenow  says,  he  has 
seen  a  variety  with  blue  flowers.  (Smith's 
EiiiT.  Fhr.) 

BASTARD -TOADFLAX  (Thesium  lino- 
phylhi/n).  An  English  perennial  wild  plant, 
with  terminal  clusters  of  whitish  or  yellowish 
blossoms,  many-flowered,  erect,  generally 
branched  or  subdivided,  flowering  in  July.  Its 
root  is  woody  and  yellowish,  stems  widely 
spreading,  angular,  leafy,  a  span  or  more  in 
length  :  leaves  turned  to  one  side,  rough-edged, 
light-green,  an  inch  long  at  most.  Found  in 
high  open  chalky  pastures.  The  only  species 
of  this  genus  known  in  the  United  States  is 
the  Thesium  umbcllalum.  (See  Darlington's 
Flora  Cesfrica.) 

BAT,  or  FLITTERMOUSE  (Cheiroptera,  a 
hand  and  wing).  A  mammiferous  animal 
which  has  a  body  like  a  mouse,  with  wmgs 
not  feathered,  but  consisting  of  a  membranous 
skin  extended.  These  wings  of  the  bat,  osteo- 
logically  considered,  are  hands;  the  bony 
stretchers  of  the  cutaneous  membrane  being 


the  digital  phalanges,  or  fingers;  extremely 
elongated;  one  digit  or  finger  of  each  wing  is 
tipped  with  a  small  nail.  Bats  are  widely 
spread  over  the  globe ;  they  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Old  and  New  World,  and  in  New  Holland. 
A  tolerably  temperate  climate  seems  necessary 
for  them,  and  the  greatest  developement  of  the 
form  takes  place  in  warm  countries.  Gene- 
rally speaking,  they  remain  in  concealment 
during  the  day  in  caverns,  ruinous  buildings, 
hollow  trees,  and  such  hiding  places,  and  fli't 
forth  at  twilight  or  sunset  to  take  their  prey. 
They  feed  mostly  on  flies,  insects,  &c.,  but  do 
not  refuse  raw  flesh,  so  that  the  notion  that 
bats  go  down  chimneys  and  gnaw  men's  bacon 
is  no  improbable  story. 

Bats  are  divided  into  two  classes,  the  omni- 
vorous or  fruit-eating,  and  the  insectivorous. 
Those  who  are  desirous  of  further  investigating 
the  subject  will  find  ample  particulars  under 
the  head  "  Cheiroptera"  in  the  Pen7iy  Cydo. 
vol.  vii.  p.  19. 

BATEABLE  HERBAGE.  Provincially, 
such  herbage  as  has  the  tendency  of  readily 
fattening  stock  of  difierent  kinds. 

BAT  FOWLING.  A  particular  manner  of 
bird-catching  in  the  night,  while  they  are  at 
roost  under  the  eaves  of  barns,  or  upon  trees 
or  hedges.  The  fowler  lights  torches  or  straw, 
and  beats  the  bushes,  upon  which  the  birds, 
dazzled  by  the  light,  fly  into  the  flames,  and 
are  then  knocked  down  with  sticks,  or  caught 
either  with  nets  or  by  other  means. 

BATING.  An  abbreviation  of  abating. 
From  bate,  to  lessen  any  thing,  to  retrench,  to 
sink  the  price.  Thus  Locke  says,  "  When  the 
landholder's  rent  falls,  he  must  either  bate  the 
labourer's  wages,  or  not  employ  or  not  pay 
him."  It  is  also  used  synonymously  with 
barring,  to  except. 

BATTEN  (probably  from  the  French  baton, 
from  its  slender  width).  A  name  in  common 
use  for  a  slip  or  scantling  of  wood  from  two  to 
four  inches  broad  and  one  inch  thick,  the 
length  inconsiderable,  but  undefined.  If  above 
seven  inches  wide,  it  is  called  deal. 

It  also  signifies  strong  broad  fencing  rails. 
It  is  sometimes  written  button. 

BAY  (Lat.  badins  ,•  old  Fr.  baye,  bai,  rouge 
brun;  Ital.  baio).  The  term  for  a  colour  in- 
clining to  a  chestnut.  In  reference  to  the  horse 
this  colour  has  various  shades,  from  the  very 
light  bay,  to  the  dark  bay,  which  approaches 
nearly  to  the  brown  ;  but  it  is  always  more  gay 
and  shining.  There  are  also  colouied  horses 
that  are  called  dappled  bays.  All  bay  horses 
are  commonly  called  brown.  Bay  horses  have 
black  manes,  which  distinguish  them  from  the 
sorrel,  that  have  red  or  white  manes.  There 
are  light  bays,  and  gilded  bays,  which  are 
somewhat  of  a  yellowish  colour.  The  chestnut 
bay  is  that  which  comes  nearest  to  the  colour 
of  the  chestnut. 

The  bay  is  one  of  the  best  colours  of  horses, 
and  horses  of  ail  the  different  shades  of  bays 
are  commonly  good. 

BAYARD.  A  provincial  term  fcr  a  bay 
horse.  ,         ^, 

BAY  OF  A  BARN.     That  part  where  the 
mow  is  placed.     Hence  such  barns  as  have 
the  thrashing-floor  in  the  middle,  and  a  space 
N  2  J49 


BAY-SALT. 


BEAGLE. 


for  a  mow  on  each  side,  are  called  barns  of 
two  bays,  &c. 

BAY-SALT.  The  salt  made  naturally  on 
the  sea-shore  at  St.  Ubes  and  other  bays,  in  the 
natural  hollows  of  the  sea-shore  which  are 
only  overflowed  at  spring  tides.  The  salt  thus 
made  at  a  low  temperature  by  the  action  of  the 
sun  and  wind  is  the  strongest  and  best  for  but- 
ter and  other  agricultural  purposes.  (Brown- 
rigg  on  Salt;  Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

Bay-salt  is  in  large,  moderately  white  cubes. 
St.  Ubes'  salt  contains  960  parts  of  pure 
chloride  of  sodium  in  1000  parts;  the  remainder 
consists  of  28  parts  of  sulphate  of  lime  and  of 
magnesia;  3  parts  of  chloride  of  magnesia,  or 
bittern ;  and  9  of  insoluble  matter.  It  is  con- 
sequently very  pure.  Similar  salt,  but  less 
pure,  is  made  at  St.  Martin  and  Oleven.  (For 
its  dietetical  usco  and  as  a  manure,  see  Salt, 
Salting.) 

BAY-TREE  (Latirus  nobilis).  This  plant, 
the  laurel  of  antiquity,  is  a  native  of  classical 
ground.  We  cannot  ascertain  at  what  exact 
period  the  bay-tree  was  first  cultivated  in  this 
country  ;  but  in  all  probability  it  was  planted 
by  the  Romans,  and  fell  with  their  villas. 
Chaucer,  who  wrote  in  the  time  of  Edward  III., 
mentions  it ;  and  Turner,  our  oldest  writer  on 
plants,  says,  in  1564,  "the  bay-tre  in  England 
is  no  great  tre,  but  it  thryueth  there  many  parts 
better,  and  is  lustier  than  in  Germany."  We 
find  that  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  it  was 
common  to  strew  the  floors  of  distinguished 
persons  in  England  with  bay-leaves.  And  we 
may  conclude  that  it  was  rare  in  this  country, 
even  so  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  for  Bradley  says,  in  1716,  "  they  (bay- 
trees)  should  be  put  in  pots  or  cases,  and 
housed  in  the  winter,  that  their  beauty  may  be 
preserved."  He  states,  that  "  he  has  seen  pyra- 
mids and  headed  plants  of  bays  introduced  in 
parterre  work,  but  he  cannot  advise  the  doing 
it,  lest  they  should  be  injured  by  the  weather." 
There  need  be  no  such  care  taken  now,  for 
they  have  become  thoroughly  hardy  and  accli- 
mated. Bradley  adds,  the  finest  bay-trees  he 
had  ever  seen,  either  abroad  or  in  England, 
were  then  in  the  royal  gardens  of  Kensington, 
and  were  of  very  great  value. 

The  bay  is  a  small  tree,  seldom  exceeding 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  in  height.  The  bark  is 
greenish,  smooth,  and  aromatic :  the  leaves 
lanceolate,  sharp-pointed,  wavy  on  the  edge, 
and  leathery  and  smooth  on  both  sides.  The 
flowers  are  four  or  six  in  a  cluster,  of  a  yel- 
lowish white,  glandular,  and  dotted.  The  fruit 
is  about  the  size  of  a  large  pea,  black,  and 
succulent. 

Observation  instructs  us  to  place  this  tree  in 
situations  where  it  is  sheltered  from  north  and 
north-east  winds,  which  affect  its  beauty,  and 
often  its  growth.  It  thrives  under  the  very 
wings  of  larger  trees,  where  it  is  difficult  to 
make  other  shrubs  prosper,  and  this  is  of  im- 
portance in  our  plantations.  A  warm,  dry, 
sandy,  or  gravelly  soil  is  recommended  for  the 
bay;  but  it  thrives  well  on  a  rich  loam.  We 
are  told  by  Mortimer,  that  bay-trees,  whose 
branches  are  killed  by  the  weather,  or  other 
accident,  if  cut  down  to  the  ground,  will  send 
np  strong  ohoots,  which  we  know  by  experi- 
150 


ence  to  be  correct ;  therefore,  the  roots  should 
not  be  grubbed  up  too  hastily.  This  tree  should 
never  have  a  branch  taken  from  it  but  in  the 
spring.  The  directions  for  raising  these  trees 
;  from  seed  are  given  in  the  same  manner  by  all 
writers  on  the  subject,  from  Pliny  do\vn  to 
Miller.  It  is,  to  gather  the  fruit  when  quite 
ripe,  which  is  not  before  January  or  February. 
The  berries  are  then  to  be  preserved  in  dry 
sand  until  the  middle  of  March,  when  they 
may  be  sown  in  a  shady  border  of  rich,  loose, 
undunged  earth.  The  berries,  should  be  drop- 
ped in  rows  as  French  beans  are  planted,  and 
covered. with  fine,  rich  mould  about  an  inch 
thick.  The  young  plants  will  require  frequent 
but  moderate  watering  for  the  first  two  years. 
The  French  nurserymen  raise  them  under 
glass,  or  in  an  orangery.  The  bay-tree  will 
grow  by  cuttings,  but  these  should  be  planted 
in  a  moderate  hot-bed,  and  kept  moist  and  co- 
vered from  the  heat  of  the  sun  during  summer, 
and  from  the  frost  in  winter.  April  is  the  pro- 
per time  to  plant  cuttings,  but  layers  may  be 
laid  down  either  in  March  or  August,  which, 
by  the  second  spring,  will  make  good  plants. 

The  variegated  bay  is  increased  by  budding 
it  on  the  common  sort.  Neither  the  broad  nor 
the  narrow-leaved  varieties  are  so  hardy  as 
the  common  bay.  The  leaves  and  berries  of 
the  bay-tree  have  an  aromatic,  bitter,  astrin- 
gent taste,  and  a  fragrant  smell :  and  are  ac- 
counted stomachic,  carminative,  and  narcotic; 
but  they  are  not  much  used  in  medicine  at  the 
present  day,  although  old  writers  are  very 
voluminous  in  describing  their  virtues.  (Phil- 
lips^s  Syl.  Flor.) 

This  well-known  evergreen  is  always  hand- 
some in  shrubberies,  and  grows  well.  It  pre- 
fers a  northern  aspect:  indeed,  we  may  almost 
consider  the  bay-tree  a  native  of  England, 
since  gardens  and  shrubberies  are  now  rarely 
formed  without  their  presence.  The  leaves 
and  berries  are  used  as  medicine  ;  the  leaves 
should  be  dried  in  the  proper  way,  pounded, 
and  kept  in  glass  bottles  ;  they  are  said  to  be 
cordial  and  beneficial  in  nervous  complaints, 
and  in  paralysis :  in  large  doses  they  prove 
emetic.  The  green  leaves  applied  to  the  part 
allays  the  pain  of  the  sling  of  bees.  The  ber- 
ries of  the  bay-tree  contain  both  volatile  and 
fixed  oil,  wax,  resin,  uncrystallizable  sugar, 
gums,  starch,  some  salts,  and  a  peculiar  sub- 
stance, which  has  been  named  laiirin,  and 
bears  some  resemblance  to  camphor.  The 
dried  berries  are  given  in  powder  or  infusion 
in  flatulent  colic  ;  but  they  are  of  little  value. 

BEAGLE  (Fr.  bigle).  A  small  well-propor- 
tioned hound,  slow  but  sure,  having  an  excel- 
lent nose  and  most  enduring  diligence  ;  form- 
erly much  in  fashion  for  hunting  the  hare,  but 
now  comparatively  neglected,  its  place  being 
occupied,  where  hare-hunting  is  patronized,  by 
the  harrier.  There  are  still  several  varieties 
of  beagles,  but  formerly  there  appear  to  have 
been  many  more,  from  the  deep-flewed  dimi- 
nutive type  of  the  old  southern  hound,  to  the 
fleet  and  elegant  fox-hound  beagle,  to  which 
we  may  add  the  pigmy  breed  called  lap-dog 
beagles.  Beagles  were  formerly  distinguished 
into  the  rough  and  the  smooth.  The  rough, 
wire-haired,  or  terrier  beagle,  is  now  seldom 


BEAM. 


BEANS. 


met  with,  although  it  was  a  hardy,  and  alto- 
gether a  vermin-loving  breed,  and  ver3'strjngly 
formed.  {Blaine^s  Encyclopaedia  of  Rural 
Sports.) 

BEAM.  The  principal  piece  of  timber 
which  supports  a  building. 

BEAM  OF  A  PLOUGH.  The  upper  prin- 
cipal timber  into  which  the  handles  and  all  the 
other  parts  of  the  tail  of  the  plough  are  fixed. 
It  is  most  commonly  made  of  ash  wood,  some- 
what bent  in  its  form,  and  of  different  lengths 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  plough.  (See 
Ploughs.) 

BEAM-TREE.  The  Pynts  aria  of  botanists. 
The  white  beam-tree  or  wild  pear-tree,  is  a  de- 
ciduous British  tree  of  small  growth  inhabiting 
the  mountainous  parts  of  the  country,  and  re- 
sembling a  small  apple-tree  with  berries  like 
those  of  the  mountain  ash.  Its  leaves  are 
strongly  veined,  in  a  plaited  manner,  and  white 
underneath ;  the  wood  is  hard,  compact,  and 
tough,  and  is  used  for  axle  trees,  naves  of 
wheels,  and  cogs  of  machinery.  (Brande's 
Diet.  Science.) 

BEANS  ( Vida  Faba).  A  well-known  vege- 
table of  the  pulse  species,  largely  cultivated 
both  in  gardens  and  fields.  Sax.  bean ;  vicia  is 
the  Latin  name  for  the  tare  or  vetch ;  derived, 
•iccording  to  Varro,  a  vicinrdo,  because  its  ten- 
drils entwine  or  bind  round  other  plants.  The 
bean  was  called  in  Greek  Kw<ftec;  by  the  Fa- 
lisci,  a  people  of  Etruria  (now  Tuscany),  Haba, 
whence  the  name  Faba  seems  to  be  taken. 
Martinius  derives  the  word  from  jram,  to  feed, 
as  if  it  were  Paba ;  Isidorus  from  payot,  to  eat. 
Its  cultivation  is  of  much  importance  in  rural 
economy,  inasmuch  as  it  has  gone  far  to  super- 
sede fallows  on  strong  loams  and  clays.  The 
bean  is  a  plant  of  considerable  importance  to 
the  farmer,  as  affording  him  a  valuable  food  for 
both  horses  and  swine ;  its  varieties  are  nu- 
merous, but  as  it  is  cultivated  both  for  agricul- 
tural and  horticultural  purposes,  it  will  be  ne- 
cessar}',  in  treating  of  its  cultivation,  to  adopt 
the  following  arrangement:  —  L  Field  beans; 
2.  Garden  beans.  The  English  growth  of  beans 
has  01  late  years  diminished,  a  large  portion 
of  the  consumption  of  this  country  now  com- 
ing from  abroad  ;  yet  I  am  of  opinion  that  beans 
or  peas,  according  to  the  soil,  should  enter 
into  the  rotation  of  the  crops  of  all  English 
farms :  for  if  drilled  and  well  horse-hoed,  it  is 
one  of  the  finest  preparations  for  wheat.  And 
it  may  be  well  to  observe,  that  the  Russian  or 
winter  bean  may  be  successfully  cultivated  on 
moist  soils. 

The  flowers  of  the  bean  emit  a  most  agree- 
able perfume.  Of  all  the  pulse  kind,  this  was 
held  in  the  first  rank  in  ancient  times.  We 
find  the  Athenians  used  beans  sodden,  in  their 
feasts  dedicated  to  Apollo ;  and  the  Romans 
presented  beans  as  an  oblation  in  their  solemn 
sacrifice  called  Fabaria.  Pliny  informs  us 
that  they  offered  cakes  made  of  bean  meal 
unto  certain  gods  and  goddesses  in  these  an- 
cient rites  and  ceremonies.  Lempriere  states 
that  bacon  was  added  to  the  beans  in  the  offer- 
ings to  Cama,  not  so  much  to  gratify  the  pa- 
late of  the  goddess,  as  to  represent  the  simpli- 
city of  their  ancestors.  One  of  the  most  noble 
and  powerful  families  of  Rome  derived  the 


name  of  Fabii  from  some  of  their  ancestors 
having  cultivated  the  bean  called  Faba.  The 
meal  of  beans  is  the  heaviest  made  from  pulse, 
and  was  called  in  Latin  hmentum.  This  was 
mingled  with  frximentii  corn,  whole,  and  so 
eaten  by  the  ancients ;  but  they  sometimes 
bruised  it  first;  it  was  considered  a  strong 
food,  and  was  generally  eaten  with  gruel  or 
pottage.  Many  superstitious  customs  and 
notions  were  in  olden  times  attached  to  this 
pulse.  The  ancients  made  use  of  beans  in 
gathering  the  votes  of  the  people,  and  for 
electing  the  magistrates.  A  white  bean  signi- 
fied absolution,  and  a  black  one  condemnation. 
From  this  practice,  no  doubt,  was  derived  the 
plan  of  black-balling  obnoxious  persons.  The 
Roman  husbandman  had  a  religious  ceremony 
respecting  this  pulse,  somewhat  remarkable: 
when  they  sowed  corn  of  any  kind,  they  took 
care  to  bring  some  beans  from  the  field  for 
good  luck's  sake,  superstitiously  thinking  that 
by  such  means  their  corn  would  return  home 
again  to  them ;  these  beans  were  then  called 
Refrinse  or  Referinas.  The  Romans  carried 
their  superstition  even  further,  for  they  thought 
that  beans  mixed  with  goods  offered  for  sale 
at  the  ports  would  infallibly  bring  good  luck  to 
the  seller. 

In  some  places  bean  meal  is  still  mixed  with 
other  meal  in  making  coarse  bread ;  or  the 
beans  are  boiled  into  a  mess  with  fat  meat,  in 
which  state  they  are  very  nutritious.  Bean 
meal  given  to  oxen  soon  makes  them  fat; 
mixed  with  water  and  given  as  a  drink  to 
cows,  it  greatly  increases  their  milk.  A  small 
quantity  of  beans  is  generally  mixed  with  new 
wheat  when  ground  to  flour :  the  millers  pre- 
tend that  soft  wheat  will  not  grind  well  with- 
out beans,  and  they  generally  contrive  that 
there  shall  be  no  deficiency  in  the  necessary 
proportion.  Thus  a  quantity  of  beans  is  con- 
verted into  what  is  considered  as  wheaten 
flour. 

The  bean  came  originally  from  the  east,  and 
was  cultivated  in  Egypt  and  Barbary  in  the 
earliest  ages  of  which  we  have  any  records. 
It  spread  thence  into  Spain  and  Portugal,  from 
whence  some  of  the  best  varieties  have  been 
introduced  into  this  country.  The  proportion 
of  nutritive  matter  in  beans,  compared  with 
other  grain,  is,  according  to  Einhof,  as  fol- 
lows : — 

By  weight.  Or  in  a  bushel. 

74  per  cent.  -        -       -  about  47  lbs. 

70       -         ...  -    39 

65        —         ...  —    33 

58        -         ...  -    23 

-  —    45 

-  —    49 

-  —    54 


Wheat  - 
Rye 

Barley  - 

Oats 

Beang  -        68        — 

Peas  -        75        — 

French  beans  84       — 


The  same  chemist  obtained  from  3840  parts 
of  marsh  beans  (  Vida  Faba),  of 

Starch 1312 

Albumen      __-----      31 
Other  matters,  nutritive,  gummy,  starchy, 
fibrous,  analogous  to  animal  matter        -  1204 

And  from  kidney  beans  (Phaeseolus  vulgaris) 
of 


Starchy  matters 


1805 


Albumen,  and  matter  approaching  to  am- 
mal  matter  in  its  nature  -       -       '        '    ^qq 

Mucilage '"^ 

{Davi/,  Ag.  Chem.,  p.  132.) 
15 


BEANS. 


BEANS. 


Beans  are  best  given  broken,  especially  to 
aged  live  stock.  An  excellent  bean  mill 
constructed  by  the  Messrs.  Ransome  of  Ips- 
wich, will  break  one  quarter  of  beans  in  an 
hour.  It  is  also  made  with  an  extra  roller  and 
plate  for  malt ;  and  is  sometimes  constructed 
so  as  to  render  it  suitable  for  horse  power. 

Field  Beans. — In  England,  the  sorts  usually 
cultivated  in  the  fields  are,  the  tick  bean,  the 
horse  bean,  and  the  small  Dutch  Heligoland, 
or  prolific  bean.  In  some  situations  the  ma- 
zagon,  longpod,  and  winter  or  Russian  bean, 
have  produced  good  crops  in  the  field:  the 
first  three  are,  however,  best  suited  for  general 
cultivation.  The  last,  a  new  and  useful  va- 
riety, has  been  more  recently  introduced,  and 
has  lately  come  into  very  general  cultivation 
in  various  parts  of  the  kingdom.  It  is  planted 
in  autumn  in  the  usual  manner,  and  is  supe- 
rior to  the  common  bean,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
capable  of  resisting  the  severest  frost,  and  is 
ready  for  harvesting  two  months  earlier. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  beans,  which 
differ  but  little  in  their  appearance.  Ex- 
perience is  the  best  guide  in  choosing  the  seed 
which  suits  particular  soils  and  situations. 
The  small,  round,  regular-shaped  beans  are 
generally  preferred,  as  obtaining  the  best  prices 
in  the  markets,  especially  in  large  towns  where 
there  is  a  great  consumption  of  beans  by  hard- 
working horses. 

All  the  varieties  thrive  best  on  strong  clay 
soils,  heavy  marls,  and  deep  loams  of  a  moist 
description.  In  such  soils  the  produce  is 
sometimes  30  to  60  bushels  per  acre,  but  an 
average  crop  on  moderate  land  is  about  half 
that  quantity.  The  Heligolands,  and  espe- 
cially the  Russian  bean,  have  been  found  very 
productive  when  grown  upon  hazel  moulds, 
and  deep  chalk  soils  intermixed  with  loam,  as 
they  do  not  require  so  close  a  soil  as  the  other 
varieties.  The  last-named  varieties  seldom 
succeed  sufficiently  to  repay  the  grower,  if  at- 
tempted to  be  raised  on  light  lands;  indeed, 
sandy  soils  or  late  climates  are  ill  adapted  to 
the  successful  cultivation  of  the  bean.  On 
very  rich  land,  beans  have  produced  extraor- 
dinary crops,  by  being  sown  broadcast  and 
very  thick,  the  stems  being  brought  up  to  a 
great  height  in  favourable  seasons.  A  small 
field  of  very  rich  land,  in  the  county  of  Sussex, 
was  sown  in  the  year  1832  with  four  bushels 
of  the  small  tick  bean,  which  came  up  so 
thick,  that  the  proprietor  thought  of  thinning 
ont  the  plants  by  hoeing ;  but  he  was  advised 
to  see  what  the  produce  would  be,  and  when 
they  were  thrashed  out,  there  were  ten  quar- 
ters and  one  bushel  of  beans.  He  had  the 
ground  accurately  measured,  and  it  was  found 
to  be  one  acre  and  twenty-nine  perches,  which 
makes  the  crop  above  sixty-eight  bushels  per 
acre. 

Beans  are  propagated  by  seed,  which  may 
be  soM'n  broadcast,  drilled,  or  dibbled;  if  sown 
broadcast,  three  or  four  bushels  of  seed  per 
ncre  will  be  required,  which  should  be 
ploughed  or^  harrowed  in ;  if  drilled,  two  and 
a  half  or  three  bushels  per  acre  will  be  suffi- 
cient. Beans  are  tolerably  hardy,  and  will 
bear  moderate  dry  frosts ;  but  they  suffer  much 
from  alternate  frosts  and  thaws,  which  in  this 
152 


climate  are  so  common  in  February.  The  enc 
of  February  or  the  beginning  of  March  is, 
therefore,  generally  preferred  for  bean  sowing. 
When  the  season  is  remarkably  mild,  early 
sowing  is  a  great  advantage.  As  a  general 
rule,  spring  beans  may  be  sown  from  the  mid- 
dle of  February  to  the  middle  of  March.  There 
are  two  modes  of  drilling  beans.  In  one  of 
these  the  lands  or  ridges  are  divided  by  the 
plough  into  ridgelets,  or  "one  bout-stitches," 
at  intervals  of  about  twenty-seven  inches. 

If  dung  is  applied  to  beans,  the  seed  ought 
to  be  deposited  first,  asTt  is  found  inconvenient 
to  run  the  drill  machine  afterwards.  The  dung 
may  then  be  drawn  out  from  the  carts  in  small 
heaps,  one  row  of  heaps  serving  for  three  or 
five  ridgelets ;  which  is  evenly  spread  and 
equally  divided  among  them.  The  ridgelets 
are  next  split  back  or  reversed,  either  by 
means  of  the  common  plough,  or  one  with  two 
mould-boards,  which  covers  both  the  seed  and 
the  manure  in  the  most  perfect  manner.  When 
beans  are  sown  by  the  other  method  in  the 
bottom  of  a  common  furrow,  the  dung  must  be 
previously  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  win- 
ter or  spring  ploughing.  Three  ploughs  then 
start  in  succession,  one  immediately  behind 
the  other,  and  a  drill-harrow  either  follows  the 
third  plough,  or  is  attached  to  it,  by  which  the 
beans  are  sown  in  every  third  furrow,  or  at 
from  24  to  27  inches  asunder,  according  to  the 
breadth  of  the  furrow-slice. 

Another  improved  mode  of  sowing  beans 
when  dung  is  applied  at  seed  time,  is  to  spread 
the  dung  and  plough  it  down  with  a  strong  fur- 
row; after  this,  shallow  furroivs  are  drawn, 
into  which  the  seed  is  deposited  by  the  drill 
machine.  Whichever  of  these  modes  of  sow- 
ing is  followed,  the  whole  field  must  be  care- 
fully laid  dry,  hj  means  of  channels  formed 
by  the  plough,  and  when  necessary,  by  the 
shovel ;  for  neither  then  nor  at  any  former  pe- 
riod should  water  be  allowed  to  stagnate  on 
the  land.  It  is  a  common  practice  with  many 
farmers  to  mix  and  sow  with  beans  a  propor- 
tionate part  of  peas,  about  one-fourth,  which, 
when  growing,  are  called  Polts,  and  are  thus 
cultivated  both  on  the  drill  and  broadcast  sys- 
tem. In  either  case  the  seed  should  be  put 
into  the  ground  by  the  latter  end  of  January, 
or  as  soon  after  as  the  weather  and  state  of  the 
land  will  permit.  By  this  intermixture  of  peas 
and  beans,  the  straw  or  haulm  is  said  to  be 
greatly  improved.  In  some  places  the  peas  are 
sown  on  the  headlands,  and  the  haulm  is  used 
to  tie  the  beans  with ;  but  peas  cling  round 
the  bean-stalks  and  impede  the  setting  of  the 
pods;  they  also  interfere  with  the  h(  eing  and 
weeding,  so  that  the  practice  is  not  to  be  re- 
commended. Peas  require  a  lighter  soil,  and 
are  best  sown  separately,  except  when  they  are 
sown  broadcast,  mixed  with  beans,  in  order  to 
be  mown  in  a  green  state  as  fodder  for  cattle 
or  pigs.  Sowing  beans  for  this  last-mentioned 
purpose  is  not  much  practised  in  England,  but 
is  found  very  useful  on  the  Continent,  espe- 
cially in  Flanders ;  in  this  case  they  are  mown 
like  tares,  soon  after  the  pods  are  formed.  In 
order  to  have  a  succession  of  this  green  food, 
they  should  be  so^\ti  at  different  times  within 
a  week  or  a  fortnight  of  each  o^her.    Bv  this 


I 


BEANS. 


eans  a  great  deal  of  grass  is  saved,  which 
may  be  reserved  for  hay.  The  cattle  fed  in  the 
stables  or  yards  thrive  well  on  this  food,  and 
produce  a  quantity  of  rich  manure,  chiefly  in 
a  liquid  slate,  which  fills  the  tanks  and  reser- 
voirs, which  are  indispensable  appendages  to 
every  farm-yard.  By  having  winter  tares 
when  the  turnips  are  consumed,  peas  and 
beans  after  the  first  crop  of  clover,  and  sum- 
mer tares  to  succeed  them,  cattle  may  be  fed 
in  the  stables  all  the  year  round  with  great  ad- 
vantage ;  the  land  may  be  tilled  at  the  best 
season  of  the  year  and  prepared  for  wheat,  as 
well  as  by  a  clear  fallow,  while  the  green  crop 
will  fully  repay  all  the  expenses.  Three 
bushels  of  beans  and  two  of  peas,  mixed  to- 
gether, are  required  per  acre,  when  sown 
broadcast  or  drilled  in  each  furrow  after  the 
plough.  It  is  often  advantageous  to  cut  in  a 
green  state  those  beans  which  were  sown  for 
a  general  crop,  when  food  for  pigs  is  scarce, 
^'hey  will  go  nearly  as  far  in  this  way  in  feed- 
ing store  pigs,  as  the  beans  would  have  done 
when  ripe :  and  the  ground  is  left  in  a  much 
better  stale  for  the  following  crop.  (Penny 
Cyclop,  vol.  iv.  p.  82.) 

Many  farmers  have  long  and  advantageously 
adopted  the  practice  of  dibbling  in  their  beans, 
by  which  a  great  saving  of  seed  is  effected; 
neither  are  they  required  to  be  planted  so  early 
as  by  the  old  system.  Besides  being  more 
evenly  deposited  in  the  soil,  and  properly  co- 
vered over,  they  are  belter  preserved  from 
rooks,  and  other  vermin  that  would  destroy 
them.  Drilling,  however,  is  still  preferred  by 
most  agriculturists,  as  being  a  less  expensive 
course  Both  drilling  and  dibbling  have  each 
great  advantages  over  the  broadcast  system, 
as  by  the  latter  method  the  land  cannot  be 
kept  clean. 

Some  parties  recommend  the  topping  of 
beans  just  as  the  blossoms  are  set,  and  assert 
that  il  not  only  improves  the  quality,  but  in- 
creases the  quantity,  and  causes  them  to  ripen 
sooner.  They  may  be  switched  off  with  an  old 
scythe-blade,  set  in  a  wooden  handle,  with 
which  one  man  can  easily  top  two  acres  a 
day.  Others  object,  and  with  much  justice,  to 
this  indiscriminate  hacking  and  topping.  The 
reason  for  doing  this  in  garden  culture  is,  that 
when  a  plant  has  borne  pods  a  certain  time, 
it  is  most  advantageous  to  remove  it,  and  the 
top  blossoms,  of  course,  never  come  to  perfec- 
tion. In  the  field  this  is  not  the  case,  there 
leing  no  succession  of  plants ;  and,  unless  the 
I  p  blossoms  are  very  late,  or  the  black  dol- 
phin (aphis)  begins  to  appear,  which  is  shown 
by  the  honey-dew  on  the  upper  shoots,  no  ad- 
vantage is  gained  by  topping  the  plants,  and 
the  labour  is  thrown  away.  The  bean  crop  is  | 
generally  harrowed  to  destroy  annual  weeds  :  i 
sometimes  just  before  the  plants  make  their  | 
appearance,  and  sometimes  after  the  beans 
have  got  their  first  green  leaves,  and  are  fairly  j 
above  ground.  After  the  beans  have  made 
some  growth,  the  horse-hoe  is  employed  in  the 
intervals  between  the  rows,  and  followed  by 
the  hand-hoe,  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  down 
such  weeds  as  the  horse-hoe  cannot  reach  ;  all 
the  weeds  that  grow  among  the  beans  should 
be  pulled  up  with  the  hands.  The  same  ope- 
20 


BEANS. 

rations  are  repeated  as  often  as  the  condition 
of  the  land  in  regard  to  cleanliness  may  re- 
quire. 

When  the  leaves  of  the  beans  begm  to  lose 
their  green  colour,  and  the  pods  to  turn  black, 
the  crop  should  be  reaped  with  the  sickle,  and 
made  into  small  sheaves,  tied  with  straw-bands 
or  tarred  twine,  and  set  up  in  the  field  to  dry. 
But  if  the  haulm  is  short,  as  that  of  the  long- 
pod  and  mazagan  generally  are,  it  is  a  mere 
profitable  course  to  pull  them  up  by  the  roots, 
and  lay  them  in  sheaves,  the  same  as  if  cut,  by 
which  means  the  lowest  and  earliest  pods  ars 
better  preserved  and  harvested.  Mr.  J.  C. 
Curwen,  M.  P.  (Com.  to  the  Board  of  Agr.,  vol. 
iv.  p.  390)  gives  some  details  of  the  result  of 
experiments  made  in  1803  and  1804,  of  cutting 
beans  M'hilst  in  a  perfectly  green  and  fresh 
state.  Forty  acres  of  beans  were  drilled  in 
February,  1804,  and  from  May  to  the  middle  of 
July  the  ploughs  and  harrows  were  constantly 
at  work  in  it.  By  the  10th  of  August,  the  beans 
had  shot  the  black  eye,  which  is  the  criterion 
of  seeds  being  perfectly  formed.  The  weather 
proving  unfavourable,  prevented  their  being 
reaped  immediately,  but  they  were  eventually 
cut  on  the  20th  of  August,  spread  thinly,  and 
exposed  two  days  to  the  sun  previous  to  bind- 
ing and  removing  to  an  open  pasture,  where 
they  remained  three  weeks,  and  were  then 
found  perfectly  dry  and  fit  for  stacking.  Mr. 
Curwen  adds,  as  a  strong  proof  of  the  benefit 
resulting  from  these  early  cuttings,  that  he 
was  enabled,  previous  to  drilling  with  wheat, 
to  give  the  ground  two  ploughings,  harrow- 
ings,  &c.,  and  in  some  parts  three  (the  extreme 
foulness  of  this  piece  of  land  requiring  what  in 
few  instances  would  be  necessary) ;  and  to 
cart  and  spread  sixty  loads  of  compost  per 
acre,  and  to  complete  the  whole  by  the  20th  of 
September.  Mr.  John  Sherif,  of  Haddington 
(Com.  Board  of  Agr.,  vol.  iv.  p.  172),  also  says 
of  hai-vesting  beans,  "This  crop  should  be  cut 
down  as  soon  as  tl>e  eye  has  attained  its 
deepest  dye,  and  instantly,  if  dry  weather, 
sheaved.  The  sheaves  of  any  grain  or  pulse 
ought  not  to  exceed  nine  inches  in  diameter  ; 
and  I  think  that  sheaves  from  six  to  eight 
inches  would  be  far  safer  in  this  variable  cli- 
mate. By  cutting  at  this  period  of  the  state  of 
the  crop,  the  bean-straw  will  be  of  triple  value 
of  what  stands  till  the  leaves  fall  off';  the  grain 
too  will  be  superior  to  that  bleached  by  the 
weather  for  weeks,  after  the  haulm  and  grdin 
of  the  first  is  secured  in  the  rick.  Shocks  of 
any  crop  of  pulse  or  grain  ought  not  to  exceed 
six  sheaves  of  the  above-mentioned  size." 
The  Rev.  John  Ramsay,  of  Ayrshire,  and  Mr. 
John  Boys,  of  Kent,  also  give  the  result  of  their 
observations  on  bean  husbandry  (Com.  Board 
of  Agr.,  vol.  vi.  p.  141—146),  which,  though 
valuable,  are  of  too  confined  and  local  a  na- 
ture for  me  to  notice. 

The  diseases  to  which  beans  are  subject  ir» 
England,  are  the  rust,  or  mildew,  which  is  a 
minute  fungus  that  grows  on  the  stems  of 
leaves,  attributed  to  cold  fogs  and  frequent 
sudden  transitions  of  weather,  and  the  black 
dolphin  or  fly,  also  called  the  collier,  an  insect 
of  the  aphis  tribe.  For  the  mildew  no  remedy 
has  vet  been  found.   Whenever  it  has  attacked 


BEANS. 


BEANS. 


the  plants,  generally  before  the  pods  are  filled, 
the  best  method  is  to  cut  down  the  crop  in  its 
green  state ;  and  if  it  cannot  be  consumed  in 
the  farm-yard,  to  plough  it  into  the  ground, 
where  it  will  decay  rapidly,  and  be  an  excel- 
lent manure  for  the  succeeding  crop  of  wheat. 
If  allowed  to  stand,  the  crop  will  not  only  be 
unproductive,  but  the  weeds  will  infest  the 
ground,  and  spoil  the  wheat  crop  by  tneir 
seeds  and  roots,  which  will  remain  in  the  soil. 
Whenever  the  tops  of  the  beans  begin  to  be 
moist  and  clammy  to  the  feel,  it  is  the  fore- 
runner of  the  aphis.  They  should  then  be  im- 
mediately cut  off,  and  this,  if  done  in  time, 
may  save  the  crop  from  the  ravages  of  the 
insects  ;  but  the  most  effectual  way  to  prevent 
any  disease  from  attacking  the  plants  in  their 
growth,  is  to  have  the  ground  in  good  heart, 
and  well  tilled;  to  drill  the  beans  at  a  suffi- 
cient distance  between  the  rows,  to  allow  the 
use  of  the  horse-hoe,  and  thus  to  accelerate  the 
growth  of  the  plants,  and  enable  them  to  out- 
grow the  effect  of  incipient  disease,  which 
seldom  attacks  any  but  weak  plants.  In  the 
year  1831,  there  were  imported  from  abroad 
23,388  qrs.  of  beans.  The  largest  proportion 
came  from  the  following  countries ;  Denmark, 
1299  qrs.;  Prussia,  1157  qrs.;  Germany,  7664 
qrs. ;  the  Netherlands,  7070  qrs.;  France,  1454 
qrs.;  Italy,  3691  qrs.;  Malta,  1031  qrs.  The 
total  quantity  of  pulse  (for  beans  and  peas  are 
included  in  the  return)  entered  for  home  con- 
sumption in  1834,  was  102,080  qrs. ;  in  1835, 
94,540  qrs.  {Appendix  fo  Second  Agr.  Report 
for  1836,  p.  282.;  Phillips's  Cultivated  Vege- 
tables ;  Penny  Ct/c.  vol.  iv. ;  Baxter's  Agr. 
Lib.;  Prof.  Low's  work  on  Agr. ,-  Com.  Board  of 
Agr.,  vols.  iv.  and  vi. ;  M'Cullock's  Com.  Did.) 

Garden  Beans. — The  following  varieties  are 
those  principally  cultivated: — Early  mazagan, 
a  great  bearer,  and  a  good  sort.  Early  Lisbon, 
or  Portugal  bean,  a  small  and  sweet  kind. 
Common  sword,  and  other  long-pods,  the 
most  abundant  bearers,  and  consequently 
more  generally  found  in  the  cottager's  garden 
than  any  other  sort.  Small  Spanish.  Broad 
Spanish.  Toker,  a  good  bearer,  middling 
large.  White  and  black  blossomed,  good  sorts, 
and  bear  well ;  middling  size:  the  seed,  when 
old,  is  apt  Jo  degenerate  if  not  saved  with  care. 
Windsor,  one  of  our  best-tasted  beans  when 
young ;  but  not  a  hardy  kind.  Green  nonpa- 
reil, smallish.  Besides  these,  there  are  the 
Munford,  Dwarf-cluster,  or  Fan,  and  the  Red 
blossomed,  varieties  of  little  value.  In  some 
places  the  Fan  is,  however,  much  grown.  It 
grows  only  from  six  to  twelve  inches  high ; 
the  branches  spread  out  like  a  fan,  and  the 
pods  are  produced  in  clusters.  The  soil 
should  vary  with  the  season.  For  the  winter- 
standing  and  early  crops,  a  moderately  rich 
and  dry  soil  is  best  adapted  to  them,  since,  if 

GO  moist,  the  seed  is  apt  to  decay,  &c.,  whilst 
a  moist  aluminous  one  is  best  for  the  spring 
and  summer  insertions.  Although  the  bean 
V,  ill  succeed  in  much  lighter  soils  than  is  ge- 

ijerally  imagined,  yet,  if  such  are  allotted  to  it 
when  thus  late  inserted,  the  produce  is  much 
diminished.  The  situation  cannot  be  too  un- 
incumbered, but  still  a  protection  from  violent 

ariiids  is  very  beneficial,  as  no  plant  is  more 
154 


liable  to  suffer  if  its  leaves  are  much  injured. 
It  is  propagated  by  seed.  For  the  first  produc- 
tion, in  the  following  year,  a  small  plantation 
may  be  made  at  the  close  of  October,  or  during 
November,  and  a  rather  larger  one  in  Decem- 
ber. These  should  be  inserted  on  a  south 
border,  in  a  row,  about  a  foot  from  the  fence, 
or  in  cross-rows.  If  intended  for  transplanting, 
the  seed  may  be  sown  likewise  during  these 
months.  Regular  plantations  may  be  continued 
to  be  made  from  the  beginning  of  January  to 
the  end  of  June,  once  every  three  weeks. 
Early  in  July  and  August  the  two  last  crops 
must  be  inserted.  The  Windsor,  which  is  the 
principal  variety  then  planted,  should  have  a 
south  border  allotted  ;  it  comes  into  production 
about  Michaelmas. 

The  experiments  of  Bradley  serve  as  a  guide 
in  some  respects,  whereby  to  apportion  the 
extent  of  the  plantations.  He  found  that  a  rod 
of  ground,  containing  fourteen  rows,  in  pairs, 
at  two  feet  distance,  the  plants  in  which  are 
six  inches  apart,  or  thirty-four  in  number,  will 
yield  forty-seven  quarts  of  broad  beans. 
Smaller  varieties  only  from  one-half  to  one- 
third  as  many.  (General  Treat,  on  Husband, 
and  Garden.,  vol.  iii.  p.  16.)  If  the  plants  are 
intended  to  be  transplanted,  which  is  only 
practised  for  the  early  crops,  the  seed  must  be 
sown  thick,  about  an  inch  apart,  in  a  bed  of 
light  earth,  in  a  sheltered  situation,  and  of  such 
extent  as  can  be  covered  with  a  frame.  If 
frames  and  hand-glasses  are  deficient,  matting 
or  litter,  kept  from  pressing  on  and  injuring 
the  plants,  by  means  of  hooping,  &c.,  are 
sometimes  employed.  These,  however,  afford 
such  imperfect  shelter,  that  there  is  scarce  any 
advantage  superior  to  the  mode  of  sowing  at 
once,  where  the  plants  are  to  remain,  since  the 
intention  of  this  practice  is  to  keep  them  in 
vigour,  and  to  forward  their  growth,  by  secur- 
ing them  from  ungenial  weather.  Care  must 
be  taken  that  they  are  not  weakened  from  a 
deficiency  of  air  or  light;  to  guard  against 
this,  the  lights  should  be  taken  entirely  off 
every  day  that  excessive  wet  or  cold  does  not 
imperatively  forbid  their  removal.  The  usual 
time  for  removing  them  into  the  open  ground, 
in  a  south  border,  is  February;  if,  however, 
the  season  is  inclement,  they  may  be  kept 
under  the  frame  until  May;  but  then  a  week 
previous  to  their  removal,  Bradley  informs  us, 
they  ought  to  be  cut  down  within  two  inches 
of  the  ground.  {Gen.  Treat,  oji  Husband,  and 
Garden.)  When  removed,  as  much  earth  as 
possible  should  be  retained  round  the  roots  of 
plants;  and  they  must  be  set  at  similar  dis- 
tances as  the  main  crops.  No  water  is  re- 
quired, unless  the  season  be  very  dry.  When 
sown  to  remain,  the  seed  may  be  inserted  in 
rows,  by  a  blunt  dibble,  or  in  drills,  drawn  by 
the  hoe,  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  feel 
apart,  from  two  to  four  inches  apart  in  the 
row,  and  two  deep,  the  earliest  crops  and 
shortest  varieties  being  set  at  the  smallest  dis 
tances.  These  spaces  may  be  considered  as 
large  by  some  gardeners  ;  but  the  beans,  Miller. 
from  experience,  asserts,  are  more  productive 
than  if  set  twice  as  close.  Previous  to  sowing, 
in  summer,  if  dry  weather,  ihe  seed  should  be 
soaked  for  two  or  three  hours  in  water,  or  if 


BEAN,  KIDNEY. 


BEAN,  KIDNEY. 


sown  in  drills,  these  must  be  well  watered  im- 1 
mediately  before  the  insertion.  When  advanced 
to  a  height  of  two  inches,  hoeing  between,  and  ' 
drawing  earth  about  the  stems  of  the  plants 
may  commence.  Tliis  must  be  often  repeated, 
and  even  sooner  begun  to  the  early  and  late 
crops,  as  it  affords  considerable  protection  from 
frost  and  wind.  As  soon  as  the  various  crops 
come  into  blossom,  two  or  three  inches  length 
of  each  stem  is  broken  off;  this,  by  preventing 
its  increase  in  height,  causes  more  sap  to  be  af- 
forded to  the  blossom,  consequently  causing  it  to 
advance  with  more  rapidity,  and  set  more  abun- 
dantly. Some  gardeners  recommend  the  tops 
to  be  taken  off  when  the  plants  are  young,  not 
more  than  six  inches  high,  declaring  it  makes 
them  branch,  and  be  more  productive.  This 
may  be  ultimately  the  effect,  but  it  is  certainly 
incorrect  to  state  that  it  brings  them  into  pro- 
duction sooner:  the  effect  in  this  respect  is 
much  the  contrary.  The  winter-standing  crops 
require,  in  the  early  stages  of  their  growth,  the 
shelter  of  dry  litter,  prevented  touching  the 
plants  by  small  branches,  &c.  This  is  only 
requisite  during  very  severe  weather;  it  must 
be  constantly  removed  in  mild  open  days, 
''therwise  the  plants  will  be  spindled  and 
weakened.  For  the  production  of  seed,  plan- 
tations of  the  several  varieties  should  be  made 
about  the  end  of  February,  in  a  soil  lighter 
than  that  their  produce  is  afterwards  to  be 
grown  upon.  No  two  varieties  should  be  grown 
near  each  other ;  and  in  order  to  preserve  the 
early  ones  as  uncontaminated  as  possible, 
those  plants  only  which  blossom  and  produce 
their  pods  the  first  should  be  preserved.  Water 
ought  to  be  given  two  or  three  times  a  week, 
from  the  time  of  their  blossoming  until  their 
pods  have  done  swelling.  None  of  the  pods 
ought  to  be  gathered  for  the  table  from  them  ; 
the  after-production  of  seed  is  never  so  fine, 
and  the  plants  raised  from  it  are  always  defi- 
cient in  vigour.  They  are  fit  for  harvesting 
when  the  leaves  have  become  blackish,  which 
occurs  at  the  end  of  August  or  early  in  Sep- 
tember. They  must  be  thoroughly  dried,  being 
reared  against  a  hedge  until  they  are  so,  before 
the  seed  is  thrashed  out  and  stored  ;  and  those 
only  should  be  preserved  that  are  fine  and  per- 
fect. Some  gardeners  even  recommend  the 
pods  from  the  lower  part  of  the  stem  alone  to 
be  selected.  Seed  beans  will  sometimes  vege- 
tate after  being  kept  for  eight  or  ten  years,  but 
are  seldom  good  for  any  thing  when  more  than 
two.  The  plants  arising  from  seed  of  this  age 
are  not  so  apt  to  be  superluxuriant  as  i  om 
that  produced  in  the  preceding  year. 

BEAN,  KIDNEY  {Phaseolus  vulgaris,  from 
its  pods  resembling  a  species  of  ship,  supposed 
first  to  have  been  invented  at  Phaselis,  a  town 
of  Pamphylia).  Of  this  vegetable  there  are  two 
species,  the  one  being  a  dwarf  bushy  plant,  the 
(Xher  a  lofty  climbing  one. 

Of  the  Dwarfs  there  are  twelve  varieties : — 


Early  liver-coloured. 
Early  red-speckled. 
Early  white. 
Early  negro,  or  black. 
Canterbury  white. 
Battersea  white. 


Black  speckled. 
Brown  speckled. 
Streaked  or  striped. 
Large  white. 
Dun-coloured. 
Tawny. 


Of  the  Runners  there  are  six  varieties : — 

Scarlet  runner.  Canterbury  small  white. 

Large  white.  Small  white. 

Large  white  Dutch.     Variable  runner. 

The  soil  for  them  may  be  any  thing  rather 
than  wet  or  tenacious,  for  in  such  the  greater 
part  of  the  seed,  in  general,  decays  without 
germinating;  whilst  those  plants  which  are 
produced  are  contracted  in  their  produce  and 
continuance,  A  very  light  mellow  loam,  even 
inclining  to  a  sand,  is  the  best  for  the  earliest 
sowings,  and  one  scarcely  less  silicious, 
though  moister,  is  preferable  for  the  late  sum- 
mer crops ;  but  fc  r  the  later  ones  a  recurrence 
must  be  made  to  a  soil  as  dry  as  for  the  early 
insertions.  In  ail  cases  the  subsoil  must  be 
open,  as  stagna/t  moisture  is  inevitably  fatal 
to  the  plants  or  seed.  For  the  early  and  late 
crops  a  sheltered  border  must  always  be  allot- 
ted, or  in  a  single  row  about  a  foot  from  a 
south  fence,  otherwise  the  situation  cannot  be 
too  open. 

Dwarfs. — The  sowing  commences  with  the 
year.  They  may  be  sown  towards  the  end  of 
January  in  pots,  and  placed  upon  the  flues  of 
the  hot-house,  or  in  rows  in  the  mould  of  a  hot- 
bed, for  production  in  March  ;  to  be  repeated 
once  every  three  weeks  in  similar  situations 
during  February  and  March,  for  supplying  the 
table  during  April,  May,  and  June.  At  the  end 
of  March  and  April  a  small  sowing  may  be 
performed,  if  fine  open  weather,  under  a  frame 
without  heat,  for  removal  into  a  sheltered  bor- 
der early  in  May.  During  May,  and  thence 
until  the  first  week  in  August,  sowings  may 
be  made  once  every  three  weeks.  It.  Septem- 
ber, forcing  recommences  :  at  first  merely  un- 
der frames  without  bottom  heat,  but  in  Octo- 
ber, and  thence  to  the  close  of  the  year,  in  hot- 
beds, &c.,%.s  in  January.  Sowings,  when  a  re- 
moval is  intended,  should  always  be  performed 
in  pots,  the  plants  being  less  retarded,  as  the 
roots  are  less  injured,  than  when  the  seed  is 
inserted  in  patches  or  rows  in  the  earth  of  the 
bed.  It  is  a  good  practice  likewise  to  repeat 
each  sowing  in  the  frames  without  heat  after 
the  lapse  of  a  week,  as  the  first  will  often  fail, 
when  a  second,  although  after  so  short  a  lapse 
of  time,  will  perfectly  succeed.  In  every  in- 
stance the  seed  is  buried  one  and  a  half  or  two 
inches  deep.  The  rows  of  the  main  crops,  if 
of  the  smaller  varieties,  may  be  one  and  a 
half,  if  of  the  larger,  two  feet  apart,  the  seed 
being  inserted  either  in  drills  or  by  the  dibble 
four  inches  apart ;  the  plants,  however,  to  be 
thinned  to  twice  that  distance. 

If  any  considerable  vacancy  occurs,  it  may 
always  be  filled  by  plants  which  have  been 
carefully  removed  by  the  trowel  from  where 
they  stood  too  thick.  A  general  remark,  how- 
ever,  may  be  made,  that  the  transplanted  beans 
are  never  so  productive  or  continue  so  long  in 
bearing  (although  sometimes  they  are  earlier) 
as  those  left  where  raised.  The  rows  of  the 
earlier  crops  are  best  ranged  north  and  south. 
The  seed  inserted  during  the  hottest  period  of 
summer,  should  be  either  soaked  in  water  loi 
five  or  six  hours,  laid  in  damp  mould  for  a  day 
or  two,  or  the  drills  be  well  watered  previous 
to  sowing.  The  only  after-cultivation  requ  •re'' 


BEAN.  KIDNEY. 


BEARD-GRASS. 


.'s  the  destruction  of  weeds,  and  earth  to  he 
drawn  up  round  the  stems. 

The  pods  of  both  species  are  always  to  be 
gathered  while  young ;  by  thus  doing,  and  care 
being  had  not  to  injure  the  stems  in  detaching 
them,  the  plants  are  rendered  as  prolific  and 
long-lived  as  possible. 

Furclvg. — The  hotbed  must  be  of  moderate 
size,  and  covered  with  earth  eight  or  nine 
inches  thick.  When  the  heat  has  become  re- 
gular, the  seed  may  be  inserted  in  drills  a  foot 
apart,  and  the  plants  allowed  lo  stand  six 
inches  asunder  in  the  rows.  Some  gardeners 
erroneously  sow  thick  in  a  hotbed,  moulded 
over  about  six  or  seven  inches  deep,  and  re- 
move ^the  plants,  when  two  or  three  inches 
high,  to  the  above-mentioned  distances  in  an- 
other for  producing,  water  and  shade  being 
alforded  until  they  have  rooted.  Air  must  be 
admitted  as  freely  as  to  the  melon.  The  same 
precautions  are  likewise  necessary  as  to  keep- 
ing up  the  temperature,  taking  the  chill  oif  the 
water,  &c.,  as  for  that  plant.  When  the  seed 
begins  to  sprout,  the  mould  should  be  kept  re- 
gularly moistened;  and  when  grown  up,  wa- 
ter may  be  given  moderately  three  times  a 
week.  The  temperature  should  never  be  less 
than  60°,  nor  higher  than  75°. 

Some  plants  of  the  hotbed  sowing  at  the  end 
of  March,  are  often,  after  being  gradually  har- 
dened, planted  in  a  warm  border;  this  will  at 
most  hasten  the  plants  in  production  a  fort- 
night before  those  sown  in  the  open  ground  in 
May. 

Those  sown  under  frames  in  March  for 
transplanting  into  a  border,  when  two  or  three 
inches  in  height,  must  in  like  manner  be  har- 
dened gradually  for  the  exposure,  by  the  plen- 
tiful admission  of  air,  and  the  total  removal 
of  the  glasses  during  fine  days.  If  any  are 
raised  in  pots  in  the  hot-house,  they  must  in  a 
like  manner  be  prepared  for  the  removal,  by 
setting  them  outside  in  fine  days,  and  there 
watering  them  with  colder  water.  If  the  sea- 
son is  too  ungenial  after  all  to  remove  them 
even  to  a  warm  border,  the  plants  are  often 
inserted  in  patches,  to  have  the  protection  of 
frames  or  hand-lights  at  night,  or  as  the  wea- 
thex  demands.  It  has  been  lately  stated  in  a 
provincial  paper,  that  kidney-beans  appear  of 
a  perennial  nature.  In  Somersetshire,  they 
have  been  observed  to  vegetate  for  several 
years — the  plants  being  in  the  vicinity  of  a 
steam-engine,  and  so  situated  that  the  frost 
could  not  penetrate  to  the  roots.  I  have  not 
yet  had  an  opportunity  of  putting  this  state- 
ment to  the  test  of  experiment. 

Runners. — As  these  are  more  tender,  and  the 
seed  is  more  apt  to  decay  than  those  of  the 
Dwarfs,  nu  open  ground  crop  must  be  inserted 
before  the  r.lose  of  April,  or  early  in  May,  to 
be  continued  at  intervals  of  four  weeks 
through  June  and  July,  which  will  ensure  a 
supply  from  the  middle  of  this  last  month  until 
October.  Some  gardeners  force  them  in  a 
similar  manner  to  the  Dwarfs  :  they  certainly 
require  similar  treatment;  but  they  will  en- 
dure a  higher  temperature  by  a  few  degrees. 
They  are  so  prolific,  and  such  permanent 
rearers,  that  three  open-ground  sowing-"  of  a 
15t 


size  proportionate  to  the  consumption  will,  in 
almost  every  instance,  be  sutficient. 

The  runners  are  inserted  in  drills,  either 
singly,  three  feet  apart,  or  in  pairs,  ten  or 
twelve  inches  asunder,  and  each  pair  four  feet 
distant  from  its  neighbour.  The  seed  is  buried 
two  inches  deep  and  four  inches  apart  in  the 
rows,  the  plants  being  thinned  to  twice  that 
distance.  If  grown  in  single  rows,  a  row  of 
poles  must  be  set  on  the  south  side  of  each, 
being  fixed  firmly  in  the  ground ;  they  may  be 
kept  together  by  having  a  light  pole  tied  hori- 
zontally along  their  tops,  or  a  post  fixed  at 
each  end  of  a  row,  united  by  a  cross-bar  at 
their  tops;  a  string  may  be  passed  from  this 
to  each  of  the  plants.  If  the  rows  are  in  pairs, 
a  row  of  poles  must  be  placed  on  each  side,  so 
fixed  in  the  ground  that  their  summits  cross, 
and  are  tied  together.  They  are  sometimes 
sown  in  a  single  row  down  the  sides  of  bor- 
ders, or  on  each  side  of  a  walk,  having  the 
support  of  a  trellis- work,  or  made  to  climb  poles 
which  are  turned  archwise  over  it. 

As  the  plants  advance  to  five  or  six  inches 
in  height,  they  should  have  the  earth  drawn 
about  their  stems.  Weeds  must  be  constantl)' 
cleared  aAvay  as  they  appear.  When  they 
throw  up  their  voluble  stems,  those  that  strag- 
gle away  should  be  brought  back  to  the  poles, 
and  twisted  round  them  in  a  direction  contrary 
to  that  of  the  sun  :  nothing  will  induce  them 
to  entwine  in  the  contrary  direction,  or  from 
left  to  right. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  forty  or  fifty 
plants  of  the  Dwarf  species  wi.l  be  sufficient 
for  a  moderate-sized  family,  ct  thirty  of  the 
Runner.  They  must  be  raised  purposely  in 
May,  or  a  like  number  from  the  crop  in  that 
month  may  be  left  ungathered  from;  for  the 
first  pods  always  produce  the  finest  seeds,  and 
ripen  more  perfectly.  In  autumn,  as  soon  as 
the  plants  decay,  they  must  be  pulled,  and, 
when  thoroughly  dried,  the  seed  beaten  out 
and  stored.    {G.  W.  Johnson^s  Kitchen  Garden.) 

BEAN-FLY.  A  beautiful  bluish  black  fly, 
generally  found  on  bean  flowers.  It  is  some- 
times called  the  collier.  The  aphides  of  beans 
are  invariably  brought  on  by  very  dry  weather; 
they  are  most  prevalent  on  the  summits  of  the 
plants.  (See  Beans.)  The  larva;  of  the  lady- 
bird, or  lady-cow  (Coccinella  septempunclata), 
as  well  as  the  perfect  insects,  devour  the  aphis 
greedily,  feeding  almost  entirely  upon  these  in- 
sects. Several  of  the  English  summer  birds 
also  live  upon  them. 

BEAR.  A  species  of  barley,  called  also 
winter  barley,  square  barley,  and  big.  It  is 
sometimes  written  here.  This  grain  is  chiefly 
cultivated  in  Scotland,  the  northern  parts  of 
England,  and  Ireland.  It  yields  a  very  large 
return,  but  is  not  esteemed  so  good  for  malt- 
ing as  the  common  barley,  for  which  reason  it 
is  very  little  cultivated  in  the  southern  parts 

j  of  England. 

I      BEAR-BIND.     See  Black  Bind-weed. 

!      BEARD  (Sax.  heap©).    The  same  with    he 

\  awn  of  a  plant. 

i      BEARD-GRASS    (Poli/pogon).     There   are 

I  two  sorts,  the  annual  beard-grass  (P.  monspe- 

;  iiensis)  and  the  perennial  beard-grass  (P.  lilio- 


r 


BEARDED  OAT-GRASS. 


ralis).  They  are  found  in  moist  pastures  and 
near  the  sea,  in  muddy  salt-marshes,  but  are 
not  often  met  with. 

BEARDED  OAT-GRASS.    SeeWiM  Oats. 

BEAR'S-FOOT.     See  Hellebore. 

BEAST  (Su.  Goth,  beest,  Ger.  bestie,  Fr.  beite, 
Lat.  besliu).  A  term  generally  applied  to  all 
such  quadrupeds,  or  four-footed  animals,  as  are 
made  use  of  for  food,  or  employed  in  labour; 
but  farmers  apply  the  term  more  particularly 
to  neat  cattle. 

BED-STRAW,  YELLOW,  LADIES'  (Ga- 
Uvin  verum).  It  is  sometimes  termed  cheese- 
rennini^  and  maid's  hair,  or  petty  mu^uet  or 
mug^itorf,  and  yellow  goose-grass.  A  perennial 
weed,  flowering  from  June  till  October,  more 
common  in  the  hedges  and  Avaysides  than  in 
the  body  of  pastures.  Its  slender  stalks  rise 
to  about  a  foot  in  height.  The  leaves  come 
out  in  whorls,  eight  or  nine  together.  They 
are  long,  narrow,  and  of  a  green  colour.  Two 
little  branches  generally  come  out  near  the 
lop  of  the  sialic,  supporting  a  considerable 
number  of  small  golden  yellow  flowers,  con- 
sisting of  one  petal  divided  into  four  parts,  and 
succeeded  by  two  large  kidney-shaped  seeds. 
The  flowers  of  this  plant  are  said  to  coagulate 
boiling  milk,  and  the  better  sorts  of  Cheshire 
cheese  are  soioflimes  prepared  with  them.  A 
kind  of  vinegar  is  stated  to  have  been  dis- 
tilled from  the  flowering  tops.  The  French 
prescribe  them  in  epileptic  and  hysteric  cases; 
but  they  are  ot  no  value.  Boiled  in  alum- 
water,  they  tinge  wood  yellow.  The  roots  dye 
a  line  red  not  inferior  to  madder,  and  are  used 
for  this  purpose  in  the  island  of  Jura.  Sheep 
and  goats  eat  the  plant ;  horses  and  swine  re- 
fuse it ;  cows  are  not  fond  of  it.  Smith  enu- 
merates  seventeen   species    of    bed-straw : — 

I.  Cioss-wort  bed-straw,  or  mugweed;  2.  White 
water  bed-straw ;  3.  Rough  heath  bed-straw ; 
4.  Smooth  heath  bed-straw ;  5.  Rough  marsh 
bed-straw;  6.  Upright  bed-straw;  7.  Gray 
spreading  bed-straw;  8.  Bearded  bed  straw; 
9.  Warty-fruited  bed-straw  ;  10.  Rough-fruited 
corn  bed-straw,  or  three-flowered  goose-grass  ; 

II.  Smooth-fruited  corn  bed-straw ;  12.  Least 
mountain  bed-straw;  13.  Yellow  bed-straw; 
14.  Great  hedge  bed-straw ;  15.  Wall  bed-straw; 
16.  Cross-leaved  bed-straw;  17.  Goose-grass, 
or  cleavers.  (^Hort.  Gram.  Wob.-p.  329;  Smith's 
Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  pp.  199—210.) 

Dr.  Darlington,  in  his  Flora  Cestrica,  enu- 
merates twenty^ne  species  of  this  plant  found 
in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  Among 
these  are  the  wild  madder  (Galium  tinctorium), 
sometimes  called  Dyer's  goose-grass,  frequent 
in  low  grounds.  The  roots  of  this  and  another 
species  of  galium  (horeale)  are  used  by  the 
Indians  in  dying  their  porcupine  quills,  and 
other  ornaments,  of  a  red  colour.  Wild  liquo- 
rice {Guliuni.  Circaezuns),  frequent  in  rich 
woodlands  and  having  a  sweet  taste.  Common 
cleavers,  Robin-run-the-hedge,  or  Yellow  goose- 
p-ass  (PI.  10,  s)i  a  troublesome  weed. 

BEECH  (Fugtis  fylvatica.  Sax.  bece  or  boc^. 
The  beech  h'  one  of  the  handsomest  of  our 
native  forest  trees,  and  in  stateliness  and 
grandeur  of  outline  vies  even  with  the  oak. 
Its  silvery  bark,  contrasting  with  the  sombre 
trunks  of   other  trees,  renders   its    beauties 


BEECH 

conspicuous  in  our  woods ;  while  ihe  o-raca 
fully  spreading  pendulous  boughs,  with"  their 
glossy  foliage,  mark  its  elegance  in  the  park 
or  paddock.  There  is  only  one  species,  the 
difference  in  the  wood  arising  from  the  effects 
of  soil  and  situation.  The  beech  is  a  native 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  north  of  Europe  and 
America.  The  finest  beeches  in  England  are 
said  to  grow  in  Hampshire.  The  tree  is  also 
much  grown  in  Wiltshire,  Surrey,  Sussex, 
and  Kent.  The  forest  of  St.  Leonard's,  near 
Horsham,  Sussex,  abounds  with  noble  beech 
trees.  The  shade  of  the  beech  tree  is  very 
injurious  to  most  sorts  of  plants  that  grow 
near  it,  but  it  is  believed  by  the  vulgar  to  be 
very  salubrious  to  human  bodies.  The  Avood 
of  this  tree,  which  is  hard,  and  rather  hand- 
some, Brande  tells  us  (in  his  Did.  i>f  Science, 
p.  139),  is  brittle  and  perishable,  and  liable  to 
become  worm-eaten.  Phillips  admits,  that  it 
is  subject  to  worms,  when  exposed  to  the  air 
without  paint;  but  says,  that  the  timber  of 
the^e  trees,  in  point  of  actual  utility,  follows 
next  to  the  oak  and  the  ash,  and  is  little  inferior 
to  the  elm  for  water-pipes.  It  is  used,  he  adds 
(i/t.sY.  of  Fruits,  p.  60),  by  wheelwrights  and 
chairmakers,  and  also  by  turners  for  making 
domestic  wooden  ware,  such  as  bowls,  shovels, 
churns,  cheese-vats,  dressers,  shelves  for  dai- 
ries, «&c.  it  being  as  white  as  deal,  free  froin 
all  disagreeable  smell,  and  without  any  incon- 
venient softness.  Bedsteads  and  other  furni- 
ture are  often  made  with  this  timber;  and  no 
wood  splits  so  fine,  or  holds  so  well  together^ 
as  beech,  so  that  boxes,  sword-sheaths,  and  a 
variety  of  other  things,  are  made  from  it.  The 
baskets  called  pottles,  in  which  strawberries 
or  raspberries  are  usually  sold  in  London,  are 
made  from  beech  twigs  and  cuttings,  and  the 
wood  is  also  much  in  use  for  poles,  stakes, 
hoops,  &c.  Near  large  towns  it  is  in  great 
demand  for  billet  wood.  It  affords  a  large 
quantity  of  potash  and  good  charcoal.  It  is 
manufactured  into  a  great  variety  of  tools,  for 
which  its  great  hardness  and  uniform  texture 
render  it  superior  to  all  other  sorts  of  wood.  It 
is  not  much  used  in  building,  as  it  soon  rots  in 
damp  places,  but  it  is  useful  for  piles  in  places 
which  are  constantly  wet.  The  purple  and 
copper  beeches  seen  in  plantations  are  seed- 
ling varieties  of  Fagus  sylvatica.  The  beech- 
tree  thrives  best  and  attains  to  a  great  size  on 
clayey  loams  incumbent  on  sand:  silicious 
sandy  soils  are  also  well  adapted  for  its 
growth,  and  it  will  prosper  on  chalky,  stony, 
and  barren  soils,  where  many  other  timber 
trees  will  not  prosper  ;  and  it  is  found  to  resist 
winds  on  the  declivities  of  hills  better  than 
most  other  trees.  Where  the  soil  is  tolerably 
good,  beech  will  become  fit  to  be  felled  in 
about  twenty-five  years.  The  tree  bears  .op- 
ping,  and  may,  therefore,  be  trained  to  form 
very  lofty  hedges. 

The  leaves  of  the  beech,  gathered  in  autumn 
before  they  are  much  injured  by  the  frost,  are 
said  to  make  better  mattresses  than  straw  or 
chaff,  as  they  remain  sweet  and  continue  soft 
for  many  years ;  they  are  also  profitably  em- 
ployed in  forcing  sea-kale,  asparagus,  &c.  in 
hot-beds.  The  beech  is  propagated  by  sowmg 
the  nuts,  or  mast,  which  should  be  gathered 
O  157 


BEECH. 


BEECH. 


about  the  middle  of  September,  when  ihey  are 
ripe,  and  begin  to  fall,  and  spread  out  on  a 
mat  in  an  airy  place  for  a  week  to  dry,  when 
they  may  be  sown.  It  is,  however,  recom- 
merded  to  keep  them  dry  in  sand  until  the 
spring,  as  there  is  less  danger  of  their  being 
then  destroyed  by  field  mice  and  other  vermin. 
These  nuts  do  not  require  to  be  covered  more 
than  an  inch  deep  in  mould,  and  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  only  a  part  of  them  germinates  the 
first  year.  Two  or  three  bushels  of  seed  are 
sufficient  for  an  acre,  to  be  sown  mixed  with 
sand,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  ash. 

The  flowers  of  this  tree  come  forth  in  May, 
and  its  kernels  ripen  in  September.  The  Ro- 
mans used  beech  leaves  and  honey  to  restore 
the  growth  of  hair  which  had  fallen  off;  but 
the  moderns  have  not  found  it  efficacious. 

The  nuts  or  seed  of  this  tree,  termed  beech 
mast,  are  the  food  of  hogs,  and  of  various  small 
quadrupeds.  They  are  often  called  buck-mast 
in  England,  from  the  eagerness  with  which 
deer  feed  on  them. 

An  oil,  nearly  equal  m  flavour  to  the  best 
olive  oil,  with  the  advantage  of  keeping  longer 
without  becoming  rancid,  may  be  obtained 
from  the  nuts  by  pressure.  It  is  very  common 
in  Picardy,  and  other  parts  of  France,  where 
the  mast  abounds;  in  Silesia  it  is  used  by  the 
country  people  instead  of  butter.  And  in  the 
reign  of  George  I.  we  find  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented, praying  letters  patent  for  making  but- 
ter from  beech  nuts. 

The  cakes  which  remain  from  the  pressure, 
after  the  oil  is  made,  are  given  to  fatten  swine, 
oxen,  or  poultry.  A  bushel  of  mast  is  said  to 
produce  a  gallon  of  clean  oil ;  but  the  beech 
tree  seldom  produces  a  full  crop  of  mast 
oftener  than  once  in  three  years.  This  nut  is 
palatable  to  the  taste,  but  when  eaten  in  great 
quantities  occasions  headache  and  giddiness  ; 
nevertheless,  when  dried  and  ground  into  meal, 
it  makes  a  wholesome  bread.  Like  acorns, 
the  fruit  of  the  beech  was  long  the  food  of 
mankind  before  the  use  of  corn.  Roasted,  the 
mast  has  been  found  a  tolerable  substitute  for 
coffee.  (Phillips's  Hist,  of  Fruits,  p.  56 ; 
JW'  Culloch's  Cum.  Diet. ;  Baxter's  Agr.  Li- 
brary,-  Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

In  North  America,  as  in  Europe,  the  beech 
is  one  of  the  common  trees  of  the  forest.  Two 
distinct  species  are  found  in  the  Northern 
States,  which  have  been  often  treated  by  bota- 
nists as  varieties.  Michaux,  who  makes  this 
distinction,  calls  one  the  white  beech,  {Fagus 
sylvestris),  and  the  other  the  red  beech  (Fagus 
ferruginea),  both  the  popular  names  being  de- 
rived from  the  colour  of  the  wood.  In  the 
Middle  Western,  and  Southern  States  the  red 
beech  does  not  exist,  or  is  very  rare.  A  deep 
moist  soil  and  a  cool  atmosphere  are  necessary 
to  the  utmost  expansion  of  the  white  beech.  In 
the  Middle  Statc^:,  east  of  the  mountains,  it  is 
insulated  in  the  forests,  whilst  in  the  Northern 
parts  of  Pennsylvania,  the  Genessee  district 
in  New  York,  and  in  the  sta^^^es  of  Kentucky 
and  Tennessee,  it  composes  large  masses  of 
the  primitive  forests.  The  soils  on  which  the 
beech  mostly  abounds  have  generally  a  stra- 
tum of  clay  or  gravel,  termed  hard-pan,  which 
])revents  any  roots  from  descending.  This 
158 


,  forces  the  trees  to  obtain  their  subsistence  from 
!  the  upper  soil,  and  the  roots  spread  around  the 
!  trees  to  a  distance  sometimes  of  a  hundred 
I  feet  or  more,  and  so  numerous  withal  as  to  be 
I  greatly  in  the  way  of  the  settler  when  he  first 
clears  his  grounds.   But  he  has  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  they  soon  rot  away  and  yield 
to  his  plough.     The  white  beedi  is  more  slen- 
der and  less  branchy  than  the  red  beech ;  but 
its  foliage  is  superb,  the  green  being  of  the 
most  agreeable  shade,  and  its  general  appear- 
ance very  beautiful.    On  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
and  in  some  parts  of  Kentucky,  Avhere  the  oak 
is  too  rare  to  furnish  enough  bark  for  tanning, 
the  deficiency  is  supplied  by  that  of  the  white 
beech.     The  leather  made  with  this  is  white 
and  servicea,ble,  though  avowedly  inferior  to 
what  is  prepared  with  the  bark  of  the  oak. 

The  red  beech  bears  a  greater  resemblance 
to  that  of  Europe  than  the  w^hite  species.  It 
equals  the  white  beech  in  thickness,  but  not  in 
height,  has  a  more  massive  and  spreading 
summit,  and  more  tufted  foliage.  The  leaves 
are  very  similar,  but  those  of  the  white  beech 
are  not  quite  so  thick  and  large,  with  rather 
shorter  teeth.  To  these  diflerences  must  be 
added  a  more  important  one  in  the  wood.  The 
red  beech  15  or  18  inches  in  diameter  consists 
of  3  or  4  inches  of  white  wood  and  13  or  14 
inches  of  red  wood  or  heart,  the  inverse  of 
which  proportion  is  found  in  the  white  beech. 
The  wood  of  the  red  beech  is  stronger,  tougher, 
and  more  compact.  In  the  state  of  Maine  and 
in  the  British  Provinces  where  oaks  are  rare, 
it  is  employed  with  the  sugar  maple  and  yel« 
low  birch  for  the  lower  part  of  the  frame  of 
vessels.  As  it  is  extremely  liable  to  injury 
from  worms,  and  speedily  decays  when  ex- 
posed to  alternate  dryness  and  moisture,  it  is 
rarely  used  in  the  construction  of  houses.  In 
the  state  of  Maine  the  hickory  is  rare,  and  the 
white  oak  does  not  exist,  and  when  the  yellow 
birch  and  black  ash  cannot  be  procured  in 
sufficient  abundance  the  red  beech  is  selected 
for  hoops. 

Experience  has  demonstrated  the  advantage 
of  felling  the  beech  in  the  summer,  whilst  the 
sap  is  in  full  circulation.  Cut  at  this  season 
it  is  very  durable,  but  felled  in  winter,  it  de- 
cays in  a  few  years.  The  logs  are  left  several 
months  in  the  shade  before  they  are  hewn,  care 
being  taken  that  they  do  not  repose  immedi- 
ately upon  the  ground.  Aft^r  this  they  are 
hewn  and  laid  in  water  for  three  months, 
which  process,  it  is  said,  renders  them  inac- 
cessible to  worms. 

The  beech  is  very  durable  when  preserved 
from  moisture,  and  incorruptible  when  con- 
stantly in  the  water ;  but  the  white  or  exterior 
portion  of  the  wood  decays  rapidly  when  ex- 
posed to  alternations  of  dryness  and  dampness. 
The  interior  red  wood,  or  heart,  as  it  is  usually 
called,  is  very  durable.  In  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  United  States,  the  red  beech  consti 
tutes  a  large  proportion  of  the  fuel  consumed, 
and,  as  in  Europe,  the  wood  of  the  beech  sub- 
serves a  great  variety  of  useful  purposes. 

The  ashes  of  both  species  of  beech  yield  a 
very  large  proportion  of  potash. 

Michaux,  who  describes  the  process  of  ex 
tracting  the  oil,  says  that  it  equals  one-sixth 


w 

ei  the  irnts  as 


BEEF. 


©f  the  irnts  ased.  The  quality  of  the  oil  de- 
pends upon  the  care  with  which  it  is  made, 
and  upon  the  purity  of  the  vessels  in  which  it 
is  preserved-  It  should  be  twice  drawn  off 
during  the  first  three  months,  without  disturb- 
ing the  dregs,  and  the  third  time  at  the  end  of 
six  mouths.  It  arrives  at  perfection  only  when 
it  becomes  limpid,  several  months  after  its  ex- 
traction. It  improves  by  age,  lasts  unimpaired 
for  ten  years,  and  may  be  preserved  longer 
than  any  other  oil. 

The  manner  of  making  beech  nut  oil  most 
commonly  pursued  in  the  districts  of  the  United 
States  where  the  tree  abounds,  is  somewhat 
different  from  that  described  in  Michaux's 
Si/lra.  Instead  of  resorting  to  the  rather  te- 
dious process  of  gathering  the  nuts  and  press- 
ing them  through  screw-presses,  the  farmers 
turn  out  their  hogs  immediately  after  the  first 
frost,  who  secrete  the  oil  under  their  skin.  In  a 
favourable  year  they  become  perfect  masses  of 
blubber.  Unless  they  be  fed,  sometime  before 
killing,  on  Indian  corn,  the  bacon  has  little 
solid  consistency,  becomes  liquid  upon  the 
slighest  application  of  heat,  and  keeps  that 
state, — resembling  in  this  respect  the  lard 
of  hogs  fed  upon  acorn  mast.  The  nuts  are 
only  plentiful  about  every  third  or  fourth  year, 
and  every  farmer  keeps  a  number  of  half- 
starved  swine  in  the  intervening  period  to  take 
advantage  of  the  happy  event. 

BEEF  (Fr.  bauf),  is  used  either  fresh  or 
salted.  Beef  is  also  sometimes  used  for  the 
name  of  an  ox,  bull,  or  cow,  considered  as  fit 
for  food.  Formerly  it  was  usual  for  most 
tamilies,  at  least  in  England,  to  supply  them- 
selves with  a  stock  of  salt  beef  in  October  or 
November,  which  served  for  their  consumption 
until  the  ensuing  summer;  but  in  consequence 
of  the  universal  establishment  of  markets 
where  fresh  beef  may  be  at  all  times  obtained, 
the  practice  is  now  nearly  relinquished,  and 
the  quantity  of  salted  beef  made  use  of  as 
compared  with  fresh  beef  is  quite  inconsider- 
able. Large  quantities  of  salted  beef  are, 
however,  prepared  at  Cork  and  other  places 
for  exportation  to  the  East  and  West  Indies. 
During  the  war  large  supplies  were  also  re- 
quired for  victualling  the  navy.  The  vessels 
engaged  in  the  coasting  trade,  and  in  short 
voyages,  use  only  fresh  provisions.  The  Eng- 
lish have  at  all  times  been  great  consumers  of 
beef;  and  at  this  moment  more  beef  is  used  in 
London,  as  compared  with  the  population,  than 
anvwhere  else  in  Europe. 

BEELD,  or  BIELD  (Sax.  behlman;  Icel. 
boele,  a  dwelling).  A  term  provincially  applied 
m  the  north  of  England  to  any  thing  which 
affords  shelter,  such  as  a  clump  or  screen  of 
trees  planted  for  the  protection  of  live-stock. 

BEER  (Welsh,  bir,-  Germ,  bier.-  Sax.  beaji ; 
Goth,  bar,  barley).  A  liquor  made  from  malt 
and  hops,  which  is  distinguished  from  ale 
either  by  being  older  or.  smaller.  It  may  be 
prepared  from  any  of  the  farinaceous  grains, 
out  barley  is  most  commonly  employed. 

Beer  is,  properly  speaking,  the  wine  of  bar- 
ley. The  meals  of  any  of  these  grains  being 
extracted  by  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water,  and 
remaining  at  rest  in  a  degree  of  heat  requisite 
for  this  fermentation,  are  changed  into  a  vinous 


BEER. 

liquor.  But  as  these  matters  render  the  water 
mucilaginous,  fermentation  proceeds  slowly 
and  imperfectly.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the 
quantity  of  farinaceous  matter  be  so  dimi- 
nished that  its  extract  or  decoction  may  have 
a  convenient  degree  of  fluidity,  this  liquor  will 
be  impregnated  with  so  small  a  quantity  of 
fermentable  matter,  that  the  beer  or  wine  of 
the  grain  will  be  weak,  and  have  little  taste. 
These  inconveniences  are  therefore  remedied 
by  preliminary  operations  which  the  grain  is 
made  to  undergo.  These  preparations  consist 
in  steeping  it  in  cold  water,  that  it  may  soak 
and  swell  to  a  certain  degree  ;  and  in  laving  it 
in  a  heap  with  a  suitable  degree  of  heat,  by 
means  of  which,  and  of  the  imbibed  moisture, 
a  germmation  begins,  which  is  to  be  stopped 
by  a  quick  drying,  as  soon  as  the  bud  shows 
itself.  To  accelerate  this  drying,  and  to  prevent 
the  farther  vegetation  of  the  grain,  which  would 
impair  its  saccharine  qualities,  the  grain  is 
slightly  roasted,  by  means  of  a  kiln,  or  making 
it  pass  down  an  inclined  canal  sufliciently 
heated.  This  germination,  and  this  slight 
roasting,  change  considerably  the  nature  of  the 
mucilaginous  fermentable  matter  of  the  grain, 
and  it  becomes  the  malt  of  commerce.  This 
malt  is  then  ground;  and  all  its  substance, 
which  is  fermentable  and  soluble  in  water,  is 
extricated  by  means  of  hot  water.  This  ex- 
tract or  infusion  is  evaporated  by  boiling  in. 
cauldrons ;  and  some  plant  of  an  agreeable 
bitterness,  such  as  hops,  is  added  to  heighten 
the  taste  of  the  beer,  and  to  render  it  capable 
of  being  longer  preserved.  Lastly,  this  liquor 
is  put  into  casks,  and  fermented,  assisted  by 
the  addition  of  barm. 

Beer  is  nutritious  from  the  sugar  and  muci- 
lage it  contains,  exhilarating  from  the  spirit, 
and  strengthening  and  narcotic  from  the  hops. 
Mr.  Brande  obtained  the  following  quantities 
of  alcohol  from  100  parts  of  different  beers  : — 
Burton  ale,  between  8  and  9 ;  Edinburgh  ale, 
6  to  7 ;  Dorchester  ale,  5  to  6.  The  average 
of  strong  ale  being  between  6  and  7 ;  brown 
siout,  6  to  7;  London  porter  about  4  (average) ; 
London  brewers'  small  beer  between  1  and  2. 
(See  Brewing.)  "The  distinction  between 
ale  and  beer,  or  porter,  has  been,"  says  Mr 
M'Culloch,  "ably  elucidated  by  Dr.  Thomas 
Thomson  in  his  valuable  article  on  brewing  in 
the  supplement  to  the  Encyc.  Brit." 

"  Both  ale  and  beer  are  in  Great  Britain  ob- 
tained by  fermentation  from  the  malt  of  barley 
but  they  differ  from  each  other  in  several  par 
ticulars.  Ale  is  light-coloured,  brisk,  and 
sweetish,  or  at  least  free  from  bitter;  while 
beer  is  dark-coloured,  bitter,  and  much  less 
brisk.  What  is  called  porter  in  England  is  a 
species  of  beer ;  and  the  term  '  porter,'  at  pre- 
sent signifies  what  was  formerly  called  strong 
beer.  The  original  difference  between  ale  and 
beer  was  owing  to  the  malt  from  which  they 
were  prepared ;  ale  malt  was  dried  at  a  very 
low  heat,  and  consequently  was  of  a  pale  co- 
lour ,  while  beer  or  porter  malt  was  dried  at  a 
higuer  temperature,  and  had  of  consequencr 
acquired  a  brown  colour.  This  incipient 
charring  had  developed  a  peculiar  and  agree- 
able bitter  taste,  which  was  communicated  to 
the  beer  ilong  with  the  dark  colour.    This  bit 


BEES. 


BEES. 


ter  taste  rendered  beer  more  agreeable  to  the 
palate  and  less  injurious  to  the  constitution 
than  ale.  It  was  consequently  manufactured 
in  greater  quantities,  and  soon  became  the 
common  drink  of  the  lower  ranks  in  England. 
When  malt  became  high  priced,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  heavy  taxes  laid  upon  it,  and  the 
great  increase  in  the  price  of  barley  which 
took  place  during  the  war  of  the  French  revo- 
lution, the  brewers  found  out  that  a  greater 
quantity  of  wort  of  a  given  strength  could  be 
prepared  from  pale  malt  than  from  brown 
malt.  The  consequence  was,  that  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  pale  malt  was  substituted 
for  brown  malt  in  the  brewing  of  porter  and 
beer.  The  wort,  of  course,  was  much  paler 
than  before,  and  it  wanted  that  agreeable  bitter 
flavour  which  characterized  porter,  and  made 
it  so  much  relished  by  most  palates.  At  the 
same  time  various  substitutes  M-ere  tried  to 
supply  the  place  of  the  agreeable  bitter  com- 
municated to  porter  by  the  use  of  brown  malt; 
quassia,  cocculus  indicus,  and  we  believe  even 
opium,  were  employed  in  succession  ;  but  none 
of  them  was  found  to  answer  the  purpose  suffi- 
ciently." The  use  of  the  articles  other  than 
malt,  referred  to  by  Dr.  Thomson,  has  been  ex- 
pressly forbidden  under  heavy  penalties  by 
repeated  acts  of  parliament.  In  England,  the 
classification  of  the  ditfeient  sorts  of  beer  ac- 
cording to  their  strength,  originated  in  the 
duties  laid  upon  them ;  and  now  that  these  du- 
ties have  been  repealed,  ale  and  beer  may  be 
brewed  of  any  degree  of  strength. 

The  duty  on  beer  being  repealed  in  1830, 
there  are  no  later  accounts  of  the  quantity 
brewed. 

The  number  of  bai/eis  of  strong  beer 
brcAved  in  Scotland  in  the  five  years  ending 
1830,  was  597,737 ;  tabic  beer,  1,283,490 ; 
amount  of  duty  paid  thereon,  393,136/.  {Pari. 
Paper,  No.  190,  Sess.  1830.) 

No  account  has  been  kept  of  the  quantity 
of  beer  brewed  in  Ireland  since  1809,  when  it 
amounted  to  960,300  barrels.  {Morewoodun  In- 
toxlcatiriif  Liquors,  p.  353.)  Perhaps  it  may 
now  amount  to  from  1,000,000  to  1,200,000  bar- 
rels. Ale  or  beer  exported  to  foreign  parts  is 
allowed  a  drawback  of  5^.  the  barrel  of  36 
gallons,  Imperial  measure.  The  number  of 
barrels  of  strong  beer  annually  exported  is, 
from  England,  about  70,000  barrels ;  Ireland, 
15,000,  and  Scotland,  3,000.  {M'Cullocfi's  Com. 
Dicf.) 

BEES  (Sax.  oeo,  Lat.  api'es).  These  indus- 
trious and  useful  insects  are  worthy  the  atten- 
tion of  all  classes,  and  will  repay  the  utmost 
care  that  can  be  taken  in  their  management. 

No  farm  or  cottage  garden  is  complete  with- 
out a  row  of  these  busy  little  colonies,  with 
their  warm,  neat  straw  roofs,  and  their  own 
particular,  fragrant  bed  of   thyme,  in  which 
they  especially  delight.   Select  a  sheltered  part 
of  the  garden,  screened  by  a  wall  or  hedge 
from  the  cutting  north  and  easterly  winds  ;  let 
them  enjoy  a  southern  sun,  but  do  not  place 
ihem   facing  his  early  beams,  because    bees 
must  never  be  tempted  to  quit  their  hive  in  i 
the   heavy  morning  dew,  which    clogs    their ' 
limbs  and  impedes  their  flight.    Place  them,  if  | 
possible,  near  a  rurining  stream,  as  they  de- ; 
16t 


light  in  plenty  of  water ;  but  if  none  is  within 
their  easy  reach,  place  pans  of  fresh  water 
near  the  hives,  in  which  mix  a  little  common 
salt ;  and  let  bits  of  stick  float  on  the  surface 
to  enable  bees  to  drink  safel}'-,  instead  of  slip- 
ping down  the  smooth  sides  of  the  vessel,  and 
perish.  Never  place  hives  in  a  roofed  stand  : 
it  heats  them,  and  induces  the  bees  frequently 
to  form  combs  outside  of  their  hives  instead 
of  swarming.  Let  the  space  before  the  hives 
be  perfectly  clear  of  bushes,  trees,  and  every 
impediment  to  their  movement,  that  they  may 
wing  their  way  easily  to  seek  for  food,  and  re- 
turn without  annoyance.  Bees,  returning 
heavily  laden  and  wearied,  are  unable  to  bear 
up  against  any  object,  should  they  hit  them 
selves  and  fall.  Let  their  passage  to  and  from 
their  hives  be  clear;  but  trees  and  bushes  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  residence  are  advisable, 
as  they  present  convenient  spots  for  SAvarms 
to  settle  which  might  otherwise  go  beyond 
sight  or  reach.  A  swarm  seldom  goes  far 
from  home,  unless  the  garden  is  unprovided 
with  resting-places,  to  attract  the  queen,  who 
takes  refuge  in  the  nearest  shelter.  In  the 
month  of  November  remove  your  hives  upon 
their  stools,  into  a  cool,  dry,  and  shady  room, 
outhouse,  or  cellar,  where  they  will  be  protect- 
ed as  well  from  the  winter  sun  as  from  the 
frosts.  Warm  days  in  winter  often  tempt  bees 
to  quit  their  cells,  and  the  chilling  air  numbs 
and  destroys  them.  Let  them  remain  thus  un- 
til February  or  March,  should  the  spring  be 
late  and  cold.  Do  not  be  satisfied  with  stop- 
ping the  mouth  of  the  hive  with  clay  ;  the  bees 
will  soon  make  their  w-ay  through  it.  Remove 
them.  Bees  are  very  subj.ect  to  a  disease  in  the 
spring,  similar  to  dysentery.  Before  you  place 
the  hives  in  their  summer  quarters,  examine 
the  state  of  the  bees  by  turning  up  the  hive, 
and  noticing  the  smell  proceeding  from  it.  If 
the  bees  are  healthy,  the  odour  will  be  that  of 
heated  wax ;  but  if  diseased,  it  will  appear 
like  that  of  putrefaction.  In  this  case,  a  small 
quantity  of  port  wine  or  brandy  mixed  with 
their  food  will  restore  them.  In  the  early 
spring  feed  them,  and  do  the  same  when  the 
flowers  pass  away  in  autumn,  until  they 
are  taken  into  the  house ;  then  disturb  them 
no  more.  The  proper  food  is  beer  and  sugar, 
in  the  proportion  of  one  pound  to  a  quart;  boil 
it  five  minutes  only.  In  May,  bees  begin  to 
SAvarm,  if  the  Aveather  is  Avarm.  New  and  dry 
hives  must  be  prepared  without  any  doorAvay ; 
the  entrance  must  be  cut  in  the  stool.  This  is 
recommended  by  "  An  Oxford  Conservative 
Bee  Keeper." 

Sticks  across  the  inside  of  the  hive  are  use- 
less, and  very  inconvenient.  Let  the  hive  be 
Avell  Avashed  with  beer  and  sugar  before  you 
shake  the  bees  into  it.  After  swarming,  place 
it  upon  a  cloth  with  one  side  raised  upon  a 
stone ;  shade  it  with  boughs,  and  let  it  alone 
till  quite  dusk,  then  remove  it  to  the  stool 
where  it  is  to  stand.  The  "  Oxford  Bee  Keeper" 
advises  food  to  be  given  to  a  SAvarm  after  hiv- 
ing, for  three  or  four  days.  Large  hives  are 
best;  they  do  not  consume  more  food  than 
small  ones ;  this  is  a  fact,  and  the  same  Avriter 
mentions  it.  Smarts  and  casts  are  the  second 
and  third  swarms  from  a  hive :  they  seldom 


BEES. 


BEES. 


Ave  t}irou£:h  the  winter,  and  ought  to  be  united 
10  each  other,  or  to  a  weak  hive.  This  is  the 
plan  recommended  by  several  writers ;  as 
also  returning  a  smart  or  cast  to  the  parent 
hive,  if  )'ou  have  no  hive  weak  enough  to  re- 
quire an  increase  of  numbers.  In  this  last 
case,  Huish  recommends  the  following  plan  : 
Place  the  back  of  a  chair  parallel  with  the 
entrance  of  the  hive,  over  which  spread  a 
sheet ;  then  holding  the  hive  containing  the 
smart  '»ver  it,  give  a  few  sharp  knocks  at  the 
top,  arid  the  bees  will  immediately  fall  down 
on  iWi  cloth  ;  proceed  then,  either  with  your 
fingtfr  or  a  stick,  to  guide  a  few  of  the  bees  to 
the  /mtrance  of  the  parent  hive,  and  they  will 
ins/antly  crowd  into  it.  The  queen  bee  should 
be /caught  and  secured  as  they  proceed;  if  this 
is  pot  done,  they  kill  her,  but  in  a  less  merciful 
w/ly. 

JlTo  form  a  junction  of  two  weak  hives,  or  a 
sjrarm  and  a  hive,  Huish  discovered  the  fol- 
lowing method:  Smoke  each  hive,  as  if  for 
tj.king,  only  with  a  less  destructive  fume, 
yhich  will  be  mentioned  presently.  Spread 
/.ll  the  bees  of  one  hive  upon  a  table,  and 
Search  carefully  for  the  queen ;  destroy  her ; 
/  sweep  the  bees  of  both  hives  together  into  one, 
sprinkling  them  with  some  beer  and  sugar 
mixed ;  replace  the  hive.  The  fungus  used 
for  smoking  bees  is  that  called  frog's  cheese, 
found  in  damp  meadows  ;  take  the  largest,  and 
put  it  into  a  bag;  squeeze  it  to  half  its  size, 
then  dry  it  in  an  oven  or  before  the  fire,  but 
not  by  a  very  quick  heat.  Take  a  piece  of 
this  dried  fungus,  the  size  of  two  eggs,  and  put 
it  in  a  stick  split  at  one  end,  and  sharp  at  the 
other,  which  is  to  be  fixed  into  the  bottom  of  an 
empty  hive  turned  upside  down,  to  receive  the 
stupified  bees  as  they  fall. 

To  prevent  swarming,  the  "Oxford  Bee 
Keeper"  recommends  this  treatment : — 

"  You  see  in  the  following  figure  a  wooden 


h   b 


c 

{ 

^ 

-J 

bottom  board,  with  the  doorway  a  a  cut  in  it. 
It  has  another  doorway,  b  6,  on  the  right  side. 
The  ring  is  meant  to  show  where  a  hive  stands 
on  it.  The  other  bottom  board  is  just  like  it, 
only  the  second  doorway  is  on  the  left  hand,  so 
as  to  fit  exactly  to  the  side  entrance  of  the  first 
board,  when  pushed  close  together.  As  soon 
as  the  bees  begin  to  hangout,  in  May,  push  the 
two  boards  c  ose  together.  In  the  evening, 
when  they  are  all  in,  stop  up  the  entrance  a  a, 
and  open  the  right  hand  one  b  b.  Put  an  empty 
hive  on  the  new  board,  with  a  glass  worked 
into  the  back  for  observation.  Each  doorway 
has  a  bit  of  tin  laid  over  as  much  of  it  as  juts 
out  beyond  the  hive.  The  bees  must  then  find 
their  way  out  by  the  new  doorway;  rub  it  with 
a  little  honey,  and  they  will  soon  take  to  it. 
When  the  second  hive  is  full,  remove  it  thus : 
in  the  heat  of  the  day,  when  many  bees  are  out, 
sMp  a  piece  of  tin  or  card  between  the  two 
doorways,  shut  up  the  doorway  c  c,  and  open 
21 


the  old  doon^'ay  a  a.  If  the  bees  go  on  -w  orkir.  g 
quietly  all  day,  you  will  be  sure  that  the  queen 
is  in  the  old  hive,  and  all  is  right.  About  half 
an  hour  before  dusk,  open  again  the  doorway 
c  c,  and  the  bees,  frightened  by  their  long  im- 
prisonment, will  hurry  from  one  doorway  to 
another  to  join  the  queen.  As  soon  as  they  are 
gone,  take  away  the  full  hive  for  yourself.  If 
the  old  hive  is  very  uneasy  all  day,  you  may 
be  sure  the  queen  is  shut  up  in  the  new  hive ; 
if  so,  draw  out  the  card  or  tin  to  join  them 
again,  and  wait  till  another  day." 

Never  destroy  a  bee ;  this  is  the  first  great 
principle  in  their  treatment.  Bees  only  live 
one  year,  therefore,  by  killing  them  in  Septem- 
ber, you  destroy  the  young  vigorous  ones 
ready  to  work  the  following  spring  :  the  year- 
old  bees  die  in  August.  When  a  hive  is  to  be 
taken,  smoke  the  bees  as  directed  for  joining 
hives ;  replace  them  in  a  fresh  hive,  taking 
care  to  ascertain  that  the  queen  is  safe  among 
them,  and  feed  them  through  the  autumn  and 
spring ;  they  will  be  ready  to  work  with  the 
rest,  and  a  hive  is  thus  added  to  the  general 
stock.  The  queen  is  easily  knov^^n  from  the 
working  bees,  as  the  size  is  larger. 

By  fumigating  the  bees  with  tobacco  smoke 
while  operating  upon  a  hive,  they  are  rendered 
perfectly  harmless.  It  is  well  to  protect  the 
face,  neck,  and  hands,  to  prevent  alarm  or  the 
chance  of  accident.  When  stung,  extract  the 
sting,  and  apply  Goulard  water  immediately, 
or  laudanum,  or  sweet  oil.  In  February  bees 
first  begin  their  labours.  May  is  their  busiest 
month.  In  November  their  labours  end,  and 
they  remain  torpid  for  the  winter.  For  more 
particular  instructions,  see  Huish  on  Bees,-  The 
Conservative  Bee  Keeper's  Letter  to  Cottagers ; 
Wildtnan's  Treatise  on  Bees;  The  Honey  Bee,  by 
Dr.  Bevan;  Penny  Cyclo.;  Qnart.  Journ.  ofAgr. 
vol.  ii.  p.  594 ;  Baxter's  Agr.  Lib.  pp.  46 — 53. 

Several  of  these  treatises  have  been  repub- 
lished in  the  Unite'^  States,  where,  besides 
separate  works  upon  the  subjects,  the  agricul- 
tural periodicals  and  newspapers  abound  with 
suggestions  and  instructions  relative  to  the 
management  of  bees,  &c. 

Loudon,  in  his  lately  published  Encyclopaedia 
of  Agriculture,  says,  that  after  all  that  has  been 
done  in  England,  France,  and  Italy,  the  Dee 
is  still  more  successfully  managed  and  finer 
honey  produced  in  Poland,  by  persons  who 
never  saw  a  work  on  the  subject,  or  heard  of 
the  mode  of  depriving  bees  of  their  honey 
without  taking  their  lives.  Much  as  has  been 
written  in  France  and  England  upon  this  sub- 
ject, it  is,  he  observes,  still  found  the  best 
mode  to  destroy  the  bee  in  taking  the  honey,  a 
practice  for  which  he  thinks  unanswerable 
reasons  are  given  by  La  Grenee,  a  French 
apiarian,  and  which  is  allowed  to  be  conclu- 
sive as  to  profit  even  by  Huish. 

"  Suffocation  is  performed  when  the  season 
of  flowers  begins  to  decline,  and  generally  in 
October.  The  smoke  of  paper,  or  rag  soaked 
or  smeared  with  melted  sulphur,  is  introduced 
to  the  hive,  by  placing  it  in  a  hole  m  the 
ground  where  a  few  shreds  of  these  articles 
are  undergoing  a  smothering  combustion ;  or 
the  full  hive  may  be  placed  on  an  empty  one. 
inverted  as  in  partial  deprivation,  and  the  sui 
o  2  161 


BEES. 


BEES. 


phurous  smoke  introduced  by  fumigating  bel- 
lows, &c.  The  bees  will  fall  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  hive  in  a  few  minutes,  when  they 
may  be  removed  and  buried  to  prevent  re- 
suscitation. Such  a  death  seems  one  of  the 
easiest,  both  to  the  insects  themselves  and  to 
human  feelings.  Indeed,  the  mere  deprivation 
of  life,  to  animals  not  endowed  with  sentiment 
ov  reflection,  is  reduced  to  the  precise  pain  of 
the  moment,  without  reference  to  the  past  or 
the  future ;  and  as  each  pulsation  of  this  pain 
increases  in  effect  on  the  one  hand,  so,  on  the 
other,  the  susceptibility  of  feeling  it  diminishes. 
Civilized  man  is  the  only  animal  to  whom 
death  has  terrors,  and  hence  the  origin  of  that 
false  humanity  which  condemns  the  killing  of 
bees  in  order  to  obtain  their  honey,  but  which 
might,  with  as  much  justice,  be  applied 
to  the  destruction  of  almost  every  other  ani- 
mal used  in  domestic  economy,  as  fowl«. 
game,  fish,  cattle,  &c."  {Encyc.  of  Agriculture, 
7614.) 

As  to  the  best  situation  for  bees  during 
their  working  season,  this  must  depend  upon 
circumstances  of  climate  and  locality.  In 
southerly  latitudes  and  warm  exposures, — 
where  the  climate  will  admit  of  the  hives  re- 
maining upon  the  stands  during  winter, — it 
may  still  be  advisable  to  give  some  shelter, 
and  the  principal  object  should  be  to  ward 
off  the  sun,  the  warmth  from  which  invites 
the  bees  to  fly  abroad  at  an  unprofitable  sea- 
son, and  makes  them  sensitive  to  the  sudden 
spells  of  cold  experienced  throughout  the 
United  States.  In  summer,  the  extreme  heat 
of  the  sun  should  certainly  be  warded  off  by 
sheds  and  suitable  shades,  although  it  is  im- 
proper to  oblige  the  bees  to  pass  through  bar- 
riers of  boughs  and  bushes.  The  heat  accu- 
mulated by  objects  exposed  to  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun  often  increases  to  130°  or  140°  of 
Fahrenheit,  a  temperature  which  must  be  in- 
jurious, not  only  to  the  bees  themselves,  but 
to  their  honey  and  wax.  Whitewashing  the 
hives  and  stands  will  tend  much  to  prevent 
the  accumulation  of  heat.  The  hives  may 
front  the  east,  south-east,  or  south-west,  ac- 
cording to  circumstances. 

In    the    northerly  portions   of   the   United 
States,  means  are  generally  used  to  protect  the 
swarms  in  winter,  by  removal  to  some  cool  and 
dry  out-house  or  cellar.     Some  bury  the  hives 
either  partly  or  entirely  under  ground,  as   is 
practised  with  many  kinds  of  vegetables.  The 
place  should  be  very  dry,  and  the  hives  set 
upon  clean  straw,  without  any  bottom  board 
to  rest  on,  one  side  being  raised  about  two 
inches  by  means   of  a   stick   or  stone.     An 
empty  space  must  be  left  around,  three  times 
the  size  of  the  hive,  covered  over  with  bridging 
and  earth,  six,  eight,  or  ten  inches  in  depth, 
heaped  up  well  so  as  to  turn  off  water.    They 
may  remain  thus  covered  about  three  months. 
Whilst  some  persons  contend  for  the  ne- 
cessity of  protecting  bees  against  the  extreme 
cold  of  American  winters,  others  deem  it  not 
only  useless,  but  destructive  to  the  health  and 
welfare  of  swarms  to  remove  the  hives  from  ! 
their  usual  situations,  however  exposed  these  \ 
may  be.  Among  apiarians  who  disapprove  of  • 
lh«  removal  of  hives  in  the  winter,  is  Dr.  J.  '. 
162 


V.  C.  Smith,  of  Boston,  who,  in  a  neat  little 
duodecimo  volume  of  about  a  hundred  pages, 
"  On  the  Practicability  of  Cultivating  the  Ho- 
ney Bee  in  Maritime  Towns  and  Cities,  as  a 
source  of  Domestic  Economy  and  Profit." 
holds  the  following  testimony; — 

"  During  the  season  of  rest,  from  the  first  of 
October  to  the  first  or  middle  of  April,  the 
quantity  of  honey  consumed  by  such  a  hive 
as  has  been  spoken  of,  as  worth  keeping, 
varies  according  to  the  average  temperature 
of  the  weather,  from  ten  to  twenty  pounds.  It 
is  better  that  the  bees  should  have  too  much 
than  too  little  in  store.  They  are  very  econo- 
mical in  the  expenditure  of  food,  and  therefore 
there  is  no  risk  in  trusting  them  with  well 
stocked  granaries.  All  hives  should  have  the 
weight  marked  on  the  back,  which  will  enable 
the  manager  to  judge  pretty  accurately  of  the 
quantity  of  honey  and  wax  on  hand.  Taking 
five  pounds  as  the  standard  weight  of  the  bees, 
and  a  half  pound  of  wax  to  every  fifteen 
pounds  of  honey,  almost  the  exact  quantity  of 
honey  can  thus  be  ascertained.  My  rule  has 
invariably  been,  to  let  the  bees  remain  in  win- 
ter, wherever  they  have  stood  through  the  sum- 
mer ;  all  attempts  on  my  part  to  prepare  them 
for  the  inclemencies  of  approaching  cold  were 
invariably  anticipated,  and  seasonably  attend- 
ed to  by  the  bees  themselves. 

"  Feeling  peculiar  commiseration  for  a 
swarm,  two  years  since,  whose  bleak  locality, 
I  feared,  would  be  the  certain  destruction  of  the 
hive  before  spring,  they  were  placed  in  the  lob- 
by of  an  adjacent  building  for  comfort.  In  the 
month  of  March,  discovering  that  thousands 
of  them  were  dead  on  the  floor,  and  that  the 
bees  were  sickl)^,  they  were  carried  back  to 
their  old  stand  in  the  open  air,  at  the  summit 
of  a  high,  exposed  hill,  where  they  were  per- 
fectly restored  to  health  in  about  twelve  days. 
If  they  are  housed  in  winter,  the  torpidity  which 
seems  to  be  constitutionally  requisite,  both  for 
the  future  health  of  the  bee,  and  the  saving  of 
its  honey,  is  obviated,  and  indisposition,  in 
consequence  of  constantly  feeding,  without  ex- 
ercise, is  the  invariable  result.  The  colder 
they  are,  the  better:  I  am  fully  persuaded  that 
bees,  in  their  hive,  cannot  be  frozen  to  death. 
Animation  may  be  suspended  several  weeks 
or  months  with  impunity — vitality  may  merely 
appertain  to  organized  matter ;  but,  when  the 
genial  warmth  of  spring  comes  gently  on,  the 
little  spark  of  life  is  again  rekindled  into  vigo- 
rous flame. 

"On  the  21st  of  March,  1831,  in  company 
with  Mr.  J.  S.  C.  Greene,  we  examined  a  hive 
of  bees  that  had,  probably,  died  for  want  of 
proper  ventilation.  There  were  two  thousand 
two  hundred  bees.  A  common  flint  tumbler 
contained  one  thousand,  weighing  six  ounces 
and  a  half.  It  was  obvious  they  did  not  die 
of  starvation,  as  there  was  a  good  supply  of 
beautiful  honey,  which,  together  with  the  comb, 
weighed  twenty-two  pounds.  Allowing  one 
half  pound  of  cell  comb  for  holding  every  fif- 
teen pounds  of  honey,  the  quantity  was  easily 
ascertained.  Taking  this  in  connection  with 
that  which  was  taken  from  them  in  the  autumn, 
and  at  the  same  time  admitting  that  five  hun- 
dred bees  were  lost  by  high  autumnal  winds, 


BEES. 


storms,  and  early  frosts,  the  whole  colony  con- 
sisted, originally,  of  thirty-two  hundred  bees, 
which,  in  eight  weeks,  or  thereabouts,  collect- 
ed the  wax,  constructed  the  cells,  and  made 
over  one  hundred  pounds  of  honey,  in  a  gar- 
den on  Pemberton's  Hill,  nearly  in  the  centre 
of  Boston  !  It  should  be  remarked,  that  a  bee 
answering  the  general  description  of  the  queen, 
as  it  relates  to  external  appearance,  was  found 
in  a  cluster  of  dead  ones.  Not  a  drone  was 
discovered,  nor  a  young  bee  in  any  stage  of 
infancy." 

It  is  probable  that  bees  can  preserve  their 
vitality  in  ordinary  hives  exposed  to  the  most 
intense  cold,  so  long  as  they  remain  in  the  torpid 
condition  in  which  they  are  prepared  for  the 
worst.  But  when  roused  from  this  condition 
by  the  occurrence  of  a  premature  warm  spell, 
they  are  then  rendered  sensitive  to  the  effects 
of  cold,  and  when  this  comes  upon  them  sud- 
denly and  with  severity,  they  perish  under  it. 
The  great  object  therefore  appears  to  be,  to 
place  the  swarms  during  winter  in  some  dry 
situation  where  they  may  be  kept  at  a  cool  and 
equable  temperature.  A  good  dry  and  cool 
cellar  must  answer  all  the  purposes  admira- 
bly, and  from  such  a  situation  it  is  easy  to 
remove  them  occasionally,  in  good  mild  wea- 
ther, and  give  them  an  airing. 

Loudon,  who  adopts  the  views  of  Howison 
and  Huish,  says  that  the  bejit  malerial  and  furm 
for  hives  is  a  straw  thimble,  or  flower-pot, 
placed  in  an  inverted  position.  Hives  made 
of  straw,  as  now  in  use,  have  a  great  advan- 
tage over  those  made  of  wood  and  other  mate- 
rials, from  the  effectual  defence  they  afford 
against  the  extremes  of  heat  in  summer  and 
cold  in  winter.  A  full-sized  straw  hive  will 
hold  three  pecks ;  a  small-sized,  from  one  and 
a  half  to  two  pecks.   {Encyc.  of  Agric.) 

The  feeding  of  bees  is  generally  deferred  till 
winter  or  spring;  but  this  is  a  most  erroneous 
practice:  hives  should  be  examined  in  the 
course  of  the  month  of  September,  or  about 
the  time  of  killing  the  drones;  and  if  a  large 
hive  does  not  weigh  thirty  pounds,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  allow  it  half  a  pound  of  honey, 
or  the  same  quantity  of  soft  sugar  made  into 
syrup,  for  every  pound  that  is  deficient  of  that 
weight;  and  in  like  proportion  to  smaller  hives. 
This  work  must  not  be  delayed,  that  time  may 
be  given  for  the  bees  to  make  the  deposit  in 
their  empty  cells  before  they  are  rendered  tor- 
pid by  the  cold.  Sugar  simply  dissolved  in 
water  (which  is  a  common  practice),  and  su- 
gar boiled  in  water  into  a  syrup,  form  com- 
pounds very  differently  suited  for  the  winter 
store  of  bees.  When  the  former  is  wanted  for 
Iheir  immediate  nourishment,  as  in  spring,  it 
will  answer  equally  as  a  syrup ;  but  if  to  be 
laid  up  as  a  store,  the  heat  of  the  hive  quickly 
evaporating  the  water,  leaves  the  sugar  in  dry 
cr}'stals,  not  to  be  acted  upon  by  the  trunks 
of  the  bees.  Hives  may  be  killed  with  hunger 
while  some  pounds'  weight  of  sugar  remain 
in  this  state  in  their  cells.  The  boiling  of  su- 
gar into  syrup  forms  a  closer  combination  with 
the  water,  by  which  it  is  prevented  from  flying 
off,  and  a  consistence  reserablingthat  of  honey 
retained.  Howison  has  had  frequent  experi- 
ence of  hives,  not  containing  a  pound  of  honey, 


BEES. 

preserved  in  perfect  health  through  the  winter 
with  sugar  so  prepared,  when  given  in  proper 
time  and  in  sufficient  quantity. 

In  the  article  from  Loudon,  from  which  we 
are  now  quoting,  it  is  recommended  to  protect 
hives  from  cold,  by  covering  them  with  straw 
or  rushes,  about  the  end  of  September,  or 
later,  according  to  the  climate  and  season. 
This  perhaps  only  applies  to  board  hives,  as 
those  made  of  thick  rye-straw  or  rushes  will 
do  without  additional  covering.  Well  protect- 
ed hives  always  prosper  better  the  following 
season  than  such  as  have  not  been  covered. 
In  October,  the  aperture  at  which  the  bees 
enter  should  generally  be  narrowed,  so  that 
only  one  bee  may  pass  at  a  time.  Indeed,  as 
a  very  small  portion  of  air  is  necessary  for 
bees  in  their  torpid  state,  it  were  better  during 
severe  frosts  to  be  entirely  shut  up,  as  num- 
bers of  them  are  often  lost  from  being  enticed 
to  quit  the  hive  by  the  sunshine  of  a  winter 
day.  It  will,  however,  be  proper  at  times  to 
remove,  by  a  crooked  wire  or  similar  instru- 
ment, the  dead  bees  and  other  filth,  which  the 
living  at  this  season  are  unable  to  perform  of 
themselves.  To  hives  whose  stock  of  honey 
was  sufficient  for  their  maintenance,  or  those 
to  which  a  proper  quantity  of  sugar  had  been 
given  for  that  purpose,  no  further  attention 
will  be  necessary  until  the  breeding  season 
arrives.  This,  in  warm  situations,  generally 
takes  place  about  the  beginning  of  May ;  and 
in  cold,  about  a  month  after.  The  young  bees, 
for  a  short  time  previous  to  their  leaving  their 
cells,  and  some  after,  require  being  fed  with 
the  same  regularity  that  young  birds  are  by 
their  parents ;  and  if  the  store  in  the  hive  be 
exhausted,  and  the  weather  such  as  not  to  ad- 
mit of  the  working  bees  going  abroad  to  col- 
lect food  in  sufficient  quantity  for  themselves 
and  their  brood,  the  powerful  principle  of 
affection  for  their  young  compels  them  to  part 
with  what  is  not  enough  for  their  support,  at 
the  expense  of  their  own  lives.  To  prevent 
such  accidents,  it  is  advisable,  if  during  the 
breeding  season  it  rain  for  two  successive 
days,  to  feed  all  the  bees  indiscriminately,  as 
it  would  be  difficult  to  ascertain  those  only 
which  require  it. 

The  swarming  of  bees  generally  commences 
in  June,  in  some  seasons  earlier,  and  in  cold 
climates  or  seasons  later.  The  first  swarming 
is  so  long  preceded  by  the  appearance  of 
drones,  and  hanging  out  of  working  bees,  that 
if  the  time  of  their  leaving  the  hive  is  not  ob- 
served,  it  must  be  owing  to  want  of  care.  The 
signs  of  the  second  are,  however,  more  equi- 
vocal, the  most  certain  being  that  of  the  qneen, 
a  day  or  two  before  swarming,  at  intervals  of 
a  few  minutes,  giving  out  a  sound  a  good  deal 
resembling  that  of  a  cricket.  It  frequently 
happens  that  the  swarm  will  leave  the  old 
hive,  and  return  again  several  times,  which  n 
always  owing  to  the  queen  not  having  accom- 
panied them,  or  from  having  dropped  on  the 
ground,  being  too  young  to  fly  to  a  distance. 
Gooseberry,  currant,  or  other  low  bushes, 
should  be  planted  at  a  short  distance  from  the 
hives,  for  the  bees  to  swarm  upon,  otherwise 
they  are  apt  to  fly  away;  by  attending  to  thus, 
Howison  has  not  lost  a  swarm  by  straying  for 

163 


BEES. 


BEES. 


several  years.  When  a  hive  yields  more  than 
two  swarms,  these  should  uniformly  be  joined 
to  others  that  are  weak,  as,  from  the  lateness 
of  the  season,  and  deficiency  in  number,  they 
will  otherwise  perish.  This  junction  is  easily 
formed,  by  inverting  at  night  the  hive  in  which 
they  are,  and  placing  over  it  the  one  you  in- 
tend them  to  enter.  They  soon  ascend,  aiid 
apparently  with  no  opposition  from  the  former 
possessors.  Should  the  weather  for  some  days 
after  swarming  be  unfavourable  for  the  bees 
going  out,  they  must  be  fed  with  care  until  it 
clears  up,  otherwise  the  young  swarm  will  run 
a  great  risk  of  dying. 

The  honey  may  be  taken  from  hives  of  the 
common  construction  by  three  modes,  partial 
deprivation,  total  deprivation,  and  suffocation. 

Partial  deprivation  is  performed  about  the 
beginning  of  September.  Having  ascertained 
the  weight  of  the  hive,  and  consequently  the 
quantity  of  honeycomb  which  is  to  be  ex- 
tracted, begin  the  operation  as  soon  as  evening 
sets  in,  by  inverting  the  full  hive,  and  placing 
an  empty  one  over  it;  particular  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  two  hives  are  of  the  same  dia- 
meter, for  if  they  differ  in  their  dimensions  it 
will  no  be  possible  to  effect  the  driving  of  the 
bees.  The  hives  being  placed  on  each  other, 
a  sheet  or  large  table-cloth  must  be  tied  round 
them  at  their  place  of  junction,  in  order  to 
prevent  the  bees  from  molesting  the  operator. 
The  hives  being  thus  arranged,  beat  the  sides 
gently  with  a  stick  or  the  hand,  but  particular 
caution  must  be  used  to  beat  it  on  those  parts 
to  which  the  combs  are  attached  and  which 
will  be  found  parallel  with  the  entrance  of  the 
hive.  The  ascent  of  the  bees  into  the  upper 
hive  will  be  known  by  a  loud  humming  noise; 
in  a  few  minutes  the  whole  community  will 
have  ascended,  and  the  hive  with  the  bees  in 
it  may  be  placed  upon  the  pedestal  from  which 
the  full  hive  was  removed.  The  hive  from 
which  the  l^^es  have  been  driven  must  then 
be  taken  into  the  house,  and  the  operation  of 
cutting  out  the  honeycomb  commenced.  Hav- 
ing extracted  the  requisite  quantity  of  comb, 
this  opportunity  must  be  embraced  of  inspect- 
ing the  hive,  and  of  cleaning  it  of  any  noxious 
matter.  In  cutting  the  combs,  however,  par- 
ticular attention  should  be  paid  not  to  cut  into 
two  or  three  combs  at  once,  but  having  com- 
menced the  cutting  of  one,  to  pursue  it  to  the 
top  of  the  hive ;  and  this  caution  is  necessary 
for  two  reasons.  If  you  begin  the  cutting  of 
two  or  three  combs  at  one  time,  were  you  to 
abstract  the  whole  of  them  you  would  perhaps 
take  too  much ;  and  secondly,  to  stop  in  the 
middle  of  a  comb  will  be  attended  with  very 
pernicious  consequences,  as  the  honey  would 
drop  from  the  cells  which  have  been  cut  in 
two,  and  then  the  bees,  on  being  returned  to 
their  native  hive,  might  be  drowned  in  their 
own  sweets.  The  bees  also,  in  their  return  to 
their  natural  domicile,  being  still  under  the 
impression  of  fear,  would  not  give  so  much 
attention  to  the  honey  which  flows  from  the 
divided  cells;  and  as  it  would  fall  on  the  board, 
and  from  that  on  the  ground,  the  bees  belonging 
to  the  other  hives  would immedialely  scent  the 
wasted  treasure,  and  a  general  attack  on  the  de- 
rrivated  hive  might  be  the  consequence.  The 
164 


deprivation  of  the  honeycomb  being  effected, 
the  hive  may  be  returned  to  its  former  position, 
and  reversing  the  hive  which  contains  thr 
bees,  and  placing  the  deprivated  hive  over  it, 
they  may  be  left  in  that  situation  till  morning, 
when  the  bees  will  be  found  to  have  taken 
possession  of  their  native  hive,  and,  if  the 
season  proves  fine,  may  replenish  what  they 
have  lost.     (Huish's  Treatise  on  Bees.) 

Total  deprivation  is  effected  in  the  same 
manner,  but  earlier  in  the  season,  immediately 
after  the  first  swarm;  and  the  bees,  instead  of 
being  returned  to  a  remnant  of  honey  in  their 
old  hive,  remain  in  the  new  empty  one:  which 
they  will  sometimes,  though  rarely,  fill  with 
comb.  By  this  mode  it  is  to  be  observed,  very 
little  honey  is  obtained,  the  bees  in  June  and 
July  being  occupied  chiefly  in  breeding,  and 
one,  if  not  two,  swarms  are  lost.  {Loudoii's 
Encyc.  of  Agriculture.) 

The  mode  of  suffocation  to  be  adopted  by 
those  who  prefer  destroying  bees  in  taking 
honey,  has  already  been  given. 

Particular  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
culture  of  such  plants  as  supply  the  bees  with 
the  best  food  and  materials  for  making  honey, 
such  as  thyme,  clover,  broom,  and  mustard,  &c. 

As  a  good  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  eiists 
relative  to  the  construction  of  hives  and  ma- 
nagement of  bees,  we  have  endeavoured  to 
condense  the  views  upon  the  subject  enter- 
tained by  the  most  respectable  authorities.  It 
is  a  great  desideratum  that  honey  be  brought 
to  market  without  removal  from  the  hive  in 
which  it  is  originally  deposited,  which  enables 
the  purchaser  to  keep  it  in  fine  condition  for 
any  length  of  time.  Few  persons  will  pur- 
chase the  contents  of  a  very  large  hive,  when 
honey  in  small  boxes  generally  sells  readily. 
Hence  one  great  advantage  of  having  the  hives 
constructed  in  sections,  which,  being  of  the 
same  size,  can  always  be  fitted  over  or  under 
each  other.  According  to  the  views  of  Mr. 
Harasti,  a  skilful  bee-cultivator,  a  good  bet- 
hive  ought  to  possess  the  following  properties  : 
First,  it  should  be  capable  of  enlargement  or 
contraction  according  to  the  size  of  the  swarm. 
Secondly,  it  should  admit  of  being  opened 
without  disturbing  the  bees,  either  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cleaning  it  from  insects,  increasing  or 
dividing  the  swarm,  &c.  Thirdly,  it  should 
be  so  constructed,  that  the  produce  may  be 
removed  without  injury  to  the  bees.  Fourthly, 


Fig.  1. 


BEES. 


BEES. 


it  shduld  be  internally  clean,  smooth  and  free 
from  cracks  or  Haws.  All  these  properties 
seem  best  united  in  the  section-hive,  which  is 
constituted  of  two,  three,  four,  or  more  square 
boxes  of  similar  size  as  to  width,  placed  over 
each  other.  Such  hives  are  cheap,  and  so 
simple  that  almost  any  one  can  construct 
them.     (See  Fig.  1.) 

The  boxes  A,  B,  C,  D,  may  be  made  from 
ten  to  fourteen  inches  square  and  about  five 
inches  in  depth,  inside  measure.  Every  bee- 
keeper should  have  his  boxes  made  of  the 
same  size,  so  as  to  fit  on  to  each  other. 
Every  hive  must  have  a  common  top-board, 
a,  which  should  project  over  the  sides  of  the 
hive.  The  top-board  of  each  section  should 
have  about  sixteen  holes  bored  through  at  equal 
distances  from  each  other,  and  not  larger  than 
^  or  smaller  than  J  of  an  inch.  Or,  instead  of 
such  holes,  chinks  of  proper  size  may  be  cut 
through  to  allow  the  bees  to  pass  up  and  down. 
At  the  lower  part  of  each  box  or  section,  in  front, 
there  must  be  an  aperture  or  little  door,  c,c,c,rf, 
just  hish  enough  to  let  the  bees  pass,  and  about 
an  inch  and  a  half  wide.  The  lowermost  aper- 
ture, d,  is  to  be  left  open  at  first,  and  when  the 
hive  is  filled  the  upper  ones  may  be  succes- 
sively opened.  By  placing  over  the  holes  in  the 
top  of  the  upper  section,  glass  globes,  jars, 
tumblers,  or  boxes,  the  bees  will  rise  into  and 
fill  them  with  honey.  These  may  be  removed 
at  any  time  after  being  filled.  The  holes  in 
the  tops  of  the  hive  which  do  not  open  into  the 
glasses  or  boxes  should  of  course  be  plugged 
up.  These  glass  jars,  &c.  must  be  covered 
over  with  a  box  so  as  to  keep  them  in  the  dark. 
Every  box  or  section,  on  the  side  opposite  the 
little  door,  should  have  a  narrow  piece  of  glass 
inserted,  with  a  sliding  shutter,  by  drawing 
out  which  the  condition  of  the  hive  can  always 
be  inspected.  To  make  the  bees  place  their 
combs  in  parallel  lines,  five  or  six  sticks  or  bars 
may  be  placed  at  the  top  of  every  section, 
running  from  front  to  rear.  The  bees  will  at- 
tach their  combs  to  these 
bars,  and  the  intermediate 
space  will  afford  suffi- 
cient light  to  see  them 
work.  The  slides  cover- 
ing the  glasses  should 
never  be  left  open  longer 
than  is  just  necessary 
for  purposes  of  inspec- 
Fig.  S.  tion. 

When  one  section  is  removed  from  the  top, 
a  wire  or  long  thin  knife  must  be  previously 
run  between  this  and  the  one  immediately  be- 
low, so  as  to  destroy  the  attachments.  Then 
remove  the  upper  section,  placing  the  top  upon 
the  one  below,  which  is  now  the  highest  divi- 
sion of  the  hive.  Another  section  is  to  be 
placed  beneath,  lifting  up  the  whole  hive  for 
the  purpose.  Sometimes  a  second  section  has 
to  be  put  under  during  a  good  season.  If  the 
swarm  is  not  very  large  three  or  even  two 
boxes  will  be  sufficient  for  its  accommodation. 
The  boxes  or  sections  may  be  secured  upon 
each  o'her  by  buttons,  h,  b,  or  rabbits,  and  the 
joints  closed  with  cement. 

A  good  swarm  of  bees  should  weigh  five  or 
SIX  pounds,  and  one  weighing  eight  pounds  ^ 


considered  large.  The  weight  diminishes  to 
one  pound.  Such  as  are  less  than  four  pounds 
w^eight  should  be  strengthened  by  a  small  ad- 
ditional swarm.  The  hives  ought  not  to  be  too 
large,  as  bees  are  apt  to  lose  time  in  filling  up 
vacancies  with  wax  instead  of  making  honey. 

Honey  collected  from  flowers  growing  in 
meadows,  pasture  lands,  trees,  and  cultivated 
crops,  is  almost  as  limpid  as  the  purest  oil,  and 
the  wax  nearly  as  white  as  snow.  Honey 
collected  from  buckwheat  has  a  harsh  taste. 
When  taken  once  in  two  years,  it  is  considered 
richer  and  more  solid,  and  will  keep  better 
than  what  is  taken  every  year. 

Some  of  the  plants  from  which  bees  collect 
their  stores  possess  poisonous  properties  and 
impart  these  to  the  honey.  The  late  Dr.  B.  S. 
Barton  wrote  an  interesting  and  valuable  pa- 
per upon  this  subject,  which  is  published  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety,  volume  5th.  The  plants  which,  in  the 
United  States,  most  frequently,  afford  poi- 
sonous honey,  are  the  dwarf  laurel  (Kalmia 
ans^tisti folia),  and  the  great  laurel  {Kalmia  lati- 
fiilia),  the  mountain  laurel  {Rhododendron  maxi- 
nius),  wild  honey-suckle  {Azalia  nudijiora), 
Jamestown  weed,  and  broad-leaved  moorwort 
of  the  south  {Andromeda  marlann).  Most  of 
these  plants  are  known  to  produce  poisonous 
honey,  whilst  a  few  of  them  are  only  suspi- 
cious. Of  the  trees  and  shrubs  resorted  to  by 
bees,  some  furnish  them  with  the  farina  or 
flower-dust  which  yields  the  spring  food 
for  their  young,  —  some,  the  gummy  or  re- 
sinous exudations  or  secretions  from  which 
they  derive  the  propolis  or  wax  for  sealing  the 
hives  of  fresh  swarms, — whilst  others  yield 
them  honey  in  greater  or  less  purity.  The 
willow  is  much  resorted  to  by  bees  for  all  the 
objects  mentioned,  furnishing  the  farina,  the 
propolis,  and  honey-dew  (the  last  from  their 
aphides),  in  regular  succession.  When  swarms 
are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  American  sweet  gum 
or  styrax,  they  make  their  propolis  from  its 
fragrant  gum.  At  other  times  they  resort  to 
the  Athenian  poplar.  The  sweet  box  myrtle 
blooms  very  early  in  the  spring,  and  its  flowers 
are  always  thickly  beset  by  bees.  The  Eu- 
ropean, or  sweet-flowered  linden  or  lime  tree, 
is  likewise  greatly  resorted  to  by  bees  when 
in  bloom,  and  also  various  kinds  of  fruit  trees, 
especially  the  cherry  and  apple.  The  sweet 
juice  exuded  by  the  hickory  is  eagerly  sought 
after  by  bees,  but  there  is  no  American 
forest  tree  which  affords  them  such  ample 
supplies  of  the  most  limpid  honey  as  the  tulip 
poplar  of  the  Middle  States.  This  stupt^ndous 
tree  sometimes  rises,  in  fertile  bottomlands, 
above  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  ha\ '.ng  a 
trunk  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter.  Such  a 
tree,  with  every  branch  from  the  ground  to  the 
summit  covered  with  splendid  tulips  is  a 
magnificent  sight,  and  a  most  valuable  acqui- 
sition when  within  reach  of  the  apiary. 

Among  the  verv  sreat  variety  of  plans 
which  have  been  adopted  by  American  inge- 
nuity to  improve  the  bee  culture,  there  is  one 
which  has  acquired  much  celebrity  from  its 
enabling  the  surplus  honey  to  be  taken  with- 
out  destroving  the  bees,  which  iiost  persons 
■prefer  doing.     The  plan  referred  to,  is  that  of 

loo 


BEES. 


BEES. 


Mr.  Luda,  of  Connecticut.  By  it  the  bees  are 
made  to  build  their  cells  and  deposit  their  ho- 
ney in  the  ciiamber  of  a  dwelling-house  appro- 
priated for  the  purpose,  in  neat  little  drawers, 
from  which  it  may  be  taken  fresh  by  the 
owner,  without  killing  the  bees.  The  hive  has 
the  appearance  of,  and  is  in  part,  a  mahogany 
bureau  or  sideboard,  with  drawers  above  and 
a  closet  below,  with  glass  doors.  This  case  or 
bureau  is  designed  to  be  placed  in  the  cham- 
ber of  a  house,  or  any  other  suitable  building, 
and  connected  with  the  open  air  or  outside 
of  the  house  by  a  tube  passing  through  the 
wall.  The  bees  work  and  deposit  their  honey 
in  drawers.  When  these  or  any  of  them  are 
full,  or  it  is  desired  to  obtain  honey,  one  or 
more  of  them  may  be  taken  out,  the  bees  al- 
lowed to  escape  into  the  other  part  of  the  hive, 
and  the  honey  taken  away.  The  glass  doors 
allow  the  working  of  the  bees  to  be  observed ; 
and  it  is  said  that  the  spaciousness,' cleanli- 
ness, and  even  the  more  regular  temperature 
of  such  habitations,  render  them  the  more  in- 
dustrious and  successful. 

A  recent  plan  called  the  "  Kentucky  Bee- 
house,"  has  been  highly  commended  for  its 
successful  adaptation,  convenience  and  cheap- 
ness. One  is  described  in  the  Farmer's  Cabi- 
net, for  June,  1839,  by  Mr.  F.  C.  Fisher. 

"The  building  is  twelve  feet  long,  eight 
wide,  and  seven  feet  high  from  the  floor  to  the 
plate  or  ceiling  (the  floor  being  eighteen  inches 
from  the  ground),  and  consists  of  four  posts, 
eleven  feet  six  inches  long,  let  in  the  ground 
three  feet,  which  is  weather-boarded  round, 
and  covered  in  so  as  to  prevent  the  bees  from 
getting  in  the  house,  they  being  confined  in  six 
boxes,  three  on  either  side  of  the  house,  placed 
fifteen  inches  one  above  another. 

"  The  draw- 
ing (fig.  3)  re- 
presents a  side 
of  the  house, 
viewed  from 
without.  Nos. 
1,1,  are  copper 
troughs  run- 
ning round  the 
post,  halfway 
between  the  floor  and  ground,  which  are  kept 
filled  with  water  to  prevent  ants  and  other 
insects  from  getting  in  the  house.  Nos.  2,  3, 
and  4  are  tubes  eight  inches  wide,  and  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  deep,  to  convey  the  bees  through 
the  wall  into  the  long  boxes,  and  entering  them 
at  the  bottom,  there  being  three  to  each  long 
box.  The  drawing  (fig.  4)  represents  one 
side  of  the  house,  viewed  from  the  inside. 
Nos.  1,  2  and  3  are 


A- 

! 1 

f— ' 

1     1 

I      l_ 

3 

I     1 

n 

1      1 

1     1 

2 

r—j 

-1 

3-1- 

Fig.  3. 


r\r\r\  r\  r>  /^  r^  r\ 


r\n 


.^n  nn 


nd 


\^r^r\  r\ 


rxC\ 


Fifr.  4. 


long  boxes,  eighteen 
inches  wide  and 
twelve  deep,  extend- 
ing the  whole  length 
of  the  house,  with 
eight  holes,  four 
inches  square,  in 
each  box,  upon  which 


IS  set  two  gallon  caps,  with  two  half  inch  holes 
in  each,  one  near  the  top,  the  other  about  the 
centre  of  the  cap,  in  which  the  smoke  of  a 
turning  rag  is  blown  to  drive  the  bees  from 
1B6 


the  cap  into  the  long  box.  When  they  are  all 
in  the  long  box, — which  can  be  known  by  strik- 
ing the  caps, — a  knife  or  wire  should  be  drawn 
under  the  bottom  of  the  cap  to  separate  the 
comb  from  the  box.  The  cap  of  honey  may 
then  be  removed,  and  an  empty  one  put  in  its 
place.  Nos.  4  and  6  are  tubes  three  inches 
square,  to  convey  the  bees  from  one  box  to 
another,  that  one  swarm  of  bees  may  do  the 
whole  work,  or  if  one  or  more  swarms  be  put 
m  each  box,  that  they  may  become  as  one,  as 
they  will  not  permit  more  than  one  queen  when 
put  together,  by  which  they  are  prevented 
from  destroying  themselves  by  fighting.  A 
house  of  this  description,  when  the  long  boxes 
are  filled,  will  afford,  at  a  moderate  calcula- 
tion, ninety-six  gallons  of  honey  in  the  comb 
annually." 

A  hive  under  the  very  pompous  name  of 
"  Patent  Fortified  Transparent  Royal  Bee  Pa- 
lace," invented  a  few  years  since  by  Mr. 
William  Groves,  of  Cleaveland,  Ohio,  is  said 
to  possess  real  merits,  notwithstanding  its  un- 
promising and  ridiculous  name.  It  is  so  con- 
structed that  the  bees  never  swarm,  and  are 
enabled  to  reject  and  roll  off"  all  off'ensive  mat- 
ters, besides  defending  themselves  against 
intruders.  For  the  preservation  of  the  bees  it 
is  said  to  be  preferable  to  any  other  hive,  and 
it  admits  of  the  convenient  removal  of  honey 
in  any  desirable  quantity,  at  all  times  without 
disturbing  the  bees,  which  are  kept  clean,  well- 
ventilated,  and  healthy. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Farmer's  Cabinet 
residing  in  Western  Pennsylvania  furnishes 
the  following  description  of  an  improved  hive, 
which  he  says  embraces  more  advantages  than 
any  other  he  has  ever  seen.  Among  these  are 
the  following : — 

"  1.  It  prevents  the  ravages  of  the  miller,  whose 
worm  is  the  bee's  most  fatal  enemy.  The 
miller  deposits  its  eggs  in  the  bee  dirt ;  which 
in  the  common  hive  is  constantly  accumulating 
on  the  bottom.  This  difficulty  is  obviated  by 
the  slanting  bottom  of  the  stand;  the  dirt  fall- 
ing on  this  rolls  out  at  D,  and  the  bottom  is 
kept  clean. 

"2.  The  cruel  practice  of  destroying  the  hees  is 
entirely  superseded  by  the  use  of  this  hive. 
By  blowing  a  small  quantity  of  tobacco  smoke 
into  the  upper  box,  through  a  hole  made  for 
that  purpose,  the  bees  will  descend  into  the 
box  next  below ;  the  upper  box  can  be  remov- 
ed ;  fifty  or  sixty  pounds  of  honey,  entirely  free 
from  dead  bees  and  dirt,  can  thus  be  taken 
from  a  good  hive ;  and  enough  remain  to  win- 
ter the  bees  without  any  risk  of  loss. 

"  3.  The  swarming  (f  the  bees  can  be  regulated 
by  the  rise  of  this  hive,  and  the  new  swarms 
taken  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  they  are 
most  valuable.  The  bees  can  be  prevented 
swarming  again  for  the  season,  by  additional 
boxes  as  the  young  bees  increase. 

"4.  This  hive  is  cheap  and  requires  but  little 
mechanical  knowledge  in  its  construction ;  any 
farmer  with  ordinary  tools  can  make  it  from 
the  following  description:" — 

Fig.  5,  A,  is  the  stand  of  Mr.  Groves's  hive,  the 
legs  of  which  are  sixteen  inches  high,  the  stand 
itself  eighteen  inches  square.  B  represents 
a  three-cornered  box,  open  on  the  top,  with  a 


LEES. 

slanting  bottom  c,  e,-  a  space  is  to  be  left  open 
in  the  front  of  the  hive  the  whole  length  at  D, 
to  a:lmit  the  bees  and  allow  the  dirt  to  slide 
(nS  the  slanting  bottom. 


Fig.i. 

"  V  t,  and  3,  are  boxes  or  hives,  nineteen 
i».viii5>  square,  and  seven  inches  high,  with 
».  *. .  ^  tiled  across,  a  sufficient  distance  from 
CTi'.^  ther  to  admit  the  free  pa>sage  of  the 
bees ;  bars  are  to  be  put  across  the  hive  to 
support  the  comb.  The  top  is  to  be  secured  by 
a  tight  cover.  The  bees  enter  at  D,  and  pass 
up  the  slanting  bottom  of  the  stand  into  the 
boxes  above,  and  the  boxes  can  be  i».creased 
by  adding  others,  always  placmg  the  additional 
boxes  nearest  the  stand." 

Mr.  T.  Afliick,  of  Cincinnati,  has  recently 
published  an  interesting  pamphlet  on  bees  and 
their  hives,  entitled  "  Bee-Breeding  in  the 
West,"  which  contains  much  useful  informa- 
tion. His  plan  for  constructing  and  placing 
hives  seems  to  combine  economy,  simplicity, 
and  durability,  with  the  great  desideratum  of 
securing  the  bees  against  the  moth. 

The  invention  is  called  the  Subtended  hive, 
and  may  be  constructed  by  any  farmer  who 
can  handle  a  saw,  a  plane,  and  a  hammer,  by 
pursuing  the  following  directions.  "  The  boxes 
of  which  it  is  to  be  composed,  must  be  formed 
of  well-seasoned  boards,  free  from  knots  and 
wind-shakes,  one  inch  thick  ;  they  may  be  ten, 
eleven,  or  twelve  inches  square  in  the  clear, 
well-dressed  on  each  side,  and  joined  on  the 
edges,  so  as  to  fit  close,  without  being  tongued 
or  grooved.  Before  nailing  together  at  the 
sides,  lay  a  strip  of  thick  white-lead  paint  on 
the  edge,  which  will  render  the  joint  impervi- 
ous to  the  ovipositor  of  the  moth.  In  the  top 
of  each  box  cut  two  semicircular  holes,  at  the 
front  and  back,  one  inch  and  a  half  in  diame- 
ter, the  straight  side  being  in  a  line  with  the 
back  and  front  of  the  box,  so  that  the  bees  may 
have  a  straight  road  in  their  way  from  one 
story  to  the  other;  the  top  of  the  upper  box 
must  have  an  extra  cover  fixed  with  screws, 
that  it  may  be  easily  removed  in  case  of 
need,  so  as  to  form  a  second  box  when  requir- 
ed :  pour  a  little  melted  bee«-wajc  over  the  in- 


BEES. 

side  of  the  top,  which  will  enable  the  bees  trt 
attach  their  comb  more  firmly.  We  will  sup- 
pose the  boxes  thus  made,  to  be  a  cube  of 
twelve  inches  inside  measure;  in  that  case, 

the  tunnel-stand  will  be  made  thus : take  a 

piece  of  two-inch  pine  plank,  free  from  knots 
and  shakes,  twenty-six  inches  long  and  eight- 
een inches  broad ;  now,  ten  inches  from  one 
end,  and  two  inches  from  the  other  and  from 
each  side,  mark  off  a  square  of  fourteen 
inches ;  from  the  outside  of  this  square,  the 
board  is  dressed  off  with  an  even  slope  until 
its  thickness  at  the  front  edge  is  reduced  to 
half  an  inch,  and  at  the  other  three  edges,  t. 
about  an  inch.  The  square  is  then  to  be  re- 
duced  to  twelve  inches,  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  bored  an  inch  auger-hole,  and  to  this  hole 
the  inner  square  is  gradually  sloped  to  the 
depth  of  an  inch — thus  securing  the  bees  from 
any  possibility  of  wet  lodging  about  their  hive, 
and  affording  them  free  ventilation.  There 
will  then  be  a  level,  smooth  strip,  of  one  inch 
in  width,  surro.uiding  the  square  of  twelve 
inches,  on  which  to  set  the  box  or  hive.  Two 
inches  from  the  .'ront  edge  of  the  stand,  com- 
mence cutting  a  channel  two  inches  in  width, 
and  of  such  a  depth  as  to  carry  it  out  on  an 
even  slope  half-way  between  the  inner  edge  of 
the  hive  and  the  ventilating  hole  in  the  centre ; 
and  over  this,  fit  in  a  strip  of  wood  as  neatly 
as  possible,  dressing  it  down  even  with  the 
slope  of  the  stand,  so  as  to  leave  a  tunnel  two 
inches  in  width  and  a  quarter  of  an  inch  deep. 
Under  the  centre  hole,  and  over  the  outlet  of 
the  tunnel,  hang  small  wire  grates,  the  first  to 
prevent  the  entrance  of  other  insects,  and  the 
other  to  be  thrown  over  to  prevent  the  exit  of 
the  bees,  or  fastened  down  to  keep  them  at 
home,  in  clear,  sunshiny  days  in  winter.  For 
feet  to  the  stand,  use  four  or  five  inch  screws, 
screwed  in  from  below  far  ♦enough  to  be  firm ; 
and  the  whole  should  have  two  coats  of  white 
paint,  sometime  before  it  is  wanted,  that  the 
smell  may  be  dissipated,  as  it  is  very  offensive 
to  the  bees."     {Farmers  Cabinet.) 

A  great  variety  of  patent  and  fancy  hives 
are  from  time  to  time  vaunted  for  their  very 
superior  qualities,  but  in  general  the  simplest 
construction  answers  best,  and  there  is  per- 
haps no  hive  which  combines  so  many  advan- 
tages as  that  composed  of  sections. 

In  most  of  the  oldest  settled  parts  of  the 
United  States,  the  larva  or  maggot  of  'he  bee- 
moth  (Phu/sena  cereana),  a  small  gra}  miller, 
commits  great  devastation  among  the  swarms 
of  bees.  In  many  places  in  New  England,  the 
farmers  have  been  induced  to  abandon  the 
bee-culture  entirely  on  account  of  the  destruc- 
tion caused  by  the  bee-moth.  These  lay  their 
eggs  in  the  corners  and  other  interior  parts  of 
the  hive,  which  they  enter  at  night.  In  due 
time  these  eggs  are  hatched  out  into  maggots, 
and  growing  into  worms  with  strong  mandibles, 
they  gnaw  their  way  in  any  direction  they 
choose  to  go,  making  destructive  tracks  through 
the  honey-comb.  After  this  destructive  course, 
the  worm  envelopes  itself  in  a  thick,  soft  case 
or  web,  and  there  awaits  the  final  change  by 
which  it  is  converted  into  the  perfect  wmged 
miller.  Numerous  are  the  expedients  resorted 
to  and  recommended  to  obviate  the  destruction 

167 


BEES 


BEE-MOTH. 


produced  through  the  moth.  Some  of  the  most 
intelligent  apiarians  put  their  chiet  trust  in  the 
strength  of  the  SAvarms,and  when  these  become 
reduced  and  weak,  unite  them  so  as  to  enable 
the  bees  to  defend  their  hive  against  intruders. 
Placing  boxes  for  wrens  near  the  apiary  is 
also  strongly  recommended,  and  with  good 
reason,  since  these  little  birds  are  very  acti'  e 
in  catching  all  kinds  of  moths.  To  enable  the 
wren  to  get  under  the  hive,  it  has  been  recom- 
mended to  raise  these  an  inch  or  an  inch  and 
a  half  above  the  stand,  by  means  of  small 
blocks. 

Another  plan  frequently  adopted,  and,  it  is 
said,  with  much  success,  consists  in  placing, 
early  in  the  evening,  a  burning  lamp  in  a  pail, 
near  the  hive-stand.  Some  fresh  honey  or 
molasses  and  water  may  be  spread  upon  the 
bottom  as  a  bait.  A  keg  Avith  only  one  head 
is  thought  preferable  to  a  pail  for  this  purpose, 
owing  to  the  curvature  of  the  staves,  which 
serves  to  prevent  the  insect  from  flying  out  so 
readily,  and  before  it  has  met  its  destruction 
from  the  flame  of  the  lamp.  A  small  fire  kept 
up  early  in  the  evening  near  the  apiary  is  also 
frequently  resorted  to  for  attracting  and  de- 
stroying the  night-flying  miller.  Placing  shal- 
low vessels  containing  sweetened  water,  with 
cne  gill  of  vinegar  added  for  each  pint,  is  said 
to  attract  and  drown  the  moths  in  great  num- 
bers. Shutting  up  the  apertures  for  the  exit 
and  entrance  of  the  bees,  early  in  the  evening, 
is  also  advised,  as  the  moth  intrudes  itself  in 
the  evening  and  night.  But  when  this  is  done 
the  apertures  must  be  opened  again  very  early 
in  the  morning.  When  millers  are  numerous, 
each  hive  should  be  raised  at  least  twice  a 
week,  upon  one  side,  and  the  worms  sought 
for  and  destroyed.  In  this  operation  a  pufl"  of 
smoke  under  the  hive  keeps  the  bees  quiet 
during  the  search,  which  should  be  performed 
with  as  little  jarring  or  disturbance  to  the 
swarm  as  possible. 

A  correspondent  of  the  Farmer's  Register 
recommends,  that  as  soon  .as  the  bees  com- 
mence working  in  the  spring,  the  hives  are  to 
be  examined,  and  with  a  piece  of  hoop- 
iron  or  other  suitable  implement,  the  stand 
well  scraped  immediately  under  the  hive, 
especially  around  the  inner  edge  of  the  box. 
The  whole  secret  of  keeping  off  the  moth  con- 
sists, he  thinks,  in  keeping  the  hives  free  from 
the  web  formed  by  the  moth.  After  this  ope- 
ration, four  small  blocks  of  wood  are  to  be 
placed  under  each  corner  of  the  hive  so  as  to 
raise  it  not  quite  half  an  inch  from  the  stand. 
This  will  permit  the  hive  and  stand  to  be 
cleaned  without  raising  the  box.  This  scraping 
operation  must  be  repeated  every  three  or  four 
days,  especially  if  there  be  any  appearance  of 
web.  In  winter  the  blocks  must  be  removed, 
and  the  hive  let  down  upon  the  stand  as  a  se- 
curity against  mice,  and  other  depredators 
upon  the  honey.  The  person  who  recommends 
this  plan  as  a  certain  security  against  the 
ravages  of  the  worm,  advises  that  an  entrance 
be  made  for  the  bees,  by  cutting  a  perpendi- 
cular slit,  one-eighth  of  an  inch  wide  and  two 
and  a  half  inches  long,  situated  about  halfway 
from  the  bottom.  Just  under  this  a  small 
«nf  If  i=  to  be  placed  as  a  resting-place  for  the 
168 


bees  in  going  out  and  returning  to  the  nive 
The  bees  soon  get  accustomed  to  this  new 
place  of  entrance.  The  plan  has,  it  is  said, 
often  proved  an  eflectual  security  against  the 
worm,  after  every  other  remedy  has  failed. 

Some  persons  have  contrived  drawers  under 
the  hives  into  which  the  millers  enter  by  night. 
The  drawers  are  slipped  out  every  morning, 
and  the  moths  found  in  them  destroyed. 

In  the  western  country  and  in  the  new  set- 
tlements of  the  Atlantic  states,  the  bee-moth  is 
rarely  met  with. 

Bees,  Italian. — For  an  account  of  Italian 
honey-bees,  and  their  first  introduction  into 
the  United  States,  and  first  announceuicnt  in 
thisEncyclopajdia  of  the  Movable-Comb-IIive, 
see  article  Honey,  (page  631.) 

BEE-MOTH.  The  following  interesting 
details  relative  to  the  natural  history  of  the  bee- 
moth  or  wax-moth,  are  from  Dr.  Harris's  Trea*- 
tise  on  Destructive  Insects.  This  pernicious 
insect  belongs  to  a  group  called  Cambrians, 
and  M'as  well  known  to  the  ancients,  as  it  is 
mentioned  under  the  name  of  Tinea,  in  the 
works  of  Virgil  and  Columella.  "  In  the  winged 
state,  the  male  and  female  diflfer  so  much  in 
size,  colour,  and  in  the  form  of  their  fore- wings, 
that  they  were  supposed,  by  Linnaeus  and  by 
some  other  naturalists,  to  be  different  species, 
and  accordingly  received  two  different  names. 
(Turtrix  cereana,  the  male ;  Tinea  mellonella,  the 
female.)  To  avoid  confusion,  it  will  be  best  to 
adopt  the  scientific  name  given  to  the  bee-moth 
by  Fabricius,  who  called  it  Galleria  cereana, 
that  is,  the  wax  Galleria,  because  in  its  cater- 
pillar state  it  eats  beeswax.  Doubtless  it  was 
first  brought  to  this  country,  with  the  common 
hive-bee,  from  Europe,  where  it  is  very  abun- 
dant, and  does  much  mischief  in  hives.  Very 
few  of  the  Tinex  exceed  or  even  equal  it  in 
size.  In  its  perfect  or  adult  state  it  is  a  winged 
moth  or  miller,  measuring,  from  the  head  to 
the  tip  of  the  closed  wings,  from  five-eighths 
to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  its 
wings  expand  from  one  inch  and  one-tenth  to 
one  inch  and  four-tenths.  The  male  is  of  a 
dusty  gray  colour.  The  female  is  much  larger 
than  the  male,  and  much  darker  coloured. 
There  are  two  broods  of  these  insects  in  the 
course  of  a  year.  Some  winged  moths  of  the 
first  brood  begin  to  appear  towards  the  end  of 
April,  or  early  in  May;  those  of  the  second 
brood  are  most  abundant  in  August;  but  be- 
tween these  periods,  and  even  later,  others 
come  to  perfection,  and  consequently  some  of 
them  may  be  found  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  summer.  By  day  they  remain  quiet  on  the 
sides  or  in  the  crevices  of  the  bee-house  ;  but, 
if  disturbed  at  this  time,  they  open  their  wings 
a  little,  and  spring  or  glide  swiftly  away,  so 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  seize  or  to  hold  them. 
In  the  evening  they  take  wing,  when  the  bees 
are  at  rest,  and  hover  around  the  hive,  till, 
having  found  the  door,  they  go  in  and  lay  their 
eggs.  Those  that  are  prevented  by  the  crowd, 
or  by  any  other  cause,  from  getting  within  the 
hive,  lay  their  eggs  on  the  outside,  or  on  the 
stand,  and  the  little  worm-like  caterpillars 
hatched  therefrom  easily  creep  into  the  hiv6 
through  the  cracks,  or  gnaw  a  passage  for 
themselves  under  the  edges  of  it.    These  cater- 


BEE-MOTH. 


BEET. 


pillars,  at  first  are  not  thicker  than  a  thread.  I 
they  have  sixteen  legs.  Their  bodies  are  soft ! 
and  tender,  and  of  a  yellowish  white  colour, 
sprinkled  with  a  few  little  brownish  dots,  from  ' 
each  of  which  proceeds  a  short  hair;  their' 
heads  are  brown  and  shelly,  and  there  are  two  \ 
brown  spots  on  the  top  of  the  first  riug.  Weak  | 
as  they  are,  and  unprovided  with  any  natural  i 
means  of  defence,  destined,  too,  to  dwell  in  the  I 
midst  of  the  populous  hive,  surrounded  by 
watchful  and  well-armed  enemies,  at  whose 
expense  they  live,  they  are  taught  how  to 
shield  themselves  against  the  vengeance  of 
the  bees,  and  pass  safely  and  unseen  in  every 
direction  through  the  waxen  cells,  which  they 
break  down  and  destroy.  Beeswax  is  their 
only  food,  and  they  prefer  the  old  to  the  new 
comb,  and  are  always  found  most  numerous  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  hive,  where  the  oldest 
honey-comb  is  lodged.  It  is  not  a  little  won- 
derful, that  these  insects  should  be  able  to  get 
any  nourishment  from  wax,  a  substance  which 
other  animals  cannot  digest  at  all;  but  they 
are  created  with  an  appetite  for  it,  and  with 
such  extraordinary  powers  of  digestion  that 
they  thrive  well  upon  this  kind  of  food.  As 
soon  as  they  are  hatched  they  begin  to  spin; 
and  each  one  makes  for  itself  a  tough  silken 
tube,  wherein  it  can  easily  turn  around  and 
move  backwards  and  forwards  at  pleasure. 
During  the  day  they  remain  concealed  in  their 
silken  tubes ;  but  at  night,  when  the  bees  can- 
not see  them,  they  come  partly  out,  and  devour 
the  wax  within  their  reach.  As  they  inciease  in 
size,  they  lengthen  and  enlarge  their  dwellings, 
and  cover  them  on  the  outside  with  a  coating  of 
grains  of  wax  mixed  with  their  own  castings, 
which  resemble  gunpowder.  Protected  by  this 
coating  from  the  stings  of  the  bees,  they  work 
ilieir  way  through  the  combs,  gnaw  them  to 
pieces,  and  fill  the  hive  with  their  filthy  webs ; 
till  at  last  the  discouraged  bees,  whose  dili- 
gence and  skill  are  of  no  more  use  to  them  in 
contending  with  their  unseen  foes,  than  their 
superior  size  and  powerful  weapons,  are  com- 
pelled to  abandon  their  perishing  brood  and 
their  wasted  stores,  and  leave  the  desolated 
hive  to  the  sole  possession  of  the  miserable 
spoilers.  These  caterpillars  grow  to  the  length 
of  an  inch  or  a  little  more,  and  come  to  their 
full  size  in  about  three  weeks.  They  then  spin 
their  cocoons,  which  are  strong  silken  pods,  of 
an  oblong  oval  shape,  and  about  one  inch  in 
length,  and  are  often  clustered  together  in  great 
numbers  in  the  top  of  the  hive.  Some  time 
afterwards,  the  insects  in  these  cocoons 
change  to  chrysalids  of  a  light  brown  colour, 
rough  on  the  back,  and  with  an  elevated  dark 
brown  line  upon  it  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
When  this  transformation  happens  in  the  au- 
tumn, the  insects  remain  without  further 
change  till  the  spring,  and  then  burst  open 
their  cocoons,  and  tome  forth  with  wings. 
Those  which  become  chrysalids  in  the  early 
part  of  summer  are  transformed  to  winged 
moths  fourteen  days  afterwards,  and  immedi- 
ately pair,  lay  their  eggs,  and  die. 

Bees  suffer  most  from  the  depredations  of 

these  insects  in  h  )t  and  dry  summers.    Strong 

and  healthy  swarms,  provided  with  a  constant 

supply  of  food  near  home,  more  often  escape 

22 


tnan  small  and  weak  ones.     When  the  moth 
worms  have  established  themselves  in  a  hive, . 
their  presence  is  made  known  to  us  by  the  lit- 
tle  fragments  of  wax   and   the  black  grain ;< 
scattered  by  them  over  the  floor." 

BEESTING  or  BIESTING,  written  also, 
BEESTNIXG  (Flem.  blest,  biestmelch).  The 
first  milk  taken  from  cows  after  calving.  It  is 
thick  and  yellow.  This  milk  is  commonly  in 
part  taken  away  from  the  cow  upon  her  first 
calving,  lest,  when  taken  in  too  large  a  quan- 
tity by  the  calf,  it  should  prove  purgative. 

BEET  ( Lat.  beta ,■  Celt,  bett,  red ;  aiso  said  to  be 
so  named  from  the  Greek  characler  beta,  which 
its  seeds  resemble  when  they  begin  to  swell). 
The  sweet  succulent  root  of  Beta  vulgaris,  a 
chenopodiaceous  plant  of  biennial  duration. 
It  is  used  in  the  winter  as  a  salad,  for  which 
purpose  the  red  and  yellow  beets  of  Castelnan- 
dari  are  the  best ;  for  the  food  of  cattle,  that 
which  is  named  mangel  worzel  being  most 
used ;  and  for  the  extraction  of  sugar,  a  white- 
rooted  variety  with  a  purple  crown  is  the  most 
esteemed.  Sea  beet  {Beta  maritlma)  is  a  well 
known  and  excellent  substitute  for  spinach. 
(Brande's  Diet,  of  Science,  p.  139.) 

The  genus  beta  comprehends  several  bien- 
nial species.  Miller  enumerates  five.  1.  The 
common  white  beet.  2.  The  common  green 
beet.  3.  The  common  red  beet.  4.  The  turnip 
rooted  red  beet.  5.  The  great  red  beet.  6.  The 
yellow  beet.  7.  The  Swiss,  or  chard  beet. 
We  have  now  nine  varieties  of  this  esculent, 
which  are  described  with  considerable  discrimi- 
nation by  Mr.  Morgan,  gardener  to  H.  Browne, 
Esq.,  Mimms  Place,  Herts.  (Hort.  Trans. 
vol.  iii.)  Of  the  red  beet,  Mr.  Morgan  enume- 
rates seven  varieties  ;  of  these,  the  three  fol- 
lowing are  generally  chosen  for  cultivation  : 
1.  The  long-rooted,  which  should  be  sown  in  a 
deep  sandy  soil.  2.  The  short  or  turnip-rooted, 
better  adapted  to  a  shallow  soil.  3.  The  green- 
leaved,  red-rooted,  requiring  a  depth  of  soil 
equal  to  that  of  the  long-rooted.  There  are 
two  distinct  species  of  beet  comn.only  cultivat- 
ed, each  containing  several  varieties  ;  the  one 
called  Cicla  or  Hortensis,  or  white  beet,  produc- 
ing succulent  leaves  only,  the  other  the  red 
beet  {Beta  vulgaris);  distinguished  by  its  larga 
fleshy  roots. 

The  white  beet  is  chiefly  cultivated  in  gar 
dens  as  a  culinary  vegetable,  and  forms  one 
of  the  principal  vegetables  used  by  agricultu- 
ral labourers,  and  small  occupiers  of  land  in 
many  parts  of  Germany,  France,  and  Switzer- 
land. A  variety  known  by  the  name  of  Swiss 
chard  produces  numerous  large  succuleni 
leaves,  which  have  a  very  solid  rib  running 
along  the  middle.  The  leafy  part  being 
stripped  off*  and  boiled  is  useful  a?  a  subaitute 
for  greens  and  spinach,  and  the  rib  and  .stalk 
are  dressed  like  asparagus  or  scorzenera;  they 
have  a  pleasant,  sweet  taste,  and  are  more 
wholesome  than  the  cabbage  tribe.  In  a  good 
soil  the  produce  is  very  abundant;  and  if  cul 
tivated  on  a  large  scale  in  the  field,  this  specie., 
would  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  plants 
raised  for  cattle.  By  cultivating  it  m  rows, 
and  frequently  hoeing  and  stirrmg  the  inter 
vals,  it  would  be  an  excellent  substitute  tor  a 
fallow  on  good  light  loams.  All  cattle  are 
p  169 


BEET,  WHITE. 


BEET,  WHITE. 


fond  of  the  leaves  of  this  beet,  which  add  much 
to  the  milk  of  cows,  without  giving  it  that  bad 
taste  which  is  unavoidable  when  they  are  fed 
with  turnips  or  cabbages,  and  which  is  chiefly 
owing  to  the  greater  rapidity  with  which  the 
latter  undergoes  the  putrefactive  fermentation. 
If  sown  in  May,  in  drills  two  feet  wide,  and 
thinned  out  to  the  distance  of  a  foot  from  plant 
to  plant  in  the  rows,  they  will  produce  an 
abundance  of  leaves,  which  may  be  gathered 
in  August  and  September,  and  will  grow  again 
rapidly,  provided  a  bunch  of  the  centre  leaves 
be  left  on  each  plant.  They  do  not  sensibly 
xhaust  the  soil.  These  leaves  when  boiled 
Dr  steamed  with  bran,  cut  with  chaff  or  refuse 
grain,  are  an  excellent  food  for  pigs  or  bullocks 
put  up  to  fatten.  {Penny  Cychu  vol.  iv.  p.  158.) 

The  white  beet  is  an  excellent  root,  and  is 
preferred  by  many  to  the  larger  and  more  com- 
mon intermediate  varieties.  It  has  lately  been 
in  great  repute  in  France  and  Belgium,  and 
indeed  all  over  the  continent  of  Europe,  for 
the  manufacture  of  sugar.  The  process  is 
given  in  detail  by  Mr.  Samuel  Taylor  in  the 
sixth  vol.  of  the  Gardeners  Magazine,-  and 
there  are  some  able  articles,  entering  exten- 
sively into  detail  on  the  subject,  in  the  Quart. 
Journ.  Agr.  vol.  i.  p.  624,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  892 
and  907.  (For  an  account  of  the  common 
field  beet  for  cattle,  see  MANCfEL  Wurzkl.) 

BEET,  WHITE  {Beta  cicli).  This  is  also 
known  as  the  chard,  or  carde.  We  have  two 
species  in  common  cultivation,  the  green  and 
the  white.  They  receive  their  names  from  the 
colour  of  their  footstalks  ;  but  the  variation  is 
considered  by  some  as  fugitive,  and  that  both 
arc  produced  from  seed  obtained  of  the  same 
plant :  but  this  the  experience  of  Mr.  Sinclair 
denies.  The  French  have  three  varieties  of 
the  white — the  white,  the  red,  and  the  yellow — 
which  only  differ  from  ours  in  having  a  larger 
foliage,  and  thicker,  fleshier  stalks,  but  they 
are  less  capable  of  enduring  frost.  They  are 
cultivated  for  their  stalks,  which  are  cooked  as 
asparagus.  Mangel  wurzel  is  sometimes 
grown  for  the  same  purposes ;  but  as  it  is 
much  inferior,  tVie  notice  that  it  may  be  thus 
employed,  is  sufl^icient.  Beets  require  a  rich, 
mouldy,  deep  soil ;  it  should,  however,  be  re- 
tentive of  moisture,  rather  than  light,  without 
being  tenacious,  or  having  its  alluminous  con- 
stituent too  much  predominating.  Its  richness 
should  preferably  arise  from  previous  applica- 
tion than  from  the  addition  of  manure  at  the 
time  of  sowing ;  and  to  effect  this,  the  compart- 
ment intended  for  the  growth  of  these  vegeta- 
bles is  advantageously  prepared  as  directed  for 
celery.  On  the  soil  depends  the  sweetness  and 
tenderness  of  the  red  and  yellow  beets,  for 
which  they  are  estimated ;  and  it  may  be  re- 
marked, that  on  poor,  light  soils,  or  heavy  ones, 
the  best  sorts  will  taste  earthy.  Again,  on  some 
soils  the  better  varieties  will  not  attain  any 
useful  size,  or  even  a  tolerable  flavour,  whilst 
in  the  same  compartftient  inferior  ones  will  at- 
tain a  very  good  taste.  The  situation  should 
be  open,  and  as  free  from  the  influence  of  trees 
as  possible ;  but  it  is  of  advantage  to  have 
the  bed  shaded  from  the  meridian  sun  in  sum- 
mer. I  have  always  found  it  beneficial  to  dig 
Jhe  ground  two  spades  deep  for  these  deep- 
170 


rooting  vegetables,  and  to  turn  in  the  whole  or 
part  of  the  manure  intended  to  be  applied,  ac- 
cording to  the  richness  of  the  soil  near  the  sur- 
face, with  the  bottom  split,  so  as  to  bury  it  ten 
or  twelve  inches  within  the  ground.  Salt  is  a 
beneficial  application  to  this  crop,  one  reason 
for  which  undoubtedly  is,  their  being  natives 
of  the  sea  shore.  Both  species  are  propagat- 
ed by  seed,  and  may  be  sown  from  the  close 
of  February  until  the  beginning  of  A]')ril :  it 
being  borne  in  mind  that  they  must  not  be  in- 
serted until  the  severe  frosts  are  over,  which 
inevitably  destroys  them  when  in  a  young  sta^e 
of  growth.  The  best  time  for  inserting  the 
main  crop  of  the  beet  root  for  winter  supply  is 
early  in  March  ;  at  the  beginning  of  July  or 
August,  a  successional  crop  of  the  white  beet 
may  be  sown  for  supply  in  the  winter  and  fol- 
lowing spring. 

It  is  best  sown  in  drills  a  foot  asunder,  and 
an  inch  deep,  or  by  dibble,  at  the  same  dis- 
tance each  way,  and  at  a  similar  depth,  two 
or  three  seeds  being  put  in  each  hole :  it 
may,  however,  be  sown  broadcast  and  well 
raked  in. 

During  the  early  stages  of  its  growth,  the 
beds,  which,  for  the  convenience  of  cultivation, 
should  not  be  more  than  four  feet  wide,  must 
be  looked  over  occasionally,  and  the  largest 
of  the  weeds  cleared  away  by  hand.  In  the 
course  of  May,  according  to  the  advanced  state 
of  their  growth,  the  beds  must  be  cleared 
thoroughly  of  weeds,  both  by  hand  and  small 
hoeing ;  the  beet  roots  thinned  to  ten  or  twelve 
inches  apart,  and  the  white  beet  to  eight  or  ten. 
The  plants  of  this  last  species  which  are  re- 
moved may  be  transplanted  into  rows  at  a 
similar  distance,  and  will  then  often  produce  a 
finer  and  more  succulent  foliage  than  those  re- 
maining in  the  seed  bed.  Moist  weather  is  t® 
be  preferred  for  performing  this  operation: 
otherwise,  the  plants  must  be  watered  occa- 
sionally until  they  take  root:  they  must  be  fre- 
quently hoed  and  kept  clear  of  weeds  through- 
out the  summer. 

It  is  a  great  improvement  to  earth  up  the 
stalks  of  the  white  beet  in  the  same  manner  as 
celery,  when  they  are  intended  to  be  peeled, 
and  eaten  as  asparagus. 

In  October,  the  beet-root  may  be  taken  up 
for  use  as  wanted,  but  not  entirely  for  preser- 
vation during  the  winter  until  November  or 
the  beginning  of  December,  then  to  be  buried 
in  sand  in  alternate  rows,  under  shelter ;  or, 
as  some  gardeners  recommend,  only  part  at 
this  season,  and  the  remainder  in  February ; 
by  this  means  they  may  be  kept  in  a  perfect 
state  for  use  until  May  or  June.  If  prevented 
running  to  seed,  they  will  produce  leaves 
during  the  succeeding  year ;  but  as  this  second 
year's  production  is  never  so  fine  or  tender,  an 
annual  sowing  is  usually  made.  For  the  pro- 
duction of  seed  some  roots  must  be  left  where 
grown,  giving  them  the  protection  of  litter  in 
very  severe  weather,  if  unaccompanied  with 
snow;  or  if  this  is  neglected,  some  of  the  finest 
roots  that  have  been  stored  in  sand,  and  have 
not  had  the  leaves  cut  away  close,  may  be 
planted  in  February  or  March.  Each  species 
and  variety  must  be  kept  as  far  away  from  the 
others  as  possible,  and  the  plants  set  at  least 


BEETLE. 


BEETLE. 


two  feet  from  each  other.  They  flower  in  Au- 
gust, and  ripen  their  seed  at  the  close  of  Sep- 
tember. Seed  of  the  previous  year  is  always 
to  be  preferred  for  sowing,  but  it  will  suc- 
ceed, if  carefully  preserved,  when  two  years 
oH. 

As  a  medicine,  the  seed  of  the  beet  is  diure- 
tic. The  juice  of  beet-root  snuffed  up  into  the 
nostrils  promotes  sneezing,  and  is  beneficial 
m  headache  and  toothache. 

BEETLE  (Scarabceic/eae ;  Sax.  byrei).  The 
generic  name  of  a  class  of  insects,  of  which 
there  are  a  great  many  species,  all  of  them 
having  elytra  or  sheaths  over  their  wings  to 
defend  them  from  hard  bodies,  which  they  may 
meet  with  in  digging  holes  in  the  ground,  or 
gnawing  rotten  wood  with  their  teeth,  to  make 
themselves  houses  or  nests.  These  insects  are 
extremely  destructive  to  many  sorts  of  crops. 
The  beetles  most  destructive  to  vegetables  and 
animals  are  the  weevil  beetle,  the  tumip-Jiea 
beetle,  the  wnud-horing  beetle,  and  some  others, 
which  are  described  at  length  by  Mr.  J.  Dun- 
can in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  ix.  p.  394. 

American  beetles. — Passing  over  many  groups 
into  which  the  extensive  beetle  family  is  divid- 
ed, such  as  the  ground-beetles,  earth-borers, 
and  dung-beetles,  which  last,  in  all  their  states, 
are  found  in  excrement;  the  skin-beetles,  which 
inhabit  dried  animal  substances,  and  the  gigan- 
tic Hercules-beetles,  which  live  in  rotten  wood 
or  beneath  old  dung-heaps,  we  come  to  those 
groups  which  require  more  particular  notice 
from  their  depredations  upon  plants,  fruits,  and 
trees. 

One  of  the  most  common,  and  at  the  same 
time  most  beautiful  of  the  tree  beetles  of  the 
United  States,  is  the  Woolly  Areoda,  sometimes 
called  the  goldsmith  (Areoda  lanlgera),  which 
is  thus  described  by  Dr.  Harris,  in  his  highly 
interesting  and  valuable  "Treatise  upon  In- 
sects injurious  to  Vegetation." — 

"  It  is  about  nine-tenths  of  an  inch  in  length, 
broad  oval  in  shape,  of  a  lemon-yellow  colour 
above,  glittering  like  burnished  gold  on  the  top 
of  the  head  and  thorax ;  the  under  side  of  the 
body  is  copper-coloured,  and  thickly  covered 
with  whitish  wool ;  and  the  legs  are  brownish- 
yellow,  or  brassy,  shaded  with  green.  These 
fine  beetles  begin  to  appear  in  Massachusetts 
about  the  middle  of  May,  and  continue  gene- 
rally till  the  twentieth  of  June.  In  the  morning 
and  evening  twilights  they  come  forth  from 
their  retreats,  and  fly  about  with  a  humming 
and  rustling  sound  among  the  branches  of 
trees,  the  tender  leaves  of  which  they  devour. 
Pear-trees  are  particularly  subject  to  their  at- 
tacks, but  the  elm,  hickory,  poplar,  oak,  and 
probably  also  other  kinds  of  trees,  are  fre- 
quented and  injured  by  them.  During  the 
middle  of  the  day  they  remain  at  rest  upon 
the  trees,  clinging  to  the  under-sides  of  the 
leaves  ;  and  endeavour  to  conceal  themselves 
by  drawing  two  or  three  leaves  together,  and 
holding  them  in  this  position  with  their  long 
unequal  claws.  In  some  seasons  they  occur 
in  profusion,  and  then  may  be  obtained  in 
great  quantities  by  shaking  the  young  trees  on 
which  they  are  lodged  in  the  daytime,  as  th^y 
do  not  attempt  to  fly  when  thus  disturbed  out 
fall  at  once  to  the  ground.   The  larvse  of  these 


insects  are  not  known ;   probably  they  live  m 
the  ground  upon  the  roots  of  plants." 

Another  member  of  the  Rulilian  tribe,  to 
which  the  goldsmith  belongs,  is  the  Spotted 
Pelidnota,  a  large  beetle  found  on  the  cultivat- 
ed and  wild  grape-vine,  sometimes  in  great 
abundance,  in  the  summer  months.  "It  is," 
says  Dr.  Harris,  "of  an  oblong  oval  shape, 
and  about  an  inch  long.  The  wing-covers  are 
tile-coloured,  or  dull  brownish  yellow,  with 
three  distinct  black  dots  on  each ;  the  thorax  is 
darker,  and  slightly  bronzed,  with  a  black  dot 
on  each  side;  the  body  beneath,  and  the  legs, 
are  of  a  deep  bronzed  green  colour.  These 
beetles  fly  by  day,  but  may  also  be  seen  at  the 
same  time  on  the  leaves  of  the  grape,  which 
are  their  only  food.  They  sometimes  prove 
very  injurious  to  the  vine.  The  only  way  to 
destroy  them  is  to  pick  them  off"  by  hand,  and 
crush  them  under  foot.  The  larvce  live  in 
rotten  wood,  stumps,  and  roots." 

Among  the  tree-beetles,  those  commonly 
called  dors,  chafers,  Maj^-bugs,  and  rose-bugs, 
are  the  most  interesting  to  the  farmer  and  gar- 
dener, on  account  of  their  extensive  ravages, 
both  in  the  winged  and  larva  states.  Whilst 
the  powerful  and  horny  jaws  possessed  by 
most  of  these,  are  admirably  fitted  for  cutting 
and  grinding  the  leaves  of  plants  upon  which 
they  subsist,  their  notched  and  double  claws 
support  them  securely  on  the  foliage ;  and 
their  strong  and  jagged  fore-legs,  being  formed 
for  digging  in  the  ground,  point  out  the  place 
of  their  transformations. 

"The  general  habits  and  transformations  oi 
the  common  cock-chafer  of  Europe  have  been 
carefully  observed,  and  will  serve,"  says  Dr. 
Harris,  "to  exemplify  those  of  the  other  in- 
sects of  this  family,  which,  as  far  as  they  are 
known,  seem  to  be  nearly  the  same.  This  in- 
sect devours  the  leaves  of  trees  ane  shrubs. 
Its  duration  in  the  perfect  state  is  vi  ry  short, 
each  individual  living  only  about  a  week,  and 
the  species  entirely  disappearing  in  the  course 
of  a  month.  After  the  sexes  have  paired,  the 
males  perish,  and  the  females  enter  the  earth 
to  the  depth  of  six  inches  or  more,  making 
their  way  by  means  of  the  strong  teeth  which 
arm  the  fore-legs;  here  they  deposit  their 
eggs,  amounting,  according  to  some  wi  iters, 
to  nearly  one  hjmdred,  or,  as  others  assert,  to 
two  hundred  from  each  female,  which  are 
abandoned  by  the  parent,  who  generally  as- 
cends again  to  the  surface,  and  perishes  in  a 
short  time. 

"  From  the  eggs  are  hatched,  in  the  space 
of  fourteen  days,  little  whitish  grubs,  each 
provided  with  six  legs  near  the  head,  and  a 
mouth  furnished  with  strong  jaws.  When  in 
a  state  of  rest,  these  grubs  usually  curl  them 
selves  in  the  shape  of  a  crescent.  They  sub- 
sist on  the  tender  roots  of  various  plants,  com- 
mitting ravages  among  these  vegetable  sub- 
stances, on  some  occasions  of  the  most 
deplorable  kind,  so  as  totally  to  disappomt  the 
best  founded  hopes  of  the  husbandman.  Dui 
ing  the  summer,  they  live  under  the  thm  coat 
of  vegetable  mould  near  the  surface,  but,  as 
winter  approaches,  they  descend  below  the 
reach  of  frost,  and  remain  torpid  until  the  sue 
ceeding  spring,  at  which  time   they  change 


BEETLE. 


BEETLE. 


their  skins,  and  reascend  to  the  surface  for 
food.  At  the  close  of  their  third  summer,  (or, 
as  some  say,  of  the  fourth  or  fifth),  they  cease 
eating,  and  penetrate  about  two  feet  deep  into 
the  earth ;  there,  by  its  motions  from  side  to 
side,  each  grub  forms  an  oval  cavity,  which  is 
lined  by  some  glutinous  substance  thrown 
from  its  mouth.  In  this  cavity  it  is  chanj'ed 
to  a  pupa  by  casting  off  its  skin.  In  this  state 
the  legs,  antennae,  and  wing-cases  of  the  future 
beetle  are  visible  through  the  transparent  skin 
which  envelopes  them,  but  appear  of  a  yellow- 
ish white  colour;  and  thus  it  remains  until  the 
month  of  February,  when  the  thin  film  which 
encloses  the  body  is  rent,  and  three  months 
afterwards  the  perfected  beetle  digs  its  way  to 
the  surface,  from  which  it  finally  emerges  dur- 
ing the  night." 

Some  account  of  the  destruction  occasion- 
ally wrought  by  these  insects  may  be  found 
under  the  head  of  Cock-chafeh. 

In  their  winged  state,  many  species  of  tree- 
beetles  act  as  conspicuous  a  part  in  injuring 
trees  as  their  grubs  do  in  destroying  herbage. 
"  During  the  month  of  May  they  come  forth 
from  the  ground,  whence  they  have  received 
the  name  of  Ma5'-bugs  or  May-beetles.  They 
pass  the  greater  part  of  the  day  upon  trees, 
clinging  to  the  under-sides  of  the  leaves,  in 
a  state  of  repose.  As  soon  as  evening  ap- 
proaches, they  begin  to  buzz  about  among  the 
branches,  and  continue  on  the  wing  till  to- 
wards midnight.  In  their  droning  flight  they 
move  very  irregularly,  darting  hither  and  thi- 
ther with  an  uncertain  aim,  hitting  against  ob- 
jects in  their  way  with  a  force  that  often  causes 
them  to  fall  to  the  ground.  They  frequently 
enter  houses  in  the  night,  apparently  attracted, 
as  well  as  dazzled  and  bewildered,  by  the 
lights.  Their  vagaries,  in  which,  without  hav- 
ing the  power  to  harm,  they  seem  to  threaten 
an  attack,  have  caused  them  to  be  called  dors, 
that  is,  darers  ;  while  their  seeming  blindness 
and  stupidity  have  become  proverbial  in  the 
expressions  'blind  as  a  beetle,'  and  'beetle- 
headed.'  Besides  the  leaves  of  fruit-trees  they 
devour  those  of  various  forest-trees  and  shrubs, 
with  an  avidity  not  much  less  than  that  of  the  lo- 
cust, so  that  in  certain  seasons,  and  in  particular 
districts,  they  become  an  oppressive  scourge, 
and  the  source  of  much  misery  to  the  inhabit- 
ants. Mouffet  relates  that,  in  the  year  1574, 
such  a  number  of  them  fell  into  the  river  Severn, 
as  to  stop  the  wheels  of  the  water-mills;  and, 
in  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  it  is  stated 
that,  in  the  year  1688,  they  filled  the  hedges 
and  trees  of  Galway  in  such  infinite  numbers 
as  to  cling  to  each  other  like  bees  when 
swarming;  and,  when  on  the  wing,  darkened 
the  air,  annoyed  travellers,  and  produced  a 
sound  like  distant  drums.  In  a  short  time  the 
leaves  of  all  the  trees,  for  some  miles  round, 
were  so  totally  consumed  by  them,  that  at  mid- 
summer the  country  wore  the  aspect  of  the 
depth  of  winter." 

The  animals  and  birds  appointed  to  check 
the  ravages  of  these  and  other  insects  so  de- 
.structive  to  vegetation,  are  different  in  differ- ; 
ent  countries.     In  Europe,  according  to  the  | 
^reat  French  naturalist  Latreille,  they  are  the 
^  ad^er,  weasel,  martin,  bats,  rats,  common  ' 
172 


dung-hill  fowl,  and  the  goat-sucker,  or  night- 
hawk.  In  the  United  States,  various  birds  may 
be  always  seen  in  the  spring  of  the  year  fol- 
lowing the  plough,  among  which  the  black* 
bird  family  is  by  far  the  most  numerous. 
'J'hese  ought  to  meet  with  the  utmost  protec- 
tion, and  by  no  means  to  be  stoned,  shot  at, 
killed,  and  frightened  away,  as  is  too  often 
done  by  the  idle  and  inconsiderate.  The  fol- 
lowing view  of  the  subject  will  serve  to  set 
the  subject  in  the  important  light  it  deserves. 
In  "Anderson's  Recreations,"  it  is  stated  that 
"a  cautious  observer,  having  found  a  nest  of 
five  young  jays,  remarked  that  each  of  these 
birds,  while  yet  very  young,  consumed  at  least 
fifteen  of  these  full-sized  grubs  in  one  day, 
and  of  course  would  require  many  more  of  a 
smaller  size.  Say  that,  on  an  average  of  sizes, 
they  consumed  twenty  a-piece,  these  for  the 
five  make  one  hundred.  Each  of  the  parents 
consume,  say  fifty;  so  that  the  pair  and  family 
devour  two  hundred  every  day.  This,  in  three 
months,  amounts  to  twent}'  thousand  in  one 
season.  But,  as  the  grub  continues  in  that 
state  four  seasons,  this  single  pair,  with  their 
family  alone,  without  reckoning  their  descend- 
ants after  the  first  year,  would  destroy  eighty 
thousand  grubs.  Let  us  suppose  that  the  half, 
namely  forty  thousand,  are  females,  and  it  is 
known  that  they  usually  lay  about  tAvo  hundred 
eggs  each ;  it  will  appear  that  no  less  than 
eight  millions  have  been  destroyed,  or  pre- 
vented from  being  hatched,  by  the  labours  of  a 
single  family  of  jays.  It  is  by  reasoning  in 
this  way  that  we  learn  to  know  of  what  im- 
portance it  is  to  attend  to  the  economy  of  na- 
ture, and  to  be  cautious  how  we  derange  it  by 
our  short-sighted  and  futile  operations."  Our 
own  country  abounds  with  insect-eating  beasts 
and  birds,  and  without  doubt  the  more  than 
abundant  Melolonthee  form  a  portion  of  their 
nourishment.    (Harris.) 

The  very  numerous  varieties  of  the  beetle 
family  may  be  imagined  from  the  fact  taught 
us  by  naturalists,  that  of  the  genus  Melo- 
lontha  to  which  the  beetles  belong,  more  than 
two  hundred  have  been  described.  Several 
of  these  found  in  the  United  States,  produce 
injuries  in  the  perfect  grub  state  which  rival 
those  of  the  European  cock-chafer.  The  May- 
beetle,  as  it  is  generally  called  {Phyllophaga 
quercind),  is  the  most  common  species. 

"It  is  of  a  chestnut-brown  colour,  smooth, 
but  finely  punctured,  that  is,  covered  with  little 
impressed  dots,  as  if  pricked  with  the  point 
of  a  needle ;  each  wing-case  has  two  or  three 
slightly  elevated  longitudinal  lines ;  the  breast 
is  clothed  with  yellowish  down.  The  knob  of 
its  antennae  contains  only  three  leaf-like  joints. 
Its  average  length  is  nine-tenths  of  an  inch.  la 
its  perfect  state  it  feeds  on  the  leaves  of  trees, 
particularly  on  those  of  the  cherry-tree.  It  flies 
with  a  humming  noise  in  the  night,  from  the 
middle  of  May  to  the  end  of  June,  and  fre- 
quently enters  houses,  attracted  by  the  light. 
In  the  course  of  the  spring,  these  beetles  are 
often  thrown  from  the  earth  by  the  spade  and 
plough,  in  various  states  of  maturity,  some 
k  *>ing  soft  and  nearly  white,  their  superabun- 
dai.*  juices  not  having  evaporated,  while  others 
exhibit  the  true  colour  and  texture  of  the  pec- 


BEETLE. 


BEETLE. 


feet  insect.  The  grubs  devour  the  roots  of 
grass  and  of  other  plants,  and  in  many  places 
the  turf  may  be  turned  up  like  a  carpet  in  con- 
sequence of  the  destruction  of  the  roots.  The 
grub  is  a  white  worm  with  a  brownish  head, 
and,  when  fully  grown,  is  nearly  as  thick  as 
the  little  finger.  It  is  eaten  greedily  by  crows 
and  fowls.  There  is  a  grub,  somewhat  resem- 
bling this,  which  is  frequently  found  under  old 
manure  heaps,  and  is  commonly  called  muck- 
worm. It  differs,  however,  in  some  respects 
from  that  of  the  May-beetle,  or  dor-bug,  and  is 
transformed  to  a  dung-beetle  called  Scarabaeus 
relictus  by  Mr.  Say.  The  beetles  are  devoured 
by  the  skunk,  whose  beneficial  foraging  is  de- 
tected in  our  gardens  by  its  abundant  excre- 
ment filled  with  the  wing-cases  of  these  insects. 
A  writer  in  the  *  New  York  Evening  Post,' 
says  that  the  beetles,  which  frequently  commit 
serious  ravages  on  fruit-trees,  may  be  effectu- 
ally exterminated  by  shaking  them  from  the 
trees  every  evening.  In  this  way  two  pailsful 
of  beetles  were  collected  on  the  first  experi- 
ment; the  number  caught  regularly  decreased 
until  the  fifth  evening,  when  only  two  beetles 
were  to  be  found.  The  best  time,  however, 
for  shaking  trees  on  which  the  May-beetles  are 
lodged  is  in  the  morning,  when  the  insects  do 
not  attempt  to  fly.  They  are  most  easily  col- 
lected in  a  cloth  spread  under  the  trees  to  re- 
ceive them  when  they  fall,  after  which  they 
should  be  thrown  into  boiling  water  to  kill 
tliem,  and  may  then  be  given  as  food  to  swine." 
(//orr/».) 

In  some  parts  of  Massachusetts  the  beetle 
called  the  Georgian  leaf-eater  takes  the  place 
of  the  quercina.  It  is  extremely  common  in 
some  places  in  May  and  June.  Its  colour  is  a 
bay-brown.  The  upper  side  is  entirely  covered 
with  very  short  yellowish  gray  hairs,  and  mea- 
sures seven-tenths  of  an  inch,  or  more,  in 
length.  These  beetles,  with  some  others  of 
the  same  genus,  are  commonly  found  in  Ame- 
rican gardens,  nurseries,  orchards,  and  fields, 
where  they  are  more  or  less  injurious  depre- 
dators. They  also  devour  the  leaves  of  various 
forest-trees,  such  as  the  elm,  maple,  oak,  «&c. 
They  are  all  nocturnal  insects,  never  appear- 
ing, except  by  accident,  in  the  day,  during 
which  they  remain  under  shelter  of  the  foliage 
of  trees  and  shrubs,  or  concealed  in  the  grass. 
(^Harris.) 

Of  the  American  diurnal  or  daj'-flying 
beetles,  which  belong  to  the  Melolonthians,  one 
is  described  by  Professor  Gemar,  which  he 
proposes  to  call  £celebs.  It  resembles  the  vine- 
chafer  of  Europe  in  its  habits,  and  is  found  in 
the  months  of  June  and  July  on  the  cultivated 
and  wild  grape-vines,  the  leaves  of  vhich  it 
devours.  During  the  same  period  the  .e  chaf- 
ers may  be  seen  in  still  greater  numoers  on 
rarious  kinds  of  sumach,  which  they  often 
completely  despoil  of  their  leaves.  They  are 
rery  variable  in  colour.  The  head  and  thorax 
of  the  male  are  greenish  black,  margined  with 
dull  ochre  or  tile-red,  and  thickly  punctured;  the 
wing-covers  are  clay-yellow,  with  punctured 
furrows.  The  males  are  sometimes  entirely 
black,  and  they  commonly  measure  nearly,  and 
the  females  rather  more  than  seven-tenths  of  an 
inch  in  length.    Should  these  beetles  increase 


m  numbers.  Dr.  Harris  thinks  they  will  be 
found  as  difficult  to  check  and  extirpate  as  the 
destructive  vine-chafers  of  Europe. 

An  account  of  the  natural  history  and  habits 
of  the  Rose-bug  or  chafer,  which  belongs  to  the 
family  of  day-fliers,  will  be  found  under  the 
head  Rose-bug. 

Very  few  of  the  beetle  tribes  which  usually 
subsist  upon  flowers  are  injurious  to  vegeta- 
tion. Some  of  them  are  said  to  eat  leaves,  but 
the  greater  number  live  on  the  pollen  and  the 
honey  of  flowers,  or  upon  the  sap  which  ooze? 
from  the  wounds  of  plants.  The  flower-beetles. 
belong  chiefly  to  a  group  called  Cetonians. 
They  are  easily  distinguished  from  other  bee, 
ties  by  their  lower  jaws,  which  are  generally 
soft  on  the  inside,  and  are  often  provided 
with  a  flat  brush  of  hairs  that  serves  to  collect 
the  pollen  and  juices  on  which  they  subsist. 
Most  of  the  bright-coloured  kinds  are  day- 
fliers  ;  those  of  dark  and  plain  tints  are  gene- 
rally night-fliers.  Some  of  them  are  of  im- 
mense size,  and  have  be.m  styled  the  princes 
of  the  beetle  tribes;  such  are  the  Incus  of  South 
America,  and  the  Goliah  beetle  of  Guinea,  the 
latter  being  more  than  four  inches  long,  two 
inches  broad,  and  thick  and  tieavy  in  propor- 
tion.  (Harris.) 

A  family  of  beetles  called  the  Lucanians, 
includes  the  insects  called  stag-beetles,  horn- 
bugs,  and  flying-bulls,  vulgar  names  derived 
from  the  great  size  and  peculiar  form  of  their 
upper  jaws,  which  are  sometimes  curved  like 
the  horns  of  cattle,  and  sometimes  branched 
like  the  antlers  of  a  stag.  "These  beetles," 
says  Dr.  Harris,  "  fly  abroad  during  the  night, 
and  frequently  enter  houses  at  that  time,  some- 
what to  the  alarm  of  the  occupants ;  but  they 
are  not  venomous,  and  never  attempt  to  bite 
without  provocation.  They  pass  the  day  on 
the  trunks  of  trees,  and  live  upon  the  sap,  for 
procuring  which  the  brushes  of  their  jaws  anc? 
lip  seem  to  be  designed.  They  are  said  also 
occasionally  to  bite  and  seize  caterpillars  and 
other  soft-bodied  insects,  for  the  purpose  of 
sucking  out  their  juices.  They  lay  their  eggs 
in  crevices  of  the  bark  of  trees,  especially  near 
the  roots,  where  they  may  sometimes  be  seen 
thus  employed.  The  larvoe  hatched  from  these 
eggs  resemble  the  grubs  of  the  Scarabceians 
in  colour  and  form,  but  they  are  smoother,  or 
not  so  much  wrinkled.  The  grubs  of  the  large 
kinds  are  said  to  be  six  years  in  coming  to 
their  growth,  living  all  this  time  in  the  trunks 
and  roots  of  trees,  boring  into  the  solid  wood, 
and  reducing  it  to  a  substance  resembling 
very  coarse  sawdust;  and  the  injury  thus 
caused  by  them  is  frequently  very  consider- 
able. When  they  have  arrived  at  their  full 
size,  they  enclose  themselves  in  egg-shaped 
pods,  composed  of  gnawed  particles  of  wood 
and  bark,  stuck  together  and  lined  with  a  kmd 
of  glue;  within  these  pods  they  are  trans- 
formed to  pupae,  of  a  yellowish-white  colour, 
having  the  body  and  all  the  limbs  of  the  future 
beetle  encased  in  a  whitish  film,  which  oeing 
thrown  off*  in  due  time,  the  insects  appear  m 
the  beetle  form,  burst  the  walls  of  their  P"son, 
crawl  through  the  passages  the  larvae  had 
gnawed,  and  come  forth  on  the  outside  of  th« 

,3  173 


BEETLE. 


BEETLE. 


"The  largest  of  these  beetles  in  the  New- 
England  States,  was  first  described  by  Lin- 
naeus under  the  name  of  Lucanus  capreolus, 
signifying  the  young  roe-buck ;  but  here  it  is 
called  the  horn-bug.  Its  colour  is  a  deep  ma- 
hogany-brown ;  the  surface  is  smooth  and  po- 
lished ;  the  upper  jaws  of  the  male  are  long, 
curved  like  a  sickle,  and  furnished  internally 
beyond  the  middle  with  a  little  tooth ;  those  of 
the  female  are  much  shorter,  and  also  toothed; 
the  head  of  the  male  is  broad  and  smooth,  that 
of  the  other  sex  narrower  and  rough  with 
punctures.  The  body  of  this  beetle  measures 
from  one  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  quarter,  ex- 
clusive of  the  jawo.  The  time  of  its  appear- 
ance is  in  July  and  the  beginning  of  August. 
The  grubs  live  in  the  trunks  and  roots  of  va- 
rious kinds  of  trees,  but  particularly  in  those 
of  old  apple-trees,  willows,  and  oaks. 

"  Several  other  and  smaller  kinds  of  stag- 
beetles  are  found  in  New  England,  but  their 
habits  are  m.uch  the  same  as  those  of  the  more 
common  horn-bug." 

Another  great  tribe  of  beetles  is  described 
by  naturalists  under  the  name  of  serricurn,  or 
saw-horned  beetles,  because  the  tips  of  the 
joints  of  their  f  ntennce  usually  project  more 
or  less  on  the  inside,  somewhat  like  the  teeth 
of  a  saw.  The  beetles  belonging  to  the  family 
of  Buprestians  have  antenntB  of  this  kind.  The 
popular  name  for  these  in  England  is  burn- 
cow,  a  very  inappropriate  appellation  for  a 
perfectly  harmless  insect.  The  French  call 
them  7'ichards,  on  account  of  the  rich  and  bril- 
liant colours  wherewith  many  of  them  are 
adorned.  These  beetles  are  frequently  seen 
on  the  trunks  and  limbs  of  trees,  basking  in 
the  sun.  They  w^alk  slowly,  and  at  the  ap- 
proach of  danger,  fold  up  their  legs  and  anten- 
na; and  fall  to  the  ground.  Their  flight  is  sw-ift, 
and  attended  Avith  a  Avhizzing  noise.  They 
keep  concealed  in  the  night,  and  are  in  motion 
only  during  the  day.    {Harris.) 

The  larvte  of  these  saw-horned  beetles,  are 
wood-eaters  or  borers,  and  orchards  and  forest 
trees  are  more  or  less  subject  to  their  attacks, 
especially  after  trees  have  passed  the  prime  of 
life.  The  transformations  of  these  insects 
take  place  in  the  trunks  and  limbs  of  trees. 
The  larvae  that  are  known  have  a  close  resem- 
blance to  each  other ;  a  general  idea  of  them 
can  be  formed  from  a  description  of  that  which 
attacks  the  pig-nut  hickory.  These  grubs  are 
found  under  the  bark  and  in  the  solid  wood  of 
trees  and  sometimes  in  great  numbers.  They 
frequently  rest  with  the  body  bent  side-wise,  so 
that  the  head  and  tail  approach  each  other. 
They  appear  to  pass  several  years  in  this  lar- 
va? state,  before  they  cast  off  the  pupa-coat 
and  cut  out  through  the  bark  in  the  form  of  a 
beetle. 

"  Some  of  these  beetles  are  known  to  eat 
leaves  and  flowers,  and  of  this  nature  is  pro- 
bably the  food  of  all  of  them.  The  injury  they 
may  thus  commit  is  not  very  apparent,  and  can- 
not bear  any  comparison  -with  the  extensive 
ravages  of  their  larvae.  The  solid  trunks 
and  limbs  of  sound  and  vigorous  trees  are 
often  bored  through  in  various  directions 
by  these  insects,  w^hich,  during  a  long-con- 
tinued life,  derive  their  only  nourishment  from 
174 


the  woody  fragments  they  devour.  Pines  and 
firs  seem  particularly  subject  to  their  attacks, 
but  other  forest-trees  do  not  escape,  and  even 
fruit-trees  are  frequently  injured  by  these 
borers.  The  means  to  be  used  for  destroying 
them  are  similar  to  those  employed  against 
other  borers,  and  will  be  explained  in  a  subst 
quent  part  of  this  essay.  It  may  not  be  amiss, 
however,  here  to  remark,  that  wood-peckers  are 
much  more  successful  in  discovering  the  re- 
treats of  these  borers,  and  in  dragging  out  the 
defenceless  culprits  from  their  burrows,  than 
the  most  skilful  gardener  or  nurseryman. 

"  Until  within  a  few  years  the  Buprestians 
were  all  included  in  three  or  four  genera.  A 
great  number  of  kinds  have  now  become 
known,  probably  six  hundred  or  more." 

The  largest  of  these  beetles  known  to  Dr. 
Harris,  is  called  the  Virginian  Bupestris,  or 
saw-horn  beetle.  It  is  of  an  oblong  shape, 
brassy,  or  copper-coloured  ;  sometimes  almost 
black,  wdth  hardly  any  metallic  reflections.  On 
each  wing-cover  are  two  small  square  im- 
pressed spots.  It  measures  eight-tenths  of  an 
inch  to  one  inch  or  more  in  length.  This  beetle 
appears  in  Massachusetts  towards  the  end  of 
May,  and  through  the  month  of  June,  on  pine 
trees  and  on  fences.  In  the  larvae  state,  it 
bores  into  the  trunks  of  the  different  kinds  of 
pines,  and  is  often  times  very  injurious  to  these 
trees.  (Harris.) 

The  wild-cherry  tree  {Prunus  serotina)  and 
also  the  garden  cherry  and  peach  trees,  suffer 
severely  from  the  attacks  of  borers,  which  are 
transformed  to  beetles  called  Buprestis  divari- 
cata,  from  the  wing-covers  parting  a  little  at  the 
tips.  These  beetles  are  copper-coloured,  some- 
times brassy  above,  and  thickly  covered  with 
little  punctures.  They  measure  from  seven  to 
nine-tenths  of  an  inch. 

Other  species  of  American  wood-eaters  or 
borers  are  described  by  Dr.  Harris,  among 
which  are  those  attacking  the  hickory,  oak, 
and  white  pine.  When  trees  are  found  to  be 
very  much  infested  by  borers,  and  are  going 
to  decay  in  consequence  of  their  ravages,  it 
will  be  better  to  cut  them  down  and  burn  them 
immediately,  rather  than  to  suffer  them  to  stand 
until  the  borers  have  completed  their  transfor- 
mations and  made  their  escape.  (Harris.) 

The  family  of  Spring-beetles,  or  Elaters,  are 
closely  related  to  the  Buprestians.  They  derive 
their  name  from  the  well  known  faculty  of 
throwing  themselves  up  with  a  jerk  when  laid 
on  their  backs,  the  legs  being  too  short  to  ena- 
ble them  to  turn  over  by  their  .assistance. 

"  The  larvae  or  grubs  of  the  Elaters,"  says  Dr. 
Harris,  "live  upon  wood  and  roots,  and  are  often 
very  injurious  to  vegetation.  Some  are  confined 
to  old  or  decaying  trees,  others  devour  the  roots 
of  herbaceous  plants.  In  England  they  are 
called  wire-worms  from  their  slendemess  cJid 
uncommon  hardness.  They  are  not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  American  wire-worm,  a  spe- 
cies of  lulus,  which  is  not  a  true  insect,  but  be- 
longs to  the  class  Myriapoda,  a  name  derived 
from  the  great  number  of  feet  with  which  most 
of  the  animals  included  in  it  are  furnished ; 
whereas  the  English  wire-worm  has  only  six 
feet.  The  European  wire-worm  is  said  to  live, 
in  its  feeding  or  larva  state,  not  less  than  five 


BEETLES. 


BELLADONA. 


years;  during  the  greater  part  of  which  time  it  is  ! 
supported  by  devouring  the  roots  of  wheat,  rye, 
oats,  and  grass,  annually  causing  a  large'dimi- , 
nution  of  the  produce,  and  sometimes  destroy-  i 
ing  whole  crops.  It  is  said  to  be  particularly  | 
injurious  in  gardens  recently  converted  from 
pasture  lands.  We  have  several  grubs  allied 
to  this  destructive  insect,  which  are  quite  com- 
mon in  land  newly  broken  up ;  but  fortunately, 
as  yet,  their  ravages  are  inconsiderable.  We 
may  expect  these  to  increase  in  proportion  as 
we  disturb  them  and  deprive  them  of  their 
usual  articles  of  food,  while  we  continue  also 
to  persecute  and  destroy  their  natural  enemies, 
the  birds,  and  may  then  be  obliged  to  resort  to 
the  ingenious  method  adopted  by  European  far- 
mers and  gardeners  for  alluring  and  capturing 
these  grubs.  This  method  consists  in  strewing 
sliced  potatoes  or  turnips  in  rows  through  the 
garden  or  field ;  women  and  boys  are  employed 
to  examine  the  slices  every  morning,  and  col- 
lect the  insects  which  readily  come  to  feed  on 
the  bait.  Some  of  these  destructive  insects, 
which  I  have  found  in  the  giound  among  the 
roots  of  plants,  were  long,  slender,  worm-like 
grubs,  closely  resembling  the  common  meal- 
worm ;  they  were  nearly  cylindrical,  with  a 
hard  and  smooth  skin,  of  a  buff  or  brownish 
yellow  colour,  the  head  and  tail  only  being  a 
little  darker ;  each  of  the  first  three  rings  was 
provided  with  a  pair  of  short  legs :  the  hind- 
most ring  was  longer  than  the  preceding  one, 
was  pointed  at  the  end,  and  had  a  little  pit  on 
each  side  of  the  extremity ;  beneath  this  part 
there  was  a  short  retractile  wart,  or  prop-leg, 
serving  to  support  the  extremity  of  the  body, 
and  prevent  it  from  trailing  on  the  ground. 
Other  grubs  of  Elaters  diflTer  from  the  forego- 
ing in  being  proportionally  broader,  not  cylin- 
drical, but  somewhat  flattened,  with  a  deep 
notch  at  the  extremity  of  the  last  ring,  the 
sides  of  which  are  beset  with  little  teeth. 
Such  grubs  are  mostly  wood-eaters,  devouring 
tlie  woody  parts  of  roots,  or  living  under  the 
bark  and  in  the  trunks  of  old  trees. 

"  After  their  last  transformation,  Elaters  or 
spring-beetles  make  their  appearance  upon 
trees  and  fences,  and  some  are  found  on 
flowers.  They  creep  slowly,  and  generally 
fall  to  the  ground  on  being  touched.  They  fly 
both  by  day  and  night.  Their  food,  in  the 
beetle  state,  appears  to  be  chiefly  derived  from 
flowers ;  but  some  devour  the  tender  leaves  of 
plants." 

The  largest  of  the  American  springing- 
beetles  is  of  a  black  colour,  covered  with  a 
whitish  powder,  and  having  a  large  oval  velvet- 
black  spot,  like  an  eye,  on  each  side  of  the 
middle,  from  which  the  insect  derives  its  name 
of  Omlatxis,  or  eyed.  This  large  beetle  mea- 
sures from  one  inch  and  a  quarter  to  one  inch 
and  three  quarters  in  length.  It  undergoes  its 
transformations  in  the  tnmks  of  trees,  and  Dr. 
Harris  has  found  many  in  old  apple  trees. 
These  larvos  or  worms  are  reddish  yellow 
grubs.  One  of  them  found  in  April  fully  grown, 
measured  no  less  than  two  inches  and  a  half 
m  length.  Soon  after  this  grub  was  found,  it 
cast  its  skin  and  became  a  pupa,  and  in  due 
time  the  latter  was  transformed  to  a  beetle. 
{Harris,) 


Among  the  night-shining  Elaters  is  the  cele- 
brated Ciicurin,  or  fire-beetle,  of  the  West  In- 
dies, from  whence  it  is  often  brought  alive  to 
this  country  as  a  curiosity.  It  resembles  con- 
siderably the  insect  just  described,  being  an 
inch  or  more  in  length.  It  gives  out,  eveii  by 
day,  a  strong  light  from  two  transparent  eye- 
like spots  on  the  thorax,  and  from  the  seg- 
ments of  its  body  beneath.  It  feeds  upon 
the  sugar-cane,  and  its  grub  is  said  to  be 
very  injurious  to  this  plant,  by  devouring  its 
roots. 

Dr.  Harris  states  that  above  sixty  different 
kinds  of  spring-beetles  are  now  known  to  in- 
habit Massachusetts. 

The  utility  of  a  knowledge  of  the  natural 
history  of  insects  in  the  practical  arts  of  life, 
was  perhaps  never  more  strikingly  and  tri- 
umphantly displayed  than  by  the  great  Lin- 
naeus himself,  who,  while  giving  to  natural 
science  its  language  and  its  laws,  neglected 
no  opportunity  to  point  out  its  economical  ad- 
vantages. On  one  occasion,  this  great  natu- 
ralist was  consulted  by  the  King  of  Sweden, 
upon  the  cause  of  the  decay  and  destruction 
of  the  ship-timber  in  the  royal  dock-yards,  and, 
having  traced  it  to  the  depredations  of  insects, 
and  ascertained  the  history  of  the  depredators, 
by  directing  the  timber  to  be  sunk  under  water 
during  the  season  when  these  insects  made 
their  appearance  in  the  winged  state,  and  were 
busied  in  laying  their  eggs,  he  effectually  se- 
cured it  from  future  attacks.  The  name  of 
these  insects  is  Lymexylon  navale,  or  the  nava. 
timber-destroyer,  which  Dr.  Harris  thinks 
cannot  be  far  removed  from  the  tribe  of  spring- 
beetles.  The  odd-looking,  long,  and  slender 
grubs  of  the  Lymexylon,  inhabit  oaks,  and 
make  long  cylindrical  burrows  in  the  solid 
wood.  They*  are  also  found  in  some  other 
kinds  of  trees.  Dr.  Harris  considers  insects 
of  this  family  rather  rare  in  New  England,  ant 
describes  only  two  kinds  of  American  timber- 
borers.     (See  his  Treatise.) 

BEETLE.  A  large  wooden  instrument  ir 
the  form  of  a  mallet,  with  one,  two,  or  three 
handles  for  as  many  persons,  used  in  driving 
piles,  wedges,  hedge-stakes,  and  in  splitting 
wood,  &c. 

BEETLE,  CLODDING.  A  sort  of  imple- 
ment made  use  of  in  reducing  the  clods  of 
tillage-lands,  in  clayey  and  other  stiff  tena- 
cious soils,  to  a  fine  powdery  condition.  This 
business  may  be  much  sooner  performed,  and 
at  less  expense,  by  means  of  rollers  construct- 
ed for  the  purpose.  (See  Rolleti.) 

BEEVES.  The  plural  of  beef.  A  general 
name  employed  by  farmers  for  oxen  or  black 

BEGGAR'S  LICE  (Echinaspernum  Virgini- 
cum).  An  obnoxious  weed  found  along  the 
borders  of  woods,  bearing  a  small  bluish-white 
flower,  frequent  in  pastures  and  along  fence- 
rows,  the  bur-like  fruit  or  nuts  of  which  are 
furnished  with  hooked  prickles,  and  often  form 
a  matting  in  the  fleeces  of  sheep,  and  the  manes 
and  tails  of  horses.   {Flor.  Cestrica.) 

BELLADONNA  {Atropa  belladonna).  In  bo- 
tany, the  Deadly  Nightshade.  It  is  an  aero-, 
narcotic  poison.  This  name,  belladonna  (sig- 
nifying  Handsome  Lady),  accordmg  to  Kay, 

I  To 


BELL-WETHER. 


BENT-GRASS. 


was  given  to  it  by  the  Italians,  because  the 
Italian  ladies  make  a  cosmetic  of  the  juice. 

The  belladonna,  although  perennial  in  re- 
ference to  the  root,  is  annual  in  its  herbage, 
which  is  of  quick  growth,  branching,  and 
shrub-like.  The  leaves  are  lateral,  generally 
two  together,  ovate,  acute,  entire,  smooth,  and 
clammy.  The  flowers  are  solitary,  stalked, 
rising  in  the  axillae  of  the  leaves,  bell-shaped, 
and  of  a  lurid  purple  colour.  The  fruit  is  a 
shining,  black,  sweetish  berry,  seated  in  the 
permanent  calyx,  about  the  size  of  a  cherry. 
The  plant  is  poisonous,  having  a  peculiar  al- 
kali, named  atrupia,  which,  in  combination  with 
malic  acid,  is  found  in  every  part  of  the  plant. 
Its  influence  is  chiefly  exerted  on  the  brain  and 
nervous  system,  causing  delirium,  movements 
of  the  body  resembling  intoxication,  confused 
speech,  uttered  with  pain,  and  other  symptoms 
of  narcotic  poisoning.  Buchanan,  the  Scotish 
historian,  informs  us,  that  the  Scots  under 
Macbeth  intoxicated  the  Danes  under  Sweno 
by  mixing  their  wine  with  the  juice  of  the  ber- 
ries of  belladonna  during  a  truce,  which  en- 
abled Macbeth  readily  to  overcome  them. 
Shakspeare  alludes  to  it  in  the  interview  be- 
tween Macbeth  and  the  witches,  when  the  for- 
mer says — 

Or  have  we  drank 
Of  the  insaiHj  root  which  takes  the  reason  prisoner? 
Macbeth,  Act  1. 

The  beauty  of  the  berries  frequently  entices 
children  to  eat  them ;  and,  although  not  often 
fatal,  they  cause  very  distressing  effects  to  the 
little  sufferers.  In  such  cases,  the  stomach 
should  be  quickly  emptied  by  an  emetic,  and 
afterwards  vegetable  acids  and  decoction  of 
nut-galls  should  be  given.  Belladonna  is  an 
excellent  medicine;  but  it  should  not  be  en- 
trusted to  the  ignorant. 

BELL-WETHER.  A  sheep  which  leads  the 
flock,  with  a  bell  on  his  neck. 

BELT.  To  belt,  in  some  districts,  signifies 
tf  shear  the  buttocks  and  tails  of  sheep. 

BELT.  In  planting,  a  strip  or  portion  of 
land  planted  with  trees  for  the  purpose  of  or- 
nament, or  warmth  and  shelter.  Much  advan- 
tage may  be  derived  in  this  way  in  improving 
the  climate  of  the  district.   (See  Plantation.) 

BENE  PLANT  I^Sesamtim  oriental).  The 
bene  or  sesamum  has  been  introduced  into  Ja- 
maica and  other  West  India  islands,  where  it 
is  quite  extensively  cultivated  in  many  places. 
It  is  commonly  calledVan^l')  or  oil-plant,  from 
the  oil  which  it  yields  to  pressure.  The  seeds 
are  frequently  used  in  broths,  and  by  some  in- 
troduced into  cakes.  Many  of  the  Oriental  na- 
tions look  upon  the  seed  as  a  hearty  and 
wholesome  food,  and  express  an  oil  from  them, 
not  unlike,  or  inferior  to,  the  oil  of  almonds. 
Attempts  have  even  been  made  to  manufacture 
oil  from  it  in  England,  but  with  little  success. 

tfesamuni  orientale,  or  bene,  is  frequently 
cultivated  in  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean as  a  garden  vegetable.  The  seeds  have 
been  introduced  into  the  Carolinas,  and  other 
Southern  States,  by  the  African  negroes.  The 
seeds  are  used  by  the  blacks  for  food ;  they 
parch  them  over  the  fire,  then  mix  them 
with  water,  and  then  stew  them  up  with  other 
ngreaients.  A  kind  of  pudding  is  also  made 
176 


of  them,  similar  to  such  as  are  made  of  rice  or 
millet.  The  oil  pressed  from  the  seeds  will 
keep  many  years  without  acquiring  any  rancid 
taste,  but  in  two  years  becomes  quite  mild,  so 
that  the  warm  taste  of  the  oil  when  first  drawn 
is  worn  off,  and  it  can  be  used  for  salads  and 
all  the  ordinary  purposes  of  sweet  oil.  In  Ja- 
pan, China,  and  Cochin-China,  where  they  have 
no  butter,  they  use  the  oil  for  frying  fish,  and 
preparing  other  dishes  ;  as  a  varnish,  and  for 
some  medicinal  purposes.  Nine  pounds  of 
seed  are  said  to  yield  upwards  of  two  pounds 
of  fine  oil. 

The  sesamum  is  an  annual  plant.  It  grows 
like  cotton,  from  three  to  six  feet  high,  bearing 
numerous  square  pods  about  an  inch  and  a 
half  long,  filled  with  seeds  about  the  size  of 
flaxseeds.  In  its  growth  it  requires  no  sticks, 
or  other  support.  The  product  of  seed  is 
about  twelve  or  fifteen  bushels  per  acre,  and 
the  proportion  of  oil  yielded  to  pressure  has 
been  estimated  as  equal  to  one-half  the  mea- 
sure of  the  seed,  and  some  estimate  the  propor- 
tion as  far  greater.  The  oil  may  be  extracted 
by  bruising  the  seed  and  immersing  them  in 
hot  water,  when  the  oil  rises  on  the  surface 
and  may  be  skimmed  off.  But  the  usual  mode 
of  extraction  is  similar  to  that  practised  in  the 
expression  of  linseed  oil.  In  the  Southern 
States  many  planters  cultivate  the  bene 
largely,  sowing  in  drills  about  four  feet  apart, 
in  the  month  of  April,  and  gathering  the  crop 
of  seed  in  September.  The  pods  ripen  suc- 
cessively, and  not  all  at  one  time.  Bene  has 
been  raised  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  the 
lower  part  of  the  peninsula  between  the  Dela- 
ware and  Chesapeake  Bays,  just  as  far  north 
as  cotton  admits  of  cultivation.  In  higher  lati- 
tudes, even  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  the 
plant  M'ill  grow,  but  seldom  ripens  its  seed. 
The  leaves  of  the  plant  are  in  great  repute  as 
a  remedy  in  dysentery,  and  especially  the 
cholera  infantum  or  summer  complaint  of 
children.  The  freshly  gathered  leaves  are 
merely  dipped  into  a  tumbler  of  cold  water, 
which  immediately  becomes  ropy,  without 
losing  its  transparency  or  acquiring  any  un- 
pleasant taste,  on  which  account  it  is  readily 
and  even  gratefully  received  by  the  little  suf- 
ferers, who  are  allowed  to.  sip  it  in  moderate 
quantities  instead  of  other  drinks.  Sesamum 
is  indeed  a  valuable  plant,  and  should  be  cul- 
tivated wherever  it  will  grow,  for  its  medicinal 
and  domestic  uses,  if  not  for  its  oil;  which 
last,  however,  must,  under  proper  management, 
prove  a  profitable  product  of  the  soil. 

BENT,  or  STARR.  Names  applied  in  Eng 
land  to  the  common  reed  (the  Artmdo  prug- 
miies  of  Dr.  Darlington,  and  the  A.  arenaria 
of  some  other  botanists).  Sinclair  calls  the 
upright  sea  lyme  grass,  starr,  or  bent.  (See 
Plate  7,  1.)  One  of  the  chief  uses  this  coarse 
grass  is  made  to  subserve  in  the  United  States, 
as  well  as  in  European  countries,  is  to  protect 
banks  and  sea-dykes  exposed  to  the  wash- 
ings of  waves  and  currents.  See  Ahundo 
Arenauta. 

BENT-GRASS.  A  species  of  Agrostis  verv 
common  in  pasture  grounds,  the  bent  or  creep- 
ing stems  of  which  are  very  difllcult  to  eradi- 
cate.    (See  AttBosTis.) 


BENTS. 


BIND- WEED. 


BENTS.      The   withered  stalks   of  grass  ] 
standing  in  a  pasture  after   the   seeds   have  , 
dropped.    It  also  sometimes  signifies  a  species 
of  rush  {J uncus  squarrosus),  which  grows  on 
moorland  hills. 

BERBEREN.  A  yellow  bitter  principle 
contained  in  the  alcoholic  extract  of  the  root 
of  the  barberry  tree. 

BERBERRY  (Berheris).     See  Barbkhiiy. 

BERE  (Goth,  bar;  Sax.  bepe).  The  com- 
mon name  for  a  species  of  barley,  which  is 
also  frequently  termed  big,  bear,  and  square 
barley.  Thus,  in  Huloei,  an  old  writer,  we 
find  "  beer-corn,  barley-bygge,  or  moncorne," 

BERGAMOT  (Fr.  ber'gumotfe).  A  species 
of  citron,  the  fruit  of  the  Citrus  benramia  (Ris- 
so).  This  tree  is  cultivated  in  the  south  of 
Europe.  It  is  a  moderate-sized  tree  with  ob- 
long, acute,  or  obtuse  leaves,  with  a  pale  un- 
derside, and  supported  on  winged  footstalks. 
The  flowers  are  small  and  white ;  the  fruit  is 
pyriform,  of  a  pale  yellow  colour,  and  the  rind 
studded  with  oil  vesicles ;  the  pulp  is  slightly 
acidulous.  The  oil,  which  is  procured  from 
the  rind,  is  imported  from  the  south  of  Europe, 
under  the  name  of  ot7  or  esxence  of  berf^amot.  It 
is  of  a  pale  greenish  colour,  lighter  than  water, 
and  used  merely  as  an  agreeable  perfume.  A 
species  of  mint,  having  a  highly  agreeable 
odour  {Mentha  odoratu,  Smith),  is  popularly 
called  bergamot  in  the  United  States. 

BERRY  (Macca).  A  succulent  pulpy  fruit, 
which  contains  one  or  more  seeds,  or  granules, 
imbedded  in  the  juice. 

BETHLEHEM,  STAR  OF  (Omitknsalum). 
Smith  points  out  four  varieties  of  this  flower : 
the  yellow  star  of  Bethlehem,  0.  luteum .-  the 
common  star  of  Bethlehem,  O.  umbellatum, 
(commonly  called  ten  o'clock) ;  the  tall  star  of 
Bethlehem,  0.  pyrenaicum ,-  and  the  drooping 
star  of  Bethlehem,  0.  nutaiis.  The  first  is  met 
with  sometimes,  but  not  very  frequently,  in 
grove  pastures.  The  second  is  found  in  mea- 
dows, pastures,  and  groves  in  various  parts  of 
England.  The  last  is  found  mostly  in  fields 
and  orchards,  probably  naturalized.  All  are 
elegant  spring  flowers.  The  last  is  common 
in  country  gardens,  whence  it  may  have 
escaped  into  the  fields.  Yet  the  plant  may  as 
well  be  a  native  of  England  as  of  Denmark, 
Austria,  or  other  parts  of  Europe  and  America, 
where  it  is  found  in  similar  situations.  One 
of  the  species,  commonly  called  ten  o'clock 
(Ornlikogalum  umbellatum),  Dr.  Darlington 
says,  is  a  foreigner  that  has  escaped  from  gar- 
dens, and  has  become  a  nuisance  on  many 
farms  in  the  Middle  States.  Although  it  rarely 
perfects  its  seed,  it  propagates  itself  with  great 
rapidity  by  means  of  lateral  bulbs.  These 
bulbs  are  extremely  difficult  to  eradicate.  (Flor. 
Cestrica.)  An  American  species  of  the  star  of 
Bethlehem  {O.vircns)  was  found  by  Lindley 
on  the  Delaware  Bay.  The  sea-squill,  so  ex- 
tensively used  in  medicine,  belongs  to  this 
bulbous-rooted  family  of  plants.  {Smith's  Eng. 
Flitra,  vol.  ii.  p.  141—145.) 

BEVER  (Ital.  bevere.-  old  French,  beivre). 
To  drink:  a  word  now  almost  obsolete,  but 
from  which  we  derive  beverage.  The  provin- 
cial term  amongst  labourers  for  the  meal  be- 
tween dinner  and  tea. 

23 


BIENNIAL  (Lat.  biennis).  Any  thing  thaJ 
continues  or  endures  two  years.  This  term  is 
usually  applied  to  plants  which  grow  one  year 
and  flower  the  next,  after  which  they  perish. 
They  only  differ  from  annuals  in  requiring  a 
longer  period  to  fruit  in.  Most  biennials,  if 
sown  early  in  the  spring,  will  flower  in  the  au 
tumn  and  then  perish,  thus  actually  becoming 
annuals.    (Brande's  Did.  of  Science.) 

BIG.  A  term  sometimes  applied  in  Eng- 
land to  here  or  square  barley. 

BILBERRY,  or  BLEABERRY.    See  Whor. 

TLEBKRRT. 

BILL  {Bille;  Sax.  tibiip,  a  two-edged  axe). 
A  kind  of  hatchet  with  a  hooked  point,  and  a 
handle  shorter  or  longer,  according  to  the  par- 
ticular uses  for  which  it  is  intended.  It  is 
mostly  employed,  by  husbandmen  for  cutting 
hedges  and  felling  underwood;  and  Johnson 
tells  us  it  takes  its  name  from  its  resemblance, 
in  form,  to  the  beak  of  a  bird  of  prey. 

BILLET  (Fr.  bilot).  A  small  log  of  wood 
for  the  chimney. 

BIN  (Sax.  binne).  A  small  box  or  other  con- 
trivance in  which  grain  of  any  kind  is  kept. 
It  is  sometimes  written  binn.  Bin  also  signi- 
fies a  sort  of  crib  for  containing  straw  or  other 
bulky  fodder  in  farm-yards. 

BIN,  CORN-.  A  sort  of  convenient  box  or 
chest  fixed  in  the  stable  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
taining grain  or  other  provender  for  horses. 
We  have  also  hop-bins,  wine-bins,  &c. 

BIND-WEED  (Lat.  convolvulus).  A  trouble- 
some genus  of  weeds,  of  which  there  are  in  Eng- 
land three  species,  the  smaller,  the  great,  and  the 
sea  bind-weed.  The  climbing  buckwheat  {Poly 
gnnum  convolvulus)  is  also  known  by  the  name 
of  black  bind-weed.  The  first  or  smaller  bind 
weed  (C.  urvensis),  frequently  called  gravel 
bind-weed,  is  very  common  in  hedges,  fields, 
and  gardens,  and  upon  dry  banks  and  gravelly 
ground  in  most  districts,  and  is  an  almost  un- 
conquerable weed.  Its  presence  is  generally  a 
sign  of  gravel  lying  near  the  surface.  Its 
branching,  creeping  roots  penetrate  to  a  great 
depth  in  the  soil.  The  flowers  are  fragrant  like 
the  heliotrope,  but  fainter,  very  beautiful,  of 
every  shade  of  pink,  with  paler  or  yellowish 
plaits,  and  stains  of  crimson  in  the  lower  part; 
sometimes  they  are  nearly  white.  They  close 
before  rain.  The  second  kind,  or  great  bind-weed 
(  C.  sepium),  is  also  an  equally  troublesome  and 
injurious  weed  to  the  husbandman.  It  grows 
luxuriantly  in  moist  hedges,  osier  holts,  and 
thickets.  In  an  open,  clear  spot  of  ground,  when 
the  plants  are  kept  constantly  hoed  down  for 
three  or  four  months,  it  may  sometimes  be  effect 
ually  destroyed ;  as  when  the  stalks  are  broken 
or  cut,  a  milky  juice  exudes,  by  which  the  roots 
are  exhausted  and  decay.  Every  portion  of 
the  root  will  grow.  The  roots  of  this  specie* 
are  long,  creeping  extensively,  and  rather 
fleshy;  the  stems  twining,  several  feet  long, 
leafy,  smooth,  and  slightly  branched.  Flowers 
solitary,  large,  purely  white  for  the  most  part, 
occasionally  of  a  uniform  flesh  or  rose  colour. 
It  is  a  perennial,  flowering  in  July  and  August 
in  England,  and  a  month  earlier  in  Pennsylva^ 
nia,  where  it  is  occasionally  found.  It  is  so 
injurious  to  crops  that  farmers  should  try  all 
means  to  get  rid  of  it.    The  black  bmd-W'?d. 

177 


BIRCH. 


BIRCH. 


(Plate  10,  d),  called  also  dimbing  buck-wheat, 
and  bear-bind,  is  an  annual,  flowering  in  June 
and  September.  Its  root  is  small  and  tapering, 
and  the  stem  twines  from  left  to  right,  round 
every  thing  in  its  way  to  the  height  of  five  or 
six  feet.  The  flowers  arc  drooping,  greenish 
white,  or  reddish. 

Several  plants  of  the  convolvulus  family 
are  highly  valuable  for  tNe  food  and  medicines 
they  furnish.  That  most  active  purgative 
scammony  is  obtained  from  C.  scammonia,  and 
jalap  from  a  species  of  Ipomaa.  Occasionally 
the  purgative  principle  is  so  much  ditfused 
among  the  foecula  of  the  root,  as  to  be  almost 
inappreciable,  as  is  the  case  in  the  C.  batatas, 
or  sweet  potato  of  America.  The  root  of  the 
great  bind-weed  is  a  strong  purgative,  fresh 
gathered  and  boiled  in  a  little  warm  liquid, 
being  near  akin  to  the  acrid  and  violent  scam- 
mony. The  humbler  classes  boil  it  in  beer  or 
ale,  and  find  it  a  never-failing  remedy.  Among 
delicate  constitutions  it  should  be  taken  with 
caution,  as  its  effects  are  very  powerful.  In 
Northamptonshire  it  grows  most  abundantly. 
A  decoction  of  the  roots  also  causes  perspira- 
tion. 

BIRCH  (Sax.bipc;  Lat.  betula).  The  Eng- 
lish word  birch  seems,  however,  to  be  derived 
from  the  German  birke,  or  the  Dutch  berk.  All 
the  European  languages  are  similar  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  the  name  of  this  tree.  A  very 
hardy,  ornamental,  and,  in  some  respects,  a 
useful  tree,  inhabiting  the  north  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  America.  There  are  many  species 
of  birch,  but  that  best  known,  and  most  gene- 
rally cultivated  in  this  country,  is  the  common 
birch  {Betula  alba).  The  common  birch  is 
valuable  for  its  capability  of  resisting  extremes 
of  both  heat  and  cold:  its  timber  is  chiefly 
employed  for  fire-wood.  Its  bark  is  extremely 
durable :  it  consists  of  an  accumulation  often  or 
twelve  skins,  which  are  white  and  thin  like  pa- 
per, the  use  of  which  it  supplied  to  the  ancients ; 
and  as  a  proof  of  its  imperishable  nature,  we 
are  told  that  the  books  which  Numa  composed, 
about  700  years  before  Christ,  which  were 
written  on  the  bark  of  the  birch  tree,  were 
found  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation  in  the 
tomb  of  that  great  king,  where  they  had  re- 
mained 400  years.  Although  thi.s  species  is 
not  much  valued  for  its  timber,  it  is  extremely 
useful  for  many  other  purposes.  Russia  skins 
are  said  to  be  tanned  with  its  bark,  from  which 
the  peculiar  odour  of  such  leather  is  derived ; 
and  it  is  said  to  be  useful  in  dyeing  wool  yel- 
low, and  fixing  fugacious  colours.  The  High- 
landers weave  it  into  ropes  for  their  well- 
buckets.  The  poor  people  of  Sweden  were 
formerly  accustomed  to  grind  the  bark  to 
mingle  with  their  bread  corn.  And  in  Den- 
mark, Christopher  III.  received  the  unjust  sur- 
name of  Berka  Kanung  (king  of  bark),  because 
In  his  reign  there  was  such  a  scarcity,  that 
the  peasants  were  obliged  to  mix  the  bark  of 
ihis  tree  with  their  flour.  Cordage  is  obtained 
from  it  by  the  Laplanders,  who  also  prepare  a 
red  dye  from  it;  the  young  shoots  serve  to 
nourish  their  cattle,  and  the  leaves  are  said  to 
afford  good  fodder  for  horses,  kine,  sheep,  and 
goats.  The  vernal  sap  of  these  trees  is  well 
known  to  have  a  saccharine  quality,  and  from 
178 


it  the  forest  housewife  makes  an  agreeable  and 
wholesome  wine.  During  the  siege  of  Ham- 
burgh, in  1814,  by  the  Russians,  almost  all  the 
birch  trees  of  the  neighbourhood  were  de- 
stroyed by  the  Bashkirs  and  other  barbarian 
soldiers  in  the  Russian  service,  by  being  tap- 
ped for  their  juice.  Vinegar  is  obtained  from 
the  fermented  sap.  The  inhabitants  of  Fin- 
land use  the  leaves  for  tea;  and  both  in  Lap- 
land and  Greenland,  strips  of  the  young  and 
tender  bark  are  used  for  food.  From  the  tim- 
ber are  manufactured  gates  and  rails,  packing- 
cases,  hoops,  yokes  for  cattle,  turners'  ware, 
such  as  bowls,  wooden  spoons,  wooden  shoes 
and  clogs,  and  other  articles  in  which  light- 
ness without  much  durability  is  sufficient. 
Baskets,  hurdles,  and  brooms  are  often  made 
of  part  of  its  shoots.  The  broom-makers  are 
constant  customers  for  birch  in  all  places  in  the 
vicinity  of  London,  or  where  it  is  near  water- 
carriage  ;  but  in  most  other  parts  the  hoop- 
benders  are  the  purchasers.  The  larger  trees 
are  often  bought  by  the  turners.  In  some  of 
the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  the  wood  of  this 
tree  is  likewise  greatly  used  for  making  of 
carriages  and  wheels,  being  hard  and  of  long 
duration.  The  most  general  and  the  most 
profitable  use  to  which  birch  at  present  can  be 
turned  is,  unquestionably,  the  manufacture  of 
small  casks,  as  herring  barrels,  butter  tubs, 
&c.  For  the  latter  purpose  it  is  admirably 
suited,  because  it  is  stout,  clean,  and  easily 
wrought,  and  communicates  no  particular  taste 
or  smell  to  the  butter.  The  timber  of  the  birch 
was  more  used  and  more  valued  in  former 
times.  It  was  not  so  strong  as  the  ash  for  har- 
rows and  other  farming  implements,  but  it  was 
not  so  ready  to  split,  and  for  roofing  cottages 
it  is  still  held  in  estimation.  In  Russia,  Po- 
land, and  other  northern  countries,  the  twigs 
of  this  tree  cover  the  dwellings  of  the  peasant, 
instead  of  tile  or  thatch.  It  afforded  our  an- 
cestors arrows,  bolts,  and  shafts,  for  their  war 
implements.  The  whole  tree  is  adapted  for 
burning  into  charcoal  of  the  best  quality,  and 
suited  for  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder. 

The  birch  will  grow  in  any  soil,  but  best  in 
shady  places.  It  may,  therefore,  in  some  situa- 
tions, be  turned  to  good  account,  since  it  will 
grow  to  advantage  upon  land  where  other  tim- 
ber will  not  thrive.  Miller  says,  it  loves  a  dry 
barren  soil,  where  scarcely  any  thing  else  will 
grow ;  and  will  thrive  on  any  sort  of  land,  dry 
or  wet,  gravelly,  sandy,  rocky,  or  boggy,  and 
those  barren,  heathy  lands  which  will  scarcely 
bear  grass.  It  is  said  to  attain  sometimes  the 
height  of  seventy  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  two 
feet ;  in  England  it  does  not  acquire  such  con- 
siderable dimensions.  The  birch  is  propagated 
by  seeds,  which  are  easily  taken  from  bearing 
trees,  by  cutting  the  branches  in  August,  before 
they  are  quite  ripe.  The  seed  may  be  thrashed 
out  like  corn,  as  soon  as  the  branches  dry  a 
little ;  they  should  be  then  kept  in  dry  cool 
sand  until  they  are  sown,  either  in  the  autumn 
or  spring.  A  great  deal  of  nicety  and  atten- 
tion is  required  in  rearing  the  birch  from  the 
seed;  they  must  be  sown  in  the  shade,  and 
covered  very  lightly  with  soil  made  as  fine  as 
possible,  and  watered  according  to  the  wetness 
or  dryness  of  the  season.    The  planting  out 


BIRCH. 

of  this  tree  is  performed  in  the  same  manner ' 
as  in  the  ash.  If  planted  for  underwood,  it 
should  be  IVlled  before  March  to  prevent  its 
bleeding.  The  tree  bears  removing  with 
.<;afely,  after  it  has  attained  the  height  of  six 
or  seven  feet ;  and  is  ready  to  plash  as  hedges 
in  four  years  after  planting.  When  old  they  1 
are  transplanted  with  considerable  difficulty.     I 

The  other  European  birches  are  the  weep-  j 
ing  birch  (Betula  pendula),  which  is  very  com-  ! 
mon  in  different  parts  of  Europe,  along  with 
the  last,  in  the  properties  of  which  it  appears 
to  participate,  and  with  which  it  is  often  im- 
properly confounded.  It  difiers  from  the  com- 
mon birch  not  only  in  its  weeping  habit,  but 
also  in  its  young  shoots  being  quite  smooth, 
bright  chestnut  brown  when  ripe,  and  then 
covered  with  little  white  M-arts.  The  Betula 
pontica  of  the  nurseries  is  a  slight  variety,  of 
a  less  drooping  habit. 

The  third  species  is  the  downy  birch  {Be- 
tula pubtsc  ens),  a  smaller  species  than  the  first, 
found  in  the  bogs  of  Germany  ;  a  variety  of  it 
is  calleil  Betula  urticlfnUn  in  gardens. 

The  fourth  and  last  European  species  is  the 
dwarf  birch  {Betula  nana),  a  small  bush  found 
in  Lapland  and  the  mountainous  parts  of  other 
northern  countries.  To  the  people  of  the  south 
this  plant  has  no  value,  but  to  the  Laplanders 
it  affords  a  large  part  of  their  fuel,  and  its 
winged  fruits  are  reported  to  be  the  favourite 
food  of  the  ptarmigan.  The  Asiatic  species 
are  the  Indian  paper  birch  {B.  Bftiyjpattra)  ; 
tapering-leaved  birch  {B.  acuminata) ;  shining 
birch  {B.  nitida)  ;  cylindrical  spiked  birch  {B. 
cylindrosiachya).  The  principal  American 
birches  are,  1.  The  poplar-leaved  or  white 
American  birch  {B.  popnlifulia).  It  is  very 
like  the  European  B.  pendula.  2.  The  red 
birch  {li.  nigra).  In  this  country  it  is  gene- 
rally called  B.  angulata,  and  by  some  B.  rubra. 
The  Messrs.  Loddiges,  of  Hackney,  were  the 
first  importers  of  this  fine  but  little  known 
species.  3.  The  yellow  birch  {B.  excehu). 
4.  The  paper  or  canoe  birch  {B.  papyracea.), 
which  is  employed  by  the  North  American 
Indians  for  a  variety  of  useful  purposes.  6. 
The  soft  black  or  cherry  birch  {B.  lento). 
None  of  the  American  birches  produce  timber 
so  valuable  as  this,  whence  one  of  its  Ame- 
rican names  is  mountain  mahogany.  Its  wood 
is  hard,  close-grained,  and  of  a  reddish  brown ; 
it  is  imported  into  England  in  considerable 
quantities,  under  the  name  of  American  birch, 
for  forming  the  sides  of  dining  tables,  and  for 
similar  purposes.  It  is  rarely  seen  in  Eng- 
land, although  it  is  perhaps  one  of  the  best 
suited  to  that  climate.  All  the  species  of 
birches,  except  the  common  and  weeping,  are 
multiplied  by  layers  in  the  usual  way. 

The  juice  of  the  birch  tree,  produced  from 
punctures  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  is  diuretic. 
The  wine  made  from  this  sap  is  said  to  be 
aperitive,  and  detersive.  Old  medical  writers 
tell  us  that  the  wood  was  esteemed  the  best  to 
burn  in  times  of  pestilence  and  contagious 
distempers ;  but,  like  many  old  medical  saws, 
that  opinion  is  of  no  value.  {Phillips's  Syl. 
Fltyr.  vol.  i.  p.  123;  Pen.  Syc.  vol.  iv.  p.  348; 
Baxter  a  Agr.  Lib.) 

BIRDS.    A  few  of  the  feathered  tribes  may 


BIRD-CHERRY. 

be  regarded  as  mischievous  depredators  upon 
the  farmer  and  gardener,  eating  his  fruit,  as  the 
robin  ;  pulling  up  the  corn  when  just  sprouted, 
or  eating  it  from  the  ear  when  nearly  matured, 
as  is  so  often  done  by  the  crow,  the  black-bird 
or  grakle.  But  if  account  be  made  of  all  the 
services  derived  from  birds  in  destroying  those 
insects  which  in  their  larva  or  worm  state,  or 
their  more  perfect  winged  state,  commit  such 
serious  depredations  upon  orchards  and  fields, 
it  will  be  found  that  we  owe  the  feathered  fa- 
mily a  very  large  balance.  Upon  this  subject 
we  must  refer  for  further  illustration  to  the 
articles  Beetle,  Bouehs,  Aphis,  and  others 
relating  to  destructive  insects.  That  distin- 
guished naturalist,  Mr.  Nuttall,  has  the  follow- 
ing beautiful  tribute  to  birds  in  his  interesting 
Manual  of  the  Ornithology  of  the  United  States. 

"In  whatever  way  we  view  the  feathered 
tribes  which  surround  us,  we  shall  find  much 
both  to  amuse  and  instruct.  We  hearken 
to  their  songs  with  renewed  delight,  as  the 
harbingers  and  associates  of  the  season  they 
accompany.  Their  return,  after  a  long  ab- 
sence, is  hailed  with  gratitude  to  the  Author 
of  all  existence;  and  the  cheerless  solitude  of 
inanimate  nature  is,  by  their  presence,  attuned 
to  life  and  harmony.  Nor  do  they  alone  ad- 
minister to  the  amusements  and  luxury  of  life ; 
faithful  aids  as  well  as  messengers  of  the  sea- 
sons, they  associate  round  our  tenements,  and 
defend  the  various  productions  of  the  earth, 
on  which  we  rely  for  subsistence  from  the  de- 
structive depredations  of  myriads  of  insects, 
which,  but  for  timely  riddance  by  unnumbered 
birds  would  be  followed  by  a  general  failure 
and  famine.  Public  economy  and  utility,  then, 
no  less  than  humanity  plead  for  the  protection 
of  the  feathered  race,  and  the  wanton  destruc- 
tion of  birds,  so  useful,  beautiful,  and  amusing, 
if  not  treated  as  such  by  law,  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  crime  by  every  moral,  feeling,  and 
reflecting  mind." 

BIRD-BOLT.  A  short  arrow,  having  a  ball 
of  wood  at  the  end  of  it,  and  sometimes  an 
iron  point,  formerly  used  for  shooting  birds. 

BIRD-CHERRY  {Prunus  padus).  The  ber- 
ries are  eagerly  sought  after  by  birds,  and  as 
the  leaf  and  fruit  resemble  that  of  the  cherry 
tree,  hence  the  name  of  bird-cherry.  In  Scot- 
land it  is  called  hogberry.  This  aboriginal  of 
our  English  woods  possesses  beauties  that 
should  oftener  secure  it  a  situation  in  the 
shrubbery,  and  more  frequently  a  place  in  or- 
namental hedge-rows.  The  bird-cherry  rises 
from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  height,  spreading  to 
a  considerable  distance  its  branches,  which 
are  covered  with  a  purplish  bark.  It  flowers 
in  April  and  May,  and  the  small  black  fruit, 
which  hangs  in  bunches,  ripen  in  August. 
Although  the  fruit  is  austere,  and  bitter  to  the 
taste,  it  gives  an  agreeable  flavour  to  brandy, 
and  many  persons  add  it,  for  the  same  reason, 
to  their  made  wines.  Birds  soon  devour  the 
fruit,  which  is  nauseous  and  probably  danger- 
ous, though  perhaps,  like  that  of  the  cherry 
laurel,  not  of  so  deadly  a  quality  as  the  essen- 
tial oil,  or  distilled  water  of  the  leaves,  which 
is  highly  dangerous  from  containmg  much 
Prussic  acid.  The  wood  is  hard  and  close- 
grained,  and  is  used  for  whip  and  knife  handles 

179 


BIRD'S-EYE. 


BIRD'S-FOOT  TREFOIL. 


Linnaeus  says,  that  kine,  sheep,  goats,  and ! 
swine  eat  the  leaves,  but  that  horses  refuse 
them.  The  scent  of  the  leaves,  when  bruised, 
resembles  rue.  The  variety  with  red  fruit, 
commonly  called  the  Cornish  cherry,  flowers 
two  or  three  weeks  earlier,  and  is  therefore 
not  so  desirable  for  the  shrubbery.  The  bird- 
cherry  may  be  propagated  by  layers,  which 
should  be  performed  in  autumn,  but  the  hand- 
somest trees  are  raised  from  seed,  which  may 
be  sown  at  the  same  season.  A  wet  soil  is  not 
congenial  to  this  tree.  (^Phillips's  Syl.  Flor. 
vol.  i.  p.  134;  Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p. 
854.) 

BIRD'S  EYE  (Veronica  chamaedrys).  The 
Germander  Speedwell,  or  wild  germander.  A 
troublesome  weed  in  fields.  It  is  found  very 
commonly  in  groves,  meadows,  pastures,  and 
hedges.  It  is  a  perennial,  flowering  in  May 
and  June.  Herbage  light  green.  Flowers 
numerous,  transient,  but  very  beautiful,  bright 
blue  with  dark  streaks  and  a  white  centre ; 
their  outside  pale  and  flesh  coloured.  The 
flowers  expand  in  fine  weather  only.  Some 
take  this  for  the  German  "  forget-me-not."  It 
vies  in  beauty  with  the  true  one,  Myoftntis  pa- 
histris.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  23.)  See 
Speedwell. 

BIRD'S  FOOT,  COMMON  (Ornithopus per- 
pusillus).  A  weed  found  most  generally  in 
sandy  or  gravelly  pastures.  Root  fibrous,  an- 
nual, though  it  is  sometimes  propagated  by 
subterraneous  lateral  knobs  in  the  manner  of 
a  potato,  in  which  case  the  seeds  are  abortive. 
The  stems,  often  numerous,  are  procumbent. 
from  three  to  ten  or  twelve  inches  long. 
Leaves  alternate,  of  from  five  to  ten  or  twelve 
pair,  of  small  uniform  elliptical  leaflets. 
Flowers  three  or  four  in  each  little  head  or 
tuft. 

The  species  of  bird's  foot  are  curious  on 
account  of  their  jointed  pods,  but  not  worth 
culture  as  plants  of  ornament.  0.  sativus  is, 
however,  a  most  valuable  agricultural  plant. 

BIRD'S-FOOT  TREFOIL,  or  CLOVER 
(Lotus).  The  common  name  of  a  genus  of 
plants  that  flourishes  in  a  singular  manner  in  the 
most  exposed  and  dry  situations.  On  bowling- 
greens  and  mown  lawns  it  forms  a  fine  green 
close  herbage,  even  in  hot  seasons;  and  in 
meadow  and  pasture  grounds  it  is  frequently 
abundant.  Its  very  strong  deep  tap  root  is  the 
cause  of  its  resisting  drought.  Smith  describes 
four  species  : — 1.  Common  bird's-foot  trefoil 
(L.  corniculaius),  a  perennial,  flowering  in  the 
second  week  of  June,  and  ripening  the  seed 
about  the  end  of  July,  and  successively  to  the 
end  of  autumn ;  common  in  open  grassy  pas- 
tures. [PI.  9,  g.]  Some  botanists  have  con- 
sidered the  following  species  (L.  major)  to  be 
a  variety  of  the  camictiluttts,  but  the  difference 
between  them  is  obvious  at  first  sight;  and 
this  difference  remains  permanent  when  the 
p.ant  is  raised  from  seed,  and  cultivated  on 
different  soils.  What  renders  a  specific  dis- 
tinction here  of  most  importance  to  the  farmer, 
is  the  difference  which  exists  between  them  in 
an  agricultural  point  of  view.  Heads  de- 
pressed, of  few  flowers,  root  branching,  some- 
what woody ;  the  fibres  b(fset  with  small  gra- 
nulacions ;  stems  several  spreading  on  the 
180 


ground  in  every  direction,  varying  in  length 
from  three  to  ten  inches,  simple  or  branched 
Flower  stalks  erect  or  recumbent,  five  time? 
as  long  as  the  leaves,  each  bearing  from  two 
to  five  bright  yellow  flowers,  dark  green  when 
dried,  and  they  change  to  orange  when  verging 
towards  decay.  This  species  is  recommended 
for  cultivation,  though  under  the  erroneous 
names  of  milk-vetch  and  Astragalus  glycijphyl- 
los,  by  the  late  Dr.  Anderson,  in  his  Agricuhural 
Essays,  as  being  excellent  for  fodder  as  well  as 
for  hay.  Mr.  Curtis  and  Mr.  Wood  also  re- 
commended it.  Linnaeus  says  that  cows, 
goats,  and  horses  eat  it;, and  that  sheep  and 
swine  are  not  fond  of  it.  With  regard  to 
sheep  (says  the  late.  Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  Hort. 
Gram.  Wob.  p.  310),  as  far  as  my  observations 
have  extended,  they  eat  it  in  common  with  the 
herbage  with  which  it  is  usually  combined ; 
the  flowers,  it  is  true,  appeared  always  un- 
touched, and  in  dry  pastures  little  of  the  plant 
is  seen  or  presented  to  the  cattle,  except  the 
flowers,  on  account  of  its  diminutive  growth 
in  such  situations.  This,  however,  is  nearly 
the  case  with  white  or  Dutch  clover ;  sheep 
seldom  touch  the  flowers  while  any  foliage  is 
to  be  found.  Mr.  Woodward  informs  us  that 
it  makes  extremely  good  hay  in  moist  mea- 
dows, where  it  grows  to  a  greater  height  than 
the  trefoils,  and  seems  to  be  of  a  quality  equal, 
if  not  superior,  to  most  of  them.  Professor 
Martyn  observes,  that,  in  common  with  several 
other  leguminous  plants,  it  gives  a  substance 
to  hay,  and  perhaps  renders  it  more  palatable 
and  wholesome  to  cattle.  The  clovers  contain 
more  bitter  extractive  and  saline  matter  than 
the  proper  natural  grasses,  and  the  bird's  foot 
trefoils  contain  more  of  these  vegetable  prin- 
ciples than  the  clovers.  In  pastures  and  mea- 
dows, therefore,  where  the  clovers  happen  to 
be  in  small  quantities,  a  portion  of  the  trefoil 
(L.  cornieulatus)  would  doubtless  be  of  advan- 
tage ;  but  it  appears  to  contain  too  nluch  of 
the  bitter  extractive  and  saline  matters  to  be 
cultivated  by  itself,  or  without  a  large  inter- 
mixture of  other  plants.  It  does  not  spring 
early  in  the  season,  but  continues  to  vegetate 
late  in  the  autumn.  In  irrigated  meadows, 
where  the  produce  is  generally  more  succulent 
than  in  dry  pastures,  this  plant  cannot  with 
safety  be  recommended,  at  least  in  any  con- 
siderable quantity.  It  is  more  partial  to  dry 
soils  than  the  next  species  (L.  major) ;  it  at- 
tains to  a  considerable  height  when  growing 
among  shrubs,  and  seems  to  lose  its  prostrate 
or  trailing  habit  of  growth  entirely  in  such 
situations.  2.  The  greater  bird's-foot  trefoil 
(L.  m(tj(rr)  flourishes  in  wet  bushy  places,  osier 
holts  and  hedges  ;  very  difl^erent  from  the  fore- 
going species  in  general  habit,  and  now  techni- 
cally distinguished  by  several  clear  and  suffi- 
cient characters.  The  stems  are  from  one  to 
two  or  three  feet  high,  upright,  clothed  more 
or  less  with  long  loosely-spreading  hairs. 
Leaves  fringed  with  similar  hairs ;  flowers 
from  six  to  twelve  in  each  head,  of  a  duller 
orange  than  the  former.  The  weight  of  green 
food  or  hay  is  triple  that  of  the  foregoing  spe- 
cies, and  its  nutritive  powers  are  very  little  in- 
ferior, being  only  as  9  to  8.  Thef  i  two  species 
of  bird's-foot  trefoil  may  be  compared  to  each 


BIRD'S-FOOT  TREFOIL. 


BISCUIT. 


other  \\  ith  respect  to  habits  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  white  clover  and  perennial  red 
clover;  and  were  the  latter  unknown,  there 
appear  to  be  no  plants  of  the  leguminous  order, 
that,  in  point  of  habits,  would  so  well  supply 
their  place  as  the  common  and  greater  bird's- 
foot  trefoil.  They  are,  however,  greatly  in- 
ferior to  the  clovers.  The  while  clover  is 
superior  to  the  common  bird's-foot  trefoil  in 
the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  it  affords,  in 
the  proportion  of  5  to  4.  It  is  much  less  pro- 
ductive of  herbage,  and  is  much  more  difficult 
of  cultivation,  the  seed  being  afforded  in  much 
smaller  quantities.  The  produce  of  the  greater 
bird's-foot  trefoil  is  superior  to  that  of  the 
perennial  red  clover  on  tenacious  or  moist 
soils,  and  on  drier  and  on  richer  soils  of  the 
first  quality  ;  but  the  produce  is  inferior  in  the 
proportion  of  nutritive  matter  it  contains  as  5 
to  4.  The  nutritive  matter  is  extremely  bitter 
to  the  taste.  It  does  not  appear  to  be  eaten  by 
any  cattle  when  in  a  green  state,  but  when 
made  into  hay,  sheep,  oxen,  and  deer,  all  eat  it 
without  reluctance,  and  rather  with  desire.  It 
does  not  seem  to  perfect  so  much  seed  as  the 
former  species,  but  this  is  abundantly  remedied 
in  its  propagation  by  the  creeping  or  stoloni- 
ferous  roots  which  it  spreads  out  in  all  direc- 
tions. In  moist  clayey  soils  it  would  doubtless 
be  a  most  profitable  substitute  for  red  clover; 
but  the  excess  of  bitter  extractive  and  saline 
matters  it  contains  seems  to  forbid  its  adop- 
tion without  a  considerable  admixture  of  other 
plants.  It  flowers  about  the  third  week  of 
June,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  about  the  end  of  the 
following  month.  The  follo>»-ing  analysis  will 
show  the  comparative  value  of  the  two  spe- 
cies : — 


GrccD  Prod.! 
pertcie. 


Dry  Prod. 


Lotus  comieulatus 
—    major 


\b*.  lb*.  It*. 

10,209  6  Ol  3,190  6  0   358    4  9 
21,780  0  0   8,142  8  OJ  680  10  0 


Nulriment 
per  »cr«. 


3.  Spreading  bird's-foot  trefoil  (L.decumbens) 
is,  like  the  two  preceding  species,  a  perennial, 
flowering  in  England  in  July.  It  is  found  in  fields 
and  meadows.  The  flower-stalks  are  four  or 
five  times  the  length  of  the  leaves,  smooth, 
stout,  and  firm,  each  bearing  an  umbel  of  from 
three  to  six  bright  yellow  flowers.  4.  Slender 
bird's-foot  trefoil  (L.  angustissimus)  is  an  an- 
nual flowering  in  May  and  June,  found  in 
meadows  toward*?  the  sea  on  the  south  and 
western  coasts  of  England.  It  is  smaller,  in 
general,  than  any  of  the  foregoing  species.  A 
species  of  trifolium  (7'.  ornithopodinides)  also 
bears  the  name  of  bird's-foot  trefoil ;  but  Sir 
J.  Smith  very  justly  observes  {Engl.  Flor.  vol. 
iii.  p.  298),  it  can  scarcely,  without  violence, 
be  retained  in  the  genus  Trifolium ,-  yet  no 
one  has  thought  fit  to  make  it  a  distinct  one, 
however  plausible  might  be  the  reasons  for 
such  a  measure.  It  is  an  annual  plant  flower- 
ing in  June  and  July,  found  in  barren,  gravelly, 
grassy  pastures;  root  fibrous,  stems  several, 
spreading  flat  on  the  ground,  flowers  two  or 
three,  long,  pale,  reddish.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor. 
vol.  iii.  pp.  298,  312;  Sinclair's  Hort.  Gram. 
Woh.) 

Two  species  of  lotus,  not  referred  to  in  the 
preceding  account,  are  a  good  deal  cultivated 


in  France,  on  light  soils.  These  are  the  vil- 
lous (L.  villosus)  and  the  cultivated  lotus  {Lotier 
cultive,  or  Lotus  tetrugonolobus,  PI.  9,  h).  The 
last  is  an  annual  sown  in  gardens. 

BIRDLIME.  This  glutinous  vegetable  pro- 
duct is  procured  either  by  boiling  misletoe  ber- 
ries in  water  until  they  break,  pounding  them 
in  a  mortar,  and  washing  away  the  husky  re- 
fuse Math  other  portions  of  water ;  or,  which  is 
the  chief  mode  in  which  it  is  made  (chiefly  in 
Scotland)  for  the  purposes  of  bird-catching,  &c., 
from  the  middle  bark  of  the  holly.  The  bark 
is  stripped  in  June  or  July,  and  boiled  for  six 
or  eight  hours  in  water,  until  it  becomes  ten- 
der ;  the  water  is  then  separated  from  it,  and  it 
is  left  to  ferment  for  two  or  three  weeks,  until 
it  becomes  a  mucilage,  which  is  pounded  in  a 
mortar  into  a  mass,  and  then  thoroughly  rubbed 
by  the  hands  in  running  water  till  all  the 
branny  matters  and  other  impurities  are 
washed  away ;  the  birdlime  is  then  suffered  to 
remain  fermenting  by  itself  in  an  earthen  ves- 
sel for  some  weeks.  (The  bird-catchers,  when 
they  make  their  own,  place  the  vessel  in  a 
dunghill.)  The  bark  of  the  wayfaring  tree  is 
sometimes  employed.  The  fragrant  gum  which 
exudes  from  the  Styrax,  or  American  Sweet 
Gum,  a  large  tree,  growing  in  the  Middle  and 
Southern  States,  also  makes  a  good  birdlime, 
being  extremely  tenacious.  (Gray's  Supple- 
ment, p.  226 ;  Nich.  Journ.  b.  xiii.  p.  145 ;  Thorn' 
son.  vol.  iv.  p.  119.) 

BIRD'S  NEST,  YELLOW  (Monotropa  hypo- 
pitys).  A  weed  occasionally  met  with  in  poor 
and  gravelly  soils.  It  is  also  found  sometimes 
about  the  roots  of  beeches  and  firs,  in  woods, 
frequent  in  all  the  midland  counties.  Root 
fibrous,  much  branched,  and  somewhat  creep- 
ing, growing  among  dead  leaves,  or  in  half  de- 
cayed vegetable  mould.  Stem  solitary,  five  or 
six  inches  high,  flowers  in  a  drooping  cluster. 
(Smith's  Engl.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  249.) 

The  species  of  this  plant  found  in  the  Middle 
States,  are,  that  called  the  Indian  Pipe  (M.  uni- 
Jlora),  and  the  woolly  monotropa.  Pine-sap,  or 
False  Beach-drops.  Both  these  singular 
plants  are  called  parasitic.  (See  Flor.  Centric.) 

BIRD  PEPPER.  A  species  of  small  capsi- 
cum, which  affords  the  best  Cayenne  pepper. 
See  Capsicum. 

BISCUIT  (Lat.  his,  twice;  Fr.  cuit,  baked, 
Ital.  hiscnto).  A  kind  of  hard  dry  bread  cake 
Biscuits  are  more  easily  kept  than  other  kinds 
of  bread,  and  as  they  contain  no  ferment,  they 
are  better  fitted  than  loaf  bread  for  persons  of 
weak  stomachs,  and  for  the  pap  of  infants,  who 
are  under  the  misfortune  of  being  brought  up 
by  hand. 

The  best  biscuits  and  the  most  wholesome, 
are  those  prepared  for  the  use  of  the  navy. 
They  are  of  two  kinds,  captains'  and  seamen's 
biscuit.  The  latter  are  composed  of  wheaten 
flour,  from  which  the  bran  only  has  been  taken ; 
consequently  they  are  more  nutritive  than  the 
finer  sort.  In  the  government  bake-houses  at 
Weevil  and  Deptford,  the  biscuits  are  prefera- 
ble to  those  baked  by  ordinary  bakers,  owmg 
to  the  extent  of  the  operations,  and  the  purity 
of  the  wheat-meal;  102  lbs.  of  perfectly  dry 
biscuits  are  procured  from  112  lbs.  of  meal. 

BISHOPING.    A  cant  term  made  use  of 
Q  181 


BISON. 


BISON. 


among  horse-jockeys,  implying  the  practices 
employed  lo  conceal  the  age  of  an  old  horse, 
or  the  ill  properties  of  a  bad  one.  See  Age 
OF  Houses. 

BISON,  AMERICAN  (Bos  Americnnus). 
This  species  of  the  ox  kind  is  peculiar  to  the 
temperate  latitudes  of  Nt>rth  America,  where 
it  is  universally,  though  incorrectly  called  the 
Buffalo,  a  name  properly  belonging  to  a  differ- 
ent species  of  the  ox  tribe  common  to  Eastern 
Asia.  The  bison  was  found  by  the  first  colo- 
nists of  the  Carolinas,  and  other  of  the  South- 
ern and  Middle  States,  from  which  parts  of  the 
North  American  Continent  they  have  long 
been  exterminated  or  frightened  away.  So 
late  as  the  year  1766,  they  were  seen  in  a  wild 
state  in  Kentucky.  At  present  none  are  to  be 
met  with  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  having 
retired  beyond  this  great  stream,  and  concen- 
trated in  the  praries  of  the  Missouri  and  other 
rivers  of  the  far  west.  Here  they  often  unite 
in  immense  herds,  some  of  which,  travellers 
and  hunters  inform  us,  contain  eight  or  ten 
thousand.  Generally  speaking,  the  bison  is 
rather  timid,  flying  from  the  hunter,  except  in 
the  rutting  season,  about  the  middle  of  June, 
when  the  males  become  very  fierce,  and  often 
kill  each  other  in  their  terrible  combats. 

The  qualities  of  buffalo  beef  are  highly  ex- 
tolled, and  the  hump  upon  the  shoulders  is  re- 
garded as  a  particularly  choice  morsel.  The 
tongues,  which  constitute  a  regular  article  of 
trade,  are  exceedingly  rich  and  tender.  The 
thick  and  rough  hairy  skins  of  the  bison  are 
tanned  by  the  Indians  and  trappers,  and  then 
sold  to  be  formed  into  buffalo  robes  and  other 
articles  of  comfort,  so  useful  during  the  severe 
winters  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  highly  interesting  account  of 
the  American  Bison  is  taken  from  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer,  (vol.  vi.  p.  260),  under  the  head 
of  Buffalo  Oxen. 

"  The  animal  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Buffalo  throughout  the  valleys  of  Missouri,  and 
Mississippi  differs  materially  from  the  buffa- 
lo of  the  Old  World.  At  first  view,  his  red 
fiery  eyes,  his  shaggy  mane,  and  long  beard, 
the  long  lustrous  hair  upon  his  shoulders  and 
fore-quarters,  and  the  comparative  nakedness 
of  his  hind-quarters,  strongly  remind  a  specta- 
tor of  the  lion. 

"  In  the  size  of  his  head,  in  bulk,  in  stature, 
and  in  fierceness,  he  resembles  the  buffalo  of 
Buffon ;  but  the  humps  or  protuberance  be- 
tween his  shoulders,  the  shape  of  his  head,  his 
curled  forehead,  short  thick  arms,  and  long  hind 
legs,  mark  a  much  stronger  affinity  to  the  bison. 

"  He  carries  his  head  low  like  the  buffalo, 
and  this  circumstance,  together  with  his  short 
muscular  neck,  broad  chest,  and  short  thick 
arms,  designate  him  as  peculiarly  qualified  for 
drawing  ;  the  whole  weight  of  his  body  would 
thus  be  applied  in  the  most  advantageous  man- 
ner to  the  weight  drawn.  The  milk  of  the  fe- 
male is  equal  in  quality  to  that  of  the  cow,  but 
deficient  in  quantity.  It  has  been  supposed 
that  the  smallness  of  the  udders  is  more  re- 
markable in  those  that  have  the  hump  large, 
and  that  the  diminished  size  of  the  hump  is 
evidence  of  a  more  abundant  secretion  of 
milk  The  hump,  when  dressed,  tastes  like 
182 


the  udder  of  a  cow,  and  is  deemed  a  delicacy 
by  the  Indians.  But  there  is  one  other  particu- 
lar which  distinguishes  the  buffalo  of  the 
New  World  from  its  eastern  namesake  more 
distinctly  than  any  variety  of  conformation 
could  do.  The  cow  refuses  to  breed  with  the 
buffalo  of  Europe ;  and  such  is  the  fixed 
aversion  between  these  creatures,  that  they 
alwa)'-s  keep  separate,  although  bred  under 
the  same  roof  and  feeding  in  the  same  pas- 
ture. The  American  buffalo,  on  the  contrary, 
breeds  freely  with  the  domestic  cattle,  and 
propagates  a  race  that  continues  its  kind. 
Many  of  the  landholders  in  Louisiana,  like 
the  patriarchs  of  old,  possess  thousands  of 
cattle  which  graze  at  liberty  in  the  unculti- 
vated prairies.  These  herds  cost  their  owners 
little  more  than  the  trouble  of  marking  them, 
and  the  expense  of  salting  once  or  twice  in  a 
month,  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  wild. 
By  occupying  the  same  pastures,  they  have  be 
come  so  much  intermixed  with  the  buffalo 
that  it  is  difficult  to  say  to  which  race  they  are 
most  nearly  allied. 

"  In  procuring  the  cross,  it  is  necessary  to 
observe  one  precaution.  The  domestic  breed 
must  furnish  the  male,  and  the  buffalo  the 
female.  The  wild  bull  and  the  cow  can  be 
brought  together  without  difficulty,  and  the  im- 
pregnation is  perfect ;  but  the  pelvis  of  the 
cow  is  not  sufficiently  capacious  to  allow  the 
passage  of  the  buffalo's  foetus  with  its  hump. 
The  pelvis  is  the  circular  bone  which  connects 
the  spine  with  the  thigh  bones,  and  when  the 
foetus,  from  disease  or  any  other  cause,  is  too 
large  to  pass  through  it,  the  female  must  neces- 
sarily die  in  labour.  This  fact  constitutes  the 
principal  obstacle  to  the  introduction  of  the 
half  breed  in  the  old  settlements.  It  would  be 
easy  to  catch  and  tame  a  single  male  of  the 
wild  breed,  and  to  obtain  any  number  of  im- 
pregnations from  him ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  pro- 
cure, and  still  more  to  confine  a  sufficient 
number  of  wild  females.  The  amazing  strength 
of  the  head  and  breast  enables  them  to  overset 
the  strongest  fences  by  running  against  them  ; 
and  unless  they  are  caught  very  young,  they 
can  never  be  effectually  tamed.  Nevertheless, 
some  enterprising  farmers  in  this  state  and 
Missouri  are  introducing  the  breed.  Captain 
Jenkins  of  Rutherford  county,  has  one  three 
years  old  and  one  two  years  old  of  the  half 
blood,  and  several  calves  of  the  quarter  blood, 
all  of  which  are  large  for  their  age,  and  pro- 
mise well.  The  advantages  proposed  by  the 
introduction  of  this  breed  are,  that  the  oxen 
thus  raised  will  be  stronger,  less  sluggish,  more 
hardy,  and  more  easily  kept,  and  (if  it  be 
true  that  the  buffalo  goes  twelve  months  with 
young)  they  will  probably  last  longer  than  the 
common  breed.  In  addition  to  these  conside- 
rations, the  hides  are  larger  and  applicable  to 
a  greater  number  of  uses,  and  the  leather  is 
thicker,  softer,  and  more  impervious  to  water. 
The  full  grown  buffalo  on  the  Missouri  are 
said  to  be  from  -sixteen  to  eighteen  hands  high, 
and  as  the  body  is  larger  in  proportion  to  the 
height,  than  in  the  domestic  cattle,  they  must 
greatly  exceed  the  finest  of  the  imported  breed 
in  strength  and  weight.  In  the  neighbourhood 
of  the    settlements,   the    hunter's    dogs    and 


BISSLINGS. 


praine  flies  conspire  to  prevent  them  from  at- 
taining either  full  size  or  mature  age." 

BISSLINGS.  A  provincial  word,  applied, 
like  biestings,  to  the  first  milk  of  the  newly 
calved  cow.     See  Bekstixg. 

BITTER  PRINCIPLE.  This  term  has  been 
applied  to  certain  products  of  the  action  of  ni- 
tric acid  upon  animal  and  vegetable  matters 
of  an  intensely  bitter  taste.  {Brandt's  Did.  of 
Science.)  The  most  important  of  the  plants 
cultivated  with  us  for  their  bitter  principle  are 
the  hop,  the  common  broom,  mugwort,  ground 
ivy,  marsh  trefoil  or  buck-bean,  and  the  gen- 
tian family  of  plants.  Quassia,  the  wood  of  a 
tree,  is  also  a  very  intense  bitter,  and  is  used 
in  medicine,  and  clandestinely  in  the  brewing 
of  beer.  The  chief  combinations  of  the  bitter 
principle  used  in  medicine  are  narcotic,  aro- 
matic, astringent,  acid,  and  purgative  bitters. 
(Lowe's  El.  ufAg.  pp.  371—373.) 

BITTERS.  A  spirituous  liquor  m  which 
bitter  herbs  or  roots  are  steeped.  An  excessive 
habit  of  taking  bitters  may  finally  prove  detri- 
mental to  the  stomach,  by  over-excitement,  or 
by  inducing  a  kind  of  artificial  demand  for 
food  in  greater  quantity  than  is  salutary  to  the 
general  health.  Habitual  drunkenness  has 
often  been  the  sequel  of  the  insiduou^  practice 
jf  taking  bitters. 

BITTER-SWEET,  or  WOODY  NIGHT- 
SHADE (Solunum  dulciwiarn).  This  wild 
plant  loves  moist  places,  therefore  grows  most 
freely  in  hedges  and  thickets,  near  ditches, 
rivers,  and  damp  situations.  It  flowers  in 
June  and  July,  and  ripens  its  berries  in  August, 
vhich  are  of  a  red  colour,  juicy,  bitter,  and 
poisonous.  Its  flowers  are  an  elegant  purple, 
with  yellow  threads  in  their  middle,  and  the 
berries  are  oval  or  oblong  in  shape.  The 
stalks  are  shrubby,  and  run,  when  supported, 
to  ten  feet  in  length ;  of  a  bluish  colour,  and 
when  bruised  or  broken  have  an  odour  not 
very  fragrant  or  desirable,  savouring  of  rotten 
eggs.  A  decoction  of  its  wood,  and  the  young 
shoots  sliced,  is  a  valuable  medicine,  but  not 
to  he  trifled  with.  {Eng.  Flor.,  vol.  i.  p.  317.) 

BITTERWORT.  The  old  English  name  for 
the  yellow  gentian.     See  Gentian. 

BIXA.     See  Annotta. 

BLACK.  (Sax.)  A  common  colour  in  horses. 
Horses  of  this  colour  are  most  esteemed  when 
they  are  of  a  shining  jet  black,  and  well 
marked,  without  having  white  on  their  legs. 
The  English  black  horses  have  generally  more 
white  about  them  than  the  black  horses  of 
other  coimtries.  Those  that  partake  most  of 
the  brown  are  said  to  be  the  strongest  in  con- 
stitution; for  the  English  black  oart  horses  are 
found  not  to  be  so  hardy  as  the  bays  or  chest- 
nuts. 

BLACKBERRY.     See  Bramble. 

BLACKBIRD.  This  is  a  species  of  bird  so 
generally  known,  that  but  little  need  be  said 
of  its  habits  or  its  haunts.  Numbers  are  bred 
in  England  every  season,  and  those  thus 
reared,  it  is  believed,  do  not  mj  :^rate.  Its  food 
varies  considerably  with  the  se»son.  In  spring 
and  early  summer,  larvae  of  insects,  worms, 
and  snails ;  as  the  season  advances,  fruit  of 
various  sorts.  When  the  enormous  number 
of  insects  and  their  larvce,  with  the  abundance 


BLACKBIRD. 

of  snails  and  slugs,  all  injurious  to  vegetation, 
be  duly  considered,  it  may  fairly  be  doubted 
whether  the  value  of  the  fruit  is  not  counter 
balanced  by  the  services  performed. 

The  American  blackbird  differs  consider 
ably  from  the  European.  The  species  found 
in  the  United  States  bear  the  names  of  the 
great  crow,  the  common  crow,  the  cow,  the 
red-winged,  and  the  rusty.  The  following  in- 
teresting details  relative  to  birds  which  so  often 
occupy  attention  in  rural  life,  are  from  Mr. 
Nuttail's  Manual  of  the  Ornithology  of  the 
United  States.  Treating  of  the  great  crow 
blackbird,  {The  Quiscalis  major  o{  Bonaparte) 
Mr.  Nuttall  says : 

"This  large  and  crow-like  species,  some- 
times called  the  jackdaw,  inhabits  the  southern 
maritime  parts  of  the  Union  only,  particularly 
the  states  of  Georgia  and  Florida,  where  they 
are  seen  as  early  as  the  close  of  January  or 
beginning  of  February,  but  do  not  begin  to 
pair  before  March,  previously  to  which  season 
the  sexes  are  seen  in  separate  flocks.  But 
about  the  latter  end  of  November,  they  quit 
even  the  mild  climate  of  Florida,  generally, 
and  seek  winter  quarters  probably  in  the  West 
Indies,  where  they  are  known  to  be  numerous, 
as  well  as  in  Mexico,  Louisiana,  and  Texas  ; 
but  they  do  not  ever  extend  their  northern  mi- 
grations as  far  as  the  Middle  States.  Previous 
to  their  departure,  at  the  approach  of  winter, 
they  are  seen  to  assemble  in  large  flocks,  and 
every  morning  flights  of  them,  at  a  great 
height,  are  seen  moving  away  to  the  south. 

"  Like  most  gregarious  birds,  they  are  of  a 
very  sociable  disposition,  and  are  frequently 
observed  to  mingle  with  the  common  crow- 
blackbirds.  They  assemble  in  great  numbers 
among  the  sea  islands,  and  neighbouring 
marshes  on  the  main  land,  where  they  feed  at 
low  water,  on  the  oyster-beds  and  sand-flats. 
Like  crows,  they  are  omnivorous,  their  food 
consisting  of  insects,  small  shell-fish,  corn,  and 
small  grain,  so  that  by  turns  they  may  be 
viewed  as  the  friend  or  plunderer  of  the 
planter. 

"The  note  of  this  species  is  louder  than  that 
of  the  common  kind,  according  to  Audubon, 
resembling  a  loud  shrill  whistle,  often  accom- 
panied by  a  cr)"^  like  crick  crick  cree,  and  in  the 
breeding  season  changing  almost  into  awarble. 
They  are  only  heard  to  sing  in  the  spring,  and 
their  concert,  though  inclining  to  sadness,  is 
not  altogether  disagreeable.  Their  nests  and 
built  in  company,  on  reeds  and  bushes,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  salt  marshes  and  ponds ; 
they  lay  about  three  to  five  eggs  which  are 
whitish,  blotched  and  lined  nearly  all  over  with 
dusky  olive.  They  begin  to  lay  about  the  be- 
ginning of  April ;  soon  after  which  the  males 
leave  their  mates  not  only  with  the  care  of  in- 
cubation, but  with  the  rearing  of  the  young, 
moving  about  in  separate  flocks,  like  the  cow 
birds,  without  taking  any  interest  in  the  fate  of 
their  progeny. 

"The  general  appearance  of  the  male  is 
black,  but  the  head  and  neck  have  bluish-pur- 
ple reflections;  the  rest  presents  shades  of 
steel-blue,  excepting  the  back,  rump,  and  mid- 
dling  wing  coverts,  which  are  glossed  with 
I  cop-er-green ;  the  vent,  inferior  tail  coverts 

18J 


BLACKBIRD. 


BLACKBIRD. 


and  thighs  are  plain  black.  The  .ai\,  wedge- 
shaped,  is  nearly  eight  inches  in  length,  and 
like  that  of  the  common  species,  is  capable  of 
assuming  a  boat-shaped  appearance.  Iris  pale 
yellow.  The  bill  and  feet  black.  The  female 
is  of  a  light  dusky  brown,  with  some  feeble 
greenish  reflections,  and  beneath  of  a  dull 
brownish  white.  The  yonng,  at  first,  resemble 
the  female,  but  have  theirids  brown,  and 
gradually  acquire  their  appropriate  plumage." 

Of  the  Common  Crow-Blackbird,  {Tli£  Quts- 
ealis  versicolor  of  Audubon),  Mr.  Nuttall  says  ; 
"  This  very  common  bird  is  an  occasional  or 
constant  resident  in  every  part  of  America, 
from  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Northern  interior 
to  the  great  Antilles,  within  the  tropic.  In  most 
parts  of  this  wide  region  they  also  breed,  at 
least  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Louisiana,  and  pro- 
bly  farther  south.  In  the  states  north  of  Vir- 
ginia they  begin  to  migrate  from  tht  beginning 
of  March  to  May,  leaving  those  countries  again 
in  numerous  troops  about  the  middle  of  No- 
vember. Thus  assembled,  from  the  north  and 
west  in  increasing  numbers,  they  wholly  over- 
run, at  times,  the  warmer  maritime  regions, 
where  they  assemble  to  pass  the  winter  in  the 
company  of  their  well  known  cousins  the  red- 
winged  troopials  or  blackbirds ;  for  both,  im- 
pelled by  the  same  predatory  appetite,  and  love 
of  comfortable  winter  quarters,  are  often  thus 
accidentally  associated  in  the  plundering  and 
gleaning  of  the  plantations.  The  amazing 
numbers  in  which  the  present  species  asso- 
ciate are  almost  incredible.  Wilson  relates 
that  on  the  20th  of  January,  a  few  miles  from 
the  banks  of  the  Roanoke,  in  Virginia,  he  met 
with  one  of  those  prodigious  armies  of  black- 
birds, which,  as  he  approached,  rose  from  the 
surrounding  fields  with  a  noise  like  thunder, 
and  descending  on  the  stretch  of  road  before 
him,  covered  it  and  the  fences  completely  with 
black :  rising  again,  after  a  few  evolutions, 
they  descended  on  the  skirt  of  a  leafless  wood, 
so  thick  as  to  give  the  whole  forest,  for  a  con- 
siderable extent,  the  appearance  of  being 
shrouded  in  mourning,  the  numbers  amount- 
ing probably  to  many  hundreds  of  thousandb. 
Their  notes  and  screams  resembled  the  distant 
sound  of  a  mighty  cataract,-  but  strangely  at- 
tuned into  a  musical  cadence,  which  rose  and 
fell  with  the  fluctuation  of  the  breeze,  like  the 
magic  harp  of  ^olus. 

"  Their  depredations  on  the  maize  crop  or  In- 
dian corn  commence  almost  with  the  planting. 
The  infant  blades  no  sooner  appear  than  they 
are  hailed  by  the  greedy  blackbird  as  the  sig- 
nal for  a  feast ;  and,  without  hesitation,  they 
descend  on  the  fields,  and  regale  themselves 
with  the  sweet  and  sprouted  seed,  rejecting 
and  scattering  the  blades  around  as  an  evi- 
dence of  their  mischief  and  audacity.  Again, 
about  the  beginning  of  August,  while  the  grain 
is  in  the  milky  state,  their  attacks  are  renewed 
with  the  most  destructive  effect,  as  they  now 
rissemble  as  it  were  in  clouds,  and  pillage  the 
fields  to  such  a  degree  that  in  some  low  and 
sheltered  situations,  in  the  vicinity  of  rivers, 
where  they  delight  to  roam,  one-fuurlh  of  the 
crop  is  devoured  by  these  vexatious  visitors. 
The  gun,  also,  notwiths  anding  the  havoc  it 
pi  educes,  has  little  more  effect  than  to  chase 
184 


thnn  from  one  part  of  the  field  to  the  other. 
In  the  Southern  States,  in  winter,  they  hover 
round  the  corn-cribs  in  swarms,  and  boldly 
peck  the  hard  grain  from  the  cob  through  the 
air-openings  of  the  magazine.  In  consequence 
of  these  reiterated  depredations  they  are  de- 
tested by  the  farmer  as  a  pest  to  his  industry ; 
though,  on  their  arrival,  their  food  for  a  long 
time  consists  wholly  of  those  insects  which  are 
calculated  to  do  the  most  essential  injury  to 
the  crops.  They,  at  this  season,  frequent 
swamps  and  meadows,  and  familiarly  follow- 
ing the  furrows  of  the  plough,  sweep  up  all  the 
grub-worms,  and  other  noxious  animals,  as 
soon  as  they  appear,  even  scratching  up  the 
loose  soil,  that  nothing  of  this  kind  may  escape 
them.  Up  to  the  time  of  harvest,  I  have  uni- 
formly, on  dissection,  found  their  food  to  con- 
sist of  these  larvae,  caterpillars,  moths,  and 
beetles,  of  which  they  devour  such  numbers, 
that  but  for  this  providential  economy,  the 
whole  crop  of  grain,  in  many  places,  would 
probably  be  destroyed  by  the  time  it  began  to 
germinate.  In  winter  they  collect  the  mast  of 
the  beech  and  oak  for  food,  and  may  be  seen 
assembled  in  large  bodies  in  the  woods  for  this 
purpose.  In  the  spring  season  the  blackbirds 
roost  in  ftie  cedars  and  pine  trees,  to  which  in 
the  evening  they  retire  with  friendly  and  mu- 
tual chatter.  On  the  tallest  of  these  trees,  as 
well  as  in  bushes,  they  generally  build  their 
nests,  which  work,  like  all  their  movements,  is 
commonly  performed  in  society,  so  that  ten  or 
fifteen  of  them  are  often  seen  in  the  same  tree, 
and  sometimes  they  have  been  known  to  thrusl 
their  nests  into  the  interstices  of  the  fish- 
hawk's  eyry,  as  if  for  safety  and  protection. 
Occasionally  they  breed  in  tall  poplars  near  to 
habitations,  and,  if  not  molested,  continue  to 
resort  to  the  same  place  for  several  years  in 
succession.  They  begin  their  breeding  opera- 
tions from  the  commencement  of  April  to  May. 
The  nest  is  composed  outwardly  of  mud, 
mixed  with  stalks  and  knotty  roots  of  grass, 
and  lined  with  fine  dry  grass  and  horse-hair. 
The  eggs,  usually  five  or  six,  are  of  a  dull 
green,  like  those  of  the  crow,  blotched  and 
spotted  with  dark  olive,  more  particularly  to- 
wards the  larger  end.  According  to  Audubon, 
the  same  species  in  the  Southern  States  nests 
in  the  hollows  of  decayed  trees,  after  the  man- 
ner of  the  woodpecker,  lining  the  cavity  with 
grass  and  mud.  They  seldom  produce  more 
than  a  single  brood  in  the  season.  In  the  au- 
tumn, and  at  the  approach  of  winter,  numerous 
flocks  after  foraging  through  the  day,  return 
from  considerable  distances  to  their  general 
roosts  among  the  reeds.  On  approaching  their 
station,  each  detachment  as  it  arrives,  in  strag- 
gling groups  like  crows,  sweeps  round  the 
marsh  in  waving  flight,  forming  circles ; 
amidst  these  bodies,  the  note  of  the  old  recon- 
noitring leader  may  be  heard,  and  no  sooner 
has  he  fixed  upon  the  intended  spot,  than  they 
all  descend  and  take  their  stations  in  an  in- 
stant. At  this  time  they  are  also  frequently 
accompanied  by  the  ferruginous  species,  with 
which  they  associate  in  a  friendly  manner. 

"The  blackbird  is  easily  tamed,  sings  in 
confinement,  and  may  be  taught  to  articulate 
some  few  words  pretty  distinctly.    Among  the 


BLACKBIRD. 

variety  i>f  its  natural  notes,  the  peculiarly 
affected  sibilation  of  the  starling  is  heard  in 
the  wottishee,  wottitshee,  and  whistle,  which 
often  accompanies  this  note.  Their  intestines 
and  stomach  are  frequently  infested  by  long, 
cylindric,  tapering  worms,  which  probably  in- 
crease sometimes  in  such  numbers  as  to  de- 
stroy the  bird. 

"  The  male  is  twelve  inches  long,  and  eight- 
ten  in  alar  extent.  The  prevailing  black 
colour  of  the  body  is  relieved  by  glossy  reflec- 
tions of  steel  blue,  dark  violet,  and  green  ;  the 
violet  is  most  conspicuous  on  the  head  and 
breast,  and  the  green  on  the  hind  part  of  the 
neck.  The  back,  nimp,  and  whole  lower  parts, 
with  the  exception  of  the  breast,  reflect  a  cu- 
preous gloss.  The  wing-coverts,  secondaries, 
and  coverts  of  the  tail,  are  light  violet,  with 
much  of  the  red ;  the  rest  of  the  wings  and 
rounded  tail  are  black,  with  a  steel-blue  gloss. 
Iris  silvery.  The  female  is  rather  less,  but 
very  similar  in  colour,  and  glossy  parti- 
coloured reflections." 

The  Rusty  Blackbird.  "This  species,"  says 
Mr.  Nuttall,  "  less  frequent  than  the  preceding, 
is  often  associated  with  it,  or  with  the  red- 
winged  troopial  or  the  cow-pen  bird,  and,  ac- 
cording to  the  season,  they  are  found  throughout 
America,  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Florida  and 
westward  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  Early  in  April, 
according  to  Wilson,  they  pass  hastily  through 
Pennsylvania,  on  their  return  to  the  north  to 
breed.  In  the  month  of  March  he  observed 
them  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  near  Kentucky 
river,  during  a  snow-storm.  They  arrive  in 
the  vicinity  of  Hudson's  Bay  about  the  begin- 
uing  of  May,  and  feed  much  in  the  manner  of 
the  common  crow-blackbird  on  insects,  which 
they  find  on  or  near  the  ground.  Dr.  Richard- 
son saw  them  in  the  winter  as  far  as  the  lati- 
tude of  53*^,  and  in  the  summer  they  range  to 
the  68ih  parallel  or  to  the  extremity  of  the 
wooded  region.  They  sing  in  the  pairing  sea- 
son, but  become  nearly  silent  while  rearing 
their  young ;  though  when  their  brood  release 
them  from  care  they  again  resume  their  lay, 
and  may  occasionally  be  heard  until  the  ap- 
proach of  winter.  Their  song  is  quite  as 
agreeable  and  musical  as  that  of  the  starling, 
and  greatly  surpasses  that  of  any  of  the  other 
species.  I  have  heard  them  singing  until  the 
middle  of  October. 

"  They  are  said  to  build  in  trees  and  bushes, 
at  no  great  distance  from  the  ground,  making 
a  nest  similar  to  the  other  species,  and  lay  five 
eggs,  of  a  pale  blue  spotted  with  black.  The 
young  and  old,  now  assembling  in  large  troops, 
retire  from  the  northern  regions  in  September. 
From  the  beginning  of  October  to  the  middle 
of  November,  they  are  seen  in  flocks  through 
the  Ea'^tern  States.  During  their  stay  in  this 
vicinity,  they  assemble  towards  night  to  roost 
in  or  round  the  reed  marshes  of  Fresh  Pond, 
near  Cambridge.  Sometimes  they  select  the 
willows  by  the  water  for  their  lodging,  in  pre- 
ference to  the  reeds,  which  they  give  up  to 
their  companions  the  crow-blackbirds.  Early 
in  October  they  feed  chiefly  on  grasshoppers 
and  berries,  and  at  a  later  period  pay  a  tran- 
sient visit  to  the  corn-field.  They  pass  the 
winter  in  the  Southern  States,  and  like  their 
24 


BLACK  GUM. 

darker  relatives,  make  fajniliar  visits  to  the 
barn-yard  and  corn-cribs.  Wilson  remarks, 
that  they  are  easily  domesticated,  and  in  a  few 
days  become  quite  familiar,  being  reconciled 
to  any  quarters  while  supplied  with  plenty  of 
food. 

"  The  male  is  about  nine  inches  in  length, 
and  fourteen  in  alar  extent;  black,  glossed 
with  dark  green;  with  the  tail  somewhat 
rounded ;  iris  silvery.  The  female  is  of  about 
the  same  size  with  the  male,  and  the  rjoimg  of 
the  first  season,  of  both  sexes,  are  nearly  of 
the  same  colour." 

BLACK  CANKER.  A  disease  in  turnip 
and  other  crops,  produced  by  a  species  of  ca- 
terpillar.    See  BoxE  Dust. 

BLACK  COUCH  GRASS,  or  BLACK 
TWITCH.  Provincial  names  for  the  marsh 
bent  grass,  or  Agms/is  alba.    See  AsnosTis. 

BLACK  DOLPHIN.  A  term  applied  to  a 
small  insect  which  is  frequently  very  destruc- 
tive to  bean,  turnip,  and  some  other  green 
crops. 

BLACK  FLY.  An  insect  of  the  beetle  tribe, 
very  injurious  to  turnips  in  their  early  stage. 
See  Flt. 

BLACK  GUM  (Nyssa  sylvatka).  This 
North  American  tree  is  variously  designated 
in  different  parts  of  the  United  States  by  the 
names  of  the  Black  gum,  Yellow  gum,  and  Sour 
gu7n,  the  last  of  which  appellation  is  doubtless 
derived  from  the  extremely  acid  taste  of  its 
fruit.  This  consists  of  deep  blue  berries  of  an 
oval  shape.  Each  stem  has  twin-berries,  and 
each  berry  contains  a  very  hard  slightly  con- 
vex stone.  The  leaves  are  five  or  six  inches 
long,  entire,  of  an  elongated  oval  shape,  with 
downy  stems.  The  river  Schuylkill,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Philadelphia,  may  be  assumed  as  the 
northern  limit  of  the  black  gum,  which  is  very 
common  in  Delaware,  Maryland,  and  other 
Middle  and  Southern  States,  both  east  and  west 
of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  In  Maryland, 
Virginia,  and  the  Western  States,  Michaux  in- 
forms us,  it  grows  without  any  peculiar  form 
on  high  and  level  grounds,  with  the  oaks  and 
walnuts.  In  the  lower  parts  of  the  Carolinas 
and  Georgia,  where  it  is  found  only  in  wet 
places,  with  the  small  magnolia  or  white-bay, 
the  red-bay,  the  loblolly-bay,  and  the  water- 
oak,  it  has  a  pyramidal  base  resembling  a 
sugar-loaf. 

The  black  gum  frequently  attains  a  height 
of  sixty  or  seventy  feet,  with  a  diameter  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  inches,  being  larger  in  the 
upper  part  of  Virginia,  in  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee, than  in  the  marshy  grounds  of  the 
maritime  parts  of  the  Southern  states. 

The  bark  of  the  trunk  is  whitish  and  similar 
to  that  of  the  young  white  oak.  The  Avood  is 
fine-grained  but  tender,  and  its  fibres  are  in 
terwoven  and  collected  in  bundles ;  an  arrange 
ment  characteristic  of  the  genus.  The  albur 
num  or  sap  part,  as  it  is  commonly  design  ate*/, 
of  stocks  growing  upon  dry  and  elevated  lands 
is  yellow.  This  complexion  is  considered  hy 
wheel-wrights  as  a  proof  of  the  superior 
quality  of  the  wood,  and  has  probably  given 
the  tree  one  of  its  popular  names.  It  is  ex- 
tensively employed  in  Richmond,  Baltimore, 
and  Philadelphia,  for  the  naves  or  hubs  of 
a  2  1«-'^ 


BLACK  GUM. 


BLACK  THORN. 


coach  and  wagon  wheels,  as  well  as  for  hatters' 
blocks,  being  so  little  liable  to  split ;  a  quality 
which  also  causes  it  to  be  chosen  by  ship- 
wrights for  the  cap,  or  piece  which  receives 
tlie  top-mast. 

Tuptlo. — The  black  gum  is  often  confounded 
with  another  tree  of  the  same  genus,  the  Tupelo 
or  Nyssa  aquaticn,  also  called  gum  tree,  sjur 
gum,  and  peperidge.  The  first  of  these  appel- 
lations, Michaux  says,  is  most  common,  the 
second  is  wholly  misapplied,  as  no  self-con- 
densing fluid  distils  from  the  tree,  and  the 
third  which  more  appropriately  belongs  to  the 
common  barberry-bush,  is  used  only  by  the 
descendents  of  the  Dutch  settlers  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  New  York.  The  tupelo  extends 
much  higher  north  than  the  black  gum,  ap- 
pearing in  the  lower  part  of  New  Hampshire 
near  the  sea ;  but  it  is  most  abundant  in  the 
southern  parts  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  and 
Pennsylvania.  It  grows  only  in  wet  grounds. 
In  Delaware,  where  the  black  gum  and  tupelo 
are  found  together,  the  former  name  is  univer- 
sally applied  to  both.  In  New  Jersey  it  is  con- 
stantly seen  on  the  borders  of  the  swamps  with 
the  sweet  gum,  the  swamp  white-oak,  the 
chestnut  white-oak,  and  the  white  elm.  It 
rarely  exceeds  forty  or  forty-five  feet  in  height, 
and  its  limbs,  which  spring  at  five  or  six  feet 
from  the  ground,  grow  in  a  horizontal  direc- 
tion. The  trunk  is  of  a  uniform  size  from  its 
base.  While  it  is  less  than  ten  inches  in  diame- 
ter the  bark  is  not  remarkable,  but  on  full- 
grown  and  vigorous-stocks  it  is  thick,  deeply- 
furrowed,  and,  unlike  the  bark  of  any  other 
jree,  divided  into  hexagons,  which  are  some- 
times nearly  regular. 

The  leaves  are  about  half  the  length  of  those 
of  the  black  gum,  viz.:  three  inches  long,  ob- 
oval,  smooth,  alternate,  and  often  united  in 
bunches  at  the  extremity  of  the  young  lateral 
shoots.  The  flowers  are  small  and  scarcely 
apparent.  The  fruit,  which  is  abundant,  is, 
iike  that  of  the  black  gum,  of  a  deep  blue  co- 
lour, about  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  attached  in 
pairs.  It  is  ripe  towards  the  beginning  of  No- 
vember, and  remaining  after  the  falling  of  the 
leaf,  it  forms  a  part  of  the  nourishment  of  the 
robins  and  other  birds  in  their  autumnal  mi- 
gration to  the  south.  The  stone  is  flattened  on 
one  side,  a  little  convex  on  the  other,  and 
striated  lengthwise.  Bruised  in  water  the 
berries  yield  an  unctuous,  greenish  juice,  of  a 
slightly  bitter  taste,  which  is  not  easily  mingled 
with  the  fluid. 

The  tupelo  holds  a  middle  place  between 
trees  with  soft  and  those  with  hard  wood. 
When  perfectly  seasoned,  the  sap  part  is  of  a 
ight  reddish  tint,  and  the  heart,  of  a  deep 
brown.  Of  trees  exceeding  fifteen  or  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter  more  than  half  the  trunk  is 
generally  hollow. 

The  woody  fibres  which  compose  the  body 
of  trees  in  general  are  closely  united,  and 
usually  ascend  in  a  perpendicular  direction. 
By  a  caiyice  of  nature,  they  sometimes  pursue 
an  undulating  course,  as  in  the  red  and  sugar 
maples,  or,  as  in  the  last  mentioned  species, 
form  riplings  so  fine,  that  the  curves  are  only 
one,  two,  or  three  lines  in  diameter;  or  lastly, 
lh«y  ascend  spirally,  as  in  the  twisted  elm 
186 


(Orme  tortillard)  following  the  same  bent  foi 
four  or  five  feet.  In  these  species,  however, 
the  deviation  is  only  accidental,  and  to  be 
sure  of  obtaining  this  form  it  must  be  perpe- 
tuated by  grafting  or  by  transplanting  young 
stocks  from  the  shade  of  the  parent  tree.  The 
genus  which  we  are  considering  exhibits,  on 
the  contrary,  a  constant  peculiarity  of  organi- 
zation ;  the  fibres  are  united  in  bundles,  and 
interwoven  like  a  braided  cord.  Hence  the 
wood  is  extremely  difficult  to  split  unless  cut 
into  short  billets  ;  a  property  which  gives  it  a 
decided  superiority  for  certain  uses.  In  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  and  particularly  at  Phila- 
delphia, the  wood  of  the  tupelo  is  almost  ex- 
clusively empl^^^ed  for  the  hubs  of  wheels.  In 
a  very  few  places  white  oak  is  used  for  this 
purpose,  probably  because  the  tupelo  is  of  a 
bad  quality  or  cannot  be  readily  obtained. 
Michaux  thinks  that  from  its  limited  size  and 
strength,  the  tupelo  can  never  be  substituted 
for  the  twisted  elm,  where  very  large  naves  or 
hubs  are  required  for  wagons  destined  to  sup- 
port immense  burdens.  In  France,  he  says, 
the  wheels  of  their  heavy  vehicles  have  naves 
twenty  inches  in  diameter  at  the  insertion  of 
the  spokes,  with  an  axle-tree  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  weight,  and  are  laden  for  dis- 
tant transportation  with  nine  thousand  pounds. 
If,  to  its  own  organization,  the  tupelo  joined 
the  solidity  of  the  elm,  a  more  rapid  vegetation 
and  the  faculty  of  growing  on  dry  and  elevated 
lands,  and  of  expanding  to  three  or  four  times 
its  present  size,  it  would  be  the  most  precious 
to  the  mechanical  arts  of  all  the  forest-trees  of 
Europe  and  North  America.  In  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania,  many  farmers  prefer  the 
tulepo  for  the  side-boards  and  bottom  of  carts, 
as  experience  has  proved  its  durability. 
Wooden  bowls  are  made  of  it,  and  also  the 
mortars  in  which  Indian  corn  is  beaten  with 
an  iron  pestle  in  the  process  of  preparing  ho- 
miny. It  burns  slowly  and  throws  out  a  good 
heat,  which  makes  it  a  favourite  wath  those 
who  keep  wood  fires,  especially  for  the  back 
log,  a  purpose  to  which  it  is  almost  exclusively 
devoted.    {American  Sylva.)    See  Tupelo. 

BLACK  LEGS.  A  provincial  name  *iven 
in  some  places  to  a  disease  frequent  among 
calves  and  sheep.  In  Staffordshire  it  is  called 
the  wood  evil.  It  is  a  bloody  gelatinous  hu- 
mour, settling  in  their  legs,  and  often  in  the 
neck  between  the  skin  and  the  flesh,  making 
them  carry  their  necks  awry. 

BLACK  MUZZLE.  See  Sheep,  Diseases  ov. 
BLACK  OATS.  A'  species  of  oats  much 
cultivated  in  some  parts  of  England.  The  oats 
of  this  habit  have  the  corolla  very  dark,  are 
awned,  and  the  seeds  are  small.  They  are 
rather  an  inferior  class  of  oats,  but  are  hardy 
and  ripen  early,  and  it  is  this  property  which 
suits  them  for  cultivation  in  cold  and  elevated 
climates.  {Prof.  Low.  Ele.  Ag.,  p.  256.)  See 
Oats. 

BLACK  THORN,  or  SLOE  (Prunus  spi- 
j  nosa).  This  rigid  bushy  shrub  is  well  known, 
I  growing  commonly  in  hedges  and  thickets.  It 
j  is  frequently  used  in  making  fences,  especially 
i  in  exposed  situations.  But  it  is  not  reckoned 
!  so  good  for  this  purpose  as  the  white  thorn, 
'  because  it  is  apt  to  run  more  into  the  ground. 


BLACK  TWITCH. 

and  is  not  so  certain  of  growing;  however, 
when  cut,  the  bushes  are  much  the  best,  and 
most  lasting  of  any  for  dead  hedges,  or  to 
mend  gaps;  cattle  are  not  so  apt  to  crop 
fences  of  this  kind  as  those  of  the  white  thorn. 

The  fruit  is  well  known  in  the  country,  and 
from  its  acid,  astringent,  and  very  austere  fla- 
vour, it  is  not  eatable  except  when  baked,  or 
boiled  with  a  large  proportion  of  sugar,  and 
then  it  is  not  good.  The  juice,  when  inspis- 
sated over  a  slow  fire,  is  a  substitute  for  the 
Egyptian  acacia,  or  Indian  catechu.  In  some 
form  or  other  this  juice  is  used  in  adulterating 
port  wine.  The  leaves  also  are  reckoned 
among  the  adulterated  substitutes  for  tea  in 
England.  A  water  distilled  from  the  blossoms 
of  the  sloe  is  said  to  be  used  medicinally  in 
Switzerland  and  Germany. 

The  juice  of  sloes  checks  purgings  when  no 
inflammation  is  present.  {Smith's  Eng,  Flor. 
vol.  ii.  p.  357.) 

What  is  commonly  called  the  black  thorn  in 
the  United  States  is  not  the  sloe  or  black  haw, 
(a  species  of  vihurnum),  but  the  yellow  Crafas- 
gits  of  botanists,  one  of  the  species  of  thorn  com- 
monly used  for  hedges.    (See  Flor.  Centrica.) 

BLACK  TWITCH  {Agro^^tis  albn).  A  nox- 
ious weed  of  the  sub-aquatic  marsh  bent  genus. 
Ii  chokes  up  drains  and  underwood,  and  flou- 
rishes even  in  extremely  dry  situations,  prov- 
ing very  injurious  to  many  crops.  It  is  als/o 
known  under  the  names  of  black  couch  and 
black  ivrnck.   See  Maiisii  Bkxt  Grass. 

BLACK  WALNUT.    See  Walxut. 

BLACK  WASH.  A  lotion  composed  of  ca- 
lomel and  lime  water. 

BLACK  WATER.    See  S.iekp,  Diseases  of. 

BLADE  (Sax.  biact»,  biet>;  Fr.  bled;  Low 
Lat.  blndus).  The  spire  of  grass  before  it 
grows  to  seed  ;  the  green  shoots  of  corn  which 
rise  from  the  seed.   {Todd.) 

BLADE-BONE.  In  farriery,  the  popular 
name  for  the  shoulder-blade  {scapula),  of  an 
animal. 

BLAIN  (Sax.  blejene;  Dutch,  bleyne,  from 
the  Icelandic  blina,  a  pustule).  In  farriery,  in- 
flammation of  the  tongue,  a  disease  in  cattle, 
which  frequently  affects  them  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  or  beginning  of  summer.  The  disease 
(says  Clater)  is  neither  so  frequent  nor  so 
fatal  in  the  horse  as  it  is  in  cattle ;  but  it  does 
sometimes  occur,  and  the  nature  of  it  is  fre- 
quently misunderstood.  The  horse  will  refuse 
his  food,  hang  his  head,  and  a  considerable 
quantity  of  ropy  Quid  will  be  discharged  from 
the  mouth.  On  examining  the  mouth,  the 
tongue  will  be  found  considerably  enlarged, 
and,  running  along  the  side  of  it,  there  will 
be  a  reddish  or  darkish  purple  bladder,  and 
which  sometimes  protrudes  between  the  teeth. 
The  neighbouring  salivary  glands  are  en- 
larged, and  the  discharge  of  saliva  is  very 
great,  while  the  soreness  of  the  swelled  and 
blistered  part  causes  the  horse  obstinately  to 
resist  every  motion  of  the  jaws.  The  cure  is 
very  simple :  the  bladder  must  be  deeply 
lanced  from  end  to  end :  there  will  not  be  any 
great  flow  of  blood.  This  will  relieve  or  cure 
the  horse  in  twenty-four  hours.  If  he  can  be 
spared  from  his  work,  a  dose  of  physic  will 
r-^move  the  stomach  aflection  and  any  slight 


BLEND-WATER. 

degree  of  fever  that  may  have  existed.  If  the 
disease  is  neglected,  the  swelling  will  at  length 
burst,  and  corroding  ulcers  will  eat  deeply  into 
the  tongue,  and  prove  very  difiicult  to  heal. 
{Clater' s  Farriery,  p.  64.) 

BLAST.  A  vegetable  disease,  the  same  as 
blight.  In  farriery,  it  is  also  a  vulgar  name 
for  any  circumscribed  swelling  or  inflamma 
don  in  the  body  of  an  animal.   See  Mildew. 

BLASTING  OF  STONES.  The  operation 
of  tearing  asunder  large  stones  or  rocks  which 
are  in  the  way  of  the  plough,  or  other  instru- 
ment employed  in  breaking  up  ground,  by 
means  of  gunpowder.  Logs  of  wood,  the  roots 
of  trees,  and  other  obstructions,  are  removed 
by  the  same  agent.  In  stone  quarries,  blast- 
ing is  a  necessary  business.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  successful  blasts  ever 
effected  was  at  Craigleith  quarry,  Scotland,  on 
the  18th  of  October,  1834,  Avhen,  by  500  lbs.  of 
Sir  Henry  Bridge's  double-strong  blasting  pow- 
der, a  mass  of  upwards  of  20,000  tons  of  solid 
rock  was  displaced.  (  Quart.  Journ.  ofAgr.  vol. 
vi.  p.  463.) 

BLAZE.  A  white  mark  or  star  in  the  face 
of  a  horse. 

BLEEDING  (Sax.  bie^an);  An  operation 
frequently  necessary  in  the  disorders  of  differ- 
ent kinds  of  cattle,  particularly  horses.  Such 
horses  as  stand  much  in  the  stable,  and  are 
full-fed,  require  bleeding  more  than  those 
which  are  in  constant  exercise ;  but  especially 
when  their  eyes  look  heavy  and  dull,  or  red 
and  inflamed ;  and  when  they  look  yellow,  and 
the  horse  is  inflamed  in  his  lips  and  the  inside 
of  his  mouth ;  or  when  he  seems  hotter  than 
usual,  and  mangles  his  hay.  These  indica- 
tions not  only  show  that  bleeding  is  required, 
but  likewise  the  lowering  of  the  diet.  The 
spring  is  the  common  season  for  bleeding 
horses ;  but  periodical  bleeding,  without  its 
necessity  being  indicated,  should  never  be 
practised.  In  summer,  it  is  often  necessary 
to  prevent  fevers,  always  choosing  the  cool  of 
the  morning  for  the  operation,  and  keeping 
them  cool  the  remaining  part  of  the  day.  Some 
farriers  bleed  horses  three  or  four  times  a  year, 
or  even  oftener,  by  way  of  prevention,  taking 
only  a  veiy  small  quantity  at  a  time,  as  a  pint 
or  a  pint  and  a  half.  There  is,  however,  this 
inconvenience  from  frequent  bleeding,  that  it 
grows  into  a  habit,  which,  in  some  cases,  can- 
not be  easily  broken  off'  without  hazard ;  and 
besides,  horses  become  weak  from  frequent 
bleeding. 

BLEMISH.  In  farriery,  any  kind  of  imper- 
fection in  a  horse  or  other  animal. 

In  horses,  they  consist  of  broken  knees,  loss 
of  hair  in  the  cutting  places,  mallenders  and  sal- 
lenders,  cracked  heels,  false  quarters,  splents, 
or  excrescences  which  do  not  occasion  lame- 
ness ;  and  wind-galls  and  bog-spavins,  where 
they  prevail  to  any  great  degree. 

In  planting,  the  knots  on  the  outside  of  trees, 
and  shakes  internally,  are  termed  blemishes. 

BLENDINGS.  A  provincial  word  applied 
to  mixed  crops,  such  as  peas  and  beans  when 
grown  together. 

BLEND-WATER.  In  farriery,  the  name 
of  a  distemper  incident  to  neat  or  black  cattle, 
in  which  the  liver  is  affected. 

187 


BLIGHT. 


BLIGHT. 


BLIGHT.  The  general  name  for  various 
injuries  received  by,  and  diseases  incident  to, 
corn,  fruit-trees,  plants,  &c.  The  terms  blight 
and  blast,  are  indiscriminately  applied  to  plants 
injured  by  fungi,  insects,  disease,  frost,  &c. 
Blight  originating  in  cold,  which,  congealing  the 
sap  of  the  tender  shoots  and  leaves  of  plants, 
causes  these  to  perish  from  the  bursting  of  their 
sap-vessels.  Blight  sometimes  results  from 
causes  the  very  opposite  of  this,  namely  during 
the  prevalence  of  very  sullry,  or  very  dry  winds, 
the  effects  of  which  are  popularly  termed  fire- 
blights,  and  are  similar  to  those  which  some- 
times injure  the  vineyards  of  Italy,  and  the  hop- 
grounds  of  England.  What  is  called  in  England 
the  white  blight  is  supposed  to  originate  from 
want  of  nourishment.  It  is  most  commonly  met 
with  in  grain  fields  during  very  dry  spells  of 
weather,  especially  on  thin  gravelly  soils, 
when  the  plants  get  into  head  or  blossom  pre- 
maturely, and  the  head  or  seed-pod  ripens 
without  tilling. 

The  mildew,  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  that 
the  agriculturist  has  to  contend  with,  is  nothing 
more  than  several  species  of  parasitical  fungi, 
or  very  minute  plants  of  the  mushroom  species, 
which  attack  different  kinds  of  plants,  grain,  &c. 
It  varies  in  its  nature  and  appearance,  accord- 
ing to  the  plants  attacked.  (See  Pl.2,/,m,n,&c.) 

Blight  originating  in  fungi,  attacks  the  leaves 
or  stems  both  of  herbaceous  and  woody  plants, 
such  as  the  common  barberry  and  buckthorn, 
but  more  generally  grasses,  and  particularly 
our  most  useful  grains,  wheat,  barley,  and 
oats.  It  always  appears  in  the  least  ventilated 
parts  of  a  field  and  has  generally  been  pre- 
ceeded  by  cold,  moist  weather,  which  happen- 
ing in  the  warm  month  of  July,  suddenly 
chills  and  checks  vegetation.  It  generally  as- 
sumes the  appearance  of  a  rusty-looking 
powder  that  soils  the  finger  when  touched.  In 
March,  1807,  some  blades  of  wheat  attacked 
by  this  species  of  blight  were  examined  by 
Keith ;  the  appearance  was  that  of  a  number 
of  rusty-looking  spots  or  patches  dispersed 
over  the  surface  of  the  leaf,  exactly  like  that 
of  the  seeds  of  dorsiferous  ferns  bursting 
their  indusium.  Upon  more  minute  inspec- 
tion, these  patches  were  found  to  consist  of 
thousands  of  small  globules  collected  into 
groups  beneath  the  epidermis,  which  they 
raised  up  in  a  sort  of  blister,  and  at  last  burst. 
Some  of  the  globules  seemed  as  if  embedded 
even  in  the  longitudinal  vessels  of  the  blade. 
They  were  of  a  yellowish  or  rusty  brown,  and 
somewhat  transparent.  But  these  groups  of 
globules  have  been  ascertained  by  Sir  J.  Banks 
to  be  patches  of  a  minute  fungus,  the  seeds  of 
which,  as  they  float  in  the  air,  enter  the  pores 
of  the  epidermis  of  the  leaf,  particularly  if  the 
plant  is  sickly ;  or  they  exist  in  the  manure  or 
.soil,  and  enter  by  the  pores  of  the  root.  {Sir 
J.  Banks  on  Blight.)  This  fungus  has  been 
figured  by  Sowcrby  and  by  F.  Bauer  and  Grew. 
If  is  known  among  farmers  by  the  name  of  red 
rust,  and  chiefl}"^  affects  the  stalks  and  leaves. 
But  there  is  another  species  of  fungus  known  to 
the  European  farmer  by  the  name  of  red  gum, 
which  attacks  the  ear  only,  and  is  extremely 
prejudicial.  In  the  aggregate  it  consists  of 
groups  of  minute  globules  interspersed  with 
188 


transparent  fibres.  The  globules  are  filled 
with  a  fine  powder,  which  explodes  when  they 
are  put  into  water.  It  is  very  generally  accom- 
panied with  a  maggot  of  a  yellow  colour,  which 
preys  also  upon  the  grain,  and  increases  the 
amount  of  injury.  Grisenthwaite  conjectures 
that  in  many  cases  in  which  the  blight  and 
mildew  attack  corn  crops,  it  may  be  for  want 
of  the  peculiar  food  requisite  for  perfecting  the 
grain  ;  it  being  known  that  the  fruit  or  seeds 
of  many  plants  contain  primitive  principles 
not  found  in  the  rest  of  the  plant.  Thus  the 
grain  of  wheat  contains  gluten  and  phosphate 
of  lime,  and  where  these  are  wanting  in  the 
soil,  that  is,  in  the  rwanured  earths  in  which 
the  plant  grows,  it  will  be  unable  to  perfect  its 
fruit,  which  of  consequence  becomes  more 
liable  to  disease.     (^New  Theory  of  Agr.) 

Smut  is  a  disease  incidental  to  cultivated 
corn,  by  which  the  farina  of  the  grain,  together 
with  its  proper  integuments  and  even  part  of 
the  husk,  is  converted  into  a  black  soot-like 
powder.  If  the  injured  ear  be  struck  with  the 
finger,  the  powder  will  be  dispersed  like  a 
cloud  of  black  smoke;  and  if  a  portion  of  the 
powder  be  wetted  by  a  drop  of  water  and  put 
under  the  microscope,  it  will  be  found  to  con- 
sist of  millions  of  minute  and  transparent 
globules,  which  seem  to  be  composed  of  a  clear 
and  glairy  fluid  encompassed  by  a  thin  and 
skinny  membrane.  This  disease  does  nol 
affect  the  whole  body  of  the  crop,  but  tha 
smutted  ears  are  sometimes  very  numerously 
dispersed  throughout  it.  Some  have  attributed 
it  to  the  soil  in  which  the  grain  is  soAvn,  and 
others  have  attributed  it  to  the  seed  itself,  alleg- 
ing that  smutted  seed  will  produce  a  smutted 
crop;  but  in  all  this  there  seems  to  be  a  great 
deal  of  doubt.  Wildenow  regards  it  as  originat- 
ing in  a  small  fungus,  which  multiplies  and 
extends  till  it  occupies  the  whole  ear  (Frinclp. 
of  Bot.  p.  356)  J  but  F.  Bauer,  of  Kew,  seems 
to  have  ascertained  it  to  be  merely  a  morbid 
swelling  of  the  ear,  and  not  at  all  connected 
with  the  growth  of  a  fungus.  (Smith's  Introd 
p.  282.)  It  is  said  to  be  prevented  by  steeping 
the  grain,  before  sowing,  in  a  weak  solution 
of  arsenic.  But,  besides  the  disease  called 
smut,  there  is  also  a  disease  analogous  to  it, 
or  a  different  stage  of  the  same  disease,  known 
to  the  farmer  by  the  names  of  bags  or  smul 
balls,  in  which  the  nucleus  of  the  seed  only 
is  converted  into  a  black  powder,  whilst  the 
ovary,  as  well  as  the  husk,  remains  sound. 
The  ear  is  not  much  altered  in  its  external  ap- 
pearance, and  the  diseased  grain  contained  in 
it  will  even  bear  the  operation  of  thrashing, 
and  consequently  mingle  with  the  bulk;  but 
it  is  always  readily  detected  by  the  experienced 
buyer,  and  fatal  to  the  character  of  the  sample. 
It  is  said  to  be  prevented  as  in  the  case  of 
smut.  This  disorder,  so  very  fatal  to  the  cha^ 
racter  of  wheat  from  the  injury  it  does  to  flour, 
is  known  in  some  of  the  United  States  by  the 
very  homely  name  of  bu.st. 

Mildew  is  a  thin  and  whitish  coating  with 
which  the  leaves  of  vegetables  are  sometimes 
covered,  occasioning  their  decay  and  death, 
and  injuring  the  health  of  the  plant.  It  is  fre- 
quently found  on  the  leaves  of  hops,  hazlenut, 
and  the  white  and  yellow  dead-nettle.    It  is 


BLIND,  MOON-. 

found  also  on  wheat  in  the  shape  of  a  glutinous 
exudation,  particularly  when  the  days  are  hot 
and  the  nights  without  dew.  J.  Robertson 
(Hort.  Trans,  v.  178),  considers  it  as  a  minute 
fungus,  of  which  different  species  attack  differ- 
rent  plants.  Sulphur  he  has  found  to  be  a 
specific  cure. 

In  cultivated  crops  mildew  is  said  to  be  pre- 
vented by  manuring  with  soot;  though  by  some 
this  is  denied,  and  soot,  by  rendering  the  crop 
more  luxuriant,  is  said  to  be  an  encourager  of 
mildew,  the  richest  part  of  a  field  being  always 
most  infected  by  it.  As  it  is  least  common  in 
airy  situations,  thinning  and  ventilation  may 
be  considered  as  preventives.  See  Mildew. 
(  Loudon's  Encye.  of  Agricult.) 

Mr.  Haggerston,  who  obtained  a  premium 
from  the  Massachuselt's  Horticultural  Society 
for  the  discovery  of  a  mode  of  destroying  the 
rose-slug,  says — that  a  weak  solution  of  Vfhale- 
oil  soap,  in  the  proportion  of  two  pounds  of  soap 
to  about  fifteen  gallons  of  water,  or  weaker, 
will  check  and  entirely  destroy  the  mildew  on 
the  gooseberry,  peach,  grape  vine,  &c.  &c. 
For  further  particulars  in  regard  to  the  appli- 
cation of  this  remedy  see  Aphis,  Rust,  and 

S.HIT. 

BLIND,  MOON-.  In  farriery,  a  disease  in 
the  eyes  of  horses,  which  is  commonly  the 
forerunner  of  cataract,  and  generally  ends  in 
blindness. 

BLINDNESS.  A  deprivation  or  want  of 
sight,  originating  from  various  causes;  a  com- 
plaint more  frequent  in  horses  than  in  neat- 
cattle  or  sheep. 

Blindness  in  horses  may  be  discerned  by  the 
walk  or  step  being  uncertain  and  unequal,  so 
that  they  dare  not  set  down  their  feet  boldly ; 
but  when  they  are  mounted  by  an  expert  horse- 
man, the  fear  of  the  spurs  will  frequently  make 
them  go  resolutely  and  freely,  so  that  their 
blindness  can  hardly  be  perceived.  Another 
mark  by  which  horses  that  have  lost  their 
sight  may  be  known,  is,  that  when  they  hear 
anybody  enter  the  stable,  they  prick  up  their 
ears,  and  move  them  backwards  and  forwards 
in  a  parlicitlar  manner. 

Blindness  in  sheep.  A  complaint  that  some- 
times occurs  in  these  animals,  from  their  being 
much  exposed  to  either  great  dampness  or  long 
continued  snows. 

BLIND  NETTLE.  A  provincial  term  for 
the  wild  hemp  plant. 

BLIND  WORM.  A  term  sometimes  applied 
to  the  slow-worm  {Attguis  fragilis).    See  Slow 

WORH. 

BLINKERS.  Expansions  of  the  sides  of 
the  bridle  of  a  horse,  intended  to  prevent  him 
from  seeing  objects  on  either  side,  but  at  the 
same  time  not  to  obstruct  his  vision  in  front. 

BLISTERING  (Dutch,  Z>/«ys/er).  In  farriery, 
the  operation  of  stimulating  the  surface  of 
some  part  of  the  body  of  an  animal,  by  means 
of  acrid  applications,  so  as  to  raise  small  ve- 
sications upon  it.  It  is  frequently  employed 
for  the  purpose  of  removing  local  affections 
of  different  kinds,  such  as  hard  indolent  tu- 
mours. 

BLISTER  FLY.  The  Cantharis,  or  Spa- 
nish flv. 

BLISTER  LIQUID  is   composed  of  pow- 


BLOODWORT. 

dered  alkanet  two  ounces,  and  a  gallon  of  spi- 
rit of  turpentine  ;  adding,  on  the  fourth  day,  & 
pound  of  powdered  Spanish  flies ;  and  mace 
rating  the  whole  for  a  month,  when  the  clear 
fluid  will  form  a  strong  liquid  blister.  If  so 
powerful  an  external  stimulant  be  not  required, 
this  liquid  may  be  diluted  with  an  equal  part 
of  spermaceti  oil.     {Clater's  Farriery.) 

BLISTER  OINTMENT.  One  ounce  of 
powdered  Spanish  flies ;  half  an  ounce  of 
powdered  euphorbium;  four  ounces  of  lard. 
One  ounce  of  this  well  rubbed  in  is  sufficient 
to  blister  a  horse's  leg.  That  commonly  sold 
by  farriers  generally  contains  oil  of  vitriol 
(sulphuric  acid),  to  make  it  raise  the  blister 
without  the  trouble  of  rubbing  in  the  ointment; 
and,  in  consequence,  a  blemish  is  produced. 

BLOOD  (Sax.  blod;  old  French,  6/oe(/).  The 
fluid  which  circulates  in  the  bodies  of  all  ani- 
mals. Blood,  when  drawn  from  the  body,  and 
allowed  to  rest,  speedily  separates  into  two 
portions,  viz.  the  fluid,  or  serum,  and  the  solid 
clot,  crassamentum,  or  cruor. 

In  quadrupeds,  in  general,  the  temperature 
of  the  blood  is  higher  than  in  man.  In  the 
sheep,  it  ranges  from  102°  to  103° ;  in  man 
it  is  98°  in  a  state  of  health.  The  equal 
distribution  of  the  blood  in  the  animal  system 
is  as  essential  to  the  health  of  quadrupeds  as 
of  man.  When  it  is  irregularly  circulated, 
and  more  sent  to  any  organ  than  it  should 
share,  that  part  becomes  oppressed,  diseased 
action  is  set  up  in  it ;  and  if  the  organ  be  a 
vital  one,  life  is  endangered  or  destroyed 
through  the  violence  of  inflammation. 

Blood  is  an  excellent  manure  for  fruit  trees; 
and,  mixed  with  earth,  forms  a  very  rich  com- 
post.    {Ann.  of  Phil  vol.  ii.  p.  202.) 

BLOOD-ROOT.     See  Bloodwort. 

BLOOD-SHOT.  In  farriery,  a  popular  term 
for  that  red  appearance  which  the  eye  exhibits 
when  inflamed.  The  best  treatment  is  to  bathe 
the  eye  with  a  lotion  composed  of  one  drachm 
of  white  vitriol  (sulphate  of  zinc)  dissolved  in 
half  a  pint  of  water. 

BLOOD-SPAVIN  or  BOG-SPAVIN.  In 
farriery,  a  swelling  of  the  vein  that  runs  along 
the  inside  of  the  hock  of  the  horse,  forming  a 
little  soft  tumour  in  the  hollow  part,  often  at- 
tended with  weakness  or  lameness  of  the  hock. 
Clater  {Farriery,  p.  272)  says,  a  blister  is  the 
proper  application. 

BLOODWORT  {Sanguinaria  canadensis). 
A  hardy  American  perennial,  flowering  in 
April.  It  loves  a  shady  situation  and  bog  soil; 
and  may  be  propagated  by  parting  the  roots  in 
spring  or  autumn.  The  root  of  bloodwort 
IhV-ows  out  a  bright  red  juice,  when  pressed, 
which  the  Indians  paint  themselves  with.  It 
operates  as  an  emetic  and  narcotic. 

BLOODWORT  {Rumex  sanguineus).  This 
is  a  beautiful  dock,  growing  wild  in  many 
parts  of  England,  but  introduced  lately  into 
gardens,  for  'its  fine  deep-red  appearance.  It 
grows  from  two  to  three  feet  high,  and  the 
stalks  are  firm,  stiff,  reddish,  and  branched. 
The  leaves  are  long  and  narrow,  heart-shaped 
at  the  base,  and  taper  gradually  towards  their 
point.  Sometimes  the  leaves  are  a  deep  green, 
only  stained,  or  veined  with  red;  sometimea 
they  are  entirely  a  deep  blood  colour,  which 


BLOOM. 


BLUE-BIRD. 


gives  them  a  beautiful  appearance.  The 
flowers  are  in  terminal  clusters,  small  and 
numerous.  They  blow  in  June  and  July,  and 
the  seed  ripens  in  August.  The  dried  root, 
either  in  powder  or  in  decoction,  is  astringent; 
and  may  be  used  in  spitting  of  blood,  and  vio- 
lent purgings. 

BLOOM  or  BLOSSOM.  A  general  n?me 
for  the  flowers  of  plants,  but  more  especially 
of  fruit-trees.  The  ofiice  of  the  blossom  is 
partly  to  afibrd  protection,  and  partly  to  draw 
or  supply  nourishment  to  the  fertilizing  organs 
of  the  plant,  for  the  perfecting  of  the  embryo, 
fruit,  or  seed. 

Bloom  is  a  term  applied  to  the  delicate 
powder  which  coats  the  outer  surface  of  such 
smooth-skinned  fruits  as  the  grape  and  plum. 
In  gathering  such  fruits,  care  should  always 
be  observed  to  prevent  this  bloom  from  being 
removed  by  handling  or  otherwise,  as  it  injures 
the  appearance. 

BLOSSOM.  A  colour  in  horses,  formed  by 
the  intermixture  of  white  hairs  with  sorrel  and 
bay  ones. 

BLOW-BALL.  A  local  name  for  the  flower 
of  the  dandelion. 

BLOW-FLY.  The  large  flesh-fly  (Musca 
cam  aria). 

BLOW-MILK.  The  milk  from  which  the 
cream  has  been  blown  off". 

BLOWN.  In  farriery,  a  diseased  state  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels  of  cattle,  caused  by 
the  sudden  extrication  of  air  in  large  quantities 
from  some  of  the  grosser  kinds  of  green  food. 
See  HovE?T. 

BLOWS.  A  provincial  term  used  to  signify 
the  blossoms  of  beans,  &c. 

BLUBBER.     See  Fish. 

BLUE-BELLS  (Scilla  nutans).  A  common 
name  given  to  a  bulbous-rooted  plant  of  the 
hyacinth  kind,  frequently  met  with  in  woods 
and  other  places.  Its  bulb  is  globular,  white, 
and  coated;  its  leaves  linear,  channelled, 
shining,  and  drooping  in  their  upper  half;  the 
flowers  form  a  cluster  on  an  upright  stalk, 
drooping  in  the  upper  half;  they  are  blue, 
pendulous,  nearly  an  inch  long,  and  scented. 
The  bulb  is  acrid,  but  loses  its  acrimony  in 
drying,  in  which  state  it  answers  as  a  substi- 
tute for  gum-arabic  in  the  art  of  dyeing,  by 
being  simply  dried  and  powdered. 

BLUE-BIRD.  Mr.  Nuttall  describes  three 
species  of  the  blue-bird  (Sialia),  found  in 
America.  That  which  is  most  familiarly 
known  in  the  United  States  (the  Si/lvia  siulis 
of  Wilson),  is  an  insectivorous  bird,  inhabiting 
almost  every  section  of  the  continent  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  forty-eighth  de- 
gree of  latitude  to  the  tropics.  Although  they 
generally  spend  their  winters  in  the  Southern 
States,  they  sometimes  remain  in  well-protected 
warm  situations  in  the  southern  parts  of  Penn- 
sylvania. They  breed  and  pass  the  summer 
from  Labrador  to  Natchez.  "In  the  Middle 
and  Northern  States,"  says  Mr.  Nuttall,  "  the 
return  of  the  blue-bird  to  his  old  haunts  round 
the  barn  and  the  orchard  is  hailed  as  the  first 
agreeable  presage  of  returning  spring,  and  he 
i^  no  less  a  messenger  of  grateful  tidings  to 
the  farmer,  than  an  agreeable,  familiar,  and 
useful  companion  to  all.  Though  sometimes 
190 


he  makes  a  still  earlier  flitting  visit,  from  the 
3d  to  the  middle  of  March,  he  comes  hither  as 
a  permanent  resident,  and  is  now  accompanied 
by  his  mate,  who  immediately  visits  the  box  in 
the  garden,  or  the  hollow  in  the  decayed 
orchard-tree,  which  has  served  as  the  cradle 
of  preceding  generations  of  his  kindred.  Af- 
fection and  jealousy,  as  in  the  contending  and 
related  thrushes,  have  considerable  influence 
over  the  blue-bird.  He  seeks  perpetually  the 
company  of  his  mate,  caresses  and  soothes  her 
with  his  amorous  song,  to  which  she  faintly 
replies ;  and,  like  the  faithful  rook,  seeks  oc- 
casion to  show  his  gallantry  by  feeding  her 
with  some  favourite  insect.  If  a  rival  makes 
his  appearance,  the  attack  is  instantaneous, 
the  intruder  is  driven  with  angry  chattering 
from  the  precincts  he  has  chosen,  and  he  now 
returns  to  warble  out  his  notes  of  triumph  by 
the  side  of  his  cherished  consort.  The  busi- 
ness of  preparing  and  cleaning  out  the  old  nest 
or  box  now  commences  ;  and  even  in  October, 
before  they  bid  farewell  to  their  favourite 
mansion,  on  fine  days,  influenced  by  the  anti- 
cipation of  the  season,  they  are  often  observed 
to  go  in  and  out  of  the  box  as  if  examining 
and  planning  out  their  future  domicile.  Little 
pains,  however,  are  requisite  for  the  protection 
of  the  hardy  young ;  and  a  substantial  lining 
of  hay,  and  now  and  then  a  few  feathers,  is  all 
that  is  prepared  for  the  brood  beyond  the 
natural  shelter  of  the  chosen  situation.  As  the 
martin  and  house-wren  seek  out  the  favour 
and  convenience  of  the  box,  contests  are  not 
unfrequent  wdth  the  parties  for  exclusive  pos- 
session ;  and  the  latter,  in  various  clandestine 
ways,  exhibits  his  envy  and  hostility  to  the 
favoured  blue-bird.  The  eggs  are  five  or  six, 
of  a  very  pale  blue,  and  without  spots.  As 
they  are  very  prolific,  and  constantly  paired, 
they  often  raise  two  and  sometimes  probably 
three  broods  in  the  season  ;  the  male  taking 
the  youngest  under  his  affectionate  charge, 
while  the  female  is  engaged  in  the  act  of  incu- 
bation. 

"Their  principal  food  consists  of  insects, 
particularly  beetles,  and  other  shelly  kinds  ; 
they  are  also  fond  of  spiders  and  grasshoppers, 
for  which  they  often,  in  company  with  their 
young,  in  autumn,  descend  to  the  earth,  in  open 
pasture-fields  or  waste  grounds.  Like  oui 
thrushes,  they,  early  in  spring,  also  collect  the 
common  wire-worm,  or  lulus,  for  food,  as  well 
as  other  kinds  of  insects,  which  they  commonly 
watch  for,  while  perched  on  the  fences  or  low 
boughs  of  trees,  and  dart  after  them  to  the 
ground  as  soon  as  perceived.  They  are  not, 
however,  flycatchers,  like  the  Sylvicolas  and 
MuscicapaSjhntare  rather  industrious  searchers 
for  subsistence,  like  the  thrushes,  whose  habits 
they  wholly  resemble  in  their  mode  of  feeding. 
In  the  autumn,  they  regale  themselves  on  va- 
rious kinds  of  berries,  as  those  of  the  sour- 
gum,  wild-cherry,  and  others  ;  and  later  in  the 
season,  as  winter  approaches,  they  frequent 
the  red  cedars  and  several  species  of  sumach 
for  their  berries,  eat  persimmons  m  the  Middle 
States,  and  many  other  kinds  of  fruits,  and 
even  seeds,  the  latter  of  which  never  enter  into 
the  diet  of  the  proper  flycatchers.  They  have 
also,  occasionally,  in.  a  state  of  confinement, 


BLUE-BOTTLE. 

been  reared  and  fed  on  soaked  bread  and  ve- 
getable diet,  on  which  they  thrive  as  well  as 
the  robin."     (Nuttairs  Ornithology.) 

The  Western  Blue-bird  (S/a7ia  ocddentalis 
of  Townsend),  is  found  along  the  Pacific  coast 
west  of  the  Kocky  Mountains.  It  possesses 
many  of  the  habits  of  the  common  kind,  his 
song  being,  however,  described  as  more  varied, 
sweet,  and  tender  than  that  of  the  common 
blue-bird  of  the  Atlantic  states. 

The  Arctic  Blue-bird  (the  Sialia  artlca  of 
Audubon),  is  a  beautiful  species  found  in  the 
highest  latitudes  of  the  North  Western  portions 
of  the  American  continent.  See  NuilulPs  Orni- 
thology of  American  Lund  Birds,  Audubon, 
Wilson,  &c. 

BLUE-BOTTLE  (Centaurea).  This  is  a 
large  herbaceous  genus,  which  contains  seve- 
ral species  known  as  weeds ;  that,  however, 
which  is  peculiar  to  corn-fields  is  the  corn 
blue-bottle  (Centaurea  a/anus).  It  grows 
amongst  corn,  and  its  presence  indicates  care- 
less farming.  It  is  an  annual,  ripening  its 
seeds  in  autumn.  It  is  also  known  by  the 
names  of  knapweed,  matfellon,  centaury,  corn- 
flower, and  hurl-sickle.  The  expressed  juice 
of  its  blue  flower,  when  mixed  with  cold  alum- 
water,  may  be  used  as  a  water  colour  for 
painting,  being  a  permanent  colour.  See 
Centaurt. 

This  pretty  wild  flower  has  been  introduced 
into  our  gardens  for  its  elegance.  The  blue- 
bottle grows  a  foot  high ;  the  stalk  is  firm  and 
white,  and  the  leaves  are  narrow,  and  of  a 
whitish-green.  The  root  is  hard  and  fibrous. 
A  decoction  of  the  flowers  with  galls  and  cop- 
peras aflbrds  a  good  writing  ink.  This  plant 
is  sometimes  known  among  the  common  peo- 
ple by  the  name  of  "  wound  herb."  Any  reli- 
ance on  the  styptic  properties  of  the  leaves 
might  prove  dangerous  by  losing  time,  and  a 
consequent  waste  of  blood,  before  proper  as- 
sistance can  be  procured  in  extensive  wounds. 
Small  wounds  can  unite  without  its  aid.  An 
infusion  of  the  flowers  is  slightly  diuretic. 

BLUE-GRASS,  wire-grass  (Poa  compressa, 
compressed  or  flattened  poa.  Plate  7,  A).  A 
very  common  perennial  grass  in  the  United 
States,  found  in  fields,  pastures,  &c.  It  affords 
a  good  nutritious  pasture  for  cattle,  but  is  not 
so  much  esteemed  as  the  green  meadow-grass, 
{Poa  prat  ends).  Its  great  tenacity  of  life 
makes  it  sometimes  very  troublesome  in  the 
tillage  of  certain  crops.     {Flur.  Caestrica.) 

The  famous  Kentucky  blue-grass,  Dr.  Dar- 
lington says,  is  the  Poa  pralensis,  smooth- 
stalked  meadow-grass ;  green  grass ;  (Plate 
5,  h)  decidedly  the  most  valuable  of  all  the 
American  pasture  grasses.  It  comes  in  spon- 
taneously, in  all  rich,  calcareous  soils. 

The  best  time  for  sowing,  says  a  writer  in 
the  Western  Farmer  and  Gardener,  is  as  soon 
as  you  can  get  ready  after  October;  or  any 
time  before  the  middle  of  March. 

Old  fields,  on  which  the  sun  can  exert  full 
power,  produce  blue  grass  in  the  greatest 
abundance,  and  of  the  best  quality.  Animals 
feeding  thereon  without  grain,  keep  better  and 
become  fatter  than  on  any  other  treatment; 
but  even  wood-lands  will  produce  good  grass. 

If  intended  for  old  or  permanent  pasture,  the 


BLUE  GRASS. 

fields  should  be  broken  up  in  February  or 
March,  and  sown  in  oals.  Then  sow  ten  pound 
of  blue-grass  seed,  half  a  gallon  of  red  clover- 
seed,  and  if  a  little  timothy  or  orchard-grass 
be  sprinkled  on,  so  much  the  better.  The 
timothy  or  orchard-grass  will  give  a  quick 
pasture,  and  afford  protection  to  the  blue-grass 
until  it  gets  a  strong  foot-hold,  after  which  no 
other  grass  can  contend  with  it.  The  rains 
will  cover  the  seed  sufliciently  to  insure  vege- 
tation. 

The  following  account  of  the  blue  grass  is 
from  the  Franklin  Farmer. 

"  This  grass,  which  constitutes  the  glory  of 
Kentucky  pastures,  is  esteemed  superior  to  all 
others  for  grazing.  It  flourishes  only  on  cal- 
careous soils.  Opinions  and  practice  vary 
here,  as  to  the  best  time  of  sowing  it — some 
preferring  September,  for  the  same  reasons, 
chiefly,  which  relate  to  timothy  or  other 
grasses,  others  preferring  February  or  March, 
to  obviate  the  danger  of  the  tender  roots  being 
winter-killed.  It  is  sown  either  on  wood-land 
or  open  ground — in  the  latter  case  most  gene- 
rally after  a  succession  of  exhausting  crops  in 
old  fields.  If  sown  on  woodland,  the  leaves, 
brush,  and  trash  must  be  raked  off  or  burnt.  It 
is  particularly  important  to  burn  the  leaves, 
else  the  seed  may  be  blown  away  with  them 
by  the  wind,  or  if  not  blown  away,  the  leaves 
may  prevent  the  seed  reaching  the  earth  and 
thus  defeat  their  germination.  Many  of  those 
who  sow  in  winter,  prefer  castmg  the  seed  on 
the  snow,  as  it  enables  them  to  effect  the  ope- 
ration with  more  neatness  and  uniformity.  In 
woodlands,  the  grass  must  not  be  grazed  the 
first  year,  or  at  all  events  till  after  the  seeds 
have  matured.  In  open  land,  the  practice  has 
been  adopted  by  some,  of  mixing  timothy  and 
clover  with  blue  grass,  in  which  case,  half  a 
bushel  of  the  latter  seed  to  the  acre  is  suffi 
cient.  The  advantage  resulting  from  this  is, 
that  it  secures  at  once,  a  well-covered  pasture 
that  will  bear  considerable  grazing  the  first 
year.  The  blue  grass,  in  a  few  years,  expels 
the  other  grasses,  and  takes  entire  possession 
of  the  field.  On  open  ground,  it  is  frequently 
sown  in  March  upon  wheat,  rye,  or  oats.  If  the 
season  is  favourable,  it  may  be  sown  in  April ; 
but  should  the  weather  prove  dry,  a  great  por- 
tion of  the  seed  will  be  lost.  It  is  the  practice, 
we  believe,  of  most  graziers,  to  put  upon  a 
given  pasture  as  much  stock  as  it  will  main- 
tain, without  shifting  them  during  the  season, 
as,  besides  saving  labour,  it  renders  the  cattle 
more  quiet  and  contented.  Others,  however, 
fence  off  their  pastures  into  separate  divisions, 
to  undergo  a  regular  succession  of  periodical 
grazings.  This  plan  secures  a  constant  sup- 
ply of  fresh  grass,  very  grateful  to  the  animals, 
and  is  believed  to  be  more  economical,  as 
much  less  is  trampled  and  rejected  by  the 
cattle.  The  number  of  animals  to  the  acre 
must  depend  upon  their  size  and  the  quality 
and  quantity  of  grass.  The  grass  on  open 
ground  is  much  more  abundant,  sweet  and 
nutritious,  than  on  woodland,  and  consequently 
will  maintain  much  more  stock,  perhaps  nearly 
twice  as  much  ;  while  open  woodland  will 
produce  much  more  and  better  grass  than  that 
which  is  deeply  shaded.     The  best  graziers 

191 


BLUE  MILK. 


BONES. 


extirpate,  as  fast  as  possible,  every  tree  not 
valuable  lor  timber  or  wanted  for  fuel,  and 
some  even  prune  the  branches  of  those  which 
are  allowed  to  remain."     (Farmer's  He^uler.) 

BLUE  MILK.  Milk  that  has  been  skim- 
med, or  had  the  cream  taken  off.  In  large 
dairies  it  is  chiefly  used  for  feeding  hogs. 

BLUE  STONE.  The  common  name  for 
blue  vitriol,  or  sulphate  of  copper. 

BOAR  (Sax.  bap ;  Dutch,  beer).  The  male 
of  the  swine-tribe  of  animals.  See  Hog  and 
Swine. 

In  horsemanship,  a  horse  is  said  to  boar  when 
he  shoots  out  his  nose  level  with  his  ears,  and 
tosses  his  nose  in  the  wind. 

BOARD  OF  AGRICULTURE.  A  society 
established  in  London  in  1794,  under  the  pa- 
tronage of  his  Majesty,  Geo.  III.,  "For  the 
Encouragement  of  Agriculture,  and  Internal 
Improvement,"  consisting  of  a  president,  and 
thirty  ordinary  members,  with  proper  officers 
for  conducting  the  business  of  the  institution. 
The  plan  and  design  of  this  highly  useful 
establishment,  though  previously  suggested  by 
several  writers  on  rural  improvements,  was 
chiefly  brought  forward,  and  carried  into  exe- 
cution by  the  unwearied  eflTorts  and  persever- 
ing industry  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  to  whom  the 
nation  is  certainly  under  much  obligation.  It 
was  discontinued  about  the  year  1812,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  withdrawal  by  government  of 
the  annual  parliamentary  grant  of  3000/.  for  its 
support,  chiefly  owing  to  the  society's  inter- 
ference Avith  political  themes,  foreign  to  the 
improvement  of  agriculture.  A  full  account 
of  the  nature,  origin,  and  plan,  with  the  charter 
of  incorporation  of  this  excellent  institution, 
may  be  seen  in  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Com- 
munications" published  by  the  Board,  which 
extended  to  seven  vols. ;  and  these  contain 
some  excellent  papers  on  various  important 
matters  connected  with  husbandry  and  agri- 
culture in  general. 

BOG,  and  BOG  GRASSES.  See  Peat 
Soils. 

BOG-BEAN.     See  Buck-eean. 

BOG-RUSH,  BLACK  (Sc/ioenus  nt'grkans). 
Is  found  on  turfy  bogs.  Root  scarcely  creep- 
ing, of  very  long,  strong  fibres,  croAvned  with 
black,  shining,  erect,  folded  sheaths,  a  few  of 
which  bear  very  narrow,  acute,  upright  leaves, 
and  embrace  the  bottom  of  the  otherwise  naked 
stem,  which  is  froni  eight  to  twelve  inches 
high.  Head  black.  Anth.  long,  yellow.  Stigm. 
three,  dark  purple.  Seed  white  and  polished. 
{Smith's  Engl.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  50.) 

Nuttall,  in  his  Gaiera  of  North  American 
Plants,  mentions  three  species  of  the  bog-rush 
or  saw-grass.  This  remarkable  grass,  as  he 
calls  it,  was  discovered  in  the  West  Indies  by 
Schwartz,  and  extends  a  considerable  distance 
northward  beyond  Wilmington,  North  Caro- 
lina, often  almost  exclusively  occupying  con- 
siderable ponds.  The  leaves  are  almost  as 
sharply  serrated  as  those  of  a  Bromelia,  and 
hence  it  is  very  properly  called  saw-gra^s.  The 
genuine  species  of  this  genus  are  principally 
confined  to  Europe  and  Barbary. 
BOG-SPAVIN.  See  Blood-Spavin. 
BOIL  (Sax.  bile).  In  farriery,  an  inflam- 
matory suppurating  tumour  affecting  cattle  or 
192 


sheep.  In  order  to  cure  this  sort  of  tumour, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  bring  it  to  a  head  by  the 
application  of  plasters  composed  of  wheat- 
flour  and  tar;  and  when  the  boil  feels  soft 
under  the  finger,  to  open  it  with  a  lancet,  and 
let  out  the  matter  or  pus. 

BOLE.  A  term  signifying  the  body  or  trunk 
of  a  tree,  and  sometimes  the  stalk  or  stem  of 
corn.  This  word  is  written  and  pronounced 
in  the  north  of  England  boll,  and  "  boilings  "  is 
the  name  for  pollards,  trees  whose  tops  and 
branches  are  lopped  off. 

BOLE,  or  BOLL  (Lat.  bnlla).  In  Scotland, 
a  common  measure  of  grain,  containing  four 
bushels.  In  the  old  measure  of  Scotland,  for 
oats  and  barley, 

4  lippies  =  1  peck. 

4  pecks  =  1  firlot. 

4  firlots  =  1  boll. 

16  bolls  =  1  clialder. 

The  boll  of  oatmeal  weighs  140  lbs.  For 
wheat,  peas,  and  rye,  three  oat  firlots  make 
one  boll.    {Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  500.) 

BOLE  OF  SALT.  A  measure  that  contains 
two  bushels. 

BOLETUS.  A  genus  of  mushroom,  of  which 
several  species  have  been  subjected  to  che- 
mical analysis,  by  the  French  chemists  Bra- 
connot  and  La  Grange.  They  yield  bolitic 
acid. 

BOLSTERS.  In  horsemanship,  those  parts 
of  a  great  saddle  which  are  raised  on  the  bows 
both  before  and  behind,  to  rest  the  rider's  thighs, 
and  keep  him  in  a  posture  to  withstand  the 
irregular  motions  of  the  horse. 

BOLT  and  BOLTING.  Terms  provincially 
applied  to  the  trussing  of  straw. 

BOLTER.  A  sort  of  framed  sieve,  having 
its  bottom  made  of  linen  stuff,  hair,  or  wire, 
according  to  circumstances.  The  bakers  em- 
ploy bolters  that  may  be  worked  by  the  hand, 
but  millers  have  larger  ones  that  move  by  the 
machinery  of  the  mill.  It  is  sometimes  called 
boulter. 

BOLTING,  or  BOULTING.  The  operation 
of  separating  flour  or  meal  of  any  kind  from 
the  husks  or  bran,  by  means  of  a  bolter. 

BOLTING  CLOTH.  Linen  or  hair-cloth 
made  for  the  purpose  of  sifting  meal  or  flour 
through.  They  are  made  of  different  degrees 
of  fineness,  and  numbered  accordingly;  hence 
we  have  cloths  of  No.  2,  No.  3,  &c. 

BOLTING  FOOD.  This  is  a  very  common 
vice  in  greedy  horses,  especially  when  they 
feed  out  of  the  same  manger.  The  only  re- 
medy is  not  to  let  them  fast  too  long,  and  to 
mix  chaff  in  their  corn.  The  teeth  of  such 
horses  ought  to  be  examined,  to  see  whether 
the  bolting  of  the  corn  arises  from  any  uneven- 
ness  of  the  grinders. 

BOLTING  MILL.  A  mill  or  machine  hav- 
ing much  lateral  or  circular  motion,  by  which 
means  the  business  of  sifting  meal  or  flour 
can  be  performed  with  great  facility  and  ex- 
pedition. The  framed  sieve  that  moves  within 
it  is  termed  a  bolter. 

BOLUS.     See  Ball. 

BONASUS.    A  kind  of  buffalo,  or  wild  bull. 

BONES  (Sax.  ban;  Su.  Goth.  6een,-  Germ. 
hein).  The  more  solid  parts  of  the  body  of  ani- 
mals.  When  crushed,  a  valuable  manure. 


BONES. 


BONES. 


The  introduction  of  bones  as  a  fertilizer  is 
perhaps  one  of  the  most  important  and  suc- 
cessful agricultural  efforts  of  modern  days, 
and  has  been  certainly  one  great  means  of 
sufficiently  increasing  the  national  production 
of  corn  to  keep  pace  with  an  annually  enlarg- 
ing population.  It  required,  however,  like  all 
other  agricultural  improvements,  much  perse- 
verance and  unshaken  energy  in  the  promoters 
of  this  manure,  to  induce  its  general  adoption; 
many  a  long  and  stubborn  argument  had  to 
be  answered;  many  hundred  loads  of  the  bone 
refuse  of  Sheffield  and  Birmingham  had  to  be 
given  away,  before  the  cautious  and  suspi- 
cious Yorkshire  farmers  could  be  generally 
persuaded  of  the  fallacy  of  the  assertion,  that 
"  there  is  no  good  in  bones."  To  this  tardy 
conviction  the  erroneous  mode  of  employing 
them  originally  adopted  mainly  contributed,  for 
they  were  at  first  used  without  even  roughly 
breaking  them,  and,  in  consequence,  they  de- 
composed so  very  slowly  in  the  soil  that  the 
farmer's  patience  was  naturally  exhausted :  he 
sought  in  vain  for  immediate  and  striking  re- 
sults.* 

The  introduction  of  machinery,  however,  by 
enabling  the  cultivator  to  procure  them  in  a 
crushed  state,  did  away  with  this  objection, 
for  when  crushed,  they  decompose  with  much 
greater  rapidity;  and  this  has  long  since  in- 
duced a  consumption  of  this  manure  more 
than  adequate  to  the  national  produce  of 
bones.  It  has  been  necessary,  in  consequence, 
to  search  in  other  countries  for  a  supply;  and 
for  the  last  fifteen  years  the  quantity  of  bones 
imported  from  abroad  has  been  steadily  in- 
creasing. Thus  the  declared  value  of  all  the 
bones  imported  into  England — 

£       8.    d. 

In  the  year  1821  was  -  -  15,898  12  11 

_'  1624  —  -  -  43,940  17  11 

_  1827  —  -  -  77,956  6  8 

—  1830  —  -  -  58,223  16  8 

—  1833  —  -  -  97,900  6  4 
_  1835  _  .  .  127,131  14  10 
_  is:i6  —  -  -  171,806  0  0 
_  IS37  —  -  -  254,600  0  0 

Into  the  port  of  Hull  alone,  in  1815,  were  im- 
ported about  8000  tons ;  this  had  increased  to 
17,500  tons  in  1833,  and  to  25,700  tons  in 
1835.  These  came  principally  from  the  Ne- 
therlands, Denmark,  and  the  Baltic,  but  they 
have  been  imported  from  much  more  distant 
places,  such  as  Buenos  Ayres  and  the  Medi- 
terranean ;  and  I  am  confident  that  if  the  seal 
fishermen  of  North  America  and  other  distant 
stations  were  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  bones 
of  fish  are  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  valuable  for 
the  farmer  as  those  of  other  animals,  they 
would  not  suffer  any  falling  off  in  the  supply. 
By  the  3  &  4  W.  4,  c.  56,  a  duty  of  one  pound 
per  cent,  on  the  declared  value  is  payable  on 
all  bones  imported  for  farming  or  other  pur- 
poses. 

The  following  table,  extracted  from  one  by 
Richard  Tottie,  Esq.,  of  Hull,  will  show  to  the 

♦  It  is  said,  in  the  Doncaster  Agricultural  Society's 
Report  upon  the  use  of  bones,  "Colonel  St.  Leger,  then 
residing  at  Warnisworth,  was  the  first  person  who  is 
known  to  have  used  them,  and  his  introduction  of  ihem 
was  in  1775;  the  earlv  progress  does  not  seem  to  have 
been  rapid,  from  the 'practice  of  laying  them  on  almost 
inbroken,  and  in  very  large  quantities." 
25 


farmer  from  whence  the  great  supply  cf  fo- 
reign bones  is  derived.  This  table  contains 
the  imports  during  1827,  in  which  year  the 
following  number  of  vessels  entered  the  port 
of  Hull  loaded  with  bones : — 


Vessels. 

Tons  of  Boan 

From  Russia  -        -        - 

6  carrying   822 

—     Prussia 

-      9 

— 

1174 

—     Sweden  and  Norway 

-      6 

— 

362 

—     Denn)ark 

-    57 

— 

3778 

—     Hanseatic  towns  - 

-    61 



3760 

—     Netherlands 

-    76 

— 

6110 

—     Mecklenberg"i 

—     Hanover         > 

-    33 

— — 

1702 

—     Oldenberg     } 

248  17,718 

The  import  of  bones  into  Hull  has  since  been 
regularly  increasing :  it  was,  according  to  a 
letter  with  which  Mr.  Tottie  favoured  me,  equal 
to  23,900  tons  in  1834,  and  to  25,700  in  1835. 
It  would  certainly  be  well  to  look  to  other 
quarters  besides  the  Continent  for  a  future 
supply,  since  in  some  of  the  German  states  a 
duty  on  their  export  has  been  recently  im- 
posed. So  considerable,  indeed,  has  the  de- 
mand become,,  that  by  many  unprincipled  deal- 
ers several  kinds  of  adulterations  are  used. 
These,  according  to  Mr.  Halkett  {Quar.  Juurn. 
of  Agric.  vol.  ii.  p.  181),  are  the  lime  that  has 
been  used  in  tan-works  to  take  off  the  wool 
and  hair,  old  plaster  lime,  soap  boilers'  waste, 
saw-dust,  rotten  wood,  oyster-shells,  &c.  The 
best  remedy  for  these  frauds  is  for  the  farmer 
to  deal  with  only  respectable  crushers,  and  to 
pay  a  fair  price  for  the  bones. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  manure  of  whose 
powers  the  chemical  explanation  is  more  easy  ; 
for  of  the  earthy  and  purely  animal  matters  of 
which  bones  are  composed,  there  is  not  a  sin- 
gle particle  which  is  not  a  direct  constituent 
or  food  of  vegetables ;  thus,  if  carbon,  hydro- 
gen, and  oxygen,  are  found  in  the  abounding 
oil  and  cartilage  of  bones,  they  are  equally 
common,  nay,  ever  present,  in  all  vegetable 
matters :  and  if  carbonate  and  phosphate  of 
lime  are  almost  equally  common  in  plants, 
they  are  still  more  universally  present  in  all 
bones. 

The  bones  of  animals  do  not  vary  much  m 
composition  ;  they  all  contain  phosphate  and 
carbonate  of  lime,  with  a  portion  cf  cartilage 
or  animal  matter,  with  other  minor  ingredients. 
The  bone  of  the  ox  has  been  analyzed  by  M. 
Berzelius :  he  found  that,  by  calcining  these 
bones,  every  100  lbs.  lost  38  lbs.  in  weight. 
100  parts  of  these  bones,  before  calcination, 
consisted  of — 


Cartilage 

Phosphate  of  lime    -        -        - 
Fluale  of  lime  (Derbyshire  spar) 
Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk) 
Phosphate  of  magnesia    - 
Soda,  with  a  little  common  salt 


Paris. 
33-3 
55-35 

3. 

3-85 

205 


100- 


Bones,  however,  vary  slightly  in  composi- 
tion, according  to  the  age  and  condition  ol 
the  animal,  for  MM.  Fourcroy  ana  Vauquelm 
found  some  ox  bones  which  they  analy»>1,  ti» 
be  composed  of— 


BONES. 


BONES. 


Furto. 
Gelatine  and  oil  ----,-    51 

Piioaphale  of  lime      -----    377 
Carbonate  of  lime      -----     10 
Piiosphale  of  magnesia     -        -        -        -      1-3 

100- 

The  enamel  of  teeth  is  the  only  portion  of 
bones  hitherto  analyzed,  which  is  entirely  des- 
titute of  cartilage.  It  is  true  that  fossil  bones 
contain  none ;  but  these  have  probably,  in  a 
former  state  of  the  earth,  been  acted  upon  by 
fire;  for  Mr.  Hatchett  found  in  some  bones 
from  Hythe  in  Kent,  taken  out  of  a  Saxon 
tomb,  the  same  proportion  of  cartilage  as  in  a 
recent  bone.  Teeth  have  been  analyzed  by 
Mr.  Pepys  :  he  found  them  to  be  composed  of 

Adults'.  Children's. 

Phosphate  of  lime     -        -        -    64  62 

Carbonate  of  lime      -        -        -      6  6 

Cartilage   -----    20  20 

Loss 10  12 


100 


100 


M.  Merat  Guillot  has  furnished  us  with  a 
statement  of  the  earthy  constituents  of  100 
parts  of  the  bones  of  different  animals  ;  from 
which  the  farmer  will  perceive  that  the  com- 
position of  the  bones  of  all  animals  is  very 
similar. 


Booes 

Phosphate  of 
Lime. 

Carbonate  of 
Lime. 

Animal 
Matter. 

Calf 

54 



46 

Horse 

67-5 

1-25 

31-25 

Sheet) 

70 

25 

Elk 

90 

9 

Hog 

52 

47 

Hare 

85 

14 

Pullet       - 

72 

1-5 

26-5 

Pike 

64 

35 

Carp 

45 

5 

50 

Teeth  of  the 

Horse    - 

85-5 

205 

_ 

Ivory 

64 

1 

•35        • 

Lobster  shells,  egg  shells.  Sec,  are  all  com- 
posed of  the  same  ingredients  as  bone.  The 
poor  of  Dublin  are  often  employed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pounding  oyster  shells  for  the  use  of 
the  cultivators  of  the  soil ;  and  a  similar  plan 
might,  I  should  imagine,  be  very  advanta- 
geously adopted  in  some  of  the  populous  dis- 
tricts of  this  country  :  for,  although  such  shells 
do  not  contain  the  same  proportion  of  phos- 
phate of  lime  as  bone,  yet  they  contain  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  to  render  them  highly  valuable 
as  fertilizing  substances.  100  parts  of  lobster 
shells  yield — 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  -  -  -  -  60 
Phosphate  of  lime  -----  14 
Cartilage      -------26 

100 

1 00  parts  of  cray-fish  shells  contain — 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime  -----  60 
Phosphate  of  lime  -----  12 
Cartilage 28 

100 
CO  parts  of  hens'  egg-shells  contain — 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime  -----  896 
Phosphate  of  lime  -----  5  7 
Animal  matter   ------      47 

100- 
194 


There  is  yet  another  source  from  whence  the 
phosphate  of  lime  might  be  obtained  in  large 
quantities  for  the  use  of  the  farmer,  viz.,  the 
fossil  bones  or  native  phosphate  of  lime,  which 
is  found  in  various  districts  of  this  country,  in 
very  considerable  quantities,  and  would  only 
require  crushing  or  powdering  to  render  it 
nearly  as  useful  to  the  farmer  as  the  recent 
bones.  That  the  cartilage  or  oily  matter  of  the 
bone  does  not  constitute  the  chief  fertilizing 
quality  is  shown  by  the  fact,  that  the  farmers 
who  use  bone  dust  will  as  readily  employ  that 
which  has  first  been  steamed,  and  all  it.s  fatty 
portion  extracted  by  the  preparers  of  cart 
grease,  as  they  will  the  unused  fresh  bones. 
It  is  acknowledged,  says  the  Doncaster  Agr. 
Soc.  in  their  Report,  to  be  a  prevalent  opinion 
amongst  intelligent  farmers,  that  manufactured 
bones  are  equal,  in  their  effects,  to  the  raw 
bones.  Mr.  Short,  in  the  year  1812,  "boned 
twenty-four  acres,  at  the  rate  of  fifty  bushels 
an  acre.  On  one  part  of  the  field  he  put  Lon- 
don bones,  which  had  the  oil  stewed  out  of 
them  ;  and  another  part  was  tilled  with  bones 
collected  from  Nottingham,  which  were  full  of 
marrow,  and  a  third  part  with  horses  bones, 
having  much  flesh  upon  them.  He  could  not 
see  any  difference  in  the  turnips  produced 
from  these :  they  all  produced  a  good  crop. 
But  the  next  crop  was  not  so  good  where  the 
fleshy  bones  had  been  laid."  And  Mr.  Horn- 
caslle  adds,  "A  strong  fermentation  takes  place 
in  the  boiled  bones ;  when  thrown  in  a  heap 
they  become  extremely  offensive,  and  when 
they  obtain  this  bad  smell,  I  consider  they  are 
in  a  state  to  break  up  for  manure." — And,  says 
Mr.  Halkett,  of  New  Scone,  in  Perthshire, 
"  After  numerous  trials  between  what  Ave  call 
green  bones  with  all  the  marrow  and  fat  in 
them,  and  dry  ones  free  from  it,  I  have  always 
found  that  the  latter  raised  by  far  the  best 
crops.  Therefore,  I  have  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  the  less  animal  fat  in  them  the 
better,  and  that  the  boiling  of  them  before 
crushing,  instead  of  impairing  them  is  a  bene- 
fit." (Quar.  Journ.  of  Agric.  vol.  ii.  p.  180.) 

The  mineral  substance  called  the  Apatite, 
found  in  the  Cornish  tin  mines,  is  nothing  but 
phosphate  of  lime;  100  pans  being  composed 
of— 


Phosphoric  acid 
Lime 


Parts. 
45 
55 

100 


The  phosphate  of  lime  is  also  found  in  ma- 
ny parts  of  the  north  of  England,  in  Hungary, 
and,  in  immense  beds,  in  Spanish  Estrema/- 
dura,  where  it  is  said  to  be  so  common  in  many 
places,  that  the  peasants  make  their  walls  and 
fences  of  it.  100  parts  of  this  substance, 
called  by  mineralogists  the  phosphorite,  cor^ 
tain — 

Partf 

Phosphoric  acid  and  lime  -       -       -       -  93 

Carbonate  acid  ------      1 

Muriatic  acid     ------      0'5 

Fluoric  acid        ------      2  ft 

Silica 2 

Oxide  of  iron     -       •       -        -        -        -      1 

100* 


BONES. 

The  horns  of  the  deer  are  similar  in  compo- 
Bition  to  bones ;  but  those  of  black  cattle  are 
totally  different ;  they  approach  nearer  in  com- 
position to  animal  muscle,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  following  analysis  of  Dr.  John;  100  parts 
of  the  horns  of  black  cattle  yielding  this 
chemist — 

Parts. 
Albumen        -------90 

Ditto  with  Gelatine       -----     8 

Fat 1 

Various  salts,  &c.,  &.c.  -        -        -        -     1 

100 


100  parts,  however,  of  a  fossil  horn,  ana- 
lyzed by  M.  Braconnot,  yielded — 

Part*. 

Phosphate  of  lime     -----  69  2 

Water 11 

Gelatine      -------  4'6 

Carbonate  of  lime      -----  45 

Bitumen      -------  4*4 

Silica  -------4 

Phosphate  of  magnesia      -       -       -       -  I 

Alumina     -------  0*7 

Oxide  of  iron     ------  0*5 

100- 


The  excrements  of  those  birds  and  animals 
which  feed  upon  animal  matters  approach  very 
nearly  to  bone  in  chemical  composition ;  and 
I  have  little  doubt  but  that  the  dung  of  sea 
birds  might  be  profitably  collected  from  some 
of  the  rocky  islands  on  our  coasts.  This  is 
actually  done  among  the  South  Sea  Islands  by 
the  Peruvian  farmers,  and  to  such  an  extent, 
that,  according  to  M.  Humboldt,  fifty  vessels, 
each  carrying  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two 
thousand  cubic  feet,  are  annually  loaded  with 
this  manure  at  the  island  of  Chinche  alone. 
This  manure  is  known  in  South  America  under 
the  name  of  Guano,  Jind  is  too  powerful  to  be 
used  in  large  quantities.  It  abounds  in  phos- 
phate of  lime.  (A  quantity  has  recently  been 
imported  into  England :  it  contains  36  per  cent, 
of  phosphate  of  lime.)  Some  of  the  dung  of 
sea-fowl  collected  on  a  rock  on  the  coast  of 
Merionethshire,  was  tried  at  the  request  of  Sir 
Humphry  Davy,  at  Nannau,  by  Sir  Robert 
Vaughan,  and  produced  a  very  powerful, 
though  transient  effect,  on  some  grass  land. 
The  very  soil  of  some  of  the  rocks,  which 
have  been  for  so  many  ages  tenanted  by  these 
water-fowls,  must  be  completely  impregnated 
with  the  earthy  matters  of  bones.  See  Guano. 

All  the  constituent  parts  of  bones  are  found 
in  vegetable  substances.  The  cartilage  of 
bones  is  composed,  according  to  the  examina- 
tions of  Mr.  Hatchett,  of  a  substance  nearly 
identical  in  all  its  properties  with  solid  albu- 
men. Now,  100  parts  of  albumen  are  com- 
posed of — 

Carbon 52888 

Oxyeen 23872 

Hydrogen        ------      754 

Azote      -------  15-705 

100 

"  The  primary  sources  from  which  the  bones 
of  animals  are  derived,  are  the  hay,  straw,  or 
other  substances  which  they  take  as  food. 
Now  if  we  admit  that  bones  contain  55  per 
cent  of  the  phosphates  of  lime  and  magnesia 


BONES. 

(Berzelius),  and  that  hay  contuins  as  much  of 
them  as  wheat-straw,  it  will  follow  that  8  lbs. 
of  bones  contain  as  much  phosphate  of  lime 
as  1000  lbs.  of  hay  or  wheat-straw,  and  2  lbs. 
of  it  as  much  as  1000  lbs.  of  the  grain  of  wheat 
or  oats.  These  numbers  express  pretty  exactly 
the  quantity  of  phosphates  which  a  soil  yields 
annually  on  the  growth  of  hay  and  corn.  Now 
the  manure  of  an  acre  of  land  with  40  lbs.  of 
bone  dust  is  sufficient  to  supply  three  crops  of 
wheat,  clover,  potatoes,  turnips,  &c.,  with 
phosphates.  But  the  form  in  which  they  are 
restored  to  a  soil  does  not  appear  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  indifference.  For  the  more  finely  the 
bones  are  reduced  to  powder,  and  the  more  in- 
timately they  are  mixed  with  the  soil,  the  more 
easily  are  they  assimilated."  {Liebig's  Organ. 
Chem.) 

It  is  perfectly  needless  to  specify  any  vege- 
table substances  into  which  the  three  first  of 
these  substances  enter,  for  the  vegetable  worM 
is  almost  entirely  composed  of  them,  and  <  c- 
casionally  a  portion  of  azote  is  also  found  in 
vegetable  substances,  but  the  three  first  are 
invariably  present.  The  flour  of  wheat,  the 
poison  oi"  the  deadly  night-shade,  the  oxalic 
acid  of  the  wild  sorrel,  the  narcotic  milk  of 
the  lettuce,  the  stinking  odour  of  the  garlic, 
and  the  perfume  of  the  violet,  are,  by  the  con- 
trivance of  their  divine  architect,  only  s6/«eof 
the  results  of  the  mixture  of  carbon,  oxygen, 
and  hydrogen. 

But  the  chief  constituent  present  in  all 
bones  we  have  already  seen  is  the  phosphate 
of  lime ;  and  how  absolutely  necessary  this 
substance  is  for  the  healthy  vegetation  of 
plants,  will  be  apparent  from  the  following  ta- 
ble, which  contains  the  results  of  the  exami- 
nation by  MM.  Saussure,  Vauquelin,  and  a  few 
other  distinguished  chemists,  of  the  ashes  or 
solid  contents  of  a  number  of  vegetable  sub- 
stances : — 

Parts. 
100  parts  of  the  ashes  of  the  grain  of  the  oat  yielded 

of  phosphate  of  lime      -        -        -  393 
straw  of  wheat  yielded  of  phosphates 

of  lime  and  magnesia    -        -        -  62 

—  seeds  of  wheat  -----  445 

—  bran 465 

—  seeds  of  vetches  -        .        -        -  27-92 

—  golden  rod  {Solidago  virgaurea)  -  11' 

—  plants  of  turnsole  (Helianthus  annus), 

bearing  ripe  seeds  -        -        -        -  22-5 

—  chaff  of  barley 7-75 

—  seeds  of  barley  -----  325 

—  seeds  of  oats      -----  24- 

—  leaves  of  oak     -        -        -        -        -  24' 

—  wood  of  oak       -----  4-5 

—  bark  of  oak f^ 

—  leaves  of  poplar         -        -        -        -  13- 

—  wood  of  poplar  -       -       -       -  lO-TS 

—  leaves  of  hazel  -----  23* 

—  wood  of  hazel    -----  35* 

—  bark  of  hazel 5-5 

—  wood  of  n»uiberry      -       -       -       -  2-24 

—  bark  of  mulberry        -        -        -        -  8-5 

—  wood  of  hornbeam     -        -        -        -  'S* 

—  bark  of  hornbeam      -        -        -        -  4-5 

—  seeds  of  peas      -----  17-5 

—  bulbs  of  garlic    -        -        ---»•« 

Phosphate  of  lime  has  also  been  found  in 
the  marsh  bean  ( Ficia  faba),  and  in  the  pea- 
pod  or  husk,  by  Einhof ;  in  rice,  by  Braconnot ; 
in  the  Scotish  fir,  by  Dr.  John ;  m  the  quiu 
quina  of  St  Domingo,  by  Fourcroy;  m  thp 
fuci,  by  Gaultier  de  Claubry,  and  m  njany 
others;    in  short,  as  Dr.  Thomson  remarks 

195 


BONES. 

{System  of  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  319),  "phosphate 
of 'lime  is  a  constant  ingredient  in  plants." 

The  cultivator  of  the  soil  will  not  be  incre- 
dulous as  to  the  power  of  vegetables  to  dissolve 
and  feed  upon  the  hard  substance  of  the 
crushed  bones  of  animals,  when  he  is  remind- 
ed that  the  ashes  of  the  straw  of  wheat  are 
composed  of  61^  per  cent,  of  silica  (flint),  a 
still  harder  substance  than  the  hardest  bone. 
And  this  is  not  a  solitary  instance ;  for  the 
same  earth  abounds  in  a  still  greater  propor- 
tion in  the  straw  of  other  grain.  Vauquelin 
found  60|  per  cent,  of  it  in  the  ashes  of  the 
seeds  of  the  oat;  and  the  Dutch  rush  contains 
it  in  such  abundance  that  it  is  employed  by 
the  turner  to  polish  wood  and  even  brass. 

To  the  mode  and  effect  of  applying  bones 
as  a  manure,  either  whole,  broken,  or  in  a 
state  of  powder,  the  Doncaster  Agricultural 
Association  paid  considerable  attention,  and 
they  have  made  a  very  valuable  report  of  the 
result  of  their  inquiries,  in  which  they  say: — 
"The  returns  received  by  the  Association  sa- 
tisfactorily establish  the  great  value  of  bones 
as  a  manure.     Our  correspondents,  with  only 
two  exceptions,  all  concur  in  stating  them  to 
be  a  highly  valuable  manure,  and  on  light  dry 
soils  superior  to  farm-yard  dung  and  all  other 
manures.    In  copying  the  language  of  one  of 
them,  ill  reference  to  dry  sandy  soils,  we  ex- 
press the  opinions  repeated   in  a  far  greater 
number — 'I  consider  bone  tillage  one  of  the 
most  useful  manures  which  has  ever  been  dis- 
covered for  the  farmer's  benefit.    The  light- 
ness of  carriage,  its  suitableness  for  the  drill, 
and  its  general  fertilizing  properties,  render  it 
peculiarly  valuable  in  those  parts  where  dis- 
tance from  towns  renders  it  impossible  to  pro- 
cure manures  of  a  heavier  and  more  bulky 
description.'     For,  as   stated   by  another  far- 
mer, the  carting  of  six,  eight,  or  ten  loads  of 
manure  per  acre  is  no  trifling  expense.     The 
use  of  bones  diminishes  labour  at  a  season  of 
the  year  when  time  is  of  the  first  importance ; 
for  one  wagon  load,  or  120  bushels  of  small 
drill  bone-dust  is  equal  to  forty  or  fifty  loads 
of  fold  manure.     Upon  very  thin  sand  land  its 
value  is  not  to  be  estimated;  it  not  only  is 
found  to  benefit  the  particular  crop  to  which 
it  is  applied,  but  extends  through  the  whole 
course  of  crops."   The  report  adds,  that  bones 
have  been  found  highly  beneficial  on  the  lime- 
stone soils  near  Doncaster,  on  peaty  soils,  and 
on  light  loams  ;  but  that  on  the  heavy  soils  and 
on  clay  they  produce  no  benefit.    The  late  Mr. 
George  Sinclair,  of   New  Cross,  has    given 
(Trans.  High.  Sac.  vol.  i.  p.  78),  the  analysis  of 
two   soils  on  which  bone  manure   produced 
very  opposite  results.    400  parts  of  the  soil  on 
which  the  bone  manure  had  very  beneficial 
t  ffects  consisted  of — 

Parts. 

Silicious  sand      ------  167 

Calcareous  sand          -----  43 

Water  of  absorption  -----  99 

Animal  and  veaeiable  matter     -        -        -  24 

Carbonate  of  lime       -----  25 

Silica  (Hint) 23 

Alumina  (clay)    ------  9 

Oxide  of  iron       -----  3 

Soluble  vegetable  and  animal  matter         -  5 

Moisture  and  loss        -----  2 


BONES^ 

The  soil  on  "n  nich  the  bone  manure  had  n« 
such  beneficial  effect,  contained,  in  400  parts, 

Parts. 
Calcareous  sand  and  gravel   (nearly  pure 

carbonate  of  lime)  -----  217 
Animal  and  vegetable  matters  -  -  -  17 
Carbonate  of  lime  -----  39 
Silica  --------85 

Alumina 20 

Oxide  of  iron      ------       5 

Soluble  matter  w^ith  gypsum      -       -       -       4 
Moisture  or  loss  -----      13 

400 

The  mode  of  applying  them,  adds  the  Don- 
caster Report,  is  either  by  sowing  broadcast  or 
by  the  drill ;  either  by  themselves,  or,  what  is 
much  better,  previously  mixed  with  earth  and 
fermented.  Bones  which  have  been  thus  fer- 
mented are  decidedly  superior  to  those  which 
have  not  been  so.  Mr.  Turner,  of  Tring, 
adopted  the  practice  of  mixing  with  his  bone- 
dust  an  equal  quantity  of  the  dung  of  the 
sheep,  collected  for  the  express  purpose,  at  an 
expense  of  2^d.  per  bushel  for  labour.  He 
prepared  the  mixture  in  winter,  by  laying  the 
sheep-dung  in  heaps  with  the  crushed  bones, 
and  allowing  them  to  ferment  together  for 
some  months.  By  this  plan  the  two  manures 
are  thoroughly  incorporated,  and  he  considers 
that  thirty-five  bushels  of  the  mixture  are  fully 
equal  in  effect  to  twenty-five  bushels  of  the 
bones.  (My  Essai/  on  Crushed  Bones,  p.  14.) 
The  quantity  applied  per  acre  is  about  twenty- 
five  bushels  of  bone-dust  and  forty  bushels  of 
large  broken  bones.  The  dust  is  best  for  im- 
mediate profit;  the  broken  half-inch  bones  for 
more  continued  improvement.  Mr.  Birks  says, 
"  If  I  were  to  till  for  early  profit,  I  would  use 
bones  powdered  as  small  as  saw-dust ;  if  J 
wished  to  keep  my  land  in  good  heart,  I  woul' 
use  principally  half-inch  bones,  and  in  breaV 
ing  these  I  should  prefer  some  remaining  cor 
siderably  larger."  The  reason  for  this  is  very 
obvious;  the  larger  the  pieces  of  bone,  the 
more  gradually  will  a  given  bulk  dissolve  in 
the  soil. 

Crushed  bones  are  employed  with  decided 
success  for  turnips.  The  ease  with  which  they 
are  applied  by  the  drill,  the  ample  nourishment 
they  afford  the  young  plants,  on  the  very  poor- 
est soils,  and  the  avidity  with  which  the  roots 
of  the  turnip  encircle  and  mat  themselves 
around  the  fragments  of  crushed  bone,'  clearly 
evinces  how  grateful  the  manure  is  to  this 
valuable  croo.  The  evidence  in  its  favour  is 
copious,  and  decisive  of  its  merits.  In  a  re- 
cent report  of  the  East  Lothian  Agricultural 
Society,  Mr.  John  Brodie,  of  Aimsfield  Mains, 
has  given  the  result  of  his  experiments  upon 
the  comparative  cost  of  crushed  bones  and 
other  commonly  employed  manure  for  tur- 
nips, which  is  worthy  of  attention : — 

Ist  exp.— 20  cart  loads  of  street  dung,  per  Scotch 
acre,  at  5s.  dd.  per  load       -        -        .        -        - 

2d  exp.— half  a  ton  of  rape-dust,  at  110s.  2  15 

three  quarters  crushed  bones,  at  19s.  2  17 


400 


£  s 
5  10 


5  12 
3d  exp.— 16  loads  of  farm-yard  dung  at  la.    -       -    5  12 

"The  whole  turnips,"  says  Mr.  Brodie, 
"brairded  beautifully,  and  from  the  first  to 
the  time  of  lifting,  it  was  impossible  to  decide 
which  was  the  weightiest  crop      I  therefor* 


i9e 


BONES. 


BONES. 


determined,  in  the  last  week  in  November,  to 
take  up  alternate  rows  of  the  whole,  and  weigh 
each  separately  after  the  roots  and  tops  were 
taken  off,  ar  d  the  result  was  found  to  be  as 
follows : — 

cwt.    lbs. 

l8i  exp.— The  portion  examined  of  a  Scotch 
acre,  manured  with  tlie  street  dung,  produced 
of.comnion  globe  turnip  -        -        -        -    301    92 

Sd  exp.— The  samequantity  of  ground  manured 

with  the  rape  and  bone-dust,  produced        -    301     99 

3d  exp. — Dflto  with  f;irni-yard  dung  -        -    312    30 

"Mr.  Watson,  of  Keilor,"  say.^"  the  Hon. 
Capt.  Ogilvy,  of  Airlie  {Trans.  High.  Stic.  vol. 
iv.  p.  238),  "introduced  the  use  of  bone  ma- 
nure in  Strathmore.  The  great  deficiency  of 
farm-yard  dung  in  1827  (consequent  on  the 
almost  failure  of  the  crop  of  the  previous 
year),  first  induced  me  to  try  four  acres  of  tur- 
nip without  other  manure,  sown  with  fifteen 
bushels  of  bone-dust  per  acre :  it  cost  3s.  per 
bushel,  or  2/.  5s.  per  acre.  The  crop  of  turnips 
on  these  four  acres  was,  at  least,  equal  to  the 
rest  raised  with  farm-yard  manure  ;  but  as  the 
whole  of  the  turnips  were  pulled,  and  the  land 
received  some  dung  before  the  succeeding 
crop,  much  stress  cannot  be  laid  on  the  cir- 
cumstance of  the  following  white  crop  and 
grass  being  good. 

"Next  year,  1828,  eight  acres  were  sown 
with  turnip,  solely  with  bone-dust;  the  soil  a 
light  sandy  loam;  the  subsoil  gravel  and  sand, 
coming  in  some  places  nearly  to  the  surface, 
which  is  very  irregular,  but  in  general  has  a 
south  exposure.  This  field  had  been  broken 
up  with  a  crop  of  oats  in  1827,  after  having 
been  depastured  six  years,  principally  by 
sheep.  The  quantity  of  bone-dust  applied  was 
twenty  bushels  per  acre,  and  cost  2s.  6d.  per 
bushel,  or  2/.  10«.  per  acre.  The  turnip  crop 
was  so  heavy,  that,  notwithstanding  the  very 
light  nature  of  the  soil,  it  was  judged  advis- 
able to  pull  one-third  for  the  feeding  cattle, 
two  drills  pulled,  and  four  left  to  be  eaten  on 
the  ground  by  sheep.  The  following  year, 
1829,  these  eight  acres  were  sown  with  barley 
and  grass-seeds;  and  the  produce  was  fifty- 
seven  bolls  one  bushel,  or  seven  bolls  one 
bushel  nearly  per  acre,  of  grain  equal  in  qua- 
lity to  the  best  in  the  Dundee  market,  both  in 
weight  and  colour.  Next  year,  a  fair  crop  of 
hay  for  that  description  of  land  was  cut,  about 
150  stones  an  acre;  and  though  I  am  now  con- 
vinced that  the  field  should  rather  have  been 
depastured  the  first  year,  yet  the  pasture  was 
better  than  it  had  ever  been  known  before  for 
the  two  following  seasons,  1831  and  1832.  It 
is  worthy  of  remark,  as  a  proof  of  the  efficacy 
of  the  bone  manure,  that  in  a  small  angle  of  this 
field,  in  which  I  had  permitted  a  cottager  to 
plant  potatoes,  well  dunged,  and  which,  after 
their  removal,  was  included  in  one  of  the  flak- 
ings  of  sheep,  and  had  (one  might  have  sup- 
posed) thereby  had  at  least  an  equal  advan- 
tage with  the  adjacent  bone-dust  turnip  land, 
both  the  barley  and  grass  crops  were  evidently 
inferior,  and  this  continued  to  be  observable 
until  the  field  was  again  ploughed  up.  A  very 
bulky  crop  of  oats  has  been  reaped  this  season, 
pr<^ably  upwards  of  eight  bolls  per  acre,  but 
no  part  of  it  is  yet  thrashed. 

"  Having  detailed  what  may  be  considered  a 


fair  experiment,  during  the  whole  rotation  of 
the  above  eight  acres,  I  may  add,  lha,t  turnip 
raised  with  bone  manure  and  fed  off  with 
sheep,  has  now  become  a  regular  part  of  the 
system  on  this  farm.  Fifteen,  twenty,  and  last 
year  twenty-five  acres  were  fed  off,  and  invari- 
ably with  the  same  favourable  results,  with 
the  prospect  of  being  able  to  adopt  a  five-shift 
rotation,  and  to  continue  it  without  injury  to 
the  land.  Every  person  in  the  least  acquainted 
with  the  management  of  a  farm,  of  which  a 
considerable  portion  consists  of  light,  dry, 
sandy  loam,  at  a  distance  from  town  manure, 
must  be  aware  of  the  importance  of  this,  from 
knowing  the  expense  at  which  such  land  was 
formerly  kept  in  a  fair  state  of  cultivation :  in- 
deed, the  prices  of  corn,  for  some  years  past, 
would  not  warrant  the  necessary  outlay ;  and 
large  tracts  of  land,  capable  of  producing  bar- 
ley little  inferior  to  that  of  Norfolk,  must 
speedily  have  been  converted  into  sheep  pas- 
ture, but  for  the  introduction  of  bone  manure." 

In  the  valuable  experiments  of  Mr  Robert 
Turner,  of  Tring,  in  Hertfordshire,  tht  soil  on 
which  they  were  made,  hitherto  a  ci  nmon, 
producing  only  furze,  is  sandy,  with  a  substra- 
tum of  clay,  and  then  chalk.  He  began  the 
use  of  bone  manure  in  1831  on  this  land,  and 
has  continued  its  employment  for  the  last  three 
years  on  a  very  bold  scale,  and  with  unvaried 
success.  The  quantity  generally  employed 
was  from  twenty-four  to  thirty  bushels  per 
acre,  of  the  description  of  half-inch  and  dust, 
and  the  bones  were  invariably  applied  to  the 
turnip  crop.  The  bones  were  usually  drilled 
with  the  seed  at  a  distance  of  eighteen  inches, 
and  the  turnips  were  always  horse-hoed.  The 
year  1831  was  a  peculiarly  good  season  for 
this  crop  generally.  The  turnips  manured 
with  bone-dust,  like  most  others  in  the  district, 
were  very  luxuriant.  About  2000  bushels  of 
bone  manure  were  this  year  used  by  Mr.  Tur- 
ner. In  1832,  the  turnips  were,  in  general,  a 
very  bad  plant,  the  fly  committing  general  de- 
vastation; many  cultivators  unsuccessfully 
sowing  four  or  five  times.  On  the  turnip  land 
of  Mr.  Turner,  seventy-four  acres  were  ma- 
nured with  bones,  and  of  this  breadth  only  the 
last  sown  four  acres  were  a  failure,  and  there 
was,  in  no  instance,  any  necessity  to  repeat 
the  sowing.  The  turnips  were  a  much  better 
crop  than  in  1831.  In  1833,  the  turnips  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tring  were  a  very  partial 
crop.  On  the  farm  of  Mr.  Turner,  about  fifty 
acres  were  manured  with  bones.  The  effect, 
with  the  exception  of  the  very  last  sown  tur- 
nips, was  again  most  excellent,  the  crop  bemg 
very  heavy,  and  that  too  on  land  now  first  culti- 
vated. In  1835  and  1836,  Mr.  Tuiner  conti- 
nued the  use  of  bones  for  his  turnips,  to  the 
same  extent,  and  with  equal  success.  Tjiese 
experiments  the  cultivator  will  deem  of  ihe 
very  first  importance.  The  soil  was  not  ma- 
nured with  any  other  fertilizer  except  bones, 
and  in  drilling,  every  now  and  then,  tor  the 
drill's  breadth,  the  bones  were  omitted. 

On  the  soil  not  boned,  the  failure  of  the  tur 
nips  was  general  and  complete :  they  vege 
tated,  it  is  true,  and  came  up,  bnt  they  were 
wretchedly  small,  and  of  no  use.  The  turnips 
being  fed  off,  and  the  sheep  folded  on  the  soi 

■n  2  197 


BONES. 


BONES. 


without  any  distinction  between  boned  and  un- 
boned land,  the  comparative  experiments  upon 
ihe  succeeding  crop  were  rendered  uncertain. 
The  experience  of  two  more  years,  Mr.  Turner 
informs  me  (1836-7),  has  confirmed  all  his 
former  experiments :  he  continues  the  use  of 
this  valuable  fertilizer,  with  the  most  satisfac- 
tory results  ;  his  plot  c-i'  turnips  drilled  with 
bones  having  been,  ii»  that  dry  season,  most 
exceHent. 

In  no  part  of  England  is  the  use  of  bone 
dusf  rnvue  extensive,  and  more  absolutely  es- 
sential to  the  growth  of  turnips  than  in  Lin- 
colnshire. A  brief  account  of  its  introduction 
will  be  fonnd  in  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  with  which  I  was  favoured  in  the  spring 
.of  1836,  IrcftA  Thomas  Brailsford,  Esq.,  of 
Barkwith. 

"  The  use  of  f>oms  crushed  small  enough  to 
pass  the  drill,  begun  in  Lincolnshire  about 
twenty  or  twenty  Ave  years  ago,  and  may  now 
be  considered  &l  gtneral  over  the  greatest  part 
of  the  county,  i?ivl  universal  over  the  great  na- 
tural divisions — th«  heath,  and  (the  corn  brash 
and  upper  oolite)  the  cliff,  and  the  wolds  (the 
chalk  and  green  sand-stone  measures  of 
geologists).  The  effect  produced  has  been 
wonderful:  it  has  converted  large  tracts  of 
thin-skinned  and  weak  lands  into  the  most  fer- 
tile districts.  The  quantity  now  drilled  varies 
from  twenty  strikes  of  half-inch  bone,  with  the 
dust  in  it,  per  acre ;  and  it  is  used  almost  ex- 
clusively for  turnips,  experience  having  proved 
that  it  is  more  profitably  adapted  to  the  culti- 
vation of  that  crop  than  any  other.  It  may  be 
right  to  add,  that,  in  this  county,  it  is  consi- 
dered that  the  feeding  quality  of  turnips  raised 
from  bones  exceeds  that  produced  by  dung. 
Last  year,"  adds  Mr.  Brailsford,  "I  used  sul- 
phur with  my  crushed  bones,  mixing  7  lbs.  of 
the  former  with  100  lbs.  of  the  latter:  a  few 
days  before  I  drilled  them  with  the  turnip  seed, 
a  moderate  fermentation  took  place,  which 
rendered  the  sulphur  active,  and  produced  a 
pretty  considerably  smell  of  brimstone,  and 
had  the  effect  of  most  effectually  defending  the 
young  turnip  plants  from  the  fly." 

An  opinion  has  been  sometimes  entertained, 
that  the  black  grub  or  caterpillar,  which  has 
for  the  last  two  or  three  years  been  so  de- 
structive of  the  turnip  crop,  has  been  intro- 
duced in  the  bones  imported  from  abroad  for 
manure ;  and  many  equally  idle  and  learned 
papers  have  appeared  to  warn  the  farmer  of 
the  dangers  he  was  incurring  by  their  use.  A 
more  absurd  supposition,  perhaps,  was  never 
entertained;  for,  saying  nothing  of  the  total 
absence  of  every  thing  like  proof  of  a  single 
black  grub  being  discovered  in  an  imported 
bone,  all  the  accurate  experiments,  and  long 
experience  of  those  who  have  used  bones,  ren- 
der the  supposition  laughable. 

In  the  numerous  experiments  at  which  I 
have  assisted  and  witnessed,  it  has  been  al- 
ways found  that  the  black  grub  appeared 
equally  numerous  among  the  boned  and  un- 
boned turnips :  that  in  those  portions  of  the 
field,  or  in  the  entire  field,  where  bones  were 
Irilled  with  the  turnips,  the  grubs  were  not 
flr»ore  numerous  than  on  those  lands  which 
198 


were  manured  with  common  manure,  or  drilled 
without  any  manure  at  all. 

Again,  the  very  habits  of  this  black  grub 
betray  the  fact  that  he  is  not  of  animal  origin ; 
he  lives,  he  feeds  upon,  he  is  composed  of 
vegetable  matter.  The  farmer  well  knows 
that  the  grub  or  caterpillar  which  is  bred  on  a 
cabbage  or  turnip  cannot  sustain  life,  nay, 
cannot  eat  animal  matters  ;  it  would  perish  if 
placed  on  the  most  dainty  bone.  And  on  the 
contrary,  if  a  grub  bred  in  a  bone  is  placed, 
however  cautiously  and  skilfully,  on  a  turnip 
or  cabbage,  he  dies  of  absolute  starvation,  for 
vegetable  matters  are  not  food  for  him ;  his 
habits,  his  very  nature,  make  him  revolt  from 
the  novel  food  presented  to  him. 

And  again,  if  he  really  be  imported  from 
Belgium  in  the  bones,  he  must  be  able  to  resist 
a  very  considerable  temperature;  for  it  has 
been  clearly  established,  that  the  turnip  fields 
which  have  been  manured  with  the  refuse 
hailed  bones  of  the  size  and  cart-grease  makers 
have  been  just  as  much  covered  with  the  black 
caterpillars  as  those  which  have  been  manured 
with  fresh  bones.  He  can  live,  therefore,  even 
in  boiling  hot  water:  or,  if  he  come  in  the 
shape  of  caterpillar  eggs,  then  the  believers  in 
this  absurd  doctrine  must  be  convinced  that 
caterpillar  eggs  can  be  hatched  even  after  they 
have  been  boiled  for  hours  in  a  temperature 
of  212°. 

But  grubs  and  black  caterpillars  are  not  the 
first  living  substances  which  have  been  sup- 
posed to  have  been  imported  in  the  foreign 
bones.  Thus,  the  Nottingham  and  Lincoln- 
shire farmers,  many  years  since,  found  that, 
by  the  use  of  bones,  the  growth  of  white  clover 
was  surprisingly  encouraged ;  and  that,  in  fact, 
wherever  a  load  of  crushed  bones  was  spread, 
in  that  place  the  clover  sprung  up  as  if  by 
magic.  "  They  appeared,"  says  his  Grace  the 
Duke  of  Portland,  in  a  letter  with  which  he 
honoured  me  in  February  1836,  "so  much  to 
encourage  the  growth  of  white  clover,  that  I 
had  almost  formed  the  opinion  that  it  was  su- 
perfluous to  sow  the  seed."  The  honest  farm- 
ers of  that  fine  district  naturally  had  many  a 
puzzling  learned  cogitation  upon  this  strange 
yet  regular  appearance  of  the  white  clover, 
wherever  bones  were  applied ;  but  then,  they 
recollected  that  the  bones  came  from  the  very 
land  of  fine  white  clover  seed;  and  that  the 
seed  must,  therefore,  as  a  natural  consequence, 
come  hid  in  the  bones.  The  Lancasterian  and 
Cheshire  farmers,  however,  did  not  fall  into 
this  mistake,  since  they  found  that  the  white 
clover  sprung  up  just  as  copiously  after  the 
use  of  the  boiled  bones,  as  upon  the  lands  ma- 
nured with  those  in  a  fresh  or  green  state. 

The  chemical  explanation  will  occur  to 
every  scientific  farmer.  The  white  clover 
abounds  in  phosphate  of  lime  ;  it  cannot,  there- 
fore, grow  vigorously  in  soils  which  do  not 
contain  it.  Bones  supply  this  necessary  food, 
or  constituent ;  and  enable  the  white  clover  to 
contend  successfully  in  the  turf  with  other  and 
cnarser  grasses,  and  finally  extirpate  them. 
There  are  few  soils  in  England  which  do  not 
contain  the  seeds  of  this  plant;  it  has  l^en 
noticed  to  spring  up  in  the  most  unlikely  situ- 


BONES. 


BONES. 


ations,  even  in  London,  after  a  fire ;  and  for 
precisely  the  same  reason — the  ashes  of  wood 
abound   in   phosphate  of   lime.    Bones  have 
been  hitherto  principally  employed  upon  the 
turnip  crop,  but  there  is  another,  the  potato 
plant,  to  which  they  seem  admirably  adapted; 
and  of  this  opinion  was  Mr.  Knight,  the  late 
President  of  the  Horticultural  Society;  he  ob- 
served to  me  in  a  communication  dated  March 
26,    1836,  written   with    his    usual     anxious 
solicitude    to    assist   on    every  occasion    in 
any  researches  which  tended  to  the  improved 
cultivation  of  the  earth,— "I  have  one  large 
farm,  upon  which  rises  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  spring  water  to  work  a  thrashing  machine 
and  a  bone  mill,  at  all  seasons  ;  and  upon  that 
I  have  erected  a  machine  for  crushing  bones, 
which  my  tenant  has  used  largely.    The  soil 
is  generally  strong  and  argillaceous,  but  upon 
this  the  bone  manure  operates  well,  and  it  is 
applied  by  a  drill  to  the  turnip  ground.     My 
tenant  finds  that  it  acts  according  to  the  quan- 
tity of  oleaginous   matter  which  it  contains ; 
and  I  cannot  help  thinking,  that  taking  away 
that  part  must  destroy  to  a  ver}'  great  extent 
the  operation  of  the  manure  during  at  least 
one  year ;  particularly  if  the  bones  be  crushed 
nearly  to  dust  before  boiling.     I  have  tried 
other  animal  substances,  such  as  hair, feathers, 
and  the  parings  and  dust  of  white  leather,  and 
none  of  these  have  operated  till  they  have  had 
some  weeks  to  decompose.    The  white  leather 
parings,  being  almost  entirely  composed  of 
gelatine,  I  expect  operate  very  soon,  but  I  found 
that  turnips  drilled  in  over  a  very  sufficient 
quantity  of  it  did  not  begin  to  grow  kindly  till 
September ;  and  I  do  not  entertain  a  shadow 
of  a  doubt  but  that  if  bones,  after  being  cnished, 
were  mixed   with  four    or    five  times    their 
weight  of  earth,  their  operation,  as  a  manure, 
immediately,  would  be  greatly  increased.     It 
could    not,    however,    then    be    conveniently 
drilled   in  with   the  seed,  and   that  process, 
whenever  the  soil  is  poor,  is  very  important, 
because  by  being  placed  close  to  the  seedling 
plant,  that  gets  well  nourished  while  young. 
I  cannot  doubt  but  the  bone  manure  must  con- 
tinue to  operate  as  long  as  decomposition  of 
the  original  substance  continues,  and  under 
this  impression  T  am  willing  to  find  capital  to 
purchase  it,  upon   the  tenant's  paying  a  fair 
amount  of  increased  rent.     Much  would,  of 
course,  depend  upon  the  bones  being  more  or 
less  crushed ;  but  I  cannot  think  that  a  good 
manuring  of  bone-dust  can,  under  any  circum- 
stances, be  soon  entirely  expended.     I  have 
seen  bone-dust  applied  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties in  planting  stone  fruit  trees,  as  peaches  and 
plums,  with  good  effect,  though  such  are  al- 
ways greatly  injured  or  destroyed  by  the  appli- 
cation of  stable-yard  dung  in  the  same  way. 
My  tenant  applies  his  bone  manure  wholly  to 
his  turnips,  and  the  stable-yard  manure  to  the 
wheat  field,  in  opposition  certainly  to  my  opi- 
nion ;  as  I  think  wheat  crops  yield  best  when 
the  soil  is  firm,  and  turnip  crops  best  when  it 
is  hollow,  and  he  purposes  to  try  the  effect  of 
reversing  the  process.    If  the  turnip  plant  is 
capable  of  deriving  nourishment  from  frag- 
ments of  bones,  which  have  been  boiled,  after 
t)eing  crushed,  their  roots  must,  I  conceive, 


have  a  power  of  decomposing  the  substi.ncfl 
of  the  bone  ;  which  appears  very  improbable, 
though  many  plants  appear  to  exercise  such 
power  on  silicious  earth.  I  have  someAvhere 
read  an  account  of  experiments,  which  appeared 
to  prove  that  the  silex  found  in  the  epidermis 
of  the  different  species  of  Equisetum,  grapes, 
&c.,  is  really  dissolved  and  taken  up  from  the 
soil,  and  suDsequently  deposited  in  an  organic 
form ;  but  as  the  plants  which  were  subjected 
to  experiment  might,  owing  to  having  been 
feeble  and  sickly,  not  have  deposited  any,  or 
the  usual  portion  of  silex,  I  am  not  satisfied 
that  the  remaining  half  of  flint,  after  its  oxy- 
gen has  been  driven  off,  is  a  simple  substance. 
The  number  of  simple  elements  (admitting  the 
existence  of  matter)  I  suspect  to  be  very 
small ;  such  was  the  opinion  of  my  late  la- 
mented friend,  Sir  H.  Davy.  I  think  it  proba- 
ble that  quicklime,  if  applied  to  bones  contain- 
ing much  oily  matter,  would  operate  power- 
fully by  reducing  such  oil  to  the  state  of  soap, 
readily  soluble  in  water;  but  a  part  of  the 
ammonia  might  by  this  process  be  dissipated 
and  lost.  Valuable  as  bone-dust  certainly  is 
as  a  manure  to  the  turnips,  I  doubt  whether  it 
may  not  be  employed  with  more  advantage  as 
a  manure  for  the  potato ;  and  my  tenant  is  in- 
clined to  think  that  the  potato  crop,  though 
wholly  consumed  upon  the  farm,  will  best  re- 
pay him.  The  bone  manure,  when  employed 
to  nourish  the  potato  plant,  might  be  buried 
in  the  soil  two  months  before  it  would  be  ma- 
terially wanted ;  and  the  crops  of  barley  and 
oats,  upon  all  except  light  soils,  are  much  bet- 
ter after  potatoes  than  after  turnips,  both  being 
carted  off  the  ground.  Early  varieties  which 
do  not  blossom  are  the  most  valuable,  as  they 
afford  the  most  certain  crops,  an-d  will  be 
quite  ready  to  be  taken  up  in  August,  after 
which  the  ground  may  be  well  prepared  for 
wheat.  Of  such  potatoes  I  have  obtained  a 
produce  equivalent  to  963^  bushels  of  80  lbs., 
and  1248-f  bushels  of  60  lbs.  But  early  pota- 
toes vegetate  again  late  in  autumn,  and  they 
then  become  much  better  food  without  being 
steamed,  than  previously." 

The  way  in  which  bone-dust  is  wsually  em- 
ployed as  a  manure  for  potatoes  is  decidedly 
wrong ;  it  is  used  in  much  too  fresh  a  state. 
This  error  long  deceived  and  perplexed  the 
turnip  growers  of  the  east  of  England,  who 
now  invariably  let  the  bone-dust  ferment, 
either  by  itself,  or  mixed  with  earth,  for  some 
weeks  before  it  is  applied  to  the  soil.  And  all 
my  experiments  have  concurred  in  their  re- 
sult with  those  of  my  neighbours  in  Essex, 
that  if  the  bones  are  mixed  with  five  or  six 
times  their  bulk  of  earth,  and  are  turned  over 
and  mixed  together  some  weeks  before  they  are 
spread  on  the  potato  ground,  the  more  valuable 
is  the  application.  And  this  remark  is  not 
confined  to  its  use  for  potatoes  ;  oats  and  bar- 
ley are  proportionally  benefitted  by  the  pre- 
vious fermentation  and  partial  dissolution  of 
the  bones  in  the  mixed  earth.  The  same  ob- 
servation must  apply  to  Indian  corn. 

It  is  impossible,  in  any  agricultural  experi- 
ment, to  give  very  minute  directions  for  the 
farmer's  guidance,  since  soil,  climate,  and  situ- 
ation, as  regards  temperature  and  easy  acces  i 


BONES. 


BONES. 


to  the  proposed  fertilizer,  must  be  of  necessity 
taken  into  the  agriculturist's  consideration ; 
and  these  observations  particularly  apply  to 
those  manures  of  a  purely  animal  nature, 
whose  value  I  have  been  endeavouring  to  il- 
lustrate. Thus,  with  regard  to  bones,  the 
quantity  applied  per  acre  must  of  necessity 
vary  with  circumstances  ;  but,  by  many  care- 
fully conducted  experiments,  at  some  of  which 
I  have  personally  assisted,  it  has  been  found 
that  the  bones  remain  in  the  soil  for  a  length 
of  time  proportionate  to  the  size  of  the  pieces, 
the  dust  producing  the  most  immediate  effect, 
the  larger  description  showing  the  longest  ad- 
vantage ;  thus,  on  arable  lands,  the  good  ef- 
fects of  the  half-inch  or  inch  bones  are  obser- 
vable for  four  or  five  years ;  while,  on  pasture 
land,  the  advantage  derived  from  their  appli- 
cation is  observable  for  eight  or  nine.  But,  as 
practical  experience  is  alone  the  substitute  for 
our  want  of  general  scientific  knowledge 
founded  on  experiments,  the  farmer  should,  in 
experimenting  upon  all  manures,  for  the  sake 
of  correct  information,  apply  them  in  varying 
quantities  per  acre,  and  on  no  account  omit  to 
leave,  by  way  of  comparison,  a  fair  portion  of 
the  field  without  any  manure. 

There  is  no  delusion  more  common  than  that 
a  correct  agricultural  experiment  is  easily  ac- 
complished— that  it  may  be  taken  up  as  a 
mere  amusement,  carried  on  without  care,  and 
concluded  without  any  laborious  attempts  at 
accuracy.  Some  experience  in  these  delight- 
ful pursuits,  amongst  some  of  the  most  talented 
farmers  of  the  east  of  England,  has  long  con- 
vinced me  of  the  folly  of  such  a  conclusion, 
and  of  the  extreme  care  and  caution  necessary 
for  such  valuable  researches  ;  for,  otherwise, 
all  kinds  of  errors  are  almost  sure  to  arise.  In 
applying  weight  and  measure,  also,  to  the  crop, 
there  is  no  need  for  the  farmer  to  weigh  and 
measure  large  plots  ;  a  square  rod  or  two  care- 
fully examined,  furnishes  results  nearly  as  ac- 
curate and  valuable  as  the  examination  of 
acres. 

The  application  of  bones  to  grass  land  is 
very  common  in  Cheshire  and  Lancashire.  I 
have  already  noticed  its  effect  in  the  produc- 
tion of  white  clover,  a  phenomenon  well  known 
to  the  farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Man- 
chester, who  are  also  fully  aware  of  the  amaz- 
ingly increased  produce  of  their  grass  lands 
by  the  application  of  the  refuse  bones  of  the 
size  makers.  The  quantity  which  they  em- 
ploy is  very  large,  varying  from  forty-five  to 
eighty  bushels  per  acre.  The  result,  however, 
is  fully  commensurate  with  the  outlay,  for  they 
calculate  that  the  produce  of  their  grass  fields 
is  nearly  doubled  by  the  application. 

■  I  cannot  give  a  better  account  of  its  applica- 
tion for  grass  than  that  very  kindly  communi- 
cated to  me  in  March,  1836,  by  Dr.  Stanley,  the 
present  Bishop  of  Norwich.  "  Bone-dust  has 
been  used  in  Cheshire,"  said  his  lordship,  "  as 
a  manure,  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  for 
the  last  seven  years,  but  partially  for  a  much 
longer  period.  Formerly,  it  was  laid  on  pas- 
lure  ground  only,  and  in  large  quantities,  and 
in  large  pieces,  which  rendered  it  very  ex- 
pensive,  and    the    advantage    comparatively 

*ow  •  but  some  pastures  that  were  bone-dusted 
200 


twenty  years  ago  now  show,  almost  to  a  yard, 
where  this  manure  was  applied.  Bones  arc 
;  now  used  on  every  description  of  soil  in  Eng- 
■  land  wijlh  the  best  results,  provided  the  wet 
sands  are  first  effectually  drained.  Some 
thousands  of  tons  are  annually  consumed,  and 
the  demand  is  daily  increasing.  The  quantity 
per  statute  acre  varies ;  but  the  average  may 
be,  on  pasture,  from  30  to  40  cwt.  of  Man- 
chester or  calcined  bones  or  20  cwt.  of  raw  or 
ground  bones,  to  the  statute  acre.  For  turnips, 
from  20  to  30  cwt.  of  calcined  bones.  For 
oats  or  barley  (of  this  latter,  however,  the 
quantity  grown  in  Cheshire  is  very  trifling), 
with  clover  and  grass  seeds,  20  to  30  cwt.  of 
calcined  bones,  or  one  ton  of  raw  or  ground 
bones.  Pasture  ground  should  be  well  scari- 
fied or  harrowed  previous  to  sowing  the  bones, 
and  immediately  afterward  rolled  with  a  heavy 
roller.  For  turnips  the  bones  should  be 
pounded,  or  ground  very  small,  and  drilled  in 
with  the  seed.  With  spring  grain  they  should 
be  rolled  in  with  clover  and  seeds.  It  should 
be  here  remarked,  that  raw  bones  particularly 
should  be  allowed  to  remain  for  some  days  in 
heaps  to  ferment  before  they  are  applied. 
They  have  been  used  for  potatoes ;  but  expe- 
rienced persons  say  they  prefer  dung.  I  am 
also  informed,  though  my  informant  states  his 
observations  to  be  limited,  that  on  old  mea- 
dows the  result  has  not  been  found  to  be  so 
satisfactory  as  on  pastures.  On  clover,  bones 
have  a  most  extraordinary  effect.  On  old  pas- 
tures that  have  been  boned,  although  previous- 
ly the  clover  was  not  to  be  seen,  luxuriant 
crops  have  soon  shown  themselves.  The  best 
proof,  indeed,  of  their  beneficial  effect,  is  the 
fact,  that  the  farmers,  six  years  ago,  in  this 
immediate  neighbourhood,  had  so  strong  a 
prejudice  against  bones  that  it  was  with  some 
difficulty  they  were  induced  to  use  them,  al- 
though given  byway  of  reduction  of  rent;  but, 
for  the  last  three  years,  they  have  been  most 
anxious  to  obtain  them,  and  are  now  quite 
willing  to  be  at  half  the  expense.  The  rents 
have  latterly  been  well  paid,  and  there  is  good 
reason  for  jjelieving  that  it  is  in  a  great  mea- 
sure owing  to  the  advantage  they  are  deriving 
from  the  boned  land.  On  some  estates  in  the 
county,  the  proprietors  have  boned  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  the  pasture  land,  the  tenants 
willingly  agreeing  to  pay,  as  an  increased  rent, 
from  eight  to  ten  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of  bones. 
There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the 
most  advantageous  sorts  of  bones  for  use, 
some  preferring  the  dust  to  the  ground  bones 
The  dust,  or  calcined  bones,  are  3/.  per  ton 
and  the  ground  bones  7/.  per  ton.  For  turnips, 
the  dust  is  generally  preferred,  as  being  more 
immediate  in  its  effects.  On  a  very  poor  peat 
soil,  about  35  cwt.  of  bone-dust  was  applied  to 
a  statute  acre  for  Swedish  turnips.  The  crop 
was  a  fair  average  one.  The  turnips  were 
carted  off,  and  the  ground  sown  with  wheat, 
which  produced  nearly  twenty-five  measures 
(of  75  lbs.  per  measure)  to  the  statute  acre. 
Oats  succeeded  with  seed,  principally  red 
clover,  a  most  excellent  crop  of  oats  ensuing 
The  clover,  also,  proved  a  very  heavy  full 
crop,  and  was  mown  twice.  No  manure  was 
applied  for  this  course,  except  the  first  set  of 


BONES. 

bones  for  the  turnips.  The  remainder  of  the 
field,  of  exactly  the  same  description  of  soil, 
was  well  manured  with  farm-yard  dung,  for 
potatoes,  mangel  wurzel,  and  vetches,  to  be 
used  for  soiling.  This  was  then  sown  \vith 
wheat;  but,  being  first  well  set  over  with  a 
compost  of  lime  and  soil,  the  wheat  plant  on 
this  part  during  winter  and  spring  looked  much 
better  than  the  boned  part  of  the  field,  but  did 
not  prove  so  good  a  crop ;  but  the  difference 
in  favour  of  the  bones  was  not  much.  Oats 
succeeded  here,  also,  with  seeds,  but  the  oat 
crop  bid  not  prove  half  so  productive  any- 
where as  on  the  part  boned;  and  the  clover 
was  still  more  inferior,  and  mowed  only  once, 
the  second  crop  not  being  considered  worth 
mowing,  while  the  part  boned,  alongside  of  it, 
was  as  much  as  could  be  well  mown." 

There  appears  to  be  on  many  grass  soils 
some  care  requisite  to  ensure  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage from  the  application  of  the  bones ; 
and  this  observation  is  not  confined  to  any 
particular  district,  since  it  is  strongly  alluded 
to  in  the  following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Mr. 
William  Lewis,  of  Trentham  in  Sfafi'ordsiure, 
transmitted  to  me  in  September  last,  in  an 
f  bJiging  communication  of  his  Grace  the  Duke 
of  Sutherland : — 

"  I  have  never,"  says  this  intelligent  farmer, 
'*  applied  less  than  one  ton  of  crushed  bones 
per  acre  for  turnips  drilled  in,  and  have  been 
generally  successful  in  growing  that  crop ;  and 
Iheir  good  effects  (I  mean  the  bones)  are  most 
conspicuously  shown  and  felt  on  the  grass 
irop  that  follows  the  turnips,  showing  to  an 
mch  how  far  the  ground  has  been  manured 
with  them.  I  have  no  genuine  fertile  land,  it 
being  nearly  all  of  a  light,  dry,  sandy,  hungry 
nature;  but  I  have  now  excellent  pastures  for 
sheep,  which  1  greatly  ascribe  to  the  use  of 
bones  ;  for  the  pastures  following  barley  which 
have  been  manured  with  dung  I  find  very  in- 
ferior to  that  manured  with  bones — (the  differ- 
ence in  the  barley  crop  not  being  perceivable) 
— so  much  so,  that  I  am  upon  the  eve  of  break- 
ing up  some  of  my  pasture  fields  which  have 
lain  three  years,  and  were  intended  for  perma- 
nent pasture ;  for  those  manured  at  the  same 
time  with  bones  are  still  looking  beautiful, 
with  a  close,  fine,  even  bottom.  I  have  also 
applied  bones  to  pastures,  and  they  have  gene- 
rally improved  the  herbage  and  verdure  very 
greatly.  The  top-dressing  with  the  bones  I 
would  recommend  to  be  done  in  moist  weather, 
when  the  ground  is  pretty  well  covered  with 
grass.  I  consider  from  one  and  a  half  to  two 
tons  per  acre  to  be  a  fair  dressing.  After  sow- 
ing them,  the  ground  should  be  well  brushed, 
harrowed  length  and  breadthways,  then  heavily 
rolled,  and  all  stock  taken  from  the  field  for  at 
least  ten  days.  I  have  seen  bones  applied  to 
bare  pastures,  with  little  or  no  covering,  done 
in  hot,  dry  weather,  showing  no  beneficial 
effects  whatever  afterwards."  There  is  no 
doubt  of  the  superior  advantage  of  rolling  the 
bones  into  the  soil ;  for  fresh,  or  green  bones, 
as  they  are  called  in  Cheshire,  when  they  are 
exposed  to  the  atmosphere  for  some  time,  lose 
from  one  fifth  to  one  fourth  of  their  weight; 
and  even  boiled  bones,  under  similar  circum- 
stances, ar3  reduced  one  third  in  weight.  A 
26 


BONES. 

bushel  of  crushed  green  bones,  of  the  three- 
quarter  of  an  inch  size,  weighs  about  45  1-s.— 
the  same  bulk  of  hone-dust  54  lbs. :  75  bushels 
of  crushed  green  bones  weigh  about  one  ton 
and  a  half,  the  same  bulk  of  boiled  bones  about 
two  tons.  The  average  weight  of  the  bones 
of  an  ox  is  about  2  cwt.,  or  about  one  fourth  of 
the  carcase  free  from  offal ;  the  bones  of  a  sheep 
about  21  lbs.,  supposing  the  carcase  to  average 
84  lbs.  So  that,  according  to  this  calculation, 
allowing  twenty  bushels  of  crushed  bones  to 
manure  an  acre,  the  bones  of  five  bullocks  or 
horses,  or  fifty  sheep,  are  requisite  to  supply 
the  necessary  dressing. 

Liebig  recommends  the  following  method  as 
the  one  by  which  the  benefits  may  be  most 
speedily  derived  from  bone  applications.  "  The 
most  easy  and  practical  mode  of  effecting  their 
division  is,"  he  says,  "to  pour  over  the  bones, 
in  a  state  of  fine  powder,  half  of  their  weight 
of  sulphuric  acid  diluted  with  three  or  four 
parts  of  water,- and  after  they  have  been  di- 
gested for  some  time,  to  add  one  hundred  parts 
of  water,  and  sprinkle  this  mixture  over  the 
field  before  the  plough.  In  a  few  seconds,  the 
free  acids  unite  with  the  bases  contained  in  the 
earth,  and  a  neutral  salt  is  formed  in  a  verv 
fine  state  of  division." 

A  convenient  mode  of  preparing  vitriolized 
bones,  or  super-phosphate  of  lime,  is  to  make  a 
hollow  in  the  centre  of  a  heap  of  fine  mould, 
and  place  in  this  crater  the  bones  to  be  dis- 
solved. Upon  these  apply,  gradually,  sul- 
phuric acid,  in  weight  eqvial  to  half  the  weight 
of  the  bones.  These  will  soon  be  dissolved, 
after  which  the  heap  of  mould  and  bones 
is  to  be  thoroughly  mixed  by  shovelling  to- 
gether. 

Another  method  is  described  by  Mr.  Spooner, 
in  which  the  ground  bones,  being  placed  in  a 
hogshead,  have  poured  upon  them  one-third 
of  tiieir  weight  of  oil  of  vitriol ;  that  is  to  say, 
CO  lbs.  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  to  180  lbs.  or  about 
4  bushels  of  bones.  The  acid,  mixed  with 
half  its  bulk  or  measure  of  water,  previously  to 
putting  upon  the  bones,  will  suddenly  produce 
very  great  heat,  equal  to  about  300°  of  Fahren- 
heit's thermometer.  Too  much  care  cannot  be 
taken  to  prevent  the  acid  from  burning  the 
clothes  or  skin  of  those  employed  in  this  work. 
After  the  bones  are  sufficiently  dissolved,  they 
are  mixed  with  ashes,  so  as  to  bring  them  to  a 
state  convenient  for  application  by  the  drill  or 
otherwise.  Prepared  in  this  way,  the  fertilizing 
properties  of  bones  are  rendered  much  more 
soluble.  Mr.  Spooner  cites  a  case  in  which 
two  bushels  of  the  vitriolized  bones,  with  ashes, 
gave  as  good  a  crop  as  sixty  bushels  of  com- 
mon ground  bones. 

In  manuring  the  light  lands,  cultivated  on 
the  four-course  system,  with  bones  and  with 
bones  only,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  I  would 
advise  the  farmer,  whenever  he  finds  any  symp- 
toms of  his  ground  failing  to  produce  clover 
so  well  as  it  was  once  used  to  do,  to  add  in 
that  case  a  dressing  of  gypsum,  either  with 
the  bones  or  with  the  grass  seeds.  The  value 
of  this  latter  manure,  which  is  amply  sufh- 
cient,  when  applied  in  quantities  of  not  ex 
ceeding  2  cwt.  per  acre,  being  in  most  situa 
tions  trifling.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 

201 


BONES. 


BONES. 


*hat  i.i  those  cases  which  have  puzzled  some  I 
farmers,  where  land,  after  a  long  course  of  sue-  I 
cessful  bone-dressing,  has  at  last  refused  to  pro-  | 
duce  clover,  the  gradual  exhaustion  of  sulphate  j 
of  lime,  and  perhaps  of  potash  and  other  elements  i 
of  fertility,  removed  by  previous  crops,  may  i 
account  for  the  failure.  I 

For  ornamental  plantations  of  trees  there  can  i 
be  no  manure  more  advantageous  than   bones.  | 
There  is  a  considerable  portion  of  phosphate  of 
lime  in  all  timber  trees,  and  there  is  no  manure 
of  a  mixed  animal,  earthy,  and  saline  nature  j 
which  remains  so  long  in  the  soil,  mixed  with  ' 
earth ;  and  thus  previously  fermented  bones  are 
an  excellent  dressing  for  vines,  and  have  been 
jsed  with  decided  advantage.     As  a  manure  for 
the  use  of  the  conservatory  and  the  flower-gar- 
den, there  is  no  fertilizer  more  useful  than  bone- 
dust;  or,  what  is  a  still  more  elegant  application, 
the  turnings  and  chippings  of  the  bone  turners. 
Their  use  not  only  promotes  the  luxuriance  of 
the  plant,  but  the  beauty  of  the  flowers.     The 
Sheffield  florists  are  well  aware  of  the  value  of 
bone  turnings. 

As  it  is  desirable  that  American  farmers  should 
be  instructed  in  the  various  and  most  simple 
modes  of  preparing  vitriolized  bones  or  super- 
phosphate  of  lime — mentioned  in  a  preceding  pa- 
graph —  we  subjoin  a  few  more  of  the  plans 
adopted  in  England. 

The  bones,  in  the  form  of  bone-dust,  or, 
where  bone-mills  are  not  at  hand,  simply  broken 
in  pieces  with  a  hammer,  may  be  put  into  a 
cast-iron,  stone,  earthenware,  or  strong  wooden 
trough,  cask,  or  other  vessel,  mixed  with  half 
their  weight  of  boiling  water,  and  then  with  half 
their  weight  of  the  strong  oil  of  vitriol  of  the 
shops,  stirring  constantly  while  the  latter  is 
slowly  poured  in.  A  powerful  boiling  up,  or 
effervescence  at  first  takes  place,  but  which 
gradually  subsides.  By  occasional  stirring,  the 
whole  assumes  the  appearance  of  a  thick  paste  ; 
the  pieces  of  bone  disappear  by  degrees,  and 
after  a  week  or  ten  days  the  whole  may  be  taken 
out  and  mixed  with  a  little  sawdust,  charcoal- 
powder,  charred  peat,  or  fine  dry  earth,  to  make 
it  dry  enough  to  pass  through  the  drill,  and 
thus  be  immediately  applied  to  the  land.  It 
would  be  better  to  prepare  the  bones  a  month 
at  least  before  using  them,  and  to  lay  them  up 
in  a  heap  for  awhile,  with  a  view  to  their  more 
perfect  decomposition.  Where  the  pieces  of  bone 
are  large  this  is  especially  desirable,  as  other- 
wise they  will  not  be  fully  decomposed  without 
a  larger  addition  both  of  water  and  of  acid.  Or, 
the  mixture  of  acid  and  bones,  as  above,  may 
after  a  couple  of  days  be  further  mixed  with  a 
quantity  of  light  friable  soil,  and  laid  up  into  a 
heap  for  seven  or  eight  weeks,  with  occasional 
turning;  the  bones  thus  heat,  decompose,  and 
dry  up,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  putting  into  the  drill 
without  further  preparation.  This  method,  how- 
ever, requires  more  acid,  and  it  is  not  unusual, 
in  employing  it,  to  take  equal  weights  of  acid 
and  of  bones.  Professor  J.  F.  W.  Johnston  re- 
commends the  following  plan  for  preparing  bones 
into  a  liquid  manure  :  Take  equal  weights  of 
bone-uust,  of  boiling  water,  and  of  acid,  and  mix 
together,  occasionally  stirring  them  for  a  week 
or  ten  days;  when  the  particles  of  bone  have 
nearly  disappeared,  from  50  to  100  times  more 
water  may  be  added  to  the  mixture,  and  the 
(iquid  tnus  diluted  applied  by  a  water  cart.  If  \ 
202 


it  is  to  be  used  upon  grass  land,  in  the  spring, 
or  to  young  grain,  it  will  be  safer  to  dilute  it 
with  200  waters,  but)  50  waters  (by  weight)  will 
be  enough  if  it  be  applied  to  the  turnip  drills. 

Mr.  Tennant  thus  describes  the  method  he 
adopts : — "  I  put  25  bushels  into  three  old  boilers, 
and  next  pour  in  two  bottles  of  acid  of  al»out  170 
lbs.  each,  and  36  Scotch  pints  (18  imperial  gallons) 
of  boiling  water  into  each  boiler.  It  boils  away 
at  a  great  rate  for  some  time,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  we  empty  the  boilers  into  two  cart  loads  of 
light  mould,  and  turn  the  mixture  over.  At  this 
stage  the  bones  are  only  partially  dissolved, 
but  they  heat  and  decompose  in  the  heap,  after 
being  turned  over  three  or  four  times;  and  in 
the  course  of  seven  or  eight  weeks  the  compost 
becomes  dry,  and  breaks  down  with  a  shovel." 

It  is  important  to  know  that  oil  of  vitriol 
varies  in  strength,  from  water  added  purposely 
or  attracted  from  the  atmosphere,  as  will  always 
be  the  case  when  left  in  open  vessels,  which, 
when  partly  empty,  will  soon  become  full  again 
from  the  water  attracted.  The  purest  oil  of 
vitriol  has  a  specific  gravity  of  about  1.85,  one 
gallon  weighing  as  much  as  1.7  or  1.8  gallons 
of  water.  That  of  commerce  ought  to  have  a 
specific  gravity  of  about  1.45  or  1.5,  that  is  to 
say,  be  about  half  as  heavy  again  as  water, 
so  that  one  gallon  of  oil  of  vitriol  shall  weigh 
as  much  as  a  gallon  and  a  half  of  water.  More 
of  it  must  be  used  if  weak.  The  price  varies 
with  the  strength,  from  2|  to  3  cts.  per  lb. 
The  great  heat  produced  by  the  mixing  of 
oil  of  vitriol  and  water,  acting  on  the  animal 
portions  of  the  bones,  makes  these  of  a  dark 
colour;  but,  if  a  small  quantity  of  acid  only  be 
employed,  the  mixture  is  white,  from  the  car- 
bonate of  lime  which  then  predominates.  The 
fat,  gristle,  and  other  organic  matter  united  with 
bones,  in  the  state  in  which  these  are  usually 
employed  by  farmers,  constitutes  about  1-3  of 
their  weight.  Mr.  Hannum  reckons  the  soft 
parts  of  bone,  when  very  fresh,  at  45  per  cent. 
Four  bushels  of  ground  bones,  which  may  be 
considered  a  fair  allowance  for  an  acre,  will 
weigh,  in  a  fine  state,  from  168  to  180  lbs. 
This  last-named  quantity  contains  12|  lbs.  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  and  the  first  action  of  the 
acid  is  to  seize  upon  this,  displace  its  car- 
bonic acid,  and  convert  the  lime  into  sulphate 
of  lime  or  gypsum.  The  quantity  of  the  acid  re- 
quired for  this  first  change  is  10  lbs.  The  acid 
having  thus  decomposed  the  carbonate  of  lime 
in  the  bones  and  converted  it  into  plaster  of  Pa- 
ris, next  turns  upon  the  phosphates,  of  which 
the  4  bushels  contains  about  106  lbs.,  47  lbs. 
being  lime  and  59  lbs.  phosphoric  acid.  S3  lbs. 
of  the  vitriolic  acid  unites  with  half  the  lime,  or 
23^  lbs.,  to  form  more  gypsum.  The  other  half 
of  the  lime  unites  with  a  double  portion  of  phos- 
phoric acid  to  produce  the  desired  sup^r-pkos- 
phate.  Thus  about  43  lbs.  of  acid  will  be  re- 
quired to  effect  the  necessary  changes  in  the  4 
bushels  of  bones. 

Instead  of  the  sulphuric  acid,  muriatic  acid 
has  been  substituted  in  similar  quantity,  diluted 
and  treated  in  the  same  manner.  The  cost  per 
acre  and  the  produce  obtained  were  very  much 
the  same.  Where  no  manure  was  applied,  and 
the  produce  per  acre  was  only  about  7  tons  of 
turnips,  the  superphosphate  of  lime  made  from  4 
bushels  of  bones  increased  the  produce  to  17  s 
tons.    See  Phosphates. 


BONE  SPAVIN. 


BORECOLE. 


Tt  is  hardly  necessary  for  us  to  add  more  | 
autliorities  in  favour  of  bone  manure.  The 
reader  may  refer,  however,  to  the  experiments 
of  Captain  Ogilvy,  of  Airlie  Castle  {Trans,  of 
High.  Sue.  vol.  iv.  p.  238) ;  of  Mr.  Watson,  of 
Keillor,  Cupar-Angus  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
vr,..  vi.  p.  41 — 43)  ;  and  of  Mr.  Boswell,  of 
Kingcaussie  (Trans,  of  High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  73; 
Comparative  Trial  of  Bones,  Farm-yard  Ma- 
nure, and  Rape  Cake) :  to  those  of  Mr.  Billyse 
on  their  use  for  the  pastures  of  Cheshire 
(Journ.  of  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  of  Eng.  vol.  ii.  p.  91.) 
See  also  Johnson,  On  Fertilizers,  p.  125.  (Brit. 
Farm.  Mag.  vol.  vi.  p.  308.)  The  bone  mill  is 
described  by  Mr.  Anderson,  of  Dundee  (Trans, 
of  High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  401),  and  again  in  the 
Fenni/  Cyclopaedia. 

BONE  SPAVIN  (Fr.  espavent .-  Ital.  spava- 
no),  in  horses,  is  a  disease  of  the  hock  joint, 
usually  brought  on  by  over-exertion,  accele- 
rated by  bad  shoeing.  When  this  is  forming, 
there  is  commonly  lameness,  but  this  dimi- 
nishes or  ceases  when  the  bony  matter,  whose 
deposit  causes  the  spavin,  is  completely 
formed,  at  least  when  the  horse  is  warm  with 
exercise.  It  impedes  his  rising  when  down, 
and  in  consequence  spavined  horses  lie  down 
with  reluctance.  A  spavined  horse  generally 
does  slow  work  well  enough,  and  when  used 
in  the  farm,  his  disease  is  commonly  amelio- 
rated or  cured.  Repeated  blisters  will  either 
en*irely  remove  or  ameliorate  the  symptoms. 
Tt  is  only  as  a  last  resort  that  the  hot  iron 
•houid  be  used. 

BOOK-KEEPING.  As  the  merchant,  the 
manufacturer,  and  the  tradesman  all  find  it 
necessary  to  keep  a  set  of  account  books  which 
shall  show  them  the  amount  of  capital  em- 
ployed, the  debts  owing  to  and  by  them,  and 
the  profit  or  loss  arising  from  their  diflferent 
transactions,  so  to  the  farmer  is  this  good 
practice  equally  essential.  The  Dutch  have  a 
proverb,  that  no  one  ever  goes  to  ruin  who 
keeps  a  correct  set  of  accounts.  There  is 
great  truth  in  this  sagacious  observation  of  the 
plodding  Dutchmen  ;  for  by  consulting  correct 
accounts  the  farmer  will  be  either  warned  to 
retrace  his  steps,  or  to  persevere  in  the  path 
he  is  pursuing.  The  time  required  for  keep- 
ing these  books  is  always  to  be  found  of  an 
evening  after  the  labours  of  the  day  are  over. 
The  necessary  books  to  give  him  this  informa- 
tion are,  first,  a  cash  book,  in  which  shall  be 
entered  on  one  side  all  the  moneys  received, 
and  from  whom ;  and  on  the  other  side,  all 
payments,  and  to  whom  made;  secondly,  a 
journal,  in  which  should  be  entered  all  deli- 
veries, and  articles  received ;  and,  thirdly,  a 
stock  book,  in  which  should  be  every  week 
entered  all  addition  to  or  substraction  from  the 
stock  of  the  farm ;  fourthly,  an  invoice  book, 
to  receive  all  bills  of  account;  fifthly,  a  wages 
book,  to  keep  each  labourer's  time  and  wages ; 
and,  sixthly,  a  ledger,  which  should  contain 
every  person's  account  with  whom  the  farmer 
has  transactions.  With  these  statements  care- 
fully kept,  and  an  account  and  valuation  of  his 
stock  in  trade  made  annually,  as  if  he  were 
about  to  quit  the  farm,  no  farmer's  afl^airs  can 
reasonably  go  wrong;  for  not  only  by  good 
Dooking  is  fraud  prevented,  and  economy  pro- 


moted, but  by  this  means  the  farmer  always 
knows  his  real  position.  I  am  supported  in 
these  opinions  by  a  very  considerable  farmer 
and  land-agent,  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  of  Spring 
Park,  in  Surrey. 

BORAGE  (Borago  officinalis).  Supposed  to 
be  derived  from  corago,  or  cur,  the  heart,  and 
ago,  to  give,  alluding  to  the  renovating  power 
of  which  it  was  supposed  to  be  possessed. 
This  ii  a  well-known  plant  in  all  gardens, 
growing  two  feet  high,  with  large  leaves,  and 
bright  blue  flowers.  The  stalks  are  round, 
juicy,  and  thick,  and  so  hairy  that  they  are 
almost  prickly  to  touch.  The  leaves  are  broad, 
rough,  wrinkled,  and  hairy.  The  flowers  have 
five  bright  blue  petals  or  parts,  with  a  black 
centre ;  they  blow  all  through  the  summer,  and 
continue  till  late  in  autumn.  They  will  begin 
to  flower  about  June,  and  when  their  seed  is 
perfectly  ripe,  the  stalks  must  be  gathered  and 
dried  completely  before  it  is  rubbed  out.  (G. 
W.  Johnson's  Kitch.  Gard.)  Borage  was  for- 
merly considered  cordial.  The  leaves  and 
flowers  tied  in  a  bundle,  and  warmed  up  in 
beer,  is  a  great  remedy  in  England  among  the 
poor.  They  consider  them  cordial,  opening, 
and  cooling ;  and  in  many  parts  of  England 
they  make  borage  one  of  their  materials  in 
brewing.  The  whole  plant,  says  Smith  (Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  265),  has  an  odour  approaching 
to  cucumber  and  burnet,  which  gives  a  flavour 
to  a  cool  tankard;  but  its  supposed  exhilarat- 
ing qualities,  which  caused  borage  to  be  reck- 
oned one  of  the  four  cordial  flowers  along 
with  alkanet,  roses,  and  violets,  may  justly  be 
doubted.  The  flavour  is  nauseous  in  any 
other  beverage. 

BORDER  (Germ,  and  Fr.  bord;  Sax.  bopTj). 
A  term  which  signifies  the  portion  of  land  next 
the  hedges  in  fields;  but -in  ploughed  grounds 
is  mostly  applied  to  the  parts  at  the  ends  on 
which  the  teams  turn. 

BORECOLE  (Brassica  oleracea fimhriata.)  A 
species  of  winter  cabbage,  of  which  the  follow 
ing  are  the  principal  varieties  commonly  cul- 
tivated in  the  garden: — I.Brussels  borecole. 

2.  Green  borecole  (Brassica  oleracea  selenisia). 

3.  Purple  borecole  (B.  o.  laciniata).  4.  Varie- 
gated borecole.  5.  German,  or  curled  kale  or 
curlies.  6.  Scotch  or  Siberan  kale  (B.  o.  sabel- 
lica).  7.  Chou  de  Milan.  8.  Egyptian,  or  Rabi 
kale.  9.  Ragged  Jack.  10.  Jerusalem  kale. 
11.  Buda,  Russian,  Prussian,  or  Manchester 
kale.  12.  Anjou  kale.  Like  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  cabbage  tribe,  it  is  propagated  by 
seed.  The  first  crop  to  be  sown  about  the 
close  of  March,  or  early  in  April ;  the  seed- 
lin<'s  of  which  are  fit  for  pricking  out  towards 
the  end  of  April,  and  for  final  planting  at  the 
close  of  May,  for  production  late  in  autumn 
and  at  the  commencement  of  winter ;  the  sow- 
ing must  be  repeated  about  the  middle  of  May, 
for  final  planting  during  July,  and  lastly  m  Au- 
gust, for  use  during  winter  and  t-any  spring. 
If  transplanting  is  adopted,  their  fitness  .or 
pricking  out  is  known  when  their  leaves  are 
about  two  inches  in  breadth ;  they  must  be  set 
six  inches  apart  each  way,  and  watered  fre- 
quently  until  established.  In  four  or  five  weeks 
they  will  be  of  sufficient  growth  for  final  re- 
moval.     When  planted,  they  must  be  set  ir 

203 


Boiirn. 


BORERS. 


rows  two  feet  and  a  half  apart  each  way;  the 
last  plantations  may  be  six  inches  closer. 
They  must  be  watered  and  weeded,  as  directed 
for  the  other  crops ;  as  they  are  of  large 
spreading  growth,  the  earth  can  only  be  drawn 
about  their  stems  during  their  early  growth. 
If,  during  stormy  weather,  any  of  those  which 
acquire  a  tall  growth  are  blown  down,  they 
must  be  supported  in  their  erect  posture  by 
stakes,  when  they  will  soon  firmly  re-establish 
themselves.  For  the  production  of  seed,  such 
plants  of  each  variety  as  are  of  the  finest 
growth,  and  are  true  to  the  characteristics 
primarily  given,  must  be  selected,  and  either 
left  where  grown,  or  removed  during  open 
weather  in  November,  or  before  the  close  of 
February,  the  earlier  the  better,  into  rows  three 
feet  apart  each  way,  and  buried  down  to  their 
heads.  The  seed  ripens  about  the  beginning 
of  August.   (G.  W.  Johnson^s  Kitchen  Garden.) 

BORER.     See  Augeh. 

BORERS.  The  wood-eating  worms  called 
borers,  are  grubs  of  various  species  of  the 
beetle  tribe,  several  of  which  have  been 
already  referred  to.  Some  live  altogether  in 
the  trunks  of  trees,  boring  into  the  most  solid 
wood;  others  take  up  their  residence  in  the 
limbs.  Some  devour  the  wood,  others  the 
pith ;  some  are  found  only  in  shrubs,  some  in 
stems  of  herbaceous  plants,  and  others  confine 
themselves  to  the  roots.  Certain  kinds  restrict 
themselves  to  plants  of  one  speties,  others  live 
indiscriminately  upon  several  plants,  provided 
these  belong  to  the  same  natural  family;  for 
the  same  borer  is  not  known  to  inhabit  plants 
dififering  essentially  from  each  other  in  their 
natural  characters.  The  beetles  produced 
from  these  worm-borers  are  of  very  many 
kinds,  nearly  one  hundred  species  having  been 
already  found  by  Dr.  Harris  in  Massachusetts, 
belonging  to  the  Capricorn  family  alone.  This 
family  of  beetles  derive  their  name  from  their 
long  and  tapering  antennae,  wiiich  are  curved 
like  the  horns  of  a  goat.  The  head  is  short 
and  armed  with  powerful  jaws.  Most  of  this 
family  remain  upon  trees  and  shrubs  during 
the  daytime,  and  fly  abroad  at  night.  •  Some, 
however,  fly  by  day,  and  may  be  found  on 
flowers  feeding  on  the  pollen  and  even  the 
blossoms.  When  annoyed  or  taken  into  the 
hands,  they  make  a  squeaking  sound  by  rub- 
bing the  joints  of  the  thorax  and  abdomen 
together.  "  The  females  are  generally  larger  and 
more  robust  than  the  males,  and  have  rather 
shorter  antennae.  Moreover  they  are  provided 
with  a  jointed  tube  at  the  end  of  the  body,  ca- 
pable of  being  extended  or  drawn  in  like  the 
joints  of  a  telescope,  by  means  of  which  they 
convey  their  eggs  into  the  holes  and  chinks  of 
the  bark  of  plants. 

"The  larvae  hatched  from  these  eggs  are 
ong,  whitish,  fleshy  grubs,  with  the  trans- 
verse incisions  of  the  body  very  deeply  marked, 
60  that  the  rings  are  very  convex  o/  hunched 
both  above  and  below.  The  body  tapers  a 
little  behind,  and  is  blunt-pointed.  The  head 
is  much  smaller  than  the  first  ring,  slightly 
bent  downwards,  of  a  horny  consistence,  and 
is  provided  with  short  but  very  powerful  jaws, 
by  means  whereof  the  insect  can  bore,  as  with 
A  c  ntre-bit,  a  cylindrical  passage  through  the 
204 


most  solid  wood.  Some  of  these  borers  have 
six  very  small  legs,  namely,  one  pair  under 
each  of  the  first  three  rings  ;  but  most  of  them 
want  even  these  short  and  imperfect  limbs, 
and  move  through  their  burrows  by  the  alter- 
nate extension  and  contraction  of  their  bodies, 
on  each  or  on  most  of  the  rings  of  which,  both 
above  and  below,  there  is  an  oval  space  co- 
vered with  little  elevations,  somewhat  like  the 
teeth  of  a  fine  rasp ;  and  these  little  oval  rasps, 
which  are  designed  to  aid  the  grubs  in  their 
motions,  fully  make  up  to  them  the  want  of 
proper  feet.  Some  of  these  borers  always 
keep  one  end  of  fii.T  turrows  open,  out  of 
which,  from  time  to  Ime,  ihey  cast  their  chips, 
resembling  coarse  saw-dust ;  others,  as  fast  as 
they  proceed,  fill  up  the  passages  behind  them 
with  their  castings,  well  known  here  by  the 
name  of  powder-post.  These  borers  live  from 
one  year  to  three,  or  perhaps  more  years 
before  they  come  to  their  growth.  They  un- 
dergo their  transformations  at  the  furthest 
extremity  of  their  burrows,  many  of  them  pre- 
viously gnawing  a  passage  through  the  wood 
to  the  inside  of  the  bark,  for  their  future 
escape.  The  pupa  is  at  first  soft  and  whitish, 
and  it  exhibits  all  the  parts  of  the  future  beetle 
under  a  filmy  veil  which  inwTaps  every  limb. 
The  wings  and  legs  are  folded  upon  the  breast, 
the  long  antennae  are  turned  back  against  the 
sides  of  the  body,  and  then  bent  forwards  be- 
tween the  legs.  When  the  beetle  has  thrown 
ofl"  its  pupa-skin,  it  gnaws  away  the  thin  coat 
of  bark  that  covers  the  mouth  of  its  burrow, 
and  comes  out  of  its  dark  and  confined  retreat 
to  breathe  the  fresh  air,  and  to  enjoy  for  the 
first  time  the  pleasure  of  sight,  and  the  use  of 
the  legs  and  wings  with  which  it  is  provided 
(Harris's  Treatise  on  Insects.) 

One  family  of  the  Capricorn  or  goat-hornei 
beetles,  derives  its  name  of  Prionidx  from  k 
Greek  word  signifying  saw\  It  is  said  thaA 
some  of  these  saw-beetles  can  saw  off'  larg^ 
limbs  by  seizing  them  between  their  jaws,  an<? 
flying  or  whirling  sidewise  round  the  enclosed 
branch,  till  it  is  completely  divided.  One  o^ 
the  largest  species  is  the  broad-necked  pri<> 
nus.  It  is  from  one  inch  and  a  quarter,  to  an 
inch  and  three-quarters  in  length,  of  an  oy»a 
form  and  pitchy  black  colour.  The  grubs  o^ 
this  beetle,  when  fully  grown,  are  as  thick  as  !s 
man's  thumb.  They  live  in  the  trunks  an'^ 
roots  of  the  balm  of  Gilead,  Lombardy  poplaf , 
and  proba])ly  in  other  kinds  of  poplar. 

In  the  second  family  of  the  Capricorn  beetles, 
called  the  Cerambycians,  there  is  one  w^hicfe 
inhabits  the  hickory,  in  its  larva  state  forming 
long  galleries  in  the  trunk  of  this  tree  in  th? 
direction  of  the  fibres  of  the  wood. 

"  The  ground  beneath  black  and  white  oaks," 
says  Dr.  Harris,  "is  often  observed  to  Vi 
strewn  with  small  branches,  neatly  severed 
from  these  trees  as  if  cut  off"  w'ith  a  saw.  Upon 
splitting  open  the  cut  end  of  a  branch,  in  the 
autumn  or  winter  after  it  has  fallen,  it  will  be 
found  to  be  perforated  to  the  extent  of  six  or 
eight  inches  in  the  course  of  the  pith,  and  a 
slender  grub,  the  author  of  the  mischief,  will 
be  discovered  therein.  In  the  spring  this  grub 
is  transforjned  to  a  pupa,  and  in  June  or  July 
it  is  changed  to  a  beetle,  and  CM/nes  out  of  th6 


BORERS. 


BORERS. 


branch.  The  history  of  this  insect  was  first 
made  public  by  Professor  Peck,  who  called  it 
the  oak-pruner,  or  Stenocorus  {Elaphidion) 
putaior.  In  its  adult  state  it  is  a  slender  long- 
horned  beetle,  of  a  dull  brown  colour,  sprinkled 
with  gray  spots,  composed  of  very  short  close 
hairs ;  the  antennae  are  longer  than  the  body, 
in  the  males,  and  equal  to  it  in  length  in  the 
other  sex,  and  the  third  and  fourth  joints  are 
tipped  with  a  small  spine  or  thorn  ;  the  thorax 
is  barrel-shaped,  and  not  spined  at  the  sides  ; 
and  the  scutel  is  yellowish  white.  It  varies  in 
length  from  four  and  a  half  to  six-tenths  of  an 
inch.  It  lays  its  eggs  in  July.  Each  egg  is 
placed  close  to  the  axilla  or  joint  of  a  leaf- 
stalk or  of  a  small  twig,  near  the  extremity  of 
a  branch.  The  grub  hatched  from  it  penetrates 
at  that  spot  to  the  pith,  and  then  continues  its 
course  towards  the  body  of  the  tree,  devouring 
the  pith,  and  thereby  forming  a  cylindrical 
burrow,  several  inches  in  length,  in  the  centre 
of  the  branch.  Having  reached  its  full  size, 
which  it  does  towards  the  end  of  the  summer, 
it  divides  the  branch  at  the  lower  end  of  its 
burrow,  by  gnawing  away  the  wood  trans- 
versely from  within,  leaving  only  the  ring  of 
bark  untouched.  It  then  retires  backwards, 
stops  up  the  end  of  its  hole,  near  the  trans- 
verse section,  with  fibres  of  the  wood,  and 
awaits  the  fall  of  the  branch,  which  is  usually 
broken  off  and  precipitated  to  the  ground  by 
the  autumnal  winds.  The  leaves  of  the  oak 
are  rarely  shed  before  the  branch  falls,  and 
thus  serve  to  break  the  shock.  Branches  of 
five  or  six  feet  in  length  and  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter are  thus  severed  by  these  insects,  a  kind 
of  pruning  that  must  be  injurious  to  the  trees, 
and  should  be  guarded  against  if  possible.  By 
collecting  the  fallen  branches  in  the  autumn, 
and  burning  them  before  the  spring,  we  pre- 
vent the  developement  of  the  beetles,  while  we 
derive  some  benefit  from  the  branches  as  fuel. 
"  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that,  while  the 
pine  and  fir  tribes  rarely  suffer  to  any  extent 
from  the  depredations  of  caterpillars  and  other 
leaf-eating  insects,  the  resinous  odour  of  these 
trees,  offensive  as  it  is  to  such  insects,  does 
not  prevent  many  kinds  of  borers  from  bur- 
rowing into  and  destroying  their  trunks.  Se- 
veral of  the  Capricorn-beetles,  while  in  the 
grub  state,  live  only  in  pine  and  fir  trees,  or  in 
timber  of  these  kinds  of  wood.  They  belong 
chiefly  to  the  genus  Callidium,  a  name  of  un- 
known or  obscure  origin.  The  larvce  are  of 
moderate  length,  more  flattened  than  the  grubs 
of  the  other  Capricorn-beetles,  have  a  very 
broad  and  horny  head,  small  but  powerful 
jaws,  and  are  provided  with  six  extremely 
small  legs.  They  undermine  the  bark,  and 
perforate  the  wood  in  various  directions,  often 
doing  immense  injury  to  the  tree.s,  and  to  new 
buildings,  in  the  lumber  composing  which 
Uiey  may  happen  to  be  concealed.  Their  bur- 
rows are  wide  and  not  cylindrical,  are  very 
winding,  and  are  filled  up  with  a  kind  of 
compact  sawdust  as  fast  as  the  insects  ad- 
vance. The  larva  state  is  said  to  continue 
two  years,  during  which  period  the  insects 
cast  their  skins  several  times.  The  sides  of 
the  body  in  the  pupa  are  thin-edged,  and  finely 
notched,  and  the  tail  is  forked. 


"  One  of  the  most  common  k  <nds  of  Calll' 
dium  found  here  is  a  flattish,  rusty  black 
beetle,  with  some  downy  whitish  spots  across 
the  middle  of  the  wing-covers ;  the  thorax  is 
nearly  circular,  is  covered  with  fine  whitish 
down,  and  has  two  elevated  polished  black 
points  upon  it;  and  the  wing-covers  are  very 
coarsely  punctured.  It  measures  from  four- 
tenths  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  in  length. 
This  insect  is  the  Callidium  hajulus ,-  the 
second  name,  meaning  a  porter,  was  given  to 
it  by  Linnaeus  on  account  of  the  whitish  patch 
which  it  bears  on  its  back.  It  inhabits  fir, 
spruce,  and  hemlock  wood  and  lumber,  and 
may  often  be  seen  on  wooden  buildings  and 
fences  in  July  and  August.  We  are  informed 
by  Kirby  and  Spence  that  the  grubs  sometimes 
greatly  injure  the  wood-work  of  houses  in 
London,  piercing  the  rafters  of  the  roofs  in 
every  direction,  and,  when  arrived  at  maturity, 
even  penetrating  through  sheets  of  lead  which 
covered  the  place  of  their  exit.  One  piece  of 
lead,  only  eight  inches  long  and  four  broad, 
contained  twelve  oval  holes  made  by  these  in- 
sects, and  fragments  of  the  lead  were  found  in 
their  stomachs.  As  this  insect  is  now  com- 
mon in  the  maritime  parts  of  the  United  States, 
it  was  probably  first  brought  to  this  country  by 
vessels  from  Europe."     {Harris.) 

The  viokt  Callidium,  is  of  a  Prussuia  blue 
or  violet  colour,  its  length  varying  from  four 
to  six-tenths  of  an  inch.  It  is  found  in  great 
numbers  on  piles  of  pine  wood,  from  the 
middle  of  May  to  the  first  of  June,  and  the 
maggots  and  pupse  are  often  met  with  in 
splitting  the  wood.  They  live  mostly  just 
under  the  bark,  where  their  broad  and  winding 
tracks  may  be  traced  by  the  hardened  saw- 
dust with  which  they  are  crammed.  Just 
before  they  are  about  to  be  transformed,  the 
larva  or  worms  bore  into  the  solid  wood  to  the 
depth  of  several  inches.  In  Maine  and  other 
places  they  are  said  to  be  very  injurious  to  the 
sapling  pines.  Professor  Peck  supposed  this 
species  of  borer  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Europe  in  timber  sent  from  this  country,  as 
it  is  found  in  most  parts  of  that  continent 
that  have  been  much  connected  with  North 
America  by  navigation.  It  is  somewhat  sin- 
gular that  Europe  and  America  should  have 
thus  interchanged  the  porter  and  violet  Cal- 
lidium, which,  bv  means  of  shipping,  have 
now  become  common  to  the  two  contments. 
(Harris.) 

Siicrar  Maple  Borer.— The  sugar-maple,  tne 
of  the  most  beautiful  and  noble  trees  of  the 
American  forest,  suflfers  much  from  the  attacks 
of  a  borer,  the  largest  known  species  of  Clytus, 
by  which  it  is  sometimes  entirely  destroyed. 
In  order  to  check  the  devastations  of  these 
borers  thev  should  be  sought  for  in  the  sprmg, 
when  they  may  be  readily  detected  by  the  saw- 
dust  thrown  out  of  their  burrows ;  and,  by  a 
judicious  use  of  a  knife  and  stiff"  wire,  they 
may  be  cut  out  or  destroyed  before  they  hava 
gone  deeply  into  the  wood.  (Hams.) 
"  Locust-tree  Borer.-The  locust  tree  or  acacia 
is  also  preyed  upon  by  a  borer  of  the  Clytus 
fLlly,  t'he  [arva  'of  a  painted  beetle  o  ten  seen 
in  abundance  feeding  ^V^i^yT^'ftrr^nn^ 
soms  of  the  golden  rod  (Sohdago),  in  the  month 


BORERS 


BORERS. 


of  September.-  If  the  trunks  of  the  common 
locust-tree  are  examined  at  this  time,  a  still 
g:reater  number  of  these  beetles  will  be  found 
upon  them,  and  most  often  paired.  This  Ca- 
pricorn-beetle has  the  form  of  the  beautiful 
maple  Clytus.  It  is  velvet-black,  and  orna- 
mented with  transverse  yellow  bands.  The 
legs  are  rusty  red,  and  the  length  of  the  insect 
is  from  about  half  an  inch  to  three  quarters 
of  an  inch.  "  In  the  month  of  September," 
says  Dr.  Harris,  "  these  beetles  gather  on  the 
locust  trees,  where  they  may  be  seen  glittering 
in  the  sunbeams  with  their  gorgeous  livery 
of  black  velvet  and  gold,  coursing  up  and 
down  the  trunks  in  pursuit  of  their  mates,  or 
to  drive  away  their  rivals,  and  stopping  every 
now  and  then  to  salute  those  they  meet  with  a 
rapid  bowing  of  the  shoulders,  accompanied 
by  a  creaking  sound,  indicative  of  recognition 
or  defiance.  Having  paired,  the  fexaale,  at- 
tended by  her  partner,  creeps  over  the  bark, 
searching  the  crevices  with  her  antennae,  and 
dropping  therein  her  snow-white  eggs,  in  clus- 
ters of  seven  or  eight  together,  and  at  intervals 
of  five  or  six  minutes,  till  her  whole  stock  is 
safely  stored.  The  eggs  are  soon  hatched,  and 
the  grubs  immediately  burrow  into  the  bark, 
devouring  the  soft  inner  substance  that  suffices 
for  their  nourishment  till  the  approach  of  win- 
ter, during  which  they  remain  at  rest  in  a  tor- 
pid state.  In  the  spring  they  bore  through  the 
sap-wood,  more  or  less  deeply  into  the  trunk, 
the  general  course  of  their  winding  and  irregu- 
lar passages  being  in  an  upward  direction  from 
the  place  of  their  entrance.  For  a  time  they 
cast  their  chips  out  of  their  holes  as  fast  as 
they  are  made,  but  after  a  while  the  passage 
becomes  clogged,  and  the  burrow  more  or  less 
filled  with  the  coarse  and  fibrous  fragments  of 
wood,  to  get  rid  of  which  the  grubs  are  often 
obliged  to  open  new  holes  through  the  bark. 
The  seat  of  their  operations  is  known  by  the 
oozing  of  the  sap  and  the  dropping  of  the  saw- 
dust from  the  holes.  The  bark  around  the  part 
attacked  begins  to  swell,  and  in  a  few  years 
the  trunks  and  limbs  will  become  disfigured 
and  weakened  by  large  porous  tumours,  caused 
by  the  efforts  of  the  trees  to  repair  the  injuries 
they  have  suffered.  According  to  the  observa- 
tions of  General  H.  A.  S.  Dearborn,  who  has 
given  an  excellent  account  {Mass.  Agric.  Rtpos. 
and  Juurn.  vol.  vi.  p.  272),  of  this  insect,  the 
grubs  attain  their  full  size  by  the  twentieth  of 
July,  soon  become  pupce,  and  are  changed  to 
beetles  and  leave  the  trees  early  in  September. 
Thus  the  existence  of  this  species  is  limited  to 
one  year. 

"  Whitewashing,  and  covering  the  trunks 
of  the  trees  with  grafting  composition,  may 
prevent  the  female  from  depositing  her  eggs 
upon  them;  but  this  practice  cannot  be  carried 
to  any  great  extent  in  plantations  or  large  nur- 
series of  the  trees.  Perhaps  it  Avill  be  useful 
to  head  down  young  trees  to  the  ground,  with 
the  view  of  destroying  the  grubs  contained  in 
them,  as  well  as  to  promote  a  more  vigorous 
growth.  Much  evil  might  be  prevented  by 
employing  children  to  collect  the  beetles  while 
in  the  act  of  providing  for  the  continuation  of 
their  kind.  A  common  black  bottle,  contain- 
ing a  little  water,  would  be  a  suitable  vessel 
206 


to  receive  the  beetles  as  fast  as  they  w  ere  ga- 
thered, and  should  be  emptied  into  the  fire  in 
order  to  destroy  the  insects.  The  gathering 
should  be  begun  as  soon  as  the  beetles  first 
appear,  and  should  be  continued  as  long  as 
any  are  found  on  the  trees,  and  furthermore, 
should  be  made  a  general  business  for  several 
years  in  succession.  I  have  no  doubt,  should 
this  be  done,  that,  by  devoting  one  hour  every 
day  to  this  object,  we  may,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  rid  ourselves  of  this  destructive 
insect." 

In  noticing  the  locust-borer,  Mr.  Coleman 
states,  that  Allen  C.  Metcalf,  of  Lennox,  Mas 
sachusetts,  washed  his  locust  trees  with  spirits 
of  turpentine,  and  in  that  way,  as  he  believes, 
compelled  the  borer  to  leave  them,  after  they 
had  made  severe  ravages.  The  trees  were 
examined  by  Mr.  Coleman,  who  found  them 
much  perforated,  but  without  any  signs  indi- 
cating the  presence  of  the  worm.  (See  Mr. 
Coleman's  Second  Report.) 

The  poplar  tribe  of  trees,  both  in  Europe  and 
America,  are  subject  to  the  attacks  of  certain 
kinds  of  borers,  differing  essentially  from  all 
the  foregoing  when  arrived  at  maturity.  They 
belong  to  the  genus  Saperda.  The  largest  kind 
found  in  America  is  the  Saperda  calcarata  of 
Say,  so  called  because  the  tips  of  the  wing- 
covers  end  with  a  little  sharp  point  or  spur.  It 
is  covered  all  over  with  a  short  and  close  nap, 
which  gives  it  a  fine  blue-gray  colour ;  it  is 
finely  punctured  with  brown ;  there  are  four 
ochre-yellow  lines  on  the  head,  and  three  on 
the  top  of  the  thorax.  It  is  from  one  inch  to 
an  inch  and  a  quarter  in  length.  The  grubs 
of  this  beetle,  with  those  of  the  broad-necked 
Prion  us,  already  mentioned,  have  in  some  parts 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston, 
for  instance,  almost  entirely  destroyed  the  Lom- 
bardy  poplar.  They  also  live  in  the  trunk  of 
American  poplars.  These  grubs  are  of  a  yel 
lo wish-white  colour,  and,  when  fully  grown, 
measure  nearly  two  inches  in  length.  The 
beetles  proceeding  from  these  may  be  found 
on  the  trunks  and  branches  of  the  various 
kinds  of  poplars,  in  August  and  September ; 
they  fly  by  night,  and  sometimes  enter  the 
open  windows  of  houses  in  the  evening. 

Apple-ti-ee  Borer. — "The  borers  of  the  apple 
tree,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "have  become  noto- 
rious, throughout  the  New  England  and  Mid- 
dle States,  for  their  extensive  ravages.  They 
are  the  larvae  of  a  beetle  called  Saperda  bivit- 
tiita  by  Mr.  Say,  the  two-striped,  or  the  brown 
and  white  striped  Saperda  ;  the  upper  side  of 
its  body  being  marked  with  two  longitudinal 
white  stripes  between  three  of  a  light  brovA^n 
colour,  while  the  face,  the  antennse,  the  under- 
side of  the  body,  and  the  legs  are  white.  This 
beetle  varies  in  length  from  a  little  more  than 
one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch.  It  comes 
forth  from  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  in  its  per- 
fected state,  early  in  June,  making  its  escape 
in  the  night,  during  which  time  only  it  uses  its 
ample  wings  in  going  from  tree  to  tree  in 
search  of  companions  and  food.  In  the  day- 
time it  keeps  at  rest  among  the  leaves  of  the 
plants  which  it  devours.  The  trees  and  shrubs 
principally  attacked  by  this  borer  are  the 
apple  tree,  the  quince,  mountain  ash,  haw- 


BORERS. 


BOTANY. 


(hern  and  other  thorn  bushes,  the  June-berry  j 
or  shad-bush,  and  other  kinds  of  Amelanchier  ! 
and  Aronia.  Oar  native  thorns  and  Aronias  | 
are  its  natural  food;  for  I  have  discovered! 
the  larvae  in  the  stems  of  these  shrubs,  and  \ 
have  repeatedly  found  the  beetles  upon  them, 
eating  the  leaves,  in  June  and  July.  It  is  in 
these  months  that  the  eggs  are  deposited,  being 
laid  upon  the  bark  near  the  root,  during  the 
night.  The  larvae  hatched  therefrom  are  fleshy 
whitish  grubs." 

The  larva  or  grub  state  continues  two  or 
three  years,  during  which  the  borer  will  be 
found  to  have  penetrated  eight  or  ten  inches 
upwards  in  the  trunk  of  the  tree,  its  burrow,  at 
the  end  approaching  to,  and  being  covered 
only  by,  the  bark.  Here  its  transformation 
from  larva  to  pupa  takes  place,  and  its  final 
change  from  pupa  to  beetle  or  winged  insect, 
which  occurs  about  the  first  of  June,  soon 
after  which  the  beetle  gnaws  through  the  bark 
that  covers  the  end  of  its  burrow,  and  leaves 
its  place  of  confinement  in  the  night. 

"Notwithstanding,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "the 
pains  that  have  been  taken  by  some  persons 
to  destroy  and  exterminate  these  pernicious 
borers,  they  continue  to  reappear  in  our  or- 
chards and  nurseries  every  season.  The  rea- 
sons of  this  are  to  be  found  in  the  habits  of 
the  insects,  and  in  individual  carelessness. 
Many  orchards  suffer  deplorably  from  the  want 
of  proper  attention ;  the  trees  are  permitted  to 
remain,  year  after  year,  without  any  pains  be- 
ing taken  to  destroy  the  numerous  and  various 
insects  lliat  infest  them ;  old  orchards,  espe- 
cially, are  neglected,  and  not  only  the  rugged 
trunks  of  the  trees,  but  even  a  forest  of  un- 
pruned  suckers  around  them,  are  left  to  the 
undisturbed  possession  and  perpetual  inherit- 
ance of  the  Saperda.  On  the  means  that  have 
been  used  to  destroy  this  borer,  a  few  remarks 
only  need  to  be  made ;  for  it  is  evident  that 
they  can  be  fully  successful  only  when  gene- 
rally adopted.  Killing  it  by  a  wire  thrust  into 
tlie  holes  it  has  made,  is  one  of  the  oldest, 
safest,  and  most  successful  methods.  Cutting 
out  the  grub  with  a  knife  or  gouge  is  the  most 
common  practice;  but  it  is  feared  that  these 
tools  have  sometimes  been  used  without  suffi- 
cient caution.  A  third  method,  which  has 
more  than  once  been  suggested,  consists  in 
plugging  the  holes  with  soft  wood.  If  a  little 
camphor  be  previously  inserted,  this  practice 
promises  to  be  more  effectual ;  but  experi- 
ments are  wanting  to  confirm  its  expediency." 

The  zealous  and  able  naturalist  who  has 
furnished  the  foregoing  information  relative 
to  insects  which  so  frequently  carry  destruc- 
tion among  the  forest,  fruit,  and  ornamental 
trees  of  the  United  States,  has  also  described 
many  others  of  the  beetle  tribe  which  attack 
trees  and  plants  not  yet  named.  Among  these 
may  be  mentioned  the  borers  which  infest  the 
pitch  pine  tree,  and  even  the  blackberry  and 
laspberry  bushes;  together  with  various  leaf- 
beetbes  which  prey  upon  the  foliage  of  fruit- 
trees,  the  linden-tree,  potato,  cucumber,  and 
pumpkin  vines,  the  leaves  of  turnips,  horse- 
radish, milk-weed,  &c.,  most  of  which  will  be 
referred  to  in  noticing  the  several  trees  and 
plants  named,  together  with  the  best  means 


known  of  destroying  them  or  preventing  tii*«fr 

ravages. 

BORING.  A  practice  sometimes  emr»]oye«{ 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  drUereui 
strata  that  lie  beneath  the  soil;  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  discovering  springs,  and  tap- 
ping them,  so  as  to  draw  off  the  water,  that 
injures  the  grounds  below  or  in  the  neighlDour- 
hood.     See  Drai^jixo. 

BOS.  The  generic  name  for  quadrupeds 
whose  horns  are  in  the  form  of  a  crescent.  See 
Cattle. 

BOSCAGE.  A  word  borrowed  from  the 
French,  signifying  a  woody  grove,  or  woodland, 
BOTANY  (from  the  Gr.  ^oTam,  an  herb), 
in  the  most  confined  sense  of  the  terra,  is  the 
science  which  teaches  us  the  arrang;ement  of 
the  members  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  in  a 
certain  order  or  system,  by  which  we  are 
enabled  to  ascertain  the  name  of  any  indivi- 
dual plant  with  facility  and  precision.  Such 
arrangement  is  only  to  be  considered  as  useful 
in  proportion  as  it  facilitates  the  acquirement 
of  a  knowledge  of  their  economical  and  meJi- 
cinil  qualities,  which  cannot  be  perfectly 
ascertained  without  an  acquaintance  with 
vegetable  physiology,  the  parts  of  plants,  their 
functions,  and  uses.  Botany,  in  its  most  com- 
prehensive form,  teaches  us  the  names,  ar- 
rangement, parts,  functions,  qualities,  and  uses 
of  plants. 

This  science  may  be  consulted  by  the  agri- 
culturiGt  with  considerable  benefit.  For  in- 
stance (and  several  other  advantage^  will 
readily  suggest  themselves  to  the  intelligent 
farmer),  the  plants  growing  wild  on  a  soil  ever 
afford  some  tolerable  indication  of  the  nature 
of  the  soil  and  its  subsoil.  Thus,  the  heath  on 
elevations  indicates  a  dry  soil ;  the  fern  that  it 
is  deep  as  Avell  as  dry.  The  deer  hair  (Scirpus 
csespitosus)  grows  commonly  over  bogs,  resting 
on  clay.  In  the  lower  situations  the  broom 
(Spartium  scnparium)  tenants  the  deep  light 
gravels.  The  whin,  coarser  gravels  upon  a 
clay  subsoil.  The  rush  {Juncus  conglmeratiis) 
tells  the  negligent  farmer  that  good  land  is  ren- 
dered useless  for  want  of  drainage.  The  com- 
mon sprit  {Juncus  articulatus),  that  the  land  is 
not  fertile.  Sweet  gale  {Myrlca  Gale),  that  it 
is  still  worse.  The  rag  weed  (Senecio  jacobar/.') 
in  arable  land  betrays  an  ill-cultivated  loai;2. 
The  marsh  marigold  (Caltha  palusiris)  or  the 
wild  water-cress  in  water  meadows,  tells  the 
owner  that  the  land  is  fully  irrigated.  The 
common  rattle  {Rhinantkus  chriati),  that  a 
meadow  is  exhausted.  The  pry  {Carex  dioica), 
that  water  is  stagnating  beneath  its  surface, 
and  these  are  only  a  few  of  the  truths  which 
wild  flowers  teach  the  intelligent  cultivator. 
Botanists  have,  indeed,  long  been  at  work  for 
the  farmer— a  fact  no  one  will  be  willing  to 
dispute  who  remembers  that  the  sloe,  the  black- 
berry, and  the  crab  are  nearly  all  the  fruits 
indigenous  to  England ;  and  that  hardly  a 
\  grass,  a  flower,  or  a  vege.table  that  is  now  cul- 
tivated  is  a  native  of  the  island. 
i  In  1825  and  1827,  the  Highland  Society  of 
Scotland  offered  as  a  prize  theme,  "The  indip 
'  cations  to  be  formed  regarding  the  nature  and 
qualities  of  soils  and  subsoils,  according  tr 
the  plants  growing  upon  them,  having  regard 


BOTANY. 


BOTANV. 


r 


toelevatijn,  exposure,  climate,  &c."  And  in 
the  first  volume  of  their  transactions  will  be 
found  several  valuable  essays  on  the  subject, 
by  Mr.  Macgillivray,  p.  81,  Mr.  Gorie,  p.  113, 
Dr.  Singer,  p.  264,  Mr.  Hogg,  p.  271,  all  ably 
illustrating  the  value  of  the  study  of  plants  to 
the  cultivator. 

The  definition  of  a  plant  to  a  superficial  ob- 
r.erver  may  appear  easy;  but  those  who  ha\e 
studied  natural  history  are  aware  of  the  diffi- 
cult}'-  of  drawing  a  just  line  of  distinction  be- 
tween the  animal  and  the  vegetable  kingdoms. 
It  is  easy  to  distinguish  a  horse,  or  even  a 
worm,  from  a  rose-tree  or  a  fungus ;  but  to 
distinguish  a  sensitive  plant,  &c.,  by  descrip- 
tive marks  from  many  zoophytes,  has  hitherto 
bafiled  the  acutest  botanists.  Many  plants,  as 
will  be  presently  seen,  are  gifted  with  sponta- 
neous motion  ;  whilst  many  animals,  as  the 
corallines,  are  devoid  of  locomotion;  so  that 
neither  of  these  qualities  avails  us  in  distin- 
guishing the  two  kingdoms.  In  short,  whilst 
the  zoophytes,  most  of  which  take  root,  grow 
up  into  stems,  and  multiply  by  buds  and  slips, 
must  still  be  considered  as  animals,  no  one 
can  correctly  define  how  plants  differ  from 
them.  It  is,  however,  fortunate,  that  the  stu- 
dent is  seldom  placed  in  a  situation  where 
these  nice  distinctions  are  to  be  made.  Where 
specimens  are  to  be  examined  which  admit  of 
the  doubt  whether  they  belong  to  the  lower 
classes  of  animals  or  to  the  vegetable  tribes, 
chemistry  may  be  called  to  our  aid ;  if,  when 
burnt,  they  emit  an  ammoniacal  smell  resem- 
bling that  of  feathers,  similarly  treated,  we 
need  not  hesitate  to  consider  them  as  animal 
products;  if  that  of  burning  wood,  we  may 
consider  them  as  fit  objects  for  our  botanical 
researches. 

A  few  facts  will  demonstrate  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  deny  that  vegetables  possess  some 
degree  of  sensation.  The  Venus's  fly-trap 
{Dionsea  muscipiila)  has  jointed  appendages  to 
the  leaves,  which  are  furnished  on  their  edges 
with  a  row  of  strong  prickles.  Flies,  attracted 
by  honey,  which  is  secreted  in  glands  on  their 
surface,  venture  to  alight  upon  them ;  no 
sooner  do  their  legs  touch  these  parts  than  the 
sides  of  the  leaves  spring  up,  and  locking  their 
rows  of  prickles  together,  squeeze  the  insects 
to  death.  The  well-known  sensitive  plant 
{Mimosa  sensitiva  and  pudica)  shrink  from  the 
slightest  touch.  Oxalis  sensitiva  and  Smithia 
sensitiva  are  similarly  irritable ;  as  also  are  the 
stamens  of  the  flower  of  the  barberry.  One  of 
this  tribe  (Hcclysarum  gyrans)  has  a  sponta- 
neous motion — its  leaves  are  frequently  mov- 
ing in  various  directions  without  order  or 
co-operation.  When  an  insect  inserts  its  pro- 
boscis between  the  converging  anthers  of  a 
kind  of  dog's  bane  (Apocynum  undrufaemifn- 
lium),  they  close  with  a  power  usually  suffi- 
cient to  detain  the  intruder  until  his  death.  If 
from  these,  and  many  other  considerations 
which  we  shall  notice  as  we  pursue  our  study, 
we  conclude  that  plants  are  endowed  with  a 
certain  degree  of  sensation,  or  at  least  of  irri- 
tability, we  can  pursue  that  path  of  the  science 
no  further.  Such  are  the  results  of  life ;  what 
constitutes  the  living  principle  no  human  eye 
can  discover. 
208 


'  We  gaze  on  a  rose  as  it  waves  in  the  pleni- 
tude of  its  vigour,  admire  the  tints  of  its  petals, 
the  verdure  of  its  foliage,  the  gracefulness  of 
its  form,  the  delicacy  of  its  fragrance  We 
may  come  on  the  morrow^  ani  it  has   been 

I  blasted — those  petals  are  scattered  on  the  bor- 
ders— those  leaves  are  withered  and  sapless — 

[  and  scarcely  a  vestive  of  its  loveliness  remains. 
Wherefore  is  this  change'?  The  same  compo- 
nents remain — the  same  food  was  ready  for  its 
nourishment;  but  some  invisible  governing 
principle — some  unknown  agent — has  silently 
departed,  without  one  vacancy  to  point  out 
where  it  had  resided,  but  a  total  ruin,  to  shoT» 
that  it  had  pervaded  the  whole.  Let  a  fe^w 
more  hours  pass  away,  when  the  air,  and 
moisture,  and  heat,  external  agents  which 
were  subservient  to  its  welfare,  noAv  concur  in 
completing  its  destruction — it  is  partly  dissi- 
pated in  pestilential  exhalations,  partly  reduced 
to  a  few  earthy  and  saline  particles.  Life, 
whilst  it  continued,  prevented  this  ruin ;  but 
still,  like  its  Great  Author,  "  no  one  hath  seen 
it  at  any  time." 

To  explore  our  path  satisfactorily,  and  that 
one  step  may  naturally  explain  the  Avay  to 
the  succeeding,  we  had  better  first  consider 
the  most  obvious  parts  cf  plants,  and  their 
functions. 

The  root  and  its  uses. — A  root  usually  consists 
of  two  parts,  the  caudex  or  body,  and  the  fibres 
or  radicula.  The  last  only  are  essential  for 
the  imbibing  of  nourishment,  but  the  whole 
serves  to  steady  or  fix  the  plant  firmly  in  a 
commodious  situation  and  position.  Roots  are 
annual,  biennial,  or  perennial.  The  first  be- 
long to  those  plants  whose  term  of  existence 
is  confined  to  a  portion  of  a  year,  as  barley ; 
the  second  to  such  as,  being  raised  during  one 
year,  survive  its  winter,  and  produce  flowerr 
during  a  succeeding  year,  as  wheat.  Perennia' 
roots  belong  to  such  plants  as  live  for  severa' 
years.  All  plants  are  considered  as  bienniab 
that  are  raised  from  seed  one  year,  and  flowei 
during  another,  whether  that  year  is  the  next; 
or  whether  the  flowering  is  deferred  during 
several,  provided  the  flowers  occur  but  once. 
This  is  often  the  case  with  the  tree  mallow 
(Lavatera  arhored),  &c.  Attention  must  be  paid 
to  these  circumstances,  or  we  may  often  mis- 
take the  natural  term  of  a  plant's  existence. 
Mignionette  {Reseda  odorata),  in  our  borders, 
is  an  annual ;  but  in  the  shelter  of  a  room  or 
green-house,  it  may  be  made,  by  proper  ma- 
nagement, to  blossom  during  several  succes- 
sive seasons.  The  nasturtium  {Tropscolum), 
naturally  a  shrubby  perennial,  is  an  annual  in 
our  gardens. 

Plants  search  for  food  by  means  of  their 
roots,  and  to  obtain  it  have  been  known,  by 
their  aid,  to  overturn  walls  by  piercing  their 
foundations.  A  tree  growing  on  the  top  of  a 
wall  has  been  observed  to  extend  its  roots 
down  the  sides,  until  they  reached  the  earth  at 
its  bottom.  If  a  flower-pot,  divided  by  a  per- 
pendicular section,  be  on  one  side  filled  with 
common  earth,  and  on  the  other  with  similar 
earth  mixed  with  a  little  potass,  the  roots  of  a 
geranium  or  other  plant,  growing  in  it,  will, 
by  degrees,  all  move  into  the  alkaline  portion. 

j  It  has  also  been  proved  that  the  root  is  gifted 


BOTANY 

^th  the  power  of  rejecting  what  is  hurtful, 
ana  selecting  what  is  beneficial  to  its  parent 
plant,  from  any  mixed  solution  of  substances 
not  corrosive  or  poisonous. 
Botanists  distinguish  seven  kinds  of  roots. 

1.  The  fibrous  root  {radix  fibrosa),  consist- 
ing of  fibres  alone,  either  branched  or  undi- 
vided, as  that  of  the  Poa  annua,  that  species 
of  grass  so  troublesome  in  gravel  walks,  &c. 

2.  The  creeping  root  {R.  repens).  This 
spreads  and  branches  horizontally,  throwing 
out  fibres  in  its  course,  as  some  kinds  of  mint 
(Mentha),  and  the  couch-grass,  or  twitch  (Tri- 
ticiim  repens). 

3.  Tapering  root  (R.fusiformis),  as  that  of 
the  carrot,  &c. 

4.  Abrupt  root  (/2.  prasniorsa),  appears  in- 
clined to  be  a  tapering  one,  but,  from  some 
natural  decay  or  habit,  becomes  abrupt,  or  ap- 
parently bitten  off.  as  in  the  devil's-bit  sca- 
bious (Scabiusa  succisa),  and  several  of  the 
hawk-weeds. 

5.  Tuberous  root  (iJ.  tuherosd),  consists  of 
fleshy  tubers  connected  by  fibres,  as  in  the  po- 
tato {Solanum  tuberosum).  It  is  the  premature 
formation  of  the  tubers  which  prevents  the 
blooming  of  the  Jerusalem  artichoke,  and  some 
of  the  early  varieties  of  the  potato.  If  the  tu- 
bers are  removed  as  soon  as  they  are  formed, 
the  plants  blossom. 

6.  Bulbous  root  (R.  bulbosa),  is  solid,  as  in 
the  crocus ;  tunicate,  composed  of  concentric 
layers,  as  in  the  Onion  {Allium  cepa);  or 
scaly,  as  in  the  lilies. 

7.  Jointed  or  granulated  root  (R.  articulatu 
or  ^runuluta),  is  a  cluster  of  either  little  bulbs 
or  scales,  connected  by  a  common  fibre,  as  in 
the  wood-sorrel  (Oxalis  acetusella),  and  white 
saxifrage  {Saxifraga  granulata). 

The  roots  of  plants  sometimes  change  their 
form  with  the  situation  in  which  they  grow. 
Those  of  some  grasses  are  bulbous  in  a  dry 
situation,  and  fibrous  in  a  moist  one.  Thus 
we  see  the  care  of  Providence  is  manifested 
even  in  providing  for  the  welfare  of  a  weed; 
bulbous  roots  being,  as  it  were,  reservoirs  of 
moisture,  enable  such  plants  to  perfect  their 
seed  in  the  driest  season.  Again,  the  fibrous 
roots  of  grasses  growing  in  sandy  sterile  places 
are  remarkably  downy;  by  this  means  they  re- 
tain firmly  their  hold  in  so  yielding  a  medium, 
and  their  absorbing  surfaces  are  likewise  in- 
creased, not  unnecessarily,  where  nourishment 
is  so  scanty. 

Seven  kinds  of  stalks  or  stems  are  distm- 
guished  by  botanists; — 1.  A  stem  (caulis)  is 
confined  to  such  as  bear  both  leaves  and 
flowers,  which  is  the  case  with  the  trunks  of 
all  trees.  It  is  either  simple,  as  in  the  white 
lily,  or  branched,  as  in  most  cases.  In  gene- 
ral it  grows  upright,  but  sometimes  it  is  more 
or  less  recumbent.  Some  cling  to  other  bodies 
by  fibres  for  support,  as  the  ivy  (Hedera  helix); 
or  by  tendrils,  as  the  vine.  Others  twine  round 
such  plants  as  come  in  their  way.  A  remark- 
able distinction  is  to  be  observed  in  twining 
plants.  Honeysuckles,  &c.,  twine  from  left  to 
right ;  whilst  others,  as  the  kidney-bean,  twine 
from  right  to  left,  nor  can  any  art  induce  them 
to  alter  their  course.  Some  trail  along  the 
ground ;  some  are  jointed,  as  in  the  samphire 
27 


BOTANY. 

and  Indian  fig.  They  are  of  various  forms, 
round,  three-sided,  square,  &c.  Their  surfaces 
are  smooth,  viscid,  rough,  bristly,  hairy,  &c. 
Internally  they  are  solid  or  hollow.  Plants 
without  stems  are  termed  acaules. 

2.  A  culm  or  straw  (culmus),  is  only  a  va- 
riety of  the  caulis,  but,  being  peculiar  to  the 
grasses,  rushes,  and  other  plants  nearly  a!  ied 
to  them,  has  been  deemed  worthy  of  a  sepaiate 
name.  It  is  without  joints,  as  in  the  comn  on 
rushes  ;  jointed,  as  in  wheat,  &c. ;  bent  lik »  a 
knee,  as  in  Ahrpecurus  geniculatus.  It  var  es 
in  being  hollow,  solid,  hairy,  &c. 

3.  A  stalk  (scapus),  springing  from  the  root, 
bears  only  flowers  and  fruit,  as  that  of  the 
primrose  {Primula  vulgaris),  and  cowslip  (P. 
veris).  In  the  first  it  is  simple,  in  the  latter 
subdivided  and  many-flowered.  It  is  some- 
times scaly;  in  which  case  the  scales  are  apt 
to  sport  into  leaves,  and  thus  render  it  a  proper 
caulis.  It  greatly  varies  as  to  length,  manner 
of  growth,  &c. 

4.  A  flower  stalk  (pedunculus),  springing 
from  the  stem,  bears  only  fruit  and  flowers.  A 
partial  flower  stalk  {pedicellis),  is  the  ultimate 
division  of  a  general  one,  as  in  the  cowslip  be- 
fore instanced.  Flowers  without  stalks  are 
termed  sessile,  as  the  dodders,  &c. 

5.  The  leaf  stalk  {petiolus),  signifies  the 
stalk  of  a  leaf  only.  It  is  solitary  or  simple, 
as  in  the  lilac,  and  all  other  simple  leaves.  It 
is  common  in  the  rose,  &c.  It  is  usually  chan- 
nelled on  its  upper  side. 

6.  A  frond  (frnns),  is  now  used  only  in  de- 
scribing the  class  Cryptogamia,  and  signifies  a 
leaf  which  produces  both  flowers  and  fruit,  as 
in  the  ferns,  lichens,  «&c. 

7.  A  stipe  (stipes),  is  the  stem  of  a  frond. 

It  will  be  better  to  defer  the  consideration 
of  the  functions  of  roots  and  stems  until  we 
take  a  connected  view  of  the  phenomena  of 
vegetable  life. 

Leaves  are  a  very  general,  but  not  a  uni- 
versal part  of  the  vegetable  body;  they  are 
wanting  in  the  samphires,  creeping  cereus, 
&c.  Such  plants  are  called  plant seaphyllx 
(leafless  plants).  The  situations,  forms,  in- 
sertions, and  surfaces  of  leaves  are  of  great 
use  in  botanic  descriptions;  a  few  must  at 
present  suffice : — 

Folia  radicalia  spring  from  the  root,  as  in  the 

primrose. 
Folia  caulina  and  rarnea  spring  respectively 

fvnrv,  the  stem  or  branch. 
Folia  bina  terna,  &c.,  leaves  in  pairs,  or  three 

together,  &c. 
Ftdia  verticillata,  whorled,  several  opposite,  or 

growing  in  a  circle  round  the  stem. 
Folia  peltata,  peltate,  having  the  foot-stalk  in 

the  centre,  as  the  nasturtium. 
Folia  sessilia,  sessile,  having  no  foot-stalk. 
Folia  perfoliata,  perfoliate,  when  the  stem  runs 

through  their  centre. 

Leaves  are  nearly  circular,  roundish,  egsr 

shaped  or  ovate,  oblong,  lanceolate,  &c.;  the'' 

terminate  abruptly,  or  are  sharp,  jagged,  point- 

ed,  cirrhose  {i.  e.  tipped  with  a  tendril),  &c. 

Their  margins   are  entire,  spinous,  toothed, 

,  wavy,  &c.    Their  surfaces  are  dotted,  rugged, 

i  veiny,  coloured  {i.  e.  tinted  with  any  colour 

'         ^'  S3  209 


BOTANY. 


BOTANY. 


but  green,  white,  or  yellow ;  in  the  two  latter 
cases  they  are  termed  variegated),  &c.  They 
are  tubular,  awl-shaped,  three-edged,  ever- 
green, &c.  Compound  leaves  consist  of  two 
or  more  leaflets,  combined  by  a  common  foot- 
stalk, as  in  the  rose;  they  are  binate  when 
they  consist  of  two  leaflets  ;  ternate,  of  three, 
&c. ;  pinnate  when  several  proceed  sideways 
or  laterally  from  the  common  footstalk,  as  in 
the  rose.  Leaves  are  sometimes  twice  and 
thrice  compounded. 

The  Jli)wer  is  the  most  essential,  yet  the  most 
transitory  part  of  plants.  By  means  of  the 
seed,  which  it  is  the  great  agent  in  producing, 
plants  may  be  indefinitely  multiplied  and  per- 
petually renewed;  whereas  all  other  modes  of 
propagation,  by  cuttings,  grafts,  &c.,  are  but 
extensions  of  an  individual.  Hence,  though 
many  plants,  from  unfavourable  modes  of  cul- 
tivation, &c.,  are  seldom  known  to  blossom, 
yet  Providence  has  wisely  ordained  that  no 
plant  is  incapable  of  producing  and  perfecting 
seed.  As  our  systems  of  botany  are  founded 
chiefly  upon  the  flower,  we  will  proceed  to 
consider  it  at  large.  A  flower  is  divided  into 
seven  parts : — 

1.  The  calyx,  or  outer  covering,  resembling 
leaves  in  texture ;  is  not  present  in  many 
ilowers,  as  the  tulip. 

There  are  six  kinds  of  calyx: — 1.  The  peri- 
anth is  close  to,  and  forms  part  of,  the  flower, 
as  in  the  rose,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  only  true 
calyx.  2.  The  involucre  is  an  appendage  to 
the  one  form  of  inflorescence,  namely  the  um- 
bel It  is  remote  from  the  corolla,  as  in  all 
the  umbelliferous  plants,  carrot,  &c.  3.  The 
spathe  is  a  floral  appendage  which  bursts  lon- 
gitudinally, being  more  or  less  remote  from 
thf  flower,  as  in  the  snow-drop,  narcissus,  &c. 
4.  The  glume,  or  husk,  is  the  peculiar  calyx  or 
chaff"  of  the  grasses,  as  in  wheat,  &c.  5.  Pere- 
chaetium,  a  scaly  sheath,  enclosing  the  fertile 
flowers  of  some  mosses.  6.  Volva  is  the  mem- 
brane that  covers  the  parts  of  fructification  or 
gills  of  the  fungi,  as  in  the  common  mush- 
room; but  it  is  also  applied  to  the  fleshy  cover- 
ing which  encloses  some  fungi  when  young. 

2.  The  corolla,  or  more  delicate  coloured 
leaves  or  leaf,  properly  called  petals,  is  situ- 
ated within  the  calyx.  This  is  absent  in  many 
flowero.  It  comprehends  both  the  petal  and 
the  nectary.  By  petal  is  meant  what  are  com- 
monly called  th(i  coloured  leaves  of  a  flower. 
By  nectary  is  meant  an  appendage  to  the  co- 
rolla, supposed  to  be  for  the  purpose  of  secret- 
ing honey.  The  little  cells,  for  example,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  flower  of  the  crown  imperial, 
each  full  of  a  sweet  liquid,  are  called  necta- 
ries, but  they  vary  in  form  and  situation  in 
diflferent  flowers.  When  a  corolla  is  formed 
of  one  petal,  it  is  said  to  be  monopetalous.  It 
may  be  hell-shaped,  as  in  the  Canterbury  bell ; 
funnel-shaped,  as  in  lungwort  {Pulmonaria) ; 
salver-shaped,  as  in  the  primrose ;  icheel-shaped, 
the  same  as  the  preceding,  only  with  a  short 
tube,  as  in  the  borage ;  ringent,  like  the  mouth 
(>f  an  animal,  as  in  the  dead  nettle;  personate, 
like  the  mask  of  an  animal,  as  in  snap-dragon. 
Corollas  of  more  than  one  petal  are  termed 
polypetalous.  It  is  cruciform,  as  in  the  wall- 
flower; roiaceousy  as  in  the  rose;  papilionaceous, 

S(10 


as  in  the  pea;   incomplete,  when   some   part, 
found  in  kindred  flowers,  is  wanting. 

3.  The  stamen  or  stamens  are  essential  lor 
the  perfecting  of  the  seed,  and  are  only  absent 
in  double  flowers,  in  which  they  are  changed 
into  petals.  They  vary  in  diflerent  species, 
from  a  single  one  to  several  hundreds,  and 
surround  the  pistil  or  pistils,  which  occupy 
the  centre  of  the  flower.  A  stamen  usually 
consists  of  two  parts;  the  filament,  or  slender 
stem,  which  is  sometimes  absent,  bearing 
otherwise  on  its  summit  the  anther,  a  cellular 
organ  of  various  forms  in  different  species  of 
plants,  being  the  part  for  holding  the  pollen. 

4.  The  pistil  or  pistils  are  in  the  centre  of 
the  flower,  and  usually  fewer  in  number  than 
the  stamens.  They  are  sometimes  situated  in 
flowers  distinct  from  the  stamen,  and  even  on 
different  plants.  No  seed  can  be  perfected 
without  the  pistil,  which  consists  of  the  ger- 
men,  or  rudiment  of  the  fruit  and  seed,  and,  of 
course,  is  never  absent.  The  style,  or  little 
stem  proceeding  from  the  germ,  which  is  not 
essential,  serving  chiefly  to  elevate  the  stigma — 
this  must  always  be  present :  it  varies  in  form 
and  size,  being  either  scarcely  more  than  a 
point,  or  forming  an  orbicular  head,  or  being 
variously  lobed. 

5.  The  seed-vessel  is  the  germen  enlarged,  va- 
rying in  form,  texture,  and  size  in  almost  every 
species.  What  old  botanists  called  naked  seeds 
are  seed-vessels  or  carpels  containing  only  one 
seed,  and  which  do  Aot  open  when  ripe ;  the 
strawberry,  wheat,  maize,  are  examples.  The 
only  naked  seeds  are  those  of  the  fir  cones,  and 
the  Cycadea. 

There  are  seven  kinds  of  seed-vessels  : — 1. 
A  capsule  is  woody  or  membranous,  containing 
one  or  more  cells,  as  in  the  poppy.  2.  A  pod 
is  long,  dry,  and  solitar)',  formed  of  two  valves, 
divided  by  a  linear  partition  into  two  cells,  as 
in  the  wall-flower.  3.  A  legume  is  solitary, 
formed  of  two  oblong  valves  without  any  par- 
tition, consequently  is  one-celled,  as  the  pea. 
4.  A  drupe  has  a  fleshy  coat,  closely  enclosed 
in  a  hard  nut,  as  the  cherry,  peach,  &c.  5.  A 
pome  has  a  fleshy  coat,  enclosing  a  capsule,  as 
the  apple,  pear,  &c.  6.  A  berry  is  fleshy,  con- 
taining its  seed  or  seeds  within  its  pulp,  with- 
out valves,  as  the  currant.  A  compound  berry 
is  instanced  in  the  blackberry,  &c.  7.  A  cone 
is  a  catkin  hardened  into  a  seed-vessel,  as  in 
the  fir,  birch,  &c. 

6.  The  seed.  To  the  perfecting  of  this  part 
all  the  other  parts  of  the  fructification,  and 
even  of  the  whole  plant,  are  subservient;  an- 
nuals perish  immediately  after  it  is  perfected, 
and  in  ourclimateevenperennials  begin  todroop 
as  soon  as  it  is  ripe.  A  seed  consists  of  seve- 
ral parts  : — 1.  The  embryo  is  the  part  the  wel- 
fare of  which  all  the  other  parts  unite  in  pro- 
moting. It  is  the  rudiment  of  the  future  plant. 
It  is  very  apparent  in  the  bean,  pea,  &c.,  and 
has  the  form  of  a  heart  in  the  walnut.  It  is 
usually  within  the  substance  of  the  seed,  as  in 
the  above  instance ;  in  the  grasses,  however, 
it  is  on  the  outside. 

Upon  removing  the  skin  of  a  pea  or  bean, 
it  divides  easily  into  two  parts  ;  these  are  the 
cotyledons:  this  is  the  usual  number.  In  the 
pine  tribe  they  are  four ;  in  the  grasses,  &c., 


BOTANY. 


nly  one;  hence  the  last  are  called  momcoty- 
■ilons.  The  cotyledons,  when  the  seed  has 
sprouted,  usually  rise,  in  the  course  of  germi- 
I  ation,  out  of  the  ground,  and  perform  the 
functions  of  leaves  for  a  while:  this  is  never 
ttie  case  in  wheat,  or  any  other  of  the  mono- 
cotyledons; their  seeds  consist  chiefly  of  the 
Ibnmeii  or  white,  which  is  either  farinaceous, 
horny,  or  tleshy,  and  remains  in  the  ground 
nourishing  the  embryo,  until  its  leaves  and 
loots  are  sufficiently  perfected  for  that  pur- 
jiose.  Athough  the  albumen  is  wanting  in  a 
cistinct  form  in  several  tribes,  as  those  with 
compound  and  cruciform  flowers,  &c.,  yet  the 
farinaceous  matter  lodged  in  the  cotyledons  is 
evidently  intended  to  supply  the  embryo  with 
nourishment  during  the  first  efforts  of  germina- 
tion. Many  plants  have  it  distinct  from  the 
cotyledons.  Vitellus,  the  yolk,  like  the  albu- 
men, serves  to  nourish  the  embryo  in  the  com- 
mencement of  germination.  If  the  albumen, 
US  a  distinct  organ,  is  present  also,  the  vitellus 
is  situated  between  it  and  the  embryo. 

Testa,  the  skin,  envelopes  all  the  preceding 
)arts,  and  gives  them  their  form,  being  itself 
of  a  permanent  shape,  whilst  they  are  in  a 
iquid  state.  It  is  of  various  textures  and  sub- 
stance ;  sometimes  single,  but  usually  lined 
with  a  finer  membrane.  Hilum,  or  scar,  marks 
where  the  seed  was  connected  with  the  seed- 
\ressel  or  receptacle.  In  describing  the  form 
or  external  parts  of  a  seed,  it  is  always  to  be 
considered  as  the  base. 

There  are  several  occasional  appendages  to 
leeds,  which  may  as  well  be  considered  in  this 
place.  The  pellicle  closely  adheres  to  some 
seeds,  so  as  to  conceal  their  actual  skin.  It 
varies,  being  downy,  membranous,  and  muci- 
laginous, or  not  perceptible  until  moistened. 
The  hiaic  envelopes  the  seed  more  o%  less 
loosely,  being  attached  only  at  the  base.  The 
seed-down  is  the  chaffy,  bristly,  or  feathery 
crown,  originating  from  the  partial  calyx  re- 
maining attached  to  the  summit  of  a  seed, 
somewhat  resembling  a  parachute,  which  we 
see  bearing  along  the  seed  of  the  dandelion, 
thistle,  &c.  A  tail  is  the  permanent  style  which 
remains  as  an  elongated,  feathery  termination 
to  some  seeds,  as  clematis.  A  tving,  a  mem- 
branous appendage,  serving,  as  the  seed-down, 
to  transport  the  seed  it  is  attached  to  through 
the  air.  It  is  solitary,  except  in  some  umbel- 
liferous plants. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  the  last  division  of 
the  flower,  which  is,  7thly,  the  receptacle. — 
This  is  the  common  base  or  point  of  connec- 
tion of  the  other  parts.  In  compound  flowers 
it  serves  as  a  distinguishing  mark,  and  there- 
fore is  of  importance.  In  the  daisy  it  is  coni- 
cal ;  in  the  chrysanthemum,  convex ;  carduus 
has  it  hairy;  chamomile,  scaly;  picris,  naked; 
onopordum,  cellular. 

A  compound  flower  is  formed  by  the  union 
of  several  sessile  florets,  or  lesser  flowers, 
within  a  common  calyx;  each,  however,  must 
possess  five  stamens,  their  filaments  divided, 
but  their  anthers  united  into  a  cylinder, 
through  which  passes  the  sty^  of  a  solitary 
pistil,  much  longer  than  the  stamens,  and  hav- 
ing a  sr,igma  divided  into  two  parts,  which 


BOTANY. 

roll  backwards.  There  are  various  forms,  as 
the  thistle,  daisy,  sunflower,  &c. 

When  the  flowers  are  collected  round  a  stem 
in  a  complete  ring,  or  merely  on  two  of  its 
sides,  it  is  denominated  a  whorl,  as  in  the  dead 
nettle  (Lamium).  Flowers  on  their  own  stalks, 
standing  somewhat  distant  from  each  other  on 
a  common  one,  or  axis,  are  denominated  a  ra- 
ccine,  as  a  bunch  of  currants.  When  they  are 
placed  together  on  one  common  axis,  they 
form  a  spike,  as  in  lavender  (Lavandula).  If 
flowers  standing  on  a  common  stalk  have,  in 
proportion  as  they  stand  on  it  lower  down, 
longer  foot-stalks,  so  that  the  flowers  all  stand 
nearly  on  a  level,  it  is  denominated  a  corymb^ 
as  in  Spircea  opidifolia,  common  in  our  gardens; 
in  the  common  cabbage,  a  corymb  of  flowers 
becomes  a  raceme  of  fruit.  Flowers  on  par- 
tial stalks  variously  divided  and  inserted,  col- 
lected closely  together  and  level  at  top,  is  a 
fascicle,  as  in  the  Sweet  William  (Dianthus  bar-- 
batus).  Sessile  flowers  collected  together  in  a 
globular  figure  form  a  head  or  tuft,  as  in  Statice 
armeria.  When  several  flowers  on  stalks  of 
nearly  equal  length  spring  from  a  common 
centre  on  a  general  stalk,  they  form  an  umbel^ 
as  in  the  parsley.  This  is  either  general  or 
partial ;  the  latter  is  termed  an  vmbellule. 
When  flowers  on  separate  foot-stalks,  spring- 
ing from  a  common  centre,  have  their  foot- 
stalks variously  subdivided,  it  is  termed  a 
cyrue,  as  in  the  elder  (Sambucus).  Flowers 
growing  on  partial  foot-stalks  without  any  or- 
der, but  loosely  spread  on  a  common  one,  form 
a  panicle,  as  in  the  oat  {Avena).  When  the 
flowers  of  a  panicle  grow  closely  together, 
somewhat\ approaching  an  ovate  form,  as  a 
bunch  of  grapes,  the  lilac,  &c.,  it  is  termed  a 
thyrsus,  or  bunch.  When  the  flowers  are  all 
barren  and  sessile  upon  a  common  axis,  it 
forms  the  amentum. 

The  exterior  covering  of  plants  is  called  the 
epidermis  or  cuticle,  answering  the  same  purpose 
as  the  scarf-skin  or  cuticle  of  animals,  viz. 
protecting  the  interior  and  more  tender  parts 
from  the  injuries  that  might  arise  from  exces- 
sive heat,  cold,  &c. ;  yet,  being  porous,  it  al- 
lows the  absorption  and  emission  of  moisture 
and  air,  and  the  admission  of  light.  It  cannot 
but  have  been  observed  how  the  epidermis 
varies  in  different  plants ;  how  smooth  it  is 
over  the  petals  of  most  floM'ers — how  downy 
on  the  fruit  of  the  peach — how  rough  on  the 
the  oak— on  the  nettle,  clothed  with  perforated 
poisonous  hairs.  The  cuticle  peels  off  in  some 
plants,  as  in  the  cork  tree.  In  some  plants, 
especially  the  Dutch  rush  (Equisetum  hyemale)^ 
it  is  so  impregnated  with  silicious  or  flinty 
matter  as  to  serve  as  a  polish  for  the  cabinet- 
TmlrPT*   &lQi 

Immediately  beneath  the  epidermis  is  the 
cellular  integument ;  this  is  usually  the  seat  of 
colour,  being  red  in  the  petals  of  the  red  rose, 
blue  in  the  common  violet,  &c.  Leaves  appear 
to  be  little  else  than  masses  of  cellular  integu- 
ment, enclosed  in  a  case  of  epidermis,  and  tra- 
versed by  numerous  sap-vessels.  Next  to  the 
cellular  integument  occurs  the  bark.  In  stems 
and  branches  but  one  year  old  this  consists  but 
of  one  layer;  in  older  ones  there  are  to  be 

211 


BOTANY. 


BOTANY. 


observed  a  layer  for  every  year  of  age ;  these, 
however,  are  of  little  import  to  the  plant,  the 
vital  functions  for  the  time  being  are  carried 
on  in  the  layer  immediately  in  contact  with 
the  wood.  This  innermost  ring  is  termed  the 
liber.  The  bark  is  very  conspicuous  in  some 
roots,  as  the  parsnip,  carrot,  &c.;  the  thick 
outer  ring,  observable  when  these  are  cut 
transversely,  is  the.  bark.  The  bark  consists 
of  woody  fibres,  chiefly  running  longitudinally, 
but  beautifully  interwoven.  In  one  of  the  me- 
zereon  tribe,  a  native  of  Jamaica,  and  called 
the  lace  bark,  it  may  be  separated  into  elegant 
layers  of  lace-work.  In  the  bark  the  peculiar 
properties  of  the  plant  principally  reside ;  wit- 
ness the  resin  in  the  pine,  the  fragrant  oil  of 
the  cinnamon,  &c. 

Next  to  the  liber  occurs  the  ti-ood,  which 
forms  the  chief  bulk  of  trees.  A  layer  or  more 
of  this  occurs  in  all  exogenous  plants,  for  in 
the  portion  of  it  which  adjoins  the  liber,  and 
is  named  the  alburnum,  are  the  sap-vessels 
which  convey  the  fluid  from  the  root  to  the 
leaves,  whence  it  descends  into  vessels  situ- 
ated in  the  liber,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter.  In 
trees,  a  fresh  layer  of  wood  is  deposited  every 
year  adjoining  the  liber,  from  which  it  is 
formed  or  deposited ;  hence  the  age  of  a  tree 
may  be  known  by  counting  the  concentric 
rings.  In  the  middle  of  the  wood  occurs  the 
medulla  or  pith,  commonly  a  porous,  juicy,  yel- 
lowish or  greenish  substance;  even  the  hollow 
stems  of  the  onion,  &c.,  are  lined  with  a  film 
of  it.  It  seems  to  be  an  extra  reservoir  of 
nourishment,  required  for  the  formation  of  the 
leaves  and  more  recent  parts  of  plants;  at  all 
events,  in  old  stems  and  branches  it  is  usually 
obliterated.  Botanists  are  not  determined  as 
to  its  uses. 

When  a  seed  is  committed  to  the  ground, 
if  moisture,  air,  and  heat  are  not  all  present  in 
certain  favourable  proportions,  it  refuses  to 
germinate.  (See  Wateh,  its  uses  to  vegeta- 
tion.) No  seed  will  vegetate  in  dry  earth,  nor 
in  a  temperature  at  or  below  the  freezing 
point;  all  require  a  free  admission  of  air. 
These  circumstances  being  favourable,  the 
seed  swells — the  skin  bursts — and  the  radicle, 
or  embryo  root,  makes  its  appearance,  and 
sinks  into  the  earth.  The  cotyledons,  if  the 
seed  has  more  than  one,  by  degrees  develope 
themselves,  and  rise  above  the  surface,  afford- 
ing nourishment  to  the  embryo  stem,  situated 
between  them,  until  the  radicle  has  become 
sufficiently  a  root  to  supply  food  for  its  growth; 
when  thus  rendered  useless,  they  decay. 

Animal  and  vegetable  matters  rendered  so- 
luble in  water  by  putrefaction,  various  salts 
and  earths,  and  water,  are  the  chief  nourish- 
ment plants  derive  from  the  soil ;  but  it  is  also 
certain  that  the  roots  absorb  air,  which  in  part 
accounts  for  the  benefit  aflforded  to  them  by 
loosening  the  soil  about  them,  and  for  plant- 
ing them  near  the  surface.  When  a  plant  has 
got  its  leaves  developed,  it  possesses  another 
source  of  acquiring  nourishment  from  the  at- 
mosphere.   See  Gases,  their  use  to  vegetation. 

The  atmosphere,  which  to  our  eyes  appears 

a  sii.iple  uniform  fluid,  has  been  demonstrated 

by  chemists  to  be  composed  of  three  different 

gases  or  airs  with  which  is  constantly  mixed 

212 


[  the  vapour  of  water.  The  gases  are  known  as 
j  oxygen,  carbonic  acid,  and  azote  or  nitrogen. 
,  Carbonic  acid  gas  is  carbon  or  charcoal  com- 
I  bined  with  oxygen.  Water  is  composed  of 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  gases.  These  facts,  by 
a  little  attention,  will  be  easily  remembered, 
and  render  all  that  follows  comprehensible. 
The  nourishment  which  is  absorbed  by  the 
roots  being  in  a  fluid  state,  proceeds  alor.g  the 
sap-vessels  situated  in  the  alburnum  of  the 
wood,  and  spreads  through  the  leaves,  flowers, 
&c.  Here,  and  during  its  course  up  the  stem, 
by  the  varied  absorption  and  decomposition  of 
water  and  carbonic  acid,  and  the  emission  of 
oxygen,  the  sap  is  converted  into  various  sub- 
stances, varying  in  every  species  of  plants ; 
gum  is  formed  in  the  cherry,  resin  in  the  fir, 
&c.;  these  are  deposited  as  the  sap  descends 
through  the  vessels  of  the  liber.  From  the  sftp 
likewise  is  derived  the  nourishment  from 
whence  is  formed  the  wood,  &c.;  in  fact,  it  is 
the  source  of  the  growth  of  the  parts.  Our 
knowledge  of  chemistry  and  vegetable  physio- 
logy is  yet  too  imperfect  to  enable  us  to  mark 
the  various  shades  of  difference  in  the  pro- 
cesses of  each  plant  with  any  degree  of  pre- 
cision. We  know  that  in  the  light  all  plants 
absorb  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  emit  oxygen 
whilst  in  the  dark;  on  the  contrary,  they  ab- 
sorb the  latter  and  give  out  the  former  by  the 
same  surfaces ;  but  we  are  utterly  unable  to 
point  out  how  the  same  organs  secrete  a  poi- 
son in  the  nightshade  and  a  wholesome  food 
in  the  potato,  which  so  closely  resembles  the 
first  in  form.  A  few  very  simple  experiments 
will  serve  to  fix  the  above  facts  upon  our  me- 
mories. We  may  prove  that  the  sap  rises 
through  the  alburnum,  and  descends  through 
the  bark,  by  placing  the  cut  end  of  a  leafy 
twig  of  the  fig  tree  in  an  infusion  of  Brazil 
wood;  after  some  hours  cut  oflT  about  half  an 
inch  of  the  extremity,  when  a  circle  of  red  dots 
will  mark  where  the  infusion  ascended,  and 
an  outer  circle  of  white  dots  will  show  where 
the  juices  descend. 

That  leaves  throw  off"  moisture,  or  perspire, 
is  demonstrated  by  inverting  a  tumbler  over  two 
or  three  leaves  placed  in  the  light;  the  inside 
of  the  glass  will  soon  be  perceptibly  covered 
with  dew. 

That  leaves  throw  off"  gas  from  their  sur- 
faces is  demonstrated  by  plunging  one  in  a  ves- 
sel of  water;  air-bubbles  will  soon  be  perceived 
to  be  emitted  by  and  attached  to  it. 

In  due  course  of  time  the  flowers  of  a  plant 
open;  the  anthers  of  the  stamens  swell,  burst, 
and  scatter  a  dust,  termed  pollen,  secreted  by 
them,  and  which  is  caught  immediately  by  the 
moist  stigmas  of  the  pistils,  or  is  carried  to 
them  by  the  wind,  or  accidental  contact  of 
some  insect.  This  contact  of  the  pollen  with 
the  stigma  is  found  to  be  absolutely  necessary 
before  the  seed  can  be  perfected.  This  course 
of  vegetation  is  repeated  for  a  series  of  years 
in  perennials,  but  the  plant  decays  as  soon  as 
the  seed  is  perfected  in  annuals. 

Botanists  at    present  are  acquainted  with 

nearly  100,000  species  of  plants;  and  the  care 

'  with  which  Providence  has  provided  for  me 

well-being  of  plants  is  an  earnest  of  their  im 

portance.    That  they  may  never  become  ex 


BOTANY. 

I  nct,lhe  number  of  their  seeds  is  often  immense : 
I  '.ay  counted  32,000  in  one  poppy-head  !  Where 
I  le  seeds  are  less  numerous,  their  safety  is  se- 
cured hy  the  extra  strength  of  the  seed-vessel, 
leir  nauseous,  poisonous  nature,  and  other 
leans.  The  various  modes  in  which  they  are 
spread  over  the  face  of  the  country  is  equal 
evidence  of  a  peculiar  providential  care.  The 
seed-down  bears  some  through  the  air  to  a  dis- 
;ince;  some  cling  by  their  rough  appendages 
t3  the  coats  of  animals;  others  are  borne  by 
r  eighbouring  streams,  or  by  the  winds,  to  an 
immense  distance;  cocoa-nuts  float  from  the 
tropics  to  the  shores  of  Norway;  African  seeds 
are  blown  over  the  southern  coasts  of  Spain  ; 
birds,  animals,  and  even  the  seed-vessels  them- 
selves, by  an  ejective  power,  all  perform  a  part 
in  the  office  of  dissemination.  Then,  again, 
the  various  kinds  of  defence  with  which  they 
are  endowed:  cuticles,  woolly,  and  thorny,  and 
llinty,  to  preserve  an  equable  temperature  and 
lo  prevent  injurious  wounds.  The  buds  which 
contain  the  embryo  of  leaves  to  appear  the 
ibllowing  year,  how  enveloped  are  they  in 
scales,  and  often  coated  with  resin  or  gum ! 

Independent  of  any  general  arrangement, 
slants  are  divided  into  species,  genera,  and 
/arieties. 

By  species  is  to  be  understood  a  plant  which 
3y  certain  permanent  signs  can  be  distinguished 
from  all  others;  for  instance,  every  one  can 
ietermine  that  the  damask  rose  differs  from 
every  other;  and  botanists,  having  shown  by 
what  specific  marks  it  may  always  be  distin- 
guished, have  determined  it  to  be  a  species:  but 
there  are  many  other  roses  which,  though  hav- 
ing specific  points  of  difference,  very  closely 
resemble  the  damask  rose ;  these,  botanists 
have  therefore  collected  into  one  family,  which 
they  term  a  genus,  under  the  general  name  of 
Rosa.  Rosa,  then,  is  the  generic  or  family 
name;  but,  to  distinguish  the  species,  every 
one  has  a  separate  second  or  specific  name : — 
thus,  the  -^damask  rose  is  Rosa  centifoUa ;  the 
dog  rose,  Rosa  canina;  these  second  names  are 
therefore  termed  the  specific  names.  By  variety 
is  meant  a  plant  varying  in  an  established 
species,  but  which  cannot  produce  an  exact 
resemblance  of  itself  by  seed.  Thus,  all  our 
apples  are  varieties  of  one  species,  the  crab 
(_Pyrus) ;  and  all  plants  raised  from  their  seed 
invariably  differ  from  each  other  and  their 
parent.  The  whole  vegetable  kingdom,  then,  I 
is  divided  into  families,  or  genera,  composed  ' 
of  a  greater  or  less  number  of  species.  In  I 
botany  the  varieties  are  little  noticed.  These  | 
genera  are  distributed  by  Linnaeus  into  classes, 
in  what,  from  him,  is  denominated  the  Linnoean 
System  of  Botany.  I 

These  classes  are  twenty-four  in  number,  j 
founded  on  the  number,  situation,  or  propor-  \ 
tion  of  the  stamens.  j 

The  plants  of  the  twenty-four  classes  are  j 
further  arranged  in  subdivisions,  denominated  | 
orders.  The  orders  of  the  first  thirteen  classes  j 
are  founded  on  the  number  of  pistils  the  plants  I 
belonging  to  them  contain.  | 

The  orders  of  the  14th  class  are  distinguished 
by  their  seed-vessels.  j 

The  two  orders  of  the  15th  class  are  distin-  ^ 
uished  by  the  form  of  the  seed-vessels.  j 


BOTS. 

The  orders  of  the  16th,  17th,  and  18ih  classes 
are  founded  on  the  number  of  the  stamens,  that 
is,  on  the  characters  of  the  first  thirteen  classes. 

The  orders  of  the  19th  class  (Syngenesia)  are 
marked  by  the  nature  of  the  florets. 

The  orders  of  the  2dth,  2ist,  and  22d  classes 
are  distinguished  by  the  characters  of  some  of 
the  classes  that  preceded  them;  that  is,  by  the 
number  or  proportion  of  the  stamens,  the  union 
of  the  anthers  not  being  attended  to. 

The  orders  of  the  23d  class  are  distinguished 
upon  the  principles  of  the  two  preceding  classes 

The  24th  class  {Cryptogamia)  is  divided  intc 
five  orders : — 

1.  Ferns,  3.  Liverworts, 

2.  Mosses,  4.  Algse, 

5.  Mushrooms. 
The  natural  system  of  M.  Jussieu. — Every  per- 
son  must  have  observed,  that  plants  in  many 
instances  are  arranged  by  nature  in  families  ; 
for  instance,  the  grasses,  liliaceous  plants,  the 
umbelliferous  plants,  mosses,  sea-weeds,  ferns, 
&c.,  are  composed  of  individuals  bearing  a 
very  striking  resemblance  to  each  other  in 
their  forms.  The  same  resemblance  holds  in 
their  internal  qualities,  between  such  plants  as 
resemble  one  another  in  configuration.  Thus 
the  grasses  are  all  nutritious ;  the  liliaceous 
plants  in  general  poisonous;  umbelliferous 
plants  growing  on  high  dry  soils  are  generally 
wholesome ;  those  of  wet  situations  are  gene- 
rally poisonous.  The  importance  of  keeping 
these  families  undivided  in  a  botanical  classi- 
fication is  evident;  and  if  plants  were  univer- 
sally separable  into  such  distinct  families  as 
those  above  mentioned,  a  natural  system  would 
be  easy  and  perfect.  But  plants  are  too  diver- 
sified; they  approach  each  other  in  such  va- 
rious shades,  that  it  is  certain  a  complete 
natural  system  can  never  be  perfected,  or  must 
be  too  intricate  for  general  use.  Jussieu's  sys- 
tem, with  all  its  merit,  is  open  to  both  these 
objections ;  it  is  imperfect,  were  it  only  from 
being  founded  upon  the  structure  of  the  seed, 
that  part  of  plants  which  is,  perhaps,  more  sel- 
dom than  any  other  capable  of  being  observed 
by  the  botanist. 

"  There  are  fifteen  classes  and  one  hundred 
orders.  The  classes  have  no  particular  names, 
but  are  distinguished  by  numbers,  with  a  short 
statement  of  essential  characters.  The  orders 
are  named  after  some  principal  genus  in  each. 
There  are  some  inaccuracies  in  the  arrange- 
ment ;  many  plants,  considered  by  Jussieu  as 
monocotyledon ous,  are  now  known  to  be  with- 
out any  cotyledons. 

At  the  end  Jussieu  places  a  large  assemblage 
of  genera,  consisting  of  plants,  the  construction 
of  whose  seed  is  undetermined.  This,  of  course, 
is  an  imperfection,  but  not  peculiar  to  Jussieu's 
system.  It  must  be  the  case  with  all  systems 
founded  on  nature,  unless  their  contrivers 
could  have  at  once  before  them  a  specimen  of 
every  species  of  plant  that  the  various  portions 
of  our  globe  produce.  This  system  has  been 
greatly  modified  and  improved  by  Decandolle, 
Lindley,  and  others  ;  and  it  is  now  justly  pre- 
ferred to  the  artificial  system  of  Linnaeus. 
(G.  W.Johnson;  Dr.  Lindley;  G.Sinclair;  Trans. 
High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  81.) 

BOTS.    In  farriery,  a  kind  :f  worms  verv 

81d 


BOT-FLIES. 


BOT-FLIES. 


troublesome  to  horses.  Bols  are  the  larvos  or  ' 
maggots  of  a  species  of  gad-fly  (the  (Estrus  : 
«(/Mi),  which  deposits  its  eggs  on  the  legs,  mane, 
or  those  parts  of  the  horse  that  the  animal  is 
most  apt  to  lick.  The  egg  is  immediately 
hatched  by  the  warmth  and  moisture  of  the 
tongue,  and  the  little  worm  conveyed  into  the 
mouth,  whence  it  crawls  down  t'le  oesophasrus 
into  the  stomach.  It  adheres  to  the  cuiicular 
coat  of  the  stomach  by  means  of  little  hooks, 
with  which  its  mouth  is  furnished ;  and  there 
it  remains  from  the  summer  of  one  year  to  the 
spring  of  the  next,  nourished  by  the  mucus  of 
the  stomach,  or  the  food  which  it  contains. 
Then  having  attained  its  full  size  as  a  maggot, 
it  loosens  its  hold,  and  is  carried  along  the  in- 
lesvines  with  the  other  contents  of  the  stomach, 
and  evacuated  with  the  fceces.  Before  it  drops, 
it  generally  clings  for  a  while  to  the  verge  of 
the  anus,  and  tickles  and  teases  the  horse  to  a 
very  great  degree.  Except  they  exist  in  most 
unusual  numbers,  bots  do  neither  good  nor 
harm  during  their  residence  in  the  stomach  of 
the  horse.  It  is  the  habitation  which  nature 
has  assigned  to  them;  and  the  safety  of  so 
noble  an  animal  as  the  horse  would  not  have 
been  compromised  for  the  sake  of  a  maggot 
and  a  fly.  The  best  advice  that  can  be  given, 
therefore,  is  to  let  them  alone,  or  at  most  to  be 
content  with  picking  them  ofi"  when  they  appear 
under  the  tail.  There  are  two  good  reasons 
for  this.  The  first  is,  that  there  is  not  any  me- 
dicine that  will  expel  them ;  the  strongest  and 
even  the  most  dangerous  purgative  is  insuffi- 
cient. The  second  reason  is,  that  if  the  bots 
are  let  alone,  they  will,  in  due  time,  come  all 
away  without  our  help  or  meddling.  (Claier's 
Farriery,  p.  168 — 170.)  Green  food,  however, 
expels  them  readily,  as  does  common  salt  in 
the  proportion  of  two  to  four  ounces  to  a  quart 
of  water.  The  most  simple  and  efficient  reme- 
dy is  a  quart  of  milk,  mixed  well  with  a  quar- 
ter of  a  pound  of  honey  or  brown  sugar,  given 
fasting.     This  is  much  better  than  aloes. 

BOT-FLIES.     The  various  insects,  impro- 
perly called  bot-bees,  are  two-winged  flies,  be- 
longing to  the  order  Diptera  and  the  family 
(Estridoe.    Bot-flies  do  not  seem  to  have   any 
mouth  or  proboscis  ;  for,  although  these  parts 
do  really  exist  in   them,  the  opening   of  the 
mouth  is  extremely  small,  and  the  proboscis 
is  very  short,  and  is  entirely  concealed  in  it, 
so  that  these  insects,  while  in  the  winged  state, 
do  not  appear  able  to  take  any  nourishment. 
The  larvae  or  young  of  bot-flies  live  in  various 
parts  of  the  bodies  of  animals.    They  are  thick, 
fleshy,  whitish  maggots,  without  feet,  tapering 
towards  the  head,  which  is  generally  armed 
with  two  hooks,  and  the  rings  of  the  body  are  i 
surrounded  with   rows   of  smaller  hooks   or 
prickles.     When  fully  grown,  they  drop  to  the  ' 
ground   and  burrow  in  it  a  short  distance. ' 
After  this,  the  skin  of  the  maggot  becomes  a  ' 
nard  and  brownish  shell,  Avithin  which  the  in-  i 
sect  turns  to  a  pupa,  and  finally  to  a  fly,  and 
comes  out  by  pushing  a  little  piece  like  a  lid 
from  the  small  end  of  the  shell.  i 

More  than  twenty  different  kinds  of  bot-flies 

are  already  known,  and  several  of  them  are 

found  in  the  United  States.  Some  of  them  have 

bvcn  brought  here  with  our  domesticated  ani- 

214 


mals  from  abroad,  and  have  multiplied  ai  I 
increased.  Three  of  them  attack  the  horse. 
The  large  bot-fly  of  the  horse  {Gasterophilus 
equi)  has  spotted  wings.  She  lays  her  eggs 
about  his  knees ;  the  small  red-tailed  species 
(G.  hccmorrhoidalis),  on  his  lips;  and  the  brown 
farrier  bot-fly  (G.  velerinus),  under  hi^  throat, 
according  to  Dr.  Roland  Green.  By  rubbing 
and  biting  the  parts  where  the  eggs  are  laid, 
the  horse  gets  the  maggots  into  his  mouth,  and 
swallows  them  with  his  food.  The  insects 
then  fasten  themselves  in  clusters  to  the  inside 
of  his  stomach,  and  live  there  till  they  are  fully 
grown.  The  following  are  stated  to  be  the 
symptoms  shown  by  the  horse  when  he  is 
much  infested  by  these  insects.  He  loses  flesh, 
coughs,  eats  sparingly,  and  bites  his  sides ;  at 
length  he  has  a  discharge  from  his  nose ;  and 
these  symptoms  are  followed  by  a  stiff"ness  of  his 
legs  and  neck,  staggering,  difficulty  in  breath- 
ing, convulsions,  and  death.  No  sure  and  safe 
remedy  has  yet  been  found  sufficient  to  remove 
bots  from  the  stomach  of  the  horse.  The  pre- 
ventive means  are  very  simple,  consisting  only 
in  scraping  off"  the  eggs  or  nits  of  the  fly  every 
day.  Bracy  Clark,  Esq.,  who  has  published 
some  very  interesting  remarks  on  the  bots  of 
horses  and  of  other  animals,  maintains  that 
bots  are  rather  beneficial  than  injurious  to  the 
animals  they  infest.     (Dr.  Harris.) 

If  a  piece  of  the  maAv  or  stomach  of  a  horse 
that  has  died  while  affected  with  bots  be 
cut  out,  it  may  be  held  under  the  jet  of  the 
strongest  fountain  or  hydrant,  without  the 
maggots  or  bots  leaving  go,  or  loosing  their 
hooks.  Experiments  have  been  made  to  de- 
stroy them  out  of  the  body  with  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine, alcohol,  and  a  great  many  of  the  most 
stimulating  and  acrimonious  substances,  in 
liquid  and  other  forms,  all,  however,  with  little 
apparent  effect  upon  an  insect  so  very  tena- 
cious of  life.  The  bot-maggot  is  even  said  to 
live  a  considerable  length  of  time  in  oil  of  vi- 
triol and  nitric  acid  or  aquafortis.  After  such 
results,  the  chance  of  destroying  them  in  the 
body  must  be  small,  through  means  which 
would  not  destroy  the  horse.  The  following 
ingenious  method  has,  however,  been  pursued 
with  success.  A  full  drench  has  been  admi- 
nistered, consisting  of  a  mixture  of  milk  sweet- 
ened with  molasses,  followed  soon  after  by  an 
active  purgative  drench.  The  milk  and  mo- 
lasses tempt  the  bot-maggots  to  let  go  their 
holds  in  order  the  better  to  partake  of  the 'milk, 
in  which  condition  they  are  worked  off'  quickly 
by  the  brisk  operation  of  the  medicine. 

The  maggots  of  the  (Estnis  bovis,  or  ox  bot- 
fly, live  in  large  open  boils,  sometimes  called 
wornils  or  Avurmals,  that  is,  worm-holes,  on 
the  backs  of  cattle.  The  fly  is  rather  smaller 
than  the  horse  bot-fly,  although  it  comes  from 
a  much  larger  maggot.  The  sheep  bot-fly 
(Cephalemyia  ovis)  lays  its  eggs  in  the  nostrils 
of  sheep,  and  the  maggots  crawl  from  thence 
into  the  hollows  in  the  bones  of  the  forehead. 
Deer  are  also  afflicted  by  bots  peculiar  to  them. 
Our  native  hare,  or  rabbit,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  sometimes  has  very  large  bots,  which 
live  under  the  skin  of  his  back.  The  fly 
(Oestrus  buccatus)  is  as  big  as  our  largest 
humble-bee,  but  is  not  hairy.  It  is  of  a  reddish- 


BOUND. 


lack  colour;  the  face  and  the  sides  of  the 
)ind-body  are  covered  with  a  bluish-white 
tloom;  there  are  many  small  black  dots  on 
t  le  latter,  and  six  or  eight  on  the  face.  This 
ty  measures  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  or  more 
i  1  length,  and  its  wings  expand  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch.  It  is  rarely  seen;  and 
ny  only  specimen  was  taken  in  the  month  of 
July,  many  years  ago. 

At  the  very  end  of  this  order  is  to  be  placed 
a  remarkable  group  of  insects,  which  seems 
to  connect  the  flies  with  the  true  ticks  and  spi- 
ders. Some  of  these  insects  have  wings ;  but 
others  have  neither  wings  nor  poisers.  Of 
the  winged  kinds  there  is  one  (Hippobosca 
e(jui>i(i)  that  nestles  in  the  hair  of  the  horse; 
others  are  bird-flies  {Ornithomyia),  and  live  in 
the  plumage  of  almost  all  kinds  of  birds.  The 
wingless  kinds  have  sometimes  been  called 
spider-flies,  from  their  shape ;  such  are  sheep- 
ticks  {Melltyphagus  ovis)  and  bat-ticks  (^Nycteri- 
iin).  These  singular  creatures  are  not  pro- 
uced  from  eggs,  in  the  usual  way  among  in- 
ects,  but  are  brought  forth  in  the  pupa  state, 
nclosed  in  the  egg-shaped  skin  of  the  larva, 
>ehich  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  body  of 'the 
jiarent  insect.  This  egg-like  body  is  soft  and 
white  at  first,  but  soon  becomes  hard  and 
brown.  It  is  notched  at  one  end,  and  out  of 
this  notched  part  the  enclosed  insect  makes  its 
ray,  when  it  arrives  at  maturity.  (Br. Harris.) 
BOUND  (Sax.  buntje,  from  bint)an,  to  bind). 
In  veterinary  medicine,  a  term  of  various  ap- 
)lication.  Any  part  of  an  animal  that  is  em- 
braced with  an  unnatural  force  is  said  to  be 
bound:  thus  horses  are  liable  to  be  hoof-bound, 
hide-bound,  &c.  Or  the  bowels  may  be  con- 
stricted so  as  not  to  part  with  the  foeces,  in 
which  case  the  bellv  is  said  to  be  bound. 

BOWEL  DISEASES  (Mod.  Fr.  boyaux ; 
old  Fr.  boailles).  The  horse  and  other  quadru- 
peds are  liable  to  various  diseases  affecting 
the  bowels.  Of  inflammation  of  the  bowels 
there  are  two  kinds ;  that  of  the  external  and 
that  of  the  internal  coat.  The  former  is  a  ver>' 
frequent  and  fatal  disease,  and  is  recognised 
by  the  farrier  under  the  name  of  red  colic.  It  is 
frequently  caused  by  the  application  of  cold  to 
the  belly  of  the  horse,  either  by  taking  him 
into  the  water,  ur  washing  him  about  the  belly 
with  cold  water,  or  suffering  him  to  drink 
plentifully  of  it  when  he  is  heated,  or  by  expo- 
sure to  rain,  over-exertion  on  a  full  stomach, 
&c.  From  whatever  cause  it  arises,  it  runs 
its  course  with  fearful  rapidity,  and  sometimes 
destroys  the  horse  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours.  The  symptoms  should  be  carefully 
studied.  One  of  the  earliest  is  the  expression 
of  very  acute  pain.  The  animal  paws,  rolls, 
struggles  violently,  lies  upon  his  back,  groans ; 
his  legs  and  mouth  are  cold,  the  flanks  heave 
violently,  the  horse  shivers  and  sweats,  &c. 
The  violence  of  the  symptoms  soon  abates, 
and  the  horse  becomes  weak,  and  scarcely 
able  to  stand.  Prompt  and  copious  bleeding 
should  be  at  first  resorted  to,  until  fainting 
nearly  or  quite  succeeds;  and  mild  aperients 
may  be  next  administered.  The  whole  of  the 
belly  should  be  stimulated  with  the  strong  blis- 
tering liquid,  or  with  spirit  of  turpentine;  and 
these  appliances  should  be  rubbed  in  as  hard'v 


BOX-TKEE. 

and  thoroughly  as  the  tender  state  ol  the  belly 
will  allow.  The  horse  should  be  kept  quiet, 
warmly  clothed,  and  his  legs  bandaged.  In- 
flammation of  the  inner  coat  of  the  bowels  is 
usually  the  consequence  of  physic,  either  of 
bad  quality  or  given  in  an  over-dose ;  or  the 
horse  may  have  been  ridden  or  driven  far  and 
fast  with  nothing  but  green  meat  in  his  belly. 
j  This  disease  can  scarcely  be  confounded  with 
•  the  foregoing.  The  horse  does  not  roll  so  vio 
lently  nor  kick  so  desperately,  nor  is  there  an/ 
heat  nor  much  tenderness  of  the  belly.  At  the 
same  time  he  is  purged,  instead  of  exhibiting 
the  obstinate  costiveness  which  generally  ac- 
companies the  former.  Plenty  of  tolerably 
thick  gruel  or  starch  should  be  forced  down, 
which  will  possibly  sheathe  the  coats  of  the 
stomach  from  the  effect  either  of  some  portion 
of  the  physic  or  the  acrimony  of  the  secretion, 
and  the  purging  will  gradually  stop.  If  this 
should  have  no  effect,  bleeding,  carefully 
watcned,  and  stopped  when  the  pulse  falters, 
must  be  resorted  to ;  and  thicker  gruel  and 
astringent  medicine  must  be  administered. 
As  in  the  last  species,  warm  clothing  and 
bandages  about  the  legs  will  be  of  essential 
service.     (Clater's  Farriery,  p.  173 — 178.) 

BOWLDERS,  or  BOULDERS.  A  term  in 
geology,  implying  rounded  masses  of  rock ;  it 
is  also  provinciaily  applied  to  a  kind  of  round 
stone,  common  in  the  soils  of  the  midland  dis- 
tricts. In  the  north  of  England  it  is  pronounced 
sometimes  boicder  or  booder,  and  also  boolher. 

BOWLDER-WALL.  A  wall  generally  on 
the  sea-coast,  constructed  of  large  pebbles  or 
bowlders  of  flint,  which  have  been  rounded  by 
the  action  of  water. 

BOW-LEGGED.  In  horsemanship,  is  a  de- 
fective conformation  or  posture  of  the  fore-legs 
of  a  horse. 

BOWS  OF  A  SADDLE  are  two  pieces  of 
wood  laid  archwise  to  receive  the  upper  part 
of  the  horse's  back,  to  give  the  saddle  its  due 
form,  and  keep  it  steady. 

BOX  DRAIN.  An  underground  drain,  re- 
gularly built,  with  upright  sides,  and  a  flat 
stone  or  brick  cover ;  so  that  the  close  section 
has  the  appearance  of  a  square  box.  See 
Drains  and  Diiaixing. 

BOX  TREE  (Sax.  box ;  It.  basso  ;  Fr.  bins  ; 
Lat.  Buxus  sempervirens).  We  consider  the 
English  name  of  this  plant  to  be  a  corruption 
of  the  Latin  word  buxus,  or  from  the  Spanish 
box,  and  that  it  gave  the  name  to  the  Avooden 
cases  made  by  the  carpenter  and  turner,  rather 
than  derived  its  own  from  these  cases.  The 
box  was  formerly  much  more  plentiful  in 
England  than  at  present.  Boxwel,  in  Glou- 
cestershire, w^as  named  from  this  tree,  and  it 
also  gave  the  name  of  Boxhill  to  those  delight- 
ful downs  near  Dorking,  in  Surry,  where  this 
shrub  seems  to  have  grown  naturally,  as  it  is 
knowm  to  have  abounded  there  long  before  the 
time  that  the  Earl  of  Arundel  retired  to  that 
spot,  and,  as  it  is  stated,  planted  the  box.  In 
1815  the  box  trees  cut  down  on  Boxhill  pro- 
duced upwards  of  10,000/.  This  evergreen 
bush,  or  small  tree,  is  found  all  over  Europe, 
as  well  as  upon  the  chalk  hills  of  England  ; 
but  it  acquires  its  largest  dimensions  in  the 
south.    The  duty  on  box-wood  is  quite  oppres- 

2i  5 


BOX. 


BRAMBLE. 


sive;  being  57.  a  ton  if  brought  from  a  foreign 
country,  and  1/.  a  ton  if  from  a  British  pos- 
session. It  is  from  Turkey  that  the  principal 
part  of  the  wood  is  imported  into  England ; 
whether  or  not  all  this  is  really  furnished  by 
Buxus  sempennreiis  is  not  known.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  Buxus  buleai-ica,  a  larger  species, 
too  tender  to  thrive  in  this  country,  may  fur- 
nish a  part,  at  least,  of  that  which  comes  ftorri 
the  Mediterranean.  It  is  said,  that  the  wood 
of  this  species  is  coarser,  and  of  a  brighter  yel- 
low than  that  of  the  common  species.  At  an 
average  of  the  three  years  ending  with  1831, 
the  entries  of  box-wood  for  home  consumption 
amounted  to  382  tons  a  year.  In  1832,  the 
duty  produced  1867/.  17s.  M.  Turkey  box- 
wood sells  in  the  London  market  for  from  11. 
to  14/.  a  ton,  duty  included.  Box  is  a  very 
valuable  wood.  It  is  of  a  yellowish  colour, 
close-grained,  very  hard,  and  heavy ;  it  cuts 
better  than  any  other  wood,  is  susceptible  of  a 
very  fine  polish,  and  is  very  durable.  In  con- 
sequence it  is  much  used  by  turners  and  ma- 
thematical and  musical  instrument  makers.  It 
is  too  heavy  for  furniture.  It  is  the  only  wood 
used  by  the  engravers  of  wood-ci  ts  for  books; 
and,  provided  due  care  be  exercised,  the  num- 
ber of  impressions  that  may  be  taken  from  a 
box-wood  cut  is  very  great;  In  France,  box- 
wood is  extensively  used  for  combs,  knife 
handles,  and  button  moulds.  The  value  of 
the  box-wood  sent  from  Spain  to  Paris  is  re- 
ported to  amount  to  10,000  fr.  a  year. 

Where  box  trees  are  required,  they  should 
be  raised  from  seed,  which  should  be  sown 
soon  after  it  is  ripe,  in  a  shady  border  of  light 
loam,  or  sand ;  but  it  is  generally  propagated 
by  cuttings  planted  in  the  autumn,  and  kept 
moist,  until  they  have  taken  root.  The  box 
plant  is  best  known  for  its  use  in  gardens  as 
hedgings  to  borders ;  the  kind  so  employed  is 
a  dwarf  variety.  It  is  very  useful,  as  it  grows 
freely  under  the  drip  and  shade  of  trees. 
Dwarf  box  is  increased  by  parting  the  roots,  or 
planting  the  slips.  The  best  time  for  trans- 
planting this  shrub  is  October;  though  it  may 
be  removed  almost  at  any  time,  except  sum- 
mer, if  it  be  taken  up  with  a  good  ball  of 
earth. 

With  respect  to  its  medicinal  properties, 
box-wood  has  been  substituted  for  guaiacum 
as  a  sudorific  in  rheumatism ;  but  is  now  seldom 
prescribed.  Oil  of  box  root  is  a  popular  reme- 
dy for  the  toothache,  when  dropped  on  cotton, 
and  put  into  a  carious  tooth.  {Phillips's  Sylv. 
Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  44;  Brande's  Did.  of  Science; 
M'CuUoch's  Com.  Diet.) 

BOX  of  a  Wheel.  The  aperture  wherein  the 
axis  turns. 

BOX  of  a  Plough.  The  cross-piece  in  the 
head  of  the  plough  which  supports  the  two 
crow-stares. 

BRACE.  The  general  name  for  a  couple, 
or  pair,  of  such  animals  as  bucks,  hounds, 
partridges,  &c.  It  is  also  applied  to  any  thing 
that  serves  to  strengthen  or  support. 

BRACKEN.     It  is  written  also  broken,  and 
sometimes  pronounced  breckin  in  the  north  of 
England.    The  same  with  brake  or  fern.     See  j 
Fekx. 

BRAIRD.    In  the  agriculture  and  gardening  | 
216 


of  Scotland,  the  term  braird  is  applied  to  the 
springing  up  of  seeds,  which,  when  they  come 
up  well,  are  said  to  have  a  fine  braird. 

BRAKE.  The  name  of  a  wooden  instru- 
ment for  dressing  hemp  and  flax,  used  to  bruise 
or  break  the  bun  or  stem,  &c.  in  order  to 
separate  the  cortical  part  or  rind  from  it.  It 
is  sometimes  applied  to  a  thicket,  or  the 
place  where  fern  grows ;  and  is  another  name 
for  the  barnacles,  or  pincers,  used  by  farriers. 
Brake  is  also  a  sharp  bit,  or  snaffle  for  horses. 
A  smith's  brake  is  a  machine  in  which  horses 
unwilling  to  be  shod  are  confined  during  that 
operation.  Some  species  of  large  heavy  har- 
rows are  frequently  called  brakes.  See  Har- 
row. 

BRAMBLE,  FLOWERING  (Rubus  odoror 
tus).  A  hardy  exotic  shrub,  five  or  six  feet  in 
height,  blowing  a  pinkish  violet-coloured  flower 
in  June  and  August.  It  loves  shade  and  moist- 
ure, and  is  propagated  by  suckers.  It  is  known 
also  as  the  flowering  raspberry. 

BRAMBLE  or  BRAMBLE-BERRY  (Sax. 
bjisembei,  formerly  written  bremble ;  Lat.  i?it- 
bus).  The  bramble,  or  blackberry,  the  generic 
name  of  a  large  family  of  shrubs  which  creep 
along  the  hedge  in  every  soil.  The  common 
bramble  (Rubus  fruticosus)  derives  both  its  La- 
tin and  English  common  name  from  the  colour 
of  its  fruit  at  difl!erent  stages  of  ripeness. 
However  generally  the  bramble  is  reprobated 
as  a  troublesome  weed,  we  must  acknowledge 
that,  when  either  in  fruit  or  flower,  it  forms  a 
principal  among  the  numberless  hedgerow 
beauties,  and  is  not  without  its  utility  in  par- 
ticular soils,  especially  in  poor  sandy  lands, 
where  the  growth  of  other  hedges  is  slow,  and 
where,  by  reason  of  the  looseness  of  the  soil, 
the  ditch  is  no  defence.  When  planted  in 
such  situations,  it  will,  by  its  quick  growth, 
soon  entwine  its  thorny  branches  in  the  dead 
hedge,  and  form  an  almost  impervious  fence 
against  the  invasions  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
other  trespassers.  Brambles  mixed  with  other 
hedge  plants  will  render  them  thicker  and 
stronger.  The  objections  urged  against  the 
more  general  adoption  of  bramble  fences  are, 
that,  by  the  yearly  decay  of  a  portion  of  the 
shoots,  they  soon  fill  the  hedge  with  dead  wood, 
which  has  not  only  an  unsightly  appearance, 
but  is  also  hurtful  to  the  other  plants;  and 
again  it  is  said,  that  the  leaves  are  so  broad 
and  numerous  as  to  smother  every  other  plants 
by  depriving  it  of  both  sun  and  air.  When 
brambles  are  in  considerable  abundance,  as  is 
often  the  case  in  waste  and  other  lands  tha 
require  to  be  brought  into  cultivation,  they 
should  always  be  grubbed  or  hoed  up  ;  and  if 
the  land  be  afterwards  ploughed  with  a  good 
furrow,  the  remaining  roots  will  be  torn  up, 
and  the  plants  at  length  destroyed.  This  shrub, 
which  is  only  used  by  the  chance  passenger 
occasionally  plucking  its  fruit,  possesses,  how- 
ever, several  advantages  which  deserve  our 
attention.  Its  long  branches  can,  in  case  of 
need,  be  employed  as  cords  ;  and  its  fruit  pro- 
duces an  excellent  wine,  the  mode  of  making 
which  is  as  follows : — Five  measures  of  the 
ripe  fruit,  with  one  of  honey  and  six  of  wine, 
are  taken  and  boiled ;  the  froth  is  skimmed 
off,  the  fire  removed,  and  the  mixture  being 


BRAMBLE. 


BRAMBLE. 


fiassed  through  a  linen  cloth,  is  left  to  ferment, 
t  is  then  boiled  anew,  and  allowed  to  ferment 
in  a  suitable  cask.  In  Provence  bramble-ber- 
ries are  used  to  give  a  deep  colour  to  particu- 
lar wines.  {Jllgem.  Forst  und  Jagd-Zeitung,  Feb. 
1828,  p.  104.)  The  juice  of  the  blackberry, 
mixed  with  raisin  wine  before  it  has  fermented, 
will  give  it  both  the  colour  and  flavour  of 
claret.  "  The  berries,"  says  Pliny,  "  have  a 
desiccative  and  astringent  virtue,  and  are  a 
most  appropriate  remedy  for  the  gums  and 
inflammation  of  the  tonsils."  The  flowers  as 
well  as  the  berries  of  the  bramble  were  igno- 
rantly  considered  by  the  ancients  as  remedies 
against  the  most  dangerous  serpents.  They 
are  diuretic;  and  the  juice  pressed  out  of  the 
tendrils,  or  young  shoots,  and  afterwards  re- 
duced to  the  consistency  of  honey  by  standing 
in  the  sun,  is,  adds  the  above  author,  "a  sin- 
gularly efficacious  medicine,  taken  inwardly 
or  applied  outwardly,  for  all  the  diseases  of 
the  mouth  and  eyes,  as  well  as  for  the  quincy, 
&c."  But  Pliny  has  lost  his  celebrity  as  a 
medical  authority,  if  he  ever  had  any ;  and 
modern  blackberries  have  also  lost  their 
virtue.  Boerhaave  affirms,  that  the  roots  taken 
out  of  the  earth  in  February  or  March,  and 
boiled  with  honey,  are  an  excellent  remedy 
against  the  dropsy. 

Syrup  of  blackberries,  picked  when  only  red, 
is  cooling  and  astringent  in  common  purgings 
or  fluxes.  The  bruised  leaves,  stalks,  and  un- 
ripe fruit,  applied  outwardly,  are  said  to  cure 
ringworm. 

Billington,  n\  his  work  on  Planting,  says, 
'*To  the  poor  in  the  vicinity  of  Newcastle  it  is 
of  great  importance ;  many  of  whom  go  a 
great  number  of  miles  to  gather  blackberries 
while  they  are  in  season,  and  carry  them  from 
ten  to  twenty  miles,  to  Newcastle,  Shields,  and- 
Sunderland,  where  they  sometimes  sell  them 
as  high  as  3d.  and  4<7.  per  quart,  for  puddings, 
tarts,  preserves,  or  jellies,  and  even  making  of 
wines."  The  fruit  is,  in  particular,  much 
esteemed  and  sought  after  by  the  wives  and 
mothers  of  sailors,  to  send  on  board  the  ships, 
as  it  is  found  to  be  very  healthful  to  the  men 
to  eat  with  their  biscuits,  as  well  as  for  pud- 
dings, much  more  so  than  their  common  fare 
of  salt  beef  and  pork.  All  through  the  season, 
after  the  gooseberries  are  over  (for  apples, 
plums,  &c.,  are  often  scarce  and  dear),  the 
people  are  regaled  with  the  fruit  of  the  bram- 
ble as  the  greatest  domestic  luxury,  and  would 
probably  lay  in  a  store  for  future  consumption 
if  sugar  were  cheaper.  The  leaves  of  the  dwarf 
crimson  bramble  (Rvbus  arcticus)  are  often  used 
to  adulterate  tea.    See  WHonTtEBEHRT. 

Of  the  Ricbus  fruticosus,  or  common  bramble, 
we  have  (says  Phillips)  five  varieties  ;  and  as 
one  has  been  discovered  in  a  hedge  near  Ox- 
ford by  Bobart  which  produces  a  white  fruit, 
it  will  be  necessary  to  adopt  the  proper  name  j 
of  bramble-berry  for  this  fruit,  to  avoid  the  | 
contradictory  appellation   of  white  blackberry,  j 
The  variety  with  a  double  flower  is  now  one  | 
of  the  ornaments  of  the  shrubbery;  the  other  i 
varieties  are,  one  with  variegated  leaves,  one 
with  cut  leaves,  and    the    bramble   without ; 
thorns.     Smith,  in  his  English  Flora,  describes  | 
fourteen  species  of  bramble  (Rubus) ;  which  ; 
28 


include  the  raspberry,  cloudberry,  and  dew- 
berry. Several  reputed  varieties  of  the  com- 
mon bramble  have  also  been  observed  in 
Britain  (says  Smith,  vol.  ii.  p.  400),  differing 
in  the  shape  and  pubescence  of  their  leaflets', 
not  to  mention  other  characters.  These  have 
recently  been  proposed  as  species  in  a  very 
able  work,  with  excellent  plates  partially  co- 
loured, by  Dr.  A.  Weihe  and  Prof.  Ch.  G.  Nees 
ab  Esenbeck  of  Bonn,  under  the  title  of  Rubi 
Germanica.  Notwithstanding  the  colour  of  the 
flowers,  I  cannot  suppose  the  British  R.  fruti^ 
cosns  to  difler  from  theirs.  (SmiUi's  Engl.  Florae 
vol.  ii. ;  Phillips's  Hist,  of  Fruits,  p.  63 ;  Quar- 
terly Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  i.  p.  816;  vol.  iii.  p, 
182.) 

The  Rubus  brier,  or  bramble  genus,  consists 
of  about  fifty  species,  which  are  very  widely 
dispersed  over  the  various  continents,  extending 
from  the  arctic  circle  to  the  equatorial  limits. 
Mr.  Nuttall  enumerates  twenty  species  as  found 
in  America,  among  which  are  the  following: 
iiK/;Ms/r/«Ms,  indigenous,  according  to  Pursh  and 
others,  throughout  Upper  Canada  and  the  north- 
ern parts  of  the  United  States.  Dr.  Darlington 
calls  this  the  Antwerp  raspberry,  so  advantage- 
ously known  from  its  large  and  finely  flavoured 
berries  which  are  cultivated  in  most  gardens. 
He  doubts  its  being  a  native  of  America. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  this  species  of 
Rubus.  The  Rubus  occidentalism  common  black 
raspberry,  or  thimble-berry,  is  common  in  the 
Middle  States  and  other  portions  of  the  Union, 
growing  along  fence-rows,  borders  of  woods, 
&c.  Rubus  villosus,  common  brier,  or  black- 
berry bush,  is  often  a  great  nuisance  on  farms, 
from  the  rapidity  with  which  it  spreads  and 
takes  possession  of  neglected  fields.  R.  Cunei- 
folius,  or  wedge-leaved  rubus  or  brier,  bearing 
an  oval-shaped,  small,  and  well-flavoured 
blackberry,  very  common  in  New  Jersey.  R. 
Trivialis,  dewberry,  or  running  brier.  The 
black,  sweet,  and  succulent  fruit  of  this 
species  of  rubus  is  a  very  great  favourite.  It 
is  not,  however,  the  same  as  the  English  dew- 
berry, which  is  produced  by  the  Rubus  Casius. 
In  treating  of  the  American  dewberry,  or  run- 
ning brier.  Dr.  Darlington  says,  "the  plough- 
boy  is  apt  to  get  well  acquainted  with  this 
species, — by  the  long  trailing  stems,  with  their 
recurved  prickles,  drawing  across  his  naked 
ankles!"  R.  odoruius,  found  on  the  banks  of 
the  Wisahickon,  near  Philadelphia,  abundant 
in  mountainous  districts,  always  among 
rocks. 

The  tall  blackberry  (R.  Villosus)  is  some- 
times cultivated  near  Boston  and  other  large 
cities,  for  the  sake  of  its  fruit,  and  richly  re- 
pays the  care  bestowed  upon  it.  Dr.  Harris, 
in  his  report  to  the  Massachusetts  legislature 
upon  destructive  insects,  says,  that  this  plant 
and  its  near  relation,  the  raspberry,  suffer  from 
borers  that  live  in  the  pith  of  the  stems,  a  fact 
which  does  not  appear  to  be  generally  known. 
The  beetle  is  a  species  oC  Saperda,  and  finishes 
its  transformations  towards  the  end  of  July, 
laying  its  eggs  early  in  August,  one  by  one,  on 
the  stems  of  the  blackberry  and  raspberry, 
near  a  leaf  or  small  twig.  The  grubs  proceed 
ing  from  these  eggs  burrow  directly  mto  the 
pith,  which  they  consume  as  they  proceed,  s«. 


BRAN. 

that  the  stem  for  several  inches  is  completely 
deprived  of  its  pith,  and  consequently  withers 
and  dies  before  the  end  of  the  summer.  In 
Europe,  one  of  these  slender  saperdas  attack 
the  hazle-nut  bush,  and  another  the  pear  tree 
in  a  similar  manner. 

Of  cultivated  blackberries  in  the  United 
States,  the  earliest  varieties  are,  the  Early 
Wilson  and  Dorchester ;  the  later  are  the 
Lawton,  Kittatiny,  and  Needham's  White. 

There  is  a  double  white  flowering  bramble 
(Rtibtis  nlbo-pleno)  which  is  a  beautiful  and  or- 
namental varietv. 

BRAN  (Old  Fr.  hrm;  Ital.  brenna).  The 
hin  skin  or  husks  of  corn,  particularly  wheat, 
ground  and  separated  from  the  meal  by  a  sieve 
or  boulter.  It  is  generally  laxative ;  owing  to 
the  mechanical  irritation  it  excites.  An  infu- 
sion of  it,  under  the  name  of  bran  tea,  is  fre- 
quently used  as  a  domestic  remedy  for  coughs 
and  hoarseness.  Infusions  of  bran  also  re- 
move scurf  and  dandriff.  Calico-printers  em- 
ploy bran  and  warm  water  with  great  success, 
to  remove  colouring  matter  from  those  parts 
of  their  goods  that  are  not  mordanted.  Bran 
is  a  useful  ingredient,  when  well  scalded,  and 
employed  occasionally  in  moderate  quantities, 
in  mashes  for  horses ;  but  the  constant  use  of 
it,  whether  raw  or  scalded,  is  prejudicial,  as  it 
is  apt  to  weaken  the  horse's  bowels,  and  there- 
by expose  him  to  many  disorders.  It  is  also 
highly  useful  in  stall-feeding  cattle,  and  for 
sheep,  when  given  as  a  dry  food.  According 
to  the  analysis  of  M.  Saussure,  100  parts  of 
the  ashes  of  the  bran  of  wheat  contain  {Chem. 
Rec.  Veg.),— 

Parts. 
Soluble  salts  -----  4415 
Earthy  phosphates      -       -        -        -  46-5 

Silica 0-5 

Metallic  oxides 025 

Loss    -------    86 

BRAND-GOOSE,  or  BRENT-GOOSE.     A 

kind  of  wildfowl,  less  than  a  common  goose, 
having  its  breast  and  wings  of  a  dark  colour. 
See  Goose. 

BRANK.  A  provincial  name  sometimes 
applied  to  buckwheat,  which  see. 

BRAWN.  The  flesh  of  the  boar,  after  being 
boned,  rolled  up,  or  collared,  boiled,  and  pick- 
led. Brawn  is  made  of  the  flitches,  and  some 
other  parts,  the  oldest  boars  being  chosen  for 
the  purpose,  it  being  a  rule  that  the  older  the 
boar  the  more  horny  the  brawn. 

The  method  of  making  it  is  generally  as 
follows: — The  bones  being  taken  out  of  the 
flitches,  or  other  parts,  the  flesh  is  sprinkled 
with  salt,  and  laid  in  a  tray,  that  the  blood  may 
drain  off;'  after  which  it  is  salted  a  little,  and 
rolled  up  as  hard  as  possible.  The  length  of 
the  collar  of  brawn  should  be  as  much  as  one 
side  of  the  boar  will  bear ;  so  that,  when  rolled 
up,  it  may  be  nine  or  ten  inches  in  diameter. 
After  being  thus  rolled  up,  it  is  boiled  in  a 
copper  or  large  kettle,  till  it  is  so  tender  that 
you  may  almost  run  a  stiff  straw  through  it ; 
when  it  is  set  by  till  thoroughly  cold,  and  then 
put  into  a  pickle  composed  of  water,  salt,  and 
wheat-bran,  in  the  proportion  of  two  handfuls 
of  each  of  the  latter  to  every  gallon  of  water ; 
which,  after  be'lng  well  boiled  together,  is 
strained  off  as  clear  as  possible  from  the  bran, 
213 


BREAD. 

and  when  quite  cold,  the  brawn  put  into  it 
(  Willkh's  Dom.  Encycl.) 
BREACHY,  or  BREECHY  WOOL,  is  tho 

short  coarse  wool  of  a  sheep,  such  as  that 
which  comes  from  the  breech  of  the  animal. 

BREAD  (Sax.  bpeoo;  Ger.  brod).  This 
forms  an  important  and  principal  article  in  the 
food  of  most  civilized  nations,  and  consists  of 
a  paste  or  dough  formed  of  the  flour  or  meal 
of  different  sorts  of  grain,  mixed  with  water, 
with  or  without  yeast  or  ferment,  and  baked. 

Bread  may  be  divided,  in  the  first  instance, 
into  leavened  and  unleavened  bread.  When  stale 
dough  or  yeast  is  added  to  the  fresh  dough  of 
flour  and  water  to  make  it  swell,  it  is  said  to 
be  leavened;  when  nothing  of  this  sort  is 
added,  the  bread  is  said  to  be  unleavened. 
These  may  again  be  subdivided  into  various 
kinds  and  qualities.  The  principal  sorts  in  use 
are  tvhite,  wheaten,  household,  and  brown  bread, 
which  differ  from  each  other  in  their  degrees  of 
purity.  In  the  first,  all  the  bran  is  separated 
from  the  flour ;  in  the  second,  only  the  coarser 
parts  of  it ;  and  in  the  third  scarcely  any  at  all; 
so  that  fine  bread  is  made  only  of  flour ;  wheaten 
bread  of  flour,  with  a  mixture  of  fine  bran  ;  and 
household  bread  of  the  whole  substance  of  the 
grain,  without  taking  out  scarcely  any  either  of 
the  coarse  bran  or  the  fine  flour.  We  have  also 
manchet  or  roll-bread,  and  French  bread, 
which  are  fine  white  breads  made  of  the  purest 
flour ;  in  roll-bread  there  is  sometimes  an  ad- 
dition of  milk,  and  in  French  bread  butter  is 
used.  There  is  likewise  ginger-bread,  maslin- 
bread,  made  of  wheat  and  rye,  or  sometimes 
of  wheat  and  barley;  and  other  breads  made 
with  various  substitutes  for  flour,  as  oat-bread, 
rye-bread,  pea  and  bean-bread,  &c. 

The  President  de  Goguet  has  endeavoured 
{Origin  of  Laws,  ^-c,  vol.  i.  pp.  95 — 105,  Eng. 
trans.)  to  trace  the  successive  steps  by  v/hich 
it  is  probable  men  were  led  to  discover  the 
art  of  making  bread;  but  nothing  positive  is 
known  on  the  subject.  It  is  certain,  however, 
from  the  statements  in  the  sacred  writinj^s, 
that  the  use  of  unleavened  bread  was  common 
in  the  days  of  Abraham  (Gen.  xviii.  8);  and 
that  leavened  bread  was  used  in  the  time  of 
Moses  (Exod.  xii.  15).  The  method  of  grind- 
ing corn  by  hand-mills  was  practised  in  Egypt 
and  Greece  from  a  very  remote  epoch ;  but 
for  a  lengthened  period,  the  Romans  had  no 
other  method  of  making  flour  than  by  beating 
roasted  corn  in  mortars.  The  conquests  of 
the  Romans  diffused,  amongst  many  other  use- 
ful discoveries,  a  knowledge  of  the  art  of  pre- 
paring bread,  as  followed  in  Rome,  through  the 
whole  south  of  Europe. 

The  use  of  yeast  in  the  raising  of  bread 
seems,  however,  from  a  passage  of  Pliny  (lib. 
xviii.  c.  7),  to  have  been  taken  advantage  of 
by  the  Germans  and  Gauls  before  it  was  prac- 
tised by  the  Romans  ;  the  latter,  like  the  Greeks, 
having  leavened  their  bread  by  intermixing 
the  fresh  dough  with  that  which  had  become 
stale.  The  Roman  custom  seems  to  have  su- 
perseded that  which  was  previously  in  use  in 
France  and  Spain ;  for  the  art  of  raising  bread 
by  an  admixture  of  yeast  was  not  practised  in 
France  in  modern  times  till  towards  the  end 
of  the  seventeenth  century. 


BREAD. 


For  the  formation  of  bread,  a  certain  degree 
of  fermentation,  not  unlike  vinous  fermenta- 
tion, is  requisite,  care  being  taken  to  avoid  the 
acetous  fermentation,  which  renders  the  bread 
sour,  and,  to  most  persons,  disagreeable.  This 
fermentation  is  called  panary.  If  dough  be  left 
to  itself  in  a  moderately  warm  place  (between 
80°  and  120°),  a  degree  of  fermentation  comes 
on,  which,  however,  is  sluggish,  or,  if  rapid,  is 
apt  to  rim  into  the  acetous;  so  that,  to  effect 
that  kind  of  fermentation  requisite  for  the  pro- 
duction of  the  best  bread,  a  ferment  is  added, 
which  is  either  leaven,  or  dough  in  an  already- 
fermenting  state,  which  tends  to  accelerate  the 
process  of  the  mass  to  which  it  is  added,  or 
yeast,  the  peculiar  matter  which  collects  in  the 
form  of  scum  upon  beer  in  the  act  of  fermenta- 
tion. See  Yeast.  Of  these  ferments,  leaven 
is  slow  and  uncertain  in  its  effects,  and  gives 
a  sour  and  often  slightly  putrid  flavour  to  the 
bread.  Yeast  is  more  effective,  and,  when 
clean  and  good,  it  rapidly  induces  panary  fer- 
mentation; but  it  is  often  bitter,  and  sometimes 
has  a  peculiarly  disagreeable  smell  and  taste. 
Bread  well  raised  and  baked  differs  from  un- 
fermented  bread,  not  only  in  being  spongy,  less 
compact,  lighter,  and  of  a  more  agreeable  taste, 
but  also  in  being  more  easily  miscible  with 
water,  with  which  it  does  not  form  a  viscous 
mass ;  and  this  circumstance  is  of  great  im- 
portance to  health.  All,  then,  that  is  essential 
to  make  a  loaf  of  bread,  is  dough  to  which  a 
certain  quantity  of  yeast  has  been  added.  This 
mass,  or  sponge,  in  the  language  of  the  baker, 
is  put  into  any  tionvenient  mould  or  form,  or 
it  s  merely  shaped  into  one  mass;  and,  after 
being  kept  for  a  short  time  in  rather  a  warm 
place,  so  that  fermentation  may  have  begun,  it 
is  subjected  to  the  process  of  baking  in  a  pro- 
per oven.  Carbonic  acid  is  generated,  and  the 
viscidity  or  texture  of  the  dough  preventing 
the  immediate  escape  of  that  gas  from  the  in- 
numerable points  where  it  forms,  the  whole 
mass  is  puffed  up  by  it,  and  a  light  porous 
bread  is  the  result.  Along  with  the  carbonic 
acid  alcohol  is  evolved,  but  the  quantity  is  so 
insignificant  and  the  spirit  so  impure  as  not  to 
be  worth  notice;  thence  the  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  collect  it  upon  a  large  scale 
have  entirely  failed  in  an  economical  point  of 
view. 

The  general  process  of  making  household 
bread  is  this: — To  a  peck  of  meal  or  flour  is 
to  be  added  about  three  ounces  of  salt,  half  a 
pint  of  yeast,  and  three  quarts  of  water,  cold 
in  summer,  but  warm  in  winter,  and  temperate 
between  the  two:  the  whole  being  then  well 
kneaded  in  a  bowl  or  trough,  and  being  set  by 
m  a  proper  temperature,  rises  in  about  an  hour, 
according  to  the  season.  It  is  then  moulded 
into  loaves,  and  put  into  the  oven  to  be  baked. 
In  placing  the  dough  aside,  it  is  proper  to  cover 
it;  this  is  termed  setting  the  sponge,  and  it  under- 
goes a  second  kneading  before  It  is  baked. 

For  French  bread,  take  half  a  bushel  of  fine 
flour,'  ten  eggs,  a  pound  and  a  half  of  fresh 
butter  (the  eggs  and  butter,  however,  are  very 
seldom  used),  and  the  same  quantity  of  yeast 
used  in  making  the  finest  rolls  or  manchet; 
and,  tempering  the  whole  mass  with  new  milk, 
Dretty  hot,  let  it  lie  half  an  hour  to  rise ;  which 


BREAD. 

done,  make  it  into  loaves  or  rolls,  and  wa-ih 
these  over  with  an  egg  beaten  with  milk,  tak 
ing  care  that  the  oven  is  not  too  hot. 

Other  flour,  besides  that  of  wheat,  will,  under 
similar  circumstances,  undergo  panary  fer- 
mentation ;  but  the  result  is  a  heavy,  unpala- 
table, and  often  indigestible  bread;  so  that  the 
addition  of  a  certain  quantity  of  wheat  flour  is 
almost  always  had  recourse  to.  It  is  the  gluten 
in  wheat  which  thus  peculiarly  fits  it  for  the 
manufacture  of  bread,  chiefly  in  consequence 
of  the  tough  and  elastic  viscidity  which  it  con* 
fers  upon  the  dough. 

Wheat  flour  is  composed  chiefly  of  starch 
and  gluten  ;  the  proportion  of  these  and  other 
substances  which  it  contains,  according  to 
Vogel,  are — 

Parts. 

Starch  -------  68-0 

Gluten  -------  24-0 

Gummy  sugar       -        -        -        -        -    5-0 

Vegetable  albumen       -       -        -        -    1-5 

Sir  H.  Davy  states,  that  wheat  sown  in  au- 
tumn contains  77  per  cent,  of  starch,  and  19 
of  gluten  ;  while  that  sown  in  spring  yields  70 
of  starch  and  24  of  gluten.  The  wheat  of  the 
south  of  Europe  contams  a  larger  proportion 
of  gluten  than  that  of  the  north ;  and  hence  its 
peculiar  fitness  for  making  macaroni  and  ver- 
micelli. Oats  yielded,  according  to  Davy's 
analysis,  59  of  starch,  6  of  gluten,  and  2  of 
saccharine  matter;  while  the  same  quantity  of 
rye  gave  only  6*1  parts  of  starch,  and  half  a 
part  of  gluten. 

Like  all  other  farinaceous  substances,  bread 
is  very  nourishing,  oft  account  of  the  gluten 
which  it  contains ;  but  if  eaten  too  freely,  it  is 
productive  of  acidity,  which  deranges  the  in- 
testines, and  lays  the  foundation  of  dyspepsia. 
Stale  bread,  in  every  respect,  deserves  the  pre- 
ference over  that  which  is  newly  baked ;  and 
persons  troubled  with  flatulency,  cramp  of  the 
stomach,  or  indigestion,  should  abstain  from 
new  bread,  and  particularly  from  hot  rolls. 
Bread  made  from  the  best  flour  is  necessarily 
costly,  but  is  more  wholesome  for  those  per- 
sons who  are  liable  to  a  relaxed  state  of  the 
bowels.  Brown  bread,  on  the  contrary,  is  the 
cheapest  and  most  desirable  for  persons  whose 
habit  of  body  is  of  the  contrary  nature :  but 
there  is  an  intermediate  kind  made  from  flour, 
in  which  the  finer  portion  of  the  bran  is  retain- 
ed, called  locally  "  seconds,"  which  is  prefer- 
able to  either  of  the  above.  (Quar.  Jour.  Jgr. 
vol.  ix.  p.  585.)  It  is  a  prevailing  idea  that 
j'-east  reproduces  itself,  just  as  seeds  reproduce 
similar  seeds.  But  chemical  investigation  has 
shown  that  such  an  opinion  is  not  to  be  enter- 
tained.    See  Yeast. 

The  species  of  bread  in  common  use  in  a 
country  depends  partly  on  the  taste  of  the  in- 
habitants, but  more  on  the  sort  of  grain  suita- 
ble for  its  soil.  The  superiority  of  wheat  to 
all  other  farinaceous  plants  in  the  manufacture 
of  bread  is  so  very  great,  that  wherever  it  is 
easily  and  successfully  cultivated,  wheaten 
bread  is  used  to  the  nearly  total  excltasion  of 
most  others.  Where,  however,  the  soil  or  cli- 
mate is  less  favourable  to  its  growth,  rye.  oats, 
&c.,  are  used  in  its  stead.  A  very  great  changjs 
for  the  better  has,  ji  this  respect,  taken  place 
in  Great  Britain  within  the  last  century.    It  is 

219 


BREAD. 


BREAD. 


mentioned  by  Harrison,  in  his  Description  of 
England  (p.  168),  that  in  the  reign  of  Henry 
Vni.  the  gentry  had  wheat  sufficient  for  their 
own  tables,  but  that  their  households  and  poor 
neighbours  were  usually  obliged  to  content 
themselves  with  rye,  barley,  and  oats.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  household-book  of  Sir  Edward 
Coke,  that  in  1596  rye  bread  and  oatmeal 
formed  a  considerable  part  of  the  diet  of  ser- 
vants, even  in  great  families,  in  the  southern 
counties.  In  1626  barley  bread  was  the  usual 
ordinary  food  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  people. 
At  the  Revolution,  the  wheat  produced  in  Eng- 
land and  Wales  was  estimated  by  Mr.  King 
andDr.  Davenant  to  amount  to  1,750,000  quar- 
ters. (Davena)it's  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  217.)  Mr. 
Charles  Smith,  the  very  well  informed  author 
of  the  Trads  on  the  Corn  Trade,  originally  pub- 
lished in  1758,  states  that  in  his  time  wheat 
had  become  much  more  generally  the  food  of 
the  common  people  than  it  had  been  in  1689  ; 
but  he  adds  (2d  edit.  p.  182.  Lond.  1766),  that, 
notwithstanding  this  increase,  some  very  intel- 
ligent inquirers  were  of  opinion  that  even  then 
not  more  than  half  the  people  of  England  fed 
on  wheat.  Mr.  Smith's  own  estimate,  which 
is  very  carefully  drawn  up,  is  a  little  higher ; 
for,  taking  the  population  of  England  and 
Wales,  in  1760,  at  6,000,000,  he  supposes  that 
3,750,000  were  consumers  of  wheat,  739,000 
of  barley,  888,000  of  rye,  and  623,000  of  oat 
bread.  He  further  supposed  that  they  indivi- 
dually consumed — ^the  first  class,  1  qr.  of  wheat; 
the  second,  1  qr.  and  3  bushels  of  barley;  the 
third,  1  qr.  and  1  bushel  of  rye;  and  the  fourth, 
2  qrs.  and  7  bushels  of  oats.  About  the  -mid- 
dle of  last  century,  hardly  any  wheat  was  used 
in  the  northern  counties  of  England.  In  Cum- 
berland the  principal  families  used  only  a 
small  quantity  about  Christmas.  The  crust  of 
the  goose-pie,  with  which  almost  every  table 
in  the  county  is  then  supplied,  was,  at  the 
period  referred  to,  almost  uniformly  made  of 
barley  meal.  (Eden,  On  the  Poor,  vol.  i.  p.  564.) 
Every  one  knows  how  inapplicable  these 
statements  are  to  the  condition  of  the  people 
of  England  at  the  present  time.  Wheaten 
bread  is  now  almost  universally  made  use  of 
in  towns  and  villages,  and  almost  everywhere 
in  the  country.  Barley  is  no  longer  used;  oats 
are  employed  for  bread  only  in  the  northern 
parts  of  the  island ;  and  the  consumption  of 
rye  bread  is  comparatively  inconsiderable. 
The  }»roduce  of  the  wheat  crops  has  been,  at 
the  very  least,  trebled  since  1760.  And  if  to 
this  immense  increase  in  the  supply  of  wheat 
we  add  the  still  more  extraordinary  increase 
in  the  supply  of  butcher's  meat  (see  Cattxe), 
the  fact  of  a  very  signal  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  the  population,  in  respect  of  food, 
will  be  obvious.  When  flour  is  converted 
into  bread,  it  is  found,  on  weighing  it  when 
taken  from  Ibe  oven,  that  it  has  increased  from 
S8  to  34  per  cent,  in  weight  (3  lbs.  of  flour 
make  3  lbs.  10  oz.  of  dough)  ;  but  when  it  has 
been  kept  thirty-six  hours,  that  which  had 
}{:ained  28  will  lose  about  4  per  cent.  There 
are,   however,   several  circumstances  which 

nfluence  the  quantity  of  bread  obtained  from 
a  given  weight  of  flour,  such  as  the  season  in 

which  the  wheat  was  grown  and  the  age  of  the 
«20 


flour:  the  better  the  flour  is,  and  the  older, 
within  certain  limits,  the  larger  is  the  quantity 
of  the  bread  produced. 

According  to  the  assize  acts,  a  sack  of  flour 
weighing  280  lbs.  is  supposed  capable  of  being 
baked  into  80  quartern  loaves;  one-fifth  of  the 
loaf  being  supposed  to  consist  of  water  and 
salt,  and  four-fifths  of  flour.  But  the  number 
of  loaves  that  may  be  made  from  a  sack  of 
flour  depends  entirely  on  its  goodness.  Good 
flour  requires  more  water  than  bad  flour. 
Sometimes  82,  83,  and  even  86  loaves  have 
been  made  from  a  sack  of  flour,  and  sometimes 
hardly  80 :  96  are  generally  made,  at  4  lbs. 
6  oz.  before  going  into  the  oven,  by  the  London 
bakers. 

It  is  well  known  that  home-made  bread  and 
bakerh  bread  are  very  difierent ;  the  former  is 
usually  sweeter,  lighter,  and  more  retentive  of 
moisture,  and  will  keep  well  for  three  weeks, 
especially  if  a  little  rye  meal  is  mixed  with  it ; 
the  latter,  if  eaten  soon  after  it  has  cooled,  is 
pleasant  and  spongy;  but  if  kept  more  than 
two  or  three  days,  it  becomes  harsh  and  unpa- 
latable, and  mouldy.  Small  quantities  of 
alum  are  invariably  used  by  the  London 
bakers,  with  the  view  of  whitening  or  bleach- 
ing the  bread;  for  it  will  be  observed,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  quality  of  the  flour  which 
is  used,  home-made  bread  is  always  of  a  com- 
paratively dingy  hue.  By  some  respectable 
bakers  it  was  formerly  in  extensive  use,  and 
might  still  be  used,  with  perfect  safety  ;  for  in 
so  small  a  quantity  as  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of 
alum  to  1  cwt.  of  flour,  it  couid  not  be  in  the 
least  degree  injurious.  According  to  Mr.  Ac- 
cum  (Onthe  AduUeration  of  Food),  the  requisite 
quantity  of  alum  for  this  purpose  depends 
upon  the  quality  of  the  flour.  The  mealman, 
he  says,  makes  different  sorts  of  flour  from  the 
same  kind  of  grain.  The  best  flour  is  chiefly 
used  for  biscuits  and  pastry,  and  the  inferior 
kinds  for  bread.  In  London,  no  fewer  than 
five  kinds  of  wheaten  flour  are  brought  into 
the  market ;  they  are  called  fine  flour,  seconds, 
middlings,  coarse  middlings,  and  twenty- 
Tpenny. 

Beans  and  peas  are  also,  according  to  the 
same  authority,  frequently  ground  up  with 
London  flour.  The  smallest  quantity  of  alum 
used  is  from  three  to  four  ounces  to  the  sack 
of  flour  of  240  lbs.  Alum  may  easily  be  de- 
tected in  bread,  by  pouring  boiling  water  on  it, 
pressing  out  the  water,  boiling  it  away  to  one- 
third,  allowing  it  to  cool,  filtering  it  through 
paper,  and  adding  to  the  clear  liquor  some 
solution  of  muriate  of  lime  (chloride  of  calcium). 
If  considerable  muddiness  now  appear,  it  is 
proof  of  adulteration,  and  none  other  can  well 
be  suspected  than  alum.  Another  article  oc- 
casionally employed  in  bread  and  ginger-bread 
making  is  carbonate  of  ammonia.  As  it  is 
wholly  dissipated  by  the  heat  of  the  oven,  none 
remains  in  the  baked  loaf.  It  renders  the 
bread  light,  and  perhaps  neutralizes  any  acid 
that  may  have  been  formed  (exclusive  of.  car- 
bonic acid) ;  but  it  is  too  dear  to  be  much 
employed.  To  some  kinds  of  biscuits  it  gives 
a  peculiar  shortness,  and  a  few  of  the  most 
celebrated  manufacturers  use  it  largel)\  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  E.  Davy,  bread,  especially  that 


BREAD. 


of  indifferent  flour,  is  materially  improved  by 
the  addition  of  a  little  carbonate  of  magnesia, 
in  the  proportion  of  twenty  to  thirty  grains  to 
the  pound  of  flour;  it  requires  to  be  very  in- 
timately mixed  with  the  flour.  Salt,  which,  in 
small  quantity,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  the 
flavour  of  the  bread,  is  used  by  fraudulent 
persons  as  an  adulteration  ;  for  a  large  portion 
of  it  added  to  dough  imparts  to  it  the  quality 
of  absorbing  and  retaining  a  much  greater 
quantity  of  water  than  it  otherwise  would,  thus 
making  the  loaf  heavier.  The  taste  of  such 
bread  is  a  sufficient  index  to  its  bad  quality. 
It  is  rough  in  its  grain.  (Domestic  Economy, 
vol.  i.)  A  long  list  of  other  articles  which 
are  said  to  be  used  in  the  adulteration  of  bread 
might  be  given,  but  no  advantage  could  result 
from  such  a  statement. 

Making  bread  at  home  is  an  operation  very 
easy  of  acquirement;  and,  doubtless,  most  of 
our  farming  friends  are  fortunate  in  possess- 
ing worthy  helpmates  or  experienced  servants 
who  provide  the  families  with  this  daily  ne- 
cessary. To  such  a  practical  method  of  per- 
forming the  art  would  be  deemed  needless; 
but  others  of  our  readers,  who  may  not  have 
considered  the  expediency  of  this  bread,  its 
superior  salubrity,  its  decided  economy,  and 
the  feasibility  of  its  preparation,  may  be  pleased 
to  meet  with  its  details.  We  may  refer  them, 
therefore,  to  the  Quar.  Jmtni.  of  JIgr.  (vol.  ix. 
pp.  289  and  583),  a  work  which  is  probably  in 
the  hands  of  the  greater  number  of  the  British 
farmers;  or  they  may  consult  with  advantage 
any  of  the  worRs  cited  at  the  end  of  this  ar- 
ticle, for  our  limits  will  not  permit  us  to  go 
into  the  particulars.  The  writer  there  states, 
that  the  addition  of  potatoes  is  wholly  unne- 
cessar}',  unless  it  be  the  intention  of  a  house- 
wife that  her  product  shall  resemble  that  of 
tlie  baker  in  insipidity  and  whiteness ;  both 
qualities  will  result  from  the  use  of  that  root, 
which  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of 
all  bread  that  is  purchased.  Notwithstanding 
the  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  use  of  potatoes, 
it  has  been  proved,  by  careful  calculation,  that 
although  even  a  third  part  of  the  flour  be 
exchanged  for  potatoes,  so  immense  is  the 
quantity  of  water  which  they  contain,  that  the 
substitute  would  cause  a  loss  rather  than  a 
gain. 

Substitute  for    wheat  flour. — Various    sub- 
stances have  been  used  for  bread,  instead  of 
wheat.     In  the  year  1629-30,  when  there  was  a 
dearth  in  England,  bread  was  made  in  London 
of  turnips.     And  again   in    1693,  when  corn 
was  very  dear,  a  great  quantity  of  turnip  bread 
was  made  in  several  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
but  particularly  in  Essex.     The  process  is,  to 
put  the  turnips  into  a  kettle  over  a  slow  fire, 
till  they  become  soft ;  they  are  then  taken  out, 
squeezed,  and  drained  as  dry  as  possible,  and 
afterwards  mashed  and  mixed  with  an  equal 
weight  of  flour,  and  kneaded  with  yeast,  salt, 
and  a  little  warm  water.    A  series  of  interest- 
ing experiments  were  made  some  years  ago  j 
by  the   Board  of   Agriculture     to  determine  | 
what  were  the  best  substitutes  for  wheaten  j 
flour  in  the  composition  of  different  kinds  of  1 
bread.    For  this  purpose,  all  the  sorts  of  grain, : 
&c.  commonly  sold  in  the  markets  in  London 


BREAD. 

were  procured,  ground  into  meal,  ar  d  baked 
in  various  proportions  into  bread;  such  as 
wheat,  rye,  rice,  barley,  buckwheat,  maize, 
oats,  peas,  beans,  and  potatoes.  Many  of  these 
form  the  principal  nourishment  of  mankind 
in  various  countries.  Buckwheat,  made  into 
thin  cakes,  is  the  chief  article  of  food  in  Bre- 
tagne  and  parts  of  Normandy.  Rice  nourishes, 
probably,  more  human  beings  in  the  East  than 
all  other  articles  of  food  taken  together ;  and, 
for  its  bulk,  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  nutri- 
tious of  all  the  sorts  of  grain.  Maize  is  a 
principal  article  throughout  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope, and  is  made  into  bread  in  Italy  and  in 
America.  Peas  and  beans  have  rarely,  it  is 
believed,  been  used  alone  as  bread;  but,  it  is 
suspected,  they  enter  largely,  though  clandes- 
tinely, into  its  composition  in  various  districts. 
To  ascertain  the  respective  qualities  of  all 
these  grains,  and  to  discover  their  operation 
on  each  other,  in  correcting  by  means  of  one 
the  defects  of  another,  would  be  an  inquiry 
deserving  great  attention,  but  it  has  not  yet 
been  experimentally  investigated.  With  al- 
most all  the  several  kinds  of  grain  enumerated, 
experiments  were  made  on  seventy  sorts  of 
bread.  But  as  all  these  sorts  were  made  at 
once,  by  several  bakers,  in  order  to  be  ex- 
amined at  the  same  time,  the  execution,  it  is 
observed,  was  by  no  means  such  as  gave  the 
Board  of  Agriculture,  who  instituted  the  in- 
quiry, satisfaction.  One  general  result,  how- 
ever, was,  that  very  few,  if  any,  of  the  loaves 
then  exhibited,  were  too  bad  for  human  food 
in  times  of  scarcity ;  and  it  may  be  observed, 
that  though  at  first  a  change  may  prove  dis- 
agreeable, yet  the  practice  of  a  few  days  soon 
reconciles  the  stomach  to  almost  any  species 
of  food,  by  which,  at  least  in  the  same  country, 
other  intlividuals  can  be  supported.  These 
experiments  were  followed  by  others,  which  I 
will  explain  under  distinct  heads. 

jiice. — Of  all  the  mixtures,  none  has  made 
bread  equally  good  with  rice,  not  ground,  hut 
boiled  quite  soft,  and  then  mixed  with  wheaten 
flour.  One-third  rice  and  two-thirds  wheal 
make  good  bread ;  but  one-fourth  rice  makes 
a  bread  superior  to  any  that  can  be  eaten,  better 
even  than  all  of  wheat;  and  as  the  gain  in 
baking  is  more  than  of  wheat  alone  (since  rice 
contains  85  per  cent,  of  starch),  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  its  nutritive  quality.  Rice  bread 
thus  formed  is  sAveetish  to  the  taste,  and  very 
agreeable  ;  but,  as  the  proportion  of  gluten  is 
considerably  less  than  in  wheaten  bread,  it  is 
less  nutritive.  Excellent  biscuits  are  formed 
of  the  mixture. 

Potatoes.— The  experiments  made  with  this 
root  were  similar.  It  makes  a  pleasant  pala- 
table bread  with  wheat  in  the  proportion  of 
one-third,  but  one-fourth  still  lighter  and  better. 
Specimens  of  barley  and  potatoes,  and  also  of 
oats  and  the  same  root,  made  into  bread,  were 
submitted  to  the  Board,  which  promise  well. 
In  some  cases  the  potato  was  not  boiled,  but 
merely  grated  down  into  a  palp  and  mixed 
with  wheaten  flour,  in  which  mode  it  made 
excellent  bread.  It  has  been  found  by  other 
trials,  that  good  bread  may  be  made  from 
equal  quantities  of  flour  and  potato  meal, 
which  has  been  greatly  the  pracuce  m  thosn 
T  2  22) 


BREAD. 


BREAD. 


countries  most  remarkable  for  the  plentiful 
"ulture  of  the  potato. 

Various  experiments  have  teen  made  to 
combine  the  meal  of  wheat,  barley,  oat,  bean, 
and  pea  flour  with  vegetable  substances,  and 
which  have  been  found  to  produce  very  whole- 
some and  nutritive  bread. 

Using  the  potatoes  after  boiling,  steaming,  or 
baking,  and  reducing  them  into  a  sort  of  pow- 
der, seems,  however,  to  be  the  most  ready  me- 
thod of  making  them  into  bread. 

Oats. — It  appears,  from  some  experiments 
made  by  Dr.  Richard  Pearson  of  Birmingham, 
that  oats  answer  better  mixed  with  potatoes 
than  has  been  commonly  apprehended. 

He  found  that  three  pints  (dry  measure)  of 
fine  oatmeal,  three  pints  of  seconds  flour,  and 
one  quart  of  potato  pulp  kneaded  into  a  dough, 
with  a  proper  quantity  of  yeast,  salt,  and  milk 
and  water,  made  a  bread  of  excellent  quality. 

Barley. — Mixed  with  an  equal  proportion  of 
wheat,  or  one-fourth  potatoes  and  three-fourths 
barley,  barley  bread  is  good.  The  following 
method  of  making  bread  of  wheat  and  barley 
flour  has  been  strongly  recommended.  To 
four  bushels  of  wheat  ground  to  one  sort  of 
flour,  extracting  only  a  very  small  quantity  of 
the  coarser  bran,  add  3^  bushels  of  barley 
flour.  The  oven  should  be  hotter  than  when 
bread  is  made  of  wheat  alone ;  and  the  loaves 
should  remain  in  the  oven  about  two  hours  or 
more.  The  offal  of  the  barley  is  good  food 
for  hogs.  This  bread  appears  to  be  improved 
J>y  being  baked  in  half-gallon  loaves. 

Rye. — In  several  parts  of  the  kingdom  a 
mixture  of  rye  and  wheat  is  reckoned  an  ex- 
cellent species  of  bread.  In  Nottinghamshire 
even  opulent  farmers  consume  one-third  wheat, 
one-third  rye,  and  one-third  barley ;  but  their 
-abourers  do  not  relish  it.  As  rye  is  well 
known  to  be  a  wholesome  and  nutritious  grain, 
its  consumption  cannot  be  too  strongly  recom- 
mended. The  astringent  quality  of  rice,  mixed 
with  rye,  corrects  the  laxativt  quality  of  the 
.atter,  and  makes  it  equally  strong  and  nourish- 
ing with  the  same  weight  of  common  wheaten 
bread.  The  principal  objection  to  rye  is  the 
circumstance  of  the  grain  being  sometimes 
ergotted,  which  renders  the  bread  unwhole- 
some. 

Indian  Corn. — The  flour  of  maize  or  Indian 
corn,  by  itself,  makes  a  heavy  bread.  The 
right  mode  of  manufacturing  it  is  to  boil  the 
flour  to  the  consistency  of  paste,  and  then, 
when  mixed  with  wheat  flour,  it  makes  a  most 
excellent  bread.  If  used  by  itself,  it  is  said  to 
have  at  first  a  laxative  effect,  but  that  dimi- 
nishes by  use,  and  at  any  rate  can  easily  be 
corrected  by  a  mixture  either  of  barley  or  rice. 
T*  '«!  stated,  on  very  respectable  authority,  as 
the  general  opinion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  but  more  particularly  of  the 
people  of  Virginia,  Maryland,  Delaware,  and 
Kentucky,  where  Indian  corn  is  raised  in  the 
largest  quantity,  and  applied  to  the  greatest 
variety  of  uses,  that  rather  more  nutriment  is 
contained  in  a  bushel  of  Indian  corn  than  of  j 
wheat.  In  the  four  states  above-mentioned  it  j 
constitutes  the  almost  entire  food  of  the  labour- 1 
ng  class  of  the  people,  ari  has  supplanted  the  [ 
use  of  wheaten  bread  i 

222 


1  There  are  several  sorts  of  Indian  corn  in 
j  America.  The  yellow  flinty  corn  is  reckoned 
the  sweetest  and  most  nutritive.  The  white 
ground  corn  of  the  southern  states  makes  the 
fairest,  but  considerably  the  weakest  flour. 
Of  this  last  species  there  is  one  variety  called 
the  flour-corn,  which  is  scarce,  but  very  valu- 
able. 

Buckwheat. — This  is  not  kiln-dried,  but  dried 
in  the  sun,  being  reaped  in  October,  a  month 
remarkably  dry  and  serene  in  America.  The 
husk  is  taken  off  by  what  is  called  running  it 
through  the  mill-stones.  The  farinaceous  part 
of  the  grain  is  then  easily  separated  from  the 
husk  by  winnowing;  and,  being  afterwards 
ground  fine,  forms  an  agreeable  and  nutritive 
aliment,  and  may  be  made  into  bread  with 
wheat  flour  or  other  substances. 

Beans  and  peas. — When  these  are  used  as 
bread,  in  some  places  the  flour  is  steeped  in 
water  to  take  off  the  harsh  flavour,  and  after- 
wards, when  mixed  with  wheat  flour,  the  taste 
is  hardly  to  be  perceived.  Specimens  of  very 
good  bread  have  been  produced,  mixed  as  fol- 
lows ; — 1  lb.  bean  flour,  1  lb.  potatoes,  and  4 
lbs.  of  wheat  flour.  The  flour  or  meal  both  of 
beans  and  peas,  by  being  boiled,  previous  to 
its  being  mixed  with  wheaten  flour,  incorpo- 
rates more  easily  with  that  article,  and  is  pro- 
bably much  more  wholesome  than  it  otherwise 
would  be. 

Bran  may  in  times  of  scarcity  be  advan- 
tageously employed  in  the  making  of  common 
household  bread  ;  this  is  effected  by  previously 
boiling  the  bran  in  water,  and-then  adding  the 
whole  decoction  in  the  dough  ;  thus  the  bran 
will  be  sufficiently  softened  and  divested  of  its 
dry  husky  quality,  while  the  nutritive  part, 
which  is  supposed  to  contain  an  essential  oil, 
is  duly  prepared  for  food.  It  is  asserted,  that 
the  increase  in  the  quantity  of  bread,  by  the 
addition  of  one-fourth  bran,  or  14  lbs.  14  oz. 
of  bran  to  56  lbs.  of  flour,  is  from  34  lbs.  to 
36  lbs.  of  bread  beyond  what  is  produced  by 
the  common  mode. 

Dr.  Davison  considers  that  there  are  many 
vegetables  which  would  afford  wholesome 
nutriment  either  by  boiling  or  drying  and 
grinding  them,  or  by  both  these  processes. 
Amongst  these  may  be  reckoned,  perhaps,  the 
tops  and  bark  of  gooseberry  trees,  holly,  haw- 
thorn, and  gorse.  The  inner  bark  of  the  elm 
may  be  converted  into  a  kind  of  gruel ;  and 
the  roots  of  fern,  and  probably  those  of  many 
other  plants,  such  as  some  of  the  grasses,  and 
clovers,  might  yield  nourishment,  either  by 
boiling,  baking,  and  separating  the  fibres  from 
the  pulp,  or  by  extracting  the  starch  from 
those  which  possess  an  acrid  mucilage,  such 
as  the  white  bryony.  If,  in  these  days  of  im- 
proved chemical  knowledge,  a  quartern  loaf 
of  very  good  bread  can  be  made  out  of  a  deal 
board  (see  Quart.  Rev.  No.  civ.,  quoted  also  in 
Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  v.  p.  626),  there  is  no 
reason  why  many  of  our  native  herbs  and 
shrubs,  which  are  now  comparatively  useless, 
should  not,  as  their  various  nutritive  proper- 
ties become  better  known,  be  turned  to  consi 
derable  advantage  in  the  production  of  a 
greater  or  less  proportion  of  cheap  and  whole- 
some food.    There  are  many  other  substances 


BREAD-ROOT. 


which  may  be  formed,  by  a  proportionate  ad- 
mixture of  wheaten  flour,  into  palatable  bread, 
and  advantageously  employed  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  this  indispensable  article  of  human 
sustenance.  (Brande's  Did.  of  Science  and  Art; 
M^Culloch^s  Com.  Diet.;  Penny  Cyc.  vol.  v.; 
WilUrhh  Domes.  Encyc.) 

BREAD -ROOT  {Psoralea  esadenta).  A 
shrubby  or  herbaceous  perennial  plant  found 
on  the  elevated  plains  of  the  Missouri.  Its 
roots  are  eaten  both  raw  and  boiled,  the  latter 
being  the  most  common  way  of  cooking  it 
adopted  by  the  Indians.  By  cultivation  it  is 
made  to  produce  abundant  crops.  The  taste 
of  the  root  is  rather  insipid,  its  texture  being 
laminated,  always  tenacious,  solid,  but  liever 
farinaceous,  like  the  potato.  It  is  somewhat 
medicmal,  operating  as  a  diuretic. 

Other  species  of  Psoralea  are  also  found  on 
the  Missouri  and  tributaries,  among  which  are 
the  P.  canesccns,  and  P.  cuspidata,  both  of  which 
are  described  as  having  large,  tuberous,  and 
ramified  roots.  The  last  species  is  known 
among  the  Canadian  boatmen  by  the  name  of 
♦'  Pomme  de  Prairie,"  or  meadow  potato.  The 
P.  lanceolata,  or  elliptica,  grows  in  great  quan- 
tities together  on  the  sandy  banks  of  the  Mis- 
souri, from  the  river  Platte  to  the  mountains, 
flowering  in  July  and  August.  It  sends  up 
shoots  in  every  direction  through  the  sand,  in 
which  soil  it  is  exclusively  met  with.  The 
stem  is  about  a  foot  high  and  the  leaves  aro- 
matic when  bruised.  The  P.  Ivpimllus  is 
found  from  South  Carolina  to  Florida,  though 
no*  in  abundance.  It  is  a  very  singular  plant, 
the  leaves  being  so  narrow  as  scarcely  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  petiole,  and  two  or  three 
inches  long,  extremely  deciduous  when  dry. 
The  P.  virgata  is  met  with  in  West  Florida. 
With  very  few  exceptions,  says  Nuttall,  this 
genus  of  plants  producing  esculent  roots  is 
indigenous  to  North  America  and  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope. 

BREAKING  (Goth.  6nA:«n;  Sax.  bpecccen). 
In  rural  economy,  the  bringing  of  an  animal 
under  subjection.  The  breaking  of  a  colt  is 
commonly,  especially  for  race-horses,  com- 
menced when  he  is  much  too  young;  for  this, 
as  for  all  other  breeds  of  horses,  too  much 
caution  and  gentleness  can  hardly  be  used. 
(Darvill.  On  Trai.iing).  Of  dogs,  spaniels 
should  begin  to  be  broken  in  at  five  or  six 
months  old.  The  water-spaniel,  according  to 
old  Markham,  as  soon  as  "even  when  you  first 
weane  him;"  and,  according  to  Blaine  (Enryr. 
of  Rural  Sports),  the  education  of  a  pointer  or  a 
setter  should  commence  at  five  or  six  months. 

BREAKING  UP.  A  term  that  is  often  ap- 
plied to  such  lands  as  are  ploughed  from  leys, 
or  which  are  cut  or  pared  for  the  purpose  of 
being  burned. 

BREAST-PLATE.  The  strap  of  leather 
that  runs  from  one  side  of  the  saddle  to  the 
other  over  the  horse's  breast,  in  order  to  keep 
the  saddle  tight,  and  hinder  it  from  sliding 
backwards. 

BREASTS.     Part  of  the  bows  of  a  saddle. 
BREED    (Sax.  bpaeT^an).     A  sort  or  variety 
of  any  kind  of  live-stock.     The  breeds  of  most 
domestic  animals  are  numerous,  and  distin- 
guished by  certain  invariable  mark;,  or  ap- 


BREEDING-PONDS. 

pearances  peculiar  to  each,  as  in  cattle,  sheep, 
horses,  and  swine.    See  these  different  heads. 

BREEDER.  In  agriculture,  a  farmer  v'hc* 
is  much  employed  in  breeding  and  rearing 
animals  of  any  of  the  domestic  kinds. 

BREEDING  IN  AND  IN.  The  breeding 
from  close  relations.  "  This  plan,"  says  Pro- 
fessor Youatt  (Cattle,  p.  525),  ''has  many 
advantages  to  a  certain  extent.  It  may  be 
pursued  until  the  excellent  form  and  quality 
of  the  breed  are  developed  and  established.  It 
was  the  source  whence  sprung  the  fine  cattle 
and  sheep  of  Bakewell,  and  the  superior  cattle 
of  Colling ;  but  disadvantages  attend  breeding 
'in  and  in,'  and  to  it  must  be  traced  the  speedy 
degeneracy,  the  absolute  disappearance  of  the 
new  Leicester  cattle,  and  in  the  hands  of  many 
an  agriculturist,  the  impairment  of  constitution 
and  decreased  value  of  the  new  Leicester 
sheep  and  the  short-horned  beasts.  It  has 
therefore  become  a  kind  of  principle  with  the 
agriculturist  to  effect  some  change  in  his  stock 
every  second  or  third  year :  and  that  change 
is  most  conveniently  effected  by  introducing  a 
new  bull  or  ram.  These  should  be  as  nearly 
as  possible  of  the  same  sort,  coming  from  a 
similar  pasturage  and  climate,  but  possessing 
no  relationship,  or  at  most  a  very  distant  one, 
to  the  stock  to  which  he  is  introduced."  These 
remarks  apply  to  all  descriptions  of  live-stock. 
In  cattle,  as  well  as  in  the  human  species,  de- 
fects of  organization  and  permanent  derange- 
ments of  function  obtain,  and  are  handed 
down  when  the  relationship  is  close.  In  Spain 
the  deformed  and  feeble  state  of  the  aristocracy 
arises  from  the  alliances  being  confined  to 
the  same  class ;  whilst  in  England,  which  can 
boast  the  finest  aristocracy  in  the  world,  the 
higher  classes  are  improved  by  constant  alli- 
anc:s  being  formed  with  the  daughters  of 
inferior  classes,  where  wealth  has  been  accu- 
mulated. See  the  heads,  Cattlk,  Horsk, 
Shkep,  &c. 

BREEDING-PONDS.  Such  ponds  as  are 
employed  for  breeding  fish.  The  qualities  of 
a  pond,  to  make  it  profitable  for  breeding  fish, 
are  very  diflerent  from  those  which  are  suffi- 
cient for  the  feeding  of  them ;  inasmuch  as 
some  particular  ponds  serve  only  for  one  of 
these  purposes,  and  others  for  the  other ;  and 
scarcely  ever  the  same  pond  is  found  to  an- 
swer for  both.  In  general  it  is  much  more 
rare  to  find  a  good  breeding-pond  than  a  good 
feeding  one.  The  indications  of  a  good  breed- 
ing-pond are  these, — a  considerable  quantity 
of  rushes  and  grass  about  its  sides,  with  gra- 
velly shoals,  such  as  horse-ponds  usually 
have.  The  spawn  of  fish  is  prodigiously  great 
in  quantity;  and  where  it  succeeds,  one  fish  is 
able  to  produce  some  millions.  Thus,  in  one 
of  these  breeding-ponds,  two  or  three  melters 
and  as  many  spawners  will,  in  a  very  little 
time,  stock  the  whole  country.  When  these 
ponds  are  not  meant  entirely  for  breeding,  but 
the  owner  wishes  to  have  the  fish  grow  to 
some  size  in  them,  the  method  is  to  thin  their 
numbers  ;  for  they  would  otherwise  starve  one 
another.  It  may  also  be  necessary  to  put  m 
other  fish  that  will  prey  upon  the  young,  and 
thin  them  in  the  quickest  manner.  Eels  and 
perch  are  the  most  useful  on  this  account.  .&- 


BREWING. 


BREWING. 


cause  they  prey  not  only  upon  the  spawn 
itself,  but  upon  the  young  fry  from  the  first 
hatching  to  the  time  they  are  of  a  considerable 
size.  Some  fish  are  observed  to  breed  indiffer- 
ently in  all  kinds  of  waters ;  of  this  nature  are 
tlie  roach,  pike,  and  perch. 

The  introduction  of  certain  voracious  fish, 
such  as  the  pike  or  pickarel,  into  ponds  or 
lakes  well  stocked  with  trout,  white  and  yellow 
perch,  &c.,  has  been  attended  with  serious 
consequences,  and  even  led  to  the  total  ex- 
tinction of  some  kinds  and  the  diminution  of 
all.  The  mischief  in  such  cases  has  perhaps 
been  less  owing  to  the  exceeding  voracity  of 
the  pike  or  pickarel,  than  to  its  habits  of 
thrusting  itself  into  the  shallows  and  retired 
breeding  places  of  other  fish,  and  there  break- 
ing up  the  spawn  or  devouring  the  small-fry, 
without  allowing  them  a  chance  to  live  or  in- 
crease. The  trout  contents  itself  with  preying 
upon  such  bait  as  it  can  catch  away  from  the 
shallows,  leaving  the  breeding  places  and 
spawn  of  other  fish  undisturbed.  Hence,  in 
lakes  where  plenty  of  bait  is  seen  along  the 
shores,  trout  may  be  found  in  abundance  and 
in  fine  condition.  Trout  and  perch  both  mul- 
tiply in  the  same  ponds  or  lakes,  provided  no 
pike  or  pickarel  be  present. 

BREWING.  The  process  of  obtaining  the 
saccharine  solution  from  malt,  or  other  mat- 
ters, and  converting  this  solution  into  spiritu- 
ous liquors,  ale,  porter,  or  beer.  There  is  little 
doubt  of  the  antiquity  of  this  art.  The  Egyp- 
tians are  said  to  have  been  the  inventors  of 
beer.  The  early  Germans,  and  our  Saxon 
forefathers,  were  as  fond  of  beer  as  the  mo- 
dern citizens  of  Lubec  and  Rostock  are  now, 
or  the  English  of  all  ages.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary, in  this  work,  to  go  deeply  into  the  de- 
scription of  a  process  which  most  country 
persons  understand  so  well.  The  directions 
may  be  divided  into  several  heads.  1.  The 
grinding  of  the  malt:  in  this  there  is,  as  in 
many  other  parts  of  brewing,  considerable 
difference  of  opinion ;  some  prefer  it  ground 
between  stones,  others  crushed  by  rollers ; 
some  prefer  a  fine  grist,  others  a  coarse  one. 
2.  The  mashing  is  usually  performed  in  a 
vessel  of  wood,  with  a  false  bottom  pierced 
full  of  holes ;  on  this  bottom  the  malt  is  laid ; 
the  water  is  then  admitted,  which,  for  pale  ale, 
or  pale  spirits,  should  be  of  the  temperature 
of  from  170°  to  185°,  according  to  the  quan- 
tity mashed ;  the  heat  being  increased  as  the 
mass  diminishes.  For  porter,  not  higher  than 
165°,  or  lower  than  156°.  For  the  second 
mash,  an  increased  temperature  of  15°  or  20° 
will  be  advisable.  For  the  first  mash:  for 
every  quarter  of  malt,  a  barrel  and  a  half  of 
water  may  be  used,  and  the  grist  well  mixed 
with  the  water.  The  mash  is  permitted  to 
rest  for  some  time,  and  then  allowed  to  run 
ofi"  into  an  auderback,  whence  it  is  pumped 
into  the  boiler,  where  it  is  raised  to  the  boiling 
temperature.  When  the  wort  is  sufficiently 
drained  from  the  mash-tub,  another  portion  of 
hot  water  is  added  for  a  second  mash.  The 
hops  are  next  added,  and  the  boiling  is  com- 
pleted, which  in  general  requires  an  hour  and 
a  half,  "or  until  the  wort  breaks  bright  from 
the  hops,  when  a  s?mple  is  taken  from  the 
224 


copper."  The  wcrt  is  let  off  into  coolers, 
either  of  wood  or  iron ;  where,  when  sufficient- 
ly cooled,  or  else  in  proper  fermenting  tuns, 
the  yeast  or  barm  is  added.  The  fermentation 
speedily  begins  ;  and  when  it  is  thought  that  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  alcohol  is  formed,  the 
fermentation  is  stopped,  and  the  yeast  is  sepa- 
rated by  running  it  into  smaller  vessels,  and 
skimming  off  the  barm ;  or  else  by  allowing 
it  to  run  off  from  the  bung-holes  of  the  casks, 
which  are,  for  this  purpose,  kept  completely 
filled.  A  small  portion  of  salt  is  commonly 
added,  and,  occasionally,  especially  by  the 
professional  brewer,  a  portion  of  isinglass  or 
other  finings.  In  all  these  operations,  cleanli- 
ness is  a  most  essential  part,  for  without  this 
it  is  impossible  to  have  good  beer. 

The  quantity  of  hops  to  be  added  varies 
with  the-  quality  of  the  beer.  4  lbs.  to  the 
quarter  of  malt  is  sufficient  for  beer  for  present 
use,  and  from  this  to  28  lbs.  have  been  used 
for  beer  for  long  keeping,  as  for  exporta- 
tion, &c. 

The  temperature  of  the  fermentation  should 
range  between  56°  and  62°.  Not  more  than 
60°  for  ale  wort,  nor  more  than  62°  for  porter. 
Great  care  should  be  taken  to  have  good, 
sound,  healthy,  and  new  yeast, — and  of  this 
about  2  lbs.  per  barrel  are  commonly  needed. 
Good  malt  and  hops,  of  course,  are  requisite; 
but  the  quality  of  the  water  is  not  of  so  much 
consequence  as  is  very  often  considered  to  be 
the  case.  Some  of  the  best  ales  i-n  England 
are  brewed  either  with  soft  or  with  hard  water, 
and  from  rivers,  or  springs,  or  ponds.  From 
those  issuing  from  the  limestones  of  Notting- 
hamshire, the  chalks  of  Dorsetshire,  the  clays 
of  Staffordshire,  the  gravels  and  sands  of  Sur- 
rey and  Middlesex,  is  made  some  of  the  most 
excellent  beer  in  the  United  Kingdom.  Th 
quantity  of  alcohol,  upon  an  average,  in  br^  ■> 
stout  is  about  6'80,  in  ale  8-88,  and  in  smaL 
beer  from  2  to  3  per  cent.  (Brandc.)  B  r 
came  under  the  excise  in  the  year  164o,  ,.  ..t 
the  duties  were  repealed  in  1830.  The  ex- 
portation of  beer  from  England  was  in — 


1830 
1832 
1834 


.Tuns. 
10,212 
11,330 
10,406 


The  specific  gravity  of  the  wort,  when  it  is 

placed  in  the  fermenting  vessels,  varies  from 

1*060,  when  it  contains  14*25  per  cent,  of  solid 

matter,  to  1*127,  when  it  contains  28-2  per  cent. 

That  of  small  beer  varies  from  1*015  to  1-040, 

the  first  containing  about  3-5  per  cent,  of  solid 

matter,  the   latter  about  9*5  per  cent.     The 

chief  use  of  the  hops  (ground  ivy  and  other 

herbs  were  used  by  our  Saxon  ancestors  for 

this  purpose)  is  to  communicate  the  peculiar 

bitter  flavour  from  the  oil  which  is  contained 

I  in  them ;  partly  to  hide  the  sweetness  of  the 

j  saccharine  matter,  and  partly  to  counteract  the 

tendency  which  wort  has  to  run  into  acidity. 

'  {Thcrrnsonh  Chcm.  vol.  iv.  p.  376.) 

I      "  Hops,"  says  Dr.  Lardner  {Domestic  Econo- 

.  my,  vol.  i.),  "are  by  no  means  the  only  bitter 

which  may  be  made  use  of  for  preparing  and 

flavouring  ales ;   others  can   be   much   more 

conveniently  procured  in  certain   situations. 

Mixtures,  in  various  proportions,  of  worm- 


BRICKS. 


BRISTLES. 


wood,  powdered  bitter  oranges,  gentian  root, 
and  the  rind  of  Seville  oranges,  will  afford  an 
excellent  bitter,  perhaps  naore  wholesome  than 
hops,  and,  if  skilfully  combined,  to  the  full  as 
palatable ;  in  this  position  the  brewers  cannot 
refuse  to  bear  me  out."  Strasburg  beer,  which 
is  much  prized  on  the  continent,  owes  much 
of  its  excellence  to  the  use  of  avens  (Gcnm 
urbamon).  It  has  been  shown  by  Mr.  Dubrun- 
fault,  that  a  good  beer  can  be  produced  from 
potatoes  grated  to  a  pulp,  mixed  with  barley 
malt.  In  Ireland,  beer  is  made  from  parsnips. 
Cane  sugar  answers  admirably  (14  lbs.  of 
cane  sugar,  dissolved  in  ten  gallons  of  boiling 
water,  with  1^  lbs.  of  hops).  The  beer  made 
in  this  way  is  pale  coloured,  it  is  true ;  but 
colour  may  be  given  readily  by  scorched 
treacle,  or  the  raspings  of  an  over-baked  loaf. 
{Quart.  Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  ii.  p.  634.)  Beer 
"which  would  not  disgrace  a  nobleman's  table" 
has  also  been  made  from  mangel  wurzel  150 
lbs.,  and  1  lb.  of  hops  in  sixteen  gallons  of 
water.  (Mechanic's  Mag.)  It  may  also  be 
made  from  the  seeds  of  the  Fiorin  grass  (Do- 
novon,  Domestic  Economy),  Indian  and  other 
corn.     {Baxter's  Lib.  of  jJp-ind(ure.) 

BRICKS  are  building  materials  often  em- 
ployed by  the  farmer  for  the  construction  of 
drains,  besides  the  ordinary  purposes,  for 
which  they  answer  very  well ;  but  they  are 
more  expensive  than  draining  tiles,  which  see. 
By  the  17  G.  3,  c.  42,  under  a  penalty  of  20s., 
and  10s.  per  1000,  all  bricks  made  in  England 
for  sale  shall  be  8^  inches  long,  four  inches 
wide,  and  2^  inches  thick ;  and  all  pantiles 
13^  inches  long,  9^  inches  wide,  and  ^  an  inch 
thick.  If  the  farmer  wishes  to  make  his  own 
bricks,  the  London  plan  is  to  mix  fifty  chaldrons 
of  coal  ashes,  or  breeze,  with  240  cubic  yards 
of  clay,  which  makes  100,000  bricks;  and  to 
burn  these,  fifteen  chaldrons  of  coarse  sifted 
breeze  are  required.  The  soils  called  brick 
earths  vary  much  in  their  composition  ;  they 
contain  alumina  in  different  proportions.  Pot- 
ters' clay  is  perhaps  the  richest  in  that  earth, 
being  composed,  according  to  M.  Vauqaelin, 
{Bull.  Phil.  XX vi.)  of— 

Parti. 

Silica  (flint)  -       -        -  435 

Alumina  ...  332 

Lime          .  -        -        -  35 

Oxide  of  iron  -       -       -  10 

Water        -  -        -        -  180 

Loss            .  -        -        -  0-8 

1000 

BRIDLE.  A  contrivance  made  of  straps 
or  thongs  of  leather,  and  pieces  of  iron,  in 
order  to  keep  a  horse  in  subjection,  and  direct 
him  in  travelling.  The  several  parts  of  a 
bridle  are,  the  bit  or  snaffle  ;  the  head-stall,  or 
leather  from  the  top  of  the  head  to  the  rings 
of  the  bit;  the  fillet,  over  the  forehead  and 
under  the  fore-top;  the  throat-band,  which 
buckles  from  the  head-band  under  the  throat ; 
the  nose-bands,  going  through  the  loops  at  the 
back  of  the  head-stall,  and  buckled  under  the 
cheeks ;  the  reins,  or  long  thongs  of  leather 
that  come  from  the  rings  of  the  bit,  and,  being 
cast  over  the  horse's  head,  the  rider  holds  in 
his  hand. 

BRIDLE-HAND  is  the  horseman's  left 
29 


'hand:  the  right  being  called  thu  ipear  or 
sword  hand ;  and  that  in  which  the  whip  is 

i  held. 

I      BRIDON.     A  sort  of  snaffle,  with  a  very 

!  slender  mouth-bit,  without  any  branches.  They 
are  much  used  in  England.  It  is  sometimes 
written  bridoon. 

BRILLS.  In  horsemanship,  a  vulgar  name 
for  the  hair  growing  on  the  horse's  eye-lids. 

BRIM.  A  term  applied  to  a  sow  when  she 
goes  to  the  boar,  which  is  called  going  to 
brim.     It  is  sometimes  written  brimme. 

BRINING  OF  GRAIN  is  the  practice  of 
steeping  it  in  pickle,  in  order  to  prevent  smut 
or  other  diseases.  The  steep  is  made  with 
common  salt  and  water,  of  sufficient  strength 
to  float  an  egg;  or  of  sea-water,  with  salt 
added  to  it  till  it  is  of  the  requisite  strength. 
The  seed  is  then  put  into  it,  and  well  stirred 
about  :* he  light  grains  rise  to  the  surface,  and 
are  skimmed  off;  the  rest  is  put  upon  a  sieve 
to  drain,  and  new-slaked  lime  sifted  upon  it: 
after  being  carefully  mixed,  and  when  a  little 
dried,  it  is  put  into  the  earth.  Urine,  when 
kept  stale,  is  used  in  the  same  manner  ;  and, 
if  the  seed  be  sowed  directly,  with  good  effect. 
Brining  the  seed  wheat  is  commonly  believed 
by  the  farmers  to  be  a  prevention  of  smut,  a 
disease  which  has  been  shown  by  Sir  Joseph 
Banks  to  be  a  parasitical  fungus.  Recent  ex- 
periments have  suggested  that  it  may  even  be 
of  use,  when  employed  in  larger  quantities,  as 
a  preventive  of  mildew — the  most  dreadful 
of  the  numerous  diseases  to  which  the  cul- 
tivated grasses  are  exposed.  The  experiments 
of  the  late  Rev.  E.  Cartwright  strongly  evi- 
dence, that  when  salt  and  water  are  sprinkled 
with  a  brush  upon  diseased  plants,  it  is  actually 
a  complete  cure,  even  in  apparently  the  most 
desperate  cases.  The  proportion,  one  pound 
to  a  gallon  of  water,  laid  on  with  a  plasterer's 
brush,  the  operator  making  his  casts  as  when 
sowing  corn :  it  is  instant  death  to  the  fungus, 
but  it  also  destroys  some  plants.  The  time  and 
expense  are  trifling.  It  appeared,  in  the  course 
of  some  inquiries  made  by  the  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, that  a  Cornish  farmer,  Mr.  Sickler,  and 
also  the  Rev.  R.  Hoblin,  were  accustomed  to 
employ  refuse  salt  as  a  manure,  and  that  their 
crops  were  never  infected  with  the  rust  or  blight. 
The  farmer  may  see  most  of  the  authorities 
collected  together  on  this  important  fact  in 
Johnson,  On  Salt,  p.  50.  If  potatoes  are  im- 
mersed in  a  solution  of  ammoniacal  water  for 
four  or  five  days  (one  ounce  of  the  common 
liquor  ammonice  to  a  pint  of  water),  they 
will  have,  according  to  Mr.  Webster,  their 
vegetative  power  completely  checked  or  de- 
stroyed, and  may  be  in  this  way  preserved 
throughout  the  year,  without  the  least  injury 
to  their  general  qualities— the  same  effect  is 
produced  by  immersing  them  in  a  strong  brine. 
This  merely  requires  subsequent  ablution,  and 
repeated  changes  of  water.  {Quart.  Journ.  of 
Jgr.  vol.  vii.  p.  438.) 

BRISTLES  (Dut.  borstcls:  Ger.  borsfen).  Vbe 
strong  glossy  hairs  growing  upon  cne  bacK  of 
the  wild  boar  and  the  hog.  Those  f:r  the  use 
of  brushmakers,  saddlers,  shoemakers,  &c., 
are  imported  to  a  very  considerable  extent 
from  Russia,  those  of  the  Ukraine  being  the 


BRITTLE  HOOF. 


BROCCOLI. 


best.  At  an  average  of  three  years  ending 
with  1831,  says  Mr.  M'CulIoch,  the  entries  for 
home  consumption  in  England  amounted  to 
1,789,801  lbs.  annually.  They  contain  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  gelatine,  which  may  be 
separated  from  them  by  boiling  water. 

BRITTLE  HOOF  is  an  affection  of  the 
horse's  hoof,  very  common,  especially  in  sum- 
mer, in  England,  from  bad  stable  management. 
A  mixture  of  one  part  of  oil  of  tar  and  two  of 
common  fish  oil,  well  rubbed  into  the  crust 
and  the  hoof,  will  restore  the  natural  pliancy 
and  toughness  of  the  horn,  and  very  much 
contribute  to  the  quickness  of  its  growth. 
(Youatt,  On  the  Horse,  p.  282.) 

BRIZA  MEDIA.  See  Plate  6,  n.  Common 
quaking  grass;  ladies'  tresses:  a  perennial 
grass,  flowering  in  May  and  June.  It  is  dis- 
tinguished by  the  panicle  of  short  spikelets, 
tinged  with  purplish  brown.  The  spikelets 
are  ovate,  on  very  slender  stems,  which  makes 
the  panicle  tremulous.  This  grass,  says  Sin- 
clair, is  best  fitted  for  poor  soils  ;  its  nutritive 
powers  are  considerable,  compared  with  other 
grasses  tenanting  a  similar  soil.  It  is  eaten 
by  horses,  cows,  and  sheep;  and  for  poor 
sandy  and  tenacious  soils,  where  improvements 
in  other  respects  cannot  be  sufficiently  effected, 
to  fit  them  for  the  productions  of  the  superior 
soils,  the  common  quaking  grass  will  be  found 
of  value. 

BRIZE  LANDS.  A  provincial  term  for 
lands  which  have  remained  long  without  til- 
lage. Brize  is  also  a  name  for  the  gad-fly,  used 
commonly  in  the  days  of  Shakspeare  and  Ben 
Jonson.     (Tr.  and  Cress.:  Poetaster,  iii.  1.) 

BROAD-CAST  SOWING.  The  primitive, 
rapidly  diminishing  method  of  putting  grain, 
turnip,  pulse,  clover,  grasses,  &c.,  into  the  soil, 
performed  by  means  of  the  hand.  This  mode 
of  sowing  seems  better  adapted  to  the  stony 
and  more  stiff  kinds  of  land  than  that  by  ma- 
chines; as  in  such  grounds  they  are  liable  to  be 
constantly  put  out  of  order,  and  to  deposit  the 
seed  unequally.  In  this  way,  however,  the 
seeds  are  scattered  over  the  ground,  and  not 
confined  in  regular  rows,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  drill  husbandry,  which  is  in  several  ways 
more  advantageous  to  the  farmer.  This  mode 
of  sowing,  perhaps  from  its  being  that  made 
use  of  in  the  infancy  of  agriculture,  has  often 
been  called  the  old  method. 

In  this  method  of  sowing,  the  usual  practice, 
e-specially  where  the  ridges  are  equal  in  breadth, 
and  not  of  too  great  a  width,  as  five  or  six 
yards,  is  that  of  dispersing  the  seed  regularly 
over  each  land  or  ridge,  in  once  walking  over; 
the  seedsman,  by  different  casts  of  the  hand, 
sowing  one-half  in  going  and  the  other  in  re- 
turning. In  doing  this,  it  is  the  custom  of  some 
seedsmen  to  fill  the  hand  from  the  basket  or 
hopper  which  they  carry  along  with  them,  as 
they  make  one  step  forward,  and  disperse  the 
seed  in  the  time  of  performing  the  next;  while 
others  scatter  the  seed,  or  make  their  casts,  as 
they  are  termed  by  farmers,  in  advancing  each 
step.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  in  accom- 
plishing this  business  with  regularity  and  ex- 
aamess,  upon  which  much  of  the  success  of 
the  crop  must  depend,  there  is  considerable 
difficulty,  and  the  proper  knowledge  and  habit 
226 


of  which  can  only  be  acquired  by  experrence 
This,  however,  by  long  practice,  is  done  with 
surprising  regularity  and  precision.  The 
broad-cast  system  not  only  requires  more  seed, 
but  it  renders  the  hoeing,  so  essential  to  the 
most  profitable  growth  of  grain,  much  more 
difficult.  Machines  have  been  invented  for 
distributing  the  seed  broad-cast,  which  they 
perform  with  perfect  precision:  these  are  more 
especially  useful  for  the  grass  seeds,  and  are 
simple  and  economical ;  a  plate  of  one  may  be 
seen  in  Professor  Low's  Prac.  Ag.  p.  108,  and 
another  in  British  Hush.  vol.  ii.  p.  14.  These, 
hov/ever,  require  some  attention  in  their  work- 
ing, to  prevent  the  clogging  of  the  seed. 

BROAD-WHEELED  WAGON.  A  four- 
wheeled  carriage,  in  which  the  parts  of  the 
wheels  that  act  upon  the  road  are  of  considera- 
ble breadth.  By  the  acts  3  G.  4,  c.  126,  s.  12, 
and  4  &  5  W.  4,  c.  81,  wagons,  wains,  and 
other  four-wheeled  carriages,  whether  on 
springs  or  not,  whose  wheels  have  their  fellies 
of  not  less  than  four  and  a  half  inches  at  the 
bottom  or  soles,  are  considered  to  be  broad- 
wheeled. 

BROCCOLI  (Brassica  oleracea  botrytis).  The 
varieties  of  this  cabbage  are  now  numerous; 
and  are  chiefly  the  fruits  of  the  great  attention 
which  has  been  paid  to  its  cultivation  of  late 
years.  For  an  uninterrupted  supply,  scarce 
any  of  these  varieties  can  be  dispensed  with ; 
but  the  purple  and  Avhite  are  those  most  gene- 
rally cultivated.  With  respect  to  their  quality, 
it  has  been  remarked  that  they  have  less  of 
the  peculiar  alkalescent  taste,  and  are  more 
palatable,  in  proportion  as  they  approach  a 
pale  or  white  colour.  {Transact.  Hart.  Soc 
Land.  vol.  i.  p.  116.) 

1.  Purple  cape,  or  autumnal  broccoli.  2. 
Green  cape,  or  autumnal  broccoli.  3.  Grange's 
early  cauliflower  broccoli.  4.  Green,  close- 
headed  winter  broccoli.  5.  Early  purple  broc- 
coli. 6.  Early  white  broccoli.  7.  Dwarf  brown 
close-headed  broccoli.  8.  Tall,  large-headed 
purple  broccoli.  9.  Cream-coloured,  or  Ports- 
mouth broccoli.  10.  Sulphur-coloured  broc- 
coli.   11.  Spring  white,  or  cauliflower  broccoli. 

12.  Late  dwarf  close-headed  purple  broccoli. 

13.  Latest  green,  Siberian,  or  Spanish  broccoli. 
Broccoli  is  propagated  by  seed.    As  all  of 

the  kinds  are  not  generally  at  command,  the 
following  times  and  varieties  are  specified  as 
being  those  employed  in  general  practice,  and 
by  which  a  supply  nearly  unfailing  is  accom- 
plished. A  first  sowing  maybe  made  under  a 
frame  at  the  close  of  January,  and  a  second  at 
the  end  of  February,  or  early  in  March,  on  an 
eastern  Avall-border,  of  the  purple  cape  and 
early  cauliflower  varieties,  for  production  at 
the  close  of  summer  and  during  autumn  ;  the 
seedlings  from  these  sowings  are  respectively 
fit  for  pricking  out,  if  that  practice  is  followed, 
in  March  and  early  in  April,  and  for  final  plant- 
ing at  the  close  of  the  latter  month  and  May. 
In  April,  another  crop  of  the  same  varieties 
may  be  sown,  for  pricking  out  in  May  and 
planting  in  June,  to  produce  at  the  close  of 
autumn  and  in  early  winter.  During  the  mid- 
dle of  May,  a  fourth  and  larger  crop  than  any 
of  the  preceding,  of  the  early  purple  and  white 
varieties,  to  be  pricked  out  in  June  and  planted 


BROCCOLL 


1 1  July ;  and,  finally,  the  last  open-gronnd  crop 
nay  be  sown  in  June,  to  be  pricked  out  in  the 
succeeding  month,  and  planted  in  August  and 
fcieptcmber;   the  plants  will  follow  from  the 
(thers    in    succession  throughout  winter  and 
jpring.     In   a  frame,  however,  they  may  be 
sown,  like  the  cauliflower,  in  the  last  days  of 
August,  to  remain  until  the  following  March, 
Id  be  then  planted  out  for  production  in  early 
summer.     By  these  repetitions,  which,  if  for  a 
family,  should  be  small,  an  almost  continued 
s-upply  is  aflbrded ;  but  in  general,  for  domes- 
tic use,  especially  if  the  establishment  is  small, . 
three  sowings  of  moderate  extent  will  be  suf- 
ficient ;  the  first  in  the  second  week  of  April, 
the  second  in  the  third  week  in  May,  and  the 
third   in   the   middle  of  August,  in  a  frame. 
Each  variety  should  be  sown  separately,  and 
the  sowing  performed  thin ;  the  beds  not  more 
than  three  or  four  feet  wide,  for  the  convenience 
of  weeding,  which  must  be  performed  as  often 
as  weeds  appear,  as  they  are  very  inimical  to 
•he  growth  of  this  vegetable.    The  seed  must 
lot  be  buried  more  than  half  an  inch,  and  the 
Deds  be  netted  over  to  keep  away  the  birds, 
which,  especially  in  showery  weather,  are  very 
destructive.   The  fitness  of  the  plants  for  prick- 
ing out  is  intimated  by  their  having  five  or  six 
leaves,  rather  more  than  an  inch  in  breadth ; 
they  are  set  four  or  five  inches  apart  each  way, 
and  water  given  every  night  until  they  have 
taken   root.      They  must   have   four  or  five 
weeks' growth  before  they  are  again  moved; 
or  not  until    they  have   leaves   nearly  three 
inches  in  breadth.     When  planted  out,  they 
must  be  set  on  an  average  two  feet  asunder 
each  way,  in  summer  a  little  wider,  in  winter 
rather  closer.    Water  to  be  given  at  the  time 
of  planting,  and  occasionally  afterwards,  until 
they  are  established ;  during  the  droughts  of 
summer  it  may  be  given  plentifully  with  the 
greatest  advantage.    They  must  be  hoed  be- 
tween frequently,  and   the   mould  drawn    up 
about  their  stems.    To  force  forward  the  win- 
ter standing  varieties,  it  is  a  successful  prac- 
tice to  take  them  up  in  November,  and  after 
trimming  ofi"  the  outer  leaves,  to  lay  them  on 
their  sides  in  a  sloping  position,  in  a  bank  or 
terrace  of  light  earth,  so  much  space  being  left 
between  every  two  plants  that  their  heads  do 
not  come  in  contact.    To  continue  the  supply 
uninterrupted,  even  in  the  mid- winter  of  the 
severest  years,  Mr.  Maher  recommends  that 
when  the  crop  sown  about  the  third  week  in 
May  has  been  planted  out,  the  weaker  plants 
which  remain  should  be  left  eight  or  ten  days 
to  acquire  strength,  and  then  planted  in  pots 
'sixieens)  filled  with  very  rich  compost;  to  be 
suaded,  and  watered  until  struck.    These  are 
to  be  plunged  in  the  ground  at  similar  distances 
as  the  main  crops,  and  about  three  inches  be- 
low the  surface,  so  as  to  form  a  cup  for  retain- 
ing water  round  each;  these  cups  are  filled  up 
by  the   necessary  earthings,  which   must  be 
pressed  firmly  down,  to  prevent  the  wind  loos- 
ening them.    A  few  of  the    plants  generally 
flower  early,  and,  to  guard  against  the  first 
frosts,  must  have  the  leaves  broken  over  them : 
but  on  the  approach  of  settled  frost  in  Decem- 
ber and  January,  the  pots  must  be  taken  up 
and  removed  into  a  frame,  shed,  or  any  place 


BROCCOLI. 

of  shelter  from  the  extreme  severity  of  the 
weather;  but  to  have  air  v/hen  mild.  {Tra. 
Hort.  Soc.  L.  vol.  i.  p.  118.) 

To  those  crops  which  have  to  withstand  the 
winter  in  the  open  ground,  salt  is  beneficially 
applied,  as  it  preserves  them  from  being  frosted 
in  the  neck,  and  also  their  roots  from  being 
worm-eaten ;  which  may  also  be  effected,  Mr 
Mackay  of  Errol  House,  N.  B.,  informs  us,  by 
pouring  soap-suds  between  the  rows,  which 
application  is  also  very  beneficial  to  the  plants. 
(Mem.  Celled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  275.) 

To  preserve  the  winter  standing  crops  from 
destruction  by  severe  weather,  it  is  also  a 
practice,  early  in  November,  to  take  them  up, 
injuring  the  roots  as  little  as  possible,  and  to 
lay  them  in  a  sloping  direction  in  the  soil,  with 
their  heads  to  the  north.  A  modification  of 
this  plan,  adopted  by  the  distinguished  presi- 
dent of  the  Horticultural  Society,  is,  however, 
much  preferable,  as  it  obviates  the  defect  of 
few  roots  being  produced,  and  consequently 
diminutive  heads.  A  small  trench  is  made  in 
the  first  week  of  September,  at  the  north  end 
of  each  row,  in  which  the  adjoining  plant  is 
laid  so  low,  that  the  centre  of  its  stems  at  the 
top  is  put  level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
the  root  being  scarcely  disturbed ;  it  is  then 
immediately  watered,  and  its  roots  covered 
with  more  mould.  Thus  every  plant  is  in 
succession  treated ;  and  by  the  beginning  of 
November,  it  is  scarcely  perceptible  that  they 
have  been  thus  treated,  though  it  certainly 
checks  their  growth.  Before  the  arrival  of 
snow,  a  small  hillock  must  be  raised  round 
each  plant,  to  support  its  leaves,  and  prevent 
their  being  broken.  {Trans.  Hort.  Soc.  Land. 
vol.  ii.  p.  304.)  If  snow  accompanies  severe 
frost,  advantage  should  be  taken  of  it,  and  the 
plants  be  heaped  over  with  it,  which  will 
afford  them  an  effectual  protection. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  such  plants  of 
each  variety  must  he  selected,  in  March  or 
April,  as  most  perfectly  agree  with  their  pecu- 
liar characteristics,  and  are  not  particularly 
forward  in  advancing  for  seed.  As  the  stems 
run  up,  some  gardeners  recommend  the  leaves 
to  be  taken  awav ;  but  this  must  be  injurious. 
Mr.  Wood  of  Queensferry,  North  Britain,  is 
particularly  careful  that  no  foliage  appears  on 
the  surface  of  the  flower ;  he  always  lifts  his 
plants,  and  plants  them  in  another  bed,  water- 
ing abundantly;  as  this,  from  his  long  expe- 
rience, he  finds,  prevents  their  degenerating, 
or  producing  proud  seed,-  and  when  the  head 
begins  to  open,  he  cuts  out  its  centre,  and 
leaves  only  four  or  five  of  the  outside  shoots 
for  bearing.  The  sulphur-coloured  he  always 
finds  the  most  difficult  to  obtain  seed  from. 
(Mem.  Caled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  266.)  As  the 
branches  spread,  four  or  six  stakes  should  be 
placed  at  equal  distances  round  each  plant, 
and  hooped  with  string,  to  support  them  and 
prevent  their  breaking.  When  the  pods  begin 
to  form,  water  should  be  given  repeatedly,  and 
occasionally  some  thrown  over  the  whole 
plant,  which  tenis  to  prevent  mildew.  Belo^ 
the  pods  begin  to  change  colour,  those  from 
the  extremity  of  every  shoot  must  be  taken 
away;   as   these  yield    seed  which  _produc_t 


plants  very  apt  to  run 


to  seed  without  heading 
227 


BROKEN-KNEES. 


BROOD  MARES. 


aad  by  an  early  removal  the  others  are  bene- 1 
filed.     The  branches  are  to  be  gathered  as 
soon  as  the  pods  upon  them  ripen.     Varieties  | 
must  never  be  planted  near  each  other,  or  they  ^ 
■will  reciprocally  be  contaminated.    The  seed 
ripens  in  August  or  September ;  and  it  is  often  I 
recommended  to  preserve  it  in  the  pod  until  I 
wanted;  but  the  general  practice  is  to  beat  it 
out,  and  store  it  as  soon  as  it  is  perfectly  dry. 
The  plants  raised  in  frames  are  managed  ?s 
directed  for  cauliflowers  in  the  same  situation. 
(G.  IW  Jnhnsoiig  Kitchen  Garden.) 

BROKEN-KNEES,  in  horses.  The  best 
medical  treatment,  in  slight  cases,  is  to  cleanse 
Ihera  from  dirt  and  gravel  by  a  sponge  and 
warm  water.  In  bad  cases  a  veterinary  sur- 
geon is  absolutely  necessary,  who  will  exa- 
mine with  his  probe,  and  apply  bandages,  and 
even,  in  need,  the  hot  iron. 

BROKEN -WIND,  in  horses,  is,  says  Pro- 
fessor Youatt,  the  rupture,  dilatation,  or  run- 
ning together  of  some  of  the  air  cells, — the 
inspiration  by  one  etfort,  and  the  expiration  by 
two ;  and  is  thus  easily  distinguishable  from 
thick  wind,  in  which  the  inspirations  and  the 
expirations  are  equal  in  amount.  In  healthy 
lungs,  when  the  lungs  are  expanded,  the  air 
will  rush  in  easily  enough,  and  one  effort  of 
the  muscles  of  expiration  is  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  of  expelling  it;  but  when  these  cells 
have  run  into  each  other,  the  cavity  is  so  irre- 
gular, and  contains  so  many  corners  and  blind 
pouches,  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  force 
It  out  again,  and  two  efforts  are  scarcely  com- 
petent fully  to  effect  it.  A  dry  husk-y  cough 
accompanies  this  disease,  of  a  peculiar  sound. 
Broken  wind  is  usually  caused  by  smart  exer- 
cise on  a  full  belly.  We  do  not,  therefore, 
find  broken-winded  horses  on  the  race-course ; 
for,  although  every  exertion  of  speed  is  re- 
quired from  them,  their  food  lies  in  a  small 
compass ;  the  stomach  is  not  distended,  and 
the  lungs  have  room  to  play  ;  and  care  is  taken 
that  their  exertion  shall  be  required  when  the 
stomach  is  nearly  empty.  Carriage  and  coach 
horses,  from  a  similar  cause,  are  not  often 
broken -winded.  The  majority  of  broken- 
winded  horses  come  from  those  for  whose  use 
these  pages  are  principally  designed;  the  far- 
mer's horse  is  the  broken-winded  horse,  from 
being  fed  on  bulky  food ;  and  because,  after 
many  hours'  fasting,  the  horses  are  often  suf- 
fered to  gorge  themselves,  and  then,  with  the 
stomach  pressing  upon  the  lungs,  and  almost 
impeding  ordinary  respiration,  they  are  put 
again  to  work,  and  sometimes  to  that  which 
requires  considerable  exertion.  But  the  pres- 
sure of  the  distended  stomach  upon  the  lungs 
is  sufficient  to  do  this,  without  exertion  ;  many 
a  horse  goes  to  grass  or  the  straw-yard  sound, 
and  returns  broken-winded.  The  cure  of  a 
broken-winded  horse  no  one  has  witnessed, 
yet  much  may  be  done  in  the  way  of  pallia- 
tion ;  the  food  should  consist  of  much  nutri- 
ment in  \\**.\»  coranass;  the  oats  should  be 
increased,  and  the  hay  diminished;  occasional 
mashes  will  be  found  useful ;  water  should  be 
given  sparingly  except  at  night,  and  the  horse 
shouvd  never  be  exercised  on  a  full  stomach. 
Canois  are  excellent  food  for  him.  {The 
Horse  :  Lib.  of  Useful  Know.  p.  195.) 
228 


BROMUS.  The  brorae  grasses;  a  genus  of 
which  the  chief  species  are  as  follow  ; — 

Bromus  arvensis,  taper  field  brome  grass,  has 
a  spreading,  drooping,  compound  panicle,  with 
lanceolate,  sharp -pointed  spikelets.  Each 
spikelet  consists  of  eight  imbricated,  smooth 
florets,  with  two  close  ribs  at  each  side.  Tha 
leaves  are  hairy,  and  the  whole  plant  about 
three  feet  high.  It  is  confined  to  rich  pastures 
and  meadows ;  while  the  next  two,  Bromus  mul- 
tiftorus  and  Bromus  mollis,  known  by  the  leaves 
being  soft  and  downy,  abound  most  on  poor  or 
exhausted  grass  lands :  they  are  all  annuals. 
The  farmer  considers  them  to  be  bad  grasses  ; 
the  field  brome  grass,  however,  affords  an 
early  bite  in  the  spring  for  sheep  and  lambs  ; 
it  does  not  exhaust  the  soil ;  the  roots  do  not 
extend  to  any  depth ;  its  seeds,  which  it  sheds, 
readily  and  speedily  take  root  and  yield  food; 
and  it  withstands  the  frost  well:  in  England 
it  flowers  on  the  second  week  in  August.  At 
the  time  of  flowering,  the  produce  of  its  grass 
grown  on  a  sandy  loam  per  acre  is  23,821  lbs.; 
of  nutritive  matter,  1488  lbs. 

Bromus  diandrus,  upright  annual  orome 
grass. 

Bromus  erectus,  upright  perennial  brome 
grass. 

Bromus  irtermis,  smooth  awnless  brome  grass. 

Bromus  littoreus,  sea-side  brome  grass. 

Bromus  mollis,  soft  brome  grass. 

Bromus  midtiflorus,  many-flowered  brome 
grass  (named  from  the  spikelets  containing 
from  ten  to  fifteen  florets). 

Bromus  stenlis,  barren  brome  grass.  It  grows 
principally  under  hedges  in  the  shade ;  cattle 
refuse  it. 

Bromus  tectorum,  nodding-panicled  brome 
grass. 

These  were  all  examined  with  much  skill 
by  Sinclair,  but  he  had  evidently  a  poor  opi- 
nion of  them  as  field  grasses.  (Hort.  Granu 
Woh.) 

There  are  many  other  varieties  of  this  family, 
the  respective  merits  of  which  are  pointed  out 
by  Sinclair  in  his  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  That 
which  is  perhaps  most  interesting  to  the  Ame- 
rican farmer  is  the  Bromus  secalinus,  common- 
ly called  cheat,  so  frequently  found  growing 
amons:  the  wheat  or  rye  crops. 

BRONCHITIS.  A  disease  in  horses.  It  is, 
says  Professor  Youatt,  a  catarrh  extending  be- 
yond the  entrance  of  the  lungs.  Symptoms, 
quicker  and  harder  breathing  than  catarrh,  pe- 
culiar wheezing,  coughing  up  mucus.  Treat- 
ment, moderate  bleeding,  chest  blistering, 
digitalis.  Neglected  bronchitis  often  leads  to 
thick  wind.     (On  the  Horse,  p.  189.) 

BROOD  MARES.  Mares  generally  com- 
mence breeding  at  three  or  four  years  of  age. 
Somp  commence  at  two  years,  which  is  much 
too  early.  A  mare  will,  if  only  moderately 
worked,  continue  to  breed  till  nearly  twenty. 
She  is  in  heat  in  the  early  part  of  the  spring ; 
[averages  about  eleven  months  in  foal;  but 
1  this  varies  considerably;  some  have  been 
1  known  to  foal  four  or  five  weeks  before  this 
j  time,  others  five  or  six  later.  In  race-horses, 
!  the  colt's  age  is  calculated  the  same,  whether 
he  is  born  in  January  or  May.  It  is  desirable 
I  that  the  mare  should  go  to  the  horse  as  earl ' 


BROOKLIME. 


as  possible.  But  in  ordinary  cases  May  is  the 
best -month ;  for  then  the  mare  foals  at  a  period 
when  there  is  an  abundance  of  her  natural 
food. 

BROOKLIME  (Myositis  palustris).  This 
herb  loves  shallow  streams  and  wet  ditches, 
like  the  water-cress,  which  it  resembles  in 
taste.  It  flowers  and  seeds  in  June,  July,  and 
August.  Brooklime  is  known  by  its  thick 
stalk,  roundish  leaves,  and  its  spikes  of  small 
bright  blue  flowers.  It  grows  about  a  foot  in 
height,  and  it  strikes  root  at  the  lower  joints, 
and  the  roots  are  fibrous.  The  leaves  are 
broad,  oblong,  slightly  indented,  round  at  their 
edges,  and  blunt  at  the  point,  to  use  an  Irishism. 
The  flowers  stand  singly  upon  short  foot-stalks, 
one  over  another,  forming  a  sort  of  loose  spike. 
Brooklime  possesses  slight  medicinal  virtues; 
but  it  should  be  used  fresh,  as  it  loses  its  pro- 
perties when  dried.  It  is  often  eaten  in  salads, 
which  is  a  pleasant  mode  of  administering  it ; 
but  its  flavour  is  in  any  form  warm  and 
agreeable. 

In  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  the  M. 
palusiris  is  called  Forget-me-not,  Marsh  scor- 

f»ion  grass.  In  French  it  is  the  Oreille  de  souris. 
n  swampy  places  and  spring  heads,  it  remains 
vigorously  green  through  the  winter.  It  flow- 
ers from  May  to  September.     (Ftor.  Cestric) 

BROOM  (the  Spartium  scoparittm  or  Cyticus 
scoparius  of  botanists).  PI.  9,  d.  An  evergreen- 
branched  shrub,  native  of  sandy  soils  through- 
out Europe.  The  broom,  with  its  gay  yellow 
flowers,  blooming  from  April  to  June,  its  tough 
stalks,  and  flat  hairy  pods,  is  well  known  on 
all  barren  and  waste  grounds,  growing  abun- 
dantly in  dry  gravelly  thickets  and  fields,  and  is 
often  admitted  into  shrubberies,  for  its  delicate 
blooms  and  curious  appearance.  It  is  sown 
extensively  in  England  as  a  shelter  for  game. 
Its  branches,  which  are  tough,  are  made  up 
into  brooms,  to  which  they  have  given  their 
name.  The  green  stalks  and  tops  of  brooms 
are  medicinally  employed.  They  have  a  bitter 
nauseous  taste,  and  a  peculiar  odour  when 
green.  The  green  twigs,  when  burned,  yield 
a  large  quantity  of  carbonate  of  potash,  and 
several  other  salts.  Broom  tops,  administered 
in  strong  infusion,  are  emetic  and  purgative  : 
in  smaller  doses  they  are  diuretic;  and  as  such 
have  been  long  employed  to  excite  the  action 
of  the  kidneys  in  dropsy ;  but  its  efficacy  de- 
pends on  the  nature  of  the  dropsy,  and  its 
cause.  When  inflammation  is  present,  broom 
tops  do  much  harm ;  and,  therefore,  like  other 
remedies,  its  use  should  not  be  intrusted  to 
non-professional  persons.  It  may  be  useful 
to  know  that  its  action  is  promoted  by  dilu- 
tion. 

BROOM-GRASS.  The  Andropogon  purpur 
rescens,  A.  furcatmn,  or  forked  spike-grass,  and 
the  Ji.  nutans,  or  beard-grass,  are  all  known  in 
the  Eastern  States,  where  they  flower  in  Au- 
gust. 

BROOM-RAPE  (Orobanche  major).  This  is 
a  parasitical  plant  which  is  found  amongst  I 
the  red  clover ;  "  meaning,  perhaps,"  says  Mr. 
Main,  "a  robber  of  broom,  from  its  being  fre- 
quently found  on  waste  grounds  growing  on 
the  roots  of  the  common  broom,  and  in  fields 
on  the  roots  of  clover."     In  its  first  appearance 


BRYONY. 

it  resembles  the  roots  of  asparagus,  just  as 
they  break  through  the  ground;  the  stems  rise 
from  six  to  ten  inches  high,  and  without  proper 
leaves,  having  what  are  called  bractes  instead. 
The  flowers  are  ai  ranged  on  the  stem  like 
those  of  a  hyacinth,  but  not  so  showy,  being 
of  a  dingy  brown  colour,  succeeded  by  oblong 
capsules  of  seeds.  A  straggling  individual 
plant  is  sometimes  met  with  amongst  ley- 
wheat  feeding  on  a  clover  plant,  which  has 
escaped  destruction  by  the  plough  and  harrow 
at  wheat  sowing;  but  it  never  appears  again 
until  the  field  is  sown  with  clover.  From  a 
note  by  Mr.  Rham,  quoting  Von  Aelbrock's  Agri- 
culture of  Flanders,  p.  283,  it  would  seem  that  the 
minute  seeds  of  the  broom-rape,  which  can 
hardly  be  observed  with  the  naked  eye,  exude 
a  glutinous  substance,  by  which  they  adhere 
to  the  seeds  of  the  clover,  and  wilh  which  they 
are  in  consequence  often  sown.  (Journ.  Roy. 
Eng.  Ag.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  175.)  Orobanche  is  a 
powerful  astringent,  and  might  be  advantage- 
ously used  in  chronic  diarrhosas. 

BROOM,  SPANISH  (Spartivm  junceum).  PI. 
9,  e.  A  handsome  shrub,  with  fragrant  yellow 
blossoms,  which  appear  in  July;  Miller  says, 
that  in  cool  seasons  it  will  keep  blowing  until 
September.  It  loves  a  sheltered  situation.  If 
raised  by  seed,  sow  it  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe,  in 
a  shady  bed  of  common  earth,  kept  free  from 
weeds.  Plant  out  the  seedlings  the  following 
autumn.  The  white  Spanish  broom  {Sportium 
monogpermum)  is  more  tender;  therefore  it  should 
be  sheltered  during  the  winter.  It  grows  well 
in  shrubberies  not  exposed  to  a  hot  sun.  Raised 
from  seed.  Phillips  recommends  the  Spanish 
broom  for  shrubberies,frora  its  longconiinuance 
in  bloom,  from  July  to  October;  and  he  adds, 
the  common  broom  (S.  scoparium)  may  as  judi- 
ciously be  placed  at  the  foot  of  towering  trees, 
where  it  will  shine  as  gay  in  the  gloom  as  a 
cypress  fire  in  a  forest.  (Shrubbery,  vol.  i. 
p.  151.) 

BRYONY,  BLACK  (Tamus  communis,  Gr. 
I^^uet,  I  grow  rapidly).  This  is  a  wild  native 
plant,  and  climbs  like  the  white  bryony;  but  it 
wreathes  its  stalk  around  the  bushes,  having 
no  tendrils.  The  stalk  also  runs  fifteen  feet 
in  length.  The  leaves  are  broad,  shaped  like 
a  triangle,  smooth,  polished,  and  of  a  black 
green  colour.  The  flowers  and  berries  re- 
semble the  white  bryony. 

BRYONY,  WHITE  (Bryonia  dioica).  This 
plant,  with  its  tendrils  and  leaves,  somewhat 
resembles  the  vine,  and  clings  like  it  around 
the  trees  and  bushes  in  its  progress.  It  grows 
in  many  parts  of  England  under  hedges  and 
thickets.  The  leaves  are  hairy  and  broad. 
The  flowers  small,  and  of  a  greenish  w^ite 
colour,  blowing  from  May  till  August.  Tne 
berries  are  red,  and  full  of  seeds.  The  root 
is  large,  rough,  and  white,  and  the  stalks  from 
ten  to  twelve  feet  in  length.  The  root  contains 
a  peculiar  bitter  principle,  whfch  has  been 
termed  bryonin.  The  root  is  poisonous,  being 
both  violently  emetic  and  purgative,  producing 
symptoms  resembling  those  of  cholera.  It  is 
sold  by  herbalists  under  the  name  of  Manor uh^ 
root.  Many  ignorant  persons  have  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  employment  of  bryony  root,  in 
diseases  in  which  it  is  said  to  be  useful  iz.  ol& 
U  229 


BUCK. 


BUCK  HUNTING. 


hcrbafs.  Decoctions  made  with  one  pound  of 
the  fresh  root  are  purgatives  for  cattle.  This 
.5  a  powerful  medicine,  and  should  be  given 
cautiously  in  small  doses,  even  to  cattle. 

BUCK.  The  male  of  the  deer,  hare,  rab- 
bit, &c. 

BUCK-BEAN  (Menyanthes  trifoliata).  This 
is  a  beautiful  wild  flower,  and  deserving  of 
cultivation.  It  naturally  inhabits  turbaries, 
and  marshy  places.  In  a  garden  it  will  live 
for  many  years,  if  planted  in  a  pot  filled  with 
peat  earth  mixed  with  sphagnum  or  bog  moss, 
and  plunged  in  a  pan  of  water;  or  better  still, 
if  planted  out  in  rich  soil,  where  it  can  be 
supplied  with  water  from  a  pond  or  tank.  It 
is  not  only  a  beautiful,  but  a  valuable  gift  of 
Providence, — for  it  possesses  powerful  effects 
as  a  remedy  against  the  fevers  prevalent  in 
marshy  districts.  (^Gardcner^s  CUronule.)  Wi- 
thering, in  speaking  of  this  plant,  says  it  is 
possessed  of  powerful  medicinal  properties ; 
an  infusion  of  the  leaves  is  extremely  bitter, 
and  is  prescribed  in  rheumatism  and  dropsies; 
it  may  be  used  as  a  substitute  for  hops  in 
making  beer,  and  is  employed  as  a  purgative 
for  calves.  It  is  easily  recognised,  possessing 
a  very  singular  appearance.  It  grows  a  foot 
high ;  the  leaf-stalks  rise  from  the  roots,  and 
upon  each  stalk  stand  three  large  oblong 
leaves,  somewhat  resembling  the  garden  bean 
leaves.  The  stalks  themselves  are  round, 
thick,  and  smooth.  The  flowers  are  small, 
white,  with  a  delicate  tinge  of  purple,  and 
hairy  inside.  They  grow  together,  forming  a 
short,  thick  spike,  and  stand  upon  thick,  round, 
whitish,  and  naked  stalks.  The  root  is  long, 
thick,  and  of  a  whitish  colour.  Buck-bean 
leaves  should  be  gathered  before  the  flower- 
stalks  appear,  and  dried.  Their  powder,  taken 
in  tea,  or  any  liquid,  is  considered  excellent 
for  rheumatism  and  ague. 

BUCKEYE.  Under  this  name,  Michaux 
describes  two  species  of  trees  in  the  United 
States,  viz.  the  large  buckeye  or  yellow  pavia, 
(JPavia  Intea) ;  and  the  Ohio  buckeye  or  Ohio 
horse-chestnut  {Pavia  ohioensis). 

The  yellow  pavia,  or  large  American  buckeye, 
is  first  observed  on  the  Alleghany  Mountains  in 
Virginia,  near  the  39th  degree  of  latitude.  It 
becomes  more  frequent  in  following  the  chain 
towards  the  southwest,  and  is  most  profusely 
multiplied  in  the  mountainous  districts  of  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia.  It  abounds,  also,  upon 
the  rivers  that  rise  beyond  the  mountains  and 
flow  through  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  and 
the  states  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  to  meet 
the  Ohio.  It  is  much  less  common  along  the 
streams  which  have  their  sources  east  of  the 
Alleghanies,  and  may  therefore  be  considered 
as  a  stranger  to  the  Atlantic  states,  with  the 
exception  of  a  tract  thirty  or  forty  miles  wide 
in  the  Southern  States,  as  it  were  beneath  the 
shadow  of  the  mountains.  It  is  here  called 
big  buckeye,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Pavia 
rubra,  which  does  not  exceed  eight  or  ten  feet 
is  height,  and  which  is  called  small  buckeye. 

Michaux  states,  that  he  had  seen  no  situation 
^hich  appeared  more  favourable  to  the  deve- 
lopement  of  the  big  uuckeye,  than  the  declivi- 
ties of  the  lofty  mountains  in  North  Carolina, 
*nd  particularly  of  the  Great  Father  Mountain, 
231 


the  Iron  Mountain,  and  the  Black  Mountain; 
where  the  soil  is  generally  loose,  deep,  and 
fertile.  The  coolness  and  humidity  which  reign 
in  these  elevated  regions,  appear  likewise  to  be 
necessary  to  its  utmost  expansion ;  it  here 
towers  to  the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  three  or  four  feet,  and  is 
considered  a  certain  proof  of  the  richness  of 
the  land. 

The  flowers  of  this  tree  are  of  a  light, 
agreeable  yellow,  and  the  numerous  bunches, 
contrasted  with  the  fine  dense  foliage,  lend  it  a 
highly  ornamental  appearance.  The  fruit  is 
contained  in  a  fleshy,  oval  capsule,  the  surface 
of  which,  unlike  that  of  the  horse-chestnut  of 
Asia  and  Ohio,  is  smooth.  Each  capsule 
contains  two  seeds  or  chestnuts,  of  unequal 
size,  flat  upon  one  side  and  convex  on  the 
other.  They  are  larger  and  lighter-coloured 
than  those  of  the  common  horse-chestnut,  and, 
like  them,  are  not  eatable. 

Of  American  trees,  the  large  buckeye  is  one 
of  the  earliest  to  cast  its  leaves,  which  begin 
to  fall  near  Philadelphia  about  the  15th  of 
August,  and  whilst  the  other  horse-chestnuts 
are  still  clothed  with  their  finest  verdure.  Its 
foliation  and  flow^ering  are  also  tardy,  which 
is  deemed  an  essential  defect  in  a  tree,  the 
greatest  merit  of  which  is  its  beauty.  The 
wood,  from  its  softness  and  want  of  durability, 
cannot  be  made  to  subserve  any  useful  pur- 
pose. In  beauty,  this  species  is  reckoned  in- 
ferior to  that  magnificent  tree,  the 

Ohio  buckeye,  or  common  American  horse- 
chestnut,  which  is  not  a  native  of  any  of  the 
Atlantic  states,  where, however,  it  is  a  favourite 
ornamental  tree.  The  ordinary  stature  of  the 
American  horse-chestnut  is  ten  or  twelve  feet, 
but  it  sometimes  equals  thirty  or  thirty-five 
feet  in  height,  and  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter. 

The  foliage  of  this  tree  appears  very  early 
in  spring,  being  very  quickly  followed  by  its 
flowers,  which  almost  cover  the  tree  in  white 
bunches,  making  a  very  brilliant  appearance. 
The  fruit  is  of  the  same  colour  with  that  of 
the  foreign  horse-chestnut  and  of  the  large 
buckeye,  and  of  about  half  the  size:  it  is  con- 
tained in  fleshy,  prickly  capsules,  and  is  ripe 
the  beginning  of  autumn.  Horse-chestnuts 
are  said  to  injure  swine  and  other  stock  which 
eat  them. 

The  bark  of  the  larger  trees  is  blackish,  and 
endowed  with  a  disagreeable  odour  and  highly 
acrimonious  properties.  The  wood  is  white, 
soft,  and  wholly  useless.  The  value  of  the 
Ohio  buckeye  or  American  horse-chestnut 
consists  mainly  in  the  beauty  of  its  abundant, 
precocious,  and  beautiful  foliage  and  flowers, 
qualities  which  bring  it  into  great  request  as 
an  ornamental  tree.     (North  Amer.  Sylva.) 

For  some  notice  of  the  European  or  Asiatic 
horse-chestnut,  see  Chestnut,  Hobse. 

BUCK-HEADING  and  BUCK-STALLING 
Provincialisms  applied  to  the  cutting  hedge- 
fences  off,  fence-height 

BUCKHORN.  See  Plawtain,  Stah  op 
THE  Earth. 

BUCK  HUNTING.  « In  common  parlance," 
says  Mr.  Blaine,  "the  hunting  of  a  fallow 
deer,  whether  male  or  female,  is  said  to  be 


BUCKLE-HORNS. 


BUCKWHEAT. 


buck  hunting."  This,  according  to  Mr.  Cha- 
fing, in  the  reign  of  James  II.,  was  formerly 
practised  after  dinner;  it  was  so  fashionable, 
and  so  generally  delighted  in  at  that  period,  that 
even  the  judges  on  the  circuit  were  accustomed 
to  partake  in  it.     {Scott's  Field  Sports,  p.  435.) 

BUCKLE-HORNS.  A  provincial  name  for 
short  crooked  horns  turning  inward  in  a  hori- 
zontal manner. 

BUCKTHORN,  COMMON  (Rhamnus  ca- 
tharlicvs).  A  hardy  indigenous  prickly  shrub, 
common  in  hedge  rows  in  England;  flowering 
in  May,  and  ripening  its  fruit  in  September. 
The  leaves  have  strong  lateral  nerves,  are 
ovate,  toothed,  with  linear  stipules;  the  flowers 
are  yellowish-green,  and  are  succeeded  by  a 
black  berry,  which  is  glossy,  and  the  size  of  a 
large  pepper-corn,  containing  three  or  four 
seeds,  and  a  violet-red  pulp.  The  bark  is 
glossy  and  dark-coloured.  This  shrub  likes  a 
sheltered  situation,  and  succeeds  in  any  soil. 
It  is  propagated  by  seed,  layers,  and  grafts. 
The  juice  of  the  unripe  berries  is  a  deep  green 
dye,  if  boiled  with  a  little  alum.  The  juice 
contains  a  purgative  principle,  which  enables 
it  to  operatp  as  a  powerful  cathartic;  but  its 
action  Is  accompanied  with  much  griping  and 
thirst.  It  was  formerly  often  used  as  a  domes- 
tic purgative ;  but  the  frequent  violence  of  its 
action  has  caused  its  disuse. 

The  lihamnus  or  buckthorn  genus  of  plants 
is  very  numerous,  ten  species  being  found  in 
the  United  States,  chiefly  in  the  warmer  parts. 
The  leaves  of  a  species  found  in  China,  the 
Ehamnvs  theezaiigf  resemble  those  of  the  tea- 
plant,  and  pass  as  a  substitute  for  tea  among 
the  indigent  population  of  that  country.  The 
buckthorn  family  of  plants  are  all  either  very 
small  trees  or  shrubs  with  the  smaller  branches 
often  terminating  in  spines  or  thorns,  qualities 
which  fit  them  for  hedges,  for  which  purpose 
the  common  buckthorn  (lihamnus  catharticus) 
is  a  favourite  about  Boston  and  other  parts  of 
NcAv  England,  where  the  English  and  Virginia 
thorns  Mill  not  stand  the  climate.  The  buck- 
thorn, on  the  contrary,  will  grow  in  almost 
any  climate  and  upon  every  variety  of  soil. 

A  species  of  rhamnus,  called  the  broadleaved 
alateimis,  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  is 
an  ornamental  evergreen,  the  blossoms  of 
which  are  greatly  frequented  by  the  honey- 
bee. It  is  a  rapid  growing  shrub,  and  useful 
for  thickening  screens,  clothing  walls,  &c. 

The  sea  or  common  sallow  thorn,  the  Hip- 
pophit  rhanmoides  of  Linna2us,is  a  very  important 
shrub,  growing  wild  on  sandy  shores,  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  British  coast,  where  it  some- 
times attains  the  height  of  eight  or  ten  feet. 
Its  bark  is  light  brown,  the  wood  white,  the 
small  leaves  of  a  sea-green  colour,  but  silvery 
white  below.  The  leaves  appear  early  in 
spring;  the  yellow  flowers  in  June  and  July; 
the  fine  red  berries  late  in  autumn. 

In  situations  contiguous  to  the  sea-shore,  or 
the  banks  of  rivulets,  this  shrub  eminently 
deserves  to  be  cultivated,  as  it  is  well  calcu- 
lated to  bind  a  sandy  soil,  and  to  prevent  the 
water  from  penetrating  through  banks  and 
fences.  It  may  be  raised  from  seeds,  but  more 
expeditiously  by  planting  layers,  or  propagat- 
ing it  from  the  very  abundant  spreading  roots. 


On  account  of  i>s  'Jiomy  points,  it  afibrds  ex- 
cellent hedges,  even  on  a  sandy  soil. 

Although  cows  refuse  the  leaves  of  the  sea- 
buckthorn,  yet  they  are  browsed  upv  n  by  goats, 
sheep,  and  horses.  The  berries  are  strongly 
acid,  with  an  austere  vinous  flavour :  in  Lap- 
land they  are  pickled  and  used  as  spice,  but 
the  fishermen  of  the  (Julph  of  Bothnia  prepare 
from  them  a  rob,  which,  added  to  fresh  fish, 
imparts  a  very  grateful  flavour. 

From  the  leaves  of  this  shrub,  M.  Suckow 
obtained  an  agreeable  dark-brown  dye  for  wool 
and  silk,  first  treated  with  vitriol  of  iron  (rop' 
peras):  Dambourney  succeeded  in  producinsj 
a  similar  colour  on  cloth  that  had  been  pre- 
viouslv  steeped  in  a  solution  of  bismuth. 

BUCKWHEAT  (Germ,  buchweizen).  The 
name  of  a  particular  species  of  grain,  of  which, 
for  the  sake  of  their  seeds,  there  are  two  spe- 
cies cultivated  in  Europe  : — I.  The  common 
buckwheat  (Polygotmm  fngopyrum),  PI.  3,  g, 
2.  The  Tartarian  buckwheat  (P.  tatm-innn),  h; 
and  another  in  China  and  Tartary  {P.  annrgi- 
natum),  i.  A  new  kind  of  buckwheat,  known 
to  the  peasants  of  Germany  by  the  name  of 
Wild  Italian  buckwheat,  they  prefer  to  the  com- 
mon buckwheat,  because  it  is  more  productive, 
hardier,  and  has  whiter  and  more  savoury  meal. 
This  is  described  in  the  Bull,  des  Srien.  Jigr.^ 
AprH,'\%Z\.  (Quart.  Joum.  Jgr.  vol.  iii.  p.  368.) 
Its  flower  is  said  to  be  deeper-coloured,  and 
smaller. 

Buckwheat  is  a  plant  known  in  almost  every 
part  of  the  world.  It  has  been  supposed  tc 
have  been  first  known  in  Europe  after  the  timft 
of  the  Crusades.  The  French,  in  fact,  call  it 
bU  Sarrazin.  In  China,  Japan,  and  Russia,  it 
forms  a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  food 
of  the  inhabitants;  it  is  likewise  generally 
eaten  in  Switzerland  and  the  southern  parts  of 
France,  and  in  Flanders  it  is  a  considerable 
branch  of  husbandry.  Gerard  speaks  of  it  as 
cultivated  in  England  about  the  year  1597, 
particularly  in  the  counties  of  Lancashire  and 
Cheshire.  It  appears,  however,  to  have  made 
small  progress  in  this  kingdom,  and  has  re- 
ceived less  attention  than  it  deserves.  It  thrives 
well  in  almost  any  dry  soil,  even  those  of  the 
poorest  kinds  :  and  in  most  of  the  arable  dis- 
tricts it  is  sown  on  the  inferior  sorts  of  land ; 
as,  when  cultivated  on  the  richer  kinds  of  soil, 
it  is  found  to  run  too  much  to  straw.  It  is 
well  adapted  to  light  sandy  lands.  The  quan- 
tity of  seed  sown  varies  from  five  to  eight 
pocks  per  acre.  Buckwheat  is  an  annual.  It 
has  a  strong,  cylindrical,  reddish,  branching 
stem,  about  two  feet  in  height,  with  alternate 
ivy-shaped  leaves ;  the  flowers,  which  are 
white,  tinged  with  red,  are  in  bunches  at  the 
end  of  the  branches,  and  are  succeeded  by 
I  black  angular  seeds.  Its  flowers  are  very  at- 
tractive to  bees.  It  begins  flowering  in  July, 
and  is  generally  fit  to  mow  about  the  beginning 
I  of  October.  If  put  together,  says  Mr.  Main,  a 
I  little  green  or  damp,  it  does  not  much  signify; 
for,  although  ever  so  mouldy,  the  g:rain  is  never 
damaged,  and  the  more  mouldy  it  is,  the  earlier 
it  can  be  thrashed.  It  is  the  easiest  of  all  barn- 
work  for  the  thrasher.  (Quart.  Journ.  Agr.  voL 
vii.  p.  180.) 

In  England,  the  proper  time  for   sowing 

231 


BUCKWHEAT. 

buckwheat  is  in  May,  when  there  is  no  longer 
any  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  the  frosts ; 
for  so  tender  is  this  vegetable  at  its  first  ap- 
pearance, as  to  be  unable  at  an  earlier  period 
to  withstand  the  vernal  cold.  The  slightest 
frost  in  their  infant  state  would  infallibly  cut 
off  the  young  shoots ;  and  as,  from  this  circum- 
stance, it  must  be  sown  at  a  season  when  dry 
weather  may  be  expected,  the  crop,  on  that 
account,  not  unfrequenily  fails.  The  produce, 
which  varies  with  the  seasons  (and  this  is  ra- 
ther an  uncertain  crop),  ranges  from  two  to 
four  quarters  per  acre.  It  is  commonly  grown 
in  England  in  preserves,  as  food  for  pheasants 
and  partridges.  It  is  an  excellent  food  for 
poultry;  pigs  thrive  upon  and  are  fond  of  it 
(it  is  comnjonly  given  to  them  mixed  with  po- 
tatoes); and  when  bruised,  it  is  good  food  for 
horses,  two  bushels  being  equal,  for  this  pur- 
pose, it  is  said,  to  three  of  oats  (a  bushel 
weighs  about  forty-six  pounds).  Cows,  when 
fed  with  it,  yield  a  large  increase  of  milk. 
8heep,  when  fed  upon  the  plant  when  in  blos- 
som, stagger  and  tumble  about  as  if  drunk.  It 
is  sometimes  made  into  hay,  which  is  nutritive, 
but  tedious  to  make,  and  should  be  consumed 
before  the  winter.  It  is  often  grown  on  poor 
exhausted  soils,  and  ploughed  in  when  in 
bloom;  in  this  way  it  increases  very  materially 
the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  is  a  mode  often 
practised  in  Essex,  Suffolk,  Norfolk,  and  in 
Scotland.  Mr.  Ballingal  has  given  an  account 
of  his  experiments  with  it  upon  a  clay  loam 
recently  limed ;  from  the  result  of  which  he 
warns  his  brother  farmers  that  it  is  "needless 
%o  attempt  to  grow  it  upon  damp  soils,  or  to 
expect  full  crops  upon  lands  exhausted  by 
over-cropping."  {Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  ii. 
p.  125.) 

In  reaping  buckwheat,  many  farmers  prefer 
pulling  it,  as  less  likely  to  shed  the  seed.  The 
morning,  or  late  in  the  evening,  should  be 
chosen  for  this  purpose,  when  the  dew  is  upon 
the  plant.  M.Vauquelin  found  100  parts  of  its 
straw  to  contain  29*5  of  carbonate  of  potash, 
3-8  of  sulphate  of  potash,  17-5  carbonate  of 
lime,  13'5  carbonate  of  magnesia,  16-2  of  silica, 
10'6  earth  of  alum,  and  9  of  water. 

Vast  quantities  of  this  grain,  says  Mr.  Main, 
are  annually  imported  into  England  from  Hol- 
land and  other  northern  countries,  for  the  use 
of  the  gin-distilleries,  who  also  consume  con- 
siderable quantities  of  British  growth,  which, 
not  being  kiln-dried,  as  most  of  the  Dutch  grain 
is  found  to  be,  is  more  valued.  The  average 
quantity  of  buckwheat  imported  into  England 
is  about  10,000  quarters  annually.  It  pavs  the 
9ame  duty  as  barley.  (M'CuUoch^s  Com.' Diet.) 
For  illustrations  of  the  varieties  of  buckwheat, 
see  PI.  3. 

Buckwheat  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the 
United  t*tates,  the  species  usually  sown  being 
the  Polygonum  fagopyrum  of  botanists.  The 
grain  affords  a  favourite  article  of  food.  It  is 
generally  thought  to  be  a  severe  crop  upon 
land,  and  for  this  reason  is  seldom  sown  on 
highly  improved  ground.  Rough  and  hilly 
districts  are  considered  peculiarly  favourable 
to  the  culture  of  buckwheat,  which  is  admira- 
bly adapted  to  subdue  new  or  wild  lands.  Be- 
sides the  Climbing  Buckwheat  {Polygonum 
239 


BUCKWHEAT. 

scandtns),  found  in  the  Middle  States  and  else 
where,  twining  round  bushes  in  moist  thickels, 
&c.,  eight  or  ten  additional  varieties  are  enu- 
merated in  the  United  States.  {Flora  Cesirica.) 
Buckwheat  comes  to  maturity  so  quickly, 
that  it  is  usual  to  sow  it  upon  the  same  ground 
from  which  wheat  or  other  grain  crops  have 
been  taken.  It  flourishes  best  in  a  mellow,  dry, 
loose,  sandy  soil,  but  even  on  the  poorest  land, 
so  that  it  be  not  moist,  it  will  produce  a  tole- 
rable crop  in  from  three  to  four  months  after 
sowing.  When  intended  for  seed,  it  is  best  to 
put  in  the  crop  early  enough  to  allow  the  grain 
to  become  perfectly  matured  before  frost.  For 
this  purpose  June  or  the  first  of  July  is  soon 
enough  in  the  Middle  States.  In  the  state  of 
New  York,  buckwheat  is  frequently  sown  in 
August  along  with  winter  wheat,  affording  a 
ripe  crop  in  the  fall,  without  injury  to  the 
wheat,  which  grows  along  with  and  succeeds 
it.  When  sown  broad-cast,  the  usual  manner, 
a  bushel  of  buckwheat  is  generally  put  upon 
the  acre.  Half  the  quantity  is  said  to  answer 
when  put  in  with  a  proper  drill  machine. 
When  harvested,  it  is  usual  to  mow  it  with  the 
scythe,  and  allow  it  to  remain  some  lime 
before  it  is  taken  from  the  field.  Being  very 
liable  to  heat,  it  is  advisable  to  put  it  into 
small  stacks  of  about  four  to  six  loads  each. 
Larger  stacks,  or  close  housing,  would  subject 
it  to  spoiling.  The  quantity  of  produce  varies 
greatly,  according  to  circumstances  of  soil  and 
season.  In  the  northern  part  of  Pennsylvania 
and  still  farther  north,  it  is  so  often  nipped 
before  maturity  b)''  autumnal  frosts,  as  to  be  a 
precarious  crop.  From  thirty  to  forty-five 
bushels  per  acre  may  be  considered  an  average 
yield  in  a  favourable  season,  but  sixty  or  eighty 
bushels  are  not  unfrequently  produced.  Its 
flowers  bloom  and  fade  successively  for  a  long 
time.  It  is  thought  that  the  crop  would  be 
much  more  productive,  if  the  same  uniformity 
in  blowing  and  ripening  existed  that  is  observed 
with  other  grains.  The  buckwheat  flour  most 
preferred  in  the  southern  cities,  where  it  com- 
mands a  higher  price,  is  that  which  comes 
from  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  It  is 
common,  especially  in  New  Jersey,  to  grind 
up  with  the  buckwheat  a  fifth  or  sixth  part  of 
Indian  corn,  a  peculiar  kind  of  which,  being 
very  soft  and  white,  is  raised  for  the  purpose. 
The  form  in  which  it  is  brought  to  the  table  is 
almost  universally  that  of  flat  cakes,  made  of 
batter  raised  by  means  of  yeast,  or,  what  is  still 
preferable,  and  requires  but  a  few  minutes  in 
the  preparation,  adding  a  seidlitz  powder  to  the 
mixture  of  flour  and  water,  which  causes  the 
batter  to  rise  at  once,  from  the  carbonic  acid  gas 
disengaged.  These  cakes  are  soft  and  spongy, 
and  absorb  a  large  quantity  of  butter,  which  is 
always  put  on  while  they  are  very  warm.  Con- 
sidering the  large  amount  of  butter  used,  they 
cannot  he  regarded  as  economical  food,  except 
where  butter  is  very  cheap.  Persons  troubled 
with  feeble  digestion  should  never  eat  buck- 
wheat prepared  in  this  way.  In  Tuscany, 
buckwheat  is  mixed  with  barley,  ground,  and 
the  flour  made  into  bread,  which  possesses  the 
property  of  retaining  its  moisture  much  longer 
I  than  that  of  pure  wheat;  and,  though  of  a 
i  darker  colour,  it  is  thought  to  be  equally  nou- 


BUD. 


BUDDING. 


rithlng.  In  Germany,  a  very  palatable  grit, 
:>r  coarse-grained  meal,  is  made  of  it,  which 
serves  as  an  ingredient  in  pottage,  puddings, 
&c.  In  Brandenburg,  not  only  ale  and  beer 
are  brewed  from  buckwheat  mixed  with  malt, 
but  likewise  a  very  excellent  spirit,  of  a  bluish 
shade,  is  obtained  by  distillation,  in  flavour 
resembling  French  brandy. 

The  seeds  of  buckwheat  afford  excellent 
fcod  for  cattle,  and  are  very  fattening  to  poul- 
try and  hogs,  though  it  is  said  to  make  them 
liable  to  a  scabby  eruption.  When  cut  in  pro- 
per season,  that  is  to  say,  about  the  time  of 
flowering,  when  the  stems  and  leaves  are  suc- 
culent and  tender,  it  affords  an  excellent  pro- 
vender for  cattle,  especially  for  milch  cows, 
which  are  very  fond  of  it.  Some  intelligent 
farmers  have  thought  it,  for  the  last  purpose, 
superior  to  timothy  hay. 

One  of  the  purposes  to  which  buckwheat 
has  been  applied, — and  for  which  it  appears, 
from  the  rapidity  and  exuberance  of  its  growth, 
peculiarly  adapted, — is  the  ploughing  down  to 
add  fertility  to  the  land.  This  can  be  done 
when  the  soil  is  too  far  exhausted  to  produce 
clover  for  a  similar  purpose.  '♦  We  cannot," 
says  the  editor  of  the  Theatre  of  Agriculture, 
*♦  too  much  recommend,  alter  our  old  and  con- 
stant practice,  the  employment  of  this  precious 
plant  as  a  manure.  It  is  certainly  the  most 
economical  and  convenient  the  farmer  can 
employ.  A  small  quantity  of  seed,  costing  a 
mere  trifle,  sows  a  large  surface  and  gives  a 
great  crop.  When  in  flower,  first  roll,  and 
plough  it  in,  and  it  is  soon  converted  into  ma- 
nure." This  crop  is  recommended  by  Mr. 
Taylor,  in  the  Maine  Farmer,  as  an  effectual 
destroyer  of  that  frequent  pest  of  the  field  called 
couch-firass,  quivk-sfuns,  &c.  For  this  purpose 
it  must  be  sown  as  early  in  the  season  as  iVost 
will  permit,  and  as  soon  as  it  gets  into  flower, 
rolled  down  and  turned  under  with  the  plough. 
Another  crop  is  then  sown  on  top  of  the  first, 
and  harrowed  in ;  and,  if  the  season  be  not 
unfavourable,  it  will  ripen  and  afford  a  harvest 
before  frost  sets  in. 

The  fresh  blossoms  and  succuleni  stems  of 
buckwheat  have  been  applied  in  Europe  to  the 
purposes  of  dyeing  wool,  &c.  The  infusion, 
by  the  addition  of  preparations  of  bismuth  and 
tin,  produces  a  beautiful  brown  colour.  From 
the  dried  flower-bundles  different  shades  of 
green  are  obtained.  The  Siberian  species  of 
buckwheat,  in  particular,  yields  a  fine  yellow, 
which,  upon  boiling  the  wool  still  longer  in  the 
dye,  changes  into  a  golden  tint,  and  at  length 
becomes  a  beautiful  yellow. 

BUD  (Fr.  bouton).  The  germ  or  first  fruit 
of  a  plant,  which  is  the  organized  rudiment  of 
a  branch  or  flower.  Buds  proceed  from  the 
extremities  of  the  young  shoots,  and  also  along 
the  branches,  sometimes  single,  sometimes  two 
and  two,  either  opposite  or  alternate,  and  some- 
umes  collected  in  greater  numbers.  In  gene- 
ral, we  may  distinguish  three  kinds  of  buds; 
ihe  leaf-bud,  x\\e  flower-bud,  and  ntixed  buds  which 
contain  both  in  one  covering.  The  first  spe- 
cies (foliferous  buds)  contains  the  rudiments  of 
several  leaves,  which  are  variously  folded  over 
each  other,  and  surrounded  by  scales.  The 
second  species,  or  flower-bud  (Jloriferout  buds), 
30 


contains  the  rudiments  of  one  or  several  flow- 
ers, folded  and  covered  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  third  sort,  which  is  the  most  common  ol" 
any,  produces  both  flowers  and  leaves.  A 
leaf-bud  is  constructed  thus : — in  its  centre  it 
consists  of  a  minute  conical  portion  of  soft, 
succulent  cellular  tissue  (the  plumule  or  rudi- 
ment of  the  new  twig),  and  over  this  are  ar- 
ranged rudimentary  leaves,  in  the  form  of 
scales.  These  scales  are  closely  applied  to 
each  other;  those  on  the  outside  are  the  largest 
and  thickest,  and  those  in  the  interior  are 
smaller  and  more  delicate.  In  cold  countries, 
Ihe  external  scales  are  often  covered  with  hair, 
or  a  resinous  varnish,  or  some  other  contri- 
vance, which  enables  them  to  prevent  the  access 
of  frost  to  the  young  and  tender  centre  which 
they  protect,  for  they  are  strictly  hybernacula; 
but  in  warm  countries,  where  such  a  provision 
is  not  required,  they  are  green  and  smooth,  and 
much  less  numerous.  The  cellular  centre  of 
a  bud  is  the  seat  of  its  vitality;  the  scales  that 
cover  it  are  the  parts  towards  the  dcvelopement 
of  which  its  vital  energies  are  first  directed. 
{Penny  Cyrlupo'din,  vol.  V.  p.  524.) 

BUD.  A  term  made  use  of  in  some  districts 
for  a  weaned  calf  of  the  first  year ;  probably 
from  the  horns  then  beginning  to  bud  or  shoot 
forth. 

BUDDING,  or  grafting  by  germs,  says  Mr. 
Loudon  (^Encyc.  of  Card.  p.  2050),  consists,  in 
ligneous  plants,  in  taking  an  eye  or  bud  at- 
tached to  a  portion  of  the  bark  of  different  sizes 
and  forms,  and  generally  called  a  shield,  and 
transporting  it  to  a  place  in  another  or  a  differ- 
ent ligneous  vegetable.  In  herbaceous  vege- 
tables the  same  operation  may  be  perft)rmed, 
but  with  less  success.  It  may  also  be  per- 
formed with  buds  of  two  or  three  years'  stand- 
ing, and  on  trees  of  considerable  size,  but  not 
generally  so.  The  object  in  view  in  budding 
is  almost  always  that  of  grafting,  and  depends 
on  the  same  principle,  all  the  difference  be- 
tween a  bud  and  a  scion  being,  that  a  bud  is  a 
shoot  or  scion  in  embryo;  in  other  respects, 
budding  is  conducted  on  the  same  principles 
as  grafting.  In  every  case,  the  bud  and  the 
stock  must  be  botanically  related.  An  apple 
may  be  budded  on  a  pear  or  thorn,  but  not 
upon  a  plum  or  peach.  Common  budding  is 
performed  from  the  beginning  of  July  to  ike 
middle  of  August. 

It  is  indispensable  that  the  bud  to  be  inserted 
should  be  fully  formed,  or  ripe.  After  the  in- 
cision of  the  stock,  great  care  must  be  taken 
in  raising  the  bark  that  the  cambium  be  not 
scraped  or  injured.  The  cambium  is  that  soft 
portion  between  the  wood  and  the  bark  des- 
tined to  give  support  to  the  descending  fibres 
of  the  buds,  which  fibres  subsequently  become 
embedded  in  it.  In  budding,  therefore,  the 
bark  must  be  very  carefully  lifted  up,  and  not 
forced  from  the  wood  with  a  bone  or  meial 
blade  as  is  too  often  done. 

For  propagating  choice  fruit,  the  operation 
of  budding  possesses  several  advantages  ovef 
that  of  grafting.  "It  is,"  says  Bucl,  "more 
readily  performed,  with  fewer  implements, 
less  preparation,  and  with  greater  success:  it 
does  not  injure  the  stock  if  unsuccessful,  and 
the  operation  may  be  twice  or  thrice  repeated 
u  2  233 


BUDDING. 


BUDDING. 


the  same  year,  as  the  season  for  its  perform- 
ance is  protracted,  for  some  one  or  other  of 
the  varieties,  for  some  three  months.  Although 
JuFy  and  August  constitute  the  ordinary  season 
for  budding,  the  plum  and  the  cherry  may 
often  be  budded  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  and 
the  peach,  apricot,  and  nectarine  as  late  as  the 
middle  of  September.  Youth  may  readily  ac- 
quire the  art,  by  little  practice,  under  the  direc- 
tions we  are  about  to  give ;  and  we  know  a 
young  la  \y  who  is  an  adept  in  it,  and  who 
practises  it  annually  as  a  pleasant  recreation, 
as  well  as  a  useful  labour.  We  have  often 
been  treated  with  delicious  peaches  produced 
by  the  buds  which  she  has  inserted. 

The  first  consideration  is  to  provide  stalks, 
if  this  provision  has  not  already  been  made. 
Seeds  may  be  collected  the  coming  season  in 
almost  every  family.  Those  of  stone  fruit 
may  be  mixed  with  earth,  or  deposited  in  a 
hole  in  the  garden,  and  in  the  autumn  buried 
superficially  in  the  earth,  to  expose  them  to  the 
expanding  influence  of  the  frost;  and  in  the 
spring  those  of  the  peach  and  plum  that  have 
not  burst  the  shell  should  be  cracked,  and 
the  whole  sown  in  a  well-prepared  seed-bed. 
The  cherries  may  be  sown  immediately  after 
they  are  taken  from  the  fruit,  and  the  apple, 
pear,  and  quince  either  in  autumn  or  spring. 
All  the  kinds  will  generally  grow  the  first  sea- 
son. The  same  rule  applies  to  plants  as  to 
animals :  the  better  condition  they  are  kept  in 
while  young,  the  more  profitable  they  will  be- 
come at  maturity.  Thus  two  or  three  roods 
of  ground  will  suffice  a  farmer  for  a  nursery 
of  choice  fruit,  from  which  he  may  replenish 
his  orchard  and  his  garden  at  pleasure,  and 
readily  appropriate  to  his  use  every  new  va- 
riety which  comes  under  his  observation.  No 
one  will  regret  the  trifling  labour  and  attention 
which  he  has  bestowed  on  a  little  plantation 
of  this  kind,  after  he  has  besrun  to  realize  the 
fruits  of  it.  Ornamental  shrubs  and  trees,  to 
embellish  the  grounds  about  his  buildings, 
may  be  added  without  cost  and  with  trifling 
labour. 

A  bud  is  an  organized  plant  in  embryo,  with 
roots,  branches,  and  foliage,  and,  like  a  seed, 
possesses  individual  vitality  capable  of  deve- 
lopement  and  the  reproduction  of  its  species. 
The  process  of  budding  is  the  transferring  this 
embryo  plant  from  its  parent  tree  to  another 
tree,  which  must  at  least  be  of  the  same  genus, 
if  not  of  the  same  species.  The  apricot  and 
nectarine  may  be,  and  generally  are,  budded 
upon  the  peach ;  the  plum  and  the  peach  are 
budded  on  each  other,  and  the  pear  and  apple 
may  be  worked  on  the  wild  crab  and  haw- 
thorn ;  and  the  former  is  put  on  the  quince  to 
produce  dwarf  trees.  To  render  the  transfer 
or  budding  successful,  three  things  are  requi- 
site :  1.  That  the  bud  be  in  a  proper  condition 
to  transfer;  2.  That  the  stalk  be  in  condition 
to  receive  and  nourish  it;  and,  3.  That  the 
transfer  be  skilfully  made.  The  bud  ought  to 
be  matured,  i.  e.,  of  full  growth,  and  yet  not  so 
hard  and  firm  as  to  cause  injury  in  separating 
it  from  its  parent-  The  stock  must  peel 
freely,  as  this  is  necessary  for  the  insertion 
o(  the  bud,  and  indicates  the  presence  of 
whai  is  termed  the  cambium,  which  is  the  soft 
2U 


I  partiai.y-formed  woody  matter  ui.lerlaying  the 
!  bark,  and  which  ripens  into  indurated  wood. 
I  It  is  the  source  of  nourishment  to  the  bud,  and 
'  the  bond  of  union  between  it  and  the  stock. 
The  operator  must  therefore  use  caution  that 
he  injures  neither  the  bud,  the  bark,  nor  the 
cambium,  as  these  all  exercise  important  offices 
in  effecting  the  union  ;  and  he  must  withal 
take  care  to  apply  his  ligatures  properly.  It 
will  be  seen,  from  these  remarks,  that  both  the 
stock  and  the  graft  should  be  in  a  state  of  ac- 
tive growth,  and  the  more  vigorous  the  better, 
when  the  budding  process  is  performed.  It  is 
also  preferable  to  bud  when  the  weather  is 
cloudy,  but  not  wet.  Twigs  for  budding  may 
be  preserved  for  many  days  with  care.  They 
should  be  immediately  divested  of  their  leaves, 
but  not  wholly  of  their  leaf-stalks  or  petioles, 
to  prevent  the  exhaustion  of  moisture,  and 
may  then  be  wrapped  in  fresh  grass,  wet  cloths, 
or  with  their  butt  ends  preserved  in  moisture. 


Fig.  2. 

The  only  implement  necessary  is  a  budding- 
knife  (fig.  2),  and  the  only  preparation  some 
bass  matting,  or  the  inner  bark  of  the  bass- 
wood  or  linden.  Filaments  torn  from  the  husk 
of  Indian  corn  are  also  recommended. 

Professor  Thouin  enumerates  twenty  spe- 
cies or  varieties  of  grafting,  most  of  which  are 
only  practised  by  amateurs  and  professional 
gardeners.  We  shall  describe  only  the  com- 
mon mode,  which  is  in  general  practice  in 
nurseries.  We  take  it  from  the  Encyclopedia 
of  Gardening. 

Shield-budding,  or  T  budding,  is  thus  per- 
formed :  Fix  on  a  smooth  part  of  the  side  of 
the  stock,  rather  from  than  towards  the  sun 
and  of  a  height  depending,  as  in  grafting,  on 
whether  dwarf,  half,  or  whole  standard  trees 
are  desired;  then,  with  the  budding-knife, 
make  a  horizontal  cut  across  the  rind,  quite 
through  to  the  firm  wood  ;  from  the  middle  of 
this  transverse  cut  make  a  slit  downward,  per- 
pendicularly, an  inch  or  more  long,  going  also 
quite  through  to  the  wood.  This  done,  pro- 
ceed with  all  expedition  to  take  off  a  bud; 
holding  the  cutting  or  scion  in  one  hand,  with 
the  thickest  end  outward,  and,  with  the  knife 
in  the  other  hand,  enter  it  about  half  an  inch 
or  more  below  a  bud,  cutting  nearly  halfway 
into  the  wood  of  the  shoot,  continuing  it  with 
one  clear  slanting  cut  about  half  an  inch  or 
more  above  the  bud,  so  deep  as  to  take  a  part 
of  the  bud  along  with  it,  the  whole  about  an  . 
inch  and  a  half  long  («,  fig.  1) ;  then  directly 
with  the  thumb  and  finger,  or  point  of  the 
knife,  clip  off  the  woody  part  remaining  to  the 
bud  ;  which  done,  observe  whether  the  eye  or 
germ  of  the  bud  remain  perfect;  if  not,  and 
a  little  hole  appears  in  that  part,  it  is  impro- 
per, or,  as  gardeners  express  it,  the  bud  has 
lost  its  root,  and  another  must  be  prepared. 
This  done,  placing  the  back  part  of  the  bud  or 
shield  between  your  lips,  expeditiously  with 
the  flat  haft  of  the  knife  separate  the  back  of 
the  stock  on  each  side  of  the  perpendicular  cut 
clear  to  the  wood  (c),  for  the  admission  of  the 
bud,  which  directly  slip  down,  close  between 


BUFFALO. 


BUGLE.  COMMON. 


the  wood  and  bark,  to  the  bottom  of  the  slit  (d). 
The  next  operation  is  to  cut  off  the  top  part  of 
the  shield  (6)  even  with  the  horizontal  first- 
made  cut,  in  order  to  let  it  completely  into  its 
place,  and  to  join  exactly  the  upper  edge  of  the 
shield  with  the  transverse  cut,  that  the  de- 
scending sap  may  immediately  enter  the  back 
of  the  shield,  and  protrude  granulated  matter 
between  it  and  the  wood,  so  as  to  effect  a 
living  union.  The  parts  are  now  to  be  imme- 
diately bound  round  with  a  ligament  of  fresh 
bass(e),  or  other  suitable  substance,  previ- 
ously soaked  in  water  to  render  it  pliable  and 

abed  e 

Fif.  I. 

tough,  beginning  a  little  below  the  bottom  of 
the  perpendicular  slit,  proceeding  upward 
closely  round  every  part,  except  just  round  the 
eye  of  the  bud,  and  continue  it  a  little  above  the 
horizontal  cut,  not  too  tight,  but  just  sufficient 
to  keep  the  whole  close,  and  exclude  the  air. 
sun,  and  wet. 

Future  Treatment. — In  a  fortnight,  at  far- 
thest, after  budding,  such  as  have  adhered 
may  be  known  by  their  fresh  appearance 
at  the  eye ;  and  in  three  weeks  all  those 
which  have  succeeded  well  will  be  firmly 
united  with  the  stocks,  and  the  parts  being 
somewhat  swelled  in  some  species,  the  band- 
age must  be  loosened,  and  a  week  or  two 
afterward  finally  removed.  The  shield  and 
bud  now  swell  in  common  with  the  other  parts 
or  the  stock,  and  nothing  more  requires  to  be 
done  till  spring,  when,  jnst  before  the  rising 
of  the  sap,  they  are  to  be  headed  down  close 
to  the  bud,  by  an  oblique  cut,  terminating 
about  an  eighth  or  quarter  of  an  inch  above 
the  shield.  In  some  cases,  however,  as  in 
grafting,  a  few  inches  of  the  stalk  is  left  for 
the  first  season,  and  the  young  shoot  tied  to  it 
for  protection  from  the  winds." 

BUFFALO  (from  the  Italian  ;  Lat.  buhalis). 
A  term  originally  applied  to  a  species  of  ante- 
lope ;  but  afterwards  transferred,  in  the  age  of 
Martial,  to  different  species  of  the  ox.  In  mo- 
dern zoology,  the  buffaloes,  or  the  "bubaline 
group"  of  the  genus  Bos,  include  those  species 
which  have  the  bony  core  of  the  horn  exca- 
vated with  large  cells  or  sinuses,  communicat- 
ing with  the  cavity  of  the  nose;  the  horns  are 
flattened,  and  bend  laterally  with  a  backward 
direction,  and  are  consequently  less  applicable 
for  goring  than  in  the  bisons  or  taurine  group 
of  oxen.  The  buffaloes  are  of  large  size,  but 
low  in  proportion  to  their  bulk;  they  have  no 
hunch  on  the  back,  and  only  a  small  dewlap 
on  the  breast;  the  hide  is  generally  black,  the 
tail  long  and  slender.  The  buffaloes  occupy 
the  warm  and  tropical  regions  of  the  earth ; 
they  avoid  hills,  and  prefer  the  coarse  vegeta- 
tion of  the  forest  and  swampy  regions  to  those 
of  open  plains ;  they  love  to  wallow  and  lie  for 
hours  sunk  deep  in  water;  they  swim  well, 


and  cross  the  broadest  rivers  without  hesita- 
tion. Their  gait  is  heavy,  and  they  run  almost 
always  with  the  nose  horizontal,  being  princi- 
pally guided  by  the  sense  of  smelling.  They 
herd  together  in  small  flocks,  or  live  in  pairs, 
but  are  never  strictly  gregarious  in  a  wild 
state.  The  females  bear  calves  two  years  fol- 
lowing, but  remain  sterile  the  third ;  they  pro- 
pagate at  four  and  a  half  years  old,  and 
discontinue  after  twelve.  "  The  common  buf- 
falo (says  Professor  Low)  has  come  to  us,  be- 
yond a  question,  from  Eastern  Asia.  He  seems 
to  have  been  introduced  into  Italy  about  the 
sixth  century,  and  is  now  an  important  animal 
in  the  rural  economy  of  that  country.  He  is 
used  by  the  Italians  as  food  and  as  the  beast 
of  labour,  and  may  be  said  to  form  the  riches 
of  the  inhabitants  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 
He  is  cultivated,  too,  in  Greece  and  Hungary. 
The  milk  of  the  female  is  good,  but  the  flesh  is 
held  in  less  esteem  than  that  of  the  common 
ox.  The  pace  of  the  animal  is  sluggish ;  but 
from  the  low  manner  in  which  he  carries  his 
head,  throwing  the  weight  of  his  great  body  for- 
ward when  pulling,  he  is  well  suited  for  heavy 
draught.  But  this  is  not  a  property  sufficiently 
important  to  cause  the  introduction  of  the  buf- 
falo into  the  agriculture  of  northern  Europe, 
and  he  is  not  likely,  therefore,  to  be  carried 
beyond  the  countries  where  he  is  now  reared." 
Buffalo  hunting  on  elephants  is  one  of  the  field 
sports  of  the  East;  and  this  animal  is  also 
hunted  on  foot  with  avidity  by  the  Caffres  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  wen  to  get  rid  of  a 
dangerous  foe  as  to  furnish  themselves  with 
food  from  his  flesh  and  leather  from  his  hide. 
{Brandt* $  Diet,  of  Science;  Jilaine't  Encyc.  of  Rw 
ral  Sports  ;  Element »  of  Practical  .Agriculture.) 
For  American  Buffalo,  see  Bison. 

BUFFALO  BERRY  TREE  {Shepardia  mag. 
noides).  Silver-leaved  Sheperdia.  A  very 
beautiful  tree,  discovered  by  Mr.  Nuttall  in 
Missouri.  The  tree  is  of  upright  growth  and 
thorny,  the  leaves  small  and  of  a  delicate  and 
silvery  appearance.  The  fertile  and  barren 
flowers  are  produced  on  different  trees.  The 
fruit  consists  of  berries  about  the  size  and  ap- 
pearance of  large  currants,  of  a  fine  scarlet 
colour,  and  very  beautiful,  enveloping  the 
branches  in  profuse  clusters.  It  has  a  rich 
taste,  and  is  considered  valuable  for  making 
into  tarts  and  preserves. 

BUGLE,  COMMON  (Jjuga  reptans).  This 
very  pretty  wild  plant  grows  in  woods,  copses, 
moist  pastures,  and  shady  places,  flowering  in 
April,  May,  and  June.  It  is  a  perennial ;  has 
blue  flowers,  upright  leafy  stalks,  and  glossy 
leaves,  of  a  deep  purplish-green  colour,  oblong, 
broad,  blunt  at  the  point,  and  slightly  indented 
round  the  edges,  some  growing  immediately 
from  the  root.  The  flower-stalks  rise  eight  or 
ten  inches  high,  of  a  pale  green — often  pur- 
plish— and  have  two  leaves  at  each  joint, 
which  joints  are  fan  apart  from  each  other. 
The  joint  leaves  are  as  large  as  those  growing 
from  the  root.  The  scentless  flowers  are  blue 
and  white,  sometimes  entirely  white,  growing 
round  the  upper  part  of  its  stalk,  forming  a 
kind  of  loose  spike.  The  cups  remain,  when 
the  flower  has  fallen  off,  to  hold  its  seed.'; 
This  plant  is  often  denominated  sicklewort,  anv 

236 


BUGLE-HORN. 

herb  carpenter.  The  roots  (says  Smith)  are 
slightly  astringent ;  but  the  herb  has  little  taste 
or  smell,  and  still  less  of  any  healing  or  vul- 
nerary property.  The  M'hite  variety  abounds  in 
the  Isle  of  Wight ;  and  a  flesh-coloured  one  has 
sometimes  been  observed.  In  dry  mountain- 
ous situations  the  plant  acquires  a  consider- 
able degree  of  hairiness.  The  French,  who 
are  great  herbalists,  alhrm,  that  "with  bugle 
and  sanicle,  no  one  needs  a  surgeon." 

Besides  the  common  bugle,  Smith,  in  his 
English  Fhra.  (vol.  iii.  p.  65—67),  enumerates 
three  other  species,  the  alpine  bugle,  pyrami- 
dal bugle,  and  ground  pine  or  yellow  bugle 
{jSju^a  chanitryitys). 

BUGLE-HORN  (from  bucula,  a  heifer).  A 
wind-instrument,  much  more  commonly  em- 
ployed in  the  sports  of  the  field  formerly  than 
at  present.  It  has  been,  however,  in  our  days, 
much  improved  for  musical  purposes  by  the 
introduction  of  keys. 

BUGLE -WEED  (Virginian  lycopus),  a 
creeping  perennial  found  in  the  Middle  States, 
frequenting  swamps  and  moist  woodlands, 
producing  minute  white  flowers  in  June  and 
July.  It  constitutes  a  prominent  article  in  the 
materia  medica  of  certain  German  empirics, 
in  the  city  of  Lancaster,  and  other  parts  of 
Pennsylvania, — who  prescribe  an  infusion  as 
a  certain  remedy  for  a  "dry  liver,"  an  infirmity 
which,  they  allege,  afilicts  a  large  proportion 
of  those  credulous  persons  who  consult  them. 
(See  Flor.  Ceslrica.) 

BULB  (Lnir  bulbus ;  Gr.  ^cxSoi).  A  bud 
usually  formed  under  ground,  having  very 
fleshy  scales,  and  capable  of  separating  from 
its  parent  plant.  Occasionally  it  is  produced 
upon  the  stem,  as  in  some  lilies.  It  contains 
the  rudiments  of  the  future  plant,  and  partakes 
of  the  character  of  the  bud  (which  see).  In 
bulbous  plants,  as  the  tulip,  onion,  or  lily, 
what  we  generally  call  the  root  is  in  fact  a 
bulb  or  hybernaculum,  or  winter  case,  which 
incloses  and  secures  the  embryo  or  future 
shoot.  At  the  lower  part  of  this  bulb  may  be 
observed  a  fleshy  disk,  knob,  or  tubercle, 
whence  proceed  a  number  of  fibres  or  threads. 
This  knob,  with  the  fibres  attached  to  and 
hanging  from  it,  is,  properly  speaking,  the  true 
root;  the  upper  part  being  only  the  cradle  or 
nursery  of  the  future  stem,  which,  being  re- 
placed a  certain  number  of  times,  the  bulb 
perishes;  but  not  till  it  has  produced  at  its 
sides  a  number  of  smaller  bulbs  or  cloves  for 
perpetuating  the  species.  In  bulbous  plants, 
where  the  stalk  and  former  leaves  of  the  plant 
are  sunk  below,  into  the  bulb,  the  radicles  or 
small  fibres  that  hang  from  the  bulb  are  to  be 
considered  as  the  root ;  that  is,  the  part  which 
furnishes  nourishment  to  the  plant:  the  several 
rinds  and  shells  whereof  the  bulb  chiefly  con- 
sists successively  peri.sh,  and  shrink  up  into 
so  many  dry  skins,  betwixt  which,  and  in  their 
centre,  are  formed  other  leaves  and  shells,  and 
thus  the  bulb  is  perpetuated.  There  are  several 
kinds  of  bulbs;  namely,  l.The  tunicated  bulb 
(Bullnis  tunicaius),  formed  of  thin  membranous 
layers,  as,  for  example,  the  onion:  2.  The  scaly 
bulb  (B.  squamviostis),  formed  of  fleshy  abortiv  i 
leaves,  not  in  layers,  as  in  the  lily.  The  clove  *, 
which  are  produced  between  the  scales  rf 
936 


BURGLARY. 

bulbs,  are  often,  as  it  w^ere,  starved,  when  the 
bulb  throws  up  a  vigorous  flowering  stem ; 
thence,  in  order  to  propagate  bulbs,  the  flower- 
ing stem  should  be  destroyed  as  soon  as  it 
appears. 

BULLACE  TREE,  WILD  (Prwim  insitUia), 
A  small  tree,  chiefly  growing  in  hedges  and 
plantations,  with  irregularly-spreading  round 
branches,  for  the  most  part  tipped  with  a  sharp 
straight  thorn.  There  are  several  varieties  of 
the  black  kind,  differing  in  size  and  flavour, 
some  good  even  in  a  fresh  state,  and  of  more 
or  less  excellence  when  dressed.  (Smith*8 
Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  356). 

BULLEN.  A  provincial  name  applied  to  the 
hempstalk  when  the  bark  is  stripped  from  it. 

BULRUSH  (Scirpus  lamstris).  A  peren- 
nial found  commonly  in  clear  ditches,  ponds, 
and  the  borders  of  lakes  and  rivers;  flowers 
in  July  and  August.  {Smithes  Flora,  vol.  i. 
p.  56.)  From  this  plant  the  bottoms  of  chairs, 
mats,  &c.  are  made.  The  common  bulrushes 
of  the  English  marshes,  which  bear  masses 
of  brown  flowers,  are  the  Typha  lalifolia  and 
angustifolia.     See  Rush. 

BUNIAS.  The  oriental  bunias  (Bunias 
orientalis,  PI.  9,  k)  is  a  perennial  plant,  with 
leaves,  branches,  and  its  general  habit  of 
herbage,  not  unlike  the  wild  chiccory.  It  is  a 
native  of  the  Levant  or  eastern  shores  of  the 
Mediterranean,  and  has  been  cultivated  by 
way  of  experiment  in  the  grass  garden  at 
Woburn.  It  is  less  prodxictive  than  chiccory, 
bears  mowing  well,  and  affords  the  same  nu- 
triment, in  proportion  to  its  bulk,  as  red  clover. 
(Loudon's  Ency.  of  j^gr.) 

BUR.     The  rough  head  of  the  burdock,  «&c. 

BURDOCK  (Jrctmrn).  There  are  two  spe- 
cies, the  A.  lappa,  common  burdock  or  clot- 
bur,  and  the  A.  lardana,  woolly-headed  bur- 
dock. This  very  cumbrous  weed  is  removed 
the  first  year  of  its  growth  by  stubbing,  like 
other  things  comprehended  by  farmers  under 
the  name  of  docks,  and  paid  for  accordingly  to 
the  weeder.  It  is  also  very  commonly  found 
in  waste  ground,  by  waysides,  and  among 
rubbish.  (Smitlis  Eng.  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  379.)  It 
grows  a  yard  high,  with  large  leaves  of  a  tri- 
angular shape,  and  of  a  whitish  green  colour. 
The  stalks  are  round,  solid,  and  tough.  The 
florets  are  small  and  red,  and  they  grow  among 
the  prickles  of  those  heads  called  burs,  which 
stick  to  the  clothes  of  passers-by.  The  root 
is  long  and  thick,  brown  outside,  and  whitish 
within.  The  plant  is  a  biennial,  and  flowers 
in  July  and  August.  The  root  in  decoction  is 
a  diuretic  and  sudorific ;  but  it  is  of  little  va- 
lue, except  as  a  vehicle  for  more  important 
medicines  in  some  affections  of  the  skin.  This 
is  a  great  remedy  among  village  doctresses, 
who  sometimes  apply  the  bruised  leaves  to  the 
soles  of  the  feet  in  hysterics.  Either  the  root 
or  seeds  decocted,  or  infused,  are  equally  use- 
ful with  the  leaves.  The  root  of  the  lesser 
burdock,  or  xanthium  (Bardana  minor),  has  a 
bitter  and  acrid  flavour,  and  is  useful  in  scro- 
fulous disorders.  A  decoction  of  the  root 
should  be  persevered  in  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time. 

BURGLARY.  The  breaking  mto  a  dwell 
ing-house  in  the  eight  with  a  felonious  intent 


BURGOT. 


BURNING. 


The  7  W.  4,  &  1  Vict.  c.  86,  s.  2,  enact,  that 
whosoever  shall  burglariously  break  and  enter 
into  any  dwelling-house,  and  shall  assault  with 
intent  to  murder  any  person  being  therein,  or 
shall  stab,  cut,  wound,  beat,  or  strike  any  such 
person,  shall  be  guilty  of  felony,  and  being 
convicted  thereof  shall  suffer  death.  S.  3  en- 
acts, that  whosoever  shall  be  convicted  of  the 
crime  of  burglary  shall  be  liable,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court,  to  be  transported  beyond  | 
the  seas  for  the  term  of  the  natural  life  of  such  ' 
offender,  or  for  any  term  not  less  than  ten 
years,  or  to  be  infprisoned  for  any  term  not 
exceeding  three  years.  S.  4  enacts,  that,  so 
far  as  the  same  is  essential  to  the  offence  of 
burglar)--,  the  night  shall  be  considered  to 
commence  at  nine  of  the  clock  in  the  evening 
of  each  day,  and  to  conclude  at  six  of  the 
clock  in  the  morning  of  the  next  succeeding 
day.     {ArrhboUPs  Crim.  Lute.) 

BURGOT.  A  provincial  word  applied  to 
yeast.    It  is  sometimes  pronounced  burgowl. 

BUR-MARIGOLD  (liuhns).  This  is  an 
herbaceous,  mostly  annual,  genus  of  plants, 
flowering  in  August  and  September.  It  is  met 
with  very  frequently  in  watery  places,  and 
about  the  sides  of  ditches  and  ponds.  There 
are  two  species,  with  one  or  two  varieties  in 
each.  In  the  three-Iobed  bur-marigold  (B. 
tripartita),  the  root  is  tapering  with  many 
fibres;  stem  two  or  three  feet  high,  erect, 
solid,  smooth,  leafy,  with  opposite  axillary 
branches.  Leaves  dark  green,  strongly  ser- 
rated, in  three  deep  segments,  sometimes  five. 
Flower,  terminal,  solitary,  of  a  brownish-yel- 
low, somewhat  drooping,  devoid  of  beauty  and 
of  fragrance.  Seeds  with  two  or  three  prickly 
angles,  and  as  many  erect  bristles ;  likewise 
prickly  with  reflexed  hooks,  by  which  they  stick 
like  burs  to  any  rough  surface,  and  are  said 
sometimes  to  injure  fish  by  getting  into  their 
gills.  The  herb  of  this  species  gives  a  yellow 
colour  to  woollen  or  linen.  The  nodding  bur- 
marigold  (Jl.  reruna)  has  a  root  with  many 
stout  fibres,  herb  more  erect  and  taller,  with 
less  extended  branches  than  the  foregoing 
species.  Leaves  undivided,  pointed,  and  less 
deeply  serrated.  Flowers  drooping,  though 
their  stalks  are  quite  straight  to  the  very  sum- 
mit; larger  and  handsomer  than  the  last. 
(Smithes  Ens;.  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  398.) 

Among  the  species  of  bidens  or  bur-mari- 
gold, found  in  the  United  States,  are  the  follow- 
ing: the  chrysanthemum-like  bidens,  common- 
ly called  beggar-ticks,  an  annual ;  and  the 
bipinnate  bidens,  popularly  called  Spanish 
needles.  These  and  the  other  American  spe- 
cies of  bidens  or  burweed  are  noted  for  mature 
akenes  adhering,  by  their  barbed  awns,  to  the 
clothing  of  those  who  go  among  them  in  au- 
tumn. They  are  rather  troublesome  weeds 
along  fence-rows,  Ac,  and  bloom  and  ripen 
their  seeds  late  in  the  season. 

BURNET,  COMMON  {PimpineUa  saxi- 
fraga).  There  are  three  species  of  burnet; 
namely,  burnet  saxifrage,  dwarf  burnet,  and  the 
greater  burnet.  The  common  burnet  plant 
(Plate  9,  a)  was,  a  quarter  of  a  century  since, 
much  cultivated  as  a  green  crop,  from  its 
being  able  to  thrive  on  very  poor,  thin,  and 
saiidy  soils,  but  it  has  been  gradually  super- 


seded by  better  grasses.  Its  growth  is  rather 
slow.  Cattle  prefer  it  to  clover  and  rye-grass, 
but  sheep  do  not.  (Jnn.  of  Jgr.  vol.  i.  p.  394.) 
It  is  sown  in  spring-time,  the  same  aj.  other 
grass  seeds,  and  withstands  severe  weather. 
It  should  be  fed  off  when  young  {Ibid.  vol.  ii. 
p.  176) ;  and  then,  says  Arthur  Young,  "it  is 
one  of  the  best  grasses  for  sheep"  {Ibid.  p.  369), 
who  are  at  that  stage  of  its  growth  exceed- 
ingly fond  of  it.  About  7  lbs.  of  seed  suffice 
for  an  acre  {Ibid.  vol.  xvi.  p.  355)  ;  and  the 
produce  is  six  or  seven  bushels  per  acre,  on 
moderate  land.     {Ibid.  vol.  xx.  p.  237.) 

BURNET,  SALAD,  SMALL  or  UPLAND 
{Poterium  sanguisorba,  from  the  Greek  mTupKv,  a 
cup,  used  in  cool  tankards).  The  stem,  which 
is  angular,  smooth,  and  leafy,  rises  one  to  two 
feet  high,  furnished  with  glaucous-green, 
smooth,  pinnated  leaves,  with  sharply  cut 
stipules,  in  pairs  at  the  base  of  the  footstalk. 
The  flowers  are  fertile  and  barren;  the  latter 
with  crimson  stamens  resembling  elegant  silk 
tassels.  {Smith.)  It  delights  in  a  dry,  poor 
soil,  abounding  in  calcareous  matter;  any  light 
compartment  that  has  an  open  exposure,  there- 
fore may  be  allotted  to  it,  the  only  beneficial 
addition  that  can  be  applied  being  bricklayers' 
rubbish  or  fragments  of  chalk.  A  small  bed 
will  be  sufticient  for  the  supply  of  a  family.  It 
may  be  propagated  either  by  seed,  or  by  slips 
and  partings,  or  offsets  of  the  roots.  The 
seed  may  be  sown  towards  the  close  of  Febru- 
ary, in  open  weather,  and  thence  until  the  close 
of  May;  but  the  best  time  is  in  autumn,  as 
soon  as  it  is  ripe ;  for  if  kept  until  the  spring, 
it  will  often  fail  entirely,  or  lie  in  the  ground 
until  the  same  season  of  the  following  year, 
without  vegetating.  It  may  be  inserted  in 
drills,  six  inches  apart,  or  broadcast;  in  either 
mode,  thin,  and  not  buried  more  than  half  an 
inch.  The  plants  must  be  kept  thoroughly 
clear  of  weeds  throughout  their  growth. 
When  two  or  three  inches  high,  they  may  be 
thinned  to  six  inches  apart,  and  those  removed 
placed  in  rows  at  the  same  distance,  in  a  poor, 
shady  border,  water  being  given  occasionally 
until  they  have  tdken  root,  after  which  they 
will  require  no  further  attention  until  the  au- 
tumn, when  they  must  be  removed  to  their 
final  station,  in  rows  a  foot  apart.  When  of 
established  growth,  the  only  attention  requisite 
is  to  cut  down  their  stems  occasionally  in 
summer,  to  promote  the  production  of  young 
shoots,  and  in  autumn  to  have  the  decayed 
stems  and  shoots  cleared  away.  If  propagated 
by  partings,  &c.  of  the  roots,  the  best  time  for 
practising  it  is  in  September  and  October.  As 
it  grows  freely  from  seed,  this  is  not  usually 
practised.  They  are  planted  at  once  where 
they  are  to  remain,  and  only  require  occa- 
sional watering  until  established.  The  other 
parts  of  their  cultivation  are  as  for  those 
raised  from  seed.  For  the  production  of  seed, 
some  of  the  plants  must  be  left  ungathered 
from,  and  allowed  to  shoot  up  early  in  th«» 
summer ;  they  flower  in  July,  and  ripen  abun 
dance  of  seed  in  the  autumn.  The  leaves 
taste  arid  smell  like  cucumbers,  thence  the 
plant  is  used  to  flavour  salads.  {G.  W.  Juhn^ 
son's  Kitchen  Garden.) 

BURNING.     SeeARsox. 

237 


BURNING  OF  LIME. 

BURNING  OF  LIME.    See  Lime. 

BURNS,  in  live  stock,  are  best  treated  by  a 
lotion  composed  of  lime-water  and  linseed-oil, 
equal  parts,  applying  it  frequently  ;  this  allays 
the  inflammation  very  rapidly. 

BURNT  CLAY.    See  Abhis. 

BUR-REED  (Sparganium).  Smith  (Evg. 
Flora,  vol.  iv.  p.  73)  enumerates  three  species : 
1.  The  branched  bur-reed  (S.  ramosum)  ;  2.  The 
unbranched  upright  bur-reed  (S.  ntnplex)-,  3 
The  floating  bur-reed  (S.  natans).  They  are 
all  creeping-rooted,  aquatic,  juicy,  smooth,  up- 
nght,  or  floating  herbs,  and  found  in  pools  and 
ditches,  and  the  margins  of  ponds  and  rivers  : 
common :  the  last  named  principally  in  muddy 
fens,  or  slow  rivers.  The  bur-reed  is  a  peren- 
nial, flowering  in  July  and  August ;  the  stems 
of  some  of  the  species  attain  to  the  height 
of  three  or  four  feet.  The  herbage  of  the 
branched  bur-reed  serves  for  package  along 
with  similar  coarse  grassy  plants,  and  is  softer 
and  more  pliant  than  most  of  them,  not  cutting 
the  hand  by  any  sharp  edges,  like  carices  or 
ferns.  The  unripe  burs  are  very  astringent. 
A  strong  decoction  of  the  burs  makes  a  wash 
for  old  ulcers.  Dr.  Darlington  describes  an 
American  species  of  bur-reed,  frequent  in 
ditches,  sluggish  streams,  &c.,  in  the  Middle 
States.     (Flor.  Ces.) 

BURROW  (Teut.  bergen,  to  cover).  A  pro- 
vincial word,  signifying  a  heap  or  hillock, 
hence  stone-burrows,  peat-burrows,  &c. 

BUR -WEED  (Xanthinm  strumarium).  The 
broad-leaved  bur-weed  is  an  annual  plant, 
flowering  in  August  and  September,  found  in 
rich  moist  ground,  or  about  dunghills  in  the 
south  of  England ;  but  rare.  It  is  herba- 
ceous or  somewhat  shrubby,  rather  downy, 
of  a  coarse  habit,  root  fibrous ;  stem  solitary, 
erect,  branched,  leafy,  two  feet  high,  solid; 
leaves  on  long  stalks,  heart-shaped,  two  or 
three  inches  wide  ;  clusters  of  four  or  five  fer- 
tile green  flowers,  and  one  or  two  barren  ones, 
making  no  show.  Old  tradition  reports  that 
the  xanthium  is  good  for  scrofulous  disorders, 
as  the  specific  name  seems  to  indicate ;  but  it 
is  now  out  of  use.  The  generic  appellation 
alludes  to  a  quality  of  dyeing  yellow,  which 
Dioscorides  mentions.  (Smillis  Eng.  Floi-a,  vol. 
iv.  p.  136.) 

The  scrofulous  xanthium,  clot-weed,  or 
cockle-bur  is  an  obnoxious  weed,  found  in  the 
United  States  about  farm-yards,  road-sides,  &c. 
It  is  an  annual  not  much  inclined  >o  spread, 
and  therefore,  by  a  little  attention,  could  ge- 
nerally be  easily  got  rid  oflf.  The  burs  are  a 
great  annoyance  in  the  fleeces  of  sheep.  (Flor. 
Ce$trica.) 

BUSH  (Teut  husrh ,-  Dan.  busk).  A  thick 
shrub,  or  a  collection  of  shrubs  or  plants, 
growing  close  together,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of 
clump.  It  is  also  a  provincial  word,  signify- 
ing the  box  of  the  nave  of  a  wheel. 

BUSH-DRAINING.  A  term  applied  to  a 
kind  of  draining,  which  is  done  by  putting  in, 
or  filling  the  drains  with  bushes.  See  Dba ik- 
ing. 

BUSHEL  (Old  Fr.  bitschel ;  low  Lat.  bussel- 
Uis).  A  measure  of  capacity  for  dry  goods,  as 
grain,  fruit,  pulse,  and  many  other  articles,  con- 
taining 1  pecks,  8  gallons,  or  32  quarts,  and  is 
238 


BUSH-HARROW.  N 

the  eighth  of  the  English  quarter.  The  name 
seems  to  be  derived  from  an  old  English  word, 
buss,  signifying  a  box  or  vessel. 

The  bushel,  by  a  statute  made  in  the  twelfth 
year  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  is  to  contain 
2150*42  cubic  inches,  or  8  gallons  of  wheat; 
the  gallon  of  wheat  to  weigh  8  lbs.  troy- 
weight;  the  pound,  12  oz.  troy-weight;  the 
ounce,  20  sterlings;  and  the  sterling,  32  grains. 
By  5  Geo.  4,  c.  74,  the  imperial  gallon  is  de- 
clared the  standard  measure  of  capacity,  and 
is  directed  to  be  made  such  as  to  contain  10 
lbs.  avoirdupois  of  distilled  water,  weighed  in 
air  at  the  temperature  of  62°  of  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer,  the  barometer  standing  at  30 
inches,  or  to  contain  277  cubic  inches,  and 
274  thousandth  parts  of  a  cubic  inch ;  conse- 
quently, the  imperial  bushel  contains  80  lbs. 
of  distilled  water,  or  2218-192  cubic  inches. 
By  the  same  act  (§  7),  the  bushel  is  declared 
the  standard  measure  of  capacity  for  coals, 
culm,  lime,  fish,  potatoes,  or  fruit,  and  all  other 
goods  or  things  commonly  sold  by  heaped 
measure,  and  is  prescribed  to  contain  2815 
cubic  inches,  to  be  made  round  with  a  plain 
and  even  bottom,  and  being  18^^  inches  in  the 
interior  diameter  by  8  in  depth,  and  19^  inches 
from  outside  to  outside ;  the  goods  to  be 
heaped  up  in  the  form  of  cone,  to  a  height 
above  the  rim  of  the  measure  of  at  least  three- 
fourths  of  its  depth. 

Besides  the  standard  orlegal  bushel,there  are 
in  England  several  local  bushels,  of  different 
dimensions  in  different  places.  At  Abingdon 
and  Andover,  a  bushel  contains  9  gallons  :  at 
Appleby  and  Penrith,  a  bushel  of  peas,  rye, 
and  wheat,  contains  16  gallons ;  of  barley, 
big  malt,  mixed  malt,  and  oats,  20  gallons.  A 
bushel  contains,  at  Carlisle,  24  gallons :  at 
Chester,  a  bushel  of  wheat,  rye,  «fec.,  contains 
32  gallons,  and  of  oats  40;  at  Dorchester,  a 
bushel  of  malt  and  oats  contains  10  gallons; 
at  Falmouth,  the  bushel  of  stricken  coals  is 
16  gallons;  of  other  things  20,  and  usually  21 
gallons  :  at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  the  bushel 
contains  8^  ;  at  Newbury,  9  ;  at  Wycomb  and 
Reading,  8|;  at  Stamford  16  gallons.  The 
contents  of  the  bushel  seems  to  have  been 
gradually  increasing?;  the  Winchester  bushel, 
used  in  England  from  the  time  of  Henry 
VII.  to  1826,  contained  2150-42  cubic  inches. 
The  imperial  bushel  is  therefore  to  the  Win- 
chester bushel  as  2218-192  to  2150-42,  or  as  1 
to  -969447.  Hence  to  convert  Winchester 
bushels  into  imperial,  multiply  by  -969447, 
To  convert  prices  per  Winchester  bushel 
into  prices  per  imperial  bushel,  multiply  by 
1-0315157. 

The  heaped  bushel  was  abolished  by  4  &  5 
Will.  4,  c.  49,  an  act  which  took  effect  from 
the  first  of  January,  1835.  (Brande's  Diet. 
Science;  Penny  Cyclopcedia ;  M'CullodCs  Com* 
Die.) 

BUSH-HARROW.  An  implement  consti- 
tuted of  any  sort  of  bushy  branches,  inter- 
woven in  a  kind  of  frame,  consisting  of  three 
or  more  cross-bars,  fixed  into  two  end  pieces 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  very  rough  and 
brushy  underneath.  To  the  extremities  of  the 
frame  before  are  generally  attached  two  wheels, 
about  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  upon  which 


BUSH-HAllROWING. 


BUTTER. 


it  moves;  sometimes,  however,  wheels  are  not 
employed,  but  the  whole  rough  surface  is  ap- 
plied to,   and  dragged  on,  the  ground.     See  , 
Harrow. 

BUSH-HARROWING.      The  operation  of  \ 
harrowing  with  an  instrument  of  the  kind  just  , 
described.     It  is  chiefly  necessary  on  grass-  | 
lands,  or  such  as  have  been  long  in  pasture,  for  | 
the  purpose  of  breaking  down  and  reducing  [ 
the  lumps  and  clods  of  the  earth  or  manures 
that  may  have  been  applied,  and  thereby  ren- 
dering them  more  capable  of  being  washed 
into  the  ground,  or  for  removing  the  worm- 
casts  and  mossy  matter  that  may  have  formed 
on  the  surface. 

BUSH -VETCH  (Viria  sepinm).  A  plant  of 
the  vetch  kind,  which  may  probably  be  culti- 
vated to  advantage  by  the  farmer,  where  lu- 
cerne and  other  plants  of  a  similar  nature 
cannot  be  grown.  Its  root  is  perennial,  fibrous, 
and  branching ;  the  stalks  many,  some  of  them 
shooting  immediately  upwards,  others  creep- 
ing just  TLm\er  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and 
emerging,  some  near  to,  and  others  at  a  con- 
siderable distance  from,  the  parent-stock.  The 
small  oval  leaves  are  connected  together  by  a 
mid-rib,  with  a  tendril  at  the  extremity;  the 
flowers  are  in  shape  like  those  of  the  common 
vetch,  of  a  reddish-purple  colour;  the  first  that 
blossom  usually  come  in  pairs,  afterwards  to 
the  number  of  four  at  a  joint ;  the  pods  are 
much  shorter  than  those  of  the  common  vetch, 
larger  in  proportion  to  their  length,  and  flatter, 
and  are  of  a  black  colour  when  ripe ;  the  seeds 
are  smaller  than  those  of  the  cultivated  spe- 
cies, some  speckled,  others  of  a  clay  colour. 
It  yields,  from  a  brown  sandy  loam,  17,696  lbs. 
per  acre  of  grass,  and  of  nutritive  matter  976 
lbs.  It  flowers  in  the  middle  of  May,  and 
maintains  its  place  when  once  in  possession 
of  the  soil,  but  appears  unfit  for  clayey  soils. 
The  seeds  are  sown  in  April  or  the  beginning 
of  May.  (Hort.  Gram.  YVuh.  p.  210.)  Being  a 
perennial  plant,  Mr.  Swayne  deems  it  to  be  a 
proper  kind  to  intermix  with  grass  seeds  for 
laying  down  lands  intended  for  pasture;  and 
that  it  is  as  justly  entitled  to  this  epithet  as 
any  herbaceous  plant  whatever,  having  ob- 
served a  patch  of  it  growing  in  one  particular 
spot  of  his  orchard  for  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years  past.  It  is  not  only  a  perennial,  but  an 
evergreen  :  it  shoots  the  earliest  in  the  spring 
of  any  plant  eaten  by  cattle  with  which  he  is 
acquainted ;  vegetates  late  in  autumn,  and 
continues  green  through  the  winter,  though  the 
weather  be  very  severe :  add  to  this,  that  cat- 
tle are  remarkably  fond  of  it.  The  chief  rea- 
son that  has  hitherto  prevented  its  cultivation 
has  been  the  very  great  difficulty  of  procuring 
good  seed  in  any  quantity.  The  pods,  he  finds, 
do  not  ripen  altogether;  but  as  soon  almost 
as  they  are  ripe,  they  burst  with  great  elasticity, 
and  scatter  the  seed  around;  and  after  the 
seeds  have  been  procured,  scarce  one-third 
part  of  them  will  vegetate,  owing,  as  he  sup- 
poses, to  an  internal  defect,  occasioned  by  cer- 
tain insects  making  them  the  nests  and  food 
for  their  young.  It  seems,  also,  that  a  crop  of 
this  kind  of  vetch  may  be  cut  three  or  four 
times,  and  in  some  cases  even  so  early  as  the 
beginning  of  March — a  circumstance  of  much 


importance  to  farmers  who  have  a  large  stoCif 
of  cattle.  (Trans.  Bath  and  We$t  of  England 
Society,  vol.  iii.) 

BUTT.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  such 
ridges  or  portions  of  arable  land  as  run  out 
short  at  the  sides  or  other  parts  of  fields ;  also 
to  a  vessel  holding  126  gallons  of  wine,  108  of 
beer;  and  to  a  measure  of  from  15  to  22  cwts. 
of  currants.  To  bull,  from  Dutch  boiten,  to 
strike.  Butt-land  is  the  place  where,  in  days 
of  archery,  the  butts  for  practice  were  placed. 
It  is  also  applied  provincially  to  a  close- 
bodied  cart:  hence  a  dunj;-butt,  or  wheel- 
cart,  gurry-butt,  or  sledge-cart,  ox-butt,  horse" 
butt,  <fcc. 

BUTTER  (Ger.  biUter:  Dut.  boter).  A  well- 
known  article  of  domestic  consumption,  com- 
monly procured  by  churning  the  milk  of  the 
cow.  It  was  not  an  article  employed  by  the 
early  Greeks  and  Romans.  "  The  ancient  Ro- 
mans," says  Mr.  Alton  {Quart.  Journ.  Agr.  vol. 
V.  p.  3.57),  "knew  nothing  of  making  butter 
until  they  were  taught  by  the  Germans  how  to 
make  it,  and  it  was  not  used  by  them  as  food, 
but  merely  as  oil."  Herodotus  says,  that  the 
Scythians  formed  butter  by  agitating  mare*? 
milk;  and  the  poet  Anaxandrides  says,  that  the 
Thracians  ate  butter,  at  which  the  Grecians 
were  surprised.  When  Julius  Coesar  invaded 
England,  he  found  that  the  inhabitants  had 
abundance  of  milk,  from  which  they  made 
butter,  but  could  not  make  cheese  till  they 
were  taught  that  art  by  their  invaders.  The 
Arabs,  it  seems  (liurrkhardt'g  Travels  in  Nubia, 
p.  441),  are  very  large  consumers  of  fresh 
butter,  and  they  are  in  the  habit  of  drinking 
every  morning  a  cupful  of  melted  butter,  or 
ghee,  as  it  is  called  in  the  East.  In  India,  ghee 
is  made  from  the  milk  of  the  buffalo,  and  a 
very  considerable  traffic  is  carried  on  with  it. 
It  is  usually  conveyed  in  leather  boltles  or 
duppers,  holding  from  ten  to  forty  gallons ; 
some  are  made  of  hide.  The  colour  of  butter 
is  yellow;  it  possesses  the  property  of  an  oil, 
and  mixes  readily  with  other  oily  bodies;  it 
melts  and  becomes  transparent  at  96°  Fahren- 
heit, and  if  it  is  kept  in  this  state  for  some  time, 
it  assumes  exactly  the  appearance  of  oil,  loses 
its  peculiar  flavour,  and  some  curds  and  whey 
separate  from  it.  Milk,  in  fact,  is  composed 
of  cream,  curd,  and  whey.  The  cream  and 
the  milk  are  merely  united  mechanically,  and 
when,  therefore,  the  new  milk  is  allowed  to 
rest,  the  cream,  being  the  lighter  of  the  two, 
rises  gradually  to  the  top ;  the  curd  separates 
from  the  milk,  too,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
very  slight  degree  of  acidity.  Butter  may  be 
made  by  the  agitation  of  either  cream  or  new 
milk  :  fresh  cream  is  not  commonly  used,  be- 
cause it  requires  four  times  the  churning  thai 
stale  cream  does.  (Fourcroy,  j^nn.  de  Cheni. 
torn.  vii.  p.  169.)  The  contact  of  the  atmo- 
spheric air  is  not  absolutely  essential  to  the 
production  of  butter  from  cream,  although 
the  oxygen  of  the  air  is  usually  absorbed  in 
churning:  according  to  Dr.  Young,  there  is 
an  increase  in  the  temperature  during  the  ope- 
ration of  four  degrees.  Buttermilk  is  merely 
milk  deprived  of  its  cream,  in  which  it  rapidly 
becomes  sour,  and  the  curdy  or  cheesy  part  is 
separated  from  the  whey  or  serum.     Cream  of 

239 


BUTTER. 

the  specific  gravity  1.0244  was  found  by  Ber- 
zeiius  to  cod  tain — 

PaH» 

Butter 45 

Chet?»e 3S 

Wl».  y 920 

Curd,  which  is  easily  separated  fromcreamed 
milk  by  rennet,  has  many  of  the  properties  of 
coagulated  albumen:  it  is  composed,  accord- 
ing to  the  analysis  of  MM.  Gay  Lussac  and 
Thenard,  of 

P»rft. 

Carboo 59  781 

Oxyitao 11  -lOfl 

Hydrogen -    7  42» 

Axote -  21  381 

100- 

Curd,  adds  Dr.  Thomson  (System  of  Chem. 
vol.  iv.  p.  499),  as  is  well  known,  is  used  in 
making  cheese,  and  the  cheese  is  the  better, 
the  more  it  contains  of  cream,  or  of  that  oily 
matter  which  constitutes  cream.  It  is  well 
known  to  cheese-makers,  that  the  goodness  of 
it  depends  in  a  great  measure  on  the  manner 
of  separating  the  whey  from  the  curd.  If  the 
milk  be  much  heated,  the  coagulum  broken  in 
pieces,  and  the  whey  forcibl}'  separated,  as  is 
the  practice  in  many  parts  of  Scotland,  the 
cheese  is  scarcely  good  for  any  thing;  but  the 
whey  is  delicious,  especially  the  last  squeezed 
out  whey;  and  butter  may  be  obtained  from  it 
in  considerable  quantities.  But  if  the  whey  is 
not  too  much  heated  (100°  is  sufficient),  if  the 
coagulum  be  allowed  to  remain  unbroken,  and 
the  whey  be  separated  by  very  slow  and  gentle 
pressure,  the  cheese  is  excellent,  but  the  whey 
is  almost  transparent  and  nearly  colourless. 
{Journal  de  Phys.) 

When  milk  is  deprived  of  its  cream,  it  is 
composed,  according  to  M.  Berzelius,  of 

Parts. 
Wnter     --------  928  75 

Curd  with  a  little  cream         -        -        -        -    28- 

8iit!ar  of  milk           .-.__-     35- 
Muriate  of  ptilnsh  (chloride  of  potassium)      -      170 
Phofiphnte  of  (lotash        -        ...        -        -25 
Lactic  acid  and  acetate  of  potash  ...      6* 
Earthy  phosphates 30- 

1000- 
{Thimton,  vol.  I  v.  p.  501.)  

From  some  valuable  experiments  on  the 
temperature  at  which  butter  may  be  best  pro- 
cared  from  cream,  by  Dr.  John  Barclay  and 
Mr.  Allen,  it  appeared  "  that  cream  should  not 
be  kept  at  a  high  temperature  in  the  process 
of  churning.  In  the  experiment  when  the  tem- 
perature was  lowest,  the  quantity  of  batter 
obtained  was  in  the  greatest  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  cream  used ;  ant*,  as  the  tempera- 
ture was  raised,  the  proportional  quantity  of 
butter  diminished ;  while,  in  the  last  experi- 
ment, when  the  mean  temperature  of  the  cream 
had  been  raised  to  70°,  not  only  was  the  quan- 
tity of  butter  diminished,  but  in  quality  it  was 
found  to  be  very  inferior,  both  with  regard  to 
taste  and  appearance.  That  the  lowest  possi- 
ble temperature  should  be  sought  in  churning, 
appears  likewise  from  another  result  of  these 
experiments,  the  specific  gravity  of  the  churned 
milk  having  been  found  to  diminish  as  the 
temperature  of  the  cream  was  increased;  thus 
showing,  that  at  the  lower  temperature,  the 
butter,  which  is  composed  of  the  lighter  parts 
240 


BUTTER. 

of  the  cream,  is  more  completely  collected  than 
at  the  higher  temperature,  in  which  the  churned 
milk  is  of  greater  specific  gravity."  The  con- 
clusion to  which  they  came  therefore  was,  that 
the  most  proper  temperature  at  which  to  com- 
mence the  operation  of  churning  butter  is  from 
60°  to  55°,  and  that  at  no  time  of  the  operation 
ought  it  to  exceed  65°;  while,  on  the  contrary, 
if  at  any  time  the  cream  should  be  under  50° 
in  temperature,  the  labour  will  be  much  in- 
creased, without  any  proportional  advantage 
being  obtained;  and  a  temperature  of  a  higher 
degree  than  65°  will  be  injurious  as  well  to  the 
quality  as  the  quantity  of  the  butter.  (Trans. 
High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  194.)  One  of  these  experi- 
ments it  may  be  well  to  abridge: — 15  gallons 
of  cream  at  the  temperature  of  50°  were 
churned;  each  gallon  (equal  to  holding  8  lbs. 
4  oz.  of  water)  weighed  8  lbs.  4  oz. ;  by  churn- 
ing for  two  hours,  the  temperature  of  the  cream 
rose  to  56° ;  at  the  end  of  the  churning  it  was 
60°.  The  butter  obtained  weighed  29^  lbs. 
avoirdupois,  or  nearly  2  lbs.  for  each  gallon 
of  cream:  the  butter  was  firm,  rich,  and  plea- 
sant. A  gallon  of  the  churned  milk  weighed 
8  lbs.  9  oz. 

Mr.  J.  Ballantyne  found  that  the  greatest 
quantity  of  butter  from  a  given  quantity  of 
cream  is  obtained  at  60°,  and  the  best  quality 
at  55°  in  the  churn  just  before  the  butter  came; 
when  the  heat  exceeded  65°,  no  washing  could 
etach  the  milk  from  the  butter  without  the  aid 
f  salt;  but  when  a  quantity  of  salt  was 
wrought  well  into  it,  and  the  mass  allowed  to 
stand  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  then  well 
washed,  the  miik  was  separated.  (Trans.  High. 
Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  198.) 

The  method  of  making  the  best  butter  all 
over  the  dairy  district  of  Scotland,  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Alton  (Quart.  Journ.  Agr.  vol.  v. 
p.  351) :  The  milk,  when  drawn  from  the  cow, 
is  placed  from  six  to  twelve  hours  in  coolers, 
the  same  as  when  set  aside  to  cast  up  its  cream; 
but  this  is  merely  to  let  the  milk  cool;  and 
whenever  it  is  divested  of  its  natural  heat,  the 
whole  meal  of  milk  is  emptied  from  the  cool- 
ers into  a  stand  vat  or  tub  sufficient  to  contain 
the  whole.  If  the  vat  is  large,  and  a  second 
meal  of  milk  has  become  cold  before  the  for- 
mer meal  of  miik  has  begun  to  acidify,  the 
second  may  be  turned  into  the  first.  It  is  then 
placed  in  a  vat,  covered  over,  and  allowed  to 
remain  undisturbed,  till  the  milk  has  not  only 
acidified,  but  until  it  has  been  formed  into  a 
coagulum  (or  tapper,  in  dairy  language).  It  is 
now  ready  to  be  churned ;  and,  provided  the 
lapperis  not  broken  (which  makes  it  ferment), 
it  may  remain,  without  injury,  unchurned  for 
some  days. 

Milk  prepared  in  this  way  is  churned  in  up- 
right or  plunge  churns,  of  a  size  to  suit  the 
magnitude  of  the  dairy.  Where  only  a  few 
cows  are  kept,  the  churns  will  hold  about  100 
quarts,  from  200  to  240  quarts,  and  some  still 
more.  These  large  churns  are  on  some  large 
farms  moved  by  machinery  of  various  con- 
structions, but  in  most  dairy  farms,  churns  of 
200  quarts  are  wrought  by  hand-labour  only. 
After  the  clotted  milk  is  put  into  the  churn,  as 
much  hot  water  is  poured  amongst  the  milk  as 
to  raise  the  temperature  from  50°  or  55°,  which 


BUTTER. 


BUTTER. 


is  about  the  ordinary  temperature  of  a  good 
spring  or  milk-house.  Experiments  instituted 
for  the  purpose  have  determined  this  as  the 
best  temperature  at  which  to  commence  the 
operation  of  churning,  and  that  at  no  time 
during  the  operation  ought  it  to  exceed  65°. 
If  the  temperature  be  higher,  it  will  be  attended 
with  injury  to  the  quality  and  quantity  of  the 
butler.  If  lower  than  50°,  the  butter  will  not 
"come."  After  the  butter  has  formed,  warm 
water  may  be  gradually  added,  so  as  to  raise 
the  temperature  to  70°  or  75°,  one  person  agi-  | 
tating  while  another  throws  in  the  water.  The 
temperature  must  be  raised  to  or  above  70° 
before  the  butter  can  be  separated  from  the 
milk;  and  this  cannot  be  accomplished  in  any 
way  so  well  as  by  pouring  in  boiling  water 
after  it  has  begun  to  be  churned.  If  the  milk 
is  too  cold,  when  churning  it  swells,  has  a  pale 
white  colour,  throws  upon  the  surface  many 
air-bubbles,  and  emits  a  rattling  noise;  the 
time  of  churning  is  from  2^^  to  2;^  hours ;  the 
milk  being  of  ordinary  quality,  24  pints  impe- 
rial yield  24  ounces  of  buaer. 

In  the  making  of  butter,  care  and  cleanliness 
are  requisite.  The  cows  should  be  milked  in 
the  cool  of  the  morning  and  evening;  they 
should  be  driven  very  gently,  and  if  brought  to 
the  mil  king-place  some  little  lime  previously, 
it  will  be  all  the  belter.  In  some  countries 
they  milk  them  in  their  pastures,  a  practice 
commonly  followed  in  mountainous  districts, 
and  where  they  are  distant  from  the  dairy. 
The  teats  of  the  cow  should  be  washed  often 
with  water,  and  the  daily  lloors  (which  are 
best  of  brick)  and  all  the  dairy  utensils  cannot 
be  too  frequently  washed,  not  only  because  dirt 
is  exceedingly  noxious  to  the  production  of 
good  butter,  but  from  the  coolness  which  it 
produces  in  the  dairy. 

When  the  milk  is  brought  into  the  dairy,  it 
is  strained  through  a  sieve,  to  remove  any  me- 
chanically ditiused  matters,  and  then  placed  in 
shallow  pans  and  coolers,  or  leaden  troughs. 
Some  are  made  of  iron  tinned,  others  of  brass. 
There  is,  however,  an  objection  to  leaden 
troughs,  for  at  the  point  of  contact  between  the 
air  and  the  cream,  the  latter  aids  the  oxidize- 
ment  of  the  lead;  and  carbonic  acid  being 
attracted,  a  carbonate  of  lead  (white  lead)  is 
formed,  and  communicates  a  poisonous  pro- 
perty to  the  cream.  Painters'  colic  has  been 
thus  sometimes  communicated  to  dairymaids. 
Zinc,  or  iron  tinned,  is  preferable  to  lead  for 
dairy  vessels.  The  same  objection  applies  to 
brass  as  to  lead.  Metal  ones  are  regarded  as 
the  best,  from  their  rapidity  of  cooling  in  sum- 
mer, and  from  their  being  more  easily  warmed 
in  the  winter;  they  are  besides  (and  the  same 
remark  applies  to  the  milk  pails,  &c.)  more 
readily  and  completely  cleaned  than  those  of 
wood  or  earthenware.  The  dairy  should  be 
well  ventilated   by  wire-gauze  windows,  and 

Erotected  by  either  trees  or  buildings  from  the 
eat  of  the  sun.  In  twelve  hours  the  finest 
portion  of  the  cream  has  risen  to  the  surface, 
which,  if  then  separated  from  the  milk  and 
churned,  produces  a  very  delicate  butter.  It  is 
commonly  left,  however,  for  twenty -four  hours, 
and  then  skimmed  off  and  deposited  in  an 
earthen  vessel.  In  the  dairies  of  the  usual 
31 


size,  the  cream  collected  is  churned  every  two 
days,  and  the  formation  of  the  butter  is  found 
to  be  materially  accelerated  by  the  cream  ac- 
quiring a  slight  acidity;  indeed,  it  has  been 
sometimes  contended  that,  without  the  prei  ence 
of  an  acid,  butter  cannot  be  made.  Lactic  acid 
indeed  is  always  present  in  buttermilk;  an 
acid  quality  is  even,  in  some  cases,  imparted 
to  it  by  the  dairywomen,  who  add  a  small 
quantity  of  vinegar  or  lemon-juice  ;  this,  how- 
ever, does  not  improve  the  flavour  of  the  but- 
ter, and  it  injures  it  considerably  for  salting. 
To  effect  the  separation  of  the  butter  from  the 
cream,  a  considerable  degree  of  agitation  is 
necessary,  varying  with  the  electrical  state  of 
the  atmosphere,  and  other  circumstances.  Of 
the  influence  of  electricity  no  one  will  doubt 
who  has  witnessed  the  effect  of  a  thunder-storm 
on  a  dairy  of  milk.  The  agitation  or  churning 
is  produced  by  various-sized  churns,  the  most 
common  shaped  of  which  is  the  upright  wooden 
chum,  with  an  upright  plunger;  others  are 
made  of  barrels,  turning  on  an  axle  by  means 
of  a  common  winch ;  some  are  made  like  cra- 
dles, and  rock  much  in  the  same  manner: 
these  are  worked  chiefly  by  hand.  But  it  is 
sometimes  done  by  horse  power,  and  very 
commonly  now  in  Cheshire  by  small  portable 
high-pressure  steam-engines :  these  last  might 
easily  be  made  to  cut  chaff,  bruise  corn  for 
stock,  crush  bones,  and  a  variety  of  other  use- 
ful purposes. 

In  the  course  of  a  period  varying  from  one 
hour  to  several  hours,  according  to  circum- 
stances, the  butter  begins  to  make  its  appear- 
ance in  small  lumps  or  kernels,  which  are 
gradually  increased  in  number  as  the  churn- 
ing proceeds ;  these  are  collected  and  placed 
in  a  shallow  wooden  vessel,  or  washing-tub, 
and  when  all  the  butter  is  "come"  or  extracted, 
little  else  remains  but  the  buttermilk.  The 
butter  placed  in  the  w.ishing-tub  is  worked  by 
the  hand  into  a  mass,  the  buttermilk  squeezed 
out,  and  the  butter  washed  in  »  ater,  an  opera- 
tion which,  when  it  is  intended  for  keeping, 
cannot  be  too  carefully  performed;  and  if  the 
person  who  works  it  has  not  a  very  cool  hand, 
it  should  be  kept  as  cool  as  possible  by  fre- 
quent ablutions  in  cold  water.  A  large  portion 
of  the  butter  made  at  a  distance  from  large 
towns  is  salted  and  put  into  casks  or  firkins, 
which  weigh  about  56  lbs. ;  about  3  or  4  lbs. 
of  salt  are  required  for  this  purpose,  which 
should  be  of  ihe  finest  and  purest  description, 
totally  free  from  the  bitter  deliquescing  salts 
which  commonly  abound  in  that  m?de  by 
artificial  heat  from  sea  water.  The  casks  also 
should  be  made  of  clean  wood,  and  bef(»ie  the 
butter  is  placed  in  them  they  should  be  well 
washed  with  hot  brine.  "If,"  says  a  writer  in 
the  Penny  Cyrlopcndia,  "there  is  not  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  fill  the  cask  at  once,  the  surface 
is  made  smooth,  some  salt  is  put  over  it,  and 
a  cloth  is  pressed  close  upon  it  to  exclude  the 
air.  When  the  remainder  is  added  at  the  next 
churning,  the  cloth  is  taken  off,  and  the  salt 
which  had  been  put  on  the  surface  is  care- 
fully removed  with  a  spoon.  The  surface  is 
j  then  made  rough  with  a  small  wooden  spade 
■  and  left  so,  and  the  newly  salted  butt^  is 
:  added,  and  incorporated  completely.  This 
X  241 


BUTTER. 


BUTTER. 


prcvenis  a  streak  which  wonid  otherwise  ap- 
pear at  the  place  where  the  two  portions  joined. 
When  he  cask  is  full,  some  salt  is  put  over  it, 
and  the  head  is  put  on.  If  the  butter  is  well 
freed  from  all  the  buttermilk,  and  the  salt 
mixed  with  it  quite  dry,  it  will  not  shrink  in 
the  cask,  and  it  will  keep  its  flavour  for  a  long 
time."  Dr.  Anderson  recommended  for  pre- 
serving butter  a  composition  of  salt  2  parts, 
saltpetre  1  pan,  sugar  1  part;  1  oz.  of  this 
mixture  to  16  oz.  of  butter.  It  seems  that 
butler  thus  treated  will  keep  sweet  for  a 
lengthened  period;  but  that  for  the  first  fort- 
night it  does  not  taste  well. 

In  Devonshire  the  method  of  making  butter 
ui  peculiar  to  the  county.  The  milk  is  placed 
in  tin  or  earthen  pans,  and  twelve  hours  after 
milking,  these  p?rs  (each  holding  about  eleven 
or  twelve  quarts)  are  placed  on  an  iron  plate, 
over  a  small  furnace.  The  milk  is  not  boiled, 
but  heated  until  a  thick  scum  arises  to  the  sur- 
face; if  when  a  small  portion  of  this  is  re- 
moved bubbles  appear,  the  milk  is  removed, 
and  suffered  to  cool.  The  thick  part  is  then 
taken  off  the  surface,  and  this  is  the  clouted 
cream  of  Devonshire,  which  is  known  all  over 
England.  By  a  gentle  agitation  this  clouted 
cream  is  speedily  converted  into  butter. 

In  Holland  they  churn  the  cream  and  milk 
together,  after  it  has  been  kept  sufficiently  long 
for  a  slight  acidity  to  appear.  They  churn,  it 
seems,  sometimes  with  a  horse,  sometimes  by 
a  dog,  or  turnspit,  working  on  a  wheel ;  a  plan 
which  I  think  might  be  well  adopted,  in  many 
cases,  in  England,  to  the  saving  of  the  labour 
of  many  a  poor  dairy-maid.  In  the  large 
dairies,  however,  about  Dixmunde  andFurnes, 
the  cream  only  is  churned  three  times  a  week. 
iFlcmish  Hu^h.  p.  61.) 

On  an  average,  four  gallons  of  milk  pro- 
daces  a  pound  of  butter,  and  a  good  cow 
should  produce  six  pounds  of  butter  per  week 
in  summer,  and  three  pounds  in  winter.  Of 
English  butter,  that  of  Cambridge  and  Epping 
is  the  most  celebrated.  But  the  consumption 
in  England  is  much  greater  than  the  farmers 
can  supply :  very  large  quantities  are  in  con- 
sequence annually  imported  into  England; 
thwi,  in  182.5,  the  import  from  Ireland  amount- 
ed to  422,883  cwts.,  and  from  foreign  countries 
159,332  cwts.;  this  last  in  1835  was  134,346 
cwts.,  of  which  106,776  cwts.  came  from  Hol- 
land. {M'CuUoch'n  Com.  Diet.;  Trans.  High. 
8oe.;  Quart.  Joum.  Jgr.) 

To  prepare  Butter  for  a  icarm  climate. — When 
biitter  is  to  be  exposed  to  the  heat  of  a  warm 
climate,  it  should  be  purified  by  melting  before 
it  is  salted  and  packed  up.  For  this  purpose 
let  it  be  put  into  a  proper  vessel,  and  this  im- 
mersed into  another  vessel  containing  water. 
Let  the  water  be  heated  until  the  butter  is  tho- 
roughly melted.  Let  it  continue  in  this  state  i 
for  some  time,  when  the  impure  parts  will  sub-  i 
side,  leaving  at  the  top  a  perfectly  pure  trans- 
parent oil.  This,  when  it  cools,  will  become 
opaque,  and  assume  colour  nearly  resembling 
that  of  the  original  butter,  being  only  some- 
what paler,  and  of  a  firmer  consistence.  When 
this  refined  butter  is  become  a  little  stiff,  but 
while  it  is  still  somewhat  soft,  the  pure  part 
<nust  be  separated  from  the  dregs,  and  be  salted 
242 


and  packed  up  in  the  same  manner  as  other 
butter ;  it  will  continue  sweet  much  longer  in 
hot  climates,  as  it  retains  the  salt  better  than 
in  its  original  state.  It  mity  also  be  preserved 
sweet,  without  salt,  by  adding  to  it  a  certain 
portion  of  fine  honey,  perhaps  one  ounce  to  a 
pound  of  butler,  and  mixing  them  together 
thoroughly,  so  that  they  may  be  perfectly  in- 
corporated. A  mixture  of  this  sort  has  a  sweet 
pleasant  taste,  and  will  keep  for  years  without 
becoming  rancid:  there  is  no  doubt,  therefore, 
but  that  butter  might  thus  be  preserved  in  long 
voyages  without  spoiling. 

As  butter  made  in  winter  and  even  at  other 
times  is  mostly  pale  or  white,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  a  poorer  quality  than  that  made  during 
the  summer  months  under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances,  various  articles  have  been 
mixed  with  it  in  order  to  produce  the  rich  yel- 
low colour  associated  with  excellence.  Those 
most  commonly  used  are  the  juice  of  the  car- 
rot, or  flowers  of  the  marygold,  carefully  ex- 
pressed and  strained  through  a  linen  cloth,  or  a 
small  portion  of  arnotta.  When  the  juices  of 
the  carrot  and  marygold  are  used,  a  small 
quantity  (to  be  determined  by  experience)  is  to 
be  diluted  with  a  little  cream,  and  this  mixture 
is  added  to  the  rest  of  the  cream  when  put  into 
the  churn.  The  quantity  of  colouring  matter 
required  is  so  small  as  not  to  impart  any  par- 
ticular taste  to  the  butter.  When  arnotta  is 
used  instead  of  these  vegetable  juices  a  por- 
tion about  the  size  of  a  pea  is  sufficient  to  co- 
lour sufficiently  25  lbs.  of  butter.  It  must  be 
first  mixed  with  a  little  water  and  put  into  the 
cream  at  the  commencement  of  churning. 
The  best  Spanish  arnotta  should  be  used. 

The  butter  most  esteemed  in  London  is  that 
of  Epping  and  Cambridge ;  the  cows  which 
produce  the  former  feed  during  summer  in  the 
shrubby  pastures  of  Epping  forest,  and  the 
leaves  of  the  trees  and  numerous  wild  plants 
which  there  abound  are  supposed  to  improve 
the  flavour  of  the  butter.  It  is  brought  to  mar- 
ket in  rolls  from  one  to  two  feet  long,  weighing 
a  pound  each.  The  Cambridgeshire  butter  is 
produced  from  the  milk  of  cows  that  feed  one 
part  of  the  year  on  chalky  uplands,  and  the 
other  in  rich  meadows  or  fens ;  it  is  made  up 
into  long  rolls  like  the  Epping  butter,  and 
generally  salted,  not  cured,  before  brought  to 
market.  By  washing  it,  and  working  the  salt 
out  of  it,  the  London  cheesemongers  often  sell 
it  at  a  high  price  for  fresh  Epping  butter. 

The  butter  of  the  mountains  of  Wales  an 
Scotland,  and  the  moors,  commons,  and  heaih 
of  England,  is  of  excellent  quality,  when  it  is 
properly  managed ;  and  though  not  equal  in 
quantity,  it  often  is  confessedly  superior  to  that 
produced  from  the  richest  meadows.  Bad  but- 
ter is  more  frequently  the  result  of  mismanage- 
ment, want  of  cleanliness,  and  inattention,  than 
of  any  other  cause.  Ireland  would  produce 
the  finest  butter  in  the  empire,  were  it  not  for 
the  intolerably  filthy  state  of  their  cows,  and 
the  want  of  cleanliness  in  their  dairies. 

In  packing  fresh  butter,  prepared  for  imme- 
diate use  or  sale,  the  leaves  of  cabbage,  white 
beet,  or  of  the  garden  orache,  are  preferred  in 
England.  The  bottom  of  the  basket  should  oe 
bedded  with  a  thick  cloth,  folded  two  or  three 


BUTTER-CUP. 


BUTTERNUT. 


times  •  then  a  Uiia  gauze  dipped  in  cold  water,  j  her  eggs  upon  the  nettle.  The  eggs  ure  coated 
spread  over  it  ou  which  tlie  prints  or  rolls  of  i  with  a  glutinous  secretion  as  they  are  excluded 
butter  are  to  be  placed,  each  with  t)ne  or  more  ;  from  the  parent,  and  thus  they  are  provided 
leaves  beneath,  and  smaller  ones  over  it.     The  1  with  the  means  of  adhesion  to  the  leaves  or 


ves  oencj  , 
lowermost  layer  being  adjusted,  fold  half  of  the 
gauze  cloth  over  it,  put  in  another  layer  in  the 
same  way,  and  then  cover  with  the  remainder 
of  the  gauze.  The  butter  should  be  put  into  and 
taken  from  the  basket  without  being  touched. 

Whey  butter,  as  its  name  implies,  is  butter 
made  from  the' whey  which  is  taken  from  the 
curd,  after  the  milk  is  coagulated  for  the  manu- 
facture of  cheese.  It  is  chielly  made  in  those 
counties  where  cheese  is  manufactured,  and 
where  it  forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of  the  pro- 
fits of  the  dairy.  In  Derbyshire  more  butter  is 
said  to  bo  made  from  whey  than  from  the  cream 
ci  milk,  or  from  milk  churned  altogether. 

Under  the  head  of  Anthoxanthnm  Odoratum^ 
reasons  are  given  for  ascribing  to  its  presence 
in  pastures,  a  certain  rich  tiavour  for  which 
the  butter  made  in  some  districts  is  celebrated, 
Bucli  as  the  "  May  butter"  of  Philadelphia,  and 
the  Epping  and  Cambridge  butter  of  Loudon. 
The  sweet-scented  vernal  grass  owes  its  aro- 
matic ^lualities  chiefly  to  the  presence  of  ben- 
zoic acid  or  flowers  of  benzoin,  and  this  when 
administered  to  cows  mixed  with  their  food  has 
been  found  to  communicate  the  peculiarly  jdea- 
sant  flavour  common  to  Philnilelpliia  "  .May 
butter,"  not  met  with  at  present  in  the  butter 
of  any  other  part  of  tlie  United  States,  and  so 
highly  prized  by  epicures  that  when  good  fresh 
butter  sells  in  the  I'hiladelphia  market  for  20 
and  2')  cents,  the  higli-flavourcd  spring  grasii 
butter  will  bring  40  or  60  cents  per  pound. 
Very  agreeable  flavours  may  be  given  to  butter 
by  adding  to  cream,  before  churning,  certain 
agents,  as  flowers  of  benzoin,  vanilla,  etc.    See 

A>TU0XAKTHU.M  OdORATU.M,  DaJEY,  WhEY. 

BUTTER-CUP,  butler-flower,  or  upright 
meadow  crow's  foot  {Ranunculus  bulbosus, 
Smith).  (PI.  10,  t.)  A  common  perennial 
weed,  abounding  in  meadows  and  pa.stures, 
and  blooming  in  May.    The  whole  plant  is 


stems  of   the  plants    selected.      See  Cateh- 

PILtARS. 

BUTTERNUT  (Juglans  cathartica  vel  Cine- 
rea).  A  species  of  walnut  growing  in  the 
United  States,  in  different  parts  of  which  it  is 
known  by  different  names.  In  the  New  Eng- 
land States  it  generally  takes  the  name  of  oil- 
nut;  in  some  of  the  Middle  States  it  is  called 
white  walnut;  but  from  New  York  to  the  Caro- 
linas,  and  from  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio,  the  most 
common  name  is  butternut.  The  region  of 
this  tree  is  very  extensive,  as  it  is  found  from 
Upper  and  even  Lower  Canada  to  the  Flo- 
ridas,  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Missouri. 
Even  in  Vermont  and  other  cold  regions  its 
growth  is  so  luxuriant  that  it  attains  a  circum- 
ference of  eight  or  ten  feet.  Michaux  mea- 
sured some  in  New  Jersey  nearly  opposite 
New  York,  growing  on  the  steep  and  elevated 
banks  of  the  Hudson,  where  the  soil  was  cold 
and  unproductive,  and  found  them,  five  feet 
from  the  ground,  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  fifty  feet  high,  with  roots  running 
along  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  a  serpentine 
direction,  and  with  little  variation  in  size,  to 
the  distance  of  forty  feet.  The  limbs  gene- 
rally branch  off  at  a  small  height  above  the 
base,  and  spread  themselves  widely,  which 
gives  the  tree  a  striking  appearance. 

In  the  spring  its  vegetation  is  forward,  and 
its  leaves  unfold  a  fortnight  earlier  than  those 
of  the  hickory.  The  black  walnut  and  butter- 
nut, when  young,  resemble  each  other,  in  their 
foliage,  and  in  the  rapidity  of  their  growth ; 
but  when  arrived  at  maturity,  their  forms  are 
'  so  different  as  to  be  distinguishable  at  first 
sight.  Remarkable  peculiarities  are  also  found, 
on  examining  their  wood,  especially  when 
seasoned.  The  black  walnut  is  heavy,  strong, 
and  of  a  dark-brown  colour;  while  the  butter- 
nut is  light,  of  little  strength,  and  of  a  reddish 


extremely  acrid,  so  as  often  to  be  employed  by  i  hue.    But  they  possess  in  common  the  great 
country  people  to  raise  a  blister.    Bees  are, '  advantage  of  lasting  long,  and  of  being  se 


however,  very  fond  of  it;  it  is  eaten  by  sheep 
and  goats;  but  horses,  cows,  and  swine  refuse 
it;  drying  destroys  its  acrimony.  The  roots 
are  perennial,  and  bulbous ;  the  stem  rises  a 


cure  from  the  annoyance  of  worms.  The 
wood  of  the  butternut  is  used  for  the  sleepiers 
and  posts  of  frame  houses  and  barns,  for  post 
and  rail  fences,  troughs  for  cattle,  &c.    For 


foot  high,  and  bears  its  yellow  flowers  on  the  {  corn-shovels  and  wooden  dishes,  it  is  preferred 
ends  of  its  branches.  j  to  the  red-flowering  maples,  because  it  is  lighter 

Dr.  Darlington  says  that  some  fifteen  or  and  less  liable  to  split;  consequently  hollow 
twenty  species  of  ranunculus  have  been  enu-  j  ware  and  other  articles  made  of  it  sell  at 
merated  in  the  United  States.     (Flor.  Cestrica.)  ,  higher  prices.    In  Vermont  the  wood  is  used 

BUTTERFLY.  The  common  English  name,  for  the  panels  of  coaches  and  chaises,  being 
says  Brande  (Did.  of  Science),  of  an  extensive  well  adapted  for  this  purpose,  not  only  from 
group  of  insects,  as  they  appear  in  their  last  its  lightness,  but  because  it  is  not  liable  to 
and  fully  developed  state,  when  they  constitute  split.  It  receives  paint  in  a  superior  manner, 
the  most  beautiful  and  elegant  examples  of  its  pores  being  very  open,  more  so  than  those 
their  class.     These  insects  belong  to  the  order    of  poplar  and  bass-wood. 

Leyidoptern^  and  to  the  section  Diurna  of  La-  ;  The  bark  of  the  butternut  possesses  medi- 
treille,  or  the  genus  Papilio  of  Linnaeus.  The  cinal  properties  of  a  cathartic  nature  which 
eggs  of  the  butterfly  are  deposited  on  such  have  been  highly  recommended  both  by  the 
plants  as  afford  the  nutriment  most  appropriate  testimony  of  the  regular  faculty  and  popular 
to  the  caterpillars,  that  are  to  be  excluded  practice.  An  extract  prepared  from  the  bark 
from  them ;  thus,  the  common  white  butterfly  is  prescribed  by  American  physicians  in  dose* 
{Pieris  brassicee)  and  other  species,  oviposit  of  from  half  a  drachm  to  a  drachm  to  aduiis 
upon  cabbages,  and  hence  have  been  termed  In  the  revolutionary  war  when  supplies  of 
brassicaria;  the  gaudy  peacock  butterfly  lays    foreign  medicines  were  cut  off,  the  extract  of 

^43 


BUTTERWORT. 

butternut  was  considered  an  admirable  sub- 
stitute for  jalap.  At  present  it  is  but  little 
resorted  to  except  in  domestic  practice  in  the 
country,  where  many  of  the  farmer's  wives 
make  a  preparation  in  the  spring  for  the  use 
of  themselves  and  their  neighbours.  They 
usually  boil  the  bark  entire  in  water,  till  the 
liquid  is  reduced,  by  evaporation,  to  a  thick, 
viscid  substance,  which  is  almost  black. 
This  is  a  faulty  process;  the  exterior  bark 
should  first  be  removed,  for  by  continuing  the 
boiling,  it  soaks  up  nearly  four-fiAhs  of  the 
liquid,  already  charged  with  rich  extractive 
matter.  In  the  country  the  bark  is  sometimes 
employed  for  dyeing  wool  of  a  dark-brown 
colour;  but  the  bark  of  the  black  walnut  is 
preferable  for  this  purpose. 

If  the  trunk  of  the  butternut  is  pierced  in 
the  month  which  precedes  the  unfolding  of  the 
leaves,  a  pretty  copious  discharge  ensues  of  a 
slightly  sugary  sap,  from  which,  by  evapora- 
tion, sugar  is  obtained  of  a  quality  inferior  to 
that  of  the  sugar  maple.  {Michav£s  American 
Sylva.) 

BUTTERWORT  (Pingidnda  milgaris).  A 
perennial  weed  growing  in  moist  soils,  as  bogs 
and  wet  heaths.  The  viscid  exudation  of  the 
leaves,  which  are  thick  and  glutinous,  says 
Smith  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  29),  is  reputed  to 
be  good  for" the  sore  teats  of  cows,  whence  the 
Yorkshire  name  of  this  plant,  sanicle.  The 
country  people  make  it  into  a  syrup  as  a  pur- 
gative, and  boil  it  with  their  garden  herbs  in 
broth  as  a  remedy  in  colds.  An  ointment 
made  from  butterwort  is  also  used  for  chapped 
hands,  and  to  rub  upon  animals  when  bitten 
by  an  adder  or  slow-worm. 

Mr.  Nuttall  enumerates  four  species  of  this 
plant  found  in  the  United  States,  all  of  which, 
he  says,  grow  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  ocean, 
in  moist  pine-barrens.  {Genera  of  North  Am. 
Plants.) 

BUTTONWOOD,  or  SYCAMORE,  the  Pla- 
tanut  occidentalis,  or  western  plane  tree,  of  na- 
turalists. 

Among  trees  with  deciduous  leaves,  none 
in  the  temperate  zones,  either  on  the  old  or 
new  continent,  equals  the  dimensions  of  the 
planes.  The  species  which  grows  in  the  West- 
em  World  is  not  less  remarkable  for  its  am- 
plitude and  for  its  magnificent  appearance  than 
the  plane  of  Asia,  whose  majestic  form  and 
extraordinary  size  was  so  much  celebrated  by 
the  ancients. 

In  the  Atlantic  States  this  tree  is  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  buttonwood,  and  some- 
times, in  Virginia,  by  that  of  water-beech. 
On  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  in  the  states  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  it  is  most  frequently 
called  sycamore,  and  by  some  persons  plane- 
tree.  The  French  of  Canada  and  of  Upper 
Louisiana  g:v»  it  the  name  of  cotton  tree. 

The  buttonwood  is  abundant  and  very  vigor- 
ous along  the  great  rivers  of  Pennsylvania  and 
of  Virginia;  though  in  the  more  fertile  val- 
leys of  the  West,  its  vegetation  is  perhaps  still 
more  luxuriant,  especially  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio  and  rivers  emptying  into  it.  The  bottoms 
watered  by  these  rivers  are  covered  with  dark 
forests,  composed  of  trees  of  extraordinary 
size  The  Foil  is  very  deep,  loose,  of  a  brown 
S44 


BUTTONWOOD. 

colour,  and  unctuous  to  the  touch,  formed  ap- 
parently of  the  slime  deposited  in  the  course 
of  ages  by  the  annual  overflowing  of  the  rivers. 
The  fertility  derived  from  this  source  is  in- 
creased by  accumulations  of  decayed  vegetable 
matter  furnished  by  leaves  and  the  trees  them- 
selves. A  degree  of  fertility  is  thus  attained 
by  the  vegetable  mould  without  example  in 
Europe,  and  which  is  manifested  by  prodigies 
of  vegetation.  In  such  situations  the  button- 
wood  is  found  to  be  the  largest  tree  in  the 
United  States,  although  in  point  of  loftiness  it 
is  exceeded  by  the  tulip  poplar,  and  still  more 
the  white  pine.  Often,  with  a  trunk  of  several 
feet  in  diameter,  the  plane  tree  begins  to  branch 
out  at  the  height  of  sixty  or  seventy  feet,  near 
the  summits  of  surrounding  trees ;  and  often 
the  base  divides  itself  into  several  trunks 
equally  vigorous  and  superior  in  diameter  to 
all  other  trees  in  the  vicinity.  "On  a  little 
island  in  the  Ohio,  fifteen  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  my  father,"  says 
Michaux,  "  measured  a  buttouAvood  which,  at 
five  feet  from  the  ground,  was  forty  feet  and 
four  inches  in  circumference,  and  consequently 
more  than  thirteen  feet  in  diameter.  Twenty 
years  before,  General  Washington  had  mea- 
sured the  same  tree,  and  found  it  to  be  of 
nearly  the  same  size."  The  same  distinguished 
naturalist  mentions  another  tree  which  he  and 
his  travelling  companion  had  measured,  and 
found,  at  the  height  of  four  feet  above  the 
ground,  forty-seven  feet  in  circumference 
This  tree,  which  grew  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Ohio,  about  thirty-six  miles  from  Marietta,  still 
exhibited  the  appearance  of  vigorous  vegeta- 
tion, and  began  to  shoot  out  its  limbs  twenty- 
feet  above  the  ground.  A  buttonwood  of  equal 
size  is  mentioned,  as  existing  in  Tennessee. 
"The  extraordinary  dimensions  of  these  trees 
recalls,"  says  Michaux,  "the  famous  plane 
tree  of  Lycia,  spoken  of  by  Pliny,  the  trunk 
of  which,  hollowed  by  time,  afforded  a  retreat 
for  the  night  to  the  Roman  Consul  Licinius 
Mutianus,  with  eighteen  of  his  followers.  The 
interior  of  this  grotto  was  represented  to  be 
seventy  feet  in  circumference,  and  the  summit 
of  the  tree  resembled  a  small  forest." 

The  most  striking  resemblance,  in  the  ma- 
jesty of  their  form  and  in  the  enormous  size 
of  their  trunk,  thus  appears  to  exist  between 
the  only  two  species  of  plane  that  have  been 
discovered.  It  is  difficult  to  mark  any  differ- 
ence in  the  colour  and  organization  of  their 
wood.  The  American  species  is  generally 
thought,  in  Europe,  to  possess  a  richer  foliage 
and  to  afford  a  deeper  shade  than  the  Asiatic 
plane.  Its  leaves  are  of  a  beautiful  green, 
alternate,  from  five  to  ten  inches  broad,  less 
deeply  lobed,  and  formed  with  more  open  an- 
gles than  those  of  the  plane  of  the  Eastern 
continent.  In  some  places  where  this  tree  is 
very  abundant,  it  has  been  a  source  of  alarm 
to  the  neighbouring  inhabitants,  who  believe 
that  the  fine  down  from  the  leaves,  floating  in 
the  air,  produces  an  irritation  of  the  lungs  and 
predisposes  to  consumption.  There  appears 
to  be  little  if  any  foundation  for  such  an  ap- 
prehension. 

According  to  Michaux's  observations,  the 
buttonwood  does  not  venture  towards  the  north- 


BUXUS. 


CABBAGE. 


east,  beyond  Portland,  in  the  latitude  of  40°  3(y ; 
but  farther  west,  in  73°  of  longitude,  it  is  found 
two  deijrees  farther  north,  at  the  extremity  of 
Lake  Champlain  and  at  Montreal.  Proceed- 
ing from  Boston  and  the  shores  of  Lake 
Champlain  towards  the  west  and  the  south- 
west, the  buttonwood  is  continually  met  with 
over  a  vast  tract,  comprising  the  Atlantic  and 
Western  States,  and  extending  beyond  the 
Mississippi. 

The  wood  of  the  plane  tree  speedily  decays 
when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere.  Hence  it  is 
only  adajjted  for  work  that  is  sheltered  from 
the  weather,  and  when  thoroughly  seasoned, 
it  may  be  usefully  employed  in  the  interior  of 
houses  for  joists,  &c.  Though  never  used  in 
the  construction  of  large  vessels,  it  has  been 
hollowed  out  into  canoes,  one  of  which,  former- 
ly on  the  river  Wabash,  made  of  a  single  tree, 
was  sixty-five  feet  long,  and  carried  nine  thou- 
sand pounds.     (Mvhaux's  Am.  Sylva.) 

BUXUS.  The  boxwood,  of  which  botanists 
commonly  enumerate  three  species :  1.  The 
arboresicM,  with  oval  leaves.  2.  The  angusti- 
folia,  with  narrow  leaves.  3.  The  suffruticosa, 
the  species  usually  employed  in  the  bordering 
of  flower-beds.  The  first  two,  when  allowed 
to  grow  in  a  natural  manner,  are  deciduous 
shrubs  of  fine  appearance.  All  the  species 
are  easily  cultivated.  The  wood  is  extremely 
hard  and  capable  of  being  wrought  with  great 
neatness  by  the  turner.  It  is  also  used  by  the 
engravers  on  wood  to  cut  figures  upon. 

BY  HE.  A  term  made  use  of  in  some  places 
to  signify  a  cow-house.  It  is  commonly  em- 
ployed in  the  northern  parts  of  England,  and 
in  Scotland;  and  they  are  differently  denomi- 
nated, according  to  the  uses  to  which  they  are 
applied :  thus,  there  are  feeding-byres,  turnip- 
byres,  &c. 

BYSLINS.  A  provincial  word  signifying 
the  first  milk  of  a  new-calved  cow. 


CABBAGE  (Fr.  cabut;  probably  from  cab, 
old  Fr.  for  head,  top, or  extremity.  Ital. cabuccio ; 
Dutch,  kabuys.  "But  the  form  of  the  cabbage, 
resembling  a  head,  shows  caput  to  be  the  ori- 
ginal."— Todd's  Johnson.  Lat.  brassica  ;  from 
irpa.a-tx,>',  a  garden  herb ;  or  perhaps  from  brachia, 
from  its  numerous  sprouts).  A  biennial  genus 
of  plants,  of  which  there  are  a  large  number 
of  species  and  innumerable  varieties.  Many 
are  extensively  cultivated  in  the  vicinity  of 
London ;  and  several  kmds  are  also  grown  by 
the  farmer  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  his  cattle 
and  sheep.  Our  field  and  garden  cabbages, 
with  their  varieties,  have  originated  from  the 
Brassica  oUracea,  or  culinary  cabbage,  an  indi- 
genous sort  of  colewort  growing  principally 
on  cliffs  near  the  sea-coast.  It  is  found  abun- 
dantly at  Dover.  (Smitli's  English  Flora,  vol.  iii. 
p.  220.)  The  cabbage,  says  Mr.  Amos  (Comm. 
to  Board  of  Agriculture,  vol.  iv.  p.  17^),  is  a  most 
invaluable  plant,  very  productive,  accessible 
at  all  times,  and  is  an  infallible  supply  for 
sheep-teeding  during  the  spring  months,  espe- 
cially for  ewes  in  lamb.    Beasts  and  sheep  are 


all  exceedingly  fond  of  cabbages.  It  may  be 
of  same  importance  to  the  farmer  to  be  in- 
formed that  among  all  the  plants  of  the  natural 
order  to  which  the  cabbage  belongs,  not  one 
perhaps  is  possessed  of  any  really  deleterious 
property.  Among  nearly  one  thousand  spe- 
cies (as  Dr.  Lindley  observes),  scattered  over 
the  face  of  the  world,  all  are  harmless,  and 
many  highly  useful.  The  innumerable  varie- 
ties arise  from  difference  of  soil  and  cultiva- 
tion ;  and  as  all  the  cabbage  tribe  form  hybrids, 
new  varieties  are  continually  produced.  This 
is  effected  by  the  bees,  when  different  sorts  are 
in  flower.  Hence,  only  one  variety  should  be 
in  flower  at  the  same  time  in  any  garden  or 
field,  when  we  wish  to  keep  the  sort  unadulte- 
rated, particularly  if  some  sorts  have  expanded 
leaves,  and  others  close  heads.  It  is  thus  only 
that  the  excellent  small  miniature  cabbage, 
which  grows  on  the  stem  of  the  Brussels 
sprout,  can  be  kept  in  perfection.  The  differ- 
ent sorts  of  cabbage  most  prized  for  the  gar- 
den are  chiefly  divided  into  the  close-hearting 
and  th»  spreading.  Of  the  first,  the  York  and 
the  savoys  are  the  most  common;  of  the  latter, 
the  coleworts  and  Scotch  kale.  (Penny  Cycle, 
vol.  vi.  p.  92.)  Of  the  genus  brassica,  or  cab- 
bcOge,  the  species  chiefly  interesting  to  the 
fanner,  and  the  objects  of  cultivation,  are, 
1.  Common  turnip  {B.  Rapa) ;  2.  Wild  navew 
{B.  campestris) ',  3.  Rape  or  cole  (/?.  Napus); 
i.  Early  cole  {B.  prcecox) ',  5.  Cabbage  (B.  ole» 
rarea).  These  species  may  be  cultivated  nearly 
in  the  same  manner,  but  they  may  produce 
small  fusiform  roots  when  they  are  cultivated 
for  their  leaves,  or  for  their  seeds,  which  yield 
oils;  or  they  may  produce  large  esculent  roots 
when  they  are  cultivated  chieflv  for  their  roots. 
(Loip's  Elem.  of  Prac.  Jgric.  p.  290.)  The  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  cabbage  in  cultivation  may, 
adds  Professor  Low  (p.  307),  be  arranged  in 
different  classes,  according  to  their  general 
a.'^pect  and  more  popular  characters : — 1.  Those 
which  bear  their  leaves  or  stalks  without  their 
being  formed  into  a  head.  Some  of  these  have 
crisped  leaves,  and  are  a  class  of  hardy  pot- 
herbs everywhere  familiar  in  the  culture  of 
the  garden;  others  have  smoothish  leaves,  with 
long  branched  stems.  These  comprehend  the 
largest  and  most  productive  of  all  the  cabbages, 
— the  Jersey  cole,  the  thousand-headed  cab- 
bage, and  others.  2.  Those  whose  leaves  are 
formed  into  a  large  head.  These  comprehend 
the  larger  cabbages  cultivated  in  the  fields. 
The  savoys  of  our  gardens  are  allied  to  this 
class.  3.  Those  whose  roots  become  napiform, 
as  the  kohl-rabe.  4.  Those  in  which  the  stem 
divides,  and  forms  a  corymbose  head,  as  in 
the  cauliflower  and  broccoli. 

The  cabbages  of  the  first  class,  with  crisped 
leaves,  frequently  termed  greens,  are  very 
hardy.  They  are  cultivated  pretty  extensively 
in  some  parts  of  the  north  of  Europe ;  but  in 
others  they  are  chiefly  regarded  as  potherbs, 
and  confined  to  the  garden.  The  branched 
kinds  with  smoothish  leaves  are  the  most  pro- 
ductive ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  demand  a 
good  soil  and  favourable  climate.  Their  leaves 
are  stripped  off  as  they  are  required  for  use  ; 
and  as  these  are  constantly  supplied  by  fresh 
leaves,  the  plants  yield  a  succession  of  forage 
X  2  245 


CABBAGE. 


CABBAGE. 


fhroughout  a  great  part  of  the  season,  and  they 
remain  growing  for  several  years. 

There  are  different  varieties  of  these  larger 
cabbages,  which  are  mure  or  less  valued  in 
the  places  where  they  are  cultivated.  The 
thousand-headed  cabbage,  chou  a  milk  teles,  is 
remarked  as  possessing  a  greater  number  of 
shootij;  the  cow  cabbage,  Cesarian  cole  or 
tree  cabbage,  as  growing  more  to  one  stem, 
and  producing  cream-coloured  flowers ;  the 
Jersey  cole,  as  being  similar  in  its  growth,  and 
producing  yellow  flowers.  In  the  Netherlands, 
and  the  Channel  Islands,  where  the  cultivation 
of  these  plants  is  well  understood,  they  are 
sown  in  beds  in  autumn,  and  planted  out  in 
succession  from  November  till  February. 
About  ihe  month  of  April  the  farmers  begin 
with  the  first  sown,  to  strip  ofl'  their  under 
leaves  for  use.  They  give  them  to  their  cows, 
hogs,  geese,  and  other  stock,  cutting  them  in 
small  pieces,  and  mixing  them  with  bran  and 
other  farinaceous  substances.  During  the 
summer  they  continue  this  process  of  strip- 
ping off  the  leaves,  the  plant  in  the  meantime 
rising  to  the  height  of  several  feet.  (Gard, 
Mag.  vol.  v.)  This  plant  requires  a  good  soil 
and  plentiful  manure,  and  is  regarded  as  a 
great  exhauster  of  the  soil.  It  perhaps  yields 
a  larger  proportion  of  nutriment  within  the 
same  period  than  any  other  forage  plant.  It 
may  be  presumed  that  it  is  not  well  fitted  for 
general  cultivation,  and  in  England  will  only 
succeed  in  favourable  situations,  as  the  south 
of  England  and  Ireland,  and  the  beautiful  little 
islands  where  it  is  now  cultivated.  When  fed 
to  milch  cows,  the  decayed  leaves  should  be 
carefully  removed,  as  when  eaten  they  impart 
an  unpleasant  taste  to  the  milk. 

The  next  class  (continues  Professor  Low) 
consists  of  those  in  which  the  root  becomes 
napiform.  The  principal  variety  is  the  kohl- 
rabe  or  purple  turnip  cabbage  (Brassica  oleracea 
var.  catUo-rapa).  This  plant  is  cultivated  in 
Germany  and  the  north  of  Europe.  It  is  valued 
as  a  resource  for  cattle  in  winter.  While  it 
produces  a  root  like  a  turnip,  it  at  the  same 
lime  sends  forth  stems  bearing  leaves  like  a 
cabbage.  It  is  not  only  hardy,  but  keeps  better 
in  store  than  any  plant  of  the  cabbage  kind. 
It  may  be  cultivated  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  Swedish  and  yellow  turnips ;  but  the  expe- 
riments that  have  been  made  with  it  in  this 
country  lead  to  the  inference  that  it  is  not 
equal  to  those  turnips  for  the  purpose  of  feed- 
ing. The  cabbages  of  the  last-mentioned  class, 
as  the  cauliflower  and  the  broccoli,  are  entirely 
limited  to  the  garden.  The  kinds  of  the  cab- 
bage which  are  best  suited  for  field-crops  and 
the  support  of  cattle,  are  the  York,  or  large 
Scotch,  the  ox-head,  the  drum-head,  the  red- 
veined,  and  the  American,  which  commonly 
produce  heads  of  10  to  20  lbs.,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  arrive  to  upwards  of  30  lbs.  weight. 
The  above  and  other  names,  however,  are  fre- 
quently applied  where  there  is  no  real  distinc- 
tion. The  most  productive  of  these  are  the 
drum-headed  and  American ;  but  the  red-veined 
and  Scotch  stand  the  winter  best.  Thev  are 
all  known  by  their  large  leaves,  which,  as  the 
plant  advances,  collapse  and  form  a  dense 
head.      The  large  field  cabbages  are   those 

246 


I  which  are  generally  considered  as  the  best 
j  suited  to  farm  culture,  and  are  therefore  those 
!  most  commonly  planted ;  but  the  species 
known  as  the  sugar-loaf  cabbage,  and  so  called 
from  its  pointed  form,  though  rarely  exceeding 
from  5  to  7  lbs.,  may  yet  be  in  many  cases 
found  more  advantageous,  for  it  can  be  grown 
on  land  of  more  ordinary  quality  than  the  other 
kinds  ;  it  is  hardier  in  constitution,  more  solid 
and  nutritive,  and  the  inferiority  of  its  weight 
may  be  in  a  great  degree  made  up  by  the 
smallness  of  its  size  allowing  of  the  plants 
being  set  closer  together.  (Brit.  Husb.  vol.  iu 
p.  255.)  Of  the  different  kinds,  therefore,  it 
appears  that  the  large  field  cabbage,  whatever 
name  it  may  receive,  is  that  which  is  best 
suited  for  common  field  culture.  This  plant 
impoverishes  the  soil  very  much.  In  collect- 
ing the  produce  for  consumption,  the  plants 
(says  the  late  Mr.  Sinclair)  should  be  drawa 
up  by  the  roots,  and  not  merely  cut  over,  as  is 
often  practised  to  the  detriment  of  the  soil. 
The  different  varieties  above  enumerated  afford 
about  equal  quantities  of  nutritive  matter.  The 
nutritive  matter  of  the  cabbage  is  wholly  solu- 
ble in  water ;  that  of  the  potato  only  partially 
so,  for  a  great  proportion  of  the  potato  consists 
of  starch.  According  to  Mr.  Sinclair's  experi- 
ments— 

Nutr. 

Matter, 

grS' 

7000  grs.  or  1  lb.  of  the  driim-head  cab- 
bage (B.  oleracea  capitata)  contains        430 

7000  grs.  Early  York  cabbage  {B.  oler., 
var.) 430 

7000  grs.  Woburn  perennial  kale  (B.  oler. 
fiinhriala  perenvis)       -        -        -        -  438 

7000  grs. Green  curled  kale(B.oier.wiridis)  440 
Purple  borecole,  or  kale  (5.  oler 


Woody 
Fibre, 
grs. 


932 

660 


laciniata)      ------  448 

7000  grs.  bulb  of  turnip-rooted  cabbage 

(B.  rapa,  var.)  -  -  -  -  -  400 
7000  grs.  leaves  or  tops  of  ditto      -       -  252 


1120 


320 

360J 


And  upon  an  analysis  of  the  respective  ave- 
rage nutritive  qualities  of  each  species  of  root, 
cabbages  were  generally  found  superior  to 
common  turnips,  in  the  proportion  of  107^  to 
80,  and  inferior  to  Swedes  in  that  of  107^  to 
110.  Carrots  are  more  nutritive  than  cabbages, 
in  the  proportion  of  187  to  107^.  (Hort.  Gram. 
Woh.  p.  407,  408.)  It  is,  however,  the  opinion 
of  an  experienced  farmer  (Mr.  Brown  of  Mar- 
kle),  that  the  culture  of  cabbage,  taking  into 
consideration  the  greater  consumption  of  ma- 
nure, and  the  superior  nature  of  the  requisite 
soil,  does  not  afford  advantages  to  be  compared 
with  the  scourge  it  occasions  to  the  land. 
{Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  258.) 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  raise  single  cab- 
bages that  weigh  40  lbs.:  calculating  the  roots 
upon  an  acre  to  average  each  20  lbs.,  and  one 
to  be  planted  on  every  square  yard,  the  produce 
would  yield  43  tons.  Although  it  frequently 
averages  30  tons,  few  crops,  except  under  very 
favourable  circumstances,  would  reach  to  that 
extent.  Cabbages  are  greatly  esteemed  by 
those  farmers  who  have  land  capable  of  grow- 
ing them,  from  their  forming  a  substitute  for 
turnips  during  frosty  weather,  and  also  afford- 
ing an  admirable  change  of  food  for  cattle,  by 
whom  they  are  much  relished ;  and  they  are 
also  found  to  be  very  nutritious  for  stall-feed- 
ing, or  for  the  dairy,  when  used  with  the  addi- 
tion of  sound  hay.  Hogs  prefer  theni  to  turnips^ 


CABBAGE. 


CABBAGE. 


and  they  are  excellent  for  rearing  calves  and  ' 
toothless  crones.    An  acre  of  good  cabbages  ; 
is  therefore  considered  by  many  as  worth  two 
of  turnips,  and  is  certainly  equal  to  one  and 
a  half.  I 

Wolnirn  perennial  kale  is  a  valuable  variety  ; 
of  the  open-growing  cabbage,  which  has  been  ] 
recently  introduced,  and  appears  far  superior  | 
in  amount  of  produce  to  either  the  green,  pur- 
ple, or  borecole,  and  requires  less  manure.  It 
has  also  this  advantage,  that  it  continues  highly  | 
productive  for  many  years,  without  further 
trouble  or  expense.  Propagated  by  planting, 
in  beginning  of  April,  cuttings  taken  from  the 
stems  and  branches  of  old  plants.  The  seed 
is  apt  to  produce  spurious  plants.  For  the 
table  it  is  not  inferior  to  the  best  kinds  of 
greens  or  kale ;  and  for  the  farm  and  cottage 
garden,  its  highly  productive  powers  and 
cheapness  of  culture  promise  to  render  this 
plant  highly  valuable.  Its  perennial  habit 
places  it  out  of  the  reach  of  the  yearly  acci- 
dents of  weather,  bad  seed,  and  depredations 
of  insects,  to  which  «ll  other  varieties  sown 
annually  are  subject.  (Trans,  Hort.  Soc.  Land. 
vol.  V.  art-  40.) 

The  turnip-rooted  or  bulb-stalked  cabbage  {B. 
oleracea,  var.)  is  distinguished  by  its  irregularly- 
shaped  root,  and  the  swelling  of  the  stalk  in 
upper  part,  which  forms  a  kind  of  round  fleshy 
head  at  the  end  of  the  stem  on  which  the  leaves 
are  produced.  It  is  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
was  lirst  introduc'id  from  thence  by  Sir  Thomas 
Tyrwhitt,  under  the  name  of  kohl^abe.  (Z>e- 
candnlle,  in  Tranr  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  v.  art.  1.)  The 
produce  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of  Swedish 
turnips,  and  the  soil  that  suits  the  one  is  equally 
good  for  the  other.  Two  pounds  of  the  seed 
will  produce  a  sufficiency  of  plants  for  one 
acre :  64  drs  of  the  bulb  of  kohl-rabe  afford 
105  grs.  of  nutritive  matter.    (Hort.  Gram.  Wob. 

The  turnip-rooted  cabbage  is  a  hybrid  pro- 
duction between  the  cabbage  and  turnip,  which 
both  belong  to  the  same  genus;  and  the  various 
kinds  which  have  becomedisseminated  through- 
out Europe  are  so  confused  in  nomenclature, 
that  it  has  become  difficult  to  slate  their  pro- 
perties with  any  great  degree  of  precision,  or 
to  draw  any  certain  inferences  to  guide  us  in 
their  use.     (Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  259.) 

These  species  of  brassica  are  but  little  cul- 
tivated, and  at  most  a  very  small  quantity  of 
each  is  in  request.  The  bulbs,  for  which  they 
are  cultivated,  must  have  the,ir  thick  outer  skin 
removed,  and  in  other  respects  treated  as  tur- 
nips in  preparing  them  for  use.  Of  the  turnip 
cabbage,  which  is  so  named  on  account  of  the 
round  fleshy  protuberance  that  is  formed  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  stem,  there  are  four  varieties  : 
1.  White  turnip  cabbage;  2.  Purple  turnip 
cabbage;  3.  Fringed  turnip  cabbage;  4.  Dwarf 
early  turnip  cabbage. 

Of  the  turnip-rooted  cabbage,  which  is  dis- 
tinguished from  the  above  by  its  root  having 
the  protuberance  near  the  origin  of  the  stem, 
there  are  two  varieties,  the  white  and  the  red. 
(Trans.  Hort.  Sor.  Lond.  vol.  v.  p.  18 — 24.)  They 
are  propagated  by  seed,  which  may  be  sown 
broadcast  or  in  drills,  at  monthly  intervals,  in 
small  quantities,  from  the  commencement  of 


April  until  the  end  of  June.  The  best  mode  is 
to  sow  thin,  in  drills  two  feet  and  a  half  apart, 
and  allow  the  plants  to  remain  where  sown, 
the  plants  being  thinned  to  a  similar  distance 
apart ;  or,  if  sown  broadcast,  to  allow  them  to 
remain  in  the  seed-bed  until  of  sufficient  size 
to  be  removed  into  rows  at  similar  distances 
for  production,  rather  than,  as  is  the  practice 
of  some  gardeners,  to  transplant  them,  when 
an  inch  or  two  in  height,  into  a  shady  border, 
in  rows  three  inches  apart  each  way,  to  be 
thence  removed  as  above  stated. 

Water  must  be  given  every  night  after  a  re 
moval,  until  the  plants  are  again  established; 
and  afterwards  in  dry  weather  occasionally,  as 
may  appear  necessary. 

Earth  may  be  drawn  up  to  the  stem  of  the 
turnip  cabbage,  as  to  other  species  of  brassica; 
but  the  bulb  of  the  turnip-rooted  must  not  be 
covered  with  the  mould. 

For  directions  to  obtain  seed,  &c.,  see  Broc- 
coli, TcBxip,  &c.     (G.  W.  Johnson.) 

The  red  cabbage  differs  from  the  common 
cabbage  in  nothing  but  its  colour,  which  is  a 
purplish  or  brownish  red.  The  varieties  are 
three  in  number;  the  large,  the  dwarf,  and  the 
Aber-leen  red.  It  is  chiefly  used  for  pickling, 
and  the  dwarf  red  is  considered  the  best  sort. 
Cultivated  precisely  similar  to  the  white  cab- 
bage. The  cabbage  is  not  nearly  so  exten- 
sively cultivated  in  this  country  as  it  ought  to 
be.  It  is  not  only  a  valuable  food  for  live 
stock,  rarely  misses  plant,  and  is  come-at-able 
in  all  weathers;  but  it  is  exceedingly  useful  to 
fill  up  the  spaces  on  the  ridges  where  the 
Swedes  and  common  turnips  have  missed 
plant.  1000  parts  of  cabbage  contain  73  parts 
of  nutritive  matters.  (Brit.Husb.  vol.  ii. ;  Bax' 
ter's  J^r.  Lib.,-  Sinclair's  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.; 
Low's  El.  Agr. ;  Com.  Board  of  j3gr.,  vol.  iv. ; 
Quart.  J.  Jsr.,  vol.  vii.  p.  76.) 

The  cauliflower  is  considered  the  easiest  to 
be  digested  of  all  the  various  species  of  cab- 
bage. It  is  not  destitute  of  utility  in  a  medici- 
nal way;  a  decoction  of  red  cabbage  being 
supposed  capable  of  relieving  acrimonious  hu- 
mours in  some  disorders  of  the  breast,  and  also 
in  hoarseness.  (  Willich's  Dom.  Encyc)  A  cab- 
bage leaf  placed  on  any  fleshy  part  acts  in 
keeping  open  a  blister;  but  it  should  be  fre- 
quently changed,  as  it  speedily  becomes  cor- 
rupt. The  seed,  bruised  and  boiled,  is  good  in 
broth. 

Garden  Cabbages. — For  the  seed-bed  the  soil 
should  be  moist,  mouldy,  and  not  rich;  but  for 
final  production  it  should  be  afresh,  moderately 
rich,  clayey  loam,  though  very  far  removed 
from  heavy,  as  they  delight  in  one  that  is  freo 
and  mouldy.  Such  crops  as  have  to  withstand 
the  winter  may  have  a  lighter  compartment 
allotted  to  them;  the  savoy,  in  particular,  re- 
quires this,  though  it  may  be  as  rich  as  for  the 
other  crops,  without  any  detriment:  an  extreme 
of  richness  is,  however,  for  all  the  crops  to  bo 
avoided.  The  ground  is  advantageously  dug 
two  spades  deep,  and  should  be  well  pulverized 
by  the  operation.  Stable  manure  is  usually 
employed  in  preparing  the  ground  for  this 
genus;  but  Mr.  Wood,  of  Queensferry,  N.  B., 
who  has  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  paid 
particular  attention  to  the  cultivation  of  bror- 

347 


CABBAGE 


CABBAGE. 


coli,  recommends  ihe  following  compositions 
in  preference  for  that  vegetable,  and  we  are 
justified  in  concluding  that  they  would  be 
equally  beneficial  to  all  the  other  species.  The 
manure  collected  from  the  public  roads,  used 
alone,  causes  the  plants  to  grow  strong,  but 
with  small  heads.  A  mixture  of  road-rakings, 
sea-weed,  and  horse-dung  is  better.  A  manur- 
ing of  the  compartment  on  which  they  were 
intended  to  be  planted  with  sea-weed  in  au- 
tumn, digging  it  up  rough,  repealing  the  appli- 
cation in  spring,  and  pointing  the  ground  before 
planting,  pri>duced  the  finest  heads  he  had  ever 
seen;  but  the  compost  of  all  others  most  suita- 
ble to  them  is  one  composed  of  the  cleanings 
of  old  dilches,  tree  leaves,  and  dung.  (Mem. 
Caled.  Hort.  Sor.  vol.  ii.  p.  265.)  The  situation 
must  in  every  instance  be  free  and  open, 
though,  for  the  summer  crops,  it  is  advanta- 
geous to  have  them  shaded  from  the  meridian 
sun.  They  must  never,  however,  be  under  the 
drip  of  trees,  or  in  confined  situations  ;  for  in 
such  they,  and  especially  savoys,  are  most 
subject  to  be  infested  with  caterpillars,  and  to 
grow  weak  and  spindling.  In  planting  cab- 
bage, it  should  be  observed  whether  the  roots 
of  the  plants  are  knotted  or  clubbed,  as  such 
should  be  rejected,  or  the  excrescence  entirely 
removed. 

The  numerous  varieties  of  the  cabbage,  adds 
Mr.  G.  W.  Johnson,  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes,  as  most  appropriate  for  sowing  at  an 
equal  number  of  periods  of  the  year.  It  may 
be  here  remarked,  that,  for  family  use,  but  few 
should  be  planted  of  the  early  varieties,  as 
they  soon  cabbage,  harden,  and  burst;  on  the 
contrary,  the  large  York,  and  others  that  are 
mentioned  in  the  middle  class,  though  not  far 
behind  the  others  in  quick  cabbaging,  never 
become  hard,  and  continue  long  in  a  state  fit 
for  the  table. 

For  First  Crops. — Early  dwarf;  York;" early 
dwarf  su?ar-loaf;  early  Battersea;  early  im- 
perial ;  East  Ham. 

Midsummer  Crops. — Large  early  York ;  large 
sugar-loaf;  early  Battersea;  early  imperial: 
these  mentioned  again  as  being  valuable  for 
successional  crops  also.  Penton,  this  is  valu- 
able in  late  summer,  when  other  varieties  are 
strongly  tasted.  Antwerp,  Russian;  to  have 
this  in  perfection,  the  seed  must  be  had  from 
abroad,  as  it  soon  degenerates  in  this  country. 
Early  London  hollow.  Musk  is  excellent  at 
any  period,  but  is  apt  to  perish  in  frosty 
weather. 

For  Juiumnj  ^c— Large  hollow  sugar-loaf; 
large  oblong  hollow;  long-sided  hollow,  and 
any  of  the  preceding ;  red  Dutch  for  pickling. 

The  cabbage  is  propagated  by  seed,  the  sow- 
ing of  which  commences  with  the  year.  To- 
wards the  end  of  Januar>',  on  a  warm  border, 
or  under  a  frame,  a  small  portion  of  the  early 
and  red  cabbages  may  be  sown,  to  come  first 
in  succession  aAer  those  which  were  sown  in 
the  August  of  the  preceding  year.  A  sowing 
may  be  repeated  after  intervals  of  a  month 
during  February,  and  until  the  close  of  July  ! 
of  the  second  or  larger  class,  and  from  May  to  ' 
July  of  the  third  class  of  varieties.  In  August 
a  full  and  last  ciop  must  be  sown  of  the  first 
class,  as  well  as  of  the  second,  both  to  plant 
248 


out  in  October,  November,  and  December,  as 
to  remain  in  the  seed-beds  for  final  removal  in 
the  February  and  two  succeeding  months  of 
the  next  year:  this  sowing  is  best  performed 
during  the  first  or  second  week  of  the  month  ; 
if  sown  earlier,  they  are  apt  to  run  in  the 
spring;  and  if  later,  will  not  attain  sufficient 
strength  to  survive  the  winter.  By  these  va- 
rious sowings,  which,  of  course,  must  be  small 
ones  for  a  private  family,  a  constant  supply  is 
aflbrded  throughout  the  year.  The  seed  is 
inserted  broadcast  rather  thin,  and  raked  in 
evenly  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  deep.  The 
bed  is  advantageously  shaded  with  mats,  and 
occasionally  watered  until  the  plants  are  well 
above  ground ;  and  the  waterings  may  after- 
wards be  beneficially  repeated  two  or  three 
times  a  week  until  they  are  ready  for  removal, 
if  dry  hot  weather  continues.  The  seedlings 
arising  from  these  various  sowings,  when  of 
about  a  month's  growth,  or  when  they  have 
got  four  or  five  leaves  an  inch  or  so  in  breadth, 
are,  by  those  who  are  advocates  for  transplant- 
ing, pricked  out  in  rows  four  or  five  inches 
asunder  each  way;  they  must  be  shaded  and 
watered  until  completely  established  :  those  of 
the  August  sowing  that  are  pricked  out  are  to 
remain  until  the  next  spring,  and  those  which 
are  left  in  the  seed-bed  are  employed  for  plant- 
ing in  October  and  two  following  months. 

When  of  six  or  eight  weeks'  growth,  they  are 
of  sufficient  size  for  planting,  which  they  are 
to  be  in  rows  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a 
half  feet  asunder  each  way;  the  smaller  early 
kinds  beirig  planted  the  closest.  The  red  cab- 
bage, the  principal  plantation  of  which  should 
be  made  in  March  for  pickling  in  September, 
is  benefited  by  having  the  distances  enlarged 
to  three  feet.  They  must  be  well  watered  at 
the  time  of  removal,  and  frequently  afterwards, 
until  fully  established,  in  proportion  as  dry 
weather  occurs.  They  must  be  frequently 
hoed  to  keep  under  the  weeds,  as  perhaps  no 
plant  is  more  injured  by  them  than  the  cab- 
bage ;  and  as  soon  as  their  growth  permits  it, 
the  earth  should  be  drawn  round  the  stems  of 
the  plants.  To  promote  the  cabbaging  of  the 
plants,  when  requisite,  it  is  useful  to  draw  the 
leaves  together  with  a  shred  of  bass-mat, 
which  forwards  it  about  a  fortnight.  If  any 
plants  advance  to  seed  whilst  very  young,  the 
deficiencies  should  be  immediately  filled  up. 
The  stems  of  the  summer  and  autumn  crops, 
if  left  after  the  main  head  has  been  cut,  will 
produce  numerous  sprouts  during  those  sea- 
sons, and  continue  to  do  so  throughout  th 
winter.  For  the  production  of  seed  in  Octo 
ber,  which  is  the  preferable  season,  and  from, 
thence  until  the  close  of  February,  some  of 
the  finest  and  best  cabbage  plants  must  be 
selected ;  or  in  default  of  these,  though  not  by 
any  means  to  be  recommended,  such  of^heir 
stalks  as  have  the  strongest  sprouts.  They 
must  have  the  large  outer  leaves  removed,  and 
then  be  inserted  up  to  their  heads,  in  rows 
three  feet  asunder  each  way.  Each  variety 
must  be  planted  as  far  from  any  other  as  pos- 
sible, as  indeed  from  every  other  species  of 
brassica;  and  this  precaution  applies  equally 
to  those  which  will  be  subsequently  dwelt 
upon.    The  red  cabbage  especially  must  be 


CABBAGE. 


CALAMINT,  COMMON. 


kept  distinct.  Some  plants  of  the  early  varie- 
.ies  should  be  planted  in  sheltered  situations, 
as  in  severe  winters  ihny  are  apt  to  run  pre- 
maturely. 

Frame  Seedlings. — The  first  sowing  of  the 
year  in  a  hotbed  must  be  carefully  attended  to. 
The  heat  must  never  exceed  55°,  nor  sink 
more  than  two  or  three  degrees  beneath  50°, 
which  is  the  most  favourable  minimum ;  other- 
wise the  plants  will  be  weak  and  tender,  or 
checked  and  stunted.  Air  should  be  admitted 
freely  in  the  day,  and  the  glasses  covered,  as 
necessity  requires,  at  night  with  matting;  the 
other  offices  of  cultivation  are  the  same  as  for 
plants  raised  in  the  open  ground. 

Colcicorts — One  of  the  Latin  names  for  cab- 
bag^s  cautis,  and  from  this  is  derived  cale  or 
cole  and  cole  wort.  Cole  worts  now  merely 
signify  cabbages  cut  young,  or  previously  to 
their  hearts  becoming  firm,  the  genuine  cole- 
wort  or  Dorsetshire  cale  being  nearly  extinct. 
The  varieties  of  cabbage  principally  employed 
for  the  raising  coleworts  are  the  large  York 
and  sugar-loaf,  as  they  afford  the  sweetest; 
but  the  early  York  and  East  Ham  are  also  em- 
ployed, as  also  occasionally  the  Battersea,  im- 
perial, Antwerp,  and  early  London  hollow. 
When  large  coleworts  are  in  request,  the  great 
spreading  varieties  should  never  be  employed. 

Sowings  may  be  performed  during  the  mid- 
dle of  June  and  July,  to  be  repeated  at  the  end 
of  the  latter  month,  for  transplanting  in  .\ugust, 
September,  and  October,  for  a  continual  sup- 
ply in  September  until  the  close  of  March.  A 
fourth  musi  be  made  the  first  week  in  August, 
for  succeeding  the  others  in  spring;  but,  if  of 
sufficient  extent,  these  various  plantations 
may  be  made  fr^^ra  the  seed-beds  of  the  cab- 
bage crops  made  at  these  several  periods,  as 
directed  under  that  head ;  as  the  chief  object 
in  growing  coleworts  is  to  have  a  supply  of 
greens  sooner  than  can  be  obtained  from  the 
plaiitations  of  cabbages  if  left  to  form  hearts. 

The  observations  upon  transplanting,  and 
the  directions  for  cultivating  cabbages,  apply 
without  any  modification  to  coleworts;  but  the 
distance  at  which  the  plants  may  be  set  is 
much  less ;  if  the  rows  are  a  foot  apart,  and 
the  plants  seven  or  eight  inches  distant  from 
each  other,  an  abundant  space  is  allowed.  As 
mentioned  for  cabbages,  the  heading  is  greatly 
forwarded  by  their  leaves  being  drawn  to- 
gether so  as  to  enclose  the  centre.  They  may 
be  cut  when  the  leaves  are  five  or  six  inches 
in  breadth.  The  most  preferable  mode  of 
taking  them  is  to  pull  up  or  cut  every  other 
one ;  these  openings  are  beneficial  to  the  re- 
maining plants ;  and  some,  especially  of  the 
August-raised  plants,  may  be  left,  if  required, 
for  cabbaging. 

Colewort,  or  Dorsetshire  cale,  is  now  nearly 
superseded  by  the  new  cabbages  of  modern 
times.  The  wild  coleworts  grow  in  ditches 
ard  moist  places. 

Savoy — (Brassica  oleracea  sabauda).  —  The 
savoy,  which  is  one  of  the  best  and  chief  of 
our  vegetable  supplies  during  the  winter,  de- 
rives its  name  either  from  being  an  introduc- 
tion from  that  part  of  Europe  with  which  it 
bears  a  similar  name,  or,  otherwise,  is  a  cor- 
ruf  icn  from  tlie  French  savourer.  All  its 
32 


varieties  may  be  denominated  hardy,  being 
generally  rendered  more  sweet  and  lender  by 
frost,  though  not  all  equally  capable  of  with- 
standing the  rigour  of  winter.  There  are  three 
varieties  of  savoy, — the  yellow,  the  dwarf,  and 
the  green :  and  of  each  of  these  there  are  like- 
wise two  sub-varieties,  the  round  and  the 
oval-headed,  the  first  of  which  is  the  most 
permanent.  Each  variety  has  been  described 
by  Mr.  Morgan,  gardener  to  H.  Brown,  Esq., 
of  North  Mimms.  Like  the  other  members 
of  this  tribe,  it  is  propagated  by  seeds  ;  ihe  first 
sowing  to  take  place  at  the  close  of  February, 
the  plants  of  which  are  ready  for  pricking  out 
in  April,  if  that  practice  is  adopted,  and  for 
final  planting  at  the  end  of  May  for  use  in 
early  autumn ;  this  to  be  repeated  about  the 
middle  of  March,  the  plants  to  be  pricked  out 
in  May  for  planting  in  June,  to  supply  the  table 
in  autumn  and  early  winter;  lastly,  the  main 
crops  must  be  sown  in  April  and  early  May, 
to  prick  out  and  plant  after  similar  intervals 
for  production  in  winter  and  spring.  The  seed 
is  sown  broadcast  thinly,  and  raked  in  as  men- 
tioned for  other  species  of  brassica.  The 
plants  are  fit  for  pricking  out  when  they  have 
four  or  five  leaves  about  an  inch  in  breadth ; 
they  must  be  set  three  or  four  inches  asunder 
each  way,  being  both  here  and  in  the  seed-bed 
kept  well  cleared  of  weeds.  When  finally  re- 
moved, the  plants  of  the  first  crops  should  be 
set  out  two  feet  apart  each  way  from  one  an- 
other; but  the  winter  standing  crops  are  better 
at  two  feel  by  eighteen  inches.  Both  before 
and  after  every  removal  they  should  be 
watered  abundantly,  if  the  weather  is  at  all 
dry;  and  this  application  to  be  continued  until 
the  plants  are  well  established.  The  only 
after-culture  required  is  the  keeping  them 
clear  of  weeds  by  frequent  broad-hoeing  and 
the  eirth  drawn  iip  two  or  three  times  about 
their  stems.  For  the  production  of  seed,  such 
plants  must  be  selected  of  the  several  varieties 
as  are  most  true  to  their  particular  character- 
istics, and  as  are  not  the  first  to  run.  These, 
in  open  weather,  from  early  in  November  to 
the  close  of  February,  (the  earlier,  however, 
the  better,)  may  be  taken  up  with  as  little  injury 
as  possible  to  the  roots,  and  the  large  under 
leaves  being  removed,  planted  entirely  up  to 
the  head  in  rows  two  feet  and  a  half  each  way; 
each  variety  as  far  from  the  other  as  possible. 
They  flower  in  May  or  June,  and  ripen  their 
seed  in  July  and  August.  (G.  W.  Johnsati's 
Kitrhen  Garden.) 

CABBAGE  CATERPILLAR.  This  belongs 
to  a  genus  of  butterflies  called  the  potherb 
pontia  (Pontia  oleracea).     See  Catkhpillab. 

CABBAGE-CUTWORM.     See  Cctwohm. 

CABBAGE-LICE.     See  Aphis. 

CABBAGE  TREE  {Chamceops palmetto).  See 
Palmetto. 

CAG,  or  KEG.  A  vessel  of  the  barrel  kind, 
containing  four  or  five  gallons. 

CAIRN  (Welsh  earn).    A  heap  of  stones. 

CAKE.     See  Oat  Cake  and  Rape  Cake. 

CALAMINT,  COMMON  {Thymus  cala- 
tnuitha,  Smith).  This  is  a  wild  plant,  growing 
in  England  in  hedges  and  dry  places,  flowering 
from  June  till  autumn.  It  is  eight  or  ten  inches 
high;    has   roundish  dark-green   leaves,  and 

240 


CALANDRE. 


CAMELLIA 


whitish  flowers  standing  in  whorls  or  liitle 
clusters  surrounding  the  stalks,  which  are 
square  and  very  much  branched.  Calamint 
should  be  gathered  and  dried  just  as  it  is  com- 
ing into  flower.  This  herb  is  grown  in  almost 
every  garden ;  it  is  strong-scented,  and  of  an 
agreeable  odour.  Coles  says  it  preserves  meat 
from  taint. 

Pennyroyal  calamint  (Mentha  pulepum,  Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  87)  is  a  medicinal  herb,  and 
should  be  planted  in  every  herbalist's  garden. 
It  grows  a  foot  high,  with  firm  stalks,  small 
leaves  of  a  light  green  colour,  and  hairy,  and 
small  white  purplish  flowers.  The  pennyroyal 
calamint  is  more  erect  than  its  elder  sister,  and 
has  a  stronger  but  less  pleasant  smell.  It 
must  be  dried  with  care,  and  given  in  infusion. 
It  is  a  popular  remedy  for  hysterics,  and  in 
deficiency  of  the  periodical  change  in  females; 
but  the  plant  and  its  infusion  is  rarely  ordered 
by  professional  men.  A  water  arising  from 
the  distillation  of  the  plant,  to  produce  its  vola- 
tile oil,  is  used  as  a  vehicle  for  more  important 
drugs ;  and  the  oil  dropped  on  sugar  and  rub- 
bed up  with  water  as  an  oleosaccharum  is 
sometimes  employed  as  a  carminative  and  an 
antispasmodic,  in  doses  of  two  to  five  drops. 
There  is,  also,  an  officinal  spirit  of  pennyroyal, 
which  is  used  for  the  same  purposes  as  the  oil. 
This  aromatic  plant  must  not  be  confounded 
with  the  common  pennyroyal  of  the  United 
Stales.    See  Pexnyrotal. 

CALANDRE.  A  name  given  by  French 
writers  to  an  insect  of  the  scarabcpus  or  beetle 
tribe,  which  frequently  does  great  injury  in 
granaries.  It  has  two  antennae  or  horns,  form- 
ed of  a  great  number  of  round  joints,  and 
covered  with  a  soft  and  short  down;  from  the 
anterior  part  of  the  head  there  is  thrust  out 
a  trunk,  which  is  so  formed  at  the  end  that  the 
creature  easily  makes  way  with  it  through  the 
coat  or  skin  that  covers  the  grain,  and  gets  at 
the  meal  or  farina  on  which  it  feeds;  the  inside 
of  the  grain  is  also  the  place  where  the  female 
deposits  her  eggs.     See  Cornweevil. 

CALCAREOUS  MARL.  A  mineral  ferti- 
lizer, extensively  used  in  many  parts  of  Europe 
and  the  United  States.    See  Marl. 

CALCAREOUS  SOILS  (from  the  Latin 
ealx)  are  soils  which  contain  carbonate  of 
lime  (chalk  of  limestone)  in  such  a  proportion 
as  to  give  it  a  determinate  character.  Calca- 
reous sand  is  merely  chalk  or  limestone  di- 
vided into  pieces  of  the  size  of  sand.  This 
variety  abounds  on  the  seashore  in  some  parts 
of  the  east  of  England,  and  is  employed  in 
Devonshire  and  Cornwall  to  a  very  large  ex- 
tent as  a  manure,  especially  about  Padstow 
Harbour,  from  which  bay  many  thousand  tons 
are  annually  carted  by  the  Cornish  farmers, 
which  they  take  free  of  toll,  under  a  grant  from 
Richard  Duke  of  Cornwall,  another  of  the 
46th  of  Henry  III.,  a.  d.  1261.  {Joh^ison  on 
Fertilizers,  Tp  17)  See  Chalk;  Earths,  their 
Uses  to  Vegetahon:  and  Soils. 

CALF,  DISEASES  OF  (Sax.  cealp,  caip; 
Dutch,  knlf).  See  Cattle.  The  most  com- 
mon diseases  of  calves  are — 

1.  Navel   III. — The  best  treatment  for  this 
da.igerous  disease  is,  1st,  to  administer  two  or 
three  doses  (each  about  a  wine-glassful)  of 
250 


castor  oil  (linseed  oil  does  just  as  well,  and 
is  much  cheaper) ;  and,  2dly,  cordials,  which 
may  be  made  of  2  drachms  of  caraway-seeds, 
2  do.  of  coriander-seeds,  2  do.  powdered  gen- 
tian ;  bruise  the  seeds,  and  simmer  them  in 
beer  o-  gruel  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  give 
these  once  or  twice  a  day. 

2.  Constipation  of  the  Bowels. — For  this  doses 
of  castor  oil  (or  linseed  oil),  of  2  or  3  oz.,  are 
the  best  remedy. 

3.  Diarrhasa,  or  Scouring. — The  farmer  may 
rely  on  the  following  mixture.  Let  him  keep 
it  always  by  him;  it  will  do  for  all  sucking 
animals : — 


Prepared  chalk 

Canella  bark,  powdered 

Laudanum 

Water      .        -        - 


'4  ounces 
1     — 

Ipiii^ 


Give  two  or  three  table-spoonfuls,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  animal,  two  or  three  times  a 
day.  A  table-spoonful  or  two  of  powdered 
chalk  may  be  given  daily  or  every  other  day, 
to  calves  whilst  sucking,  mixed  in  a  liitle  warm 
milk.  It  prevents  the  milk  from  turning  acid, 
and  thus  checks  the  tendency  to  diarrhoea  or 
looseness. 

4.  Hoose,  or  Catarrh. — Good  nursing,  bleed- 
ing, and  then  a  dose  of  Epsom  salts,  with  half 
an  ounce  of  ginger  in  it.  {Youatt  on  Cattle, 
p.  .557.) 

CALKERS.  A  name  given  to  the  prominent 
or  elevated  part  of  the  extremities  of  the  shoes 
of  horses,  which  are  forged  thin,  and  turned 
downwards  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  their 
slipping.  It  is  sometimes  written  calkins  or 
caickins. 

CALLUNA  VULGARIS.  The  common 
heath  or  ling.  It  abounds  in  peaty  soils.  (See 
Peat  Soils.)  Its  uses  are  considerable  in 
some  districts  for  litter,  and,  when  young,  sheep 
eat  it.  It  is  also  shelter  for  grouse,  and  food 
for  bees.     See  Lixo. 

CALVING  OF  COWS.  The  treatment  be- 
fore calving  is  to  keep  the  cow  moderately 
well,  neither  too  fat  nor  too  lean ;  remember 
that  she  commonly  has  the  double  duty  of 
giving  milk  and  nourishing  the  foetus;  dry 
her  some  weeks  before  calving;  let  her  bowels 
be  kept  moderately  open ;  put  her  in  a  warm 
sheltered  place,  or  house  her;  rather  reduce 
her  food ;  do  not  disturb  her  when  in  labour, 
but  be  ready  to  assist  her  in  case  of  need;  let 
her  have  warm  gruel ;  avoid  cold  drinks.  A 
pint  of  sound  good  ale  in  a  little  gruel  is  an 
excellent  cordial  drink. 

CALYCANTHUS  FLORIDUS,  the  sweet- 
scented  shrub,  or,  as  it  is  also  sometimes  called, 
Carolina  allspice.    See  Sweet-scented  Shru  e. 

CAM.  A  provincial  term  for  a  mound  of 
made  earth. 

CAMELLIA  JAPONICA.  A  beautiful  ever- 
green greenhouse  shrub;  but  if  carefully  at- 
tended to  it  will  blow  in  the  open  air.  It  bears 
single,  double,  and  semi-double  flowers,  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March ;  and  they  are  red,  white, 
blush-coloured,  and  various  other  tints.  Plant 
it  under  a  south  wall,  in  good  rich  garden 
mould  mixed  Avith  sand  ;  and  shelter  it  during 
winter  with  mats,  or  keep  it  in  a  large  pot. 
It  cannot  endure  the  broiling  mid-day  sun. 
Propagate    by   cuttings,   layers,  and    grafts 


CAMLET. 


CAMOMILE. 


and  water  the  plants  plentifully  when  in 
flower. 

CAMLET  (Fr.  camelot :  Ital.  ciamhelotto ; 
Span,  carnlote ;  from  the  Gr.  x*a»xaiT))).  A 
stuff  or  cloth  made  of  wool,  silk,  and  some- 
times of  hair  combined,  especially  that  of 
goats  and  camels.  The  real  oriental  camlet 
is  made  from  that  of  the  Angola  goat.  No 
camlets  are  made  in  Europe  of  goat's  hair 
alone.  France,  Holland,  Flanders,  and  Eng- 
land are  the  chief  places  where  this  manufac- 
ture is  carried  on.  The  best  are  made  in 
England,  and  those  of  Brussels  stand  next  in 
repute.  It  has  been  occasionally  written  catne- 
lot  and  cnmbkt. 

CAMMAS.  A  new  species  of  plant  found 
in  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  river.  It  has  a 
truncated  root  in  the  form  of  an  onion,  and 
grows  in  moist  rich  land.  It  is  prepared  for 
eating  by  first  roasting,  then  pounding,  after 
which  it  is  made  into  loaves  like  bread.  It 
has  a  liquorice  taste,  and  is  a  food  of  great 
importance  among  the  Indians. 

CAMMOCK  (Sax).  The  name  of  a  weed 
infesting  arable,  especially  chalky  soils,  gene- 
rally known  by  the  name  of  rest-harrow.  See 
Rest-Hauiiow. 

CAMOMILE,  CHAMOMILE,  COMMON  or 
SWEET  (Jnthemis  nobilis.  From  urfii*,  on  ac- 
count of  its  abundance  of  flowers,  or  luxuri- 
ance of  growth.  Fr.  ramrnniUe:  Lat.  chamo- 
milla).  A  hardy  perennial,  growing  on  open 
gravelly  pastures  or  commons,  in  England, 
flowering  from  June  lo  September,  and  well 
known  for  its  use  in  medicine.  Cattle  do  net 
appear  to  touch  any  part  of  this  plant.  Most 
of  what  is  brought  lo  the  London  market  is 
cultivated  about  Mitcham,  in  Surrey.  Every 
part  of  the  plant  is  intensely  bitter,  and  grate- 
fully aromatic,  especially  the  flowers,  whose 
stomachic  and  tonic  powers  are  justly  cele- 
brated. (Eng.  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  646.)  In  gar- 
dens there  are  two  varieties, — the  common 
single  and  the  double-flowering.  They  require 
a  poor  dry  soil,  otherwise  they  grow  very 
luxuriant,  and  become  not  only  less  capable 
of  withstanding  severe  winters,  but  also  less 
powerful  in  their  medicinal  qualities.  They 
will  grow  in  any  situation  almost,  but  the  more 
open  the  better.  They  are  generally  propa- 
gated by  parting  the  roots,  and  by  offsets, 
which  may  be  planted  from  the  close  of  Feb- 
ruary until  the  end  of  May;  the  earlier,  how- 
ever, it  is  performed  the  better:  this  is  the 
most  favourable  season,  but  it  may  be  prac- 
tised in  the  autumn.  They  are  also  raised 
from  seed,  the  proper  time  of  sowing  which  is 
in  any  of  the  early  spring  months  ;  but  as  the 
former  mode  is  so  easily  practised  and  with 
much  less  trouble,  it  is  generally  pursued; 
though  it  is  advisable  after  a  lapse  of  several 
years  to  raise  fresh  plants,  the  old  ones  often 
declining  in  production  after  such  lapse  of 
time.  Being  shrubby,  with  extending  lateral 
branches,  they  should  not  be  planted  nearer  to 
each  other  than  eighteen  inches,  as  that  also 
gives  an  opportunity  to  employ  the  hoe.  Wa- 
ter must  be  given  moderately  at  the  time  of 
planting,  if  dry  weather,  otherwise  it  is  not  at 
all  required.  If  raised  from  seed,  they  require 
no  further  cultivation  than  to  be  kept  free  of 


weeds  in  the  seed-bed;  and  when  three  or  four 
inches  high,  to  be  thinned  to  about  six  inches 
apart ;  after  which,  they  may  remain  thus 
until  the  following  spring,  then  be  thinned  and 
remain,  or  be  removed  to  the  above-mentioned 
distance  apart.  A  very  small  bed  will  supply 
the  largest  family.  In  July  the  flowers  are 
generally  in  perfection  for  gathering ;  the  pe- 
riod for  performing  it,  however,  must  be  go- 
verned by  the  aspect  of  the  flowers  themselves, 
as  the  best  time  is  when  they  are  just  opened. 
Particular  care  must  be  taken  to  dry  them 
thoroughly  before  they  are  stored;  otherwise 
they  will  not  keep.  If  seed  is  required,  the 
only  attention  necessary  is  to  leave  some  of 
the  first  opening  flowers  ungathered;  the  seed 
will  ripen  early  in  September,  when  the  plant 
may  be  cut,  and  the  seed  dried,  and  rubbed 
out.     (G.  IV.  Johnsoii's  Kitchen  Garden.') 

Camomile  flowers,  fresh  or  dried,  are  tonic. 
They  contain  volatile  oil,  bitter  extractive,  tannic 
arid,  and  piperina,  a  resinoid  which  was  dis- 
covered in  them  by  Dr.  A.  T.  Thomson,  and 
which,  in  conjunction  with  the  volatile  oil,  ex- 
plains their  power  of  curing  agues.  The  leaves 
and  flowers  dried  are  also  anodyne  applied  to 
the  bowels  outwardly  in  fomentations.  Camo- 
mile tea  if  strong  promotes  vomiting.  The 
flowers  of  camomile  distilled  yield  a  fine  blue 
oil,  like  that  from  yarrow,  which  becomes  yel- 
low by  time.  It  is  used  for  cramps,  &c.  The 
double  flowers  have  not  the  same  virtue  which 
the  single  ones  possess.  The  infusion  is  a 
useful  stomachic  in  weakened  states  of  the 
stomach,  and  as  a  general  tonic.  The  strong 
warm  infusion  is  a  useful  emetic  in  low  states 
of  the  habit,  and  to  promote  the  action  of  other 
emetics.  Combined  with  any  astringent,  ca- 
momile is  an  antiperiodic  and  cures  ague. 

Smith  (Engl.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  457)  enumerates 
four  other  species.  The  sea  camomile  (ji.  ma- 
rititnu)  ;  annual,  met  with  on  the  sea-coast,  but 
rare;  flowers  smell  like  tansy,  the  leaves  like 
mugwort.  Corn  camomile  (Jl.  nrvensis) ;  an- 
nual or  biennial,  in  cultivated  fields,  as  well  as 
waste  ground,  chiefly  on  a  gravelly  soil.  The 
herbage  has  little  or  no  smell,  but  the  flowers 
are  pleasantly  scented.  The  stinking  may- 
weed, or  camomile  (J.  uiula);  an  annual, 
found  in  the  same  situatioi.  as  the  last.  Every 
part  of  the  plant  is  fetid  and  acrid,  blistering 
the  skin  when  much  handled,  which  Dr.  Hooker 
justly  attributes  to  the  minute  resinous  dots 
sprinkled  over  its  surface.  And  the  ox-eye 
camomile  (A.  tinctoria),  found  sometimes  in 
stony  mountainous  places,  growing  on  a  bushy 
stem  eighteen  inches  high.  The  flowers  afford 
a  fine  yellow  d3'e,  for  which,  LinntEus  says, 
they  are  much  used  in  Sweden.  There  are 
several  handsome  exotic  species  nearly  akin 
to  this. 

CAMOMILE,  WILD,  or  FEVER  FEW 
(Matricaria  camomilla,  PI.  10,  w  w).  Found  in 
cultivated  and  waste  ground,  on  dunghills,  and 
by  roadsides ;  very  common  about  London. 
Root  annual,  rather  large  and  woody;  flower- 
ing from  May  till  August;  stem  a  foot  high; 
flowers  numerous,  about  the  size  of  the  com- 
mon sweet  camomile,  and  with  some  portion 
of  the  same  scent,  of  which  the  herbage,  though 
faintly,  partakes.    The  greatest  part  of  the  oil 

251 


CAMPHOR  TREE. 


CANARY-GRASS. 


3f  caaomile  found  in  the  shops  is  procured 
from  this  plant. 

CAMPHOR  TREE  (Laurus  camphora). 
Among  the  vegetable  productions  of  the  Old 
Continent  which  possess  a  high  degree  of  in- 
terest for  the  United  Stales,  the  camphor  tree 
holds  an  eminent  place.  It  especially  deserves 
attention  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  Floridas, 
of  the  lower  part  of  the  Carolinas,  and  of  lower 
Louisiana.  Its  multiplication  in  these  climates 
would  be  so  easy,  that  after  a  few  years  it  might 
be  abandoned  to  nature. 

The  camphor  tree  belongs  to  the  same  fa- 
mily as  the  common  sassafras  of  the  United 
States,  though  in  its  general  character  it  is 
most  nearly  related  to  the  red  bay,  so  com- 
mon throughout  the  southern  regions  just  re- 
ferred to,  both  being  evergreens  of  similar 
height,  and  at  a  small  distance  looking  so  much 
alike  as  to  be  easily  mistaken  for  each  other. 

The  camphor  tree  is  a  native  of  China,  Ja- 
pan, and  some  other  parts  of  the  East  Indies, 
where  it  often  attains  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  height, 
with  a  proportional  diameter.  The  leaves  are 
two  or  three  inches  long,  pointed  at  their  ex- 
tremities, about  an  inch  broad,  with  long  petioles 
or  stems.  The  young  branches  are  green. 
The  flowers  are  small  and  whitish.  The 
leaves,  bark,  wood,  and  roots  are  all  strongly 
impregnated  with  the  odour  of  camphor.  The 
roots  especially  yield  this  substance  in  great- 
est quantity.  They  are  cut  to  pieces,  boiled 
in  water  in  large  iron  retorts,  &c.  (See  Mi- 
chaux's  Sylva.) 

Camphor  may  likewise  be  obtained  from 
certain  plants  or  herbs  of  the  class  of  labice, 
such  as  lavender  and  mint,  out  not  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  form  an  article  of  commerce. 

CANADA  ONION.     See  Onion. 

CANADA  THISTLE  (Carduus  arvensis). 
This  plant  is  widely  spread  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  has  been 
introduced  into  Pennsylvania  and  many  other 
parts  of  the  Middle  States,  the  seeds  having 
been  sometimes  mixed  in  timothy  seed,  and 
sometimes  entangled  in  the  fleeces  of  sheep 
driven  from  the  North.  The  root  of  the  Ca- 
nada thistle  is  perennial,  creeping  and  exceed- 
ingly tenacious  of  life,  which,  with  its  prolific 
character,  for  it  springs  up  from  the  filaments 
of  the  roots  as  well  as  from  seed,  makes  it  the 
yilesi  pes:  in  the  form  of  a  weed  that  has  ever 
inva'J*-!  American  farms.  It  is  a  foreigner. 
The  utmost  vigilance  will  be  required  to  pre- 
vent its  spread  wherever  it  may  be  disco- 
vered. 

A  great  many  devices  have  been  resorted  to 
for  the  eradication  and  destruction  of  the  Ca- 
nada thistle.  Some  aim  at  the  entire  removal 
of  the  root  by  means  of  extirpating  machines, 
contrived  to  cut  off"  and  harrow  up  the  roots. 
Others  rely  upon  mowing  down  the  thistles 
when  they  are  in  full  bloom,  as  a  most  certain 
method.  Not  content  with  simply  cutting 
down,  some  apply  common  salt  to  the  stems 
nr  crowns  of  the  roots  which  makes  the  de- 
.itruction  more  sure.  It  is  an  admitted  fact 
that  the  life  of  trees  and  plants,  when  these  are 
not  in  the  torpid  state  in  which  they  are  en- 
abled to  exist  in  winter,  depends  upon  a  func- 
v-on  performed  by  their  leaves.  These  are  in 
252 


fact  their  lungs,  deprived  of  the  use  of  which 
for  a  given  time,  during  the  season  of  their 
growth,  trees  and  plants  inevitably  die.  Low 
and  frequent  cutting  down  in  summer  about 
the  blooming  period,  will  doubtless  destroy 
plants  however  tenacious  of  life  they  may 
be,  since  the  roots  are  as  much  indebted  for 
life  to  their  leaves  or  lungs  as  the  leaves  are  to 
the  roots.  Neither  can  subsist  long  without 
the  aid  of  the  other  important  members  of  the 
system.  The  most  usual  methods,  resorted  to 
in  England,  for  the  eradication  of  thistles, 
couchgrass,  and  other  weeds  with  creeping 
and  tenacious  roots,  will  be  found  mentioned 
under  the  head  of  Thistles.  A  highly  inte- 
resting article  upon  this  subject,  originally 
published  in  that  valuable  agricultural  periodi- 
cal. The  Genessee  Farmer,  and  republished  in 
BuffiiCs  Farm.  Reg.  vol.  ii.  p.  29,  contains  a 
great  deal  of  information  relative  to  the  ex- 
termination of  this  pest  of  our  plough  fields. 

CANARY-GRASS,  CAT'S  TAIL.  See 
Cat's  Tail. 

CANARY-GRASS  (Phalaries  canariensis— 
PI.  4,  a)  is  cultivated  in  a  few  parts  of  the  south 
of  England,  and  chiefly  in  the  Isle  of  Thanet. 
The  plant  (says  Prof.  Low)  is  easily  raised, 
but  it  is  of  little  economical  importance  ;  it  is 
a  native  of  the  Canary  Islands,  but  is  found 
frequently  wild  in  cultivated  and  waste  ground, 
and  has  probably  become  naturalized.  It  is 
an  annual,  with  a  stem  from  a  foot  to  eighteen 
inches  high,  and  lively  green  leaves  about  half 
an  inch  in  width.  In  England  it  flowers  from 
June  to  August,  and  ripens  its  seed  from  Sep- 
tember to  October  The  seeds  are  sown  in 
February,  in  rows  about  a  foot  apart,  four  or 
five  gaUons  per  acre.  The  reaping  commences 
in  September.  The  common  yield  is  from 
thirty  to  thirty-four  bushels  per  acre  The 
chaff  is  superior  to  that  of  every  ether  culmi- 
nous  plant  for  horse  food,  and  the  piraw,  though 
short,  is  also  very  nutritive.  From  Mr.  Sin- 
clair's experiments,  it  appears,  that  at  the  time 
of  flowering,  the  produce  of  this  grass  per 
acre,  from  a  rich  clayey  loam,  on  a  tenacious 
subsoil,  was  54,450  lbs. ;  which  yielded  in  dry 
produce  17,696  lbs.  4  oz.,  nutritive  matter 
1,876  lbs.  2  oz.  The  herbage  is  but  little  nu- 
tritive, and  the  plant  cannot  be  recommended 
for  cultivation,  but  for  the  seeds  only,  which 
are  principally  in  demand  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  large  towns,  as  food  for  small  singing- 
birds,  particularly  canaries,  whence  it  derives 
its  name.  The  produce  is  generally  from  three 
to  five  quarters  an  acre,  and  the  actual  price 
is  from  40s.  to  42s.  per  quarter.  The  straw  or 
haulm  is  a  most  excellent  fodder  for  horses. 
(Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  399 ;  Low's  El.  Prac.  jig. 
p.  266 ;  Brit,  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  329.) 

The  reed  canary-grass  (Ph.  anmdinacea, 
Smith's  Engl.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  74)  is  very  com- 
mon in  ditches,  pools,  and  the  margins  of  ri- 
vers. At  the  time  of  flowering,  the  produce 
from  a  black  sandy  loam  incumbent  on  clay 
was, — 

lbs.      oz. 

fJrpen  produce  per  acre  -        -        27,225    0 

Dry  produce    -----        12,251     4 
Nutritive  matter     -       -       -        .         1,701    9 

On  a  ytrong  tenacious  clay,  the  produce 
was, — 


CANCER  IN  CATTLE. 


CANDLE. 


Green  produce  per  acre 
Dry  produce 
Nutritive  matter 


Ihf,  oc 

34,031  0 

17,015  8 

2,126  15 


From  this,  it  appears  to  be  much  more  pro- 
uuclive  oil  a  tenacious  clay  soil  than  on  a 
rich  sandy  loam  ;  the  superior  nutritive  powers  j 
which    this    grass    possesses    recommend   it  ] 
therefore  to  the  notice  of  occupiers  of  such 
soils.      The    foliage    cannot    be    considered 
coar5  3,  when   compared   with   other  grasses 
which   afford   a  produce  equal    in   quantity. 
Dry  straw  is  a  much  coarser  food  than  the  hay 
made  from  this  grass,  and  the  objection  may 
1)6  met  by  reducing  this  hay  to  chaff.    The 
!  iriped  reed  canary-grass   has   not   yet  been 
found  in  a  wild  stale;  it  is  cultivated  in  gar- 
dens for  the  beauty  of  its  striped  leaves : — the 
common  wild  variety  wants  this  distinguish- 
ing feature,  it  grows  to  a  greater  height  than 
the  striped-leaved  variety,  does  not  appear  to 
be  eaten  by  cattle,  but  birds  are  fond  of  the 
feeeds.    It  comes  into  flower  about  the  first  and 
second  weeks  of  Julv,  and  ripens  about  the 
middle  of  August.     (Hnrt.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  359.) 
CANCER,  IN  CATTLE    (Lat. ;   Sax.  can- 
eepe.)     A  virulent  swelling  or  sore.    Cancer 
of  the  eye,  or  a  perfect  change  of  its  mecha- 
nism into  a  fleshy  half-decomposed  substance, 
that  ulcerates  and  wastes  away,  or  from  which 
fungous  growths   spring  that  can    never  be 
checked,  is  a  disease  of  occasional  occurrence 
in  cattle.    The  remedy  should  be  extirpation 
of  the  eye,  if  it  were  deemed  worth  while  to 
attempt  it.     (Lib.  of  Use/.  Knott'.,  Cattle,  p.  293.) 
CANDLE   (Lat.  candela  :  Sax.  canot!  •   Iial. 
caiidelle  :    Fr.  chamkUe  .•    Welsh,  cameylt).     A 
taper  or  cylinder  of  tallow,  wax,  or  spermaceti, 
the  wick   of  which   is   commonly  of  several 
threads  of  cotton  spun  and  twisted  together. 
Candles  in  England  were  subject  for  a  length- 
ened period  to  an  excise  duly  of  3^<f.  per  lb., 
but  this  was  repealed  in   1831.     Good  tallow 
candles  ought  to  be  made  with  equal  parts  of 
sheep  and  ox  tallow  ;  care  being  taken  to  avoid 
any  mixture  of  hog's  lard,  which  occasions  a 
thick,  black  smoke,  attended  with  a  disagree- 
able smell,  and  also  causes  the  candle  to  run. 
The  farmer,  if  far  from  any  town,  may  make 
his  own  candles.    The  cotton  for  making  the 
wicks  is  sold,  ready  prepared,  in  balls.    When 
it  is  intended  to  be  used  for  candles,  a  certain 
number  of  pieces  of  it  of  equal  length  are  to 
be  cut,  and  stripped  through  the  hand  to  re- 
move  any  knots   or   inequalities.     They  are 
next  to  be  aflJixed  by  one  end  to  a  rod  about 
three  feet  long,  leaving  about  two  inches  be- 
tween each  wick.    The  whole  is  then  to  be 
dipped  into  a  vessel,  large  enough,  and  filled 
with  fluid  tallow;  and  this  is  tc  be  repeated 
three  times  for  the  first  layer  or  coat.     They 
are  then  to  be  suspended  in  a  rack  over  the 
vessel  to  drain  and  solidify  ;  after  which  they 
are  to  be  dipped  twice,  and  again  hung  up  to 
drain  ;  and  so  on,  successively,  until  they  ac- 
quire the  desired  degree  of  thickness. 

The  first  part  of  the  process  is  the  sorting 
of  the  tallow.  Mutton  suet  with  a  proportion 
of  ox-tallow  is  selected  for  mould  candles,  be- 
cause it  gives  them  gloss  and  consistence. 
Coarser  tallow  is  reserved  for  the  dipped  can- 


dles. After  being  sorted,  it  is  cut  into  small 
pieces,  preparatory  to  its  being  melted  or  ren- 
dered:  and  the  sooner  this  is  done  after  the  fat 
is  taken  from  the  carcase  the  better,  because 
the  fibrous  and  fleshy  matters  mixed  with  it 
promote  its  putrefaction.  Tallow  is  too  com 
monly  melted  by  a  naked  fire  applied  to  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel,  whereas  it  should  be  done 
either  in  a  cold  set  pan,  where  the  flame  plays 
only  round  the  sides  a  little  way  above  the  bot- 
tom, or  in  a  steam-cased  pan.  After  being 
fused  a  considerable  time,  the  membraneous 
matters  collect  at  the  surface,  constituting  the 
cracklings  used  sometimes  for  feeding  dogs, 
after  the  fat  has  been  squeezed  out  of  it  by  a 
press.  The  liquid  tallow  is  strained  through 
a  sieve  into  another  copper,  where  it  is  treated 
with  water  at  a  boiling  temperature  in  order 
to  wash  it.  After  a  while,  when  the  foul  water 
hfts  settled  to  the  bottom,  the  purified  tallow  is 
lifted  out,  by  means  of  tinned  iron  buckets, 
into  tubs  of  a  moderate  size,  where  it  con- 
cretes, and  is  ready  for  use. 

Wax  Candles. — Next  to  tallow,  the  substance 
most  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  candles 
is  wax.  Wax  candles  are  made  either  by  the 
hand  or  with  a  ladle.  In  the  former  case,  the 
wax,  being  kept  soft  in  hot  water,  is  applied 
bit  by  bit  to  the  wick,  which  is  hung  from  a 
hook  in  the  wall ;  in  the  latter,  the  wicks  are 
hung  round  an  iron  circle,  placed  immediately 
over  a  large  copper-tinned  basin  full  of  melted 
wax,  which  is  poured  upon  their  tops,  one  aftei 
another,  by  means  of  a  large  ladle.  When  the 
candles  have  by  either  process  acquired  the 
proper  size,  they  are  taken  from  the  hooks, 
and  rolled  upon  a  table,  usually  of  walnut  tree, 
with  a  long  square  instrument  of  box,  smooth 
at  the  bottom. 

In  June,  1825,  M.  Gay  Lussac  obtained  a 
patent  in  Eag'and  for  making  candles  from 
margaric  and  sttaric  acids,  improperly  called 
stearine,  by  converting  tallow  into  the  above 
fat  acids  by  the  following  process : — Tallow 
consists,  by  Chevreul's  researches,  of  stearine, 
a  solid  fat,  and  elaine,  a  liquid  fat ;  the  former 
being  in  much  the  larger  proportion.  When 
tallow  is  treated  with  an  alkaline  body,  such 
as  potash,  soda,  or  lime,  it  is  saponified  :  that 
is,  its  stearine  and  elaine  become  respectively 
stearic  and  elaic  acids,  and,  as  such,  form 
compounds  with  these  bases.  When  by  the 
action  of  an  acid,  such  as  the  sulphuric  or 
muriatic,  these  combinations  are  decomposed, 
the  fats  reappear  in  the  altered  form  of 
stearic  and  elaic  acids;  the  former  body  being 
harder  than  tallow,  and  of  a  texture  somewhat 
like  spermaceti,  the  latter  body  being  fluid, 
like  oil.  "The  decomposition  of  the  soap 
should  be  made,"  says  the  patentee,  "in  a 
large  quantity  of  water,  kept  well  stirred  dur- 
ing the  operation,  and  warmed  by  steam  intro- 
duced in  any  convenient  way.  When  the 
mixture  has  been  allowed  to  stand,  the  acid  of 
the  tallow  or  fat  will  rise  to  the  surface,  and 
the  water  being  drawn  off  will  carry  the  alka- 
line or  saline  matters  with  it;  but  if  the  acids 
of  the  tallow  should  retain  any  portion  of  the 
salts,  fresh  water  may  be  thrown  upon  it,  and 
the  whole  well  agirated,  until  the  acids  have 
become  perfectly  free  from  the  alkalijie  mat 
Y  253 


CANDLE-BERRY  MYRTLE. 


CANKER. 


.ers ;  and  when  allowed  to  cool,  the  acids  will 
DC  formed  into  a  solid  mass.  This  mass  is 
DOW  to  be  submilled  to  considerable  pressure 
in  such  an  apparatus  as  is  employed  in  ex- 
pressing: oil  from  seeds ;  when  the  liquid  acid 
will  run  off  in  the  form  of  a  substance  resem- 
bling oil,  leaving  a  solid  matter,  similar,  in 
every  respect,  to  spermaceti,  which  is  fit  for 
making  candles. 

The  wick  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  o^ 
these  improved  candles,  and  which  forms  one 
of  the  features  of  this  invention,  is  to  be  made 
of  cotton  yarn,  twisted  rather  hard,  and  laid  in 
the  same  manner  as  wire  is  sometimes  coiled 
round  the  bass  strings  of  musical  instruments. 
For  this  purpose,  straight  rods  or  wires  are  to 
be  procured,  of  suitable  lengths  and  diameters, 
according  to  the  intended  size  of  the  candles 
about  to  be  made;  and  these  wires,  having 
been  covered  with  cotton  coiled  round  ihem  as 
described,  are  to  be  inserted  in  the  candle- 
moulds  as  the  common  wicks  are ;  and  when 
the  candle  is  made,  and  perfectly  hard,  the 
wire  is  to  be  withdrawn,  leaving  a  hollow 
cylindrical  aperture  entirely  through  the  mid- 
dle of  the  candle.    See  Stkahixe. 

For  the  process  of  making  mould  candles, 
which  is  even  more  simple  than  that  for 
dipping,  see  LWs  Dictionary  of  Arts,  ^r.,  art. 
Camile:  where  also  may  be  found  a  drawing 
and  description  of  an  ingenious  machine  for 
making  dipped  candles,  much  used  in  Edin- 
burgh. 

Candles  ought  never  to  be  used  until  several 
weeks  have  elapsed  after  they  are  made;  other- 
wise they  are  apt  to  gutter  and  run.  {M'Cul- 
loch^s  Com.  Die. :  Willirh's  Dom.  Encyc.) 

CANDLE-BERRY  MYRTLE  {Myrica  gale). 
A  hardy  shrub,  native  of  Britain,  which  grows 
to  four  feet  high,  and  bears  a  small  red  blos- 
som in  May  and  June.  It  loves  heath  mould, 
and  is  propagated  by  seed,  or  by  dividing  the 
roots. 

The  species  called  candle-berry  myrtle  in  the 
United  States,  is  the  myrica  ccrifcra  of  botanists. 
It  grows  on  the  lands  bordering  on  the  sea  and 
bays  of  the  Atlantic  States,  where  the  wax 
which  surrounds  the  clusters  of  berries  is 
oAen  collected  by  the  poor  either  for  their  own 
Qse  in  mixing  with  tallow  to  make  candles,  or 
to  sell.  The  berries  when  gathered  are  put 
into  hot  water,  which  melts  the  wax  by  which 
each  is  enveloped,  and  which,  rising  to  the  top, 
Ls  skimmed  off.  It  is  of  an  olive-green  colour 
and  fragrant  odour.  As  a  popular  remedy  in 
dysentery  it  has  acquired  considerable  repu- 
tation. 

Almost  every  region  of  the  United  States 
produces  varieties  of  the  wax  myrtle.  Mi- 
chaux  Considers  them  all  as  belonging  to  one 
species,  a  conclusion  which  is  warranted  by 
the  gr(;at  number  of  intermediate  sizes  and 
forms  of  leaf,  which  may  be  observed  between 
the  differert  extremes.  Pursh,  however,  has 
chosen  to  distinguish  three  species  which  bear 
wax,  and  which  he  names  cerifera  after  Lin- 
naeus, Caroltmensis  Irom  Willdenow,  and  Penn- 
sylvanica  from  Lamarck.  The  wax  myrtle  or 
bayberry,  as  it  is  often  called,  which  is  com- 
mon in  New  England,  varies  in  height  from 
one  to  seven  or  eight  feeu  It  is  found  in  every 
2f>4 


kind  of  soil  from  the  borders  of  swamps  to  the 
tops  of  barren  hills,  and  is  very  much  influ- 
enced in  its  size  and  appearance,  by  the  place 
in  which  it  happens  to  grow. 

The  wax  myrtle  is  found  bearing  fruit  at 
every  size,  from  the  height  of  one  foot,  to  six 
or  eight.  In  Louisiana,  it  is  said,  to  grow  to 
twelve  feet.  The  top  is  much  branched,  and 
covered  with  a  grayish  bark.  Every  young 
part  of  the  wax  myrtle  has  a  fragrant,  balsamic 
smell,  which  it  communicates  to  the  fingers 
when  rubbed  by  them. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Dana  has  published,  in  Silliman's 
Journal,  an  account  of  some  experiments  made 
to  ascertain  the  proportion  of  wax,  and  of  the 
other  parts  which  compose  the  entire  berry. 
He  found  the  wax  to  constitute  nearly  a  third 
of  the  whole,  or  thirty-two  per  cent ;  the  kernels 
47-00,  the  black  powder  15-00,  with  about  5-00 
of  a  resino-extractive  matter. 

The  myrtle  wax  is  useful  for  many  of  the 
purposes  for  which  bees  wax  and  tallow  are 
employed,  particularly  for  candles.  It  burns 
with  a  clear  flame,  though  less  vivid  than  that 
of  common  oil,  and  emits  a  considerable  fra- 
grance. It  was  formenly  much  in  demand  as 
an  ingredient  in  a  species  of  blacking  ball,  to 
which  it  communicated  a  temporary  lustre  and 
power  of  repelling  water.  It  has  occasionally 
been  used  in  pharmacy  in  various  composi- 
tions intended  for  external  use,  and  is  mild  or 
stimulating  according  as  it  is  more  or  less 
pure  and  freed  from  the  colouring  matter. 

In  some  parts  of  Europe  plantations  of  this 
shrub  have  been  raised  with  a  view  to  the  profit 
to  be  derived  from  the  wax.  In  this  country, 
where  the  shrub  abounds,  the  berries  are  often 
neglected,  their  collection  and  the  separation 
of  the  wax  being  deemed  too  laborious  to 
compensate  the  trouble.  The  bark  of  the  wax 
myrtle  considered  medicinally  is  an  acrid 
stimulant  and  astringent.  (Dr.  Bigeloio's  Avu 
Med.  Botany.) 

CANE.  A  provincial  term  used  to  signify 
a  hollow  place,  where  water  stands.  It  also 
implies  a  wood  of  alder,  or  other  aquatic  trees, 
in  a  moist  boggy  situation. 

In  the  South-western  Slates  of  America  there 
are  extensive  and  almost  impenetrable  cane- 
brakes,  consisting  of  a  rank  growth  of  a  sub- 
aquatic  species  of  cane  or  reed  (Arumh  prag- 
mites?).  These  cane-brakes  resemble  in  many 
respects  the  jungles  of  the  East  Indies. 

CANINE  MADNESS.    See  HrnnopnoBiA. 

CANKER,  OR  ULCER  (Lat.  awker;  Sax. 
cancene,  or  cancpe).  In  the  vegetable  creation, 
a  disease  to  which  our  apple,  pear,  elm,  and 
other  trees  are  subject. 

"This  disease,"  says  Mr.  G.  W.  .Johnson,  "is 

accompanied  by  different  symptoms,  accord 

ing  to  the  species  of  the  tree  which  it  infects 

In   some   of   those   whose  true  sap   contains 

a  considerable   quantity  of  free    acid,  as  in 

the  genus  Pyrus,  it  is  rarely  accompanied  by 

any  dischai^e.    To  this  dry  form  of  the  dis- 

I  ease,   it  would  be  well   to  confine  the  term 

I  canker,  and  to  give  it  the  scientific  name  of 

j  Gangrcena  sicca,  or  dry  gangrene.      In   othef 

i  trees,  whose  sap  is  characterized  by  abounding 

!  in  astringent  or  mucilaginous  constituents,  it 

j  is  usually  aU<nd''d  by  a  sanious  discharge.   In 


CANKER. 


CANKER. 


feuch  instances,  it  might  be  strictly  designated 
ulcer,  or  Gangrctna  saniosa.  This  disease  has  a 
considerable  resemblance  to  the  tendency  to 
ossification,  which  appears  in  aged  animals, 
arising  from  their  marked  appetency  to  secrete 
the  calcareous  saline  compounds  that  chiefly 
constitute  their  skeletons.  The  consequence 
is  an  enlargement  of  the  joints,  and  ossifica- 
tion of  the  circulating  vessels,  and  other  parts ; 
phenomena  very  analogous  to  those  attending 
the  cankering  of  trees.  As  in  animals,  this 
tendency  is  general  throughout  their  system  ; 
but,  as  is  observed  by  Mr.  Knight,  'like  the 
mortifications  in  the  limbs  of  elderly  people,' 
it  may  be  determined,  as  to  its  point  of  attack, 
by  the  irritability  of  that  part  of  the  system. 
This  disease  commences  with  an  enlargement 
of  the  vessels  of  the  bark  of  a  branch,  or  of  the 
stem.  This  swellin?  invariably  attends  the 
disease  when  it  attacks  the  apple  tree.  In  the 
pear,  the  enlargement  is  less,  yet  is  always 
present.  In  the  elm  and  oak  sometimes  no 
swelling  occurs,  and  in  the  peach  1  do  not  re- 
member lo  have  seen  any;  I  have  never  ob- 
served the  disease  in  the  cherry  tree,  nor  any 
of  the  pine  tribe.  The  swelling  is  soon  com- 
municated to  the  wood ;  which,  if  laid  open  lo 
view,  on  its  first  appearance,  by  tlie  removal 
of  the  bark,  exhibits  no  marks  of  disease  be- 
yond the  mere  unnatural  enlargement.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  years,  less  in  number  in  pro- 
portion to  the  advanced  age  of  the  tree,  and  the 
unfavourable  circumstances  under  which  it  is 
vec:etating,  the  swelling  is  greatly  increased  in 
size,  and  the  alburnum  has  become  extensively 
dead :  the  superincumbent  bark  cracks,  rises 
in  discoloured  scales,  and  decays  even  more 
rapidly  than  the  wood  beneath.  If  the  caries 
is  upon  a  moderately  sized  branch,  the  decay 
soon  completely  encircles  it,  extending  through 
the  whole  arburnum  and  bark,  'i'he  circula- 
tion of  the  sap  being  thus  entirely  prevented, 
all  the  parts  above  the  disease  of  necessity 
perish.  In  the  apple  and  pear,  the  disease  is 
accompanied  by  scarcely  any  discharge  ;  but 
in  the  elm  this  is  very  abundant.  The  only 
chemists  who  have  examined  these  morbid 
products  are  Sir  H.  Davy  and  Vauquelin  ;  the 
former's  observations  being  confined  to  the 
fact,  that  he  often  found  carbonate  of  lime  on 
the  edges  of  the  canker  in  apple  trees.  {Kkm. 
of  Jp\  Chnmstry,  2d  edit.  p.  264.) 

Vauquelin  has  examined  the  sanies  dis- 
charged from  the  canker  of  an  elm  with  much 
more  precision.  He  found  this  liquor  nearly 
as  transparent  as  water,  sometimes  slightly 
coloured,  at  other  times  a  blackish-brown,  but 
always  tasting  acrid  and  saline.  From  it  a 
soft  matter,  insoluble  in  water,  is  deposited 
upon  the  sides  of  the  ulcer.  The  bark  ever 
which  the  transparent  sanies  flows  attains  the 
appearance  of  chalk,  becoming  white,  friable, 
crj'stalline,  alkaline,  and  effervescent  with 
acids.  A  magnifier  exhibits  the  crystals  in 
the  forms  of  rhomboids  and  four-sided  prisms : 
when  the  liquid  is  dark-coloured,  the  bark  ap- 
pears blackish,  and  seems  as  if  coated  with  a 
varnish.  It  sometimes  is  discharged  in  such 
quantities  as  to  hang  from  the  bark  like  sta- 
lactites. The  matter  of  which  these  are  com- 
posed is  alkaline,  soluble  in  water,  and  with 


acids  effervesces.  The  analysis  of  this  dark 
slimy  matter  shows  it  to  be  compounded  of 
carbonate  of  potassa  and  ulmin,  a  product  pe 
culiar  to  the  elm.  The  white  matter  deposited 
round  the  canker  was  composed  of — 


Vegetable  matter  - 
Carbonate  of  potassa    • 
Carbonate  nf  lime 
Carbonate  of  magnesia 


Varts. 
60  5 
34  2 

5 

03 

100  0 


Although  young  trees  are  liable  to  this  dis- 
ease, yet  their  old  age  is  the  period  of  exist- 
ence most  obnoxious  to  its  attaciti^.  It  must 
be  remembered,  that  that  is  not  consequently 
a  young  tree  which  is  lately  grafted.  If  the 
tree  from  which  the  scion  was  taken  is  an  old 
variety,  it  is  only  a  multiplication  of  an  aged 
individual.  The  scion  may  for  a  few  years 
exhibit  signs  of  increased  vigour,  owing  to  the 
extra  stimulus  of  the  more  abundant  supply  of 
healthy  sap  supplied  by  the  stock;  but  the 
vessels  of  the  scion  will,  after  the  lapse  of  that 
period,  gradually  become  as  decrepid  as  th 
parent  tree.  The  unanimous  experience  ot 
naturalists  agrees  in  testifying  that  every  or- 
ganized creature  has  its  limit  of  existence.  In 
plants  it  varies  from  the  scanty  period  of  a 
few  month*  to  the  long  expanse  of  as  many 
centuries:  but  of  all,  the  days  are  numbered; 
and  though  the  gardener's,  like  the  physician's 
skill,  may  retard  the  onward  pace  of  death,  he 
will  not  be  permanently  delayed.  In  the  last 
periods  of  life  they  show  every  symptom  that 
accompanies  organization  in  its  old  age— not 
only  a  cessation  of  growth,  but  a  decay  of  for- 
mer developements,  a  languid  circulation,  and 
diseased  organs. 

The  canker,  as  already' observed,  attends  es- 
pecially the  old  age  of  some  fruit  trees,  and  of 
these,  the  apple  is  most  remarkably  a  sufierer. 
"I  do  not  mean,"  says  Mr.  Knight,  "to  assert 
that  there  ever  was  a  time  when  an  apple  tree 
did  not  canker  on  unfavourable  soils,  or  that 
highly  cultivated  varieties  were  not  more  ge- 
nerally subject  to  the  disease  than  others,  where 
the  soil  did  not  suit  them;  but  I  assert,  from 
my  own  experience  and  observation  within  the 
last  twenty  years,  that  this  disease' becomes 
progressively  more  fatal  to  each  variety,  as  the 
age  of  that  variety  beyoad  a  certain  period 
increases;  that  all  the  varieties  of  the  apple 
which  I  have  found  in  the  catalogues  of  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  are  unpro- 
ductive of  fruit,  and  in  a  state  of  debility  and 
decay."  {Some  Doubts  relaUve  lo  the  Efficacy 
of  Mr.  Forsyth's  Plaster,  by  T.  A.  Knight,  Esq. 
1802.) 

Among  the  individuals  particularly  liable  to 
be  infected,  are  those  which  have  been  marked 
by  an  excessively  vigorous  growth  in  their 
early  years.  I  have  in  my  garden  a  maiden 
standard  peach,  which  is  now  about  sixteen 
years  old.  The  size  and  abundance  of  its 
annual  shoots,  until  within  the  last  quarter  of 
its  existence,  were  unnaturally  large.  It  is 
now  grievously  affected  by  canker.  Trees 
injudiciously  pruned,  or  growing  upon  an  un 
genial  soil,  are  more  frequently  attacked  than 
those  advancing  under  contrary  circumstanc<»s 
The  ildejt  trees  are  always  the  first  attacked 

255 


CANKER. 


CANKER. 


f  those  similiirly  cultivated.    The  golden  pip- 
pin, the  oldest  existing  variety  of  the  apple,  is 
more  frequently  and  seriously  attacked  than 
any  other.    The  soil  has  a  very  considerable 
influence  in  inducing  the  disease.    If  the  sub- 
soil is  a  ferruginous  gravel,  or  if  it  is  not  M'ell 
drained;  if  the  soil  is  aluminous,  and  effective 
means  are  not  adopted  to  free  it  of  superabun- 
dant moisture, — the  canker,  under  any  one  of 
these  circumstances,  is  almost  certain  to  make 
its  appearance  among  the  trees  they  sustain.  It 
an  old  worn-out  orchard  is  replanted  with  fruit 
trees,  the  canker  is  almost  certain  to  appear 
among  them,  however  young  and  vigorous  they 
were  when  first  planted.    How  inducive  of  this 
disease  is  a  wet,  retentive  subsoil,  if  the  rools 
penetrate  it,  appears  from  the  statement  of  Mr. 
Watts,  gardener  to  R.  G.  Russell,  Esq.,  of  Che- 
quer's Court,  in  Buckinghamshire.    A  border 
beneath  a  south  wall  had  a  soil  three  feet  and 
a  half  in  dopth,  apparently  of  the  most  fertile 
staple;  twice  remade  under  the  direction  of 
the  late  Mr.  Lee,  of  the  Vineyard,  Hammer- 
smith.   In  this  the  trees,  peaches  and  nectar- 
ines, flourish  for  the  next  three  or  four  years 
after  they  are  planted,  but  then  are  rapidly  de- 
stroyed by  the  canker  and  gum.    The  subsoil 
is  a  stiff"  sour  clay,  nearly  approaching  to  a 
brick  earth;  and  the  disease  occurs  ^s  soon  as 
it  is  reached  by  the  roots  of  the  trees.     {Gar- 
denrr^s  Musazwc,  vol.  vi.  p.  617.)    Pruning  has 
a  powerful  influence  in  preventing  the  occur- 
rence of  canker.     I  remember  a  standard  rus- 
set apple  tree,  of  not  more  than  twenty  years' 
growth,   with    a    redundancy   of    ill-arranged 
branches,  that  was  excessively  attacked  by  this 
disease.    I  had  two  of  its  three  main  branches 
removed,  and  the  laterals  of  that  remaining 
thinned  carefully,  all  the  infected  parts,  at  the 
same  time,  being  removed.    The  result  was  a 
total  cure.    The  branches  were  annually  regu- 
lated, and  for  six  years  the  disease  never  reap- 
peared.   At  the  enu  of  that  time  the  tree  had 
to  be  removed,  as  the  ground  it  stood  upon  was 
required  for  another  purpose.    John  Williams, 
Ssq.,  of  Pitmaston,  from  long  experience  con- 
clndes  that  the  golden  pippin,  and  other  apples, 
may  be  preserved  from  this  disease  by  pruning 
away,  every  year,  that  part  of  each  shoot  which 
is  not  perfectly  ripened.    By  pursuing   this 
method  for  six  years,  he  brought  a  dwarf  golden 
pippin  tree  to  be  as  vigorous  and  free  from 
canker  as   any  new  variety.     (Trans.  London 
Hort.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  art.  64.) 

All  these  facts  unite  in  assuring  us  that  the 
canker  arises  from  the  tree's  weakness;  from 
a  deficiency  in  its  vital  energy,  and  consequent 
inability  to  imbibe  and  elaborate  the  nourish- 
ment necessary  to  sustain  its  frame  in  vigour, 
and  mnch  less  to  supply  the  healthy  develope- 
ment  of  new  parts.  It  matters  not  whether  its 
energy  is  broken  down  by  an  unnatural  rapidity 
of  growth,  by  a  disproportioned  excess  of 
branches  over  the  mass  of  roots,  by  old  age,  or 
by  the  disorganization  of  roots  in  an  ungenial 
8oil;  they  render  the  tree  incapable  of  extract- 
ing suliicient  nourishment  from  the  soil,  con- 
sequently incapable  of  developing  suflicient 
foliage,  and  therefore  unable  to  digest  and  ela- 
borate even  the  scanty  sap  that  is  supplied  to 
(hem 

256 


The  reason  of  the  sap  becoming  unnaturally 
saline  appears  to  be,  that  in  proportion  as  thjp 
vigour  of  any  vegetable  declines,  it  loses  the 
power  of  selecting  by  its  roots  the  nourishment 
congenial  to  its  nature.  M.  Saussure  found  in 
his  experiments  that  the  roots  of  plants  grow- 
ing in  saline  solutions  absorbed  the  most  of 
those  salts  that  were  injurious  to  them,  evi- 
dently because  the  declining  plant  lost  the  sen 
sitiveness  and  energy  necessary  to  select  and 
to  reject.  Thus,  when  plants  of  Polygonum 
Pcrsicaria  and  of  Bidens  cannabina  were  grown 
in  a  solution  containing  sulphate  of  soda  (Glau- 
ber salt),  acetate  of  linie^  and  chloride  of  sodium 
(common  salt),  they  altogether  rejected  the 
acetate  of  lime;  but  when  grown  in  a  solution 
of  sulphate  of  copper  and  acetate  of  lime,  they  im- 
bibed the  latter  abundantly.  Now,  sulphate  of 
copper  M.  Saussure  found  to  be  the  most  dele- 
terious to  the  plants  of  all  the  salts,  in  a  solu- 
tion of  which  he  plunged  their  roots.  Suppos- 
ing  the  portion  originally  in  solution  to  be  100, 
the  proportions  of  each  absorbed  were  as  fol- 
lows : — 

Pa. 

i  Chloride  of  sodium     -        _        -       -  lO 

^  Sulpliate  of  soda         .        _        .        .  6 

(.Aceiate  of  lime  -----  0 

C  Sulphate  of  copper     -        -        -        -  34 

1  Aceiate  of  lime  -----  31 

M.  Saussure  also  found,  that  if  the  extremi 
ties  of  the  roots  were  removed,  the  plants  ab- 
sorbed all  solutions  indiscriminately.  (Saus- 
sure^s  Recherches  Chimiqucs  sur  la.  Vegetation,  260.) 
An  ungenial  soil  would  have  a  debilitating 
influence  upon  the  roots  in  a  proportionate, 
though  less  violent  degree  than  the  sulphate 
of  copper;  and  these,  consequ'ently,  M'ould 
absorb  soluble  bodies  more  freely,  and  Avithout 
that  discrimination  so  absolutely  necessary  for 
a  healthy  vegetation  ;  so  the  other  most  essen 
tial  organs  of  nutrition,  the  leaves  of  the  weak 
ened  plant,  would  promote  and  accelerate  the 
disease.  These,  reduced  in  number  and  size, 
do  not  properly  elaborate  the  sap  ;  and  I  have 
always  found  that,  under  such  circumstances, 
these  stunted  organs  exhale  the  aqueous  parti- 
cles of  the  sap  very  abundantly,  whilst  their 
power  of  absorption  is  greatly  reduced.  The 
sap,  thus  deficient  in  quantity  and  increased  in 
acridity,  seems  to  corrode  and  affect  the  vascu- 
lar system  of  the  tree  in  the  manner  already 
described.  These  facts  afford  us  most  impor- 
tant guides  in  attaining  the  desired  objects,  the 
prevention  and  cure  of  the  disease.  If  super- 
luxuriance  threatens  its  introduction,  the  best 
remedy  is  for  the  cultivator  to  remove  one  of 
the  main  roots  of  the  tree,  and  for  him  to  be 
particularly  careful  not  to  add  any  fertile  addi- 
tion to  the  soil  within  their  range.  On  the 
contrary,  it  will  be  well,  if  the  exuberant  growth 
shows  its  necessity,  for  the  soil  to  be  reduced 
in  fertility  by  the  admixture  of  one  less  fertile, 
or  even  of  drift  sand.  If  there  is  an  excess  of 
branches,  the  saw  and  the  pruning-knife  must 
be  gradually  applied.  It  must  be  only  trees  of 
weak  vital  powers,  such  as  the  golden  pipnin, 
that  will  bear  the  general  cutting  of  the  aniiual 
shoots,  as  pursued  by  Mr.  Williams.  A  new 
vigorous  variety  vould  exhibit  itself  in  the 
following  year  in  the  production  of  new  wood. 

Having  completely  headed  down^  if  the  can- 


CANKER. 


CAPERS. 


ker  is  generally  prevalent,  or  duly  thinned  the 
branches,  entirely  removed  every  small  one 
that  is  in  the  least  degree  diseased,  and  cut 
away  the  decayed  parts  of  the  larger,  so  as  not 
to  leave  a  single  speck  of  the  decayed  wood,  I 
cover  over  the  surface  of  each  wound  with  a 
mirture,  whilst  in  a  melted  state,  of  equal  parts 
of  tar  and  rosin,  applying  with  a  brush  imme- 
diately after  the  amputations  have  been  per- 
formed, taking  care  to  select  a  fine  dry  day. 
I  prefer  this  to  any  composition  with  a  basis 
of  cow-dung  and  clay,  because  the  latter  is 
always  more  or  less  absorbent  of  moisture,  and 
is  liable  to  injury  by  rain  and  frost,  causing 
alternations  of  moisture  and  dryness  to  the 
wounds,  that  promote  decay  rather  than  their 
healing,  by  the  formation  of  new  wood  and 
Dark.  The  resinous  plaster  seldom  or  never 
requires  renewal.  Mr.  Forsyth,  the  arch-advo- 
cate of  alkaline  plasters,  finding  they  promoted 
decay,  if  applied  to  the  wounds  of  autumn- 
pruned  trees,  recommends  this  important  act 
of  cultivation  to  be  postponed  to  the  spring. 
Such  a  procrastination,  however,  is  always 
liable  to  defer  the  pruning  till  bleeding  is  the 
consequence.  If  a  resinous  plaster  is  employed, 
it  excludes  the  wet,  and  obviates  the  objection 
to  autumnal  pruning.  Mr.  Forsyth's  treatment 
of  the  trunks  and  branches  of  the  trees,  namely, 
scraping  from  them  all  the  scaly,  dry  exuviae 
of  the  bark,  is  to  be  adopted  in  every  instance: 
he  recommends  them  to  be  then  brushed  over 
with  a  thin  liquid  compound  of  fresh  cow-dung, 
soapsuds,  and  urine.  But  I  very  much  prefer 
a  brine  of  common  salt :  each  acts  as  a  gentle 
stimulus,  which  is  their  chief  source  of  benefit, 
and  the  latter  is  more  efficacious  in  destroying 
insects,  and  does  not,  like  the  other,  obstruct 
the  perspiratory  vessels  of  the  tree.  The  brine 
is  advantageously  rubbed  in  with  a  scrubbing 
or  large  painter's  brush.  Some  persons  recom- 
mend a  liquid  wash,  containing,  as  prominent 
ingredients,  quicklime  and  wood-ashes ;  which, 
as  the  disease  arises  from  an  over-alkalescent 
state  of  the  sap,  cannot  but  prove  injurious 
and  aggravate  the  disease.  Mr.  Forsyth's 
composition,  used  as  a  plaster  for  the  wounds 
made  when  cankered  matter  had  been  extract- 
ed, was — 


i  bushel  of  lime  rubbish 
i  bushel  of  wood  ashes, 
j\  bushel  of  finely-sifted  sand. 

Mr.  Knight  well  observed  of  this  quackery 
(for  which  Forsyth  was  rewarded  with  a  grant 
of  money),  that  "it  afforded  a  much  better 
proof  that  he  was  paid  for  a  discovery  than 
that  he  made  one."  (G.  W.Johnson;  Quar. 
Journ.  o/Jgr.  vol.  viii.  p.  470  ;  J.  Pearson,  ibid. 
vol.  ii.  p.  379;  A.  Drummond,  On  the  Canker  in 
the  Lurch,  ibid.  p.  231.) 

Canker  in  horses  is  a  separation  of  the  horn 
from  the  sensible  part  of  the  foot,  and  the 
sprouting  of  fungous  matter  instead  of  it,  and 
occupying  a  portion  of,  or  even  the  whole  of 
the  sole  and  frog.  (The  Horse,  p.  308,  Lib.  of 
Useful  Knowledge.)  The  whole  secret  of  the 
treatment  of  canker  consists  in  the  use  of  su- 
perficial caustics  or  stimulants, — pressure  as 
33 


firmly  and  as  equably  as  it  can  be  made,  and 
the  careful  avoidance  of  all  greasy  applica- 
tions, and  all  moisture,  either  applied  imme- 
diately to  the  foot,  or  suffered  to  penetrate 
to  it  through  the  dressing.  {Clater's  Farriei-y, 
p.  324.)  ^ 

CANKERED.  A  word  sometimes  uiia  to 
signify  mildewed  or  blighted. 

CANKERS.  A  local  name  in  some  parts 
of  England  for  caterpillars. 

CANKER-WORM.  The  insects,  called  in 
the  Eastern  States  canker-worms,  are  caterpil- 
lars with  ten  legs,  the  larvje  of  a  natural  group 
of  moths  called  hybernians.  They  belong  to  the 
tribe  of  geometers,  commonly  called  earth-mea- 
surers, span-worms,  and  loopers.  See  Spaw- 
won.Ms. 

CANTER.  (Said  to  be  an  abbreviation  of 
Canterbury  gallop,  and  derived  from  the  pil- 
grims riding  to  Canterbury  on  easy  ambling 
horses. — Todd^s  Johnson.)  A  well-known  pace 
of  the  horse,  which  is  not,  generally,  a  natural 
pace.  When  the  horse  is  excited  to  move  his 
station  from  one  place  to  another,  he  performs 
it  with  a  velocity  proportionate  to  the  exciting 
cause.  Thus,  he  changes  from  the  walk  to 
the  trot,  and  from  the  trot  to  the  gallop,  ac- 
cording to  his  inclination.  In  each  of  these 
changes  he  acquires  a'a  addition  of  speed ;  but, 
as  the  trot  is  equal  in  speed  to  the  canter,  he 
seldom  adopts  the  canter,  but  changes  to  the 
gallop,  when  he  wishes  to  accelerate  his  mo- 
tion. The  horse  is  taught  to  perform  the  canter 
by  shortening  the  gallop.  The  canter  is  to  the 
gallop  very  much  what  the  walk  is  to  the  trot, 
though  probably  a  more  artificial  pace.  The 
exertion  is  much  less,  the  spring  less  distant, 
and  the  feet  come  to  the  ground  in  more  regu- 
lar succession :  it  is  a  pace  of  ease,  quite  in- 
consistent with  any  exertion  of  draught.  (Lib. 
Use.  Know.,  The  Horse,  p.  413.)  Some  persons, 
and  among  them  Nimrod,  do  not  consider  this 
pace  injurious  to  horses.  "A  canter,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  is  much  more  easy,  as  well  as  safer 
to  the  rider,  than  a  trot;  the  horse  having  his 
haunches  more  under  him  in  the  canter  than 
when  he  trots,  is  hereby  more  likely  to  recover 
himself  in  case  of  making  a  mistake,  which 
the  best  is  sometimes  subject  to.  Fast  trotting 
also  distresses  a  horse  more  than  cantering, 
because,  in  the  one,  he  is  going  at  the  top  of 
his  speed,  and  in  the  other  much  below  it." 
(Blaine's  Ency.  of  Rural  Sports,  p.  297.) 

CAPERS.    The   caper  is  a  small   prickly 
shrub,  cultivated  in  Spain,  Italy,  and  the  south- 
ern   provinces   of  France.     The   flowers  are 
j  large  roses  of  a  pretty  appearance,  but  the 
I  flower-buds  alone  are  the  objects  of  this  culti- 
I  vation. 

I     They  are  plucked  before   they  open,  and 

I  thrown   into    strong  vinegar    slightly  salted, 

j  where  they  are  pickled.     The  crop  oi   ^'ach 

'  day  is  added  lo  the  same  vinegar  tub,  so  that, 

in  the  course  of  the  six  months  during  which 

the  caper  shrub  flowers,  the  vessel  gets  filled, 

j  and  is  sold  to  persons  who  sort  the  capers  (the 

smallest  being  most  valued)  by  means  of  cop 

per  sieves.    This  metal  is  attacked  by  the  acid, 

wherefrom  the  fruit  acquires  a  green  colour, 

much  admired  by  ignorant  connoisseurs. 

x2  257 


CAPES. 

The  capers,  as  found  in  the  French  market, 
are  distinguished  into  five  sorts;  the  nonpareille, 
the  capuciue,  the  capote,  the  second,  and  the  third ; 
this  being  the  decreasing  order  of  their  quality, 
which  depends  upon  the  strength  of  the  vine- 
gar il^d  in  pickling  them,  as  also  the  size  and 
coloOT  of  the  buds. 

The  caper  shrub  grows  in  the  driest  situa- 
tions, even  upon  walls,  and  does  not  disdain 
any  soil ;  but  it  loves  a  hot  and  sheltered  ex- 
posure. It  is  multiplied  by  grafts  made  in 
autumn,  as  also  by  slips  of  the  roots  taken  off 
ih  spring. 

CAPES,  or  CAPPS,  provincial  words,  ap- 
plied to  the  ears  of  corn  broken  off,  either 
wholly  or  in  part,  in  thrashing;  as  well  as  to 
the  grain  to  which  the  chaff  adheres. 

CAPITAL  (Lat.  capitalis).  The  capital  re- 
quired by  a  farmer,  to  a  great  extent,  varies 
with  the  soil  and  country  in  which  he  is  placed; 
all  practical  observations  in  this  place,  there- 
fore, can  only  be  of  a  general  nature.  The 
first  and  best  direction,  however,  to  a  farmer 
must  be, "  do  not  take  more  land  than  your 
capital  will  enable  you  to  farm  well."  For  this 
purpose,  the  observations  of  the  author  of  the 
British  Husbandry,  vol.  i.  p.  41,  may  very  well 
be  introduced  in  this  place.  "Most  farmers 
are  anxious  for  large  occupations,  and  many 
are  thus  betrayed  into  the  error  of  renting  a 
greater  quantity  of  ground  than  they  have  the 
means  of  managing  to  advantage;  some,  in 
the  delusive  hope  of  acquiring  those  means 
by  future  savings ;  others,  from  the  vanity  of 
holding  more  land  than  their  neighbours: 
hence  arises  deficiency  of  stock,  imperfect  til- 
lage, and  scanty  crops ;  with  all  the  consequent 
train  of  rent  in  arrear,  wages  ill-paid,  and  debts 
unsatisfied — distress,  duns,  and  final  ruin. 
Whereas,  he  who  is  prudently  content  to  com- 
mence with  only  such  .a  number  of  acres  as 
he  has  the  power  of  cultivating  with  proper 
effect,  is  certain  of  obtaining  the  full  return 
from  the  soil ;  while,  not  being  burdened  with 
more  land  than  he  can  profitably  employ,  his 
engagements  are  within  his  means,  and  thus, 
while  enjoying  present  ease  of  mind,  he  lays 
the  surest  foundation  for  his  future  prosperity." 
And,  as  it  is  well  observed  (Quart.  Journ.  of 
»Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  452),  "  Or  if,  to  save  appear- 
ances, he  borrows  money  to  complete  his  ne- 
cessary arrangements,  his  condition  is  not 
improved ;  because  the  interest  he  will  have  to 
pay  for  the  borrowed  money  will  operate  as  an 
additional  yearly  rent,  and  thus  take  from  him 
all  the  advantages  which  he  was  led  to  expect 
he  would  enjoy  under  a  moderate  one."  Un- 
der the  head  Appiiaisemext  will  be  found  the 
amount  of  the  valuation  of  the  crops,  and  other 
things  commonly  paid  by  the  incoming  to  the 
outgomg  tenant  on  a  farm  of  309  acres, 
amounting  to  1702/.  This,  however,  varies 
considerably  according  to  the  Custom  of 
CotTNTiEs,  which  see.  To  this  must  be  added 
the  expenses  incurred  of  stocking  the  farm  for 
the  first  year.  Wages,  seed,  keep  of  family, 
rent,  taxes,  rates,  &c.  On  a  farm  of  500  acres, 
Professor  Low  {Prac.  Agr.  p.  674)  estimates 
tPie  capital  required  for  the  first  year  to  be  (in 
Scotland)  - 
258 


CAPON. 

£  M.  d., 

1.  Implements        -       -       -       -       -  470  4  4 

2.  Live  stock           -        ...        -  1423  15  0 

3.  Seed 273.   0  0 

4.  Manure       -        -        -        -        -        -  616  10  0 

5.  Labour,  tc.        -        -        -        -        -  528  17  6 

6.  Maintenance  of  horses      -        -        -  343  7  11 

7.  Burdens 31  15  9 

3488  8  6 
Furniture  of  house  -  -  -  -  200  0  0 
Family  expenses,  H  years      -       -       -      150    0    0 

3838    8    6 

Prom  this  he  deducts  for  produce  sold  ?     oo^  17    o 

in  this  time  -       -        -       -        ^     wo  11    y 

Required  net  capital        -       -        .        -2842  10    9 

or  5/.  13.9.  8^ r/.  per  acre.  In  this  calculation, 
he  supposes  that  no  rent  is  paid  till  the  crop  is 
reaped.  The  estimate  for  the  capital  required 
for  a  Scotch  farm  of  500  acres  (allowing  no- 
thing for  payments  to  outgoing  tenant)  is,  ac- 
cording to  a  statement  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of 
Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  475,  as  follows : — 

£    s.  S. 
Value  of  implements  for  farm  work    -        -      228    2    3 

—  do.  live  Slock  -        43  19    4 

—  do.  barn  work    -        -        17  14    4 

—  Thrashing  machine     -       -        -       -      170    0    0 

—  Horses         -        -        -       -        -        -450    00 

—  Cattle 51 100 

—  Sheep  -        -        -        -        -        -420    00 

—  Other  live  stock  ---__         700 

—  Grass  seeds         -        -       -       -       -        87  10    0 

—  Tares  ---_-.         680 

—  Peas    ------>  400 

—  Turnips       -        -        -        -        -        -        12  15    0 

—  Potatoes      ---__.         2  16    0 

—  Corn  215    6    3 

—  Labour        -        -        -       -        -       -      665    5  10 

3041  17  11 
Rent  500  acres,  at  40*.     .       -       -    lOOO    0    0 

4041  17  n 

From  which,  however,  dedrct  the  value  of 
the  following  articles,  derived  from  the 
farm  before  the  period  of  paying  the  se- 
cond half  year's  rent,  viz. 
Profit  on  20  fat  cattle,  U.  each  -        -    £100 
Wintering  20  kyloes  for  24  weeks,  at  2a. 

6rf.  per  week        -        -        _        _        .    30 
Sold   30  dininots  av  i  gewmers  at  25a. 

each,  and  20  draft  ewes  at  30s.  each       130 
Profit  on  lurnipiny  120  hogs  24  weeks, 

at  ^d.  per  head  per  week    -       -        -    36 

Sold  14  pigs 14 

Produce  of  4  cows  over  what  required 

by  family  ------      10 

Wool  sold 152 

472    0    0 

3569  17  11 

At  p.  658,  of  ioTf's  Prac.  Agr.  will  be  found  a 
catalogue  of  the  various  implements  of  a  farm 
of  500  acres,  from  a  thrashing  machine  worth 
100/.  to  a  grease  pot  valued  at  Is.  6d.,  amount- 
ing altogether  to  474?.  4s.  4d.  And  this  in- 
cludes hardly  a  single  article  that  the  young 
farmer  can  well  do  without.  As  a  general 
rule  on  the  chalks  of  Hampshire,  they  deem 
5/.  per  acre  to  be  a  sufficient  capital ;  but  on 
some  of  the  rich  highly  cultivated  soils  cf 
Surrey,  Kent,  and  Essex,  10?.  per  arable  acre 
is  not  too  much.  Grazing  farms  require  less 
in  proportion  than  arable  lands. 

CAPON  (Sax.  capun;  Fr.  chapon;  l,?iX.cap6). 
If  cocks,  when  young,  are  emasculated,  it  has 
a  prodigious  effect  upon  their  condition,  and  a 
similar  effect  may  be  produced  upon  young 
hens  by  the  abstraction  of  their  egg-bags. 
These  operations  have  been  practised  upon 


CAPON. 


CAPON. 


poultry  from  the  earliest  antiquity,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  improving  the  flesh.  In  England,  it  is 
chiefly  practised  in  the  great  poultrj'-breeding 
counties  of  Sussex,  Essex,  and  Berks,  but  is 
little  known  anywhere  else.  There  are,  in- 
deed, persons  who  make  a  trade  of  it,  and  it  is 
best  to  employ  one  of  those  when  they  can  be 
had;  but  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the  poultry- 
farmers'  wives  and  daughters  to  acquire  dex- 
terity in  performing  the  operation.  This,  in- 
deed, seems  to  be  no  new  thing,  for  Mascall, 
in  his  minute  but  very  quaint  directions,  uses 
the  feminine  gender  throughout.  "To  cut 
young  cockrels,"  he  says,  "  to  make  them  ca- 
pons, the  time  thereof  best  to  cut  and  carve 
them  is  soone  after  their  dam  has  left  them,  or 
when  they  cry  or  pule  no  more  after  her,  as 
when  they  begin  to  crowe  and  waxe  bote  to 
tread  the  pullets.  The  common  way  of  cutting 
or  carving  is  not  to  be  dispraysed,  and  is  most 
knowne  as  this  waye :  they  take  them  in  the 
morning,  commonly  in  the  wane  of  the  moone, 
and  laye  the  cocke  in  her  lappe,  upon  his  back, 
trussing  up  his  legges  by  his  sides.  Then  the 
carver  pliickes  first  awaye  the  feathers  ;*bove 
the  vent,  and  takes  up  the  upper  skin  on  the 
point  of  a  needle,  and  slits  it  over-thwart  an 
inche  long,  and  then  takes  up  the  under  thin 
skinne  nexte  the  guts,  and  slits  that  likewise. 
Then  the  carver  annoyntes  her  fore  finger  of 
her  right  hande  with  oyle  or  butter,  and  puts  it 
gently  to  the  raines  of  the  cock,  on  the  left 
side,  and  with  her  finger  bringes  forthe  the 
stone.  Then  she  annoyntes  the  fore  finger  of 
her  left  hande,  and  puts  it  into  the  stone  on  the 
right  side  of  the  cocke,  and  with  her  finger 
bringes  it  forthe.  So  done,  she  placeth  the 
guts,  and  sowes  the  skinne  up  again  with  a 
threade,  and  then  annoyntes  that  place  with 
some  fresh  butter,  and  lets  him  go." 

The  art  of  caponing  fowls  forms  a  part  of 
rural  economy,  and  as  the  mode  of  operating 
is  very  little  understood  in  the  United  Stales, 
we  propose  giving  such  ample  and  minute 
instructions  upon  the  subject,  as,  with  the  aid 
of  original  drawings,  will  enable  any  one  to 
succeed  who  possesses  common  dexterity. 

The  chickens  intended  for  capons  should  be 
of  the  largest  breed  that  can  be  obtained,  and 
in  the  United  States  there  is  not  perhaps  one 
better  suited  in  this  respect  than  the  celebrated 
large  Buck's  county  l/reed,  well  known  in  the 
Philadelphia  market,  where  capons  made  from 
these  fowls  have  been  sold  weighing  25  lbs. 
the  pair.  As  in  breeding  with  a  special  view 
to  making  capons,  male  chickens  alone  are 
required,  those  eggs  should  be  selected  to  set 
under  hens  which  produce  males,  namely, 
such  as  have  the  sharpest  points.  The  altera- 
tion of  the  chicken  into  a  capon  will,  in  about 
a  twelvemonth,  nearly  double  the  size  of  the 
bird.  Persons  wishing  to  become  expert  in 
the  operation  of  making  capons  would  do  well 
j:  imitate  surgeons,  who  always  try  their  hand 
upon  dead  subjects  before  performing  on  the  liv- 
ing. It  is,  however,  quite  simple,  and  in  France 
and  Italy  is  often  allotted  to  mere  children. 

The  Chinese  mode  of  operating  we  think 
preferable  not  only  to  the  old  one  described  by 
Mascall,  but  to  any  other  of  which  we  have 
ever  he  ard. 


Chickens  intended  for  capons  may  be  ope* 
rated  upon  at  any  age,  though  when  between 
two  and  three  months  old  is  considered  much 
the  best  time.  Old  fowls  seldom  survive  the 
operation.  Previous  to  cutting,  the  chickens 
must  be  kept  entirely  from  food,  and  even 
water,  for  about  thirty-six  hours,  as  experi- 
ments have  determined  this  time  to  insure  the 
best  chance  of  success  by  causing  the  bowels 
to  be  empty  and  lessening  the  tendency  to 
bleeding.  The  fowl  may  be  secured  either  in  the 
Chinese  mode, — that  is  to  say,  lying  on  its  left 
side  with  its  wings  folded  back  till  they  meet, 
and  pressed  under  the  foot  of  the  operator, 
whose  other  foot  is  placed  upon  the  legs ; — or, 
it  may  be  held  by  an  assistant  in  a  similar 
position ;  or,  what  adds  greatly  to  the  con- 
venience of  the  operator,  especially  in  reliev- 
ing him  from  the  necessity  of  stooping  low, 
the  fowl  may  be  confined  by  straps,  &c.  to  a 
table  one  of  which,  of  a  highly  ingenious  con- 
struction, has  been  invented  by  a  Philadelphian, 
and  will  be  subsequently  described  and  de-i_ 
linealed.     (See  Figs.  2  and  3.) 

The  chicken  being  secured  with  its  left  side 
downwards,  wings  clasped  behind  its  back, 
legs  extended  backwards,  the  upper  one  be- 
ing drawn  the  furthest  back  (see  fig.  3),  the 
head  and  neck  left  perfectly  free,  the  feathers 
are  next  to  be  plucked  from  fs  right  side 
near  the  hip  joint,  in  a  line  between  that 
and  the  shoulder  joint;  the  spa<.e  uncovered 
(a,  fig.  3)  may  be  a  little  over  an  inch  square. 
Having  first  drawn  the  skin  of  the  part  back- 
ward, so  that  when  left  to  itself  after  the  ope- 
ration, it  will  cover  the  wound  in  the  flesh, 
make  an  incision  with  the  bevel-edged  knife, 
(fig.  l.a,)  between  the  last  two  ribs,  commenc- 
ing about  an  inch  from  the  backbone,  and  ex- 
tending obliquely  downwards  about  an  inch  or 
inch  and  a  half,  just  going  deep  enough  to 
separate  the  ribs,  and  taking  good  care  not  to 
wound  the  intestines.  A  pair  of  broad  blunt 
hooks  (fig.  1,  r,  t)  attached  to  a  piece  of  elastic 
whalebone  or  ratan  (/>)  about  six  inches  long 
are  then  applied,  one  hook  to  each  side  of  the 
cut,  and  these  being  stretched  apart  by  the 
spring  bow,  keep  the  wound  open  wide  enough 
to  give  room  for  the  operation.  Then  care- 
fully cut  open  the  skin  covering  the  intestines, 
which  last,  if  not  sufficiently  drawn  up  in  conse- 
quence of  the  previous  fasting,  may  be  pushed 
forwards  or  towards  the  breastbone,  by  means 
of  a  flat  instrument  contrived  for  the  purpose, 
or,  what  answers  equally  well,  the  handle  of  a 
teaspoon.  When  the  testicles  are  exposed  to 
view,  they  will  be  found  to  be  connected  with 
the  back  and  sides  by  means  of  a  thin  skin 
which  passes  over  them.  This  tender  cover- 
ing must  be  seized  with  the  pincers  a,  n,  and 
torn  open  with  the  assistance  of  the  sharp- 
edged  hook  h;  after  this,  with  the  leti  hand, 
introduce  the  curved  spoon  under  the  lower  or 
left  testicle  (which  is  generally  a  little  nearer 
the  rump  than  the  right  one) :  then  take  th? 
tube  t,  and  with  the  right  hand  pass  the  loop  n, 
over  the  small  hooked  end  of  the  spoon  h,  run- 
ning it  down  under  the  spoon  and  included 
testicle,  so  as  to  bring  the  loop  to  act  upon  the 
pan  which  fastens  the  testicle  to  he  bacjr 
Then  by  drawing  the  ends  of  the  hair-loop 

259 


CAPON. 

backwards  and  forwards,  and  at  the  same  time 
pushing  the  lower  end  of  the  tube  towards  the 
rump  of  the  chicken,  the  cord  or  fastening  of 
the  testicle  is  sawn  off.  The  same  process  is 
to  be  followed  with  the  uppermost  or  right 
testicle,  after  which  the  separated  testicles, 
together  with  any  blood  in  the  bottom  of  the 
wound  are  to  be  scooped  out  with  the  crooked 
spoon.  When  performed  properly,  little  or  no 
blood  of  consequence  is  observed,  neither  does 
the  fowl  seem  to  experience  any  pain,  after  the 
first  incision,  but  will  eat  if  food  be  given  to 
it  To  enable  the  operator  to  produce  the 
sawing  movement,  the  hair  or  other  ligature 
used  may  be  lied  in  a  knot  so  as  to  allow  the 
index  or  fore  finger  of  the  operator's  right 
hand  to  pass  through  it.  This  finger  being 
then  turned  or  rolled  repeatedly  from  side  to 
side,  communicates  to  the  loop  below  the  saw- 
ing motion  which  contributes  to  cut  off  the 
testicle.  The  reason  for  cutting  off  the  lower- 
most testicle  first,  is  to  prevent  the  blood  which 
may  issue,  from  covering  the  remaining  one, 
and  rendering  it  difficult  to  be  seen.  After 
this  operation  which,  if  skilfully  performed, 
occupies  very  few  minutes,  the  hooks  are  to 
be  taken  out,  the  skin  drawn  over  the  wound, 
and  this  covered  with  the  feathers  plucked  off 
at  the  commencement  of  the  operation.  The 
chicken  is  then  released,  and  as  soon  as  let  go 
will  lake  grain  or  other  food  eagerly,  and  in  a 
day  or  two  be  restored  to  its  usual  health.  A 
person  well  skilled  may  operate  on  fifty 
chickens  without  killing  more  than  one  or  two. 

In  some  fowls  the  fore  part  of  the  thigh 
covers  the  last  two  ribs ;  in  which  case  care 
must  be  taken  to  draw  the  fleshy  part  of  the 
thigh  well  back,  to  prevent  its  being  cut,  as  this 
might  lame  the  fowl  or  even  cause  its  death. 

For  ligatures  nothing  answers  so  well  as 
that  commonly  employed  by  the  Chinese, 
namely,  the  fibre  of  the  cocoanut  husk.  This 
is  rough,  and  makes  a  loop  which  saws  off  and 
separates  the  testicle  very  readily.  The  next 
best  substance  for  this  purpose  is  horse-hair. 
Experiments  with  fine  wire,  silk,  silk-gut,  &c. 
show  that  these  are  all  inferior  to  cocoanut 
fibrr  and  horse-hair. 

Sometimes  a  portion  of  the  testicle  adheres 
and  is  left  behind,  in  which  case  the  fowls  will 
not  prove  capons,  as  will  soon  be  evident,  and 
may  be  killed  for  use  as  soon  as  the  head  be- 
gins to  grow  large  and  get  red,  and  they  show 
a  disposition  to  chase  the  hens.  The  real 
capon  will  make  itself  known  by  the  head 
remainmg  small,  the  comb  and  gills  losing 
Iheir  bright  redness  and  appearing  withered; 
the  feathers  of  the  neck  and  tail  will  also 
grow  longer.  They  should  be  kept  to  the  age 
of  fifteen  or  eighteen  months,  which  will  bring 
them  in  the  spring  and  summer,  when  poultry 
is  scarce  and  bears  a  high  price.  But  they 
should  not  be  killed  near  moulting  time,  as 
all  poultry  then  is  very  inferior.  The  opera- 
tion fails  principally  in  consequence  of  the 
bursimg  of  the  skin  which  encloses  the  soft 
matter  of  the  testicle,  some  of  which  remains 
in  the  bird. 

Fowls  of  five  or  six  months  are  less  liable 
■o  have  the  testicles  burst  in  the  operation  than 
260 


CAPON. 

younger  ones,  but  they  are  also  more  apt  to 
bleed  to  death  than  those  of  from  two  to  four 
months  old.  As  the  large  vessel  that  supplies 
the  entrails  with  blood  passes  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  testicles;  there  is  danger  that  a 
young  beginner  may  pierce  this  with  the 
pointed  instrument  in  taking  off  the  skin  of 
the  lower  testicle,  in  which  case  the  chicken 
would  die  instantly.  There  are  one  or  two 
smaller  vessels  to  be  avoided,  which  is  very 
easy,  as  they  are  not  difficult  to  be  seen.  If 
properly  managed,  no  blood  ever  appears 
until  a  testicle  is  taken  off:  so  that  should  any 
appear  before  that,  the  operator  will  know  that 
he  has  done  something  wrong. 

If  a  chicken  die  during  the  operation  by 
bleeding,  it  is  of  course  as  proper  for  use  as 
if  bled  to  death  by  having  its  throat  cut.  They 
very  seldom  die  after  the  operation  unless  they 
have  received  some  internal  injury,  or  the  flesh 
of  the  thigh  has  been  cut  through,  from  not 
being  drawn  back  from  ofi"  the  last  two  ribs, 
where  the  incision  is  made ;  all  of  which  acci- 
dents may  be  liable  to  occur  with  young  prac- 
titioners. 

Where  the  testicles  are  found  very  large,  the 
silver  tube  may  be  too  small  for  the  opera- 
tion; in  this  case  a  larger  one  made  of  small 
bamboo  or  elder,  about  ^ths  of  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter, may  be  substituted,  with  a  strong  cocoa- 
nut  string  or  ligature.  But  for  chickens  of 
small  and  medium  sizes,  the  silver  tube,  with 
a  horse-hair  in  it,  will  answer  perfectly  well. 

When  a  chicken  has  been  cut,  it  is  neces- 
sary, before  letting  it  run,  to  put  a  permanent 
mark  upon  it;  otherwise  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  distinguish  it  at  first  from  others  not  ope- 
rated on.  Cutting  off  the  outside  or  the  inside 
toe  of  the  left  foot,  will  enable  one  to  distin- 
guish them  at  a  distance.  Another  mode  is  to 
cut  off  the  comb,  then  shave  off  the  spurs 
close  to  the  leg,  and  stick  them  upon  the  bleed 
ing  head,  where  they  will  grow  and  become 
ornamental  in  Ihe  shape  of  a  pair  of  horns. 
This  last  mode  is  perhaps  the  best,  but  it  is 
not  so  simple  and  ready  as  the  first.  Which- 
ever plan  is  adopted,  the  fowl  should  be  marked 
before  performing  the  operation. 

It  is  very  common,  after  the  operation,  and 
whilst  the  wound  is  healing,  for  the  side  to  puff 
out  with  a  windy  swelling.  This  may  be  re- 
lieved by  making  a  small  incision  or  puncture 
in  the  skin,  which  will  let  the  wind  escape. 

Those  fowls  make  the  finest  capons  which 
are  hatched  early  in  the  spring ;  as  they  can 
be  cut  before  the  hot  weather  comes,  W'hich  is 
a  great  advantage. 

The  operator  should  not  be  discouraged  with 
the  first  difficulties  ;  for  with  practice  they  will 
disappear;  every  year's  experience  will  render 
one  more  expert,  until  the  cutting  of  a  dozen 
fowls  before  breakfast  will  be  a  small  matter. 

It  may  be  well  to  give  a  warning  against 
becoming  dissatisfied  with  the  instruments.  A 
raw  hand,  when  he  meets  with  difficulties,  is 
apt  to  think  the  tools  are  in  fault,  and  sets  about 
to  improve  them  and  invent  others ;  but  it  may 
be  only  himself  that  lacks  skill,  which  practice 
alone  can  give.  Those  who  have  devoted 
much  time  and  attention  to  the  subject  say 


CAPON. 


CAPON. 


inat  they  have  found  the  old  Chinese  instru- 
ments, a  drawing  of  which  is  given  in  fig.  1, 
preferable  to  all  others. 

In  addition  to  these  instruments,  a  regular 
Chinese  set  contains  a  flat  kind  of  spatula 
something  like  the  upper  part  of  a  spoon 
handle.  This  is  about  four  inches  long  and 
half  an  inch  wide,  and  slightly  curved  at  each 


end  in  opposite  directions.  It  is  for  the  pur 
pose  of  pushing  the  intestines  cut  of  the  way 
an  oflice  very  well  performed  by  the  handle  of 
a  teaspoon. 

Fig.  1  represents  the  instruments  used  in 
making  capons,  according  to  the  Chinese  me- 
thod, reduced  only  about  one-fourth  their  actual 
sizes. 


«,  a  knife,  the  edge  of  which  reaemblet  that  of  a  chisel  with  a  berei  or  ■lanting  edge,  half  an  inch  in  the 
neatest  width  ;  the  other  end  or  handle  contistf  of  two  forcep  blades  terminating  at  a,  a,  in  slender  points,  and 
forming  spring  forceps.     The  whole  length  from  the  cutting  eilge  to  the  end  of  the  pliers  is  ahout  six  inches. 

e,  c,  two  broad  binnt  hooks  of  silver  or  other  metal,  each  half  an  inch  in  width  and  one  and  a  half  in  length. 

b,a.n  elastic  bow,si.x  inches  long,  made  of  whalebone  or  ralan.  about  the  thickness  of  a  large  quill,  and  split  hori- 
zontally into  two  pieces.  To  tlie  ends  of  this  bow  the  broad  hooks  are  attached  by  strong  cords  alM)Ul  half  an  inch 
long.  At  the  end  d,  the  cord  embraces  only  the  lower  half  of  the  split  bow,  whilst  both  pieces  are  included  in 
the  string,  at  the  end  e. 

f,  is  a  small  ring  which  encircles  both  portions  of  the  bow.  When  the  hooks  are  first  put  in  and  only  half  the 
strength  of  the  bow  is  required  to  act  upon  them,  this  ring  is  slipped  to  the  end  e.  But  if  the  whole  strength  of 
the  bow  is  needed  to  force  the  hooks  apart  and  stretch  the  wound  open,  the  ring  is  passed  towards  the  end  d. 
Thus,  by  means  of  the  split  bow  and  sliding  ring,  the  strain  upon  the  hooks  can  be  increased  or  slackened  at 
pleasure.  * 

i,  u  lube  of  silver  or  other  metal  three  or  four  inches  long,  made  square  at  the  upper,  and  flattened  at  the 
lower  end  A,  to  the  width  of  three-tenths  of  an  inch;  this  tube  is  fur  the  pur(>o6e  of  passing  the  hbre  or  hair 
ligature  wi,  forming  the  loop  n. 

g,  a  narrow  curv)-d  spoon,  the  slender  handle  of  which  tapers  off  and  has  a  steel  point  fitted  into  it,  furnished 
at  the  e.xtremity  with  a  very  small  book,  *;  the  inner  edge  of  this  hook  is  sometimes  sharpened. 


Tht  operating  table  contrived  in  Philadelphia, 
and  before  referred  to,  is  represented  in  the 
following  cut,  fig.  2. 


This  table  may  be  about  2^  feet  long  by  1^ 
feet  wide,  and  2^  feet  high.  At  two  of  its  cor- 
ners it  can  have  a  raised  moulding  about  ^  an 
inch  high,  extending  along  the  sides  six  or  nine 
inches,  for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  instru- 
ments at  one  comer  and  at  the  other  some  of 
the  feathers  under  a  stone,  to  keep  them  from 
being  blown  away.  On  one  side  there  is  a 
slit  c  passing  through  the  table,  about  l|  inch 
long  by  ^  an  inch  wide,  running  diagonally ; 
being  about  three  inches  from  the  end  and  6^ 
from  the  side.  Through  this  slit  the  padded 
band  or  soft  list,  d,  d,  for  confining  the  wings, 
passes  below  to  be  attached  to  the  lever  e. 
This  lever  has  a  4  or  5  lb.  weight  hung  to  it; 
and  works  on  a  screw  or  pin,  by  which  it  is 
attached  to  the  leg.  When  not  in  use  the  lever 
rests  on  a  pin  or  ledge  in  the  other  leg.  On 
being  led  down,  the  attached  band  clasps  the 
wings  of  the  chicken  lying  on  the  table,  with 
greater  or  less  force  as  the  weight  is  drawn  to 
or  from  the  end  of  the  lever.  The  next  thing 
to  be  described  is  the  lever,  K  upcn  the  table, 

261 


CAPON. 


CARAWAY. 


the  object  of  which  is  to  hold  down  the  legs  as  I  at  first,  he  may  be  confined  alone  for  a  day  or 
these  are  extended  backwards.  This  lever  is  two  in  a  dark  place^  after  whjch  il  they  be  put 
padded  beneath,  and  is  furnished  with  a  hinge  '  '  '  " 
at  i,  which  admits  of  being  raised  at  the  end  A:; 
it  projects  beyond  the  edge  of  the  table,  and 
has  also  a  6  lb.  weight  suspended  by  the  string 
/,  which  increases  or  diminishes  the  pressure 
by  being  moved  to  or  from  the  table.  Through 
one  portion  of  the  hinge  an  iron  scre\y,  til, 
passes  beneath  the  table  where  the  end  is  se- 
cured by  a  nut.  This  screw  or  pin  allows  the 
lever  to  move  sidewise,  whilst  the  hinge  ad- 
mils  of  its  being  raised  or  let  down.  A  range 
of  holes,  about  i  of  an  inch  wide,  are  made 
through  the  table  to  receive  the  pin  of  the 
lever,  as  this  has  lo  be  placed  nearer  to  or 
further  from  the  slit  r,  according  to  the  size  of 
the  chicken.  The  first  hole  is  about  eleven 
inches  from  the  nearest  end;  the  second,  four- 
teen inches;  the  third,  seventeen  inches.  The 
last  is  adapted  to  very  large  cocks  or  even 
turkeys. 

In  fig  3,  the  position  of  the  fowl  when  se- 
cured, lying  upon  its  left  side  upon  the  table, 
is  represented,  d  being  the  wing-band,  h  the 
lever  placed  over  the  legs,  and  a  the  place 
where  the  incision  is  made. 


The  table  is  a  refinement  in  the  art  of  ca- 
poning which  we  believe  is  altogether  new, 
notwithstanding  the  thousands  of  years  which 
have  elapsed  since  the  operation  has  been 
habitually  practised.  The  difficulty  of  making 
a  subject,  apparently  simple,  well  understood 
by  persons  to  whom  it  is  entirely  new,  is,  we 
think,  a  sufficient  apology  for  the  length  of  the 
details  given. 

In  France  and  other  countries,  besides  fur- 
nishing a  luxurious  food,  capons  are  made 
useful  in  taking  care  of  broods  of  young 
chickens,  ducklings,  turkeys,  and  pheasants, 
which  they  are  said  to  do  much  better  than 
hens,  owing  to  their  larger  size  and  thicker 
coats  of  feathers.  The  moment  the  chickens 
are  hatched  they  are  taken  from  the  hens  and 
given  to  a  capon,  who  rears  them  with  all  the 
care  of  a  parent,  often  having  a  small  bell 
attached  to  his 'neck,  the  tinkling  of  which 
serves  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  brood  about 
him,  fimilar  to  the  clucking  and  maternal 
sounds  of  the  mother.  Should  he  show  a  dis- 
position to  treat  the  young  chickens  roughly 
262 


with  him  he  will  be  pleased  with  their  com- 
pany and  continue  to  take  care  of  them.  The 
hen  is  cooped,  and  well  fed  until  she  regains 
the  flesh  and  strength  lost  whilst  setting,  and 
then  turned  out  to  lay  again.  In  this  Avay  the 
poulterer  is  enabled  to  raise  a  large  number 
of  chickens  from  a  few  hens.  The  capon 
generally  brings  double  or  treble  the  price  of 
common  poultry. 

CAPILLARY  VESSELS  OF  VEGETA- 
BLES. The  fine  hair-like  vessels  that  assist 
in  the  absorption  and  circulation  of  the  juices 
of  plants. 

CAPSICUM.  (Supposed  either  from  *<«7rT», 
mordeo,  to  bite  ;  or  from  capsa,  a  chest.)  Cap- 
sicum  annutim.  Of  this  there  are  five  varieties 
L  Long-podded.  2.  Heart-shaped.  3.  Shcrt- 
podded.  4.  Angular-podded.  5.  Round  short- 
podded.  Of  the  Capsicum  cerasiforme  there  are 
three  varieties.  1.  Cherry-shaped.  2.  Bell- 
shaped,  or  Ox-heart.  3.  Yellow-podded.  The 
soil  best  suited  for  them  is  a  rich,  moist, 
mouldy  loam,  rather  inclining  to  lightness  than 
tenacity.  VV^hen  completely  ripe,  the  pods  are 
cut  and  hung  up  in  the  sun,  or  in  a  warm  room, 
until  completely  dry,  in  which  state  they  are 
kept  until  the  seed  is  wanted  for  sowing.  (G. 
W.  Johnson's  Kitchen  Garden.) 

The  capsicum  loses  some  of  its  aromatic 
odour  by  drying,  its  taste,  both  recent  and  dry, 
is  hot  and  acrid,  depending  on  a  fixed  acrid  oil, 
not  volatile  and  distinct  from  that  oil  which 
gives  the  odour  to  the  fresh  pod.  Capsicum  is 
used  as  a  condiment  in  cookery;  it  is  more 
excitant  than  pepper;  but  its  eiffects  are  less 
permanent. 

CARAWAY,  or  CARRAWAY  (Fr.  and  It. 
carvi;  Lat.  camm  carui).  A  naturalized  bien- 
nial plant,  with  a  taper  root  like  a  parsnip, 
but  much  smaller ;  stem  about  two  feet  high, 
growing  wild  in  meadows  and  pastures.  This 
plant  is  extensively  cultivated  in  several  parts 
of  Essex  and  some  other  counties,  for  the  sake 
of  its  seeds,  which  are  in  daily  use  as  a  grate- 
ful and  wholesome  aromatic,  and  are  largely 
consumed  in  confectionary  and  medicinal  pre- 
parations; but  its  root  was  formerly  much 
esteemed  when  boiled,  and  it  is  not  easy  to 
account  for  its  falling  into  disuse.  The  seeds, 
which  are  grayish-brown,  and  ribbed,  are  too 
well  known  to  need  description.  They  should 
be  chosen  large,  new,  of  a  good  colour,  not 
dusty,  and  of  a  strong  agreeable  smell.  Cara- 
way is  sometimes  sowed  with  coriander  and 
teasel,  and  harvested  the  second  year.  The 
produce  of  this  seed  has  often  been  very  great; 
even  as  much  as  20  cwt.  per  acre,  which  al- 
ways finds  a  market  in  London.  On  account 
of  their  aromatic  smell  and  warm  pungent 
taste,  the  seeds  of  caraway  may  be  classed 
among  the  first  stomachics  and  carminatives 
of  our  climate.  To  persons  afflicted  with  fla- 
tulency, and  liable  to  colic,  if  administered  in 
proper  quantities,  they  generally  afford  con- 
siderable relief.  Their  virtue  depends  on  a 
volatile  oil,  which  is  procured  in  a  separate 
state,  by  distillation  with  water.  The  water 
retains  some  of  the  oil,  and  is  used  as  a  vehi- 
cle for  other  mec  icmes. 


CARBON. 

Caraway  delights  in  a  deep,  lich,  ticist 
loam.  The  ground  for  this,  as  well  as  other 
deep-rooting  plants,  is  advantageously  dug 
two  spades  deep.  An  open  situation  is  most 
suitable  to  it;  but  in  extensive  orchards, 
where  the  trees  are  far  apart,  it  may  be  grown 
with  success.  It  is  propagated  by  seed,  which 
may  be  sown  in  March  or  April,  either  broad- 
cast and  raked  in,  or  in  drills  six  inches  apart ; 
in  either  case  being  performed  thin,  and  buried 
about  half  ati  inch  deep.  When  well  distin- 
guishable, the  plants  must  be  thinned  to  six 
inches  apart,  and  carefully  hoed.  The  hoeing 
must  be  several  times  repeated  in  the  early 
stages  of  their  growth,  to  extirpate  the  weeds, 
which  at  a  later  period  cannot  be  conveniently 
got  at.  The  plants  flower  in  June,  and  ripen 
their  seed  at  the  close  of  summer.  (G.  W. 
Johnson's  Kitch.  Gard. ;  English  Flora,  vol.  ii. 
p.  86 ;  M'CullocKs  Cotn.  Diet. ;  Willich's  Doni. 
Encyr.  ;  Brande's  Did.  Science.) 

CARBON  (Fr.  carhone  ,■  Lat.  carbo).  A 
hitherto  undecompounded  combustible  body, 
which  enters  into  the  composition,  in  some 
form  or  other,  of  all  vegetable  substances.  In 
a  perfectly  pure  state,  carbon  constitutes  dia- 
mond. Carbonaceous  substances  are  usually 
more  or  less  compounded,  containing  hydrogen, 
or  sometimes  ox)'gen,  and  azote,  along  with 
earthy  and  metallic  matters.  Carbon,  tolerably 
pure,  abounds  in  the  mineral  kingdom ;  and, 
in  a  combined  slate,  it  forms  a  main  consti- 
tuent of  vegetable  and  animal  bodies.  Anthra- 
cite is  a  mineral  charcoal,  differing  from 
common  pit-coal  in  containing  no  bitumen, 
and  therefore  burning  without  flame  or  smoke. 
Coke  is  the  carbonaceous  mass  which  remains 
after  pit-coal  has  been  exposed  to  ignition  for 
some  time  out  of  contact  of  air;  its  volatile 
parts  having  been  dissipated  by  the  heat  It 
is  a  spongy  substance,  of  an  iron-black  colour, 
a  somewhat  metallic  lustre,  and  does  not  easily 
burn  unless  several  pieces  are  kindled  toge- 
ther. With  a  good  draught,  however,  it  pro- 
duces a  most  intense  heat.  It  is  readily 
obtained  in  the  form  of  charcoal  by  heating 
wood  (and  any  kind  of  wood  will  answer  the 
purpose)  red-hot,  covered  with  sand,  in  a  cru- 
cible. The  covering  with  sand  is  adtled  to 
prevent  the  w«od  undergoing  combustion  by 
coming  in  contact  with  the  atmosphere.  In 
this  state  when  reduced  to  powder,  charcoal 
constitutes  an  excellent  manure  for  most  soils, 
either  when  applied  by  itself,  or  mixed  with 
decomposing  animal  and  vegetable  substances. 
In  such  cases  it  absorbs  a  considerable  volume 
of  the  gases  which  such  substances  constantly 
emit.  Thus,  reckoning  the  bulk  of  the  char- 
coal to  be  1,  it  absorbs  of 

Ammoniacal  gas  ------    90 

Sulphuretted  hydrogen         -        -        -        -    55 

Carbonic  acid  gas         -----    35 

When  burnt,  charcoal  unites  with  the  oxygen 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  forms,  in  the  state  of 
carbonic  acid  gas,  a  very  important  portion 
of  the  gases  required  by  all  plants  for  their 
healthy  vegetation.  (See  Gases,  their  Use 
TO  Veretatiox.)  Carbon  constitutes  about 
42-47  per  cent.  In  sugar,  41-906  per  cent,  in 
gum,  43-55  per  cent,  in  wheat  starch,  52-58  per 
cent,  in  the  wood  of  the  oak,  and  51-45  in  that 


-  4619  53-81 

-  4014  59  86 

-  56  41  43  59 


CARBONIC  ACID. 

of  the  beech  ;  46-83  in  pure  acetic  acid  or  vine- 
gar, 36-167  in  tartaric  acid,  and  41-369  in  the 
citric.  In  the  state  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  and 
in  various  organic  matters,  it  is  found  in  all 
cultivated  soils,  in  all  waters,  and  in  the  atmo- 
sphere ;  and  in  each  situation,  as  will  be  more 
particularly  described  under  the  head  Gases, 
it  is  absorbed  by  and  becomes  the  food  of 
plants. 

CARBONATES.  A  peculiar  class  of  salts 
formed  by  the  combination  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  with  various  earths,  alkalies,  and  metallic 
oxides.  The  composition  of  those  most  com- 
monly met  with  by  the  farmer  is  as  follows : — 

Acid.       Bate. 
Carbonate  of  lime,  chalk,  lime- 

8toiu,iLC.  -        -        -        -    66  2      33  8 

Cnrbonale  of  magnesia         -        -    6875    3125 
Bicarbonate  of  potasb  - 
Cnrbonate  of  soda 
Carbonate  of  ammonia 

CARBONIC  ACID  GAS.  A  peculiar  gas, 
the  same  as  that  emitted  by  fermenting  beer, 
or  other  liquors  ;  it  is  inhaled  by,  and  its  car- 
bon is  the  food  of  plants.  It  is  composed  of 
carbon  72-73,  oxygen  27-27.  See  Gases,  their 
Use  to  Veoetatios, 

It  is  important  to  know,  that  carbonic  acid 
gas  is  poisonous,  if  breathed.  If,  for  example, 
a  person  descends  into  a  tun  where  fermented 
liquor  occupies  the  bottom,  and  an  atmosphere 
of  carbonic  acid  gas  floating  over  it;  as  soon 
as  his  mouth  is  immersed  in  it,  he  is  suffo- 
cated in  the  same  manner  as  if  his  mouth  and 
nostrils  were  closed.  He  dies  from  the  defect 
of  atmospheric  air  in  the  lungs,  and  the  circu- 
lation of  black  blood  through  the  brain.  This 
is  the  manner  also  in  which  death  occurs 
when  persons  descend  into  old  wells  and  cel- 
lars that  have  been  long  closed.  When  the 
gas  is  diluted  with  air,  as  for  instance,  when  a 
person  dies  by  burning  charcoal  in  a  chafing- 
dish  in  a  bed-room,  he  is  not  suffocated ;  but 
he  dies  from  the  sedative  influence  of  the  di- 
luted carbonic  acid,  which  is  breathed,  on  the 
nervous  system.  When  such  accidents  hap- 
pen, persons  should  not  venture  to  bring  out 
the  bodies,  until  a  quantity  of  pure  lime  mixed 
with  water  to  the  thickness  of  milk,  has  been 
thrown  into  the  tun,  well,  or  cellar ;  or  in  the 
event  of  death  from  burning  charcoal,  until  a 
current  of  air  has  been  sent  through  the  apart- 
ment. The  bodies  should  be  laid  on  their 
backs,  with  the  heads  moderately  elevated; 
cold  water  dashed  on  the  chest,  and  frictions 
employed  over  the  whole  body  ;  and  the  aid  of 
a  medical  practitioner  quickly  procured. 

This  is  the  heaviest  of  all  gases,  its 
weight,  compared  with  the  common  air  of 
the  atmosphere,  being  about  one-half  greater. 
This  is  the  reason  why  it  always  subsides 
to  the  bottom  of  apartments,  wells,  sinks.  Sec, 
where  it  may  have  been  formed,  or  gained 
access.  Its  weight  even  admits  of  its  being 
poured  from  one  vessel  to  another.  Hence 
it  was  at  first  called  aerial  acid.  Frona  its 
existing  copiously,  in  a  solid  state,  in  lime- 
stones and  the  mild  alkalis,  it  was  styled 
jixed  air  by  its  proper  discoverer.  Dr.  Black. 
About  one  volume  of  it  exists  in  one  thou 
sand  volumes  of  common  atmospheric  air 
which  may  be  made  manifest  by  the  crust  -,  " 
^  263 


CARBONIC  ACID. 


CARDOON. 


cart)onate  it  occasions  upon  the  surface  of 
lime-water.  Carbonic  acid  gas  is  found  accu- 
mulated in  mnny  caverns  of  volcanic  districts, 
and  particularly  in  the  grotto  del  rani  at  Pau- 
silippo,  near  Puzzuoli ;  being  disengaged  in 
such  circumstances  by  the  action  of  subterra- 
nean fire,  and,  possibly,  of  certain  acids,  upon 
the  limestone  strata.  It  often  issues  from 
fountains  in  copious  currents,  as  at  Franzens- 
brunn,nearEger,in  Polterbrunnen;  near  Trier; 
and  Byrreshom.  This  acid  gas  occurs  also 
frequently  in  mines  and  wells,  being  called 
choke  damp,  from  its  sufibcating  quality.  Its 
presence  may,  at  all  times,  be  detected,  by 
letting  down  a  lighted  candle,  suspended  from 
a  string,  into  the  places  suspected  of  contain- 
ing this  mephitic  air.  It  exists,  in  consider- 
able quantities,  in  the  water  of  every  pump- 
well,  and  gives  it  a  fresh  and  pleasant  taste. 
Water,  exposed  some  time  to  the  air,  loses 
these  aerial  particles,  and  becomes  vapid. 
Many  springs  are  highly  impregnated  with 
carbonic  acid  gas,  and  form  a  sparkling  beve- 
rage; such  as  the  Self crswasser,  from  Selters, 
upon  the  Lahn,  in  the  grand  duchy  of  Nassau  ; 
of  which  no  less  than  two  millions  and  a  half 
of  bottles  are  sold  every  year.  The  amount 
in  Saratoga  water  is  very  great.  A  prodigious 
quantity  of  a  similar  water  is  also  artificially 
prepared  under  the  name  of  aerated  or  soda 
water. 

Carbonic  acid  occurs  in  nature,  combined 
vith  many  salifiable  bases;  as  in  the  carbo- 
i'.ates  of  soda,  baryta,  strontia,  magnesia;  the 
oxides  of  iron,  manganese,  zinc,  copper,  lead, 
&c.  From  these  substances  it  may  be  sepa- 
rated, generally  speaking,  by  strong  ignition, 
or  more  readily,  by  the  superior  affinity  of  mu- 
riatic, sulphuric,  or  nitric  acid,  for  the  earth 
or  metallic  oxyde.  It  is  formed  whenever  ve- 
getable or  animal  substances  are  burned  with 
free  access  of  air,  from  the  union  of  their  car- 
bonaceous principle  with  atmospheric  oxygen. 
It  is  also  formed  in  all  cases  of  the  spontane- 
ous decomposition  of  organic  substances,  par- 
ticularly in  the  process  of  fermentation ;  and 
constitutes  the  pungent,  noxious,  heavy  gas 
thrown  off,  in  vast  volumes,  from  beer  vats. 
See  DisTiLLATiox  and  Fermkntation.  Car- 
bonic acid  is  also  generated  in  the  breathing 
of  animals;  from  4  to  5  per  cent.,  in  volume, 
of  the  inhaled  oxygen  being  converted,  at  each 
expiration,  into  this  gas,  which  contaminates 
the  air  of  crowded  apartments,  and  renders 
ventilation  essential  to  health,  and  even  to  life; 
witness  the  horrible  catastrophe  of  the  Black- 
hole  at  Calcutta. 

Carbonic  acid  gas  is  destitute  of  colour,  has 
a  sourish,  suffocating  smell,  an  acidulous  pun- 
gent taste,  imparts  to  moist,  but  not  dry,  litmus 
paper,  a  transient  reddish  tint,  and  weighs  per 
100  cubic  inches,  46^  grains  ;  and  per  cubic 
foot,  803 i  grains ;  a  little  more  than  3J  oz., 
avoirdupois.  A  cubic  foot  of  air  weighs 
about  two-thirds  of  that  quantity,  or  .527  grains. 
It  may  be  condensed  into  the  liquid  state  by  a 
pressure  of  40  atmospheres,  and  this  liquid 
may  be  then  solidified  by  its  own  sudden 
j-.pontaneous  evaporation.  If  the  air  contain 
more  than  15  per  cent,  in  bulk  of  this  gas,  it 
l«*"comes  unfit  for  respiration  and  combustion, 
264 


I  animal  life  and  candles  being  speedily  eitin 
guished  by  it. 

Before  a  person  ventures  into  a  deep  well, 
or  vault  containing  fermenting  materials,  he 
should  introduce  a  lighted  candle  into  the 
space,  and  observe  how  it  burns.  Carbonic 
acid  being  so  much  denser  than  common  air, 
may  be  drawn  out  of  cellars  or  fermenting 
tubs,  by  a  pump  furnished  with  a  leather  hose, 
which  reaches  to  the  bottom.  Quicklime, 
mixed  with  water,  may  be  used  also  to  purify 
the  air  of  a  sunk  apartment,  by  its  affinity  for, 
or  power  of,  absorbing  this  aerial  acid.  (  Ure's 
Diet,  of  Arts,  if  c.) 

CARBURETTED  HYDROGEN.  A  com- 
pound of  carbon  and  hydrogen  gases,  of  which 
there  are  several  species  ;  such  as  oil  gas,  coal 
gas,  plcfiant  gas,  oil  of  lemons,  otto  of  roses,  oil  or 
spirits  of  turpentine,  petroleum,  naphtha,  naphtha- 
line, oil  of  wine,  caoutchoucine,  and  caoutchouc  or 
Indian  rtihbcr.     {lire's  Diet,  of  Arts,  ^c.) 

CARDINAL,  SCARLET  {Lobelia  cardinalis). 
An  herbaceous  hardy  plant,  a  native  of  Virgi- 
nia. It  blows  its  scarlet  flowers  in  July,  and 
again  in  October.  It  loves  bog  earth  and 
shade,  and  the  root  should  be  parted  every 
spring.  Ripen  the  flower  intended  for  seed 
under  a  glass  hung  over  it,  for  it  rarely  ripens 
in  this  climate  without  assistance.  This 
superb  wild  flower  is  worth  a  place  in  every 
garden.  It  continues  blooming  a  long  time. 
Five  or  six  species  are  known  in  the  United 
States. 

CARDOON,  or  CHARDON  (Span,  cardo, 
an  artichoke ;  Lat.  Cynara  cardunculus).  A 
kind  of  wild  artichoke,  which  is  principally 
confined  to  garden  culture,  as  it  has  n(:;t  yet 
been  employed  as  an  article  of  food  for  any 
sort  of  live  stock. 

The  stalks  of  the  inner  leaves,  when  ren- 
dered tender  by  blanching,  are  used  in  stews, 
soups,  and  salads.  A  light  rich  soil  is  most 
suitable  to  this  vegetable,  dug  deep  and  well 
pulverized.  The  situation  must  be  open,  and 
free  from  trees,  for,  like  the  artichoke,  it  is  im- 
patient of  confinement.  It  is  propagated  by 
seed,  which  may  be  sown  at  the  close  of 
March ;  but,  for  the  main  crop,  not  until  the 
early  part  of  April ;  those  plants  raised  from 
earlier  sowings  being  apt  to  run  at  the  close 
of  autumn :  for  a  late  crop,  a  sowing  may  be 
performed  in  June.  The  best  practice  is  to 
sow  in  patches  of  three  or  four  rows,  four  feet 
apart  each  way,  to  be  thinned  finally  to  one  in 
each  place,  the  weakest  being  removed.  The 
seedlings  are  nearly  a  month  in  appearing 
If,  however,  they  are  raised  in  a  seed-bed,  they 
will  be  ready  for  transplanting  in  about  eight 
or  ten  weeks  from  the  time  of  sowing,  and 
must  be  set  at  similar  distances  as  are  speci- 
fied above.  The  plants  of  the  first  sewing  are 
generally  three  weeks  before  they  r^ake  their 
appearance  ;  those  from  the  later  ones,  about 
two.  If,  after  a  lapse  of  these  times,  they  do 
not  appear,  it  should  be  ascertained  if  the  seed 
is  decayed,  and  in  that  case  the  sowing  may 
be  renewed.  The  seed  must  be  sown  rather 
thin,  and  covered  with  about  half  an  inch 
'  depth  of  mould.  When  about  a  month  old, 
the  seedlings,  if  too  crowded,  must  be  thinned 
to  four  inches  apart ;  and  those  removed  may 


CAREX. 


CARRIAGE. 


be  placed  out  at  a  similar  distance,  if  there  is 
any  deficiency  of  plants.  When  of  the  age 
sufficient  for  their  removal,  they  must  be  taken 
up  carefully,  and  the  long  straggling  leaves 
removed.  The  bed  for  their  reception  must 
be  dug  well  and  laid  out  in  trenches  as  for 
celery,  or  a  hollow  sunk  for  each  plant ;  but 
as  they  are  liable  to  suffer  from  excessive  wet, 
the  best  mode  is  to  plant  on  the  surface,  and 
form  the  necessary  earthing  in  the  form  of  a 
tumulus.  Water  must  be  applied  abundantly 
at  the  time  of  planting  as  well  as  subsequently, 
until  they  are  established;  and  also  in  August, 
if  dry  weather  occurs,  regularly  every  other 
night,  as  this  is  found  to  prevent  their  running 
to  seed.  The  only  other  necessary  point  to  be 
attended  to  is,  that  they  may  be  kept  free  from 
weeds  during  every  stage  of  their  growth. 
When  advanced  to  about  eighteen  inches  in 
height,  which,  according  to  the  time  of  sow- 
ing, will  be  in  August,  and  thence  to  October, 
the  leaves  must  be  closed  together  by  encir- 
cling them  with  a  hay-band,  and  earth  placed 
round  each  plant,  a  dry  day  being  selected  for 
performing  it.  As  they  continue  to  grow, 
fresh  bands  and  earth  must  be  constantly  ap- 
plied, until  they  are  blanched  to  the  height  ol' 
two  feet,  or  about  two-thirds  of  their  stems. 
They  will  be  fit  for  use  in  eight  or  ten  weeks 
after  the  earthing  first  commences.  Care  must 
be  had  in  earthing  them  up,  to  prevent  the 
earth  falling  in  between  the  leaves,  M'hich  is 
liable  to  induce  decay.  The  surface  of  the 
soil  should  likewise  be  beaten  smooth,  to 
throw  orf  the  rain.  In  severe  weather  their 
tops  should  be  covered  with  litter,  it  being  re- 
moved as  invariably  in  mild  weather:  by  this 
treatment,  they  may  be  preserved  in  a  service- 
able state  throughout  the  winter.  For  the  pro- 
duction  of  seed,  which  in  England  seldom 
conies  to  maturity  except  in  dry  seasons,  a  few 
plants  should  be  set  in  a  sheltered  situation, 
of  the  April  sowing;  of  course  not  earthed  up, 
but  allowed  the  shelter  oV  mats  or  litter  in 
frosty  weather.  In  the  spring,  the  ground  may 
be  dug  round  them  to  destroy  weeds,  as  well 
as  to  encourage  the  growth  of  the  roots.  The 
flowers  make  their  appearance  about  the  be- 
ginning of  July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  Sep- 
tember.    (G.  VV.  Johiison's  Kitchen  Garden.) 

CAREX.  A  vast  genus  of  grasses  com- 
prehending more  than  two  hundred  species, 
nearly  all  of  which  are  indigenous  to  America. 
It  includes  sedges,  and  a  vast  variety  of  grasses 
found  in  salt-water  marshes.    See  Sedoe. 

CARLICK.  A  provincial  term  applied  in 
some  places  to  charlock. 

CARNATION,  or  CLOVE  PINK  (Lat. 
carries:  Dianthus  caryophyllus).  A  beautiful  and 
odoriferous  perennial,  blowing  in  July  and  Au- 
gust, and  cultivated  in  beds  or  in  pots.  The 
wild  D.  caryophyllus  is  the  origin  of  our  fine 
garden  carnations.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii. 
p.  287.)  There  are  three  distinct  varieties ; 
the  flake,  the  bizarre,  and  the  picotee.  The 
flake  has  two  colours  only,  with  large  stripes  ; 
the  bizarre  h  variegated  with  irregular  stripes 
and  spots,  of  not  less  than  three  colours ;  and 
the  picotee  has  a  white  ground,  spotted  with 
every  variety  of  scarlet,  red,  purple,  and  pink. 
'9hry  love  a  light,  rich  earth  mixed  with  sea- 
34 


sand,  and  never  bloom  very  handsomely  with- 
out a  proportion  of  the  latter.  Carnations  are 
propagated  by  layers,  pipings,  and  from  seed, 
which  produce  new  sorts.  There  is  an  im- 
mense collection  of  fine  prize  carnations,  well 
known  to  the  public,  too  lengthy  to  insert  here  ; 
but  they  are  easily  procured  at  a  reasonatle 
price.  If  you  raise  flowers  from  seed,  sow  it 
in  pots  of  light  earth  in  April ;  cover  the  seed 
very  lightly  with  mould  filtered  through  the 
fingers ;  shade  the  seedlings  from  the  sun,  and 
prick  them  out  when  each  seedling  has  six 
leaves.  Pot  or  plant  for  blowing  in  autumn. 
They  will  not  blow  well  if  moved  in  the  spring. 
Carnations  must  be  sheltered  from  excessive 
rains  and  hard  frosts,  and  they  should  be  placed 
in  warm  sunny  borders. 

CARNATION  GRASS.  In  agriculture,  a 
term  applied  to  some  grasses,  as  the  hair  grass 
(Jira),  probably  from  their  having  this  kind 
of  colour  in  their  flowers.  Any  coarse  species 
of  carex  is  so  named  in  the  north  of  England 
and  Scotland. 

CARO]^  {Ceratorxa  caroubier).  A  tree  cul- 
tivated extensively  in  the  south  of  Europe,  the 
pods  produced  by  which  contain  a  sweet,  eat- 
able fsecula.  The  tree  attains  a  medium  size, 
and  the  flowers,  which  are  of  a  deep  purple 
colour,  are  disposed  in  clusters.  The  fruit- 
pcds  are  a  foot  long,  contain  a  reddish  pulp, 
of  an  agreeable  sweet  taste  when  dry;  and  are 
supposed  to  be  "the  husks  (xipdriat)  that  the 
swine  did  eat,"  (Luke  xv.  16).  They  are  used 
as  food  for  man  and  horse.  The  carob  tree  is 
raised  from  seeds. 

CARPET  (Bmch,  karpet ;  Itnl  rarj)elta),  A 
covering  for  floors,  &c.,  manufactured  of  wool, 
or  other  materials,  worked  with  the  needle  or 
by  the  loom.  Carpets  are  generally  composed 
of  linen  and  worsted,  but  the  Kidderminster  or 
Scotch  carpets  are  entirely  fabricated  of  wool. 
Persian  and  Turkish  carpets  are  the  most  es- 
teemed. In  England  carpets  are  'principally 
manufactured  at  Kidderminster,  Wilton,  Ciren- 
cester, Worcester,  Axminster,  &c.;  and  in 
Scotland  at  Kilmarnock.  Those  made  at  Ax- 
minster are  believed  to  be  very  little,  if  any 
thing,  inferior  to  those  of  Persia  and  Turkey. 
(M'CuUoch's  Com.  Did.:  Willich's  Bom.  Encyc; 
Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

CARRIAGE  (Fr.  cariage).  A  general  name 
applied  to  carts,  wagons,  and  other  vehicles, 
employed  in  conveying  passengers,  goods, 
merchandise,  &c.,  from  one  place  to  another, 
and  which  are  usually  constructed  with  two  or 
four  wheels.  Wheel-carriages  first  came  into 
use  about  1381;  they  were  called  ivhirlicotes, 
and  were  little  bettpr  than  litters  or  cots  (cotes) 
placed  upon  wheeis. 

Carriage,  in  irrigation,  is  a  conduit  made  of 
timber  or  brick ;  if  the  latter,  an  arch  is  turned 
over  the  stream  that  runs  under  it,  and  the 
sides  bricked  up  ;  if  the  former,  which  it  com- 
monly is,  it  is  constructed  with  a  bottom  and 
two  sides,  as  wide  and  as  high  as  the  main  it 
lies  in.  It  must  be  made  very  strong,  close, 
and  well-jointed.  Its  use  is  to  convey  the 
water  in  one  main  over  another  which  runs  at 
right  angles  with  it ;  its  depth  and  breadth  are 
of  the  same  dimensions  with  the  mam  it  be- 
longs to;  its  length  is  in  proportion  to  the 
Z  265 


CARRIAGE  DRAIN. 

breadth  of  the  main  it  crosses.  It  is  the  most 
expensive  conveyance  belonging  to  the  irrigat- 
ing of  land. 

CARRIAGE  DRAIN.    See  Drains. 

CARROT  (Fr.  carote).  A  well-known  an- 
nual or  biennial  root,  common  alike  to  the 
field  and  the  garden.  The  wild  carrot,  from 
whence  all  those  now  commonly  cultivated 
came,  is  a  native  of  England,  found  chiefly  on 
chalky  hills.  The  kinds  now  preferred  for 
field  culture  are  the  long  red,  the  Altringham, 
and  the  orange.  It  is  a  crop  which,  for  the 
heavier  description  of  soils,  is  becoming  more 
and  more  cultivated  in  this  country;  for  its 
produce  is  not  only  large,  but  it  can  be  grown 
on  lands  not  suited  to  turnip  culture;  for 
although  the  soils  best  adapted  to  it  are  deep 
sandy  loams,  yet  it  can  be  grown  successfully 
on  sands  and  peats.  The  carrot  delights,  how- 
ever, in  a  deep  soil,  and  thus  land  intended  for 
it  can  hardly  be  ploughed  too  deep.  It  is  usual 
to  trench  plough  or  subsoil  for  it ;  and  in  Hol- 
land they  are  even  at  the  pains  to  deepen  with 
the  spade  the  furrows  made  by  ih^lough.  It 
may  be  sown,  like  the  turnip,  on  ridges,  by  the 
drill  or  otherwise,  or  broadcast.  The  seed 
should  be  of  the  previous  season's  growth ;  if 
mixed  a  fortnight  before  sowing  with  two 
bushels  of  sand  or  mould,  kept  wetted  and 
turned  over  once  or  twice,  they  will  grow  all 
the  better  (Com.  to  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p.  70 — 
299)  ;  and  it  keeps  the  seed  from  clinging  to- 
gether. {Jour,  of  Roy.  Jgr.  Soc.  of  Eng.  p,  40.) 
The  quantity  proper  to  be  sown  per  acre  (April 
is  the  best  period)  is  two  pounds  by  the  drill, 
and  about  five  when  sown  broadcast.  The 
plants  should  be  hoed  out  like  turnips,  and  dug 
up  in  October  for  storing;  but  they  may  be 
left  in  the  ground  if  preferred,  and  dug  up  as 
they  are  wanted.  They  may  be  stored  either 
in  a  building  covered  with  straw  or  haulm,  or 
in  pits  piled  in  heaps  four  feet  deep.  {Brit. 
Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  287.)  The  common  produce  is 
from  280  to  450  bushels  per  acre— 9000  lbs. 
(Com.  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  vi.  p.  141.)  It  is  ad- 
mirable ftiod  for  all  kinds  of  stock.  {Lmv.  Jgr. 
p.  326.)  Either  the  tops  mown  oflf  green,  which 
is  said  not  to  injure  the  roots  {Com.  Board  of 
Jjgr.voL  V.  p.  211),  or  the  roots,  for  horses, 
half  a  bushel  a  day,  sliced  in  chaff,  is  admira- 
ble food.  {Youatt  on  the  Horse,  p.  358,  392,  213 ; 
Brit.  Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  125.)  1000  parts  of  the 
carrot  contain  98  of  nutritive  matter.  {Davy's 
Led.)  It  should  be  well  manured  with  either 
farm-yard  dung  (20  cubic  yards  per  acre)  ;  or 
pigeons'  dung  is  excellent  {Quar.  Jour,  of  Agr. 
vol.  v.  p.  144) ;  or  a  mixture  of  salt,  6^  bushels, 
nd  soot  6^,  trenched  in  (^imlair;  Johnson  on 
Salt,  31,  146 ;  Rev.  E.  Carttimght,  Coin.  Board  of 
Jlgr.  vol.  iv.  p.  376)  ;  or  sea-weed  trenched  in 
fresh  as  collected  from  the  shore  {Quar.  Jour, 
of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p.  268)  ;  or  turf  trenched  in 
deep  {Com.  Board  of  Agr.\o\.  iv.  p.  191);  or 
stieet  sweepings,  mixed  with  one-third  of  pigs* 
dung  and  20  hogshead  of  liquid  manure.  {Flem. 
Husb.  40.)  The  white  or  Belgian  carrot  has 
been  recently  tried  as  a  field  crop  with  consi- 
derable success  ;  Sir  C.  Burrell  having  grown 
-^f  this  variety  in  1840,  "on  a  very  indifferent 
field,"  1000  bushels  per  acre  {Brit.  Farm.  Mag. 
vol.  iv.  p.  464) ;  Lord  Ducie,  26  tons  3  cwt. ; 
266 


CARROT. 

and  from  20  to  32  tons  by  Mr.  Harris ;  and  in 
Jersey  38  tons  per  acre.  It  is  described  'm  the 
Report  of  the  Yoxford  Farmers'  Club  as  well 
adapted  for  strong  or  mixed  soil  lands,  as  keep- 
ing well,  and  as  excellent  food  for  horses. 
{Journ.  of  Royal  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  42.) 

CARROT,  THE  GARDEN  {Daucus  carota; 
as  some  imagine  from  cfaua,  though  its  taste  is 
far  from  being  pungent.  Perhaps  from  Sxav(y 
on  account  of  the  thickness  ci'  its  root).  There 
are  a  considerable  number  cf  varieties  of  the 
carrot,  which  are  divided  by  horticulturists 
into  two  families:  those  with  a  regular  fusi- 
form root,  which  are  named  long  carrots;  and 
those  having  one  that  is  nearly  cylindrical, 
abruptly  terminating,  but  continuing  with  a 
long  slender  tap-root,  which  are  denominated 
hor7%  carrots.  The  first  are  employed  for  the 
main  crops ;  the  second,  on  account  of  their 
superior  delicate  flavour,  and  are  advantage- 
ously grown  for  early  use.  They  are  likewise 
commonly  recommended  for  shallow  soils. 
Horn  carrots, — early  red  horn,  common  early 
horn,  long  horn :  this  last  is  the  best  for  the 
summer  crop.  Long  carrots, — white,  yellow, 
long  yellow,  long  red,  Chertsey  or  Surrey,  su- 
perb green-topped  or  Altringham  :  the  last  two 
are  the  best  for  main  crops.  Carrots  should 
have  a  warm,  light,  sandy,  fertile  soil,  dug  fuL 
two  spades  deep,  as  they  require  to  be  deeper 
than  any  other  culinary  vegetable.  With  the 
bottom  spit  it  is  a  good  practice  to  turn  in  a 
little  well-decayed  manure  ;  but  no  general  ap- 
plication of  it  to  the  surface  should  be  allowed 
in  the  year  they  are  sown.  A  spot  should  be 
allotted  them  which  has  been  made  rich  for 
the  growth  of  crops  in  the  previous  year,  or 
else  purposely  prepared  by  manuring  and 
trenching  in  the  preceding  autumn.  The  fresh 
application  of  manure  is  liable  to  cause  their 
growing  forked,  and  to  expend  themselves  in 
fibres,  as  well  as  to  be  worm-eaten.  If,  how- 
ever, the  want  of  manure  must  be  obviated  at 
the  time  of  sowing,  it  should  be  used  in  a 
highly  putrescent  state,  and  but  in  small  quan- 
tities, finely  divided  and  well  mixed  with  the 
soil.  If  the  soil  is  at  all  binding,  it  should  be 
well  pulverized  by  digging  very  small  pits  at  a 
time,  &c.  Mr.  Smith  of  Keith  Hall,  N.  B.,  re- 
commends pigeons'  dung  as  the  best  manure 
for  this  crop  :  it  not  only  prevents  the  maggot, 
but  causes  them  fo  grow  finer.  He  applies  it 
in  the  same  proportion  as  is  usually  done  of 
stable  manure.  {Mem.  Caled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p. 
129.)  Carrots  are  propagated  by  seed.  The 
first  sowing  for  the  production  of  plants  to 
draw  whilst  young  should  take  place  in  a  mo- 
derate hotbed  during  January,  and  in  a  warm 
border  at  the  conclusion  of  February  or  early 
in  March.  At  the  close  of  the  last  month,  or 
more  preferably  in  the  early  part  of  April,  the 
main  crop  must  be  inserted;  though,  to  avoid 
the  maggot,  it  is  even  recommended  not  to  do 
so  until  its  close.  In  May  and  July  the  sowing 
may  be  repeated  for  production  in  autumn ; 
and  lastly,  in  August,  to  stand  through  the 
winter,  and  produce  in  early  spring.  For  sow- 
ing, a  calm  day  should  be  taken  advantage  of; 
and,  previous  to  commencing,  the  seeds  should 
be  separated  by  rubbing  them  between  the 
hands,  with  the  admixture  of  a  little   sand 


CARROT. 


CARROT. 


othenrise,  by  reason  of  their  adhering  by  the 
nairs  that  surround  their  edges,  they  are  clot- 
ted together,  and  cannot  be  sown  regular.  The 
^urface  :>(  the  bed  should  likewise  be  laid 
smooth ;  otherwise,  in  raking  it,  the  seed  will 
be  drawn  together  in  similar  heaps.  To  avoid 
this,  before  raking,  it  may  be  gently  trod  in. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  thin,  and  the  beds 
not  more  than  four  feet  wide,  for  the  conve- 
nience of  after-cultivation.  The  larger  weeds 
must  be  continually  removed  by  hand;  and 
when  the  plants  are  seven  or  eight  weeks  old, 
or  when  they  have  got  four  leaves  two  or  three 
inches  long,  they  should  be  thinned ;  those  in- 
tended for  drawing  young  to  four  or  five  inches 
apart,  and  those  to  attain  their  full  growth  to 
eight  or  ten  ;  at  the  same  time,  the  ground  must 
be  small-hoed,  which  operation  should  be  re- 
gularly performed  every  three  or  four  weeks, 
until  the  growth  of  the  plants  becomes  an  ef- 
fectual hinderance  to  the  growth  of  the  weeds. 
The  crop  to  stand  through  the  winter  should, 
in  frosty  weather,  be  sheltered  with  a  covering 
of  litter,  as,  if  frost  occurs  with  much  severity, 
it  often  destroys  them.  The  hotbed  for  the  first 
sowing  of  the  year  must  be  moderate,  and 
earthed  about  sixteen  inches  deep ;  two  or 
three  linings  of  hot  dung,  as  the  heat  decreases, 
will  be  sufficient  to  bring  them  to  a  state  fit  for 
use.  These  are  the  first  in  production,  bat  are 
closely  followed  by  those  that  have  withstood 
the  winter.  The  temperature  must  never  ex- 
ceed 70°,  or  fall  lower  than  66° :  if  it  rises 
higher,  it  is  a  certain  cause  of  weakness  ;  if 
lower,  it  checks  the  advance  of  the  root.  They 
need  not  be  thinned  to  more  than  three  inches 
apart. 

At  the  close  of  October,  or  early  in  Novem- 
ber, as  soon  as  the  leaves  change  colour,  the 
main  crop  may  be  dug  up,  and  laid  in  alternate 
layers,  with  sand,  in  a  dry  outhouse ;  previous 
to  doing  which,  the  tops,  and  any  adhering 
earth,  must  be  removed.  A  dry  day  should 
always  be  chosen  for  taking  them  up. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  it  is  by  much  the 
best  practice  to  leave  some  where  raised.  If, 
however,  this  is  impracticable,  some  of  the 
finest  and  most  perfect  roots  should  be  select- 
ed, and  their  tops  not  cut  so  close  as  those  for 
storing;  these  likewise  must  be  placed  in  sand 
until  February  or  March,  though  some  gar- 
deners recommended  October  or  November, 
then  to  be  planted  out  two  feet  asunder  in  a 
stiff  loamy  soil.  Those  left  where  grown,  or 
those  planted  at  the  close  of  autumn,  must, 
during  frosts,  have  the  protection  of  litter ;  it 
being  invariably  removed,  however,  during 
mild  weather.  As  the  seed  ripens  in  August, 
which  is  known  by  its  turning  brown,  about 
the  end  of  August  each  umbel  should  be  cut ; 
for  if  it  is  waited  for  until  the  whole  plant  de- 
cays, much  of  the  seed  is  often  lost  during 
stormy  weather.  It  must  be  thoroughly  dried 
by  exposure  to  the  sun  and  air,  before  it  is 
rubbed  out  for  storing.  For  sowing,  the  seed 
should  always  be  of  the  previous  year's  growth; 
if  it  is  more  than  two  years  old,  it  will  not  ve- 
getate at  all.  (G.  W.  Johnson's  Kitchen  Garden.) 
The  boiled  carrot  forms  a  good  poultice  in  foul 
and  cancerous  ulcers. 


Carrots,  are  much  cultivated  in  many  partjr 
of  the  United  States,  where  many  farmers  pre- 
fer them  over  every  other  vegetable  for  fatten- 
ing swine,  cattle,  and  even  as  feed  for  horses. 
To  fatten  swine  they  should  be  given  boiled^  to 
store-hogs,  raw. 

The  following  remarks  upon  the  culture  and 
use  of  carrots  in  New  England,  are  extracted 
from  Mr.  Col  man's  Second  Report  on  the  Agri- 
culture of  Massachusetts. 

*»Jno.  Merrill,  of  South  Lee,  has  been  a  very 
successful  cultivator  of  carrots.  He  states  the 
yield  on  two  acres  at  600  bushels  to  the  acre; 
and  the  cost  of  cultivation,  exclusive  of  manure 
and  rent  of  land,  at  twenty-five  dollars  per 
acre ;  or  a  little  more  than  four  cents  per 
bushel.  For  feeding  horses,  he  says,  he  should 
prefer  one  hundred  bushels  of  carrots  and  one 
hundred  bushels  of  oats  to  two  hundred  bushels 
of  oats.  He  applied  them  in  a  raw  state  to  the 
feeding  of  his  team  horses,  and  horses  in  pre- 
paration for  market;  and  they  were  kept  by 
them  in  high  health  and  spirits.  Oats  followed 
his  carrot  crop  on  the  same  ground  with  great 
success.  The  experience  of  J.  C.  Curwen, 
Eng.,  in  the  use  of  carrots  for  horses,  corres- 
ponds with  that  of  Mr.  Mu-nll.  The  authority 
of  Curwen  is  unquestionAble ;  and  he  was  in 
the  habit  of  employing  constantly  as  many  as 
eighty  horses  on  his  farm  and  in  his  extensive 
coal  mines. 

.  **  *  I  cannot  omit,'  he  says,  *  stating  the  great 
profit  of  carrots.  I  have  found  by  the  experi- 
ence of  the  last  two  years,  that  where  eight 
pounds  of  oat-feeding  was  allowed  to  draft 
horses,  four  pounds  might  be  taken  away  and 
supplied  by  an  equal  weight  of  carrots ;  and 
the  health,  spirit,  and  ability  of  the  horses  to  do 
their  work  be  perfectly  as  good  as  with  the 
whole  quantity  of  oats.  With  the  drill  hus- 
bandry and  proper  attention,  very  good  crops 
of  carrots  may  be  obtained  upon  soils  not 
generally  supposed  suitable  to  their  growth.' 

"He  adds  in  another  place.  'The  profits 
and  advantages  of  carrots  are  in  my  opinion 
greater  than  any  other  crop.  This  admirable 
root  has,  upon  repeated  and  very  extensive 
trials  for  the  last  three  years,  been  found  to 
answer  most  perfectly  as  a  part  substitute  for 
oats.  Where  ten  pounds  of  oats  are  given  per 
day,  four  pounds  may  be  taken  away;  and 
their  place  supplied  by  five  pounds  of  carrots. 
This  has  been  practised  in  the  feeding  of  eighty 
horses  for  the  last  three  years,  with  the  most 
complete  success,  and  the  health  and  condition 
of  the  horses  allowed  to  be  improved  by  the 
exchange.  An  acre  of  carrots  supplies  a  quan 
tity  of  food  for  working  horses  equal  to  sixteen 
or  twenty  acres  of  oats.' 

"  My  own  experience  of  the  value  of  carrots, 
which  has  not  been  small,  fully  confirms  these 
statements.  I  have  obtained  at  the  rate  of 
more  than  a  thousand  bushels  to  the  acre  ou 
three  quarters  of  an  acre  ;  but  on  several  acres 
my  crop  has  usually  averaged  600  bushels  to 
the  acre. 

Smith  of  Middlefield,  Hampshire  c  jun- 

ty,  from  three-fourths  of  an  acre  obtained  900 
bushels. 

"Charles   Knowlton  of  Ashfield,  Franklin 

26" 


CARROT. 

county  this  year  o\  :ained  90  bushels  on  twelve 
rods  01  ground.  This  was  at  the  rate  of  1200 
bushels  to  the  acre. 

*'D.  Moore,  of  Concord,  Middlesex  county, 
^rom  six  rods  of  land,  obtained  this  year  66 
bushels ;  or  at  the  rate  of  1493  bushels  to  the 
acre. 

"According  to  Josiah  Quincy's  experience  in 
Quincy,  Plymouth  county,  charging  labour  at 
one  di)llar  per  day  his  carrots  cost  him  eleven 
cents  per  bushel.  David  and  Stephen  Little, 
in  Newbury,  Essex  county,  in  1813,  obtained, 
901  bushels  to  the  acre,  at  an  expense  of 
$79.50  every  expense  included,  excepting  rent 
of  land.  This  was  at  a  rate  less  than  nine 
cents  to  a  bushel." 

Mr.  Colman  subjoins,  in  an  Appendix,  an 
account  of  an  experiment  made  in  feeding 
swine,  illustrating  the  value  of  this  vegetable, 
upon  the  authority  of  Arthur  Young. 

"The  great  objection  to  the  cultivation  of 
carrots  lies  in  the  difficulty  of  keeping  them 
while  growing  free  from  weeds.  If  sown 
without  any  preparation,  the  seed  is  a  long 
lime  in  germinating ;  and  a  plentiful  crop  of 
weeds  is  liable  to  get  possession  of  the  land 
before  the  carrots  make  their  appearance. 
There  is  another  difficulty.  The  carrot  seed 
from  its  minuteness  is  liable  to  be  sown  too 
thickly.  To  obviate  in  a  degree  these  objec- 
tions, let  the  ground  be  ploughed  deeply,  well 
manured,  and  put  in  fine  tilth  ;  and  let  the  first__ 
and  perhaps  the  second  crop  of  weeds  be 
ploughed  in.  After  this  let  the  land  be  thrown 
into  ridges  two  feet  apart,  and  the  seed  sown 
on  top  of  the  ridges  either  in  a  single  line,  or 
the  ridges  be  made  so  wide  as  to  receive  two 
rows  of  carrots,  eight  inches  or  one  foot  apart. 
In  the  mean  time  the  seed  should  be  freely 
mixed  with  fine  sand ;  and  the  sand  kept  so 
moist  that  the  seed  shall  germinate.  As  soon 
as  it  is  sprouted  it  should  be  sown.  This  may 
be  so  arranged  that  the  sowing  shall  take  place 
about  the  first  of  June.  They  will  then  have 
the  start  of  the  weeds.  The  mixture  with  sand 
will  prevent  their  being  sown  too  thickly.  After 
the  first  thinning  and  weeding  is  over,  if  done 
with  care,  the  battle  may  be  considered  as  won. 
Afterwards  let  them  be  cultivated  with  a 
plough  or  cultivator  and  kept  clean.  When 
the  lime  of  digging  arrives,  the  work  will  be 
greatly  facilitated  by  passing  a  plough  directly 
along  the  side  of  the  carrots;  and  they  are 
easily  thrown  out  by  the  hand." 

CARROT,  WILD  iDaiims  carota,  PI.  10,  o). 
This  common  plant  is  abundant  in  pastures, 
and  about  hedges,  in  a  gravelly  soil.  Ii  is 
a  biennial  plant,  flowering  in  June  and  July. 
Its  root  is  small,  slender,  aromatic,  and  sweet- 
ish. It  grows  two  feel  high,  branched,  erect, 
leafy;  the  stalks  are  firm  and  striated;  the 
leaves  are  divided  into  fine  and  numerous  par- 
titions, of  a  pale-green  colour,  being  also  hairy. 
The  flowers  are  in  large  umbels,  with  large, 
pinnatifid  involucres,  and  undivided  involu- 
cels,  small  and  white,  except  the  central  flower, 
"vhich  is  red ;  and  they  are  succeeded  by  rough 
seeds.  This  is  one  of  those  plants  in  which 
we  are  able  to  perceive  design.  The  seeds 
•equire  to  be  protected,  to  produce  which  all 
;h'i  flower-stalks  become  incurvated,  making 
268 


CART 

the  umbel  hollow,  or  giving  it  the  aspect  of  a 
cup  or  nest.  The  seed  is  medicinally  used;  it 
is  a  powerful  diuretic.  An  infusion  of  the 
seeds  in  white  wine  is  very  restorative  in  hys- 
terical disorders. 

The  wild  carrot  is  found  in  pastures,  road- 
sides, &c.  in  Pennsylvania  and  the  Middle 
States.  Although  much  esteemed  in  Europe 
as  a  food  for  milch-cows,  it  is  regarded  as  ra- 
ther a  nuisance  by  the  farmers  in  the  United 
States,  and  requires  great  exertion  to  destroy 
and  keep  under  when  once  introduced  into 
fields.     {Flor.  Cest.) 

CARRUCAGE  (from  caruca,  an  old  name 
for  the  plough).  In  husbandry,  denotes  the 
ploughing  of  ground,  either  ordinary,  as  for 
grain,  hemp,  flax;  or,  extraordinary,  as  for 
woad,  dyer's  weed,  rapeseed,  &c. 

CARRUSATE.  A  term  that  anciently  de- 
noted the  quantity  of  arable  land  capable  of 
being  tilled  in  one  year  with  one  plough. 

CARRYING.  A  term  used  in  horsemanship 
A  horse  is  said  to  carry  low,  when,  having  na- 
turally an  ill-shaped  neck,  he  lowers  his  head 
too  much.  This  fault  may  be  remedied  by  a 
proper  bridle.  A  horse  is  said  to  carry  well, 
when  his  neck  is  raised  or  arched,  and  he  holds 
his  head  high  and  firm,  without  constraint. 
Carrying  in  the  vyind,  is  applied  to  horses  which 
frequently  toss  their  noses  as  high  as  their 
ears,  and  do  not  carry  their  heads  hand- 
somely. 

CARSE.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  such 
lands  as  lie  in  the  hollows  near  large  rivers  or 
estuaries  of  the  sea,  and  have  a  deep  rich  soil. 
The  carse  of  Gowrie,  in  Scotland,  yields  the 
heaviest  crops  of  grain  north  of  the  Tweed. 
Such  lands  are  either  of  the  deep  clayey  loamy 
kind,  or  alluvial  soils  in  a  state  of  aration. 

CART.  A  vehicle  constructed  with  two  oi 
more  wheels,  and  drawn  by  one  or  more  horses 
Half  a  century  since,  Lord  Robert  Seymour 
advocated  the  cause  of  the  single-horse  cart: 
he  observed,  that  the  advantages  of  single-horse 
carts  are  universally  admitted,  wherever  they 
have  been  attentively  compared  with  carriages 
of  any  other  description.  By  his  own  observa- 
tion he  was  led  to  think  th^t  a  horse  when  he 
acts  singly,  will  do  half  as  much  more  work 
as  when  he  acts  in  conjunction  with  another; 
that  is  to  say,  that  two  horses  will,  separately, 
do  as  much  work  as  three  conjunctively  ;  this 
arises,  he  believes,  in  the  first  place,  from  the 
single  horse  being  so  near  the  load  he  draws  ; 
and,  in  the  next  place,  from  the  point  or  line 
of  draught  being  so  much  below  his  breast — 
it  being  usual  to  make  the  wheels  of  single- 
horse  carts  very  low.  A.,  horse  harnessed  sin- 
gly has  nothing  but  his  load  to  contend  with; 
whereas,  when  he  draws  in  conjunction  with 
another,  he  is  generally  embarrassed  by  some 
difference  of  rate,  the  "horse  behind  or  before 
him  being  quicker  or  slower  than  himself;  he 
is  likewise  frequently  inconvenienced  by  the 
greater  or  lesser  height  of  his  neighbour: 
these  considerations  gave,  he  conceived,  a  de- 
cided advantage  to  the  sort  of  cart  he  recom- 
mended. If  any  other  is  wanted,  that  of  the 
very  great  ease  with  which  a  low  cart  is  filled 
may  be  added  ;  as  a  man  may  load  it  with  the 
help  of  a  long-handled  shovel  or  fork,  by  means 


CART- 


CAST. 


of  his  hands  only :  whereas,  in  order  to  fill  a  i 
higher  cart,  not  only  the  man's  back,  but  his  | 
arms  and  whole  person  must  be  exerted.  To 
the  use  of  single  horses  in  draught  he  has 
heard  no  objection,  unless  it  be  the  supposed 
necessity  of  additional  drivers  created  by  it: 
the  fact,  however,  is,  that  it  has  no  such  effect; 
for  horses  once  in  the  habit  of  going  singly, 
will  follow  each  other  as  uniformly  and  as 
steadily  as  they  do  when  harnessed  together ; 
and  accordingly  we  see,  says  he,  on  the  most 
frequented  roads  in  Ireland,  men  conducting 
three,  four,  or  five  single-horse  carts  each, 
without  any  inconvenience  to  the  passengers : 
such,  likewise,  is  the  case  in  England,  in 
which  lime  and  coal  are  generally  carried. 
(^Yming's  Ann.  of  Aer.  vol.  xxvii.  p.  337.)  And 
he  might  likewise  have  added,  the  single-horse 
carts  in  some  of  the  northern  counties,  where 
one  man  manages  two  or  three,  and  sometimes 
more. 

The  subject  of  carts  has  recently  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society 
of  England.  Mr.  Baker  of  Gloucestershire, 
says,  in  their  Joum.  vol.  i.  p.  429,  "  My  land  is 
on  a  stiff  clay ;  my  carts  are  on  six-inch  wheels, 
and  made  to  hold  half  the  quantity  that  my 
neighbours  carry  in  theirs.  My  land  is  hilly ; 
my  carts  generally  go  with  one  horse;  but  up 
hill,  when  loaded,  another  is  put  on  before, 
which  comes  down  the  hill  with  the  next  re- 
turning cart.  Thus,  on  a  level  ground,  with 
two  carts,  and  two  or  perhaps  \Vith  three  horses, 
I  take  out  the  same  quantity  of  dung  that  my 
neighbours  carry  in  their  carts  with  never  less 
than  three  horses,  and  sometimes  with  four." 
And  in  the  Joum.  of  the  Roy.  As;r.  Soc.  of  Eng. 
vol.  ii.  p.  73,  is  a  very  good  article  by  Mr.Han- 
nam  of  Burcott,  illustrated  by  engravings  of  the 
one-horse  cart,  and  of  a  new  one  of  his  own 
construction.  '*The  counties  of  Cumberland 
and  Westmoreland,"  he  observes,  "  have  uni- 
versally and  immemorially  used  the  one-horse- 
cart.  They  have  no  other  carriage  for  any 
kind  of  agricultural  produce,  and  never  is  the 
addition  of  another  horse  on  any  occasion 
seen."  The  practice,  apparently  originating 
in  economy,  has  long  since  spread  into  Dum- 
friesshire ;  and,  according  to  Mr.  Wilkie  of 
Uddingslon,  it  is  all  but  universal  at  the  present 
moment  throughout  the  west  of  Scotland. 
"My  dung-carts,"  he  adds,  "are  taken  from  the 
improved  Cumberland  cart,  which  measures 
60  inches  long  X  47^  inches  wide  X  17  inches 
deep  =  1  cubic  yard  =  21  bushels ;  and  it  tilts 
with  a  spring  key-stick,  which  adjusts  itself 
as  the  horse  moves  forward ;  the  wheels  are 
about  4  feet  6  inches  high,  and  are  set  so  far 
apart  as  to  conveniently  span  two  27-inch 
ridges  ;  it  weighs  8  cwt."  There  are  a  variety 
of  carts  peculiar  to  different  counties,  most  of 
Tehich  are  described,  and  drawings  given,  in 
Brit.  Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  159 ;  from  the  heavy  one- 
horse  cart  of  the  vicinity  of  London,  to  the 
light  simple  Irish  or  Yarmouth  car,  as  well  as 
the  improved  car  first  introduced  into  Leices- 
tershire by  Bakewell. 

The  carts  of  Pennsylvania  are  perhaps  un- 
surpassed in  the  United  States  for  neatness 
and  strength.  Either  one,  two,  or  three  horses 
we  used,  as  circumstances  may  require,  and 


broad  or  narrow  wheels,  but  the  former  are 
preferable  for  farm  work. 

CARTER.  An  inferior  sort  of  farm  servant, 
who  has  the  care  of  driving  and  foddering  the 
team.  He  should  always  be  chosen  as  steady, 
regular,  sober,  and  trustworthy  as  possible,  and 
be  perfectly  gentle  and  humane  in  his  disposi- 
tion. It  is  of  great  importance  to  the  farmer 
to  have  a  carter  with  these  qualifications  ;  for 
otherwise  his  horses  may  be  ill-treated,  ne- 
glected, overworked,  or  overfed,  and  much 
fodder  wasted.  (Brit.  Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  170.)  Le- 
onard Mascal,  nearly  two  centuries  since,  told 
the  carter  of  his  day  to  "  have  patience  in  mo- 
derate useing  of  his  horses;  and  at  all  other 
times  he  ought  to  bear  a  love  alwayes  to  his 
cattel,  that  his  cattel  may  love  him,  not  fearing 
him  too  much ;  let  him  never  use  to  beat  them 
with  the  stock  of  his  whip,  but  whip  them  with 
the  lash,  and  use  them  to  the  sound  thereof, 
and  vet  not  often  for  dulling  of  them." 

CARTHAMUS,  or  SAFFLOWER  (Charthu- 
mus  tinctorius),  an  annual  plant  cultivatea  in 
Spain,  Egypt,  and  the  Levant,  for  its  flower, 
which  is  used  in  dyeing  silks,  &c.,  and  in 
making  rouge.    See  Saffrok. 

CART  LODGE.  A  small  outhouse  for 
sheltering  carts  from  the  weather.  Farmers 
should  be  very  careful  to  place  their  carts,  &c. 
under  proper  shelter,  when  out  of  use,  as  they 
will  last  much  longer  by  this  means  than  if 
left  exposed  in  the  yard  to  the  effects  of  the 
weather ;  for,  as  they  are  thus  sometimes  wet, 
and  sometimes  dry,  they  soon  rot,  and  become 
unfit  for  use.  The  dust  and  dirt  should  also 
be  constantly  washed  off  before  they  are  laid 
up.  There  are  some  excellent  observations  on 
the  necessity  of  care  in  the  preservation  of 
agricultural  implements  by  Mr.  Crosskill  cf 
Beverley.  (Joum.  of  Roy.  Agr.  Soe.  vol.  ii.  p. 
150.)  He  advises  that  the  implements  should 
all  be  placed  under  the  care  of  one  workman 
on  the  farm,  who  should  be  encouraged  to  feel 
a  pride  in  showing  his  master's  implements  in 
fine  order. 

GARY'S  CATTLE  GAUGE.  An  instru- 
ment made  in  the  form  and  on  the  principle  of 
a  slider  rule,  for  ascertaining  the  weight  of 
live  cattle,  which  is  indicated  in  stones  of  8  lbs. 
and  14  lbs.  (See  Brit.  Hu»b.  vol.  ii.  foot  note 
at  p.  393.) 

CASINGS.  A  provincial  term,  signifying 
dried  cow's  dung,  which  is  used  in  several 
parts  of  England  for  fuel. 

CASK.  A  vessel  of  capaciij,  for  holding 
different  sorts  of  liquids,  or  other  matters. 
See  Barrel. 

CASSAVA.     See  Tapioca. 
CAST.    A  term  applied  to  a  swarm  or  flight 
of  bees  (see  Bees)  ;  and  to  poultry  when  they 
lose  their  feathers  or  moult.     It  is  also  used  to 
denote  the  changing  of  the  hair  and  hoofs  of 
horses.    Horses  cast  or  shed  their  hair  at  least 
once  a  year.     Every  spring  they  cast  the  win- 
ter coat,  and  gain  a  summer  one;  and  some- 
times in  the  end  of  autumn  they  put  on  iheir 
winter   hair,  in    case  they  have  been  ill-fed, 
curried,  or  clothed,  or  kept  in  a  cold  stable. 
I  Occasionally  they  cast  their  hoofs :  when  this 
'  happens,  let  them  be  turned  out  mto  a  pas- 
[  ture. 

z  2  26«» 


CASTING. 


CAT. 


CASTING.  The  operation  of  throwing  a 
horse  down,  which  should  be  performed  with 
great  care  on  straw.  Take  a  long  rope,  double 
it,  and  cast  a  knot  a  yard  from  the  bow ;  put 
the  bow  about  his  neck,  and  the  double  rope 
betwixt  his  fore  legs,  about  his  hinder  pasterns, 
and  under  his  fetlocks :  when  you  have  done 
this,  slip  the  ends  of  the  rope  underneath  the 
bow  of  his  neck,  and  draw  them  quick,  and 
they  will  overthrow  him ;  then  make  the  ends 
fast,  and  hold  down  his  head. 

CASTING  A  COLT.  A  term  which  implies 
a  mare's  proving  abortive. 

CASTOR  OIL.  The  well  known  medi- 
cinal oil  obtained  from  the  seeds  or  beans 
of  the  Palma  CVins/i,  a  plant  indigenous  to 
the  West  Indies.  The  cultivation  of  the  Pal- 
ma Christi  and  the  manufacture  of  castor  oil 
is  extensively  carried  on  in  some  parts  of  the 
United  States,  and  continues  on  the  increase. 
A  single  firm  at  St.  Louis  has  worked  up  18,500 
bushels  of  beans  in  four  months,  producing 
17,750  gallons  of  oil,  and  it  is  stated  that  800 
barrels  have  been  sold  at  $50  the  barrel.  This 
oil  may  be  prepared  for  burning,  machinery, 
soap,  &c^  and  is  also  convertible  into  stearin. 
It  is  more  soluble  in  alcohol  than  lard-oil. 

CASTRATION.  In  farriery,  a  term  signify- 
ing, in  regard  to  animals,  the  operation  of  geld- 
ing in  males,  and  spaying  in  females.  The 
operation  may  be  performed  at  any  age,  but,  in 
general,  the  earlier  the  better.  For  cattle,  be- 
tween two  and  eight  months  ;  for  sheep,  before 
they  are  twenty-one  days  old ;  in  horses,  be- 
tween four  and  twelve  months. 

CAT  (Felis  catus,  L.).  A  genus  of  animals 
comprising  twenty-one  species,  and  belonging 
to  the  same  class  as  the  lion  and  the  tiger. 
Though  originally  a  variety  of  the  wild  cat,  one 
of  the  most  ferocious  brutes,  this  animai  is 
now  domesticated.  The  former  inhabits  holloM' 
trees,  especially  the  oaks  of  large  forests,  and 
in  winter  retreats  to  the  deserted  holes  of  foxes 
and  badgers.  Its  skin  is  an  excellent  fur,  but 
by  no  means  compensates  the  damage  done  by 
wild  cats  to  game  and  poultry. 

The  domestic  cat,  when  suffered  to  retire  to 
thickets,  easily  returns  to  a  wild  stale.  Its 
colour  is  uncommonly  diversified ;  but  the  most 
beautiful  varieties  are  the  ^eddish  Spanish  cat, 
and  that  of  Angora,  with  long  silken  hair.  A 
tame  cat  generally  attains  the  ag<i  of  about 
twelve  years;  the  female  breeds  in  the  first 
year,  though  it  grows  till  eighteen  months  old ; 
she  usually  produces  from  four  to  six  blind 
kittens,  after  a  gestation  of  fifty-five  days ;  and 
carefully  conceals  them,  apprehensive  of  the 
unnatural  voracity  of  the  male.  It  is  further 
remarkable,  that  the  female  also  has  been  ob- 
served to  devour  her  offspring,  when  it  hap- 
pened to  be  deformed  or  monstrous. 

The  flesh  of  animals  or  fish  is  the  most 
agreeable  food  to  cats;  lor  they  partake  of 
vegetable  aliment  only  from  necessity.  As 
they  chew  with  difficulty,  frequent  drink  is  in- 
iispensably  requisite  to  the  preservation  of 
their  health.  There  are,  however,  some  plants 
of  which  they  are  excessively  fond,  and  when 
indulged  with  them,  present  a  variety  of  whim- 
sical gesticulations;  of  this  nature  is  the  vale- 
370 


rian  root,  and  the  herb  called  nep,  »)r  catmint, 
the  Nepeta  cataHa,  L.;  on  the  contrary,  they 
shun  other  vegetables  as  their  mortal  enemies, 
for  instance,  the  common  rue,  or  Rula  graveo' 
lens,  L.  Any  substance  rubbed  with  the  leaves 
of  this  plant  is  said  to  be  perfectly  secure  from 
their  depredations :  for  the  communication  of 
this  useful  fact  in  domestic  life  we  are  indebt- 
ed to  C.  P.  Funke,  a  German  naturalist. 

Cats  enjoy  a  warm  temperature  and  a  soft 
couch;  moisture  and  filth,  as  well  as  water  and 
cold,  are  equally  repugnant  to  their  nature; 
hence  they  are  continually  cleaning  themselves 
with  their  paws  and  tongue.  Another  pecu- 
liarity is  the  purring  of  these  animals,  when 
they  are  cajoled  or  flattered,  by  passing  the 
hand  over  their  backs ;  this  singular  noise  is 
performed  by  means  of  two  elastic  membranes 
in  the  larynx,  or  the  upper  part  of  the  wind-pipe. 
Their  hair  is  so  electric  that  the  expanded  skin 
of  a  cat  makes  an  excellent  cushion  for  the 
glass  cylinder  or  globe  of  an  electrifying  ma- 
chine. 

The  flesh  of  cats  is  eaten  by  several  nations, 
but  the  substance  of  the  brain  is  said  to  be  poi- 
sonous. From  the  intestines  of  these  animals 
are  manufactured  the  celebrated  Roman  chords 
for  covering  the  violin. 

They  are  manufactured  out  of  the  guts  of  rab- 
bits and  sheep  also ;  they  are  cleaned,  soakei 
in  water,  stretched  by  a  machine,  and  dried. 
The  name  catgut  comes  from  the  circumstance 
of  cats  being  used  as  food  in  many  parts  of 
Italy,  and  their  guts  applied  to  the  making  of 
strings.    {Willkhh  Dom.  Encyc.) 

Several  species  of  the  cat  kind  are  found  wild 
in  America.  Dr.  Harlan,  in  his  "Fauna  Ame- 
ricana," describes  the  following : 

1.  The  Cougar  of  Buffbn,  the  Pouma  of  some 
travellers,  vulgarly  called  the  American  Lion, 
This  is  of  a  deep  yellow  colour,  without  a  mane 
or  a  tuft  at  the  end  of  the  tail.  Its  total  length  is 
about  three  feet  six  inches,  including  the  tail, 
which  is  over  two  feet  long.  The  body  is  long 
and  slender,  head  small,  legs  strong  and  short, 
tail  long  and  trailing,  colour  grayish  about  the 
eyes,  hairs  within  the  ears  white  slightly  tinged 
with  yellow.  This  animal  inhabits  both  Ame- 
rican continents,  from  Paraguay  and  Brazil  to 
Canada.  Dr.  Harlan  thinks  the  Pennsylvania 
Cougar,  Panther  or  Wild-cat  a  variety  of  the 
Pouma.  The  ferocity  of  these  animals  is  fami- 
liarly known,  and  the  pioneers  often  suffer 
from  their  depredations  upon  pigs,  sheep, 
calves,  and  even  colts. 

2.  The  Jaguar,  or  South  American  panther,  is 
also  met  with  in  the  southwestern  portions  of 
the  United  States,  and  has  occasionally  been 
found  east  of  the  Mississippi.  It  is  much 
larger  than  the  North  American  panther,  being 
four  and  a  half  feet  long,  including  the  tail, 
the  length  of  which  is  two  feet  two  inches. 
Their  proportions  are  thick  and  clumsy.  The 
hairs  are  short,  strong,  compact,  silky.  The 
fur  yellowish,  and  covered  with  spots  either 
entirely  black,  or  yellow  encircled  with  black. 
Like  all  wild  cats  they  rove  by  night,  and  re- 
tire into  thick  swamps  by  day. 

3.  The  Spotted  ^fountain  Cat,  the  Felis  parda- 
lis  of  Linnaeus,  and  Ocelet  of  Buffon,  inhabits 


CATALPA. 


Mexico  and  Iht  southwestern  parts  of  the 
United  States,  tl  ough  it  has  not  been  found 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  Its  general  colour  is 
gray,  marked  with  large  fawn-coloured  spots, 
bordered  with  black,  forming  oblique  bands  on 
the  flanks.  It  is  about  two  feet  long  from  the 
end  of  the  snout  to  the  origin  of  the  tail,  which 
measures  about  two  feet. 

4.  The  Canadian  Lynx,  or  Felts  Canadensis  of 
Buffon,  inhabits  the  Canadas,  Labrador,  &c. 
Its  tail  is  very  short,  and  black  on  the  posterior 
half.  The  ears  are  terminated  by  a  small  tuft 
of  hairs.  The  colour  of  the  body  is  grayish, 
with  yellowish  or  pale  brown  points  below, 
and  some  black  lines  on  the  head.  Total 
length  two  feet  three  inches,  the  included  tail 
being  only  three  or  four  inches  long. 

5.  Another  species  of  wild  cat,  called  by  na- 
turalists Felis  rufa,  or  Red  Cat,  the  Chal-cervier 
of  furriers,  is  found  in  the  forests  of  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio.  This  is  rather  smaller 
than  the  common  lynx,  the  head  and  back  be- 
ing of  a  deep  red,  with  small  spots  of  blackish 
brown,  throat  whitish,  breast  and  belly  of  a 
clear  reddish  white. 

6.  Another  lynx  of  large  size,  found  on  the 
northwestern  coast  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  has 
been  called  by  naturalists  Felis  fasriatu.  This 
Dr.  Harlan  thinks  is  probably  the  same  as  that 
described  by  Mr.  Nuttall  in  his  Travels  in  Ar- 
kansas. Its  tail  is  very  short,  white,  with  the 
point  black.  The  ears  are  furnished  with  pen- 
cils of  hair,  and  black  externally.  The  fur 
is  very  thick,  of  a  brownish-red  colour,  with 
stripes  and  points  above. 

7.  The  common  American  Mountain  Cat  or 
Catatnount  (Felis  tnontana),  has  been  also 
named  the  Mountain  Lynx  and  Mississippi  Lynx. 
It  is  found  in  the  Alleghany  mountains,  from 
New  York  'o  Florida.  The  tail  is  very  short, 
and  in  colour  gray.  The  ears  are  destitute  of 
pencils  of  hair,  and  externally  blackish,  with 
whitish  or  yellow  spots  within.  Length  three 
or  four  feet  including  the  tail. 

8.  Another  species  has  been  found  on  the 
borders  of  the  Yellow  Stone  river,  in  size  about 
one  half  larger  than  the  domestic  cat,  the  tail 
being  only  two  inches  long.  It  is  the  Lynx 
aurens  or  Golden  Lynx  of  Rafinesque,  so  named 
from  its  clear,  brilliant  yellow  colour.  It  is 
spotted  with  black  and  white.  The  ears  are 
without  pencils. 

CATALPA  (BifirnoHia  catalpa).  A  shrub 
growing  in  England  thirty  or  forty  feet  high ; 
its  beautiful  pendulous  flowers  bloom  in  Au- 
gust It  has  a  peculiarly  large  bright  green 
leaf;  loves  heat,  and  does  not  blow  in  wet 
summers.  It  is  tolerably  hardy;  easily  raised 
from  layers  or  seed. 

The  catalpa  is  an  American  tree  which  Mi- 
chaux  says  begins  to  be  found  in  the  Atlantic 
States,  on  the  banks  of  the  Savannah  river, 
near  Augusta,  Georgia,  and  west  of  the  AUe- 
ghanies,  on  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland,  be- 
tween the  35th  and  36th  degrees  of  latitude. 
Further  south  it  becomes  still  more  common, 
and  abounds  near  the  borders  of  all  the  rivers 
which  empty  into  the  Mississippi,  or  which 
water  West  Florida.  Michaux  expresses  sur- 
prise that  this  tree  should  not  have  been 
naturally  distributed  in  the  lower  part  of  the 


CATCH-WEED. 

Carolinas  and  Georgia,  and  in  East  Floriia, 
which  lie  so  near  the  country  of  its  primitive 
growth.  This  is  the  more  strange  from  the 
lact  that  the  catalpa  manifests  a  great  tend- 
ency to  spread  itself  abroad  by  means  of  its 
winged  seeds,  and  has  in  so  many  instances 
left  the  vicinity  of  dwellings  where  it  was 
planted  as  a  shade  tree  and  mixed  with  the 
natives  of  the  forest.  It  may,  for  example,  b« 
seen  along  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  ana 
many  other  places,  growing  wild. 

In  the  South  it  frequently  exceeds  hfty  teet 
in  height,  with  a  diameter  of  eighteen  to  twenty- 
four  inches.  Its  ample  heart-shaped  leaves, 
clusters  of  rich  and  beautiful  flowers,  long 
bean-shaped  seed-pods,  and  wide  spreading 
summit,  give  a  strong  character  to  this  tree, 
which  diflers  from  all  others  in  the  fewness 
of  its  branches. 

That  the  catalpa  is  a  tree  of  rapid  growth 
is  proved  by  the  distance  of  the  annual  con- 
centrical  circles.  Its  wood  is  of  a  grayish 
white  colour,  of  a  line  texture,  very  light,  and 
very  brilliant  when  polished.  It  resembles  the 
butternut  wood,  with  the  exception  that  the 
butternut  wood  is  of  a  reddish  hue,  and  is  less 
durable  when  exposed  to  the  weather.  Posts 
of  the  catuipa  perfectly  seasoned  have  been 
proved  to  be  very  lasting.  In  the  spring,  if  a 
bit  of  the  cellular  integument  of  the  bark  be 
removed,  a  very  oflensive  odour  is  exhaled. 
The  honey  collected  from  the  flowers  of  this 
tree  is  somewhat  poisonous,  its  eflecls,  though 
less  alarming,  being  similar  to  those  produced 
by  eating  that  collected  by  bees  from  the  yellow 
Jasmine  (Geselmnium  nituium). 

In  the  Southern  States  the  catalpa  is  called 
Catawba  tree,  after  the  name  of  the  Indian 
tribe  that  formerly  inhabited  a  iarge  part  of 
the  country  from  which  the  tree  was  first  pro- 
cured. The  French  of  Upper  Lotnsiana  call 
it  JJois  Shavanon,  from  the  Shavanon  or  Shaw- 
nee nation  which  once  existed  in  West  Ten- 
nessee, watered  by  the  Cumberland  I'.vev.  (Mi- 
chaux.) 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  catalpa  in  almost 
every  situation  in  which  it  can  be  placed  in 
the  Middle  States,  and  the  adaptation  of  its 
wood  to  posts  and  other  useful  purposes,  make 
it  deserving  the  attention  of  the  farmer  wher- 
ever  other  kinds  of  wood  are  scarce,  especially 
the  kinds  suitable  for  fences. 

CATARACT.  In  farriery,  a  disease  in  the 
eyes  of  horses,  in  which  the  crystalline  humour 
is  rendered  opaque,  and  the  vision  impeded  or 
destroyed.  The  only  certain  method  of  cure 
in  these  complaints  is  to  remove  the  lens  by 
means  of  extracting  or  couching.  By  the  first 
mentioned  operation,  an  incision  is  made  into 
the  eye,  and  the  opaque  lens  taken  out ;  by  the 
second,  it  is  depressed  by  the  point  of  a  couch- 
ing needle  thrust  into  the  eye,  and,  being  car 
ried  to  the  lower  part  of  the  chamber  of  the 
eye  or  vitreous  humour,  it  is  left  there  to  bo 
absorbed.  The  first  operation  is  the  more 
effective,  but  the  more  hazardous  of  the  two, 
owing  to  the  inflammation  which  succeeds. 
The  second  is  tedious  and  sumeiimes  fails,  but 
it  is  free  irom  the  risk  of  inflammation. 

CATCH- WEED,  CLEAVERS,  or  GOOSE- 
GRASS    (^Galium  Jpanne,  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p 

271 


CATCH-WORK. 


CATERPILLAR. 


21).  PI.  10,  A  A  weed  growing  in  hedges  and 
by  roadsides.     See  Haiiiff. 

CATCH-WORK.  A  term  employed  in  irri- 
gation for  the  works  for  tlirowing  the  water 
over  such  lands  as  lie  on  the  declivities  of  hills. 

CATCH-WORK  MEADOW.  That  sort  of 
meadow  which  is  formed  by  turning  the  water 
»f  a  spring  or  small  rivulet  along  the  side  of  a 
.lill  or  declivity,  so  as  to  water  the  lands  be- 
•.ween  the  cut  or  tnnin  catriagc  and  the  original 
water-course,  M'hich  in  this  case  becomes  the 
main  drain.    See  Irrioatiox. 

CATERPH^LAR.  The  name  given  to  the 
larva  stale  of  butterflies  and  moths. 

The  natural  history  of  insects  so  universally 
destructive  as  caterpillars,  which  in  voracity 
are  only  inferior  to  locusts,  cannot  fail  to  inte- 
rest all,  whether  residents  of  town  or  country; 
and  it  is  evident  that  persons  acquainted  with 
the  precise  nature  and  habits  of  destructive 
insects,  their  limes  and  seasons  of  multiplica- 
tion and  transformation,  must  be  enabled  to 
devise  the  most  effectual  means  of  protection 
against  their  ravages.  Thanks  to  the  intelli- 
gent policy  and  liberal  patronage  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts,  the  most  exact  and 
valuable  information  upon  this  branch  of  the 
history  of  destructive  insects  has  been  placed 
before  the  public,  through  the  labours  of  the 
distinguished  American  entomologist,  Doctor 
Harris. 

Caterpillars  are  the  larvse  or  young  of  moths 
and  butterflies,  of  which.  Dr.  Harris  says,  500 
species  are  already  known  to  him  as  natives  of 
Massachusetts  ;  and  he  thinks  there  may  be  as 
many  more  ye*  undiscovered  in  the  limits  of 
that  state.  As  each  female  usually  lays  from  200 
to  500  eggs,  1000  difl'erent  kinds  of  butterflies 
and  moths  will  produce,  on  an  average,  300,000 
caterpillars.  If  one-half  of  this  number,  when 
arrived  at  maturity,  are  females,  they  will  give 
45,000,000  of  caterpillars  in  the  second,  and 
6,750,000,000  in  the  third  generation.  These 
data,  whilst  they  suflice  to  show  that  the  actual 
number  of  these  insects  existing  at  any  one 
time  is  far  beyond  the  limits  of  numerical  cal- 
culation, explain  their  formidable  capacity  to 
destroy  vegetation.  Whilst  most  caterpillars 
feed  upon  the  leaves  of  plants,  some  devour 
ihe  solid  wood  of  trees,  some  live  only  in  the 
pith  of  plants,  and  some  confine  themselves  to 
grains  and  seeds.  Certain  species  attack  wool- 
lens, furs,  and  other  animal  substances ;  for 
even  leather,  meat,  wax,  flour,  and  lard  aflTord 
nourishment  to  particular  kinds  of  caterpillars. 
"Some  specie^  herd  together  in  great  numbers, 
and  pass  the  early  period  of  their  existence  in 
society;  an-*  of  these  there  are  kinds  which 
unite  in  their  lal ours,  and  construct  tents  serv- 
ing as  a  common  habitation,  in  which  they  live, 
or  to  whicn  mey  retire  occasionally  for  shelter. 
Others  pass  their  lives  in  solitude,  either  ex- 
posed to  the  light  and  air,  or  sheltered  in  leaves 
folded  over  their  bodies,  or  form  for  themselves 
silken  sheaths,  which  are  either  fixed  or  porta- 
ble. Some  make  their  abodes  in  the  stems  of 
plants,  or  mine  in  the  pulpy  substances  of 
leaves;  and  others  conceal  themselves  in  the 
ground,  from  whichlhey  issue  only  when  in 
search  of  food. 

"Caterpillars  usually  change  their  skins 
273 


about  four  times   before   they  come   to  their 
i  growth.  At  length  they  leave  off  eating  entirely, 
and  prepare  for  their  first  transformation.  Most 
of  them,  at  this  period,  spin  around  their  bodies 
a  sort  of  shroud  or  cocoon,  into  which  some 
interweave  the  hairs  of  their  own  bodies,  and 
'  some  employ,  in  the  same  way,  leaves,  bits  of 
I  wood,  or  even  grains  of  earth.    Other  caterpil- 
!  lars  suspend  themselves,  in  various  ways,  by 
I  silken  threads,  without  enclosing  their  bodies 
!  in  cocoons;  and,  again,  there  are  others  which 
j  merely  enter  the  earth  to  undergo  their  trans- 
formations. 

"When  the  caterpillar  has  thus  prepared  it- 
self for  the  approaching  change,  by  repeated 
exertions  and  struggles  it  bursts  open  the  skin 
on  the  top  of  its  back,  withdraws  the  forepart 
of  its  body,  and  works  the  skin  backwards  till 
the  hinder  extremity  is  extricated.  It  then  no 
longer  appears  in  the  caterpillar  form,  but  has 
become  a  pupa  or  chrysalis,  shorter  than  the 
caterpillar,  and,  at  first  sight,  apparently  with- 
out a  head  or  limbs.  On  close  exa.mination, 
however,  there  may  be  found  traces  of  a  head, 
tongue,  antennjB,wings,  and  legs,  closely  pressed 
to  the  body,  to  which  these  parts  are  cemented 
by  a  kind  of  varnisn.  Some  chrysalids  are 
angular,  or  furnished  with  little  protuberances; 
but  most  of  them  are  smooth,  rounded  at  one 
end,  and  tapering  at  the  other  extremity.  While 
in  the  pupa  state,  these  insects  take  no  food, 
and  remain  perfectly  at  rest,  or  only  move  the 
hinder  extremity  of  the  body  when  touched. 
Al\er  a  while,  ho\^  ever,  the  chrysalis  begins  to 
swell  and  contract,  till  the  skin  is  rent  over  the 
back,  and  from  the  fissure  there  issues  the 
head,  antennae,  and  body  of  a  butterfly  or  moth. 
When  it  first  emerges  from  its  pupa  skin,  the 
insect  is  soft,  moist,  and  weak,  and  its  wings  are 
small  and  shrivelled;  soon,  however,  the  wings 
stretch  out  to  their  full  dimensions,  the  super- 
fluous moisture  of  the  body  passes  ofl",  and  the 
limbs  acquire  their  proper  firmness  and  elas- 
ticity. 

"The  conversion  of  a  caterpillar  to  a  moth  or 
butterfly  is  a  transformation  of  the  most  com 
plete  kind.  The  form  of  the  body  is  altered, 
some  of  the  legs  disappear,  the  others  and  the 
antennos  become  much  longer  than  before,  and 
four  wings  are  acquired.  Moreover,  the  mouth 
and  digestive  organs  undergo  a  total  change; 
for  the  insect,  after  its  final  transformation,  is 
no  longer  fitted  to  subsist  upon  the  same  gross 
aliment  as  it  did  in  the  caterpillar  state:  its 
powerful  jaws  have  disappeared,  and  instead 
thereof  we  find  a  slender  tongue,  by  means  of 
which  liquid  nourishment  is  conveyed  to  the 
mouth  of  the  insect,  and  its  stomach  becomes 
capableof  digesting  only  water  and  the  honeyed 
juice  of  flowers. 

"Ceasing  to  increase  in  size,  and  destined  to 
live  but  a  short  time  after  their  final  transfor- 
mation, butterflies  and  moths  spend  this  brief 
period  of  their  existence  in  flitting  from  flower 
to  flower  and  regaling  themselves  with  their 
sweets,  or  in  slaking  tneir  thirst  with  dew  or 
with  the  water  left  standing  in  puddles  aicer 
showers,  in  pairing  wun  their  mates,  ana  in 
laying  their  eggs ;  after  which  they  die  a  natu 
ral  death,  or  fall  a  prey  to  their  numerous 
enemies. 


CATERPILI,AR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


"These  insects  belong  to  an  order  called  Le-  I 
pinoPTERA,  which  means  scaly  wings;  for  the  I 
mealy  powder  with  which  iheir  wings  are  co- 
vered, when  seen  under  a  powerful  microscope, 
is  found  to  consist  of  little  scales,  lapping  over 
each  other  like  the  scales  of  fishes,  and  im- 
planted into  the  skin  of  the  wings  by  short 
stems.  The  body  of  these  insects  is  also  more 
or  less  covered  with  the  same  kind  of  scales, 
together  with  hair  or  down  in  some  species. 
The  tongue  consists  of  two  tubular  threads 
placed  side  by  side,  and  thus  forming  an  in- 
strument for  suction,  which,  when  not  in  use, 
is  rolled  up  spirally  beneath  the  head,  and  is 
more  or  less  covered  and  concealed  on  each 
side  by  a  little  scaly  or  hairy  jointed  feeler. 
The  shoulders  or  wing-joints  of  the  fore-wings 
are  covered  on  each  side  by  a  small  triangular 
piece,  forming  a  l|fnd  of  epaulette,  or  shoulder- 
cover;  and  between  the  head  and  the  thorax  is 
a  narrow  piece,  clothed  with  scales  or  hairs 
sloping  backwards,  which  may  be  called  the 
collar.  The  wings  have  a  few  branching  veins, 
generally  forming  one  or  two  large  meshes 
on  the  middle.  The  legs  are  six  in  number, 
though  only  four  are  used  in  walking  by  some 
butterflies,  in  which  the  first  pair  are  very 
short,  and  are  folded  like  a  tippet  on  the  breast; 
and  the  feet  are  five-jointed,  and  are  terminated, 
each,  by  a  pair  of  claws. 

"It  would  be  difficult,  and  indeed  impossible, 
to  arrange  the  Lepidopterous  insects  according 
to  their  forms,  appearance,  and  habits,  in  the 
caterpillar  state,  because  the  caterpillars  of 
many  of  them  are  as  yet  unknown ;  and  there- 
fore it  is  found  expedient  to  classify  them 
mostly  according  to  the  characters  furnished 
by  them  in  the  winged  state. 

"We  may  first  divide  the  Lepidoptera  into 
three  great  sections,  called  butterflies,  hawk- 
moths,  and  moths,  corresponding  to  the  genera 
Papilio,  Sphinx,  and  Phalttna  of  Linnceus. 

"The  butterflies  (Pnpiliones)  have  threadlike 
antennre,  which  are  knobbed  at  the  end;  the 
fore-wings  in  some,  and  all  the  wings  in  the 
greater  number,  are  elevated  perpendicularly 
and  turned  back  to  back,  when  at  rest :  they 
have  generally  two  little  spurs  on  the  hind-legs, 
and  they  fly  by  day  only.  Their  caterpillars, 
when  about  to  transform,  suspend  themselves 
by  the  tail,  and  are  not  enclosed  in  cocoons. 

"The  hawk-moths  (Sphinges)  generally  have 
the  antennae  thickened  in  the  middle  and  taper- 
ing at  each  end,  and  most  often  hooked  at  the 
tip;  the  wings  are  narrow  in  proportion  to 
their  length,  and  are  confined  together  by  a 
bristle  or  bunch  of  stiff"  hairs  on  the  shoulder 
of  each  hind-wing,  which  is  retained  by  a  cor- 
responding hook  on  the  under  side  of  each 
fore-wing.  All  the  wings,  when  at  rest,  are 
more  or  less  inclined  like  a  roof,  the  upper 
ones  covering  the  lower  wings :  there  are  two 
pairs  of  spurs  on  the  hind-legs.  A  few  fly  by 
day,  but  the  greater  number  in  the  morning 
and  evening  twilight. 

"In  the  moths  (Phalittife)  the  antennae  are 
neither  knobbed  at  the  end  nor  thickened  in 
the  middle,  but  taper  from  the  base  to  the  ex- 
tremity, and  are  either  naked,  like  a  bristle,  or 
are  feathered  on  each  side.  The  wings  are 
confined  together  by  bristles  and  hooks,  the 
35 


first  pair  covering  the  hind-wings,  and  are 
more  or  less  sloping  when  at  rest;  and  there 
are  two  pairs  of  spurs  to  the  hind-legs.  These 
insects  fly  mostly  by  night." 

Among  American  destructive  caterpillars  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Harris,  are  the  larvce  of  those 
butterflies  called  Asterias,  seen  in  great  abun- 
dance upon  certain  flowers  in  the  month  of 
July — particularly  on  the  sweet-scented  phlox. 
These  flies,  which  are  of  a  black  colour  with  a 
double  row  of  yellow  dots  on  the  back,  lay 
their  eggs,  in  this  and  the  following  month,  on 
various  umbellate  plants,  placing  them  singly 
on  the  different  parts  of  the  leaves  and  stems. 
The  fly  is  large,  its  wings  expanding  from 
three  and  a  half  to  four  inches.  The  hinder 
wings  are  tailed,  and  have  seven  blue  spots, 
with  an  eye-like  spot  of  an  orange  colour  near 
their  hinder  angle.  The  caterpillars  of  this 
tribe.  Dr.  Harris  has  found  on  various  gajrden 
vegetables  and  plants.such  as  the  carrot,parsley, 
celery,  anise,  dill,  caraway,  and  fennel ;  also 
upon  nightshade,  hemlock,  and  other  plants  of 
the  same  poisonous  family,  which,  he  observes, 
constituted  the  appropriate  food  for  these  in- 
sects, before  the  exotics  just  named  became 
abundant  and  furnished  them  in  greater  varie- 
ty land  profusion. 

"Their  injury  to  these  cultivated  plants," 
says  the  doctor,  "  is  by  no  means  inconsider- 
able ;  they  not  only  eat  the  leaves,  but  are 
particularly  fond  of  the  blossoms  and  young 
seeds.  I  have  taken  twenty  caterpillars  on  one 
plant  of  parsley  which  was  going  to  seed.  The 
eggs,  laid  in  July  and  August,  are  hatched 
soon  afterwards,  and  the  caterpillars  come  to 
their  growth  towards  the  end  of  September,  or 
the  beginning  of  October;  they  then  suspend 
themselves,  become  chrysalids,  in  which  state 
they  remain  during  the  winter,  and  are  not 
transformed  to  butterflies  till  the  last  of  May 
or  the  beginning  of  June  in  the  following 
year." 

"  I  know  of  no  method  so  eflfectual  for  de- 
stroying these  caterpillars  as  gathering  them 
by  hand  and  crushing  them.  An  expert  per- 
son will  readily  detect  them  by  their  ravages 
on  the  plants  which  they  inhabit ;  and  a  few 
minutes  devoted,  every  day  or  two,  to  a  care- 
ful search  in  the  garden,  during  the  season  of 
their  depredations,  will  suffice  to  remove  them 
entirely. 

"  In  Europe  there  are  several  kinds  of  cater- 
pillars which  live  exclusively  on  the  crucife- 
rous or  oleraceous  plants,  such  as  the  cabbage, 
broccoli,  cauliflower,  kale,  radish,  turnip,  and 
mustard,  and  oftentimes  do  considerable  injury 
to  them.  The  prevailing  colour  of  these  cater 
pillars  is  green,  and  that  of  the  butterflies  pro 
duced  from  them,  white.  They  belong  to  a 
genus  called  Pontia;  in  which  the  hind-wings 
are  not  scolloped  nor  tailed,  but  are  rounded 
and  entire  on  the  edges,  and  are  grooved  on 
the  inner  edge  to  receive  the  abdomen.'* 

In  the   northern  and   western   portions  of 

Massachusetts,  there  is  a  white  butterfly,  the 

wings  of  which  expand  about  two  inches.  This 

in  all  its  states  agrees  with  the  character  of 

the  European  insect.    It  is  the  potherb  pontia 

{Pontia  oleracea),  a  white  butterfly,  described 

by  Dr.  Harris  in  the  New  England  Farmer  ia 

9-3 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


1829  (page  402).     "About  the  last  of  May 
and  beginning  uf  June,  it  is"  he  says,  "seen 
fluttering   over  cabbage,  radish,   and    turnip 
beds,  and  patches  of  mustard,  for  the  purpose 
of  depositing  its  eggs.    These  are  fastened  to 
the  undersides  of  the  leaves,  and  but  seldom 
more  than  three  or  four  are  left  upon  one  leaf. 
The  eggs  are  yellowish,  nearly  pear-shaped, 
longitudinally  ribbed,  and  are  one  fifteenth  of 
an   inch   in   length.    They  are  hatched  in  a 
week  or  ten  days  after  they  are  laid,  and  the 
caterpillars  produced  from  them  attain  their 
full  size  when  three  weeks  old,  and  then  mea- 
sure about  one   inch  and  a  half  in  length. 
Being  of  a  pale  green  colour,  they  are   not 
readily  distinguished    from    the   ribs   of   the 
leaves  beneath  which  they  live.    They  do  not 
devour  the  leaf  at  its  edge,  but  begin  indiscri- 
minately upon    any  part  of   its    under-side, 
through  which  they  eat  irregular  holes.  When 
they  have  completed  the  feeding  stage,  they 
quit  the  plants,  and  retire  beneath  palings,  or 
the  edges  of  stones,  or  into  the  interstices  of 
walls,  where  ihey  spin  a  little  tuft  of  silk,  entan- 
gle the  horns  of  their  hindmost  feet  in  it,  and  then 
proceed  to  form  a  loop  to  sustain  the  forepart 
of  the  body  in  a  horizontal  or  vertical  position." 
The  next  day  after  attaching  itself  it  casts 
off  its  caterpillar  skin  and  becomes  a  chrysalis, 
sometimes  of  a  pale  green,  and  sometimes  of  a 
white  colour,  regularly  and  finely  dotted  with 
black.    The  chrysalis  state  lasts  eleven  days, 
at  the  expiration  of  which  comes  out  the  white- 
winged   butterfly.     The   chrysalids  produced 
from  an  autumnal  brood  of  these  insects  sur- 
vive the  winter,  and  the  butterflies  from  them 
make  their  appearance  in  May  or  June.     "In 
gardens  or  fields  infested  by  the  caterpillars, 
boards,  placed   horizontally  an   inch  or  two 
above  the  surface  of  the  soil,  will  be  resorted 
to  by  them  when  they  are  about  to  change  to 
chrj'salids,  and  here  it  will  be  easy  to  find,  col- 
lect, and  destroy  them,  either  in  the  caterpillar 
or  chrysalis  state.     The  butterflies  also  may 
easily  be  taken  by  a  large  and  deep  bag-net  of 
muslin,  attached  to  a  handle  of  five  or  six  feet 
in  length  ;  for  they  fly  low  and  lazily,  especially 
when  busy  in  laying  their  eggs.    In  Europe 
the  caterpillars  of  the  white   butterflies    are 
eaten  by  the  larger  titmouse  (Parus  major),  and 
probably  our  own  titmouse  or  chickadee,  with 
other  insect-eating  birds,  will  be  found  equally 
useful,  if  properly  protected. 

"  We  have  several  kinds  of  small  six-footed 
butterflies,  some  of  which  are  found,  during 
the  greater  part  of  summer  in  the  fields  and 
around  the  edges  of  woods,  flying  low  and  fre- 
quently alighting,  and  oftentimes  collected  to- 
gether in  little  swarms  on  the  flov^ers  of  the 
clover,  mint,  and  other  sweet-scented  plants." 
The  heads  of  the  common  hop  are  frequently 
eaten  oy  the  small  green  and  downy  caterpil- 
ars  y:  a  very  pretty  little  dusky  brown  butter- 
fly, ::  which  Dr.  Harris  has  given  the  name 
of  H:;^-vine  Thecla  {Thecla  humili). 

The  caterpillars  of  many  of  the  four-footed 
:titterflies  are  spiny,  or  have  their  backs  armed 
with  numerous  projecting  points,  beset  all 
around  with  small  stiflf"  hairs,  and  sometimes 
long,  hard,  and  sharp  prickles  disposed  in 
bunches. 
274 


The  poplar,  the  willow,  and  the  elm  are  in. 
fested  with  caterpillars  in  great  numbers,  pro- 
duced by  a  butterfly  called  the  Antiopa,  the 
wings  of  M'hich  are  purplish  brown  above, 
with  a  bufl^-yellow  margin,  near  the  inner  side 
of  which  there  is  a  row  of  pale  blue  spots. 
The  wings  of  this  Antiopa  butterfly  expand 
from  three  to  three  and  a  half  inches.  It  comes 
out  from  its  winter  retreats  with  the  first 
warmth  of  spring,  and  may  be  seen,  even  ia 
Massachusetts,  sporting  in  warm  and  sheltered 
spots  at  the  beginning  of  March,  at  which  time 
its  wings  look  ragged  and  faded.  Wilson,  the 
ornithologist,  in  his  beautiful  lines  upon  the 

well  known  American  harbinger  of  spring 

the  blue  bird — alludes  to  its  coming: 

"  When  first  the  lone  butterfly  flits  on  the  wing." 

The  caterpillars  of  the  Antmpa  butterfly  are 
bla<ik,  minutely  dotted  with  Vhite,  with  a  row 
of  eight  dark,  brick-red  spots  on  the  top  of  the 
back.  When  fully  grown  they  measure  an 
inch  and  three  quarters  in  length,  and  appear 
very  formidable  with  their  thorny  armature, 
doubtless  intended  to  defend  them  from  their 
enemies.  It  was  formerly  supposed  that  they 
were  venomous,  and  capable  of  inflicting  dan- 
gerous wounds,  and  poplar  trees  about  dwell- 
ings have  frequently  been  cut  down  from  fear 
of  these  worms.  "This  alarm  was  unfounded; 
for  although,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "  there  are  some 
caterpillars  that  have  the  power  of  inflicting 
venomous  %vounds  with  their  spines  and  hairs, 
this  is  not  the  case  with  those  of  the  Antiopa 
butterfly.  The  only  injury  which  can  be  laid 
to  their  charge,  is  that  of  despoiling  of  their 
foliage  some  of  our  most  ornamental  trees,  and 
this  is  enough  to  induce  us  to  take  all  proper 
measures  for  exterminating  the  insects,  short 
of  destroying  the  trees  that  they  infest.  I  have 
sometimes  seen  them  in  such  profusion  on  the 
willow  and  elm,  that  the  limbs  bent  under  their 
weight;  and  the  long  leafless  branches  which 
they  had  stripped  and  deserted  gave  sufficient 
proof  of  the  voracity  of  these  caterpillars. 
The  chrysalis  is  of  a  dark  brown  colour,  with 
large  tawmy  spots  around  the  tubercles  on  the 
back.  The  butterflies  come  forth  in  eleven  or 
twelve  days  after  the  insects  have  entered  upon 
the  chrysalis  state,  and  this  occurs  in  the  be- 
ginning of  July.  A  second  brood  of  caterpil- 
lars is  produced  in  August,  and  they  pass 
through  all  their  changes  before  winter." 

There  is  a  species  of  caterpillar  which 
comes  from  a  butterfly  called  the  Semicolon 
(  Vanessa  interrogationis).  It  lives  on  the  Ame 
rican  elm  and  lime  trees,  and  also  on  the  hop- 
vine;  and  on  this  last  they  sometimes  so 
abound  as  to  destroy  its  produce.  In  the  latter 
part  of  August  the  hop-vine  caterpillars  attain 
their  full  growth,  and  suspend  themselves  be- 
neath the  leaves  and  stems  of  the  plant,  and 
change  into  chrysalids.  "  This  fact,"  says  Dr. 
Harris,  "  aflfords  a  favourable  opportunity  for 
destroying  the  insects  in  this  their  stationary 
and  helpless  stage,  at  some  loss,  however,  of 
the  produce  of  the  vines,  which,  when  the  in- 
sects have  become  chrysalids,  should  be  cut 
down,  stripped  of  the  fruit  that  is  sufficiently 
ripened,  and  then  burnt.  There  is  probably 
an  early  brood  of  caterpillars  in  June  or  July 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


but  I  have  not  seen  any  on  the  hop-vine  before 
August,  the  former  are  therefore  confined  to 
the  elm  and  other  plants  in  all  probability. 
The  caterpillar  is  brownish,  variegated  with 
pale  yellow,  or  pale  yellow  variegated  with 
brown,  with  a  yellowish  line  on  each  side  of 
the  body ;  the  head  is  rust-red,  with  two  blackish 
branched  spines  on  the  top ;  and  the  spines  of  the 
body  are  pale  yellow  or  brownish  and  tipped 
with  black.  The  chrysalis  is  ashen  brown, 
with  the  head  deeply  notched,  and  surmounted 
by  two  conical  ears,  a  long  and  thin  nose-like 
prominence  on  the  thorax,  and  eight  silvery 
spots  on  the  back.  The  chrysalis  slate  usually 
lasts  from  eleven  to  fourteen  days ;  but  the 
later  broods  are  more  tardy  in  their  transfor- 
mations, the  butterfly  sometimes  not  appear- 
ing in  less  than  twenty-six  days  after  the  change 
to  the  chrysalis.  Great  numbers  of  the  chrysa- 
lids  are  annually  destroyed  by  little  maggots 
v/ithin  them,  which,  in  due  time  are  transformed 
to  tiny  four-winged  flies  {Pleromalus  vanessa), 
which  make  their  escape  by  eating  little  holes 
through  the  sides  of  the  chrysalis.  They  are 
ever  on  the  watch  to  lay  their  eggs  on  the 
caterpillars  of  this  butterfly,  and  are  so  small 
as  easily  to  avoid  being  wounded  by  the  branch- 
ing spines  of  tlieir  victims." 

The  semicolon  butterfly  which  produces  this 
caterpillar  expands  its  wings  from  two  and  a 
half  to  two  and  three-quarter  inches,  and  even 
more.  The  colour  of  the  wings  is  orange-law- 
ny on  the  upper  sides,  with  black  spots  in  the 
middle.  The  under  sides  of  the  wings  in 
some  are  rust-red,  in  others  reddish  while, 
with  a  pale  gold-coloured  semicolon  on  the 
middle  of  the  hinder  part,  which  last  gives  its 
specific  name. 

Another  species  of  caterpillar  living  upon 
the  hop,  also  proceeds  from  a  butterfly  having 
wings  of  an  orange-tawny  colour  on  the  upper 
side ;  the  hinder  wings  having  a  silvery  comma 
in  the  middle  of  the  under  side.  The  wings 
expand  from  2J  to  2J  inches.  This  comma 
bullerfly,  as  it  is  called  {Vanessa  comma),  re- 
sembles the  while  comma  of  Europe,  for  which 
it  has  probably  been  mistaken.  In  habils,  &c. 
the  American  comma  resembles  the  preced- 
ing species. 

Among  American  caterpillars,  which  attract 
the  particular  notice  ot  the  farmer,  are  several 
appertaining  to  the  family  of  insects  called 
hawk-moths,  or  sphinges,  the  latter  name  having 
been  applied  by  Linnaeus,  from  a  fancied  re- 
semblance that  some  of  the  caterpillars,  when 
at  rest,  have  to  the  Egyptian  sphynx.  The 
attitude  of  these  caterpillars  is  indeed  remark- 
able. Supporting  themselves  by  their  four  or 
six  hind  legs,  they  elevate  the  fore  part  of  the 
body,  and  remain  immovably  fixed  in  this 
posture  for  hours  together.  In  the  winged 
Slate,  the  true  sphinges  are  known  by  the  name 
of  humming-bird  moths,  from  the  sound  they 
make  in  flying,  and  hawk-moths  from  their 
habit  of  hovering  in  the  air  while  taking  their 
food.  They  may  be  seen  during  the  morning 
and  evening  twilight,  flying  with  great  swift- 
ness trom  flower  to  flower.  Their  tongues, 
when  ancoiled,  are,  for  the  most  part,  exces- 
sively long,  and  with  them  they  extract  the 
oney  from  the  blossoms  of  the  honeysuckle 


There  are  other  sphinges  which  fly  during  the 
daytime  only,  and  in  the  brightest  sunshine. 
Then  it  is  that  the  large  clear-winged  scsif. 
make  their  appearance  among  the  flowers,  the. 
fragrant  phlox  being  their  special  favourite. 
From  the  size  and  form  of  these  last,  their  fan- 
like tails,  brilliant  colours,  and  mode  of  taking 
their  food  whilst  poised  above  the  blossoms 
upon  rapidly  vibrating  wings,  they  might  readi- 
ly be  mistaken  for  humming-birds.     ^Harris.) 

Among  the  caterpillars  of  the  sphinges,  is 
that  commonly  called  the  potato-worm,  a  large 
green  caterpillar,  with  a  kind  of  thorn  upon 
the  tail,  and  oblique  whitish  stripes  on  the  sides 
of  the  body.  "This  insect,  which  devours  the 
leaves  of  the  potato,  often  to  the  great  injury 
of  the  plant,  grows  to  the  thickness  of  the  fore- 
finger, and  the  length  of  three  inches  or  more. 
It  attains  its  full  size  from  the  middle  of  Au- 
gust to  the  first  of  September,  then  crawls  down 
the  stem  of  the  plant  and  buries  itself  in  the 
ground.  Here,  in  a  few  days,  it  throws  off"  its 
caterpillar-skin,  and  becomes  a  chrysalis,  of  a 
bright  brown  colour,  with  a  long  and  slender 
tongue-case,  bent  over  from  the  head,  so  as  to 
touch  the  breast  only  at  the  end,  and  somewhat 
resembling  the  handle  of  a  pitcher.  It  re- 
mains in  the  ground  through  the  winter,  below 
the  reach  of  frost,  and  in  the  following  sum- 
mer the  chrysalis-skin  bursfft  open,  a  large  moth 
crawls  out  of  it,  comes  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  and  mounting  upon  some  neighbouring 
plant,  wails  till  the  approach  of  evening  in- 
vites it  to  expand  its  untried  wings  and  fly  in 
search  of  food.  This  large  insect  has  gene- 
rally been  confounded  with  the  Carolina 
sphinx  (Sphinx  Carolina  of  Linnaeus),  which 
it  closely  resembles.  Il  measures  across  the 
wings  about  five  inches;  is  of  a  gray  colour, 
variegated  with  blackish  lines  and  bands  ;  and 
on  each  side  of  the  body  there  are  five  round, 
orange-coloured  spots  encircled  with  black. 
Hence  it  is  called  by  English  entomologists 
Sphinx  quinquemaculatus,  the  five-spotted  sphinx. 
Its  tongue  can  be  unrolled  to  the  length  of  five 
or  six  inches,  but,  when  not  in  use,  is  coiled 
like  a  watch-spring,  and  is  almost  entirely 
•concealed,  between  two  large  and  thick  feelers, 
under  the  head. 

"Among  the  numerous  insects  that  inlest  our 
noble  elms  the  largest  is  a  kind  of  sphinx, 
which,  from  the  four  short  horns  on  the  fore- 
part of  the  back,  I  have  named  Ceratomia 
quadricornis,  or  four-horned  ceratomia.  On  some 
trees  these  sphinges  exist  in  great  numbers, 
and  their  ravages  then  become  very  obvious; 
while  a  few,  though  capable  of  doing  consider- 
able injury,  may  escape  notice  among  the  thick 
foliage  which  constitutes  their  food,  or  will 
only  be  betrayed  by  the  copious  and  regularly^ 
formed  pellets  of  excrement  beneath  the  *rees. 
They  are  very  abundant  during  the  months  oi 
July  and  August  on  the  large  elms  which  sur- 
round the  northern  and  eastern  sides  of  the 
common  in  Boston;  and  towards  the  end  of 
August,  when  they  descend  from  the  trees  for 
the  purpose  of  going  into  the  ground,  they  may 
often  be  seen  crawling  in  the  mall  in  consider- 
able numbers.  These  caterpillars,  at  this  period 
,  of  their  existence,  are  about  three  inches  and 

"75 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


a  half  in  length,  are  of  a  pale  green  colour, 
Wi'h  se\n^n  oblique  white  lines  on  each  side 
of  the  body,  and  a  row  of  little  notches,  like 
saw-teeth,  on  the  back."     (Harris.) 

The  grape-vine  suffers  from  the  ravages  of 
a  sphinx  caterpillar,  which,  not  content  with 
eating  the  leaves  alone,  in  their  progress  from 
leaf  to  leaf,  down  the  stem,  stops  at  every 
cluster  of  food,  nips  off  the  stalks  of  the  half- 
grown  grapes,  and  allows  these  to  fall  to  the 
ground  untasted.  I  have,  says  Dr.  Harris, 
gathered  under  a  single  vine  above  a  quart  of 
unripe  grapes  thus  detached  during  one  night 
by  these  caterpillars.  They  are  naked  and 
fleshy,  and  generally  of  a  pale-green  colour, 
(sometimes,  however,  brown),  with  a  row  of 
orange-coloured  spots  on  the  top  of  the  back, 
six  or  seven  oblique  darker  green  or  brown 
lines  on  each  side,  and  a  short  spine  or  horn 
on  the  hinder  extremity.  It  is  found  on  the 
vine  and  also  upon  the  creeper  in  July  and 
August.  "When  fully  grown  it  descends  to  the 
ground,  conceals  itself  under  fallen  leaves, 
which  it  draws  together  by  a  few  threads  so  as 
to  form  a  kind  of  cocoon,  or  covers  itself  with 
grains  of  earth  and  rubbish  in  the  same  way, 
and  under  this  imperfect  cover  changes  to  a 
pupa  or  chrysalis,  to  reappear  in  the  winged 
Slate  in  the  month  of  July  of  the  following 
year.     See  Grape-viwe  C.4.terpii,i.ar. 

Among  this  secRon  of  insects,  naturalists 
have  placed  a  group,  many  of  which  in  the 
winged  state  bear  a  resemblance  to  bees, 
hornets,  wasps,  with  their  narrow  wings. 
They  fly  only  in  the  daytime,  and  frequently 
light  to  bask  in  the  sunshine.  Their  habits,  in 
the  caterpillar  state,  are  entirely  different  from 
those  of  the  sphinges ;  the  latter  living  ex- 
posed upon  plants  the  leaves  of  which  they 
devour,  while  the  caterpillars  of  the  cegereans, 
as  they  are  called,  conceal  themselves  within 
the  stems  or  roots  of  plants,  and  derive  their 
nourishment  from  the  wood  and  pitch.  (Har- 
ris.) 

The  ash  tree  suffers  very  much  from  the 
attacks  of  borers  of  this  kind,  which  perforate 
the  bark  and  sap-wood  of  the  trunk  from  the 
roots  upwards,  and  are  also  found  in  all  the 
branches  of  any  considerable  size.  The  trees 
thus  infested  soon  show  symptoms  of  disease, 
in  the  death  of  the  branches  near  the  summit ; 
and  then  the  insects  become  numerous,  the 
trees  no  longer  increase  in  size  and  height, 
and  premature  decay  and  death  ensue.  These 
borers  assume  the  chrysalis  form  in  the  month 
of  June,  and  the  chrysalids  may  be  seen  pro- 
jecting half  way  from  the  round  holes  in  the 
bark  of  the  tree  in  this  and  the  following  month, 
during  which  time  their  final  transformation 
is  effected,  and  they  burst  open  and  escape 
•from  the  shells  of  the  chrj'salis  in  the  winged 
or  moth  state. 

"During  the  month  of  August,  the  squash 
and  other  cucurbitaceous  vines  are  frequently 
found  to  die  suddenly  down  to  the  root.  The 
cause  of  this  premature  death  is  a  little  borer, 
which  begins  its  operations  near  the  ground, 
perforates  the  stem,  and  devours  the  interior. 
It  afterwards  enters  the  soil,  forms  a  cocoon 
of  a  gummy  substance  covered  with  particles 
cf  earth,  changes  to  a  chrysalis,  and  comes 
276 


forth  the  next  summer  a  winged  insect.  This 
is  conspicuous  for  its  orange-coloured  body, 
spotted  with  black,  and  its  hind  legs  fringed 
with  long  orange-coloured  and  black  hairs 
The  hind  wings  only  are  transparent,  and  the 
fore  wings  expand  from  one  inch  to  one  inch 
and  a  half.  It  deposits  its  eggs  on  the  vines 
close  to  the  roots,  and  may  be  seen  flying 
about  the  plants  from  the  tenth  of  July  till  the 
middle  of  August.  This  insect,  which  may  be 
called  the  squash-vine  a»geria,  was  first  de- 
scribed by  me  in  the  year  1828,  under  the 
name  of  jEgeria  cumrbitee,  the  trivial  name  in- 
dicating the  tribe  of  plants  on  which  the  cater- 
pillar feeds.  See  New  England  Farmer,  vol. 
viii.  p.  33;  Dr.  Harris's  Discourse  before  the 
Massachusetts  HorticvUural  Society,  in  1832,  p. 
26;  and  Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  xxxvi.  p.  310." 
(Harris.) 

The  pernicious  borer,  which,  during  many 
years  past  has  proved  so  very  destructive  to 
the  peach  trees  throughout  the  United  States, 
belongs  to  this  group  of  the  sphinx  family.  See 
Peach  Tree  Worivi  and  Borer. 

In  Europe  there  is  a  species  of  a-geria  which 
has  long  been  known  to  inhabit  the  stems  of 
the  currant-bush.  There  is  an  American  in- 
sect, resembling  this,  found  in  the  cultivated 
currant-bush,  with  which  it  may  have  been  in- 
troduced from  Europe.  See  Currant-bush 
Borer. 

Several  caterpillars  belonging  to  the  family 
of  tiger-nioths  are  very  destructive  to  vegeta- 
tion, as,  for  example,  the  salt-niarsh  caterpillar^ 
the  yellow  bear  caterpillar  of  our  gardens,  and 
the  fall  web-caterpillar.  These  well-known  in- 
sects are  covered  with  coarse  hairs,  spreading 
out  on  all  sides  like  the  bristles  of  a  bottle- 
brush.  They  creep  very  fast,  and  when  han- 
dled roll  themselves  almost  into  a  ball.  When 
about  to  transform,  they  creep  into  the  chinks 
of  walls  and  fences,  or  hide  themselves  under 
stones,  logs,  or  fallen  leaves,  where  they  en- 
close themselves  in  rough  oval  cocoons,  made 
of  hairs,  plucked  from  their  own  bodies,  inter- 
woven with  a  few  silken  threads. 

The  caterpillars  of  the  Arge,  a  species  of 
tiger-moth,  sometimes  make  great  devastation 
among  the  young  Indian  corn  in  the  Southern 
and  Middle  States.  Their  ordinary  food  con- 
sists of  the  leaves  of  the  plantain  and  other 
herbaceous  plants.  It  appears  in  Massachu- 
setts, sometimes  in  large  swarms,  in  the  month 
of  October.  When  fully  grown  they  measure 
about  an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  Their  co- 
lour is  a  dark  greenish-gray,  although  they 
appear  almost  black  from  the  multitude  of 
black  spots  with  which  they  are  dotted.  They 
have  three  longitudinal  stripes  of  fleshy  white 
on  the  back,  and  a  row  of  kidney-shaped  spots 
of  tho  same  colour  on  each  side  of  the  body. 
The  warts  are  dark  gray,  each  one  producing 
a  thin  cluster  of  spreading  blackish  hairs.  The 
moth  into  which  this  caterpillar  is  finally  con 
verted,  has  flesh-coloured  wings  which  expand 
about  from  1|  to  2  inches. 

Of  all  the  hairy  caterpillars  frequenting 
American  gardens,  there  are  none  so  common 
and  troublesome  as  that  which  Dr.  Harris  calls 
the  Yellow  Bear.  "Like  most  of  its  genus,"  he 
observes,  "  it  is  a  very  general  feeder,  devour* 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


ing  aimost  all  kinds  of  herbaceous  plants,  with 
equal  relish,  from  the  broad-leaved  plantain  at 
the  door-side,  the  peas,  beans,  and  even  the 
flowers  of  the  garden,  and  the  corn  and  coarse 
grasses  of  the  fields,  to  the  leaves  of  the  vine, 
the  currant,  and  the  gooseberry,  which  it  does 
not  refuse  when  pressed  by  hunger.  This 
kind  of  caterpillar  varies  very  much  in  its 
colours;  it  is  perhaps,  most  often  of  a  pale 
yellow  or  straw  colour,  with  a  black  line  along 
each  side  of  the  body,  and  a  transverse  line  of 
the  same  colour  between  each  of  the  segments 
or  rings,  and  is  covered  with  long  pale  yellow 
hairs.  Others  are  often  seen  of  a  rusty  or  brown- 
ish yellow  colour,  with  the  same  black  lines  on 
the  sides  and  between  the  rings,  and  they  are 
clothed  with  foxy  red  or  light  brown  hairs. 
The  head  and  ends  of  the  feet  are  ochre-yellow, 
and  the  under  side  of  the  body  is  blackish  in 
all  the  varieties.  They  are  to  be  found  of  dif- 
ferent ages  and  sizes  from  the  first  of  June  till 
October.  When  fully  grown  they  are  about 
two  inches  long,  and  then  creep  into  some  con- 
venient place  of  shelter,  make  their  cocoons, 
in  which  they  remain  in  the  chrysalis  stale 
during  the  winter,  and  are  changed  to  moths  in 
the  months  of  May  or  June  following.  Some 
of  the  first  broods  of  these  caterpillars  appear 
to  come  to  their  growth  early  in  summer,  and 
are  transformed  to  moths  by  the  end  of  July  or 
the  beginning  of  August,  at  which  time  I  have 
repeatedly  taken  them  in  the  winged  state  ;  but 
the  greater  part  pass  through  their  la>.t  change 
in  June.  The  moth  is  familiarly  known  by  the 
name  of  the  white  miller,  and  is  often  seen 
about  houses.  Its  scientific  name  is  Jirtia  Vir- 
ginica,  and,  as  it  nearly  resembles  the  insects 
commonly  called  ermine-moths  in  England, 
we  may  give  to  it  the  name  of  the  Virginia 
ermine-moth.  It  is  white,  with  a  black  point 
on  the  middle  of  the  fore-wings,  and  two  black 
dots  on  the  hind-wings,  one  on  the  middle  and 
the  other  near  the  posterior  angle,  much  more 
distinct  on  the  under  than  on  the  upper  side; 
there  is  a  row  of  black  dots  on  the  top  of  the 
back,  another  on  each  side,  and  between  these 
a  longitudinal  deep  yellow  stripe ;  the  hips  and 
thighs  of  the  fore-legs  are  also  ochre-yellow. 
It  expands  from  one  inch  and  a  half  to  two 
inches.  Having  been  much  troubled  with  the 
voracious  yellow  bears  in  the  little  patch,  (I 
cannot  call  it  a  garden,)  where  a  few  beans, 
aiid  other  vegetables,  together  ,with  some 
flowers,  were  cultivated,  I  required  my  children 
to  pick  off"  the  caterpillars  from  day  to  day  and 
crush  them,  and  taught  them  not  to  spare  *  the 
pretty  white  millers,'  which  they  frequently 
found  on  the  fences,  or  on  the  plants,  laying, 
their  golden  yellow  eggs,  telling  them  that, 
with  every  female  which  they  should  kill,  the 
eggs,  from  which  hundreds  of  yellow  bears 
would  have  hatched,  would  be  destroyed.  In 
some  parts  of  France,  and  in  Belgium,  the 
people  are  required  by  law  to  echenilier,  or  un- 
caterpillar,  their  gardens  and  orchards,  and  are 
punished  by  fine  if  they  neglect  the  duty. 
Although  we  have  not  yet  become  so  prudent 
and  public  spirited  as  to  enact  similar  regula- 
tions, we  might  find  it  for  our  advantage  to 
offer  a  bounty  for  the  destruction  of  caterpil- 
ars;  and  though  we  should  pay  for  them  by 


the  quart,  as  we  do  for  berries,  we  should  be 
gainers  in  the  end;  while  the  children,  whose 
idle  hours  were  occupied  in  the  picking  of 
them,  would  find  this  a  profitable  employment." 
{Harris.) 

"  The  salt-marsh  caterpillar,  an  insect  by  far 
too  well  known  on  our  sea-board,  and  now 
getting  to  be  common  in  the  interior  of  the 
state,  whither  it  has  probably  been  introduced, 
while  under  the  chrysalis  form,  with  the  salt 
hay  annually  carried  from  the  coast  by  our  in- 
land farmers,  closely  resembles  the  yellow 
bear  in  some  of  its  varieties.  The  history  of 
this  insect,"  says  Dr. Harris,  "forms  the  subject 
of  a  communication  made  by  me  to  the  '  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Massachusetts,'  in  the  year 
1S23,  and  printed  in  the  seventh  volume  of  the 
*  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Repository  and 
Journal,'  with  figures  representing  the  insect 
in  its  different  stages.  At  various  times  and 
intervals  since  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  and  probably  before  it  also,  the  salt 
marshes  about  Boston  have  been  overrun  and 
laid  waste  by  swarms  of  caterpillars.  These 
appear  towards  the  end  of  June,  and  grow 
rapidly  from  that  lime  till  the  first  of  August. 
During  this  month  they  come  to  their  full  size, 
and  begin  to  run,  as  the  phrase  is,  or  retreat 
from  the  marshes,  and  disperse  through  the 
adjacent  uplands,  often  committing  very  exten- 
sive ravages  in  their  progress.  Corn-fields, 
gardens,  and  even  the  rank  weeds  by  the  way- 
side atford  them  temporary  nourishment  while 
wandering  in  search  of  a  place  of  security 
from  the  tide  and  weather.  They  conceal 
themselves  in  walls,  under  stones,  in  hay- 
slacks  and  mows,  in  wood-piles,  and  in  any 
other  places  in  their  way,  which  will  afford 
them  the  proper  degree  of  shelter  during  the 
winter.  Here  they  make  their  coarse  hairy 
cocoons,  and  change  to  chrysalids,  in  which 
form  they  remain  till  the  following  summer, 
and  are  transformed  to  moths  in  the  month  of 
June.  In  those  cases  where,  from  any  cause, 
the  caterpillars,  when  arrived  at  maturity,  have 
been  unable  to  leave  the  marshes,  they  conceal 
themselves  °neath  the  stubble,  and  there 
make  their  cov  nms.  Such,  for  the  most  part, 
is  the  course  aud  duration  of  the  lives  of  these 
insects  in  Massachusetts ;  but  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern  States,  two  broods  are  brought 
to  perfection  annually;  and  even  here  some 
of  them  run  through  their  course  sooner,  and 
produce  a  second  brood  of  caterpillars  in  the 
same  season ;  for  I  have  obtained  the  moths 
between  the  15th  and  20th  of  May,  and  again 
between  the  1st  and  the  10th  of  August.  Those 
which  were  disclosed  in  May  passed  the  winter 
in  the  chrysalis  form,  while  the  mv^ths  which 
appeared  in  August  must  have  been  produced 
from  caterpillars  that  had  come  to  their  growth, 
and  gone  through  all  their  transformations 
during  the  same  summer.  This,  however,  in 
Massachusetts,  is  not  a  common  occurrence , 
for  by  far  the  greater  part  of  these  insects  ap- 
pear at  one  time,  and  require  a  year  to  com- 
plete their  several  changes.  The  full-grown  ca 
terpillar  measures  one  inch  and  three-quarters 
or  more  in  length.  It  is  clothed  with  long 
hairs,  which  are  sometimes  black  and  some- 
times brown  on  the  back  and  forepart  of  the 
2  A  27- 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


body,  and  of  a  lighter  brown  coloui  on  the 
sides.  Tlie  hairs,  like  those  of  the  other 
Arctias,  grow  in  spreading  clusters  from  warts, 
which  are  of  a  yellowish  colour  in  this  species. 
The  body,  when  stripped  of  the  hairs,  is  yel- 
low, shaded  at  the  sides  with  black,  and  there 
is  a  blackish  line  extending  along  the  top  of  the 
back.  The  breathing-holes  are  white,  and  very 
distinct  even  through  the  hairs.  These  cater- 
pillars, when  feeding  on  the  marshes,  are 
sometimes  overtaken  by  the  tide,  and  when 
escape  becomes  impossible,  they  roll  them- 
selves up  in  a  circular  form,  as  is  common 
with  others  of  the  tribe,  and  abandon  them- 
selves to  ilieir  fate.  The  hairs  on  their  bodies 
seem  to  have  a  repelling  power,  and  prevent 
the  M'ater  from  wetting  their  skins,  so  that  they 
float  on  the  surface,  and  are  often  carried  by 
the  wavee  to  distant  places,  where  they  are 
thrown  on  shore,  and  left  ii.  w-inrows  with  the 
wash  of  the  sea.  After  a  little  time  most  of 
them  recover  from  their  half-drowned  condi- 
tion, and  begin  their  depredations  anew.  In 
this  way  these  insects  seem  to  have  spread 
from  the  places  where  they  first  appeared  to 
others  at  a  considerable  distance.  Although 
these  insects  do  not  seem  ever  entirely  to  have 
disappeared  from  places  where  they  have  once 
established  themselves,  they  do  not  prevail 
every  year  in  the  same  overwhelming  swarms ; 
but  their  numbers  are  increased  or  lessened  at 
irregular  periods,  from  causes  which  are  not 
well  understood.  These  caterpillars  are  pro- 
duced from  eggs,  which  are  laid  by  the  moths 
on  the  grass  of  the  marshes  about  the  middle 
of  June,  and  are  hatched  in  seven  or  eight  days 
afterwards,  and  the  number  of  eggs  deposited 
by  a  single  female  is,  on  an  average,  about 
eight  hundred.  The  moths  themselves  vary  in 
colour.  In  the  males,  the  thorax  and  upper 
side  of  the  fore-wings  are  generally  white,  the 
latter  spotted  with  black ;  the  hind-wings  and 
abdomen,  except  the  tail,  deep  ochre-yellow, 
the  former  with  a  few  black  spots  near  the 
hind  margin,  and  the  abdomen  with  a  row  of 
siK  black  spots  on  the  top  of  the  back,  two 
rows  on  the  sides,  and  one  on  the  belly ;  the 
under-side  of  all  the  wings  and  the  thighs  are 
deep  yellow.  It  expands  from  one  inch  and 
seven-eighths  to  two  inches  and  a  quarter.  The 
female  differs  from  the  male  either  in  having 
the  hind  wings  white,  instead  of  ochre-yellow, 
or  in  having  all  the  wings  ashen  gray  with  the 
usual  black  spots.  It  expands  two  inches  and 
three-eighths  or  more.  Sometimes,  though 
rarely,  male  moths  occur  with  the  fore-wings 
ash-coloured  or  dusky.  Professor  Peck  called 
this  moth  psnutemtinca,  that  is,  false  ermine, 
and  this  name  was  adopted  by  me  in  my  com- 
munication to  the  'Agricultural  Society.'" 
{Harris.) 

In  order  to  lessen  the  ravages  of  the  salt- 
marsh  caterpillars,  and  to  secure  a  fair  crop 
of  hay  when  these  insects  abound.  Dr.  Harris 
recommends  that  "  the  marshes  should  be 
mowed  early  in  July,  at  which  time  the  cater- 
pillars are  small  and  feeble,  and  being  unable 
to  wander  lar,  will  die  before  the  crop  is  ga- 
thered in.  In  defence  of  early  mowing,  it  may 
be  said  that  it  is  the  only  way  by  which  the 
f  rass  mav  be  saved  in  those  meadows  where 
•278 


'  the  caterpillars  have  multiplied  to  any  extent; 
and,  if  the  practice  is  followed  generally,  and 
continued  during  several  years  in  succession, 
it  will  do  much  towards  exterminating  these 
destructive  insects.  By  the  practice  of  late 
mowing,  where  the  caterpillars  abound,  a 
great  loss  in  the  crop  will  be  sustained,  im- 
mense numbers  of  caterpillars  and  grasshop- 
pers will  be  left  to  grow  to  maturity  and 
disperse  upon  the  uplands,  by  which  means 
the  evil  will  go  on  increasing  from  year  to 
year ;  or  they  will  be  brought  in  with  the  hay 
to  perish  in  our  barns  and  stacks,  where  there 
dead  bodies  will  prove  offensive  to  the  cattle, 
and  occasion  a  waste  of  fodder.  To  get  rid 
of  'the  old  fog'  or  stubble,  which  becomes 
much  thicker  and  longer  in  consequence  of 
early  mowing,  the  marshes  should  be  burnt 
over  in  March.  The  roots  of  the  grass  will 
not  be  injured  by  burning  the  stubble,  on  the 
contrary,  they  will  be  fertilized  by  the  ashes ; 
while  great  numbers  of  young  grasshoppers, 
cocoons  of  caterpillars,  and  various  kinds  of 
destructive  insects,  with  their  eggs,  concealed 
in  the  stubble,  will  be  destroyed  by  the  fire. 
In  the  province  of  New  Brunswick,  the  bene- 
fit arising  from  burning  the  stubble  has  long 
been  proved;  and  this  practice  is  getting  into 
favour  in  New  England. 

"  The  caterpillars  of  all  the  foregoing  Arc- 
tians  (or  harnessed  moths)  live  almost  entirely 
upon  herbaceous  plants ;  those  which  follow 
(with  one  exception  only),  devour  the  leaves 
of  trees.  Of  the  latter,  the  most  common  and 
destructive  are  the  little  caterpillars  known  by 
the  name  of  fall  web-worms,  whose  large  webs, 
sometimes  extending  over  entire  branches 
with  their  leaves,  may  be  seen  on  our  native 
elms,  and  also  on  apple  and  other  fruit  trees, 
in  the  latter  part  of  summer.  The  eggs,  from 
which  these  caterpillars  proceed,  are  laid  by 
the  parent  moth  in  a  cluster  upon  a  leaf  near 
the  extremity  of  a  branch ;  they  are  hatched 
from  the  last  of  June  till  the  middle  of  August, 
some  broods  being  early  and  others  late,  and 
the  young  caterpillars  immediately  begin  to 
provide  a  shelter  for  themselves,  by  covering 
the  upper  side  of  the  leaf  with  a  web,  which  is 
the  result  of  the  united  labours  of  the  whole 
brood.  They  feed  in  company  beneath  this 
web,  devouring  only  the  upper  skin  and  pulpy 
portion  of  the  leaf,  leaving  the  veins  and  lower 
skin  of  the  Jeaf  untouched.  As  they  increase 
in  size,  they  enlarge  their  web,  carrying  it 
over  the  next  lower  leaves,  all  the  upper  and 
pulpy  parts  of  which  are  eaten  in  the  same 
way,  and  thus  they  continue  to  work  down- 
wards, till  finally  the  web  covers  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  branch,  with  its  dry,  brown,  and 
filmy  foliage,  reduced  to  this  unseemly  condi- 
tion by  these  little  spoilers.  These  caterpil- 
lars, when  fully  grown,  measure  rather  more 
than  one  inch  in  length ;  their  bodies  are  more 
slender  than  those  of  the  other  Arctians,  and 
are  very  thinly  clothed  with  hairs  of  a  grayish 
colour,  intermingled  with  a  few  which  are 
black.  The  general  colour  of  the  body  is 
greenish  yellow  dotted  with  black  ;  there  is  a 
broad  blackish  stripe  along  the  top  of  the 
back,  and  a  bright  yellow  stripe  on  each  side. 
The  warts,  from  which  the  thin  bundles  ol 


CATERPILLAR. 


CATERPILLAR. 


sprtading,  silky  hairs  proceed,  are  black  on 
the  back,  and  rust-yellov/  or  orange  on  the 
sides.  The  head  and  feet  are  black.  I  have 
not  observed  the  exact  length  of  time  required 
by  these  insects  to  come  to  maturity  ;  but  to- 
wards the  end  of  August  and  during  the  month 
of  September  they  leave  the  trees,  disperse, 
and  wander  about,  eating  such  plants  as  hap- 
pen to  lie  in  their  course,  till  they  have  found 
suitable  places  of  shelter  and  concealment, 
where  they  make  their  thin  and  almost  trans- 
parent cocoons,  composed  of  a  slight  web  of 
silk  intermingled  with  a  few  hairs.  They  re- 
main in  the  cocoons  in  the  chrysalis  state 
through  the  winter,  and  are  transformed  to 
moths  in  the  months  of  June  and  July.  These 
moths  are  white,  and  without  spots ;  the  fore- 
thighs  are  tawny-yellow,  and  the  feet  blackish. 
Their  wings  expand  from  one  inch  and  a 
quarter  to  one  inch  and  three-eighths. 

"  During  the  months  of  July  and  August, 
there  may  be  found  on  apple  trees  and  rose- 
bushes,  and  sometimes   on   other  trees   and 
shrubs,  little  slender  caterpillars  of  a  bright 
yellow  colour,  sparingly  clothed  with  long  and 
fine  yellow  hairs  on  the  sides  of  the  body,  and 
having  four  short  and  thick  brush-like  yellow- 
ish tufts  on  the  back,  that  is  on  the  fourth  and 
three  following  rings,  two  long  black  plumes  or 
pencils  extending  forwards  from  the  first  ring, 
and  a  single  plume  on  the  top  of  the  eleventh 
ring.    The  head,  and  the  two  little  retractile 
warts   on  the  ninth  and  tenth  rings  are  coral 
red ;   there  is   a  narrow  black  or  browntsh 
stripe  along  the  top  of  the  back,  and  a  wider 
dusky  stripe  on  each  side  of  the  body.    These 
pretty  caterpillars  do  not  ordinarily  herd  to- 
ether,   but    sometimes  our  apple  trees  are 
;h  infested  by  them,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
iner  of  1828.     When  they  have  done  eat- 
in*;,  they  spin  their  cocoons  on  the  leaves,  or 
on  the  branches  or  tnmks  of  the  trees,  or  on 
fences  in   the  vicinity.    The  chrysalis  is  not 
only  beset  with  little  hairs  or  down,  but  has 
three  oval  clusters  of  branny  scales  on  the 
back.    In  about  eleven  days  after  the  change 
to  the  chrj'salis  is  effected,  the  last  transforma- 
tion follows,  and  the  insects  come  forth  in  the 
adult   state,  the   females   wingless,    and    the 
males  with  large  ashen-gray  wings,  crossed 
by  wavy  darker  bands  on  the  upper  pair,  on 
which,  moreover,  is  a  small  black  spot  near 
the  tip,  and  a  minute  white  crescent  near  the 
outer  hind  angle.    The  body  of  the  male  is 
small  and  slender,  with  a  row  of  little  tufts 
along  the  back,  and  the   wings  expand  one 
inch  and  three-eighths.    The  females  are  of  a 
lighter  gray  colour  than  the  males,  their  bodies 
are  very  thick,  and  of  an  oblong  oval  shape, 
and,  though  seemingly  wingless,  upon  close 
examination  two  little  scales,  or  stinted  wing- 
lets,  can   be   discovered    on    each   shoulder. 
These  females  lay  their  eggs  upon  the  top  of 
their  cocoons,  and  cover   them  with  a  large 
quantity  of  frothy  matter,  which  on  drying  be- 
comes white  and  brittle.     Different  broods  of 
these  insects  appear  at  various  times  in  the 
course  of  the  summer,  but  the  greater  number 
come  to  maturity  and  lay  their  eggs  in  the  lat- 
ter part  of  August,  and  the  beginning  of  Sep- 


the  following  summer.  The  name  of  this 
moth  is  Orgy  in*  lemostigma,  the  white- marked 
Orgyia  or  tussock-moth.  It  is  to  the  eggs  of 
this  insect  that  the  late  Mr.  B.  H.  Ives,. of  Sa- 
lem, alludes,  in  an  article  on  *  insects  which 
infest  trees  and  plants,*  published  in  Hovey's 
'Gardener's  Magazine.'  Mr.  Ives  states,  that 
on  passing  through  an  apple  orchard  in  Feb- 
ruary, he  'perceived  nearly  all  the  trees 
speckled  with  occasional  dead  leaves,  adher- 
ing so  firmly  to  the  branches  as  to  require 
considerable  force  to  dislodge  them.  Each 
leaf  covered  a  small  patch  of  from  one  to  two 
hundred  eggs,  united  together,  as  well  as  to 
the  leaf,  by  a  gummy  and  silken  fibre,  peculiar 
to  the  moth.'  In  March,  he  'visited  the  same 
orchard,  and,  as  an  experiment,  cleared  three 
trees,  from  which  he  took  twenty-one  bunches 
of  eggs.  The  remainder  of  the  trees  he  left 
untouched  until  the  tenth  of  May,  when  he 
found  the  caterpillars  were  hatched  from  the 
e^^,  and  had  commenced  their  slow  but  £ure 
ravages.  He  watched  them  from  time  to 
time,  until  many  branches  had  been  spoiled 
of  their  leaves,  and  in  the  autumn  were  en- 
tirely destitute  of  fruit ;  while  the  three  trees, 
which  had  been  stripped  of  the  eggs,  were 
flush  with  foliage,  each  limb  without  exception 
ripening  its  fruit.'  These  pertinent  remarks 
point  out  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  evil,  and 
suggest  the  proper  remedy  to  be  used  againsc 
the  ravages  of  these  insects." 

In  the  New  England  States  there  is  found  a 
tussock  or  vaporer  moth,  seemingly  the  same 
as  the  Orgyia  ovfujua,  the  antique  or  rusty  va« 
porer-moth  of  Europe,  from  whence,  possibly 
its  eggs  may  have  been  brought  with  imported 
fniit  trees,  for  a  description  of  which,  and 
other  tussock  moths,  see  Dr.  Harris's  treatise, 
and  also  Mr.  Abbott's  work  on  the  insects  of 
Georgia.  Also  communications  by  Miss  Dix 
to  Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  xix.  p.  62. 

"To  this  group  of  hairy  caterpillars  belong 
those  which  swarm  in  the  unpruned  nurseries 
and  neglected  orchards  of  the  slovenly  and  im- 
provident husbandman,  and  hang  their  many- 
coated  webs  upon  the  wild  cherry  trees  that 
.ire  suffered  to  spring  up  unchecked  by  the 
way-side,  and  encroach  upon  the  borders  of 
our  pastures  and  fields.  The  eggs  from  which 
they  are  hatched  are  placed  around  the  ends  of 
the  branches,  forming  a  wide  kind  of  ring  or 
bracelet,  consisting  of  three  or  four  hundred 
eggs,  in  the  form  of  short  cylinders,  standing  on 
their  ends  close  together,  and  covered  with  a 
thick  coal  of  brownish  water-proof  varnish. 
The  caterpillars  come  forth  with  the  unfolding 
of  the  leaves  of  the  apple  and  cherry  tree,  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  April  or  the  beginning  of 
May.  The  first  signs  of  their  activity  appear 
in  the  formation  of  a  little  angular  web  or  tent, 
somewhat  resembling  a  spider's  web,  stretched 
between  the  forks  of  the  branches  a  little  bo- 


♦  This  name  is  derived  from  a  word  which  signifies  to 
stretch  out  the  hands,  and  it  is  applied  to  this  itind  of 
moth  on  account  of  its  resting  with  the  'ore-lefrs  ex- 
tended. The  Germans  call  these  moths  streckfilssifft 
Spinnrr,  the  French  pattes  itendues,  and  the  English  va- 
porer-moths,  the  latter  probably  because  the  males  are 
seen  flying  about  ostentatiously,  or  vaporing,  by  dav 


tember ;  and  these  eggs  are  not  hatched  till  I  when  most  other  moths  keep  concealed. 
2  79 


CATERPILLAR, 


CATERPILLAR. 


low  the  cluster  of  eggs.  Under  the  shelter  of 
these  tents,  in  making  which  they  all  work  to- 
gether, the  caterpillars  remain  concealed  at  all 
limes  when  not  engaged  in  eating.  In  crawl- 
ing from  twig  to  twig  and  from  leaf  to  leaf, 
they  spin  from  their  mouths  a  slender  silken 
thread,  which  is  a  clue  to  conduct  them  back 
to  their  tents ;  and  as  they  go  forth  and  return 
in  files,  one  alter  another,  their  pathways  in 
time  become  well  carpeted  with  silk,  which 
serves  to  render  their  footing  secure  during 
their  frequent  and  periodical  journeys  in  va- 
rious directions  to  and  from  their  common 
habitation.  As  they  increase  in  age  and  size 
they  enlarge  their  tent,  surrounding  it  from 
time  to  time  with  new  layers  or  webs,  till  at 
length  it  acquires  a  diameter  of  eight  or  ten 
inches.  They  come  out  together  at  certain 
stated  hours  to  eat,  and  all  retire  at  once  when 
their  regular  meals  are  finished;  during  bad 
weather,  however,  they  fast,  and  do  not  venture 
from  their  shelter.  These  caterpillars  are  of  a 
kind  called  lackeys  in  England,  and  livrecs  in 
France,  from  the  party-coloured  livery  in 
which  they  appear.  When  fully  grown  they 
measure  about  two  inches  in  length.  Their 
heads  are  black ;  extending  along  the  top  of 
the  back  from  one  end  to  the  other  is  a  whitish 
line,  on  each  side  of  which,  on  a  yellow  ground, 
are  numerous  short  and  fine  crinkled  black  lines, 
that  lower  down  become  mingled  together,  and 
form  a  broad  longitudinal  black  stripe,  or  rather 
a  row  of  long  black  spots,  one  on  each  ring,  in 
the  middle  of  each  of  which  is  a  small  blue 
spot;  below  this  is  a  narrow  wavy  yellow  line, 
and  lower  still  the  sides  are  variegated  with 
fine  intermingled  black  and  yellow  lines,  which 
are  lost  at  last  in  the  general  dusky  colour  of 
the  under  side  of  the  body;  on  the  top  of  the 
eleventh  ring  is  a  small  blackish  and  hairy 
wart,  and  the  whole  body  is  very  sparingly 
clothed  with  short  and  soft  hairs,  rather  thicker 
and  longer  upon  the  sides  than  elsewhere.  The 
foregoing  description  will  serve  to  show  that 
these  insects  are  not  the  same  as  either  the 
Neustria  or  the  camp  lackey  caterpillars  of 
Europe,  for  which  they  have  been  mistaken. 
From  the  first  to  the  middle  of  June  they  begin 
to  leave  the  trees  upon  which  they  have  hither- 
to lived  in  company,  separate  from  each  other, 
wander  about  a  while,  and  finally  get  into  some 
crevice  or  other  place  of  shelter  and  make  their 
cocoons.  These  are  of  a  regular  long  oval 
form,  composed  of  a  thin  and  very  loosely 
woven  web  of  silk,  the  meshes  of  which  are 
filled  with  a  thin  paste,  that  on  drying  is 
changed  to  a  yellow  powder,  like  flour  of  sul- 
phur in  appearance.  Some  of  the  caterpillars, 
either  from  weakness  or  some  other  cause,  do 
not  leave  their  nests  with  the  rest  of  the  swarm, 
but  make  their  cocoons  there,  and  when  the 
webs  are  opened  these  cocoons  may  be  seen 
intermixed  with  a  mass  of  blackish  grains, 
like  gunpowder,  excreted  by  the  caterpillars 
during  their  stay.  From  fourteen  to  seventeen 
days  after  the  insect  has  made  its  cocoon  and 
chan?ed  to  a  chrysalis,  it  bursts  its  chrysalis 
skin,  /orces  its  way  through  the  wet  and  soft- 
ened end  of  it.N  cocoon,  and  appears  in  the 
winged  or  mii.er  form.  Many  of  them,  how- 
ever, are  unable  *o  finish  their  transformations 
28^) 


by  reason  of  weakness,  especially  those  re. 
maining  in  the  webs.  Most  of  these  will  be 
found  to  have  been  preyed  upon  by  little  mag- 
gots living  upon  the  fat  within  their  bodies, 
and  finally  changing  to  small  four-winged  ich- 
neumon wasps,  which  in  due  time  pierce  a  hole 
in  the  cocoons  of  their  victims,  and  escape  into 
the  air. 

"The  moth  of  our  American  lackey-cater- 
pillar is  of  a  rusty  or  reddish  brown  colour, 
more  or  less  mingled  with  gray  on  the  middle 
and  base  of  the  fore-wings,  which,  besides,  are 
crossed  by  two  oblique,  straight,  dirty  white 
lines.  It  expands  from  one  inch  and  a  quarter 
to  one  inch  and  a  half  or  a  little  more. 

"The  moths  appear  in  great  numbers  in  July, 
flying  about  and  often  entering  houses  by  night. 
At  this  time  they  lay  their  eggs,  selecting  the 
wild  cherry  in  preference  to  all  other  trees  for 
this  purpose,  and  next  to  these  apple  trees,  the 
extensive  introduction  and  great  increase  of 
which  in  this  country  afford  an  abundant  and 
tempting  supply  of  food  to  the  caterpillars  in 
the  place  of  the  native  cherry  trees  that  for- 
merly, it  would  seem,  sufficed  for  their  nourish- 
ment. These  insects,  because  they  are  the 
most  common  and  most  abundant  in  all  parts 
of  our  country,  and  have  obtained  such  noto- 
riety that  in  common  language  they  are  almost 
exclusively  known  among  us  by  the  name  of 
the  caterpillars,  are  the  worst  enemies  of  the  or- 
chard. Where  proper  attention  has  not  been 
paid  to  the  destruction  of  them,  they  prevail  tc 
such  an  extent  as  almost  entirely  to  strip  the 
apple  and  cherry  trees  of  their  foliage,  by  their 
attacks  continued  during  the  seven  weeks  of 
their  life  in  the  caterpillar  form.  The  trees,  in 
those  orchards  and  gardens  where  they  have 
been  suffered  to  breed  for  a  succession  of  years^ 
become  prematurely  old  in  consequence  of  the 
efic)rts  they  are  obliged  to  make  to  repair,  at  an 
unseasonable  time,  the  loss  of  their  foliage,  and 
are  rendered  unfruitful,  and  consequently  un- 
profitable. But  this  is  not  all;  these  perni- 
cious insects  spread  in  every  direction  from 
the  trees  of  the  careless  and  indolent  to  those 
of  their  more  careful  and  industrious  neigh- 
bours, whose  labours  are  thereby  greatly  in- 
creased, and  have  to  be  followed  up  year  after 
year  without  any  prospect  of  permanent  relief. 

"  Many  methods  and  receipts  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  these  insects  have  been  published  and 
recommended,  but  have  failed  to  exterminate 
them,  and  indeed  have  done  but  little  to  lessen 
their  numbers.  Mr.  Lowel  has  justly  said  that 
'  the  great  difficulty  is  the  neglect  to  do  any 
thing,  till  after  the  caterpillars  have  covered 
the  trees  with  their  nests.  Then  the  labours 
of  the  sluggard  commence,  and  one  tree,  let 
his  receipt  be  ever  so  perfect  and  powerful, 
will  cost  him  as  much  time  and  labour  as  ten 
trees  would  have  required  three  weeks  sooner.* 
The  means  to  be  employed  may  be  stated  under 
three  heads.  The  first  is,  the  collection  and 
destruction  of  the  eggs.  These  should  be 
sought  for  in  the  winter  and  early  part  of  the 
spring,  when  there  are  no  leaves  on  the  trees. 
They  are  easily  discovered  at  this  time,  and 
may  be  removed  with  the  thumb-nail  and  fore- 
finger. Nurseries  and  the  lower  limbs  of  large 
trees  may  thus  be  entirely  cleared  of  eggs  dur 


CATERPILLAR. 


CAT'S-TAIL. 


ing  a  few  visits  made  at  the  proper  season. 
If  a  liberal  bounty  for  the  collection  of  the 
eggs  were  to  be  oflered,  and  continued  for  the 
space  of  ten  years,  these  destructive  caterpil- 
lars would  be  nearly  exterminated  at  the  end 
of  that  time.  Under  the  second  head  are  to  be 
mentioned  the  most  approved  plans  for  destroy- 
ing the  caterpillars  after  they  are  hatched,  and 
have  begun  to  make  their  nests  or  tents.  It  is 
well  known  that  the  caterpillars  come  out  to  feed' 
twice  during  the  day  time,  namely,  in  the  fore- 
noon and  afternoon,  and  that  they  rarely  leave 
their  nests  before  nine  in  the  morning,  and  re- 
turn to  them  again  at  noon.  During  the  early 
part  of  the  season,  while  the  nests  are  small, 
and  the  caterpillars  young  and  tender,  and  at 
those  hours  when  the  insects  are  gathered  toge- 
ther within  their  common  habitation,  they  may 
be  effectually  destroyed  by  crushing  them  by 
hand  in  the  nests.  A  brush,  somewhat 
like  a  bottle-brush,  fixed  to  a  long  handle,  as 
recommended  by  the  late  Colonel  Pickering,  or, 
for  the  want  thereof,  a  dried  mullein  head  and 
its  stalk  fastened  to  a  pole,  will  be  useful  to  re- 
move the  nests,  with  the  caterpillars  contained 
therein,  from  those  branches  which  are  too 
high  to  be  reached  by  hand.  Instead  of  the 
brush,  we  may  use,  with  nearly  equal  success, 
a  small  mop  or  sponge,  dipped  as  often  as  ne- 
cessary into  a  pailful  of  refuse  soap-suds,  ley, 
strong  white-wash,  or  cheap  oil.  The  mop 
•hould  be  thrust  into  the  nest  and  turned  round 
a  little,  so  as  to  wel  the  caterpillars  with  the 
liquid,  which  will  kill  everyone  that  it  touches. 
These  means,  to  be  effectual,  should  be  em- 
ployed during  the  proper  hours,  that  is,  early 
in  the  morning,  at  mid-day,  or  at  night,  and  as 
soon  in  the  spring  as  the  caterpillars  begin  to 
make  their  nests  ;  and  they  should  be  repeated 
as  often,  at  least,  as  once  a  week,  till  the  insects 
leave  the  trees.  Early  attention  and  perseve- 
rance in  the  use  of  these  remedies  will,  in 
time,  save  the  farmer  hundreds  of  dollars,  and 
abundance  of  mortification  and  disappoint- 
ment, besides  rewarding  him  with  the  grateful 
sight  of  the  verdant  foliage,  snowy  blossoms, 
and  rich  fruits  of  his  orchard  in  their  proper 
seasons.  Under  the  third  head,  I  beg  leave  to 
urge  the  people  of  this  commonwealth  to  de- 
clare war  against  these  caterpillars,  a  war  of 
extermination,  to  be  waged  annually  during 
the  month  of  May  and  the  beginning  of  June. 
Let  every  able-bodied  citizen,  who  is  the  owner 
6f  an  apple  or  cherry  tree,  cultivated  or  wild, 
within  our  border,  appear  on  duty,  and  open 
the  campaign  on  the  first  washing-day  in  May, 
armed  and  equipped  with  brush  and  pail,  as 
above  directed,  and  give  battle  to  the  common 
enemy;  and  let  every  housewife  be  careful  to 
reserve  for  use  a  plentiful  supply  of  ammuni- 
tion, strong  waste  soap-suds,  after  every  week- 
ly wash,  till  the  liveried  host  shall  have  de- 
camped from  their  quarters,  and  retreated  for 
the  season.  If  every  man  is  prompt  to  his 
duty,  I  venture  to  predict  that  the  enemy  will 
be  completely  conquered  in  less  time  than  it 
will  take  to  exterminate  the  Indians  in  Florida. 
"Another  caterpillar,  whose  habits  are  simi- 
lar to  those  of  the  preceding,  is  now  and  then 
met  with,  in  Massachusetts,  upon  oak  and  wal- 
nut trees,  and  more  rarely  still  upon  apple  trees. 
36 


According  to  Mr.  Abbot,  '  it  is  sometimes  so 
plentiful  in  Virginia  as  to  strip  the  oak-trees 
bare.'  It  may  be  called  CUsiocampa  sylvalka, 
the  tent-caterpillar  of  the  forest.  With  us  it 
comes  to  its  full  size  from  the  tenth  to  the 
twentieth  of  June,  and  then  measures  about 
two  inches  in  length."     (Han-is.) 

Those  who  wish  to  become  more  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  natural  history  of  the  cater- 
pillar tribe  against  which  such  incessant  war 
is  waged  both  in  country  and  town,  wherever  a 
tree  or  a  plant  is  found,  will  meet  with  abun- 
dant information  in  Dr.  Harris's  Treatise  upon 
Insects  destructive  to  vegetation. 

Some  others  of  the  caterpillar  tribe  will  be 
found  noticed  under  the  several  heads  of  Case- 
bearers,   or    Basket-worms,  Curuaijt-bush 

BoRKU,CuTWOUMCATKRPILLAn,LEAF-ROLLEns, 

Applethek  axd  Nursery  Caterpillars,  Oak 
Axn  Walnut  Caterpillars,  Hop-vine  and 
Grape-vine  Caterpillars,  Locust  Treb 
and  other  caterpillars  infesting  hickory  and 
elm  trees,&c.,TuRPENTiNE  Moth,  infesting  the 
fir  and  pine,  caterpillars  living  upon  reeds,  flags, 
and  other  aquntic  plants,  Sv\svroHyis,  Loopers, 
or  Geometers,  among  which  are  the  insects 
commonly  called  canker  worms;  Grease-moth 
Caterpillars,  iScc. 

CATKIN.  A  name  given  to  such  amenta- 
ceous flowers  as  consist  of  a  great  number  of 
chaffy  scales  and  flowers,  dispersed  along  a 
slender  thread-like  axis  or  rachis,  hanging 
downward,  in  the  form  of  a  rope  or  cat's  taiL 
It  is  the  male  flower  of  the  trees  which  pro- 
duce them,  as  the  birch,  beech,  pine,  fir,  poplar, 
walnut,  hazel,  &c.  They  drop  as  soon  as  the 
pollen  is  shed. 

CATMINT,  or  NEP  (Nepeta  catnria,  Smith, 
vol.  iii.  p.  70).  This  is  a  common  plant,  grow- 
ing in  borders  of  fields  and  in  moist  places, 
flowering  in  June  and  July.  It  grows  a  yard 
high,  with  broad  whitish  leaves,  and  white 
flowers,  not  unlike  mint.  The  plant  has  a 
strong  and  rather  unsavoury  smell.  It  is  easi- 
ly recognised  by  its  hoary,  square,  and  erect 
stalks;  its  leaves  slightly  indented  on  the 
edges,  of  a  whitish-green  on  their  outside,  and 
almost  perfect  white  underneath;  and  its  flowers 
growing  in  spiked  clusters  around  the  stalk  at 
certain  distances.  Cats  are  exceedingly  fond 
of  rolling  upon  this  plant,  and  they  chew  it 
eagerly.  This  has  obtained  for  it  the  familiar 
name  of  catmint. 

CAT'S-FOOT.  A  term  sometimes  provin- 
cially  applied  to  groundrivy. 

CAT'S-MILK.  A  common  name  for  the 
plant  wartwort,  which  see. 

CAT'S-TAIL,  or  TIMOTHY  GRASS 
(Phleum  pratciise,  PI.  5,  k).  This  grass  flou- 
rishes best  in  moist  deep  loams.  Perennial, 
native  of  Britain.  At  the  time  of  flowering, 
in  the  end  of  June,  Sinclair  found  the  produce 
per  acre  was,  from  a  clayey  loam,  40,837  lbs.; 
of  nutritive  matter  1595  lbs.  This  is  a  great 
American  grass,  and  is  called  timothy  from  Mr. 
Timothy  Hanson,  who  first  introduced  its  seeds 
into  Maryland.  Seeds  ripe  in  July.  It  pro- 
duces an  abundance  of  early  feed,  but  its  pro- 
duct of  aftermath  is  poor.     See  Grasses. 

Timothy  is   undoubtedly   one    of  the   most 
valuable  grasses  known  to  American  farmers 
2  A  2  ^81 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


Mixed  in  the  field  with  red  clover,  it  affords 
excellent  hay.  The  seed  is  usually  sown  in 
the  autumn,  among  and  immediately  after 
wheat,  and  rye,  though  it  succeeds  very  well 
when  sown  in  the  spring  at  the  same  time 
clover  is  sown.  The  clover  dies  out  after  the 
second  year,  leaving  the  ground  in  possession 
of  the  timothy,  which  requires  a  good  soil  and 
Is  considered  an  exhausting  crop  to  land. 

The  smaller  Meadmo  Cat*s4ail  {Phlexim  minus). 
Indigenous  lo  England,  on  tenacious  soils. 

^The  rulhous-joiiited  Cat's-tnil  Grass  (Phlevm 
nodosum).  Perennial;  native  of  Britain,  but 
rare ;  found  on  a  clayey  soil  at  Woburn.  Flow- 
ers in  beginning  of  July.  Seeds  ripe  at  the 
end  of  the  same  month. 

Purple^talked  Cat's-tail  Grass  (Phleum  boeh 
meri).  Indigenous  and  perennial ;  grows  best 
on  a  sandy  loam.    Flowers  in  July. 

In  the  New  England  States  timothy,  or  P. 
pratense,  is  called  herd's  grass,  a  name  applied 
in  the  Middle  States  exclusively  to  the  Jgrostis 
vulgaris  or  red-top,  a  kind  of  grass  so  very  un- 
popular among  Pennsylvania  farmers,  that  in 
selecting  clover  and  other  grass  seeds,  they 
reject  all  samples  containing  herd's  grass. 

CATTLE.  Under  this  head  I  propose  to 
include  the  ox  tribe,  Bovida,  of  the  class  Mam- 
malia, having  teats  or  mamrtKB:  these  are  of  the 
order  Ruminantia,  or  ruminating,  or  cud-chew- 
ing animals.  Of  this  tribe  there  are  eight  spe- 
cies : — 1.  Bos  urns  or  Anroch,  the  ancient  bison ; 
2.  B.  bison,  the  bison,  or  American  buffalo;  3. 
B.  moschohis,  or  musk  ox;  4.  B.  frontalis,  or 
gayal ;  .•>.  B.  grunniens,  or  grunting  ox;  6.  B. 
caffer,  or  buffalo  of  southern  Africa;  7.  B.  bu- 
bulus,  or  common  buffalo ;  8.  B.  taurus,  or  com- 
mon domestic  ox.  That  the  ox  has  been  do- 
mesticated, and  in  the  service  of  man  from  a 
very  remote  period,  is  quite  certain.  We  learn 
from  Gen.  (iv.  20.)  that  cattle  were  kept  by  the 
early  descendants  of  Adam.  Preserved  by 
Noah  from  the  flood  waters,  the  original  breed 
of  our  present  oxen  must  have  been  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Mount  Ararat ;  and  from 
♦.hence,  dispersing  over  the  face  of  the  globe, 
altering  by  climate,  by  food,  and  by  cultivation, 
originated  the  various  breeds  of  modern  ages. 
That  the  value  of  the  ox  tribe  has  been  in  all 
ages  and  climates  highly  appreciated,  we  have 
abundant  evidence.  The  natives  of  Egypt, 
India,  and  of  Hindostan  seem  alike  to  have 
placed  the  cow  amongst  their  deities;  and, 
judging  by  her  usefulness  to  all  classes,  no 
animal  could  perhaps  have  been  selected  whose 
value  to  mankind  is  greater.  Of  the  old  race 
of  British  cattle,  some  remains  of  which  are 
yet  to  be  found  in  Chillingham  Park,  in  North- 
umberland, in  a  state  of  tolerable  purity,  and 
in  one  or  two  other  places  in  Great  Britain, 
improved  by  judicious  or  accidental  crossings, 
came  most  of  our  modern  breeds.  George 
CuUey,  in  his  valuable  work  on  cattle,  de- 
scribes these  aboriginals  as  being  of  a  creamy 
white,  with  black  muzzles,  white  horns  with 
black  tips  bending  upwards.  The  cows  weigh- 
ing from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  stone.  They 
nide  for  a  week  or  ten  days  their  calves,  in 
some  sequestered  place ;  and  these,  when  tbe7 
are  disturbed,  put  their  heads  to  the  ground, 
and  lie  close  like  a  hare.  Their  wildness  pre- 
982 


vents  the  introduction  of  them  into  any  situ- 
ation not  surrounded  by  stone  walls  :  and  the 
mode  in  which  they  were  went  to  be  killed  by 
the  keepers  was  by  a  rifle  ball.  See  also  two 
excellent  papers  by  Dr.  Knox  on  the  wild  ox 
of  Scotland  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  ix.  p. 
367)  ;  and  on  the  ox  tribe,  in  connection  with 
the  white  cattle  of  the  Hamilton  and  Chilling- 
ham  breeds,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Patrick  {Ibid, 
\.  514). 

In  nearly  all  parts  of  the  earth  cattle  are 
employed  for  their  labour,  for  their  milk,  and 
for  food.  In  southern  Africa  they  are  as  much 
the  associates  of  the  Caffres  as  the  horse  is  of 
the  Arab.  They  share  his  toils,  and  assist  him 
in  tending  his  herds  ;  they  are  even  trained  to 
battle,  in  which  they  become  fierce  and  cou- 
rageous. In  central  Africa  the  proudest  ebony 
beauties  are  to  be  seen  on  their  backs.  They 
have  drawn  the  plough  in  all  ages ;  in  Spain 
they  still  trample  out  the  corn  ;  in  India  raise 
the  water  from  the  deepest  wells  to  irrigate  the 
thirsty  soils  of  Bengal.  When  CoGsar  invaded 
England  they  constituted  the  chief  riches  of 
its  inhabitants  {CcRsar,  lib.  v.  c.  10);  and  ihey 
yet  form  no  inconsiderable  item  in  the  estimate 
of  that  country's  abounding  riches.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Cotimate  of  Mr.  Youatt,  to  whom  in 
this  and  other  articles  on  live  stock  I  am  so 
much  indebted  {On  Cattle,  p.  9),  it  would  seem 
that  1,600,000  head  of  cattle  are  consigned  to 
the  butcher  every  year  in  the  United  King- 
dom, and  the  value  of  the  entire  national  stock 
of  all  kinds  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  pigs,  he  is  of 
opinion,  amounts  to  nearly  120,000,000/.  ster 
ling.  An  excellent  paper  on  the  origin  and 
natural  history  of  the  domestic  ox  and  its  allied 
species,  by  Professor  Wilson  {Quart.  Jotirn.  of 
Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  177),  may  be  consulted  with 
advantage  by  those  who  wish  for  more  infor- 
mation on  this  head. 

The  breeds  of  cattle  in  England  are  remark- 
able for  their  numerous  varieties,  caused  by 
the  almost  endless  crossings  of  one  breed  with 
another,  often  producing  varieties  of  the  most 
mongrel  description,  and  which  are  rather  dif- 
ficult to  describe.  I  will  in  this  place  touch 
upon  the  principal  varieties ;  and  in  these  we 
should,  in  looking  for  the  chief  points  of  excel- 
lence, regard,  as  Mr.  Youatt  well  observes, 
"wide  and  deep  girth  about  the  heart  and 
lungs  ;  and  not  only  about  these,  but  above  the 
whole  of  the  ribs  must  we  have  both  depth  and 
roundness ;  the  hooped  as  well  as  the  deep 
barrel  is  essential.  The  beast  should  also  be 
ribbed  home ;  there  should  be  little  space  be- 
tween the  ribs  and  the  hips.  This  is  indispen- 
sable in  the  fattening  ox,  but  a  largeness  and 
drooping  of  the  belly  is  excusable  in  the  cow. 
It  leaves  room  for  the  udder,  and  if  it  is  also 
accompanied  by  swelling  milk-veins,  it  gene- 
rally indicates  her  value  in  the  dairy.  This 
roundness  and  depth  of  the  barrel,  however,  is 
most  advantageous  in  proportion  as  it  is  found 
behind  the  point  of  the  elbow,  more  than  be- 
tween the  shoulders  and  legs;  or  low  down 
between  the  legs,  than  upwards  towards  the 
withers ;  for  it  diminishes  the  heaviness  before, 
and  the  comparative  bulk  of  the  coarser  parts 
of  the  animal,  which  is  always  a  very  greal 
consideration. 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


"The  loins  should  be  wide,  for  these  are  the 
prime  parts ;  they  should  seem  to  extend  far 
along  the  back ;  and  although  the  belly  should 
not  hang  down,  the  flanks  should  be  round  and 
deep,  the  hips  large,  without  being  ragged, 
round  rather  than  wide,  and  present,  when 
handled,  plenty  of  muscle  and  fat;  the  thighs 
full  and  long,  and,  when  viewed  from  behind, 
close  together;  the  legs  short,  for  there  is  al- 
most an  inseparable  connection  between  length 
of  leg  and  lightness  of  carcass,  and  shortness 
of  leg  and  propensity  to  fatten.  The  bones  of 
the  legs  and  of  the  frame  generally  should  be 
small,  but  not  too  small ;  small  enough  for  the 
well-known  accompaniment,  a  propensity  to 
fatten ;  small  enough  to  please  the  consumer, 
but  not  so  small  as  to  indicate  delicacy  of  con- 
stitution and  liability  to  disease.  Finally,  the 
hide,  the  most  important  thing  of  all,  should  be 
thin,  but  not  so  thin  as  to  indicate  that  the  ani- 
mal can  endure  no  hardships,  movable,  mellow, 
but  not  loo  loose,  and  particularly  well  covered 
with  fine  and  soft  hair." 

On  the  points  by  which  live  stock  are  judged, 
some  very  excellent  papers  have  .appeared  in 
the  Edin.  Quart.  Journ.  of  Ji^.,  by  Mr.  James 
Dickson,  cattle-dealer  of  Edinburgh.  He  very 
truly  observes  (vol.  v.  p.  159),  that,  "  were  an 
ox  of  fine  symmetry  and  high  condition  placed 
before  a  person  not  a  judge  of  live  stock,  his 
opinion  of  its  excellences  would  be  derived 
from  a  very  limited  view,  and  consequently 
from  only  a  few  of  its  qualities.  He  might 
observe  and  admire  the  beautiful  outline  of  its 
figure,  for  that  would  strike  the  most  casual 
observer.  He  might  be  pleased  with  the  tint 
of  its  colour^  the  plumpness  of  its  body,  and 
the  smoothness  and  glossiness  of  its  skin.  He 
might  be  even  delighted  with  the  gentle  and 
complacent  expression  of  its  countenance ; — 
all  these  properties  he  might  judge  of  by  the 
eye  alone.  On  touching  the  animal  with  the 
hand,  he  could  feel  the  softness  of  its  body, 
occasioned  by  the  fatness  of  the  flesh.  But  no 
man  not  a  judge  could  rightly  criticise  the  pro- 
perties of  an  ox  farther.  He  could  not  possibly 
discover  without  tuition  those  properties  which 
had  chiefly  conduced  to  produce  the  high  con- 
dition in  which  he  saw  the  ox.  He  would 
hardly  believe  that  a  judge  can  ascertain  merely 
by  the  eye,  from  its  general  aspect,  whether  the 
ox  were  in  good  or  bad  health;  from  the  colour 
of  its  skin,  whether  it  were  of  a  pure  or  cross 
breed;  from  the  expression  of  its  countenance, 
whether  it  were  a  quiet  feeder ;  and  from  the 
nature  of  its  flesh,  whether  it  had  arrived  at 
maturity.  The  discoveries  made  by  the  hand 
of  a  judge  might  even  stagger  his  belief.  He 
could  scarcely  conceive  that  the  hand  can  feel 
a  hidden  property.  The  touch,  which  of  all 
tests  is  the  most  surely  indicative  of  fine  qua- 
lity of  flesh  and  of  disposition  to  fatten,  can 
find  whether  that  flesh  is  of  the  most  valuable 
kind;  and  it  can  foretell  the  probable  abundance 
of  fat  in  the  interior  of  the  carcass.  In  short, 
a  judge  alone  can  discriminate  between  the 
relative  values  of  the  different  points,  or  appre-  i 
ciate  the  aggregate  value  of  all  the  points  of  ! 
an  ox.  These  'points'  are  the  parts  of  an  ox  | 
by  which  it  is  judged."  The  first  point  to  be  ! 
ascertained  in  examining  an  ox,  is  the  purity  ' 


of  its  breed,  whatever  that  breed  may  be;  fof 
that  will  give  the  degree  of  the  disposition  to 
fatten  of  the  individuals  of  that  breed.  The 
purity  of  the  breed  may  be  ascertained  from 
several  marks :  the  colour  or  colours  of  the 
skin  of  a  pure  breed  of  cattle,  whatever  those 
colours  are,  are  always  definite.  The  colour 
of  the  bald  skin  on  the  nose  and  round  the  eyes, 
in  a  pure  breed,  is  always  definite,  and  without 
spots.  This  last  is  an  essential  point.  When 
horns  exist,  they  should  be  smooth,  small,  ta* 
pering,  and  sharp-pointed,  long  or  short,  ac- 
cording to  the  breed,  and  of  a  white  colour 
throughout  in  some  breeds,  and  tipped  with 
black  in  others.  The  shape  of  the  horn  is  a 
less  essential  point  than  the  colour.  Applying 
these  remarks  on  the  different  breeds  in  Scot- 
land, as  illustrations  of  the  point  which  we 
have  been  considering,  we  have  the  definite 
colours  of  white  and  red  in  the  short-horns. 
The  colour  is  either  entirely  white  or  entirely 
red,  or  the  one  or  the  other  predominates  in 
their  mixture.  The  skin  on  the  nose  and 
around  the  eyes  is  uniformly  of  a  rich  cream 
colour.  The  Ayrshire  breed,  in  its  purity,  is 
also  distinguished  by  the  red  and  white  colour 
of  the  skin,  but  always  mixed,  and  the  mixture 
consists  of  spots  of  greater  or  smaller  size  not 
blended  together.  The  colour  of  the  skin  on 
the  nose  and  around  the  eye  is  not  definite,  but 
generally  black  or  cream-coloured.  In  other 
points,  these  two  celt  braied  breeds  differ  from 
one  another  more  th  in  in  the  characters  which 
I  have  just  describe  (.  In  the  West  Highland, 
Angus,  and  Galloway  breeds,  the  colour  of  the 
skin  of  the  nose  and  around  the  eyes  is  indica- 
tive of  the  pure  blood  of  black-coloured  cattle, 
bat  a  cream-coloured  nose  may  frequently  b» 
observed  amongst  the  other  colours  of  skin 
The  characters  above  given  will  certainly 
apply  to  the  purity  of  the  blood  in  the  short- 
horn and  Ayrshire  breeds,  if  not  to  the  Wes' 
Highlanders. 

"The  second  point  to  be  ascertained  in  an  ox 
is  the  form  of  its  carcass.  It  is  found  that  th» 
nearer  the  section  of  the  carcass  of  a  fat  ox, 
taken  longitudinally  vertical,  transversely  ver- 
tical, and  horizontally,  approaches  to  the  figure 
of  a  parallelogram,  the  greater  quantity  of  flesh 
will  it  carry  within  the  same  measurement. 
That  the  carcass  may  fill  up  the  parallelogram 
as  well  as  its  rounded  form  is  capable  of  filling 
up  a  right-angled  figure,  it  should  possess  the 
following  configuration  : — The  back  should  be 
straight  from  the  top  of  the  shoulder  to  the  tail. 
The  tail  should  fall  perpendicularly  from  the 
line  of  the  back.  The  buttocks  and  twist  should 
be  well  filled  out.  The  brisket  should  project 
to  a  line  dropped  from  the  middle  of  the  neck. 
The  belly  should  be  straight  longitudinally,  and 
round  laterally,  and  filled  at  the  flank.:  '^he 
ribs  should  be  round,  and  should  project  Ho- 
rizontally, and  at  right  angles  to  the  back. 
The  hooks  should  be  wide  and  flat ;  anr^  he 
rump,  from  the  tail  to  the  hooks,  should  a  so 
be  filled  and  well  filled.  The  quarter  from  the 
itch-bone  to  the  hook  shouid  be  long.  The  lorn 
bones  should  be  long,  broad,  and  flat,  and  well 
filled;  but  the  space  betwixt  the  hooks  and  the 
short  ribs  should  be  rather  short  and  well 
arched  over,  with  a  thickness  of  beef  lietwcen 

283 


CATTLE. 

the  hooks.  A  long  hollow  from  the  hooks  to 
the  short  ribs  indicates  a  weak  constitution  and 
an  indifferent  thriver.  From  the  loin  to  the 
shoulder-blade  should  be  nearly  of  one  breadth, 
and  from  thence  it  should  taper  a  little  to  the 
front  of  the  shoulder.  The  neck-vein  should 
be  well  filled  forward  to  complete  the  line  from 
the  neck  to  the  brisket.  The  covering  on  the 
shoulder-blade  should  be  as  full  out  as  the  but- 
locks.  The  middle  ribs  should  be  well  filled, 
to  complete  the  line  from  the  shoulders  to  the 
buttocks  along  the  projection  of  the  outside  of 
\he  ribs ;  these  constitute  all  the  points  which 
are  essential  to  &fat  ox. 

**  The  first  of  the  poirUa  in  judging  of  a  lean 
ox,  is  the  nature  of  the  bone.  A  round  thick 
bone  indicates  both  a  slow  feeder  and  an  in- 
ferior description  of  flesh.  A  flat  bone,  when 
seen  on  a  side  view,  and  narrow  when  viewed 
either  from  behind  or  before  the  animal,  indi- 
cates the  opposite  properties  of  a  round  bone. 
The  whole  bones  in  the  carcass  should  bear  a 
small  proportion  in  bulk  and  weight  to  the 
flesh,  the  bones  being  only  required  as  a  sup- 
port to  the  flesh.  The  texture  of  the  bone 
should  be  small-grained  and  hard.  The  bones 
of  the  head  should  be  fine  and  clean,  and  only 
covered  with  skin  and  muscle,  and  not  with 
lumps  of  fat  and  flesh,  which  always  give  a 
heavy-headed,  dull  appearance  to  an  ox.  The 
fore-arm  and  hock  should  also  be  clean  and 
full  of  muscle,  to  endure  travelling.  Large 
joints  indicate  bad  feeders.  The  neck  of  an 
ox  should  be,  contrary  to  that  of  the  sheep, 
small  from  the  back  of  the  head  to  the  middle 
of  the  neck.  A  full,  clear,  and  prominent  eye 
is  another  point  to  be  considered,  because  it  is 
a  nice  indication  of  good  breeding.  It  is  al- 
ways attendant  on  fine  bone:  the  expression 
of  the  eye  is  an  excellent  index  of  many  pro- 
perties in  the  ox.  A  dull,  heavy  eye  clearly 
indicates  a  slow  feeder.  A  rolling  eye,  show- 
ing much  white,  is  expressive  of  a  restless 
capricious  disposition,  which  is  incompatible 
with  quiet  feeding.  A  calm,  complacent  ex- 
pression of  eye  and  face  is  strongly  indicative 
of  a  sweet  and  patient  disposition,  and  of 
course  kindly  feeling.  The  eye  is  frequently 
a  faithful  index  of  the  state  of  health.  A  cheer- 
ful clear  eye  accompanies  good  health  :  a  con- 
stantly dull  one  proves  the  probable  existence 
of  some  internal  lingering  disease;  the  dull- 
ness of  eye,  however,  arising  from  internal 
disease  is  quite  different  in  character  from  a 
natural  or  constitutional  phlegmatic  dullness. 

**The  state  of  the  skin  is  the  next  point  to  be 
ascertained;  the  skin  affords  what  is  techni- 
cally and  emphatically  called  the  tourh — a  cri- 
terion second  to  none  in  judging  of  the  feeding 
properties  of  an  ox.  The  touch  may  be  good 
or  bad,  fine  or  harsh,  or,  as  it  is  often  termed, 
hard  or  mellow.  A  thick,  firm  skin,  which  is 
generally  covered  with  a  thick-set,  hard,  short 
hair,  always  touches  hard,  and  indicates  a  bad 
feeaer.  A  thin,  meager,  papery  skin,  covered 
with  thin,  silky  hair,  being  the  opposite  of  the 
one  just  described,  does  not,  however,  afllbrd  a 
good  touch.  Such  skin  is  indicative  of  weak- 
ness of  constitution,  though  of  good  feeding 
properties.  A  perfect  touch  will  be  found  with 
9  thick,  loose  skin,  floating,  as  it  were,  on 
284 


CATTLE. 

a  layer  of  soft  fat,  yielding  to  the  least  press- 
ure, and  springing  back  to  the  finger  lik^  a 
piece  of  soft,  thick,  chamois  leather,  and  cover- 
ed with  thick,  glossy,  soft  hair.  It  is  not  un- 
like a  bed  of  fine  soft  moss,  and  hence  such  a 
skin  is  not  unfrequently  styled  'mossy.'  A 
knowledge  of  touch  can  only  be  acquired  by 
long  practice ;  but  after  having  acquired  it,  it 
is  of  itself  a  sufficient  means  of  judging  of  the 
feeding  quality  of  an  ox,  because,  when  present, 
the  properties  of  symmetrical  form,  fine  bone, 
sweet  disposition,  and  purity  of  blood  are  the 
general  accompaniments.  These  are  the  es- 
sential points  in  judging  lean  cattle,  but  there 
are  other  and  important  considerations  in  form- 
ing a  thorough  judgment  of  the  ox.  The  head 
should  be  small,  and  set  on  the  neck  as  if  easi- 
ly carried  by  the  animal;  this  shows  the  ani- 
mal to  advantage  in  the  market.  The  face  long 
from  the  eyes  to  the  point  of  the  nose.  The 
skull  broad  across  the  eyes,  contracted  a  little 
above  them,  but  tapering  considerably  below 
them  to  the  nose.  The  muzzle  fine  and  small; 
the  nostrils  capacious ;  the  ears  large,  a  little 
erect,  and  transpareht;  the  neck  short  and  light. 
A  droop  of  tfie  neck  from  the  top  of  the  shoul- 
der to  the  head  indicates  a  weakness  of  consti- 
tution, arising  frequently  from  breeding  too 
near  akin.  The  legs  below  the  knees  should 
be  rather  short  than  long,  and  clean  made; 
stand  where  they  apparently  bear  the  weight 
of  the  body  most  easily,  and  wide  asunder. 
The  tail  rather  thick  than  otherwise,  as  that 
indicates  a  strong  spine,  and  a  good  weigher. 
It  should  be  provided  with  a  large  tuft  of  long 
hair.  The  position  of  the  flesh  is  important :  that 
part  called  the  spare  rib  in  Edinl^rgh,  and  the 
fore  and  middle  ribs  in  London,  the  loins  and 
the  rump,  or  hook-bone,  are  of  the  finest  qua- 
lity, and  are  generally  used  for  roasts  and 
steaks ;  consequently  the  ox  which  carries  the 
largest  quantity  of  beef  on  these  points  is  the 
most  valuable.  Flesh  of  fine  quality  is  actu- 
ally of  a  finer  texture  than  coarse  flesh.  The 
other  desirable  objects  in  a  fat  ox  are  a  full 
twist,  lining  the  division  between  the  hams 
called  *  the  closing'  with  a  thick  layer  of  fat, 
a  thick  flank,  and  a  full  neck  bend;  these 
generally  indicate  internal  tallow.  The  last 
points  generally  covered  with  fat  are  the 
point  of  the  shoulder-joint  and  the  top  of  the 
shoulder :  if  these  parts  are,  therefore,  felt  to 
be  well  covered,  the  other  and  better  parts  of 
the  animal  may  be  considered  ripe.  It  is  pro- 
per, in  judging  of  the  weight  of  a  fat  ox,  to 
view  his  gait  while  walking  towards  you, 
which  will,  if  the  ox  has  been  well  fed,  be  ac- 
companied with  a  heavy  rolling  tread  on  the 
ground.  In  this  way  a.  judge  can  at  once  come 
very  near  to  its  weight."  (Quart.  Journ.  of  jigr. 
vol.  V.  p.  167.)  At  the  end  of  this  paper  will 
be  found  an  account  of  the  mode  of  ascertain- 
ing the  weight  of  stock  by  admeasurement. 

When  we  survey  the  frame  of  a  short  horn 
ox,  adds  Mr.  Dickson  {Ibid.  vol.  vi.  p.  267),  we 
have  a  straight,  level  back  from  behind  the 
horns  to  the  top  of  the  tail,  full  buttocks,  and 
a  projecting  brisket;  we  have,  in  short,  the 
rectangular  figure,  as  represented  in  a  side 
view  by  fig.  1.  We  have  also  the  level  loin 
across  the  hook  bones,  and  the  level  top  of  the 


CATTLE. 


€ATTLE. 


shoulder  across  the  ox,  and  perpendicu- 
lar lines  down  the  hind  and  fore-legs 
on  both  sides,  these  constituting  the 
square  form  when  the  ox  is  viewed 
before  and  behind,  as  represented  in 
figures  2  and  3 ;  and  we  have  straight 
parallel  lines  from  the  sides  of  the 
shoulders,  along  the  outmost  points  of 
the  ribs,  to  the  sides  of  the  hind  quar- 
ters ;  and  we  have  these  lines  connect- 
ed at  their  ends  by  others  of  shorter 
and  equal  length,  across  the  end  of  the 
rump  and  the  top  of  the  shoulder,  thus 
constituting  the  rectangular  form  of  the 
ox  when  viewed  from  above  down  upon 
the  back,  as  represented  by  fig.  4 ;  the 
form  of  the  short  ox  and  heifer,  in  per- 
fect accordance  with  the  diagrams  of 
the  rule.  Farther,  I  should  be  inclined 
to  assert,  though  I  have  not  directed 
my  attention  sufficiently  to  the  fact  to 
be  able  to  prove  the  assertion  from  ex- 
amples, that  the  carcass  of  a  full  fed, 
symmetrical,  short-horn  ox,  included 
within  the  rectangle,  is  in  length  dou- 
ble its  depth,  and  in  depth  equal  to  its 
breadth ;  hence  figures  2  and  3  are 
squares,  and  figures  1  and  4  each  two 
similar  squares,  placed  in  juxtaposi- 
tion. The  form  of  the  short-horn  breed 
is  perfect  according  to  this  rule. 

The  cow  goes  with  calf  about  forty 
weeks,  and  is  often  capable  of  breed- 
ing when  only  a  year  old  ;  but  she 
should  not  be  allowed  to  do  so  until 
she  is  above  two  years  old.  Whe 
the  calves  are  intended  for  veal,  Janu 
ary,  February,  and  March  are  the  best 
months  for  calving.  On  the  question 
of  breeding  live  stock  in  general,  and 
upon  the  difficult  question  of  the  cora- 
paraiive  influence  of  the  male  and  fe- 
male parents  in  impressing  their  off- 
spring, a  theme  propounded  by  the  Highland 
Society,  there  are  some  excellent  papers  by 
Mr.  Boswell,  Mr.  Christian,  and  Mr.  Mill  (High. 
Soc.  Trans,  vol.  i.  p.  17),  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Ber- 
ry (Brit.  Farm.  Mag.  vol.  i.),  and  by  Mr.  Knight 
(Trans.  Roy.  Soc.  1809),  in  which  they  all  seem 
to  uphold  the  superior  influence  of  the  male ; 
and  on  the  selection  of  the  male  animal  in 
breeding  there  is  a  paper  by  Lord  Spencer 
(Jaiirn.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  22);  another  on 
the  gestation  of  cows  (Ilrid.  165);  and  on  the 
means  of  calculating  the  number  of  calves 
which  will  probably  be  produced  by  a  herd  of 
cows,  by  the  same  noble  lord  (Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p. 
112);  and  on  the  detection  of  pregnancy  in  the 
horse  and  cow  by  Professor  Youatt  (Ibid.  p. 
170)  ;  on  a  method  of  obtaining  a  greater  num- 
ber of  one  sex  at  the  option  of  the  owner  in  the 
breeding  of  livestock  (Qiwrt.  Jonrn.  of  .^gr.  vol. 
i.  p.  63);  on  the  rearing  of  calves,  in  which  the 
writer  recommends  that  skimmed  milk  should 
have  a  piece  of  red-hot  iron  plunged  into  it,  not 
only  to  warm  it,  but  to  give  an  astringent  qua- 
lity (Com.  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  iv.  p.  382);  on  the 
mode  of  fattening  them  in  Strathaven  there  is 
an  account  by  Mr.  Alton  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of 
Agr.  p.  249 ;  and  of  the  mode  of  fattening  them 
near  London  by  Mr.  Main  (Ibid.  vol.  v.  p.  608). 


X"-^- 


"  Every  cow  is  made  to  suckle  her  own  calf 
three  times  a  day  for  the  first  three  or  four 
days,  and  afterwards  twice  a  day,  and,  in  need, 
her  bag  is  emptied  by  another  calf.  If  a  calf 
goes  on  thriving  and  well,  it  will  be  what  is 
esteemed  in  England  prime  veal  in  about  ten 
weeks,  and  weigh  from  17  to  20  stones  of  8  lbs. 
each." 

The  North  Devon.— OC  this  breed  the  bull 
should  have  yellow  horns,  placed  neither  too 
low  nor  too  high,  nor  be  too  thick,  but  grow- 
ing gradually  less  towards  the  points  ;  the  e)''e 
clear,  prominent,  and  bright;  the  forehe;id 
small,  flat,  and  indented ;  the  muzzle  fine ;  the 
cheek  small ;  the  nose  of  a  clear  yellow,  the 
nostril  high  and  open ;  the  neck  thick,  and  the 
hair  about  the  head  curled.  The  head  of  the 
ox  is  smaller,  otherwise  he  does  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  the  shape  of  the  bull;  his  action 
is  free,  and  he  is  quicker  in  his  movements 
than  any  of  our  oxen;  but  his  legs  are  appa- 
rently placed  too  much  under  his  chest  for 
speed,  yet  he  possesses  this  property  in  an 
eminent  degree;  his  legs  are  straight;  the  fore- 
arm is  large  and  strong;  the  bones  of  the  leg, 
especially  below  the  knee,  very  small ;  the  tail 
is  set  on  high,  on  a  level  with  the  back,  rarely 
much  elevated,  never  depressed,  is  long  and 

285 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


taper,  with  a  bunch  of  hair  at  the  end;  the 
skin  is  very  elastic,  mellow,  and  rather  thin ; 
some  have  smooth  hair,  which  should  be  fine 
and  glossy;  some  curly,  and  these  are  rather 
the  most  hardy  and  fatten  the  best;  red  is  the 
most  favourite  colour;  many,  however,  are 
brown,  and  others  are  approaching  to  chest- 
nut. Those  of  a  yellow  colour  are  reported  to 
be  subject  to  the  sieat  (diarrhoea.)  The  draw- 
ing, Plate  12,  fig.  3,  is  taken  from  Low's  spier - 
did  work  upon  British  animals.  It  represents  a 
young  Devon  bull,  two  years  and  nine  months 
old,  of  a  deep  red  colour. 

The  Devon  cow  is  much  smaller  than  the 
bull;  she  has  a  full,  round,  clear  eye,  the 
countenance  cheerful,  the  muzzle  orange  or 
yellow,  the  jliws  free  from  thickness,  and  the 
throat  from  dewlap.  On  all  soils,  except  the 
very  heavy,  the  Devon  ox  is  very  superior  at 
the  plough,  for  its  quickness  of  action,  docility, 
good  temper,  stoutness,  and  honesty.  It  is 
always  worked  in  yokes.  Four  Devon  oxen 
are  considered  equal  in  their  work  to  three 
horses :  they  are  commonly  worked  from  two 
years  old  until  they  are  four,  five,  or  six,  and 
then  in  ten  or  twelve  months,  on  grass  and 
hay,  they  are  fit  for  market;  neither  corn, 
cake,  nor  turnips  are  needed  for  them  during 
the  first  winter.  They  fatten  faster  and  with 
less  food  than  most  others ;  their  flesh  is  ex- 
cellent. Some  comparative  experiments  be- 
tween the  Devon  and  other  cattle  were  made 
by  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  of  which  the  following 
table  gives  the  result :  they  were  fed  from  No- 
vember 16,  1797,  until  December  10,  1798. 


CoDSUDied 

Firrt 
Weight. 

Gained. 

Cake. 

Turnip*. 

Hay. 

cwt.  qn.  Iba 

Ita. 

lb». 

lbs. 

I.Hereford    - 

17    0     1 

24  3 

— 

2700 

487 

9.       - 

18     1     0 

41  5 

423 

2712 

432 

3.  Devon 

14     1    7 

45  4 

438 

2668 

295 

4.        — 

14    2    4 

64  0 

442 

20.56 

442 

5.  Sussex 

16    2    0 

45  4 

432 

2655 

392 

6.  I^icester   - 

15    2  14 

40  2 

434 

2652 

400 

There  is  much  difference  of  opinion  with  re- 
gard to  the  fitness  of  Devon  cows  for  the  dairy, 
it  being  pretty  generally  asserted  that  their 
acknowledged  grazing  qualities  render  them 
unfit  for  the  dairy,  that  their  milk  is  rich,  but 
deficient  in  quantity ;  but  there  are  many  very 
superior  judges  who  prefer  them  even  for 
the  dairy.  Of  the  calves,  those  which  are 
dropped  about  Michaelmas  time  are  preferred 
to  those  which  are  calved  in  January  or  Feb- 
ruary. They  allow  the  calf  to  suck  three 
times  a  day  for  a  week  ;  then  new  warm  milk 
is  given  it  for  three  weeks  longer ;  then  it  has 
warm  scalded  milk  mixed  with  a  small  portion 
of  finely  divided  linseed  cake,  and  its  meals 
are  gradually  lessened,  and  at  four  months 
old  it  is  entiiely  weaned.  (Youatt  On  Cattle, 
p.  7—25.) 

The  Hereford. — The  oxen  of  Herefordshire 
are  much  larger  than  the  Devon,  and  of  a 
darker  red,  some  are  dark  yellow,  and  a  few 
brindled ;  they  generally  have  white  faces, 
bellies,  and  throats.  They  have  thicker  hides 
than  those  of  Devonshire,  and  they  are  more 
hardy,  and  sh'irter  in  the  carcase  and  leg ;  are 
S86 


higher,  heavier,  and  broader  in  the  chine* 
have  more  fat,  and  are  rounder  and  wider 
across  the  hips ;  the  thigh  is  more  muscular, 
the  shoulders  larger.  (Jlnd.  p.  31.)  Marshall 
long  since  described  them  pretty  correctly  as 
follows  : — "  The  countenance  pleasant,  cheer- 
ful, open;  the  forehead  broad;  eye  full  and 
lively;  horns  bright,  taper,  and  spreading; 
head  small ;  chap  lean ;  neck  long  and  taper- 
ing ;  chest  deep  ;  bosom  broad,  and  projecting 
forward ;  shoulder-bone  thin,  flat,  no  way  pro- 
tuberant in  bone,  but  full  and  mellow  in  flesh  ; 
chest  full ;  loin  broad ;  hips  standing  wide, 
and  level  with  the  spine ;  quarters  long  and 
wide  at  the  neck  ;  rump  even  with  the  general 
level  of  the  back,  not  drooping  nor  standing 
high  and  sharp  above  the  quarters ;  tail  slen- 
der, and  neatly  haired;  barrel  round  and 
roomy,  the  carcase  throughout  deep  and  well 
spread  ;  ribs  broad,  standing  close  and  flat  on 
the  outer  surface,  forming  a  smooth  even  bar- 
rel, the  hindmost  large  and  of  full  length; 
round  bone  small,  snug,  not  prominent ;  thigh 
clean,  and  regularly  tapering;  legs  upright 
and  short ;  bone  below  the  knee  and  hough, 
small;  feet  of  middle  size;  cod  and  twist 
round  and  full ;  flank  large  ;  flesh  everywhere 
mellow,  soft,  yielding  pleasantly  to  the  touch, 
especially  on  the  chine,  the  shoulder,  and  the 
ribs ;  hide  mellow,  supple,  of  a  middle  thick- 
ness, and  loose ;  coat  neatly  haired,  bright, 
and  silky ;  colour  of  a  middle  red  with  a  bald 
face,  characteristic  of  the  true  Herefordshire 
breed." 

"They  fatten,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  "to  a  much 
greater  weight  than  the  Devons,  and  run  from 
fifty  to  seventy  score ;  a  tolerable  cow  will 
average  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  score ;  a  cow 
belonging  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  weighed 
more  than  seventy ;  an  ox  of  Mr.  Westcar's 
exceeded  one  hundred  and  ten  score.  The 
Hereford  ox  fattens  speedily  at  an  early  age. 
They  are  not  now  much  used  for  husbandry, 
although  their  form  adapts  them  for  the  hea- 
vier work,  and  they  have  all  the  honesty  and 
docility  of  the  Devon  ox,  and  greater  strength, 
if  not  his  activity. 

"  The  Hereford  cows  are  worse  milkers  than 
those  of  Dev^on,  but  then  they  will  grow  fat 
where  a  Devon  would  starve.  The  beef  is 
sometimes  objected  to  from  the  largeness  of 
the  bone,  and  the  coarseness  of  some  of  the 
inferior  pieces,  but  the  best  sorts  are  generally 
excellent.  Mr.  Youatt  gives  an  account  of  an 
experiment  in  feeding,  made  in  the  winter  of 
1828-9,  between  the  Herefords,  and  the  im- 
proved short-horns,  which,  although  by  no 
means  decisive  of  the  merits  of  either  breed, 
yet  is  worthy  of  notice  by  the  grazier. 

"Three  Herefords  and  three  short-horns 
were  put  together  into  a  straw  yard,  December 
2d,  1827,  and  each  had,  in  the  open  yard,  a 
bushel  of  turnips  per  day,  besides  straw,  until 
May  2,  1828 ;  they  then  were  weighed,  and 
sent  to  grass : — 

No.  cwb.  qr».  Ibii 

1.  Short-horn    9     2     0 

2.  —  8     2     0 

3.  —  9     0     0 

When  taken  from  grass,  November  i,  they 
weighed — 


No. 

cwts.  qr*.  Ibfc 

1.  Hereford 

2.  — 

3.  — 

8     3     0 
7     3     0 
7     0     0 

CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


No.  cvctf.  qrs.  lb». 

1.  Herviford  II     3     0 

S         —  10     2     0 

8.        —  10     3     0 


No.  cwti.  qn.  Ibii 

1.  Short-horn  12     3   14 

2.  -  12     2     0 

3.  —         12     3     0 


From  this  lime  till  the  25th  March,  1829,  they 
consumed — 

Swedish  Turnips.         Hiiy. 


The  llerefonls  - 
The  Short-horns 

-  46.655 

-  59,430 

5,065 
6,779 

They  then  weighed — 

No.                         cwts.  qrs.  lbs- 

No.                         cwts. 

qn.  lbs. 

1.  Hereford      13     0   14 

2.  —             12     0     0 

3.  -             12     0     0 

1.  Short-horn  14 

2.  -         14 

3.  —         14 

2     0 

1  14 

2  14 

making  a  difference  in  favour  of  the  short- 
horns of  3  cwts.  3  qrs.  14  lbs. ;  but  then  they 
lonsumed  more  turnips  by  12,775  lbs.,  and  j 
more  hay  by  1,714  lbs.  When  they  were  sold  j 
at  Smithfield  on  the  30th  of  March,  the  short- 
horns realized  97/.,  and  the  Herefords  96/."  { 
{On  Cuttle,  p.  34.) 

The  Sussex. — One  of  the  best  descriptions, 
says  Mr.  Youatt,  that  we  have  of  the  Sussex 
ox  is  given  by  that  excellent  agriculturist,  Mr. 
Ellman.  He  speaks  of  the  Sussex  ox  as  hav- 
ing a  small  and  well-turned  head;  and  so  it 
has,  compared  with  many  other  breeds,  and 
even  with  the  Hereford,  but  evidently  coarser 
than  that  of  the  Devon,  the  horns  pushing  for- 
wards a  little,  and  then  turning  upwards,  thin, 
tapering,  and  long,  not  so  as  to  confound  the 
breed  with  the  Iwtg-horns,  and  yet  in  some 
cases  a  little  approaching  to  them.  The  eye 
is  full,  large,  and  mild  in  the  ox,  but  with 
some  degree  of  unquietness  in  the  cow.  The 
tliroat  clean  ;  and  the  neck,  compared  with 
either  the  long  or  short-homs,  long  and  thin, 
ye'  evidently  coarser  than  that  of  the  Devon. 
The  shoulder  is  the  principal  defect.  There 
is  more  wideness  and  roundness  on  the  with- 
ers ;  it  is  a  straighter  line  from  the  summit  of 
the  withers  towards  the  back  ;  there  is  no  pro- 
jecting point  of  the  shoulder  when  the  animal 
is  looked  at  from  behind,  but  the  whole  of  the 
fore-quarter  is  thickly  covered  with  flesh,  giving 
too  much  weight  to  the  coarser  and  less  profit- 
able parts ;  but  then  the  fore-legs  are  wider 
apart,  straighter,  and  more  perpendicular  than 
in  the  Devon,  and  are  placed  more  under  the 
body  than  seeming  to  be  attached  to  the  sides. 
The  lore-arm  is  large  and  muscular;  the  legs, 
though  coarser  than  those  of  the  Devon,  are 
small  and  fine  downwards,  particularly  below 
the  fetlock.  The  barrel  is  round  and  deep. 
In  the  back,  no  rising  spinal  processes  are  to 
be  seen,  but  rather  a  central  depression  ;  and 
the  line  of  the  back,  if  broken,  is  only  done  so 
by  a  lump  of  fat  rising  between  the  hips  ;  the 
belly  and  flank  are  capacious  ;  there  is  room 
before  for  the  heart  and  lungs,  and  there  is 
room  behind  in  the  capacious  belly  for  the  full 
exercise  of  its  functions  ;  yet  the  beast  is  well 
ribbed  home ;  the  space  between  the  last  rib 
ami  the  hip-bone  is  often  very  small,  and  there 
is  no  hanging  heaviness  of  the  belly  or  flank. 
The  loins  of  the  Sussex  ox  are  wide  ;  the  hip- 
bone does  not  rise  high,  nor  is  it  ragged  ex- 
ternally ;  but  it  is  large  and  spread  out,  and 
the  space  between  the  hips  is  well  filled  up. 
The  tail  fine,  and  thin,  is  set  on  lower  than  in 
the  Devon,  yet  the  rump  is  nearly  as  straight. 
The  hind-quarters  are  cleanly  made,  and  if  the 


thighs  appear  to  be  straight  without,  there  is 
plenty  of  fulness  within.  The  Sussex  ox  has 
all  the  activity  of  the  Devon,  and  the  strength 
of  the  Hereford,  the  propensity  to  fatten,  and 
the  beautiful  fine-grained  flesh  c  f  both.  It  pos- 
sesses as  many  of  tlie  good  qualities  of  both  as 
can  be  combined  in  one  frame.  By  crossing 
them  with  the  Herefords,  a  heavier  animal, 
but  not  fattening  so  profitably,  or  working  so 
kindly,  is  produced.  When  the  Sussex  has 
been  crossed  with  the  Devon,  a  lighter  breed 
has  resulted,  but  not  gaining  in  activity,  while 
it  is  materially  deteriorated  in  its  grazing  pro- 
perties. The  colour  of  the  Sussex  ox  is  a  deep 
chestnut-red,  or  blood  bay.  The  black,  or 
black  and  white,  generally  indicate  some 
strain  in  the  breed,  as  a  cross  from  the  Welsh. 
The  hide  of  the  true  Sussex  ox  is  soft  and  mel- 
low, the  coat  short  and  sleek.  The  Sussex  ox 
does  much  of  the  farming  labour  of  the  Weald 
of  Sussex.  From  ten  to  twelve  of  tliese  are 
usually  kept  on  a  farm  of  150  to  200  acres 
These  are  fed  with  grass  and  straw  till  they 
begin  to  work,  and  then  they  have  cut  hay 
mixed  with  straw.  There  are,  however,  two 
breeds :  the  coarser  Sussex  is  always  slow ; 
the  lighter,  or  true  Sussex  is  as  light  and  fast 
as  most  cart-horses ;  of  their  speed  proof  was 
given  by  a  Sussex  ox  which  ran  four  miles 
against  time,  over  the  Lewes  race-course,  in 
sixteen  minutes.  Many  farmers,  if  they  have 
ten  oxen  at  work,  sell  five  or  six  every  year, 
and  break  in  an  equal  number  to  succeed 
them ;  the  beasts  will  thus  be  broken  in  at 
three  years  old,  and  fatted  at  five  or  six. 
They  are  commonly  taken  from  work  when 
spring  seed-time  is  over,  and  turned  into  the 
meadows,  and  thus  prepared  for  winter  stail- 
feeding.  These  are  gradually  accustomed  to 
being  constantly  tied  up.  Some  farmers,  Mr. 
Ellman  amongst  the  rest,  are  of  opinion  that 
there  is  a  saving  of  one-fourth  the  food  by 
stall-feeding,  but  many  other  farmers  maintain 
that  the  cattle  fatten  faster  when  only  confined 
to  the  yard.  They  average  at  Smithfield 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  stones ;  but 
they  occasionally  attain  to  much  greater 
weights ;  one  of  Mr.  EUman's  weighed  two 
hundred  and  Ibitrteen  stones. 

The  Sussex  cow  is  not  a  favourite  with  the 
generality  of  farmers.  She  does  not  answer 
for  the  dairy,  fi)r  her  milk,  although  of  very 
good  quality,  is  far  inferior  in  quantity  to 
either  the  Holderness  or  the  Suffolk  cow. 
They  are,  moreover,  what  their  countenance 
indicates,  of  an  unquiet  temper,  and  are  com- 
monly restless  and  dissatisfied,  especially  if 
not  bred  on  the  farm  on  which  they  are  kept. 
They  are,  therefore,  chiefly  kept  as  breeders  ; 
are  generally  in  fair  condition,  even  while 
milking;  and  no  cows,  except  the  Devon  or 
Hereford,  will  thrive  so  fast  after  being  dried ; 
they  fatten  even  faster  than  the  ox.  Nearly 
all  the  calves  are  reared,  adds  Mr.  Youatt  —the 
males  for  work,  and  the  females  for  breeding 
or  early  fattening.  By  the  best  breeders,  the 
bull  is  changed  every  two  years.  (On  Cattlct 
p.  40.)  The  Hereford  and  Sussex  cattle  have 
so  many  points  in  common  that  in  Loudon's 
Encyrlopcedia  of  Agriculture,  both  breeds  arti 
illustrated  by  one  figure. 

287 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


The  Welch. — The  cattle  ofWales  are  princi- 
pally of  the  middle-horns,  and  stunted  id  their 
growth  from  the  poverty  of  their  pastures.  Of 
these  there  are  several  varieties.  The  Pem- 
brokeshire are  chiefly  black,  with  white  horns; 
are  shorter  legged  than  most  other  Welch  cat- 
tle ;  are  larger  than  those  of  Montgomery,  and 
have  round  and  deep  carcasses ;  have  a  lively 
look  and  good  eyes ;  though  short  and  rough, 
not  thick;  have  not  large  bones,  and  possess, 
perhaps,  as  much  as  possible,  the  opposite 
qualities  of  being  very  fair  milkers,  with  a  pro- 
pensity to  fatten.  The  meat  is  equal  to  the 
Scotch.  They  will  thrive,  says  Mr.  Youatt, 
where  others  starve,  and  they  rapidly  outstrip 
most  others  when  they  have  plenty  of  good 
pasture.  The  Pembroke  cow  has  been  called  the 
poor  man's  cow.  The  Pembroke  ox  is  a  speedy 
and  an  honest  worker,  and  when  taken  from 
hard  work  fattens  speedily.  Many  are  brought 
10  London,  and  rarely  disappoint  the  butcher. 

The  Glamorganshire  breed  were  patronised 
by  George  III.,  and  were  held  in  great  estima- 
tion. They  were,  however,  allowed  to  Gogene- 
rate  during  the  period  of  the  late  war,  and  have 
not  since,  in  spite  of  the  exertions  of  Mr.  David 
of  Radyr,  been  entirely  restored.  The  counties 
of  Carmarthen,  Cardigan,  Brecon,  and  espe- 
cially Radnor,  also  produce  many  excellent 
black  cattle,  which  have  been  materially  im- 
proved of  late  by  the  introduction  of  other 
breeds,  especially  by  crossing  with  the  Here- 
fords.  Of  North  Wales,  the  cattle  are  rather 
more  approaching  to  the  long-horns  than  those 
of  the  south.  In  the  counties  of  Anglesea,  Car- 
narvon, and  Merioneth,  the  chief  attention  of 
the  farmer  is  directed  to  the  rearing  of  stock. 
In  Denbigh,  Flint,  and  Montgomery,  the  dairy 
is  chiefly  regarded.  The  cattle  of  Anglesea, 
says  Mr.  Youatt,  are  small  and  black,  with 
moderate  bone,  deep  chest,  rather  heavy 
shoulders,  enormous  dewlap,  round  barrel,  high 
and  spreading  haunches,  flat  face,  horns  long, 
almost  invariably  turning  upwards;  the  hair 
coarse;  the  hide  mellow;  hardy,  easy  to  rear, 
and  well  disposed  to  fatten  when  transplanted 
to  better  pastures  than  those  of  their  native 
island.  Attempts  have  been  made,  with  little 
success,  to  improve  the  breed  by  crossing  them 
with  others  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  find  any  other 
sufficiently  hardy  to  withstand  the  climate  and 
the  privations  of  Mona.  Many  yearlings  are 
brought  from  the  island,  and  very  few  are  kept 
in  the  island  after  they  are  three  years  old. 
They  were  formerly  not  castrated  till  they  were 
a  year  old  ;  this  gave  them  a  peculiar  bull-like 
appearance.  This  operation,  however,  is  now 
practised  earlier.  There  is  still  with  them, 
however,  adds  Mr.  Youatt,  a  striking  contrast 
with  the  mild  intelligence  of  the  Devon  and 
the  quiet  submission  of  the  Hereford.  The 
Anglesea  cows  are  not  kept  for  the  dairy  to  a 
greater  extent  than  for  home  consumption. 
The  cheese  is  negligently  made,  and,  in  con- 
sequence, poor  and  worthless.  The  cattle  of 
the  other  Welch  counties,  bred  amongst  the 
rocks  of  Carnarvon,  and  the  hills  of  Merioneth, 
Montgomery,  and  Denbigh,  have  little  distin- 
guishing features  from  other  Welch  cattle. 
They  are  small,  hardy,  and  rapidly  fatten,  when 
2S8 


transferred  to  richer  pastures.    The  beef  they 
produce  is  excellent.     (Ibid.  p.  58.) 

The  Scotch. — Of  this  valuable  and  improving 
race  of  cattle  there  are  several  varieties,  all  of 
which  are  thus  classed  by  Mr.  Youatt,  and  are 
to  be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  middle- 
horns.     Of  these  the  chief  varieties  are, 

1.  The  West  Highlanders,  which,  whether 
we  regard  those  found  in  the  Hebrides  or  in 
the  county  of  Argyle,  seem  to  retain  most  of  the 
aboriginal  character.  They  have  remained 
unchanged,  or  improved  only  by  selection,  for 
many  generations,  or,  indeed,  from  the  earliest 
accounts  that  we  possess  of  Scottish  cattle. 

2.  The  North  Highlanders  are  a  smaller, 
coarser,  and  in  every  way  inferior  race,  and 
owe  the  greater  part  of  what  is  valuable  about 
them  to  crosses  from  the  western  breed. 

3.  The  northeastern  cattle  were  derived 
from,  and  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the 
West  Highlander,  but  are  of  considerably 
larger  size. 

4.  The  Fife  breed  are  almost  as  valuable  for 
the  dairy  as  for  the  grazier,  and  yield  to  few  in 
activity  and  docility. 

5.  The  Ayrshire  breed  are  second  to  none  as 
milkers ;  many  of  the  varied  mingled  breeds 
of  the  Lowlands  are  valuable. 

6.  The  Galloways,  which,  scarcely  a  century 
ago  were  middle-horned,  and  with  difficulty 
distinguished  from  the  West  Highlanders,  are 
now  a  polled  breed,  increased  in  size,  with 
more  striking  resemblance  to  their  kindred  the 
Devons  ;  with  all  their  aptitude  to  fatten,  and 
with  a  hardness  of  constitution  which  those 
of  Devon  never  possessed. 

The  West  Highlanders,  or  kyloes,  as  they 
are  called  (supposed  to  be  from  a  corruption 
of  a  Gaelic  word  pronounced  kael,  signifying 
Highlands),  are  bred  in  great  abundance  in, 
and  exported  from,  the  Hebrides.  The  true 
bull  of  this  breed  is  described  by  Mr.  M'Neil 
of  Islay  as  black ;  the  head  not  large,  the  ears 
thin,  the  muzzle  fine,  and  rather  turned  up; 
broad  in  the  face;  eyes  prominent;  counte- 
nance calm  and  placid  :  the  horns  should  taper 
to  a  point,  neither  drooping  too  much  nor 
rising  too  high,  of  a  waxy  colour,  widely  set  at 
the  root;  the  neck  fine,  particularly  where  it 
joins  the  head,  and  rising  with  a  gentle  curve 
from  the  shoulder ;  the  breast  wide,  and  pro- 
jecting well  before  the  legs;  the  shoulders 
broad  at  the  top,  and  the  chine  so  full  as  to 
leave  but  little  hollow  behind  them  ;  thp  girth 
behind  the  shoulder  deep ;  the  back  straight, 
wide,  and  flat ;  the  ribs  broad,  the  space  be- 
tween them  and  the  ribs  small;  the  belly  not 
sinking  low  in  the  middle,  yet,  in  the  whole, 
not  forming  the  round  and  barrel-like  carcass 
which  some  have  described ;  the  thigh  tapering 
to  the  hock-joint;  the  bones  larger  in  propor- 
tion to  the  size  than  in  the  breeds  of  the  south- 
ern districts ;  the  tail  set  on  a  level  with  the 
back;  the  legs  short  and  straight;  the  whole 
carcass  covered  with  a  long  thick  coat  of  hair, 
and  plenty  of  hair  also  about  the  face  and 
horns,  and  that  hair  not  curly.  They  are 
hardy,  easily  fed ;  the  proportion  of  their  offal 
is  not  greater  than  in  the  most  approved  larger 
breeds ;  they  lay  their  fat  and  ilesh  equally  on 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


the  best  parts,  and  when  fat,  the  beef  is  fine  in 
the  grain,  and  so  well  mixed  or  marbled  that  it 
commands  a  superior  price  in  everv/  market. 
About  30,000  of  these  are  annuall^ent  from 
the  Hebrides  to  the  main  land.  (On  Cattle,  p. 67.) 
In  the  Hebrides,  the  dairy  is*  only  attended  to 
so  far  as  to  serve  the  family  with  milk,  butter, 
and  cheese.  The  milk  of  the  Western  High- 
land cow  is  small  in  quantity,  but  excellent  in 
quality;  she  does  not  yield,  however,  more 
than  one-third  of  that  of  the  Ayrshire.  The 
oxen  of  the  Hebrides  are  never  worked.  (Ibid. 
p.  71.) 

The  Argyleshire  breed  are  larger  than  those 
of  the  Hebrides,  and  are  bred  according  to 
what  the  soil  and  the  food  will  best  support. 
The  Highlander,  however  (says  the  gentleman 
whom  I  have  in  this  article  quoted  so  often), 
•*must  be  reared  for  the  grazier  alone;  every 
attention  to  increase  his  weight,  in  order  to 
make  him  capable  of  agricultural  labour, 
every  effort  to  qualify  him  for  the  dairy,  will 
not  only  lessen  his  hardiness  of  constitution 
and  propensity  to  fatten,  but  will  fail  in  ren- 
dering him  valuable  for  the  purpose  at  which 
the  farmer  aims.  The  character  of  the  High- 
lander must  still  be,  that  he  will  pay  better  for 
his^quantity  of  food  than  any  other  breed,  and 
will  fatten  where  any  other  breed  will  scarcely 
live."     (Ihid.  p.  79.) 

Of  the  North  Highland  cattle,  those  of  the 
Shetland  islands  are  the  smallest;  dwarfish, 
ill-shaped,  and  covered  with  hair ;  they  some- 
limes  are  not  more  than  35  or'40  lbs.  to  the 
quarter.  When  they  are  taken  to  the  north  of 
Scotland,  they  thrive  and  fatten  on  very  poor 
food  with  great  rapidity;  but  when  brought 
further  to  the  south,  the  change  is  too  great  for 
them ;  they  languish  and  sicken.  The  Shet- 
land calf  suffers  privations  from  her  birth ;  it 
is,  in  fact,  killed  often  as  soon  as  it  is  born.  It 
is  never  allowed  to  suck  its  mother,  but,  if 
reared,  is  fed  at  first  with  milk,  and  afterwards 
with  blond,  a  wretched  kind  of  buttermilk;  and 
when  it  grows  up  it  has  nothing  to  subsist  upon 
but  moss,  heath,  and  sea-weed.  The  cows  are 
housed  at  night,  and,  in  the  absence  of  straw, 
are  littered  with  heath  and  the  du5t  of  peat. 
Their  milk,  which  is  exceedingly  rich,  is  very 
small  in  quantity. 

In  the  northerly  counties  of  Scotland,  there 
is  nothing  very  peculiar  in  the  breed  of  their 
cattle.  The  introduction  of  sheep,  and  of  bet- 
ter modes  of  cultivating  the  soil,  have  gone  far 
to  diminish  the  stocks  of  poor,  ill-fed,  and 
worse  managed  breeding  herds  of  this  once 
desolate  extremity  of  the  island.  These  im- 
provements, however,  were  long  opposed  by 
the  husbandmen  and  the  tenders  of  cattle  as 
bold  innovations,  which  were,  at  all  events,  to 
b«  opposed.  Mobs,  therefore,  collected ;  the 
sheep  >»ere  driven  away ;  fences  destroyed;  the 
new  farmers  intimidated :  the  laws  alone  sup- 
ported these  national  improvements  to  a  suc- 
cessful issue. 

The  county  of  Aberdeen  breeds  more  cattle 
than  any  other  in  Scotland.  Its  stock  has  been 
estimated  at  112,000,  and  its  annual  sale  of 
both  fat  and  lean  cattle  is  equal  to  more  than 
20,000.  These  vary  in  character  with  the  soil 
and  elevation:  amongst  the  hills,  they  arc 
37 


chiefly  of  the  Highland  breed ;  in  the  plains,  a 
better  description  has  been  produced,  by  breed- 
ing from  these  by  bulls  from  Fifeshire.  The 
horns  of  these,  says  Mr.  Youatt,  do  not  taper 
so  finely,  nor  stand  so  much  upwards,  as  in 
the  West  Highlanders  ;  and  they  are  also 
whiter;  the  hair  is  shorter  and  thinner;  the 
ribs  cannot  be  said  to  be  flat,  but  tfie  chest  is 
deeper  in  proportion  to  the  circumference,  and 
the  buttocks  and  thighs  are  likewise  thinner. 
The  colour  is  usually  black,  but  sometimes 
brindled ;  they  are  heavier  in  carcass ;  they 
give  a  larger  quantity  of  milk,  but  they  do  not 
attain  maturity  so  early  as  the  West  High- 
landers, nor  is  their  flesh  quite  so  beautifully 
marbled ;  yet,  at  a  proper  age,  they  fatten  as 
readily  as  the  others,  not  only  on  good  pasture, 
but  on  that  which  is  somewhat  inferior.  They 
are  rarely  used  for  husbandry  work,  or,  at 
most,  for  only  one  year.  They  are  sent  to  grass 
at  four  years  old  for  six  months,  after  which 
they  will  weigh  from  5  to  6  cwt.  "  The  breed," 
adds  Mr.  Youatt,  "has  progressively  improved, 
and  this  by  judicious  selections  from  the  native 
slock:  it  has  increased  in  size,  and  become 
nearly  double  its  weight,  without  losing  its 
propensity  to  fatten,  and  without  growing  above 
its  keep."  There  is  also  in  this  great  agricul- 
tural county  an  excellent  breed  of  poll  cattle; 
they  are  not  so  handsome,  yet  larger  than  the 
horned  cattle;  the  quality  of  their  meat  is  also 
said  not  to  be  so  good.  The  calves  are  reared 
in  Aberdeenshire  much  in  the  ordinary  way. 
They  are  commonly  fed  with  milk  warm  trom 
the  cow,  and  they  are  even  sometimes  reared 
partly  on  oil-cakes. 

In  Fifeshire  the  breed  of  cattle  are  of  a  very 
superior  description.     "They  are  generally," 
says  Dr.  Thompson,  "of  a  black  colour;  the 
horns  small  and  white,  generally  pretty  erect, 
or,  at  least,  turned  up  at  the  points,  and  bend- 
ing rather  forward ;  the  bone  small  in  propor- 
tion to  the  carcass  ;  the  limbs  clean  but  short, 
and  the  skin  soft;  wide  between  the  extreme 
points  of  the  hock-bones  ;  the  ribs  narrow  and 
wide  set,  having  a  greater  curvature  than  in 
other  kinds,  which  gives  the  body  a  thick  round 
form;  they  fatten  quickly,  and  fill  up  well  at 
all  the  choice  points ;  are  hardy,  fleet,  and  tra- 
vel well ;  are  docile,  and  excellent  for  work." 
Whatever  may  be  the  explanation  of  the  fact, 
it  is  certain  that,  at  the  present  day,  the  Fife- 
shire breed  of  cattle  is  peculiarly  her  own. 
That  they  were  centuries  since  improved  by  a 
cross  with  the  then  small  cattle  of  England,  is 
pretty  certain ;    but   whether    English   cattle 
formed  part  of  the  dowry  of  Margaret,   the 
daughter  of  Henry  VII.  of  England,  when  she 
married  .Tames  IV.  of  Scotland,  or  whether 
English  cattle  were  sent  as  a  present  to  Scot- 
land by  James  U.  of  England,  is  almost  mere 
matter  of  conjecture ;  but,  be  that  as  it  may, 
"  the  Fifeshire  farmers,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  in 
his  valuable  work  on  cattle,  "are  convinced 
that  their  cattle  cannot  be  further  improved 
as  a  whole  by  any  foreign  cross,  and  they  con- 
fine themselves  to  a  judicious  selection  from 
their  own."     The  pure  Durhams  have  been 
established  in  some  parts  of  Fife,  but  not  al- 
ways without  difficulty. 
Ayrshire  has  a  peculiarly  fine  breed  of  dairr 
^  2B  289 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


cattle,  which  is  thus  described  by  Mr.  Aiton,  in 
his  excellent  treatise  (p.  26)  on  the  dairy  breed 
of  cows : — "  The  most  approved  shapes  in  the 
dairy  breed  are,  small  head,  rather  long,  and 
narrow  at  the  muzzle ;  eye  small,  but  smart 
and  lively;  the  horns  small,  clear,  crooked,  and 
their  roots  at  considerable  distance  from  each 
other ;  neck  long  and  slender,  tapering  towards 
the  head,  with  no  loose  skin  below;  shoulders 
thin  ;  fore-»iuarters  light ;  hind-quarters  large : 
back  straight,  broad  behind ;  the  joints  rather 
loose  and  open ;  carcass  deep,  and  pelvis  ca- 
pacious and  wide  over  the  hips,  with  round 
fleshy  buttocks;  tail  long  and  small;  legs 
small  and  short,  with  firm  joints ;  udder  capa- 
cious, broad,  and  square,  stretching  forward, 
and  neither  fleshy,  low  hung,  nor  loose ;  the 
milk-veins  are  large  and  prominent;  teats  short, 
all  pointing  outwards,  and  at  considerable  dis- 
tance from  each  other,  skin  thin  and  loose ; 
hair  soft  and  woolly ;  the  head,  bones,  horns, 
and  all  parts  of  least  value,  small ;  and  the 
general  figure  compact  and  well  proportioned. 
See  PI.  12,  fig.  2.    (Youatt,  On  Cattle,^.  127.) 

**  The  qualities  of  a  cow,"  adds  Mr.  Aiton  in 
another  place,  "  are  of  great  importance. 
Tameness  and  docility  of  temper  greatly  en- 
hance the  value  of  a  milch  cow.  Some  degree 
of  hardiness,  a  sound  constitution,  health,  and 
a  moderate  degree  of  spirits,  are  qualities  to  be 
■wished  for  in  a  dairy  cow,  and  what  those  of 
Ayrshire  generally  possess.  The  most  valua- 
ble qualities  which  a  dairy  cow  can  possess 
are  that  she  yields  much  milk,  and  that  of  an 
oily,  butyraceous  and  caseous  nature ;  and  that 
after  she  has  yielded  very  large  quantities  of, 
milk  for  several  years,  she  shall  be  as  valuable 
for  beef  as  any  other  breed  of  cows  known ; 
her  fat  shall  be  much  more  mixed  through  the 
whole  flesh,  and  she  shall  fatten  faster  than 
any  other."  And  again,  "  the  best  Scotch  dairy 
cows  yield  1000  gallons  of  milk  in  one  year; 
and  in  general,  from  3 J  to  4  gallons  of  their 
milk  will  yield  1^  lbs.  of  butter,  and  about  27^ 
gallons  will  produce  1^  stone  imperial  of  full 
milk  cheese." 

Lanarkshire  is  noted  for  its  calves,  whose 
real  is  highly  esteemed  in  the  markets  of  Glas- 
gow and  Edinburgh.  These,  according  to  Mr. 
Aiton  (Survey  of  Ayrshire,  j).  ^4:1),  are  fed  on 
milk  from  a  dish,  not  suckled.  This  is  often 
given  to  them  sparingly  at  first,  to  improve 
Uieir  appetite  and  relish  for  their  food  ;  but  it 
is  gradually  increased  till  the  calf  has  a  full 
supply.  Other  farmers  allow  them  as  much 
as  they  please  from  the  first.  For  the  first 
week  or  two  a  calf  consumes  about  half  a 
good  cow's  milk  ;  at  a  month  old  the  whole  of 
a  cow*s  milk ;  and  at  two  months  old  the 
greater  part  of  that  of  two  cows.  Those  which 
are  reared  for  slock  have  commonly  the  first 
drawn  milk ;  those  which  are  fattening,  the  last 
drawn  from  two  or  three  cows.  When  the 
calves  are  costive,  they  have  a  little  bacon  or 
mutton  broth  given  them ;  if  they  purge,  a  little 
rennet  in  their  milk  cures  the  complaint.  They 
are  used  to  have,  also,  a  lump  of  chalk  in  their 
cribs 

The  Galloway  polled  cattle  are  a  peculiarly 
fin°  and  valuable  breed.     They  are  described 
hy  Mr.  Youatt,  on  the  authority  of  the  author 
29u 


of  the  Survey  of  Gallovoay,  as  straight  and  broad 
in  the  back,  and  nearly  level  from  the  head  to 
the  tail — round  in  the  ribs,  and  also  between 
the  shoulders  and  the  ribs,  and  the  ribs  and  the 
loins — broad  in  the  loins,  without  any  large  pro- 
jecting hook-bones — long  in  the  quarters  and 
deep  in  the  chest,  but  not  broad  in  the  ribs,  and 
twist.  There  is  much  less  space  between  the 
hook  or  hip-bones  and  the  ribs  than  in  most 
other  breeds.  They  are  short  in  the  leg  and 
moderately  fine  in  the  shank-bone.  The  happy 
medium  seems  to  be  preserved  in  the  leg,  se- 
curing hardihood  and  a  disposition  to  fatten 
With  the  same  cleanness  and  shortness  of 
shank,  there  is  no  breed  so  large  and  muscular 
above  the  knee,  while  there  is  more  room  for 
the  deep,  broad,  and  capacious  chest.  They  are 
clean,  not  fine  and  slender,  but  well  propor- 
tioned in  the  neck  and  chaps  ;  a  thin  and  deli- 
cate neck  would  not  correspond  with  the  broad 
shoulders,  deep  chest,  and  close,  compact  form 
of  the  breed.  The  neck  of  the  Galloway  bull 
is  thick  even  to  a  fault.  The  Galloway  has  a 
loose,  mellow  skin,  of  medium  thickness,  with 
long,  soft,  silky  hair.  The  skin,  which  is  thin- 
ner than  the  Leicester,  is  not  so  fine  as  the 
improved  Durham :  it  handles  soft  and  kindly. 
Their  colour  is  commonly  black,  but  there  are 
several  varieties  ;  the  dark-coloured  are  pre- 
ferred, from  their  being  considered  to  indicate 
hardness  of  constitution.  30,000  of  these  are 
estimated  to  be  sent  yearly  out  of  Gallowaj  to 
the  south.  (Youatt,  On  Cattle,  p.  158.)  The 
Galloway  breeders  prefer  allowing  the  calves 
to  suck  the  cow;  they  consider  they  thrive  ma^ 
terially  better  than  those  fed  from  the  pail,  and 
that  fewer  die  of  stomach  complaints.  An- 
other valuable  breed  of  polled  cows  is  bred  in 
Angus,  which  much  resemble  in  appearance 
those  of  Galloway ;  they  are,  however,  rather 
larger  and  longer  in  the  leg,  flatter  sided,  and 
with  thinner  shoulders. 

In  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  a  polled  breed  of 
cows  prevails,  which  are  almost  all  descended 
from  the  Galloway  cattle,  "  whose  general 
form,"  says  Mr.  Youatt  (p.  172),  "they  retain, 
with  some  of,  but  not  all  their  excellences; 
they  have  been  enlarged,  but  not  improved,  by 
a  better  climate  and  soil.  They  are  commonly 
of  a  red  or  black  colour,  with  a  peculiar  golden 
circle  around  the  eye.  They  are  taller  than 
the  Galloways,  but  thinner  in  the  chine,  flatter 
in  the  ribs,  and  longer  in  the  legs ;  rather  better 
milkers ;  of  greater  weight  when  fattened ; 
though  not  fattening  so  kindly,  and  the  meat  is 
not  quite  equal  in  quality." 

The  Suff'olk  dun  cow,  which  is  also  of  Gal- 
loway descent,  is  celebrated  as  a  milker,  and, 
there  is  little  doubt,  is  not  inferior  to  any  other 
breed  in  the  quantity  of  milk  which  she  yields; 
this  is  from  six  to  eight  gallons  per  day.  The 
butter  produced,  however,  is  not  in  proportion 
to  the  milk.  It  is  calculated  that  a  Suffolk  cow 
produces  annually  about  1^  cwt.  of  butter. 

The  Suffolk  duns  derive  the  last  part  of  their 
name  from  their  usual  pale  yellow  colour. 
Many,  however,  are  red,  or  red  and  white. 
They  are  invariably  without  horns,  and  small  in 
size,  seldom  weighing  over  700  lbs.  when  fat- 
tened. The  male  and  female  are  nearly  of  the 
same  height,  and  seldom  exceed  4^  to  4^  feet 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


They  are  rather  rough  about  th^  head^with 
large  ears.  Their  bodies  are  long  and  legs 
short,  hip-bones  high,  and  generally  deficient 
in  the  points  of  the  finer  brieds.  Still  many 
of  the  cows  fatten  well,  and  produce  beef  of 
superior  quality.  In  proportion  to  their  size, 
the  Suffolk  dun  cows  yield  a  great  abundance 
of  milk ;  and  as  a  dairy  stock,  there  are  very 
few  breeds  that  are  preferable. 

Irish  Cattle.— 0(  the  Irish  cattle  there  are 
two  breeds,  the  middle  and  the  long-horns. 
The  middle-horns  are  the  original  breed,  and 
tenant  the  forests  and  most  mountainous  dis- 
tricts. "They  are,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  " small, 
light,  active,  and  wild;  the  head  commonly 
small ;  the  horns  short  but  fine,  rather  upright, 
and  frequently,  after  projecting  forward,  turn- 
ing backward;  somewhat  deficient  in  hind- 
quarters ;  high-boned,  and  wide  over  the  hips, 
yet  the  bone  not  commonly  heavy ;  the  hair 
coarse  and  long,  black  or  brindled,  with  white 
faces.  Some  are  finer  in  the  bone  and  in  the 
neck,  with  a  good  eye  and  sharp  muzzle,  and 
great  activity ;  are  hardy,  live  upon  very  scanty 
fare,  and  fatten  with  great  rapidity  when  re- 
moved to  a  better  soil :  they  are  good  milkers. 
The  Kerry  cows  are  excellent  in  this  respect. 
These  last,  however,  are  wild  and  remarkable 
leapers.  They  live,  however,  upon  very  little 
food,  and  have  often  been  denominated  the 
poor  man's  cow." 

The  other  breed  is  of  a  larger  size.  It  has 
much  of  the  blood  of  the  old  Lancashire  or 
Craven  breed,  or  true  long-horn.  Their  horns 
first  turn  outwards,  then  curve,  and  turn  in- 
wards. Of  each  of  these  kinds,  an  immense 
number  of  both  lean  and  fat  stock  are  annually 
exported  to  England ;  in  1825  it  amounted  to 
63,524. 

The  lon^-horns. — The  long-homs  of  England 
came  originally  from  Craven  in  Yorkshire,  and 
derived  their  name  from  a  length  of  horn, 
•which  often  extended  to  an  unbecoming  degree. 
Bakewell,  Culley,  and  other  great  breeders  im- 
proved upon,  and  have  long  since  destroyed, 
the  chief  traces  of  the  old,  long-bodied,  coarse, 
large  boned  breed.  It  is  needless,  therefore,  to 
follow  this  breed  through  the  various  counties 
in  which  it  once  predominated,  for  it  has  long 
been  rapidly  disappearing,  and  has  almost 
everywhere  given  place  to  better  kinds. 

The  improved  breed  of  Leicestershire,  is 
said  to  have  been  formed  by  Webster  of  Cau- 
ley,  near  Coventry,  in  Warwickshire.  Bake- 
well,  of  Dishley,  in  Leicestershire,  afterwards 
got  the  lead  as  a  breeder,  by  selecting  from 
Cauley's  stock ;  and  the  slocks  of  several  other 
eminent  breeders  have  been  traced  to  the  same 
source. 

The  Lancashire  breed  of  long-homed  cattle 
may  be  distinguished  from  other  cattle  by  the 
thickness  and  firm  texture  of  their  hides,  the 
length  and  closeness  of  their  hair,  the  large 
size  of  their  hoofs,  and  their  coarse,  leathery, 
thick  necks.  They  are  likewise  deeper  in  their 
fore  quarters,  and  lighter  in  their  hind  quarters 
than  most  other  breedj;  narrower  in  their 
shape,  less  in  point  of  weight  than  the  short- 
horns, though  better  weighers  in  proportion  to 
their  size ;  and  though  they  give  considerably 
.ASS  milk,  it  is  said  to  yield  more  cream  in  pro- 


portion to  its  quantity.  They  are  more  varied 
in  colour  than  any  other  breeds ;  but,  whatever 
the  colour  may  be,  they  have  in  general  a 
white  streak  along  their  back,  which  the  breed- 
ers term  finchcd,  and  mostly  a  white  spot  on  the 
inside  of  the  hough.  {Culley,  p.  53.)  "In  a  ge- 
neral view,"  says  Loudon,  "  this  race,  notwith- 
standing the  singular  eflbrts  that  have  been 
made  towards  its  improvement,  remains  with 
little  alteration ;  for,  except  in  Leicestershire, 
none  of  the  subvarielies  (which  differ  a  little 
in  almost  every  one  of  those  counties  where 
the  long-homs  prevail)  have  undergone  any 
radical  change  or  any  obvious  improvement." 
(Loudon^s  Encyc.  of  jlgr.  p.  1015.) 

The  short-horns. — Of  this  noble  breed  of  cattle, 
which  seems  to  be  annually  increasing  in  fa- 
vour with  the  dairyman  and  the  grazier,  we 
are  mainly  indebted  to  the  description  of  the 
late  Rev.  Henry  Berry.  Durham  and  York- 
shire have  for  ages  been  celebrated  for  a  breed 
of  these  possessing  extraordinary  value  as 
milkers,  "in  which  quality,"  says  Mr.  Youatt, 
"taken  as  a  breed,  they  have  never  been 
equalled.  The  cattle  so  distinguished  were 
always,  as  now,  very  different  from  the  im- 
proved race.  They  were  generally  of  large 
size,  thin  skinned,  sleek  haired,  bad  handlers, 
rather  delicate  in  constitution,  coarse  in  the 
ofTal,  and  strikingly  defective  in  the  substance 
of  girth  in  the  fore-quarters.  As  milkers  they 
were  most  excellent,  but  when  put  to  fatten,  as 
the  foregoing  description  will  indicate,  were 
found  slow  feeders,  producing  an  inferior 
quality  of  meat,  not  marbled  or  mixed  as  to  fat 
and  lean ;  the  latter  sometimes  of  a  very  dark 
hue.  Such,  too,  are  the  unimproved  short-horas 
of  the  present  day." 

About  the  year  1750,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tees,  commenced  that  spirit  of  improvement 
in  the  breeders  of  the  old  short-horns,  which 
has  ended  in  the  improved  modern  breed. 
These  efforts,  begun  by  Sir  William  Quintin, 
and  carried  on  by  Mr.  Milbank  of  Barming- 
ham,  were  nearly  completed  by  Mr.  Charles 
Colling.  The  success  of  this  gentleman  was, 
from  the  first,  considerable.  He  produced,  by 
judicious  selections  and  crossings,  the  cele- 
brated bull  Hubback,  from  whom  are  descend- 
ed the  best  short-horns  of  our  day.  Of  this 
breed  was  the  celebrated  Durham  ox,  which 
was  long  shown  in  a  travelling  van  at  country 
fairs,  and  which,  when  slaughtered  in  April, 
1807,  at  eleven  years  of  age,  weighed  187 
stone  ;  and  the  Spottiswoode  ox,  probably  the 
largest  ever  exhibited.  In  June,  1802,  he 
measured — height  of  shoulder,  6  feet  10  inches; 
girth  behind  the  shoulder,  10  feet  2  inches ; 
breadth  across  the  hooks,  3  feet  1  inch  ;  com- 
puted weight,  320  stones  of  14  lbs.  (Quart. 
Journ.  ofj^gr.  vol.  vi.  p.  271.) 

Besides  Mr.  Colling,  his  brother  Mr.  Rciert 
Colling,  Mr.  Charge,  and  Mr.  Mason  were 
hardly  second  to  him  in  skill  and  success  as 
breeders  of  the  short-horns. 

With  the  pure  improved  short-horns,  crossed 
with  a  red  polled  Galloway  cow,  was  produced 
a  variety  of  this  breed,  which  was  long  named 
"  the  alloy,"  but  for  which  at  Mr.  C.  Ceilings'? 
sale,  October  11,1810,  some  most  extraordinary 
prices  were  obtained :  thus  a  cow  called 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


Lady,  14  years  old,  sold  for 
Countess,  her  daughter,  9  years 
Laura,  ditto  4  years 

Major,  her  son,  3  years 

George,  ditto,  a  calf 


Guinea*. 
206 
400 
210 
200 
130 


In  short,  at  this  sale,  forty-eight  lots  produced 
7115/.  17s.,  Comet,  a  six  year  old  bull,  selling 
for  1000  guineas.  (See  Collixg,  Robert  and 
Charles.) 

The  colours  of  the  improved  short-horns  ar^ 
red  or  white,  or  a  mixture  of  both  ;  "  no  pure  im- 
proved short-horns"  adds  Mr.  Youatt,  "  are 
found  of  any  other  colour  but  those  above 
named."  That  the  matured  short-horns  are  an 
admirable  grazier's  breed  of  cattle  is  undoubt- 
ed: they  are  not,  however,  to  be  disregarded 
as  milkers;  but  they  are  inferior,  from  their 
fattening  qualities,  to  many  others  as  workers. 

"In  its  points"  says  Mr.  James  Dickson 
(Quart.  Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  vi.  p.  269),  for  quan- 
tity and  well  laid  on  beef,  the  short-horn  ox  is 
quite  full  in  every  valuable  part;  such  as 
along  the  back,  including  the  fore-ribs,  the 
sirloin  and  rump,  in  the  runners,  flanks,  but- 
tocks, and  twist,  and  in  the  neck  and  brisket  as 
inferior  parts.  In  regard  to  quality  of  beef,  the 
fat  bears  a  due  and  even  preponderating  pro- 
portion to  the  lean,  the  fibres  of  which  are  fine 
and  well  mixed,  and  even  marbled  with  fat, 
and  abundantly  juicy.  The  fine,  thin,  clear 
bone  of  the  legs  and  head,  with  the  soft  mellow 
touch  of  the  skin,  and  the  benign  aspect  of  the 
eye,  indicate,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  dispo- 
sition to  fatten ;  while  the  uniform  colours  ot 
the  skin,  red  or  white,  or  both,  commixed  in 
various  degrees,  bare,  cream-coloured  skin  on 
the  nose  and  around  the  eyes,  and  fine,  taper- 
ing, white,  or  light-coloured  horns  mark  dis- 
tinctly the  purity  of  the  blood;  these  points 
apply  equally  to  the  bull,  the  cow,  and  the 
heifer.  The  external  appearance  of  the  short- 
horned  breed,"  adds  Mr.  Dickson,  "  is  irresist- 
ably  attractive.  The  exquisitely  symmetrical 
form  of  the  body  in  every  position,  bedecked 
with  a  skin  of  the  richest  hues  of  red,  and  the 
richest  white  approaching  to  cream,  or  both 
colours,  so  arranged  or  commixed  as  to  form  a 
beautiful  fleck  or  delicate  roan,  and  possessed 
of  the  mellowest  touch  ;  supported  on  clean 
small  limbs,  showing,  like  those  of  the  race- 
horse and  the  greyhound,  the  union  of  strength 
with  fineness ;  and  ornamented  with  a  small, 
lengthy,  tapering  head,  neatly  set  on  a  broad, 
firm,  deep  neck,  and  furnished  with  a  small 
muzzle, wide  nostrils,  prominent,  'mildly  beam- 
ing' eyes,  thin,  large  biney  ears  set  near  the 
crown  of  the  head  and  protected  in  front  with 
semicircularly  bent,  white,  or  brownish  co- 
loured, short  (hence  the  name),  smooth  pointed 
horns  ;  all  these  parts  combine  to  form  a  sym- 
metrical harmony,  which  has  never  been  sur- 
passed in  beauty  and  sweetness  by  any  other 
species  of  the  domesticated  ox." 

An  excellent  paper  by  Mr.  Dickson  on  cross- 
ing the  short-horns  with  other  cattle,  may  be 
consulted  with  advantage  by  the  breeder  in 
the  Ediii.  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p.  495, 
and  on  crossing  in  general,  Ibid,  p.  247. 

In  the  first  plate  a  representation  is  given 
of  short-homed  cows ;  in  Plate  12,  fig.  1,  is  a 
drawing  of  a  short-horned  bull,  which  may  re- 
292 


present  the  breeds  variously  termed,  Dutch, 
Holderness,  Teeswater,  Yorkshire,  Durham, 
Northumberland,  &c.  The  Teeswater  breed, 
a  variety  of  short-horns  established  on  the 
banks  of  the  Tees,  at  the  head  of  the  vale  of 
York,  is  at  present  in  the  highest  estimation, 
and  is  alleged  to  be  the  true  Yorkshire  short- 
horned  breed.  Bulls  and  cows  from  this  stock, 
purchased  at  most  extraordinary  prices,  are 
spread  over  all  the  north  of  England  and  the 
border  counties  of  Scotland.  The  bone,  head, 
and  neck  of  these  cattle  are  fine ;  the  hide  is 
very  thin ;  the  chine  full ;  the  line  broad  ;  the 
carcass  throughout  large  and  well  fashioned ; 
and  the  flesh  and  fattening  quality  equal,  or 
perhaps  superior,  to  those  of  any  other  large 
breed.  The  short-horns  give  a  greater  quan- 
tity of  milk  than  any  other  cattle;  a  cow 
usually  yielded  24  quarts  of  milk  per  day, 
making  3  firkins  of  butter  during  the  grass 
season.  (Culley,  p.  48.) 

The  Yorkshire  cow. — With  Mr.  Youatt's  ac- 
count of  the  Yorkshire  cow  (and  this  article 
is,  in  fact,  hardly  any  thing  else  but  an  abridg- 
ment of  his  excellent  work  "On  Cattle"  in  the 
Library  of  Useful  Knowledge)  we  shall  conclude. 
The  Yorkshire  cow  is  that  generally  found  in  the 
great  dairies  in  the  vicinity  of  London,  and  in 
these  the  character  of  the  Holderness  and  the 
Durham  unite.  "A  milch  cow  good  for  the 
pail  as  long  as  she  is  wanted,  and  then  quickly 
got  into  marketable  condition,  should  have  a 
long  and  rather  small  head;  a  large-headed 
cow  will  seldom  fatten  or  yield  much  milk. 
The  eye  should  be  bright,  yet  with  a  peculiar 
placidness  and  quietness  of  expression;  the 
chaps  thin,  and  the  horns  small.  The  neck 
may  be  thin  towards  the  head ;  but  it  must 
soon  begin  to  thicken,  and  especially  when  it 
approaches  the  shoulder.  The  dewlap  should 
be  small ;  the  breast,  if  not  so  wide  as  in  some 
that  have  an  unusual  disposition  to  fatten,  yet 
should  be  very  far  from  being  narrow,  and  it 
should  project  before  the  legs ;  the  chine  to  a 
certain  degree  fleshy,  and  even  inclining  to 
fulness;  the  girth  behind  the  shoulder  should 
be  deeper  than  is  usually  found  in  the  short- 
horn ;  the  ribs  should  be  spread  out  wide,  so 
as  to  give  as  globu.ar  a  form  as  possible  to  the 
carcass,  and  each  should  project  farther  than 
the  preceding  one,  to  the  very  loins.  She 
should  be  well  formed  across  the  hips,  and  on 
the  rump,  and  with  greater  length  there  than 
the  milker  generally  possesses,  or  if  a  little  too 
short  not  heavy.  If  she  stands  a  little  long  on 
the  legs,  it  must  not  be  too  long.  The  thighs 
somewhat  thin,  with  a  slight  tendency  to  crook- 
edness or  being  sickle-hammed  behind;  the 
tail  thick  at  the  upper  part,  but  tapering  below; 
and  she  should  have  a  mellow  hide,  and  but 
little  coarse  hair.  Common  consent  has  given 
to  her  large  milk-veins.  A  large  milk-tein 
certainly  indicates  a  strongly  developed  vas- 
cular system,  one  favourable  to  secretion  gene- 
rally, and  to  that  of  the  milk  amongst  the  rest. 
The  udder  should  rather  incline  to  be  large  in 
proportion  to  the  size  of  the  animal,  but  not 
too  large ;  its  skin  thin  and  free  from  lumps  in 
every  part  of  it ;  the  teats  of  a  moderate  size. 
The  quantity  of  milk  given  by  some  of  these 
cows  is  very  great ;  it  is  by  no  means  uncom 


Plate  /^. 


^v^; 


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^^■.^M. 


^'      ''.J.J  AV-   '•*^*' 


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U.orC  H...- l'»ull..2..Vv-rsl.iro  C.w. _  3.Devon  BuU,2Yea..  old. 


S^'OUSIA. 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


raon  for  them  in  the  beginning  of  the  summer ! 
to  yield  thirty  quarts  a  day.    There  are  rare  | 
instances  of  the  cow  yielding  thirty-six  quarts;  | 
the  average  is  about  twenty-two  to  twenty-four 
quarts.     The  milk,  however,  is  not  so  rich  in 
its  produce  of  butter  as  that  of  the  long-horns, 
the  Scotch  or  the  Devons."    (For  the  Alderney, 
Jersey,  and  Guernsey  breeds,  see  Alderney.) 
The  quantity  of  cattle  annually  sold  in  Smith- 
field  is  very  great :  it  was  (according  to  M'Ctd- 
loch^s  Diet,  of  Commerce)  in — 


Y«r, 

Cattle. 

Sheep. 

1732 

_ 

76,210 

514,700 

1742 

_ 

79.601 

503,260 

1752 

. 

73,708 

64-2,100 

1762 

_ 

102,831 

772,160 

1772 

_ 

89,503 

609,540 

1782 

_ 

101,176 

72^,970 

1792 

_ 

107,348 

760,859 

1802 

_ 

126.389 

743,470 

1812 

_ 

133,854 

953,630 

1822 

. 

142,043 

1,340,160 

1832 

- 

166,224 

1,364,160 

ed  calves — 

1822 

_ 

24,255 

1832        - 

- 

19,522 

The  quantity  of  cattle  in  various  European 
countries  has  been  estimated  to  be  as  follows : 

Cattle. 
Great  Britain        ...        -    5,100.000 
Russia  ....        -  19,000,000 

Netherlands  -        -        .        .    2,500,000 

Denmark 1,607,000 

Austria 9,912,500 

France 6,661.900 

Spain    -        -        -        -        -        -    9,500.0»)0 

Portugal       -        .        -       -        -       650,000 

Italy 3,500.000 

United  States  of  America  in  1840    14,971,586 

Live  and  dead  weight  of  cattle. — Salesmen 
commonly  calculate  that  the  dea4,  weight  is 
one-half  of  what  the  animal  weighs  when  alive; 
but  the  butcher  knows  that  the  produce  is 
greater :  it  often  approaches  to  three-fifths ; 
and  by  an  extensive  stock  bailiff  of  the  late  Mr. 
Curwen,  it  was  found  that  the  dead  weight 
amounted  to  fifty-five  per  cent,  of  the  live.  But 
the  amount  differs  strangely,  as  may  be  seen 
bv  the  following  statement  of  Mr.  Ferguson  of 
Woodhill.  (Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  392.) 


An  Aberdeenshire  ox     - 
A  short-horned  jx 
A  short-horned  heifer   - 
A  short-horned  steer     - 

LiM 

W.ighl. 

w°:Sc  ^""o-l 

tt.    ite. 
132  11 
132    0 
120    4 
120    5 

•!.    lbs. 

84    6 
90     1 
77     9 
67    7 

«.  lb. 
16    5 

14  0 

15  8 
14  12 

In  ascertaining  the  weight  by  admeasure- 
ment, the  girth  is  taken  by  passing  a  cord  just 
behind  the  shoulder-blade  and  under  the  fore 
legs:  this  gives  the  circumference,  and  the 
length  is  taken  along  the  back  from  the  fore- 


most corner  of  the  blade-bone  of  the  shoulder, 
in  a  straight  line  to  the  hindmost  pomt  of  th« 
rump.  (See  engraving  below.) 

Table  for  Admeasurement  of  Cattle, 


{j^rDerment's  Farmer's  Assistant.) 


yj^:0rYr=^ 


Girth. 

Length. 

Weight.      1 

Girth. 

Length. 

Weight.      1 

ft.   in. 

ft.    in. 

tt. 

lb,. 

ft.   in. 

ft.    in. 

tl. 

ibi. 

4    3 

3    0 

12 

12 

6    6 

4    6 

45 

3 

3    3 

13 

13 

4    9 

47 

10 

3    6 

15 

0 

5    0 

50 

4 

3    9 

16 

1 

5    3 

52 

11 

4    0 

17 

a 

5    6 

55 

4 

4    6 

3    0 

14 

6 

5    9 

57 

11 

3    3 

15 

9 

6    0 

60 

4 

3    6 

16 

12 

6    3 

63 

0    1 

3    9 

18 

1 

6    9 

4    6 

48 

H 

4    0 

19 

4 

4    9 

51 

7 

4    3 

20 

6 

5    0 

54 

3 

4    9 

3    3 

17 

6 

5    3 

56 

13 

3    6 

18 

11 

5    6 

59 

9 

3    9 

20 

2 

5    9 

62 

6 

4    0 

21 

6 

6    0 

65 

1 

4    3 

22 

11 

6    3 

67 

11 

4    6 

24 

2 

7    0 

4    9 

55 

6 

4    9 

25 

7 

5    0 

58 

4 

5    0 

3    3 

19 

5 

5    3 

61 

3 

3    6 

20 

12 

5    6 

64 

2 

3    9 

22 

7 

5    9 

67 

1 

4    0 

23 

12 

6    0 

69 

13 

4    3 

25 

5 

6    3 

72 

12 

4    6 

26 

13 

6    6 

75 

11 

4    9 

28 

6 

7    8 

4    9 

59 

6 

5    0 

30 

0 

5    0 

62 

8 

5    3 

3    3 

21 

4 

5    3 

65 

9 

3    6 

22 

13 

5    6 

68 

11 

3    9 

24 

8 

5    9 

71 

13 

4    0 

26 

3 

6    0 

75 

1 

4    3 

27 

12 

6    3 

78 

3 

4    6 

29 

7 

6    6 

81 

4 

4    0 

31 

2 

7    6 

5    0 

66 

13 

5    0 

32 

11 

5    3 

70 

4 

5    6 

3    6 

25 

2 

5    6 

73 

9 

3    9 

27 

0 

5    9 

77 

0 

4    0 

28 

11 

6    0 

80 

5 

4    3 

30 

8 

6    3 

83 

9 

4    6 

32 

5 

6    6 

87 

0 

4    9 

34 

2 

-    «  •    *    * 

90 

5 

5    0 

36 

0 

7    9 

5    0 

71 

7 

5    3 

37 

11 

75 

1 

5    9 

3    9 

29 

7 

TJ 

9 

4    0 

31 

6 

82 

3 

4    3 

33 

6 

85 

11 

4    6 

35 

5 

89 

5 

4    9 

37 

5 

92 

13 

5    0 

39 

5 

96 

7     ' 

5    3 

41 

4 

100 

0    1 

5    6 

43 

4 

8    0 

80 

0 

6    0 

4    3 

36 

6 

83 

11 

4    6 

38 

8 

87 

8 

4    9 

40 

10 

91 

6 

5    0 

42 

12 

95 

3 

5    3 

45 

0 

99 

0 

5    9 

47 

2 

102 

12    1 

5    9 

49 

4 

106 

9 

6    0 

51 

8 

8    3 

89 

1 

6    3 

4    6 

41 

11 

93 

2 

4    9 

44 

2 

97 

3 

5    0 

46 

7 

101 

3 

5    3 

48 

11 

105 

4 

5    6 

51 

2 

109 

5 

5    9 

53 

6 

113 

6    1 

6    0 

55 

11 

117 

«     1 

6    3 

58 

2    J 

1 

2b2 


29a 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


The  breeds  of  cattle  which  stock  the  farms 
of  the  United  Stales  are  all  derived  from  Eu- 
rope, and,  with  few  exceptions,  from  Great 
Britain.  The  highest  breeds  at  the  present 
day  are  comparatively  of  recent  origin,  since 
the  great  improvements  commenced  by  Bake- 
well  only  date  about  the  period  of  the  American 
Revolution.  The  old  importations  made  by  the 
primitive  settlers  must  consequently  have  been 
from  comparatively  inferior  grades.  In  some 
sections  of  the  Union,  and  more  particularly  in 
New  England,  the  primitive  stock  is  thought 
to  have  undergone  considerable  improvement, 
whilst  in  many  parts  of  the  Middle,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  Southern  States,  a  greater  or  less 
depreciation  has  ensued.  The  prevailing  stock 
in  the  Eastern  States  is  believed  to  be  derived 
from  the  North  Devons,  most  of  the  excellent 
marks  and  qualities  of  which  they  possess. 
Hence  they  are  ver>'  highly  esteemed,  and  have 
been  frequently  called  the  "American  Devons." 
The  most  valuable  working  oxen  are  chiefly 
of  this  breed,  which  also  contributes  so  largely 
to  the  best  displays  of  beef  found  in  the  mar- 
kets of  Boston,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia. 
The  prevailing  colour  of  the  New  England 
cattle  is  a  deep  red.  Sometimes,  however, 
they  are  dark-brown,  or  brindle,  or  nearly 
black.  Their  horns  are  moderately  long, 
smooth,  and  slender.  The  oxen  are  remarka- 
ble for  their  docility,  strength,  quickness,  and 
powers  of  endurance.  The  cows  are  fair  milk- 
ers, and  both  kinds  are  hardy  and  fatten  readil)'-. 
By  means  of  this  fine  domestic  stock,  and  the 
importations  still  so  extensively  made  of  selec- 
tions from  the  short-horned,  and  other  of  the 
finest  European  breeds,  the  cattle,  not  only  of 
New  ^Ingland,  but  of  other  sections,  are  rapidly 
improving,  especially  in  the  Middle  and  West- 
ern States. 

The  graziers  of  Kentucky  and  other  parts 
of  the  West  have  heretofore  generally  shown 
the  greatest  preference  to  the  short-horned 
breed,  which,  with  various  crosses,  is  now  per- 
haps the  predominant  stock  of  the  country. 
Since  Durhams  have  become  so  common,  the 
extravagantly  high  prices  they  once  brought 
are  no  longer  maintained;  and,  indeed,  the 
farmers  now  not  only  think  of  changing  the 
breed,  but  have  actually  commenced  doing  so. 
They  have  been  led  to  this  chiefly  for  the  rea- 
son, that  the  short-horned  cattle,  which  take  on 
fat  so  readily  when  well  fed,  and  become  so 
heavy,  are  unable  to  retain  their  fat  and  flesh 
on  being  driven  some  1000  or  1200  miles  to 
the  Eastern  markets,  where  they  generally 
arrive  in  such  a  meager  condition  as  to  bring 
only  the  price  of  lean  stock.  The  Western 
graziers,  therefore,  wish  to  adopt  some  breed 
which  will  be  able  to  carry  their  beef  along  with 
them.  The  English Herefords  havebeen  sought 
after,  and  as  much  as  $500  paid  for  an  imported 
cow.  Captain  Barclay,  %  crentleman  owning  a 
large  estate  in  Scotland,  called  Ury,  and  who 
has  recently  made  a  tour  through  the  United 
States,  says  that  he  thinks  our  Western  farm- 
ers will  find  themselves  mistaken  in  this  selec- 
tion from  the  British  breeds,  and  that  they 
would  derive  more  advantage  by  importing 
Angus  or  Aberdeenshire  Doddies,  which  are 
kindred  breeds  of  well-formed,  moderate-sized, 
294 


active  animals ;  or,  perhaps  still  better,  thi 
small  and  peculiarly  symmetrical  West  High- 
land cow ;  and  to  cross  them  with  a  short-horn 
or  Durham  bull.  The  West  Highlander,  he 
says,  possesses  all  the  points  of  a  good  feeder; 
and  being  hardy,  and  active  as  a  deer,  would 
suffer  little  from  being  driven  even  1000  miles. 
In  its  native  glens  it  may  feed  to  20  or  25  stones, 
Amsterdam  ;*  but  the  heifers,  on  being  trans- 
planted to  a  rich  and  sheltered  pasture,  attain 
to  nearly  double  that  weight.  This  he  says  he 
has  demonstrated  by  introducing  a  herd  of  forty 
West  Highland  heifers  on  his  farm  at  Ury, 
where  they  were  crossed  with  short-horned 
bulls,  and  the  experiment,  on  repeated  trials, 
has  been  attended  with  great  success ;  for  while 
the  mothers,  by  removal  to  better  pasture,  have 
greatly  increased  in  size,  the  cross  has  produced 
strong  and  handsome  animals,  kindly  feeders, 
rising  to  a  great  weight,  and  bringing  high 
prices.  It  is  a  great  desideratum  for  the  gra- 
ziers of  Kentucky  and  other  parts  of  the  West, 
where  pastures  of  the  richest  kind  abound, 
could  they  find  some  active  breed  which  would 
be  able  to  perform  the  long  journeys  to  the 
Eastern  markets,  and  carry  their  beef  with 
them. 

A  very  general  impression  now  exists  in  the 
United  States  in  favour  of  breeding  a  cross 
from  the  best  short-horned  bulls  with  the  finest 
native  cows. 

Mr.  Colman,  in  his  Reports  upon  the  agricul- 
tural interests  of  Massachusetts,  recently  made 
to  the  legislature  of  that  state,  has  collected  a 
fund  of  valuable  information  in  relation  to 
American  •neat  cattle,  showing  their  distin- 
guishing characteristics  for  dairy  and  other 
purposes,  together  with  the  improvements  made 
and  still  making  by  the  introduction  of  select 
cattle  from  Europe,  and  the  results  of  feeding 
in  various  ways.  Several  books  and  periodi- 
cals published  in  the  United  States,  and  devoted 
to  agriculture,  are  rich  in  details  relating  to 
American  and  European  neat  stock.  But, 
instead  of  culling  from  these,  we  prefer  draw- 
ing upon  Mr.  Colman's  Report  to  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Massachusetts,  as  we  regard  it  a  high 
source  of  authentic  information,  and  calculated 
to  be  the  more  highly  useful  from  the  exactness 
of  the  details.  We  regret  that  our  limits  will 
not  admit  of  some  particular  notice  of  nume- 
rous mammoth  beasts  which  have  been  raised 
and  fattened  in  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  and 
elsewhere.  Particular  accounts  of  these,  with 
the  modes  of  management  and  feeding,  are 
duly  recorded  in  more  or  less  of  the  periodicals. 

Stall'fed  animals. — It  appears  that  the  stall- 
feeders  in  Massachusetts  usually  select  cattle 
brought  from  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
New  York,  choosing  such  as  are  small-boned, 
neat,  and  thrifty.  Rather  than  keep  these  on 
hand  a  long  time,  they  generally  find  it  most 
advantageous  to  "turn  them  soon,"  and  after 
thus  disposing  of  their  fat  stock  early  in  the 
season,  many  purchase  an  additional  supply 
pretty  far  advanced  for  the  market,  and  finish 
these  so  as  to  be  ready  to  send  them  oflf  in  the 
spring.    In  the  hilly  districts,   where  Indian 


*  The  Amsterdam  stone  is  only  about  10  lbs.  of  Eng- 
lish troy  weight. 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


corn  IS  not  raised  to  any  considerable  extent, 
the  cattle  are  generally  fed  upon  hay  and 
potatoes,  whilst  in  the  river  valleys  Indian 
meal  is  generally  and  most  advantageously 
substituted  for  potatoes.  When  potatoes  are 
chiefly  depended  upon  in  stall-feeding,  a 
bushel  of  these  well  washed,  are  usually  given 
in  a  day  to  each  head,  at  two  or  more  times, 
along  with  as  much  good  hay  as  the  animal 
can  consume,  but  no  water  is  allowed.  Many 
farmers  think  that  a  yoke  of  oxen  put  up  in 
good  condition,  may  be  well  fatted  or  finished 
off  for  market  with  one  hundred  bushels  of  po- 
tatoes, in  addition  to  the  hay  they  will  con- 
sume. Cattle  fed  upon  potatoes  will,  it  is  said, 
m  general  prove  as  well,  that  is,  have  as  much 
callow,  as  those  fed  in  any  way,  and  the  beef 
of  such  cattle  is  thought  by  many  to  have  a 
peculiar  juiciness  or  sweetness.  In  driving 
to  market,  however,  the  cattle  fed  upon  pota- 
toes will  fall  away  more  than  those  fed  upon 
hay  and  com ;  and  when  they  come  into  mar- 
ket by  no  means  appear  as  well.  Several 
farmerji  are  in  the  practice  of  boiling  or 
steaming  the  potatoes  which  they  give  to  their 
cattle,  and  profess  to  find  a  great  advantage  in 
it.  The  experiments  which  have  come  within 
my  own  knowledge  have  not  yet  satisfied  me 
that  the  advantages  are  a  compensation  for 
the  labour  and  expense  incurred  by  such 
operation. 

"The  articles  usually  employed  in  fattening 
cattle  are  hay  and  Indian  meal,  or  com  and 
rye  meal  mixed,  or  pease  and  oats,  or  oats  and 
corn  ground  together.  Besides  this,  many 
farmers  are  in  the  practice  of  giving  their 
8tall-fed  cattle  occasionally  certain  quantities 
of  potatoes.  An  excellent  farmer,  of  fifty 
years  experience  in  the  fatting  of  cattle,  is  of 
opinion  that  potatoes  are  good  feed  for  fatting 
cattle  in  the  fall  and  spring,  when  the  weather 
is  warm  ;  but  that  they  do  no  good  in  cold 
weather  unless  they  are  cooked.  I  rely  much 
upon  his  judgment  and  experience.  The  value 
of  potatoes  is  differently  estimated  by  different 
individuals;  some  considering  five  bushels, 
others  rating  four  bushels,  as  equivalent  to  one 
bushel  of  corn. 

'*  In  the  feeding  of  cattle  for  market  a  great 
deal  of  practicn!  skill  is  required,  and  constant 
obsen'ation  of  their  condition,  otherwise  they 
may  be  surfeited  and  their  appetite  destroyed  ; 
or  their  digestive  powers  be  overtasked  and 
the  feed  fail  of  its  object. 

"A  farmer  in  Charlemont,  of  large  experience 
in  the  fatting  of  stock,  considers  the  common 
English  or  flat  turnip  of  little  value  for  fatten- 
ing stock.  The  cattle  fed  upon  them  appear 
healthy  and  in  fine  condition,  but  yield  very 
little  tallow.  A  pair  of  cattle  fatted  by  him 
and  much  admired  by  the  butchers,  which 
weighed  eighteen  hundred  pounds  when 
dressed,  had  only  thirty  pounds  tallow  each. 

"  I  presume  the  experiment  has  never  been 
fairly  tried,  of  the  value  of  tumips  for  fattening 
stock.  This  is  likely  to  have  been  only  a  soli- 
tary instance ;  besides  this,  we  want  to  know 
in  the  case,  how  many  turnips  were  given ; 
under  what  circumstances  they  were  given ; 
and  with  what  other  feed  accompanied. 

*^The  Fame  farmer  is  of  opinion,  that  oil-meal 


for  fattening  cattle  is  of  great  value.  He  is 
quite  content  to  pay  twenty  to  twenty-three 
dollars  per  ton,  the  current  price  for  it  in  his 
town.  A  farmer  in  Conway  concurs  in  this 
opinion ;  and  believes  that  for  a  beneficial 
change  a  farmer  can  well  afford  to  buy  oil- 
meal  with  corn  at  bushel  for  bushel.  The 
price  here  rises  sometimes  to  thirty  dollars 
per  ton.  The  weight  of  oil-meal  is  abou.,  forty- 
five  pounds  to  the  bushel." 

In  England  and  Scotland,  turnips  are  freely 
given  to  growing  and  fattening  cattle,  though 
more  sparingly  to  milch  cows,  in  consequence 
of  the  flavour  they  impart  to  milk  and  butter.* 

Mr.  Colman  furnishes  the  results  of  expe- 
rience gained  by  many  persons  who  have 
been  long  in  the  practice  of  stall-feeding.  A 
few  of  these  we  shall  notice. 

"A.  R.  has  twenty  head  of  cattle  in  the  stall 
They  are  of  good  size  and  calculated  to  aver 
age  over  eleven  hundred  pounds  each,  whei 
dressed  in  Brighton. 

"He  has  tried  a  variety  and  a  mixture  of  feed, 
such  as  oats,  broom-corn  seed,  &c.,  but  he  pre 
fers  Indian  meal  to  every  other  feed.  He  dis 
approves  of  excessive  feeding;  and  thinks  it  i 
great  error  to  give  too  much.  He  deems  four 
quarts  with  hay  ordinarily  enough ;  and  te!» 
quarts  a  day  sufficient  for  any  animal.  He 
feeds  twice  a  day  with  great  regularity.  Hi^ 
present  cattle  have  never  received  over  eigh 
quarts  per  day  each ;  and  at  first  putting  up  i 
much  less  quantity.  He  deems  it  best  to  re 
duce  their  feed  of  provender  a  few  days  befort 
starting  for  market.  He  buys  his  cattle  foi 
feeding  in  the  fall ;  and  his  present  stock 
averaged  in  the  cost  seventy-five  dollars  pel 
pair. 

"S.  W.  is  of  opinion  that  one  bushel  of  com 
one  year  old  for  feeding  any  kind  of  stock,  is 
equal  to  one  bushel  and  one  peck  of  new  corn, 
or  com  before  it  becomes  perfectly  sound  and 
dry. 

"  T.  C.  has  in  stall,  27th  February,  five  pairs 
of  oxen,  which  were  purchased  in  Brighton,  ia 
June  last.  When  purchased,  they  were  thin 
in  flesh  and  were  immediately  put  into  good 
pasture.    The  cost  was  as  follows : 

Two  pairs  cost  60  dollars  per  yoke  -  120  00 

One  pair  cost  46  50    "  "        -  -  46  50 

..    47  00    ••  "        -  -  47  00 

"    45  00    "  "        -  -  45  00 

**  These  cattle  were  put  into  a  good  pasture 
until  the  20th  of  November,  when  they  were 
brought  to  the  stall.  From  that  time  until  the 
20th  December,  they  were  fed  with  hay  only. 
From  that  time  until  the  first  of  January,  they 
received  six  quarts  of  provender  each,  daily. 
From  the  first  of  January,  they  received  each 


*  Turnips,  though  used  extensively  as  an  auxiliar>  in 
feeding  cattle  and  other  stock  in  Europe,  and  especially 
in  Great  Britain,  do  not  seem  to  answer  so  well  in  the 
United  Slates,  unless  perhaps  it  may  be  in  some  portions 
of  New  England.  The  general  complaint  against  them 
in  the  Middle  States,  is  that  they  do  not  appear  to  pos- 
sess sufficient  nourishing  and  fattening  qualities.  Hence 
the  sugar  beet,  ruta  baga,  niangel-wurtzel,  and  carrot 
are  greatly  preferred,  all  of  which  roots  may  be  given 
with  verv  great  advantage  to  stock,  as  auxiliaries. 
Testimonials  of  their  value  when  thus  employed  are 
numerous  and  conclusive.  For  information  relative  to 
the  feeding  of  cattle  on  turnips,  see  Stephens's  "B0ek 
of  the  Farm." 

295 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE 


<ight  quarts  daily.  This  provender  consists 
of  one-half  oil-meal,  one  quarter  oats  and  one 
quarter  corn  ;  the  two  last  ground  together 
and  the  whole  intermixed  when  given  to  the 
cattle. 

"  The  oil-meal  in  this  case  cost  forty  dollars 
per  ton.  It  weighs  about  forty-five  pounds  to 
a  bushel.  If  ground  very  fine,  it  will  not 
weigh  more  than  thirty-eight  or  forty  pounds 
to  the  bushel.  It  is  best,  therefore,  to  buy  it 
by  weight.  This  farmer  is  of  opinion  that  his 
oxen,  if  now  killed,  would  return  him  one 
thousand  pounds  of  beef  each. 

**  Meal  made  from  the  seed  of  broom-corn," 
Mr.  Colman  says,  "is  occasionally  used,  mixed 
with  other  provender,  but  for  neat  cattle  it  is  not 
approved  by  the  best  farmers.  Flaxseed  jelly, 
that  is,  half  a  pint  or  a  pint  of  flaxseed  formed 
into  a  jelly  by  boiling,  as  an  allowance  for  a 
stall-fed  animal  per  day,  has  been  used  for  fat- 
tening cattle  by  some  farmers  with  remarkable 
success.  It  does  not  supersede  the  use  of  meal, 
but  is  best  mixed  with  it.  It  is  believed  that 
no  article,  according  to  cost,  can  be  used  with 
more  advantage  than  this  for  this  object;  and 
that  none  is  known,  which  is  more  nutritious. 
This  jelly,  which  I  have  myself  used  with  great 
advantage,  is  prepared  as  follows:  'to  seven 
parts  of  water  let  one  part  of  linseed  be  put  for 
forty-eight  hours ;  then  boil  it  slowly  for  two 
hours,  gently  stirring  the  whole  lest  it  should 
burn.  Afterwards  it  ought  to  be  cooled  in 
tubs  ;  and  mixed  with  meal,  bran,  or  cut  chaff, 
in  the  proportion  of  one  bushel  of  hay  to  the 
jelly  produced  by  one  quart  of  linseed  well 
mashed  together.  This  quantity  given  daily 
with  other  food  will  forward  cattle  rapidly,  but 
it  must  be  increased  when  they  are  intended 
to  be  completely  fattened.'" 

The  quantity  of  Indian  corn  meal  required 
to  fatten  cattle,  usually  varies  a  little.  One 
experienced  feeder  gives  it  as  the  result  of  his 
observation  that  a  yoke  of  good  cattle,  to  be 
well  stall-fed,  will  take  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  bushels  of  meal,  besides  the  usual  allow- 
ance of  hay. 

Some  farmers  have  ground  their  corn  for 
fattening  cattle  on  the  cob.  In  such  cases  it  is 
suggested  that  the  miller  has  it  in  his  power  to 
take  advantage  by  drawing  his  measure  of  toll 
from  the  lowermost  portion  of  the  grist  to 
which  the  corn  usually  settles.  There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  corn  cobs  will  serve  the  pur- 
pose of  coarse  hay  for  distension,  etc.,  since 
cattle  are  often  quickly  fattened  upon  nubbins 
or  the  smaller  ears  of  corn.  They  will  thus 
often  be  found  a  useful  auxiliary. 

The  Massachusetts  stall-feeders  consulted 
by  Mr.  Colman  are  almost  universally  agreed 
upon  one  point— namely,  that  a  mixture  of 
provender  is  best.  While  Indian  meal  is  to  be 
considered  as  the  basis,  certain  proportions  of 
rye,  or  oats,  or  pease  and  oats,  are  always 
deemed  best  to  be  mixed  with  it.  An  excel-  j 
lent  farmer,  whose  fat  cattle  do  him  much  ' 
credit,  is  of  opinion  that  the  meal  given  should 
always  be  scalded.  Oxen  from  four  to  six 
years  old  are  generally  selected  for  fattening, 
though  some  prefer  young  stock  of  from  three 
to  five  years  old.  With  regard  to  the  particu- 
lar breeds  preferred,  Mr.  Colman  says  that  the 
296 


small-boned,  medium-sized  animals,  of  good 
length,  strongly  marked  with  the  Devon  blood, 
are  those  which  are  chosen.  In  considering 
the  capacities  of  cattle  for  fattening,  a  wide 
chest  has  been  regarded  as  an  unerring  sign 
of  a  good  and  quick  feeder.  Bearing  upon  this 
point.  Dr.  Jenner,  the  great  benefactor  of  man- 
kind, made  an  observation,  the  truth  of  which 
appears  to  have  been  fully  confirmed  by  fur- 
ther examination — namely,  that  no  animal 
whose  chest  was  narrow  could  easily  be  made 
fat.  This  observation  applies  not  only  to  neat 
cattle,  but  to  sheep,  goats,  and  hares.  It  even 
holds  good  in  the  human  species.  The  experi- 
enced farmer  is  seldom  at  a  loss  to  distinguish 
the  most  thrifty  cattle,  in  respect  to  which  there 
are  great  differences  among  individuals  of  the 
same  breed.  To  the  assistance  of  the  eye  is 
added  the  sense  of  touch  by  the  operation  tech- 
nically called  handling,  the  mode  of  conducting 
which,  according  to  the  most  approved  English 
authorities,  has  been  already  detailed.  In  re- 
ference to  the  several  breeds  of  cattle  and  their 
distinguishing  qualities,  Mr.  Colman  makes  the 
following  remarks  as  the  result  of  his  observa- 
tions and  inquiries : — 

"The  pastures  in  New  England  are  short, 
and  the  winters  long  and  severe,  and  therefore 
ill-adapted  to  a  race  of  large  size,  of  tender 
habits,  and  requiring  extraordinary  keeping 
and  the  most  particular  care  to  maintain  their 
condition.  The  most  celebrated  breeds  in  Eng- 
land are  the  improved  Durham  short-hom,  the 
Hereford,  the  Ayrshire,  and  the  North  Devon. 
Of  these  different  races,  highly  improved  ani- 
mals of  each  sex,  for  the  purposes  of  breeding, 
have  been  introduced  into  the  country  and  into 
the  state ;  and  each  race  has  found  strong  ad- 
vocates, who  have  preferred  it  to  every  other. 
For  dairy  purposes,  as  far  as  my  own  limited  ex- 
perience and  observation  go,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
the  Ayrshire,  or  a  first  cross  with  the  improved 
Durham  and  the  Devon,  are  to  be  preferrecL 
For  early  maturity  and  size  as  beef  animals, 
the  improved  Durham  short-horn  appears  to  me 
to  take  the  lead.  But  they  are  tender,  and  re- 
quire extraordinary  keeping  and  care  to  main- 
tain their  good  qualities.  They  seem  better  adapt- 
ed to  the  rich  prairies  and  feeding  grounds  of 
the  Western  States  than  to  our  scanty  pastures. 
The  Hereford,  of  which  some  remarkably 
beautiful  animals  have  been  imported  into  Al- 
bany, have  warm  advocates  both  here  and 
abroad,  and  come  in  strong  competition  with  the 
improved  Durhams.  Those  of  the  Herefords, 
which  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
seemed  to  me  considerably  larger  than  th 
Devons,  but  smaller  than  the  Durhams.  These 
were  choice  specimens,  and  were  remarkably 
thrifty  and  beautiful  animals,  clean  about  the 
limbs,  not  so  straight  on  the  back  and  square 
behind  as  the  Durhams,  but  exhibiting  upon 
the  whole  admirable  constitution  and  symme- 
try. Having  had  no  farther  personal  observa- 
tion or  experience  with  this  breed  of  animals, 
I  will  not  venture  to  spe^k  of  them  with  any 
confidence.  Of  their  particular  qualifications 
for  the  dairy  I  know  nothing.  For  our  pur- 
poses as  working  oxen  and  for  stall-feeding, 
the  North  Devon  cattle  are  most  generally  ap- 
proved.   This   undoubtedly  is  the   prevalent 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


stock  of  the  country,  though  diversified  and 
contaminated  by  various  mixtures.  No  pains 
have  been  taken,  by  systematic  efforts,  by  judi- 
cious selection,  and  by  perseverance  in  endea- 
vours to  combine  the  best  qualities  and  to  era- 
dicate or  remedy  defects,  in  order  to  form,  from 
what  we  call  our  native  stock,  a  distinct 
and  valuable  breed.  Lideed,  where  the  im- 
proved blood  has  been  introduced,  it  has  been 
suffered,  after  a  short  time,  to  nm  out  through 
neglect,  or  to  become  degenerate  by  poor  keep- 
ing." 

As  regards  the  capacity  for  thrift  in  the  differ- 
ent breeds,  Mr.  Colman  thinks  that  the  perfec- 
tion of  any  animal  depends  essentially  upon  his 
good  keeping  from  his  birth;  and  that  severity 
or  hard  fare,  or  negligence  while  in  a  growing 
state,  do  an  injury  to  the  constitution,  and  so 
stint  the  growth,  that  no  after  keeping  can  ever 
repair  it.  The  animal  constitution  always  suf- 
fers essentially  by  reverses.  It  is  said  that  a 
sheep  is  never. fat  but  once.  Perhaps  this  as- 
sertion is  to  be  received  with  some  qualifica- 
tion, but  still  it  must  be  admitted  as  a  difficult 
task  to  raise  an  animal  from  a  low  condition. 
"The  farmers  prejudice  very  greatly  their  own 
interest  in  suffering  their  milch  cows  to  come 
out  in  the  spring  in  low  condition.  During  the 
time  they  are  dry,  they  think  it  enough  to  give 
them  the  coarsest  fodder,  and  that  in  limited 
quantities ;  this,  too,  at  a  time  of  pregnancy, 
when  they  require  the  kindest  treatment  and 
tlie  most  nourishing  food.  The  calf  itself  un- 
der this  treatment  of  the  cow  is  small  and 
feeble.  He  finds  comparatively  insufficient 
support  from  his  exhausted  dam ;  and  the  re- 
turn which  the  cow  makes  in  milk  during  the 
summer  is  much  less  than  it  would  be,  if  she 
came  into  the  spring  in  good  health  and  flesh. 
It  requires  the  whole  summer  to  recover  what 
she  has  lost.  The  animal  constitution  cannot 
be  trifled  with  in  this  way. 

"It  is  so  with  all  live-stock,  and  especially 
with  young  animals  at  the  period  of  their  most 
rapid  growth.  They  should  not  be  prematurely 
forced  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  should  not 
be  stinted  or  checked.  It  is  a  very  important 
question,  whether  it  is  more  profitable  to  fatten 
young  animals  than  older  ones.  I  have  given 
the  different  opinions  of  different  farmers  on 
this  subject.  In  England,  it  seems  an  almost 
universal  opinion,  that  the  sooner  an  animal 
can  be  made  fit  for  the  market  the  better,  and 
their  fatted  animals,  especially  of  the  im- 
proved breeds,  are  slaughtered  at  two  and  three 
years  old.  They  are  often  brought  to  market 
at  even  an  earlier  age  than  this ;  but  it  is  con- 
sidered, and  with  reason,  that  the  meat  of  such 
animals  is  not  so  good  as  when  they  have  at- 
tained a  full  growth.  It  is  natural  to  suppose 
that  the  animal  can  only  be  in  perfection  when 
he  has  ceased  to  grow,  and  if  killed  before  that 
period,  there  would  seem  to  be  a  loss  of  that 
enlargement  of  size  and  weight,  separate  from 
an  increase  of  fatness,  to  which  he  might  at- 
tain. While  an  animal  is  growing  and  well 
fed  at  the  same  time,  there  is  evidently  a 
double  gain  ;  and  if  he  increases  one  pound  a 
day  by  his  extra  feed,  he  may  be  supposed  to 
increase  another  pound  by  his  ordinary  growth. 
After  this  period,  however,  it  may  be  advisable 
38 


to  send  him  to  market  as  soon  as  he  can  be 
put  into  condition.  Farmers  often  make  great 
mistakes  in  keeping  their  cattle  too  long. 
There  is  a  reasonable  calculation  to  be  made 
in  respect  to  the  markets,  which  are  generally 
higher  in  the  spring  than  in  the  autumn  ;  but 
the  advance  in  price  does  not  always  meet  the 
increased  expense  of  keeping.  It  is  import 
ant,  as  a  general  rule,  that  the  animal  should 
go  to  market  as  soon  as  the  gain  which  he 
makes  ceases  to  pay  the  expense  of  his  keeping. 

"  It  has  been  made  a  question,  whether 
heifers  are  not  more  profitable  than  steers. 
They  are  as  thrifty,  and,  in  general,  pay  as  well 
for  their  keeping.  It  is  the  practice  of  some 
farmers,  to  allow  them  to  come  in  with  calves 
at  two  years  old ;  if  at  that  time  they  promise 
well  as  cows,  a  good  market  can  almost  always 
be  found  for  them ;  but,  if  otherwise,  after 
suckling  the  calf  three  months  or  more,  they 
are  turned  out  to  be  fatted  for  beef,  and  are 
either  sold  immediately  at  the  close  of  the  pas- 
turing season,  or  otherwise,  after  being  stall- 
fed  for  a  short  time.  Their  meat,  if  well  fed, 
is  always  highly  esteemed.  This  proves,  in 
general,  a  good  operation.  In  England,  heifers 
designed  for  the  stall  are  very  frequently 
spuyed,  by  which  their  thrift  is  greatly  assisted. 

"This  is  often  done  in  Kentucky  and  some 
other  of  the  Western  Stales ;  but  I  have  never 
known  more  than  one  instance  of  its  being 
practised  in  New  EnglaniL  I  do  not  feel  au- 
thorized, therefore,  to  pronounce  upon  its  ad- 
vantages. 

"  It  is  sometimes  asked,  whether  oxen  are 
injured  in  their  growth  from  being  worked.  If 
their  strength  is  prematurely  and  too  severely 
taxed,  or  if  they  are  subjected  to  severe  usage, 
undoubtedly  it  must  prove  injurious;  but,  if 
otherwise,  if  reasonably  worked  and  carefully 
and  kindly  attended,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
their  health  and  growth  are  promoted  by  it 
It  is  often  matter  of  inquiry,  whether  fatting 
cattle  should  be  kept  in  close  stalls,  or  be  suf- 
fered to  lie  out-doors.  The  experience  of  all 
the  farmers  whom  I  have  consulted,  who  have 
made  any  trial,  is  conclusive  in  this  case,  in 
favour  of  the  superior  thrift  of  animals  kept 
constantly  in  the  barn,  or  turned  out  only  for 
watering  and  immediately  put  up  again,  over 
those  which  are  kept  in  open  sheds,  or  tied  up 
for  feeding  only,  and  at  other  times  allowed 
to  lie  in  the  yard.  No  exact  experiments  have 
been  made  in  this  country  in  relation  to  this 
subject;  but  experiments  made  abroad  lead  to 
the  conclusion,  that  cattle  thrive  best  in  a  high 
and  equable  temperature,  so  warm  as  to  keep 
them  constantly  in  a  state  of  active  verspira- 
tion,  and  that  their  thrift  is  much  hiuleredby 
an  exposure  to  severe  alternations  of  heat  and 
cold.  It  is  certain,  that  in  order  to  thrift,  cattle 
cannot  be  made  too  comfortable;  their  man- 
gers should  be  kept  clean  ;  their  stalls  be  well 
littered;  and  the  cattle  protected  from  currents 
of  air  blowing  through  crevices  or  holes  in  the 
floors  or  the  sides  of  the  stables,  which  prove 
often  much  more  uncomfortable  than  an  open 
exposure." 

As  at  present  conducted  in  Massachusetts, 
and  at  the  present  prices  of  provender  and 
beef,  Mr.  Colman  thinks  the  business  of  fatr 

297 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


tcning  cattle  for  market  any  thing  but  profita- 
ble, and  that  if  extensiveCy  and  exclusively 
carried  on  by  individuals,  the  result  must 
generally  be  embarrasment  and  ruin.  "From 
the  best  observation  which  I  have  been  able  to 
make,  I  have,"  he  says,  "  found  very  few  in- 
stances in  which  a  pair  of  cattle  or  a  single 
ox  kept  for  any  length  of  time  in  the  stall  have 
ever  made  compensatio.1  for  the  produce  which 
they  or  he  consume,  even  at  prices  consider- 
ably below  the  current  prices  in  the  market. 
There  are  occasional  and  accidental  excep- 
tions, but  they  are  very  seldom  to  be  met 
with."  In  the  estimates  presented  to  Mr.  Col- 
man,  Indian  corn-meal  is  reckoned  at  from 
60  to  75  cts.  per  bushel,  potatoes  25  cts.  per 
bushel,  a  mixture  of  peas  and  oats  at  50  cts. 
per  bushel,  and  hay  at  $10  per  ton. 

*'It  has  been  supposed  that  farmers  by  going 
extensively  into  the  cultivation  of  esculent 
roots,  such  as  carrots,  ruta-baga,  parsnips,  or 
mangel- wurize I,  could  fatten  cattle  to  much 
more  advantage,  or  rather  at  much  less  ex- 
pense than  on  hay  or  corn.  This  deserves 
great  consideration.  On  this  subject  we  want 
light,  and  that  which  springs  from  actual  and 
intelligent  experience.  My  belief  is,  that  for 
the  fatting  of  cattle,  where  the  coarse  fodder  is 
well  saved,  few  crops  are  more  profitable  to  the 
farmer  than  a  crop  of  Indian  corn  at  the  rate 
of  seventy  bushels  to  the  acre.  Next  to  corn, 
potatoes  at  the  rate  of  four  hundred  bushels 
to  the  acre  would  be  a  profitable  crop.  In 
number  of  bushels  to  the  acre,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  more  can  be  produced  and  at  a  less 
expens;e  of  cultivation  and  harvesting  of 
common  turnips,  of  ruta-baga,  and  of  mangel- 
wurtzel,  than  of  potatoes.  But  it  is  believed 
that  more  nutritive  matter  can  be  obtained 
from  one  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes  than 
from  two  hundred  of  common  turnips.  Ruta- 
baga and  mangel- wurtzel  have  undoubtedly  a 
great  superiority  over  the  common  white  tur- 
nip, but  these  are  much  inferior  to  the  best  and 
most  farinaceous  potatoes.  Hay  is  without 
question  one  of  the  best  articles  which  can  be 
given  to  fattening  animals;  but  where  an 
abundance  of  meal  or  of  esculent  vegetables 
is  given,  the  nature  of  the  long  feed  to  be  given 
them  seems  of  much  less  importance.  Rye, 
"wheat,  or  oat  straw,  in  such  case,  is  found  to 
be  given  with  an  almost  equal  advantage  as 
the  best  hay.  Alany  of  the  best  beasts  in 
England  are  fatted  upon  straw  and  turnips. 
In  Enirland,  it  is  considered  as  doing  well,  if 
an  acre  of  turnips  will  fatten  an  ox  for  market. 
An  experienced  farmer  here  is  of  opinion,  that 

ne  hundred  bushels  of  potatoes  with  a  small 
amount  of  hay  will  fatten  an  ox.  Another 
says,  that  he  allows  twenty-five  bushels  of 
corn  to  fatten  an  ox,  and  but  little  hay  will  be 
required. 

"It  is  curious  to  compare  the  gain  of  fattening 
cattle  with  the  actual  cost  of  keeping.  Two 
pounds  live  weight  per  day  in  an  ox  are  con- 
sidered a  large  gain.  The  largest  gain  men- 
tioned in  this  report  is  a  little  more  than  three 
pounds  per  day.  At  seven  dollars  per  hundred, 
this  would  be  equal  to  twenty-seven  cents.  To 
make  this,  we  suppose  the  animal  to  receive 
one  peck  of  Indian  meal,  which,  at  66f  cents 
298 


per  bushel,  would  be  16^  cents,  and  28  lbs.  ol 
hay,  which,  at  8  dollars  per  2000  lbs.,  would 
be  11  cents  and  2  mills,  or  both  about  28  cents. 
Or  suppose  him  to  gain  only  2  lbs.  per  day, 
which  would  be  14  cents;  and  his  daiiy  al- 
lowance of  meal  be  reduced  to  4  quarts,  and 
hay  the  same  as  befo/e,  the  daily  cost  of  keep- 
ing would  be  about  20  cents ;  in  which  case, 
if  we  place  the  manure  as  an  offset  for  the 
attendance,  interest,  and  commissions  on  sale, 
&c.,  there  will  be  a  loss  of  about  six  cents  per 
day.  I  believe  the  result  is  often  much  worse 
than  this ;  and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
farmers  are  not  willing  to  look  these  facts  in 
the  face.  I  do  not  mean  to  deny  that  there  are 
instances  of  success  in  this  department  of 
husbandry,  instances  in  which  the  farmer  is 
well  paid  for  his  trouble  and  attendance,  and 
receives  a  full  compensation  for  the  feed  sup- 
plied to  them  ;  but  these  instances  are  compa- 
ratively rare,  and  so  much  matter  of  contin- 
gency, that  even  the  most  skilful  farmers  cannot 
always  rely  upon  their  best  judgment.  The 
farmer  always  feels  satisfied,  if  he  can,  as  he 
terms  it,  double  his  money;  that  is,  if  he  re- 
ceives for  his  cattle  in  the  market  twice  as 
much  as  they  cost  him  when  he  first  put  them 
into  the  stall.  This  is  sometimes  done.  It  is 
seldom  exceeded ;  and  fatteners  often  fall 
short  of  it." 

At  Mr.  Colman's  request,  a  careful  farmer 
made  experiments  for  the  purpose  of  ascertain- 
ing the  actual  quantity  of  hay  ordinarily  con- 
sumed by  a  fatting  ox.  In  conducting  these, 
the  hay  was  first  weighed,  and  then  the  weight 
of  the  leavings  deducted.  Five  oxen  consumed 
150  lbs.  hay  per  day.  Two  of  these  oxen  had 
at  the  same  time  20  quarts  of  provender — half 
Indian  corn  and  half  broom-seed  meal;  two  of 
them  24.quarts  of  the  some  provender  per  day; 
and  one  of  them  eight  quarts  per  day.  Upon  a 
second  experiment  with  the  same  cattle,  fed  as 
just  stated,  the  consumption  of  hay  by  each 
ox  averaged  25  lbs.  per  day. 

It  is  stated  in  the  Complete  Grazier,  that  an 
un worked  ox  for  several  days  together  consumed 
33  lbs.  of  hay  per  day.  In  the  New  York  Me- 
moirs of  Agriculture,  it  is  stated  that  an  ox  will 
eat  every  twenty-four  hours  14  lbs.  of  hay,  half 
a  bushel  of  potatoes,  and  8  quarts  of  Indian 
meal.  It  hence  appears  that  the  capacities 
of  cattle  for  the  consumption  of  food  vary 
according  to  circumstances  of  size,  age,  con- 
dition, &c.  Many  farmers  who  engage  in 
fattening  cattle  only  expect  to  get  paid  in  the 
operation  for  their  grain,  without  taking  into 
account  the  hay  consumed.  They,  however, 
derive  the  great  advantage  of  consuming  their 
crops  upon  the  ground,  and  reserving  the  ma- 
nure to  keep  up  the  productiveness  of  the  soil. 
The  farmer  who  annually  sells  off  the  produce 
of  his  land  in  the  form  of  grain,  hay,  &c.,  soon 
finds  the  necessity  of  making  a  considerable 
outlay  for  manure,  to  compensate  for  certain 
and  often  rapid  deterioration.  It  is  freely  ad- 
mitted that  with  respect  to  hay,  straw,  and  all 
kinds  of  what  is  called  "  long  feed,"  it  is  always 
better  to  consume  the  produce  on  the  farm, 
even  at  a  nominal  loss  of  twenty-five  per  cent., 
than  to  carry  it  off  any  distance  to  market; 
that  is  to  say,  a  farmer  had  best  feed  his  hay 


CATTLE. 

at  homp,  although  it  may  net  him  only  $6  per 
ton  in  fattening  his  cattle,  than  carry  it  even 
a  short  distance  to  market  and  obtain  $8  for 
it.  Such  estimates  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  the  value  of  articles  consumed  in  fatteTiing 
stock  ought  not  to  be  valued  so  high  as  the 
current  market  prices. 

If  the  hay  consumed  on  the  farm  nets  the 
farmer  §5  per  ton,  and  the  average  product  is 
two  tons,  it  will  pay  a  remunerating  profit, 
allowing  the  land  to  be  valued  at  $75  and  even 
much  higher,  per  acre. 

Gain  of  stall-fed  cattle. — Colman  gives  some 
interesting  estimates  showing  the  actual  gain 
per  day  in  stall-fed  cattle,  a  matter  generally 
left  to  conjecture. 

''Example  1. — A  pair  of  cattle  owned  by  8.  C. 
weighed 

Oct.  16,  2305  lbs.  and  2110  lbs,  together-  -  4415  lbs. 
Jan.  17, 2435       "        2185        "  -        -    4620  " 

The  gain,  therefore,  in  3  months  and  1  day,  was  205  " 

"  The  same  cattle  weighed  on  the  following 
March  11th, 

One  2590  and  one  2345  lbs.,  together        -        -    4935  lbs. 
The  gHin,  then,  in  this  1  month  and  22  days,  " 

was         -        -        -        -        -        -        -      315  " 

The  whole  gain  in  4  mos.  23  days,  being  -      520  " 

The  gain  during  146  days  was  at  the  rate  of 
3-56  lbs.  per  day. 

"  These  cattle  had,  besides  hay,  a  small  al- 
lowance of  meal,  and  ran  in  a  good  pasture 
through  the  summer.  They  were  put  up  to  be 
stall-fed  early  in  the  autumn,  and  were  soon 
brought  to  receive  together  one  bushel  of  meal 
per  day,  even  measure;  one-third  pease  and 
oats,  two-thirds  corn,  with  a  liberal  allowance 
of  hay. 

"  Example  2. — A  pair  of  oxen  belonging  to 
R.  D.  weighed 

Nov.  8,  1995  lbs.  and  I9S5  lbs.,  together  -   -  3980  lbs. 
Mar.  12,  ensuing,  2250  lbs.  and  2255  lbs.,  to- 
gether    4505  " 

"The  whole  gain  in  124  days,  was  525  lbs. 
or  at  the  rale  of  4'33  lbs.  per  day. 

"  Example  6. — One  pair  of  cattle  fed  by  R.  D. 
weighed  in  the  first  part  of  Nov.  3765  lbs. 
Dec.  15,  4220  lbs.  Jan.  15,  4410  lbs.  The 
gain  in  one  month  was  190  lbs.  March  7, 
weighed  4730  lbs.  The  gain  from  the  com- 
mencement was  965  lbs.;  from  Dec.  15  to 
March  7,  was  510  lbs. 

"The  average  gain  of  the  above,  from  Dec. 
15  to  March  7,  81  days,  being  510  lbs.  is  6-29 
lbs.  per  day.  The  gain  from  Dec.  15  to  Jan. 
15,  30  days',  being  1^0  lbs.  is  6-33  lbs.  per  day. 

"  These  cattle  were  old,  and  at  the  time  of 
being  purchased  appeared  to  have  been  hardly 
driven  and  poorly  fed." 

Loss  of  weight  in  drixring.— The  loss  of  cattle 
in  driving  to  market  is  generally  estimated  at 
from  50  to  100  lbs.  dead  weight,  in  a  distance 
of  some  seventy-five  or  eighty  miles.  Cattle 
fatted  upon  potatoes  lose  more  than  others 
during  the  journey,  which  is  ascribed  to  the 
dithculty  of  getting  them  to  eat  upon  the  road. 
The  drover  usually  receives  from  the  farmer 
a  commission  of  two  dollars  a  head  for  driving 
and  selling  the  cattle,  with  no  allowance  for 
♦ceding.    He  is  therefore  but  little  interested 


CATTLE. 

in  the  fare  or  treatment  they  are  to  receive  oa 
the  way.  v 

The  respectable  and  respmisible  officer  em- 
ployed to  take  an  account  of  all  the  cattle  and 
other  stock  brought  to  the  Brighton  market, 
note  the  average  prices,  and  report  weekly 
I  these  and  other  interesting  particulars,  states 
that  the  ordinary  allowance  for  shrinkage,  in 
;  cattle  driven  to  market,  is  from  thirty  to  thirty- 
five  per  cent.  Some  which  have  come  a  long 
distance,  or  are  very  fat  or  hollow  from  want 
of  food,  will  not  shrink  more  than  twenty-five 
per  cent.;  while  others  thin  of  flesh,  or  full  of 
food,  will  shrink  forty  per  cent.  In  sheep,  the 
wethers  usually  shrink  fifty  per  cent,  and  some- 
times more.  It  depends  very  much  upon  the 
stale  of  the  animal  at  the  time  of  weighing. 
Oxen  fresh  from  the  pasture  at  night  have 
frequently  been  weighed  and  reweighed  on  the 
following  morning  at  nine  o'clock,  and  found 
to  have  shrunk  80  or  100  lbs.  each. 

Live  and  dead  tceight  of  cattle. — In  Englaild, 
the  difference  between  the  dead  and  live  weight 
is  calculated  at  eleven-twentieths;  this,  how- 
ever, only  includes  the  four  quarters;  the  fifth 
quarter,  as  it  is  there  termed,  being  the  hide, 
loose  tallow,  and  offal,  goes  to  the  butcher  as 
his  perquisite.  In  New  England,  five  quarters 
are  also  made,  the  hide  and  tallow  being 
weighed,  and  the  amount  of  it  and  the  meat 
returned  to  the  owner.  That  is  to  say,  the 
cattle  brought  to  market  by  the  farmer  or 
drover,  being  sold,  the  purchaser  turns  them 
over  to  a  slaughtering  establishment  to  be 
killed  and  dressed,  for  which  he  pays  wha'. 
amounts  in  money  and  perquisites  to  about  two 
dollars  per  head.  The  meat  is  then  sold  to  the 
retailing  butchers.  The  heart  and  liver  are 
valued  at  50  cents,  excepting  in  the  barrelling 
season ;  the  tongue  is  considered  worth  .2  cents 
the  tripe  50  cents ;  the  head,  which  ha'  on  it  a 
large  piece  of  the  neck,  being  of  late  years  cut 
off  at  the  second  joint  from  the  crown,  furnish- 
ing some  good  meat  for  cooking,  and  when 
boiled  given  to  swine  with  great  advantage, 
and  also  the  feet,  from  which  oil  and  glue  are 
obtained,  valued  at  40  cts.,  go  among  the  offal, 
and  of  course  are  lost  to  the  farmer  or  drover. 
Some  cunning  butchers  are  said  to  have  a  way 
by  which,  after  cutting  through  the  shoulders, 
in  splitting  down  the  chine  they  turn  the  edge 
of  the  axe  outwards,  thus  leaving  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  neck  attached  to  the  head,  a  perqui- 
site of  the  slaughterer.  With  respect  to  the 
value  of  the  hide  at  different  seasons,  a  skilful 
farmer  informed  Mr,  Colman  that  the  hide  of 
an  o.Y,  which,  if  the  animal  was  killed  in  De- 
cember, might  weigh  100  lbs.,  would  not  weigh 
more  than  85  lbs.  if  kept  till  .Tune,  such  is  the 
loss  from  shedding  the  hair,  an//  perhaps  from 
the  thinning  of  the  hide  itself. 

The  offal  or  perquisites  of  the  slaughterer 
consist  of  the  entrails,  feet,  head,  a  strip  from 
the  foreskin,  and  the  blood.  The  tongue, 
cheeks,  and  heart  of  the  bullock  go  to  the 
butcher.  The  slaughterer  sells  the  leet  and 
head  to  the  tallow-chandler  and  soap-boiler, 
who  extract  the  tallow  and  oil ;  the  claws  go 
to  the  comb-maker,  the  bones  and  pith  of  the 
horns  to  the  bone-mill  for  manure  or  for  the 

299 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


purpose  of  making  animal  charcoal,  and  the 
blood  to  the  sugar-refiners. 

In  New  York  orfly  four  quarters  are  made 
by  the  slaughterer,  and  the  hide  and  tallow  are 
not  weighed  or  reckoned  in  the  price :  facts 
which  are  to  be  remembered  in  making  com- 
parisons of  prices  in  the  different  markets. 

The  following  are  some  examples  of  live  and 
dead  weights  of  New  England  cattle,  killed  at 
home  and  after  having  been  driven  from  the 
Connecticut  river  to  Brighton,  the  Boston  beef 
market,  a  distance  of  75  or  80  miles. 

"  Example  1.— One  ox,  live  weight  in  market 
2393  lbs.;  quarters  weighed  418  lbs.,  415  lbs., 
324  lbs.,  331  lbs.;  hide,  150  lbs.;  tfillow,  173 
lbs.  =  1811.    Difference  582  lbs. 

"Example  2. — Two  oxen  of  A.  S.,  killed  at 
home,  weighed  as  follows  : 

Live— One  1979  lbs.       -        -       Killed— UW  lbs. 
•»     1910   "         -        -  "         1341    " 

About  29-4  lbs.  loss  on  a  hundred  of  the  live 
weight. 

''Example  3. — An  ox  owned  by  A.  S.,  con- 
veyed to  Brighton  on  a  sled,  weighed  at  home 
about  2630  lbs. ;  the  precise  number  of  pounds 
not  recollected.  On  being  slaughtered,  his 
weight  was  as  follows :  quarters,  480  lbs.,  479 
lbs.,  374  lbs.,  383  lbs.;  hide,  154  lbs.;  tallow, 
250  lbs.    Total,  2120  lbs.    Loss,  510  lbs. 

''Example  4. — Ox  belonging  to  R.  D. ;  when 
he  left  Connecticut  river  weighed  2435  lbs. 
Weight  at  Brighton  when  dressed,  1588  lbs. 
Loss  of  weight,  867  lbs.  This  is  a  little  more 
than  :.ne-third,  and  is  a  remarkable  result. 

"Example  5. — An  ox  weighing  on  Connecti- 
cnt  river  2250  lbs.  weighed  in  market  1472  lbs. 
Loss,  778  lbs. 

"Example  6. — An  ox  weighing  as  above 
2255  lbs.,  weighed  in  market  1487  lbs.  Loss 
768  lbs. 

"Example  7.— A  fat  bull  of  D.  S.,  killed  at 
home,  weighed  alive  1495  lbs.;  dead  1051  lbs. 
Loss,  444  lbs. 

"  Example  8.— A  fat  heifer  of  E.  W.,  killed  at 
home,  weighed  alive  1120  lbs.;  dead,  832  lbs. 
Loss,  288  lbs. 

"Example  9. — An  ox  belonging  to  S.  C. 
weighed  on  Connecticut  river,  alive,  2590  lbs. ; 
at  Brighton,  dressed,  as  follows  :  quarters,  394 
lbs.,  350  lbs.,  362  lbs.,  358  lbs.;  hide,  120  lbs.; 
tallow,  207  lbs.  Total,  1791  lbs.  Difference 
between  live  and  dead  weights,  799  lbs. 

"Example  10. — An  ox  belonging  to  S.  C. 
weighed  as  above  2345  lbs.;  at  Brighton, 
dressed,  as  follows :  quarters,  352  lbs.,  310 
lbs.,  364  lbs.,  308  lbs.;  hide,  115  lbs.;  tallow, 
217  lbs.  Total,  1666  lbs.  Difference  between 
live  and  dead  weights,  679  lbs." 

Pasturage.^^The  cost  of  pasturage  is  difficult 
to  estimate,  since  the  qualities  of  soil  and  faci- 
lities afforded  differ  so  much  in  different  sec- 
tions of  countr\',  and  even  in  the  same  neigh- 
bourhood. In  Conway,  situated  a  little  west 
of  the  Connecticut  river,  the  pasturage  is  ex- 
cellent ;  that  IS  to  say,  30  acres  will  keep 
twe'^o  cattle,  consisting  of  cows  and  oxen,  the 
year  round.  Oxen  from  four  to  six  years  of 
age  are  taken  to  be  pastured  at  from  50  to  67 
cents  per  week ;  farrow  cows  at  25  cents  per 
•eek ;  steers  at  two  years  old  at  75  cents  per 
300 


week  each.  Sheep  are  pastured  at  3  cents  each 
per  week,  and  lambs  at  1^  cents. 

In  Buckland,  in  the  same  county,  cows  are 
pastured  at  25  cents  per  week,  including  salL 
Pasttiring  of  an  average  quality  will  feed  eight 
cows  upon  30  acres.  A  yoke  of  oxen  require 
half  as  much  again  as  two  cows.  In  Hawly 
two  acres  of  pasturage  are  considered  suffi- 
cient for  a  cow. 

In  the  fattening  of  cattle,  universal  experi- 
ence, Mr.  Col  man  remarks,  shows  the  import- 
ance of  a  scrupulous  punctuality  as  to  the 
times  of  feeding.  Under  the  influence  of  that 
mighty  despot,  habit,  which  reigns  throughout 
the  animal  creation,  these  animals  measure 
time  with  great  exactness ;  and  if  at  the  cus- 
tomary hour  the  feed  is  not  ready  for  them, 
they  become  restless,  uneasy,  and  fretful,  dis- 
positions exceedingly  unfriendly  to  all  cases 
of  thrift.  During  the  time  of  feeding  they 
should  have  little  given  to  them  at  once,  that 
their  food  may  not  become  loathsome  by  being 
frequently  tossed  over  and  blown  upon. 

In  regard  to  the  native  stock  of  New  Eng- 
land, in  which  various  bloods  and  breeds  are 
intermingled,  Mr.  Colman  remarks  that  "many 
of  them  are  indeed  miserable  in  appearance, 
in  shape,  in  condition,  and  every  other  quality. 
This  comes  in  general  from  neglect  and  indif- 
ference, because  we  kill  or  sell  to  the  butcher 
our  best  calves,  and  commonly  leave  what  we 
do  attempt  to  raise  'to  shift  for  themselves.' 
Yet  at  the  same  time  without  presumption,  I 
think,  New  England  may  challenge  the  world 
to  produce  finer  teams  of  oxen,  by  fifties  and 
hundreds  of  pairs,  than  are  to  be  found  at  our 
cattle-shows.  Let  any  intelligent  judge  of  stock 
go  into  Worcester  county,  Mass.;  into  New 
Haven  and  Hartford  counties,  in  Connecticut; 
or  especially  to  Saccarappa,  in  Maine,  where 
ox  teams  are  constantly  employed  in  carting 
lumber  to  Portland,  and  if  he  will  find  any  su- 
perior oxen  for  labour  ajid  condition  than  are 
to  be  found  there,  he  would  do  a  signal  favour 
to  the  agricultural  public  in  letting  us  know 
where  we  may  look  for  them.  I  have  seen 
none.  I  believe  we  should  search  the  world 
over  in  vain  to  find  any. 

"  Our  native  cows  are  of  every  variety,  but 
there  are  several  parts  of  the  state  where, 
though  it  cannot  be  said  that  any  scientific  or 
systematic  improvement  has  been  undertaken, 
yet  by  a  long-continued  selection  from  the  best, 
whole  families  or  breeds  are  to  be  found  dis- 
tinguished for  their  excellent  properties  as 
dairy  stock.  The  list  of  native  cows  which  I 
have  given  shows  conclusively  that  we  have 
those  which,  for  the  quantity  of  milk  they  give, 
are  scarcely  inferior  to  any,  and  for  the  amount 
of  butter  and  cheese  which  they  produce  are 
surpassed  by  none.  The  numbers  referred  to 
prove  that  lliey  are  not  rare. 

"Whether  any  thing  would  be  gained  by 
substituting  the  improved  short-horns  for  our 
present  stock  is,  to  say  the  least,  questionable. 
The  short-horns  are  great  consumers.  Though 
animals  do  not  always  consume  in  proportion 
to  their  size,  yet  this  must  be  considered  as  a 
general  rule.  They  require  most  particular 
attention  and  liberal  feeding  to  bring  them  to 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


maturity,  though  we  admit  that  they  arrive  at 
maturity  early.  Many  of  the  short-horned  pre- 
mium young  animals  which  have  been  exhi- 
bited at  our  cattle-shows  have  had  the  benefit 
of  two  wet-nurses  for  six  months.  Most  of  our 
native  calves  are  put  off  with  two  teats,  and  at 
eight  or  ten  weeks  old  are  turned  adrift  into 
the  pasture  to  live  or  die  as  they  please.  Our 
own  stock  has  never  had  fair  play;  and  if 
treated  in  the  same  manner  as  the  best  short- 
horned  stock,  they  would  not  perhaps  fall  so  far 
behind  them  as  might  be  supposed.  Our  pas- 
tures are  in  general  short,  and  our  winters  long. 
A  smaller  race  of  cattle,  therefore,  and  a  more 
hardy  stock  would  seem  better  adapted  to  our 
condition. 

"The  London  milk  establishments  are  main- 
ly supplied  with  the  short-horns,  because,  it  is 
said,  they  give  more  milk,  and,  after  becoming 
dry,  take  on  flesh  sooner  than  other  races,  and 
are  therefore  more  easily  disposed  of  to  the 
butcher.  The  size  of  these  animals  would  na- 
turally indicate  a  larger  yield  of  milk,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  a  greater  consumption  of  food. 
But  the  yield  of  milk  is  put  down  at  an  ave- 
rage of  nine  quarts  daily.  These  are  presumed 
to  be  wine  quarts,  and  deducting  one-fifth,  it 
does  not  much  exceed  the  yield  of  some  milk 
establishments  among  us.  Besides,  in  the  Lon- 
don dairies,  cows  are  not  suffered  to  become 
with  calf. 

"One  of  the  most  extraordinary  short-horn 
cows  known  in  England,  it  is  said,  produced 
873  pounds  of  butter  in  32  weeks:  17  pounds 
being  the  largest  quantity  made  in  any  one 
week.  This  is  quoted  as  quite  remarkable; 
but  this,  as  far  as  it  goes,  does  not  equal  the 
Cakes,  the  Nourse,  the  Adams,  or  the  Spring- 
fteld  cow.  One  of  the  best-informed  and  most 
ardent  advocates  for  the  short-horns,  the  late 
Henry  Berr}',  remarks:— 'That  their  milk  does 
not  contain  the  same  proportionate  quantity  of 
butter  as  that  from  the  long-horns,  the  Scotch 
cattle,  or  the  Devons,  is  probably  true ;  but  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  the  difference  has 
been  much  exaggerated,  and  is  more  than  com- 
pensated by  the  additional  quantity  of  milk.* 

"The  quantity  of  cheese  made  in  a  year 
from  a  cow  in  the  celebrated  cheese  district 
of  Wiltshire,  England,  is  thus  stated:— 'The 
quantity  of  cheese  that  is  made  from  each  cow 
in  this  district  is  greater  than  is  common  in 
any  other  cheese-making  country,  sometimes 
as  much  as  4^  cwt  or  5  cwt.  per  cow,  seldom 
lower  than  3  cwt.  Perhaps  3A  cwt.  is  a  fair 
average  in  a  good  cheese-making  year  on 
every  cow  that  calves  in  proper  time.'  In  the 
famous  district  of  Cheshife,  in  England,  the 
average  amount  of  cheese  to  a  cow  is  stated 
at  2^  cwt.  The  old  breed  of  Irish  catjie,  much 
valued  for  the  dairy,  will  produce  from  84  to 
112  lbs.  of  butter  per  year;  a  very  good  cow 
will  yield  1^  cwt.,  that  is,  168  lbs.  net.  Of  the 
Ayrshire  cows,  kept  in  the  highest  condition 
for  giving  milk,  it  is  stated  that  the  yearly  ave- 
rage in  milk  may  be  650  gallons  or  2600  quarts, 
(wine  measure,  I  presume,  is  intended),  and  90 
gallons  will  make  24  lbs,  of  butter,  or  15  quarts 
(wine  measure)  to  a  pound.  In  another  case 
it  is  said  '  that  a  well-fed  cow  of  a  good  breed 
will  produce  on  an  average  180  lbs.  of  butter 


in  the  season,  though  the  commcn  calculation 
is  150  lbs.  In  the  Epping  district,  where  there 
is  an  indiscriminate  mixture  of  Devon,  Suffolk, 
Leicester,  Holderness,  and  Scotch,  the  calcula- 
tion in  a  well  managed  dairy  amounts  to  212 
lbs.  per  year  to  a  cow.  In  one  case  in  Sussex, 
upon  an  actual  trial,  the  cows  produced  only 
136  lbs.  per  season.' 

"As  far,  then,  as  we  can  depend  on  these 
accounts,  our  own  native  cattle  for  dairy  stock 
will  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  the  best 
English  stock  of  any  of  those  races  most  dis- 
tinguished for  their  milking  properties.  Our 
own  Cheshire  cheese  dairies  certainly  yiela 
the  palm  to  none. 

"  The  cross  of  the  Durham  short-horns  with 
the  Devon  has  produced  in  many  cases  an  ex- 
cellent stock.  But,  if  of  no  other  value  to  the 
country,  their  introduction  will  prove  an  im- 
mense benefit  by  showing  our  farmers  what 
can  be  done  in  improving  the  size,  form,  and 
condition  of  their  own  stocks,  by  a  most  care- 
ful selection  from  the  very  best,  by  persevering 
attempts  to  amend  defects  and  engraft  good 
properties  in  the  animal  constitution,  and  by 
constant  care  and  good  keeping. 

"It  cannot  be  denied  that  a  vast  proportion 
of  our  cows  are  wretched  in  their  form,  health, 
and  condition.  There  is  no  reason,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  doubt  that  by  breeding  only  from 
the  best  on  both  sides,  and  by  a  liberal  mode 
of  keeping,  we  may  produce  a  dairy  stock  and 
a  stock  for  labour  as  well  adapted  to  our  pas- 
tures, climate,  and  husbandry  as  can  be  found. 
Perhaps  I  should  be  authorized  to  add  for  beef 
also,  thA  is,  producing  as  many  pounds  accord 
ing  to  the  expense  of  their  keep.  The  average 
weight  of  bullocks  slaughtered  at  Smithfield, 
the  great  cattle  market  of  England,  is  656  lbs. 
At  Brighton,  in  this  county,  the  average  weight 
of  oxen  is  875  lbs.,  and  of  steers  600  lbs.  each. 
The  last  is  thought  by  some  persons  to  be 
overrated.  The  weight  used  at  Brighton  is  net 
weight;  1  cwt.  being  now  reckoned  at  100  lbs. 
avoirdupois. 

"  The  great  cattle  fair  of  the  state,  and  indeed 
of  New  England,  is  held  at  the  beautiful  village 
of  Brighton,  about  six  miles  from  Boston,  on 
the  Monday  of  every  week.  Here  capacious 
pens  are  erected  for  the  reception  of  such  live- 
stock as  may  be  brought  in,  and  the  drovers 
and  butchers  assemble  from  all  directions.  The 
business  of  selling  and  buying  is  principally 
got  through  with  on  Monday,  though  cattle  and 
other  stock,  when  prices  are  not  satisfactory  to 
the  seller,  are  frequently  kept  over,  for  a  week 
or  fortnight,  for  a  better  market.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  small  fair  at  Danvers,  in  Essex 
county,  held  occasionally  in  the  fall,  I  know 
of  no  other  cattle  fair  in  New  England.  Cattle, 
sheep,  and  swine  are  brought  here  from  the 
interior  of  the  state,  from  Maine,  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont, — from  NewYcrk,  and  some- 
times from  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Kentucky. 

"  I  ascertained  some  time  since  at  the  Bull's 
Head  Market,  in  New  York,  that  the  expense 
of  a  drove  of  cattle,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
head,  from  the  vicinity  of  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
'  to  that  place,  including  the  expenses  of  on« 
night  and  a  day  in  New  York,  was  1,300  dollars. 
2C  301 


CATTLE. 


CATTLE. 


or  13  dollars  per  head.  This  was  at  a  season 
when  the  drovers  could  avail  themselves  of 
pasturage.  The  price  of  corn  is  not  recollect- 
ed.   They  came  in  in  good  condition. 

"  Store  hogs  or  shoats,  driven  moderately  in 
the  mild  seajion  and  well  fed  on  the  road,  will 
gain  in  flesh,  it  is  said  by  some,  almost  suffi- 
ciently to  pay  the  expenses  of  their  drift." 

The  number  of  cattle  of  all  descriptions 
brought  to  Brighton  frequently  exceeds  8,000 
head  on  a  market  day.  Many  of  these,  and  the 
proportion  increases,  instead  of  being  slaugh- 
tered, are  sold  on  the  hoof.  The  mathematical 
rules  and  tables,  so  much  in  use  in  England 
for  determining  the  live  weight  of  animals,  are 
seldom  resorted  to  in  the  United  States,  al- 
though they  are  said  to  give  very  exact  results. 
A  diagram  and  table  have  been  given  in  the 
preceding  part  of  this  article,  to  show  the  mode 
and  facilitate  the  process  of  making  estimates 
of  live  weight. 

By  the  revised  statutes  of  Massachusetts  it 
is  declared  that  "All  beef  cattle,  except  bulls, 
sold  in  market  by  weight,  shall,  when  slaugh- 
tered, be  prepared  for  weighing  in  the  follow- 
ing manner: — the  legs  shall  be  taken  off  at  the 
knee  and  gambrel  joint,  the  skin  shall  be  taken 
from  all  other  parts  of  the  animal,  the  head 
shall  be  taken  off  at  the  second  joint  of  the 
neck,  the  entrails  taken  out,  and  all  the  fat  of 
the  same  be  taken  oflf  and  weighed  as  rough 
tallow;  and  every  other  part  of  the  animal,  in- 
cluding the  hide  and  rough  tallow  (the  udder 
of  cows  excepted),  shall  be  weighed. 

"All  beef  shall  be  weighed  upon  the  first 
week-day  succeeding  that  on  which  it'may  be 
slaughtered,"  &c. 

Bearing  Calves. — As  so  many  different  opi- 
nions are  entertained  upon  the  subject  of  rear- 
ing calves,  some  of  the  views  derived  from 
high  sources  of  intelligence  will  be  stated. 

In  Pennsylvania,  heifers  intended  for  milch 
cows  are  generally  put  to  the  bull  at  fifteen  to 
eighteen  months  of  age,  in  preference  to  leaving 
them  run  to  a  greater  age.  Mr.  Isaac  W.  Ro- 
berts, of  Montgomery  county,  has  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  raising  and  fattening  cattle,  chiefly  of 
the  Durham  breed.  It  is  his  practice  to  take 
the  calves  of  this  fine  breed,  and,  when  two  or 
three  weeks  old,  put  them  with  common  native- 
bred  cows.  He  weans  at  three  or  four  months 
old,  when  the  calf  is  able  to  thrive  well  on 
grass  alone,  and  the  native  cow,  going  dry,  is 
soon  fit  for  the  butcher,  at  a  price  that  will 
nearly,  if  not  quite,  pay  for  her  first  cost  and  a 
fair  allowance  for  pasturage.  He  thinks  that 
calves  thus  raised  and  entering  the  winter  in 
good  condition,  being  properly  housed  and  fed 
during  cold  and  inclement  weather,  gain  nearly 
a  year  on  such  as  are  prematurely  weaned  or 
fed  on  skimmed  milk.  He  entirely  disapproves 
of  letting  calves  run  three  or  four  months  with 
valuable  cows  intended  for  breeding,  and  espe- 
cially where  milching  properties  are  to  be  re- 
tained. 

With  all  those  who  desire  to  possess  an  im- 
proved and  oelect  stock,  it  is  deemed  highly 
important  that  they  should  raise  their  own 
calves ;  and  this  is  rendered  the  more  import- 
ant from  the  high  prices  usually  to  be  obtained 
for  calves  of  the  best  breeds.     Mr.  Colman 


gives  the  following  information  upon  this  sub- 
ject, derived  from  his  observations  in  Massa- 
chusetts. "A  farmer  of  my  acquaintance  in 
the  interior  raises  all  his  calves  from  a  large 
stock  of  cows.  His  cows  are  known  to  be  of 
prime  quality.  His  heifers  are  allowed  to  come 
in  at  two  years  old,  and  are  then  sold  with 
their  first  calf  generally  for  thirty-five  dollars, 
which  he  deems  a  fair  compensation  for  the 
expense  of  raising.  His  calves  are  raised 
mainly  upon  skim-milk  and  whey,  until  they 
can  support  themselves  on  hay  and  grass.  His 
steers  pay  a  proportional  profit  when  sold  at 
three  to  four  years  old. 

"  The  English  authorities  say,  that  upon  two 
cows  calving  at  different  times,  seven  calves 
may  be  fattened  for  the  butcher  in  the  course 
of  the  year.  More  than  this  may  be  done  if 
the  calves  are  to  be  reared  for  stock,  and  if 
some  little  addition  of  meal  or  vegetables  is 
added  to  their  feed. 

"  Mr.  Jaques  remarks,  on  the  subject  of  rais- 
ing calves,  that  'he  generally  lets  them  take  a 
portion  of  milk  from  the  cows  for  about  three 
months,  and  prefers  keeping  them  in  the  stall 
until  they  are  about  a  year  old,  thinking  that 
he  gets  better  forms,  rounder  barrels,  straighter 
backs,  greater  broadness  on  the  loin  and  hips, 
by  this  management.  Calves  turned  to  grass  at 
two  and  three  months  old  become  pot-bellied, 
their  backs  bent,  acquire  a  narrowness  in  the 
loins,  and  seldom  get  over  the  defect  entirely.' 

"I  believe  that  it  is  decidedly  better  to  raise 
them  in  the  stall  or  yard  the  first  season,  as 
their  feed  is  much  more  uniform,  and  their 
growth  not  interrupted  by  sudden  changes. 
They  soon  learn  to  eat  hay;  and  carrots  or  po- 
tatoes cut  fine  for  them  will  be  found  highly 
beneficial.  In  all  cases  the  calf  should  be 
taken  from  the  cow  as  soon  after  his  birth  as 
the  cow's  udder  is  brought  into  good  condition 
and  her  milk  fit  for  use,  and  then  should  be  fed 
by  hand.  'In  my  opinion,'  says  a  highly  in- 
telligent farmer  of  Stockbridge,  'calves  rai<ed 
for  other  purposes  than  veal  should  be  early 
weaned  from  the  dam,  and  nursed  at  least  one 
year  upon  food  adapted  to  give  firmness  and 
expansion  of  muscle,  rather  than  to  fatten 
them.'  The  observation  of  another  farmer,  a 
plain  man,  but  one  of  the  most  observing  and 
practical  farmers  in  the  state,  is  deserving  of 
attention.  '  One  of  the  most  important  points,' 
says  he,  'in  the  feeding  of  the  calf,  is  to  feed 
him  well  when  the  grass  first  fails  in  the  fall 
by  frost.  If  suffered  to  fall  off"  then,  he  does  not 
i  recover,  and  suffers  more  by  scanty  food  than 
other  animals.' " 

There  are  many  ^ble  papers  on  subjects  re- 
lating to  cattle  dispersed  in  the  best  agricul- 
tural periodicals,  which  the  breeder  may  wish 
to  refer  to,  such  as  "  On  Stall-feeding  Cows  in 
I  Summer,"  by  Mr.  Collett  of  Christiana  in  Nor- 
I  way  (Com.  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  vi.  p.  60;  "On 
I  Soiling,"  by  Mr.  Curwen  {Ihid.  p.  49) ;  "  On 
I  their  Treatment  in  Winter,"  (Quart.  Journ.  of 
■Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  228;  "On  Fattening  Cattle  on 
'  different  Kinds  of  Food,"  by  Mr.  Brodie,  (Ibid. 
'  vol.  viii.  p.  327);  "On  Feeding  Cattle  on  Su- 
gar," by  Mr.  Ellis,  (Com.  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  vii. 
p.  327)  ;  and  "On  Potatoes,"  by  Sir  C.  Burrell 
,  (Ibid.  p.  323) ;  «  On  House  and  Yard-feeding 


CATTLE,  DISEASES  OF. 


CATTLE  SHEDS. 


Milch  Cows  for  the  Supply  of  Milk,"  by  Mr. 
Harley,  (Quart.  Journ.  J<;r.  vol.  i.  p.  170)  ;  see 
also  "The  Harleian  Dairy  System"  by  the 
same  gentleman,  and  "  On  a  celebrated  Yard- 
fed  Cow,"  the  property  of  Mr.  Cramp  of 
Lewes,  {Com.  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  vii.  p.  53).  It 
will,  perhaps,  surprise  an  English  farmer  to 
learn  to  what  coarse  unnatural  kind  of  food  ■ 
use  will  accustoia  animals.  The  cows  of  j 
Shetland  live  upon  the  coarsest  moss  and  sea- 
weed ;  those  of  still  more  northerly  regions  on 
even  animal  food.  In  Lapland  and  Iceland, 
according  to  Mr.  De  Broke,  the  cattle  are  uni- 
formly fed  on  fish.  "The  English  farmer's 
surprise,"  says  Mr.  Broke,  "  will  not  be  les- 
sened when  he  learns  that  the  animals  not 
only  devour  this  kind  of  food  with  the  greatest 
eagerness,  but  thrive  and  do  well  upon  it;  it 
seems  that  fish  heads  and  bones  are  boiled  to- 
gether with  some  hay  into  a  kind  of  soup,  and 
poured  into  the  mangers  of  the  poor  beasts." 

CATTLE  PLAGUE.  A  general  term  used 
to  designate  a  moat  destructive  infectious  pes- 
tilence, which  has  within  a  few  years  devas- 
tated the  herds  of  most  parts  of  Europe  and 
Bome  portions  of  the  U.  S.  In  France  it  is 
called  res(e^  and  Le  Typhm  contagieux  ties  hite* 
lovinex.  It  is  also  known  as  the  Siberian  Cat- 
tle Plague,  and  in  Germany,  Rinderpest.  In 
England  and  America  it  has  acquired  the 
name  of  Pleuro-pneumonia.  After  throe  years 
of  frightful  ravages  in  several  parts  of  the 
European  continent,  it  reached  England  in 
June,  IS*)'),  and  appears  to  have  been  intro- 
duced through  the  importation  of  a  lot  of 
bullocks  from  Ptussia,  shipped  from  Revel  and 
landed  at  Hull. 

With  regard  to  the  nature  of  this  disease, 
medical  authorities  are  much  divided  in  opin- 
ion, but  generally  agree  that  it  is  both  conta- 
gious and  infectious,  communicated  by  con- 
tact or  through  the  air.  In  experiments  made 
in  the  Albert  Veterinary  College,  animals 
took  the  disease  at  20  yards  distance;  100  or 
200  yards  in  some  cases  appears  to  have  se- 
cured immunity,  whilst  in  otlier  cases  the  dis- 
ease was  propagated  through  the  air  at  longer 
distances.  The  infection  may  be  drifted  along 
hollows  or  valleys  to  considerable  distances, 
whereas  in  the  open  country  it  becomes  so 
quickly  diluted  as  to  be  innocuous. 

Symptoms.  —  The  first  outward  sign  is  a  pe- 
culiar eruption  upon  the  lining  membrane  of 
the  mouth  and  of  the  vagina.  Two  days  after 
this  appearance,  marked  signs  of  illness  are 
apparent,  showing  that  the  constitution  has 
become  thoroughly  invaded.  Shivering,  un- 
easiness, and  muscular  twitchings  are  ob- 
served. In  some  cases  there  is  dulness.  and 
in  others  excitement,  amounting  even  to  deliri- 
um, associated  with  remarkable  sensitiveness 
There  is  often  a  short,  husky  cough.  The  appe- 
tite is  irregular,  capricious,  and  then  entirely 
lost ;  rumination  ceases.  The  animal  grinds  its 
teeth,  yawns,  arches  its  back,  and  draws  its 
legs  together  under  its  body.  The  eyes,  nose, 
and  mouth  are  dry,  red,  and  hot.  The  ex- 
tremities feel  cold,  though  the  internal  heat 
is  high,  rising  above  the  natural  temperature 
of  102°  to  10i°  and  107°  Fahrenheit.     This 


rise  of  temperature  is  regarded  as  the  most 
sure  indication  of  the  existence  of  the  disease. 
Constipation,  as  a  rule,  exists,  and  secretion 
is  generally  arrested  as  indicated  by  the  dry- 
ing up  of  milk  in  milch-cows.  The  breathing 
is  generally  -increased  in  frequency,  and  ac- 
companied with  a  low  moan  There  is  often 
a  staring  coat,  dry  skin,  and  eruption.  The 
muscular  twitchings  of  the  face  and  neck, 
though  characteristic,  are  not  so  much  so  as 
the  disehm'ge  from  eyes  and  nose,  which  is 
first  glary  and  watery,  and  afterwards  turbid. 
Animals  sometimes  exhibit  a  similar  secretion 
when  suffering  from  catarrh,  but  it  is  always 
an  early  symptom  of  rinderpest.  Lying  down 
and  rising,  looking  round  to  the  tlanks,  draw- 
ing the  hind  legs  forward,  as  if  suffering  from 
colic,  are  frequent  signs.  Severe  diarrhoea 
sets  in,  and  the  animal  becomes  very  thirsty. 
The  discharges  are  fcetid,  the  urine  scanty  and 
albuminous.  The  symptoms  increase  in  sever- 
ity three  days,  and  are  aggravated  at  night- 
time. Weakness  ensues,  rendering  standing 
and  walking  difficult.  The  pulse  becomes  fee- 
ble, thready,  and  rapid,  beating  from  90  to 
130  per  minute.  The  discharge  from  the 
eyes,  nose,  and  vagina  increases;  the  cough 
becomes  less  amlible;  the  angles  of  the  mouth 
and  nasal  orifices  are  ulcerate<l,  and  have  a 
greenish-yellow  and  somewhat  dense  granular 
deposit.  The  fteces,  at  first  dark  and  slimy, 
filled  with  detached  masses  from  the  mucous 
surfaces,  are  very  foetid,  and  more  or  less 
tinged  with  blood. 

In  the  lust  stage  the  mucous  membranes 
acquire  a  leaden  hue,  the  erosions  are  marked, 
blood-spots  occur,  and  the  discharges  become 
involuntary.  Relapses  are  not  unfrequent 
after  the  third  day,  and  even  later. 

Various  accounts  of  this  destructive  cattle 
plague  have  been  given  by  committees  of  in- 
vestigation, appointed  by  governments  and 
agricultural  associations  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. See  Reports  of  the  U.  S.  Agricultural 
Department  for  1800,  for  report  made  to  that 
Bureau  by  Drs.  G.  Emerson  and  A.  L.  Elwyn. 
Also  the  Report  issued  by  the  same  Depart- 
ment in  18Go,  containing  the  valuable  essay  of 
J  R.  Dodge,  in  which  the  medical  and  hygienic 
treatments  are  referred  to.     See  Murr.\in. 

CATTLE  SHEDS.  The  cow-house  should 
be  a  capacious,  well-lighted,  and  well-venti- 
lated building,  in  which  the  cows  or  oxen  can 
be  kept  dry,  clean,  and  moderately  warm ;  a 
temperature  of  about  60°  is  perhaps  the  best. 
It  is  a  mistaken  idea  that  cattle  suffer  materi- 
ally by  dry  cold.  It  is  the  wet  and  the  damp 
walls,  yard,  and  driving  rains,  and  fogs  of 
winter,  that  are  so  injurious  to  them.  In  this 
respect  the  Dutch  farmers  are  very  particular. 
They  have  their  cows  regularly  groomed,  and 
the  walks  behind  them  sprinkled  with  sand. 
A  clean  and  dry  bed,  a  portion  of  a  trough  to 
give  them  water,  and  another  portion  for  their 
oil  cake,  or  mangel,  or  turnips,  and  a  rack  for 
their  dry  food,  will  all  be  necessary  comforts. 
These,  with  regular  feeding,  a  lump  of  rock- 
salt  in  the  manger,  and  occasional  variations 
if  possible  in  the  food,  are  the  chief  points  lo 
be  attended  to  in  the  stall  management  oi  cat- 

30.'t 


r 
CAUF. 

tie.  {Brit.  Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  202;  vol.  ii.  p.  399.) 
See  Ventilation. 

CAUF.  A  chest  with  holes  in  the  top  to 
keep  fish  alive  in  the  water. 

CAUKER,  or  CALKERS.  A  terra  employed 
in  farrier}'  to  signify  bending  or  turning  up  of 
the  heels  c.f  the  shoes  of  horses,  and  intended 
to  prevent  the  animal  slipping.  This  method, 
though  once  general,  is  now  commonly  limited 
to  the  outside  heel  of  the  shoes  of  the  hind 
feet.  f 

CAULIFEROUS  (From  catdis,  a  stalk,  and 
fero,  to  bear).  A  term  applied  to  such  plants 
as  are  furnished  with  a  stalk  which  bear 
shoots,  as  the  cauliflower,  cabbage,  &c. 

CAULIFLOWER  (From  Lat.  caulis;  Bras- 
tica  oleracea  botrytis).  A  species  of  brassica,  of 
which  there  are  two  varieties; — the  early, 
which  is  smallest  and  most  fit  for  growth  under 
lights,  for  the  winter-standing  crop;  and  the 
large,  for  the  open  ground  plantations.  Cauli- 
flower is  propagated  by  seed;  the  first  sowing 
to  take  place  at  the  close  of  January  or  early 
in  February,  in  a  slight  hot-bed,  or  warm  bor- 
der, in  either  situation  to  have  the  protection 
of  a  frame.  The  plants  are  fit  to  be  pricked 
out  in  March  in  similar  situations,  and  for 
final  removal  into  the  open  ground  during 
April  and  May;  and  some  to  be  placed  under 
hand-glasses  fcr  more  immediately  succeeding 
the  winter-standing  crop.  At  the  beginning  of 
March  and  April  another  sowing  is  to  be  per- 
formed in  a  sheltered  border,  the  seedlings  of 
which  may  be  pricked  out  in  May,  and  planted 
finally  in  June  for  protection  at  the  end  of 
summer.  Again,  another  sowing  may  be  done 
in  the  last  week  of  May ;  for  pricking  out,  in 
June;  and  for  final  planting,  the  end  of  July; 
to  produce  during  October  and  November,  and 
in  favourable  seasons  until  Christmas.  The 
,seed  of  these  sowings  must  be  inserted  broad- 
cast, and  covered  half  an  inch  thick  with  fine 
mould.  The  seedlings  are  of  sufiicient  size  for 
pricking  out  when  they  have  four  or  five 
leaves,  about  an  inch  in  breadth  ;  they  must  be 
set  three  or  four  inches  apart  each  way.  Water 
must  be  given  moderately,  both  in  the  seed-bed 
and  at  the  time  of  removal,  if  the  weather  is  at 
all  dry.  When  finally  set  out,  they  must  be 
planted  in  rows  two  inches  and  a  half  apart 
each  way.  The  mould  must  be  frequently 
loosened  by  the  hoe,  and  drawn  up  about  their 
stems.  In  dry  weather  during  summer,  a  cup- 
like hollow  should  be  formed  round  each  plant, 
and  filled  twice  a  week  with  water ;  but  as  soon 
as  the  flower  makes  its  appearance,  it  must  be 
applied  every  other  day.  As  the  head  appears 
exposed,  it  is  advantageous  to  break  some  of 
the  leaves,  and  turn  them  over  it  as  a  shelter 
from  the  sun  :  this  preser/es  then  from  becom- 
ing of  a  )'ellow  hue,  as  well  as  retards  their 
advancing  to  seed. 

Winterslanding  crop. — The  seed  for  this  crop 
must  be  sown  in  the  third  week  of  August,  in 
a  warm  border  or  an  old  hot-bed,  with  the  pro- 
tection of  a  frame  or  hand-glass.  That  the 
cauliflower,  though  the  most  tender  of  the 
brassica  tribe,  is  not  so  impatient  of  cold  as 
some  gardeners  are  led  to  imagine,  is  demon- 
strated by  the  fact,  that  the  imperfect  covering 
f  f  mats  will  almost  always  preserve  the  plants 
304 


CAULIFLOWER. 

unmjured  through  the  winter ;  and  the  practice 
of  Mr.  Bull,  of  Rossie  Priory,  North  Britain, 
proves  that  it  is  scarce Y  raore  so  than  the 
broccoli.  He  sows  in  the  last  weea  ut  August, 
transplants  in  the  middle  or  end  of  November, 
and  often  does  not  even  afford  the  plants  the 
protection  of  a  south  wall,  and  no  description 
of  covering.  Plants  thus  raised  are  healthier, 
and  produce  finer  heads  than  those  which 
have  additional  shelter,  though  they  are  not  sc 
forward,  neither  are  they  subject  to  be  hlach- 
shanked.  (Mem.  Caled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  192.) 

The  seed-bed,  if  not  one  that  has  grown  cu- 
cumbers, &c.,  must  be  well  manured  with  dung 
from  a  cucumber  bed,  or,  as  is  sometimes  re- 
commended, a  basis  five  or  six  inches  thick  of 
dung  in  a  perfectly  decayed  state  must  be 
formed,  firmly  trodden  down,  and  covered  with 
a  similar  thickness  of  light  rich  mould:  in  this 
the  seed  is  to  be  sown  and  buried  a  quarter 
of  an  inch  deep,  and,  during  the  meridian  of 
hot  days,  shaded  with  matting.  Moderate 
waterings  must  be  given,  as  may  seem  neces- 
sary. The  plants  appear  in  about  a  week,  and 
the  shading  and  watering  must  in  like  manner 
be  afforded. 

The  plants  are  fit  for  pricking  out  at  the 
close  of  September,  when  their  leaves  are 
rather  more  than  an  inch  wide.  They  should 
be  placed  in  a  similar  soil  and  situation  to  that 
from  which  they  were  removed.  Towards  the 
end  of  October,  or  first  week  in  November, 
they  must  be  removed,  and  planted  in  patches 
of  from  three  to  six  together,  these  clusters 
being  in  rows  three  feet  apart  each  way  are  to 
be  sheltered  with  hand-glasses  until  the  spring. 
At  the  end  of  February,  if  an  open  season,  or 
not  until  March  if  otherwise,  part  of  the  plants 
may  be  removed  from  under  the  hand-glasses, 
two  strong  ones  being  left  under  each  glass, 
and  set  out  in  the  open  ground ;  the  soil  and 
sheltered  situation  being  as  nearly  similar  to 
that  from  which  they  are  taken  as  possible. 
Some,  also,  may  be  planted  out  from  the 
frames ;  but  from  either  situation  these  re- 
movals must  be  concluded  by  the  middle  of 
April.  Care  must  be  taken  to  remove  the 
plants  with  as  much  earth  as  possible  retained 
to  their  roots,  and  they  are  to  be  planted  at  a 
similar  distance  as  was  recommended  for  the 
other  open-ground  crops. 

Those  continued  under  the  glasses  must 
have  air  admitted  as  freely  as  possible,  and 
other  precautions  adopted  that  were  recom- 
mended during  their  winter  growth.  Earth 
should  be  drawn  carefully  about  their  stems, 
without  any  being  allowed  to  fall  into  their 
hearts.  When  they  fill  the  glasses,  these  last 
are  easily  raised  by  a  circular  mound,  four  or 
five  inches  high,  thrown  up  round  them.  In 
mild  weather,  hot  sunny  days,  and  during  ge- 
nial showers,  the  glasses  may  be  taken  com- 
pletely oflf,  but  replaced  at  nfght.  The  plants 
being  thus  hardened  by  degrees,  and  when  al*. 
danger  of  frost  is  past,  about  the  end  of  April 
or  early  in  May  the  glasses  may  be  entirely 
removed.  The  leaves  are  to  be  broken  down 
over  the  heads,  as  before  directed.  For  the 
production  of  seed,  some  plants  of  the  winter 
standing  crop  which  have  fine  and  firm  head 
must  be  selected,  as  these  will  produce  ♦'■» 


CAUSTIC. 


CELERY. 


best  seed,  though  not  in  such  qua.itity  as  those 
of  a  looser  texture.  For  the  necessary  treat- 
ment, see  Broccoli.  The  seed  ripens  in  Sep- 
tember, and  the  branches  should  be  gathered 
as  soon  as  this  occurs,  and  not  allowed  to  re- 
main until  the  whole  is  fit  for  collecting.  The 
seed  remains,  if  carefully  preserved,  in  a  good 
state  for  use  until  it  is  three  or  four  years  old. 
(G.  W.  Juhnsoii's  Kitchen  Gard.) 

CAUSTIC.  In  farriery,  a  substance  which, 
by  its  powerful  operation,  destroys  the  texture 
of  the  part  to  which  it  is  applied.  Corrosive 
sublimate  is  the  best  caustic;  but  that  requires 
skilful  hands,  for  it  is  a  dangerous  remedy  ex- 
cept in  the  hands  of  the  veterinarian.  Mix  one 
drachm  of  powdered  verdigris  with  one  ounce 
of  basilicon  ointment;  apply  this  upon  a  piece 
of  tow:  or  a  drachm  of  blue  stone  (sulphate  of 
copper),  dissolved  in  one  ounce  of  water  may 
be  used;  or  lunar  caustic  in  a  quill  maybe 
rubbed  on  to  the  diseased  part. 

CAUTERY,  or  CAUTING-IRON  (Old  Fr. 
cautere).  In  farriery,  a  name  given  to  a  searing- 
iron,  which  is  made  white  hot,  and  used  to  de- 
stroy funirous  flesh,  &c. 

CAVES.SON,  or  CAVEZON  (Fr.).  In 
horsemanship,  a  term  applied  to  an  apparatus 
resembling  the  musrol,  which  is  used  in  the 
breaking  of  horses.  From  its  formation,  it 
binds  and  pinches  the  nose,  and  regulates  the 
action  of  the  animal  to  which  it  is  applied. 

CAZZONS.  A  provincial  word  used  to  sig- 
nify the  dried  dung  of  cattle  for  fuel. 

CEDARS.    See  Ctpress. 

CEDARS  OF  LEBANON  (Mies  cerirus). 
This  sovereign  of  the  forest  appears  to  have 
been  indigenous  to  Mount  Lebanon :  but  at 
what  period  it  was  first  introduced  into  Eng- 
land is  not  known.  This  noble  tree  is  now  so 
well  naturalized  in  England,  that  the  seeds  not 
only  ripen,  but  propagate  themselves  without 
care  or  trouble.  One  of  the  cedars  at  Chiswick 
measures  13  feet  4  inches  in  circumference, 
and  is  80  feet  high ;  but  the  largest  now  re- 
maining on  Lebanon  is  9  feet  in  diameter,  or 
27  in  circumference.  Cedar  wood  is  known 
to  be  very  durable ;  the  ancients  believed  it  to 
be  imperishable.  But  according  to  Mr.  Drum- 
mond  Hay's  observations  at  Tangier,  the  in- 
destructible cedar  wood  is  the  ti  nber  of  the 
Sandarac  tree  (Thuja  articulata). 

CEDAR,  RED  (Juniperus  Virginiana).  This 
North  American  tree  belonging  to  the  junipers, 
is  the  most  common  species  of  its  genus  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  "only  one  which  attains 
a  size  adapting  it  to  the  useful  arts.  Next  to 
that  found  in  Bermuda,  it  is  the  largest  of  the 
junipers  hitherto  discovered.  It  is  found  along 
the  lands  bordering  the  Atlantic,  from  Maine 
to  the  extreme  South,  and  even  passing  round 
Cape  Florida,  shows  itself  beyond  St.  Bernard's 
Bay  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  retiring  from 
the  shore,  it  becomes  gradually  less  common 
and  less  vigorous,  and  in  Virginia  and  the 
more  Southern  States  it  is  rare  above  tide- 
water. Farther  inland,  it  is  seen  only  in  the 
form  of  a  shrub  in  open,  dry,  sandy  places.  In 
the  most  favourable  situations  along  the 
southern  sea  shore,  it  attains  a  height  of  40  or 
45  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  12  or  13  inches. 

The  leaves  are  evergreen,  numerously  sub- 
39 


divided,  and  when  bruised  diffuse  a  resinous, 
aromatic  odour.  The  seeds  are  small  ovate 
berries,  bluish  when  ripe,  and  coated  with  a 
whitish  exudation.  They  arrive  at  pefeciion 
in  the  beginning  of  the  fall,  and  are  greedily 
devoured  by  cedar  birds,  robins,  &c.  If  sown 
immediately,  the  greater  part  of  them  will  come 
up  the  following  spring;  but  they  will  not 
shoot  before  the  second  year  if  they  are  kept 
for  several  months. 

The  wood  is  odorous,  compact,  fine-grained 
and  very  light,  though  heavier  and  stronger 
than  that  of  the  white  cedar  and  cypress.  To 
these  qualities  it  unites  the  still  more  precious 
character  of  durability,  and  is  consequently 
highly  esteemed  for  such  purposes  as  require 
it  in  an  eminent  degree.  But  as  it  is  procured 
with  difficulty,  and  is  every  day  becoming  more 
scarce,  it  is  reserved  exclusively  for  the  most 
important  uses.  The  name  of  Red  Cedar  is 
only  applicable  to  the  perfect  wood,  which  is 
of  a  bright  tint ;  the  sap  is  perfectly  white.  The 
nearer  the  red  cedar  grows  to  the  sea  and  the 
farther  southward,  the  better  is  its  wood.  The 
chief  supply  now  comes  from  East  Florida. 
(Mirhaux.)     See  Ctpress,  and  Fin. 

CELANDLNE,  COMMON  (Chdidonium  ma- 
jus).  Celandine  is  a  wild  plant  with  large 
leaves  and  bright  yellow  flowers,  growing  in 
shady  places,  waste  and  untilled  lands,  and 
thickets,  &c..  especially  on  a  chalky  soil,  and 
flowering  from  April  through  the  summer.  It 
grows  two  feet  high,  and  the  stalks  are  round 
and  green.  The  leaves  are  large,  long,  and 
deeply  divided  at  the  edges,  and  of  a  yellowish 
green,  standing  two  at  each  joint.  The  flowers 
are  small ;  several  together  upon  long  foot- 
stalks. Every  part  is  brittle,  and  if  )0u  crush 
the  stalk  or  leaves  an  orange-coloured  acrid 
juice  is  expressed,  which  is  medicinal. 

There  are  two  species  of  celandine,  or  horned 
pojypy,  found  in  the  United  States.  The  greater, 
or  common  celandine,  (C.  mujus),  nas  an  ac- 
rimonious juice  of  a  saffron  colour,  which  is 
a  popular  remedy  for  warty  excrescences,  as 
well    as    for  ring-worms,  tetter,  the  itch.  «fec. 

The  sea  celandine,  (C.  glaucuvi),  or  yelhw' 
horned  poppy,  flourishes  in  the  sandy  soil  along 
the  sea  and  bay  shores  where  it  is  quite  orna- 
mental.   Its  juice  is  said  to  be  poisonous. 

CELERY  (Jpium  graveolens).  This  is  the 
wild  original  of  cultivated  celery.  The  name 
probably  proceeded  from  apex,  a  tuft  or  crest, 
which  its  umbels  form).  This  class  of  plants 
flourish  best  in  a  moist  soil,  friable,  and  rather 
inclining  to  lightness ;  it  must  be  rich,  and 
that  rather  from  prior  application  than  the  im- 
mediate addition  of  manure  ;  celery  and  cele- 
riac,  however,  appear  benefited  even  by  its 
abundant  application  at  the  time  of  sowing 
and  planting.  The  parsleys,  likewise,  prefer 
their  soil  to  incline  rather  to  dryness.  For  all 
it  must  be  deep,  and  all  equally  refuse  to  thrive 
on  a  strong  clayey  soil.  The  situation  they 
thrive  the  most  in  is  one  that  is  as  open  and  as 
free  from  the  influence  of  trees  as  possible. 
The  common  parsley  is  the  one  that  bears  best 
a  confined  or  shady  compartment. 

There  are  six  varieties  of  celery  in  general 
cultivation: — the  gigantic,  the  dwarf-curled,  thn 
common  upright,  red-stalked  uprignt,  giant  ho* 
2  c  2  303 


CELERY. 


CELERY. 


low  TiprijE^ht,  and  the  solid-stalked  (red  and 
white).  Tiic  red  is  reared  chiefly  for  soups, 
the  while  being  much  more  delicate  in  flavour. 
It  is  propagated  by  seed.  The  first  sowing 
should  be  performed  either  in  a  hotbed  or  on  a 
warm,  light  border,  towards  the  end  of  Febru- 
ary; some  gardeners  even  insert  it  as  early  as 
the  middle  of  January.  The  border  is  by  many 
gardeners  considered  the  best  situation,  inas- 
much as  the  plants  are  more  hardy,  and  with 
proper  care  come  forward  with  scarcely  any 
diflerence  as  to  time.  This  is  to  be  repeated 
in  March;  but  the  principal  sowings  must  take 
place  in  April  and  May,  and  the  last  one  in 
June.  As  the  produce  of  the  early  sowings 
will  not  continue  long  in  a  state  fit  for  use, 
from  their  leaf-stalks  becoming  piped  or  hol- 
low, they  must  be  proportionably  small ;  they 
must  all  be  inserted  broadcast,  and  the  seed 
scattered  thinly.  The  seed-beds  of  the  early 
sowings  should  be  light  and  dry,  with  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  sun  throughout  the  day,  but 
for  the  three  last  in  a  moist  situation ;  and  it 
is  advantageous  for  them  to  have  a  free  ex- 
posure to  the  morning  sun  only,  yet  free  from 
the  drip  of  trees ;  so  advantageous  is  it  to  have 
the  plants  of  these  sowings  as  luxuriant  as  pos- 
sible in  their  first  stage  of  grov/th,  that  to  afford 
them  as  regular  and  unstinted  a  supply  of  nou- 
rishment as  possible,  the  mould  of  the  seed-bed 
is  often  formed  artificially.  Mr.  Walker,  gar- 
dener to  J.  Walker,  Esq.,  of  Longford,  Scotland, 
recommends  it  to  be  formed  of  black  loamy 
soil  and  old  hotbed  dung  in  equal  parts.  (Mem. 
Caled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  295.)  The  plants 
from  these  several  sowings  will  in  general  be 
ready  for  pricking  out  in  four  or  six  weeks 
from  the  time  of  insertion,  and  for  final  plant- 
ing after  a  further  continued  growth  of  two 
months.  A  more  determinate  datum  for  judg- 
ing the  appropriate  time  for  performing  these 
operations  is  the  size  of  the  plants,  they  being 
fit  for  the  first  removal  when  three  or  four 
inches  in  height,  and  for  the  second  when 
seven  or  eight.  From  the  above  enumerated 
sowings,  monthly  planting's  may  be  succession- 
ally  made  from  the  commencement  of  June  un- 
til September  closes ;  but  for  the  supply  of  a 
family,  a  sowing  at  the  close  of  February  for 
production  during  the  same  year,  and  another 
about  the  middle  of  May,  to  yield  a  produce  in 
the  winter  and  the  following  spring,  will  in 
general  be  amply  sufficient 

They  are  usually  planted  out  finally  in 
trenches,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  wide, 
and  at  least  four  feet  apart  To  cut  the  trench 
straight  and  with  firm  sides,  the  spade  should 
be  thrust  down  all  along  the  line  which  marks 
the  boundary  on  each  side,  previous  to  digging 
out  the  earth :  the  top  spit  of  mould  through- 
out the  length  must  be  turned  alternately  on 
either  side,  for  this  is  required  in  the  after  cul- 
tivation for  earthing  up  the  plants.  Some  wellr 
putrefied  dung,  two  or  three  inches  thick,  must 
be  then  spread  along  the  bottom  and  dug  in, 
care  being  taken  that  its  surface  is  not  more 
than  four  inches  below  the  regular  surface  of 
tne  soil.  Mr.  Walker  here  recommends  the 
same  unsparing  application  of  manure;  he 
forms  the  soil  in  his  trenches  of  three  parts 
dung  and  one  part  fresh,  strong  soil.  (Mem. 
30ft 


Caled.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  296.)  By  this  abun- 
dant application  of  manure  his  celery  un- 
doubtedly obtains  a  fine  growth,  being  often 
4^  feet  long,  and  averaging  6  lbs.  weight;  but 
at  the  same  time  it  is  to  be  remarked,  that 
many  soils  will  grow  it  equally  fine  without 
such  immoderate  application. 

Celery,  as  before  mentioned,  delights  in  a 
soil  abounding  in  fertilizing  matter;  the  mode 
adopted  to  effect  this,  as  practised  by  Mr.  Judd, 
gardener  to  C.  Campbell,  Esq.,  of  Edmonton,  is 
one  which  with  equal  advantage  may  be  adopt- 
ed for  any  crop  requiring  a  very  rich  soil ;  he 
prepares  his  ground  in  the  winter  preceding 
the  time  of  planting,  or  as  long  before  as  con- 
venient, by  manuring  and  trenching  it  two 
spades  deep,  performing  this  last  operation 
twice,  that  the  dung  may  be  better  incorporated 
with  the  soil,  and  then  leaves  it  as  rough  as 
possible  until  the  time  arrives  for  forming  the 
trenches,  at  the  bottom  of  which  he  also  turns 
in  some  manure.  (Trans.  Hort.  Soc.  Land.  vol. 
iii.  p.  46.)  As  celery  is  very  apt  to  decay  in 
winter  on  account  of  excessive  moisture,  it 
would  undoubtedly  be  a  good  practice,  after 
preparing  the  ground  as  just  detailed,  to  plant 
in  row^s  five  or  six  feet  apart  on  the  surface, 
taking  the  mould  required  for  earthing  them 
up  from  this  allotted  space. 

Before  planting,  the  long  straggling  leaves 
are  to  be  cut  away,  and  any  side  offsets  re- 
moved ;  but  if  the  plants  are  older  or  larger  in 
growth  than  before  mentioned,  the  tops  of  the 
leaves  may  be  generally  removed,  which  serves 
to  check  their  running  to  seed,  which  they  are 
otherwise  apt  to  do.  After  this  preparation, 
they  ma)''  be  planted,  a  single  row  in  each 
trench,  about  eighteen  inches  apart  Mr.  Judd 
says  that  he  finds  the  plants  much  injured  in 
their  future  growth  if,  during  any  of  their  re- 
movals, their  roots  become  at  all  dry;  there- 
fore, when  taking  them  either  from  the  seed- 
bed or  for  final  planting,  he  lays  them,  as  he 
draws  them  from  the  ground,  in  a  garden  pan 
containing  a  little  water.  (Ibid.  p.  45.)  Plant- 
ing is  best  performed  in  the  evening,  and  water 
should  be  given  plenteously  at  the  time,  as  well 
as  every  other  day  subsequently  until  they  are 
well  established.  Earthing  them  up  must  com- 
mence Avhen  they  are  about  a  foot  high,  and 
may  be  continued  until  the  plants  are  fit  for 
use,  or  are  one  foot  and  a  half  high  and  up- 
wards. In  performing  it  one  person  must  hold 
the  bases  of  the  plants  together,  whilst  a  second 
regularly  follows  and  throws  in  the  soil,  other- 
wise the  mould  separating  the  leaves  breaks 
them  and  induces  decay,  and  ofttimes  destroys 
them  by  injuring  the  heart    (Ibid.  p.  47.) 

The  earthing  is  best  performed  gradually,  a 
few  inches  being  added  once>  a  week,  and  a  dry 
day  always  selected  to  perform  it  in.  In  very 
severe  weather  the  winter  standing  crops  should 
be  covered  with  straw  or  other  litter,  care  being 
taken  always  to  remove  it  in  mild  days.  On 
the  arrival  of  frost  a  quantity  may  be  taken  up 
and  buried  in  sand  under  shelter.  As  celery 
will  not  continue  in  perfection  except  in  winter 
more  than  three  or  four  weeks  after  bleaching, 
it  is  advisable  for  family  use  only  to  make 
small  plantations  of  the  early  crops  at  a  time. 
To  raise  seed,  some  plants  must  be  left  where 


CELERY. 


CHAFF-ENGINES. 


grown ;  or  in  February  or  March  some  may  be 
carefully  taken  up,  and,  after  the  outside  leaves 
are  cut  off  and  all  laterals  removed,  planted  in 
a  moist  soil  a  foot  apart.  Those  which  are 
most  solid  and  of  a  middling  size  are  to  be  se- 
lected. When  they  branch  for  seed  they  must 
be  each  attached  to  a  stake,  to  preserve  them 
from  being  broken  by  the  violence  of  winds. 
The  flower  appears  in  June,  and  when  the  seed 
is  swelling  in  July,  if  dry  weather  occurs,  they 
should  be  watered  every  other  night.  In  Au- 
gust the  seed  will  be  ripe,  and  when  perfectly 
dry,  may  be  rubbed  out  and  stored.  A  variety 
of  celery  with  a  roundish  root  (^pium  rapure- 
um),  is  sometimes  cultivated  in  gardens.  (G. 
W.  Johnson's  Kitch.  Gard. ;  Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p. 
575  ;    WilUch's  Dom.  Encyc.) 

CELERY,  WILD,  or  SMALLAGE  PARS- 
LEY {Jlpium  graveolens).  This  is  a  biennial, 
found  in  ditches  and  marshy  ground,  especially 
towards  the  sea;  root  tap-shaped,  herb  smooth 
and  shining.  Flowers  numerous,  small,  green- 
ish white.  The  seeds  and  whole  plant  in  its 
native  ditches  are  acrid  and  dangerous,  with  a 
peculiar  strong  taste  and  smell ;  but  by  culture 
it  becomes  the  mild  and  grateful  garden  cele- 
ry, for  which  and  its  name  we  are  indebted  to 
the  Italians,  and  which  has  now  supplanted 
our  native  Alexanders  {Stuyrnium  olusatrum). 
{Snnth's  Eng.  Fhra,  vol.  ii.  p.  75.) 

CELL  (Lat.  cella).  In  botany,  the  hollow 
part  of  a  capsule  in  which  the  seeds  are  lodged, 
and  also  the  part  of  the  anthers  which  contains 
the  pollen. 

CELLS.  The  small  divisions  in  honey- 
combs, which  have  been  observed  to  be  al- 
ways regular  hexagons.  They  also  denote  the 
hollow  places  between  the  partitions  in  the 
pods,  husks,  and  other  seed-vessels  of  plants. 

CELL.  The  vegetable  cell,  the  simplest 
element  of  growth  and  development,  consists 
of  a  closed  vessel  like  an  eg^,  and  is  composed 
of  an  outer  solid  membrane  which  contains  a 
fluid,  and  matter  floating  in  the  fluid,  or  at- 
tached to  the  sides.  At  first  the  enclosing 
membrane  is  very  delicate,  and  is  called  a 
utricle;  if  this  remains  closed  throughout  its 
life,  it  is  called  "a  cell;"  if  the  sides  of  sev- 
eral adjoining  cells  disappear,  and  the  series 
is  arranged  into  a  tube,  it  becomes  "a  vessel." 
Cells  are  the  base  of  all  vegetation.  The  red 
snow-plant,  and  the  yeast-plant,  are  single 
cells.  The  snow-plant,  so  graphically  de- 
scribed by  Kane  and  other  Arctic  explorers, 
is  one  cell,  with  little  particles  floating  within. 
These  particles  become  cells  themselves,  in 
time,  and  the  outer  coat  bursting,  lets  them 
escape  to  commence  an  individual  existence 
themselves.  Cells  vary  in  form  in  diflferent 
plants,  and  even  in  the  same  plant  they,  by 
overcrowding  here  and  loosening  there,  get 
distorted  in  shape.  In  the  stems  of  water- 
lilies  some  of  the  cells  are  star-shaped,  while 
in  the  wood  of  trees  they  are  long  and  pipe- 
like. The  diameter  of  cells  averages  from 
1 -1200th  of  an  inch  up  to  l-250th;  but  the 
common  puff-ball  of  our  pastures,  when  bro- 
ken, spirts  out  a  fine  brown  powder,  each 
particle  of  which  is  a  cell,  or  sj)hore,  as  it  is 
termed,  of  infinitesimal  diameter. 

The  membranous  wall  of  cells  is  of  different 


toughness.  In  the  sea-weed,  it  is  very  soft; 
in  ash,  hickory,  and  mahogany,  very  bard; 
and  in  vegetable  ivory,  harder  still.  Cell 
membrane  never  dissolves  in  water,  but  swells. 
It  is  called  "cellulose,"  and  is  composed  of 
oxygen,  hydrogen,  and  nitrogen,  chemically 
written  thus :  C.  12 ;  0. 10 ;  H,  10.  The  spaces 
between  the  cells  of  a  plant  are  filled  vari- 
ously:—  sometimes  with  air  ;  in  the  common 
red  cedar,  with  minute  grains  of  red  aromatic 
rosin ;  in  sumach,  with  a  thick  milky  sap  ;  and 
in  other  plants,  with  gums.  The  contents  also 
of  cells  vary.  The  growing  cells  of  some 
plants,  as  asparagus,  are  more  nutritious,  be- 
cause they  contain  some  nitrogen,  which  goes 
toward  making  muscle  in  the  animal  body. 

CERATE  (derived  from  rera,  wax.)  Cerates 
are  ointments  of  rather  stiff  consistence;  sim- 
ple cerate  is  made  by  melting  together  sweet  oil 
and  beeswax,  or  hog's  lard  and  beeswax,  or 
all  three  together.  The  oil  or  lard  employed 
should  always  be  fresh,  as  nothing  irritates  or 
prevents  the  healing  of  wounds  more  than 
rancid  applications. 

CERES.  The  Roman  Pagan  goddess  of 
corn  and  harvests;  the  Isis  of  the  Egyptians. 
The  festivals  to  her  honour  were  denominated, 
at  Rome,  the  Cerealia  or  Cerealion,  hence  the 
term  Cerealian  grass;  and  Sicily,  long  cele- 
brated for  its  corn,  was  supposed  to  be  her 
favourite  retreat. 

CEREAL,  relating  to  com  or  grain.  Cereal 
plants  are  the  various  kinds  of  grain.  Cereal 
gras.ses  are  all  those  raised  to  supply  bread- 
stufls,  such  as  wheat,  rye,  Indian  corn,  &c. 

CERINE.  A  substance  which  forms  from 
seventy  to  eighty  per  cent,  of  beeswax.  It 
may  be  obtained  by  digesting  wax,  for  some 
time,  in  spirits  of  wine,  at  a  boiling  tempera- 
ture, after  which  the  cerine  is  decanted  with 
the  liquor,  from  which  it  is  cleared  by  evapo- 
ration. It  is  white,  analogous  to  wax,  and 
melts  at  134°  Fahrenheit. 

CHACK.  A  term  used  in  horsemanship 
when  a  horse  beats  upon  the  hand,  and  does  not 
hold  his  head  steady,  but  tosses  up  his  nose, 
and  shakes  it  all  of  a  sudden,  to  avoid  the  sub- 
jection of  the  bridle.  In  order  to  fix  and  secure 
his  head,  it  is  only  necessary  to  put  under  his 
nose-band  a  small  flat  ligature  of  iron,  bent 
archwise,  which  serves  as  a  martingale. 

CHAFF  (Sax.ceap;  Dutch, A:a/).  The  husks 
of  corn  which  are  separated  by  thrashing  and 
winnowing.  It  likewise  implies  hay,  straw, 
&c.  cut  small,  for  the  purpose  of  being  given 
to  horses  and  other  cattle. 

CHAFF-ENGINES.  That  chaff  has  been 
employed  as  provender  for  live-stock  from  a 
very  early  period,  we  have  abundant  evidence. 
Cato  (lib.  54)  recommends  it  for  oxen  ;  and 
two  centuries  since,  Hartlib  recommended  its 
use,  mixed  with  cut  oats  and  peas.  The  mode 
of  preparing,  the  chaff,  however,  from  hay  and 
straw  by  the  knife,  was  a  later  improvement, 
and  the  first  machines  were  rude  and  incom- 
plete. 

We  are  not  aware  (says  Mr.  J.  A.  Ransome 
of  Ipswich,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  this  and 
other  valuable  articles  on  the  implements  of 
agriculture)  of  any  attempt  to  improve  npta 
the  plan  of  pressing  the  hay  in  a  trough,  and 

307 


CHAFF-ENGINES. 


CHAFF-ENGINES. 


by  hand  bringing  it  by  small  portions  to  the 
front  edge,  where  it  was  severed  by  a  long 
knife  attached  to  the  end  of  a  lever,  till  in 
1794-5  the  Rev.  J.  Cooke  of  Holborn,  London, 
and  W.  Naylor  of  Langstock,  respectively  ob- 
tained patents  for  machines  for  expediting  the 
process. 

In  the  year  1797  we  find  Robert  Salmon,  of 
Woburn,  whose  inventive  talent  and  practical 
experience  added  many  and  various  original 
ideas  and  improvements  to  the  then  limited 
knowledge  of  agricultural  mechanics,  con- 
structed a  chaff-engine,  which,  although  cum- 
brous in  its  appearance,  was  effective  in  its 
operation,  and  furnished  the  original  idea, 
which  was  subsequently  improved  upon;  first, 
by  Rowntree,  and  afterwards  by  Thos.  Pass- 
more  of  Doncaster;  the  latter  of  whom,  in 
1804,  patented  the  machine  known  as  the  Don- 
caster  engine,  upon  the  plan  of  which,  for 
many  years,  most  of  the  engines  in  the  mid- 
land and  eastern  counties  were  made ;  and 
even  at  the  present  time,  few  of  the  machines 
in  general  use  are  found  more  effective.  A 
reward  of  thirty  guineas  was  conferred  on 
Salmon  by  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement 
of  Arts,  &c.  for  this  improved  machine. 

Passmore's  machine  was  a  simplification 
and  improvement  on  Salmon's  straw-cutter. 

In  1800  and  1801,  W.  Lester  of  Paddington 
patented  a  straw-cutter,  which,  with  some  alte- 
rations, is  much  used  at  the  present  day,  and 
is  known  as  the  "  Lester  engine."  It  is  a  very 
simple  machine,  having  but  one  knife,  placed 
on  a  fly-wheel;  the  fly-wheel  turns  on  a  cranked 
spindle,  which  communicates  motion  to  a  rat- 
chet-wheel fixed  at  the  end  of  one  of  the  feed- 
ing-rollers by  means  of  a  small  hook  or  catch, 
which  is  capable  of  being  so  adjusted  as  to  lift 
one,  two,  three,  or  four  teeth  at  each  revolution, 
and  by  this  is  regulated  the  length  of  the  straw 
projected  in  front  of  the  face-plate,  and  which 
is  severed  by  the  knife.  On  the  roller  was 
fixed  a  revolving  cloth  or  endless  web,  which 
passed  over  another  roller  at  the  hinder  end  of 
the  box  ;  a  heavy  block  was  used  to  compress 
the  straw.  In  the  more  modern  engines  the 
roUing-cloth  is  entirely  dispensed  with,  as  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  intended  is  effected 
by  the  introduction  of  an  upper  feeding-roller, 
to  which  motion  is  communicated  by  a  pair  of 
cog-wheels,  one  of  which  is  attached  to  the 
lower  feeding-roller  before  described;  the  heavy 
block  is  substituted  by  a  pressing-piece,  which 
receives  its  motion  from  the  cranked  spindle, 
alternately  presses  down  the  straw  previous  to 
the  cut,  and  rises  afterwards  to  allow  the  straw 
free  passage.  The  improved  machine  is  made 
of  different  sizes,  and  the  larger  are  frequently 
used  with  horse-power. 

This  is  the  best  modern  chaff-engine ;  it  will 
adjust  and  vary  the  work  to  the  following 
Jengths  of  cut;— -i  inch,  ^  inch,  and  |  inch. 


At  i  inch  It  will  cut  from 


Butheli  or  fodder 
per  hour. 

18  to  20 
40  to  50 
50  to  60 


Another  chaff-cutter  is  made  on  the  same 
©rinciple,  but  a  size  smaller,  which 
308 


Busheli  of  foddtr 
per  hour. 

at  i  inch  will  cut  from        10  to  12 
i  —  30  to  40 

I  —  40  to  50 

A  still  smaller  engine  can  also  be  had,  cut- 
ting ^  inch  lengths  only,  suited  to  gentlemen's 
stables  and  small  establishments,  made  entirely 
of  metal,  and  adapted  for  hot  climates.  This 
will  cut  from  15  to  20  bushels  of  fodder  per 
hour. 

Passing  by  several,  which  in  the  course  of 
the  next  fifteen  years  were  introduced,  but 
which,  however  ingenious,  were  too  compli- 
cated and  cumbrous  for  general  use,  in  1818 
we  find  a  simple  invention  was  patented  by 
Thomas  Heppenstall,  of  Doncaster.  It  con- 
sisted in  the  application  of  a  worm  to  turn  two 
wheels,  which  in  their  revolution  meet  each 
other.  These  wheels  are  attached  to  two  feed- 
ing-rollers, which  convey  the  straAV  forwards 
to  the  knives.  Two  of  these  knives  are  placed 
on  a  fly-wheel,  which  is  fixed  upon  the  same 
spindle  as  the  worm.  This  is  the  simplest 
form  of  chaff-engine,  and,  with  a  slight  altera- 
tion, substituting  wheels  with  the  cogs  on  the 
face  instead  of  on  the  outer  edge,  is  the  com- 
mon form  for  the  small  engines  now  in  use. 

Two  patents  have  also,  within  the  last  year 
or  two,  been  taken  out  for  considerable  im- 
provements on  this  machine,  one  by  Lord 
Ducie  in  connection  with  Messrs.  Clyburn  and 
Budding,  two  engineers  residing  at  Uley. 

The  only  remaining  machine  we  have  to 
bring  before  the  notice  of  our  readers,  is  one 
for  which  a  patent  was  obtained  a  few  months 
ago  by  Mr.  Charles  May,  engineer  of  Ipswich, 
a  partner  in  the  house  of  Ransome.  We  saw 
this  among  the  machines  exhibited  at  the  Royal 
Agricultural  Society's  meeting  at  Cambridge, 
where  it  appeared  to  perform  its  work  admira- 
bly. It  is  intended  to  be  used  by  horse-power, 
and  is  so  contrived  that  cog-wheels  of  different 
diameters  may  be  placed  on  the  spindle  to 
which  motion  is  first  communicated;  these, 
working  in  different  movable  wheels  upon  an- 
other spindle,  will  regulate  the  speed  of  the 
feeding-rollers,  so  as  to  vary  the  length  of  the 
chaff  to  be  cut,  from  three-eighths  of  an  inch 
to  three  inches.  Its  capabilities  are  estimated 
to  cut  8  cwt.  of  straw  per  hour  in  half-inch 
lengths. 

A  chaff-cutter  is  indispensable  on  a  large 
farm  establishment.  This  implement,  as  has 
been  shown,  is  either  constructed  with  a  good 
deal  of  expensive  machinery,  or  of  very  simple 
mechanism ;  it  may  be  made  up  at  the  cost  of 
only  1/.  or  IZ.  6s. 

Patent  straw-cutters  in  great  variety  are  to 
be  found  in  the  United  States.  They  are  per- 
haps in  most  general  use  in  the  Eastern  States, 
for  which  reason  we  extract  the  opinions  of 
their  respective  merits  held  by  an  Eastern  au- 
thority of  high  repute,  Mr.  T.  G.  Fessenden, 
editor  of  that  valuable  periodical,  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer.  In  his  very  instructive  little 
volume,  "  The  Complete  Farmer,"  Mr.  Fessen- 
den makes  the  following  remarks  : — 

"There  is  not  only  much  saving  and  gain  in 
cutting  fodder  when  hay  is  low,  but  the  animal 
is  kept  in  better  health,  more  particularly  old 


CHAFF  ENGINES. 


CHAFF-ENGINES. 


horses,  and  such  as  may  have  been  injured  in 
their  wind. 

"It  is  a  fact  that  horses  will  live  and  continue 
serviceable  much  longer  when  fed  on  cut  fod- 
der. The  machine  invented  and  manufactured 
by  Willis,  known  as  '  Willis's  Improved  Straw 
and  Hay-Cutter,'  is  the  most  durable  and  best 
operating  machine  that  has  come  to  our  know- 
ledge ;  and,  what  is  worthy  of  notice,  they  re- 
quire but  one  person  to  work  them,  which  is  not 
the  case  with  many  other  machines ;  in  this  re- 
spect there  is  a  great  saving  in  cutting  feed,  and 
likewise  the  fodder  may  be  cut  of  any  length 
required:  the  knives,  being  placed  in  front  of 
the  machine,  can  be  at  all  times  examined 
and  put  in  good  order.  The  feeding-rollers 
are  so  constructed,  that  while  the  machine  is 
in  the  act  of  cutting,  the  rollers  cease  to 
feed,  which  renders  the  cutting  operation  very 
easy.  When  properly  constructed,  this  ma- 
chine works  free  and  easy,  and  is  not  liable  to 
gel  out  of  order.  It  will  cut  from  thirty-five  to 
forty  bushels  per  hour.  Price  thirty-five  dollars. 

**Eastmati'8  Straiv-Cutter,  with  improved  side- 
gearing  and  cylindrical  knives.  This  machine 
is  well  calculated  for  large  and  extensive  esta- 
blishments.   Price,  fifty  to  sixty  dollars. 

"  The  Common  Dutch  Hand  Cutting-Machine  is 
one  of  those  implements  in  common  use,  and 
known  to  every  practical  farmer;  and  is  con- 
sidered as  good  a  machine  for  a  small  esta- 
blishment as  any  in  use.  It  will  cut  from  ten 
to  twenty  bushels  per  hour. 

^^Saj)'orii's  Improved  and  Common  StrauyCutter 
with  side-gearing.  Well  approved,  and  is  in 
very  general  use. 

"  Green's  Patent  StrauyCutter,  one  of  the  most 
approved  machines  now  in  use  for  cutting  fod- 
der :  very  simple  in  its  construction,  and  not 
liable  to  get  out  of  order;  does  the  work  with 
great  ease  and  despatch." 

«  Green's  Patent  Straw,  Hay,  and  Stalk-Cutter*' 
says  another  excellent  authority,  "  is  very  sim- 
ple in  its  construction,  and  being  made  and 
put  together  very  strong,  is  not  liable  to  get 
out  of  order.  By  the  application  of  a  mecha- 
nical principle  not  before  applied  to  any  imple- 
ment for  this  purpose,  the  machine  will  cut 
easily  two  bushels  per  minute,  requiring  only 
the  strength  of  a  boy  to  work  it.  The  knives 
require  less  sharpening  than  those  of  any  other 
straw-cutter,  owing  to  the  peculiar  manner  in 
which  they  cut." 

The  Albany  Cultivator  states,  on  the  author- 
ity of  an  intelligent  and  worthy  farmer,  that 
two  active  men  will,  with  this  machine,  by  the 
application  of  manual  power  alone,  cut  Jive  tons 
of  hay  per  day!  The  machine  called  No.  2, 
which  cuts  three-fourths  of  an 
now  sold  for  thirty-three  dollars. 

The  saving  efiected  by  the  use  of  straw-cut- 
ters often  amounts  to  50  per  cent.  The  profits 
and  advantages  accruing  from  cutting  proven- 
der, especially  when  this  happens  to  be  a  high 
price,  is  strikingly  demonstrated  by  the  follow- 
ing statement. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Hale's  account  of  the  savings  made 
by  the  use  of  Straw-Cutters,  employed  to  ciU  hay 
and  straw  as  fodder  for  horses. 

Mr.  Hale  is  proprietor  of  a  line  of  stages 


running  between  Newburyport  and   Boston. 

He  says. 

The  whole  amount  of  hay  purchased 

from  April   1  to  Oct.  1,  1816  (six 

months),  and  used  at    the  stage    Tons.  cwt.  grs.  Ibt. 

stable,  was  32       4      0       10 

At  twenty-five  dollars  per  ton  (the 

lowest    price  at  which  hay  was 

purchased  in  1816,)  fSOO  00 

From  Oct.  1,  1816,  to  April  1, 1817, 

whole  amount  of  hay  and  straw 

purchased    for  and  consumed  by 

the  same  number  of  horses,  viz. 
T.    ewt.  qrs.  lbs.         Cost. 
Straw       16      13      3      10       *I60  23 
Hay  13      14      1      00         350  00 

«510  23 
Deduct  on  hand  April  1, 1817,  by  esti- 
mation, four  tons  more  than  there 
was  Oct.  1,  1816,  at  twenty-five 
dollars  per  ton,  100  ^410  23 

Saving  by  the  use  of  the  straw-cut- 
ter, four  months  out  of  the  last  six 
months,  or  the  ditference  in  ex- 
pense in  feeding  witii  cut  fodder 
and  that  which  is  uncut  #389  77 

Whole  amount  of  hay  used  for  the 
horses  of  the  Salem  stage,  twenty- 
five  in  number,  from  April  1  to  Oct.       T.    cwt.  qrs.  lbs. 
1,  1816,  viz.  22       0      0        0 

At  thirty  dollars  per  ton  (the  lowest 
price  in  Salem),  #660  00 

Whole  amount  consumed  by  the 
same  number  of  horses  from  Oct. 
1,  1816,  to  April  1,  1817, 

T.    cwt.  qrs.  lbs.         Cost. 

Straw      15      13      0      0        #187  80 

Hay  2      15      0      0  81  00 


Saving  in  using  chopped  fodder  five 
months, 

Total  saving  in  using  the  slraw-cut- 
ter  nine  motiihs,  viz.  at  Newbury- 
port four  months 

At  Salem  five  months 


#391  20 


389  77 
391  20 


Total,        #789  97 

The  members  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Society,  to  whom  the 
above  account  was  communicated  by  Mr.  Hale, 
were  informed  by  thjit  gentleman  that  he  used 
no  more  grain  from  Oct.,  1816,  to  April,  1817, 
than  was  used  from  April,  1816,  to  Oct.,  1816. 

At  a  late  exhibition  of  the  Philadelphia  Agri- 
cultural Society,  a  premium  was  awarded  for 
a  new  chafi"  or  straw-cutter,  invented  by  Mr. 
C.  T.  Botts,  editor  of  the  "Southern  Planter," 
published  at  Richmond,  Va.  The  improve- 
ment upon  other  machines  for  a  similar  pur- 
pose consists  chiefly  in  shortening  the  knives, 
which  are  not  wider  than  a  common  carpen- 
ter's plane-iron,  and  like  them  can  be  easily 
ground  and  set.  It  is  a  self-feeder,  the  operator 
having  nothing  else  to  do  but  turn  the  crank. 
The  inventor  remarks,  that  many  straw-cutters 
at  present  in  use  are  sufficiently  effective  whilst 
in  order,  but  from  the  difficulty  of  bringing 
them  within  the  power  of  common  manage- 
ment, they  have  generally  been  abandoned  for 
the  imperfect  cutters  made  by  the  common 
blacksmiths  of  the  country.  The  inventor 
therefore  applied  himself  to  the  construction 
of  an  implement  which,  if  less  rapid  in  execu- 
tion, would  be  more  durable,  and  within  the 
control  of  the  simplest  capacity.  These  are 
the  strongest  testimonials  in  favour  of  the  ex- 
cellence of  Mr.  Botts's  straw-cutter,  the  cost 
of  which  varies  from  $25  for  the  smallest  to 
$30  for  the  largest  size. 

An  extensive  farmer  residing  near  Phila- 

»)9 


CHALDRON. 

delphia,  who  enjoys  a  high  reputation  for  his  | 
agricultural  management,  and  especially  for  j 
his  success  in  feeding  cattle,  has  returned  to 
the  common  old  cutting-knife  and  box,  so  long 
used  by  the  German  farmers  in  Pennsylvania, 
an  improvement  of  which  is  certainly  a  very 
eflBcient  implement.  He  says  that  he  has  ex- 
pended much  money  for  what  were  pronounced 
the  best  patent  straw-cutters,  and  finds  it  to  his 
advantage  to  lay  them  aside  and  return  to  the 
old  and  simple  machine,  which  costs  but  five 
or  six  dollars.  He  had  not  seen  the  machine 
invented  by  Mr.  Botts. 

CHALDRON.  An  English  measure,  contain- 
ing 36  bushels,  or  12  sacks  of  3  bushels  each. 

CHALK  (Sax.  cealc;  We\sh,  cakk;  Celtic, 
cal  or  kill).  The  carbonate  of  lime,  or  lime 
united  with  carbonic  acid.  See  Lime.  Car- 
bonate of  lime  exists  abundantly  in  various 
parts  of  the  earth's  surface  in  the  state  of 
chalk,  limestone,  and  marble ;  and  in  smaller 
masses,  as  the  arragonite,  &c.,  of  which  be- 
tween one  and  two  hundred  varieties  (all  car- 
bonate of  lime)  are  known  to  mineralogists. 
For  the  purposes  of  agriculture  they  may  be 
all  classed  under  one  head.  Common  chalk 
has  a  dull  white  colour,  is  soft,  adhesive  when 
applied  to  the  tongue,  stains  the  fingers,  and 
thence  is  in  common  use  for  marking.  In  Eu- 
ropean agriculture  chalk  is  perhaps  the  most 
extensively  employed  of  the  limestone  species  ; 
it  varies  slightly  in  composition,  containing 
usually  some  silica  (flint),  alumina  (clay),  and 
some  red  oxide  of  iron,  and  the  remainder  car- 
bonate of  lime,  100  parts  of  which  contain, 


Carbonic  acid 
Lime 


Parts 
45 
55 


100  parts  of  common  limestone  are  com- 
posed, according  to  MM.  Thenard  and  Biot,  of 


Carbonate  of  lime 
Water     - 
Silica 
Alumina 
Oxide  of  iron 


Part*. 

-  9505 

1-63 
112 

-  1- 

•75 


100 


These  carbonates,  when  burnt,  form  lime, 
for  the  heat  drives  off  the  carbonic  acid.  By 
exposure  to  the  air  the  lime  absorbs  carbonic 
acid  gas,  and  again  becomes  converted  into 
carbonate  of  lime.  A  knowledge  of  these  facts 
is  of  considerable  value  to  the  farmer  even  on 
the  score  of  carriage,  independent  of  the  greater 
value  of  lime  as  a  manure  ;  for  in  some  cases 
the  object  of  the  needless  weight  of  water  and 
carbonic  acid  in  chalk  is  very  material,  as  will 
be  readily  seen  by  the  following  analysis  of  the 
chalk  of  Kent,  which  is  the  variety  largely  em- 
nloyed  in  the  county  of  Essex,  although  it  has 
vO  be  brought  by  sea  nearly  70  miles,  and  then 
often  carted  several  miles.  I  found  by  careful 
experiment  100  parts  of  chalk  from  Kent,  in  the 
state  in  which  it  was  carted  on  the  land  in  De- 
cember, contained,  besides  some  oxide  of  iron 
and  silica, — 


Water     - 
Carbonic  acid 
Lime 


24- 
342 

41-8 

100 


310 


CHALK. 

So  that,  when  the  farmer  carts  41  tons  of  fresh 
lime,  he  conveys  as  much  real  manure  to  his 
soil  as  if  he  carried  100  tons  of  chalk.  This 
must  be  assuredly  a  question  of  the  highest 
importance  to  those  farmers  who  have  to  carry 
the  earth  a  considerable  distance,  especially  if 
they  can  procure  lime  at  a  reasonable  rate ; 
which,  in  the  large  quantities  required,  for  agri- 
cultural purposes,  must  in  most  situations  be 
the  case. 

Carbonate  of  lime  is  found  in  almost  all 
vegetables ;  it  is  an  essential  food  of  plants. 
The  cultivator  will  see,  by  the  results  of  the 
experiments  which  I  shall  give  under  the  head 
Lime,  that  the  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime 
contained  in  the  cultivated  grasses  is  very  con- 
siderable, and  still  more  so  in  trees ;  and  that, 
as  might  be  expected,  the  proportion  increases 
with  the  quantity  of  this  substance  found  in  the 
soil.  To  the  planter  this  fact  offers  an  unan- 
swerable reason  in  favour  of  the  addition  of 
chalk,  marl,  or  limestone  to  all  poor  soils  in- 
tended for  plantations,  in  the  manner  long  suc- 
cessfully practised  on  the  black  heathy  sands 
of  Norfolk  by  Mr.  Withers  of  Holt,  and  which 
he  has  shown  to  be  equally  advantageous  to 
trees,  whether  planted  for  ornamental  or  profit- 
able purposes. 

There  is  no  fact  more  necessary  to  be  un- 
derstood by  the  agriculturist,  than  that  no  land 
can  be  productive  which  does  not  contain  a 
fair  proportion  of  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is, 
perhaps,  even  in  excess  much  less  prejudicial 
to  any  cultivated  soil  than  either  silica  or  alu- 
mina. But,  on  the  other  hand,  no  soil  can  be 
productive  if  it  contain  more  than  nineteen 
parts  in  twenty  of  chalk.  The  earth  of  the  fine 
sandy  hop  gardens  near  Tonbridge,  in  Kent, 
contain  about  five  per  cent,  of  chalk.  The  good 
turnip  soils  near  Holkham,  in  Norfolk,  are 
seven-eighths  sand  and  the  remaining  eighth 
is  composed  of 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime  or  chalk        -       -        -  63 

Silica  (flint)        ------  15 

Alumina  (clay)           -----  11 

Oxide  of  iron     ------  3 

Vegetable  and  saline  matter     -        -        -  5 

Water 3 

100 

The  soil  at  Sheffield  Place,  in  Sussex,  which 
is  so  admirably  adapted  for  the  growth  of  the 
oak,  contains  three  per  cent,  of  chalk.  The 
fine  wheat  soils  of  West  Drayton,  in  Middle- 
sex, contain  more  than  ten  per  cent.  That  of 
Bagshot  Heath  contains  less  than  one  per  cent. 
The  richest  soils  on  the  banks  of  the  Parret,  in 
Somersetshire,  contain  more  than  seventy  per 
cent.  Those  of  the  valley  of  Evesham  about 
six  per  cent.  A  specimen  of  a  good  soil  from 
Tiviotdale,  examined  by  Davy,  was  composed 
of  five-sixths  sand  and  the  remainder  of  the 
following  substances  (Lectures,  202) ; — 

Farts. 

Clay 41 

Silica  (flint)  ------    42 

Chalk 4 

Oxide  of  iron        ------      5 

Vegetable,  animal,  and  saline  matter  .       -      8 

A  soil  yielding  excellent  pasture,  from  the 
j  banks  of  the  Wiltshire  Avon,  near  Salisbury 
yielded  the  same  chemist  one-eleventh  of  iti 


CHALK. 

weight  of  siliceous  sand.    The  remainder  was 
composed  of 

Psrts. 
Chalk 63 

Silica  (flint) 14 

VecretaMe,  animal,  and  iialine  matter  -       -    14 
Aliiiniiia  (clay)      ------      7 

Oxide  of  iron        ------      2 

Many  soils  also  contain  a  small  proportion 
of  carbonate  of  magnesia ;  but  it  very  rarely 
amounts  to  a  sufficient  quantity  to  be  worth 
estimating  in  the  mode  of  analysis  I  shall  pre- 
sently give. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  in  what  form  the  carbo- 
nate of  lime  enters  the  system  of  plants,  as  it 
is  an  insoluble  compoifnd :  unless  we  can  sup- 
pose that  it  attracts  an  excess  of  carbonic  acid 
from  the  air,  becoming  a  bicarbonate,  in  which 
state  it  is  soluble  in  water.  But  whatever 
may  the  cause  of  its  being  taken  up  by  plants, 
its  influence  on  soils  is  undoubted. 

The  mode  of  applying  chalk  as  a  manure.  In 
the  county  of  Essex,  where  chalking  is  prac- 
tised to  a  very  large  extent,  the  chalk  is 
brought  in  sailing  barges  from  the  Kentish 
shore  of  the  Thames,  at  an  expense  of  about 
two  shillings  per  ton,  and  afterwards  carted  for 
some  miles  into  the  country.  It  is  applied  in 
quantities  which  vary  from  ten  to  thirty  tons 
per  acre,  according  to  the  description  of  the 
soil;  the  poor  light  soils  requiring  a  larger 
addition  of  chalk  than  the  richer  lands.  It  is 
usually  applied  without  any  preparation ;  the 
larger  lumps  of  chalk  are  not  even  broken,  and 
the  chalk  being  once  ploughed  in,  the  action 
of  the  frost,  the  plough,  and  the  harrow,  in 
time  sufficiently  pulverizes  it.  It  is  often 
mixed  in  smaller  proportions  with  common 
farm-yard  manure,  ditch  scrapings,  pond  mud, 
&c.,  and  suffered  to  remain  some  time  before 
it  is  carried  into  the  field.  An  equally  excel- 
lent plan  is  followejl  by  some  of  the  best  Essex 
farmers,  who  spread  quantities  of  chalk  over 
head  lands,  banks,  &c.,  which  require  lower- 
ing, and  then  fallow  those  portions  of  land, 
ploughing  them  often,  and  letting  the  chalked 
earth  remain  as  long  as  possible,  incorporating 
before  they  carry  and  spread  the  mixed  chalk 
and  earth  on  to  the  field ;  by  this  means  the 
effects  of  a  few  loads  of  chalk  are  diffused  over 
a  field.  It  is  a  plan  admirably  adapted  for 
those  situations  where  chalk  is  very  expen- 
sive. 

The  good  effects  of  chalk  are  more  perma- 
nent than  immediate  ;  for,  although  a  good 
dressing  with  chalk  will  remain  in  the  soil  for 
from  ten  to  twenty  years,  yet,  on  some  soils, 
07ie  or  even  hro  years  will  elapse  before  the  far- 
mer perceives  a  decided  improvement.  There 
is  hardly  any  manure  that  answers  better  for 
grass  than  chalk,  especially  on  light,  sandy 
soils.  If,  however,  the  soil  already  contains 
an  abundance  of  chalk,  its  addition  to  that 
land  cannot  constitute  a  manure.  The  culti- 
vator can  easily  form  a  rough  estimate  of  the 
quantity  of  chalk  in  a  soil,  by  taking  a  quantity 
of  it  from  three  inches  beneath  the  surface, 
well  drying  it  in  an  oven,  and  adding  to,  say 
400  grains,  800  grains  of  muriatic  acid ;  the 
mixture,  which  weighs  1200  grains,  will,  if  it 
contains  chalk,  effervesce ;  and  the  carbonic 
acid  of  the    chalk  being  expelled,  will,  of 


CHARCOAL. 

course,  lessen  the  weight  of  the  mixture. 
When  the  effervescence  has  entirely  ceased, 
weigh  the  mass  ;  every  4i^  grains  deficient  the 
experimenter  may  consider  to  indicate  the  pre- 
sence of  10  grains  of  chalk  in  the  soil.  The 
agriculturist  will  then  be  able  to  judge,  by 
comparing  the  quantity  of  chalk  existing  in 
the  examined  soils  with  that  in  other  lands,  the 
analyses  of  which  I  have  given,  whether  his 
land  requires  the  addition  of  chalk.  In  the 
United  Slates  chalk  is  nowhere  found,  and  the 
lime  applied  to  agricultural  purposes,  except 
it  be  in  the  form  of  gypsum  or  plaster  of  Paris, 
is  obtained  from  burning  limestone,  marble, 
shells,  either  recent  or  fossil — and  lastly  from 
bones  and  calcareous  deposits  called  marl. 
(C.  W.  Johnson's  work  On  Fertilizers,  p.  256 ; 
Brit.  Farm.  Mag.  vol.  iii.  p.  129.) 

CHAMPIGNONS  (^garinis  orrades).  A 
species  of  mushroom,  growing  wild  in  Eng- 
land, having  a  much  higher  flavour  than  the 
common  mushroom,  but  tough  and  leathery 
and  consequently  very  indigestible.  They  are 
chiefly  used  for  making  catsup,  or  in  the  form 
of  powder  to  flavour  sauces,  &c.,  for  all  which 
purposes  they  are  admirable. 

CHAR.  A  species  of  lake  trout  found  in 
Windermere;  in  length  never  exceeding  fif- 
teen or  sixteen  inches  spotted  like  a  trout, 
with  very  few  bones.  {Walton,  p.  173.)  It  is 
also  found  in  Loch  Tay,  in  Scotland. 

CHARBON.  The  little  black  spot  or  mark 
remaining  after  the  large  spot  in  the  cavity  of 
the  comer  tooth  of  a  horse  is  gone. 
•  CH.\RCOAL  (From  chark,  to  burn,  and  was 
formerly  written  rharke  real).  The  remaining 
portion  of  wood  after  it  has  been  heated  to  red- 
ness for  some  time,  which  dissipates  all  the 
hydrogen  and  oxygen  of  which,  with  carbon, 
it  is  composed.  (See  Carbox.)  Charcoal- 
burning  is  a  regular  trade,  followed  in  some 
of  the  woody  districts  by  persons  who  do 
hardly  any  thing  else. 

For  making  gunpowder-charcoal,  the  lighter 
woods,  such  as  the  willow,  dogwood,  and  alder 
answer  best ;  and  in  their  carbonization  care 
should  be  taken  to  let  the  vapours  freely 
escape,  especially  towards  the  end  of  the  ope- 
ration, for  when  they  are  re-absorbed,  they 
greatly  impair  the  combustibility  of  the  char- 
coal. 

By  the  common  process  of  the  forests,  about 
18  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  wood  is  ob- 
tained ;  by  the  process  of  Foucauld  about  24 
percent  are  obtained,with20of  crude  pyrolig- 
neous  acid  of  10  degrees  Baum6. 

The  charcoal  of  some  woods  contains  silica, 
and  is  therefore  useful  for  polishing  metals. 
Being  a  bad  conductor  of  heat,  charcoal  is  em- 
ployed sometimes  in  powder  to  encase  small 
furnaces  and  steam-pipes.  It  is  not  affected 
by  water ;  and  hence  the  extremities  of  char- 
red stakes  driven  into  moist  grounds  are  not 
liable  to  decomposition.  In  like  manner  casks 
when  charred  inside  preserve  water  much 
better  than  common  casks,  because  they  fur- 
nish no  soluble  matter  for  fermentation  or  for 
food  to  animalcules. 

Lowitz  discovered  that  wood  charcoal  re- 
moves offensive  smells  from  animal  and 
vegetable   substances,  and  counteracts    their 


CHARCOAL. 


CHARCOAI-. 


possi 


were  taken,  and  they  produced  as  under: — 

Lignum  Vitte  afforded  260  of  charcoal  of  a  grayish  co- 
lour, resembling  coke. 


25-4  tinged  with  brown,  spongy 
and  porous. 

24-5  velvet  black,  compact,  very 
hard. 

23-2  glossy  black,  compact,  firm. 

22-6  black,  close,  very  firm. 

20  6  dull  black,  close,  firm. 

19  9  dull  black,  loose  and  bulky. 

19-9  dull  black,  spongy,  firm. 

19-7  fine  black,  bulky,  moderately 
firm. 

19-5  fine  black,  moderately  firm. 

19-2  shining  black,  bulky,  very 
soft. 

18-4  velvet  black,  bulky,  loose, 
and  soft. 

17  9  shining  black,  spongy,  firm. 

17-4  velvet  black,  bulky,  firm. 

16-4  tinged  with  brown,  mode- 
rately firm. 

Messrs.  Allen  and  Pepys,  from  100  parts  of 
the  following  woods,  obtained  the  quantities 
of  charcoal  as  under : — 


Mahogany 

Laburnum 

Chestnut 

Oak 

Walnut    - 

Holly 

Ueech 

Sycamors 

Elm 

Norway  Pine  - 

Sallow  or  willow 

Ash 

Birch 

Scotisb  Pine     - 


Ammoniacal  gas 
Muriatic  acid  gas 
Sulphurous  acid 
Sulpliureted  hydrogen 
Nitrous  oxyde' 
Carbonic  acid  gas 


putrefaction.  He  found  the  odour  of  succinic  Each  portion  of  charcoal  was  heated  afresh  to 
and  benzoic  acids,  of  bugs,  of  empyreumatic  a  red  heat,  and  allowed  to  cool  iinder  inercuiy, 
oils,  of  infusions  of  valerian,  essence  of 
wormwood,  spirits  distilled  from  bad  grain, 
and  sulphureous  substances  were  all  absorb- 
able by  freshly  calcined  charcoal  properly 
applied.  A  very  ingenious  filter  has  been 
constructed  for  purifying  water,  by  passing  it 
through  strata  of  charcoal  of  different  fineness. 

When  charcoal  is  burned,  one-third  of  the 
heat  is  discharged  by  radiation,  and  two-thirds 
by  conduction. 

The  following  table  of  the  quantity  of  char- 
coal yielded  by  difierenl  woods  was  published 
by  Mr.  Mushet,  as  the  result  of  experiments 
carefully  made  upon  the  small  scale.  He  says, 
the  woods  before  being  charred  were  tho- 
roughly dried,  and  pieces  of  each  kind  were 
selected  as  nearly  alike  in  every  respect  as 
iible.     One  hundred  parts   of   each  sort 


Beech 

15-00    Oak  - 

_ 

-     17-40 

Mahoganv 

15-75    Fir     - 

. 

-     1817 

Lignum  Vitie    - 

17-25     Box   - 

- 

-    20-25 

It  is  observable  that  the  quantities  obtained 
by  Messrs.  Allen  and  Pepys  are  in  general  less 
%  than  those  given  by  Mr.  Mushet,  which  may 
be  owing  to  Mr.  Mushet  not  having  applied 
sufficient  heat,  or  operated  long  enough,  to  dis- 
sipate the  aqueous  matter  of  the  gaseous  pro- 
ducts. 

To  those  persons  who  buy  charcoal  by 
weight,  it  is  important  to  purchase  it  as  soon 
after  it  is  made  as  possible,  as  it  quickly  ab- 
sorbs a  considerable  portion  of  water  from  the 
atmosphere.  Different  woods,  however,  diflfer 
in  this  respect.  Messrs.  Allen  and  Pepys 
found,  that  by  a  week's  exposure  to  the  air,  the 
charcoal  of 


Lignum  Vitc  gained  - 
Fir  -  -  -  - 
Box  .  -  -  - 
Beech  -        -        - 

Oak 


9-6  per  cent. 
130    ditto. 
14  0    ditto. 
16-3    ditto. 
16-5    ditto. 


Mahogany 180    ditto. 

The  following  is  a  tabular  view  of  the  vo- 
lame**  of  the  dilTerent  gases  which  were  ab- 
sorbed in  the  course  of  twenty-four  hours,  by 
one  volume  of  charcoal,  in  the  experiments  of 
M.Theodore  de  Saus^  ire,  which  were  conduct- 
«*d  in  a  wav  likely  to  roduce  correct  results. 
812* 


When  taken  from  the  mercury,  it  was  instantly 
plunged  into  the  vessel  of  gas: 

Bicarbureted  hydrogen 3500 
Carbonic  oxyde  -  942 
Oxygen  gas  -  -  925 
Nitrogen  -  -  -  7.50 
Carbureted  hydrogen  5-00 
Hydrogen  gas  -        -      1'75 

{lire's  Diet,  of  Jrts.) 

In  England  charcoal  is  prepared  in  two  dif- 
ferent ways.  In  one,  billets  of  wood  are  formed 
into  a  heap,  which  is  covered  with  turf,  and  a 
few  small  openings  only  left  for  the  admission 
of  the  air  requisite  to  maintain  it  in  a  state  of 
low  combustion  after  it  is  lighted.  When  the 
whole  heap  is  on  fire,  the  holes  are  stopped  ; 
and,  after  the  mass  has  cooled,  the  residue  is 
charcoal.  In  the  other  mode  the  wood  is 
distilled  in  iron  cylinders,  in  which  case  the 
products  are  pyroligneous  acids,  and  empy- 
reumatic oil;  and  what  remains  in  the  retort 
is  charcoal.  The  quantity  of  the  distilled  pro- 
ducts, as  well  as  of  the  charcoal,  depends  on 
the  kind  of  wood  employed.  100  parts  of  dried 
oak  yields,  of 

Partfc 

Pyroligneous  acid    -----  43" 

Carbonate  of  potassa       -        -        -        -  45 

Empyreumatic  oil    -        -        -       -        -  906 

Charcoal 26-2 

The  charcoal  thus  procured  is  lighter  than 
common  charcoal.  Charcoal  should  be  black, 
sonorous,  brittle,  and  retain  the  texture  of  the 
wood.  It  has  a  powerful  attraction  for  water, 
gases,  and  odorous  and  colouring  principles. 
It  is  a  powerful  antiseptic,  and  well  adapted 
for  preserving  animal  substances  from  putre- 
faction. In  fine  powder  it  is  much  used  as  a 
tooth-powder,  for  which  purpose,  however,  it 
is  exceptionable,  since,  being  insoluble,  it  gets 
between  the  teeth  and  gums  and  thus  leads  to 
their  separation  and  much  mischief. 

Ivory,  or  bone  black,  is  animal  charcoal, 
prepared  in  the  same  manner  as  the  second 
kind  of  vegetable  charcoal.  It  has  a  remarka- 
ble property  of  abstracting  colour  from  many 
vegetable  solutions,  on  which  account  it  is 
much  used  by  sugar  refiners. 

"  Plants,"  says  Liebig,  "  thrive  in  powdered 
charcoal,  and  may  be  brought  to  blossom  and 
bear  fruit,  if  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
rain  and  the  atmosphere;  the  charcoal  may 
be  previously  heated  to  redness.  Charcoal 
is  the  most  unchangeable  substance  known; 
it  may  be  kept  for  centuries  without  change, 
and  is  therefore  not  subject  to  decomposition. 
The  only  substances  which  it  can  yield  to 
plants  are  some  salts  which  it  contains, 
amongst  which  is  silicate  of  potash.  It  is 
known,  however,  to  possess  the  power  of 
condensing  gases  within  its  pores,  and  parti- 
cularly carbonic  acid.  And  it  is  by  virtue  of 
this  power  that  the  roots  of  plants  are  supplied 
in  charcoal  exactly  as  in  humus,  with  an  at- 
mosphere of  carbonic  acid  ani  air,  which  is 
renewed  as  quickly  as  it  is  abstracted, 

"  In  charcoal  powder,  which  had  been  used 
for  this  purpose  by  Lukas  for  several  years, 
Buchner  found  a  brown  substance  soluble  in 
alkalies.    This  substance  was  evidently  duo 


CHARD. 


CHEESE. 


^  the  secretions  from  the  roots  of  the  plants 
which  grew  in  it. 

"  A  plant  placed  in  a  closed  vessel  in  which 
the  air,  and  therefore  the  carbonic  acid,  cannot 
be  renewed,  dies  exactly  as  it  would  do  in  the 
vacuum  of  an  air-pump,  or  in  an  atmosphere 
of  nitrogen  or  carbonic  acid,  even  though  its 
roots  be  fixed  in  the  richest  mould. 

"  Plants  do  not,  however,  attain  maturity, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  in  charcoal 
powder,  when  they  are  moistened  with  pure 
distilled  water  instead  of  rain  or  river  water. 
Rain  water  must,  therefore,  contain  within  it 
one  of  the  essentials  of  vegetable  life ;  and  it 
will  be  shown,  that  this  is  the  presence  of  a 
compound  containing  nitrogen,  the  exclusion 
of  which  entirely  deprives  humus  and  char- 
coal of  their  influence  upon  vegetation."  (i»c- 
6tg'«  Orgnnic  Chemistry.) 

"Dr.  Webster,  editor  of  the  American  edi- 
tion of  Liebig's  Organic  Chemistry,  observes  : 
*  A  few  years  since,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  ob- 
serving a  striking  instance  of  the  effect  of  car- 
bonic acid  upon  vegetation  in  the  volcanic 
island  of  St.  Michael  (Azores).  The  gas  is- 
sued from  a  fissure  in  the  base  of  a  hill  of  tra- 
chyte and  luffa  from  which  a  level  field  of 
.some  acres  extended.  This  field,  at  the  time 
of  my  visit,  was  in  part  covered  with  Indian 
com.  The  corn  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  fif- 
teen yards  from  the  fissure,  was  nearly  full 
grown,  and  of  the  usual  height,  but  the  height 
regularly  diminished  until  within  five  or  six 
feet  of  the  hill,  where  it  attained  but  a  few 
inches.  This  effect  was  owing  to  the  great 
specific  gravity  of  the  carbonic  acid,  and  its 
spreading  upon  the  ground,  but  as  the  distance 
increased,  and  it  became  more  and  more  min- 
gled with  atmospheric  air,  it  had  produced  less 
and  less  effect." 

CHARD.     See  Beet. 

CHARLOCK  (Sax.  cepi.ce ).  PI.  10  g.  A 
troublesome  weed,  which  abounds  in  most  ara- 
ble soils,  and  is  very  ditficult  to  expel.  In  Eng- 
land it  is  frequently  called  chndlorb,  catlork;  cor- 
lock,  corn-knlc,  and  white-rape.  There  are  four  dif- 
erent  species  of  planLs,says  Sinclair,  confounded 
under  the  name  of  charlock,  viz.  Sinapis  arven- 
gis,  or  common  wild  mustard ;  yellow  blossom, 
in  May ;  annual.  S.  nigra,  black,  or  Durham 
mustard ;  blossom,  pale  yellow,  in  June ;  an- 
nual. Raphamts  raphanistrntn,  wild  radish ; 
straw-yellow  blossom,  in  June  and  July;  an- 
nual. Bra&sica  napus,  wild  navew  (this  last  is 
the  least  common)  ;  yellow  blossom,  in  May  ; 
biennial. 

The  seeds  derived  from  the  hard  pods  of 
the  variety  of  the  yellow-flowered  charlock, 
called  wild  mustard,  are  collected  in  England 
and  sold  under  the  name  of  Durham  Mustard. 
They  furnish  by  expression  an  excellent  oil, 
which  it  has  been  thought  might  be  rendered 
profitable.  In  Germany  30  lbs.  of  pure  lamp- 
oil  has  been  obtained  from  100  lbs.  of  seed. 

Charlock  has  been  introduced  from  Europe, 
and  has  become  quite  extensively  naturalized  in 
several  parts  of  the  United  States.  Being  an 
annual  plant  it  is  very  difiicult  to  get  rid  of, 
and  when  once  in  possession  of  a  spot  will 
long  bid  defiance  to  all  attempts  made  for  its 
total  extirpation.  It  infests  clayey  grounds, 
40 


such  as  are  particularly  well  adapted  to  the* 
culture  of  wheat  and  other  most  valuabl<» 
grains.  Its  seeds  contain  a  preservative  oil, 
which,  with  their  great  firmness  enables  them 
to  remain  sound  under  ground  for  an  almost 
unlimited  period.  Those  only  which  are 
brought  by  tillage  within  a  certain  distance  of 
the  surface,  sprout  and  grow,  whilst  the  deeper 
covered  remain  for  the  production  of  another 
crop  when  brought  up  by  the  plough  sufli- 
ciently  near  the  surface.  The  only  practicable 
mode  of  eradicating  this  and  other  pests  of  an- 
nual growth,  is  to  prevent  the  plants  from  coming 
to  $eed,  by  cutting  down  when  in  blossom.  The 
greatest  care  should  be  taken  to  inspect  seed- 
grain  before  sowing,  and  see  that  no  seeds  of 
charlock  or  other  troublesome  weeds  are  in 
the  samples.  The  leaves,  flowers,  long,  round 
and  irregular  seed-pods  and  odour  of  the  root 
are  very  similar  to  those  of  the  common 
radish.  Farm  stock  generally  are  fond  of  the 
plant,  and  especially  sheep,  which,  when  it  is 
possible  to  turn  upon  the  field  sufficiently 
early,  will  keep  it  from  growing  up  to  seed. 

In  Ireland  and  the  northern  parts  of  Europe, 
as  well  as  in  some  parts  of  America,  j'oung 
charlock  is  boiled  for  greens  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  cabbage-sprouts,  &c.  The  flowers  are 
much  frequented  by  bees.  (  Weeds  of  JliiricuU 
tare,  p.  45;  Smithes  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  321-6.) 

CHARRING  OF  POSTS.  The  reducing 
that  part  of  the  surface  of  posts  which  is  to  be 
put  into  the  ground  to  the  state  of  charcoal. 
This  method  is  highly  useful  where  the  parts 
are  to  be  placed  in  wet  situations,  or  to  stand 
between  wet  and  dry.  This  was  a  practice 
common  to  the  ancients. 

CHEAT   AND  CHESS.    See  Dauxel. 

CHEDDER  CHEESE.  A  kind  of  cheese  so 
named  from  its  being  made  at  Chedder,  a  vil- 
lage near  the  Mendip-hills  in  Somersetshire, 
famous  for  its  pastures.  The  richness  and 
fine  flavour  of  Chedder  cheese  is  supposed  to 
be  derived  chiefly  from  a  species  of  Agrostis 
upon  which  the  cows  feed. 

CHEESE  (Lat.  caseus;  Sax.  cere).  A  well- 
known  kind  of  food,  prepared  from  milk  by 
coagulation,  and  separated  from  the  serum  or 
whey,  by  means  of  pressure,  after  which  it  is 
dried  for  use.  See  Butter.  Cheese  has  been 
made  from  a  very  ancient  period ;  it  is  men- 
tioned by  Job,  and  also  by  Homer.  According 
to  Sirabo,  our  British  ancestors  did  not  under- 
stand how  to  make  cheese,  a  deficiency  with 
which  their  descendants  cannot  new  well  be 
charged. 

Good  cheese,  says  Dr.  Thomson,  melts  at  a 
moderate  heat ;  but  bad  cheese,  when  heated, 
dries,  curls,  and  exhibits  all  the  phenomena  of 
burning  horn.  From  this  it  is  evident  that 
good  cheese  contains  aquantity  of  the  peculiar 
oil  of  cream;  hence  its  flavour  and  smell. 
Proust  found  in  cheese  a  peculiar  acid,  which 
he  called  the  caseic.  (System  of  Chevu  vol.  iv.  p. 
499.) 

The  best  season  for  making  cheese  is  during 
those  months  when  the  cows  can  be  fed  on  the 
pastures ;  that  is,  from  the  beginning  of  May- 
till  towards  the  end  of  September,  or,  in  favour 
able  seasons,  the  middle  of  October.  In  Eng 
land,  on  many  of  the  large  dairy  farms,  in  se 
2  D  313 


CHEESE 


CHEESE. 


reral  districts,  cheese  is  frequently  made  ' 
throughout  the  year ;  but  that  made  during  the 
winter  months  is  considerably  inferior  in  qua- 
lity, and  much  longer  in  becoming  til  for  sale, 
or  for  use,  than  that  which  is  made  within  the 
periods  which  have  been  just  mentioned.  In 
Gloucestershire,  the  season  of  making  thin 
cheese  is  from  April  to  November;  but  the 
principal  one  for  making  thick  is  during  the 
months  of  May,  June,  and  the  beginning  of 
July.  If  made  late  in  the  summer,  the  cheese 
does  not  acquire  a  sufficient  degree  of  firmness 
to  be  marketable  in  the  ensuing  spring. 

The  milking  in  Cheshire,  during  the  summer 
season  is  at  six  o'clock,  both  morning  and 
evening ;  and  in  winter,  at  daylight  in  the 
morning,  and  immediately  before  dark  in  the 
evening.  But  in  other  districts,  as  Wilts,  Suf 
folk,  &c.,  the  people  are  frequently  employed 
in  milking  by  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  in 
summer ;  and  the  business  in  a  dairy  of  forty 
or  fifty  cows  is  nearly  completed  before  the 
usual  period  at  which  it  commences  in  Che- 
shire. 

The  colounng  of  cheese  has  been  so  long 
common  in  the  cheese  districts,  that  it  is  pro- 
bable that  cheese  of  the  best  quality  would  be 
in  a  great  measure  unsaleable  if  it  did  not  pos- 
sess the  requisite  colour.  The  degree  of  colour 
is  regulated  chiefly  by  the  name  under  which 
it  is  intended  the  cheese  should  be  sold,  as  Glou- 
cester, Cheshire,  &c.  The  objectof  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  practice  was  no  doubt  to  convey  an 
idea  of  richness  which  the  cheese  did  not  really 
possess.  This  is  the  more  evident,  as  it  is 
universally  allowed  that  the  poorest  cheese 
always  requires  the  greatest  quantity  of  dye  to 
bring  it  to  the  proper  degree  of  colour.  The 
material  which  is  employed  for  this  purpose  is 
the  Spanish  annotta.  (See  Axnotta.)  The 
weight  of  a  guinea  and  a  half  of  it  is  consi- 
dered in  Cheshire  sufficient  for  a  cheese  of  60 
lbs.;  and  in  Gloucestershire  an  ounce  is  the 
common  allowance  to  1  cwt. 

In  regard  to  the  rennet,  it  maybe  observed, 
that  milk  may  be  coagulated,  or  curdled,  by 
the  application  of  any  sort  of  acid;  but  the 
substance  which  is  most  commonly  used  is  the 
maws  or  stomachs  of  young  calves  prepared 
for  the  purpose.  These  are  most  generally  de- 
nominated rennets ;  but  they  are  also  often  pro- 
vincially  called  veils,  and  in  Scotland  yearnings. 
See  Renxet. 

In  Cheshire,  after  the  rennet  is  added  to  the 
milk,  and  as  soon  as  the  curd  is  firm  enough 
to  discharge  its  whey,  the  dairy  woman  plunges 
her  hands  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  and, 
■with  a  wooden  dish,  stirs  the  curd  and  whey; 
.hen  lets  go  the  dish,  and  by  her  hand  agitates 
the  whole,  carefully  breaking  every  part  of  the 
curd;  and,  at  intervals,  stirring  it  hard  to  the 
bottom  with  the  dish,  so  that  no  curd  remains 
unbroken  larger  than  a  hazel-nut.  This  is 
done  to  prevent  what  is  called  slip-curd,  or 
lumps  of  curd,  which,  by  retaining  the  whey, 
do  not  press  uniformly  with  the  other  curd,  but 
in  a  few  days,  if  ii  happens  to  be  situated 
•  towards  the  rind  of  the  cheese,  turns  livid  and 
jelly-like,  and  soon  becomes  faulty  and  rotten. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  curd  subsides.  The 
dairy-woman  then  takes  her  dish,  and  lades  off 
314 


the  whey  into  a  milk-lead  to  stand  for  cream, 
to  be  churned  for  whey-butter.  This  is  a  prac- 
tice peculiar  to  the  cheese  counties.  In  Nor- 
folk the  whey,  even  from  new  milk,  passes 
from  the  cheese-vessels  immediately  to  the  hog- 
tub.  Having  laded  off  all  the  whey  she  can, 
she  spreads  a  straining  cloth,  and  strains  the 
whey  through  it,  returning  the  curd  retained  in 
the  cloth  into  the  cheese-tub.  When  she  has  got 
all  the  whey  she  can  by  pressing  the  curd  with 
her  hand  and  the  lading-dish,  she  takes  a  knife 
and  cuts  it  into  square  pieces  of  a"bout  two  or 
three  inches.  This  lets  out  more  of  the  whey, 
and  makes  the  curd  more  handy  to  be  taken 
up  in  order  to  be  broken  into  the  vats. 

Having  made  choice  of  a  vat  or  vats  pro- 
portioned to  the  quantity  of  curd,  so  that  the 
cheese  when  fully  pressed  shall  exactly  fill  the 
vat,  she  spreads  a  cheese-cloth  loosely  over 
the  mouth  of  the  vat,  into  which  she  rebreaks 
the  curd,  carefully  squeezing  every  part  of  it 
in  her  hands  ;  and  having  filled  the  vat  heaped 
up,  and  rounded  above  its  top,  she  folds  over 
it  the  cloth  and  places  it  in  the  press,  on  the 
construction  and  power  of  which  much  de- 
pends. 

When  the  vat  is  properly  placed  in  the  press, 
the  ordinary  degree  of  pressure  is  applied, 
which  is  more  or  less,  according  to  the  sizes 
of  the  cheeses  usually  made.  At  all  large 
dairies,  there  are  two  or  three  presses,  all  va- 
rying in  respect  to  weight  or  pressure.  There 
are  various  kinds  of  cheese-presses ;  one 
made  entirely  of  iron  by  the  Shotts  Foundry 
Company  is  described  in  the  Trans.  High.  Soc. 
vol.  iv.  p.  52.  As  soon  as  the  vat  is  placed  in 
the  press,  and  the  weight  applied,  skewers  are 
thrust  in  through  the  holes  in  the  side  of  the 
vat;  this  is  done  repeatedly  during  the  first 
day  when  the  vat  is  in  the  press.  From  the 
time  the  vat  is  first  placed  in  the  press  till  it  is" 
again  taken  out  does  not,  in  ordinary  cases, 
exceed  two  or  three  hours.  When  taken  out, 
the  cheese  is  put  into  a  vessel  with  hot  whey, 
with  a  view  of  hardening  its  coat  or  skin, 
where  it  stands  for  an  hour  or  two ;  it  is  then 
removed,  wiped  dry,  and  after  having  remain- 
ed some  time  to  cool,  is  covered  with  a  clean 
cloth ;  and  the  vat  being  wiped  dry,  and  the 
cheese  replaced,  it  is  again  put  into  the  press. 
In  the  evening,  supposing  the  cheese  to  have 
been  made  in  the  morning,  which  is  the  usual 
time,  it  is  again  taken  out  of  the  vat ;  and  an- 
other dry  cloth  being  applied,  it  is  turned  and 
replaced ;  what  was  formerly  the  upper  becom- 
ing now  the  under  side.  In  this  manner  it  is 
taken  out,  wrapped  in  clean  cloths,  and  turned 
in  the  vat  twice  a  day  for  two  days,  when  it  is 
finally  removed. 

The  salting  is  the  next  operation.  The 
cheese,  on  being  for  the  last  time  taken  out  of 
the  vat,  is  carried  to  the  salting-house,  and 
placed  in  the  vat  in  a  tub  filled  to  a  consider- 
able depth  with  brine,  in  Avhich  it  stands  for 
several  days,  being  regularly  turned  once  at 
least  every  day.  The  vat  is.  then  removed  from 
the  brine-tub;  and  the  cheese  being  taken  out, 
is  placed  on  the  salting-bench,  where  it  stands 
for  eight  or  ten  days,  salt  being  carefully  rub- 
bed over  the  whole  every  day  during  the  period. 
When  the  cheese  is  of  a  large  size,  it  is  com- 


CHEESE. 


CHEESE. 


monly  surrounded  with  a  wooden  hoop  or  fillet 
of  cloth  to  prevent  renting.  Alter  it  is  sup- 
posed to  be  sufficiently  salted,  it  is  washed  in 
■warm  water  or  whey,  and  when  well  dried  with 
a  cloth,  is  placed  on  what  is  called  the  drying- 
bench,  where  it  remains  a  like  period  before  it 
is  removed  to  the  keeping-house  or  cheese- 
chamber. 

The  last  part  of  the  business  is  the  manage- 
ment in  the  cheese-room.  In  Gloucestershire  the 
young  cheeses  are  turned  every  day,  or  every 
two  or  three  days,  according  to  the  state  of  the 
weather,  or  the  fancy  or  judgment  of  the  dairy- 
woman.  If  the  air  be  cold  and  dry,  the  win- 
dows and  door  are  kept  shut  as  much  as  may 
be ;  if  close  and  moist,  as  much  fresh  air  as 
possible  is  admitted.  Having  remained  about 
ten  days  in  the  dairy  (more  or  less,  according 
to  the  space  of  time  between  the  washings), 
the  cheeses  are  cleaned ;  that  is,  washed  and 
scraped. 

The  produce  of  a  dairy  of  cows,  where  the 
milk  is  converted  into  cheese,  is  very  various- 
ly stated  by  different  writers.  In  some  districts 
2^  cwts.  from  each  cow,  whether  a  good  or  a 
bad  milker,  if  at  all  in  milk,  is  considered  a 
good  return.  In  others,  the  average  runs  as 
high  as  3  cwt. ;  and  in  the  county  of  Wilts  in 
particular,  from  3^  to  4  cwts.  is  the  usual 
quantity.  From  accurate  calculations  made 
by  Mr.  Marshall,  and  these  several  times  re- 
peated, he  found  that  in  Gloucestershire  about 
16  gallons  of  milk  were  requisite  fur  making 
little  more  than  11  lbs.  of  two-meal  cheese,  and 
that  one  gallon  of  new  milk  produced  a  pound 
of  curd.  It  is  the  general  opinion  of  dairy 
fanners  that  the  produce  from  two  and  a  half 
to  three  and  a  half  acres  is  necessar)'  to  main- 
tain a  cow  all  the  year  round.  Taking,  there- 
fore, the  medium  of  the  three  averages  of 
cheese  above  mentioned  (amounting  to  355  lbs. 
from  each  cow),  the  quantity  of  cheese  by  the 
acre  is  1 18  lbs.  Every  calculation  of  this  kind 
must,  however,  be  extremely  vague  and  un- 
certain.   See  Dairt. 

In  the  making  of  Parmesan  cheese,  we  are 
informed  by  Mr.  Price,  in  the  Papers  of  the  Bath 
and  W.  Engl.  Society  (vol.  vii.),  that  the  method 
is  "to  put,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  five 
brents  and  a  half  of  milk,  each  brent  about 
forty-eight  quarts,  into  a  large  copper,  which 
turns  on  a  crane  over  a  slow  wood  fire,  made 
about  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground; 
the  milk  is  stirred  from  time  to  time,  and  about 
eleven  o'clock,  when  just  lukewarm,  or  con- 
si  Icrably  under  a  blood-heat,  a  ball  of  rennet, 
ng  as  a  large  walnut,  is  squeezed  through 
a.  cluth  into  the  milk,  which  is  kept  stirred. 
By  the  help  of  the  crane  the  copper  is  turned 
from  over  the  fire,  and  left  till  a  few  minutes 
past  twelve;  at  which  time  the  rennet  has 
sufficiently  operated.  It  is  now  stirred  up,  and 
left  for  a  short  time.  Part  of  the  whey  is  then 
taken  out,  and  the  copper  again  turned  over  a 
fire  sufficiently  brisk  to  give  a  strongish  heat, 
but  below  that  of  boiling.  A  quarter  of  an 
ounce  of  saffron  is  now  put  into  the  milk  to 
give  it  a  little  colour ;  and  it  is  well  stirred 
from  time  to  time.  The  dairy-man  frequently 
feels  the  curd.  When  the  small,  and,  as  it 
were,  granulated  parts,  feel  rather  firm,  which 


is  in  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  copper  is 
taken  from  the  fire,  and  the  curd  left  to  fall  to 
the  bottom.  Part  of  the  whey  is  taken  out,  and 
the  curd  brought  up  in  a  coarse  cloth,  hanging 
together  in  a  tough  state.  It  is  then  put  into 
a  hoop,  and  about  a  half  hundred  weight  laid 
upon  it  for  about  an  hour;  after  which  the  cloth 
is  taken  off,  and  the  cheese  placed  on  a  shelf 
in  the  same  hoop.  At  the  end  of  two,  or  from 
that  to  three  days,  it  is  sprinkled  all  over  with 
salt;  the  same  is  repeated  every  second  day 
for  about  forty  or  forty-five  days,  after  which 
no  further  attention  is  required.  While  salt- 
ing, they  generally  place  two  cheeses  one  upon 
another ;  in  which  state  they  are  said  to  take 
the  salt  better  than  singly.  The  country  be- 
tween Cremona  and  Lodi,  says  Mr.  Evans, 
comprises  the  richest  part  of  the  Milanese. 
The  irrigation,  too,  is  brought  to  the  highest 
degree  of  perfection ;  the  grass  is  cut  four 
times  a  year  as  fodder  for  the  cows,  from  whose 
milk  is  made  the  well-known  Parmesan  cheese. 
The  cows,  which  are  kept  in  the  stall  nearly 
all  the  year  round,  are  fed  during  summer  on 
two  of  ihese  crops  of  grass  or  clover,  which 
are  cut  green;  and  in  the  winter  on  the  other 
two,  which  are  hayed.  The  milk  of  at  least 
fifty  cows  is  required  for  the  manufacture  of 
one  Parmesan  cheese.  Hence,  as  one  farm 
rarely  affords  pasture  for  such  a  number,  it  is 
usual  for  the  farmers  or  metayers  of  a  district 
to  club  together.  (Quart.  Joum.  of  Agr.  vol.  v. 
p.  622.) 

Cream  cheese  is  made  In  various  places  ;  but 
that  which  is  generally  known  by  the  name  of 
Stilton  is  made  in  Leicestershire,  in  the  follow- 
ing manner,  according  to  the  Agriculttiral  Re- 
port  of  that  county  : — The  night's  cream  is  put 
into  the  morning's  new  milk  with  the  rennet; 
but  when  the  curd  is  come  it  is  not  broken,  as 
is  done  with  other  cheeses,  but  is  taken  out 
with  a  soildish  altogether,  and  placed  in  a 
sieve  to  drain  gradually ;  and,  as  it  drains,  it 
is  pressed,  till  it  becomes  firm  and  dry ;  being 
then  placed  in  a  wooden  hoop,  and  afterwards 
kept  dry  on  boards,  it  is  turned  frequently, 
with  cloth  binders  round  it,  which  are  tightened 
as  occasion  requires.  Cream  cheese  of  good 
quality  is  likewise  made,  in  some  districts,  by 
adding  the  cream  of  one  meal's  milk  to  the 
milk  which  is  immediately  taken  from  the 
cow.  This,  after  being  made  and  pressed 
gently  two  or  three  times,  and  carefully  turned 
for  a  day  or  two,  is  fit  for  use. 
•  Since  the  late  reduction  of  duties  in  England 
upon  provisions  introduced  from  abroad,  cheese 
has  been  among  the  articles  extensively  ship- 
ped from  the  United  States  to  that  country, 
where  the  complaint  against  American  cheese 
is,  that  it  is  generally  insufficiently  pressed,  a 
fault  which  gives  it,  when  cut,  a  porous  or 
honeycomb  appearance.  Its  flavour  is  also 
rendered  unpleasant  by  the  too  free  use  o/ 
rennet.  The  removal  of  these  defects  would 
very  much  enhance  the  value  of  American 
cheese  both  at  home  and  abroad.  Neverthe' 
less,  cheese  of  excellent  qualities  as  to  richness 
flavour,  and  other  requisites,  is  made  in  the  • 
northern  portions  of  the  Middle  and  Western 
States  and  throughout  Nev  England.  Sej 
Dairt. 

316 


CHEESE. 


CHEESE. 


Pine  Apple  Cheese.— E.  Perkins,  of  Herkimer 
county,  New  York,  a  fine  dairy  district,  gives 
the  following  description  of  the  mode  of  mak- 
ing those  cheeses  moulded  in  the  pine-apple 
form.  These  weigh  from  7  to  8  lbs.,  and  are 
chiefly  made  in  the  small  dairy  establishments. 
The  cheese-making  process,  until  fit  for  the 
press,  is  pretty  much  like  that  usually  pursued 
in  making  common  cheeses.  Some  add  a  little 
more  salt.  The  pressing  is  performed  in  wooden 
blocks,  griped  together,  and,  after  this  process, 
the  cheeses  are  suspended  in  nets,  till  so  har- 
dened as  to  stand  on  a  trencher  made  for  the 
purpose,  where  they  remam  till  fit  for  market. 
This  kind  of  cheese  is  chiefly  made  under 
contract.  If  the  purchaser  finds  the  pressers, 
nets,  and  trenchers,  the  price  is  from  7  to  7^ 
cents  per  lb.  When  the  maker  finds  every 
thing  he  gets  about  8  or  9  cents  per  lb.  In  the 
preparation  of  pine-apple  cheese,  more  al- 
lowance is  made  for  shrinkage  than  in  the 
manufacture  of  common  cheese.  {Farmer^ s 
Instructor.) 

AU  new  cheeses  require  to  be  M^ell  dried  to 
fit  them  for  the  market,  and  when  taken  out 
of  the  moulds  must  be  laid  upon  a  shelf  and 
turned  every  day  for  some  time.  This  opera- 
tion was  formerly  done  by  hand,  which  proved 
very  laborious.  But  contrivances  have  been 
invented  by  which  the  work  can  now  be  done 
very  quickly  and  without  the  least  exertion  of 
strength.  Some  of  these  will  be  found  men- 
tioned under  the  head  Datky. 

After  the  cheeses  have  passed  through  the 
different  processes,  and  the  drying  is  com- 
pleted, they  are  to  be  deposited  in  the  cheese 
or  store-room.  This  should  be  dry  and  airy, 
and  the  hard  and  soft  cheeses  ought  not  to  be 
kept  in  the  same  room.  In  some  of  the  best 
dairy  districts  in  the  United  States,  it  is  thought 
best  not  to  darken  the  cheese  rooms,  or  attempt 
to  keep  out  the  flies,  but  in  hot,  sultry  weather, 
the  doors  and  windows  are  opened  to  admit 
the  air  freely.  Cool  dry  air  blowing  directly 
upon  the  cheeses,  is  apt  to  crack  them.  These 
cracks  are  to  be  filled  up  with  pepper,  either 
black  or  cayenne.  To  mature  cheese  fast,  the 
room  should  be  kept  warm  in  the  fall  and 
spring. 

We  learn  from  the  Transactions  of  the  High- 
land Agricultural  Society  in  Scotland,  that  the 
flavour  of  an  old  cheese  may  be  communicated 
to  a  new  one  of  whatever  species,  by  the  in- 
sertion of  some  portions  of  the  old  into  the 
new  cheese.  Small  pieces  are  to  be  extracted 
with  a  sample-scoop  from  each  cheese,  and 
those  taken  from  the  old  are  to  be  inserted  into 
the  new,  and  those  from  the  new  put  into  the 
old.  After  this  interchange,  the  new  one,  if 
kept  well  excluded  from  the  air,  will,  in  a  few 
weeks,  become  thoroughly  impregnated  with 
the  mould,  and  have  a  flavour  hardly  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  old  one.  The  cheese 
selected  must  be  drj',  and  the  blue  mould 
sliould  be  free  from  any  portion  of  a  more  de- 
cayed appearance. 

A  great  variety  of  cheeses  are  made  in 
Switzerland,  the  most  celebrated  of  which  are 
(he  Schabzie^er,  (or  sap-sago  as  we  commonly 
call  it.)  and  the  Gruyere.  Of  the  quantity  of 
cheeses  exported  from  Switzerland,  we  have 

me 


no  information  that  can  be  relied  upon ;  hu»  It 
is  computed  that  30,000  cwt.  of  Gruyere  cheese 
alone,  fit  for  exportation,  is  annually  made; 
and  thart,  from  the  middle  of  July  to  October, 
300  horses,  weekly,  are  employed  in  transport- 
ing Swiss  cheese  over  Mount  Grias.  (For. 
Rev.  and  Cont.  Misc.) 

"  The  Schabzieger  cheese  is  made  by  the  moun- 
taineers of  the  canton  of  Glarus  alone;  and,  in 
its  greatest  perfection,  in  the  valley  of  Kloeru 
It  is  readily  distinguished  by  its  marbled  ap- 
pearance and  aromatic  flavour,  both  produced 
by  the  bruised  leaves  of  the  melilot.  The 
dairy  is  built  near  a  stream  of  water;  the  ves- 
sels containing  the  milk  are  placed  on  gravel 
or  stone  in  the  dairy,  and  the  water  conducted 
into  it  in  such  a  manner  as  to  reach  their 
brim.  The  milk  is  exposed  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  about  six  degrees  of  Reaumur  (forty-six 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit),  for  five  or  six  days, 
and  in  that  time  the  cream  is  completely 
formed.  After  this  it  is  drained  off,  the  case- 
ous particles  are  separated,  by  the  addition 
of  some  sour  milk,  and  not  by  rennet.  The 
curd  thus  obtained  is  pressed  strongly  in  bags, 
on  which  stones  are  laid;  when  sufliciently 
pressed  and  dried,  it  is  ground  to  powder  in 
autumn,  sailed,  and  mixed  with  either  the 
pressed  flowers,  powdered  and  sifted,  or  the 
seeds  of  the  melilot  trefoil  (Melilotus  offidndlisy 
PI.  10,  / ).  The  practice  of  mixing  the  flowers 
or  the  seeds  of  plants  with  cheese  was  com- 
mon among  the  Romans,  who  used  those  of 
the  thyme  for  that  purpose.  The  entire  sepa- 
ration of  the  cream  or  unctuous  portion  of  the 
milk  is  indispensable  in  the  manufacture  of 
Schabzieger.  The  unprepared  curd  never  sells 
for  more  than  three  halfpence  a  pound; 
whereas,  prepared  as  Schabzieger,  it  sells  for 
sixpence  or  seven-pence.  {For.  Rev.  and  Cont 
Misc.) 

"  The  Gruyere  cheese  of  Switzerland  is  so  named 
after  a  valley,  where  the  best  of  that  kind  is 
made.  Its  merit  depends  chiefly  on  the  herb- 
age of  the  mountain  pastures,  and  partly  on 
the  custom  of  mixing  the  flowers  of  bruised 
seeds  of  MeUlotus  offidndlis  with  the  curd,  before 
it  is  pressed.  The  mountain  pastures  are 
rented  at  so  much  per  cow's  feed  from  the  15th 
of  May  to  the  18th  of  October;  and  the  cows 
are  hired  from  the  peasants,  at  so  much,  for 
the  same  period.  On  the  precise  day  both 
land  and  cows  return  to  their  owners.  It  is 
estimated  that  15,000  cows  are  so  grazed,  and 
30,000  cwt.  of  cheese  made  fit  for  exportation, 
besides  what  is  reserved  for  home  use. 

"  Ewe-milk  cheese  of  Suritzerhmd.  One  measure 
of  ewe's  milk  is  added  to  three  measures  of 
cow's  milk  ;  little  rennet  is  used,  and  no  acid. 
The  best  Swiss  cheese  of  this  kind  is  made  by 
the  Bergamese  sheep-masters,  on  Mount  Splu- 
gen."     (For.  Rev.  and  Cont.  Misc.) 

Sage  Cheese,  an  humble  imitation  of  the  Swiss 
green  cheese  much  relished  in  some  parts  of 
the  United  States.  "  To  make  this  cheese,  take 
the  tops  of  young  red  sage,  and  having  pressed 
the  juice  from  them  by  beating  in  a  mortar, 
do  the  same  with  the  leaves  of  spinach,  and 
then  mix  the  two  juices  together.  After  put- 
ting the  rennet  to  the  milk,  pour  in  some  of  this 
juice,  regulating  the  quantity  by  the  degree  of 


CHEESE  CLOTHS. 


CHEESE-PRESS. 


colour  and  taste  it  is  intended  to  give  the 
cheese.  As  the  curd  appears,  break  it  gently, 
and  in  an  equal  manner,  then  emptying  it  into 
the  cheese  vat,  let  it  be  a  little  pressed,  in  order 
to  make  it  eat  mellow.  Having  stood  for  about 
seven  hours,  salt  and  turn  it  daily  for  four  or 
five  weeks,  then  it  will  be  fit  for  the  table. 
The  spinach  besides  improving  the  flavour, 
and  correcting  the  bitterness  of  the  sage,  will 
give  it  a  much  more  pleasing  colour  than  can 
be  obtained  from  sage  alone." 

Cream  Cheese. — Excellent  cream  cheeses  are 
supplied  to  the  Philadelphia  market  by  the 
Leighbouring  Pennsylvania  farmers.  They 
are  round,  generally  from  six  to  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  and  about  one  inch  thick.  The  mode 
of  preparing  cream  cheese  is  as  follows.  Ex- 
pose cream  to  the  air  and  it  will  be  found  to 
grow  thick  gradually,  so  that  in  three  or  four 
days  the  vessel  containing  it  may  be  turned 
upside  down  without  loss.  In  eight  or  ten 
days  more,  its  surface  will  become  coated  over 
with  a  kind  of  mucus  and  a  woolly  moss  or 
byssi.  After  this,  it  no  longerretains  the  flavour 
of  cream,  but  of  a  very  fat  cheese.  This  rich 
dainty  differs  from  butter  in  containing  both 
curd,  and  scrum  or  whey,  together  with  the 
oily  matter;  whereas  in  butter  the  oil  is  ob- 
tained separate  from  the  whey  and  curd  or 
cheesy  matter. 

Another  mode  of  making  cream  cheese  is 
the  follcfu'ing,  given  by  the  late  Judge  Cooper, 
whose  endorsement  makes  it  worthy  of  the 
highest  credit.  "Take  of  the  top  or  surface 
cream  that  has  been  collected  for  three  or  four 
days  in  the  creara-croak  so  as  to  be  slightly 
acid,  one  pint:  on  each  of  two  common  plates 
lay  a  dry  napkin  four-doubled :  put  half  a  pint 
of  cream  on  each  napkin.  Next  day  have 
ready  another  plate  covered  with  a  folded  wet 
napkin,  turn  the  two  cheeses  one  on  lop  of  the 
other  upon  the  wet  napkin,  cover  them  over 
with  the  ends  of  this  wet  napkin,  and  change 
it  every  day  for  a  week  till  the  cheese  is  ripe. 
It  must  not  be  done  in  a  cellar  or  damp  place, 
but  in  a  room,  otherwise  it  will  mould." 

In  Lincolnshire,  England,  as  well  as  in  the 
neighbourhoods  of  Bath  and  York,  rich  and 
excellent  cream  cheeses  are  made.  These, 
like  all  such  kind  of  soft  and  rich  cheeses,  are 
used  when  but  a  few  days  old,  to  be  eaten  with 
radishes,  salad,  &c. 

For  the  mode  of  preparing  the  celebrated 
Stilton  cream  cheese  see  p.  315. 

There  are  papers,  by  Mr.  P.  Miller,  "On 
making  cheese  resembling  that  of  Gloucester 
and  Wiltshire"  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p. 
228);  and  "In  Imitation  of  Double  Glouces- 
ter," by  Mr.  Bell  (Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  155);  and  "  On 
communicating  the  Flavour  of  old  to  new 
Cheese  by  Inoculation,"  by  Mr.  Robinson  (Ibid. 
p.  232).  "On  making  Cheese  from  Potatoes 
in  Thuringia."  {Farmer's  Mag.  vol.  viii. 
p.  14^.) 

CHEESE  CLOTHS  are  large  towels  to  put 
inside  the  chessel  or  vat,  while  the  cheese  is 
pressing.  They  are  of  home  manufacture,  and 
should  be  of  strong  and  open  texture :  every 
time  they  are  used  for  this  purpose,  they  should 
be  wrung  out  of  boiling  water,  and  dried  in  the 
sun,  or  before  the  fire. 


I      CHEESE  COLOURING.     See  Anno  rr^. 
CHEESE-FLY  and  MAGGOT  (Piophila  co- 
sei).      The  small   white   larvae  found   in   old 

I  and  putrescent  cheese,  produce  a  small  twcr 

!  winged  fly,  about  two  lines  in  length,  which 
has   a   greenish-black,  smooth,   and    shining 

j  body.    It  is  fully  described  in  the  Quart.  Jmnu 

I  of  Jgr.  vol.  xii.  p.  125. 

Dr.  Harris  describes  the  cheese-maggots 
found  in  Massachusetts  as  the  young  of  a  fly 
(Piophila  casei)  not  more  than  three-twentieths 
of  an  inch  long,  of  a  shining  black  colour,  with 
the  middle  and  hinder  legs  mostly  yellowish, 
and  the  wings  tranapsrent  like  glass.  See  his 
Report,  &c. 

CHEESE-KNIFE.  A  large  sort  of  knife, 
or  spatula,  made  use  of  in  dairies  for  the  pur- 
pose of  cutting  or  breaking  down  the  curd 
whilst  in  the  cheese-tub. 

CHEESE-LEP.  The  bag  in  which  dairy- 
women  keep  the  rennet  for  making  cheese. 

CHEESE-MITES.  This  is  the  Jcarus  siro, 
an  almost  microscopic  apterous  insect,  fur- 
nished with  eight  legs,  on  the  four  first  of 
which,  between  two  claws,  is  a  vesicle  with  a 
long  neck,  to  which  the  insect  can  give  every 
kind  of  inflexion.  "When  it  sets  its  foot 
down,  it  inlarges  and  inflates ;  and  when  it 
lifts  it  up,  it  contracts  it,  so  that  the  vesicle 
almost  entirely  disappears."  (De  Geer,  quoted 
by  Kirby,  vol.  xxxiv.  p.  331.)  It  is  not  pos- 
sible to  say  how  thi^  insect  gets  into  cheeses. 
The  brown  powder,  so  valued  by  epicures,  in 
which  the  mites  live,  is  their  excrement. 

CHEESE-PRESS.  A  press  employed  in 
cheese  dairies,  to  force  the  whey  from  the  cunl 
when  in  the  cheese  vat. 

Cheese  presses  are  of  different  forms.  The 
most  simple  and  primitive  press  is  merely  a 
long  beam,  one  end  of  which  is  placed  in  a 
hole  of  the  wall,  and  frequently  it  is  fixed  to  a 
bolt,  or  in  the  trunk  of  a  tree.  The  sinker  forms 
the  fulcrum,  a  weight  consisting  of  two  or  three 
undressed  stones  being  placed  on  the  other  end 
of  the  lever.  A  second  kind  is  formed  by  a 
large  square  stone,  suspended  by  a  screw  be- 
tween the  side  posts  of  a  timber  frame.  The 
chessel  is  placed  underneath  it,  and  the  stone 
is  lowered  upon  the  sinkej  by  turning  the 
screw  to  the  left  hand.  The  cneese  vat  is  re- 
moved at  pleasure  by  turning  the  screw  to  the 
right  hand,  which  elevates  the  stone.  To  pre- 
serve the  screw,  a  small  block  of  timber  is 
placed  underneath  the  stone  during  the  period 
that  cheese-making  is  suspended. 

Another  kind  of  press  consists  of  a  timber 
frame  formed  of  two  perpendicular  side  posts 
and  a  cross  top  with  a  parallel  beam,  which  is 
suspended  from  the  top  by  two  screws.  The 
cheese  vat  is  placed  upon  the  beam,  which  is 
lifted  up  when  the  screws  are  turned  to  the 
right  hand;  and  the  sinker  of  the  chessel  or  vat 
being  pressed  against  the  cross  top,  squeezes 
or  stanes  the  cheese.  When  the  chessel  re- 
quires to  be  removed,  the  screws  are  turned  to 
the  left  hand. 

But  more  complicated  presses,  and  therefore 
in  many  instances  more  convenient,  can  be 
adopted.  The  most  complete,  effective,  and 
approved  press  consists  of  a  frame  of  cast  iron 
with  a  perpendicular  piston,  flat  below  to  cover 
2d  2  317 


CHEESE  RENNET. 


CHEMISTRY. 


She  sinker  of  the  chessel.  The  piston  is  raised 
cr  depressed  by  a  small  pinion  attached  to  a 
ratchet  wheel  and  malleable  iron  lever,  three 
feet  in  length.  The  lever  is  grooved  in  seve- 
ral places  on  the  upper  side  to  hold  the  ring  of 
the  weight  for  increasing  or  diminishing  the 
power,  in  proportion  to  its  distance  from  the 
ratchet  wheel.  The  weight  of  this  press  is 
about  two  stone,  cost  II.  4s.  pressure  20  tons. 
(Martin  Doyle's  Prad.  Husb. ;  Prof.  Lowe's  £/-7W. 
ofJgr.)     See  Daiht. 

CHEESE  RENNET,  or  YELLOW  BED- 
STRAW  (^Galium  verum),  is  a  perennial  plant, 
common  in  waste  places  and  the  borders  of 
fields,  flowering  in  July  and  August.  The 
stem,  which  is  woody  and  much  branclied, 
rises  eighteen  inches,  and  sends  off,  in  the 
same  plane,  narrow,  deep  green,  deflexed 
leaves,  rough  with  minute  points,  each  tipped 
with  a  hair.  The  flowers  are  golden  yellow,  in 
dense  tufted  panicles,  and  smell  strongly  of 
honey  in  the  evening  and  before  rain.  The 
flowers  of  this  weed  were  formerly  used  in 
Cheshire  for  curdling  milk.  (Paxtoii's  Bot.  Diet.; 
Sviith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  208.)  ^ 

CHELIDONIUM.  From  chekdon,  a  swallow; 
it  being  said  to  flower  at  the  arrival  and  wither 
at  the  departure  of  the  swallows.    See  Celait- 

BINE. 

CHELONE  (Chelone  barbata.  From  cheIo7ic, 
a  tortoise ;  to  the  back  of  which  the  helmet  of 
che  flowers  is  fancifully  compared).  Known 
in  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle  States  by  the 
names  of  Shell-flower,  and  Snake-head.  This 
plant  is  a  native  of  North  America,  and  a 
hardy  perennial ;  blowing  beautiful  red  flowers 
in  July  and  August.  It  loves  shade  and  mois- 
ture, and  grows  three  feet  high.  The  white 
chelone  is  hardy,  and  likes  any  soil.  The 
downy  chelone  blows  a  flower  which  is  yellow 
inside,  and  light  purple  outside.  It  is  propa- 
gated by  seed,  and  by  separating  the  roots  in 
autumn.  It  belongs  to  a  hardy  herbaceous 
genus,  that  ought  to  have  a  place  in  every  col- 
lection :  the  species  succeed  well  in  a  mixture 
of  peat  and  loam.  (Paxtoji's  Bot.  Did.) 

CHEMISTRY.  The  importance  of  this 
science  to  the  agriculturist  no  intelligent  mo- 
dern farmer  will  doubt.  Its  triumphs  in  the 
cause  of  the  cultivator  have  been  far  too  many 
for  him  to  hesitate  in  acknowledging  the  obli- 
gation. I  have,  in  this  work,  under  the  heads 
Earths,  Axaltsis  oj  Soils,  Gases,  Wateh, 
Salts,  Orga:«ic  CHEMisTnT,&c.,  endeavoured, 
to  the  best  of  my  power,  to  illustrate  some  of 
the  many  chemical  facts  on  which  the  success- 
ful practice  of  agriculture  depends;  and  to 
these  I  must  refer  the  farmer.  Most  of  the 
substances  belonging  to  our  globe,  says  Davy, 
(Chem.  Philosophy,  p.  1),  are  constantly  under- 
going alterations  in  sensible  qualities,  and  one 
variety  of  matter  becomes^  as  it  were,  trans- 
muted into  another.  Such  changes,  whether 
natural  or  artificial,  whether  slowly  or  rapidly 
performed,  are  called  chemical ;  thus,  the  gra- 
dual and  almost  imperceptible  decay  of  the 
leaves  and  branches  of  a  fallen  tree  exposed  to 
the  atmosphere,  and  the  rapid  combustion  of 
wood  in  our  fires,  are  both  chemical  operations. 
The  object  of  chem.cal  philosophy  is  to  ascer- 
tain the  causes  of  all  phenomena  of  this  kind, 
318 


and  to  discover  the  laws  by  which  they  are 
governed.  The  ends  of  this  branch  of  know- 
ledge are  the  applications  of  natural  substances 
to  new  uses,  for  increasing  the  comforts  and 
enjoyments  of  man  ;  and  the  demonstration  of 
the  order,  harmony,  and  intelligent  design  of 
the  system  of  the  earth.  The  foundations  of 
chemical  philosophy  are  observation,  experi- 
ment, and  analogy.  By  observation,  facts  are 
distinctly  and  minutely  impressed  on  the  mind. 
By  analogy,  similar  facts  are  collected.  By 
experiment,  new  facts  are  discovered;  and,  in 
the  progression  of  knowledge,  observation, 
guided  by  analogy,  leads  to  experiment ;  and 
analogy,  confirmed  by  experiment,  becomes 
scientific  truth.  To  give  an  instance, — who- 
ever will  consider  with  attention  the  slender 
green  vegetable  filaments  (^Confei-va  nvularis) 
which  in  the  summer  exist  in  almost  all 
streams,  lakes,  or  pools,  under  the  diff'erent 
circumstances  of  shade  and  sunshine,  will  dis- 
cover globules  of  air  upon  the  filaments  ex- 
posed under  water  to  the  sun,  but  no  air  on  the 
filaments  that  are  shaded.  He  will  find  that 
the  efiect  is  owing  to  the  presence  of  light. 
This  is  an  observation;  but  it  gives  no  informa- 
tion respecting  the  nature  of  the  air.  Let  a 
wine-glass  filled  with  water  be  inverted  over 
the  conferva  thus  acted  upon  by  the  light.  The 
air-bubbles,  as  they  rise,  will  collect  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  glass  ;  and,  when  the  glass  is 
filled  with  air,  it  may  be  closed  with  the  hand, 
placed  in  its  usual  position,  and  an  inflamed 
taper  introduced  into  it:  the  taper  will  burn 
with  more  brilliancy  than  in  the  atmosphere. 
This  is  an  experiment.  If  the  phenomena  are 
reasoned  upon,  and  the  question  is  put,  whether 
all  vegetables  of  this  kind,  in  fresh  or  in  salt 
water,  do  not  produce  such  air  under  like  cir- 
cumstances, the  inquirer  is  guided  by  analogy; 
and,  when  this  is  determined  to  be  the  case  by 
new  trials,  a  general  scientific  truth  is  esta- 
blished,— that  all  confervas  in  the  sunshine 
produce  a  species  of  air  (oxygen  gas)  which 
supports  flame  in  a  superior  degree ;  a  fact 
which  has  been  shown  to  be  the  case  by  vari- 
ous minute  investigations. 

By  such  researches  the  chemist  ascertains 
the  composition  and  uses  of  the  various  other 
gases,  and  also  of  the  earths,  metals,  and  salts,  ol 
which  the  materials  of  the  earth  we  inhabit  are 
composed;  delightful  inquiries,  which  will  well 
repay  the  cultivator  in  more  ways  than  one  for 
the  labour  he  may  bestow  upon  them.  They 
will  speedily  teach  him  that  nothing  in  this 
world  of  ours  is  ever  lost  or  destroyed ;  that  the 
decaying  materials  of  his  most  noisome  ma- 
nures speedily  again  make  their  appearance  in 
new  forms,  and  in  salubrious  and  fragrant 
plants  ;  that  the  expired  breath  of  himself  and 
his  live-stock  is  the  inhaled  food  of  all  vegeta- 
tion ;  and  that  vegetables  purify  the  very  air 
which  animals  have  vitiated.  And  again,  the 
correct  rotation  of  crops,  the  use  of  permanent 
or  earthy  additions  to  the  soil,  (which  see),  the 
fattening  of  live-stock,  the  origin  of  disea-^-es, 
are  a  few  only  of  the  facts  connected  with  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil  which  the  chemist's 
operations  illustrate.  "The  nature  of  soils" 
(as  it  is  remarked  by  Mr.  G.  W.  Johnson),  "of 
manures,  of  the  food  and  functions  of  plants, 


CHEMISTRY. 


woTilf!  all  be  unknown  but  from  the  analyses 
which  chemists  have  made."  We  know  that 
every  plant  has  a  particular  temperature  in 
which  it  tlirives  best,  a  particular  modification 
of  food,  a  particular  degree  of  moisture,  a  par- 
ticular intensity  of  light ;  and  those  particulari- 
ties vary  at  different  periods  of  their  growth. 
It  is  certain  that  plants  are  subject,  like  all 
other  organized  bodies,  to  various  influences. 
Acids  are  injurious  to  some,  alkalies  to  others; 
the  excess  of  some  of  their  constituents,  and 
the  deficiency  of  others,  insure  disease  to  the 
plants  to  which  such  irregularities  occur.  Dis- 
ease is  accompanied  by  decay  more  or  less 
extensive  and  rapid;  and  if  these  cannot  be 
checked  by  salutary  applications  and  treat- 
ment, death  ultimately  ensues.  Now,  if  it  was 
possible  for  any  science  or  sciences  to  teach 
the  cultivator  of  plants  how  to  provide  for 
them  all  the  favourable  contingencies,  all  the 
appropriate  necessaries  above  alluded  to,  and 
to  protect  them  from  all  those  which  are 
noxious  to  them,  the  art  of  cultivation  would 
be  far  advanced  to  perfection.  Such  sciences 
are  botany  and  chemistry.  It  is  not  asserted 
that  they  can,  at  present,  do  all  that  is  desired 
of  them, — all  of  which  they  are  capable ;  but 
they  can  do  much.  As  evidence  of  what  can 
be  effected  by  a  combination  pf  chemical  and 
practical  knowledge  in  the  cultivation  of  the 
soil,  we  may  quote  the  example  of  Lavoisier. 
He  cultivated  240  acres  in  La  Vendee,  actuated 
by  the  beneficent  desire  of  demonstrating  to  his 
countrymen  the  importance  of  sustaining  the 
art  of  cultivation  on  scientific  principles.  In 
nine  years  his  produce  was  doubled,  and  his 
crops  afforded  one-third  more  than  those  of  or- 
dinary cultivators.  It  is  unnecessar}'  to  dwell 
upon  the  importance  of  such  improvements. 
Science  can  never  supersede  the  use  of  the 
dunghill,  the  plough,  the  spade,  and  the  hoe; 
but  it  can  be  one  of  their  best  guides, — it  can 
be  a  pilot  even  to  the  most  experienced.  (Bax- 
ter's Lib,  of  Jlp-,;  Gard.  Mae.  vols.  iii.  and  iv. ; 
Davy's  Chem.  Phil. :  Leibig's  Organic  Chemistry.) 

So  many  important  facts  bearing  upon  agri- 
cultural subjects  have  been  discovered  of  late 
years  through  chemical  experiments  and  re- 
searches, as  to  render  it  imperative  upon  every 
well-instructed  farmer  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted with  them.  It  has  long  been  known 
to  common  observers,  that  certain  crops  will 
grow  in  some  situations  and  not  in  others,  and 
that  after  having  flourished  in  a  place  for  a 
considerable  period,  crops  will  decline  in 
quality  and  quantity,  and  finally  cease  to  com- 
pensate for  the  expenses  of  seed  and  tillage. 
That  certain  kinds  of  manure  are  most  benefi- 
cial to  some  soils  and  plants,  whilst  another 
produces  the  best  effects  upon  others.  But  the 
causes  operating  in  the  production  of  such 
effects  have  not  been  understood,  and  hence, 
great  waste  of  means  and  labour  have  resulted 
in  experiments  often  useless,  for  want  of  that 
chemical  knowledge  through  which  the  precise 
defects  of  the  soil  could  be  detected  and  the 
deficiencies  directly  supplied. 

Agricultural  chemistry  points  out  the  re- 
«pective  elements  entering  into  the  formation 
of  plants,  and  even  those  required  at  each  stage 
of  ihc'r  growth  from  germination  to  the  perfec- 


CHERRY  TREE. 

tion  of  the  seed  or  fruit.  It  shows  which  of 
I  these  elements  are  absorbed  from  the  gases  of 
I  the  atmosphere,  and  what  saline  and  other 
materials  are  furnished  by  the  soil.  The  seed 
itself,  like  the  egg,  contains  the  first  supply  of 
j  nourishment  for  the  roots  of  the  infant  germ 
I  of  the  plant.  To  assist  its  first  growth  before 
I  it  rises  above  ground,  the  humus  of  the  soil 
■  supplies  carbonic  acid,  and  the  looser  the  soil 
j  the  more  of  this  essential  food  for  the  young 
I  plant  can  be  retained.  When  it  rises  above 
the  surface,  and  its  stems  and  leaves  are  fully 
I  developed,  its  main,  and,  according  to  Liebig 
'  and  others, — its  entire  dependence  for  nourish- 
!  ment,  is  upon  the  atmosphere.  Chemistry 
points  out  the  different  gases  which  plants  ab- 
sorb from  the  atmosphere  or  the  soil  in  the 
progress  of  their  growth.  It  also  shows  that 
plants  have  other  constituents,  such  as  potash, 
soda,  lime,  magnesia,  &c.,  without  which,  in 
due  quantities,  they  cannot  come  to  perfection. 
The  proportions  of  these,  though  often  very 
minute,  are  all  important.  The  chemical  pro- 
cesses described  for  analyzing  soils,  will  show 
what  elements  for  the  growth  of  plants  are 
present  and  what  are  wanting.  Knowing  this, 
the  object  of  the  skilful  farmer  will  be  to  sup- 
ply the  deficiencies,  in  a  way  the  most  accept- 
able to  plants.  Some  crops  may  be  repeated 
on  the  same  soil  more  frequently  than  others,  be- 
cause some  consume  more  of  the  alkalies  than 
others.  One  hundred  parts  of  the  stalks  of  wheat 
yield  15-5  parts  of  ashes.  The  same  quantity  of 
barley,  8-54  parts ;  and  of  oats,  only  4-42  parts 
Thus,  as  the  demands  of  each  of  these  plant." 
for  the  alkaline  elements  of  their  growth  it 
different,  one  may  be  raised  on  ground  which 
has  ceased  to  prodnce  the  others;  and  this  is 
what  is  daily  witnessed, — land,  refusing  to 
yield  wheat,  and  yet  affording  good  crops  of 
barley  and  oats ; — and  when  ceasing  to  yield 
compensating  crops  of  wheat  and  barley,  sliU 
affording  excellent  crops  of  oats,  the  proportion 
of  alkali  required  by  which  is  so  comparatively 
small  compared  with  the  dc-mands  of  the 
wheat-crop.  How  readily,  *hea,  may  a  good 
soil  for  oats  be  rendered  productive  in  wheat 
by  the  simple  addition  of  so«ne  alkaline  dress- 
ing, all  the  other  requisites  of  fertility  having 
been  before  present.  Cliemistry  teaches  that 
the  salts  and  other  organic  constituents  re- 
moved from  soils  ir  the  crops,  is  returned  in 
the  dung  of  animuls  fed  upon  such  crops.  It 
teaches  the  precisr,  proportions  of  these,  and 
explains  the  wclKknovvn  facts, — that  the  ex- 
crements of  some  animals,  such  as  man,  are 
more  fertiliziuj^  than  those  of  others ;  that  those 
of  men  living  upon  animal  food  are  stronger 
than  those  of  men  confined  to  vegetable  food. 
All  these  matters  may  be  found  explained 
under  the  different  heads  of  Aniynal  Manures^ 
Ammnniay  Nitrogen,  &c.  Men  of  science  en- 
gaged in  these  useful  subjects  of  investigation, 
are  every  day  unfolding  new  and  important 
facts,  and  what  at  one  time  was  regarded  as 
inscrutable  mystery  becomes  so  well  under 
stood  as  to  be  comprehended  by  a  child. 

CHERRY   TREE   {Prtmus  Cerasus).     It  de- 
rives its  name  from  Cerasus,  a  city  of  Pontus, 
whence   the   tree   was   brought  by   Lucullus, 
about  half  a  century  before  the  Christian  era. 
319 


CHERRY,  WILD. 


CHERRY-IAUREL. 


It  soon  after  spread  into  most  parts  of  Europe, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  carried  to  Bri- 
tain about  a  century  after  it  came  to  Rome. 
The  cherry  is  pretty  generally  cultivated 
throughout  the  kingdom,  as  an  agreeable 
summer  fruit.  The  varieties  are  very  nume- 
rous. The  Horticultural  Society's  Catalogue 
embraces  246 ;  but  the  following  list  is  recom- 
mended by  Ma  we,  as  containing  the  best  varie- 
ties for  general  cultivation,  the  whole  being 
arranged  in  the  order  in  which  they  ripen  in 
England:  —  June:  Early  May,  May  Duke, 
Knight's  Early  Black,  and  Late  Duke.  July  : 
Archduke,  Black  Tartarian,  White  Tartarian, 
Black  Eagle,  Kentish,  Bigarreau,  Holmon's 
Duke,  Elton,  Herefordshire  Heart,  Bleeding 
Heart,  Carnation,  and  Waterloo,  jlugiist :  Har- 
rison's Heart,  Black  Heart,  Waterloo,  Cou- 
ronne,  Lukeward,  Black  Geen,  Small  Black, 
Small  Red  Wild,  White  Swiss,  Lundie  Geen, 
Transparent  Geen,  Cluster,  Yellow  Spanish. 
September:  Florence,  Amber  Heart,  Flemish 
Heart,  Red  Heart,  White  Heart.  October: 
Morello  or  Milan.  For  small  gardens,  either 
as  wall  trees,  espaliers,  or  standards,  the  fol- 
lowing varieties  are  recommended : — The  May 
Duke,  Morello,  Archduke,  Black  Heart,  White 
Heart,  Bigarreau,  Harrison's  Heart,  and  Ken- 
tish Cherries.  Miller  considers  the  common 
Red  or  Kentish,  the  Duke,  and  the  Lukeward 
as  the  best  trees  for  an  orchard;  they  are  plen- 
tiful bearers.  This  tree  prefers  a  light  dry 
sandy  loam,  with  a  free  exposure.  The  wood 
of  the  cherry  trep  is  close,  takes  a  fine  polish, 
and  is  not  liable  to  split.  It  is  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  chairs,  musical  instruments 
&c.,  and  stained  to  imitate  mahogany.  The 
following  varieties  have  been  tried  and  fa- 
vourably reported  upon  by  good  authorifies 
in  Pennsylvania.  In  the  Heart  and  Bigarreau 
class  —  Kjirly  Purple  Guigne,  Knight's  Early 
Bl.ick,  Black  E;igle,  Downton,  Ohio  Beauty, 
Bigarreau  De  Mezel,  Kirtland's  Mary,  Down- 
er's Late,  Elkhorn,  and  Yellow  Spanish.  Coe's 
Transparent,  Champagne,  Belle  d'Orleans, 
Elton,  Napoleon,  and  Governor  Wood,  are  of 
superior  quality  and  productiveness.  Among 
Morello's  arc  t!ie  Reine  llortcnse,  Carnation, 
ftnd  Large  English.  True  Kentish,  and  Late 
Kentish.  Rumsey's  Moiello  is  a  large  fruit, 
and  late  and  protracted  bearer. 

CHERRY,  WILD.  Several  kinds  of  wild 
cherry  are  found  in  the  United  States,  and  Mi- 
chaux  describes  the  following  species. 

Red  Cherry  Tree  (Ccrasus  boreulis).  Red 
cherry.  Small  cherry;  common  only  in  the 
Northern  States,  (including  the  highlands  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Pennsylvania),  in  Canada, 
New  Brunswick,  Nova  Scotia.  The  tree  at- 
tains a  height  of  twenty.five  or  thirty  feet,  with 
a  diameter  of  five  or  six  inches.  Flowers  are 
collected  in  small  white  bunches,  and  the  fruit, 
which  is  of  a  bright  red  colour,  considerable 
size,  and  intensely  acid  taste,  ripens  in  the 
month  of  July.  The  wood  is  fine  grained  and 
of  a  redish  hue,  but  its  inferior  size  limits  its 
use  in  the  mechanical  arts.  This  species  of 
cherry  tree  offers  the  same  remarkable  pecu- 
liarity with  the  canoe  birch  of  reproducing 
itself,  as  it  were,  spontaneously  in  cleared 
grounds,  and  in  such  forests  as  have  been 
32U 


burnt,  which  is  observable  in  spots  where  fire 
has  been  kindled  by  travellers.  Of  all  the  na- 
tive species'of  North  America,  Michaux  thinks 
the  red  cherry  tree  bears  the  greatest  analogy 
to  the  cultivated  cherry  tree  of  Europe,  ajid 
hence  the  most  proper  for  receiving  grafts, 
though  it  has  been  found  difficult  to  make  the 
grafts  succeed. 

Wild  Cherry  (Cerasus  Virginiana).  This  is 
one  of  the  largest  productions  of  the  American 
forests.  Its  wood  is  of  an  excellent  quality 
and  elegant  appearance,  and  is  usefully  em- 
ployed in  the  arts.  In  Maine,  where  the  winter 
is  long  and  intense,  it  hardly  exceeds  thirty 
or  forty  feet  in  height,  and  eight  to  twelve 
inches  in  diameter;  in  the  southern  and  mari- 
time parts  of  the  Carolinas  and  of  Georgia, 
where  the  soil  is  arid  and  sandy,  it  is  rarely 
seen,  and  even  when  found  on  the  banks  of 
rivers  its  growth  is  stinted.  A  milder  climate 
and  more  fertile  soil  favour  its  growth,  and  it 
abounds  in  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  all  the 
Atlantic  States,  and  also  in  Western  New 
York,  and  Illinois,  uniting  with  the  overcup 
white  oak,  black  walnut,  honey  locust,  red  elm, 
and  coffee  tree  of  the  forests  covering  the  fertile 
regions  of  the  West.  On  the  banks  of  the  Ohio 
Michaux  measured  trees  twelve  to  sixteen  feet 
in  circumference,  and  from  eighty  to  one  hun- 
dred feet  in  height,  with  undivided  trunks  of 
uniform  size  to  the  height  of  twenty-five  or 
thirty  feet. 

The  flowers  of  the  wild  cherry  are  white  and 
collected  in  spikes.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size 
of  a  pea  and  nearly  black,  at  maturity,  soon 
after  which,  notwithstanding  its  abundance 
and  bitterness,  it  is  devoured  by  birds.  It  is 
employed  either  alone  or  mixed  with  cultivated 
cherries, — generally  the  morillos  or  mazzards 
— in  making  a  domestic  cordial  called  cherry 
bounce,  which  consists  of  an  infusion  of  the 
cherries  in  rum  or  brandy  with  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  sugar.  It  is  a  faint  imitation  of  the 
Kirschenvasser  of  the  Germans,  and  Murasquin 
of  the  Venetians,  both  of  which  liqueurs  or  cor- 
dials are  prepared  by  distillation,  from  wild 
cherries  found  in  the  north  and  south  of  Europe. 

The  wood  of  this  tree  is  highly  valuable, 
being  compact,  fine-grained  and  brilliant,  and 
not  liable  to  warp  when  perfectly  seasoned- 
When  chosen  near  the  ramification  of  the 
trunk  it  rivals  mahogany  in  the  beauty  of  its 
curls.  The  bark  of  the  wild  cherry  tree  in- 
fused in  cold  water  and  drank  to  the  extent  o.f 
half  a  pint  or  a  pint  a  day  is  a  popular  and 
useful  tonic. 

Wild  Orange  Tree  (Cerasus  Caroliniano.).  This 
beautiful  species  of  cherry  tree  is  found  in  the 
Bahama  Islands,  to  which,  with  the  islands  on. 
the  coast  of  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  Flo- 
rida it  appears  to  be  nearly  confined.  The 
fruit  is  small,  oval,  and  nearly  black,  tho 
greenish  pulp  which  covers  the  soft  stone  not 
being  eatable.  The  wild  orange,  as  it  is  there 
called,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  productions 
of  the  Southern  States  on  the  sea-board,  where 
it  is  a  favourite  ornamental  and  shade  tree. 
The  flowers  are  more  frequented  by  bees  thaa 
those  of  any  other  southern  tree. 

CHERRY  TREE  BORER.    See  Borkbs. 

CHERRY-LAUREL  (.Cerasus  lauro-cerasm). 


CHERRY  TREE  WEEVIL. 


CHESTNUT. 


This  shrub  is  an  exotic,  although  it  is  new 
naturalized  to  this  climate,  and  was  brought  to 
Europe  from  Trebisonde,  in  1576.  It  is  an 
evergreen,  with  smooth  bark,  and  short-stalked, 
oblong,  lanceolate,  remotely  serrated,  coriace- 
ous, shining  leaves,  with  two  or  four  glands  at 
their  base.  The  flower  is  white,  with  round 
spreading  petals,  and  the  fruit  a  small,  black 
drupe  or  cherry.  The  leaves  of  the  cherry- 
laurel  have  long  been  employed  both  in  medi- 
cine and  in  confectionary,  on  account  of  the 
agreeable  odour  and  flavour  of  the  bitter 
almond  which  they  possess.  They  lose  their 
odour  after  they  are  dried,  but  retain  their 
flavour. 

CHERRY  TREE  WEEVIL.  See  Plum 
Tbkk  Wkevil  and  Curculio. 

CHERVIL,  GARDEN  (Chcerophyllum  sati- 
vum). This  herb  grows  in  gardens,  and 
sometimes  wild  in  waste  ground ;  perhaps  the 
outcast  of  gardens.  The  flowers  are  white, 
and  bitter-tasted;  the  seeds  are  smooth,  fur- 
rowed, and  large ;  altogether  the  plant  resem- 
bles parsley,  only  the  leaves  are  paler  and 
more  divided.  The  roots  are  given  in  decoc- 
tion. Chervil  is  slightly  diuretic ;  the  cutters 
of  simples  distil  a  water  from  its  leaves,  which 
they  consider  excellent  in  colics.  It  is  much 
nsed  in  France  for  salads ;  and  is  mentioned 
as  a  potherb  by  Gerarde.  The  parsley-leaved 
chervil  (Scandix  cerifolhim)  and  fern-leaved 
chervil  (S.  odorata),  are  still  cultivated  by  the 
Dutch  for  soups,  salads,  &c.;  but  in  this  coun- 
try they  are  not  often  found  in  the  kitchen  gar- 
den. Seed  may  be  said  to  be  the  only  means 
of  propagation,  and  the  only  sowing  of  this 
that  can  be  depended  upon  must  be  performed 
in  early  autumn,  immediately  after  it  is  ripe  ; 
for  if  kept  until  the  following  spring,  it  will 
seldom  germinate ;  or  if  this  first  grade  of 
vegetation  takes  place,  the  seedlings  are  gene- 
rally weak,  and  die  away  during  the  hot 
weather. 

The  seed  may  be  sown  in  drills  eight  inches 
apart,  or  broadcast ;  in  either  mode  being 
only  just  covered.  The  plants  are  to  be  thin- 
ned to  eight  inches  asunder,  and  to  remain 
where  they  are  raised.  The  only  after-culti- 
vation required  by  them  is  the  keeping  them 
clear  of  weeds. 

CHESSEL.  The  mould  or  vat  in  which  the 
cheese  is  formed.  It  is  made  of  thick  staves, 
generally  of  white  or  American  oak,  bound 
with  two  strong  iron  hoops  to  withstand  the 
necessary  pressure.  The  chessel  is  perforated 
with  many  small  holes  in  the  bottom  and  sides 
to  let  the  whey  drain  out  of  the  curd. 

CHEST.  The  breast;  or  that  part  of  an 
animal's  body  which  contains  the  heart  and 
the  lungs. 

CHEST-FOUNDER.  In  farriery,  a  disease 
incident  to  horses,  which  proceeds  from  in- 
flammation about  the  chest  and  ribs. 

CHESTNUT,  or  CHESNUT  (Fagtis-casta- 
nea).  The  species  cultivated  in  England  are 
the  common  or  sweet  chestnut,  of  which  there 
are  two  kinds,  the  Spanish  (Cas.  vescu)  and  the 
American  (Ca^.  Americana) ; — and  the  horse 
chestnut,  which  belongs  to  a  distinct  genus. 
The  true  chestnut  tree  flourishes  on  poor  gra- 
velly or  sandy  soils,  and  will  thrive  in  any  but 
41 


moist  or  marshy  situations.  It  has  been  much 
questioned  whether  the  chestnut  is  indigenous 
or  exotic.  It  was  at  one  time  very  common  iii 
England,  and  a  great  many  chestnuts  ha7« 
been  planted  within  the  last  thirty  years.  It  is 
long-lived,  grows  to  an  immense  size,  and  is 
very  ornamental.  The  wood  is  hard  and  com- 
pact; when  young,  it  is  tough  and  flexible; 
but  when  old  it  is  brittle  and  often  shaky. 
When  divested  of  its  sap  wood,  this  timber 
will  stand  in  situations  exposed  to  wet  and  dry 
longer  than  oak ;  and  for  gate-posts  it  ranks  in 
durability  next  after  the  acacia,  the  yew,  and 
probably  it  lasts  longer  than  the  larch.  The 
nuts  form  an  article  for  our  dessert  In  some 
parts  of  the  continent  they  are  frequently  used 
as  a  substitute  for  bread,  and  form  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  food  of  the  inhabitants.  In  Eng- 
land, during  the  three  years  ending^with  1831, 
the  entries  of  foreign  chestnuts  for  home  con- 
sumption averaged  20,948  bushels  a  year,  and 
they  pay  a  duty  of  2s.  per  bushel. 

The  fruit  is  used  either  boiled,  roasted,  or  in 
a  raw  state.  Phillips  informs  us  that  iu  the 
south  of  France,  in  Italy,  and  Savoy,  they  are 
made  into  puddings,  cakes,  and  bread.  And 
"chestnuts  stewed  with  cream  make  a  much 
admired  dish ;  they  make  excellent  soup  ;  and 
stewed  and  served  with  salt  fish  they  are  much 
admired."  We  are  also  further  informed  that 
there  is  now  at  Fortsworth,  in  Gloucestershire, 
a  great  chestnut  tree,  fifty-two  feet  round, 
which  in  1150  was  so  remarkable  that  it  was 
called  The  gieat  chestnut  of  Fortncorth.  And 
Marsham  states  that  this  tree  is  1100  years  old. 
Lastly,  the  timber  of  this  tree  is  almost  incor- 
ruptible, and  more  durable  than  oak.  Its  dura- 
bility is  commensurate  with  the  long  life  of  the 
tree.  Corsica,  it  is  said,  exports  annually  of 
this  fruit  to  the  amount  of  100,000  crowns. 
The  American  chestnut  difiers  very  little  from 
that  of  Europe.  The  fruit  is  smaller,  but 
equally  good.  Its  growth  is  very  rapid.  The 
bark  for  tanning  is  superior  to  oak. 

The  chestnut  is  raised  from  the  seeds, 
planted  in  autumn ;  the  second  year,  they  are 
transplanted,  and  fine  varieties  are  extended 
by  grafting.  A  sandy  or  gravelly  loam,  with 
a  dry  subsoil,  best  suits  them. 

The  Spanish  or  Portuguese  chestnut  suc- 
ceeds well  in  the  United  States,  and  produces 
fruit  in  about  seven  years  from  the  seed.  Its 
growth  is  more  rapid  than  that  of  the  native  kind. 
The  fruit  is  more  than  four  times  lai*ger,  and 
brings  a  much  higher  price  in  the  market.  It 
may  be  budded  on  the  common  chestnut,  but 
is  apt  to  overgrow  the  stock.  The  large  Spa- 
nish chestnut  deserves  to  be  extensively  propa- 
gated. 

Michaux,  in  his  Noi-th  American  Sylvay  vol 
iii.,  gives  the  following  directions  for  the  cul- 
ture of  the  chestnut : 

"  After  the  ground  has  been  carefully  loos 
ened  with  the  plough  and  harrow,  lines  are 
drawn  six  feet  apart,  in  which  holes  abctt.  a 
foot  in  depth  and  diameter  are  formed,  at  the 
distances  of  four  feet.  A  chestnut  is  placed  in 
each  corner  of  the  hole,  and  covered  with  about 
three  inches  of  earth.  As  the  soil  has  been 
thoroughly  subdued,  the  nuts  will  spring  and 
strike  root  with  facility.    Early  in  the  second 

321 


CHESTNUT,  HOUSE. 


CHICK  PEA. 


year,  three  of  the  young  plants  are  removed 
from  each  hole,  and  only  the  most  thriving  is 
left.  'J'he  third  or  fourth  year,  when  the 
branches  begin  to  interfere  with  each  other, 
every  second  tree  is  suppressed.  To  insure 
its  success,  the  plantation  should  be  begun  in 
March  or  April,  with  nuts  that  have  been  kept 
in  the  cellar  during  the  winter,  in  sand  or  ve- 
getable mould,  and  that  have  already  began  to 
germinate." 

Mr.  Hopkins  of  Cayuga  county,  made  some 
experiments  in  planting  chestnuts.  In  his  first 
attempt,  he  kept  the  nuts  till  the  setting  in  of 
winter,  or  December,  when  he  planted  them 
four  feet  apart  every  way,  and  not  one  of  them 
grew.  The  next  year  he  procured  a  quantity 
of  nuts  as  soon  as  gathered,  planted  them  im- 
mediately, and  covered  them  superficially  with 
leaves  andlight  earth,  at  the  same  distance  as 
before.  Most  of  them  came  up  and  grew  well. 
There  can  be  no  doubt,  where  the  ground  is 
so  situated  as  to  be  free  from  the  attacks  of 
squirrels,  mice,  &c.,  that  immediate  planting 
after  the  nuts  are  gathered  is  the  best  mode, 
otherwise  the  plan  of  Michaux  may  be  pre- 
ferred. The  best  soil  is  a  clay  loam.  (Tred- 
golcTs  Prinap.  of  Carpentry ;  M'Cullock's  Com. 
Did. ;  WilUch's  Darn.  Ency. ;  Phillip's  Hist,  of 
Fruits,  p.  84.) 

CHESTNUT,  HORSE  {JEsculus  hippocasta- 
nwni).  This  ornamental  tree,  now  so  common 
throughout  Europe,  is  a  native  of  Asia.  The 
first  plant  is  said  to  have  been  brought  into 
Europe  by  the  celebrated  botanist  Clusius  in  a 

Sortmanteau.  It  is  too  well  known  to  require 
escription.  The  wood  is  soft  and  of  little 
value.  The  fruit  contains  much  nutritive  mat- 
ter, but  it  is  combined  with  a  nauseous  bitter 
extractive,  which  renders  it  unfit  for  the  food 
of  man ;  but  horses,  kine,  goats,  and  sheep 
are  fond  of  it.  The  bark  of  the  tree  contains 
an  astringent,  bitter  principle,  which  operates 
as  a  tonic.  It  has  cured  agues,  and  some  au- 
thors affirm  that  it  might  be  a  substitute  for 
the  Peruvian  bark ;  but  trials  and  experience 
have  not  justified  their  opinion.  Given  in  a 
decoction,  made  with  an  ounce  of  the  bark  to 
a  pint  of  water,  it  may  be  advantageously 
taken,  to  strengthen  the  habit  weakened  by 
previous  disease.    See  Buckeye. 

CHEVIOT  SHEEP.     See  Sheep. 

CHEWING-BALL.  In  farriery,  the  name 
of  a  medicine  in  the  form  of  balls  adapted  to 
restore  lost  appetite  in  horses. 

CHEWING  THE  CUD.  The  operation  of 
leisurely  re-chewing  or  masticating  the  food  in 
ruminating  animals,  as  the  cow,  sheep,  &c. : 
by  this  means  the  food  is  more  effectually 
broken  down,  and  mixed  with  the  saliva.  If  a 
ruminant  animal  ceases  to  chew  the  cud,  im- 
mediate illness  may  be  expected,  as  the  diges- 
tive organs  cannot  act  without  this  natural 
prccess.  See  an  excellent  article  "  On  Rumi- 
nation, or  Chewing  the  Cud,"  in  the  Quart. 
Journ.  of  Jgr.,  Y>.  3i4.  Rumination,  in  certain 
graminiverous  animals,  has  plainly  for  one 
object  a  renewed  and  repeated  introduction  of 
dxygen,  for  a  more  minute  mechanical  division 
of  the  food  only  shortens  the  time  required  for 
solution.     (Liibig's  .Animal  Chemistry.) 

CHICCORY,  or  SUCCORY  {Cichorium  inty- 
323 


bus).  An  English  perennial  weed,  the  wild 
endive,  common  on  the  borders  of  corn-fields 
and  poor  gravelly  soils ;  extensively  cultivated 
in  Belgium,  Holland,  and  Germany.  The  cul- 
tivated variety  was  much  brought  into  notice 
by  the  late  Arthur  Young,  as  a  forage  plant. 
He  brought  the  seed  from  France  in  1788,  and 
grew  it  extensively  on  his  own  farm  ;  and  re- 
ports {Annuls  of  Agr.  xxxix.),  "The  quantity 
of  seed  required  to  sow  one  acre  is  13  lbs. 
The  root  runs  deep  into  the  ground,  and  is 
white,  fleshy,  and  yields  a  milky  juice.  On 
the  Continent,  the  dried  root  is  roasted  and 
used  instead  of  coffee,  and  it  is  now  allowed 
by  the  excise  to  be  mixed  with  coffee.  The 
root  contains  a  strong  bitter,  which  may  be 
extracted  by  infusion ;  it  is  also  used  in  the 
brewing  of  beer  to  save  hops."  Mr.  Gorrie 
(Quart.  Journ.  of  Jgr.  N.  S.  vol.  iv.  p.  206) 
says,  "No  plant  cultivated  in  this  country  will 
bring  the  cow-feeder  nearly  an  equal  return 
with  the  chiccory."  It  should  be  added,  how- 
ever, that  the  leaves  give  a  bad  taste  to  the 
milk  of  the  cows  which  eat  them.  (Lrit.  Hush. 
vol.  iii.  art.  "  Flem.  Husb."  p.  42.)  And  Von 
Thiier,  in  his  Principles  of  Agriculture  (2d  ed. 
vol.  iv.  p.  322),  asserts  that  it  is  extremely  dif- 
ficult to  eradicate  from  the  land,  and  has  been 
found  to  materially  impoverish  the  soil. 

Wild  succory,  or  chiccory  is  becoming  ex- 
tensively naturalized  in  many  parts  of  the 
United  States.  The  species  called  Endive^ 
(C.  endiva),  especially  the  variety  called  Crispa 
with  very  narrow  and  ragged  leaves,  is  much 
cultivated  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  as  an 
early  salad.  There  are  no  native  species  of 
chiccory  in  the  United  States.  (Flor.  Cest.) 

When  cultivated  for  soiling  or  feeding 
horses  and  cattle  in  the  farm-yard,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  admirably  adapted,  its  rapid  and 
luxuriant  growth  admits  of  its  being  cut  three 
or  four  times  a  year. 

When  the  roots  are  used  as  a  substitute  for 
coffee,  they  should  be  first  cleaned,  then  put 
into  an  oven  after  the  bread  has  been  taken 
out,  and  allowed  to  remain  until  cool.  Should 
once  baking  be  not  sufficient,  the  process  is  to 
be  repeated,  after  which,  mix  with  one-half  of 
coffee. 

The  fresh  root  of  chiccory,  when  sliced  and 
pressed,  yields  a  juice  which  is  slightly  tonic  ; 
and  has  been  used  in  chronic  affections  of  the 
stomach,  connected  with  torpid  liver.  See 
Endive.  (Sinclair's  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  412 ; 
M'Culloch's  Com.  Did.;  Willich's  Dom.Encyc.; 
Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  303.) 

CHICK,  or  CHICKEN.  See  Poultry. 
CHICK  PEA  (Cicer  arietinum).  PI.  7,  L 
A  plant  too  delicate  for  field  culture  in  Eng- 
land ;  but  in  the  south  of  France  it  is  grown 
for  the  same  purpose  as  vetches  in  England. 
The  seeds  are  used  in  Germany  and  some 
other  parts  of  Europe  as  a  substitute  for  coffee, 
and  the  plant  is  sometimes  called  the  coffee-pea. 
It  is  called  by  the  Spaniards,  who  cultivate  it 
largely,  Garbama.  It  is  likewise  a  great  fa- 
vourite with  the  French,  who  call  it  Poischiche. 
It  grows  well  in  several  of  the  Middle  States, 
where  it  might  doubtless  be  made  a  valuable 
crop,  as  it  maintains  a  high  price  in  European 
markets. 


CHICKWEED. 


CHINCAPIN. 


In  every  part  of  America  and  the  West  In-  [ 
dian  islands  settled  by  Spaniards,  they  have 
always  made  the  culture  of  the  garbanza  a  ! 
primary  object,  and  it  is  somewhat  singular  , 
that  it  has  not  become  better  known  and  ap- 
preciated in  the  United  States,  in  most  parts  of 
which  it  grows  well.  Trials  made  with  it  in 
the  vicinitv  of  Dover,  Delaware,  have  proved 
very  successful.  The  Spanish  pea  or  garbanza, 
is  perhaps  the  most  delicious  vegetable  of  its 
class  ever  placed  upon  the  table,  possessing, 
when  served  up  in  the  manner  of  green  peasi 
the  flavour  of  these,  mixed  with  that  of  gree  . 
corn,  or,  as  others  think,  something  between 
the  marrow  fat  pea  and  Lima  bean.  They  do 
not  yield  so  abundantly  as  the  common  pea, 
but  both  in  a  green  and  dry  state  are  much  su- 
perior in  flavour  and  richness.  A  meal  made 
of  the  dried  garbanzas  is  much  used  in  Paris 
and  other  parts  of  Europe  for  thickening  soup, 
which  it  renders  extremely  fine.  In  Provence 
and  other  parts  of  southern  Europe,  the  chick 
pea  is  a  great  favourite  when  roasted  or 
parched,  lilce  ground  or  pea  nuts,  and  hawked 
about  the  streets.  In  Paris,  the  dried  garbanzas 
retail  for  about  twenty-four  cents  per  pound. 
They  grow  best  in  a  rich  sandy  loam,  and  may 
be  cultivated  in  rows,  much  after  the  manner 
of  the  common  pea.  Not  being  a  trailing  vine, 
they  require  no  sticking,  the  plants  growing 
only  about  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  high,  and 
branching  out  so  as  very  much  to  resemble  a 
small  locust  tree  or  bunch  of  rue.  The  pods 
are  very  short  and  round,  containing  only  two, 
three,  or  four  peas  each,  somewhat  larger  than 
common  pulse.  Being  very  tender,  they  will 
not,  perhaps,  bear  to  be  planted  at  the  same 
lime  with  common  peas.  In  Spain,  where  the 
i  hick  pea  is  very  abundant  and  in  general  use, 
iwo  kinds  are  distinguished  by  the  names  of 
garbanzos  and  garbanzas,  the  last  being  the 
largest,  most  delicate,  and  tender.  Those  raised 
in  Spain  are  considered  superior  to  such  as 
are  the  product  of  the  south  of  France.  The 
pellicle  which  covers  them  seems  to  be  almost 
entirely  removed  by  the  process  of  cooking. 
After  being  dried  they  require  soaking  in  cold 
water  during  the  night  previous  to  the  day 
they  are  used.  They  do  not  seem  to  be  the 
prey  of  any  insect,  and  will  keep  sound  and 
sweet  for  years.  It  is  the  gram  of  India.  (^Pax- 
toiC$  Bot.  Did.;  Law's  Jgr.  p.  286.) 

CHICKWEED.  A  low,  creeping  weed,  of 
which  there  are  several  varieties.  The  com- 
mon chickweed,  or  stitch-wort  (Stellaria  media), 
has  an  annual,  small,  tapering  root ;  flowering 
from  March  to  December.  Small  birds  and 
poultry  eat  the  seeds,  and  whole  herb;  whence 
its  name.  Swine  are  extremely  fond  of  it ;  and 
it  is  eaten  by  cows  and  horses ;  but  is  not  re- 
lished by  sheep,  and  is  refused  by  goats.  The 
herb  may  be  boiled  for  the  table  like  spinach  : 
it  is  reported  to  be  nutritive.  This  foreigner 
is  extensively  naturalized  in  the  United  States. 
It  is  a  hardy  little  plant,  and  when  the  winters 
are  mild  in  the  Middle  States,  may  be  found  in 
flower  in  every  month  of  the  year.  (Flor.  Ces- 
triea.)  The  field  chickweed  (Cerastium  arvense) 
is  a  perennial,  from  four  inches  to  a  foot  in 
length,  found  in  fields  and  on  banks  and  hil- 
locks, on  a  gravelly  or  chalky  soil.     In  this 


order  there  are  seven  other  species  of  mouse- 
ear  chickweed,  viz.,  two  kinds  of  broad-leaved 
(C  vulgatum  and  C.  latifolium)  ;  the  narrow- 
leaved  (C.  viscossum)  ;  the  little  mouse-ear  (C 
semi-dec andum)  ;  the  four-cleft  (C.  tetraiidum)  ; 
the  alpine  (C.  alpimivi) ;  and  the  water  (C. 
aqtuiticum).  These  call  for  no  observation. 
The  berry-bearing  sort,  which  grows  with 
smooth  erect  stalks,  and  the  stamens  longer 
than  the  petals,  is  the  wild  lychnis,  or  white 
behen,  and  is  a  very  rambling  weed,  natural  to 
.lost  parts  of  England,  frequently  called  spat- 
iling-poppy.  Its  roots  are  perennial,  and  strike 
so  deep  into  the  earth  that  they  are  not  easily 
destroyed  by  the  plough ;  for  which  reason, 
bunches  of  this  plant  are  too  common  a'.nong 
corn,  in  land  which  has  not  been  perfectly  well 
tilled.  Summer-fallowing,  and  carefully  har- 
rowing out  the  roots,  which  should  then  be 
burnt,  is  the  best  and  most  effectual  remedy. 

The  common  chickweed  grows  in  almost 
every  situation,  in  damp  or  even  boggy  woods, 
and  on  the  driest  gravel-walks  in  gardens.  In 
its  wild  state,  this  plant  frequently  exceeds 
half  a  yard  in  height;  and  varies  so  much  from 
the  garden  chickweed,  that  if  a  person  were 
acquainted  only  with  the  latter,  he  would  with 
difficulty  recognise  it  in  the  woods.  Its  small 
white  flowers,  and  pale  green  leaves  spreading 
in  all  directions,  sufficiently  point  it  out  to  our 
notice.  It  may  be  considered  as  a  natural 
barometer;  for  if  the  flowers  are  closed,  it  is  a 
certain  sign  of  rain,  while,  during  dry  weather, 
they  are  regularly  open  from  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  till  noon.  The  plant  boiled  in 
vinegar  and  salt  is  said  to  cleanse  breakings- 
•ut  or  eruptions  of  the  hands  and  legs.  {Smith** 
Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  301 ;  Sinclair's  Weeds,  p. 
52;   WillicKs  Dwn.  Ennfc.) 

CHILIAN  CLOVER.  This  plant,  which  is 
called  Spanish  clover,  and  in  South  America, 
Alfalfa,  is  identical  with  luzerne.  Two  com- 
munications upon  the  subject,  by  a  person  who 
had  spent  some  time  in  Chili,  may  be  found  in 
the  14th  volume  of  the  American  Farmer, 
pages  108  and  153. 

CHINCAPIN,  or  CHINQUEPIN  {Castanea 
pumila).  The  limits  of  this  American  tree, 
which  bears  a  very  small  kind  of  round  and 
pointed  chestnut,  is  bounded  northward  by  the 
river  Delaware,  on  which  it  is  found  to  the 
distance  of  nearly  100  miles  from  Cape  May. 
It  is  very  common  in  Delaware  and  Maryland, 
still  more  so  in  the  lower  part  of  Virginia  and 
other  southern  and  Southwestern  States  both 
east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi.  It  abounds 
most  where  the  common  chestnut  is  wanting. 
Though  in  its  northern  limits,  this  dwarf 
chestnut  seldom  rises  higher  than  from  six  to 
ten  feet ;  much  further  south  it  often  grows  to 
the  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet,  with  a  diame- 
ter of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches.  The  leaves, 
flower,  and  fruit-bur,  resemble  those  of  the 
common  chestnut  in  miniature,  being  about 
half  the  size.  The  wood  of  the  chincapin  is 
finer-grained,  more  compact,  heavier,  and  even 
more  durable  than  that  of  the  chestnut,  and  is 
admirably  adapted  for  fence-posts,  lasting  in 
the  ground  more  than  forty  years.  But  the 
tree  rarely  attains  a  size  adapting  it  to  such  a 
useful  purpose  in  agriculture. 

923 


CHINCH  BUG. 


CHIVES. 


A  species  of  the  chincapin  (Casianea  alni- 
folia),  remarkable  for  its  dwarf  growth,  is 
found  in  the  Carolinas  and  Floridas.  Mr. 
Nuttall,  who  met  with  it  in  the  vicinity  of 
Charleston,  S.  C,  says  it  grows  in  small 
patches  in  sandy  pine  barrens,  has  creeping 
roots,  and  seldom  exceeds  a  foot  in  height. 
The  nut  is  larger  than  that  of  the  other  species 
of  chincapins.  (See  NuttaWs  Supplement  to 
Michaux.) 

CHINCH  BUG.  A  name,  which,  from  some 
resemblance  to  the  bed-bug,  especially  in  the 
disgusting  smell,  has  been  popularly  applied 
to  an  insect  often  of  late  years  occasioning 
wide-spread  destruction  in  the  wheat,  Indian 
corn,  and  other  grain  j&elds  of  the  South  and 
Southwestern  States.  Not  being  able  to  find 
any  scientific  description  of  this  insect  and  its 
habits,  we  shall  of  course  be  compelled  to  cull 
the  best  information  we  can  collect  from  the 
most  intelligent  correspondents  of  agricultural 
periodicals,  &c. 

In  the  7th  volume  of  Rutfin's  Farmer's  Re- 
gister, there  are  several  communications  rela- 
tive to  the  chinch  bug,  some  of  which  draw  a 
most  deplorable  picture  of  its  ravages  in  the 
old  counties  of  Virginia,  where  the)'-  not  only 
often  destroy  the  corn,  wheat,  and  other  grain- 
crops,  but  lay  waste  the  pastures.  They  are 
described  as  small  and  black,  with  white 
wings  ;  in  their  form,  close  and  compact,  and 
about  the  size  of  a  bed-bug.  They  creep  on 
the  ground,  seldom  using  their  wings,  and  ap- 
pear to  be  hardy.  Whatever  crop  they  get 
into,  the}'  generally  stick  about  the  plants  near 
the  ground,  although  they  may  sometimes  be 
seen  scattered  all  over  stalks  of  Indian  corn, 
the  blades,  and  even  down  into  the  bud.  When 
they  attack  wheat,  oats,  &c,,  they  cluster  around 
the  stalk  in  incredible  numbers,  and  seem  to 
suck  out  its  substance,  so  that  it  soon  withers 
and  falls  to  the  ground.  When  they  take  to 
the  Indian  corn,  the  stalk  and  leaves  sometimes 
become  perfectly  black  with  them,  for  two  feet 
from  the  ground,  leaving  not  a  spot  of  green  to 
be  seen,  except  about  five  or  six  inches  of  the 
tips  of  the  blades,  the  bugs  hanging  to  the 
lower  portions  like  bees  when  swarming. 
"  We  are,"  says  one  of  Dr.  Ruffin's  corres- 
pondents, "  harvesting  our  wheat  crop,  in 
which  they  got  rather  too  late  to  destroy  it  en- 
tirely, but  on  many  farms  have  seriously  in- 
jured it,  many  places  in  the  fields  being  quite 
destroyed.  On  following  after  the  scythes,  you 
may  see  millions  of  the  bugs,  of  all  sizes  and 
colours,  red,  black,  and  gray,  running  in  the 
greatest  consternation  in  every  possible  direc- 
tion, seeking  shelter  under  the  sheaves  of 
wheat,  and  bunches  of  grass,  which  may  hap- 
pen to  be  near.  But  all  those  on  the  borders 
of  the  field,  and  indeed  on  every  part  of  it,  very 
oon  quit  the  dry  and  hard  stubble  for  the  more 
lender  and  juicy  corn  or  oats,  whichsoever 
may  be  nearest  at  hand  ;  and  now  commences 
their  havoc  and  dreadful  devastation.  We  see 
tne  healthy,  dark-green,  luxuriant  oat,  which  a 
few  days  before  looked  so  beautiful  and  rich, 
turn  pale,  wither  and  die,  almost  at  their  very 
touch.  It  would  seem  exaggeration  and  almost 
incredible  r.o  state  how  very  prolific  this  de- 
roniing  insect  is,  their  increase  being  so  pro- 
324 


digiously  great  as  to  appear  to  be  the  work  of 
magic. 

"  In  one  day  and  night  they  had  been  known 
to  advance  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  deep  in  a 
field,  destroying  as  they  proceed.  Unless  some 
kind  dispensation  of  Providence  delivers  us 
from  this  ruthless  enemy  to  the  farming  in- 
terest, it  is  impossible  to  say  to  what  extent 
their  ravages  will,  and  may  extend,  in  the 
course  of  a  year  or  two.  To  us  farmers,  who 
are  dependent  on  the  productions  of  the  earth, 
for  our  every  thing,  it  is  truly  awful.  And  if 
their  increase  in  future  is  commensurate  with 
the  past,  it  must  be  but  a  short  time  before  this 
section  of  countrj--  will  be  laid  waste  by  this 
dreadful  depredator,  and  its  inhabitants  re- 
duced to  want  and  misery.  Every  attempt 
hitherto  made  to  arrest  their  progress,  or  de- 
stroy them,  has  proved  abortive.  Some  have 
attempted  to  drive  them  from  their  corn  by 
pouring  boiling  water  over  them ;  a  remedy, 
for  the  corn,  as  bad  as  the  disease.  Others 
try  to  stop  their  ingress  to  the  corn-fields  by 
digging  ditches  around  the  fields  ;  but  with  nc 
avail,  as  they  are  furnished  with  wings  in  a 
short  time  after  they  are  hatched,  and  of  course 
can  easily  fly  over  the  ditches.  Would  it  not 
be  advisable  always  to  sow  clover,  or  some 
other  tender  grass,  with  all  small  grain,  to  in- 
duce the  bug  to  remain  in  the  field  after  the 
grain  is  taken  away  long  enough  to  enable  the 
corn  crop  to  get  size  and  age,  so  as  not  to  be 
seriously  injured  by  them?  I  have  observed 
that  the  older  the  plant,  the  much  less  liable  it 
is  to  be  either  injured  or  attacked."  (Faimer's 
Register.) 

Among  the  remedies  proposed  against  this 
destructive  insect,  are  the  following: — Burn- 
ing up  the  leaves  and  rubbish  of  any  woods  in 
the  vicinity  of  grain  fields,  so  as  to  kill  the  in- 
sects in  their  winter  retreats ;  also  the  stalks 
of  corn,  &c.,  where  they  are  often  found.  It  is 
said  that  they  are  natives  of  the  forest,  and 
that  where  these  are  occasionally  burnt  they 
never  become  troublesome.  Digging  ditches 
so  as  to  intercept  the  progress  of  the  bugs,  fill- 
ing the  excavations  with  straw  in  which  the 
insects  generally  halt  a  little  while,  during 
which  time  the  straw  is  to  be  burnt  so  as  to 
carry  destruction  to  the  enemy.  This  opera- 
tion is  to  be  repeated  during  the  day.  Burning 
them  up,  corn  and  all,  has  been  attended  with 
advantage  in  preventing  further  destruction, 
and  also  put  an  end  to  the  further  multiplica- 
tion of  the  swarm. 

CHINESE  SUGAR-CANE  of  the  North orn 
Provinces.  This  member  of  the  Sorghura 
family  from  Asia,  with  its  confrere  the  Afri- 
can Imphde,  have  been  introduced  into  the 
U.  S.  since  1857.  As  yet  they  have  disap- 
pointed the  hopes  of  the  many  who  expected 
them  to  supply  sugar  in  abundance  in  exten- 
sive extra-tropical  regions.  The  plants  flour- 
ish throughout  the  Southern  and  Middle  States, 
producing  abundance  of  seed,  but  as  yet  the 
rich  saccharine  juice  yielded  by  them  so  freely 
:  has  only  partially  been  made  to  furnish  crys- 
!  talline  or  true  cane-sugar.  It  furnishes  a 
cheap,  agreeable,  and  healthy  syrup  for  the 
table,  and  the  seed  and  fodder  add  greatly  to 
the  value  of  the  crop.     All  animals  are  eagei 


CHLORIDE  OF  LIME. 


CHOCOLATE. 


after  the  green  cane.  See  Treatise  on  Sorgo 
and  Imnhde,  by  H.  S.  Alcott.  Also  the  annual 
Reports  of  the  Agricultural  Bureau,  especially 
the  volume  for  1857. 

CHLSLY  LAND.  A  kind  of  soil  between 
sandy  and  clayey,  with  a  large  admixture  of 
small  pebbles  or  gravel. 

CHIVES,  or  GIVES  (Allium  schxnopramm), 
a  garden-plant  allied  to  the  leek  and  onion, 
growing  in  tufts  The  long  filamentary  leaves 
are  cut  close  to  the  ground  for  eating,  &c. 

CHLORINE.  One  of  the  elements  found  al- 
ways in  vegetable  substances,  among  the  inor- 
ganic or  mineral  constituents  derived  from  the 
soil.  It  is  a  kind  of  gas  of  a  greenish  colour, 
with  a  peculiarly  strong  odour,  and  so  much 
heavier  than  common  air,  that,  like  carbonic 
acid  gas,  it  may  be  poured  from  one  vessel  into 
another.  A  taper  will  burn  in  it,  giving  a  fee- 
ble reddish  light,  which  soon  goes  out.  It  exists 
in  all  fertile  soils,  not  separate,  but  combined 
with  soda,  in  the  familiar  form  of  common  salt, 
every  10  lbs.  of  which  contains  about  6  lbs.  of 
chlorine  gas. 

CHLORIDE  OF  SODIUM:  Muriate  of  Soday 
or  Common  Salt.  This  mineral  production,  so 
necessary  to  the  wants  of  mankind,  is  universally 
distributed  over  the  globe,  either  in  solution,  as 
in  sea  water  and  mineral  springs,  or  in  beds  and 
solid  rocks,  forming  mountains,  from  which  it 
is  procured  in  masses  by  blasting  and  regular 
mining  operations.  Most  animals  have  an  in- 
stinctive taste  for  this  salt,  and  all  fertile  soils 
contain  it,  so  that  to  the  growth  and  well-being 
of  both  animals  and  vegetables,  salt  is  indis- 
pensable.    For  its  uses  as  a  fertilizer,  see  Salt. 

CHLORIDE  OF  SODA.  A  well  known  pow- 
erful disinfectant  or  destroyer  of  offensive  smells, 
discovered  and  brought  into  use  by  a  French 
chemist,  who  prepared  from  it  a  solution  sold 
extensively  under  the  name  of  Labarraque's 
DisiNFECTivK  Solution.  It  is  employed  by 
sprinkling  in  sick  rooms,  pri/ies,  &c.  Like  the 
chloritie  of  lime,  it  possesses  the  extraordinary 
property  of  preventing  or  arresting  animal  and 
vegetable  putrefaction,  and  of  destroying  those 
effluvia  which  are  not  only  offensive  to  the  smell 
but  injurious  to  the  health  of  men  and  other 
animals.  To  preserve  animal  bodies  from  pu- 
trefaction, or  correct  their  offensive  odours,  the 
solution  of  chloride  of  soda  may  be  applied  by 
sprinkling  or  covering  them  with  wet  cloths.  The 
chloride  of  soda^  in  which  chlorine  gas  is  com- 
bined with  the  alkali  soda,  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  chloride  of  sodium^  in  which  the 
same  gas  is  united  with  the  metallic  base  sodium, 
to  form  common  salt. 

CHLORIDE  OF  LIME.  Commonly  known 
as  Bleaching  Salt,  or  Bleaching  Powder,  is  a 
dry  grayish-white  powder,  possessing  a  hot  pe- 
netrating taste,  and,  when  pure,  soluble  in  water. 
It  is  used  by  putting  a  few  tablespoonsful  of  the 
salt  in  a  plate  or  shallow  earthen  vessel,  and 
pouring  on,  from  time  to  time,  a  little  oil  of  vit- 
riol or  vinegar,  which  brings  out  the  chlorine 
gas,  that  corrects  offensive  smells  and  deleterious 
airs  in  houses,  privies,  stables,  &c.  It  has  been 
proposed  as  a  fertilizer. 

Davy  reports  that  he  steeped  some  radish 
seeds  for  twelve  hours  in  a  solution  of  chlorine, 
some  in  nitric  acid,  some  in  very  dilute  oil  of 
vitriol,  some  in  a  weak  solution  of  green  vitriol, 
and  some  in  common  water.     "  The  seeds  in  so- 


lutions of  chlorine  and  ox-sulphate  of  iron 
threw  out  the  germ  in  two  days,  those  in  nitric 
acid  in  three  days,  in  sulphuric  acid  in  five, 
and  those  in  water  in  five.  But  in  every  case 
of  premature  germination,  though  the  plume 
was  very  vigorous  for  a  short  time,  yet  it  be- 
came at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  weak  and  sickly, 
and  at  that  period  less  vigorous  in  its  growth 
than  the  sprouts  which  had  been  naturally  de- 
veloped, so  that  there  can  be  scarcely  any 
useful  application  of  these  experiments.  Too 
rapid  growth  and  premature  decay  seem  in- 
variably connected  in  organized  structures, 
and  it  is  only  by  following  the  slow  operations 
of  natural  causes  that  we  are  capable  of 
making  improvements."  {^gr-  Chem.  p.  217.) 

Chloride  of  lime  is  prepared  in  large  quan- 
tities for  the  service  of  the  bleachers  in  most 
of  the  manufacturing  districts.  It  is  composed, 
according  to  the  analysis  of  Dr.  Marcet,  of 

Part*. 


Chlorine 
Lime    - 


63  23 

36-77 


100 


Dr.  Ingenhouz,  in  a  paper  published  by  the 
Board  of  Agriculture  in  1816,  remarks,  in  al- 
luding to  some  experiments  he  had  tried  at 
Hertford  in  company  with  the  Baron  Dimsdale 
with  various  salts, — "Be  it  sufficient  to  say 
here,  that  of  all  the  neutral  salts  we  tried,  the 
glauber  salt  did  seem  to  be  one  of  the  best  in 
promoting  vegetation ;  and  the  steeping  the 
seeds  in  water,  impregnated  with  oxygenated 
marine  salt  (which  is  now  employed  in  bleach- 
ing linen  in  an  expeditious  way),  had  a  par- 
ticularly beneficial  etfect  in  producing  vigorous 
and  early  plants.  We  were  somewhat  as- 
tonished that  those  seeds,  viz.  of  wheat,  rye, 
barley,  and  oats,  which  had  been  steeped  in 
the  above  mentioned  oxygenated  muriatic 
liquid,  even  during  forty-eight  hours,  did  thrive 
admirably  well;  whereas,  the  same  seeds 
steeped  during  so  long  a  time,  in  some  of  the 
other  medicated  liquids,  were  much  hurt,  or 
had  lost  their  vegetative  power.  The  same 
oxygenated  liquid  poured  upon  the  ground  had 
also  a  beneficial  effect."  These  experiments 
of  Ingenhouz  were  made,  it  appears,  in  1795. 
See  Salts,  their  uses  to  vegetation.  Leibig 
regards  chloride  of  lime  as  a  fertilizing  salt, 
its  virtues  being  similar  to  that  of  plaster  of 
Paris,  both  of  which,  he  says,  fix  the  ammonia 
which  is  brought  into  the  soil  in  rain  water, 
which  ammonia  is  indispensable  for  the  nou- 
rishment of  plants.  A  few  table-spoonfuls  of 
chloride  of  lime  or  bleaching  salts,  sprinkled 
occasionally  in  privies  and  other  places  where 
it  may  be  required,  corrects  offensive  odours. 
(But.  Farm.  Mag.  vol.  ii.  p.  258 ;  "  On  Ferti^ 
lizers,"  p.  366.) 

CHOCOLATE  is  an  alimentary  preparation 
of  very  ancient  use  in  Mexico,  from  which 
country  it  was  introduced  into  Europe  by  the 
Spaniards  in  the  year  1520,  and  by  them  long 
kept  a  secret  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  Lin- 
naeus was  so  fond  of  it,  that  he  gave  the  spe- 
cific name,  theohroma,  food  of  the  gods,  to  the 
cacao  tree  which  produced  it.  The  cacao- 
beans  lie  in  a  fruit  somewhat  like  a  cucumber, 
about  five  inches  long  and  three  and  a  halt 
2E  325 


CHOCOLATE. 


CHRYSALIS. 


thick,  which  contains  from  20  to  30  beans,  ar- 
ranged in  five  regular  rows  with  ^  partitions 
between,  and  which  are  surrounded  with  a 
rose-coloured  spongy  substance,  like  that  of 
water-melons.  There  are  fruits,  however,  so 
large  as  to  contain  from  40  to  50  beans.  Those 
grown  in  the  West  India  islands,  Berbice  and 
Demarara,  are  much  smaller,  and  have  only 
from  6  to  15;  their  developement  being  less 
perfect  than  in  South  America.  After  the  ma- 
turation of  the  fruit,  when  their  green  colour 
has  changed  to  a  dark-yellow,  they  are  plucked, 
opened,  tneir  beans  cleared  of  the  marrowy 
substance,  and  spread  out  to  dry  in  the  air. 
Like  almonds,  they  are  covered  with  a  thin 
skin  or  husk.  In  the  West  Indies  they  are  imme- 
diately jfticked  up  for  the  market  when  they  are 
dried ;  but  in  the  Caraccas  they  are  subjected 
to  a  species  of  slight  fermentation,  by  putting 
them  into  tubs  or  chests,  covering  them  with 
boards  or  stones,  and  turning  them  over  every 
morning,  to  equalize  the  operation.  They  emit 
a  good  deal  of  moisture,  lose  the  natural  bit- 
terness and  acrimony  of  their  taste  by  this 
process,  as  well  as  some  of  their  weight.  In- 
stead of  wooden  tubs,  pits  or  trenches  dug  in 
the  ground  are  sometimes  had  recourse  to  for 
curing  the  beads ;  an  operation  called  earthing 
(teyrer).  They  are  lastly  exposed  to  the  sun, 
and  dried.  The  latter  kind  are  reckoned  the 
best ;  being  larger,  rougher,  of  a  darker  brown 
colour,  and,  when  roasted,  throw  off  their  husk 
readily,  and  split  into  several  irregular  frag- 
ments ;  they  have  an  agreeable,  mild,  bitterish 
taste,  without  acrimony.  The  Guinea  and 
West  India  sorts  are  smaller,  flatter,  smoother- 
skinned,  lighter-coloured,  more  sharp  and 
bitter  to  the  taste.  They  answer  best  for  the 
extraction  of  the  butter  of  cacao,  but  afford  a 
less  aromatic  and  agreeable  chocolate.  Ac- 
cording to  Lampadius,  the  kernels  of  the  West 
India  cacao  beans  contain,  in  100  parts,  besides 
water,  53-1  of  fat  or  oil,  16*7  of  an  albuminous 
brown  matter,  which  contains  all  the  aroma  of 
the  bean,  10*91  of  starch,  7|  of  gum  or  muci- 
lage, 0-9  of  lignine,  and  2-01  of  a  reddish  dye- 
stuff  somewhat  akin  to  the  pigment  of  cochi- 
neal. The  husks  form  twelve  per  cent,  of  the 
weight  of  the  beans ;  they  contain  no  fat,  but, 
besides  lignine,  or  woody  fibre,  which  consti- 
tutes half  their  weight,  they  yield  a  light-brown 
mucilaginous  extract  by  boiling  in  water.  The 
fatty  matter  is  of  the  consistence  of  tallow, 
white,  of  a  mild,  agreeable  taste,  called  butter 
of  cacao,  and  not  apt  to  turn  rancid  by  keeping. 
It  melts  only  at  122°  Fahr.,  and  should,  there- 
fore, make  tolerable  candles.  It  is  soluble  in 
boiling  alcohol,  but  precipitates  in  the  cold. 
It  is  obtained  by  exposing  the  beans  to  strong 
pressure  iu  canvass  bags,  after  they  have  been 
steamed  or  soaked  in  boiling  water  for  some 
time.  From  five  to  six  ounces  of  butter  may 
be  thus  obtained  from  a  pound  of  cacao.  It 
has  a  reddish  tinge  wnen  first  expressed,  but 
it  becomes  white  by  boiling  with  water. 

"The  beans,  being  freed  from  all  spoiled  and 
mouldy  portions,  are  to  be  gently  roasted  over 
a  tire  in  an  iron  cylinder,  with  holes  in  its 
ends  for  allowing  the  vapors  to  escape;  the 
apparatus  being  similar  to  a  coffee-roaster. 
When  the  aroma  begins  to  be  well  developed, 
326 


the  roasting  is  known  to  be  finished;  and  th« 
beans  must  be  turned  out,  cooled,  and  freed  by 
fanning  and  sifting  from  their  husks.  The 
kernels  are  then  to  be  converted  into  a  paste, 
by  trituration  in  a  mortar  heated  to  130°  Fah. 
The  chocolate  paste  has  usually  in  France  a 
little  vanilla  incorporated  with  it,  and  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  sugar,  which  varies  from 
one-third  of  its  weight  to  equal  parts.  For  a 
pound  and  a  half  of  cacao,  one  pod  of  vanilla 
is  sufficient.  Chocolate  paste  improves  in  its 
flavour  by  keeping,  and  should  therefore  be 
made  in  large  quantities  at  a  time.  But  the 
roasted  beans  soon  lose  their  aroma,  if  exposed 
to  the  air. 

"  Chocolate  is  flavoured  with  cinnamon  and 
cloves,  in  several  countries,  instead  of  the 
more  expensive  vanilla.  In  roasting  the  beans, 
the  heat  should  be  at  first  very  slow,  to  give 
time  to  the  humidity  to  escape;  a  quick  fire 
hardens  the  surface,  and  injures  the  process. 
In  putting  the  paste  into  the  tin  plate,  or  other 
moulds,  it  must  be  well  shaken  down,  to  in- 
sure its  filling  up  all  the  cavities,  and  giving 
the  sharp  and  polished  impression  so  much 
admired  by  connoisseurs.  Chocolate  is  some- 
times adulterated  with  starch  ;  in  which  case 
it  will  form  a  pasty  consistenced  mass  when 
treated  with  boiling  water.  The  harder  the 
slab  upon  which  the  beans  are  triturated,  the 
better;  and  hence  porphyry  is  far  preferable 
to  marble.  The  grinding  rollers  of  the  mill 
should  be  made  of  iron,  and  kept  very  clean." 
(C/Ve's  Diet.  ofJrts,  &c.) 

A  substance  called  theobromin  has  been  re- 
cently obtained  from  chocolate  by  a  European 
chemist.  It  contains  thirty-five  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen,  a  larger  proportion  than  that  con- 
tained in  caffeine. 

CHOKE-DAMP,  a  common  term  applied  to 
a  kind  of  foul  air,  often  met  with  in  wells,  pits, 
mines,  &c.  It  consists  of  carbonic  acid  gass, 
with  or  without  a  mixture  of  nitrogen.  It  is  a 
source  of  great  danger  to  persons  descending 
into  wells  and  pits.    See  Cahbonic  acid  Gass. 

CHOLIC,  or  COLIC.  See  HonsEs,  Cattle, 
Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

CHOPPER,  HAY.  See  Chaff-engixes.  A 
new  and  very  efficient  straw-cutter  under  the 
title  of  the  "  Canadian  Straw  and  Hay-chop- 
per," is  figured  and  described  in  the  Trans. 
High.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  336.  One  person  driving 
the  machine  can,  it  is  said,  cut  with  ease  5  cwt. 
of  hay  or  straw  in  an  hour. 

CHOUGH,  or  RED  LEGGED  CROW 
(Fregilus  gracidus).  The  plumage  of  this  Bri- 
tish bird  is  uniformly  black,  glossed  with  blue; 
beak, legs, and  toes, vermilion  red;  claws, black. 

CHRONIC  COUGH.  In  horses,  this  is  a 
frequent  consequence  of  chest  diseases.  In  a 
few  instances  this  seems  to  be  connected  with 
worms  ;  and  if  the  coat  is  unthrifty,  the  flanks 
tucked  up,  and  there  is  mucus  around  the  anus, 
it  will  be  proper  to  put  the  connexion  between 
the  worms  and  the  cough  to  the  test ;  other- 
wise a  sedative  medicine  may  suffice  to  allay 
the  irritation.     (Clater's  Far.  p.  123.) 

CHRYSALIS.  Many  worms  or  larvae,  after 
they  have  attained  their  full  growth,  leave  off 
eating  entirely  and  remain  at  rest  in  a  death- 
like sleep.     This  is  called  the  pupa  state,  from 


CHURN. 


CIDER. 


a  fancied  resemblance  to  the  manner  in  which 
the  Roman  children  were  trussed  in  bandages. 
The  pupsB  from  caterpillars  are  most  common- 
ly called  chrysalicls  and  anrelia.  Grubs,  after 
their  transformation,  are  often  called  nymphs. 
Having  passed  through  its  change,  the  insect 
merges  from  its  chrysalis,  or  pupa,  perforates 
the  shell  and  silken  envelope,  and  makes  its 
appearance  in  a  winged  form,  which  is  its  last 
or  perfect  state. 

'  In  every  species  there  may  be  distinguished 
two  sides;  the  one  of  which  is  the  back,  and 
the  other  the  belly  of  the  animal.  On  the  an- 
terior part  of  the  latter  there  may  always  be 
observed  certain  little  elevations  running  in 
ridges  :  the  other  side,  or  the  back,  in  most  of 
the  chrysalises,  is  smooth,  and  of  a  rounded 
figure :  but  some  have  ridges  on  the  anterior 
part  and  sides  of  this  part,  usually  terminating 
in  a  point  and  making  an  angular  appearance. 
From  this  difference  is  drawn  the  first  general 
distinction  of  these  bodies,  by  which  they  are 
divided  into  two  classes ;  the  round  and  the 
angular.  The  first,  French  naturalists  call 
feve!> ;  the  chrysalis  of  the  silk-worm  being  of 
this  description,  and  so  named.  This  division 
is  extremely  convenient  to  classification,  the 
phalana  or  moths  being  almost  universally  pro- 
duced by  the  rounded  chrysalises,  and  the  pnpi- 
lios,  day-flies,  from  the  angular.  Among  the 
latter,  are  some  whose  colours  are  as  worthy 
of  observation  as  the  forms  of  others.  Many 
of  them  appear  superbly  clothed  in  gold. 
These  species  obtained  the  names  of  chrysalis 
and  aurelia;  derived,  the  one  from  a  Greek,  the 
other  from  a  Latin  word,  signifying  gold.'* 
(^Dameiftir  Ency.") 

CHURN  (cepnan;  Goi\\.  kerna;  Dutch,  Jterwew. 
Our  old  authors  wrote  it  cheme,  and  kern  is  yet 
a  local  word,  and  generally  used  north  of  the 
Tweed).  A  vessel  in  which  cream  is  coagu- 
lated by  long  and  violent  agitation.  There  are 
many  different  kinds  of  churns,  but  those  most 
generally  used  are  the  upright  or  Dutch  plunge 
churn  and  the  barrel-churn.  In  large  dairies 
churns  are  frequently  turned  by  means  of  a 
horse;  this  is  particularly  the  case  in  Flan- 
ders, where  churns  are  used  which  will  make 
forty  or  fifty  pounds  of  butter  at  a  time.  In 
the  large  dairi??  of  Cheshire  they  are  now  often 
driven  by  small  high  pressure  steam-engines. 
On  such  farms  as  have  thrashing-mills,  churns 
might  be  very  conveniently  attached  to  and 
wrought  by  them.  An  improved  butter-churn 
by  Mr.  C.  Harley  of  Fenchurch-street,  and  an- 
other by  Mr.  W.  Bowler,  to  which  the  Society 
for  the  Improvement  of  the  Arts,  &c.,  awarded 
a  prize  of  thirty  guineas,  are  described  in  Wil- 
lirh's  Domestic  Encyc.  Chums  should  admit  the 
air;  and  hence  it  has  been  argued  that  the 
common  churn,  which  allows  this  most  con- 
veniently, is,  after  all,  the  best. 

CIBOULE,  or  WELSH  ONION.  See  Oxioy. 

CICADA.   See  Grasshopper  and  Locusts. 

CIDER,  or  CYDER  (Fr.  cidre ;  Ger.  zidcr : 
Ital.  cidro:  Russ.  sidor ;  Span,  sidra).  A  sharp 
and  vinous  beverage  made  by  fermenting  the 
juice  of  apples. 

Cider,  or  the  fermented  juice  of  the  apple, 
constitutes  the  principal  vinous  beverage  of  the 


citizens  of  New  England,  of  the  Mid  lie  Sial^'s, 
and  of  the  o4der  states  of  the  West.  Good  cider 
is  deemed  a  pleasant,  wholesome  liquor,  during 
the  heats  of  summer ;  and  Mr.  Knight  has  as- 
serted, and  also  eminent  medical  men,  that 
strong,  astringent  ciders  have  been  found  to 
produce  nearly  tne  •  ame  effect  in  cases  of  pu- 
trid fever  as  Port  wine. 

The  unfermented  juice  of  the  apple  consists 
of  water  and  a  peculiar  acid  called  the  malic 
arid,  combined  with  the  saccharine  principle 
Where  a  just  proportion  of  the  latter  is  want- 
ing, the  liquor  will  be  poor  and  watery,  with- 
out body,  very  difficult  to  preserve  and  manage. 
In  the  process  of  fermentation,  the  saccharine 
principle  is  in  part  converted  to  alcohol. 
Where  the  proportion  of  the  saccharine  prin- 
ciple is  wanting,  the  deficiency  must  be  sup- 
plied, either  by  the  addition  of  a  saccharine 
substance  before  fermentation,  or  by  the  addi- 
tion of  alcohol  after  fermentation;  for  every 
one  must  know  that  all  good  wine  or  cider 
contains  it,  elaborated  by  fermentation,  either 
in  the  cask  or  in  the  reservoirs  at  the  distillery. 
The  best  and  the  cheapest  kind  is  the  neutral 
spirit — a  highly  rectified  and  tasteless  spirit, 
obtained  from  New  England  rum.  Some,  how« 
ever,  object  to  any  addition  of  either  sugar  or 
alcohol  to  supply  deficiencies,  forgetful  that 
these  substances  are  the  very  elements  of 
which  all  wine,  cider,  and  vinous  liquors  are 
composed. 

The  strength  of  the  cider  depends  on  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  juice  on  expression : 
this  may  be  easily  ascertained  by  weighing, 
or  by  the  hydrometer. 

According  to  the  experiments  of  Major  Ad- 
lura,  of  Georgetown,  District  of  Columbia,  it 
appeared  that  when  two  pounds  of  sugar  were 
dissolved  in  a  gallon  of  rain  water,  the  bulk 
occupied  by  1000  grains  of  rain  water  weighed 
1087  grains.  From  this  it  would  appear  that 
the  juice  produced  by  the  best  known  apple 
contains  about  two  pounds  of  sugar  in  a  gal 
Ion.  Mr.  Marshall  has  asserted  that  a  gentle- 
man, Mr.  Bellamy,  of  Herefordshire,  England, 
has  by  skill  "produced  cider  from  an  apple 
called  Hagloe  Crab,  which,  for  richness,  fla- 
vour, and  price  on  the  spot,  exceeds,  perhaps, 
every  other  liquor  which  nature  or  art  has  pro- 
duced. He  has  been  offered  sixty  guineas  for 
a  hogshead  of  110  gallons  of  this  liquor." 
Newark,  in  New  Jersey,  is  reputed  one  of  the 
most  famous  places  in  America  for  its  cider. 
The  cider  apple  most  celebrated  there  is  the 
Harrison  apple,  a  native  fniit;  and  cider  made 
from  this  fruit,  when  fined  and  fit  for  bottling, 
frequently  brings  $10  per  barrel,  according  to 
Mr.  Coxe.  This  and  the  Hughs'  Virginia  Crab 
are  the  two  most  celebrated  cider  apples  of 
America.  Old  trees,  growing  in  dry  soils,  pro- 
duce, it  is  said,  the  best  cider.  A  good  cider 
apple  is  saccharine  and  astringent. 

To  make  good  cider,  the  first  requisite  is 
suitable  fruit ;  it  is  equally  necessary  that  the 
fruit  should  be  not  merely  mellow,  but  thorough- 
ly mature,  rotten  apples  being  excluded;  and 
ripe,  if  possible,  at  the  suitable  period,  or  about 
the  first  of  November,  or  from  the  first  to  th« 
middle,  after  the  excessive  heat  of  the  season 

Q27 


CIDER. 


CIDER. 


19  past,  and  while  sufficient  warmth  yet  re- 
mains to  enable  the  fermentation  lo  progress 
slowly,  as  it  ought. 

The  fruit  should  be  gathered  by  hand,  or 
shaken  from  the  tree  in  dry  weather,  when  it 
is  at  perfect  maturity;  and  the  ground  should 
be  covered  with  coarse  cloths  or  Russia  mats 
beneath,  to  prevent  bruising,  and  consequent 
rottenness,  before  the  grinding  commences. 
Unripe  fruit  should  be  laid  in  large  masses, 

grotected  from  dews  and  rain,  to  stveat  and 
urry  on  its  maturity,  when  the  suitable  time 
for  making  approaches.  The  earlier  fruits 
should  be  laid  in  thin  layers  on  stagings,  to 
preserve  them  to  the  suitable  period  for  mak- 
ing, protected  alike  from  rain  and  dews,  and 
where  they  may  be  benefited  by  currents  of 
cool,  dry  air. 

Each  variety  should  be  kept  separate,  that 
those  ripening  at  the  same  period  may  be 
ground  together. 

In  grinding,  the  most  perfect  machinery 
should  be  used  to  reduce  the  whole  fruit,  skin, 
and  seeds  to  a  fine  pulp.  This  should,  if  pos- 
sible, be  performed  in  cool  weather.  The  late 
Joseph  Cooper,  of  New  Jersey,  has  observed 
emphatically,  that  "  the  loiiger  a  cheese  lies  after 
being  ground,  hefoi'e  pressing,  the  better  for  the 
cider,  provided  it  escapes  fermentation  until  the 
pressing  is  completed ,"  and  he  further  observes, 
"  that  a  sour  apple,  after  being  bruised  on  one 
side,  becomes  rich  and  sweet  after  it  has 
changed  to  a  brown  colour,  while  it  yet  re- 
tains its  acid  tasie  on  the  opposite  side." 
When  the  pomace  united  to  the  juice  is  thus 
suffered  for  a  time  to  remain,  it  undergoes  a 
chemical  change ;  the  saccharine  principle  is 
developed ;  it  will  be  found  rich  and  sweet ; 
sugar  is  in  this  case  produced  by  the  prolonged 
union  of  the  bruised  pulp  and  juice,  which 
could  never  have  been  formed  in  that  quantity 
had  they  been  sooner  separated. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Rice,  of  Marlborough,  who 
made  the  premium  cider  so  much  admired  at 
Concord,  Massachusetts,  appears  so  sensible 
of  the  important  effects  of  mature  or  fully  ripe 
fruit,  that,  provided  this  is  the  case,  he  is 
willing  even  to  forego  the  disadvantage  of 
having  a  portion  of  them  quite  rotten.  Let 
me  observe,  that  this  rottenness  must  be  the 
effect,  in  part,  of  bruises  by  improper  modes 
of  gathering,  or  by  improper  mixtures  of  ripe 
and  unripe  fruit.  He  always  chooses  cool 
weather  for  the  operation  of  grinding ;  and,  in- 
stead of  suffering  the  pomace  to  remain  but 
twenty-four  or  forty-eight  hours  at  most  before 
pressing,  as  others  have  directed,  he  suffers  it 
to  remain  from  a  toeek  to  ten  days,  provided  the 
weather  will  admit,  stirring  the  mass  daily  till 
it  is  put  to  the  press.  See  his  communication 
in  vol.  vii.  p.  123,  N.  E.  Farmer. 

The  first  fermentation  in  cider  is  termed  the 
vinous  ;  in  this  the  sugar  is  decomposed,  and 
loses  its  sweetness,  and  is  converted  into  alco- 
hol ;  if  the  fermentation  goes  on  too  rapidly, 
the  cider  is  injured ;  a  portion  of  alcohol  passes 
off  with  the  carbonic  acid. 

The  design  of  frequent  rackings  is  princi- 
pally to  restrain  the  fermentation ;  but  it  seems 
lo  be  generally  acknowledged  that  it  weakens 
!he  liquor.    It  is  not  generally  practised,  al- 
.^28 


though  the  finest  cider  is  often  produced  by 
this  mode. 

Various  other  modes  are  adopted  with  the 
view  of  restraining  fermentation,  one  of  which 
is  the  following.  After  a  few  gallons  of  cider 
are  poured  into  the  hogshead  into  which  the 
cider  is  to  be  placed  when  racked  off,  a  rag  six 
inches  long,  previously  dipped  in  melted  brim- 
stone,  is  attached  by  a  wire  to  a  very  long, 
tapering  bung;  on  the  match  being  lighted  the 
bung  is  loosely  inserted;  after  this  is  con- 
sumed, the  cask  is  rolled  or  tumbled  till  the 
liquor  has  imbibed  the  gas,  and  then  filled 
with  the  liquid.  This  checks  the  fermentation- 
Yet  the  French  writers  assure  us  that  the  effect 
of  much  sulphuring  must  necessarily  render 
such  liquors  unwholesome. 

Black  oxide  of  manganese  has  a  similar 
effect ;  the  crude  oxide  is  rendered  friable  by 
being  repeatedly  heated  red  hot,  and  as  often 
suddenly  cooled  by  immersion  in  cold  water. 
When  finely  pulverised,  it  is  exposed  for  a 
while  to  the  atmosphere,  till  it  has  imbibed 
again  the  oxygen  which  had  been  expelled  by 
fire.  An  ounce  of  powder  is  deemed  sufficient 
for  a  barrel.  If  the  cider  is  desired  to  be  very 
sweet,  it  must  be  added  before  fermentation, 
otherwise  not  till  afterwards.  Mr.  Knight,  from 
his  long  experience  and  observation  in  a  coun- 
try (Herefordshire,  England)  famous  for  its 
cider,  has  lately,  in  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  John 
Lowell,  stated  that  the  acetous  fermentation 
generally  takes  place  during  the  progress  of 
the  vinous,  and  that  the  liquor  from  the  com- 
mencement is  imbibing  oxygen  at  its  surface. 
He  highly  recommends  that  new  charcoal,  in  a 
finely  pulverized  state,  be  added  to  the  liquor 
as  it  comes  from  the  press,  in  the  proportion  of 
eight  pounds  to  the  hogshead,  to  be  intimately 
incorporated;  "this  makes  the  liquor  at  first 
as  black  as  ink,  but  it  finally  becomes  remark- 
ably fine." 

Dr.  Darwin  has  recommended  that  the  liquor, 
as  soon  as  the  pulp  has  risen,  should  be  placed 
in  a  cool  situation,  in  casks  of  remarkable 
strength,  and  the  liquor  closely  confined  from 
the  beginning.  The  experiment  has  been  tried 
with  good  success ;  the  fermentation  goes  on 
slowly,  and  an  excellent  cider  is  generally  the 
result. 

A  handful  of  well-powdered  clay  to  a  barrel 
is  said  to  check  the  fermentation.  This  is 
stated  by  Dr.  Mease.  And  with  the  view  of 
preventing  ihe  escape  of  the  carbonic  acid,  and 
to  prevent  the  liquid  from  imbibing  oxygen 
from  the  atmosphere,  a  pint  of  olive  oil  has 
been  recommended  to  each  hogshead.  The 
excellent  cider  exhibited  by  Mr.  Rice  was  pre- 
pared by  adding  two  gallons  of  New  England 
rum  to  each  barrel  when  first  made.  In  Feb- 
ruary or  March  it  was  racked  off  in  clear  wea- 
ther, and  two  quarts  more  of  New  England 
rum  added  to  each  barrel.  Cider  well  ferment- 
ed may  be  frozen  down  to  any  requisite  degree 
of  strength.  In  freezing,  the  watery  parts  are 
separated  and  freeze  first,  and  the  stronger 
parts  are  drawn  off  from  the  centre. — I  finish 
by  adding  the  following  general  rules ;  they 
will  answer  for  all  general  purposes ;  they  are 
the  conclusions  from  what  is  previously  stated; 
1.  Gather  the  fruit  according  to  the  foregoing 


CIDER. 


CINQUE-FOIL. 


rules;  let  it  be  thoroughly  ripe  when  ground, 
which  should  be  about  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber. 3.  Let  the  pomace  remain  from  two  to 
four  days,  according  to  the  state  of  the  wea- 
ther, stirring  it  every  day  till  it  is  put  to  the 
press.  3.  If  the  liquor  is  deficient  in  the  sac- 
charine principle,  the  defect  may  be  remedied 
in  the  beginning  by  the  addition  of  saccharine 
substances  or  alcohol.  4.  Let  the  liquor  be 
immediately  placed  in  a  cool  cellar,  in  remark- 
ahlg  strong,  tight,  sweet  casks;  after  the  pulp  has 
all  overflown,  confine  the  liquor  down  by  driv- 
ing the  bung  hard  and  by  sealing;  a  vent  must 
be  left,  and  the  spile  carefully  drawn  at  times, 
but  only  when  absolutely  necessary  to  prevent 
the  cask  from  bursting.  The  charcoal,  as  re- 
commended by  Mr.  Knight,  deserves  trial. 

Fresh  and  sweet  pomace  directly  from  the 
press,  and  boiled  or  steamed  and  mixed  with 
a  small  portion  of  meal,  is  a  valuable  article 
of  food,  or  for  fattening  horses,  cattle,  and 
swine. 

Sour  casks  are  purified  by  pouring  in  a 
small  quantity  of  hot  water,  and  adding  un- 
slacked  lime ;  bung  up  the  cask,  and  continue 
shaking  it  till  the  lime  is  slacked.  Soda  and 
chloride  of  lime  are  good  for  purifying.  When 
casks  are  emptied  to  be  laid  by,  let  them  be 
thoroughly  rinsed  with  water  and  drained,  then 
pour  into  each  a  pint  of  cheap  alcohol,  shake 
the  cask  and  bung  it  tight,  and  it  will  remain 
sweet  for  years.  Musty  casks  should  be  con- 
demned  to  other  uses.  Cider  should  not  be 
bottled  till  perfectly  fine,  otherwise  it  may  burst 
the  bottles.  The  bottles  should  be  strong,  and 
filled  to  the  bottom  of  the  neck.  After  standing 
aa  hour,  they  should  be  corked  with  velvet 
corks.  The  lower  end  of  the  cork  is  held  for 
an  instant  in  hot  water,  and  it  is  then  instantly 
after  driven  down  with  a  mallet.  The  bottles 
must  be  either  sealed  or  laid  on  their  sides  in 
boxes,  or  in  the  bottom  of  a  cellar,  and  covered 
with  layers  of  sand. 

Most  of  the  above  information  relative  to 
cider-making  is  derived  frorii  the  American  Or- 
chardist,  by  W.  Kenrick,  of  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, whose  list  of  apple  and  other  nursery- 
trees  comprehends  almost  every  kind  desirable 
for  any  purpose. 

The  reader  will  find  verj  explicit  instruc- 
tions for  the  manufacture  of  cider  in  the  Penny 
Cyclop,  vol.  vii  p.  161;  in  the  Lib.  of  Useful 
Know.;  Brit.  Htu,'>.  vol.  ii.  p.  364;  Lotv's  Prad. 
Jgr.  p.  379 ;  Croker,  On  the  Art  of  Making  and 
Managing  Cyder;  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
vol.  viii.  p.  332,  by  Mr.  Towers ;  and  in  Bax- 
ter's Agr.  Lib.  p.  135,  by  Andrew  Crosse,  Esq., 
of  Somerset  The  following  instructions  for 
making  cider  are  by  a  Devonshire  lady. 

Gather  the  fruit  when  ripe ;  let  it  remain  in 
a  heap  till  the  apples  begin  to  get  damp,  then 
grind  them  in  a  mill  (similar  to  a  malt  mill); 
lake  the  pulp  and  put  it  into  a  large  press  like 
a  cheese-press,  only  on  a  much  larger  scale 
place  a  layer  of  reed  in  the  bottom  of  the  vat 
and  a  layer  of  pulp  alternately  until  the  vat  is 
full.  The  vat  is  square,  and  the  ends  of  the 
reed  must  be  allowed  to  turn  over  every  layer 
of  pulp,  so  as  to  keep  it  from  being  pressed 
out  at  the  sides :  the  laye??  of  pulp  must  be 
five  or  r^ix  inches  thick.  When  you  have 
42 


finished  making  your  cheese,  press  it  as  hard 
as  you  caji,  and  let  it  remain  three  or  four 
hours;  then  cut  down  the  corners  of  it,  and 
lay  them  on  the  top  with  reed  as  before ;  then 
press  it  again,  and  allow  it  to  remain  for  an- 
I  other  three  or  four  hours.    Repeat  this  process 
I  as  long  as  necessary,  or  until  the  cheese  is 
I  quite  dry.     It  takes  seven  bags  of  apples  for 
i  one  hogshead  of  cider,  and  the  vat  ought  to  be 
j  large  enough  to  make  from  three  to  four  hogs- 
heads at  a  time.     The  best  sort  of  apple  to 
make  mild  cider  is  the  hard  bitter-sweet.    Any 
sort  of  sour  apple  will  do  to  make  the  harsh 
cider.    The  liquor  must  be  strained  through  a 
fine  sieve  into  a  large  vessel,  and  allowed  to 
ferment  for  three  or  four  days,  taking  off  the 
scum  as  it  rises;  then  rack  it,  and  put  it  into 
casks  stopped  down  quite  close.     Before  the 
cider  is  put  into  the  cask,  a  match  made  of  new 
linen  and  attached  to  a  wire  is  lighted  and  put 
into  the  cask,  and  the  bung  is  put  in  to  keep  the 
wire  from  falling  into  it.    After  a  few  minutes 
the  match  is  removed,  and  the  cider  poured 
into  the  cask  while  yet  full  of  the  smoke. 

A  person  would  require  three  or  four  years' 
experience  before  he  would  be.  qualified  to 
superintend  the  making  of  sweet  or  made 
cider.  Much  depends  on  the  year,  or  rather 
on  the  ripening  of  the  apples ;  it  should  be  the 
second,  not  the  first  falling;  and  the  "green 
bitter-sweet"  and  the  "  pocket  apple"  are  the 
best  for  making  it.  After  pounding,  isinglass 
and  brimstone  are  used  to  sweeten  and  fine  it, 
and  many  other  ingredients.     (A.  M.  K.) 

The  sweet  cider,  above  described,  is  distinct 
from  the  other  two  kinds  of  cider  (the  harsh 
and  mild).  Cider,  according  to  Brande,  con- 
tains about  9-87  parts  per  cent,  of  alcohol.  It 
is  a  wholesome  beverage  for  those  who  use. 
much  bodily  exercise.  {WdliclCs  Dom.  Ency.; 
M'Ciilloch's  Com.  Diet.) 

CLNQUE-FOIL,  COMMON  CREEPING,  or 
FIVE  FINGERED  GRASS  {Potentilla  rep- 
tans).  This  creeping  plant  is  common  about 
waysides,  and  in  meadows  and  pastures  in 
England,  where  it  is  a  perennial,  flowering  in 
June.  Its  stalks  are  round,  smooth,  and  red, 
lying  upon  the  ground,  and  taking  root  at  the 
joints.  The  leaves  stand  five  in  number  on 
each  foot-stalk,  long  and  narrow  in  form,  and 
indented  at  the  edges.  The  flowers  are  large, 
of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  standing  upon  long 
foot-stalks.  The  root  is  long  and  large,  cover- 
ed with  a  brown  rind.  Smith  (Eng.  Flora,  vol. 
ii.  p.  423)  describes  this  and  ten  oiher  species 
of  cinque-foil,  all  belonging  to  the  same  genu^. 
The  root  is  the  medicinal  part,  and  once  wr.s 
an  ofiicinal  plant;  but  is  now  tliscarded :  dig 
it  up  in  April,  take  oflf  the  outer  bark  or  rind, 
and  dry  it.  The  powdered  bark  of  the  root  is 
astringent. 

There  are  a  dozen  or  more  species  of  ci.ique^ 
foil  in  the  United  States,  among  which  is  that 
usually  called  the  barren  strawberry  (Poten- 
tilla  Pennsylvanica).  It  is  a  small,  perennial, 
creeping  plant,  very  frequent  on  road-sides, 
fence-rows,  and  banks,  having  thick,  branch 
ing,  fibrous  roots.  The  petals  of  the  flowers 
are  bright-yellow,  the  first  flowers  often  ap- 
pearing when  the  stems  are  very  short,  but 
others  appear  afterwards  on  runners,  which 
2  E  2  32'» 


CINQUE-FOIL 


CLIMATE. 


runners  resemble  those  of  the  strawberry. 
This  common  kind  of  cinque-foil  in  the  Middle 
and  Northern  States  is  frequent  in  worn-out 
and  neglected  fields,  and,  where  abundant,  indi- 
cates thriftless  farming.  The  Latin  name  of 
the  genus  is  derived  from  potcns,  powerful; 
in  reference  to  the  supposed  medical  virtues 
of  the  cinque-foil  family.  Another  species, 
commonly  called  five-fingers  (Potentilla  sim- 
plex), is  also  a  very  common,  yellow  floM'er'^d 
perennial,  along  the  borders  of  woods,  &c. 

CINQUE-FOIL,  PURPLE  MARSH  (Coma- 
rium  palusire).  A  perennial,  found  in  spongy, 
muddy  bogs  and  ditches.  Root,  creeping  ex- 
tensively, with  many  long  fibres.  Stems,  round, 
reddish,  a  foot  or  more  in  height.  Flowers, 
several,  without  scent,  but  handsome,  an  inch 
broad,  all  over  of  a  dark  purplish  blood  colour, 
as  well  as  the  fruit.  They  appear  in  June. 
(Smith's  Eng.  Flora,  vol.  ii.  p.  433.) 

CITRIC  ACIDS.  Acids  contained  in  le- 
mons and  some  other  kinds  of  fruit.  See 
Acids,  Vegetabik. 

CLARY,  or  SAGE  (Salvia).  Smith  (Eng. 
Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  34)  describes  two  kinds,  the 
meadow  clary  (S.pratetisis),  and  wild  English 
clary  (S.  verbennca).  The  first  is  very  uncom- 
mon, but  sometimes  met  with  in  dry  meadows 
and  about  hedges ;  grows  three  feet  high,  erect; 
not  very  aromatic ;  leaves,  dark-green  ;  flowers, 
large  and  handsome,  of  a  fine  purplish  blue. 
The  second  species  is  more  common  on  gra- 
velly or  chalky  soils,  a  foot  or  eighteen  inches 
high;  leaves,  grayish-green;  flowers,  small, 
violet-blue.  Seeds,  black,  smooth ;  blows  from 
June  to  October.  This  plant  is  of  great  vir- 
tue, and  is  kept  in  gardens  on  account  of  its 
excellent  flavour.  The  whole  herb  is  medi- 
cinal, and  is  equally  good,  freshly  gathered, 
or  dried.  It  is  cordial  and  astringent  in  its 
quality. 

CLASPERS.  The  threads  or  tendrils  of 
creeping  plants. 

CLASS,  an  appellation  used  to  denote  the 
mosi  general  divisions  of  which  any  thing  is 
susceptible.  Thus  in  the  Linnsean  system  of 
natural  history,  the  animal  kingdom  is  divided 
into  six  great  classes,  of  mammalia,  or  ani- 
mals which  suckle  their  young;  aves,  or  birds; 
pieces,  or  fishes ;  insccta,  or  insects ;  vermes,  or 
worms. 

In  botany,  the  term  class  implies  the  primary 
division  of  plants  into  large  groups,  each  of 
■which  is  to  be  subdivided  by  a  regular  down- 
ward progression,  into  orders,  genera,  and  spe- 
cies, with  occasional  intermediate  subdivisions, 
constituting  varieties,  &c.,  all  being  subordi- 
nate to  the  division  which  stands  immediately 
above  them.  Each  class  is  divided  into  orders, 
each  order  into  genera,  each  genus  into  species, 
and  each  genus  and  species  sometimes  into 
sitbgetiera  or  stibspecies.  The  term  family  is 
sometimes  used  instead  of  genus,  and  objects 
are  often  arranged  in  families,  which  again  are 
distinguished  into  varieties. 

CLAY.  A  well  known  constituent  of  soils, 
adding  to  them  compactness  and  tenacity. 
Under  the  head  of  Artalyds,  p.  91,  is  a  table 
showing  a  classification  of  soils,  from  which  it 
appears,  that  as  a  general  rule,  those  exhibiting 
the  highest  per-centage  of  clay,  are  esteemed 
330 


the  most  valuable.  Although  what  is  tonimonly 
called  clay,  constitutes  from  14  to  81  per  cent,  of 
soils,  its  basis,  alumina,  or  pure  clay,  exists  only 
in  the  pi-oportion  of  from  72-lOOths  of  1  per 
cent,  in  light  sandy  soils,  to  ,'5-25  per  cent,  in 
heavier  lands.  Where  it  exists,  as  it  often  does 
in  sub-soils,  in  the  proportion  of  9  or  10  per 
cent,  good  draining-tiles  and  building  bricks  may- 
be made  of  it.  The  clay  from  which  the  best 
building  bricks  in  Baltimore  are  made,  contains 
19|  per  cent,  of  alumina.     (See  Bricks.) 

Clays  have  various  colours,  owing  to  admix- 
ture with  different  substances.  Yellow  and  red 
clays  are  silicates  of  alumina  with  small  propor- 
tions of  peroxide  (or  rust)  of  iron,  united  with 
lime,  magnesia,  sometimes  potash,  and  very 
rarely  soda. 

Strange  to  say — in  what  are  commonly  called 
on  the  Eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  and  elsewhere 
in  the  United  States,  '■^ pipe  clay  or  white  oak 
soils,"  very  little  pure  clay  exists,  seldom  over 
3-75  per  cent.,  in  the  upper  stratum,  and  some- 
times only  about  1  per  cent.  According  to  Dr. 
Higgins's  analysis,  90  per  cent,  of  this  soil  con- 
sists of  sand  so  fine  as  to  lose  its  grittiness,  whilst 
the  pure  clay  constitutes  only  about  2  or  2|  per 
cent.  These  white  oak  soils  commonly  rest  on 
a  bed  of  white  or  mottled  clay,  which  should 
never  be  turned  up  in  ploughing.  They  can  ge- 
nerally be  rendered  very  productive  by  perfect 
draining,  with  the  addition  of  lime,  ashes,  or 
guano.  Such  land  is  very  unprofitable,  unless 
kept  dry  hy  7nimerou.<t  small  ditches  running  into 
a  main  ditch.  See  A^he^,  Mixtnre  of  Soils.  For 
the  modes  of  burning  clay  in  kilns,  or  clod-bum' 
ing,  see  Paring  and  Burning. 

CLICKLING.  An  unpleasant  noise  known 
also  by  the  term  "  overreach,"  which  arises 
from  the  toe  of  the  hind  foot  of  a  horse  knock- 
ing against  the  shoe  of  the  fore  foot.  If  the 
animal  is  young,  the  action  of  the  horse  may 
be  materially  improved;  otherwise  nothing 
can  be  done. 

CLIMATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
The  temperature  of  the  atmosphere  constitutes 
the  principal  elenient  of  climate.  If  the  tem- 
peratures of  places  depended  solely  upon  the 
position  of  the  earth  in  relation  to  the  sun, 
then  would  every  place  receiving  the  rays  at 
a  similar  angle  be  similarly  heated,  and  places 
in  the  same  latitude  in  every  part  of  the  globe 
would  have  similar  climates,  so  far  as  heat 
was  concerned.  It  would  therefore  be  very 
easy  to  classify  climates  according  to  relative 
distances  from  the  equator  or  proximity  to  the 
poles.  But  observations  made  in  difl^erenl 
parts  of  the  world  show  that  in  similar  latitudes 
climates  differ  greatly,  as  is  exemplified  on  the 
two  sides  of  the  northern  Atlantic,  where  the 
mean  temperatures  of  places  on  or  near  the 
ocean  are  found  to  differ  in  some  cases  ten  de- 
grees ofFahrenheit,  the  climate  of  the  European 
coast  being  that  much  warmer,  in  its  annual 
mean  temperature,  than  the  American  in  the 
same  latitude.  When,  instead  of  mean  tempe- 
ratures, extremes  of  heat  and  cold  are  com- 
pared, the  difference  is  still  more  striking. 

Now,   in   explaining  the   rationale   of   this 

well  known  fact,  we  are  compelled  to  refer  to 

a  grand  natural  phenomenon,  which  we  shall 

designate  the  groat  atmospheric  circulation. 

i  This  commences  in  the  tropical  region  where 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


th;  accumulated  heal  of  the  sun  rarefies  the 
air,  which,  ascending  into  the  higher  regions 
of  the  atmosphere,  flows  ofi'  towards  the  north 
and  south.  To  compensate  for  the  loss  by  this 
successive  flowing  ofi"  of  the  heated  and  rare- 
fied portion,  and  maintain  that  equilibrium 
which  the  barometer  informs  us  always  sub- 
sists in  the  atmosphere  throughout  the  globe, 
lower  currents  of  heavier  air  sweep  into  the 
tropical  regions  from  the  northward  and  south- 
ward. These  last  have  been  denominated  the 
polar  currents,  whilst  the  uppermost  are  de- 
signated as  the  tropical  currents;  and  these, 
it  is  well  known,  do  not  flow  directly  north  or 
south,  but  slantwise,  a  fact  which  is  ascribed 
to  the  influence  exerted  by  the  motion  of  the 
globe  upon  its  axis,  and  the  difierent  velocities 
existing  at  different  parts  of  its  surface.  Owing, 
therefore,  to  the  combined  agencies  of  solar 
heat  and  diurnal  rotation,  the  lower  winds  in 
the  equatorial  region  have  a  slanting  direction 
from  the  eastward,  constituting  the  trade  winds, 
which  blow  the  year  round  between  the  tropics,_ 
except  where  changed  into  monsoons  by  the 
interposition  of  some  influences  by  which  a 
change  is  wrought  in  their  direction  during 
six  months  of  the  year.  Whilst  the  winds 
within  the  tropics  thus  blow  interminably  from 
the  eastward,  those  without  the  tropical  limits 
have  a  prevailing  direction  from  the  west. 
Here  then  we  find  the  solution  of  the  problem, 
that  in  extra-tropical  latitudes  all  countries 
situated  to  the  eastward  of  seas  or  other  great 
bodies  of  water  have  milder  climates  than 
those  occupying  the  eastern  portions  of  con- 
tinents. Large  bodies  of  water  never  become 
so  cold  in  winter  or  so  warm  in  summer  as  the 
earth.  Hence,  whenever  the  predominant 
winds  sweep  from  the  sea,  they  carry  with 
them  the  temperature  of  the  water  to  a  greater 
or  less  distance  inland,  and  thus  obviate  ex- 
tremes. When,  however,  the  prevailing  winds 
pass  over  large  tracts  of  country,  they  must 
necessarily  bear  with  them  the  greater  or  less 
degrees  of  cold  induced  by  congelation,  and 
still  more  through  radiation,  whilst  in  summer 
they  will  convey  the  accumulated  heat  ab- 
sorbed by  the  eaith.  This  view  enables  us  to 
understand  why  the  proximity  of  the  Gulf 
Stream, — that  mighty  lake  of  warm  water,  as 
Major  Reynell  calls  it,  not  inferior  in  size  to 
the  Mediterranean, — does  not  shed  upon  the 
shores  of  the  United  States  a  larger  portion  of 
its  high  temperature,  the  greatest  proportion 
of  the  warmth  communicated  by  it  to  the 
atmosphere  being  actually  wafted  to  the  distant 
shores  of  Europe. 

The  celebrated  Humboldt,  who  has  devoted 
so  much  attention  to  the  investigation  of  cli- 
mate, and  especially  to  the  laws  and  agencies 
concerned  in  the  distribution  of  heat  over  the 
surface  of  the  globe,  has  formed  a  system  of 
lines  of  equal  temperature  encircling  the  globe, 
and  passing  through  places  having  the  same 
mean  temperature,  either  throughout  the  year 
or  during  particular  seasons.  Those  passing 
through  places  having  similar  annual  means 
are  called  isothermal  lines.  As,  however,  it  is 
frequently  found  that  where  the  annual  tem- 
peratures agree  there  is  a  great  difference  in 
the  means  of  particular  seasons,  other  lines 


have  been  drawn  to  show  this,  such  as  pass 
through  places  having  equal  summer  tempera- 
tures being  called  isotheral,  and  those  represent- 
ing equal  winter  means  isochcimal  lines. 
j      These   lines,   which   from    their    generally 
crooked  forms  are  also  called  curves,  demon- 
!  strate  to  the  eye  in  a  striking  manner  the  well 
known  fact,  that  the  distribution  of  temperature 
;  on  both  sides  of  the  equator  is  by  no  means  in 
exact  conformity  to  latitude  or  distance  from 
!  the  equinoctial  line.     Let  us,  for  example,  take 
I  Humboldt's    isothermal   line    drawn   through 
I  different   points  around  the   globe,  having  a 
1  mean   annual    temperature   of   55°"40   Fahr., 
!  and  we  shall  find  it  in  the  eastern  part  of  North 
America  passing  near  Philadelphia,  in  latitude 
39°  56';  in  the  eastern  part  of  Asia,  near  Pekin, 
in  the  same  latitude  with  Philadelphia ;    whilst 
on  the  western  side  of  Europe  it  runs  near 
Bourdeaux,  in   latitude  45°  46';  and  on   the 
western  coast  of  North  America,  it  is  found  at 
Cape  Foulweather,  a  little  south  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  river,  latitude  44°  40'.     Be- 
tween  the  western   part  of  Europe   and  the 
eastern  portion  of  North  America,  the  follow- 
ing diflferences  in  the  mean  temperature  are 
found   in   similar   latitudes,   the    increase    in 
latitude  being  attended  by  a  very  great  increase 
in  the  diflference  of  the  means : 


Latitude. 
3V 
50« 


Mean  temp,  of  E.       Mean  temp.  W. 
coast      S.  Am.         coast  of  Kuiiptx 


6e»w 


Diflereocei Ik 
mean  temp. 

70»52  3«-60 

63»  14  8«-64 

50° -90  12° -96 

40°-60  W-SS 


,  Now  all  the  great  varieties  in  the  lines  of 
equal  temperature  are  mainly  dependent  upoa 
the  operation  of  those  extensive  natural  move- 
ments which  we  have  styled  the  great  atmos- 
pheric circulation. 

The  climate  of  the  United  States  is  distin- 
guished by  its  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  It 
might  be  naturally  expected  that  the  greatest 
heat  would  be  registered  at  the  most  souther- 
ly, and  the  severest  cold  at  the  most  northern 
posts.  But  the  exact  instrumental  observations 
now  furnished  prove  this  not  to  be  the  case, 
especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  sea,  where  it 
would  seem  the  proximity  of  water  tends  to 
moderate  the  heat  of  summer  in  the  south,  and 
the  cold  of  winter  in  the  north.  It  is  in  some 
of  the  western  regions,  remote  from  the  ocean 
and  inland  seas,  those,  for  example,  in  which 
forts  Snelling,  Gibson,  and  Council  Bluffs,  are 
situated,  that  the  mercury  rises  highest  and 
sinks  the  lowest-  On  the  15th  of  August,  1834, 
at  Fort  Gibson,  two  thermometers  observed  by 
Dr.  Wright  of  the  army,  rose  in  the  shade, 
carefully  excluded  from  reflected  or  radiated 
heat,  the  one  to  116°,  and  the  other  to  117° 
Fahrenheit. 

It  is  a  law  applicable  to  all  parts  of  the 
world,  wherever  no  inland  lakes  or  seas  exist, 
to  interpose  a  modifying  influence, — that  on 
leaving  the  coast  and  going  into  the  interior, 
the  difference  between  the  mean  temperature 
of  summer  and  winter  increases,  the  climates 
being  more  subject  to  extremes  of  heat  and 
cold.  To  show  that  no  exception  to  this  law 
is  furnished  in  the  United  States,  we  may  ad 
duce  the  instance  of  Fort  Sullivan,  Eastpor* 

331 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


Me.,  on  the  ocean  it  latitude  44°  44',  where  | 
the  winter  mean  temperature  is  17°*45  Fah- 1 
renheit  above  that  of  Fort  Sneiling  in  Iowa, 
the  latitude  being  the  same.  The  climate  of 
Fort  Sneiling,  Dr.  Forry  informs  us,  is  the 
most  excessive  among  all  the  military  posts  in 
the  United  States,  resembling  that  of  Moscow  in 
Russia,  as  regards  the  extremes  of  the  seasons, 
notwithstanding  the  latter  is  11°  further  north. 
But  ar  Moscow  the  mean  temperature  both 
of  winter  and  summer  is  lower, — that  of  winter 
being  as  10°-78  to  15°'d5,  and  that  of  summer 
as  97°-10  to  72°-75.  That  the  influence  of 
the  lakes  in  modifying  the  climate  in  their 
vicinities  is  not  less  than  that  of  the  ocean,  is 
demonstrated  by  a  comparison  of  the  summer 
and  winter  means  of  posts  situated  near  them 
in  about  the  same  latitude.  The  difference 
between  the  mean  temperature  of  summer  and 
winter  at  Fort  Preble,  on  the  Atlantic,  is  41°-03, 
and  of  Fort  Niagara  on  Lake  Ontario,  41°-73. 
At  the  excessive  post.  Fort  Crawford,  Wis- 
consin, a  few  minutes  further  south  than  the 
two  places  first  mentioned,  the  difference 
amounts  to  50°-89.  Again,  a  comparison  of 
tlie  difference  between  the  winter  and  summer 
means  of  some  other  posts  situated  in  the 
same  latitude  shows  the  following  results,  by 
which  the  increase  in  extremes  on  going  west 
is  strikingly  demonstrated.  The  difference 
between  the  mean  temperature  of  summer  and 
winter  at  Fort  Wolcott,  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
is  36°-55;  at  West  Point,  New  York,  40°-75; 
Fort  Armstrong,  Illinois,  49°*05 ;  and  at  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  near  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Platte 
and  Missouri,  51°-35.  The  highest,  lowest, 
and  annual  range  of  the  thermometer  at  three 
of  the  posts  just  mentioned  is  as  follows  : — 

Annual 
Highest       Lowest,      raiige. 

Fort  Wolcott,  Newport,  R.I.     65°  2°  83° 

Fort  Armstrong,  Illinois  -    96°  10°  106° 

Council  Bluffs         -        -        -  104°  16°  120° 

Although  the  mean  temperature  of  winter  on 
the  sea-coast  is  6°  higher,  and  of  summer  8°'71 
lower  than  in  places  situated  on  the  same  pa- 
rallel in  the  interior,  beyond  the  influence  of 
the  lakes,  the  means  of  spring  are  4°-13,  and 
of  autumn  0°'40  higher  in  the  interior  situa- 
tions. This  is  the  result  of  a  comparison  made 
in  the  latitude  of  about  43°.  y 

How  strongly  are  all  these  views  of  the  east- 
em  climate  of  the  United  States  contrasted  with 
the  equable  temperature  found  in  the  Pacific 
region.  At  Fort  Vancouver,  for  example,  situ- 
ated on  the  Columbia  river,  about  seventy-five 
miles  above  its  mouth,  the  difference  between 
the  winter  and  summer  means  is  only  23°-67, 
although  a  degree  farther  north  than  Fort  Snei- 
ling, five  degrees  more  northerly  than  New 
York,  and  nearly  on  the  same  parallel  with 
Montreal.  During  a  year  passed  at  Fort  Van- 
couver, the  lowest  fall  of  the  thermometer  was 
to  17°.  On  nine  days  only  was  the  tempera- 
ture below  the  freezing  point  in  the  month  of 
January,  so  that  ploughing  is  carried  on  whilst 
the  vegetables  of  the  preceding  season  are  still 
standing  in  the  gardens  untouched  by  frosu 
And  why  does  not  New  York,  situated  directly 
on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  derive  as  much  warmth 
from,  this  magazine  of  heat  as  Fort  Vancouver 
does  from  the  more  distant  Pacific !     Simply 


because  the  predominant  westerly  winds  sweep 
upon  one  place  the  chilling  blasts  of  extensive 
districts  of  land,  cooled  to  congelation,  or  co- 
vered with  snow,  whilst  over  the  other  they 
waft  the  genial  warmth  of  the  sea.  P'or  simi- 
lar reasons  the  ameliorations  of  climate  expe- 
rienced in  the  vicinity  of  the  interior  lakes 
must  always  be  felt  most  to  the  eastward. 

The  classification  of  climates  distinguished 
by  Dr.  Forry  in  the  United  States  and  territo- 
ries, is  founded  upon  a  general  division  into 
Northern,  Middle,  and  Southern  regions ;  the 
first  being  characterized  by  the  predominance 
of  a  low  mean  temperature,  the  Southern  by  a 
high  temperature,  and  the  Middle  vibrating  to 
both  extremes.  Each  of  these  general  divisions 
is  subdivided  into  classes  or  systems  sufficiently 
marked. 

The  Northern  System  has  three  classes,  the 
first  embracing  the  coast  of  New  England, 
extending  as  far  south  as  the  harbour  of  New 
York;  the  second  including  the  districts  in  the 
proximity  of  the  northern  lakes ;  the  third, 
portions  of  country  alike  remote  from  the  ocean 
and  inland  seas. 

The  Middle  division  has  two  classes,  the 
first  embracing  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Dela- 
ware Bay  to  Savannah;  the  second,  interior 
stations. 

The  Southern  division  has  also  two  classes, 
the  first  including  those  parts  in  which  the 
military  posts  on  the  Lower  Mississippi  are 
situated,  and  the  second  the  peninsula  of  East 
Florida. 

It  is  the  Northern  region  which  presents  ax. 
the  same  time  the  greatest  diversity  of  physical 
character  and  the  most  strongly  marked  varia- 
tions in  climate.  East  of  the  great  lakes,  the 
several  mountain  ranges  seldom  exceed  the 
height  of  2500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea — 
the  table-lands,  upon  which  the  ridges  rest,  ris- 
ing, perhaps,  on  an  average,  to  half  the  height 
named.  We  have  already  adverted  to  the  fact, 
that  on  the  coast  of  New  England  the  influence 
of  the  ocean  is  manifested  in  moderating  ex- 
tremes of  temperature.  Advancing  into  the 
interior,  the  extreme  range  of  the  thermometer 
increases,  and  the  seasons  are  violently  con- 
trasted, until  getting  within  the  influence  of  the 
lakes,  when  a  climate  like  that  of  the  sea-board 
is  found.  That  the  lakes  have  this  capacity  to 
modify  the  climate  in  their  vicinity  will  be  evi- 
dent to  any  one  who  considers  that  they  occupy 
not  less  than  94,000  square  miles,  having  a 
depth  varying  from  20  to  500  feet.  Beyond  the 
modifying  agency  of  these  inland  seas,  tempe- 
ratures still  more  excessive  are  exhibited,  a 
comparative  view  of  which,  including  exact 
estimates  for  the  sea-coast  and  regions  of  and 
beyond  the  great  lakes,  has  been  already  given. 

When  the  climates  on  the  sea-coast  and  in- 
terior country  remote  from  the  lakes  are  com- 
pared in  relation  to  the  proportion  of  fair  and 
cloudy  weather,  rain  and  snow,  the  following 
results  appear.  During  the  year,  the  propor- 
tion of  fair  days  on  the  sea-coast,  compared 
with  those  of  the  interior,  are  as  202  to  240 : 
cloudy  days,  108  to  77;  rainy  days,  45  to  31 ; 
snowy,  9  to  16. 

Comparing  the  climate  of  the  lakes  with  that 
of  the  same  region  beyond  their  influence,  the 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


•ontrast  is  yet  more  striking,  the  prevailing 
weather  of  the  former  being  cloudy,  and  the 
latter  fair ;  thus,  during  the  year,  the  propor- 
tion of  days  is, 


Fair. 

Cloudy. 

Rain. 

Snow. 

Lakes 

-  117 

139 

63 

45 

Remote  from  lakes 

-  216 

73 

46 

29 

The  relative  proportion  of  rainy  and  cloudy 
days  during  the  year  is,  therefore,  in  the  former 
locality  247,  and  in  the  latter  148,  giving  the 
far  west  about  100  more  sunshiny  days  out  of 
the  annual  sum  of  365. 

Thus  much  for  the  Northern  division. 

In  considering  the  climate  of  the  Middle  di- 
vision of  the  United  States,  Dr.  Forry  thinks 
himself  justified  by  the  results  of  the  meteoro- 
logical observations  in  his  possession,  in  dis- 
tinguishing two  classes,  designated  as  uniform 
and  excessive  climes,  the  first  being  slightly 
under  the  influence  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
whilst  the  southwestern  stations  show  the 
powerful  influence  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

In  proceeding  south,  the  seasons,  as  a  gene- 
ral rule,  appear  more  uniform,  the  annual  mean 
temperature  increasing  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Some  of  the  eastern  posts  in  this  middle  divi- 
sion present  such  great  contrasts  between  their 
summer  and  winter  temperatures,  as  almost  to 
place  them  in  the  list  of  excessive  climes.  The 
modifying  influence  of  the  adjacent  ocean  and 
bays  are,  however,  still  apparent,  since,  farther 
westward  on  the  same  parallels,  greater  ex- 
tremes are  common. 

"The  region  of  Pennsylvania,  as  though  it 
were  the  battle-ground  on  which  Boreas  and 
Auster  struggle  for  mastery,  experiences,  in- 
deed, the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold.  But,  pro- 
ceeding south  along  the  Atlantic  Plain,  climate 
Boon  undergoes  a  striking  modification,  of 
which  the  Potomac  forms  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion. Here  the  domain  of  snow  terminates. 
Beyond  this  point,  the  sledge  is  no  more  seen 
in  the  farmer's  barnyard.  The  table-lands  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  on  the  other  hand, 
carry,  several  degrees  farther  south,  a  mild 
and  temperate  clime.  Although  very  few  ther- 
mometrical  observations  have  been  made  upon 
the  table-land  lying  in  the  centre  of  the  middle 
division,  or  upon  the  ridges  which  crest  this 
long  plateau,  thus  rendering  it  impracticable 
to  determine  fully  the  interesting  question  of 
their  influence  upon  temperature;  yet  we  are 
enabled  to  supply  this  deficiency,  in  some  mea- 
sure, by  observations  made  upon  the  differences 
in  vegetable  geography.  Thus,  in  Virginia,  as 
the  limits  of  the  state  extend  quite  across  the 
Apalaohian  chains,  four  natural  divisions  are 
presented ;  viz.,  1.  The  Atlantic  Plain,  or  tide- 
water region,  below  the  falls  of  the  rivers; 
2.  The  Middle  region,  between  the  falls  and 
the  Blue  Ridge  ;  3.  The  Great  Valley,  between 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Alleghany  Mountains ;  I 
and,  4.  The  Trans-Alleghany  region,  west  of  j 
that  chain.  In  each  of  these,  the  phenomena 
of  vegetation  are  modified  in  accordance  with 
the  climatic  features.  On  the  Atlantic  Plain, 
tobacco  is  the  principal  staple ;  in  the  Great 
Valley,  it  is  cultivated  only  in  the  southern 
portion ;  and  beyond  the  Alleghany,  its  culture 
is  unknown.  In  the  first  only  is  cotton  culti- 
vated, and  in  its  southern  part  quite  extensive- 


ly. In  North  Carolina,  the  Atlantic  Plain  ex- 
tends sixty  or  seventy  miles  from  the  coast, 
whilst  the  Middle  region,  corresponding  to  that 
described  in  Virginia,  gradually  merges  into 
the  mountainous  regions  farther  west.  As 
these  table-lands  are  elevated  from  1000  to 
1200  feet  above  the  sea,  upon  which  rise  many 
high  crests,  one  of  which  (Black  Mountain)  is 
the  highest  summit  of  the  Alleghany  system, 
the  diversity  of  climate  on  the  same  parallels 
causes  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  vege- 
table productions.  Whilst  the  lowlands  yield 
cotton,  rice,  and  indigo,  the  western  high  coun- 
try produces  wheat,  hemp,  tobacco,  and  Indian 
corn.  In  South  Carolina,  three  strongly-marked 
regions  are  also  presented ;  but  as  the  tempe- 
rature increases,  as  a  general  law,  in  propor- 
tion as  we  approach  the  equator,  cotton  is 
cultivated  throughout  the  state  generally.  Geor- 
gia, Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  like  the  Caroli- 
nas,  are  divided  into  three  well-defined  belts, 
exhibiting  similar  diversities  in  vegetable  geo- 
graphy. Cotton  and  rice,  more  especially  the 
former,  are  the  great  agricultural  staples;  and 
on  the  Atlantic  Plain  of  these  three  states,  as 
well  as  its  continuation  into  Florida  and  Lou- 
isiana (which  last  two  will  be  more  particularly 
adverted  to  in  the  southern  division),  sugar 
may  be  advantageously  cultivated.  In  North 
Carolina  and  Virginia,  the  Atlantic  Plain  forms, 
as  it  were,  a  chaos  of  land  and  water,  consist- 
ing of  vast  swamps,  traversed  by  sluggish 
streams,  expanding  frequently  into  broad  ba- 
sins with  argillaceous  bottoms.  Throughout 
its  whole  extent,  as  already  remarked,  it  is 
characterized  by  similar  features,  besides  being 
furrowed  with  deep  ravines,  in  which  the 
streams  wind  their  devious  way.  The  hot  and 
sultry  atmosphere  of  these  lowlands,  in  which 
malarial  diseases  in  every  form  are  dominant, 
contrasts  strongly  with  the  mild  and  salubrious 
climate  of  the  mountain  regions. 

"It  may  not  be  amiss,  as  illustrative  of  the 
comparative  temperature  of  the  Atlantic  Plain 
and  the  adjacent  mountain  region,  to  present 
here  a  few  thermometrical  data,  however  limit- 
ed in  extent,  noted  during  the  summers  of  1839 
and  1840,  at  Flat  Rock,  Buncombe  county, 
North  Carolina. 


Places  of  OtMrratioii. 

Latitude. 

Mean  Teroperalnre.         1 

July. 

Aus. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Fort  Monroe,  coast  of 
Viririnhi  -        -        - 

Flat  Rock,  Buncombe, 
N.  C.      - 

Charleston,  S.  C. 

37°  00' 

35°  30' 
32°  4.5' 

80° 

69° 
81° 

70° 

70° 
81° 

72° 

62° 

77° 

64° 

61° 
71° 

"  Flat  Rock  is  about  250  miles  from  the  At- 
lantic, and  is  elevated  perhap.s  2500  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean,  whilst  the  latitude  given 
is  also  a  mere  approximation  derived  from 
general  knowledge.  The  obseivations  made 
at  Charleston  embrace  the  same  vears  as  these 
at  Flat  Rock,  but  the  data  at  Fort  Monroe  com- 
prise the  years  1828, 1829,  and  1830.  It  is  thus 
seen  that  the  diff'erence  of  temperature  at  Flat 
Rock  and  the  other  two  points,  taking  an  ave- 
rage of  the  latter,  is  in  July  11°,  August  10° 
September  13°,  and  October  6°.  As  regards 
the  monthly  range  of  the  thermometer,  .ittlc 
difference  is  presented."     (Forry.) 

333 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


Along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States, 
the  mean  temperature  of  the  year  diminishes 
in  a  very  unequal  ratio.  Between  Charleston 
and  Philadelphia,  the  difference  of  means  is 
10^°  Fahr.,  or  in  the  proportion  of  about  l^° 
of  temperature  to  1°  of  latitude.  Between 
Philadelphia  and  Eastport,Maine,  the  difference 
in  means  is  much  greater,  namely,  12°.33 
Fahr.  being  in  the  increased  proportion  of 
nearly  2°*5  of  mean  temperature  per  degree  of 
latitude.  Again,  between  Charleston,  S.  C, 
and  New  York  harbour,  the  difference  of  means 
is  12°*78,  or  l°-59  per  degree  of  latitude.  Be- 
tween New  York  harbour  and  Eastport,  Maine, 
the  difference  is  11°,  or  about  2|°  Fahr.  per 
degree  of  latitude.  The  average  proportion 
between  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  Eastport,  Maine, 
is  equal  to  about  2°  of  temperature  for  each 
degree  of  latitude. 

In  approaching  south,  the  extremes  of  win- 
ter and  summer  grow  less,  and  the  seasons 
glide  more  imperceptibly  into  each  other.  At 
Fort  Snelling,  situated  in  the  excessive  climate 
of  the  west,  in  latitude  44°'53,  the  difference 
between  the  summer  and  winter  means  is,  as 
has  been  before  stated,  no  less  than  56°-60 ;  at 
Eastport,  Maine,  39°-15,  at  West  Point,  N.  Y., 
40°-75,  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  30°-34,  at  St.  Au- 
gustine, Florida,  20°,  whilst  at  Key  West,  it  is 
only  ll°-34. 

"  There  is,"  says  Dr.  Forry,  "  little  difference 
between  the  thermometrical  phenomena  pre- 
sented at  Key  West  and  the  Havana.  In  the 
West  India  islands,  the  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture near  the  sea  is  only  about  80°.  At  Bar- 
baices,  the  mean  temperature  of  the  seasons 
is — winter,  76°,  spring  79°,  summer  81°,  and 
autumn  80°.  The  temperature  is  remarkably 
uniform ;  for  the  mean  annual  range  of  the 
thermometer,  even  in  the  most  excessive  of  the 
islands,  is  only  13°,  and  in  some  it  is  not  more 
than  4°.  Contrast  this  with  Hancock  Bar- 
racks, Maine,  which  gives  an  average  annual 
range  of  118°,  Fort  Snelling:,  Iowa,  119°,  and 
Fort  Howard,  Wisconsin,  123°! 

"  The  peculiar  character  of  the  climate  of 
East  Florida,  as  distinguished  from  that  of  our 
more  northern  latitudes,  consists  less  in  the 
mean  annual  temperature  than  in  the  manner 
of  its  distribution  among  the  seasons.  At  Fort 
Snelling,  for  example,  the  mean  temperature 
of  winter  is  15°-95,  and  of  summer  72°-75, 
whilst  at  Fort  Brooke,  Tampa  Bay,  the  former 
is  64°-76,  and  the  latter  84°-25,  and  at  Key 
West,  70°-05,  and  81°-39.  Thus  though  the 
winter  at  Fort  Snelling  is  54°-10  colder  than  at 
Key  West,  yet  the  mean  temperature  of  sum- 
mer at  the  latter  is  only  8°-64  higher.  In  like 
manner,  although  the  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture of  Petite  Coquille,  Louisiana,  is  nearly  2° 
lower,  that  of  Augusta  arsenal,  Georgia,  nearly 
8°,  and  that  of  Fort  Gibson,  Arkansas,  upwards 
of  10°  lower  than  that  of  Fort  Brooke  ;  yet  at 
all,  the  mean  summer  temperature  is  higher. 
Between  Fort  Snelling  on  the  one  hand,  and 
fort  Brooke  and  Key  West  on  the  other,  the 
relative  distribution  of  temperature  stands 
thus : — Difference  between  the  mean  tempera- 
ture of  summer  and  winter  at  the  former  56°-60, 
and  at  the  two  latter  16°-49  and  ll°-34;  dif- i 
fer^nce  between  the  mean  temperature  of  the 
334  ' 


warmest  and  coldest  month,  61°-86  Ctaipared 
with  lS°-66  and  14°-66  ;  difference  between  the 
mean  temperature  of  winter  and  spring,  30°-83 
to  8°-35  and  5°-99  ;  and  the  mean  difference  of 
successive  months,  10°-29  to  3°-09  and  2°-44.*' 

A  comparison  in  regard  to  equality  and 
mildness  of  climate  drawn  between  the  sea- 
sons of  Florida  and  those  of  the  most  favoured 
places  on  the  European  continent,  these  of 
Italy  and  southern  France,  results  generally  in 
favour  of  the  Florida  Peninsula.  At  Key  West 
the  annual  range  of  the  thermometer  is  but  37°. 
See  table  of  monthly  mean  temperatures,  under 
the  head  of  Atmosphere. 

CLIMATE,  CHANGES  OF.  The  question 
has  been  much  debated,  whether  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  crust  of  the  earth  or  of  the  incum- 
bent atmosphere  has  undergone  any  perceptible 
changes  since  the  earliest  records,  either  from 
the  efforts  of  man  in  clearing  away  forests, 
draining  marshes,  cultivating  the  ground,  or 
other  causes.  La  Place  has  demonstrated  very 
satisfactorily,  that  since  the  days  of  Hipparchus, 
an  astronomer  of  the  Alexandrian  school,  who 
flourished  about  2000  years  ago,  the  earth  can- 
not have  become  a  single  degree  of  heat  wanner 
or  colder,  as  otherwise  the  sidereal  day  must 
have  become  either  lengthened  or  shortened, 
which  is  not  the  case. 

As  to  the  question  of  changes  in  atmospheric 
temperature  affecting  the  seasons,  M.  Arago 
thinks  that  sufficient  proofs  exist  to  justify  the 
conclusion  that  in  Europe,  at  least,  a  sensible 
elevation  of  the  annual  mean  temperature  has 
resulted  from  the  conquests  of  agriculture. 
The  thermometer  is  comparatively  a  modern 
instrument,  invented  by  Galileo  in  1590,  but 
still  left  so  imperfect,  that  it  was  not  till  1700 
that  Fahrenheit  succeeded  in  improving  and 
rendering  it  a  correct  and  perfect  instrument. 
It  is  evident  that  the  want  of  exact  instrumental 
observations  prior  to  the  commencement  of 
agricultural  improvements  must  render  it  ex- 
tremely difficult  to  determine  with  any  preci- 
sion, what  changes  may  have  been  effected 
through  these  in  the  mean  temperatures  of  the 
year  or  particular  seasons.  Hence,  notwith- 
standing the  expression  of  his  belief  in  the 
changes  of  atmospheric  temperature,  M.  Arago 
looks  to  America  for  the  necessary  data  by 
which  the  point  must  be  definitely  settled. 

"Ancient  France,"  he  remarks,  "contrasted 
with  what  France  now  is,  presented  an  incom- 
parably greater  extent  of  forests;  mountains 
almost  entirely  covered  with  wood,  lakes  and 
ponds,  and  morasses,  without  number ;  rivers 
without  any  artificial  embankment  to  prevent 
their  overflow,  and  immense  districts,  which 
the  hands  of  the  husbandman  had  never 
touched.  Accordingly,  the  clearing  away  of 
the  vast  forests,  and  the  opening  of  extensive 
glades  in  those  that  remain ;  the  nearly  com- 
plete removal  of  all  stagnant  waters,  and  the 
cultivation  of  extensive  plains,  which  thus  are 
made  to  resemble  the  stepes  of  Asia  and  Ame- 
rica— these  are  among  the  principal  modifica- 
tions to  which  the  fair  face  of  France  has  been 
subjected,  in  an  interval  of  some  hundreds  of 
years.  But  there  is  another  country  which  is 
undergoing  these  same  modifications  at  the 
present  day.      They    are    there    progressing 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


under  the  observation  of  an  enlightened  popu- 
lation ;  they  are  advancing  with  astonishing 
rapidity ;  and  they  ought,  in  some  degree,  sud- 
denly to  produce  the  meteorological  alterations 
which  many  ages  have  scarcely  rendered  ap- 
parent in  our  old  continent.  This  country  is 
North  America.  Let  us  see,  then,  how  clear- 
ing the  country  affects  the  climate  there.  The 
results  may  evidently  be  applied  to  the  ancient 
condition  of  our  own  countries,  and  we  shall 
find  that  we  may  thus  dispense  with  a  priori 
considerations  which,  in  a  subject  so  compli- 
cated, would  probably  have  misled  us." 

There  is  great  force  in  the  following  remarks 
of  Dr.  Forry,  and  the  facts  adduced  in  their 
support: — 

"  Dense  forests  and  all  growing  vegetables 
doubtless  tend  considerably  to  diminish  the 
temperature  of  summer,  by  affording  evapora- 
tion from  the  surface  of  their  leaves,  and  pre- 
venting the  calorific  rays  from  reaching  the 
ground.  It  is  a  fact  equally  well  known  that 
snow  lies  longer  in  forests  than  on  plains,  be- 
cause, in  the  former  locality,  it  is  less  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  sun ;  and  hence,  the  win- 
ters, in  former  years,  may  have  been  longer 
and  more  uniform.  As  the  clearing  away  of 
the  forest  causes  the  waters  to  evaporate  and 
the  soil  to  become  dry,  some  increase  in  the 
mean  summer  temperature,  diametrically  con- 
trary to  the  opinion  of  Jefferson  and  others, 
necessarily  follows.  It  is  remarked  by  Uni- 
freville  that,  at  Hudson's  Bay,  the  ground  in 
open  places  thaws  to  the  depth  of  four  feet,  and 
in  the  woods  to  the  depth  only  of  two.  More- 
over, it  has  been  determined  by  thermometrical 
experiments  that  the  temperature  of  the  forest, 
at  the  depth  of  twelve  inches  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  is,  compared  with  an  adjacent 
open  field,  at  least  10°  lower,  during  the  sum- 
mer months;  whilst  no  difference  is  observable 
during  the  season  of  winter. 

"  It  may,  therefore,  be  assumed,  that  although 
cultivation  of  the  soil  may  not  be  productive 
of  a  sensible  change  in  the  mean  annual  tem- 
perature, yet  such  a  modification  in  the  distri- 
bution of  heat  among  the  seasons  may  be 
induced  as  will  greatly  influence  vegetation." 

Bearing  upon  this  point.  Dr.  Forry  furnishes 
a  table  exhibiting  a  comparative  view  of  the 
atmospheric  temperature  at  Philadelphia,  at 
intervals  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  century,  (from 
1771  to  1824,)  which  shows  a  successive  de- 
crease in  the  mean  of  winter,  and  an  increase  in 
the  means  of  spring,  summer,  autumn,  and 
whole  year.  Some  allowance  must  be  made  in 
these  estimates  for  the  effects  of  increase  in  the 
size  of  the  city,  and  the  additional  shelter  in 
winter,  and  opportunity  of  accumulating  heat 
in  summer  thus  afforded.  All  towns  are  ob- 
served to  grow  warmer  as  they  extend  their 
limits.  When,  therefore,  we  find  a  decline  in 
the  mean  temperature  of  winter,  notwithstand- 
ing the  extension  of  the  city  limits,  we  must 
infer  that  it  can  arise  from  no  other  cause  than 
a  general  diminution  in  the  winter  temperature 
throughout  the  country. 

Any  changes  in  the  climate  of  the  United 
States  as  yet  perceived,  are  very  far  from 
justifying  the  sanguine  calculations  indulged 
in  a  few  years  ago  by  a  writer  on  the  climate 


and  vegetation  of  the  fortieth  degree  of  Nortk 
latitude,  who,  in  concluding  his  essay,  says: 

"  But  there  will  doubtless  be  an  amelioration 
in  this  particular,"  (severity  of  cold,)  "  when 
Canada  and  the  United  States  shall  become 
thickly  peopled  and  generally  cultivated.  In 
this  latitude,  then,  like  the  same  parallels  in 
Europe  at  present,  snow  and  ice  will  become 
rare  phenomena,  and  the  orange,  the  olive, 
and  other  vegetables  of  the  same  class,  now 
strangers  to  the  soil,  will  become  objects  of  the 
labour  and  solicitude  of  the  agriculturist." 

Had  this  writer  extended  his  inquiries  a 
little  further,  he  might  have  found  that  the 
region  of  Oregon,  lying  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  though  as  yet  in  a  primitive  slate 
of  nature,  has  a  climate  even  milder  than  that 
of  highly  cultivated  Europe  in  similar  lati- 
tudes. And  again,  China,  situated  precisely 
under  the  same  conditions  as  the  United  States 
in  regard  to  the  sea,  though  long  since  sub- 
jected to  the  highest  state  of  agricultural  im- 
provement, pc-esesses  a  winter  climate  as 
rigorous,  and  some  assert  even  more  so,  than 
that  of  the  United  States  in  similar  latitudes. 
See  table  of  mean  temperature  under  the  head 
Atmospiikrk,  page  126. 

CLIMATE,  INFLUENCE  OF,  ON  THE 
FRUITFULNESS  OF  PLANTS.  The  fol- 
lowing  observations  upon  a  topic  of  natural 
history  of  great  interest  to  the  agriculturist, 
are  quoted  from  the  same  sensible  and  elo- 
quent American  writer,  to  whom  reference  has 
been  made  under  the  headof  the  Acclimatino 
Pbixc'Iplk  of  Plants. 

"The  cultivated  plants  yield  the  f^reatest 
products  near  the  northernmost  limit  iu  which 
they  will  grow. 

"I  have  been  forcibly  impressed  with  this  fact, 
from  observing  the  productions  of  the  various 
plants,  which  are  cultivated  for  food  and  cloth- 
ing in  the  United  States.  The  following  instances 
will  go  far  to  establish  the  principle,  viz.: — 

"The  cotton,  which  is  a  tropical  plant,  yields 
the  best  staple  and  surest  product  in  the  tem- 
perate latitudes.  The  southern  parts  of  the 
United  States  have  taken  the  cotton  market 
from  the  East  and  West  Indies,  bc»th  as  regards 
quantity  and  quality.  This  is  partly  owing  to 
the  prevalence  of  insects  within  the  tropics, 
but  principally  to  the  forcing  nature  of  a  verti- 
cal sun.  Such  a  degree  of  heat  developos  the 
plant  too  rapidly — runs  it  into  wood  and  foli- 
age, which  become  injuriously  luxuriant;  the 
consequence  is,  there  are  but  i«.w  seed  pods, 
and  these  covered  with  a  thin  harsh  coat  of 
wool.  The  cotton  wooi,  like  the  fur  of  animals, 
is,  perhaps,  designed  for  protection  ;  and  will 
be  thick  and  fine  in  proportion  as  the  climate 
is  warm  or  cool.  Another  reason  is  to  be 
found  in  the  providence  of  the  Deity,  who  aims 
to  preserve  races  rather  than  individuals,  and 
multiplies  the  seeds  and  eyes  of  plants,  exactly 
as  there  is  danger  of  their  being  destroyed  by 
the  severity  of  the  climate,  or  other  causes. 
When,  therefore,  the  cares  and  labours  of  man 
counteract  the  destructive  tendency  of  the  cli- 
mate and  guaranty  their  preservation,  they 
are,  of  course,  more  available  and  abundant. 

"The  lint  plants,  flax,  hemp,  &c.,  are  culti- 
vated through  a  great  extent  of  latitude ,  but 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


*heir  bariv,  in  the  southern  climates,  is  harsh  ' 
and  brittle.  A  warm  climate  forces  these  j 
plants  so  rapidly  into  maturity,  that  the  lint 
does  not  acquire  either  consistency  or  tenacity. 
We  must  go  far  north  in  Europe,  even  to  the 
Baltic,  to  find  these  plants  in  perfection,  and 
their  products  very  merchantable.  Ireland  is 
rather  an  exception  as  to  latitude  ;  but  the  in- 
fluence of  the  sun  is  so  effectually  counteracted 
there  by  moisture  and  exposure  to  the  sea  air, 
that  it  is  always  cool :  hence,  the  flax  and  po- 
tato arrive  at  such  perfection  in  that  region. 

"It  holds  equally  true  in  the  farinaceous 
plants.  Rice  is  a  tropical  plant ;  yet  Carolina 
and  Georgia  grow  the  finest  in  the  world; 
heavier  grained,  better  filled,  and  more  mer- 
chantable, than  any  imported  into  Europe  from 
the  Indies.  The  inhabitants  of  the  East  Indies 
derive  their  subsistence  almost  exclusively 
from  rice ;  they  must  be  supposed,  therefore, 
to  cultivate  it  with  all  skill  and  care,  and  the 
best  contrivances  for  irrigation.  Such  is,  how- 
ever, the  forcing  nature  of  their  climate,  that 
the  plant  grows  too  rapidly,  and  dries  away 
before  the  grain  be  properlv  filled.  Indian 
corn,  or  maize,  if  not  a  tropical  plant,  was  ori- 
ginally found  near  the  tropics  ;  and  although  it 
now  occupies  a  wide  range,  it  produces  the 
heaviest  crops  near  the  northern  limit  of  its 
range.  In  the  West  Indies  it  rises  thirty  feet 
in  height ;  but  with  all  that  gigantic  size,  it 
produces  only  a  few  grains  on  the  bottom  of  a 
spongy  cob,  and  is  counted  on  only  as  rough 
provender.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  United 
States,  it  reaches  a  height  of  fifteen  feet,  and 
will  produce  thirty  bushels  to.the  acre ;  in  the 
rich  lands  of  Kentucky  and  the  Middle  States 
it  produces  fifty  or  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre  ; 
but  in  New  York  and  New  England,  agricul- 
tural societies  have  actually  awarded  pre- 
miums for  one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels  to  the 
acre,  collected  from  stalks  only  seven  feet 
high.  The  heats  of  a  southern  sun  develope 
the  juices  of  this  plant  too  quickly.  They  run 
into  culm  and  blade,  to  the  neglect  of  the  seed, 
and  dry  away  before  fructification  becomes 
complete. 

"Wheat  is  a  more  certain  crop  in  New 
York,  the  northern  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
Ohio,  and  in  the  Baltic  regions  of  Europe,  than 
in  the  south  either  of  Europe  or  America.  In 
the  north,  snows  accumulate,  and  not  only 
protect  it  from  the  winter  colds,  but  from  the 
weevil,  Hessian  fly,  and  other  insects  that  in- 
vade it ;  and  in  the  spring  it  is  not  forced  too 
rapidly  into  head,  without  time  to  mature  fully, 
and  concoct  its  farina. 

"A  cold  climate  also  aids  the  manufacturing 
of  flour,  preserving  it  from  acidity,  and  ena- 
bles us  to  keep  it  long,  either  for  a  good  mar- 
ket, or  to  meet  scarcities  and  emergencies. 
Oats  grow  in  almost  every  country  ;  but  it  is  in 
northern  regions  only,  or  very  moist  or  ele- 
vated tracts,  that  they  fill  with  farina  suitable 
for  human  sustenance.  Rye,  barley,  buck- 
wheat, millet,  and  other  culmiferous  plants, 
might  be  adduced  to  illustrate  the  above  prin- 
ciple; for  all  their  habits  require  a  more 
northern  latitude  than  is  necessary  to  their 
.nere  growth. 
"The  grasses  ar"  proverbially  in  perfection 
336 


only  in  northern  and  cool  regions,  although 
they  will  grow  everywhere.  It  is  in  the  north 
alone  that  we  raise  animals  from  meadows, 
and  are  enabled  to  keep  them  fat,  and  in  good 
condition,  from  hay  and  grass  alone,  without 
grain.  It  is  there  the  grasses  acquire  a  succu- 
lence and  consistency  enough,  not  only  to  ma- 
ture animals,  but  to  make  the  richest  butter 
and  cheese,  that  contribute  so  much  to  the 
tables  of  the  luxurious.  The  grasses  which 
do,  often,  in  the  south,  grow  large  enough,  are 
without  richness  and  nutriment ;  in  hay,  they 
have  no  substance;  and  when  green,  are  too 
washy  to  fatten  animals  ;  the  consequence  is, 
most  animals  in  those  latitudes  browse  from 
necessity,  and  are  poor,  and  v  ithout  size  or 
beauty.  It  is  the  same  hot  sun  which  forces 
them  to  a  rapid  fructification,  before  they  have 
had  time  to  concoct  their  juices.  The  sugar- 
cane produces,  perhaps,  better  where  it  never 
seeds,  than  in  the  tropics  ;  for  the  juices  will 
never  ripen  so  as  to  granulate,  until  checked 
by  frost  or  fructification.  In  the  tropics,  the 
cane  grows  twenty  months  before  the  juices 
ripen ;  and  then  the  culm  has  contracted  a 
woody,  fibrous  quality,  to  such  a  degree  as  to 
resist  the  pressure  of  the  mills,  and"  yields  but 
littl-e  juice,  and  that  to  an  increased  effort.  In 
Louisiana  we  succeed  well  with  the  sugar 
culture ;  because,  while  the  culm  is  succulent 
and  tender,  a  white  frost  checks  the  growth, 
ripens  the  juices,  and  in  five  months  gives  us 
a  culm,  tender,  full  of  juice,  easy  to  press,  and 
yielding  much  grain  of  sugar.  When  Louisi- 
ana, therefore,  acquires  all  the  necessary  skill, 
she  will  most  probably  grow  this  article 
cheaper  than  the  West  Indies. 

"Tobacco  is  a  southern  plant,  but  there  it  is 
always  light  and  chaffy;  and  although  often 
well-flavoured,  it  never  gains  that  strong 
narcotic  quality  which  is  its  only  peculiar 
property,  unless  you  grow  it  as  far  north  as 
Virginia.  In  the  south,  the  heat  unfolds  its 
bud  or  gem  too  soon,  forces  into  full  expansion 
the  leaf,  and  drives  it  to  seed  before  the  narco- 
tic quality  can  be  properly  elaborated.  We 
may  assert  a  general  rule  applicable  to  all 
annual  plants,  that  neither  the  root,  nor  the 
leaf,  acquires  any  further  size  or  substance 
after  fructification. 

"The  tuberose,  bulbous,  and  other  roots, 
cultivated  for  human  and  animal  subsistence, 
are  similarly  affected  by  climate,  and  manifest 
habits  in  corroboration  of  the  above  principle. 
The  Irish  potato,  although  from  or  near  the 
tropics,  will  not  come  to  perfection  but  in 
northern  or  cool  countries,  or  in  moist,  insular 
situations,  as  Ireland.  It  is  in  such  climates 
alone,  that  its  roots  acquire  a  farinaceous  con- 
sistence, and  have  size,  flavour,  and  nutriment 
enough  to  support,  in  the  eminent  way  in 
which  they  are  susceptible,  animal  life.  In 
the  south,  a  forcing  sun  brings  the  potato  to 
fructification  before  the  roots  have  had  time  to 
attain  their  proper  size,  or  ripen  into  the  pro- 
per qualities  for  nourishment.  In  Ireland  the 
I  plant  grows  slow,  through  a  long  and  cool 
season,  giving  time  for  its  juices  to  be  elabo- 
rated and  properly  digested ;  hence  that  fine 
I  farina  and  flavour  which  characterizes  the.Ti. 
The  sweet  potato  produces  larger,  better  fla- 


CLIMATE. 


CLIMATE. 


voured,  and  more  numerous  roots  in  Carolina, 
where  it  never  flowers,  than  in  the  West  Indies. 
In  the  latter  place  this  plant  runs  wild,  covers 
the  whole  face  of  the  earth  with  its  vines,  and 
is  so  taken  up  in  making  foliage,  that  the  root 
becomes  neglected,  and  is  small  and  woody. — 
In  order  to  have  the  onion  in  perfection,  it 
must  grow  through  two  years,  swelling  all  the 
time  its  bulbs.  In  the  south,  howev^er,  it  seeds 
in  one  year,  and  before  it  has  made  much  bulb. 
Beets,  carrots,  parsnips,  turnips,  radishes,  and 
other  roots,  are  equally  affected  by  a  hot  sun, 
and  scarcely  worth  cultivating  far  to  the  south. 
They  all  fructify  before  they  have  formed  per- 
fect roots,  and  make  foliage  at  the  expense  of 
their  bulbs  ;  hence  they  will  always  be  articles 
of  commerce ;  the  south  will  have  to  depend 
upon  the  north  for  them. 

"The  salad  plants  are  in  like  manner  af- 
fected by  climate,  and  give  further  proofs  of 
our  assumption.  Cabbages,  lettuces,  endive, 
cellery,  spinage,  plants  whose  leaves  only  are 
eat,  to  protect  their  germs  from  cold  (through 
a  kind  of  instinct),  wrap  them  up  in  leaves, 
which  form  heads,  and  render  many  of  their 
other  parts  tender  and  crisp  for  use.  These 
leaves,  thus  protected,  are  not  only  tender,  but 
more  nutritious,  because  their  growth  has  been 
slow  and  their  juices  well  digested.  In  the 
south,  a  relaxing  sun  lays  open  the  very  buds 
of  such  plants,  gives  a  toughness  and  thinness 
to  the  leaves,  and  they  are  too  unsubstantial 
for  animal  support,  because  of  such  quick  and 
rapid  developement. 

"The  delicious  and  pulpy  fruits  are,  in  a 
still  more  striking  way,  illustrative  of  our  prin- 
ciple. The  peach,  nectarine,  plum,  apple, 
cherry,  currant,  gooseberry,  apricot,  and  many 
other  such  families,  are  not  in  perfection  in 
the  south.  It  is  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Jersey,  and  in  the  north  of  Europe, 
that  we  enjoy  them,  although,  originally,  they 
came  from  places  near  the  tropics.  The  peach 
of  the  Carolinas  is  full  of  larvje,  gum,  and 
knots,  and  too  stringy  and  forced  to  be  juicy 
and  flavoured.  The  apple  of  the  south  is  too 
acerb  to  be  either  eaten  or  preserved.  The 
plums,  apricots,  cherries,  currants,  goose- 
berries, &c.,  will  not  even  mature  until  we  go 
far  north.  All  the  trees  which  bear  these  de- 
licious fruits  will  grow  luxuriantly  in  the  south, 
make  much  foliage  and  wood,  with  but  little 
pulp,  and  that  unsavoury.  The  kernel  in  the 
one-seeded  fruit  seems  to  be  the  first  object  of 
nature  in  southern  climes:  that  becomes 
strong,  oily,  and  enlarged ;  and  one  of  the 
peach  family  has  so  entirely  neglected  the 
pulp,  that  it  has  only  a  husky  matter  around 
the  kernel,  as  the  almond.  The  changeable- 
ness  of  the  weather  in  the  south,  in  the  spring 
season,  throws  plants  off*  their  guard ;  the 
frosts  attendant  on  those  changes  destroy  the 
young  fruit;  and  it  is  only  one  year  in  three 
that  the  crop  hits  at  all.  The  desiccated  or 
dried  state  of  these  fruits  enables  us  to  enjoy 
them  through  the  year;  but  in  the  south  their 
acidity  carries  them  into  fermentation  or  de- 
composition before  they  can  be  divested  of 
their  aqueous  parts.  The  climate  of  the  south 
is  equally  against  converting  them  into  cider, 
or  any  other  fermented  liquor,  because  the 
43 


heat  forces  their  compressed  juice  so  rapidly 
into  an  active  fermentation,  that  it  cannot 
easily  be  checked  until  it  passes  into  vinegar. 
For  the  same  reason  distillation  goes  on  badly 
in  hot  climates,  and  cannot  be  checked  long 
enough  at  the  proper  point  to  give  much  alco- 
hol: and  whether  we  aim  to  enjoy  the  delicious 
freshness  of  these  fruits  themselves,  sip  the 
nectarin  of  their  juices,  refresh  ourselves  with 
their  fermented  beverage,  stimulate  our  hearts 
with  their  brandies  and  cordials,  or  feast 
through  the  winter  upon  the  dried  or  preserved 
stores  of  their  fruits,  we  are  continually 
balked  by  the  severity  of  a  southern  climate, 
and  for  such  enjoyment  must  look  to  the  north. 

"The  melons  are  always  affected  by  too 
great  a  degree  of  heat,  even  though  their  vines 
flourish  so  much  in  southern  latitudes,  The 
forcing  sun  hurries  them  on  to  maturity  before 
they  have  attained  much  size,  or  acquired  thai 
rich  saccharine  and  aromatic  flavour  for  which 
they  are  so  much  esteemed.  The  cantelope- 
melon  will  rot,  or  have  its  sides  baked  by  a  hot 
sun,  before  it  is  fully  formed ;  and  the  water- 
melon is  always  woody,  dry,  and  devoid  of  its 
peculiar  sweetness  and  richness  in  the  south. 
Vines  have  been  known  to  run  one  hundred 
feet,  and  bear  no  melon.  It  is  in  Philadelphia, 
and  its  neighbourhood,  and  in  similar  latitudes, 
that  the  markets  are  loaded  with  delicious  me- 
lons of  all  sorts,  whose  flavour  so  much  refresh 
and  delight  us.  It  is  there,  near  their  northern 
limit,  that  we  cultivate  them  with  such  uniform 
success. 

"The  orange,  strictly  a  tropical  plant,  is 
more  juicy,  large,  and  delicious,  at  St.  Augus- 
tine (Florida),  than  at  Havana  ;  and  fruiterers, 
in  order  to  recommend  an  orange,  will  say  that 
it  is  from  some  place  out  of  the  tropics.  In 
the  West  Indies,  the  pulp  of  the  orange  is 
spungy,  badly  filled  with  juice,  and  has  too 
much  of  a  forced  flavour  to  be  pleasant.  The 
hot-house  forcers  of  Europe,  or  at  Rome,  an- 
ciently at  first  produced  bad  fruit ;  too  dry,  too 
small,  and  without  flavour  ;  because  they  over- 
acted. They  have  lately  found  out  that  fact, 
and  now  the  productions  of  the  hot-houses  of 
London,  Paris,  &c.,  astonish  and  delight  us 
with  the  quantity  and  excellence  of  the  fruit. 
They  have  found  out  that  gradual  and  uniform 
heat  is  the  desideratum  ;  countervailing  the 
cold,  rather  than  imparting  much  heat.  Fruit 
thus  produced  is  pronounced  better  than  any 
grown  in  the  natural  way,  however  perfect  the 
climate. 

"The  juices  of  the  grape  are  best  matured  for 
wine  near  the  northern  limit  of  their  growth.  On 
the  Rhine,  in  Hungary,  the  sides  of  the  Alps, 
and  in  other  elevated  or  northern  situations,  the 
wine  is  strongest,  richest,  and  most  esteemed. 
The  French  wines  rank  before  the  Spanish 
and  Italian ;  and  in  no  southern  country  of 
Europe  or  Africa,  except  Madeira,  where  ele- 
vation makes  the  difference,  is  the  wine  in 
much  repute.  The  grapes  of  France  are  more 
delicious  for  the  table  than  those  of  Spain  or 
Madeira.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  United 
States;  the  excess  of  heat  and  moisture  blights 
the  grape  to  such  an  extent  that  all  attempts 
have  failed  in  its  cultivation.  The  grape-vine, 
however,  whether  wild  or  cultivated,  grows 
2r  337 


CLIMATURE. 


CLOTTED  CREAM. 


there  very  luxuriantly.  The  vinous  fermenta- 
tion can  also  be  ioest  conducted  in  a  climate 
comparatively  cool ;  and  all  the  pressing,  fer- 
menting, and  distillation  of  the  juice  of  this 
delicate  fruit  can  be  safer  and  more  profitably 
managed  in  a  mild  region. 

"The  olive,  and  other  oleaginous  plants, 
yield  more  fruit,  of  a  richer  flavour,  and  can 
be  belter  pressed,  and  the  oil  preserved,  in  a 
mild  climate.  In  France  the  tree  is  healthier, 
and  the  fruit  and  oil  better  than  in  Spain  or 
Italy ;  and  the  Barbary  States  are  known  to 
import  their  oil  from  France  and  Italy. 

"  Many  other  plants  might  be  named,  whose 
habits  would  equally  support  our  position.  It 
is  presumed,  however,  that  enough  have  been 
cited  to  call  the  attention  of  philosophy  to  this 
curious  subject,  and  enable  us  to  give  proper 
attention  to  it,  in  all  the  practical  operations 
of  agricultural  pursuit.  Much  time  and  ex- 
pense might  be  saved,  and  profits  realized,  if 
this  were  more  generally  understood. 

"We  have  already  observed,  that  the  heat 
of  the  sun  in  southern  climes  forces  plants  to 
a  false  maturity,  runs  them  on  too  rapidly  to 
fructification,  and  renders  dry  and  woody  the 
culms,  stalks,  and  leaves  of  the  plants,  where 
these  parts  are  used.  Hence  the  chaffiness  of 
the  leaf,  the  dr)mess  of  the  culm,  the  lightness 
of  the  grain,  and  the  unsavoury,  spongy  quality 
of  the  pulp  of  the  plants  in  those  latitudes. 
Hence  the  difficulty  of  fermenting  their  juices, 
distilling  their  essences,  and  preserving  for 
use  the  fruit,  juice,  or  blades  of  such  plants. 
The  prevalence  of  insects  is  another  bar  to  the 
productiveness  of  southern  plants :  swarms 
of  them  invade  and  strip  the  leaves,  bore  the 
fruit,  and  lead  to  blight  and  decomposition ; 
and  just  in  proportion  as  the  labours  of  man 
have  rendered  plants  succulent,  and  their 
fruits  and  seeds  sweet  and  pleasant,  do  these 
insects  multiply  on  them,  devour  their  crops, 
and  defeat  the  objects  of  husbandry. 

"The  labour  of  man  too  is  more  conserva- 
tive in  northern  climates,  because  his  arm  is 
better  nerved  for  exercise,  his  health  and 
spirits  more  buoyant;  and  instead  of  saying, 
*  Go  and  work,'  he  says,  *  Come  and  work ;' 
treads  with  a  cheerful  heart  upon  his  own  soil, 
and  assists  in  the  cultivation,  collection,  and 
preservation  of  his  own  productions.  It  is  in 
temperate  climates  that  man  can  be  most  fami- 
liar with  nature ;  it  is  there  he  has  the  best 
opportunities  of  observing  the  guarantees 
which  nature  has  for  the  preservation  of  her 
animals  and  plants  against  the  devastation  of 
the  elements ;  he  sees  an  occasional  apparent 
neg.ect  of  individuals,  but  a  constant  parental 
care  of  races.  In  every  thing  he  sees  the  wis- 
dom and  benevolence  of  God." 

CLIMATURE.  A  word  sometimes  employ- 
ed in  much  the  same  way  as  climate.  It  is  a 
term  made  use  of  by  some  agricultural  writers. 

CLOG  SHOES.  The  country  name  for 
wooden  shoes. 

CLOTBUR.     See  Common  Burhock. 

CLOTHING.  In  horsemanship,  the  prac- 
tice of  covering  the  animals  with  cloths,  with 
the  view  of  keeping  them  healthy,  and  giving 
B  fine  coat. . 

CLOTTED  or  CLOUTED  CREAM.  Under 
338 


the  head  of  Butter,  the  process  of  making  this 
preparation  is  described;  but  as  the  subject  is 
one  of  particular  interest  to  the  American 
dairy,  the  following  more  detailed  account  is 
inserted,  taken  from  the  Library  of  Useful  Knoiv- 
ledge,  2d  vol.  of  Britisk  Husbandry.  The  dairy- 
maids of  the  western  counties  of  England  think 
that  clouted  cream  furnishes  one-fourth  more 
cream  from  the  same  quantity  of  milk  than 
can  be  obtained  in  any  other  way.  The  process 
is  simply  this.  "  The  milk  while  warm  from 
the  cow  is  strained  into  either  large  shallow 
brass  pans,  well  tinned,  or  earthen  ones,  holding 
from  two  to  five  gallons,  in  which  should  be  a 
small  quantity  of  cold  water.  This  is  thought 
to  prevent  the  milk  from  burning,  and  to  cause 
the  cream  to  be  more  completely  separated  and 
thrown  to  the  top. 

"  The  morning  meal  of  milk  stands  till  about 
the  middle  of  the  day ;  the  evening  meal  until 
the  next  morning.  The  pans  are  now  steadily 
carried  to,  and  placed  over  a  clear,  slow  fire; 
if  of  charcoal,  or  over  a  stove,  the  cream  is 
not  so  apt  to  get  an  earthy  or  smoky  taste  as 
when  the  milk  is  scalded  over  a  turf  or  wood 
fire.  The  heat  should  be  so  managed  as  not 
to  suffer  the  milk  to  boil,  or,  as  they  provin- 
cially  term  it,  'to  heave;'  as  that  would  injure 
the  cream.  The  criterion  of  its  being  suffi- 
ciently scalded  is  a  very  nice  point ;  the  earthen 
pan,  having  its  bottom  much  smaller  than  the 
top  allows  this  point  to  be  more  easily  ascer- 
tained; because  when  the  milk  is  sufficifintly 
scalded,  the  pan  throws  up  the  form  of  its  bot- 
tom on  the  surface  of  the  cream. 

"The  brass  pan,  if  almost  as  big  at  the  bot- 
tom as  at  the  top,  gives  no  criterion  to  judge 
by,  but  the  appearance  and  texture  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  cream,  the  wrinkles  upon  which 
become  smaller  and  the  texture  somewhat 
leathery.  In  summer,  it  must  be  observed,  the 
process  of  scalding  ought  to  be  quicker  than 
in  the  winter,  as  in  very  hot  weather,  if  the 
milk  should  be  kept  over  too  slow  a  fire,  it 
would  be  apt  to  run  or  curdle. 

"This  process  being  finished,  the  pans  are 
carefully  returned  to  the  dairy;  and  should  it 
be  the  summer  season,  they  are  placed  in  the 
coolest  situation;  if  on  stone  floors  or  slate 
benches,  the  better;  but  should  it  be  the  winter 
season,  the  heat  should  rather  be  retained,  by 
putting  a  slight  covering  over  the  pans,  as 
cooling  too  suddenly  causes  the  cream  to  be 
thin,  and  consequently  yield  less  butter:  the 
mode  of  making  which  is  this :  The  cream 
should,  in  hot  weather,  be  made  into  butter  the 
next  day  ;  but  in  winter  it  is  thought  better  to 
let  the  cream  remain  one  day  longer  on  the 
milk.  The  cream,  being  collected  from  the 
pans,  is  put  into  wooden  bowls,  which  should 
be  first  rinsed  with  scalding,  then  with  cold 
water.  It  is  now  briskly  stirred  round  one 
way,  with  a  nicely  cleaned  hand,  which  must 
have  also  been  washed  in  hot  and  then  in  cold 
water,  for  these  alternate  warm  and  cold  ablu- 
tions of  bowl  and  hand  are  not  only  for  the 
sake  of  cleanliness,  but  to  prevent  the  butter 
from  sticking  to  either. 

"The  cream  being  thus  agitated,  quickly 
assumes  the  consistence  of  butter,  the  milky 
part  now  readily  separates,  and  being  poured 


Plate  8. 


PLANTS,  CULTIVATED    FOR  HAY  OR  HERBAGE. 


^^lyKHSlTY  OF 


CLOUT. 


off,  the  butter  is  washed  and  pressed  in  several 
cold  waters ;  a  little  salt  is  added  to  season  it ; 
and  then  it  is  well  beaten  on  a  wooden  trencher 
until  the  milky  and  watery'parts  are  separated, 
when  it  is  finally  formed  into  prints  for  the 
markets."     (Surv.  of  CornivaU,  ^p.  141.) 

"If  the  quantity  of  cream  be  considerable, 
the  cream  will  be  an  inch  or  more  thick  upon 
the  surface,  and  it  is  then  divided  into  squares 
and  taken  off.  The  remaining  milk,  however, 
contains  little  besides  the  watery  particles  in 
its  original  composition."  (Complete  Graziery 
vixlh  edition,  p.  137.) 

CLOUT.  An  iron  plate  put  on  the  axletree 
oi  a  cart  or  other  carriage. 

CLOVER.  One  of  the  most  valuable  spe- 
cies of  the  artificial  grasses,  of  which  there  are 
several  varieties,  all  too  well  known  to  need  a 
particular  description.  1.  White  clover,  white 
trefoil,  or  Dutch  clover  {Trifolium  repens),  grow- 
ing on  almost  all  soils  and  situations.  PI.  8,  a. 
2.  Perennial  red  clover  (T. prate nse  perenne)  b; 
is  found  wild  near  Wainfleet,  and  in  other  rich 
natural  English  pastures.  3.  Marl  clover,  cow 
grass  {T. medium),  c;  when  in  flower  it  yielded 
Sinclair  per  acre,  from  a  rich  black  loam, 
20,418  lbs.;  of  nutritive  matter,  717  lbs.  4. 
Long-rooted  clover  (T.  mncrohizum,)  k;  a  rich 
clayey  loam  yielded  of  this  grass  when  flower- 
ing, 74,868  lbs.;  of  nutritive  matter,  2,924  lbs. 
6.  Crimson  clover  (r.iMfarMafMni),/.  6.  Egyp- 
tian clover  (T.  alexandrlnum)  ;  see  Quart.  Journ. 

Alsike  clover,  or  hybrid  trefoil,  is  a  white- 
flowered  species,  cultivated  very  extensively  in 
Sweden,  in  the  district  of  Alsike,  from  whence 
its  common  name.  It  possesses  the  strength 
and  vigour  of  the  red,  with  the  permanency  of 
the  white  clovers. 

The  creeping  white  clover  is  a  perennial 
common  to  Europe  and  America,  growing  in 
the  United  States  spontaneously  in  pastures, 
meadows,  and  upon  woodlands,  to  the  height 
of  from  4  to  12  inches.  The  soil  is  so  full  of 
the  seeds  that  the  plant  springs  up  wherever 
and  whenever  circumstances  are  favourable 
to  its  germination;  and  hence,  when  the  season 
is  good,  it  often  furnishes  a  fine  fall  pasture 
after  other  grasses  have  almost  disappeared. 
Though  rarely  cultivated  in  the  United  States, 
it  is  esteemed  an  excellent  pasture  at  least  in 
the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  where  it  is 
sometimes  sown  with  timothy  and  other  grass 
for  a  regular  hay  crop.  Mr.  Eliott  speaks  un- 
favourably of  it  in  the  South.  There  is  rather 
more  difficulty  in  saving  the  seed  of  white  clo- 
ver than  of  the  common  red,  and  hence  the 
seed  of  the  former  sells  for  at  least  double  the 
price  of  the  latter. 

The  yellow  or  shamrock  clover  (Trifolium 
procumbens),  Plate  10,  d,  is  an  annual,  not  very 
common  in  the  United  States,  but  found  in  the 
Middle  States  in  dry,  sandy  soils,  blooming  its 
yellow  flowers  from  May  to  August.  The  stem 
is  from  3  to  8  inches  long,  sometimes  trailing, 
at  others  nearly  erect.  It  is  a  foreigner,  and 
IS  gradually  extending  itself. 

The  common  red  clover  is  extensively  culti- 
vated in  the  United  States,  sometimes  alone, 
sometimes  with  other  grasses.  With  timothy 
It  makes  hay  of  a  very  superior  kind,  especially 
for  neat  cattle.    The  seed  is  usually  sown  with 


CLOVER. 

winter  wheat  or  other  grain  crops,  late  in  Feb- 
ruary or  early  in  March,  whilst  the  ground  is 
j  still  subject  to  freezing  and  thawing,  and  the 
I  seed  can  thus  gain  admission  into  the  soil.  Or 
it  may  be  sown  with  the  oat  or  other  spring  or 
summer  crop,  in  which  case,  having  the  ad- 
vantage of  being  harrowed  in,  it  can  generally 
be  sown  with  even  greater  success  than  when 
put  with  a  crop  of  winter  grain.  Too  little 
seed  is  generally  applied,  and  the  best  quantity 
is  from  10  to  12  or  14  lbs.  per  acre.  The  bushel 
weighs  about  60  to  64  lbs.,  very  nearly  the 
same  weight  with  good  wheat. 

Clover  is  frequently  turned  under  in  the  fall 
to  enrich  the  ground  preparatory  to  a  crop  of 
wheat,  or  in  the  ensuing  spring  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Indian  corn.  Some  persons  think  the 
best  time  for  turning  down  clover  is  in  the 
rankest  and  most  succulent  stage  of  its  growth, 
whilst  others  maintain  that  it  is  best  to  leave 
it  to  the  period  of  its  decline,  when  its  extract- 
ive matter  is  most  abundant  This  last  plan 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  in  most  if  not  all  cases, 
and  this  opinion  is  founded  upon  the  results  of 
actual  experiments.  Being  a  biennial  plant, 
clover  of  course  leaves  the  field  after  the  se- 
cond year,  unless  allowed  to  seed  itself.  When 
timothy  has  been  sown  with  it,  this  perennial 
grass  then  obtains  exclusive  possession  of  the 
field,  where  it  is  generally  allowed  to  remain 
two  or  more  years  longer,  affording  the  richest 
of  all  kinds  of  hay  for  horses,  although  for  neat 
cattle  the  mixture  of  red  clover  and  timothy  is 
generally  preferred. 

Clover  hay,  when  fed  unmixed  to  horses, 
often  produces  a  cough.  This  can  always  be 
removed  by  substituting  timothy  for  a  few 
weeks,  after  which  the  feed  may  consist  of 
half  clover  and  half  timothy,  with  little  or  no 
danger  of  producing  cough.  Experience  has 
shown  that  when  the  clover  hay  is  fed  from 
large  troughs  or  mangers  instead  of  racks 
above  the  head,  horses  escape  the  cough. 
Many  of  the  most  careful  farmers  in  Pennsyl- 
vania have  entirely  excluded  racks  from  their 
barns  and  stables,  and  substituted  mangers  or 
large  troughs. 

Clover,  by  which  is  understood  the  common 
red  clover  (trifolium  pratense),  is  of  immense 
importance  in  the  improved  system  of  Ameri- 
can husbandry,  taking  the  place  of  almost 
every  other  kind  of  ameliorating  crop.  Its  tap 
roots  penetrate  and  loosen  the  soil,  whilst  the 
leaves  and  stems  produce  abundance  of  nutri- 
tious food  for  the  farm  stock ;  and  both  roots 
and  stems,  when  turned  under  by  the  plough, 
are  extremely  enriching  to  the  soil.  The  first 
year's  growth  of  clover  is  sometimes  mown 
for  hay  and  sometimes  pastured,  whilst  the 
second  crops  are  devoted  to  hay  and  furnish- 
ing seed.  When  the  second  crop  is  pastured 
in  spring,  the  stock  must  not  be  turned  on  be- 
fore the  ground  has  become  so  firm  that  hoofs 
will  not  sink  into  the  sod,  nor  until  the  growth 
is  such  as  to  enable  the  cattle  to  thrivo.  The 
pasturage  may  be  continued  from  the  middle 
of  April  or  first  of  May  for  about  six  weeks, 
when  the  cattle  are  to  be  withdrawn,  and  the 
second  crop  allowed  to  go  to  seed  for  saving. 
Some  farmers  think  that  the  closer  the  first 
growth  of  the  second  season  is  cut  or  cropped 

339 


CLOVER. 


CLOVER. 


ihe  better.  By  many,  mowing  th  j  first  crop  is 
considered  preferable  to  grazing  it,  since  the 
3cythe  takes  off  weeds  which  cattle  would 
Jeave. 

In  the  humid  climate  of  England  it  is  often 
tlifficult  to  cure  the  clover  properly  after  it  is 
cut.  But  in  the  United  States  the  greater  dry- 
ness of  the  atmosphere  renders  it  much  more 
easy  to  save  the  crop,  and  consequently  the 
practice  of  mixing  it,  layer  upon  layer,  with 
diy  wheat  straw,  &c.,  may  generally  be  dis- 
pensed with.  In  saving  clover,  the  object  to 
be  obtained  is  to  cure  the  hay  in  the  cheapest 
and  best  manner. 

"The  common  practice  of  spreading  clover 
hay  from  the  swath,"  says  Buel,  "  causes  the 
leaves  and  blossoms  to  dry  and  crumble  before 
the  haulm  or  stems  are  sufficiently  cured.  Thus 
either  the  finer  parts  of  the  hay  are  lost,  or  the 
crop  is  housed  with  so  much  moisture  as  to 
cause  it  to  heat,  and  often  to  spoil.  Clover 
should  only  be  spread  when  it  has  become  wet 
with  rain  in  the  swath,  and  should  be  gathered 
again  before  the  leaves  dry  and  crumble.  Both 
these  evils  may  be  avoided,  and  labour  saved 
withal,  by  curing  the  grass  wholly  in  swath 
and  cock.  After  experiencing  the  serious  dis- 
advantages of  the  old  method,  I  adopted  the 
one  I  am  about  to  recommend,  and  have  pur- 
sued it  satisfactorily  ten  or  a  dozen  years.  My 
practice  has  been  to  leave  the  clover  to  wilt  in 
the  swath,  and,  when  partially  dried,  either  to 
turn  the  swaths  or  to  make  grass-cocks  the 
same  day,  so  as  to  secure  the  dried  portions 
from  the  dew.  That  which  is  not  put  into 
cocks  the  first  day  is  thus  secured  the  second 
day,  or  as  soon  as  it  has  become  partially 
dried.  These  grass-cocks  are  permitted  to 
stand  one,  two,  or  three  days,  according  as  the 
weather  is,  and  as  the  curing  process  has  pro- 
gressed, when  they  are  opened  at  nine  or  ten 
o'clock  on  a  fair  day,  the  hay  again  turned 
over  between  eleven  and  three,  and,  soon  after 
turning,  gathered  for  the  cart.  Thus  cured,  the 
hay  is  perfectly  bright  and  sweet,  and  hardly  a 
blossom  or  leaf  is  wasted.  Some  care  is  required 
in  making  the  cocks.  The  graoS  is  collected 
with  forks  and  placed  on  dry  ground  between 
the  swaths,  in  as  small  a  compass  as  conve- 
nient at  the  base,  say  two  or  three  feet  in  dia- 
meter, and  rising  in  a  cone  to  the  height  of 
four  or  five  feet. 

«*The  advantages  of  this  mode  of  curing  clo- 
ver are, 

*'  1.  The  labour  of  spreading  from  the  swath 
is  saved. 

"2.  The  labour  of  the  hand-rake  is  abridged, 
or  may  be  wholly  dispensed  with,  if  the  horse- 
rake  is  used  to  glean  the  field  when  the  hay  is 
taken  off,  the  forks  sufiicing  to  collect  it  tole- 
rably clean  in  the  cocking  process. 

"3.  It  prevents,  in  a  great  measure,  injury 
from  dew  and  rain  ;  for  these  cocks,  if  rightly 
constructed  (not  by  rolling),  will  sustain  a  rain 
of  some  days — that  is,  they  have  done  this  with 
me — without  heating  or  becoming  more  than 
superucially  wet. 

"4.  Clover  hay  made  in  this  way  may  al- 
most invariably  be  housed  in  good  condition ; 
and  if  rain  falls  after  the  grass  is  mown,  the 
quality  of  the  hay  is  infinitely  superior  in 
'340 


cocks  to  what  it  would  be  under  the  old  \  to* 
cess  of  curing."    {Cultivator,) 

Many  prefer  mowing  the  clover  before  it 
gets  very  ripe,  as  then  so  much  of  the  seed 
would  not  be  shaken  off  during  the  processes 
of  curing,  removing,  &c.  As  the  hay  of  the 
seed-crop  is  seldom  considered  of  much  value 
except  for  litter  and  manure,  it  is  frequentl)' 
left  long  in  the  field  to  become  thoroughly  dry, 
so  as  to  insure  it  against  heating  in  the  mow 
or  stack,  as  this  would  be  far  more  injurious 
to  the  seed  than  exposure  to  weather. 

Besides  mowing  the  seed  crop  in  the  usual 
manner  for  hay,  several  other  methods  have 
been  devised.  The  one  most  commonly  re- 
sorted to  in  Pennsylvania  is  the  employment 
of  a  scythe  and  cradle  to  cut  off  the  heads, 
which  are  caught  by  a  kind  of  bag  attached 
to  the  lower  fingers,  the  rest  being  removed. 
Or  the  upper  fingers  being  removed,  the  lower 
ones  may  be  placed  sufficiently  close  to  catch 
the  heads. 

Among  other  contrivances  which  have  been 
devised  for  gathering  the  heads  in  the  field, 
one  originally  described  by  Mr.  L'Homidieu, 
and  since  modified,  is  simple,  cheap,  and  has 
been  found  very  effectual.  A  description  of 
the  original  machine,  illustrated  with  a  cut, 
may  be  found  in  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Culti- 
vator. It  consists  of  an  open  box  about  four 
feet  square  at  the  bottom,  and  three  feet  high 
on  the  sides.  To  the  fore  part,  which  is  open, 
fingers  are  fixed  at  the  bottom,  somewhat  like 
those  of  a  wheat  cradle  (or  large  points  may 
be  substituted  resembling  saw-teeth  or  a  comb); 
these  fingers  or  jagged  points  are  about  thir- 
teen inches  long,  and  so  arranged  as  to  catch 
and  tear  off  between  them  the  heads  from  the 
clover  stems,  which  are  thrown  back  into  the 
box  as  the  horse  advances.  This  box  is  fixed 
on  an  axletree  provided  with  low  wheels  six 
teen  inches  in  diameter.  Two  shafts,  each 
four  feet  four  inches  long,  are  attached  to  the 
axletree  between  the  wheels  and  sides  of  the 
box.  At  the  back  part  of  the  box,  which  is 
closed,  there  are  two  handles  three  feet  long 
and  twenty  inches  apart,  resembling  those  of 
the  wheelbarrow.  The  machine  may  be  com- 
pared to  a  scraper,  supposing  this  placed  on 
low  wheels,  and  to  have  high  sides.  The 
driver,  by  means  of  the  handles,  raises  or 
lowers  the  fore  part  of  the  box,  the  notched 
bottom  or  fingers  of  which  catch  and  tear  off 
the  clover  heads.  As  often  as  the  box  gets 
filled  with  these  it  is  emptied,  and  the  horse 
moves  on  as  before. 

This  machine  has  been  advantageously  mo- 
dified, especially  by  Mr.  James  L.  Bowman,  of 
Brownsville,  Pennsylvania,  who,  finding  the 
wheels  of  the  original  contrivance  too  high, 
substituted  runners  of  three-inch  scantling 
These  runners,  he  says,  ought  to  be  about  two 
inches  deeper  behind  than  before,  so  as  to  ele- 
vate that  part  of  the  box,  and  give  the  teeth  a 
depression  towards  the  ground.  The  teetb 
ought  to  be  left  flat  on  the  top,  and  the  edges 
made  sharp;  underneath  they  should  be  bevelled 
dovetail  fashion.  Though  wood  will  answer 
for  these,  it  would  be  an  improvement  to  have 
them  made  of  iron,  shaped  like  dirk  blades 
Mr.  Bowman  also  thinks   the  box  should  b« 


CLOVER. 


CLUB  MOSS. 


made  larger  than  that  described,  say  six  feel 
wide  and  five  deep,  as  one  of  such  a  size  can 
easily  be  drawn  by  a  single  horse,  and  would 
do  more  work.  With  the  machine  as  modified 
by  him,  Mr.  B.  says  the  clover  heads  may  be 
gathered  cleaner  and  in  half  the  time  that 
would  have  been  required  to  mow  and  save 
the  hay.  He  sums  up  the  advantages  of  em- 
ploying the  machine  as  follows: — "1st.  The 
stalks  are  all  left  on  the  ground  to  benefit  the 
land.  2d.  The  heads  are  immediately  taken 
to  the  barn,  ready  for  the  hulling  machine, 
without  the  delay  and  labour  of  separating  the 
heads  from  the  stalks  by  flails  or  tramping. 
3d.  A  man  with  a  horse  can  strip  double  the 
quantity  in  a  day  that  he  could  cut.  4ih.  The 
seed  is  better,  inasmuch  as  the  heads  are  taken 
to  the  barn  and  secured  from  the  weather,  the 
dampness  of  which  frequently  causes  them  to 
sprout  when  exposed  to  the  usual  rotting  pro- 
cess, as  it  is  termed.  For  the  use  of  this  ma- 
chine the  clover  ought  to  be  permitted  to  get 
fully  ripe,  and  if  the  spaces  between  the  teeth 
become  clogged,  they  can  quickly  be  freed  by 
a  sharp  spade  or  shovel,  which  the  operator 
has  with  him  in  shovelling  the  heads  to  the 
back  of  the  box." 

In  getting  the  seed  from  the  heads,  it  has 
been  common  to  employ  the  flail,  and  to  clear 
it  from  the  husk  and  chafl"  recourse  has  been 
had  to  a  clover-mill,  worked  either  by  water, 
steam,  or  horse-power.  A  clover-mill  adapted 
to  horse-power,  with  the  advantage  of  being 
portable,  has  been  patented  by  Rittenhouse  & 
Co.,  and  is  much  used  in  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States,  where  the  average  product  of 
seed  per  acre  is  four  or  five  bushels.  The 
cost  of  the  mill  is  about  $60. 

The  old  method  of  thrashingout  cloverseed  by 
the  flail  or  by  the  tramping  of  horses  has  been  ge- 
nerally regarded  as  very  tedious  and  disagreea- 
ble, so  .much  so,  indeed,  as  to  have  discouraged 
most  farmers  from  attempting  to  gather  the  seed 
at  all.  Those  who  were  within  the  vicinity  of 
clover-mills  conveyed  the  seed  in  the  hull  to 
them  to  have  it  separated  and  cleaned.  This 
was  costly  and  troublesome,  and  the  refuse 
was  lost  to  the  farmer.  Of  latter  time  the  in- 
troduction of  thrashing  machines  has  obviated 
all  difficulty  of  this  kind,  and  farmers  can  now 
thrash  out  their  clover  seed  with  nearly  the 
same  expedition  that  they  thrash  their  grain. 
The  dried  clover  stalks  and  heads  are  put 
through  the  machine  in  the  same  manner  as 
wheat ;  a  proper  sifter  separates  the  stems  from 
the  heads,  when,  by  introducing  an  additional 
set  of  teeth  into  the  machine  to  work  closer, 
the  heads  or  chafl"  are  again  put  through  the 
machine,  by  which  process  the  seed  is  shelled 
from  the  hull  with  great  expedition  and  very 
eflfectually,  when  it  is  cleaned  by  the  fan  in  the 
usual  manner.  Many  of  the  thrashing  ma- 
chines now  in  use  have  been  constructed  with 
the  additional  set  of  teeth  for  this  purpose,  and 
if  they  were  all  thus  supplied,  it  would  be  a 
means  of  encouraging  the  cultivation  of  clo- 
ver for  seed  on  a  much  more  extended  scale, 
cheapen  the  article,  and  promote  the  sowing 
of  it  more  extensively  and  thicker  than  is  often 
done,  by  which  fewer  bald  places  would  be 
seen  in  the  fields,  and  th«  stalks  would  not  be 


so  gross  and  succulent,  and  the  hay  and  pas- 
ture would  be  sweeter  and  better  and  in  greater 
abundance  than  when  it  stands  thin  on  the 
ground.  (^Sindair^s  Hort.  Gram.;  Quart.  Jounu 
of  Jgr.  vol.  xi.  p.  249 ;  "On  turning  the  second 
crop  of  Clover;"  Com.  to  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  ir. 
p.  197;  Davy.) 

CLOVER,  BOKARA.  See  Mellilotus  Alba 
CLOVER  BOX.  A  contrivance  for  sowing 
clover  seed,  of  very  simple  construction,  easily 
made  and  at  trifling  expense,  was  invented  by 
the  late  Mr.  Bordley,  of  Maryland.  It  is  called 
the  Clover  box,  and  in  some  sections  of  the 
country  it  is  in  general  use.  It  not  only  scat- 
ters the  seed  over  the  ground  with  entire  cer- 
tainty and  equality,  but  makes  a  much  less 
quantity  answer  than  is  usually  required  in  the 
old  process  of  sowing  broadcast.  It  is  stated 
that,  "  by  the  use  of  this  box,  one  bushel  has 
seeded  fifteen  acres,  the  clover  well  set,  the 
plants  in  sufficient  numbers,  and  the  whole 
field  evenly  seeded. 

"  The  box  is  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length,  about 
four  inches  in  breadth,  divided  into  partitions 
of  six  inches  long.  In  the  bottom  of  each 
partition  is  an  opening  of  about  three  inches 
square,  in  which  is  inserted  a  piece  of  tin, 
parchment,  or  stiff"  paper,  perforated  with  a 
number  of  holes  of  sufficient  size  for  the  clo- 
ver seed  to  pass  freely  through. 

"The  seed  is  placed  in  each  partition.  To 
the  box  is  affixed  a  strap,  which  is  passed  over 
the  shoulders  of  the  sower,  and,  carrying  the 
box  before  him,  he  walks  over  the  field,  agitat- 
ing the  box  by  his  hand  if  it  requires  more 
movement  than  it  receives  from  his  walk.  In 
this  manner  the  seed  is  equally  distributed  oyer 
all  the  ground. 

"  A  very  thin  piece  of  b/)ard  may  be  hooked 
at  the  bottom  of  the  box,  to  prevent  the  seed 
dropping  out  before  the  sowing  commences. 
The  box  may  be  made  of  light  cedar,  and  not 
weigh  more  than  six  or  eight  pounds  without 
the  seed."    See  .^m.  Fai-rner,  vol.  ii.  p.  60. 

CLOVER,  STONE  (Tn/o/tMma»Tcnsc), Welsh 
clover.  Rabbit-foot.  This  is  frequent  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  other  Middle  States,  on  sandy, 
barren  fields.  Though  supposed  to  be  a  native 
of  America,  it  is  found  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic.  It  is  a  worthless  plant,  and  indicative 
of  careless  farming.    (Flor.  Cestric.) 

CLUB  GRASS  ^  (Corynephcfrus).  An  unin- 
teresting species  of  grass,  requiring  only  to  be 
sown  in  common  soil.  The  last  articulation 
of  the  jointed  beard  is  club-shaped,  whence  its 
name. 

CLUB  MOSS  (Lycopodiumy  from  ?^vx.oc  a 
wolf,  and  Trove  a  foot,  because  of  the  resem- 
blance of  the  roots).  This  moss  grows  abun- 
dantly on  mountainous  heaths  or  stony  moors; 
some  of  the  species,  which  are  numerous,  reach 
to  a  foot  high,  in  watery,  healthy,  mountainous 
situations.  The  seeds  are  often  highly  inflam- 
mable, like  powdered  sulphur.  The  nardy 
species  of  club  moss  require  to  be  cultivated 
in  peat  soil,  in  a  moist  situation  ;  some  of  them 
succeed  in  pots  of  water.  They  are  readily  in 
creased  by  suckers. 

The  planed  or  flatted  lycopodium  grows  m 
the  United  States,  in  woods  and  thickets.     It  is 
the  well-known  trailing  variety  so  often  col' 
2  F  2  34* 


CLUB  RUSH. 


COCHINEAL. 


lected  as  an  ornamental  evergreen,  lo  be  hung 
in  festoons  around  churches,  ball-rooms,  mir- 
rors, picture-frames,  &c.     (Flora  Ccslrica.) 

CLUB  RUSH.     See  Rush. 

CLUMP  (Ger.  klump).  A  number  of  shrubs 
or  trees  growing  together. 

CLUSTER-GRAPE.  The  small  black  or 
currant  grape.    See  Vine. 

CLUSTER-SOWING.  That  method  of  sow- 
ing grain,  in  which  a  number  of  corns  are 
placed  together. 

CLYSTER.    See  Gltster. 

COAGULATION  (Lat.  coagulatio).  A  term 
signifying  that  chemical  change  which  takes 
place  when  a  fluid,  or  some  part  of  it,  is  ren- 
dered more  or  less  solid. 

COAGULUM.  a  term  applied  to  the  curdled 
concretion  formed  by  the  mixture  of  two 
liquors.    It  sometimes  also  means  rennet. 

COB.  A  kind  of  wicker  basket,  made  so  as 
to  be  carried  on  the  arm.  Hence  a  seed-cob, 
or  seed-lip,  is  a  basket  for  sowing  from.  Cob 
was  formerly  the  name  for  a  spider,  hence  we 
have  cobweb.  Cob  is  also  applied  provincially 
in  England  to  a  round  sort  of  stone,  to  a  mud 
wall,  and  sometimes  to  a  particular  kind  of 
horse.  In  the  United  States  it  is  the  common 
name  given  to  that  portion  of  the  ear  of  In- 
dian corn  to  which  the  grains  are  attached. 
When  burned,  corn-cobs  yield  a  large  propor- 
tion of  potash. 

COBBLE.  A  provincial  term  for  a  round 
sort  of  stone  found  in  the  fields.  It  also  signi- 
fies a  small  kind  of  fishing-boat. 

COBBLE-TREES.  A  sort  of  double  swingle- 
trees,  whippins,  or  splinter-bars. 

COCCIFEROUS  PLANTS  (from  kokkIc, 
and  fero  to  bear).  Such  plants  or  trees  as  af- 
ford nutrition  to,  and  a  habitation  for,  the  insect 
called  a  coccus. 

COCCUS.  A  genus  of  insects  frequenting 
certain  plants.  Naturalists  enumerate  more 
than  twenty  species.  Among  these  are  the 
cochineal  insect  of  the  tropical  parts  of  Ame- 
rica, and  the  scarlet-grain  of  Poland  (Coccus 
polonirus)  which  thrives  only  in  cold  climates. 
This  last  is  sometimes  called  the  Cochineal  of 
the  North,  and  is  collected  in  great  abundance 
for  the  use  of  dyers,  from  the  roots  of  the 
polygonum  cocci fcrum.  It  is  much  inferior  to  the 
American  cochineal. 

Some  interesting  information  relative  to  in- 
sects of  the  Coccus  family  may  be  found  under 
ihe  head  of  Bark-Lice. 

COCCULUS  INDICUS,or  INDIAN  BERRY, 
IS  the  fruit  of  the  Menispermum  cocculvs,  a  large 
tree,  which  grows  upon  the  coasts  of  Malabar, 
Ceylon,  &c.  The  fruit  is  blackish,  and  of  the 
size  of  a  large  pea.  It  owes  its  narcotic  and 
poisonous  qualities  to  the  vegeto-alkaline  che- 
mical principle  called  picrotoxia,  of  which  it 
contains  about  one-fiftieth  part  of  its  weight. 
It  is  sometimes  thrown  into  waters  to  intoxi- 
cate or  kill  fishes  ;  and  it  is  said  to  have  been 
employed  to  increase  the  inebriating  qualities 
of  ale  or  beer.  Its  use  for  this  purpose  is  pro- 
hibited by  act  of  Parliament,  under  a  penalty 
of  200^  upon  the  brewer,  and  500Z.  upon  the 
seller  of  the  drug. 

COCHINEAL.  An  America  •-  insect  greatly 
valued  on  account  of  its  use  in  dying  crimson, 
342 


scarlet,  &c.,  and  preparing  carmine.  When 
first  discovered  it  was  taken  to  Europe  as  a 
seed,  but  was  proved  by  the  observations  of 
Lewenhoeck  to  be  an  insect,  being  the  female 
of  that  species  of  shield-louse,  or  coccus,  disco- 
vered in  Mexico,  so  long  ago  as  1518.  It  is 
brought  to  us  from  Mexico,  where  the  animal 
lives  upon  the  cactus  opuntia  or  nopal.  Two 
sorts  of  cochineal  are  gathered — the  wild,  from 
the  woods,  called  by  the  Spanish  name  grana 
silvestra;  and  the  cultivated,  or  the  grana  firm, 
termed  also  mesteque,  from  the  name  of  a  Mexi- 
can province.  The  first  is  smaller,  and  co- 
vered with  a  cottony  down,  which  increases  its 
bulk  with  a  matter  useless  in  dyeing ;  it  yields, 
therefore,  in  equal  weight,  much  less  colour, 
and  is  of  inferior  price  to  that  of  the  fine  cochi- 
neal. But  these  disadvantages  are  compen- 
sated in  some  measure  to  the  growers  by  its 
being  reared  more  easily  and  less  expensively; 
partly  by  the  eflfect  of  its  down,  which  enables 
it  belter  to  resist  rains  and  storms. 

The  wild  cochineal,  when  it  is  bred  upon 
the  field  nopal,  loses  in  part  the  tenacity  and 
quantity  of  its  cotton,  and  acquires  a  size 
double  of  what  it  has  on  the  wild  opuntias.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  hoped  that  it  will  be  im- 
proved by  persevering  care  in  the  rearing  of 
it,  when  it  will  approach  more  and  more  to  fine 
cochineal. 

The  fine  cochineal,  when  well  dried  and  well 
preserved,  should  have  a  gray  colour,  border- 
ing on  purple.  The  gray  is  owing  to  the  pow- 
der, which  naturally  covers  it,  and  of  which  a 
little  adheres ;  as  also  to  a  waxy  fat.  The 
purple  shade  arises  from  the  colour  extracted 
by  the  water  in  which  they  were  killed.  It  is 
wrinkled  with  parallel  furrows  across  its  back, 
which  are  intersected  in  the  middle  by  a  longi- 
tudinal one;  hence,  when  viewed  by  a  magni- 
fier, or.even  a  sharp  naked  eye,  especially  after 
being  swollen  by  soaking  for  a  little  in  water, 
it  is  easily  distinguished  from  the  factitious, 
smooth,  glistening,  black  grains,  of  no  value, 
called  East  India  cochineal,  with  which  it  is 
often  shamefully  adulterated  by  certain  London 
merchants.  The  genuine  cochineal  has  the 
shape  of  an  egg,  bisected  through  its  long  axis, 
or  of  a  tortoise,  being  rounded  like  a  shield 
upon  the  back,  flat  upon  the  belly,  and  without 
wings. 

These  female  insects  are  gathered  ofl'  the 
leaves  of  th^  nopal  plant,  after  it  has  ripened 
its  fruit,  a  few  only  being  left  for  brood,  and 
are  killed,  either  by  a  momentary  immersion 
in  boiling  water,  by  drying  upon  heated  plates, 
or  in  ovens.  The  last  become  of  an  ash-gray 
colour,  constituting  the  silver  cochineal,  or 
jaspeada  ;  the  second  are  blackish,  called  negra, 
and  are  most  esteemed,  being  probably  driest; 
the  first  are  reddish  brown,  and  reckoned  in- 
ferior to  the  other  two.  The  dry  cochineal 
being  sifted,  the  dust,  with  the  imperfect  insects 
and  fragments  which  pass  through,  are  sold 
under  the  name  of  granillo. 

Cochineal  keeps  for  a  long  time  in  a  dry 
place.  Hellot  says  that  he  has  tried  some  130 
years  old,  which  produced  the  same  effect  as 
new  cochineal. 

Much  adulteration  is  practised  in  England 
upon  cochineal.     In  the  republics  of  Mexico, 


COCK. 


<^OFFEE. 


Guatimala  and  other  parts  of  Central  America, 
where  the  temperature  of  the  climate  through . 
out  ten  months  of  the  year  seldom  falls  so  low 
as  50°  Fahr.,  the  circumstances  are  peculiarly 
favourable  to  the  culture  of  the  cochineal  in- 
sect. A  large  amount  of  the  capital  of  the 
country  is  invested  in  thi  necessary  plantations 
and  fixtures. 

The  true  cochineal  insect  has  been  found  in 
South  Carolina  by  the  late  Dr.  Garden,  and 
Mr.  Raphael  Peale  of  Philadelphia  also  identi- 
fied it  on  the  island  of  Little  St.  Simons,  coast 
of  Georgia-  The  Cactus  opimtia  grows  abun- 
dantly on  all  the  calcareous  islands  near  the 
Southern  coast.  Still  it  is  not  very  probable 
that  cochineal  will  soon  become  an  object  of 
culture  in  the  extreme  Southern  States,  as  it  is 
an  employment  of  a  very  tedious  and  fatiguing 
nature,  exacting  more  attention  than  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  silkworm,  which  last  bids  fair 
to  be  a  far  more  profitable  resource. 

COCK  (Sax.  coe'c ;  Fr.  ro<j).  A  name  applied 
to  the  male  of  chickens  and  other  birds. 

COCKCHAFFER  {Melolontha vulgaris).  One 
of  the  common  names  for  a  species  of  European 
tree  beetle,  whose  food  consists  almost  entirely 
of  leaves.  They  come  rather  late  in  the  vernal 
season,  about  May  20th,  but  occasionally  ap- 
pear at  uncertain  intervals  in  amazing  swarms. 
White  says,  they  abound  only  once  in  three 
years.  They  are  also  known  by  the  provincial 
names  of  May-bug,  dor,  and  dummador.  Cock- 
chaffers  are  sometimes  used  as  baits  in  angling. 
The  larva  or  grub  of  the  common  cockchaffer 
is  one  of  the  great  ravagers  of  the  English 
meadows  and  grass  lands.  It  remains  in  the 
grub  state  for  four  years.  "It  undermines," 
says  Kirby,  "  the  richest  meadows,  and  so 
loosens  the  turf,  that  it  will  roll  up  as  if  cut 
with  a  turfing  spade.  These  grubs  did  so  much 
injury  seventy  years  ago  to  a  poor  farmer  near 
Norwich,  that  the  court  of  that  city,  out  of 
compassion,  allowed  him  25/.,  and  the  man  and 
his  servant  gathered  eighty  bushels  of  the 
beetles.  The  damage  done  by  them  in  1785 
was  so  great  in  France,  that  the  government 
offered  a  reward  for  the  best  mode  of  eradicat- 
ing them."  The  rooks  are  great  friends  to  the 
farmer  in  destroying  this  grub,  to  procure 
which  they  follow  the  plough.  {Kirby  and 
Spare's  Introd.  to  Entomology,  vol.  i.  p.  180.) 

COCK-FIGHTING.  A  very  old  and  barba- 
rous common  pastime  and  amusement,  which 
is  happily  growing  into  disuse  in  civilized 
England  and  America,  and  becoming  super- 
seded by  more  manly  and  noble  sports. 

COCKLE,   CORN,   or    CORN   CAMPION 
(Sax.  coccel;  Lat.  Agrostemvia  githagoy  PI.  10,  a. 
A  well-known  troublesome   annual  weed,  of 
rather  an  o/~iamental  appearance,  growing  in 
grain-fields    n  summer,  bearing  purplish  p^ 
flowers.    It  stands  two  feet  and  a  half  high,  the 
stalk  firm,  hairy,  slender,  and  round,  with  one 
large  flower  upon  each  top.    The  leaves  stand 
two  at  a  joint,  long,  narrow,  and  of  a  bright 
green  colour.     The  flowers,  which  are  of  a 
violet-purple  colour,  stand  in  a  cup  composed  ' 
of  linear  hairy  sepals,  which  are  longer  than  I 
the  corolla.    The  seeds,  which  are  numerous,  I 
are  black  and  rough,  and  nearly  as  big  as  ' 


'  small  wheat  kernels ;  they  are  filled  with  white 
j  flour,  and  very  heavy.  The  miller's  objection 
to  these  seeds  is,  that  their  black  husks  break 
I  so  fine  as  to  pass  the  boulters,  and  render  the 
flour  specky ;  also  because  the  seed  is  bulky, 
and  if  there  be  much  in  the  sample,  it  detracts 
considerably  from  the  produce  in  flour.  Being 
easily  distinguished,  this  weed  should  be  era- 
dicated from  the  field  by  the  hand  before 
flowering.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flora,  vol.  ii.  p.  325  ; 
Sinclair's  Weeds,  p.  9 ;  Elements  of  Agriculturtj 
441  ;   Willich's  Dom.  Encyc.) 

COCK'S-FOOT  GRASS  (Dactylis  glamerata) 
PI.  5,  b.  Commonly  called  Orchard  Grass  in  the 
Middle  and  Northern  States.  A  species  of 
grass,  which,  from  the  experiments  of  Sinclair, 
appears  to  become  by  cultivation  superior  to 
rye  grass  and  some  others  as  a  pasture  ^rass, 
if  kept  closely  cropped  by  cattle  or  the  scythe; 
and  also  when  made  into  hay.  Oxen,  horses, 
and  sheep  eat  it  readily.  It  flowers  from  June 
till  August,  and  perfects  its  seed  in  July.  The 
produce  of  herbage  per  acre,  at  the  time  of 
flowering,  is  27,905  lbs.,  which  aflbrds  of  hay 
11,859  lbs.,  and  the  proportion  of  nutritive 
matter  is  1089  lbs.  The  produce  is  something 
less  when  the  seed  is  ripe,  and  it  loses  about 
one-half  its  weight  in  drying.  See  Hat  Grasses. 
(Sinclair's  Hart.  Gram.  p.  136;  Smith's  Eng, 
Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  134.) 

COCK-SPUR.  A  common  name  in  Eng- 
land for  the  Virginian  hawthorn  ;  a  species  of 
medlar.     See  Hawthorn. 

COCOON.  The  fibrous  web  round  a  chry- 
salis. 

COD.    A  term  used  sometimes  for  pod. 

CODLIN.  A  well-known  kind  of  baking 
apple.    See  Malus. 

COFFEE.  The  seed  of  a  tree  of  the  family 
ntbiaceee.  There  are  several  species  of  the  genus, 
but  the  only  one  cultivated  is  the  Coffaa  Jlrabica^ 
a  native  of  Upper  Ethiopia  and  Arabia  Felix.  It 
rises  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  Its 
trunk  sends  forth  opposite  branches  in  pairs 
above  and  at  right  angles  toeachother;  the  leaves 
resemble  those  of  the  common  laurel,  although 
not  so  dr)'  and  thick.  From  the  angle  of  the 
leaf-stalks  small  groups  of  white  flowers  issue, 
which  are  like  those  of  the  Spanish  jasmine. 
These  flowers  fade  very  soon,  and  are  replaced 
by  a  kind  of  fruit  not  unlike  a  cherry,  which 
contains  a  yellow,  glairy  fluid,  enveloping  two 
small  seeds  or  berries  convex  upon  one  side, 
flat  and  furrowed  upon  the  other,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  long  axis.  These  seeds  are  of  a 
horny  or  cartilaginous  nature  ;  they  are  glued 
together,  each  being  surrounded  with  a  pecu- 
liar coriaceous  membrane.  They  constitute 
the  coffee  of  commerce. 

It  was  not  till  towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century  that  the  coffee  tree  began  to  be  culti- 
vated in  Arabia.  Historians  usually  ascribe 
the  discovery  of  the  use  of  coffee  as  a  beverage 
to  the  superior  of  a  monastery  there,  who,  de- 
sirous of  preventing  the  monks  from  sleeping 
at  their  noctural  services,  made  them  drink  the 
infusion  of  coffee  upon  the  reports  of  shepherds 
who  pretended  that  their  flocks  were  more 
lively  after  browsing  on  the  fruit  of  that  plant 
The  use  of  coffee  was  soon  rapidly  spread,  L.Tit 

d43 


COFFEE 


COFFEE. 


it  encountered  much  opposition  on  the  part  of 
the  Turkish  government,  and  became  the  occa- 
sion of  public  assemblies.  Under  the  reign 
of  Amuralh  III.  the  mufti  procured  a  law  to 
shut  all  the  coffee-houses,  and  this  act  of  sup- 
pression was  renewed  under  the  minority  of 
Mahomet  IV.  It  was  not  till  1554,  under  Soly- 
man  the  Great,  that  the  drinking  of  coffee  was 
accredited  in  Constantinople;  and  a  century 
elapsed  before  it  was  known  in  London  and 
Paris.  Solyman  Aga  introduced  its  use  into 
the  latter  city  in  1669,  and  in  1672  an  Armenian 
established  the  first  cafe  at  the  fair  of  St.  Ger- 
main. 

The  use  of  coffee  became  general  among 
the  English  sooner  than  it  did  with  the  French. 
The  first  mention  of  coffee  on  the  English  sta- 
tute books  is  in  1660,  when  a  duty  of  4rf.  is  laid 
upon  every  gallon  of  coffee  bought  or  sold. 
Ray  informs  us  that  in  1688  London  might 
rival  Cairo  in  the  number  of  coffee-houses. 

When  coffee  became  somewhat  of  a  neces- 
sary of  life,  from  the  influence  of  habit  among 
the  people,  all  the  European  powers  who  had 
colonies  between  the  topics,  projected  to  form 
plantations  of  coffee  treesin  them.  The  Dutch 
were  the  first  who  transported  the  coffee  plant 
from  Moka  to  Batavia,  and  from  Batavia  to 
Amsterdam.  In  1714,  the  magistrates  of  that 
city  sent  a  root  to  IjOuIs  XIV.,  which  he  caused 
to  be  planted  in  the  Jardin  du  Roi.  This  be- 
came the  parent  stock  of  all  the  French  coffee 
plantations  in  Martinique. 

The  most  extensive  culture  of  coffee  is  still 
in  Arabia  Felix,  and  principally  in  the  king- 
dom of  Yemen,  towards  the  cantons  of  Aden 
and  Moka.  Although  these  countries  are  very 
hot  in  the  plains,  they  possess  mountains  where 
the  air  is  mild.  The  coffee  is  generally  grown 
aalf  way  up  on  their  slopes.  When  cultivated 
on  the  lower  grounds,  it  is  always  surrounded 
by  large  trees,  which  shelter  it  from  the  torrid 
sun,  and  prevent  its  fruit  from  withering  be- 
fore their  maturity.  The  harvest  is  gathered 
at  three  periods;  the  roost  considerable  occurs 
in  May,  when  the  reapers  begin  by  spreading 
cloths  under  the  trees,  then  shaking  the 
branches  stronglj'-,  so  as  to  make  the  fruit  drop, 
which  they  collect,  and  expose  upon  mats  to 
dry.  They  then  pass  over  the  dried  berries 
a  very  heavy  roller,  to  break  the  envelopes, 
which  are  afterwards  winnowed  away  with  a 
fan.  The  interior  bean  is  again  dried  before 
oeing  laid  up  in  store. 

In  Demarara,  Berbice,  and  some  of  the  Eng- 
lish West  India  islands,  where  much  good  coffee 
is  now  raised,  a  different  mode  of  treating  the 
pulpy  fruit  and  curing  the  beans  is  adopted. 
Bee  Ures  Diet,  of  the  Arts,  &c. 

The  most  highly  esteemed  coffee  is  that  of 
Moka.  It  has  a  smaller  and  a  rounder  bean  ; 
a  more  agreeable  taste  and  smell  than  any 
other.  Its  colour  is  yellow.  Next  to  it  in 
European  reputation  are  the  Martinique  and 
Bourbon  coffees :  the  former  is  larger  than  the 
Arabian,  and  more  oblong;  it  is  rounded  at  the  i 
•^nds ;  its  colour  is  greenish,  and  it  preserves 
almost  always  a  silver  gray  pellicle,  which 
comes  off  in  the  roasting.  The  Bourbon  coffee 
approaches  nearest  to  the  Moka,  from  which 
»44 


it  origmally  sprung.  The  Saint  Domingo 
coffee  has  its  two  extremities  pointed,  and  is 
much  less  esteemed  than  the  preceding. 

The  coffee  tree  flourishes  in  hilly  districts, 
where  its  root  can  be  kept  dry,  while  its  leaves 
are  refreshed  with  frequent  showers.  Rocky 
ground,  with  rich  decomposed  mould  in  the 
fissures,  agrees  best  with  it.  Though  it  would 
grow,  as  we  have  said,  to  the  height  of  fifteen 
or  twenty  feet,  yet  it  is  usually  kept  down  by 
pruning  to  that  of  five  feet,  for  increasing  the 
production  of  the  fruit,  as  well  as  for  rfie  con 
venience  of  cropping.  It  begins  to  yield  fruit 
the  third  year,  but  is  not  in  full  bearing  till  the 
fifth,  does  not  thrive  beyond  the  twenty-fifth, 
and  is  useless  in  general  at  the  thirtieth.  In 
the  coffee  husbandry,  the  plants  should  be 
placed  eight  feet  apart,  as  the  trees  throw  out 
extensive  horizontal  branches,  and  in  holes  ten 
or  twelve  feet  deep,  to  secure  a  constant  supply 
of  moisture. 

Coffee  has  been  analyzed  by  a  great  many 
chemists,  with  considerable  diversity  of  re- 
sults. The  best  analysis  perhaps  is  that  of 
Schrader.  He  found  that  the  raw  beans  dis- 
tilled with  water  in  a  retort  communicated  to 
it  their  flavour  and  rendered  it  turbid,  whence 
they  seem  to  contain  some  volatile  oil.  On 
reboiling  the  beans,  filtering  and  evaporating 
the  liquor  to  a  syrup,  adding  a  little  alcohol 
till  no  more  matter  was  precipitated,  and  then 
evaporating  to  dryness,  he  obtained  17*58  per 
cent,  of  a  yellowish-brown  transparent  extract, 
which  constitutes  the  characteristic  part  of 
coffee,  though  it  is  not  in  that  state  the  pure 
proximate  principle  called  cafeine.  Its  most 
remarkable  reaction  is  its  producing,  with  both 
the  protoxyde  and  the  peroxyde  salts  of  iron,  a 
fine  grass-green  colour,  while  a  dark-green 
precipitate  falls,  which  redissolves  when  an 
acid  is  poured  into  the  liquor.  It  produces  on 
the  solution  of  the  salts  of  copper  scarcely  any 
effect,  till  an  alkali  be  added,  when  a  verj'' 
beautiful  green  colour  is  produced,  which  may 
be  employed  in  painting.  Coffee  beans  con- 
tain also  a  resin,  and  a  fatty  substance  some- 
what like  suet.  According  to  Robiquet,  ether 
extracts  from  coffee  beans  nearly  ten  per  cent, 
of  resin  and  fat,  but  he  probably  exaggerates 
the  amount.  The  peculiar  substance  cafeine 
contained  in  the  above  extract  is  crj'stallizable. 
It  is  remarkable  in  regard  to  composition,  that 
after  urea  and  the  uric  acid,  and  theobromin 
from  chocolate,  it  is  among  organic  products 
the  richest  in  azote.  It  was  discovered  and  de- 
scribed in  1820  by  Runge.  It  does  not  possess 
alkaline  properties.  Pfaff  obtained  only  ninety 
grains  of  cafeine  from  six  pounds  of  coffee 
beans.  There  is  also  an  acid  in  raw  coffee,  to 
which  the  name  of  cafeic  acid  has  been  given. 
When  distilled  to  dryness  and  decomposed, 
it  has  the  smell  of  roasted  coffee. 

Coffee  undergoes  important  changes  in  the 
process  of  roasting.  When  it  is  roasted  to  a 
yellowish-brown,  it  loses,  according  to  Cadet, 
12iJ  per  cent,  of  its  weight,  and  is  in  this  state 
difficult  to  grind.  When  roasted  to  a  chestnut 
brown,  it  loses  18  per  cent.,  and  when  it  be- 
comes entirely  black,  though  not  at  all  carbo- 
nized, it  has  lost  23  per  cent..     Schrader  has 


COFFEE. 


COFFEE. 


analyzed  roasted  coffee  comparatively  with 
raw  cofl'ee,  and  he  found  in  the  first  12^  per 
cent,  of  an  extract  of  coffee,  soluble  in  water 
and  alcohol,  which  possesses  nearly  the  pro- 
perties of  the  extract  of  the  raw  coffee,  although 
it  has  a  deeper  brown  colour,  and  softens  more 
readily  in  the  air.  He  found  also  10-4  of  a 
blackish-brown  gum ;  6-7  of  an  oxygenated 
extract,  or  rather  apothenie,  soluble  in  alcohol, 
insolulAe  in  water;  2  of  a  fatty  substance  and 
resin ;  69  of  burnt  vegetable  fibre,  insoluble. 
On  distilling  rcasted  coffee  with  water,  Schra- 
der  obtained  a  product  which  contained  the 
aromatic  principle  of  coffee ;  it  reddened  litmus 
paper,  and  exhaled  a  strong  and  agreeable 
odour  of  roasted  coffee.  If  we  roast  coffee  in 
a  retort,  the  first  portions  of  the  aromatic  prin- 
ciple of  coffee  condense  into  a  yellow  liquid 
in  the  receiver;  and  these  may  be  added  to  the 
coffee  roasted  in  the  common  way,  from  which 
this  matter  has  been  expelled  and  dissipated 
in  the  air. 

Of  late  years  much  ingenuity  has  been  ex- 
pended in  contriving  various  forms  of  appa- 
ratus for  making  infusions  of  coffee  for  the 
table.  I  have  tried  most  of  them,  and  find, 
after  all,  none  so  good  as  a  cuffeliere  a  la  Jielhy, 
the  coriee  bif^ti^in,  with  the  perforated  tinplate 
strainer,  especially  when  the  filtered  liquor  is 
kept  simmering  in  a  close  vessel,  set  over  a 
lamp  or  steam  pan.  The  useful  and  agreeable 
matter  in  coffee  is  very  soluble :  it  comes  off 
with  the  first  waters  of  infusion,  and  needs  no 
boiling. 

To  roast  coffee  richly,  we  should  keep  in 
view  the  proper  objects  of  this  process,  which 
are  to  duvelope  its  aroma,  and  destroy  its  tough- 

{s,  so  that  it  may  be  readily  ground  to  puw- 
t  -r.  Too  much  heat  destroys  those  principles 
which  we  should  wish  to  preserve,  and  substi- 
tutes new  ones  which  have  nothing  in  common 
with  the  first,  but  add  a  disagreeable  empyreu- 
matic  taste  and  smell.  If,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  rawness  or  greenness  is  not  removed  by 
an  adequate  heat,  it  masks  the  flavour  of  the 
bean,  and  injures  the  beverage  made  with  it. 
When  well  roasted  in  the  sheet-iron  cylinders 
set  to  revolve  over  a  fire,  it  should  have  a  uni- 
form chocolate  colour,  a  point  readily  hit  by 
experieuced  roasters,  who  now  manage  the 
business  very  well  for  the  principal  coffee- 
dealers  both  of  London  and  Paris,  so  far  as 
my  jud£,'ment  can  determine.  The  develope- 
ment  of  the  proper  aroma  is  a  criterion  by 
which  coffee-roasters  frequently  regulate  their 
operations.  When  it  loses  more  than  20  per 
cent,  of  its  weight,  coffee  is  sure  to  be  in- 
jured. It  should  never  be  ground  till  immedi- 
ately before  infusion.  (Ure's  Diet,  of  Arts  and 
Manuf.) 

Coffee  may  be  cultivated  in  the  peninsula 
of  Florida.  A  climate  the  temperature  of  which 
seldom  falls  below  55°,  and  where  the  soil  is 
on  gentle  declivities,  afford  the  most  favourable 
circumstances.  The  trees  may  be  set  five  or 
six  feet  asunder;  they  begin  to  yield  good  crops 
at  three  years  of  age,  and  the  average  produce 
of  a  tree  is  two  and  a  half  pounds. 

The  consumption  of  coffee  is  very  great  in 
Mohammedan  countries,  and  especially  in  Tur- 
44 


key,  where  their  religion  forbids  the  use  of 
wine  and  spirituous  liquors.  In  the  United 
States,  its  consumption  is  already  very  great 
and  is  rapidly  increasing  ;  being  not  less  than 
15,000  tons  annually. 

In  Paris,  the  best  coffee  in  the  world  is  made 
by  the  following  process.  This  is  the  cele- 
I  b rated  liquor  there  called  cafe  au  hut.  The 
I  coffee  is  generally  roasted  in  a  rotary  cylinder, 
over  a  small  furnace  of  charcoal,  and  usually 
in  the  open  air,  until  it  becomes  of  a  brown 
cinnamon  colour;  it  is  then  turned  into  a 
wooden  tray,  and  stirred  till  nearly  cool.  The 
pot  in  which  coffee  is  usually  made,  is  com- 
pound, and  formed  of  two  parts,  of  equal  di- 
mensions ;  the  lower  pot  being  made  of  the 
usual  form ;  the  spout  being  kept  covered  and 
closed  during  the  process,  by  a  small  cap, 
thimble  formed.  The  upper  pot  is  nicely  fitted 
to  the  lop  of  the  lower  pot,  of  which  it  forms  a 
lid;  it  is  pierced  at  the  bottom  with  very  fine 
holes,  and  thus  forms  a  fine  strainer ;  in  the 
bottom  of  this  pot,  and  on  this  strainer,  the 
fresh  and  finely  ground  coffee  is  placed,  and 
the  top  of  this  pot  is  closed  by  the  insertion  of 
a  shallow  tin  cup,  full  of  larger  holes,  which 
serves  for  a  coarser  strainer;  and  through  this, 
cither  boiling  water,  or,  most  commonly,  a 
strong  infusion  of  boiling  coffee,  is  poured, 
which  has  been  formed  by  boiling  the  grounds 
of  the  former  day,  which  had  still  retained  a 
large  portion  of  their  original  strength  ;  thence 
riie  whole  fluid  slowly  and  gradually  descends 
to  the  lower  pot.  Thus  a  very  strong,  clear, 
and  black  infusion  is  prepared,  which,  on 
being  brought  to  the  table,  is  reduced  by  the 
addition  of  at  least  an  equal  quantity  or  more 
of  boiling  milk ;  sugar  being  added  to  suit  the 
taste.  Nothing  can  be  more  fragrant  and  de- 
licious than  coffee  thus  made.     (Kenrick.) 

In  ihe  Eastern  countries  of  the  old  world  and 
in  Europe  ^  snerally,  at  present,  coffee  is  always 
taken  in  small  cups  as  a  cordial  and  restora- 
tive,— and  not  swilled  in  large  vessels  as  a 
beverage  at  meals,  as  is  so  frequently  done  in 
the  United  States,  especially  by  the  interior 
population.  The  French  mode  of  preparing 
coffee  for  use  having  been  given,  we  will  sub- 
join a  description  of  the  process  pursued  in 
Arabia,  as  related  by  Mr.  Buckingham,  who 
had  ample  opportunities  of  learning  it  from 
personal  observation. 

"  It  is  found  that  the  only  certain  mode  of 
retaining  the  pure  flavour  of  the  coffee,  is  to 
roast,  pound,  and  boil  it,  all  in  quick  succes- 
sion, the  roasted  berries  soon  losing  their  fla- 
vour if  laid  I  y  for  a  day,  and  the  pounded  coffee 
becoming  lo^ipid,  even  in  a  few  hours.  The 
Arabs  of  nn  desert,  who  are  from  necessity 
economical  in  the  use  of  this  article,  follow  the 
same  process,  even  if  they  require  only  two 
cups  of  th«!  liquid,  roasting  a  handful  of  bei  ries 
on  an  irr-n  plate,  pounding  them  in  a  pes  le 
and  mortar  while  warm,  and  the  instant  th.» 
water  boils,  which  it  will  generally  do  by  the 
time  the  other  preparations  are  completed,  so 
that  no  time  is  lost,  putting  the  pounded  pow 
der  into  it,  and  suffering  it  to  boil,  stirring  it  at 
the  same  time  for  about  a  minute  or  two,  when 
it  is  poured  out  to  drink.     As  the  beverage  is 

345 


COFFEE  TREE. 


COINS.  FOREIGN. 


taken  w'thout  sugar  or  milk,  the  slightest  dif- 
ference in  the  flavour  is  perceptible ;  and  long 
experience  having  shown  this  to  be  the  best 
way  of  preserving  it  in  perfection,  it  is  per- 
haps worth  mentioning  in  detail,  particularly 
as  the  use  of  this  article  has  become  so 
general." 

COFFEE  TREE  (Gymnocladus  Canadensis). 
This  native  North  American  tree  is  found  as 
high  northward  as  Upper  Canada  beyond  Mcn- 
treal,  and  on  the  southern  shores  of  Lakes  Erie 
and  Ontario.  It  is,  however,  much  less  abun- 
dant in  these  climes  than  in  the  states  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Tennessee,  and  in  the  tract  watered 
by  the  Ohio  and  Illinois  rivers,  between  the 
36th  and  40lh  degrees  of  latitude. 

By  the  French  of  Canada  this  tree  is  called 
Chicot ;  by  those  of  the  Illinois  Gros  Fevier, 
whilst  the  inhabitants  of  the  Western  States 
call  it  Coffee  Tree. 

The  presence  of  this  tree,  is  an  evidence  of 
the  richest  lands,  on  which  it  habitually  grows 
in  company  with  the  black  walnut,  red  elm, 
poplar,  blue  ash,  honey  locust,  and  hackberry. 
These  trees  it  equals  in  height, but  not  in  bulk; 
for  a  coffee  tree  fifty  or  sixty  feet  high  does  not 
generally  exceed  twelve  or  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter.  "In  summer,"  says  Michaux,  "this 
tree  when  fully  grown  has  a  fine  appearance : 
its  straight  trunk  is  often  destitute  of  branches 
for  thirty  feet,  and  supports  a  summit  not  very 
widely  spread,  but  of  a  regular  shape  and  of 
tufted  foliage ;  such  at  least  is  its  form  in  pri- 
mitive forests,  where  it  is  confined  by  the  trees 
which  grow  around  it.  In  the  winter  when  its 
leaves  are  fallen,  the  fewness  of  its  branches 
and  the  size  of  the  terminal  ones,  which  are 
very  large  in  comparison  with  those  of  other 
trees,  give  it  a  peculiar  appearance,  somewhat 
resembling  a  dead  tree,  which  it  retains  in  the 
spring  long  after  other  trees  are  clothed  in 
foliage.  This  is  probably  the  reason  of  its 
being  called  Chicot,  stump  tree,  by  the  French 
Canadians.  To  this  peculiar  character  is 
added  another  of  the  epidermis,  which  is  ex- 
tremely rough,  and  which  detaches  itself  in 
small,  hard,  transverse  strips,  rolled  backward 
at  the  ends,  and  projecting  sufficiently  to  ren- 
der the  tree  distinguishable  at  first  sight.  I 
have  also  remarked  that  the  live  bark  is  very 
bitter,  so  that  a  morsel  no  bigger  than  a  grain 
of  maize  chewed  for  some  time  produces  a 
violent  irritation  of  the  throat." 

The  foliage  of  the  coffee  tree  bears  some 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  black  walnut.  The 
flowers  are  white,  and  the  fruit  consists  of 
large  bean-like  crooked  pods,  of  a  reddish 
brown  colour,  and  of  a  pulpy  consistency 
within.  They  contain  several  large,  gray 
»2eds,  which  are  extremely  hard.  The  French 
ill  Upper  Louisiana  call  them  Gmirganes. 

"  The  name  of  the  coflTee  tree  was  given  by 
the  early  emigrants  to  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see, who  hoped  to  find  in  its  seeds  a  substitute 
for  coflTee :  but  the  small  number  of  persons 
who  made  the  experiment  abandoned  it,  as 
soon  as  it  became  easy  to  obtain  from  the  sea- 
ports the  coffee  of  the  West  Indies. 

"  The  wood  of  the  coffee  tree  is  very  com- 
pact and  of  a  rosy  hue.  The  fineness  and 
346 


closeness  of  its  grain  fit  for  cabin -^t-making, 
and  its  strength  renders  it  proper  for  building. 
Like  the  locust,  it  has  the  valuable  property  of 
rapidly  converting  its  sap  into  perfect  wood, 
so  that  a  trunk  six  inches  in  diameter  has  only 
six  lines  of  sap,  and  may  be  employed  almo&t 
entire.  These  qualities  recommend  it  for  pro- 
pagation in  the  forests  of  the  north  and  of  the 
centre  of  Europe. 

"  The  coffee  tree  was  sent  to  France  more 
than  fifty  years  since.  It  thrives  in  the  envi- 
rons of  Paris,  where  there  are  trees  that  ex- 
ceed forty  feet  in  height ;  but  it  does  not  yield 
fruit,  and  is  multiplied  only  by  shoots  obtained 
by  digging  trenches  round  the  old  trees.  The 
divided  roots  produce  shoots  three  or  four  feet 
long,  the  first  year.  The  young  trees  are 
sought,  on  account  of  their  beautiful  foliage, 
for  the  embellishment  of  parks  and  pictu- 
resque gardens." 

A  communication  from  Mr.  M.  D.  Hardin, 
of  Franklin  county,  Kentucky,  published  in 
the  American  Farmer  (vol.  2),  makes  us  ac- 
quainted with  some  interesting  facts  relative  to 
the  sensible  properties  of  the  fruit  of  the  cofiee 
tree,  and  its  effects  when  eaten. 

The  subjoined  preparation  of  the  nut  of  the 
native  coffee  bean  tree,  or  pea  locust  tree, 
"has,"  says  Mr.  Hardin,  "been  found  to  de- 
stroy flies  more  certainly  than  any  preparation 
I  ever  saw.  It  is  now  used  by  many  in  this 
neighbourhood.  I  never  heard  of  it  until  this 
season.  There  is  no  danger  to  children  or  any 
animal  from  the  preparation.  I  have  bees  fa- 
miliar with  the  nut  for  more  than  thirty  years; 
it  grew  in  ray  father's  yard,  and  is  in  abun- 
dance in  my  wood  pastures.  I  have  several 
times  eaten  the  kernel  of  the  nut  raw,  but 
never  of  many  at  a  time — when  roasted  many 
are  fond  of  them,  and  I  have  eaten  a  good  many 
that  way,  I  have  never  myself  seen  ihem  used 
'  for  coffee,  but  have  heard  of  their  being  so 
used  as  a  matter  of  curiosity  not  of  choice  or 
economy.  The  cattle  eat  the  pods  including  the 
nuts  in  the  winter,  as  they  do  the  wild  honey 
locust  pods;  but  the  nut  owing  to  its  hard 
shell  does  not  digest,  but  passes  off  whole.  I 
have  known  children  eat  the  green  glutinous 
matter  within  the  pod,  as  they  would  that  of 
the  wild  honey  locust,  but  it  brings  on  sickness 
and  puking.  The  nut  itself  is  so  well  under- 
stood to  be  harmless  and  eatable,  that  the  cof- 
fee-mill has  been  most  usually  made  use  of  to 
prepare  the  nut  for  the  flies. 

"  For  destroying  flies. — Take  the  nuts  of  the 
native  pea  locust  or  coffee-nut  tree,  crack  them 
and  take  out  the  kernel  raw;  reduce  them  to 
meal  or  powder  (a  coffee-mill  or  mortar  are 
commonly  used),  put  this  into  as  much  sweet 
milk  as  would  make  it  into  a  paste.  To  this 
add  some  sugar  to  make  the  flies  more  readily 
eat  it,  put  it  into  a  plate  or  other  vessel,  and 
set  it  where  you  want  to  destroy  the  flies." 

COFFIN-BONE.  In  farriery,  that  bone 
which  lies  encircled  within  a  horse's  hoof  as 
in  a  cofl^n. 

COINS,  FOREIGN.  The  following  tables 
will  show  the  values  and  weights  of  various 
foreign  coins  in  federal  money  of  the  United 
States : 


COLCHICUM. 

Table  of  various  Foreign  Coins,  with,  their  Value 
in  Money  of  the  United  States.  Also,  the  Value 
of  Gold  Coins  per  pennyweight. 

Value  per  dwt.  Value  by  tale. 

Oold.  c.  m.  D.c         D.c 

British  sovereign,  or  pound 

sterling       -        -        -        .  946  483  to    486 

French  twenty-franc  piece   -  92-9  384  to    3-85i 

German  ten-thaler  piece       -  7"84  to    7'97 

Doubloon  of  Spanish  America  88-7  to  90-  15-39  to  15-62 

The  value  by  tale  depends  upon  the  age,  reign,  section 
of  country,  and  other  qualifying  circumstances,  so  that 
it  cannot  be  precisely  expressed  in  so  small  a  compass. 

Val.bytale. 

Silver.  c.  m. 

Dollar  of  Mexico  and  South  America,  about  -        -  1000 

French  five-franc  piece  ------    930 

Prussian  thaler 68-3  to  69  3 

Englitih  shilling  (since  1816) 21-7 

Milreis  of  Portugal,  about       -----  112-0 

Rupee  of  British  India    ------    44-5 

Spanish-American  quarter-dollar,  unworn   -        -    25-0 
Do.  do.      worn  by  circulation    23-5 

By  the  Mint  Laws  passed  by  Congress  in 
1837,  the  eagle  is  to  weigh  258  troy  grains,  the 
half  and  quarter  in  proportion;  the  dollar  412^ 
grains,  the  parts  in  proportion.  The  relative 
value,  therefore,  of  silver  to  gold,  is  16-9984  to  1, 
or  nearly  16  of  silver  for  1  of  gold.  In  making 
this  comparison,  both  the  silver  and  gold  are 
to  be  of  the  fineness  of  nine-tenths. 

The  coinage  of  silver  in  the  United  States, 
from  1826  to  1833,  was  nineteen  and  a  half 
millions;  that  from  1834  to  1841  was  twenty 
millions. 

COLCHICUM  (Cohhicum  autumnale).  Com- 
mon meadow  safTron.  A  bulb  throwing  up  a 
reddish  purple  flower  without  leaves  in  Sep- 
tember and  October:  grows  three  or  four 
inches  high :  found  in  moist  rich  meadows, 
but  not  common.  It  may  be  propagated  from 
offsets  in  July.  Every  part  of  the  plant  con- 
tains an  alkaline  principle  named  Colrhicia, 
which  is  a  most  violent  purgative  as  well  as 
narcotic.  This  active  matter  is  extracted  by 
wine,  spirits  of  wine,  and  vinegar.  A  tincture 
of  the  bulb  or  of  the  seeds  of  colchicum,  in  the 
dose  of  twenty  to  thirty  drops  twice  a  day,  has 
been  found  very  useful  in  gout  and  rheuma- 
tism. It  has  been  too  commonly  taken  without 
medical  advice,  and  much  mischief  has  re- 
sulted. In  an  overdose  colchicum  is  a  virulent 
poison.     (Smith's  Eng.  Flora,  vol.  ii.  p.  202.'^ 

COLD  (Sax.  coli>;  Dan.  kaald).  See  Ca- 
tarrh, and  Diseases  of  Cattle,  Horses,  &c. 

COLE,  or  COLESEED  (Celt,  cat//,-  Welsh, 
caxcl ;  Lat.  Brassica  napus).  A  variety  of  the 
cabbage  genus,  much  cultivated  in  the  east  of 
England;  it  is  sown  from  the  middle  of  July 
to  the  end  of  August,  either  for  autumn  sheep- 
feed,  or  for  seed  (which  is  very  rich  in  oil)  for 
the  following  summer.  The  ashes  of  the  burnt 
straw  of  coleseed  are  excellent  dressing  for 
clover.  (Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  312.)  See  Colza 
and  Rape. 

COLEWORT.     See  Cabbage. 

COLIN,  THE  VIRGINIAN  PARTRIDGE 
(Ortyx  Virginiana).  This  bird  has  been  intro- 
duced into  England  from  the  United  States, 
and  is  a  species  of  partridge.  It  lives  on  the 
borders  of  woods,  among  brushwood,  or  on  the 
thick  grassy  plains.  (YcrrelVs  Brit.  Birds,  vol. 
ii.  p.  448.) 

COLLAR  (Span,  collar ;  Lat.  collare).     That 


COLLING. 

part  of  the  harness  of  a  horse  or  other  animal 
that  goes  round  his  neck  and  rests  on  the 
shoulders.  For  horses,  they  are  mostly  made 
of  canvass,  &c.  stuffed  with  hair,  tow,  or  straw, 
and  covered  with  leather. 

COLLE Y,  or  COLLY.  A  kind  of  dog  much 
prized  by  the  Scotish  drovers.  See  Doo,  Shep- 
herd's. 

COLLEY  SHEEP.  A  name  for  sheep  that 
have  black  faces  and  legs.  The  wool  of  these 
sheep  is  generally  very  harsh,  having  hairs 
mixed  with  it. 

COLLING,  ROBERT  and  CHARLES.  Two 
celebrated  farmers  of  the  county  of  Durham, 
who,  by  their  skill,  enterprise,  and  public  spirit, 
not  only  secured  for  themselves  the  plaudits 
of  after  generations  of  farmers,  but  did  honour 
to  their  country  by  the  improvement  which  they 
effected  in  the  Durham  breed  of  short-horns, 
perhaps  the  most  celebrated  of  all  our  modern 
breeds  of  cattle.  It  is  not  in  my  power  to  give 
any  details  with  regard  to  their  private  history; 
their  public  efforts  is  all  in  which  my  readers 
will  feel  interested.  The  following  account 
of  the  sale  of  their  stock,  and  the  enormous 
amount  which  it  produced,  will  afford  a  much 
better  view  of  their  success  as  breeders  than 
any  eulogium  of  mine. 

Charles  Colling,  of  Ketton,  near  Darlington, 
made  a  very  ample  fortune.  The  prices  he 
obtained  for  his  stock  could  hardly  indeed  have 
failed  to  have  produced  such  a  result :  thus  at 
his  sale  of  improved  short-horns,  Oct.  11,  1810, 
the  following  were  some  of  the  prices  obtain 
ed: — 

Cow«.  Jkge.  Guineu. 

Cherry  -  .  n  -  -  .  83 

Peeress  -  -  5  -  -  -  170 

CounteM  -  -  9  -  -  .  400 

C«lina  -  -  5  -  -  -  200 

Lady  -  -  14  -  -  -  206 

Lilly  -  -  3  -  -  -  410 

Bulli.  Guinni. 

Comet  -  -  6  -  -  -  lOOO 

Major  -  -  9  -  -  -  200 

Petrarch  -  -  2  -  -  -  365 

Alfred  -  -  1  -  .  -  HO 

Duke  -  -  1  -  -  -  105 

Bull  calves  ander  one  year  old.  Guineai. 

Young  Favourite     -----        140 

Geerse      -------130 

Sir  Dimple        ------         90 

Cecil         -------        170 

Heifen.  A^  Guinea*. 

PhoBbe              -  -        3  -  -  -  105 

Young  Duchess  -  2  -  -  -  183 

Young  Countess  -  2  -  -  .  206 

Lucy         -        -  -  2  -  -  -  132 

Charlotte          -  -        1  -  -  -  1.32 

Heifer  raWet  noder  one  year  old.  Guinea*. 

Lucilla     -------106 

Calista     -------         50 

White  Rose     ------         75 

Altogether  it  appears  that — 

L.      *. 

17  cows  sold  for       -        -        -  -  2802    9 

11  bulls              "         -        -        .  -  2361     y 

7  bull  calves  "         -        -        -  -  687  15 

7  heifers          "         -        .        -  -  942  18 

5  heifer  calves         -       -        -  -  321    6 

47  lots  7115  17 

Robert  Ceiling's  stock  was  sold  at  Barmpton, 
near  Darlington,  September  29,  1818,  when  it 
produced  for — 

047 


COLT. 


COLZA. 


Guineas. 
84  COWS  -..---         4141 

17  heifers       ------        1287 

6  bulls 1343 

4  bull  calves  -----         713 

61  head  of  cattle    -----       7484 

One  2  year  old  cow  sold  for  -       -       -         331 
One  4  "  "  .        -        -  300 

One  5  "  *•  -        -        .  370 

One  1  "    bull  calf         -       -       -         270 

One  4  "    bull        -        .       -       -         621 

{Y&uatt  on  Cattle,  p.  231—233.) 

Charles  Colling,  after  his  retirement  from 
business,  resided  at  Croft,  in  the  North  Riding 
of  Yorkshire,  where  he  died  January  16,  1836, 
aged  85.  Robert  Colling  died  in  his  70th 
year,  at  Barmpton,  near  Darlington,  March  7, 
1820. 

COLT  (Sax.  coir).  A  term  applied  to  young 
horses.    See  Hohsks. 

COLT-EVIL.  In  farriery,  a  distemper  to 
which  young  horses  are  subject,  consisting  of 
a  swelling  in  the  sheath. 

COLTS-FOOT,  COMMON.  (Tussilago  far-, 
fara).  PI.  10,  I.  This  is  an  herb  of  peculiar 
growth,  very  common  in  England  on  chalky  or 
marly  soil,  in  moist  situations.  It  is  mostly 
found  in  fields  that  are  over-cropped  or  ex- 
hausted, and  often  severely  exercises  the  pa- 
tience of  the  farmer.  It  may  be  eradicated  by 
ploughing  up  the  soil,  carrying  the  plant  away 
when  rooted  out,  and  laying  the  fields  down  to 
grass.  The  flowers  rise  in  spring  on  stalks 
six  or  eight  inches  high,  round,  large,  and  yel- 
low, like  the  dandelion ;  their  stalks  being 
thick,  fleshy,  scaly,  and  red  coloured.  Each 
stalk  supports  one  flower.  When  the  flowers 
have  decayed,  then  the  leaves  appear  on  erect 
furrowed  footstalks,  broad  and  cordate,  lobed 
and  toothed,  resembling  the  form  of  a  horse's 
foot,  whence  the  name.  They  are  green  above, 
and  white  and  downy  underneath.  The  leaves 
are  used  medicinally,  and  they  dry  well.  A 
decoction  of  the  leaves  and  roots,  or  a  syrup 
of  the  juice,  is  useful  in  coughs,  whence  the 
generic  name.  The  ancients  inhaled  the 
smoke  for  the  relief  of  coughs. 

There  are  two  species  of  the  colts-foot,  butter- 
bur, or  Tussilago  genus  in  the  United  States. 
See  NuttalPs  Genera.  The  plant  known  in 
Pennsylvania  and  some  other  Middle  States 
by  the  name  of  colts-foot  is  not  of  the  same 
genus,  but  an  Asartmu     See  Gixger,  Wild. 

COLZA.  Though  comparatively  but  little 
cultivated  in  England,  and  hardly  known  in 
the  United  States,  colza  is  an  article  of  im- 
mense importance  in  French  and  Flemish  hus- 
bandry. It  belongs  to  the  cabbage  family,  and 
is  cultivated  for  its  oily  seed,  which  are  crushed 
and  pressed  for  their  oil,  similar  to  flax-seed. 
The  oil  is  used  to  burn  in  lamps,  and  for  a 
great  variety  of  useful  purposes.  The  cake 
left  after  pressing  the  seeds,  like  that  of  rape, 
is  an  article  regularly  in  the  markets  of  Eng- 
land, France,  Germany,  &c.,  being  purchased 
by  farmers,  who  use  it,  either  alone  or  mixed 
with  other  substances,  as  food  for  cattle,  or 
to  make  into  manure  for  various  crops.  In 
France,  Germany,  and  the  Netherlands,  the 
cake  is  very  often  thrown  into  their  urine-cis- 

ms,  where  it  soon  becomes  a  very  valuable  ma- 
S48 


terial  for  manure.  The  haulm,  or  stems,  after 
the  seeds  are  thrashed  ofi',  is  frequently  burned 
for  the  ashes,  which  are  considered  of  treble 
the  value  of  other  ashesi  employed  as  manure. 

Two  species  of  colza  are  cultivated  in 
France ;  the  one  a  biennial,  sown  in  summer 
or  autumn,  standing  out  all  winter,  and  matur- 
ing its  growth  and  seed  the  following  summer. 
This  is  called  winter  colza,  and  is  the  Brassica 
campestris  of  botanists.  The  other  species,  or 
rather  variety,  is  a  spring  crop,  maturing  its 
seeds  the  same  year,  and  is  the  Brassica  arven- 
sis  of  naturalists.  Neither  of  these  must  be 
confounded  with  rape,  which  the  French  term 
navette,  and  which  is  the  Brassica  napus,  being 
the  species  most  cultivated  for  similar  purposes 
in  England.  Whether  the  winter  colza  will 
resist  the  intense  cold  of  the  winters  in  the 
more  northern  states  may  be  doubtful ;  but 
should  it  not,  the  spring  colza  (B.  a7-vensis)  will 
doubtless  succeed  in  any  part  of  the  United 
States  not  favourable  to  the  winter  species.  As 
the  plant  may  become  of  consequence  to  the 
American  agriculturist,  we  subjoin,  from  Dom- 
basle's  Farmer's  Calendar,  a  description  of  the 
French  modes  of  managing  the  colza  crops. 

It  is  generally  considered  indispensable  that 
the  ground  on  which  colza  is  sown  should  be 
rich,  light,  new,  well  manured,  and  prepared 
by  much  working.  "  Nevertheless,"  says  Dom- 
basle,  "many  years'  experience  has  taught  me 
that,  by  pursuing  a  good  system  of  culture, 
very  satisfactory  crops  may  be  procured  from 
light  and  gravelly  soils.  The  plant  is  not 
afraid  of  a  slightly  clayey  soil,  which,  in  fact, 
is  the  one  best  adapted  to  it,  provided  this  be 
very  light  in  its  texture.  It  is  indispensable 
that  the  ground,  of  whatever  nature  its  soil 
may  be,  shall  be  perfectly  well  drained  during 
the  winter,  as  frosts  are  fatal  to  colza  in  soils 
which  retain  water." 

There  are  three  methods  of  sowing  colza : — 
1.  Broad-cast;  2.  In  rows  or  drills;  3.  In  beds 
for  transplantation.  The  last  method  can  onl 
be  pursued  where  labour — and  especially  f 
male  labour — is  extremely  cheap.  The  sowin 
in  rows  is  done  by  the  use  of  drills,  the  lines 
being  placed  about  eighteen  inches  apart.  This 
method  admits  of  hand-hoeing,  and  even  the 
j  use  of  the  cultivator,  to  destroy  weeds  or 
loosen  the  soil.  When  sown  broad-cast,  about 
14  lbs.  of  seed  are  required  for  one  hectare 
(equal  to  about  2^  acres).  Much  less  is  re- 
quired where  sown  by  drills,  when  the  seeds 
are  dropped  about  an  inch  apart  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  rows.  The  sowing  broad-cast  or  in 
rows  generally  takes  place  from  the  middle  of 
July  to  the  middle  of  August.  When  the  plants 
are  picked  from  beds  to  be  planted  out,  this  is 
done  in  September  or  early  in  October,  so 
that  they  may  have  time  before  winter  to  form 
I  good  roots.  They  are  placed  in  holes  dibbled 
I  by  means  of  a  planter  with  points  from  9  to  12 
inches  apart,  and  so  formed  that  a  man  makes 
I  two  rows  at  a  time,  whilst  a  second  person 
\  puts  the  plants  in  the  holes,  pressing  the  earth 
well  around  them  with  his  feet.  Sometimes 
rows  are  run  with  the  plough,  and  two  or  three 
women  are  employed  after  each  plough,  in  dis- 
tributing plants  along  the  open  furrow,  which 
is  covered  up  by  the  plough  in  returning, 


COLZA. 


COLZA. 


When  this  is  skilfully  performed,  the  planta- 
tion may  be  effected  with  great  regularity.  In 
soils  of  moderate  fertility,  the  plants  need  not 
,be  more  than  9  inches  apart  in  every  direction. 
When  the  ground  is  very  rich,  they  may  stand 
about  12  inches  apart;  and  when  planted  with 
the  plough,  every  other  furrow  is  left  vacant, 
and  the  plants  placed  9  or  10  inches  apart. 

In  moderately  fertile  soils,  the  product  of  the 
colza  is  generally  equal  to,  and  sometimes  a 
little  greater  than  that  of  wheat.  Thus,  in  soils 
which  produce  20  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre, 
20  or  25  bushels  of  colza  are  obtained,  and  the 
product  of  rape  has  been  nearly  equal.  But  in 
more  fertile  soils  the  colza,  when  it  has  been 
well  managed,  far  surpasses  the  product  of 
wheat  on  the  same  soil,  it  being  not  unusual 
to  obtain  28  or  30  bushels  to  the  acre,  on 
ground  that  will  not  yield  more  than  18  or  20 
bushels  of  wheat.  Sometimes,  by  very  careful 
cultivation,  and  on  ground  of  a  very  deep  soil, 
especially  when  this  is  newly  broken  up,  as 
much  as  40  bushels  of  colza  can  be  got  from 
an  acre,  a  larger  product  than  could  be  expect- 
ed from  tape. 

The  chaff  of  colza  and  rape  form  very  good 
loud  for  woolly  animals  during  winter.  When 
given  to  homed  cattle,  it  should  be  in  the  form 
of  slop,  made  by  mixing  it  in  boiling  water. 
Sheep  eat  the  straw  or  stems  very  freely,  when 
well  kept  and  not  too  coarse. 

When  planted  in  rows,  a  hoeing  or  harrow- 
ing, by  means  of  the  cultivator,  is  generally 
given  in  the  month  of  March.  About  the  be- 
ginning of  July,  and  sometimes  even  at  the  end 
of  June,  the  navette,  or  rape,  and  winter  colza 
arrive  at  maturity,  the  rape  almost  always  8 
or  10  days  the  earliest.  As  the  seeds  of  these 
plants  shatter  oflf  very  easily,  it  is  necessary 
that,  in  harvesting,  they  should  be  cut  before 
they  become  completely  ripe.  The  most  pro- 
per time  is  when  the  seed-pods  begin  to  turn 
yellow  and  become  transparent,  and  when  the 
seeds  are  of  a  dark-brown,  though  still  tender. 
Though  the  grains  of  all  the  pods  may  yet  be 
green,  the  greatest  number  will  ripen  in  the 
stack  or  mow.  Sometimes,  when  the  crop  has 
become  very  ripe,  to  prevent  the  loss  of  the 
seed,  it  should  only  be  cut  in  the  evening  or 
morning,  whilst  it  is  covered  with  dew,  or  dur- 
ing a  bright  moonlight  night.  Twenty-four 
hours  after  reaping,  or  sometimes  immediately 
after,  if  the  plants  are  quite  ripe,  the  colza  is 
put  into  cocks,  the  sheaves  being  carried  to  an 
elevated  part  of  the  field,  and  placed  in  cocks, 
the  height  of  which  must  be  double  that  of  the 
stock  of  colza.  In  laying  them  down,  the  first 
sheaves  are  placed  on  the  outside,  and  the  next 
towards  the  centre.  The  cock  gradually  dimi- 
nishes in  diameter,  till  raised  to  the  height  of 
five  or  six  feet.  When  the  cock  is  two  or  three 
feet  high,  the  stalks  or  stems  have  an  inclina- 
tion on  the  outside  downwards.  This  increases 
successively  to  the  top,  which  is  thus  made  to 
form  a  perfect  cone.  To  keep  out  the  rain,  the 
top  may  be  tied  with  a  band  of  straw,  willow 
twig,  or  branch  of  any  other  pliant  wood.  The 
cocks  remain  in  this  state  until  all  the  grains 
are  matured.  This  generally  requires  from  8 
to  12  days.  If  carefully  put  up,  the  cocks  will 
be  sufficiently-  protected  against  bad  weather, 


except  in  case  of  powerful  and  continued  rains, 
which  would  occasion  still  more  damage  to  the 
crop  in  any  other  situation.  The  colza  may 
also  be  put  into  large  stacks,  like  those  of 
wheat  and  other  grain,  very  soon  after  it  has 
been  cut,  and  remain  in  this  situation  for  a 
month  or  two.  This  is,  in  fact,  the  safest  way 
of  keeping  the  colza.  But  this  method  is  more 
expensive  than  that  of  cockir?g,  as  it  requires 
to  be  wagoned  to  the  stack.  The  fermentation 
which  always  takes  place  in  the  cocks  is  very 
favourable  to  the  grain,  giving  it  a  fine  colour, 
and  contributing  qualities  which  are  very  de- 
sirable. The  grain  will  only  be  injured,  if  it  is 
heaped  up  whilst  it  is  yet  green  or  wet- 
When  the  crop  is  small,  it  may  be  taken  at 
once  into  a  barn  and  thrashed  off.  In  its  trans- 
portation the  seed  is  very  apt  to  be  shaken  off, 
on  which  account  it  is  necessary  to  carry  them 
to  the  wagons  in  cloths,  and  the  wagon  itself 
should  be  lined  with  some  coarse  and  cheap 
stuff. 

Large  crops  of  colza  or  rape  are  generally 
thrashed  in  the  field  by  the  feet  of  horses,  the 
place  being  covered  with  strong  hempen  cloth, 
stretched  upon  a  spot  from  which  all  stones, 
&c.,  are  carefully  removed.  If  the  colza  has 
been  put  up  in  cocks,  we  carry  the  whole  cock 
in  a  linen  cloth  eight  feet  square,  which  four 
men  suspend  to  two  long  poles  of  light  wood, 
eleven  feet  in  length,  attached  to  the  two  sides 
of  the  '-nen.  After  spreading  the  cloth  along 
the  side  if  the  cock,  two  other  poles,  of  the 
same  length  as  those  described,  are  passed 
under  the  cock,  which  is  thus  raised  up  altoge- 
ther and  placed  upon  the  cloth,  to  be  carried 
to  the  thrashing-floor.  When  this  is  sufficiently 
filled  with  colza,  spread  evenly  about  two  feet 
in  thickness,  and  first  beaten  down  by  the  feet 
of  the  workman  who  arranges  it,  three  unshod 
horses  are  put  upon  the  floor,  or  three  two-year- 
old  colts.  These  are  trotted  circularly  around 
a  man  who  occupies  the  centre,  and  who  holds 
them  by  a  rein.  After  they  have  been  round 
several  times,  the  colza  is  turned  with  hay- 
forks, and  the  horses  brought  on  again.  In 
this  way  the  thrashing  is  done  very  quickly. 
If  a  very  large  crop,  two  thrashing-floors  should 
be  made,  so  that  when  one  bed  is  preparing, 
another  maybe  thrashing  and  emptying.  After 
being  thrashed,  the  seeds  may  be  housed,  either 
in  the  chaff  or  partially  screened  through  rid- 
dles. When  put  into  granaries,  the  colza 
should  be  spread  in  small  beds,  and  turned 
frequently  for  some  time,  being  subject  to 
heating,  by  which  much  of  their  value  is  lost. 
It  should  only  be  completely  cleaned  when 
perfectly  dry,  or  when  it  is  desirable  to  sell,  as 
it  keeps  so  much  better  whon  mixed  with  more 
or  less  chaff.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  ob- 
serve that  colza  may  be  thrashed  by  means  of 
the  common  thrashing  machines  used  for  grain. 
Spring  Colza. — In  clayey  and  new  soils,  the 
spring  colza  is  generally  more  productive 
than  the  rape,  yet  it  is  always  a  very  uncertain 
crop,  like  those  of  all  oily  grains  which  Hr« 
sown  in  the  spring.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pro- 
fitable plants  that  can  be  grown  in  the  soils 
of  newly-drained  ponds  and  meadows.  Some 
persons,  however,  have  obtained  abundant 
crops  from  ground  atlapted  to  the  growth  of 
2  G  349 


COLTS-FOOT. 


CORD-WOOD. 


wheat,  but  this  has  been  in  particularly  favour- 
able seasons. 

The  spring  colza  should  not  be  sown  as  late 
as  the  rape,  as  its  growth  is  much  slower.  "In 
one  very  favourable  year,"  says  Dombasle, 
"when  I  had  sown  colza  on  the  2d  of  June,  it 
did  not  arrive  at  maturity  soon  enough  to  admit 
of  being  harvested." 

After  the  soil  ^as  been  well  prepared  by  two 
or  three  ploughings,  the  seed  may  be  sown 
broad-cast,  at  the  rate  of  7  or  8  lbs.  per  acre 
on  very  light  ground,  covering  it  with  the  har- 
row. Some  sow  the  colza  in  drills  eighteen 
inches  apart,  and  till  between  the  rows  with  a 
horse-hoe.  But,  in  general,  cultivation,  which 
is  so  beneficial  to  winter  colza  and  rape,  pro- 
duces but  a  poor  effect  on  a  crop  which  occu- 
pies the  soil  so  short  a  time. 

COMFREY,  COMMON  (Symphytum  offici- 
nale). This  wild  plant  grows  by  the  sides  of 
ditches  and  in  moist  places  to  a  height  of  three 
feet.  The  leaves  arie  a  deep  green  colour, 
pointed,  long,  and  rough  to  the  touch.  The 
stalk  is  green,  thick,  and  upright,  and  winged 
at  the  bases  of  the  leaves.  The  flowers  are 
sometimes  white,  and  often  reddish  in  colour. 
The  root  is  thick,  black  externally,  and  white 
within.  It  is  full  of  a  slimy  juice  when  crushed 
or  broken.  The  root  is  the  part  used  medici- 
nally. It  contains  much  mucilage,  and  may 
be  used  as  a  demulcent.  Conserve  of  corafrey 
is  the  best  way  of  preserving  it  through  the 
year.  The  tuberous-rooted  comfrey  (S.  tubero- 
mm)  is  an  herb  of  much  humbler  stature  than 
the  last-named  root;  knobbed  and  branched; 
externally  whitish ;  flowers  fewer,  drooping, 
yellowish-white,  linged  with  green.  (Smith's 
Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  263.)  The  prickly  com- 
frey (S.  aspa-mnum)  is  a  hardy  perennial  of 
gigantic  growth,  introduced  from  Caucasus  as 
an  ornamental  plant,  in  1811,  by  Messrs.  Lod- 
diges,  of  Hackney.  (See  Curtis's  Bot.  Mag.  No. 
929.)  The  attention  of  the  agriculturist  has 
recently  been  directed  to  the  cultivation  of 
comfrey  as  green  food  for  cattle,  by  Mr.  Grant, 
of  Lewisham,  who  speaks  highly  of  its  merits. 
(Baxter's  Jgr.  Lib.) 

COMPOSITION  FOR  TREES.     See  Cak- 

K.EII. 

COMPOST  (Fr.;  Lat.  compositum).  That 
sort  of  manure  which  is  formed  by  the  union 
or  mixture  of  one  or  more  different  ingredients 
with  dung,  or  oiher  similar  matter.  An  excel- 
lent essay,  by  Mr.  James  Dixon,  on  making 
compost  heaps  from  liquids  and  other  sub- 
stances, written  on  the  evidence  of  many  years' 
experience,  was  awarded  a  premium  of  10/.  in 
July,  1839,  by  the  Royal  Agr.  Soc.  of  England, 
and  is  published  in  their  Quart.  Journ.  vol.  i. 
p.  135.     See  also  Fahm-tard  Manuue. 

CONDITION  (Fr.  and  Lat.).  In  horseman- 
ship, a  term  supposed  to  imply  a  horse's  being 
in  a  state  of  strength  and  power,  so  much  above 
the  purpose  he  is  destined  to,  that  he  displays 
it  in  his  figure  and  appearance:  this,  according 
to  Taplin,  signifies  "fine  in  coat,  firm  in  flesh, 
high  in  spirits,  and  fresh  upon  his  legs." 

CONIFEROUS  PLANTS  AND  TREES. 
Such  plants  and  trees  as  bear  cones;  as  the 
fir,  pme,  cedar,  &c. 

CONSERVATORY  (Lar ).  >  i^iazed  struc 
360 


ture,  in  which  exotic  trees  and  shrubs  are 
grown  in  a  bed  or  floor  of  soil.  It  is  distin- 
guished from  an  orangery  by  its  having  a 
glazed  roof,  while  that  of  the  latter  is  opaque, 
and  from  a  green-house  by  the  plants  being  set 
in  the  fine  soil,  instead  of  in  pots  placed  on 
shelves.  The  largest  conservatory  in  the  world 
at  the  present  time  (close  of  1841),  is  that 
erected  in  Chatsworth,  in  Derbyshire,  for  palms 
and  other  tropical  plants,  which  covers  above 
an  acre  of  ground,  and  is  sixty  feet  high. 
(Brande's  Did.  of  Science  and  Art.) 

CONTRACTION  OF  THE  HOOF.  In  far- 
riery, is  a  distorted  state  of  the  horny  substance 
of  the  hoof  in  cattle,  producing  all  the  mis- 
chiefs of  unnatural  and  irregular  pressure  on 
the  soft  parts  contained  in  it,  and  consequently 
a  degree  of  lameness  which  can  only  be  cured 
by  removing  the  cause.  Contraction  of  the 
hoof  rarely  happens,  however,  except  to  those 
animals  whose  hoofs,  for  the  convenience  of 
labour,  are  shod. 

CONVERTIBLE  HUSBANDRY,  or  mixed 
husbandry,  a  term  implying  frequent  change  in 
the  same  field  from  tillage  crops  to  grass,  and 
from  grass  back  to  tillage  crops ;  an  alterna- 
tion of  wheat,  rye,  &c.,  with  root  and  grass 
crops. 

COOP,  or  COUP  (IceX.kuppa;  Hvxi.  kuype). 
A  provincial  name  for  a  tumbrel  or  cart,  en- 
closed with  boards  to  carry  dung,  sand,  grains, 
&c.  It  is  also  a  pen  or  enclosure  where  lambs, 
&c.,  are  shut  up  to  be  fed  or  fattened;  and  a 
kind  of  cage  in  which  poultry  are  enclosed  for 
the  same  purpose. 

COPPICE,  or  COPSE  (supposed  from  the 
Fr.  couper ;  or  Nor.  copper,  to  cut  off).  Low 
woods  cut  at  stated  times  for  poles,  fuel,  &c. 
A  place  overrun  with  brushwood.  Its  wood  is 
called  coppice-wood. 

CORDGRASS  (Spartina  striata.  From  ^ar- 
tine,  a  rope  made  of  broom).  A  genus  of  pe- 
rennial maritime  grasses  found  in  muddy  salt 
marshes  on  the  sea  coast,  of  which  this  is  the 
only  native  variety.  They  are  very  easy  of 
culture,  and  increased  by  divisions  and  seeds. 
Roots,  creeping,  with  strong  fibres ;  whole 
plant,  hard,  tough,  and  rigid;  stems  ten  to 
tw-enty  inches  high,  several  together ;  leaves, 
numerous,  striated,  of  a  dull  green  colour  and 
smooth.  (Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  135 ;  Paxton^s 
Bot.  Diet.) 

Spartina  jiincea. — According  to  the  experi- 
ments of  Sinclair,  this  grass  is  very  late  in  the 
production  of  foliage,  and  inferior  in  nutritive 
qualities  to  most  other  kinds  of  grass.  It,  how- 
ever, yields  well  as  a  single  crop,  the  produce 
from  a  rich,  silicious,  sandy  soil;  at  the  time 
of  flowering,  being  33,350  lbs.,  which  afforded 
of  nutritive  matter  1433  lbs.  It  has  been  tried 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  into  flax ;  and  Sin- 
clair tells  us,  the  results  were  favourable,  inas- 
much as  the  clear  fibre  was  equal  in  strength 
and  softness  to  that  of  flax,  but  it  was  deficient 
in  length.  The  only  advantage  that  appears 
would  result  from  this  plant  affording  flax  is, 
that  it  could  be  produced  on  a  soil  unfit  for  the 
growth  of  flax  or  the  production  of  corn.  It 
flowers  the  second  week  in  August,  and  the 
seed  is  ripe  by  the  middle  of  September.  (HorU 
Gram.  Wob,  p.  373.)     Three  or  four  species  of 


CORD-WOOD. 


CORN,  BROOM-. 


Spartina  are  found  in  the  United  States,  chiefl}' 
confined  to  the  salt  water  districts  along  the 
sea  coast. 

CORD-WOOD.  Small  pieces  of  wood  bro- 
ken up  for  fuel.  It  also  signifies  lop-wood, 
roots,  &c.,  cut  up  and  set  in  cords ;  so  deno- 
minated from  Its  being  formerly  measured 
with  a  cord.  A  statute  cord  of  wood  should 
be  eight  feet  long,  four  feet  high,  and  four 
feet  broad. 

COREOPSIS,  EAR-LEAVED,  (^Coreopsis  aii- 
riculata).  A  hardy  perennial,  a  native  of  North 
America.  It  grows  three  or  four  feet  high,  and 
its  yellow  flowers  bloom  in  August.  The  Co- 
reopsis ddphinifulia  is  also  a  native  of  North 
America,  growing  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
with  yellow  flowers.  Blooms  from  July  to 
October.  Divide  the  roots,  and  plant  it  in  open 
situations. 

CORIANDER,  (Coriandrum  sativum.  From 
ncgic,  a  bug;  the  fresh  leaves,  when  bruised, 
emitting  an  odour  very  similar  to  that  of  this 
vermin).  Coriander  thrives  best  in  a  mode- 
rately rich  but  sandy  loam:  excessive  moisture 
is  equally  inimical  to  it  as  the  want  of  a  regu- 
lar supply.  It  must  have  an  open  and  rather 
sheltered  situation.  It  is  propagated  by  seed, 
which,  if  it  is  required  early,  must  be  sown 
during  February,  in  a  warm  border  or  mode- 
rale  hotbed,  in  either  situation  with  the  protec- 
tion of  a  frame.  This  may  be  repeated  at  the 
close  of  March.  Afterwards  small  crops  may 
be  successionally  inserted  every  month  in  an 
open  bed  or  border  until  September,  in  which 
month,  and  October,  if  required  for  winter's 
supply,  final  crops  must  be  sown  under  a 
frame,  as  in  February.  The  summer  sowings 
should  always  be  of  small  extent,  as  the  plants 
at  that  season  are  very  apt  to  run. 

The  sowings  are  generally  performed  in 
drills  eight  inches  apart,  and  half  an  inch 
deep  ;  the  plants  to  remain  where  sown.  The 
only  cultivation  required  is  to  thin  ihcm  to  four 
inches'  distance  and  to  have  them  kept  clear 
of  weeds  throughout  their  growth.  For  Ihe 
production  of  seed,  some  plants  of  the  early 
spring  sowings  must  be  left  ungathered  from, 
at  about  eight  inches  apart  each  way;  they 
will  perfect  their  seed  in  early  autumn,  being 
in  flower  during  June.  (G.  W.  Johnson's 
Kitchen  Garden.) 

CORK  OAK  (Qitercus  suber).  The  tree  pro- 
ducing the  thick,  light,  and  soft  bark,  out  of 
which  corks  are  made,  is  a  species  of  oak 
found  in  the  southern  parts  of  Europe,  in 
Spain,  France,  and  Italy.  Both  public  and 
private  interest,  says  Michaux,  requires  the  in- 
habitants of  the  southern  coast  of  the  United 
States,  and  especially  of  the  neighbouring 
islands,  to  introduce  and  rear  the  cork  oak,  in 
places  unfit  for  the  culture  of  cotton.  It  should 
also,  he  thinks,  be  introduced  into  West  Ten- 
nessee, and  with  the  more  reason  as  the  vine 
is  there  cultivated  successfully.  It  will  grow 
wherever  the  live  oak  is  found. 

In  size  this  oak  seldom  grows  higher  than 
forty  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  three  feet.  Its 
leaves  are  evergreen,  but  the  greater  part  of 
them  fall  and  are  renewed  in  the  spring.  The 
aoorns  are  large  and  oval,  of  a  sweetish  taste, 
and  eagerly  devoured  by  swine.    The  wood  is 


hard,  compact  and  heavy,  but  not  so  durable  as 
that  of  some  other  kinds  of  oak.  The  bark  be- 
gins to  be  taken  ofi"  at  the  age  of  twenty-five 
years,  the  first  grow  th  being  of  little  value.  If 
is  not,  however,  till  the  tree  is  forty-five  or  fifty 
years  old,  that  the  bark  possesses  all  the  quali- 
ties requisite  for  good  corks,  and  from  that  pe- 
riod it  is  collected  every  eight  or  ten  years. 
The  length  of  time  which  thus  elapses  between 
planting  and  reaping  compensation  renders  it 
very  improbable  that  the  cork  oak  will  ever 
be  extensively  introduced  by  individual  enter- 
prise, into  those  parts  of  the  United  States 
where  it  would  thrive.  Nothing  short  of  go- 
vernment patronage  could  effect  the  object  re- 
commended b)'  Michaux.  The  consumption 
of  corks  is  exceedingly  great;  in  France  alone 
it  amounts  annually  to  125  or  150,000,000. 

CORN.  A  term  which  in  Europe  is  applied 
alike  to  wheat,  barley,  and  the  other  small 
grains,  whilst  in  the  United  States  it  is  used 
almost  exclusively  to  designate  Indian  corn  or 
maize.    See  Maize. 

CORN  BINDWEED.  See  Bixdwekd. 
CORN,  BROOM-.  The  following  account  of 
the  broom-corn,  its  culture  and  uses,  is  the 
substance  of  a  communication  made  by  Mr. 
William  Allen  of  Northampton,  Massachusetts, 
to  Mr.  H.  L.  Ellsworth,  Commissioner  of  Pa- 
tents. 

Of  the  genus  torghum  (broom-grass)  there 
are  four  or  five  species.  Sorghum  sarcharatum 
is  the  broom-corn,  abundantly  cultivated  in 
this  country,  both  fur  the  seed  and  for  its  large 
panicles,  which  are  made  into  the  brooms. 
The  whole  plant  is  saccharine.  Attempts  have 
been  made  in  France  to  extract  sugar  from  it, 
but  Willi  little  success. 

The  other  species  are  the  following:  Sorg» 
hum  dora  (or  holcus  dora),  common  Indian 
millet,  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  but  culti- 
vated in  the  south  of  Europe;  S. Incolor,  or  two- 
coloured  Indian  millet;  S.  cujfroruvi,  caflTres 
Indian  millet,  and  iS.  nigruniy  coal-black  Indian 
millet. 

Of  the  sorghum  sarcharatum  (or  holms  saccha- 
ratus),  broom-corn  there  are  several  varieties 
raised  in  Hampshire  county,  Massachusetts, 
in  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  river,  princi 
pally  in  the  broad  meadows  of  Northampton, 
Hadley,  and  Hatfield.  The  pine  Ir^e  kind  in 
regarded  as  the  poorest  kind,  or  the  least  advan 
tageous  for  cultivation  ;  yet,  as  it  is  the  earliest 
(being  three  weeks  earlier  than  the  large  kind), 
in  a  short  season,  when  its  seed  will  ripen, 
while  the  seeds  of  the  other  kind  fail  to  ripen, 
this  may  prove  the  most  profitable  crop.  The 
North  river  crop  is  ordinarily  the  best  crop;  it 
is  ten  days  earlier  than  the  large  kind,  and 
1  yields  about  720  lbs.  of  the  brush  per  acre- 
[  the  brush  meaning  the  dried  panicles,  cleaned 
of  the  seed,  with  eight  or  twelve  inches  of  the 
J  stalk.  The  New  Jersey,  or  large  kind,  yields 
I  a  thousand  or  eleven  hundred  pounds  of  brush 
I  per  acre.  The  stalks  and  seed  are  large.  In 
good  seasons,  this  is  the  most  profitable  crop. 
But  in  the  present  season  (1842),  owing  to  an 
early  frost  (about  September  23),  much  of  the 
seed  of  this  kind  will  fail  to  ripen.  There  is 
also  the  shirley,  or  black  brush.  Soil  rich, 
alluvial  lands  are  best  adapted  for  the  broom- 

351 


CORN,  BROOM-. 


CORN,  BROOM-. 


com,  more  especially  if  warmly  situated,  pro- 
tected by  hills,  and  well  manured. 

Method  of  planting.  —  The  broom-corn  is 
planted  in  rows,  about  2^  or  3  feet  apart,  so 
that  a  horse  may  pass  between  them  with  a 
plough,  or  cultivator,  or  harrow.  The  hills  in 
each  row  are  from  18  inches  to  2  feet  apart, 
or  farther,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  soil. 
The  quantity  of  seed  to  be  planted  is  estimated 
very  differently  by  different  farmers — some  say 
that  half  a  peck  is  enough  per  acre,  while  others 
plant  half  a  bushel,  and  some  a  bushel,  in  or- 
der to  make  it  sure  that  the  land  shall  be  well 
stocked.  The  rule  with  some  is  to  cast  a  tea- 
spoonful,  or  30  or  40  seeds,  in  a  hill ;  the  ma- 
nure at  the  time  of  planting  should  be  put  into 
the  hill,  and  old  manure  or  compost  is  preferred, 
as  being  most  free  from  worms. 

CuVivation.  —  The  broom-corn  should  be 
ploughed  and  hoed  three  times — the  last  time 
when  about  three  feet  high,  though  some  hoe 
it  when  it  is  six  feet  high,  and  when  they  are 
concealed  by  it  as  they  are  toiling  in  the  field. 
The  number  of  stalks  in  a  hill  should  be  from 
seven  to  ten.  If  there  are  only  five  or  six  stalks, 
they  will  be  larger  and  coarser ;  if  there  are 
about  eight,  the  brush  will  be  finer  and  more 
valuable.  In  the  first  hoeing,  the  supernume- 
rary stalks  should  be  pulled  up. 

Harvesting. — As  the  frost  kills  the  seed,  the 
broom-corn  is  harvested  at  the  commencement 
of  the  first  frost.  The  long  stalks  are  bent 
down  at  2  or  2^  feet  from  the  ground ;  and  by 
laying  those  of  two  rows  across  each  other 
obliquely,  a  kind  of  table  is  made  by  every  two 
rows,  with  a  passage  between  each  table,  for 
the  convenience  of  harvesting.  After  drying 
for  a  few  days,  the  brush  is  cut,  leaving  of  the 
stalks  from  6  to  12  inches.  The  longer  it  is 
cut,  of  course,  the  more  it  will  weigh ;  and,  if 
the  purchaser  does  not  object,  the  benefit  will 
accrue  to  the  farmer.  However,  the  dry  stalk 
weighs  but  little ;  if  its  weight  is  excessive,  the 
purchaser  sometimes  requires  a  deduction 
from  the  weight.  As  it  is  cut,  it  is  spread  on 
the  tables,  still  farther  to  dry.  As  it  is  carried 
into  the  barn,  some  bind  it  in  sheaves;  and 
this  is  a  great  convenience  for  the  further  ope- 
ration of  extracting  the  seed.  Others  throw 
the  brush  into  the  cart  or  wagon,  unbound. 

Scraping.  —  The  process  of  extracting  the 
seed  is  called  "  scraping  the  brush."  Two  iron 
horizontal  scrapers  are  prepared — one  movable, 
to  be  elevated  a  little,  so  that  a  handful  of 
brush  may  be  introduced  between  them.  The 
upper  scraper  is  then  pressed 
down  with  "one  hand,  and  the 
brush  drawn  through  with  the 
other,  the  seed  being  scraped 
off.  This  is  the  old  method.  A 
newly  invented  scraper  is  su- 
perseding the  old  one.  It  is  an 
upright  instrument,  of  elastic 
wood  or  steel,  inserted  in  a 
bench  of  a  convenient  height 
for  the  operator. 

The  form  is  as  follows : 

a  is  a  piece  of  wood  or  steel, 

immovable ;  b  and  c  are  pieces 

which  are  elastic,  movable  to 

Ihe  right  and  left  at  the  top,  but 

352 


fastened  to  the  central  piece  below.  The  de 
gree  of  elasticity  may  be  regulated  by  wedges 
in  the  planks  d  and  / — wedges  in  .the  hole 
through  which  the  pieces  pass. 

Aquantity  of  brush  is  taken  in  the  hand,  and 
brought  down  upon  the  top  of  this  instrument 
As  it  is  forced  down,  and  drawn  towards  the 
body,  it  separates  the  elastic  sticks  from  the  cen- 
tral piece,  but  their  elasticity  presses  sufiicient- 
ly  on  the  brush,  so  that  the  seed  is  scraped  ofil 

The  advantage  of  this  scraper  is,  that  both 
hands  may  be  applied  to  the  brush,  instead  of 
only  one  hand,  as  in  the  other  kind,  and  the 
elastic  power  of  nature  is  substituted  for  the 
pressure  of  one  of  the  hands.  The  instru- 
ment also  seems  to  double  the  scraping 
surface.  The  instrument  was  invented  at 
Hartford.  I  have  been  told  it  has  not  been 
patented. 

The  following  plan  may  therefore  be  useful 
The  operator  stands  at  the  end  A. 


The  lower  plank  may  rest  on  the  barn  floor, 
or  have  short  legs.  The  upper  oblique  has  a 
hole,  through  which  the  scraper  passes,  and 
down  which  the  seed  may  fall.  Each  side  of 
the  instrument,  a  wedge  may  be  inserted,  to 
regulate  its  elasticity,  or  by  some  other  con- 
trivance this  object  may  be  secured.  In  scrap- 
ing, the  panicles  must  first  be  laid  evenly 
together,  and  the  stalks  taken  in  the  hand.  If 
this  is  not  done  in  the  field,  and  bundles  not 
formed,  then  must  it  be  done  with  considerable 
labour  at  the  time  of  scraping  in  the  barn. 

Product. — A  common  crop  is  700  to  800  lbs. 
per  acre.  There  have  been  raised  1000  and 
1100  lbs.  per  acre,  with  80  to  100  bushels  of 
seed.    The  large  kind  grows  eleven  feet  high. 

Value  of  the  crop. — About  the  year  1836  or 
1837,  the  brush  sold  for  12^  cents  a  pound; 
and  one  farmer  in  Northampton  sold  his  crop 
standing,  unharvested,  at  $100  per  acre.  Since 
then,  the  price  has  been  decreasing.  This  year 
it  has  been  4  and  5  cents.  At  6  cents,  the 
farmer,  for  800  lbs.,  gets  §48  an  acre,  besides 
60  or  70  bushels  of  seed,  worth  a  third  of  a 
dollar  a  bushel — so  that  he  receives  $70  or  up- 
wards from  an  acre. 

Good  farmers  regard  the  seed  alone  as  equal 
to  a  crop  of  oats  from  the  same  land.  Some 
land  owners  have  rented  their  land  for  broom- 
corn,  at  $25  per  acre,  they  putting  on  five  or 
six  loads  of  manure. 

One  farmer,  who,  a  few  years  ago,  cultivated 
50  acres  in  broom-corn,  must  have  had  an  al- 
most unequalled  income  for  a  New  England 
farmer. 

Quantity.  —  In  Northampton,  probably  200 
acres  are  raised ;  in  Hatfield,  300  ;  in  Hadley, 
400;  in  other  towns,  Whateley,  Deerfield, 
Greenfield,  Easthampton,  Southampton,  South- 
Hadley,  Springfield,  and  Longmeadow,  perhaps 
300  or  400  acres  more ;  in  all,  in  the  valley  of 


CORN  CALE. 


CORN  LAWS. 


the  Connecticut,  1200  or  1300  acres  ;  the  pro- ! 
duct,  in  brush  and  seed,  worth  $1,000,000.         I 

Manufacture  of  brooms. — Individuals   tie   up  } 
brooms  with  wire  or  twine.     The  expense  is 
greater  for  materials  and  labour  when  wire  is 
used. 

The  turned  broom  handles  cost,  as  delivered, 
onlv  one  dollar  a  hundred— one  cent  each.  The 
expense  of  other  materials  and  labour  in  making 
a  broom  is  6  cents,  or  on  the  whole  about  7  cents. 
In  a  good  broom  a  pound  and  a  half  of  brush 
is  employed,  which  at  the  present  price  of  5 
cents,  would  be  7^  cents,  so  that  a  broom  made 
with  wire  costs  now  about  14^  cents.  A  ma- 
nufacturer recently  went  to  Boston,  and  could 
get  an  offer  of  only  12  cents,  or  $12  per  hun- 
dred, for  his  brooms ;  at  which  rate  he  could 
not  afford  to  sell  them  and  chose  to  retain  them. 
Brooms  are  made  with  brush  weighing  J  of  a 
pound,  1  pound,  H  pound,  and  1^  pound.  The 
brush  is  whitened  by  the  manufacturer.  It  is 
placed  in  a  large  tight  box,  and  bleached  by  the 
fumes  of  sulphur;  but  this  process  is  said  to 
weaken  the  brush.  Who  would  think  of  whiten- 
ing broom  brush,  for  beauty  1  Thus  it  is  that 
fashion  descends  into  the  vale  of  life,  and  to  the 
humblest  of  concerns.  Why  should  not  the 
housemaid  wield  a  beautiful  broom,  with  white 
brush  and  variously  interlaced  wire,  and  po- 
lished and  variously  coloured  handle  1 

MisccUanemis. — A  few  remarks  will  be  added, 
some  of  which  were  omitted  in  their  proper 
places.  If  the  stalks  are  cut  before  the  seed 
is  ripe,  they  are  better,  stronger,  more  durable, 
than  if  cut  after  the  seed  is  ripe.  In  this  case, 
the  farmer  would  lose  the  value  of  the  seed. 
He  of  course  will  not  submit  to  this  loss,  un- 
less it  is  made  up  to  him  by  the  increased 
price  of  the  brush. 

The  seed  is  used  for  feeding  horses,  cattle, 
and  swine.  It  is  ground  and  mixed  with  In- 
dian meal,  and  is  regarded  as  excellent  food — 
it  weighs  forty  pounds  a  bushel. 

Mr.  Shipman  of  Hadley  is  the  greatest  ma- 
nufacturer of  brooms  in  the  valley  of  the  Con- 
necticut. If  he  employs,  on  an  average,  ten 
hands,  and  each  hand  makes  25  brooms  per 
day,  the  number  made  in  a  vear  would  be 
78,000.    It  is  said  he  has  made'lOO.OOO. 

The  brush,  when  it  is  put  in  the  barn,  should 
be  placed  on  a  scaffold,  so  as  to  be  exposed  to 
a  circulation  of  the  air,  that  it  may  dry  and 
not  mould.  For  all  the  purposes  of  use,  a 
broom  made  with  twine  is  equal  to  one  made 
with  wire ;  and  a  man  can  make  several  more 
of  them  in  a  day. 

Mr.  Shipman  uses  300  or  400  lbs.  of  large 
twine,  at  20  to  30  cents  a  pound,  and  2,000  lbs. 
of  small  twine,  at  31  cents.  Perhaps  he  ma- 
nufactures only  ^  part  of  the  brooms  manu- 
factured in  Hadley. 

At  the  price  of  20  cents,  the  price  of  brooms 
a  few  years  ago,  the  broom  manufacture  of 
Hadley  would  thus  amount  to  $160,000. 

It  is  probable  that  the  extended  cultivation 
of  the  broom-corn  will  reduce  the  profits  on 
this  product  to  the  average  profits  of  good 
farming. 

CORN  CALE.  A  provincial  name  for  char- 
ock. 

CORN-CROWFOOT  {Ranwiculu»  arverms). 
45 


A  weed  very  common  among  corn.  Root 
fibrous.  It  has  an  upright  stalk ;  the  leaves  ar© 
of  a  pale,  shining  green,  and  cut  into  long,  nar- 
row, acute  segments.  The  lemon-coloured 
flowers  are  much  smaller  and  paler  than  those 
of  the  crowfoot  which  is  found  in  pasture- 
grounds,  and  the  seed-vessels  are  very  remark- 
able, being  covered  all  over  with  prickles.  It 
is  very  acrid  and  dangerous  to  cattle,  though 
they  are  said  to  eat  it  greedily.  M.  Brugnon, 
who  has  given  a  particular  account  of  its  quali- 
ties, relates,  that  three  ounces  of  the  juice  killed 
a  dog  in  four  minutes.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol. 
iii.  p.  53.)     See  Crowfoot. 

CORN-CUTTING  MACHINES.  Machines 
for  cutting  wheat  and  other  grains  by  horse 
power,  of  which  none  have  hitherto  been  pro- 
duced in  England  whose  merits  have  insured 
their  adoption  by  the  farmer.  Of  the  several 
English  patents  obtained,  that  called  Smith's 
Reaping  Machine,  is  perhaps  the  most  approved. 
For  a  minute  description  of  this,  with  drawings, 
see  Encyc.  Britannica,  vol.  2,  part  1.  JSov  Mow- 
lya  ANn  Reapixo  Machine. 

CORNEL  TREE.     See  Dogwood. 

CORNET.  In  farriery,  a  name  sometimes 
given  to  the  instrument  used  in  venesection, 
called  a  fleam. 

CORN,  INDIAN.     See  Maize. 

CORN  LAWS.  The  regulation  of  the  sup- 
ply, and  consequently,  the  value  of  corn  in 
different  countries  in  Europe,  has  been  an  ob- 
ject of  legislation  from  a  very  remote  period ; 
a  public  interference,  varying,  however,  in  de- 
gree, from  that  of  protective  taxation,  to  that 
which  was  intended  to  be  prohibitory.  Of  the 
first  kind  are  the  modern  English  corn  laws; 
of  the  last  are  the  present  local  regulations  of 
Paris,  by  which  bread  is  sold  always  at  the 
same  price,  both  in  bountiful  seasons  or  in 
those  of  scarcity.  It  would  occupy  too  much 
space  to  follow  these,  generally  necessary  in- 
terferences with  the  sale  of  corn,  which  have 
occurred  from  the  days  of  the  Athenians  (who 
depended  upon  Thrace  for  their  daily  bread),  or 
from  the  popular  broils  about  bread,  which 
were  long  a  source  of  disorder  to  Rome,  even 
in  its  splendour.  In  England,  there  are  traces 
of  a  corn  law  nearly  six  centuries  since.  By 
the  statute  Judicium  Pillorie,  51  Hen.  3  (1266), 
it  is  directed  that  the  municipal  authorities  of 
certain  towns  should  inquire  of  the  price  of 
corn.  By  the  34  Ed.  3,  c.  20  (1360),  the  ex- 
portation of  corn  was  prohibited;  but  in  1436, 
by  the  15  H.  6,  c.  2,  it  was  allowed.  In  1463, 
however,  by  the  3  Ed.  4,  c.  2,  the  necessity 
(which  was  declared  in  the  preamble)  arose 
of  preventing  "the  labourers  and  occupiers  of 
land  from  being  grievously  endamaged  by 
bringing  com  out  of  other  lands  when  com 
of  the  growing  of  this  realm  is  at  a  low  price." 
It  then  declares  that  wheat  shall  not  be  import- 
ed, unless  wheat  be  sold  at  the  place  of  import 
for  6s.  8d.  per  quarter.  In  1532,  by  the  25  H, 
8,  c.  2,  it  was  enacted  that  the  exportation  of 
corn  should  cease,  and  the  price  be  regulated 
by  the  lords  of  the  council,  the  preamble  of  the 
bill  very  sensibly  remarking,  that  "dearth, 
scarcity,  good  and  cheap  and  plenty  of,  &c., 
victuals  necessary  for  man's  sustenance  hap- 
peneth,  riseth,  and  chanceth  of  so  many  and 
2a  2  353 


CORN  LAWS. 


CORN  LAWS. 


•livers  occasions,  that  it  is  very  hard  and  diffi- 
cult to  put  any  certain  prices  to  any  buch 
things."  In  1534  (1  P.  &  M.  c.  5),  corn  was 
again  allowed  to  be  exported  when  the  price 
of  wheat  did  not  exceed  6s.  8d.  per  quarter. 
This  standard  was  increased  to  10s.  by  the  5 
Eliz.  c.  5  (1563)  ;  and  in  1571  (13  Eliz.  c.  13), 
the  exportation  was  directed  to  be  regulated 
from  average  prices  by  the  lords  of  the  council. 
In  1807,  the  bounty  upon  the  exportation  of 
grain  finally  ceased. 

According  to  the  English  Corn  Law  Act, 
existing  in  1842,  corn  inspectors  are  appointed 
in  287  towns,  to  transmit  returns  to  the  Board 
of  Trade,  who  compute  the  average  weekly 
price  of  each  description  of  grain,  and  the  ag- 
gregate average  price  for  the  previous  six 
weeks,  and  transmit  a  certified  copy  to  the 
collectors  of  customs  at  the  different  out-ports. 
The  aggregate  average  regulates  the  duty  on 
importation  according  to  the  following  scale; — 

If  imported  from  any  Foreign  Country. 

Wheat. — Whenever  the  average  price  of  wheat,  made  up 
and  published  in  the  manner  required  by  law,  shall  be 


for  every  quarter 

Under  51s.  the  duty  shall  be  for  every  quarter 

51s.  and  under  52s.      -        -        -        -        , 


52s. 
65s. 
56s. 
57s. 
58s. 
59s. 
60s. 
61s. 


64s. 
65s. 
66s. 
69s. 
70s. 
71s. 
72s. 


55s. 
56s. 
57s. 
68s. 
59s. 
60s. 
6is. 
62s. 
6.?s. 
64s. 
65s. 
66s. 
69s. 
70s. 
71s. 


—         73s. 
73s.  and  upwards 


£    8. 

1  0 
0  19 
0  18 
0  17 
0  16 
0  15 
0  14 
0  13 
0  12 
0  11 
0  10 
0  9 
0  8 
0  7 
0  6 
0  6 
0  4 
0  3 
0  2 
0    1 


Barley. — Whenever  the  average  price  of  barley,  made 
up  and  published  in  the  manner  required  by  law,  shall 
be  for  every  quarter 

Under  26s.  the  duty  shall  be  for  every  quarter 
26s.  and  under  27s.      ----- 


27s.  — 

30s.  — 

31s.  — 

32.?.  — 

83s.  — 

34s.  — 

35s.  — 

36s.  — 


30«. 
31s. 
32s. 
33s. 
34s. 
35s. 
36s. 
37s. 


37s.  and  upwards 


Jb  S. 
0  II 
0  10 
0  9 
0  8 
0  7 
0  6 
0  5 
0  4 
0  3 
0  2 
0    1 


OWs.— Whenever  the  average  price  of  oats,  made  up 
and  pubUahed  in  the  manner  required  by  law,  shall  be 
for  every  quarter  £ 

Under  19s.  the  duty  shall  be  for  every  quarter      0 
19«.  and  under  20«.      -       .       .       -       _    o 


»».         —        93s. 0 

S3«.         —        24«.      -        -        -        -        .    0 

84s.         —         25*. 0 

»5».         —        a6« 0 

S6».         —         27*.      -        -        -        -        _    0 

27s.  and  upwards        -        -        -        .        .    o 

Rye,  Pease,  and  Beans.— Whenever  the  average  price  of 

rye,  or  of  pease,  or  of  beans,  made  up  and  published  in 

the  manner  required  by  law,  shall  be  for  every  qua  r- 


Qndcr  30s.  the  duty  shall  be  for  every  quarter 

30s.  and  under  33s.  -        .        -        -        . 

S3s.         —        34s. 

34s.         —         36s. 

35s.         —         36s. 

36s.         —         37s. 

37s.         —         38s.  -        -        -        -        . 

38s.         —         39s. 

39s.         —         40s. 

40s.         —         41s. 

41s.         —         42s.  -        -        -        -        . 

42s.  and  upwards  -        -        -        .        . 
354 


£  s.  i. 

0  11  6 

0  10  6 
0    9 


Wheat  Meal  and  Flour.— For  every  barrel,  being  196  lb., 
a  duty  equal  in  amount  to  the  duty  payable  on  38^  gal- 
lons of  wheal. 

Oatmeal.— For  every  quantity  of  18H  lbs.,  a  duty  equal 
in  amount  to  the  duty  payable  on  a  quarter  of  oats. 

Maize  or  Indian  Corn,  Buckwheat,  Bear  or  Bigg.— For 
every  quarter,  a  duty  equal  in  amount  to  the  duty 
payable  on  a  quarter  of  barley. 

See  Wheat. 

An  Account  showing  the  total  Quantities  of  Wheat 
and  Wheat  Flour  imported  from  Foreign  Cow%^ 
tries  and  from  British  Colonies. 


Quantities  entered  for  Home  ! 

Corisuiiiplion  in 

the  United  Kinr- 

dom  from  the  passing  of  llie  Act 

9  Geo.  4.  c.  eo,  (15th  July,  1828k 

to  the  5th  January,  1841. 

Foreign. 

Wh'eat. 

Wheat  Flour. 

L.    f.    d. 

'0    10  per  quarter  - 

3,907,'981 

cwts. 
1,276.731 

0    2    8         — 

- 

2,788,277 

835,406 

- 

1,994,102 

518,897 

0  10    8          — 

- 

783,280 

238,592 

- 

648,348 

466,4.32 

0  16    8          — 

- 

298,677 

213,707 

0  18    8          — 

- 

76,200 

44,788 

10    8          •— 

- 

377,667 

96,538 

1 

118          — 

- 

107,005 

5,861 

m 

12    8          — 

- 

13,664 

5,940 

^ 

13    8          — 

- 

138,775 

66,5.30 

- 

37,329 

2,070 

V 

16    8          — 

- 

27,153 

1,555 

■S, 

16    8          — 

- 

4,724 

654 

'^ 

17    8          — 

- 

1,882 

690 

c 

18    8          — 

- 

134,276 

1,.377 

19    8          — 

- 

61,649 

101 

1^ 

1  10    8          — 

- 

13,955 

756 

- 

1,496 

87 

■— 

1  12    8          — 

- 

432 

63 

1  13    8          — 
1  14    8          — 
1  15    8          - 

': 

908 
385 
154 

511 
164 
24 

<u 

1  16    8          — 

- 

326 

42 

J= 

1  17    8          — 

- 

314 

24 

= 

1  18    8          — 

- 

154 

72 

?i 

1  19    8          — 

- 

151 

61 

^ 

2    0    8          — 

- 

3 

2    2    8          — 

- 

7 

3 

2    3    8          - 

- 

4 

7 

2    4    8          — 

- 

16 

13 

2    6    8          — 

- 

62 

33 

2    6    8          — 

- 

10 

166 

2    7    8          — 

_ 

7 

17 

2    8    8          — 

- 

3 

2 

2    9    8          — 

_ 

2 

36 

.2  10    8          — 

. 

8 

56 

Ad 

mitted  at  an  ad  valorevi 

d 

uiy,  being  damaged 

_ 

2,629 

Admitted  duty  free,  being 

damaged 

. 

_ 

350 

Admitted    duty    free, 

for 

seed      -        -        - 
Total 

71 

— 

11,322,086 

3,768,335 

British  C 

OLONIAL. 

When  the  rate  ")rt  «  „  , 
of  duty  on     t;§P" 
wheat  was  j 

qr. 

129,858 
393,407 

426,K»§ 
696,996 

Total 

523,265 

1,023,805 

The  average  price  of  wheat  in  Great  Britain  in 
the  year  1840  was   -        -        -        -       per  qr.        66    4 

Average  price  of  wheat  at  Rotterdam       -        -        49  11 
"  "  at  Odessa     -        -        -        24    9 

'•  "  at  Dantsic    -        -        -        39    8 

Total  number  of  quarters  of  wheat  and  wheat 
flour  imported  and  entered  for  home  con- 
sumption         qrs.  2,401,366 

Total  number  of  quarters  of  colonial  wheat 
and  wheat  flour  imported       -        _        -        -     148,720 

Total  number  of  quarters  of  foreign  wheat  and 
wheat  flour  imported      -        -        -        -        -2,284,482 

Total  number  of  quarters  of  wheat  and  wheat 
flour  imported 2,433,202 

Grain,  if  the  produce  of,  and  imported  from 
any  British  possessions  in  North  America,  or 


CORN  LAWS. 

elsewhere  out  of  Europe,  are  charged  the  fol- 
lowing rates  of  duty : — 

Wheat. — Whenever  the  average  price,  made  according  to 
law,  shall  be 


Under  55;.-.  for  every  a.  d. 
quarter,   the  duty 

per  qt.  shall  be  5  0 

5s.  and  under  56«.  4  0 


«.  d. 

56a.  and  under  57s.     3  0 

57s.  and  under  5Ss.    2  0 

56s.  and  upwards,      1  0 


BarZry.— Whenever  the  average  price  of  barley,  made 
up  according  to  law,  nUall  be 

Under  28s.  per  quar-    s.    d.   I  »•  ti- 

ter, the  duly  per  qt.  I  29s.  and  under  30s.      1    6 

shall  be  2    6     I  30s.  and  under  31s.      1    0 

2Ss.  and  under  29s.     2    0    I  31s.  and  upwards,       0    6 

Oots.— Whenever  the  average  price  of  oats,  made  up 
according  to  law,  shall  be 

Under  22s.  for  every    s.    d.   i  ».  d. 

quarter,  the  duty  22s.  and  under  93s.     1    6 

per  <ii.  shall  be         2     0    1 23s.  and  upwards,       0    6 

Rije,  Peas,  and  Beans.— Whenever  the  average  price  of 
these  articles  shall  be. 


Under  3Us.  for  every 
quarter,  the  duty 
per  ql.  shall  be 
30s.  and  under  31s. 
31s.  and  under  32s. 


32s.  and  under  33s. 
33s.  and  under  34s. 
3U.  and  upwards, 


s.  d. 

1  6 

1  0 

0  6 


Wheat-meal  and  Flour.— Tox  every  barrel,  being  198  lbs. 

a  duty  equal  to  that  payable  on  2S\  g.illons  of  wheat. 
Oatneal.—\%{k  lbs.  pays  a  duty  equal  to  that  charged  on 

a  quarter  of  oats. 
Maize  or   Indian  Com,   Buckwheat,  Bear  or  Big^g;   pay 

a  duty  equal  per  quarter  to  that  charged  per  qr.  on  a 

quarter  of  barley. 

AvEnACE  Prices  of  Wueat  from   1670. 

The  Mean  of  two  half-yearly  Prices  ( Winchester 
measure),  from  the  Register  kept  in  the  Books  of 
Eton  College, 


r«n. 

1. 

d. 

Toirt. 

». 

Tear* 

«.  4. 

1670  - 

37 

0 

1704 

. 

41 

1738 

. 

31  6 

1671  - 

37 

4 

1705 

- 

26 

17.19 

. 

33  % 

1672  - 

.•?7 

0 

1706 

. 

23 

1740 

. 

48  10 

1673  - 

41 

5 

1707 

_ 

«5 

1741 

. 

41  9 

1674  - 

61 

0 

1708 

. 

36 

1748 

_ 

S8  5 

1675  - 

52 

I 

1709 

_ 

69 

1743 

. 

39  0 

1676  - 

33 

9 

1710 

. 

69 

1744 

_ 

99  0 

1677  - 

7n 

4 

1711 

_ 

48 

1745 

. 

34  3 

1678  - 

52 

5 

1712 

. 

41 

17M 

. 

34  8 

1679  - 

48 

0 

1713 

. 

45 

1747 

. 

30  11 

1680  - 

40 

0 

1714 

. 

44 

1748 

. 

32  10 

1681  - 

41 

5 

1715 

. 

38 

1749 

. 

32  10 

1692  - 

39 

I 

1716 

. 

42 

1750 

_ 

28  10 

1683  - 

35 

6 

1717 

_ 

40 

1751 

_ 

34  2 

1654  - 

39 

1 

1718 

. 

34 

8 

1752 

. 

40  8 

1685  - 

41 

5 

1719 

. 

30  11 

1753 

. 

39  8 

1686  - 

30 

2 

1720 

. 

32  10 

1754 

. 

30  9 

1687  - 

31 

8 

1721 

_ 

33 

4 

1755 

. 

29  11 

1688  - 

23 

1 

1722 

_ 

32 

0 

1756 

. 

40  1 

1689  - 

26 

8 

1723 

_ 

30 

9 

1757 

. 

53  4 

1690  - 

30 

9 

1724 

. 

32  10 

1758 

. 

44  5 

1691  - 

29  11 

1725 

_ 

43 

1 

1759 

. 

35  3 

1692  - 

41 

9 

1726 

_ 

40  10 

1760 

. 

32  5 

1693  - 

60 

1 

1727 

_ 

37 

4 

1761 

. 

26  9 

1694  - 

56  10 

1728 

. 

48 

3 

1762 

. 

34  8 

1695  - 

47 

1 

1729 

_ 

42 

2 

1763 

_ 

36  1 

1696  - 

56 

0 

1730 

. 

32 

5 

1764 

. 

41  5 

1697  - 

53 

4 

1731 

. 

29 

4 

1765 

- 

48  0 

1698  - 

60 

8 

1732 

_ 

23 

8 

1766 

. 

43  1 

1699  - 

56 

0 

1733 

. 

25 

2 

1767 

_ 

57  4 

1700  - 

35 

6 

1734 

_ 

33 

5 

1768 

. 

53  9 

1701  - 

31 

8 

1735 

_ 

38 

2 

1769 

. 

40  7 

170-2  - 

26 

0 

1736 

. 

35  10 

1770 

. 

43  6 

1703  - 

32 

0 

1737 

- 

33 

5 

{Parliamentary  Paper, 

No.  100.— Session  1826.) 

The  average  Prices  as  published  by  the  Receiver  of 
Corn  Returns  from  1771  to  1840. 


Winchester 

Measure. 

Year^     ». 

d. 

y«r». 

f.  d. 

Yeut. 

t.  d. 

1771  -  47 

2 

1779  - 

33  8 

1787 

-  41  2 

1772  -  50 

8 

1780  - 

35  8 

1788 

-  45  0 

1773  -  51 

0 

1781  - 

44  8 

1789 

-  51  2 

1774  -  52 

8 

1782  - 

47  10 

1790 

-  53  2 

1775  -  48 

4 

1783  - 

52  8 

1791 

-  47  2 

1776  -  38 

2 

1784  - 

48  10 

1792 

-  41  9 

1777  -  45 

6 

1785  - 

41  10 

1793 

-  47  10 

1778  -  42 

0 

1786  - 

38  10 

17M 

-  50  8 

CORN  MOTH. 

Yean. 
1795 

».  d. 
-  72  11 

Y«»ni. 
1811 

..  d. 
92  5 

Imperial 

MeilsiirA 

1796 

-  76  3 

1812 

122  8 

s.      d. 

1797 

-  52  2 

1813 

106  6 

1827' 

_ 

56  9 

1798 

-  50  4 

1814 

72  1 

1828 

. 

60  5 

1799 

-  66  11 

1815 

63  8 

1829 

. 

66  3 

1800 

-  110  5 

1816 

76  2 

1830 

. 

64  3 

1801 

-  115  11 

1817 

94  0 

1831 

. 

66  4 

1S02 

-  67  9 

1818 

83  8 

1832 

_ 

58  8 

1803 

-  57  1 

1819 

72  3 

1833 

_ 

52  11 

1S04 

-  60  5 

1820 

65  10 

1834 

_ 

46  3 

1805 

-  87  1 

1821 

54  5 

1835 

_ 

39  4 

1806 

-  76  9 

1822 

43  3 

1836 

. 

48  6 

1807 

-  73  1 

1823 

51  9 

1837 

_ 

55  10 

1808 

-  78  11 

1821 

62  0 

1838 

. 

frl  7 

1809 

-  M  5 

1825 

66  6 

1839 

. 

70  8 

1810 

-  103  3 

1826 

56  11 

1840 

- 

66  4 

(Thomtoii  on  the  Com  Laws ;  Pari.  Papers;  StU' 

tutes  at  large.) 

By  an  act  of  Congress,  approved  in  August, 
1842,  the  duli^  payable  on  grain,  &c.,  imported 
into  the  United  States,  are  as  follows  : — 

On  wheat,  25  cents  per  bushel ;  barley,  20 
cents;  rye,  15  cents;  oats,  10  cents;  Indian 
corn  or  maize,  10  cents  ;  wheat  flour,  70  cents 
per  112  lbs.;  Indian  meal,  25  cents  per  113 
lbs. ;  starch,  2  cents  per  lb. ;  pearl,  or  hulled 
barley,  2  cents  per  lb.;  (potatoes,  10  cents  per 
bushel.) 

CORN  MARYGOLD  (Chrysanthemum  s*^'-- 
turn).  In  Scotland,  this  is  called  yellow  gowafus, 
quills,  goals ;  in  Kent,  England,  yellow  bottle:  in 
Norfolk,  budland;  midland  counties,  golils,  gimldsy 
or  gowls;  north  of  England,  gowlans,  goldenSy 
gules.  Linnaeus  says  there  is  a  law  in  Denmark 
which  obliges  the  farmers  to  extirpate  this 
weed.  He  recommends  the  land  to  be  manured 
in  autumn,  summer-fallowed,  and  harrowed  in 
about  five  days  after  sowing.  Martyn  says  it 
can  only  be  eradicated  by  hand  before  the 
seeds  ripen.  It  is  abundant  in  grain  and  turnip 
fields,  with  its  blue-green  leaves,  and  broad, 
brilliant,  yellow  flowers.  The  stalks  are 
round,  stifi',  and  branched,  growing  two  feet 
high.  The  leaves  stand  irregularly,  and  they 
are  deeply  indented  at  the  sides,  besides  being 
long  and  ver>'  broad,  smallest  at  their  base,  and 
growing  broader  as  they  advance  to  the  end. 
The  root  is  tapering  and  fibrous.  {Smith's  Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  450.)    See  Ox-Ete  D.vist. 

CORN  MOTH  {Tinea  granella).  Among  the 
insects  most  injurious  in  their  attacks  on  grain, 
when  laid  up  in  magazines,  is  the  larva  of  this 
small  moth  (the  mottled  woollen  moth  of  Ha- 
worth),  the  caterpillar  of  which  is  also  called 
in  England  the  white  corn  worm.  The  perfect 
moth  measures,  from  the  head  to  the  tips  of  the 
wings,  six  or  seven  lines.  The  insect  appears 
in  that  country  as  a  moth  in  May,  June,  and 
July.  It  frequents  granaries  and  other  build- 
ings where  grain  is  stored,  sits  at  rest  in  the 
day-time,  and  only  flies  about  at  night.  It  is  in 
the  summer  months,  from  May  to  August,  and 
sometimes  in  September,  that  the  larvae  devour 
the  different  sorts  of  grain ;  and  they  attack  rye, 
oats,  and  barley,  with  the  same  zest  as  wheat. 
From  September  to  May  the  larva  is  sought 
for  in  vain  in  the  corn-heaps ;  it  has  retired 
into  the  cracks  and  fissures  of  the  floor  and 
walls,  and  moreover  has  concealed  itself  in  its 
cocoon.  It  does  not  reappear  till  April  or  May 
and  then  in  a  very  different  form ;  namely,  as 
a  moth,  which  flutters  about  the  heaps  of  store- 
corn,  and  deposits  upon  them  the  invisible 
germ  of  future  destruction.     After  a  few  days 

355 


CORN  MOTH. 


CORN  MOTH. 


have  elapsed,  small  whitish  worm  maggots,  or 
more  properly  speaking  larvee,  p -oceed  from 
the  eggs,  and  immediately  penetrate  into  the 
grain,  carefully  closing  up  the  opening  with 
tlieir  white  roundish  excrement,  which  they 
glue  together  by  a  fine  web. 

"The  European  grain-moth  {Tinea  granella), 
in  its  perfected  state,  is,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "  a 
winged  insect,  between  three  and  four-tenths 
of  an  inch  long  from  the  head  to  the  tip  of  its 
wings,  and  expands  six-tenths  of  an  inch.  It 
has  a  whitish  tuft  on  its  forehead  ;  its  long  and 
narrow  wings  cover  its  back  like  a  sloping 
roof,  are  a  little  turned  up  behind,  and  are 
edged  with  a  wide  fringe.  Its  fore-wings  are 
glossy  like  satin,  and  are  marbled  with  white 
or  gray,  light  brown,  and  d^k  brown  or 
blackish  spots,  and  there  is  always  one  dark 
square  spot  near  the  middle  of  the  outer  edge. 
Its  hind  wings  are  blackish.  Some  of  these 
winged  moths  appear  in  May,  others  in  July 
and  August,  at  which  times  they  lay  their 
eggs  ;  for  there  are  two  broods  of  them  in  the 
course  of  the  year.  The  young  from  the  first 
laid  eggs  come  to  their  growth  and  finish  their 
transformations  in  six  weeks  or  two  months ; 
the  others  live  through  the  winter,  and  turn  to 
winged  moths  in  the  following  spring.  The 
young  moth-worms  do  not  burrow  into  the 
grain,  as  has  been  asserted  by  some  writers, 
who  seem  to  have  confounded  them  with  the 
Angoumois  grain-worms  ;  but,  as  soon  as  they 
are  hatched,  they  begin  to  gnaw  the  grain  and 
cover  themselves  with  the  fragments,  which 
they  line  with  a  silken  web.  As  they  increase 
in  size  they  fasten  together  several  grains 
with  their  webs,  so  as  to  make  a  larger  cavity, 
wherein  they  live.  After  a  while,  becoming 
uneasy,  in  their  confined  habitations,  they 
come  out,  and  wander  over  the  grain,  spinning 
their  threads  as  they  go,  till  they  have  found  a 
suitable  place  wherein  to  make  their  cocoons. 
Thus,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  and  oats,  all  of  which 
they  attack,  will  be  found  full  of  lumps  of 
grains  cemented  together  by  these  corn-worms, 
as  they  are  sometimes  called  ;  and  when  they 
are  very  numerous,  the  whole  surface  of  the 
grain  in  the  bin  will  be  covered  with  a  thick 
crust  of  webs  and  of  adhering  grains.  These 
destructive  corn- worms  are  really  soft  and 
naked  caterpillars,  of  a  cylindrical  shape, 
tapering  a  little  at  each  end,  and  are  provided 
with  sixteen  legs,  the  first  three  pairs  of  which 
are  conical  and  jointed,  and  the  others  fleshy 
and  wart-like.  When  fully  grown,  they  mea- 
sure four  or  five-tenths  of "  an  inch  in  length, 
and  are  of  a  light  ochre  or  buff  colour,  with  a 
reddish  head.  When  about  six  weeks  old  they 
leave  the  grain,  and  get  into  cracks,  or  around 
the  sides  of  corn-bins,  and  each  one  then  makes 
itself  a  little  oval  pod  or  cocoon,  about  as  large 
as  a  grain  of  wheat.  The  insects  of  the  first 
brood,  as  before  said,  come  out  of  their  co- 
coons, in  the  winged  form,  in  July  and  August, 
and  lay  their  eggs  for  another  brood:  the 
others  remain  unchanged  in  th  ir  cocoons, 
through  the  winter,  and  take  the  chrysalis  form 
va  March  or  April  following.  Three  weeks 
afterwards,  the  shining  brown  chrysalis  forces 
i-iself  part  way  '^nt  of  the  cocoon,  by  the  help 
356 


of  some  little  sharp  points  on  its  tail,  and  b  irsts 
open  at  the  other  end,  so  as  to  allow  the  moth 
therein  confined  to  come  forth. 

"  The  foregoing  account  will  probably  enable 
the  readers  of  this  essay  to  determine  whether 
these  destructive  insects  are  found  in  our  own 
country.  From  various  statements,  deficient 
however  in  exactness,  that  have  appeared  in 
some  of  our  agricultural  journals,  I  am  led  to 
think  that  this  corn-moth,or  an  insect  exactly  like 
it  in  its  habits,  prevails  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  that  it  has  generally  been  mistaken  for 
the  grain-weevil,  which  it  far  surpasses  in  its  de- 
vastations. Many  years  ago  I  remember  to 
have  seen  oats  and  shelled  corn  (maize)  af- 
fected in  the  way  above  described,  and  have 
observed  seed-corn,  hanging*  in  the  ears,  to 
have  been  attacked  by  insects  of  this  kind,  the 
empty  chrysalids  of  which  remained  sticking 
between  the  kernels ;  but,  for  some  time  past, 
no  opportunity  for  further  investigation  has 
offered  itself. 

"  There  is  another  grain-moth,  which,  at  va- 
rious times,  has  been  found  to  be  more  destruc- 
tive in  granaries,  in  some  provinces  of  France, 
than  the  preceding  kind.  It  is  the  Angoumois 
moth  (Anacampsis?  cerealella).  The  winged 
moths  of  this  group  have  only  two  visible 
feelers,  and  these  are  generally  long,  slender 
and  curved  over  their  heads.  Their  narrow 
wings  most  often  overlap  each  other,  and 
cover  their  backs  horizontally  when  shut.  The 
Angoumois  grain  moth  probably  belongs  to  the 
modern  genus  Anacampsis,  a  word  derived  from 
the  Greek,  and  signifying  recurved,  in  allusion 
to  the  direction  of  the  feelers  of  the  moths.  In 
the  year  1769,  Colonel  Landon  Carter,  of  Sa- 
bine Hall,  Virginia,  communicated  to  the  Ame- 
rican Philosophical  Society  at  Philadelphia, 
some  interesting  '  observations  concerning  the 
fly-weevil  that  destroys  wheat.'  These  were 
printed  in  the  first  volume  of  the  'Transactions' 
of  the  Society,  and  were  followed  by  some  re- 
marks on  the  subject  by  'the  Committee  of 
Husbandry.'  It  is  highly  probable  that  this 
fly-weevil  is  no  other  than  the  destructive  An- 
goumois grain-moth  ;  for  Colonel  Carter's  ac- 
count of  it,  though  deficient  in  some  particu- 
lars, agrees  essentially  with  what  has  been 
published  respecting  the  European  insect.  Mr. 
E.  C.  Herrick  has  recently  sent  to  me,  from 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  some  wheat,  that  has 
been  eaten  by  moths  precisely  in  the  same  way 
as  grain  is  attacked  by  the  Angoumois  grain- 
moth;  and  a  gentleman  to  whom  this  moth- 
eaten  wheat  was  shown,  informed  me  that  he 
had  seen  grain  thus  affected  in  Maine.  Unfor- 
tunately the  insects  contained  in  this  wheat 
were  dead  when  received,  having  perished  in 
the  chrysalis  state ;  had  they  lived  to  finish 
their  transformations,  I  have  good  reason  to 
think  that  they  would  have  proved  to  be  identi- 
cal with  the  Angoumois  moths.  The  following 
particulars  respecting  the  latter  are  chiefly 
gathered  from  Reaumur's  '  Memoires,'  and  from 
a  work  by  Duhamel  du  Monceau  and  Tillet, 
who  were  commissioned  by  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  of  Paris,  in  the  year  1760,  to  inquire 
into  the  nature  of  the  insect,  on  account  of  its 
ravages  in  Angoumois,  a  part  of  France  wher 


CORN  MOTH. 


CORN  SALAD. 


it  had  long  been  known,  and  had  multiplied  to 
an  alarming  extent.  The  Angoumois  moth,  or 
Anacarnpsis  cerealella,  in  its  perfected  state,  is  a 
four  winged  insect,  about  three-eighths  of  an 
inch  long,  when  its  wings  are  shut.  It  has  a 
pair  of  tapering  curved  feelers,  turned  over  its 
head.  Its  upper  wings  are  narrow,  of  a  light 
brown  colour,  without  spots,  and  have  the 
lustre  of  satin ;  they  cover  the  body  horizon- 
tally above,  but  droop  a  little  at  the  sides.  The 
lower  wings  and  the  rest  of  the  body  are  ash- 
coloured.  This  moth  lays  its  eggs,  which 
vary  in  number  from  sixty  to  ninety,  in  clus- 
ters, on  the  ears  of  wheat,  rye,  and  barley,  most 
often  while  these  plants  are  growing  in  the 
field,  and  the  ears  are  young  and  tender;  some- 
times also  on  s'tored  grain  in  the  autumn. 
Hence  it  appears  that  they  breed  twice  a  year; 
the  insects  from  the  eggs  laid  in  the  early  part 
of  summer,  coming  to  perfection  and  providing 
for  another  brood  of  moth-worms  in  the  autumn. 
The  little  worm-like  caterpillars,  as  soon  as 
they  are  hatched,  disperse,  and  each  one  se- 
lects a  single  grain,  into  which  it  burrows  im- 
mediately at  the  most  fender  part,  and  remains 
concealed  therein  after  the  grain  is  harvested. 
It  devours  the  mealy  substance  within  the  hull; 
and  this  destruction  goes  on  so  secretly,  that  it 
can  only  be  detected  by  the  softness  of  the 
grain  or  the  loss  of  its  weight.  When  fully 
grown  this  caterpillar  is  not  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  an  inch  long.  It  is  of  a  white  colour, 
with  a  brownish  head;  and  it  has  six  small 
jointed  legs,  and  ten  extremely  small  wart-like 
propkegs.  Duhamel  has  represented  it  as 
having  two  little  horns  just  behind  the  head, 
and  two  short  bristles  at  the  end  of  its  tapering 
body.  Having  eaten  out  the  heart  of  the  grain, 
which  is  just  enough  for  all  its  wants,  it  spins 
a  silken  web  or  curtain  to  divide  the  hollow, 
lengthwise,  into  two  unequal  parts,  the  smaller 
containing  the  rejected  fragments  of  its  food, 
and  the  larger  cavity  serving  instead  of  a  co- 
coon, wherein  the  insect  undergoes  its  trans- 
formations. Before  taming  to  a  chrysalis  it 
gnaws  a  small  hole  nearly  or  quite  through  the 
hull,  and  sometimes  also  through  the  chaffy 
covering  of  the  grain,  through  which  it  can 
make  its  escape  easily  when  it  becomes  a 
winged  moth.  The  insects  of  the  first,  or  sum- 
mer brood,  come  to  maturity  in  about  three 
weeks,  remain  but  a  short  time  in  the  chrysalis 
state,  and  turn  to  winged  moths  in  the  autumn, 
and  at  this  time  may  be  found,  in  the  evening, 
in  great  numbers,  laying  their  eggs  on  the 
grain  stored  in  barns  and  granaries.  The 
moth-worms  of  the  second  brood  remain  in  the 
grain  through  the  winter,  and  do  not  change  to 
winged  insects  till  the  following  summer,  when 
they  come  out,  fly  into  the  fields  in  the  night, 
and  lay  their  eggs  on  the  young  ears  of  the 
growing  grain.  When  damaged  grain  is  sown, 
it  comes  up  very  thin ;  the  infected  kernels 
never  sprout,  but  the  insects  lodged  in  them 
remain  alive,  finish  their  transformations  in  the 
field,  and  in  due  time  come  out  of  the  ground 
in  the  winged  form. 

"It  has  been  proved  by  experience  that  the 
ravages  of  the  two  kinds  of  grain-moths,  whose 
history  j^as  been  now  f^iven.  can  be  effectually 


checked  by  drying  the  damaged  gram  in  an 
oven  or  kiln ;  and  that  a  heat  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  degrees,  by  Fahrenheit's  ther* 
mometer,  continued  during  twelve  hours,  will 
kill  the  insects  in  all  their  forms.  Indeed,  the 
heat  may  be  reduced  to  one  hundred  and  four 
degrees,  with  the  same  effect,  but  th«  grain 
must  then  be  exposed  to  it  for  the  space  of  two 
days.  The  other  means,  that  have  been  em- 
ployed for  the  preservation  of  grain  from  these 
destructive  moths,  it  is  unnecessary  to  de- 
scribe ;  they  are  probably  well  known  to  most 
of  our  farmers  and  millers,  and  are  rarely  so 
effectual  as  the  process  above  mentioned." 
{Harriia  Idealise  on  Insects.) 

From  these  considerations,  the  means  which 
the  agriculturist  must  employ  to  secure  his 
grain  from  so  dangerous  an  enemy,  are  clearly 
deducible.  First  of  all,  the  lofts,  before  the 
corn  is  placed  in  them,  must  be  carefully  ex- 
amined, and  the  cocoons,  if  any  are  discover- 
ed, got  rid  of.  Sprinkling  the  floor  with  » 
mixture  of  strong  white  wine  vinegar  and  salt, 
before  laying  up  the  corn,  is  strongly  to  be  re- 
commended. Sweeping  the  floor  and  walls 
thoroughly  should  not  be  neglected ;  and  the 
dust  should  be  removed  immediately,  in  order 
that  the  larva?  may  not  find  their  way  back  into 
the  corn-heaps.  Common  salt  will  also  purify 
the  infested  grain.  One  of  the  surest  remedies 
appears  to  be  a  free  ventilation,  by  means  of 
an  artificial  degree  of  cold,  as  the  larvre  can 
only  live  in  a  temperature  of  55°  to  60°  of  Fahr. 
Bats  and  spiders  are  the  principal  natural  ene- 
mies of  the  corn-moth,  and  some  small  birds 
also  feed  on  them.  See  GnAi!«  Wkevil.  (Trea' 
tite  on  Insects,  ifc,  by  J.  and  M.  Loudon.) 

CORN  POPPY  (Pnpaver  rhfn>s).  PI.  10,  8. 
Indifferently  called  red-poppy,  corn  rose,  cop- 
rose,  head-wark,  red-weed,  red-mailkes,  <fec.  A 
troublesome  weed  in  corn  fields.  Annual, 
flowering  from  June  to  July.  Beautiful  varie- 
ties of  this  species,  with  semi-double  flowers, 
variegated  with  rose-colour  and  white,  are 
easily  cultivated  for  ornament,  but  liable  to  de- 
generate in  luxuriance.  (Smithes  Eng.  Flor.  vol. 
iii.  p.  11 ;  Sinclair's  Weeds,  p.  46.)  See  Poppy, 
FiEin. 

CORN  SALAD,  or  LAMB'S  LETTUCE 
(Fedia  olitoria.  Smith  ;  Valeriana  loaistn,  Lin). 
A  well-known  annual  weed  in  corn  fields  and 
light  cultivated  ground,  which  probably  took 
its  common  English  name  from  the  circum- 
stance of  the  plants  appearing  in  flower  about 
the  time  that  lambs  are  dropped.  There  is  a 
second  species  (F.  dentata),  oval  fruited  corn 
salad.  The  common  variety  y*  cultivated  for 
winter  and  spring  salads,  and  for  this  purpose 
has  been  long  known.  The  first  dish  formerly 
brought  to  table  was  a  red  herring  set  in  a  corn 
salad.  The  plant  will  flourish  in  any  soil  that 
is  not  particularly  heavy.  It  is  propagated  by 
seed,  sown  in  February  and  the  two  following 
months,  and  once  a  month  during  the  summer; 
but  it  is  not  so  palatable  during  this  seaison. 
Lastly,  during  August  and  early  in  September, 
the  plants  from  which  will  be  fit  for  use  In 
early  spring,  or  during  the  winter  if  mild.  The 
seed  may  be  sown  in  drills  six  inches  apart,  or 
broadcast,  and  raked  in.    Keep  them  free  from 

.357 


CORN  WEEVIL. 


COTTAGES. 


creeds  by  frequent  hoeings,  previously  thinned 
to  four  inches  asunder.  They  should  always 
be  eaten  quite  young.  In  summer,  the  whole 
plant  may  be  cut,  as  it  soon  advances  to  seed 
at  this  season ;  but  in  spring  and  winter  the 
outer  leaves  only  should  be  gathered.  For  the 
production  of  seed  some  of  the  spring-raised 
plants  must  be  left  ungathered.  They  flower 
in  June,  and  perfect  their  seed  during  the  two  i 
following  months.  (G.  W.Johnsons  Kitch.Gard.; 
Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  44 ;  Sinclair's  Weeds, 
p.  54.) 

CORN  WEEVIL  (Calandra  granaria,  Clair- 
ville ;  Cwculio  gra^iana,  Linn.).  This  is  an- 
other extremely  injurious  insect  to  grain.  See 
Gkain  Weevjx. 

CORNS,  IN  HORSES'  FEET.  This  dis- 
ease is  produced  by  some  hard  substance  press- 
ing on  the  sole  at  the  quarters,  as  from  shoes 
left  on  till  the  heels  become  buried  in  the  hoof; 
the  fibrous  substance  which  lies  between  the 
sensible  foot  and  the  absolute  horny  hoof  be- 
comes inflamed  by  the  pressure,  and  the  infla- 
mation  produces  a  hardness  of  the  spot,  simi- 
lar, if  I  may  so  express  it,  to  a  knot  in  a  piece 
of  soft  timber.  Palliate  the  evil  as  well  as  you 
can,  by  keeping  the  hoof  constantly  pared  away 
between  the  corn  and  the  ground,  but  do  not 
wound  in  your  vain  endeavours  to  cut  it  out; 
avoid  the  hot  irons,  &c.;  let  a  bit  of  sponge  be 
softly  put  in,  merely  to  keep  out  gravel  and 
keep  the  spot  moist ;  and  when  the  season  ar- 
rives, turn  the  horse  out  without  any  shoes, 
into  a  soft  miarshy  place,  where  his  feet  must 
be  in  a  constant  moist  state  for  three  months 
at  least:  by  that  time  the  hoof  will  be  altogether 
renewed,  the  diseased  part  will  have  grown  out, 
and  if  there  is  no  new  injury,  there  will  be  no 
new  corns.  (E.  Maunsell.  See  also,  Lib.  Use. 
Know.     The  Horse,  p.  305. 

CORONET-BONE.  The  second  of  the  con- 
solidated phalanges  of  the  horse's  foot. 

COSSART,  or  COSSET  (It.  cassiccio,  from 
casa,  the  house).  A  lamb  left  by  the  death  of 
its  dam  before  it  is  capable  of  providing  for 
itself;  or  a  lamb  taken  from  a  ewe  that  brings 
more  than  one.  The  term  is  also  applied  to  a 
colt,  calf,  &c.  and  pometimes  written  cot-lamb. 
COSTIVENESS.  In  farriery,  a  complaint 
to  which  horses  are  often  subject,  occasioned 
sometimes  by  violent  or  hard  exercise,  espe- 
cially in  hot  weather ;  and  at  other  times  by 
standing  long  at  hard  meat  without  grass  or 
other  cleansing  diet,  and  with  very  little  ex- 
ercise. 

COTTAGES.  These  for  labourers  are  com- 
monly constructed  merely  with  a  regard  to 
economy  ;  the  comfort  and  health  of  their  fu- 
ture tenants  being  too  often  disregarded.  Such 
cottages  should  never  consist  of  less  than  two 
bedrooms,  and  a  kitchen,  and  outhouse.  They 
will  be  found  to  be  considerably  more  healthy 
with  wooden  floors,  raised  above  the  level  of 
the  surrounding  ground.  They  should  be  well 
furnished  with  windows,  and  the  ceilings  of 
the  rooms  of  a  fair  height,  eight  or  nine  feet 
will  not  be  too  much  to  allow;  they  should 
have  as  good  gardens. as  possible.  The  plans 
for  their  formation,  and  the  materials  of  which 
1f>ey  aie  composed,  must  vary  with  the  locality. 
358 


Mr.  Gillespie  has  given  one  for  a  cottage  with 
a  roof  without  wood,  which  he  asserts  could  be 
built  in  Scotland  for  30Z.  {Com.  Board  of  jigr, 
vol.  iv.  p.  469.)  There  is  also  an  essay  by 
Mr.  Smith,  on  cottages  for  the  labouring  classes, 
which  may  be  consulted  with  advantage 
{Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  iv.  p.  205),  and  on  cot- 
tage windows  (Quart.  Journ.  of  jjgr.  p.  116), 
and  also  on  cottage  premiums,  and  on  the  cot- 
tages built  on  the  estate  of  Lord  Roseberry. 
{Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  527.) 

By  the  erection  of  small,  comfortable  cot- 
tages on  poor  waste  lands,  and  the  allotment 
to  each  of  a  few  acres  of  land,  a  field  is  opened 
for  the  rapid  recovery  by  the  spade  of  barren 
lands,  and  the  profitable  employment  of  the 
landowner's  capital,  too  little  understood.  By 
merely  deepening  and  mixing  the  soil,  the  cot- 
tager can  bring  into  cultivation  lands,  which 
seem  to  defy  all  the  powers  of  even  the  subsoil 
plough. 

The  following  information  relative  to  the 
best  modes  of  building  cheap  cottages  is  from 
a  report  made  to  Congress  by  Henry  L.  Ells- 
worth, see  pp.  55 — 57. 

"After  selecting  a  suitable  spot  of  ground,  as 
near  the  place  of  building  as  practicable,  let  a 
circle  of  ten  feet  or  more  be  described.  Let  the 
loam  be  removed,  and  the  clay  dug  up  one  foot 
thick,  or,  if  clay  is  not  found  on  the  spot,  let  it 
be  carted  in  to  that  depth.  Any  ordinary  clay 
will  answer.  Tread  this  clay  over  with  cattle, 
and  add  some  straw  cut  six  or  eight  inches  long. 
After  the  clay  is  well  tempered  with  working  it 
with  the  cattle,  the  material  is  duly  prepared 
for  the  making  of  brick.  A  mould  is  then 
formed  of  plank,  of  the  size  of  the  brici  de- 
sired. In  England,  they  are  usually  made 
eighteen  inches  long,  one  foot  wide,  and  nine 
inches  thick.  I  have  found  the  more  conve- 
nient size  to  be  one  foot  long,  seven  inches 
wide,  and  live  inches  thick.  The  mould  should 
have  a  bottom.  The  clay  is  then  placed  in  the 
moulds  in  the  same  manner  that  brick  moulds 
are  ordinarily  filled.  A  wire  or  piece  of  iron 
hoop  will  answer  very  well  for  striking  off  the 
top.  One  man  will  mould  about  as  fast  as  an- 
other can  carry  away,  two  moulds  being  used 
by  him.  The  bricks  are  placed  upon  the  level 
ground,  where  they  are  suflered  to  dry  two  days, 
turning  them  up  edgewise  the  second  day,  and 
then  packed  up  in  a  pile,  protected  from  the 
rain,  and  left  to  dry  ten  or  twelve  days,  during 
which  time  the  foundation  of  the  building  can 
be  prepared.  If  a  cellar  is  desired,  this  must 
be  formed  of  stone  or  brick,  one  foot  above  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  For  cheap  buildmgs 
on  the  prairie,  wood  sills,  twelve  or  fourteen 
inches  wide,  may  be  laid  on  piles  or  stones. 
This  will  form  a  good  superstructure.  Where 
lime  and  small  stones  abound,  grout  made  of 
those  materials  (lime  and  stones)  will  answer 
very  well. 

"  In  all  cases,  however,  before  commencing 
the  walls  for  the  first  story,  it  is  very  desirable, 
as  well  in  this  case  as  in  walls  of  brick,  to  lay 
a  single  course  of  slate;  this  will  intercept  the 
dampness  so  often  rising  in  the  walls  of  brick 
houses.  The  wall  is  laid  by  placing  the  brick 
lengthwise,  thus  making  the  wall  one  fgot  thick. 


COTTAGES. 


COTTAGES. 


Ordinan'  clay,  such  as  is  used  for  clay  mortar, 
will  sufHce,  though  a  weak  mortar  of  sand  and 
lime,  when  these  articles  are  cheap,  is  recom- 
mended as  affording  a  more  adhesive  material 
for  the  p' aster.  The  wall  may  safely  be  car- 
ried up  one  story,  or  twc  or  three  stories ;  the 
division  walls  may  be  seven  inches,  just  the 
width  of  the  brick.  The  door  and  window 
frames  being  inserted  as  the  wall  proceeds,  the 
building  is  soon  raised.  The  roof  may  be 
shingles  or  thatch.  In  either  case,  it  should  pro- 
ject over  the  sides  of  the  house,  and  also  over  the  two 
ends,  at  least  tico  feet,  to  guard  the  walls  from  rcr/i- 
cal  rains.  The  exterior  wall  is  plastered  with 
good  lime  mortar,  and  then  with  a  second  coat 
pebble-dashed.  The  inside  is  plastered  without 
dashing.  The  floor  may  be  laid  with  oak 
boards,  slit,  five  or  six  inches  wide,  and  laid 
down  without  jointing  or  planing,  if  they  are 
rubbed  over  with  a  rough  stone  after  the  rooms 
are  finished.  Doors  of  a  cheap  and  neat  ap- 
pearance may  be  made  by  taking  two  single 
boards  of  the  length  or  width  of  the  doors ; 
placing  these  vertically,  they  will  fill  the  space. 
Put  a  wide  batten  on  the  bottom  and  a  narrow 
one  on  the  top,  with  strips  on  the  side,  and  a 
strip  in  the  middle.  This  door  will  be  a  batten 
door,  but  presenting  two  long  panels  on  one 
side  and  a  smooth  surface  on  the  other.  If  a 
porch  or  verandah  is  wanted,  it  may  be  roofed 
with  boards  laid  with  light  joints  and  covered 
with  a  thick  paper  dipped  in  tar,  and  then  add- 
ing a  good  coat,  after  sprinkling  it  with  sand 
from  a  sand-box  or  other  dish  with  small  holes. 

"Houses  built  in  this  way  are  dr\',  warm  in 
winter,  and  cool  in  summer,  and  furnish  no  re- 
treat for  vermin.  Such  houses  can  be  made 
by  common  labourers,  if  a  little  carpenter's  work 
is  excepted,  in  a  very  short  time,  with  a  small 
outlay  for  materials,  exclusive  of  floors,  win- 
dows, doors,  and  roof. 

"  The  question  will  naturally  arise,  will  the 
wall  stand  against  the  rain  and  frost  1  I  answer, 
they  have  stood  well  in  Europe,  and  the  Hon. 
Mr.  Poinsett  remarked  to  me  that  he  had  seen 
them  in  South  America,  after  having  been  erect- 
ed three  hundred  years.  Whoever  has  noticed 
the  rapid  absorption  of  water  by  a  brick  that  has 
been  burned,  will  not  wonder  why  brick  walls 
are  damp.  The  burning  makes  the  brick  po- 
rous, while  the  unburnt  brick  is  less  absorbent; 
but  it  is  not  proposed  to  present  the  unburnt 
brick  to  the  weather.  Whoever  has  erected  a 
building  with  merchantable  brick  will  at  once 
perceive  the  large  number  of  soft  and  yellow 
brick,  partially  burned,  that  it  contains — brick 
that  would  soon  yield  to  the  mouldering  influ- 
ence of  frost  and  storms.  Such  brick  are, 
however,  placed  within,  beyond  the  reach  of 
rain,  and  always  kept  dry.  A  good  cabin  is 
made  by  a  single  room  twenty  feet  square.  A 
better  one  is  eighteen  feet  wide  and  twenty-four 
feet  long,  cutting  off  eight  feet  on  one  end  for 
two  small  rooms,  eight  by  nine  each. 

"  How  easily  could  a  settler  erect  such  a  cabin 
an  the  Western  prairie,  where  clay  is  usually 
found  about  fifteen  inches  below  the  surface, 
and  where  stone  and  lime  are  often  both  very 
cheap.  The  article  of  brick  for  chimneys  is 
found  to  be  quite  an  item  of  expense  in  wood- 
houses.     Id  these  mud  houses  no  brick  are 


needed,  except  for  the  top  of  the  chimneys,  the 
oven,  and  casing  of  the  fireplace — though  this 
last  might  be  well  dispensed  with.  A  ceraem, 
to  put  around  the  chimneys,  or  to  fill  any  other 
crack,  is  easily  made  by  a  mixture  of  one  part 
of  sand,  two  of  ashes,  and  three  of  clay.  This 
soon  hardens,  and  will  resist  the  weather.  A 
little  lard  or  oil  may  be  added,  to  make  the 
composition  still  harder. 

"  Such  a  cottage  will  be  as  cheap  as  a  leg 
cabin,  less  expensive  than  pine  buildings,  and 
durable  for  centuries.  I  have  tried  the  experi- 
ment in  this  city  by  erecting  a  building  eighteen 
by  fifty-foiir  feet,  two  stories  high,  adopting  the 
different  suggestions  now  made.  Although 
many  doubted  the  success  of  the  undertaking, 
all  now  admit  it  has  been  very  successful,  and 
presents  a  convenient  and  comfortable  build- 
ing, that  appears  well  to  public  view,  and  oii^rs 
a  residence  combining  as  many  advantages  uS 
a  stone,  briek,  or  wood  house  presents.  I  will 
add  what  Loudon  says  in  his.  most  excellent 
work,  the  Encyclopedia  of  Agriculture,  pp.  74 
and  75 : 

"*  The  great  art  in  building  an  economual 
cottage  is  to  employ  the  kind  of  materials  and 
labour  which  are  cheapest  in  the  given  locality. 
In  almost  every  part  of  the  world  the  cheapest 
article  of  which  the  walls  can  be  made  will  be 
found  to  be  the  earth  on  which  the  cottage 
stands,  and  to  make  good  walls  from  the  earth 
is  the  principal  art  of  the  rustic  or  primitive 
builder.  Soils,  with  reference  to  building,  may 
be  divided  into  two  cla.sses :  clays,  loams,  and 
all  such  soils  as  can  neither  be  called  gravels 
nor  sands,  and  sands  and  gravels.  The  former, 
whether  they  are  stiff  or  free,  rich  or  poor, 
mixed  with  stones,  or  free  from  stones,  may 
be  formed  into  walls  in  one  of  these  modes, 
viz.,  in  the  pis6  manner,  by  lumps  moulded  in 
boxes,  and  by  compressed  blocks.  Sandy  and 
gravelly  soils  may  be  always  made  into  excel- 
lent walls,  by  forming  a  frame  of  boards,  leav- 
ing a  space  between  the  boards  of  the  intended 
thickness  of  the  wall,  and  filling  this  with 
gravel  mixed  with  lime  mortar,  or,  if  this 
cannot  be  got,  with  mortar  made  of  clay  and 
straw. 

" '  In  all  cases,  when  walls,  either  of  this 
class  or  the  former,  are  built,  the  foundations 
should  be  of  stone  or  brick,  and  they  should  be 
carried  up  at  least  a  foot  above  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  platform. 

"  *  We  shall  here  commence  by  giving  one 
of  the  simplest  modes  of  construction,  from  a 
work  of  a  very  excellent  and  highly  estimable 
individual,  Mr.  Denson,  of  Waterbeach,  Cam- 
bridgeshire, the  author  of  the  Peasant's  Voice, 
who  built  his  own  cottage  in  the  manner  de 
scribed  below : 

"  'Mode  of  building  the  mud  walls  of  cottages  in 
Cambridgeshire. — After  a  labourer  has  dug  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  clay  for  his  purpose,  he 
works  it  up  with"  straw ;  he  is  then  provided 
with  a  frame  eighteen  inches  in  length,  six 
deep,  and  from  nine  to  twelve  inches  in  diame- 
ter. In  this  frame  he  forms  his  lumps,  in  the 
same  manner  that  a  brickmaker  forms  his 
bricks  ;  they  are  then  packed  up  to  dry  by  ihe 
weather ;  that  done,  they  are  fit  for  the  use,  a« 
a  substitute  for  br  icks.     On  laying  the  founda 

359 


COTTAGE-CHEESE. 


COW-BANE,  SPOTTED. 


tion  of  a  cottage,  a  few  layers  of  brick  are  ne- 
cessary, to  prevent  the  lumps  from  contracting 
a  damp  from  the  earth.  The  fireplace  is  lined 
and  the  oven  is  built  with  bricks.  I  have 
known  cottagers,  where  they  could  get  the 
grant  of  a  piece  of  ground  to  build  on  for  them- 
selves, erect  a  cottage  of  this  description  at  a 
cost  from  £15  to  £30.  I  examined  one  that 
was  nearly  completed,  of  a  superior  order:  it 
contained  two  good  lower  rooms  and  a  cham- 
ber, and  was  neatly  thatched  with  straw.  It  is 
a  warm,  firm,  and  comfortable  building,  far  su- 
perior to  the  one  I  live  in ;  and  my  opinion  is, 
'.hat  it  will  last  for  centuries.  The  himps  are 
laid  with  mortar,  they  are  then  plastered,  and 
on  the  outside  once  roughcast,  which  is  done 
by  throwing  a  mixture  of  water,  lime,  and 
small  stones,  against  the  walls,  before  the 
plaster  is  dry,  which  gives  them  a  very  hand- 
some appearance.  The  cottage  I  examined, 
cost  £33,  and  took  nearly  one  thousand  lumps 
to  complete  it.  A  labourer  will  make  that 
number  in  two  days.  The  roofs  of  cottages 
of  this  description  are  precisely  the  same  as 
when  built  with  bricks  or  with  a  wooden  frame. 
Cow-house  sheds,  garden  walls,  and  partition 
fence,  are  formed  with  the  same  materials ;  but 
in  all  cases  the  tops  are  covered  with  straw, 
which  the  thatchers  perform  in  a  very  neat 
manner.'  "  {Demon's  Peasant's  Voice,  p.  31.) 
COTTAGE-CHEESE.  See  Whet  Butter. 
COTTON-GRASS  (Eriophorum.  Ital.  co- 
tone;  Fr.  colon).  A  perennial  native  genus  of 
grasses,  comprising  seven  species,  which  have 
no  particular  merit  to  warrant  their  recom- 
mendation for  the  purpose  of  the  agriculturist ; 
their  productive  and  nutritive  powers  being 
very  inferior.  Sinclair  gives  us  the  result  of 
his  experiments  on  two  sorts,  the  common  long- 
leaved  cotton-grass  (E.  angustifolmm),  and  the 
hare's-tail,  or  sheathed  cotton-grass  (JS.  vagi- 
natum.) 

COTTON  PLANT.     See  Gossypium. 
COTTON  TREE   (Populus  argentea).      See 
Poplar. 

COTTON-WOOD  (Populus  Canadensis).  See 
Poplar. 

COTTON,  WILD  (Jsclepias  Syriaca),  popu- 
larly called  silk^weed  and  swalloivwort.  An  Ame- 
rican plant  growing  in  low  grounds  and  on 
road-sides,  to  the  height  of  three  or  four  feet. 
{Flora  Crstrica.) 

COTYLEDON.  The  seed  leaf.  See  Botany. 
COUCH,  or  CREEPING  WHEAT  GRASS 
(Tritiatm  repens,  PI.  10,  i.)  Named  from  the 
French  coucher,  to  lie  down.  Sometimes  called 
dog-grass  and  knot-grass.  Until  of  late  years, 
when  botanical  science  has  afibrded  us  better 
information,  it  was  generally  supposed  that 
all  couch  or  twitch  was  the  roots  of  one  spe- 
cies of  grass.  But  many  persons  observed  that 
some  of  these  roots,  on  wet  soils,  were  black 
and  much  smaller,  and  they  had  locally  ob- 
tained the  name  of  black  Ivntch.  This,  on  soils 
where  it  prevails,  is  much  worse  than  the  other, 
because  it  is  wiry  and  small,  and  not  so  easily 
discharged  from  the  soil ;  it  is  also  more  brittle, 
and  by  harrowing  breaks  short.  This  is  the 
Jgrostis  repens.  There  are  two  other  grasses 
which  have  strong  creeping  roots,  and  are  in- 
differently c^ed  coucli:  these  are  the  creep- 
360 


mg-rooled  soft  grass  (Holcus  mollis),  and  the 
smooth-stalked  meadow  grass  (Poa  prutensis). 
There  is  but  one  way  of  destroying  couch,  and 
that  is  by  ploughing  up  the  soil  and  pulverizing 
it.  {Sinclair's  Weeds,  p.  27.)  See  Agrostis  Re- 
pens. Couch  or  quitch  grass,  or  creeping  triti- 
cum,  is  a  troublesome  perennial,  fortunately  but 
little  known  in  the  United  States.  Dr.  Darling- 
ton has  only  been  able  to  find  it  in  one  place, 
the  Weston  school  farm,  in  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania.     (See  Flora  Cestrica.) 

COUGH  (Goth,  kueff,  a  catarrh  ;  kof,  suffo- 
cation ;  Dutch,  kuch).  in  farriery,  a  convulsive 
motion  of  the  lungs,  being  an  effort  of  natur^. 
to  throw  up  some  offending  matter  from 
the  air  tubes.  This  is  best  treated,  in  mild 
cases,  by  cold  bran  mashes  with  linseed.  But 
coughs  arise  from  so  many  different  causes 
that  it  is  impossible  to  prescribe  any  general 
remedy. 

COULTER  OF  A  PLOUGH.    See  Plouoh. 

COUNTER.  In  horsemanship,  the  breast 
of  a  horse,  or  that  part  of  his  fore-hand  which 
lies  between  the  shoulders  and  under  the 
neck. 

COUPLES.  A  term  applied  to  ewes  and 
lambs.  Couple  is  also  a  chain  or  tie  that 
holds  dogs  together. 

COUPLINGS,  or  CUPLINGS.  Thongs  of 
untanned  leather,  or  other  material,  which  are 
used  to  connect  the  handle  or  handstaff  and 
swiple  of  a  flail. 

COVER,  or  COVERT  (Fr.  cmivrir).  A  term 
applied  to  a  place  sheltered,  not  open  or  ex- 
posed. In  sportsman's  phrase,  the  cover  is  the 
chosen  resort  of  the  fox  for  kennelling;  and 
such  as  lie  high  and  dry  are  seldom  without 
one  or  more,  particularly  if  the  underwood  be 
thick  and  plenty.  Artificial  covers  are  often 
formed  of  broom  and  gorse,  intermixed. 
{Flaine's  Rural  Sports,  p.  452.) 

COVEY  (Fr.  couvce,  from  the  Lat  cubo). 
Provincially  applied  to  a  cover  of  furze,  &c., 
for  game.  It  is  also  applied  to  an  old  bird 
with  her  young  ones,  but  is  generally  used  to 
designate  a  number  of  partridges  or  other 
game. 

COW  (Sax.  cu;  Dutch,  koe ;  Pers.  gow). 
See  Cattle. 

C0W-3ANE,  WATER,  or  WATER  HEM^ 
LOCK  {Cicuta  virosa).  A  perennial,  fetid,  poi- 
sonous aquatic  herb,  found  in  ditches,  and 
about  the  margins  of  rivers,  not  very  common. 
Root  tuberous,  hollow.  Stems  two  or  three 
feet  high,  hollow,  leafy,  branched,  furrowed. 
Leaves  bright  green,  tapering  at  each  end, 
from  one  to  two  inches  long.  Umbels  large, 
bearing  purplish  flowers ;  fruit  roundish, 
smooth.  This  is  a  fatal  plant  to  cattle,  if 
they  happen  to  meet  with  it  before  it  rises  out 
of  the  water,  in  which  state  only  they  will  eat 
the  voung  leaves.     {Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  62). 

COW-BANE,  SPOTTED  {Cicuta  maculata). 
Water  hemlock,  a  perennial  root  frequently 
found  in  low  grounds  and  the  margins  of 
streams  in  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle 
States.  The  mature  fruit  of  this  plant  is 
highly  aromatic, — the  odour  something  be- 
tween that  of  aniseed  and  the  kernels  of  the 
black  walnut.  Thereof  is  an  active  poison ; 
and  numerous  lives  have  been  lost,  for  want 


COW-CLAGS. 


CRAB  TREE. 


of  sufTicient  botanical  knowledge  to  distinguish 
the  plant  from  the  oxmorhiza  or  sweet  cicely. 
The  herb  is  also  destructive  to  cattle,  when 
eaten  by  them.  There  is  one  other  species  in 
the  United  States.     {Flor.  Cestric.) 

COW-CLAGS.  A  provincial  name  for  the 
clotted  lumps  of  dirt  that  hang  to  the  buttocks 
of  cattle  and  other  animals. 

COW-HERD.  A  person  whose  office  it  is 
to  attend  upon  the  herds  of  cows  in  places 
where  tliev  run  in  common  fields. 

COW-HOUSE.     See  Cattle  Shed. 

COWISH.  A  new  species  of  plant,  called 
biscuit-root,  found  growing  on  dry  land  in  the 
valley  of  the  Columbia  river.  Its  size  is  about 
that  of  a  walnut,  though  sometimes  larger.  Its  | 
taMe  resembles  that  of  the  sweet  potato,  and  it 
is  prepared  for  food  by  the  same  process  as 
the  camnias,  in  which  stale  it  forms  a  tolerable 
sul  s'itute  for  bread. 

CMW-KEEPING.  The  business  of  keeping 
cows  !  )r  the  advantage  of  the  milk,  by  dispos- 
ing of  it  in  large  towns.  The  principal  cow- 
keepers  of  the  British  metropolis  have  their 
establishments  in  the  suburbs,  where  they  are 
connected  with  pasture  fields,  in  which  their 
animals  are  turned  out  a  portion  of  every  day 
throughout  the  year,  when  practicable.  The 
cows  are  fed  in  the  house  with  grains,  mangel- 
wurzel,  hay,  tares,  &c.,  and  as  the  animals  get 
air  and  exercise,  the  milk  may  be  considered 
wholesome.  But  there  are  other  cow-keepers 
in  the  metropolis,  who  confine  their  cows  in 
back  houses,  and  even  dark  cellars,  and  while 
they  feed  them  with  rich  food,  give  them  no 
exercise  ;  hence,  the  milk  of  such  cows  can- 
not be  considered  wholesome.  {Harleian 
Dairy  System ;  Brit.  Husb.)     See  Cattle. 

COW  PARSNIP,  or  HOG  WEED  (Hera- 
cleum  spfioiKlylium).  A  biennial  pasture  weed, 
which  in  England  is  found  in  hedges,  the  bor- 
ders of  fields,  and  rather  moist  meadows,  ver}' 
common.  Root  tap-shaped,  whitish,  aromatic, 
sweetish,  and  rather  mucilaginous.  Stem  four 
to  six  feet  high,  erect,  branched,  leafy,  fur- 
rowed, and  hollow.  The  leaves  proceed  from 
a  large  membrane  or  sheath.  The  flowers, 
which  grow  in  large  umbels,  are  either  white 
or  reddish ;  the  fruit  is  abundant,  and  light 
brown.  The  whole  plant  is  wholesome  and 
nourishing  food  for  cattle,  and  is  gathered  in 
Sussex  for  fattening  hogs,  hence  its  name  of 
hog-weed.  It  is  also  frequently  known  by  the 
name  of  wild  parsnip,  meadow  parsnip,  and 
madrep.  (Sinclair's  Weeds,  p.  65  ;  Eng.  Flora, 
vol.  ii.  p.  102.) 

The  only  ascertained  species  of  this  genus 
found  in  the  United  States  is  the  Heracieum  la- 
natam,  or  woolly  cow  parsnip,  a  perennial  root, 
the  stem  of  which  sometimes  grows  six  or 
eight  feet  high.  It  is  frequent  in  low  grounds 
in  Pennsylvania.     See  Flor.  Cest. 

COW  PEA.  A  kind  of  pea  much  culti- 
vated in  the  Southern  States  as  a  field  crop, 
and  substitute  for  clover.     See  Peas. 

COW-POX.  In  farriery,  is  a  disease  afiect- 
ing  the  teats  of  cows.  This  disease  appears 
in  the  form  of  small  bluish  vesicles  surrounded 
by  inflammation,  elevated  at  the  edge  and  de- 
pressed in  the  centre,  and  containing  a  limpid 
fluid.  By  the  use  of  the  virus  of  this  disease, 
46 


has  originated  the  present  excellent  system  of 
vaccination. 

COWSLIP,  AMERICAN  (DodecatheoA 
Meadia).  A  hardy  perennial  from  South  Ame- 
rica, loving  shade  and  moisture.  It  blows  in 
April  and  May.  Propagated  by  seed  and  off- 
sets. Sow  the  seed  in  pots  in  autumn.  Plant 
out  the  following  autumn. 

COWSLIP,  THE  COMMON,  or  PAIGLE 
(Primula  veris).  A  native  English  perennial 
weed,  growing  in  mealows  and  pastures, 
chiefly  on  a  clay  or  chalky  soil.  It  produces 
sweet-scented  yellow  flowers,  which  appear  in 
April,  and  are  used  for  making  cowslip  wine 
or  balsamic  tea.  Its  roots  have  a  fine  odour, 
similar  to  "that  of  anise,  and  give  additional 
strength  to  ale  or  beer,  when  immersed  in  the 
cask.  The  leaves  and  flowers  are  excellent 
food  for  silk-worms,  and  are  eaten  eagerly  by 
cattle.  The  leaves  are  also  used  as  a  pot- 
herb, and  in  salads. 

The  flowers,  leaves,  and  roots  are  all  medi- 
cinal portions  of  the  cowslip,  and  are  made 
into  tea,  wine,  and  conserve.  It  is  anodyne  in 
its  quality,  and  the  ancient  writers  upon  herbs 
speak  highly  of  its  eflects;  but  their  opinions 
have  lost  their  value  by  time.  (Eng.  Flora, 
vol.  i.  p.  271 ;   WilUdCs  Dom.  Exeyc.) 

COWSLIP  OF  JERUSALEM,  or  LUNG- 
WORT PULMONARIA  (Pulmonaria  officii 
nalis).  This  plant  is  perennial  and  flowers  in 
May.  It  grows  eight  or  ten  inches  high,  with 
long,  broad,  hairy  leaves,  of  a  deep  green, 
spotted  on  the  upper  side  with  white  spots. 
The  stalks  are  slender  and  hairy,  with  small 
leaves  upon  them.  The  flowers  are  reddish 
in  the  bud  but  blue  when  blown,  small,  grow- 
ing in  clusters  at  the  top  of  its  stalk.  The 
root  is  fibrous.  The  leaves  have  been  used 
medicinally,  from  the  idea  that  they  resemble 
the  lungs,  and  therefore  must  be  useful  in  dis- 
ease of  those  organs.  They  are  inert,  and 
consequently  useless.  Several  species  of 
lungwort  are  found  indigenous  to  the  United 
States. 

COW-TIE.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  a 
short  thick  hair  rope,^with  a  wooden  nut  at 
on€  end  and  an  eye  in  the  other,  being  used 
for  tying  the  hind  legs  of  the  cows  while 
milking. 

COW-WHEAT  (Melampynmi  pratense),  PI. 
7,  q.  A  plant  cultivated  in  Flanders  for  feeding 
stock. 

There  are  some  species  of  this  plant  found 
in  the  United  States.  One  has  been  called  by 
botanists  .American  melainpynim.  This  is  found 
in  dry,  hilly  woodlands,  and  on  mica-slate  hills, 
where  it  flowers  in  June  and  July.  A  narro\v- 
leaved  variety  is  abuuuant  m  the  pines  of  New 
Jersey.     (Flora  Cestnca.) 

CRAB  TREE,  or  WILD  APPLE  TREE 
(Pxjrus  malus).  There  are  in  England  several 
varieties  among  the  wild  crab.;,  some  of  which 
are  of  excellent  flavour  when  baked  with  plenty 
of  sugar,  oven  surpassing  cultivated  apples. 
(Eng.  Flora,  vol.  ii.  p.  362.)  Crab  apples  and 
sloes  are  the  only  fruits  naturally  belonging  to 
the  soil,  and  both  are  medicinal.  The  e\ 
pressed  juice  of  any  of  them,  called  verjuice, 
kept  by  good  housewives  in  the  country,  being 
excellent  as  an  astringent  gargle  in  sore  throat.s 
2H  361 


CRAB   APPLE. 


CRANBERRY. 


and  in  thrush  and  ulceration  of  the  mouth  and 
gums.  It  is  sometimes  mixed  with  beer-yeast, 
and  applied  outwardly,  in  inflammations,  bad 
legs,  burns,  sprains,  and  scalds ;  but  cold  water 
and  rest  are  better. 

CRAB  APPLE  (Mains  coronaria).  This 
species  of  wild  apple  tree  is  found  in  North 
America,  and  at  the  time  Michaux  wrote  his 
Syha  Americana,  he  says  its  nature  had  not 
been  modified  by  cultivation.  The  wild  apple 
tree  of  Europe,  in  a  long  series  of  years,  has 
yielded  a  great  number  of  species  and  varie- 
ties of  fruit,  which,  in  France  alone,  amount 
to  nearly  three  hundred.  Except  the  district 
of  Maine,  the  state  of  Vermont,  and  the  upper 
part  of  New  Hampshire,  the  crab  apple  is 
found,  on  both  sides  of  the  mountains,  through- 
out the  United  States:  but  it  appears  to  be 
most  multiplied  in  the  Middle  States,  and  espe- 
cially in  the  back  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and 
of  Virginia.  It  abounds,  above  all,  in  the 
Glades,  which  is  the  name  given  to  a  tract  15 
or  18  miles  wide,  on  the  summit  of  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  along  the  road  from  Philadelphia  to 
Pittsburgh. 

The  ordinary  height  of  the  crab  apple  tree 
is  15  or  18  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  5  or  6 
inches ;  but  it  is  sometimes  found  25  or  30  feet 
high,  and  12  or  15  inches  in  diameter.  The 
two  stocks  which  I  found  by  measurement  to 
be  of  this  size,  stood  in  a  field  which  had  long 
been  under  cultivation,  and  this  circumstance 
may  have  contributed  to  their  extraordinary 
growth.  They  were  insulated  trees  that  in  ap- 
pearance exactly  resembled  the  common  apple 
tree.  I  have  universally  remarked  that  the 
crab  apple  grows  most  favourably  in  cool  and 
moist  places,  and  on  fertile  soils. 

The  leaves  of  this  tree  are  oval,  smooth  on 
the  upper  surface,  and,  when  fully  developed, 
very  distinctly  toothed:  some  of  them  are  im- 
perfectly three-lobed.  While  young,  they  have 
a  bitter  and  slightly  aromatic  taste,  which 
leads  to  the  belief  that,  with  the  addition  of 
sugar,  they  would  make  an  agreeable  tea.  Like 
the  common  apple  tree,  this  species  blooms 
very  early  in  the  spring.  Its  flowers  are  white 
mingled  with  rose  colour,  and  are  collected  in 
corymbs ;  they  produce  a  beautiful  effect,  and 
diff'use  a  delicious  odour,  by  which,  m  the 
glades  where  the  tree  is  abundant,  the  air  is 
perfumed  to  a  great  distance.  The  apples, 
which  are  suspended  by  short  peduncles,  are 
small,  green,  intensely  acid,  and  very  odorife- 
rous. Some  farmers  make  cider  of  them, 
which  is  said  to  be  excellent:  they  make  very 
fine  sweet-meats  also,  by  the  addition  of  a  large 
quantity  of  sugar. 

No  attempts  have  been  made  in  the  United 
States  to  improve  the  fruit  of  the  crab  apple 
tree,  nor  any  experiments  of  uniting  it,  by 
grafting,  with  the  species  imported  from  Eu- 
rope. These  species  succeed  so  perfectly,  and 
furnish  such  excellent  new  varieties,  that  much 
time  would  be  spent  upon  the  crab  apple,  with- 
out bringing  it  to  as  high  a  state  of  improve- 
ment. Perhaps  it  might  be  cultivated  with  ad- 
vantage for  cider;  but,  aside  from  its  utility  in 
this  way,  it  must  be  regarded  only  as  a  tree 
highly  agreeable  for  the  beauty  of  its  flowers 
and  for  the  sweetness  of  its  perfume. 
302 


CRAB-GRASS  (Elmsine  Indica).  Dog's-tail 
grass.  Wire  grass.  The  grass  described  under 
these  several  names  in  the  Flora  Cestricoy 
makes  a  fine  carpeting  in  yards,  lanes,  and 
foot-paths,  flowering  in  the  Middle  States  in 
August.  Cattle  and  hogs  are  very  fond  of  it, 
and  it  is  recommended  as  making  excellent 
hay. 

Another  species  of  grass  which  in  some 
places  goes  under  the  name  of  Crab-grass,  is 
the  Dlgitaiia  snngninalis,  or  Finger-grass  (see 
plate  7,  /).  This  is  a  very  troublesome  an- 
nual in  gardens  and  cultivated  grounds,  being 
very  difficult  to  keep  in  subjection  in  the  latter 
part  of  summer.     (Flor.  Cestrica.) 

CRACKS  IN  HEELS  OF  HORSES.  In 
farriery,  little  clefts  which  are  said  to  be 
sometimes  constitutional,  but  more  frequently 
owing  to  the  want  of  cleanliness  and  proper 
attention. 

CRADLE.  A  frame  consisting  of  long  fin- 
gers arranged  above  a  scythe,  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  the  grain  when  harvesting.  The 
scythe  and  cradle  is  comparatively  a  modern 
invention,  by  the  aid  of  which  a  hand  can  cut 
five  or  six  times  as  much  grain  as  could  be 
harvested  in  the  same  time  with  a  sickle. 

CRANBERRY  (Vaccinium  oxycoccm).  See 
Whortleberry. 

The  species  of  Cranberry  most  commonly 
found  in  the  United  States  is  the  Oxyroccus  ma- 
crocarpvs.  It  is  an  indigenous,  low  trailing 
vine,  growing  wild  in  bogs  and  meadows,  bear- 
ing a  beautiful  red  berry  of  an  exceedingly 
sour,  though  agreeable  taste,  much  used  in  do- 
mestic economy  for  tarts  and  sweet-meats. 
The  cranberry,  says  Mr.  Kenrick,  of  Boston, 
is  a  plant  of  easy  culture ;  and  with  but  little 
expense,  not  a  doubt  exists  that  meadows  which 
are  now  barren  wastes,  or  yield  nothing  bu«" 
coarse  herbage,  might  be  concerted  into  pro 
fitable  cranberry  fields.  According  to  Loudon. 
Sir  Joseph  Banks,  who  obtained  this  plant 
from  America,  raised,  in  1831,  on  a  square 
of  18  feet  each  way,  3^  Winchester  bushels, 
which  is  at  the  rate  of  460  bushels  to  the 
acre.  Any  meadow  will  answer.  Captain 
Henry  Hall,  of  Barnstable,  has  cultivated  the 
cranberry  20  years.  They  grow  well  on  sandy 
bogs  after  draining;  if  the  bogs  are  covered 
with  brush,  it  is  removed,  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  remove  the  rushes,  as  the  strong  roots 
of  the  cranberry  soon  overpower  them.  It 
would  be  well  if,  previous  to  planting,  the  land 
could  be  ploughed;  but  Capt.  Hall  usually 
spreads  on  beach  sand,  and  digs  holes  four  feet 
asunder  each  way,  the  same  distance  as  for 
corn;  the  holes  are,  however,  deeper.  Into 
these  holes,  sods  of  cranberry  roots  are  planted, 
and  in  the  space  of  three  years  the  whole  ground 
is  covered.  The  planting  is  usually  performed 
in  autumn.  Mr.  F.  A.  Hayden,  of  Lincoln, 
Mass.,  is  stated  to  have  gathered  from  his  farm, 
in  1830,  400  bushels  of  cranberries,  which 
brought  him,  in  Boston  market,  $400. 

An  acre  of  cranberries  in  full  bearing  will 
produce  over  200  bushels;  and  the  fruit  gene- 
rally  sells  in  the  markets  of  Boston  for  $1'50 
per  bushel,  and  much  higher  than  in  former 
years.  Although  a  moist  soil  is  best  suited  to 
the  plant,  yet,  with  a  suitable  mixture  of  bog 


CRANE'S  BILL. 


CRESS,  INDIAN. 


earth,  or  mud,  it  will  flourish,  producing  abun- 
dant crops,  even  in  any  dry  soil.  There  is 
said  to  be  a  variety  of  cranberry  in  Russia  of 
a  superior  size. 

Cranberries  abound  in  vast  quantities  in  the 
moist  prairies  in  Michicjan  and  some  of  the 
Western  States.  By  means  of  a  newly  invented 
rake,  very  simple  in  its  construction  and  not 
expensive,  40  bushels  may  be  gathered  by  one 
man  in  a  day;  and  a  cargo  of  1500  bushels 
has  been  sent  to  one  of  the  Atlantic  States, 
from  the  northern  part  of  Indiana,  in  a  flat- 
boat,  at  one  time.  The  price  which  this  pro- 
duct often  commands  in  the  markets  of  the 
cities  along  the  Atlantic  varies  from  $1  50 
even  up  to  $2  50  or  $3  50  per  bushel.  They 
can  be  gathered  at  the  west  at  an  expense  of 
not  more  than  50  cents  per  bushel.  The  duty 
on  them  in  England  is  not  more  than  2  cents 
per  gallon  by  direct  trade. 

The  cranberry  tree,  or  shrub,  commonly 
called  the  Highbush  Cranberry  (Viburnum  oxy- 
coccutn),  is  also  indigenous  to  North  America, 
and  among  other  places  in:  which  it  is  found, 
are  some  of  the  western  counties  of  New 
York.  The  blossoms  are  white,  disposed  in 
cymes,  forming  a  flat  surface  from  a  common 
centre,  and  very  beautiful.  Its  fruit  is  a  berry 
about  the  size  of  the  common  cranberry,  of  a 
bright  red  colour,  and  very  austere  taste. 
They  are  valuable  for  pies,  laris,  preserves,  Sec. 
The  tree  is  propagated  by  seeds,  layers,  and 
suckers.     (Kenrick^s  Am.  Or  chard  ist.) 

It  may,  with  great  ease,  be  transferred  from 
its  native  forest  to  the  yard  or  garden,  flourish- 
ing in  every  kind  of  soil,  whether  wet,  dry, 
sand,  or  clay.  The  shrub  so  much  resembles 
the  snow-ball  as  to  be  distinguished  from  it 
with  difficulty.  The  fruit  is  but  little  if  any 
inferior  in  flavour  to  that  of  the  swamp  cran- 
berry, from  which  it  diifers  in  having  a  small 
pit  or  stone.  For  some  purposes  it  is  even 
preferable  to  the  common  cranberry.  It  grows 
in  clusters  which  will  remain  on  the  bush  all 
winter. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  river,  a  new 
species  of  bush-cranberry  has  been  discovered, 
called  Pamhina. 

CRANE'S  BILL  {Geranium).  A  genus  of 
plants  comprising  a  large  number  of  species, 
of  which,  according  to  Smith  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii. 
p.  221),  only  thirteen  are  indigenous.  The 
blue  meadow  crane's  bill  {G.  pratcnse)  is  found 
in  rich,  rather  moist  pastures,  and  thickets,  es- 
pecially in  the  hilly  parts  of  England.  It  is  a 
perennial,  flowering  in  June  and  July ;  flowers, 
of  a  fine  blue,  often  irregularly  striped  or  i 
blotched  with  white,  sometimes  entirely  white. 
The  species  of  crane's  bill  called  Herb  Robert 
(G.  Robertianumy)  possesses  most  medicinal 
virtues,  and  is  found  under  hedges  and  in  un- 
cultivated places,  flowering  all  through  the 
summer.  The  stalks,  and  indeed  the  whole  | 
plant,  is  often  quite  red,  as  are  the  flowers,  and 
the  fruit  is  long  and  slender,  resembling  a 
crane's  bill,  after  which  it  is  named.  The 
leaves  are  large,  divided  into  many  parts,  and  ' 
stand  in  pairs  at  every  joint  of  their  long-footed 
stalks.  It  is  a  very  powerful  astringent,  and  ! 
may  be  given  in  any  form,  decocted  fresh,  or  ! 


powdered  when  dry.     Several  indig'^nous  spe- 
cies are  found  in  the  United  States. 

CRAP.  A  local  name  in  some  places  for 
darnel,  and  in  others  for  buckwheat. 

CRAPULA.    See  Hovex. 

CREAM.  A  thick,  unctuous,  yellowish  co* 
loured  substance  which  collects  on  the  surface 
of  milk,  when  this  is  allowed  to  stand  some 
time  at  rest.     See  Butter. 

CREAM  GAUGE,  or  GLASS.  A  graduated 
glass  tube  to  ascertain  the  produce  of  creani. 
In  a  tube  containing  ten  inches'  depth  of  milk, 
every  tenth  of  an  inch  will  of  course  indicate 
one  per  cent,  of  cream.  It  may  be  used  for 
many  purposes,  such  as  to  ascertain  the  state 
of  the  animal's  health,  regular  and  quiet  feed- 
ing, &c.     (Quart.  Jirurn.  Jgr.  vol.  ii.  p.  245.) 

CREAM-SLICE.  A  sort  of  wooden  knife, 
twelve  or  fourteen  inches  in  length. 

CREOSOTE.  A  term  derived  from  Greek 
words  signifying  "flesh  preserver."  It  is  the 
most  important  of  the  five  new  chemical  pro- 
ducts obtained  from  wood-tar,  by  Dr.  Reichen- 
bach.  The  other  four,  are  Pamfflne,  Evpione,  PU 
camar,SindPittacal,  none  of  which  have,  as  yot, 
been  applied  to  any  use  in  the  arts.  Creosote 
may  be  prepared  either  from  tar  or  from  crude 
pyroligneous  acid.  Its  flesh-preserving  quality 
is  rendered  of  little  use,  from  the  difficulty  of 
removing  the  rank  flavour  which  it  imparts. 

CRESS.     See  AMEnirAX  Chess. 

CRESS,  BITTER  WINTER  (Barbarea  vuf- 
garis).     See  Wivter  Cress. 

CRESS,  INDIAN,  or  MAJOR  NASTURTI- 
UM (Troptrohim  majtis,  diminutive  of  trop^um, 
a  trophy;  and  T.  minvg).  The  major  nasturti- 
um being  the  most  productive,  as  well  of  flow- 
ers and  leaves  as  of  fruit,  is  the  one  that  is 
usually  cultivated  in  the  kitchen  garden;  the 
fruit  being  used  in  pickling,  and  the  flowers 
and  leaves  in  salads  and  for  garnishing.  They 
will  flourish  in  almost  any  soil,  but  the  one  in 
which  they  are  most  productive,  is  a  light  fresh 
loam.  In  a  strong  rich  soil,  the  plants  are 
luxuriant,  but  they  afford  fewer  berries,  and 
those  of  inferior  flavour.  They  like  an  open 
situation.  Sow  from  the  beginning  of  March 
to  the  middle  of  May ;  the  earlier,  however,  the 
better.  The  seed  may  be  inserted  in  a  drill, 
two  inches  deep,  along  its  bottom,  in  a  single 
row,  with  a  space  of  two  or  three  inches  be- 
tween every  two,  or  they  may  be  dibbled  in  at 
a  similar  distance  and  depth.  The  minor  is 
likewise  often  sown  in  patches.  The  major 
should  be  inserted  beneath  a  vacant  paling, 
wall,  or  hedge,  to  which  its  stems  may  be 
trained,  or  in  an  open  compartment  with  sticks 
inserted  on  each  side.  The  runners  at  first 
require  a  little  attention  to  enable  them  to  climb, 
but  they  soon  are  capable  of  doing  so  unassist- 
ed. The  minor  either  may  trail  along  the 
ground,  or  be  supported  with  short  sticks.  If 
water  is  not  afforded  during  dry  weather,  they 
\vill  not  shoot  so  vigorously  or  be  so  produc- 
tive. They  flower  from  June  until  the  close 
of  October.  The  fruit  for  pickling  must  b^s 
gathered  when  of  full  size,  and  whilst  green 
and  fleshy,  during  August.  For  the  production 
of  seed,  some  plants  should  be  left  ungathered 
as  the  first  produced  are  not  only  the  finest 

363 


CRESS. 


CRICKET. 


general,  but  are  often  the  only  ones  that  ripen. 
They  should  be  gathered  as  they  ripen,  which 
they  do  from  the  close  of  August  to  the  begin- 
ning of  October.  They  must  on  no  account 
be  stored  until  perfectly  dry  and  hard.  The 
finest  and  soundest  seed  of  the  previous  year's 
production  should  alone  be  sown ;  if  it  is  older, 
the  plants  are  seldom  vigorous.  (G.  W.  John- 
soil's  Kitchen  Garden). 

CRESS,  WALL,  or  ROCK  CRESS  {Arabis). 
A  genus  of  plants  of  very  different  habit  from 
the  last,  of  which  the  species  are  numerous, 
and  chiefly  natives  of  the  northern  hemisphere. 
There  are  six  species  described  by  Smith  {Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  209),  but  the  wall  cress  {Ara- 
bis  thaliana)  is  preferred.  All  the  species 
have  a  pungent  flavour.  The  plants  are  adapt- 
ed for  ornamenting  rock  work,  and  are  propa- 
gated from  seeds  or  cuttings.  The  wild  sorts 
are  found  frequent  on  old  walls,  stony  banks 
or  rocks,  dry  sandy  ground,  and  cottage  roofs. 

CRESS,  WATER  {Nasturtium).  There  are 
several  native  species  of  water  cress,  which 
may  be  included  in  the  following  summary. 
Creeping  yellow  cress,  annual  yellow  cress, 
amphibious  yellow  cress,  or  great  water  radish, 
and  common  water  cress.  They  are  branching 
herbs,  almost  invariably  smooth,  throwing  out 
numerQus  radicles,  and  either  altogether  aqua- 
tic or  at  least  growing  in  wet  ground.  (Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  191 — 5).  Water  cress  {N. 
officinale)  was  seldom  admitted  as  an  object 
of  cultivation,  and  then  never  to  any  extent, 
until  Mr.  Bradbury,  of  West  Hyde,  Herts,  un- 
dertook its  cultivation  for  the  London  market. 
Mr.  Bradbury  considers  that  there  are  three 
varieties, — the  green-leaved,  which  is  easiest 
cultivated  ;  small  brown-leaved,  which  is  the 
hardiest ;  and  the  large  brown-leaved,  which  is 
the  best,  having  most  leaf  in  proportion  to  the 
stalk,  and  is  the  only  one  that  can  well  be  culti- 
vated in  deep  waters.  {Trans.  Hart.  Soc.  Land. 
vol.  iv.  p.  538.)  The  plants  thrive  best  in  a 
moderately  swift  stream,  about  an  inch  and  a 
half  deep,  over  a  gravelly  or  chalky  bottom, 
and  the  nearer  its  source  the  better:  when  there 
is  choice,  such  situations,  therefore,  should  be 
exclusively  planted.  If  mud  is  the  natural 
bottom,  it  should  be  removed,  and  gravel  sub- 
stituted. The  plants  are  to  be  set  in  rows, 
which  is  most  conducive  to  their  health  and 
good  flavour,  inasmuch  as  that  they  are  regu- 
larly exposed  to  the  current  of  water,  of  which, 
if  there  is  not  a  constant  stream,  they  never 
thrive.  In  shallow  water,  as  above  mentioned, 
the  rows  may  be  made  only  eighteen  inches 
apart,  but  in  deeper  currents  from  five  to  seven 
feet  are  sometimes  necessary.  The  beds  must 
be  cleared  and  re-planted  twice  a  year,  for  in 
the  mud  and  weeds  which  quickly  collect,  the 
plants  not  only  will  not  grow  freely,  but  it  is 
diflicult  to  separate  them  in  gathering;  it  is 
likewise  rendered  imperative  by  the  heads  be- 
coming small  from  frequent  cutting.  The 
times  for  planting  and  renewal  are  in  succes- 
sional  insertions  during  May  and  June,  the 
plants  from  which  will  come  into  production 
in  August ;  and  again  from  September  to  No- 
vember, those  in  the  last  month  being  ready  in 
ihe  spnng.  In  renewing  the  plantations,  the 
bed  of  the  stream,  commencing  towards  its 
364 


head,  being  cleared  of  mud  and  rubbish,  from 
the  mass  of  plants  taken  out  the  younge'^t  and 
best  rooted  must  be  selected.  These  are  re- 
turned into  the  stream,  and  retained  in  their 
proper  order,  by  a  stone  placed  on  each.  After 
the  plants  have  been  cut  about  three  times, 
they  begin  to  stock,  and  then  the  oftener  they 
are  cut  the  better.  In  summer  they  must  be 
cut  very  close.  The  situation  being  favoui 
able,  they  will  yield  a  supply  once  in  a  week. 
In  winter  the  water  should  be  kept  four  or  five 
inches  deep ;  this  is  easily  effected,  by  leaving 
the  plants  with  larger  heads,  which  impedes 
the  current.  The  shoots  ought  always  to  be 
cut  off;  breaking  greatly  injures  the  plants. 
(Trans.  Hort.  Lond.  Soc.  vol.  iv.  p.  537 — 42.) 

CRIB.  In  England  sometimes  applied  to  a 
rack  for  hay  or  straw  for  cattle,  and  sometimes 
to  a  manger  for  corn  or  chaff;  also  to  a  small 
enclosure  in  a  cow-house  or  shed  for  calves  or 
sheep.  In  the  United  States  it  is  commonly 
used  to  designate  the  building  or  apartment  in 
which  Indian  corn  is  stored  in  the  ear. 

CRIB-BITING.  A  vice  to  which  some 
horses  are  subject;  consisting  in  their  catch- 
ing hold  of  the  manger,  and  it  is  said  sucking 
in  the  air.  It  generally  proceeds  from  a  de- 
ranged state  of  the  stomach,  but  it  is  sometimes 
brought  on  by  uneasiness  occasioned  by  dis- 
eases of  the  teeth,  or  by  roughness  in  the  per- 
son who  currycombs  them.  (Brande.)  There 
are  several  straps  or  muzzles  in  use  to  prevent 
crib-biting,  one  of  the  beat  being  that  invented 
by  Mr.  Stewart.     (Blaine's  Encyc.  p.  318,  319.) 

CRICK.  In  farriery,  is  w^en  a  horse  can- 
not turn  his  neck  any  way,  and  when  thus  af- 
fected he  cannot  take  his  meat  from  the  ground 
without  great  pain. 

CRICKET.  The  common  or  hearth  cricket 
(Gryllina).  This  insect  in  England  frequents 
kitchens  and  bakers'  ovens,  on  account  of  the 
warmth  of  those  places.  An  easy  method  of 
destroying  them  is  to  place  phials  half  full  of 
beer  or  any  other  liquid  near  their  holes,  and 
they  will  crawl  into  them,  and  can  then  be 
easily  taken.  A  hedgehog  soon  clears  a  kitchen. 

There  are,  as  yet,  no  house-crickets  in  the 
United  States,  where  the  species  inhabiting 
gardens  and  fields  enter  dwellings  only  by  ac- 
cident. The  American  crickets  belong  to  a 
group  of  insects  (AchetadcE)  which  naturalists 
have  placed  in  the  same  class  as  the  grasshop- 
pers and  locusts.  They  are  distinguished  by 
having  wing-covers  horizontal,  and  furnished 
with  a  narrow,  deflexed  outer  border;  antennae 
long  and  tapering ;  feet  with  not  more  than 
three  joints,  and  two  tapering  downy  bristles 
at  the  end  of  the  bod}^  between  which,  in  most 
of  the  females,  is  a  long  spear-pointed  piercer. 

"There  may  be  sometimes  seen,"  says  Dr. 
Harris,  "in  moist  and  soft  ground,  particularly 
around  ponds,  little  ridges  or  hills  of  loose, 
fresh  earth,  smaller  than  those  which  are 
formed  by  moles.  They  cover  little  burrows, 
that  usually  terminate  beneath  a  stone  or  clod 
of  turf.  These  burrows  are  made  and  inhabit- 
ed by  mole-crickets,  which  are  among  the  most 
extraordinary  of  the  cricket  kind.  The  com- 
mon mole-cricket  of  this  country  is,  when  fully 
grown,  about  one  inch  and  a  quarter  in  length, 
of  a  light  bay  or  fawn  colour,  and  covered  with 


CRICKET. 


CRICKET. 


a  very  short  and  velvet-like  down.  The  wing- 
covers  are  not  half  the  length  of  the  abdomen, 
and  the  wings  are  also  short,  their  tips,  when 
folded,  extending  only  about  one-eighth  of  an 
inch  beyond  the  wing-cafers.  The  fore-legs 
are  admirably  adapted  for  digging,  being  very 
short,  broad,  and  strong;  and  the  shanks,  which 
are  excessively  broad,  flat,  and  three-sided, 
have  the  lower  side  divided  by  deep  notches 
into  four  finger-like  projections,  that  give  to 
this  part  very  much  the  appearance  and  the 
power  of  the  hand  of  a  mole.  From  this  simi- 
larity in  structure,  and  from  its  burrowing 
habits,  the  insect  receives  its  scientific  name 
of  Gryllotalpa,  derived  from  Gryllus,  the  ancient 
name  of  the  cricket,  and  Talpa,  a  mole ;  and 
our  common  species  has  the  additional  name 
of  brcvipennis,  or  short-winged,  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  European  species,  which  has  much 
longer  wings.  Mole-crickets  avoid  the  light  of 
day,  and  are  active  chiefly  during  the  night. 
They  live  on  the  tender  roots  of  plants,  and  in 
Europe,  where  they  infest  moist  gardens  and 
meadows,  they  often  do  great  injury  by  burrow- 
ing under  the  turf,  and  cutting  off"  the  roots  of 
the  grass,  and  by  undermining  and  destroying, 
in  this  way,  sometimes  whole  beds  of  cabbages, 
beans,  and  flowers.  In  the  West  Indies,  ex- 
tensive ravages  have  been  committed  in  the 
plantations  of  the  sugar-cane  by  another  spe- 
cies, Gryllotalpa  didactyhi,  which  has  only  two 
finger-like  projections  on  the  shin.  The  mole- 
cricket  of  Europe  lays  from  two  to  three  hun- 
dred eggs,  and  the  young  do  not  come  to  matu- 
rity till  the  third  year;  circumstances  both 
contributing  greatly  to  increase  the  ravages  of 
these  insects.  It  is  observed  that,  in  proportion 
as  cultivation  is  extended,  destructive  insects 
multiply,  and  their  depredations  become  more 
serious.  We  may,  therefore,  in  process  of 
time,  find  mole-crickets  in  this  country  quite 
as  much  a  pest  as  they  are  in  Europe,  although 
their  depredations  have  hitherto  been  limited 
to  so  small  an  extent  as  not  to  have  attracted 
much  notice.  Should  it  hereafter  become  ne- 
cessary to  employ  means  for  checking  them, 
poisoning  might  be  tried,  such  as  placing,  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  burrows,  grated  carrots  or 
potatoes  mixed  with  arsenic.  It  is  well  known 
that  swine  will  eat  almost  all  kinds  of  insects, 
and  that  they  are  very  sagacious  in  rooting 
them  out  of  the  ground.  They  might,  therefore, 
be  employed  with  advantage  to  destroy  these 
and  other  noxious  insects,  if  other  means 
should  fail. 

"Crickets  are,  in  great  measure,  nocturnal 
and  solitary  insects,  concealing  themselves  by 
day,  and  coming  from  their  retreats  to  seek- 
their  food  and  their  mates  by  night.  There  are 
some  species,  however,  which  differ  greatly 
from  the  others  in  their  social  habits.  These 
are  not  unfrequently  seen  during  the  day-time 
in  great  numbers,  in  paths  and  by  the  road-side; 
but  the  other  kinds  rarely  expose  themselves 
to  the  light  of  day,  and  their  music  is  heard 
only  at  night.  With  crickets,  as  with  grass- 
hoppers, locusts,  and  harvest-flies,  the  males 
only  are  musical ;  for  the  females  are  not  pro- 
vided with  the  instruments  from  which  the 
sounds  emitted  by  these  different  insects  are 
produced.    In  the  male  cricket  these  make  a 


part  of  the  wing-covers,  the  horizontal  and 
overlapping  portion  of  which,  near  the  thorax 
is  convex,  and  marked  with  large,  strong,  and 
irregularly  curved  veins.  When  the  cricket 
shrills  (we  cannot  say  sings,  for  he  has  no 
vocal  organs),  he  raises  the  wing-covers  a  little, 
and  shutfles  them  together  lengthwise,  so  that 
the  projecting  veins  of  one  are  made  to  grate 
against  those  of  the  other.  The  English  name 
cricket,  and  the  French  cri-cri,  are  evidently 
derived  from  the  creaking  sounds  of  these  in- 
sects. Mr.  White,  of  Selborne,  says  that  *  the 
shrilling  of  the  field-cricket,  though  sharp  and 
stridulous,  yet  marvellously  delights  some  hear- 
ers, filling  their  minds  with  a  train  of  summer 
ideas  of  everything  that  is  rural,  verdurous,  and 
joyous ;'  sentiments  in  which  few  persons,  if 
any,  in  America  will  participate ;  for  with  us 
the  creaking  of  crickets  does  not  begin  till 
summer  is  gone,  and  the  continued  and  mono- 
tonous sounds,  which  they  keep  up  luring  the 
whole  night,  so  long  as  autumn  lasts,  are  both 
wearisome  and  sad.  Where  crickets  abound, 
they  do  great  injury  to  vegetation,  eating  the 
most  tender  parts  of  plants,  and  even  devour- 
ing fruits  and  roots,  whenever  they  can  get 
them.  Melons,  squashes,  and  even  potatoes 
are  often  eaten  by  them,  and  the  quantity  of 
grass  that  they  destroy  must  be  great,  from  the 
immense  numbers  of  these  insects  which  are 
sometimes  seen  in  our  meadows  and  fields. 
They  may  be  poisoned  in  the  same  way  as 
mole-crickets.  Crickets  are  not  entirely  con- 
fined to  a  vegetable  diet ;  they  devour  other 
insects  whenever  they  meet  with  and  can  over- 
power them.  They  deposit  their  eggs,  which 
are  numerous,  in  the  ground,  making  holes  for 
their  reception  with  their  long,  spear-pointed 
piercers.  The  eggs  are  taid  in  the  autumn, 
and  do  not  appear  to  be  hatched  till  the  ensu- 
ing summer.  The  old  insects,  for  the  most 
part,  die  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather ;  but 
a  few  survive  the  winter,  by  sheltering  them- 
selves under  stones,  or  in  holes  secure  from 
the  access  of  water. 

"  The  scientific  name  of  the  genus  that  in- 
cludes the  cricket  is  jiclieta,  and  our  common 
species  is  the  Acheta  nbbrcviata,  so  named  from 
the  shortness  of  its  wings,  which  do  not  extend 
beyond  the  wing-covers.  It  is  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  of  a  black  co- 
lour, with  a  brownish  tinge  at  the  base  of  the 
wing-covers,  and  a  pale  line  on  each  side  above 
the  deflexed  border.  The  pale  line  is  most  dis- 
tinct in  the  female,  and  is  oftentimes  entirely 
wanting  in  the  male. 

"AN  have  another  species  with  very  short 
or  ab*><ve  wings;  it  is  entirely  of  a  black  co- 
lour, and  measures  six-tenths  of  an  inch  in 
length  from  the  head  to  the  end  of  the  body.  It 
may  be  called  Acheta  nigra,  the  black  cricket. 

"  A  third  species,  differing  from  these  two  in 
being  entirely  destitute  of  wings,  and  in  having 
the  wing-covers  proportionally  much  shorter, 
and  the  last  joint  of  the  feelers  {palpi)  almost 
twice  the  length  of  the  preceding  joint,  is  fur- 
thermore distinguished  from  them  by  its  greatly 
inferior  size,  and  its  diff*erent  colouring.  I: 
measures  from  three  to  above  four-tenths  of  an 
inch  in  length,  and  varies  in  colour  from  dusky 
brown  to  rusty  black,  the  wing-covers  and  hind- 
2  H  2  365 


CRICKET. 


CROW. 


most  thighs  being  always  somewhat  lighter.  In 
the  brownish-coloured  varieties,  three  longitu- 
dinal black  lines  are  distinctly  visible  on  the 
top  of  the  head,  and  a  black  line  on  each  side 
of  the  thorax,  which  is  continued  along  the 
sides  of  the  wing-covers  to  their  tips.  This 
black  line  on  the  wing-covers  is  never  want- 
ing, even  in  the  darkest  varieties.  The  hind- 
most thighs  have  on  the  outside  three  rows  of 
short  oblique  black  lines,  presenting  somewhat 
of  a  twilled  appearance.  This  is  one  of  the 
social  species,  which,  associated  together  in 
great  swarms,  and  feeding  in  common,  fre- 
quent our  meadows  and  roadsides,  and,  so 
far  from  avoiding  the  light  of  day,  seem  to 
be  quite  as  fond  of  it  as  others  are  of  darkness. 
It  may  be  called  jichcta  vittata,  the  striped 
cricket.  * 

"These    kinds   of   crickets    live  upon  the 
ground,  and  among  the  grass  and  low  herbage; 
Dut  there  is  another  kind  which  inhabits  the 
stems  and  branches  of  shrubs  and  trees,  con- 
cealing itself  during  the  daytime  among  the 
leaves  or  in  the  flowers  of  these  plants.     The 
males  begin  to  be  heard  about  the  middle  of 
August,  and  do  not  leave  us  until  after  the 
middle  of  September.     Their  shrilling  is  ex- 
cessively loud,  and  is  produced,  like  that  of 
other  crickets,  by  the  rubbing  of  one  wing- 
cover  against  the  other.    These  insects  have 
been  separated  from  the  other  crickets  under 
the  generical  name  of  (Ecanlhus,  a  word  which 
means  inhabiting  flowers.   They  may  be  called 
climbing  crickets,  from  their  habit  of  mounting 
upon  plants,  and  dwelling  among  the  leaves 
and  flowers.  According  to  M.  Salvi,  the  female 
makes  several  perforations  in  the  tender  stems 
of  plants,  and  in  each  perforation  thrusts  two 
eggs  quite  to  the  pith.    The  eggs  are  hatched 
about  midsummer,  and  the  young  immediately 
issue  from  their  nests  and  conceal  themselves 
among  the  thickest  foliage  of  the  plant.   When 
arrived  at  maturity,  the  males  begin  their  noc- 
turnal serenade  at  the  approach  of  twilight, 
and  continue  it,  with  little  or  no  intermission, 
till  the  dawn  of  day.    Should  one  of  these  little 
musicians  get  admission  to  the  chamber,  his 
incessant  and   loud  shrilling  will   effectually 
banish  sleep.    Of  three  species  which  inhabit 
the  United  States,  one  only  is  found  in  Massa- 
chusetts.    It  is  the  (Ecanthus  niveus,  or  white 
climbing  cricket.     The  male  is  ivory-white, 
with  the  upper  side  of  the  first  joint  of  the  an- 
tennae, and  the  head  between  the  eyes,  of  an 
ochre-yellow  colour;  there  is  a  minute  black 
dot  on  the  under-sides  of  the  first  and  second 
joints  of  the  antennae ;  and,  in  some  indivi- 
duals, the  extremities  of  the  feet  and  the  under- 
sides of  the  hindmost  thighs  are  ochre-yellow. 
The  body  is  about  half  an  inch  long,  exclusive 
of  the  wing-covers.     The  female  is  usually 
rather  longer,  but  the  wing-covers  are  much 
narrower  than  those  of  the  male,  and  there  is 
a  great  diversity  of  colouring  in  this  sex ;  the 
body  being  sometimes  almost  white,  or  pale 
greenish  yellow,  or  dusky,  and  blackish  be- 
neath.   There  are  three  dusky  stripes  on  the 
head  and  thorax,  and  the  legs,  antennae,  and 
piercer  are  more  or  less  dusky  or  blackish. 
The  wing-covers    and  wings  are    yellowish 
white,  sometinve^  with  a  tinge  of  green,  and 
366 


the  wings  are  rather  longer  than  the  covers.** 
(Harris  on  Destructive  Insects.) 

CROCUS.  A  well-known  bulbous  plant,  of 
which  there  are  many  varieties,  all  handsome. 
Plant  in  clumps;  tnove  them  once  in  three 
years,  to  separate  the  offsets  ;  they  like  a  good 
light  soil.  Plant  them  two  inches  deep  in  the 
ground.  Smith  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  46,  and  vol. 
iv.  p.  262),  describes  four  species  of  native 
English  crocuses,  viz.,  the  saffron  crocus,  pur- 
ple spring  crocus,  naked  flowering  crocus,  and 
net-rooted  crocus.     See  Saffron. 

CRONES.  A  provincial  word  applied  to 
the  different  descriptions  of  old  ewes. 

CROOK.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  a 
hook,  as  a  yat-crook  means  a  gate-hook. 

CROOM.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  an 
implement  with  crooked  or  hooked  prongs. 
There  are  muck-crooms,  turnip-crooms,  &c 
It  is  sometimes  written  Cronie. 

CROP.  The  produce  or  quantity  of  grain, 
roots,  or  grass,  &c.  grown  on  a  piece  of  land 
at  one  time ;  hence  we  have  grain,  root,  and 
green  crops.  There  is  an  able  paper  in  the 
Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  i.  p.  55,  by  Mr.  Henry 
Stephens,  on  the  causes  of  destruction  to  crops, 
which  may  be  consulted  with  advantage  by  the 
farmer.  For  course  of  crops,  see  Rotation  oi 
Chops. 

CROPPING.  An  operation  performed  with 
a  pair  of  shears,  on  the  ears  of  horses,  dogs,  or 
other  animals. 

CROSS-FURROW.  The  grip  or  furrow 
which  receives  the  superfluous  rain-water 
from  the  outer  furrows,  and  conveys  it  from 
the  land  into  a  ditch  or  other  outlet.  The  ope- 
ration of  making  these  cross-furrows  is  some- 
times performed  by 'the  spade,  and  at  others  by 
the  plough. 

CROTCH.     A  country  term  for  a  hook. 

CROW,  THE  CARRION  {Corvus  coram). 
The  carrion  crow,  like  the  raven  which  it  so 
much  resembles,  is  a  denizen  of  nearly  every 
part  of  the  world.  Crows  are  even  found  in 
New  Holland  and  the  Phillipine  islands  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  They  are  comparatively  rare 
in  northern  latitudes,  where  the  raven  most 
abounds.  The  crow  is  exceedingly  mischiev- 
ous in  his  depredations  about  farms  and  dwell- 
ings, where  he  sucks  eggs,  carries  off  chickens 
and  other  young  broods.  But  the  most  serious 
mischief  of  which  the  crow  is  guilty  in  the 
United  States,  is  that  of  pillaging  the  fields  of 
Indian  corn.  He  commences  at  the  planting 
time,  b}^  rooting  out  the  grain  as  soon  as  the 
sprout  shows  above  the  ground,  and  in  autumn, 
when  the  crop  ripens,  flocks,  sometimes  suffi 
cient  to  blacken  the  fields,  do  extensive  da- 
mage. 

"  The  crow,"  says  Nuttall,  "  like  many  other 
birds,  becomes  injurious  and  formidable  only 
in  the  gregarious  season,  at  other  times  they 
live  so  scattered,  and  are  so  shy  and  cautious, 
that  they  are  but  seldom  seen.  But  their  ar- 
mies, like  all  other  and  terrific  assemblies,  have 
the  power,  in  limited  districts,  of  doing  very 
sensible  mischief  to  the  agricultural  interests 
of  the  community;  and,  in  consequence,  the 
poor  crow,  notwithstanding  his  obvious  ser- 
vices in  the  destruction  of  vast  hosts  of  insects 
and  their  larvas,  is  proscribed  as  a  felon  in  all 


CROW. 


CROW. 


civilized  countries,  and,  with  the  wolves, 
panthers,  and  foxes,  a  price  is  put  upon  his 
head.  In  consequence,  various  means  of  en- 
snaring the  outlaw  have  been  had  recourse 
to.  Of  the  gun  he  is  extremely  cautious,  and  . 
suspects  its  appearance  at  the  first  glance,  per- 
ceiving with  ready  sagacity  the  wily  manner 
of  the  fowler.  So  fearful  and  suspicious  are 
they  of  human  artifices,  that  a  mere  line 
stretched  round  a  field  is  often  found  sufficient 
to  deter  these  wily  birds  from  a  visit  to  the 
corn-field.  Against  poison  he  is  not  so  guard- 
ed, and  sometimes  corn  steeped  in  hellebore  is 
given  him,  which  creates  giddiness  and  death. 
According  to  Buffon,  pieces  of  paper  in  the 
form  of  a  hollow  cone,  smeared  inside  with 
bird-lime,  and  containing  bits  of  raw  meat, 
have  been  employed.  In  attempting  to  gain 
the  bait,  the  dupe  becomes  instantly  hood- 
winked, and,  as  the  safest  course  out  of  the 
way  of  danger,  the  crow  flies  directly  upwards 
to  a  great  height,  but  becoming  fatigued  with 
the  exertion,  he  generally  descends  pretty  near 
to  the  place  from  which  he  started,  and  is  then 
easily  taken. 

"Another  curious  method,  related  by  the 
same  author,  is  that  of  pinning  a  live  crow  to 
the  ground  by  the  wings,  stretched  out  on  his 
back,  and  retained  in  this  posture  by  two  sharp, 
forked  sticks.  In  this  situation,  his  loud  cries 
attract  other  crows,  who  come  sweeping  down 
to  the  prostrate  prisoner,  and  are  grappled  in 
his  claws.  In  this  way  each  successive  prisoner 
may  be  made  the  innocent  means  of  capturing 
his  companion.  The  reeds  in  which  they  roost, 
when  dry  qnough,  are  sometimes  set  on  fire 
also  to  procure  their  destruction ;  and,  to  add 
to  the  fatality  produced  by  the  liaraes,  gunners 
are  also  stationed  round  to  destroy  those  that 
attempt  to  escape  by  flight.  In  severe  winters 
they  suffer  occasionally  from  famine  and  cold, 
and  fall  sometimes  dead  in  the  fields.  Accord- 
ing to  Wilson,  in  one  of  these  severe  seasons, 
more  than  six  hundred  crows  were  shot  on  the 
carcass  of  a  dead  horse,  which  was  placed  at 
a  proper  shooting  distance  from  a  stable.  The 
premiums  obtained  for  these,  and  the  price 
procured  for  the  quills,  produced  to  the  farmer 
nearly  the  value  of  the  horse  when  living, 
besides  affording  feathers  sufficient  to  fill  a  bed ! 

"The  crow  is  easily  raised  and  domesticated, 
and  soon  learns  to  distinguish  the  different 
members  of  the  family  with  which  he  is  asso- 
ciated. He  screams  at  the  approach  of  a 
stranger;  learns  to  open  the  door  by  alighting 
on  the  latch  ;  attends  regularly  at  meal  times  ; 
is  very  noisy  and  loquacious ;  imitates  the 
sound  of  various  words  which  he  hears ;  is 
very  thievish,  given  to  hiding  curiosities  in 
holes  and  crevices,  and  is  very  fond  of  carry- 
ing off"  pieces  of  metal,  corn,  bread,  and  food 
of  all  kinds ;  he  is  also  particularly  attached 
to  the  society  of  his  master,  and  recollects  him 
sometimes  after  a  long  absence. 

"It  is  commonly  believed  and  asserted  in 
some  parts  of  this  country,  that  the  crows  en- 
gage at  times  in  general  combat;  but  it  has 
never  been  ascertained  whether  this  hostility 
arises  from  civil  discord,  or  the  opposition  of 
two  different  species,  contesting  for  some  ex- 
clusive privilege  of  subsisting-ground.     It  is 


well  known  that  rooks  often  contend  with  each 
other,  and  drive  away,  by  every  persecuting 
means,  individuals  who  arrive  among  them 
from  any  other  rookery. 

"  The  crow  is  much  smaller  than  the  raven, 
and  is  of  a  deep  black  with  violet  reflections. 
The  bill  and  feet  are  also  black.  The  iris 
hazel.  (The  European  bird  is  twenty  inches, 
or  nearly,  and  has  the  feathers  of  the  neck 
narrow  and  distinct.)" 

Soaking  seed-corn  for  24  or  48  hours  in  a 
strong  solution  of  glauber's  salts,  is  said  to 
etTectually  prevent  crows,  black-birds,  and 
squirrels  from  pulling  up  the  grain. 

Wilson  was  the  first  ornithologist  who  dis- 
covered an  American  species  differing  from 
the  common  crow,  and  which  he  called  the 
fish  crow  (corvus  ossifrafius).  It  is  met  with 
along  the  coast  of  the  Southern  States  and  as 
high  up  as  New  Jersey.  It  keeps  apart  from  the 
common  species,  from  which,  however,  it  dif- 
fers but  slightly  in  appearance,  being  about 
16  inches  in  length  whilst  the  common  crow 
measures  about  18^  inches.  Instead  of  as- 
sembling tf>  roost  among  the  reeds  at  night,  it 
retires,  toward  evening,  from  the  shores  which 
alFord  it  a  subsistence,  and  perches  in  the 
neighbouring  woods.  Its  notes,  probably  va- 
rious, are  at  times  hoarse  and  guttural,  at 
others  weaker  and  higher.  They  pass  most  part 
of  their  time  near  rivers,  hovering  over  the 
stream  to  catch  up  dead  and  perhaps  living 
fish,  or  other  animal  matters  which  float  with- 
in their  reach ;  at  these  they  dive  with  con- 
siderable celerity,  and  seizing  them  in  their 
claws,  convey  them  to  an  adjoining  tree,  and 
devour  the  fruits  of  their  predatory  industry 
at  leisure.  They  also  snatch  up  water  lizard.* 
in  the  same  manner,  and  feed  upon  small  crabs « 
at  limes  they  are  seen  even  contending  with  the 
gulls  for  their  prey.  It  is  amusing  to  see  with 
what  steady  watchfulness  they  hover  over  the 
water  in  searchof  their  precarious  food,  having, 
in  fact,  all  the  traits  of  the  gull ;  but  they  subsist 
more  on  accidental  supplies  than  by  any  re- 
gular system  of  fishing.  On  land  they  have 
sometimes  all  the  familiarity  of  the  magpie, 
hopping  upon  the  backs  of  cattle,  in  whose 
company  they,  no  doubt,  occasionally  meet 
with  a  supply  of  insects  when  other  sources 
fail.  They  are  also  regular  in  their  attendance 
on  the  fishermen  in  New  Jersey,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  gleaning  up  the  refuse  of  the  fish. 
They  are  less  shy  and  suspicious  than  the 
common  crow,  and,  showing  no  inclination  for 
plundering  the  corn-fields,  are  rather  friends 
than  enemies  to  the  farmer.  They  appear 
near  Philadelphia,  from  the  middle  of  March 
to  the  beginning  of  June,  during  the  season 
of  the  shad  and  herring  fishery. 

They  breed  in  New  Jersey  in  tall  trees,  hav- 
ing nests  and  eggs  very  similar  to  those  ot^  the 
preceding  species,  and  rear  a  brood  of  four  .r 
five  young,  with  whom  they  are  seen  in  com 
pany  in  the  month  of  July. 

This  species  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
rook  in  general  appearance,  and  by  the  bare 
space  near  the  bill,  but  it  is  smaller,  longer 
tailed,  and  wholly  different  in  its  habits  and 
mode  of  living. 

The  Hooded  Crow  {Corvus  comix)  resembles 

367 


CROW-FOOT. 


CUCUMBER. 


the  carri'^n  crow  in  appearance  ;  but  is  only  a 
constant  resident  of  the  northern  parts  of  Eng- 
land and  the  western  islands  of  Scotland;  it  is 
more  destructive  to  the  farmers'  lambs,  &c.  I 
than  the  carrion  crow.    Its  colour  is  black.  I 
Length,  twenty  inches.     {YarreWs  Brit.  Birds, ' 
vol.  ii.  p.  79—83.) 

.CROW-FOOT,  or  Crane's  Bill.  The  spe- 
cies usually  known  by  this  name  in  England, 
is  the  Ranunculus  acris  of  botanists.  This,  with 
all  its  varieties,  are  poisonous.  The  comnon 
medicinal  crow-foot  is  the  medicinal  plant, 
which,  however,  is  only  used  externally,  the 
application  of  the  recent  leaves  or  root  pro- 
ducing a  blister.  The  most  poisonous  variety 
is  that  called  spear-wood.  The  plant  known 
in  the  United  States  by  the  name  of  crow-foot, 
or  spotted  crane's-bill,  is  the  spotted  geranium 
(Geranium  maculalum),  a  perennial  tuberous 
root,  found  along  fence-rows,  in  meadows, 
woodlands,  &c.,  flowering  in  May  and  June. 
The  root  is  astringent  and  has  been  found  use- 
ful in  diarrhoea,  haemorrhages,  «&c.  See  Fhra 
Ccstrica. 

CROW  NET.  A  net  made  of  doflble  thread 
or  fine  packthread,  principally  used  for  catch- 
ing wildfowl  in  the  winter  season ;  but  which 
may  also  be  employed  on  newly  sown  corn- 
fields for  catching  pigeons,  crows,  and  other 
birds  ;  and,  even  in  stubble-fields,  if  the  stubble 
conceals  the  net  from  the  birds. 

CROWN  IMPERIAL  (Fritillaria  imperia- 
lis).  Native  of  Persia,  with  a  large,  scaly, 
bulbous,  or  orange-coloured,  disagreeably 
smelling  root.  Blows  pendent  red  flowers  in 
April  and  May.  There  are  three  varieties,  the 
red-flowered,  the  red  striped-flowered  with 
striped  leaves,  and  the  yellow-flowered;  that 
blowing  a  yellow  flower  is  the  handsomest. 
Propagate  by  offsets  every  third  year,  taking 
up  the  bulbs  in  July  for  that  purpose.  It  loves 
a  sandy  loam,  and  is  averse  to  manure  or  wet. 
See  Feiitillaht. 

CRUCIFORM-PLANTS  (CrncifcrcB),  a  class 
comprehending  such  garden  vegetables  as  the 
cabbage,  cauliflower,  broccoli,  sea-kale,  turnip, 
radish,  mustard,  and  in  fact  almost  every  culi- 
uary  article,  except  spinach.  The  class  de- 
rives its  name  from  the  flowers  having  four 
petals  or  flower-leaves,  disposed  in  the  form 
of  a  cross,  as  exemplified  in  the  wall-flower. 
It  is  remarked  by  botanists,  that  not  a  single 
species  included  in  this  group  is  poisonous. 
Even  that  great  pest  among  weeds,  charlock, 
or  wild  radish,  which  belongs  to  the  cruciform 
class,  affords  when  young  most  excellent  and 
wholesome  greens. 

CRUPPER.  A  term  applied  to  the  rump  of 
*a  horse ;  also  to  a  roll  of  leather  put  under  a 
horse's  tail,  and  drawn  up  by  a  strap  to  the 
buckle  behind  the  saddle. 

CRUSHERS  FOR  GRAIN,  are  evidently 
coming  fast  into  use;  the  saving  of  food,  by 
giving  the  grain  in  a  broken  state,  being  cer- 
tainly very  considerable.  It  is  a  practice  at 
least  as  old  as  the  days  of  Samuel  Hartlib, 
who  mentions  it  with  approbation  in  his  "  Le- 
gacie."  Machines  for  cracking  and  crushing 
Indian  corn  by  hand  for  feed,  are  quite  com- 
mon in  the  United  States. 

CUCKOO  PINT.    SeeAuunc. 
36S 


CUCKOO  SPIT.  Applied  to  a  kind  of 
froUiy  substance  frequently  found  on  plants, 
containing  insects.     See  Froghopfkus. 

CUCUMBER  (Cucumis  sativus.  From  joxwcc 
or  a-tKvo(.  Varro  says,  "Cucumeres  dicunlur  a 
curvore,  ut  curvirnere  dicti").  The  following 
are  the  chief  varieties: — 1.  Early  short  green 
prickly;  2.  early  long  green  prickly ;  3.  most 
long  green  prickly;  4.  early  green  cluster;  5. 
white  Dutch  prickly ;  6.  long  smooth  green 
Turkey;  7.  large  smooth  green  Roman;  8. 
Flanegan's;  9.  Russian;  10.  white  Turkey; 
11.  Nepal;  12.  fluted  (from  China);  13.  the 
snake. 

The  early  short  prickly  is  atout  four  inches 
long,  and  is  often  preferred  for  the  first  crop,  as 
being  a  very  plentiful  bearer,  quick  in  coming 
into  production,  and  the  hardiest  of  all  the  va- 
rieties. The  early  long  prickly  is  about  seven 
inches  long;  it  is  a  hardy,  abundantly  bearing 
variety,  but  not  quick  in  coming  into  produc- 
tion. It  is  generally  grown  for  main  crops. 
The  longest  prickly  is  about  nine  or  ten  inches 
in  length ;  it  is  a  hardy,  good  bearer.  There  is 
a  white  sub-var-iety.  The  early  green  cluster 
is  a  very  early  bearer.  Its  fruit  is  about  six 
inches  long.  It  is  chiefly  characterized  by  its 
fruit  growing  in  clusters.  The  whole  plant 
grows  compact,  and  is  well  suited  for  hand- 
glass crops.  The  while  Dutch  prickly  is  about 
six  inches  long;  it  has  an  agreeable  flavour, 
though  differing  from  most  of  the  others.  It 
comes  quickly  into  bearing. 

The  other  varieties  are  slow  in  coming  into 
production,  and  are  chiefly  remarkable  for  their 
great  size.  The  Nepal  often  weighs  twelve 
pounds,  being  occasionally  eight  inches  in  dia- 
meter and  seventeen  in  length.  It  is  a  native 
of  Calcutta.  The  snake  cucumber  is  very  small 
in  diameter,  but  attains  the  length,  it  is  said, 
of  several  feet. 

A  fresh  loam,  rather  inclining  to  lightness 
than  tenacity,  as  the  top-spit  of  a  pasture,  is 
perhaps  as  fine  a  soil  as  can  be  employed  for 
the  cucumber.  It  will  succeed  in  any  open 
soil  of  the  garden  for  the  hand-glass  and  natu- 
ral ground  crops. 

The  out-door  culture  of  cucumbers  practised 
throughout  the  United  States  is  so  familiarly 
known  as  to  require  no  particular  description. 
In  the  neighbourhood  of  large  cities  the  large 
demand  for  cucumbers  causes  these  to  be  in- 
cluded among  the  articles  of  field-culture,  and 
this  is  done  to  great  profit  by  the  Long  Island 
and  New  Jersey  truck  farmers,  for  the  supply 
of  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia  markets.  It 
is  a  great  object  to  get  the  produce  into  market 
as  early  as  possible,  as  only  a  few  days  advan- 
tage makes  a  great  diflference  in  the  value  of 
this,  in  common  with  most  other  articles  sup- 
plied by  gardeners,  fruiterers,  and  truckmen. 
Thomas  G.  Bergen,  an  intelligent  and  experi- 
enced gardener  on  Long  Island,  communicated 
to  the  editor  of  the  Cultivator  the  following  ac- 
count of  his  method  of  raising  cucumbers,  to- 
gether with  his  estimate  of  the  produce  and 
profits  of  the  crop. 

"  Cucumbers  will  grow  on  any  good  soil,  but 
to  have  them  early  we  require  a  rich  sandy 
one,  of  a  dark  colour;  yellow  and  light-coloured 
ones  being  later.     The  field,  if  possible,  re 


UUCUMBER. 


CUCUMBER. 


^aii-es  to  be  protected  from  the  r'o»-»th  ?p  Qorth-  j 
west  winds,  and  be  situated  near  the  oay  or 
river,  where  there  is  always  less  danp'  r  from 
late  frosts.  The  south  winds,  \rith  us,  m  May 
and  June,  retard  vegetation  more  than  ai.y  other, 
in  consequence  of  their  being  chilly  aid  cool, 
which  qualities  they  receive  from  the  ocean. 

"Ground  intended  for  cucumbers  we  prefer 
ploughing  in  August  or  the  beginning  of  Sep- 
tember of  the  preceding  year,  and  sowing  with 
rye ;  the  pasture  which  this  produces  pays  for 
the  labour,  and  among  its  advantages  are,  the 
prevention  of  weeds  going  to  seed  and  troubling 
us  in  the  spring ;  the  soil  not  blowing  about  in 
winter,  especially  on  the  knolls  ;  neither  is  it 
so  liable  to  blow  when  ploughed  in  the  spring, 
in  consequence  of  the  roots  of  the  plants,  and 
the  sustenance  afforded  to  the  crop  by  the  de- 
cay of  the  rye.  Previous  to  ploughing  for  the 
crop,  th«re  should  be  spread  about  seven  two- 
horse  loads  of  street  or  horse  manure  to  the 
acre ;  but  if  the  soil  is  poor,  more  will  be  ne- 
cessary, and  the  ploughing  should  take  place 
immediately  after  the  spreading.  The  ground 
is  then  harrowed  over  two  or  three  times  until 
it  is  mellow,  furrowed  shallow,  with  a  plough, 
into  hills  four  and  a  half  feet  asunder,  manured 
with  half  a  shovelful  in  a  hill,  which  is  flat- 
tened down  with  a  hoe  and  covered  about  an 
inch  thick  with  fine  soil.  Short  hog  manure, 
carted  out  of  the  pen  the  preceding  fall,  and 
cut  over  early  in  the  spring  once  or  twice,  and 
made  fine,  is  preferred  for  the  hills;  but  this 
not  being  generally  sufficiently  abundant,  we 
procure  the  manure  of  cows  which  have  been 
fed  on  distillers'  slops,  mixed  with  that  of 
horses,  so  as  to  make  it  sufliciently  firm  to 
handle  with  a  fork,  from  New  York  in  the  fall, 
which  we  mix  with  the  hog  manure.  The  ma- 
nure should  be  cool,  for  fermentation  in  the 
hills  is  injurious  to  the  plants. 

"The  sooner  the  seed  is  planted  after  plough- 
ing the  better;  the  time  of  planting  depends 
upon  the  forwardness  of  the  season,  and  it  is 
generally  commenced  when  single  apricot  blos- 
soms are  open,  but  some  seasons  earlier.  About 
a  week  is  occupied  in  putting  in  the  first  seed, 
and  nearly  the  same  period  in  planting  over 
the  first  and  second  times.  The  casualties  to 
which  the  seeds  and  plants  are  subject  induces 
us  to  continue  putting  in  seed  almost  everyday 
for  this  space  of  time,  so  as  to  make  certain 
work.  It  sometimes  happens,  when  the  wea- 
ther has  been  unfavourable,  that  everj'  hill  in 
some  fields  is  planted  over  the  third,  and  even 
.<?ingle  hills  the  fourth  time.  I  prefer  spreading 
the  first  seed  in  the  south  half  of  the  hills,  the 
first  planting  over  in  the  northwest,  and  the 
second  in  the  northeast  quarters ;  if  it  becomes 
necessary  to  plant  over  the  third  time,  I  put  the 
seed  in  the  south  half,  where  the  first  seed  by 
that  time  is  rotten.  If  this  plan  is  properly 
followed,  the  different  plantings  will  not  inter- 
fere with  each  other.  We  generally  put  in 
from  thirty  to  forty  seeds  each  time,  and  cover 
them  with  fine  soil  from  three-quarters  to  an 
inch  deep.  Sprouting  the  seed  previous  to 
planting  does  not  succeed  well  early  in  the 
season,  but  does  sometimes  when  the  weather 
is  favourable  in  the  latter  part.  Cucumber 
seed  is  the  tenderest  of  the  vine  kind,  for  if, 
47 


after  planting  at  the  usual  depth,  wet  weather 
should  follow,  it  is  almost  certain  to  rot;  if  dry, 
it  dries  out;  if,  when  favourable  to  their  vege- 
tating, and  the  plants  have  advanced  so  as  to 
be  breaking  ground,  a  storm  should  occur,  they 
generally  perish;  a  northeaster  of  three  or  four 
days'  continuance  destroys  the  plants  when 
young,  and  in  some  instances  when  more  than 
a  week  old;  if  up  too  early,  a  late  frost  is  apt 
to  sweep  them  clean.  Seed  to  vegetate  re- 
quires to  be  near  the  surface  of  the  wet  soil 
not  buried  deep  into  it;  our  ignorance  of 
the  weather  which  ■will  follow  after  planting, 
causes  most  of  our  errors ;  when  planted  in  a 
heavy  soil,  it  is  less  liable  to  rot  and  dry  out 
than  in  a  sandy  one,  but  the  fruit  is  later.  If 
it  happens  that  there  are  more  plants  in  a  hill 
than  we  require,  we  find  it  an  easy  matter  to 
eradicate  them  with  the  hoe  and  fingers,  but  it 
is  not  so  easy  to  place  them  in  the  hills  when 
deficient 

When  the  first  rough  leaves  of  the  plants 
are  about  the  size  of  a  twenty-five  cent  piece, 
a  cultivator  is  run  through  the  rows  both  ways, 
and  they  receive  the  first  hoeing;  the  plants  are 
also  thinned  out,  so  as  not  to  crowd  each  other. 
In  hoeing,  the  soil  between  the  plants  should  not 
be  disturbed ;  large  weeds  (if  any)  must  be  pull- 
ed out ;  and  fine  soil  drawn  around  the  plants  up 
to  the  seed  leaves,  so  as  to  cover  small  weeds. 
The  hill  must  be  made  flat  and  not  concave. 
We  are  careful  not  to  hoe  while  the  plants  are 
very  young,  for  if  a  storm  should  occur  shortly 
after  the  operation  has  been  performed,  the 
hills  soak  in  too  much  water,  which  is  inju- 
rious. Ten  or  twelve  days  after  the  first  hoe- 
ing, the  plants  (if  good)  are  thinned  to  six  or 
eight  in  a  hill,  leaving  the  largest  ones,  and  if 
possible  three  or  four  inches  apart.  About 
eighteen  days  after  the  first  hoeing,  or  about 
the  lime  when  single  blossoms  open,  we  run  a 
one-horse  plough  twice  through  a  row  each 
way  (if  the  ground  is  hard,  three  times), 
throwing  the  furrow  from  the  hills,  and  then 
commence  the  second  hoeing,  which  is  per- 
formed in  the  same  manner  as  the  first,  care 
being  taken  not  to  earth  up  higher  than  the 
seed  leaves,  and  to  scrape  out  the  crust  be- 
tween the  plants,  if  the  ground  is  hard  or  co- 
vered with  weeds ;  they  are  also,  if  the  plants 
are  fair,  thinned  down  to  five  in  a  hill. 

"When  the  Wnes  extend  so  that  single  ones 
meet  each  other  between  the  hills,  to  prevent 
injury  they  are  carefully  laid  aside  by  hand,  or 
with  a  short  stick,  and  the  cultivator  for  the 
last  time  is  run  once  through  a  row  each  way. 
They  then  receive  the  third  and  last  hoeing,  the 
ground  being  loosened  and  drawn  up  around 
the  hills  with  the  hoe,  and  broken  between  the 
plants  with  the  fingers.  It  is  customary  to 
leave  five  plants  in  a  hill,  standing  from  four 
to  five  inches  apart,  but  some  reduce  them  to 
four;  have  tried  no  experiment  to  test  whicn 
is  the  best. 

"  Cucumber  vines  will  yield  fruit  about  eight 
weeks,  and  the  fields  are  picked  over  at  least 
every  second  and  sometimes  everv  Jay.  In 
picking,  a  light  slick  with  a  cross-piece  framed 
to  it  so  as  to  resemble  the  letter  T,  is  made  use 
of  to  push  the  leaves  aside  and  more  readity 
to  discover  the  fruit. 

369 


CUCUMBER. 


CUCUMBER, 


Cucumbers  sold. 
104,965 
99.670 

Aoi't  rnceive.1. 

#823  84 

820  96 

130,735 
118,600 

532  00 

734  871 

"  We  are  acquainted  with  the  S)'stem  of  ro- 
tation of  crops,,  and  it  has  been  practised 
among  our  farmers  for  years,  but  cucumbers, 
as  well  as  some  other  vegetables,  do  not  seem 
to  require  it.  I  have  a  piece  of  about  half  an 
acre  on  which  1  have  cultivated  them  for  the 
last  ten  successive  years,  ploughing  in  the 
usual  quantity  of  street  manure  every  second 
year,  and  they  have  flourished  as  well  as  on  the 
adjoining  ground,  which  has  been  similarly 
manured,  and  on  which  the  crops  have  hem 
changed. 

"The  following  is  the  quantity  planted,  pro- 
duce, and  amount  of  sales,  for  the  last  four 
years,  viz. 

Tear.  Hills  planted. 

1835  6.000 

1836  6,600 

1837  7,370 

1838  7,110 
"  During  each  of  these  years  large  quantities 

of  cullings,  and,  when  unsaleable,  good  ones, 
were  fed  to  the  hogs  and  cattle,  of  which  no 
account  was  kept."    (Cultivator,  v.) 

CUCUMBER,  INSECTS  ATTACKING.  In 
the  United  States  the  vine  of  the  cucumber  is 
preyed  upon  at  all  ages,  but  more  especially 
when  very  young  and  tender,  by  various  in- 
sects, which  make  it  necessary  to  replant  fre- 
quently, and  very  often  entirely  destroy  the 
hopes  "of  the  gardener  and  truckman.  Among 
the  most  destructive  of  these  is  the  beetle  ge- 
nerally known  by  the  names  of  striped  bug, 
cucumber  bug,  and  striped  Galeruca.  It  is  of  a 
Hght  yellow  colour  above,  with  a  black  head, 
and  a  broad  black  stripe  on  each  wing-cover. 
Its  length  is  rather  more  than  one-fifth  of  an 
inch.  It  belongs  to  the  extensive  tribe  of  leaf- 
eating  beetles,  called  by  naturalists  Chrysome- 
lians,  a  word  applied  to  designate  gulden  bee- 
tles, many  of  which  are  of  the  most  brilliant 
colours,  with  the  finest  metallic  lustres. 

Dr.  Harris  informs  us  that  the  striped  cu- 
cumber bug  in  early  spring  devours  the  ten- 
der leaves  of  various  plants,  before  the  cucum- 
ber, squash,  and  melon  vines  are  out  of  the 
ground.  As  soon,  however,  as  the  leaves  of 
these  come  up  and  begin  to  expand,  they  are 
attacked  by  the  bug ;  and,  as  several  broods 
are  produced  in  the  course  of  the  summer,  it 
may  be  found  at  various  times  on  these  plants, 
till  the  latter  are  destroyed  by  frost.  "  Great 
numbers  of  these  little  beetles  may  be  obtained 
in  the  autumn  from  the  flowers  of  squash  and 
pumpkin  vines,  the  pollen  and  germs  of  which 
they  are  very  fond  of.  They  get  into  the  blos- 
soms as  soon  as  the  latter  are  opened,  and  are 
often  caught  there  by  the  twisting  and  closing 
of  the  top  of  the  flower,  and  when  they  want 
to  make  their  escape,  they  are  obliged  to  gnaw 
a  hole  through  the  side  of  their  temporary  pri- 
son. The  females  lay  their  eggs  in  the  ground, 
and  the  larvae  probably  feed  on  the  roots  of 
plants,  but  they  have  hitherto  escaped  my  re- 
searches. 

"Various  means  have  been  suggested  and 
tried  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  these  striped 
cucumber  beetles,  which  have  become  noto- 
rious throughout  the  country  for  their  attacks 
upon  the  leaves  of  the  cucumber  and  squash. 
Dr.  B.  S.  Barton,  of  Philadelphia,  recommend- 
ed sprinkling  the  vines  with  a  mixture  of  to- 
370 


bacco  and  red  pepper,  which  he  stated  to  be 
attended  with  great  benefit.  Watering  the  vires 
with  a  solution  of  one  ounce  of  Glauber's  j.alts 
in  a  quart  of  water,  or  with  tobacco  water,  an 
infusion  of  elder,  of  walnut  leaves,  or  of  hops, 
has  been  highly  recommended.  Mr.  Gourgas, 
of  Weston,  has  found  no  application  so  useful 
as  ground  plaster  of  Paris  ;  and  a  writer  in  the 
'American  Farmer'  extols  the  use  of  charcoal 
dust.  Deane  recommended  sifting  powdered 
soot  upon  the  plants  when  they  are  wet  with 
the  morning  dew,  and  others  have  advised  sul- 
phur and  Scotch  snuflfto  be  applied  in  the  same 
way.  As  these  insects  fly  by  night  as  well  as 
by  day,  and  are  attracted  by  lights,  lighted 
splinters  of  pine  knots  or  oif  staves  of  tar- 
barrels,  stuck  into  the  ground  during  the  night 
around  the  plants,  have  been  found  useful  in 
destroying  these  beetles.  The  most  efiectual 
preservative  both  against  these  insects  and  the 
equally  destructive  black  flea-beetles  which  in- 
fest the  vines  in  the  spring,  consists  in  cover- 
ing the  young  vines  with  millinet  stretched 
over  small  wooden  frames.  Mr.  Levi  Bartlett, 
of  Warner,  N.  H.,  has  described  S  method  for 
making  these  frames  expeditiously  and  econo- 
mically, and  his  directions  may  be  found  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  New  England  Farmer^ 
p.  305,  and  in  Fessenden's  New  American  Gar^ 
dener,  sixth  edition,  p.  91."    (Ha)Tis.) 

A  correspondent  of  the  Cultivator  says  that 
a  thin  layer  of  tow  spread  over  cucumlDer  and 
melon  plants  when  they  first  appear  will  save 
them  from  the  striped  yellow  bug.  To  this  the 
editor  appends  the  following  observation : — 
"  Our  remedy  for  the  bug,  and  for  the  worm  in 
the  garden,  is  to  put  a  coop  with  a  hen  and 
good  brood  of  chickens  there,  and  these  intrud- 
ers, and  most  others  of  the  insect  depredators, 
will  soon  become  scarce."  The  thin  layer  of 
tow  doubtless  suggested  the  millinet  frame  pro- 
tectors just  referred  to. 

Mr.  Bergen,  whose  mode  of  cultivating  cu- 
cumbers has  been  given,  makes  the  following 
observations  in  relation  to  the  insect  enemies 
of  the  plant: — 

"  The  insects  which  trouble  and  destroy  the 
plants  are  the  black  worm  and  striped  bugs ; 
the  first  is  apt  to  be  numerous  in  ground  which 
was  occupied  the  preceding  year  with  red  clo- 
ver; they  cut  off"  the  plants  at  or  above  the  sur- 
face in  the  night,  and  are  generally  hunted  out 
early  in  the  morning,  when  their  burrowing  is 
fresh  and  they  lie  near  the  surface,  until  the 
ground  is  cleared  of  them  :  the  striped  bug  or 
yellow  fly  eats  the  plants  in  the  day  time,  and 
is  sometimes  very  destructive  on  land  where  a 
crust  is  formed  on  the  surface,  which,  being 
raised  up  by  the  young  plants,  affords  them  a 
harbour.  The  best  remedy  is,  with  the  fingers 
to  catch  and  destroy  them  in  the  morning  when 
the  dew  is  on  them  and  they  are  chilled,  which 
prevents  their  flying  and  escaping  as  freely  as 
when  the  sun  has  warmed  them.  Sandy  land, 
having  no  crust  to  shelter  these  pests,  is  gene- 
rally exempt  from  their  depredations." 

The  cucumber  flea-beetle  referred  to,  is  a 

little,  black,  jumping  insect,  well  known  from 

the  injury  done  by  it  in  the  spring,  not  only  to 

the  young  plants  of  the  cucumber,  but  to  those 

,  of  the   cabbage,  turnip,  ruta  baga,  mustard, 


w 

radish,  cress,  p 


CUCUMBER. 


radisn,  cress,  potato,  and  some  others  of  tne 
cruciferous  family.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the 
turnip-fly  or  more  properly  the  turnip  flea- 
beetle,  which  lays  waste  the  turnip  fields  in 
Europe,  devouring  the  seed-leaves  of  the 
plants  as  soon  as  they  appear  above  ground, 
and  continuing  their  ravages  upon  new  crops 
throughout  the  summer.  It  is  stated  in  Youngs 
Annuls  of  Jgriculture  (vol.  vii.),  that  the  loss  in 
Devonshire,  England,  in  one  season,  from  the 
destruction  of  the  turnip  crops  by  this  little 
insect,  was  estimated  at  £100,000  sterling. 
These  turnip  flies  belong  to  a  family  of  beetles 
to  which  naturalists  have  applied  the  name 
hultica,  derived  from  a  word  signifying  to  leap. 
In  the  American  cucumber  flea-beetle,  the 
surface  of  the  body  is  smooth,  generally  po- 
lished, and  often  prettily  or  brilliantly  coloured. 
See  Flea-Beetles. 

"The  flea-beetles,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "con- 
ceal themselves  during  the  winter,  in  dry 
places,  under  stones,  in  tufts  of  withered  grass, 
and  in  chinks  of  walls.  They  lay  their  eggs 
in  the  spring,  upon  the  leaves  of  the  plants 
upon  which  they  feed.  The  larvce,  or  young, 
of  the  smaller  kinds  burrow  into  the  'ieaves, 
and  eat  the  soft  pulpy  substance  under  the 
skin,  forming  therein  little  winding  passages, 
in  which  they  finally  complete  their  trans- 
formations. Hence  the  plants  suffer  as  much 
from  the  depredations  of  the  larvae,  as  from 
those  of  'he  beetles,  a  fact  that  has  too  often 
been  ovci  looked.  The  larvae  of  the  larger 
kinds  are  said  to  live  exposed  upon  the  surface 
of  the  leaves  which  they  devour,  till  they  have 
come  to  their  growth,  and  to  go  into  the  ground, 
where  they  are  changed  to  pupae,  and  soon 
afterwards  to  beetles.  The  mining  larvae,  the 
only  kinds  which  are  known  to  me  from  per- 
sonal examination,  are  little  slender  grubs, 
tapering  towards  each  end,  and  provided  with 
six  legs.  They  arrive  at  maturity,  turn  to 
pupoo,  and  then  to  beetles  in  a  few  weeks. 
Hence  there  is  a  constant  succession  of  these 
insects,  in  their  various  stales,  throughout  the 
summer.  The  history  of  the  greater  part  of 
our  halticas  or  flea-beetles  is  still  unknown; 
I  shall,  therefore,  only  add,  to  the  foregoing 
general  remarks,  descriptions  of  two  or  three 
common  species,  and  suggest  such  remedies 
as  seem  to  be  useful  in  protecting  plants  from 
their  ravages. 

"The  most  destructive  species  in  this  vicinity 
(Boston)  is  that  which  attacks  the  cucumber 
plant  as  soon  as  the  latter  appears  above  the 
ground,  eating  the  seed-leaves,  and  thereby  de- 
stroying the  plants  immediately.  Supposing  this 
to  be  an  undescribed  insect,  I  formerly  named 
it  Haltica  cucumeris,  the  cucumber  flea-beetle; 
but  Mr.  Say  subsequently  informed  me  that  it 
was  the  pubescens  of  lUiger,  so  named  because 
it  is  very  slightly  pubescent  or  downy.  It  is  only 
one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  black  colour, 
with  clay-yellow  antennae  and  legs,  except  the 
hindmost  thighs,  which  are  brown.  The  upper 
side  of  the  body  is  covered  with  punctures, 
which  are  arranged  in  rows  on  the  wing-cases; 
and  there  is  a  deep  transverse  furrow  across 
the  hinder  part  of  the  thorax. 

"The  wavy-striped  flea-beetle,  Haltica  strio- 
luta,  may  be  seen  in  grea^  abundance  on  the  I 


CUCUMBER  TREE. 

horse-radish,  various  kinds  of  cresses,  and  on 
the  mustard,  and  turnip,  early  in  May,  and  in- 
deed at  other  times  throughout  the  summer. 
It  is  very  injurious  to  young  plants,  destroying 
their  seed-leaves  as  soon  as  the  latter  expand. 
Should  it  multiply  to  any  extent,  it  may,  i\ 
time,  become  as  great  a  pest  as  the  European 
turnip  flea-beetle,  which  it  closely  resembles 
in  its  appearance,  and  in  all  its  habits.  Though 
rather  larger  than  the  cucumber  flea-beetle, 
and  of  a  longer  oval  shape,  it  is  considerably 
less  than  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  length.  It  is 
of  a  polished  black  colour,  with  a  broad  wavy 
buff-coloured  stripe  on  each  wing-cover,  and 
the  knees  and  feet  are  reddish-yellow.  Spe- 
cimens are  sometimes  found  having  two  buff- 
yellow  spots  on  each  wing-cover  instead  of 
the  wavy  stripes. 

"  In  England,  where  the  ravages  of  the  tur- 
nip flea-beetle  have  attracted  great  attention, 
and  have  caused  many  and  various  experi- 
ments to  be  tried  with  a  view  of  checking  them, 
it  is  thought  that  '  the  careful  and  systematic 
use  of  lime  will  obviate,  in  a  great  degree,  the 
danger  which  has  been  experienced,'  from  this 
insect.  From  this  and  other  statements  in 
favour  of  the  use  of  lime,  there  is  good  reason 
to  hope  that  it  will  effectually  protect  plants 
from  the  various  kinds  of  flea-beetles,  if  dusted 
over  them,  when  wet  with  dew,in  proper  season. 
Watering  plants  with  alkaline  solutions,  it  is 
said,  will  kill  the  insects  without  injuring  the 
plants.  The  solution  may  be  made  by  dissolv- 
ing one  pound  of  hard  soap  in  twelve  gallons 
of  the  soap  suds  left  after  washing.  This 
mixture  should  be  applied  twice  a  day  with  a 
water  pot.  Kollar  very  highly  recommends 
watering  or  wetting  the  leaves  of  plants  with 
an  infusion  or  tea  of  wormwood,  which  pre- 
vents the  flea-beetles  from  touching  them. 
Perhaps  a  decoction  of  walnut  loaves  might 
be  equally  serviceable.  Great  numbers  of  the 
beetles  may  be  caught  by  the  skilful  use  of  a 
deep  bag-net  of  muslin,  which  should  be  swept 
over  the  plants  infested  by  the  beetles,  after 
which  the  latter  may  be  easily  destroyed. 
This  net  cannot  be  used  with  safety  to  catch 
the  insects  on  very  young  plants,  on  account 
of  the  risk  of  bruising  or  breaking  their  tender 
leaves."     (Harris.) 

Dr.  Harris  says,  that  several  years  ago  he 
observed  cucumber  vines  much  infested  by 
some  minute  jumping  insects,  rather  less  than 
one-tenth  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  broad  oval 
shape,  and  black  colour,  without  wing-covers 
or  wings,  but  furnished  with  short,  thick  hinder 
thighs.  They  injured  the  vines  very  much 
by  eating  holes  into  or  puncturing  the  leaves 
and  were  expelled  by  dusting  the  plants  with 
flower  of  sulphur.  These  cucumber-skippers 
were  so  soft  and  tender,  and  withal  so  agile, 
that  it  was  difficult  to  catch  without  crushing 
them.  Consequently  he  was  unable  to  examine 
them  thoroughly,  and  failed  to  preserve  spe- 
cimens of  them. 

Since  the  time  referred  to  they  have  escaped 
the  doctor's  observation.  He,  however,  thinks 
they  were  very  different  from  the  little  flea 
beetles  just  described  as  belonging  to  the  hahica 
family. 

CUCUMBER  TREE.     There  are  three  spe- 

371 


CUCUMBER  TREE. 


CUDWEED. 


cies  of  the  magnolia,  natives  of  the  TJhAed 
States,  which  go  under  this  name^  from  the  re- 
semblance of  their  cones  to  the  green  fruit  of 
the  cucumber.  One  of  these,  the  Magnolia 
acuminata,  is  a  tree  of  considerable  size,  some- 
times exceeding  eighty  feet  in  height  and  three 
or  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  trunk  is  per- 
fectly straight,  of  a  uniform  size,  and  often 
Restitute  of  branches  for  two-thirds  of  its 
length.  The  tree  is  one  of  the  most  splendid 
ornaments  of  the  American  forests.  The  leaves 
are  six  or  seven  inches  long  and  three  or  four 
broad,  upon  old  trees,  and  often  twice  the 
size  upon  saplings.  Their  form  is  oval,  entire, 
and  very  sharp  pointed,  from  which  last  cha- 
racteristic the  tree  derives  its  specific  name  of 
acuminata.  They  fall  off  in  autumn.  The 
flowers  are  five  or  six  inches  in  diameter, 
bluish,  and  sometimes  white  with  a  tint  of 
yellow.  They  have  a  feeble  odour,  and  being 
large  and  numerous,  give  a  fine  effect  in  the 
midst  of  the  elegant  foliage.  It  makes  a  superb 
ornamental  tree  in  lawns,  &c. 

The  cones  or  fruit  are  about  three  inches 
long,  and  one  inch  in  diameter,  nearly  cylin- 
drical in  shape,  and  often  a  little  longer  at  the 
extremity  than  at  the  base.  When  green,  they 
very  much  resemble  a  young  cucumber.  They 
have  cells,  each  of  which  contains  one  rose- 
coloured  seed,  which,  before  it  escapes,  remains 
suspended  on  the  outside  by  a  filament,  like 
those  of  the  great  and  small  magnolias.  Most 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  bordering  on 
the  AUeghanies  gather  the  cones  about  mid- 
summer, when  half  ripe,  and  steep  them  in 
whisky;  a  glass  or  two  of  this  liquor,  which 
is  extremely  bitter,  they  habitually  take  in  the 
morning,  under  the  alleged  excuse  of  preserv- 
ing them  against  autumnal  fevers. 

The  most  northern  point  at  which  Michaux 
observed  the  cucumber  tree,  was  on  the  Nia- 
gara river,  in  the  latitude  of  43°.  It  abounds 
along  the  whole  mountainous  tract  of  the  AUe- 
ghanies, to  their  termination  in  Georgia,  a 
distance  of  900  miles.  It  is,  however,  rarely 
met  with  at  a  greater  distance  than  40  or  50 
miles  from  the  mountains,  either  eastward  or 
westward.  Michaux  concludes  that  it  is  a 
stranger  to  all  the  Atlantic  parts  of  the  United 
States,  to  the  distance  of  100,  150,  and  200 
miles  from  the  sea,  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
extreme  heat  of  the  climate  being  utterly  un- 
congenial to  its  growth.  It  may,  however,  be 
found  in  a  highly  flourishing  condition  at  the 
seats  of  the  Messieurs  Dupont,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Brandywine,  and  would  doubtless  grow 
anywhere  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  es- 
pecially on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  and 
perhaps  still  further  north. 

Another  species  of  magnolia,  which,  in  its 
general  appearance  and  in  the  form  of  its 
fruit,  very  nearly  resembles  the  preceding,  has 
been  confounded  with  it  by  the  inhabitants  of 
the  regions  in  which  it  grows.  Michaux  calls 
it  the  heart-leaved  cucumber  tree  (Magnolia 
cordata).  He  found  it  on  the  banks  of  the  Sa- 
vannah river  in  Upper  Georgia,  and  also  on 
the  streams  in  the  back  parts  of  South  Caro- 
lina, approaching  within  twelve  miles  of  Au- 
gusta. It  grows  to  the  height  of  forty  or  fifty 
feet,  with  a  diameter  of  twelve  or  fifteen  inches. 
373 


The  bark  is  rough  ani  deeply  furrowed  like 
that  of  the  sweet  gum  and  young  white  oak. 

The  flowers,  which  appear  in  April,  are 
yellow,  and  nearly  four  inches  in  aiameter. 
The  succeeding  cones  are  about  three  inches 
long  and  one  inch  thick,  and  with  the  seeds, 
resemble  those  of  other  magnolias.  The  beauty 
of  its  yellow  flowers  form  an  agreeable  con- 
trast with  its  luxuriant  foliage,  and,  together 
with  its  capacity  to  resist  intense  cold,  recom- 
mend it  highly  as  an  ornamental  tree  in  north- 
erly situations. 

The  long-leaved  cucumber  tree,  {Magnolia  auri- 
culata)  is  also  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  its 
foliage  and  for  the  size  of  its  flowers,  which 
possess  an  agreeable  odour.  Michaux  states 
that  it  appears  form  his  observations  to  be 
confined  to  that  tract  of  the  Alleghany  Moun- 
tains which  traverse  the  Southern  States,  at 
the  distance  of  nearly  300  miles  from  the  sea. 
Besides  the  popular  name  already  given,  it  is 
also  called  Indian  physic. 

The  growth  of  this  is  far  below  that  of  the 
first  named  tree,  nor  does  it  even  attain  the 
size  of  the  heart-leaved  species.  Its  limbs  are 
widely  spread  and  sparingly  branched,  which, 
when  the  tree  is  stripped  of  its  leaves,  give  it 
a  peculiar  effect.  The  leaves  are  eight  or  nine 
inches  long,  and  much  larger  on  the  youngest 
trees.  They  are  broader  at  the  top  than  to- 
wards the  bottom,  or  base,  which  is  divided  into 
rounded  lobes,  resembling  the  ears  of  some 
animals,  whence  the  tree  derives  its  specific 
name  of  auriculata.  The  flowers  are  three  or 
four  inches  in  diameter,  of  a  fine,  white  colour, 
of  an  agreeable  odour,  and  situated  at  the 
extremity  of  the  young  shoots,  which  are  of  a 
purplish-red,  dotted  with  white.  The  cones 
are  oval,  three  or  four  inches  long,  and,  like 
those  of  the  umbrella  tree,  another  species  of 
magnolia,  of  a  beautiful  rose  colour  when  ripe. 
Each  cell  contains  one  or  two  red  seeds.  The 
bark  has  an  agreeable  aromatic  odour,  and  is 
infused  in  spirits  as  a  popular  remedy  in  rheu- 
matic affections.  Inasmuch  as  the  virtues  as- 
cribed to  this  spirituous  preparation  are  very 
doubtful,  and  the  practice  of  using  it  fraught 
with  great  danger,  not  only  from  misapplica- 
tion at  improper  stages  of  disease,  but  from  its 
tendency  to  form  a  vicious  taste  for  ardent 
drinks,  it  had  best  be  dispensed  with,  and  other 
better  and  less  mischievous  remedies  resorted 
to.  The  tree  flourishes  in  Europe,  where  it  is 
a  popular  ornamental  tree.    (Michaux.) 

CUD.  In  cattle,  the  food  in  the  first  sto- 
mach, which  is  to  be  chewed  over  again  and 
passed  into  the  second  to  be  digested.  See 
Chewino  thk  Cun. 

CUDWEED,  or  EVERLASTING.  A  shru'tv- 
by  or  herbaceous  plant  belonging  to  a  genus 
(Gn:;ihalium)  containing  one  hundred  and 
twenty  species,  most  of  which  are  indigenous 
to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  There  are  a  few 
species  in  Europe,  India,  and  in  South  as  well  as 
North  America.  The  generic  name  is  derived 
from  a  Greek  word  signifying  soft  down,  or 
wool,  with  which  the  plants  are  clothed.  The 
species  known  in  the  Middle  States  are  the 
Purple  Gnaphalium,  a  biennial  growing  in  dry, 
open  woodlando,  &c.,  to  the  height  of  six, 
twelve,  or  fifteen  inches,  producing  dingy  pur 


CULLEY 


CULTIVATOK. 


pjisti  flowers  in  July  and  August.  The  Miry, 
or  Marsh  Gnaphalium,  or  Marsh  Cudweed,  with 
an  annual  root,  and  stem  four  to  six  or  eight 
inches  high,  bearing  flowers  in  dense  clusters, 
of  a  yellowish-tawny;  growing  in  low  grounds, 
dried-up  pods,  &c.  German  Gnaphalium,  or 
Common  Cudweed,  an  annual  root,  producing  a 
stem  six  to  nine  inches  high  :  growing  on  dry 
hills,  old  fields,  &c.,  bearing  flowers  of  a  pale 
tawny,  or  straw-colour.  Many-headed  Gnopha' 
Hum,  called  Life  Everlasting,  with  an  annual 
root,  and  stem  one  to  two  feet  high,  growing  in 
old  fields  and  pastures,  flowering  in  August 
and  September,  the  blossoms  being  slender 
and  of  a  yellowish  colour.  An  infusion  of 
this  plant  has  enjoyed  much  reputation  as  a 
popular  remedy  for  dysentery.  Pearly  Gna- 
phalium (G.  margarilicum),  a  very  handsome 
species,  with  a  perennial  root,  stem  one  to  two 
feet  hi<<h,  and  beautiful  white  flowers.  Dioicous 
Gnaphalium,  commonly  called  Mouse-ear  Cud- 
weed, with  a  perennial  root,  stem  two  or  three 
to  six  inches  high.  The  White  Plantain,  or 
Plantain-head  Cudweed,  is  a  variety  of  this  last 
species.    (See  Flor.  Cestric.) 

CULLEY.  The  name  of  a  distinguished 
family  of  farmers,  to  whom  the  agriculture  of 
England  is  under  very  considerable  obliga- 
tions. Two  brothers  of  the  family,  Matthew 
Rnd  George  Culley,  were  seated  originally  on 
their  paternal  property  of  Denton,  at  Gains- 
ford,  near  Darlington  (now,  1841,  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Matthew  Culley),  whence  they 
migrated  in  June,  1767,  to  Fenton,  in  Glendale, 
county  of  Northumberland ;  and  "on  the  4th 
of  August  in  that  year,  on  my  road  to  a  fair  at 
Kelso,"  says  Mr.  George  Culley,  in  a  letter  to 
Arthur  Young  (jinn,  of  jigr.  vol.  rx.  p.  162), 
♦*I  first  saw  a  field  of  drilled  turnips."  "They 
carried  with  them  into  Glendale,"  says  Mr. 
John  Grey  (Journ.  of  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p. 
152),  "superior  knowledge  and  intelligence, 
which  they  at  once  brought  to  bear  in  their  ex- 
tensive undertakings  with  unremitting  applica- 
tion and  perseverance.  That  they  were  suc- 
cessful in  their  eflbrts  is  an  undoubted  fact. 
Thus  on  the  farm  of  Wark,  near  Coldstream, 
which  they  entered  in  May,  1786,  the  crop  was 
valued  to  them  from  the  preceding  tenant,  and 
was  estimated  at  15  bushels  per  acre  for  oats, 
and  9  for  wheat.  But  the  crop  on  the  same 
farm,  after  being  in  their  occupation  for  fifteen 
years,  was  estimated  at  84  bushels  per  acre  for 
oats,  62  for  wheat,  and  72  for  barley.  {H>id.  p. 
158.)  The  rent  of  this  farm  of  1200  acres  in 
1786  was  800/.;  in  1812  it  was  3200/.  Matthew 
Culley  died  in  1805,  in  the  73d  year  of  his  age, 
and  George  in  1814,  aged  79,  both  in  Glendale. 
The  Culleys  were  the  warm  friends  and  cor- 
respondents of  the  celebrated  Bakewell,  of 
Dishley,  from  whose  flock  they  introduced  the 
breed  of  Leicester  sheep,  which  is  still  a  pre- 
vailing kind  in  Northumberland;  and  this  breed 
is  still  preserved  in  a  state  of  purity  by  the  pre- 
sent owner  of  Denton,  Mr.  Matthew  Culley,  to 
whom  I  am  indebted  for  several  of  the  facts  of 
this  memoir.  The  attention  which  they  paid 
to  the  improvement  of  their  breed  of  live-stock 
was  unremitting,  and  with  a  success  which  was 
equal  to  their  labours  They  had  the  public 
••^irit,  too,  not  to  conceal  the  improvements 


which  they  effected;  they  published  one  or  tw« 
valuable  works,  and  were  not  unfrequently  con 
tributors  to  the  agricultural  periodicals  of  the 
day.  Thus  in  the  Ann.  of  Agr.  vol.  xiv.  p.  180j 
there  is  a  letter  from  Mr.  George  Culley  in 
praise  of  the  Dishley  breed  of  sheep ;  and  at 
p.  470,  on  the  wool,  sheep,  and  corn  of  Nortn- 
umberland ;  again  on  sheep,  in  vol.  xvii.  p.  347, 
and  vol.  xix.  p.  147 ;  on  turnips,  vol.  xx.  p.  167, 

In  1786,  George  Culley  published  a  useful 
practical  little  book  (Observations  on  Live  Stock), 
which  was  reprinted  in  1795.  Arthur  Young 
describes  its  author  (Ann.  of  Agr.  vol.  xxiii.  p. 
519),  as  "a  man  of  the  most  extensive  prac- 
tice, and  the  deepest  knowledge  of  his  art." 
He  also  published,  in  conjunction  with  Mr. 
Bailey,  the  agricultural  reports  of  Northumber- 
land, Cumberland,  and  Westmoreland,  1797 — 
1805. 

CULM.  Among  botanists,  signifies  straw  or 
haulm ;  defined  by  Linnaeus  to  be  the  proper 
stem  of  grasses,  scitamineous  plants,  and  the 
like,  which  elevates  the  leaves,  flower,  and 
fruit.  This  sort  of  stem  is  tubular  or  hollow, 
and  has  frequently  knots  or  joints,  distributed 
at  certain  distances  through  its  whole  length. 

CULMIFEROUS  PLANTS.  Such  as  pro- 
duce culms,  or  have  a  smooth  jointed  stalk, 
and  their  seeds  enveloped  in  chafly  husks, 
grass-like. 

Culmiferous  crops  include  wheat,  barley, 
oats,  rye,  Indian  corn,  tobacco,  cotton,  &c.,  all 
of  which  have  stems  mostly  jointed.  They  are 
all  regarded  as  robbers  and  exhausters  of  the 
soil,  some  in  a  far  greater  degree  than  others. 
If  cut  green,  or  when  in  blossom,  they  are  far 
less  so  than  when  allowed  to  mature  their 
seeds. 

CULTIVATOR.  A  name  given  to  imple- 
ments of  the  horse-hoc  kind,  invented  for  stir- 
ring the  earth.  The  implements  called  culti- 
vators are  very  extensively  used  in  the  United 
Slates,  being  found  particularly  serviceable  in 
running  between  the  rows  of  Indian  corn,  su- 
gar beets,  and  other  root  crops  planted  in  drills 
or  rows.  They  stir  up  and  loosen  the  earth, 
and  at  the  same  time  keep  it  free  from  weeds 
and  grass.  Their  operation  is  somewhat  be- 
tween those  of  the  plough  and  the  harrow,  and 
as  they  do  not  penetrate  very  deep,  they 
leave  below  the  manure  and  vegetable  matter 
of  the  sod  turned  under  by  the  plough,  and 
at  the  same  time  do  no  injury  to  the  roots  of  the 
plants  under  culture,  unless  these  are  too  far  ad- 
vanced in  their  growth.  The  cultivator  should 
generally  be  run  through  a  crop  twice  at  a  dress- 
ing, and  if  the  soil  be  stiff  or  grassy,  it  may  be 
passed  oftener  or  renewed  at  short  intervals. 
The  implements  most  preferred  in  the  United 
States  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  horse- 
hoes  of  Europe.  They  are  made  with  teeth  of 
different  forms,  best  adapted  to  the  various  pur- 
poses, of  skimming  the  surface  and  destroying 
weeds,  or  for  doing  this  and  also  breaking  up 
and  pulverizing  the  earth.  The  best  kind  of 
cultivators  are  those  which  are  constructed 
so  as  to  admit  of  being  made  wide  or  narrow, 
according  to  the  width  of  the  rows.  They  per- 
form so  much  of  the  labour  for  which  the  hoe 
and  the  plough  were  once  resorted  to,  as  to  have 
greatly  lessened  the  expenses  of  tillage  in  th«i 
2  1  373 


CULTOR. 


CURCULIO. 


Indian  com  crop,  to  say  nothing  of  their  great  j 
importance  in  the  culture  of  root  crops.  Among 
implements  of  this  kind  in  high  repute  in  the  | 
United  States,  is  Bement's  Improved  Culliva-  | 
lor  and  Horse-hoe,  which  not  only  admits  of 
being  widened  and  contracted  at  pleasure,  but 
is  so  constructed  as  to  be  easily  adapted  to  soils 
of    diflferrn'    textureti,    being  furnished  with 
teeth   or  vhares  of  various  forms,  suited   to 
the  nature  of  the  soil  to  be  operated  on.     An 
excellent  cultivator,  not  protected  by  patent,  is 
in  general  use  among  the  Pennsylvania  far- 
mers near  Philadelphia,  where  it  can  be  pro- 
cured at  the  agricultural  implement  stores  for 
about  $5.     See  Grubber  and  Scarifier. 

CULTOR  or  COULTER.  The  strong  sharp- 
ened bar  of  iron  that  is  fixed  in  ploughs,  for 
the  purpose  of  cutting  open  the  earth  before 
the  share.     See  Plough. 

CUMIN  SEED.  The  seed  or  fruit  of  the 
Cuminum  cyminum,  which  is  imported  from 
Sicily  and  Malta.  It  has  been  occasionally 
grown  in  England,  but  as  it  does  not  produce 
its  seeds  until  the  second  year,  and  requires  a 
rich,  and  consequently  high-rented  soil,  the 
double  rent  adds  heavily  to  its  culture.  {Brit. 
Hv^b.  vol.  ii.  p.  328.)  Cumin  is  a  plant  of  lit- 
tle beauty,  and  in  a  garden  merely  requires  to 
be  sown  in  any  open  border  to  succeed. 

CURCULIO  {CurcidionidcB).  A  name  applied 
by  naturalists  to  designate  a  family  of  beetles, 
distinguished  from  other  insects  of  the  same 
tribe  by  their  shortness  and  thickness,  and 
from  each  other  by  the  length  and  direction  of 
their  snouts.  The  corn-weevil,  so  destructive 
to  grain  in  the  stack  and  garners,  belongs  to 
this  family,  together  with  the  larvas  or  maggots 
found  so  often  in  chestnuts,  acorns,  hickory- 
nuts,  and  filberts ;  as  well  as  unripe  plums, 
apricots,  peaches,  and  cherries. 

The  destruction  of  fruit  occasioned  annually 
by  these  species  which  bore  into  fruits  and  oc- 
casion them  to  fall  from  the  tree  before  ripen- 
ing, is  so  great  as  to  make  it  a  matter  of  great 
impoi:^nce  to  acquire  the  most  accurate  know- 
ledge in  regard  to  the  appearance  and  habits 
of  these  insects,  as  the  only  means  by  which 
their  efiects  can  be  counteracted.  Often  in 
gardens  and  orchards,  trees  loaded  with  young 
plums  lose  the  whole  of  their  fruit  from  the 
depredations  of  grubs,  which  have  been  ascer- 
tained by  naturalists  to  be  the  larvoB  or  young 
of  a  small  beetle  of  the  weevil  tribe,  called  the 
Nenuphar,  or  plum-weevil,  and  still  more  com- 
monly in  the  United  States,  the  curculio.  Dr. 
Harris  states  that  he  has  found  the  beetles  in 
Massachusetts  as  early  as  the  30th  of  March, 
and  as  late  as  the  10th  of  June,  and  at  various 
intermediate  times,  according  to  the  advanced 
or  retarded  state  of  vegetation  in  the  early  part 
of  the  season.  He  has  frequently  caught  them 
flying  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

"They  are  from  three-twentieths  to  one-fifth 
of  an  inch  long,  exclusive  of  the  curved  snout, 
which  ib  rather  longer  than  the  thorax,  and  is 
bent  under  the  breast,  between  the  forelegs, 
when  at  rest.  Their  colour  is  a  dark  brown, 
variegated  with  spots  of  white,  ochre-yellow, 
and  black.  The  thorax  is  uneven ;  the  wing- 
r-overt  have  several  short  ridges  upon  them, 
tho«!e  on  the  middle  of  the  back  forming  two 
374 


considerable  humps,  of  a  black  colour,  behind 
which  there  is  a  wide  band  of  ochre-yellow 
and  white.  Each  of  the  thighs  has  two  little 
teeth  on  the  under  side.  They  begin  to  sting 
the  plums  as  soon  as  the  fruit  is  set,  and,  as 
some  say,  continue  their  operations  till  the  first 
of  August.  After  making  a  suitable  puncture 
with  their  snouts,  they  lay  one  egg  in  each 
plum  thus  stung,  and  go  over  the  fruit  on  the 
tree  in  this  way  till  their  store  is  exhausted ;  so 
that  where  these  beetles  abound,  not  a  plum 
will  escape  being  punctured.  The  irritation 
arising  from  these  punctures,  and  from  the 
gnawings  of  the  grubs  after  they  are  hatched, 
causes  the  young  fruit  to  become  gummy, 
diseased,  and  finally  to  drop  before  it  is  ripe. 
Meanwhile  the  grub  comes  to  its  growth,  and, 
immediately  after  the  fruit  falls,  burrows  into 
the  ground.  This  may  occur  at  various  times 
between  the  middle  of  June  and  of  August;  and, 
in  the  space  of  a  little  more  than  three  weeks 
afterwards,  the  insect  completes  its  transforma- 
tions, and  comes  out  of  the  ground  in  the  beetle 
form.  The  history  of  the  insect  thus  far,  is  the 
result  of  Dr.  Harris's  own  observations ;  the 
remainder  rests  on  the  testimony  of  other  per- 
sons. 

"  In  an  account  of  the  plum-weevil,  by  Dr. 
James  Tilton  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  pub- 
lished in  Mease's  'Domestic  Encyclopedia,' 
under  the  article  Fruit.,  and  since  republished 
in  the  *  Georgical  Papers  for  1809,'  of  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  Society,  and  in 
other  works,  it  is  stated,  that  peaches,  necta- 
rines, apples,  pears,  quinces,  and  cherries,  are 
also  attacked  by  this  insect,  and  that  it  remains 
in  the  earth  in  the  form  of  a  grub,  during  the 
winter,  reajy  to' be  matured  as  a  beetle,  as  the 
spring  advances.  These  statements,"  says  Dr. 
Harris,  "  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  confirm. 
It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  fully  ascer- 
tained by  Professor  Peck,  Mr.  Say,  and  others, 
in  whose  accuracy  full  confidence  may  be 
placed,  that  this  same  weevil  attacks  all  our 
common  stone-fruits,  such  as  plums,  peaches, 
nectarines,  apricots,  and  cherries ;  Dr.  Burnett 
has  recently  assured  me  that  he  has  seen  this 
beetle  puncturing  apples ;  and  it  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  the  transformations  of  some 
of  the  grubs  may  be  retarded  till  the  winter  is 
passed,  analogous  cases  being  of  frequent  oc- 
currence. Those  that  are  sometimes  found  in 
apples  must  not  be  mistaken  for  the  more  com- 
mon apple- worms,  which  are  not  the  larvjB  of 
a  weevil.  The  Rev.  F.  V.  Melsheimer  remarks 
in  his  Catalogue,  that  this  insect  lives  under 
the  bark  of  the  peach  tree.  Professor  Peck 
raised  the  same  beetle  from  a  grub  found  in  the 
warty  excrescence  of  a  cherry  tree,  and  from 
this  circumstance  named  it  Rhynchanus  cerasi, 
the  cherry-weevil.  The  plum,  still  more  than 
the  cherry  tree,  is  subject  to  a  disease  of  the 
small  limbs,  which  shows  itself  in  the  form  of 
large  irregular  warts,  of  a  black  colour,  as  if 
charred.  Grubs,  apparently  the  same  as  those 
that  are  found  in  plums,  have  often  been  de- 
tected in  these  warts,  which  are  now  generally 
supposed  to  be  produced  by  the  punctures  of 
the  beetles,  and  the  residence  of  the  grubs. 
Professor  Peck  says  that '  the  seat  of  the  dis- 
ease is  in  the  bark.    The  sap  is  diverted  from 


CURCULIO. 


CURCULIO. 


ils  regular  course,  and  is  absorbed  entirely  by 
the  bark,  which  is  very  much  increased  in 
thickness  ;  the  cuticle  bursts,  the  swelling  be- 
comes irregular,  and  is  formed  into  black 
lumps,  with  a  cracked,  uneven,  granulated  sur- 
face. The  wood,  besides  being  deprived  of  its 
nutriment,  is  very  much  compressed,  and  the 
branch  above  the  tumour  perishes.'  The 
grubs  found  by  Professor  Peck  in  the  tumours 
of  the  cherry-tree,  went  into  the  ground  on  the 
sixth  of  July,  and  on  the  thirtieth  of  the  same 
month,  or  twenty-four  days  from  their  leaving 
the  bark,  the  perfect  insects  began  to  rise,  and 
were  soon  ready  to  deposit  their  eggs  in  healthy 
branches.  (See  Professor  Peck's  account  of 
Insects  which  affect  Oak  and  Cherry  trees,  with 
a  plate  ;  in  the  "Massachusetts'  Agricultural  Re- 
pository and  Journal,  vol.  v.  p.  312.)    (Harris.) 

In  order  to  account  for  the  occurrence  of 
these  insects  both  in  the  fruit  and  in  the 
branches  of  the  trees,  Dr.  Harris  ventures  the 
following  explanation,  although  it  rests  only 
upon  conjecture.  The  final  transformation  of 
the  grubs,  living  in  the  fruit,  appears  to  take 
place  at  various  times  during  the  latter  part 
of  summer  and  the  beginning  of  autumn,  when 
tlie  weevil,  finding  no  young  fruit,  is  probably 
obliged  to  lay  its  eggs  in  the  small  branches. 
The  larvae  or  grubs  from  these  eggs  live  in  the 
branches  during  the  winter,  and  are  not  per- 
fected till  near  the  last  of  the  following  June. 
Should  the  fall  of  the  fruit  occur  late  in  the 
autumn,  the  developeraent  of  the  beetles  will  be 
retarded  till  the  next  spring;  and  this  I  suppose 
to  be  the  origin  of  the  brood  which  stings  the 
fruit.  These  suggestions  seem  to  receive  some 
confirmation  from  the  known  habits  of  the  cop- 
per-coloured plum-weevils  of  Europe,  which, 
**  in  default  of  plums,  make  use  of  the  soft 
spring  shoots  of  the  plum  and  apricot  trees." 
(Kollur's  Treatise,  p.  238.) 

"  It  has  bten  noticed,  that  trees  situated  in 
lanes  and  extensive  yards,  where  numerous 
cattle  are  confined,  generally  escape  the  attacks 
of  the  curculio.  This  is  supposed  to  be  in  part 
owing  to  the  ground  being  trodden  so  hard  as 
to  render  it  difficult  for  the  worm  to  enter  the 
earth,  and  to  the  annoyance  and  fright  to  which 
this  timid  insect  is  subjected,  by  the  cattle  rub- 
bing acrainst  thf»  trees.  The  insects,  according 
to  Dr.  Tilton,  in  such  cases  of  fright,  roll  them- 
selves into  a  little  ball,  and  fall  to  the  ground, 
where  they  become  liable  either  to  be  trodden 
to  death,  or  devoured  by  the  farm-yard  poultry 
as  a  delicious  morsel.  Poultry  of  all  species 
have  been  recommended  as  very  useful,  from 
the  multitudes  of  insects  they  devour,  they 
being  particularly  fond  of  the  beetle  trit-*. 

"A  case  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Tilton  (see 
Dom.  Encyc),  of  Colonel  T.  Forest,  of  German- 
town,  who,  having  a  fine  plum  tree  near  his 
pump,  tied  a  rope  from  the  tree  to  his  pump 
handle,  so  that  the  tree  was  gently  agitated 
every  lime  there  was  occasion  to  pump  water. 
The  consequence  was,  that  the  fruit  on  this  tree 
was  preserved  in  the  greatest  perfection. 

"  Hogs  are  stated  to  be  extremely  useful  in 
orchards,  by  devouring  at  once  the  fallen  fruit 
and  the  insect  which  it  contains.  And  provided 
the  hogs  are  sufficiently  numerous  to  devour 
every  fallen  fruit,  they  will  shortly  exterminate 


the  insects  from  the  orchard  in  which  they  ar« 
permitted  to  roam. 

'^Paving  the  ground  is  said  to  be  a  most  effect- 
ual mode  of  preserving  fruit  from  the  attacks 
of  the  curculio.  By  preventing  its  descent  into 
the  earth,  it  finds  no  winter  habitation.  The 
ground  should  first  be  well  manured,  and  the 
whole  surface  well  paved  with  the  common 
stones  which  so  often  encumber  the  fields.  The 
trees,  in  this  case,  may  be  set  very  close.  The 
excess  of  rain  being  carried  oflT  by  the  pave- 
ment, and  their  luxuriance  being  thus  re- 
strained, such  trees  must  not  only  produce 
great  crops,  but  from  the  effect  of  the  sun  on 
the  naked  pavement,  the  fruit  must  be  of  the 
finest  quality. 

"Another  and  ingenious  mode  of  destroying 
the  curculio  has  lately  been  devised  by  Dr. 
Joel  Burnet,  of  Southboro',  Massachusetts, 
and  in  the  single  instance  only,  in  which  he 
has  tried  the  experiment,  it  has  proved  com- 
pletely successful.  There  stood  in  his  garden 
a  young  plum  tree  of  the  prince's  imperial 
gage,  which  was  filled  with  blossoms  every 
year,  but  bore  no  fruit.  Early  in  spring,  a  hen, 
with  an  early  brood  of  chickens,  was  placed  in 
a  coop  beneath  the  tree.  Thus  were  all  the 
curculiones  destroyed  in  the  interval,  soon  after 
they  arose  from  the  earth,  and  before  they  had 
recovered  strength  sufficient  to  take  to  their 
wings  or  ascend  the  tree.  This  plum  tree,  in 
that  year,  bore,  in  consequence,  a  very  large 
crop  of  fruit.  He  observed  that  the  curculio 
often  ascended  by  aid  of  its  wings."  {Kenrick*$ 
American  Orchardist.) 

The  wings  of  the  curculio,  plum,  or  cherry- 
weevil  are  so  small  as  to  assist  it  in  climbing, 
but  not  to  enable  it  to  fly  to  a  distance.  This 
explains  the  reason  why  trees  standing  so  near 
each  other  as  almost  to  interlace  their  branches 
will  some  escape,  whilst  others  lose  a!l  their 
fruit. 

Col.  Forest's  remedy  may  be  partially  applied 
by  shaking  the  trees  suddenly  and  briskly  so 
as  to  produce  a  jar  that  will  extend  among  the 
branches.  This  may  be  done  morning  and 
evening,  and  as  much  oftener  as  convenient, 
during  the  time  when  the  weevils  or  beetles  are 
engaged  in  stinging  the  fruit.  Those  which 
fall  may  be  gathered  in  a  sheet  and  thrown  into 
the  fire.  All  the  fallen  wormy  plums  should 
be  immediately  gathered  and  given  to  hogs,  or, 
when  this  is  not  convenient,  boiled  or  steamed, 
so  as  to  kill  the  enclosed  grubs.  Diseased  ex- 
crescences should  be  cutout  and  burned  every 
year  before  the  last  of  June.  The  moose-plum 
tree  (Prunus  Jmericana),  Dr.  Harris  says, 
seems  to  escape  the  attacks  of  insects,  since 
no  warts  are  found  upon  it,  even  when  growing 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  diseased  foreign 
trees.  It  would,  therefore,  he  thinks,  afford  the 
best  stocks  for  budding  or  engrafting  upon.  It 
can  easily  be  raised  from  the  stone,  and  grows 
rapidly,  but  does  not  attain  a  great  size.  This 
might  secure  the  body  of  the  tree,  but  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  branches,  being  of  different  wood, 
must  be  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  weevii. 
See  Mat  Beetles,  p.  173.  (The  18th  vol.  of 
the  "Neio  England  i^arwer"  contains  a  pape** 
upon  this  insect,  by  Dr.  Burnett,  which  may 
be  read  with  advantage.) 

3r 


vURU 


CUSTOMS  OF  COUNTIES. 


CXnCD.  The  cjagulum  of  milk  from  which 
cheese  is  made.    See  Cheese. 

"When  milk  sours,  free  acetic  acid  is  formed, 
and  by  its  action  the  coagulation  of  the  caseous 
part  of  the  milk  takes  place ;  rennet  causes 
the  same  efl'ect  in  milk  which  is  not  sour,  which 
probably  depends  on  the  gastric  fluid  in  the 
rennet.  Curd  is  a  white,  insipid,  inodorous 
substance,  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in 
alkalies.  By  alcohol  it  is  converted  into  a 
Kobstance  like  spermaceti,  which  gives  out  a 
very  fetid  odour. 

When  dry  curd  procured  from  sour  milk  is 
well  washed,  and  then  mixed  with  its  own  bulk 
of  alcohol,  and  the  soluble  matter  filtered  and 
separated  from  the  insoluble,  and  thickened 
by  gentle  evaporation,  it  becomes  viscid,  and 
forms  an  excellent  cement  for  glass  and  china. 

CURING  BEEF  and  PORK.  See  Salting. 
A  report  of  the  committee  for  the  premium 
oflered  for  curing  beef  and  pork,  appears  in  the 
TrauB.  //i^/».  Soc.  vol.  v.  p.  56. 

CURR.\NT.  The  fruit  of  two  species  of 
Ribcs,  viz.,  R.  rttlmim,  which  furnishes  the 
common  red  and  white  currants,  and  R.  ni- 
grum, which  produces  the  black  currant. 
There  are  five  or  six  species  of  this  indige- 
nous plant.  The  rock  currant  (i?.  peirmim), 
the  acid  mountain  currant  (R.  sjncatum),  and 
the  tasteless  mountain  currant  (i?.  alpinwn), 
all  grow  wild  in  woods  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land ;  and  the  common  red  and  black  currants 
are  also  found  wild  in  many  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, but  their  fruit  is  insipid.  The  pale  currant 
is  a  variety  between  the  red  and  white. 

The  white,  black,  and  red  currant  ripen 
their  berries  very  early  in  July,  in  which 
month  currant  jelly  should  be  made.  All  the 
currants  may,  by  being  matted,  be  preserved 
till  the  middle  of  winter,  and  on  north  walls 
and  shaded  situations  sometimes  hang,  and 
are  good  till  the  end  of  November.  They 
will  thrive  on  almost  any  soil ;  but  their  fruit 
is  more  savoury  when  produced  in  a  dry  and 
open  ground.  They  are  very  easily  propa- 
gated by  planting  slips  or  cuttings  at  any  time 
from  September  to  March.  After  standing 
about  two  years,  they  will  be  fit  to  be  removed 
to  those  places  where  they  are  intended  to 
remain. 

The  currant,  one  of  the  most  wholesome  and 
grateful  of  fruits,  has  medicinal  properties. 
Red  currants  are  very  cooling  in  fevers.  They 
quench  thirst,  and  create  appetite. 


supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  Saxon  cusce 
ate,  from  aisc,  chaste,  in  allusion  to  the  conju- 
gal fidelity  of  this  bird. 

CUSTOMS  OF  COUNTIES.  With  regard 
to  the  usual  relation  of  landlord  and  tenant  in 
England,  these  vary  considerably.  But  in 
cases  where  there  is  a  written  agreement,  no 
inquiry  can  be  made  as  to  the  custom  of  the 
county  {Liebenrood  v.  Vines,  1  Men  15)  ;  and 
when  an  express  stipulation  is  made,  the  cus 
tom  of  the  county  is  excluded  entirely.  (Ro 
berts  V.  Parker,  1  C.  &  M.  808.)  The  follow 
ing  epitome  of  usages  in  a  few  counties,  chiefly 
abridged  from  the  work  of  Kennedy  and 
Grainger  on  the  Tenancy  of  Land,  must,  of 
course,  be  regarded  as  having  only  a  very 
general  application. 

Bedford. — The  tenant  commonly  enters,  in 
this  county,  at  Michaelmas,  some  at  Lady-day. 
Leases  seven  years.  Rents  paid  half-yearly. 
Tenant  generally  restricted  from  breaking  up 
pastures,  or  selling  hay  and  straw,  quitting  at 
Michaelmas,  is  at  liberty  to  plough  and  sow 
wheat,  if  at  Lady-day;  then  may  sow  spring- 
grain  till  day  of  quitting ;  but  in  either  case  has 
the  option  to  do  it  himself  or  let  his  successor 
do  it.  When  the  outgoer  sows,  they  are  va- 
lued to  the  incomer  so  as  to  include  all  labour; 
has  barn  allowed  him,  but  cannot  carry  away 
straw.  Incomer  takes  all  dung  found  on  pre- 
mises free  of  charge  ;  but  pays  for  grass-seeds, 
and  that  of  the  labour,  and  for  fallow-plough- 
ing, or  spring-ploughing,  which  his  predeces- 
sor, quitting  at  Lad)^-day,  had  not  time  to  sow; 
but  with  respect  to  any  fallow,  either  for  wheat 
or  turnips,  when  the  outgoer  takes  the  crop, 
there  is  no  demand  made  upon  the  incoming 
tenant. 

Berks. — Farms  commonly  lease  for  7  or  14 
years  from  Michaelmas,  entering  to  plough 
fallows  at  Lady-day:  from  which  time  the 
incomer  has  part  of  the  house  allowed  him, 
and  room  for  one  team ;  the  outgoer  retains 
the  rest  of  the  premises  till  May-day  or  Mid- 
summer. The  rents  are  commonly  paid  half- 
yearly,  and  in  general  there  is  no  restraint 
upon  the  tenant's  cultivation,  except  that  he 
covenants  to  leave  a  stated  number  of  acres 
for  fallow.  Usually  he  has  power  of  selling 
hay  and  wheat  straw,  although  in  other  por- 
tions of  the  county  only  to  exchange  it  for 
dung.  Wheat  straw  he  must  leave  to  his  suc- 
cessor as  well  as  the  hay.  Incomer  has  to 
pay  for  clover  or  other  grass-seeds,  the  seed, 
at   a  feeding-out 


When  the 

fruit  is  not  to  be  had  fresh,  red  currant  jelly,  j  and  labour,  and  hay-crop, 

mixed  in  water,  is  equally  refreshing.    Black  i  price. 

currants  are  useful  in  sorethroats.     (,Brande'$\      Carmarthen. — Farms  were  here  formeily  let 

Diet. ;  Phillip's  Fruits :   Willich's  Dom.  Encyc. ;  ;  upon  leases  for  three  lives ;  but  terms  of  14 

years  are  now  more  common.  The  entry 
is  made  upon  both  house  and  land  at  Michael- 
mas.   The  tenant  is  under  no  restriction,  cul- 


Eng.  Flor^  vol.  i.  p.  330.) 

In  the  United  .States  nearly  twenty  native 
varieties  of  the  Currant  family  have  been 
designated.  \  black  currant,  and  also  a  red 
variety  growing  on  a  trailing  vine,  are  found 
in  the  northern  counties  of  Pennsylvania. 
The  most  approved  kinds  for  garden  culture 
are  the  Cherry  Red,  Red  Dutch,  Versaillaise, 
and  White  Grape. 

CURRANT-BUSH  BORER.    Aninser'ca- 


tivates  as  he  pleases,  and  sells  hay,  straw,  and 
dung. 

Cheshire. — Farms  let  upon  leases,  but  many 
only  by  the  year,  and  this  is  a  much  more 
common  practice  than  formerly.  Tenant 
takes  from  Candlemas,  but  only  gets  posses- 
sion of  the  house  at  May-day.    The  tenant  is 


lerpiUar  belongmg  to  the  genus  ^geria.    See  commonly  restrained  from  having  more  than 

l^ATEKPiLtARs.  a  given  proportion  of  land,  usually  one-third, 

CUSHAT.    A  local  name  for  the  nng-dove,  under  plough.    This  portion,  however,  he  may 
376 


Ct'STOMS  OF  COUNTIES. 


CUSTOMS  OF  COUNTIES. 


till  in  his  own  way ;  sometimes  may  dispose 
of  his  hay  and  straw,  sometimes  not.  Outgoer 
ceases  to  work  on  the  farm  at  Candlemas ; 
but  cuts  the  wheat  crop  at  har\^est;  if  the 
wheat  was  after  a  fallow  he  takes  two-thirds 
of  the  crop,  otherwise  only  one-half,  and  he 
houses  his  own  portion.  He  is  commonly  not 
paid  for  grass-seeds,  but  where  the  custom  va- 
ries, he  cuts  the  clover  or  grass,  and  takes 
half  the  hay ;  the  incomer  taking  the  remain- 
der, and  paying  the  rent:  he  has  no  valuation 
to  pay  of  any  kind.  The  dung  he  does  not 
pay  for. 

Cornwall. — Leases  generally  from  14  to  21 
years.  The  outgoing  tenant  leaves  the  dung 
for  the  incoming  tenant. 

A  tenant  is  bound  not  t3  exceed  two  white 
crops  without  manure,  using  one  hundred  and 
one  bushels  of  lime  per  acre  for  the  first  crop. 
When  the  land  is  sown  with  grass-seeds  it 
must  remain  down  for  three  years,  and,  except 
in  water  meadows,  he  can  only  cut  his  grass 
once  in  the  season,  unless  he  dresses  it  with 
manure.  He  may  sell  hay,  but  the  straw  of 
wheat  only ;  he  is  obliged  also  to  feed  a  cer- 
tain number  of  acres  of  grass,  and  whatever 
manure  he  makes  must  be  left  by  the  outgoing 
tenant  free  of  charge. 

Cumberland. — Tenants  enter  at  Lady-day  into 
the  farm,  but  not  into  the  house  till  May-day. 
Leases  commonly  for  three,  seven,  or  nine 
years.  The  tenant  commonly  bound  to  plough 
the  land  in  such  proportions  that  a  certain 
part  may  remain  in  grass  for  three  years.  Is 
prohibited  from  having  two  white  crops  in 
succession,  and  must  leave  as  much  land 
sown  with  grass-seeds  as  he  found  on  the 
farm.  Cannot  sell  hay  or  straw,  and  must  ap- 
ply not  less  than  sixty  bushels  of  lime  per 
acre  for  his  wheat  or  turnips  after  a  fallow. 
The  outgoer  retains  possession  of  the  house 
and  premises  for  cattle  till  May-day.  Is  paid 
for  whatever  crops  he  leaves  which  he  him- 
self paid  for  when  he  took  the  farm.  Leaves 
all  the  straw  and  manure  for  the  incomer's 
benefit. 

Derby. — Tenants  chiefly  yearly  tenants  fVom 
Lady-day.  The  land  almost  entirely  pastu- 
rage. The  tenant  is  usually  restricted  from 
breaking  these  up  without  permission,  even  if 
he  lays  down  arable  land  in  lieu  of  it  He 
cannot  sell  either  hay  or  straw.  The  outgoing 
tenant  is  not  paid  for  either  manure  or  straw; 
he  always  sows  the  wheat,  but  is  not  paid  for 
any  fallows  or  ploughings  which  may  have 
been  done  at  his  expense  to  promote  the 
growth  of  it;  he  receives,  however,  two-thirds 
of  the  wheat  if  a  fallow  crop,  or  one-half  if  a 
brush  crop,  and  for  the  seed  crops  he  is  allowed 
for  seed  and  labour. 

Devon. — In  the  west,  entry  at  Michaelmas  ; 
in  the  east  at  Lady-day,  with  privilege  of  entry 
on  the  land  at  Midsummer  to  prepare  for 
wheat.  The  tenant  usually  restrained  from 
taking  more  than  two  white  crops  for  a  fallow, 
or  sowing  two  wheat  crops  successively,  with- 
out a  fallow  or  green  crop  between  them. 
Must  use  a  certain  quantity  of  lime  per  acre 
for  his  barley  or  wheat  crop,  and  leave  the 
same  quantity  of  land  for  wheat  at  the  expira- 
tion of  his  lease  that  he  found  on  taking  pos- 
48 


session.  He  has  the  liberty  of  selling  ha> 
and  wheat  straw,  and  at  the  end  of  his  lease 
the  hay  also.  A  Lady-day  holder  receives 
from  his  successor  the  value  of  the  wheat 
upon  the  ground,  and  the  young  clovers  or 
other  grass  seeds  by  valuation.  A  Michael- 
mas tenant  can  only  receive  the  value  of  the 
seeds  ;  but  in  either  case  he  freely  leaves  all 
the  dung  for  his  successor. 

Essex. — The  farmer  in  Essex  commonly 
holds  by  leases  of  7  or  14  years  ;  entry  at 
Michaelmas  both  of  house  and  land.  He 
usually  covenants  to  farm  on  the  four-shift 
system,  dressing  and  fallowing  after  every 
third  crop,  and  never  to  take  two  white  crops 
in  succession :  on  pasture  land,  however,  he 
is  commonly  unrestrained.  He  may  carry 
also  hay  or  straw,  but  for  every  load  of  either 
he  is  bound  to  bring  back  a  load  of  dung,  and 
near  London  two  loads  are  required  for  every 
load  of  straw,  and  one  for  every  load  of  hay. 

The  outgoing  tenant  sows  the  Michaelmas 
crop,  and  is  paid  by  valuation  for  one  year's 
improvement,  which  includes  the  labour,  the 
seed,  and  the  manure  he  has  laid  out  upon  the 
ground  from  the  preceding  Michaelmas  He 
is  allowed  for  the  seeds,  for  ploughing,  harrow- 
ing, and  rolling,  which  a  summer  fallow  has 
undergone,  for  the  manure  laid  on,  and  for  the 
carting  of  it,  and  for  all  the  unspread  dung,  or 
other  manure  on  the  farm.  The  outgoer  has 
the  use  of  the  barns  for  his  crop.  The  in- 
comer claims  the  straw  and  chaff  on  condition 
of  his  thrashing  the  com,  and  carrj-ing  it  to 
market.  The  incomer  has  the  Michaelmas 
crops,  the  hay,  turnips,  and  young  seeds  valued 
to  him,  with  all  the  seed,  labour,  and  manure 
bestowed  upon  them. 

HertforH. — Leases  7  or  14  years  from  I  ady- 
day.  Mode  of  cultivation  varies  ;  sometimes 
two  crops  and  a  fallow,  in  others,  the  four- 
course  system.  The  tenant  may  sell  hay  and 
wheat  straw,  but  no  other  straw.  The  out- 
going tenant  takes  an  offgoing  crop  of  both 
spring  and  Michaelmas  crops,  and  pays  for 
the  ground  they  stand  upon  till  harvest.  He 
must  use,  however,  the  last  year's  straw  upon 
the  premises,  and  he  leaves  all  the  dung  for 
the  incoming  tenant. 

Kent. — Much  of  the  land  of  Kent,  as  in  other 
counties,  is  held  by  the  year,  but  a  larger  por- 
tion is  rented  under  leases  of  7  to  14  years ; 
the  tenant  entering  at  Michaelmas. 

The  farmer  is  usually  restrained  from  sell- 
ing hay  or  straw;  or,  if  he  is  allowed  to  dispose 
of  them,  it  is  on  condition  of  his  bringing  on  to 
the  farm  a  certain  quantity  of  dung.  He  is 
usually  not  much  restricted  in  his  mode  <  f 
cultivation.  He  is  commonly  prevented  fro.n 
having  more  than  two  white  crops  to  a  fallow 

The  outgoing  tenant  thrashes  his  last  crop, 
and  sells  the  straw  to  the  incomer;  and  if  he 
is  obliged  to  feed  the  hay  upon  the  premises, 
this  is  commonly  valued  also  at  a  feeding  oat 
price.  He  is  paid  also  for  the  labour  bestowed 
upon  the  summer  fallows,  which  he  has  the 
privilege  of  sowing  up  to  the  time  of  his  quit 
ting  the  farm  ;  he  is  also  paid  for  the  seed  ami 
labour  both  for  the  turnips  and  the  grasses 
for  the  whole  of  the  manure,  and  labour  of 
carting  and  spreading  the  manure  of  the  las 
2  I  2  377 


CUSTOMS  OF  COUNTIES. 


CUSTOMS  OF  COUNTIES. 


year,  and  for  half  of  the  preceding.  These, 
with  the  hop-poles,  make  the  payments  required 
of  an  incoming  tenant  rather  heavy. 

Leicester  is  chiefly  farmed  by  yearly  tenants, 
who  enter  at  Lady-day,  and  occasionally  at 
Michaelmas.  They  are  not  allowed  to  break 
up  their  pastures  or  sell  either  hay  or  straw. 
Sometimes  they  engage  to  lay  an  annual  amount 
of  lime  on  the  land. 

The  outgoing  tenant  is  paid  for  all  clear  fal- 
lows, for  which  he  is  allowed  three  ploughings; 
but  if  he  has  taken  a  green  crop,  he  is  allowed 
nothing.  For  his  wheat  crop — if  it  has  been 
sown  on  a  clear  fallow,  for  instance — he  is 
allowed  for  seed  and  labour,  and  for  the  plough- 
ings, but  otherwise  only  for  seed  and  labour. 
He  is  allowed  for  his  seed  crop,  labour,  and 
seed;  but  nothing  for  a  turnip  fallow,  either 
fed  or  pulled:  if  he  leaves  at  Michaelmas, 
however,  he  is  allowed  for  his  turnips  one 
year's  rent.  The  incomer  cannot  enter  to 
plough  without  permission  till  Lady-day. 

Lincoln. — Farms  commonly  held  by  lease  of 
from  7  to  14  years  from  Lady-day. 

The  tenant  is  usually  restrained  from  selling 
either  hay  or  straw,  or  from  taking  more  than 
two  white  crops  to  a  fallow.  These  restric- 
tions, however,  do  not  apply  to  the  fen  land. 

The  outgoing  tenant  has  commonly  the  right 
of  sowing  spring-grain  until  Lady-day,  and  of 
taking  an  oif-going  crop,  both  of  wheat  and 
other  corn,  all  of  which,  however,  he  must 
thrash  on  the  premises.  But  a  very  common 
way  is  for  the  outgoer  to  be  paid  for,  all  his 
crops,  the  value  of  seed  and  labour,  and  also 
for  the  manure.  The  crops  are  valued  at  har- 
vest-time, and  the  price  is  set  according  to  the 
average  of  three  market-days,  taken  once  a 
month,  between  harvest-time  and  the  ensuing 
Ladv-day. 

No'folk. — Farmers  hold  chiefly  by  leases  of 
7  or  .4  years,  some  for  21,  and  they  enter  at 
Michaelmas.  They  generally  covenant  to  farm 
on  the  four-course  system,  are  often  restrained 
from  sowing  above  a  certain  number  of  tares 
and  oats.  This  crop  being  considered  to  be 
much  more  impoverishing  to  the  land  than 
barley,  he  is  not  allowed  to  sell  either  hay  or 
straw.  The  outgoing  tenant  either  thrashes 
his  harvest  himself,  or  he  agrees  with  his  suc- 
cessor, who  carries  out  the  grjiin  and  keeps  the 
straw  and  chaff;  the  incomer  pays  for  the 
growing  crops  on  the  ground,  but  not  for  the 
labour;  thus,  if  the  turnip  crop  fails,  he  re- 
ceives nothing  for  the  labour. 

The  incomer  sows  the  wheat  crop,  but  he 
cannot  enter  the  farm  before  Michaelmas-day; 
to  do  this  without  leave,  he  has  to  pay  for  the 
hay  on  the  farm ;  but  he  takes  the  dung  free. 

Nottingham  is  cultivated  chiefly  by  yearly 
Vnants,  who  enter  at  Lady-day.  They  are 
commonly  not  allowed  to  sell  either  hay  or 
straw,  not  to  take  more  than  three  crops  to  a 
fallow,  and  never  two  white  ones  in  succes- 
sion. When  the  incomer  enters  at  Michael- 
mas, the  outgoer  is  paid  by  valuation,  either 
upon  wheat  or  turnips,  for  all  the  seed  and 
labour  he  has  bestowed  upon  that  crop,  and  for 
all  the  p.oughing  he  has  done  before  the  time 
he  quits;  for  all  artificial  manure,  such  as 
bones,  &c.,  if  fcr  the  first  crop,  then  the  full 
378 


tillage ;  if  the  second,  only  half  a  tillage,  and 

so  on ;  but  for  dung  in  or  on  the  land  he  is 

j  allowed  nothing ;  but  if  he  enters  at  Lady-day, 

;  then  he  is  paid  for  both,  for  seed  and  for  labour. 

Salop. — Farms  are  generally  held  by  yearly 
tenants,  who  enter  at  Lady-day ;  but  on  to  the 
meadow  land,  in  some  places,  at  Candlemas, 
that  he  may  water  or  manure.  He  is  restrained 
from  selling  hay  or  straw,  but  not  to  any  parti- 
cular mode  of  cultivation.  When  he  quits,  he 
is  allowed  for  any  lime  he  may  have  brought 
on  to  the  land  within  the  last  two  years ;  the 
whole  value  for  that  of  the  last  year,  half  the 
value  for  that  of  the  preceding:  he  receives 
two-thirds  of  the  value  of  the  wheat  crop,  the 
value  of  the  seed  crops,  but  nothing  for  either 
fallows  or  dung.  He  cannot  plough  for  fallows 
or  spring  crops  without  the  authority  of  the 
incomer,  who  cannot  enter  himself  to  plough 
without  leave  before  Lady-day. 

Somerset. — Farmers  have  usually  leases  of  8 
or  12  years  from  Lady-day,  the  outgoer  retain- 
ing the  wheat  crop,  thrashing  it  on  the  premi- 
ses, and  leaving  the  straw,  chaff,  and  dung  for 
the  incomer;  and  for  this  purpose  he  commonly 
holds  on  till  the  Midsummer  twelvemonth  after 
he  quits  possession.  A  tenant  cannot  sell 
either  hay  or  straw,  or  take  more  than  two 
white  crops  and  a  green  one  without  a  fallow. 
He  is  restrained  from  breaking  up  pastures, 
and  he  very  commonly  consents  to  spend  an- 
nually a  certain  sum  in  lime  or  some  other 
kind  of  manure.  The  incoming  tenant  sows 
the  spring  corn,  but  he  cannot  enter  before 
Lady-day  without  leave  from  the  outgoer. 

Stafford. — The  farmers  in  this  county  usually 
hold  from  year  to  year.  The  tenant  is  com- 
monly restrained  fVom  selling  either  hay  or 
straw,  and  there  are  very  few  restrictions  of 
any  kind  as  to  the  mode  of  cultivation.  The 
outgoing  tenant  is  usually  paid  for  all  the  dung 
he  leaves  upon  the  farm,  and  for  all  clear  sum- 
mer fallows,  but  nothing  for  bastard  fallows, 
even  if  the  seeds  or  turnips  are  fed  off.  For 
all  the  wheat  on  a  clean  fallow,  sown  previous- 
ly to  his  notice  to  quit,  he  receives  two-thirds 
of  the  crop ;  if  a  brush  crop,  only  one-half;  but 
for  all  he  sows  after  notice,  only  the  value  of 
the  seed  and  labour.  The  incomer  cannot 
enter  to  plough  before  Lady-day:  he  pays  for 
both  the  dung  and  straw  left  on  the  farm. 

Westmoreland. — Leases  in  this  county  aie 
commonly  granted  for  7,  9,  11,  or  21  years 
from  Lady-day.  The  house,  and  one  field, 
however,  is  usually  retained  till  May-day :  he 
has  the  privilege,  however,  of  going  upon  the 
land  at  old  Candlemas  to  plough  for  his  fallow 
and  spring  crop. 

The  tenant  is  commonly  restricted  from 
having  more  than  two  white  crops  before  he 
sows  the  land  with  seed,  and  that  between  the 
j  two  white  crops  he  is  to  have  either  a  green 
I  one  or  a  fallow.  He  is  to  manure  his  meadow 
ground  once  in  three  years,  and  leave  the  farm 
in  the  same  working  plight  as  he  found  it.  The 
outgoer  retains  the  house  and  one  field  till 
May-day,  paying  rent  and  taxes,  however,  for 
what  he  thus  holds  ;  with  this  exception,  he  is 
bound  to  free  the  land  by  the  6th  of  April.  In 
the  south  of  this  county,  the  outgoer  receives 
for  the  wheat  crop  on  the  ground,  two-thirds  il 


CUT. 


CUT-WORM. 


fallowed  for,  and  one-half  after  a  bastard  fal- 
low. He  pays  for  this,  however,  no  rent  after 
the  6th  of  April.  He  may  plough  for  barley 
and  take  half  the  crop,  but  not  for  any  other 
spring  crop. 

Yorkshire. — In  this  great  county,  the  customs 
vary  with  the  Riding.  In  the  W.  R.  the  entry 
is  Old  Candlemas,  or  New  Year's  day.  In  the 
N.  R.  it  is  Lady-day :  may  go  on  to  the  land  at 
Candlemas,  and  into  the  house  at  May-day. 
In  the  E.  R.  the  entry  is  at  Lady-day.  In  all 
three  Ridings  a  yearly  tenancy  is  the  most 
common. 

In  the  N.  R.  the  outgoing  tenant  sows  his 
wheat,  and  has  an  ofTgoing  crop,  which  he 
may  either  thrash  himself,  or  sell  to  his  suc- 
cessor or  to  a  stranger;  but  he  cannot  carry 
away  straw,  but  has  barn  and  yard  room  to 
consume  it  on  the  premises  until  the  following 
May-day  twelvemonth. 

The  outgoer,  however,  cannot  in  the  last 
year  of  his  tenancy  sow  more  than  one-third 
of  his  arable  land ;  but  that  third  he  may  sow 
at  whatever  time  and  in  whatever  way  he  may 
think  proper ;  for  all  the  ground  that  he  sows 
he  pays  a  corn  standage,  that  is,  rent,  till  har- 
vest time ;  if  he  sows  more  than  his  propor- 
tion, the  incomer  takes  the  crop,  and  the  mea- 
surement is  very  nicely  calculated.  The  in- 
comer enters  at  Candlemas  to  plough  for  his 
spring  crop  and  fallows :  he  takes  the  young 
seeds.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  West  Riding, 
the  customs  between  the  incomer  and  outgoer 
are  the  same  as  in  the  north  ;  but  below  Aber- 
ford  the  customs  are  quite  different,  being,  as 
the  people  say,  "  good  ones  to  come  out  with, 
but  bad  ones  to  enter  upon."  For  there  the 
outgoer  sows  the  wheat  crop,  which  the  in- 
comer is  obliged  to  pay  for,  together  with  the 
grass-seeds,  and  tc  pay  for  the  tillage  and  half 
tillage  of  those  crops  and  on  the  turnips,  and 
for  all  the  manure  laid  upon  the  lands,  or  about 
the  premises;  the  incomer  who  enters  at  Can- 
dlemas has  two  and  a  half  year's  manure,  and 
one  and  a  half  year's  tillage  to  pay  for.  In  the 
East  Riding,  the  outgoer  sows  the  wheat  crop 
and  the  spring  corn,  until  Lady-<lay,  and  takes 
what  he  sows  as  an  ofTgoing  crop  along  with 
the  wheat,  paying  no  rent  after  Lady-day:  he 
must  thrash  them,  however,  on  the  premises, 
and  leave  the  manure.  An  incomer  has  here 
only  to  pay  for  seeds.  {Kennedy  and  Grainger 
an  Tenancy  of  Land.)     See  Appraisemext. 

CUT.  In  farriery,  a  hurt  or  clean  wound 
made  with  any  sharp-cutting  instrument.  The 
way  of  treating  such  an  accident  is  to  bring 
the  two  incised  surfaces  together,  and  bind 
them  up,  if  possible,  with  a  little  lint  or  tow, 
without  any  balsams  or  spirituous  applications 
being  used. 

CUT-WORM.  In  almost  every  section  of 
the  United  States,  great  complaints  are  annu- 
ally made  of  green  crops  destroyed  or  injured, 
more  or  less,  by  what  is  popularly  termed  the 
cut-worm.  The  young  Indian  corn  is  an  espe- 
cial sufferer;  but  several  other  plants  having 
tender  stems,  such  as  beans  and  cabbages,  are 
liable  to  be  cut  off  near  the  ground,  or  just  be- 
neath the  surface,  when  beginning  to  grow. 
As  all  such  mischief  is  ascribed  to  the  cut^worm, 
it  might  be  inferred  that  an  insect  thus  spoken 


of  in  the  singular  number  would  be  well 
known.  And  yet  the  opinions  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  its  identity,  or  how  many  species  there 
may  exist,  are  various  and  conflicting.  After 
I  a  toilsome  search  through  many  of  the  American 
i  agricultural  publications.  Dr.  Harris  says  he 
became  convinced  that  these  insects  and  their 
history  are  not  yet  well  known  to  some  of  the 
very  persons  who  have  suffered  from  their  de- 
predations. Various  cut-worms,  or  more  pro- 
perly subterranean  caterpillars,  wire-worms,  or 
Juli,  grub-worms  or  the  young  of  May-beetles, 
and  even  spindle  or  bud-worms,  or  the  young 
of  a  species  of  moth  called  corn  Gortyna,  are 
often  confounded  together  or  mistaken  for  each 
other;  sometimes  their  names  are  interchanged, 
and  sometimes  the  same  name  is  given  to  each 
and  all  of  these  different  animals.  Hence,  the 
remedies  that  are  successful  in  some  instances 
are  entirely  useless  in  others.  "  The  name  of 
cut-worm,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "seems  originally 
to  have  been  given  to  certain  caterpillars  that  live 
in  the  ground  about  the  roots  of  plants,  but  come 
up  in  the  night,  and  cut  off  and  devour  the 
tender  stems  and  lower  leaves  of  young  cab- 
bages, beans,  corn,  and  other  herbaceous 
plants.  These  subterranean  caterpillars  are 
finally  transformed  to  moths  belonging  to  a 
group  which  may  be  called  agrotidians  {jUgro- 
tididtf),  from  a  word  signifying  rustic,  or  per- 
taining to  the  fields.  Some  of  these  rustic 
moths  fly  by  day,  and  may  be  found  in  the 
fields,  especially  in  the  autumn,  sucking  the 
honey  of  flowers ;  others  are  on  the  wing  only 
at  night,  and  during  the  day  lie  concealed  m 
chinks  of  walls  and  other  dark  places.  Their 
wings  are  nearly  horizontal  when  closed,  the 
upper  pair  completely  covering  the  lower 
wings,  and  often  overlapping  a  little  on  their 
inner  edges,  thus  favouring  these  insects  m 
their  attempts  to  obtain  shelter  and  conceal- 
ment. The  thorax  is  slightly  convex,  bul 
smooth  or  not  crested.  The  antennas  of  the 
males  are  generally  beset  with  two  rows  of 
short  points,  like  fine  teeth,  on  the  under-side, 
nearly  to  the  tips.  The  fore-legs  are  often 
quite  spiny.  Most  of  these  moths  come  forth 
in  July  and  August,  and  soon  afterwards  lay 
their  eggs  in  the  ground,  in  ploughed  fields, 
gardens,  and  meadows.  In  Europe  it  is  found 
that  the  eggs  are  hatched  early  in  the  autumn, 
at  which  time  the  little  subterranean  caterpil 
lars  live  chiefly  on  the  roots  and  tender  sprouts 
of  herbaceous  plants.  On  the  approach  of 
winter  they  descend  deeper  into  the  ground, 
and,  curling  themselves  up,  remain  in  a  torpid 
state  till  the  following  spring,  when  they  ascend 
towards  the  surface,  and  renew  their  devasta- 
tions. The  caterpillars  of  the  Agrotidians  are 
smooth,  shining,  naked,  and  dark-coloured, 
with  longitudinal  pale  and  blackish  stripes, 
and  a  few  black  dots  on  each  ring ;  some  of 
them  also  have  a  shining,  horny,  black  spot  on 
the  top  of  the  first  ring.  They  are  of  a  cylin- 
drical form,  tapering  a  little  at  each  end,  rather 
thick  in  proportion  to  their  length,  and  are  pro- 
vided with  sixteen  legs.  They  are  changed  to 
chrysalids  in  the  ground,  without  previously 
making  silken  cocoons.  The  most  destructive 
kinds  in  Europe  are  the  caterpillars  of  the  coni 
rustic  or  winter  dart-moth  (Jgrotis  segetum)  the 

379 


CUT-WORM. 


CUT-WORM. 


whcdt  dart-moth  (Jgrotis  tritiri),  the  eagle-moth 
{Agrulii  aquilina),  and  the  turf  rustic  or  antler- 
moth  (Charaas  graminis).  The  first  two  attack 
both  the  roots  and  leaves  of  winter  wheat ;  the 
second  also  destroys  buckwheat;  and  it  is 
stated  that  sixty  bushels  of  mould,  taken  from 
a  field  where  they  prevailed,  contained  twenty- 
three  bushels  of  the  caterpillars  ;  those  of  the 
eagle-moth  occasionally  prove  very  destructive 
in  vineyards  ;  and  the  caterpillars  of  the 
antler-moth  are  notorious  for  their  devastations 
in  meadows,  and  particularly  in  mountain 
pastures. 

"  The  habits  of  our  cut-worms  appear  to  be 
exactly  the  same  as  those  of  the  European 
Agroiidians.  It  is  chiefly  during  the  months 
of  June  and  July  that  they  are  found  to  be  most 
destructive.  Whole  corn-fields  are  sometimes 
laid  waste  by  them.  Cabbage-plants,  till  they 
are  grown  to  a  considerable  size,  are  very  apt 
to  be  cut  off  and  des:^royed  by  them.  Potato- 
vines,  beans,  beets,  and  various  other  culinary 
plants  suffer  in  the  same  way.  The  products 
of  our  flower-gardens  are  not  spared ;  asters, 
balsams,  pinks,  and  many  other  kinds  of 
flowers  are  often  shorn  of  their  leaves  and  of 
their  central  buds,  by  these  concealed  spoilers. 
Several  years  ago  I  procured  a  considerable 
number  of  cut-worms  in  the  months  of  .Tune 
and  July.  Some  of  them  were  dug  up  among 
cabbage-plants,  some  from  potato-hills,  and 
others  from  the  corn-fields  and  the  flower-gar- 
den. Though  varying  in  length  from  one  inch 
and  a  quarter  to  two  inches,  they  were  fully 
grown,  and  buried  themselves  immediately  in 
the  earth  with  which  they  were  supplied. 
They  were  all  thick,  greasy-looking  caterpil- 
lars, of  a  dark  ashen  gray  colour ;  but  I 
neglected  at  first  to  examine  them  carefully  in 
order  to  see  if  they  were  marked  exactly  alike. 
Some  of  the  last  found  were  obser\^ed  to  have 
one  or  two  blackish  stripes  on  each  side  of  the 
body,  and  a  pale  stripe  on  the  back,  with  four 
little  black  dots  on  each  ring.  The  head  was 
also  blackish.  They  were  soon  changed  to 
chrysalids,  of  a  shining  mahogan3'-brown  co- 
lour; and  between  the  20ih  of  July  and  the 
15th  of  August  they  came  out  of  the  ground  in 
the  moth  state.  Much  to  my  surprise,  how- 
ever, these  cut-worms  produced  five  different 
species  of  moths;  and,  when  it  was  too  late,  I 
regretted  that  they  had  not  been  more  carefully 
examined,  and  compared  together  before  their 
transformation.'* 

The  largest  of  these  moths  expanded  its 
wings  more  than  two  inches,  and  bore  a  close 
resemblance  to  one  called  in  Europe  the  dark 
sword  rustic  {Jgroti$  sifffusa).  Dr.  Harris 
named  the  American  moth  the  lance  rustic, 
(Jgrotis  telifera),  and  gives  the  following  de- 
scription of  it. 

"The  fore-wings  are  light  brown,  shaded  with 
dark  brown  along  the  outer  thick  edge,  and  in 
th3  middle  also  in  the  female ;  these  wings  are 
divided  into  three  nearly  equal  parts  by  two 
transverse  bands,  each  composed  of  two  wavy 
dark  brown  lines:  in  the  middle  space  are 
situated  the  two  ordmary  spots,  together  with  a 
third  oval  spot,  which  touches  the  anterior 
band ;  these  spots  are  encircled  with  dark 
Drown,  and  the  kidney-spot  bears  a  dark  brown 
380 


lance-shaped  mark  on  its  hinder  part;  the 
hindmost  third  of  the  wing  is  crossed  by  a 
broad  pale  band,  and  is  ornamented  by  a  nar- 
row wavy  or  festooned  line,  and  several  small 
blackish  spots  near  the  margin."  The  hind- 
wings  are  pearly  white,  and  semi-transparent, 
shaded  behind,  and  veined  with  dusky  brown. 
The  thorax  is  brown  or  gray-brown,  with  the 
edge  of  the  collar  blackish.  The  abdomen  is 
gray.  The  wings  expand  two  inches  or  more.** 
(^Harris^s  Treatise  on  Insects.') 

Two  other  species  resemble  the  one  just  de- 
scribed, and  are  counterparts  of  European 
species.  The  fourth  is  the  smallest  of  the  five, 
expanding  its  wings  an  inch  and  a  quarter. 
The  fore-wings  are  dark  ash-coloured,  exhibit- 
ing very  faint  traces  of  the  transverse  wavy 
lines  or  bands  more  or  less  distinctly  visible 
on  the  other  species.  The  two  ordinary  spots 
are  large  and  pale,  and  alternate,  with  a  trian- 
gular and  a  square  deep  black  spot  The  hind- 
wings  are  brownish-gray  in  the  middle,  and 
blackish  behind.  Dr.  Harris  calls  this  last  the 
checkered  rustic  {Agrotis  tcsselata). 

The  fifth  species  answered  very  well  to  the 
description  of  the  American  cabbage  cut-worm^ 
described  by  Mr.  J.  P.  Brace,  in  th6  first  vo- 
lume of  Silliman's  "American  Journal  of  Sci- 
ence," and  somewhat  resembles  Dr.  Boisduval's 
figures  of  a  European  moth  called  Jgrotis  latens. 
The  fore-wings  are  of  a  dark  ashen  colour, 
with  a  lustre  like  satin ;  they  are  crossed  by 
four  narrow,  wavy  whitish  bands,  edged  on 
each  side  with  black.  There  is  a  transverse 
row  of  while  dots,  followed  by  a  row  of  black, 
arrow-shaped  spots,  between  the  third  and 
fourth  bands,  and  three  white  dots  on  the  outer 
edge  near  the  tip ;  the  ordinary  spots  are 
edged  with  black  and  white.  The  hind-wings 
are  light  brownish-gray,  almost  of  a  dirty 
white  in  the  middle.  The  head  and  thorax  are 
chinchilli-gray,  and  the  abdomen  is  coloured 
like  the  hind-wings.  The  wings  expand  from 
one  inch  and  five-eighths  to  one  inch  and 
three-quarters.  This  kind  of  moth  is  very 
common  between  the  10th  of  July  and  the  mid- 
dle of  August.  Like  all  the  foregoing  species, 
it  flies  only  at  night.  According  to  Mr.  Brace, 
this  moth  lays  its  eggs  in  the  beginning  of 
autumn,  at  the  roots  of  trees,  and  near  the 
ground ;  the  eggs  are  hatched  early  in  May ; 
the  cut-worms  continue  their  depredations 
about  four  weeks,  then  cast  their  skin  and  be- 
come piipDB  or  chrysalids  in  the  earth,  a  few 
inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground ;  the 
pupa  state  lasts  four  weeks,  and  the  moth 
comes  out  about  the  middle  of  July ;  it  con- 
ceals itself  in  the  crevices  of  buildings  and 
beneath  the  bark  of  trees,  and  is  never  seen 
during  the  day;  about  sunset  it  leaves  its 
hiding-place,  is  constantly  on  the  w  ng,  is  very 
troublesome  about  the  candles  in  h  tuses,  flies 
rapidly,  and  is  not  easily  taken.  From  what 
is  known  respecting  the  history  of  the  other 
kinds  of  Jgrotis,  and  from  the  size  that  the 
cabbage  cut-worms  are  found  to  have  attained 
in  May,  I  am  led  to  infer  that  they  must  gene- 
rally be  hatched  in  the  previous  autumn,  and 
that,  after  feeding  a  while  on  such  food  as  they 
can  find  immediately  under  the  surface  of  the 
soil,  they  descend  deeper  into  the  ground  and 


CUT-WORM. 


CUT-WORM, 


remain  curled  up,  in  little  cavities  which  each 
one  makes  for  itself  in  the  earth,  till  the  follow- 
ing spring." 

Such  are  the  descriptions  given  by  the  natu- 
ralists of  the  cut-worms  and  their  moths  found 
in  the  Eastern  States.  We  wish  it  was  in  eur 
power  to  furnish  as  much  accurate  information 
upon  the  subject  of  the  cut-worms  found  in  the 
other  portions  of  the  United  States,  provided 
any  essential  diff(»rences  exist.  The  deficiency, 
so  far  as  a  portion  of  the  Middle  States  is  in- 
terested, has  been  supplied  in  a  great  measure 
through  the  researches  of  Dr.  F.  E.  Melsheimer, 
of  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  who,  in  a 
communication  made  to  Dr.  Harris,  gives  the 
following  information. 

"There  are  several  species  of  Jgrotis,  the 
larvae  of  which  are  injurious  to  culinary  plants; 
but  the  chief  culprit  with  us  is  the  same  as 
that  which  is  destructive  to  young  maize. 
The  corn  cut-worms  make  their  appearance  in 
great  numbers  at  irregular  periods,  and  confine 
themselves  in  their  devastations  to  no  particu- 
lar vegetables,  all  that  are  succulent  being 
relished  by  these  indiscriminate  devourers; 
but,  if  their  choice  is  not  limited,  they  prefer 
maize  plants,  when  not  more  than  a  few  inches 
above  the  earth,  early-sown  buckwheat,  young 
pumpkin-plants,  young  beans,  cabbage-plants, 
and  many  other  field  and  garden  vegetables." 
**  When  first  disclosed  from  the  eggs  tjiey  sub- 
sist on  the  various  grasses.  They  descend  in 
tne  ground  on  the  approach  of  severe  frosts, 
and  reappear  in  the  spring  about  half-grown. 
They  seek  their  food  in  the  night  or  in  cloudy 
weather,  and  retire  before  sunrise  into  the 
ground,  or  beneath  stones  or  any  substance 
which  can  shelter  them  from  the  rays  of  the 
sun ;  here  they  remain  coiled  up  during  the 
day,  except  while  devouring  the  food  which 
they  generally  drag  into  their  places  of  con- 
cealment. Their  transformation  to  pupae  oc- 
curs at  different  periods,  sometimes  earlier 
sometimes  later,  according  to  the  forwardness 
of  the  season,  but  usually  not  much  later  than 
the  middle  of  July."  "  The  moths,  as  well  as  the 
larvoB,  vary  much  in  the  depth  of  their  colour, 
from  a  pale  ash  to  a  deep  or  obscure  brown. 
The  ordinary  spots  of  the  upper  wings  of  the 
moth  are  always  connected  by  a  blackish  line; 
where  the  colour  is  of  the  deepest  shade  these 
spots  are  scarcely  visible,  but  when  the  colour 
is  lighter  they  are  very  obvious."  This  moth, 
Dr.  Harris  informs  us,  is  very  abundant  in  the 
New  England  States,  from  the  middle  of  June 
till  the  middle  or  end  of  August.  The  fore- 
wings  are  generally  of  a  dark  ash-colour,  with 
only  a  very  faint  trace  of  the  double  transverse 
wavy  bands  that  are  found  in  most  species  of 
Jgrotis.  These  expand  one  inch  and  three- 
quarters.  When  shut  they  overlap  and  cover 
the  back  so  flatly  and  closely  as  to  allow  the 
moth  to  creep  into  very  narrow  chinks  and  cre- 
vices. During  the  day  they  lie  hidden  under 
the  bark  of  trees,  in  the  chinks  of  fences,  and 
even  under  the  loose  clapboards  of  buildings. 
When  the  blinds  of  houses  are  opened  in  the 
morning,  a  little  swarm  of  these  insects  which, 
on  the  arrival  of  day,  had  crept  behind  them 
for  concealment,  is  sometimes  exj  ised,  and 
suddenly  roused  from  their  beginning  slumbers. 


This  kind  of  moth.  Dr.  Harris  aays,  has  the 
form  and  general  appearance  of  some  species 
of  the  genus  Porophila,  He  has  named  it  the 
clandestine  owlet-moth. 

The  fact  of  the  identity  established  by  na- 
turalists between  this  moth  as  found  in  New 
England  and  Pennsylvania,  affords  strong 
reason  to  infer  that  the  same  species  of  cut- 
worms are  to  be  met  with  over  most,  if  not  all 
portions  of  the  United  States. 

Having  thus  described  these  insects  under 
their  various  forms  of  destructive  larvce  or  ca- 
terpillars, winged  moths  into  which  these  are 
converted,  and  mentioned  their  times  and  sea- 
sons of  coming,  going,  and  changing,  so  far  at 
least  as  naturalists  have  traced  these  out, — we 
shall  proceed  to  notice  the  remedies  which 
have  been  tried  and  proposed  to  destroy  them, 
or  prevent  their  ravages. 

Among  the  various  means  resorted  to  for  the 
protection  of  Indian  corn  and  other  plants,  is 
the  soaking  of  the  seed  in  copperas  or  other 
poisonous  solution  previous  to  planting  or 
sowing.  Rolling  the  seed  in  quick-lime,  or 
unleached  ashes,  has  also  been  recommended. 
Any  one  of  the*  remedies  may  have  some  ef- 
fect in  protecting  the  seed  against  to'ire-xcormt 
{Mi)  which  only  attack  the  grain  or  its  root, 
but  cannot  answer  against  cut-worms  which 
do  not  eat  the  seed  or  root,  but  prey  upon  the 
sprouts  and  young  stalks.*  They  may,  how- 
ever, as  Dr.  Harris  observes,  be  of  some  bene- 
fit by  stimulating  the  young  plant  and  pro- 
moling  its  more  rapid  growth,  by  which  it  will 
be  sooner  placed  beyond  danger  from  the  at- 
tacks of  cut-worms.  Fall-ploughing  of  sward- 
lands,  which  are  intended  to  be  sown  with 
wheat  or  planted  with  corn  the  following  year, 
will  turn  up  and  expose  the  insects  to  the  in- 
clemency of  the  winter,  whereby  many  of  them 
will  be  killed.  Some  will  be  destroyed  at  the 
time  by  birds.  This  remedy,  however,  may  be 
objectionable  in  stiff  clay  soils,  which  would 
become  very  much  packed  or  baked  during 
the  winter. 

Among  other  remedies,  one  proposed  by  Mr. 
Park  Shee  of  Delaware  county,  Pennsylvania, 
is  said  to  be  a  simple  and  expeditious  mode  of 
destroying  cut-worms.  A  pair  of  old  wheels 
are  to  be  fitted  with  projections  like  the  cogs 
of  a  spur-wheel  in  a  mill,  which  must  be  so 
formed  as  to  make  holes  in  the  earth  during 
the  turning  of  the  wheel,  four  inches  deep. 
The  smooth  track  which  the  wheels  make  on 
the  soft  ground,  induces  the  worm  in  its  noc- 
turnal wanderings,  to  follow  on  till  it  tumbles 
into  the  pit.  It  cannot  climb  out,  and  is  de- 
stroyed by  the  hot  sun. 

The  only  effectual  remedy  at  present  known, 
Dr.  Harris  thinks,  consists  in  turning  a  suffi- 
cient force  into  the  fields  infested,  to  scratch 
up  and  destroy  the  worms  by  hand.  This 
may  require  several  days,  but  wiU  generally  be 
successful  in  securing  the  crop,  when  replant- 
ing is  performed  at  the  same  time.  Estimates 
of  the  cost  of  labour  and  time  thuu  expended. 


♦  In  regard  lo  wire-worms,  care  must  be  taken  not  to 
confound  the  Arnprican  insects  with  those  bearing  a 
similar  name  in  England.  See  Spbinq-Beetles,  undsi 
the  head  of  Beetlk,  p.  174. 

381 


CUT-WORM. 


CYPERUS. 


show  that  the  farmer  is  a  great  gainer  by  the 
outlay. 

Mr.  Deane  once  prevented  the  depredations 
of  cut-worms  in  his  garden  by  manuring  the 
soil  with  sea-mud.  The  plants  generally  es- 
caped, although  every  one  was  cut  off  in  a 
»pot  of  ground  contiguous.  He  acknowledges, 
however,  that  the  most  effectual  remedy,  even 
in  field  culture,  is  to  go  round  every  morning 
and  open  the  earth  at  the  foot  of  the  plant, 
frhere,  if  present,  the  worm  will  be  found  at 
he  root,  within  four  inches  of  the  surface. 
^r.  Preston  of  Stockport,  Pennsylvania,  pro- 
tected his  cabbage-plants  by  wrapping  a  hickory 
or  walnut  leaf  around  the  stem  between  the 
root  and  leaves  before  planting.  A  piece  of 
rag  would  answer  equally  well ;  but  care  must 
be  taken  to  remove  any  such  bandage  when 
the  plant  has  attained  a  size  to  resist  the  at- 
tacks of  worms.  Paper  has  been  successfully 
used  for  this  purpose  by  Mr.  Fiske  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

Salt  is  known  to  be  highly  obnoxious  to 
naked  worms  and  caterpillars.  Some  farmers 
have  found  great  protection  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  these  by  mixing  salt  with  the  manure 
put  upon  the  ground  as  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Colman  in  his  "  Third  Report,"  where,  how- 
ever, no  definite  proportion  is  stated.  Some 
Pennsylvania  farmers  place  the  greatest  reli- 
ance in  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  salt,  ashes, 
and  plaster  of  Paris,  about  a  gill  of  which  mix- 
ture is  applied  on  each  corn  hill.  The  experi- 
ment has  been  tried  on  alternate  rows  which 
were  exempt  from  the  attacks  of  worms,  whilst 
the  rows  to  which  no  application  was  made 
suffered  greatly.  The  plaster  might  probably 
be  dispensed  with. 

Dr.  Harris  describes  another  naked  caterpil- 
lar which  is  often  found  to  be  injurious  to  cab- 
bages, cauliflowers,  spinach,  beets,  and  other 
garden  vegetables  with  succulent  leaves.  It 
does  not  conceal  itself  in  the  ground,  but  lives 
exposed  on  the  leaves  of  the  plants  which  it 
devours.  It  is  of  a  light  yellow  colour,  with 
three,  broad,  longitudinal,  yellow  stripes,  one 
on  each  side,  and  the  third  on  the  top  of  the 
back ;  and  the  head  and  feet  are  tawny.  Dr. 
Melsheimer  calls  it  the  zebra-caterpillar,  on 
account  of  its  stripes.  It  comes  to  its  full  size 
in  Massachusetts  in  September,  and  then  mea- 
sures about  two  inches  in  length.  Early  in  Oc- 
tober it  leaves  off  eating,  goes  into  the  ground, 
changes  to  a  shining  brown  chrysalis,  and  is 
transformed  to  a  moth  about  the  first  of  June. 
It  is  probable  that  there  are  two  broods  of  this 
kind  of  caterpillar  every  summer,  in  some,  if 
not  all,  parts  of  this  country;  for  Dr.  Mel- 
sheimer says  that  it  appears  in  Pennsylvania  in 
June,  goes  into  the  ground  and  is  changed  to  a 
chrj'salis  towards  the  end  of  June  or  the  be- 
ginning of  July,  and  comes  forth  in  the  moth 
state  near  the  end  of  August,  The  moth  may 
be  called  Mamestra  picta,  the  painted  Mamestra, 
in  allusion  both  to  the  beautiful  tints  of  the  ca- 
terpillar, an'^  to  the  softly  blended  shades  of 
dark  and  light  brown  with  which  the  fore- 
wings  of  the  moth  are  coloured.  It  is  of  a 
light  brown  colour,  shaded  with  purple  brown ; 
tlip  ordinary  spots  on  the  fore-wings,  with  a 
third  oval  spot  behind  the  round  one,  are  edged 
382 


with  gray;  and  there  is  a  transverse  zigzag 
gray  line,  forming  a  distinct  W  in  the  middle, 
near  the  outer  hind  margin.  The  hind-wings 
are  white,  and  faintly  edged  with  brown  around 
the  tip.  It  is  evident  that  this  insect  cannot  be 
included  in  either  of  the  foregoing  groups  c^ 
the  owlet-moths.  It  belongs  to  a  distinct  fa- 
mily, which  may  be  called  Mamcstrada,  or 
Mamestrians.  The  caterpillars  in  this  group 
are  generally  distinguished  by  their  bright  co- 
lours ;  they  live  more  or  less  exposed  on  the 
leaves  of  plants,  and  transform  in  the  ground. 
The  moths  fly  by  night  only;  most  of  them 
have  the  thorax  slightly  crested ;  and  they  are 
easily  known  by  the  zigzag  line,  near  the  outer 
hind  margin  of  the  fore-wings,  forming  a  W  or 
M  in  the  middle. 

As  the  caterpillar  of  the  painted  Mamestra 
does  not  seek  concealment,  it  may  easily  be 
found,  and  destroyed  by  hand."  {Harns.) 
See  Grubs,  Wibe-Wobms,  Spiadle  or  Bud 
Worms. 

CUTTING.  When  a  horse  cuts  or  wounds 
one  leg  with  the  opposite  foot.  The  best  re- 
medy is  to  put  on  the  cutting  foot  a  shoe  of 
even  thickness  from  heel  to  toe,  not  projecting 
in  the  slightest  degree  beyond  the  crusp,  and 
the  crusp  itself  to  be  rasped  a  little  at  the 
quarters.  This  shoe  should  only  have  one  nail 
on  the  inside,  and  that  almost  close  to  the 
toe.  (ii6.  Useful  Know.,  The  Hobse,  pp.  252, 
341.)       • 

CYDER.     See  Cider. 

CYNOSURUS.  The  dog's  tail  grass,  from 
KviDV,  a  dog,  and  cvp*,  a  tail.  There  are  three 
commonly  known  varieties  of  this  grass  in 
England,  and  two  in  the  United  States.  One 
of  which  was  found  by  Mr.  Nuttall  in  the  plains 
of  Missouri.  Very  little  value  is  attached  to 
this  grass  by  the  American  farmer. 

Cynosurus  cristatus.  Crested  dog's  tail  grass. 
PI.  6,/.  This  is  an  excellent  sheep  grass.  Sin- 
clair found  the  produce  per  acre,  from  a  brown 
loam  with  manure,  at  the  time  of  flowering,  to 
be  6125  lbs.,  containing  nutritive  matter  406 
lbs.  He  says  of  it,  "In  all  the  most  celebrated 
pastures,  which  I  have  examined,  it  constituted 
a  very  considerable  portion  of  the  produce." 

Cynosurus  a'urceformis.  Linear-spiked  dog's 
tail  grass,  flourishes  best  on  a  rich  deep  loam; 
next  best  on  a  clayey  loam ;  in  which  soil 
Sinclair  obtained  of  this  grass,  when  in  flower, 
6806  lbs.  per  acre,  containing  nutritive  matter 
365  lbs. 

Cynosurus  echinatus.  Rough  dog's  tail  grass. 
It  is  a  scarce,  and  an  inferior  grass.  When  in 
bloom,  it  yielded  Sinclair  per  acre  from  a 
sandy  loam  5445  lbs.,  containing  of  nutritive 
matter  191  lbs.  {Paxton's Bot.  Diet.;  Sinclair's 
Hurt.  Gram.  Wob.) 

CYPERUS  (Cyprus-grass).  This  is  a  natu- 
ral order,  embracing  some  of  the  sedge  tribe 
somewhat  allied  to  grasses.  The  stems  are 
either  solid  or  filled  with  a  spongy  pith-like 
substance,  generally  without  joints,  or  nodes, 
tapering,  cylindric,  or  angular  (often  triangu- 
lar), and  the  sheaths  of  the  leaves  which  em- 
brace the  stem  are  not  slit,  but  entire.  The 
roots  of  some  species  of  cyperusses  possess 
]  an  aromatic  odour,  espe'*''"/  those  of  the  C 
I  longus.    A  few  others  produce  tubers  said  t(» 


CYPERUS-GRASS,  MILLIT. 


CYPRESSES. 


b^  esculent.  From  the  integuments  of  the  C 
papyrus  of  Egypt,  the  ancients  first  obtained  a 
convenient  substitute  for  skins  to  write  upon, 
and  the  paper  since  invented  still  retains  the 
name  of  paper,  derived  from  Papyrus. 

Although  the  genus  Cyperus  appears  to  be 
widely  dispersed  over  the  world,  North  Ame- 
rica and  the  West  Indies  possess  far  the  larg- 
est proportion.     About  twenty-five  or  thirty ! 
species  are  found  in  the  United  States.     (NtU-  i 
taWs  Genera.)  j 

CYPERUS-GRASS,  MILLET  {Srirpus  syl- 
vatinis).     The  wood  clubrush.     See  SciRprs.    ! 

CYPERUS,  SWEET,  or  ENGLISH  GA- 
LINGALE  {Cyperus  longus).  This  is  a  wild 
perennial  plant,  growing,  but  not  common,  in  j 
marshes  and  moist  places,  two  or  three  feet 
high.  Its  stalk  is  green  and  leafless,  except 
two  or  three  small  leaves  at  the  top  from 
which  the  tufts  of  flowers  rise.  The  root 
leaves  are  a  foot  long,  narrow,  grassy,  and 
bright  green.  The  flowers  are  brown.  The 
root  is  long,  moderately  creeping,  highly  aro- 
matic, and  astringent.  There  is  a  smaller 
species,  the  brown  cyperus  (C.  fuscua)^  which 
is  an  annual,  and  grows  much  smaller,  not 
reaching  to  above  six  inches  high ;  root  of 
many  simple  fibres.  (SmUh*$  Eng.  Flor,  vol.  i. 
p.  53.) 

CYPRESS  TREE  {Cupretnu  gentpervireng). 
A  hardy  shrub,  native  of  the  Levant ;  growing 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  high,  which  throws 
out  yellow  blossoms  in  May.  Its  wood  is  red, 
very  hard,  and  sweet-scented.  It  likes  a  good 
soil.  It  is  the  symbol  of  sorrow  all  over 
Europe,  in  the  East,  and  even  in  China.  Its 
wood,  from  being  sonorous,  is  used  for  harps, 
violins,  and  other  musical  instruments. 
Worms  never  attack  it.  (PhiUip*s  Shrub,  vol. 
i.  p.  188;  M'CuUoch'a  Com.  Diet.) 

CYPRESSES.  The  researches  of  botanists, 
says  Michaux,  have  made  us  acquainted  with 
only  seven  species  of  cypresses,  of  which  two 
are  indigenous  to  the  United  States,  namely, 
the  Cypressus  disticha,  called,  in  the  Southern 
and  Middle  States,  Bahi  Cypreu,  Black  Cypress, 
and  White  Cypress,  the  last  popular  names 
being  applied  in  the  Carolinas.  The  second 
species  of  American  cedar  is  called  by  bota- 
nists, Cupressus  thyoides,  and  popularly  the 
White  Cedar.  Both  are  highly  important  trees, 
for  the  many  useful  purposes  to  which  their 
wood  is  applied. 

Michaux  says  of  the  black  or  bald  cypress, 
that  the  bahks  of  Indian  river  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  state  of  Delaware  may  be  assumed 
as  its  northern  limit.  In  proceeding  south- 
ward from  this  point  it  becomes  constantly 
more  abundant  in  swamps ;  but  in  Mar}'land 
and  Virginia  is  confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
sea,  where  the  winter  is  milder.  Beyond  Nor- 
folk, its  limits  correspond  exactly  with  those 
of  the  Pine  Barrens,  and  in  the  Carolinas  and 
Georgia  it  occupies  a  great  part  of  the  swamps 
which  border  the  rivers  after  they  have  passed 
from  among  the  mountains  and  entered  the 
low  lands. 

The  Mississippi  from  its  mouth  to  the  river 
Arkansas,  a  distance  of  more  than  six  hun- 
dred miles,  following  the  windings,  is  bordered 
bv  marshes,  which,  at  the  annual  overflowing 


of  this  mighty  stream,  form  a  vast  expanse  of 
waters.  In  Louisiana,  those  parts  of  the 
marshes  where  the  cypress  grows  almost 
alone  are  called  Cy^prieres,  cypress  swamps, 
and  they  sometimes  occupy  thousands  of 
acres. 

In  the  deep,  miry  soil  of  the  swamps  in  the 
Southern  States,  the  bald  cj^jress  attains  its 
utmost  developement,  rising  sometimes  to  the 
height  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  with  a 
circumference  of  twenty-five  and  even  forty- 
feet,  at  the  conical  base,  which,  at  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  is  always  three  or  four  times  as 
large  as  the  continued  diameter  of  the  trunk. 
On  this  account,  in  felling  them  the  negroes 
ajp  obliged  to  raise  themselves  upon  scaffolds 
five  or  six  feet  above  the  ground.  The  base  is 
generally  hollow  for  three-quarters  of  its  bulk. 
The  summit  is  not  pyramidal  like  that  of 
spruces,  but  is  widely-spread  ard  even  depress- 
ed or  drooping  upon  old  treei  The  foliage 
is  open,  light,  and  of  a  fresh  ah^  agreeable 
tint,  the  leaflets  being  small  and  fine.  In  au- 
tumn they  change  from  a  light  green  to  a  dull 
red,  and  are  shed  soon  after.  Boiled  during 
three  hours  in  water,  they  afllird  a  fine,  durable 
cinnamon  colour.  To  bunches  of  very  minute 
flowers,  succeed  cones  about  the  size  of  the 
thumb,  roundish  and  uneven  on  the  surface, 
filled  with  irregular  seeds  containing  cylindri- 
cal kernels.  The  seeds  retain  their  productive 
virtue  for  two  years. 

The  stocks  which  grow  in  places  where  for 
half  the  year  they  are  surrounded  with  three 
or  four  feet  of  water,  have  the  bark  lighter 
coloured  than  trees  not  so  much  exposed  to 
water.  Hence  they  are  called  White  Cypresses^ 
whilst  those  less  exposed  to  water,  and  having 
browner  bark,  and  heavier,  more  resinous,  and 
darker  wood,  are  named  Blark  Cypressen.  When 
destined  to  be  employed  in  the  arts,  both  kinds 
should  be  felled  in  winter,  and  kept  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  for  the  wood  to  become  perfectly 
dry.  The  wood  of  the  cypress  is  far  more 
durable  than  that  of  the  pine,  and  is  especially 
useful  for  making  shingles  to  cover  buildings 
of  all  kinds.  Cedar  rails  for  post  and  rail- 
fences  are  also  in  great  demand  in  every  por- 
tion of  the  Middle  States  where  the  oak  and 
chestnut  trees  have  become  scarce.  A  large 
trade  in  cedar  shingles  is  carried  on  between 
the  southern  parts  of  Norfolk,  Wilmington,  «&c  , 
with  the  West  Indies. 

It  would  be  unavailing,  says  Michaux,  to  re- 
commend the  preserv^ion  and  multiplication 
of  the  cypress  in  the  maritime  districts  of  the 
Carolinas  and  Georgia,  though  for  an  extent 
of  more  than  nine  hundred  miles  they  have 
neither  stone  nor  slate  for  building;  it  becomes 
daily  more  profitable  for  the  increasing  popu 
lation  to  convert  the  marshes  into  rice-groundi , 
which  aflbrd  a  sure  subsistence  to  the  inhabit- 
ants and  swell  the  mass  of  exported  produce 
Instead  of  wood,  the  houses  will  be  constructed 
of  brick,  which  is  already  beginning  to  be 
done,  and  covered  with  slate  imported  from  the 
Northern  States  or  from  Europe.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  in  less  than  two  centuries,  ihe 
cypress  will  disappear  from  the  Southern 
States. 

The  White  Cedar   (Cypressus  thyoides)  is  or.e 

383 


DACTYLIS. 


DAIRY. 


of  the  most  interesting  trees  in  the  United 
States  for  the  varied  utility  of  its  wood.  It 
grows  only  in  wet  grounds.  In  New  Jersey, 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  it  nearly  fills  the  ex- 
tensive marshes  which  lie  adjacent  to  the  salt 
meadows,  and  are  exposed  in  high  tides  to  be 
overrtown  by  the  sea.  Farther  south,  it  is 
mingled  with  the  cypress,  by  which  it  is  at 
length  entirely  supplanted.  The  white  cedar 
is  not  to  be  mistaken  for  the  white  cypress,  a 
variety  of  the  bald  cypress.  In  lower  Jersey 
and  Maryland,  the  swamps  in  which  the  whise 
cedar  grows,  are  only  accessible  during  the 
dr)'est  periods  of  summer,  and  whilst  frozen 
in  winter.  The  trees  stand  so  thick  in  these 
swamps  that  the  light  can  hardly  penetrate  t||^e 
foliage.  The  while  cedar  grows  seventy  or 
eighty  feet  high,  and  rarely  more  than  three 
feet  in  diameter,  unless  perhaps  in  the  Great 
Dismui  Swamp,  near  Norfolk,  where  it  flou- 
rishes in  company  with  the  bald  or  black  cy- 
press. When  the  white  cedars  are  close  and 
compressed,  the  straight  and  perpendicular 
trunks  are  free  from  branches  to  the  height  of 
fifty  or  sixty  feet.  They  are  observed  to  choose 
the  centre  of  the  swamps,  and  the  cypresses 
the  outside. 

The  foliage  is  evergreen,  each  leaf  consisting 
of  a  little  branch  numerously  subdivided,  and 
the  flowers,  which  are  scarcely  visible,  produce 
very  small  rough  cones  of  a  greenish  tint, 
which  changes  to  bluish  towards  the  fall, 
when  they  open  to  release  the  fine  seeds. 

The  wood  is  light,  soft,  fine-grained,  and 
*».asily  worked.  When  perfectly  seasoned  and 
exposed  some  time  to  the  light,  it  is  of  a  rosy 
hue.  It  preserves  its  aromatic  odour  for  a 
very  long  time,  when  kept  dr}',  and  resists  the 
destructive  tendencies  of  alternate  moisture 
and  dryness  longer  than  any  other  wood,  for 
which  quality  shingles  made  of  it  are  prefer- 
red in  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  to  those  of 
the  bald  cypress.  In  the  first  named  city  they 
are  generally  called  juniper  shingles.  They 
will  last  on  a  roof  for  thirty  or  thirty-five 
years.  The  great  domestic  consumption  and 
exportation  has  raised  the  price  of  cypress 
shingles  from  four  and  five  dollars  per  thousand 
in  1808,  to  thirty  or  forty  dollars  per  thousand 
in  1842.  Swamps  producing  white  cedar,  so 
useful  for  fence  timber  and  other  important 
purposes,  constitute  a  valuable  species  of  pro- 
perty.    {Mickaux.) 

D 

DACTYTilS.  A  genus  of  grasses  which, 
with  one  exception,*  are  of  but  little  value  for 
cultivation.     See  CockVfoot  Grass. 

DAIRY.  The  place  where  milk  is  kept,  and 
butter  and  cheese  prepared  and  preserved. 
The  proper  construction  and  management  of 
a  dairy  are  questions  of  considerable  import- 
ance to  the  farmer.  It  should  be  situated,  if 
possible,  on  a  dry  porous  soil.  The  room 
should  be  made  of  brick  or  stone,  with  a  floor 
of  the  same  materials,  for  the  sake  of  its  being 
more  readily  and  frequently  washed  with  cold 
water  not  only  on  the  score  of  cleanliness,  but 
Aat  the  temperature  of  the  place  may  in  sum- 
384 


mer  be  kept  down  to  the  most  advantageous 
degree.  And  to  this  end,  the  dairy  is  com- 
monly placed  on  the  northern  side  of  the 
house,  where  it  may  be  readily  shaded  from 
the  sun  by  other  more  elevated  buildings,  or 
by  trees.  A  temperature  between  50°  and  60° 
is  the  best,  and  the  less  occasion  there  is  to 
reduce  the  temperature  of  the  dairy  by  wash- 
ing the  floor  with  cold  water  the  better,  since, 
amongst  other  disadvantages,  the  damp  air 
thus  produced  is  not  so  advantageous  as  a  dry 
atmosphere  for  the  retention  of  sweetness 
in  milk  and  cream,  and,  therefore,  the  dairy- 
house  in  England  is  generally  covered  with 
thatch,  and  can  hardly  be  toe  well  ventilated. 
It  should  be  far  removed  from  stagnant  ponds 
and  offensive  drains;  and  furnished  with  wire 
gauze  windows,  by  which  insects  are  readily 
excluded  without  impairing  the  necessary  ven- 
tilation. Adjoining  to  it  should  be  placed  a 
wash-house,  furnished  with  a  chimney,  a  large 
copper  kettle  to  heat  the  water,  or  in  cheese 
dairies  the  milk.  This  is  commonly  supported 
by  a  crane. 

The  wash-house  should  have  an  o«ter  door, 
near  to  which  the  dairy  utensils  may  be  set  on 
benches,  to  be  dried  by  the  sun  and  air.  In 
Holland  the  dairy  rooms  are  kept  with  the 
greatest  order, neatness,  and  comfort;  so  much 
so,  that  the  farmer's  family  often  take  their 
meals  in  them.  On  the  economy  of  the  dairy 
the  following  excellent  direction,  abridged  from 
those  drawn  up  by  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Aberdeenshire,  may  be  studied  by  the  farmer 
with  advantage.  They  refer  chiefly  to  salted 
butter : — 

1.  The  milk-house  or  dairy  should  have  no  in- 
ternal communication  with  any  other  building. 
It  must  be  kept  free  from  smoke,  well  aired, 
and  clean,  and  no  potatoes,  fish,  onions, 
cheese,  or  any  thing  likely  to  impart  a  strong 
or  bad  smell,  should  be  kept  therein  ;  in  short, 
nothing  but  the  dairy  utensils,  which  must 
also  be  kept  sweet  and  clean.  2.  The  milk, 
when  brought  rn  from  the  cows,  should  be 
strained  through  a  fine  hair  searce  or  drainer, 
and  when  cool  put  into  sweet,  well-seasoned 
oaken  kegs,  keelers,  or  milk  pans,  the  latter  to 
be  preferred.  A  tin  skimmer  with  holes  in  it 
is  the  best  for  taking  off"  the  cream,  which 
should  always  be  churned  while  the  cream  is 
fresh.  3.  The  churn,  whether  plunge  or  barrel, 
should  be  made  of  the  best  well-seasoned  white 
oak,  and  as  cleanliness  is  of  the  first  import- 
ance, great  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
washing,  drying,  and  airing  of  the  churns  im- 
mediately after  use,  otherwise  they  are  sure  to 
contract  a  sour  and  unwholesome  smell,  which 
must  injure  the  quality  of  the  butter.  4.  The 
butter  immediately  after  being  chwned  should  be 
thrown  into  fresh  spnng  water,  where  it  should 
remain  one  hour  at  least,  that  it  may  grow  Jirnu 
5.  The  butter  should  be  immediately  salted.  6.  It 
is  a  very  injurious  practice  to  keep  a  mak- 
ing of  butter  uncured  till  the  next  churning, 
for  the  purpose  of  mixing  the  two  together.  It 
invariably  injures  the  flavour  of  the  whole,  and 
renders  it  of  too  soft  a  quality  ever  afterwards 
to  get  firm.  7.  The  milk  of  new-calved  cows 
should  never  be  set  for  butter,  until  at  least 
four  days  after  calving,  as  a  small  quantity  of 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


biestmilk  butter  will  injure  a  whole  firkin. 
The  practice  of  scalding  cream  in  cold  wea- 
ther should  also  be  avoided,  as  cream  thus 
treated  will  never  make  good  butter.  8.  Great 
care  should  be  taken  not  to  steep  the  firkins,  or 
other  dairy  vessels,  in  boggy  or  unwholesome 
water ;  only  the  purest  spring  or  clear  running 
water  should  be  used.  9.  Old  butter  should 
never  be  mixed  with  new. 

Lime-tree  yields  perhaps  the  best  wood  for 
butler  firkins ;  and  the  St.  Ubes'  Bay  or  ma- 
rine sweet  salt,  free  from  bittern,  is  the  best 
salt  to  use  for  dairy  purposes :  this  should  be 
k^t  in  a  dry,  clean  cask,  in  a  place  where 
smoke  (which  is  apt  to  impart  a  bad  flavour 
to  it)  cannot  reach  it.  The  management  and 
construction  of  the  dairy  of  necessity  varies 
with  the  articles  for  which  it  is  chiefly  intend- 
ed to  be  devoted,  as  Butter,  Cheksb,  Milk  : 
see  these  heads. 

In  the  United  States  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated dairy  districts  is  that  of  Western  Re- 
serve, in  Ohio,  peopled  generally  by  settlers 
from  New  England.  It  is  computed  thai  this 
fine  grazing  country  sells,  annually,  cheese  to 
the  amount  of  a  million  and  a  half  of  dollars, 
besides  large  quantities  of  butler,  and  a  great 
amount  of  beef  and  pork. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  exporta- 
tion of  butler  and  cheese  from  the  United 
States  to  other  countries  will  annually  in- 
crease, and  especially  to  England,  where  a 
great  reduction  of  duties  on  these  and  other 
articles  of  the  provision  trade  has  recently 
taken  place.  From  the  objections  made  to 
American  butter  and  cheese  sent  abroad,  it 
seems  highly  desirable  that  more  pains  should 
be  taken  at  home  to  improve  their  qualities, 
which  can  only  be  done  by  paying  more  at- 
tention to  their  manufacture.  There  is  no  dis- 
guising the  fact,  says  a  late  writer  in  the  Cul- 
tivator, "  that  immense  quantities  of  butter  find 
their  way  to  market  in  a  condition  which  ren- 
ders it  unfit  for  any  thing  but  grease.  Hot 
weather,  or  the  shortest  voyage,  renders  it  in- 
tolerably rancid.  Now,  butter  made  in  Holland 
may  be  carried  to  any  distance,  and  in  any  cli- 
mate, without  suffering  material  deterioration, 
and  hence  it  is  in  such  demand  for  exportation. 
Vast  quantities  annually  find  their  way  to  Great 
Britain  for  domestic  consumption  and  other- 
wise, and  the  high  prices  demonstrate  the  esti- 
mation in  which  it  is  held.  There  are  no  finer 
pastures  in  the  world  than  in  the  United  States, 
particularly  those  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  if  pro- 
per attention  and  skill  were  given  to  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  dairy,  those  products  might  be  un- 
rivalled. There  is  a  considerable  amount  of 
excellent  butter  made  in  the  country,  but  it  is 
used  for  domestic  consumption,  and  the  pro- 
portion of  the  first  rate  article  bears  but  a  slight 
comparison  with  the  whole.  There  is  less  dif- 
ference in  the  cheeses  of  this  country  and  the 
European  ones  than  there  is  in  the  butter,  and 
consequently  less  difference  in  the  prices.  But 
in  both  butter  and  cheese,  so  far  as  the  great 
mass  of  these  products  are  concerned,  there  is 
room  for  a  decided  improvement,  and  we  doubt 
not  our  dairy  women  would  consult  their  own 
interest,  as  well  as  the  credit  of  the  country,  in 
49 


giving  more  care  to  the  production  of  superior 
articles  ;  but  to  the  extract. 

"  At  a  public  sale  of  American  butter  at  Liver- 
pool, it  brought,  the  best  sorts,  84s.,  seconds  72 
to  74s.  per  cvvt.,  duty  paid,  while  inferior  sold 
only  at  43  to  44s.  in  bond,  of  which  the  parcel 
chiefly  consisted.  The  quantity  arrived  at  the 
London  market  shows  the  same  results,  the 
principal  part  being  sold  for  greasy  purposes. 
The  American  makers  of  butter  are  very  far 
behind  the  Irish,  English,  or  Dutch;  from  the 
first  operation  to  the  last,  all  seems  to  be  done 
without  system  or  care.  The  same  materials 
would,  if  managed  by  experienced  hands,  bring 
in  this  market  25  or  30».  more  money.  There 
is  evidently  no  proper  attention  paid  to  the 
making,  salting,  putting  down,  or  packing.  A 
correspondent  of  one  of  our  commercial  papers 
says, — 'The  best  American  butter  imported  in- 
to England  this  year  has  sold  not  higher  than 
95».,  while  the  best  from  the  continent  has 
brought  110  to  115s.  per  cwt. ;  this  latter  will 
keep  lor  years.' "  {London  Commercial  Journal 
for  March,  1841.) 

As  a  large  portion  of  the  United  States  is 
favoured  with  all  the  advantages  requisite  for 
dairy  purposes,  such  as  good  pastures,  excel- 
lent cows,  fine  spring-houses  or  facilities  for 
making  them,  there  is  no  apparent  reason  why 
good  butter  and  cheese  should  not  be  produced 
in  the  greatest  abundance.  Among  other  in- 
structions for  improving  the  manufacture  of 
butter,  given  in  a  recent  volume  of  the  C«//tt>i»* 
tor,  the  following  merit  particular  attention  :— • 

"Every  thing  connected  with  the  making  of 
butter  should  be  perfectly  sweet  and  clean.  No 
smoke,  dust,  or  disagreeable  smells  should  ever 
exist  in  the  milk-house  or  dairy.  Every  thing 
of  this  kind  has  its  effect  on  the  cream,  and 
leaves  its  taint  on  the  buiter.  The  milk  should 
be  skimmed,  and  the  cream  churned  at  the  pro- 
per time  and  the  proper  temperature.  The  but- 
termilk should  be  promptly  separated ;  and  in 
sailing,  none  but  salt  of  the  finest,  purest  kind 
is  admissible.  Next  to  leaving  milk  or  whey 
in  the  butter  to  putrefy,  the  use  of  bad  salt  has 
the  most  influence  in  making  this  article  worth- 
less. Many  recommend  washing  butter  in  clear 
cold  water  to  free  it  from  the  milk,  and  this 
mode  is  practised  in  some  of  the  best  butter 
districts  of  Europe  or  the  United  States.  If  the 
milk  is  thoroughly  separated,  however,  the  par- 
ticular method  is  of  very  little  consequence 
and  perhaps  a  machine  for  working  the  butter- 
milk out,  such  as  has  been  figured  in  the  Cul- 
tivator,  or  some  similar  contrivance,  will  be 
found  as  effectual  as  any  thing.  But  butter,  if 
made  ever  so  perfectly,  will  pot  keep  well  un- 
less it  is  also  packed  well.  Total  exclusion 
from  the  air  seems  necessary,  and  w'.ien  this 
is  combined  with  a  low  temperature,  buiier  can 
be  kept  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time.  It  is 
the  adventitious  circumstances  only  thai  maire 
4)oor  butter,  for,  as  it  is  a  pure  animal  oil,  if 
freed  from  those  things  that  have  a  tendency  to 
spoil  it,  it  would  keep  as  long  and  with  as  .ittle 
trouble  as  tallow  or  lard.  It  is  the  difficulty 
of  freeing  butter  from  the  substances  connect- 
ed with  it,  that  have  a  constani  lendency  lo 
putrelaction,  that  renders  the  packing  of  butter 
2K  385 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


of  so  much  consequence  to  its  preservation.  I  not  cure  30  perfectly  in  this  way  as  when  ex» 
Stone  jars  we  have  found  superior  to  any  thing    posed,  an.i  that  the  sale  is  not  so  ready.     Such 


else  for  packing  butter.  They  are  sweet,  cool 
impervious  to  air,  and,  from  their  shape,  leave 
but  a  small  surface  to  be  exposed  or  covered 
with  brine.  The  butter,  whether  packed  in  jars 
or  firkins,  must  be  beat  solid,  and  the  vessel, 
whatever  it  may  be,  should  be  filled  at  once. 
The  difficulty  attending  firkins  is,  that  all  woou 
contains  more  or  less  acid,  and  this,  decom- 
posing the  salt,  imparts  an  unpleasant  taste 
and  flavour  to  the  butter  in  the  cask.  This  is 
partly  remedied  by  filling  the  firkin  with  strong 
brine,  and  allowing  them  to  stand  a  few  days 
before  using;  but  the  cause  is  never  entirely  re- 
moved. Experiments  mjide  in  Scotland  proved 
that  the  wood  of  the  linden  or  basswood  con- 
tained the  least  acid,  and  this  is  supported  by 
the  fact  that,  in  the  Tyrolese  salt-works,  where 
water  is  brought  to  the  point  of  saturation  by 
percolating  through  bundles  of  twigs  or  fagots, 
those  of  the  basswood  are  always  preferred  to 
any  other.  In  this  country  firkins  of  heart-ash 
are  preferred,  and  perhaps  are  as  good  as  any 
that  can  be  used.  We  have  known  a  firkin  of 
butter,  properly  headed,  thrown  into  a  well 
where  the  water  was  of  the  temperature  of 
about  50°  to  55°,  and  when  taken  out,  after  a 
submersion  of  a  year,  was  as  sweet  as  when 
put  in.  Perhaps,  where  circumstances  admit, 
butter  might  be  advantageously  kept  in  this 
way  in  vats  filled  with  running  spring  water 
of  the  proper  temperature.  Jars  or  firkins, 
when  filled  with  butter,  should  have  some  pure 
strong  brine  poured  on  the  top  of  the  butter, 
and  kept  there  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  the 
air  until  the  article  is  wanted  for  use.  Instead 
of  the  brine  some  use  salt,  and  others  prefer  a 
linen  cloth  saturated  in  brine  for  this  purpose. 
But  whatever  is  used,  the  top  of  the  jar  or  fir- 
kin should  be  carefully  covered  with  a  board, 
or  what  is  much  better,  a  clean,  flat  stone. 
They  should  stand  on  flat  stones,  in  a  cool 
place  in  the  cellar,  and  may  be  occasionally 
looked  to,  to  see  that  the  surface  is  properly 
secured,  and  the  air  excluded." 

Some  of  the  defects  of  American  cheese 
have  been  referred  to  under  the  head  of 
Cheesk.  a  very  common  one  arises  from  its 
being  too  often  sent  to  market  in  a  very  green 
stale,  frequently  when  but  three  weeks  old. 
The  best  English  cheeses,  we  are  told,  are  not 
considered  as  ripe  and  marketable  until  two 
years  old.  "  A  great  improvement,"  says  Mr. 
Colman,  "is  thought  by  some  to  have  been 
made  in  capping  the  cheeses,  as  it  is  termed ; 
♦hat  is,  as  soon  as  they  are  taken  from  the 
press,  covering  them  completely  with  cotton 
cloth,  sewed  over  them  tightly;  or  else  drawn 
round  the  sides  of  the  cheese  and  over  the 
edges,  leaving  the  centre  partially  exposed. 
Where  the  cheeses  are  covered  entirely,  the 
cloth  itself  is  completely  covered  and  saturated 
with  the  usual  unguent  of  whey-butter  and, 
some  simple  and  harmless  colouring  matter. 
The  eflect  is  to  preserve  the  cheese  against  the 
attacks  of  flies,  and  to  render  the  daily  turning 
of  the  cheeses  not  indispensably  necessary,  be- 
sides preventing  their  spreading  and  cracking. 
Il  is  said  by  some  p.ersons  that  the  cheese  does 
386 


contradictor}'  statements  are  made  in  this  case, 
however,  by  those  who  have  tried,  and  those 
who  refuse  to  try  it,  that  I  cannot  decide  on  its 
expediency.    It  impressed  me  favourably. 

"  I  have  much  pleasure  in  saying  that  many 
of  the  Berkshire  dairies  are  most  exemplary 
in  respect  to  neatness ;  and  in  this  matter  pre- 
sent beautiful  models  of  domestic  management. 
There  are  exceptions,  however,  to  this  com- 
mendation. In  some  instances  there  is  any 
thing  but  neatness.  The  sink  and  the  pig- 
stye,  with  all  their  oflTensive  exhalations,  bn 
account  of  what  is  called  convenience,  which 
is  only  an  apology  in  such  cases  for  gross  lazi- 
ness, are  in  much  too  intimate  proximity  with 
the  dairy-room ;  and  there  are  cases — I  shall 
not  venture  to  say  whether  I  saw  them  or  only 
heard  of  them — where,  if  the  pigs  should  per- 
chance mistake  their  own  apartment  and  go 
into  the  next  door,  they  would  never  suspect 
their  error,  unless  they  were  ordered  out.  Ad- 
monition, however,  seems  lost  upon  such  per- 
sons. Slovenliness  and  slutlishness  are  incor- 
rigible vices;  and  the  fate  of  such  persons 
seems,  as  it  were,  in  despair  of  reformation, 
irrevocably  pronounced. 

"Wilbur's  semi-revolving  slide  cheese  shelves 
is  an  admirable  contrivance  to  save  labour  in 
the  cheese-dairy.  By  it  two  men  can  easily 
turn  twenty-four  heavy  cheeses  in  a  minute, 
and  are  enabled  to  rub  them  without  their  be- 
ing lifted  from  the  shelves.  The  model  con- 
sists of  an  upright  frame,  suspended  by  an  axis 
passing  through  its  horizontal  centre  ;  and  into 
which  slide  eight  pair  of  shelves,  the  distance 
of  which  may  be  graduated  to  the  size  of  the 
cheeses.  The  cheeses  are  placed  alternately 
above  and  below  the  axis.  Slats  are  fixed  upon 
the  back  of  the  frame  to  prevent  the  cheeses 
falling  out  when  the  frame  revolves.  The 
frame  is  made  stationary  by  a  pin,  and  when 
this  is  withdrawn,  it  is  made  to  revolve  half 
round  upon  its  axis,  which  turns  the  cheeses. 
The  shelves  over  them,  and  upon  which  the 
cheeses  have  lain  the  preceding  day,  may  ther» 
be  withdrawn,  and  left  to  dry  till  the  next  day, 
when  they  may  be  returned,  the  turning  pro- 
cess repeated,  and  the  other  shelves  cleaned 
and  dried  in  turn.  The  improvement  is  a  valu- 
able one  in  large  dairies.  Henry  Wilbur,  of 
Richfield,  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y.,  is  the  inventor. 

"  The  saving  in  labour  and  risk  of  the  cheese 
is  great,  and  the  expense  of  fitting  up  a  new 
room  on  this  plan  would  not  greatly  exceed 
that  in  common  use,  as  the  room  may  be  much 
smaller.  One  rack  with  six  shelves,  six  feet 
long,  ,wenty-four  inches  wide,  set  eleven  inches 
apart,  will  hold  eighteen  cheeses  weighing  from 
100  to  140  lbs.  each,  suspended  by  a  wooden 
shaft  two  inches  square,  resting  on  two  rails 
extending  the  whole  length  of  the  room,  three 
and  a  half  feet  high,  or  if  only  a  single  rack, 
on  two  posts ;  each  rack  requires  about  four 
feet  on  the  length  of  the  rails  to  turn  well, — 
and  its  cost  will  not  exceed  six  dollars,  includ- 
ing the  materials  of  which  it  is  made.  On 
this  system  the  cheese  dries  much  faster,  as  it 
is  turned  on  the  dry  side  of  the  shelf  every  day. 


DAIRY. 

and  has  a  sound  and  dry  rind.    He  has  one  set  I 
of  extra  shelves,  which  are  slipped  in  close  ; 
above   the   cheeses  before   turned,  on  which 
shelf  the  cheeses  lay  when  turned  over;  the! 
others  are  then  liberated  for  another  rack,  and 
so  on  through  the  room.     By  the  aid  of  these 
six  extra  shelves,  the  cheeses  in  turning  need 
not  fall  but  a  trifle,  if  any." 

The  qualities  of  the  butter  generally  produced 
by  the  New  England  dairies  are  even  more 
defective  than  those  of  the  cheese.  These  de- 
fects are  chiefly  owing  to  causes  easily  reme- 
died,— by  observing  perfect  ventilation  and 
cleanliness  in  the  milk-room  and  all  its  uten- 
sils, taking  the  cream  from  the  milk  whilst  this 
is  still  fresh,  and  churaingsoon  after  the  skim- 
ming. The  working  is  a  matter  of  primary 
importance,  and  is  too  often  but  half  done. 
The  operation  should  be  continued  till  every 
trace  of  the  buttermilk  is  removed,  since,  if 
any  of  this  be  left,  the  butter  will  quickly  ac- 
quire a  rancid  or  otherwise  unpleasant  flavour. 
The  salting  also  is  of  much  consequence.  In 
general  too  much  salt  is  added,  and  that  not 
always  of  the  very  best  kind  for  the  purpose. 
Much  salt  destroys  the  delicacy  of  fine  butter. 
The  additions  of  saltpetre  and  sugar,  often  made 
in  New  England  dairies,  is  sanctioned  by  the 
practice  in  Scotland  and  other  countries.  See 
BuTTKR.  The  noted  richness  and  superior  fla- 
vour of  much  of  the  Pennsylvania  butter,  found 
in  the  Philadelphia  market,  is  chiefly  to  be  as- 
cribed to  the  fine  sweet  and  clean  spring-houses 
so  common  in  that  section  of  the  Lnited  States, 
together  with  good  old  pasture  fields,  and  great 
attention  to  working.  This  last,  when  well 
done,  renders  very  little  salt  necessary,  and 
hence  the  fine  and  delicate  flavour  of  the  butter 
can  be  perceived.  The  processes  followed  in 
the  dairy  districts  in  England  are  well  worth 
the  attention  of  persons  interested  in  this  sub- 
ject. Some  of  these  are  referred  to  ander  the 
heads  of  Bcttkr  and  Chkebe. 

Mr.  Colman,  in  his  able  Reports  upon  the 
Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,  has  furnished 
some  highly  interesting  details  in  regard  to 
dairy  affairs  in  the  Eastern  States.  Treating 
of  the  interests  of  Berkshire  county,  the  dairy 
products  of  many  farms  in  which  is  not  sur- 
passed by  any  accounts  of  other  parts  of  our 
country,  or  of  foreign  countries,  which  he  had 
been  able  to  obtain,  he  observes  :  "  The  dairy 
business  has  always  been  a  great  business. 
For  a  time  it  gave  way  to  the  raising  of  fine 
wool,  when  the  prices  of  that  staple  were  high. 
Since  the  abatement  of  the  demand  for  wool, 
with  that  caprice  for  which  mankind  always 
have  been,  and  there  is  reason  to  think  always 
will  be  remarkable,  many  farmers  have  sacri- 
ficed their  flocks;  and  are  now  giving  their 
exclusive  attention  to  the  dairy  husbandry. 
These  changes,  in  matters  so  important  as  the 
dairy  or  the  sheep  husbandry,  involving  as  they 
do  a  considerable  investment  of  capital,  and 
many  expensive  fixtures,  cannot  be  suddenly 
or  frequently  made  without  risk  of  serious  loss 
and  disadvantage." 

Mr.  Colman  gives  the  following  statements 
in  relation  to  dairy  products,  expenses,  net 
profits,  &c. 

A  farmer  residing  about  twenty-five  miles 


DAIRY. 

from  the  Hudson,  who  with  a  stock  of  eighteen 
cows,  turned  his  attention  to  making  butter 
for  the  New  York  market,  to  which  it  was  sent 
every  week,  sold  in  one  year  2400  lbs.  of  but- 
ter, at  23  cts.  per  lb.  With  the  refuse  milk  he 
fed  seventeen  spring  pigs  until  October,  when 
their  average  weight  was  177  lbs.  each.  Half 
of  this  pork,  say  88  lbs.  was  to  be  credited  to 
the  cow.  Reckoning  the  pork  at  $10  per  100 
lbs.  (a  much  higher  price,  however,  than  it 
will  now  bear),  the  account  wou'd  stand  thus: 

Cow,  Cr- 
133  lbs.  of  butter,  at  23  cts.  -       -        -       .       -#30  59 
Pork 800 

38  59 
Cow,  Dr. 

Wintering #12  00 

Pasturing  -       -       -       -        .       -900 

Salt 25 

Interest  on  #25,  at  10  per  cent.,  risks  in- 
cluded      2  50    19  75 

Annual  profits  of  a  cow  .  -  -  -  .f  IS  84 
This  calculation  is  made  without  including 
any  extra  feed  for  the  cow,  and  upon  the  sup- 
position that  the  butter  and  milk  used  by  the 
family  pays  for  the  attendance.  The  profit 
here  allowed,  Mr.  Colman  thinks,  less  than 
that  actually  derived.  He  mentions  another 
dairy,  in  which  nine  cows  yielded  1540  lbs.  of 
butter  per  annum,  and  300  lbs.  of  cheese  ;  and 
a  third,  where  twenty  cows  produced — of  butter, 
500  lbs. ;  and  of  new  milk  cheese,  4000  lbs. 

In  the  neighbourhood  where  these  dairies  are 
found,  two  acres  of  land  are  deemed  sufficient 
for  pasturing  a  cow  or  fattening  a  steer. 
Twenty  head  of  cattle,  made  up  of  cows  and 
three  year  old  steers,  were  fattened  upon  thirty 
acres  of  land. 

In  the  town  or  township  of  Ot»3,  twenty  cows 
gave  5000  lbs.  of  new-milk  cheese,  besides  ave- 
raging 25  lbs.  of  butter  each,  for  the  family, 
which  also  used  600  lbs.  of  cheese.  The  credit 
and  debtor  account  in  this  dairy  may  be  reck- 
oned thus : — 

Cow,  Cr. 
280  lbs.  cheese,  at  8  cts.  per  lb.    -        •        •        •  #22  40 
25  lbs.  butter,  at  20  cU.        -         .  -        -       5  00 

Calf ...400 

Pork,  26  lbs.  at  6  cts.   -.-..-       ]  56 

32  96 
Cow,  Dr. 

Wintering #12  00 

Pasturing  •        -        -        -       -        -500 

Interest  on  cost  of  cow,  #15,  at  10  per  cent, 

including  risks        -        -        -        -       1  50 
Labour  and  attendance    -       -        -       .2  16    2066 

Balance  in  favour  of  cow  #12  24 

In  Sandisfield,  the  average  yield  of  a  cow 
in  ordinary  seasons  is  rated  at  250  lbs.  of 
cheese,  with  common  keeping.  By  extra  keep- 
ing, the  quantity  is  increased  to  350  or  400  lbs. 
The  quantity  of  butter  in  addition  to  the  new 
milk  cheese,  is  supposed  to  be  40  or  50  lbs. 
each  cow.  The  amount  of  cheese  made  in 
this  township,  in  1837,  was  estimated  by  com- 
petent authority,  at  300,000  lbs.  The  popula 
tion  is  1493. 

"Another  farmer  in  the  same  neighbourhood, 
with  a  dairy  of  fifteen  cows,  states  the  a\  erage 
product  of  a  cow,  if  she  raises  her  calf,  at  250 
lbs. ;  if  otherwise,  300  lbs. ;  and  25  lbs.  butter, 
also,  from  each  cow.  Four  hogs  may  be  kept  to 
twenty  cows.    In  this  -^ay,  weighing  100  lbs  in 

387 


DAIRY. 

the  spring,  fhey  will  weigh  300  lbs.  in  the  fall. 
140  lbs.  of  pork  is  to  be  credited  to  five  cows. 

"The  cost  of  wintering  a  cow  here,  is  rated  at 
#10  ;  pasturage,  $4.  A  good  dairy  woman  will 
take  charge  of  thirty  cows,  with  assistance  in 
milking  and  in  handling  cheese.  Her  wages 
will  be  $1  50  per  week,  with  board. 

"  In  Tyringham,  the  average  yield  of  a  cov:- 
is  reckoned  at — new  niilk  cheese,  283  lbs., 
and  butter  at  the  same  time,  57  lbs.  A  dairy 
of  twenty-eight  cows  gave  7912  lbs.  new  milk 
cheese,  and  1600  lbs.  butter.  A  large  amount 
of  pork  was  fattened  on  this  farm ;  but  it  is 
difficult  to  say  what  portion  of  it  is  to  be 
credited  to  the  dairy. 

"  In  Sheffield,  the  average  product  of  twenty- 
eight  cows  was  394  lbs.  new  milk  cheese,  and 
60  lbs.  of  butler  each. 

"  The  product  of  a  cow  is  thus  stated  by  this 
excellent  manager : 

Cow,  Cr. 
400  lbs.  new  mj!k  cheese  at  8cl8.         -        -       -  #32  00 

Calf,  (killed  at  3  days  old) 1  00 

60  lbs.  butter,  at  I6i 8  33 

Whey  and  butter-milk  make  100  lbs.  pork  -        -      8  GO 

#49  33 
Supra,  Dr. 

Winter  keeping #12  00 

One  acre  nf  land  costing  #50  will  pasture 

the  cow 3  50 

Salt  25  cts.,  3  hs.  of  bran  #3  -  -  -  3  25 
Int.  on  the  value  of  cow  at  $15,  10  per  ct.  2  50 
Labour  of  milking,  making  butter,  cheese,  Sec.  4  00    25  25 

Balance  in  favour  of  cow  -        -        -        -  #24  08 

"The  quantity  of  land  estimated  for  pastu- 
rage in  this  case  seems  small.  It  must  be  small 
for  a  general  rule ;  another  farmer  in  the  same 
town  assured  me  that  he  kept  one  yoke  of  oxen 
all  the  season,  and  one  horse  half  the  season, 
on  two  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  which  he 
showed  me.  The  land  had  been  greatly  bene- 
fitted by  plaster. 

"  In  New  Marlboro',  the  yield  of  a  cow  is 
estimated  at  300  lbs.  new  milk  cheese ;  four 
hogs  are  kept  to  20  cows ;  two  tons  of  hay  are 
deemed  requisite  for  a  cow;  value  of  hay  sold 
$10 ;  but  if  the  farmer  can  realize  $6  per  ton 
for  it  used  on  the  place,  he  deems  it  better  than 
to  sell  it.  Eight  to  ten  acres  of  land  here,  with 
the  use  of  plaster,  is  deemed  sufficient  for  the 
pasturage  of  four  cows. 

"  In  Great  Barringlon,  nine  cows  produced 
1900  lbs.  new  milk  cheese,  and  800  lbs.  butter. 
In  another  case  from  eight  cows  were  sold — of 
butter,  200  lbs.,  of  new  milk  cheese,  1225  lbs. 
In  another  case  5  cows,  through  the  season,  and 
an  additional  cow  half  the  season,  from  1st  of 
June  to  10th  Nov.,  produced  651  lbs.  butter — 
ind  200  lbs.  new  milk  cheese.  In  this  case  the 
weekly  returns  were  given.  The  same  farmer 
says,  that  his  cows  will  average  ors  pound  of 
butter  per  day  through  the  season.  He  states 
liis  cow  account  thus  : 

Cow,  Cr. 
200  lbs.  flutter  at  20  cts.        -        -        -        -       -#40  00 
Calf  raised 2  00 

Buttermilk,  and  ekim  milk  for  pork,  equal  to  all 

the  care  

#42  00 
Supra,  Dr. 
Wintering,5i  tonsofhay  -        -        -        -#16  00 
pasturing,  25  cts.  per  week.  26  weeks      -       6  50 
»Pt.  on  cost  of  cow,  #20,  at  10  per  ct.         -       2  00    24  50 

Profits  of  a  cow  -        -  -       -  #17  00 

388 


DAIRY. 

"In  Alford,  the  actual  yield  of  a  cow  was  as 
follows  :  Butter,  240  lbs.  sold.  Cheese,  100 
lbs.  sold,  besides  using  what  milk  and  butter 
were  required  by  two  persons.  She  had  her 
own  skimmed  milk,  but  no  meal  or  grain.  She 
consumed,  as  ascertained,  two  tons  of  hay,  and 
her  pasturage  was  25  cents  per  week." 

The  following  estimates  apply  to  the  town- 
ship of  Cheshire,  which  is  devoted  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  dairy  husbandry,  and  celebrated 
for  the  excellence  and  abundance  of  its  pro- 
duce. 

"A  farmer  with  twenty-five  cows,  states  their 
average  yield  at  300  lbs.  cheese,  and  20  lbs. 
butter  to  a  cow.  He  says  likewise  that  1500 
lbs.  pork  are  to  be  credited  to  his  cows. 

"  The  average  cost  or  value  of  his  cows  is 
$30  each  ;  wintering  $14 ;  pasturing  26  weeks 
$6  25 ;  he  raises  some  calves  upon  whey.  It 
requires  the  whey  of  two  or  three  cows  to  raise 
a  calf.  His  hogs  at  18  mos.  average  350  lbs.; 
they  run  in  a  pasture  and  have  the  refuse  of 
the  dairy  until  about  six  weeks  before  it  is  in- 
tended to  kill  them,  when  they  are  shut  up  and 
fed  with  corn  and  meal. 

"The  dairy  of  another  farmer  consists  of  20 
cows.  The  year  before  last  they  yielded  400 
lbs.  new  milk  cheese ;  the  last  year  400  lbs. 
each,  besides  an  ample  supply  of  butter  for 
the  family.  He  calculates  upon  the  proportion 
of  one  hog  to  four  cows ;  with  the  above  cows 
he  made  1200  lbs.  of  pork,  600  lbs.  of  which  he 
credits  to  the  cows  ;  he  deems  three  acres  ne- 
cessary for  the  pasturage  of  a  cow.  His  cows 
during  the  spring  have  an  allowance  of  rye- 
meal  and  whey. 

"In  another  case  the  produce  of  23  cows 
was  12,000  lbs.  new  milk  cheese  and  500  lbs. 
butter. 

"In  another  case  30  cows  made  14,000  lbs. 
new  milk  cheese  ;  and  500  lbs.  butter.  In  this 
case  some  calves  were  raised ;  but  most  of 
them  were  killed  at  four  days  old.  Throughout 
the  county  of  Berkshire  this  mode  of  dealing 
with  the  calves  is  termed  'deaconing'  them. 
What  is  the  particular  propriety  of  this  pro- 
vincialism, I  am  unable  to  determine;  and 
whether  it  had  its  origin  in  any  superstition 
among  the  aborigines  or  the  first  settlers  of  the 
county,  I  shall  leave  to  the  antiquaries  to  as- 
certain. It  is  a  peculiarity,  and  prevails  no 
where  else. 

"  The  practice,  with  this  farmer,  is  to  give 
boiled  corn  in  the  ear  to  his  cows ;  perhaps  a 
dozen  ears  to  a  cow  per  day.  When  it  is  con- 
veniently had,  he  gives  a  mess  of  rye-meal  to 
each  cow,  at  the  rate  of  two  quarts  per  day,  for 
three  weeks  in  the  spring.  He  is  anxious  to 
let  his  cows  go  to  the  grass  as  soon  as  the 
ground  is  bare.  He  thinks  cows  are  liable  to 
suffer  from  excessive  feeding  in  the  barn. 

The  wintering  of  a  cow  requires  IJ  tons  of  hay    #14  00 
Pasturing,  20  cts.  per  week  for  26  weeks  -        5  20 

"  In  40  days  of  the  best  of  the  season  on  this 
farm,  30  cows  produced  4000  lbs.  butter.  The 
land  required  for  the  pasturage  of  a  cow  is 
considered  to  be  three  acres. 

"  From  thirty  cows,  an  average  of  425  lbs. 
of  cheese  has  been  produced  to  each  cow,  and 
ten  lbs.  of  butter ;  or  300  the  whole. 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


«0n  one  farm,  where  18  cows  were  kept,  | 
11,385  lbs.  new  milk  cheese  were  made  in  a 
season,  which  gives  the  extraordinary  average 
of  632 i  lbs.  to  a  cow.  200  lbs.  of  butter  were 
made  the  same  season  from  the  same  cows. 
One  of  these  cows  produced  1000  lbs.  new  milk 
cheese. 

"  During  the  first  part  of  the  season,  for  two 
months,  two  quarts  of  rye-meal  were  given  to 
each  cow.  Half  of  this  quantity  of  meal  was 
given  them  for  one  month  during  the  last  of  the 
season  ;  and  the  greater  part  of  the  time  they 
had  their  whey.  1000  lbs.  pork  were  made  on 
the  farm ;  and  half  of  this  was  credited  to  the 
cows. 

"  The  same  individual,  when  on  another  farm 
in  South  Adams,  with  21  cows,  made  626  lbs. 
new  milk  cheese  to  a  cow,  in  a  season.  1700 
lbs.  of  pork  were  raised  in  connection  with  the 
dairy.  Half  the  pork  was  considered  as  due 
to  the  cows. 

"  The  process  of  making  cheese  began  the 
25th  April,  and  ended  the  1st  December.  As 
soon  as  the  cows  calved,  the  cows  received 
3  qts.  of  meal  per  day  each — principally  rye, 
with  some  Indian  ;  and  each  had  some  whey, 
though  not  half  what  was  yielded  was  given  to 
them.  Three  or  four  of  the  cows  received 
meal  all  the  summer.  He  commenced  feeding 
again  with  meal  on  the  25lh  July,  and  continued 
to  give  them  two  quarts  of  meal  until  the  25th 
August.  On  the  25ih  August,  he  l)c<.':"n  t',...iiii,«4 
the  cows  with  corn-stalks  until  lOtli  ;. 

Then  the  cows  had  the  after  feed  <•!  :^ ; 

and  from  the  1st  October,  these  cows  had  half 
a  load  of  pumpkins  per  day.  In  November, 
fed  every  cow  fully  with  meal ;  two  and  three 
quarts  per  day  until  1st  December.  After  that, 
the  cows  had  nothing  but  hay  until  spring. 
From  the  same  cows,  at  the  same  time,  butter 
enough  was  made,  and  milk  enough  used,  fur 
a  family  of  six  persons.  The  cheese  sold  in 
New  York  for  $10  dollars  per  100  lbs. 

"These  products  are  certainly  remarkable, 
and  show  what  may  be  done  by  attention,  skill, 
and  good  treatment  of  the  animals  under  our 
care.  The  pasturage  in  Cheshire  is  of  an  ex- 
cellent description.  The  soil  is  generally  of 
a  rich  gravelly  loam  resting  upon  limestone, 
and  abounding  in  vegetable  mould.  It  is  like- 
wise sensitive  to  the  application  of  plaster, 
which  is  very  commonly  used." 

The  same  excellent  authority  who  has  fur- 
nished the  foregoing  details,  enables  us  to  pre- 
sent the  following  views  of  farmers  in  those 
sections  of  Massachusetts  most  celebrated  for 
dairy  products  in  regard  to  dairy  stock. 

"  The  farmers  are  unanimous  in  their  pre- 
ference of  the  common  native  stock  of  the 
country,  in  which  the  Devon  blood  predomi- 
nates, to  any  foreign  stock  with  which  they  are 
acquainted.  They  are  in  general  as  decided 
in  their  preference  of  small,  over  large-sized 
cows.  They  are  not,  however,  raisers  of  stock; 
and  buy  their  cows  wherever  they  can  find 
them,  according  to  their  best  judgment.  The 
remarkable  produce,  if  so  it  be  considered,  is 
to  be  attributed  to  extraordinary  good  manage- 
ment and  keeping;  and  on  this  account,  de- 
serves the  more  attention,  as  showing  what 
mav  be  done. 


"  The  dairy  stock  in  England  which  seems 
to  have  the  preference  over  all  others,  is  the 
Ayrshire.  The  origin  of  this  stock  is  not  well 
ascertained ;  but  though  it  has  some  of  the 
qualities  of  the  improved  Durham,  is  a  race 
distinct  from  that.  Great  pains  have  beet 
taken  and  great  expenses  incurred,  in  order  to 
introduce  this  fine  Ayrshire  race  of  cows  into 
our  state,  by  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
Society,  and  by  an  intelligent  and  public-spi- 
rited friend  to  agricultural  improvejnent  iti 
Waterstown.  I  regret  that  I  am  not  able  to 
obtain  such  returns  as  would  enable  me  to 
speak  confidently  of  the  merits  or  delects  of 
this  stock,  so  far  as  these  cases  go ; — but  I  am 
safe  in  saying,  that  some  slight  disappoint- 
ment has  been  experienced.  It  is  probable, 
from  the  celebrity  which  they  had  obtained 
abroad,  too  much  was  expected  from  them  here. 
Extravagant  statements  have  been  made  re- 
specting their  produce  in  Scotland.  One  of  the 
advocates  for  this  slock,  and  a  man  upon  whose 
authority  great  reliance  is  placed,  has  under- 
taken to  calculate  precisely  the  number  of 
quarts  of  milk  given,  and  the  number  of  pounds 
of  cheese  made  from  what  is  stated  to  be  in 
money  the  average  produce  of  an  Ayrshire 
cow.  This  is  certainly  rather  a  loose  way  of 
reaching  the  result.  Entire  reliance  cannot 
be  placed  upon  il.  This,  another  distinguish- 
ed Scotch  farmer  and  dairyman  admits;  and 
says  that  '  those  statements  are  far  too  high 
and  not  well  founded.' 

"  He  refers  to  a  farmer,  on  whose  exactness 
he  entirely  relies;  whom  he  pronounces  a 
man  of  superior  intelligence  and  accuracy; 
and  who  has  devoted  himself  to  dairy  hus- 
bandry ;  and,  further,  whose  slock  were  par- 
ticularly select,  and  '  who  had  every  inducement 
to  keep  them  in  the  highest  condition  requisite 
for  giving  ihe  largest  product  in  milk.'  The 
farmer  referred  to,  states,  that  at  the  best  of 
the  season  the  average  milk  from  each  cow  is 
9  Scots  pints  (4^  gallons),  and  in  a  year,  1300 
Scots  pints  or  650  gallons.  A  Scots  pint  is 
two  quarts.  Now,  allowing  these  cows  to  be 
in  milk  320  days,  the  average  yield  of  a  cow 
would  be  Si  of  a  quart  per  day.  But  if  we 
understand  this  to  be  wine  measure,  which  is 
the  usual  standard  of  measurement  in  Eng- 
land, and  compare  il  with  our  customary 
admeasurement  of  milk  in  Massachusetts, 
which  is  always  beer  measure,  we  must  deduct 
one-fifth;  and  then  the  average  product  of  an 
Ayrshire  cow,  compared  with  ours,  is  6^  quarts 
per  day  for  320  days.  Such  a  yield  is  often 
surpassed  by  cows  of  our  native  stock.  I 
have  before  me  the  case  of  a  cow  of  native 
stock  among  us,  who,  in  268  days,  yielded 
2923  beer  quarts  of  milk;  and  of  another,  that 
produced  3975  beer  quarts  of  milk  m  ten 
months.  I  can  produce,  within  my  own  know- 
ledge, a  list  of  nearly  fifty  cows  of  native 
stock,  almost  as  productive  as  these.  I  do 
not  mean  to  undervalue  the  imported  stock. 
Far  from  it.  I  deem  the  introduction  of  thr 
Ayrshire  stock  and  the  improved  Durham 
short-horn,  a  great  benefaction  to  the  country 
Their  tendency  to  fatten,  their  early  maturity, 
their  beautiful  proportions,  highly  commend 
them  to  our  goodwill  andrur  interests.  An 
2  K  2  389 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


jret,  we  have  not  had,  by  any  means,  a  suffi- 
ciently fair  trial  of  their  dairy  properties  so  as 
10  determine  fully,  either  for  or  against  them ; 
and  it  has  been  found  here,  in  repeated  in- 
stances, as  it  has  proved  abroad,  that  a  cow, 
from  a  cross  of  an  improved  Durham,  with 
the  Devon,  has  gi  ^en  a  valuable  animal  for 
the  dairy.  But  am^ng  the  great  advantages 
which  is  to  result  from  the  introduction  of  this 
improved  and  beautiful  stock,  i^  this :  to  give 
our  farmers  a  knowledge  of  what  can  be  done 
by  skill,  intelligence,  care,  selection,  and  per- 
severance in  the  art  of  breeding  animals  for 
any  purpose ;  in  obviating  defects  of  form, 
constitution,  and  habit;  and  in  perpetuating 
and  transmitting  excellent  and  desirable  pro- 
perties. In  the  Ayrshire  stock,  and  in  the 
improved  short-horns,  the  most  shrewd  and 
persevering  efforts  have  been  exerted,  and  the 
highest  practical  skill  and  philosophy  have 
been  taxed  to  carry  this  race  to  as  great  a  de- 
gree of  perfection  as  any  thing  of  the  kind  can 
be ;  and  the  success  has  been  decisive  and 
wonderful.  Excepting  in  one  instance,  to 
which  I  shall  hereafter  refer  at  large,  perhaps 
there  cannot  be  found  in  the  whole  of  New 
England,  a  single  instance  of  any  enlightened, 
determined,  and  systematic  attempt  to  form  a 
race  of  animals  of  particular  and  desirable 
properties.  It  is  most  important  that  this 
should  be  attempted  in  different  parts  of  our 
country,  with  what  are  called  our  native  stock, 
which  have  become,  in  various  ways,  so  crossed 
and  mixed  up,  that  there  is  in  truth  no  par- 
ticular race  among  them.  A  large  portion  of 
them  are  as  ungainly,  unthrifty,  and  unpro- 
ductive as  can  well  be  represented  or  imagined. 
Yet  there  are  among  them  so  many  extraordi- 
nary animals, — extraordinary  for  their  produce 
in  milk,  butter,  and  cheese, — that  a  few  years 
of  careful  and  intelligent  selection  from  the 
materials  already  to  our  hand,  and  a  strict 
observance  of  those  philosophical  principles 
of  breeding  which  are  well  ascertained  and 
understood,  would  undoubtedly  give  us  a  breed 
of  animals,  a  stock  or  race  of  animals,  greatly 
superior  to  that  which  now  exists  among  us. 
This  has  been  attempted  in  one  instance  by 
a  highly  intelligent  breeder;  and  he  is  now 
able  to  show  three  generations  of  animals 
of  as  extraordinary  character  for  the  creamy 
or  butyraceous  quality  of  their  milk  as  has 
ever  been  known.  Two  quarts  of  what  is 
called  the  strippings,  the  last  part  drawn  off 
of  the  milk  of  one  of  these  cows,  having  re- 
peatedly produced  one  pound  of  iDulter;  and 
the  cream,  as  it  came  from  the  pans,  as  I  have 
seen  myself,  becoming  by  churning  converted 
into  butter  of  the  finest  description  in  less  than 
one  minute  by  the  watch;  and  this  process 
repeated  at  pleasure. 

'*  Let  us  now  compare  the  amount  of  cheese 
made  by  the  English  dairies,  with  some  in  this 
county  of  which  I  have  given  here  an  ac- 
count. 

"  An  Ayrshire  cow,  it  is  said  by  the  English 
authorities,  will  yield  257  lbs.  of  butter  per 
annum,  or  about  5  lbs.  per  week,  all  the  year 
round,  besides  raising  the  calf;  or  of  new  milk 
cheese,  about  514  lbs.  These  returns  are  cer- 
\ainly  large ;  but  they  rest  upon  a  calculation 
390 


:»*  the  quantity  of  milk  which  the  cow  is  sup» 
fosed  to  yield,  rather  than  upon  any  account 
of  an  actual  yield.  None  at  least  is  giveiu 
This,  therefore,  is  not  so  satisfactory  as  it 
would  be,  if  it  were  a  precisely  ascertained 
result.  One  of  the  best  authorities  says,  that 
in  England,  'a  well-fed  cow  of  a  good  breed 
will  produce,  upon  an  average,  180  lbs.  of 
butter  in  the  season.  The  common  calculation 
is  indeed  150  lbs.;  but  this  is  made  upon 
mixed  stock,  which  affords  no  certain  data. 
In  the  Epping  district,  where  there  is  an  indis- 
criminate mixture  of  Devon,  Suffolk,  Leicester, 
Holderness,  and  Scotch,  the  calculation,  in  a 
well-managed  dairy  amounts  to  212  lbs.;  that 
is,  6  lbs.  per  week  during  26  weeks,  and  4  lbs, 
per  week,  during  14  weeks.  The  average  pro- 
duct of  cheese  in  the  best  dairies,  where  the 
whole  milk  and  creq,m  are  used,  cannot  be 
estimated  at  more  than  4  cwt — that  is,  44S  lbs. 
On  deep  grazing  soils,  that  carry  a  heavy  stock, 
a  well-managed  cow  is  reckoned  to  make  from 
360  lbs.  to  600  lbs.  In  Somersetshire,  the 
average  is  4^  cwt.,  or  540  lbs. ;  in  Essex  not  so 
high,  and  in  the  midland  counties  something 
more  than  3  cwt.'  It  will  be  seen,  in  looking 
back  upon  the  dairy  returns  in  some  parts  of 
this  country,  that  they  are  inferior  to  these,  not 
frequently  passing  beyond  250  or  300  lbs.  of 
new  milk  cheese.  On  the  other  hand,  the  re- 
turns of  some  of  the  dairies  in  Cheshire  show 
an  actual  amount  of  annual  produce  of  more 
than  500  lbs.  to  a  cow,  and  in  some  cases  627 
and  632  lbs.  It  may  be  said  that  this  is  owing 
to  the  fine  pasturage  which  is  to  be  found  in 
Cheshire  and  its  vicinity ;  to  the  particular  care 
which  is  taken  of  the  cows ;  and  the  system 
of  high  feeding  adopted.  But  it  shows  con- 
clusively that  the  cows  are  capable  of  being 
brought  to  this  productive  yield;  and  the  feed 
and  management  are  matters  which  can  be 
adopted  anywhere. 

"A  farmer  in  Sandisfield  has  a  dairy  of 
24  cows ;  and  they  produce  a  cheese  per 
day,  weighing  about  100  lbs.  Supposing  that 
it  requires  a  gallon  of  milk  to  produce  one 
pound  of  cheese,  this  would  give  400  quarts 
of  milk  per  day,  or  at  the  rate  of  16-J  of  a  quart 
to  a  cow.  These  cows  are  all  of  native  stock; 
most  of  them  raised  by  himself.  His  average 
product  of  new  milk  cheese  to  a  cow  in  a 
season,  is  between  500  and  600  lbs.  Last 
year  the  actual  yield  was  598  lbs.  to  a  cow. 
Of  his  24  cows  last  year,  two  were  heifers  of 
two  years  old,  just  come  in.  Four  years  since 
he  was  the  owner  of  a  cow,  whose  milk  in  the 
best  season  amounted  by  actual  weight  to  70 
lbs.  per  day.  During  the  time  of  her  greatest 
yield,  she  was  fed  with  four  pails  of  cheese 
whey,  and  some  rye-meal.  She  was  of  native 
stock.  This  farmer  has  a  heifer  from  her, 
which  gives,  as  he  supposes,  60  lbs.  of  milk 
per  day.  He  gives  an  opinion,  which  from  his 
successful  experience  certainly  deserves  at- 
tention ;  that  heifers  which  *  come  in'  with 
their  first  calf  at  two  years  old,  do  better  than 
when  their  coming  in  is  delayed  until  three 
years  old.  Their  milking  properties  are  in 
this  way  improved.  Probably  he  is  right  in 
this  matter;  but  the  general  experience  of  the 
best  farmers    recommends   that,   if  a  heifer 


DAray. 


DAIRY. 


comes  in  at  two  years  old,  she  should  not  be 
allowed  to  have  another  calf,  under  at  least 
eighteen  months  from  this  time." 

In  regard  to  the  improvements  in  neat  cattle 
made  and  still  making  in  New  England,  Mr. 
Cohnan  furnishes  the  following  results,  obtain- 
ed at  Ten  Hills  Stock  Farm,  near  Boston,  under 
the  enterprising  efforts  of  Samuel  Jaques,  than 
whom,  he  thinks,  no  man,  perhaps,  in  New 
England  or  the  whole  country,  has  more  prac- 
tical skill  or  better  judgment  in  relation  to  this 
kind  of  live-stock,  his  experience  having  been 
long,  and  marked  by  critical  observation.  The 
following  extract  contains  Mr.  Jaques's  own 
account  of  his  enterprise  and  success,  as  com- 
municated to  Mr.  Colman : 

"  It  has,"  Mr.  J.  observes,  •*  been  my  object 
to  effect  such  an  improvement  in  milch  cows 
as  should  produce  the  greatest  quantity  of  rich 
milk,  affording  the  largest  quantity  of  butler. 
There  is  a  greater  difference  in  pecuniary 
profit  between  a  good  or  a  poor  cow  than 
among  any  other  domestic  animals.  In  some 
yards  there  may  be  found  those  which  will 
not  produce  more  than  three  pounds  per  week, 
and  others  that  would  make  nine,  and  all  on 
the  same  keep.  As  we  sometimes  hear  of  cows 
which  have  produced  seventeen  pounds  of  but- 
ter per  week,  and  even  more,  it  occurred  to 
me  to  inquire  why  a  breed  or  race  could  not 
be  formed  with  the  same  valuable  properties. 
This  I  have  attempted,  and  have  carried  it  to 
the  third  generation;  and  I  am  confident  of 
success.  I  have  a  cow  whose  milk  has  pro- 
duced nine  pounds  of  the  best  butter  in  three 
days,  and  this  on  grass  feed  only.  This  I  call 
my  Cream-Pot  breed.  I  have  bred  my  cream- 
pots  with  red  or  mahogany-coloured  hair,  yel- 
low noses,  with  mahogany-coloured  teats,  yel- 
low skin,  silky  and  elastic  to  the  touch.  I  have 
obtained  the  breed  by  the  cross  of  a  Durham 
short-horned  bull  on  a  selected  native  cow  with 
certain  extraordinary  points  and  properties, 
anxious  to  retain  as  much  of  the  form  of  the 
Durham  as  to  insure  capacious  udders,  and 
with  the  valuable  property  of  affording  rich 
milk.  Though  an  admirer  of  the  Durham 
short-horns,  I  have  not  found  them  producing 
so  rich  milk  nor  making  so  much  yellow  butter 
as  I  could  wish.  The  Durham  race  are  round 
and  straight  in  the  barrel,  full  in  the  twist,  and 
inclining  to  be  thick  in  the  thigh.  I  have 
wished  for  some  improvement  in  the  form  of 
the  bag.  But  I  would  premise,  that  whatever 
I  may  say  in  respect  to  breeding  animals,  I 
only  desire  to  express  my  own  private  notions, 
without  a  wish  to  dictate  to  any  one  from  the 
experience  I  have  had,  which  I  am  sensible  is 
very  limited.  Generally,  cows  which  I  have 
examined,  giving  the  largest  amount  of  the 
richest  milk,  have  had  capacious  bags,  full  be- 
hind, extending  far  up  into  the  twist,  and  also 
well  formed ;  hanging  moderately  deep  when 
full  in  milk,  and  after  the  milk  is  drawn,  quite 
the  reverse ;  for  I  would  avoid  a  fleshy  bag. 
My  cream-pot  breed  are  full  in  the  body,  drop 
deep  in  the  flank,  are  not  quite  so  straight  in 
the  belly,  nor  as  full  in  the  twist,  nor  as  thick 
in  the  thigh;  but  in  other  respects  I  wish  them 
to  approach  the  Durham  as  near  as  may  be. 
My  cream  -pot  breed  excel  particularly  in  afford- 


ing a  great  quantity  of  rich  cream,  and  that 
cream  capable  of  being  formed  into  butter  in 
'  a  short  time,  and  with  little  labour,  leaving  a 
small  proportion  of  buttermilk.  Their  cream 
produces  more  than  eighty  per  cent,  of  pure 
butter;  and  it  is  not  infrequent  to  form  the 
cream  into  butter  in  one  minute.  It  has  been 
done  in  forty  seconds. 

1  "  I  have  a  heifer  designated  as  Betty  Cream- 
'  Pot,  one  of  the  third  generation,  which  pro 
duced  her  first  calf  at  two  and  a  half  year.4 
old.  Mr.  Brown,  my  foreman,  made  the  fol- 
lowing experiment  upon  her  milk,  without 
my  knowledge  at  the  time.  After  milking, 
'.  he  took  two  quarts  of  her  milk  out  of  the 
I  pail,  and,  having  strained  it  into  a  pan,  al- 
I  lowed  it  to  stand  twenty-four  hours.  Having 
I  then  skimmed  the  cream  into  a  bowl,  he 
churned  it  with  a  table-spoon,  and  in  one  mi- 
nute, by  the  clock,  he  formed  the  butter.  Il 
was  then  pressed  and  worked  in  the  usual  way, 
and  amounted  to  half  a  pound  of  pure  butter. 
After  this,  the  following  practice  was  pursued 
for  eight  or  ten  weeks  in  succession.  At  each 
of  four  successive  milkings,  two  quarts  of  the 
strippings  were  strained  into  a  pan,  making 
eight  quarts  in  the  whole.  All  was  mixed  to- 
gether in  the  same  pan,  and  then  churned.  The 
average  time  of  churning  did  not  exceed  ten 
minutes;  in  some  instances  the  butter  was 
formed  in  five  minutes.  After  being  properly 
worked  over,  it  was  weighed,  and  never  fell 
short  of  two  pounds.  The  remainder  of  her 
milk  was  for  family  use,  and,  when  set  for 
cream,  produced  the  usual  quantity.  These 
experiments  were  made  on  grass  feed  only. 
She  did  not  give  a  large  mess ;  only  about 
twelve  quarts  per  day.  I  have  forty  cows  and 
heifers,  ten  bulls  and  bull-calves  of  different 
grades  of  this  cream-pot  breed,  all  bred  and 
raised  by  myself.  I  keep  my  bulls,  selected  as 
breeders,  until  I  have  proof  of  the  quality  of 
their  offspring.  My  old  cream-pot  bull  is  ten 
years  old.  My  Don  Cream-Pot,  from  which  I 
am  now  breeding  with  some  of  my  cows  and 
heifers,  is  three  years  old." 

"It  will  be  seen,"  says  Mr.  Colman,  "that 
Mr.  Jaques  speaks  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of 
an  amateur.  I  cannot  endorse,  certainly  to 
their  fall  extent,  all  his  doctrines  respectirtg 
the  power  of  breeding,  at  pleasure,  any  animals 
of  any  desired  shape  or  colour,  and  of  forming 
them  as  a  statuary  would  mould  his  plaster; 
but  the  approaches  which  a  scientific  and  ex- 
perienced breeder  can  make  to  such  a  power 
as  this  are  very  considerable,  as  all  the  im- 
proved races  of  animals  show,  whether  among 
neat  cattle,  horses,  sheep,  or  swine. 

"  The  dam  of  this  stock  was  a  noble-sized 
cow,  raised  in  Groton,  Mass. ;  but  the  owner 
there  knew  nothing  particularly  of  her  origin. 
She  was  sold  to  a  gentleman  by  the  name  of 
Haskins,  residing  in  Dorchester,  about  five 
miles  from  Boston ;  and  her  cream  was  of  such 
extraordinary  richness,  that  it  would  become 
separated  into  butter  by  the  motion  of  the  car- 
riage in  bringing  it  into  the  city. 

"  Mr.  Jaques  is  entitled  to  great  credit  fcr  hi:, 
care  and  judicious  selection  in  continuing  and 
improving  the  stock.  I  have  repeatedly  been 
the  cream  from  mese  cows,  and  its  yellowness 

301 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


and  consistency  arc  remarkable ;  and  in  com- ' 
pany  with  several  gentlemen  ot  the  legislature, 
I  saw  a  portion  of  it  converted  into  butter  with  , 
a  spoon  in  one  minute.    The  colour  of  Mr.  j 
Jaques's  stock  is  a  deep  red,  a  favourite  colour 
in  Ne.v  England.    They  are  well  formed,  and  j 
thrifty  upon  common  feed ;  and,  if  they  conti- 
nue to  di.splay  the  extraordinary  properties  bv 
which  they  are  now  distinguished,  they  promise 
to  prove  themselves,  for  dairy  purposes,  the 
most  valuable  race  of  animals  ever  known 
among  us,  and  as  remarkable  as  any  of  which 
we  have   any  information.    They  have   now 
reached  the   third  generation,  and  maintain 
their  high  character. 

"From  six  cows  taken  promiscuously  in  a 
dairy  of  improved  short-horn  stock,  in  England, 
with  a  view  to  test  the  quality  of  the  milk,  it 
was  found  that  they  gave  in  the  following  pro- 
portion of  butter  to  one  quart  of  milk  : 

No.  1,    3  02.   6  dwt«.  No.  4,    1  oz.  10  dwts. 

2,  1  "     6    •'  5,     1   "    14    " 

3,  I  "    12    "  6,     1   "     6    ♦•      , 

"  These  measures,  it  will  be  perceived,  are 
given  in  troy  weight,  of  which  it  requires  175 
lbs.  to  make  Hi  lbs.  avoirdupois.  It  is  not 
stated  whether  the  quart  was  wine  or  beer 
measure,  and  it  is  therefore  difficult  to  adjust 
the  proportions.  A  variety  of  circumstances, 
likewise,  would  affect,  in  some  degree,  the 
result;  as,  whether  the  milk  was  taken  at  the 
beginning  or  the  last  part  of  the  milking;  and 
how  long  the  cows  had  been  in  milk  from  the 
lime  of  calving;  and  what  was  the  kind  of  feed 
given  them  at  the  time  of  the  experiment.  Still, 
I  have  quoted  the  result,  as,  under  any  circum- 
stances, showing  by  comparison  the  extraordi- 
nary product  of  the  cream-pot  breed." 

Mr.  Col  man  has  added  to  his  report  of  the 
dairy  produce  of  the  county  of  Cheshire,  a 
table  showing  the  number  of  cows  kept  on  45 
farms  in  1838,  with  their  produce,  the  amount 
sold,  and  prices  obtained.  The  whole  number 
of  cows  was  913;  the  amount  of  new-milk 
cheese  sold,  300,000  lbs.;  skim-milk  cheese, 
11,050;  cheese  used,  7,500  lbs.;  butter  sold, 
19,050  lbs.  The  average  price  for  the  new- 
milk  cheese  was  7J  cts. ;  of  skim-milk  cheese, 
3  cts.,  and  of  butter,  17  cts.  per  pound. 

In  the  dairy  establishments  about  Boston, 
good  hay,  and  corn-fodder  are  the  general  feed, 
with  sometimes  carrots,  ruta-baga,  and  mangel- 
wurtzel.  The  ruta-baga,  and  all  the  turnip 
femily,  are  apt  to  impart  a  turnip  taste  to  the 
milk,  which  is  very  generally  disliked.  Mr. 
Colman  was  informed  by  a  very  careful  milk- 
man that  no  objection  of  this  sort  is  found 
against  ruta-baga,  if  they  be  given  to  the  cows 
directly  after,  and  not  just  before  being  milked. 
Before  the  next  milking  comes,  the  disagree- 
able odour  is  entirely  got  rid  of.  The  best 
milkmen  prefer  good  clover  hay  for  cows  in 
milk  to  any  other.  "Potatoes  and  mangel- 
wurtzel,"  says  Mr.  Colman,  "increase  the 
quantity  without  improving  the  quality  of  the 
milk.  Carrots,  parsnips,  and  sugar-beets  im- 
prove the  quality. — A  milk  farm,  well  situated 
and  with  a  good  custom,  is  a  profitable  hus- 
bandry where  the  milk  brings  6  cents  in  sum- 
mer and  6^^  cents  in  winter.  A  good  deal  of 
niilk  is  sold  by  the  farmers  to  the  milkmen  for 
392 


3  cents  per  quart,  of  the  profits  of  which  man- 
agement to  the  farmer  I  have  strong  doubts. 
If  we  suppose  that  it  requires  10  quarts  of 
milk  to  make  one  pound  of  butter,  this  at  3 
cents  per  quart  would  be  30  cents.  Suppose 
the  milk  to  be  made  into  butter,  there  is  a 
pound  of  butter  worth  25  cents,  and,  if  of  su- 
perior quality,  33;  there  are  the  skim-milk  and 
butter-milk  remaining,  worth  certainly  for 
young  pigs  1^  cent  per  quart — say  9  quarts, 
13  cents;  and  there  is  the  manure  made  by 
the  swine  kept,  which  is  of  considerable  value- 

"  The  amount  of  milk  furnished  by  a  herd 
of  cows  through  the  year  is  very  differently 
estimated  by  different  persons.  Rare  indivi- 
dual cows  may  be  occasionally  met  with, 
giving  ten,  and  perhaps,  in  some  remarkable 
case,  even  eleven  quarts  of  milk  per  day 
through  the  year — that  is,  365  times  11  quarts, 
or  more  than  4000  quarts  per  annum ;  but  such 
cases  are  very  few  in  number.  In  Curwen's 
dairy  of  28  cows,  kept  and  fed  with  great  care 
for  220  days,  the  average  was  eight  wine 
quarts  per  day,  or  a  little  more  than  six  beer 
quarts.  In  the  Harleian  dairy,  where  a  hun- 
dred cows  were  kept,  it  is  said  that  twelve  wine 
quarts  were  about  the  daily  average ;  but  the 
statement,  in  the  form  in  which  it  is  made,  is 
very  imperfect  and  doubtful.  Twelve  wine 
quarts  would  a  little  exceed  nine  beer  quarts. 
Nothing  could  surpass  the  pains  used  in  the 
selection  of  these  cows,  the  care  taken  of  them, 
and  the  abundance  with  which  they  were  fed. 
If  the  statement  were  positive,  I  should  regard 
it  differently  ;  but  as  it  seems  to  be  rather  mat- 
ter of  conjecture  than  of  proof,  I  place  little 
dependence  upon  it.  In  a  private  letter  to  a 
respected  friend  from  the  celebrated  Fellen- 
berg,  it  is  stated  that,  at  that  institution,  the 
cows,  which  are  considered  amongst  the  best 
milch  cows  in  the  world,  average  through  the 
year  about  six  quarts  per  day.  But  here  again 
we  are  left  at  a  loss  to  know,  whether  the  year 
includes  only  the  season  while  they  are  in 
milk,  or  365  days.  These  are  foreign  state- 
ments. I  wish  I  had  those  from  among  our- 
selves, on  which  entire  reliance  can  be  placed. 
Men  in  these  cases  are  so  in  the  habit  of  deal- 
ing in  conjecture  instead  of  facts,  that  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  arrive  at  the  truth.  I  have 
been  so  often  deceived  in  these  matters  that  I 
place  little  confidence  in  any  thing  which  is 
not  matter  of  actual  measurement  and  positive 
verification.  The  most  intelligent  and  careful 
milkmen  whom  I  have  consulted  are  of  opi- 
nion, that  their  cows  average  about  six  quarts 
per  day  for  365  days,  and  go  dry  in  that  time 
from  two  to  three  months.  A  very  careful 
milkman,  who  may  be  entirely  relied  on,  from 
20  cows  produced  11,131^  gallons  of  milk  in 
a  year.  This  was  at  the  rate  of  6^  quarts  per 
day  for  365  days,  or  7^  quarts  per  day  for  300 
days.  These  cows  were  native  stock,  ex- 
tremely well  selected  and  well  fed.  Succes- 
sive trials  on  this  same  farm  give  about  the 
same  result. 

"On  a  milk  establishment  in  Medford,  under 
excellent  management  for  many  years,  with 
twenty  cows  in  summer  and  more  than  thirty 
in  winter,  the  average  product  for  365  days  is 
from  five  to  six  quarto  to  a  cow  per  day.    The 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


cows  arc  fed  in  winter  upon  clover  hay,  an 
allowance  of  a  peck  and  a  half  each  of  succu- 
lent vegetables,  and  some  Indian  or  oil-meal 
cake.  The  summer  feed  is  not  stated,  but 
great  advantage  has  been  derived  from  green 
Indian  corn  fodder.  Oil-meal  cake  is  not  con- 
sidered of  equal  advantage  with  Indian.  It  is 
deemed  too  dear  if  more  than  $25  per  ton. 
Carrots  are  preferred  to  all  other  vegetables 
when  the  quality  of  the  milk  and  the  condition 
of  the  animal  are  regarded.  Since  the  use  of 
the  most  powerful  hydrostatic  presses  in  ex- 
tracting the  oil  from  the  flax-seed,  the  cake  is 
by  no  means  so  valuable  m  formerly,  and  the 
price  should  be  proportional. 

"In  the  case  of  a  milk  establishment  in  the 
vicinity  of  Salem,  on  an  average  of  thirty-five 
cows  in  milk,  the  product  in  one  year  was 
17,171  gallons  of  milk,  beer  measure  ;  in  an- 
other year,  it  was  17,530  gallons.  In  the  first 
case  it  would  be  about  5J  quarts  to  a  cow;  in 
the  latter,  5^  to  a  cow  per  day  through  the 
year." 

Several  enterprising  individuals  have  im- 
ported some  of  the  very  finest  bulls  and  cows, 
of  the  Ayrshire  breed,  generally  reputed  the 
most  celebrated  dair>'  stock  in  England.  In 
regard  to  the  qualities  of  these  and  their  pro- 
geny, Mr.  Colman  remarks  that  they  are  said 
to  yield  large  quantities  of  milk  and  produce 
large  amounts  of  butter  and  cheese ;  besides 
keeping  themselves  im  good  condition,  and 
being  easily  made  ready  for  the  butcher.  The 
cows  are  eminently  beautiful.  In  size,  how- 
ever, and  symmetry,  they  are  decidedly  inferior 
to  the  improved  Durham  Khorl-homs;  but 
there  is  good  reason  to  think  them  a  hardier 
race  of  animals. 

Of  the  improved  Durham,  short-horn  race, 
we  have,  Mr.  Colman  remarks,  had  some  of 
the  best  animals  ever  brought  into  the  United 
States,  and  their  blood  has  been  considerably 
diffused  throughout  the  country.  In  point  of 
size  according  to  their  age,  in  respect  to  sym- 
metr)'  and  perfection  of  form,  these  animals 
are,  in  my  opinion,  not  surpassed,  indeed  not 
equalled  by  any  others.  "The  Herefords,"  he 
says,  "are  extremely  beautiful;  in  neatness 
and  fineness  of  form  perhaps  superior  to  the 
improved  short-horns.  The  Devons  likewise, 
though  consiilerably  smaller  in  size,  yield,  in 
compactness  of  shape,  in  quickness  of  move- 
ment and  muscular  strength,  and  in  softness 
of  hair  and  beauty  of  colouring,  to  no  other 
race  known  among  us.  They  are  the  preva- 
lent race  of  our  country;  and  in  an  extraordi- 
nary instance,  when  I  had  the  singular 
pleasure  of  seeing  three  hundred  yoke  of 
these  cattle — that  is,  all  more  or  less  of  this 
breed — in  one  team,  in  Connecticut,  I  could 
not  resist  the  conclusion  that  a  finer  team,  of 
the  same  number  of  cattle,  could  not  be  found 


in  the  whole  country.    Yet  I  am  ready  to  admit 


that  I  have  seen  some  few  yokes  of  oxen  of  ! 
mixed  blood,  of  the  improved  Durham,  as  fine 
in  appearance,  and  in  reputation  as  good  ani-  | 
mals  for  work,  as  any  that  I  have  met  with  ;  ' 
and  some  individual  animals  of  the  improved 
Durham  short-horns,  both  pure  and  half-blood, 
bulls,  oxen,  and  cows,  when  all  points  have 
been   considered,  have   surpassed   any  thing 
50 


which  I  have  seen.  They  have  approached  as 
nearly  to  what  I  imagine  the  perfection  of 
form  in  this  race  of  animals  as  is  to  be  lookea 
for.  With  good  keeping,  they  come  early  to 
maturity,  and  attain  a  large  weight.  The  but- 
chers, however,  whom  I  have  consulted,  give 
it  as  their  opinion  that  they  do  not  tallow  so 
well,  in  proportion  to  their  size,  as  our  own 
smaller  cattle.  In  my  observation,  no  animals 
degenerate  sooner  under  neglect  and  poor 
keeping ;  and  they  require  extraordmary  feed 
and  the  most  careful  attendance  to  keep  up 
their  character  and  condition. 

"So  much  sensibility  exists  in  reference  to 
this  subject,  the  dairy  properties  of  the  im- 
proved short-horns,  and  so  much  of  private 
interest  and  speculation  is  now  mingling  itself 
in  the  judgments  which  are  formed  or  the 
opinions  given  in  the  case,  that,  if  it  is  not 
ditticult  to  speak  with  calmness  and  sobriety, 
it  may  be  unreasonable  to  expect  to  be  heard 
with  candour  and  impartiality." 

With  this  judicious  remark,  Mr.  Colman 
proceeds  to  give  well  authenticated  reports 
made  of  the  milking  exploits  of  the  short-horns 
and  their  crosses,  followed  by  the  most  cele- 
brated performances  of  native  cows,  in  yield- 
ing milk,  butler,  and  cheese. 

From  the  numerous  examples  recorded  of 
superior  dairy  qualities  exhibited  in  native 
cows,  we  cannot  omit  ihe  following: — 

"  The  Oakes  cow,  in  Dan  vers,  Mass.,  produced 
in  1813,  180  lbs.  of  butter;  in  1814,  300  lbs.; 
in  1815,  over  400  lbs.;  in  1816,  484^  lbs. 
During  this  time,  one  quart  of  the  milk  was 
reserved  daily  for  family  use,  and  she  suckled 
four  calves  for  four  weeks  each,  in  the  course 
of  those  years.  She  produced  in  one  week  lO^- 
lbs.  butler;  and  an  average  of  more  than  16 
lbs.  of  butler  per  week,  for  three  months  in 
succession.  The  largest  amount  of  milk  given 
by  her  in  one  day,  was  44^  lbs.  She  was 
allowed  30  to  35  bushels  of  Indian  meal  per 
year,  and  all  her  own  skimmed  milk  and. most 
of  the  buttermilk.  At  one  time,  the  owner 
gave  her  potatoes,  which  increased  her  milk, 
but  not  her  butter.  In  the  autumn,  he  gave 
her  about  six  bushels  of  carrots. 

"A  cow  owned  by  Thomas  Hodges,  in  North 
Adams,  produced  last  year  425  lbs.  of  butter; 
400  lbs.  of  this  amount  were  made  in  nine 
months.  Her  feed  consisted  of  one  quart  of 
rye-meal,  and  half  a  peck  of  potatoes  per  day  ; 
and  very  good  pasturing. 

"  Cow  of  Ralph  Haskins,  Dorchester,  Mass., 
1827.  Eighteen  quarts  per  day — average  14 
to  15  quarts.  Before  grass  feed  in  April,  the 
cream  of  two  days  made  2^^  lbs.  buttei  and 
was  made  from  2,*g^  quarts  of  cream.  Two 
or  three  minutes  in  churning.  This  wa>  the 
mother  of  Mr.  Jaques's  famous  Cream-pot 
breed. 

"  Cow  of  H.  G.  Newcomb,  Greenfield,  Mas»., 
1830,  from  March  27th  to  May  25th,  made 
100  lbs.  of  butter,  and  reserved  160  quarts 
milk.     In  14  days,  made  29^^^  lbs.  Duttcr. 

"  Cow  ofShelburn,Vt.,has  yielded  26  quarts 
beer  measure,  in  a  day;  and  at  two  milkings 
in  24  hours,  produced  3  lbs.  14  oz.  of  butter 
This  cow  was  raised  in  Vermont.  Some  per 
sons,  from  her  great  product,  call  her  English  ■ 

393 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


but  the  admixture  of  blood  is  very  small  if  any ; 
and  if  any.  it  is  not  known,  whether  Durham, 
or  Ayrshire,  or  what.  There  is  nothing  but 
her  colour,  which  indicates  any  difference  from 
our  best  formed  native  stock.  She  has  some 
progeny  by  an  Ayrshire  bull,  which  are  very 
promising. 

" Cow  of  S.  Henshaw,  Springfield.  17J  lbs.  of 
butter  per  week,  and  in  one  case,  21  lbs.  of  ex- 
cellent butter.  In  4^  days,  that  is  4  days  and 
one  milking,  she  produced  14  lbs.  3  oz.  of  but- 
ler, at  the  rate  of  22^  lbs.  per  week. 

Cow  of  0.  Morris,  Springfield.  "The  summer 
after  she  was  seven  years  old,  the  quantity  of 
butter  made  from  her  between  the  first  day  of 
April  and  the  first  of  September,  five  months, 
was  206  lbs.  During  the  time,  we  used  milk 
and  cream  in  the  family  freely.  Some  weeks 
we  have  made  14  lbs.,  exclusive  of  milk  and 
crieam  used  for  family  purposes.  I  have  often 
weighed  her  milk  in  the  month  of  June,  and 
she  hai  frequently  yielded  31  lbs.  at  one  milk- 
ing at  night.  We  have  been  particular  to  have 
her  milked  in  the  summer  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning  and  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
and  always  by  the  same  person.  I  think  much 
of  regularity  in  the  times  of  milking;  and  that 
one  person  only  should  be  permitted  to  milk 
the  same  cow  the  same  season.  My  cow  has 
always  had  a  good  milker,  and  her  milk  has 
been  rapidly  drawn.  Her  food  in  the  winter  is 
good  hay,  and  in  addition  thereto  from  2  to  4 
quarts  of  rye-bran  at  noon.  I  feed  and  give 
her  water  three  times  each  day.  In  the  sum- 
mer, besides  the  pasture,  she  has  4  quarts  of 
rye-bran  at  night.  From  the  experience  I  have 
had  with  this  cow,  I  feel  quite  sure  that  many 
cows  which  have  been  considered  as  quite  or- 
dinary, might,  by  kind  and  regular  treatment, 
good  and  regular  feeding  and  proper  care  in 
milking,  have  ranked  among  the  first-rate." 

For  their  dairy  products  these  examples  of 
native  New  England  cows  are  certainly  admir- 
able. .  They  do  not,  however,  equal  those  re- 
ported of  many  Durhams  in  our  country, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Belina  of 
Mr.  John  Hare  Powell  of  Pennsylvania,  an  im- 
proved Durham,  which  yielded  repeatedly  26 
quarts  of  milk  in  24  hours,  and  produced  in 
three  days  8  lbs.  13  oz.  of  butter ;  or  at  the  rate 
of  20^  lbs.  per  week;  the  feed  consisted  of 
slop  composed  of  Indian  meal,  with  clover  and 
orchard-grass.  One  quart  of  the  cream  pro- 
duced 1  lb.  5^  oz.  of  butter.  In  one  instance 
two  minutes,  and  in  another  only  three  se- 
conds were  required  to  convert  the  cream  into 
utter. 

The  celebrated  Blossom,  also  an  improved 
Durham  short-horn  cow,  owned  by  Mr.  Canby, 
in  Delaware,  gave  263^  quarts  per  week,  beirig 
an  average  of  36  quarts  per  day ;  from  which 
were  made  17^  lbs.  of  well-worked  butter. 

The  famous  Durham  cow  Dairy  Maid,  be- 
longing to  Mr.  James  Gowen  of  Germantown 
near  Philadelphia,  yielded  33^  quarts  of  milk 
per  day. 

Neither  do  any  of  these  distinguished  milch 
cows  equal  in  dairy  qualities  the  celebrated 
Cramp  cow,  owned  in  Lewes,  England,  which 
sail  bears  the  palm  both  abroad  and  at  home. 
She  was  of  the  Sussex  breed,  and  came  of  a 
?S4 


celebrated  stock.  Her  performances  recorded 
were  as  follows  :  - 

"From  the  first  lay  of  May,  1805,  the  day  she 
calved,  to  the  second  day  of  April,  1806,  a 
space  of  forty-eight  weeks  and  one  day,  her 
milk  produced  540  lbs.  of  butter.  The  largest 
amount  made  in  any  one  week,  was  15  lbs. 
From  May  to  June,  she  gave  20  quarts  per 
day.  From  20th  June,  to  10th  September, 
18^  quarts.  In  forty-seven  weeks,  she  pro- 
duced 4,921  quarts  of  milk. 

"In  the  next  year,  from  19th  day  of  April, 

1806,  the  day  she  calved,  to  the  27th  February, 

1807,  forty-five  weeks,  she  produced  450  lbs.  of 
butter.  The  largest  amount  per  week  was  12 
lbs.  The  quantity  of  milk  for  the  time  was  4,137 
quarts.  During  this  year,  she  was  sick  and 
under  a  farrier's  care  three  weeks  after  calv- 
ing.    She  went  dry  seventeen  days  only. 

"In  the  third  year,  from  the  6th  of  April,  1807, 
the  day  she  calved,  up  to  the  4th  April,  1808, 
fifty-one  weeks,  and  four  days,  she  produced 
675  lbs.  of  butter.  The  largest  amount  made 
in  a  week  was  18  lbs.  The  quantity  of  milk 
given  in  that  time  was  5,782  quarts.  In  the 
fourth  year,  from  the  22d  April,  1808,  the  day 
she  calved,  to  the  13th  February,  1809,  forty- 
two  weeks  and  three  days,  she  produced  466 
lbs.  of  butter.  The  quantity  of  milk  given  in 
the  time  was  4,219  quarts.  In  the  fifth  year, 
from  April  3d,  1809,  to  May  8th,  fifty-seven 
weeks,  her  produce  in  butter  was  594  lbs.  The 
amount  of  milk  given  in  the  time  was  5,369 
quarts.  The  largest  quantity  of  butter  in  any 
week  was  17  lbs.  This  is  the  most  extraordi- 
nary cow  of  which  we  have  any  record. 
Though  it  has  been  presented  to  the  public 
before,  yet  the  account  may  not  be  accessible 
to  all ;  and  I  deem  it  useful  to  state  the  mode 
of  her  treatment. 

"In  the  summer  season,  she  was  fed  on  clo- 
ver, lucerne,  rye-grass  and  carrots,  three  or 
four  times  a  day ;  and  at  noon,  about  four  gal- 
lons of  grains  and  two  of  bran,  mixed  together, 
always  observing  to  give  her  no  more  feed 
than  she  eats  up  clean.  In  the  winter  season, 
she  was  fed  with  hay,  grains,  and  bran,  mixed 
as  before  stated,  feeding  her  often,  viz.,  five 
or  six  times  a  day,  as  was  seen  proper,  and 
giving  her  food  when  milking;  keeping  the 
manger  clean,  where  she  is  fed  with  grains; 
not  to  let  it  get  sour;  wash  her  udder  at  milk- 
ing three  times  with  cold  water,  winter  and 
summer;  never  lied  up  ;  lies  in  or  out  the  barn 
as  she  likes ;  particularly  careful  to  milk  her 
regularly  and  clean.  Milch  cows  are  often 
spoiled  for  want  of  patience  at  the  latter  end 
of  milking  them." 

With  regard  to  the  merits  of  the  Durham 
breed,  about  which  such  a  variety  of  opinions 
have  been  entertained,  Mr.  Colman  expresses 
himself  as  follows  : — 

"  The  beauty  of  the  improved  Durham  short- 
horns and  their  perfection  of  form  are  admira- 
ble. They  come  with  good  keeping  early  to 
maturity.  They  have  a  tendency  to  keep  them- 
selves in  good  condition  ;  and,  with  extraordi- 
nary feeding  and  care,  they  arrive  at  a  large 
size,  and  some  individuals,  all  points  consider- 
ed, have  surpassed  any  thing  within  my  know- 
ledge.    The  Claremont  ox,  a  half-blood  Ihir- 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


ham,  whose  pedigree  is  not  known,  which  was 
sent  from  this  country  to  England  for  exhibi- 
tion three  years  since,  was  pronounced  by 
competent  judges  the  finest  animal  of  the  kind 
ever  seen  there.  His  live  weight  was  reportod 
as  not  far  from  3700  lbs.  The  Greenland  ox 
was  nearly  as  heavy,  and  singularly  beautiful. 
A  native  ox  exhibited  in  Boston,  in  1840,  did 
not  differ  much  from  these  in  size,  fulness,  and 
weight ;  but  compared  with  them  in  appear- 
ance, he  was  misshapen  and  deformed.  The 
Durham  cows,  in  general,  especially  the  se- 
lected ones,  which  have  been  imported  on  ac- 
count of  these  qualities,  are  large  milkers  ;  but 
their  milk  seems  generally  inferior  as  to  rich- 
ness or  butyraceous  properties.  The  milking 
properties  of  Mr.  Whitney's  stock,  at  New 
Haven,  are  very  remarkable.  The  Durham 
cows  are  large  animals,  and  should  be  expected 
to  secrete  largely  of  milk  ;  but  many  of  them, 
however,  are  inferior  as  milkers;  and, upon  as 
calm  and  impartial  a  view  of  the  subject  as  I 
can  take,  from  my  own  personal  observation,  I 
cannot  pronounce  them,  as  a  race,  distinguish- 
ed and  preferable  to  all  others  for  their  dairy 
qualities.  I  hare  come  to  this  conclusion  with 
very  strong  prejudices  in  their  favour;  and  as 
I  measure  my  words  in  this  case,  I  wish  to  be 
judged  only  by  what  I  say.  Whenever  a  short- 
horn cow  proves  an  inferior  milker,  the  enthu- 
siastic advocates  of  the  race  are  pleased  to  tell 
us  that  it  is  because  she  has  no  pedigree,  and 
is  not  a  herd-book  animal ;  but  admitting  that 
her  genealogy  is  somewhat  mixed,  it  is  singu- 
lar that  the  virtues  of  the  blood  should  not 
show  themselves  to  a  degree,  and  that  the  im- 
purity or  defect  should  always  predominate.  It 
is  certain,  however,  that  many  mixed  bloods 
have  in  every  respect  excelled  many  of  the 
pure  bloods." 

Such  are  the  respective  merits  of  the  short- 
horned  and  common  breeds  for  dairy  purposes, 
according  to  the  experience  of  one  who  has 
had  extensive  opportunities  for  observation, 
and  who  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  candid  and  im- 
partial witness.  We  think,  however,  that  the 
most  just  view  of  the  subject  is  presented  in 
the  following  extract  from  the  Edinburgh  Quar- 
terly Journal  of  Agriculture,  and  we  are  pleased 
to  find  this  opinion  sustained  by  no  less  an 
authority  than  the  late  Judge  Buel,  who  has 
endorsed  the  sensible  views  of  the  European 
writer,  by  imbodying  them  in  his  Farmer's 
Instructer. 

"It  has  been  frequently  asserted  that  short- 
horned  cows  are  bad  milkers  ;  indeed,  that  no 
kind  of  cattle  are  so  deficient  in  milk.  Those 
who  say  so  do  not  know  the  still  greater  defi- 
ciencies of  the  Herefords,  a  species  of  cattle 
quite  unknown  in  Scotland.  The  highest  bred 
stocks  of  the  Messrs.  Collins,  Mr.  Mason,  and 
Mr.  Robertson,  yielded  little  milk.  Indeed,  Mr. 
Robertson's  could  not  supply  milk  sufficient 
for  their  own  calves,  at  least  not  in  the  quan- 
tity which  it  wa^esired  by  him  they  should 
receive.  Cows  were  kept  for  the  purpose  of 
supplying  the  deficiency  of  milk  of  the  high- 
bred cows.  But  this  deficiency  of  milk  did 
not  altogether  proceed  from  the  circumstance 
of  the  cows  being  of  the  short-horned  breed; 
because  those  eminent  breeders  devoted  their 


whole  attention  to  the  deveiopement  of  flesh, 
and  not  at  all  to  the  developement  of  milk. 
Had  the  flesh  been  neglected  as  much  as  the 
milk,  and  the  property  of  giv^ing  milk  as  much 
cherished  as  the  developement  of  flesh,  their 
short-horned  cows  would  have  been  deep 
milkers.  As  it  is,  the  generality  of  short-horned 
cows  are  not  bad  milkers.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
to  be  doubted  that  where  the  general  secreting 
powers  of  the  animal  system  have  been  in 
creased,  as  it  has  been  in  that  of  the  short-horns, 
the  power  of  secreting  milk  will  be  increased 
with  the  power  of  secreting  flesh  and  fat;  all 
that  seems  requisite  is  to  encourage  the  power 
of  that  secretion  which  for  the  time  is  most 
wanted.  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  is  completely 
in  the  power  of  the  breeders  of  short-horns  to 
make  them  good  milkers.  It  would  be  to  de- 
sire an  impossibility, to  desire  the  full  develope- 
ment of  flesh,  fat,  and  milk  at  the  same  time; 
but  there  is  no  absurdity  in  desiring  a  large 
secretion  of  flesh  and  fat  at  one  lime,  and  a 
large  .secretion  of  milk  at  another,  from  the 
same  cow.  Accordingly,  this  is  the  very  cha- 
racter which  has  been  acquired  by  short-horned 
cows.  They  will  yield  from  six  to  sixteen  quarts 
a  day  throughout  the  season ;  and  they  are  so 
constant  milkers  that  they  seldom  remain  dry 
above  six  weeks  or  two  months  before  the  time 
of  calving. 

"  But  the  practice  of  the  owners  of  public 
dairies  in  towns,  were  there  no  other  proof, 
would  prove  the  milking  powers  of  short-horn 
cows.  They  prefer  them  as  the  greatest  and 
most  steady  milkers ;  and  it  is  now  difficult  to 
see  cows  of  any  breeds  but  short-horns  or 
crosses  with  them  in  these  dairies.  In  London, 
Edinburgh,  and  Liverpool,  fine  short-horn  cows 
may  be  seen  at  the  public  dairies.  They  are 
bought  by  the  milkmen  whenever  they  come 
of  age,  that  is,  five  or  six  years  old.  They  give 
milk  till  they  attain  the  age  of  eight  or  nine, 
and  are  then  fed  off  fat  for  the  butcher.  These 
cows  can  be  fed  off  fat.  This  property,  and 
that  of  milking,  prove  clearly  that  short-horns 
possess  both  in  a  remarkable  degree.  They 
do  not,  it  is  true,  possess  both  in  an  eminent 
degree  at  the  same  time ;  but  they  exhibit  either 
property  separately  when  it  is  desired.  They 
thus  give  a  return  in  flesh  for  part  of  their 
original  high  price,  while  they  remunerate 
their  owners  in  the  mean  time  with  an  abund- 
ance of  milk  for  their  food." 

Dairies  in  Holland. — Holland  has  nMg  been 
celebrated  for  its  fine  dairies,  and  the  Highland 
Society  of  Scotland,  considering  that  the  Scotch 
dairies  might  derive  some  advantages  from 
an  acquaintance  with  the  management  of  those 
of  Holland,  offered  a  premium  for  the  best 
!  report  upon  that  subject,  founded  upon  perso- 
j  nal  observation.  The  premium  was  in  1833 
;  awarded  to  John  Mitchell,  whose  report,  filled 
with  interesting  facts  and  details,  is  jaiblished 
in  the  Transactions  of  the  Highland  Society  for 
that  year.  In  the  quotation  formerly  made 
from  the  London  Commercial  Journal,  the 
superior  qualities  and  higher  market  value  of 
Dutch  butter  were  referred  to.  Some  idea  of 
the  dairy  produce  of  Holland  may  be  gained 
by  considering,  that  in  addition  to  the  home 
consumption  of  a  populous  country,  and  the 


DAIRY. 


DAIRr. 


vast  quantities  sent  to  other  parts  of  Lurope, 
to  the  West  and  East  Indies,  and  other  parts 
of  the  world,  England  imported  in  1830  no  less 
than  116,333cwu  of  Dutch  butter,  and  167,913 
cwt.  of  Dutch  cheese. 

The  pastures  in  Holland,  as  is  generally 
known,  have  been  reclaimed  from  the  ocean, 
the  waters  of  which  are  kept  off  by  artificial 
embankments.  The  lands,  of  course,  lie  very 
low  and  flat,  and  as  the  water  in  the  numerous 
canals  is  always  near  the  top,  the  soil  must  be 
moisU  The  ground  is  seldom  broken  up  with 
the  plough,  but  is  kept  in  good  condition  by 
lop  dressings,  consisting  chiefly  of  the  solid, 
and  especially  the  liquid  manures  collected  in 
the  cow-houses,  mixed  with  the  scrapings  of 
Ihe  small  canals.  The  first  year  after  such 
dressing  the  land  is  generally  mown  for  hay. 

The  Hollanders  make  careful  selections  of 
their  cows  for  the  dairy,  the  price  of  good  ones 
being  usually  from  $40  to  $45.  "They  are 
generally  fattened  and  turned  oflf  to  the  butcher, 
at  eight  years  old,  and  bulls  at  four  or  five. 
The  cows  are  turned  to  pasture  in  March  or 
April,  and  are  at  first  covered  with  a  very  thick 
cloth  of  tow,  covering  the  upper  half  of  the 
body  from  the  shoulders  to  the  tail,  to  prevent 
diseases  from  cold.  They  are  pastured  about 
thirty  weeks.  Hay  is  their  common  food  in 
winter,  though  rape-cake  and  brewer's  grains 
are  sometimes  added.  The  byers  or  cow- 
houses are  generally  lofty,  airy,  paved  with 
large  square  bricks,  and  kept  perfectly  clean. 
The  roof  is  about  ten  feet  high.  There  are  no 
racks  or  mangers,  but  the  food  placed  in  gut- 
ters, always  clean,  near  their  heads.  Gutters 
in  the  rear  serve  to  carry  off  the  urine  and 
dung,  and  these  gutters  are  also  kept  clean. 

"  Process  of  vianvfudure. — The  cows  are  al- 
ways milked  by  the  men,  and  the  butter  and 
cheese  made  by  the  women,  generally  of  the 
family.  Ninety  cows  are  managed  by  nine 
men  and  two  women.  There  is  general fy  one 
man  required  to  ten  cows ;  while  two  women 
are  considered  enough  for  any  dairy.  The 
farmer  reckons  that  he  can  make  100  guilders, 
about  $40,  per  annum,  by  each  cow. 

*"  Butter. — There  are  three  distinct  kinds  of 
butter  made  in  Holland  ;  grass  butter,  made 
when  the  cows  are  at  grass ;  whey  butter,  from 
the  whey  of  sweet  milk  cheese ;  and  hay  butter, 
made  in  winter. 

"  Grass  butter. — The  cows  being  carefully 
milked  to  the  last  drop,  the  pitchers  containing 
the  milk  are  put  into  the  koelbak.  When  the 
cream  has  been  gathered  and  is  soured,  and  if 
there  is  a  sufficient  quantity  from  the  number 
of  cows,  they  chum  every  twenty-four  hours, 
the  churn  being  half  filled  with  the  soured 
cream.  A  little  boiled  warm  water  is  added 
in  winter,  to  give  the  whole  the  proper  degree 
of  heat,  and  in  very  warm  weather  the  milk  is 
first  cooled  in  the  koelbak  or  cooler.  In  small 
dairies  the  milk  is  sometimes  churned,  when 
soured,  without  separating  the  cream.  The 
butter,  immediately  after  being  taken  out  of 
the  churn,  is  put  into  a  shallow  tub,  called  a 
vloot,  and  carefully  washed  with  pure  cold 
water.  It  is  then  worked  with  a  slight  sprink- 
ling of  fine  salt,  whether  for  immediate  use  or 
♦He  barrel.  When  the  cows  have  been  three 
396 


j  weeks  at  grass,  the  butter  is  delicious^  is  made 
in  fanciful  shapes  of  lambs,  stuck  with  the 
flowers  of  the  polyanthus,  pyramids,  &c.,  and 
sells  as  high  as  44  stivers,  60  to  70  cents,  the 
17  oz.  or  Dutch  pound.  If  intended  for  bar- 
relling, the  butter  is  worked  up  twice  or  thrice 
a  day,  with  soft,  fine  salt,  for  three  days,  in  a 
flat  tub,  there  being  about  two  pounds  of  this 
salt  allowed  for  fourteen  pounds  of  butter;  the 
butter  is  then  hard  packed  by  thin  layers  into 
casks,  which  casks  are  previously  carefully 
seasoned  and  cleaned.  They  are  always  of 
oak,  well  smoothed  inside.  Before  being  used, 
they  are  allowed  to  stand  three  or  four  days, 
filled  with  sour  whey,  and  thereafter  carefully 
washed  out  and  dried.  Each  cow,  after  being 
some  time  at  grass,  yields  about  one  Dutch 
pound  (17^  oz.)  of  butter  per  day. 

"We  beg  our  dairy-women,"  says  Judge 
Buel,  "to  mark  two  points  in  the  preceding 
process.  1.  No  salt  is  used  but  what  is  incorpo- 
rated with  and  dissolved  in  the  butter,  and  tvhich  is 
necessary  to  give  it  flavour ;  and,  2.  The  butter 
intended  for  keeping  is  worked  from  six  to  ten 
times,  to  incorporate  the  salt,  and  to  separate 
from  it  every  particle  of  liquid,  which,  if  left  in 
it,  would  induce  rancidity. 

'^  Hay  butter  undergoes  a  like  process. 

"  Whey  butter. — The  whey  is  allowed  to  stand 
three  days  or  a  week,  after  being  separated 
from  the  curd,  when  the  cream  is  skimmed  off, 
or  the  whey  itself  put  into  the  churn,  and  the 
butter  is  formed  in  about  an  hour.  By  this 
process,  in  winter,  one  pound  of  butter  is  ob- 
tained from  each  cow  in  a  w^eek,  and  in  sum- 
mer one  pound  and  a  half.  The  relative  prices 
are  generally,  grass  butter  S^  stivers,  hay  but- 
ter 7,  and  whey  butter  6. 

Cheese. — There  are  four  kinds  of  staple  cheese 
made  in  Holland ;  the  Edam  and  Gouda,  both 
made  from  unskimmed  milk ;  and  two  kinds, 
Kanter  cheese,  made  from  milk  once  or  twice 
skimmed. 

•  "  Edam  cheese. — The  process  of  manufacture 
of  the  Edam  cheese  is  as  follows : 

"  The  milk  being  yearned  as  soon  as  taken 
from  the  cow,  when  coagulated,  the  hand  or  a 
wooden  bowl  is  passed  gently  two  or  three 
times  through  the  curds,  which  are  then  al- 
lowed to  stand  a  few  minutes.  The  bowl  or 
finger  is  again  passed  through  them,  and 
they  stand  a  few  minutes.  The  whey  is 
then  taken  off  with  the  wooden  bowl,  and  the 
curd  is  then  put  into  a  wooden  form  (of  the 
proper  size  and  shape  of  the  cheese  to  be 
made).  This  form  is  cut  out  of  the  solid  wood 
by  a  turner,  and  has  one  hole  in  the  bottom. 
If  the  cheese  is  of  the  small  size  (about  4  lbs,), 
it  remains  in  this  form  about  ten  or  twelve 
days;  if  the  large  sized,  it  remains  about  four- 
teen days.  It  is  turned  daily,  the  upper  part 
during  this  time  being  kept  sprinkled  with 
about  two  ounces  of  purified  salt  of  the  large 
crystals.  It  is  then  removed  into  a  second  box 
or  form  of  the  same  size,^ith  four  holes  in 
the  bottom,  and  put  under  a  press  of  about 
50  lbs.  weight,  where  it  remains  from  two  to 
three  hours  if  of  the  small  size,  and  from  four 
to  six  if  of  the  large  size.  It  is  then  taken 
out,  and  put  on  a  dry,  airy  shelf  in  the  cheese 
apartment,  and  daily  turned  over  for  about  foju 


DAraY. 


DAIRY. 


weeks,  when  they  are  generally  fit  to  be  taken 
to  market. 

"Alkmaar,  in  North  Holland,  is  the  great 
market  for  Edam  cheese.  It  is  not  uncommon 
to  see  800  farmers  at  the  market,  and  470,000 
cheeses  for  sale  on  one  day.  The  price  there 
averages  about  30s.  per  cwt  ($6  66).  (Culti- 
vaior.) 

"  Gouda  cheese. — This  kind  of  cheese  is  also 
made  from  the  milk  immediately  on  its  being 
taken  from  the  cow.  After  gradually  taking 
off  the  principal  part  of  the  whey,  a  little  warm 
water  is  put  upon  the  curd,  which  is  left  stand- 
ing for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.  By  increasing 
the  heat  and  quantity  of  water,  the  cheese  is 
made  hard  and  more  durable.  All  the  whey 
and  water  .«  then  taken  off,  and  the  curd  is 
gradually  packed  hard  into  a  form  cut  out  by 
the  turner,  flatter  and  broader  than  the  form 
for  the  Edam  cheese.  A  wooden  cover  is 
placed  over  it,  and  the  press,  with  a  weight  of 
about  8  lbs.,  put  upon  it.  It  is  here  frequently 
turned,  and  altogether  remains  under  the  press 
about  twenty-four  hours.  The  cheese  is  then 
carried  to  a  cool  cellar,  put  into  a  tub  contain- 
ing pickle,  the  liquid  covering  the  lower  half 
of  it.  The  water  for  the  pickle  is  boiled,  and 
about  three  or  four  handfuls  of  salt  melted  in 
about  thirty  imperial  pints  of  water.  The 
cheese  is  not  put  in  until  the  water  is  quite 
cold.  After  remaining  twenty-four  hours,  or, 
at  most,  two  days,  in  the  pickle-tub,  where  it  is 
turned  every  six  hours,  the  cheese,  after  being 
rubbed  over  with  salt,  is  placed  upon  a  board 
slightly  hollowed,  having  a  small  channel  in 
the  centre,  to  conduct  the  whey  which  runs  off 
into  a  tub  placed  at  one  end.  This  board  is 
called  the  zouttunk,  upon  which  several  cheeses 
are  placed  at  a  time.  About  two  or  Jhree 
ounces  of  the  large  crystallized  salt  is  placed 
upon  the  upper  side  of  the  cheese,  which  is 
frequently  turned,  the  side  uppermost  being 
always  sprinkled  with  salt.  It  remains  on  the 
zouttank  about  eight  or  ten  days,  according  to 
the  warmness  of  the  weather;  the  cheese  is 
then  washed  with  hot  water,  rubbed  dry,  and 
laid  upon  planks,  and  turned  daily,  until  per- 
fectly dry  and  hard. 

"  The  cheese-house  is  generally  shut  during 
the  day,  but  must  be  open  in  the  evening  and 
early  in  the  morning. 

"  Gouda  is  the  principal  market  for  this  kind 
of  cheese,  where  it  sells  at  about  35».  per  cwt. 

"Each  cow  at  grass  in  Holland  is  calculated 
to  give  about  three  or  four  pounds  sweet  milk 
cheese  per  day. 

"  We  omit  the  method  of  making  the  Kanter 
cheese,  which  is  similar  to  our  skim-milk  cheese, 
and  of  the  cheese  utensils. 

"  The  milk-houses  are  generally  between  the 
dwelling  and  cow-house,  in  a  square  apart- 
ment, in  a  corner  of  which  is  the  cooler ;  it  is 
airy,  roomy,  and  pavtd  with  square  bricks,  the 
upper  part  serving  for  churning,  making  cheese, 
&c. ;  and  descending  a  few  steps,  into  a  sort 
of  cellar,  is  the  milk-room,  having  two  or  four 
windows,  which  are  opened  or  shut  according 
to  circumstances. 

"  The  cheese-houses  are  also  generally  cel- 
lars, kept  clean  and  well  ventilated. 

•*  The  Dutch  are  remarkably  particular  as  to 


the  quantity  and  quality  of  their  salt,  of  whick 
there  are  three  kinds  manufactured;  and  it  ij 
this,  our  reporter  thinks,  which  is  the  principal 
cause  of  the  sweet  and  delicious  flavour  of 
their  butter,  which,  although  well-flavoured, 
hardly  tastes  of  salt,  or,  rather,  of  that  acrid 
quality  which  is  perceptible  in  the  butter  of 
Great  Britain. 

"  Cleavliness  governs  in  all  the  Dutch  dairies. 
Every  dwelling-house  is  a  model  and  a  pattern. 
They  seem  to  vie  with  each  other  on  this  point. 
The  coAV-house  is  pure  and  clean,  not  a  par- 
ticle of  filth  being  to  be  seen  in  it;  the  cows, 
says  Mr.  M.,  are  as  clean  as  if  they  were  in  a 
dining-room  ;  the  milk  and  cheese-houses,  and, 
in  short,  every  part  of  the  house,  are  free  from 
dust  and  dirt  of  any  kind.  The  whole  apart- 
ments, even  the  byre  (stalls)  and  hay-house, 
are  generally  under  one  roof;  and  the  cleanly 
system  and  the  admirable  arrangement  give 
that  comfort  and  pleasure  which  are  too  often 
wanted  in  other  countries."  See  Buel's  Far- 
mers^  Instructer. 

The  Journal  of  the  English  Agricultural  So- 
ciety contains  an  article  on  the  rural  affairs 
of  some  parts  of  Holland,  in  which  an  excel- 
lent account  is  given  of  the  Holstein  mode  of 
making  the  butler  which  is  so  very  famous. 
The  Holstein  dairies  are  very  extensive,  vary- 
ing from  100  to  400  cows,  and  provided  with 
buildings  and  every  necessary  accommodation 
on  a  corresponding  scale.  Whenever  practi- 
cable, the  milk  room  or  cellar  is  made  to  face 
the  north,  and  sufficiently  capacious  to  hold 
the  proceeds  of  at  least  four  milkings.  The 
brick  or  tile  floors  have  already  been  described. 
Numerous  windows  or  air  passages  are  pre- 
pared so  as  to  secure  the  most  perfect  ventila- 
tion; they  are  furnished  with  glass  sashes  and 
shutters,  and  within  have  gauze  curtains  to  ex- 
clude insects. 

When,  as  is  sometimes  the  case,  both  cheese 
and  butter  are  made  at  the  same  dairy,  the 
apartment  for  cheese  is  always  kept  separate 
from  that  devoted  to  butter-making,  from  the 
vicinity  of  which  last  every  thing  is  carefully 
kept  away  which  by  any  possibility  could  exer- 
cise a  sinister  influence  on  the  very  suscepti- 
ble substances  of  milk  and  butter,  which  suffer 
to  a  degree  those  unaccustomed  to  observe  it 
little  suspect  from  an  impure  atmosphere.  The 
dairy  is  managed  by  women,  of  whom  there  is 
the  superintendent,  or  head  dairy  woman  ;  and 
one  dairy  maid  to  every  eighteen  cows.  There 
is  besides  the  owner  or  overseer,  and  one  or 
more  men  who  attend  to  the  feeding  of  the 
swine.  There  are  others  whose  business  is  to 
attend  to  the  cows,  see  that  they  are  properly 
fed,and  every  thingin  its  proper  place  and  keep- 
ing. The  overseer  sees  that  the  cows  are  fully 
milked,  as  on  this  the  quantity  and  excellence 
of  the  cream  is  greatly  depending.  It  has  been 
ascertained  by  carefully  repeated  experiments 
that  the  first  drawn  milk  contains  five,  the  se- 
cond eight,  and  the  fifth  seventeen  per  cent,  of 
cream. 

The  business  of  the  head  dairy  woman  is 
arduous,  and  demands  a  full  acquaintance  with 
the  various  processes.  "She  must  not  only 
thoroughly  understand,  but  accurately  ou^e^vo 
the  precise  time  when  the  milk  should  be 
2  L  397 


DAIRY. 


DAIRY. 


creamed ;  the  degree  of  acidity  it  must  attain 
in  the  cream  barrels;  its  temperature,  whether 
requiring  the  addition  of  warm  water  or  cold 
to  the  churn ;  as  well  as  the  all-important  ope- 
rations of  kneading,  beating,  salting,  and  pack- 
ing the  butter."  The  milking  commences  at 
four  in  the  morning  (the  milkers  rising  at 
three),  in  the  field,  and  the  milk  is  conveyed 
to  the  dairy  by  a  one  horse  wagon,  from  hooks 
on  which  large  vessels  are  suspended.  To  pre- 
vent the  milk  from  flying  over  the  brim  of 
these  vessels  in  moving  the  wagon,  thin  pieces 
of  wood,  of  nearly  the  size  of  the  vessel,  float 
on  the  milk,  and  this  practice  is  adopted  when 
pails  are  carried  by  the  hand. 

The  effect  which  vessels  made  of  different 
materials  has  on  the  promoting  or  retarding 
the  acidity  of  milk,  has  received  much  atten- 
tion in  Holland,  and  the  vessels  most  generally 
preferred  on  all  accounts  are  shallow  wooden 
keelers,  holding  about  eight  quarts.  In  some  few 
instances  glass  vessels  are  used,  and  some  of 
the  reports  speak  of  them  highly.  It  has  been 
found  that  cream,  to  make  first  rate  butter, 
must  be  removed  from  the  milk  before  the 
latter  gets  at  all  sour,  and  that  the  cream  will 
not  fully  rise  under  thirty-six  hours ;  to  pre- 
vent souring  before  that  time,  especially  in 
sultry  weather  or  during  thunder  storms,  ris- 
quires  particular  attention  to  temperature. 

A  cellar  temperature  of  from  60  to  62  de- 
grees gives  the  best  and  the  most  cream,  the 
rising  being  completed  in  thirty-six  hours ;  a 
greater  degree  of  warmth  hastens  the  process, 
but  lessens  the  quantity  of  the  butter;  a  lower 
temperature  preserves  the  milk  forty-eight  or 
sixty  hours,  but  imparts  an  unpleasant  flavour 
to  the  cream  and  butter.  The  commencement 
of  souring  in  milk  is  marked  by  a  slight 
wrinkling  of  the  cream,  and  a  slightly  acid 
taste.  When  this  appears,  whether  the  milk 
has  stood  a  longer  or  a  shorter  time,  skimming 
commences.  As  fast  as  it  is  collected,  it  is 
poured  through  a  hair  sieve  kept  for  this  pur- 
pose alone,  into  large  barrels  of  240  quarts 
each,  in  which  it  remains  till  the  necessary 
sourness  is  attained,  which  in  summer  usually 
takes  twenty-four  hours,  and  in  winter  thirty- 
six  or  forty-eight  hours.  During  this  advance 
to  acidity,  the  cream  is  frequently  stirred,  to 
prevent  its  coagulating  or  becoming  cheesy, 
and  when  fit  for  churning,  the  skill  of  the  dairy 
woman  is  required  to  determine  the  proper 
temperature  to  make  good  butter.  In  warm 
weather  the  chum  is  rinsed  with  the  coldest 
water,  and  if  necessary  cold  spring  water  is 
added  to  the  cream,  but  if  the  cellar  is  properly 
made,  this  is  rarely  necessarj-.  In  cold  weather 
the  churn  is  washed  in  warm  water,  and  is 
sometimes  applied  to  the  cream  itself.  The 
churning  being  completed,  the  butter  is  imme- 
diately carried  to  the  butter  cellar,  where,  in  a 
large  tray  or  trough  made  of  beech  or  oak 
highly  polished,  and  provided  with  a  plug  at 
the  I  iwer  extremity  to  let  off"  the  milk,  the  but- 
ter is  slightly  worked  and  salted  with  the  purest 
salt,  moulded  with  a  ladle  into  a  mass  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  trough,  and  left  for  some 
hours  to  drain.  In  the  evening  it  is  thoroughly 
kneaded  and  beat,  the  dairymaid  lifting  a  piece 
of  three  or  four  pounds,  and  slapping  it  against 
398 


the  trough  with  great  force  to  beat  out  the  milky 
particles.  After  the  whole  mass  has  thus,  piece 
by  piece,  been  freed  from  the  buttermilk,  it  is 
again  spread  out,  and  receives  its  full  salting 
(in  all  about  1^  ounce  of  salt  to  a  pound  of 
butter),  which  is  worked  with  the  utmost  care 
equally  through  the  whole,  and  is  then  mould- 
ed into  a  compact  mass.  Butter  in  Holslein  is 
seldom  washed,  though  in  some  other  parts  of 
Holland  it  is  practised  with  the  greatest  suc- 
cess. When  enough  is  made  to  fill  a  cask,  the 
several  churnings  are  once  more  kneaded  and 
beat  thoroughly  together,  a  very  little  fresh  salt 
is  added,  and  it  is  then  packed  in  the  barrel, 
which  is  made  of  red  beech  wood,  water  tight, 
and  previously  well  washed  with  water  and 
salt.  The  cask  must  be  filled  at  a  single  pack- 
ing, each  layer  pounded  down,  and  care  being 
taken  that  no  interstice  is  left  between  the  but- 
ter and  the  sides  of  the  cask.  This  packing 
of  a  cask  at  a  time  gives  the  butter  of  large 
dairies  the  advantage  over  small  ones,  as  it 
must  be  left  longer  exposed  to  air  before  the 
quantity  requisite  to  fill  the  barrel  is  obtained. 

"The  qualities  of  first  rate  butter  are  consi- 
dered to  be,  1st,  a  fine  yellow  colour,  neither 
pale  nor  orange  tinted ;  2d,  a  close,  waxy  tex- 
ture, in  which  extremely  minute  and  perfectly 
transparent  beads  of  brine  are  perceptible  ;  but 
if  these  drops  be  either  large,  or  in  the  slight- 
est degree  tinged  with  colour,  it  indicates  an 
imperfect  working  of  the  butter;  while  an  en- 
tirely dry,  tallowy  appearance  is  equally  dis- 
approved ;  3d,  a  fresh,  fragrant  perfume,  and  a 
sweet,  kernelly  taste;  4ih,  good  butter  will, 
above  all,  be  distinguished  by  keeping  for  a 
considerable  time,  without  acquiring  an  old  or 
rancid  flavour. 

"The  quantity  of  food  which  can  be  afforded 
to  the  cows  during  winter  is  determined  at  the 
beginning  of  the  season,  when  the  harvest  re- 
turns are  known ;  and  in  plentiful  years  the 
calculation  is,  that  each  cow^  should  be  allowed 
three  sacks  of  grain  (generally  oats,  at  140 
pounds  the  sack),  3,000  pounds  of  straw,  in- 
cluding bedding  or  litter  for  the  stable,  and 
1,800  pounds  of  hay  of  good  quality;  while  for 
every  100  pounds  of  hay  deducted  she  must 
receive  25  pounds  of  grain  more,  and  vice  versa.'* 

During  the  wnnter  the  requisite  colour  is 
given  to  the  butter  by  some  colouring  mate- 
rial ;  and  the  best  for  this  purpose  is  found  to 
be  a  mixture  of  annatto  and  turmeric,  in  the 
proportion  of  five  ounces  of  the  latter  to  one 
pound  of  the  former. 

The  average  quantity  of  milk  from  the  Hol- 
stein  cows  is  about  2500  quarts  per  annum ; 
much  depending  on  the  food  and  care ;  and  it 
is  calculated  that  every  100  pounds  of  milk 
will  give  3^  pounds  of  butter,  6  pounds  of 
fresh  cheese,  14  pounds  of  buttermilk,  and  76| 
pounds  whey,  where  cheese  is  made.  Fifteen 
quarts  of  milk  are  considered  a  fair  average 
for  a  pound  of  butter,  though  sometimes  a  cow 
gives  milk  so  rich  that  12  quarts  make  a  pound. 
"On  the  whole,  it  is  considered  a  fair  return 
from  the  Holstein  dairies  when  the  produce 
amounts  to  100  pounds  of  butter  and  150 
pounds  of  cheese  per  annum  to  each  cow." 
(Buel.) 

The  farmer  will  find  a  good  article  on  the 


DAISY. 

lairy  in  Professor  Low's  Breeds  of  British  Jni-  \ 
mals, — a  beautifully  illustrated  work,  which  i 
should  be  patronised  by  all  the  Farmer's  Clubs,  | 
as  well  as  by  those  agriculturists  to  whom  its 
price  is  not  an  object.  The  following  authori- 
ties may  also  be  aonsulted  with  advantage  : 
•*  On  the  Meadows  and  Dairies  of  Holland." 
(Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  202)  ;  "Reports  up- 
on Dairy  Management,"  (Ibid.)  p.  341 ;  vol.  ii. 
p.  254;  vol.  iv.  p.  406);  Mr.  Aiton  "On  the 
Making  of  Butter  and  Cheese  in  the  Dairy  Dis- 
trict of  Scotland,"  (Quart.  Juum.  of  Jgr.  vol.  v. 
p.  350,  and  Com.  to  Board  of  Jlfp:  vol.  iv.  pp. 
211-337) ;  also  the  article  "Dairy"  in  vol.  viii. 
of  the  Penny  Cyc.  in  Baxter^ s  Lib.  of  AgX'  Knoic, 
and  in  vol.  iii.  of  British  Husbandry,  Lib.  of  Use. 
Knoic.) 

DAISY,  COMMON,  or  DAY'S  EYE  (Btllis 
perennis).  These  large  white  ^oirA-y-looking 
flowers  are  so  universal  in  English  pastures 
and  meadows,  that  description  is  almost  need- 
less. They  flower  all  the  year,  principally  dot- 
ting the  meadows  early  in  May;  in  March  they 
begin  to  be  common,  and  after  Midsummer  lo 
be  less  numerous.  The  root  is  slender,  and 
the  plant  (iowers  from  March  to  September. 
Double  as  well  as  proliferous  daisies  are  com- 
mon in  gardens,  and  the  proliferous  variety  is 
now  and  then  found  wild.  Domestic  cattle 
scarcely  touch  this  plant.  Notwithstanding 
its  beauty  and  its  celebration  by  poets,  the 
daisy  is  thought  a  blemish  or  intruder  in  neat 
grass-plats,  and  can  be  overcome  by  perpetual 
stubbing  only.  (A'/'g.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  448.) 
The  most  common  daisies  in  the  United  States 
are  ihaf  called  Flea-bane,  and  by  botanists  Eri- 
geron  strif^iostis,  and  the  Hurse-ueed  or  Butter' 
weed  (Erigeron  Canadensis).  This  last  has  an 
annual  root,  the  stem  growing  from  six  inches 
to  five  or  six  feet  in  height,  very  hairy  and 
much  branched  above.  The  flowers  are  white, 
and  disposed  in  rays.  In  the  Middle  Slates  it 
is  a  common  weed  in  fields  and  on  roadsides, 
flowering  in  August  and  September. 

The  daisy  called  Flea-bane  has  a  biennial 
root,  as  some  botanists  believe,  and  is  common 
in  pastures  and  upland  meadows,  flowering  in 
June  and  August.  The  flower  consists  of  white 
rays.  It  is  a  very  common  and  worthless  weed, 
especially  in  the  first  crop  of  upland  meadows 
after  a  course  of  grain  crops.    (Flor.  Cest.) 

Another  species  of  daisy  called  the  Handsome 
Erigeron  (E.  pulchellus),  is  common  on  the  bor- 
ders of  woods  and  thickets,  where  it  flowers  in 
the  Middle  Stales  in  May  and  June.  Its  root  is 
perennial,  and  the  whole  plant  is  somewhat 
hoary.  The  rays  composing  the  flowers,  which 
are  large,  are  of  a  pale  bluish  purple. 

Some  ten  or  twelve  additional  species  of  eri- 
geron have  been  found  in  the  United  States. 
(Flor.  Cest.  ,•  Niittnirs  Genera.) 

DAISY,  MOON,  or  MIDSUMMER  DAISY 
(Chtysanthemum  leucanthenmtn).  The  Ox-eye 
Daisy,  or  white-fotcered  chrysanthemvm  (PI.  10,  w), 
is  a  vile  weed  introduced  into  the  United  States 
from  Europe.  Id  many  parts  of  the  country  it 
is  spread  wide  and  far,  constituting  a  serious 
nuisance. 

DAM.  The  mother  of  any  young  domestic 
animal.  Also  a  mole  or  bank  to  confine  water. 

See  ExBAKKMEItT. 


DANGEROUS  ANIMALS. 

DAMSON.  A  small,  useful,  black  pUm, 
brought  originally  from  Damascus,  whence  the 
name. 

DANDELION,  COMMON  (Leontodon  taraxa- 
cum). A  corruption  of  the  French  name  dent 
de  lean,  or  lion's  tooth.  An  indigenous,  peren- 
nial plant,  growing  in  meadows  and  pasture  •, 
on  roadsides,  ditch  banks,  and  indeed  every- 
where. Root  tap-shaped,  very  milky,  exter- 
nally black,  diflicult  of  extirpation  ;  leaves  nu- 
merous, spreading,  of  a  bright  shining  green, 
quite  smooth,  and  they  may  be  called  lion- 
toothed  ;  flowers  one  and  a  half  inches  wide, 
of  a  uniform  yellow  colour,  which  blow  from 
April  lo  August,  and  have  the  remarkable  pro- 
perty of  expanding  early  in  the  morning  in  fine 
weather  only,  and  closing  in  the  evening.  (Eng, 
Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  349.)  It  is  a  valuable  medi- 
cine, is  aperient,  powerfully  diuretic,  and  alte- 
rative in  its  qualities,  and,  if  persevered  in,  is 
excellent  in  liver  complaints;  it  must  be  taken 
in  decoction,  or  in  the  form  of  extract.  Its  de- 
obstruent  influence  in  torpid  conditions  of  the 
liver  is  striking;  but  its  use  must  be  persisted 
in  for  a  considerable  length  of  lime.  It  should 
now  and  then  be  omitted  for  a  few  days,  as  it 
is  apt  to  derange  the  stomach. 

By  culture,  and  especially  by  blanching,  this 
herb,  though,  like  the  garden  lettuce  and  en- 
dive, originally  full  of  bitter  milk,  becomes 
sutficienily  mild  lo  be  eaten  in  a  salad,  nor  is 
its  bitterness  of  a  disagreeable  kind.  In  France 
ihe  roots  and  leaves  are  eaten  with  bread  and 
butler.  The  marsh  dandelion  (L.  palustrisV  is 
a  distinct  species,  smaller  in  size  than  the  fore- 
going, and  naturally  a  bog  plant,  growing  in 
low  boggy  meadows.  Dandelion  is  relished  by 
goats,  and  e>pecially  by  hogs,  who  devour  it 
eagerly;  but  sheep  and  cows  dislike  it,  and 
horses  toiallv  refuse  it.   (  Willtrh's  Dom.  Emyc.) 

DANDELION  HAWKBIT  (Jpargia  tarax- 
uci).    See  Hawkmit. 

DANDRIFF.  A  species  of  scurf  which  is 
brushed  out  in  grooming  the  horse,  and  con- 
sists of  scales  or  portions  of  the  cuticle,  or 
scarf  skin,  detached  in  its  gradual  change  or 
renewal. 

DANE-WORT,  orDWARF  ELDER  WALL- 
WORT  (Snmbttfiis  ebuUis).  The  green  leaves  of 
this  European  plant  have  a  narcotic  smell,  and 
are  said  to  expel  mice  from  granaries;  nor  will 
moles  come  where  these  leaves  or  those  of  the 
common  elder  are  laid.  Cattle  will  not  eat  the 
foliage.  Its  berries  imparl  a  violet  colour,  and 
their  juice,  mixed  with  vinegar,  dyes  raw  linen^ 
as  well  as  morocco  leather,  of  an  azure  blue. 
(Eng.  Floia,  vol.  ii.  p.  108  ;  Willich's  Enryr.) 
This  perennial  plant  is  frequently  mistaken  for 
the  conynon  elder.  It  grows  four  or  five  feet 
high,  and  dies  away  every  autumn  to  the 
ground.  The  stalks  are  green  and  round,  very 
like  the  shoots  of  common  elder ;  but  having 
no  woody  part  about  the  plant,  they  rise  green 
from  the  ground.  The  leaves  are  longer  than 
common  elder  leaves,  and  they  are  serrated 
;  round  their  edges.  The  flowers  are  small  and 
.  white,  succeeded  by  black  berries,  which  the 
birds  rarely  suffer  to  ripen.  It  foves  untilled 
ground,  hedgeways,  &c.,  flowering  in  summer, 
j  and  ripening  its  berries  in  autumn. 

DANGEROUS  ANIMALS.    See  Nuisahci. 

r  9 


DANNOCKS. 


DARNEL. 


DANNOCKS.  A  provincial  name  for  hedg- 
hig-gloves. 

DAPPLE.  A  term  sometimes  used  to  sig- 
nify marked  with  various  colours. 

DARGUE.  A  local  word  signifying  the  quan- 
tity of  peat  turf  one  man  can  cut  and  two  men 
wheel  in  a  day. 

DARNEL  {P.romus  tecalmus).  Smooth  rye 
brome-grass.  (liromug  mollis,  PI.  7,  b.)  Soft 
brome-grass.  Both  these  grasses  pass  in  Eng- 
land under  the  common  name  of  darnel.  Pro- 
lessor  Martyn  supposes  the  annual  bearded 
rye-grass  (Lolium  ismulentuyn,  PI.  7,  r),  to  be 
the  darnel  of  the  Romans  (FiVg.  Georg.  i.  153). 
Mr.  Holdich,  of  the  Fanner's  Journal  (Essay  on 
Weeds),  observes  that  he  never  found  this  grass 
among  corn  crops.  Sinclair  (Hort.  Gram.  p.  32), 
says,  *•  I  have  found  the  Bromus  mollis  and  Alo- 
peeurus  agrestis,  with  the  Bromus  sccalinus  to  be 
the  most  prevalent  v/eeds  (of  the  annual  grass 
kind)  in  corn  fields ;"  these,  therefore,  may  be 
considered  the  darnel  of  the  British  farmer. 
In  the  E^say  of  Mr.  Pitt,  he  treats  of  darnel  as 
a  plant  which  he  had  often  seen  in  wheat 
crops,  and  perfectly  well  knew.  Dr.  Wither- 
ing, in  his  Botany,  also  mentions  this  darnel 
(Lolium  temuleiilum),  as  "common  in  corn-fields, 
mostly  among  barley  and  flax;"  and  that  it  is  a 
very  troublesome  weed  among  wheat,  in  Nor- 
folk and  Suffolk.  The  doctor  also  describes 
another  species  of  Lolium  (L.  arvense),  as  being 
much  like  the  other,  only  it  is  smooth,  and  calls 
it  white  darnel.  (PI.  7,  d.)  He  observes  that 
it  is  common  in  many  parts  and  places,  and 
"very  injurious  to  a  crop  of  wheat,"  for  which 
he  quotes  Mr.  Pitt's  authority.  Mr.  Pitt,  indeed, 
names  his  darnel  white  darnel,  but  immediately 
calls  It  L.  temulentum.  Both  these  are  annuals, 
and  flower  in  July  and  August.  Now  it  seems 
never  to  have  occurred  to  writers  on  this  sub- 
ject, that,  when  they  were  in  any  difficulty  about 
agricultural  weeds,  they  should  have  recourse 
to  the  characters  of  the  seeds  oi  the  plants.  It 
is  quite  impossible  that  any  grass  seed  should 
be  darnel,  either  ancient  or  modern,  unless  the 
seeds  are  heavy  enough  to  resist  the  operation 
of  dressing,  and  to  remain  in  the  wheat  in  part, 
in  spite  of  all  eflforts  to  get  rid  of  them.  The 
ancients  had  wind  and  sieves,  and  they  no 
doubt  exerted  themselves  as  much  as  possible 
to  rid  their  wheat  of  such  seeds  as  those  of  the 
X.  temuleutum,  while  such  deleterious  effects  are 
ascribed  to  them  if  baked  in  bread,  &c.  Whe- 
ther these  plants  be  common  in  corn  fields  in 
any  part  of  England,  or  whether,  if  they  be, 
their  seeds  are  heavy  enough  to  remain  in  sam- 
ples of  wheal  and  barley,  must  here  be  left  un- 
decided. I  can  only  say  that,  in  all  my  expe- 
rience, and  as  far  as  I  have  ever  seen  or  heard 
from  practical  authority^  I  know  of  no  darnel 
in  England  but  the  Bromus  sccalinus,  and,  less 
generally,  the  Bromus  tnollis.  (Eng.  Flora,vo\.i. 
p.  151-3;  Hort.  Gram.  Wob.;  Sinclair's  Weeds, 
p.  4.) 

DARNEL  (Lolium).  There  are  in  England 
three  species  of  darnel  enumerated  by  Smith 
(Eng.  Flora,vo\.  i.p.  173).  The  perennial  darnel 
(i.  pcrenne),  common  in  meadows,  pastures, 
and  waste  ground,  and  well  known  to  the  far- 
mer by  the  name  of  rye-grass  or  ra}'-grass.  It 
yields  an  early  crop  of  hay  upon  high  or  sandy 
400 


lands,  and  makes  a  fine  turf,  which,  however, 
is  said  not  to  be  lasting  except  upon  a  rich 
soil.  Much  valuable  information  concerning 
its  cultivation  and  merits  is  collected  by  Pro- 
fessor Hooker  in  his  continuation  of  the  Flora 
Londinensis.  The  result  seems  to  be,  that  the 
grass  is  best  suited  to  the  light  land  of  Norfolk, 
where  it  first  obtained  its  reputation.  See  Rr« 
Grass.  2.  The  bearded  darnel  (L.  temulentum), 
the  seeds  of  which  are  of  very  evil  report  for 
causing  intoxication  in  rnen,  beasts,  and  birds, 
and  bringing  on  fatal  convulsions.  Haller 
speaks  of  them  as  communicating  these  pro- 
perties to  beer.  3.  Short-awned  annual  darnel 
(i.  arvense),  rather  smaller  and  smoother  than 
the  preceding,  of  which  it  is  probably  but  a 
variety.    (Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  172-5.) 

It  would  appear  that  different  countries 
attached  the  name  of  darnel  to  different 
plants.  Thus,  in  England  darnel  is  referred 
to  under  the  head  of  Rye-Grass,  or  Lolium, 
and  also  described  as  a  species  of  Bromus. 
In  some  parts  of  continental  Europe  it  appears 
the  seeds  of  darnel  have  the  reputation  of 
causing  intoxication  in  men,  beasts,  and  birds, 
the  effects  being  sometimes  so  violent  as  to 
produce  convulsions.  In  Scotland  the  name 
of  Slcepies,  is  applied  to  darnel,  from  the  seeds 
causing  narcotic  effects.  In  England  and 
America  these  effects  have  never  been  known 
to  arise  from  eating  flour  made  from  wheat 
containing  cheat.  It  is  evident  that  the  enemy 
of  the  grain  crops  called  darnel,  chess,  and 
cheat  is  not  the  same  plant  in  all  countries, 
probably  for  the  reason  that  different  species 
of  grasses  somewhat  resembling  each  other 
in  external  characters  may  be  more  favoured 
by  circumstances  of  soil  and  climate  and  ex- 
posure in  some  places  than  in  others.  Cheat 
or  chess  is  evidently  a  more  hardy  plant  in  re- 
sisting the  eflTects  of  frost  than  wheat  or  rye, 
which  often  die  in  situations  exposed  to  cold 
or  other  unfavourable  influences,  leaving  the 
darnel,  which,  from  some  resemblance  in  the 
plant  before  heading,  is  thus  supposed  to  be 
degenerated  wheat,  barley,  or  rye.  When, 
however,  the  soil  is  rich  and  the  other  circum- 
stances favourable  to  the  growth  of  wheat  and 
other  winter  grains,  these  spread  first  over  the 
ground  and  keep  down  the  cheat  or  chess,  or 
brome  and  rye-grasses,  at  least  until  after 
harvest.  Not  only  doej  the  idea  prevail  that 
wheat  and  other  cereal  grains  degenerate  to 
darnel,  but  also  to  spelt,  well  known  to  be  a 
peculiar  and  very  inferior  species  of  wheat,  of 
hardy  growth,  and  much  cultivated  in  some 
parts  of  Europe,  especially  in  mountainous 
districts.  Thus,  we  find  that  to  believe  the 
evidence  of  common  observation,  wheat  de- 
generates into  spelt  in  some  countries,  and  in 
others  into  a  species  of  bromus,  fescue,  or  that 
species  of  rye-grass  (the  lolium  temulentum) 
which  is  endowed  with  intoxicating  qualities, 
all  being  designated  as  the  wheat  enemy,  darnel. 
Nothing  analogous  to  such  metamorphosis  can 
be  found  in  nature,  neither  can  it  be  fairly 
believed  that  such  degeneration  is  possible, 
until  some  one  makes  a  crucial  experiment. 
It  belongs  to  the  credulous  to  aflbrd  the  de- 
monstration. For  more  particular  information 
in   regard  to  cheat  or  chess    in    the    United 


DARTARS. 


DEcrouous. 


States,  see  Dr.  Darlington's  Flora  Cestrira,  un- 
der the  head  of  Bromus  secalinus,  Rye  bronms, 
Cheat  or  Chess. 

DARTARS.  In  farriery,  a  sort  of  scab  or 
ulceration»taking  place  on  the  chin,  to  which 
lambs  are  subject.     • 

DAUBING.  A  word  meaning  provincially 
plastering  with  clay. 

DAUBY.  A  word  applied  to  land  when  wet, 
signifying  clammy  or  sticky. 

DA  VYING.  A  provincial  word  applied  to 
the  getting  of  marl  out  of  the  face  of  the  cliffs 
on  the  sea-coasts,  when  it  is  drawn  up  by  a 
wince. 

DEADLY  NIGHTSHADE.  See  Bklla- 
DOXNA  and  Nightshade. 

DEAD-NETTLE  (Lamium).  A  genus  of 
perennial  or  annual  European  herbs,  of  which 
twenty  species  are  described.  Among  which, 
are  the  white  dead-nettle  (L.  album)  and  red 
dead-nettle  (L.  purpureum)  to  which  medicinal 
properties  are  ascribed.  The  herbage  of  the 
former  is  scarcely  eaten  by  cattle,  and  has  a 
slightly  fetid  scent.  The  flowers  abound  with 
honey.  Low  says  (Frac.  Jispr.  p.  446)  it  is 
sometimes  common  in  corn-fields,  and  having 
a  strong,  creeping,  perennial  root,  it  should  be 
carefully  extirpated. 

DEAD-TOPS.  A  disease  incident  to  young 
trees,  which  may  be  cured  by  cutting  off  the 
withered  parts  close  to  the  nearest  sound  twig 
or  shoot,  and  ^/<iye/i?  them  over,  in  the  same 
manner  as  practised  in  grafting. 

DEAF.  A  provincial  word  signifying  blast- 
ed or  barren,  as  a  deaf  ear  of  grain,  a  deaf-nut, 
Ac.  or  such  as  have  no  grain  or  kernel.  In 
such  cases  it  is  probable  that  the  pollen  has 
been  scattered,  and  never  communicated  the 
fertilizing  principle  to  the  seed,  which  resem- 
bles in  this  respect  an  addle  e^%. 

DEAL  (Sax.  tseian,  to  divide;  Ger.  dielen; 
Dutch,  deelen ;  Dan.  daeler).  The  small  thick- 
ness into  which  a  piece  of  timber  of  any  sort 
is  cut  up ;  but  in  England  the  term  is  now  im- 
properly restricted  in  its  signification  to  the 
wood  of  the  fir  tree,  cut  up  into  thicknesses  in 
the  countries  whence  deals  are  imported. 

DEATH-WATCH  (Jnobium  tessellntum ; 
Tenues  pulsatorium,  Lin.).  The  popular  name 
in  England  for  a  small  insect  that  harbours 
chiefly  in  old  wood.  It  is  produced  from  a 
very  minute  white  egg,  hatched  in  March;  in 
the  perfect  state  these  insects  are  about  y^^ths 
of  an  inch  in  length,  and  of  a  dark  brown,  spot- 
ted colour.  They  make  a  ticking  noise, 
which  is  an  expression  of  mutual  affection 
between  the  male  and  female,  but  which  has 
and  is  still  superstitiously  imagined  by  some 
to  be  an  omen  of  death.  See  Penny  Cyclo. 
vol.  viii. 

DEBRIS  (Fr.  debree).  In  geology,  any  worn 
materials,  such  as  fragments  of  rocks,  ruins,  or 
rubbish. 

DECAY.  All  vegetable  as  well  as  animal 
substances  undergo  two  processes  of  decompo- 
sition after  death.  One  of  these  is  named 
ferment  at  hn,  the  other  decay,  putrefaction,  or 
eremacau^is.  The  decay  of  woody  fibre  (the  | 
principal  constituent  of  all  plants)  is  accom-  | 
panied  by  a  phenomenon  of  a  peculiar  kind. 
This  substance,  in  contact  with  air  or  oxygen 
51 


gas,  converts  the  latter  into  an  equal  volum« 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  its  decay  ceases  upon 
the  disappearance  of  the  oxygen.  If  the  car 
bonic  acid  is  removed,  and  oxygen  replaced, 
its  decay  recommences,  that  is,  it  again  con 
verts  oxygen  into  carbonic  acid.  Woody  fibre 
consists  of  carbon  and  the  elements  of  water; 
and  if  we  judge  only  from  the  products  formed 
during  its  decomposition,  and  from  those  form 
ed  by  pure  charcoal,  burned  at  a  high  tempe- 
rature, we  might  conclude  that  the  causes  were 
the  same  in  both :  the  decay  of  woody  fibre 
proceeds,  therefore,  as  if  no  hydrogen  or 
oxygen  entered  into  its  composition. 

A  very  long  time  is  required  for  the  comple- 
tion of  this  process  of  combustion,  and  the 
presence  of  water  is  necessary  for  its  main- 
tenance :  alkalies  promote  it,  but  acids  retard 
it;  all  antiseptic  substances,  such  as  sulphur- 
ous acid,  the  mercurial  salts,  empyreumatic 
oils,  &c.,  cause  its  complete  cessation. 

Woody  fibre,  in  a  state  of  decay,  is  the  sub- 
stance called  hu7uu8. 

The  property  of  woody  fibre  to  convert  sur- 
rounding oxygen  gas  into  carbonic  acid  di- 
minishes in  proporiion  as  its  decay  advances, 
and  at  last  a  certain  quantity  of  a  brown  coaly- 
looking  substance  remains,  in  which  this  pro- 
perly is  entirely  wanting.  This  substance  is 
called  mould  ;  if  is  the  product  of  the  complete 
decay  of  woody  fibre.  Mould  constitutes  the 
principal  part  of  all  the  strata  of  brown  coal 
and  peat. 

Eremacausis  (from  i^yu*  slow,  and  «<vtf'/c, 
combustion)  is  the  act  of  gradual  combination 
of  the  combustible  elements  of  a  body  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  air ;  a  slow  combustion  or  oxida- 
tion. 

The  conversion  of  wood  into  humus,  the 
formation  of  acetic  acid  out  of  alcohol,  nitri- 
fication, and  numerous  other  processes,  are  of 
this  nature.  Vegetable  juices  of  every  kind, 
parts  of  animal  and  vegetable  substances, 
moist  sawdust,  blood,  &c.,  cannot  be  exposed 
to  the  air,  without  sufferinir  immediately  a  pro- 
gressive change  of  colour  and  properties, 
during  which  oxygen  is  absorbed.  These 
changes  do  not  take  place  when  water  is 
excluded,  or  when  the  substances  are  exposed 
to  the  temperature  of  32°,  and  different  bodies 
require  different  degrees  of  heat,  in  order  to 
effect  the  absorption  of  oxygen,  and,  conse- 
quently, their  eremacausis.  The  property  of 
suffering  this  change  is  possessed  in  the  high- 
est degree  by  substances  which  contain  ni- 
trogen.    {Liebig,  Org.  Chem.  Part  2d.) 

In  the  Appendix  to  the  Third  Report  of  the 
Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,  1840,  Dr.  S.  L. 
Dana  adduces  the  following  example,  to  show 
that  even  with  the  presence  of  moisture,  vege- 
table matter  will  not  decay,  if  air  is  exc.Hided. 
A  piece  of  a  white  birch  tree  was  taken  from 
a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet  below  the  surface, 
in  Lowell.  "It  must  have  been  inhumed  there 
probably  before  the  creation  of  man,  yet  this 
most  perishable  of  all  wood  is  nearly  as  sound 
as  if  cut  from  the  forest  last  fall."     See  Ni- 

TRIFICATIOX. 

DECIDUOUS  (Lat.  decido,   I  fall   off).     In 
zoology,  a  term  applied  to  parts  which  have 
but  a  temporary  existence,  and  are  shed  during 
2  I.  2  401 


DECOMPOSITION 


DEER. 


(he  lifetime  of  the  animals,  as  certain  kinds  of 
hair,  horns,  and  teeth.  In  botany,  it  is  applied 
Id  such  trees  and  plants  as  shed  their  leaves  in 
the  autumn,  in  contradistinction  to  evergreens. 
Thus  the  oak,  the  elm,  the  beech,  &c.,  are 
called  deciduous  trees. 

DECOMPOSITION  (Lat.  decompositus).  The 
reduction  or  dissolution  of  any  mixed  body  to 
the  separate  parts  of  which  it  is  composed.  It 
is  of  great  importance  to  be  assured,  that,  in 
every  process  of  decomposition,  whether  by 
heat,  air,  or  putrefaction,  nothing  is  lost,  no- 
thing is  ultimately  destroyed  ;  the  components 
of  the  decomposed  substance  form  new  com- 
pounds. Decomposition  is  therefore  not,  in 
strict  language,  a  destructive  process;  but 
merely  a  change  of  altinities,  and  a  transform- 
ation of  old  into  new  compounds. 

DEER  (Sax.  t>eop  ;  Swed.  ditir ;  Lat.  cervus). 
The  general  name  of  animals  of  the  stag  kind, 
of  which  there  are  several  species.  These 
may  be  primarily  divided  into  two  groups ;  of 
which  one  includes  those  with  antlers  more  or 
less  flattened,  the  others  those  with  rounded 
antlers.  The  elk  is  the  most  characteristic 
species  of  the  first  group.  The  reindeer 
differs  from  the  rest  of  the  genus  in  the  pre- 
sence of  antlers  in  both  sexes,  andjn  the  great 
developement  of  the  brow-antlers.  The  third 
species  of  deer,  referable  to  the  flat-horned 
group,  is  the  English  park,  the  fallow-deer 
{Cenus  dama,  Lin.).  The  period  of  gestation 
in  the  fallow-doe  is  eight  months.  We  have 
in  England  two  varieties  of  the  fallow-deer, 
which  are  said  to  be  of  foreign  origin;  the 
beautiful  spotted  kind,  and  the  deep  brown  sort. 
These  have  multiplied  exceedingly  in  many 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  which  is  now  become 
famous  for  v^enison  of  superior  fatness  and  fla- 
vour to  that  of  any  other  country  in  the  world. 
The  spotted  deer  of  the  Dama  species  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  spotted  deer  brought 
from  India,  which  is  a  distinct  species,  namely 
the  Cervus  {Axis)  maculatus,  and  never  changes  its 
spots,  whereas  the  spotted  fallow-deer  becomes 
a  uniform  brown  in  winter.  This  species  has 
been  domesticated  in  England,  and  propagates 
freely  in  parks.  It  is  smaller  and  more  elegant 
in  form  than  the  fallow-deer,  and  furnishes  as 
good  venison.  Of  the  species  of  deer  of  which 
the  beam  of  the  antler  gives  a  rounded  form  in 
section,  the  red  deer  (C.  elaphtis)  and  the  roe- 
buck (C.  capreolus)  are  indigenous  species. 
The  male  red  deer,  in  the  language  of  ''the 
noble  art  of  venerie,''  is  called  a  "  hart,"  and  the 
female  a  "  hind."  She  goes  with  young  about 
a  week  longer  than  the  fallow-doe ;  and  brings 
forth  in  May  a  single  fawn,  rarely  two.  The 
young  of  both  sexes  are  at  first  styled  "calves." 
In  the  common  stag,  or  red  deer,  the  shedding 
of  the  horns  takes  place  about  the  end  of  Feb- 
ruary, or  during  March.  The  fallow-deer 
sheds  his  horns  from  about  the  middle  of  April 
to  the  first  weeks  of  May.  The  roe-buck  is 
the  smallest  species  of  European  deer;  ^.hc 
male  is  monogamouS;  and  the  female  brings 
forth  two  fawns.  They  are  not  confined  to  the 
fecotish  mountains,  being  still  found  in  some 
of  the  rugged  woods  of  Westmoreland  and 
Cumberland.  The  roe-buck  in  its  native  wilds 
ices  not  keep  in  herds  in  its  perambulations; 
402 


but  it  only  congregates  in  low  coverts.  The 
food  cf  the  roe-buck  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land s  ihe  Ru bus  saxatilis,  or  roe-buck-berry; 
but  in  winter  they  browse  on  the  tender  twigs 
of  the  birch  and  the  fir.  The  flesh#of  the  roe- 
buck is  tender  and  delicate,  when  the  animal 
has  been  hunted.  The  horns  are  used  for 
handles  of  knives,  and  other  instruments 
Three  varieties  of  the  genus  Cervus  are  pro- 
fessed objects  of  the  chase ;  the  stag,  the  fal- 
low-deer, and  the  roe-buck ;  each  of  which 
have  long  been  followed  with  great  ardour, 
according  to  the  tastes  of  different  sportsmen, 
and  their  means  of  gratifying  them:  the  roe- 
buck is,  however,  becoming  scarce. 

The  following  notice  of  the  several  kinds  of 
deer  found  in  the  United  States,  is  chiefly  con- 
densed from  Dr.  Harlan's  ''Fauna  jimericana." 

1.  IVie  Moose  {Cervus  alces),  is  by  some  called 
elk.  It  is  the  largest  species  of  the  deer  kind, 
and  is  distinguished  from  all  others  by  having 
broad  and  flattened  horns,  and  a  hairy  tuft  and 
protuberance  under  the  throat.  In  size,  these 
animals  are  sometimes  larger  than  a  common 
sized  horse.  The  upper  lip  is  square,  very  broad, 
deeply  furrowed,  and  hangs  over  the  mouth. 

The  length  of  the  moose,  measured  from  the 
tip  of  the  nose  to  the  base  of  the  tail  is  6  feet 
10  inches :  height  of  fore-part  5  feet  2  inches ; 
behind  5  feet  4  inches:  horns  3  feet  1  inch 
long;  breadth  between  these  at  their  summits, 
3  feet  10  inches  :  those  on  the  male  sometimes 
weigh  60  lbs.  They  consist  of  a  simple  and 
flattened  expansion  furnished  with  numerous 
prongs  on  the  external  border.  The  tail  is  ex- 
ceedingly short.  The  neck  is  short,  and  the 
female  has  no  horns.  Both  sexes  have  a  tuft 
of  long  hair,  like  a  beard,  beneath  the  throat, 
the  male  having  a  protuberance  in  the  same 
place.  The  general  colour  is  fawn-brown  on 
the  top  of  the  head,  the  back,  and  rump  ;  and  a 
deeper  brown  beneath  the  lower  jaw,  neck,  &c. 
The  under  part  of  the  tail  is  whitish.  The 
young  animal  is  of  a  reddish  brown  colour 
without  spots. 

Moose  live  in  small  troops,  in  swampy 
places.  Their  gait,  which  is  commonly  a  trot, 
is  much  less  active  than  that  of  other  deer. 
They  live  upon  the  buds  of  trees,  moss,  and 
some  kinds  of  plants.  In  eating  from  the 
ground  they  are  compelled,  from  the  shortness 
of  their  necks,  either  to  kneel  or  separate  their 
fore-legs.  They  rut  about  the  end  of  August 
and  all  the  month  of  September.  The  females 
bring  forth  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the  mid- 
dle of  June,  generally  two  and  sometimes  three 
and  occasionally  only  one  at  a  time.  The  old 
moose  shed  their  horns  annually,  in  January 
and  February,  and  the  young  in  April.  They 
live  15  or  20  years.  This  species  of  deer  is 
met  with  at  present  only  m  the  more  northern 
parts  of  the  United  States,  and  beyond  the 
great  lakes. 

2.  The  Jiein-deer  {Cervus  tarandus),  has  a  total 
length  of  5  feet  6  inches ;  the  horns  are  2  feet 
10  inches  long,  and  2  feet  2  inches  apart  at 
their  summits.  Their  size  is  about  that  of  the 
common  deer,  the  legs  being  thicker  in  pro- 
portion, and  the  hoofs  shorter  and  thicker,  the 
neck  is  very  short.    The  colour  varies  accord 

1  ing  to  the  seasons  and  age  of  the  animal.   The 


DEER. 


tdnh  is  of  a  deep  brown  in  the  spring,  passing, 
as  the  season  advances,  to  a  grayish-brown, 
and  grayish-white,  and  during  the  warmest 
portion  of  the  summer,  is  almost  white. 

The  Rein-deer  is  the  only  animal  of  the  deer 
genus  which  has  been  subjugated  by  man. 
The  Laplanders  have  large  troops  of  them. 
The  greater  part  of  the  males  are  castrated 
and  harnessed  to  sledges.  The  females  fur- 
nish milk,  the  flesh  food,  the  skins  clothing, 
cordage,  &c.       4 

In  America,  however,  the  Rein-deer  has 
never  been  domesticated  for  use.  The  male 
adults  and  sterile  females  lose  their  horns  in 
winter,  and  the  new  ones  are  not  perfectly 
hard  and  matured  till  August-  They  carry 
their  young  33  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which 
time,  generally  in  the  month  of  May,  they 
bring  forth.  They  abound  in  the  northern  re- 
gions, but  are  not  found  in  the  United  States 
south  of  the  state  of  Maine. 

3.  The  Elk  (Cervus  Canadensit)  called  also 
the  Canadian  or  American  stag,  inhabits  Cana- 
da, Missouri,  and  other  western  states.  The 
head  of  this  species  very  much  resembles  that 
of  the  common  deer.  Its  height  at  the  withers 
is  4  feet ;  length  of  its  branched  horns  3  feet 
to  3  feet  10  inches;  length  of  the  tail  only  2 
inches.  A  black  spot  or  mark  descends  from 
the  corner  of  the  mAith  on  each  side  of  the 
lower  jaw.  The  prevailing  colour  of  the  body 
above  the  flanks  is  a  clear  bloody-red.  The 
female  has  no  horns,  and  its  colours  are  less 
strong.  The  elks  associate  in  families.  The 
females  bring  forth  in  the  month  of  July.  A 
fine  specimen  preserved  in  the  Philadelphia 
museum,  13  years  old,  measures  from  the  tip  of 
the  nose  to  the  base  of  the  tail  7  feel  7  inches. 

4.  The  Vir^nian  Deer  {Cervtu  Virf(inianu»), 
is  the  common  deer  found  throughout  the 
United  States  wherever  extensive  ft)resls  re- 
main. It  is  met  with  as  high  north  as  Canada, 
and  passing  southwards  through  the  Isthmus, 
is  even  seen  on  the  river  Oronoco,  in  South 
America.  Its  total  length  is  5  feet  5  inches  ; 
the  horns,  measured  following  the  curvatures, 
are  1  foot  10  inches  long;  these  are  provided 
with  antlers  or  branches  ;  the  tail  is  10  inches 
in  length ;  the  weight  of  the  animal  ranges 
from  90  to  120  lbs.  Its  form  is  light,  and  its 
motions  quick  and  exceedingly  graceful.  The 
colour  of  the  young  animal  is  of  a  deep  brown, 
with  small  white  spots ;  the  adults  in  summer 
are  of  a  beautiful  brown  or  fawn  colour,  whilst 
the  belly,  insides  of  the  thighs,  and  lower  part 
of  the  tail  are  white.  They  take  their  winter 
coat  in  October ;  their  summer  dress  in  March 
and  April ;  their  horns  fall  off  in  February ; 
they  carry  their  young  nine  months,  and  bring 
forth  in  July  or  August.  Towards  autumn  the 
fawn  loses  its  spots,  and  the  hair  becomes 
grayish,  a  state  to  which  the  hunters  apply  the 
phrase  in  the  gray.  The  coat  is  shed  in  the 
latter  part  of  May  and  beginning  of  June,  and 
is  then  substituted  by  the  reddish  coat ;  in  this 
state  the  animal  is  said  to  be  in  the  red.  To- 
wards the  last  of  August,  the  old  bucks  begin 
to  chan^  to  the  dark  bluish  colour ;  the  doe 
commences  this  change  a  week  or  two  later; 
in  this  state  they  are  said  to  be  in  the  blue :  this 
coat  gradually  U  igthens  until  it  comes  to  the  1 


DENMARK. 

gray.  The  skin  is  said  to  be  toughest  in  the 
red,  thickest  in  the  blue,  and  thinnest  in  the 
gray;  the  blue  skin  is  most  valuable.  The 
horns  are  cast  in  January;  they  lose  the  velvet 
the  last  of  September,  and  beginning  of  October. 
This  species  displays  great  enmity  towards 
the  rattlesnake,  which  enemy  they  attack  and 
destroy  with  singular  dexterity  and  courage ; 
when  the  deer  discover  one  of  these  reptiles, 
they  leap  into  the  air  to  a  great  distance  above 
it,  and  descend  with  their  four  feet  brought  to- 
gether, forming  a  solid  square,  and  light  on  the 
snake  with  their  whole  weight,  when  they  inl- 
mediately  bound  away;  they  return  and  repeat 
the  same  manoeuvres  until  their  enemy  is  com- 
pletely destroyed. 

In  Pennsylvania,  by  act  of  Assembly,  the 
killing  of  deer  is  restricted  to  the  period  be- 
tween the  1st  of  August  and  the  1st  of  January, 
aad  similar  enactments  exist  in  other  states. 
Deer  are  very  timorous  animals,  and  the 
hunter  must  be  intimately  acquainted  with 
their  habits  and  haunts.  To  approach  them, 
even  with  the  rifle,  he  exercises  an  instinct, 
which  he  has  patiently  cultivated,  but  little 
inferior  to  his  dog.  During  or  after  a  shower 
is  chosen  as  the  most  favourable  season  for 
deer-stalking;  both  as  a  time  when  the  deer 
will  be  more  readily  met  with  on  the  ridges, 
and  thai  the  noise  made  by  the  steps  of  the 
hunter  may  be  drowned  in  the  droppings  from 
the  trees.  Their  fondness  for  salt  is  also  often 
employed  for  their  destruction.  A  rotten  log 
is  salted,  and  when  the  hunter  perceives  that 
it  is  much  frequented,  he  conceals  himself 
within  rifle-shot  near  it;  or  if  it  bears  the 
marks  of  being  recently  visited,  with  a  keen 
and  tutored  eye,  he  traces  them  to  their  lair 
In  October,  November,  and  December  the  ve- 
nison is  best,  if  the  weather  has  been  mild;  but 
after  the  country  has  been  covered  for  some 
time  with  snow,  it  generally  acquires  an  un- 
pleasant taste,  from  their  browsing  upon  the  lau- 
rels (rhododenrons  and  kabnias)  of  the  swamps. 
6.  Great  eared  Deer  (the  Cervus  macrolis  of 
Say),  and  by  others  called  the  Black  Tailed 
Deer,  and  Mule  Deer,  inhabits  the  most  remote 
northwestern  territories  of  the  United  States. 
(Fauna  .Amer. ;  also  Long's  Expedition  to  the 
Jiocky  Mountains,  vol.  2.) 

6.  The  sixth  species  of  the  American  deer, 
having  become  extinct,  is  now  only  met  with 
in  a  fossil  state.  Part  of  a  skeleton  having 
been  sent  by  President  Jefferson  to  the  late 
Professor  Wistar,  the  bones  are  described  by 
the  latter  in  the  Transactions  of  the  .American 
Philosophical  Society,  vol.  i.,  new  series.  It  pos- 
sessed many  of  the  characters  of  the  ellc 
(Cervus  Canadensis).  The  bones  of  this  fossil 
elk  have  hitherto  been  discovered  only  in  the 
morass  near  the  falls  of  Ohio,  called  Big-bone- 
lick,  in  company  with  the  bones  of  the  masto- 
don, &c.     (Harlan*s  Fauna  Americana.) 

DEER-NECK,  in  horsemanship,  signifies  a 
thin  ill-formed  neck. 

DENMARK.  The  agriculture  of  Denmark; 
especially  of  the  duchies  of  Sleswic,  Holstein, 
and  Lauenberg,  has  been  described  by  Mr. 
Carr.  A  large  portion  of  this  extensive  dis- 
trict is  alluvial  soil,  of  a  very  fertile  descrip. 
tion,  composed  of — 

%K)3 


DENSHIRING. 


DEW. 


ftiHfc 

SiHclouB  earth 0  860 

Clay  .-.----  0040 

Oxide  of  Jron 0  030 

Chalk 0  002 

Gypsum 0  009 

Organic  matteri      -----  0014 

Loss 0045 

1000 

The  size  of  the  farms  varies  between  50  and 
200  acres,  a  portion  of  which  is  commonly  left 
for  eight  or  ten  years  in  pasture.  The  mea- 
dows in  the  marshes  are  not  uncommonly  let 
for  two  guineas  per  acre.  The  usual  rotation 
of  crops  commonly  followed  is,  after  grass, 
oats,  fallow,  winter  barley,  rape  for  seed, 
wheat,  oats,  beans,  oats.  The  Danes  plough 
deep,  with  four  heavy  horses ;  crops  usually 
heavy,  often  returning  as  much  per  English 
acre,  according  to  Mr.  Carr,  as — 


Rape  seed 
Wheat     - 
Winter  barley 
Oats 


lbs. 
-    20  sacks  of  200 

-  12  to  14        —        220 

-  25  to  30       —        200 

-  30  to  36        —        160 


This,  however,  seems  an  enormous  produce. 
Their  horses,  sheep,  and  cattle  are  large,  but 
coarse.  Jutland  is  the  greatest  breeding  dis- 
trict, the  cows  commonly  yield  from  thirty  to 
forty  quarts  of  milk  per  diem.  Their  imple- 
ments of  husbandry  are  poor.  The  wheel 
ploughs,  with  wooden  mould-boards,  are  drawn 
by  two  horses.  The  harrows,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  brake,  have  generally  wooden  teeth. 
The  rotation  on  arable  lands,  is  fallow  dunged, 
rape  seed,  wheat  or  rye,  barley,  oats.  In  re- 
ference to  seeds,  red  clover  is  sown  in  the  pro- 
portion of  8  lbs.,  timothy  or  rye-grass  6  lbs. 
per  acre.  Clover  is  made  into  hay ;  and  then 
pastured  for  four  years.  There  are  three  dis- 
tinct breeds  of  cattle  in  these  duchies.  1.  The 
native  cow,  middle  sized  with  not  very  long 
legs,  fine  head  and  horns,  moderately  thick 
neck,  colour  usually  red  or  brown  :  these  give 
most  milk  in  proportion  to  their  food.  3.  The 
marsh  cows,  of  a  larger  size,  larger  boned,  co- 
lour red,  requiring  luxuriant  pasturage,  giving, 
when  in  full  milk,  twenty-four  to  thirty-two 
quarts  per  day,  but  their  butter  is  smaller  in 
quantity  and  of  inferior  quality  to  the  others. 
3.  The  Jutland  cow,  of  fine  bone,  rather  long 
body,  colour  gray  or  dun,  more  valued  for  its 
fattening  than  its  milking  qualities.  (Joiirn. 
of  Roy.  Jcrr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  371.) 

DENSHIRING  or  DEVONSHIRING.  A 
term  formerly  used  for  the  operation  of  paring 
and  burning. 

DEVIL'S-BIT  SCABIOUS  (Scabiosasuccisa). 
This  perennial  weed,  delighting  in  moist  pas- 
tures, woods,  and  hedgeways,  grows  a  foot 
high,  with  slender  stalks  and  dark  purplish- 
blue  flowers,  often  milk  white,  resembling  the 
garden  scabious.  It  is  a'so  frequently  seen  in 
grain-fields.  The  stalks  are  round,  firm,  and 
upright,  divided  into  several  branches,  and 
having  two  small  leaves  at  each  joint.  The 
'•»avcs  which  grow  from  the  root  are  four 
mches  long,  dark  green,  harsh,  and  somewhat 
hairy.  The  root  is  blackish,  tapering,  the  end 
appearing  bitten  off.  It  was  called  "Devil's- 
I'lt,"  from  the  idea  among  the  superstitious  of  i 
the  olden  time  that  the  devil  had  endeavoured  , 
404 


to  seize  upon  a  plant  so  useful  in  its  properties 
to  mankind,  but  could  not  efiect  his  purpose. 
He  only  bit  oflf  a  piece  of  the  root  in  the  strug- 
gle, and  carried  with  it  all  the  virtue  of  the 
plant     (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  194.) 

The  plant  known  by  this  name  in  the  Middle 
States,  is  the  Helonias  dioica  of  Pursh,  the 
Veratrum  luteum  of  Muhlenburg,  commonly 
called  Blazing  Star.  It  has  a  perennial  root, 
and  is  frequent  in  woodlands  and  meadows, 
where  it  flowers  in  May  and  June.  The  root 
of  this  plant  is  bitter,  and  a  tonic  of  some 
value.     (Flor.  Ceslric.) 

DEW  (Sax.  "oeap;  Dutch  daaw;  Germ,  thau^ 
moisture).  The  deposition  of  water  from  the 
atmosphere  during  the  night  upon  the  ground, 
leaves  of  trees,  and  plants,  blades  of  grass  and 
other  objects  on  or  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  The  phenomena  of  dew  have  been 
considered  by  all  writers  on  Meteorology,  from 
Aristotle  downwards ;  but  they  were  first  suc- 
cessfully investigated  by  the  late  Dr.  Wells, 
who  gave  the  true  theory  of  the  meteor  in  an 
admirable  essay  on  the  subject,  first  published 
in  1814.  Dew  does  not  fall  from  the  atmo- 
sphere like  rain,  but  forms  in  very  difierent 
quantities  on  different  substances ;  thus,  on 
metals,  it  is  sparingly  deposited;  on  glass  it 
forms  abundantly,  as  it  does  also  on  straw, 
grass,  cloth,  paper,  and  other  similar  substances. 
Animal  substances  are  among  those  which  ac- 
quire dew  in  the  greatest  quantity.  The  tem- 
perature of  grass  covered  with  dew  is  always 
lower  than  that  of  the  surrounding  air.  On 
calm  and  very  clear  nights  (the  period  whec 
dew  is  deposited  most  abundantly).  Dr.  Wells 
very  frequently  found  the  grass  seven,  eight,  or 
nine  degrees,  and  on  one  occasion,  fourteen 
degrees,  colder  than  the  air  about  four  feet 
above  the  ground.  In  England  dew  proba- 
bly begins  to  appear  upon  grass,  in  places 
shaded  from  the  sun,  during  clear  and  calm 
weather,  soon  after  the  heat  of  the  atmosphere 
has  declined;  that  is,  three  or  four  hours  after 
midday. 

Very  erroneous  notions  in  regard  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  dew  is  formed  or  deposited,  have 
existed  until  a  very  recent  period.  This  im- 
portant agent  in  the  promotion  of  vegetable  life 
has  been  supposed  by  some  to  rise  from  the 
ground,  whilst  the  phrase  "falling  dew,"  com- 
mon in  all  languages,  would  seem  to  imply  an 
almost  universal  belief  that  dew  falls  from  the 
air,  similar  to  the  finest  rain  or  mist.  These 
general  impressions  have,  however,  been  de- 
monstrated to  be  incorrect,  by  the  experiments 
of  Dr.  Wells  ;  whose  explanation  of  the  causes 
operating  in  the  production  of  dew  is  as  simple 
as  it  is  satisfactory.  When  substances  not 
perfectly  transparent,  are  exposed  to  the  sun, 
they  gain  more  or  less  heat;  but  when  the  sun 
goes  down  they  part  with  their  heat  and  become 
cold.  The  surrounding  air,  however,  with  its 
invisible  vapour  or  moisture,  being  transparent, 
does  not  radiate  or  shoot  oflf  its  heat,  and  hence 
remains  comparatively  warmer  than  bodies  not 
transparent.  Hence  grass,  leaves,  wood,  or 
stone,  by  growing  cold  in  the  absence  of  the 
sun,  have  moisture  to  settle  on  them  precisely  for 
the  same  reason  that  it  i'^deposited  on  the  outside 
of  a  pitcher  or  glass  containing  very  cold  water 


DEW. 


DEW. 


The  dew,  therefore,  is  a  deposit  from  that  por- 
tion of  vapour  which  enters  into  the  composi- 
tion of  common  air,  and  which  is  swept  in 
contact  with  objects  at  or  near  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  like  breath  thrown  upon  the  blade 
of  a  knife  or  other  polished  surface.  When 
the  sky  is  clear,  as  in  starry  and  moonlight 
nights,  then  do  grass,  leaves,  and  other  objects, 
throw  off  their  heat  most  rapidly  and  become 
cooler  than  the  air  immediately  above  them,  and 
the  colder  they  get  the  more  dew  is  condensed 
upon  them.  Different  substances  part  with 
their  heat  more  or  less  rapidly,  and  this  ex- 
plains the  cause  why  different  proportions  of 
dew  are  observed  on  objects  similarly  exposed 
to  the  atmosphere.  A  gravel  walk  will  have 
little  or  no  dew  upon  it,  whilst  the  grass  on 
each  side  will  be  reeking  wet:  because  the 
grass  not  only  radiates  its  heat  more  rapidly 
than  the  walk,  but  does  not  derive  warmth 
from  below  to  compensate  for  the  loss.  Be- 
sides, the  moisture  falling  upon  the  gravel 
walk  is  absorbed  more  rapidly  than  the  dew  de- 
posited upon  plants. 

The  temperature  at  which  dew  bej^ns  to 
form  is  called  the  dew-point,  and  may  be  ascer- 
tained very  accurately.  Trfhs,  by  laying  a 
thermometer  on  the  grass  in  the  evening,  as  the 
herbage  parts  with  the  warmth  collected 
through  the  day,  and  gets  colder,  the  moment 
little  globules  or  particles  of  dew  are  observed 
on  the  grass,  the  degree  at  which  the  mercury 
in  the  thermometer  stands  shows  the  dew-point 
or  temperature  at  which  the  watery  vapour 
condenses.  It  has  been  observed  already, 
that  grass  possesses  a  faculty  of  radiating  or 
parting  with  its  heat  very  rapidly,  on  which 
account  it  quickly  becomes  considerably  colder 
than  the  air  immediately  above.  If,  when  a 
thermometer  is  placed  upon  the  herbage,  an- 
other is  suspended  in  the  air  two  or  three  feel 
above,  this  last  will  not  fall  so  low  by  many  de- 
grees, the  difference  being  sometimes  as  great 
as  10  or  15  degrees  of  Fahrenheit 

In  making  this  ejcperiment,  the  instrument 
suspended  in  the  air  must  of  course  have  its  bulb 
covered  from  the  sky  by  means  of  a  piece  of 
tin-foil,  or  other  non-radiating  substance,  to  pre- 
vent its  heat  from  passing  off,  in  which  case 
the  instrument  would  itself  radiate,  and  thus 
represent  its  own  temperature  and  not  that  of 
the  surrounding  air.  It  may  be  often  observed 
that  in  the  morning,  whilst  the  grass  is  reeking 
wet  with  dew,  a  polished  substance,  lying  upon 
it,  such  as  the  blade  of  a  knife,  will  have  little 
or  no  mQi-«lure  on  its  surface.  This  shows  that 
polished  surfaces  part  with  heat  and  become 
cooled  down  to  the  dew-point  very  slowly.  The 
most  dew  will  of  course  always  be  found  on 
substances  which  have  the  power  of  cooling 
most  rapidly,  and  few  objects  do  this  so  readily 
as  grass  and  the  leaves  of  plants  and  trees. 

The  degree  of  cold  necessary  to  be  acquired 
by  grass  and  other  objects,  before  they  can 
have  dew  deposited  on  them,  can  always  be 
ascertained  beforehand.  Thus,  take  a  thin 
tumbler  of  cut^lass,  having  polished  sides ; 
fill  this  about  half  full  of  pump  or  ice-water. 
Plunge  into  itihe  bulb  of  a  thermometer,  and 
the  moment  a  film  of  dew  or  misty  cloud  is 
seen  to  form  on  the  polished  oi  j.'de  surface, 


note  the  degree  at  which  the  therm  )metei 
stands,  and  this  will  be  the  deic^oint.  ShouM 
pump-water  not  be  sutiiciently  cool  to  produce 
a  cloudiness  on  the  polished  surface  of  the 
glass,  some  ice  may  be  added ;  or  common  salt 
and  nitre,  sal  ammoniac,  or  some  other  sub- 
stance employed  in  the  production  of  artificial 
cold.  The  temperature  at  which  atmospheric 
vapour  condenses  to  form  dew  is  generally 
several  degrees  below  the  teniperature  of  the 
atmosphere.  But  this  is  only  the  case  during 
clear  weather,  since,  when  there  is  a  (og,  or  a 
rain,  the  dew-point  will  be  found  to  correspond 
with  the  temperature  of  the  air ;  showing  that 
any  cause  which  contributes  to  bring  down  the 
atmospheric  temperature  to  the  dew-point,  will 
directly  promote  the  condensation  of  its  vapour 
or  moisture  into  mist,  cloud,  rain,  snow,  or  hail. 
The  many  relations  which  the  dew-point,  or  de- 
gree at  which  vapour  condenses,  holds  with 
atmospheric  phenomena,  may  be  understood 
from  this.  And  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  dew-point  is  almost  continually  rising  or 
falling,  like  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere, 
being  usually,  in  cleAr  weather,  some  four,  six, 
eight,  or  ten  degrees  lower  than  common  air,  as 
indicated  by  the  thermometer. 

The  very  simple  means  just  described,  by 
which  the  dew-point  can  be  ascertained,  ap- 
proximately, with  the  aid  of  a  tumbler  and 
thermometer,  is  by  no  means  the  only  mode 
practised  for  the  purpose.  On  the  contrary,  it 
is  the  most  primitive  plan,  and  one  requiring 
great  skill  and  judgment  to  ensure  tolerable 
accuracy.  Mr.  Daniells,  a  learned  meteorolo- 
gist, of  London,  several  years  since  invented 
a  contrivance  called  a  Hygrometer,  for  deter- 
mining the  dew-point,  which  is  rather  compli- 
cated and  too  costly  for  general  use.  It  will, 
we  think,  be  entirely  superseded  by  an  instru- 
ment very  recently  invented  by  Prof.  A.  D. 
Bache,  of  Philadelphia,  of  which  the  following 
general  description  may  furnish  some  idea. 

One  of  the  forms  of  this  instrument  consists 
of  a  square  bar  of  highly  polished  steel,  about 
half  an  inch  in  depth  and  breadth,  and  ten  inches 
long,  one  end  of  which  fits  into  a  case  attached 
to  a  box  of  tinned  iron  or  copper.  This  box  is  to 
contain  cold  water,  ice,  or  a  freezing  mixture, 
according  to  the  season  or  rather  to  the  tempera- 
ture of  deposition,  or  dew-point.  The  end  of 
the  bar  which  fits  into  the  case  has  its  tempera- 
ture brought  below  the  dew-point,  while  the 
other  end  is  at  the  temperature  of  the  air;  one 
of  the  sections  of  the  bar  is,  therefore,  at  the 
dew-point  Between  this  section  and  the  box 
vapour  is  deposited  on  the  side  of  the  bar,  and 
beyond  it,  in  the  highly  burnished  surface  of  the 
steel,  appears  in  strong  contrast,  the  line  of 
junction  being  very  well  defined.  To  ascer- 
tain the  temperature  of  the  line  where  the  de- 
posit of  dew  commences,  cylindrical  holes  are 
made  perpendicularly  downwards  in  the  bar, 
at  intervals  of  about  half  an  inch  apart, 
throughout  the  whole  length,  large  enough  to 
admit  the  bulb  of  a  very  small  thermometer, 
and  deep  enough  to  carry  the  bulb  entirely 
into  the  substance  of  the  bar.  If  the  line 
of  deposition  is  opposite  the  middle  of  onu 
of  these  holes,  the  thermometer  then  givej 
the  dew-point;  if  between  two  of  them,  the 

405 


DEW-BERRY. 


DIBBLE. 


temperature  at  each  hole  is  taken,  by  the  same 
thermometer,  or  by  two  thermometers,  and  the 
proportional  part  of  the  difference  correspond- 
ing to  the  distance  of  the  dew-point  line  from 
the  lower  thermometer  is  added  to  the  tempera- 
ture observed  by  it.  Care  should  be  taken  in 
making  this  observation  to  let  the  temperature 
of  the  different  parts  of  the  bar  become  sta- 
tionary before  attempting  to  register  them.  In 
another  form  of  the  instrument,  an  iron  or 
copper  trough  containing  mercury  is  substi- 
tuted for  the  bar;  one  side  of  the  trough,  which 
is  best  made  square  in  its  section,  is  of  polished 
steel  or  gilded.  The  trough  is  attached  to  a  tin 
vessel,  as  in  the  other  instrument.  When  the 
surface  is  cooled  down  so  as  to  obtain  the  line 
of  deposit  on  the  face  of  the  trough,  the  bulb 
of  a  small  thermometer,  which  may  be  moved 
along  in  the  mercury  within,  is  brought  oppo- 
site to  the  line.  The  temperature  which  it  de- 
notes is,  of  coirrse,  the  dew-point.  See  Atmo- 
sPHKiiE  and  Htgrometku. 

DEW-BERRY.  The  fruit  of  the  blue  bram- 
ble (liuhus  msius),  so  termed  from  the  resem- 
blance of  the  glaucous  bloom,  or  waxy  secre- 
tion upon  the  black  shining  berries,  to  dew. 
(£«<?••  J^lor.  vol.  ii.  p.  409.)     See  BnAMBiE. 

DEWLAP  (from  lapping  or  licking  the 
dew).  A  term  applied  to  the  membranous 
fleshy  substance  that  hangs  down  from  the 
throats  of  neat  cattle. 

DEY.  An  old  English  word  for  milk,  now 
obsolete,  but  from  whence  we  derive  dairy. 

DIARRHCEA.  See  Diseases  of  Sheep,  Cat- 
tle, and  Horses. 

DIASTASE.  When  cold  water  is  poured 
upon  barley  newly  malted  and  crushed,  is  per- 
mitted to  remain  over  it  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  is  then  poured  off,  filtered,  evaporated  to 
a  small  bulk  over  boiling  water,  again  filtered 
if  necessary,  and  then  mixed  with  much  alco- 
hol, a  white  tasteless  powder  falls  to  the  bot- 
tom, to  which  the  name  of  diastase  has  been 
given. 

If  unmalted  barley  be  so  treated,  no  diastase 
is  obtained.  This  substance,  therefore,  is 
formed  during  the  process  of  malting. 

If  wheat,  or  barley,  or  potatoes,  which  by 
steeping  in  water  yield  no  diastase,  be  made  to 
germinate  or  sprout,  and  be  afterwards  bruised 
and  treated  as  above,  diastase  will  be  obtained. 
It  is  therefore  produced  during  germination.  (/.  F. 
W.  Johnston* s  Lectures.) 

Diastase,  like  sulphuric  acid,  possesses  the 
property  of  transforming  starch  entirely,  first 
into  gum,  and  then  into  grape-sugar.  One 
part  of  diastase  will  convert  into  sugar  2000 
parts  of  starch.  Seeds  which  have  germinated 
always  contain  much  more  diastase  than  is 
necessary  for  the  conversion  of  their  starch  into 
sugar.  This  excess  of  diastase  Liebig  thinks 
can  by  no  means  be  regarded  as  accidental. 
One  of  the  functions  for  which  diastase  ap- 
pears to  be  created  in  the  living  seed  to  sub- 
serve, is  to  contribute  to  the  wants  of  the 
young  plant.  "The  starch  in  the  seed,"  says 
Johnston,  "  is  the  food  of  the  future  germ,  pre- 
pared and  ready  to  minister  to  its  wants  when- 
ever heat  and  moisture  concur  in  awakening 
It  to  life.  But  starch  is  itself  insoluble  in 
water,  and  could  not,  therefore,  accompany  the 
406 


fluid  sap  when  it  begins  to  move  and  circulate. 
For  this  reason  diastase  is  formed  at  the  point 
where  the  germ  first  issues  from  the  mass  of 
food.  There  it  transforms  the  starch,  and  ren- 
ders  it  soluble,  so  that  the  young  vessels  can 
take  it  up  and  convey  it  to  the  point  of  growth. 
When  the  starch  is  exhausted,  its  functions 
cease.  It  is  then  itself  transformed  and  carried 
into  the  general  circulation.  Or  when,  as  ia 
the  potato,  much  more  starch  is  present  than 
is  in  many  cases  requisite,  its  function  ceases 
long  before  the  whole  of  the  starch  disappears. 
Its  presence  is  necessary  only  until  the  leaves 
and  roots  are  fully  formed,  when  the  plant  is 
enabled  to  provide  for  itself,  and  becomes  in- 
dependent of  the  starch  of  the  seed.  When 
this  period  arrives,  therefore,  the  production  of 
diastase  is  no  longer  perceived. 

"This  I  have  said  is  one  of  the  purposes 
which  appears  to  be  served  by  diastase  in  the 
vegetable  economy.  That  it  is  the  only  one 
we  have  no  reason  to  believe.  There  may  be 
others  quite  as  interesting  which  we  do  not  as 
yet  understand.  This  is  rendered  more  pro- 
bable by  the  fact  that  the  diastase  contained  in 
one  pound  of  malted  barley  is  capable  of  con- 
verting into  sugar  five  pounds  of  starch. 
(Liebig.)  It  is  the  diastase  in  malt  which  dis- 
solves the  starch  of  the  barley  in  the  process 
of  brewing,  but  as  the  diastase  contained  in 
malt  is  sufficient  to  dissolve  so  large  a  quan- 
tity of  starch,  it  is  obviously  a  waste  of  labour 
to  malt  the  whole  of  the  barley  employed.  One 
of  malt  to  three  of  barley  would  probably  be 
sufficient  in  most  cases  to  obtain  a  wort  con- 
taining the  whole  of  the  starch  in  solution. 
Advantage  is  taken  of  this  property  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  ivhite  beer  of  Louvain,  and 
of  other  places  in  Flanders,  and  in  Germany, 
where  the  light  colour  is  secured  by  adding  a 
large  quantity  of  flour  to  a  decoction  of  a  small 
quantity  of  barley.  And  though  at  the  tempera- 
ture at  which  the  seed  germinates,  more  of  this 
substance  may  be  necessary  to  transform  the 
same  weight  of  starch  than  is  required  in  our 
hands,  when  aided  by  artificial  heat, — yet  as 
we  never  in  the  ordinary  course  of  nature  find 
any  thing  superfluous  or  going  to  waste,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  diastase  may  be 
intended  also  to  contribute  directly  to  the  nou- 
rishment and  growth  of  the  plant.  As  it  con- 
tains nitrogen,  it  must  be  derived  from  the 
gluten  or  vegetable  albumen  of  the  seed  ;  and 
as  a  young  plant  of  wheat,  when  already 
many  inches  from  the  ground,  contains  nc 
more  nitrogen  than  -was  originally  present  in 
the  seed  itself  (Boussinganlt),  this  diastase 
may  only  be  the  result  of  one  of  those  trans- 
formations of  which  gluten  is  susceptible,  and 
by  which  it  is  rendered  soluble,  and  capable 
of  aiding  in  the  production  of  those  parts  of 
the  substance  of  the  growing  plant  into  which 
nitrogen  enters  as  a  ^necessary  constituent." 
(/.  F.  W.  Johnston^s  Lectures.) 

DIBBLE  (from  dipfd,  Dutch,  a  sharp  point). 
An  instrument  or  conical  stick  to  make  holes 
in  the  ground  for  setting  grain,  plants,  &c. 
"The  subject  of  drilling  by  machinery,"  say 
the  Messrs.  Ransome  of  Ipswich,  "naturally 
suggests  the  consideration  of  whether  the  ope. 
ration  of  dibbling  may  not  be  similarly  accom. 


IT 

piiMiea.    Many 


DIBBLING. 


piiMiea.  Many  ingenious  contrivances  have 
from  time  to  time  been  projected  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  several  patents  have  also  been  ob- 
tained, but  we  are  not  aware  of  any  that  have 
been  successfully  and  advantageously  used. 

DIBBLING  is  a  mode  of  sowing  grain,  es- 
pecially wheat,  much  practised  in  some  parts 
of  England.  Il  is  found  to  answer  the  best 
oc  the  clover  leys  of  the  lighter  descriptions 
of  land.  It  is  performfti  by  a  man  walking 
backwards  with  an  iron  dibble  into  each  hand, 
with  which  he  makes  the  holes,  on  the  furrow 
slice,  into  which  the  seed  is  dropped  by  child- 
ren, who  place  one  or  two  seeds  into  each  hole. 
By  this  mode  there  is  a  very  considerable 
saving  of  seed,  the  quantity  employed  of  wheat 
being  usually  from  three  to  five  pecks.  The 
wheat  plant  obtains  a  more  solid  soil,  and  con- 
siderable additional  employment  is  afforded  to 
the  labourer  and  his  family.  It  is,  however, 
a  rather  tedious  process,  and  is  no4  adapted  to 
the  stilfer  descriptions  of  soil,  for  on  these  the 
dibble  forms  little  cups,  in  which  the  rain  is 
apt  to  lodge  to  the  destruction  of  the  seed 
grain.  A  good  dibbler  with  three  active  at- 
tendants will  plant  about  half  an  acre  per  day. 
The  expense  for  labour  is  commonly  about  7». 
to  9a.  per  acre  for  wheat. 

Dibbling  was  first  pretty  extensively  intro- 
duced into  the  east  of  England  about  the 
commencement  of  the  present  century.  It  is 
spoken  of  as  a  novel  practice  in  1805,  by  Mr. 
Curtis  of  Lynn  {Com.  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  iv.  p. 
158),  and  by  Mr.  Pung  of  Sudbury,  and  Mr. 
Jones  of  Wellington,  in  Somersetshire  (Itnd, 
159);  they  had  previously  to  this  time  made 
some  rude  attempts  to  employ  the  dibble  near 
Yarmouth,  in  Norfolk,  for,  in  1784,  Mr.  Oxley 
describes  the  farmers  of  that  district  dibbling 
six,  seven,  and  eight  pecks  per  acre,  in  two 
rows  on  each  furrow,  by  three  or  four  droppers 
to  one  dibbler,  at  an  expense  of  half  a  guinea 
per  acre.  {Young's  Annals  of  ^gr.  vol.  iii.  p. 
220.) 

In  Norfolk,  and  the  neighbouring  counties, 
broad-casting  is  now  almost  unknown.  Mr.  J. 
Barton,  of  East  Leigh,  Hampshire,  says,  1836 
{Hints  to  Schoolmasters,  p.  2),  I  brought  a  man 
from  Norfolk,  twelve  months  ago,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  instructing  my  labourers  in  dibbling, 
and  he  brought  with  him  the  implements, 
which  are  made  in  the  following  manner.  The 
body  of  the  dibble  is  a  core  of  hard  steel, 
round  which  is  soft  iron,  so  as  always  to  wear 
itself  sharp ;  at  the  upper  end  is  a  handle. 

The  instrument  is  three  feet  long,  all  iron 
excepting  the  handle ;  it  weighs  six  pounds ;  a 
man  wafks  with  one  in  each  hand  backwards, 
and  makes  from  3000  to  3050  holes  in  a  day, 
giving  a  slight  twist  with  the  wrist  at  the  mo- 
ment of  plunging  the  iron  into  the  ground, 
which  makes  a  hole  that  does  not  again  fill 
up  by  the  crumbling  in  of  the  earth.  The 
ground  should  be  even,  then  the  rows  are 
dibbled,  the  holes  four  inches  apart,  so  that 
four  of  them  can  be  covered"  at  once  by  the 
foot ;  the  rows  aie  about  four  and  a  half  inches 
apart ;  the  holes  are  filled  by  a  rake,  or  har- 
row with  a  few  bushes  woven  into  it.  I  pay 
nine  shillings  per  acre  of  160  rods  for  the 
work,  out  of  which  the  dibbler  pays  the  child- 


DIGrrARIA. 

'  ren  who  drop  the  wheat ;  three  grains  shoul<l 
be  dibbled  in  each  hole,  which  will  take  about 

\  one  bushel  and  a  half  per  acre.  The  Norfolk 
farmers  say  the  yield  by  dibbling  exceeds  that 

I  by  broad-casting  by  four  bushels  per  acre. 

I  Dibbling  costs  in  Hertfordshire  only  6s.,  and 
in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  from  7s.  to  10a.  per 
acre,  according  to  the  distance  of  the  holes, 

j  but  where  they  are  thickest,  and  three  or  four 
grains  placed  in  each  hole,  it  does  not  use 
more  than  two  bushels  of  seed  per  acre. 

A  writer  in  the  Mark  Lane  Erpress  says, 
drilling  wheat  is  the  most  generally  practised 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  county  of  Suffolk, 
and  dibbling  wheat  has  been  upon  the  decline 
for  the  last  twenty  years  ;  I  believe,  because  it 
is  more  trouble  to  attend  to  dibblers  than  to 
drilling;  but  I  was  in  the  habit  of  dibbling 
wheat  when  I  took  business  for  myself  in  1807, 
and  I  continue  the  practice  to  the  present  day, 
for  the  following  reasons: — 1st,  It  encourages 
the  poor  man  and  his  family,  by  increasing  his 
wages,  and  gives  employment  to  his  children 
which  they  would  not  have  if  wheal  was 
drilled.  2dly,  It  shows  the  children,  when 
young,  that  Providence  has  ordained  them  to 
get  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow; 
and  I  grow  upon  the  four-course  shift  100  acres 
of  wheat  every  year.  For  wheat  I  pay  for 
dibbling  7».  per  acre,  which  is  done  by  seven 
men  that  have  the  largest  families :  those  men 
earn  5/.  each  in  five  weeks,  generally,  but  if 
the  weather  be  fine  in  less  time.  Another  and 
3d  reason  why  I  prefer  dibbling  is,  that  the 
men  and  children  tread  the  land  with  their 
feet,  which  makes  the  land  firmer  and  better 
for  the  crop.  4thly,  It  is  better  to  clean  the 
land,  because  you  can  only  hoe  between  the 
rows  of  the  drilled  wheat,  when  you  can  hoe 
all  round  the  dibbled  plant.  5thly,  The  seed 
goes  farther  into  the  ground  from  dibbling  than 
drilling,  the  small  end  piercing  deeper  than  it 
appears,  while  the  drill  appears  deeper  than  it 
really  is,  the  coulter  of  the  drill  raising  mould 
on  each  side,  so  that  when  harrowed  the  corn 
is  not  so  deep  as  when  dibbled.  6thly,  There 
is  always  more  under-corn,  that  is,  small  ears, 
from  the  drill  than  from  the  dibble,  and  dib- 
bling takes  less  seed.  Six  pecks  is  about  the 
quantity  of  seed  it  takes,  unless  it  be  very 
early  in  the  season.  I  am  a  great  advocate  for 
dibbling,  for  the  above  reasons ;  I  have  tried 
both  on  the  same  field,  and  generally  found  the 
dibbled  wheat  the  most  productive;  and  it 
stands  up  belter  against  the  wind  and  rain : — 

Thus  dibbling  eaves  half  the  3  bushels  usually 
broad-cast    --------1^ 

And  the  gain  in  the  crop  being        .        -        -        -    4 

"  11. 

-  55«. 

-  Is. 


Makes 


Worth  at  BOs.  per  quarter        -        -        _ 
And  after  paying  per  acre  for  dibbling    - 


Leaves,  per  acre 


And  even  at  5».  gives  a  gain  over  broad-cast  wheat  vf 
upwards  of20«. 

DICK,  DIKE,  or  DYKE.  A  provincial  word 
applied  to  the  mound  or  back  of  a  ditch,  and 
dick-hole  is  the  excavation  or  ditch  itself.  In 
Scotland  it  means  a  stone  wall.     See  Ditch. 

DIGGING.     See  Spade  HrsBA^nBT. 

DIGITARIA  SANGUINALIS.  PI.  7,/.  Slen 

407 


DILL. 


DISTEMPER. 


der  spiked  finger-grass,  or  cock's-foot  finger- 
grass.     See  FiNOER-oRAss  and  Crab  Grass. 

DILL  {Anethum  graveolens,  from  ov«6s»,  on  ac- 
count of  its  running  up  straight).  A  plant 
kept  in  kitchen  gardens  in  England.  It  flowers 
and  seeds  in  August;  the  stalk  is  round,  hol- 
low, and  upright,  three  feet  high,  and  divided 
into  many  branches.  The  flowers  are  yellow 
and  small,  and  stand  in  umbels  on  the  top  of 
its  branches ;  the  root  is  long.  Its  leaves  and 
umbels  are  used  in  pickling,  and  the  former 
in  soups  and  sauces.  It  is  a  hardy  plant,  and 
if  grown  merely  for  domestic  use  may  be  cul- 
tivated in  any  open  compartment:  but  if  for 
seed,  a  sheltered  situation,  and  a  soil  rather 
dry  than  damp,  is  to  be  allotted  for  it.  It  is 
propagated  by  seed,  which  is  best  sown  imme- 
diately it  is  ripe,  for  if  kept  out  of  the  ground 
until  the  spring,  it  is  often  incapable  of  germi- 
nating, or  if  plants  are  produced  they  usually 
decay  without  perfecting  their  seed;  if  neglect- 
ed until  the  spring,  it  may  be  sown  from  the 
close  of  February  until  the  commencement  of 
May :  the  earlier,  however,  the  better.  Dill 
may  be  sown  in  drills  a  foot  apart,  or  broad- 
cast, very  thin  and  raked  in.  The  plants  are 
to  remain  where  sown,  as  they  will  not  bear 
removing.  When  of  three  or  four  weeks' 
growth  they  must  be  thinned  to  about  ten 
inches  apart ;  for  if  not  allowed  room,  they 
spindle,  their  leaves  decay,  no  lateral  branches 
are  thrown  out,  and  their  seed  is  not  good. 
To  prevent  these  bad  efl!ects,  in  every  stage  of 
growth,  they  require  to  be  kept  clear  of  weeds. 
The  leaves  are  fit  for  gathering  as  wanted,  and 
the  umbels  about  July  and  August.  In  Sep- 
tember their  seed  ripens,  when  the  umbels 
must  be  immediately  cut  and  spread  on  a 
cloth  to  dry,  as  the  seed  is  very  apt  to  scatter. 
A  volatile  oil  and  a  distilled  water  are  pro- 
cured from  the  seeds.  Both  are  used  as  car- 
minatives; the  water  is  a  good  vehicle  for 
powders  prescribed  for  children.  ((?.  W. 
Johnson's  Kltch.  Garden.)  The  kindred  species 
called  sweet  fennel  (Jnelhum  faniculum)  is  by 
far  the  most  esteemed.    See  Fenjtkl. 

Dill.  A  name  sometimes  given  to  the  two- 
seeded  tare,  a  species  of  large  vetch. 

DINDLES.  A  provincial  word  applied  to 
the  common  and  corn  sow-thistles,  as  well  as 
to  the  taller  hawk-weed. 

DINGLE  (from  the  Sax.  Den,  or  t)in,  a  hol- 
low). A  small  dough  or  valley  between  two 
steep  hills. 

DISEASES  OF  CATTLE.  See  Sheep, 
Horses,  and  Cattle. 

DISHLEY  BREED.  This  name,  applied  to 
certain  well-known  breeds  of  cattle,  and  espe- 
cially sheep,  is  derived  from  the  title  of  the 
paternal  estate  of  the  celebrated  Robert  Bake- 
well.  The  Dishley,  is,  therefore,  synonymous 
with  the  Bakewell  breed. 

The  name  of  this  celebrated  original  im- 
prover of  stock  is  too  intimately  associated 
with  the  history  of  a  great  agricultural  interest, 
to  be  passed  over  without  some  particular  no- 
tice. 

Robert  Bakewell  was  bom  about  the  year 
1725,  on  his  paternal  estate  at  Dishley,  in  Lei- 
cestershire, and  died  there,  October  Ist,  1795. 
Though  it  does  not  appear  that  he  contributed 
408 


any  thing  to  literature,  even  on  the  subjects  to 
wliich  he  devoted  his  life,  yet  his  efibrts,  par* 
ticularly  to  improve  the  breed  of  sheep,  justly 
procured  for  him  a  widely  extended  reputation. 
The  cross  breed  which  he  introduced  is  well 
known  as  the  Dishley,  or  new  Leicestershire 
breed.  He  is  to  be  distinguished  from  a  Mr. 
Robert  Bakewell,  who,  in  1808,  published 
Observations  on  Wool,  with  notes,  by  Lord  So- 
merville.  (Penny  Cyclop. ,-  Gent.  Mag.  vol.  Ixv. 
p.  969.)  Of  his  cattle,  Arthur  Young  remark- 
ed, in  1783  (and  Young  was  no  flatterer),  when 
speaking  of  another  excellent  farmer — "His 
cattle  are  of  Bakewell's  breed,  which  is  giving 
tliem  sufficient  praise."  (Jnn.  vol.  ii.  p.  156.) 
And  in  the  same  volume,  p.  379,  when  noticing 
his  breed  of  sheep,  he  says,  "  I  have  not  a 
doubt  that  it  is,  without  any  exception,  the 
first  in  the  world."  To  attain  this  excellence 
Bakewell  devoted  himself,  travelling  in  search 
of  stock  to  breed  from,  not  only  over  England, 
but  into  Ireland  and  Holland.  In  1787  his 
fame  enabled  him  to  reap  some  reward  for 
these  labours ;  for  in  that  year  he  let  three 
rams  for  1250/.,  and  was  oflfered  1050/.  for 
twenty  ewes.  The  principles  which  guided 
him  in  the  breeding  of  stock  are  given,  in  Jnn. 
of  Agr.,  vol.  vi.  p.  466,  by  Arthur  Young,  who 
twice  visited  him  at  Dishley.  He  kept  con- 
stantly in  view,  in  all  his  exertions,  these  ob- 
jects— the  most  meat  from  the  least  food — the 
least  offal,  and  the  size  of  the  best  joints.  He 
thought,  it  seems,  that  the  pale-coloured  beasts 
yielded  finer  meat  than  the  dark  ones  :  he  was 
one  of  the  first  who  generally  introduced  the 
practice  of  feeling  stock  under  examination; 
not  but  what  it  was  a  practice  partially  adopt- 
ed, even  in  the  days  of  old  Holinshed.  Young 
describes,  vol.  viii.  p.  473,  the  Dishley  sheep, 
and  Bakewell's  neat  cattle  at  p.  486,  which 
were,  perhaps,  the  finest  of  his  day;  and  then 
his  great  heavy  black  cart  horses,  speaking  of 
them  as  "  by  far  the  finest  I  have  seen  of  that 
breed."  Bakewell  did  much,  too,  in  the  con- 
struction of  water-meadows  (Ibid.  p.  490),  and 
it  is  evident  from  his  various  observations  re- 
ported by  Young,  that  he  was  an  enlightened 
and  successful  agriculturist,  as  Cv^ell  as  Ijreeder. 
The  Dishley  sheep  have  long  been  celebrated 
for  their  aptness  to  fatten,  their  quietude,  and 
the  smallness  of  their  bones — they  will  long 
hand  down  the  name  of  Bakewell  as  one  of  the 
farmer's  best  benefactors.  Bakewell  made  no 
secret  of  his  modes  of  improving  stock,  and 
rarely,  if  ever,  entered  into  controversies  with 
rival  breeders.  He  wrote  nothing  himself,  and 
the  first  scientific  work  on  the  subject  was 
written  by  George  Cullc)'-,  in  1792,  who  formed 
himself  on  Bakewell's  model.  The  examples 
of  opulent  and  spirited  proprietors  have  since 
continued  to  spread  the  improvements  com- 
menced by  Bakewell,  and  followed  up  by  Culley, 
Collins,  Kline,  and  others  too  numerous  to 
mention. 

DISTEMPER  is  frequently  used  in  the  same 
sense  as  disease*,  but  is  particularly  applied  to 
cattle.  In  racing  stables  it  is  the  distinguish- 
ing names  for  epidemic  catarrh  or  influenza 
in  horses.  Bleeding  in  the  early  stage  is  re- 
commended, and  it  is  important  that  the  bowels 
should  be  evacuated,  and  sedative  medicine* 


DITCH. 


DOG. 


given.  {The  Horse,  p.  189.)  In  dogs  distemper 
is  one  of  the  most  fatal  diseases  ;  a  little  emetic 
powder  (3  grains  of  tartar  emetic  and  1  grain 
of  opium)  is  recommended  to  be  given  {Clater's 
Far.  p.  392),  followed  by  a  dose  once  a  day  of 
4,  6,  or  6  grains  of  Turpith's  mineral. 

DITCH  (Sax.  isic).  A  trench  cut  in  the 
ground,  usually  round  the  fences  of  a  Held. 
Trenches  of  this  kind  are  formed  differently  in 
various  localities,  but  they  should  always  be 
made  so  as  to  keep  the  water  in  them  as  pure 
as  possible. 

DIURETICS.  In  farriery,  such  remedies  as 
nave  the  power  of  forcing  urine,  that  is,  of 
stimulating  the  kidneys  to  a  moderate  degree, 
so  as  to  augment  their  secreting  powei^  Nitre, 
iodide  of  potassium,  turpentine,  cubebs,  and 
juniper  are  diuretics.     See  Ball. 

DOCK  (Rumex).  A  large  genus  of  peren- 
nial plants,  of  which  ten  are  natives  of  Eng- 
land. The  bloody-veined  dock  {R.  sanguiiuus) 
has  already  been  described  under  the  head 
Bloodwort.  The  curled  dock  (i?.  crispiu),  a 
very  troublesome  and  unprofitable  weed, 
abounds  in  waste  grounds,  pastures,  and  by 
road-sides  ;  root  tapering,  yellowish  stem,  two 
or  three  feet  high,  somewhat  zigzag;  leaves 
smooth,  of  a  lightish  green  ;  clusters  of  nume- 
rous rather  crowded  lulls  or  whorls  of  drooping 
pale  green  flowers.  The  sharp  dock  (R.aculus) 
is  also  not  uncommon  in  low  meadows  and 
watery  places.  Root  blackish  and  rather  slen- 
der. The  broad-leaved  dock  (/?.  obtuti/oUus)  is 
a  rank  and  very  troublesome  weed,  common 
everywhere,  which  can  only  be  conquered  by 
stubbing  up  the  root.  Mowing  is  to  little  pur- 
pose ;  stems  a  yard  high ;  root  black ;  many 
headed;  yellowish  within.  The  other  docks 
are  the  golden  dock  (if.  maritimus),  the  yellow 
marsh  dock  (R.  palustris),  and  the  great  water 
dock  (R.  Ilytlrolapathum).  {Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p. 
190.)  All  these  docks  are  purgatives,  and 
may  be  used  instead  of  rhubarb.  A  decoction 
made  with  an  ounce  of  the  root  of  i?u//i«x  obtu- 
tifolius  and  a  quart  of  water,  reduced  by  boil- 
ing to  a  pint,  then  strained  and  sweetened,  is  a 
valuable  remedy  in  that  peculiar  cutaneous 
affection  called  fish-skin  disease  (Jchthyosus). 

Dock.  A  term  signifying  to  trim  the  but- 
tocks, &c.  of  sheep. 

DOCKING.  In  farriery,  the  art  of  cutting 
off  the  tails  of  horses ;  and  for  a  description 
of  which  see  The  Horse  (Lib.  Use.  Know.,  p.  327). 

DODDED  SHEEP.  Such  as  are  without 
horns. 

DODDER  (Cuscuta  Etiropcea).  PI.  10,  f.  The 
name  of  a  species  of  bird-weed,  which  is  not 
very  commonly  met  with.  This  curious  plant 
is  unlike  all  others  in  appearance,  having  no 
leaves.  The  thread-shaped,  red,  or  purple 
eialks,  twining  about  other  plants,  headed  with 
small  reddish  flowers,  are  easily  to  be  recog- 
nised ;  they  grow  upon  heaths  and  commons, 
Intersecting  the  furze  and  nettles,  and  twisting 
themselves  round  every  thing  they  can  meet 
with.  The  common  people,  who  speak  truly, 
but  not  in  courtly  terms,  call  it  devil's-guts  and 
hell-weed,  because  it  does  great  damage  among 
their  tares  and  flax.  The  lesser  dodder  {C.epi- 
thymum)  is  of  a  similar  habit,  but  smaller  than 
the  preceding. 

52 


This  is  the  curious  creeping  plant  or  vma 
which  was  formerly  so  frequent  and  injurious 
to  flax-crops  in  the  United  Stales,  often  en- 
tangling and  spoiling  whole  lots  of  it ;  but  since 
the  culture  of  flax  has  so  much  diminished, 
dodder  has  become  rare. 

The  American  Ctiscuta,  Dodder,  or  Love-Vine,  i? 
also  a  singular  parasite,  which  seizes  upon  any 
herbaceous  plant  which  may  be  within  its 
reach ;  but  it  is  most  commonly  found  in  lo- 
calities where  the  snap-weed,  spearmint,  and 
false-nettle  occur.  Its  thread-like  naked  stems 
have  some  resemblance  to  brass,  or  copper- 
wire,  and  twine  constantly  against  the  apparent 
course  of  the  sun, — or  west,  south,  east.  {Flor. 
Cestrica.) 

DOE.  In  the  technical  language  of  the 
hunter,  the  female  of  the  buck  or  fallow  deer 
The  female  of  the  red  deer  is  called  a  hind. 

DOG  (Lat.  Canis).  An  extensive  genus  of 
animals,  consisting  of  more  than  thirty  species, 
of  which  that  most  generally  known  is  the  do- 
mestic dog  {C./ainiliaris).  The  arrangement 
of  M.  Cuvier  classes  the  dogs  of  the  present 
day  into  three  groups,  dogs  properly  so  called, 
tvolves,  and  jackals.  It  will  be  sufficient  for  our 
present  purpose  to  speak  of  the  dogs  under 
three  heads:  I.  Farm  dogs;  2.  Hunting  dogs; 
3.  Shooting  dogs.  The  first  includes  the  shep- 
herd's dog,  the  mastiff,  and  the  bull-dog.  The 
second,  the  terrier,  the  hound,  the  harrier,  the 
beagle,  and  the  greyhound.  The  third  class 
includes  the  pointer,  the  setter,  and  the  spanieL 
All  these  will  be  found  noticed  under  their  se- 
parate heads.  That  ingenious  naturalist  Mr. 
James  Wilson  has  entered  into  the  question  oi 
the  origin  of  our  domestic  breed  of  dogs. 
{Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p.  539—681.) 
Col.  Hamilton  Smith  has  also  taken  up  the 
natural  history  of  dogs.  {Naturalist's  Lib.  vols. 
XXV.  xxvi.  See  a  notice  in  the  Quart.  Journ. 
of  Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  511.)  All  zoologists  agree 
that  there  is  no  trace  of  the  dog  to  be  found  in 
its  primitive  state  of  nature,  although  wild  dogs 
exist  in  India  and  America.  The  great  affinity 
to  the  wolf,  and  the  period  of  gestation  being 
the  same,  have  led  some  to  believe  that  the 
wolf  is  the  original  dog.  The  two  animals  will 
breed  together;  the  young  of  both  are  born 
blind,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  same  time, 
namely,  10  or  12  days,  the  puppies  of  both  ac- 
quire the  power  of  vision.  But  one  fact  ren- 
ders this  supposition  at  least  doubtful, — none 
of  the  wild  dogs,  living  in  a  state  of  nature, 
have  ever  returned  to  the  true  form  of  the  wolf. 
The  minute  examination  of  this  question,  how- 
ever, would  be  out  of  place  in  this  publication. 
In  all  the  varieties  of  the  dog,  the  following 
circumstances  in  his  economy  are  constant: 
he  is  born  with  his  eyes  closed,  he  opens  them 
on  the  10th  or  12th  day;  his  teeth  commence 
changing  in  the  fourth  month ;  and  his  full 
growth  is  attained  at  the  expiration  of  the  se- 
cond year.  The  period  of  gestation  is  63  days, 
and  from  6  to  12  pups  are  produced  at  a  birth. 
The  dog  is  old  at  15  years,  and  seldom  lives 
beyond  20 ;  his  vigilance  and  bark'are  univer- 
sally known.  The  dog  is  liable  to  so  man> 
diseases,  that  to  treat  of  them  here  would  be 
impossible.  Amwng  the  principal  are  the  dis- 
temper, rabies,  canker  in  the  ear,  the  mange 
2M  409 


DOG  BRAMBLE. 


DOGWOOD. 


diseases  of  the  eyes,  fits,  diarrhoea,  &c.,  all  of  [ 
which  are  treated  of  under  their  several  heads.  [ 

In  England,  the  shepherd's  dog  (C.  fam.  do-  \ 
mesticus,  Lin.)  offers  the  example  of  one  of  the 
purest  races  of  this  domesticated  animal,  and  \ 
tliat  which,  in  its  straight  ears,  its  hair  and 
tail,  approaches  nearest  to  the  original  stock.  I 
The  sagacity  of  this  variety  in  the  peculiar  \ 
department  in  which  his  services  are  rendered  j 
to  man  is  well  known,  and  has  been  illustrated 
by  a  hundred  interesting  anecdotes.    It  is  a  ' 
curious  fact,  that  the  brain  of  the  shepherd's  i 
dog  is  larger  than  that  of  any  other  of  the  race;  : 
but  how  far  this  is  connected  with  his  sagacity  [ 
we  shall  not  pretend  to  affirm.    Notwithstand- 
ing the  great  variations  in  size  met  with  in  the 
pasture  or  shepherd'*;  dog,  in  different  coun- 
tries of  the  globe  (for  he  is  probably  the  most 
extensively  diffused  of  the  race),  yet  he  every- 
where preserves  some  personal  characteristics, 
which  mark  his  adherence  to  the  original  type 
in  a  greater  degree  than  in  any  other  breed 
over  which  man  has  so  arbitrarily  exercised 
his  dominion.     One  of  these  characteristics  is 
his  quantity  of  covering,  which  is  invariably 
great,  particularly  about  the  neck.    The  large 
drover's  dog,  which  attends  the  beast-markets, 
is  larger,  and  usually  of  a  stronger  build  than 
the  sheep-dog.    The  sagacious  colly  of  Scot- 
land is  a  dog  deservedly  prized,  though  much 
smaller  than  either  the  English  sheep-dog  or 
the  drover's  cattle-dog.    The  ears  are  never 
wholly  pendent  in  any  of  the  race ;  but  in  the 
British  varieties,  and  many  others  also,  they 
are  half-erected,  or  half-pricked,  as  it  is  called. 
The  prevailing  colour  is  very  generally  gray, 
more  or  less  dark ;  the  tail  is  bushy,  somewhat 
pendent,  and  recurved;  visage  more  or  less 
pointed. 

DOG  BRAMBLE  (Ribes  cynosbati).  One  of 
a  valuable  genus  of  plants,  which  contains  the 
gooseberry  and  the  currant :  some  of  the  spe- 
cies are  well  suited  for  ornamenting  shrubbe- 
ries. They  will  grow  in  any  soil,  propagated 
by  cuttings  planted  in  autumn,  or  early  in 
spring. 

DOG-BRIER  and  DOG-ROSE  (Rosa  canina). 
The  wild  brier  bearing  the  hip  or  hep. 

DOG-DAYS,  or  CANICULAR  DAYS.  The 
name  given  to  certain  days  of  the  year,  during 
which  the  heat  is  usually  the  greatest.  They 
are  reckoned  about  forty,  and  are  set  down  in 
the  almanacs  as  beginning  on  the  3d  July,  and 
ending  on  the  11th  August  In  the  time  of  the 
ancient  astronomers,  the  remarkable  star  Si- 
nus, called  also  canicular,  or  the  dog-star,  rose 
heliacally,  that  is,  just  before  the  sun,  about 
the  beginning  of  July;  and  the  sultry  heat 
"which  usually  prevails  at  that  season,  with  all 
its  disagreeable  effects,  among  which  the  ten- 
dency of  dogs  to  become  rabid  is  not  one  of 
the  least  disagreeable,  were  ascribed  to  the 
malignant  rage  of  this  star.  Owing  to  the  pre- 
cession of  the  equinoxes,  the  heliacal  rising  of 
Sirius  now  takes  place  later  in  the  year,  and 
in  a  cooler  season  ;  so  that  the  dog-days  have 
not  now  that  relation  to  the  particular  position 
of  the  dog-star,  from  which  they  obtained  their 
name. 

DOG-FENTNEL.      One   of  the  provincial 
names  of  the  weed  com-camomile. 
410 


DOG-FLY  (Cynomia,  Lin.).  A  genus  oi 
insects  common  i-n  woods  and  among  bushes, 
that  is  particularly  troublesome  to  dogs,  fasten- 
ing upon  their  head  and  ears.  They  sting  very 
severely,  and  always  raise  a  blister  in  the  part 
they  touch. 

DOG  POISON,  FOOL'S  PARSLEY  (^thu- 
sa  cynapium).  PI.  10,  q.  An  umbelliferous 
plant,  frequently  found  in  gardens.  It  is  easily 
distinguished  from  the  other  umbellifera  by 
the  partial  umbels,  consisting  of  three  narrow, 
long,  linear  leaflets,  which  hang  down.  The 
leaves  have  short  sheathing  footstalks,  are 
doubly  pinnate,  with  decurrent,  pinnatifid  leaf- 
lets. It  has  been  eaten  for  parsley,  and  has 
proved  fatal.  The  stem  and  leaves  are  poi- 
sonous, and  contain  a  peculiar  alkali,  called 
cynapia. 

DOG'S-Bx\NE  (Cynanchummonspeliacttm).  A 
perennial,  native  of  Montpelier,  which  loves 
warmth  and  a  good  soil.  Blows  pale  pink 
flowers  in  July  and  August.  Cover  the  roots 
in  frosts.     Propagate  by  suckers. 

A  plant  under  the  same  popular  name  is 
described  by  Dr.  Darlington,  as  found  in 
Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.     (Flor.  Cest.) 

DOG'S  CABBAGE  (Thelygonuvi  cynobrambe). 
A  common  garden  soil  suits  this  species ;  pro- 
pagate by  seeds. 

DOG'S  GRASS.     See  Couch. 

DOG'S  TAIL  GRASS.     See  Ctnosuhus. 

DOG'S      TONGUE     (Cynoglossum).        See 

Houxp's-TO^TGUE. 

DOG'S  TOOTH  GRASS,  CREEPING  (Cy- 
nodon  dactylon).  PI.  7,  A:.  This  grass  was 
identified  by  A.  R.  Lambert,  Esq.  (Trans.  Linn, 
Soc.  vol.  vi.)  as  the  celebrated  hallowed  doob- 
grass  of  the  Hindoos.  In  the  East  Indies  this 
grass  grows  luxuriantly,  and  is  highly  valued 
as  food  for  horses,  &c. ;  in  England,  however, 
it  scarcely  begins  to  vegetate  till  the  month  of 
June,  and  experiments  made  by  Sinclair  and 
others  show  that  its  produce  and  nutritive 
powers  here  are  not  sufficiently  great  to  hold 
out  any  hope  that  its  valuable  properties  in  the 
East  Indies  can  be  made  available  in  the 
climate  and  soil  of  Britain.  The  doob-grass 
flowers  in  September,  and  the  seed  is  ripe 
about  the  end  of  October,  and  sometimes  in 
November.  The  plants,  natives  of  the  English 
coasts,  flower  about  a  month  earlier  than  the 
above.  It  is  found  on  the  sandy  shores  of 
Cornwall  abundantly,  and  was  first  noticed  by 
Mr.  Newton,  in  the  time  of  Ray.  (Hort.  Gram, 
Wob.  p.  290 ;  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i."  p.  94.) 

DOG-WHEAT.     See  Couch. 

DOGWOOD.  A  name  applied  to  two  differ- 
ent plants:  in  England  to  any  of  the  shrubby 
species  of  Cornus ;  in  the  West  Indies  to  the 
Pisddia  crythrina.  The  former  are  of  iittle 
interest,  except  as  ornamental  shrubs ;  the 
latter  is  a  powerful  narcotic,  the  real  value  of 
which  in  medicine  has  still  to  be  determined. 

There  are  two  indigenous  species  of  cornel 
or  dogwood;  the  C.  san guinea,  a  bush  of  four 
or  five  feet  high,  with  smooth  branches  of  a 
dark  red  when  full  grown;  fruit  dark  purple, 
very  bitter,  like  every  other  part  of  the  plant; 
found  common  in  hedges  and  thickets,  espe- 
cially on  a  chalk  or  limestone  soil:  and  the 
I  dwarf  cornel   (C.  suecica),  growing  in  moist 


DOGWOOD. 


DOLPHIN-FLY. 


alpine  pastures,  on  the  herbaceous  stem  four 
to  six  ii»ches  high.  {Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  221.) 
The  English  names  of  this  shrub,  says  Phil- 
lips (Syl.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  183),  are  scarcely  less 
numerous  than  the  tints  of  its  leaves.  It  is 
often  called  female  cornel,  to  distinguish  it 
from  Cornus  mascula,  and  hound's  berry  tree, 
dogberry,  &c.  (because,  says  Parkinson,  the 
■fruit  is  not  even  fit  for  the  dogs),  and  hence 
the  name  of  dogwood. 

The  Cornelian  cherry  (Cornus  mascula)  is  a 
native  of  Austria,  growing  from  fifteen* to 
twenty  feet  high.     See  ConsEtiAX  Chkrkt. 

The  American  dogwood  {Cornus  Florida)  is 
a  small  North  American  tree,  the  botanical 
name  of  which  is  derived  from  the  horny 
toughness  of  its  close-grained  and  firm  wood. 
It  is  a  very  common  undergrowth  in  woods, 
composed  of  deciduous  trees.  Very  early  in 
the  spring,  before  the  trees  by  which  they  are 
overtopped  put  out  their  leaves,  the  dogwood 
expands  its  beautiful  white  blossoms,  and  in 
such  profusion  as  sometimes,  at  a  distance,  to 
resemble  a  snow-bank.  The  wood  of  this 
small  tree  is  highly  prized  for  a  variety  of 
useful  purposes,  among  which  is  the  making 
of  cogs  for  mill-wheels.  The  bark  is  an  ex- 
cellent tonic,  thought  by  some  almost  equal  to 
Peruvian  bark  in  its  efficacy  in  curing  inter- 
mittent fevers.  A  preparation  called  rtymine 
has  been  extracted  from  it,  very  much  resem- 
bling quiuinc.  The  unfolding  of  the  blossoms 
of  the  dogwood  is  the  signal  to  Ihe  American 
farmers  to  plant  Indian  com. 

"  Among  the  eight  species  of  dogwood  which 
have  been  observed  in  North  America,  this 
alone  is  entitled  by  its  size  to  be  classed  with 
the  forest  trees.  It  is  the  most  interesting,  too, 
for  the  value  of  its  wood,  the  properties  of  its 
bark,  and  the  beauty  of  its  flowers.  In  the 
United  Slates  at  large,  it  is  known  by  the  name 
of  dogwood,  and  in  Connecticut  it  is  also 
called  box  wood. 

"The  dogwood  is  first  seen  in  Massachusetts 
between  the  42°  and  43°  of  latitude,  and  in 
proceeding  southward,  it  is  met  with  uninter- 
ruptedly throughout  the  Eastern  and  Western 
States,  and  the  two  Floridas,  to  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.  Over  this  vast  extent  of  country 
it  is  one  of  the  most  common  trees,  and  it 
abounds  particularly  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Maryland,  and  Virginia,  wherever  the 
soil  is  moist,  gravelly,  and  somewhat  uneven  ; 
farther  south,  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and 
the  Floridas,  it  is  found  only  on  the  borders  of 
swamps,  and  never  in  the  pine  barrens,  where 
the  soil  is  too  dry  and  sandy  to  sustain  its 
vegetation.  In  the  most  fertile  districts  of 
Kentucky  and  West  Tennessee  it  does  not 
appear  in  the  forests,  except  where  the  soil  is 
gravelly  and  of  a  middling  quality. 

"The  dogwood  sometimes  reaches  thirty  or 
thirty.five  feet  in  height,  and  nine  or  ten  inches 
in  diameter;  but  it  does  not  generally  exceed 
the  height  of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  the 
diameter  of  four  or  five  inches.  The  trunk  is 
strong,  and  is  covered  with  a  blackish  bark, 
chapped  into  many  small  portions,  which  are 
often  in  the  shape  of  squares  more  or  less 
exact.  The  branches  are  proportionally  less 
numerous  tha  n  on  other  trees,  and  are  regu- 


'  larly  disposed  nearly  in  the  form  of  crossea 
j  The  young  twigs  are  observed  to  incline  up- 
wards in  a  semicircular  direction. 

"The  leaves  are  opposite, about  three  inches 
in  length,  oval,  of  a  dark  green  above,  and 
whitish  beneath :  the  upper  surface  is  very 
distinctly  sulcated.  Towards  the  close  of 
summer  they  are  often  marked  with  black 
spots,  and  at  the  approach  of  winter  they 
change  to  a  dull  red. 

"  In  New  York  and  New  Jersey  the  flowers 
are  fully  blown  about  the  10th  or  15th  of  May, 
while  the  leaves  are  only  beginning  to  unfold 
themselves.  The  flowers  are  small,  yellowish, 
and  collected  in  bunches,  which  are  surround- 
ed with  a  very  large  involucre  composed  of 
four  white  floral  leaves,  sometimes  inclining 
to  violet.  This  fine  involucre  constitutes  all 
the  beauty  of  the  flowers,  which  are  very  nu- 
merous, and  which,  in  their  season,  robe  the 
tree  in  white,  like  a  full  blown  apple  tree,  and 
render  it  one  of  the  fairest  ornaments  of  the 
American  forests. 

"The  seeds,  of  a  vivid,  glossy  red,  and  of  an 
oval  shape,  are  always  united.  They  remain 
upon  the  trees  till  the  first  frosts,  when,  not- 
withstanding their  bitterness,  they  are  devour- 
ed by  the  Robin,  Turdus  niigratorius,  which, 
about  this  period,  arrives  from  the  northern 
regions. 

"The  wood  is  hard,  compact,  heavy,  and 
fine-grained,  and  is  susceptible  of  a  brilliant 
polish.  The  sap  is  perfectly  white,  and  the 
heart  is  of  a  chocolate  colour.  This  tree  is 
not  large  enough  for  works  which  require 
pieces  of  considerable  volume :  it  is  used  for 
the  handles  of  light  tools,  such  as  mallets, 
small  vices,  &c.  In  Ihe  country,  some  farmers 
select  it  for  harrow  teeth,  for  the  hames  of 
horses'  collars,  and  also  for  lining  the  runners 
of" sledges;  but  to  whatever  purpose  it  is  ap- 
plied, being  liable  to  split,  it  should  never  be 
wrought  till  it  is  perfectly  seasoned.  The 
shoots,  when  three  or  four  years  old,  are  found 
proper  for  the  light  hoops  of  small,  portable 
casks ;  but  the  consumption  in  this  way  is  in- 
considerable. In  the  Middle  States,  the  cogs 
of  mill-wheels  are  made  of  dogwood,  and  its 
divergent  branches  are  taken  for  the  yokes 
which  are  put  upon  the  necks  of  swine,  to 
prevent  their  breaking  into  cultivated  enclo- 
sures. Such  are  the  profitable  uses  of  this 
tree ;  it  aflbrds  also  excellent  fuel,  but  it  is  too 
small  to  be  brought  into  the  markets  of  the 
cities."     (Mirhaux*s  North  Amtr.  Sylva.) 

DOLPHIN-FLY.  The  name  in  England  of 
an  insect  of  the  aphis  tribe,  very  destructive  to 
beans.  (See  Beans.)  It  is  sometimes  called 
the  collier.  The  destruction  which  this  insect 
causes  is  not  wonderful  when  we  reflect  on 
the  astonishing  fecundity  of  all  the  aphides 
family.  The  sexual  intercourse  of  one  original 
pair  serves  for  all  the  generations  which  pro- 
ceed from  the  female  in  the  succeeding  year; 
and  Reaumur  informs  us,  that,  in  five  genera- 
tions,  one  aphis  may  be  the  progenitor  of 
5,904,900,000  descendants:  in  one  year  there 
may  be  twenty  generations.  At  one  season 
they  are  viviparous,  at  others  oviparous.  The 
dolphin-fly  or  collier  is  of  a  black  colour:  it 
begins  its  depredations  at  the  top  of  the  bean. 

411 


DOOB-GRASS. 


DRAINING. 


and  continues  multiplying  downwards.  The 
only  method  of  preserving  the  crop  is  to  top 
the  plants,  and  to  burn  the  tops. 

DOOB-GRASS.     See  Doo's  Tooth  Grass. 

DOSS  (a  corruption  of  toss).  A  provincial 
word  signifying  to  strike  with  the  horn  or  gore 
slightly,  as  cattle  frequently  do  each  other. 

DOVE.  A  species  of  pigeon,  of  which  the 
principal  varieties  are  the  ring-dove  or  wood 
pigeon,  the  stock-dove,  the  rock-dove,  and  the 
turtle-dove.    See  Piokos. 

DOV^-COTE.  A  structure  usually  erected 
of  wood  for  the  accommodation  and  rearing 
of  tame  pigeons ;  the  only  essential  difference 
between  which  and  a  common  poultry  house 
is,  that  the  entrance  for  the  birds  must  be 
raised  to  a  considerable  height  from  the  ground, 
because  pigeons  fly  higher  in  the  atmosphere 
than  most  other  birds. 

The  utmost  cleanliness  ought  to  prevail  in 
pigeon  houses,  hence  the  holes  should  be  care- 
fully examined  before  the  breeding  season 
arrives.  They  should  be  frequently  well 
washed  out,  and  the  dung  and  other  impurities 
removed  ;  but  this  should  be  done  early  in  the 
day,  when  the  birds  are  out,  so  that  they  may 
not  be  disturbed.  Some  old  dove-cotes  are 
circular  buildings,  oif  considerable  size,  with 
ranges  of  square  holes  formed  in  the  anterior 
wall,  in  which  the  birds  make  their  nests. 
From  this  feature  in  old  dove-cotes,  the  term 
pigeon-holes  in  desks  is  arrived.  These  dove- 
cotes are  entered  by  a  door  below;  and  by 
means  of  a  ladder  the  young  pigeons  are  easily 
taken  from  the  nests.  Many  dove-cotes  of  this 
kmd  exist  in  Scotland.  {Branded  Diet,  of 
Science,  &c. ;    Willich^s  Dom.  Encyc.) 

DOWNS  (Sax.  oun;  Erse,  dune,  a  hill).  In 
European  agricultural  parlance,  large,  open, 
elevated,  unenclosed  tracts  of  land,  generally 
reserved  for  grazing  purposes. 

DOWNY  LIME  'J'REE  (Tilia  pubescens).  A 
tree  belonging  to  the  southern  United  States. 
See  LiNnEJT,  and  Lime  Thee. 

DOWNY  OAT  GRASS.     See  Avbxa. 

DRAG.  An  implement  of  the  harrow  kind 
used  in  breaking  down  and  reducing  land  into 
a  fine  state.  Also  an  iron  catch  to  fix  on  the 
wheels  of  heavily  laden  carts  or  carriages 
when  descending  steep  hills  or  declivities. 

DRAGON-FLY.  A  common  name  for  the 
Neuropterous  insects  belonging  to  the  genus 
Jigrion  or  Lobellula. 

DRAINING.  The  very  first  care  of  the 
farmer,  that  on  which  the  success  of  his  future 
crops  almost  entirely  depends,  is  the  removal 
of  unnecessary  supplies  of  water — whether 
arising  from  the  tenacity  of  the  surface  retain- 
ing too  much  water,  or  from  springs  exuding 
to  the  surface.  For  it  is  evident  that  as  dif- 
ferent crops  require  very  varying  quantities, 
so  the  cultivator  must  adapt  the  moisture  of 
the  soil  to  the  crops  he  purposes  to  produce  ; — 
the  supply  which  is  necessary,  for  instance, 
for  the  profitable  growth  of  the  rice  plant 
would  destroy  the  meadow  grasses  of  Eng- 
land : — and  again  the  damp  soils,  of  which 
many  of  the  richest  meadows  of  England  are 
formed,  would  be  much  too  moist  for  the  cereal 
crops.  The  nature  of  the  climate,  the  soil,  and 
'the  subsoil  must  all  be  taken  into  account. 
413 


The  plants  growing  on  sandy  soils,  of  course, 
will  bear  a  much  larger  proportion  of  water 
than  those  vegetating  on  clay  soils  : — and  thus 
the  very  soil  which,  in  the  dry  eastern  side  of 
England,  grows  excellent  crops  of  corn,  would, 
in  the  western  counties,  where  twice  tht 
amount  of  rain  falls,  on  an  average,  than  in 
the  east,  be  found  materially  to  injur»»  the 
plants.  (See  Water,  its  Uses  to  Veget''.tio)i.) 
Placed  as  the  farmer  is  under  such  a  ■"■ariety 
of  circumstances,  cultivating  lands  of  a'l  kinds, 
it  is  useless,  in  this  article,  to  attempt  to  assist 
him  with  more  than  general  directions. 

The  water  carried  off  the  soil  by  artificial 
drainage  is  either  by  boring,  by  open  or  by 
under-ground  drainage,  or  by  both.  Boring 
was  first  recommended  by  Elkington.  It  is 
chiefly  adapted  for  low  situations,  surrounded 
by  high  lands,  and  merely  consists  in  boring 
with  an  auger,  or  digging  a  well  in  the  land 
intended  to  be  drained,  until  a  spring  of  water 
is  pierced,  whose  head  is  lower  than  that  of  the 
surface  of  the  field;  and  hence  it  follows  that 
when  the  water  is  suffered  to  drain  into  the 
hole  made  by  the  auger,  or  the  well,  it  of  ne- 
cessity drains  from  the  land  out  of  the  bottom 
of  the  well,  as  fast  as  it  flows  into  it  at  the  top. 
This  plan  might  be  profitably  employed  to  a 
much  greater  extent  than  at  present.  When 
combined  with  surface  draining,  it  saves,  by 
shortening  the  water  channels,  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  expense. 

In  open  surface  drains,  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  its  declinations,  and  its  chemical  compo- 
sition can  alone  guide  the  farmer.  In  either 
case  too  much  care  can  hardly  be  bestowed 
upon  it;  it  is  a  question  that  the  legislature 
has  deemed  to  be  of  even  national  importance; 
for  by  the  3  &  4  Vict.  c.  55,  landowners  pos- 
sessing only  limited  interests  in  estates  are 
empowered  to  raise  money,  by  Avay  of  mort- 
gage, on  such  property,  to  be  employed  for  the 
purposes  of  improving  them  by  drainage;  and 
the  government  has  promoted"  the  use  of  drain 
tiles  by  exempting  them  from  duty.  I  shall 
confine  my  observations,  therefore,  chiefly  to 
the  formation  of  under-drains.  These  common 
ly  vary  in  depth  from  2^  to  4  feet;  and,  in  peat 
soils,  on  account  of  the  very  material  settling 
which  takes  place,  as  they  are  brought  into 
cultivation,  from  this  to  6  or  7  feet.  The  first 
operation  necessary  upon  a  field  intended  to 
be  drained,  is  the  examination  of  the  strata, 
or  veins  of  earth  of  which  it  is  composed; 
and  this  is  commonly  effected  with  the  boring 
auger,  or  by  digging  small  pits,  or  open  drains, 
as  by  this  means  the  oozings  or  weepings  will 
speedily  display  themselves,  and  indicate  pretty 
correctly  the  source  whence  the  superabun- 
dant water  proceeds.  This  being  ascertained, 
the  direction  of  the  under-drains  will  be  the 
more  easily  decided.  If  the  soil  is  of  such  a 
description  that  the  subsoil  plough  can  be  used 
with  advantage,  then  the  top  of  the  stones, 
bricks,  or  tiles  by  which  the  drain  is  formed 
and  preserved,  should  not  be  less  than  2^  feet 
from  the  surface  of  the  soil.  In  the  formation 
of  these  drains  the  workman  always  com 
mences  on  the  lowest  extremity;  by  this  means 
besides  other  advantages,  the  water,  as  he  ar- 
rives at  it,  drains  away  from  him,  and  shows 


DRAINING. 


DRAINING. 


him,  by  its  escape,  that  he  is  preserving  a 
proper  fall.  When  the  drain  is  cut  to  the 
requisite  depth,  he  proceeds  to  fill  it  up  with 
the  materials  through  which  the  drainage  wa- 
ters are  to  flow,  to  within  such  a  distance  only 
as  is  out  of  the  reach  of  the  plough ;  and  then 
the  earth  is  shovelled  back  again  over  the 
drainage  materials.  The  description  of  these 
materials,  of  necessity,  varies  with  the  nature 
of  the  country  and  its  produce;  in  Essex, 
brushwood  and  straw  are  chiefly  employed; 
in  the  northern  parts  of  the  island,  stones, 
broken  lime,  or  sandstone  are  used.  Bricks 
and  tiles  are  resorted  to  in  districts  where 
cheaper  materials  are  not  to  be  procured;  and 
these  are  made  in  a  variety  of  forms ;  and  re- 
cently one  or  two  valuable  improvements  have 
taken  place  in  the  construction  of  them  by 
machinery;  so  that,  by  those  of  the  Marquis 
of  Tweeddale  and  Mr.  Beart,  draining  tiles  are 
now  made  at  a  very  reduced  price.  Upon  tile- 
making,  in  general,  there  is  a  good  paper  by 
Mr.  Wiggins,  Joitm.  Roy.  Jgr.  Sor.  vol.  i.  p.  315. 
The  tiles  of  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale  are 
described  Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  50,  and 
Jottm.  Boy.  Jgr.  Sor.  vol.  ii.  p.  148 ;  and  those 
of  Mr.  Beart,  with  engravings  of  his  machine, 
in  the  Jottm.  of  the  Roy.  Bug.  Jgr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p. 
93;  by  which  it  seems  that  in  Huntingdonshire 
Jie  cost  of  the  tiles  made  by  his  apparatus  is 
about  15».  per  1000:  this  varies,  of  course, 
with  the  price  of  coals,  of  which  variation  Mr. 
Pusey  has  constructed  the  following  table. 


Price  of  co.li 

Making  tha  lil««(  lh«  ptoprirWW 

Sellimc  priea 

|)er  ton. 

yaM,l»rt<M) 

I«rl0u0. 

1.        d. 

«. 

c 

6     0 

11 

18 

0     6 

IS 

19 

13    0 

13 

20 

16    6 

14 

21 

20    0 

15 

23 

23    0 

16 

» 

27    0 

17 

M 

30    6 

18 

19 

These  are  commonly  used  with  the  flat  or 
sole  tiles,  which  cost,  in  Huntingdonshire,  from 
8».  to  10s.  per  1000.  The  clay  best  adapted 
for  tiles  is  that  which  contains  a  small  pro- 
portion of  sand,  or  sand  may  be  mixed 
with  the  clay.  The  an- 
nexed cut  gives  the  shape 
of  the  Tweeddale  patent 
drain  tile.  It  is  common- 
ly made  3  inches  deep,  3^ 

wide,  and    about   12   in 

5?*n  length. 

The  subject  of  under-draining  is,  compara- 
tively, so  little  understood  in  the  United  States, 
and  its  importance  so  great,  that  we  are  in- 
duced to  subjoin  the  following  additional 
information,  chiefly  condensed  from  that  ex- 
cellent work  "  The  Book  of  the  Farm,  by  H.  Ste- 
phens" now  publishing  in  Edinburgh. 

The  dimensions  of  tile-drains,  depends  entirely 
on  the  way  these  are  lo  be  constructed.  If  the 
bottom  be  hard  and  no  soles  are  to  be  placed 
Tinder  the  tiles,  the  drain  may  be  cut  narrower; 
and  if  nothing  else  but  tile  and  sole  are  to  be 
put  into  them  before  the  earth  is  returned, 
they  may  be  shallower.  In  regard  to  the  em- 
ployment of  soles  where  the  drain  has  a  clay 
bottom,  Mr.  Stephens  is  strenuous  in  his  as- 


sertions that  they  are  always  necessary.  What 
ever  may  be  the  nature  of  the  earthy  bottom 
to  be  occupied  by  the  tiles,  these  should  always 
have  soles,  or  something  equivalent,  to  protect 
the  earth  from  the  destructive  effects  of  water 

Where  soles  are  employed  their  width  must  dettr 
mifte  the  ttridth  of  the  bottom  of  the  drain.  As  yet 
no  regular  width  has  been  agreed  upon  gene- 
rally, though  it  would  be  a  matter  of  some  im- 
portance to  have  this  done.  The  breadth  of 
soles  made  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kilmar- 
nock, at  the  tile-kilns  belonging  to  the  Duke  of 
Portland  in  Ayrshire,  as  well  as  those  made  by 
Mr.  Boyle,  tile-maker  in  Ayr,  is  7  inches ;  and 
this  breadth  is  made  to  answer  tiles  varying 
from  4  to  3  inches  in  width,  inside  measure. 
For  a  4-inch  tile,  a  narrower  width  than  7 
inches  would  not  answer;  as  the  tile  is  J  of 
an  inch  thick,  only  |  of  an  inch  is  left  beyond 
each  side  of  the  tile  when  placed  on  the  sole, 
which  is  as  little  space  as  it  can  stand  on  secure- 
ly. For  the  smaller  sized  tile  of  3  inches,  the 
width  IS  ample;  but  still,  it  is  no  disadvantage 
to  a  tile  to  have  plenty  of  room  on  a  sole,  as 
its  position  can  easily  be  fixed  by  wedging  in 
stones  on  each  side  against  the  walls  of  the 
drain,  when  stones  are  used  above  the  tiles ; 
or  it  leaves  sufficient  room  for  a  lapping  of 
turf  over,  and  wedging  of  earth  on  each  side 
of,  the  top  of  the  tile.  In  the  case  of  a  6-inch- 
wide  drain  at  bottom,  the  smallest  size  of  tile, 
2|  inches  wide  inside,  must  be  used,  as  only  | 
of  an  inch  would  be  left  on  each  side  of  that 
width  of  tile. 

Soles  are  usually  made  flat,  but  Mr.  Boyle 
makes  them  curved;  not  because  they  are  bet- 
ter suited  for  the  purpose,  but  merely  because 
they  are  more  easily  dried  in  the  sheds  ;  but  a 
curved  sole  is  objectionable,  as  it  is  more  diffi- 
cult to  form  a  smooth  bed  for  it  to  lie  upon, 
and  it  is  more  apt  to  break  when  it  happens 
not  to  be  firmly  laid  upon  it.^  bed  than  a  flat 
sole. 

As  to  tiles,  their  perfect  form  is  thus  well  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Boyle:  "All  tiles  should  be  a 
fourth  higher  than  wide;  the  top  rather  quickly 
turned,  and  the  sides  nearly  perpendicular. 
Tiles  which  are  made  to  spread  out  at  the 
lower  edge  and  flat  on  the  top,  are  weak,  and 
bad  for  conveying  water.  Some  people  prefer 
tiles  with  flanges  instead  of  soles;  but  if 
placed,  even  in  a  drain  with  a  considerably 
hard  bottom,  the  mouldering  of  the  subsoil  by 
the  currents  of  air  and  water  causes  them  to 
sink  and  get  deranged."  Tiles  should  be 
smooth  on  the  surface,  heavy,  firm,  and  ring 
like  cast-iron  when  struck  with  the  knuckle. 
They  should  be  so  strong  when  set,  as  to  allow 
a  man  not  only  to  stand,  but  to  leap  upon  them 
without  breaking.  The  introduction  of  ma- 
chinery in  the  manufacture  of  drain-tiles,  by 
compressing  the  clay,  and  working  it  tho- 
roughly in  a  pug-mill  to  prepare  it  for  being 
compressed,  has  greatly  tended  to  increase  the 
strength  of  tiles.  I  have  seen  drain-tiles  so 
rough,  spongy,  crooked,  and  thin,  as  to  be  shi- 
vered to  pieces  by  a  night's  frost  when  laid 
down  beside  the  drain.  The  use  of  machinery 
has  caused  a  great  deal  more  clay  to  be  put  into 
them,  and  their  greater  substance  has  been  tho 
cause  of  improvement  in  the  construction  of 
2x2  113 


DRAEVLNG. 


DRAINING. 


Kllnb,  in  which  they  are  now  burned  to  a  uni- 
foi  texture,  as  well  as  some  avoidance  of 
breakage  in  the  manufacture,  by  all  whicn,  of 
course,  their  cost  is  lessened.  An  under-burnt 
as  well  as  an  over-burnt  lile  is  bad,  the  former 
being  spongy  and  absorbing  water,  and  ulti- 
mately falling  down;  and  the  latter  is  so  brit- 
tle as  to  break  when  accidentally  struck 
against  any  object. 

The  length  of  drain-tiles  varies  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  Mr.  Boyle's  are  13 
inches ;  the  Duke  of  Portland's,  in  Ayrshire, 
and  Mr.  Beart's  Godmanchesier,  Hertfordshire, 
J 2  inches;  and  those  from  the  Marquis  of 
Tweeddale's  machine,  14  inches,  when  burnt. 
If  the  price  is  the  same  per  1000,  of  course  the 
14-inch  tile  is  cheaper  than  the  12-inch ;  but 
otherwise,  the  12-inch  is  the  handiest  article 
in  the  manufacture,  as  being  less  apt  to  waste 
in  handling,  and  twist  when  in  the  kiln ;  and 
tturalOMer  is  much  more  easily  calculated 


in  any  given  length  of  drain.  The  following 
table  shows  the  number  of  tiles  required  for 
an  imperial  acre,  of  the  different  lengths  made, 
and  placed  at  the  stated  distances : 

DniDsat  12  in.   13  in.   U  in.  15  in. 

12  feet  apart  require  3630  3351  3111  2904  per  acre. 

15  —  2904  2ti81  24b9  2223  — 

18  —  2420  2234  2074  1936  — 

21  —  2074  1914  1777  1659  — 

24  —  1815  1675  1556  1452  — 

27  —  1613  14«0  1383  1291  — 

30  —  1452  1340  1245  1162  -- 

33  —  1320  1218  1131  lO.-iO  — 

36  —  1210  1117  1037  968  — 

The  numbers  of  each  length  of  tile  required  at 
intermediate  distances  can  easily  be  calculated 
from  these  data. 

A  representation  of  what  Mr.  Stephens  con- 
siders the  best  formed  drain-tile,  and  the  man- 
ner of  setting  this  on  the  soles,  is  given  in  a 
cut,  where  a,  and  b,  are  two  12-inch  tiles,  of 
the  most  correct  shape,  placed  upon  the  solo- 
tiles,  c. 


The  length  oi  me  riles  and  soles  being  equal, 
their  joinings  are  made  in  the  middle  of  the 
soles,  and  this  course  is  to  be  continued 
throughout.  It  is  the  practice  of  some  tile- 
drainers,  Mr.  Stephens  observes,  to  put  a  ^ 
inch  sole  under  every  joining  of  2  tiles,  leaving 
the  intermediate  space  of  the  bottom  without 
any  sole,  imagining  that  this  will  insure  suffi- 
cient steadiness  to  tiles  on  what  they  call  hard 
clay,  whilst  only  half  the  number  of  soles  are 
u»ed.  But  this  he  pronounces  a  precarious 
practice. 

Jn  making  the  gide-joinings  of  the  tiles  it  has 
been  usual  to  break  a  piece  of  the  comer  of  1 
or  2  main-drain  tiles,  where  side-drains  are  led 
into  them.  In  breaking  off  the  corners,  there 
is  a  risk  of  breaking  the  entire  tile.  Another 
plan  is  to  set  2  main-drain  tiles  so  far  asunder 
as  the  inside  width  of  a  common-drain-tile,  and 
the  opening  on  the  other  side  of  the  tiles,  if 
not  occupied  in  the  same  manner  by  the  tiles 
of  another  drain,  is  filled  up  with  pieces  of 
broken  tiles  or  stones,  or  any  other  hard 
substance.  This  is  perhaps  a  better  plan  than 
running  the  risk  of  breaking  a  number  of  tiles, 
and,  after  all,  failing  in  making  the  opening 
suitable  for  the  reception  of  the  adjoining 
drain  tiles.  Both  plans,  however,  Mr.  Ste- 
phens pronounces  very  objectionable,  and 
never  to  be  resorted  to  where  tiles,  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  receiving  others  in  their  sides 
can  be  procured.  Main-drain  tiles  of  this  de- 
scription are  made  with  openings  on  purpose 
to  receive  the  shouldered  end  of  the  smaller 
sized  side-drain  tiles-  To  answer  a  similar 
purpose  in  particular  situations  where  such 
tiles  cannot  be  conveniently  joined,  main  and 
furrow  or  side-drain  tiles  are  made  of  ^  and  ^ 
lengths,  which  may  be  so  arranged  in  regard 
to  one  another's  position,  as  to  conjoin  the 
openings  of  both  at  the  same  place. 

The  junction  of  a  common  tile  with  a  main- 
drain  one  is  represented  in  the  following  cut, 
414 


in  wnich  ^  ^Tciescnit  ia<  common  tile,  andi^ 
the  opening  m  the  main-drain  tile. 


Mr.  Stephens  says  there  should  be  always  a 
decided  fall  from  the  outlet,  whether  it  be  af- 
fected by  natural  or  artificial  means.  The 
open  ditch  into  which  the  main-drain  issues 
should  be  scoured  deep  enough  for  the  pur- 
pose, even  for  a  considerable  distance ;  and  it 
will  moreover  be  necessary  to  see  every  year 
that  the  outlet  is  kept  open;  and  the  ditch 
scoured  as  often  as  necessary  for  the  purpose. 

It  is,  says  Mr.  Stephens,  a  frequent  charge 
of  neglect  against  farmers,  that  they  allow 
open  ditches  almost  to  fill  up  before  they  are 
again  scoured  out,  and  a  not  un frequent  ex- 
cuse for  the  neglect  is,  that  scouring  of  ditches 
to  any  extent  incur  considerable  labour  and 
expense.  No  doubt  they  do,  and  no  wonder, 
since  so  much  work  has  to  be  done,  when  it  is 
done.  Were  the  ditches  scoured  out  when 
they  actually  required  it,  nay  every  year,  if 
that  is  found  necessary  for  the  welfare  of 
stock,  fences,  or  drains,  so  little  expense  would 
be  incurred  at  one  lime,  as  to  remove  every 
complaint  against  the  labour  as  a  burden;  but 
much  better,  in  every  case  where  it  can  be 
done,  to  incur  the  expense  at  once  of  convert- 
ing an  open  ditch  into  a  covered  drain,  thaji 
grudge  the  expense  of  keeping  it  in  a  proper 
state. 

Should  the  fall  from  the  mouth  of  the  main- 


DRAINING. 


DRAINING. 


(train  to  a  river  be  too  small,  and  there  be  risk, 
at  times,  of  the  overflowings  of  the  river  send- 
ing back-water  into  the  drain,  the  drain  should 
be  carried  down  as  far  by  the  side  of  the  river 
as  will  secure  a  sufficient  fall  for  the  outlet. 
Rather  be  at  the  expense  of  carrying  the  drain 
under  a  mill-course  or  rivulet  than  permit  back- 
water toenter  it. 

A  spirit  level 
(see  cut)  has  been 
found  a  very  con- 
venient instru- 
ment for  ascer- 
taining such  a 
point,  and  gene- 
rally for  taking 
levels  in  fields.  It 
is  furnished  with 
eye-sights  a  b,  and 
when  in  use  is 
placed  into  a 
framing  of  brass, 
which  operates  as 
a  Spring  to  adjust 
it  to  the  level  po- 
sition dy  by  the 
action  of  the  large 
headed  brass 
screw  r.  A  stud 
is  afilxed  to  the 
framing,  and 
pushed  firmly 
into  a  gimblet- 
hole  in  the  top 
of  the  short  rod 
e,  which  is  pushed 
or  driven  into  the 
ground  at  the  spot  from  whence  the  level 
is  desired  to  be  ascertained.  It  need  scarce- 
ly be  mentioned  that  the  height  of  the  eye- 
sight from  the  ground  is  to  be  deducted 
from  the  height  of  observation,  and  which 
quantity  is  easily  obtained  by  having  the  rod 
marked  off  in  inches  and  feet ;  but  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  this  instrument  should  be  used 
in  all  cases  of  draining  on  level  ground,  even 
where  one  is  confident  that  he  knows  the  fall 
of  the  ground,  for  the  eye  is  a  very  deceitful 
monitor  for  informing  you  of  the  levelness  of 
ground.  Such  a  spirit  level,  well  finished, 
costs  in  England,  15  shillings,  (about  $4).  Its 
whole  length  is  8  inches,  depth  l|  inches, 
width  or  breadth,  1  inch.  It  is  so  light  as  to 
admit  of  being  carried  in  the  pocket,  whilst  its 
rod  may  be  used  as  a  staff  or  cane. 

The  cutting  of  the  main-drain  should  be  en- 
tirely finished  before  the  tiles  are  laid  in  it;  and 
immediately  after  it  is  finished,  it  should  be 
measured  with  the  drain-guage,  to  ascertain 
whether  it  contains  the  specified  dimensions 
and  fall.  This  drain-guage  is  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute for  the  tape-line  or  foot-rule,  which  are 
both  inconvenient  for  the  purpose  of  measur- 
ing the  dimensions  of  a  drain.  This  simple 
instrument  consists  of  a  rod  divided  into  feet 
and  inches,  with  two  arms  fixed  cross-wise,  the 
length  of  which  is  to  correspond  with  the  re- 
quired width  of  the  drain.  When  this  rod  is  put 
down  to  ascertain  the  depth,  it  is  afterwards 
turned  partially  round,  whilst  its  end  rests  on 
*he  bottom  of  the  drziin ,  until  the  ends  of  its  arms 


touch  the  earth  on  both  sides.  If  the  arms  can- 
not come  round  square  to  the  sides  of  the  drain, 
the  drain  is  narrower  than  intended;  and  if 
they  cannot  touch  both  sides,  it  is  wider  than 
necessar^.  When  made  larger  than  intended, 
a  greater  expense  may  be  incurred  in  filling  up 
with  stones,  &c. 

The  person  intrusted  with  the  laying  of  the 
soles  and  tiles  into  drains,  should  be  one  who 
has  been  long  accustomed  to  that  kind  of  work, 
or  otherwise  a  good  workman,  possessing  judg- 
ment and  common  sense.  He  should  remain 
constantly  at  the  bottom  of  the  drain  and  have 
a  boy  or  other  assistant  to  hand  him  the  tiles 
and  tools.  After  laying  three  soles  in  length, 
he  must  examine  to  see  if  they  are  straight  in 
the  face,  and  neither  rise  nor  fall  more  than  the 
fall  in  the  drain.  As  a  safe  guide  to  him,  where 
the  fall  is  not  decidedly  cognisable  by  the 
senses,  a  mason's  plumb-level  will  be  found  a 
convenient  instrument.  After  three  soles  are 
thus  placed,  two  tiles  are  set  upon  them,  being 
so  placed  that  their  joinings  shall  meet  on  the 
intermediate  spaces  beltceen  the  joinings  of  the 
soles. 

The  tiles  for  small  drains  are  usually  made, 
according  to  Mr.  Stephens,  about  .3  inches 
wide  and  5  inches  high,  inside  measurement, 
which  may  be  considered  a  large  tile  in  places 
where  those  of  2^  inches  wide  by  3^  inches 
high  are  used.  The  soles  for  small  drains  are 
made  of  different  breadths,  varying  from  5  to  7 
inches.  They  usually  shrink  about  one-eighth 
in  the  kiln. 

Several  ingenious  and  efficient  machines 
have  been  invented  in  Great  Britain,  which 
have  greatly  facilitated  the  manufacture  of 
drain  tiles  and  soles,  and  reduced  their  cost  to 
the  very  moderate  prices  slated  in  the  esti- 
mates presented.  In  the  12th  volume  of  the 
Prize  Euays  and  Transactions  of  the  Highland 
JigricuUural  Society,  descriptions  of  some  of 
these  will  be  found,  illustrated  with  drawings. 
That  invented  by  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale, 
and  for  which  a  gold  medal  was  awarded  him, 
will  make  12,000  tiles  in  a  day  of  ten  hours, 
it  being  understood  that  the  clay  is  previously 
prepared  and  milled,  as  in  the  common  way, 
when  three  or  even  four  men  can  only  produce 
1500  tiles  in  the  same  time.  The  machine  re- 
quires a  power  only  equal  to  one  horse,  and  the 
assistance  of  one  man  and  two  boys,  one  of 
these  to  feed  in  the  clay  and  two  to  remove  the 
tiles  to  the  shelves. 

The  Essays,  in  the  same  volume,  of  Mr. 
Boyle  and  Mr.  Taylor,  upon  the  manufacture 
of  draining  tiles  are  well  worth  the  attention 
of  persons  particularly  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, as  they  not  only  treat  of  the  minutise 
of  the  operations,  but  are  illustrated  with 
very  numerous  figures  of  the  implements, 
mode  of  placing  the  tiles  in  the  furnace, 
&c.,  &c. 

Much  capital  has  been  wasted  in  the  erection 
of  tile-works,  by  those  who  have  not  at  first 
known  the  best  modes  of  proceeding,  and  em- 
ployed men  to  manage  them  who  knew  little 
about  the  processes.  Like  most  other  kinds 
of  business,  tile-making  and  baking  require  a 
regular  apprenticeship,  in  order  to  succeed 
properly.    A«  the  machine  of  Mr.  Beart  han 

415 


DRAINING. 

Deen  highly  approved  of  in  Scotland,  and  seems 
so  simple  in  its  construction  and  mode  of  ma- 
nagement, we  think  it  perhaps  better  adapted 
to  comn>on  purposes  than  the  more  formidable 
contrivance  of  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale.  A 
description  and  cut  of  the  instrument,  by  which 
3000  tiles  can  be  made  in  a  day,  with  an  ex- 
planation of  the  mode  in  which  it  is  managed, 
will  also  be  found  in  the  12th  volume  of  the 
work  to  which  we  have  just  referred. 

Mr.  Stephens  thinks  that  the  very  best  me- 
thod of  draining  land,  is  by  the  union  of  stones 
and  tiles  in  the  same  drain.  The  width  of  the 
bottom  of  the  drain  covered  with  the  sole,  may 
be  7  inches  ;  width  at  the  top  12  inches ;  total 
depth  2^  feet,  consisting  of  the  drain-tile  and 
covering  of  stones,  packed  with  the  hand 
above  and  on  each  side,  extending  12  inches 
above  the  sole,  leaving  18  inches  to  be  filled  in 
with  turf  and  earth.  Such  a  drain,  when  properly 
constructed,  is  pronounced  the  ne  plus  ultra  of 
the  art.  But  it  is  seldom  done,  either  for 
wa..'  '^f  the  necessary  supply  of  stones  of  the 
proper  size,  or  the  additional  expense  in- 
curred. 

Judge  Buel  was  among  the  first  who  em- 
ployed tiles  in  draining  in  the  United  States, 
being,  he  says,  led  to  it  by  necessity,  having  no 
stone.  He  has  laid  some  10,000  feel  of  tiles,  at 
an  expense  of  about  $15  per  1000  feet,  and 
found  them  to  answer  an  excellent  purpose. 
Dr.  J.  J.  Spencer,  of  Moorestown,  New  Jersey, 
has  also  drained  a  piece  of  low  ground  by 
means  of  tiles,  and  can  now  drive  carts,  plough 
and  raise  heavy  crops  of  Indian  corn,  &c., 
where  before  there  was  a  useless,  unsightly, 
and  unhealthy  morass. 

In  general,  under-drains  may  be  dug  no 
broader  than  is  just  necessary  to  afl^ord  room 
10  work  in,  the  sides  being  left  straight  or  per- 
pendicular. The  ditch  should  be  commenced 
at  the  lowest  end  or  outlet,  and  opened  up  to 
higher  ground.  Where  stones  are  employed 
either  as  a  conduit  at  the  bottom,  or  to  form  the 
drain  of  themielves,  they  should  be  broken  to 
80  small  a  size,  that  moles  or  ground-mice  can- 
not penetrate  among  them,  as  they  are  very 
much  inclined  to  do,  opening  holes  through 
which  the  surface  water  enters,  mixed  with 
clay  and  earth,  by  which  the  interstices  of  the 
drain  will  be  ultimately  choked  up.  Judge 
Buel  recommends  the  stone  to  be  broken  so 
as  not  to  exceed  4  inch  pieces.  The  expense 
of  doing  this,  he  says,  will  not  be  more  than 
26  or  30  cts.  the  cubic  yard. 

The  use  of  draining  tiles  is  evidently  on  the 
increase,  and  every  improvement  which  is 
made  in  them  naturally  extends  their  field  of 
usefulness ;  they  are  by  far  the  most  perma- 
nent and  effective  of  all  the  materials  used 
for  draining  land.  Of  drain- 
ing bricks  there  are  various 
shapes ;  the  annexed  figures 
represent  a  few  of  the  most 
common,  and  the  mode  of 
placing  them. 
In  fig.  1  and  la,  84  bricks  are  required  for 
every  eight  yards.  In  fig.  2^  55  bricks  are  re- 
quired for  every  eight  yards.  In  fig.  3,  110 
bricks  are  required  for  every  eight  yards.  Figs. 
416 


DRAINING. 

4  and  6  have  been  found  very  useful  in  the 
drainage  of  peat-bogs  or  quicksands.     They 


II 


are  all,  however,  for  most  purposes  inferior  to 
the  draining  tile. 

In  the  formation  of  drains,  a  shovel  taper- 
ing to  a  point,  and  scoops  of  a  peculiar  shape, 
are  commonly  used.    These  are   represented 


in  the  figures  6,  7,  8.    The  old-fashioned  way 
of  forming  a  drain  is  depicted  in  figures  9  and 


T 


10;  in  these  the  bottom  of  the  drain  was  filled 
up  partially  with  brushwood,  stones,  long  ropes 
of  twisted  straw,  others  of  ling  or  healh,  which 
are  much  more  tough  and  permanent.  The 
expense  of  digging  and  filling  in  any  of  the 
above  drains  (exclusive  of  the  brushwood  or 
other  materials)  varies  from  4s.  6d.  to  5s.  6rf. 
per  score  rods  (120  yards  local  measure).  The 
expense  per  acre  will  be,  according  to  Mr.  8. 
Taylor  (^Brit.  Farm.  Mag.  vol.  ii.  p.  369), 


If  the  drains  are  8  yards  distant  1     13    9 

—  _       7      —  1     17    6 
_           _6-.       —  200 

—  _5i__  250 

—  _5__  289 

—  _4-_—  i  n  % 


DRAINING. 


DRAINING. 


In  many  situations,  where  a  spring  is  to  be 
reached,  it  is  very  de- 
sirable to  form  a  well 
by  the  side  of  the  drain, 
according  to  the  annexed 
outline.  {Trans.  High. 
Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  223.)  A 
.'  very    common    modern 

"'^^  mode     of    constructing 

the  drain  is  according  to  ihe  form 
in  fig.  12.  Loose  mould  or  gravel 
is  placed  at  the  top  to  the  depth  of 
1  foot.  Sod,  straw,  heath,  or  rushes 
4  inches;  and  then  land  stones  1 
foot  8  inches  thick  surround  the 
draining  tiles. 
The  drain  tiles,  bricks,  or  other  materials, 
are  covered  with  any  porous  material  that  the 
locality  affords.  Stones,  gravel,  scoria,  refuse 
of  the  foundries,  ashes,  peat,  moss,  sods,  brush- 
wood, straw,  heath,  ling,  rushes,  &c.  Instead 
of  draining-tiles  of  the  horseshoe  form,  pipes 
are  now  substituted  in  many  parts  of  England, 
as  much  more  economical,  and  equally  effectual 
in  conveying  off  the  surplus  water.  At  first,  the 
pipes  were  made  by  bringing  the  edges  not  quite 
together,  leaving  an  open  seam  at  the  under  part 
for  the  admission  of  water.  But  it  is  now 
generally  thought  better  to  close  the  seam,  and 
form  a  complete  pipe,  with  a  bore  of  sufficient 
diameter,  say  1  or  1|  inches.  Some  of  the 
machines  for  moulding  these  pipes  will  turn  oflf 
eleven  at  one  operation,  all  of  uniform  thickness 
of  bore,  and  in  length  about  12  to  15  inches.  A 
machine  invented  by  Mr.  Scragg,  of  Calvely, 
Cheshire,  is  equivalent  to  the  easy  manufacture 
of  more  than  20,000  pipes  of  an  inch  bore  per 
day  of  10  hours,  and  soon  in  proportion  for  other 
sizes.  Whether  tiles  or  pipes  are  employed,  the 
opinion  is  very  generally  in  favour  of  laying 
both  at  a  greater  depth  than  was  formerly 
recommended,  seldom,  if  ever,  less  than  4  feet. 
The  substitution  of  small  pipes  for  tiles,  has 
lessened  the  cost  of  draining,  from  825,  and 
sometimes  $50,  to  $10  or  $15  per  acre 

Square  or  triangular  tubes,  made  of  larch- 
wood  of  the  following  shapes,  so  as  to  give  a 
water  way  of  2  or  2 1  inches,  with  sides  fastened 
together  with  wooden  pegs,  and  pierced  with 
auger  holes,  have  been  recommended  lor  their 
economy. 


On  an  Aluminous  Clat. 


.MJ3% 


Mr.  Wilson  calculates  the  average  expense 
with  stones  per  rood  to  be  7s.  8d.  {^art.  Journ. 
Jlgr.  vcl.  i.  p.  242.)  Mr.  Yule  at  per  rood  of 
21  feet,  2  feet  9  inches  deep  with  3  inch  tiles, 
at  Is.O^d.;  with  4  inches,  4^  to  5  feet  deep, 
1».  3^^. ;  with  6  inch  tiles,  the  same  depth,  1». 
5Jrf.     (Ibid.  p.  397.) 

The  expense  of  tile  draining  has  been  thus 
estimated  by  Mr.  Carmichael  (Trans.  High.  Soc. 
vol.  vi.  p.  98)  at  per  imperial  acre ;  tiles  being 
2s.  6d.  per  100,  and  soles  l«.  6rf.  per  100. 
53 


"s 

-i 

•5 

■3 

8 

•s 

.9 

5 

1 

H 

H 

ft. 

&i 

h 

h 

h 

H 

H 

a 

Ji 

< 

H 

X 

s. 

in. 

in. 

£   «.    d. 

15 

20 

5 

968 

2500 

1250 

6    7     If    , 

15 

22 

5 

968 

2500 

1250 

6    9    4i 

15 

24 

5 

968 

2500 

2500 

7  13    7* 

18 

20 

5 

806 

2080 

1040 

5    4    8 

18 

22 

5 

806 

2080 

IWO 

5    6    6i 

18 

24 

5 

806 

2080 

890 

6    7  10 

21 

20 

5 

691 

1780 

890 

4    9    8 

21 

VZ 

5 

691 

1780 

1780 

4  11     3^ 

21 

24 

5 

691 

1780 

5    8  111     1 

On  a 

mixed  Clay. 

1 

15 

18 

5 

968 

2500 

.  .  . 

5  14    4      i 

15 

20 

5 

968 

2500 

.  .  . 

5  18  10 

15 

22 

5 

968 

2500 

.  .  . 

6    1     8 

15 

24 

5 

996 

2500 

1250 

7    6  10 

18 

18 

5 

806 

2080 

4  15    6 

18 

20 

5 

806 

2080 

.  •  . 

4  19    1 

18 

23 

5 

806 

2080 

. 

5    1    6 

18 

24 

5 

806 

2080 

1040 

6    4    8 

On  Alum  Clay. 

1 

18 

90 

5 

806 

44  4-5* 

.  .  . 

5  11  lit 

18 

24 

5 

806 

43  4-5 

.  .  . 

5  17    7* 

18 

r 

5 

800 

43  4.6 

6    3     U 

With  regard  to  the  cost  of  thorough  draining 
in  Scotland,  Mr.  Stephens  gives  the  following 
details,  drawn  from  actual  experiments : — 

Openinf  drains  33  inches  deep  and  7  inches  wide  at  bot- 
tom, nt  Hd.  per  rood  or  rod  of  6  yards, 
rreparlng  stones,  4  inches  in  diameter,  at  id.  per  rood. 
Carriage  of  stones,  at  4|</.  per  rood. 
Ifnloading  carts  and  moving  screen-barrow,  id.  per  rood. 
Filling  in  earth,  id.  per  rood. 
Eitra  expense  in  Ihe  main  drains  about  10«.  per  acre. 

Another  statement  for  drains  of  rather  smaller 
size,  viz. : — 

2S  inches  deep.  7  inches  wide  at  bottom,  allows  id.  p«r 

roo«|  of  6  yards  for  opening. 
Preparing  stone,  at  2M-  per  rood. 
Carriage  of  stones,  at  2J</.  per  rood. 
Unloading  carts  and  moving  screen-barrow,  at  Hd.  p«r 

ro,id. 
Filling  in  earth,  at  lid.  per  rood. 
Extra  expense  in  Ihe  main  drains,  IO5.  per  acre. 

In  computing  the  cost  in  Scotland  of  the  la- 
bour in  draining  with  stones,  the  hire  of  the 
horse  is  put  down  at  3».  4^/.,  the  man's  wages 
1^.  8</.,  and  that  of  the  driver  lOd.  per  day. 
Taking  into  consideration  the  necessary  num- 
ber of  drains  required,  the  first  estimate  makes 
the  cost,  supposing  each  imperial  acre  to  con- 
tain 70  roods  of  drains  of  6  yards  each,  £4,  12*. 
B^d.;  the  3econd  estimate  £3,  8s.  4d.  per  acre. 

Mr.  Stirling  estimates  the  expense  of  drain- 
ing per  imperial  acre  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  vL 
p.  Ill),  to  be,— 


Oatance 

Number  of 

With  broken 

With  broken 

With  Tilft 

b«t*etTi 

chaiiH 

Stone* 

Stone. 

ind 

tbeDniM. 

per  Acre. 

■creened. 

riddled. 

SoUk. 

feet. 

£    8.      d. 

£  $.    d. 

£  s.    d. 

14 

4714 

7  18    4 

8    2    5^ 

9  13    5* 

16 

41-25 

6  18    6J 

7    2    11 

8    9    3} 

18 

36-66 

6    3    1 

6    6    3 

7  10    e 

20 

33- 

5  10  10 

5  13    8* 

6  15    5i 

Brushwood  and  Straw  Draining. — When  tiles, 
stones,  and  other  materials  best  adapted  to  the 
construction ofdrains  cannot  be  procured, bru.sh, 
straw,  or  even  sod,  has  been  employed  to  fib 


•  Carts  of  stones. 


t  Stone  drains. 
417 


DRAINING, 


DRESSING. 


the  bottom  of  under-drains.  When  brushwood 
is  used,  the  trench  may  be  dug  from  eighteen 
to  twenty-four  inches  wide,  and  three  or  four 
feet  deep.  Saplings  from  two  to  six  inches 
thick  at  the  butt  may  be  cut  into  lengths  of 
four  or  five  feet,  and,  commencing  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  ditch,  placed  diagonally  or  slantwise, 
the  butts  down  and  towards  the  outlet  When 
this  is  done  the  trench  is  apparently  full.  The 
brush  is  then  all  brought  within  the  edges  of 
the  ditch,  well  trodden  down,  and  the  earth 
thrown  in.  Bundles  of  fagots  are  sometimes 
employed  to  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  trench, 
and  at  other  times  large  straw  ropes.  When 
the  ground  is  marshy,  coarse  hay  or  straw 
should  be  put  upon  the  bottom  of  the  trench 
before  laying  the  brush,  and  also  upon  the  top 
of  the  brush  after  this  is  stamped  down. 

Wedge  Draining  is  another  method  sometimes 
resorted  to.  The  general  mode  of  performing 
this  is  to  form  a  narrow  trench  with  a  long, 
narrow  shovel.  The  spit  being  taken  out  as 
deep  as  the  shovel  can  go,  a  scoop  is  employed 
to  clear  out  the  mud  and  loose  earth  at  the  bot- 
tom. Then  another  shovel  corresponding  with 
the  first  is  used,  and  a  second  spit  is  taken  out, 
and  then  a  narrower  shovel  still  to  clear  the 
whole  out,  thus  forming  a  trench  with  a  ledge. 
A  piece  of  sod,  with  the  grass-side  below,  is 
then  forced  down,  and,  resting  upon  the  ledge, 
a  space  is  thus  left  for  the  water  below.  Some- 
times the  ledge  is  dispensed  with,  and  the  sod 
is  merely  formed  into  a  wedge,  narrowed  to- 
wards the  grassy  side,  and  thi^,  when  the  little 
trench  is  cleared  out,  is  pressed  into  it  and 
covered  with  earth ;  and,  as  it  does  not  reach 
the  narrow  bottom,  a  channel  remains  below 
through  which  the  water  percolates.  It  is  evi- 
dent that  where  such  under-drains  can  be  con- 
structed the  bottom  must  be  hard.  This  and 
the  brush  and  straw  drains  are  formed  at  com- 
paratively little  expense,  and  for  a  while  ope- 
rate very  efficiently  in  conveying  off  the  super- 
fluous water.  Still,  as  the  materials  are  more 
or  less  perishable,  and,  moreover,  liable  to  be- 
come closed  up,  they  are  an  indifferent  substi- 
tute for  stone,  and  yet  more  so  for  the  proper 
draining  tile. 

On  the  heavy  clay  soils,  the  drainage  is  some- 
times effected  by  a  drain  or  mole  plough,  which 
on  some  soils  answers  very  well  at  a  moderate 
expense.  In  this  the  plough  draws  a  long  tu- 
bular orifice  in  the  clay  by  a  heavy  sharp- 
pointed  rod  instead  of  a  share,  which  on  some 
adhesive  soils  remains  open,  provided  the  fall 
for  the  water  is  sufficient,  for  years.  It  is, 
however,  liable  to  too  many  casualties  for  ge- 
neral introduction.  It  is  commonly  worked, 
either  with  a  windlass  or  otherwise,  by  18  or 
20  horses  drawing  from  strong  whippletrees. 
(Brit.  Hmb.  vol.  i.  p.  455.) 

An  excellent  and  improved  imitation  of  the 
mole  plough  sys»em  is  sometimes  practised  on 
heavy  clay  lands.  A  stout  piece  of  rope  or 
cable,  four  or  five  yards  long,  is  laid  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  newly  cut  drain  (one  of  the  narrow 
wedge-formed  drains);  to  the  ends  of  this  piece 
of  rope  is  fastened  a  cross  or  T-headed  piece 
of  wood,  by  means  of  which  it  is  drawn  along 
the  bottom  oi  the  drain  after  the  day  and  other 
tnateriala  have  beeti  jxlkd  over  it;  an  arch  or 
418 


opening  is  thus  left,  similar  to  that  formed  by 
the  mole  plough ;  the  expense  in  thi"  case  is 
merely  that  of  digging  and  filling  up  the  drain. 
(Brit.  Farvu  Mag.  vol.  ii.  p.  367.) 

In  spite,  however,  of  open  and  under-ground 
drainage,  and  of  all  that  these  and  the  boring 
system  can  effect,  there  are  yet  many  thousands 
of  acres  in  the  east  of  England  that,  without 
the  aid  of  the  pump  and  the  steam-engine, 
would  still  be  covered  with  water.  These  were 
recommended  many  years  since  for  this  pur- 
pose by  Mr.  Savory,  of  Downham.  {Com.  Board 
of  Agr.  vol.  iv.  p.  52.)  The  gigantic  powers  of 
these  great  engines  will  be  readily  seen  from 
the  report  of  Mr.  Glynn  {Brit.  Farm.  Mug.  vol. 
iii.  p.  289.)  Deeping  Fen,  near  Spalding,  con- 
taining 25,000  acres,  is  effectually  drained  by- 
two  steam-engines  of  60  and  80  horse  power, 
Littleport  Fen,  near  Ely,  of  about  28,000  acres, 
is  drained  by  two  engines  of  30  and  80  horse 
power.  By  this  last  engine,  on  July  18th,  1830, 
in  a  trial  of  eight  hours,  by  the  combustion  of 
only  87  bushels  of  coals,  51,230  tons  of  water 
were  raised.  Before  the  introduction  of  steam- 
engines,  windmills  were  employed  to  a  consi- 
derable extent.  They  were  maintained,  it  is 
true,  at  a  less  expense,  but  the  certain  powers 
of  the  steam-engine  have  induced  its  general 
adoption.  The  carriage  drain  is  an  open,  ca- 
pacious drain,  used  very  commonly  in  irriga- 
tion, and  is  usually  made  of  wood,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  the  flood  waters  across  ditches, 
hollow  drains,  &c. 

DRAINING-PLOUGHS.  Such  ploughs  as 
are  contrived  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  drains, 
in  order  to  carry  off  the  water  from  wet  soils. 
See  PtouaHs. 

DRANK,  or  DRAUK.  A  very  common  name 
in  maiiy  parts  of  England  for  darnel ;  but  is 
properly  only  the  provincial  name  for  the  scaly 
brome-grass,  cheat,  or  chess. 

DRENCH.  In  farriery,  a  large  drink  or 
draught  of  any  liquid  remedy  given  to  an  ani- 
mal, usually  by  means  of  a  horn  properly  cut 
for  the  purpose.  A  very  able  paper  on  drench- 
ing horses,  by  Mr.  John  Stewart,  veterinary  sur- 
geon, appears  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol. 
X.  p.  626,  which  may  be  consulted  with  advan- 
tage. A  drink  is  not  so  portable  as  a  ball ;  it 
is  more  troublesome  to  give,  and  a  portion  of 
it  is  usually  wasted.  {The  Horse,  p.  392.)  Mr. 
Stewart  strenuously  urges  the  following  propo- 
sitions :  1.  That  draughts,  particularly  when 
pungent  or  disagreeable,  are  dangerous.  2. 
That  by  no  care  can  the  danger  be  altogether 
avoided.  3.  That  no  draught  should  be  given 
unless  the  horse  be  in  danger  of  dying  without 
it.  4.  That  the  safest  way  of  administering 
draughts  is  to  give  them  when  the  horse  is 
lying.  5.  That  a  draught  is  seldom  or  never 
absolutely  necessary  but  in  diseases  which 
make  the  horse  lie.  6.  That  a  bottle  is  a  better 
drenching  instrument  than  a  horn. 

DRESSING.  Any  sort  of  manure  applied  to 
land  for  the  purpose  of  its  improvement.  Top- 
dressing  is  that  sort  of  fertilizer  which  is  spread 
over  or  applied  upon  the  surface  of  the  land, 
either  when  the  crop  is  upon  the  ground  or 
not. 

DRILL.  A  small  track  or  longitudinal  open- 
1  ing  in  the  form  of  a  slight  furrow,  made  in 


DRILL-HUSBANDRY. 

tillage  lands  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  any 
kind  of  seeds. 

DRILL.HUSBANDRY.  The  practice  of  sow- 
ing  or  planting  grain  and  other  seeds  or  roots 
■with  a  machine,  in  regular  rows  or  drills,  in 
place  of  scattering  them  by  the  hand,  by  which 
means  they  are  dropped  at  more  equal  dis- 
tances, and  lodged  at  better  depths,  than  can 
be  done  in  the  latter  way.  "  Of  our  modern 
improvements,"  says  Dr.  Fothergill  (Com.  Board 
ofjlgr.  vol.  iv.  p.  156),  "the  introduction  of  drill- 
husbandry  has  been  generally  allowed  to  be  the 
most  important."  Horse-hoeing  is  intimately 
connected  with  it,  and  for  the  most  part  forms 
part  of  the  same  system. 

DRILLING.  The  act  of  putting  different 
kinds  of  crops  into  the  ground  in  the  drill- 
method.  Mr.  Bramston  gives  the  result  of  an 
experiment  on  the  comparative  advantages  of 
narrow  and  wide  drilling.  {Joum.  of  Roy.  Eng. 
Jgr.  Sor.  vol.  i.  p.  294.) 

DRILI^MACHINES.  Implements  for  dis- 
tributing seed  and  manure  easily,  and  at  regu- 
lar distances.  A  rude  kind  of  drill  has  been 
used  in  agriculture  from  a  ver>'  remote  period. 
The  cultivators  of  China,  Japan,  Arabia,  and 
the  Carnatic,  hare  drilled  and  dibbled  in  their 
seed  from  time  immemorial.  (The  Chinese 
drill,  or  drill-plough,  is  noticed  Quart.  Joum.  of 
Jgr.  vol.  i.  p.  675.)  After  the  Hindoos  have 
thus  deposited  their  seed,  they  use  a  kind  of 
subsoil  plough,  which  passes  under  and  loosens 
the  soil  to  the  depth  of  about  eight  inches  three 
drills'  breadth  at  a  time.  (Com.  fioard  of  ./fgr. 
vi.  355).  Gabriel  Platte,  m  1638-1663,  de- 
scribes a  rude  dibbling  machine  formed  of  iron 
pins,  "made  to  play  up  and  down  like  Virginal 
jacks ;"  and  John  Worlidge,  in  his  Husbandry, 
published  in  1669,  not  only  advocated  the  use 
of  the  seed  drill,  but  of  the  manure  drill.  Eve- 
lyn, in  the  same  year  (Trans.  Boy.  Soc.  vol.  v. 
p.  1056),  mentions  with  much  commendation 
a  drill-plough  which  had  been  invented  in  Ger- 
many, whence  it  had  found  its  way  into  Spain, 
and  had  been  noticed  by  the  Earl  of  Sandwich, 
the  English  ambassador,  who  forwarded  it  to 
England  as  the  invention  of  a  Don  Leucatilla. 
JethroTull  at  a  later  period  (1730-40),  devoted 
all  his  energies  to  promote  the  introduction  of 
this  machine,  more  especially  as  it  admitted 
the  use  of  the  horse-hoe.  The  united  advan- 
tages of  these  excited  in  him  the  highest  en- 
thusiasm. But  it  was  not  until  the  drill  had 
been  gradually  improved  by  the  labour  of  suc- 
ceeding mechanists,  that  this  invaluable  ma- 
chine, principally  through  the  exertions  of  Lord 
Leicester  and  others,  became  generally  used  in 
England.  Thence  it  appears  that  the  method 
of  sowing  com  and  other  seeds  by  machines  in 
England  is  not  (as  is  well  remarked  by  Mr.  J. 
A.  Ransome,  the  eminent  agricultural  machine- 
maker  of  Ipswich,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for 
almost  the  whole  of  this  article),  a  modern 
idea,  though  the  machines  have  been  so  much 
improved  within  the  last  century  as  to  make 
them  bear  but  little  resemblance  to  those  for- 
merly in  use. 

Passin  j  by  those  of  more  ancient  date,  we 
come  to  the  inventions  of  Jethro  Tull,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  out  his  system  of  drill- 


DRILL-MACHINES, 

husbandry,  about  1733.  His  first  invention 
was  a  drill-plough  to  sow  wheat  and  turnip 
seed  in  drills,  three  rows  at  a  time.  There 
were  two  boxes  for  the  seed,  and  these,  with 
the  coulters,  were  placed  one  set  behind  the 
other,  so  that  two  sorts  of  seed  might  be  sown 
at  the  same  time.  A  harrow  to  cover  in  the 
seed  was  attached  behind. 

Jethro  Tull  also  invented  a  turnip-drill  some- 
what similar  to  the  other  in  general  arrange- 
ment, but  of  lighter  construction.  The  feed- 
ing spout  was  so  arranged  as  to  carry  one 
half  of  the  seed  backwards  after  the  earth  had 
fallen  into  the  channel;  a  harrow  was  pinned 
to  the  beam;  and  by  this  arrangement  one  half 
of  the  seed  would  spring  up  sooner  than  the 
other,  and  so  part  of  it  escape  the  turnip  fly. 
When  desirable  to  turn  the  machine,  the  har- 
row was  to  be  lifted  and  the  feeding  would 
stop.  The  manner  of  delivering  the  seeds  to 
the  fhnnels  in  both  the  above  drills  was  by 
notched  barrels,  and  Tull  was  the  frst  who  used 
caxnties  in  the  sxtrfnces  of  solid  cylinders  for  the 
feeding.  Nothing  material  in  the  history  of  the 
drill  occurred  afterwards  till  1782,  and  but  little 
progress  appears  to  have  been  made  to  that 
period  in  drill-husbandr)'. 

About  this  time  Sir  John  Anstruther,  near 
Edinburgh,  presented  the  model  of  an  improved 
drill-plough  of  his  own  invention  to  the  Bath 
and  West  of  England  Society,  having  had  one 
in  use  for  eight  years  previous  without  its  get- 
ting out  of  order.  It  was  a  double  drill-plough 
of  simple  construction,  by  M'hich  two  furrows 
could  be  sown  at  a  time,  the  horse  walking 
between  them,  and  by  this  means  the  injury 
usually  done  by  the  horse's  feet  to  the  fine 
ground  was  avoided.  Within  the  next  ten 
years  twelve  patents  were  taken  out  for  drill- 
machines,  two  of  which  were  for  depositing 
manure  with  the  seed  ;  but  the  most  approved 
appear  to  have  been  those  invented  by  James 
Cooke,  a  clergyman  of  Heaton  Norris,  in  Lan- 
cashire ;  and  the  general  principles  of  these 
machines,  from  their  simplicity,  have  been 
adopted  in  the  construction  of  some  of  the  most 
approved  of  the  present  day. 

For  a  cut  of  Cooke's  grain-drill,  see  PI.  14, 
fag.  1. 

The  seed-box  of  Cooke's  drili,  is  of  a  pecu- 
liar shape,  the  hinder  part  extending  lower 
than  the  fore  part.  It  is  divided  by  partitions, 
and  so  supported  by  adjustable  bearings  as  to 
preserve  a  regular  delivery  of  the  seed  whilst 
the  machine  is  passing  oyer  uneven  ground. 
The  feeding  cylinder  is  made  to  revolve  by  a 
tooth-wheel,  which  is  fixed  on  each  end  of  the 
main  axle,  and  gears  with  other  toothed  wheels 
on  each  end  of  the  cylinder;  the  surface  of  the 
cylinder  is  furnished  with  a  series  of  cups 
which  revolve  therewith,  and  are  of  various 
sizes,  according  to  the  different  seeds.  These 
deposit  the  seed  regularly  in  funnels,  the  lower 
ends  of  which  lead  immediately  behind  the 
coulters,  which  are  connected  by  a  beam,  so  as 
to  be  kept  in  an  even  line,  and  are  capable  of 
being  held  out  of  working  when  desired  by  a 
hook  and  link  in  the  centre.  The  seed,  as  it  is 
I  deposited,  is  covered  in  by  a  harrow  fixed  be- 
hind.   The  carriage  wheels  are  larger  in  sin 

419 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


than  usual,  by  which  means  the  machine  is 
more  easily  drawn  over  uneven  ground;  and 
the  labour  of  working  is  reduced. 

" Of  corn  drills"  says  Loudon,  "  Cooke's  im- 
proved drill  and  horse-hoe,  though  not  the  most 
fashionable,  is  one  of  the  most  useful  imple- 
ments of  this  kind  on  light  dry  soils,  on  even 
surfaces,  and  in  dry  climates.  It  has  beer 
much  used  in  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  and  many 
other  parts  of  England.  1  he  advantage  of  this 
machine  are  said  to  consist, — 1.  In  the  wheels 
being  so  large  that  the  machine  can  travel  on 
any  road  without  trouble  or  danger  of  break- 
ing ;  also  from  the  farm  to  the  field,  &c.,  with- 
out taking  to  pieces.  2.  In  the  coulter-beam  («), 
wilh  all  the  coulters  moving  with  great  ease, 
on  the  principle  of  the  pentagraph,  to  the  right 
or  left,  so  as  to  counteract  the  irregularity  of 
the  horses'  draught,  by  which  means  the  drills 
may  be  made  straight ;  and,  where  lands  or 
ridges  are  made  four  and  a  half,  or  nine  and  a 
half  feet  wide,  the  horse  may  always  go  in  the 
furrow,  without  setting  a  foot  on  the  land, 
either  in  drilling  or  horse-hoeing.  3.  In  the 
seed  supplying  itself  regularly,  without  any 
attention,  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  boxes,  as 
it  is  distributed.  4.  In  lifting  the  pin  on  the 
coulter-beam  to  a  hook  on  the  axis  of  the 
wheels,  by  which  means  the  coulters  are  kept 
out  of  the  ground,  at  the  end  of  the  land,  with- 
out the  least  labour  or  fatigue  to  the  person 
who  attends  the  machine.  5.  In  going  up  or 
down  steep  hills,  in  the  seed-box  being  elevated 
or  depressed  accordingly,  so  as  to  render  the 
distribution  of  the  seed  regular ;  and  the  seed 
being  covered  by  a  lid,  and  thus  screened  from 
wind  or  rain.  The  same  machine  is  easily 
transformed  into  a  cultivator,  horse-hoe,  scari- 
fier, or  grubber,  all  which  operations  it  per- 
forms exceedingly  well ;  and  by  substituting  a 
corn-rake,  stubble-rake,  or  quitch-rake,  for  the 
beam  of  coulters,  or  hoes  (a),  it  will  rake  corn- 
stubbles,  or  clean  lands  of  root  weeds.  When 
com  is  to  be  sown  in  rows,  and  the  intervals 
hoed  or  stirred,  we  scarcely  know  a  machine 
superior  to  this  one ;  and  from  being  long  in 
a  course  of  manufacture,  few  can  be  made  so 
cheap.  But  these  advantages,  though  consi- 
derable in  the  process  of  drilling,  are  nothing, 
when  compared  with  those  which  arise  from 
the  use  of  the  horse-hoe ;  with  which  from  8 
to  10  acres  of  land  may  be  hoed  in  one  day, 
with  one  man,  a  boy,  and  one  horse,  at  a  tri- 
fling expense,  in  a  style  far  superior  to,  and 
more  effectual  than,  any  hand-hoeing  whatever; 
also  at  times  and  seasons  when  it  is  impossible 
for  the  hand-hoe  to  be  used  at  all.    PI.  14,  fig.  2. 

"  The  Norfolk  drill,  or  improved  lever  drill,  is 
a  corn  drill  on  a  larger  scale  than  Cooke's,  as 
it  sows  a  breadth  of  nine  feet  at  once  :  it  is 
chiefly  used  in  the  light  soils  of  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk  as  being  more  expeditious  than  Cooke's, 
but  it  also  costs  about  double  the  sum. 

*^ Morton* s  improved  grain  drill-machine  is  de- 
cidedly the  simplest  and  best  of  corn  dnlls.  In 
this  machine  three  hoppers  are  included  in 
one  box,  the  seed  escaping  out  of  all  the  three 
by  the  revolution  of  three  seed  cylinders  upon 
one  axle ;  and  drills  of  different  breadths  are 
produced  simply  by  the  shifting  of  a  nut,  that 
fixes  a  screw  moving  in  a  groove  in  the  under- 
420 


frame,  by  which  the  distance  between  the  two 
outside  conductors  and  the  central  one  (which 
is  fixed)  can  be  varied  from  9  to  10  or  11 
inches;  and  that  the  two  small  wheels  may 
always  be  at  the  same  distances  respectively 
as  the  conductors,  there  are  two  washers  (hol- 
low cylinders),  an  inch  in  breadth,  on  the  axle- 
arms  of  each,  which  may  be  transferred  either 
to  the  outside  or  inside  of  the  wheels,  so  as  to 
make  their  distances  from  the  outside  con- 
ductors 9,  10,  or  11  inches  respectively  also. 
The  small  wheels  may  be  raised  or  depressed, 
so  as  to  alter  the  depth  at  which  the  seed  shall 
be  deposited,  by  the  action  of  a  wedge,  which 
retains  the  upright  part  of  the  axle  in  any  one 
of  a  number  of  notches,  which  are  made  simi- 
larly in  both,  and  which  are  caught  by  an  iron 
plate  on  the  upper  side  of  the  arms  which  carry 
the  axles.  This  machine  may  be  still  farther 
improved  by  increasing  the  number  of  con- 
ductors to  five  instead  of  three  ;  the  latter 
number  giving  too  light  work  to  the  horses." 
(^Highland  Soc.  Trans,  vol.  vii.) 

About  the  year  1790,  Henry  Baldwin  of 
Mendham,  near  Harleston  in  Norfolk,  a  farmer, 
aided  by  an  ingenious  workman  named  Samuel 
Wells,  then  in  his  employment,  improved  upon 
the  drill  known  as  Cooke's  drill,  which  by  this 
time  was  in  use  in  several  parts  of  Norfolk. 
The  improvement  consisted — first,  in  making 
a  sliding  axletree,  by  which  the  carriage  Avheel 
could  be  extended  at  pleasure  to  the  width  of 
the  "  stetches"  or  lands,  and  by  which  means 
another  box  with  cups  and  more  coulters  could 
be  used.  Thus  a  drill  containing  14  coulters 
could  be  enlarged  to  one  of  18  or  20.  Second, 
in  making  self-regulaling  levers,  to  which  the 
coulters  were  attached;  this  was  done  by  hang- 
ing each  coulter  on  a  distinct  lever,  placed  at 
right  angles  with  the  cross  bar  of  the  framing, 
upon  Avhich  each  lever  was  made  to  swing  by 
an  ordinary  hinge  joint,  and  had  a  movable 
weight  at  its  opposite  end,  to  press  the  coulter 
into  the  soil.  By  the  levers  being  thus  con- 
trived to  work  independently  of  each  other, 
they  accommodated  themselves  to  the  irregu- 
larity of  the  surface  of  the  land,  and  the  impe- 
diments which  they  might  meet,  without  dis- 
turbing the  whole.  The  above  were  two  very 
important  improvements  ;  and  they  are  both  in 
use  in  England,  to  this  day. 

Suffolk  Corn  and  Manure  Drill. — Following 
the  improvements  just  referred  to,  are  those  by 
James  Smyth  of  Peasenhall,  and  his  brother 
Jonathan  Smyth  of  Swefling,  who  have  been 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  upwards  of  40 
years.  A  brief  summary  of  which  is  as  fol- 
lows : — 1.  A  mode  of  adjusting  the  coulters  to 
distances  apart  from  each  other,  from  four  and 
a  half  inches  and  upwards.  2.  An  improved 
manure-box  and  cups,  for  the  delivery  of  ma- 
nure with  the  grain.  3.  A  plan  to  drill  in  ma- 
nure and  grain,  and  sow  small  seeds  at  the 
same  time.  4.  The  swing  steerage,  by  which 
means  the  man  attending  the  drill  can  move 
the  coulters  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  hand,  so 
as  to  keep  the  straight  and  parallel  lines  for 
sowing  the  seeds.  5.  Various  improvements 
in  gearing  and  driving  the  wheels,  barrel,  &c. 
An  engraving  taken  from  one  of  Smyth's  most 
perfect  grain  and  manure  drills  is  given  in 


GKAI.X     innLLS 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


Plate  14,  fig.   3,  by  the  description  we  have  | 
given  of  Cooke's  and  of  the  subsequent  im-  | 
provements  by  Baldwin,  Wells,  and  Smyth,  the 
plan  will  be  fully  understood. 

The  Suflfolk  grain  and  manure  drill  may  also 
be  arranged  for  sowing  turnips  and  manure  at 
the  same  time.  In  such  cases  the  corn-box 
has  to  be  exchanged  for  a  double  one,  in  one 
part  of  which  runs  a  spindle  with  brushes, 
where  the  turnip-seed  is  contained.  There  are 
small  copper  slides,  with  different  numbrrs, 
from  one  to  six  holes  pierced  in  them,  through 
which  the  seed  is  delivered  as  required.  The 
other  part  of  the  box  contains  the  manure, 
which  is  thrown  into  the  funnels,  and  these  are 
so  arranged  that  it  drops  into  the  earth  just 
before  the  seed. 

Morton's  improved  grain  drill,  is  spoken  o'' 
in  the  Highland  Society^s  Transaiiions,  (vol. 
vii.)  as  decidedly  the  simplest  and  best  of  grain 
drills.  A  description  and  cut  of  this  machine 
which  drills  3  rows,  is  given  in  Loud.  Encyc. 
of  Jgr.,  p.  409. 

Hornsby't  Patent  Drop  Drill  is  intended  for 
dropping  seed  with  manure  at  intervals,  but 
the  construction  of  it  is  very  different  from  the 
Suffolk.  In  this,  the  manner  of  regulating  the 
delivery  is  by  having  a  coulter  of  a  peculiar 
form  inside,  in  which  a  circular  box  revolves 
on  an  axle  which  passes  through  one  side 
thereof.  This  box  is  divided  into  compart- 
ments closed  by  small  doors,  which  are  kept 
ahut  by  a  spring  to  each ;  the  compartments  in 
the  box  are  supplied  through  a  series  of  fun- 
nels, the  end  of  the  lower  one  entering  one 
•ide  of  the  box  below  the  centre. 

On  the  machine  being  moved  forwards,  this 
box  revolves  by  means  of  appropriate  cog- 
wheels ;  and  as  each  spring  arrives  at  the 
ground,  the  door  to  which  it  is  attached  opens, 
and  the  contents  of  that  compartment  are  depo- 
sited, to  be  again  replaced,  when  it  arrives  at 
the  part  of  its  rotation  at  the  end  of  the  funnel, 
and  so  on  successively. 

GrounseWs  Patent  Drop  Drill— This  drill  is 
for  the  purpose  of  depositing  corn,  grain,  pulse, 
and  manure  at  huervah,  the  distances  of  which 
may  be  regulated  at  pleasure.   (PI.  14,  fig.  4.) 

To  effect  the  purposes  above  mentioned,  a 
circular  iron  ring  is  fixed  about  midway  be- 
tween the  nave  and  rim  of  the  drill  carriage- 
wheel.  In  this  there  is  a  number  of  holes  to 
carry  a  series  of  studs,  which  may  be  varied 
according  to  circumstances;  and  as  these 
studs  come  in  succession,  when  the  wheel 
turns  they  open  valves  for  the  deliverv  of  the 
seed  and  manure,  which  close  again  immedi- 
ately the  stud  has  passed.  A  further  improve- 
ment is  by  the  adoption  of  projecting  arms  or 
shovels,  to  draw  the  manure  and  grain  to  the 
funnels,  instead  of  taking  the  same  up  in  cups 
in  the  way  adopted  in  other  drills. 

The  Messrs.  Ransome  give  the  following 
sketch  of  the  chief  modern  improvements  made 
in  the  drill,  which  have  greatly  added  to  its 
usefulness,  without  having  increased  its  cost. 

The  drills  usually  made  by  the  best  makers 
in  England,  are  of  several  kinds  ;  but  their  de- 
scription may  be  briefly  comprehended  under 
ihree  or  four  heads. 

I.  The  Common  Lever  Drill.    This  invaluable 


machine,  which  is  the  one  in  the  most  general 
use,  is  adapted  for  drilling  grain,  on  either  level 
grounds  or  ridges,  and  on  all  descriptions  of 
soil.  These  are,  as  we  have  stated  in  our  pre- 
vious description,  furnished  with  independent 
levers,  by  which  the  coulters  are  each  readily 
and  separately  made  to  avoid  any  rocks  or  ir- 
regularities of  the  ground,  and  a  "  press  steel- 
yard," to  force  the  coulters,  in  case  of  need, 
into  hard  ground,  with  a  varying  degree  of 
pressure,  according  to  the  texture  of  the  soil. 

These  coulters  can  now  be  set  so  as  to  drill 
the  corn  at  any  width,  from  4  inches  to  a 
greater  distance  ;  they  also,  if  required,  readily 
allow  of  the  introduction  of  the  horse-hoe ; 
and  from  being  placed,  by  another  excellent 
improvement,  in  double  rows,  they  admit,  when 
at  work,  of  large  stones,  &c.,  passing  between 
them,  of  a  size  that  was  not  possible  under  the 
old  plan  of  placing  the  coulters  in  one  line. 
These  are  also,  in  the  most  complete  drills, 
furnished  with  a  "  swing  steerage,"  by  which 
the  drill-man  keeps  the  rows  at  exact  or  even 
distances  from  those  which  have  been  previ- 
ously drilled  in  the  centre  of  the  ridge,  or  out 
of  the  furrows,  &c.  The  "  corn-barrel  "  of  this 
drill  is  made  to  deliver  from  two  pecks  to  6  or 
7  bushels  or  strikes  per  acre  of  any  kind  of 
grain  ;  and  they  have  an  additional  barrel  for 
drilling  turnips  and  mangel-wurzel,  &c.  And 
again,  these  barrels,  by  a  peculiarly  simple,  yet 
excellent  "regulator,"  are  kept  on  unequal, 
hilly  ground,  on  the  same  level;  so  that  the 
grain  is  evenly  delivered,  in  whatever  situation 
the  drill  may  be  placed. 

A  "  seed  engine"  is  also  sometimes  added  to 
this  drill,  by  which  the  grass-seeds  and  clover 
are  sown  at  the  same  time  as  the  grain,  and 
each  kind  of  seed,  if  required,  separately  ;  by 
which  plan  any  quantity  per  acre  of  the  seeds 
may  be  much  more  evenly  distributed,  than  by 
mixing  them  up  together.  For  these  seeds, 
being  of  different  sizes  and  weights,  are  in  the 
ordinary  seed  engines  very  apt  to  separate  in 
the  boxes;  and  thus  the  brushes  too  often 
deliver  them  in  unequal  proportions. 

The  weight  of  these  drills  necessarily  varies 
with  the  number  of  coulters ;  they  are  usually 
from  about  3  to  10  cwts.,  and  are  drawn,  accord- 
ing to  circumstances,  by  either  one,  two,  or  three 
horses ;  and  have,  if  required,  slip  axletrec  , 
with  which,  by  merely  adding  to  the  number 
of  the  coulters,  &c.,  the  driU  is  adapted  to  any 
breadth  of  land. 

2.  The  next  description  of  drill  to  which  I 
shall  allude,  is  The  Manure  DriU.  This  drill  is 
formed  very  readily,  by  merely  adding  to  the 
common  com  drill,  an  operation  which  any 
husbandman  can  perform,  "  a  manure  box.** 
It  is  a  simple  yet  accurately  working  appara- 
tus for  delivering  the  manure,  which,  :n  the 
best  drills,  it  does  with  great  evenness,  and  in 
quantities  varying  as  "  the  slip  "  is  placed,  from 
6  to  8  bushels  per  acre.  In  the  best  drills,  also, 
a  very  important  improvement  has  been  made 
within  the  last  few  years,  which  consists  in  the 
use  of  separate  coulters  for  manure  and 
seed.  The  manure  is  now  deposited  according 
to  the  mode  preferred  by  the  cultivator,  not 
only  from  2  to  3  inches  deeper  in  the  ground 
than  the  seed,  but  from  10  to  12  inches  in  ad- 
2  N  421 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


DRILL-MACHINES. 


vance  c  f  it,  so  as  to  give  the  soil  time  to  cover 
the  manure  before  the  next  coulters  deposit  the 
seed ; — whereas,  on  the  old  plan  of  depositing 
the  seed  and  the  fertilizer  together  down  one 
pipe,  an  evil  was  liable  to  arise  when  it  was 
used  with  some  of  the  more  powerful  artificial 
manures;  the  seed  and  the  manure  were  too 
clo5e  together,  and  the  manure  was  not  always 
dropped  in  what  is  commonly  its  best  positioi*, 
under  the  seed. 

3.  The  third  variety  of  drill  which  I  shall  no- 
tice, is  The  Northumberland  Frame  Manure  and 
Turnip  Ridging  Drill.  This  excellent  drill  is 
furnished  with  pressing  rollers  (one  to  each 
coulter),  which  form  the  land  into  ridges — and 
^precede  the  coulters.  These  deliver  in  separate 
coulters,  1st,  the  manure;  and  2dly,  the  seed; 
and  the  drill  is  provided  with  a  second  roller, 
which  follows  the  coulters  and  closes  the  rows. 
This  machine  drills  two  rows  at  a  time — 
weighs  only  about  1  cwt. — and  one  man  and 
a  horse  can  easily  drill  from  8  to  10  acres  per 
day. 

Besides  these  three  most  commonly  used 
drills,  there  are  several  others — such  as  the 
Two  Coulter  Seed  and  Manure  Lever  Drill ; 
this  has  a  swing  steerage,  to  which  we  have  be- 
fore alluded,  and  a  slip  axletree  to  vary  the 
distances  of  the  ridges — (for  this  valuable  im- 
plement a  prize  was  awarded  to  Mr.  Garret  at 
the  Cambridge  meeting).  To  this  a  set  of  hoes 
is  occasionally  attached,  furnished  with  inde- 
pendent levers  either  for  ridge-work  or  other- 
wise. 

There  are  in  England  many  other  varieties 
of  drills,  but  they  involve  no  particularly  use- 
ful principles,  if  we  except  the  drop  drills,  the 
chief  object  of  which  is  to  save  the  quantity 
of  manure.  In  these  the  seed  or  corn  is  mixed, 
and  deposited  with  the  manure. 

From  this  brief  enumeration  the  farmer  will 
see  that  the  modern  drill-makers  have  not  ne- 
glected their  duty,  in  the  adoption  of  every  im- 
provement calculated  to  simplify  and  render 
more  serviceable  the  common  and  the  manure 
drill ;  and  I  am  highly  gratified  to  be  able  to 
add,  that  there  is  now  every  prospect  of  their 
skill  and  enterprise  being  rewarded  by  the  cul- 
tivators of  our  country ;  for  I  find,  from  an 
eminent  maker,  that  the  demand  for  manure 
drills  has  within  the  last  two  years  been  greater 
than  ever  was  remembered  before. 

The  chief  advantages  of  the  use  of  the  drill, 
are  the  regular  deposition  of  the  seed  at  a 
uniform  regulated  depth,  from  which  arises  a 
considerable  saving  of  seed  (at  least  one-third) 
— and  the  facility  afforded  in  cleaning  the  land 
either  by  the  hand  or  horse-hoe.  The  import- 
ance of  these  results  is,  happily  for  our  coun- 
try, rapidly  becoming  generally  understood: 
and  the  result  of  experiments  which  I  witnessed 
to  a  considerable  extent,  upon  some  of  the  poor- 
est gravelly  soils  of  Surrey,  by  Mr.  Hewitt  Da- 
vis and  others,  convince  me  that,  by  the  use 
of  this  machine,  combined  with  careful  hoeing 
and  weedmg  the  crops,  a  saving  even  of  half 
the  usual  quantity  of  seed  now  used  by  the 
drill  may  be  effected.  And  again,  1  cannot  too 
often  urge  upon  the  farmer  of  the  upland  soils, 
lar  away  trom  supplies  of  manure,  the  use  of 
the  manure  drill,  and  those  fertilizers  expressly 
422 


prepared  for  its  use ;  since  by  these  one  ton  of 
manure  is  sufficient  for  three  acres  And  let 
the  farmer  remember,  that  it  is  not  only  the 
first  cost  of  all  manures  which  makes  them 
expensive,  but  the  comparative  labour  saved 
in  their  application,  which  must  also  be  taken 
into  the  account  when  the  cultivator  is  esti- 
mating their  value.  And  further,  let  him  re- 
member that  the  best  and  richest  farm  compost 
is  likely  to  convey  to  his  fields  a  multitude  of 
weeds,  the  cost  of  whose  removal  too  rarely 
forms  a  portion  of  such  comparative  esti- 
mates. 

The  patents  which  have  been  taken  out  in 
England,  during  the  last  half  century,  for  drill 
ploughs  and  improvements  in  sowing  machines 
form  a  long  list. 

The  advantages  derived  from  using  drill 
machines  for  sowing  wheat  and  the  other  small 
grains  have  been  summed  up  by  Mr.  Binns,  at 
a  meeting  of  an  English  agricultural  society, 
as  follows  : —  « 

1.  The  seed  is  delivered  with  regularity. 

2.  It  is  deposited  at  proper  depth. 

3.  The  weeds,  during  the  growth  of  plants, 
are  destroyed  with  great  facility. 

4.  The  plants  cultivated  receive  the  undi- 
vided benefit  of  the  soil  and  manure,  and  have 
not  to  maintain  a  constant  struggle  with 
weeds. 

5.  The  land  by  the  process  of  hoeing,  is  un- 
dergoing preparations  for  another  crop. 

6.  The  necessity  of  summer  fallowing  is 
avoided. 

7.  By  admission  of  the  sun  and  air  between 
the  rows,  a  stronger  and  healthier  plant  is  pro- 
duced, and  of  course  a  heavier  crop. 

8.  By  stirring  the  soil  it  is  more  susceptible 
of  benefit  from  the  atmosphere,  imbibing  more 
oxygen,  and  being  both  warmed  and  enricheo 
by  the  sun. 

9.  The  roots  shoot  freely  in  pulverized  soil. 

10.  By  drilling,  the  farmer  is  enabled  to  have 
heavier  crops  of  beans  and  wheat  on  light 
land. 

11.  Clover  and  grass-seeds  answer  incom- 
parably better  in  the  pulverization  produced 
by  hoeing,  independent  of  the  clearness  from 
weeds. 

12.  The  drills  give  facility  for  depositing 
smaller  portions  of  manure  with  greater  effect. 

"  These  advantages,"  says  the  editor  of  the 
Cultivator,  "  a,Te  all  self-evident  to  a  good  far- 
mer; and  it  might  have  been  added,  as  a  thir- 
teenth advantage,  that  drilling  economizes  seed, 
though  Mr.  Binns  rejects  it,  on  the  ground  that, 
if  the  plants  are  thin,  they  throw  out  side- 
shoots,  which  produce  imperfect  grain,  and  ri- 
pen unequally.  In  drill  husbandry,  Mr.  Binns 
afliirms,  fifty-six  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre 
have  been  raised  on  the  light  soils  of  Norfolk." 

It  is  believed  by  some  that  the  plan  of  sow- 
ing wheat  by  drill  machines  is  a  refinement  in 
agriculture  which  cannot  be  profitably  adopted 
in  the  United  States,  where  the  price  of  grain 
is  of  late  years  much  lower  than  in  England. 
The  introduction  of  the  practice  will  perhaps 
be  slow,  but  there  cannot,  we  think,  be  a  doubt 
of  its  final  general  adoption  in  all  the  best  cul- 
tivated wheat-growing  districts.  The  first  ex- 
pense of  the  machine  is  doubtless  the  princi 


DRILL  MACHINES. 


pal  obstacle  to  their  general  introduction,  as  to 
import  a  good  one  costs  between  $150  and 
J5200. 

An  admirable  drill  for  sowing  wheat  has 
been  invented  and  patented  by  Moses  Pennock 
and  son  Samuel,  of  Kennett  Square,  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania.  (See  Plate  14,  fig.  5.) 
It  has  been  used  for  several  years  in  the  south- 
em  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  adjoining  states, 
and  the  greatest  satisfaction  has  been  expressed 
for  its  performance. 

Peiinock's  drill  is  capable  of  sowing  8  acres 
of  wheat,  or  planting  15  ac^es  of  Indian  corn, 
per  day.  The  wheat  is  placed  in  boxes,  con- 
necting with  sowing  tubes  which  penetrate 
into  the  ground,  scattering  it  in  rows  9  inches 
apart,  and  covering  about  an  average  depth 
of  2^  inches.  If  one  or  more  of  the  tubes 
comes  in  contact  with  a  stone,  root,  or  other 
obstacle  beneath  the  surface,  a  small  chain  to 
which  it  is  attached  breaks  a  wooden  peg,  and 
thus  saves  the  machine  from  any  serious 
injury,  the  detention  being  only  a  few  seconds 
when  pegs  are  kept  on  hand.  The  prepara- 
tion of  the  ground  is  similar  to  that  adopted  in 
the  broad-cast  method.  The  machine  is  drawn 
with  great  ease  by  one  horse,  and  requires  but 
one  attendant,  in  sowing  wheat.  For  every 
bushel  sown  by  hand  in  the  ordinary  way,  the 
drill  saves  from  8  to  12  quarts.  The  machine 
is  easily  managed  and  not  liable  to  get  out  of 
order.  Besides  covering  the  wheat  much  more 
effectually  than  can  be  done  by  the  harrow,  it 
raises  ridges  about  3  inches  high  on  each  side 
of  the  tubes.  These  ridges  crumble  down  by 
the  action  of  the  frost  and  rains,  and  thus 
cover  the  young  plants  and  prevent  them  from 
being  thrown  out  during  the  freezing  and  thaw- 
ing of  the  ground  and  killed,  as  so  commonly 
occurs  in  the  winters  of  the  United  Slates. 
Samuel  Pennock,  the  junior  inventor,  has  for 
several  years  been  using  the  drill  extensively 
in  putting  in  crops.  His  usual  charge,  for 
the  use  of  a  machine,  including  the  horse  and 
his  own  services,  is  $4  per  day,  or  50  cents 
per  acre.  When  wheat  sells  for  $1,25  or  $1,50 
per  bushel,  the  seed  saved  will  pay  all  the 
expense  of  drilling,  (especially  when  the 
farmer  owns  the  drill),  the  crop  being  placed 
in  a  far  better  n  ndition  than  can  be  effected 
by  the  broad-cast  method,  as  will  be  evident 
from  a  consideration  of  the  various  advan- 
tages enumerated,  and  these  constitute  the 
chief  profit. 

When  the  machine  is  used  for  planting 
Indian  com,  (for  which  purpose  it  is  singu- 
larly well  adapted),  some  of  the  levers  are 
thrown  out  of  gear,  leaving  the  remainder  so 
arranged  as  to  strike  out  two  rows,  4^  feet  apart, 
in  which  the  corn  is  dropped  at  regular  dis- 
tances and  covered  with  about  3^  inches  of 
earth,  or  less  if  desired.  It  may  be  afterwards 
thinned,  but  must  of  course  be  always  tilled 
in  one  direction.  The  ground  is  flushed  and 
harrowed,  after  which  rows  9  feet  apart  are 
run  with  a  plough  and  one  horse,  in  which 
rows  the  horse  drawing  the  drill  walks  in  going 
and  reluming.  In  this  way  about  15  acres  of 
Indian  corn  may  be  planted  in  a  day,  and  thus 
a  considerable  saving  of  labour  is  effected  by 
the  owner  of  a  drill,  since  to  plant  the  same 


DRILL-MACHINES. 

number  of  acres  t^  hand,  in  the  usual  way, 
would  require  5  hands  equal  to  fifteen  days 
work,  with  the  addition  of  a  second  plough  to 
run  out  furrows,  and  two  droppers.  Although 
Pennock's  drill  costs  $100,  it  seems  evident 
that  the  saving  of  labour  in  planting  the  corn 
crop  will  more  than  pay  the  interest  and  wear 
and  tear  of  the  machine,  leaving  none  of  these 
charges  to  be  placed  against  the  wheat  crop. 
Persons  who  have  watched  the  progress  of 
corn  crops  planted  by  the  drill,  and  compared 
the  results  with  those  of  crops  planted  by  hand, 
say,  that  under  ordinary  circumstances,  a  gaia 
of  5  bushels  per  acre  may  be  fairly  credited  to 
the  drilled  corn.  Some  even  go  so  far  as  to 
say  that  drilling  has  added  one-fourth  to  the 
crop.  The  deep  covering  is  regarded,  where 
the  soil  is  perfectly  dry,  and  of  a  light  texture, 
as  a  very  great  advantage.  The  corn  will  at 
first  appear  backward,  but  is  soon  observed  to 
catch  up  and  outstrip  that  which  has  been  co- 
vered more  superficially.  It  is  also  placed 
more  out  of  the  reach  of  birds,  and  escapes 
injury  from  the  citt-tcomi,  and  hcurt-worm,  or, 
as  it  is  also  called,  bud-worm.  The  cut-worm 
usually  commits  its  depredations  by  night, 
taking  off  the  plants  at,  or  very  near,  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  whilst  by  day  it  cuts  a 
little  below  the  suriface.  Now,  when  corn  is 
deeply  covered  it  admits  of  being  topped,  with- 
out being  entirely  killed,  and  suffers  little  fur- 
ther injury  than  retardation. 

Pennock's  drill,  besides  sowing  beans,  peas, 
and  all  kinds  of  round  seeds,  including  ruta- 
baga, is,  like  Cooke's  English  drill,  capable  of 
being  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  a  horse-hoe, 
cultivator,  extirpator,  and  harrow,  by  the  ad- 
justment of  hoes,  harrow-teeth,  «kc.  Besides 
the  approbation  bestowed  on  Pennock's  drill 
by  individual  farmers,  for  some  of  whom  they 
have  sown  as  much  as  100  acres  a  season, 
several  public  institutions  have  awarded  pre- 
miums to  the  inventors,  among  which  we  may 
mention  the  Philadelphia  Agricultural  Society, 
Franklin  Institute  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Ame- 
rican Institute  of  New  York. 

It  would  be  a  desideratum  in  the  United 
States  to  have  drills  like  those  used  in  England, 
adapted  to  sowing  seeds  and  sprinkling  with 
them  at  the  same  time  some  of  the  concen- 
trated manures,  such  as  bone-dust,  poudrette, 
&c.  But  this  again,  like  every  other  addition, 
must  increase  the  cost,  already  so  great  an 
obstacle. 

As  yet  the  drill  system  in  the  United  States 
has  been  principally  confined  to  sowing  tur- 
nips and  beets,  and  sometimes  Indian  corn. 
The  results  with  many  who  have  had  good  im- 
plements and  known  how  to  use  them,  has 
been  a  conviction  of  their  utility  and  economy, 
especially  where  the  root  culture  has  been  ex- 
tensively carried  on.  One-rowed  drills  are 
almost  the  only  kind  to  be  met  with  in  the 
warehouses  where  agricultural  implements  are 
kept  for  sale. 

Drill-barrows  are  implements  furnished  with 
handles,  similar  to  those  of  a  wheel-barrow, 
and  designed  to  be  propelled  by  hand.  Among 
these  Willis's  Latest  Improved  Seed-sower  is  said 
to  be  the  best,  as  it  puts  the  seed  into  th« 
ground  with  regularity  and  in  the  best  manner . 

i23 


DRILL-ROLLER. 


DRY  ROT. 


It  opens  the  furrow,  drops  the  seed,  covers 
and  rolls  them  down.  It  will  sow  almost 
any  kind  of  garden  seeds,  such  as  beets,  ruta- 
baga, mangel-wurtzel,  carrots,  turnips,  pars- 
nips, onions,  &c.,  and  costs  $14. 

Buckminster*8  Seed-planter  is  of  simple  con- 
struction, and  has  been  found  to  answer  well 
for  planting  corn,  sugar-beet,  &c.  It  deposits 
the  seed  either  in  drill-rows  or  hills,  as  may  je 
desired.  When  the  ground  is  properly  pre- 
pared, a  man,  with  one  horse,  it  is  said,  can 
furrow  out,  drop,  cover,  and  press  down  the 
seed  on  an  acre  of  ground  in  one  hour,  or 
10  acres  in  a  day.  The  seed  is  covered  by 
falling  into  the  furrow  of  the  soil,  which  is 
finely  pulverized  by  a  row  of  cultivator  teeth. 
The  machine  will  bury  the  seed  3  inches  deep, 
if  desired — one  inch  being  the  general  rule  for 
Indian  corn,  and  only  one-fourth  of  an  inch 
for  turnips.  By  simply  turning  a  screw  one 
way  or  the  other  the  depth  is  Regulated. 

BevienCs  Improved  Turnip  Drill,  which  is  a 
modification  of  the  English  Northumberland 
Drill,  enjoys  a  good  reputation.  It  sows  beets, 
peas,  and,  generally,  all  kinds  of  ^ound  or  oval- 
shaped  seeds. 

Merchant's  Drill  Barroiv,  is  said  to  perform 
well,  and  is  recommended  by  its  simplicity  of 
construction  and  cheapness.  By  multiplying 
the  wheels,  or  rather  by  uniting  several  ma- 
chines, it  may  be  adapted  to  horse  power,  and 
thus  applied  to  field  culture  for  sugar-beets, 
ruta-bagas,  &c.,  and,  even,  it  is  said,  for  wheat 
and  other  small  grains. 

DRILL-ROLLER.  A  roller  so  contrived  as 
to  form  regular  small  incisions  or  drills  in  the 
ground  at  proper  depths  for  the  seed.  It  is 
merely  a  common  cylinder  roller,  generally  of 
iron,  about  seven  feet  long,  around  which  are 
put  cutting-wheels  of  cast  iron,  each  of  which 
generally  weighs  about  a  ton.  The  cutting 
wheels,  being  movable,  may  be  fixed  at  any 
distance,  by  means  of  washers. 

DROPSY.  In  farriery,  a  disease  incident  to 
horses,  and  sometimes  called  water-farc)'.  See 
Horses  and  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

DROPWORT,  WATER  ((Enanthe).  Smith 
{Eng.  Flor.vol.  ii.  p.  68),  describes  five  species 
in  England.  The  common  water-dropwort ; 
the  parsley  water-dropwcrt ;  sulphur-wort  wa- 
ter-dropwort;  the  fine-leaved  water-dropwort; 
and  the  hemlock  water-dropwort.  They  are 
aquatic  herbs,  perennials,  and  biennials ;  fetid, 
and  often  poisonous ;  found  in  ditches,  ponds, 
and  other  watery  places.  The  first  three  spe- 
cies are  not  reckoned  poisonous ;  but  the  last 
{(Enanthe  crocata),  is  perhaps,  in  its  fresh  state, 
the  most  virulent  of  British  plants.  Brood 
mares,  according  to  Sir  Thomas  Frankland, 
sometimes  eat  the  root,  and  are  poisoned  by 
it.  The  root  consists  of  many  fleshy  knobs, 
resembling  parsnips  externally,  abounding 
with  an  orange-coloured,  fetid,  and  very  poi- 
sonous juice,  such  as  exudes  less  plentifully 
from  all  parts  of  the  herb  when  wounded.  The 
stem  is  from  two  to  five  feet  high,  much  branch- 
ed, somewhat  forked,  and  hollow.  The  leaves 
are  of  a  dark  shining  green,  and  doubly 
pinnate.  The  flowers  are  white,  or  tingec 
with  purple,  very  numerous  and  crowded. 
Two  or  thre<  species  of  cowbane  are  enu- 
424 


merated  in  the  United  States,  where  the  plant 
is  believed  to  be  an  active  poison,  particularly 
to  horned  cattle,  when  eaten  by  them ;  for  which 
reason  it  should  be  eradicated  from  all  pas- 
tures where  it  is  discovered.  (Darlington's 
Flor.  Ces.) 

DROSOMETER  (from  the  Greek).  An  in- 
strument constructed  for  measuring  the  quan- 
tity of  dew  that  collects  on  the  surface  of  a  body 
exposed  to  the  open  air  during  the  night.  The 
first  instrument  for  this  purpose  was  proposed 
by  Weidler.  It  consisted  of  a  bent  balance 
which  marked  in  grains  the  preponderance 
which  a  piece  of  glass  of  certain  dimensions, 
laid  horizontally  in  one  of  the  scales  had  ac- 
quired from  the  settling  and  adhesion  of  the 
globules  of  moisture.  A  simpler  and  more 
convenient  drosometer  would  be  formed  on 
the  principle  of  the  rain  guage ;  and  in  order 
to  facilitate  the  descent  of  the  dew  down  the 
sides  of  the  funnel  into  the  tube,  a  coat  of 
deliqueate  salt  of  tartar  may  be  spread  over 
the  shallow  surface.  Dr.  Wells,  in  making 
his  celebrated  experiments  on  dew,  exposed  a 
small  quantity  of  wool  to  the  open  sky,  and  the 
difference  in  its  weight  when  laid  down  and 
taken  up  showed  the  quantity  of  moisture  it 
had  imbibed  in  the  interval.  (Brande^s  Diet, 
of  Science.) 

DROUGHT.  The  eflfect  of  long-continued 
dry  weather,  or  the  want  of  rain:  when  appli- 
ed to  animals,  it  signifies  thirst,  or  want  of 
drink. 

DRUDGE.  An  implement  of  the  rake  or 
harrow  kind,  peculiar  to  West  Devonshire.  It 
is  a  sort  of  long  heavy  wooden-toothed  rake, 
the  teeth  being  broad,  and  placed  with  the 
wide  or  flat  side  foremost.  It  is  drawn  by 
horses  or  oxen,  and  made  use  of,  in  paring  and 
burning  operations,  to  collect  the  broken  parts 
or  fragments  of  the  sward  which  have  been 
loosened  by  the  operation  of  the  plough  and 
harrow. 

DRY  ROT.  The  name  of  a  disease  which 
attacks  wood,  rendering  it  pulverulent  by  de- 
stroying the  cohesion  of  its  parts.  It  fre- 
quently depends  on  fungous  plants,  which  are 
nourished  upon  the  sap  in  the  wood,  and  by 
taking  that  away  destroy  the  cohesive  property 
of  the  woody  particles.  The  fungi  most  de- 
structive are  the  Merulius  lacrymans,  the  Po/r/- 
ponis  destructor,  and  several  species  of  Sparo- 
trichium.  The  production  of  these  fungi  is 
favoured  by  whatever  causes  the  sap  remain- 
ing in  the  wood  to  ferment;  as,  for  example, 
defect  of  ventilation.  In  the  old  cathedrals 
and  other  public  edifices,  the  dry  rot  never  ap- 
peared, because  care  was  taken  to  ventilate  the 
beams.  It  occurs  among  the  timbers  of  ships, 
where  it  sometimes  commits  the  most  serious 
damage  and  in  damp  ill-ventilated  houses.  Mr. 
Batson,  in  the  Trans,  of  Soc.  for  Encour.  of  jlrts, 
recommended  charring  as  a  preventative. 
Some  excellent  advice  is  also  given  on  this 
subject  in  a  paper  by  Mr.  Hart, "  On  the  Cause 
of  Dry  Rot  in  the  Larch  and  other  Trees** 
(Trans.  High.  Soc,  vol.  iv.  p.  395).  Steeping 
wood  in  a  dilute  solution  of  corrosive  subli- 
mate, (Kyanizing,)  solution  of  acetate  and 
sulphate  of  copper,  (Megary's  process,)  con- 
centrated solution  of  chloride  of  zinc,  (Bur- 


DUCK. 


DI^K. 


nettizing,)  earthy  and  metallic  solutions,  such 
as  sulphate  of  iron  and  carbonate  of  soda,  all 
have  been  found  but  partially  effective. 

The  most  promising  method  is  that  recently 
proposed,  namely,  charging  wood  with  the 
oleaginous  constituents  of  coal-tar,  containing 
carbolic  acid,  paraphine,  etc.,  at  high  temper- 
atures, and  thus  rendering  it  capable  of  pres- 
ervation, in  all  situations,  to  an  indefinite  period. 

DUCK  (Dutch  Ducker,  to  dip;  Lat.  aiMs). 
There  are  many  varieties  of  ducks  described 
by  naturalists,  but  only  two  are  to  be  found  in 
our  farm-yards ;  namely,  the  common  duck 
and  the  Muscovy  duck.  The  common  duck  is 
a  useful  and  economical  bird,  requiring  little 
care.  It  is  perfectly  independent,  if  there  is 
only  a  pond  or  mud  hole  to  dabble  in ;  for 
moisture  is  its  element,  and  it  cannot  thrive 
without  it.  One  drake  is  surticient  for  eight  or 
ten  ducks.  Duck  hovels  should  be  kepi  very 
clean  and  warm,  with  a  row  of  boxes  inside 
to  induce  the  duck  »o  lay  her  eggs  in  ihera  ; 
otherwise  in  the  Jaymg  season  she  drops  her 
egg  in  the  water,  or  on  the  bare  ground,  or 
seeks  by-places,  where  the  eye  of  the  vigilant 
housewife  cannot  penetrate.  For  this  reason, 
it  is  better  not  to  let  them  out  very  early  in  the 
morning  during  the  laying  months,  which  are 
March,  April,  and  May.  Their  hovel  should 
be  well  secured  from  the  entrance  of  foxes, 
polecats,  weasels,  &c.,  and  it  should  be  de> 
fended  from  wind  and  weather.  Ducks  **  feed 
themselves"  a  great  part  of  the  year,  as  they 
are  gross  eaters ;  loving  every  sort  of  garbage, 
such  as  offal,  earthworms,  caterpillars,  sweep- 
ings of  barns,  residue  of  breweries,  slugs,  toads, 
spiders,  and  insects.  In  this  particular,  they 
are  admirable  gardeners,  effecting  more  in  one 
night  than  two  gardeners  could  perform  in  a 
week  towards  clearing  a  garden  of  slugs,  snails, 
and  caterpillars.  The  waters  which  ducks 
frequent  should  contain  no  leeches.  If  a  por^d 
has  any  leeches  in  it,  put  in  a  few  tench,  which 
will  soon  devour  them.  The  herb  henbane 
should  also  be  carefully  rooted  up  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  ducks  and  poultry  in  gene- 
ral, from  its  poisonous  qualities.  A  duck  lays 
from  50  to  60  eggs  between  the  months  of 
March  and  May,  which  are  as  nourishing  in 
their  quality  as  hen's  eggs.  The  duck  is  not 
naturally  inclined  lo  sit,  but  let  her  always  sit 
upon  her  own  eggs  if  possible.  It  is  observed 
that  they  do  not  like  sitting  upon  strange  eggs, 
and  that  they  even  suffer  pain  by  it.  Let  her 
nest  be  remote  and  quiet  from  alarms.  While 
the  duck  is  sitting,  her  food  should  be  placed 
near  her,  and  doled  out  sparingly.  They  sit 
closer  if  not  fed  too  profusely.  The  food 
should  be  very  moist.  The  young  ducklings 
are  hatched  in  a  month,  and  then  the  mother 
should  be  put  in  a  coop  for  some  time,  or  she 
will  carry  her  brood  immediately  to  the  water, 
and  lire  them ;  besides  which,  many  perish 
with  cold.  They  should  be  allowed  to  get 
strong  first  Many  housewives  prefer  setting 
duck  eggs  under  hens  and  hen  turkeys,  in  or- 
der to  prevent  this;  but  if  the  duck  is  secured, 
the  end  is  answered.  Let  the  ducklings  have 
^dishes  of  water  near  the  coop  lo  dabble  in, 
and  feed  them  when  out  of  the  egg-shell  with 
54 


bread  crumbled  in  milk,  for  a  few  days.  Nettle, 
leaves  boiled  tender  and  chopped  very  small, 
made  into  a  paste  with  barley  meal,  is  also  a 
warm,  wholesome  food.  When  the  duck- 
lings gain  strength,  give  them  plenty  of  raw 
potherbs  well  chopped,  mixed  with  soaked 
bran,  barley,  mashed  potatoes,  mashed  acorns, 
or  fish,  if  near  the  coast.  Ducklings  intended 
for  the  table  should  not  be  allowed  to  swim 
about  much ;  it  keeps  them  lean.  Early  ducks 
are  valuable.  They  should  be  confined  to  their 
hovel  or  to  a  coop  during  the  process  of  fat- 
tening, and  fed  there  for  one  month  upon  oats 
and  water  in  clean  troughs.  It  is  of  no  use 
giving  them  musty  oats:  they  will  no  more 
fallen  upon  musty  oats  than  we  can  thrive 
upon  musty  bread.  Do  4;iot  try  to  fatten  them 
either  upon  garbage.  It  gives  the  flesh  a  bad 
taste.  Boiled  rice  is  a  nice  delicate  variety 
of  food.  The  fine,  white  Aylesbury  breed  are 
the  most  profitable  and  the  handsomest  duck. 
They  are  also  the  earliest  in  laying  and  setting. 

I  will  give  a  recipe  for  salting  ducks,  as  they 
are  done  in  Brittany:  it  is  economical  and 
excellent  food.  Two  days  after  the  well-fatted 
ducks  are  killed,  cut  them  open  at  the  inferior 
pari,  and  draw  away  the  thighs,  wings,  and 
flesh  of  the  stomach  and  rump.  Put  the 
whole,  with  the  neck  and  tip  of  the  rump  in  a 
tub  of  salt,  with  a  little  nitre  and  a  few  bay 
leaves  mixed  in  it,  to  give  the  flesh  a  fine  red 
colour.  Cover  it  up  in  the  salt  a  fortnight; 
then  cut  the  fowl  in  four  quarters,  lard  it  with 
cloves,  and  put  it  into  a  pot  or  pots,  with  some 
spice. 

Duck  feathers  are  very  profitable,  and, 
mixed  with  those  of  the  goose,  make  good 
pillows,  dec.  The  feathers  should  be  plucked 
in  May  and  September,  while  the  duck  is  yet 
warm  after  death.  Dry  the  feathers  in  bags  ia 
the  oven  after  ihe  bread  has  been  withdrawn, 
and  repeat  the  process  several  times.  See 
Feathers. 

DUCK,  THE  MUSCOVY  (Jnas  Moschata), 
a  native  of  South  America,  is  a  gaudy-looking 
large  bird,  often  introduced  into  our  farm- 
yards, but  not  much  approved ;  more  for  show 
than  use.  Their  flesh  is  not  so  good  to  eat  as 
that  of  the  common  duck,  and  the  drake  is 
very  tyrannical  in  attacking  the  poultry,  and 
causing  an  uproar  in  the  peaceful  homestead, 
besides  spoiling  a  superior  breed. 

DUCK,  THE  WILD  (.Anas  boschas,  Linn.), 
is  rather  less  in  size  than  the  tame  duck,  but 
differs  little  in  plumage;  it  weighs  usually 
about  2^  lbs.,  but  has  been  known  to  reach  3^ 
In-shore  shooting  of  wild  ducks  is  considered 
to  be  legitimate  sporting  about  the  middle  of 
August,  when  the  flappers,  or  young  ducks, 
have  begun  to  take  wing.  The  last  Game  Act 
in  England  has  a  clause  to  prevent  wild-fowl 
being  killed  from  the  last  day  of  March  to  the 
1st  of  October,  and  this  applies  equally  to 
shooting  and  taking  them  in  decoys.  The  wild 
ducks  pair  in  the  spring,  build  their  nest 
among  rushes  near  the  water,  and  lay  from  10 
to  16  eggs.  ( Willich's  Dom.  Ency.)  For  descrip- 
tions of  the  numerous  species  of  the  wili 
duck  found  in  the  United  States,  see  Nuttall'i 
Ornithology  of  Water  Birds. 

2  2r  2  425 


DUCK'S  FOOT. 


EAR. 


DUCK'S  FOOT  (PodoplnjUum  ;  a  bridged 
from  anapoihphyllum,  a  word  signifying  a  duck's 
foot,  as  the  leaves  bear  some  resemblance  to 
it).  This  plant  requires  a  moist,  shady  situa- 
tion, and  to  be  grown  in  peat  soil ;  increased 
by  division  at  the  root.     {Paxtoii's  Hot.  Dirt.) 

DUCKWEED  (Lanna).  A  genus  of  minute, 
herbaceous,  floating  plants,  consisting  of  four 
species,  all  of  which  are  natives  of  England, 
and  grow  abundantly  in  ponds,  ditches,  and 
stagnant  waters.  They  are  in  flower  from 
June  to  .\ugust.  Duckweed  is  a  small  green 
herb,  consisting  of  little  roundish  leaf-like 
disks.  It  is  not,  perhaps,  generally  known  that 
duckweed,  if  allowed  to  spread  itself  over 
ponds  and  stews,  in  which  fish  are  preserved, 
will  ultimately  destroy  them,  by  its  forming  a 
compact  mat  upon  the  surface,  thereby  prevent- 
ing the  fish,  when  they  rise  to  the  surface  of 
the  water  for  air,  from  breathing.  It  should 
on  this  account  be  abstracted  diligently  with  a 
rake,  or  some  such  implement,  and  kept  under 
before  it  attains  an  ascendency,  which  it  will 
do  in  a  very  short  time  if  not  seasonably  with- 
drawn. The  quantities  of  fish  that  perish 
under  the  influence  of  this  weed  are  incal- 
culable. Ducks  feed  upon  the  "  lemna"  with 
surprising  avidity,  and  thence  it  derives  its 
name  (duck's  meat  or  duckweed).  Ducks,  by 
dabbling  and  grovelling  in  foul  pools,  where  it 
predominates,  and  its  adhering  to  their  feathers, 
are  in  the  habit  of  introducing  it  into  other 
waters,  where  it  never  appeared  before.  (Eng. 
Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  31 ;   WilUchh  Bom.  Ency.) 

DUN  (Sax.  t>un).  A  colour  partaking  of 
brown  and  black,  frequent  in  horses. 

DUNES  (Ang.-Sax.  law  hills).  Hills  of 
movable  sand,  which  are  met  with  along  the 
sea  coast  in  various  parts  of  Great  Britain, 
Ireland,  and  the  Continent.  {Brande's  Diet,  of 
Science.) 

DUNG  and  DUNGHILL.  See  Farm-yakd 
DuNo  and  Compost. 

DURHAM  CATTLE.     See  Cattlb. 

DUST  BRAND.  One  of  the  local  names 
for  the  smut  in  wheat.  • 

DUTCH  ASHES.     See  Ashes. 

DUTCH  ELM  (Ulmus  subcrosa).     See  Etx. 

DWARF  BAY.    See  Mezereox. 

DWARF  ROSE  BAY.  See  Mountaix 
Laurel. 

DWARF  BERRIES.     See  Niohtshade. 

DWARF  OAK.  A  shrub,  sometimes  em- 
ployed for  making  live  fences.  It  grows  very 
fast,  and  becomes  thick  by  cutting  very  ra- 
pidly. 

DYKE  (Sax.  tJic;  Erse,  dyk).  A  sort  of  wall 
or  mound  formed  of  earth  or  turfs.  In  Scot- 
land it  is  applied  to  any  wall  round  a  field. 
See  Ditch. 

DYNAMOMETER  (Gr.  «fyy*^/f,  power,  and 
/xtTgoK,  measure).  An  instrument  for  measur- 
ing power  of  any  kind,  as  the  strength  of  men 
and  animals,  the  force  of  machinery,  &c. 
Some  interesting  results  relating  to  the  average 
strength  of  men  at  different  ages,  and  of  dif- 
ferent weights  and  sizes,  have  been  produced 
by  M.  Quetelet  of  Brussels,  from  numerous 
experiments  with  Regnier's  dynamometer,  one 
of  the  most  convenient  that  is  made. 

It  consists  of  two  flat  plates  of  steel  of  a 
426 


curved  form,  increasing  in  thickness  towards 
the  ends,  which  unite  into  solid  cylindrical 
loops ;  the  curved  sides  of  the  plates  being 
placed  opposite  to  each  other,  and  the  whole 
forming  an  entire  elliptic  spring.  On  the  ap- 
plication of  this  instrument  as  a  link  in  the 
line  of  draught,  the  oval  becomes  lengthened 
in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  force  acting  on 
the  loops  in  opposite  directions,  and  the  curved 
sides  approach  more  nearly  towards  each 
other  accordingly.  The  degree  of  approxima- 
tion in  the  plates  is  shown  on  the  scale,  in 
divisions  corresponding  to  half  and  whole  hun- 
dred weights,  by  means  of  a  cross  rod  secured 
to  one  plate  acting  on  a  crank  attached  to  the 
opposite  one,  thus  communicating  its  effect  to 
the  lever  index,  which,  moving  over  the  divi- 
sions of  the  scale,  marks  the  varying  degree 
of  force  exerted  each  moment  by  the  draught 
to  which  the  instrument  is  subjected. 

Messrs,  Cottam  and  Hallen,  engineers  and 
agricultural  implement  makers,  of  Winsley 
street,  Oxford  street,  London,  have  recently 
patented  an  improved  dynamometer,  contrived 
with  the  intention  of  obviating  the  continual 
vibration  of  the  indicator  of  the  dynamometer 
formerly  in  use,  which  was  caused  (with  refer- 
ence to  the  plough)  by  the  obstructions  met 
with  in  the  soil  through  which  it  was  passing. 
These  vibrations  were  so  incessant,  that  the 
indicator  could  scarcely  be  discerned  during 
the  experiment.  The  improvement  consists  in 
the  attachment  of  a  small  brass  pump  filled 
with  oil,  the  piston  of  which  has  one  or  two 
small  apertures.  There  being  no  outlet  from 
the  pump,  it  is  evident  that  when  any  shock 
occurs,  caused  by  a  stone,  root,  &c,,  the  oil 
having  to  pass  from  one  side  of  the  piston  to 
the  other,  the  suddenness  is  greatly  diminished 
by  the  resistance,  producing  a  corresponding 
eflfect  upon  the  pointer,  which,  as  these  shocks 
are  rapid,  vibrates  nearer  the  actual  draught 
of  the  machine ;  which  is  the  object  in  view, 
and  not  the  measurement  of  any  impediment, 
but  a  mean  result  of  the  whole.  Mr.  Pusey,  in 
his  "Experimental  Inquiry  on  Draught  in 
Ploughing"  (Journ.  Ray.  Eng.  Agr.  Soc.  vol,  i.  p. 
219),  speaks  very  favourably  of  this  draught- 
guage,  and  remarks  {Ilnd.  p.  222):  "Such  is 
the  goodness  of  Mr,  Cottam's  new  draught- 
guage,  that  we  scarcely  ever,  I  believe,  differed 
by  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  hundred  weight, 
and  often  agreed  to  an  eighth,  or  one  stone," 

DYSENTERY  (Fr.  dysenterie).  See  Sheep, 
Diseases  of. 


E, 


EAR  (Sax.  eajie;  Lat.  auris).  The  organ  of 
hearing  in  animals.  In  a  horse,  the  ears  should 
be  small,  narrow,  straight,  and  the  substance 
of  them  thin  and  delicate.  They  should  be 
placed  on  the  very  top  of  the  head;  and  their 
points,  when  stiled  or  pricked  up,  should  be 
nearer  together  than  their  roots.  When  a 
horse  carries  his  ears  pointed  forwards,  he  is 
said  to  have  a  bold  or  brisk  ear.  In  travelling, 
it  is  considered  an  advantage  when  the  horse 
keeps  them  firm.  The  exterior  ears  of  the 
horse  are  merely  organs  for  collecting  t.ound 


EAR  MARK. 


EARTHS. 


consequently,  he  has  a  complete  power  over  I 
the   muscles  attached  to  them,  and  can  turn  i 
thera  in  every  direction.      It  is  probable  that ' 
the  organ  of  hearing  is  the  safeguard  of  the 
horse  in  his  natural  state.  He  is  ill  adapted  for 
combat ;  his  swiftness  of  foot  and  his  acute- 
ness  of  hearing  are  therefore  requisites  to  him 
of  the  utmost  importance. 

EAR  MARK.  A  mark  on  the  ear  by  which 
shepherds  know  their  sheep.  Cattle,  hogs,  and 
other  animals  are  sometimes  marked  in  the 
same  way,  by  notching,  clipping,  or  slitting 
the  ear. 

EARNEST  (Sax.  connerr ;  Tr.arrhes;  Dan. 
etnitz penge).  In  commercial  law,  the  sum  ad- 
vance^ by  the  buyer  of  goods  in  order  to  bind 
the  seller  to  the  terms  of  the  agreement.  As  to 
what  amounts  to  sufficient  earnest,  Blackstone 
lays  it  down,  that  "  if  any  part  of  the  price  is 
paid  down,  if  it  is  but  a  penny,  or  any  portion 
of  the  goods  is  delivered  by  way  of  earnest,  it 
is  binding."  To  constitute  earnest,  the  thing 
must  be  given  as  a  token  of  ratification  of  the 
contract,  and  it  should  be  expressly  stated  so 
by  the  giver.  (Chilly's  Coin.  Law,  vol.  iii.  p.  289 ; 
M'CuUuch's  Cam.  Did.) 

EARS  of  Corn  (Sax.  Bhhep.V  The  spike 
or  head  containing  the  seeds  of  wheat,  Ac. 

In  the  United  States  the  terra  ear  as  applied 
to  grain,  refers  almost  exclusively  to  that  of 
Indian  corn. 

EARTH  (Sax.  eap©.).  This  word  was  an- 
ciently employed  to  signify  one  of  the  four 
elements  of  which  all  matter  was  supposed  to 
be  formed  ;  namely  air,  fire,  water,  and  earth.  In 
the  present  period,  the  word  in  common  lan- 
guage has  two  meanings  ;  it  implies  either  the 
globe  we  tenant,  or  the  soil  on  which  plants 
vegetate.  In  this  work  it  has  reference  to  the 
latter.  The  soil,  as  well  as  the  rocks,  &c.,  of 
which  our  planet  is  formed,  is  composed  of  a 
variety  of  substances,  such  as  lime,  silica, 
alumina,  magnesia,  &c.,  to  which  chemists 
long  since  gave  the  name  of  earths ;  and 
although  by  the  researches  of  Sir  H.  Davy  and 
others,  these  earths  have  been  shown  to  be,  in 
reality,  metallic  oxides — that  is,  metals  united 
with  oxygen — yet  the  term  earth  is  so  well  and 
so  extensively  known,  that  I  should,  even  if 
this  was  intended  to  be  a  chemical  dictionary, 
retain  it.  The  following  is  the  composition  of 
the  four  earths  most  commonly  met  with  by 
the  farmer  in  his  land,  or  in  the  crops  which  it 
supports : — 

Lime:  a  compound  of  a  peculiar  metal  called 


Silica,  which  is  by  modern  chemists  c.assed 
with  the  acids,  is  a  compound  of  a  metal  called 


Calcium 
Oxygen 


Alumina  (clay) :  a  compound  of, 
Aluminum  -.-... 
Oxygen        ...... 


71-42 
S8-58 

100 


5fl-895 
43105 


100 


Magnesia :  a  compound  of  the  metal 


Magneaiuia 
Oxygen 


40 


100 


Silicon 
Oxygen 


Parts. 

49888 
50113 

100 


In  this  place,  however,  our  business  is  with 
the  earths  only  so  far  as  their  uses  to  vegeta- 
tion are  concerned. 

EARTHS,  their  Use  to  Vegetation.  In  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  use  of  the  earths  to  vegeta- 
tion, not  only  as  regards  their  position  as 
necessary  portions  of  all  cultivated  soils,  but 
as  forming  the  essential  constituents  of  most 
vegetable  substances,  several  very  important 
circumstances  will  present  themselves  to  the 
notice  of  the  cultivator.  The  order  and  the 
regularity  with  which  these  earths  are  found  in 
plants  is  most  remarkable ;  the  harmony,  too, 
with  which  the  various  chemical  ingredients 
are  arranged,  the  uniform  manner  in  which 
they  are  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  the  plant  and 
distributed  in  its  juices,  cannot  escape  our  at- 
tention, nor  fail  to  excite  our  gratitude  for  the 
benevolence  and  the  wisdom  displayed  in  the 
contrivance.  Thus  we  shall  find,  as  we  pro- 
ceed in  our  researches  (to  give  only  a  single 
instance),  that  the  earth  silica  (flint)  abounds 
in  the  straw  of  the  wheal  plant,  where  its  pre- 
sence helps  to  imparl  the  requisite  degree  of 
strength  and  hardness  to  the  stem  ;  but  scarce- 
ly a  chemical  trace  of  this  earth  is  discoverable 
in  the  flour  of  the  seeds  of  the  same  plant,  for 
there  its  presence  in  our  food  would  be  worse 
than  useless. 

Let  not,  however,  the  reader,  when  he  is 
considering  the  discoveries  of  vegetable  che- 
mistry, feel  surprised  that  more  has  not  been 
accomplished  by  the  chemical  philosopher  in 
that  important  branch  of  science.  There  are 
many  reasons  why  the  discoveries  in  this 
branch  of  chemistry  have  been  gradual,  and 
only  by  slow  degrees  :  he  may  be  assured  that 
the  difficulties  which  attend  the  chemist  when 
he  is  investigating  the  properties  of  organic 
nlatter,  are  more  than  usually  numerous  ;  for 
the  living  plant,  in  many  instances,  seems  en 
dowed  with  powers  that  appear  even  to  nea 
tralize  the  effects  of  chemical  attraction  and 
repulsion  :  thus  the  earths  and  alkalies,  to  give 
one  instance  only,  are  often  found  in  juxtapo- 
sition with  uncombined  vegetable  acids.  The 
roots  of  most  plants,  also,  are  endowed  with  a 
remarkable  capacity  of  absorption ;  not  only 
do  they  absorb  water,  the  gases  of  the  atmo- 
sphere and  those  formed  by  putrefaction,  but 
they  take  up  earths,  alkalies,  and  saline  sub- 
stances ;  and,  besides  doing  this  with  a  regu- 
larity which  is  almost  unvaried,  they  exercise 
a  power  of  absorbing  certain  saline  bodies 
when  dissolved  with  others  in  water,  and  of 
leaving  the  others  in  solution,  which  shows 
them  to  be  endowed  with  properties  of  a  very 
remarkable  nature.  Some  curious  experiments 
were  long  since  made  by  M.  Saussure  on  this 
interesting  question.  "  When  various  salts 
were  dissolved  at  once  in  the  same  solutions,* 
says  Dr.  Thomson,  "  and  plants  made  to  vege 
late  in  them,  it  was  found  that  diflerent  propor 
tions  of  the  salts  were  absorbed.    The  follow* 

427 


EARTHS. 


EARTHS. 


ing  table  exhibits  the  results  of  these  trials, 
supposing  the  original  weight  of  each  salt  to 
have  been  100.  Each  solution  contained  one 
hundredth  part  of  its  weight  of  each  salt — 


Proporlioni 

abaorbed. 

,     <  Glauber  salt 
'■    (  Common  salt 

. 

_ 

. 

-     117 

_ 

. 

. 

-    220 

r  Glauber  salt 

_ 

_ 

. 

-      60 

2.  ■<  Common  sail 

. 

« 

_ 

-    100 

CAcetate  of  lime! 

- 

- 

- 

-      00 

On  examining  the  plants  the  salts  absorbed 
were  found  in  them  unaltered."  (Chemistry, 
vol.  iv.  p.  325.)  In  these  experiments  the  cul- 
tivator will  observe  that  the  plants  (which  were 
Spotted  Persicaria  (Polygonum  Persicaria)  and 
the  Bur-marigold  (Eidena  tripurtiia),  with  their 
roots  attached)  absorbed  the  common  salt  with 
avidity,  but  that  they  rejected  entirely  the  ace- 
tate of  lime.  The  earths  are,  in  all  probability, 
always  imbibed  by  the  plant  in  a  state  of  solu- 
tion ;  we  know,  in  fact,  that  both  lime  and 
silica  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  soluble  in  water, 
and  alumina  is  also  very  probably  absorbed  as 
a  component  of  some  of  the  soluble  salts  which 
contain  this  earth. 

The  part  which  the  earth  fulfils  in  the  sup- 
port of  plants  early  attracted  the  attention  of 
philosophers.  The  earthy  ashes  produced  by 
the  combustion  of  vegetable  substances  must 
have  very  soon  indicated  to  mankind  the  real 
truth  of  the  case,  that  there  were  certain  solid 
substances  found  in  vegetables  which  they 
could  only  derive  from  the  earth  they  tenanted. 
That  the  soil  furnished  its  earthy  matter  to  the 
plant  was,  therefore,  the  natural  conclusion  of 
some  of  the  Greek  philosophers  ;  and  although 
their  observations  in  this  way  were  commonly 
very  loose,  and  always  general,  yet  when  they 
decided,  which  they  did  with  all  gravity,  that 
earth,  air,  fire,  and  water  composed  every  thing 
on  the  earth,  the  vegetable  world  was  of  course 
included  in  the  list ;  they  still,  however,  thought 
that  the  chief  use  of  the  earth  to  plants  con- 
sisted in  keeping  them  upright,  and  furnishing 
them  with  a  sufficient  supply  of  moisture. 

When  the  ancient  naturalists  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  whole  earth  was  composed 
of  four  elements,  they  founded  their  decision 
upon  certain  rude  observations;  but  they  did 
not  stop  there,  they  proceeded  to  confuse  them- 
selves by  various  incomprehensible  or  delu- 
sive phrases,  such  as  more  modern  observers 
have  too  often  imitated.  Fire  they  regarded  as 
the  active  principle  of  the  universe,  the  source 
of  both  animal  and  vegetable  life,  the  cause 
of  renovation  and  decay.  Earth  they  consi- 
dered as  the  principle  of  fixity,  of  hardness, 
and  of  solidity.  These  rude,  though  sagacious 
observations,  the  early  chemists,  and  then  the 
alchemists,  strongly  confirmed  by  the  mode  in 
which  they  analyzed  vegetable  substances. 
They  had  only  one  mode  of  effecting  this,  that 
of  subjecting  them  in  a  retort  to  dry  or  de- 
structive distillation.  By  this  mode  the  results 
are  almost  always  the  same ;  first  the  water 
of  the  plant  comes  over ;  then  a  volume  of 
carburetted  hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid  gases 
is  driven  off;  and  finally  a  quantity  of  earthy 
matters,  mixed  with  various  salts  and  potash 
remains  at  the  bottom  of  the  retort.  We  need 
hardly  feel  surprised,  therefore,  that  after  such 
428 


an  analysis,  the  chemists  of  old  readily  agreed 
with  the  naturalists  that  earth,  air,  and  water, 
alone  formed  the  vegetable  world. 

Evelyn,  in  1674,  wrote  a  work  upon  earth, 
in  which  he  lauded  its  powers  with  much  en- 
thusiasm. "  What  shall  I  say,"  he  exclaims, 
"  Quid  Divinum  1  the  original  of  all  fecundity ; 
nor  can  I  say  less,  since  there  was  nor  sacri- 
fice nor  discourse  without  it."  And  in  another 
place  he  says  (for  Evelyn  was  exceedingly 
credulous),  "  Whatever  then  it  be,  which  the 
earth  contributes,  or  whether  it  contains  uni- 
versally a  seminal  virtue,  so  specified  by  the 
air,  influences,  and  the  genius  of  the  climate, 
as  to  make  that  a  cinnamon  tree  in  Ceylon 
which  is  but  a  bay  in  England^  is  past  my  skill 
to  determine ;  but  it  is  to  be  observed  with  no 
little  wonder,  what  M.  Bernier  in  his  history  of 
the  empire  of  the  Mogul  affirms  to,  as  of  a 
mountain  there,  which  being  on  one  side  of  it 
intolerably  hot  produces  Indian  plants,  and  on 
the  other  as  intemperately  cold,  European  and 
vulgar  plants."  There  is  much  valuable  mat- 
ter, however,  in  The  Terra  of  Evelyn,  whose 
modesty  enhanced  his  great  merits.  Thus,  in 
conclusion,  he  told  his  Fellows  of  the  Royal 
Society,  to  whom  his  valuable  essay  was  ad- 
dressed, that  it  was  merely  "  a  dull  discourse 
of  earth,  mould,  and  soil." 

Filzherbert,  the  earliest  English  writer  upon 
agriculture  (1532),  did  not  pay  any  attention 
to  earths,  beyond  the  usual  necessary  routine 
of  the  farm ;  he  confined  himself  entirely  to 
practical  details  :  not  a  trace  of  any  thing  like 
scientific  inquiry  is  to  be  found  in  his  Bake  of 
Husbandrye.  John  Worlidge,  who  published 
his  System  of  Agriculture  in  1669,  thought  it  ne- 
cessary, as  he  professed  to  "  unveil  the  mystery 
of  agriculture,"  to  give  the  cultivator  an  expla- 
natory chapter  on  the  food  of  plants,  in  what 
he  called  "a  plain  and  familiar  method,"  and 
this  he  did  in  the  true  jargon  of  the  alchemists; 
for  the  age  of  "the  transmuters"  was  not  yet 
over  when  Worlidge  wrote.  He  gave,  there- 
fore, the  husbandmen  of  those  days  a  disserta- 
tion upon  "the  universal  spirit,  or  spirit  of 
mercury,  the  universal  sulphur,  and  the  uni- 
versal salt ;"  but  still,  after  all,  he  thought  that 
the  earth  was  the  true  food  of  plants,  and  that 
all  the  operations  of  the  husbandman  only 
tended  to  enable  the  roots  of  the  plant  to  take 
up  more  earthy  matter,  and  he  devotes  a  chap- 
ter of  his  book  to  the  "  Soyls  and  Manures 
taken  from  the  Earth."  But  his  ideas,  like  those 
of  the  alchemists,  were  usually  a  mixture  of 
common  sense  and  absurdity,  too  closely  united 
to  be  always  readily  distinguishable  by  the 
good  sense  of  the  cultivator. 

Jethro  Tull,  who  wrote  between  1730  and 
1740,  considered  earth  to  be  the  sole  food  of 
plants.  "Too  much  nitre,"  he  tells  us  (p.  13, 
of  his  valuable  Book  on  Husbandry),  "cor- 
rodes a  plant,  too  much  water  drowns  it,  too 
much  air  dries  the  roots  of  it,  too  much  heal 
burns  it ;  but  too  much  earth  a  plant  can  never 
have,  unless  it  be  therein  wholly  '  uried :  too 
much  earth  or  too  fine  can  never  jjossibly  be 
given  to  their  roots,  for  they  never  receive  so 
much  of  it  as  to  surfeit  the  plant."  And  again, 
he  tells  us  in  another  place,  "  That  which  nou- 
rishes and  augments  a  plant  is  the  true  food 


EARTHS. 

of  it  Every  plant  is  earth,  and  the  growth  and 
true  increasfe  of  a  plant  is  the  addition  of  more 
earth."  And  in  his  chapter  on  the  "  Pasture  of 
Plants,"  Tull  told  his  readers  with  great  gravity, 
that  "  this  pasturage  is  the  inner  or  internal 
superficies  of  the  earth ;  or,  which  is  the  same 
thing,  it  is  the  superficies  of  the  pores,  cavi- 
ties, or  interstices  of  the  divided  parts  of  the 
earth,  which  are  of  two  sorts,  natural  and  arti- 
ficial. The  mouths  or  lacteals  of  roots  take 
their  pabulum,  being  fine  panicles  of  earth, 
from  the  superficies  of  the  pores  or  cavities, 
wherein  their  roots  are  included." 

Tull  wrote  with  all  the  enthusiasm  of  genius, 
and  carried  his  admiration  of  the  powers  of  the 
earth  to  support  vegetation  much  too  far ;  he 
was  deceived,  in  fact,  by  the  effects  of  his  finely 
pulverizing  system  of  tillage,  and  did  not  suffi- 
ciently attend  to  the  fact,  that  there  are  many 
other  substances  in  the  commonly  cultivated 
soils  of  the  farmer  besides  the  earths,  and  that 
so  far  from  their  being  always  the  chief  con- 
stituents of  the  soil,  they  very  often  form  the 
smallest  portion  of  even  a  highly  productive 
field. 

That  the  four  earths  of  which  all  cultivated 
soils  are  composed  are  all  the  necessary  food 
or  constituents  of  vegetables,  has,  long  since 
Tull  wrote,  been  decided  by  the  accurate  in- 
vestigations of  the  chemist.  Of  these,  lime, 
either  as  a  carbonate,  or  an  acetate,  or  a  sul- 
phate, is  by  far  the  most  generally  present  in 
plants ;  indeed,  in  one  form  or  another,  it  is 
rarely  absent  from  them.  The  presence  of 
silica  (flint)  is  almost  equally  general.  Mag- 
nesia is  less  usually  present,  or,  at  least,  it  ex- 
ists in  smaller  proportions ;  and  the  same  re- 
mark applies  to  alumina  (clay). 

The  quantity  of  the  earths  which  is  present 
in  various  vegetables  is,  therefore,  a  primary 
question  for  the  cultivator's  guidance.  This 
will  be  seen  from  the  following  tables ; — 

Parti. 

1000  parts  of  tbe  oak  contain  of  the  earths  1  030 

—  beech  —  0  453 

—  fir  —  0.003 

—  Turkey  wheat  (Indian  corn)     7*110 

—  sunflower  —  3720 

—  vine  branches  —  2-850 

—  box  —  2674 

—  willow  —  2-515 

—  elm  —  l-9fi0 

—  aspen  —  M46 
fern  —  3221 

—  wormwood  —  2444 

—  fumitory  —  14000 

The  proportions  of  the  earths  contained  in 
the  commonly  cultivated  crops  of  the  farmer 
have  been  ascertained  by  M.  Schraeder :  this 
able  chemist  obtained  from  thirty-two  ounces 
of  the  seeds  of  wheat  (Triticum  hyhernum),  of 
rye  (Secale  cereale),  barley  {Hordeum  vulgare), 
oats  (Jlvena  saliva),  and  of  rye-straw  the  fol- 
lowing results : — 


Silica  - 
Carbonate  of  lime 

"      of  magnesia 
Alumina      - 
Oxide  of  manganese 
Oxide  of  iron       - 

Wht»L 

Rye. 

Bariey. 

^^  sSr;. 

13-2 
126 
13-4 
06 
50 
25 

156 
13-4 
142 
1-4 
3-2 
09 

66-7 

248 

253 

42 

67 

3-8 

14402   1520 
33-75'    46-2 
3309     282 
4-05       3-2 
6  95       6-8 
4-05       2-4 

47-3      49-7  '  131-6  1  227-8  1238-8  | 

(Gehlen,  Journ,  vol.  iii.  p.  525.) 


EARTHS. 

The  earth  silica  or  flint  abounds  in  almost 
every  description  of  vegetable  matter,  espe- 
cially in  the  grasses  and  Equiselum  (horse-tail). 
In  the  Dutch  rush  it  is  so  plentiful  that  that 
plant  is  used  by  the  turner  to  polish  wood,  bone, 
and  even  brass.    It  forms  so  considerable  a 
portion  of  the  ashes  of  wheat-straw,  that  when 
these  are  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  blow- 
pipe, it  unites  with  the  potash  found  also  in  the 
straw,  and  forms  an  opaque  glass.    Davy  found 
it  most  copiously  in  the  epidermis  or  outer 
bark  of  the  plants  he  examined. 

Putt. 
100  parts  of  the  epidermis  of  bonnet-cane  contain 

of  silica    -        -        -        --        -        -        -    90-0 

100  parts  of  the  epidermis  of  bamboo-cane  contain 

of  silica    ---.--.-    71*4 
100  parts  of  the  epidermis  of  common  reed  contain 

of  silica    -..-----    48^1 

100  parts  of  the  epidermis  of  stalks  of  wheat  con- 
tain of  silica    -------      6-5 

In  the  joints  of  the  bamboo  a  concrete  sub- 
stance is  found,  which  Fourcroy  and  Vauque- 
lin  examined,  and  ascertained  that  it  consists 
of  70  parts  of  silica,  and  30  parts  of  potassa. 
This  substance,  which  is  named  tabasheer,  can 
only  be  furnished  by  the  soil.  {Gehlen,  vol.  iL 
p.  112.) 

This  earth,  according  to  M.  Saussure,  consti- 
tutes 3  per  cent,  of  the  ashes  of  the  leaves  of 
oak  gathered  in  May,  14-5  per  cent,  of  those 
gathered  in  September,  and  2  per  cent  of  the 
wood.  In  the  ashes  obtained  by  burning  the 
wood  of  the  poplar,  it  exists  in  the  proportion 
of  3*3  per  cent.;  of  the  hazel,  0*25  percent.; 
of  the  mulberry,  0*12  per  cent.;  of  the  horn- 
beam, ©•12  per  cent.;  0*5  per  cent,  in  peas  (Pi- 
turn  sativum);  61'5  in  the  straw  of  wheat;  0*25 
in  the  seeds  ;  57-0  per  cent  in  the  chaff  of  bar- 
ley ;  35-5  in  its  seeds ;  and  in  the  oat  plant  60 
per  cent 

Lime  is,  if  possible,  still  more  gAierally 
present  in  all  plants  than  silica.  "  The  salsola 
soda,"  says  Dr.  Thomson,  "  is  the  only  plant  in 
which  we  know  for  certain  it  does  not  exist." 
(Sy$t.  of  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  190.)  It  is,  however, 
united  with  carbonic  acid  as  carbonate  of  lime; 
or  it  exists  as  the  base  of  some  other  salt, 
such  as  in  oxalate  of  lime,  or  in  sulphate  of 
lime  (gypsum).  It  was  found  in  the  ashes  re- 
maining after  the  combustion  of  oak  wood,  at 
the  rate  of  32  per  cent,  by  M.  Saussure.  In 
that  of  the  poplar  at  the  rate  of  27  per  cent 
He  discovered  also  8  per  cent  in  those  from 
the  wood  of  the  hazel ;  56  in  those  of  the  mul- 
berry wood;  26  in  the  hornbeam;  14  in  the 
ripe  plant  of  peas  ;  1  per  cent  in  the  straw  of 
the  wheat,  but  not  any  in  its  seeds ;  12  in  the 
chaff  of  barley,  but  none  in  either  its  flour  or 
its  bran ;  neither  did  he  find  any  in  the  oat 
plant ;  but  then,  in  the  ashes  of  the  leaves  of 
the  fir  Pinus  ahies),  raised  on  a  limestone  hill, 
he  fou  id  43*5  per  cent 

Alumina,  as  I  have  elsewhere  observed,  is 
found  in  most  vegetables,  but  in  much  smaller 
proportion  than  either  silica  or  carbonate  of 
lim«,  and  the  same  remark  applies  to  magne- 
sia. M.  Schraeder  found,  as  v-e  have  before 
seen,  in  2  lbs.  weight  of  the  seeds  of  wheat 
only  j^ths  of  a  grain  of  alumina,  in  rye  ly^ 
grains,  in  barley  4y2n^  grains,  in  oats  4^  grains, 
and  in  rye-straw  3^^^  grains.  In  12  ounces  o 
wormwood  there  are  about  5  grains  of  ala 

429 


EARTHS. 


EARTHS. 


mina.  This  earth,  however,  necessarily  exists 
in  all  fertile  soils  as  the  food  of  plants ;  for 
although  the  proportions  in  which  it  is  found 
are  rather  small,  yet  still  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  its  presence  is  not  essential  to  the 
healthy  growth  of  the  plant.  M.  Saussure 
found  the  ashes  of  the  Pinm  abiesy  growing  on 
a  granitic  and  on  a  calcareous  soil,  to  contain 
nearly  the  same  quantity  of  alumina  (15  per 
cent,  on  the  calcareous  and  16  per  cent,  on  the 
granitic),  although  these  soils  differed  widely 
in  the  proportion  of  the  alumina  they  contained; 
for  100  parts  of  each  wood  were  composed  of: 


The  Granitic  Soil. 

Silica  -  •  • 
Alumina  -  -  - 
Lime  _  -  - 
Iron  and  manganese 


Fartt. 

7525 

13-25 

174 

900 

99  24 


The  Calcareoua  SoiL 
Carbonate  of  lime  ....  98000 

Alumina 0  625 

Oxide  of  iron 0  625 

Petroleum        ------    0025 

99-275 

{Thomson^ 8  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  317.) 

Such  are  the  earths  which  constitute  all 
cultivated  soils,  and  such  is  the  necessary  pro- 
portion in  which  they  form  the  constituent 
elements  of  some  of  the  plants  which  they  sup- 
port. In  the  soils  of  the  cultivator,  however, 
they  exist  in  an  endless  variety  of  proportions  : 
thus,  I  found  68-6  per  cent,  of  silica  in  the 
gravelly  soils  of  Great  Totham,  in  Essex,  and 
62  in  those  of  Kintbury,  in  Berkshire.  Davy 
discovered  about  50  per  cent,  in  the  soil  of  the 
Endsleigh  Pastures  in  Devonshire,  54  in  that 
near  Sheffield  Place  in  Sussex,  15  in  the  turnip 
soils  of  Holkham  in  Norfolk,  32  in  the  finely 
divided  matters  of  the  wheat  soils  of  West 
Drayton,  and  about  97  per  cent,  in  the  soil  of 
Bagshot  Heath.  Mr.  George  Sinclair  found 
about  66  per  cent,  in  the  grass  garden  ofWo- 
bum  Abbey. 

Of  alumina,  or  pure  earth  of  clay,  the  pro- 
portions are  equally  varying.  I  ascertained 
the  presence  of  4*5  per  cent,  of  this  earth  in  a 
gravelly  soil  of  Thurstable  in  Essex,  and  8-5  in 
one  at  Kintbury  in  Berkshire.  Mr.  G.  Sinclair 
found  14  per  cent  in  the  soil  of  the  grass  gar- 
den at  Woburn  Abbey.  Davy  detected  8*5  per 
cent  in  that  at  Endsleigh,  6*25  in  one  at  Croft 
Church  in  Lincolnshire,  7  in  that  in  Sheffield 
Place,  U  in  that  of  Holkham,  29  in  a  field  at 
West  Drayton,  and  about  1  per  cent  in  the  soil 
of  Bagshot  Heath. 

Of  carbonate  of  lime,  the  presence  is  just 
as  varying  in  amount  as  that  of  the  other 
earths.  I  found  18  per  cent  in  a  soil  at  To- 
tham, and  19  per  cent  in  a  soil  at  Kintbury; 
Sinclair,  2  per  cent  in  the  soil  of  the  Woburn 
Abbey  grass  garden.  Davy  discovered  8  per 
cent  in  that  from  Croft  Church,  3  per  cent  in 
that  of  Sheffield  Place,  63  per  cent  in  the  finely 
divided  matters  of  the  soil  from  Holkham, 
and  about  1  per  cent  only  in  the  soil  from 
Bagshot 

The  farmer,  however,  must  not  conclude,  that 
by  merely  mixing  the  pure  earths,  silica,  lime, 
and  alumina  together  in  the  most  frvtile  pro- 
43L 


portion,  a  soil  can  be  formed  on  which  plants 
will  flourish,  for  such  is  a  very  erroneous  con- 
clusion.   All  attempts  which  have  been  made 
to  make  plants  flourish  in  the  pure  earths  have 
failed  utterly  when  they  have  been  watered 
with  pure  water;  yet  a  totally  different  result 
I  have  invariably  experienced  when  I  have 
employed  an  impure  solution  or  liquid  manure. 
My    trials    have   been    entirely    supported   by 
those  of  M.  Giobert,  who  having  formed  of  the 
four  earths,  silica,  alumina,  lime,  and  magne- 
sia, a  soil  in  the  most  fertile  proportion,  in  vain 
essayed  to  make  the  plants  flourish  in  it  when 
watered  with  pure  water  only;  but  every  diffi- 
culty was  removed  when  he  moistened  it  with 
the  water  from  a  dunghill,  for  they  then  grew 
most  luxuriantly;  and  M.  Lampadius  still  fur- 
ther demonstrated  the  necessity  for,  and  the 
powers  of  such  an  addition  to  the  soil ;  for  he 
formed  plots  composed  only  of  a  single  earth — 
namely,  pure   lime,    pure  alumina,   or    pure 
silica — and  planted  in  each  different  vegeta- 
bles, watering  them  wath  the  liquid  drainings 
from  a  dunghill,  and  he  found  that  plants  on 
all  of  them  flourished  equally  well.    The  solu- 
ble matters  of  a  soil  ever  constitute,  in  fact,  its 
most  fertilizing  portion  ;  and  if  by  any  artificial 
means  the  richest  mould  is  deprived  of  these, 
as  by  repeated  washings  in  cold  or  boiling 
water,  the  residuum  or  remaining  solid  matter 
is  rendered  nearly  sterile.     This  fact,  first  ac- 
curately demonstrated  by  M.  Saussure,  I  have 
since  confirmed  by  a  variety  of  experiments. 
Neither  must  the  cultivator  imagine  that  these 
carefully  considered  conclusions,  the  results 
of  often-repeated  laborious  experiments,  are 
erroneous,  because  transparent  water,  appa- 
rently  pure,  when  viewed  in  water-glasses,  or 
in  irrigation,  promotes  the  growth  of  bulbs, 
grass,  &c.,  since  the  very  purest  spring  water, 
even  rain  water,  contains  foreign  substances; 
and  when  only  chemically  pure  water  is  em- 
ployed to  water  plants,  they  cannot  be  made 
to  flourish.     I  have  fruitlessly  varied  the  at- 
tempt in  several  ways.   All  the  experiments  of 
Dr.  Thomson  were  equally  unsuccessful,  the 
plants  vegetating  only  for  a  certain  time,  and 
never  perfecting  their  seeds.    Similar  experi- 
ments were  made  by  Hassenfratz,  Saussure, 
and  others,  with  the  same  unfavourable  result 
Duhamel  found   that  an  oak,  which  he  had 
raised  from  an  acorn  in  common  water,  made 
less  and  less  progress  every  year.     The  florist 
is  well  aware  that  bulbous  roots,  such  as  those 
of  hyacinths,  tulips,  &c.,  which  are  made  to 
grow  in  water,  unless  they  are  planted  in  the 
earth  every  other  year,  at  first  refuse  to  flower, 
and  finally  they  cease  even  to  vegetate.    More- 
over, it  has    been    unanswerably  shown   by 
many  very  accurate  experiments,  at  the  repe- 
tition of  which  I  have  personally  assisted,  that 
the  quantity  of  nourishment  or  solid  matters 
absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants  is  always  in 
proportion   to  the  impurity  of  the  water  with 
which  they  are  nourished;  thus  some  common 
garden  beans  were  made  to  vegetate   under 
three  different  circumstances;  the  first  were 
grown  in  distilled   water,    the    second   were 
placed  in  sand  and  watered  with  rain  water,  the 
third  were  sown  in  garden  mould.    The  plants 
thus    produced,    when    accurately    analyzed, 


EARTHS. 


EARTHS. 


were  found  to  yield  the  following  proportion 
of  ashes — 


1.  Those  fed  l)y  distilled  water 
3.  Those  fed  by  rain-water 
3.  Those  grown  in  the  soil  - 


Part*. 
3-9 
7-5 

120 


The  mode  in  which  the  earths  are  absorbed 
by  the  roots  of  the  plant  is,  it  is  almost  certain, 
by  means  of  their  solution  in  water,  for  both 
carbonate  of  lime  and  silica  are,  in  small  pro- 
portions, soluble  in  water  ;  they  exist  together 
in  many  springs  ;  and  they  were  both  found  in 
the  water  of  the  Clyde  by  Dr.  Thomson,  in  that 
of  the  Thames  by  Dr.  Bostock,  and  in  the 
springs  of  Upsula,  celebrated  for  their  purity, 
by  Bergman.  Alumina,  as  far  as  we  know,  is 
not  soluble  in  water,  but  then  it  exists  in  very 
small  proportions  in  plants ;  and  the  soluble 
salts  of  which  it  is  the  base  may  serve  to  yield 
this  earth  to  vegetables :  the  earth  itself  is  so- 
luble in  ammonia. 

The  way  in  which  soils  are  gradually  formed 
by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  upon  the  hard 
primitive  rocks  has  been  well  explained  by 
Davy,  and  is  a  natural  process  which  cannot 
but  be  interesting  to  the  farmer.  I  merely 
slightly  alter  his  words  in  the  following  account 
of  this  important  natural  phenomenon.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  comprehend  the  manner  in  which 
this  change  is  effected,  and  rocks  converted 
into  soils,  by  referring  to  the  instance  of  soft 
granite  or  porcelain  granite.  This  substance 
is  composed  of  three  ingredients,  quartz,  feld- 
spar, and  mica.  The  quartz  is  almost  pure 
silicious  earth  in  a  crystalline  form.  The 
feldspar  and  mica  are  very  compound  sub- 
stances ;•  both  contain  silica,  alumina,  and 
oxide  of  iron :  in  the  feldspar  there  is  usually 
lime  and  potash ;  in  the  mica,  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. 

When  a  granitic  rock  of  this  kind  has  been 
long  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere, 
the  lime  and  the  potash  contained  in  its  consti- 
tuent parts  are  acted  upon  by  water  or  carbonic 
acid;  and  the  iron,  which  is  almost  always  in 
its  least  oxidized  state,  tends  to  combine  with 
more  oxygen ;  the  consequence  is,  that  the 
feldspar  decomposes,  and  likewise  the  mica, 
but  the  fijst  the  most  rapidly.  The  feldspar, 
which  is,  as  it  were,  the  cement  of  the  stone, 
forms  a  fine  clay;  the  mica,  partially  decom- 
posed, mixes  with  it  as  sand,  and  the  undecom- 
posed  quartz  appears  as  gravel,  or  sand  of 
different  degrees  of  fineness.  As  soon  as  the 
smallest  layer  of  earth  is  thus  formed  on  the 


surface  of  a  rock,  the  seeds  of  lichens,  mosses, 
and  other  imperfect  vegetables,  which  are  con- 
stantly floating  in  the  atmosphere,  and  which 
have  made  it  their  resting-place,  begin  to  vege- 
tate ;  their  death,  decomposition,  and  decay 
afford  a  certain  quantity  of  organic  matter, 
which  mixes  with  the  earthy  materials  of  the 
rock.  In  this  improved  soil,  more  perfect 
plants  are  capable  of  subsisting;  these  in  their 
turn  absorb  nourishment  from  water  and  fre»ra 
the  atmosphere,  and  as  these,  too,  decay,  afford 
more  new  materials  to  those  already  provided 
and  the  decomposition  of  the  rock  still  conti 
nues.  At  length,  by  such  slow  and'  almost 
imperceptible  processes,  a  soil  is  formed  in 
which  even  forest  trees  can  fix  their  roots,  and 
which  is  fitted  to  reward  the  labours  of  the  cul- 
tivator. 

Where  successive  generations  of  vegetables 
have  grown  upon  a  soil,  unless  they  have  been 
carried  off  by  man  or  consumed  by  animals, 
the  vegetable  matter  increases  to  such  an  ex- 
tent that  the  soil  approaches  to  peat  in  its 
nature.  Poor  and  hungry  soils  are  commonly 
produced  by  the  decomposition  of  the  granite 
and  sandsttme  rocks :  such  soils  usually  remain 
for  ages  with  only  a  thin  covering  of  vegetation. 
The  soils  produced  by  the  same  gradual  means 
on  the  limestones,  chalks,  and  basalts,  are  oAen 
clothed  by  nature  with  the  perennial  grasses 
and  afford,  when  ploughed  up,  a  rich  bed  of 
vegetation  for  every  species  of  cultivated  crop 

The  quantity  of  moisture  which  a  soil,  or  the 
earths  of  which  it  is  chiefly  composed,  contain, 
influences  to  a  very  material  extent  its  fertility 
This  not  only  differs  in  different  seasons,  but 
this  power  varies  very  considerably  indeed  ia 
soils,  according  to  their  chemical  composition. 
This  was  experimentally  decided  by  Professor 
Schubler,  of  the  University  of  Tubingen,  in  his 
'•  Agronomy,  or  Principles  of  Agricultural  Che- 
mistry," for  a  translation  of  which  the  English 
farmer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Hudson,  the  present 
excellent  Secretary  to  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England, — a  translation  of  which 
I  have  largely  availed  myself  in  this  paper. 
(Jourti.  of  Roy.  Jg.  Sor.  vol.  i.  p.  1 77.)  M.  Schu- 
bler found  that  a  cubic  fool  of  different  soils, 
when  thoroughly  saturated  with  water  and 
when  completely  dried,  weighed  as  follows : — 


•  Common  feUpar  it  cooiposed  of— 

Silica 62-83 

Alumina     ------  1702 

Lime  -        -        -        -        -        -        -300 

Oxide  of  Iron     -----  1-00 

Potash        ------  1300 

Losa 3-50 

100- 

Oonmon  mica  is  composed  of— 

Silica 4700 

Alumina     ------  2000 

Oxide  of  iron     -        -        .        -        -  15-50 

Oxide  of  manganese          -        -        -  1-75 

Potaslj 1450 

Los«  ....--.  1-25 

100- 


. 

Wei«Mnracubie 

KMof  Ewth. 

Specific 
Gra»ity 

foM,  in  ItMU 

Drr. 

Wet. 

Calcareous  sand    -        -        - 

2-722 

113-6 

141-3 

Silicious  sand        -        -        - 

2653 

111-3 

1361 

Gypsum  powder    -        -        - 

2-331 

919 

127  6 

Handv  clay     .        -        -        - 

2601 

97-8 

129-7 

Loamy  clay    -        -        -        - 

2-581 

88-5 

124-1 

Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth 

25()0 

803 

119-6 

Pure  gray  clay       -        -        - 

2  553 

752 

115-8 

Pi|)eclav        ...        - 

2440 

47-9 

102  1 

Fine  carbonate  of  lime  (chalk) 

2-4B8 

53-7 

103-5 

Garden  mould         -        -        - 

2332 

68-7 

J  02-7 

Arable  soil      .        -        -        . 

2401 

845 

1191 

Fine  slaty  marl      -        -        - 

*631 

1120 

140-3 

The  result  of  these  trials  will  be  useful  to 
the  farmer  in  explaining  to  him  the  reason 
why,  on  account  of  their  requiring  more  or  less 
moisture,  certain  crops  flourish  best  on  parti- 
cular soils ;  and  even  in  the  carriage  of  the 
earths  he  will  perceive  that  their  weight  in  th« 
wet  or  dry  stale  is  much  greater  than  some 
persons  suppose. 


EARTHS. 


EARTHS. 


The  next  important  inquiry  instituted  by  the 
tame  excellent  chemist,  was  the  relative  degree 
of  tenacity  with  which  different  soils  retain  the 
moisture  when  exposed  under  similar  circum- 
stances to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere ;  and 
he  found  that  they  parted  with  their  moisture 
according  to  the  following  rate ; — 


Kind  of  E&rth. 

Evaporation  from  100  pari*  r : 
abM>rbed  water  in  four  hour*. 

Part* 

SiliciouB  sand       .       -       - 

88-4 

Calcareous  sand  -       .       - 

759 

Gvpsiiin  powder  -        -       - 

71-7 

Sandy  clay    -        -        -        - 

620 

Loamy  clay  -        -        -        - 

45-7 

Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth 

34-9 

Pure  gray  clay     ... 

31-9 

Fine  lime      -        -       -        - 

280 

Garden  mould       -        .        - 

243 

Arable  soil    -        -        -        - 

320 

1  Slaty  marl    -       -       -       - 

680 

In  these  experiments  the  soils  were  spread 
out  to  dry  very  thinly  over  a  plate  of  metal ; 
but  in  the  following  comparative  trials  (to  ren- 
der the  results  in  all  respects  more  similar  to 
those  which  the  cultivator  would  experience), 
the  soil  was  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  in 
masses  of  an  inch  in  depth : — 


Kind  of  Earth. 

Water  evaporated  m 
four  days. 

Calcareous  sand         -       -        - 
LiKht  garden  mould   .        -        - 
Gypsum  powder         -        -        - 
Very  light  turf  soil     .        .        - 
Slatv  marl  ----- 

Arable  soil 

Fine  magnesia  -        .        -        . 
Black  turf  soil  not  so  light 
White  fine  clay  -       .       -        - 
Gray  fine  clay     -        -        -        - 

Graini 
146 
143 
136 
132 
131 
131 
129 
128 
123 
123 

The  amount  of  the  relative  contraction  of 
different  soils,  when  they  are  deprived  of  their 
moisture,  is  another  equally  important  question 
to  the  farmer  to  be  ascertained.  "Many  of 
them,"  says  M.  Schubler,  "  become  contracted 
into  a  narrower  space  in  drying,  and  in  conse- 
quence of  this  circumstance  cracks  and  fissures 
frequently  occur  in  land,  and  have  an  injurious 
effect  on  the  vegetation,  as  the  finer  roots,  which 
often  ramify  horizontally,  and  not  unfrequently 
supply  to  the  plants  the  greater  part  of  their 
means  of  nourishment,  are,  by  such  contrac- 
tions, either  laid  bare  of  soil  or  torn  asunder. 
In  order  to  subject  soils  to  comparative  expe- 
riments on  this  point,  the  following  plan  may 
be  adopted.  We  either  form  of  the  earths,  in 
their  wet  state,  large  cubic  pieces  of  equal 
size,  being  at  least  ten-twelfths  of  an  inch  in 
height,  breadth,  and  length,  or  we  let  such 
earths  be  fitted  and  dried  one  after  another  in 
an  accurately  worked  cubic  inch;  after  some 
lime,  •when  the  weight  of  these  cubes  of  earth 
ceases  to  change  by  further  drying,  we  measure 
the  dimensions  of  the  cube  by  means  of  a  nile 
on  which  the  tenths  of  lines  can  be  distin- 
guished, and  may  thus  calculate  easily  the 
volume  of  the  earth,  and  consequently  ascer- 
tain the  diminution  in  bulk  which  has  been 
caused  by  the  dr)'ing.  The  experiments  which 
f  made  with  the  following  earths  exhibited  on 
tills  point  the  subjoined  differences: — 
431 


Kind  of  Earth. 

1000  parts  diminialMil 
in  volume  bjr 

Silicjotjs  sand      -        ^        .        . 
Calcareous  earth         -       -       . 
Fine  lime     -        -        -        -        - 
Sandy  clay           .        -        .        - 
Loamy  clay          -        -        -        - 
Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth 
Gray  pure  clay     -        -        .        . 
Carbonate  of  magnesia 
Garden  mould      -        -        -        - 
Arable  soil  -        -        -        -        - 
Slaty  marl   -        -        -        -        - 

Partfc 

no  change, 
no  change. 

50 

60 

89 
114 
183 
154 
149 
120 

35 

Such  is  the  effect  upon  various  soils  of  de- 
priving them  of  their  moisture.  In  these  cue 
mical  investigations  the  farmer  will  see  how 
entirely  they  confirm  his  own  observati-ons. 
The  heavy  clay  soils,  he  well  knows,  are  the 
most  contracted  by  exposure  to  the  heats  of 
summer;  the  sands  the  least  affected  of  any. 

A  still  more  important  properly  of  soils, 
their  attraction  for  the  aqueous  vapour  of  the 
atmosphere,  is  next  to  be  considered — a  pro- 
perty the  importance  of  which  to  the  cultiva- 
tor. Sir  H.  Davy  long  since  saw  in  its  true 
light,  and  his  observations  cannot  be  too  often 
quoted,  since  they  well  illustrate  and  enforce, 
amongst  other  things,  the  truth  of  the  great 
TuUian  system  of  agriculture :  of  the  advan- 
tages of  finely  dividing  the  soil,  of  the  subsoil 
plough,  and  of  the  horse-hoe  husbandry.  "The 
power  of  the  soil  to  absorb  water  by  cohesive 
attraction,"  said  this  great  chemist,  "depends 
in  a  great  measure  on  the  state  of  division  of 
its  parts;  the  more  divided  they  are,  the  great- 
er is  their  absorbent  power.  The  different 
constituent  parts  of  soils  likewise  appear  to 
act,  even  by  cohesive  attraction,  with  different 
degrees  of  energy:  thus  vegetable  substances 
seem  to  be  more  absorbent  than  animal  sub- 
stances, animal  substances  more  so  than  com- 
pounds of  alumina  and  silica,  and  compounds 
of  alumina  and  silicia  more  absorbent  than 
carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia;  these  dif- 
ferences may,  however,  possibly  depend  upoii 
the  differences  in  their  state  of  division,  and 
upon  the  surface  exposed.  The  power  of  soils 
to  absorb  water  from  air  is  much  connected 
with  fertility ;  when  this  power  is  great,  the 
plant  is  supplied  with  moisture  in  dry  seasons; 
and  the  effect  of  evaporation  in  the  day  is 
counteracted  by  the  absorption  of  aqueous 
vapour  from  the  atmosphere  by  the  exterior 
parts  of  the  soil  during  the  night.  The  stifl 
clays,  approaching  to  pipe-clay  in  their  nature, 
which  take  up  the  greatest  quantity  of  water 
when  it  is  poured  upon  them  in  a  fluid  form, 
are  not  the  soils  which  absorb  most  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere  in  dry  weather;  they 
cake,  and  present  only  a  small  surface  to  the 
air,  and  the  vegetation  on  them  is  generally 
burnt  up  almost  as  readily  as  on  sands.  The 
soils  that  are  most  efficient  in  supplying  the 
plant  with  water  by  atmospheric  absorption 
are  those  in  which  there  is  a  due  mixture  oi 
sand,  finely  divided  clay,  and  carbonate  of 
lime,  with  some  animal  or  vegetable  matter , 
and  which  are  so  loose  and  light  as  to  be 
freely  permeable  to  the  atmosphere.  Wim 
respect  to  this  quality,  carbonate  of  lime  and 
animal  and  vegetable  matter  are  of  great  use 


EARTHS. 


EABfTHS. 


in  stiils ;  they  give  absorbent  power  to  the  soil 
without  giving  it  tenacity:  sand,  which  also 
destroys  tenacity,  on  the  contrary,  gives  little 
absorbent  power.  I  have  compared  the  ab- 
sorbent powers  of  many  soils  with  respect  to 
atmospheric  moisture,  and  I  have  always  found 
it  greatest  in  the  most  fertile  soils ;  so  that  it 
affords  one  method  of  judging  of  the  produc- 
tiveness of  land.  1000  parts  of  a  celebrated 
soil  from  Orraiston,  in  East  Lothian,  which 
contained  more  than  half  its  weight  of  finely 
divided  matter,  of  which  eleven  parts  were 
carbonate  of  lime,  and  nine  parts  vegetable 
matter,  when  dried  at  212°  gained  in  an  hour, 
by  exposure  to  air  saturated  with  moisture  at 
a  temperature  of  62°,  18  parts  ;  1000  parts  of 
a  very  fertile  soil  from  the  banks  of  the  river 
Parret,  in  Somersetshire,  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, gained  16  grains  ;  1000  parts  of  a 
soil  from  Mersea,  in  Essex,  worth  forty-five 
shillings  an  acre,  gained  13  grains;  1000  grains 
of  a  fine  sand  from  Essex,  worth  twenty-three 
shillings  an  acre,  gained  11  grains  ;  1000  of  a 
coarse  sand,  worth  fifteen  shillings  an  acre, 
gained  only  8  grains;  1000  of  the  soil  of  Bag- 
shot  Heath  gained  only  3  grains." 

In  my  own  experiments  upon  the  absorbent 
powers  of  various  earths,  I  extended  the  ex- 
amination to  various  organic  and  saline  fer- 
tilizers. The  result  of  these  may  be  seen  in 
the  following  table : — 

FWte. 

1000  part!)  of  horse  dung  dried  in  a  temperature  of 
100  dt-grees,  absorbed,  by  exposure  for  three 
bouro  to  air  saturated  with  moisture  and  of  the 
temfteraturc  of  62  degrees  ....  -  143 
1000  parts  of  cow  dung,  under  the  Mine  circum- 
Mances,  absorbed         _--.--     130 

1000  parts  pi(;  dung 120 

1000    —    sheep  dung     ------      81 

1000    —     pigeon's  dung         -----      50 

1000    —    of  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  worth  two  guineas 
per  acre  (rent),  -------14 

The  following  were  dried  at  212  degrees: — 


1000  parts  fresh  tanner's  bark 


115 
145 

494 
3« 


1000    —     putrefied  tanner's  bark  -        -        - 
1000    —    refuse  marine  aalt  told  aa  manure 
1000    —     soot        ------ 

000    —     burnt  clay       ---..-      29 
000    —     coai  ashes      ------      14 

000    —     lime 11 

1000    —    sediment  from  saltpans  -        .        -      10 

1000    —     crushed  rock  salt   -----      10 

1000    —     gypsum 9 

1000    —     chulk -        -        4 

(^Johnson  on  Fertilizers,  p.  41.) 
Davy*s  experiments  and  my  own  are  con- 
firmed by  those  of  M.  Schubler,  who  varied  his 
observations  at  intervals  of  three  days;  his 
results  were  as  follows : — 


IOOOKnJHaoaNr«u«,ofSONiau«  | 

KiDdofBMfh. 

IZbcor,. 

24  hours 

48houn.  TShoon. 

Silicious  sand 

'o 

■o 

•o 

'o 

Calcareous  sand     - 

3 

3 

3 

3 

Gypsum  powder 

1 

1 

1 

1 

8andy  clay      .        -        . 

21 

26 

28 

28 

Loamy  clay    -        -        - 

25 

30 

34 

35 

Sliffclay 

SO 

36 

40 

41 

Gray  pure  clay 

37 

42 

48 

49 

Fine  lime         -        -        - 

26 

31 

35 

35 

Fine  magnesia 

09 

76 

80 

82 

Garden  mould 

35 

45     ;     50 

52 

Arable  soil       -         -        - 

16 

22     1     23 

23 

Slaty  marl       -        -        - 

24 

29         32 

33 

Another  property  possessed  by  all  cultivated 
•oils  that  of  absorbing  the  gases  of  the  atmo- 
55 


sphere  and  of  putrefaction,  is  a  power  equally 
worthy  of  the  consideration  of  the  farmer.  It 
was  long  since  shown,  in  some  experimental 
researches  of  Mr.  Hill,  that  when  oxygen  gas 
is  supplied  to  the  roots  of  plants,  their  growth 
.and  vigour  are  very  considerably  increased. 
Some  years  since,  also,  Alexander  Von  Hum- 
boldt announced  that  the  earths  possess  the 
property  of  absorbing  this  gas  from  the  atmo- 
sphere (Gilbert's  ^n.  of  Phil.  vol.  i.  p.  512);  and 
although  the  fact  was  doubted  at  the  time,  yet 
later  researches  have  shown  that  vioist  earth 
has  the  property  assigned  to  it  by  Humboldt, 
and  the  amount  absorbed  by  various  earths  has 
since  been  ascertained  by,  and  will  be  seen  in 
the  following  table  of  M.  Schubler: — 


In  tiM  wet  Mate  ab-, 

AbMrbed 

lorbed  in  30  day*  by{ 
1000  grains  of  rartU 

Kind  of  Earth. 

in  lbs 

from  15  cubic  JDChM 

dry  itate. 

of  atoimpharic  air, 
con(aiuin<    21    p«r 

ceul.  of  oiygcn. 

Silicious  sand     - 

graioa. 
010 

Calcareous  sand 

035 

Gypsum  powder 

017 

Randy  clay         -        .        . 

0-59 

I^amy  clay         -        .        - 

070 

Stiffcluy  or  brick  earth     - 

086 

Gray  pure  clay  -        -        - 

0-97 

Fine  lime    -        -        -        - 

0-69 

Magnesia   -        -        -        . 

106 

Garden  mould    -        -        - 

1  10 

Arable  soil          -        .        - 

103 

Slaty  marl          -       -       - 

0-70 

This  attractive  power  of  the  earths  and 
of  the  plants  for  the  aqueous  vapour  and  the 
oxygen  gas  of  the  atmosphere  are,  as  I  have 
on  more  than  one  occasion  contended,  two  of 
the  most  important  facts  to  be  kept  in  mind  by 
the  farmer,  with  regard  to  the  deepening  and 
pulverization  of  his  soils.  The  power  of  ab- 
sorbing moisture  is  a  power  which  all  plants 
possess  in  a  certain  measure,  but  some  in  such 
a  perfect  degree  as  to  depend  entirely  upon  it 
for  all  the  moisture  they  need.  The  aloe,  the 
agave,  and  many  of  the  native  plants  of  the 
East,  nearly  support  themselves  in  the  same 
way ;  the  lichens  and  some  of  the  mosses  of 
this  country  also  do  the  same.  The  quantity 
of  water  consumed  by  plants,  when  in  a  state 
of  healthy  vegetation,  is  in  fact  so  great  that, 
if  it  was  not  for  the  gentle  steady  supply  thus 
imperceptibly  furnished  to  the  soil  by  the  at- 
mosphere, vegetation  would  speedily  cease,  or 
only  be  supported  by  incessant  rains.  Thu:^ 
Dr.  Hales  ascertained  that  a  cabbage  transmits 
into  the  atmosphere,  by  insensible  vapour, 
about  half  its  weight  of  water  daily;  and  that 
a  sunflower,  three  feet  in  height,  transpired  in 
the  same  period  nearly  two  pounds'  weight. 
(Veg,  Stat.vo\.  i.  pp.  5 — 15.)  Dr.  Woodward 
found  that  a  sprig  of  mint,  weighing  27  grains, 
in  seventy-seven  days  emitted  2543  grains*  of 
water.  A  sprig  of  spearmint,  weighing  27 
grains,  emftted  in  the  same  time  2558  grains  j 
a  sprig  of  common  nightshade,  weighing  49 
grains,  evolved  3708  grains,  and  a  Lathyrus  of 
98  grains  emitted  2501  grains.  (Phil.  Trans, 
1699,  p.  193.)  "The  power  of  soils  to  absorb 
moisture,"  says  Davy,  "ought  to  be  much 
greater  in  warm  or  dry  countries  than  in  cold 
or  moist  ones,  and  the  quantity  of  clay  or  vege- 
table or  animal  matter  greater.  Soils,  also,  on 
2  O  433 


EARTHS. 


EARTHS. 


declivities  ought  to  be  more  absorlenl  than  ii 
plains,  or  in  the  bottom  of  valleys.  Their  pro- 
ductiveness, likewise,  is  influenced  by  the  na- 
ture of  the  subsoil,  or  the  stratum  on  which 
they  rest.  When  soils  are  immediately  situ- 
ated upon  a  bed  of  rock  or  stone,  they  are 
much  sooner  rendered  dry  by  evaporation  than 
where  the  subsoil  is  of  clay  or  marl ;  and  a 
prime  cause  of  the  great  fertility  of  land  in  the 
moist  climate  of  Ireland  is  the  proximity  of 
the  rocky  strata  to  the  soil.  A  clayey  subsoil 
will  sometimes  be  of  material  advantage  to  a 
sandy  soil;  and,  in  this  case,  it  will  retain 
moisture  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  capable 
of  supplying  that  lost  by  the  earth  above,  in 
consequence  of  evaporation  or  the  consump- 
tion of  plants."     (Davy^s  Lectures,  p.  186.) 

It  has  been  shown  by  the  experiments  of  M. 
Saussure,  with  some  sprigs  of  peppermint,  that 
when  supported  by  pure  water  only,  and  allow- 
ed to  vegetate  for  some  time  in  the  light,  they 
nearly  doubled  the  portion  of  carbon  which 
they  originally  contained.  (Rechcrches  but  la 
Veg.  51.)  This  they  could  have  procured  only 
from  the  atmosphere ;  and,  under  these  circum- 
stances, there  is  now  little  doubt  of  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  conclusion  of  M.  Berthollet,  that 
plants,  by  means  of  their  roots  and  leaves, 
nave  the  power  of  decomposing  the  water  as 
well  as  the  carbonic  acid  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  furnishing,  with  these  elements,  new  com- 
binations. How  essential  a  free  access  of  the 
atmosphere  is  to  the  roots  of  plants  was  long 
since  shown  by  M.  Saussure,  who  found  that 
oxygen  gas  is  absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants 
as  well  as  by  their  leaves,  and  that  it  is  at  the 
roots  united  with  carbon,  and  transmitted  to 
the  leaves  to  be  decomposed.  Even  the  branches 
absorb  oxygen  ;  in  its  absence  flowers  will  not 
even  expand.  (Thomson's  Chcm.  vol.  iv.  p.  353.) 
It  has  been  proved  that  their  vegetation  is 
greatly  increased  by  nourishing  them  with 
water  impregnated  with  oxygen  gas ;  hence, 
too,  the  superiority  of  rain-water.  Some  re- 
markable experiments  were  made  by  Mr.  Hill, 
demonstrative  of  the  great  benefits  plants  de- 
rive from  oxygen  gas  being  applied  to  their 
roots :  hyacinths,  melons,  Indian  corn,  &c., 
were  the  subjects  of  the  experiments.  The 
first  were  greatly  improved  in  beauty,  the  se- 
cond in  flavour,  the  last  in  size,  and  all  in  vi- 
gour. This,  too,  is  another  use  of  increasing 
the  moisture  of  the  soil,  by  deep  and  complete 

Eloughings,  for  M.  Humboldt  and  M.  Schubler 
ave  clearly  shown  that  a  dry  soil  is  quite  in- 
capable of  absorbing  oxygen  gas.  Thus,  it 
must  be  evident  to  the  most  listless  observer, 
that  the  more  deeply  and  finely  a  soil  is  pul- 
verized, and  its  earths  rendered  permeable,  the 
greater  will  be  the  absorption  by  them  of  both 
oxygen  and  watery  vapour  from  the  surround- 
ing atmosphere. 

It  is  perhaps  needless  to  prove  tWlat  the  roots 
of  commonly  cultivated  plants  will  penetrate, 
under  favourable  circumstances,  much  greater 
depths  into  the  soil  in  search  of  moisture  than 
Ihey  can,  from  the  resistance  of  the  case-hard- 
ened subsoi.,  commonly  atain.  Thus,  the 
roots  of  the  wheat  plant,  in  loose  deep  soils 
have  been  found  to  descend  to  a  depth  of  two 
or  three  feet,  or  even  more:  and  it  is  evident 
434 


that  if  plants  are  pri.iicipally  sustaiRtd  in  dry 
weather  by  the  atmospheric  aqueous  vapour 
absorbed  by  the  soil,  that  then  that  supply  of 
water  must  be  necessarily  increased,  by  enabl- 
ing the  atmospheric  vapour  and  gases,  as  well 
as  the  roots  of  plants,  to  attain  to  a  greater 
depth ;  for  the  earth,  &c.,  of  the  interior  ci'  a 
well  pulverized  soil,  be  it  remembered,  con- 
tinues steadily  to  absorb  this  essential  food  of 
vegetables,  even  when  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  drying  in  the  sun. 

By  facilitating  the  admission  of  air  to  the 
soil  another  advantage  is  obtained,  that  of  in- 
creasing its  temperature.  The  earths  are  na- 
turally bad  conductors  of  heat,  especially  down- 
wards :  thus,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  at  the 
siege  of  Gibraltar,  the  red  hot  balls  employed 
by  the  garrison  were  readily  carried  from  the 
furnaces  to  the  batteries  in  wooden  barrows, 
whose  bottoms  were  merely  covered  with  earth. 
Davy  proved  the  superior  rapidity  with  which 
a  loose  black  soil  was  heated,  compared  with 
a  chalky  soil,  by  placing  equal  portions  of  each 
in  the  sunshine ;  the  first  was  heated  in  an 
hour  from  65°  to  88°,  while  the  chalk  was  only 
heated  69°.  This  trial,  however,  must  not  be 
regarded  as  absolutely  conclusive,  since  the 
surface  of  the  black  soils  naturally  increases 
more  rapidly  in  temperature  when  exposed  to 
the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  than  those  of  a 
lighter  colour.  A  free  access  of  the  air  to  the 
soil  also  adds  to  their  fertility,  by  promoting 
the  decomposition  of  the  excretory  matters  of 
plants  and  other  organic  substances  of  the  soil. 

In  the  truth  of  these  conclusions  and  labori- 
ous experimental  researches  of  the  chemist, 
does  not  the  practical  testimony  of  the  ablest 
cultivators  of  all  ages  and  in  all  countries  con- 
cur ]  Thus,  in  enforcing  the  advantages  of 
rendering  the  soil  more  completely  permeable 
by  the  atmosphere,  nearly  two  thousand  years 
since,  Cato  asked  the  Italian  farmers,  "  What 
is  good  tillage?"  To  plough.  "What  is  the 
second?"  To  plough.  The  third  is  to  ma- 
nure. Cato,  however,  mistook  the  cause  of  the 
benefit,  for  he  says,  "  He  who  stirs  his  olive 
ground  oftenest  and  deepest  will  plough  up  the 
very  slender  roots  ;  if  he  ploughs  ill,  the  roots 
will  become  thicker,  and  the  strength  of  the 
olive  will  go  to  the  root."  (Lib.  61.)  Virgil, 
when  giving  an  erroneous  explanation  of  the 
advantages  of  paring  and  burning,  says,  "The 
heat  opens  more  ways  and  hidden  vents  for  the 
air,  through  which  the  dews  penetrate  to  the 
embryo  plant."  (Georg.  i.  90,  91.)         ^ 

And  at  this  very  period  do  not  the  best  of 
England's  agriculturists  find  the  greatest  ad- 
vantage from  stirring  the  ground  between  their 
rows  of  drilled  turnips,  which  only  operates  so 
beneficially  to  the  plants,  by  promoting  the 
access  of  the  air  to  their  roots ;  and  that,  too, 
on  soils  where  a  weed  is  hardly  to  be  seen  1  Is 
not  one  great  object  of  fallowing  to  produce  by 
pulverizing  and  deepening  the  soil  the  same 
result  1  Did  not  Jethro  Tull  labour  long,  and 
sometimes  too  sanguinely,  in  illustrating  the 
same  position  1  And  does  he  not  support 
almost  all  the  observations  of  the  chemist,  as 
to  the  attraction  of  the  earth  for  the  gasses  and 
aqueous  vapour  of  the  atmosphere,  when  he 
says — "  I  have  had  the  experience  of  a  mulfi- 


EARTHS. 


EAR-jmS. 


tude  of  instances,  which  confirms  it  so  far  that 
I  am  in  no  doubt  that  any  soil  (be  it  rich  or 
poor)  can  ever  be  made  too  fine  by  tillage. 
For  it  is  without  dispute,  that  one  cubical  foot 
of  this  minute  powder  may  have  more  internal 
superficies  than  a  thousand  cubical  feet  of  the 
same  or  any  other  earth  tilled  in  the  common 
manner:  and  I  believe  no  two  arable  earths  in 
the  world  do  exceed  one  another  in  their  natu- 
ral riches  twenty  times;  that  is,  one  cubical 
foot  of  the  richest  is  not  able  to  produce  an 
equal  quantity  of  vegetables,  ctzteris  paribus,  to 
twenty  cubical  feet  of  the  poorest;  therefore,  it 
is  not  strange  that  the  poorest,  when  by  pul- 
verizing it  has  obtained  one  hundred  times  the 
internal  superficies  of  the  rich  untilled  land, 
should  exceed  it  in  fertility;  or,  if  a  foot  of  the 
poorest  was  made  to  have  twenty  times  the  su- 
perficies of  such  rich  land,  the  poorest  might 
produce  an  equal  quantity  of  vegetables  with 
the  rich.  Besides,  there  is  another  extraor- 
dinary advantage  when  a  soil  has  a  larger  in- 
ternal superficies  in  a  very  little  compass,  for 
then  the  roots  of  the  plants  in  it  are  better  sup- 
plied with  nourishment,  being  nearer  to  them — 
on  all  sides  within  reach — than  they  can  be 
where  the  soil  is  less  fine,  as  in  common  til- 
lage, and  the  roots  in  the  one  must  extend  much 
farther  than  in  the  other:  to  reach  an  equal 
quantity  of  nourishment  they  must  range,  per- 
haps, above  twenty  times  more  space,  to  col- 
lect the  same  quantity  of  food.  But,  in  this 
fine  soil,  the  weak  and  tender  roots  have  free 
passage  to  the  utmost  of  their  extent,  and  have 
also  an  easy,  due,  and  equal  pressure  ever>'- 
where,  as  in  water."  (TuWs  Neuf  Hmbandry, 
p.  43.)  The  farmer,  too,  is  aware  that  when 
the  inert  substratum  of  most  cultivated  soils 
is  first  brought  to  the  surface,  it  is  entirely 
barren,  and  that  yet,  by  mere  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere,  it  becomes  readily  produc- 
tive. 

The  comparative  rapidity  with  which  soils 
absorb  heat  by  exposure  to  the  rays  of  the  sun 
is  also  a  question  of  much  importance.  M. 
Schubler  found  that  when  the  temperature  of 
the  upper  surface  of  the  earth  was  77°  in  the 
shade,  earth,  &c.,  exposed  to  the  sun  in  ves- 
sels four  inches  square  and  half  an  inch  deep, 
from  eleven  till  three  o'clock,  attained  the  sub- 
joined temperature : — 


Kiad  of  Earth. 


Silicious   sand,  bright   yellowish- 
gray    

Calcareous  sand,  whitish-gray 
Gypsum  bright  while-gray     - 
Sandy  clay,  yellowish    -        -        - 
Loamy  clay,  yellowish  -        -        - 
Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth,  yellowish- 
gray    

Fine  bluish-gray  clay  -  .  - 
Lime,  white  -  -  -  -  • 
Magnesia,  pure  white  -  -  . 
Garden  mould,  blackish-gray 
Arable  soil,  gray  -  -  -  - 
Si  aty  marl,  brownish-red 


Wet 

Dry. 

991 

112  6 

99-3 

1121 

973 

110-5 

962 

1114 

991 

112  1 

99-3 

1123 

99-5 

1130 

961 

1094 

952 

108-6 

995 

113  5 

97-7 

111-7 

1018 

1153 

As  different  soils  absorb  heat  with  varying 
rapidity  so  they  retain  it  with  more  or  less 
tenacity,  as  displayed  in  the  following  table 
by  Prof  3ssor  Schubler  :— 


Kind  of  E;irth. 


Calcareous  sand 

Silicious  sand    -        •  - 
Gypsum  powder 

Sandy  clay        >        -  - 

Loamy  clay       _        -  . 

Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth  - 
Gray  pure  clay 

Fine  lime  -        -        -  - 

Fine  magnesia  -        -  » 

Garden  mould  -        -  - 

Arable  soli        -        -  » 
Slaty  marl        ... 


Period  required  by  30  cubic 
iochei    of   earth   lo  cool 
dowu  frum  1444°  to  70^ 
in  i  surrouudiog  teui|>e- 
ntan  ol  61^0. 


Hourib 


MiDutea. 


30 


From  these  experiments,  the  farmer  will 
perceive  that  the  popular  ideas,  with  regard  to 
the  quality  of  soils  when  they  are  denominated 
hot  and  cold,  are  nearly  accurate.  He  will  see 
that  sandy  soils  absorb  the  heat  of  the  sun 
faster  than  any  others,  but  then  their  rate  of 
cooling  is  equally  great; — more  rapid  in  their 
transitions  from  heat  to  cold  than  any  others, 
the  crops  which  they  produce  are  commonly 
thin ;  and  to  these  rapid  transitions  we  may 
assign  one  reason  for  the  poverty  of  the  pro- 
duce. The  clays,  on  the  contrary,  which  im- 
bibe the  sun's  rays  more  slowly,  retain  their 
heat  much  longer. 

There  are  several  other  properties  of  the 
earths  with  which  it  is  highly  desirable  that 
the  cultivator  should  be  acquainted :  thus,  the 
resistance  which  soils  offer  to  the  plough  or  the 
spade,  in  their  wet  and  dry  state,  is  a  question 
on  several  accounts  highly  interesting  to  the 
farmer.  This  property  of  the  soil  has  also 
been  examined  by  Professor  Schubler,  and  the 
result  of  his  experiments  will  be  found  in  the 
following  table : — 


KUofEwtb. 

In  dry 

tUt*. 

In  wet  elate. 

cUy^io, 

Adhetion  fo  tgri- 
culturil  iniplemeDte 
on  a  Mirfice  of  one 

•qnare  foul  with 

Iron. 

Wood. 

Silicious  sand - 

Calcareous  sand      - 

Fine  lime 

Gypsum  powder 

Saody  clay      -        -        - 

Loamy  clay      -        -        - 

Stiff  clay  or  brick  earth  - 

Gray  pure  clay 

Garden  mould 

Arable  soil       -        -        - 

Slaty  marl       ... 

00 
00 
50 
7-8 
57-3 
68-8 
83-3 
1000 
76 
330 
23  0 

Ib«. 

S8 

41 

143 

10-7 

7-9 

106 

172 

270 

6-4 

5-8 

49 

lb*. 
4-3 
4-4 
15-6 
118 
8-9 
11-4 
18-9 
29-2 
7-5 
6-4 
5-5 

From  these  laborious  researches  of  the  che- 
mical philosopher  the  intelligent  farmer  may 
derive  many  new  and  important  conclusions 
with  regard  to  the  improved  cultivation  of  the 
earth.  They  may  serve  to  explain  to  him  one 
great  reason  why  fallowing  and  pulverizing 
the  soil,  either  by  machinery  or  by  the  mixtiire 
of  chalk  or  sand  with  the  heavier  clay  soils, 
promotes  so  decidedly,  or  so  permanently,  their 
fertility.  And,  again,  the  advocate  for  all  old 
customs  and  obsolete  modes  of  tillage  may 
hence,  among  other  things,  learn  why  it  is  that 
deep  ploughing,  either  by  the  common  or  by 

436 


EARTH-BOARD. 


EARTH-WORMS. 


the  subs^oil  plough,  produces  such  beneficial 
results;  how  the  gases  and  aqueous  vapour  of 
the  air  are  hence  rendered  more  serviceable  to 
the  roots  of  his  crops ;  and  hmv  it  is  that  this 
free  passage  of  these  elastic  fluids,  first  caused 
by  the  action  of  the  plough,  is  preserved  and 
facilitated  by  that  of  the  common  or  the  horse- 
hoe.  Such  researches,  too,  into  the  important 
properties  with  which  the  Creator  has  endowed 
the  soil  will  be  serviceable  to  the  cultivator  in 
even  an  indirect  manner.  These  investigations 
will,  assuredly,  suggest  to  him  the  very  reason- 
able conclusion,  that  there  may  be  yet  other 
chemical  properties  hidden  in  the  land,  which 
will  serve  to  awaken  the  curiosity,  and  reward 
the  labours  of  future  scientific  cultivators  for 
many  succeeding  generations.  (Brit.  Farm. 
Mag.  vol.  V.  p.  1.)  See  Mixture  of  Sous, 
Attaltsis  of  Soils,  Absorpton,  Chalk,  Hu- 
xvs,  &c. 

EARTH-BOARD.  That  part  of  a  plough 
which  turns  over  the  earth.  It  is  generally 
termed  the  mould-board.     See  Plough. 

EAKTH-BUILDINGS.  Buildings  formed 
by  rammed  or  compressed  earth  or  clay.  This 
kind  of  building  is  supposed  to  have  been 
known  at  a  very  early  period,  and  is  still  much 
in  use  in  the  southern  parts  of  France.  Not 
only  the  walls  of  the  houses,  but  garden  walls 
are  formed  in  the  same  manner,  and  of  the 
same  materials  in  many  parts  of  Normandy. 
In  some  instances,  boards  are  placed  between 
the  layers  of  clay,  and  form  a  kind  of  frame- 
work, which  increases  the  strength  of  the  wall. 

Clay  cottages  are  not  uncommon  in  some 
parts  of  England;  but  they  are  not  constructed 
in  the  above-mentioned  manner. 

EARTH,  EATING  OF.  Stall-fed  cattle,  and 
horses  which  have  not  the  opportunity  of 
plucking  up  the  roots  of  grass,  evince  a  great 
partiality  for  earth.  It  is  seldom  that  a  cow 
will  pass  a  newly-raised  mole-hill  without 
muzzling  into  it,  and  devouring  a  considerable 
portion  of  it  This  is  particularly  the  case 
when  there  is  any  degree  of  indigestion,  and  it 
probably  acts  as  a  sort  of  gentle  purgative.  It 
is  stated  by  Mr.  Youatt  (On  Cattle)  that  the 
celebrated  Kinton  ox  always  had  a  basket  of 
earth  standing  near  him,  of  which  he  ate  a 
considerable  quantity.  When  decomposition 
commenced,  and  the  acescent  principle  began 
to  be  developed,  and  the  animal  felt  uneasiness 
on  that  account,  he  had  recourse  to  the  mould ; 
and  the  acid  uniting  itself  to  the  earth,  the  un- 
easy feeling  was  relieved.  It  is  also  probable 
Uiat  a  purgative  neutral  salt  was  manufactured 
in  the  paunch,  but  this  would  depend  on  the 
Data  re  of  the  earth.  The  absorbent  or  alkaline 
earth  taken  up  with  the  roots  of  grass  by  sheep, 
also  neutralizes  the  acids  of  the  stomach.  (Lib. 
of  Use.  Know.  *♦  Sheep,"  p.  3 ;  "  Cattle,"  p.  104 
— 317.)  It  is  usual  to  allow  sucking  calves  to 
have  access  to  chalk.  In  the  stomachs  of  al- 
most all  young  animals,  man  not  excepted, 
there  is  a  tendency  to  form  superabundant  acid, 
which,  it  not  corrected,  impairs  digestion,  and 
interferes  with  the  assimilative  function,  that 
which  converts  the  chyle  into  the  animal  tissue 
or  substance  of  the  body.  The  importance, 
therefore,  of  correcting  this,  by  the  administra- 
tion of  absorbed  earths,  is  obvious. 
436 


It  might  become  a  matter  of  curious  nquiry, 
how  far  this  desire  of  earth  in  cattle  has  affi- 
nity to  that  of  the  human  stomach,  which  leads 
the  Otomacs,  a  South  American  tribe,  to  eat 
clay.  It  is  an  unctuous  clay,  containing  an 
oxide  of  iron  ;  and  during  some  months,  when 
provisions  are  scarce,  an  Otomac  devours 
about  three-quarters  of  a  pound  of  clay  daily, 
and  he  does  not  suffer  nor  become  lean  upoa 
it.  The  negroes  on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  and 
the  natives  of  Java,  and  of  some  of  the  other 
islands  of  the  Indian  Archipelago,  are  also 
earth-eaters  ;  and  in  this  and  many  European 
countries,  pregnant  women,  and  young  girls  in 
a  state  of  disease  connected  with  the  uterine 
function,  also  evince  a  strong  inclination  to  eat 
earth. 

Among  quadrupeds,  earth-eating  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  horse  and  ox  tribes ;  for,  when 
pressed  for  food,  wolves  in  the  north-east  of 
Europe,  reindeer  and  kids  in  Siberia,  all  eat 
clay.  It  is  probable  that  the  earth  operates  as  a 
mechanical  stimulus  to  the  stomach,  and  abates 
the  sensation  of  hunger,  which  always  attends 
certain  diseased  conditions  of  the  stomach.  But, 
whatever  may  be  the  cause,  this  instinctive 
longing  for  earth  in  horses,  cows,  and  oxen 
should  not  be  overlooked,  and  the  animals  should 
be  supplied  with  it  when  they  are  stall-fed. 

EARTH-NUT  (Bunmm  fiexuosum).  The 
common  earth-nut,  kipper,  or  pig-nut,  for  it  is 
known  by  all  these  names,  is  a  perennial  plant 
growing  in  sandy  or  gravelly  meadows,  pas- 
tures, orchards,  and  woods ;  flowering  in  May 
or  June.  The  root  is  eatable,  nearly  globular, 
black,  internally  white,  aromatic,  sweet,  and 
mucilaginous,  with  some  acrimony.  The  stem 
is  a  foot  high  or  more,  striated,  with  long,  nar- 
row, acute  leaves  ;  the  radicle  leaves  are  twice 
or  thrice  pinnatifid.  The  flowers  are  in  um- 
bels ;  they  are  pure  white.  The  roots  are 
at  present  searched  for  only  by  hogs,  who  de- 
vour them  with  avidity;  but  as  they  are  little 
inferior  to  chestnuts,  they  might  form  an  agree- 
able addition  to  winter  desserts,  eaten  either 
raw,  boiled,  or  roasted.  (  Willich! s  Dom.  Encyc.) 

EARTH-WORMS  (Lnmbricus,  Linn.).  Well- 
known  molluscous  animals,  which  are  common 
in  all  parts  of  the  country,  at  little  depths  be- 
neath the  surface  of  the  earth.  White,  in  his 
Nat.  Hist,  of  Selborne,  speaking  of  their  efiects 
on  the  soil  in  promoting  vegetation,  says, 
"  The  most  insignificant  insects  and  reptiles 
are  of  much  more  consequence,  and  have  much 
more  influence  in  the  economy  of  nature,  than 
the  incurious  are  aware  of;  and  are  mighty  in 
their  effect  from  their  minuteness,  which  ren- 
ders them  less  an  object  of  attention,  and 
from  their  numbers  and  fecundity;  earth- 
worms, though  in  appearance  a  small  and  des- 
picable link  in  the  chain  of  nature,  yet,  if  lost, 
would  make  a  lamentable  chasm.  For,  to  say 
nothing  of  half  the  birds  and  some  quadru- 
peds which  are  entirely  supported  by  them, 
worms  seem  to  be  equal  promoters  of  vegeta- 
tion, which  would  proceed  but  lamely  without 
them,  by  boring,  perforating,  and  loosening  the 
soil,  and  rendering  it  pervious  to  the  rain  and 
the  fibres  of  plants,  by  drawing  straws  and 
stalks  of  leaves  and  twigs  into  it ;  and  most  of 
all,  by  throwing  up  such  infinite  numbers  of 


EARTHY  MANURES. 


EDQER. 


lumps  of  earth,  called  worm-casts,  which  being 
their  excrement,  is  a  fine  manure  for  grain  and 
grass.  Worms  probably  provide  new  soil  for 
hills  and  slopes,  where  the  rain  washes  the 
earth  away,  and  they  affect  slopes  probably  to 
avoid  being  rioo<led.  Gardeners  and  farmers 
express  their  detestation  of  worms :  the  former, 
because  they  render  their  walks  unsightly,  and 
make  them  much  work;  and  the  latter,  because, 
as  they  think,  worms  eat  their  green  corn.  But 
they  would  find  that  the  earth  without  worms 
would  soon  become  cold,  hard-bound,  and  void 
of  fermentation,  and  consequently  sterile  ;  and 
besides,  in  favour  of  worms  it  should  be  hinted 
that  green  corn,  plants,  and  flowers  are  not  so 
much  injured  by  them  as  by  many  species  of 
Coleoptera  {scarabs)  and  Tijndce  (long-legs)  in 
their  larvae  or  grub  state,  and  by  UDnoticed 
myriads  of  small  shell-less  snails,  called  slugs, 
which  silently  and  imperceptibly  make  amaz- 
ing havoc  in  the  field  and  garden.  Worms 
work  most  in  the  spring,  and  are  out  every 
mild  night  in  the  winter:  they  are  very  pro- 
lific." (Qtt<irf.  Joitrn.  of  jigr.  vol.  ii.  p.  145.) 
Worms  are  readil)'  destroyed  by  the  applica- 
tion of  common  salt,  sown  broadcast  at  the 
rate  of  five  or  six  bushels  per  acre  ;  or  on  grass 
plats,  by  the  application  of  lime-water,  or  ra- 
ther milk  of  lime,  which  is  readily  made  by 
stirring  for  ten  minutes  a  pound  of  hot  lime  in 
four  or  five  pailsful  of  water.  But,  for  the 
reasons  already  given,  they  should  not  be  de- 
stroyed. Earth-worms  are  viviparous,  their 
eggs  are  hatched  in  the  body,  and  the  young 
are  expelled  alive.  They  generally  come  out 
of  the  earth  during  the  night  in  June  to  copulate. 
EAirrilY  MAiNURE«,  These  are  the  most 
universal  of  all  fertilizers.  In  England  they 
are  chielly  limited  to  three,  viz.  chalk  and  lime, 
clay  or  alumina,  sand  or  silex.  In  the  United 
States,  where  no  chalk  is  found,  its  place  is  well 
supplied  by  lime  and  calcareous  marls,  which 
last,  in  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Maryland,  and 
Virginia,  are  used  to  the  greatest  advantage 
by  farmers.  Then  again  the  green  sand  or 
silicate  of  potash,  found  in  the  states  men- 
tioned, proves,  in  many  situations,  a  powerful 
mineral  fertilizer.  With  these  may  be  classed 
the  coal,  or  other  ashes  produced  by  the  com- 
bustion of  peat,  turf,  and  other  vegetable  sub- 
stances, the  composition  of  which  is  usually 
similar  to  that  of  the  soils  on  which  the  com- 
bustible matter  is  produced.  Ashes  from  chalk 
soils  usually  abound  in  carbonate  of  lime  and 
gypsum,  which  is  produced  in  the  chalk  by  the 
gradual  decomposition  of  the  iron  pyrites 
which  most  chalk  contains ;  while  those  from 
clay  lands  as  generallyabound  with  aluminaand 
sand.  Those  which  are  brought  from  the  sea- 
shore almost  always  contain  a  considerable 
quantity  of  so»ia,  and  some  common  salt.  There 
are  no  researches  more  likely  to  amply  repay 
the  cultivator  than  the  investigation  of  the  | 
composition  of  his  soils.  All  the  difference  | 
between  a  fertile  soil  and  the  poorest  cultivated  i 
land  consists  in  the  presence  of  the  indispen-  I 
sable  constituents  of  a  soil  in  proportions  that  i 
are  more  or  less  profitable.  The  addition  of 
the  desired  substance,  whether  organic  or  in-  i 
organic,  constitutes  the  fertilizing  ingredient ' 
Davy   long  since    remarked    that    "  Fertility ! 


seems  to  depend  upon  the  state  of  division  and 
mixture  of  the  earthy  materials  and  the  vege* 
table  matter.  In  ascertaining  the  composition 
of  fertile  soils,  with  a  view  to  their  improve- 
ment, any  particular  ingredient  which  is  the 
cause  of  their  unproductiveness  should  be  par- 
ticularly attended  to ;  if  possible,  they  should 
be  compared  with  fertile  soils  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  and  in  similar  situations,  as 
the  diflference  of  composition  may,  in  many 
cases,  indicate  the  most  proper  methods  of  im- 
provement." (jigricullural  Chemistry,  p.  203.) 
Thus,  either  peat,  or  chalk,  or  clay  is  an  excel- 
lent permanent  addition  to  sandy  soils.  Chalk 
and  sand  improve  the  texture  and  productive- 
ness of  clays.  Tojaeat,  the  earths  are  all  more 
or  less  permanent  fertilizers  ;  lime  removes  the 
excess  of  sulphate  of  iron  (green  vitriol) ; 
chalk  is  equally  efficacious  in  what  the  farmer 
calls  acid  or  sour  soils.  This  class  of  manures 
differs  from  the  organic  and  saline,  in  this 
highly  important  yet  seldom  sufficiently  re- 
membered quality,  that  as  they  are  more  fre- 
quently employed  in  larger  quantities  than 
either  of  the  other  two,  so  their  beneficial  in- 
fluence on  the  soil  far  exceeds  in  duration  all 
others. 

EARWIG  {Forficula  auricularis,  Linn.).  A 
well-known  insect,  which  is  common  in  damp 
places,  and  often  found  in  numbers  under 
stones,  and  beneath  the  bark  of  trees.  They 
do  much  damage  in  gardens,  by  preying  upon 
the  fruit.  The  English  common  name,  and 
also  the  French  pierce-<freilU,  relate  to  a  habit 
absurdly  attributed  to  these  insects,  of  pene- 
trating the  ears.     (Brande's  Diet,  of  Art.) 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  earwig  sits  upon 
her  eggs  like  a  hen;  and  when  the  young  are 
hatched,  they  creep  under  the  mother,  like  a 
brood  of  chickens  under  a  hen.  De  Geer, 
who  has  observed  the  habits  of  this  insect, 
says,  the  parent  will  sit  over  them  for  hours. 
She  usually  carries  them  about  on  her  back, 
until  they  are  able  to  provide  for  themselves. 
One  or  the  species  of  forficula,  namely,  F. 
minor,  has  wings,  and  flies  in  groups. 

They  are  very  injurious  to  flowers,  eating 
holes  in  the  blossoms,  and  otherwise  disfigur- 
ing them,  particularly  the  dahlia:  and  Mouffet 
says  that  "  ox  hoofs,  hog's  hoofs,  or  old  cats 
things  are  used  as  traps  for  them  by  the  Eng- 
lish women,  who  hate  them  exceedingly,  be- 
cause of  clove-gilliflowers  that  they  eat  and 
spoyl."  It  is  common  with  English  gardeners 
to  hang  up,  among  the  flowers  and  fruit-trees 
subject  to  their  attacks,  pieces  of  hollow  reeds, 
lobster  claws,  and  the  like,  which  offer  en- 
ticing places  of  retreat  for  these  insects  on  tine 
approach  of  daylight,  and  by  means  thereof 
great  numbers  of  them  aYe  obtained  in  the 
morning.  The  little  creeping  animal,  with 
numerous  legs,  commonly,  but  erroneously, 
called  earwig  in  America,  is  not  an  insect; 
but  of  the  true  earwig  we  have  several  spe- 
cies, though  they  are  by  no  means  common, 
and  certainly  never  appear  in  such  numbers 
as  to  prove  seriously  injurious  to  vegetation. 
{Harris's  Treat,  of  Insects.) 

EDDER.  A  small  straight  shoot  of  ash, 
hazle,  oak,  or  any  other  kind  of  flexible  wood 
ured  for  binding  the  tops  of  hedges. 

2o  2  437 


EFT. 


EGLANTINE. 


EFT,  NEWT,  or  EVET  (Salamandra).  A 
small  kind  of  lizard,  that  chiefly  lives  in  the 
water.  As  the  newt  is  an  amphibious  animal, 
It  requires  to  ascend  frequently  to  the  surface 
of  the  water,  to  take  fresh  air  into  its  lungs. 

EGGS  (Fr.  cnifs;  Germ,  ei;  Lat.  mm).  The 
ova  of  birds  and  oviparous  animals.  The 
shell  of  the  egg  is  lined  throughout  with  a 
thin  but  tough  membrane,  called  ;)f//in<ia  ori  ,• 
which,  dividing  at  or  near  the  obtuse  end, 
forms  a  small  bag — the  air  follicuk.  This 
membrane  weighs  about  2*35  grains  in  an  eg^ 
of  1000  grains  in  weight  It  contains  what  is 
called  the  albumen  or  white,  and  the  vitellus  or 
yellow.  The  white  consists  of  two  distinct 
parts,  one  of  which  is  a  delicate  membrane 
forming  a  series  of  cells,  which  enclose  the 
other,  or  fluid  part.  It  has  the  well-known 
property  of  being  coagulated  by  heat.  It  con- 
sists of  12  parts  of  albumen,  2*7  of  mucus,  0-3 
of  salts,  and  8.5  of  water,  in  a  hundred  parts. 
The  yolk  consists  of  oil,  suspended  in  water 
by  means  of  albumen,  and  held  in  a  membra- 
nous sac — the  yolk-bag,  each  end  of  which  is 
twisted,  to  form  what  is  called  the  chalazcB,  in- 
tended to  preserve  the  yolk  in  such  a  position 
that  the  dcatricula,  or  rudimental  embryo,  shall 
always  be  uppermost.  The  yolk  consists  of 
28*75  of  yellow  oil  and  crystallizable  fat,  with 
traces  of  sulphur;  17-47  of  albumen,  contain- 
ing phosphorus,  and  53-8  of  water.  The  re- 
lative weights  of  these  parts,  in  an  egg  weigh- 
ing 1000  grains,  are,  106*9  shell  and  membrane, 
604-2  albumen,  and  288-9  yolk.  The  egg  loses 
2  or  3  per  cent,  of  its  weight  when  boiled  in 
water.  The  white  is  more  easily  digested  than 
the  yolk ;  and  both  are  more  digestible  in  the 
soft  than  in  the  hard  state.  The  changes 
which  the  hen's  egg  undergoes  during  incuba- 
tion have  been  described  by  Sir  E.  Home  (Phil. 
Trans.  1822,  p.  339),  and  illustrated  by  a  beau- 
tiful series  of  plates,  after  drawings  by  Bauer. 
The  same  volume  also  contains  a  valuable 
paper,  by  Dr.  Prout,  on  this  subject,  but  chiefly 
treating  of  the  chemical  changes  of  the  egg 
during  that  process.  The  egg  does  not  receive 
its  outer  coat,  or  pellimle,  until  it  arrives  at 
that  part  of  the  oviduct  which  is  called  the 
uterus;  and  not  its  shell  until  it  has  passed 
through  one  half  of  the  utems.  Eggs  are 
sometimes  expelled  without  shells,  and  are 
called  oon-eggs.  The  specific  gravity  of  new- 
laid  eggs  at  first  rather  exceeds  that  of  water, 
varying  from  1*08  to  1*09 ;  but  they  soon  be- 
come lighter,  and  swim  on  water,  in  conse- 
quence of  evaporation  through  the  pores  of 
the  shell.  The  mean  weight  of  a  hen's  egg  is 
about  875  grains. 

Hen's  eggs  are  decidedly  wholesome ;  and, 
when  new  laid,  are  an  agreeable  and  nourish- 
ing food.  Vast  quantities  of  eggs  are  brought 
from  the  country  to  London,  and  other  great 
towns.  It  is  stated  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
vol.  iii.  p.  1077,  that,  about  15  years  ago,  the 
number  of  eggs  exported  from  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed  to  London  amounted  to  30,000/.  worth 
a  year. 

The  trade  in  eggs  is  of  great  value  and  im- 
portance. It  appears  from  official  statements, 
that  the  eggs  imported  into  England  from 
France  amounted  to  60,000,000  a  year;  and 
433 


presuming  them  to  cost,  on  an  average,  \d.  pel 
dozen,  it  follows  that  the  English  pay  the 
French  above  83,000/.  a  year  for  eggs ;  and 
supposing  that  the  freight,  importer's  and  re- 
tailer's profit,  duty  (lOrf.  per  120),  &c.  raise 
their  price  to  the  consumer  to  lOrf.  per  dozen, 
their  total  cost  will  be  213,000/.  The  number 
of  eggs  imported  into  England  from  various 
parts  of  the  Continent,  for  the  year  ending 
January  5,  1839,  was  83,745,723;  and  the 
gross  amount  of  duty  received  for  the  same 
was  29,111/.  The  Netherlands  and  the  Chan- 
nel islands  furnish  a  large  quantity  of  the  eggs 
consumed  in  England.  (M'Culloch's  Com.  Did.) 
See  Fowls. 

A  new  method  of  preserving  eggs,  by  pack- 
ing them  in  salt  with  the  small  end  downwards, 
and  by  which  they  have  been  kept  perfectly 
good  for  eight  or  nine  months,  will,  it  is  be- 
lieved, enable  the  inhabitants  of  portions  of 
our  country  where  these  abound  to  make  them 
profitable.  Thousands  of  bushels  may  be  sent 
oflT  to  the  Atlantic  markets.  Great  quantities 
are  used  in  France ;  and  as  the  duty  on  them 
in  England  is  so  low,  (not  2  cents  per  dozen,) 
they  might  bear  exportation.  They  have  been 
gathered  and  sold  at  the  West  as  low  as  90 
cents  per  bushel ;  which,  as  a  bushel  contains 
45  dozen,  is  but  2  cents  per  dozen.  (Ellsworth's 
Report,  1843.) 

EGG-PLANT  (Solanum  melongena).  This  is 
a  tender  annual,  a  native  of  Africa.  It  loves 
a  light  rich  soil,  and  blows  violet  flowers  in 
June  and  July,  which  are  succeeded  by  fruit, 
shaped  and  coloured  like  an  egg.  The  plant 
is  propagated  by  seed.  In  French  and  Italian 
cookery  it  is  used  in  soups,  and  for  the  same 
purposes  as  the  love-apple. 

Two  varieties  of  this  annual  plant  are  com- 
monly met  with  in  the  United  States ;  one  of 
these  bears  a  very  large  purple  oval-shaped 
fruit,  which  is  highly  relished  as  a  delicious  and 
rich  lasted  vegetable.  It  is  cooked  by-frying 
transverse  sections  or  slices,  and  in  other  forms 
and  ways.  In  size  and  shape  the  fruit  resembles 
an  ostrich  egg,  though  it  frequently  attains  a 
size  many  times  larger,  even  to  that  of  a  small 
water-melon.  The  second  variety  is  white, 
and  the  shape  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
the  eggs  of  the  domestic  fowl.  To  raise  them 
in  the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  the  seed 
must  be  sown  in  a  hot-bed  in  March,  and 
transplanted  into  the  open  air  as  soon  as  there 
is  no  danger  from  frost,  placing  them  about 
two  feet  apart.  A  pretty  high  degree  of  heat, 
blended  with  a  good  supply  of  moisture,  are 
required  to  make  the  seeds  germinate  and 
bring  forward  the  young  plants. 

The  insane  egg-plant  (Solanum  insanium). 
Mad-apple,  or  purple  egg-plant,  called  by  the 
French  .Aubergine  rouge,  is  occasionally  culti- 
vated in  the  United  States  as  a  culinary  vege- 
table. The  whole  plant  is  coated  with  a  downy 
nap.  The  flowers  are  purplish  and  pubescent, 
and  the  berries  very  large,  ovoid-oblong,  mostly 
of  a  dark  purple  colour  when  mature,  and 
sometimes  pale-green.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

EGLANTINE  (Rosarubiginosa:  Tr.eglantin), 
The  old  English  name  of  the  sweetbrier  rose. 
The  odour  which  is  so  agreeable,  is  exhaled 
from  reddish,  viscid  glands,  which  cover  the 


ELATERS. 


ELECTMCn  Y. 


under  surface  of  the  leaflets.  This  odour  en- ' 
ables  it  to  be  readily  recognised  from  all  our 
other  wild  roses,  except  the  small-flowered 
sweetbrier  {Rosa  miaantha),  which  some  be- 
lieve to  be  only  a  variety  of  R.  ruhiginosa.  The 
term  eglantine  is  improperly  applied  by  Milton 
to  the  honeysuckle 

ELATERS.    See  Beetle,  Sprixo-beetle. 

ELBOWS.  A  term  applied  to  the  shoulder- 
points  of  cattle. 

ELDER  (Samlmcus  nigra).  It  appears  (says 
Phillips)  that  we  have  taken  the  word  elder 
from  holder,  the  Dutch  name  of  this  tree.  The 
common  elder  tree  is  a  native  of  England,  and 
is  found  also  in  most  parts  of  Europe,  as  it 
will  grow  on  any  soil,  and  in  situations  where 
few  other  trees  would  thrive.  The  stem  is 
much  and  oppositely  branched ;  the  branches 
being  covered  with  a  smooth,  gray  bark,  and 
having  a  large  spongy  pith ;  the  leaves  con- 
sist of  two  pair  of  leaflets,  with  an  odd  one. 
The  flowers  are  in  q/mes ;  the  berries  globular, 
deep  purple.  It  may  be  observed,  that  our  un- 
certain summer  is  established  by  the  time  the 
elder  is  in  full  flower,  and  entirely  passed 
when  its  berries  are  ripe.  An  infusion  of  the 
leaves  proves  fatal  to  the  various  in5ccts 
which  thrive  on  blighted  or  delicate  plants,  nor 
do  many  of  this  tribe,  in  the  caterpillar  state, 
feed  upon  them.  Cattle  scarcely  touch  them, 
and  the  mole  is  driven  away  by  their  scent; 
but  sheep  eat  the  leaves  greedily,  and  it  is  said 
to  be  a  cure  for  the  rot.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Farqu- 
harson,  in  an  able  paper  in  the  Trans.  High.  Soc. 
vol.  iv.  p.  336,  advocates  the  cultivation  of  the 
elder  for  hedges,  from  its  rapidity  of  growth, 
hardihood,  and  cheapness.  The  only  objection 
appears  to  be,  that  it  docs  not  thicken  and 
close  up  its  branches,  so  as  to  form  an  imper- 
vious fence,  like  the  white  thorn.  M.  Wehrle 
of  Vienna  has  found,  by  a  series  of  experi- 
ments, that  the  berries  of  the  elder  tree  produce 
a  much  greater  quantity  of  spirit  than  the  best 
wheat.  The  spirit  is  obtained  by  pressing  the 
berries,  the  juice  of  which  is  treated  in  the 
same  way  as  the  must  of  the  grape,  and  after- 
wards distilled.  If  the  results  obtained  by  M. 
Wehrle  are  confirmed,  it  will  be  an  additional 
motive  for  cultivating  a  plant  which  possesses 
many  other  useful  qualities.  (Quart.  Joum.  Jgr. 
vol.  iii.  p.  183.)  An  odorous  water  is  pre- 
pared by  distilling  the  flowers  ;  it  is  used  as  a 
perfume.  The  inspissated  juice  of  the  berries 
is  laxative  and  diuretic  ;  and,  mixed  with  wa- 
ter, forms  a  cooling  beverage  in  fevers.  The 
inner  bark  is  purgative  and  emetic. 

A  correspondent  of  the  New  England  Farmer 
says  that  the  expressed  juice  of  elder  leaves 
will  kill  skippers  in  cheese,  bacon,  &c.;  and 
strong  decoctions  of  the  leaves  or  roots  are 
fatal  to  insects,  which  depredate  on  plants  in 
gardens  and  fields.  Dr.  Willich  observes,  that 
the  leaves  of  the  elder  are  eaten  by  sheep,  to 
which  they  are  of  great  service  when  diseased 
with  the  rot ;  for  if  placed  in  a  situation  where 
they  can  easily  reach  the  bark  and  young 
shoots,  they  will  speedily  cure  themselves.  Dr. 
Elliott  observes  in  his  Essay  on  Field  Husbandry, 
that  elder  bushes  are  stubborn  and  hard  to  sub- 
due, yet  I  know  by  experience,  that  mowing 
them  five  times  a  year  will  kill  them.    (N.  E. 


Farmer.)  Some  persons  have  fi  und  a  very 
effectual  plan  for  destroying  elders  by  tak.ng  a 
pole  or  staff*  and  beating  them  down  whilst  in 
full  blossom. 

The  species  of  elder  most  common  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  is  called  by  botanists,  Sambums  Cana' 
densis.  It  is  often  a  great  nuisance  along  fence 
!  rows  and  hedges,  where  its  straight  stems  at- 
[  tain  a  height  of  5,  8,  or  10  feet,  being  filled 
with  a  large  pith.  The  flowers  bloom  in  July 
and  .\ugust,  the  peduncles  spreading  out  so  as 
to  display  the  blossoms  somewhat  like  an  urn. 
I  brella.  The  berries  are  very  abundant,  small, 
'  juicy,  and  dark  purple,  or  nearly  black  when 
fully  ripe.  The  long  roots  are  very  tenacious 
of  life,  and  very  much  disposed  to  spread  from 
lateral  joints.  The  inner  bark  is  a  popular 
ingredient  in  making  ointments  for  sores.  An 
infusion  of  the  bruised  leaves  is  often  used  to 
expel  insects  from  young  cucumber  and  other 
vines.  The  ripe  berries,  according  to  M.  Coz- 
zens,  afford  a  delicate  re-agent,  or  chemical 
test,  for  detecting  acids  and  alkalies.  There  is 
one  other  species  in  the  United  States,  called 
Samhuait  pubens,  which  is  found  on  the  moun- 
tains in  the  north-eastern  part  of  Pennsylva- 
nia. In  this  the  flowers  do  not  spread  out  like 
those  of  the  common  elder  of  the  M  ddle  States, 
but  are  crowded  together  so  as  tr  form  dense 
ovoid  heads  or  panicles.  The  t  ;rries  are  a 
scarlet  red. 

ELDER,  BOX.  In  some  pans  of  the  United 
States,  the  name  of  box  elder  is  popularly  ap- 
plied to  the  ash-leaved  maple  {.deer  negundo). 
See  MiPLE. 

ELDER,  THE  WATER  (Vxbiirnum  ojndus). 
Commonly  called  Snotr-ball.  See  Gleldeii  Ro9e. 
ELECAMPANE  {Inula  Helenium).  Called 
by  the  French  Aunie.  This  is  a  plant  with  a 
perennial  root  and  annual  stem,  which  has 
been  naturalized  in  the  United  States,  where, 
in  the  old  settled  parts,  it  is  frequent  about 
houses,  road-sides,  &c.,  flowering  in  July  and 
August.  The  stem  or  stalk  is  downy,  and 
grows  to  the  height  of  3  to  6  feet,  branching 
near  the  top.  The  leaves  are  long  and  large, 
with  much  down  on  the  under  surface.  The 
flowers  are  large,  and  of  a  golden  yellow.  The 
roots,  which  constitute  the  medicinal  part  of  the 
plant,  should  be  dug  up  in  autumn  and  in  the 
second  year  of  their  growth,  as  when  older  they 
are  apt  to  be  stringy  and  woody.  The  dried  root 
has  a  very  peculiar  and  agreeable  aromatic 
odour,  slightly  camphorous.  The  taste  at  first 
is  glutinous  and  somewhat  similar  to  that  of 
rancid  soap ;  upon  chewing,  it  becomes  warm, 
aromatic,  and  bitter.  A  peculiar  principle, 
resembling  starch,  has  been  discovered  in 
elecampane,  by  that  distinguished  German 
chemist.  Rose,  of  Berlin,  who  named  it  alantin; 
but  the  term  inuUn  is  most  generally  adopted. 
It  has  been  found  in  the  roots  of  several  other 
plants.  In  its  medical  properties  elecampane 
is  tonic  and  gently  stimulant,  &c.  By  the  an- 
cients it  was  much  employed,  especially  in 
complaints  peculiar  to  females.  In  the  United 
States,  its  use  is  mostly  confined  to  diseases  of 
the  lungs.  It  has  also  been  extolled  for  its 
virtues  when  applied  externally  for  the  cure 
of  itch,  tetter,  and  other  diseases  of  the  skin. 
ELECTRICITY.     The  application  of  this 

439 


ELM. 


ELM. 


science  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  has 
Viitherto  not  been  very  practically  useful.  Its 
operations — the  very  nature  of  electricity — are 
ts  yet  much  too  little  understood  for  the  culti- 
*rator  to  derive  instruction  from  its  study. 
•* Electrical  changes,"  said  Davy  (^Elements  of 
Jigr.  Chem.  p.  41),  "are  constantly  taking  place 
n  nature  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  in  the 
atmosphere:  but  as  yet  the  effects  of  this 
power  in  vegetation  have  not  been  correctly 
estimated.  It  has  been  shown,  by  experiments 
made  by  means  of  the  voltaic  battery  (the  in- 
strument in  which  electricity  is  evolved  by  the 
»jutual  action  of  zinc,  copper,  and  water),  that 
compound  bodies  in  general  are  capable  of 
being  decomposed  by  electrical  powers  ;  and  it 
is  probable,  that  the  various  electrical  pheno- 
mena occurring  in  our  system  must  influence 
both  the  germination  of  seeds  and  the  growth 
of  plants.  I  found  that  corn  sprouted  much 
more  rapidly  in  water  positively  electrified  by 
the  voltaic  instrument,  than  in  water  nega- 
tively electrified ;  and  experiments  made  upon 
the  atmosphere  show  that  clouds  are  usually 
negative ;  and  as  when  a  cloud  is  in  one  state 
of  electricity,  the  surface  of  the  earth  beneath 
is  brought  into  the  opposite  state,  it  is  probable 
that,  in  common  cases,  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  positive.  Different  opinions  are  entertained 
amongst  scientific  men  respecting  the  nature 
of  electricity:  by  some,  the  phenomena  are 
conceived  to  depend  upon  a  single  subtile  fluid, 
in  excess  in  the  bodies  said  to  be  positively 
electrified,  in  deficiency  in  the  bodies  said  to 
he  negatively  electrified ;  a  second  class  sup- 
pose the  effects  to  be  produced  by  two  different 
fluids,  called  by  them  vitreous  and  resinous;  and 
a  third  set  regard  them  as  affections,  or  mo- 
tions of  matter,  and  merely  an  exhibition  of 
attractive  powers,  similar  to  those  which  pro- 
duce chemical  combination  and  decomposition, 
but  usually  exerting  their  action  on  masses." 

ELEVATION,  ATMOSPHERIC.  The 
height  of  land  above  the  sea  or  common  level, 
exerts  a  very  great  influence  upon  the  growth 
of  plants.  One  of  the  main  causes  operating  un- 
der such  circumstances  to  diminish  the  size  of 
plants,  Professor  Dobereiner  believes  to  be  the 
diminution  of  atmospheric  pressure.  Experi- 
ments have  been  made  in  order  to  prove  this 
by  placing  seeds  of  barley  in  vessels,  contain- 
ing soil,  water,  and  air,  under  different  degrees 
of  atmospheric  pressure ;  and  the  result  has 
been,  that,  where  the  pressure  was  greatest, 
the  vigour  of  the  plants  was  also  greatest.  See 
Altitude. 

ELM  {^Ulmxis).  A  genus  of  forest  trees, 
common  in  Great  Britain,  of  which  there  are 
several  varieties.  The  characters  of  the  genus 
are  flowers,  bisexual ;  calyx,  bell-shaped,  four 
to  five  toothed,  coloured  persistent ;  stamens, 
three  to  six  ;  stigmas,  two ,  fruit,  sub-globular, 
with  a  broad  membranous  margin.  Sir  James 
i5.  Smith  (E7ig.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  19),  describes 
five  species  of  native  elm  : — viz.  1.  The  rom- 
riirin  small-leaved  elm  {U.  campestris),  "which  is 
found  chiefly  in  the  southern  parts  of  England. 
The  wood  is  hard  and  tough,  particularly  dura- 
ble in  wet  situations,  and  is  greatly  preferred 
in  Norfolk  (where  it  is  the  most  common  spe- 
cies) to  any  other,  and  sells  for  nearly  double 
440 


the  price,  serving  more  especially  for  the 
naves  of  wheels.  In  other  parts  of  England, 
and  particularly  about  London,  the  wood  of  the 
common  elm  is  used  for  coffins.  2.  The  ccm- 
mon  cork-barked  elm  (C7.  stiberosa),  which  is 
taller  and  more  spreading  than  the  foregoing. 
The  bark  when  a  year  old  is  covered  wiih  very 
fine  dense  cork  in  deep  fissures ;  whence  the 
name.  It  is  far  inferior  to  the  former  in  value. 
There  are  various  cultivated  varieties  raised 
from  seed.  3.  The  Dutch  cork-barked  elm  (U. 
rnajm-);  a  doubtful  native.  The  branches 
spread  widely  in  a  drooping  manner,  and  the 
bark  is  rugged,  much  more  corky  than  even 
the  foregoing.  Miller  says  this  elm  was 
brought  from  Holland  in  King  William's  reign, 
and  being  recommended  for  its  quick  growth, 
was  a  fashionable  tree  for  hedges  in  gardens, 
but  afterwards  fell  into  disuse.  He  adds,  that 
"  the  wood  is  good  for  nothing,  so  its  use  is 
almost  banished  in  this  country."  4.  The 
broad-leaved  Scotch  elm,  or  wych  hazel  ( U.  mon- 
tana).  It  is  sometimes  called  the  Hertfordshire 
elm,  being  very  frequent  and  luxuriant  in  that 
county.  The  large  hop-like  fruit  is  abundant, 
and  very  conspicuous  in  May  or  June ;  and 
the  seeds  appear  to  be  usually  perfected.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  general  species  of  elm 
throughout  Europe.  It  is  a  large  spreading 
tree,  of  quicker  growth  than  the  common 
small-leaved  elm,  and  the  wood  is  consequently 
far  inferior  in  hardness  and  compactness,  and 
more  liable  to  split.  The  branches  are  in 
some  individuals  quite  pendulous,  like  the 
weeping  willow.  The  bark  is  smooth,  and 
downy  in  a  young  state.  5.  The  smooth-leaved, 
or  wych  elm  (CT".  glabra).  A  tall,  elegant  tree, 
with  spreading,  rather  drooping,  smooth,  black- 
ish branches,  and  smaller  leaves  than  any  of 
the  preceding,  except  the  first. 

The  elm  (says  Brande)  is  valued  for  the  ra- 
pidity of  its  growth,  its  hardness,  and  its  capa- 
bility of  thriving  in  poor  soil  unfit  for  tillage, 
Tredgold  {Princip.of  Carp.),  however,  says  the 
elm  is  of  slow  growth.  The  elms  of  England 
are  scarcely  less  remarked  for  their  age,  bulk, 
and  beauty  than  the  British  oaks.  The  colour 
of  the  heart-wood  of  elm  is  generally  darker 
than  that  of  oak,  and  of  a  redder  brown.  The 
sap  wood  is  of  a  yellowish  or  brownish  white, 
with  pores  inclined  to  red.  It  has  a  peculiar 
odour,  is  in  general  porous  and  cross-grained — 
sometimes  coarse-grained,  and  has  no  large 
septa.  It  twists  and  warps  much  in  drying, 
and  also  shrinks  considerably  both  in  jength 
and  breadth.  It  is  difficult  to  work,  but  not 
liable  to  split,  and  bears  the  driving  of  bolts 
and  nails  better  than  any  other  timber.  What 
is  known  in  Europe  as  the  twisted  elm  {Orme 
tortillard),  is  not  a  distinct  species  but  only  a 
variety  of  the  European  elm.  The  twisted 
form  of  the  fibres  is  secured  by  culture,  the 
young  stalks  being  properly  grafted  and  plant- 
ed separately  from  the  parent  tree.  In  Scot- 
land, chairs  and  other  articles  of  household 
furniture  are  frequently  made  of  elm  wood; 
but  in  England,  where  the  wood  is  inferior, 
besides  the  purposes  already  specified,  it  is 
chiefly  in  demand  for  the  manufacture  of  casks, 
mill-wheels,  pumps,  water-pipes,  axletrees,  &c. 
It  is  appropriated  to  these  purposes  because  of 


ELM. 


EI^. 


its  great  durability  in  water,  which  also  occa- 
sions its  extensive  use  as  piles  and  planking 
for  wet  foundations.  A  second-rate  charcoal 
is  made  from  this  wood;  and  rails  and  gates 
of  elm,  thin  sawed,  Evelyn  tells  us  in  his  Sylvu, 
are  not  so  apt  lo  rive  as  oak.  Elm  is  said  to 
bear  transplanting  belter  than  any  other  large 
tree.  I*  is  propagated  by  seed,  layers,  or 
suckers,  and  by  grafting  and  budding.  Suck- 
ers, however,  generally  disfigure  those  trees 
raised  from  layers  or  suckers.  As  the  value 
of  this  timber  consists  more  in  the  length  and 
bulk  of  the  shaft  than  in  the  irregular  growth 
of  its  branches,  it  is  the  business  of  the  planter 
to  train  them  up  tall  and  straight,  and  not  to 
suflfer  them  to  branch  till  within  a  few  feet  of 
the  top.  The  leaves  of  the  elm  are  eagerly 
eaten  by  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  The  inner 
bark  of  the  elm  is  nearly  as  valuable  a  medi- 
cinal agent  as  the  much-vaunted  sarsaparilla. 
The  decoction  of  it  forms  an  excellent  vehicle 
for  minute  doses  of  corrosive  sublimate  in 
some  obstinate  skin  diseases;  and  in  combi- 
nation with  vinegar  or  muriatic  acid,  it  is  a 
useful  gargle  in  inflamed  throats. 

Several  species  of  the  Ulmus  family  are 
found  in  the  United  States.  Among  these  the 
white  or  weeping  elm  (i'lnnis  ^imerieana),  is 
met  with  over  a  very  extensive  tract  of  the 
continent.  Michaux  says  that  his  father  ni>- 
ticed  it  as  high  north  as  latitude  48°  20',  near 
the  entrance  of  the  river  Mislassin  into  Lake 
St.  John,  and  that  he  had  himself  observed  it 
from  Nova  Scotia  to  the  extremity  of  Georgia, 
a  distance  of  at  least  1200  miles.  It  abounds 
in  all  the  Western  states.  The  district  of  coun- 
try in  which  it  seems  to  flourish  best  is  com- 
prised between  the  42d  and  46ih  degrees  of 
latitude,  in  Western  New  York,  the  Eastern 
Stales,  and  adjoining  British  provinces.  It  de- 
lights in  low  and  humid  soils,  and  is  frequently 
met  with  on  the  borders  of  swamps  and  fertile 
bottoms,  associated  with  the  white  maple  and 
buitonwood.  On  the  banks  of  rivers  its  base 
is  frequently  overflowed  by  freshets,  and  its 
diameter  often  increases  to  four  feel.  But  ii 
is  where  the  primitive  forests,  in  which  it 
has  beerf  once  insulated,  have  been  cleared 
away,  that  the  American  elm  when  left  appears 
in  its  greatest  majesty,  towering  to  the  height 
of  80  or  100  feet,  with  a  trunk  4  or  5  feet  in 
diameter,  regularly  shaped,  naked,  and  insen- 
sibly diminishing  to  the  height  of  60  or  70  feel, 
where  it  divides  into  two  or  three  primary 
limbs.  These  limbs  do  not  part  so  suddenly 
as  those  of  most  other  trees,  but  approach  and 
cross  each  other,  interlacing  and  bending  their 
flexible  branches  so  as  to  form  regular  arches 
of  ihe  Gothic  character,  floating  lightly  in  the 
air.  Michaux  mentions  a  singularity  in  this 
tree  he  had  found  in  no  other,  namely,  that 
two  small  limbs,  4  or  5  feet  long,  grow  in  a 
reversed  position  near  the  first  fork,  and  de- 
scend along  the  trunk. 

The  American  white  elm  differs  essentially 
from  the  red  elm  and  the  European  elm  in  its 
flowers  and  seeds.  The  flowers  appear  before 
the  leaves,  and  are  very  small  and  of  a  purple 
colour.  The  seeds  are  contained  in  a  flat, 
oval,  fringed  capsule,  being  mature  from  the 
'  th  of  May  to  the  1st  of  June. 
56 


The  buitonwood  astonishes  the  eye  by  the 
size  of  its  trunk  and  the  amplitude  of  its  head; 
but  the  white  elm  has  a  more  majestic  appear- 
ance, owing  to  its  greater  height,  and  the  dis- 
position of  its  principal  limbs.  When  grow- 
ing alone,  the  limbs  generally  branch  off  at  8, 
10,  or  12  feet  from  the  ground. 

"The  trunk  of  this  elm  is  covered  with  a 
white,  tender  bark,  very  deeply  furrowed.  The 
wood,  like  that  of  the  common  European  elm, 
is  of  a  dark  brown,  and,  cut  transversely  or 
obliquely  to  the  longitudinal  fibres,  it  exhibits 
the  same  numerous  and  fine  undulations;  but 
it  splits  more  easily,  and  has  less  compactness, 
hardness,  and  strength.  This  opinion  was  given 
me  by  several  English  wheel-wrights  establish- 
ed in  the  United  Slates,  and  I  have  since  proved 
its  correctness  by  a  comparison  of  the  two  spe- 
cies. The  white  elm  is  used,  however,  at  New 
York  and  farther  north,  for  the  naves  of  coach- 
wheels,  because  it  is  difficult  to  procure  the 
black  gum,  which  at  Philadelphia  is  preferred 
for  this  purpose.  It  is  not  admitted  into  the 
construction  of  houses  or  of  vessels,  except 
occasionally  in  the  district  of  Maine  for  keels, 
for  which  it  is  adapted  only  by  its  size.  Its 
bark  is  said  to  be  easily  detached  during  eight 
months  of  the  year;  soaked  in  water  and  sup- 
pled by  pounding,  it  is  used  in  the  Northern 
Stales  for  the  bottoms  of  common  chairs. 

"Such  are  ihe  few  and  unimportant  uses  of 
ihe  white  elm  in  the  United  Slates;  it  is  far  in- 
ferior to  the  European  elm,  which  is  a  tree  of 
very  extensive  utility,  and  it  deserves  atlenlion 
in  the  old  world  only  as  the  most  magnificent 
vesretable  of  the  temperate  zone."    {MuImux.) 

The  lUd  or  Tawny  elm  (Ubitus  rubra),  called 
also  the  slippery  elm. — "Except  the  maritime 
districts  of  the  Carol inas  and  Georgia,  this  spe- 
cies of  elm  is  found  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
Slates  and  of  Canada.  It  bears  the  names  of 
red  elm,  slippery  elm,  and  moose  elm,  of  which 
the  first  is  the  most  common;  the  French  of 
Canada  and  Upper  Louisiana  call  it  Orme  gras, 

"The  red  elm,  though  not  rare,  is  less  com- 
mon than  the  oaks,  the  maples,  the  sweet  gum, 
and  the  sassafras ;  it  is  also  less  multiplied 
than  the  while  elm,  and  the  two  species  are 
rarely  found  together,  as  the  red  elm  requires 
a  substantial  soil,  free  from  moisture,  and  even 
delights  in  elevated  and  open  situations,  such 
as  the  steep  banks  of  rivers,  particularly  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  Susquehanna.  In  Ohio,  Ken- 
lucky,  and  Tennessee  it  is  more  multiplied 
than  east  of  the  mountains,  and  with  the 
hickories,  the  wild  cherry  tree,  the  red  mul- 
berry, the  sweet  locust,  the  coffee  tree,  and 
some  other  species,  it  constitutes  the  growth 
upon  the  richest  lands  of  an  uneven  surface. 

"This  tree  is  50  or  60  feet  high,  and  15  or 
20  inches  in  diameter.  In  the  winter  it  is  distin- 
guished from  the  white  elm  by  its  buds,  which 
are  larger  and  rounder,  and  which,  a  fortnight 
before  their  developement,  are  covered  with  a 
russet  down. 

"The  flowers  are  aggregated  at  the  extre- 
mity of  the  young  shoots.  The  scales  which 
surround  the  bunches  of  flowers  are  downy  like 
the  buds.  The  flowers  and  seeds  differ  from 
those  of  the  preceding  species;  the  calyx  is 
downy  and  sessile,  and  the  stamina  are  shor* 

441 


ELM. 


ELYMUS. 


and  of  a  pale  rose  colour;  the  seeds  are  larger, 
destitute  of  fringe,  round,  and  very  similar  to 
those  of  the  European  elm ;  they  are  ripe  to- 
wards the  end  of  May.  The  leaves  are  oval- 
acuminate,  doubly  denticulated,  and  larger, 
thicker,  and  rougher  than  those  of  the  white 
elm. 

"The  bark  upon  the  trunk  is  brown;  the 
heart  is  coarser-grained  and  less  compact  thr.n 
that  of  the  white  elm,  and  of  a  dull  red  tinge. 
I  have  remarked  that  the  wood, even  in  branches 
of  one  or  two  inches  in  diameter,  consists 
principally  of  perfect  wood.  This  species  is 
stronger,  more  durable  when  exposed  to  the 
weather,  and  of  a  better  quality  than  the  white 
elm ;  hence  in  the  Western  States  it  is  em- 
ployed with  greater  advantage  in  the  construc- 
tion of  houses,  and  sometimes  of  boats  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio.  It  is  the  best  wood  of  the 
United  States  for  blocks,  and  its  scarceness  in 
the  Atlantic  States  is  the  only  cause  of  its 
limited  consumption  in  the  ports.  It  makes 
excellent  rails,  which  are  of  long  duration,  and 
are  formed  with  little  labour,  as  the  trunk  di- 
vides itself  easily  and  regularly;  this  is  pro- 
bably the  reason  that  it  is  never  employed  for 
the  naves  of  wheels. 

"The  red  elm  bears  a  strong  likeness  to  a 
species  or  a  variety  in  Europe  known  by  the 
name  of  Dutch  elm.  The  leaves  and  the  bark 
of  the  branches,  macerated  in  water,  yield,  like 
those  of  the  Dutch  elm,  a  thick  and  abundant 
mucilage,  which  is  used  for  a  refreshing  drink 
in  colds,  and  for  emollient  plasters  in  place  of 
the  marsh-mallow  root,  which  does  not  grow 
in  the  United  States. 

"Though  the  red  elm  is  superior  to  the 
white  elm,  it  is  not  equal  to  our  European 
species,  and  its  culture  cannot  be  generally 
recommended. 

"  Observation,  In  the  district  of  Maine  and 
on  the  banks  of  Lake  Champlain  I  have  found 
another  elm,  which  I  judged  to  be  a  distinct 
species.  Its  leaves  were  oval-acuminate,  rough, 
and  deeply  toothed,  but  I  have  not  seen  its 
flowers  or  its  seeds.  The  length  of  its  young 
shoots  announced  a  vigorous  vegetation.  It 
is  confounded  in  use  with  the  white  elm,  to 
which  it  is  perhaps  superior;  it  is  found  in  the 
nurseries  of  France,  and  probably  it  came  ori- 
ginally from  Canada."  (Michaux.) 

The  red  elm  of  the  United  States  bears  so 
strong  a  resemblance  to  the  Dutch  elm,  both  in 
foliage  and  fruit,  that  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
tell  them  apart  The  species  of  elm  known  in 
the  South  by  the  Indian  name  of  Wahoo,  is  the 
Ulmus  alata  of  Michaux.  It  is  a  stranger  to 
the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  and  to  the 
mountainous  regions  of  the  Alleghanies;  being 
found  almost  exclusively  in  the  lower  part  of 
Virgmia,  in  the  maritime  districts  of  the  South- 
ern States,  in  West  Tennessee,  and  in  some 
parts  of  Kentucky.  It  prefers  the  banks  of 
rivers  and  great  swamps,  and  attains  a  middle 
size,  commonly  not  rising  higher  than  30  feet, 
with  a  diameter  of  9  or  10  inches.  The  branches 
of  the  wahoo  are  furnished  throughout  their 
whole  length,  on  two  opposite  sides,  with  a 
fungous  appendage  or  ridge,  two  or  three  lines 
wide,  from  which  the  specific  name,  alata, 
winged,  is  derived.  The  wood  is  fine-grained, 
442 


more  compact,  heavier  and  stronger  than  tha* 
of  the  American  white  elm.  The  heart  is  of  a 
dull  red,  approaching  to  chocolate-colour,  and 
always  bears  a  large  proportion  to  the  sap.  In 
those  parts  of  the  country  where  it  grows,  it  is 
employed  for  coach-wheels,  and  is  even  pre- 
ferred for  this  purpose  to  the  black  gum,  as 
being  more  hard  and  tough. 

Another  American  species  of  elm  has  been 
discovered  by  Mr.  Nuttall,  who  calls  it  the 
Opaque-leaved  elm.  He  found  it  in  Arkansas, 
on  the  plains  of  the  Red  river,  1100  miles 
above  its  mouth,  where  it  forms  a  majestic 
forest  tree.  It  is  distinguished  for  the  smali- 
ness  and  thickness  of  its  oblique  and  usually 
blunt  leaves,  which,  with  their  short  stalks,  are 
only  about  an  inch  in  length  by  half  an  inch  in 
breadth,  and  very  numerous.  The  taste  of  the 
plant  is  astringent,  and  it  is  not  mucilaginous. 

Mr.  Nuttall  considers  this  remarkable  tree 
to  be  nearly  allied  to  the  Chinese  elm  (Ulmus 
Chinensis).  Of  the  uses  and  quality  of  its  wood 
he  does  not  speak.  The  density  of  shade  pro- 
duced by  it,  so  crowded  with  rigid  leaves,  and 
the  peculiarity  of  its  appearance,  he  says,  en- 
title it  to  a  place  in  the  nurseries  of  the  curi- 
ous, as  he  thinks  it  quite  hardy  enough  for  all 
temperate  climates.  To  this  species,  he  re- 
marks, Virgil's  epithet, 

"Fseciindfe  frondibus  ulmi," 

might  be  more  justly  applied  than  to  any  other. 
(Nuttairs  Sup.  to  Michaux.) 

An  American  species  called  Thomas's  elm 
{Ulmus  racemosa),  which  has  hitherto  been  con- 
founded with  other  elms,  is,  according  to  Pro- 
fessor Torrey,  abundant  in  the  western  part  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  probably  of  the 
Western  States  generally.  Mr.  Thomas,  its 
discoverer,  found  it  in  Cayuga  county,  New 
York,  and  the  adjacent  country.  G.  B.  Emer- 
son, Esq.,  says  that  specimens  have  also  been 
obtained  from  Vermont,  collected  by  Dr.  Rob- 
bins,  so  that  it  is  probably  both  a  northern  and 
western  species. 

The  lowermost  stout  branches,  according  to 
Mr.  Thomas,  produce  corky  excrescences  like 
the  Wahoo  elm.  For  a  further  description, 
see  Eaton's  North  Amcr.  Botany ;  Sillimari's  Jour* 
nal,  vol.  xix.  p.  170,  with  a  plate  ;  NuttalVs  Sup- 
plement,  p.  37. 

ELYMUS.  The  lyme  grass.  A  genus  of 
large,  rigid,  or  coarse  grasses,  mostly  peren- 
nial, growing  frequently  on  the  sea-coasU 
Smith  (Eng.  Flora,  vol.  i.  p.  177),  describes 
three  native  species: — 1.  Upright  sea  lyme 
grass  (E.  arenanus).  2.  Pendulous  sea  lyme 
grass  (£.  geniculatus).  3.  Wood  lyme  grass 
(E.  Europmis).  The  last  is  found  in  woods, 
thickets,  and  hedges,  on  a  chalky  soil ;  herb- 
age of  a  grassy  green;  stem  erect,  two  feet 
high,  and  striated.  As  Sinclair  has  treated 
copiously  of  the  proportional  value  of  the  dif- 
ferent native  and  foreign  species  of  £Z?/mm,  I 
shall  follow  his  classification. 

Elymus  arenarius  (Germ.  Sand-haargras,  PL 
7,  o).  Upright  sea  lyme  grass,  starr,  or  bent, 
named  from  its  upright,  close  spike.  Its  stalk 
is  not  winged,  and  the  leaves  are  spinous, 
pointed.  The  calyx  is  lanceolate,  the  length 
of  the  spikelets.    The  nutritive  matter  aflTorded 


ELYMUS. 


ELYMUS. 


by  this  lyme  grass  is  remarkable  for  the  large 
quantity  of  saccharine  matter  which  it  con- 
tains, amounting  to  more  than  one-third  of  its 
weight;  this  grass  may,  therefore,  be  consider- 
ed as  the  sugar-cane  of  Britain.  The  saccha- 
rine matter  must  render  the  hay  made  from 
this  grass  very  nutritious,  particularly  when 
cut  into  chaff,  and  mixed  with  corn  or  common 
hay.  Its  natural  soil  (if  soil  it  can  be  called) 
is  the  sands  of  the  sea-coast.  This  grass,  when 
combined  with  the  Arundo  arenaria,  seems  ad- 
mirably adapted  by  nature  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  barrier  to  the  encroachment  of  the 
sea.  The  culms  are  very  deficient,  both  on  its 
natural  soil  and  when  cultivated.  A  greater 
proportion  of  saccharine  matter  is  afforded  by 
the  culms  of  this  grass  than  by  the  leaves.  It 
flowers  about  the  third  week  in  July. 

Elymus  genicnlatus.  Knee-jointed  or  pendu- 
lous lyme  grass.  The  stem  is  winged,  and  the 
spikes  bent  directly  downwards.  At  the  lime 
of  flowering,  the  produce  from  a  sandy  loam  is 
20,418  lbs.  per  acre.  The  foliage  is  tough  and 
coarse,  and  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  it 
affords  is  not  considerable.  The  Elymus  art- 
narius  is  nearly  allied  to  this  species  in  its 
general  habit;  but  differs  specifically  in  the 
spikelets  being  pubescent,  more  compact,  and 
the  spike  perfectly  upright.  The  leaves  are 
broader,  the  culms  taller  and  stronger,  and  the 
root  is  more  powerfully  creeping.  This  spe- 
cies is  greatly  superior  to  the  above  in  produce 
and  nutritive  properties,  but  neither  appear  to 
have  merits  sufficient  to  recommend  it  for  cul- 
tivation; for  even  though  both  were  early  in 
the  produce  of  fine  foliage,  and  grew  rapidly 
after  being  cut,  their  strong  creeping  roots, 
which  exhaust  the  soil  very  much,  would  pre- 
clude their  introduction  on  the  farm.  This 
species  flowers  in  the  second  week  in  July, 
and  the  seed  is  perfected  in  about  three  weeks. 

Elymus  hyslrix.  Rough  lyme  grass.  At  the 
time  of  flowering,  the  produce  from  a  rich,  sili- 
cious,  sandy  loam  was  27,225  lbs.,  of  which 
half  the  weight  is  lost  in  drying.  The  nutritive 
matter  afforded  by  the  produce  of  an  acre  is 
only  1063  lbs.  The  harsh,  broad,  thin,  light- 
green  leaves  of  this  species,  and  of  those  of  the 
E.  striatus  and  E.  tibiricus,  indicate  that  they 
are  naturally  inhabitants  of  woods,  or  wet, 
shady  places.  Grasses  of  this  description  are 
generally  (indeed  in  every  instance  that  has 
come  under  my  observation)  deficient  in  nu- 
tritive matter,  and  contain  an  excess  of  bitter 
extractive.  Cattle  appear  to  dislike  these 
grasses.  Oxen  eat  the  Philadelphian  lyme 
grass  when  it  is  offered  to  them,  but  they  re- 
fuse the  striated,  Siberian,  and  rough  lyme 
grasses.  From  the  above  details,  there  is  no 
authority  for  recommending  the  rough  lyme 
grass  to  the  notice  of  the  agriculturist.  It 
flowers  in  the  second  week  in  July,  and  ripens 
the  seed  in  about  a  month. 

Elymus  Philadelphicus.  Philadelphian  lyme 
gra.ss.  At  the  time  of  flowering,  the  green  pro- 
duce per  acre  from  a  clayey  loam  and  reten- 
tive subsoil  is  30,628  lbs.,  dry  produce  1.5,314 
lbs.,  nutritive  matter,  2033  lbs.;  so  that  it  is  a 
very  productive  grass,  and  contains  a  consi- 
derable quantity  of  nutritive  matter.  With  re- 
spect to  foliage,  it  is  rather  early  in  the  spring. 


:  From  the  large  size  it  attains,  the  produce  is 
1  rank  and  proportionably  coarse,  and  is  unfit 
i  for  pasture.    It  appears  that  for  soiling,  or  hay 
'  to  be  used  in  the  form  of  chaff,  this  and  some 
I  other  of  the  gigantic  grasses  would  be  profit- 
!  able  plants  on  soils  unfit  for  the  production  of 
I  the  superior  pasture  grasses,  or  of  corn.     A 
comparison  of  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter 
'  contained  in  hay  of  the  best  quality  with  that 
:  made  from  this  grass,  will  show  nearly  their 
!  comparative  value.     One  pound  of  hay  com- 
I  posed  of  the  best  natural  grasses  contains  of 
'  nutritive  matter  57  drs.;  one  pound  of  hay  of 
I  the  E.  Philadelphicus  34  drs.     With  regard  to 
;  nutritive  powers,  therefore,  five  tons  of  the  hay 
'  of  this  grass  are  scarcely  equal  to  three  tons 
j  of  that  of  the  superior  grasses.     But  the  soil 
that  will  produce  this  grass  and  others  of  the 
same  class  at  the  rate  of  six  tons  per  acre, 
would  not  produce  one-fifth  the  quantity  of  the 
superior  grasses ;  consequently  the  adoption  of 
the  tall  fescue  and  Philadelphian  lyme  grasses 
on  soils  of  this  description  for  the  uses  now 
described,  might  be  found  a  profitable  measure. 
This  grass  flowers  in  the  first  and  second  weeks 
of  July,  and  successively  till  the  end  of  sum- 
mer.   The  seed  ripens  in  about  three  weeks 
after  the  time  of  flowering. 

Elymus  Sibericus,  Siberian  lyme  grass.  At 
the  time  of  flowering,  the  produce  per  acre 
from  a  rich  sandy  soil  is  16,335  lbs.,  dry  pro- 
duce 5,717  lbs.,  nutritive  matter  574  lbs.  The 
produce  of  this  grass  is  very  coarse,  and  the 
weight  of  the  crop,  therefore,  though  consider- 
able, is  comparatively  of  no  value.  It  is  a 
native  of  Siberia,  and  withstands  the  effects  of 
the  severest  continued  frost,  but  not  sudden 
changes  from  frost  to  fine  weather.  It  requires 
to  be  sown  every  year,  and  treated  as  an  an- 
nual. It  comes  into  flower  the  second  season, 
about  the  second. or  third  week  in  June,  and 
continues  to  emit  flowering  culms  till  autumn. 
A  light,  rich,  silicious  soil  appears  to  be  best 
adapted  to  its  growth. 

Elymus  strinttis.  Striated  lyme  grass.  At  the 
time  of  flowering,  the  green  produce  per  acre 
of  this  grass  from  a  clayey  loam  is  20,418  lbs., 
dry  produce  8,933  lbs.,  nutritive  matter  1276 
lbs.  From  these  details,  therefore,  this  species 
is  inferior  in  nutritive  powers  to  the  Philadel- 
phian lyme  grass  in  the  proportion  of  17  to  16 
It  is  also  much  later  in  the  production  of 
foliage  in  the  spring,  and  does  not  come  into 
flower  till  after  that  species  has  nearly  per- 
fected its  seed.  It  cannot,  therefore,  be  recom- 
mended for  the  purposes  of  the  agriculturist. 
Flowers  about  the  latter  end  of  July,  and  ripens 
the  seed  in  August.  {Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  365 — 
371.) 

About  eight  American  species  of  the  lyme 
grass  have  been  enumerated  by  botanists,  found 
along  streams  or  on  the  sea-shore,  where,  as  in 
Europe,  they  often  prove  extremely  useful  in 
resisting  the  encroachment  of  the  water. 

The  Virginian  lyme  grass  is  sometimes  called 
wild  rye,  although  its  spikes,  like  those  of  the 
Canadian  lyme  grass,  more  resemble  at  a  little 
distance  the  heads  of  barley.  It  is  a  perennial, 
found  along  the  banks  of  the  Brandywine  and 
in  other  parts  of  the  Middle  States,  where  i 
attains  a  height  of  three  or  four  "feet. 

443 


EMBANKMENT. 


ENDIVE. 


The  Canadian  lyme  grass  is  also  a  peren- 
nial, growing  to  a  similar  height  with  the  spe- 
cies just  mentioned,  found  in  similar  localities, 
and  resembling  it  in  most  other  respects,  ex- 
cept in  having  its  flowerets  and  their  receptacle 
clothed  with  stitfish  hairs.  The  variety  glati^ 
ci/olius  of  Torrey  is  generally  a  taller  plant, 
with  longer  spikes,  the  awns  long  and  some- 
what curved,  and  the  whole  plant  covered  with 
a  greenish-white  or  silvery  appearance.  It  is 
found  on  the  Schuylkill,  near  Black  Rock. 

The  villous  or  hairy  lyme  grass  is  a  species 
also  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Brandy  wine. 

The  species  called  Porcupine  lyme  grass 
(£.  hystrix),  is  remarkable  for  its  expanded, 
bristly  spike,  somewhat  resembling  an  apothe- 
cary's bottle-washer.  It  is  a  perennial,  fre- 
quently found  in  the  southern  parts  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  other  Middle  Stales,  in  rich, 
moist,  and  rocky  woodlands,  where  it  flowers 
Id  July  and  ripens  its  seed  in  August.  (See 
Flor.  Cestric.) 

EMBANKMENT.  A  large  mound  or  bank 
of  earth;  thrown  up  for  the  purpose  of  protect- 
ing or  reclaiming  lands  from  being  injured  or 
inundated  by  the  water  of  the  sea,  rivers,  or 
lakes.  Mr.  P.  Howard  narrates  in  the  Com.  to 
the  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  vi.  p.  148,  the  methods  in 
use  for  embankments  abroad. 

In  Yorkshire,  Lincolnshire,  Cambridgeshire, 
and  other  places  in  England,  many  hundred 
thousands  of  acres  have  been  taken  in  by  em- 
banking. In  Holland,  the  whole  country  has 
in  a  great  measure  been  gained  in  this  way. 
Ncai  Chester,  the  River  Dee  Company  have 
also  reclaimed  some  thousands  of  acres  from 
the  sea,  which  are  now  divided  into  several 
beautiful  farms.  Mr.  A.  W.  Maddocks,  of  Car- 
narvon, enclosed  1080  acres  from  the  sea,  by 
an  embankment  of  two  miles  in  extent.  (Ibid. 
vol.  vi.  p.  159.)  Lord  Boringdon  also  reclaim- 
ed a  large  tract  of  land  from  the  sea  by  em- 
banking. (Ibid.  p.  252.)  Mr.  D.  Sherifl:;  of  In- 
verness-shire, likewise  describes  (Ibid.  vol.  vii. 
p.  59),  the  plan  he  pursued  in  taking  in  from 
the  sea  100  acres  of  valuable  carse  land.  In 
the  Lib.  of  Useful  Kaow.,  "  Brit.  Husb."  vol.  i,  p. 
447-449,  will  be  found  some  excellent  observa- 
tions on  the  embankment  of  rivers,  and  the  cost 
of  an  operation  of  the  kind.  In  the  Quart.  Journ. 
of  Jgr.  vol.  viii.  p.  377,  will  also  be  found  some 
interesting  details  on  the  same  subject. 

There  are  many  other  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom  in  which  capital  might  be  advan- 
tageously employed  for  the  same  purpose.  It 
is  a  question  of  even  national  importance,  and, 
as  in  the  proposed  embankment  of  the  Wash, 
may  be  carried  in  some  districts  to  a  much 
greater  extent  than  is  commonly  supposed.  It 
is  an  improvement  which  must  be  so  much 
varied,  according  to  the  situation  in  which 
the  farmer  is  placed,  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible, in  this  work,  to  go  into  engineering 
details;  for,  as  Mr.  Blackie  remarks  (Trans, 
of  High.  Sac.  vol.  ii.  p.  746,)  "  It  would  be  an 
Herculean  task  to  attempt  to  lay  down  rules, 
or  give  directions  for  raising  the  requisite 
structures  in  every  situation.  So  many  local 
impediments  occur,  so  many  unlooked-for  ob- 
stacles must  be  surmounted,  and  there  are 
always  so  many  circumstances  to  be  attended 
444 


to  and  provided  for,  that  much  n.ust  ever  de- 
pend on  the  ingenuity  and  ability  of  the  direc- 
tor." See  also  Rev.  G.  Hamilton,  Mr.  Sidney, 
and  Mr.  Macleod.  (J/;iV/.  p.  97—103);  Johnstone 
on  Draining  and  Embanking,  and  Stephens  on 
In'igalion. 

EMBROCATION  (Gr.  «yy%i';t«).  In  farriery, 
it  is  a  liquid  application,  usually  prepared  of 
volatile  and  spirituous  ingredients,  chiefly  used 
by  friction  to  relieve  pains,  numbness,  &c. 

EMOLIENTS  (Lat.  emolliens).  In  farriery, 
such  remedies  as  reljix  and  diminish  the  hard- 
ness and  rigidity  of  the  parts  to  which  they 
are  applied. 

ENCHANTER'S  NIGHTSHADE  (CirccBay 
Of  this  perennial  herbaceous  genus  of  plants 
there  are  two  indigenous  species,  the  common 
enchanter's  nightshade  (C.  lutetiana),  and  the 
mountain  enchanter's  nightshade  (C.  alpina). 
The  former  grows  in  moist,  shady  places, hedge- 
bottoms,  church-yards,  orchards,  &c.:  the  root 
is  tenaciously  creeping ;  the  stem  18  or  20 
inches  high;  round  and  branching:  the  leaves, 
of  a  darkish  dull  green,  waved,  with  short 
teeth,  one  rib,  and  many  veins  ;  the  flowers  are 
in  clusters,  many,  small,  and  scentless,  white 
or  reddish,  with  a  brownish-green  calyx ;  the 
fruit  is  a  bur,  cloihed  with  hooked  bristles. 
Two  species  of  this  plant  are  known  in  the 
United  States.  The  one  commonly  found  in 
moist,  rich  wood-lands  in  Pennsylvania  and 
other  Middle  States,  varies  somewhat.  Dr.  Dar- 
lington says,  from  the  circoea  of  Europe.  (Flor. 
Cest.  and  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  15.) 

ENDIVE  (Cichc/rium  endivia).  This  plant  is 
too  well  known  to  require  description.  There 
are  three  varieties.  The  green-curled  is  the 
only  one  cultivated  for  the  main  crops.  When 
the  larger  seedlings  have  been  transplanted, 
the  smaller  ones  which  remain  may  be  cleared 
of  weeds,  and  have  a  gentle  watering;  by 
which  treatment,  in  12  or  14  days  they  will 
have  attained  a  sufficient  size  to  aflford  a  se- 
cond successional  crop ;  and  by  a  repetition 
of  this  management,  in  general,  a  third.  The 
plants  are  generally  fit  for  transplanting  when 
of  a  month's  growth  in  the  seed  bed ;  but  a 
more  certain  criterion  is,  that  when  5  or  6 
inches  high,  they  are  of  the  most  favourable 
size.  They  must  be  set  in  row^s  12  or  15  inches 
apart  each  way ;  the  Batavian  requires  the 
greatest  space.  Some  gardeners  recommend 
them  to  be  set  in  trenches  or  drills,  3  or  4 
inches  deep;  this  mode  is  not  detrimental  in 
summer  and  dry  weather;  but  in  winter,  when 
every  precaution  is  to  be  adopted  for  the  pre- 
vention of  decay,  it  is  always  injurious.  About 
three  months  elapse  between  the  time  of  sow- 
ing and  the  fitness  of  the  plants  for  blanching. 
This  operation,  if  conducted  properly,  will  be 
completed  in  from  ten  to  fourteen  days  in  sum- 
mer or  in  three  or  four  weeks  in  winter.  In 
hot  weather,  the  blanching  is  completed  in  half 
the  time  that  is  required  if  the  season  is  cold. 
To  blanch  the  plants,  it  is  the  most  common 
practice  to  tie  the  leaves  together;  to  place 
tiles  or  pieces  of  board  upon  them  ;  or  to  cover 
them  with  garden  pots ;  whilst  some  recom- 
mend the  leaves  to  be  tied  together,  and  then 
to  be  covered  up  to  their  tips  with  mould, 
making  it  rise  to  an  apex,  so  as  to  throw  oft* 


ENGRAFTING. 


ENTOMOLOGY. 


excessive  rains.  All  these  methods  succeed 
in  dry  seasons,  but  in  wet  ones  the  plants 
treated  according  to  any  of  these  plans  are 
very  apt  to  decay.  The  one  which  succeeds 
best  in  all  seasons,  is  to  fold  the  leaves  round 
the  heart  as  much  as  possible  in  their  natural 
position,  and  being  tied  together  with  a  shred 
of  bass  mat,  covered  up  entirely  with  coal 
ashes  in  the  form  of  a  cone,  the  surface  being 
rendered  firm  and  smooth  with  the  trowel. 
Sand  will  do ;  but  ashes  are  equally  unreten- 
tive  of  moisture,  whilst  they  are  much  superior 
in  absorbing  heat,  which  is  so  beneficial  in  the 
hastening  of  the  process.  If  the  simple  mode 
of  drawing  the  leaves  together  is  adopted  to 
eflfect  this  etiolation,  they  must  be  tied  very 
close ;  and  in  a  week  after  the  first  tying,  a 
second  ligature  must  be  passed  round  the 
middle  of  the  plant,  to  prevent  the  heart-leaves 
bursting  out.  A  dry  afternoon,  when  the  plants 
are  entirely  free  from  moisture,  should  be  se- 
lected, whichever  mode  is  adopted  for  this 
concluding  operation.  For  the  production  of 
seci-l,  the  finest  and  soundest  plants  should  be 
selected  of  the  last  plantation,  and  which  must 
agree  with  the  characteristics  of  the  respective 
varieties.  For  a  small  family,  three  or  four 
phants  of  each  variety  will  produce  sufllicient. 
These  should  be  taken  in  March,  and  planted 
beneath  a  south  fence,  about  a  foot  from  it,  and 
18  inches  apart.  As  the  flower-stems  advance, 
they  should  be  fastened  to  stakes ;  or  if  they 
are  placed  beneath  palings,  the  supporting 
string  can  be  nailed  to  them.  They  must  be 
kept  clear  of  weeds.  In  July  the  seed  will 
begin  to  ripen  ;  and  here  it  must  be  observed, 
that  each  lateral  branch  is  to  be  gathered  as 
the  seed  upon  it  ripens ;  for  if  none  are  gather- 
ed until  the  whole  plant  is  changing  colour,  the 
first  ripened  and  best  seed  will  have  scattered 
and  be  lost,  so  wide  is  the  difference  of  time 
between  the  several  branches  of  the  same 
plant  ripening  their  seed.  Each  branch  must 
be  laid,  as  it  is  cut,  upon  a  cloth  in  the  sun, 
and  when  perfectly  dry,  the  seed  beaten  out, 
cleansed,  and  stored.  Endive  seed  will  vege- 
tate after  being  kept  five  or  six  years. 

ENGRAFTING.     See  Grafting. 

ENTOMOLOGY.  A  term  signifying  the 
knowledge  of  insects.  The  importance  of 
such  knowledge  to  those  interested  in  agricul- 
ture or  rural  affairs,  must  be  obvious  to  every 
one  who  reflects  upon  the  advantages  derived 
from  the  useful  labours  of  some  insects,  and 
the  devastations  committed  by  others.  The 
first  step  in  proof  of  the  utility  of  this  science, 
might  be  to  show  that  insects  do  a  great  deal 
of  harm.  Besides  wire-worms  and  other  in- 
sects which  eat  the  seed  in  the  ground,  and 
"weevils  which  destroy  the  contents  of  the  gra- 
naries, flies  torment  the  domestic  animal  whilst 
alive  and  blow  their  flesh  when  dead.  Cater- 
pillars eat  cabbages,  and  moths  riddle  holes  in 
cloth.  Clover-seed  is  destroyed  by  a  small 
weevil  {Apion  flavi-femoratwix)  ;  Dutch  clover 
by  the  Apion  flavipes ;  peas  in  the  pod  by  the 
small  beetle  {Bruchus  grunarius).  The  turnip- 
fly  is  properly  a  beetle— -a  little  jumping  beetle 
XHaltica  nemorum). 

The  problem  of  course  is,  how  to  destroy  this 
legion  of  enemies.    Now  to  do  this  with  the 


greatest  effect,  we  must  watch  them  thutiugh 
all  their  changes.  There  may  probably  be 
many  persons  ignorant  that  most  insects  pass 
through  four  stages  of  existence  (of  which  the 
silkworm  affords  a  familiar  instance)  : — 1.  The 
egg;  2.  The  caterpillar;  3.  The  chrysalis;  and, 
4.  The  butterfly  or  imago.  It  is  in  the  second 
stage  that  insects  generally  do  the  most  mis- 
chief. In  the  egg  and  the  chrysalis  they  do 
none ;  and  in  the  imago,  some  do  and  some  do 
not.  Though  we  are  all  familiar  with  the  in- 
sect in  the  shape  in  which  its  ravages  compel 
our  attention,  we  are  frequently  unconscious 
of  its  identity  under  other  shapes.  We  look 
on  the  cockchaffer,  without  suspecting  that  its 
issue  is  the  grub  which  eats  the  roots  of  the 
grass.  But  however  desirable  a  knowledge 
of  entomology  may  be,  no  single  individual 
could  acquire  it  all  for  himself.  He  would 
need  the  eyes  of  Argus,  the  patience  of  Job» 
and  the  years  of  Methuselah.  The  diligence 
and  sagacity  of  men  who  have  passed  their 
lives  in  this  study  have  at  length  accumulated 
a  body  of  facts  of  the  highest  value;  being 
printed,  they  have  become  the  property  of 
everybody  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  read 
them ;  and  thus  a  school-boy  may  learn  in  a 
few  months  facts  which  the  labours  of  his 
whole  life  might  have  been  vainly  exerted  in 
seeking. 

Messrs.  Kirby  and  Spence  in  Europe,  and 
Dr.  Harris  in  America,  are  the  great  authori- 
ties upon  this  subject,  and  from  their  books 
most  of  the  facts  stated  in  this  encyclopapdia 
have  been  taken.  They  themselves  suggest  a 
similar  application  to  practice  of  the  truths 
of  their  favourite  science.  "  With  respect  to 
noxious  caterpillars  in  general,"  say  they, 
"farmers  and  gardeners  are  not  uj-aally  aware 
that  the  best  mode  of  preventing  iheir  attacks 
is  to  destroy  the  female  fly  before  she  has  laid 
her  eggs ;  to  do  which,  the  moth  proceeding 
from  each  must  be  first  ascertained ;  but  if 
their  research  were  carried  still  farther,  so  as 
to  enable  them  to  distinguish  the  pupa,  and 
discover  its  haunts  (and  it  would  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  detect  that  of  the  greatest  pest  of  our 
gardens,  the  cabbage  butterfly),  the  work  might 
be  still  more  effectually  accomplished." 

The  process  of  destroying  noxious  insects  by 
attacking  them  in  their  early  stages  is  not  new. 
P.  Musgrave  collected  the  chrysalids  in  the 
sprin^j,  so  as  to  become  acquainted  with  them, 
and  then  employed  people  to  catch  and  kill  the 
moths  and  butterflies.  If  you  catch  200  in  a 
day,  you  destroy  10,000  eggs,  which  would  give 
120,000  in  a  fortnight.  Might  not  boys  and 
girls  be  well  employed  in  doing  this  7  They 
have  all  the  organ  of  destructiveness. 

In  short,  it  is  abundantly  evident,  that  if  we 
knew  them   in  all  their   changes,  and  know 
where  they  are  concealed  in  autumn,  winter, 
and  spring,  we  might  exterminate  those  multi- 
tudes which  are  now  as  the  sands  which  are 
upon  the  sea-shore.     And  if  not  all  the  know 
I  ledge  required  be  yet  in  our  possession,  agreal 
I  deal  is,  and  might  be  easily  imparted  to  the 
young  farmer,  if  we  could  catch  him  in  his 
I  chrysalis  state ;  and  what  little  is  still  wanting 
I  would  soon  be  accumulated  when  we  had  set 
so  many  keen  and  interested  eyes  to  obser'«  v 
2P  445 


EPIDEMIC. 


ERYNGO. 


K  fly  could  scarcely  move  but  they  would  be 
Matching  him.     See  Insects. 

EPIDEMIC  (Gr.tm  and  (f»>oc;  Fr. epidnnique). 
In  farriery,  a  term  applied  to  such  fevers,  or 
other  distempers  of  cattle,  as  attack  great  num- 
bers at  certain  seasons,  or  any  time,  if  many 
suffer  in  the  same  manner.  The  term  is  fre- 
quently confounded  with  infeclious,  which  is 
perfectly  distinct,  and  implies  a  disease  com- 
municated, not  from  the  atmosphere,  but  from 
one  individual  to  another.  Horses  are  liable 
to  epidemic  fevers,  and  to  several  distempers 
of  that  kind,  such  as  the  epidemical  catarrh  or 
influenza,  strangles,  staggers,  &c. 

EPIDERMIS  (Gr.  im  and  Sip/uu,  the  true  skin). 
In  botany,  the  exterior  cellular  coating  of  the 
bark,  leaf,  or  stem  of  plants  and  trees.  It  is 
composed  of  cells  compacted  together  into  a 
stratum,  varying  in  thickness  in  different  spe- 
cies, and  is  often  readily  separable  by  gentle 
violence.  It  is  believed  to  be  intended  by 
nature  as  a  protection  of  the  subjacent  parts 
from  the  drying  etfects  of  the  atmosphere. 
(Jiranfle's  Diet,  of  Science,) 

EPIZOOTIC  DISEASES.  These  prevail  from 
time  to  time  among  animals  the  same  as  epi- 
demics among  men.  See  Ventilation,  p.  1083. 

EREMACAUSIS  (from  »g«yu«,slow,  and  ttxva-ic, 
combustion).  A  term  applied  in  organic  che- 
mistry to  denote  one  of  the  changes  which 
vegetable  and  other  organic  matters  undergo 
after  death. 

The  conversion  of  wood  into  humus,  the 
formation  of  acetic  acid  out  of  alcohol,  nitrifi- 
cation, and  numerous  other  processes,  are  of 
this  nature.  Vegetable  juices  of  every  kind, 
parts  of  animal  and  vegetable  substances,  moist 
sawdust,  blood,  &c.,  cannot  be  exposed  to  the 
air,  without  suffering  immediately  a  progress- 
ive change  of  colour  and  properties,  during 
which  oxygen  is  absorbed.  These  changes  do 
not  take  place  when  water  is  excluded,  or  when 
tke  substances  are  exposed  to  the  temperature 
of  32° ;  and  different  bodies  require  difl^erent 
degrees  of  heat,  in  order  to  effect  the  absorption 
of  oxygen,  and,  consequently,  their  eremacau- 
sis.  The  property  of  suffering  this  change  is 
possessed  in  the  highest  degree  by  substances 
which  contain  nitrogen. 

The  decay  of  woody  fibre  (the  principal  con- 
stituent in  all  plants)  is  accompanied  by  a 
phenomenon  of  a  peculiar  kind.  This  sub- 
stance, in  contact  with  air  or  oxygen  gas,  con- 
verts the  latter  into  an  equal  volume  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  its  decay  ceases  upon  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  oxygen.  If  the  carbonic  acid  is 
removed,  and  oxygen  replaced,  its  decay  re- 
commences, that  is,  it  again  converts  oxygen 
into  carbonic  acid.  Woody  fibre  consists  of 
carbon  and  the  elements  of  water ;  and  if  we 
judge  only  from  the  products  formed  during 
its  decomposition,  and  from  those  formed  by 
pure  charcoal,  burned  at  a  high  temperature, 
we  might  conclude  that  the  causes  were  the 
same  in  both :  the  decay  of  woody  fibre  pro- 
ceeds, therefore,  as  if  no  hydrogen  or  oxygen 
entered  into  its  composition. 

In  the  Appendix  to  the  Third  Report  of  the 

Agriculture  of  Massachusetts,  1840,  Dr.  S.  L.  JDana 

adduces  the  following  example,  to  show  that 

even  a  moist  plant  will  not  decay,  if  air  is  ex- 

446 


eluded.  A  piece  of  a  white  birch  tree  van 
taken  from  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet  lelow 
the  surface,  in  Lowell.  "  It  must  have  been 
inhumed  there  probably  before  the  creation  of 
man,  yet  this  most  perishable  of  all  wood  is 
nearly  as  sound  as  if  cut  from  the  forest  las< 
fall." 

A  very  long  time  is  required  for  the  comple- 
tion of  this  process  of  combustion,  and  the  pre- 
sence of  water  is  necessary  for  its  maintenance : 
alkalies  promote  it,  but  acids  retard  it;  all  an- 
tiseptic substances,  such  as  sulphurous  acid, 
the  mercurial  salts,  empyreumatic  oils,  &c., 
cause  its  complete  cessation. 

Woody  fibre,  in  a  state  of  decay,  is  the  sub- 
stance called  humus. 

The  property  of  woody  fibre  to  convert  sur- 
rounding oxygen  gas  into  carbonic  acid  dimi- 
nishes in  proportion  as  its  decay  advances, 
and  at  last  a  certain  quantity  of  a  brown  coaly- 
looking  substance  remains,  in  which  this  pro- 
perty is  entirely  wanting.  This  substance  is 
called  mould ;  it  is  the  product  of  the  complete 
decay  of  woody  fibre.  Mould  constitutes  the 
principal  part  of  all  the  strata  of  brown  coal 
and  peat.     {Liebig's  Organic  Chemistry.') 

The  eremacausis  or  putrefaction  of  sub- 
stances containing  nitrogen,  is  the  process 
technically  called  nitrification. 

ERGOT  (Spermcedia  clavus).  A  parasitic 
fungus,  which  most  frequently  appears  upon 
the  ears  of  rye,  but  sometimes  upon  other 
plants  of  the  gramineous  order.  It  most  com- 
monly appears  in  hot,  damp  summers.  It  is 
known  to  be  present  by  the  change  which  the 
affected  grains  assume ;  but  these  seldom  ex- 
ceed five  or  six  in  an  ear.  The  grain  length- 
ens to  more  than  double  its  natural  size,  be- 
comes angled,  of  a  deep  purplish-brown  colour, 
and  curved  at  its  apex,  where  the  ergot  is  seat- 
ed. The  surface,  when  viewed  through  a  mag- 
nifying glass, appears  studded  with  transparent, 
shining,  white,  angular  dots  ;  and  when  sliced 
and  viewed  in  water  under  the  microscope,  it 
is  seen  to  consist  of  white,  flocculent  threads, 
bearing  globular  sporules.  The  ergotted  grains 
have  a  heavy,  unpleasant  odour,  and  an  acrid, 
nauseous  taste,  leaving  a  slight  sensation  of 
heat  in  the  palate.  Ergotted  rye  is  poisonous 
both  to  man  and  other  animals.  When,  in  bad 
seasons,  it  has  prevailed,  and  has  been  ground 
into  flour  with  the  rye,  and  baked  in  bread,  it 
has  caused  many  fatal  depopulating  epidemics 
in  the  north  of  Europe.  On  quadrupeds  its  use 
is  followed  by  emaciation,  palsy  of  the  hind- 
legs,  and  extreme  debility;  mules  in  South 
America  lose  their  hoofs  and  hair  when  fed  on 
ergotted  maize;  and  hens  who  have  ergotted 
rye  mixed  with  their  food,  lay  eggs  without 
shells,  owing  to  its  excitement  of  the  oviduct. 
It  is  employed  as  a  medicine  in  difficult  partu- 
rition, but  it  ought  not  to  be  administered  with- 
out the  greatest  caution  and  discretion.  (Edin. 
Med.  and  Siirg.  Journ.  vol.  liii.)     See  Mildew. 

ERICA  vtJLGARIS.  The  common  heath, 
ling,  or  heather.     See  Heath. 

ERIOPHORUM.  The  genus  of  cotton  grass- 
es, which  see. 

ERYNGO  {Eryngium).  A  genus  of  plants 
consisting  of  eleven  species,  two  of  which  are 
perennials,  natives  of  England,  viz.,  1.  The  sea 


ESCULENT. 


holly,  or  sea  eryngo  (£.  maritimmn),  which 
grows  on  the  sandy  sea-shore,  where  it  strikes 
its  long  creeping  roots  eighteen  or  twenty  feet 
deep  into  the  soil ;  the  radical  leaves  are  more 
or  less  sheathing,  stiff,  spinous,  three-lobed  ;  it 
blows  a  bright  blue  flower  in  July  or  August. 
Stem  a  foot  high;  root  whitish,  of  a  pungent 
aromatic  flavour,  with  a  mixture  of  mucilage  ; 
herb  smooth,  glaucous,  with  an  elegant  blue 
tint.  The  roots,  reckoned  stimulating  and  re- 
storative, are  either  sold  candied  or  adminis- 
tered in  decoctions  variously  prepared. 

2.  The  field  eryngo  (E.  campestre)  grows  on 
waste  ground  chiefly  near  the  sea,  and  is  not 
so  common  as  the  last.  It  is  more  bushy  and 
slender,  and  of  a  paler  glaucous  green  than  the 
foregoing;  radical  leaves  larger;  flowers  white 
or  purplish.  The  leaves  of  both  are  somewhat 
sweet,  and  of  a  pungent  flavour. 

Mr.Nutiall  notices  five  species  of  the  eryngo 
or  sea-holly,  as  found  in  the  United  Slates : 
1.  E.  Virfriniuimm  ;  2.  E.  virgatum  ;  3.  E.  fati' 
dum;  4.  E.  aijnaticum.  His  general  description 
of  the  foregoing  is, — Stem  rather  low ;  leaves 
sword-shaped,  distinctly  margined  with  setose 
spines;  setoe  frequently  in  pairs,  &c.;  flowers 
greenish-white.  5.  E.  gracde,  without  spines. 
This  last  was  found  in  Florida  by  Dr.Baldwyn. 
Many  other  species  are  submarine ;  some  exist 
in  inland  depressions,  and  a  considerable  num- 
ber grow  in  arid  wastes.     {NutlalVs  Genera.) 

ESCULENT  (Lat.  escuhntus).  A  term  ap- 
plied to  edible  roots  and  plants,  as  carrots, 
turnips,  cabbages,  &c. 

ESPALIERS  (Fr.  espalier),  in  horticulture, 
are  trees  trained  by  lattice-work  or  other  sup- 
ports on  the  borders  of  beds,  or  as  hedges  to 
enclose  plots  of  ground.  They  may  serve  to 
defend  in  a  great  measure  many  tender  plants 
from  the  inclemencies  of  wind  and  weatlier. 
The  trees  chiefly  planted  for  espaliers  are 
apples,  pears,  and  plums.  The  principal  ob- 
jects aimed  at,  however,  in  espaliers,  are  to 
expose  the  foliage  and  fruit  of  the  plants  or 
trees  more  perfectly  to  the  light  and  sun,  to 
prevent  the  branches  from  being  blown  about 
by  the  winds,  and  to  economize  space  by  con- 
fining them  within  definite  limits.  {Loudon's 
Sub.  Card.  p.  232.) 

ESPARCET.  A  local  name  for  Sainfoin, 
which  see. 

ESTATE  (Fr.  estat),  in  common  parlance,  is 
applied  to  the  landed  property  held  by  indivi- 
duals ;  and  a  man  is  said  to  be  of  good  or  of 
small  estate,  according  to  the  magnitude  of  his 
landed  property.  Estates  vary  exceedingly  in 
size  and  value,  in  most  parts  of  England.  The 
largest  estate  in  the  kingdom  may  be  worth 
100,000/.,  or  upwards,  a  year ;  and  there  are 
estates  of  most  inferior  degrees  of  magnitude, 
down  to  the  annual  value  of  40«.  In  some 
counties  the  property  is  more,  and  in  others  it 
is  less  subdivided. 

EUDIOMETER.  The  name  of  any  appara- 
tus Or  contrivance  by  which  the  purity  of  the 
air  can  be  tested.  It  implies  a  measure  of  purity, 
and  is  chiefly  employed  to  determine  the  pro- 
portion of  oxygen  which  the  air  may  contain. 

EVAPORATION  is  the  process  by  which 
substances  in  the  fluid  or  other  form  are  con- 
^erteil  into  vapour  and  steam.    Ice,  camphor, 


EVAPORATION. 

carbonate  of  ammonia,  and  many  other  sc^ 
lids  evaporate  readily  in  the  open  air.  The 
evaporation  of  water  is,  however,  the  most  in- 
teresting consideration  in  its  relations  to  agri- 
culture, as  will  be  more  particularly  shown 
when  treating  of  the  evaporating  qualities  of 
soils,  &c. 

Water,  when  expanded  into  vapour,  is  high- 
ly elastic,  and  spreads  itself  by  a  force  of  its 
own.  The  amount  of  vapour  existing  at  any 
time  in  a  given  place  is  determined  by  the 
degree  of  heat  present.  According,  therefore, 
to  the  temperature  of  the  water  from  which 
the  vapour  emanates,  will  be  the  elastic  force 
and  density  of  the  vapour,  provided  the  process 
be  carried  on  in  an  open  vessel. 

The  pressure  of  the  air  and  of  other  vapours 
upon  the  surface  of  water  in  an  open  vessel, 
doe^  not  prevent  evaporation  of  the  liquid;  it 
merely  retards  its  progress.  Experience  shows 
that  the  space  filled  with  an  elastic  fluid,  as  air 
or  other  gaseous  body,  is  capable  of  receiving 
as  much  aqueous  vapour  as  if  it  were  vacuous, 
only  the  repletion  of  that  space  with  the  vapour 
proceeds  more  slowly  in  the  former  predica- 
ment than  in  the  latter,  but  in  both  cases  it 
arrives  eventually  at  the  same  pitch.  Dr.  Dal- 
ton  has  very  ingeniously  proved,  that  the  par- 
ticles of  aeriform  bodies  present  no  permanent 
obstacle  to  the  introduction  of  a  gaseous  atmo- 
sphere of  another  kind  among  them,  but  merely 
obstruct  its  diffusion  momentarily,  as  if  by 
a  species  of  friction.  Hence,  exhalation  at 
atmospheric  temperatures  is  promoted  by  the 
mechanical  diffusion  of  the  vapours  through 
the  air  with  ventilating  fans  or  chimney 
draughts;  though,  under  brisk  ebullition,  the 
force  of  the  steam  readily^  overcomes  that  me- 
chanical obstruction. 

The  atmosphere  has  seldom  as  much  watery 
vapour  as  it  is  capable  of  holding,  and  there- 
fore the  process  of  evaporation  is  almost  always 
going  on  wherever  there  is  a  source  of  mois- 
ture present.  Under  certain  circumstances^ 
however,  evaporation  is  checked  and  even 
suspended.  Suppose  the  temperature  of  the 
water  to  be  midway  between  freezing  and  boil- 
ing, viz.,  122°  Fahrenheit;  also,  that  the  air  in 
contact  with  it  be  of  the  same  temperature,  but 
filled  with  moisture,  so  that  its  interstitial  spaces 
are  full  of  vapour  of  corresponding  elasticity 
with  that  given  off  by  the  water ;  it  is  certain 
that,  under  such  circumstances,  no  fresh  for- 
mation of  vapour  could  take  place.  The  air 
would  then  be  said  to  be  saturated,  as  it  is  at 
times  when  clothes  hung  out  at  common  tem- 
peratures remain  without  drying,  and  the 
grass,  leaves,  and  grain  remain  soaked  in 
moisture.  But  the  moment  a  portion  of  vapour 
escapes,  or  is  drawn  off  by  condensation  into 
dew,  cloud,  rain,  &c.,  an  equivalent  portion  of 
vapour  will  immediately  be  enabled  to  rise, 
and  the  process  of  exhalation  or  evaporation 
recommences.  The  water  exhaled  at  low  tem- 
peratures, that  is  to  say,  below  the  boiling  point, 
is  commonly  called  vapour.  When  the  tern 
perature  of  fresh  water  in  an  open  vessel,  at  or 
near  the  common  level  of  the  sea  or  tide-water, 
rises  to  212°  Fahrenheit,  the  water  begins  to 
boil  and  evaporate  with  exceeding  rapidity, 
producing  what  is   commonlv  ter^ned  steam. 

i47 


EVAPORATION. 


EXUVIiE. 


In  such  case  the  evaporation  takes  place,  not 
only  from  the  surface,  but  from  every  point  in 
the  interior  of  the  vessel.  This  indicates  that 
the  evaporating  force  of  the  water  gained  from 
the  increase  of  heat  has  become  greater  than 
the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  which  is  suffi- 
cient to  sustain  a  column  of  mercury  thirty 
inches  high  in  the  barometer.  If  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  be  removed  by  the  air-pump, 
the  turbulent  evaporation  or  boiling  of  water 
will  take  place  at  a  much  lower  temperature 
than  212°,  even  down  to  the  freezing  point. 
But  under  the  common  pressure  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  below  the  temperature  at  which 
water  boils,  evaporation  goes  on  quietly  and 
slowly.  In  deep  mines, .which  descend  below 
the  level  of  the  sea,  water  requires  a  greater 
heat  than  212°  to  make  it  boil.  But  on  high 
mountains,  or  districts  rising  far  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  the  pressure  of  the  air  is  less- 
ened, and  boiling  takes  place,  as  in  the  air- 
pump,  at  lower  degrees. 

The  vapours  exhaled  from  a  liquid  at  any 
temperature  contain  more  heat  than  the  fluid 
from  which  they  sprung;  and  they  cease  to 
form  whenever  the  supply  of  heat  into  the 
liquid  is  stopped.  Nevertheless,  a  thermome- 
ter held  in  the  steam  proceeding  from  hot  water 
rises  no  higher  than  when  placed  in  the  water 
itself.  The  additional  heat,  therefore,  contained 
by  the  vapour,  is  in  a  latent  or  concealed  state, 
and  does  not  become  sensible  to  the  thermome- 
ter until  the  vapour  condenses.  Any  quantity 
of  water  requires,  for  its  conversion  into  vapour 
or  steam,  five  and  a  half  times  as  much  heat 
as  is  sufficient  to  heat  it  from  the  freezing  point 
of  32°  to  the  boiling  point  of  212°.  The  quan- 
tity of  heat  absorbed  by  one  volume  of  water 
in  its  conversion  into  steam,  is  about  1000° 
Fahrenheit;  it  would  be  adequate  to  heat  1000 
volumes  of  water  one  degree  of  the  same  scale ; 
or  to  raise  one  volume  of  boiling  water,  con- 
fined in  a  non-conducting  vessel,  to  1180°. 
Were  the  vessel,  charged  with  water  so  heated, 
jpened,  it  would  be  instantaneously  emptied 
by  vaporization,  since  the  whole  caloric  equi- 
valent to  its  constitution  as  steam  is  present. 
When,  upon  the  other  hand,  steam  is  condensed 
by  contact  with  cold  substances,  so  much  heat 
is  set  free  as  is  capable  of  heating  five  and  a 
half  times  its  weight  of  water,  from  32°  to  212° 
Fahrenheit.  If  the  supply  of  heat  to  a  copper 
be  uniform,  five  hours  and  a  half  will  be  re- 
quired to  drive  off  its  water  in  steam,  provided 
one  hour  was  taken  in  heating  the  water  from 
the  freezing  to  the  boiling  point,  under  the  at- 
mospherical pressure. 

It  thus  appears  that  evaporation  is  a  cooling 
process,  because  the  water  is  obliged  to  lake 
up  an  additional  supply  of  heat  to  expand  and 
keep  it  in  a  state  of  invisible  vapour.  It  is 
equally  plain,  that  when  vapour  is  condensed 
into  mist,  cloud,  dew,  rain,  snow,  and  ice,  it 
must  give  out  that  extrasupply  of  heat  required 
to  convert  it  into  vapour.  Hence,  in  summer 
and  mild  weather,  evaporation  is  a  cooling 
process,  whilst  in  winter  the  condensation  of 
vapour  and  congelation  of  water  must  tend  to 
prevent  more  excessive  cold,  by  throwing  out 
latent  heat  into  the  atmosphere.  The  1000 
ilegrees  of  heat  absorbed  by  watery  vapour  on  • 
448 


its  expansion  into  vapour,  must  of  necessity 
be  set  free  on  its  condensation  and  conversion 
into  water. 

EVERLASTING-PEA,  BROAD-LEAVED 
(Lathyrv.s  latifolius).  A  perennial  plant  of  the 
vetch  kind,  which  grows  naturally  in  some 
places  ;  is  easily  cultivated,  and  annually 
yields  a  great  burden  of  excellent  provender, 
and  might  be  cultivated  to  advantage  as  a 
green  food  for  cattle,  on  any  of  the  more  strong 
sorts  of  soil.     See  Vktch  and  Vetchling. 

EVERLASTING,  PEARLY  (Gnaphalium 
margaritaceum).  One  of  the  names  of  the 
American  cudweed.     See  Cudwked. 

EVERY-YEAR'S-LAND.  Such  lands  as 
have  been  cropped  with  a  brown  and  white 
crop,  or  pulse  and  grain  in  alternation,  for  a 
length  of  time,  without  any  intervening  fallow. 
There  are  extensive  common  fields  in  Glou- 
cestershire and  other  parts  of  England,  which 
have  been  conducted  under  this  management 
for  perhaps  centuries  past. 

EXOTICS  (Gr.  ^ar/xi?,  foreign).  In  gar- 
dening, a  name  given  to  plants  which  are  not 
natives,  but  have  been  introduced  from  some 
other  country. 

EXTRACTS  {YT.Extraits;  Ger.  Extraden). 
The  older  apothecaries  used  this  term  to  de- 
signate the  product  of  the  evaporation  of  any 
vegetable  juice,  infusion,  or  decoction ;  whe- 
ther the  latter  two  were  made  with  water, 
alcohol,  or  ether;  whence  arose  the  distinc- 
tion of  aqueous,  alcoholic,  and  ethereous  ex- 
tracts. 

Fourcroy  made  many  researches  upon  these 
preparations,  and  supposed  that  they  had  all  a 
common  basis,  which  be  called  the  exlractive 
principle.  But  Chevreul  and  other  chemists 
have  since  proved  that  this  pretended  principle 
is  a  heterogeneous  and  very  variable  com- 
pound. By  the  term  extract,  therefore,  is  now 
meant  merely  the  whole  of  the  soluble  matters 
obtained  from  vegetables,  reduced  by  careful 
evaporation  to  either  a  pasty  or  solid  consist- 
ence. The  watery  extracts,  which  are  those 
most  commonly  made,  are  as  various  as  the 
vegetables  which  yield  them  ;  some  containing 
chiefly  sugar  or  gum  in  great  abundance,  and 
are  therefore  innocent  or  inert;  while  others 
contain  very  energetic  impregnations.  The 
conduct  of  the  evaporating  heat  is  the  capital 
point  in  the  preparation  of  extracts.  They 
should  be  always  prepared,  if  possible,  from 
the  juice  of  the  fresh  plant,  by  subjecting  its 
leaves  or  other  succulent  part,  to  the  action  of 
a  powerful  screw  or  hydraulic  press  ;  and  the 
evaporation  should  be  effected  by  the  warmth 
of  a  water-bath,  heated  not  beyond  100°  or  120° 
Fahr.  Steam  heat  may  perhaps  be  applied 
advantageously  in  some  cases,  where  it  is  not 
likely  to  decompose  any  of  the  principles  of 
the  plant.  But  by  far  the  best  process  for 
making  extracts  is  in  vacuo,  upon  the  princi- 
ples involved  in  the  process  of  evaporation. 

For  exceedingly  delicate  purposes,  the  con- 
centration may  be  performed  in  the  cold,  by 
placing  saucers  filled  with  the  expressed  juice 
over  a  basin  containing  sulphuric  acid,  putting 
a  glass  receiver  over  them  and  exhausting 
its  air. 

EXUVIiE  (Lat.).    The  cast-off  parts  or  co 


EYE. 


FMR. 


vering  of  animals,  and  also  the  shells  and  other  ' 
marine  productions  met  with  in  the  bowels  of 
the  earth,  having  been  deposited  there  for  a 
vast  length  of  time.  The  lobster  casts  his  shell, 
the  toad  and  snake  shed  their  skin  periodically, ; 
leeches  and  fishes  seem  to  cast  off  exuvial 
layers  of  mucus  only;  but  in  most  reptiles  the 
epidermis  is  periodically  moulted,  either  entire 
or  in  large  coherent  masses.  The  periodi- 
cally moulted  feathers  of  birds,  and  hairs  of 
rarious  species  of  mammalia,  may  also  be  re- 
garded as  exuviae.  Substances  of  these  kinds, 
where  they  can  be  procured  in  suthcient  quan- 
tities, are  highly  valuable  as  manures,  and 
capable  of  extensive  application,  especially  on 
all  the  clay  soils. 

EYE  (Sax.  eas;  Ice.  eiza).  In  the  manage- 
ment of  fruit-trees,  implies  the  germ,  small 
bud,  or  shoot  inserted  into  a  tree. 

EYE-BRIGHT  (Euphrasia  officinalis).  An 
elegant  plant,  indigenous  to  England,  very  com- 
mon in  mountainous  pastures  and  dry  heaths, 
varying  in  height  from  one  to  six  inches.  It 
flowers  from  July  to  September;  its  stalk  is 
square  and  hard  ;  the  leaves  of  a  bright  green, 
flat,  broad,  and  indented  at  the  edges.  The 
flowers  are  small  and  white,  streaked  and 
spotted  with  dark  colours.  On  the  mountains 
of  Scotland  there  is  a  more  slender  variety, 
with  smaller  but  more  richly  tinted  blossoms ; 
on  the  Alps  a  dwarf,  large-flowered,  more  pur- 
pled variety  is  common.  It  must  be  gathered 
about  September,  when  it  has  done  flowering. 
The  distilled  water  is  spoken  of  by  the  old 
herbalists  as  a  fine  eye-water  to  strengthen 
and  improve  the  sight.  This  reputation  gave 
it  the  name  of  eye^right^  but,  like  many  other 
ancient  opinions  respecting  the  virtues  of 
plants,  the  value  of  the  reputation  is  worn  out. 
The  eye-bright  will  not  grow  in  gardens ;  it 
loves  to  hide  itself  in  grass  or  heath,  and  will 
not  thrive  unless  it  be  surrounded  by  plants 
that  are  taller  than  itself.  It  is  eaten  by  cattle 
and  sheep,  but  refused  by  hogs.  {Eng.  Flora, 
vol.  iii.  p.  122.) 

Two  herbs  are  known  in  the  United  States 
by  this  popular  name.  One  is  the  Hypericum- 
leaved  Euphorbia  (Euphorbia  hypenci folia),  a 
milky  annual  plant  common  in  pastures  and 
on  road-sides.  The  juice  applied  to  the  eye 
causes  severe  smarting.  The  severe  saliva- 
tion to  which  grazing  horses  are  subject  is 
said  to  be  caused  by  their  eating  this  species 
of  Euphorbia. 

The  other  plant  also  sometimes  called  eye- 
bris:ht,  is  the  Indian  tobacco,  or  Lobelia  inflata,  a 
biennial  found  abundantly  in  pastures,  or  road- 
sides. &c.,  flowering  in  July  and  August,  and  ri- 
pening its  seeds  in  August  and  October.  This 
plant  is  possessed  of  highly  acrimonious  pro- 
perties, and  is  an  active  emetic,  cathartic,  and 
narcotic.  These  properties  render  it  capable 
of  doing  much  harm  or  good  according  to  the 
judgment  and  discrimination  with  which  it  is 
employed  in  diflerent  diseases  and  the  proper 
stages.  Without  such  attention,  and  in  the 
hands  of  ignorant  professed  quacks  and  rash 
pretenders,  the  indiscriminate  use  of  this  po- 
tent herb  has  been  fraught  with  serious  injury 
to  the  constitution,  and  not  unfrequently  with 
death  more  or  less  speedy. 
57 


EYE  OF  THE  HORSE.     The  eye  of  tk« 

horse  appears  to  be  naturally  more  disposed 
to  disease  than  that  of  any  other  animal.  The 
diseases  of  the  eye,  although  few  in  number, 
are  frequent  in  their  appearance,  obstinate, 
and  generally  baffle  all  the  skill  of  the  vete- 
rinarian. The  following  are  the  principal: 
common  inflammation,  specific  ophthalmia  or 
moon  blindness,  cataract,  and  gutta  serena  or 
amaurosis.  For  the  last  there  is  no  cure. — Moon 
blindness,  as  it  is  termed,  is  brought  on  in  a 
great  measure  by  close  confinement  in  dark, 
heated,  and  unwholesome  stables.  No  specific 
remedies  can  be  given  for  these  diseases.  (Tht 
Horse,  p.  113;  Lib.  Use.  Know.)  See  BuiTDNESi 
and  Cataract. 


F. 

FACTOR  (L?H.  f actor;  Ft.  farteur).  In  mer- 
cantile law,  an  agent  who  is  intrusted  with  the 
property  of  others,  which  he  is  commissioned 
to  dispose  of.  In  Scotland  the  word  factor  is 
used  synonymously  with  steward  in  England, 
signifying  one  who  has  the  overlooking  or 
management  of  an  estate  or  a  farm  for  another 
person. 

FAGOT  (Welsh  fagod;  Fr.  fagot).  A 
bundle  of  small  cut  wood  tied  together  closely 
for  fuel  or  other  purposes.  They  are  made  up 
from  the  cuttings  or  thinnings  of  coppices  or 
hedges  ;  and,  in  many  districts,  are  sold  to  the 
bakers. 

FAIR  (Old  Fr.yjfre;  hat.  feria  or  forum).  A 
public  place  where  merchants,  traders,  and 
other  persons  assemble  from  remote  parts  on 
some  fixed  day  in  the  yt/^  to  buy  and  sell 
commodities,  and  to  partaEe  of  the  diversions 
usually  to  be  met  with  on  such  occasions.  See 
Market.  Fairs  and  markets  are  very  closely 
allied.  A  fair,  as  the  term  is  now  generally 
understood,  is  only  a  greater  species  of  market 
recurring  at  more  distant  intervals.  Both  are 
appropriated  to  the  sale  of  one  or  more  kinds 
of  goods,  the  hiring  of  servants  or  labourers, 
&c.;  but  fairs  are  in  most  cases  attended  by  a 
greater  concourse  of  people,  for  whose  amuse- 
ment various  exhibitions  are  got  up. 

Fairs  originated  in  England  in  monkish 
days,  when  proud  bishops  and  mitred  abbots 
were  not  unwilling  to  increase  their  revenues 
by  the  tolls  which  they  were  empowered  by 
royal  charter  to  levy  on  the  crowds  who  com- 
monly attended  the  festivals  of  their  patron 
saints.  Spreading  rumours  with  an  intent  to 
increase  the  price  at  fairs  or  markets  is  in 
England  an  offence  at  common  law.  (Rex  v. 
Waddington,  1  East,  143.) 

Various  statutes  have  been  passed  to  regu- 
late fairs.— By  the  2  &  3  P.  and  M.  c.  7,  the 
owner  or  keeper  of  every  fair  must  appoint  a 
certain  open  place  for  the  sale  of  horses,  and 
must,  under  a  penalty  of  40  shillings,  appoint 
some  one  to  attend  to  take  toll,  from  10  a.  m. 
till  sunset;  must  keep  a  book,  and  enter  there- 
in the  marks,  price,  colour,  &.y, ,  ■  ller's  and 
buyer's  name  and  residence,  or  forfeit  40  shil- 
lings.— By  the  31  Eliz.  c.  12,  if  the  parties  are 
strangers  to  the  book-keeper,  they  must  pro- 
cure a  person  to  vouch  for  them;  his  fee  for 
2  F  2  449 


FAIRl    RINGS. 


FALLOW. 


enlering  in  the  book,  where  there  is  to  toB   is 
one  penny,  for  giving  a  certificate  two-pence. 

A  list  ofthe  fairs  and  markets  of  the  United 
Kingdom  will  be  foimd  in  several  almanacs, 
particularly  that  entitled  The  Farmer's  Almanac, 
by  Johnson  and  Shaw.  (M'Cullock's  Com.  Did, 
&c.) 

FAIRY  RINGS.  Whoever  has  passed  over 
our  down  lands  in  search  of  the  vegetable 
treasures  of  creation,  or  in  pursuit  of  the  ra- 
tional employments  of  a  country  life,  cannot 
fail  to  have  noticed,  says  the  Rev.  G.  Smith, 
the»circles  of  verdant  grass,  and  correspondent 
circles  of  fungi,  most  abundant  upon  turfy 
hills,  and  known  under  the  name  of  fairy  rings. 
The  various  superstitions  and  poetical  fancies 
connected  with  these  phenomena  need  not  be 
detailed.  These  circles  have  been  accounted 
for  by  various  theories,  of  which  no  one,  how- 
ever, is  alone  sufficient  to  embrace  all  the  facts. 
The  recent  discovery  of  the  habitual  rejection 
by  the  roots  of  any  substance  injurious  to  the 
growth  of  vegetables,  has  made  it  evident  in 
what  manner  a  race  of  plants  may  occupy  one 
spot,  until  they  can  no  longer  exist  on  it,  in 
consequence  of  the  excretions  their  roots  have 
deposited,  rendering  the  land  altogether  de- 
structive to  them ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  change  thus  effected  in  the  soil  may  render 
it  more  nutritious  and  desirable  for  some  other 
race  of  plants,  than  before  any  such  change 
had  taken  place.  This  theory,  based  upon  a 
series  of  familiar  facts,  explains  the  necessity 
for  a  rotation  of  crops.  The  fungi,  it  is  ascer- 
tained, soon  render  the  land  on  which  they 
grow  unfit  to  support  themselves;  but  they 
enrich  the  soil  for  other  plants,  especially  for 
the  grasses,  which-growup  in  rank  luxuriance 
in  the  space  left  bare  by  the  extinction  of  the 
fungi.  The  circumstance  of  the  plants  taking 
a  circular  form,  may  perhaps  arise  from  a 
single  fungus  first  throwing  its  seed  all  around 
it,  and  as  a  single  crop  of  fungi  is  sufficient  to 
exhaust  the  soil,  the  grass  springs  up  in  the 
space  it  has  occupied,  and  the  second  year's 
crop  of  fungi  appears  in  a  small  ring  round  the 
original  centre.  The  rings  go  on  extending  in 
circumference  year  after  year,  until  something 
occurs  in  the  soil  or  its  products  to  check  their 
progress,  or  the  species  wears  out  or  becomes 
dormant  for  a  season.  A  similar  mode  of 
growth  lakes  place  in  some  of  the  crustaceous 
lichens.  The  rings  have  been  observed  to  be 
frequent  on  hill-sides,  and  then  almost  always 
with  the  lower  part  of  the  circle  open.  They 
sometimes  contain  a  small  circle  within  the 
larger  one,  but  not  always  in  the  centre.  With- 
in such  circle  the  herbage  is  very  luxuriant 
and  rank,  consisting  of  the  Antlwxanthum  odo- 
ratvm,  and  the  common  daisy ;  without  the 
circle  there  is  not  any  very  apparent  change 
in  the  vegetation ;  but  on  the  circumference, 
Thymvs  serpyllum,  T.  monotropa,  Carex  recurva, 
and  Hieracium  piloselln,  have  all  been  observed, 
(The  Wild  Garland,  by  S.  Waricg.) 

FALLOW.  Such  land  a3  has  been  re- 
peatedly ploughed  over,  and  exposed  to  the 
influence  of  the  atmosphere,  for  the  purpose 
of  rendering  it  friable,  clearing  it  from  weeds  ; 
»eaving  it  to  rest  after  the  tillage  before  it  is 
tgain  sown. 
4^0 


[  Fallows  have  different  names  given  to  them, 
I  and  are  of  different  kinds,  according  to  the 
;  purposes  for  which  they  are  intended,  and  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  made.  Thus,  a 
naked  fallow  is  that  in  which  the  ground  i« 
ploughed  and  harrowed  at  suitable  intervals 
for  several  successive  times,  according  to  the 
kind  of  crop  that  is  ultimately  to  be  grown,  but 
without  being  sown  till  it  has  remained  in  fal- 
low for  some  length  of  time.  A  green  fallow 
is  that  where  the  land  has  been  rendered  mel- 
low and  clear  from  weeds  by  means  of  some 
kind  of  green  crop,  such  as  turnips,  peas,  tares, 
potatoes,  &c.  In  this  mode  of  fallowing,  no 
time  is  lost  by  the  land  being  left  idle,  or  in  an 
unproductive  stale.  Fallows  are  also  some- 
times distinguished  by  the  season  of  the  year 
in  which  the  business  is  chiefly  or  wholly  per- 
formed, hence  we  have  summer  and  winter  fal- 
lows ;  and  likewise  from  their  being  in  some 
cases  only  done  in  a  partial  manner,  we  have 
bastard  fallows.  Fallows  are  also  named  after 
particular  crops,  as  wheat,  turnip,  and  potato 
fallows. 

"The  chemical  theory  of  fallowing,"  ob- 
serves Sir  H.  Davy  {Elem.  of  Jgr.  Chem.  p.  23), 
"is  very  simple;  fallowing  affords  no  new 
source  of  riches  to  the  soil,  it  merely  tends 
to  produce  an  accumulation  of  decomposing 
matter,  which,  in  the  common  course  of  crops, 
would  be  employed  as  it  is  formed ;  and  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  imagine  a  single  instance 
of  a  cultivated  soil,  which  can  be  supposed  to 
remain  fallow  for  a  year  with  advantage  to  the 
farmer ;  the  only  case  where  this  practice  is 
beneficial  seems  to  be  in  the  destruction  of 
weeds,  and  for  cleansing  foul  soils."  It  has 
been  indeed  recently  contended  by  Liebig  in 
his  Organic  Chemistry,  that  during  a  fallow,  a 
quantity  of  ammonia  is  collected  from  the  at- 
mosphere, potash  disengaged  from  its  combi- 
nations, and  other  chemical  effects  produced, 
which  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  examine  at 
much  length.  He  says  (Organic  Chem.  p.  156), 
"The  fallow  time  is  that  period  of  culture, 
during  which  land  is  exposed  to  a  progressive 
disintegration  by  means  ofthe  influence  of  the 
atmosphere,  for  the  purpose  of  rendering  a 
certain  quantity  of  alkalies  capable  of  being 
appropriated  by  plants.  Now  it  is  evident, 
that  the  careful  tilling  of  fallow  land  must  in- 
crease and  accelerate  this  disintegration.  For 
the  purpose  of  agriculture,  it  is  quite  indiffer- 
rent  whether  the  land  is  covered  with  weeds, 
or  with  a  plant  which  does  not  abstract  the 
potash  enclosed  in  it.  Now  many  plants  of 
the  family  of  the  Leguminoscp  are  remarkable 
on  account  of  the  small  quantity  of  alkalies 
or  salts  in  general  which  they  contain;  the 
Vtcia  faba,  for  example,  contains  no  free  alka- 
lies, and  not  one  per  cent,  of  the  phosphates 
of  lime  and  magnesia.  The  bean  of  the  Pha" 
seolus  vulgaris  contains  only  traces  of  salts. 
The  stem  of  the  Medicago  sativa  contains  only 
0'83  per  cent.,  that  of  the  Ervam  lens  only  0'57 
per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime,  with  albumen. 
Buckwheat  dried  in  the  sun  yields  only  0'681 
per  cent,  of  ashes,  of  which  0*09  parts  are 
soluble  salts.  These  plants  belong  to  those 
which  are  termed  fallow  crops,  and  the  cause 
why  they  do  not  exercise  any  injurious  in« 


FAN. 


FA1«M. 


fluence  on  corn  which  is  cultivated  immedi- 
ately after  them  is,  that  they  do  not  extract  the 
alkalies  of  the  soil,  and  only  a  very  small 
quantitv  of  phosphates." 

FAN,  FANNER,  See  Wix wowixo  Machiite. 

FAR  (Sax.  peop).  In  horsemanship,  a  term 
used  to  denote  a  horse's  right  side ;  thus  the 
far  foot,  far  shoulder,  &c.  is  the  right  foot, 
right  shoulder,  <fec. 

FARCY.  In  farriery,  a  disease  of  the  ab- 
sorbents affecting  the  skin  and  its  blood-vessels, 
by  \rhich,  when  inveterate,  their  coats  inflame 
and  are  so  thickened  that  they  become  like  so 
many  cords.  Farcy  is  intimately  connected 
with  glanders,  and  they  will  frequently  run 
into  each  other.  The  treatment  varies  with 
the  form  it  assumes.  In  the  button,  or  bud 
farcy,  in  which  indolent  boils  appear,  a  mild 
dose  of  physic  should  be  first  administered. 
The  buds  should  then  be  carefully  examined, 
and,  if  any  of  them  have  broken,  the  budding 
iron,  of  a  dull  red  heat,  should  be  applied  to 
them,  and  the  buds  all  opened  as  soon  as  they 
appear  to  contain  matter,  and  afterwards 
washed  with  a  lotion  composed  of  a  drachm 
of  corrosive  sublimate,  dissolved  in  an  ounce 
of  rectified  spirit.  Daily  exercise  and  ^reen 
food  are  also  essential  to  the  animal's  recovery. 

FARCY,  WATER.    See  Dropst. 

FARDING-BAG.  The  first  stomach  of  a 
cow,  or  any  othtr  ruminant  animal.  It  is  a 
mere  receptacle  for  receiving  and  retaining 
the  green  food,  until  the  animal  has  time  to 
repose  and  chew  the  cud. 

FARINA  (Lat./ur,  corn,  of  which  it  is  made). 
Meal  or  tlour  obtained  by  grinding  and  sifting 
wheat  and  other  seeds,  or  by  pulverizing  and 
preparing  edible  roots,  &c.;  hence  the  term 
farinaceous  food. 

FARM.  A  portion  of  ground  cultivated  for 
the  purpose  of  profit.  There  are  different 
kinds  of  farms.  Where  the  principal  part  of 
the  land  is  under  the  plough,  they  are  termed 
arable  farms;  but  where  the  fattening  of  cattle 
or  other  live-stock  is  more  immediately  the 
object,  they  are  distinguished  by  the  title  of 
grazing  farms ;  where  the  chief  intention  is 
the  obtaining  different  animal  products,  such 
as  milk,  butter,  and  cheese,  they  are  denomi- 
nated dairy  farms;  and  where  the  two  systems 
of  arable  and  grass  management  can  be  com- 
bined, they  are  called  convertible  farms.  As 
manure  must  be  had  in  order  to  render  farms 
of  any  kind  productive,  the  last  may  probably,, 
in  general,  be  considered  as  the  most  advan- 
tageous. Besides  these,  in  districts  where  hay 
is  the  principal  produce,  there  are  hay  or  grass 
farms,  and  there  are  also  what  are  denominated 
breeding  or  cattle  farms. 

The  old  writers  on  husbandry,  who  lived  in 
warm  countries,  where  the  heat  and  moisture 
of  the  air  had  sensible  and  frequently  very 
dangerous  effects  on  the  health  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, were  very  particular  in  their  directions 
for  the  choice  of  farms  or  estates,  and  of  the 
spots  whereon  houses  should  be  built,  so  as  to 
avoid  the  inconveniences  arising  from  the 
climate,  or  from  the  quality  or  situation  of  the 
ground.  The  Romans  had  generally  pleasure  | 
as  well  as  profit  in  view,  when  they  bought 
and  stocked  a  farm ;  and  therefore  they  laid  it 


down  as  a  rule,  that  no  degree  of  fertility 
should  tempt  a  man  to  purchase  in  an  unhealthy 
country,  nor  the  pleasantest  situations  in  a 
barren  one.  "  Buy  not  too  hastily,"  said  Cato, 
"  but  view  again  and  again  the  purchase  you 
intend  to  make ;  for,  if  it  be  a  good  one,  the 
oftener  you  see  it  the  better  it  will  please  you. 
Examine  how  the  neighbouring  inhabitan's 
fare.  Let  the  country  it  lies  in  be  a  good  one ; 
the  ways  to  and  from  it  good ;  and  the  air  tem- 
perate. Let  your  land,  if  you  can  choose  your 
situation,  be  at  the  foot  of  a  hill,  facing  the 
south,  in  a  healthy  place  where  a  sufficiency 
of  labourers,  of  cattle,  and  of  water  may  be 
had.  Let  it  be  near  a  flourishing  town,  the 
sea,  or  a  navigable  river;  or  bordering  upon  a 
good  and  well-frequented  road.  Let  the  build- 
ings upon  your  ground  be  strong  and  sub- 
stantial. Do  not  rashly  condemn  the  methods 
of  others.  It  is  best  to  purchase  from  a  good 
husbandman  and  a  good  improver." 

Besides  the  healthfulness  of  the  situation, 
three  other  things  should  be  particularly  at- 
tended to  in  the  choice  of  a  farm  or  estate ; 
these  are,  the  air,  the  water,  and  the  soil.  The 
air  should  be  pure  and  temperate,  the  water 
wholesome  and  easily  come  at,  and  the  soil 
fertile ;  and  the  farm  should  be  at  a  reasonable 
distance  from  giK>d  markets,  both  for  the  sale 
of  the  produce  and  the  purchase  of  manure. 
See  Famx  Buildivos. 

The  ancients  were  particularly  attentive  to 
the  quality  of  their  water,  and  to  the  ease  of 
coming  at  it.  They  advised  bringing  into  the 
farm-houses  the  water  of  such  springs  as  never 
dried  up ;  or,  if  there  was  no  such  spring 
within  the  farm,  to  bring  running  water  as  near 
to  it  as  possible ;  or  to  dig  for  well-water,  not 
of  a  bitter  or  brackish  taste.  If  neither  of 
these  was  to  be  found,  they  directed  large 
cisterns  to  be  provided  for  men,  and  ponds  for 
collecting  and  retaining  rain-water  for  cattle. 
They  esteemed  that  running  water  to  be  best 
for  drinking  which  had  its  source  in  a  hill ; 
spring  or  well-water  from  a  rising  ground  was 
deemed  the  next  best ;  well-water  in  the  bottom 
of  a  valley  was  held  to  be  suspicious ;  and 
marshy  or  fenny  water,  which  creeps  slowly 
on,  was  by  them  rightly  regarded  as  the  worst 
of  all. 

The  nature  of  the  soil  of  a  farm  may  be  as- 
certained either  by  analysis  (see  Awaltsts), 
by  observation  of  the  weeds  which  flourish 
upon  it  (see  Botaxt  and  Weeds),  and  of  the 
trees  growing  in  the  hedge  rows  (see  Plaj^ta- 
TioKs).  In  England  the  elm  and  the  oak  are 
commonly  tenants  of  good  soils;  the  birch, 
the  holly,  and  the  ash  indicate  those  which  are 
poor.  And  again,  the  productiveness  of  a  soil 
may  be  estimated  from  the  degree  of  its  attrac- 
tion-for  the  insensible  moisture  of  the  atmo- 
sphere ;  by  the  substratum  on  which  it  rests 
(see  Gkoloot);  and  by  its  inclination.  There 
are  many  other  circumstances,  also,  which  the 
farmer  in  search  of  a  farm  should  regard, 
most  of  which  he  will  find  treated  of  in  this 
work  under  the  heads  Appbaisement,  Agree* 
ME^T,  Customs  of  Counties,  Capital  re- 
quired, Raiw,  Lease,  &c,  Let  him  also  closely 
examine  the  state  of  the  buildings,  the  mode 
in  which  the  farm  has  been  cultivated,  and  the 

451 


FARM  ACCOUNTS. 


FARM  BUILDINGS. 


course  of  cropping  which  the  out-going  tenant 
has  followed.  This  last  inquiry  is  one  very 
material  point  to  be  carefully  and  accurately 
ascertained. 

The  number  of  farms  in  the  United  Kingdom 
is  estimated  to  be  about  2,000,000,  and  the 
property  annually  derived  from  agriculture  at 
215,817,624/. 

There  are  in — 


l§ 

1    *«* 

ToUl. 

Enjfland 
Wales 
Scotland 
Briiisli 
iaies 

Total 

25,632,000 
3,117,000 
5,265,000 

383,690 

3,454,000 

530,000 

5,950,000 

166,000 

3,256,400 
1,105,000 
8,523,930 

569,469 

32,342,400 
4,752,000 
19,441,944 

1,119,159 

46,928,970 

14,600,000 

15,871,463 

77,394,433 

In 

there 

8,250, 

1,250. 
8,200,1 
1,800, 
1,300, 

«,100 

47, 

18, 

17.300.1 

1,200, 

1,300, 
5,029, 


England  and  Wales  it  is  calculated  that 
are 

nnnC  acres  employed  in")  ^upat 
""^l  the  cultivation  of; '^"^*^' 


barley  and  rye. 
oats,  beans,  and  peas, 
clover,  rye,  grass,  &c. 
roots    and  cabbages    by 

the  plough, 
fallovcs. 
hop  grounds, 
pleasure  grounds, 
depastured  by  cattle, 
hedge  rows,  copses,  and 

woods, 
ways  andwater-courses, 
common  andwaste  lands. 


FARM  ACCOUNTS.  The  necessity  and 
utility  of  correct  and  detailed  particulars  of  all 
matters  concerning  the  farm,  have  already  been 
spoken  of  under  the  head  Book-keepixg.  Let 
any  farmer  make  the  experiment,  and  he  will 
find  it  both  interesting  and  useful,  to  know 
from  year  to  year  the  actual  products  of  his 
farm.  Let  every  thing,  therefore,' which  can 
be  measured  and  weighed,  be  so  tested;  and 
let  that  which  cannot  be  brought  to  an  exact 
standard  be  estimated,  as  if  he  himself  were 
about  to  sell  or  to  purchase  it.  Let  him  like- 
wise, as  near  as  possible,  measure  the  ground 
which  he  plants,  the  quantity  of  seed  which  he 
uses,  and  the  manure  which  he  applies.  The 
labour  of  doing  this  is  nothing  compared  with 
the  satisfaction  of  having  done  it,  and  the 
benefits  which  must  arrive  from  it.  Conjec- 
ture, in  these  cases,  is  perfectly  wild  and  un- 
certain— varying  often,  with  different  indivi- 
duals, almost  100  per  cent.  Exactness  enables 
a  man  to  form  conclusions  which  may  most 
essentially,  and  in  innumerable  ways,  avail  to 
his  advantage.  It  is  that  alone  which  can  give 
any  value  to  his  experience;  it  is  that  which 
will  make  his  experience  the  sure  basis  of 
improvement ;  it  will  put  it  in  his  power  to 
give  safe  counsel  to  his  friends ;  and  it  is  the 
only  ground  on  which  he  can  r  jcurely  place 
confidence  in  himself. 

FARM  BUILDINGS.  In  the  construction 
of  farm  buildings,  the  first  thing  to  be  regarded 
is  thjconvemience  of  their  situation;  and  to  this 
end  must  be  considered  the  best  shelter,  feeding 
and  watering  of  live-stock ;  the  carriage  of  the 
crop,  and  of  manure,  and  the  preservation  of 
ihe  produce.  To  combine  all  these  advan- 
452 


tages  together  is  rarely  attainable ;  the  oLjecl 
with  the  practical  farmer  is  to  obtain  as  many 
of  them  as  possible.  The  improved  economi- 
cal construction  of  farm  buildings  some  years 
since  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Highland 
Society  in  Scotland,  and  from  their  report 
(Trans,  vol.  ii.  p.  365),  the  reader  who  wishes 
for  working  plans  will  derive  abundant  infor- 
mation. The  committee  say,  very  justly,  "one 
of  the  most  common  errors  in  these  designs  is 
the  crowding  the  buildings  together,  under  the 
idea  of  giving  them  greater  compactness,  and 
the  not  sufficiently  extending  the  shelter  sheds 
for  the  feeding  of  cattle.  This  is  a  fault  so 
universal  that  it  is  only  on  the  larger  class  of 
breeding  and  feeding  farms  in  the  border  coun- 
ties of  England  and  Scotland  that  experience 
has  taught  builders  fully  to  avoid  it.  In  giving 
designs  of  the  outhouses  of  a  farm,  little  more 
can  be  done  than  to  give  general  useful  ex- 
amples. Although  a  certain  similarity  must 
exist  in  the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  parts 
of  all  such  buildings,  yet  these  must  be  modi- 
fied according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  farm 
itself,  the  nature  of  the  soil,  the  situation  with 
regard  to  markets,  and  the  particular  kind  of 
management  to  be  pursued.  No  one  rule  that 
can  be  given  is  of  general  application,  and  the 
judgment  of  the  architect  must  be  shown,  in 
adapting  the  size,  form,  and  arrangements  of 
the  buildings  to  the  nature  of  the  farm,  and  the 
wants  of  the  occupier.  While  every  suitable 
accommodation  should  be  afforded  to  the  te- 
nant, it  is  the  province  of  the  architect  to  take 
care  that  the  heavy  cost  of  such  buildings  be 
not  unnecessarily  enhanced,  either  by  erecting 
buildings  that  are  useless,  or  by  giving  unne- 
cessary dimensions  to  such  as  are  requisite. 
It  may  be  particularly  remarked  that  the  giving 
unnecessary  breadth  to  the  buildings  adds 
materially  to  the  expense,  by  increasing  the 
dimensions  of  the  timbers,  and  adding  to  the 
size  of  the  roofs.  At  the  same  time  care  must 
be  taken  that  in  the  cow-houses  and  stables 
the  animals  shall  not  be  cramped  from  the 
want  of  necessary  room.  In  general,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  most  convenient  arrangement 
of  the  outhouses  of  a  farm  is  in  the  form  of  a 
rectangle,  the  side  to  the  south  being  open,  and 
the  farm-house  being  placed  at  some  conve- 
nient distance  in  front  of  it.  And  again,  the 
most  approved  mode  of  keeping  and  feeding 
the  larger  and  finer  kinds  of  cattle  is  in  small 
sheds  with  open  yards  attached,  each  capable 
of  holding  two  animals.  It  is  recommended 
that  the  water-course  from  the  stables,  cow- 
houses, and  yards  should  be  carried  off  by 
causewayed  open  channels  to  a  pond  or  tank 
near  to  the  buildings.  This  mode  of  convey- 
ing away  and  receiving  the  urine  is  conceived 
to  be  better  in  ordinary  cases  than  sewers  be- 
low ground,  which,  even  when  executed  in  the 
best  manner,  will  be  subject  to  be  choked  up 
from  want  of  necessary  attention  to  cleaning; 
and  such  sewers  become  nurseries  for  rats, 
notwithstanding  every  precaution  that  can  hf. 
taken.  Should  the  situation  of  the  buildingr 
incline  to  the  north,  conduits  can  be  madp 
through  the  north  range  below  the  floors,  at 
proper  places,  for  discharging  the  liquids. 
♦'  For  watering  cattle,  if  a  stream  cannot  be 


FARMER. 


FARMS,  OLD  AND  NEW. 


obtained,  there  are  few  situations  where  water 
cannot  be  got  by  sinking  a  well ;  the  best  way 
is  to  raise  it  into  a  cistern,  which  may  be 
placed  in  any  of  the  shelter  yards,  and  from 
this  be  conveyed  by  pipes  to  the  different  yards, 
furnished  wiih  proper  cisterns  and  ball-cocks. 
The  passages  and  entrances  to  the  buildings 
should  be  wide ;  the  gates  hung  on  wooden 
posts  or  hewn  stone  pillars. 

FARMER  (Sax.  peopmep,  Fr.  fermier).  A 
person  whose  business  or  employment  is  the 
cultivation  of  land,  the  breeding,  rearing,  and 
feeding  of  different  sorts  of  live  jtock,  and  the 
management  of  the  various  products  which 
are  afforded  by  them;  hence  those  engaged  in 
this  way  may  be  further  distinguished  into 
arable,  grazing,  dairy,  hay,  and  other  kinds  of 
farmers,  according  to  the  modes  in  which  their 
farms  are  cultivated  or  employed. 

The  farmers  of  Great  Britain,  who  are  ge- 
nerally men  of  superior  intelligence  to  those  of 
Flanders  or  other  parts  of  Europe,  may  be  ar- 
ranged into  the  following  classes  :  1.  The  great 
proprietors  and  country  gentlemen.  2.  Yeo- 
men and  farmers,  properly  so  called.  3.  Pos- 
sessors of  small  farms.  4.  Cottagers,  includ- 
ing different  descriptions  of  people,  who  culti- 
vate small  farms,  and  a  few  acres  adjoining  to 
towns  and  villages. 

FARM-HOUSE.  The  dwelling  occupied  by 
a  farmer.  The  principal  objects  lobe  attended 
to  in  erecting  a  farm-house  are,  convenience 
and  a  salubrious  situation.  Besides  the  gene- 
ral salubrity  of  the  spot  where  dwellings  are 
to  be  erected,  the  air,  water,  and  soil  also  re- 
quire to  be  particularly  attended  to :  the  first 
should  be  pure  and  temperate;  the  second 
wholesome  and  easily  obtained.  The  most 
healthy  and  convenient  site  on  the  farm  ought 
to  be  selected  for  building  the  house ;  easy  ac- 
cess and  central  situation  being  taken  into  con- 
sideration. An  abundant  supply  of  water  for 
domestic  purposes,  and  for  live-stock,  is  indis- 
pensable. The  water,  however,  should  not  be 
stagnant.  Ponds  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
a  house  are  not  essentially  injurious,  unless 
they  become  dry  in  summer,  or  towards  au- 
tumn ;  for  at  the  period  between  the  drying  up 
and  the  complete  dryness  of  ponds,  or  stag- 
nant pools,  the  decomposition  of  animal  and 
vegetable  matter  which  is  then  proceeding 
evolves  miasmata  that  generate  disease.  A 
dry  gravelly  soil,  through  which  the  rain  can 
freely  percolate,  is  to  be  preferred.  The  degree 
of  dampness  of  a  locality  may  be  always  pretty 
correctly  estimated  by  observing  the  quantity 
of  moss  and  lichens  upon  the  trees ;  and  the 
weeds  being  those  that  grow  in  marshy  situa- 
tions. 

FARMING.  The  business  or  management 
of  a  farm,  comprehending  the  whole  circum- 
stances and  conduct  of  it. 

It  is  a  practice  that  demands  constant  care 
and  attention,  as  well  as  much  activity  and 
judgment,  to  conduct  it  in  a  proper  and  advan- 
tageous manner.  It  requires  an  intimate  and 
practical  knowledge  of  all  the  arts  of  cultiva- 
tion and  management,  as  well  as  of  the  nature 
and  value  of  every  kind  of  live-stock ;  and 
ttill  further,  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  the 

arious  modes  of  buying  and  selling,  and  the 


'  constant  state  of  different  markets  and  fairs. 
In  addition  to  all  these,  there  are  several  other 
minutice  of  much  consequence  to  the  success 

,  of  the  farmer,  which  will  be  treated  of  under 

I  their  respective  heads. 

I  Farming,  once  regarded  as  a  profession  easy 
to  be  understood  and  successfully  followed  only 
by  the  empiric,  has  long  since  been  viewed  in 
a  different,  in  a  wiser  manner.  It  has  been 
justly  said  that  no  pursuit  requires  more  talent, 
perseverance,  and  more  careful  observation, 
than  the  cultivation  of  the  earth ;  that  so  far 
from  its  being  an  empirical  business,  it  is,  in 
fact,  one  that  several  other  sciences  illustrate 
and  assist— one,  whose  professors  cannot  too 
often  examine  the  practice  of  other  cultivators ; 
and  hence,  since  it  has  been  found  that  the  la- 
bours of  the  chemist,  the  botanist,  the  mecha- 
nist, and  the  geologist,  are  all  available  in  the 
service  of  the  farmer,  it  has  followed  as  a  na- 
tural consequence,  that  the  farmers  of  our  age 
have  become  a  more  scientific,  more  educated, 
and  a  far  more  enlightened  class  than  those  of 
any  previous  generations. 

FARMS,  OLD  AND  NEW.  Whether  it  is 
more  profitable  in  the  United  States,  to  lay  out 
money  in  the  purchase  and  improvement  of 
exhausted  farms,  or  in  the  clearing  and  im- 
provement of  new  land,  is  a  question  which 
requires  more  mature  consideration  than  has 
been  generally  given  to  it.  Calculations  era- 
bracing  the  several  expenses  required  in  the 
two  operations  would  seem  to  show,  that  the 
intelligent  farmer,  versed  in  the  various  pro- 
cesses of  producing  manure  and  taking  ad- 
vantage of  green  fallow  crops,  will  lay  out  his 
means  most  profitably  in  restoring  worn-out 
land  to  fertility;  provided  he  does  not  commit 
the  common  error  of  endeavouring  to  improve 
more  land  than  his  resources  will  enable  hira 
to  do  justice  by. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  man  of  more  limited 
means,  who  cannot  buy  an  old  farm  or  get  one 
on  a  sutficiently  long  lease,  may,  by  going  west, 
purchase  land  at  $1*25  per  acre,  or  200  acres 
for  $250,  which  will  be  already  in  the  highest 
state  of  fertility,  but  seriously  encumbered 
with  heavy  timber  or  other  natural  besetment. 
This  he  clears  and  brings  under  cultivation 
little  by  little,  working,  perhaps,  a  certain  por- 
tion of  his  time  for  others,  in  order  to  obtain  sub- 
sistence previous  to  the  coming  in  of  his  crops. 
Every  acre  cleared  may  cost  him  some  15  or 
20  dollars,  which,  however,  adds  the  same 
amount  to  the  value  of  the  farm,  whilst  every 
bushel  of  grain  and  every  addition  to  his  stock 
is  so  much  gained.  It  may  be  several  years 
before  the  pioneer  will  accumulate  much  pro- 
perty. Still,  however,  the  prospect  of  an  ulti- 
mate independence  thus  held  out  to  the  poor 
and  industrious  settler,  is  a  good  one. 

He  who  has  the  advantage  of  sufficient 
means  to  enable  him  to  purchase  exhausted 
lands  at  from  5  to  10,  20,  and  even  30  or  40 
dollars  per  acre,  may,  by  a  judicious  applica- 

!  tion  of  lime,  marl,  plaster,  and  other  mineral 

I  fertilizers,  aided  by  green  fallow  crops  ploughed 

'  under  to  form  a  mould,  soon  resuscitate  a  farm 
and  render  it  again  highly  productive  and 
valuable.  The  following  facts  will  demonstrate 
the  practicability  of  what  is  here  asserted.  Mor« 

453 


FARMS,  OLD  AND  NEW. 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


injitances  could  be  produced,  but  this,  being  on 
unquestionable  authority,  is  ample  for  present 
illustration. 

Mr.  George  W.  Cummins,  of  Smyrna,  Dela- 
ware, purchased  a  farm  near  that  place,  con- 
taining about  200  acres.  The  land  had  been 
under  cultivation  for  half  a  century  or  more, 
and  its  soil  so  completely  exhausted  as  not  to 
be  capable  of  compensating  for  the  labour  u.nd 
seed  expended  upon  crops.  It  had,  neverthe- 
less, been  rented,  up  to  the  time  of  purchase, 
and  one  of  the  conditions  was  the  payment, 
annually,  of  two-fifths  of  the  Indian  corn 
crop.  From  a  thirty  acre  field,  the  rent  paid 
the  last  year  was  only  about  30  bushels  !  Clo- 
ver refused  to  grow  upon  this  land,  and  wheat 
would  not  yield  much  more  than  the  seed  sown. 
The  soil  was  a  sandy  loam.  The  first  step 
taken  by  Mr.  Cummins  for  the  restoration  of 
this  land  to  fertility,  was,  to  sow  one  bushel  of 
ground  plaster  per  acre,  flush  it  up  in  the 
spring,  and  spread  upon  it  70  bushels  of  slaked 
lime  per  acre.  Oats  were  then  sown  at  ihe 
rate  of  2  or  3  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  in  July, 
when  nearly  fit  for  harvest,  the  straw  being 
partly  yellow  and  partly  green,  they  were 
ploughed  under,  an  ox-chain  having  been  rigged 
in  front  of  the  coulter,  so  as  to  turn  them  down 
before  the  plough.  Previous  to  this  ploughing, 
H  bushel  more  of  ground  plaster  of  Paris  was 
sprinkled  upon  the  ground.  A  second  crop  of 
oats  sprung  up  in  a  thick  mat  from  those 
ploughed  under,  and  about  the  first  of  October, 
these  were  turned  down  by  the  plough  like  the 
first  growth.  Wheat  was  now  sown,  about  1^ 
bushel  to  the  acre,  and  harrowed  in,  followed 
by  clover  early  in  the  spring.  The  crop  of 
wheat  averaged  about  8  bushels  to  the  acre, 
and  this,  it  will  be  observed,  without  a  shovel- 
full  of  stable  or  other  kind  of  animal  manure. 
The  clover  had  a  bushel  of  ground  plaster 
sprinkled  upon  it  in  the  spring,  and  yielded 
the  second  season  of  its  growth,  about  a  ton 
per  acre  at  the  first  mowing.  Thus,  land  from 
which  the  vegetable  mould  had  been  entirely 
exhausted  was,  in  a  comparatively  short  time, 
and  without  the  assistance  of  barn-yard  or  any 
other  kind  of  animal  manure,  brought  into  a 
condition  to  yield  compensating  crops  of  wheat, 
corn,  and  vigorous  clover.  By  the  assistance 
of  the  ordinary  quantity  of  barn-yard  manure, 
the  produce  of  wheat  would  average  about  25 
bushels,  and  of  Indian  corn  40  or  50  bushels 
per  acre.  The  ground  was  very  light  and  easy 
to  work,  and  Mr.  Cummins  estimated  the  ac- 
tual expenses  incurred  per  acre  in  this  improv- 
ing course,  as  follows  : — 


First  ploughing  -        -        -        -       _ 
70  bushels  lime,  slaked,  nt  12  cts. 
2^  bushels  oats,  sown,  3li  cts.  - 
Sowing  and  harrowing  do. 
Various  plasier  applications 
Second  ploughing  under  of  oats 
H  bushels  wheat  sown      ... 
Harrowing  and  sowing  do. 

Total  expenses  per  acre  - 

Thus  the  whole  expenses  incurred  prepara- 
tory to  the  wheat  and  clover  crops,  amounted 
to  $13-73| ;  and  as  the  wheat  raised  was  about 
8  bushels,  and  sold  for  $1-50,  and  the  clover 
mown  about  1  ton  per  acre,  worth  about  8  or 
454 


'  10  dollars  the  ton,  the  expenses  were  abun- 
dantly repaid  by  the  first  crops,  and  the  land  left 
I  in  good  heart  for  future  profitable  tillage. 

When  farms  are  situated  near  towns,  ani- 
mal manures  can  generally  be  obtained  at  fair 
prices,  and  hence  the  usual  productiveness  ex- 
hibited by  lots  and  fields  in  the  proximity  of 
towns.  But  with  large  farms  situated  at  too 
great  distances  from  such  places  to  admit  of 
the  transportation  of  stable  manure  or  street 
dirt  at  fair  prices,  the  farmers  are  left  to  the 
fertilizing  substances  at  hand,  or  to  the  pur- 
chase of  concentrated  manure  that  will  bear 
the  cost  of  transportation,  such  as  lime,  ashes, 
soot,  plaster,  crushed  bones,  poudrette  prepared 
from  night  soil,  &c.,  the  salts  of  nitre,  soda,  am- 
monia, etc.  Those  who  live  near  enough  to 
marl-beds  to  admit  of  the  hauling  of  such  heavy 
substances  at  a  fair  cost,  are  indeed  fortunate. 
Then  there  are  the  manures  or  composts  pre- 
pared from  peat  or  bog-weed,  by  the  addition 
of  ashes,  the  salts  of  potash,  soda,  &c.,  the  rhe- 
rits  of  all  which  can  now  be  readily  ascertained 
from  results  of  actual  experiments,  reported  in 
numerous  recent  publications,  upon  agricul- 
tural matters,  and  especially  in  that  highly 
valuable  little  treatise  by  Dr.  Dana,  "  The 
Muck  Manual. '^ 

FARM  YARD.  The  area  or  court  in  Avhich 
the  farm  buildings  are  situated,  and  which  ge- 
nerally adjoins  the  farm-house.  It  is  the  place 
where  cattle  are  foddered,  dung  prepared,  and 
several  other  necessary  operations  belonging 
to  the  farm  performed. 

FARM-YARD  MANURE.  Of  all  fertilizers 
the  most  universal  and  most  valuable  to  the 
cultivator,  and  yet  the  most  generally  misma- 
naged, is  farm-yard  manure,  which  has  been 
often  well  described  as  the  farmer's  sheet  an- 
chor. From  this  fertilizer,  man  must  have 
derived  some  benefits,  even  before  he  was 
compelled,  by  the  increase  of  population,  to 
cultivate  and  manure  his  land.  It  is  the  earliest 
mentioned  of  all  manures ;  although,  at  first, 
the  only  notice  we  meet  with  of  dung  and 
dunghills,  describes  them  as  employed  in  Pa- 
lestine for  fuel ;  and,  to  this  day,  in  the  barren 
deserts  of  the  East,  that  of  the  camel,  after 
being  dried  in  the  sun,  is  the  only  combustible 
article  the  natives  possess.  (Ezeku.l,iv.  12,  15; 
Niebuhr's  Voyage,  i.  121.)  This  mAnure  is  no- 
ticed by  the  earliest  agricultural  writers.  M. 
P.  Cato  tells  us,  in  his  fourth  chapter,  to  '*  study 
to  have  a  large  dunghill;  keep  your  c<  mpost 
carefully ;  when  you  carry  it  out,  scattei  it  and 
pulverize  it :  carry  it  out  in  the  autumn.  Lay 
dung  round  the  roots  of  your  olives  in  autumn." 
And  in  his  29th  chapter,  "Divide  your  manure; 
carry  half  of  it  to  the  field  where  you  sow  your 
provender :  and  if  there  are  olive  trees,  put 
some  dung  to  their  roots."  And  in  c.  3'J,  he 
advises  the  use  of  pigeons*  dung  for  gardens, 
meadows,  and  corn  land,  as  well  as  amurca, 
which  is  the  dregs  of  oil ;  and  recommends  the 
farmer  to  preserve  carefully  the  dung  of  all 
descriptions  of  animals.  These  directions 
were  given  150  years  b.  c. ;  after  a  lapse  of 
nearly  2000  years,  the  direction  to  the  farmer 
must  still  be  the  same ;  little  can  be  added  to 
the  advice  of  Cato,  when  he  said,  "  Study  to 
have  a  large  dunghill."    Virgil  is  still  more 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FARM-YARl^  MANURE. 


particular;  in  his  description  of  fertilizers,  he 
mentions  with  common  manure,  ashes  (Georg. 
1.  i.  V.  80).  Ptmncestnne  and  shells  (1.  ii.  v. 
346—350,  and  350—358).  Varro  (c.  38,  1.  i.) 
mentions  many  kinds  of  animal  manure,  and 
is  particularly  minute  in  his  enumeration  of 
the  diino^  of  birds,  and  includes  even  that  of 
blackbirds  and  thrushes  kept  in  aviaries.  Co- 
lumella (1.  ii.  c.  5)  advises  the  cultivator  not 
to  carry  out  to  the  field  more  dung  than  the 
labourers  can  cover  with  the  soil  the  same 
day,  as  the  exposure  to  the  sun  does  it  consi- 
derable injury  ;  and  he  enumerates  (1.  ii.  c.  15), 
as  well-known  fertilizers,  night-soil  the  excre- 
ments of  birds  and  sheep,  urine  (especially  for 
apple-trees  and  vines),  dregs  of  oil,  the  excre- 
ments of  cattle,  of  the  ass,  the  goat,  of  pigs  ; 
ashes,  chopped  stalks  of  the  lupine  leaves,  of 
trees,  brambles,  &c.,  and  mud  from  sewers  or 
ditches. 

Of  the  early  inhabitants  of  Britain,  Pliny 
tells  us  (b.  xvii.  c.  6,  7,  8),  that  they  highly 
valued  the  use  of  marl  for  particuhir  soils,  but 
on  other  lands  they  never  employed  it.  We 
are  told  that  they  grew  corn,  and  lived  in 
houses  thatched  with  straw,  which  would  ne- 
cessarily require  an  attention  to  fertilizers. 
They  had  also,  according  to  Strabo  (Geogra- 
phy, p.  306),  gardens,  which  could  not  have 
been  cultivated,  neither  could  their  apple 
orchards  have  flourished,  without  manure. 
The  Roman  invasion  taught  the  original  inha- 
bitants better  modes  of  using  fertilizing  mate- 
rials ;  but  their  Saxon  successors,  in  all  pro- 
bability, knew  less  of  agriculture  than  the 
natives.  War  and  fighting  was  their  profes- 
sion ;  they  held  the  husbandman  in  much  con- 
tempt. The  confusion  attendant  upon  British, 
8axon,  and  Danish  inroads,  still  farther  retard- 
ed, in  England,  the  progress  of  agriculture, 
which  never  prospers  in  a  poor  disturbed 
countr}-.  The  very  laws  made  in  those  days 
for  its  encouragement  show  to  what  a  low  ebb 
the  art  of  cultivating  the  land  was  then  re- 
duced. Thus  it  was  provided,  that  if  any  one 
laid  dung  upon  a  field,  the  law  allowed  him,  if 
the  owner  of  it  consented,  to  use  it  for  one 
year;  and  if  the  quantity  of  manure  conveyed 
was  in  considerable  quantities,  so  as  to  render 
it  necessary  to  employ  a  cart,  he  was  then  en- 
titled to  use  the  land  for  three  years ;  and  if 
any  person,  with  the  consent  of  the  owner  of 
the  soil,  folded  his  cattle  on  it  for  the  space  of  a 
year,  he  was  then  entitled  to  cultivate  it  for 
four  years  for  his  own  benefit.  (Leges  WalU(n, 
p.  298.)  All  these  laws  were  evidently  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  the  better  manuring 
of  the  land ;  but  the  necessity  of  such  an  in- 
ducement betrays  the  poverty  of  the  farmers 
of  those  days,  and  the  insufficiency  of  their 
live-stock.  In  the  middle  ages  little  was  done 
for  agriculture.  The  monies,  after  the  intro- 
ducrion  of  Christianity,  were  the  most  learned 
an  1  skilful  in  the  best  modes  of  applying  ma- 
nures. They  early  excelled  in  their  gardens. 
The  population  of  England  in  those  days,  how- 
ever, was  too  limited  to  require  the  cultivation 
of  inferior  soils. 

In  1570,  Conrad  Heresbach,  a  learned  Ger- 
man, published  his  four  books  of  husbandry, 
which  were  translated   by  Googe:    he   there 


mentions  the  several  descriptions  of  vnanuw 
employed  in  his  days.  His  book  is  a  strange 
mixture  of  good  sense  and  superstition.  He 
speaks  of  the  dung  of  poultry  and  pigeons  witb 
much  approbation ;  but  reprobates  the  use  of 
that  of  geese  and  ducks.  Human  faices,  hf 
says,  when  mixed  with  rubbish,  is  good ;  but 
by  itself,  is  too  hot.  Urine  he  commendf. 
highly  for  apple  trees  and  vines.  Of  the  dunj^ 
of  animals,  he  mentions  that  of  the  ass  as  firsi 
in  order  for  fertilizing  effects ;  then  that  of 
sheep,  goats,  oxen,  horses;  lastly,  swine,  "very 
hurtful  to  come,  but  used  in  some  places  for 
gardens."  Green  manure  was  used  in  his 
days.  "  Where  they  have  no  store  of  cattle, 
they  used  to  mend  their  ground  with  straw, 
fern,andthestalksof  lupines,  and  the  branches, 
laid  together  in  some  ditch.  Hereunto  you  may 
cast  ashes,  the  filth  of  sinks  and  privies,  &c." 
And  again  he  says,  "  The  weeds  growing  about 
willow  trees  and  fern,  &c.,  you  may  gather  and 
lay  under  your  sheep."  He  speaks  of  the 
practice  of  placing  turfs  and  heath  clods  in 
heaps,  with  dung;  much  in  the  same  way  as 
Lord  Meadowbank  has  advised  with  peat.  He 
also  advises  the  placing  of  the  same  turf-par- 
ings in  sheep-folds.  "  This  is  also  to  be  noted," 
says  our  author,  "  that  the  doung  that  hath  lyen 
a  yeere  is  best  for  come,  for  it  both  is  of  suffi- 
cient strength  and  breedeth  less  weedes ;  but, 
upon  meadowe  and  pasture  you  must  laye  the 
newest,  because  it  brings  most  grasse,  in  Feb- 
ruarie,  the  raoone  increasing,  for  that  is  the 
best  time  to  cause  increase  of  grasse."  When, 
however,  the  manure  is  applied  for  corn  lands, 
"  looke  that  the  winde  be  westerly,  and  the 
moone  in  the  wane." 

The  manure  commonly  furnished  by  the 
farm-yard  is  compounded  of  a  mixture  of  ani- 
maj  and  vegetable  substances  of  the  putrefy- 
ing straw  of  various  descriptions  of  grain, 
mixed  with  the  excrements  and  urine  of  cattle, 
horses,  and  swine.  The  mixture  forms  no  new 
substance,  neither  does  the  pul refaction  which 
ensues  add  to  the  bulk  of  the  dung ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  causes  a  considerable  loss  of 
weight.  Neither  is  the  manure  produced  equal 
to  the  amount  of  food  the  stock  consume.  "If," 
says  Dr.  Sprengel  "  we  weigh  the  dry  food 
given  the  cattle  to  eat,  and  also  dry  and  weigh 
the  resulting  excrements,  we  shall  find  the 
weight  of  the  latter  considerably  less  than  that 
of  the  former.  Block,  who  has  lately  made  a 
great  number  of  experiments  on  this  circum- 
stance, found  that  100  lbs.  of  rye-str.iw  yielded 
only  43  lbs.  of  dried  excrement  (liquid  and 
solid),  while  100  lbs.  of  hay  gave  44  lbs.  Food 
which  contains  many  watery  parts  furnished, 
as  may  be  naturally  supposed,  a  still  smaller 
proportion.  Thus,  for  instance,  100  lbs.  of  po- 
tatoes gave  only  14  lbs.;  100  lbs.  of  mangel- 
wurzel,  6  lbs.;  and  100  lbs.  of  green  clover,  9 J 
lbs.  of  excrement."  (Transl.  by  Mr.  Hudfon^ 
Jour.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  460.) 

It  will  assist  us  verj'  materially  in  our  exa- 
minations of  various  modes  of  preparing  and 
applying  manure,  if  we  first  examine  its  che- 
mical composition ;  and  for  that  purpose  I  will 
give  the  analysis  of  straw  and  the  faeces  and 
urine  of  animals. 

1000  parts  of  dry  wheat  straw  being  burn^ 

455 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 

fielded  M.  Saussure  48  parts  of  ashes ;  .he 
same  quantity  of  the  dry  straw  of  barley  yie.*led 
42  parts  of  ashes.  The  portion  dissipated  by 
the  fire  would  be  principally  carbon  (char- 
coal), carburetted  hydrogen  gas,  and  water: 
100  parts  of  these  ashes  are  composed  of — 

Paris. 
Various  soluble  salts,  principally  carbon- 
ate and  sulplmte  of  potush      -        -        -22-50 
Phosphate  nf  lime  (earthy  salt  of  bones)  -    62 
Chalk  (carbonate  of  lime)  _        -        -    1 

Silica  (flint) 6150 

Metallic  oxide  (principally  iron)        -        -    1 
Loss  .......        -    7-8 

100 

The  straw  of  barley  contains  the  same  in- 
gredients, only  in  rather  different  proportions. 

The  fresh  urine  of  the  cow  has  been  ana- 
lyzed by  Mr.  Brande ;  he  found  in  100  parts 
the  following  ingredients  : — 

Parts. 

Water 65 

rhosphate  of  lime  --..--  3 
Muriate  of  potash,  muriate  of  magnesia  .  15 
Sulphate  of  potash  -        ....    6 

Carbonate  of  potash,  carbonate  of  ammonia      4 

Urea 4 

Loss       ....-.--3 

The  urine  of  cattle,  after  it  had  been  putre- 
fying for  a  month,  was  analyzed  by  Dr.  Spren- 
gel,  and  found  to  contain  the  following  ingre- 
di ;nts : — 


Water       -        .        .        .        - 
L'rea,  and  resinous  matter 
Mucus       .        _        _       _        - 

Benzoic  acid   ")  Combined  with  f 


Parts  by 
Weight. 
95-442 


potash,    soda, 
and  ammonia. 


t: 


Lactic  acid        I 
Acetic  acid        [ 

Carbonic  acid  J      forming  salts 
Ammonia  partly  uncombined  -        .        - 
Potash      .....-_ 
fioda  -...-__ 

Sulphuric  acid  ...-.- 
Phosphoric  acid  -  -  -  _  . 
Chlorine  ---...- 
Lime  ..-_-__ 

Magnesia  -.---.. 
Sulphuretted  hydrogen  -  .  .  . 
Silica  --...__ 
0.xide  of  iron  --.-.. 
Sediment  (phosphate  and  carbonate  of 
lime,and  magnesia,  alumina,  &c.) 


04 

25 

5 

001 

165 

467 

664 

554 

338 

026 

272 

002 

022 

001 

005 

001 

18 


100-000 
(Jour.  Roy.  Jigr.  Soe.  vol.  vi.  p.  467.) 

According  to  Block,  100  lbs.  of  chopped  rye 
straw,  given  as  fodder  to  horses,  yield  42  lbs. ; 
100  lbs.  of  hay,  45  lbs.;  100  lbs.  of  oats,  51 
lbs.;  100  lbs.  of  rye,  53  lbs.  of  dried  excre- 
ments (fluid  and  solid).  The  solid  excrements 
of  horses  fed  on  hay,  oats,  and  straw,  contain, 
according  to  the  analysis  of  M.  Zierl,  in  1000 
parts — 

Water            -               698 

Picromel  and  salts       .....  20 

Bilious  and  extractive  matter    .       -        -  17 

Green  matter,  albumen,  mucus,  &.c.  -        -  63 

Vegetable  fibre,  and  remains  of  food         -  202 

1000 

These,  when  burnt,  yielded  to  the  same 
chemist  60  parts  by  weight  of  ashes,  which 
were  composed  of — 

Parts. 

Carbonate,  sulphate,  and  muriate  of  soda  5 

Carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime        .        .      9 
Silica    ........40 


{Jmr.  Rov.  Agr,  Soe.  vol.  i,  p.  489.) 
456 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 

1000  parts  of  the  urine  of  the  horse  contain, 
according  to  the  analysis  of  MM.  Fourcroy  and 
Vauquelin  {Tliomson's  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  3-48). 

Parts. 

Crtfbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  -  -  -  .  11 
Carbonate  of  soda  .....  9 
Benzoate  of  soda  .....  24 
Muriate  of  potash  .....  0 
Urea  .--.-.-.7 
Water  and  mucilage  .....    940 

1000 

The  foeces  of  cattle  fed  principally  on  turnips 
have  been  analyzed  by  M.  Einhof.  100  parts 
evaporated  to  dryness  yielded  28^  parts  of 
solid  matter;  the  71 J  parts  lost  in  drying 
would  consist  principally  of  water  and  some 
ammoniacal  salts.  In  half  a  pound,  or  3840 
grains,  he  found  45  grains  of  sand ;  and  by  dif- 
fusing it  through  water  he  obtained  about  600 
grains  of  a  yellow  fibrous  matter,  resembling 
that  of  plants,  mixed  with  a  very  considerable 
quantity  of  slimy  matter.  By  evaporating  the 
faeces  to  dryness,  and  then  burning  them,  he 
obtained  an  ash  which  contained,  besides  the 
sand,  the  following  substances : — 

Paris. 

Lime  -.-._.        -12 

Phosphate  of  lime      .....    12-5 
Magnesia    --...-.2 
Iron    --...__-5 
Alumina,  with  some  manganese       .       .14 

Silica 52 

Muriate  and  sulphate  of  potash         .        -      1-2 

The  ingredients  of  which  the  urine  and 
faeces  of  cattle  are  composed,  will,  of  course, 
differ  slightly  in  different  animals  of  the  same 
kind,  and  according  to  the  different  food  upon 
which  they  are  fed ;  but  this  difference  will  not 
in  any  case  be  found  very  material. 

The  excrements  of  the  sheep  have  been  ex- 
amined by  Block ;  according  to  him,  every  100 
lbs.  of  rye-straw  given  as  fodder  to  sheep  yield 
40  lbs.  of  excrements  (fluid  and  solid) ;  from 
100  lbs.  of  hay,  42  lbs.;  from  100  lbs.  of  pota- 
toes, 13  lbs.;  from  100  lbs.  of  green  clover,  8^ 
lbs.;  and  from  100  lbs.  of  oats,  49  lbs.  of  dry 
excrement.  The  solid  excrements  of  sheep 
fed  on  hay  were  examined  by  Zierl :  1000  parts 
by  weight,  being  burnt,  yielded  96  parts  of 
ashes,  which  were  found  to  consist  of — 

Parts. 

Carbonate,  sulphate,  and  muriate  of  soda  16 
Carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime  .  .20 
Silica    --...-.-60 

90 

100  parts  of  the  urine  of  sheep  kept  at  grass 
contained — 

Parts. 
Water        ...  .  -96 

Urea,  albumen,  &c.  -        .        -        -      2-8 

Salts  of  potash,  soda,  lime,  magnesia,  &c.      1-2 

1000 
(Joum.  Roy.  Agr.  Soe.  vol.  i.  p.  482.)      

The  urine  of  the  pig  has  been  examined  by 
Dr.  Sprengel  {ibid.  p.  492) ;  he  found  in  100 
parts  of  that  of  the  animal  fed  on  corn  offal — 

Parts. 

Water 92-6 

Urea,  mucus,  albumen,  &c.      -        -        -      564 
Common  salt,  muriate  of  potash,  gypsum, 
chalk,  and  glauber  salt  -        -        -1-76 

10000 

Such  are  the  principal  constituents  of  the 
manure  from  a  farm-yard ;  but  of  these,  most 


PARM-YARD  MANtJRE. 


FARM-YARI>MANURE. 


of  the  soluble  salts  are  usually  washed  away 
by  the  rain,  or  are  suffered  to  drain  away  into 
ditches,  whilst  a  considerable  quantity  of  the 
salts  of  ammonia  and  some  of  the  carbon  are 
commonly  lost  by  being  either  over-heated,  or 
by  being  allowed  to  remain  too  long  in  a  putre- 
fying state. 

Farm-yard  manure  has  a  very  considerable 
attraction  for  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  : 
some  experiments  to  ascertain  its  extent  are 
given  under  the  head  Manure. 

There  have  been  many  arguments  and  much 
difference  of  opinion  among  cultivators,  with 
regard  to  the  advantages  of  employing  dung  in 
a  fresh  or  in  a  putrid  state ;  and,  as  is  too  often 
the  case,  both  parties  have  run  into  extremes, 
the  one  side  contending  for  the  propriety  of 
employing  it  quite  fresh  from  the  farm-yard, 
the  other  contending  that  it  cannot  well  be  too 
rotten.  The  mode  employed  by  Lord  Leicester 
is  the  medium  between  these  equally  erroneous 
extremes.  He  found  that  the  employment  of 
the  fresh  dung  certainly  made  the  dung  go 
much  farther ;  but  then  a  multitude  of  the  seeds 
of  various  weeds  were  carried  on  to  the  land 
along  with  the  manure.  He  has,  therefore, 
since  used  his  compost  when  only  in  a  half 
putrefied  state  (called  short  dung  by  farmers); 
and  hence  the  seeds  are  destroyed  by  the 
eifects  of  the  putrefaction,  and  the  dung  still 
extends  much  farther  than  if  suffered  to  re- 
main until  quite  putrefied. 

Putrefaction  cannot  go  on  without  the  pre- 
sence of  moisture.  Where  water  is  entirely 
absent  there  can  be  no  putrefaction ;  and 
hence  many  farmers  have  adopted  the  practice 
of  pumping  the  drainage  of  their  farm-yards 
over  their  dung-heaps  ;  others  invariably  place 
them  in  low  damp  situations.  This  liquid  por- 
tion cannot  be  too  highly  valued  by  the  culti- 
vator. The  soil  where  a  dunghill  has  lain  in 
a  field  is  always  distinguishetl  by  a  rank  luxu- 
riance in  the  succeeding  crop,  even  if  the 
earth  beneath,  to  the  depth  of  six  inches,  is 
removed  and  spread  with  the  dunghill. 

The  controversy,  too,  which  once  so  keenly 
existed,  as  to  the  state  of  fermentation  in  which 
dung  should  be  used  on  the  land,  has  now 
pretty  well  subsided.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  it  cannot  be  applied  more  advantageously 
than  in  as  fresh  a  state  as  possible,  consistent 
with  the  attainment  of  a  tolerably  clean  hus- 
bandry, and  the  destruction  of  the  seeds  of 
weeds,  grubs,  Ac,  which  are  always  more  or 
less  present  in  farm-yard  dung.  These  are 
the  only  evils  to  be  apprehended  from  the  de- 
sirable employment  of  this  manure  in  the 
freshest  state ;  for  otherwise  the  loss  of  its 
most  valuable  constituents  commences  as 
soon  as  ever  fermentation  begins.  This  was 
long  since  demonstrated  by  Davy,  whose  ex- 
periments I  have  often  seen  repeated  and 
varied.  He  says,  "I  filled  a  large  retort, 
capable  of  containing  three  pints  of  water, 
with  some  hot  fermenting  manure,  consisting 
principally  of  the  litter  and  dung  of  cattle ;  I 
adapted  a  small  receiver  to  the  retort,  and  con- 
nected the  whole  with  a  mercurial  pneumatic 
apparatus,  so  as  to  collect  the  condensible  and 
elastic  fluids  which  might  arise  from  the  dung. 
Th«  receiver  soon  became  lined  with  dew,  and 
68 


drops  began,  in  a  few  hours,  to  trickle  down 
the  sides  of  it.  Elastic  fluid  likewise  was 
generated;  in  three  days  thirty-five  cubical 
inches  had  been  formed,  which,  when  analyzed, 
were  found  to  contain  twenty-one  cubical 
inches  of  carbonic  acid;  the  iremainder  was 
hydrocarbonate,  mixed  with  some  azote,  pro- 
bably no  more  than  existed  in  the  common  air 
in  the  receiver.  The  fluid  matter  collected  in 
the  receiver  at  the  same  time  amounted  to 
nearly  half  an  ounce.  It  had  a  saline  taste, 
and  a  disagreeable  smell,  and  contained  some 
acetate  and  carbonate  of  ammonia.  Finding 
such  products  given  off  from  fermenting  litter, 
I  introduced  the  beak  of  another  retort,  filled 
with  similar  dung  very  hot  at  the  time,  in  the 
soil  amongst  the  roots  of  some  grass  in  the 
border  of  a  garden  ;  in  less  than  a  week  a  very 
distinct  effect  was  produced  on  the  grass: 
upon  the  spot  exposed  to  the  influence  of  the 
matter  disengaged  in  fermentation  it  grew  with 
much  more  luxuriance  than  the  grass  in  any 
other  part  of  the  garden."    (Lectures,  p.  204.) 

Nothing,  indeed,  appears  at  first  sight  so 
simple  as  the  manufacture  and  collection  of 
farm-yard  dung;  and  yet  there  are  endless 
sources  of  error  into  which  the  cultivator  is 
sure  to  fall,  if  he  is  not  ever  vigilant  in  their 
management.  The  late  Mr.  Francis  Blakie, 
in  his  valuable  tract  upon  the  management  of 
farm-yard  manure,  dwells  upon  several  of 
these  ;  he  particularly  condemns  the  practice 
"of  keeping  the  dung  arising  from  different 
descriptions  of  animals  in  separate  heaps  or 
departments,  and  applying  them  to  the  land 
without  intermixture.  It  is  customary,"  he 
adds,  "to  keep  the  fattening  neat  cattle  in 
yards  by  themselves ;  and  the  manure  thus 
produced  is  of  good  quality,  because  the  ex- 
crement of  such  cattle  is  richer  than  that  of 
lean  ones.  Fattening  cattle  are  fed  with  oil- 
cake, corn,  Swedish  turnips,  or  some  other 
rich  food ;  and  the  refuse  and  waste  of  such 
food  thrown  about  the  yard  increases  the  value 
of  the  manure :  it  also  attracts  the  pigs  to  the 
yard.  These  rout  the  straw  and  dung  about,  in 
search  of  grains  of  corn,  bits  of  Swedish  turnips, 
and  other  food:  by  which  means  the  manure  in 
the  yard  becomes  more  intimately  mixed,  and 
is  proportionally  increased  in  value.  The  feed- 
ing-troughs and  cribs  in  the  yard  should,  for 
obvious  reasons,  be  shifted  frequently." 

"The  horse  dung,"  continues  Blakie,  "is 
usually  thrown  out  at  the  stable  doors,  and 
there  accumulates  in  large  heaps.  It  is  some- 
times spread  a  little  about,  but  more  generally 
not  at  all,  unless  where  necessary  for  the  con- 
venience of  ingress  and  egress,  or  perhaps  to 
allow  the  water  to  drain  away  from  the  stable 
door.  Horse  dung,  lying  in  such  heaps,  very 
soon  ferments,  and  heats  to  an  excess ;  the 
centre  of  the  heap  is  charred  or  burned  to  a 
dry  white  substance,  provincially  termed  fire- 
fanged.  Dung  in  this  state  loses  from  50  to  75 
per  cent,  of  its  value.  The  diligent  and  atten- 
tive farmer  will  guard  against  such  profligate 
waste  of  property,  by  never  allowing  the  dung 
to  accumulate  in  any  considerable  quantity  at 
the  stable  doors.  The  dung  from  the  feeding 
hog-sties  should  also  be  carted  and  spread 
about  the  store  cattle-yard,  in  the  same  manner 
2  Q  467 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FARM- YARD  MANURE. 


as  the  horse  dung.  (Blakie  on  Farm-yard  Dtmg, 
p.  6.)  There  is  no  doiibi  of  the  superior  ferti- 
lizing effects  of  horse-dung.  In  an  experirhent 
with  beans,  in  which  six  acres  were  manured 
with  horse-dung,  and  nine  with  that  from  a 
cow-yard,  the  six  yielded  more  beans  than  the 
nine.  (Jgr.  Rep,  of  Essex,  vol.  ii.  p.  280.)  Tbe 
same  observation  was  made  in  Lincolnsliire. 
(Sinclair's  Jgr.  p.  214.)  The  heat  produced  by 
the  fermentation  of  the  dung  of  different  ani- 
mals has  been  made  the  subject  of  repeated 
experiment.  When  the  temperature  of  the  air 
was  40°,  that  of 

Common  farm-yard  dung  was    -        -        -        -  70? 

A  mixture  of  lime,  dung,  and  earth    -        -        -  55° 
—  Bwine  and  towls' dung-        -        -85" 

(Fatmer's  Magazine,  vol.  x.  iv.  p.  160.) 

The  cultivator  will  readily  allow  the  advan- 
tages of  the  plan  thus  recommended  by  Mr. 
Blakie ;  and  the  student  must  see  from  the  fol- 
lowing experiments,  that  the  dung  of  different 
animals  vary  very  much  in  their  fertilizing 
powers. 

The  subjoined  table  contains  the  results  of 
the  experiments  made  with  three  diflferent  ma- 
nures on  the  growth  of  potatoes,  by  Mr.  Oliver, 
of  Mid-Lothian  ;  the  cow  and  horse-dung  were 
recently  made ;  the  potatoes  were  of  the  de- 
scription called  Pinkeyes,  and  forty  loads  of 
about  eighteen  cwt.  per  acre  were  employed 
of  each  manure.    {Ency.Metrop.  vol.  vi.  p.  61.) 


Dntuice 
brtween 
Rows. 

Kindot 

Manurcf 
u»ed. 

Proluce 
per  acre. 

|{ 

Value 
per  Acre. 

Cost  of    j  Price  of 

pro-         Manure 

duction.    iprCart. 

B.  F.  P  I- 

L.    ..    d. 

..    d. 

r 

Cow 

420  0  0 

8 

16  16  0 

25     8 

6    4    0 

12^ 

Horse 

47  0  0  0 

8 

18  17  6 

23    8 

0    3    0 

^ 

Street 

42  0  0  0 

8 

16  16  0 

24    8 

0    3    6 

c 

Cow 

60  0  0  0 

8 

24    0  0 

24    8 

0    4    0 

18^ 

Horse 

51  2  8  0 

8 

23    0  0 

22    8 

Ol  3    0 

} 

Street 

45  0  0  0 

8 

18    0  0 

23    8 

O!  3    6 

C 

Cow 

60  I  0  0 

8 

24    2  0 

22    0 

0 

3    0 

24^ 

Horse 

61  0  3  0 

8 

24    9  6 

24    0 

0 

4    0 

} 

Street 

39  0  0  0 

8 

15  12  0 

23    0 

0 

3    6 

c 

Cow 

66  2  2  0 

8 

26  13  0 

23  13 

0 

4    0 

30^ 

Horse 

66  2  2  0   8 

26  13  6 

21  13 

0 

3    0 

] 

Street 

46  3  2  0   8 

18  15  0 

22  13 

0 

3    6 

Cow 

63  0  3  0    8 

25    5  6  |23  10 

0 

4    0 

36^ 

Horse 

67  2  2  l|  8 

27    0  7^121  10 

0 

3    0 

L 

Street 

47  0  0  0 

8 

18  16  0 

22  10 

0 

3    6 

Malcolm  (see  Bi-it.  Hush.  vol.  i.  p.  260)  has 
given  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  cubic  yards 
or  tons  of  farm-yard  compost  necessary  for 
various  soils  per  acre,  which  is  as  follows: — 


On  itronf  Land. 

Loam*. 

GraveU. 

Cballu. 

Sandf. 

For  Wheat     30 

20  to  25 

S5 

20 

20 

Barley      25 

20 

22 

16 

18 

Turnips   30 

20 

25 

20 

20 

Clover      15  to  20 

15 

20 

16 

16 

Bainfoin  — 

20 

Pasture    15  to  20 

15 

16 

16 

16 

Some  experiments  of  Mr.  Wright,  made  upon 
plots  of  ground  of  equal  size,  indicate  the  num- 
ber of  stems  of  barley  produced  by  various  fer- 
tilizers :  each  plot  was  dibbled  with  60  corns 
of  barley.     {Agr,  Mag.  vol.  i.  p.  328.) 


No. 

IlenM. 

1. 

No  manure 

159 

2. 

Manured  with  5  tons  of  cow-dung  per  acre 

167 

3. 

—                   —            horse  do.        — 

228 

4 

—                  —            pi?  ^^-            — 

2.33 

5 

—                  —            sheep  do.        — 

244 

6 

—                  80  bush,  coal  ashes      — 

233 

7 

—                  —            wood  do.        — 

211 

8. 

—                  —            goose-dung    — 

185 

9. 

—                  —            hen  do.           — 

303 

10. 

—                 —            duck  do.         — 
458 

282 

With  regard  to  the  form  of  dung-yards,  ther 
is  some  little  difference  of  opinion.  "Some 
theorists,"  says  Blakie,  "  recommend  the  yards 
to  be  made  so  concave,  as  almost  to  amount  to 
a  Mc//-shape,  giving,  as  a  reason  in  support  of 
their  opinion,  that  the  virtues  of  dung  can  only 
be  preserved  by  being  saturated  in  urine,  or 
some  other  moisture.  Others,  again,  assert 
that  dung-yards  should  be  formed  convex,  and 
assign  as  their  reason,  that  farm-yard  dung 
should  be  kept  dry.  Practical  experience 
points  out  that  a  medium  between  those  two 
extremes  is  the  best;  and  a  yard  a  little  hol- 
lowed is  the  most  common  shape. 

I  will  here  introduce  the  description  recom- 
mended by  Mr.  Blakie,  of  the  best  mode  of 
forming  dung-heaps  or  pies  in  turnip-fields,  so 
as  to  prevent,  as  much  as  possible,  the  waste 
of  gaseous  matters,  during  the  fermentation  of 
the  manure.  "  When,"  said  this  intelligent 
agriculturist,  "  it  is  found  necessary  to  empty 
the  dung-yards  early  in  the  season,  I  recom- 
mend that  preparation  should  be  made,  in  the 
usual  way,  for  the  reception  of  the  dung-heaps 
in  the  intended  turnip-fields,  by  collecting  large 
heaps  of  clay  marl,  or  such  other  materials. 
The  bottoms  for  the  heaps  should  not,  however, 
be  laid  above  six  or  eight  inches  thick  of  the 
earthy  material,  and  a  good  quantity  of  it  should 
be  placed  in  rows  on  each  side  of  the  bottoms 
marked  out;  the  dung  should  then  be  drawn 
out  of  the  yards,  and  placed  upon  the  bottoms, 
but  not  in  the  usual  way  of  throwing  it  up 
loosely,  to  cause  fermentation ;  on  the  contrar\% 
by  drawing  the  carts  with  their  loads  upon  the 
heaps,  for  the  purpose  of  compressing  the  dung, 
and  thereby  retarding  fermentation.  One  or 
two  men  should  remain  constantly  at  the  heaps, 
while  the  teams  are  at  work,  on  purpose  to 
spread  and  level  the  dung  regularly,  so  as  to 
render  the  ascent  easy  for  the  succeeding  teams, 
as  they  come  with  their  loads.  If  the  dung  has 
not  been  previously  mixed  in  the  yards,  it 
should  be  so  in  drawing  to  the  heaps,  by  taking 
up  a  few  loads  from  one  yard,  and  then  a  few 
from  another,  alternately;  and  even  from  the 
same  yard,  the  loads  of  dung  should  be  taken 
from  different  parts  alternately;  for  the  dung 
is  not  of  equal  quality,  nor  made  with  the  same 
regularity,  in  all  parts  of  the  yard. 

"  The  coal-ashes,  road-scrapings,  and  all 
other  collections  of  manure  about  the  farm- 
house, should  also  be  carried  to  these  dung- 
heaps;  and  when  the  heaps  are  raised  as  high 
as  convenient  for  the  horses  to  draw  up,  seve- 
ral loads  should  be  shot  up  at  the  ends  of  the 
heaps,  for  the  purpose  of  making  them  up  to 
the  square  of  the  centre.  The  whole  heaps 
should  then  be  completely  covered  with  the 
marl  and  clay,  or  soil  previously  collected  in 
rows  by  the  sides  of  the  heaps,  so  as  effectually 
to  enclose  the  dung-heaps  in  crusts,  and  they 
are  thenceforth  denominated  T^ie*.  In  these,  the 
dung  will  be  preserved  in  a  very  perfect  state, 
with  little  or  no  fermentation,  and  without  loss 
by  exhalation  or  evaporation.  The  pies,  within 
ten  days  or  a  fortnight  of  the  time  the  compost 
is  wanted  for  the  turnip  ground,  should  be 
turned  carefully  over,  and  the  crust,  top,  bottom, 
and  sides  intimately  mixed  up  with  the  dung. 
When  the  turning  is  completed,  with  the  natu- 


PARM-YARD  MANURi::. 


FARM-YARlf  MANURE. 


ral  soil  around  the  heaps,  a°:ain  coat  the  heaps  I 
all  over ;  the  pies  will  then  undergo  a  gentle 
fermentation ;  the  earth,  intermixed  with  and  I 
covering  the  dung,  will  absorb  the  juices  and  I 
gaseous  matters   produced,  and  the  compost 
come  out  in  a  fine  state  of  preparation  for  I 
using  on  the  turnip  lands.     When  the  dung  is  \ 
taken  out  of  the  yards  late  in  the  spring,  or 
only  a  short  time  before  it  is  required  for  the 
turnip  ground,  the  preparation  should  be  some- 
what different,  because  of  the  compost  heaps 
having   less   time   to   incorporate.     Thus  the 
dung  should  not  be  carted  upon  the  heaps  to 
compress  them,  and  prevent  fermentation,  as 
in  winter.     On  the  contrary,  the  dung  should 
be  thrown  up  lightly  with  the  fork  upon  the 
bottoms,  and  the  side-heaps  of  earth  mixed  in- 
timately along  with  the  dung.    Turf  turned  up 
for  a  year  preceding  on  wastes  by  the  sides  of 
roads  makes  excellent  pie-meat" 

The  temperature  of  the  dung-heap  is  a  pretty 
sure  criterion  of  the  state  of  its  fermentation. 
If  a  thermometer,  plunged  into  it,  does  not  rise 
above  100®,  there  is  little  danger  ot  too  much 
gaseous  matter  being  lost.  If  the  temperature 
is  higher,  means  should  be  taken  to  check  the 
fermentation ;  and  the  same  overheating  may 
be  regarded  as  going  on,  if,  when  a  piece  of 
paper  moistened  with  muriatic  acid  is  held 
over  a  dunghill,  dense  fumes  appear,  for  then 
ammonia  is  disengaging.  (Z>ot>y,  p.307.)  With 
skilful  management,  and  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, one  ton  of  dry  straw  is  found  to 
produce  three  tons  of  manure ;  so  that,  as  the 
common  weight  of  straw  per  acre  is  about  one 
ton  and  a  half,  the  straw  grown  upon  that  ex- 
tent of  land  should  yield  about  four  tons  and  a 
half  of  compost.  The  quantity  of  manure  pro- 
duced by  stock  necessarily  varies  with  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  food  upon  which 
the  animals  rfre  fed.  In  an  experiment  made 
at  the  Cavalry  Depot,  at  Maidstone,  a  horse 
consumed  in  a  week — 

Dm. 
Onts  -..-.--70 

H;«y 84 

Blraw      ---..--5« 

310 

He  drank,  within  this  time,  27  gallons  of  water. 
The  weight  of  the  dung  and  litter  produced 
was  327^  lbs. 

In  another  experiment,  on  a  large-sized  York- 
shire milch  cow,  she  consumed  in  24  hours — 

Lbi. 
Brewers'  grains  -  -  -  -  -  81 
Raw  potatoes  -        -        .        .        -30 

Meadow  hay  -        -        -        -        -15 

1% 

And  during  this  period  she  drank  two  pailfuls 
of  water.  The  urine  was  allowed  to  escape. 
She  had  no  litter  of  any  kind.  The  weight  of 
the  solid  dung  she  produced  was  45  lbs.  When 
fed,  on  another  day,  with 


Raw  potatoes 
Hay 


170 

S8 


198 


she  produced,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
73  lbs.  of  solid  manure.  {lirHish  Husbandry, 
vol.  i.  p.  255.)     Taking,  therefore,  the  average 


produce  to  be  equal  to  60  lbs.  per  day,  it  follows 
that  a  cow  will  make  about  9  tons  of  solid 
dung  in  the  course  of  the  year. 

The  quality  of  farm-yard  compost  naturally 
varies  with  the  food  of  the  animals  by  which 
it  is  made :  that  from  the  cattle  of  the  straw- 
yard  is  decidedly  the  poorest ;  that  from  those 
fed  on  oil-cake,  corn,  or  Swedes,  the  richest. 
Of  stable-dung,  that  from  corn-fed  horses  is 
most  powerful — from  those  subsisting  on  stra\» 
and  hay,  the  poorest ;  the  difference  between 
the  fertilizing  effects  of  the  richest  and  the  in- 
ferior farm-yard  dung  is  much  greater  than  is 
commonly  believed — in  many  instances  the 
disparity  exceeds  one-half;  thus,  that  produced 
by  cattle  fed  upon  oil-cake  is  fully  equal  in 
value  to  double  the  quantity  fed  upon  turnips. 
My  friend,  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  of  Spring  Park, 
near  Croydon,  an  excellent  scientific  practical 
farmer,  had  occasion  to  notice  this  in  an  ex- 
periment which  commenced  in  1834.  In  that 
year,  on  half  of  a  field  of  turnips  fed  off*  with 
sheep,  he  gave  them  oil-cake;  on  the  other 
half  they  fed  only  on  the  turnips.  The  succeed- 
ing crops  were  all  distinguished  by  their  supe- 
riority on  the  half  of  the  field  where  the  sheep 
had  oil-cake;  and  in  1838,  when  the  field  had 
again  a  crop  of  turnips,  the  half  of  the  field,  on 
which  four  years  previously  the  sheep  were 
fed  with  oil-cake,  had  by  far  a  better  crop  of 
turnips  than  that  which  had  been  manured  in 
common  with  the  rest  of  the  field  and  fed  oflf  in 
the  ordinary  manner.  And  as  the  food  con- 
sumed so  materially  influences  the  quality  of 
the  manure,  it  follows,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, that  that  made  in  summer  by  the  clo- 
ver, grass,  and  tare-fed  stock  is  much  superior 
to  that  produced  during  the  winter  months  by 
the  store-fed  cattle  of  the  straw-yard,  which  is 
usually  still  further  impoverished  by  the  rains 
and  snows.  Hence,  too,  the  superior  richness 
of  the  manure  of  fatting  swine  to  those  of  pigs 
in  a  lean  state,  and  the  far  superior  strength 
of  night  soil  to  any  manure  produced  from 
merely  vegetable  food.  Chemical  examina- 
tions are  hardly  necessary  to  prove  these  facts. 
Every  farmer  who  has  had  stall-fed  cattle  will 
testify  to  their  truth — every  cultivator  will 
readily  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  "town- 
made,"  that  is,  corn-produced  stable-dung,  to 
that  from  horses  fed  only  on  hay  and  straw, 
and  that  night-soil  is  far  superior  in  "strength" 
to  either.  The  relative  quantities  employed  by 
the  cultivator  betray  the  same  fact ;  for  on  the 
soils  where  he  applies  20  loads  of  good  farm- 
yard compost  per  acre,  he  spreads  not  half  that 
quantity  of  night-soil.  Mr.  Dixon,  whose  ob- 
servations I  have  quoted  at  some  length  in  this 
paper,  deems  "  six  tons  of  night-soil  in  com- 
post with  peat  amply  sufficient  for  an  acre." 
Mr.  H.  Davis  is  of  the  same  opinion.  It  is  not, 
as  the  farmer  is  well  aware,  the  mere  straw  of 
the  farm-yard  manure  which  influences  its  fer 
tilizing  quality,  but  the  excrements  with  which 
that  straw  is  mixed.  Thus  other  substances, 
when  thoroughly  saturated  with  the  stercora- 
ccous  matters  of  cattle,  are  found  to  be  just  as 
fertilizing  as  straw :  sawdust,  peat,  tanners'  bark, 
or  turf,  are  as  serviceable  in  this  respect  as 
the  best  straw.  Arthur  Young  found  this  to  be 
the  case  when  turf  was  employed  mixed  with 

459 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


urine,  (jinnals  of  Agric.  vol.  ix.  p.  652. — Ihid. 
vcl.  iii.  p.  67 — 69.)  Lord  Meadowbank,  Mr. 
Dixon,  and  others  have  successfully  employed 
peat  in  a  similar  way  (English  J gric.  Soc.  Journ. 
vol.  i.  p.  138),  and  the  latter  agriculturist  often 
makes  his  excellent  compost  heaps  of  merely 
peat  and  urine.  The  liquid  or  soluble  portion 
of  farm-yard  manure  constitutes,  in  fact,  its 
richest  portion.  Of  the  powerful  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  urine  of  cattle,  and  other  liquid 
fertilizers,  I  shall  have  hereafter  occasion  to 
speak,  when  treating  on  liquid  manure. 

It  is  usual  for  the  farmer,  although  not  so 
common  a  practice  as  is  desirable,  to  increase 
the  bulk,  if  not  the  quality,  of  his  dung-heaps, 
by  adding  to  them  various  other  substances ; 
thus,  as  to  enlarging  them,  by  adding  to  that 
of  the  farm-yard,  peat-moss,  the  late  Lord  Mea- 
dowbank made  many  experiments  with  suc- 
cess ;  and  his  directions  are  of  a  very  simple 
and  easily  followed  description.  "Let  the  peat- 
moss," he  says,  "  be  thrown  out  of  the  pit  for 
some  weeks  or  months,  in  order  to  lose  its  re- 
dundant moisture.  By  this  means  it  is  render- 
ed the  lighter  to  carry,  and  less  compact  and 
heavy  when  made  up  with  fresh  dung  for  fer- 
mentation ;  and,  accordingly,  less  dung  is  re- 
quired for  this  purpose  than  if  the  preparation 
is  made  with  peat  taken  recently  from  the  pit; 
the  peat  taken  from  near  the  surface  or  at  a 
considerable  depth  answers  equally  well.  Take 
the  peat-moss  to  a  dry  spot  convenient  for  con- 
structing a  dunghill,  to  serve  the  field  to  be 
manured;  lay  the  cart-loads  of  it  in  two  rows, 
and  of  the  dung  in  a  row  between  them.  The 
dung  thus  lies  nearly  on  an  area  of  the  future 
compost  dunghill,  and  the  rows  of  peat  should 
be  near  enough  each  other  that  workmen,  in 
making  up  the  compost,  may  be  able  to  throw 
them  together  by  the  spade.  In  making  up,  let 
the  workmen  begin  at  one  end,  and  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  row  of  dung  (which  should  not 
extend  quite  so  far  at  that  end  as  the  rows  of 
peat  on  each  side  of  it  do),  let  them  lay  a  bottom 
of  peat  six  inches  deep  and  fifteen  feet  wide, 
if  the  ground  admits  of  it;  then  throw  forward 
and  lay  on  about  ten  inches  of  dung  above  the 
bottom  of  peal,  then  add  from  the  side  rows 
about  six  inches  of  peat,  then  four  or  five  of 
dung,  and  then  six  more  of  peat;  then  another 
thin  layer  of  dung,  and  then  cover  it  over  with 
peat  at  the  end  where  it  was  begun,  and  at  the 
two  sides.  The  compost  should  not  be  raised 
above  four  feet  or  four  feet  and  a  half  high, 
otherwise  it  is  apt  to  press  too  heavily  on  the 
under  parts,  and  check  the  fermentation ;  when 
a  beginning  is  thus  made,  the  workmen  will 
proceed  working  backwards,  and  adding  to  the 
column  of  compost,  as  they  are  furnished  with 
the  three  rows  of  materials  directed  to  be  laid 
down  for  them.  They  must  take  care  not  to 
tread  on  the  compost,  or  render  it  too  compact; 
and,  of  consequence,  in  proportion  as  the  peat 
is  wet,  it  should  be  made  up  in  lumps,  and  not 
much  broken.  In  mild  weather,  7  cart-loads 
rf  common  farm  dung,  tolerably  fresh  made,  is 
sufficient  for  21  cart-loads  of  peat-moss;  but, 
in  cold  weather,  a  larger  proportion  of  dung  is 
desirable.  To  every  28  cart-loads  of  the  com- 
post when  made  up,  it  is  of  use  to  throw  on 
above  it  a  cart-load  of  ashes,  either  made  from 
460 


coal,  peat,  or  wood ;  or,  if  these  cannot  be  had, 
half  the  quantity  of  slaked  lime  may  be  used^ 
the  more  finely  powdered  the  better :  but  these 
additions  are  nowise  essential  to  the  general 
success  of  the  compost.  The  dung  to  be  used 
should  either  have  been  recently  made  or  kept 
fresh  by  compression,  as  by  the  treading  of 
cattle  or  swine,  or  by  carts  passing  over  it; 
and  if  there  is  little  or  no  litter  in  it,  a  smaller 
quantity  will  serve,  provided  any  spongy  vege- 
table matter  is  added  at  making  up  the  com- 
post, as  fresh  weeds,  the  rubbish  of  a  stack- 
yard, potato-shaves,  sawings  of  timber,  &c.; 
and  as  some  sorts  of  dung,  even  when  fresh, 
are  much  more  advanced  in  decomposition 
than  others,  it  is  material  to  attend  to  this ;  for 
a  much  less  proportion  of  such  dung  as  is  less 
advanced  will  serve  for  the  compost,  provided 
care  is  taken  to  keep  the  mass  sufficiently  open, 
either  by  a  mixture  of  the  above-mentioned  sub- 
stances, or,  if  these  are  wanting,  by  adding  the 
peat  piecemeal;  that  is,  first  making  it  up  in 
the  usual  proportion  of  three  to  one  of  dung, 
and  then  adding,  after  a  time,  an  equal  quantity 
more  or  less  of  moss.  The  dung  of  this  quality 
of  greatest  quantity  is  shamble  dung,  with 
which,  under  the  above  precautions,  six  times 
the  quantity  of  peat,  or  more,  maybe  prepared. 
The  same  holds  as  to  pigeons'  dung  and  other 
fowl  dung,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  also,  as  to 
that  which  is  collected  from  towns,  and  made 
by  animals  that  feed  on  grains,  refuse  of  dis- 
tilleries, &c. 

"  The  compost,  after  it  is  made  up,  gets  into 
a  general  heat  sooner  or  later,  according  to  the 
weather  and  the  condition  of  the  dung :  in  sum- 
mer, in  ten  days  or  sooner ;  in  winter,  not  per- 
haps for  many  weeks,  if  the  cold  is  severe.  It 
always,  however,  has  been  found  to  come  on 
at  last;  and  in  summer  it  sometimes  rises  so 
high  as  to  be  mischievous,  by  c($nsuming  the 
materials  (Fire-Fanging).  In  that  season  a 
stick  should  be  kept  in  it  in  dififerent  parts,  to 
pull  out  and  feel  now  and  then ;  for,  if  it  ap- 
proaches to  blood  heat,  it  should  either  be 
watered  or  turned  over,  and,  on  such  an  occa- 
sion, advantage  may  be  taken  to  mix  it  with  a 
little  fresh  moss.  The  heat  subsides  after  a 
time,  and  with  great  variety,  according  to  the 
weather,  the  dung,  and  the  perfection  of  the 
making  up  of  the  compost,  which  then  should 
be  allowed  to  remain  untouched  till  within 
three  weeks  of  using,  when  it  should  be  turned 
over  upside  down,  and  outside  in,  and  all  lumps 
broken ;  then  it  comes  into  a  second  heat,  but 
soon  cools,  and  should  be  taken  out  for  use. 
In  this  state  the  whole,  except  bits  of  the  old 
decayed  wood,  appears  a  black,  free  mass,  and 
spreads  like  garden  mould.  Use  it  weight  for 
weight  as  farm-yard  dung,  and  it  will  be  found 
in  a  course  of  cropping  fully  equal  to  stand  the 
comparison."  After  a  long-continued  observa- 
tion and  successful  use  of  peat,  Mr.  H.  Davis 
is  of  opinion  that  peat,  in  common  with  most 
organic  manures,  has  a  strong  tendency  to  rise 
to  the  surface  of  all  cultivated  soils,  thus  fol- 
lowing a  rule  directly  opposite  to  those  of 
earthy  fertilizers,  which  certainly  descend  into 
the  land.    (Young's  Annals,  vol.  xli.  p.  547.) 

Compost,  if  made  up  before  January,  has 
hitherto  been  in  good  order  for  the  spring- 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FAHM-YAl^  MANURE. 


crops ;  but  this  may  not  happen  in  a  long  frost. 
In  summer,  it  is  ready  in  eight  or  ten  weeks ; 
and,  if  there  is  an  anxiety  to  have  it  sooner 
prepared,  the  addition  of  ashes,  or  of  a  little 
lime  rubbish  of  old  buildings,  or  of  lime  slack- 
ened with  foul  water,  applied  to  the  dung  used 
in  making  up,  will  quicken  the  process  con- 
siderably. "Peat  prepared  with  lime  alone 
has  not  been  found  to  answer  as  good  manure; 
in  one  instance,  viz.  on  a  bit  of  fallow  sown 
with  wheat,  it  was  manifestly  pernicious." 
(Edinburgh  Enryc.  vol.  i.  p.  279.)  The  opinion 
of  Lord  Meadowbank  in  favour  of  the  use  of 
peat  Of  sawdust  as  a  mixture  with  farm-yard 
compost,  has  been  recently  confirmed  by  Mr. 
Dixon,  of  Hathershaw,  in  Lancashire,  who,  in 
bis  Prize  Essay,  thus  describes  the  result  of 
bis  long  experience  (Journ.  of  the  English  jigric. 
Society,  vol.  i.  p.  135): — 

"  My  farm  is  a  strong,  retentive  soil,  on  a 
substratum  of  ferruginous  clay.  My  object 
was  to  improve  its  texture  at  the  least  cost. 
For  this  purpose  we  carted  great  quantities  of 
fine  sawdust  and  peat-earth,  or  bog;  we  had  so 
far  to  go  for  the  latter,  that  two  horses  would 
fetch  little  more  than  three  tons  in  one  day ; 
one  horse  would  fetch  three  can-loads  of  saw- 
dust in  the  same  time.  Having  brought  great 
quantities  of  both  peat  and  sawdust  into  my 
farm-yard,  I  laid  out,  for  the  bottom  of  a  com- 
post heap,  a  space  of  considerable  dimensions, 
and  about  three  feet  in  depth;  three-fourths  of 
this  bottom  was  peal,  the  rest  sawdust ;  on  this 
■we  conveyed,  daily,  the  dung  from  the  cattle- 
sheds;  the  urine,  also,  is  conducted  through 
channels  to  wells  for  its  reception  (one  on  each 
side  of  the  compost  heap);  common  water  is 
entirely  prevented  from  mixing  with  it.  Every 
second  day  the  urine  so  collected  is  thrown 
over  the  whole  mass  with  a  scoop,  and  at  the 
same  time  we  regulate  the  accumulated  dung. 
This  being  continued  for  a  week,  another  layer, 
nine  inches  or  a  foot  thick,  of  peat  and  saw- 
dust (and  frequently  peat  without  sawdust)  is 
wheeled  on  the  accumulated  heap.  These 
matters  are  continuously  added  to  each  other 
during  winter;  and,  in  addition,  once  in  every 
week,  never  less  than  25  cwt.,  more  frequently 
60  cwt.,  of  night-soil  and  urine :  the  latter  are 
always  laid  next  above  the  peat  or  bog  earth, 
as  we  think  it  accelerates  their  decomposition. 
It  IS,  perhaps,  proper  here  to  state,  that  the 
peal  is  dug  and  exposed  to  the  alternations  of 
the  weather  for  several  months  before  it  is 
brought  to  the  heap  for  admixture :  by  this  it 
loses  much  of  its  moisture.  Some  years'  ex- 
perience has  convinced  me  of  the  impropriety 
of  using  recently  dug  peat:  used  in  the  man- 
ner I  recommend,  it  is  superior  and  more  con- 
venient on  every  account;  very  much  lighter 
to  cart  to  the  farm-yard,  or  any  other  situation 
where  it  is  wanted;  and  so  convinced  am  I  of 
its  utility  in  composts  for  every  description  of 
soil,  except  that  of  its  own  character,  that  wher- 
ever it  can  be  laid  down  on  a  farm  at  less  than 
4  shillings  per  ton,  I  should  recommend  every 
agriculturist  and  horticulturist  that  can  com- 
mand it,  even  at  the  cost  here  stated,  to  give  it 
a  fair  trial.  So  attractive  and  retentive  of  mois- 
ture is  peat,  that,  if  liberally  applied  to  an  arid, 
sandy  soil,  that  soil  does  not  burn  in  a  dry 


season,  and  it  so  much  improves  the  textura 
and  increases  the  produce  of  an  obdurate  clay 
soil,  if  in  other  respects  rightly  cultivated,  that 
actual  experience  alone  can  fairly  determine 
its  value. 

*'  For  the  conveyance  of  night-soil  and  urine, 
we  have  the  largest  and  strongest  casks,  such 
as  oils  are  imported  in ;  the  top  of  which  is 
provided  with  a  funnel  to  put  the  matters 
through,  and  the  casks  are  fixed  on  wheels  like 
those  of  a  common  dung-cart.  For  the  conve- 
nience of  emptying  this  carriage,  the  compost 
heaps  are  always  lower  at  one  end  ;  the  high- 
est is  where  we  discharge  the  contents,  in  order 
that  they  may,  in  some  degree,  spread  them- 
selves over  the  whole  accumulation.  The  situ- 
ation on  which  the  wheels  of  these  carriages 
stand  while  being  discharged,  is  raised  consi- 
derably; this  we  find  convenient,  as  the  com- 
post heap  may  be  sloped  six  or  seven  feet  high; 
low  compost  heaps,  in  my  opinion,  should  be 
avoided.  The  plan  here  recommended  I  have 
carried  on  for  some  time.  I  find  no  difficulty 
in  manuring  my  farm  over  once  in  two  years ; 
by  this  repetition  I  keep  up  the  fertility  of  my 
land,  and  it  never  requires  more  than  a  mode- 
rate application  of  manure. 

"  I  am  fully  aware  that  there  are  many  loca- 
lities where  neither  peat  nor  night-soilcan  be 
readily  obtained;  but  it  is  worth  a  ferraer's 
while  to  go  even  more  than  20  miles  for  the 
latter  substance,  provided  he  can  have  it  witli- 
out  deterioration:  the  original  cost  is  often 
trifling.  On  a  farm  where  turnips  or  mangel 
are  cultivated  to  some  extent,  the  system  here 
recommended  will  be  almost  incalculably  ad- 
vantageou.^.  A  single  horse  is  sufficient  for 
one  carriage;  mine  hold  upwards  of  a  ton 
each;  six  tons  of  this  manure  in  compost  with 
peat,  or,  if  that  is  not  convenient,  any  other 
matters,  such  as  ditch  scourings,  or  high  head- 
lands which  have  been  properly  prepared  and 
laid  dry  in  a  heap  for  some  time,  would  be  am- 
ply sufficient  for  an  acre  of  turnips  or  mangeL 
This  manure  is  by  far  the  most  invigorating 
of  any  I  have  ever  yet  tried;  bones  in  any 
state  will  bear  no  comparison  to  it  for  any 
crop;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  I  write 
on  the  supposition  that  it  has  not  been  reduced 
in  strength  before  it  is  brought. 

"Convenience  frequently  suggests  that  com- 
post heaps  should  be  raised  on  diflferent  parts 
of  a  farm ;  but,  unless  in  particular  instances, 
it  is  well  to  have  them  in  the  yard.  In  the 
farm-yard,  all  the  urine  from  the  cattle-stalls 
may  be  employed  with  the  greatest  economy ; 
and,  be  it  remarked,  that  the  urine  from  ani- 
mals, in  given  weights,  is  more  powerful  than 
their  solid  excrements.  How  important,  then, 
must  it  not  be  to  the  farmer  to  make  ihe  most 
extensive  and  the  most  careful  use  of  this 
liquid!  It  is  sometimes  carted  on  the  land; 
but  that  practice  will  not  bear  a  comparison 
with  making  it  into  composts  in  the  manner 
here  recommended.  Great  waste  is  often  made 
in  putrescent  manures  after  they  are  carted  on 
the  land  ;  instead  of  being  immediately  covered 
or  incorporated  with  the  soil,  we  not  unfre- 
quently  see  them  exposed  for  days  together  in 
the  hot  rays  of  a  scorching  sun,  or  to  the  inju 
rious  influences  of  a  dry  wind.  I  have  I  efore 
24  2  461 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


stated  that  compost  heaps  should,  on  many 
considerations,  be  raised  in  the  farm-yard; 
still,  circumstances  are  frequently  such  that  it 
is  more  proper  to  make  them  at  some  distance 
in  the  fields.  If  a  headland  becomes  too  high 
by  frequent  ploughings  or  working  of  the  land, 
in  that  case  it  should  be  ploughed  at  the  lime 
when  clover  or  mixed  grass-seeds  are  sown 
with  a  white  crop ;  for  instance,  barley  or  oats, 
and  clover  for  the  year  following :  a  headland 
might  then  be  ploughed,  and  a  number  of  cart- 
loads of  some  manure  heaped  from  one  end  to 
the  other.  Immediately  after  this  it  should  be 
trenched  with  the  spade  (or  what  is  sometimes 
called  digging),  and  ridged  high,  in  order  that 
an  action  may  take  place  between  the  soil  and 
the  manure;  by  this  means  the  mass  would 
soon  be  in  a  condition  for  turning  over,  and 
any  ditch  scourings,  or  other  matters  which 
had  not  in  the  first  instance  been  used,  might 
now  be  added  to  the  mixture.  The  heap  should 
then  be  allowed  to  remain  closed  for  a  few 
weeks,  then  turned  over  again ;  at  this  turning, 
in  all  probability,  the  mass  would  be  much  re- 
duced ;  and  if  so,  raise  the  ridge  of  compost 
well  on  both  sides ;  but,  instead  of  its  top  be- 
ing pointed,  make  a  trench  or  cavity  on  the  top 
from  one  end  of  the  heap  to  the  other.  This 
cavity  should  be  made  tolerably  retentive  of 
moisture,  which  may  be  effected  by  treading 
with  the  feet;  carriages  of  night-soil,  or  urine 
from  the  cattle-stalls,  may  then  be  emptied  into 
the  trench,  and  the  bulk  of  the  heap  would  de- 
termine how  many  were  required.  This  being 
done,  a  little  earth  should  be  thrown  into  the 
trench,  and  the  heap  allowed  to  remain  in  that 
state  until  the  middle  or  latter  end  of  autumn ; 
it  will  then  be  ready  for  another  turning;  but 
at  this  time  care  must  be  taken  to  have  the 
heap  well  made  up  at  the  sides,  and  pointed  at 
the  top ;  in  this  situation  rain  will  be  thrown 
off,  and  the  compost  preserved  dry  until  winter 
presents  some  favourable  opportunity  for  lay- 
ing it  on  the  young  clover,  wheat,  or  any  other 
crop  which  may  require  it. 

"In  the  year  1826,"  adds  Mr.  Dixon,  "my 
attention  was  first  directed  to  raising  compost 
heaps  from  urine.  This  I  now  do  frequently, 
without  the  help  of  any  dung  from  the  cattle- 
stalls.  The  same  occasion  called  my  mind  to 
another  matter,  well  worthy  every  farmer's  at- 
tention. I  allude  to  the  great  superiority  of  the 
manure  raised  in  summer  soiling,  to  that  pro- 
duced in  the  stalls  during  winter." 

"The  strength  and  consequent  value  of  all 
cattle-dung,"  says  Mr.  Burke,  in  a  note  upon 
this  paper,  "will  of  course  depend  upon  the 
nature  of  their  food;  if  soiled,  during  the  sum- 
mer, upon  clovers,  tares,  sainfoin,  &c.,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  manure  will  have  a 
proportionately  greater  effect  upon  the  land, 
than  if  the  beasts  be  kept  in  the  straw-yard ; 
and  if  stall-fed,  either  in  winter  or  in  summer, 
for  the  purpose  of  fatting,  it  will  be  still  better. 
Thus,  it  was  found,  on  comparing  the  effects 
of  dung  voided  by  animals  fed  chiefly  on  oil- 
cake with  that  of  store-stock,  12  loads  of  the 
former  exceeded  in  superiority  of  product  24 
of  the  latter."  (See  The  Complete  Grazier,  6th 
tdit.  p.  103.) 

I  verily  believe  the  difference  is  50  per  cent., 
462 


unless  stock  are  fed,  in  a  great  measure,  during 
winter,  with  artificial  food.  In  an  arrange' 
ment  for  making  compost  heaps  from  urine,  I 
would  recommend  a  receptacle  to  be  made  at 
the  back  of  the  cattle-stalls,  just  outside  the 
building:  this  should  hold  about  20  cart-loads 
of  mould,  or  any  other  matters  to  be  employed ; 
if  its  situation  were  a  liitle  lower  than  the  cat- 
tle-sheds, all  the  urine  would  pass  into  it,  and 
remain  there  until  the  mass  is  completely  sa- 
turated, which  will  be  sufficient ;  when  the 
earthy  matters  are  covered  over,  the  compost 
may  then  be  thrown  out,  and  the  proceeding 
again  renewed.  In  order  to  show  part  of  the 
benefits  of  this  practice,  I  beg  here  to  observe, 
that  the  most  foul  or  weedy  mould  may  be 
used ;  the  action  of  the  urine,  if  not  reduced  by 
water,  is  so  powerful,  that  wire-worms,  the 
black  slug,  many  other  destroying  insects,  and 
all  vegetables,  weeds,  &c.,  when  in  contact 
with  the  urine  for  a  time,  are  killed.  The 
situation  for  raising  this  compost  should  be 
protected  from  the  weather  by  a  covering, 
similar  to  a  cart-shed ;  indeed,  the  deteriorating 
influences  of  rain,  sun,  and  arid  winds,  on  all 
putrescent  manures  or  compost,  are  so  serious, 
that,  in  my  humble  judgment,  it  would  be 
worth  while  to  have  places  under  cover  where 
these  are  usually  laid  down. 

The  urine  of  the  cow  far  exceeds  in  quantity 
that  of  the  dung,  being  as  18  or  19  lbs.  of  the  former 
to  8  lbs.  of  the  latter,  and  likewise  in  fertilizing 
power.  Professor  Johnson  found  that  to  pro- 
duce the  same  effect,  it  required  of  covj-diatg 
125  parts,  but  of  the  2irine  only  91  parts;  of 
the  dung  of  the  horse,  73  parts  were  required, 
but  of  its  urine  only  16,  so  that  the  amoziut  of 
the  urine  of  live  stock  is  not  only  much  larger 
than  that  of  the  more  solid  excrements,  but  it  is 
possessed  of  much  gveViXQr  fertilizing  powers. 

The  farmer  cannot  be  too  careful  to  prevent 
the  loss  of  the  most  fertilizing  principles  of  his 
manures,  which  so  often  ensues  from  washing 
away  in  rain  water,  or  the  flying  off  of  the  am- 
monia during  its  fermentation.  To  prevent  the 
loss  of  this  ammonia,  stables  and  dung  heaps 
should  be  sprinkled  frequently  with  powdered 
gypsum,  or  charcoal,  or  a  mixture  of  both. 

A  gallon  of  the  dark-coloured  drainings  from  a 
heap  of  cow-dung,  says  Professor  J.  F.  W.  John- 
ston, when  evaporated  to  dryness,  left  about  480 
grains,  or  1  oz.  of  dry  solid  matter.  This  being 
analyzed  gave:  ammonia,  9-6  grs.;  organic  mat- 
ter, 200-8  grs. ;  inorganic,  (ash)  268'8  grs.  The 
inorganic  portion  contained  alkaline  salts  207-8 
grs. ;  phosphates  of  lime  and  magnesia  25-1  grs. ; 
carbonate  of  lime  (or  chalk)  18-2  grs. ;  carbonate 
of  magnesia  and  loss  4-3  grs.;  silica  and  a  little 
alumina  13-4  grs.;  total  268-8  grains.  This  de- 
monstrates most  clearly,  the  great  waste  in- 
curred where  manure  heaps  are  much  exposed 
to  rain. 

Peat,  which  has  been  so  successfully  em- 
ployed as  a  manure  or  compost,  is  composed 
principally  of  the  inert,  long  accumulating  ve- 
getable remains  of  either  wood,  moss,  or  heath; 
it  abounds  also  with  earthy  and  saline  matters; 
those  of  Berkshire  and  Wiltshire  contain  from 
one-fourth  to  one-third  of  their  weight  of  gyp- 
sum ;  their  earthy  matters  are  always  analogous 
to  the  stratum  of  earth  on  which  it  reposes; 
where   that  is  chalk,   the  peat  abounds  with 


nal 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


'Wilcareous  earth  and  gypsum,  and  but  little 
•Jumina  or  silica.  "Diflerent  specimens  of 
peat,  that  I  have  burnt,"  says  Davy,  "  from  the 
granitic  and  schistose  soils  of  different  parts 
of  these  islands,  have  always  given  ashes 
principally  silicious  and  aluminous;  and  a 
specimen  of  peat  from  the  county  of  Antrim 
gave  ashes  which  afforded  very  nearly  the 
same  constituents  as  Me  great  basaltic  stratum 
of  the  county."  (Chemistry,  p.  192.)  In  those 
instances,  where  the  farmer  finds  such  excel- 
lent results  from  dressing  young  clover  with  a 
mixture  of  peat  and  compost,  as  noticed  by 
Mr.  Dixon,  with  the  Lancashire  peat,  it  may 
be  reasonably  concluded  to  contain  gypsum; 
(Jmirn.  Eng.  Jlgr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  138) ;  and,  if  it 
requires  the  addition  of  a  portion  of  lime, 
before  it  is  found  to  promote  very  decidedly 
the  growth  of  clover,  it  then  is  very  likely  to 
be  saturated  with  sulphate  of  iron. 

The  too  general  neglect  of  peat  as  a  mixture 
with  farm-yard  dung  is  not  owing  to  its  being 
a  very  modern  discovery,  for  it  was  publicly 
recommended  in  Ensjiand  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury since.  "  In  Sweden,  as  in  other  countries," 
says  the  Baron  de  Schulz,  when  writing  to  Sir 
John  Sinclair  in  1796,  "  farmers  have  endea- 
voured to  increase  the  quantity  of  manure  by 
mixtures  of  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and  soils, 
and  by  collecting  urine  in  cow-houses  well 
adapted  for  that  purpose ;  they  likewise,  in 
some  parts  of  the  country,  lay  below  their  cat- 
tle ^oil  from  the  shores  of  the  lakes,  leaves, 
moss,  saw-dust,  chopped  alder,  and  pitch  fir, 
brushwood,  reeds,  and  straw.  They  often  now 
place  their  dunghills  on  a  slope  instead  of  the 
former  hollow,  and  by  means  of  pumps,  water 
them  with  urine  and  dung-water.  Many  farm- 
ers, however,  still  prefer  the  fresh  dung  to  that 
which  is  fermented,  and  which  they  suppose 
has  lost  in  the  process  a  great  part  of  its  vege- 
tating power."    (Com.  Board  of  Agr.  b.  i.  p.  326.) 

On  the  sea-shore,  it  is  usual  for  the  farmers 
to  mix  sea-weed  with  their  dung ;  in  Essex 
they  mix  it  with  chalk ;  in  Suffolk,  with  a  pe- 
t5uliar  red  shelly  sand  or  marl ;  and  in  the  west 
of  England,  with  the  calcareous  sand  of  the 
sea-shore ;  a  practice  which  is  thus  described 
by  Edward  Bennet: — 

"The  quantity  of  sand  which  a  barge  usu- 
ally contains  is  about  90  horse  teams  of  2^  cwt. 
each  ;  the  price  varies  according  to  the  distance 
it  is  carried  up  the  rivers  Notter  and  Tamar, 
from  18s.  to  25«.,  and  3s.  drinking  money,  or 
three  gallons  of  cider.  It  is  dragged  for  in 
Plymouth  sound  in  three  to  six  fathom  water. 
In  summer  the  barges  frequently  run  on  the 
sand  bank  in  Whitsand  Bay  at  two  hours  be- 
fore low  water;  when  the  tide  leaves  them, 
they  load,  waiting  for  the  flood  to  bring  them 
off.  For  arable  land,  the  sand  is  thought  to  be 
best  mixed  with  old  earth,  or  manure  collected 
in  roads  ;  but  for  pasture  it  is  best  mixed  with 
stable  muck ;  the  proportion  is  two  teams  of 
muck  to  one  of  sand ;  a  barge  load  thus  mixed 
is  thought  to  be  good  manure  for  an  acre." 
{Annah  of  Jgr.  vol.  Kii.  p.  35.) 

Farm-yard  dung  is  usually  employed  in  all 
experiments  upon  manures,  as  the  basis  upon 
which  comparative  results  are  most  usually 
obtained ;  and  it  is  notoAen  that  any  substance 


FARM-YAR»  MANURE. 

'  can  be  found  to  exceed  it  in  fertilizing  effects. 
j  It  was  compared  with  salt,  lime,  and  oil-cake, 
I  by  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  most  of  whose  elabo- 
rate experiments  are  given  under  the  head 
Salt.  In  my  own  experiments  with  potatoes 
in  a  light  gravelly  soil,  I  found  that  when  the 
soil  simply  produced  120  bushels  per  acre, 
that  manured  with  20  tons  of  stable  dung  it 
yielded  219  bushels;  and  with  20  bushels  of 
salt  only  192^  bushels.  (My  Essay  on  Salt,  p. 
84).  In  those  of  my  brother,  Mr.  George  John- 
son, where  20  tons  per  acre  of  stable  dung 
produced  23  tons  of  carrots,  20  bushels  ot  salt 
applied  to  a  similar  space  produced  18  tons 
(Jbtd.  p.  146);  and,  with  the  same  proportions, 
when  the  salted  soil  produced  4^  tons  of  red 
beet-root,  the  spit  manure  yielded  6^  tons. 
(Ilrid.  p.  149.)  In  those  of  the  Rev.  E.  Cart- 
wright  upon  potatoes,  when  the  soil  simply 
produced  157  bushels  per  acre,  the  same  quan- 
tity of  land  when  dressed  with 

363  busbeli  of  freah  dung,     yielded  192  busbela. 

30      —           soot                      —  li)2  — 

60       —            wood  ashes         —  187  — 

60       —            malt  dust             —  184  — 

363       —           decayed  leaves  —  175 

363      —           peat                     —  159  — 

S63      —           saw-dust             —  155  — 
(Cmm.  Board  of  .^fr.  vol.  Iv.  p.  370.) 

Some  valuable  experiments  on  farm-yard 
dung,  compared  in  various  proportions  with 
other  manures,  applied  to  potatoes  and  oats, 
were  made  by  Arthur  Young,  of  which  the  fol- 
lowing was  the  result: — 

"In  the  last  week  in  March,  1787,"  he  says, 
"the  white  champion  potato  was  planted  in 
beds,  each  containing  a  square  perch  of  a  good 
sandy  loam,  on  a  wet  clay  marie  bottom,  the 
sets  being  planted  one  foot  apart. 


^-^•toe^'"' 

Produce  in  Bu«h«li 
pcrAcre. 

Soil  simple    - 

. 

180 

Farm-yard  dung  - 

16  cubic  yards 

240 

— 

21         — 

200 



32         — 

280 

_ 

32         - 

400 

— 

42         — 

360 



53          — 

400 

Soot      -        -        - 

16U  bushels 

360 

Wood  ashes  - 

160     - 

240 

"  At  the  same  time,  and  on  the  same  ground, 
12  square  perches  were  planted  with  the  same 
potatoes,  and  manured  as  described  in  the  fol- 
lowing table,  which  also  gives  their  respective 
products. 


Boil  simple  - 
Dung    •        .        . 
Wood  ashes  - 
Slaked  lime  - 
Rotten  straw, with 
some  little  ani- 
mal manure 
Urine    and    soap- 
water   in   equal 
moieties     - 
Barley  straw 
Potash  -        -        - 
Dung    -        -        - 
Salt      .        -        . 
Dung    -        -        - 
Lime     -       -        - 
Dung    .        .        - 
Urine    -        -        - 


32  cubic  ]rards 
40  bushels 
160      — 


32  cubic  yards 


1440  gallons 

H  tons 
340  lbs. 

32  cubic  yards  \ 
160  lbs.  3 

32«ubic  yards  \ 
160  bushels  J 

32  cubic  yards  7 


480  gallons 


ProdDce  in  Biisb 
el*  per  Acre. 


280 
400 
400 


400 

240 
300 
380 

400 

480 


463 


FARM-YARD  MANURE. 


FARRIER. 


"The  great  product,"  adds  Young,  "which 
attends  the  addition  of  urine  to  dung,  affords  a 
very  important  lesson;  which  is,  to  manage 
dunghills  in  such  a  manner  as  to  save,  if  pos- 
sible, every  drop;  this  is  a  point  too  much 
neglected,  and,  indeed,  by  most  common  farm- 
ers very  little  attended  to."  (Annals  of  Agr.  vol. 
ix.  p.  652.) 

A  rood  of  a  poor  blue  pebbly  gravel,  which 
yielded  turnips  in  1770,  in  June,  1771,  was 
marked  in  spaces  for  manures,  each  of  two 
square  perches,  by  Arthur  Young,  and  sown 
with  oats. 


8  Squwe  Perchet. 

Per  Acre. 

Produce  of  Oati 
per  Acre. 

Manure. 

Cubic  7ardt. 

Bushels. 

Pecks. 

Soil  simple     - 

30 

2i 

Farm-yard  compost 

80 

40 

4 

—      ... 

40 

51 

1 

_      _        .        - 

20 

45 

0 

—      •       -        - 

20 

46 

1 

Bones     -        -        -        - 

25 

63 

—        .        _        _        - 

50 

57 

0 

Slaked  lime   - 

200  bush. 

38 

If 

Chalk     ...        - 

80 

31 

1 

160 

25 

24 

240 

27 

2 

Turf  mixed  with  train  oil 

80-) 
801 

33 

4 

Chalk  and  urine     - 

80 

37 

2 

Chalk     ...        - 
Turf  alone      -        -        - 

80  > 
80  3 

33 

i 

Farm -yard    earth   from 

under  dung- 

80 

35 

0 

Red  hungry  gravel 

240 

29 

14 

— 

320 

31 

"  I  observe,"  adds  Young,  "  that  dung  in  ge- 
neral much  exceeds  all  the  manures  but  bones, 
the  superiority  of  which  is  very  remarkable. 
(His  following  remarks  show  how  little  was 
Uien  known  of  bones  as  manure.)  It  is  a  ma- 
nure not  uncommon  in  this  neighbourhood; 
all  are  brought  from  London,  where  are  people 
who  make  it  their  business  to  collect  them  and 
break  them  in  small  pieces  for  those  who  boil 
them  for  the  grease  :  this  operation,  one  would 
suppose,  would  leave  them  of  not  much  value, 
but  the  contrary  is  the  fact.  When  I  found,  by 
this  and  other  trials,  that  their  effect  was  so 
very  great,  I  bought  all  I  could  get;  the  price 
10s.  6rf.  a  wagon-load,  at  London  96  bushels, 
which  by  the  time  they  were  on  the  farm  (for  I 
generally  went  on  purpose  for  them)  amounted 
from  25s.  to  30s.  a  load.  Five-and-twenty  cart 
loads  in  this  trial  being  superior  to  50,  was 
owing  to  the  latter  quantity  being  too  great  a 
dressing.  For  this  miserable  soil,  which  with 
a  summer  fallow  yielded  but  30  bushels,  to 
produce  63  by  a  moderate  manuring  of  bones, 
thows  their  amazing  effect. 

"The  advantage  of  using  fresh  long  dung," 
adds  Arthur  Young,  "appears  very  strong ;  nor 
can  any  thing  be  clearer  than  the  benefit  of  re- 
taining the  drainings  of  the  dunghill.  The 
lime  without  mixture  appears  to  more  advan- 
tage than  it  has  generally  done  with  me;  but 
even  here,  m  the  profitable  view,  it  has  done 
nothing."  {Jnn.  of  Jgr,  vol.  iii.  p.  67 — 77.) 

The  turf  composts  have  nothing  decisive  in 
ih^ir  effect.  The  urine  appears  to  have  the 
superiority.  A  portion  of  the  same  soil  was 
planted  witV  potatoes:  the  following  table  gives 
the  result  ; 
i<^4 


Manure. 

Per  Acre. 

Prodjic  r<rAen. 

Bushelfc 

Soil  simple    -       -        - 

_                „ 

135 

i^  cubic  yard  farm-yard 

coinposl    -        -        - 

331 

16Sf 

4  ditto           -        -        . 

774 

371^ 

2784 

f  ditto           -        -        . 

1014 

A  ditto           -        .        . 

135 

3714 

U  ditto          -        -        - 

1684 

3454 

U  ditto         -        -        . 

2024 

422 

Ifdiito         -        -        - 

2364 

405 

2  ditto 

270 

422 

^  ditto,  saturated  with 

yard  drainings  - 

33f 

270 

1  ditto  .        -        .        - 

1014  loads 

}      3544 

1  bushel  slaked  lime    - 

135  bush. 

2  bushels  lime 

270  ditto. 

2534 

4  cubic  yard  long  fresh 

stable  dung 

674 

405 

As  manures  are  often  applied  in  cubic  yards, 
it  might  be  well  for  the  farmer  to  know  the 
respective  weight  of  various  measures  of  ma- 
nures.   (^Farmer's  Mag.  vol.  xiv.  p.  102). 

cwf.  qrs.  Ibo. 


A  cubic  yard  of  garden  mould       -       -        -  19  3 

—  water    -        -        -        -        -  15  0 

—  compost  of  dung,  with  weeds 

and  lime,  which  had  been 

once  turned  over  in  9  mos.  14  0 

—  new  dung     -        -        -        -    9  3 

—  leaves  and  sea-weed   -        -    9  0 


There  have  been  many  excellent  suggestions 
for  the  improvement  of  farm-yard  manure.  The 
late  Mr.  Blakie  published  an  excellent  essay, 
of  which  I  have  largely  availed  myself.  Mr. 
Kirk,  of  Preston  Mains  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
vol.  viii.  p.  483),  has  suggested  that  the  straw 
produced  by  different  soils  should  be  kept  se- 
parate, and,  when  made  into  manure,  applied 
to  different  soils.  Mr.  Pearson  has  very  pro- 
perly (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  ix.  p.  299),  con- 
demned the  careless  way  in  which  farm-yard 
manure  is  often  flooded  with  the  rain  water 
from  buildings,  &c.  Mr.  Baker  is  an  advocate 
for  using  farm-yard  manure  in  its  freshest 
state.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p.  584,  and 
ix.  p.  597.)  Mr.  W.  Sim  has  reported  several 
comparative  experiments  at  Drummond,  in 
Ross-shire,  with  barley.  The  soil  a  good  deep 
loam  on  a  gravelly  subsoil ;  the  previous  crop, 
peas.   (Journ.  Royal  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  1.  p.  419.) 


A  treatise  recently  published  at  Lowell,  Mas- 
sachusetts, by  Dr.  S.  L.  Dana,  under  the  title 
of  "Muck  Manual,"  contains  much  highly  in- 
teresting matter  relative  to  the  preparation  and 
qualities  of  farm-yard  and  other  kinds  of  ma- 
nures. 

FARRIER  (Fr.  ferrier;  Lat.  ferrarius).     A 

person  who  forges  horses'  shoes.   As  the  errors 

committed  by  ignorance  in  this  art  were  the 

!  cause  of  many  diseases  in  the  feet  of  horses, 

I  it  naturally  followed  that  farriers  were  resorted 

I  to  for  the  cure  of  them.     Hence  the  whole  of 

the  diseases  of  these  animals  came  by  degrees 


ARRIERY. 


FELLING  ^TIMBER. 


to  be  treated  by  farriers,  who*are,  however, 
now  superseded  in  England  by  a  more  en- 
lightened class  of  veterinary  practitioners. 

FARRIERY.  The  art  of  preventing,  curing, 
or  alleviating  the  disorders  to  which  horses 
and  cattle  are  subject.  The  practice  of  this 
useful  profession  in  England  was,  until  within 
the  last  half  centurj',  almost  entirely  confined 
to  a  class  of  men  who  were  utterly  ignorant 
of  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  horse, 
&c.,  and  the  general  principles  of  the  art  of 
healing.  Their  prescriptions  were  as  absurd 
as  the  reasons  they  assigned  for  administering 
their  boluses  and  drenches.  But  the  establish- 
ment of  a  veterinary  college,  and  a  better  edu- 
cated class  of  persons  havl^^  taken  up  the 
profession,  has  created  a  new  era  in  veterinary 
science. 

FARROW.  A  sow  is  said  to  farrow  when 
she  brings  forth  pigs;  and  the  pigs  brought  forth 
are  called  a  litter  or  farrow. 

FARTHING-BOUND.  A  provincial  term 
for  a  stoppage  or  obstruction  in  the  intestines 
of  the  cow. 

FARTHING-DALE.  The  fourth  part  of  an 
acre  of  land,  now  generally  called  a  rood.  It 
is  sometimes  written  farding-daU. 

FAT  (Te\it.  vet ;  Ice.  feU$,-  Sax.  «r).  An 
unctuous,  solid  substance,  or,  more  properly, 
a  concrete  oil,  deposited  in  little  membranous 
cells  in  various  parts  of  animal  bodies.  It  is 
generally  white  or  yellowish,  with  little  taste 
or  smell,  and  varies  in  consistency  according 
to  the  relative  quantities  of  stearine  and  oleine 
which  it  contains.  Goats'  fat,  besides  these 
principles,  contains  also  hircine,  to  which  it 
owes  its  peculiar  smell.  Different  kinds  of  fat 
liquefy  at  diflerent  temperatures.  Lard  is  softer 
than  tallow,  melts  at  97°;  but  the  fat  extracted 
from  meat  by  boiling  requires  a  heat  of  127°. 
The  ultimate  elements  of  animal  fat  are  the 
same  as  those  of  vegetable  oils.  According 
to  the  analysis  of  Chevrenl,  100  parts  of  hu- 
man fat  are  composed  of  79-0  carbon,  11*4  hy- 
drogen, and  9-6  oxygen.  Hog's  lard  and  mut- 
ton suet  are  very  similarly  constituted.  Fat  is 
insoluble  in  water,  alcohol,  and  ether.  The 
strong  acids  dissolve,  and  gradually  decompose 
it.  With  the  alkalies  it  combines  and  forms 
soap ;  hard  with  soda,  and  soft  with  potassa. 
Fat  serves  to  defend  the  muscles  and  bones 
against  cold,  to  temper  the  acids  of  aliments, 
and  to  fnvigorate  and  support  the  whole  frame. 

FAT  HEN.  A  provincial  name  for  the  wild 
spinach  (^i'lieuopodium  album'),  commonly  called 
in  the  United  States  Lamb's-quarter,  and  some- 
times Goose-foot. 

FATHOM  (Sax.  paetjem).  A  measure  of 
length  containing  six  feet  or  two  yards ;  chiefly 
used  for  measuring  the  length  of  cordage  and 
the  depth  of  water  and  mines. 

FEATHER-GRASS  (Stipa  pennata).  This 
is  a  doubtful  native;  it  is  found  sometimes  on 
dry,  mountainous  rocks.  It  is  a  perennial, 
flowering  in  June.  The  root  is  fibrous;  stems 
a  foot  high,  covered  with  dense  tufts  of  long, 
narrow,  acute,  dark  green,  roughish  leaves; 
sheaths  striated  and  very  long;  stipules  ob- 
long, obtuse;  flowers  in  panicles,  simple,  erect, 
six  to  seven  flowers ;  awns  nearly  a  foot  long. 
At  the  time  of  flowering,  the  produce  per  acre 
59 


from  a  heath  soil  was  9528  lbs.,  dry  produce 
3454  lbs.,  nutritive  matter  409  lbs.    This  pro- 
I  duce  was  taken  from  a  heath  soil  that  had  been 
]  planted  with  the  grass,  for  the  wild  seed  does 
not  vegetate ;  but  it  may  be  propagated  to  any 
i  extent  by  parting  the  roots.    Its  agricultura' 
t  merits  appear  to  be  so  inconsiderable  as  to 
;  rank  it  among  the  inferior  grasses.    The  beau- 
tiful  feather-like   awns  which   terminate   the 
larger  valves  of  the  blossom,  and  adhere  to  the 
seed,  serving  as  a  sail  to  waft  it  from  rock  to 
rock,  have  procured  it  a  place  in  the  flower- 
gardens  of  the  curious,  and  serve  to  distinguijih 
it  from  all  other  grasses.     The  feathered  awns 
are  sometimes  worn  by  ladies  instead  of  fea- 
thers, which  they  resemble.     The  seed  is  ripe 
about  the  middle  of  September. 

Nultall  describes  several  American  species 
of  feather-grass,  which  abound  in  some  of  the 
warmer  portions  of  the  United  Slates  and  Ter- 
ritories. One  species,  the  Juncen,  grows  very 
commonly  on  the  grassy  plains  of  the  Missouri, 
as  well  as  the  Stipa  Vtrginica,  both  being  very 
troublesome  when  in  seed,  adhering  by  the 
sharp  stipe  to  every  thing  which  comes  in  their 
way.  Not  a  single  species  is  useful  in  agri- 
culture. In  Barbary  and  Upper  Louisiana  they 
appear  in  many  places  the  prevailing  herbage, 
communicating  to  the  desert  plains  the  colour^ 
ing  of  harvest,  called  payjonal  by  the  Ameri- 
can Spaniards.    {NuttalCa  Genera.) 

FEATHERS  (Sax.  F^^en;  Germ,  federn).  A 
general  name  applied  to  the  exterior  covering 
or  plumage  of  birds,  and  by  which  they  are 
enabled  to  fly.  Feathers  vary  in  form,  size, 
and  function  in  diflerent  parts  of  the  bird,  and 
have  accordingly  received  distinct  names  in 
ornithological  science.  The  quill  part  consists 
of  coagulated  albumen.  Great  quantities  of 
goose  and  other  feathers  are  annually  imported 
into  England  from  the  north  of  Europe,  which, 
'however,  are  insufficient  for  the  demand ;  hence 
poulterers  dispose  of  vast  numbers  of  the  fea- 
thers of  other  domestic  poultry,  all  of  which 
are  much  inferior  to  those  of  geese.  The  fea- 
thers, after  they  are  plucked,  are  generally  dried 
in  an  oven.  Notwithstanding  every  apparent 
caution,  the  feathers  will  frequently  be  found 
to  be  tainted,  either  from  carelessness  in  pluck- 
ing, or  by  neglecting  to  attend  to  them  after- 
wards. In  this  case,  the  only  method  to  ren- 
der them  sweet  is  to  boil  them  a  few  moments 
in  stout  calico  or  canvass  bags  in  a  copper, 
and  afterwards  dry  them  in  the  open  air.  In, 
about  a  fortnight,  if  the  weather  be  fine,  they 
will  become  perfectly  sweet  and  ready  for  use 
FEBRIFUGE  (Fr.)  In  farriery,  such  medi- 
cines as  are  beneficial  in  cases  of  fever.  See 
Fever. 

FEED  (Sax.  peuaii).  The  quantity  ol  cats 
or  grain  given  to  a  horse  or  other  animai  at 
one  time.  It  also  signifies  to  fatten  animals,  as 
cattle  or  sheep. 

FELL.  The  skin  or  hide  of  an  animal. 
FELLING  TIMBER.  The  act  of  cutting 
down  trees  for  the  purposes  of  timber.  This 
term  is  only  used  in  respect  to  full-grown 
trees,  and  is  never  applied  to  young  trees  nor 
to  bushes,  underwood,  or  hedges.  Much  has 
been  written  respecting  the  proper  season  for 
felling  trees ;  some  arguing  in  favour  of  nua 

46& 


FELLMONGER'S  POAKE. 


FEN  LANDS. 


winter,  and  others  in  favour  of  midsummer. 
The  question  principally  turns  upon  the  quan- 
tity, and  the  value  of  the  soft  or  outer  wood  in 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  to  be  felled,  known  by 
foresters  and  cai-penters  as  the  sap-wood.  As 
this  sap,  or  outer  wood  is  the  only  portion  of 
the  trunk  in  which  the  sap  or  juices  of  the  tree 
flow,  it  is  evident  that  if  no  value  be  set  upon 
it,  the  tree  may  be  cut  down  at  any  season ; 
because  the  truly  valuable  part  of  the  trunk, 
the  mature  timber,  is  impermeable  to  the  sap 
in  its  ascent  through  the  soft  wood,  and  is 
therefore  in  the  same  state  at  every  season  of 
the  year.  On  the  other  hand,  where  much 
value  is  attached  to  the  soft  or  outer  wood, 
where  this  outer  wood  is  to  be  made  as  valua- 
ble as  possible,  or  where,  as  in  the  case  of 
comparatively  young  trees,  the  greater  part  of 
the  tnmk  consists  of  sap-wood,  felling  ought 
to  take  place  when  there  is  least  sap  in  the 
course  of  ascending.  This  season  is  without 
doubt  mid-winter,  which,  all  other  circum- 
stances being  equal,  is  unquestionably  the  best 
season  for  felling  timber ;  the  next  best  being 
midsummer,  when  the  sap  is  chiefly  confined 
to  the  young  shoots,  the  circumference  of  the 
soft  wood  and  the  bark.  The  worst  time  for 
felling  timber  is  the  spring,  just  before  the  de- 
velopement  of  the  buds,  when  the  tree  is  fullest 
of  sap,  and  receiving  constantly  fresh  supplies 
from  the  root;  and  in  autumn,  immediately 
before  the  fall  of  the  leaf,  when  there  is  a  su- 
perabundance of  sap,  from  its  being  as  it  were 
thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  falling  of  the 
leaf.  In  general,  all  the  softwoods,  such  as  the 
elm,  lime,  poplars,  willows,  &c.,  should  be 
felled  during  winter:  hardwoods,  like  the  oak, 
beech,  ash,  &c.,  when  the  trunks  are  of  large 
size,  and  valued  chiefly  for  their  heart  wood, 
may  be  felled  at  any  time.  When  the  bark, 
however,  is  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  as 
in  the  oak,  the  tree  should  be  felled  in  spring, 
as  then  the  bark  contains  four  times  the 
quantity  of  astringent  matter  to  that  felled  in 
winter.  See  Timber  and  Woods.  {Brandeh 
Dirt,  of  Srienre.) 

FELLMONGER'8  POAKE  AND  CLIP- 
PINGS. Poake  is  the  waste  arising  from  the 
prepamtion  of  skins,  and  is  compounded  of 
varioUvS  proportions  of  lime,  oil,  and  hair.  It 
is  commonly  used  as  a  manure,  in  the  state  of 
compost  with  earthy  substances,  and  some- 
times, when  it  is  thought  expedient  to  increase 
the  powers  of  farm  manure,  also  with  stable 
dung.  The  clippings  are  the  parings  and 
scrapings  of  the  skins.  When  ploughed  in 
upon  a  summer  fallow  for  wheat,  these  clip- 
pings have  been  found  highly  serviceable  to 
deep  loamy  land,  and  to  strong  soils  which  are 
not  too  wet,  for  they  not  only  produce  a  full 
clean  grain,  with  a  bright  straw,  but  the  bulk 
of  the  crop  is  also  greatly  increased.  Care 
should,  however,  be  taken  to  cover  them  well 
with  the  soil,  for  if  left  near  the  surface,  the 
putrid  effluvia,  which  they  soon  emit,  attract 
the  crows  in  swarms,  and  great  quantities  are 
thus  .ost  out  of  the  ground.  From  thirty  to 
forty  bushels  per  acre  is  the  usual  quantity 
applied;  the  price  varies  in  different  places 
from  4(f.  to  9rf.  per  bushel,  heaped  loose.  (Brit. 
Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  423,  424.) 
466 


]    'FELLY.      A  provincial  word  meaning   i.o 
I  breg-k  up  a  fallow.    It  also  signifies  a  part  of  a 
wheel. 

FELON,  or  FETLOW.  In  farriery,  a  term 
for  a  sort  of  inflammation  in  animals  similar 
to  that  of  whitlow  in  the  human  subject. 

FELT.  A  kind  of  stuff'  formed  of  fur  or 
wool  alone,  or  of  a  mixture  of  these  articles 
with  camel's  hair,  which  are  blended  into  a 
compact  texture  used  principally  in  the  manu- 
facture of  hats.  Hare  and  rabbit's  fur,  wool 
and  beaver,  are  the  chief  materials  used ;  they 
are  mixed  in  proper  proportions  and  tosse- 
about  by  the  strokes  of  a  vibrating  string  oi 
bow,  till  they  become  duly  matted  together. 
Felt  strongly  compressed  is  now  us«d  as  cloth. 
It  has  one  advantage  over  woven  cloth,  it  does 
not  become  threadbare  by  use. 

FEN.  The  name  of  a  distemper  to  which 
hops  are  subject.  It  consists  of  a  quick  grow- 
ing mould,  or  moss,  which  spreads  itself  with 
much  rapidity,  and  occasions  great  injury. 

FENCE.  In  rural  economy,  is  any  kind  of 
erection  made  for  the  purpose  of  enclosing 
ground ;  as  a  hedge,  wall,  ditch,  bank,  paling, 
&c.,  or  any  continuous  line  of  obstacle  inter- 
posed between  one  portion  of  the  surface  of 
land  and  another,  for  the  purpose  of  separation 
or  exclusion.  The  kind  of  obstacle  or  material 
diflfers  according  to  the  animals  which  are  to  be 
separated,  excluded,  or  confined,  and  the  nature 
of  the  soil  and  situation.  In  the  early  state  of 
husbandry,  fences  were  little  known  or  wanted, 
except  in  particular  places,  as  near  houses  or 
yards.  The  introduction  of  fences  into  agri- 
culture was  about  as  great  an  improvement  in 
the  progress  of  that  art,  as  that  of  the  prijiciple 
of  the  division  of  labour  into  the  art  of  manu- 
facture. The  subject  of  fences  is  one  of  high 
interest  to  the  farmer,  an  immense  amount  of 
whose  capital  is  annually  expended  chiefly  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  the  depredations  of 
stock  belonging  to  other  persons.  Many  valu- 
able observations  on  this  topic  will  be  found  in 
various  American  agricultural  periodicals. 

FEN  LANDS,  or  FENS.  Boggy  or  marshy 
lands,  the  subsoil  of  which  is  constantly  in  a 
state  of  saturation  with  water,  and  the  surface 
liable  to  be  overflown  by  rivers  or  streams 
during  spring  or  autumn.  The  soil  of  these 
lands  is  generally  black,  light,  and  rich  to  the 
depth  of  two  or  three  feet ;  and  as  the  surface 
water  readily  filtrates  through  this  soil  to  the 
subsoil,  fen  lands  generally  produce,  when  pro- 
perly drained  and  cultivated,  bulky  crops  of 
grass  and  corn.  As  they  have  very  seldom 
any  natural  outlet  for  their  drainage,  this  is 
usually  performed  by  machinery ;  and  when 
this  is  the  case  fen  lands  are  more  productive, 
(See  Draining  and  Warping.)  The  principal 
fens  in  England  are  those  of  Lincolnshire, 
Cambridgeshire,  and  the  adjoining  counties,  a 
very  full  account  of  which  will  be  found  in 
M'CuUoch's  Geogr,  Diet.,  art.  "Bedford  Level." 
(See  also  Brit.  Hush.  vol.  i.  p.  466 — 469.  "  On 
the  Course  of  Cropping  in  the  Fens,"  vol.  ii.  p. 
107.)  Fens  generally  abound  with  saline 
plants,  which  are  very  nourishing  to  cattle. 
See  Irrigation. 

FENNEL,  COMMON  (Meum  faniiniluni. 
Smith).    This  is  a  well-known  biennial  plant. 


FENNEL. 


FERMENTATION. 


cultivated  in  our  kitchen  gardens  as  a  garnish. 
It  is  likewise  used  as  a  domestic  medicine. 
The  t;isle  and  aromatic  qualities  of  the  garden 
fennel  are  well  known.  The  sweet  and  warm 
seeds  are  a  common  carminative  for  infants. 

FENNEL,  SWEET  (Fanimhtm  duke).  This 
species  of  fennel  is  an  annual  plant,  a  native 
of  Italy  and  Portugal,  where  it  is  cultivated  as 
a  pot-herb,  as  well  as  for  the  seeds  and  the  oils 
which  these  afford.  It  is  a  smaller  plant  than 
the  common  fennel.  The  stem  is  somewhat 
compressed  at  the  base.  The  fruit  is  much 
longer  than  that  of  the  common  fennel,  being 
nearly  five  lines  long,  less  compressed,  some- 
what curved  and  paler,  with  a  greenish  tinge. 
The  turions  are  also  sweeter  and  less  aromatic, 
and  the  fruit  {seed)  has  a  more  agreeable  odour 
and  flavour. 

The  fruit  is  imported,  and  affords  the  oil  of 
fennel  and  the  fennel  water  of  the  druggists. 
Both  are  useful  in  flatulent  colic  ;  and  the  latter 
is  a  pleasant  vehicle  for  administering  other 
medicines  to  children. 

FENUGREEK  (Trigmiella,  Faummf^acum). 
Fenugreek  is  a  species  of  trefoil  sometimes 
cultivated  in  fields  for  its  seed;  but  it  yields  a 
very  uncertain  crop,  owing  to  the  variable  na- 
ture of  the  weather  in  England.  The  stem  is 
a  foot  high,  erect,  with  round  branched  stalks, 
trifoliate  leaves,  toothed  ;  the  flowers  small  and 
white  ;  the  fruit  a  sessile,  straight,  erect,  some 
curved,  acuminate,  flat  pod  ;  containing  a  num- 
ber of  yellowish  seeds  having  a  strong,  disa- 
greeable smell,  and  an  unctuous,  farinaceous, 
and  somewhat  bitter  taste.  These  seeds  are 
rery  emollient,  and  useful  in  cataplasms  and 
fomentations. 

FENUGREEK,  RUSSIAN  (Trigonella  ru- 
thenic(i).  A  hardy  perennial  native  of  Siberia, 
blowing  yellow  papilionaceous  blossoms  in 
July  and  August.  It  loves  a  strong  loamy  soil, 
and  an  open  situation.  It  is  propagated  either 
by  parting  the  roots  in  spring,  or  from  seed. 

FERMENT  (Lat./«Tfo,  I  boil).  Any  sub- 
stance employed  to  raise  or  produce  fermenta- 
tion when  mixed  with  or  applied  to  another. 
Ferments  are  therefore  either  such  substances 
as  are  naturally  present  in  the  vegetable  juice, 
as  in  the  grape  and  apple  :  or  are  added,  as  in 
the  manufacture  of  beer  and  bread,  where 
yeast  and  leaven  constitute  the  ferment.  Fer- 
mentation is  met  with  in  fermenting  liquors  of 
difl'erent  kinds,  as  wine  and  beer,  and  the  froth 
or  head  thrown  up  by  them,  and  its  principles 
are  contained  in  the  newly  expressed  saccha- 
rine juices  of  various  summer  fruits. 

Ferments  are  of  an  albuminous  and  glutinous 
character ;  and  the  presence  of  nitrogen  seems 
essential  in  their  composition. 

FERMENTATION.  When  certain  vegeta- 
ble substances  are  dissolved  in  water  and  sub- 
jected to  a  temperature  of  65°  to  85°,  they  un- 
dergo a  series  of  changes  which  terminate  in 
the  production  of  alcohol  or  spirit;  these 
changes  constitute  the  phenomena  of  vinous 
fermentation.  Sugar  and  some  ferment  are  es- 
sential to  the  process,  and  during  the  forma- 
tion of  the  alcohol  the  sugar  disappears,  and 
carbonic  acid  is  more  or  less  abundantly 
evolved.  The  simplest  case  of  fermentation  is 
that  of  must,  or  of  the  expressed  juice  of  the 


grape,  which,  when  exposed  either  in  close  or 
open  vessels  to  a  temperature  of  about  70°, 
soon  begins  to  give  off  carbonic  acid,  and  to 
become  turbid  and  frothy;  after  a  time  a  scum 
collects  upon  the  surface,  and  a  sediment  is  de- 
posited; the  liquor  which  had  grown  warm 
gradually  cools  and  clears,  loses  its  sweet  taste, 
and  is  converted  into  wine.  The  chief  compo 
nent  parts  of  must  are  water,  sugar,  mucilag? 
gluten,  and  tartar  (bitartrate  of  potassa).  Dur 
ing  the  fermentation  carbonic  acid  escapes,  tha 
sugar  disappears,  and  with  it  the  greater  part 
of  the  mucilage :  the  gluten  chiefly  forms  the 
scum  and  a  portion  of  the  sediment ;  and  the 
tartar  originally  in  solution  is  thrown  down  in 
the  form  of  a  coloured  deposit.  Sugar  and 
water  alone  will  not  ferment;  the  ingredient 
requisite  to  the  commencement  of  the  change 
is  the  gluten,  which  absorbs  in  the  first  in- 
stance a  little  oxygen  from  the  air,  becomes  in- 
soluble, and  induces  the  subsequent  changes. 
The  reason  why  grapes  never  ferment  till  the 
juice  is  expressed,  seems  to  depend  upon  the 
exclusion  of  air  by  the  husk  or  membranes 
In  beer  the  alcohol  is  derived  from  the  sugar 
in  the  malt.  When  wine  is  exposed  to  air  and 
a  due  temperature,  a  second  fermentation  en- 
sues, which  is  called  the  acetous  fennentation, 
and  which  terminates  in  the  production  of 
vinegar.  During  this  process  oxygen  is  ab- 
sorbed, and  more  or  less  carbonic  acid  is 
evolved ;  but  the  apparent  cause  of  the  forma- 
tion of  vinegar  is  the  abstraction  of  hydrogen 
from  thtf  alcohol,  so  as  to  leave  the  remaining 
elements  in  such  proportions  as  to  constitute 
acetic  acid.  Thus  alcohol  is  theoretically  con- 
stituted of  charcoal,  water  and  hydrogen,  and 
acetic  acid  of  water  and  charcoal  only ;  the 
oxygen  of  the  air,  therefore,  converts  the  hy- 
drogen of  the  alcohol  into  water,  and  so  effects 
the  change  into  vinegar.  See  Alcohol  and 
Brkwtxo.     {Brande's  Dirt,  of  Science,  6fc.) 

To  illustrate  these  facts  let  us  suppose  that 
the  following  substances  are  put  together  to 
undergo  fermentation : — 300  parts  sugar,  600 
parts  water,  60  yeast ; — the  products  will  be 
771'5  parts  of  weak  spirit,  of  which  171*5  is 
alcohol  of  spec.  grav.  0-822 ;  94-6  carbonic 
acid,  which  flies  off  and  carries  with  it  41-9  of 
water,  12  nauseous  residue,  and  40  residual 
yeast. 

Or  it  may  be  illustrated  in  reference  to  the 
formation  of  the  alcohol  and  the  carbonic  acid, 
which  are  the  only  real  products  of  vinous  fer- 
mentation, by  the  changes  which  take  place  in 
the  chemical  components  of  the  sugar.  If  we 
take  162  parts  of  sugar,  and  18  of  water,  re- 
garding any  yeast  employed  as  merely  the 
means  of  commencing  the  fermentation,  the 
product  should  be  92  of  alcohol  and  88  of  car- 
bonic acid — 


162  parts  of  sugar  consist  of 
18  parts  of  water  consist  of 

Ingredients  .... 

92  parts  of  alcohol  consist  of 
88  parts  of  carbonic  acid  con- 
sist of        .        .        .        . 

Products       -        .       -        - 

Carbon. 

Hydrog«D. 

Oxygeu- 

72 
79 

10 
2 

12 

80 
16 

~96~* 

48 
24 

19 

32 
64 

72 

12           96    1 

4fi7 


FERMENTED  LIQUORS. 


FERN. 


Thus  we  see  that  the  72  parts  of  carbon  of 
the  sugar  is  divided  between  the  alcohol  and 
the  carbonic  acid ;  that  the  whole  of  the  hydro- 
gen both  of  the  sugar  and  the  water  enter  into 
the  composition  of  the  alcohol,  and  only  32 
parts  of  the  ogygen  of  the  sugar,  and  none  of 
that  of  the  water.  Fermentation,  therefore, 
effects  merely  a  change  in  the  distribution  of 
the  components  of  the  bodies  subjected  to  its 
action ;  the  yeast  or  ferment  being  the  agent 
which  effects  these  changes  without  itself  en- 
tering into  the  products  resulting  from  them. 
The  yeast,  if  added,  remains  as  residual  matter, 
but  where  no  yeast  is  required,  that  substance 
is  one  of  the  products  of  the  process. 

But  this  is  only  that  species  of  fermentation 
which  is  denominated  vinous.  If  the  fermen- 
tation proceeds  beyond  the  point  which  has 
been  described,  such  changes,  as  already 
seated,  take  place ;  and  vinegar  or  acetic  acid 
is  generated,  and  the  process  is  then  termed 
acetous  fermentation.  A  third  kind  of  fermen- 
tation also  follows  in  most  vegetable  matters, 
namely,  the  putrefactive,  in  which  there  is  a 
large  production  of  gases,  and  vegetable  mould 
or  humus.  In  general  parlance,  however,  the 
term  fermentation  implies  either  the  vinous  or 
the  acetous  fermentation. 

FERMENTED  LIQUORS  are  those  liquors 
obtamed  by  the  process  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding article.  See  also  Bekii,  Cider,  Wine, 
Alcohol,  &c.  All  liquors  which  have  under- 
gone the  vinous  fermentation  are  considered  as 
great  antidotes  to  putrefaction ;  for  it»has  been 
remarked  that  since  the  custom  of  brewing  and 
distilling  liquors  has  prevailed  in  Europe, 
many  of  those  cutaneous  and  putrid  diseases 
with  which  our  forefathers  were  afflicted  have 
been  less  frequent  and  severe  than  they  for- 
merly were.  The  total  abstinence  from  fer- 
mented liquors  by  the  Turks  is  further  assigned 
as  one  of  the  chief  causes  why  they  are  more 
liable  to  the  plague  and  other  contagious  dis- 
eases, than  those  nations  among  whom  beer  or 
wine  is  the  common  beverage.  (^Willich's  Dam. 
Encyc.)  This  opinion,  however,  is  purely  hy- 
potheticaU 

FERN.  An  acotyledonous  or  flowerless 
class  of  weeds,  of  which  there  are  many  spe- 
cies in  Great  Britain.  They  grow  chiefly  in 
mountainous  tracts  of  natural  pasture.  Fern 
is  extremely  difficult  to  eradicate,  as  the  roots 
in  deep  soils  have  been  found  at  the  depth  of 
seven  or  eight  feet.  But  however  troublesome 
this  plant  may  prove  to  the  industrious  hus- 
bandman, it  is  not  altogether  useless.  It  forms 
a  good  litter  for  cattle,  and  may  be  used  as 
thatch;  for  though  inferior  to  many  other  ma- 
terials, it  will  last  ten  or  twelve  years.  It 
forms  a  good  manure  for  potatoes,  when  dug 
into  the  soil ;  and  serves  for  fuel,  where  it  is 
plentiful,  for  brewing,  baking,  heating  ovens, 
burning  lime,  &c.  The  ashes,  which  the 
plant  affords  in  great  abundance,  yield  potash ; 
ana  me  poor  in  some  districts  mix  the  ashes 
witli  water  and  form  lye  balls  for  scouring 
linen,  which  are  a  useful  and  cheap  substitute 
for  soap.  In  Norway,  the  dried  leaves  are  in- 
fused in  hot  water,  and  thus  afford  a  whole- 
some and  relishing  food  for  all  domestic  cattle, 
468 


which  eat  them  eagerly,  and  manage  to  thrive 
and  grow  fat  upon  them. 

In  a  botanical  point  of  view,  it  would  be  im- 
possible  and  useless  to  describe  all  the  species 
of  ferns  in  this  work ;  we  shall  therefore  notice 
particularly  those  only  which  are  applicable 
to  other  uses  than  thatching,  or  the  production 
of  alkali  from  their  ashes,  or  constituting  ma- 
nure, as  they  may  all  be  employed  for  these 
purposes. 

1.  Male  Shield  Fern  (Jspidiumfilix-mas)  is  s 
perennial,  growing  in  woods,  dry  ditches,  anc 
on  shady  banks.  Its  roots  are  tufted,  large 
scaly ;  its  fronds  or  herbage  are  several  frorr 
one  root,  three  feet  high,  doubly  pinnate,  erect 
the  midribs  scaly,  and  the  leaflets  obtuse,  ser 
rated,  partly  confluent;  the  masses  of  semina' 
capsules  near  the  midrib,  and  not  occupyin§ 
more  than  the  half  of  each  leaflet ;  and  th( 
capsular  cover  orbicular. 

The  root  is  nauseous,  and  was  at  one  time 
much  used  as  a  remedy  for  tape  worm ;  i 
indeed  was  the  principal  ingredient  in  the 
celebrated  remedy  of  Madame  Nouffer,  wht 
received  18,000  francs  from  Louis  XVI.  foi 
her  secret :  but  since  the  introduction  of  the 
oil  of  turpentine,  as  a  remedy  for  tape  worm 
fern  root  has  ceased  to  be  employed. 

2.  Maidenhair  (^Adiantum  capillus  veneris)  is 
a  perennial  found  on  moist  rocks  and  old  walls 
near  the  sea.  It  is  an  elegant  fern ;  the  roots 
are  blackish,  shaggy,  creeping;  the  fronds 
from  6  to  12  inches  high,  doubly  compound 
the  leaflets  alternate  on  capillary  stalks,  wedge 
shaped,  lobed,  deep  green,  smooth,  and  eacl 
segment  terminated  in  a  roundish,  flat  scale 
with  the  cover  transversely  oblong. 

This  fern  as  well  as  another  species  of  the 
same  genus,  j2.  pedatum,  is  employed  for  mak 
ing  the  well-known  syrup  called  capillaire,  whicl 
is,  when  diluted  with  water,  a  pleasant  beve 
rage  in  fever. 

3.  Fir  Club  Moss  {Lycopodium  selugo).  A 
perennial,  common  on  the  Derbyshire  anc 
Yorkshire  hills,  and  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot 
land.  The  root  is  fibrous ;  the  stem  5  to  1( 
inches  high,  once  or  twice  forked,  and  level  a 
the  top.  The  leaves  uniform,  crowded  in  eigh 
rows,  lanceolate,  obtuse,  entire,  slightly  spread' 
ing;  capsules  on  the  uppermost  shoots,  kidney^ 
shaped.     See  Club  Moss. 

The  Highlanders  use  this  fern  instead  ol 
alum  to  fix  colours  in  dyeing.  The  root  is  a 
powerful  emetic  and  purgative;  but  its  actioE 
is  attended  with  giddiness  and  convulsions 
consequently  it  is  dangerous. 

4.  Greater  Rough  Horsetail  (Equisetum  hye- 
male).  A  perennial,  found  in  boggy  woods. 
The  root  is  black  and  variously  branched ;  the 
stem  2  to  3  feet  high,  erect,  naked,  rough, 
branching  at  the  top,  embraced  by  tight  whitish 
sheaths,  black  at  the  top  and  bottom ;  and  the 
teeth  deciduous.  The  fruit  is  in  a  terminal  cat- 
kin, and  abounds  with  whitish  powdery  seeds. 

This  fern  is  well  known  for  its  use  as  a 
polisher,  owing  to  the  flinty  particles  (silex) 
deposited  in  the  furrows  of  the  cuticle.  It  is 
usually  imported  from  Holland,  and  is  there- 
fore called  Dutch  rushes.  {Willich's  Dom.  En* 
eye. ,  Low's  Prac.  Jgr.) 


FERN. 


FESTUCA. 


FERN  SWEET  (Comptonia  asplenifoUa)  is 
commonly  found  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
Middle  States,  where  it  is  most  abundant  on 
dry  slaty  hills;  but  rare  elsewhere.  The 
bruised  leaves  emit  a  strong  resinous,  aromatic 
adour;  and  the  plant  is  reputed  medicinal. 
The  infusion  is  a  popular  remedy  in  dysentery. 
This  is  the  only  known  species  of  the  genus 
Comptonia.     {Flor.  Cestrica.) 

FERRET  {Mustela  furo,  Linn.).  A  useful 
animal,  which  came  originally  from  Africa, 
whence  it  was  introduced  into  Spain,  and  sub- 
sequently into  England.  It  has  red,  fiery  eyes; 
the  colour  of  its  whole  body  is  of  a  pale  yel- 
low; and  its  length  from  the  nose  to  the  end 
of  the  tail  is  about  19  inches.  The  female  is 
rather  smaller  in  size,  and  produces,  twice 
annually,  from  five  to  eight  or  nine  young 
ones,  after  a  gestation  of  six  weeks.  Ferrets 
are  principally  employed  for  the  purpose  of 
hunting  rabbits,  to  which  they  are  mortal  ene- 
mies, and  of  destroying  vermin  in  corn  stacks 
and  outbuildings.  These  animals  are  always 
kept  confined  in  a  box  or  cask,  and  fed  upon 
bread,  milk,  &c. 

FERRUGINOUS  SOILS.  Soils  which  con- 
tain a  large  proportion  of  iron. 

FESCUE  GRASSES.    See  Festuca. 

FESTUCA.  A  very  extensive  genus  of 
grasses,  of  which  the  meadow  fescue  (Ff«- 
tucn  pratensis)  and  the  hard  or  smooth  fescue 
(Feshiai  duriuscula,  vel  glabra)  are  those  of 
the  greatest  use  in  permanent  pasture.  Com- 
bined with  cock's-foot  or  orchard  grass,  and 
some  other  of  the  natural  grasses,  these  two 
species  of  festuca  will  be  found  well  adapted 
for  the  alternate  husbandry,  and  secure  the 
most  productive  and  nutritive  pasture  in  alter- 
nation with  grain  crops.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  in 
his  Ens;.  Bot.,  observes,  "  that  in  this  genus  it 
is  hard  to  say  what  may,  or  what  may  not,  be 
a  species  ;'*  and  with  his  usual  force  and 
clearness  he  reduces  the  F.  glauca,  F.  glabra, 
F.  cambrica,  F.  (hiriuscula,  and, F. rubra  of  Hud- 
son, Lightfoot,  Wiiliering,  Winch,  and  Stilling- 
fleet,  &c.  into  one  species.  All  these  grasses 
vary  much  from  change  of  soil  and  situation ; 
the  flowers  are  particularly  apt  to  vary  in 
number  as  well  as  in  the  length  of  their  awns. 
There  is  one  character,  however  (says  Sin- 
clair), which  I  have  never  found  to  change 
under  any  variety  of  culture,  which  is  the 
creeping  root;  and  this  is  also  an  agricultural 
distinction  which  is  never  to  be  lost  sight  of,  as 
it  always  produces  a  specific  effect  upon  the 
soil,  very  distinct  indeed  from  that  of  the 
fibrous-rooted  kinds.  It  will  be  sufficient, 
therefore,  for  the  purposes  of  the  agriculturist, 
to  consider  these  grasses  as  two  distinct  spe- 
cies, the  fibrous-rooted  and  the  creeping-rooted, 
noting  at  the  same  time  their  varieties  from 
other  parts  of  the  plant.  Following  the  expe- 
riments instituted  by  Sinclair,  in  his  valuable 
work  on  the  grasses,  I  shall  proceed  to  notice, 
seriatim,  the  different  species  of  festuca,  and 
point  out  their  relative  properties. 

Festuca  alopecuris. — Foxtail-like  fescue  grass. 
Root  annual.  Although  sometimes  classed  as 
a  Bronius,  this  grass  is  evidently  a  Festuca. 
From  the  amount  of  produce  and  nutritive 
powers  afforded  by  this  annual  fescue,  it  will 


be  found  much  inferior  to  the  soft  brome-grass 
(Bromus  ruollis),  many  flowered  brome-grass 
B.  nniltijlorus),  and  oiher  of  the  annual  indige- 
nous grasses,  and  it  does  not  therefore  appear 
suitable  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Festuca  bromoides. — Barren  fescue  grass.  A 
pale,  smooth,  slender,  insignificant  grass  of 
short  duration,  at  least  after  it  has  flowered. 

Festuca  calatnaria. — Reed  fescue  grass.  This 
species,  which  is  too  large  and  coarse  to  pos- 
sess any  agricultural  merits,  is  found  in  moun 
tainous  woods  in  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  the 
north-west  part  of  England.  There  is  a  vsmaller 
variety,  with  much  narrower  leaves  sometimes 
met  with  in  Scotland. 

Festuca  Cambrica. — Welsh  fescue.  This  ctwi- 
stant  variety  of  F.  rubra  (see  Smith's  Engl.  FlorOj 
vol.  i.  p.  142)  is  readily  distinguished  from  the 
F.  ovina,  and  the  varieties  of  F.  rubra  and  F. 
duriuscula,  by  the  pale  green  colour  of  the 
panicle  and  culms.  Experiments  tend  to  prove 
that  this  grrass  is  greatly  inferior  to  the  F.  duri' 
usrula  in  the  quantity  and  nutrient  qualities  of 
its  produce. 

Festuca  dumetorum. — Pubescent  wood-fescue 
grass.  Root  perennial,  slightly  creeping.  This 
grass,  which  appears  to  belong  to  the  inferior, 
kinds,  is  a  native  of  woods,  where  the  soil  id 
dry  and  sandy. 

Festuca  duriuscula. — Hard  fescue.  PI.  6,  fig. g. 
Panicle  unilateral,  oblong,  much  spreading 
when  in  flower;  florets  longer  than  their  awns; 
stem  round,  upper  leaves  flat,  root  fibrous, 
perennial ;  scarcely  creeping,  though  sometimes 
throwing  out  short  lateral  shoots.  Stem  1^  or 
2  feet  high,  erect,  leafy,  striated,  smooth.  The 
hard  fescue  early  attains  to  maturity;  the  culms 
are  succulent  and  nutritious ;  it  grows  quickly 
after  being  cropped,  and  springs  pretty  early. 
From  the  above  details,  although  very  defi- 
cient in  the  weight  of  produce,  it  appears  to 
be  one  of  the  chief  of  the  fine  or  dwarf-grow- 
ing grasses.  This  grass  is  most  prevalent  on 
light  rich  soils;  but  it  is  also  continually  found 
in  the  richest  natural  pastures  where  the  soil 
is  retentive  of  moisture,  and  is  never  absent 
from  irrigated  meadows  that  have  been  pro- 
perly formed.  It  attains  to  the  greatest  perfec- 
tion when  combined  with  the  F.  pratensis  and 
Poa  trivialis.  From  its  property  of  withstand- 
ing drought  in  rich  natural  pastures  better  than 
many  other  grasses,  added  to  the  merits  above- 
mentioned,  this  grass  is  entitled  to  a  place  in 
the  composition  of  the  best  pastures,  but  not 
in  any  very  large  proportion  on  account  of  its 
inferior  productive  powers. 

When  cultivated  on  a  poor  silicious  soil,  or 
on  a  thin  heath  soil,  the  culms  become  very 
fine  and  slender,  and  promise  to  be  valuable 
for  the  manufacture  of  straw  hats.  This  grass 
flowers  about  the  middle  of  June,  and  the  seed 
is  ripe  late  in  July. 

Festuca  elatior,  var.  fertilis.  Fertile-seeded 
tall  fescue  grass.  This  is  a  coarse  but  nu- 
tritious grass,  forming  sometimes  a  consider- 
able proportion  of  the  crop  of  marsh  land 
hay.  Root  somewhat  creeping,  with  downy 
fibres  penetrating  deeply  into  the  mud  or  clay. 
Stem  about  4  feet  high,  reedy,  striated,  smooth, 
and  leafy.  Panicle  a  foot  or  more  in  length, 
repeatedly  compound,  spreading  widely.  Thi« 
2R  469 


FESTUCA. 


FESTUCA. 


grass  differs  from  the  common  variety  of  tall 
fescue  in  having  the  panicle  somewhat  droop- 
ing; spikelets  six-flowered,  more  ovate  and 
flat;  the  larger  husks  of  the  calyx  often  un- 
covered, and  the  awn  is  fixed  on  the  apex  more 
in  the  manner  of  a  bromus  than  of  a  fescue. 
Leaves  smoother,  and  of  a  less  dark-green 
colour.  For  damp  soils,  that  cannot  conve- 
niently be  thoroughly  drained,  this  would  be  a 
most  valuable  plant,  either  to  be  cut  for  soil- 
ing, or  made  into  hay,  and  reduced  to  chaff  as 
it  might  be  wanted.  This  grass  (which  is 
nearly  allied  to  the  common  J^.  elalior  next  to 
be  described)  perfects  an  abundance  of  seed 
(though  not  entirelv  free  from  diseased  por- 
tions), and  is  therefore  not  liable  to  the  objec- 
tion which  takes  so  much  from  the  value  of 
that  variety.  It  is  equally  early  in  the  produce 
of  foliage,  and  the  nutritive  properties  are 
about  the  same.  It  flowers  early  in  July,  and 
the  seed  is  ripe  in  the  first  week  in  August. 

A  species  is  described  under  the  name  of 
floating  fescue  {Festuca  fluitnns)  in  Lovdonh 
Ency.  of^gr.  and  there  said  to  be  found  in  rich 
swamps,  especially  in  Cambridgeshire,  Eng- 
land, where  it  is  thought  to  give  the  peculiar 
flavour  to  Cheddar  and  Cottenham  cheese.  It 
is  also  found  in  the  ditches  and  ponds  in  most 
parts  of  England.    PI.  5,  /. 

Fesluca  elalior,  var.  sterilis. — PI.  5,  e.  Barren- 
seeded  tall  fescue.  This  species  greatly  re- 
sembles the  F.  pralensis,  but  is  larger  in  every 
respect,  and  flowers  eight  or  ten  days  later. 
This  is  a  grass  admirably  adapted  for  tena- 
cious clay  soils,  and  might  be  cultivated  with 
advantage  by  the  farmer  combined  with  some 
of  the  other  highly  productive  grasses,  in  such 
moist  spots  of  the  soil  as  are  peculiarly  suited 
to  the  growth  of  this  species,  although  less 
fitted  for  the  growth  of  proper  pasture  grasses. 
It  is  nutritive  and  very  productive,  and  one  of 
the  first  grasses  in  the  production  of  foliage 
early  in  spring.  The  produce,  like  that  of  all 
grasses  which  yield  a  great  weight  of  crop, 
may  be  considered  coarse  when  compared 
with  the  F. pralensis  and  AlopccuHs  pralensis; 
but  this  objection  may  be  overcome  by  reduc- 
ing the  hay  to  chaff,  and  mixing  it  with  clover- 
hay.  The  nutritive  matter  contains  but  little 
bitter  extractive  or  saline  matter,  while  the 
clover  contains  an  excess.  In  England  it 
flowers  in  the  second  week  in  July ;  the  seed 
is  universally  affected  with  the  disease  termed 
clavus,  and  consequently  unfertile ;  it  can  only, 
therefore,  be  propagated  by  parting  and  plant- 
ing the  roots. 

Fesluca  giganten. — ^Tall  fescue  grass.  This 
species  is  confined  to  woods  in  its  natural  state; 
but  it  continues  in  the  soil,  and  appears  to 
thrive  equally  well  when  cultivated  in  open 
situations.  It  is  a  coarse  grass,  and  but  little 
nutritive,  although  greatly  superior  to  the 
spiked  and  wood  fescue  grasses.  • 

Festuca  glabra,  var. — Smooth  fescue.  PI.  6,  h. 
Panicle  branched,  upright,  compact;  spikelets 
spear-shaped,  4-6-flowered,  smooth,  awned; 
root  fibrous;  perennial.  This  grass  is  nearly 
allied  to  the  F.  duriuscicla  and  F.  rubra.  Ac- 
cording to  Sir  J.  Smith,  it  is  a  variety  of  the 
last-named.  From  the  trials  made  with  this 
grass,  it  seems  to  be  inferior  both  in  produce 
470 


and  nutritive  matter  to  the  F.  duriuscula,  but  is 
superior  in  regard  to  early  produce,  and  the 
herbage  is  uncommonly  fine  and  succulent. 
These  merits,  however,  appear  hardly  suffi- 
cient to  compensate  for  the  deficiency  of  pro- 
duce. If  it  be  compared  with  some  of  the 
early  grasses,  jinthoxantum  adoralum,  for  in- 
stance, it  will  be  found  superior  in  nutritive 
matter  in  the  proportion  of  about  one-third. 
While  this  grass  cannot  be  recommended  in 
preference  to  the  F.  duriuscula,  yet,  among  the 
fine-leaved  fescues,  it  will  be  found  the  best 
substitute  for  that  species  when  wanting. 

Fesluca  glauca. — Glaucus  fescue  grass.  This 
is  a  native  of  alpine  situations,  but  thrives 
better  when  cultivated  on  lower  ground  than 
most  other  species  having  the  same  origin. 
Although  its  merits  do  not  appear  sufficiently 
great  to  entitle  it  to  a  prominent  place  among 
the  superior  grasses  for  light  soils,  yet  its 
hardy  and  nutritive  nature,  and  property  of 
forming  a  thick  turf,  prevent  it  from  being 
altogether  rejected  as  of  no  value.  It  flowers 
in  the  second  week  of  June,  and  the  seed  is 
ripe  about  the  first  week  of  July. 

Festuca  loliacea.  Darnel-like  fescue  grass. 
PI.  5, /.  Spike  two-ranked,  drooping;  florets 
cylindrical,  awnless,  pointed  with  fine  slight 
ribs  at  the  top.  Root  fibrous,  perennial.  At  a 
casual  glance  this  grass  bears  a  near  resem- 
blance to  the  Lolium  perenne  (rye-grass),  and 
affects  the  same  kind  of  soil ;  but,  on  a  more 
minute  inspection,  the  calyx  or  outer  husk  so 
conspicuous  in  the  spikelets  of  the  rye-grass, 
in  this  grass  will  be  found  almost  wanting. 
Another  mark  of  difference  is,  that  in  the  rye- 
grass the  spikelets  are  arranged  so  as  to  stand 
facing  the  spike-stalk ;  while  in  the  darnel-like 
fescue  they  stand  with  their  back  towards 
it.  This  grass  possesses  all  the  valuable  pro- 
perties of  rye-grass,  and  few  of  its  defects. 
Its  produce  is  larger;  it  springs  earlier  and  im- 
proves by  age,  which  is  not  the  case  with  com- 
mon rye-grass.  It  would,  doubtless,  be  the  best 
substitute  for  that  species  in  alternate  cropping; 
but,  unfortunately,  it  does  not  perfect  a  suffi- 
ciency of  seed,  the  flowers  generally  proving 
abortive,  which  renders  its  propagation  incon- 
venient and  expensive.  In  rich  meadows  this 
grass  is  very  common,  particularly  where  the 
land  is  periodically  overflown. 

Festuca  myurus.  Wall-fescue,  Capon's  tail- 
grass.  Panicle  drooping,  elongated,  rather 
close;  florets  tapering,  shorter  than  their  awns, 
rough  at  the  top ;  leaves  awl-shaped ;  stem 
leafy  to  the  very  summit.  It  is,  perhaps,  the 
"  trembling  rye-grass"  of  poets.  Root  annual. 
The  flowers  have  only  one  stamen,  which  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  all  other  species  of  fescue. 
This  grass  has  great  affinity  to  the  barren  fes- 
cue (JP.  bromoides),  but  the  whole  plant  is  larger 
and  stouter,  the  stem  clothed  with  leaves  to  the 
top,  and  the  panicle  four  times  as  long.  The 
inner  valve  of  the  blossom  is  fringed  towards 
the  top ;  the  awns  are  longer  than  those  of  the 
F.  bromoides.  This  grass  is  found  on  walls, 
and  dry,  barren,  sandy  places.  As  soon  as  the 
seeds  are  ripe,  they  fall  out  of  the  husks,  and 
vegetate  quickly  after,  without  any  covering  of 
earth.  The  plants  are  of  the  finest  green  co« 
lour,  and  retain  their  verdure  during  the  winter. 


w 

Thts  circnmstai 


FESTUCA. 


its  circumstance  seems  to  have  led  to  the 
supposition  that  it  was  a  biennial  grass.  The 
seeds  being  numerous,  the  young  plants  form 
a  most  beautiful  dark  green  turf,  surpassing, 
in  this  respect,  every  other  grass.  But  this 
property  declines  with  the  spring,  when  the 
growth  of  other  grasses  becomes  general;  and 
before  the  time  of  flowering  it  is  invariably 
attacked  with  the  rust,  which  renders  its  pro- 
duce of  small  value,  even  were  it  afibrded  in 
a  quantity  sufficient  to  induce  its  cultivation. 
It  flowers  in  the  first  week  of  July,  and  the  seed 
is  ripe  about  the  last  day  of  that  month.  Birds 
appear  to  be  very  fond  of  the  seed. 

Fcstura  ovina.  Sheep's  fescue-grass.  (PI. 
6,  L)  Panicle  small,  erect,  unilateral,  rather 
close ;  florets  four  or  five,  nearly  cylindrical, 
pointed  or  awned,  smooth  at  the  base  and  at 
Ihe  edges  of  the  inner  valve ;  stem  from  6  to 
12  inches  high,  erect,  slender,  rather  rigid, 
smooth,  leafy  below,  square  in  the  upper  part ; 
leaves  very  numerous,  composing  dense  tufts, 
folded,  bristle-shaped;  stipuloe  very  short  and 
obtuse;  root  fibrous,  perennial.  The  awns  ap- 
pear to  be  an  uncertain  character  in  this  grass, 
as  it  is  frequently  awnless,  and  there  are  varie- 
ties of  it  having  awns.  All  the  varieties,  how- 
ever, may  be  distinguished  at  first  sight  from 
the  F.  duriusnila,  glatica,  rubra,  &c.,  to  which  it 
is  nearest  allied,  by  the  compact  though  simple 
appearance  of  the  panicle,  which  more  dis- 
tinctly taces  one  way. 

Linnaeus  affirms  that  sheep  have  no  relish 
for  hills  nnd  heaths  that  are  destitute  of  this 
grass.  Emetin,  in  his  Flora  Siberica,  also  in- 
forms us  that  the  Tartars  select  places  for  pas- 
turage during  the  summer  where  this  grass  is 
in  the  greatest  plenty,  because  it  aflfords  a  most 
wholesome  food  for  all  sorts  of  cattle,  but  chiefly 
sheep.  Dr.  Anderson,  in  his  j3gricultural  E$8ays, 
affirms  that  it  is  capable  of  aflbrding  an  im- 
mense quaiitity  of  hay.  Mr.  Curtis,  however, 
in  his  Practical  Observntiotui  on  British  Grasses, 
very  justly  combats  this  opinion,  and  asserts 
that  it  is  more  fitted  for  forming  grass-plats; 
but  even  for  this  purpose  it  will  only  succeed 
on  soils  which  are  nearly  as  dry  and  light  as 
that  on  which  it  is  spontaneously  produced. 
From  trials  which  have  been  made,  the  sheep's 
fescue  does  not  appear  to  possess  the  nutritive 
powers  usually  ascribed  to  iu  It  has,  however, 
the  advantage  of  a  fine  and  succulent  foliage, 
and  may,  on  that  account,  be  better  adapted 
to  the  masticating  organs  of  sheep  than  the 
larger  grasses,  whose  nutritive  powers  are 
greater.  Hence  it  may  be  of  some  value  as  a 
pasture  for  sh-'ep  in  situations  where  it  grows 
naturally.  Ii  England  it  flowers  in  the  third 
week  of  June,  and  ripens  the  seed  about  the 
last  day  of  July. 

Festiica  i/vina  hordeiformis.  Long-awned 
sheep's  fescue-grass.  (PI.  6,  i.)  Panicle  com- 
pact; branches  subdivided,  upright  Spikelets 
crowded,  6-10-flowered.  Root-leaves  thread- 
shaped,  stem-leaves  very  long.  Root  fibrous, 
perennial.  This  grass  is  much  superior  to  the 
F.  oviita,  of  which  it  is  considered  a  variety.  It 
flowers  earlier  than  any  of  the  other  fescues, 
and  appears  to  possess  sufficient  merit  to  en- 
title it  to  a  place  in  the  composition  of  the  best 
pastures,  particularly  as  a  substitute  for  the  F. 


FESTWCA. 

duTVuscula,  on  soils  of  a  drier  oi  sandy  nature. 
Its  nutritive  qualities  are  nearly  the  same  as 
those  of  the  F.  duriuscula,  but  it  is  superior  to 
that  species,  and  to  most  others,  in  the  produce 
of  early  herbage  in  the  spring;  and  the  herb- 
age is  very  fine,  tender,  and  succulent.  The 
culms  are  well  adapted  for  the  manufacture 
of  the  finest  straw  plait,  being  very  distant  in 
the  joints,  and  of  an  equal  thickness  through 
out.  In  England  this  grass  flowers  in  the  last 
week  of  May,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  June. 

FestHca  pinnata.  Spiked  heath  fescue-grass. 
This  grass  grows  chiefly  in  dry,  hilly  wood- 
lands, particularly  where  the  soil  is  calcareous. 
It  cannot  as  yet  be  considered  in  any  other  light 
than  a  noxious  weed ;  for,  though  the  weight 
of  the  produce  is  considerable,  it  is  neither 
early,  nor  nutritive,  nor  relished  by  cattle. 
This,  and  the  F.  sylvatica,  which  is  also  an  in- 
habitant of  woods  where  the  soil  is  silicious, 
may  be  considered  the  least  useful  of  the  Bri- 
tish grasses.  It  flowers  about  the  third  week 
of  July,  and  ripens  the  seed  late  in  August. 

Festuca  pratensis.  (PI.  6,  rf,  rf.)  The  meadow 
or  fertile  fescue-grass.  Panicle  nearly  up- 
right, branched,  spreading,  turned  to  one  side; 
spikelets  linear,  compressed;  florets  numerous, 
cylindrical,  obscurely  ribbed ;  nectary  four- 
cleft  ;  root  fibrous,  perennial. 

Dr.  Withering  makes  this  grass  a  variety  of 
the  F.  elatior:  but  it  is  more  justly  made  a  dis- 
tinct species  by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith.  It  diflers  from 
the  F.  elatior  in  being  only  half  as  high,  the 
leaves  only  half  as  broad,  and  the  panicle 
shorter,  and  containing  only  half  the  number 
of  flowers.  The  panicle  is  but  once  branched, 
droops  but  slightly,  and  leans  to  one  side  whea 
in  flower,  and  the  flowers  grow  all  one  way. 
In  the  elatior  the  panicle  branches  both  ways, 
it  droops  much  at  first,  and  the  flowers  grow 
more  loosely;  the  spikelets  are  rounder,  ovate, 
and  pointed,  while  in  the  pratensis  they  are 
somewhat  linear,  flat,  and  obtuse. 

The  F.  pratensis  is  eaten  by  horses,  cattle, 
and  sheep,  which  are  all  very  partial  to  it.  In 
point  of  early  produce  in  the  spring,  this  grass 
stands  next  to  the  meadow  fox-tail  (JlopecuruM 
pratensis),  and  is  superior  in  this  respect  to  the 
cock's-foot 

The  meadow  fescue  constitutes  a  very  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  herbage  of  all  rich 
natural  pastures  and  irrigated  meadows;  it 
makes  excellent  hay,  and  though  a  large  plant, 
yet  the  herbage  is  succulent  and  tender,  and 
much  relished  by  cattle,  as  it  does  not  form 
rank  tufts  like  the  larger  grasses.  Although 
essential  for  permanent  pasture,  yet  this  grass 
is  not  by  itself  very  well  adapted  for  the  alter- 
nate husbandry,  but  should  be  combined  with 
cock's-foot,  rye-grass,  and  rough-stalked  mea- 
dow-grass. The  J^.  pratensis  is  not  so  abun- 
dant in  the  deep  alluvial  soils  of  Lincoln  as  in 
the  clay  districts.  In  the  vale  of  Aylesbury  it 
constitutes  a  considerable  portion  of  the  most 
valuable  and  fattening  pastures  of  that  rich 
grazing  district.  Mr.  Taunton's  experience  of 
this  grass,  grown  on  a  stiff;  clayey  soil,  proved 
'  that  a  copious  crop  of  seed-stalks  may  be  ob» 
I  tained  the  second  year  from  sowing.  In  Eng 
I  land  it  flowers  in  June,  and  ripens  the  seed 
I  late  in  July  or  early  in  the  following  month. 

47: 


FESTUCA. 


FEATJRFEW. 


Festnca  rubra.  Creeping  or  purple  fescue- 
grass.  There  are  iwo  varieties  of  this  species ; 
one  with  narrow  bristle-shaped  root-leaves,  and 
the  other  with  broader  leaves.  It  has  much 
affinity  to  the  F,  duriusnda,  from  which  it  is 
however  distinguished  by  the  leaves,  which  are 
broader  and  longer,  and  the  branches  of  the 
panicle  are  also  longer. 

The  creeping  fescue  has  no  sufficient  merit 
over  those  species  it  resembles  in  habit  to 
compensate  for  the  impoverishing  effects  of  its 
roots  to  the  soil. 

Fesiura  sylvatica.  Slender  wood  fescue-grass, 
or  the  wood  brome-grass  of  some  botanists. 
The  general  appearance  of  this  grass  promises 
but  little  to  reward  the  labours  of  the  experi- 
mentalist. 

Festuca  uniglwnis.  Single -husked  fescue- 
grass,  found  on  the  sandy  sea-coast,  chiefly  of 
Sussex ;  it  possesses  no  agricultural  merits, 
and  Sinclair  does  not  even  notice  it. 

Festuca  vivipnra.  Viviparous  fescue-grass. 
The  roots,  leaves,  and  general  habit  nearly 
agree  with  the  F.  ovi7ta,  of  which  most  botanists 
have  esteemed  this  a  variety.  This  grass  forms 
a  curious  exception  to  the  general  law  of  na- 
ture in  the  propagation  of  plants  by  their  seed. 
It  has  every  part  of  a  flower,  except  the  two 
most  essential  ones,  for  its  propagation,  namely 
stamens  and  pistils.  Yet  from  this  imperfect 
flower  it  produces  perfect  plants.  The  rudi- 
ment of  the  future  plant  originates  in  the  upper 
floret  of  each  spikelet,  and  in  its  first  stage  ap- 
pears like  a  minute  globule  of  water,  scarcely 
visible  to  the  naked  eye ;  but  after  the  spike  is 
developed,  it  gradually  assumes  an  oblong 
figure,  becomes  pointed,  and  at  last  puts  forth  a 
single  leaf,  after  the  manner  of  perfect  seed  of 
grasses ;  other  leaves  succeed  to  this,  till  the 
weight  of  these  (now  a  perfect  plant  of  grass, 
except  the  root)  forces  it  to  fall  from  the  spike 
to  the  ground,  or  bends  down  the  spike,  where 
it  soon  strikes  root.  This  grass  continues  vi- 
viparous on  all  soils.  Many  other  grasses  are  vi- 
viparous, as  Mopecvrus  pratensis,  Cynosurus  cris- 
tatus,  Poa  alpina,  Phleum  pratense,  .Anthoxanthuvi 
odoratvm,  &,c. ;  but  in  these  the  seed  is  first 
perfected,  and  merely  vegetates  in  the  husk 
from  accidental  circumstances,  such  as  grow- 
ing in  shaded  places,  and  from  long  continu- 
I        ance  of  moist  warm  weather. 

This  grass,  which  is  natural  to  alpine  situa- 
tions, can  only  be  propagated  by  parting  the 
roots,  or  by  planting  the  young  plants  formed 
in  the  ear.  But  from  the  trials  that  have  been 
made  of  it,  it  appears  to  have  no  excellence 
that  can  recommend  it  to  the  notice  of  the 
agriculturist 

The  species  found  in  the  United  States,  are, 
1.  F.  tenella,  little,  or  slender  fescue,  frequent 
on  dry  sterile  banks,  and  the  borders  of  woods, 
a  slender,  wirv  Httle  plant  of  little  or  no  value 
to  the  farnier,  and  generally  confined  to  poor 
soils.  2.  F.  elntior,  or  Fall  fesate,  a  perennial, 
found  frequently  in  swampy  meadows  and  low 
grounds,  flowerinsr  like  the  former  in  June  and 
July.  According  to  Dr.  Darlington,  this  species, 
which  he  supposes  to  come  from  Europe,  is  a 
.arger  plant  than  the  slender  fescue,  to  which 
it  is  nearly  allied,  but  not  so  valuable.  3. 
Meadow  fescue,  a  much  more  valuable  grass, 
472 


according  to  Dr.  Darlington,  than  the  F.  elatior^ 
to  which  it  is  so  closely  allied  that  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  it  is  more  than  a  variety.  It 
is  a  naturalized  foreigner  that  has  found  its 
way  into  all  the  best  meadows  and  pastures  of 
the  Middle  and  many  other  States  of  the  Union, 
4.  Nodding  fescue  (F.  nutans)  found  in  moist 
woodlands.  It  is  not  a  grass  of  much  value, 
being  rather  solitary  in  its  habits,  and  chiefly 
confined  to  woodlands.  Eight  or  nine  addi- 
tional species  of  fescue  have  been  described  in 
the  United  States.  (See  Darlingtoii^s  Flor,  Ces* 
trica ;  NuttnWs  Genera.) 

FETLOCK.  In  horsemanship,  the  part  of 
the  leg  where  the  tuft  of  hair  grows  behind 
the  pastern  joint  of  horses :  those  of  low  size 
have  scarcely  any  tuft.  In  working  horses, 
which  have  them  large  with  much  hair,  care 
should  be  taken  to  keep  them  clean,  in  order 
to  prevent  the  grease.  The  fetlock-joint  is  a 
very  complicated  one,  and  from  the  stress 
which  is  laid  on  it,  and  its  being  the  principal 
seat  of  motion  below  the  knee,  it  is  particularly 
subject  to  injury.  An  affection  of  this  part 
should  be  well  fomented  and  immediately 
blistered.  {The  Horse,  p.  252;  Clater's  Far, 
p.  258.) 

FETTER.  A  term  applied  to  the  chain  used 
for  confining  the  legs  of  animals. 

FEVERFEW  (Pyrethrum ;  from  pyr,  fire, 
the  roots  being  hot  to  the  taste).  Of  this  in- 
teresting European  genus  of  plants,  the  Malrif 
caria  of  Linnaeus,  three  species  only  are  in- 
digenous to  England. 

1.  The  common  feverfew  (P.  parthenium)^ 
a  biennial  which  grows  in  waste  grounds, 
hedges,  and  walls,  flowering  in  June  or  July. 
Root  tapering,  small,  and  white ;  stem  erect, 
branched,  leafy,  round,  many  flowered,  about 
two  feet  high ;  leaves  stalked,  of  a  hoary 
green,  pinnatifid.  Flowers  numerous,  like 
daisies,  white  or  yellowish,  in  a  corymbose 
panicle,  sometimes  compound,  on  long  naked 
stalks,  erect,  about  half  an  inch  broad.  The 
whole  plant  has  a  strong  disagreeable  smell, 
a  bitter  taste,  and  yields  a  volatile  oil  by  dis- 
tillation. It  was  formerly  reckoned  tonic, 
stimulating,  and  anti-hysterical,  and  the  oil 
is  still  regarded  as  such.  It  contains  much 
tannic  acid;  and  in  Germany  it  has  been 
usefully  employed  in  tanning  and  currying 
leather. 

2.  The  corn  feverfew,  or  scentless  May 
weed  (P.  inodorum),  is  very  common  in  culti- 
vated fields,  and  by  waysides,  on  gravelly  soils. 
Root  tapering,  rather  large,  annual,  flowering 
in  August  or  September.  Herb  nearly  desti- 
tute of  the  peculiar  agreeable  or  disagreeable 
odours  of  its  tribe.  Stem  branched,  spreading, 
leafy,  angular,  smooth.  Leaves  sessile,  pin- 
nate. Flowers  as  in  the  last.  The  seeds 
crowned  with  a  membrane,  the  best  diagnostic 
character  of  the  species. 

3.  The  sea  feverfew  (P.maritinum),  a  peren- 
nial, flowering  in  July  or  August,  is  found  on 
the  sea  coast  in  sandy  or  stony  ground.  The 
thick,  woody,  long-enduring  root  runs  deep 
into  the  ground,  producing  a  number  of  hollow 
stems,  spreading  circularly  on  the  ground,  of- 
ten tinged  with  purple.  Leaves  crowded,  ses. 
sile,  doubly  pinnate,  of  a  dark  shining  green 


FIAR. 


TW, 


cro\m  of  the  seeds  lobed  ;  stem  diffuse.  Flow- 
ers not  quite  so  broad  as  those  of  P.  inodunmi. 
The  whole  herb  is  slightly  aromatic. 

The  common  wild  chamomile  (Mafncaria 
chamomUla,  PI.  10,  w,  u'),  was  formerly  classed 
as  a  feverfew.  The  greenhouse  kinds  of 
feverfew  grow  in  any  rich  light  soil,  and 
young  cuttings  root  readily  when  planted  under 
a  glass.  Any  common  soil  suits  the  hardy 
kinds,  which  are  increased  by  divisions  or 
seeds.  It  possesses  the  properties  of  the  real 
chamomile  in  a  marked  degree,  and  might  be 
substituted  for  it  as  a  medicinal  agent.  {,Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  451.) 

FIAR.  A  word  of  Gothic  origin,  applied,  in 
the  northern  parts  of  Great  Britain,  to  certain 
averaged  returns  of  the  prices  of  grain  for  the 
current  year  in  the  different  counties,  which 
are  fixed  by  the  sheriffs  respectively,  with  the 
assistance  of  juries,  in  the  month  of  February. 
When  the  jury  has  been  called,  evidence  of 
the  prices  of  the  different  grains  raised  in  the 
county  must  be  laid  before  them :  and  the 
averages  struck  by  the  jury  and  sanctioned 
by  the  judge  are  termed  Jiurs  of  the  year  in 
which  they  are  struck,  and  regulate  the  prices 
of  all  grain  stipulated  to  be  sold  at  the  fiar 
prices.  These  fiars  also  regulate  (where 
no  price  has  been  otherwise  agreed  upon) 
the  contract  price  upon  delivery  for  grain 
grown  in  the  county.  Having  the  prices  of 
grain,  &c.,  ascertained  in  each  county  has 
greatly  facilitated  the  introduction  into  Scot- 
land of  the  practice  of  letting  land  for  corn 
rents,  convertible  at  the  prices  of  the  day. 
In  England,  where  there  are  no  such  au- 
thentic local  returns,  there  is  great  difficulty  in 
converting  corn  rents  into  money  rents,  as 
reference  can  only  be  made  to  the  prices  of 
some  particular  market,  which  would  be  too 
limited  a  criterion,  or  to  the  kingdom  at  large, 
which,  on  the  other  hand,  would  be  too  exten- 
sive.    {IkWs  Law  Diet.) 

FIELD  (Sax.  f-I»  ;  Germ,  feld  ,■  Dutch,  veld). 
A  portion  of  land  enclosed  by  a  fence,  or  ren- 
dered distinct  by  some  line  of  separation,  and 
set  apart  either  for  tillage  or  pasture.  In  for- 
mer times,  and  until  within  the  last  two  cen- 
turies, almost  all  the  land  cultivated  with  the 
plough  throughout  Europe  was  unenclosed ; 
and  the  term  *' field"  was  then  applied,  in  Bri- 
tiin  at  least,  to  the  lands  under  culture  by  the 
plough.  Subsequently,  when  farmers  enclosed 
and  subdivided  a  portion  of  the  lands  near  the 
farm-yard,  these  portions  were  called  fields, 
aiid  the  more  distant  portion  which  remained 
open  was  called  open  field,  or  common  field, 
while  grass  lands  unenclosed  were  called 
commons.  In  the  present  improved  state  of 
agriculture,  every  farm  is  divided  into  fields, 
either  simply  by  lines  of  demarcation,  which 
are  sufficient  when  no  animals  are  to  be  grazed 
©n  the  farm,  or  by  lines  of  separftion  which 
will  act  as  fences,  such  as  walls,  hedges, 
ditches,  &c.,  where  cattle  are  to  be  grazed. 
Each  field  on  a  farm  is  always  known  by  a 
particular  distinguishing  name.  Without  some 
regular  fixed  division  of  arable  lands,  it  would 
be  next  to  impossible  to  conduct  a  rotation  or 
succession  of  crops.  It  is  interesting  to  ob- 
serve that,  as  agriculture  in  a  rude  state  had 
60 


no  fences,  so  this  is  also  beginning  to  be  the 
case  in  agriculture  in  its  most  refined  form; 
because  it  is  found  much  more  advantageous, 
both  for  the  production  of  butcher's  meat  and 
manure,  to  consume  the  grass  and  herbage 
grown  on  farm-lands  in  farm-yards,  with  tht 
single  exception  of  that  portion  which  is  eaten 
by  sheep  ;  and  these  are  now  often  merely  con- 
fined to  successive  portions  of  grass  and  other 
green  crop  lands  by  light  netting  or  hurdles, 
scarcely  visible  at  a  short  distance.  (See 
FotnixG.  By  thus  getting  rid,  to  a  more  con- 
siderable extent,  of  fences  of  every  description, 
from  a  tenth  to  a  fifth  will  be  added  to  the  con- 
tents of  the  greater  number  of  corn-farms ;  and 
a  very  considerable  first  cost  and  annual  ex- 
pense will  be  saved  in  planting  hedges  or 
building  walls,  and  in  keeping  them  in  repair 
afterwards,     {hrande's  Diet,  of  Science,  ifc.) 

FIELDVOLE  (Jrvicola  agrestis).  A  name 
of  the  short-tailed  field  mouse  or  meadow 
mouse;  a  species  which  subsists  exclusively 
on  vegetable  productions;  and  being,  like  the 
rest  of  the  rat  tribe,  extremely  prolific,  multi- 
plies occasionally  to  such  a  degree,  even  in 
England,  as  to  become  the  most  injurious  of 
wild  quadrupeds.  "After  having  followed  the 
labours  of  the  reaper,  and  taken  their  share  of 
the  harvest,"  the  field  voles,  says  Mr.  Bell,  "at- 
tack the  newly-sown  fields,  burrowing  beneath 
the  surface,  and  robbing  the  husbandman  of 
his  next  year's  crop,  and  at  length,  retreating 
to  the  woods  and  plantations,  commit  such 
devastations  on  the  young  trees  as  would 
scarcely  be  credible,  were  not  the  evidence 
too  certain  to  be  doubted.  In  the  years  1813 
and  1814,  these  ravages  were  so  great  in  the 
New  Forest  and  the  Forest  of  Dean,  as  tc 
create  considerable  alarm,  lest  the  whole  of 
the  young  trees  in  those  extensive  woods 
should  be  destroyed  by  them."  A  timely  and 
assiduous  attention  to  restraining  the  increase 
of  this  pernicious  species,  by  the  aid  of  terriers 
ferrets,  and  traps,  is  imperative  on  those  whc 
have  the  charge  of  young  plantations ;  but 
when  the  numbers  of  the  ficldvole  have  sur 
passed  the  usual  bounds,  then  it  is  recom- 
mended to  dig  holes  about  a  foot  in  depth,  and 
the  same  in  diameter,  taking  care  to  make 
them  much  wider  at  the  bottom  than  at  the 
top,  so  that  the  animal  once  in  canrot  easily 
get  out  again.  In  holes  of  this  kind,  Mr.  Jesse 
states  that  at  least  thirty  thousand  fieldvoles 
were  caught  in  the  course  of  three  or  foui 
months  in  Dean  Forest  plantations  ;  that  num- 
ber having  been  counted  out  and  paid  for  by 
the  proper  officers  of  the  forest.  (Brande*$  Diet, 
of  Science.) 

FIG  (Finis).  The  genus  to  which  the  com- 
mon fig  tree  belongs  is  of  considerable  extent; 
and  its  species  are  among  the  most  noble  ob- 
jects belonging  to  the  vegetable  kingdom.  In 
tropical  countries  the  trees  which  yield  caout- 
chouc (India  rubber)  of  the  finest  quality  be- 
long to  this  species,  particularly  F.  dastica. 
The  celebrated  ban-yan  tree  (F.  reli^osa)  of 
India  is  a  kind  of  fig  tree.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  common  fig  tree  (F.  carica),  although 
it  produces  so  agreeable  a  fruit,  is  in  some 
measure  poisonous,  particularly  the  milky 
juice  which  exudes  from  the  leaves  and  thft 
2  B  2  473 


FIGWORT. 


FINGER  GRASS. 


blanches  when  wounded,  and  which  is  acrid  to 
the  taste.  The  fruit  of  the  fig  tree  is  of  a  dif- 
ferent ncvture  from  the  orange,  apple,  and  other 
fleshy  seed  vessels  ;  being  a  hollow  receptacle, 
containing  a  multitude  of  minute  flowers  ;  the 
ripe  fruit  of  which  is  the  seed,  as  it  is  wrongly  | 
called,  that  is  imbedded  in  the  pulp.  The  fig  i 
is  a  native  of  Asia  and  Barbary,  and  also  in- 
habits the  south  of  Europe ;  according  to  ihe  I 
JJortuB  Knvensis,  it  was  first  planted  in  this  ' 
country  in  1548.  The  varieties  in  fig  coun- 
tries are  almost  as  numerous  as  those  of  the 
grape.  Those  held  most  in  esteem  in  England 
are  the  brown  chestnut-coloured  Ischia,  the 
black  Genoa  fig,  the  small  white  early  fig,  the 
large  white  Genoa  fig,  the  black  Ischia,  brown 
and  black  small  Italian  figs,  the  Malta  fig,  the 
Murrey  or  brown  Naples  fig,  the  green  Ischia, 
the  Madonna,  the  Brunswick  or  Hanover  fig, 
the  common  blue  or  purple  fig,  the  long  brown 
Naples  fig,  the  small  brown  Ischia  fig,  the  yel- 
low Ischia  fig,  and  the  Gentile  fig.  According 
to  Forsyth,  the  figs  proper  for  a  small  garden 
are  the  large  white  Genoa,  the  early  white,  the 
Mu»*rey  fig,  the  small  brown  Ischia,  and  the 
black  Ischia.  Figs  may  be  propagated  from 
seed,  cutiings,  layers,  suckers,  roots,  and  by  in- 
grafting ;  the  most  generally  approved  method 
is  by  layers  or  cuttings,  which  come  into  bear- 
ing the  iiirst  or  second  year.  Standard  fig  trees 
require  protection  during  winter,  and  should 
be  covered  with  matting,  reed,  pease-haulm, 
straw,  or  any  other  light  covering. 

The  only  orchards  of  standard  fig  trees  in 
England  are  at  Tarring  and  Sompton,  near 
Worthing :  the  produce  is  great,  and  the  figs 
of  a  very  superior  quality.  The  fig  has  been 
analyzed  by  Bley,  and  found  to  contain  the  fol- 
lowing substances,  62-5  of  sugar,  0*9  fatly  mat- 
ter, 0*4  extractive  with  chloride  of  calcium,  5-2 
gum  with  phosphoric  acid,  150"0  woody  fibre 
and  seeds  (achenia).  Figs  are  nutritive  and 
laxative.  The  oldest  cataplasm  on  record  was 
composed  of  figs.  In  the  illness  of  Hezekiah, 
Isaiah  said,  "  Take  a  lump  of  figs ;  and  they 
took  and  laid  it  on  the  boil,  and  he  recovered." 
(2  Kings,  chap,  xx.;  Loudor,*s  Ency.  ofGard.: 
Brande's  Did.  of  Science.)  The  cultivation  of 
the  fig  has  been  too  much  neglected  in  the 
United  States.  In  the  Middle  and  more  North- 
ern States  they  require  protection  in  winter. 
With  a  good  soil  and  plenty  of  water  in  the 
summer  the  yield  of  this  wholesome  fruit  is 
great 

FIGWORT  (Scrophularia).  There  are,  in 
England,  four  kinds  of  indigenous  figwort,  all 
perennial;  the  species  found  in  the  United 
States  is  called  S.  Marylandica,  Maryland  S.  or 
C cityenter* 8  Square :  it  is  perennial,  frequent  in 
fence  rows,  woodlands,  &c.  The  root  bruised 
into  the  form  of  a  poultice,  is  a  popular  appli- 
cation to  boils  and  other  inflammatory  gather- 
ings. One  or  two  varieties  of  this  plant  are 
also  met  with.     (Flor.  Cmtrira.) 

FILBERT,  or  FILBERD  (Corylus  avellana, 
so  named  from  Abella  or  Avella,  a  town  of 
Campania,  where  the  best  were  cultivated. 
Pliny,  b.  xv.  c.  22).  In  England  the  best  known 
varieties  of  the  filbert  are  the  white,  the  red, 
and  the  frizzled.  The  white  is  the  kind  most 
commonly  grown.  In  the  neighbourhood  of 
474 


Kent  many  hundred  acres  are  planted  with  fil 
berts,  for  which  the  county  is  celebrated,  and 
whence  the  London  market  is  principally  sup- 
plied. When  quite  ripe,  filberts  will  keep  for 
several  years  in  a  dry  room  ;  and  if  the  air  is 
excluded,  or  the  nuts  placed  in  an  air-tight  jar, 
they  will  keep  good  and  retain  their  flavour  for 
an  indefinite  period. 

In  a  late  number  of  that  excellent  Journal, 
the  Boston  Magazine  of  Horticulture,  Sec,  there 
is  a  paper  by  Mr.  Downing,  of  Newburgh,  N. 
Y.,  on  the  cultivation  of  this  nut.  From  the 
great  quantities  annually  imported,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  a  ready  market  would  be  found 
for  the  product  of  a  filbert  garden  or  orchard, 
and  the  ease  and  certainty  with  which  they 
may  be  grown,  should  recommend  them  to  fa- 
vour. 

Mr.  Downing  recommends  a  soil  naturally 
dry  rather  than  moist,  but  a  dry  gravelly  loam 
or  sandy  loani  is  preferable.  They  will  suc- 
ceed, however,  in  any  good  soil.  The  kinds 
preferred  by  Mr.  Downing  for  cultivation  in 
this  country,  are  the  Cosford,  Frizzled,  and 
Northampton  prolific.  There  are  other  varie- 
ties, but  these  have  been  well  tested,  and  will 
abundantly  repay  the  grower.  The  cultivation 
of  such  nuts  is  a  great  object  in  some  parts  of 
England,  and  the  average  crop  is  considered 
about  800  lbs.  per  acre,  though  at  times,  when 
the  soil  and  season  is  favourable,  more  than 
three  times  that  quantity  have  been  gathered. 

There  are  two  species  of  the  filbert  found  in 
the  United  States.  One  of  these  (the  Corylus 
Americana)  is  very  commonly  found  in  the 
Middle  States,  growing  wild  along  the  borders 
of  thickets,  fence  rows,  &c.,  flowering  in  March 
and  April.  It  grows  to  the  height  of  4  to  6 
feet,  and  the  nuts,  which  it  bears  very  abun- 
dantly, are  pleasantly  flavoured,  though  con- 
siderably smaller  than  the  European  hazelnuts. 

FILLER,  or  THILLER.  A  term  provincially 
applied  to  the  horse  which  is  fastened  immedi- 
ately to  the  cart,  and  which  supports  the  shafts. 
It  is  most  commonly  written  thiller. 

FILLY.  A  young  mare,  or  female  of  the 
horse  kind. 

FILMY-FERN,  TUNBRIDGE  {Hymen  ojthyl 
lum  Tunbridgcnse  :  from  hymen,  a  membrane, 
and  phyllon,  a  leaf;  alluding  to  the  leaves). 
The  genus  to  which  this  species  belongs  ranks 
among  the  most  elegant  of  the  ferns ;  it  is  a 
native  of  wet  mossy  rocks  or  trunks  of  trees, 
most  plentiful  in  tropical  countries.  This  spe- 
cies is  the  only  one  of  European  growth,  and 
flourishes  amongst  moss  in  watery  shady 
places,  in  the  rocky  or  mountainous  parts  of 
Great  Britain,  and  grows  in  most  parts  of  Eu- 
rope from  Norway  to  Italy. 

FIN.  A  term  applied  to  the  sharp  or  cut- 
ting plate,  fixed  upon  a  sock  or  coulter  of  a 
plough.  It  is  also  a  provincial  name  for  the 
troublesome  weed  called  Rest-harrow. 

FINCHED,  or  FINCHBACKED.  A  term 
signifving  streaked  with  white  in  cattle. 

FINGER  GRASS,  COCK'S-FOOT  (Digitaria 
sanguinalis,  from  digitus,  a  finger ;  the  head  is 
divided  so  as  fancifully  to  resemble  fingers). 
PI.  7,/.  This  must  not  be  confounded  with 
the  Dactylis  glomeratUf  cock's-foot  or  orchard 


FINGERS  AND  TG£S. 


FIRKS. 


It  is  an  uninteresting  native  wild  grass,  found 
in  sandy  cultivated  fields,  in  England,  but  not 
common  ;  like  all  other  plants  it  is  variable  in 
its  places  of  growth.  Leaves  broad,  pointed, 
striated,  wavy  at  the  edges,  besprinkled,  like 
their  long  swelling  sheaths,  with  little  warts, 
many  of  which  bear  bristly  hairs.  Flowers  in 
pairs,  dark  purplish,  erect. 

FINGERS  AND  TOES.  The  common  name 
for  a  disease  in  turnips.     See  AsBUKr. 

FIORIN  GRASS.  A  name  under  which  a 
variety  of  the  longer  leaved  creeping  bent 
(jjgrostis  vulgaris,  or  stolonifera,  var.  latifoUa) 
was  introduced  about  27  years  ago  by  Dr. 
Richardson,  of  Clonfeale,  in  the  county  of  Ty- 
rone, Ireland.  (PI.  5,  «.)  That  gentleman  la- 
boured with  great  zeal,  by  his  writings  and 
practice  on  a  large  scale,  to  prove  the  superi- 
ority of  this  grass  over  every  other  for  meadow 
purposes.  One  of  his  modes  of  propagating 
fiorin  was  to  plant  the  stoles  of  the  grass, 
which  are  as  vivacious  as  those  of  couch  grass, 
on  fallow  ground,  and  thus  create  a  meadow; 
but  his  favourite  and  most  expeditious  system 
was  to  encourage  its  spontaneous  growth  on 
alluvial  and  flat  peaty  ground.  Unquestiona- 
bly Dr.  Richardson  did  exhibit  extraordinary 
crops  of  liorin  on  the  level  surface  of  denuded 
and  cut-out  bog  land  of  little  value,  and  for 
several  years  mowed  enormous  crops.  Fiorin, 
being  one  of  the  indigenous  grasses  of  Ireland, 
especially  on  peaty  soil,  is  seen  abundantly  on 
the  black  shallow  bogs  which  have  been 
drained  in  any  degree,  and  particularly  on  the 
margins  of  pools  and  ditches.  Cows  relish  it 
much  if  it  be  not  soured  by  stagnant  water,  and 
yield  milk  abundantly  when  fed  upon  it 
However,  though  it  has  produced  from  six  to 
ten  tons  per  acre  when  top  dressed  and  pre- 
served from  the  poaching  of  cattle,  the  attempt 
to  keep  any  land  under  the  occupation  of  this 
grass  for  meadows,  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
others,  has  been  totally  abandoned.  Two  great 
objections  to  fiorin  are,  the  difficulties  of  mow- 
ing it,  as  it  lies  flat  and  entangled,  and  of 
saving  it  at  the  very  late  season  when  it  is  ripe, 
for  the  scythe.  Some  writers  very  erroneously 
describe  the  Jgrosiu  alba  as  fiorin ;  and  add, 
**it  sometimes  passes  under  the  name  of  black 
couch  grass."  I  am  surprised  that  any  person 
of  experience  should  mistake  fiorin  for  black 
couch  grass  (though  the  Wobum  reports  make 
a  similar  remark),  to  which  it  scarcely  bears 
any  resemblance,  and  from  which  in  some  re-  ; 
spects  it  is  essentially  difierent  Fiorin  is  a 
soft  silky-like  grass,  with  a  very  narrow  or  | 
linear  leaf,  and,  although  rough  on  both  sides, 
yet  not  creeping,  throwing  out  roots  with  its  j 
joints  under  the  surface :  it  is  very  easily 
pulled  out,  and  has  not  those  knotted  and  viva- 
cious roots  which  characterize  black  couch. 
The  varieties  may  sometimes  be  mistaken  for 
one  another,  but  the  different  species  have  al- 
ways some  broad  distinguishing  marks  of  dif- 
ference. As  it  is  of  great  importance  to  the 
farmer  to  be  able  to  distinguish  fiorin  from  the 
other  species  of  bent  grass,  which  are  unpro- 
fitable and  pernicious  weeds,  I  will  here  point 
out  a  few  distinguishing  characteristics.  In 
fiorin  the  body  of  the  seed  is  covered  with  the 
husks  of  the  blossom,  which  do  not  open  :  it  is 


cylindrical,  but  tapers  to  a  point  at  each  end 
The  seed  of  the  clayey  couch  grass  {A.  alba) 
is  very  slender  and  smooth,  one  half  the  size 
only  of  the  fiorin,  and  more  slender  than  the 
A.  vulgaris.  The  seed  of  the  A.  canina  is  fur- 
nished with  a  jointed  awn  of  a  brown  colour, 
which  readily  distinguishes  it  from  the  other 
species.  There  is  an  awn  less  variety  of  the 
A.  canina  which  is  distinguished  by  being 
shorter  and  more  plump  than  the  fiorin  of  the 
clay  couch  bent.  The  seed  of  Ihe  A.  fasicularis 
is  not  one-third  of  the  size  of  that  of  the  fiorin, 
more  rounded  at  the  bottom,  and  of  a  light 
straw  colour.  The  A.  pahtstris  has  seed  about 
one-fifth  shorter  than  that  of  the  fiorin,  of  a 
lighter  brown  colour,  and  more  plump  and 
rounded.  The  variety  of  fiorin  called  arestata 
has  an  awn  which  distinguishes  it  at  once  from 
the  seed  of  the  more  valuable  variety.  The 
distinguishing  characters  of  the  different  spe- 
cies of  agroslis  are  well  set  forth  in  the  late 
Mr.  G.  Sinclair's  valuable  work  on  grasses ;  but 
it  would  rather  tend  to  perplex  than  inform 
were  I  to  attempt  any  further  notice,  which 
must  necessarily  be  a  mere  abridgment.  See 
AoRosTiH.   {Hort.  Gram.  Wob.) 

FIRE-BLAST.  A  term  of  very  doubtful 
meaning,  like  the  word  blight,  but  generally 
implying  an  accident  to  which  hops  are  very 
liable:  it  usually  occurs  in  the  month  of  July, 
and  sometimes  scorches  up  whole  plantations 
from  one  end  of  the  ground  to  the  other,  when 
a  hot  gleam  of  sunshine  has  come  immediately 
after  a  shower  of  rain  ;  while  at  others  it  only 
affects  them  partially,  or  in  a  particular  por- 
tion of  the  planL  When  the  lower  leaves 
of  hops  are  shrivelled  up  and  unhealthy,  they 
are  said  to  be  fire-lAastetl.  This  is  stated  to 
arise  from  the  want  of  sufficient  nourishment 
in  the  root,  the  whole  supply  of  the  sap  juice 
being  required  to  complete  the  growth  of  the 
hops  on  the  top  of  the  pole,  but  little  can  re- 
turn to  the  lower  leaves:  this  is  particularly 
observable  when  the  hops  are  ripening,  on 
those  hills  which  have  too  long  a  pole  put  to 
them.  {Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  354 ;  The  Hop 
Farmer,  p.  89.) 

In  the  United  States,  the  term  fire-blast  is 
generally  used  to  designate  that  destruction  so 
often  witnessed  in  the  branches  of  the  apple, 
and  especially  the  pear  tree.  For  the  discovery 
of  the  cause  and  remedy  for  this  blast  or 
blight,  agricultural  and  horticultural  societies 
have  offered  the  highest  premiums,  which  as 
yet  have  never  been  awarded. 

FIRES.  Sax.  pyn-  In  England,  the  legisla^ 
ture  has  wisely  aflforded  very  considerable  fa- 
cilities to  the  insurance  of  farming  stock. 
"The  Fanner's  Insurance  Institution"  insures 
it  at  \s.  9fl.  per  cent.,  tmthout  the  average  clause; 
thus  easjfly  repaired  are  the  ravages  of  the  in- 
cendiary, of  accidental  fires,  and  lightning. 

Causes  of  Fire.  Mr.  J.  Murray  has  recently 
published  a  letter  in  a  Liverpool  paper  on  the 
frequency,  causes,  and  prevention  of  fire,  which 
contains  many  facts  well  worthyof  attentive  con- 
sideration. Among  other  observations,  he  says : 

"There  is  far  too  little  attention  paid  to  the 
locomotive  engine  on  our  railroads.  The 
ignited  coals  that  fall  below  are  often  blown  to 
considerable  distances,  carried  into  the  adjoin^ 


FIRES. 


FIR  TREE. 


in?  fields,  and  may,  in  contact  with  farming 
stock,  prove  a  serious  evil ;  and  I  have  wit- 
nessed brushwood  and  tufts  of  grass  consumed 
by  this  means.  A  green  taper,  coloured  as  it 
is  by  means  of  oxide  of  copper,  when  blown 
out,  acts  on  an  aphlogistic  principle,  and  may 
continue  to  the  end  of  the  coil  in  an  ignited 
though  ftameless  state,  and,  in  contact  with 
combustible  materials,  may  prove  seriously 
destructive.  It  has  set  a  mahogany  table  on 
fire — providentially  discover<»d  in  time.  Damp 
rags,  en  masse,  may  spontaneously  take  fire, 
and  have  consumed  the  pr^^mises.  Linseed 
and  other  oils,  but  especially  that  of  linseed, 
have  been  the  fruitful  sources  of  conflagration 
in  cotton  factories  and  the  warehouses  of  the 
merchants.  Nets  dipped  in  oil,  and  cast  over 
the  rafters  in  an  outer  shed,  set  them  on  fire ; 
and  a  bale  of  cotton  wool  burst  into  a  flame 
from  linseed  oil  being  poured  upon  it.  Even 
animal  matters,  such  as  woollen,  under  such 
circumstances,  come  within  the  precincts  of 
danger,  I  find  that  strong  red  fuming  nitrous 
acid  will  set  fire  to  straw;  and  an  accident  of 
this  kind  once  occurred  to  myself.  The  vapour 
of  sulphuric  ether,  instead  of  being  volatile, 
and  ascending,  as  is  generally  supposed,  falls 
to  the  ground  like  water;  and  accidents  in  the 
laboratory  and  shop  of  the  druggist,  from  igno- 
rance of  this  fact,  are  by  no  means  unfrequent. 
I  am  personally  acquainted  with  three  distinct 
cases,  wherein  the  premises  were  set  on  fire 
originating  in  this  source.  Specks  or  bull's 
eyes  in  window  glass  may,  on  the  principle  of 
burning  lens,  ignite  inflammable  substances 
brought  within  the  limits  of  their  focus  ;  hence 
the  curtains  used  in  some  factories  may  be 
easily  ignited :  thus,  too,  a  water-bottle  left  in 
a  window  may  in  sunshine  be  the  means  of 
setting  premises  on  fire,  especially  in  a  house 
shut  up  during  the  absence  of  the  family ;  and 
I  have  seen  a  silk  curtain  consumed  to  tinder 
by  the  concentrated  rays  of  the  sun,  in  passing 
through  the  show-bottle  in  the  druggist's  win- 
dow. Spirits  of  turpentine  will  "inflame  if 
poured  out  in  the  hot  sunbeam  ;  and  I  am  in- 
formed by  the  distillers  of  tar  and  turpentine 
that  the  head  of  the  still  cannot  be  safely  re- 
moved for  30  hours  after  the  fire  has  been  ex- 
tinguished, as  an  explosion  might  be  otherwise 
anticipated.  Lucifers,  or  Congreve  matches, 
are  one  of  the  fruitful  sources  of  fires.  Those 
that  are  called  Dutch,  containing  phosphorus, 
and  having  a  very  foetid  phosphoric  smell,  are 
exceedingly  dangerous  :  they  may  ignite  spon- 
taneously at  the  temperature  of  summer  heat; 
and  it  may  now  suflftce  to  say  that  a  recent 
conflagration  has  been  traced  to  this  cause. 
The  cigar  and  the  pipe  are  pre-eminent  sources 
of  modern  conflagration ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
that  of  the  seat  of  the  Marquis  of  Londonderry, 
and  the  late  one  of  York  Minster,  are  entirely 
attributable  to  the  pipe  or  cigar  used  by  the 
workmen  engaged  in  repairs.  It  is  liOt  gene- 
rally known  that  tobacco  contains  nitre,  and 
tliat,  like  "touch-wood,"  it  may  continue  ignited 
for  hour?  T^ires  occurring  from  this  cause 
are,  i  apprehenu,  too  notorious  to  need  specific 
detail.  It  is  clear  that  the  end  of  a  cigar  drop- 
ped among  wood  shavings  might  be  fanned 
into  a  flame  by  a  current  of  air;  and  tossed 
47fi 


from  the  top  of  the  coach  into  an  adjoining  field, 
and  carried  by  the  breeze  into  a  farmer's  stack- 
yard, hay-ricks  and  wheat  stacks  may  even 
burst  into  a  flame.  I  believe  man)^  a  cigar 
smoker  is  an  unintentional  incendiary." 

Fires  in  farm  yards,  also,  may  originate  from 
quid  Ume  left  in  a  cart  under  a  shed,  and 
moist '•  re  getting  to  it.  Heat  sufficient  to  cause 
combi^stion  is  developed.  The  spontaneous 
coml  "istion  of  haystacks  from  the  dampness 
of  thi  hay,  is  a  danger  to  which  the  negligent 
farmer  is  often  exposed.  In  our  present  state 
of  chemical  knowledge  it  is  idle  to  attempt  to 
follow  this  phenomenon  through  its  course,  or 
explain  the  reasons  for  the  heat  produced  in 
fermentation.  As  water  must  be  present  in 
fermentation,  it  is  probable  that  it  is  decom- 
posed, and  it  is  commonly  said  that  the  flame 
produced  is  the  result  of  intense  cheniical 
action  ;  but,  as  Dr.  Thomson  remarks  (System 
of  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  364),  "All  the  phenomena 
of  fermentation  lay  for  many  years  concealed 
in  complete  darkness,  and  no  chemist  was 
bold  enough  to  hazard  an  attempt  even  to  ex- 
plain them.  They  were  employed,  however, 
and  without  hesitation  too,  in  the  explanation 
of  other  phenomena;  as  if  giving  to  one  pro- 
cess the  name  of  another  of  which  we  are 
equally  ignorant,  could,  in  reality,  a5d  any 
thing  to  our  knowledge." 

FIRE-WEED  (Hieracium-lcaved  Senecio).  An 
American  plant  with  an  annual  root,  growing 
in  moist  grounds,  and  remarkable  for  its  preva- 
lence in  recent  clearings,  especially  in  and 
around  spots  where  brushwood  has  been 
burned,  from  whence  it  derives  its  popular 
name.  The  stem  grows  2,  4  or  5  feet  high, 
stout,  succulent  and  tender  when  young,  more 
or  less  hair)^  sometimes  nearly  smooth.  Flowers 
whitish.  (Flor.  Cestrica.)     See  Alkali. 

FIRING.  In  farriery,  an  operation  perform 
ed  on  difl^erent  parts  of  the  horse,  but  which  is 
growing  into  disuse.  It  is  principally  resorted 
to  in  bad  cases  of  sprains.  In  firing  about  the 
sinews  and  nervous  parts,  great  care  should 
be  taken  not  to  go  too  deep,  for  if  the  fire  once 
touches  the  sinew  the  horse  will  go  lame  for 
life.  Firing  is  sometimes  resorted  to  in  cattle, 
in  order  to  remove  bony  tumours  about  the 
region  of  the  eye,  which  incommode  or  obstruct 
the  vision.  In  general,  this  operation  is  per- 
formed in  a  manner  calculated  to  excite  great 
pain  to  the  horse.  When  the  iron  is  white  hot, 
and  is  rapidly  applied,  the  life  of  the  part  is 
instantly  extinguished,  and  all  sensation  being 
destroyed,  no  pain,  except  when  the  iron  is  ap- 
proaching the  part,  is  experienced;  but  much 
pain  follows  the  application  of  an  imperfectly 
heated  iron. 

FIRKIN.     A  measure  of  capacity  in  Eng- 
land, being  the  fourth  part  of  a  barrel,  or  con- 
taining 9  ale  gallons,  or  7^  imperial  gallons 
that  is,  2538  cubic  inches. 

FIR,  SCOTCH.     See  Pines. 

FIR  TREE  (Lat.  Mies;  Sax.  Funh;  Welsh, 
fyrr;  fir-wood).  "The  fir,  the  pine,  and  the 
larch,"  says  Mr.  Baxter,  "  constitute  a  perfectly 
natural  genus  or  family,  and,  next  to  the  oak, 
are  the  most  valuable  of  our  timber  trees  ;  but, 
independently  of  their  value  in  this  respect, 
their  beautiful  foliage  and  magnificent  appear 


FIR  TREE 


FIR  TIREE. 


ance  have  at  all  times  rendered  them  objects  ' 
of  admiration  and  attention.  They  constitute 
the  greater  part  of  the  natural  order  Conifera.  j 
The  term  fir  is  often  indiscriminately  applied 
both  to  the  fir  and  the  pine,  or  jibies  and  Pinus, 
and  hence  we  frequently  hear  the  Scotch  pine 
improperly  called  the  Scotch  fir,  by  those  who 
are  unacquainted  with  botanical  nomenclature. 
The  most  obvious  and  ready  character  of  dis- 
tinction between  the  different  genera  ^bies  and 
Pi/ius  is  to  be  found  in  the  natural  arrangement 
of  the  leaves.  The  firs  {Abies),  have  the  leaves 
solitary,  or  issuing  from  one  scale  or  sheath  on 
tlie  bark  of  the  branches,  over  which  they  are 
scattered."  The  catkins  of  male  flowers  are 
also  solitary,  not  racemose;  the  scales  of  the 
cone  are  imbricated,  and  thin  at  the  apex,  and 
are  all  turned  to  one  side.  They  are  further 
distinguished  from  the  pine  by  their  more  py- 
ramidal form.  The  spruces  have  also  the 
leaves  growing  singly  round  the  branches,  and 
all  spreading  equally. 

The  larches  have  the  leaves  growing  in  clus- 
ters, which  are  deciduous. 

The  cedars  and  pines  have  from  two  to  five 
leaves  issuing  from  one  sheath  at  their  base, 
growing  also  in  little  bundles  or  tufts,  but  they 
are  evergreen.  Of  these  four  natural  tribes, 
into  which  the  firs  resolve  themselves,  the 
gih-er  fir  may  be  taken  as  the  representative  of 
the  first,  the  Noncay  spruce  of  the  second,  the 
Larch  of  the  third,  and  the  Cedar  of  Lebanon  of 
the  fourth.  As  all  the  others  are  noticed  under 
their  separate  heads,  we  have  only  to  confine 
our  attention  in  this  place  to  the  firs.  One  pro- 
perty is  common  to  all  the  species  of  this 
genus,  that  of  affording  resinous  matter,  either 
from  the  wood,  bark,  or  cones. 

The  silver  fir  {A.  pirea,  or  pectinata)  is  grown 
in  England  for  ornament  generally.  The 
name  of  silver  fir  is  derived  from  the  colour  of 
its  leaves  on  the  under  side,  which  are  shorter, 
broader,  and  set  much  thicker  on  the  spray 
than  those  of  other  firs  and  pines,  and  have  a 
beautiful  silvery  appjearance  when  the  under 
side  is  viewed,  or  when  the  wind  turns  the 
branches  from  the  eye ;  whilst  the  upper  sur- 
face is  of  the  brightest  and  handsomest  green 
of  all  the  species  of  fir.  It  is  a  fine  majestic 
tree,  and  the  most  beautiful,  but  at  the  same 
lime  the  most  delicate,  of  the  fir  tribe  usually 
cultivated  in  Britain.  This  tree  is  very  rapid 
in  its  growth,  and  soon  attains  to  a  great  size ; 
but  the  timber  is  not  so  valuable  as  that  of  the 
pine  and  the  spruce  fir.  It  yields,  however, 
Burgundy  pitch  (whence  its  name  of  picea) 
and  Strasburgh  turpentine;  and  it  is  much 
used  on  the  Continent  both  for  carpentry  and 
ship-building.  The  silver  fir  likes  a  deep  soft 
soil,  and  a  sheltered  situation.  From  its  ex- 
treme tendency  to  lose  its  leader  it  does  not 
appear  to  be  well  suited  for  exposed  grounds. 
Some  of  the  finest  trees  in  Englnnd  are  in  the 
vale  of  Mitcham,  between  Dorking  and  Guild- 
ford, where  the  soil  is  nothing  more  than  a  deep 
soft  sand  lying  on  chalk.  The  well-known 
disease  of  the  larch,  commonly  called  Ameri- 
can blight  (see  this  head),  or  plant  lice,  proves 
fatal  to  the  silver  fir.  Col.  Miller  says  he  has 
cured  the  disease  with  a  wash  of  lime-water; 
but  recommends,  in  advanced  stages  of  the 


disease,  free  and  early  pruning.  This  doctrine 
may  startle  many  wood  growers  ;  but  the  Colo- 
nel, in  proof  of  the  soundness  of  his  opinion, 
adds,  that  he  has  adopted  it  successfully  foi 
many  years.  No  large  branch  should,  how- 
ever, be  removed  when  the  tree  is  near  matu- 
rity. The  Swedes  and  Norwegians  prune  their 
trees  freely,  and  hence  the  reason  why  they 
produce  such  a  large  quantity  of  sound  tim- 
ber, and  are  so  free  from  knots.  A  weak  solu- 
tion of  spirits  of  turpentine  and  tobacco  liquor 
appears  to  be  a  useful  wash  for  the  disease. 

2.  The  balm  of  Gilead  fir  (A.  balsamea). 
This  is  also  a  delicate  ornamental  tree,  but  it 
rarely  attains  to  any  considerable  size.  This 
species  and  the  silver  fir  are  often  confounded, 
but  may  be  distinguished  thus:  "the  leaves  of 
the  silver  fir  are  arranged  nearly  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  branch,  comb-like.  The  under 
sides  of  the  leaves  have  a  white  line  running 
lengthwise  on  each  side  of  the  mid-rib,  which 
gives  them  a  silvery  hue.  The  leaves  of  the 
balm  of  Gilead  fir  are  shorter,  blunter,  and 
stand  nearly  upright  in  double  rows,  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  branches  ;  while  in  the  silver 
fir  they  are  flattened  and  irregularly  single- 
rowed."  The  balm  of  Gilead  fir  is  so  called 
because  the  clear  transparent  turpentine  which 
is  obtained  from  the  wounds  of  this  tree  is 
very  similar  to  the  true  balm  of  Gilead  of  the 
shops,  which  is  the  production  of  the  Bahama- 
dendron  Gileadenu.  It  commonly  passes  under 
the  name  of  Canadian  balsam.  The  wood  of 
this  tree  is  of  a  pale  yellow  colour,  and  but 
slightly  resinous ;  its  principal  use  is  to  split 
up  into  staves  for  fish  barrels,  for  which  the 
wood  of  some  of  the  other  species  is  much 
preferable, 

3.  The  Norway  or  spruce  fir  (A.  excelsa), 
when  standing  singly,  with  its  regular  pyra- 
midal figure,  and  its  long  drooping  branches 
reaching  to  the  ground,  forms  a  beautiful  ob- 
ject ;  but  it  does  not  thrive  well  generally  in 
exposed  situations.  It  grows  best  in  moist 
and  springy  places,  and  likes  a  deep  soil.  The 
spruce  is  readily  known  by  its  leaves  of  one 
uniform  dull  green  colour,  spread  equally 
round  the  branches,  and  by  its  long  pendant 
cones.  All  these  firs  may  be  raised  from  seed, 
which  can  be  separated  from  the  cones  by  a 
moderate  heat  before  a  fire,  care  being  taken 
not  to  destroy  the  vegetative  power.  Or  the 
separation  may  be  facilitated  by  steeping  the 
cones  a  few  hours  in  warm  water.  The  seed 
ripens  in  December,  and  the  cones  should  be 
preserved  till  April,  which  is  the  proper  period 
for  sowing.  The  seeds  must  be  only  covered 
about  half  an  inch  deep.  The  soil  be  tole- 
rably rich.  The  seedlings  must  be  transplanted 
the  second  year;  for  if  left  longer  it  will  be 
completely  spoiled.  For  the  Scotch  pine  or 
fir  I  must  refer  the  reader  to  the  head  Fixes 
(Pitms)  ;  and  other  information  on  the  subject 
of  firs  will  also  be  found  under  the  head  Larch, 
It  may,  however,  be  well  to  enumerate  the 
principal  other  firs:  anything  like  a  descrip- 
tion in  this  place  would  be  needless. 

1.  Firs.  The  Siberian  silver  fir  (A.  Sibtrica)^ 
The  great  Californian  fir  (A.  grandis)  The 
large-bracted  fir  (A.  nobilis).  The  double  bal- 
sam fir  (A.  Frazeri).  Webb's  fir  (A.  Wcbbiana). 

477 


FIR  TREE. 


FIR  TREE. 


The  hemlock  spruce  fir  (J.  Canadensis).  The 
deciduous  silver  fir  (J.  Brunoniana).  The  sa- 
cred Mexican  fir  (^.  religiosa).  The  hairy  fir 
(^.  hirtella).  The  Indian  silver  fir  {A.  Smithi- 
ana). 

2.  SpRucKs.  The  oriental  fir  (J.  orientalis). 
The  white  spruce  fir  (J.  alba).  The  black  or 
red,  spruce  fir  (J.  nigra).  The  Douglas  fir 
(A.  Douglassii).    The  Menzies  fir  (A.  Menziesii). 

3.  Larchks.  The  common  larch  fir  (.y4.  krtx). 
The  red  larch  fir  (A.  microcarpa).  The  black 
larch  fir  {A.  pendula). 

\.  Cedars.  The  cedar  of  Lebanon  fir  {A. 
ctdrus).  The  sacred  Indian  fir  {A.  deodara). 
See  C  ED  AH  or  Lebanon. 

Michaux  enumerates  14  species  of  pines 
and  spruces  including  firs,  as  found  in  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
His  methodical  arrangement  of  these  is  as 
follows : — 

Two-leaved  Pines  with  smooth  Cones. 
Red  (Norway)  pine,  or  Pinus  rubra.  Com- 
mon in  Canada  and  the  Northern  Sections  of 
the  United  States,  but  not  seen  in  Pennsylvania 
south  of  Wilkesbarre.  It  is  called  in  the  state 
of  Maine  Sa-ub-pine.  This  species  is  found 
farther  northward  than  any  other  pine,  being 
seen  in  the  environs  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Yelloiv 
pine  (Pinus  tnitis).  This  species  abounds  in 
the  Middle  States.  In  the  south  it  is  called 
Spiuce  pine,  and  Short-leaved  pine. 

Ttco-leaved  Pines  with  thorny  Cones. 
Jeney  pine  (Pinus  Inops).  This  species  is 
ttot  confined  to  the  southern  portion  of  New 
Jersey,  but  is  seen  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and 
others  of  the  Southern  and  Western  States. 
Table  mountain  pine  (P.  pungens).  Found  only 
on  the  Table  mountain  in  North  Carolina. 

Three-leaved  Pines  with  smooth  Cones  or  very  small 
Thorns. 
Long-leaved  pine  (Pinus  australis).  This  tree 
80  extremely  valuable  for  its  timber,  tar,  and 
other  resinous  products,  is  known  in  the  coun- 
tries where  it  grows,  and  the  places  to  which 
it  is  exported,  by  different  names.  In  the 
Southern  Slates,  where  it  abounds,  it  is  called 
Yellow  pine,  Pitch  pine,  and  Brown  pine.  In  Eng- 
land and  the  West  Indies,  Georgia  pitch  pine. 
Pitch  pine  (P.  rigida),  is  found  throughout  the 
United  States  except  the  region  west  of  the 
AUeghanies.  It  abounds  on  those  mountains 
as  they  traverse  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 
Loblolly  Pine  (P.  Tctda).  This  is  common  in 
lower  Virginia  and  more  Southern  States. 

Five-leaved  Pines. 

White  pine  (P.  strobus).  One  of  the  most  in- 
teresting of  American  pines.  It  is  diffused 
over  a  great  extent  of  country  in  the  Northern 
and  Eastern  States,  being  the  loftiest  and  most 
majestic  production  of  the  American  forest. 
Its  wood  is  most  valuable  for  building  and 
other  purposes. 

Spruces. 

Thest  have  very  short  leaves  disposed  singly 
round  the  branches.  The  American  species 
are,  black  or  double  spruce  (Abies  nigra),  common 
in  the  Northern  States  and  British  provinces; 
also  in  the  northeastern  parts  of  Pennsylvania, 
478 


and  Black  Mountain  of  South  Carolina,  and 
sometimes  in  the  White  Cedar  Swamps  in 
New  Jersey  near  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 
In  the  northern  sea-ports  the  spars  of  ships 
are  mostly  of  black  spruce.  It  is  largely  ex- 
ported to  Europe.  White,  or  single  spruce  (A. 
alba).  Common  in  the  same  northern  regions 
of  the  States.  Pond  pine  (P.  serotina),  com- 
mon to  the  maritime  parts  of  the  Southern 
States. 

Spruces  udth  lateral  Leaves. 

Hemlock  spruce  (Abies  Canadensis),  natural  to 
the  coldest  regions  of  the  United  States  and 
British  Provinces.  It  is  always  larger  and 
taller  than  the  black  spruce.  American  silver 
fir  (Abies  balsamifera),  or  Balm  of  Gilead; 
common  in  the  state  of  Maine  and  the  Britijsh 
Provinces. 

FISH  (Lat.  Pisces;  Germ.  Fische ;  Du.  Vi9- 
cher :  Dan.  and  Swed.  Fisk).  A  term  used  in 
natural  history  to  denote  every  variety  of  ani- 
mal inhabiting  seas,  lakes,  rivers,  ponds,  &c. 
that  cannot  exist  for  any  considerable  time  out 
of  the  water.  The  most  natural  and  popular 
division  of  this  subject  is  into  fresh  and  safe- 
water  fish. 

According  to  Linnasus,  there  are  about  6,000 
species  of  fish  with  which  naturalists  are  ac- 
quainted, but  those  yet  unknown  are  supposed 
to  be  still  numerous,  and  many  species  will 
probably  remain  forever  undiscovered.  The 
anatomy  and  physiology  of  fish  offer  a  wide 
field  of  study  for  the  inquiring  mind.  Their 
extraordinary  fecundity  is  truly  astonishing. 
Fish  in  general  are  less  nourishing  than  other 
animal  food,  but  are  not  difficult  of  digestion, 
when  in  a  fresh  state,  to  a  healthy  stomach. 
To  a  dyspeptic  stomach,  however,  fish  is  apt  to 
prove  irritating.  Except  in  London  and  a  few 
sea-port  towns,  the  consumption  of  fish  in 
England  is  not  great.     See  Breeding  Poxns. 

FISH,  AS  A  Manure.  The  fish  which  are 
usually  employed  as  manures  in  England  are 
sprats,  pilchards,  herrings,  sticklebacks,  and 
whale  blubber.  These  are  very  rich  fertili- 
zers ;  the  fleshy  or  muscular  portions  abound- 
ing in  oil.  The  scales  are  composed  of  coagu 
lated  albumen  and  phosphate  of  lime ;  their 
bones  are  full  of  oil,  and  tire  solid  portion  is 
composed  of  phosphate  of  lime  and  carbonate 
of  lime,  in  different  proportions. 

Sprats. — In  the  English  counties  of  Essex, 
Kent,  and  Suffolk,  the  use  of  this  manure  is 
very  general,  although  the  practice  is  not  of 
very  long  standing.  The  quantity  applied  per 
acre  varies  from  25  to  45  bushels,  the  poor 
gravelly  soils  requiring  more  than  the  loamy 
lands.  They  are  spread  by  hand,  from  seed 
baskets,  and  on  winter  fallows  intended  for 
oats,  on  which,  especially  if  the  summer  is 
not  too  dry,  it  produces  most  luxuriant  crops, 
of  a  peculiar  dark-green  colour,  yielding  10  or 
11  quarters  per  acre,  and  that  on  land  of  a 
very  second-rate  description.  The  effect  of  the 
application,  however,  remains  only  for  one 
j  crop.  They  produce  an  equally  good  result  if 
mixed  with  earth,  and  suffered  to  remain  and 
dissolve,  for  some  time,  in  the  heap,  before 
they  are  carted  on  the  land.  In  this  way  they 
answer  exceedingly  well  for  turnips.    They 


FISH. 


arc  nsnally  obtainable  at  the  rate  of  from  6d. 
to  8(/.  per  bushel. 

The  extent  to  which  this  manure  is  used 
•may  be  judged  by  that  of  the  Stow-boat  fishery, 
which  is  solely  devoted  to  catching  these  fish. ! 
Upon  this  fishery  the  committee  of  the  House  i 
of  Commons  of  the  session  of  1833  reported:  I 
— "  This  fishery,  which  prevails  principally 
upon  the  Kentish,  Norfolk,  and  Essex  coasts,  | 
have  been  proved  to  your  committee  to  occasion  i 
very  extensive  injury  to  the  span  and  brood  j 
of  fish.  The  nets  used  in  it  are  of  a  very  fine 
description,  so  small  as  not  to  let  a  pen  pass 
through,  and  they  enclose  not  only  sprats,  but 
the  span  and  young  brood  of  all  other  kinds 
of  fish  ;  and  as  these  nets  are  frequently  drawn 
along  the  ground,  and  in  shallow  waters,  during 
the  breeding  season,  and  in  the  winter  months 
before  ihe  young  fish  are  gone  into  deep  wa- 
ters, an  immense  destruction  of  the  spawn  and 
breed  of  fish  is  the  inevitable  consequence; 
whilst,  from  the  almost  unlimited  demand  for 
this  species  of  manure  for  land,  and  there  be- 
ing a  ready  sale  for  all  that  can  be  procured, 
this  branch  of  fishing  has  greatly  increased; 
and  there  are  at  present  from  400  to  600  boats 
engaged  in  Stow-boating  on  the  Kentish  coast 
only,  which  remain  upon  the  fishing  grounds 
frequently  for  a  week  together,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  catching  sprats  or  any  other  fish  to 
be  sold  as  food  in  the  market,  but  until  they 
have  obtained  full  cargoes  of  dead  fish  for  the 
purpose  of  manuring  the  land." 

The  Farmers  of  Essex  and  Suffolk  purchase 
these  fish  by  thousands  of  bushels  at  a  time, 
and  carry  them  in  wagons  10  or  15  miles  into 
the  inland  districts. 

Pilcharih  are  extensively  employed  in  Corn- 
wall and  Devonshire,  both  in  the  fresh  and  in 
the  salted  st.ate.  The  pilchard  is  a  small  fish 
not  larger  than  a  herring ;  it  visits  part  of  the 
coast  of  Cornwall  and  Devon  in  large  shoals, 
during  the  months  of  August  and  September, 
and  again  in  November  or  December.  The 
refuse  fish,  which  are  those  principally  used 
by  the  cultivator,  are  usually  mixed  with  earth, 
sea-sand,  sea-weed,  or  some  other  substance,  to 
prevent  them  from  causing  too  rank  a  growth. 
The  effects  of  these  pilchards,  according  to 
Sir  H.  Davy,  are  apparent  for  several  years. 
The  pilchard  is  a  very  oily  fish,  and  may  be 
had  in  almost  inexhaustible  quantities.  Be- 
tween 8000  and  9000  persons,  at  sea  and  on 
shore,  are  employed  in  this  fishery,  and  about 
30,000  hogsheads  are  annually  exported  either 
to  the  West  Indies  or  the  Mediterranean. 

The  herring. — The  employment  of  this  value- 
able  fish  for  the  purpose  of  manuring  the 
ground  is  limited  to  those  districts  near  the 
sea  to  which  the  shoals  of  herrings  are  regu- 
larly visiters;  and  even  there,  their  use  is 
confined  to  those  seasons  in  which  there  is  an 
annual  glut,  as  occasionally  happens  on  the 
coasts  of  Scotland  and  the  eastern  side  of 
England.  They  are  a  very  oily  fish,  and  pro- 
duce the  same  rank  luxuriance  of  growth  as 
sprats  or  pilchards.  Arthur  Young  has  given 
us  an  account  of  an  experiment,  in  which  some 
wheat,  manured  with  these  fish,  grew  so  luxu- 
riantly, that  it  was   entirely  laid  before   the 

eriod  of  harvest.    Very  numerous  or  accurate 


FISH. 

comparative  experiments  with  this  fish  can 
hardly  be  expected,  for  its  use  must  necessarily 
be  confined  to  peculiar  districts ;  and  when 
obtained,  it  is  generally  ploughed  in  with  con- 
siderable expedition,  or  dug  into  earth  heaps, 
which  is  a  mode  found  to  answer  extremely 
well.  And  it  has  been  found,  in  the  case  of 
spoiled  red  herrings,  that  their  application  is 
extremely  advantageous  to  the  hop  plantations. 
(Essay  on  Salt,  p.  101.) 

Sticklebacks. — The  use  of  the  stickleback  is 
principally  confined  to  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Fens  of  Lincolnshire  and  Cambridge,  in 
which  it  breeds  with  great  rapidity,  and  in 
shallow  waters  they  are  caught  at  certain  sea- 
sons entirely  as  an  article  for  manure.  They 
are  used  in  much  the  same  proportions,  either 
by  themselves  or  mixed  with  earth,  &c.,  as 
sprats,  and  are  not  more  durable  in  their  good 
effects. 

The  Fat  or  Blubber  of  the  Whale.— Whale 
blubber  was  employed  by  the  late  Lord  So- 
merville,  at  his  farm  at  Fairmile,  in  Surrey,  as 
a  manure,  and  produced  the  richest  crops.  It 
was  mixed  with  the  sandy  earth,  and  suffered 
to  dissolve  in  the  heap.  It  cost  at  the  wharf  in 
London  20  shillings,  and,  with  the  expenses  of 
carriage,  about  2/.  per  ton.  It  answered  equally 
well  upon  arable  and  pasture  lands,  producing 
most  luxuriant  crops ;  and  its  good  effects  were 
visible  for  two  or  three  years.  Its  general  high 
price,  however,  rarely  admits  of  its  employ- 
ment by  the  farmer 

Whale  blubber  is  composed  principally  of 
train  oil  and  other  animal  matters  ;  but  the  oil 
is  by  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  blubber , 
and  to  the  presence  of  this  fish  oil,  which  does 
not  appear  to  differ  materially  in  composition 
from  whatever  fish  it  is  obtained,  must  be  at 
tributed  the  chief  fertilizing  value  of  all  fish 
Train  oil  has  been  analyzed  by  Dr.  Thomson 
He  found  in  100  parts  {Chemistry,  vol.  iv.  p 
433),— 

Partfc 

Carbon 6.S-87 

Hydrogen  --..--     1610 


Oxygei 


1503 
100- 


Spermaceti  oil,  according  to  Dr.  Ure,  con 
tains,  in  100  parts, — 

Parti. 

Carbon        ---..--    78- 

Hydrogen MS 

Oxygen 10-2 

100. 

Fish  oils,  therefore,  are  composed  of  exactly 
the  same  materials  that  constitute  almost  al^ 
vegetable  substances,  differing  only  in  the  pro 
portions ;  for  sugar,  starch,  gluten,  gum,  &c. 
&c.,  are  all  composed  of  these  three  substance* 
— carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen ;  blubber, 
therefore,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  con- 
densed manure  that  it  is  possible  to  apply  to  a 
soil:  it  contain^  little,  if  any,  water,  and  every 
portion  of  it  is  food  for  plants.  The  same  re 
mark  will  apply  to  the  dregs  of  train  oil,  &c., 
which  are  sometimes  applied,  mixed  with 
earth,  to  the  same  purpose ;  but  it  is  seldom 
that  these  substances  can  be  procured,  in  any 
quantity,  at  a  sufficiently  reasonable  rate. 

479 


FISH. 

It  is  evident,  from  the  experience  of  all  who 
have  tried  blubber,  that  it  is  best  used  when 
previously  mixed  with  from  10  to  20  times  its 
weight  of  earth,  and  turned  over  once  or  twice 
during  three  or  four  months.  In  its  uncombined 
state  it  is  evidently  too  powerful.  When  mixed 
with  mould,  it  speedily  undergoes  a  strong  fer- 
mentation, and  the  mass  becomes  of  the  most 
friable  and  fertilizing  description.  Train  oil 
has  also  been  employed  with  the  most  decided 
success ;  it  has  been  used  united  with  screened 
earth,"  and  produced  the  most  luxuriant  of 
crops.  In  an  experiment  made  by  Mr.  Mason, 
of  Chilton,  which  is  described  by  Lord  Spen- 
cer, in  a  communication  furnished  to  the  Don- 
caster  Agricultural  Society,  40  gallons  of  un- 
refined train  oil,  which  cost  8^d.  per  gallon, 
were  mixed  with  120  bushels  of  screened  earth 
about  a  month  before  it  was  applied  to  one  acre 
of  a  tenacious  soil,  sown  with  turnips  ;  and  on 
an  adjoining  acre  of  similar  land  were  applied 
40  bushels  of  bones,  broken  small,  and  mixed 
with  80  bushels  of  burnt  earth ;  the  crop  pro- 
duced was  as  follows : — 

Produce  of  turnips  per  acre. 
tODS.       cwt.       »t. 


FISH. 

« 1 1  acres,  dressed  as  below,  is  a  trial  agaiwi 
oil, — 


16  strikes  of  bones,  at  2*.  6rf.  per  strike,  per 

acre        -        -        -        .        ._        .. 

5  hundred  of  rape-dust,  at  6a.  9d.^er  hundred 

16  strikes  of  pigeon  manure,  at  Is.  6d.  per  strike 

With  oil      -       -       .       . 
Balance  in  favour  of  oil     - 


£  ».  4, 

1  17  « 

1  13  g 

1    4  0 


4  15 
1  15 


Oil,  40  (gallons        ...  "J 

Screened  earth,  120bu8hels    -  j" 

Bones,  40  bushels           .       _  j 

Burnt  earth,  80  bushels          -  3 


And  in  The  Mark  Lane  Express  of  February  8, 
1841,  Mr.  W.  Sharp,  of  Scarthing  Moor,  in  Not- 
tinghamshire, thus  describes  his  experiments 
with  fish  oil,  mixed  with  bone  dust; — "I  will 
give  you  my  experiment  with  oil.  The  soil  is 
a  poor  gravel, — the  farm  in  the  parish  of  Ed- 
winstow,  and  enclosed  off  the  old  Forest,  near 
to  Thorseby  Park. 

"My  attention  was  drawn  to  the  use  of  oil  in 
consequence  of  the  serious  expense  (3^.  to  41. 
per  acre)  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  in  bones  and 
rape  dust,  for  I  never  use  yard  manure  for  tur- 
nips, as  the  soil  is  so  poor,  I  cannot  get  wheat 
without  manure ;  I  therefore  save  it  all  for  my 
wheat.  My  first  trial  was  in  1839,  on  2  acres, 
in  a  9-acre  field,  and  nearly  in  the  middle  of  it. 
I  give  you  the  cost  of  one  acre, — 

5  strikes  of  half  inch  bones,  the  dust  in  (2*.  7i(f. 

per  strike),  per  acre      -        -        -        -        -    0  13    U 
8  gallonc  of  train-oil,  at  2a.  6d.  per  gallon        -    0    7    6 
10  strikes  of  coal  ashes   -       -        -       -       -000 


0    7i 


Remainder  of  the  field  as  below,— 

16  strikes  of  bones,  as  above,  at  is.  lid.  per 

strike     ----_... 

6  hundred  of  rape-dust,  at  6*.  9d.  per  hundred 


With  oil      -       -       - 
Balance  in  favour  of  oil 


3  15 
1    0 


2  15     li 


"The  oil  turnips  were  as  good  as  the 
mainder  of  the  field ;  and  all  as  fine  as  I  could 


3    0    3 

"I  think  the  9  acres  with  oil  rather  the  best 
field,  and  the  turnips  are  decidedly  better.  The 
rape-dust  I  sow  broadcast  on  the  surface;  it  is 
then  drawn  in  its  proper  place  by  ridging;  I 
then  drill  my  bones  on  the  ridges  22  inches 
apart,— the  turnips  were  white  tops.  I  do  not 
like  the  ashes  mixed  with  the  oil ;  it  makes  it 
dirty  and  bad  to  drill;  the  11  strikes  of  bones 
carefully  mixed  will  absorb  the  oil,  so  as  to 
drill  excellent.  I  let  them  lie  about  two  days 
after  mixing.  I  know  your  readers  will  say, 
how  is  barley  grown  after  so  light  a  dressing? 
I  answer— with  my  feeding  sheep  I  use  oil- 
cake, and  with  my  store  sheep  malt-coombs, 
and  the  straw  in  the  yard  is  all  consumed— 
with  oil-cake  I  take  my  seeds  up  for  wheat. 

"Some  farmers  may  possibly  doubt  the  cor- 
rectness of  my  assertion,  that  all  th©  principal 
vegetable  substances  are  composed  of  precise- 
ly the  same  ingredients  as  oil  and  other  purely 
animal  matters ;  and  as  it  is  of  the  first  im- 
portance that  the  cultivator  should  clearly  un- 
derstand the  reason  why  the  decomposition  of 
animal  matters  furnishes  such  admirable  food 
for  vegetation,  I  must  beg  of  him  to  compare 
the  analysis  of  the  oils  which  I  have  already 
stated,  with  that  of  the  following  common  vege- 
table substances,  as  ascertained  by  the  most 
careful  analysis.  I  will  merely  give  that  of 
three  substances  :— sugar,  100  parts  of  which 
are  composed,  according  to  M.  Berzelius,  of— 

^  Parts. 

^^.vgen 5147 

Carbon      -        -        -        ,        .        _        -41-48 
Hydrogen 705 

10000 
(J9nn.  of  Phil.  vol.  V.  p.  2&1.)  

In  100  parts  of  starch  from  wheat  flour  are 
found — 

^  Parts. 

Oxygen 49-68 

Carbon      ----._.    4335 
Hydrogen  -----,      6T7 

,^       ,                                                                     100  00 
(Ouy  Lussac,  Rech.  vli.  p.  291.)  

The  wood  of  oak  is  composed  of— 

_.  Parti. 

Oxygen 41-78 

Carbon 52-53 

Hydrogen 559 

(Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  294.)  ^^'^ 

"All  oily  and  other  animal  substances,  there- 


the  clover  is  now  excellent. 
1840,  on  9  acres, — 


My  next  trial  in 


11  strikes  of  half  inch  bones,  dust  in,  at  2«.  6d. 
per  strike,  ppr  acre       -        -        -        -        _ 
8  gallons  of  train-oil,  at  2s.  6d.  per  gallon 


£    8. 


wish,  for  the  land.    The  barley  as  good,— and  i         '  ^^  ^^^  decompose  in  the  soil,  are  slowly 
•'       •  •  --  converted  into  those  gaseous  substances  which 

are  the  food  or  breath  of  vegetable  life,  such  as 
carbonic  acid  gas  (fixed  air)  or  carburetted 
hydrogen  (the  gas  employed  for  illumination), 
and  which  are  absorbed  either  by  the  roots  or 
the  leaves  of  the  plant  as  they  are  formed. 
There  is  little  or  no  waste  in  these,  for  when 
the  decomposition  of  the  oils  and  fibrous  raat- 


1  15   0 


480 


FISH. 


FIXTtfRES. 


ters  offish  is  finished,  there  is  very  little  or  no 
earthy  or  solid  matter  remaining  useless  in  the 
soil.  In  this,  again,  the  experience  of  the  far- 
mer substantiates  the  chemist's  doctrines,  for 
he  uniformly  tells  us,  in  answer  to  our  in- 
quiries, that  the  fish  only  last  for  one  crop." 

In  the  east  of  England,  the  farmers  of  those 
soils  conveniently  situated  for  water  carriage, 
employ  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  as  manure, 
several  kinds  offish  besides  sprats,  such  as  five- 
fingers,  cockles,  muscles,  &c.,  and  this  use  is 
only  limited  by  the  supply,  or  what  is  com- 
monly a  more  important  impediment,  the  diffi- 
culty of  transporting  them  any  distance  while 
sufficiently  fresh.  When  once  the  fish  begin 
to  putrefy,  their  fertilizing  properties  rapidly 
diminish  ;  the  oil  from  the  fermenting  sprats  I 
have  seen  dripping  from  the  wagons  as  they 
travelled  along :  thus  they  speedily  lose  in 
weight,  and  become  intolerably  obnoxious  to 
the  district  through  which  they  pass  ;  several 
convictions  have,  indeed,  taken  place  among 
my  neighbours  in  Essex,  for  carrying  putrefy- 
ing fish  through  towns  and  populous  villages. 

This  is  hardly  a  matter  of  astonishment, 
since  the  farmer,  who  has  to  convey  a  freight 
of  several  hundred  bushel  of  sprats,  perhaps 
ten  or  twelve  miles,  has  often  much  too  little 
time  allowed  him  for  that  purpose.  The  fish, 
perhaps,  arrive  stale.  It  is  a  load  detained  by 
contrary  winds,  or  prevented  by  circumstances 
from  reaching  another  destination?  the  farmer 
has  to  be  informed  of  their  arrival ;  he  cannot 
despatch  his  teams  as  speedily  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  requires,  the  fish  become  offensive, 
and  his  ardour  for  the  improvement  of  his  land 
is  checked  by  a  magistrate's  summons  and  a 
conviction  for  a  nuisance.  These  are  the  rea- 
sons which  retard  the  use  of  these  kinds  of  fish 
as  a  manure,  but  cannot  entirely  prevent  their 
being  employed.  Their  use  is  still,  in  spile 
of  all  impediments,  annually  increasing,  espe- 
cially in  the  neighbourhood  of  those  places  to 
which  the  fishing  smacks  find  a  ready  access. 

By  the  general  formation  of  railroads,  the 
culivator,  even  of  the  inland  soils  of  England, 
will  have  all  these  valuable  sources  of  im- 
provement offered  for  his  service — fertilizers 
of  even  national  interest,  since  they  are  drawn 
from  an  inexhaustible  source,  afford  employ- 
ment to  a  branch  of  industry  invaluable  in  a 
maritime  p  int  of  view,  as  a  nursery  for  sea- 
men, and  have,  moreover,  this  great  and  para- 
mount advantage,  that  they  add  to  the  perma- 
nent riches  of  the  laud,  and  are  not,  as  is  the 
case  with  other  fertilizers,  drawn  from  one  dis- 
trict of  the  state  to  enrich  another.  There  need 
be  no  fear  of  the  supply  not  keeping  pace  with 
the  demand,  for  the  ocean  is  inexhaustibly 
tenanted  with  fish.  As  fresh  agricultural  mar- 
kets arise  and  are  furnished  by  the  railways, 
fresh  sources  of  supply  will  be  discovered, 
other  coasts  explored,  and  increased  fisheries 
established.  (Johnson  on  Fertilizers,  p.  113.) 

On  Long  Island  and  those  parts  of  the  New 
England  States  bordering  upon  the  sound,  or 
the  sea,  fish  are  very  extensively  and  profitably 
used  as  manure.  In  the  Chesapeake  and  tribu- 
taries, where  herring  fisheries  abound,  these 
fish  are  also  often  appropriated  to  the  same 
purpose. 

61 


FISTULA  (Lat.).  A  long  sinous  ulc.f  •.olteh 
communicating  with  a  larger  cavity,  and  hav- 
ing a  small  external  opening. 

All  animals  are  liable  to  fistulas,  but  the 
horse  more  particularly  so ;  they  attack  the 
withers  and  the  poll.  They  are  produced  by 
blows,  by  bruises  from  the  saddle,  and  what* 
ever  causes  inflammation ;  also  by  the  pre- 
sence of  extraneous  substances. 

In  curing  this  disease,  it  is  requisite,  in  tht 
first  instance,  to  ascertain  the  direction  the  fis- 
tula pursues,  and  whether  it  materially  inter- 
feres with  any  of  the  larger  blood-vessels,  so 
as  to  render  a  full  incision  into  the  parts  a 
matter  of  too  much  hazard  to  be  attempted. 
When  secure  from  any  danger  of  this  nature, 
the  most  effectual  practice  is,  to  lay  the  fistula, 
or  fistulas,  when  more  than  one,  so  thoroughly 
open  as  to  have  a  complete  view  of  their  inter- 
nal surfaces.  It  is  not,  however,  necessary  in 
the  simple  sinus,  where  the  matter  is  in  a 
healthy  state,  and  requires  only  a  sufficient 
passage ;  but  in  cases  where  the  discharge,  by 
having  been  long  detained,  indurates  and  cor- 
rodes the  contiguous  parts  ;  as  the  means  fully 
adequate  to  remove  the  former  avail  little  in 
the  radical  cure  of  the  latter,  a  more  severe 
practice  of  course  becomes  necessary. 

When  the  fistular  cavities  have  been  fully 
laid  open  by  the  knife,  they  should  be  dressed 
with  powerful  caustic  compositions,  until  the 
unsound  parts  slough  away,  and  the  wound 
presents  a  healthy  appearance.  Cleanliness, 
with  more  mild  applications,  should  now  be 
had  recourse  to,  taking  care  that  the  wound  be 
not  closed  before  the  cavities  are  properly  and 
uniformly  healed. 

FIVE-FINGER.    Sec  CiwauE-FoiL. 

FIXTURES.  In  Law,  a  term  generally  ap- 
plied to  all  articles  of  a  personal  nature  afiixed 
to  land.  This  annexation  must  be  by  the  arti- 
cle being  let  into,  or  united  with  the  land,  or 
with  some  substance  previously  connected 
therewith.  Thus  a  barn  built  on  a  frame  not 
let  into  the  earth,  is  not  a  fixture  ;  a  brewer's 
stills  set  in  brickwork  resting  on  a  foundation, 
are  fixtures,  and  the  application  of  the  same 
principle  gives  in  every  case  the  true  rule  to 
judge  whether  a  thing  be  a  fixture  or  not.  What- 
ever is  thus  fixed  becomes  by  law  parcel  of  the 
freehold  or  realty.  It  is,  therefore,  on  general 
principles,  not  removable  ;  but  there  are  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule  established  by  custom. 
{Brande^s  Diet,  of  Science.) 

The  English  common  law  with  regard  to 
fixtures  or  any  thing  affixed  to  the  freehold,  is 
by  no  means  so  clear  and  defined  as  is  desira- 
ble ;  and  what  is  granted  in  favour  of  trade,  to 
the  removal  of  fixtures  erected  for  the  purpose 
of  manufacture,  does  not  extend  to  the  erec- 
tions made  by  tenants  for  agricultural  purposes. 
The  agreement  made  between  the  farmer  and 
his  landlord  should  therefore  always  contain  a 
covenant  by  which  this  power  should  be  clearly 
defined.  The  celebrated  judgment  of  Lord 
Ellenborough  in  Elwes  v.  Mawe,  3  East,  38,  con 
tains  such  an  epitome  of  the  law  of  fixtures, 
that  I  shall  insert  at  length  the  opening  portion 
of  it:— 

"This  was  an  action  upon  the  case  in  the 
nature  of  waste  by  a  landlord,  the  reversioner 
2S  4S1 


FLAG. 


FLANDERS. 


in  fee  against  his  late  tenant,  who  had  held  un- 
der a  term  for  twenty-one  years  a  farm,  con- 
sisting of  a  messuage  and  lands,  outhouses 
and  barns,  &c.,  and  who  at  the  case  reserved, 
Slated  that  during  the  term,  and  about  fifteen 
years  before  its  expiration,  he  erected  at  his 
own  expense  a  bensthouse,  carpenter's  shop,  a 
fuel  house,  a  carl-house,  a  pump-house,  and  a 
fold-yard.  The  buildings  were  of  brick  and 
mortar,  and  tiled,  and  the  foundations  of  them 
were  about  a  foot  and  a  half  deep  in  the  ground. 
The  carpenter's  shop  was  closed  in,  and  the 
other  buildings  were  open  to  the  front,  and 
supported  by  brick  pillars.  The  fold-yard  wall 
was  of  brick  and  mortar,  and  its  foundation  was  in 
the  ground.  The  tenant  previous  to  the  expira- 
tion of  his  lease,  pulled  down  the  erections, 
dug  up  the  foundations,  and  carried  away  the 
materials,  leaving  the  premises  in  the  same  state  as 
when  he  entered  upon  them.  The  case  further 
stated  these  erections  were  necessary  and  conve- 
nient for  the  operation  of  the  farm ;  and  the  ques- 
tion for  the  opinion  of  the  court  was  whether 
the  tenant  had  a  right  to  take  away  those  erec- 
tions 1  Upon  a  full  consideration,  we  are  all 
of  opinion  that  he  had  not  a  right  to  take  away 
those  erections." 

Without  any  special  agreement,  a  tenant 
cannot  remove  a  border  of  box  planted  by 
himself;  neither  can  ordinary  tenants  remove 
fruit  trees,  though  planted  by  themselves,  but 
nurserymen  may.  If  the  freehold  is  sold  with- 
out any  stipulation  about  the  fixtures,  they  pass 
with  the  land.  Neither  can  the  fixtures  be 
taken  in  execution  by  the  sheriff.  Ranges  and 
ovens  are  fixtures.  But  a  pump  erected  by  a 
tenant,  and  so  fixed  as  to  be  removable  without 
injury  to  the  freehold,  may  be  taken  away  by 
him  at  the  expiration  of  his  term,  as  being  an 
article  of  domestic  use  or  convenience.  A 
conservatory  on  a  brick  foundation,  afiixed  to 
and  communicating  with  rooms  in  a  dwelling- 
house  by  windows  and  doors  cannot  be  re- 
moved by  the  tenant,  even  if  he  erected  them. 

FLAG,  THE  WATER;  or  FLEUR-DE-LIS. 
See  Iris. 

FLAG,  THE  SWEET.  See  Aromatic  Reed 
(^Calamus  aromaticus). 

FLAG.  A  term  sometimes  applied  to  the 
turf,  or  surface  of  the  ground,  which  is  pared 
off  for  burning.  It  also  signifies  a  large  flat 
paving  stone,  and  the  furrow-slice  of  ley  lands, 
when    under   the  plough.      See   Paring  and 

BURXINO. 

FLAIL  (I^t.  flagellum).  A  wooden  imple- 
ment for  thrashing  corn  by  hand.  It  anciently 
was  truly  a  whip,  and  sometimes  had  two  or 
more  lashes  :  the  modern  flail  consists  of  the 
handle  or  handstafT,  which  the  labourer  holds 
in  his  hand,  and  uses  as  a  lever,  to  raise  up 
and  bring  down  the  swiple,  or  part  which  strikes 
the  corn,  and  beats  out  the  grain  and  chaff  from 
the  straw.  The  swiple  is  joined  to  the  hand-staff 
by  the  caplins  or  couplings,  which  are  thongs 
of  untanned  leather,  and  sometimes  the  skins 
of  eels  or  of  other  fish.  These  thongs  are 
passed  through  holes  in  the  ends  of  the  handle 
and  swiple,  and  made  fast  by  being  sewed  to- 
gether. The  whip-flail  was  in  use  among  the 
Romans,  though  the  prevailing  mode  of  sepa- 
rating corn  from  straw  among  the  nations  of 
482 


antiquity  was  by  treading  it  out  with  cattle  In 
the  open  air.  (See  Agriculture.)  In  the 
colder  parts  of  Europe,  this  could  never  hav« 
been  generally  the  case,  for  obvious  reasons  ; 
and  hence  the  flail  was  the  universal  thrashing 
implement  till  the  introduction  of  the  thrashing 
machine,  which  is  now  taking  the  place  of  the 
flail  in  all  countries  where  capitalists  engage  in 
farming.     See  Thrashing  Machine. 

FLANDERS,  the  Agriculture  of.  The 
mode  of  tillage  adopted  by  the  cultivators  of 
Flanders  has  long  and  beneficially  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  British  farmer;  who,  what 
ever  may  be  his  superiority  to  the  Fleming  in 
most  respects,  yet  in  some  particular  instances 
has  learnt,  and  in  others  (such  as  in  the  careful 
husbanding  and  preparation  of  manure,  the 
succession  of  crops,  the  deepening  of  the  soil, 
&c.,  )  may  still  profitably  imitate  the  practices 
of  the  small  industrious  cultivators  of  Flan- 
ders. The  best  report  of  the  modern  agricul- 
ture of  the  Flemish  farmers  is  that  drawn  up 
for  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful 
Knowledge,  by  the  Rev.  W.  Rham,  from  which, 
and  from  his  paper  in  the  Journ.  of  Roy.  Agr, 
Soc.  of  Eng.  vol.  ii.  the  chief  facts  of  this  arti- 
cle are  obtained.  The  climate  of  Flanders 
pretty  closely  resembles  that  of  Kent  and  Es- 
sex in  England  :  it  is,  however,  rather  warmer 
in  summer,  and  the  snow  lies  longer  in  winter. 
The  soil  is  various ;  there  are  extensive  dis- 
tricts of  sand  which  are  brought  into  cultiva- 
tion by  dressing  them  with  mud.  In  propor- 
tion to  the  quantity  of  the  mud,  which  is  a  very 
fine  clay,  a  portion  of  decayed  shells  and  or- 
ganic matter,  the  soil  is  more  or  less  fertile; 
and  when  the  mud  enters  into  it  in  considera- 
ble proportion,  it  forms  a  rich  compact  loam. 
In  many  places  there  are  alternate  narrow 
strata  of  sand  and  loam,  which,  being  mixed 
together,  form  a  very  productive  soil.  A  small 
portion  of  carbonate  of  lime  produced  from  the 
decomposition  of  sea  shells,  is  found  in  the  mud 
when  it  is  analyzed;  but  there  is  no  chalk, nor 
marl,  in  any  portion  of  this  coast. 

The  industry  of  the  tenants  of  these  sands  is 
proverbial.  The  poor  sandy  heaths  which 
have  been  converted  into  productive  farms, 
evince  their  indefatigable  industry  and  perse- 
verance. The  sand  in  the  Campine  can  be 
compared  to  nothing  but  the  sands  on  the  sea- 
shore, which  they  probably  were  originally.  It 
is  highly  interesting  to  follow  step  by  step,  the 
progress  of  improvement.  Here  you  see  a 
cottage  and  rude  cow-shed,  erected  on  a  spot 
of  the  most  unpromising  aspect.  The  loose 
white  sand,  blown  into  irregular  mounds,  is 
merely  kept  together  by  the  roots  of  the  heath ; 
a  small  spot  only  is  levelled,  and  surrounded 
by  a  ditch.  Part  of  this  is  covered  with  youn^, 
broom ;  another  part  is  covered  with  potatoes ; 
and  perhaps  a  small  patch  of  diminutive  clover 
may  show  itself;  but  there  is  a  heap  of  dung 
and  compost  forming.  The  urine  of  the  cow 
is  collected  in  a  small  tank,  or,  perhaps,  in  a 
cask  sunk  in  the  earth ;  and  this  is  the  nucleus 
from  which,  in  a  few  years,  a  little  farm  will 
spread  around. 

Of  their  use  of  liquid  manure,  I  shall  hereafler, 
under  that  head,  have  occasion  to  speak.  Their 
implements  of  husbandry  are  much  inferior 


FLANDERS. 


FLANI^RS. 


to  the  English.  They  employ,  however,  the 
spade  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  is  done  in 
England ;  thus  it  is  a  common  practice  with 
them  to  deepen  the  trenches  between  the  lands 
with  the  spade,  and  spread  the  earth  over  the 
surface  of  the  ground  ;  by  this  means  the  land 
is  gradually  completely  trenched,  and  the  im- 
mediate good  effect  by  keeping  the  soil  of  the 
field  dry  is  very  considerable. 

Their  rotation  of  crops  on  sandy  soils  is 
commonly,  1.  Flax  and  carrots ;  2.  Rye  and 
turnips  ;  3.  Rye  and  turnips ;  4.  Potatoes,  peas, 
and  carrots;  6.  Oats  and  rye;  6.  Clover;  7. 
Rye,  or  barley  and  turnips;  8.  Turnips,  oats, 
and  potatoes;  9.  Flax  and  carrots;  10.  Rye 
and  turnips. 

In  a  stiff  loam  near  Alost,  the  following  rota- 
tion is  adopted :  1.  Potatoes,  with  20  tons  of 
dung  per  acre  ;  2.  Wheat,  with  3^  tons  and  50 
barrels  of  urine  ;  3.  Flax,  with  12  ions  of  dung, 
60  barrels  of  urine,  and  6  cwt.  of  rape-cake  ;  4. 
Clover,  with  20  bushels  of  wood-ashes  ;  5.  Rye, 
with  8  tons  of  dung,  and  50  barrels  of  urine. 
6.  Oats,  with  50  barrels  of  urine;  7.  Duck- 
wheat  without  manure. 

They  grow  large  quantities  of  hemp  and 
tobacco ;  and  are  large  exporters  of  seeds  of 
all  kinds.  With  such  exhausting  crops,  there- 
fore, an  attention  to  the  careful  saving  of  all 
kinds  of  manure  is  absolutely  essential  to  the 
preservation  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil ;  and  no 
cultivators  are  more  particular  in  this  respect 
than  those  of  Flanders. 

They  keep  large  quantities  of  cattle.  "A 
beast  for  every  three  acres  of  land  is  a  com- 
mon proportion  ;  and  in  very  small  occupa- 
tions, where  much  spade  husbandry  is  used, 
the  proportion  is  still  greater.  These  are 
maintained  on  turnips,  potatoes,  carrots,  dec, 
which  are  chopped  together  in  a  tub,  with 
beans,  r}'e,  or  buckwheat  meal,  and  mixed 
with  boiling  water  (which  they  call  brassin), 
about  two  pails  full  are  given  each  cow. 

"The  horses  of  Flanders  have  been  long 
noted  for  their  bulk.  Flanders  mares  were  at 
one  time  in  request  for  the  heavy  town  car- 
riages of  the  nobility  and  men  of  fortune  in 
England  and  on  the  continent  Since  the  im- 
provement in  the  roads,  and  in  the  paving  of 
streets,  activity  has  been  preferred  to  strength, 
and  the  English  carriage  horses  now  partake 
more  of  the  breed  of  hunters,  and  are  more 
nearly  allied  to  full  blood.  The  Flanders 
horses  are  probably  the  same  at  this  time  as 
they  were  a  century  ago ;  but  compared  with 
the  present  breeds  of  coach  and  cart-horses  in 
England  they  are  inferior.  They  are  in  gene- 
ral large  in  the  carcass,  and  pretty  clean  in  the 
leg;  patient  and  enduring,  if  not  too  much 
hurried.  They  are  steady  in  the  collar,  and 
good  at  a  dead  pull,  in  consequence  of  their 
weight;  but  they  are  very  heavy  in  the  fore- 
hand, inclined  to  get  fat,and  deficient  in  activity. 
Fhey  fall  off  in  the  rump,  and  the  hips  stand 
out  too  much  from  the  ribs.  The  worst  point 
in  most  of  them  is  the  setting  on  of  the  tail, 
which  is  low,  and  pointing  downwards.  These 
are  the  general  characters  of  the  real  Flemish  | 
horse,  A  more  useful  kind  of  horse,  although  ' 
not  so  sleek,  is  found  in  the  provinces  of  Bra- ' 
kant  and  Namur,  where  they  draw  heavy  loads  i 


of  stones  and  coal  over  bad  roads.  The  feet 
of  the  Flemish  horses  are  generally  flat,  de- 
noting the  moist  pastures  in  which  they  are 
fed  when  young,  or  the  dung  of  the  stables  in 
which  they  have  stood  :  for  many  of  them  have 
never  been  turned  out  loose,  and  have  been 
reared  and  fed  in  the  stable  as  the  cows  are. 
This  will  account  for  the  want  of  vigour  and 
muscle,  as  well  as  for  the  propensity  to  get  fat. 
The  food  of  the  farmer's  horses  is  not  calcu- 
lated to  produce  hard  flesh :  green  clover  in 
summer,  and  roots  with  cut  straw  in  winter, 
are  the  chief  provender." 

Of  the  spade-husbandry  of  Flanders,  the  fol- 
lowing description  is  given  by  the  author  whom 
I  have  already  quoted  so  freely: — 

"The  husbandry  of  the  whole  of  the  north- 
eastern part  of  East  Flanders,  where  the  soil  is 
a  good  sandy  loam,  may  be  considered  as  a 
mixed  cultivation,  partly  by  the  plough,  and 
partly  by  the  spade.  Without  the  spade,  it 
would  be  impossible  to  give  that  finish  to  the 
land,  after  it  is  sown,  which  makes  it  appear 
so  like  a  garden,  and  which  is  the  chief  cause 
of  the  more  certain  vegetation  of  the  seed. 
There  is  great  saving  of  seed  by  this  practice, 
as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  the  quantity 
usually  sown  in  Flanders  with  that  which  is 
required  in  other  countries,  where  the  spade  is 
more  sparingly  used.  In  large  farms  in  Engw 
land,  the  spade  is  only  used  to  dig  out  water- 
furrows,  and  to  turn  heaps  of  earth,  which  are 
made  into  composts  with  different  kinds  of 
manure.  But  in  Flanders,  where  the  land  is 
usually  laid  in  stitches  of  about  six  or  seven 
feet  wide,  the  intervals  are  always  dug  out  with 
the  spade,  and  the  earth  spread  evenly  {sifted^ 
as  they  call  it)  over  the  seed  which  has  been 
harrowed  in.  The  earth  may  not  be  of  a  fer- 
tile nature  below  the  immediate  surface ;  some- 
times it  is  only  a  poor  sand,  or  a  hard  till ;  but 
this  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  dug  out. 
If  it  is  very  light  and  poor,  a  good  soaking  with 
urine,  a  few  days  before  it  is  dug  out,  will  im- 
part sufficient  fertility  to  it.  If  it  is  very  stiff, 
the  clods  must  be  broken  as  small  as  possible 
in  the  digging,  as  is  done  when  stiff  ground  is 
trenched  in  gardens  ;  and  what  is  left  unbroken  ^ 
on  the  surface,  and  not  pulverized  by  passing 
the  traineau  (a  kind  of  heavy  broad  wooden 
sledge,  made  of  beams  of  wood  and  boards) 
over  it,  will  inevitably  be  reduced  to  a  powder 
by  the  frost  in  winter.  Thus  the  land  is  not 
only  perfectly  drained,  but  the  seed,  being  co- 
vered by  an  inch  or  more  of  earth,  is  placed 
out  of  the  reach  of  birds,  without  danger  of 
being  buried  too  deep.  The  soil  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  trench  contains  few  seeds  of  weeds, 
and  the  root-weeds  are  necessarily  cleaned  out 
in  the  spreading.  This  earth,  spread  over  the 
surface  of  the  land,  keeps  it  clean,  by  burying 
the  smaller  seeds,  which  the  harrows  may  have 
brought  to  the  surface,  and  preventing  their 
vegetating.  It  }^  for  this  reason  that  the  roller, 
or  the  traineau,  is  made  to  press  the  surface,  or 
that,  in  very  light  soils,  men  and  women  tread 
it  regularly  with  their  feet,  as  gardeners  do 
after  they  have  sown  their  beds.  The  trench, 
which  is  thus  dug,  is  a  foot  wide,  or,  more  pro- 
perly, one-sixth  part  of  the  width  of  the  stitch, 
or  bed;    and  the  depth  is  from  a  foot  to  J 8 

483 


FLAX. 


FLAX,  COMMON 


inches,  according  to  the  soil.  Thus,  a  layer 
of  earth,  about  two  inches  d^ep,  at  least,  is 
thrown  over  the  seed,  which  has  been  sown  on 
a  surface  made  even  by  the  small  harrows,  or 
the  bush-harrow.  These  two  inches  gradually 
incorporate  with  the  soil  below ;  and  thus,  at 
every  such  operation,  the  soil  is  deepened  so 
much. 

The  trenches  are  so  arranged,  that  every 
year  a  fresh  portion  of  the  ground  is  dug  out, 
and  in  six  years  the  whole  land  will  have  been 
dug  to  the  depth  of  at  least  one  foot.  In  the 
next  course,  the  trench  is  dug  a  few  inches 
deeper,  which  brings  up  a  little  of  the  subsoil; 
and,  after  four  or  five  such  courses  of  trench- 
ing, the  whole  soil  comes  to  be  of  a  uniform 
quality  to  the  depth  of  18  or  20  inches  ;  a  most 
important  circumstance  to  the  growth  of  flax, 
potatoes,  and  carrots,  all  of  which  are  very 
profitable  crops  to  the  farmer,  and  the  last  tw© 
indispensable  to  the  maintenance  of  the  la- 
bourers and  the  cattle.  In  the  Waes  country, 
they  proceed  differently,  for  they  have  a  soil 
which,  by  repeated  trenchings,  has  long  been 
uniform  in  quality  to  the  required  depth.  There 
they  regularly  trench  one-sixth  part  of  the  land 
every  year,  and  plant  it  with  potatoes,  or  sow 
carrots  in  it. 

"From  this  outline  of  Flemish  husbandry," 
concludes  Mr.  Rham,  "  the  general  principles 
which  pervade  the  whole  system  are  easily 
discovered.  The  garden  has  evidently  been 
the  model  for  the  operations  of  the  farm.  The 
spade  has  originally  been  the  chief  instrument 
of  cultivation ;  and  when  a  greater  extent  of 
farms  necessarily  introduced  the  plough,  the 
favourite  spade  was  not  entirely  laid  aside.  A 
Flemish  farm  of  40  or  50  acres  must  still  be 
looked  upon  as  an  enlarged  garden ;  and  if  a 
comparison  is  instituted  with  the  cultivation 
of  land  in  England,  we  can  only  compare  the 
Flemish  husbandry,  as  far  as  tillage  is  con- 
cerned, with  those  large  unenclosed  gardens 
which  are  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lon- 
don, where  the  common  vegetables  are  raised 
which  supply  the  markets ;  where  green  crops 
are  cut  early  for  horses  and  cows  kept  in  Lon- 
don ;  and  where  the  soil  is  continually  enriched 
by  tne  manure  which  is  brought  every  time  a 
cart  returns  from  having  carried  out  the  pro- 
duce. In  these  grounds,  the  system  is  similar 
to  the  Flemish — deep  digging,  or  trenching, 
abundant  manuring,  and  a  rapid  succession  of 
crops."  (Flemish  Husb.;  Journ.  of  Roy.  Jlgr.  Soc. 
of  Ene;.  vol.  ii.  p.  43.) 

FLAX  (Lat.  Linum,  from  the  Celtic  word 
Uin,  a  thread  ;  whence  the  Greek  Ixnon,  the  Ital. 
and  Span,  lino,  and  Fr.  lin).  An  extensive 
genus  of  plants,  of  which  more  than  70  species 
are  enumerated  by  botanists.  It  belongs  to  the 
natural  order  Linacece.  The  plants  are  distin- 
guished by  the  tenacity  of  their  fibres,  the  mu- 
ciiage  of  their  seeds,  and,  generally,  by  the 
beauty  of  their  flowers. 

Four  species  only  are  indigenous  to  England, 
of  which  the  common  flax  (X.  usitatissimum)  to 
be  next  noticed,  is  the  most  important  and  use- 
ful. As  ornamental  plants,  they  are  well  worth 
cultivating  in  every  collection.  The  green- 
house and  frame  kinds  grow  best  in  a  mixture 
of  loam  and  peats ;  the  hardy  shrubby  kinds 
484 


do  well  in  any  light  soil.  The  hardy  herba^ 
ceous  species  are  well  suited  for  ornamenting 
flower-borders ;  but  the  dwarf  kinds  do  best  on 
rock-work,  or  in  pots,  that  they  may  be  pro- 
tected by  a  frame  in  frosty  or  very  wet  wea- 
ther ;  they  may  be  increased  by  divisions  of 
the  root,  by  cuttings,  or  by  seeds.  The  annual 
and  biennial  species  should  be  sown  in  the 
open  ground  in  April. — 1.  Common  flax  (L. 
usitatissimum')  is  an  annual,  rising  one  to 
two  feet  high,  with  a  smooth,  slender,  upright 
stem,  branched  near  the  top,  narrow  lanceolate 
leaves,  rather  glaucous,  blowing  in  July  a 
corymbose  panicle  of  pale  purplish-blue  flow- 
ers. The  testa  or  skin  of  the  seed  abounds 
with  mucilage  ;  the  cotyledons  with  oil,  easily 
procured  by  pressure.  The  mucilage  extracted 
by  hot  water  is  demulcent,  the  oil  a  mild  laxa- 
tive. The  use  of  linseed  oil  in  the  arts  is  very 
extensive.    2.  Perennial  blue  flax  (L.perenne), 

3.  Narrow-leaved  pale  flax  (X.  anguslifolium). 

4.  Purging  flax  (Z.  catharticum).  The  first  and 
fourth  species  are  mentioned  further  in  detail 
in  articles  which  follow.  The  others  require 
little  notice  ;  they  are  found  growing  in  sandy 
or  chalky  soils,  and  are  perennial,  flowering  in 
June  or  July. 

FLAX,  BASTARD   TOAD.     See  Bastabd 
Toad-flax. 

FLAX,  COMMON  (Sax.  pieax  or  Flex,  Ger. 
flachs ;  Dutch,  vlasch).  The  fibre  of  the  Linum 
usitatissimum,  which,  after  undergoing  the  pro- 
cess of  washing,  beating,  and  other  operations, 
is  spun  into  thread,  and  woven  into  linen  tex- 
tures, lace,  &c.  The  seed  is  also  crushed  for 
oil ;  and  the  refuse  husk,  after  the  oil  is  ex- 
pressed, is  made  into  oilcake  for  cattle.  The 
fibres  of  the  bark  of  this  important  plant  have 
been  applied  to  the  manufacture  of  thread  and 
cloth  in  this  and  other  countries  from  the  re- 
motest periods.  "  Flax,"  says  Professor  Low, 
"  being  a  native  plant,  is  sufliciently  hardy  to 
endure  the  climate  of  this  and  other  northern 
countries.  It  has,  indeed,  a  wide  range  of  tem- 
perature, being  cultivated,  and  for  the  like 
purposes,  from  Egypt  almost  to  the  polar  cir- 
cle." The  wild  flax  grows  in  corn-fields,  and 
gravelly  or  sandy  pastures ;  but,  when  culti- 
vated, it  thrives  most  luxuriantly  in  deep  rich 
mould,  but  particularly  in  untilled  alluvial  soils. 
Its  roots  sink  very  deep  when  it  has  room  ; 
and  it  is  generally  said  that  the  roots  of  good 
flax  should  strike  into  the  soil  to  a  depth  equal 
to  half  the  length,  at  least,  of  the  stem  above 
ground.  A  porous  subsoil,  or  one  that  is  well 
drained,  is  therefore  essential.  In  Flanders, 
flax  may  be  considered  as  a  staple  commodity, 
and  a  great  portion  of  the  population  of  that 
country  is  employed  in  preparing  large  quan- 
tities for  exportation ;  the  cultivation  and  pre- 
paring of  it,  is,  therefore,  most  perfectly  under- 
stood, and  the  Dutch  flax  is  always  well  dressed, 
and  of  the  finest  quality.  The  premiums  given 
by  the  legislature  of  England  to  force  the 
cultivation  of  flax  have  had  very  little  effect,  it 
being  one  of  the  most  exhausting  crops  when 
allowed  to  ripen  its  seed ;  and  its  culture  being 
found  to  be  much  less  profitable  than  corn. 
I  The  native  growth  of  flax  being  quite  insuffi- 
I  cient  to  the  demand  for  home  consumption,  &c., 
I  England  has  long  been  in  the  habit  of  import;. 


FLAX,  COMMON. 


hig  a  large  proportion  of  her  supplies.  The 
principal  countries  from  whence  these  are  ob- 
tained are  Russia,  the  Netherlands,  Prussia, 
and  France,  with  small  quantities  from  Ame- 
rica, ItcMy,  New  South  Wales,  &c.  The  duty 
in  England  is  at  present  Id.  per  cwt. 

In  Ireland,  flax  usually  follows  potatoes.  In 
Scotland,  land  that  has  been  several  years  in 
pasture,  and  from  which  one  crop  of  grain  has 
been  taken,  is  preferred.  In  Flanders,  the  crops 
which  immediately  precede  flax,  in  light  soils, 
are  barley  or  rye,  with  turnips  after  them  the 
same  year.  All  these  crops  are  more  highly 
manured  than  usual,  and  before  the  flax-seed 
is  sown,  peat  ashes,  at  the  rate  of  30  bushels 
per  acre,  are  spread  and  harrowed  in,  and  a 
few  days  afterwards  10  hogsheads  of  strong 
liquid  manure  is  poured  regularly  over  the 
land,  and  left  for  a  week  or  10  days  to  soak 
thoroughly  into  the  soil.  The  seed  is  then 
sown  very  abundantly  ;  cloudy  or  showery 
weather  is  the  time  chosen  ;  the  quantity 
varies,  but  the  general  proportion  is  160  lbs. 
to  the  acre.  It  is  lightly  covered  in  by  a  bush- 
harrow,  drawn  over  the  land,  for  if  the  seed 
were  buried  more  than  half  an  inch  deep  it 
would  prevent  its  vegetating.  The  choice  of 
seed  requires  great  care  and  circumspection: 
good  fresh  seed  should  be  of  a  bright  colour, 
with  a  sweet  taste,  and  it  will  feel  smooth, 
slippery,  and  plump,  and,  on  being  broken, 
ihould  appear  of«a  greenish  yellow  colour,  and 
«hould  sink  in  water.  Genuine  seed  will 
average  18  lbs.  per  peck,  but  good  Riga  seed 
is  somewhat  lighter.  Hand  weeding  should  be 
attended  to  when  the  stems  are  from  two  to 
three  inches  above  the  surface,  for  when  the 
flax  is  higher,  it  is  liable  to  be  injured  by  the 
weeders.  The  proper  time  for  pulling  flax, 
when  not  intended  for  seed,  is  when  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  stalk  is  observed  to  turn  yellow, 
and  to  lose  the  leaves.  If  intended  for  seed, 
the  flax  should  not  be  pulled  until  the  capsules 
have  acquired  a  brown  colour,  and  the  points 
have  become  firm,  and  so  sharp  as  to  fix  them- 
selves in  the  hand  when  pressed,  and  when 
nearly  all  the  leaves  and  foliage  have  withered 
and  fallen  from  the  stem. 

When  flax  is  raised  both  for  the  seed  and 
stalk,  it  is  submitted  to  an  operation  called 
rippling,  M'hich  consists  in  separating  the  seed 
from  the  stalk,  by  passing  the  flax  through  a 
kind  of  comb,  before  it  is  steeped  in  water. 
The  iron  teeth  of  these  combs  are  placed  so 
close  together  that  the  heads  cannot  pass 
through,  and  are  consequently  pulled  off.  An- 
other practice  is  to  beat  out  the  seed  in  the 
field  with  a  piece  of  wood,  or  a  heavier  stick 
than  that  of  the  common  flail,  and  then  to  sift 
the  seed  into  a  large  sheet.  In  preparing  flax 
for  the  nmnufacturer,  the  first  operation  it  un- 
dergoes is  that  of  steeping  it  in  water,  to  loosen 
the  bark  and  separate  it  from  the  stalk ;  for  this 
purpose  it  is  tied  into  small  bundles,  and  then 
placed  in  a  pond  or  reservoir  of  soft  water. 
The  sheaves  are  slightly  covered  with  straw, 
fern,  rushes,  or  coarse  herbage  (kept  down  by 
stones  or  heavy  bodies),  to  prevent  the  flax 
from  being  discoloured  by  the  sun.  In  the 
course  of  seven  or  eight  days  the  rind  will  be 
suficiently   loosened,  and  the  flax    must  be  | 


FLAX,  PURGING. 

j  taken  out  of  the  water  and  spread  out  to  dry. 
Phillips  says  there  is  an  act  of  parliament  in 
I  force,  which  forbids  the  steeping  of  flax  iu 
'  rivers,  or  any  waters  where  cattle  are  accus- 
tomed to  drink,  as  it  is  found  to  communicate 
a  poison  destructive  to  the  cattle  which  drink 
of  it,  and  to  the  fish  which  live  in  such  waters. 
The  odour  it  exhales  is  most  disagreeable,  and 
has  often  been  productive  of  fever.  Another 
but  far  more  tedious  process,  resorted  to  for 
separating  the  bark  from  the  stalk,  is  called 
dew  retting,  and  consists  in  spreading  the  flax 
upon  grass  lands,  and  exposing  it  to  the  con- 
stant action  of  rain  and  dew.  Hot  water  and 
soft  soap  are  said  to  decorticate  the  stalk  in  a 
few  hours.  Grassing  or  bleaching  the  flax  on 
old  grass  ground  is  the  next  operation,  and  is  in- 
tended to  rectify  any  defect  in  the  steeping. 
The  last  process  is  that  of  bruising  and  scutch- 
ing, previous  to  which  it  should  be  mode- 
rately dried.  The  woody  part  of  the  stem  was 
formerly  beaten  or  bruised  with  a  hand  mallet ; 
but  this  operation  is  now  more  effectually  per- 
formed by  machinery.  Flax-mills,  with  suita- 
ble wheels  and  rollers,  now  greatly  facilitate 
the  processes  of  bruising  and  scutching.  Mr. 
James  Durno  (then  British  consul  at  Munich) 
gives  an  interesting  account  in  the  sixth  volume 
of  the  Com.  to  Board  ofJigr.  p.  75,  of  "the  mode 
of  cultivating  flax  and  hemp  in  Russia,  Prussia, 
and  Poland ;"  and  Mr.  Robert  Somerville,  of 
Haddington,  has  also  a  very  excellent  paper  in 
the  same  volume  (p.  84),  urging  very  strenu- 
ously the  necessity  for  a  more  general  home 
cultivation  of  those  essential  articles,  hemp 
and  flax,  and  suggesting  improvements  in  the 
processes  of  dressing,  Ac,  many  of  which 
have  since  been  carried  out.  {Brit.  Hvub.  vol. 
iii.  p.  42 ;  Quart.  Joum,  Jgr»  voL  iv.  p.  159 ; 
M*Culloch'$  Com.  Did.) 

In  the  United  States  flax,  which  was  once, 
considered  a  crop  so  indispensable  among  the 
crops  of  our  farmers,  is  now  but  little  cul- 
tivated; its  linty  product  being  superseded  by 
the  cotton  of  the  South.  It  is  a  crop  which  in- 
volves a  good  deal  of  troublesome  labour,  and, 
without  being  profitable,  is  generally  believed 
to  be  injurious  to  the  soil ;  an  opinion  as  old 
as  the  time  of  Virgil, — who  says  "Urit  enim  * 
Lijri  campum  seges,  urit  avenae." — Georg.  1,71. 
The  seeds,  besides  yielding  a  most  valuable 
oil,  afford  one  of  the  best  mucilaginous  drinks 
for  coughs,  and  dysenteric  affections.  Two  or 
three  other  species  are  enumerated  in  the 
United  States.     (Fhr.  Cestrica.) 

Quite  recently  the  old  brake  for  preparing 
flax-fibre  has  been  superseded  by  ingenious 
machines,  consisting  generally  of  an  adapta- 
tion of  fluted  rollers,  which  so  break  the 
woody  core  or  "boon"  as  to  render  it  com- 
paratively easy  to  separate  the  '*  shives,"  and 
leave  the  tough  fibre  finely  subdivided  and 
prepared  for  the  manufacturer.  Patent 
rights  were  secured  in  1862,  by  Sanford  and 
Mallory,  of  New  York,  for  rare  inventions  for 
breaking  and  cleaving,  dressing,  scutching, 
cleaning  and  separating  the  fibres  of  the  flax- 
plant.  Others  in  Ohio  and  elsewhere  have 
also  obtained  patents  for  similar  purposes. 
A  great  stimulus  was  given  to  flax-culture 
during  the  late  civil  war,  when  the  supply  of 
2  82  486 


FLAX-SEED. 


FLEECE. 


cotton  from  the  Southern  States  was  cut  off.  ' 
See  Fatent-OJice  Reports  for  18ti2,  etc. 

FLAX-SEED.    See  Lixskkd. 

FLAX,  WILD  (L.  Virginianum).  A  plant 
growing  one  to  two  feet  high,  often  with  three 
or  four  slender  and  angular  stems  from  the 
same  root,  bearing  pale  yellow  Oowers,  is  often 
found  in  the  old  fields  and  open  woodlands  of 
the  Middle  States.  Authors  generally  describe  i 
the  root  of  the  American  wild  flax  as  annual, 
but  Muhlcnbnr^,  Bigelow,  and  Darlington  ; 
thinh  it  perennial.     {Flor,  Cettrica.)  \ 

FLEA  (Putex).  The  flea  tribe  (Pulicida) 
was  placed  among  the  bugs  (or  Hemiptera)  by 
Fabricius.  These  very  annoying  insects  are 
destitute  of  wings,  have  a  mouth  fitted  for  suc- 
tion, and  are  provided  with  several  lancet-like 
pieces  for  making  punctures.  They  undergo 
a  complete  transformation ;  their  larva;  are 
worm-like  and  without  feet ;  and  their  pupa* 
have  the  legs  free.  The  flea  may  almost  be 
considered  as  a  wingless  kind  of  fly.  Its  pro- 
boscis seems  to  be  intermediate  in  its  forma- 
tion between  that  of  flies  and  bugs;  its  antennae 
are  concealed  in  holes  in  the  sides  of  its  head, 
like  those  of  certain  water-bugs,  which  they 
aomewhat  resemble  in  shape ;  whilst  the  trans- 
formations of  the  flea  are  not  very  much  unlike 
those  of  the  flies,  whose  maggots  cast  ofl"  their 
skins  on  becoming  pupre.     (Harris.) 

Want  of  cleanliness  contributes  greatly  to 
the  multiplication  of  fleas,  and  hence  the  pro- 
priety of  the  frequent  removal  of  straw  and 
rubbish  from  about  houses  and  yards,  and  re- 
eoorse  to  sweeping  of  floors,  especially  when 
earpeled.  Various  devices  are  adopted  for  the 
parpojte  of  expelling  fleas.  Frequent  sprinkling 
of  a  room  with  a  simple  decoction  of  worm- 
wood, or  sassafras,  will  soon  extirpate  the 
whole  breed  of  these  troublesome  vermin  ;  and 
the  best  remedy  to  expel  them  from  bed-clothes, 
is  a  bag  filled  with  dry  moss,  the  odour  of  which 
is  to  them  extremely  offensive.  Others  cover 
the  floors  of  the  rooms  where  fleas  abound 
with  the  leaves  of  the  alder  tree,  while  the  dew 
is  on  the  foliage,  to  which  these  insects  fondly 
adhere,  and  thus  may  be  easily  destroyed  Fu- 
migation with  the  leaves  of  pennyroyal,  or  the 
iresh  gathered  foliage  of  that  plant,  sewed  up 
Uk  a  bag,  and  laid  in  the  bed,  are  also  remedies 
pointed  out  for  the  expulsion  of  fleas.  Sprinkle 
with  camphorated  whisky  or  other  ardent 
spirits. 

Dogs  and  cats  may  be  eflfectually  secured 
from  the  persecutions  of  these  vermin,  by  oc- 
cationally  anoiating  their  skin  with  sweet  oil. 
The  fleas  and  lice  of  poultry  are  destroyed 
by  a  decoction  of  sassafras  wood.  (Domestic 
Emcye.) 

FLEABANE  (Erizeron,  from  «r,  spring; 
And  gtrony  an  old  man ;  the  plants  become  old 
in  the  beginning  of  the  season).  This  exten- 
sive genus  comprehends  many  exceedingly 
handsome  species,  varying  from  a  few  inches 
to  two  feet  or  more  high,  and  producing  a 
great  and  copious  display  of  blossom;  they 
will  grow  in  almost  any  soil,  and  are  increased 
m'ith  facility  from  either  seeds  or  divisions. 
The  fleabane  has  lost  its  reputation  both  for 
banishing  fleas  and  insects  by  its  smell,  and 
answering  other  sunerstitious  incantations,  for 
486 


which  it  was  celebrated  in  former  times.  Ther* 
are  four  indigenous  species.  The  Canada 
fleabane  {E.  Canadensis),  and  blue  fleabane  (jB, 
acris),  which  are  diuretic.  The  alpine  flea- 
bane  (E.  alpinus),  and  pale-rayed  mountain 
fleabane  (E.  uuijiorus.)  The  first  is  annual 
the  second  biennial,  the  third  and  fourth 
perennial. 

Several  species  are  found  in  the  United 
States,  among  which  are  the  E.  Canadensis, 
called  Horse-'weed,  and  Butter-weed,  an  annual 
common  in  fields  and  road-sides  in  the  Middle 
States,  where  it  flowers  in  August  and  seeds  in 
September  and  October.  E.  strigosus,  called 
Fleabane  and  Daisy,  a  very  common  and  worth- 
less weed  in  the  Middle  States,  where  it  fre- 
quents the  pastures,  flowering  in  June  and 
July,  and  maturing  its  seed  in  September.  It 
is  particularly  injurious  to  the  first  crop  of  up)- 
land  meadows,  after  a  course  of  grain  crops. 
E.  Philadelphicus.  E.  Pulchellus,  or  Handsome 
Erigeron.  E.  Heterophyllus  or  various- leaved 
Erigeron,  together  with  some  eight  or  ten  addi- 
tional species.     See  Daist.    (Fhr.  Ceslrica.) 

FLEABANE,  COMMON  (Inula  dysenterica). 
This  plant  is  very  abundant  in  clear  ditches 
and  in  watery  places  about  road-sides.  It  is  a 
perennial,  with  a  creeping  root ;  herb  more  or 
less  woolly  or  cottony,  glutinous,  with  a  pecu- 
liar acid  aromatic  scent,  somewhat  like  the 
flavour  of  peaches.  The  stem  is  12  or  18 
inches  high,  branched  and  leafy,  corymbose  at 
the  summit,  with  many  bright  yellow  flowers. 
Linnaeus  records,  on  the  authority  of  General 
Keith,  that  the  use  of  this  plant  cured  the  Rus- 
sian array  of  dysentery ; — hence  the  specifio 
name.  Its  medical  properties,  however,  ar© 
simply  diuretic.  The  small  fleabane  (Lpulica- 
1-ia),  is  an  annual,  and  is  said  to  banish  insects 
by  its  smell.  It  grows  on  moist  sandy  spots, 
especially  where  water  has  stagnated  during 
winter.  There  is  another  species,  the  sam- 
phire-leaved fleabane,  which  grows  on  the  sear 
coast,  in  a  muddy  soil.  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p. 
440—443.) 

FLEABANE,  GREAT.  Ploughman's  Spike- 
nard.    See  Spikexard. 

FLE  A-BEETLE  (Haltica).  Several  of  these 
have  been  described  among  the  insects  de- 
structive to  the  cucumber.  Some  others 
known  in  the  United  States  and  described  by 
Dr.  Harris,  will  be  referred  to  under  different 
heads.     See  Turnip  Flt,  Vine  Beetle,  &c. 

FLEAM.  In  farriery,  an  instrument  used 
for  letting  blood  in  horses  or  other  animals. 

FLEA-WORT  (Plantago).  A  genus,  the 
greater  number  of  the  species  of  which  are 
mere  weeds,  of  the  easiest  culture  and  propa- 
gation.   See  Plantain. 

FLECKED.  A  provincial  term  used  to  sig^ 
nify  pied,  as  cattle. 

FLEECE.  The  woolly  covering  shorn  from 
off"  the  body  of  the  sheep.  Mr.  James  Dickson 
of  Edinburgh  contributed  a  very  able  prize 
essay  to  the  Highland  Society  (Trans,  vol.  vi 
p.  205),  "on  the  treatment  of  sheep,  with  a 
view  to  the  improvement  of  the  fleece."  The 
earliest  and  rudest  method  of  obtaining  the 
fleece  was  to  drive  the  flocks  hastily  through 
a  narrow  passage,  when  by  their  pressure 
against  each  other  the  greater  part  of  the  fleece 


FLEMISH    HUSBANDRY. 

was  loosened,  or  completely  detached.   To  this 

succeeded  another  more  inhuman  mode.    The 

sheep  was  caught,  and  the  fleece  pulled  from 

its  back.    This  barbarous  practice  prevailed 

to  a  very  recent  date  in  the  Orkney  Islands. 

In  England  the  average  value  of  the  fleece  in 

315  was  6r/.  (7s.  6d.  of  the  present  money), 

ing  nearly  half  as  much  as  the  value  of  the 

rcass.     (The  Sheep,  Lib.  of  Ute.  Know.  p.  3,3, 

5.)  See  Hair,  Sheep-Sheahixg,  and  Wool. 

FLEMISH  HUSBANDRY.    See  Flaxders, 

GRICULTUHE    OF. 

FLESH.  Muscular  flesh,  which  is  too  well 
known  to  need  any  particular  description,  is 
composed  of  a  number  of  white  or  red  fibres, 
compounded  of  still  smaller  fibres.  It  is  united 
in  ordinary  cases  with  a  variety  of  substances, 
such  as  blood,  fat,  ligament,  sinew,  and  nerves. 
It  has  been  analysed  by  M.  Berzelius  who 
found  in  it — 

Parti. 

Fibrin  vessels  and  nenrei      .....  15-8 

Cellular  matter      .---..-  Id 

Muriate  and  lactate  of  soda           ....  ISO 

Albumen  and  colouring  matter  of  the  blood         -  2'20 

Phospliale  ofsoda          -..-..  090 

Extract -  0  15 

Albumen  holding  in  solution  phosphate  of  lime  -  0-08 

■  ^Waier  and  loss      .......  7717 

It  '^ 

■■  The  chief  nutriment  afforded  by  animal 
P"food  is  derived  from  muscle  or  flesh.  That  of 
adult  animals  is  more  nutritive  than  that  of 
young  animals ;  hence  beef  and  mutton  are 
better  adapted  to  support  the  frame  than  veal 
or  lamb.  The  latter  yield  most  gelatin;  but 
the  popular  idea  of  the  nutritive  property  of 
animal  jellies  is  erroneous. 

FLIES.  "A  host  of  flies,**  says  Harris, 
•*  forming  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  num- 
ber of  species  in  the  order  Diptera,  will  be 
found  to  have  a  short  and  soft  proboscis,  end- 
ing with  large  fleshy  lips,  enclosing  only  two 
bristles,  and  capable  of  being  drawn  up  within 
the  cavity  of  the  mouth.  Their  antenna  are 
generally  short,  hang  down  over  the  face,  and 
end  with  a  large  oval  joint,  bearing  a  little 
bristle.  Their  larvce,  or  young,  are  fleshy, 
whitish  maggots,  which  never  cast  their  skins, 
but  when  the  pupa-state  comes  on,  shorten, 
take  the  oblons  oval  form  of  an  e^g,  and  be- 
come brown,  dry,  and  hard  on  the  outside. 
This  immense  tribe  includes  the  various  kinds 
of  flesh-flies,  blow-flies,  house-flies,  dung-flies, 
flower-flies,  fruit-flies,  two-winged  gall-flies, 
cheese-flies,  and  many  others,  for  which  we 
have  no  common  names,  but  all  composing 
the  tribe  of  Muscans,  or  Mmcatlee.  Some  of 
these  flies  do  not  strictly  conform  to  the  fore- 
going characters  of  the  tribe,  in  all  respects ; 
but  the  exceptions  are  few  in  number,  and  the 
most  remarkable  of  them  will  be  noticed  in  the 
following  pages. 

"  Many  flies  of  this  tribe  are  parasitic  in  their 
larvas  state,  their  young  living  and  undergoing 
their  transformations  within  the  bodies  of 
other  insects,  particularly  in  caterpillars,  which 
they  thereby  destroy.  These  flies  belong  chiefly 
to  the  family  of  Tachinadce,  a  name  applied 
to  them  on  account  of  the  swiftness  of  their 
flight.  In  form  they  somewhat  resemble 
house-flies ;  like   th^m  they  have  very  large 


FLIES. 

# 
'  winglets,  and  their  wings  spread  apait  whet 
they  are  at  rest.  They  are  easily  distiuguisH. 
ed,  however,  by  the  stiff*  hairs  wherewith  they 
are  more  or  less  covered,  and  by  the  bristles 
on  their  antennae,  which  are  not  usua.Uy 
feathered,  A  large  fly  of  this  kind,  the  Tachmm 
viviJa  of  my  '  Catalogue,'  is  often  seen  oa 
fences,  and  on  plants,  and  sometimes  in  houses, 
towards  the  end  of  June  and  during  the  month 
of  July.  Its  large,  oval  hind-body  is  of  a  clear 
light-red  colour,  with  two  or  three  black  spots 
in  a  row,  on  the  top  of  it,  and  a  thick  row 
of  black  bristles  across  each  ring.  The  face 
is  grayish  white,  like  satin,  and  the  eyes 
are  copper-coloured.  The  thorax  is  gray,  with 
brownish  lines  upon  it  The  antennae,  pro- 
boscis, and  legs  are  light  red.  Its  body  is  short 
and  thick,  and  is  about  half  an  inch  long,  and 
its  wings  expand  rather  more  than  nine-tenths 
of  an  inch." 

Viviparous  Flesh-flies.  —  "Most  insects  are 
hatched  from  eggs  which  are  laid  by  the  mother 
on  the  substances  that  are  to  serve  for  the  food 
of  her  young.  Some  flesh-flies  produce  their 
young  alive,  or  already  hatched,  and  drop  them 
on  the  dead  and  putrefying  animal  matter, 
which  they  are  obliged  to  consume  and  remove 
in  the  shortest  possible  time.  An  exception 
from  the  usual  course  among  insects  appears 
therefore  to  have  been  made  in  favour  of  these 
viviparous  flesh-flies,  to  enable  their  young 
promptly  to  perform  their  appointed  tasks. 
These  insects  produce  an  immense  number  of 
young,  as  many  as  20,000  having  been  ob- 
served by  Reaumur  in  a  single  fly.  Our  largest 
viviparous  American  flesh-fly  is  the  Sarcophaga 
Georgina  of  Wiedemann.  It  appears  towards 
the  end  of  June,  and  continues  till  the  middle 
of  August,  or  perhaps  later.  Its  face  is  silvery 
white,  and  there  is  an  oblong  square  black  spot 
between  the  eyes,  which  are  copper-coloured. 
The  thorax  is  light  gray,  with  seven  black  stripes 
upon  it.  The  hind-body  is  nearly  conical,  has 
the  lustre  of  satin,  and  is  checkered  with  square 
spots  of  black  and  white,  shifting  or  inter- 
changing their  colours  according  to  the  light 
wherein  they  are  seen.  The  legs  are  black, 
and  the  hindmost  pair  are  very  hairy  in  the 
males.  The  female  is  about  half  an  inch  long; 
and  the  male  is  rather  smaller.  In  the  Sarco- 
phagans,  or  flesh-eaters,  as  the  name  implies, 
the  bristles  on  the  antennae  are  feathered," 

Stable-fly. — "The  flies  that  abound  in  Ameri- 
can stables  in  August  and  September,  and  some- 
times enter  houses  on  the  approach  of  rain, 
might  be  mistaken  for  house-flies,  were  it  not  for 
the  severity  of  their  bites,  which  are  often  felt 
through  our  clothing,  and  are  generally  followed 
by  blood.  Upon  examination  they  will  be  found 
to  differ  essentially  from  house-flies  in  their 
proboscis,  which  is  very  long  and  slender,  and 
projects  horizontally  beyond  the  head.  The 
bristles  on  their  antennae  are  feathered  above. 
Cattle  suffer  sorely  from  the  piercing  bites  of 
these  flies,  and  horses  are  sometimes  so  much 
tormented  and  enraged  by  them  as  to  become 
entirely  ungovernable  in  harness.  The  name 
of  this  kind  of  fly  is  Stamoxys  caldtrans ;  the 
I  first  word  signifying  sharp-mouthed,  and  the 
]  second  kicking,  given  to  the  fly  from  the  effect 
i  it  produces  on  horses.    It  lays  its  eggs  la 

487 


FLINT. 

dung,  where  its  young:  are  hatched,  and  pass 
through  their  transformations.  The  larvae  and 
pupae  do  not  differ  much  in  appearance  from 
those  of  common  house-flies." 

Meat-flies.— ''ll  is  found  all  summer  ahout 
Blaughter-houses,  butchers'  stalls,  and  pantries, 
which  it  frequents  for  the  purpose  of  laying  its 
eggs  on  meat.  The  eggs  are  commonly  called 
fly-blows;  they  hatch  in  two  or  three  hours 
atter  they  are  laid,  and  the  maggots  produced 
from  them  come  to  their  growth  in  three  or 
four  days,  after  which  they  creep  away  into 
some  dark  crevice,  or  burrow  in  the  ground, 
if  ihey  can  get  at  it,  turn  to  egg-shaped  pupae, 
and  come  out  as  flies,  in  a  few  days  more ;  or 
they  remain  unchanged  through  the  winter,  if 
Ihev  have  been  hatched  late  in  the  summer. 
A  smaller  fly,  of  a  brilliant  blue-green  colour, 
with  black  legs,  also  lays  its  eggs  on  meat,  but 
more  often  on  dead  animals  in  the  fields.  It 
seems  hardly  to  diff"er  from  the  Musca  (Lucilia) 
Cmar  of  Europe.  The  house-fly  of  this  coun- 
try has  been  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the 
European  Mutra  domeslica;  but  I  cannot  satisfy 
myself  on  this  point  for  the  want  of  specimens 
from  Europe.  It  is  possible  that  our  sharp- 
biting  stable-flies,  the  meat-flies,  and  the  house- 
fly, may  really  be  distinct  species  from  those 
which  are  found  in  Europe." 

Houfe-fly. — The  American  house-fly  is  the 
Mu$ca  hurpyin,  or  harpy-fly  of  Dr.  Harris's  Cata- 
hpu.  It  begins  to  appear  in  houses  in  July,  be- 
comes exceedingly  abundant  in  September,  and 
does  not  disappear  till  killed  by  cold  weather.  It 
is  probable  that,  like  the  domestic  fly  of  Europe, 
it  lays  its  eggs  in  dung,  in  which  its  larvae  live, 
and  pass  through  their  changes  of  form.  The 
Americans  are  accused  of  carelessness  in  re- 
gzrd  to  flies,  and  apparently  with  some  reason. 
But,  if  these  filthy,  dung-bred  creatures  swarm 
in  some  houses,  covering  every  article  of  food 
by  day,  and  absolutely  blackening  the  walls  by 
night,  in  others  comparatively  few  are  found; 
for  the  tidy  house-keeper  takes  care  not  to 
leave  food  of  any  kind  standing  about,  unco- 
rered,  to  entice  them  in,  and  makes  a  business 
of  driving  out  the  intruders  at  least  once  a 
day.  If  a  plateful  of  strong  green  tea,  well 
sweetened,  be  placed  in  an  outer  apartment 
accessible  to  flies,  they  will  taste  of  it,  and  be 
killed  thereby,  as  surely  as  by  the  most  ap- 
proved fly-poison.  In  the  first  volume  of  The 
Transactions  of  the  Enfomolo^cal  Society  of  Lon- 
dony  Mr.  Spence  gives  an  account  of  a  mode 
of  excluding  flies  from  apartments,  which  has 
been  tri»'(l  with  complete  success  in  England. 
It  consists  of  netting,  made  of  fine  worsted  or 
thread,  in  large  meshes,  or  of  threads  alone, 
half  of  an  inch  or  more  apart,  stretched  across 
the  windows.  It  appears  that  the  flies  will  not 
attempt  to  pass  through  the  meshes,  or  between 
the  threads,  into  a  room  which  is  lighted  only 
on  one  side ;  but  if  there  are  windows  on 
another  side  of  the  room,  they  will  then  fly 
through ;  such  windows  should  therefore  be 
darkened  with  shutters  or  thick  curtains. 
{Hiirrif.)  •'  ' 

FLINT.     Common   flints   are   nearly  pure 

silica,  which  is  composed  of  a  metal  (silicium) 

and  oxygen  gas ;  it  is  tasteless,  insoluble  in 

water,  or  fluohc  acid,  ani  dissolvabl-  only  by 

A8(f 


FLOUR, 

means  of  potash.  Flints  usually  occur  in 
irregular  nodules  in  chalk.  They  abound 
considerably  in  some  sorts  of  soils.  Sand  is 
commonly  chiefly  composed  of  flint.  A  spe- 
cimen of  flint  analyzed  by  M.  Klaproth  con- 
tained 

Pirto. 

Silica 98 

Alumina  -----  0-25 
Oxide  of  Iron  -  .  -  -  025 
Water 1-50 

100 

Flint,  when  exposed  to  intense  heat,  becomes 
opaque,  and  forms  a  kind  of  porcelain.  This 
was  well  illustrated  in  the  fire  in  the  Tower  of 
London,  in  184L  The  flints  of  the  muskets 
were  all  thus  changed.     See  Earths. 

FLOAT.  A  raft  of  timber  bound  together 
to  be  conveyed  by  water.  It  also  signifies 
locally  to  turn  water  upon  meadow  land  for 
improving  it;  and  likewise  to  pare  off  the  sur- 
face or  sward. 

FLOATING  OF   MEADOWS.    See  Irbi- 

GATION. 

FLOUR  (Span,  flor ;  It.  fiore ;  Fr.  fleur  rf« 
farnie).  The  meal  of  wheat  corn  or  other  grain, 
separated  from  the  husk  or  bran,  and  finally 
ground  and  sifted.  There  are  in  England  three 
qualities  of  flour,  denominated ^rs<,  seconds,  and 
thirds,  of  which  the  first  is  the  purest.  (See 
Brkad.)  The  proportion  of  flour  which  a 
bushel  of  grain  affords  greatly  varies.  A 
bushel  of  Essex  wheat,  Winchester  measure, 
weighs  upon  an  average  about  60  lbs.,  which, 
when  ground,  will  yield  (exclusive  of  the  loss 
incurred  by  the  grinding  and  drying)  45^  lbs. 
of  the  flour  called  seconds,  which  alone  is  used 
for  baking  throughout  the  greater  part  of  Eng- 
land, and  aflfords  the  most  wholesome,  though 
not  the  whitest  bread.  Besides  th©  seconds^ 
such  a  bushel  of  wheat  yields  13  lbs.  of  pollard 
and  bran ;  the  total  loss  in  grinding  seldom 
exceeds  one  pound  and  a  half. 

The  corn  of  the  different  species  of  grain 
produces,  when  ripe,  nearly  the  following 
quantities  of  meal  or  household  flour  and  bread 
per  bushel :  viz. 

Wheat  if  weighing  60  lbs.,  of  flour  48  lbs.  of  bread  64  lbs. 
Rye  —  54  —        42  —         56 

Barley       _  48  —       37*         —         50 

Oata  —  40  —       22*         —         .W 

The  flour  of  wheat  which  is  cut  before  it  is 
quite  ripe  is  whiter  than  that  which  is  allowed 
to  come  to  maturity,  and  bears  a  higher  price  in 
the  markets.  The  grain  which  is  intended  for 
the  miller  should,  therefore,  be  reaped  before 
it  has  reached  its  utmost  growth;  but  that 
which  is  meant  for  seed  should  be  allowed  to 
stand  until  the  last  moment  at  which  it  can  be 
cut  with  safety.  The  corn  is  ground  into 
meal  of  various  degrees  of  fineness,  and  a 
bushel  of  60  lbs.  generally  yields,  when  dressed, 
about  the  following  quantities,  viz. 


Fine  flour 
Hniisehold  flour 
Pollards  - 
Bran 


-  25ilb8. 

-  22* 

-  8 

-  i 


A  bushel  of  wheat,  therefore,  averages  48  lbs. 
of  both  kinds  of  flour  of  the  sort  called  "  se- 
conds," and  a  sack  of  marketable  flour  should 
by  law  weigh  280  lbs.    These  products  must, 


FLOWER  DE  LUCE. 


however,  vary  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
grain  ;  some  will  produce  more  or  less  bran, 
as  the  hu.sk  may  be  more  or  less  thick;  and 
the  bakers  admit  they  can  make  two  or  three 
more  quartern  loaves  than  the  usual  quantity 
from  one  sack  of  flour,  when  it  is  the  genuine 
produce  of  good  wht'at.  Thus  it  was  found 
upon  a  comparative  trial  between  English  and 
Scotch  wheat,  of  apparently  equal  quality,  that 
there  was  a  difference  in  favour  of  the  former 
of  no  less  than  13  lbs.  of  bread  upon  2^  cwts. 
of  flour.  {Willirh's  Bom.  Ency.;  Biil.  Husb. 
vol.  ii.  pp.  137,  155.) 

FLOWER  DE  LUCE,  or  LIS.  FLAG.  See 
Iris. 

FLOWERING  ASH  (SropoU).  All  the  spe- 
cies of  the  genus  scopoli  are  ornamental  and 
useful ;  they  are  easily  cultivated,  and  may  be 
raised  from  seeds,  like  the  common  ash,  or 
they  may  be  increased  by  budding  or  grafting 
on  the  common  ash. 

FLOWERLNG  RUSH,  COMMON  (Butomus 
uwLellaiujs).  This  beautiful  aquatic  plant  is  ia 
England  a  native  of  ponds,  ditches,  and  the 
margins  of  rivers  on  a  gravelly  soil.  It  flowers 
in  July  and  AugusU  The  leaves  are  narrow, 
acute,  nearly  a  yard  long.  The  stalk  is  still 
taller,  round,  and  very  smooth,  and  bears  a  large 
i  bracteated  umbel  of  handsome  rose-coloured 
i  flowers,  each  about  an  inch  broad,  without 
'  scent.  This  rush  may  be  increased  with  little 
difljculty.  The  leaves  of  this  plant  are  said  to 
cause  the  mouths  of  cattle  to  bleed  that  crop 
it;  hence  the  name,  from  6ot«,  ox,  and  ten^no,  to 
cut.  It  was  some  years  since  much  celebrated 
in  Russia  as  a  remedy  for  hydrophobia;  but 
like  all  specifics,  its  fame  was  destroyed  by 
excess  of  praise.  It  has  no  influence  in  curing 
that  di>easc. 

FLOWERS.  The  most  beautiful  parts  of 
plants  and  trees,  which  contain  the  organs  of 
fructification.  (See  Botaxt.)  From  their 
frequent  utility  as  medicinal  drugs,  as  well  as 
their  external  beauty,  the  cultivation  of  flowers 
in  our  gardens  becomes  an  object  of  some  im- 
portance. Flowers  are  many  of  them  excel- 
lent indicators  of  the  approaching  weather  by 
expansion  or  closing,  and  other  motions.  It  is 
an  established  fact,  that  flowers  as  well  as 
fruits  grow  larger  in  the  shade,  and  ripen  and 
decay  soonest  when  exposed  to  the  sun.  The 
immediate  cause  of  the  various  colours  pre- 
sented by  some  flowers,  such  as  poppies,  has 
not  hitherto  been  distinctly  ascertained.  Co- 
louring matter  is  contained  in  almost  ever}' 
flower  and  root  of  vegetables,  and  may  be 
extracted  by  a  very  simple  process.  Flowers 
which  are  to  be  used  or  preserved  for  medi- 
cinal purposes  should,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
be  gathered  in  full  bloom,  and  dried  as  speed- 
ily as  possible.  The  rose,  Rosa  Gallica,  is 
gathered  before  it  is  fully  blown.  In  drying 
flowers,  the  calyces,  claws,  &c.  should  be  pre- 
viously taken  ofi":  when  the  flowers  are  very 
small,  the  calyx  is  left,  or  even  the  whole 
flowering  spike,  as  in  the  greatest  portion  of 
the  labiate  flowers.  In  some  instances,  as  in 
the  baulistines,  or  pomegranate  flower,  the  active 
matter  resides  chiefly  in  the  calyx.  Compound 
flowers  with  pappous  seeds,  as  colt's-foot,  ought 
to  be  dried  very  high,  and  before  they  are  en- 
62 


FLY  IN  TURNIPS. 

0 
tirely  open,  otherwise  the  slight  moisture  that 
remains  would  develope  the  pappus,  and  form 
a  kind  of  cottony  nap,  which  would  be  very 
hurtful  in  infusions,  by  leaving  irritating  par- 
ticles in  the  throat.  Flowers  of  little  or  no 
smell  may  be  dried  in  a  heat  of  75  to  100° 
Fahr.  The  succulent  petals  of  the  liliaceous 
plants,  whose  odour  is  very  fugacious,  cannot 
well  be  dried,  as  their  mucilaginous  substance 
rots  and  grows  black.  Several  sorts  of  flower- 
ing tops,  as  those  of  lesser  centaury,  worm- 
wood, melilot,  water  germander,  Ac,  are  tied 
in  small  parcels  and  hung  up,  or  else  exposed 
to  the  sun,  wrapped  in  paper  cornets,  that  they 
may  not  be  discoloured.  After  some  time,  blue 
flowers,  as  those  of  violets,  bugloss,  or  borage, 
grow  yellow,  and  even  become  entirely  disco- 
loured, especially  if  they  are  kept  in  glass 
vessels  that  admit  the  light:  if,  however,  they 
are  dipped  for  a  moment  in  boiling  water, 
and  slightly  pressed  before  they  are  put  into 
the  drying  stove,  the  blue  colour  is  rendered 
permanent.  (Gray^s  Sup.  to  Pharmacop.)  It 
is  probable  that  varieties  in  the  colours 
of  single  flowers  raised  from  seeds  may  be 
generally  obtained  by  sowing  those  which 
already  possess  different  shades  contiguous  to 
others  of  the  same  species  ;  or  by  bending  the 
flowers  of  one  colour,  and  shaking  the  anther- 
dust  over  those  of  another.  The  origin  of 
double  flowers  is  believed  to  result  from  the 
luxuriant  growth  of  the  plant,  in  consequence 
of  excessive  nourishment,  moisture,  and 
warmth  ;  they  arise  from  the  increase  of  some 
parts  of  the  flower,  and  the  consequent  exclu- 
sion of  others :  thus  the  stamens  are  often 
converted  into  petals.  Botanists  very  pro- 
perly term  such  muiliplied  flowers  vegetablt 
monsterty  because  they  possess  no  stamens  or 
pistils,  and  therefore  cannot  produce  seeds. 
There  subsists  (says  Dr.  Darwin)  a  curious 
analogy  between  these  vegetable  monsters  and 
those  of  the  animal  world ;  for  a  duplicature 
of  liml)s  frequently  attend  the  latter,  as  chickens 
and  turkeys  with  four  legs  and  four  wings, 
and  calves  with  two  heads,  &c.  The  science 
of  floriculture,  or  the  culture,  propagation,  and 
general  management  of  plants,  divides  itself 
into  five  sections,  viz.  1.  Stove  plants;  2. 
Greenhouse  plants;  3.  Hardy  trees  and  shrubs; 
4.  Hardy  herbaceous  plants;  5.  Annuals  and 
biennials. 

FLUKE  .WORM  {Diztoma  hepaticum ;  Fas- 
ciola  hepatxcOf  Linn.).  A  small  flat  entozoon  or 
worm,  about  an  inch  long,  which  infests  the 
ducts  of  the  liver  and  gall-bladder  of  different 
animals,  especially  sheep.  In  those  that  have 
died  of  the  rot,  it  is  generally  found  fixed  by 
two  points,  one  at  one  extremity,  and  the  other 
about  the  middle  of  the  abdomen  of  the  worm , 
it  bears  some  resemblance  to  the  seed  of  the 
common  gourd,  and  thence  is  often  called  the 
goiird-icorm.     See  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

FLY  IN  SHEEP.    See  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

FLY  IN  TUHNIPS  (Jltica  nemorum).  A 
species  of  flea-beetle,  which  in  England  attacks 
the  turnip  crop  in  the  cotyledon,  or  seed  leat, 
as  soon  as  it  appears :  it  is  sometimes  called 
the  black  jack,  and  sometimes  the  flea,  or 
black  fly.  All  the  species  are  among  the 
smallest  insects;  several  are  scarcely  a  '=ne 

489 


FLY  IN  TURNIPS. 

long :  the  length  of  the  largest  is  hardly  two 
lines,  and  one  in  breadth.  The  greatest  num- 
ber are  shining  green,  with  a  brown  or  )'el- 
lowish  hue.  Early  in  spring  they  are  seen 
silting  on  walls  in  great  numbers;  in  winter 
Ihey  live  under  leaves,  stems  of  plants,  and  in 
chinks  in  walls :  during  summer  they  are  the 
most  dangerous  enemies  of  various  vegetables, 
particularly  the  cabbage  tribe.  They  also 
attack  different  sorts  of  the  root  genus  hmssicu, 
sach  as  the  turnip,  Ac,  as  well  as  the  radish, 
thfc  common  cress,  and  the  water  cress.  Be- 
sides these  sorts  of  vegetables,  they  also  prey 
upon  tlax,  tobacco,  hops,  seedling  clover,  and 
sainfoin,  but  more  especially  the  summer  and 
winter  turnips,  which  are  left  for  seed,  and 
often  entirely  spoil  the  future  harvest  during 
the  flowering  season,  when  the  weather  is 
warm  and  dry.  The  turnip  beetle  belongs  to 
the  order  Colkopteka,  from  its  wings  with 
which  it  flies  being  folded  beneath  two  horny 
cases.  It  is  included  in  the  family  Chiiyso- 
M BLiDJB,  or  golden  beetles,  for  certain  scientific 
reasons,  in  conformity  with  its  structure,  and 
is  one  of  about  100  species  forming  the  genus 
Altica,  sometimes  written  Haltica. 

The  stripfd  turnip  beetle  is  named  in  the  Eng- 
lish catalogues  Altica  neviomm.  The  former 
word,  derived  from  the  Greek,  alludes  to  the 
Jeaping  powers  of  the  genus,  and  the  latter 
signifying  that  this  species  inhabits  woods  and 
Ifroves,  which  were  more  especially  its  haunts 
before  turnip  cultivation  became  general.  See 
CvcuMBKR  Insects. 

The  remedies  recommended  are  numerous, 
among  which,  hoeing  and  rolling  may  harass 
and  kill  many  of  the  beetles  ;  and  as  this  pro- 
cess promotes  the  more  rapid  growth  of  the 
plants,  it  must  be  attended  with  no  slight  ad- 
vantages. From  the  dislike  the  fly  has  to 
repeated  wet,  frequent  watering  the  turnips 
would  evidently  be  very  beneficial,  particularly 
with  brine  (not  strong  enough  to  injure  the 
plants)  or  liquid  manure,  which  would  stimu- 
late the  growth  most  effectually ;  and  many  of 
the  beetles  would  necessarily  be  forcibly  brush- 
ed off,  and  get  set  fast  in  the  earth,  and  die. 
Sulphuric  solutions  sprinkled  by  machinery 
would  also  have  a  powerful  effect  Nitrate  of 
soda  has  been  tried  in  a  few  instances  on  crops 
of  Swedish  turnips  with  very  beneficial  results. 
A  net  (called  after  its  inventor  the  Paul  net) 
dragged  over  the  field  has  been  usefully  em- 
ployed ;  and  a  board  newly  painted  with  white 
paint,  or  tarred,  drawn  over  the  turnips,  will 
catch  multitudes  of  the  beetles ;  for,  on  being 
disturbed,  they  leap  against  it,  and  cannot  re- 
ease  themselves. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  plant  appears  to  be 
the  best  security  against  the  ravages  of  the 
msect;  and  to  insure  this,  plenty  of  seed  should 
be  sown,  all  of  the  same  year's  growth.  Deep 
ploughing  will  be  found  advantageous  when 
the  chrysalides  are  in  the  soil.  Drilling  is  far 
superior  to  broadcast  sowing,  and  in  Scotland 
is  believed  to  keep  away  the  beetles.  Early 
sowing  is  attended  with  disadvantages ;  for 
the  same  warmth  and  sunshine  that  make  the 
seed  vegetate  will  also  bring  the  hungry 
iwarais  of  beetles  from  their  winter  quarters. 

In  England,  where  the  ravages  of  the  flea- 
490 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 

beetle  have  attracted  so  much  attention,  it  is 
thought  that  the  careful  and  systematic  use  of 
lime  will  obviate,  in  a  great  degree,  the  danger 
which  has  been  experienced  from  this  insec-i. 
As  soon  as  the  plants  appear  above  ground 
they  are  to  be  dusted  with  quicklime,  and  this 
is  to  be  repeated  as  often  as  rain  or  wind  beats 
it  oft'  and  the  fly  reappears.  Watering  plants 
with  alkaline  solutions,  it  is  said,  will  kill  the 
insects  without  injuring  the  plants.  To  make 
the  solution,  1  lb.  of  hard  soap  may  be  dissolved 
in  12  gallons  of  soap-suds  left  after  washing 
clothes.  This  may  be  sprinkled  twice  a  day 
by  means  of  a  watering  pot.  The  solution  of 
whale  oil  soap  as  recommended  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  Aphides  or  plant-lice,  would  doubtless 
answer  an  excellent  purpose  in  destroying  the 
turnip  fly. 

The  turnip  saw-fly  (Mhalia  spinarum),  is  a 
less  common  depredator,  but  in  England  is  oc- 
casionally found  in  company  with  the  former. 
A  very  minute  account  of  it  is  given  by  Mr. 
Duncan.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlgr.  vol.  vii.  p.  558.) 
It  receives  its  name  from  the  use  and  appear- 
ance of  the  instrument  with  which  it  deposits 
its  eggs.  This  is  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the 
abdomen  of  the  female,  on  the  under  side,  and 
is  so  constructed  that  it  combines  the  proper- 
ties of  a  saw  and  auger.  {Kollar  on  Insects  inju- 
rious to  Farmers,  Miss  Loudon^s  Transl. ;  Doncaa- 
ter  Report ;  Mr.  Curtis  on  Insects  affecting  the 
Turnip  Crop  ;  Pract,  Husbandry  ;  Harris  on  De- 
structive Insects.') 

FLY  IN  WHEAT  {Tipula  tritici,  Kirby; 
Cecidnniyia  tritici,  Latr.).  See  PI.  2,  i.  In  Eng- 
land when  the  wheat  is  in  blossom,  it  is  some- 
times attacked  by  this  small  beautiful  fly,  with 
an  orange-coloured  body  and  white  wings, 
which  lays  its  eggs  in  the  middle  of  the  blos- 
som, by  means  of  a  long  retractile  ovipositor. 
When  the  eggs  are  hatched,  the  larvse,  which 
are  very  small,  from  10  to  14  being  sometimes 
found  in  one  grain,  prevent  the  fructification 
of  the  grains,  probably  by  eating  the  pollen, 
and  thus  frequently  destroy  some  part  of  the 
harvest.  Mr.  Shirreff  {Quart.  Journ.  of  .Agr. 
vol.  iii.  p.  501)  says  the  fly  generally  appears 
when  the  wheat  plant  comes  into  ear.  In  1829 
and  1830,  flies  were  first  seen  by  him  on  the 
21st  of  June,  and,  in  1831,  on  the  10th  of  the 
same  month.  The  larvae,  after  a  period,  fall  to 
the  ground,  and  burrow  in  the  earth,  where 
they  remain  till  the  following  summer.  Ac- 
cording to  Mr.  Gorrie  {Mag.  Nat.  Hist.,  Sept., 
1829,  p.  324),  all  the  larvae  have  quitted  the 
ears  of  wheat  and  descended  to  the  earth  by 
the  1st  of  August;  going  into  the  ground  to 
about  the  depth  of  half  an  inch,  where  it  is  pro- 
bable that  they  pass  the  winter  in  the  pupa  state- 

The  extraordinary  smallness  of  this  insect, 
both  in  its  larva  and  perfect  state,  with  the 
circurnstance  that  the  destruction  of  the  wheal 
takes  place  when  it  is  in  blossom,  and  that  not 
all  the  ears  on  one  and  the  same  field  are  at- 
tacked, allows  of  but  little  that  can  be  effected 
by  human  aid  against  this  enemy  of  grain.  The 
safest  and  almost  only  certain  means  of  dimi- 
nishing such  an  evil  for  the  succeeding  year, 
consists  in  not  sowing  wheat  again  on  the  same 
field,  nor  in  its  neighbourhood;  for,  in  all  pro- 
bability, the  pupae  lie  in  the  earth,  and  will 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 

c  nly  become  flies  next  year  at  the  season  when 
the  corn  is  in  blossom.  Fortunately,  nature 
has  in  this  case  provided  another  still  smaller 
parasitic  insect,  allied  to  the  family  of  Ichneu- 
mons, to  keep  the  midge  also  within  its  pro- 
per bounds.  Mr.  Kirby,  who  first  made  us  ac- 
quainted with  the  natural  history  of  this  insect, 
calls  the  parasite  Irkncumon  Tipvlce.  It  is  a  spe- 
cies of  the  genus  Platygastcr  of  Latreille,  be- 
longing to  the  family  Proctotrupida. 

Mr.  Gorrie  states  that,  from  the  experiments 
which  he  made  in  the  season  1831,  the  variety 
of  wheat  cultivated  under  the  name  of  Cone 
wheat  (Triticum  turgUhivi,  PI.  2,  d),  is  not  liable 
to  the  attacks  of  the  flv-  (Quart.  Journ.  of  A?.r. 
vol.  iii.  p.  639.)  Mr.  ShirreflT  ( A/m/.  p.  305),  also 
considers  the  Polish  wheat  (7'.  Polonicuni,  PI.  2, 
e),  to  be  in  a  measure  secure  from  its  attacks. 

The  ravages  committed  by  the  wheat-fly  in 
Scotland  are  sometimes  very  extensive.  It  is 
stated  by  Mr.  ShirreflT,  that  throughout  the  whole 
of  East  Lothian,  during  the  years  1827,  1828, 
1829,  and  1830,  the  fly  injured  the  wheat  crop 
to  the  amount  of  30  per  cent.  Should  the  fly 
abound  in  this  proportion  throughout  the  king- 
dom in  successive  years,  the  loss  to  the  com- 
munity would  be  incalculable.  Mr.  Gorrie 
seems  to  think  that  the  wheat-fly  maggot  might 
be  so  buried  as  not  to  be  able  to  work  their 
way  up  through  the  superincumbent  soil ;  if, 
in  ploughing  in  the  wheat  stubble,  a  scarifier 
or  skimmer  were  fixed  upon  the  beam  before 
the  coulter,  so  constructed  as  to  lay  about  an 
inch  of  the  surface  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow. 
There  is  another  kind  of  fly  or  midge  {Tipula 
cerealis,  Sauter),  which  is  particularly  injurious 
to  spelt  (a  kind  of  dwarf  wheat)  and  barley. 
(Kollar  on  Insects  injuriotts  to  ^sericulture.  Quart. 
Jottrn.  ofAgr.  vol.  ii.  p.  3;  Westtrood  on  mieat 
Flies,  in  Gard.  Mag.  vol.  xiii.  p.  289.) 

An  insect  resembling  the  European  wheat- 
fly  in  its  habits,  and  known,  in  its  magaot 
form,  by  the  name  of  "the  grain-worm,"  has 
been  observed  for  several  years  in  the  north- 
ern and  eastern  parts  of  the  United  Slates 
and  in  Canada.  (See  PI.  2,  i,  where  the  maggot 
and  fly  are  represented  as  highly  niagnifled.)  "  It 
seems,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "  to  have  been  mis- 
taken by  some  for  the  grain-weevil,  the  Angou- 
mois  grain-moth,  and  the  Hessian  fly,  and  its 
history  has  been  so  confounded  with  that  of 
another  insect,  also  called  the  grain-worm  in 
some  parts  of  the  country,  that  it  is  difl^cult  to 
ascertain  the  amount  of  injury  done  by  either 
of  them  alone.  The  wheat-fly  is  said  to  have 
been  first  seen  in  America  about  the  year  1828, 
in  the  northern  part  of  Vermont,  and  on  the 
borders  of  Lower  Canada.  From  these  places 
its  ravages  have  gradually  extended  in  various 
directions  from  year  to  year.  A  considerable 
part  of  Upper  Canada,  of  New  York,  New 
Hampshire,  and  of  Massachusetts  has  been 
visited  by  it;  and,  in  1834,  it  appeared  in 
Maine,  which  it  has  traversed,  in  an  easterly 
course,  at  the  rate  of  20  or  30  miles  a  year. 
The  country  over  which  it  has  spread  has  con- 
tinued to  suffer  more  or  less  from  its  alarming 
depredations,  the  loss  by  which  has  been  found 
xo  vary  from  about  one-tenth  part  to  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  annual  crop  of  wheat;  nor  has 
the  insect  entirelv  disappeared   in  any  place 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 

# 

till  it  has  been  starved  f>ut  by  a  change  of  agri- 
culture, or  by  the  substitution  of  late-sown 
spring  wheat  for  the  other  varieties  of  grain. 
Many  communications  on  this  destructive  in, 
sect  have  appeared  in  the  Genesee  Fanner  and 
in  the  Cultivator,  some  of  them  written  by  the 
late  Judge  Buel,  by  whom,  as  well  as  by  the 
editors  of  the  Yankee  Fanner,  rewards  were 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  means  to  pre- 
vent its  ravages.  Premiums  have  also  been 
proposed  for  the  same  end  by  the  Kennebec 
County  Agricultural  Society,  in  Maine,  which 
were  followed  by  the  publication  in  the  Maine 
Farmer  of  three  "Essays  on  the  Grain- Worm," 
presented  to  that  Society.  These  essays  were 
reprinted  in  the  17th  volume  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Farmer,  wherein,  as  well  as  in  some  other 
volumes  of  the  same  work,  several  other  arti- 
cles on  this  insect  may  be  found. 

"The  American  wheat-insect,  in  its  winged 
form,  has  not  yet  fallen  under  my  notice.  It  is 
stated  by  Judge  Buel,  Mrs.  Gage,  and  others, 
to  agree  exactly  with  the  description  of  the 
European  wheat-fly  (Cecidotnyia  tritici),  being 
a  very  small,  orange-coloured  gnat,  with  long, 
slender  legs,  and  two  transparent  wings,  which 
reflect  the  tints  of  the  rainbow.  Immense 
swarms  of  these  orange-coloured  gnats  infest 
fields  of  grain  towards  the  last  of  June.  While 
the  sun  shines  they  conceal  themselves  among 
the  leaves  and  weeds  near  the  ground.  They 
take  wing  during  the  morning  and  evening  twi- 
light, and  also  in  cloudy  weather,  when  they 
lay  their  eggs  in  the  opening  flowers  of  the 
grain.  New  swarms  continue  to  come  forth 
in  succession,  till  the  end  of  July;  but  Mr. 
Buel  says  that  ihe  principal  deposit  of  eggs  is 
made  in  the  first  half  of  July,  when  late  sown 
winter-wheat  and  early  sown  spring-wheat  arc 
in  the  blossom  or  milk.  The  flies  are  not  con- 
fined to  wheat  alone,  but  deposit  in  barley,  rye, 
and  oats,  when  these  plants  are  in  flower  at  the 
lime  of  their  appearance.  The  eggs  hatch  in 
about  eight  days  after  they  are  laid,  when  the 
little  yellow  maggots  or  grain-worms  may  be 
found  within  the  chaffy  scales  of  the  grain. 
Being  hatched  at  various  times  during  a  period 
of  four  or  five  weeks,  they  do  not  all  arrive  at 
maturity  together.  Mrs.  Gage  informs  me  that 
they  appear  to  come  to  their  growth  in  12  or 
14  days.  Specimens  of  these  maggots  which 
she  has  sent  to  me  were  found  to  agree,  in 
every  respect,  with  the  descriptions  and  figures 
of  those  of  the  European  wheat-fly.  They  do 
not  exceed  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and 
are  not  provided  with  feet.  From  2  to  15  or 
20  have  been  found  within  the  husk  of  a  single 
grain,  and  sometimes  in  every  husk  in  the  ear. 
After  a  shower  of  rain  they  have  been  seen  in 
such  countless  numbers  on  the  beards  of  the 
wheat,  as  to  give  a  yellow  colour  to  the  whole 
field.  These  insects  prey  on  the  grain  in  the 
milky  state,  and  their  ravages  cease  when  the 
grain  becomes  hard.  They  do  not  burrow 
within  the  kernels,  but  live  on  the  pollen  .-md 
on  the  soft  matter  of  the  grain,  which  they  pro- 
bably extract  from  the  base  of  the  germs.  It 
'  appears,  from  various  statements,  that  ver} 
early  and  very  late  wheat  escape  with  compa- 
ratively little  injury;  the  amount  of  which,  in 
other  cases,  depends  upon  the  condition  of  the 

491 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 


grain  at  the  time  when  the  maggots  are  hatched. 
When  the  maggots  begin  their  depredations 
5oon  after  the  blossoming  of  the  grain,  they  do 
the  greatest  injury,  for  the  kernels  never  fill 
out  at  all.  Pinched  or  partly  filled  kernels  are 
the  consequence  of  their  attacks  when  the 
grain  is  more  advanced.  The  hulls  of  the  im- 
poverished kernels  will  always  be  found  split 
open  on  the  convex  side,  so  as  to  expose  the 
embryo.  This  is  caused  by  the  drying  and 
shrinking  of  the  hull,  after  a  portion  of  the  con- 
tents thereof  has  been  sucked  out  by  the  mag- 
gots. Towards  the  end  of  July  and  in  the  be- 
ginning of  August  the  full-grown  maggots  leave 
off  eating,  and  become  sluggish  and  torpid,  pre- 
paratory to  moulting  their  skins.  This  process, 
which  has  been  alluded  to  by  Judge  Buel  and 
some  other  writers,  has  been  carefully  observed 
by  Mrs.  Gage,  who  has  sent  to  me  the  maggots 
before  and  after  moulting,  together  with  some 
of  their  cast  skins.  Within  two  or  three  days 
after  moulting,  the  maggots  either  drop  of  their 
own  accord,  or  are  shaken  out  of  the  ears  by 
the  wind,  and  fall  to  the  ground.  They  do  not 
let  themselves  down  by  threads,  for  they  are 
not  able  to  spin.  Nearly  all  of  them  disappear 
before  the  middle  of  August,  and  they  are  very 
rarely  found  in  the  grain  at  the  time  of  harvest. 
"Several  cases  of  the  efficacy  of  fumigation 
in  preventing  the  depredations  of  these  insects 
are  recorded  in  our  agricultural  papers.  For 
this  purpose  brimstone  has  been  used,  in  the 
proportion  of  one  pound  to  every  bushel  of 
seed  sown.  Strips  of  woollen  cloth,  dipped  in 
melted  brimstone,  and  fastened  to  sticks  in 
different  parts  of  the  field,  and  particularly  on 
the  windward  side,  are  set  on  fire,  for  several 
evenings  in  succession,  at  the  time  when  the 
grain  is  in  blossom;  the  smoke" and  fumes  thus 
penetrate  the  standing  grain,  and  prove  very 
offensive  or  destructive  to  the  flies,  which  are 
laying  their  eggs.  A  thick  smoke  from  heaps 
of  burning  weeds,  sprinkled  with  brimstone, 
around  the  sides  of  the  field,  has  also  been  re- 
commended. Lime  or  ashes,  strown  over  the 
grain  when  in  blossom,  has,  in  some  cases,  ap- 
peared to  protect  the  crop;  and  the  Rev.  Henry 
Cohnan,  the  Commissioner  for  the  Agricultu- 
ral Survey  of  Massachusetts,  says  that  this 
preventive,  if  not  infallible,  may  be  relied  on 
with  strong  confidence.  For  every  acre  of 
grain,  from  one  peck  to  a  bushel  of  newly 
slaked  lime  or  of  good  wood  ashes  will  be  re- 
quired ;  and  this  should  be  scattered  over  the 
plants  when  they  are  wet  with  dew  or  rain. 
Two  or  three  applications  of  it  have  some- 
times been  found  necessar}'.  Whether  it  be 
possible  to  destroy  the  maggots  after  they  have 
leli  the  grain,  and  have  betaken  themselves  to 
their  winter  quarters,  just  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  remains  to  be  proved.  Some 
persons  have  advised  burning  the  stubble,  and 
ploughing  up  the  ground,  soon  after  the  grain 
is  harvested,  in  order  to  kill  the  maggots,  or  to 
bury  them  so  deeply  that  they  could  not  make 
their  escape  after  they  were  transformed  to 
flies.  Perhaps  thoroughly  liming  the  soil  be- 
fore it  is  ploughed  may  contribute  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  insects.  It  is  stated  that  our 
crops  may  be  saved  from  injury  by  sowing 
early  in  the  autumn  or  late  in  the  spring.  By 
49V 


the  first,  it  is  supposed  that  the  grain  will  be» 
come  hard  before  many  of  the  flies  make  their 
appearance;  and  by  the  latter,  the  plants  do 
not  come  into  blossom  until  the  flies  have  dis- 
appeared. In  those  parts  of  New  England 
where  these  insects  have  done  the  greatest  in- 
jury, the  cultivation  of  fall-sown  or  winter 
grain  has  been  given  up ;  and  this,  for  some 
years  to  come,  will  be  found  the  safest  course. 
The  proper  time  for  sowing  in  the  spring  will 
vary  with  the  latitude  and  elevation  of  the 
place,  and  the  forwardness  of  the  season. 
From  numerous  observations  made  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  it  appears  that  grain  sown 
after  the  15th  or  20th  of  May  generally  escapes 
the  ravages  of  these  destructive  insects.  Late 
sowing  has  almost  entirely  banished  the  wheat- 
flies  from  those  parts  of  Vermont  where  they 
first  appeared ;  and  there  is  good  reason  to  ex- 
pect that  these  depredators  will  be  completely 
starved  out  and  exterminated,  when  the  means 
above  recommended  have  been  generally  adopt- 
ed and  persevered  in  for  several  years  in  suc- 
cession. 

*'  Mrs.  Gage  has  discovered  another  perni- 
cious insect  in  the  ears  of  growing  wheat.  It 
seems  to  agree  with  the  accounts  of  the  Thrips 
cerealium,  which  sometimes  infests  wheat  in 
Europe  to  a  great  extent.  This  insect  belongs 
to  the  order  Hemiptera.  In  its  larva  state  it 
is  smaller  than  the  wheat  maggot,  is  orange- 
coloured,  and  is  provided  with  six  legs,  two 
antennae,  and  a  short  beak,  and  is  very  nimble 
in  its  motions.  It  is  supposed  to  suck  out  the 
juices  of  the  seed,  thus  causing  the  latter  to 
shrink,  and  become  what  the  English  farmers 
call  pungled.  This  little  pest  may  probably 
be  destroyed  by  giving  the  grain  a  thorough 
coating  of  slaked  lime. 

"  Our  agricultural  papers  contain  some  ac- 
counts of  an  insect  or  insects  much  larger  than 
the  maggots  of  the  wheat-fly,  growing  to  the 
length  of  three-eighths  of  an  inch  or  more,  and 
devouring  the  grain  in  the  ear,  and  after  it  is 
harvested.  The  insects  to  which  I  allude  have 
received  the  names  of  wheat-worms,  gray 
worms,  and  brown  weevils ;  and,  although 
these  different  names  may  possibly  refer  to 
two  or  more  distinct  species,  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  all  of  them  are  intended  for  only  one 
kind  of  insect.  Sometimes  this  has  also  been 
called  the  grain-worm ;  whereby  it  becomes 
somewhat  difficult  to  separate  the  accounts  of 
its  history  and  depredations  from  those  of  the 
Ceddomyia,  or  wheat-insect,  described  in  the 
foregoing  pages.  It  may,  however,  very  safely 
be  asserted  that  the  wheat-worm  of  the  western 
part  of  New  York  and  of  the  northern  part  of 
I  Pennsylvania   is    entirely  distinct    from   the 


maggots  of  our  wheat-fly,  and  that  it  does  not 
belong  to  the  same  order  of  insects.  From 
the  description  of  it,  published  in  the  sixth 
volume  of  the  CuUivalor,  by  Mr.  Willis  Gaylord, 
this  depredator  appears  to  be  a  caterpillar,  or 
span-worm,  being  provided  with  twelve  feet, 
six  of  which  are  situated  near  each  extremity 
of  its  body.  Like  other  span-worms,  or  Geo- 
meters, it  has  the  power  of  spinning  and  sus- 
pending itself  by  a  thread.  Mr.  Gaylord  says 
that  it  is  of  a  yellowish-brown  or  butternut 
colour ;  that  it  not  only  feeds  on  the  kernel  in 


I 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 

the  milky  state,  but  also  devours  the  germi- 
nating end  of  the  ripened  grain,  without,  how- 
ever, burying  itself  within  the  hull ;  and  that 
it  is  found  in  great  numbers,  in  the  chaff,  when 
the  grain  is  thrashed.  He  says,  moreover,  that 
it  has  been  known  for  years  in  the  western 
part  of  New  York ;  and  that  it  is  not  so  much 
the  new  appearance  of  this  insect,  as  its  in- 
crease, which  has  caused  the  present  alarm 
respecting  it.  The  transformations  and  the 
appearance  of  this  insect  in  its  perfected  state 
have  not  yet  been  described.  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Sill,  of  Warren,  Pennsylvania,  has  given  a 
somewhat  different  description  of  it.  On 
thrashmg  his  winter-wheat,  immediately  after 
harvest,  he  found  among  the  screenings  a  vast 
army  of  this  new  enemy.  He  says  that  it  was 
a  caterpillar,  about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in 
length,  when  fully  grown,  and  apparently  of  a 
straw-colour ;  but,  when  seen  through  a  mag- 
nifier, was  found  to  be  striped  lengthwise  with 
orange  and  cream  colour.  Its  head  was  dark 
brown.  It  was  provided  with  legs,  could  sus- 
pend itself  by  a  thread,  and  resembled  a  cater- 
pillar in  all  its  motions.  This  insect  ought  not 
to  be  confounded  with  the  smaller  worms 
found  by  Mr.  Sill  in  the  upper  joints  of  the 
stems  of  the  wheat,  and  within  the  kernels, 
until  their  identity  has  been  proved  by  further 
observations.  It  appears  highly  probable  that 
Mr.  Gay  lord's  and  Mr.  Sill's  wheat-caterpillars 
are  the  same,  notwithstanding  the  difference  in 
their  colour.  Insects,  of  the  same  size  as  these 
caterpillars,  and  of  a  brownish  colour,  have 
been  found  in  various  parts  of  Maine,  where 
they  have  done  much  injury  to  the  grain. 
Unlike  the  maggots  of  the  wheat-fly,  with 
which  they  have  been  confounded,  they  remain 
depredating  upon  the  ears  of  the  grain  until 
after  the  time  of  harvest  Immense  numbers 
of  them  have  been  seen  upon  barn-floors, 
where  the  grain  has  been  thrashed,  but  they 
soon  crawl  away,  and  conceal  themselves  in 
crevices,  where  they  probably  undergo  their 
transformations.  These  wheat -worms,  or 
wheat-caterpillars,  as  they  ought  to  be  called, 
if  the  foregoing  accounts  really  refer  to  the 
same  kind  of  insect,  are  supposed  by  some 
persons  to  be  identical  with  the  clover-worms, 
which  have  been  found  in  clover,  in  various 
parts  of  the  country,  and  have  often  been  seen 
spinning  down  from  lofts  and  mows  where 
clover  has  been  stowed  away." 

Flies  Dkstbuctivk  to  Barlet.  Several 
communications  respecting  a  disease  of  bar- 
ley-straw, produced  by  the  punctures  of  in- 
sects, were  published  in  Fessenden's  New 
E/ngland  Fanner,  in  1829  and  1830  (vol.  8th). 
In  one  of  these,  from  the  Hon.  J.  Merrill, 
of  Newburyport,  it  is  stated  that  the  barley 
in  that  vicinity  yields  not  much  more  than 
the  seed  sown.  Most  of  the  stalks  were  found 
to  have  a  number  of  small  worms  within 
them,  near  to  the  second  joint,  and  had  become 
hardened  in  the  part  attacked.  During  several 
years  previous  to  this  date  the  crops  of  barley 
in  various  parts  of  Essex  and  Middlesex  coun- 
ties, had  been  more  or  less  injured  in  the  same 
way,  an  as  in  some  places  to  induce  farmers  to 
abandon  the  culture.  It  was  supposed  that  the 
insects  had  been  imported  from  Bremen,  or 


FLY  IN  WHEAT. 

some  other  port  in  the  north  of  Europe.  Thft 
maggots  were  found  to  be  transformed  into 
small  flies,  which  were  thought  by  some  to  be 
the  same  as  Hessian  flies.  In  the  summer  of 
1831,  myriads  of  these  flies  were  found  aliva 
in  straw  beds  in  Gloucester,  the  straw  having 
been  taken  from  the  fields  the  year  before. 
Complaints  were  made  that  the  insects  in  these 
straw  beds  stung  those  that  slept  upon  them 
But  Dr.  Harris  thinks  that  the  stings  must 
have  come,  not  from  the  grain-fly  itself,  but 
from  parasites,  vast  numbers  of  which,  closely 
resembling  the  Lurytoma  Destructor,  have  been 
found  to  come  out  of  the  diseased  straw. 

When  the  barley  is  about  8  or  10  inches 
high,  the  effects  of  the  disease  in  it  begin  to  be 
visible  by  a  sudden  check  in  the  growth  of  the 
plants,  and  the  yellow  colour  of  their  lower 
leaves.  If  the  butts  of  the  straw  are  now  ex- 
amined, they  will  be  found  to  be  irregularly 
swollen,  and  discoloured,  between  the  second 
and  third  joints,  and,  instead  of  being  hollow, 
are  rendered  solid,  hard,  and  brittle,  so  that  the 
stem  above  the  diseased  part  is  impoverished, 
and  seldom  produces  any  grain.  Suckers, 
however,  shoot  out  below,  and  afterwards  yield 
a  partial  crop,  seldom  exceeding  one-half  the 
usual  quantity  of  grain.  "  It  is  evident,"  says 
Mr.  Gourgas,  "that  the  soundness  of  the  grain, 
raised  in  a  blighted  field,  is  not  affected  thereby 
in  the  slightest  degree ;  the  seed  (eggs)  to  per- 
petuate the  disease  from  year  to  year  is  lodged 
in  the  straw,  which,  when  hatched,  are  the 
worms"  before  mentioned.  Dr.  Andrew  Ni- 
chols, of  Danvers  states,  that  these  worms  are 
about  one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  of  a 
yellow  or  straw  colour;  and  that  in  the  month 
of  November,  they  appeared  to  have  passed  to 
the  chrysalis  state.  They  live  through  the 
winter  unchanged  in  the  straw,  many  of  them 
in  the  stubble  in  the  field,  while  others  are  car- 
ried away  when  the  grain  is  harvested.  When 
the  barley  is  thrashed,  numerous  small  pieces 
of  diseased  straw,  too  hard  to  be  broken  by  the 
flail,  will  be  found  among  the  grain.  Some  of 
these  may  be  separated  by  the  winnowing  ma- 
chine, but  many  others  are  too  large  and  heavy 
to  be  winnowed  out,  and  remain  with  the  grain, 
from  which  they  can  only  be  removed  by  the 
slow  process  of  picking  them  out  by  hand. 

Dr.  Harris,  who  examined  portions  of  the 
diseased  barley-straw,  states  that  he  found  each 
piece  to  contain  several  small,  whitish  mag- 
gots, each  maggot  imbedded  in  the  thickened 
and  solid  substance  of  the  stem,  a  little  longi- 
tudinal hollow,  of  the  shape  of  its  own  body ; 
and  its  presence  was  known  by  an  oblong 
swelling  upon  the  surface.  In  some  pieces  of 
straw  the  swellings  were  so  numerous  as 
greatly  to  disfigure  the  stem,  the  circulation  in 
which  must  have  been  very  much  checked  if 
not  destroyed.  Early  in  the  following  spring, 
these  maggots  entered  the  pupae  or  chrysalis 
state,  and  on  the  15th  of  June  the  perfected 
insects  began  to  make  their  escape  through 
minute  perforations  in  the  straw,  which  they 
gnawed  for  this  purpose.  Seven  of  these  little 
holes  were  counted  in  a  piece  of  straw  only- 
half  an  inch  in  length.  The  insects  continued 
to  release  themselves  from  their  confinement 
till  the  5th  of  July,  after  which  no  more  were 
2T  493 


FLY,  HESSIAN. 

Been.  Much  to  his  surprise  they  proved  to  be 
minute,  four-winged  Ichneumon-flies,  which 
are  parasitical,  or  prey,  in  the  larva  state,  on 
the  bodies  of  other  insects.  He  had  hoped  to 
have  obtained  the  true  culprits,  the  cause  of 
the  disease,  supposing  that  the  latter  were  al- 
lied to  the  Hessian  fly;  but  these  little  insects, 
while  in  the  larva  slate,  had  destroyed  them 
all,  and,  having  finished  their  appointed  task, 
and  undei^one  their  transformations,  now 
made  their  escape  from  the  straw  in  the 
winged  form.  The  scientific  name,  given  to 
this  newly  discovered  parasite,  was  Eurytonia 
Uordei.,  so  called  from  HorJeum,  the  Latin 
name  for  barley.  It  is  very  much  like  the 
parasite  (Eurytoma  destructor)  of  the  Hessian 
fly,  described  by  Mr.  Say,  but  is  rather  larger, 
of  a  jet  black  colour,  except  the  legs,  which 
are  blackish,  with  pale  yellow  joints.  The  head 
and  thorax  are  somewhat  rough,  and  slightly 
hairy;  the  hind-body  is  smooth  and  polished. 
The  female  is  thirteen-hundredths  of  an  inch 
long;  the  male  is  rather  smaller.  It  often 
moves  by  little  leaps,  but  the  hindmost  thighs 
are  not  thickened.  This  minute  insect  is  to 
be  reckoned  among  our  friends,  being  ap- 
pointed, by  an  all-wise  and  provident  Creator, 
to  chock  the  increase  of  the  destructive  fly 
that  attacks  our  barley.  Though  disappointed 
in  my  attempts  to  obtain  the  latter,  in  its  per- 
fected state,  I  hail  with  pleasure  the  appear- 
ance of  its  mortal  enemy.  "  Although,"  says 
Dr.  Harris,  "the  barley-fly  has  not  yet  been 
seen  by  me,  there  does  not  exist  the  smallest 
doubt  in  my  mind  that  it  is  a  two-winged  gnat, 
like  the  Hessian  fly  and  wheat-fly.  Any  one, 
who  will  compare  the  history  of  the  latter  two 
with  what  is  known  of  the  barley  insect,  will 
arrive  at  the  same  conclusion.  Both  the  Hes- 
sian fly  and  the  barley  insect  attack  the  culms 
or  straw  of  grain,  which  they  injure  to  a  great 
extent;  and  botn  have  a  similar  four-winged 
parasite  appropriated  to  them.  It  is  probable 
that  the  barley-fly  is  a  species  of  Ceddomyia, 
distinct  from  the  Hessian  and  the  wheat-flies." 

We  have  reason  to  believe,  that  the  maggots 
of  the  barley-fly  remain  in  the  straw  during 
the  winter,  and  that  they  take  the  winged  form 
in  the  spring,  in  season  to  lay  their  eggs  on 
the  yoang  barley.  It  is  therefore  important  to 
prevent  them  from  completing  their  transform- 
ations. This  may  be  done  by  burning  the 
•tnbble,  which  contains  many  of  the  insects, 
in  the  aotumn  ;  by  destroying  in  the  same  way, 
nil  the  straw  and  refuse  which  is  unfit  for  fod- 
der; and  by  keeping  the  grain  in  close  vessels 
oyer  one  year,  whereby  the  insects,  which  are 
disclosed  from  the  small  heavy  pieces  of  straw 
remaining  an  winnowed  from  the  grain,  will 
perish  without  an  opportunity  to  escape. 

FLY,  HESSIAN.  One  of  the  most  formida- 
ble  enemies  of  the  wheal  crop  in  the  United 
States,  is  the  tar-famed  Hessian  fly,  a  small 
gnat  or  midge,  which  naturalisU!  have  placed  in 
the  family  of  gall-smats  (Cendomyiada).  The 
insects  of  this  family  are  very  numerous,  and 
most  of  them  in  the  maggot  state  live  in  galls, 
or  unnatural  enlargements  of  the  stems,  leaves, 
and  buds  oi  plants,  caused  by  the  punctures 
of  the  winged  insects  in  laying  their  eg^s. 
Tlie  following  account  of  the  Hessian  fly,  Uie 
494 


FLY,  HESSIAN. 

I  dread  of  farmers  wherever  wheat  is  cultivated 
in  North  America,  is  chiefly  taken  from  Har- 
ris's Report  on  Destructive  Insects,  and  Her- 
rick's  valuable  paper  upon  this  insect,  pub- 
lished in  StlUman's  American  Journal  of  Science, 
vol.  43.  The  brief  history  of  the  habits  and 
transformations  of  the  Hessian  fly  will  be 
found  to  agree  essentially  with  the  excellent 
observations  on  this  insect,  written  in  1797, 
by  Dr.  Isaac  Chapman,  and  published  in  the 
Memoirs  of  the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting 
Agritniltiire. 

"The  head  and  thorax  of  this  fly  are  black. 
The  hind-body  is  tawny,  and  covered  with  fine 
grayish  hairs.  The  wings  are  blackish,  but 
are  more  or  less  tinged  with  yellow  at  the  base, 
where  also  they  are  very  narrow :  they  are 
fringed  with  short  hairs,  and  are  rounded  at 
the  end.  The  body  measures  about  one- 
tenth  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  the  wings 
expand  one-quarter  of  an  inch,  or  more. 
Two  broods  or  generations  are  brought  to 
maturity  in  the  course  of  a  year,  and  the  flies 
appear  in  the  spring  and  autumn,  but  rather 
earlier  in  the  Southern  and  Middle  States  than 
in  New  England.  The  transformations  of 
some  in  each  brood  appear  to  be  retarded  be- 
yond the  usual  time,  as  is  found  to  be  the  case 
with  many  other  insects ;  so  that  the  life  of 
these  individuals,  from  the  egg  to  the  winged 
state,  extends  to  a  year  or  more  in  length, 
whereby  the  continuation  of  the  species  in 
after  years  is  made  more  sure.  It  has  fre- 
quently been  asserted  that  the  flies  lay  their 
eggs  on  the  grain  in  the  ear;  but  whether  this 
be  true  or  not,  it  is  certain  that  they  do  lay  their 
eggs  on  the  young  plants,  and  long  before  the 
grain  is  ripe  ;  for  many  persons  have  witnessed 
and  testified  to  this  fact.  In  the  New  England 
States,  winter  wheat,  as  it  is  called,  is  usually 
sown  about  the  1st  of  September.  Towards 
the  end  of  this  month,  and  in  October,  when 
the  grain  has  sprouted,  and  begins  to  show  a 
leaf  or  two,  the  flies  appear  in  the  fields,  and, 
having  paired,  begin  to  lay  their  eggs,  in  which 
business  they  are  occupied  for  several  weeks. 
The  followinginterestingaccounlof  the  manner 
in  which  this  is  done,  was  written  by  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Tilghman,  of  Queen  Ann  county,  Mary- 
land, and  was  published  in  the  eighth  volume 
of  the  Cultivator,  in  May,  1841.  '  By  the  se- 
cond week  of  October,  the  first  sown  wheat 
being  well  up,  and  having  generally  put  forth 
its  second  and  third  blades,  I  resorted  to  my 
field  in  a  fine  warm  forenoon,  to  endeavour  to 
satisfy  myself,  by  ocular  demonstration,  whe- 
ther the  fly  did  deposit  the  egg  on  the  blades  of 
the  growing  plant.  Selecting  a  favourable 
spot  to  make  my  observation,  I  placed  myself 
in  a  reclining  position  in  a  furrow,  and  had 
been  on  the  watch  but  a  minute  or  two,  be- 
fore I  discovered  a  number  of  small  black 
flies  alighting  and  sitting  on  the  wheat  plants 
around  me,  and  presently  one  settled  on  the 
ridged  surface  of  a  blade  of  a  plant  completely 
within  my  reach  and  distinct  observation.  She 
immediately  began  depositing  her  eggs  in  the 
longitudinal  cavity  between  the  little  ridges  of 
the  blade.  I  could  distinctly  see  the  eggs  eject- 
ed from  a  kind  of  tube  or  sting.  After  she 
had  deposited  eight  or  ten  eggs,  I  easily  caught 


r 


FLY,  HESSIAN. 


her  upon  the  blade,  and  wrapped  her  up  in  a 
piece  of  paper.  I  then  proceeded  to  take  up 
the  plant  with  as  much  as  I  conveniently  could 
of  the  circumjacent  earth,  and  wrapped  it  all 
securely  in  a  piece  of  paper.  After  that  I 
continued  my  observations  on  the  flies,  caught 
several  similarly  occupied,  and  could  see  the 
eggs  uniformly  placed  in  the  longitudinal  cavi- 
ties of  the  blades  of  the  wheat ;  their  appear- 
ance being  that  of  minute  reddish  specks.  My 
own  mind  being  thus  completely  and  fully 
satisfied  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  egg  was 
deposited,  I  proceeded  directly  to  my  dwelling, 
and  put  the  plant  with  the  eggs  upon  it  in  a 
large  glass  tumbler,  adding  a  little  water  to  the 
earth,  and  secured  the  vessel  by  covering  it 
with  paper,  so  that  no  insect  could  get  access 
to  the  interior.  I'he  paper  was  sufficiently 
perforated  with  pin-holes  for  the  admission  of 
air.  The  tumbler  with  its  contents  was  daily 
watched  by  myself  to  discover  the  hatching  of 
the  eggs.  About  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth 
day  from  the  deposit  of  the  eggs,  I  was  so  for- 
tunate as  to  discover  a  very  small  maggot  or 
worm,  of  a  reddish  cast,  making  its  way  with 
considerable  activity  down  the  blade,  and  saw 
it  till  it  disappeared  between  the  blade  and 
stem  of  the  plant.  This  I  have  no  di»ubt,  was 
the  produce  of  one  of  the  eggs,  and  would,  I 
presume,  have  hatched  much  sooner,  had  the 
plant  remained  in  the  field.  It  was  my  inten- 
tion to  have  carried  on  the  experiment,  by  en- 
deavouring to  hatch  out  the  insect  from  the 
llax-seed  state  into  the  perfect  fly  again ;  but 
being  called  from  home,  ihe  plant  was  suffered 
to  perish.  The  fly  that  I  caught  on  iJie  blade  of 
the  wheat,  as  above  stated,  I  enclosed  in  a  letter 
to  Mr.  John  S.  Skinner,  the  editor  of  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer,  of  Baltimore,  who  pronounced  it 
to  be  a  genuine  Hessian  fly,  and  identical  in 
appearance  with  others  recently  received  from 
Virginia.* 

♦*  Dr.  Chapman  agrees   with  the  writer,  in 
saying  that  the  Hessian  fly  lays  her  eggs  in 
the  small  creases  of  the  young  leaves  of  the 
wheat.    Mr.  Havens,  in  an  article  on  this  in- 
sect, which  will  again  be  referred  to,  states, 
that  the  fly  lays  her  eggs  on  the  leaves.     In  the 
fortieth    number   of    The  Connecticut   Fanner's 
Gazette,  Mr.  Herrick  says,  *I  have  repeatedly, 
both  in  autumn  and  spring,  seen  the  Hessian 
fly  in  the  act  of  depositing  eggs  on  wheat,  and 
have  always  found  that  she  selects  for  this  pur- 
pose the  leaves  of  the  young  plant.    The  eggs 
are  laid  in  various  numbers  on  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  strap-shaped  portion  (or  blade)  of 
the  leaf.'    His  remarks  in  Professor  Silliraan's 
Journal  are  to  the  same  eflfect.     Other  authori- 
ties on  this  point  might  be  mentioned;  but  the 
foregoing    are    sufficient,   in   my   opinion,  to 
establish  the  fact,  that  the  Hessian  fly  lays  her 
eggs  on  the  leaves  of  wheat  soon  after  the 
plants  are  up.     'The  number  on  a  single  leaf,' 
says  Mr.  Herrick,  *  is  often  twenty  or  thirty,  I 
and  sometimes  much  greater.     In  these  cases  | 
many  of  the  larvae  must  perish.    The  egg  is  I 
about  a  fiftieth  of  an  inch  long,  and  four-thou-  i 
sandth  of  an   inch  in  diameter,  cylindrical, 
translucent,  and  of  a  pale  red  colour.'     Mr.  ! 
Tilghman  v  as  correct  in  supposing  that  the  [ 
eggs   would  hatch  in  less  than  fifteen  days,  i 


FLY,  HESSIAN. 

# 
under  favourable  circumstances ;  for,  if  the 
weather  be  warm,  they  commonly  hatch  in  four 
days  after  they  are  laid.  The  maggots,  when 
they  first  come  out  of  the  shells,  are  of  a  pale 
red  colour.  Forthwith  they  crawl  down  the 
leaf,  and  work  their  way  between  it  and  the 
j  main  stalk,  passing  downwards  till  they  come 
to  a  joint,  just  above  which  they  remain,  a 
I  little  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  with  the 
}  head  towards  the  root  of  the  plant.  Having 
thus  fixed  themselves  upon  the  stalk,  they  be- 
come stationary,  and  never  move  from  the 
place  till  their  transformations  are  completed. 
They  do  not  eat  the  sialk,  neither  do  they  pene- 
trate within  It,  as  some  persons  have  supposed, 
but  they  lie  lengthwise  upon  its  surface, 
covered  by  the  lower  part  of  the  leaves,  and 
are  nourished  wholly  by  the  sap,  which  they 
appear  to  take  by  suction.  They  soon  lose 
their  reddish  colour,  turn  pale,  and  will  be 
found  to  be  clouded  with  whitish  spots ;  and 
through  their  transparent  skins  a  greenish 
stripe  may  be  seen  in  the  middle  of  their 
bodies.  As  they  increase  in  size,  and  grow 
plump  and  firm,  they  become  imbedded  in  the 
side  of  the  stem,  by  the  pressure  of  their  bodies 
upon  the  growing  plant.  One  maggot  thus 
placed  seldom  destroys  a  plant;  but  when  two 
or  three  are  fixed  in  this  manner  around  the 
stem,  they  weaken  and  impoverish  the  plant, 
and  cause  it  to  fall  down,  or  to  wither  and  die. 
They  usually  come  to  their  full  size  in  five  or 
six  weeks,  and  then  measure  about  three-twen- 
tieths of  an  inch  in  length.  Their  skin  now 
gradually  hardens,  becomes  brownish,  and 
soon  changes  to  a  bright  chestnut  colour.  This 
change  usually  happens  about  the  first  of  De- 
cember, when  the  insect  may  be  said  to  enter 
on  the  pupa  state,  for  after  this  time  it  takes  no 
more  nourishment.  Mr.  Herrick  informs  me, 
that  the  brown  and  leathery  skin,  within  which 
the  maggot  has  changed  to  a  pupa  or  chrysalis, 
is  long,  egg-shaped,  smooth,  and  marked  with 
eleven  transverse  lines,  and  measures  one- 
eighth  of  *an  inch  in  length.  In  this  form  it 
has  been  commonly  likened  to  a  flax-sted.  It 
appears,  then,  from  the  remarks  of  Dr.  Chap- 
man, Mr.  Herrick,  and  other  careful  observers, 
that  the  maggots  of  the  Hessian  fly  do  not  cast 
off  their  skins  in  order  to  become  pupae,  v/here- 
in  they  differ  from  the  larvae  of  most  other 
gnats,  and  agree  with  those  of  common  flies ; 
neither  do  they  spin  cocoons,  as  some  of  the 
Cecidomyians  are  supposed  to  do.  Mr.  Her- 
rick, in  one  of  his  letters,  observes,  that  '  the 
pupa  gradually  cleaves  from  the  dried  skin  of 
the  larva,  and,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
weeks,  is  wholly  detached'  from  it.  Still  en- 
closed within  this  skin,  which  thus  becomes 
a  kind  of  cocoon  or  shell  for  the  pupa,  it 
remains  throughout  the  winter,  safely  lodged 
in  its  bed  on  the  side  of  the  stem,  near  the 
root  of  the  plant,  and  protected  from  the  cold 
by  the  dead  leaves.  Towards  the  end  of  April 
and  in  the  forepart  of  May,  or  as  soon  as  the 
weather  becomes  warm  enough  in  the  spring, 
the  insects  are  transformed  into  flies.  They 
make  their  escape  from  their  winter-quarters 
by  breaking  through  one  end  of  their  shells 
and  the  remains  of  the  leaves  around  them.  — 
"  Very  soon  after  the  flies  come  forth  in  tiie 

195 


TLY,  HESSIAN. 

spring,  they  are  prepared  to  lay  their  eggs  on 
the  leaves  of  the  wheat  sown  in  the  autumn 
before,  and  also  on  the  spring-sown  wheat,  that 
begins,  at  this  time,  to  appear  above  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  They  continue  to  come  forth 
and  lay  their  eggs  for  the  space  of  three  weeks, 
after  which  they  entirely  disappear  from  the 
fields.  The  maggots  hatched  from  these  eggs 
pass  along  the  stems  of  the  wheal,  nearly  to 
the  roots,  become  stationary,  and  turn  to  pupae 
Id  June  and  July.  In  this  state  they  are  found 
at  the  time  of  harvest,  and  when  the  grain  is 
gathered,  they  remain  in  the  stubble  in  the 
fields.  To  this,  however,  as  Mr.  Haven  re- 
marks, there  are  some  exceptions ;  for  a  few 
of  the  insects  do  not  pass  so  far  down  the  side 
of  the  stems  as  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the 
sickle  when  the  grain  is  reaped,  and  conse- 
quently will  be  gathered  and  carried  away  with 
the  straw.  Most  of  them  are  transformed  to 
flies  in  the  autumn,  but  others  remain  un- 
changed in  the  stubble  or  straw  till  the  next 
spring.  Hereby,  says  Mr.  Havens,  *  it  appears 
evident,  that  they  may  be  removed  from  their 
natural  situation  in  the  field,  and  be  kept  alive 
long  enough  to  be  carried  across  the  Atlantic ; 
from  which  circumstance  it  is  possible  that 
they  might  have  been  imported'  in  straw  from 
a  foreign  country.  In  the  winged  state,  these 
flies,  or  more  properly  gnats,  are  very  active, 
and,  though  very  small  and  seemingly  feeble, 
are  able  to  fly  to  a  considerable  distance  in 
search  of  fields  of  young  grain.  Their 
principal  migrations  take  place  in  August  and 
Beptember  in  the  Middle  States,  where  they 
undergo  their  final  transformations  earlier  than 
in  New  England.  There,  too,  they  sometimes 
take  wing  in  immense  swarms,  and,  being 
probably  aided  by  the  wind,  are  not  stopped  in 
their  course  either  by  mountains  or  rivers.  On 
their  first  appearance  in  Pennsylvania,  they 
■were  seen  to  pass  the  Delaware  like  a  cloud. 
Being  attracted  by  light,  they  have  been  known, 
during  the  wheat  harvest,  to  enter  houses  in 
the  evening  in  such  numbers  as  se'riously  to 
annoy  the  inhabitants. 

"The  old  discussion,  concerning  the  place 
where  the  Hessian  fly  lays  her  eggs,  has  lately 
been  revived,  in  consequence  of  a  communica- 
lion  made  by  Miss  Margaretta  H.  Morris,  of 
Germantown,  Pennsylvania,  to  'The  American 
Philosophical  Society,'  of  Philadelphia.  The 
following  remarks  upon  it  are  extracted  from 
a  report  made  to  the  same  society,  and  pub- 
lished in  their  Prorcedin^g  for  November  and 
December,  1840.  'Miss  Morris  believes  she 
has  established  that  the  ovum  (egg)  of  this 
destnictive  insect  is  deposited  in  the  seed  of 
the  wheat,  and  not  in  the  stalk  or  culm.  She 
has  watched  the  progress  of  the  animal  since 
June,  1836,  and  has  satisfied  herself  that  she 
has  frequently  seen  the  larva  within  the  seed. 
She  has  also  detected  the  larva,  at  various 
stages  of  its  progress,  from  the  seed  to  between 
the  body  of  the  stalk  and  the  sheath  of  the 
leaves.  According  lo  her  observations,  the 
recently  hatched  larva  penetrates  to  the  centre 
of  the  straw,  where  it  may  be  found  of  a  pale 
greenish-white,  semi-transparent  appearance, 
in  form  somewhat  resembling  a  silk-worm. 
From  one  to  six  of  these  have  been  found  at 
496 


FLY,  HESSIAN. 

various  heights  from  the  seed  lo  the  third  joint." 
Miss  Morris's  communication  has  not  yet  been 
published  in  full;  but,  from  the  foregoing  re- 
port, we  are  led  lo  infer  that  the  egg,  being 
sown  with  the  grain,  is  hatched  in  the  ground, 
and  that  the  maggot  afterwards  mounts  from 
the  seed  through  the  middle  of  the  stem,  and 
having  reached  a  proper  height,  escapes  from 
the  hollow  of  the  straw  to  the  outside,  where  it 
takes  the  pupa  or  flax-seed  state.  The  fact 
ihat  the  Hessian  fly  does  ordinarily  lay  her 
eggs  on  the  young  leaves  of  wheat,  barley,  and 
rye,  both  in  the  spring  and  in  the  autumn,  is 
too  well  authenticated  to  admit  of  any  doubt. 
If,  therefore,  the  observations  of  Miss  Morris 
are  found  to  be  equally  correct,  they  will  serva 
to  show,  still  more  than  the  foregoing  history, 
how  variable  and  extraordinary  is  the  economy 
of  this  insect,  and  how  great  are  the  resources 
wherewith  it  is  provided  for  the  continuation 
of  its  kind."   (Harris.) 

Dr.  B.  H.  Coates  of  Philadelphia,  whose  at 
tention  has  been  recently  drawn  to  the  Hessian 
and  other  flies  destructive  to  wheat  crops, 
slates  that  a  number  of  examinations  made  in 
the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  during  the  summer 
of  1841,  showed  the  presence  of  a  pale  yellow 
larva  in  the  hollow  of  the  straw  of  wheat, 
which  he  considered  as  proved  to  be  the  same 
with  that  which  is  ultimately  converted  into 
the  Cecidomyia  Destructor  of  Say,  and  the 
Hessian  fly  of  our  cultivators.  In  many  in- 
stances, "communicated  to  him  by  Miss  Mor- 
ris," referable,  perhaps,  to  a  peculiarity  in  the 
season,  the  animal  w-ent  through  all  its  stages 
before  escaping  from  the  cavity;  "thus  afford- 
ing," says  Dr.  Coates,  "irrefragable  evidences 
of  the  identity  of  the  species."  In  no  case 
known  to  Dr.  C.  had  any  thing  resembling  a 
caterpillar  or  maggot,  or  any  thing  apparently 
capable  of  locomotion,  been  found  under  the 
sheath  of  the  leaf:  the  body  observed  was 
always  immovable  and  fixed  in  a  depression  of 
the  straw.     {Proceedings  of  the  Am.  Phil.  Soc.) 

"Various  means  have  been  recommended 
for  preventing  or  lessening  the  ravages  of  the 
Hessian  fly;  but  they  have  hitherto  failed, 
either  because  they  have  not  been  adapted  to 
the  end  in  view,  or  because  they  have  not 
been  universally  adopted;  and  it  appears  • 
doubtful  whether  any  of  them  will  ever  en- 
tirely exterminate  the  insect.  It  is  stated  in 
the  before-mentioned  report  to  *  the  Philoso- 
phical Society,'  that  Miss  Morris  advises  ob- 
taining '  fresh  seed  from  localities  in  which 
the  fly  has  not  made  its  appearance,'  and  that 
'  by  this  means  the  crop  of  the  following  year  will 
be  uninjured;  but  in  order  to  avoid  the  intro- 
duction of  straggling  insects  of  the  kind  from 
adjacent  fields,  it  is  requisite  that  a  whole  neigh- 
bourhood should  persevere  in  this  precaution 
for  two  or  more  years  in  succession.'"  (Harris.) 
It  seems  to  be  generally  admitted  that  the 
variety  of  wheat  called  Mediterranean,  intro- 
duced a  few  years  since  into  the  United  States, 
where  it  is  now  extensively  cultivated,  resists 
the  attacks  of  the  Hessian  fly.  Hence  it  may 
be  sown  very  early  in  the  fall,  long  before  il 
would  be  safe  lo  sow  the  common  varieties, 
by  which  another  great  advantage  is  gained, 
in  its  escaping  the  rust  and  mildew  so  apt  u> 


FOAL. 


FOG. 


affect  crops  which  are  backward  in  the  time 
of  ripening. 

FOAL  (Su.  Goth. /ofe;  Sax.  Foia).  The 
young  of  the  horse  kind ;  the  male  being  term- 
ed a  colt  foal,  and  the  female  a  filly.  The  foal 
and  its  mother  should  always  be  well  fed,  and 
two  feeds  of  corn,  at  least,  be  added  to  the 
green  food  which  they  get,  when  turned  out 
after  their  work  at  night.  The  growing  colt 
should  continue  to  have  liberal  nourishment ; 
bruised  oats  and  bran  should  form  a  consider- 
able part  of  his  daily  provender.  In  five  or 
six  months,  according  to  the  growth  of  the  foal, 
it  may  be  weaned.  It  should  then  be  housed 
for  three  weeks  or  a  month,  or  turned  into 
some  distant  rick-yard.  The  process  of  break- 
ing in  should  commence  from  the  very  period 
of  weaning;  and  the  foal  should  be  daily 
handled,  partially  dressed,  accustomed  to  the 
halter,  led  about,  and  even  tied  up;  for  on  this 
much  of  the  tractability,  good  temper,  and 
value  of  the  horse  will  depend.  After  the  se- 
cond winter,  the  work  of  breaking  in  may  com- 
mence in  good  earnest. 

Management  of  Foals  after  Weaning. — The 
principal  object  with  most  breeders  is  to  have 
their  stock  large  and  powerful  at  an  early  age. 
It  is  really  wonderful  what  may  be  done  to- 
wards effecting  this  by  means  of  good  food 
judiciously  supplied,  proper  shelter,  and  liberty 
of  range  in  favourable  weather.  It  is  natural 
to  suppose,  when  a  foal  is  first  taken  from  its 
dam,  that  it  will,  in  some  degree,  fall  away  in 
condition  and  lose  flesh ;  the  nutritive  proper- 
ties of  its  "mother's  milk"  cannot  be  taken 
from  it  without  affecting  its  yet  tender  constitu- 
tion. To  guard  against  this,  every  attention 
must  be  directed  to  the  quality  as  well  as  quan- 
tity of  food  which  is  presented  to  it ;  that  which 
contains  most  nourishment  must  be  provided, 
and  although  the  bulk  of  hay  wliich  a  foal  con- 
sumes is  very  trifling,  it  should  be  of  the  best 
quality.  For  foals,  when  they  are  first  weaned, 
linseed  gruel  should  be  their  constant  beverage, 
and,  indeed,  it  cannot  be  too  highly  recom- 
mended for  all  horses.  A  liberal  allowance  of 
oats  is  likewise  necessary;  foals,  if  in  health, 
will  eat  at  least  two  quarterns  per  day ;  and*,  as 
they  increase  in  age,  this  allowance  may  be 
augmented.  The  seeds  which  are  left  from  the 
linseed-gruel,  should  be  given  with  the  corn.  I 
have  frequently  recommended  the  practice  of 
bruising  the  oats,  and  must  certainly  repeat  it, 
even  in  opposition  to  the  arguments  of  some 
persons  who  are  averse  to  it  Bran  mashes 
may  be  given  at  least  once  a  week,  and  in 
some  instances  more  frequently.  Carrots  will 
likewise  be  found  a  very  proper  food  for  young 
stock,  and  should  be  given  once  or  twice  a 
day.  Too  long  a  continuance  of  the  same 
food  cloys  the  appetite.  Boiled  barley  is  found 
to  be  very  nutritious  food,  and  mosi  horses  are 
very  fond  of  it.  As  an  alterative,  it  may  be 
given  with  great  advantage,  if  foals  do  not 
consume  their  corn  with  their  usual  appetite. 
It  requires  to  be  well  boiled  for  two  or  three 
hours  in  a  small  quantity  of  water,  frequently 
replenishing  it  that  the  grain  may  not  bum, 
and  constantly  stirring  it  that  every  grain  may 
undergo  an  equal  process;  it  maybe  consider- 
ea  suthciently  boiled  when  all  the  corns  have 
63 


burst,  and,  when  given,  should  have  a  little 
bran  or  finely-cut  hay  mixed  with  it.  About 
ten  days  or  a  fortnight  after  they  are  weaned, 
each  foal  should  have  a  gentle  dose  of  physic 
— one  drachm  to  a  drachm  and  a  half  of  aloes, 
with  a  drachm  of  Castile  soap,  and  the  same 
quantity  of  ginger,  will  generally  be  found  suf- 
ficient. 

FOALING.  A  term  applied  to  the  act  of 
parturition,  or  bringing  forth  young  in  the 
mare.  Good  feeding  and  moderate  exercise 
are  found  to  be  the  best  preventives  against 
slinking,  which  is  most  prevalent  when  half 
the  time  of  pregnancy  has  elapsed.  See  Abob- 
Tioy.  If  a  mare  has  been  regularly  exercised, 
and  apparently  in  health  while  she  was  in 
foal,  little  danger  will  attend  the  act  of  parturi- 
tion. If  there  be  false  presentations  of  the 
fcetus,  or  difficulty  in  producing  it,  it  will  be 
better  to  have  recourse  to  a  well-informed 
veterinary  practitioner,  rather  than  injure  the 
mother  by  the  violent  and  injurious  attempts 
which  are  often  made  to  relieve  the  animaL 
As  soon  as  the  mare  has  foaled,  she  should  be 
turned  into  some  well  sheltered  pasture,  with 
a  hovel  or  shed  to  run  into  when  she  pleases  ; 
and  as,  supposing  she  has  foaled  in  April,  the 
grass  is  scanty,  she  should  have  a  couple  of 
feeds  of  corn  daily.  The  mare  may  be  put  to 
moderate  work  a  month  after  foaling. 

FODDER  (Genn.  futter ;  Sax.  rot>t>op;  from 
roeTjan,  to  eat;  Irish,  /brfrr,  straw ;  Ic el. /orfr). 
In  agriculture,  the  ordinary  food  given  to  cat- 
tle, which  consists  of  the  stems  and  leaves  of 
plants,  such  as  clover,  hay,  chopped  straw, 
dried  blades  and  tops  of  Indian  corn,  Ac. ;  the 
culmiferous  stems  of  the  grasses,  the  haulm 
of  legumes,  potatoes,  Ac.  Grain,  beans,  tur- 
nips, and  other  articles  which  present  nourish- 
ment in  a  more  concentrated  form,  are  not 
included  under  the  term  fodder,  but  are  rather 
known  as  solid  food.     See  Food. 

FOG  (Dan.  fog).  In  meteorology,  a  dense 
vapour  near  the  surface  of  the  land  or  water. 
Fogs  in  general  are  the  consequence  of  the 
nocturnal  cooling  of  the  atmosphere.  The  air, 
by  its  rapid  cooling,  becomes  surcharged  with 
moisture ;  a  part  of  which  being  condensed  in 
the  form  of  a  cloud,  gives  rise  to  the  ordinary 
fog.  During  the  day  the  heat  of  the  sun  gene- 
rally disperses  the  fog,  because  the  quantity  of 
moisture  which  the  air  is  capable  of  holding 
becomes  considerable  in  proportion  as  its  tem- 
perature is  increased.  In  calm  weather  the 
surfaces  of  rivers,  lakes,  &c.,  are  frequently 
covered  with  fog.  The  reason  is  this.  During 
the  night  the  air  is  colder  than  the  water;  the 
strata  of  air  in  contact  with  the  water  are  con- 
sequently heated,  and  become  saturated  with 
moisture.  The  mixture  of  the  vapour  with  the 
air,  together  with  its  elevation  of  temperature, 
renders  the  air  specifically  lighter.  It  rises  in 
consequence,  and  mixing  with  the  cold  air  in 
the  superior  strata,  is  cooled,  and  has  iis  mois- 
ture condensed.  The  cloud  or  fog  resulting 
from  this  precipitation  can  only  rise  to  a  smail 
height,  because  the  uniformity  of  temperature 
is  soon  restored.  Hence  it  is  easy  to  see  how 
winds,  or  a  great  agitation  of  the  water,  pre- 
vent the  formation  of  fogs  over  the  surface  of 
water.  In  the  equinoctial  regions,  fogs  some- 
2  T  2  497 


FOGGAGE. 


FOOD. 


times  continue  during  a  considerable  part  of 
the  year.  In  the  Polar  seas  thick  fogs  often 
prevail,  even  during  the  warmest  months;  and 
they  are  so  dense  that  objects  frequently  can- 
not be  distinguished  at  the  distance  of  a  few 
yards.  {Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

FOGGAGE  (Low  Lat.  fogagium).  Coarse 
or  rank  grass  not  eaten  down  in  the  summer 
or  autumn.  The  practice  of  fogging  grass- 
lands lor  the  winter  support  of  stock  has  been 
found  highly  useful. 

FOGGE.  A  common  word  in  the  north,  that 
properly  signifies  the  grass  which  immediately 
springs  after  the  hay-crop  has  been  taken,  but 
it  is  sometimes  used  for  the  long  grass  remain- 
ing in  the  pastures  till  winter.  (See  After- 
G11A88.)  It  is  also  used  for  nioss,  in  some  parts 
of  Scotland  :  thus  a  fog-house  means  a  house 
built  or  lined  with  moss. 

FOGGING.  A  peculiar  practice  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  grass-lands,  confined  chiefly  to  the 
district  of  South  Wales.  It  consists  in  keep- 
ing the  whole  growth  of  grass  in  upland  mea- 
dows free  from  either  scythe  or  stock,  and  eat- 
ing it  in  the  following  winter.  Arthur  Young 
states,  that  many  years  ago,  he  knew  a  Suffolk 
clergyman,  who  was  in  the  regular  habit  of 
this  singular  practice,  and  spoke  of  it  as  a 
most  profitable  one.  He  has,  he  says,  tried  it 
thrice,  and  with  success ;  and  he  finds  that  it 
thickens  the  herbage  greatly,  and  yields  far 
more  valujible  winter  and  spring  food  than 
any  person  would  expect,  who  never  tried  it. 
But  it  should  be  practised  only  on  dry  or  toler- 
ably dry  land. 

FOLD  (Sax.  pealee).  A  temporary  pen  or 
enclosure  for  keeping  cattle  or  other  agricultu- 
ral animals  together,  either  for  the  purpose  of 
confinement  during  the  night,  or  jointly  for 
protection  and  feeding.  Sometimes,  also,  sheep 
arc  folded  for  the  purpose  of  manuring.  Sheep- 
folds  are  of  two  kinds ;  either  houses  or  sheds 
»et  apart  for  that  purpose  adjoining  to  the  farm- 
yard, or  movable  folds  formed  by  hurdles,  &c. 
On  the  Continent,  sheep  are  principally  folded 
in  sheds,  &c.,  the  floors  of  which  are  strewed 
with  straw,  sand,  or  elean  dry  earth,  by  which 
an  additional  quantity  of  manure  is  obtained. 
The  temporary  fence  or  barrier  of  which  mova- 
ble folds  are  constructed,  is  most  commonly 
wooden  hurdles;  but  sometimes,  when  the  fold 
is  only  to  contain  ewes  and  lambs,  netting 
stretched  between  posts  is  made  use  of,  there 
being  a  strong  rope  fixed  to  the  lower  parts  of 
th«  post,  close  to  the  ground,  to  which  the  under 
^dge  of  the  netting  is  attached,  while  its  upper 
^edge  ia  fastened  to  a  rope  stretched  along  the 
tops  of  the  same  posU  Netting  is  by  far  the 
dieapest  and  neatest  substance  for  barriers  for 
folds.  (See  Hukdlu.)  Mr.  Children  has 
recently  advocated  a  system  of  shed-feeding 
(Janr.  Rny.  Agr,  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  40)  ;  and  there  is 
litUe  doubt  that  sheep,  in  common  with  all  live 
slock,  suffer  more  from  the  effects  of  wet  and 
cold,  when  feeding  in  exposed  situations,  than 
is  commonly  supposed. 

FOLDING.  The  practice  of  confining  sheep 
and  other  animals  upon  land,  by  means  of  hur- 
dles, &c.,  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  on  and 
manuring  it.  The  practice  of  folding  sheep  on 
uaked  tallows,  with  a  view  to  manuring  ♦hem, 
498 


is  still  common  in  several  parts  of  England ; 
but  the  more  improved  sheep  farmers  consider 
that  it  deteriorates  the  wool  and  impedes  the 
fattening  of  the  sheep,  by  keeping  them  for  the 
greater  part  of  every  night  wholly  without  food. 
Others,  however,  assert  that  folding  is  not  inju- 
rious to  sheep,  if  they  are  kept  in  a  good  pas- 
ture during  the  day,  and  not  folded  too  early  in 
the  evening,  or  kept  in  the  fold  too  long  in  the 
morning.  In  some  large  arable  land  farms  in 
Hampshire  and  other  counties,  folding  is  still 
considered  necessary,  and  large  flocks  of  breed- 
ing ewes  are  kept  specially  for  that  purpose. 
Sheep  are  occasionally  penned  or  folded  on 
young  wheat,  but  more  commonly  on  turnips, 
a  certain  portion  being  enclosed,  suflicient  for 
them  to  eat  off  in  one  or  two  days. 

FOLD-YARD.  The  yard  where  cattle  of 
different  sorts  are  confined  and  fed  during  the 
winter  season.  Yards  of  this  nature  should  be 
properly  fitted  up  with  convenient  sheds  and 
racks  for  the  animals  to  eat  their  fodder  from, 
and  have  suitable  divisions  for  containing  dif- 
ferent denominations  of  cattle,  or  other  live 
stock.     See  Farm-Yard. 

FOOD  (Sax.  ro-o).  All  substances  suscepti- 
ble of  digestion  and  assimilation  may  come 
under  the  denomination  of  food.  Animals 
require,  for  their  support  and  developement, 
atoms  or  elements  highly  organized.  The  food 
of  all  animals,  under  all  circumstances,  con- 
sists of  portions  of  organized  matter.  Vegeta- 
bles, on  the  contrary,  require  for  their  support 
elements  derived  from  the  complete  destruction 
of  organized  substances,  whether  animal  or 
vegetable,  through  the  processes  of  putrefac- 
tion and  decay.  The  proximate  principles  of 
organic  bodies,  on  which  their  nutritive  powers 
depend,  are  comparatively  few.  Although  the 
articles  employed  in  different  countries  for  the 
support  of  animal  life  are  almost  infinitely 
various,  their  sustaining  powers  may  be  re- 
ferred to  certain  substances  capable  of  being 
separated  and  identified  by  chemical  analyses 
and  tests.  Amongst  the  proximate  elements 
of  vegetable  food,  gluten  and  its  modifications, 
starch,  gum,  sugar,  and  lignin  or  woody  fibre, 
are  by  far  the  most  important;  and  amongst 
those  of  animal  food,  fibrin,  albumen,  gelatin, 
and  their  modifications,  together  with  fats  and 
oils,  which  are  common  to  both  kingdoms  of 
nature.  To  illustrate  the  actual  simplicity  of 
our  food,  as  compared  with  its  apparent  multi- 
fariousness and  complexity,  it  may  suffice  to 
state  that  wheat,  and  almost  all  the  esculent 
grains,  consist  principally  of  starch  and  gluten ; 
that  the  same  ingredients  are  found  in  many 
fruits  and  roots  ;  that  sugar,  gum,  or  a  relation 
of  gum,  which  is  called  vegetable  jelly,  together 
with  minut'e  traces  of  aromatic  principles  which 
give  flavour,  and  more  or  less  abundance  of 
water  and  of  vegetable  acids,  are  the  chief 
component  parts  of  apples,  peaches,  currants, 
dec,  and  all  pulpous  and  juicy  fruits;  a  very 
few  also  contain  oil.  Then,  as  regards  animal 
food,  the  muscular  fibres  of  various  animals 
closely  resemble  each  other  in  composition  and 
nutritive  power :  in  some  cases  texture  mereiy 
and  in  others  minute  additions  of  foreign  mat- 
ters,  confer  upon  them  their  relative  digestibi- 
lities and  their  different  aspects  and  flavours* 


FOOD. 

Albumen  or  fibrin  and  gelatin,  small  propor- 
tions of  saline  bodies,  and  a  large  quantity  of 
water,  are  found  in  them  all. 

It  often  happens  that  the  truly  nutritious 
part  of  food  is  so  combined  with  or  protected 
by  indigestible  matters  as  to  escape  the  solvent 
powers  of  the  stomach,  unless  previously  pre- 
pared and  modified  by  various  chemical  and 
mechanical  agents.  Indurated  woody  fibre,  for 
instance,  or  lignin,  as  chemists  call  it,  will  often 
resist  the  joint  action  of  the  stomach  and  bow- 
els, and  pass  through  the  alimentary  canal  with 
scarcely  any  alteration.  The  husks  of  many 
seeds  and  fruits  are  composed  almost  exclu- 
sively of  this  material.  This  is  the  case  with 
the  kernels  of  the  apple,  pear,  <Scc. ;  the  seeds 
of  the  currant,  gooseberry,  melon,  and  so  on; 
the  skin  or  husk  of  peas,  beans,  &c.,  and  of 
wheat,  barley,  and  oats;  so  that  unless  the 
woody  part  is  either  broken  down  by  the  teeth 
or  previously  removed,  the  food  which  it  enve- 
lopes is  protected  in  some  degree  from  the  sol- 
vent action  of  the  secretions  of  the  stomach. 
This  is  a  wise  and  curious  provision  in  nature, 
for  birds  in  this  way  become  the  carriers  of 
seeds,  which  pass  through  them  not  only  un- 
digested, but  even  retaining  their  vegetative 
powers  ;  and  in  this  way  uninhabited  and  ste- 
rile portions  of  the  globe  may  gradually  become 
clothed  with  verdure,  and  shrubs,  and  trees; 
hence  the  advantage  derived  from  bruising  the 
corn  given  to  live-stock.  Bones  are  highly 
nutritive,  but,  unless  broken  into  very  small 
fragments  by  the  masticatory  powers  of  the 
animals  which  eat  them,  they  too  would  elude 
digestion. 


FOOD. 

0 
I  There  is  another  important  point  in  the  his- 
tory of  food,  which  is,  its  ultimate  composition. 
^  Four  elements  only  are  principally  concerned 
in  the  production  of  the  food  of  animals ;  these 
are  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  nitrogen. 
Among  vegetable  substances,  gluten  (including 
vegetable  albumen)  is  the  only  one  which 
abounds  in  nitrogen ;  gum,  sugar,  starch,  and 
I  the  rest,  are  constituted  of  carbon,  hydrogen, 
I  and  oxygen  only.  There  are  two  very  singular 
I  points  in  reference  to  the  chemical  history  of 
food:  the  one  is,  that  no  animal  can  subsist  for 
any  length  of  time  upon  food  which  is  destitute 
of  nitrogen  ;  and  the  other,  that  a  certain  mix- 
ture of  different  food  is  absolutely  essential. 
Habit,  as  is  well  known,  will  do  much  in  ac- 
customing the  stomach  to  particular  descrip- 
tions of  food:  many  persons  live  exclusively, 
or  almost  so,  on  vegetables,  others  on  animal 
matters,  and  particular  kinds  of  diet  are  forced 
on  the  inhabitants  of  many  regions  of  the  globe ; 
but  as  far  as  we  are  concerned,  a  due  mixture 
of  vegetable  and  animal  matter  is  not  only  most 
palatable,  but  most  conducive  to  health.  No- 
thing is  fit  for  food  which  has  not  already  un- 
dergone organization ;  and  water,  though  an 
essential  part  of  the  food  of  all  animals,  is  ob- 
viously not  in  itself  nutritious,  though  it  per- 
forms the  extremely  important  function  of  dis- 
solving nutritive  matter,  so  as  to  render  it  con- 
veyable  by  the  lacteals  and  other  absorbents 
into  the  blood. 

The  subjoined  table  will  serve  to  show  the 
comparative  value  of  the  principal  cereal  and 
other  grasses,  legume.?,  roots,  &c.  (Davy,  Elem, 
!  Jg.  Chtm,  160.) 


T    Table  of  the  Quantities  of  Soluble  or  Nutritive  Matters  afforded  by  1000  Parts  of  different 
Vegetable  Substances  examined  in  their  green  state. 


VigiitrtliBi^lMiw. 


Middlesex  wheat,  average  crop 
Spring  wheat  -         .         .        - 

Mildewed  wheat  of  1806 
Blighted  wheal  of  1804  ... 
Thick-skinned  Sicilian  wheat  (1810) 
Thin-skinned  Sicilian  wheat  (1810) 
Wheat  from  Poland  -  -  - 
North  American  Wheat 
Norfolk  barley  .... 
Oats,  from  Scotland  .  -  _ 
Rye,  from  Yorkihixe  -  -  - 
Common  bean  .... 
Dry  peas  -        -        -        .        _ 

Potatoes  -        -        ■        -        - 

Linseed  cake  -  .  .  .  . 
Red  beet  -        -        -        -        _ 

White  beet  -  .  -  .  - 
Parsnips  ..... 

Carrots  --._-- 
Cabbage  ..... 

Swedish  turnip  .... 
Common  turnip  .... 
Broad-leaved  clover  ... 
Long-rooied  clover  ... 
White  clover  .... 

Sainfoin  ..... 

Lucerne  -.---. 
Meadow  fox-tail  grass  or  timothy 
Perennial  rye-grass        ... 
Fertile  meadow-grass    ... 
Roughish  meadow-grass 
Crested  dog's-tail  grass 
Spiked  fescue-grass        ... 
Sweet-scented  soft  f rasa 
Vernal  grass  ..... 
Fiorin      ...... 


Whot«0«u- 
lity  of  So^bls 

MKlm^or 

flMclMriM 

Matter,  or 

Sticar. 

Olatra,  or  Al- 

Eitnct, or 
natter  reoddred 

or  NotrilKo 

tUrK 

bumen. 

iiaolMe  duriDC 

Halter. 

•iraporalloB. 

955 

765 

« 

190 

MO 

700 

- 

240 

310 

178 

>         - 

32 

050 

620 

- 

130 

955 

725 

-         - 

2,-W 

961 

722 

-         - 

239 

950 

750 

- 

206 

955 

730 

—         - 

225 

920 

790 

70 

66 

743 

641 

15 

87 

792 

645 

38 

109 

570 

426 

-       — 

103 

574 

501 

22 

35 

41 

260  to  300 

SOO  to  155 

SO  to  15 

40  to  30 

151 

123 

11 

17 

148 

14 

121 

14 

136 

13 

119 

4 

09 

9 

90 

96 

3 

»5 

73 

41 

!» 

8 

64 

9 

51 

3 

2 

4S 

7 

34 

39 

31 

3 

8 

39 

30 

4 

3 

32 

29 

1 

3 

39 

28 

3 

S 

23 

19 

1 

33 

24 

3 

_ 

39 

26 

4 

_       _ 

78 

65 

6 

« 

39 

29 

5 

_       _ 

35 

28 

3 

„       „ 

19 

15 

3 

_       _ 

2 

82 

72 

4 

. 

6 

50 

43 

4 

_       - 

3 

54 

46 

5 

1 

2 

499 


FOOD. 

The  following  table  represents  the  relative  | 
proportion  of  solid  digestible  matter  contained 
in  1000  parts  of  the  different  articles  of  food  I 
which  are  enumerated.  Upon  an  average,  the 
nutritive  matter  in  a  pound  of  meat  is  not  more 
than  four  ounces.  This,  however,  applies  only 
to  raw  meat ;  for,  when  dressed,  a  considerable 
portion  of  its  constituent  water  is  dissipated. 

n.  TabU  showing  Uu  aotragt  Quantity  of  Nutriiive 
Matter  in  1000  parU  of  several  varieties  of  Arxv- 
malFood. 


BODM     • 

.    610 

Veal 

250 

MuUoo  - 

.    SW 

Pork 

*210 

B«pr 

-    WO 

Blood       - 

•il5 

Chicken 

-    «70 

Cod  and  aole    - 

'210 

Br«ln      • 

-  aoo 

White  of  egg  - 

140 

Ua<i(lork 

.    180 

Milk 

7*i 

A  very  interesting  report  on  the  nutritive 
properties  of  food  was  recently  presented  to 
the  French  Minister  of  the  Interior,  by  MM. 
Percy  and  Vauquelin,  two  members  of  the  In- 
ititute.  The  result  of  their  experiments  is  as 
follows : — 

In  bread,  every  100  lbs.  weight  is  found  to 
contain  80  lbs.  of  nutritious  matter.  Butchers' 
meat,  averaging  the  various  sorts,  contain  only 
85  lbs.  in  100.  French  beans  (in  the  grain), 
92  lbs.  in  100;  broad  beans,  89 ;  peas,  93;  len- 
tilles,  94  in  100.  Greens  and  turnips,  which 
we  the  most  aqueous  of  all  vegetables  used 
for  domestic  purposes,  furnish  only  8  lbs.  of 
solid  nutritious  substance  in  100.  Carrots,  14 
lbs.;  and  what  is  very  remarkable,  as  being  in 
opposition  to  the  hitherto  acknowledged  theory, 
100  lbs.  of  potatoes  only  yield  25  lbs.  of  sub- 
stance valuable  as  nutritious.  1  lb.  of  good 
bread  is  equal  to  2^  lbs.  or  3  lbs.  of  the  best 
potatoes ;  and  75  lbs.  of  bread  and  30  of  meat 
are  equal  to  300  lbs.  of  potatoes ;  or,  to  go  more 
into  detail,  |  of  a  lb.  of  bread  and  5  oz.  of  meal 
are  equal  to  3  lbs.  of  potatoes.  1  lb.  of  pota- 
toes is  equal  to  4  lbs.  of  cabbage  and  3  lbs.  of 
turnips ;  but  1  lb.  of  rice,  broad  beans,  or  French 
beans  (in  grain),  is  equal  to  3  lbs.  of  potatoes. 

In  the  esculent  roots,  such  as  carrots,  &c., 
but  especially  turnips,  sugar  is  the  leading  nu- 
tritive matter;  and  the  common  fruits  contain 
sugar,  gum,  albuminous  matter,  and  acids,  to- 
irether  with  a  highly  attenuated  form  of  woody 
fibre  or  lignin,  which  in  that  state  is  probably 
digestible.  The  comparative  nutriiive  proper- 
lies  of  the  most  common  fruits  will  be  seen  by 
a  reference  to  the  annexed  table. 

m.  TabU  showing  the  average  Quantity  of  Nutri- 
tive Matter  in  1000  Parts  of  several  varieties  of 
Vegetable  Food. 

Mor«la   -  -  896  Peachea  -  -  200 

AlNMHMto  .  660  GooMberriet  •  190 

T»>wrUids  .  S40  Applet     -  -  170 

PInma    -  -  »0  Peara       -  -  160 

Grapea  -  -  270  8trawl>errie8  -  100 

Aprkola  .  2flO  Melon      .  .  30 

Chernea  -  S30 

On  fattening  Jhamats. — ^There  is  a  very  great 
difference  in  the  quantity  of  food  which  ani- 
mals require,  and  in  the  time  which  they  can 
pass  without  it  In  general,  those  animals 
which  are  the  most  active  require  most,  and 
those  which  are  most  indolent  require  least 
food.  The  cause  of  this  is  pretty  obvious ;  the 
bodies  of  animals  do  not  remain  stationary, 
they  are  constantly  wasting,  and  the  waste  is 


FOOD. 

proportioned  to  the  activity  of  the  animal; 
hence  the  body  must  receive,  from  time  to  lime, 
new  supplies  in  place  of  what  has  been  carried 
off.  The  use  of  food  answers  this  purpose. 
Almost  all  the  inferior  animals  have  t)arlicular 
substances  on  which  they  feed  exclusively. 
Some  are  herbivorous,  some  are  granivorous, 
and  others,  again,  are  carnivorous. 

From  various  experiments  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing result: — 

A  horse  will  consume  as  much  food,  besides 
corn,  as       -------8  sheep. 

A  cow     --------  12  — 

A  fattening  ox        ------  10  — 

A  three  year  old  heifer  -----  8  — 

A  two  year  old  heifer     -----  6  — 

A  one  year  old  heifer     -----  4  — 

A  calf 2  — 

There  are  some  rules  which  may  be  advan- 
tageously adopted  in  feeding  animals,  which, 
however  obvious  they  may  be,  are  too  often 
neglected.  1.  Food  should  be  so  prepared  that 
its  nutritive  properties  may  be  all  made  avail- 
able to  the  use  of  the  animal ;  and  not  only  so, 
but  appropriated  with  the  least  possible  expend! 
lure  of  muscular  energy.  The  ox  thai  is  obliged 
to  wander  over  an  acre  to  get  the  food  he 
should  find  in  two  or  three  square  rods — the 
horse  that  is  two  or  three  hours  eating  the 
coarse  food  he  should  swallow  in  fifteen  mi 
nules  if  the  grain  were  ground  or  the  hay  cut 
as  it  should  be — the  sheep  that  spends  hours 
in  making  its  way  into  a  turnip,  when,  if  it 
were  sliced,  it  would  eat  it  in  as  many  mi- 
nutes— the  pig  that  eats  raw  potatoes  or  whole 
corn,  when  either  cooked  could  be  eaten  in  one 
quarter  of  the  time,  may  indeed  fatten,  but 
much  less  rapidly  than  if  their  food  were  given 
them  in  a  proper  manner.  All  food  should  be 
given  in  such  a  state  to  fattening  animals,  that 
as  little  time  as  possible,  on  the  part  of  the  ani- 
mal, shall  be  required  in  eating. 

2.  From  the  time  the  fattening  process  com- 
mences, until  the  animal  is  slaughtered,  he 
should  never  be  without  food.  Health  and  ap- 
petite are  best  promoted  by  change  of  diet 
rather  than  by  limiting  the  quantity.  The  ani- 
mal that  is  stuffed  and  starved  by  turns  may  have 
streaked  meat,  but  it  will  be  made  too  slowly 
for  the  pleasure  or  the  profit  of  the  good  farmer. 

3.  The  food  should  be  given  regularly.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  essential  points  in  feeding 
animals.  If  given  irregularly,  the  animal  will 
consume  his  food,  but  he  soon  acquires  a  rest- 
less disposition,  is  disturbed  at  every  appear- 
ance of  his  feeder,  and  is  never  in  that  quiet 
state  so  necessary  to  take  on  fat.  It  is  surpris- 
ing how  readily  any  animal  acquires  habits  of 
regularity  in  feeding,  and  how  soon  the  influ- 
ence of  this  is  felt  in  the  improvement  of  his 
condition.  When  at  the  regular  hour  the  pig 
has  had  his  pudding,  or  the  sheep  his  turnips, 
they  compose  themselves  to  rest,  their  digestion 
is  not  unseasonably  disturbed,  or  their  quiet 
broken  by  unwonted  invitation  to  eat. 

4.  The  animal  should  not  be  needlessly  in- 
truded upon  during  the  hours  of  eating.  All 
animals  fatten  much  faster  in  the  dark  than  in 
the  light,  a  fact  only  to  be  accounted  for  by 
their  greater  quiet.  Some  of  those  creatures 
that  are  the  most  irritable  and  impatient  of  re- 
straint while   feeding,  such  as   turkeys  and 


I  K^^P 


FOOD  OF  PLANTS. 


geese,  are  found  to  take  on  fat  rapidly  Vhen 
confined  in  dark  rooms,  and  only  fed  at  stated 
hours  by  hand.  There  is  no  surer  proof  that 
a  pig  is  doing  well  than  to  see  him  eat  his  meal 
quickly  and  then  retire  to  his  bed  till  the  hour 
of  feeding  returns.  Animals,  while  fattening, 
should  never  be  alarmed,  never  rapidly  driven, 
never  be  fed  at  unseasonable  hours,  and,  above 
all  things,  never  be  allowed  to  want  for  food. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  ultimate 
composition  of  those  proximate  principles 
which  have  been  already  adverted  to  as  con- 
stituting the  nutritive  parts  of  food. 

IV.  Table  showing  the  ultimate  elementary  compo- 
sition of  1000  ports  of  the  folloicing  proximate 
principles  of  Animal  and  Vegetable  Food. 


Albumen     - 

Carboo. 

Hydroceo. 

Oiygw. 

NHfocm. 

516 

tT" 

258 

150 

(Jelaiin 

483 

80 

276 

161 

Fat    -          -        - 

780 

1« 

98 

Curd  of  milk 

«09 

73 

116 

203 

Sugar  or  milk 

454 

61 

485 

Gluten 

557 

78 

220 

145 

Starch 

438 

69 

500 

Gum    -        .        - 

419 

66 

513 

Sugar  -        -        - 

444 

6« 

404 

Lignin 

900 

56 

444 

FOOD,  PRESERVATION  OF.  Great  per- 
fection has  been  attained  in  this  art.  See  Re- 
port of  .\gricultural  Bureau  for  18G2,  p.  474. 

FOOD  OF  PLANTS.  See  Earths,  Gxtn, 
Salts,  Watkb,  and  Maxvres,  their  uses  to 
Vboetvtiox.  Plants  absorb  their  nutriment 
from  the  air  and  from  the  soil;  they  become  the 
food  of  the  gramniverous  tribes,  and  from  these 
man  derives  the  great  bulk  of  his  animal  sus- 
tenance. 

FOOL'S  PARSLEY.  Common  Lesser  Hem- 
lock {JElthusa  cynapium).  PI.  10,  q,  A  numbel- 
liferous  plant,  common  in  gardens,  waste 
grounds,  and  cultivated  fields,  and  so  called 
from  its  resembling  parsley  enough  in  appear- 
ance to  deceive  ignorant  persons.  It  is  an  an- 
nual weed,  with  a  tapering  whitish  root;  stem 
round,  often  purplish,  a  foot  high;  flowers 
pearl  wliite;  the  herbage  of  a  dark  livid  green, 
and  fetid.  The  plant  is  poisonous,  acting  like 
hemlock  upon  the  human  system,  and  is  easily 
known  by  the  involucels  having  each  three 
linear  leaflets,  which  are  placed  next  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  umbel.  It  is  eaten  by  cattle 
and  sheep,  but  is  pernicious  to  the  latter. 

FOOL'S    STONES     (Orchis    morio).      See 

TWATBLADE. 

FOOT  (Sax.  For.  Germ,  fuss;  Butch  fute). 
A  linear  measure,  which,  since  the  term  is  em- 
ployed in  almost  all  languages,  has  doubtless 
been  derived  from  the  length  of  the  human 
foot.  Though  the  denomination  is  the  same, 
the  measure  itself  varies  considerably  in  dif- 
ferent European  countries.  In  all  of  them, 
however,  it  is  divided,  like  the  English  foot, 
into  12  equal  parts,  or  inches.  See  Weights 
and  Measures. 

Foot  is  also  the  lower  part  of  the  limbs  of  an 
animal,  which  afibrd  support,  and  enable  it  to 
move  with  ease  and  convenience  from  place 
to  place.  An  excellent  article  on  the  anatomy 
and  diseases  of  the  foot  of  the  horse,  by  Mr. 
Dick,  will  be  found  in  the  second  volume  of 
the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  p.  214.    The  best  and 


FORCI^'G  PITS. 

most  natural  form  of  the  foot  of  the  horse  is 
that  where  the  bottom  approaches  to  a  circle: 
it  is  most  complicated  in  its  structure,  and  lia- 
ble to  a  variety  of  diseases.  See  the  heads 
Caxker,  Corns,  Cracks,  Shoeing,  and  Dis- 
eases OF  THE  Horse. 

FOOT-ROT.     See  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

FOOT-TRENCHES.  A  term  signifying 
small  superficial  drains,  about  a  foot  wide. 

FORCING.  In  horticulture,  the  art  of  ac- 
celerating the  growth  of  plants  so  as  to  obtain 
fruit,  vegetables,  or  flowers  at  seasons  when 
they  are  not  produced  naturally  in  the  open 
air.  The  practice  appears  to  be  as  old  as  the 
time  of  the  Romans.  In  England  forcing  seems 
to  have  been  practised  from  a  very  early  pe- 
riod. At  the  present  time  forcing  is  carried 
on  in  Britain,  and  in  analogous  climates 
throughout  Europe  and  North  America,  chiefly 
under  glass  roofs.  Structures  for  forcing  are 
known,  as  frames,  pits,  and  houses,  all  of 
which  have  glass  roofs:  but  there  are  also 
structures  for  forcing  without  glass  roofs,  such 
as  cellars  and  sheds  for  growing  mushrooms 
in  the  winter  season ;  and  also  sea-kale,  rhu- 
barb, blanched  succory,  and  such  other  stalks 
or  leaves  of  plants  as  are  eaten  in  a  blanched 
state,  and  consequently  do  not  require  much 
light. 

FORCING  PITS.  Instead  of  forming  hot- 
beds with  open  sides,  pits  of  brick- work  and 
other  materials  are  very  generally  constructed 
for  containing  the  fermenting  mass  of  dung 
necessary  for  forcing. 

Mr.  Flanagan,  gardener  to  Sir  T.  Hare,  of 
Stow  Hall,  Norfolk,  and  Mr.  West,  who  holds 
the  same  situation  under  the  Marquis  of  North- 
ampton, at  Castle  Ashby,  have  each  proposed 
plans  of  pits,  of  which  that  of  the  first  horti- 
culturist is  the  least  expensive ;  that  of  the 
latter  more  economical  in  other  respects,  not 
only  as  preventing  the  waste  of  heat,  but  the 
best  mode  of  applying  it.  It  may  be  laid  down 
as  a  fundamental  principle  that,  in  applying 
heat,  it  should  always  be  brought  to  the  bottom 
of  the  body  to  be  heated. 

Mr.  Flanagan  only  allows  the  heat  of  fer- 
menting dung  to  be  employed,  the  steam  being 
prevented  entering  the  frame.  One  advantage 
arising  from  this  he  states  to  be,  that  fresh- 
made  dung  may  be  employed,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  loss  sustained  by  any  preparation 
is  prevented.  If,  however,  it  be  a  fact  that  the 
steam  of  dung  is  rather  beneficial  than  other- 
wise, fresh  fermenting  dung  can  be  used,  with- 
out any  detriment  that  I  am  aware  of,  in  other 
pits  of  which  we  have  plans.  Mr.  F.  describes 
his  pit  as  follows : — It  is  4  feet  deep  within ; 
the  lowest  10  inches  of  solid  brick- work  sunk 
in  the  earth;  the  remainder  is  a  flue,  3  inches 
wide  in  the  clear,  carried  entirely  round  the 
pit;  the  inner  wall  of  which,  forming  the  sides 
of  the  pit,  is  4-inch  work,  well  bedded  in  mor- 
tar, and  pointed,  to  prevent  the  steam  penetra- 
ting; the  outer  wall  of  the  flue  is  also  4-inch, 
but  open-work,  to  admit  the  steam  and  that  of 
dung-coatings  into  the  flue,  the  top  of  which  is 
rendered  tight  by  a  covering  of  tiles,  &c.  The 
frame  rests  on  the  external  wall  of  the  flue 
The  cavity  of  the  p:t,  which  is  keft  dry  by 
means  of  drains,  is  9  feet  2  inches  long,  2  iV.et 

501 


FOREHAND. 

8  inches  wide,  and  4  feet  deep.  It  is  filled  | 
u'ith  broken  bricks,  to  within  18  inches  of  the 
lop ;  then  a  foot  of  short  cold  dung,  6  inches  of 
very  rotten  dung,  trod  down  so  as  to  admit  half 
an  inch  depth  of  coal  ashes,  for  preventing  the 
intrusion  of  any  worms  that  may  be  in  the 
dung,  complete  the  structure.  (G.  W,  John- 
a»m*$  Kitchen  Garden,) 

FOREHAND.  In  horsemanship,  that  part 
of  the  animal  which  is  before  the  rider. 

FOREST  (Germ,  /or*/ ;  Fr.  foret ;  Ital.  for- 
9$ta>.  Strictly  an  extensive  surface  covered 
■tturally  by  trees  and  undergrowth,  as  op- 
posed to  a  plantation  which  has  been  made  by 
art,  but  indiscriminately  used  for  any  very  ex- 
tensive tract  covered  with  trees.  The  utility 
of  timber  plantations  to  a  commercial  nation 
is  very  great,  as,  by  the  quantity  of  timber  they 
afford,  a  considerable  expense  may  be  saved 
which  must  otherwise  be  incurred  by  the  im- 
portation of  materials  for  ship-buildmg.  (See 
Plawtatiow.)  In  former  times  the  greater 
part  of  every  country  in  the  temperate  parts  of 
Europe  was  undoubtedly  covered  with  forests ; 
and  these,  by  harbouring  and  nourishing  wild 
animals  of  every  description,  particularly  wild 
swine,  afforded  a  principal  part  of  the  food  of 
man.  With  civilization,  however,  they  grad- 
ually disappear  before  the  increase  of  pasture 
or  arable  land.  In  every  country  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  forests  belonged  to  the  government, 
and  formed  a  main  source  of  its  revenue. 
This  is  slili  the  case  in  France  and  Germany, 
and,  till  lately,  it  was  also  the  case  to  a  certain 
extent  in  Britain.  Hence  extensive  tracts  in 
England  still  bear  the  name  of  forest,  though 
they  are  now  in  a  state  of  cultivation,  and  in  a 
great  measure  without  trees. 

The  royal  forests  of  Britain  occupy  about 
125,000  acres  of  land.  There  are  32,768  acres 
of  forest  land  enclosed  and  planted,  principally 
with  oak,  and  with  other  trees  where  the  soil 
is  not  adapted  to  oak.  There  are  6211  acres 
of  other  freehold  land  belonging  to  the  crown, 
which  are  also  appropriated  to  the  growth  of 
timber,  making  in  all  38,979  acres,  the  whole 
of  which  have  been  enclosed  and  planted  with- 
in the  last  twenty  years. 

For  an  account  of  the  existing  forests  of 
England,  see  "Statistics  of  the  British  Em- 
pire." {hrU.  Husb.  vol.  iii.  article  "Planta- 
tions," pp.  83,  85 ;   Brande's  Did.  of  Science.) 

FOSSE.  A  large  ditch  or  moat;  also  a 
waterfall. ' 

FOWI^  Cock  and  hen  (Phatianiis  gallus). 
Fowls  were  originally  natives  of  Persia  and 
India.  They  are  most  valuable  to  the  farmer 
as  yielding  profit  in  eggs,  broods,  and  feathers. 
The  varieties  of  the  common  fowl  in  England 
are  very  numerous,  and  are  distinguished 
from  one  another  by  their  size,  colour,  and 
fecundity.  Fowls  should  be  kept  ver)'  clean 
and  dry  in  the  hen-house,  and  particular  care 
uiust  be  taken  to  furnish  them  with  clean, 
sweet  water;  foul  water  produces  that  fatal 
disi>rder  among  chickens  called  roup,  or  gapes, 
which  is  known  by  the  chick  gasping  for 
breath,  and  dying  in  a  few  hours.  No  remedy 
has  yet  been  discovered  for  this  disorder; 
therefore  care  and  cleanliness  should  prevent 
L  Foul  water,  and  a  scarcity  of  water,  are 
509 


FOWL.  ^ 

also  dauses  of  the  pip  in  hens,  and  originate 
all  their  diseases.  Poultry  of  all  sorts  should 
have  clean,  sweet  houses  to  retire  into  during 
the  night,  and  in  seasons  of  wet.  Warmth  is 
necessary  to  the  comfort  and  well-doing  of 
poultry.  If  hens  are  kept  with  care,  and  have 
clean,  quiet  places  to  deposit  themselves  in, 
they  will  lay  regularly,  and  repay  all  trouble. 
One  cock  is  sufficient  for  ten  hens.  He  should 
be  chosen  with  care.  A  good  cock  should  be 
well-sized,  carrying  his  head  high ;  he  should 
have  a  quick,  animated  look,  a  strong  shrill 
voice,  the  comb  of  a  fine  red,  broad  breast, 
strong  wings,  legs  thick,  and  his  bill  thick  and 
short.  {Main's  Domestic  Poultry,  p.  230.)  The 
vigour  of  the  cock  lasts  three  years ;  he  must 
then  be  superseded,  and  a  fine  spirited  youth- 
ful successor  installed  in  his  room.  A  cock  is 
at  full  age  at  three  months  old.  Three  sorts 
of  hen  are  useful.  The  common  hen,  whose 
proper  signs  should  be  in  having  a  large  head, 
blueish  feet,  sharp  eyes,  and  pendant  comb. 
The  tufted  hen,  for  eating,  as  she  does  not  lay 
much,  therefore  fattens  well;  and  the  large 
tohile  Dorking  breed,  which  always  fetches  a 
higher  price  in  the  market.  The  Dorking 
fowls  are  distinguished  by  having  five  claws 
on  each  foot.  Equal  to  the  Dorking  in  esti- 
mation (says  Professor  Low)  are  the  Poland 
fowls.  Their  colour  is  black,  their  heads  flat, 
and  surmounted  with  a  crown  of  feathers. 
They  are  a  very  useful  variety;  prolific  of 
eggs,  but  less  inclined  to  sit  than  those  of  any 
other  breed.  All  others  are  kept  more  for 
show  than  for  use.  The  bantam  is  a  little  In- 
dian breed,  very  delicate  to  eat,  but,  from  the 
smallness  of  its  size,  not  of  any  economical 
importance. 

The  Chitagong,  or  Malay  fowl,  is  the  largest 
breed  that  has  yet  been  brought  to  England, 
but  the  flesh  is  regarded  as  inferior  to  that  of 
the  Dorking  and  Poland.  Fowls  should  not  be 
allowed  to  wander  much :  they  lay  better  and 
more  regularly  when  confined  to  their  own 
yard.  Their  food  should  be  given  with  great 
regularity  at  sun-rise  and  sun-set,  and  they 
should  be  fed  under  cover  during  rain  or  high 
winds.  During  harvest  their  portion  of  food 
is  always  diminished.  All  sorts  of  pot-herbs, 
boiled,  in  the  washings  of  dishes,  mixed  with 
bran,  and  then  drained,  is  excellent;  the  paste 
warmed  up  as  required,  while  sweet.  Well 
boiled  mealy  potatoes,  buckwheat,  barley, 
whole  or  ground,  refuse  of  fruit,  bread,  offal 
from  the  kitchen,  &c.,  is  taken  greedily.  Let 
all  their  food  be  fresh  of  its  kind. 

The  laying  time  in  England  begins  about 
February.  A  hen  gives  notice  of  her  intention 
by  being  busy  and  restless,  and  talking  to  her- 
self  for  some  time,  and  her  comb  becomes  very 
red.  Her  cackling  soon  gives  notice  that  the 
deed  is  done.  Let  her  have  a  dark,  quiet  box 
to  lay  in.  The  moulting  season  begins  in  au- 
tumn, when  the  hen  ceases  to  lay  for  some 
time :  the  whole  feathered  tribe  are  then  droop- 
ing and  dull,  till  the  new  feathers  have  replaced 
the  old  ones.  A  hen  is  old  at  four  years  of 
age:  for  three  years  she  is  valuable,  and  in 
her  fourth  year  she  must  make  way  for  younger 
birds.  A  hen  sits  three  weeks ;  her  disposition 
to  sit  is  soon  discovered,  by  her  placing  her* 


F 


FOWL, 


self  upon  an  f  eggs  she  can  find,  and  remain- 
ing thereon  instead  of  roosting.  She  should  be 
placed  upon  fresh  eggs,  unless  allowed  to  sit 
as  nature  directs  upon  her  own  natural  num- 
ber, which  rarely  exceeds  eighteen  ;  but  if  one 
egg  alone  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  nest  she 
will  continue  to  lay  many  more  before  she 
wishes  to  sit.  If  the  brood  is  hatched  irregu- 
larly, the  firstlings  should  be  kept  in  flannel 
near  a  fire  all  day,  till  the  others  come  forth, 
but  they  should  be  returned  to  the  mother  at 
night.  The  hen  and  her  brood  should  be  kept 
warm,  and  be  cooped  out  of  doors  only  in  dry, 
fine  weather.  They  should  be  fed  for  some 
days  on  bread  crumbs,  with  some  finely  chop- 
ped leeks,  and  be  carefully  supplied  with  clear, 
clean  water  daily.  Boiled  barley,  and  boiled 
rice,  &c.  succeeds,  till  in  about  three  weeks 
they  are  sufficiently  strong  to  be  turned  into 
the  poultry-yard.  When  the  young  chickens 
get  their  head  feathers,  they  are  out  of  danger 
of  all  infantine  disorders.  Nothing  is  so  re- 
quisite for  all  poultry  as  warmth,  cleanliness, 
and  good  water.  Fowls  fattened  for  the  table 
should  be  put  into  coops  for  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks,  and  fed  upon  good  barley-meal,  moist- 
rued  with  milk  or  water,  and  lard.  Give  it 
lour  or  five  times  per  day,  sufficiently  moist  to 
require  no  drink  with  the  food. 

Eggs  are  preserved  any  length  of  time,  by 
greasing  them  well  over  with  butter  or  lard, 
when  warm  from  the  nest  It  keeps  out  the 
air.  Fresh  laid  eggs  are  easily  known  by 
holding  them  up  to  the  light  of  a  candle.  If 
the  inside  appears  transparent  and  fluid,  and 
the  yolk  in  the  centre,  it  is  a  fresh  egg.  If 
it  looks  turbid,  it  is  a  stale  one.  If,  also,  an 
egg  held  up  against  a  candle  shows  a  small 
vacancy  at  the  top  of  it  within,  it  will  produce 
a  male  bird :  if  the  little  vacancy  is  observed 
at  the  siile  of  the  egg,  it  will  prove  a  female. 
(Mai n*s  Dorn.  Poultry,  p.  253.)  See  Eeos.  Every 
poultry-yard  should  have  a  bed  of  ashes  de- 
posited in  a  corner:  the  fowls  delight  in  a 
dunghill  and  an  ash-hole ;  the  former  produces 
seeds  and  insects,  and  the  latter  calcareous 
matter,  and  destroys  their  vermin  by  its  sharp- 
ness, as  they  revel  in  its  rough  particles.  See 
Capox. 

There  is  a  communication  in  the  Farmer's 
Cabinet,  (vol.  ii.  p.  95,)  upon  keeping  hens,  and 
the  profits  from  eggs,  from  a  poulterer  in  Eaton, 
Massachusetts,  which  contains  much  useful 
information.  On  the  1st  of  January,  says  the 
writer,  I  had  ten  hens  and  one  cock.  In  the 
spring  three  of  the  hens  were  suflered  to  set, 
Mhich  left  seven  to  experiment  with.  The 
three  which  set  raised  24  chickens,  which 
were  sold  for  12^  cents  each,  when  about  the 
size  of  quails.  The  sooner,  he  observes,  you 
sell  chickens  the  better,  since  they  do  not 
bring  prices  corresponding  with  their  increase 
in  size.  The  seven  hens  which  did  not  set, 
laid  100  dozen  of  eggs.  During  half  the  time 
in  winter  the  fowls  were  fed  upon  boiled  pota- 
toes and  bran  or  meal  mixed  together  with 
warm  water,  and  as  the  place  where  they  were 
kept  was  well  sheltered,  none  were  lost  by  the 
dough  freezing  in  their  craws  or  crops.  For 
the  remainder  of  the  time  oats  were  given 
them,  which  the  writer  considers  better  for 


FOWL. 

I  fowls  than  Indian  com,  having  tried  both.    The. 

i  oats  were  first  allowed  to  soak  in  warm  water 

,  for  three  or  four  hours,  till  well  swelled,  after 

which  they  were  given  to  the  fowls.     Treated 

in  this  way  he  considers  one  bushel  of  oats 

:  will  go  as  far  as  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  com. 

,  Hens,  &c.  should  never  be  allowed  to  roost  in 

stables  or  kept  near  cattle,  as  they  communi- 

1  cate  their  vermin  to  these,  which  worries  and 

!  prevents  them  from  growing  fat. 

j      FOWL,    GUINEA,    or    Pixtadd    (Nimtida 

'  melengris).      These    birds   are  very  wild  and 

'  restless  in  their  nature,  owing  to  their  native 

J  habits.     They  are  shy,  and  love  to  make  their 

nests  in  dark,  obscure  places,  far  from  home ; 

for   which   reason   their   eggs    are    generally 

placed  under  a  common  hen   to  be  hatched 

and  fostered.    They  give  no  notice  of  laying 

or  setting.     A  brood  of  Guinea  fowls  is  an 

excellent  guard.    They  love  roosting  in  the 

trees;   and  at  night,  if  any  footstep  disturb 

them,  their  loud  cries  are  sure  to  give  notice 

to  the  farmer  that  a  trespass  is  committing. 

The  Guinea  fowl  is  delicate  eating,  and  is  ia 

fine  season  about  Lent.    The  young  chickens 

must  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  and  with 

the  same  food  as  young  turkeys,  and  they  must 

be  kept  warm  and  dry.    In  fatting,  they  should 

be  shut  up  in  a  house  for  a  fortnight,  and  fed 

four  or  five  times  a  day  with  sweet  barley-meal, 

moistened  with  milk  and  good  lard.    They  pine 

if  confined  any  length  of  time.     The   great 

drawbacks  to  the  rearing  of  Guinea  fowls  are 

the  vigilance  required  to  watch  for  their  nest, 

and  the  harsh  screaming  of  their  cry. 

FOWL,  PEA  {Phananus  lo).  Native  of 
India,  tender  in  infancy,  but  soon  inured  to 
our  climate,  as  they  become  older.  From 
their  native  wild  habits,  they  love  to  lay  their 
eggs  in  woods  or  coppices  far  from  home.  As 
the  hen  covers  her  eggs  over  with  dead  leaves 
after  laying  them,  and  generally  deposits  them 
under  a  bush,  without  the  ceremony  of  making 
a  nest,  she  must  be  closely  watched,  and  each 
day  her  fresh  egg  should  be  withdrawn,  and 
an  egg  cut  in  chalk  substituted,  and  covered 
over  again  with  the  leaves.  The  eggs  should 
be  placed  under  a  common  hen  for  safety,  both 
on  account  of  the  fox,  and  because  the  pea-hea 
would  lead  the  young  ones  to  ramble  as  sooa 
as  they  had  escaped  from  the  shell.  The  best 
food  for  pea-chicks  is  barley-meal  made  into 
a  paste,  and  mixed  with  sweet  curd,  and  finely 
chopped,  hard-boiled  eggs.  They  ar^  also  ex- 
ceedingly fond  of  the  large  horse  ant  and  its 
eggs,  which  in  England  are  found  in  woods, 
deposited  in  little  hillocks  of  small  leaves  and 
twigs.  All  the  tribes  of  wild  birds,  such  as 
pea-fowl,  turkeys,  pheasants,  &c.  love  ants :  it 
is  their  natural  food.  Two  or  three  handfuls 
cf  their  eggs  twice  a  day,  makes  a  good  variety 
with  their  usual  food.  Keep  the  young  pea- 
fowls well  housed  while  under  the  mother's 
care :  when  they  grow  up,  they  prefer  roosting 
in  trees  or  on  buildings  If  a  pea-hen  is  al- 
lowed to  brood  her  own  chickens,  she  should 
be  kept  under  a  coop  for  three  weeks  at  least, 
to  prevent  her  rambling.  Pea-f^wl  will  feed 
well  on  any  kind  of  corn.  They  are  exceed- 
ingly destractive  in  a  garden.  Our  ancestcrs 
considered  them  very  delicate  eating. 

503 


FOWL'S  DUNG. 


FRANCE,  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


FOWL'S  DUNG.  See  Guano  and  Pioeos's 
Duxo. 

FOX- EVIL.  A  disease  in  which  the  hair 
falls  off. 

FOXGLOVE,  COMMON  (Digitalis  purpu- 
rea). A  very  handsome  biennial  plant,  blow- 
ing purplish-crimson,  or  occasionally  white 
flowers,  from  June  to  September.  In  England 
it  is  found  wild  in  pastures  and  about  hedges 
or  banks,  on  a  gravelly,  sandy,  or  chalky  soil. 
In  gardens  it  is  easily  propagated  by  seed. 

The  lesser  yellow  foxglove  (Z).  parviflora) 
is  a  native  of  Italy,  and  perennial:  grows 
three  feet  high,  blooming  yellow  flowers  in 
Jane*  and  July.    It  may  be  propagated  from 


The  large  yellow  foxglove  (D.  ambigua),  with 
larger  flowers,  is  also  a  perennial,  growing 
three  feet  high. 

The  medicinal  qualities  of  the  foxglove  are 
diuretic,  powerfully  emetic,  and  narcotic  ;  and, 
nnder  proper  management  it  is  a  most  useful 
medicine.  The  leaves  are  inert  in  the  first 
year  of  the  growth  of  the  plant.  They  are 
sometimes  used  externally  as  cataplasms  for 
resolving  scrofulous  tumours.  As  every  part 
of  the  foxglove  is  poisonous,  children  ought  to 
be  warned  against  chewing  it.  No  person  not 
qualified  to  practise  medicine  should  venture 
to  prescribe  foxglove. 

FOX-TAIL  GRASS  (Setaria  glauca).  A 
common  American  grass,' with  a  bristly  head, 
found  in  cultivated  grounds,  old  stubble-fields, 
orchards,  &c.,  flowering  in  July.  Its  root  is 
annual,  and  the  stem  grows  2  or  3  feet  high. 
When  mature  it  has  a  tawny,  or  orange 
colour. 

Another  species  of  fox-tail  is  popularly  called 
green  fox-tail,  or  butter-grass  (Setaria  viridis). 
Its  general  resemblance  to  the  species  first- 
named,  render  it  liable  to  be  passed  by  as  a 
green  variety  of  that  plant. 

A  species  of  Setaria  (S.  verticillata),  com- 
monly found  about  gardens  and  cultivated  lots 
in  the  Middle  States,  has  teeth  on  the  bristles, 
which  cause  the  spikes  to  adhere  to  objects 
with  which  they  come  in  contact. 

Another  species  called  German  Setaria,  millet 
or  Bengal  grass,  is  occasionally  found  in  fal- 
low fields.  Dr.  Muhlenburg  supposed  this  an- 
nual plant  might  be  a  variety  of  the  green 
fox-tail,  to  which  Dr.  Darlington  thinks  it  cer- 
tainly allied.  Some  years  ago,  the  Bengal 
grass  wa^ntrodnced  into  the  Middle  States  as 
•a  object  of  culture,  and,  for  a  time,  excited 
much  interest  among  farmers.  It  was  soon 
found,  however,  not  to  be  as  valuable  as  the 
asual  summer  crop,  of  which  it  occupied  the 
place,  and  its  cultivation  is  now  pretty  much 
abandoned.  The  seed  is  sown  in  the  early  part 
of  May. 

Several  other  species  of  this  genus  are 
found  in  the  United  States,  of  which  one  called 
the  Italian  Setaria  is  met  with  along  the  river 
Delaware,  distinguished  by  its  very  lar^^e 
spikes.  The  others  are  southern  plants.  None 
of  them,  except  the  German  setaria,  possess 
any  value  to/  the  agriculturist  (Flor.  Cetiric.)  I 
See  ALoPFxcBca. 

FRANCE,    THE    AGRICULTURE    OF.— 
Although  the   two  kingdoms  of  Britain   and 
604 


France,  are  such  near  neighbours,  and  enjoy 
a  soil  so  similar,  yet  the  agriculture  of  each 
diflers  very  materially.  The  chief  features  in 
the  farming  system  of  France  which  strike  an 
Englishman  are  the  almost  total  absence  oif 
hedges,  and  the  smallness  of  the  farms  or 
plots  ;  the  minute  divisions  of  landed  property 
having  been  long  encouraged  by  the  laws  of 
France  in  every  possible  way.  The  end  has 
been  attained ;  considerable  comfort  has  been 
diffused  amidst  the  mass  of  the  people,  but 
with  injurious  results  to  agriculture.  For  in  a 
country  where  the  farms  generally  do  not  com- 
prise more  than  from  15  to  20  acres,  all  the 
common  evils  of  a  land  of  small  holdings  are 
naturally  felt.  The  capital  required  for  them 
being  limited,  the  competition  to  obtain  them 
is  naturally  considerable ;  the  charge  for  the 
labour  to  cultivate  them  is  also  great ;  the  live- 
stock kept  on  them  inferior ;  the  rotation  of 
crops  bad,  and  agricultural  improvements  of 
all  kinds  but  slowly  adopted.  The  government 
of  France,  it  is  true,  in  the  absence  of  large 
landed  proprietors,  and  opulent,  enterprising, 
and  scientific  farmers,  does  all  it  can,  by  ex- 
pensive state  agricultural  institutions,  to  sup- 
ply their  place ;  but  these  are  not  attended  with 
the  general  advantages  which  are  derived  in 
other  countries  from  the  exertions  of  private 
individuals.  Of  these  small  farms,  Mr.  Deni- 
son  has  given  the  following  graphic  descrip- 
tion (Jour.  Roy.  Jgr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  263):— "In 
comparison  with  the  English  system  of  enclo- 
sures, France  may  be  called  one  vast  open 
field ;  you  may  travel  from  Calais  to  Paris, 
from  Paris  to  the  German  frontier,  to  the  Alps, 
to  the  Pyrenees,  and  scarcely  see  a  hedge  or 
a  partition  fence  of  any  sort.  This  vast  open 
field  (unlike  the  open  districts  of  England, 
where  the  operations  of  farming  are  generally 
conducted  on  the  largest  scale)  is  cut  up  into 
the  smallest  conceivable  plots  of  every  variety 
of  produce.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  over 
vast  plains  bounded  by  sloping  hills,  you  see 
the  surface  varied  by  every  description  of 
crop ;  none,  perhaps,  above  an  acre  or  two  in 
size,  the  larger  portion  not  more  than  the 
fourth  or  the  eighth  of  an  acre.  Here  a  vine- 
yard 100  yards  by  20;  there  a  strip  of  wheat, 
lucerne,  barley,  oats,  potatoes,  clover,  and 
vetches.  Few  roads  intersect  this  extensive 
garden,  which,  from  the  nature  of  the  cultiva- 
tion, must  be  traversed  every  day  in  all  direc- 
tions by  the  proprietors  and  cultivators  of  the 
various  lots.  The  residences  of  these  proprie- 
tors are  almost  invariably  congregated  into 
villages  or  towns,  and  lie,  therefore,  for  the 
most  part,  wide  of  their  respective  allotments." 
The  advocates  of  such  a  general  system  of 
cultivation  will  hence  see  that  this  mode  of 
tillage  is  attended  with  sundry  insuperable  dis- 
advantages. The  public  agricultural  establish- 
ments maintained  entirely  by  the  French 
government  are — 1.  Sheep  farms;  2.  Model 
farms;  3.  Veterinary  schools;  4.  Haras,  or 
studs.  And  it  assists,  by  its  patronage  and 
with  funds — 1.  Public  lectures;  2.  Agricultu- 
ral societies ;  3.  Local  associations ;  4.  De- 
partmental model  farms. 

There  are  three  public  sheep  farms;  viz.,  at 
Rambouillet,  Perpignan,   and  La  Hayevanx, 


PRANCE.  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


FRANCE,  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


At  these,  sheep  are  bred,  and  experiments  in 
crossing  tried.  The  chief  breeds  are  the  me- 
rino, the  naz,  a  race  with  small  frames  and  fine 
wool,  and  the  English  long-woolled  sheep. 

Of  the  model  farms,  Grignon,  founded  in 
1829,  and  containing  1100  acres  of  land  of  dif- 
ferent qualities,  is  the  chief.  It  consists  of 
arable,  pasture,  meadow,  water  meadow,  and 
wood.  Pupils  are  taken  here,  who  pay  in  the 
house  from  30/.  to  60/.  por  annum,  or,  if  they 
only  attend  the  courses  of  instruction,  from  8/. 
to  20/.:  the  shortest  course  occupies  two  years; 
and  after  attending  this  period,  and  passing  a 
public  examination,  the  pupil  may  receive  a 
diploma,  taking  rank  as  a  sort  of  master  of 
arts  of  Grignon. 

The  chief  veterinary  schools  are  at  Alfort, 
near  Paris,  Toulouse,  and  Lyons.  The  three 
chief  haras,  or  breeding  studs,  are  at  Dupin  in 
Normandy  (English  blood  horses),  at  Rozieres 
(a  mixed  breed  called  the  "race  ducale"),  and 
at  Pompadour  (Arab  and  Persian).  These 
contain  together  about  1300  horses.  Of  tho- 
rough-bred stock,  in  1840,  they  had  167  stal- 
lions, 98  mares,  and  121  colts  and  fillies;  for 
the  use  of  the  departments  870  stallions  are 
kept  at  difl'erent  stations.  These  are  allowed 
the  following  amount  of  forage  at  three  dif- 
ferent stations : — 


Abbeville    - 

Anjrera 

Aurillac 

Oirii. 

B.y. 

»bmw. 

PtRllt. 
10 

14 
14 

6     11 
lU   0 
11       0 

llM.        Ot. 

17     10 
13      4 
15      7 

These  various  public  objects  cost  the  govern- 
ment 119,452/.;  viz.,  sheep  farms,  20,303/.; 
veterinary  schools,  11,263/.;  haras,  or  studs, 
70,526/. ;  other  items  of  expense,  32,000/. ;  de- 
partment of  government,  3,360/. 

Sir  Charles  Lemon  has  given  the  result  of 
the  returns  of  the  agricultural  survey  of  21  out 
of  the  84  departments  of  France,  comprehend- 
ing the  whole  of  the  north-eastern  portion  of 
the  kingdom,  or  the  whole  or  the  greater  part 
of  the  old  provinces  of  Flanders,  Artois,  Picar- 
die,  Isle  de  France,  Champagne,  Lorraine,  and 
Alsace,  equal  to  a  surface  of  31,720,000  acres, 
or  about  the  area  of  all  England.  {J(mr.  of  Roy. 
Jisj.  Sor.  vol.  i.  p.  415.) 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of 
English  acres  tilled  with  each  sort  of  grain, 
the  produce,  and  the  seed  sown,  in  the  21  de- 
partments before  alluded  to: — 


ProHoee  in 

AmouDl  of 

Wheat      -        - 

Biubclt. 

Seed  iowB. 

3,913,789 

59.075,391 

9,458,471 

Barley       .        . 

1,115,916 

n.5.'«,S75 

2,731,799 

Gun 

3,129,359 

54,179,336 

8,298,751 

Meteil  (mixture 

of  wheal  and 

rye)         -        - 

630.321 

9.526,777 

1,494,236 

Rye  -        -        - 

1,1*4.909 

13.332,935 

2,675.389 

Potatoes  - 

645,233 

93,649,112 

10,748,567 

Total  grown 
Seed     - 


19,205,914  quarter! 


The  average  produce  per  acre  of  the  21  de- 
partments, is  as  follows  : — 


Averafe 

HUhest 

Lowest 

Produce  pr. 

Depart- 

Ue|«rt- 

Setd. 

Acre  in 

inenfil 

nieiil.il 

Wheat  - 

BmheK 

Avenge. 

Average. 

15 

23 

10-5 

2-6 

Barley  - 

17 

35 

8 

2-6 

Outs 

18* 

44* 

11 

2-8 

Meleil     - 

13i 

22i 

8 

25 

Rye        -        - 

13 

20i 

8 

2-6 

Potatoes 

127 

257 

67 

In  these  departments  were  contained — 

Cattle 2,628,924 

Sheep 6,764,107 

Pigs  and  gnats       .....  1,399,599 

Horses 974.918 

Mules  and  asses  .....       99,660 


64 


The  food  of  the  small  French  Farmers* 
especially  in  Normandy,  is  very  poor.  **  Many 
(says  a  writer  in  the  Quart.  Jour,  of  Jgr.  vol. 
xii.  p.  2),  like  the  common  labourers,  live  upon 
a  few  apples  or  pears,  and  a  bit  of  bread,  with- 
out the  formality  of  sitting  down  to  a  table, 
and  are  content  with  a  drink  of  their  own 
home-made  miserable  cider."  The  breed  of 
sheep  is  very  inferior.  Although  many  of  the 
sheep  are  kept  in  flocks,  yet  there  is  little  or 
no  free  range  for  them ;  they  are  usually  kept 
in  small  lots  of  three  or  four,  or  half-a-dozen, 
and  generally  tied  together  by  the  legs.  The 
average  price  of  mutton  is  3^d.  per  pound.  Of 
the  cattle,  the  Alderney  blood  seems  to  pre- 
dominate. Bullocks  are  worked  to  a  consi- 
derable extent,  both  in  the  plough  and  in  the 
wagon.  "Some  centuries  ago,  Normandy 
was  the  source  whence  our  Henries,  and  Ed- 
wards, and  the  flower  of  European  chivalry, 
obtained  their  chargers ;  which  were  then  a 
breed  of  large,  powerful,  active  horses,  able  to 
bear  the  weight  of  an  armed  knight,  with  suffi- 
cient speed  for  the  purposes  of  war.  That 
breed  has  long  since  degenerated  into  an  active 
and  hardy  horse,  but  totally  devoid  of  those 
qualifications  as  to  size  and  general  appear- 
ance which  we  should  think  essential  in  a 
charger  even  for  a  common  soldier;  they  sel- 
dom attain  15  hands  in  height,  and  are  very 
short-necked;  they  are  rather  large  in  the 
head,  have  good  forelegs,  but  are  frequently 
imperfect  in  the  hind  ones,  being  too  long  from 
the  hock  to  the  hoof,  and  they  are  often  diseased 
in  those  limbs  from  curb  or  spavine,  and  defi- 
cient in  width  and  muscle  in  the  thigh.  They 
have  generally,  however,  good  shoulders,  back, 
and  loins,  many  of  them  possessing  very  use- 
ful and  short  actions  in  the  trot ;  and  consi- 
dered generally  as  a  breed,  they  are  able  to  go 
faster,  and  do  more  work  than  their  appear- 
ance at  first  indicates:  they  are  commonly 
worked  at  two  years  of  age."  With  regard  to 
the  rotation  of  crops,  there  is  little  worthy  of 
observation.  In  Normandy,  a  very  commor 
rotation  is  a  three-shift  of  wheat,  barley,  clover 
wheat;  in  others,  a  four-shift  of  potatoes,  barley, 
clovLT,  wheat.  Their  agricultural  implements 
are  few  and  defective.  Dombasle's  p;ou2:h,  mo- 
delled from  that  of  Small's  English  plough,  is 
the  favourite  plough  in  France ;  it  has  com- 
monly, however,  wheels  added.  The  spade  is 
employed  to  a  considerable  extent  in  tht  field 
culture  of  this  great  country,  and  the  greatest 
portion  of  the  country  partakes  of  the  nature 
of  garden  husbandry  The  ccnsumption  of 
2  U  505 


FRANCE,  AGRICULTURE  OP. 

vegetables  of  all  kinds  is  much  greater  in  • 
France  than  in  England;  and  the  same  remark  '■ 
applies  to  bread,  the  price  of  which,  in  Paris, ; 
is  regulated  bv  the  public  authorities.  j 

The  care  which  is  taken  in  France,  by  the  ^ 
government,  to  husband  every  particle  of  or-  ^ 
ganic  manure,  is  well  worthy  of  the  conside- 1 
ration  of  the  public  authorities  in  England,  for  \ 
nowhere  is  there  a  greater  waste  of  the  rich^^st ; 
fertilizing  matters  than  from  the  large  cities 
and  towns  of  England  ;  a  great  and  public  loss, 
to  which  Dr.  Granoitte,  in  his  report  to  the 
Thames  Improvement  Company,  thus  alludes : 
*«In  no  part  of  France,  Wuriemberg,  Bavaria, 
Bohemia,  Prussia,  Saxony,  the  Confederated 
Stales  of  Germany,  Holland,  and  Belgium,  is 
there  a  city  in  which,  as  in  London,  the  gene- 
ral mass  of  filth,  of  every  description,  created 
by  a  vast  population,  is  first  allowed  to  enter 
the  river  which  may  happen  to  traverse  that 
city,  and   is   then    returned,  diluted  with   the 
water  of  that  river,  to  the  houses  of  the  inhabi-' 
tants,  to  be  used  either  for  domestic  or  culinary 
purposes  :  although,  by  avoiding  the  latter  dis- 
gusting alternative,  foreign  cities  are  less  free 
*rom  unpleasant  smells  than  London  is.  In  this 
*espect  it  may  be  truly  said,  that  foreigners  smell 
the  filth  of  their  cities,  but  do  not  swallow  it; 
whereas  the  Londoner  swallows  it,  but  seldom 
smells  it. 

"In  no  large  city  of  that  part  of  Europe 
which  I  have  recently  visited,  possessing  a 
river,  is  any  portion  of  the  contents  of  closets 
and  cesspools  suffered  to  find  its  way,  or  to  be 
emptied  into  it ;  except  at  Amsterdam,  Ant- 
werp, Brussels,  Stuttgard,  and  Leipzig ;  and 
e\'en  there,  only  in  a  partial  manner.  In  Paris 
the  Seine  is  contaminated  by  one  large  drain 
only,  conveying  the  urine  from  the  large  reser- 
voirs of  night-soil  at  Montfaucon,  and  by  two 
smaller  ones  proceeding  from  cesspools.  To 
convey  generally,  or  to  empty,  even  partially, 
any  such  matter  into  the  river,  is  a  practice 
against  which  the  laws  have  provided  by  heavy 
fines  and  incarceration ;  and  such  is  the  pre- 
sent feeling  of  all  the  governments  on  that 
subject,  even  in  the  great  cities  I  have  just 
enumerated  as  exceptions,  that  the  authorities 
arc  seriously  engaged  in  devising  means  for 
preventing,  in  future,  every  possible  infraction 
of  those  laws ;  not  because  it  is  desirable  to 
preserve  pure  the  water  of  such  rivers  (since 
no  domestic  use  is  made  of  it),  but  on  account 
of  the  loss  of  a  material,  deemed  most  valua- 
ble, which  such  infractions  must  necessarily 
cntuil. 

**  In  Paris  extensive  improvements  in  regard 
o  drainage  are  now  in  progress,  at  the  conclu- 
wion  of  which,  that  capital  will  have  subterra- 
neous drains  and  sewers  in  as  complete  a  state 
as  those  of  London,  and  something  better. 
More  than  two-fifths  of  that  city  are  now  so 
drained.  When  this  great  undertaking  was  in 
agitation,  it  was  sucrgested  that  all  the  latrines, 
public  as  well  as  private,  should,  as  in  London, 
communicate,  by  proper  drains  with  the  great 
sewers,  which  are  intended  to  be  emptied  into 
the  Seine.  As  the  project  of  supplying  pure 
water,  direct  to  the  houses,  is  simultaneously 
to  be  carried  into  effect,  and  as  the  water  for 
thai  purpose  is  to  be  derived  from  other 
506 


FROG  OF  A  HORSE. 

sources  than  the  river,  there  could  have  been 
no  objection  on  that  score,  to  the  adoption 
of  so  general  and  so  complete  a  drainaj,?. 
But  when  scientific  men,  agriculturists,  anu 
political  economists  were  consulted,  it  was 
agreed  that,  by  adopting  the  London  system,  the 
city  would  lose  a  revenue  of  nearly  800,000 
francs,  and  agriculture  the  means  of  producing 
four  times  as  much.  The  government,  there- 
fore, came  to  the  resolution  of  not  suffering  any 
portion  of  the  contents  of  the  latrines  to  enter 
the  common  sewers;  but,  alive  to  the  great  im- 
portance of  saving  them,  enacted  a  police 
regulation,  strictly  enjoining  that  every  house 
should  have  its  cesspool  (whether  new  or  old, 
and  within  a  given  lime)  made  water-tight,  in 
order  that  none  of  those  contents  should  be 
wasted.  In  consequence  of  this  regulation, 
all  cesspools  must  be  emptied  once  in  four 
years." 

FRANKLINIA  (Gordonia  puhescens).  This 
species  of  Gordonia,  appears  to  be  restricted 
by  nature,  within  very  narrow  bounds,  having 
hitherto,  says  Michaux,  been  found  only  on  the 
banks  of  the  Altamaha,  in  the  state  of  Georgia- 
It  was  discovered  there  in  1770,  by  John  Bar- 
tram,  who  gave  it  its  specific  name.  In  height  it 
rarely  exceeds  30  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  6 
or  8  inches.  It  blooms  in  Carolina  about 
the  beginning  of  July,  and  a  month  later  near 
Philadelphia.  The  flowers  are  more  than  an 
inch  in  diameter,  white,  and  of  an  agreeable 
odour.  They  have  a  slight  resemblance  to 
those  of  the  df>gwood  (Conius  Floi-ida).  Like 
those  of  the  Loblolly  bay  {Gordonia  lasyanthus), 
they  open  in  succession  during  two  or  three 
months,  and  begin  to  appear  when  the  tree  is 
only  3  or  4  feet  high.  The  fruit  is  in  the  form 
of  round,  ligneous  capsules,  which,  when  ripe, 
open,  at  the  summit  in  four  seams  to  release 
the  small  angular  seeds. 

Although  the  Franklinia  is  found  2  or  3  de- 
grees farther  south  than  the  Loblolly  bay,  it 
appears  to  be  far  less  sensible  to  cold,  and 
stands  the  climate  well  near  Philadelphia,  and 
will  perhaps  resist  the  winters  higher  north. 
{Michaux.) 

FRENCH  BEANS.    See  Bkans. 

FRENCH  CLOVER.     See  Lucerne. 

FREE-MARTIN.  A  name  given  by  breed- 
ers to  a  twin  cow  calf  born  with  a  bull  calf, 
which  generally  proves  an  hermaphrodite,  and 
therefore  barren  ;  but  in  some  cases,  there  not 
being  this  admixture  of  the  organs  of  different 
sexes,  or  those  of  the  female  prevailing,  she  is 
capable  of  breeding.  (Youatt  on  Catth,  p.  539.) 

FRINGE-TREE  (Chionanthus  Virgjuica),  a 
beautiful,  small,  American  tree,  abounding  in 
the  Southern  States,  and  as  high  up  as  the  vi- 
cinity of  Dover,  in  the  state  of  Delaware.  It 
has  been  even  met  with  on  the  banks  of  the 
Brandywine.  'I'he  specific  name  is  derived 
from  its  snow-white  flowers,  which  are  pendu- 
lous and  fringe-like.  There  is  another  variety 
in  the  United  States  (the  maritivia  of  Pursh), 
which  Lindley  considers  a  distinct  species, 
{Flor.  Ceslrica.) 

FROG  OF  A  HORSE.  In  farriery,  is  a  tri- 
angular portion  of  horn  projecting  from  the 
sole  almost  on  a  level  with  the  crust,  and  de- 
fending a  sot\  a  d  elastic  substance  called  the 


TROG-HOPPERS. 


r 

^len^hle  frog.  The  sensible  frog  occupies  the 
whole  of  the  back  part  of  the  foot,  above  the 
horny  frog  and  between  the  cartilages.  See 
Shokins. 

FKOG-HOPPERS.  The  familiar  name  ap- 
plied to  singular  insects  (Cerropididee),  which 
pass  their  whole  lives  on  plants,  upon  the 
stems  of  which  the  eggs  are  deposited  in  au- 
tumn. "The  iollowingsummer  they  are  hatched, 
and  the  young  immediately  perforate  the  bark 
with  their  beaks,  and  begin  to  imbibe  the  sap. 
They  take  in  such  quantities  of  this,  that  it 
oozes  out  of  their  bodies  continually,  in  the 
form  of  little  bubbles,  which  soon  completely 
cover  up  the  insects.  They  thus  remain  en- 
tirely buried  and  concealed  in  large  masses 
of  foam,  until  they  have  completed  their  final 
transformation,  on  which  account  the  names 
of  cuckoo-spittle,  frog-spittle,  and  frog-hoppers 
have  been  applied  to  them.  We  have,"  says 
Dr.  Harris,  "several  species  of  these  frog-hop- 
pers in  Massachusetts,  and  the  spittle,  with 
which  they  are  sheltered  from  the  sun  and  air, 
may  be  seen  in  great  abundance,  during  the 
summer,  on  the  stems  of  our  alders  and  wil- 
lows. In  the  perfect  state  they  are  not  thus 
protected,  but  are  found  on  the  plants,  in  the 
latter  part  of  summer,  fully  grown  and  prepar- 
ing to  lay  their  eggs.  In  this  state  they  pos- 
sess the  power  of  leaping  in  a  still  more  re- 
markable degree  than  the  tree-hoppers;  and, 
for  this  purpose,  the  tips  of  their  hind  shanks 
are  surrounded  with  little  spines,  and  the  first 
two  joints  of  their  feet  have  a  similar  coronet 
of  spines  at  their  extremities.  Their  thorax 
narrows  a  little  behind,  and  projects  somewhat 
between  the  bases  of  the  wing-covers ;  their 
bodies  are  rather  short,  and  their  wing-covers 
arc  almost  horizontal  and  quite  broad  across 
the  middle,  which,  with  the  shortness  of  iheir 
legs,  gives  them  a  squat  appearance." 

FROGS  (i?rtfm,  Linn.).  A  genus  of  amphi- 
bious reptiles,  consisting  of  17  species,  but  two 
only  require  to  be  here  noticed: — 

1.  The  Common  Frog  (/?.  temporaria),  which 
is  too  well  known  to  need  description.  Some 
of  its  properties  are  very  singular,  panicularly 
its  powers  of  leaping  and  swimming.  Its  body 
is  naked,  and  without  any  tail ;  the  fore  limbs 
are  very  lightly  made,  while  the  hind  legs  and 
thighs  are  remarkably  long,  and  furnished  with 
strong  muscles.  As  soon  as  the  spawn  is  vi- 
vified, the  future  frog  becomes  a  tadpole,  in 
which  state  it  is  M'holly  a  water  animal,  breath- 
ing by  bronchia  or  gills,  like  fish  ;  but  as  soon 
as  it  is  changed  into  a  frog,  and  attains  its 
]»roper  shape,  it  acquires  lungs,  by  which  it 
breathes,  and  then  immediately  migrates  to  the 
shore. 

2.  The  Gibbous,  Green,  or  Edible  frog  (/?. 
esculento),  which  diflTers  from  the  former  spe- 
cies only  in  having  a  high  protuberance  in  the 
middle  of  the  back,  which  forms  an  acute 
angle.  Its  colours  likewise  are  more  vivid, 
and  its  marks  more  distinct,  the  ground  colour 
being  a  pale  or  yellowish  green,  marked  with 
rows  of  black  spots  from  the  head  to  the  nimp. 
The  flesh  of  the  hind  thighs  is  used  as  a  re- 
storative food.  The  flesh  of  the  Surinam  frog 
(i?.  paradoxtt)  is  also  used  as  food.  Frogs  are 
recommended  by  Walton  as  bait  for  pike,  but 


FROST. 

frogs  retaliate  by  feeding  on  the  spawn  and 
young  fry  of  fish  in  ponds  and  rivers. 

Of  the  utility  of  frogs,  in  destroying  insects 
injurious  to  gardens  and  farms,  the  following 
view  presented  in  a  French  periodical, is  highly 
favourable  to  those  much  despised  animals. 

"  Gardeners  wage  the  same  war  against  frogs 
as  with  moles  and  all  other  insects  mischievous 
to  their  crops.  But  they  are  wrong  in  including 
frogs  in  the  general  proscription,  since  they 
not  only  do  them  no  injur}',  but  render  them, 
on  the  contrary,  important  services ;  for  they 
are  carnivorous  as  well  as  herbivorous,  and 
greatly  prefer  insects  to  vegetable  food.  They 
are  particularly  fond  of  snails,  and  swallow 
them  even  with  their  shells  on,  when  they  are 
not  too  large.  If  you  open  a  frog,  you  will  find 
his  stomach  full  of  insects  hurtful  to  agricul- 
ture, and  especially  snails.  The  shells  they 
digest,  or  rather  dissolve  in  their  s'tomachs,  in 
the  same  way  that  dogs  do  bones,  and  turkeys 
the  shells  of  nuts."  (American  Farmer.) 

FROND.  A  combination  of  stem  and  leaf 
in  one  organ,  as  in  ferns,  MarchatUia,  and  such 
like  plants. 

FROST.  In  meteorology  is  the  cause  of  the 
congelation  of  water  or  the  vapours  of  the  at- 
mosphere. Water  begins  to  freeze  when  the 
temperature  of  the  air  is  such  that  Fahrenheit's 
thermometer  stands  at  32°.  At  this  tempera- 
ture ice  begins  to  appear,  unless  some  circum- 
stance, for  example,  the  agitation  of  the  water, 
prevents  its  formation.  As  the  cold  increases 
the  frost  becomes  more  intense,  and  liquids 
which  resist  the  degree  of  cold  required  to  con- 
geal water  at  length  pass  into  the  solid  state. 
When  water  remains  at  complete  rest  it  may 
be  cooled  down  to  28°  Fahrenheit  without 
freezing;  but  the  moment  it  is  agitated,  the 
thermometer  rises  to  32°  and  the  water  freezes. 
In  this  case  the  insensible  heat  of  the  water  is 
retained  when  the  fluid  is  at  rest.  No  experi- 
ments have  hitherto  ascertained  to  what  depth 
frost  will  extend,  either  in  earth  or  water,  but 
its  eflTects  will  of  course  vary  according  to  the 
degree  of  coldness  in  the  air,  the  longer  or 
shorter  duration  of  the  fro' t,  the  texture  of  the 
earth,  the  nature  of  the  fluids  with  which  the 
ground  is  impregnated,  &c.  In  England  the 
frost  rarely  extends  in  the  ground  below  18 
inches  from  the  surface.  Frost  is  peculiarly 
destructive  to  vegetatioi.  During  severe  frost 
almost  all  vegetables  fall  into  a  state  of  decay, 
and  even  a  moderate  degree  of  frost  is  suffi- 
cient to  destroy  many  of  the  more  tender  kinds. 
The  injury  which  vegetables  sustain  from  frost 
is  greatest  when  it  is  preceded  by  a  thaw  or 
copious  rains ;  for  the  plants  are  then  turgid 
with  moisture,  which,  expanding  in  bulk  as  it 
passes  into  the  solid  state,  produces  the  rup- 
ture of  the  vegetable  fibres.  Therefore  it  is 
that  a  sharp,  north  wind,  or  any  thing  which 
dries  the  sap  or  juices  of  vegetables  previous 
to  frost,  tends  to  their  preservation.  The  great 
power  of  frost  on  vegetables  is  well  known. 
Trees  are  sometimes  destroyed  by  it  as  if  by 
fire,  and  split  with  a  noise  resembling  the  ex 
plosion  of  artillery,  since  the  juices  of  the  tree 
expand  with  great  force,  as  they  are  converted 
into  ice.  In  winter,  however,  trees  generally 
have  neither  leaves  nor  flowers,  and  their  budi 

507 


FROST. 


FRUIT. 


are  ?o  hard  as  to  withstand  the  effects  of  con- 
gelation ;  but  hard  frosts  laie  in  spring  are 
often  very  injurious,  as  the  buds  are  then  ap- 
pearing. Fruits  are  in  like  manner  destroyed 
by  frost.  Their  watery  portion  being  changed 
into  crystals  of  ice,  occupying  a  greater  space 
than  the  fluid  from  which  they  were  produced, 
burst  ihe  small  vessels  in  which  they  are 
formed ;  hence  the  fruit  is  deprived  of  its  fa- 
vour, and  M'hen  thawed  putrefies. 

The  hoar-frost  or  tchite  frott^  which  appears 
in  the  mornings  chiefly  in  autumn  and  spring, 
is  merely  frozen  dew.  It  is  generally  the  con- 
sequence of  a  sudden  clearing  up  of  the  wea- 
ther after  rain,  when  a  considerable  degree  of 
cold  is  produced  by  the  rapid  evaporation.  In 
northerly  climates,  it  usually  happens  that 
after  a  fall  of  rain  the  wind  shifts  into  a  north- 
ern quarter,  and  the  atmosphere  suddenly  clears 
up.  When  this  takes  place  during  the  night,  or 
early  in  the  morning,  a  strong  radiation  of  heat 
from  the  earth  commences,  the  cooling  effect 
of  which  is  increased  by  the  copious  evapora- 
tion from  the  wet  surfaces  of  the  plants  and 
the  grass.  The  influence  of  evaporation  on 
the  phenomenon  is  obvious  from  this,  that  the 
moisture  which  appears  in  the  form  of  dew  be- 
fore sunrise,  is  often  changed  into  nwie,  or  hoar- 
frost, on  the  appearance  of  that  luminary.  The 
reason  is,  that  as  the  atmosphere  begins  to  be 
warmed  by  the  sun's  rays,  the  evaporation  is 
accelerated,  and  consequently  the  cold  at  the 
wel  surface  of  the  ground  augmented  ;  hence, 
we  see  one  reason  why  frosty  nights  are  so 
much  more  prejudicial  to  the  tender  shoots  of 
plants  when  they  are  succeeded  by  very  bright 
mornings.  Hence,  also,  hoar-frost  is  found 
on  grass  or  plants,  when  the  thermometer, 
placed  a  few  feet  above  the  ground,  indicates 
a  temperature  three  or  four  degrees  above  the 
freezing  point. 

In  late  autumnal  frost,  the  effect  of  evapora- 
tion by  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  often  exemplified 
on  the  stems  of  potatoes.  If  a  hoar-frost  be 
immediately  succeeded  by  the  influence  of  the 
sun,  the  dew  liquefies,  and  by  the  process  of 
evaporation  the  stalks  lose  their  vitality,-  for 
although  plants,  as  well  as  animals,  have  an 
inherent  power  of  resisting  cold,  yet  it  is  in  the 
former  only  to  a  very  limited  degree.  If  the 
hoar-frost  be  brushed  off  (and  this  can  easily 
be  done  by  two  men  moving  along  the  beds  or 
drills  with  a  rope  between  them,  very  early  in 
the  morning,  before  the  evaporation  takes 
place),  the  stalks  will  sustain  no  injury.  The 
destructive  power  of  evaporation  appears  to 
be  proportioned  to  the  degree  of  humidity  in 
the  body  on  which  it  acts. 

The  following  is  recommended  as  a  simple 
and  easy  method  of  securing  fruit  trees  from 
Ihe  effects  of  frost : — 

If  a  thick  rope  be  intermixed  among  the 
branches  of  a  fruit  tree  in  blossom,  the  end  of 
which  is  directed  downwards  so  as  to  terminate 
in  a  pail  of  water,  should  a  slight  frost  take 
place  during  the  night,  it  will  not  in  the  small- 
est degree  affect  the  tree,  while  the  surface  of 
the  pail  which  receives  the  rope  will  be  cover- 
ed with  thin  ice ;  though  the  water  placed  in 
another  pail  by  the  side  of  it,  by  way  of  expe- 
rijrent,  may  not,  from  the  slightness  of  the 
608 


frost,  have  any  ice  on  it  at  all.  In  this  case 
the  rope  aids  the  evaporation  of  the  water,  and 
thereby  cools  it  down  to  the  freezing  point. 
Frost  is  merely  the  effect  of  cold,  which,  itself, 
is  a  negative  quality  ;  namely,  the  absence  of 
heat.  As  evaporation  carries  off  heat  and  re- 
duces temperature,  whatever  aids  this  is  fa- 
vourable to  freezing.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol. 
viii.  p.  421.)  Early  hoar-frost  may,  it  is  said, 
be  rendered  harmless  in  its  effects  by  pouring 
fresh  spring  water  on  the  trees  and  vines  thus 
covered  before  the  sun  rises.  Various  other 
projects  have  been  proposed  at  different  time? 
to  avert  the  disastrous  effects  of  the  morning 
frosts  on  vegetation  in  spring;  but,  unfortu- 
nately, it  is  only  on  a  very  limited  scale  that 
any  means  can  be  adopted  for  the  purpose. 
Whatever  prevents  the  formation  of  dew  will 
protect  plants ;  hence  a  covering  of  net  or  thin 
gauze  will  often  preserve  the  blossoms  of  wall- 
fruit.  But  the  most  effectual  means  is  to  check 
the  radiation, fby  screening  the  plant  from  the 
chilling  aspect  of  the  clear  sky.  See  Dew. 
Every  farmer  knows  that  frost  in  winter  is 
serviceable  to  the  soil,  by  breaking  down  and 
pulverizing  land,  and  that  a  failure  of  crops 
frequently  takes  place  after  a  winter  of  ex- 
treme mildness.  The  principle  is  this  : — in  the 
process  of  congelation,  the  water,  as  it  freezes, 
expands,  and,  therefore,  necessarily  separates 
the  particles  of  earth  in  which  it  is  held:  frost 
thus  operates  better  than  any  instrument  of 
human  construction,  for  its  action  reaches  to 
the  minutest  particles,  and  thus  renders  them 
friable.  In  dry  earth  it  has  little  or  no  effect 
in  this  way,  but  is  beneficial  in  destroying 
grubs  and  insects.  On  sand  it  makes  no  im- 
pression. On  ploughed  clay-land  frost  has  the 
most  beneficial  effect.  Therefore,  where  the 
soil  is  close,  stiff,  or  of  an  obstinate  clayey  na- 
ture, it  should  be  turned  up  in  ridges  in  the 
autumn  or  at  the  beginning  of  winter,  which 
tends  greatly  to  separate  its  particles,  and  ren- 
der it  more  fine  and  mellow. 

Hard  winters  seldom  injure  winter  grain  in 
any  respect,  especially  where  the  land  has  been 
thoroughly  drained,  and  is  covered  much  with 
snow.  By  leaving  the  earth  in  a  loose  and 
finely  divided  state,  frost  adapts  it  better  for  the 
extension  of  the  roots  as  the  warmth  of  spring 
approaches,  and  thereby  enables  them  to  pro- 
duce strong  plants.   (Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

FRUIT  (Fr.  fruit;  It.  frutta ,-  Span,  fruta; 
Lat.  fnidum).  In  botany,  comprehends  many 
kinds  of  what  are  commonly  called  seeds ;  as 
those  of  corn,  buckwheat,  caraway,  parsley, 
&c.,  as  well  as  the  succulent  inflorescence  of 
the  pine-apple,  which  is  a  mass  of  ovaria  and 
envelopes  in  a  consolidated  condition.  But  in 
horticulture  the  term  fruit  is  restricted  to  the 
pulpy  and  juicy  seeds  of  trees  and  shrubs,  &c., 
as  the  apple,  the  peach,  the  currant,  &c. 

The  fruits  of  vegetables  are  equally  various 
with  the  seeds.  They  almost  all  contain  an 
acid;  and  this  acid  is  usually  either  the  tar- 
taric, the  oxalic,  the  citric,  or  the  malic,  or  a 
mixture  of  two  or  more  of  them.  Hardly  any 
other,  except,  perhaps,  the  acetic,  has  hitherto 
been  found  in  fruits.  They  usually  contain 
I  likewise  a  portion  of  saccharine  gummy  mat- 
I  ter,  sometimes  starch ;   and  the  fleyhy  fruits 


FRUIT-MAGGOTS. 


contain  also  a  fibrous  matter,  not  yet  accu- 
rately examined.  The  colouring  matters  of 
fruits,  especially  the  red,  dissolve  freely  both 
in  water  and  alcohol,  but  very  speedily  decay 
when  exposed  dry  to  the  action  of  the  sun 
and  weather.  Hence  they  cannot  be  used  as 
dyes. 

The  diseases  of  fruit-trees  are  various,  and 
for  these  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  different 
heads  of  Blioht,  Cankeh,  Mildew,  &c.  As 
the  culture  and  propagation  of  the  different 
fruits  are  also  treated  of  in  separate  articles, 
it  will  suffice  in  this  place  to  enumerate  a  few 
of  the  principal  works  which  maybe  consulted 
with  advantage  for  fuller  details  than  the  limits 
of  this  work  will  enable  me  to  give;  among 
these  are  Phillips's  Hist,  of  Fruits;  Rogers's 
Fruit  Cult. ;  Hoare  on  the  Fine ;  Mererombxe's 
Fruit  Gard.;  Lindley's  G^iide  to  the  Orchard  and 
Kitchen  Gard. ;  Loudon's  Enqfc.  of  Gard,  ifC. ; 
JJliss's  Fruit  Grower's  Instructor. 

Of  American  works  we  have  Downing  on 
Fruit  -  Trees,  Elliott's  Fruit  -  Grower' s  Guide, 
Meade  s  Vine  Culture,  Fuller  on  the  Vine,  Coxe 
on  Frail- Trees;  Thatcher's  American  Orchardiat; 
Hovey's  Magaz.  of  Horticulture,  Sfc. ;  Kenrick's 
Am.  Orchardist ;  Fessendcn's  Am.  Farmer  and 
Gardener ;  Hoffey^s  Orchardist's  Companion,  the 
last  a  splendid  original  work  with  plates. 

FHUIT  MAGGOTS.  The  little  white  mag- 
gots often  found  in  our  ripe  whortleberries, 
raspberries,  cherries,  and  other  fruits,  are  the 
young  of  small  two-winged  flies,  some  of 
which  family  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  stems, 
buds,  and  leaves  of  plants,  thereby  producing 
large  tumors  or  galls  wherein  their  young  re- 
side. The  larvfB  of  those  laying  their  eggs  in 
fruit,  live  upon  the  pulp.  The  family  of  insects 
has  received  the  name  of  Ortalidians,  from  a 
word  signifying  ..to  shake  or  flap  the  wings, 
these  being  kept  in  motion  all  the  time.  Some 
of  them  are  in  the  habit  of  suddenly  raising 
their  wings  perpendicularly  above  their  backs, 
and  running  along  a  few  steps  with  them  spread 
like  the  tail  of  a  peacock.  Their  powers  of 
flight  are  feeble,  and  they  are  rarely  found 
sporting  on  flowers  in  the  sunshine,  but  gene- 
rally prefer  shady  and  damp  places.  The 
wings  of  the  ortalidians  are  often  beautifully 
variegated,  striped  or  spotted,  with  shades  of 
brown  or  black.     (Harris.) 

FRUIT-MOTH,  or  CODLING-MOTH.  The 
insect,  the  eggs  of  which  produce  the  well- 
known  apple-worm,  which  has  been  brought 
from  Europe  to  America,  and  naturalized 
wherever  the  apple  tree  has  been  introduced. 
This  mischievous  creature  has  sometimes 
been  mistaken  for  the  plum-weevil  (see  Cur- 
rulio),  but  it  may,  says  Dr.  Harris,  be  easily 
distinguished  from  it  by  its  shape,  habits,  and 
transformations.  The  plum-wee  vil  is,  how- 
ever, sometimes  found  in  appUs;  but  the 
apple-worm  has  never  yet  been  found  in 
plums,  so  far  as  Dr.  Harris  has  been  able  to 
learn.  The  apple-worm  is  not  a  grub,  but  a 
true  caterpillar,  the  product  of  a  moth,  and  not 
of  a  beetle,  as  grubs  are.  An  anonymous 
writer  in  the  Entoinolosical  Magazine  of  London, 
hasf  well  remarked  of  this  moth  (Cnrpocapsa 
pomomlla),  that  "it  is  the  most  beautiful  of  the 
tribe  to  which  it  belongs ;  yet,  fr jm  its  habits  , 


FRUIT-MOTH. 

not  being  known,  it  is  seldom  seen  in  the  moth 
state ;  and  the  apple-grower  knows  no  more 
than  the  man  in  the  moon  to  what  cause  he  is 
indebted  for  his  basketfuls  of  worm-eaten 
windfalls  in  the  stillest  weather." 

A  good  account  of  the  apple-worm  and  its 
i  transformations,  by  Joseph  Tufts,  Esq.,  of 
Charleston,  Massachusetts,  was  published  in 
the  Massachusetts  Agr.  Rep.  and  Journ.,  vol.  v., 
and  some  remarks  by  Mr.  Burrelle,  of  Quincy, 
,  Massachusetts,  may  be  found  in  the  New  Eng- 
I  land  Farmer,  vol.  xviii.  At  various  times  be- 
tween the  middle  of  June  and  first  of  July,  the 
apple-worm  moths  may  be  found  in  New  Eng- 
land. "They  are  sometimes  seen  in  houses 
in  the  evening,  trying  to  get  through  the  win- 
dows into  the  open  air,  having  been  brought  in 
with  fruit  while  they  were  in  the  caterpillar 
state.  Their  fore-wings,  when  seen  at  a  dis- 
tance, have  somewhat  the  appearance  of  brown 
watered  silk ;  when  closely  examined  they  will 
be  found  to  be  crossed  by  numerous  gray  and 
brown  lines,  scalloped  like  the  plumage  of  a 
bird  ;  and  near  the  hind  angle  there  is  a  large, 
oval,  dark  brown  spot,  the  edges  of  which  are 
of  a  bright  copper  colour.  The  head  and 
thorax  are  brown,  mingled  with  gray ;  and  the 
hind-wings  and  abdomen  are  light  yellowish 
brown,  with  the  lustre  of  satin.  Its  wings  ex- 
pand three-quarters  of  an  inch.  This  insect 
is  readily  distinguished  from  other  moths  by 
the  large,  oval,  brown  spot,  edged  with  copper 
colour,  on  the  hinder  margin  of  each  of  the 
fore-wings.  During  the  latter  part  of  June  and 
the  month  of  July,  these  fruit-moths  fly  about 
apple  trees  every  evening,  and  lay  the-r  eggs 
on  the  young  fruit.  They  do  not  puncture  the 
apples,  but  they  drop  their  eggs,  one  by  one,  in 
the  eye  or  hollow  at  the  blossom  end  of  the 
fruit,  where  the  skin  is  most  tender.  They 
seem  also  to  seek  for  early  fruit  rather  than 
for  the  late  kinds,  which  we  find  are  not  so  apt 
to  be  wormy  as  the  thin-skinned  summer 
apples.  The  eggs  begin  to  hatch  in  a  few 
days  after  they  are  laid,  and  the  little  apple- 
worms  or  caterpillars  produced  from  them  im- 
mediately burrow  into  the  apples,  making  their 
way  gradually  from  the  eye  towards  the  core. 
Commonly  only  one  worm  will  be  found  in  the 
same  apple;  and  it  is  so  small  at  first,  that  its 
presence  can  only  be  detected  by  the  brownish 
powder  it  throws  out  in  eating  its  way  through 
the  eye.  The  body  of  the  young  insect  is  of  a 
whitish  colour;  its  head  is  heart-shaped  and 
black;  the  top  of  the  first  ring  or  collar  and 
of  the  last  ring  is  also  black ;  and  there  are 
eight  little  blackish  dots  or  warts,  arranged  in 
pairs,  on  each  of  the  other  rings.  As  it  grows 
older  its  body  becomes  flesh-coloured;  its 
head,  the  collar,  and  the  top  of  the  last  ring, 
turn  brown,  and  the  dots  are  no  longer  to  be 
seen.  In  the  course  of  three  weeks,  or  a  little 
more,  it  comes  to  its  full  size,  and  meanwhile 
has  burrowed  to  the  core  and  through  the  apple 
in  various  directions.  To  get  rid  of  the  refuse 
fragments  of  its  food,  it  gnaws  a  round  hole 
through  the  side  of  the  apple,  and  thrusts  them 
out  of  the  opening.  Through  this  hole  also  the 
insect  makes  its  escape  after  the  apple  falls  to 
the  ground ;  and  the  falling  of  the  fruit  is  well 
known  to  be  hastened  by  the  iniarv  it  hua 
2  u  2  609 


FRUIT-WEEVIL. 

received  within,  which  generally  causes  it  to 
ripen  before  its  time. 

"  Soon  after  the  half-grown  apples  drop,  and 
•omelimes  while  they  are  still  hanging,  the 
worms  leave  them  and  creep  into  chinks  in 
the  bark  of  the  trees  or  into  other  sheltered 
places,  which  they  hollow  out  with  their  teeth 
to  suit  their  shape.  Here  each  one  spins  for 
itself  a  cocoon  or  silken  case,  as  thin,  delicate, 
and  white  as  tissue  paper.  Some  of  the  apple- 
worms,  probably  the  earliest,  are  said  by  Kiillar 
to  change  to  chrysalids  immediately  aUer  their 
cocoons  are  made,  and  in  a  few  days  more 
turn  to  moths,  come  out,  and  lay  their  eggs  for 
m  second  generation  of  the  worms  ;  and  hence 
much  fruit  will  be  found  to  be  worm-eaten  in 
the  autumn.  Most  of  the  insects,  however, 
remain  in  their  cocoons  through  the  winter, 
and  are  not  changed  to  moths  till  the  following 
»ummer.  The  chrysalis  is  of  a  bright  maho- 
gany-brown colour,  and  has,  as  usual,  across 
each  of  the  rings  of  its  hind-body,  two  rows 
of  prickles,  by  the  help  of  which  it  forces  its 
way  through  the  cocoon  before  the  moth 
comes  forth. 

"  As  the  apple-worms  instinctively  leave  the 
fruit  soon  after  it  falls  from  the  trees,  it  will 
be  proper  to  gather  up  all  wind-fallen  apples 
daily,  and  make  such  immediate  use  of  them 
as  will  be  sure  to  kill  the  insects,  before  they 
have  time  to  escape.  Mr.  Burrelle  says  that  if 
any  old  cloth  is  wound  around  or  hung  in  the 
crotches  of  the  trees,  the  apple-worms  will 
conceal  themselves  therein  ;  and  by  this  means 
thousands  of  them  may  be  obtained  and  de- 
stroyed, from  the  time  when  they  first  begin  to 
leave  the  apples,  until  the  fruit  is  gathered. 
By  carefully  scraping  off  the  loose  and  rugged 
bark  of  the  trees,  in  the  spring,  many  chrysa- 
lids will  be  destroyed;  and  it  has  been  said 
that  the  moths,  when  they  are  about  laying 
their  eggs,  may  be  smothered  or  driven  away, 
by  the  smoke  of  weeds  burned  under  the  trees. 
The  worms,  often  found  in  summer  pears,  ap- 
pear to  be  the  same  as  those  that  affect  apples, 
and  are  to  be  kept  in  check  by  the  same 
means."     (Harris.) 

FRUIT-WEEVII^    See  Ccbculio;    Plum- 

WBETIU 

FUEL  (Norm.  Tr.fuayle).  Any  combusti- 
ble substance  which  is  used  for  the  production 
•f  heat  constitutes  a  species  of  fuel ;  but  the 
term  is  more  propeily  limited  to  coal,  coke, 
•liarcoal,  wood,  and  a  few  other  substances. 

In  England,  coal,  from  its  abundance  and 
cheapness,  is  the  commonly  employed  fuel ; 
but  where  wood  is  abundant,  or  where  its 
Talue  is  little  more  than  that  of  felling  it,  it  is 
vsed  either  in  its  original  state,  or  in  the  form 
of  charcoal.  It  is  essential  to  good  and  profit- 
able fuel  that  it  should  be  free  from  moisture; 
for  Urtless  it  be  dry,  much  of  the  heat  which  it 
generates  is  consumed  in  converting  its  moists 
ure  into  vapour;  hence  the  superior  value  of 
old,  dense,  and  dry  wood,  to  that  which  is  por- 
ous and  damp.  A  pound  of  dry  wood  will,  for 
instance,  heat  35  pounds  of  water  from  32° 
to  212°,  and  a  pound  of  the  same  wood  in  a 
moist  or  fresh  state  will  not  heat  more  than  25 
oounds  from  the  same  to  the  same  tempera- 
'nre;  the  value,  therefore,  of  different  woods 
510 


FUMITORY. 

for  fuel  is  nearly  inversely  as  their  moisture, 
and  this  may  be  roughly  ascertained  by  finding 
how  much  a  given  weight  of  their  shavings 
loses  by  drying  them  at  212°. 

The  following  table  exhibits  at  one  view  the 
power  of  various  species  of  wood  in  producing 
heal. 

The  number  indicates  the  quantity  of  timber 
in  pounds,  required  to  raise  the  temperature 
of  a  cubic  foot  of  water  from  52°  to  212°. 

IK 

Oak  chips     -------  420 

Elm      --------  3-52 

Fir -        -  3  52 

Ash      --------  3-50 

Hornbeam    -------  3-37 

Cherry  tree  -------  320 

Beech 316 

Lime  tree     -        -        -        -        -        -        -3- 10 

Poplar 3  JO 

Maple 300 

Service  tree         - 300 

The  value  of  turf  and  peat,  as  fuel,  is  liable 
to  much  variation,  and  depends  partly  upon 
their  density,  and  partly  upon  their  freedom 
from  earthy  impurities.  A  pound  of  turf  will 
heat  about  26  pounds  of  water  from  32°  to  212°, 
and  a  pound  of  dense  peat  about  30  lbs.:  ' 
compressing  and  drying  peat  its  value  as  a 
fuel  is  greatly  increased.  Dr.  M'Culloch  has 
divided  peat  into  five  classes : — mountain  peat 
marsh  peat,  lake  peat,  forest  peat,  and  marin 
peat;  the  names  implying  the  locality  of  theii 
production.  Of  these  the  mountain  peat,  from 
its  loose,  spongy  texture,  is  the  least  produc- 
tive of  heat,  although  it  soonest  inflames.  The 
reader  is  referred  to  an  excellent  essay  "on 
economizing  Fuel  and  Lighting,"  <&c.  by  the 
Rev.  P.  Bell,  in  the  Trans,  of  High.  Sot:  vol.  iv. 
p.  149.  See  Charcoal  and  Peat.  (Brande^s 
Diet,  of  Science  ;    Willich's  Dom.  Encyc.) 

FULLER'S  THISTLE  (Dipsacus  fullonum). 
A  name  sometimes  applied  to  a  plant  used  by 
the  makers  of  cloth.     See  Teasel. 

FULLER'S  EARTH.  A  native  sapona- 
ceous  mineral  of  the  aluminous  kind,  found  in 
many  parts,  but  the  best  comes  from  the  south 
of  England  and  Saxony.  It  is  much  used  by 
fullers  in  cleaning  and  scouring  their  cloth, 
from  its  property  of  absorbing  grease.  It  is 
of  a  very  soft,  unctuous  nature,  falls  to  pieces 
in  water,  and  appears  to  be  capable  of  pro- 
moting the  growth  of  plants  in  a  high  degree ; 
consequently  may  be  used  with  advantage  as 
manure,  on  some  of  the  lighter  sorts  of  land. 
Its  constituents,  according  to  Klaproth,  are  as 
follows : — 

Specimen  from  Specimen  from 

Reigate,  Surrey.  Nimplch,  in 

Silesia. 

Silica         -  -  -  -  530  48  5 

Alumina   -  .  -  -  100  155 

Lime         -  -  -  -    0-5  — 

Magnesia  -  -  -  -     125  15 

Oxide  of  iron  -  -  -    975  TO 

Common  salt  -  -  -    O'l  — 

Water       -  -  -  .  24-  255 

Logg  -----    1-4  20 

100-  100- 

FUMITORY  (Fumaria,  from  fumus,  smoke, 
alluding  to  the  disagreeable  smell  of  the  plant. 
Our  English  word  fumitory  is  derived  from  the 
French  name  of  the  genus  FuTneterre).  There 
are  six  indigenous  species  of  fumitory,  among 
which  are : — 


b 


FUNDUNGI. 


Common  Ajmitory  (F.  officinalis),  an  annual, 
very  common  in  cultivated  ground  and  about 
hedges ;  root  tapering,  herb  glaucous,  stem 
much  branched,  leaves  mostly  alternate,  twice 
or  thrice  pinnate.  Flowers  in  clusters,  rose- 
coloured  or  pale  red.  The  leaves  are  succu- 
lent, saline,  and  bitter.  The  plant  is  eaten  by 
cows  and  sheep;  goats  dislike  it,  except  the 
young  shoots,  and  horses  totally  refuse  it. 

Ramping  fumitory  (F.  aipreolata).  This 
species  is  much  like  the  common  fumitory,  but 
larger  in  every  part;  the  leaves  less  glaucous; 
their  tendrils  twisting  round  other  plants,  by 
which  the  branching  stem  climbs  to  the  height 
of  3  or  4  feet.  The  flowers  are  on  the  whole 
paler,  and  the  plant  also  less  common. 

This  species  and  the  while  climbing  fumi- 
tory are  the  only  ones  worthy  of  extensive 
culture.  They  do  best  sown  under  a  hedge,  to 
which  they  will  attach  themselves  and  make 
a  beautiful  appearance.  The  common  fumi- 
tory' is  the  only  species  found  in  the  United 
Slates,  where  it  has  been  naturalized  to  some 
extent,  being  not  unfrequenily  cultivated  in 
gardens.  (Ens;.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  2.'>2 — 267 ; 
Paxtoa's  Pot.  Dirt.) 

F  U  N  D  I,  or  F  UN  D U N  G  I.  An  African 
grain  produced  by  a  plant  of  Lilliputian 
growth,  which  is  described  by  Mr.  Clarke,  in 
the  proceedings  of  the  London  Linncean  So- 
ciety. This  grain  is  represented  as  about  the 
size  of  mignonette-seed,  and  is  cultivated  in 
the  village  of  Kissy  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Waterloo  by  industrious  individuals  of  the 
Soosoo,  Foulah,  Bassa,  and  JoloflT  nations,  by 
whom  it  is  called  "hungry  rice."  The  ground 
is  cleared  for  its  reception  by  burning  down 
the  copse-wood  and  hoeing  between  the  roots 
and  stifmps.  It  is  sown  in  the  months  of  May 
and  June,  the  ground  being  slightly  opened 
and  a^ain  lightly  drawn  together  over  the  seed 
with  a  hoe.  In  August,  when  it  shoots  up,  it 
is  carefully  weeded.  It  ripens  in  September, 
growing  to  the  height  of  about  18  inches,  and 
lis  stems,  which  are  very  slender,  are  then  bent 
to  the  earth  by  the  mere  weight  of  the  grain. 
They  are  reaped  with  hooked  knives.  The 
;)atch  of  land  is  then  either  suffered  to  lie  fal- 
low, or  planted  with  yams  or  cassada  in  rota- 
tion. Manure  is  said  to  be  unnecessary  or 
even  injurious,  the  plant  delighting  in  light  soils, 
and  being  raised  even  in  rocky  situations, 
which  are  most  frequent  in  and  about  Kissy. 
When  cut  down  it  is  tied  up  in  small  sheaves 
and  placed  in  a  dry  situation  within  the  hut, 
for  if  allowed  to  remain  on  the  ground  or  to 
become  wet  the  grains  become  agglutinated  to 
their  coverings.  The  grain  is  trodden  out  with 
the  feet,  and  is  then  parched  or  dried  in  the 
sun  to  allow  of  the  more  easy  removal  of  the 
chaff  in  the  process  of  pounding,  which  is 
performed  in  wooden  mortars.  It  is  after- 
wards winnowed  with  a  kind  of  cane  fanner 
on  mats. 

In  preparing  this  delicious  grain  for  food, 
Mr.  Clarke  states  that  it  is  first  thrown  into 
boiling  water,  in  which  it  is  assiduously  stirred 
for  a  few  minutes.  The  v.'ater  is  then  poured 
off,  and  the  natives  add  to  it  palm  oil,  butter,  or 
milk ;  but  the  Europeans  and  negroes  con- 
nected with  the  colony  stew  it  with  fowl,  fish. 


FUNGL 

!  mutton,  adding  a  small  piece  of  salt  pork  for 
the  sake  of  flavour,  and  the  dish  thus  prcparj<d 
is  stated  to  resemble  kous-kous.     The  grain  is 
also  made  into  a  pudding  with  the  usual  con- 
diments, and  eaten  either  hot  or  cold  with  milk; 
i  the  Scotch    residents   sometimes   dress   it  as 
I  milk-porridge.     Mr.  Clarke  is  of  opinion  that 
I  if  the  fundi  grain  were  raised  for  exportation 
I  to  Eumpe,  it  might  prove  a  valuable  addition 
to  the  list  of  light  farinaceous  articles  of  food 
in  use  among  the  delicate  or  convalescent. 

Specimens  of  the  grass  have  been  examined 
by  Mr.  Kippist,  Librarian  to  the  Linnaean  So- 
ciety. It  is  a  slender  grass  with  digitate 
spikes,  which  has  much  of  the  habit  of  Digitn- 
rid,  but  which,  on  account  of  the  absence  of 
the  small  outer  glume  existing  in  that  jr^enus, 
mast  be  referred  to  Puspnlum.  Mr.  Kippist 
regards  it  as  an  undescribed  species,  and  dis- 
tinguishes it  by  the  name  of  Paspalwn  exile. 
{Proreedtntis  of  Liu.  Sue.) 

FUNGI  (Lat.).  A  largenatural  tribe  of  plants 
of  a  very  low -organization,  consisting  chiefly 
of  cellular  tissue,  sometimes  intermixed  with 
rtocculent  matter,  and  very  rarely  furnished 
with  spiral  vessels.  They  form,  as  it  were,  a 
link  between  the  animal  and  vegetable  king- 
doms. They  inhabit  dead  and  decaying  organic 
bodies,  and  are  also  a  common  pest  to  living 
plants,  upon  which  they  are  parasites,  and  prey 
in  the  same  manner  as  vermin  and  intestinal 
worms  upon  animals.  A  vast  number  of  spe- 
cies are  descVibed  by  writers  upon  fungi,  and 
they  are  t)ften  of  great  importance  to  man, 
either  for  their  use  or  their  mischievous  qua- 
lities. The  common  mushroom  {A^arini&  cum- 
pestris),  the  truffle  (Tuber  ciharium),  and  morel 
(Marchella  ttculenta),  (see  these  heads)  are 
delicacies  well  known  at  table.  Not  less  thaa 
thirty-three  species  of  fungi  are  eaten  in  Rus- 
sia. Ergot,  one  of  the  tribe,  is  valuable  in  ob- 
stetric practice  as  a  uterine  stimulant;  very 
many  of  the  species  are  dangerous  poisons. 
Blight,  mildew,  rust,  &c.  (see  these  articles), 
are  diseases  caused  by  the  ravages  of  micro- 
scopic fungi ;  and,  finally  the  destructive  ef- 
fects of  dry-rot  are  owing  to  the  attacks  oi  Me- 
ruliu*  lachrymatis,  and  many  other  species. 
The  best  general  work  on  Fungi  is  Fries's 
Systema  Micologicum.  Numerous  species  are 
figured  in  the  works  of  Greville,  Bulliard, 
Sowerby,  Corda,and  Nees  von  Esenbeck.  (See 
Fairi  Rixgb.)  Dr.  Christison  gives  the  fol- 
lowing general  directions  for  distinguishing 
the  esculent  from  the  poisonous  varieties.  "It 
appears  that  most  fungi  which  have  a  warty 
cap,  more  especially  fragments  of  membrane 
adhering  to  their  upper  surface,  are  poisonous. 
Heavy  fungi,  which  have  an  unpleasant  odour, 
especially  if  they  emerge  from  a  vulva  or  bag, 
are  also  generally  hurtful.  Those  which  grow 
in  woods  and  shady  places  are  rarely  esculent, 
but  most  are  unwholesome;  and  if  they  are 
moist  on  the  surface  they  should  be  avoided. 
All  those  which  grow  in  tufts  or  clusters  from 
the  trunks  or  stumps  of  trees  ought  likewise  to 
be  shunned.  A  sure  test  of  a  poisonous  fungus 
is  an  astringent  styptic  taste,  and  perhaps  also 
a  disagreeable,  but  certainly  a  pungent  odour, 
Those,  the  substance  of  which  becomes  Mue 
soon  after  being  cut,  are  invariably  poi -onoua 

511 


FUNGUS. 


FURZE. 


Agarics,  of  an  orange  or  rose-red  colour,  and 
boleti,  which  are  coriaceous  or  corky  in  tex- 
ture, or  which  have  a  membranous  collar 
round  the  stem,  are  also  unsafe.  These  rules 
for  knowing  deleterious  fungi  seem  to  rest  on 
fact  and  experience ;  but  they  will  not  enable 
the  collector  to  recognise  every  poisonous  spe- 
cies." The  general  rules  laid  down  for  dis- 
tinguishing wholesome  fungi  are  not  so  well 
founded,  but  the  most  simple  and  easy  mode 
of  testing  the  quality  of  field  fungi  is  to  intro- 
duce a  silver  spoon  or  piece  of  coin  of  that 
metal,  or  an  onion,  into  the  vessel  in  which 
mushrooms  are  seething:  if  on  taking  either 
of  them  out,  they  assume  a  bluish  black,  or 
dark  discoloured  appearance,  there  are  cer- 
tainly some  dangerous  fungi  among  them  ;  if, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  metal  or  onion,  on  being 
withdrawn  from  the  liquor,  wears  its  natural 
appearance,  the  fungi  may  be  considered 
wholesome  and  innoxious.  The  symptoms  in- 
dicating poisoning  by  fungi  are  nausea,  vomit- 
ing, purging,  and  colic,  in  general  accompa- 
nied with  great  depression  of  the  pulse,  cold 
extremities,  clammy  sweats,  stupor,  delirium, 
convulsions,  sometimes  paralysis.  In  such 
cases  immediate  means  should  be  taken  to 
clear  the  stomach,  and  a  medical  practitioner 
sent  for,  as  the  subsequent  treatment  must  vary 
according  to  the  symptoms  in  each  individual 
instance.  {Chrisliton  on  Poisons ;  Brande's  Did. 
of  Science.) 

FUNGUS.  In  farriery,  a  spongy  excres- 
cence which  arises  in  wounds  and  ulcers, 
commonly  known  by  the  name  of  proud  flesh. 
It  may  be  destroyed  and  removed  by  caustic 
applications,  such  as  nitrate  of  silver,  or  sul- 
phate of  copper,  blue  vitriol,  and  the  use  of 
tight  bandages. 

FURLONG  (Sax.  pupians).  An  English 
measure  of  length  containing  forty  poles,  the 
eighth  part  of  a  mile. 

FURMENTY,  or  FRUMENTY  (from  frv. 
mentum,  corn).  A  kind  of  country  pottage  pre- 
pared of  wheat,  which  is  first  wetted,  and 
beaten  to  deprive  it  of  its  husks,  and  after- 
wards boiled.  When  boiled  up  with  milk, 
sugar,  and  a  little  spice,  it  forms  a  wholesome 
and  agreeable  food.  This  preparation  was 
well  known  to  the  Roman  farmers.  Cato,  the 
earliest  of  the  agricultural  writers  whose 
works  have  escaped  to  us,  gives  (lib.  Ixxxvi.) 
the  modem  mode  of  making  it  under  the  name 
of  wheal  frumenty. 

FURRIER'S  REFUSE,  or  CUPPINGS; 
are  sometimes  applied  as  a  fertilizer  to  light 
chalks  and  gravelly  soils,  either  ploughed  in 
or  laid  upon  the  surface,  in  the  proportion  of 
iwenty-four  to  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre.  They 
are  usually  sold  by  the  quarter,  which  com- 
monly contains  as  much  as  two  five-bushel 
sacks  will  hold  when  closely  pressed.  The 
price  is  said  to  be  about  14«.  "to  16«.  per  quar- 
ter,    (/.'n/.  Husb.  vol.  i.  p.  426.) 

FURROW  (Sax.  punh;  Dan./«r;  Lat.  fo- 
nis).  In  agriculture,  a  term  not  very  properly 
defined,  as  it  has  three  or  four  distinct  signifi- 
cations ;  viz.  1.  The  soil  turned  up  by  the 
plough ;  2.  The  trench  left  by  this  operation ; 
3.  The  interval  between  two  ridges;  and  4. 
The  cross  drain  which  receives  the  rain  water 
512 


collected  by  these  intervals.  Dr.  Johnson  adds 
9. fifth;  but  he  obviously  mistakes  furrow  for 
drill.  According  to  Mr.  Marshall  there  are 
three  ideas  which  lay  claim  to  the  word  fur- 
row. 1.  The  trench  made  by  the  plou<^h,  which 
mzLj  he  caWedi  ?L  plough  f\irrow ;  2.  The  collate- 
ral drains,  or  an  inter-furroio ;  and  3.  The 
transverse  drains,  or  the  a-oss-furroio.  See 
Ploughing  and  FunRow,  Water. 

FURROW-SLICE.  The  narrow  slice  ot 
slip  of  earth  turned  up  by  the  plough.  By  the 
Scotch  writers  on  husbandry,  it  is  mostly 
termed  fur-slice. 

FURROW,  WATER..  That  kind  of  deep, 
open  furrow  which  is  made  by  the  plough  in 
tillage-lands,  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  off  and 
draining  them,  in  order  to  favour  the  healthy 
growth  of  the  crops.  Furrows  of  this  kind 
should  always  be  drawn  in  such  directions  as 
will  the  most  readily  take  off  the  water,  and  be 
kept  open  during  the  winter  months,  especially 
on  the  wheat-grounds.  The  making  of  these 
furrow-drains  should  be  performed  immediate- 
ly after  the  ploughing  and  sowing  have  been 
finished;  and  this  is  particularly  necessary  on 
all  the  more  stiff  and  retentive  kinds  of  soil. 

FURZE,  COMMON;  GORSE,  or  WHIN 
(Ulex  EuropcBus).  PI.  9,  c.  This  hardy  ever- 
green shrub  is  indigenous  to  most  parts  of 
Great  Britain,  and  grows  abundantly  on  sandy 
or  gravelly  heaths  and  commons ;  and  when 
viewed  in  the  light  of  a  weed  it  is  one  of  the 
most  determined  growers,  and  most  difficult  to 
get  rid  of  that  the  agriculturist  can  meet  with. 
The  stem  of  the  furze  varies  from  2  to  5  feet 
high;  but  in  Cornwall  and  Durham  it  some- 
times grows  to  the  height  of  8  or  9  feet.  It  bears 
innumerable  dense,  roughish,  green,  furrowed 
or  ribbed  branches,  spinous  at  the  ends,  and 
beset  with  large,  compound,  striated,  permanent 
thorns.  The  leaves  .are  few,  scattered,  small, 
awl-shaped,  deciduous.  Flowers  large,  soli- 
tary or  in  pairs,  of  a  bright  golden  yellow,  with 
a  very  peculiar  oppressive  scent.  One  of  our 
poets  has  well  described  the  beautiful  appear- 
ance of  this  shrub  in  blossom — 

"And  what  more  nnbl«  than  the  vernal  furze, 
With  golden  baskets  hungi     Approach  it  not. 
For  every  blossom  has  a  troop  of  swords 
Drawn  to  defend  it." 

The  legumes  are  downy,  bursting  elastically 
in  dry,  hot  weather,  with  a  crackling  noise,  and 
scattering  their  seeds  extensively.  The  wood 
of  furze  is  very  hard.  Furze  is  chiefly  used  for 
fences,  as  food  for  cattle,  and  for  fuel.  Its 
preference  for  sterile  soil  has  caused  it  to  be 
extensively  employed  for  fences  in  such  land, 
and  as  a  cover  for  game,  and  shelter  for  young 
plantations.  With  common  care  furze  fences 
last  for  a  very  long  period,  but  they  require 
peculiar  management  to  prevent  the  roots  be- 
coming exposed.  Sowing  in  three  tiers  on  a 
bank  is  perhaps  the  best  mode,  as  it  allows  of 
one  tier  to  be  kept  low  by  the  shears  or  bill, 
the  second  of  higher  growth,  and  the  last  to  at- 

I  tain  its  natural  stature. 

I  There  are  generally  two  objections  advanced 
against  the  adoption  of  whin-fences.  The  first 
is,  that  the  wall  or  mound  required  for  raising 
the  whin  is  of  such  dimensions  as  to  occasion 
a  great  waste  of  ground;  and  the  second  is. 


FURZE. 


that  the  whins  have  a  great  tendency  to  spread 
over  and  injure  the  adjoining  grounds.  But 
with  a  slight,  well  trimmed  \tall-fence  of  furze 
these  objections  may  easily  be  obviated. 

The  formation  and  management  of  whin- 
fences  have  b;en  treated  of  by  a  number  of 
agricultural  and  botanical  Avriters,  as  Lord 
Kames,  Dr.  Anderson,  Marshall,  Billington  in 
his  work  Oji  Planting,  Dickson  in  his  Modern 
Husb,,  and  others ;  there  is  also  an  essay  on 
this  subject  in  the  Trans,  of  the  High.  Soc.  vol. 
V.  p.  466,  by  Mr.  W.  Bell,  and  it  is  noticed  in 
a  number  of  the  County  Reports. 

Furze  has  long  been  known  as  a  plant  highly 
nutritious  as  food  for  horses,  sheep,  and  cattle, 
and  has  only  been  neglected  from  the  supposed 
ditticulty  of  converting  it  into  a  state  fit  to  be 
comfortably  eaten  by  domestic  animals;  the 
process  of  cutting,  gathering,  and  bruising  the 
young  shoots,  when  taken  from  the  old  stunted 
bushes,  being  both  laborious  and  expensive. 
These  difficulties  are,  however,  comparatively 
easily  overcome  when  gorse  is  allowed  the 
privilege  of  a  cultivated  spot,  and  the  most 
worthless  part  of  the  farm  is  good  enough  for 
it  to  vegetate  upon. 

Respecting  the  merits  of  furze  as  a  fodder,  a 
good  deal  has  been  written,  as  by  Duhamel  in 
France,  Evelyn  in  England,  and  Dr.  Anderson 
in  Scotland ;  and  it  is  now  extensively  culti- 
vated for  this  purpose  by  Mr.  Attwood  of  Bir- 
mingham, who  has  devoted  an  hundred  acres 
to  French  furze;  {U. proviurialis,  which  is  near- 
ly allied  to  the  common  furze).  These  are 
regularly  mown  with  a  scythe  for  a  corres- 
ponding number  pf  milch  cows,  and  bruised  in 
a  mill :  mixed  wflh  chopped  straw  or  hay,  this 
constitutes  the  entire  food  of  his  cows.  Bruised 
furze  is  also  an  excellent  substitute  for  hay  for 
horses,  and  it  is  even  asserted  that  they  prefer 
it  to  corn ;  but  they  should  at  the  same  lime 
have  oats  and  beans  to  counteract  the  relaxing 
properties  of  the  gorse.  Dr.  Anderson  says 
that  when  properly  bruised,  cattle  are  very 
fond  of  it,  and  increase  in  fatness  as  fast  as  on 
turnips.  Cows  yield  as  much  milk  as  when 
fed  on  grass,  without  any  bad  taste,  and  the 
butter  made  on  such  food  is  very  superior. 
The  small  holder  braises  the  furze  for  his  soli- 
tary ccjw  or  pair  of  horses,  in  a  trough,  with  a 
wooden  pounder,  furnished  at  the  lower  end 
with  a  sharp  piece  of  iron.  The  farmer  on  a 
large  scale  should  have  a  mill  worked  by 
horses  or  by  water-power.  In  1802  and  1803, 
the  Duke  of  Richmond  fed  his  deer,  sheep,  and 
horses  extensively  on  whins.  In  the  Peninsu- 
lar war  the  forage  consumed  by  the  horses  of 
the  British  army  was  principally  furze.  Mr. 
F.  Tytler,  in  an  account  of  experiments  which 
lie  made  on  feeding  horses,  between  the  years 
1812  and  181.5  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  v.), 
states,  that  one  of  the  chief  kinds  of  food  he 
used  was  furze.  But  the  principal  use  of  furze 
is  for  the  purpose  of  fuel.  In  many  parts  of 
Great  Britain  it  forms  the  main  dependence 
for  the  supply  of  fagots  for  the  poor  man's 
hearth  and  the  baker's  oven.  The  common 
furze  generally  attains  its  full  size  in  4  years, 
and  it  ought  not  to  be  cut  more  frequently.  An 
acre  of  land  sown  with  the  French  furze  will 
yield  between  4  and  6000  fagots,  which  are  i 
65 


GAD-FLY. 

chiefly  consumed  in  the  heating  of  ovens.  The 
fresh  and  dried  flowers  of  this  plant  afford  in 
dyeing  a  fine  yellow  colour.  The  medicinal 
qualities  of  furze  are  attenuant,  diuretic,  de- 
termining to  the  skin,  and  occasioning  nausea. 
Furze  may  be  propagated  by  seed  sown  from 
February  to  May.  Young  plants  or  even  slips 
planted  in  Spring  or  October  will  grow  readily. 
It  should  be  cut  the  year  after  sowing,  begin- 
ning in  September  or  October;  it  will  grow 
again  until  Christmas,  and  be  fit  for  use  till 
March.  Besides  the  common  furze  there  are 
two  other  species : 

1.  The  dwarf  whin  or  furze  (U.  nanus)  which 
is  less  common  than  the  preceding,  and  only 
grows  to  half  the  size.  It  blossoms  chiefly  in 
autumn,  has  the  leaves  or  spines  shorter  and 
closer,  and  the  branches  decumbent,  the  flow- 
ering ones  more  cylindrical  and  elongated; 
and  the  flowers  are  paler.  These  points  of 
structure  distinguish  this  species  from  the 
others  at  first  sight.  Its  value  is  estimated  in 
comparison  to  that  of  the  common,  as  two  to 
one  inferior. 

2.  The  French  or  Provence  furze  (U.  pro' 
vincialis),  is  a  native  of  the  South  of  Europe. 
It  closely  resembles  the  common  furze.  In 
Devonshire  the  common  furze,  and  in  some 
other  parts  the  dwarf  furze,  are  frequently 
called  French  furze.  (Phillips's  Syl.  Ftor.  vol. 
i.  p.  247  ;  Brit.  Husb.  vol.  iii..  On  Planting,  p. 
100;  Eng.  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  265;  Quart.  Joum, 
ofjgr.  vol.  ii.  p.  731,  vol.  viii.  p.  591 ;  WiUichU 
Dom.  Eiiq/c.) 

G. 

GAD-FLY,  or  BREEZE  ((Estrus  egui  et 
boviSf  Lin.).  Insects  with  spotted  wings  and  a 
yellow  breast,  which  have  a  long  proboscis, 
with  a  sharp  dart.  These  flies  are  particularly 
troublesome  to  cattle  by  their  sting  or  dart. 
The  horse-bot  ((Estrus  equi)  deposits  its  eggs 
on  such  parts  of  the  horse  as  the  animal  can 
reach  with  his  tongue.  They  are  thus  licked 
up,  and  introduced  into  the  stomach ;  are  there 
hatched  and  form  bots.  Another  more  torment- 
ing fly  of  the  same  genus  is  the  fundament-bot 
(Q£.  hetniorrhoidalis),  which  lays  its  eggs  on  the 
lips  of  the  horse,  causing  so  much  irritation  to 
the  animal,  as  to  induce  him  to  gallop  and  seek 
refuge  in  the  water.  In  Sweden,  the  grooms 
are  accustomed  to  clean  the  mouths  and 
throats  of  the  horses  daily  with  a  peculiar  kind 
of  brush,  which  prevents  the  larvoe  of  this  in 
sect  getting  into  the  stomach  ol  rhe  animal 
The  ox-warble  (CE.  bovis)  deposits  its  eggs  on 
the  back  of  oxen,  causing  great  U  rture  to  the 
animal,  and  much  agitation  to  the  herd,  if 
many  are  attacked  at  once.  The  ovipositor 
of  the  insect  pierces  the  skin  on  the  back  of 
the  ox,  and  there  drops  the  eggs.  At  the  sea 
son  when  the  gad-fly  infests  them,  the  namess 
should  be  so  managed  as  to  allow  the  animals 
to  be  easily  let  loose.  The  ovipositor  of  the 
(E.  bovis  is  furnished  with  teeth,  and  acts  like 
an  augur  or  gimlet;  and  when  this  comes  in 
contact  with  a  nerve  of  sensation,  the  oxen 
seem  to  be  driven  almost  to  a  state  of  mad- 
ness :  the  tail  is  stretched  out,  and  they  gallop 
about    the    pasture,  lowing  and  seeking   for 

51. •♦ 


GALLIC  ACID. 

water,    inio   which    they  instinctively  enter, 
lleace  Virgil,  describing  this,  says: — 

•♦The  univprsnl  herdi  in  terror  fly; 
Tlieir  lowing*  stiake  tbe  wo<mI8  and  shake  the  sky." 

Humboldt  mentions  aspecies  of  (Estrus  which 
i»  found  in  the  low  regions  of  the  torrid  zone, 
and  has  been  named  (Ktlrus  hominit,  from  its 
attacking  man,  and  depositing  its  eggs  in  his 
skin,  causing  there  painful  tumours.  (La  Geo^. 
dt»  IHiinttB,  p.  186.) 

Of  the  large  Gad'Jliet,  or  Horse-fli€$  found  in 
America,  one  of  the  most  common  is  of  a  black 
colour,  having  its  back  covered  with  a  whitish 
dvstor  bloom,  like  a  plum.  The  eyes  are  very 
Urge,  and  almost  meet  on  the  top  of  the  head ; 
they  are  of  a  shining  purple-black  or  bronzed 
black  colour,  with  a  narrow,  deep  black  band 
across  the  middle,  and  a  broad  band  of  the 
same  hue  on  the  lower  part.  The  body  of  this 
fly  is  seven-eighths  of  an  inch  or  more  in 
length,  and  the  wings  expand  nearly  two 
inches.  The  Tabanus  cinrtus,  of  Fabricius,  or 
orange-belted  horse-fly,  is  not  so  common,  and 
is  rather  smaller.  It  is  also  black,  except  the 
first  three  rings  of  the  hind-body,  which  are 
orange-coloured.  The  most  common  of  our 
■•aller  horse-flies  is  the  Tabamig  limola,  so 
named  by  Fabricius,  because  it  has  a  whitish 
line  along  the  lop  of  the  hind-body.  Besides 
these  flies,  we  have  several  more  kinds  of  Ta- 
bmmtj  some  of  which  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  described.  These  blood-thirsty  insects 
be^n  to  appear  towards  the  end  of  June,  and 
continue  through  the  summer,  sorely  torment- 
ing both  horses  and  cattle  with  their  sharp 
bites.  Their  proboscis,  though  not  usually 
yer}'  long,  is  armed  with  six  stifT,  and  exceed- 
ingly sharp  needles,  wherewith  they  easily 
pierce  through  the  toughest  hide.  It  is  stated 
that  they  will  not  touch  a  horse  whose  back 
has  been  well  washed  with  a  strong  decoction 
of  walnut  leaves.  The  eyes  of  these  flies  are 
very  beautiful,  and  vary  in  their  colours  and 
markings  in  the  different  species. 

The  golden-eyed  forest  flies  are  also  distin- 
guished for  the  brilliancy  of  their  spotted  eyes, 
and  for  their  clouded  or  banded  wings.  They 
are  much  smaller  than  the  horse-flies,  but  re- 
semble them  in  their  habits.  Some  of  them 
are  entirely  black  (Chrysops  ferrugatus,  Fabri- 
cius), otrwTs  are  striped  with  black  and  yellow 
{CKrypm*  rxttahit,  Wiedemann).  They  fre- 
quefii  W..OQS  and  thickets,  in  July  and  August. 
(Httrrix.)  " 

GALLIC  ACID.  An  acid  obtained  from 
galls  and  several  other  vegetable  astringents, 
chiefly  from  the  bark.  The  following  table 
will  serve  to  show  the  proportions  of  this  acid 
•a  different  plants : — 


Willow  trunk J** 

Oak,  cut  in  winter' 
Willow  (houghs) 
Plum  tree 

s;k""     f-  -  -  -  "^xs 

Mountain  ash 

Poplar 

Elm  . 

Beech  3         *        '        *  ***=''  ' 

Sycamore  -        -        -        -        .        _        .a 

^"^^  I 

Eld«r  J"        "        "       "  ^^^^  * 

tint  although  the  above-named  barks  yield 
5U 


GALLOP. 

the  quantities  of  gallic  acid  mentioned,  yet  it 
is  incertain  whether  they  actually  contain  any 
ready  formed.  Gfllic  acid  is  procured  by  ex- 
posing the.  decoctions  of  galls,  or  of  any  astrin- 
gent bark,  to  the  air,  until  it  becomes  mouldy, 
and  the  tannic  acid  attracts  the  oxygen  of  the' 
air,  and  is  converted  into  the  gallic  acid.  In 
this  state  the  acid  forms  in  crystals,  mixed 
with  crystals  of  another  acid,  the  ellagic,  which 
are  easily  separated  from  it,  being  insoluble  in 
water. 

Pure  gallic  acid  has  a  weak,  sour,  astringent 
taste.  It  is  soluble  in  100  parts  of  cold  water, 
and  forms  an  ink  with  solution  of  green  vitriol 
(sulphate  of  iron).  It  is  distinguished  from 
tannic  acid,  which  is  ready  formed  in  astrin- 
gent barks,  by  not  precipitating  solution  of 
glue.  It  is  a  powerful  astringent,  and  may  be 
administered  in  doses  of  two  or  three  grains  in 
internal  bleedings. 

GALLINACEOUS  FOWLS.  One  of  the 
two  divisions  of  domestic  poultry  reared  in 
Europe,  comprehending,  among  others,  the 
common  cock  and  hen,  the  turkey,  the  guinea- 
fowl,  the  peacock,  and  the  pigeon. 

GALL  FLIES.  See  Fruit  Maggots. 
GALL  NUTS  (Fr.  gallis ;  It.  galle).  Excres- 
cences produced  by  the  Cynips,  or  Diplohpsis 
gallm  tinctoHa,  a  small  insect  which  deposits  its 
eggs  in  the  tender  shoots  of  the  Quercus  infecto- 
ria,  a  species  of  oak  abundant  in  Asia  Minor, 
&c.  When  the  maggot  is  hatched,  it  feeds  on 
the  morbid  excrescence  formed  by  the  irrita- 
tion of  the  deposited  ovum  on  the  surrounding 
parts,  and  ultimately,  when  perfected  as  the 
fly,  it  eats  its  way  out  of  the  nidus  thus  formed. 
Good  gall  nuts  are  of  a  bluish-green  hue, 
heavy,  and  break  with  a  flinty  fracture.  When 
they  are  white,  light,  with  a  hole  in  one  side, 
they  are  useless.  Gall  nuts  are  employed  in 
dyeing,  and  in  medicine. 

GALLON.  An  English  measure  of  capacity, 
containing  4  quarts.  By  act  of  parliament  the 
imperial  gallon  is  to  contain  10  lbs.  avoirdu- 
pois of  distilled  water  weighed  at  the  tempe- 
rature of  62°  of  Fahrenheit,  and  the  barometer 
standing  at  30  inches.  This  is  equivalent  to 
277-274  cubic  inches.  The  old  English  gallon, 
wine  measure,  contained  231  cubic  inches, 
and  held  8  lbs.  avoirdupois  of  pure  water;  ale 
and  beer  measure,  282  cubic  inches,  and  held 
10  lbs.  3:J^  oz.  avoirdupois  of  water;  and  the 
gallon  for  corn,  meal,  &c.,  272  cubic  inches, 
containing  9  lbs.  13  oz.  of  pure  water.  Hence 
the  English  imperial  gallon  is  about  ^  larger 
than  the  old  wine  gallon,  and  about  -g\  less  than 
the  old  ale  gallon.    See  Weights  and  Mba- 

SURKS. 

GALLOP.  In  horsemanship,  a  well-known 
pace  to  which  horses  are  trained,  and  of  which 
many  kinds  are  enumerated,  but  two  only  are 
worthy  of  regard,  namely  the  hand  gallop  and 
the  full  gallop.  And  these  distinctions  are 
founded  on  the  different  degrees  of  velocity  in 
which  the  animal  is  impelled,  rather  than  on 
any  peculiarity  in  the  pace  itself.  In  the  gal- 
lop, the  horse  leads  with  one  fore-leg  some- 
what advanced,  but  not  so  much  beyond  the 
other,  as  happens  in  the  canter;  and,  when  he 
IS  urged  to  his  utmost  speed,  his  legs  are  al- 
most equally  placed.      The    fleetest    horses 


GALLOWAY. 


GARDENING. 


when  gaWoping,  carry  their  bodies  perfectly  in 
a  horizontal  posture,  and  the  fewer  curves  or 
successive  arches  are  described,  the  more 
rapi'l  uf  course  is  their  progress. 

In  galloping,  the  fore-legs  are  thrown  for- 
ward nearly  simultaneously,  and  the  hind-legs 
brought  up  quickly  and  nearly  together;  it  is, 
in  fact,  a  succession  of  leapsj,  by  far  the  greatest 
interval  of  time  elapsing  while  the  legs  are  ex- 
tended after  the  leap  is  taken.  The  canter  is 
to  the  gallop  very  much  what  the  walk  is  to  the 
trot,  though  probably  a  more  artificial  pace. 
The  exertion  is  much  less,  the  spring  less 
distant,  and  the  feet  come  to  the  ground  in 
more  regular  succession.     (The  Hone,  p.  413.) 

GALLOWAY.  The  usual  name  for  a  poney 
or  saddle-horse,  between  13  or  14  hands  in 
height.  The  original  galloways  are  a  pure 
breed  of  small,  elegant  horses  from  the  south 
of  Scotland,  said  to  be  of  Spanish  extraction. 
See  Horse. 

GALLOWAYS.    See  Cattle. 

GALLOWS  OF  A  PLOUGH.  A  part  of  the 
plough-head,  so  named  by  farmers,  from  its 
resemblance  to  the  common  gallows.  It  con- 
sists of  three  pieces  of  timber,  of  which  one  is 
placed  transversely  over  the  heads  of  the  other 
two.     See  Plouoh. 

GALLS.  In  farriery,  a  term  signifying  an 
abrasion  or  rubbing  off  of  the  skin  by  the  har- 
ness, saddle,  &c.  The  little  tumours  resulting 
from  the  pressure  of  the  saddle  are  called  war' 
bUx,  and  when  they  ulcerate  ihey  frequently  be- 
come Ht-fasts.  For  saddle  galls  there  is  no 
belter  application  than  strong  salt  and  water, 
mixed  with  a  fourth  part  of  tincture  of  myrrh. 
The  saddle  and  the  collar,  when  they  are  found 
to  rub  or  gall,  should  be  padded  or  chambered. 
A  mixture  of  white-lead  moistened  with  milk  is 
slated  (Quart.  Joum.  of  A^r.  vol.  ix.  p.  299),  to 
be  an  excellent  liniment  for  galled  backs  in  the 
early  stages  of  the  wound.  Il  is  a  common 
American  remedy.  "For  the  information  of 
other  travellers,  we  may  mention,"  says  Mr. 
Keating,  "  that,  after  having  tried  many  appli- 
cations to  the  backs  of  horses  when  galled,  we 
have  found  none  that  have  succeeded  so  well 
as  while-lead  moistened  with  milk.  When  milk 
is  not  to  be  procured,  oil  may  be  substituted. 
Whenever  the  application  was  made  in  the 
early  stage  of  the  wound,  we  have  found  it  to 
be  very  effectual;  and  it  is  likewise  a  conve- 
nient one,  as  two  ounces  of  white-lead  sufficed 
for  the  whole  of  our  party  for  more  than  a 
month."   (Expedition  to  St.  Peter's  River,  p.  190.) 

GALLS.  In  agriculture,  a  term  signifying 
vacant  or  bare  places  in  a  crop. 

GAMA  GRASS  (Tnpsac-um  dadyloides),  Fin- 
ger-like Tripsacum,  called  also  Sessame  grass 
aud  Rough-seeded  garaa  grass.  (See  PI.  7,  «.) 
This  stout  and  very  remarkable  grass  has  a 
perennial  root.  The  culm  rises  to  the  height 
of  4,  5,  or  6  feet,  is  somewhat  compressed, 
channelled  on  one  side,  smooth,  solid  with  pith, 
furnished  with  nodes  or  knots,  smooth,  slightly 
raised,  with  a  dark-brown  contracted  ring.  The 
leaves  are  large,  often  measuring  3  feet,  and 
an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  wide,  smooth  be- 
neath, roughish  on  the  upper  surface,  serrulate 
or  finely  jagged  on  the  edges.  Flower  a  dark 
purple ;  seed  ovoid  and  smooth. 


"  A  few  years  ago,"  says  Dr.  Darlington,  m 
his  Flora  Cesttica,  "  this  grass  was  much  ex 
tolled  by  some  writers  in  the  West,  as  an  arti- 
cle of  fodder  for  stock.  The  leaves  and  young 
plant  may  probably  answer  very  well  where 
better  cannot  be  had ;  but  any  one  who  will 
examine  the  coarse  culms  of  the  mature  plant 
may  soon  satisfy  himself  that  it  can  never  su- 
persede the  good  hay  of  this  region  (the  Middle 
States),  nor  be  as  valuable  in  any  respect  as 
common  Indian  corn  fodder."  It  is  the  only 
species  of  the  genus  Tripsacum  whifih  is  indi- 
genous in  the  United  Stales,  the  T.  inomstachyon 
of  some  authors  being  only  a  variety.  It  has 
been  found  in  Chester  County,- Pennsylvania. 

From  some  communications  in  American 
periodicals,  the  gama  grass  appears  to  be  par- 
ticularly well  adapted  to  Southern  culture.  It 
is  exceedingly  productive,  being  said  to  admit 
of  at  least  six  cuttings  in  a  season,  and  to  fur- 
nish a  large  quantity  of  palatable  and  nutri- 
cious  food  for  cattle  and  horses.  It  is  a  hardy 
perennial  plant,  and  its  duration,  according  to 
a  Spanish  proverb,  coeval  with  the  "age  of 
a  man  and  a  mule."  (Silk  CuUuriat.)  The 
modes  of  culture  are  by  planting  the  seeds  and 
transplanting  the  roots.  Mr.  Beekman,  of  Kin- 
derhook,  N.  Y.,  gives  the  following  directions: 
"Sow  in  drills  18  inches  apart,  and  cover  about 
2  inches  deep.  In  a  month  it  will  come  up  like 
oats,  and  when  about  8  inches  high  and  two 
suckers  appear,  one  on  each  side,  then  trans- 
plant about  3  by  2  feeU  .The  second  year  in 
Georgia  the  first  cutting  may  be  made  in  May, 
and  once  every  month  to  1st  October,  say  six 
cuttings.  The  blades  will  be  3  feet  or  upwards 
—each  forming  a  large  bunch,  which  may  be 
annually  divided  into  from  40  to  50  plants." 

The  variety  of  gama  grass  so  much  vaunted 
in  the  Southern  and  Western  States  is  said  to 
be  a  hermaphrodite  plant  from  the  island  of 
Jamaica,  where  it  is  extensively  cultivated  as 
a  forage  grass. 

GARDENING.  There  is  not  in  the  arts  and 
sciences  one  link  of  their  circle  so  suitable  for 
the  occupation  of  man  in  a  state  of  innocence, 
as  that  which  embraces  the  cultivation  of 
plants ;  and  it  is  an  instance  of  the  beneficent 
providence  of  the  Deity,  that  he  assigned  a  gar- 
den as  the  dwelling  of  our  first-created  parents. 
It  is  no  consequence  of  the  fall  of  Adam  that 
plants  require  cultivation :  he  was  placed  in 
Paradise  to  till  and  to  keep  it.  Then  the  weed 
had  not  sprung  up  to  render  the  tillage  toil- 
some;  fruit  trees  which  God  had  "planted" 
were  the  cnief  objects  of  care,  and  it  was  an 
employment  without  much  labour,  combining 
the  preservation  of  health  with  amusement, 
pure  without  insipidity,  constant  without  same- 
ness. From  that  period  gardens  have  never 
ceased  to  engage  the  attention  of  'nan ;  and 
even  now  that  their  labours  are  manilold,  they 
still  afford  the  "  purest  of  human  pleasures." 

To  be  an  efficient  cultivator  of  plants,  a 
knowledge  of  botany  is  requisite.  Whilst  that 
science  remained  the  chaos  of  unarranged 
facts,  and  ill-classified  individuals,  which  it 
was  until  the  master-mind  of  Linnaeus  reduced 
its  confusion  and  discord  to  harmony  in  1737, 
it  required  for  its  acquisition  the  devotion  of  a 
life.  Such  acquisition  the  new  system  of  classic 

613 


GARDENING. 


GARDENING. 


fication  rendered  comparatively  easy  in  a  few 
months.  That  gardeners  availed  themselves 
of  the  advantage  needs  no  further  instance 
than  Philip  Miller,  in  whom  the  perfect  bota- 
nist and  horticulturist  were  combined,  and  who 
was  a  correspondent  of  the  chief  men  of  sci- 
ence then  living. 

For  the  working  with  full  effect  of  the  spirit 
of  the  immortal  Swede,  our  own  Ray  had  pre- 
pared the  arena.  Indefatigable,  enthusiastic  in 
his  pursuits,  of  clear  and  comprehensive  mind, 
he  gave  an  impetus  to  botany  and  its  correla- 
tive arts,  more  effectual  to  their  advancement 
than  they  had  received  during  ages  of  years 
preceding.  For  50  years  he  most  successfully 
laboured  to  clear  the  path  of  this  science  and 
to  increase  her  stores.  Nor  does  he  enjoy  his 
fame  only  among  his  coHntr}'men  ;  it  is  afforded 
to  him  by  all  Europe.  Haller  says,  he  was  the 
improver  and  elevator  of  botany  into  a  science, 
and  dates  from  his  life  a  new  era  in  its  history. 
In  little  more  than  20  years,  Ray  recorded  an 
increase  in  the  English  Flora  of  550  species. 
His  Catalogtts  Plautarum  Anglice,  in  1670,  con- 
tains 1050  species:  his  Synopsis,  in  1696,  de- 
scribes more  than  1600  species.  A  phalanx 
of  botanists  were  then  contemporaries  which 
previous  ages  never  equalled,  nor  succeeding 
ones  surpassed.  Ray,  Tournefort,  Plumier, 
Plokenel,  Commelin,  Rivinus,  Bobart,  Petivir, 
Sherard,  Boccone,  Linnaeus,  may  be  said  to 
have  lived  in  the  same  age. 

I  will  not  pass  unnoticed,  as  being  of  this 
period,  Abraham  Cowley,  the  well-known  poet, 
physician,  and  author  of  The  Four  Books  of 
Piantg.  Although  he  deserves  little  praise  as  a 
botanist  or  as  a  gardener,  he  merits  notice  as 
assisting  in  their  advancement,  by  winning  to 
them  and  encouraging  the  attention  of  the 
literary.  Of  the  influence  which  botanists 
possess  over  the  forwarding  the  interests  of 
horticulture,  I  shall  Nquote  but  one  more  in- 
stance. Sir  Arthur  Rawdon  was  so  gratified 
with  the  magnificent  collection  of  West  Indian 
plants  possessed  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  that  he 
despatched  a  skilful  gardener,  James  Harlow, 
to  Jamaica,  who  brought  thence  a  vessel  nearly 
freighted  with  vegetating  and  dried  plants,  the 
first  of  which  Sir  Arthur  Rawdon  cultivated  in 
his  own  garden  at  Moira  in  Ireland,  or  distri- 
buted amongst  his  friends,  and  some  of  the 
continental  gardens.  His  taste  for  exotic  plants 
was  probably  much  encouraged  by  his  intimacy 
with  Dr.  William  Sherard,  who,  being  one  of 
the  most  munificent  patrons  and  cultivators  of 
exotic  botany  during  that  "  golden  age"  of  the 
science,  appeared,  as  Hasselquist  observed, 
"  the  rpgent  of  the  botanic  garden"  at  his  house 
at  Sedekio,  near  Smyrna,  where  he  was  British 
consul:  for  here  he  cultivated  a  very  rich 
garden,  and  collected  the  most  extensive  herba- 
rium that  was  ever  formed  by  the  exertions  of 
an  individual.  It  contained  12,000  species. 
His  younger  brother.  Dr.  James  Sherard,  also 
cultivated  at  EUham,  in  Kent,  one  of  the  richest 
gardens  England  ever  possessed.  (Pulttiey'i 
Sketches  of  Hot.  vol.  ii.  p.  150.) 

But  it  was  not  on'y  in  the  collecting  and  ar- 
ranging of  plants  that  botany  was  adding  fresh 
%loxes  and  zest  to  gardening.  Previous  to  this 
eriod  little  -tm  ict«^.TT  of  the  structure  of 
61G 


plants,  and  the  uses  of  their  several  parts 
Grew,  Malpighi,  Linnaeus,  Hales,  Bonnet,  Du 
Hamel,Hedwig,Spallanzani,&c.,  cleared  away, 
in  a  great  measure,  the  ignorance  which  en- 
veloped vegetable  physiology.  Previous  to 
their  days  the  male  bearing  plants  of  dioecious 
plants,  as  spinach,  and  the  male  flowers  of  cu- 
cumbers, &c.,  were  recommended  to  be  re- 
moved as  useless ;  they  taught  the  importance 
of  checking  the  return  of  the  sap  ;  the  mode  of 
raising  varieties :  in  short,  all  the  phenomena 
of  vegetable  life,  which  throw  so  much  light 
upon  the  practice  of  the  gardener,  were  first 
noted  and  explained  by  the  labours  of  these 
philosophers.  Another  class  of  philosophers 
who  contributed  a  gigantic  aid  to  the  advance 
of  horticulture,  were  those  chemists  who  espe- 
cially devoted  themselves  to  the  vegetable 
world.  Such  men  were  Ingenhouz,  Van  Hel- 
mont,  Priestley,  Sennebier,  Schraeder,  Saus- 
sure,  &c.  To  them  we  are  indebted  for  the 
most  luminous  researches  into  the  food  of 
plants,  the  influence  of  air,  of  heat,  of  light,  and 
of  soils.  Previous  to  their  researches  the  im- 
mense importance  of  the  leaves  of  plants  was 
unknown.  Cultivators  were  unaw'are  that  by 
removing  one  of  them  they  were  proportionably 
removing  the  means  of  breathing  and  of  nou- 
rishment from  the  parent  plant ;  and  mankind 
in  general  were  ignorant  that  it  is  by  the  gas 
which  plants  throw  off  that  the  animal  creation 
is  alone  enabled  to  breathe. 

The  scientific  institutions  of  previous  years, 
which  had  merely  existed,  were  now  in  a  state 
of  vigorous  exertion.  The  Botanic  Garden  at 
Chelsea  was  especially  distinguished  under  its 
curator  Philip  Miller.  This  garden,  as  pre- 
viously stated,  was  founded  in  1673,  though  the 
inscription  over  the  gateway  is  dated  1686, 
until  which  year  it  was  not  effectually  ar- 
ranged. It  was  strengthened  and  rendered 
permanent  by  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  in  1721.  He, 
having  purchased  the  manor,  gave  the  site, 
which  is  a  freehold  of  four  acres,  to  the  com- 
pany, on  condition  that  they  should  pay  5^.  per 
annum  for  it,  and  that  the  demonstrator  of  the 
company,  in  their  name,  should  deliver  annu- 
ally 50  new  species  of  plants  to  the  Royal  So- 
ciety, until  the  number  amounted  to  2,000. 
This  presentation  of  plants  commenced  in 
1722,  and  continued  until  1773,  at  which  time 
they  had  presented  2550  species. 

If  old  botanical  institutions  improved,  so  also 
new  ones  were  formed.  The  Kew  Gardens 
were  commenced  in  1760,  by  the  Princess 
Dowager  of  Wales,  mother  of  George  IIL  The 
exotic  department  was  established  chiefly 
through  the  influence  of  the  Marquis  of  Bute,  a 
great  patron  of  gardening.  It  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  W.  Aiton,  and  it  has  since  be- 
I  come  one  of  the  most  celebrated  botanical  in- 
I  stitutions  in  the  world. 

I      The  Cambridge  Botanical  Garden  was  also 

,  founded  in  1763,  by  Dr.  Walker,  vice-master 

!  of  Trinity  College.     He  gave  the  site,  com- 

I  prising  nearly  five  acres,  in  trust  to  the  chan- 

J  cellor,  masters,  and  scholars  of  the  university, 

for  the   purpose  of  establishing  the  garden. 

Thomas  Martyn,  the  titular  professor  of  botany, 

was  appointed  reader  on  plants,  and  Charles, 

son  of  the  celebrated  Philip  Miller  (who  had 


GARDENING. 


GARDENING. 


aided  Dr.  Walker  in  selecting  the  ground),  was 
made  first  curator.    {LouduiCs  Encyr.  of  Gard.  j 
pp.  86,  1071,  edit.  5.) 

Previous  to  this  period,  the  number  of  exotics 
cultivated  in  England  probably  did  not  exceed 
1000  species;  during  this  century  above  .5000 
new  ones  were  introduced.  Some  tolerably 
correct  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  improve- 
ment arising  to  horticulture,  from  this  spirit 
of  research  after  plants,  by  a  knowledge  that 
in  the  first  edition  of  Miller* s  Dictionary,  in 
1724,  but  12  evergreens  are  mentioned.  The 
Christmas  flower  and  aconite  were  rare,  and 
only  to  be  purchased  at  Mr.  Fairchild's  nur- 
sery at  Hoxton.  Only  seven  species  of  gera- 
nium were  then  known.  In  the  preface  to  the 
eighth  edition  of  the  Dictionary,  in  1768,  the 
number  of  plants  cultivated  in  Englai^i  are 
stated  to  be  more  than  double  those  which 
were  known  in  1731.  The  publication  of  the 
seventh  edition  of  that  work,  in  1759,  was  of 
the  greatest  benefit  to  horticulture.  In  it  was 
adopted  the  classical  system  of  Linnaeus.  It 
gave  a  final  blow  to  the  invidious  line  of  dis- 
tinction which  had  existed  between  the  gar- 
dener and  the  botanist,  and  completed  the 
erection  of  the  art  of  the  former  into  a  science, 
which  it  had  been  long  customary  to  esteem  as 
little  more  than  a  superior  pursuit  for  a  rustic. 
From  being  merely  practised  by  servants,  it 
became  more  extensively  the  study  and  the  de- 
light of  many  of  the  most  scientific  and  noble 
individuals  of  England.  Miller  improved  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  and  the  fig,  and  was 
otherwise  distinguished  for  his  improvement 
of  the  practice,  as  he  had  been  of  the  science, 
of  gardening.  Having  thus  decisively  gained 
the  attention  of  men  of  science,  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  horticulture  from  this  era  is  no  longer 
astonishing.  The  botanist  applied  his  re- 
searches to  the  increase  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  garden,  and  the  better  explanation  of  their 
habits.  The  vegetable  physiologist  adapted 
his  discoveries  to  practical  purposes,  by  point- 
ing out  the  organs  and  functions  which  are  of 
primary  importance;  and  the  chemist,  by  his 
analysis,  discovered  their  constituents,  and  was 
consequently  enabled  to  point  out  improve- 
ments which  practice  could  only  have  stum- 
bled on  by  chance,  and  perhaps  during  a  lapse 
of  ages. 

The  general  introduction  of  forcing  houses 
likewise  gave  to  our  science  a  new  feature. 
Green-houses,  we  have  seen,  were  in  use  in  the 
17th  century;  but  no  regular  structures,  roofed 
with  glass,  and  artificially  heated,  existed  until 
the  early  part  of  the  succeeding  one.  Though 
a  pme-apple  had  been  presented  by  his  gar- 
dener to  Charles  II.,  it  is  certain  that  they  were 
only  successfully  cultivated  here  about  1723, 
by  Mr.  Henry  Talende,  gardener  to  Sir  Matthew 
Decker  at  Richmond;  Mr.  Loudon  gives  the 
date  as  1719.  Mr.  Bradley  says,  that  Mr. 
Talende  having  at  length  succeeded  in  ripen- 
ing them,  and  rendered  their  culture  "  easy  and 
intelligible,"  he  hopes  bananas  may  flourish  for 
the  future  in  many  of  our  English  gardens. 
{Hrndky's  Gen.  Treatise  on  Husb.  and  Gard.) 
That  forcing  was  rare,  and  but  of  late  introduc- 
tion, is  further  proved  by  Mr.  Lawrence,  who, 


in  1718,  observes,  that  he  had  heard  that  tho 
Duke  of  Rutland,  at  Belvoir  Castle  in  Lincoln- 
shire, hastened  his  grapes  by  having  fires 
burning  from  Lady-day  to  Michaelmas  behind 
his  sloped  walls,  a  report  to  which  he  evidently 
does  not  give  implicit  credence,  but  which  "  it 
is  easy  to  conceive."  {Laun-ence's  Fruit  Gard. 
Cal.  p.  22.)  That  such,  however,  was  the  fact, 
is  confirmed  by  Switzer,  who  further  adds,  in 
1724,  that  they  were  covered  with  glass.  The 
walls  were  erected,  he  says,  at  the  suggestioL 
of  Mr.  Facio,  whom  we  have  before  mentioned 
The  walls  failing  in  their  anticipated  effect 
were  covered  with  glass,  and  thus  led  to  the 
first  erection  of  a  regular  forcing  structure  of 
which  we  have  any  account.  (Smtzer's  Practi- 
cal Fruit  Garden,  p.  318.)  Lady  Wortley  Mon- 
tagu, in  1716,  mentions  having  partaken  of 
pine-apples  at  the  table  of  the  elector  of  Hano- 
ver; and  speaks  of  them  as  being  a  thing  she 
had  never  seen  before,  which,  as  her  ladyship 
moved  in  the  highest  English  circles,  she  must, 
had  they  been  introduced  to  table  here. 

Mr.  Fowler,  gardener  to  Sir  N.  Gould  at 
Stoke  Newington,  was  the  first  to  raise  cucum- 
bers in  autumn,  for  fruiting  about  Christmas. 
He  presented,  the  king,  George  I.,  with  a  brace 
of  full-grown  ones  on  new  year's  day,  1721. 
{Bradley* $  General  Treatise  on  Hutb.  and  Gard, 
vol.  ii.  p.  61.) 

Even  as  late  as  the  commencement  of  the 
century  we  are  tracing,  every  garden  vegetable, 
in  a  greater  or  less  degree^  was  obtained  from 
Holland.  The  purveyors  of  the  royal  family 
sent  thither  for  fruits  and  pot-herbs ;  and  the 
seedsmen  obtained  from  thence  all  their  seeds. 
But  in  1727,  Switzer  boasts  of  the  improve- 
ments made  in  his  art.  Cucumbers,  that  25 
years  before  were  never  seen  at  table  until  the 
close  of  May,  were  then  always  ready  in  the 
first  days  of  March,  or  earlier  if  tried  for.  Me- 
lons were  improved  both  in  quality  and  easi- 
ness. "  The  first,  owing  to  the  correspondence 
that  our  nobility  and  gentry  have  abroad,  now 
equalling,  if  not  excelling,  the  French  and 
Dutch  in  their  curious  collections  of  seed;  but 
the  second  is  owing  to  the  industry  and  skill 
of  our  kitchen  gardeners."  Melons  were  now 
cut  at  the  end  of  April,  which  before  were  rare 
in  the  middle  of  June.  The  season  of  the  cau- 
liflower being  in  perfection  was  prolonged 
from  three  or  four,  to  six  or  seven  months. 
Kidney-beans  were  now  forced.  The  season 
of  peas  and  beans  was  extended  to  a  period 
from  April  until  December,  which  previously 
only  lasted  two  or  three  months,  &c.  {Preface 
to  Switzer's  Pract.  Fruit  Gard.) 

The  early  part  of  this  century  witnessed  the 
labours  of  Professor  Bradley,  who  was  one  of 
the  first  to  treat  of  gardening  and  agriculture 
as  sciences.  Although  deficient  in  discoveries, 
his  works  are  not  destitute  of  information  de- 
rived from  contemporary  gardeners  and  other 
writers.  He  wrote  luminously  on  the  buds  of 
trees,  on  bulbs,  and  especially  on  the  mode  of 
obtaining  variegated  plants  and  double  flowers. 
He  must  be  looked  upon  as  a  benefactor  of 
horticulture,  for  he  at  least  made  himself  ac- 
quainted with  the  discoveries  of  others,  and, 
recording  them  in  his  widely-circulated  works 
3X  517 


GARDENING. 


GARDENING. 


he  spread  such  Increased  knowledge,  and  dif- 
fused over  the  whole  such  philosophic  views, 
as  the  science  of  the  age  afforded. 

Some  of  our  most  celebrated  nurserymen 
flourished  during  this  century.  Fairchild,  Gor- 
don, Lee,  and  Gray  introduced  many  plants 
during  its  first  half.  Hibbert  of  Chalfont,  and 
Thornton  of  Clapham,  deserve  particular  men- 
tion for  their  encouragement  of  exotic  botany. 
The  garden  and  hothouse  of  the  latter  were 
amotig  the  best  stocked  about  London. 

We  have  seen  under  what  favourable  auspi- 
ces and  with  what  great  improvements  garden- 
ing was  on  the  advance  at  the  close  of  the  18ih 
century  ;  but  the  present  century  was  ushered 
in  with  even  greater  promise  of  success,  for 
the  light  of  science  was  still  more  powerfully 
concentrated  upon  its  practice,  and  began  to 
be  felt  and  appreciated.  This  especially  ap- 
plies to  the  labours  of  the  chemist  and  physi- 
ologist 'Such  combination  of  horticultural  art 
and  science  was  especially  promoted  by  the 
institution  of  the  Horticultural  Societies  of 
London  and  Edinburgh.  The  first  of  these 
societies  began  to  be  formed  in  1804,  the  latter 
in  1809.  Nothing  can  more  conspicuously 
display  the  high  estimation  in  which  garden- 
ing is  held,  nothing  can  afford  a  greater  gua- 
rantee for  its  improvement,  than  the  lists  of 
the  fellows  of  the  above  societies.  In  them  are 
enrolled  the  names  of  the  most  talented,  the 
most  noble,  and  the  most  wealthy  individuals 
of  the  United  Kingdom. 

The  increase  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  plea- 
sure grounds  within  the  last  few  years  places 
the  taste  and  patronage  which  are  bestowed  on 
gardening  in  a  very  conspicuous  point  of  view. 
Of  stove  plants  we  now  cultivate  about  1800 
species  and  varieties.  Of  green-house  plants, 
nearly  3000.  Of  hardy  trees  and  shrubs, 
nearly  4000.  Of  hardy  perennial  flowers, 
nearly  3000.  Of  biennial  and  annual  flowers 
together,  about  800.  To  particularize  the  dif- 
ferent genera  of  these  would  exceed  the  limits 
I  have  prescribed  to  this  article.  I  have  not 
includeil  the  varieties  of  florist's  flowers  in  the 
above  general  list.  They  are  more  than  pro- 
portionably  numerous.  Of  hyacinths  we  have 
about  300  varieties,  whereas  in  1629  Parkinson 
mentions  but  50.  The  passion  for  this  flower, 
however,  has  much  abated ;  for  Miller,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  last  century,  says  the  Dutch 
gardeners  had  2000  sorts.  Of  tulips,  we  have 
nearly  700  varieties.  The  cultivation  of  this 
flower  has  also  declined  of  late  years.  It  was 
at  its  height  both  in  England  and  in  Hol- 
land towards  the  middle  of  the  17th  century. 
In  Holland  nearly  600/.  was  agreed  to  be  given 
'or  a  single  root  Of  the  ranunculus  we  have 
nearly  500  varieties.  Of  the  anemone,  about 
200.  Of  dahlias,  between  200  and  300;  nar- 
cissi, 200;  auriculas,  more  than  400;  pinks, 
300;  carnations,  about  350.  Of  roses,  in- 
cluded in  the  list  we  have  given  of  hardy  trees 
and  shrubs,  there  are  more  than  1450.  An- 
other instance  of  the  progress  made  in  increas- 
ing the  number  of  our  cultivated  plants  is 
furnished  by  the  genus  Erim.  But  five  kinds 
of  heath  were  described  by  Milla*,  as  known 
in  England  about  60  years  since  we  now  cul* 
vate  nearly  350.  i 

618 


Mr  Loudon  makes  the  number  of  plant* 
cultivated  by  gardeners  at  present  amount  to 
13,140.  Of  these  1400  are  natives  of  Great 
Britain ;  47  were  exotics  introduced  previous 
to  and  during  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.;  7  dur- 
ing that  of  Edward  VL;  533  during  that  of 
Elizabeth.  In  that  of  James  I.,  20.  Charles  I., 
331.  During  the  usurpation,  95.  Charles  II., 
152.  James  II.,  44.  William  and  Mary,  298. 
Anne,  230.  George  I.,  182.  George  IL,  1770. 
George  III.,  6756.  During  the  first  16  years  of 
this  century,  on  an  average,  156  plants  were 
annually  introduced.  The  ardour  of  research 
is  not  the  least  abated  now. 

The  style  in  which  grounds  in  England  are 
now  usually  laid  out  may  be  characterized  in 
one  sentence.  Convenience  is  endeavoured  to 
be  rendered  as  attractive  as  possible,  by  com- 
bining it  with  the  beautiful  and  appropriate. 
The  convenience  of  the  inmates  of  the  mansion 
is  studied  by  having  the  kitchen  and  fruit  gar- 
dens near  the  house,  fully  extensive  enough  to 
supply  all  their  wants,  and  kept  in  the  appro- 
priate beauty  of  order  and  neatness ;  wfthout 
any  extravagant  attempt  at  ornament  by  the 
mingling  of  useless  trees,  or  planting  its  cab- 
bages, &c.,  in  waving  lines.  In  the  flower 
garden  which  immediately  adjoins  the  house, 
dry  walks — shady  ones  for  summer,  and  shel- 
tered, sun-gladdened  ones  for  the  more  intem- 
perate seasons — are  conveniently  constructed. 
Their  accompanying  borders  and  parterres, 
are  in  forms,  such  as  are  most  graceful,  whilst 
their  inhabitants,  distinguished  for  their  fra- 
grance, are  distributed  in  grateful  abundance ; 
and  those  noted  for  their  elegant  shapes  and 
beautiful  tints  are  grouped  and  blended  as  the 
taste  of  the  painter  and  the  harmony  of  colours 
dictate.  The  lawn  from  these  glides  insensibly 
into  the  more  distant  ground  occupied  by  the 
shrubberies  and  the  park.  Here  the  genius  of 
the  place  dictates  the  arrangement  of  the  levels 
and  of  the  masses  of  trees  and  water.  Com- 
mon sense  is  followed  in  planting  such  trees 
only  as  are  suited  to  the  soil.  A  knowledge 
of  the  tints  of  their  foliage  guides  the  landscape 
gardener  in  associating  them,  and  aids  the 
laws  of  perspective  in  lengthening  his  distant 
sweeps.  If  gentle  undulations  mark  the  sur- 
face, he  leads  water  among  their  subdued  diver- 
sities, and  blends  his  trees  in  softened  groups, 
so  as  to  form  light  glades  to  harmonize  with 
the  other  parts.  If  high  and  broken  ground 
has  to  be  adorned,  the  designer  mingles  water- 
falls with  broader  masses  of  darker  foliaged 
trees,  and  acquires  the  beauty  peculiar  to  the 
abrupt  and  the  grand,  as  in  the  former  he 
aimed  at  that  which  is  secured  by  softer 
features. 

He  is  no  philosopher  who  neglects  a  certain 
present  good  for  fear  that  in  some  future  period 
it  may  be  abused ;  but  in  the  encouragement 
of  gardening,  whilst  an  immediate  good  is  ob- 
tained, there  is  no  fear  of  its  perversion  in 
after  days.  Its  diffusion  among  the  poorer 
classes  is  an  earnest  or  means  oi  more  impor- 
tant benefits,  even  than  the  present  increase  of 
their  comfort  The  labourer  who  possesses 
and  delights  in  the  garden  appended  to  his  cot- 
tage is  generally  among  the  most  decent  of  his 
class;  he  is  seldom  a  frequenter  of  the  ale- 


GARGET. 


GARLIC. 


house ;  and  there  are  few  among  them  so 
senseless  as  not  readily  to  engage  in  its  culti- 
vation when  convinced  of  the  comforts  and 
gain  derivable  from  it.  Gardening  is  a  pursuit 
adapted  alike  to  the  gay  and  the  recluse,  the 
toan  of  pleasure  and  the  lover  of  science.  To  i 
both  it  offers  employment  such  as  may  suit 
their  taste;  all  that  can  please  by  fragrance, ; 
by  flavour,  or  by  beauty  ;  all  that  science  may 
illustrate ;  employment  for  the  chemist,  the 
botanist,  the  physiologist,  and  the  meteorolo- 
gist. There  is  no  taste  so  perverse  as  that 
from  it  the  garden  can  win  no  attention,  or  to 
which  it  can  afford  no  pleasure.  He  who 
greatly  benefited  or  promoted  the  happiness  of 
mankind  in  the  days  of  paganism  was  invoked 
after  death  and  worshipped  as  a  deity:  in  these 
days  we  should  be  as  grateful  as  they  were 
without  being  as  extravagant  in  its  demonstra- 
tion ;  and  if  so,  we  should  indeed  highly  esti- 
mate those  who  have  been  the  improvers  of 
our  horticulture;  for,  as  Socrates  says,  "it  is 
the  source  of  health,  strength,  plenty,  riches, 
and  honest  pleasures."  "It  is  the  purest  of 
human  pleasures/*  says  Lord  Verulam.  It  is 
amid  its  scenes  and  pursuits  that  "life  flows 
pure,  the  heart  more  calmly  beats."  (G.  W. 
Johns(>n*8  History  of  Gardenwg.) 

GARGET.  In  farriery,  a  disease  in  the  ud- 
ders of  cows,  arising  from  inflammation  of  the 
lymphatic  glands.  It  is  also  a  distemper  inci- 
dent to  hogs ;  and  which  is  known  by  their 
hanging  down  their  heads,  and  carrying  them 
on  one  side,  moist  eyes,  staggering,  and  loss  of 
appetite. 

In  order  to  remove  the  disease  in  cows, 
where  the  inflammation  is  great,  the  cow 
should  be  bled,  a  dose  of  physic  administered, 
the  udder  well  fomented,  and  the  milk  drawn 
gently  but  completely  off,  at  least  twice  a  day. 
(  Vott'ntt  on  Cattle,  p.  553.)  When  the  disease 
happens  to  hogs,  they  may  also  he  bled,  and 
should  have  warm,  stimulating  cordial  drinks. 

GARLIC  (JlliHtn,  from  the  Celt.;  all,  hot  or 
burninij).  Under  this  name  Sir  J.  Smith, 
(Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  133)  enumerates  seven 
native  species;  viz.: — 

1.  The  great  rounded-headed  garlic,  (J.  am- 
pcloprasnm).  A  rare  plant,  found  occasionally 
in  open  hilly  places.  The  stem  is  two  or  three 
feet  high,  and  the  herbage  somewhat  similar 
to  that  of  the  leek ;  the  white  globose  bulbs  or 
cloves  increase  rapidly  in  a  garden,  by  lateral 
offsets,  till  they  compose  a  mass  as  big  as  a 
man's  head,  resembling  a  bunch  of  grapes. 
The  scent  of  the  whole  plant  is  strong,  and  of 
the  most  disagreeable  kind. 

2.  The  sand  garlic  {A.  arenarmm),  found  in 
mountainous  woods  and  fields  in  the  north,  on 
a  sandy  soil ;  stem  two  or  three  feet  high, 
bulbs  small,  ovate,  with  many  purplish  off- 
sets. 

3.  The  mountain  garlic  (A.  carinatum) 
which  is  nearly  related  to  the  next  following 
species,  though  differing  in  the  flatter  form  of 
its  leaves. 

4.  The  streaked  field  or  wild  garlic  (J.  olera- 
cevm)  found  in  pastures,  meadows,  com  fields, 
and  their  borders — producing  whitish  green 
blossoms  in  July,  The  whole  plant  has  an 
anpleasant    seen*    M"   garlic,  and    is  a  very 


troublesome  ween,  diflScult  of  extirpation, 
though  not  of  common  occurrence.  It  is  eaten 
by  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  and  the  tender 
leaves,  boiled  in  soups,  or  fried  with  other 
herbs,  form  a  wholesome  article  of  food. 

5.  The  crow  garlic  (A.  vitieale)  which  grows 
in  dry  pastures,  corn  fields,  and  waste  ground 
among  ruins,  especially  on  a  chalky  or  gravelly 
soil.  The  stem  is  slender,  about  two  feet  high, 
bulb  small,  ovate,  white,  flowers  small,  pale 
rose-coloured. 

This  species  of  garlic  has  generally  been 
considered  perennial,  but  Dr.  Darlington  re- 
gards the  common  garlic  of  our  American 
fields  as  biennial,  propagated  every  year  by 
new  lateral  bulbs,  the  old  c^nes,  after  once 
sending  up  a  stem  and  flowermg,  dying  away. 
This  species  is  a  foreigner  which  has  been 
extensively  naturalized  in  the  United  States, 
constituting  in  many  places  a  great  nuisance, 
not  only  by  imparting  a  disgusting  flavour  to 
milk,  butter,  cheese,  &c.,  but  seriously  injuring 
flfuir,  and  rendering  its  manufacture  ditlicult. 
Farmers  are  however  able  to  subdue  it  by  a 
judicious  rotation  of  crops.  The  oat  and  other 
spring  crops,  are  highly  instrumental  in  the 
destruction  of  garlic. 

The  species  called  meadow  garlic  (Mlium 
Canttdense),  is  found  in  the  Middle  States,  being 
frequent  on  the  banks  of  the  Brandywine,  in 
which  last  mentioned  locality  the  three-berried 
or  three-seeded  garlic,  is  also  met  with.  The 
bulbs  of  this  last  are  of  an  oblong  oval  shape, 
pointed,  and  rather  large.  The  leaves  are  5  to 
8  inches  long,  and  1^  to  3  inches  wide,  taper- 
ing to  the  base.  This  species,  says  Dr. 
Darlington,  differs  remarkably  from  all  other 
alliums  found  in  the  United  States,  and  has 
much  resemblance  to  the  A.  ursinum,  of  En- 
rope.  The  large  leaves  die,  and  disappear, 
early  in  the  season — before  the  flowers  are  de- 
veloped. The  bulbs  emit  a  fetid,  disagreeable 
odour,  whilst  drying.  Three  or  four  additional 
species  of  garlic  are  found  in  the  United  States. 
(Flor.  Cestrica.) 

6.  The  broad-leaved  garlic  or  ramsons  (.4 
ursinuni),  which  grows  in  moist  woods,  hedges, 
and  meadows,  and  produces  large  white 
flowers,  that  blow  in  the  month  of  May  and 
June.  Every  part  of  the  plant,  when  trodden 
upon,  or  otherwise  bruised,  exhales  the  strong 
odour  of  its  genus.  This  species  is  eaten  by 
cows ;  but  if  they  feed  on  it  ever  so  sparingly, 
it  communicates  its  nauseous  flavour  to  the 
milk  and  butter  to  such  a  degree  as  to  render 
those  articles  offensive  during  the  spring.  II 
should  therefore  be  carefully  eradicated  as  an 
intolerable  nuisance  from  all  pastures.  It  af- 
fords an  excellent  remedy  for  driving  away 
rats  and  moles,  and  it  is  said  the  plant  will  not 
suffer  any  other  vegetable  to  thrive  near  it. 

7.  Chive  garlic  (A  sckanoprasum),  which  i» 
rare,  but  sometimes  found  in  meadows  and 
pastures,  and  was  formerly  in  great  request  as 
an  ingredient  in  salads,  but  has  been  'tejtterly 
neglected. 

The  cultivated  varieties  are — Common  gai 
lie  {A.  sativum),  which  is  a  hardy  plant,  and 
though  generally  known  in  the  United  States 
by  the  name  of  English  garlic,  it  is  a  native  of 
Sicily,  capable  of  growing  in  almost  any  soil. 


GARNER. 


GASES. 


It  is  generally  propagated  by  the  cloves  ob- 
tained by  parting  the  root,  but  may  be  raised 
from  the  bulbs  produced  on  the  stems.  The 
planting  may  be  performed  any  lime  in  Feb- 
ruary, March,  and  early  in  April,  but  the  mid- 
dle of  the  second  is  the  usual  time  of  insertion. 
A  single  clove  to  be  placed  in  each  one  of 
holes  made  6  inches  apart  and  1^  deep,  in 
straight  lines,  6  inches  distant  from  each  other, 
care  being  taken  to  set  the  root  end  dowii- 
wards;  to  do  this  with  the  greatest  facility,  it 
is  the  best  practice  to  thrust  the  finger  and 
thumb,  holding  a  clove  between  them,  to  the 
requisite  depth,  without  any  previous  hole  be- 
ing made. 

The  only  cultivation  required  is  to  keep 
ihem  clean  of  weeds,  and  in  June  the  leaves  to 
be  lied  in  knots,  to  prevent  their  running  to 
seed,  which  would  greatly  diminish  the  size  of 
the  bulbs.  A  few  roots  may  be  taken  up  as 
required  in  June  and  July,  but  the  whole  must 
not  be  lifted  until  the  leaves  wither,  which  oc- 
curs at  the  close  of  July,  or  in  the  course  of 
August,  It  is  usual  to  leave  a  part  of  the  stalk 
attached,  by  which  they  are  tied  into  bun- 
dles, being  previously  well  dried  by  exposure 
to  the  sun  and  air,  for  keeping  during  the 
^winter. 

,  Rochambole,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called 
Spanish  earlic  (./^.srororfo/>ru*u»i),  has  its  bulbs 
or  cloves  growing  in  a  cluster,  forming  a  kind 
of  compound  root.  The  stem  bears  many 
bulbs  at  Its  summit,  which,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  root,  are  often  preferred  in  cooking  to  gar- 
lic, hein?  of  much  milder  flavour.  It  is  best 
propagated  by  the  root  bulbs;  those  of  the 
stem  being  slower  in  production.  The  plan- 
tation may  be  made  either  in  February.  March, 
or  early  part  of  April,  as  well  as  throughout 
the  autumn.  They  may  be  inserted  either  in 
drills  or  by  the  dibble,  in  rows  6  inches  apart 
each  way,  and  usually  2  inches  within  the 
ground,  though  this,  as  well  as  the  preceding 
variety,  would  thrive  better  if  grown  on  the 
surface.  A  very  small  bed  is  sufficient  for  the 
supply  of  the  largest  family.  See  Si^alot  and 
Lksk. 

Besides  the  above,  there  are  large  numbers 
of  different  foreign  species,  most  of  which  are 
pretty :  they  increase  abundantly  from  offsets. 
The  onion,  leek,  garlic,  shalot,  chives,  &c.,  all 
agree  in  their  stimulant,  diuretic,  and  expecto- 
rant effects,  differing  in   degree   of  activity. 

GARNER,  A  term  used  provincially  to  sig- 
nify a  granary,  or  repository  for  corn;  also  a 
binn  or  a  mill.    S«»e  Grakakt. 

GAS,  AMMONIACAL.  See  Saline  Sub- 
•TASCKs;  their  uses  to  vegetation. 

GASES,  I  heir  tuet  to  vegetation.  It  is  not,  I 
think,  necessarj-,  m  drawing  the  cultivator's 
attention  to  the  uses  of  that  ^reat  f  ortion  of  the 
food  of  planu<  which  they  imbibe  in  the  state 
of  gas,  or  of  aqueous  vapour,  to  enlarge  upon 
the  impttrlance  of  the  question,  since  that  is  a 
tnilh  which,  as  illustrating  the  value  of  certain 
modes  of  cultivation,  I  hope  to  render  intelli- 
gible in  the  following  paper,  as  I  examine  in 
succession  the  advantages  of  the  gases  and 
vapour  of  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  those 
sraiited  during  putrefaction,  to  the  commonly 
520 


'  cultivated  crops  of  the  farmer.  And  even  if 
the  accomplished  farmer  shall  dissent  from 
1  some  or  all  of  my  conclusions,  he  will  yet 
t  readily  admit  that  all  such  observations,  with 
regard  to  the  habits  and  food  of  plants,  and 
their  ready  absorption  by  the  soil,  cannot  be 
too  generally  understood  and  acted  upon  by 
the  cultivators  of  the  soil. 

That  the  atmospheric  air  exerts  an  exten- 
sive and  very  important  influence  upon  vege- 
tation, is  a  fact  which  has  been  well  known 
from  the  earliest  days  of  agriculture.  Too 
many  circumstances  combine  to  render  this 
truth  apparent  to  the  very  meanest  cultivator 
for  it  long  to  escape  observation.  The  supe- 
rior luxuriance  of  the  borders  of  all  growing 
crops,  from  those  of  the  field  to  the  outer  cir- 
cle of  timber  in  a  wood,  naturally  pointed  out 
that  something  was  gained  by  these,  of  which 
the  inner  sheltered  portions  were  partially  de- 
prived. And  that  this  something  was  the  air 
of  the  atmosphere,  appears  to  have  been  the 
conclusion  of  the  early  Italian  cultivators  who, 
on  all  occasions,  were  attentive  to  let  their 
crops  enjoy  as  much  of  the  breeze  as  possible ; 
an  object  which  they  endeavoured  to  attain,  not 
only  by  an  attentive  consideration  of  the  natu- 
ral and  acquired  habits  of  the  plants  in  trans- 
planting them,  but  also  by  increasing  the  ac- 
cess of  air  to  their  roots  by  deep  and  regular 
periodical  stirrings  of  the  soil  around  them. 
Thus  Cato,  the  earliest  of  their  agricultural 
writers,  whose  works  remain  to  us,  when  in- 
structing the  Roman  farmers  as  to  the  best 
mode  of  cultivating  the  vine  and  the  olive,  ad- 
vised them,  if  they  wished  their  vines  and 
olive-trees  to  grow  luxuriantly,  to  stir  the 
trenches  around  them  once  a  month,  until  they 
were  three  years  old;  and  he  adds,  "bestow 
the  same  care  upon  other  trees :"  (lib.  xliii.) 
And  Virgil,  when  commending  the  very  doubt- 
ful plan  of  paring  and  burning  lands,  alludes 
to  the  same  well-known  advantage  of  a  free 
and  copious  supply  of  air  to  the  roots  of  plants, 
when  he  says,  "  the  heat  opens  more  ways  and 
hidden  rents  for  the  air,  through  which  the 
dews  penetrate  to  the  embryo  plants."  (Georg. 
i.  90,  91.)  They,  in  fact,  considered,  in  com- 
mon with  the  Greek  philosophers,  that  air  was 
one  of  the  four  elements  of  which  all  sub- 
stances were  composed;  but  then,  as  in  those 
daySithe  air  of  the  atmosphere  was  considered 
to  be  a  simple  body,  we  need  not  search  in  the 
works  of  the  early  agricultural  writers  for  any 
evidence  of  very  definite  ideas  of  the  mode  of 
its  action.  That  the  air  they  breathed  wasi 
highly  serviceable  to  plants  of  all  kinds  was 
the  extent  of  their  information;  they  had  no 
knowledge  of  the  existence  of  three  distinct 
gases  in  the  atmosphere.  That  was  a  dis- 
covery reserved  for  modern  ages — for  the  days 
of  Priestley,  and  the  dawn  of  pneumatic  chem- 
istry in  England.  When,  therefore,  the  early 
cultivators  made  the  observation,  that  the  free 
supply  of  air  to  the  leaves  and  roots  of  plants 
materially  promoted  their  growth,  they  did 
j  what  too  many  modern  agriculturists  have 
since  done,  merely  noticed  the  effect,  without 
j  making  any  very  accurate  inquiries  as  to  the 
j  cause  of  the  benefit ;  they  were  too  often  con- 
1  tent,  in  fact,  with  merely  substituting  words  as 


GASES. 


Q  explanation  of  facts.  It  is  probable  that 
the  early  Greek  and  Italian  philosophers  were 
farther  led  to  this  knowledge  of  the  advantages 
of  air  to  vegetation,  from  noticing  the  power 
which  some  eastern  plants  possess,  such  as  the 
Flos  ceris  and  others,  of  entirely  supporting 
themselves  upon  the  nourishment  they  derive 
:rom  the  atmosphere,  even  when  suspended  by 
a  string  from  the  ceiling  of  a  room, — many 
^jarasitical  plants  subsist  upon  hardly  any 
.-hing  else ;  thus,  some  of  the  mosses  of  this 
country  cling  to  life,  and  even  grow  well,  in 
situations  where  hardly  any  thing  except  air 
and  moisture  can  nourish  them;  some  of  the 
aloe  tribe  do  the  same. 

Carbmiic  add  gas. — When,  however,  later 
ages  had  acquired  the  knowledge  that  it  was 
only  a  portion  of  the  air  that  maintained  vege- 
table and  animal  life,  or  supported  combus- 
tion, new  views  opened  upon  the  chemical 
philosopher.  It  btcame  then  a  question  of 
-onsiderable  interest  to  ascertain  which  por- 
aon  of  the  atmosphere  it  was  that  the  plant  ab- 
sorbed ;  and  it  was  speedily  ascertained  by 
I)r.  Priestley  and  other  chemists,  that  the  por- 
tion of  the  atmosphere  which  the  leaves  of  all 
plants  absorb,  in  the  light  is  the  carbonic  acid 
gas  or  fixed  air — a  gas  composed  of  27*27  parts 
carbon,  and  72-73  parts  oxygen, — and  that  this 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  always  contained  in  the 
atmosphere,  in  ihe  proportion  of  about  one  pari 
in  500.  The  question  thus  became  one  of  some 
•nterest  to  ascertain,  whether  a  larger  volume 
of  carbonic  acid  gas  would  promote,  in  a  still 
greater  degree,  the  growth  of  plants,  such  as  in 
an  impure,  confined  portion  of  air  spoiled  by  the 
breathing  of  animals,  or  exhausted  of  its  oxy- 
gen gas  or  vital  air  by  combustion,  since  both 
these  varieties  of  air  contain  a  very  consider- 
ably increased  proportion  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 
Many  very  accurate  experiments  speedily  de- 
monstrated that  such  foul  air  materially  in- 
creased the  luxuriance  of  vegetables  confined 
in  them,  and  that  plants  possessed  also  the 
power  of  restoring  to  such  exhausted  air  the 
portion  of  oxygen  which  either  fire  or  the 
breathing  of  animals  had  removed:  thus,  a 
confined  portion  of  air,  in  which  a  mouse  had 
died  in  ten  minutes  for  want  of  air,  having  had 
a  sprig  of  mint  introduced  into  it  for  some 
houfs,  was  then  found  to  be  so  replenished 
with  vital  air,  that  a  second  mouse  being  placed 
in  it  lived  as  long  as  the  former  mouse ;  and, 
by  similar  treatments,  a  lighted  taper  being 
merely  substituted  for  the  mouse,  the  same  ef- 
fect was  produced — the  exhausted  air  was 
again  replenished  with  oxygen  gas. 

These  facts  naturally  opened  new  views.  It 
then  became  an  interesting  object  to  ascertain 
the  proportion  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas  in  the 
atmospheric  air,  which  possessed  the  maxi- 
mum advantage  to  vegetation;  and  it  was 
found  that,  in  pure  carbonic  acid  gas,  plants 
would  not  vegetate  at  all,  or  in  air  containing 
76  per  cenu  of  it,  but  that,  when  the  proportion 
present  in  common  air  was  reduced  to  50  per 
cent,  then  the  plants  confined  in  it  slowly  vege- 
tated, and  that  they  grew  more  freely  when  the 
proportion  was  25  per  cent.;  still  better  when 
it  was  12^  per  cent.;  and  that  when  it  was  re- 
duced to  only  9  per  cent.,  then  they  flourished 
6G 


GASES. 

much  better  than  in  common  atmospheric  air. 
It  was  remarked,  however,  that  the  increased 
presence  of  carbonic  acid  gas  was  only  bene- 
ficial to  plants  when  they  were  vegetating  in 
the  light,  but  that,  when  this  was  excluded,  the 
carbonic  acid  gas  was  rather  prejudicial  to 
their  growth  than  otherwise;  that,  in  fact,  all 
plants,  though  they  absorb  it  in  the  light,  ytt  m 
the  dark  emit  this  gas.  It  was  ascertained, 
however,  that  the  presence  of  it  in  their  atmo- 
sphere was  absolutely  essential  to  all  plants 
vegetating  in  the  light;  that  they  grew  when 
it  was  present,  and  that  all  vegetation  was 
stopped  by  its  withdrawal. 

These  results  naturally  led  to  the  additional 
inquir)'.  Whether  the  presence  of  carbonic  acid 
gas  in  water  produced  the  same  results  on 
plants,  since  it  was  well  known  that,  when 
plants  were  immersed  in  water  and  exposed  to 
the  sun's  rays,  they  emitted  bubbles  of  oxygen 
gas,  by  decomposing  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  and 
setting  its  oxygen  free.  Various  kinds  of  water 
were  tried,  containing  different  proportions  of 
carbonic  acid  gas;  and  the  beneficial  result 
up(»n  vegetation  was  found  to  be  exactly  pro- 
portionate to  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  gas 
which  they  contained.  In  pump-water,  they 
yielded  the  most  oxygen ;  from  river  water  a 
smaller  quantity;  but  from  boiled  water  little 
or  none.  Now,  by  boiling,  all  the  gases  are 
driven  out  of  water,  and  this  is  the  reason  why 
such  water  is  ilat  and  insipid.  And  yet  it  was 
found  that  when  the  boiled  water  was  again 
impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  those 
plants  confined  in  it  emitted  as  much  oxygen 
gas  as  they  did  before  it  was  boiled;  and, 
finally,  that  when  the  plants  had  exhausted  the 
water  of  carbonic  acid  gas,  then  they  ceased 
to  emit  oxygen. 

The  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  gas  which  is 
emitted  by  plants  van^*-  'n  different  species. 
Thus,  M.  Saussure  found  that  the  purple  loose^ 
strife  (Lythrum  saliraria)  absorbed  in  12  hours 
7  or  8  times  its  bulk  ;  while  the  Cactus  opuntia, 
in  common  with  other  fleshy-leaved  plants,  did 
not  absorb  above  one-fifth  of  that  amount.  In 
these  experiments,  however,  the  atmosphere  in 
which  the  plants  were  confined  contained  7^ 
per  cent,  of  this  gas;  so  that  when  they  are 
vegetating  in  the  open  atmosphere,  in  which 
the  proportion  of  this  gas  does  not  exceed  one 
part  in  1000,  the  quantity  absorbed  is  consider- 
ably less. 

This  absorption  of  the  carbonic  acid  gas,  the 
cultivator  should  clearly  understand,  influences 
in  a  great  degree  the  composition  of  the  plant. 
All  those  vegetable,  carbonaceous,  nutritious 
substances  which  are  found  in  plants,  such  as 
gum  and  sugar,  are  increased  in  quantity  by 
its  copious  supply;  for  when  this  gas  is  no 
longer  secreted  by  the  plant,  its  health  becomes 
languid,  and  its  compositon  more  watery.  Thus 
a  T^yssMs  vegetating  in  the  dark  (when  carbonic 
acid  gas  is  emitted  by  plants),  was  analyzed  by 
M.  Chaptal,  and  found  to  contain  only  l-89th 
of  its  weight  of  carbonaceous  matter;  but  wi,en, 
after  it  had  been  a.lowed  to  vegetate  for  30  days 
in  the  light,  it  was  again  examined,  it  was  found 
to  contain  l-24ih  of  its  weight  of  carbonaceous 
matter.  Similar  results  were  obtained  by  M 
Sennebier,  who  found  that  when  plants  were 
2x2  521 


GASES. 


GASES. 


made  to  vegetate  in  the  dark,  they  contained 
much  less  oil  than  those  vegetating  in  the 
light, — their  resinous  matter  being  then  as  2  to 
5^  compared  with  those  vegetating  in  the  light. 
They  had  even  less  earthy  matters  by  one  half; 
but  then  they  had  exactly  double  the  quan- 
tity of  water  that  the  light-growing  plants  pos- 
sessed. 

Such,  then,  are  the  results  of  the  free  access 
of  the  carbonic  acid  gas  of  the  atmosphere  to 
the  leaves  of  piants, — it  promotes  their  growtli, 
increases  their  vigour,  and  enriches  their  se- 
cretions. The  application  of  the  same  gas  to 
their  roots,  although  it  has  not  been  examined 
with  the  same  care  as  its  action  upon  their 
leaves,  is  yet  evidently  attended  with  the  high- 
est advantage.  Thus,  this  gas  is  one  of  the 
constant  products  of  putrefaction,  wherever 
this  is  going  on ;  as  over  stagnant  drains, 
dung-heaps,  and  other  putrefying  matters : 
there  vegetation  is  sure  to  be  rankly  luxuriant, 
And  that,  too,  in  situations  where  the  roots  of 
the  plants  are  far  removed  from  immediate 
contact  with  the  decomposing  organic  matters. 
This  may  be  easily  shown  by  the  repetition  of 
a  verj'  simple  experiment,  which  was  first  made 
by  Davy.  This  great  chemist  filled  a  glass  re- 
tort, capable  of  containing  three  pints,  with  the 
hot,  fermenting  dung  and  litter  of  cattle,  and 
examined  the  elastic  fluids  which  were  gene- 
rated. In  35  cubic  inches  which  were  thus  pro- 
duced in  3  days,  he  found  21  of  carbonic  acid 
gas,  the  remainder  being  chiefly  nitrogen  ;  and 
after  thus  ascertaining  the  composition  of  these 
gases,  he  introduced  the  beak  of  another  re- 
tort, filled  in  a  similar  manner,  in  the  soil  un- 
der the  roots  of  sortie  grass  growing  in  the 
border  of  a  garden.  In  less  than  a  week,  a 
very  remarkable  eflect  was  produced  on  the 
grass  exposed  to  the  action  of  these  gaseous 
matters  of  putrefaction;  their  colour  became 
deeper,  and  their  growth  was  much  more  luxu- 
riant than  the  grass  in  any  other  part  of  the 
garden.  And  hence,  too,  is  derived  one  of  the 
chief  advantages  of  applying  organic  matters 
to  the  soil,  and  that  in  as  immediate  contact 
with  the  crop  as  possible,  just  as  is  efl!ected 
when  manures  are  added  to  the  soil  by  the 
drill ;  for  the  roots  or  leaves  of  the  plants  are, 
by  the  adoption  of  this  plan,  immediately  in 
contact  with  the  evolved  carbonic  acid,  and 
other  gasp^  of  putrefaction ;  they  are  thus  rea- 
dily absorbed  as  they  are  generated,  and  no- 
thing is  lost  by  escaping  into  the  atmosphere. 
The  gas,  in  fact,  is  instantly  yet  gradually 
transmuted  from  the  putrefying  products  of  the 
farm-yard  into  the  flour  of  the  wheat  or  the 
nutritive  matters  of  the  grasses.  And  there  is 
yet  another  chemical  reason  why  the  manure- 
drill  or  any  other  machine  should  be  adopted 
by  the  farmer  to  bring,  as  closely  as  possible, 
every  plant  into  immediate  contact  with  the 
decomposing  manure  he  applies  to  his  soil; 
and  that  is,  the  superior  readiness  with  which, 
in  all  cases  of  decomposition,  the  disengaged 
snbsfance  enters  into  new  combinations  at  the 
ver>-  instant  of  its  disengagement  than  it  does 
after  it  has  been  completely  formed.  Thus,  to 
give  an  instance,  during  the  putrefactive  fer- 
mentation of  vegetable  substance,  a  quantity 
i/f  nitrosren  is  disengaged;  an^^  i''  ihis  takes 
522 


!  place  under  certain  favourable  circumstances 
i  — such  as  the  presence  of  calcareous  matters, 
'  potash,  and  a  dry,  warm  temperature  at  the 
moment  it  is  formed — the  nitrogen  combines 
with  oxygen,  forms  nitric  acid,  which  unites 
with  the  potash,  and  thus  nitrate  of  potash,  or 
saltpetre,  is  formed  ;  but  if  the  nitrogen  is  once 
fairly  disengaged,  almost  every  endeavour  of 
the  chemist  nas  failed  in  making  it  unite  with 
oxygen  so  as  to  form  the  acid  of  saltpetre. 

In  every  way,  therefore,  in  which  the  ques- 
tion of  applying  manures  in  immediate  contact 
with  the  roots  of  plants  can  be  viewed,  the 
more  advisable  does  the  adoption  of  the  prac- 
tice appear. 

The  important  services  of  the  carbonic  acid 
gas  of  the  atmosphere  to  vegetation  have  been 
illustrated  in  various  ways  by  more  than  one 
able  chemist.  That  given  by  Professor  J.  F. 
Johnston,  in  his  able  Lectures  on  Agricultural 
Chemistry,  p.  218,  is  perhaps  the  most  recent 
and  the  most  practical.  He  observes,  "If  we 
were  to  examine  the  soil  of  a  field  on  which 
we  are  about  to  raise  a  crop  of  corn,  and  should 
find  it  to  contain  a  certain  per  centage,  say  10 
per  cent,  of  vegetable  matter  (or  5  per  cent,  of 
carbon),  and  after  the  crop  is  raised  and  reaped 
should,  on  a  second  examination,  find  it  to  con- 
tain exactly  the  same  weight  of  carbon  as  be- 
fore, we  could  not  resist  the  conviction  that, 
with  the  exception  of  what  was  originally  in 
the  seed,  the  plant,  during  its  growth,  had 
drawn  from  the  air  all  the  carbon  it  contained. 
The  soil  having  lost  none,  the  air  must  ha\  t? 
yielded  the  whole  supply.  Such  was  the  prir^ 
ciple  on  which  Boussingault's  experiments 
were  conducted.  He  determined  the  per  cent- 
age  of  carbon  in  the  soil  before  the  experiment 
was  begun ;  the  weight  added  in  the  form  of 
manure ;  the  quantity  contained  in  the  series 
of  crops  raised  during  an  entire  rotation  or 
course  of  cropping,  until,  in  the  mode  of  cul- 
ture adopted,  it  was  usual  to  add  manure  again ; 
and,  lastly,  the  proportion  of  carbon  remaining 
in  the  soil.  By  this  method  he  obtained  the 
following  results,  in  pounds  per  English  acre: 
— From  a  course  of,  1.  Potatoes  or  red  beet, 
with  manure ;  2.  Wheat;  3.  Clover;  4.  Wheat; 
5.  Oats.  Carbon  in  the  manure,  &c.,  2513  lbs.; 
carbon  in  the  crops,  7544  lbs. ;  difference,  or 
carbon  derived  from  the  air,  5031  lbs." 

The  result  of  this  course  indicates  that  the 
land,  remaining  in  equal  condition  at  the  end 
of  the  four  years  as  it  was  at  the  beginning, 
the  crops  collected  during  these  years  contain- 
ed three  times  the  quantity  of  carbon  present 
in  the  manure,  and  therefore  the  plants,  during 
their  growth,  must,  on  the  whole,  have  derived 
two-thirds  of  their  carbon  from  the  air. 

Oxygen. — Oxygen  gas,  or  vital  air,  which  con- 
stitutes 21  per  cent,  of  the  bulk  of  the  air  we 
breathe,  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  growth 
of  plants.  If  this  is  withdrawn  from  the  atmo- 
sphere, they  will  no  longer  vegetate, — thcr 
leaves  can  no  longer  perform  their  functions. 
But  this  use  of  oxygen  by  the  leaves  of  vege- 
tables is  confined  to  the  night;  it  is  only  in  the 
dark  that  they  absorb  it.  During  this  absorp- 
tion the  leaves  of  some  plants,  such  as  the 
Cacttis  opuntia,  and  the  houseleek  {Scmpervivum 
tectortini),  do  not  emit  anv  .portion  of  carbonic 


GASES. 


acid  gas ;  but  the  common  oak  (Quercus  robvr), 
the  yellow  stone  crop  (Sedum  reflexiim),  and  the 
great  majority  of  plants,  emit  a  considerable 
portion,  not  equal,  however,  in  amount  to  the 
oxygen  gas  which  has  been  imbibed;  and  this 
absorbed  oxygen  enters,  there  is  little  doubt, 
into  immediate  combination  with  other  sub- 
stances, and  forms  vegetable  matters  in  other 
shapes.  A  variety  of  experiments  have,  in 
fact,  been  made  to  ascertain  this.  Thus,  the 
leaves  of  plants  which  have  but  recently  ab- 
sorbed a  portion  of  oxygen  gas  have  been  ex- 
posed in  the  exhausted  receiver  of  an  air-pump. 
Other  leaves  have  been  submitted  to  the  great- 
est heat  they  could  bear  without  undergoing 
combustion,  but  in  neither  case  was  any  oxy- 
gen gas  extricated  from  them.  And  it  has 
been  noted  that  those  plants  which  absorb  the 
greatest  proportion  of  oxygen  during  the  night 
are  precisely  those  which  evolve  the  most  con- 
siderable quantity  of  carbonic  acid  gas  during 
the  day. 

Plants  of  diflerenf  kinds  vary  very  much  in 
the  quantity  of  oxygen  which  they  absorb. 
Fleshy-leaved  plants,  which  emit  little  or  no 
carbonic  acid  gas,  absorb  very  little  oxygen ; 
and  these  plants,  it  may  be  remarked  (says 
Dr.  Thomson),  can  vegetate  in  elevated  situa- 
tions, where  the  air  is  very  rarefied.  Next  in 
order  come  the  evergreen  trees,  which,  al- 
though they  absorb  more  oxygen  than  the 
fleshy-leaved  plants,  yet  require  much  less  than 
those  which  lose  their  leaves  during  winter. 
Those  plants  which  flourish  in  marshy  ground 
likewise  absorb  but  little  oxygen.  M.  Sanssure 
tried  a  great  number  of  experiments  on  this 
subject,  with  a  variety  of  plants  of  different 
kinds.  The  following  are  some  of  his  results; 
in  every  case  the  weight  of  the  leaves  is  sup- 
posed to  be  equal  to  1*00,  and  the  bulk  of  oxy- 
gen is  expressed  in  the  table.  {Recherche$,  p. 
99.) 

,  „  QMllMtjr  of  nxTno 

Leaven  of  Kvtrgrttna.  ateorbed. ' 

Prtiniis  laurn-cerasut  ...  May  3*90 
Vinca  minor  (lt>BAPr  periwinkle)  -June  150 
Piiins  abies  (tht;  fir)  -  -  -  -  Sept.  300 
Juniperus  Sabiiia      ....  June   260 

Leaves  of  Trees  tckiek  lost  them  in  fFinter. 

Quercus  robur  (the  oak)   -        .        .  May  550 

Populufl  alba  (tite  abele)  ...  May  620 

— -        -  Sept.  4  36 

Amygdahis  Persica  -        -        -        -  June  660 

—  —  -  -  .  .  Sept.  4  20 
Rosa  centifoiia  -----  June  5-40 

Leaves  of  Herbaeeotta  Plants. 
Bolanum  tubernsum  (the  potato) 
Brassica  oleracea  (die  cabbage)  ) 

—  —        younff  leaves  3 

—  —  old  leaves  -  -  Sept.  2-00 
Vicia  faba  (vetch),  before  flowering  -  3-70 

—  in  flower  -        -        -  -  2  00 

—  after  flowering  -  -  160 
Brassica  rapa  (the  turnip),  in  flower  1-25 
Avena  saliva  (the  oat)  -  -  -  June  2"0 
Triticum  spstivuni  -  -  -  -  May  500 
Pisum  sativum  (the  pea)  -  -  -  May  372 
Ruta  graveolens        .        .        -  -  Aug.    200 

Leaves  of  .Aquatic  Plants. 
Alisma  plantago 
Polygonum  peroicaria 
Lythrum  salicaria 
Carex  acuta      -        -        - 
Ranunculus  reptans- 

Leaves  of  the  Fleshy  Plants. 
Cactus  opuntia  -        .        . 
Aeave  Americana 
Scmpervivum  tectorum     - 
Stapelia  variegata     - 


Sept.   2-50 
Sept.   240 


-  Aug.    0-70 

-  Sept.  2  00 

-  May     2  30 

-  May    2-25 

-  Sept.   1  50 

-  Aug.  1  00 

-  Aug.  080 

-  July  100 

-  July  0-63 


GASES. 

Saussure  continued  his  researches  upon  the 
uses  of  oxygen  gay^  vegetation.  He  found 
that  it  was  essential  to  many  of  its  functions, 
that  it  was  absorbed  not  only  by  the  leaves,  but 
by  the^oots  of  plants, — that  it  then  combined 
with  carbon,  and  the  carbonic  acid  gas  thus 
formed  was  thence  transmitted  to  the  leaves  to 
be  decomposed :  the  very  stems  and  branches 
of  plants  absorb  it,  and  its  presence  is  essen- 
tial to  the  expansion  of  flowers ;  in  its  absence, 
seeds  will  not  germinate,  and  hence  the  reason 
why  they  will  not  vegetate  when  placed  beyond 
a  certain  depth  in  the  soil.  The  quantity  of 
oxygen  gas  consumed  during  their  germina- 
tion, by  equal  weights  of  different  seeds,  varies 
considerabl)'.  Wheat  and  barley  consume 
less  oxygen  than  pease,  and  pease  less  than 
common  broad  and  kidney-beans — the  latter 
consuming  jl^i\\  part  of  their  weight,  while 
wheat  and  barley,duringtheirgermiuation,only 
absorb  from  yTrtnr^*^  ^'^  sffVnth  their  weight  of 
oxygen  gas.  Recent  experiments  have  shown 
also,  that  the  more  water  is  impregnated  with 
oxygen  gas,  the  more  excellent  are  -'u  effects 
when  employed  for  the  purpose  oi  vatering 
plants  ;  and  hence  one  of  the  causes  o  the  su- 
periority of  rain-water,  every  100  cubic  inches 
of  which  contain  3'5  of  oxygen  gas.  Some 
recent  experiments  were  made  by  Mr.  Hill, 
which  clearly  demonstrated  these  facts.  Hya- 
cinths, melons,  Indian  corn,  and  other  plants, 
were  watered  for  some  time  with  water  im- 
pregnated with  oxygen  gas ;  the  first  grew  with 
additional  beauty  and  luxuriance,  the  melons 
were  improved  in  flavour,  the  Indian  corn 
increased  in  bulk,  so  as  "  to  equal  in  size  most 
of  those  imported  from  North  America,"  and 
all  of  them  grew  more  vigorously. 

The  uses,  therefore,  of  oxygen  gas  to  plants 
are  many  and  important,  and  accord  with  the 
conclusions  which  naturally  suggest  them- 
selves from  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  vege- 
table substances,  from  whence  oxygen  is  never 
absent;  it  must  be,  therefore,  one  of  the  neces- 
sary supporters  of  vegetable  life. 

Nitrogen, — This  is  the  last  atmospheric  gas 
which  exerts  its  influence  upon  vegetation,  and 
enters  in  small  proportions  into  the  composi- 
tion of  plants.  Entering  in  the  large  propor- 
tion of  79  per  cent,  into  the  composition  of 
the  atmosphere,  it  is  yet  supposed  to  exert  but 
a  slight  influence  upon  vegetation.  It  is  found  in 
much  smaller  proportions  in  plants  than  either 
oxygen  gas  or  carbonic  acid  gas,  although  r«5- 
cent  researches  have  shown  that  it  is  much 
more  commonly  present  in  vegetable  sub- 
stances than  was  once  supposed;  and  as  I 
have  elsewhere  observed  {John$on  on  Fertilizers^ 
p.  338),  that  it  exerts  a  more  sensible  influence 
upon  their  growth  than  is  commonly  believed, 
is  very  certain,  and  that  the  proportion  of  it 
present  in  them  varies  with  the  different  states 
of  their  growth,  has  been  clearly  shown  by  the 
experiments  of  Mr.  Robert  Rigg,  who  found  in 
100  parts  of 

P»rt»  of  nitro^eifc 

-  2-9 

-  2-3 

-  3-3 
-21 

-  8-5 

-  1-3 
-       -  M 

529 


The  flour  of  wheat  unripe     - 
The  same  nearly  ripe    - 
Leaves  of  wheat  unripe 

—  —      nearly  ripe 

Stem  of  wheat  unripe  - 

—  —      nearly  ripe 

Chaff  of  wheat  unripe  - 


GASES. 


GASES. 


Part*  of  nitrofcen. 

-  13 

-  4-4 
>    56 

80 

81 
-#5  7 
.  14  0 
-,    95 


Chaff  of  wheat  nearly  ripe 
Conimon  grass,  nol  growi<f  freely 
—  —     growing  freely    - 

Turnip,  when  attacked  by  the  fly 
Cabbage,  not  atiacke<l  by  inBects 

—  partly  eaten  by  iusecta 
The  insects  thuinselves 
Red  clover  steins         -       -        - 

Leaf  of  do. 4  9 

Flower  of  do. 3» 

Potato  Itself 2  9 

—  stem         ---"""    11 
leaves      _       .       -        .       -       -    o-5 

—  apple       -       -  -       -       -    IS 

—  corolla 89 

—  pistiU 46 

It  is  also  well  worthy  of  the  farmer's  atten- 
tion, that  Mr.  Rigg  found  that  when  barley  was 
made  to  vegetate  in  the  shade,  the  increase  in 
the  quantity  of  its  nitrogen  was  nearly  50  per 
cent.,  but  when  vegetating  exposed  to  the  direct 
rays  of  the  sun,  the  increase  was  only  30  per 
cent.;  and  he  also  made  the  observation,  that  the 
more  rapidly  the  plants  vegetate,  the  more  ni- 
trogen they  are  found  to  contain.  It  is  also 
well  known  to  the  cultivator,  that  plants  grow- 
ing in  the  shade  have  usually  a  deep  green 
colour,  vegetating  with  much  luxuriance,  and 
that  certain  animal  manures  applied  to  plants 
produce  similar  results  in  a  remarkable  degree, 
such  as  gelatin,  oils,  urine,  blood,  fish,  ammo- 
nia, &c.  Now  these  fertilizers  all  contain 
nitrogen,  and  which  gas  must  be  evolved  in 
some  shape  or  other  during  their  decomposi- 
tion in  the  soil; — gelatin,  containing  16'998 
per  cent,  albumen,  15-705,  the  fibrin  of  blood 
19*934,  urea  46*66  per  cent.;  and  although  ni- 
trogen usually  exists  in  plants  in  very  small 
proportions,  yet  I  am  entirely  disposed  to  agree 
with  Mr.  Rigg  in  his  conclusion,  that  more  at- 
tention should  be  paid  than  has  hitherto  been 
done,  in  the  examination  of  vegetable  sub- 
stances, "to  those  products,  which,  though  so 
minute  in  quantity  as  to  be  with  difficulty  de- 
tected in  our  balances,  have  nevertheless  been 
wisely  assigned  to  discharge  the  most  import- 
ant functions."    (Phil.  Trans.  1838,  p.  406.) 

Such,  then,  are  the  essential  and  highly  im- 
portant u^  of  the  three  gases  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, nwrogen,  oxygen,  and  carbonic  acid, 
to  all  vegetation ;  an  attentive  consideration  of 
which  will  explain  to  the  farmer  the  cause  of 
many  of  the  phenomena  he  daily  witnesses, 
and  suggest  to  him  an  unanswerable  argument 
for  the  adoption  of  those  modes  of  cultivating 
his  land,  the  results  of  careful  and  scientific 
investigations,  which  such  chemical  researches 
suggest  and  render  intelligible. 

Thus,  the  absolute  nece.ssity  for  all  crops  re- 
ceiving a  regular  supply  of  carbonic  acid  gas, 
will  explain  to  him  why  his  crops  always 
yield  an  inferior  produce  when  they  are  sur- 
rounded by  thick  plantations  of  timber  trees  ; 
and  why  the  portion  of  all  kinds  of  plantations 
growing  on  the  side  of  the  field  the  most  ex- 
posed to  the  winds  is  almost  always  of  the 
most  luxuriant  growth ;  it  will  explain  to  him 
the  reason  why  many  skilful  farmers  drill  their 
corn  so  that  the  most  prevalent  winds  may, 
with  the  more  facility,  circulate  a/ang  the  rows, 
instead  of  across  them;  and  why  all  farmers 
find  that  their  crops  prosper  better  in  mode- 
rately windy  weather  than  in  calms  ;  since  in 
All  these  instances,  and  in  many  other  well 
ft24 


known  popular  observations  of  the  same  kind, 
the  copious  supply  of  the  carbonic  acid  and 
oxygen  gases  of  the  atmosphere  is  naturally 
impeded  by  thick  plantations  of  other  vegeta- 
ble substances,  and  promoted  by  the  winds. 

The  consumption  of  oxygen  gas  by  the  roots 
of  plants,  and  their  increase  of  growth  and 
vigour  when  their  usually  impeded  supply  is 
increased,  is  equally  fraught  with  instruction 
to  the  cultivator ;  for  it  serves  to  explain  the 
reason  why  stirring  the  soil  around  the  roots 
of  trees,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  early 
vine  and  olive  cultivators  of  Italy,  or  mereJy 
disturbing  the  rows  of  cabbages  and  turnips, 
as  practised  by  the  best  English  farmers,  is 
attended  with  decided  advantage,  since  it  suf- 
fers the  air  to  have  more  free  access  to  their 
roots.  It  renders  apparent,  too,  one  of  the 
chief  reasons  why  mere  subsoil-ploughing 
adds  so  materially  to  the  luxuriant  produce  of 
even  the  poorest  cultivated  lands,  since,  as  the 
soil  is  deepened  and  pulverized,  the  atmosphere 
more  freely  and  more  copiously  penetrates  to 
the  roots  of  the  vegetation  it  supports.  The 
same  facts  explain  the  advantages  of  deep- 
ploughing,  of  sub-turf  ploughing,  and  of  trench- 
ing ;  why  the  indolent  farmer  in  vain  tries  to 
render  productive  his  shallow-ploughed  lands ; 
and  why,  when  the  industrious  cottager  en- 
closes his  garden  from  the  barren  waste,  too 
poor  to  sufficiently  manure  it,  he  yet  renders  it 
productive  of  excellent  crops,  by  merely 
trenching  it  to  the  depth  of  18  or  20  inches. 

And  it  is  vain  for  the  cultivator  to  urge  that 
this  benefit  is  not  to  be  mainly  attributed  to  the 
freer  circulation  in  the  soil  of  the  gases  and 
watery  vapour  of  the  atmosphere,  but  that  it 
is  owing  to  the  mixture  of  the  surface-soil  with 
the  substratum.     For  such  a  conclusion  is  not 
only  opposed  by  the  fact,  that  many  soils  do  not 
differ  in  composition  from  the  substratum  on 
which  they  rest,  and  yet  are  materially  bene- 
fitted by  trenching  or  subsoiling,  but  is  contra- 
dicted by  many  agricultural  facts  with  which 
every  cultivator  is  familiar  ;  and  if  any  other 
answer  were  requisite,  that  would  be  amply 
supplied  by  the  recent  experiments  of  Sir  Ed- 
ward Stracey,  with  his  new  subturf  plough, 
which  merely  passes  under  the  turf  at  a  depth 
of  ten  inches,  and  disturbs  and  loosens  very 
effectually  the  soil ;  but  when  the  plough  has 
passed  under,  every  thing  resumes  its  former 
position,  although  every  portion  has  been  tho- 
roughly agitated,  and  rendered  more  permeable 
to  the  atmosphere.  The  soil  is  neither  displaced 
nor  mixed,  and  yet  this  mere  loosening  is  pro- 
ductive of  the  highest  advantage,  the  produce 
of  grass  is  extensively  and  permanently  im- 
proved.    Sir  Edward  Stracey,  after  describing 
the  increased  produce  of  the  grass  as  being 
very  remarkable,  tells  us  that  there  are  no  marks 
left  by  which  it  can  be  known  that  the  land  has 
been  so  ploughed,  except  from  the  lines  of  the 
coulter,  at    the    distance   of   about    fourteen 
inches   from    one   another.      In   about  three 
months  from  the  time  of  ploughing,  these  lines 
are  totally  obliterated,  and  yet  the  quantity  of 
aftermath,  and  the   thickness  of  the  bottom, 
have  been  the  subject  of  admiration  of  all  his 
neighbours.     {Jour.  Eng.  Agri.  Soc,  vol.  i.  p. 
253.) 


GASES. 

And  then,  with  regard  to  the  carbonic  acid 
and  the  carburetted  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
gases  evolved  during  the  putrefaction  of  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  manures,  the  discoveries  of 
the  chemist  are  equally  instructive  and  con- 
firmatory of  the  observations  of  the  intelligent 
farmer.  The  one  finds  that  these  gases,  so 
grateful  to  the  farmer's  crops,  are  the  most  co- 
piously emitted  in  the  early  stages  of  putrefac- 
tion ;  that  these  gradually  decrease  in  volume 
as  the  fermentation  proceeds ;  and  finalU',  when 
the  mass  is  reduced  to  the  stale  of  vegetable 
mould,  cease  altogether.  Now,  the  farmer  is 
well  aware  that  the  manure  of  the  farm-yard, 
in  common  with  all  organic  decomposing  fer- 
tilizers, is  by  far  the  most  advantageously  ap- 
plied, and  produces  the  most  permanent  good 
effect  when  it  is  used  in  the  freshest  state  that 
is  at  aJl  compatible  with  the  destruction  of  the 
seeds  of  weeds,  with  which  such  collections 
usually  abound.  He  is  aware,  that  in  all  situa- 
tions where  the  gases  of  putrefaction  are  emit- 
ted, such  as  near  to  stables,  marsh-ditches, 
covered  drains,  &c.,  that  there  vegetation  of 
all  kinds  indicates  by  its  rank  luxuriance  that 
some  unusual  supply  of  nutriment  is  afforded; 
the  gardener  in  his  best  arranged  hot-beds  no- 
tices that  the  gases  which  ascend  from  his  piles 
of  litter  through  the  earth  (which  earth  is  not 
in  immediate  contact  with  the  dung)  produce 
tlie  same  effects  long  after  all  the  ipannth  of 
putrefaction  has  subsided.  The  growth  of  some 
of  his  plants  is  in  this  way  stimulated,  he  says, 
in  an  extraordinary  manner.  These  facts  and 
observations  are  entirely  confirmed  by  those 
of  the  chemist  He  notices  that  all  the  gases 
of  putrefaction  are  precisely  those  which  are 
the  most  nourishing  to  the  growth  of  plants ; 
that  air  which  has  been  spoiled  by  the  presence 
of  the  gases  evolved  in  putrefaction,  or  by  the 
breathing  of  animals,  is  exactly  that  which  is 
the  most  grateful  to  vegetation  ;  and  that  where 
these  gases  are  applied  to  the  roots  of  plants 
in  the  most  skilful  manner,  so  as  to  insure  a 
regular,  steady  supply,  that  then  the  plant  is 
enabled  to  vegetate  in  a  most  vigorous  and 
unusual  manner.  Thus,  when  green  manures, 
such  as  sea-weed,  buckwheat,  leaves  of  trees, 
fern,  &c.,  the  most  slowly  decomposing  of  all 
vegetable  manures,  are  applied  to  the  roots  of 
plants,  the  effects,  according  to  chemical  expe- 
riments, are  excellent;  and,  as  I  have  else- 
where observed,  the  farmer  assures  us  that 
they  are  so.  He  tells  us  that  all  green  manures 
cannot  be  employed  in  too  fresh  a  state ;  that 
the  best  com  is  grown  where  the  richest  turf 
has  preceded  it ;  and  that  where  the  roots, 
stalks,  and  other  remains  of  a  good  crop  of  red 
clover  have  been  ploughed  in,  that  there  an 
excellent  crop  of  wheat  may  be  expected;  and 
that  when  buckwheat  is  ploughed  into  the  soil, 
this  is  most  advantageously  done  when  the 
crop  is  coming  into  flower.  The  chemist 
again  explains  this  without  any  difficulty.  Davy 
and  other  chemists  have  shown  that  when  the 
flower  is  beginning  to  appear,  then  the  plant 
contains  the  largest  quantity  of  easily  soluble 
and  decomposable  matters;  and  that  when 
these  green  plants  are  in  this  state  buried  in 
the  soil,  their  fermentation  is  checked  and  gra- 
dual, so  that  their  soluble  or  elastic  matters 


GASES. 

are  readily  absorbed  by  the  succeeding  crop, 
and  every  portion  of  it  becomes  subservient  to 
the  demands  of  other  plants.  No  cultivator, 
perhaps,  ever  examined  this  question  more 
accurately,  or  tried  his  experiments  with  more 
neatness,  than  the  late  excellent  President  of 
the  London  Horticultural  Society,  the  lamented 
Knight  of  Downton ;  and  these  were  the  more 
valuable,  from  being  instituted  to  ascertain  the 
state  of  decomposition  in  which  decaying  ve- 
getable substances  could  be  employed  most 
advantageously  to  afl!brd  food  to  living  plants. 
This  he  clearly  proved,  however  erroneous 
were  his  explanations  of  his  own  observations 
and  discoveries.  One  of  his  experiments  with 
a  seedling  plum  tree  was  very  remarkable.  He 
placed  it  in  a  garden-pot,  having  previously 
filled  the  bottom  of  it  with  a  mixture  of  the  liv- 
ing leaves  and  roots  of  various  grasses,  covered 
over  with  a  stratum  of  mould.  The  plant  ap- 
peared above  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  April, 
and,  during  its  growth  in  the  summer,  was 
three  times  removed  to  larger  pots  in  the  green- 
house, in  every  case  the  bottom  of  them  being 
filled  as  at  first  with  living  grasses,  covered 
over  with  a  layer  of  mould ;  and  by  the  end  of 
October  its  roots  occupied  a  space  of  about 
one-third  of  a  square  foot,  it  having  then  at- 
tained the  extraordinary  height  of  nine  feet 
seven  inches.  This  experiment  was  varied  by 
Mr.  Knight  in  several  ways :  he  drilled  turnip- 
seed  over  rows  manured  with  green  fern  leaves, 
and  compared  the  produce  with  other  rows  of 
turnips  by  their  side,  manured  with  rich  vege- 
table mould;  and  in  all  cases  those  which 
grew  over  the  gradually  fermenting  green  I'em 
not  only  grew  more  rapidly  than  those  treated  in 
any  other  manner,  but  they  were  distinguished 
from  all  others  in  the  same  field  by  their  deep 
green  colour.  Now,  when  the  gases  of  putre- 
faction are  mixed  with  the  roots  of  all  growing 
crops,  this  is  exactly  the  eff"ec*  produced.  The 
most  foul,  stinking  water,  eveu  when  transpa- 
rent, is  ever  the  most  grateful  to  plants ;  that 
from  stagnant  ditches,  which  has  always  a  pe- 
culiar taste  from  the  carburetted  hydrogen  it 
contains,  is  excellent.  Every  gardener  prefers 
that  from  ponds,  however  clear;  the  purer 
water  from  wells,  he  tells  you,  is  very  inferior, 
it  is  too  cold :  but  then  he  confesses  that  even 
warming  it  does  not  render  it  equal  to  that  from 
stagnant  places  in  its  effects  upon  his  plants ; 
so  that,  in  whichever  way  the  experiment  is 
made,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  value  of  these 
gases  to  the  cultivator's  crops,  and  he  will  rea- 
dily therefore  agree  with  Knight  in  the  conclu- 
sion, that  any  given  quantity  of  vegetable  mat- 
ter can  generally  be  employed  in  its  recent  and 
organized  state  with  much  more  advantage 
than  where  it  has  been  decomposed,  "  and  no 
inconsiderable  porfion  of  its  component  parts 
have  been  dissipated  and  lost  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  putrefactive  fermentation."  {Trans 
Hort.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  248.) 

Jlqtieous  Atmospheric  Vapour. — The  last  sub 
stance  ever  present  in  the  atmosphere  in  con 
siderable  proportions,  and  which  bears  a  very 
important  relation  to  the  prosperity  of  tho 
farmer's  crop,  is  the  aqueous  vapour,  without 
whose  unvaried  presence  no  commonly  culti- 
vated plant  could  flourish,  and  few  exist  at  all 

625 


GASES. 


GASES. 


Providence,  therefore,  has  ordained  that  this 
should  be  ever  ready  to  meet  the  demands  of 
vegetable  life,  and  that  its  quantity  should  vary 
with  the  temperature,  increase  with  the  warmth 
when  its  pressure  is  most  needed  by  the  plant, 
and  diminish  in  proportion  as  the  air  becomes 
cooler.  Thus,  at  a  temperature  of  50*»,  suppos- 
ing it  to  have  a  free  communication  with  water, 
the  atmosphere  contains  about  l-75th  of  'ts 
weight  of  vapour;  but  when  its  temperature  is 
increased  to  100**,  then  its  proportion  of  water 
is  increased  to  l-21st  of  its  weight:  and  this 
beautiful  arrangement  is  the  more  important, 
as  Davy  well  observed,  in  the  economy  of  na- 
ture, because,  in  very  intense  heats,  and  when 
the  soil  is  dry,  the  life  of  plants  is  mainly, 
if  not  entirely,  preserved  by  this  absorbent 
power  of  their  leaves  and  the  earth  in  which 
they  grow ;  and,  happily,  this  watery  vapour  is 
most  abundant  in  the  atmosphere  when  it  is 
most  needed  for  the  purposes  of  life ;  when 
other  sources  of  its  supply  are  cut  off,  this  is 
most  copious.  The  amount,  however,  of  the 
atmospheric  vapour  varies  with  the  kind  of 
wind.  Those  which  have  passed  over  warm 
seas  contain  more  than  those  which  have  tra- 
irersed  extensive  dry  countries;  that  which 
crosses  the  hot,  dry  sands  of  Asia  and  northern 
Africa  is  so  dry  that  it  scorches,  as  it  were,  all 
the  adjoining  countries.  It  is  the  cause  of  the 
sirocco  of  Malta  being  so  noxious,  and  why  the 
English  farmer  finds  that  an  easterly  wind,  in 
England  the  driest  of  all  winds,  is  the  least 
propitious  to  vegetation.  He  well  knows,  on 
the  other  hand,  that  the  westerly  or  south-west- 
ern breezes,  the  most  watery  of  all  winds  in 
Britain,  which  come  to  his  fields  surcharged 
with  all  the  vapours  of  the  Atlantic,  are  pre- 
cisely those  which  bring  with  them  luxuriance 
to  bis  crops,  and  clothe  his  woods  with  ver- 
dure. 

The  cultivator  will  derive  many  advantages 
from  a  carefu  investigation  of  the  support 
yielded  by  the  vapour  of  the  atmosphere  to  his 
plants.  He  will  perceive  that  its  unvaried  pre- 
sence afl^ords  an  additional  reason  why  the  air 
should  be  allowed  to  circulate  freely  through 
the  well-pulverized  and  loosened  soil,  to  the 
roots  of  all  growing  crops;  and  let  him,  above 
all,  avoid  the  very  common  erroneous  conclu- 
sion, that  the  atmosphere  is  ever  dry,  that  it 
no  longer  contains  watery  vapour ;  for  the  real 
fact  is,  he  will  find  the  very  opposite  to  the 
comnion  vulgar  conclusion.  The  chemist's 
laborious  investigations  have  clearly  demon- 
strated, that  though  the  watery  vapour  varies 
in  amount,  yet  it  is  never  absent  from  the  at- 
mosphere, but  that  it  happily  always  the  more 
abounds  where  the  cultivator's  crops  need  its 
assistance  most;  it  is  then  the  most  able  to 
fornish  the  roots  of  his  grain  crops  with  all  the 
moisture  they  require ;  and  if  it  is  unable  to 
penetrate  to  them,  the  fault  is  not  in  the  wise 
economy  of  nature,  but  in  the  carelessness  of 
the  cultivator,  who  is  either  too  inattentive  to 
see  the  advantages  which  he  might  thus  freely 
derive,  or  too  indolent  to  loosen  the  case-hard- 
ened soil,  which  prevents  the  entrance  of  the 
requisite  supply  of  moisture.  One  of  the  causes 
oi  the  unproductiveness  of  cold,  clayey,  adhe- 
sive soils,  as  Davy  well  remarked,  is,  that  the 
526 


seed  is  coated  with  matter  impermeable  to  air. 
The  farmer  can  convince  himself  of  these  facts 
by  the  simplest  of  all  experiments.  Let  him 
merely  use  his  rake  or  his  hoe  on  a  portion  of 
a  bed  of  wheat,  of  turnips,  or  lettuces,  or  any 
other  kind  of  crop,  and  let  him,  in  the  driest 
weather,  merely  keep  this  portion  of  soil  loose 
by  this  gentle  stirring,  and  he  will  find  that, 
instead  of  prejudicing  his  crop  by  letlinsr  aut  th*- 
moisture,  as  is  often  ignorantly  supposed,  some- 
thing is  evidently  let  into  the  soil ;  for  the  por- 
tion thus  tilled  will  be  soon  visibly  increased 
in  luxuriance  by  the  mere  manual  labour  thus 
bestowed ;  and  in  this  experiment,  which  I 
have  often  tried,  I  am  supposing  that  both  the 
portions  of  the  ground  are  equally  free  from 
weeds ;  that  in  every  other  respect  the  treat- 
ment of  both  the  tilled  and  undisturbed  portions 
of  the  experimental  plot  is  exactly  the  same. 
To  a  very  great  extent,  some  of  the  best  of  the 
English  farmers  have  long  found  out  these 
facts,  and  have  acted  upon  the  discovery.  The 
horse-hoe  of  the  east  and  south  of  England,  in 
the  driest  days  of  summer,  may  be  seen  at  work 
in  the  large  sandy  turnip-fields  of  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk,  with  unvaried  regularity,  not  for  the 
mere  destruction  of  weeds,  for  these  are  not 
the  abounding  tenants  of  such  skilful  farmers* 
lands,  but  for  the  chief  and  highly  beneficial 
purpose  of  increasing  the  circulation  of  the 
gases  and  vapour  of  the  air.  "  The  longer  I 
keep  stirring  the  soil  between  my  turnip  drills," 
said  Lord  Leicester  to  me,  some  years  since, 
"  in  dry  weather,  the  better  the  turnips  grow." 

The  same  uniform  presence  of  aqueous  va- 
pour which  marks  the  atmosphere  in  all  times 
and  seasons,  in  a  still  more  remarkable  degree 
distinguishes  its  constituent  gases,  for  these 
never  vary  in  amount  in  any  times,  or  seasons, 
or  countries.  The  atmospheric  air  has  been 
analyzed,  when  obtained  from  the  lowest  val- 
leys, and  the  tops  of  the  highest  mountains,  in 
crowded  cities,  and  in  the  open  country,  but  its 
composition  was  always  found  to  be  the  same, 
viz.,  nearly  21  per  cent,  of  oxygen,  and  79  of 
nitrogen,  and  from  1  part  in  500  to  1  part  in 
800  of  carbonic  acid  gas. 

Such,  then,  are  the  principal  matters  con- 
tained in  the  atmosphere,  or  added  to  it  by  pu- 
trefaction, which  influence  the  progress  of 
vegetation.  That  there  are  other  matters  oc- 
casionally present  in  the  air,  which  are  in  all 
probability  grateful  to  vegetation,  is  very  cer- 
tain; our  very  senses  tell  us  that  there  are 
clouds  of  smoke,  which  is  a  mixture  of  carbu- 
retted  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  soot,  and 
vapour,  hourly  hovering  over  all  large  towns 
and  cities,  and  which  huge  mass  the  winds 
disperse  over  the  country.  Of  these  the  soot, 
and  finely  divided  earthy  matters  with  which 
it  is  combined,  are  very  speedily  deposited  ;  it 
is  one  reason  why  the  lands  near  to  populous 
places  are  very  commonly  rich  and  fertile. 
Ammonia  has  been  detected  in  rain-water. 
That  other  substances  also  exist  in  the  air  in 
minute,  yet  active  proportions,  is  very  certain, 
though  they  are  too  subtle  to  allow  the  chemist 
to  detect  them:  thus,  to  such  finely  divided 
matters  the  physician  attributes  the  progress 
of  contagion — the  chemical  philosopher  the 
aroma  of  flowers,  and  of  many  other  sub- 


GAS-WORKS. 


stances.     Certain  diseases  follow  the  course  i 
of  particalar  winds;    and  the  stones  or  fire- j 
balls,  and  similar  substances,  which  have  in  J 
all  ages  been  seen  to  fall  from  the  atmosphere,  i 
completely  baffle  the  scientific  conjectures  of  [ 
the   meteorologisi.     With   such   speculations, 
however,  the  cultivatoi  need  not  disturb  him- 
self: resting  contented  with  the  knowledge  he 
possesses    of   the    invaluable    and    essential 
powers  of  the  known  gases  and  vapour  of  the 
atmosphere  to  assist  and  sustain  the  growth  of 
his  crops,  and  adopting  in  consequence  those 
improved    modes   of   cultivation   which    that 
knowledge  suggests,  he  will  patiently  await  the 
time  when  the  future  discoveries  of  science 
shall  still  farther  enlarge  his  sphere  of  useful- 
ness, by   enabling  him   to   draw  forth   those 
latent  powers  of  product^n  which,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe,  yet  remain  hidden  in 
the  soil.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Js[r.  vol.  ii.  p.  32.) 

Some  curious  experiments  upon  the  f-ases 
hurtful  to  vegetation  were  made  by  M.  Macaire. 
Some  plants  of  euphorbinm,  mercury,  ground- 
sel, cabbage,  and  sowthislle,  with  their  roots, 
were  placed  in  the  morning  in  a  large  vase 
into  which  chloride  of  lime  had  been  intro- 
duced. The  Toois  were  then  separately  soaked, 
and  the  quantity  of  chlorine  disengaged  was  by 
no  means  sufficient  to  destroy  the  vegetable 
tissue.  At  night  the  plants  had  not  suffered, 
and  the  smell  of  the  chlorine  was  unchanged. 
The  same  plants  placed  in  the  same  vase  with- 
out any  addition  of  chlorine,  were  found  quite 
faded  the  next  morning,  with  the  exception  of 
the  cabbage.  The  odour  of  the  chlorine  had 
entirely  ceased,  and  had  been  succeeded  by  a 
disagreeable  acid  smell.  The  experiment  being 
several  times  repeated,  by  rendering  the  extri- 
cation of  chlorine  more  considerable,  produced 
the  same  result,  and  the  plants  supported  an 
atmosphere  strongly  impregnated  with  chlorine 
by  day,  while  a  much  weaker  dose  always  de- 
stroyed them  during  the  night.  Similar  results 
were  obtained  when  the  vapour  of  nitric  acid 
was  employed,  nitrous  acid  gas,  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  and  muriatic  acid  gas;  and,  as  a 
general  conclusion,  M.  Macaire  was  of  opi- 
nion, from  these  trials,  "  that  many  of  the  gases 
are  hurtful  to  vegetation;  but  that  they  act  on 
them  only  during  the  absence  of  light."  (Quart. 
Journ.  of  .As,r.  vol.  v.  p.  301.) 

GAS-WORKS,  the  Refuse  Matters  of,  as  Fer- 
tilizers. It  is  only  within  these  few  years  that 
the  attention  of  the  farmer  has  been  attractet-". 
to  the  various  matters  produced  by  the  g-iL- 
works  now  so  common  in  all  parts  of  England. 
This  attention,  however,  is  confined  at  present 
to  only  particular  localities  :  while  in  one  dis- 
trict it  is  zealously  used,  and  bought  up  with 
avidity,  in  others  it  appears  to  be  totally  ne- 
glected. In  the  vale  of  Kennet  the  farmers 
clear  away  from  the  gas-works  all  the  refuse 
matters  they  can  obtain,  even  at  advanced 
prices.  Those  of  the  valley  of  the  Itchin,  in 
Hampshire,  find  it,  in  small  proportions,  an 
excellent  dressing  for  grass. 

The  refuse  matters  which  are  produced 
during  the  distillation  of  pit-coal  in  the  gas- 
works, consist  of  three  substances  ;  the  amn^- 
niacal  liquor,  the  hydro-sulphuret  of  lime, 
formed  by  passing  the  gas  through  lime  to  de- 


GAS-WORKS. 

prive  it  of  its  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  and  the 
coal-tar;  these  substances  are  worthy  of  the 
cultivator's  attention,  for  they  are  all  fertili- 
zers of  considerable  value.  Let  us  examine 
them  in  the  order  in  which  I  have  enumerated 
them. 

1.  The  ammoniacal  liquor  obtained  from  gas- 
works is  an  impure  solution  of  the  carbonate 
and  acetate  of  ammonia;  and  these  salts,  there 
is  little  doubt,  not  only  act  as  stimulants  to 
plants,  but  both  the  acids  and  the  ammonia, 
when  decomposed,  furnish  direct  food  to,  or 
constitute  parts  of,  vegetables.  Carbonate  of 
ammonia  has  been  detected  in  the  stinking 
goose-foot  (Chempodiuin  oUdum),  by  MM.  Che- 
valier and  Lassaigne,  and  it  probably  exists  in 
other  plants  which  are  distinguished  for  their 
powerful  disagreeable  odour.  If  the  plants  do 
not  contain  ammonia,  or  its  salts,  it  is  the  am- 
monia either  in  the  soil  or  the  air  which 
afl^ords  them  the  nitrogen  which  enters  into 
their  composition.  (Annals  of  Phil.  vol.  xii.  p. 
231.)  Hydrochlorale  of  ammonia  has  been 
found  in  wood  by  M.  Chevreul.  (Ann.  de  Chirn, 
68,  p.  284.) 

There  are  many  testimonials  in  favour  of  the 
use,  as  fertilizers,  of  the  salts  of  ammonia, 
either  in  their  pure  state,  or  as  found  ir;  an  im- 
pure combination  with  soot,  or  in  the  liquor  of 
gas-works.  "Soot,"  said  Davy,  "owes  part  of 
its  efficacy  to  the  ammoniacal  salt  it  contains. 
The  liquor  produced  by  the  distillation  of  coal 
contains  carbonate  and  acetate  of  ammonia, 
and  is  said  to  be  a  very  good  manure.  In 
1808, 1  observed  that  the  growth  of  wheat  in  a 
field  at  Roehampton  was  greatly  assisted  by  a 
very  weak  solution  of  acetate  of  ammonia." 
(Lectures,  p.  342.)  The  experiments  of  Mr. 
Robertson  with  soot  clearly  show  the  fertilizing 
effects  of  the  soluble  portion  of  it,  which  is 
principally  the  salts  of  ammonia.  He  mixed 
together,  in  order  to  form  a  liquid  manure,  six 
quarts  of  soot  in  a  hogshead  of  water.  "Aspa- 
ragus, peas,  and  a  variety  of  other  vegetables," 
says  this  intelligent  horticulturist,  "I  have 
manured  with  this  mixture  with  as  much  effect 
as  if  I  had  used  solid  dung ;  but  to  plants  in 
pots,  particularly  pines,  I  have  found  it  ad- 
mirably adapted ;  when  watered  with  it  they 
assume  a  dark,  healthy  green,  and  grow  strong 
and  luxuriant,"  (Gard.  Mag.  vol.  ii.  p.  18.) 
Care  must  be  taken  in  using  this,  and  all  other 
liquid  fertilizers,  not  to  make  the  solution  too 
strong ;  it  is  an  error  into  which  all  cultivators 
I  are  ctpi  to  fall  in  their  early  experiments. 
Davy  was  not  an  exception ;  from  making  his 
I  liquids  too  concentrated,  he  obtained  results 
which  widely  differed  from  his  later  experi- 
ments. (Lectnresy  p.  170.)  There  is  no  doubt 
but  that  the  salts  of  ammonia,  and  all  the  com- 
pound manures  which  contain  them,  have  a 
considerable  forcing  or  stimulating  effect  upon 
vegetation.  In  ihe  experiments  of  Dr.  Belcher, 
upon  the  common  garden  cress,  by  watering 
them  with  a  solution  of  phosphate  of  ammonia, 
the  plants  were  15  days  forwarder  than  other 
j  plants  growing  under  similar  circumstances 
j  but  watered  with  plain  %vater ;  and  he  also  de- 
I  scribes  the  experiment  of  a  Mr.  Gregory,  who, 
'  by  watering  one-half  of  a  grass  field  with  urine 
.  (which  abounds  with  the  salt  of  ammonia) 
'  527 


GAS-WORKS. 


GAS-WORKS. 


nearly  Joubied  his  crop  of  hay.  {Com.  to  Board 
of  Jlgr.  vol.  iv.  p.  416.) 

"  It  is  probable."  says  Mr.  Handley,  "  thai 
the  ammoniacal  liquor  which  abounds  in  gas- 
works, and  which,  when  formerly  allowed  to 
lun  waste  into  the  Thames,  was  said  to  destroy 
the  fish  and  prejudice  the  quality  of  the  river 
water  for  human  consumption,  and  which  is 
still  thrown  away  throughout  the  country,  ex- 
cept at  a  few  works  where  they  manufacture 
sal  ammoniac,  will,  ere  long,  be  extensively 
used  as  a  manure,  either  through  the  interven- 
tion of  the  water-cart,  or  for  the  process  of  sa- 
turating and  decomposing  soil  or  vegetable 
matter.  A  very  satisfactory  illustration,  on  a 
small  scale,  has  recently  been  submitted  by 
Mr.  Pain.  He  put  into  a  vessel  some  leaves 
of  trees,  saw-dust,  chopped  straw,  and  bran,  to 
which  he  applied  ammonia,  and  closed  it  up. 
In  about  three  weeks  the  whole  was  reduced  to 
a  slimy  mass:  he  .then  stirred  it,  and  added  a 
little  more  ammonia;  and  when  submitted  to 
the  English  Agricultural  Society,  it  was  re- 
duced to  a  black  mass  of  vegetable  mould, 
strongly  impregnated  with  volatile  salts,  and 
in  comminuted  particles  similar  to  surface 
peat  mould.  When  applied  in  its  liquid  form 
to  grass,  like  salt,  it  apparently  destroys  the 
plant;  but  the  spot  is  distinguished  by  in- 
creased verdure  the  succeeding  year."  (£«g. 
Jigr.  Sor.  Jaurn.  vol.  i.  p.  46.) 

Mr.  Paynter,  of  Boskenna,  in  Cornwall,  has 
given  the  result  of  an  experiment  made  with 
the  water  in  which  street  gas  had  been  cleansed, 
on  a  piece  of  barley  land.  A  quarter  of  an 
acre  was  taken  in  the  middle  of  a  field  of  ra- 
ther close  soil,  in  a  granite  district.  The  land 
was  of  average  quality  ;  the  gas-water  was  dis- 
tributed over  the  quarter  acre  by  a  contrivance 
resembling  that  of  a  common  watering  cart, 
and  at  the  rate  of  400  gallons  to  the  acre ;  about 
a  week  before  seed  time,  the  rest  of  the  field 
was  manured  in  the  usual  way.  The  differ- 
ence both  in  colour  and  vigour  of  the  barley  plant 
was  so  strikingly  in  favour  of  the  part  manured 
by  the  gas-water,  that  persons  passing  within 
view  of  the  field  almost  invariably  came  to 
inquire  about  the  cause.  The  yield  also  was 
superior,  as  well  as  the  after-pasture,  the  field 
having  been  laid  down  with  the  barley."  (Ibid. 
p.  45.) 

The  refute  Lime  of  Gas-Works. — This  powder 
is  produced  by  passing  the  gas  through  dry 
lime,  in  which  operation  the  earth  combines 
with  a  quantity  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
from  which  the  coal  gas  needs  purifying,  and 
is  partly  converted  into  hydro-sulphuret  of 
lime :  in  the  state  that  the  powder  is  usually 
vended  by  the  gas  manufacturers,  it  contains  a 
considerable  portion  of  uncombined  lime.  The 
hydro-sulphuret  of  lime  has  a  bitter  and  acid 
taste  ;  it  is  soluble  in  water,  and  has  the  pecu- 
liarly disagreeable  smell  of  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen. When  mixed  with  or  spread  upon  the 
soil,  it  gradually  decomposes,  a  portion  of  hy- 
drogen separates  from  it,  and  it  is  converted 
into  sulphuret  of  lime,  which,  by  absorbing 
oxygen  from  the  atmosphere,  finally  becomes 
sulphate  of  lime.  There  is  no  reason,  there- 
fore, to  doubt  the  fertilizing  properties  of  this 
manure ;  but  it  is  too  powerful  in  its  efl^ects 
528 


upon  vegetation,  to  be  used  in  the  large  pro- 
portions in  which  it  has  been  sometimes  em- 
ployed ;  and  it  should  not,  for  these  rear.ons, 
be  added  to  the  soil  immediately  in  contact 
with  the  seed.  It  is  generally  to  be  obtained 
at  a  very  moderate  rate,  and  by  its  gradual 
conversion  to  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum),  it 
must  be  a  very  excellent  addition  to  those  soils 
which  are  described  by  the  farmer  as  having 
become  "  tired  of  clover." 

"  In  many  parts  of  the  country,"  says  Mr. 
Handley,  "  where  gas-works  are  established, 
the  refuse  has  become  an  object  of  interest  to 
the  agriculturist,  as  containing  many  of  the 
essentials  of  the  most  effective  manures. 
The  refuse  lime  which  was  formerly  an  incon- 
venience to  the  manufacturers,  and  was  carted 
away  as  valueless  rubbish,  is  now  contracted 
for  by  the  neighbouring  farmers  (in  an  in- 
stance within  my  own  knowledge  at  7s.  6d.  per 
chaldron),  and  applied  either  in  compost,  or  in 
a  direct  form,  to  the  land,  where,  in  addition  to 
the  usual  operation  of  lime,  it  is  said  to  furnish 
a  protection  against  many  of  the  noxious  grubs 
and  insects."  (Ibid.) 

Gas  Tar. — This  substance  being  produced  in 
smaller  quantities,  and  employed  very  com- 
monly as  a  paint,  has  not  been  used  as  a  ma- 
nure to  any  extent;  but  wherever  it  can  be 
obtained  (as  I  am  aware  it  ever  can  in  some 
places,  almost  for  the  expense  of  carriage),  it 
is  an  article  every  way  worthy  of  the  farmer's 
notice.  It  is  composed  entirely  of  substances 
which  enter  into  the  composition  of  all  plants, 
is  gradually  decomposed  in  the  soil,  is  power- 
ful in  its  effects,  and  still  more  so  from  its  con- 
taining a  considerable  portion  of  the  carbo- 
nate and  acetate  of  ammonia ;  hence  it  is  best 
applied  mixed  with  earth,  so  as  to  be  easily 
and  evenly  spread  over  the  ground.  These 
facts  will  explain  some  of  the  phenomena  wit- 
nessed in  the  recent  experiments  of  Mr.  Bow- 
ley  with  gas  refuse,  at  Sidington,  Gloucester- 
shire. He  says  (Farm,  ilfag.  vol.  ix.  p.  197), 
'*I  have  long  used  the  refuse  of  the  gas-house 
as  a  manure ;  my  usual  practice  is  to  form  out 
my  compost-heap  with  tong  dung  about  three 
feet  deep,  pour  the  coal  tar  regularly  over  it, 
then  put  another  layer  of  dung  or  turf,  throw 
up  the  lime  on  the  top,  allow  it  to  remain  in 
this  state  two  or  three  months  before  it  is 
turned.  The  lime  should  not  be  under  the  tar 
in  the  first  in.stance,  as  the  tar  will  find  its  way 
through  the  dung,  and  unite  with  the  lime  into 
a  hard  cement,  in  which  state,  even  if,  with 
considerable  labour,  it  is  broken  into  small  par- 
ticles, I  believe  it  to  be  of  little  service  on  the 
land. 

"After  pursuing  the  above  system  for  some 
time,  I  resolved  to  try  some  experiments  with 
each  in  its  unsophisticated  slate.  I  accordingly 
commenced  with  the  tar,  which  I  had  poured 
out  of  a  watering-pot,  in  a  small  stream,  regu- 
larly over  about  half  an  acre  in  a  field  of  rye- 
grass ;  this  was  done  in  February,  1838.  Soon 
afterwards,  the  seeds  presented  the  rather  sin- 
gular appearance  of  having  been  burnt  in 
stripes  with  a  hot  iron,  for  the  tar  had  com- 
pletely destroyed  all  it  touched,  and  I  was  told 
I  had  poisoned  the  land,  and  it  would  never  re- 
cover itself;  however,  in  June,  I  noticed  that  the 


GATES. 


\m 


grass  between  the  streams  of  tar  looked  more 
luxuriant,  and  the  sheep  fed  on  it  in  preference 
to  the  other  parts  of  the  field.    In  the  autumn 
ihe  whole  was  ploughed,  and  sown  with  wheat, 
which  looked  much  more  flourishing  on  the 
half-acre  dressed  with  tar  than  anywhere  else ; 
e  difference  was    so  conspicuous  from  the 
rst,  that  the  most  casual  observer  could  not 
ass  without  remarking  it;  and  at  the  present 
ime  (August,  1839),  there  is  a  heavy  crop  on 
ready  for  the  sickle,  while  the  rest  of  the  field 
light,  and  will  not  be  ripe  for  a  week  or  ten 
ys.      I  put  some  tar  in  the  same  way  on  a 
iece  of  land,  a  month  before  it  was  ploughed 
r  spring  vetches ;  the  vetches  were  sown  two 
eeks   after  the   plough,  and  many  of  them 
ere  destroyed ;  but  the  crop  of  wheat  which 
succeeded  was  benefited  equally  with  the  one 
in  the  other  experiment.     I  have  tried  the  lime 
with  great  advantage,  putting  from  12  to  15 
cart-loads  to  the  acre,  but  I  find  it  is  better  to 
remain  a  time  before  it  is  ploughed  in.     All 
these  experiments  were  tried  on  a  cold,  sandy 
clay,  worth  about  10».  per  acre."    In  these  ex- 
riments,the  quantity  applied  per  acre  was  too 
rge,and  the  manure  in  a  state  much  too  power- 
ful.    It  was  only  where  it  had  become  diffused 
through   the  soil   by  time,  that  its  fertilizing 
wers  were  apparent. 

Coal  tar  is  much  improved  in  effect,  when 
employed  as  a  coating  for  palings,  by  mixing 
it  with  a  small  portion,  say  one-fortieth  of  its 

(weight,  of  grease ;  this  is  easily  united  by 
Ideating  the  tar. 
■  GATES.  Good  gates  are  no  less  essential 
to  the  respectable  appearance  of  a  farm  than 
they  are  necessary  for  the  convenience  of  an 
occupier.  There  are  few  outgoings  that  cost 
so  much  and  are  so  little  thought  of,  as  the  re- 
pairing and  renewing  gales  upon  enclosed 
farms.    The  most  common  defects  are, 

1st.  Not  sufficient  height,  so  that  horses  and 
large  cattle,  when  pushing  against  the  gate, 
break  it,  however  strong  it  is.  as  the  back 
■L  thereof  comes  in  contact  with  that  part  of  the 
JP  chest  of  a  horse  where  the  collar  goes,  and 
without  inconvenience  he  leans  his  weight 
against  the  opposing  bar,  which,  if  a  few 
inches  higher  presses  against  his  neck  and 
windpipe,  and  he  makes  no  impression  upon  it. 

2d.  They  are  generally  hinge-bound,  so  that 
in  attempting  to  lift  up  the  head,  which  is  often 
required  to  be  done,  the  ledges  and  braces  ar^ 
either  pulled  from  the  back  head  or  broken 
therein;  the  person  lifting  the  head  having  a 
nine-feet  leverage,  which  enables  him  to  do 
this  mischief. 

3d.  The  places  of  contact  between  the  brace 
and  the  uprights  and  the  ledges  are  broad,  and 
it  being  impossible  to  keep  those  places  of  con- 
tact dry,  the  parts  become  prematurely  de- 
cayed. 

The  two  great  objects  to  be  combined  in  a 
gate  are  strength  and  lightness.  In  the  Culli- 
vator  and  some  other  American  agricultural 
periodicals,  many  useful  observations,  with 
drawings  of  gates,  may  be  found. 

Much  has   been  written   on  the  subject  in 

England:  see  Quar.  Jonrn.  Agr.  vol.  i.  p.  727; 

and   the  Trans,  of  the  High.  Sor.  vol.  ii.  p.  260, 

where  a  self-acting  gate,  suited  for  the  en- 

67 


GELATIN. 

trances  to  parks  or  the  approaches  to  mansion 
houses,  is  figured  and  described.  There  is  also 
a  useful  essay  "  On  the  Construction  of  Gates 
for  the  common  purposes  of  a  Farm,  the 
causes  of  their  Decay,  and  the  manner  of  im- 
proving them,"  in  the  Commim,  to  Board  ofJlgr. 
vol.  vii.  p.  144 :  see  also  LoudorCs  Encyc.  ofjig- 
rictiUure. 

Among  the  excellent  observations  upon  the 
subject  of  farm  gates,  to  be  met  with  in  the 
agricultural  periodicals  of  the  United  States, 
we  would  particularly  refer  to  a  paper  in  the 
Cultivator,  (vol.  ii.  p.  132,)  headed  Parker's 
Farm  Gate,  giving  the  most  minute  directions 
for  constructing,  accompanied  with  drawings 
of  the  gate  and  its  several  parts.  See  also 
Cultivator,  vol.  vii.  p.  124,  for  the  plan  and 
drawing  of  a  cheap  gate,  which  never  sags ; 
and  more  especially  the  same  valuable  pe- 
riodical, vol.  viii.  p.  53,  for  Mr.  Bennet's  Com- 
munication on  Ornamental  Gates,  accompanied 
with  descriptions  and  drawings. 

GATHERING.  Provincially,  rolling  corn- 
swaths  into  cocks  or  bundles.  Also  a  popular 
name  for  Abscess,  which  see. 

GAVELKIND.  An  ancient  custom  or  te- 
nure annexed  to  all  land  in  the  county  of  Kent 
(not  especially  exempted),  and  some  other 
parts  of  England,  and  which  extensively  pre- 
vails in  Ireland,  by  which  the  land  of  the  father 
is  equally  divided  at  his  death  among  all  his 
sons,  or  the  land  of  the  brother  among  all  his 
brethren  if  he  have  no  issue  of  his  own.  Te- 
nure in  gavelkind  is  considered  by  Blackstone 
to  have  been  in  the  nature  of  free  socage.  In 
most  places  the  gavelkind  tenant  had  the 
power  of  devising  by  will  before  the  statute 
of  wills.  The  same  custom  seems  to  have 
been  prevalent  in  Wales,  where  all  gavelkind 
lands  were  made  descendible  to  the  heir  at 
common  law  by  the  stat.  34  «fe  35  H.  8,  c.  36. 
In  Kent  the  lands  have  for  the  most  part  been 
disgavelled,  or  deprived  of  their  customary 
descendible  quality  by  particular  statutes ;  but 
lands  in  Kent  are  presumed  to  be  gavelkind 
unless  the  contrary  be  shown.  Mr.  Ross,  in 
his  Survey  of  Londonderry,  gives  an  interesting 
account  of  this  custom  and  its  pernicious 
effects.  This  notion  of  the  equal  and  unalien- 
able right  of  all  the  children  to  the  inheritance 
of  their  father's  property,  whether  land  or 
goods,  which  is  so  general  in  Ireland,  is  one 
p^reat  obstacle  to  improvement.  However  just 
and  reasonable  the  opinion  may  be  in  theory, 
it  j:S  ruinous  in  practice.  In  spite  of  every 
ar£,urn.c7ii  (says  Mr.  Ross)  the  smaller  Irish 
landholders  continue  to  divide  their  farms 
among  their  children,  and  these  divide  on  until 
division  is  no  longer  practicable ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  two  or  three  generations  the  most 
thriving  family  must  necessarily  go  to  ruin. 

GEERS.  A  country  phrase  for  the  harness 
of  draught  or  team  horses. 

GELATIN.     In  chemistry  the  name  given 

to  an  abundant  proximate  principle  in  animals. 

'  It  is  confined  to  the  solid  parts  of  the  body, 

such   as   tendons,  ligaments,  cartilages,  and 

bones,  and  exists  nearly  pure  in  the  skin ;  but 

it  is  not  contained  in  any  healthy  animal  fluid. 

I  Its   leading  character  is   the   formation  of  a 

!  tremulous  jelly,  when  its  solution  in  boiling 

2  Y  529 


GELDING. 

water  cools ;  and  it  may  be  repeatedly  liquefied  1 
and  again  gelatinized  by  the  alternate  applica- 
Uon  of  heat  and  cold.  Isinglass,  glue,  and 
size  are  various  forms  of  gelatin,  the  first  be- 
ing this  substance  in  a  very  pure  state,  obtained 
by  washing  and  drying  the  swimming  bladder 
of  the  sturgeon  {^jicipe user  huso)  and  some  other 
fish.  Its  most  distinctive  chemical  character 
is  the  formation  of  a  dense  white  precipitate 
when  its  solution  in  warm  water  is  poured  into 
an  infusion  of  galls,  or  that  of  any  other  as- 
tringent vegetable;  the  substance  formed  in 
such  cases  is  a  tannate  of  gelatin,  by  the 
union  of  the  tanic  acid  with  the  gelatin.  Ge- 
latin is  semi-transparent  and  colourless  when 
pure.  Its  consistency  and  hardness  vary  con- 
siderably. The  best  kinds  are  very  hard,  brittle, 
and  break  with  a  glassy  fracture.  Its  taste  is 
insipid,  and  it  has  no  odour.  A  solution  of 
one  part  of  gelatin  in  5000  of  water  is  ren- 
dered slightly  turbid  by  the  addition  of  a  strong 
infusion  of  galls.  Gelatin,  as  an  article  of 
food,  is  not  so  nutritious  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed. 
The  ultimate  components  of  gelatin  are — 

Parts. 

Carbon 47  8 

Hydrogen 79 

Nitrocen 16  9 

Oxygen        ------       -27-4 

100- 

^00  lbs.  of  bones  yield  about  25  or  27  lbs. 
or  fielatin.  It  is  used  for  making  carpenter's 
glue,  as  the  fat  in  the  bones  gives  it  a  bad 
taste,  and  renders  it  unfit  for  soup.  See  Glue. 
{Branfle*!!  Dirt,  of  Science.) 

GELDING.  In  farriery,  a  castrated  animal ; 
and  also  the  act  of  castrating.  In  performing 
this  operation,  attention  should  be  paid  to  the 
age,  and  also  the  season  of  the  year.  The  most 
proper  seasons  are  either  the  early  spring 
months,  or  those  of  the  autumn. 

GENTIAN  (Geniiana).  This,  in  England,  is 
an  extremely  beautiful  genus  of  plants;  the 
riM)ts  of  which  form  one  of  the  principal  bit- 
ters of  European  growth.  The  stems  and 
roots  of  most  of  the  species,  especially  the 
autumnal  gentian  (G.  amarella),  the  field  gen- 
tian (G.  campestris),  and  some  of  the  foreign 
species  are  tonic,  stomachic,  and  febrifuge. 
That  which  is  principally  used  in  medicine  is 
the  root  of  the  great  yellow  gentian  (G.  lutea), 
which  is  imported  from  Germany.  The  gene- 
ric name  was  given  to  them  after  Gentius, 
KincT  of  Illyria,  who  is  reported  to  have  first 
exppru-nced  the  virtues  of  the  plant.  The 
species  of  gontian,  indigenous  to  England,  ac- 
cording to  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  are  six  in  number. 

1.  The  Marsh  Gentian  or  Calathian  violet 
(G.  pnrumonanthe).  A  perennial  herb,  found 
on  moist,  turfy  heaths,  blooming  in  August  and 
September. 

2.  The  Dwarf  Gentian  (G.  acaulii).  A  pe- 
rennial, but  very  doubtful  native,  found  on 
mountains.  The  stems  generally  very  short, 
rising  from  the  centre  of  tufts  of  leaves,  single- 
flowered.  The  flower,  which  blows  in  June 
or  July,  is  large,  often  two  inches  long,  ex- 
quisitely beautiful,  of  a  rich  blue  in  the  limb, 
paler  in  the  tube,  which  is  dotted  internally 
with  black.    Root  fleshy  and  brant  hing. 

630 


GEOLOGY. 

3.  The  Spring  Gentian  (G.  verna).  A  peren- 
nial, growing  in  barren,  mountainous  situations, 
but  rare,  flowering  in  April. 

4.  Small  Alpine  Gentian  (G.  nivalis).  An 
annual  found  on  the  loftiest  mountains  of  Scot- 
land. 

5.  The  Autumnal  Gentian  (G.  amarella).  An 
annual  plant,  growing  frequent  in  limestone 
and  chalky  pastures,  flowering  in  August  ani 
September. 

6.  The  Field  Gentian  (G.  campestris).  An 
annual,  flowering  in  September  or  October, 
growing  on  elevated  pastures,  or  upon  green 
hills  towards  the  sea-coast,  where  the  soil  is 
chalky  or  gravelly.  The  roots  are  very  bitter 
and  tonic.  It  is  sometimes  known  as  yellow 
centaury  and  blue  gentian. 

Most  of  the  herbaceous  kinds  of  gentian 
grow  well  in  a  rich,  light  soil,  but  some  re- 
quire to  be  grown  in  peat;  indeed,  all  will 
grow  much  stronger  in  it.  Several  of  the 
species  should  be  grown  m  pots,  placed  among 
alpine  plants,  and  protected  in  winter.  Some 
of  them  may  be  increased  by  divisions.  The 
annual  and  biennial  kinds  may  be  sown  in  a 
dry,  sandy  situation  in  the  open  border ;  but 
they  must  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  seeds  are 
ripe,  because,  if  left  till  spring  before  they  are 
sown,  they  will  not,  very  probably,  come  up 
till  the  second  year. 

The  species  of  gentian  best  known  in  the 
United  States,  are : — 1.  The  one  called  Soap- 
wort  (G.  sapouaria),  a  handsome  plant,  fre- 
quently found  in  Pennsylvania  and  other 
Middle  States,  along  the  margins  of  swampy 
rivulets  and  in  low  grounds.  It  flowers  in 
September,  and  ripens  its  seed  in  November, 
The  root,  as  in  all  the  genus,  is  bitter  and  tonic 
2.  Yellowish-white  Gentian  (G.  ochroleuca), 
found  in  fields  and  woodlands  in  the  Middle 
and  Southern  States,  but  not  so  common  as  the 
former  kind.  3.  Haired,  or  Fringed  Gentian 
(G.crinita),  frequent  in  hilly,  open  woodlands 
and  old  fields  in  Pennsylvania,  where  it  is  one 
of  the  most  *beautiful  autumnal  flowering 
plants  in  the  months  of  September  and  Oc- 
tober. Its  flowers  are  often  destroyed  by  frost. 
Though  generally  described  as  a  biennial,  Pro- 
fessor Eaton  considers  it  a  perennial.  Dr. 
Darlington  thinks  it  an  annual. 

Seven  or  eight  additional  species  of  gentian 
are  enumerated  in  the  United  States.  (Flora 
Ccstrica.) 

GEOLOGY  (>«,  the  earth;  xoyoc,  a  dis- 
course). The  use  of  this  science  to  the  culti- 
vator is  considerable.  The  farmer  is,  in  fact, 
obliged  to  vary  his  modes  of  tillage  with  the 
different  strata  which  he  tenants,  and  hence  he 
is  often  following  in  practice  the  very  rules, 
and  observing  the  laws  which  the  science  of 
geology  would  prescribe,  without  being  aware 
of  the  scientific  reasons  by  which  his  labours 
are  guided.  It  is  a  science  he  will  find  closely 
connected  with  the  best  modes  of  cultivating 
the  soil,  the  drainage  of  land,  the  mixture  of 
earths,  and  other  agricultural  improvements. 
From  geological  observations,  the  farmer 
learns  the  process  by  which  the  soils  he  culti- 
vates were  originally  formed,  their  connexion 
with  the  substratum,  and  the  readiest  mode  of 
improving   their  constituents;   thus,  as  it  is 


GEOLOGY. 


'Hrell  otierved  by  Mr.  Morton,  in  his  valuable 
little  work  on  Soils,  p.  3.  *'  If  we  can  show  an 
identity  of  the  materials  which  form  the  soil 
with  those  of  the  subsoil  upon  which  it  rests, 
we  shall  obtain  a  key  to  a  more  correct  and 
satisfactory  classification  of  soils  than  at  pre- 
sent exists;  their  nature  and  properties,  the 
kind  of  crops  which  they  are  best  calcalated  to 
produce,  and  the  materials  necessary  for  their 
permanent  improvement  will  also  be  more  evi- 
dent." That  such  scientific  observances  of 
the  order  of  nature  cannot  but  be  attended 
with  benefit,  is  a  remark  which  we  cannot  too 
often  make  to  the  farmer:  it  was  an  observa- 
lior.  which  Davy  long  smce  made.  (Lectures,  p. 
204) ;  he  told  the  farmers  of  his  day,  that  "  the 
best  natural  soils  are  those  of  which  the  ma- 
terials have  been  derived  from  different  strata 
which  have  been  minutely  divided  by  air  and 
water,  and  are  intimately  blended  together; 
and  in  improving  soils  artificially,  the  farmer 
cannot  do  belter  than  imitate  the  processes  of 
nature ; — the  materials  necesary  for  the  pur- 
pose are  seldom  far  distant — coarse  sand  is 
often  found  immediately  on  chalk,  and  beds  of 
sand  and  gravel  are  common  below  clay.  The 
labour  of  improving  the  texture  or  constitution 
of  the  soil  is  repaid  by  a  great  permanent  ad- 
vantage— less  manure  is  required,  and  its  fer- 
tility insured,  and  capital  laid  out  in  this  way 
secures  forever  the  productiveness,  and  con- 
sequently the  value,  of  the  land ;"  and  again, 
Dr.  Paris,  when  addressing  the  Penwith  Agri- 
cultural Society,  remarked,  "The  composition 
and  arrangement  of  the  different  rocks  of  which 
a  country  consists,  is  always  an  object  of  im- 
portant interest  to  the  liberal  and  well-informed 
farmer,  for  it  will  generally  be  found  more  or 
less  connected  with  its  agricultural  economy, 
and  is  frequently  capable  of  explaining  pecu- 
liarities and  anomalies  which  are  otherwise 
quite  unintelligible.  At  the  same  lime  a  know- 
ledge of  them  will  suggest  the  best  method  of 
improving  a  soil  by  exhibiting  the  nature  of 
its  texture  and  constitution,  and  the  various 
causes  of  its  sterility."  That  geological  sur- 
veys of  even  particular  estates  have  been  at- 
tended with  considerable  benefit,  we  have  the 
valuable  testimony,  amongst  many  others,  of 
Sir  J.  V.  Johnstone,  who  says  {Journ,  of  Eng. 
Jgric.  Sor,  vol.  i.  p.  273),  *'  The  geological  sur- 
vey and  map  of  my  estate  has  not  only  ex- 
plained the  reason  of  the  discrepancy  between 
the  soil  and  productiveness  of  neighbouring 
fields — a  matter  of  great  interest,  and  tending 
to  develope  the  true  conditions  of  vearetable 
life — but  the  following  positive  practical  re- 
sults have  been  also  derived  from  it : — 1st,  The 
knowledge  of  applying  lime  to  advantage  over 
the  property  ;  2d,  Laying  down  fields  to  advan- 
tage to  grass,  and  where  and  how  to  plant 
wheat;  3d,  What  trees  to  plant  upon  each 
stratum  ;  and  as,  he  very  correctly  adds,  "Cer- 
tain soils  are  so  obviously  connected  with  their 
bases,  that  we  need  scarcely  ask  how  geology 
and  agriculture  are  mixed  together;"  and  to 
use  Dr.  Smith's  own  words,  "  The  strata  suc- 
ceed each  other  in  a  certain  order,  and  being 
delineated,  a  knowledge  of  the  strata  becomes 
the  natural  and  safe  foundation  of  improve- 
ment; and  if  agricultural  chemistry  be  ever 


GEOLOGY. 

successful  y  applied  to  the  practical  purposes 
of  agriculture,  it  must  be  by  proceeding  with, 
the  chemical  analysis  of  soils  along  the  range 
of  each  stratum."     (Fanner's  ^hnanac.') 

And  it  is  quite  true,  as  Mr.  Macgillivray  re- 
marks (Quarterly  Journal  of  Agriculture,  vol.  iii. 
p.  209),  that  "an  experienced  agriculturist 
may  judge  correctly  of  the  general  capabilities 
of  a  district  from  a  superficial  inspection,  and 
may  perceive  its  adaptation  to  the  cultivation 
of  certain  plants,  or  to  the  rearing  of  certain 
species  of  animals,  in  consequence  of  a  single 
glance  of  his  eye;  but  how  much  more  precise 
will  be  the  estimate  of  him  who  examines  the 
slopes  of  the  declivities  ;  the  depth  and  quality 
of  the  soil ;  the  nature  of  the  subsoil ;  the  dis- 
tribution of  rills,  pools,  and  springs  ;  the  kind 
and  disposition  of  the  mineral  strata;  the  ex- 
istence of  limestone  beds  ;  the  elevation  above 
the  level  ol  the  sea;  the  exposure  to  particular 
winds;  the  prevalent  atmospheric  currents; 
the  frequency  of  rains  and  frosts  ;  and  all  the 
other  physical  phenomena  which  influence  a 
country.  Even  the  nature  of  the  rock  itself,  in- 
dependently of  other  circumstances,  discloses 
the  capabilities  of  the  soil,  in  a  degree  which 
could  scarcely  be  imagined  by  one  totally  un- 
acquainted with  the  influence  which  it  pos- 
sesses." 

As  my  observations  on  geology  in  this  work 
will  be  chiefly  confined  to  its  connexion  with 
practical  agriculture,  I  shall  not  detain  the 
farmer  with  any  of  the  valuable  geological  re- 
searches which  extend  far  beneath  the  earth's 
surface.  Indeed,  as  Professor  Brande  remarks 
in  his  Outline  of  Geology,  p.  32,  when  speaking 
of  geology,  "Its  first  and  leading  object  is  to 
become  practically  acquainted  with  the  pre- 
sent state  of  the  earth's  external  structure,  for, 
excepting  of  its  crust  or  rind,  we  know  nothing; 
and  all  that  has  been  suggested  either  by  theory 
or  experiment,  relating  to  its  internal  composi- 
tion, its  density,  and  the  constitution  of  the  en- 
tire mass,  is  mere  surmise  and  guess-work- 
deductions  hastily  drawn  from  superficial  ob- 
servation or  unwarranted  inferences  from  im- 
perfect researches."  To  the  student  who 
wishes  to  make  himself  practically  master  of 
the  science,  I  commend  the  lectures  of  Pro- 
fessor Brande,  as  well  as  the  Outlines  of  the 
Geology  of  England  and  Wales,  by  Conybeare 
and  Phillips.  To  the  practical,  intelligent; 
farmer,  the  work  On  Soils,  by  Mr.  John  Morton, 
will  also  be  very  valuable.  To  this  excellent 
little  book  T  gratefully  acknowledge  my  obliga- 
tions in  this  and  many  other  articles. 

The  best  popular  description,  perhaps,  of 
the  position  in  which  the  various  strata  of  the 
earth  are  placed,  is  that  long  since  given  by 
Mitchell.  "This  very  ingenious  writer,"  says 
Brande  (Outlines,  p.  13),  "describes  the  gene- 
ral appearance  of  the  strata,  points  out  their 
analogies  and  differences,  adverts  to  their  in- 
clination and  disturbance  in  mountainous  dis- 
tricts, and  to  their  horizontality  in  flat  coun- 
tries ;  and  having  explained  with  much  minute 
and  practical  perspicuity  the  arrangement  of 
the  strata  in  England,  he  exemplifies  its  uni 
versal  application  to  the  general  structure  of 
the  globe,  and  ingeniously  represents  it  in  the 
following  manner : — *  Let  a  number  of  leavei 

531 


GEOLOGY. 


GEOLOGY. 


of  paper,'  he  says,  *  of  several  different  colours, 
be  pasted  one  on  another,  then  binding  them 
up  together  into  a  ridge  in  the  middle,  con- 
ceive them  to  be  reduced  again  to  a  level  sur- 
face bv  a  plane  so  passing  through  them  as  to 
cut  off  all  the  part  that  had  been  raised ;  let 
the  middle  now  be  again  raised  a  little,  and 
this  would  be  a  good  general  representation  of 
most,  if  not  all,  large  tracts  of  mountainous 
countries,  together  with  the  parts  adjacent 
throughout  the  whole  world.  From  this  for- 
mation of  the  earth,  it  will  follow  that  we 
ought  to  meet  with  the  same  kinds  of  earths, 
stones,  and  minerals,  appearing  on  the  surface 
in  long  narrow  slips,  and  lying  parallel  to  the 
greatest  rise  of  any  large  ridge  of  mountains, 
and  so,  in  fact,  we  find  them.'  "  iPhil.  Trans. 
1760.) 

And  this  system  of  layers  or  strata  not  only 
marks  the  arrangement  of  the  great  masses  of 
which  our  earth  is  composed,  but  it  is  that  of 
the  very  rocks  themselves.  It  is  to  us  attended 
with  many  advantages,  such  as  the  formation 
of  springs, — the  constitution  of  soils, — which 
last  is  that  alluded  to  by  Dr.  Paris,  On  the  Soils 
of  Cornwall.  "The  phenomenon  of  stratifica- 
tion, which  is  so  well  characterized  in  clay 
slate,  I  have  often  regarded  as  a  wise  provision 
of  nature  to  facilitate  its  decomposition,  and  to 
admit  the  descent  of  the  roots  of  trees:  and 
this  idea  is  further  strengthened  when  we  dis- 
coxer  that  this  structure  is  almost  entirely  con- 
fined to  secondary  rocks,  whose  situation  and 
nature  render  them  capable  of  cultivation: 
they  are  all,  for  instance,  resolved  into  gently 
undulating  hills,  and  by  farther  decomposition 
they  form  rich  and  fertile  soils.  Primitive 
formations,  on  the  contrary,  which  possess  no 
such  structure,  disintegrate  into  rugged  piles, 
whose  declivities  are  too  steep  to  admit  the  ac- 
cumulations of  soil,  and  cannot,  therefore,  ever 
constitute  the  habitable  parts  of  the  globe ; 
and,  as  far  as  our  geological  knowledge  will 
allow  us  to  generalize,  it  would  appear  that 
primitive  rocks  are  accumulated  towards  the 
poles,  whereas  the  great  mass  of  secondary 
formations  is  found  to  occupy  the  middle  and 
southern  latitudes,  principally  between  the  20th 
and  55th  degrees,  which  constitute  a  portion  of 
the  globe  eminently  calculated  for  the  abode  of 
man,  and  the  animals  which  are  subservient 
to  his  wants  and  comforts." 

The  farmer  must  not  imagine,  as  he  pursues 
his  researches  in  this  very  interesting  science, 
that  he  will  find  a  great  variety  of  earthy  sub- 
stances in  the  different,  often-varying  strata  of 
the  earth ;  "for,"  as  Mr.  Brande  says  verj' 
truly,  "  siliceous,  calcareous,  and  argillaceous 
substances,  either  pure,  or  nearly  so,  or  in  a 
stale  of  mixture,  or  loosely  and  indefinitely 
blended,  rather  than  in  strict  chemical  combi- 
nation, constitute  a  very  large  relative  propor- 
tion of  those  rocky  masses,  or  scattered  or 
comminuted  substances,  which  form,  or  have 
formed,  the  most  exterior  constituents  of  our 
planet,  and  of  these,  considered  in  the  abstract, 
the  chemical  and  mineralogical  history  is  soon 
told."  Of  that  brief  history,  however,  it  will 
be  well  for  the  farmer  to  have  a  general  know- 
ledge. Davy,  who  saw  very  clearly  the  im- 
portance of  the  science  to  practical  agricul- 
532 


ture,  described  them  with  a  view  to  assist  the 
farmer  in  his  tillage  operations. 

The  formation  of  a  soil  from  the  different 
strata  by  natural  causes  is  also  well  described 
by  the  same  great  chemist.  "It  is  easy,"  he 
says,  "  to  form  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which 
rocks  are  converted  into  soils  by  referring  to 
the  instance  of  soft  granite  or  porcelain  granite. 
This  substance  consists  of  three  ingredients, 
quartz,  feldspar,  and  mica.  The  quartz  is 
almost  pure  siliceous  earth,  in  a  crystalline 
form.  The  feldspar  and  mica  are  compound 
substances:  both  contain  silica,  alumina,  and 
oxide  of  iron ;  in  the  feldspar  there  is  usually 
lime  and  potassa;  in  the  mica,  lime  and  mag- 
nesia. 

"  When  a  granitic  rock  of  this  kind  has  been 
long  exposed  to  the  influence  of  air  and  water, 
the  lime  and  the  potassa  contained  in  its  con- 
stituent parts  are  acted  upon  by  water  or  car- 
bonic acid ;  and  the  oxide  of  iron^  which  is 
almost  always  in  its  least  oxidized  state,  tends 
to  combine  with  more  oxygen;  the  conse- 
quence is,  the  feldspar  decomposes,  and  like- 
wise the  mica,  but  the  first  the  more  rapidly. 
The  feldspar,  which  is,  as  it  were,  the  cement 
of  the  stone,  forms  a  fine  clay.  The  mica 
partially  decomposes,  mixes  with  it  as  sand, 
and  the  undecomposed  quartz  appear  as  gravel 
or  sand  of  different  degrees  of  fineness. 

"  As  soon  as  the  smallest  layer  of  earth  is 
formed  on  the  surface  of  a  rock,  the  seed  of 
lichens,  mosses,  and  other  imperfect  vege- 
tables which  are  constantly  floating  in  the 
atmosphere,  and  which  have  made  it  their 
resting-place,  begin  to  vegetate.  Their  death, 
decomposition,  and  decay,  afford  a  certain 
quantity  of  organizable  matter,  which  mixes 
with  the  earthy  materials  of  the  rock ;  in  this 
improved  soil  more  perfect  plants  are  capable 
of  subsisting ;  these,  in  their  turn,  absorb 
nourishment  from  water  and  the  atmosphere, 
and,  after  perishing,  afford  new  materials  to 
those  already  provided.  The  decomposition 
of  the  rock  still  continues,  and,  at  length,  by 
such  slow  and  gradual  processes,  a  soil  is 
formed  in  which  even  forest  trees  can  fix  their 
roots,  and  which  is  fitted  to  reward  the  labour 
of  the  cultivator."     (Ibid.  p.  189.) 

That  the  geological  formation  of  the  soil 
influences  to  a  considerable  degree  its  rela- 
tions to  a  fertilizing  supply  of  moisture,  was 
thus  noticed  by  Dr.  Paris  when  addressing  a 
Cornish  Agricultural  Society: — "There  is  a 
popular  adage  well  known  to  all  the  members 
of  this  society,  that  'the  land  of  Cornwall  wiC 
bear  a  shower  every  week-day,  and  two  upon 
a  Sunday,' — the  fact  is,  that  the  shallowness 
of  the  soil,  and  the  nature  of  its  rocky  substra- 
tum, render  a  constant  supply  of  moisture 
indispensable ;  and  here  we  cannot  avoid  ad- 
miring the  beautiful  contrivance  of  nature  in 
connecting  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  creation  with  the  power 
and  means  of  supplying  them ;  thus,  in  rocky 
countries  like  Cornwall,  where  the  soil  is  ne- 
cessarily greedy  of  moisture,  the  very  cause 
which  creates  this  want  is  of  itself  capable 
of  supplying  it;  for  the  rocks  elevated  above 
the  surface  solicit  a  tribute  from  every  passing 
shower,  while    in    alluvial    and    champaign 


GEOLOGY. 

countries,  where  the  soil  is  deep  and  rich,  and 
consequently  requires  less  moisture,  the  clouds 
float  undisturbed  over  the  plains,  and  the  coun- 
try frequently  enjoys  that  long  and  uninter- 
rupted series  of  dry  weather  which  is  so  con- 
genial to  it.  As  a  general  rule  it  may  be  stated, 
that  to  obtain  the  greatest  fertility  the  propor- 
tion of  siliceous  sand  in  a  soil  ought  to  increase 
in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  rain  that  falls, 
or  rather  perhaps  to  the  frequency  of  its  re- 
currence ;  for  one  of  the  effects  of  silex  is  to 
diminish  in  the  soil  its  power  of  absorbing 
moisture;  we  accordingly  find  that  in  the  rainy 
climate  of  Turin  the  most  prolific  soil  has  from 
77  to  80  per  cent,  of  siliceous  earth,  and  from 
9  to  14  of  calcareous,  whereas,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Paris,  where  there  is  much  less 
rain,  the  silex  bears  only  the  proportion  of 
from  26  to  50  per  cent,  in  the  most  fertile  parts ; 
and  I  have  found  some  of  the  most  productive 
corn  lands  in  the  parish  of  St.  Burian  to  con- 
tain as  much  as  70  per  cent,  of  that  earth." 
See  Earths,  their  Usk  to  Vegetation. 

It  will,  perhaps,  considerably  assist  the  cul- 
tivator in  his  examination  of  the  different 
geological  formations  to  which  he  may  have 
to  direct  his  attention,  if  we  examine  the  che- 
mical composition  of  a  few  of  the  stones  and 
other  substances  of  which  rocks  are  chiefly 
formed. 

Common  clay  is  merely  a  mixture  of  alumina 
with  silica,  in  endless  proportions.  The  alu- 
mina is  in  the  form  of  a  very  impalpable 
powder;  but  the  silica,  says  Dr.  Thomson,  is 
almost  always  in  small  grains,  large  enough 
to  be  distinguished  by  the  eye.  Clay,  therefore, 
exhibits  the  characters  of  alumina,  and  not  of 
silica,  even  when  this  last  ingredient  predomi- 
nates. Besides  alumina  and  silica,  clay  often 
contains  carbonate  of  lime  (chalk),  carbonate 
of  magnesia,  carbonate  of  baryta,  oxide  of  iron, 
&c.     (Chem.  vol.  iii.  p.  341.) 

Loam  may  be  regarded  as  a  very  impure 
potter's  clay  united  with  iron,  ochre,  and  mica. 

Common  Mica. — This  stone  is  composed,  ac- 
cording to  the  analysis  of  M.  Klaproth,  of — 

Ptrtfc 
Silica  ...--.-- 47- 
Alumina     ---..--20- 
Oxide  of  iron      ------  15*5 

Oxide  of  manganese  ...       -       -    1-75 
Potash        -------  14-5 

Loss   -- 1-25 

100- 

Common  feldspar,  according  to  M.  Vauque- 
lin,  is  composed  of— 

Silica  -------  62-83 

Alumina     -------  1702 

Lime  --------    3- 

Oxide  of  Iron     ------    !• 

Potash        -------  13- 

Los* 315 

lOO- 

The  decomposing  feldspar  of  Cornwall  is 
composed,  according  to  Mr.  Wedgwood,  of — 

Alumina         -       -        -       -       -       -       -60 

Silex 20 

Moisture  and  lots  -       -       -       -       -       -  20 

100 


GEOLOGY. 

Brande  found  in  a  specimen  of  pale  flesh* 
coloured  feldspar  from  the  Alps — 

Parts. 

Silex 68- 

Alumina     ------- 20* 

Potash        -------    8-30 

Lime  --------    2- 

Oxide  of  iron     ------    0*50 

Loss 1-20 

100- 

Common  hornblende  was  found  by  M.  Klap- 
roth to  contain — 

Parts. 
Silica  .---..-.42' 
Alumina     -------  12* 

Lime  --------  IT 

Magnesia   -.--...    225 
Oxide  of  iron     -        -        -        -       -       -  30' 

Oxide  of  manganese  -       -       .       .        -    0  25 

Water 075 

Loss 1-75 

100- 

Common  serpentine  contains,  according  to 
M.  Vauquelin — 

TulM. 
Silica 44* 

Magnesia     ------        -44* 

Alumina      -------    j- 

Oxide  of  chromium     -----    a- 

Oxide  of  Iron       ------    7-3 

Oxfde  of  manganese    -----    1-5 

100-8 

Another  specimen,  examined  by  Dr.  John, 
was  found  to  contain — 

Pwti. 
Silica-       -------  31-50' 

Magnesia  -------  4725 

Alumina     -.-----3- 

Lime  --------    0-50 

Iron    --------    5-50 

Oxide  of  manganese  -       -       -       .       -    1-50 
Water        -------  1050 

99-75 

Chalk  contains — 

Purti. 
Lime    --------  54*5 

Carbonic  acid      -       -       -       -       -       -  43' 

Water --5 

100' 
Common  compact  limestone  contains — 

P»rtfc 
Lime  -------- 53- 

Carbonic  acid     ------  42-5 

Water        -------    163 

Silica 112 

Alumina     -------    1- 

Oxide  of  iron     ------    075 

100- 

Magnesian  limestone,  from  Sunderland,  con- 
tains, according  to  Dr.  Thomson  (System  of 
Chem.  vol.  iii.  p.  396) — 

PMIl. 

Carbonate  of  lime  -----  568 
Carbonate  of  magnesia  -  -  -  -  4084 
Oxide  of  iron  .-.--.  036 
Clay,  water,  Slc.       -----   2- 

100- 

Quartz,  according  to  the  analysis  of  M 
Bucholz,  is  composed  of— 


Silica 
Alumina 
Water 
Loss  - 


2t2 


Psrti. 

-  97-75 

-  0-50 


io«- 
533~ 


GEOLOGY. 

Porcelain  earth  was  analyzed  by  Mr.  Rose 
%  Jameson's  Min.  vol.  i.  p.  298)  :  he  found  in  ii— 

P«rt». 

Silica 52- 

Alumina     -        -        -        -        -        -        -  47* 

Oxide  of  iron 033 

LoM -    0-67 

loo- 
Potter's  clay,  according  to  M.  VauqueMn, 
•ontains— 

ParU 

Silica 43-5 

Alumina 33  2 

Min«    ..-.----    35 

Oxkleofiron 1" 

Waier-        ..-----  18- 
LoM -    0-8 

100- 

Clay  slate  is  composed  of — 

Silica 48  6 

Alumina      -.-----  235 

Maftnesia     -------     16 

Peroxide  of  iron  -----  11'3 

Oxide  of  manganese    -----    0*5 

Potash  -------    4-7 

Carbon 03 

Sulphur       -------    01 

Water  and  Tolatile  matter          -       -       -    7  6 
Loss ^18 

100- 

Basnh  is  composed,  according  to  Mr.  Ken- 
nedy {Editu  Tram.  vol.  V.  p.  89),  of— 

Part*. 

Silica 48 

Alumina         -.---,-16 
Lime       -----..-9 

Soda -4 

Oxide  of  iron  -..-..  16 

Muriatic  acid  - 1 

Water    --------5 

LoM 1 

100 
Chlorite  earth  is  composed  of — 

Fairts. 
Silica  ---..---50- 
Alumina       ---.---26- 
Lime    -        -       -        -        -        -       -        -1*5 

Oxide  of  iron       ------    5' 

Potaih 17  5 

100- 

Gypmm,  of  which  there  are  several  varieties, 
IS  composed  of — 

Puts, 

Sulphate  of  lime        -----  7932 
Water 2068 

100- 

The  cultivator,  therefore,  must  take  it  as  an 
axiom  in  his  geological  observations,  that  the 
earthy  composition  of  the  surface  soil  almost 
always  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  rock  or 
subsoil  on  which  it  immediately  rests,  and  from 
which,  in  fact,  it  has  been  generally  thus 
formed,  in  the  progress  of  time,  by  various 
external  agencies. 

Alluvial  soils,  perhaps,  are  the  most  exten- 
sive exceptions  to  this  remark,  for  they  are 
forme^^  commonly  of  the  materials  of  different 
strata,  brought  from  various  distances  by  the 
*lood  waters,  and  mingled  together,  often  in 
/ery  confused,  yet  most  commonly  in  very 
fertile  proportions.  (See  ALtrvirM.)  Of  this 
description  of  soil  there  are  in  England  many 
534 


GEOLOGY. 

valuable  tracts,  such  as  that  extending  from 
Lynn,  through  Lincolnshire  to  the  Humber, 
and  thence  to  Bridlington.  Both  sides  of  the 
valley  of  the  Thames,  about  Sandwich  in  Kent, 
Romsey  Marsh,  between  Bristol  and  Bridge- 
water,  and  Liverpool  and  Lancaster,  and  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  Forth  and  Tay  in  Scot- 
land. "This  kind  of  soil,"  says  Mr.  Morton, 
"is  always  fertile,  free  in  its  nature,  and  easily 
cultivated;  is  fitted  for  the  production  of  every 
variety  of  crop,  which  it  brings  to  the  highest 
perfection,  and  produces  in  the  greatest  abund- 
ance. This  formation  is  perfectly  dry.  About 
one-half  of  all  the  alluvial  accumulations  may 
be  in  tillage,  and  the  remaining  half  in  mea- 
dow and  pasture  land."     (On  Sails,  p.  10.) 

Diluvium  is  the  geological  name  for  those 
masses  of  soil,  composed  of  sand,  gravel,  &c., 
which  are  found  in  many  places,  covering 
some  of  the  older  formations.  It  is  of  various 
composition :  when  it  is  found  resting  on  the 
tertiary  and  chalk  formations,  it  is  usually 
composed  of  red  clay  and  rounded  flints.  In 
Dorsetshire  the  diluvium  is  commonly  com- 
posed of  a  mixture  of  sand  and  gravelly  flints. 
"Most  of  this  soil,"  says  Mr.  Morton,  "is  in 
arable  culture,  and  produces  turnips,  barley, 
oats,  wheat,  clover;  and,  when  under  proper 
management,  it  becomes  a  useful  soil.  The 
tenacious  clay  gravel  is  expensive  in  the  culti- 
vation, as  it  is  most  difficult  to  work,  except 
between  wet  and  dry.  The  greatest  improve- 
ment which  has  been  made  in  this  soil  is  by 
the  application  of  chalk."  The  larger  portion 
of  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  is  composed  of  a  dilu- 
vium sand,  resting  on  chalk  or  marl.  This 
district  is  very  level :  it  extends  from  Sudbury 
to  Bungay  and  Cromer,  from  Southwold  to 
Shelford,  and  from  Swaffham  to  Yarmouth. 
Resting  as  it  does  on  a  calcareous  substratum, 
the  excellent  cultivators  of  this  district  have 
gradually  and  permanently  improved  the  soil 
by  bringing  the  chalk  or  marl  to  the  surface, 
and  spreading  it  over  the  land  at  the  rate  of 
about  100  cubic  yards  per  acre ;  in  this  way 
mere  rabbit  warrens  of  blowing  sands  have 
been  improved  so  as  to  yield  excellent  crop? 
of  corn,  and  rentals  have  been  in  this  way 
raised  from  a  few  pence  to  20s.  per  acre. 

Peat  Soils. — These  abound  in  many  portions 
of  the  United  Kingdom.  Their  best  mode  of 
improvement  is,  usually,  by  mixing  them  with 
the  earths.     See  Peat  Soils. 

The  Chalk  Formation. — This  formation,  very 
common  in  England,  but  which  does  not  exist 
in  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  is  divided 
by  geologists  into  two  divisions,  the  upper  and 
the  lower  chalk :  the  upper  abounds  in  flints, 
which  are  absent  from  the  lower  formation. 
Chalk  is  chiefly  carbonate  of  lime,  with  some 
small  portions  of  alumina,  iron,  and  silica.  "The 
water  which  comes  from  below  the  lower 
chalk,"  says  Mr.  Morton,  "  is  pure  and  limpid, 
and  delicious  to  drink.  It  contains  carbonate 
of  lime,  and  is  of  the  best  quality  for  watering 
meadows ;  hence  the  best  water  meadows  are 
in  the  chalk  valleys."  The  soil  of  the  chalk 
formation  is  composed  of  chalk  and  flint  in 
various  proportions.  These  soils  are  materi- 
ally improved  by  a  mixture  with  those  of  the 
green  sandstone  formation,  and  by  enclosing 


GEOLOGY. 


Ik  to  much  smaller  fields, than  those  into  which 
they  are  at  present  generally  divided. 

Green  Sand  Formation. — This  formation  is 
found  under  the  chalk.  It  is  formed  of  a  va- 
riet}'  of  beds :  the  upper  beds  near  the  chalk 
have  a  green  or  grayish  colour,  the  lower  beds, 
which  are  commonly  much  thicker,  vary  in 
colour,  from  yellow  to  brown  and  red.  It  is 
composed  of  silicious  sand,  mixed  with  mica 
and  chlorite.  "The  means  of  permanently 
improving  this  soil,"  says  Mr.  Morton,  "  after 
it  is  drained  and  enclosed  (if  for  pasture),  are 
so  immediately  within  the  reach  of  the  farmer, 
that  he  can  at  little  comparative  expense  im- 
prove its  texture,  and  permanently  increase  its 
productiveness,  by  chalk  or  chalk  marl,  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  oak  or  clunch  clay,  on  the 
other;  but  even  without  the  application  of 
these  substances,  deep  or  double  ploughing  or 
trenching  has  the  effect  of  deepening  the  soil, 
and  increasing  its  capability.  When  mixed 
with  the  chalk  marl  above  it,  it  has  the  power 
of  receiving  and  transmitting  moisture  more 
freely,  and  is  neither  so  easily  injured  by  wet 
weather,  nor  by  excessive  droughts,  as  other 
soils  are."     (On  Soils,  p.  43.) 

Gaidt  has  commonly  a  bluish  or  gray  aspect, 
and  its  geological  position  is  in  the  centre  of 
the  green  sand  formation :  the  two  greatest  de- 
posits of  it,  in  England,  are  in  the  Vale  of  White 
Horse,  in  Berkshire,  and  in  the  counties  of 
Cambridge  and  Huntingdon.  It  is  found  at  South 
Marston,  in  Wiltshire,  at  Wantage,  Thame, 
through  Bedfordshire  to  Caxton  and  St.  Ives. 

Before  the  year  1807,  although  mineralogy 
had  received   some  attention    in   the  United 
States,  little  or  nothing  had  been  done  towards 
ascertaining  its  geological  features.    At  that 
time  William  Maclure  commenced  the  task, 
and  single-handed,  made  a  progress  which  re- 
flects the  highest  credit  upon  his  memory,  for 
he  developed  the  leading  characteristics  of  the 
rock  formations,  in  doing  which,  he  crossed  the 
Alleghany   mountains    in   fifty   places.      The 
state  geological  surveys  which  have  been  car- 
ried on  for  several  years  past,  and  are  still 
fosecuted,  seem  to  be  enterprises  peculiarly 
\inerican,  having  preceded  those   regularly 
idertaken  in  any  other  country.    The  annual 
ports  of  these  surveys  have  dwelt  much  upon 
inoraical  geology,  and  placed  an  immense 
ass  of  minute  and  accurate  information  he- 
re the  public,  which  cannot  fail  to  be  profita- 
"   to   agriculture   and  other  useful  objects. 
)rth  Carolina  has  the  honour  of  having  first 
rected  a  survey  of  her  territory,  a  duty  per- 
rmed  by  Prof.  Olmsted,  whose  reports  were 
made  in  1824, 1825;  since  then.  South  Carolina 
has  been  geologically  explored  by  Prof.Vanux- 
U!n.    These  two  Southern  States  were  succeed- 
ed by  Massachusetts,  the  last  report  of  which,  by 
Prof.  Hitchcock,  was  made  in  1837.  Tennessee 
has  been  explored  by  Prof.  Troost;  Maryland 
by  Prof.  Ducatel;  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania 
by  Prof.  H.  D.  Rogers ;  Delaware  by  Prof.  J.  C. 
Booth  ;  New  York  by  Profs.  Vanuxiim,  Mather, 
Emm(»ns,  and  Mr.  James   Hall;  Virginia  by 
Prof.  William  B.  Rogers;  Maine,  Rhode  Island, 
and  New  Hampshire.by  Dr.  Charles  T.Jackson ; 
Connecticut  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Percival  and  Prof.  C.  | 
U.  Shepard  •  Ohio  by  Prof.  Mather,  assisted  by  \ 


GEORGIA  BARK. 

Dr.  S.  P.  Hildreth,  and  Profs.  Locke,  Briggs, 
and  Fostor;  Michigan  by  Mr.  D.  Houghton;  Indi- 
anna  by  Dr.  D.  D.  Owen  ;  and  Georgia  by  Mr. 
J.  R.  Cotting.  It  thus  appears  that  within  the 
last  16  or  17  years,  surveys  have  been  com- 
menced, and  most  of  them  completed,  in  19 
states  and  two  territories  of  the  Union,  em- 
bracing an  area  of  nearly  700,000  square  miles, 
and  that  for  some  years  past  not  less  than  26 
principal  geologists,  and  40  assistant  geolo 
gists,  have  been  almost  constantly  engaged 
under  the  patronage  of  the  state  governments, 
in  the  examination  of  the  various  parts  of  the 
Union.  The  British  provinces  of  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Nova  Scotia  have  also  been  geologi- 
cally examined  by  Dr.  Gessner,  whilst  the  ex- 
ploration of  Canada  has  been  commenced  un- 
der the  superintendance  of  Mr.  Logan.  Much 
of  the  materiel  thus  amassed  cannot  fail  to  be 
of  high  interest  in  an  agricultural  point  of 
view,  as  pointing  the  situation  and  exact  value 
of  soils,  and  the  invaluable  beds  of  mineral 
fertilizers,  in  the  form  of  lime,  marl,  green 
sand  or  silicate  of  potash,  &c.,  &c. 

From  such  facts  as  these  the  farmer  will 
readily  perceive  that  the  science  of  geology  is 
not  without  its  material  and  extensive  value  to 
the  tiller  of  the  earth.  It  enables  him  at  least 
to  cultivate  his  soils  on  solid  data,  to  avoid  the 
adoption  of  idle  and  faiilless  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion, to  pursue  that  which  the  situation  of  the 
strata  he  tenants  determines  to  be  the  best.  It 
is  no  reason  for  the  neglect  of  its  assistance 
that  other  sciences  can  perhaps  do  more  for 
the  farmer;  and  even  the  objection,  though 
very  common,  amounts,  in  fact,  to  an  admis- 
sion that  geology  is  a  science  capable  of  ren- 
dering services  to  agriculture.  {Brande's  Led. 
on  Geology ;  Morton  on  Soils ;  Davy's  Elem.  Ag, 
Chtm. :  Paris  on  the  Soils  of  Cornwall;  J.  F, 
Johnston's  Lee.  Chem.  and  Geol.;  Prof.  H.  D.  Ro- 
ger's Geolngical  Surveys  of  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey ;  Prof.  C.  J.  Booth's  Survey  of  Delaware  ; 
Professor  Jackson's  Survey  of  Massachusetts; 
Geological  Survey  of  New  York ;  Dr.  Rufiin's 
Survey  of  North  Carolina,  SfC,  ^c.) 

GEOMETERS.  A  species  of  caterpillar. 
See  Span-worms. 

GEORGIA  BARK  (Pinckneya pubens).  "This 
tree,"  says  Michaux,  the  younger,  "  still  more 
interesting  by  the  properties  of  its  bark,  than 
by  the  elegance  of  its  flowers  and  of  its  foliage, 
is  indigenous  to  the  most  southern  parts  of  the 
United  States :  probably  it  grows  also  in  the 
two  Floridas  and  in  Lower  Louisiana.  My 
father  found  it  for  the  first  time  in  1791  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Mary.  He  carried  seeds  and 
young  plants  to  Charleston,  and  planted  them 
in  a  garden  which  he  possessed  near  that  city. 
Though  intrusted  to  an  ungrateful  soil,  they 
succeeded  so  well,  that  in  18071  found  several 
of  them  25  feet  high,  and  7  or  8  inches  in  dia- 
meter; which  proves  that  the  vegetation  of 
this  tree  does  not  require  a  very  warm  climate, 
nor  a  very  substantial  soil. 

"  With  a  great  affinity  to  the  cinchona  which 
yields  the  Peruvian  bark,  my  father  discerned 
in  the  Georgia  bark  sufficient  differences,  to 
distinguish  it  as  a  new  genus.  In  testimony  of 
his  gratitude  and  respect,  he  consecrated  it  to 
Charles  Cotesworth  Pinckney,  an  enlightenod 

535 


GEORGIA  PITCH  PINE. 

patron  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  from  whom 
my  father  and  myself,  durin":  our  residence  in 
South  Carolina,  received  multiplied  proofs  of 
benevolence  and  esteem. 

"The  Georgia  bark  is  a  low  tree,  dividing 
itself  into  numerous  branches,  and  rarely  ex- 
ceeding the  height  of  25  feet,  and  the  diameter 
of  6  or  6  inches  at  the  base.  A  cool  and  shady 
exposure  appears  the  most  favourable  to  its 
growth.  Its  leaves  are  opposite,  4  or  5  inches 
long,  of  a  light  green  colour,  and  downy  un- 
derneath, as  are  also  the  shoots  to  which  they 
are  attached.  The  flowers,  which  are  white 
with  longitudinal  rose-coloured  stripes,  are 
pretty  large,  and  are  collected  in  beautiful 
panicles  at  the  extremity  of  the  branches. 
Each  flower  is  accompanied  by  a  floral  leaf, 
bordered  with  rose-colour  near  the  upper  edge. 
The  capsules  are  round,  compressed  in  the 
middle,  and  stored  with  a  great  number  of 
small  winged  seeds. 

"The  wood  of  the  Georgia  bark  is  soft,  and 
unfit  for  use  in  the  arts  ;  but  its  inner  bark  is 
extremely  bitter,  and  appears  to  partake  of  the 
febrifuge  virtues  of  the  cinchona,  for  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  southern  parts  of  Georgia  employ 
it  successfully  in  the  intermitting  fevers  which, 
during  the  latter  part  of  summer  and  autumn, 
prevail  in  the  Southern  States.  A  handful  of 
the  bark  is  boiled  in  a  quart  of  water  till  the 
liquid  is  reduced  one-half,  and  the  infusion  is 
administered  to  the  sick.  From  the  properties 
of  its  bark  the  pinckneya  has  taken  the  name  of 
Georgia  bark.  The  tree  which  produces  it  so 
nearly  resembles  the  Peruvian  vegetable,  that 
some  botanists  have  included  them  in  the  same 
genus." 

GEORGIA  PITCH  PINE,  or  long-leaved 
pine.    See  Fir. 

GERANIUM.  From  a  Greek  word  signify- 
ing a  crane,  the  beaked  fruit  bearing  some 
resemblance  to  a  crane's  bill.  The  varieties 
of  this  genus  of  beautiful  plants  cultivated 
are  very  numerous,  but  all  are  tender.  The 
common  scarlet  geranium  is  the  hardiest  shrub, 
and  the  handsomest.  It  looks  beautiful  plant- 
ed in  lawns  and  gardens,  and  grows  extremely 
bushy  and  handsome  in  a  fine  light  soil.  Cut- 
lings  strike  so  readily,  that  the  old  shrub  may 
die  every  fall,  and  be  renewed  every  summer 
from  the  frame.  The  best  plants  come  from 
seeds  sown  in  July :  the  seedlings  must  be 
kept  warm,  but  not  forced.  The  scarlet  gera- 
nium thrives  well  through  the  winter,  if  placed 
in  the  house,free  from  damp  and  stagnant  air.  It 
is  very  ornamental  during  summer  and  autumn. 

Sietet^s  Geraniacetf,  and  other  works  on  the 
subject,  may  be  consulted  with  advantage  by 
those  desirous  of  further  information  as  to  the 
best  varieties  of  geranium,  &c. 

The  species  of  geranium  family  most  fre- 
quently found  growing  wild  in  the  United  States 
are,  1st.  The  mandatuv^,  or  spotted  geranium, 
known  by  the  common  names,  crow-foot  and 
spotted  crane's  hill.  It  is  perennial,  and  frequents 
fence-rows,  woodlands,  and  meadows,  flower- 
ing in  May  and  June  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
root  is  astringent,  and  has  been  found  service- 
able in  the  treatment  of  dysentery,  diarrhosa, 
and  hemorrhage.  2.  Carolinian  Gentian,  not  so 
common  as  the  former.  Three  or  four  addi- 
536 


GERMANY. 

tional  species  are  enumerated  in  the  United 
States.     (Darlington's  Flor.  Cesfrica.) 

GERMANDER  (Teucrium).  Of  this  genus 
of  perennial  plants  there  are  three  wild  species 
common  to  England.  1.  The  wood  german- 
der, or  wood  sage  (T.  scorodonia),  which  is 
found  growing  very  profusely  in  heathy,  bushy 
places  and  woods,  on  a  sandy  soil,  and  flowers 
in  the  month  of  July.  The  root  is  creeping; 
the  stem  reaches  to  two  feet  high,  is  leafy, 
hairy,  acutely  quadrangular.  The  leaves  are 
deep  green,  wrinkled,  hairy,  copiously  ser- 
rated; the  flowers  are  pale  yellow,  in  clusters, 
terminal,  and  axillary ;  corolla  pale  yellow, 
middle  lobe  concave  and  hairy.  The  whole 
plant  is  glutinous,  and  has  a  bitter  taste,  with 
an  agreeable  aromatic  scent,  much  resembling 
that  of  hops,  for  which  it  is  said  to  be  no  bad 
substitute  in  making  beer.  It  is  used  in  the 
island  of  Jersey  in  brewing. 

2.  The  water  germander  (T.  scordium)  is 
less  common,  and  grows  in  low,  wet  meadows 
and  damp  marshy  situations,  and  produces 
purplish  flowers  in  July  and  August.  The 
herb  is  downy ;  the  leaves  are  very  bitter,  and 
somewhat  pungent,  with  a  strong  garlic-like 
odour.  The  root  is  creeping ;  the  stem  recum- 
bent, branching,  with  obtuse,  horny,  scarcely 
serrated  sessile  leaves,  an  inch  long.  Flowers 
two,  from  axilla  of  each  leaf.  Corolla  pale 
dull  purple ;  middle  lobe  flattish,  with  two 
spots.  It  is  eaten  by  sheep  and  goats,  but  re- 
fused by  horses,  hogs,  and  cows,  though  the 
latter  will  eat  it  when  impelled  by  hunger; 
but  it  spoils  the  flavour  of  their  milk. 

3.  The  common  wall  germander  (T.  ckamo' 
drys)  is  found  on  the  borders  of  cornfields  that 
are  remote  from  houses,  or  old  ruined  build- 
ings and  stony  banks :  it  produces  crimson  or 
reddish  purple  flowers,  which  blow  in  the 
month  of  June  or  July.  Root  creeping;  stems 
erect,  bushy,  leafy,  hairy;  angles  rounded; 
leaves  dark  green,  tapering,  fringed,  entire  at 
the  base.  Flowers  have  the  central  lobe 
rounded,  a  little  concave ;  the  lateral  lobes  and 
the  tube  hairy.  The  whole  herb  is  very  bitter, 
with  a  weak  aromatic  flavour,  and  was  for- 
merly used  to  remove  obstructed  secretions,  to 
promote  expectoration,  perspiration,  &c.  {Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  69.)  In  the  United  States  there 
is  a  species  of  germander  called,  in  the  Middle 
States,  Wood  Sage  (T.  Canadensis).  The  root 
is  perennial,  and  it  frequents  fence  rows  and 
low  shaded  grounds.  One  other  species  of  this 
plant  has  been  found  on  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
(Flor.  Cesfrica.) 

GERMANY.  The  agriculture  of  a  distric 
so  extensive  as  that  of  Germany,  naturally 
varies  with  the  nature  of  the  climate  and  tlie 
degree  of  knowledge  possessed  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  numerous  and  extensive  provinces 
of  which  the  empire  is  composed.  In  the 
Mecklen burgs,  or  that  portion  of  Germany 
bounded  by  the  Baltic  on  the  north,  according 
to  Mr.  J.  S.  Carr,  "  from  north  to  south  there  is 
a  ridge  of  elevated  sandy  land  (the  same 
which  may  be  traced  from  the  Bannat  in  Hun- 
gary to  Jutland  in  Denmark)  varying  from  10 
to  20  miles  in  breadth,  aflTording  miserable 
crops  of  corn  and  worse  pasture;  but  the  soil 
improves  on  both  sides  towards  the  Elbe  and 


GERMANY. 


the  Baltic,  where  fine  districts  of  rich  loams 
and  clays  are  managed  with  considerable 
ploddini^  industry."  The  farms  in  nortiiern 
Gernuuiy  vary  in  size  from  50  to  60  acres,  cul- 
tivated by  peasants,  to  300  and  even  2000  in 
the  hands  of  the  farmers  and  proprietors. 
The  number  of  cows  kept  by  the  farmers  are 
often  300  and  400,  and  they  are  sensibly  alivCij! 
to  the  advantages  of  sheltering  stock  in  win- 
ter. Their  sheep-houses  are  commonly  large 
enough  to  hold  5000  head.  They  usually  har- 
vest all  their  corn  in  barns.  Their  agricul- 
tural implements  are  defective :  for  instance, 
they  use  generally,  instead  of  a  plough,  an  in- 
strument called  a  haken,  which  is  exactly 
similar  to  one  used  by  the  Roman  farmers. 
Their  harrows  have  commonly  wooden  teeth, 
and  are  worked  with  five  horses,  in  a  very 
bungling  manner.  They  often  break  up  their 
pastures  with  this  clumsy  instrument  in  sum- 
mer, expose  it  to  the  frosts  of  the  following 
winter,  spread  over  it  their  dung,  and  in  the 
following  July  sow  broadcast  rape  seed.  This 
they  dress  with  100  lbs.  of  gypsum  dust  per 
acre,  in  the  following  spring,  and  in  July  the 
seed  is  ripe,  which  is  then  trodden  out  by 
horses  on  large  canvass  sheets  in  the  field. 
"  The  oil  of  this  seed,  when  putrefied,  is  without 
smell,  gives  a  brilliant,  clear-burning  flame, 
and  is  universally  used  all  over  (Germany,  in 
the  saloon  and  the  cottage."  If  this  crop  es- 
capes the  manifold  contingencies  of  slugs, 
caterpillars,  turnip  fly,  and  beetles,  it  is  a  ver>' 
remunerative  one,  worth  from  10/.  to  20/.  per 
acre.  The  improved  rotations  now  commonly 
followed  in  Germany  are,  1.  Fallow,  well 
dunged.  2.  Rape.  3.  Wheat.  4.  Barley.  5.  Peas 
(with  light  dunging).  6.  Rye.  7.  Oats,  sown 
down  with  rye  or  Timothy  grass,  and  red 
clover,  "  which,  as  well  as  the  peas,  is  gyp- 
sumed with  great  eflect  before  the  dew  has  left 
the  plant  of  a  May  morning."  The  clover, 
after  being  twice  mown,  is  left  2  years  longer 
for  pasture.  Marl,  at  the  rate  of  1G4  cubic 
feet  per  acre,  is  much  used,  and  is  the  begin- 
ning, in  many  places,  of  all  improvements. 
The  haken  is  worked  by  oxen.  The  merino 
breed  of  sheep  is  now  extensively  cultivated 
in  the  Mecklenburghs  and  in  Saxony.  There 
is  little  else  to  be  noticed  in  their  live-stock. 
The  farm  servants  are  commonly  lodged  and 
fed  in  the  house,  and  are  paid  from  5/.  to  6/. 
per  annum.  The  married  labourers  have  a 
free  house  and  firing,  the  keep  of  a  cow,  and 
about  one  rood  of  garden,  and  twice  as  much 
potato  land.  The  average  rent  of  wheat  and 
barley  lands  is  about  18s.  per  acre.  Manures 
of  all  kinds  are  preserved  with  much  care; 
and  they  show  a  wisdom  in  the  collection  of 
night-soil  and  that  of  the  sewerage  of  their 
towns,  which  it  would  be  well  to  imitate  in 
England.  These  manures  are  extensively 
used  for  their  vinf yards  in  several  parts  of 
Germany.  The  following  account  of  them  is 
taken  tVom  a  paper  by  Dr.  Granville  : 

"In  most  of  the  cities  of  the  second  order, 
and  the  smaller  capitals,  night-soil  is  a  source 
of  profit,  first  to  the  householder,  next  to  a  mid- 
dleman, and  thirdly  to  the  farmer,  who  is  the 
last  purchaser,  and  employs  it.  In  all  the 
to\rns  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden,  of  the 
68 


GERMINATION. 

kingdom  of  Wurtemburg,  of  Bavaria  (except 
Munich  and  Wiirtzburg),  of  the  province  of 
Salzburg,  of  Bohemia  (except  Prague),  of  Sax- 
ony (except  Dresden),  in  some  of  the  minor 
cities  of  Prussia,  in  all  the  confederated  prin- 
cipalities, in  all  the  cities  on  both  banks  of  tho 
Rhine,  particularly  Strasburg,  Mayence,  Co 
bleniz,  Bonn,  Colog?ne,  Dusseldorf,  Nimeguen, 
&c.,  the  householder  disposes  of  the  contenti 
of  his  cesspool  for  a  certain  sum  of  money, 
besides  getting  the  operation  of  emptying  it 
performed  gratuitously.  By  comparing  the 
returns  of  the  different  prices  paid  in  those 
cities  for  the  commodity  in  question,  one  year 
with  another,  and  equalizing  them  by  an  ave- 
rage price,  founded  on  positive  data,  which  I 
possess,  the  inhabitants  appear  to  be  benefited 
to  the  amount  of  4  francs  a  head  yearly,  and 
the  middle-man  to  at  least  40  per  cent,  more 
on  the  sum  he  pays  to  the  original  seller.  I 
will  cite  Strasburg  as  an  example,  since  most 
of  the  other  cities  of  the  same  extent  (on  the 
Rhine,  and  in  many  parts  of  Germany),  and  a 
few  cities  even  larger,  presented  the  strongest 
analogy  to  the  case  I  have  selected.  At  Stras- 
burg a  company  of  middlemen  engage  to  empty 
the  cesspools,  of  which  every  house  has  at 
least  two  (built  air  and  water  tight),  once  a 
year  for  nothing,  and  pays,  moreover,  6  francs 
per  charclte,  containing  96  IxKjuels,  of  the  capa- 
city of  4  gallons  each.  This  quantity  the 
company  sells  afterwards  to  the  farmers  for 
ten  francs.  (The  capacity  of  the  charetle  being 
to  that  of  a  ton,  as  28,772  ounces  are  to  35,840, 
it  follows  that  the  price  of  a  ton  at  Strasburg 
would  be  10s.)  Now,  as  there  are  14,000  houses 
in  Sirasburg,  10,000  of  which  have  cesspools, 
affording  the  soil  in  question  (which  is  always 
semi-liquifl),  supposing  the  latter  to  be  emptied 
only  once  a  year,  and  to  furnish  each  3  char- 
ettes  only,  at  six  francs,  we  have  10,000  x  6  X  3 
—  180,000  francs,  which  the  company  pays 
yearly  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  having  a 
population  of  70,000  souls.  But  as  the  com- 
pany resells  to  the  farmer  the  said  soil  for  ma- 
nuring purposes,  at  ten  francs  per  chareite,  it 
follows  that  this  article  of  traffic  produces 
yearly  at  Strasburg  300,000  francs,  or  just 
about  4:J-  francs  for  each  inhabitant.  The 
average  sum,  therefore,  for  each  inhabitant  of 
a  city,  where  the  mixed  contents  of  cesspools 
are  sold  for  their  benefit,  which  I  have  as- 
sumed may  be  adopted  with  safety,  as  founded 
on  fact.  {Journ.  Roy,  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  124 — 
371  ;  Rep.  Thames  Improv.  17.) 

GERMEN  (Lat.a6M^i).  In  botany,  the  organ 
commonlv  called  the  ovarium. 

GERMINATION  (Lat.  germen).  The  pro- 
cess by  which  a  plant  is  produced  from  a  seed. 
It  is,  in  truth,  the  springing  into  life  of  a  new 
individual.  The  phenomena  of  germination 
are  best  observed  in  dicotyledonous  seeds; 
such,  for  instance,  as  the  bean,  pea,  lupin,  &c. 
These  seeds  consist  of  two  lobes  or  cotyledons, 
enveloped  in  a  common  membrane;  when  this 
is  removed  a  small  projecting  body  is  seen, 
which  is  that  part  of  the  germ  which  subse- 
quently becomes  the  root,  and  is  termed  the  ra- 
dicle; the  other  portion  of  the  germ  is  seen  on 
carefully  separating  the  cotyledons, -arid  is  tern*- 
ed  the  vlumula  :  it  afterwards  forms  the  stem 

537 


GERMINATION. 


GESTATION. 


and  leaves.  When  the  ripe  seed  is  removed 
from  the  parent  plant  it  gradually  dries,  and 
may  be  kept  often  for  an  indefinite  period, 
without  undergoing:  any  change;  but  if  placed 
imder  circumstances  favourable  to  its  germina- 
tion, it  soon  begins  to  grow:  these  requisite 
circumstances  are  a  due  temperature,  mois- 
ture, and  the  presence  of  air.  The  most  fa- 
vourable temperature  is  between  60°  and  SO**; 
at  the  freezing  point  none  of  the  most  perfect 
seeds  vegetate,  and  at  temperatures  above  100° 
the  young  serm  is  usually  injured.  No  seed 
will  grow  without  moisture :  water  is  at  first 
absorbed  by  the  pores  of  the  external  cover- 
ing, and  decomposed;  the  seed  gradually 
swells,  its  membranes  burst,  and  the  germ  ex- 
pands. The  root  is  at  first  most  rapidly  de- 
veloped, the  materials  for  its  growth  being 
derived  from  the  cotyledons ;  and  when  it 
shoots  out  its  fibres  or  rootlets,  these  absorb 
nourishment  from  the  soil,  and  the  plumula  is 
developed,  rising  upwards  in  a  contrary  direc- 
tion to  the  root,  and  expanding  into  stem  and 
leaves.  For  this  growth  the  presence  of  air  is 
requisite ;  if  it  be  carefully  excluded,  though 
there  be  heat  and  moisture,  yet  the  seed  will 
not  vegetate.  Hence  it  is  that  seeds  buried 
very  deep  in  the  earth  or  in  a  stiff  clay,  remain 
inert;  but  on  admission  of  air,  by  turning  up 
the  soil,  begin  to  vegetate.  From  experiments 
which  have  been  made  upon  the  germination 
of  seeds  in  confined  atmospheres,  it  appears 
that  the  oxygen  set  free  by  the  decomposition 
of  water,  combines  with  a  portion  of  the  car- 
bon of  the  seed,  and  carries  it  off  in  the  form 
of  carbonic  acid,  and  that  the  consequence  of 
this  is  the  conversion  of  part  of  the  albumen 
and  starch  of  the  cotyledons  into  gum  and 
sugar;  so  that  most  seeds,  as  we  see  in  the 
conversion  of,barley  into  malt,  become  sweet 
daring  germination.  Light  is  injurious  to  the 
growth  of  the  seed.  It  is,  therefore,  obvious 
that  the  different  requisites  for  germination  are 
attained  by  placing  a  seed  under  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  where,  warmed  by  the  sun's  rays, 
and  moistened  by  the  humidity  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, it  is  excluded  from  light,  but  the  air  has 
access  to  it 

Oxygen  is  an  essential  agent  in  the  process 
of  germination,  and  without  it  seed  will  not 
germinate,  a  fact  which  has  been  demonstrated 
by  placing  seeds  in  vacuo,  and  in  nitrogen,  hy- 
drogen, and  carbonic  acid.  But,  as  in  animal 
life,  too  much  oxygen  is  hurtful :  it  abstracts 
the  carbon  too  rapidly,  overstimulates,  and 
causes  feebleness  of  growth  to  the  infant  plant. 
When  the  young  plant  is  perfected,  the  coty- 
.edons,  if  not  converted  into  leaves,  rot  awa)% 
and  the  process  of  nutrition  is  carried  on  by 
the  root  and  leaves:  the  principal  nourishment 
is  taken  up  from  the  soil  by  the  root,  and  chiefly 
by  its  small  and  extreme  fibres;  so  that  when 
these  are  injured  or  torn,  as  by  careless  trans- 
plantation, the  plant  or  tree  generally  dies. 
The  matters  absorbed,  consisting  of  water 
holding  small  portions  of  saline  substances, 
and  of  organic  matter  in  solution,  become  the 
enp  of  the  plant ;  and  this  is  propelled  upwards 
in  the  vessels  oi  tne  stem,  or  of  the  outer  layer 
»f  the  wood,  into  the  leaves ;  here  it  is  exposed 
o  the  agency  of  air  and  of  light ;  moisture, 
638 


'  and  occasionally  carbonic  acid,  is  transpired, 
.  But  the  leaves  also  at  times  absorb  moisture, 
and  during  the  influence  of  light  they  decom- 
pose the  carbonic  acid,  and  retaining  the  car- 
bon, evolve  oxygen ;  the  sap  thus  becomes 
modified  in  its  composition,  and  the  charac- 
teristic proximate  principles  of  the  vegetable 
are  formed.  These  return  in  appropriate  ves- 
sels from  the  leaves  chiefly  to  the  inner  bark, 
where  we  accordingly  find  the  accumulation 
of  the  peculiar  product  of  the  plant;  they  also 
enable  it  annually  to  form  a  new  layer  of  wood. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  transverse  section  of  the 
wood  exhibits  as  many  distinct  zones  as  the 
tree  is  years  old.  We  are  ignorant  of  the 
causes  of  this  ascent  of  the  sap ;  but  that  it 
does  follow  the  cause  which  has  been  stated  is 
proved  by  the  operation  which  gardeners  call 
ringing,  and  which  they  sometimes  resort  to,  to 
make  a  barren  branch  bear  flowers  and  fruit. 
It  consists  in  cutting  out  and  removing  a  cir- 
cular ring  of  bark,  so  as  to  prevent  the  return 
of  the  sap  by  the  descending  vessels,  which  at 
first  ooze  copiously,  but  afterwards  the  wound 
heals,  and  the  juices  are  accumulated  in  all 
parts  above  the  extirpated  ring,  producing 
tumefaction  in  the  limb,  and  often  inducing  a 
crop  of  flowers  and  fruit,  or  causing  those  to 
appear  earlier  than  on  the  uncut  branches. 

If  a  tree  be  wounded  so  as  to  cut  into  the 
central  portions  of  the  wood,  or  the  outer  layer 
of  new  wood,  the  flow  of  ascending  sap  is 
then  seen  to  take  place  upon  the  lower  section, 
where  the  vessels  are  that  carrj'^  it  up  to  the 
leaves;  and  the  flow  of  descending  proper 
juice  is  principally  confined  to  the  upper  sec- 
tion of  the  inner  bark,  from  which,  after  a 
time,  new  bark  is  produced,  and  the  parts  are 
again  united.  To  return  to  the  process  of 
germination,  every  part  of  the  seed  is  not  es- 
sential, nor  the  whole  of  the  parts.  Kidney 
beans  will  germinate  with  only  one  cotyledon : 
and  oaks,  also,  germinate  in  the  same  state; 
gourds  have  been  robbed  of  the  radicle  and 
also  the  plumule,  as  they  shoot  forth,  and  yet 
germination  has  proceeded ;  but  the  plants 
produced  in  all  these  cases  were  small,  deli- 
cate, and  never  come  to  perfection. 

GESTATION.  The  gestatory  term  in  quad- 
rupeds is  much  regulated  by  their  bulk.  In 
the  elephant  it  is  about  20  months,  in  the  camel 
between  11  and  12,  in  the  mare  and  ass  the 
same.  According  to  the  observations  of  M. 
Teissier  of  Paris,  in  582  mares,  which  copu- 
lated but  once,  the  shortest  period  was  287 
days,  and  the  longest  419;  making  the  extra- 
ordinary difference  of  32  days,  and  of  89  days 
beyond  the  usual  term  of  11  months.  The  cow 
usually  brings  forth  in  about  nine  months,  and 
the  sheep  in  five.  Swine  usually  farrow  be- 
tween the  120th  and  140th  day,  being  liable  to 
variations,  influenced  apparently  by  their  size 
and  their  particular  breeds.  In  the  bitch,  on 
the  contrary,  be  she  as  diminutive  as  a  kitten, 
or  as  large  as  the  boarhound,  pupping  occurs 
on  or  about  the  63d  day.  The  cat  produces 
either  on  the  55th  or  56th  day.  The  true 
causes  which  abridge  or  prolong  more  or  less 
the  period  of  gestation  in  the  females  of  quad- 
rupeds, and  of  the  incubation  of  birds,  are 
yet  unknown  to  us.     Many  persons  are  also 


GESTATION. 


GINGER,  WILD. 


unacquainted  with  the  proper  age  for  repro-   be  interei  ing  to  find  in  the  following  table  the 


duction,  the  duration  of  the  power  of  repro- 
duction, and  oiher  conditions  even  of  the  do- 
mesticated animals.    It  cannot,  therefore,  but 


results  of  observations  made  on  this  subjecl 
by  the  best  ancient  and  modem  naturalists 
(^Oeconomische  neukundige  Verliandl.) 


Kiadf  of  Animals. 


Mare  - 

Stallion 

Cow    - 

Bull     - 

Ewe   - 

Tup    - 

Sow    - 

Boar  - 

She  Goat   - 

He-Goat     - 

She-Ass 

He-As8 

She  BufTalo 

Bitclf- 

Dog     .        - 

She-Cat      - 

He-Cat 

Doe- Rabbit 

Buck-Rubbit 

Cock  - 

Turkey,  sitting' 

on   the   eggs 

of  the 
Hen,  sitting  on  \  Duck 

the  pggs  or  the  j  Hen 
Duck  -        -        -        - 
Goose  -        -        . 

Pigeon        -        -        - 


7  Hen       r 
S-  Duck     ^ 

3  Turkey  (. 


Proper  Aj^  for 
Reprviuction. 


4  years 

3  — 

3  — 
2  — 

a  — 

1  — 

1  — 

2  — 
J  — 

4  — 

5  — 


0  months 
6      — 
6      — 


Period  of  the 
Power  «f  Re- 
production. 


Teai*. 

10  to  12 

12  to  15 

10 

5 

6 

7 

0 

6 

6 

5 
10  to  13 
12  to  15 


8  to  9 

8  to  9 

5  to  6 

V  to  10 

5  to  6 

5  to  6 

5  to  6 


3  to  5 


Number  of  Fe- 
males for  ooe 
Male. 


90  to  30 
30  to  40 
40  to  90 
6  to  10 
90  to  40 


S  to  S 


30 
13  to  15 


The  most  Fa-     

vourable  Season  i 
lur  Copulation.       Shnrtest 
Period. 


Period  of  Geslation  and  Incubation. 


May 
July 
Nov. 
March 
Nov. 
May 


Feb. 


Nov. 


Davt. 

322 

240 

146 

109 

150 

365 

9S1 
55 

48 

20 


Davs, 
347 


154 
115 

156 
380 
308 


Data. 
419 

321 

161 

143 

163 

391 

335 
63 

56 

35 

28 
30 
30 
34 
24 
32 
33 
20 


Some  of  these  results  do  not  altogether  co- 
incide with  the  results  of  observations  in  Eng- 
land, where,  for  example,  July,  the  season  of 
copulation  for  the  cow,  is  considered  too  late. 
That  period  would  produce  late  calves  in  the 
lollowing  year.  November  is  stated  to  be  the 
best  season  for  the  ewe ;  for  the  black-faced 
ewe  it  is,  but  for  the  Leicester,  and,  in  many 
situations,  for  the  Cheviot  ewe,  it  is  a  month  too 
late.  The  duration  of  the  power  of  reproduc- 
tion .iccords  with  our  e-xperience  as  respects 
the  mare  and  stallion  ;  but  13  years  of  age  for 
the  cow,  and  8  for  the  bull,  is  too  young  a 
period  for  old  age  in  them,  fine  animals  of  both 
sexes,  of  a  valuable  breed,  having  been  kept 
in  a  useful  ^te  to  a  much  greater  age.  I 
have  seen  a  short-horn  bull  in  use  at  13  years, 
and  a  cow  of  the  same  breed  bearing  calves 
at  18;  but  if  the  ages  of  8  and  13  respectively 
refer  to  the  usual  time  bulls  and  cows  are  kept 
for  use,  the  statement  is  not  far  from  the  truth. 

From  some  carefully  collected  and  very  exten- 
sive notes  made  by  Lord  Spencer  on  the  periods 
of  gestation  of  764  cows,  it  resulted  that  the 
shortest  period  of  gestation  when  a  live  calf 
was  produced  was  220  days,  and  the  longest 
313  days,  but  he  was  not  able  to  rear  any  calf 
produced  at  an  earlier  period  than  242  days. 
From  the  result  of  his  experiments  it  appears 
that  314  cows  calved  before  the  284th  day,  and 
310  calved  after  the  285th ;  so  that  the  probable 
period  of  gestation  ought  to  be  considered  284 
or  285  days.  The  experiments  of  M.  Teissier 
on  the  gestation  of  cows,  are  recorded  to  have 
given  the  following  results : — 


21  calved  between  the  24mh  and  270th  day,  the  i 
644    —  —  270th  and  299th 

10    —         —  299th  and  3a  lit 


I  being  2t9  J 
282 
303 


In  most  cases,  therefore,  between  nine  and 
ten  months  may  be  assumed  as  the  usual  pe- 


riod ;  though,  with  a  bull-calf,  the  cow  has 
been  generally  observed  to  go  about  41  weeks 
and  a  few  days  less  with  a  female.  Any  calf 
produced  at  an  earlier  period  than  260  days 
must  be  considered  decidedly  premature,  and 
any  period  of  gestation  exceeding  300  days 
must  also  be  considered  irregular;  but  in  this 
latter  case,  the  health  of  the  produce  is  not 
affected.  I  will  conclude  this  article  with  the 
remarks  of  Mr.  C.  Hilliard,  of  Northampton, 
I  who  states  that  the  period  of  gestation  of  a 
,  cow  is  284  days,  or,  as  it  is  said,  9  calendar 
months  and  9  days  ;  the  ewe  20  weeks ;  the 
sow  16  weeks;  the  mare  11  months.  The 
'  well-bred  cattle  of  the  present  time  appear  to 
me  to  bring  forth  twins  more  frequently  than 
the  cattle  did  50  years  ago.  The  males  of  all 
animals,  hares  excepted,  are  larger  than  the 
females.  Castrated  male  cattle  become  larger 
beasts  than  entire  males.  (^Blaine's  Ency.  pjp. 
205,  281  ;  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  X  p.  287.) 

GILL.  A  small  valley,  connecteil  with  a 
stream  and  some  woodiness.  Also  a  rivulet,  or 
small  brook.  It  is  likewise  a  provincial  name 
in  some  districts  for  a  pair  of  timber  wheels. 

GILTS.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  young 
female  pigs,  whether  open  or  spayed. 

GINGER,  WILD  {Jsarnm^Asarabacca,  Indian 
ginger).  This  genus  of  herbaceous  plants  are 
small  and  unobtrusive.  Botanists  enumerate 
three  species  as  found  in  the  United  States.  That 
called  Canada  snake  root  {A.  Canadense),  very 
closely  resembles  the  European  asarabaccaj 
and  is  met  with  in  old  woods  from  Canada  to 
the  Carolinas.  It  has  only  two  round,  flat,  and 
kidney-shaped  leaves  with  naked  stalks,  which, 
on  plucking  the  plant  are  found  connected 
below,  with  an  obscure  flower  in  their  fork, 
buried  under  the  decayed  leaves.  It  flowers 
from   May   to  July.      The  root  is    creeping, 

539 


GINSENG. 

fleshy,  somewhat  jointed,  and  has  an  agreeable 
aromatic  taste,  intermediate  between  that  of 
ginger  and  the  Virginia  snake  root.  Hence 
its  popular  names.  As  a  warm  stimulant  and 
diaphoretic  it  is  much  praised,  being  given  in 
the  form  of  tea  or  powder ;  and  as  a  substitute 
for  ginger,  in  common  domestic  use,  I  know 
of  no  indigenous  article,  says  Dr.  Bigelow, 
which  promises  so  fairly  as  this.  It  does  not 
possess  the  very  active  emetic,  cathartic,  and 
sternutatory  powers  of  the  European  asarum. 
The  other  American  species  are  the  A.  Virgi- 
nicum,  and  J.  arifolium. 

GINSENG  {Panax  quinquefolium,  five-leaved 
panax).  This  American  plant,  which  has 
great  commercial  importance,  has  a  perennial 
root,  which  sends  up  annually  a  smooth,  round 
stem,  about  a  foot  in  height,  dividing  at  the 
summit  into  thre^  leafstalks,  each  of  which 
supports  a  compound  leaf,  consisting  of  five, 
or  more  rarely  of  three  or  seven  petiolate, 
oblong,  obovate,  acuminate,  serrate  leaflets. 
The  flowers  are  small,  greenish,  and  arranged 
in  a  simple  umbel,  supported  by  a  peduncle, 
which  rises  from  the  top  of  the  stem  in  the 
centre  of  the  petioles.  The  fruit  consists  of 
kidney-shaped,  scarlet  berries,  crowned  with  the 
styles  and  calyx,  and  containing  two,  and  some- 
times three  seeds.  The  root  is  fleshy,  somewhat 
spindle-shaped,  from  1  to  3  inches  long,  about 
as  thick  as  the  little  finger,  and  terminated  by 
several  slender  fibres.  Frequently  there  are 
two  portions,  sometimes  three  or  more,  con- 
nected at  their  upper  extremity,  and  bearing  a 
supposed  though  very  remote  resemblance  to 
the  human  figure,  from  which  circumstance  it 
is  said  that  the  Chinese  name  ginseng  originated. 
When  dried,  the  root  is  yellowish  white,  and 
wrinkled  externally,  and  within  consists  of  a 
hard,  hornlike  substance,  surrounded  by  a 
whitish,  softer,  cortical  portion.  It  has  a  feeble 
odour,  and  a  sweet,  slightly  aromatic  taste, 
somewhat  analogous  to  that  of  liquorice  root. 
It  has  not  been  accurately  analyzed,  but  is  said 
to  be  rich  m  gum  and  starch. 

The  plant  grows  in  the  hilly  regions  of  the 
Northern,  Middle,  and  Western  States,  and 
prefers  the  shelter  of  thick,  shady  woods. 
It  is  a  native  also  of  Chinese  Tartary.  The 
root  is  the  part  employed.  This  is  collected 
in  considerable  quantities  in  Ohio  and  West- 
em  Virginia,  and  brought  to  Philadelphia 
and  other  cities  on  the  sea-board  for  the 
purpose  of  exportation  to  China,  where  it 
is  highly  valued.  While  supplied  exclusively 
from  their  own  native  sources,  which  furnish- 
ed the  foot  only  in  small  quantities,  the  Chinese 
entertained  the  most  extravagant  notions  of 
its  virtues,  considering  it  as  a  remedy  for  all 
diseases,  and  as  possessing  almost  miraculous 
powers  in  preserving  health,  invigorating  the 
system,  and  prolonging  life.  It  is  said  to  have 
been  worth  its  weight  in  gold  at  Pekin ;  and 
tlie  first  shipments  made  from  North  America 
to  Canton,  after  the  discovery  of  the  root  in  this 
country,  were  attended  with  enormous  profits. 
But  the  subseouent  abundance  of  supply  has 
greatly  diminished  ns  value,  and  though  it  still 
•iccasionally  forms  a  part  of  the  investments 
lor  Canton,  it  has  become  an  object  of  less 
'nporlance  than  formerly. 
640 


GLASSWORT,  JOINTED. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  value 
of  the  ginseng  exported  from  the  United  States 
for  seven  years  ending  the  30th  September, 
1841:  viz.  1834,  $70,202;  1835,  $94,970;  1836, 
$211,405;  1837,  $109,368;  1838,  $36,622;  1839 
$118,  904  ,  1840,  $22,728  ;  1841,  $437,245. 

^edical  Properties  and  Uses. — The  extraordi- 
nary medical  virtues  formerly  ascribed  to 
ginseng,  had  no  other  existence  than  in  the 
imaginations  of  the  Chinese.  It  is  little  more 
than  a  demulcent;  and  in  this  country  is  not 
employed  as  a  medicine.  Some  persons,  how- 
ever, are  in  the  habit  of  chewing  it,  having 
acquired  a  relish  for  its  taste ;  and  it  is  chiefly 
to  supply  the  wants  of  these  that  it  is  kept  in 
the  shops.     (U.  S.  Dispensatory.) 

There  is  another  species  of  ginseng  indige- 
nous to  the  lower  part  of  Pennsylvania  and 
other  sections  of  the  United  States,  called  the 
dwarf  ginseng,  or  three-leaved  panax  (P.  trifo- 
lium).  This  has  also  a  perennial  root,  a  glo- 
bose tuber  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter, 
rather  deep  in  the  ground.  The  stem  grows  4 
to  6  inches  high,  slender,  minutely  grooved, 
smooth,  mostly  of  a  tawny  purple  colour,  di- 
vided at  the  summit  into  three  petioles  of  half 
an  inch  to  an  inch  long.  Leaflets,  generally 
three,  but  not  unfrequently  five,  unequal,half  an 
inch  to  two  inches  long,  and  i  to  -f  of  an  inch 
wide,  lance-oblong  shape,  rather  acute.  The 
flower  is  white  and  has  five  petals.  The  plant 
frequents  shaded  grounds,  along  rivulets,  where 
it  blooms  in  April.     {Flora  Cestrica.) 

Professor  Hooker  describes  a  third  species 
of  ginseng  (P.  horridum),  which  is  large, 
shrubby  and  prickly.  This  grows  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains. 

GIPSEY-WORT,  or  WATER  HORE- 
HOUND  (Lycopus  Europcnis).  An  herbaceous 
perennial  plant,  growing  on  the  banks  of  clear 
ditches,  pools,  and  rivers,  on  a  sandy  or  gra- 
velly soil,  flowering  in  July  or  August.  The 
root  is  creeping,  stem  two  feet  high,  leaves 
numerous,  oblong,  acute,  deeply  serrated,  often 
deeply  pinnatifid.  Flowers  white,  with  purple 
dots.     See  Bugle  Wekd. 

GLANDERS.  A  disease  in  hprses,  attended 
with  a  copious  discharge  of  mucus  from  the 
nose.  It  is  needless  to  endeavour  to  describe 
the  various  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
cure  this  almost  invariably  fatal  disorder.  But 
the  farmer  must  avoid  a  common  error  of  con- 
founding ulceration  of  the  membrane  of  the 
nose  with  glanders,  for  the  symptoms  are  very 
similar.  Blue  vitriol  (sulphate  of  copper)  in 
thin  gruel  (one  drachm  doses)  has  been  given 
in  recent  cases  with  occasional  success.  The 
nostrils  may  be  washed  with  a  solution  of 
chloride  of  lime.  The  farmer  will  do  well,  as 
soon  as  he  finds  a  horse  attacked  with  this 
disease,  to  place  him  by  himself,  give  him 
green  food,  and  thoroughly  whitewash  the 
stable  from  which  he  is  taken,  for  it  is  a  most 
contagious  disease. 

GLASSWORT,  JOINTED  {Salicornia;  from 
sal,  salt,  and  cornu,  a  horn).  Of  this  genus  of 
plants  there  are,  in  England,  four  indigenous 
species,  which  are  found  very  common  in  salt 
marshes  and  muddy  sea-shores  that  are  fre- 
quently overflowed  by  the  tide. 

1.  The  common  jointed  glasswort,  sea-grass» 


GLOW-WORM. 


GNATS. 


or  marsh  samphire  fS.  herbacea),  is  an  annual 
plant,  with  a  small  fibrous  root,  a  bushy,  green 
stem  a  foot  high,  with  opposite  branches; 
woody  centre  very  tough.  Flowers  on  nu- 
merous short-jointed  spikes.  The  whole  plant 
has  a  saline  taste,  abounding  in  salt  juices,  and 
is  therefore  devoured  with  avidity  by  all  kinds 
of  cattle ;  and  it  is  a  very  wholesome  food, 
especially  for  sheep.  It  is  often  pickled,  as  a 
substitute  for  the  very  different  strongly  aro- 
matic rock  samphire  (Crithmutn  niaritimum),io 
which  it  is  for  this  purpose  very  little  inferior. 

Several  other  species  of  glass-wort  are  enu- 
merated, three  of  which  Mr.  Nuttall  gives  as 
American,  which,  like  the  European,  affords 
soda  when  burned,  and  are  preserved  in  vine- 
gar as  a  pickle. 

Soda  is  yielded  in  large  quantities  by  the 
ashes  of  the  different  species  of  Snlicornia;  and 
is  in  great  request  for  manufacturing  soap  and 
glass:  the  best  is  imported  from  Spain,  under 
the  name  of  Barilla  (see  Soda).  These  plants 
will  grow  in  any  common  soil,  and  are  readily 
increased  by  divisions.  Being  natives  of  the 
sea-shore,  the  plants  will  thrive  belter  if  a  little 
salt  be  occasionally  sprinkled  on  the  surface 
of  the  soil.     (  W^llich^s  Dom.  Eury.) 

GLOW-WORM  (Lampyris  nochlura).  This 
insect  is  remaikable  for  the  light  it  emits  dur- 
ing the  night.  This  luminous  appearance  de- 
pends upon  a  phosphorescent  fluid  found  at 
the  lower  extremity  of  the  insect;  which,  by 
unfolding  or  contracting  itself,  it  can  withdraw 
at  pleasure  ;  a  power  of  consequence  to  the  in- 
sect, as  it  is  thus  secured  from  the  attacks  of 
nocturnal  birds.  The  light  arises  from  a  sac, 
which  is  diaphanous,  and  contains  a  secreted 
fluid  consistmg  of  albumen  and  phosphorus. 
Glow-worms  are  sometimes  called  St.  John's 
worms,  from  appearing  first  as  a  common  oc- 
currence about  the  Feast  of  St.  John  the  Bap- 
tist. The  glow-worm  is  the  perfect  female  of 
a  winged  beetle ;  the  males  fly  about  chiefly  in 
autumn,  and  frequent  the  grassy  plantations  of 
juniper  trees. 

GLUE  (Lat.  gluten),  is  prepared  from  the 
chippings  of  hides,  hoofs,  &c.  The  refuse 
matter  of  the  glue-makers,  according  to  Mr. 
Miles,  is  an  excellent  manure  for  turnips. 

GLUTEN  (Lat.).  The  viscid  elastic  sub- 
stance which  remains  when  wheat  flour  is 
wrapt  in  a  coarse  cloth,  and  washed  under  a 
stream  of  water,  so  as  to  carry  ofi"  the  starch 
and  soluble  matters.  Gluten,  when  pure,  is 
inodorous,  insipid,  tenacious,  adhesive,  and 
elastic.  It  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in 
hot  alcohol.  It  is  also  soluble  in  a  dilute  so- 
.Ution  of  potash.  When  kept  moist  and  warm, 
it  ferments.  Gluten  exists  in  grains,  and  oc- 
casionally in  other  parts  of  vegetables  ;  but  it 
is  a  characteristic  ingredient  in  wheat,  giving 
wheat  flour  its  particular  toughness  and  tena- 
city, which  particularly  fits  it  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  bread,  and  for  viscid  pastes,  such  as 
macaroni  and  vermicelli.  There  is  gsnerally 
more  gluten  in  the  wheat  of  warm  climates 
than  of  cold;  hence  the  excellence  of  that 
grown  in  the  south  of  Europe  for  the  manu- 
factures just  mentioned.  Gluten  seems  also 
to  constitute  the  essential  part  of  yeast.  Its 
uses  as  a  varnish,  a  ground  for  paint,  &c., 


pointed  out  by  Cadei,  like  (vise  deserve  atten- 
tion. Gluten  was  discovered  in  1742  by  Bee- 
caria,  an  Italian  philosopher,  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  the  first  analysis  of  wheat  flour. 
The  number  of  plants  containing  gluten  is 
verj'  considerable.  Proust  found  it  in  acorns, 
chestnuts,  rice,  barley,  rye,  peas  and  beans, 
and  in  apples  and  quinces.  He  found  it  also 
in  the  leaves  of  the  cabbage,  cress,  hemlock, 
borage,  saffron,  &c.,  and  in  the  sedums  ;  in  the 
berries  of  the  elder,  the  grape,  &c.;  in  the  pe- 
tals of  the  rose,  &c.  Gluten  has  been  shown 
to  resemble  albumen  so  closely  that  they  can 
hardly  be  considered  as  distinct  principles. 
Gluten  contains  nitrogen,  and  has,  conse- 
quently, been  called  the  vegeto-animal  princi- 
ple, on  this  account.  It  yields  ammonia,  when 
subjected  to  destructive  distillation ;  and  the 
vegetables  which  contain  it  give  out  a  pecu- 
liarly disagreeable  odour  during  their  putre- 
faction. M.  Magendie,^  after  feeding  animals 
upon  different  kinds  of  food,  states  that  gela- 
tine, fibrin,  albumen,  when  taken  singly,  do  not 
possess  the  power  of  nourishing  animals  for 
any  length  of  time;  they  always  die.  The 
reverse  is  the  case,  however,  with  gluten,  upon 
which  animals  thrive  well  and  long. 

GNATS  (Culex,  Linn.).  A  genus  of  insects 
comprising  several  species,  which  are  well 
known  by  the  severe  punctures  they  inflict. 
The  gnat  most  common  in  Europe  is  the  C. 
pipiens,  so  named  from  the  sound  which  it 
emits  in  its  flight.  The  sting  consists  of  6 
pieces  and  a  sheath ;  some  of  the  pieces  are 
simple  lancets ;  others  are  barbed,  and  act 
both  as  piercers  and  as  siphons,  to  extract  the 
blood  from  the  wounds  which  they  make. 
Gnats  deposit  their  eggs,  to  the  number  of  200 
by  each  female,  on  stagnant  waters,  where 
they  are  hatched  into  small  grubs  in  the  course 
of  2  or  3  days.  On  the  sides  are  4  small  fins, 
by  the  aid  of  which  the  insect  swims  about, 
and  swiftly  dives  to  the  bottom.  The  larva  re- 
tains its  form  a  fortnight  or  3  weeks,  when  it 
is  converted  into  the  chrysalis,  in  which  state 
it  continues  3  or  4  days,  floating  on  the  surface 
of  the  #iter,  till  it  assumes  the  form  of  the 
gnat.  The  most  efficacious  remedies  for  their 
sting  are  olive  oil,  unsalted  butter,  or  fresh 
hog*s  lard,  timely  rubbed  in.  Gnats  have 
occasionally  appeared  in  such  numbers  as 
to  form  a  cloud,  almost  darkening  the  air, 
as  was  the  case  in  August,  1766,  near  Oxford. 
Spencer  describes  a  similar  flight  of  them  in 
Ireland — 

"As  when  a  ewarme  of  gnats  at  eventide, 
Oiit  of  the  fennes  of  Allan  doe  arise. 
Their  ninrmuring  small  trumpets  sownden  wide, 
Whiles  in  the  ;«ir  their  clustering  army  flies. 
That  as  a  cloud  doth  seem  to  dim  the  skies." 

Faery  Queene. 

The  mosquito  of  tropical  climates  is  a  spe- 
cies of  the  same  genus  as  the  gnat ;  and  the 
latter  is  not  less  troublesome  in  some  of  our 
marshy  districts  than  the  mosquito  in  the  West 
Indies.  In  the  marsh  land  of  Norfolk,  the  bet 
ter  classes  are  forced  to  have  gauze  curtains  to 
keep  them  off  during  the  night. 

The  species  of  gnat  best  known  in  America 

is  a  small,  black  fly,  which  swarms  during  the 

month  of  June,  and  is  especially  annoying  to 

travellers,  and  the  first  inhabitants  of  new  set- 

2  Z  54^ 


GOATS. 


GOLD  FISH. 


tlements.  Every  bite  made  by  these  fierce  little  I 
insects  draws  blood,  and  is  generally  followed 
by  considerable  irritation,  and  even  inflamma- 
tion. "These  little  tormentors," says  Dr.  Har- 
ris, "are  of  a  black  colour;  their  wings  are  trans- 
parent; and  their  legs  are  short,  with  a  broad, 
whitish  ring  around  them.  The  length  of  their 
body  rarely  exceeds  one-tenth  of  an  inch.  They 
begin  to  appear  in  May,  and  continue  about 
6  weeks,  after  which  they  are  no  more  seen. 
They  arc  followed,  however,  by  swarms  of 
midges,  or  sand-flies  (SimuUum  tiom'um),  called 
no-see-'era,  by  the  Indians  of  Maine,  on  ac- 
count of  their  minuteness.  So  small  are  they, 
that  they  would  hardly  be  perceived,  were  it 
not  for  their  wings,  which  are  of  a  whitish 
Colour,  mottled  with  black.  Towards  evening 
these  winged  atoms  come  forth,  and  creep 
under  the  clothes  of  the  inhabitants,  and  by 
their  bites  produce  an  intolerable  irritation, 
and  a  momentary  smarting  compared  to  that 
caused  by  sparks  of  fire.  They  do  not  draw 
blood,  and  no  swelling  follows  their  attacks. 
They  are  the  most  troublesome  during  the 
months  of  July  and  August."  (See  MosauiTc) 

GOATS  (Capra).  There  are  three  species 
of  this  genus  enumerated  by  naturalists.  1. 
The  wild  goat  (C.  agagrus) ;  2.  The  ibex  (C. 
ibtx) ;  3.  The  Caucasian  ibex  (C  Caucasia) :  of 
these,  the  first  is  believed  to  be  the  original  of 
the  many  varieties  of  the  domestic  goat. 

The  goat  appears  (says  Prof.  Low)  to  form 
the  connecting  link  between  the  sheep  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  antelope  tribes  on  the  other. 
Being  the  natural  inhabitant  of  mountainous 
regions,  it  is,  therefore,  in  wild,  rocky  countries 
that  the  goat  is  chiefly  reared.  Goats  are 
stronger,  more  nimble,  and  less  timid  than 
sheep,  and  are  more  easily  supported  than  any 
other  animals,  for  there  are  few  herbs  which 
they  do  not  relish  :  they  will  browse  on  heaths, 
shrubs,  and  plants,  which  are  rejected  by  other 
animals;  and  it  is  well  known  they  can  eat 
with  safety  herbs  (such  as  the  hemlock,  hen- 
bane, &c.)  which  would  prove  destructive  to 
sheep  and  other  animals.  Goats  are  more 
hardy,  and  not  liable  to  so  many  dinpases  as 
sheep.  The  goat  is  not  well  adapted  to  a 
country  of  enclosures,  because  it  feeds  upon 
the  twigs  of  hedges,  and  escapes  over  the  bar- 
riers intended  to  confine  it  But  where  there 
are  no  young  trees  to  be  injured,  they  may 
browse  at  large  on  the  mountain  brakes  with- 
out expense;  and  in  winter,  when  housed,  they 
are  easily  supported  on  whins  or  furze,  cab- 
bage leaves,  potato-peelings,  and  such  worth- 
less food. 

Goats  emit  at  all  times  a  strong  and  disa- 
greeable odour,  named  AirciHC,  which,  however, 
is  not  without  its  use,  for  if  one  of  these  ani- 
mals be  kept  in  a  stable,  it  is  affirmed  that  it 
will  be  an  effectual  preventative  of  the  staggers, 
a  nervous  disorder  which  is  often  very  fatal  to 
horses.  In  Great  Britain  the  cultivation  of 
the  goat  is  limited  and  partial.  It  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  mountainous  parts  of  Wales, 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  to  the  little 
tarras  of  the  poorer  peasants  of  Ireland,  whose 
•canty  possessions  will  not  support  a  cow. 
The  great  objection  there  to  the  rearing  of  the 
goat,  is  the  want  of  demand  for  its  flesh,  which 
542 


is  hard,  and  almost  indigestible.  Even  the  kid, 
whose  flesh  is  known  to  be  very  delicate  and 
nourishing,  is  held  in  no  estimation  :  hence  all 
the  other  properties  of  the  goat  are  insufficient 
to  render  it  an  object  of  profitable  production. 
But  the  goat,  although  it  never  can  be  so  valu- 
able there  as  in  the  dry  and  rocky  countries  of 
the  south  of  Europe,  does  not  deserve  that  entire 
neglect  with  which  it  is  treated.  It  arrives 
early  at  maturity,  and  is  very  prolific,  bearing 
two  and  sometimes  three  kids  at  a  birth.  The 
period  of  gestation  is  five  months.  The  female 
bears  for  six  or  seven  years  ;  the  male  should 
not  be  kept  longer  than  five.  In  Portugal  and 
some  other  countries  the  goat  is  used  as  a 
beast  of  draught  for  light  burdens.  The  hair 
of  the  goat  may  be  shorn,  as  it  is  of  some  value, 
making  good  linsey;  that  of  the  Welch  he- 
goat  is  in  great  request  for  making  white  wigs. 
Ropes  are  sometimes  made  from  goats'  hair, 
and  are  said  to  last  much  longer,  when  used  in 
the  water,  than  those  made  of  hemp.  Candles 
are  manufactured  from  their  fat,  which,  in 
whiteness  and  quality,  are  stated  to  be  supe- 
rior to  those  of  wax ;  their  horns  aflbrd  excel- 
lent handles  for  knives  and  forks;  and  the 
skin,  especially  that  of  the  kid,  is  in  demand 
for  gloves  and  other  purposes.  Goats'  milk  is 
sweet,  nutritive,  and  medicinal,  and  less  apt  to 
curdle  on  the  stomach  than  that  of  the  cow  :  it 
forms  an  excellent  substitute  for  that  of  asses. 
When  yielding  milk  the  goat  will  give,  for 
several  months,  at  the  average  of  two  quarts 
per  day.  Mr.  Pringle  of  Kent,  in  his  Essay 
"on  Cottage  Management"  {Gard.  Mag.  vol.5), 
informs  us  that  two  milch  goats  are  equivalent 
to  one  small  Shetland  cow.  Cheese  prepared 
from  goats'  milk  is  much  esteemed  in  moun- 
tainous countries  after  it  has  been  kept  a  proper 
age.  (Loiv^s  Pract.  Agr.  and  Breeds  of  Donu 
Animals:   WiUich's  Dom.  Encyc.) 

GOAT'S-BEARD  (Tragopogon).  Of  this 
common  pasture-weed  there  are  two  species 
1.  The  yellow  goat's-beard  (T.  pratensis),  a 
biennial,  growing  in  grassy  pastures  and  mea- 
dows, on  a  loamy  or  clayey  damp  soil.  The 
root  is  tapering,  flowering  in  June  ;  the  whole 
herb  very  smooth,  abounding  with  milky  juice, 
rather  bitter,  but  not  acrid.  Stems  several, 
round,  leafy,  often  purplish,  1^  to  2  feet  high. 
Leaves  long  and  taper  pointed,  often  flaccid, 
or  curling  at  the  extremity.  Flowers  large,  2 
inches  wide,  bright  yellow,  opening  very  early 
in  the  morning,  and  closing  before  noon,  ex- 
cept in  very  cloudy  weather.  The  roots  and 
young  shoots  have  been  eaten  as  pot-herbs. 

2.  The  purple  goat's-beard  (T.  porrifolius), 
also  biennial,  grows  in  most  meadows,  near 
great  rivers ;  herb  smooth,  3  or  4  feet  high, 
glaucous.  The  dull  purple  flowers,  like  the 
preceding  species,  close  at  midday ;  thence  it 
is  called  in  the  country  Go-lo-bed-at-noon. — 
{Smilhh  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  337.) 

GOAT-WEED  (Capraria  biflora).  An  unin- 
teresting species  of  plants,  of  easy  culture. 
The  leaves  of  this  genus  are  liked  by  goats ; 
hence  the  common  and  generic  names. 

GOGGLES.     See  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

GOLD  and  SILVER  FISH.  These  beauti- 
ful creatures  were  first  introduced  into  Eng- 
land  from  China  about  the  close  of  the  17th 


GOLDEN  CLUB. 


GOOSE. 


senJtury.  The  first  are  of  an  orange  colour, 
with  very  shining  scales,  and  finely  variegated 
with  black  and  dark  brown.  The  silver  fish 
are  of  the  colour  of  silver  tissue,  with  scarlet  j 
fins,  with  which  colour  they  are  curiously  i 
marked  in  several  parts  of  the  body.  These  j 
fish  are  usually  kept  in  ponds,  basins,  and 
small  reservoirs  of  water,  to  which  they  are  a 
very  great  ornament.  It  is  also  a  very  com- 
mon practice  to  keep  them  in  large  globular 
glass  vessels,  frequently  changing  the  water, 
and  feeding  them  with  bread  and  gentles.  The 
gold  fish  is  now  abundant  in  the  river  Schuyl- 
kill, near  Philadelphia,  into  which  they  first 
made  their  way  in  consequence  of  the  over- 
flowing of  a  fish-pond  in  Pratt's  garden,  where 
c<msiderable  numbers  were  kept. 

GOLDEN  CLUB,  called  also  Never-Wet, 
and  Floating  Arum  {Oronlium  nquaticum).  A 
plant  not  uufrequent  in  pools  along  the  fresh 
water  streams  of  the  United  Slates.  It  has  a 
perennial  root,  leaves  enlarging,  finally  to  8, 
10,  or  12  inches  long,  and  3  to  5  inches  wide, 
a  little  succulent,  very  smooth,  of  a  deep  green 
and  velvety  appearance  on  the  upper  surface, 
paler  and  somewhat  glaucous  beneath.  Flow- 
ers yellow. 

GOLDEN  OAT  GRASS.    See  Avsita. 

GOLDEN-ROD  {Sulidago,  from  solUhre,  to 
unite,  on  account  of  the  supposed  vulnerary 
qualities  of  the  plants).  This  is  an  extensive 
genus  of  coarse  flowering  plants  suitable  for 
the  back  of  flower  borders.  Any  common  soil 
suits  them,  and  they  are  readily  increased  by 
division  of  the  roots.  The  common  golden- 
rod,  or  wound-wort  (S.  virgaureu)  is  a  native 
of  Britain,  growing  in  woods,  hedges,  heaths, 
and  copses  ;  and  on  mountains  at  every  degree 
of  elevation.  It  is  perennial,  and  flowers  from 
July  to  September.  It  is  a  very  variable  plant 
in  ma'jjnitude,  number,  and  size  of  flowers,  and 
serraiure  of  the  leaves:  nor  do  these  varieties 
altogether  depend  on  situation,  except  that  in 
alpine  specimens  the  flowers  are  larger  and 
fewer.  The  root  is  woody,  with  long,  stout, 
simple  fibres ;  the  stem  usually  from  one  to 
three  feet  high,  never  quite  straight,  purple 
below,  most  downy  in  the  upper  part,  where  it 
terminates  in  a  leafy  cluster,  either  simple  or 
compound,  of  bright  yellow  flowers.  When 
bruised,  the  whole  herb  smells  like  wild  car- 
rot. Its  qualities  are  diuretic,  astringent,  and 
perhaps  tonic ;  and  it  has  been  recommended 
as  a  vulnerary  both  externally  and  internally, 
but  it  is  now  never  used  in  medicine.  It  may, 
with  greater  advantage,  be  employed  as  a  dye- 
ing drug,  for  both  the  leaves  and  flowers  im- 
part a  beautiful  yellow  colour,  which,  accord 
ing  to  Bechstein,  is  even  superior  to  that 
obtained  from  woad.  The  Canada  golden-rod 
(S.  Canadensis)  is  frequently  used  for  this  pur- 
pose. (Eng.  Flora,  vol.  iii.  p.  438.) 

Solidago  is  exclusively  a  North  American 
genus  of  plants,  with  the  exception  of  5  or  6 
species  in  Europe,  and  2  found  near  Canton, 
in  China.  About  50  species  of  golden-rod  have 
been  enumerated  by  botanists  in  the  United 
States,  some  of  which  are,  however,  regarded  as 
mere  varieties.  {NuttalVs  Genera. — Flor.  Cest.) 
GOLDEN-SAXIFRAGE  (Chrysosplenium, 
from   chrysost  gold,   and  sj^len^  the   spleen,  in 


reference  to  the  deep  yellow  colour  of  the  flow 
ers,  and  the  supposed  medicinal  virtues  of  the 
plant).  This  is  a  curious  and  rather  pretty 
genus.  It  requires  a  moist  situation,  and  may 
be  increased  by  dividing  the  roots.  The  na- 
tive species  in  England  are  found  in  the  great, 
est  perfection  upon  the  shady  banks  of  small 
rivulets.  They  are  two  in  number,  both  peren- 
nials, flowering  in  May.  The  alternate-leaved 
golden-saxifrage  {Ch.alternijoliuni)  has  the  root 
fibrous  and  creeping;  stems  angular,  decum- 
bent, branched  at  the  top  only;  leaves  alter- 
nate, reniform,  rough  on  both  sides  the  notches, 
but  the  under  disk  pale  and  polished  ;  radical 
leaves  on  long  stalks,  those  of  the  summit 
crowded  and  sessile ;  flowers  in  a  corymb, 
deep  yellow.  The  opposite-leaved  golden- 
saxifrage  (CA.  opposiufolium)  resembles  the 
preceding,  but  is  paler  ;  the  leaves  smaller  and 
the  flowers  of  a  pale  lemon  yellow.  (See  Saxi- 

FRAOE. 

GOLD  OF  PLEASURE  (Camelina  sativay 
wild  flax).  This  is  rather  a  dwarf  plant,  grow- 
ing from  1  to  2  feet  high,  which  is  found  in 
cultivated  fields,  chiefly  among  flax,  with  whose 
seeds  it  is  often  introduced  from  abroad;  but 
it  does  not  long  propagate  itself  with  us  spon- 
taneously. It  is  an  annual,  blowing  small, 
pale-yellow  flowers  in  June.  It  is  cultivated 
in  some  parts  of  Europe  for  the  sake  of  the 
oil,  which  is  obtained  from  the  seeds.  The 
species  of  the  genus  to  which  it  belongs  have 
but  little  beauty,  and  require  to  be  sown  in  the 
open  border.    See  Wilii  Flax. 

GOOSE.  A  well-known  large,  web-footed 
bird,  belonging  to  the  order  natatores,  or  swim- 
mers. These  are  remarkable  for  their  powers 
of  swimming  and  diving;  they  are  commonly 
called  water-fowl,  and,  as  an  order,  have  fre- 
quently been  designated  palmipedes,  in  reference 
to  their  webbed  feet.  From  the  geographical 
position,  extent,  and  varied  character  of  the 
British  islands,  the  species  of  this  order  are 
very  numerous,  comprehending  nearly  one- 
third  of  the  whole  number  of  our  British  birds. 
The  first  family  of  this  order,  the  anaiidcE,  is 
also  extensive ;  including  the  geese,  swans, 
ducks,  and  mergansers.  The  first  three  por- 
tions were  formerly  considered  as  belonging  to 
but  one  genus,  anas;  and  hence  the  family 
name,  anatidce.  Modern  systematic  authors 
have  found  it  more  convenient,  as  well  as  de- 
sirable, to  divide  them  into  smaller  groups, 
which  are  known  to  be  distinct  in  their  cha- 
racter and  habits.  Many  of  the  species  are 
of  great  interest  and  value.  The  present  arti- 
cle will,  however,  be  restricted  to  some  account 
of  tame  geese. 

Two  varieties  of  the  domestic  goose  are  in- 
digenous to  Great  Britain,  the  gray  and  white 
goose,  and  the  pure  white,  which  is  of  a  larger 
size.  The  first  is  our  most  plentiful  breed:  the 
second  are  bad  breeders,  seldom  producing 
more  than  three  goslings  at  a  brood,  and  that 
only  every  alternate  year.  There  is,  also,  the 
Chinese  breed,  which  is  naturalized  among  us, 
valuable  for  their  early  breeding,  and  quick 
fattening.  The  Chinese  goose  lays  about  the 
end  of  November,  if  the  weather  is  not  sevei  e, 
and  produces  her  goslings  in  January.  The.ie 
goslings,  if  kept  dry  and  warm,  are  fit  for  tk*^ 

543 


GOOSEBERRY. 


GOOSEBERRY. 


table  in  April  and  May.  This  goose  is,  how- 
ever smaller,  less  delicate  eating,  and  more 
noisy  than  the  common  gray  goose.  The 
common  goose  begins  to  lay  towards  Candle- 
mas, and  after  laying  from  9  to  11  eggs,  she 
sits  30  days,  and  then  brings  out  her  little  flock. 
If,  however,  she  show  a  wish  to  sit  when  she 
has  only  laid  two  or  three  eggs,  she  must  be 
driven  from  the  nest,  or  be  shut  up  for  a  day 
or  two.  She  will  then  take  to  lay  again.  One 
gander  and  five  geese  are  the  regular  stock  to 
begin  with:  they  will  produce  50  goslings  in  a 
season.  Geese  are  grazing  birds  :  they  love  a 
common,  but  horses  do  not  like  their  company 
in  a  field,  as  they  object  to  feed  after  them. 
The  herb  called  goose-grass  they  are  immode- 
rately fond  of,  and  it  is  plentiful  always  under 
hedges  during  the  gosling  season.  Water  is 
important  to  geese,  but  they  succeed  in  situa- 
tions where  there  is  no  pond:  a  large,  shallow 
pan  filled  with  water,  sufficiently  capacious  to 
admit  of  their  washmg  in  it,  has  often  an- 
swered the  purpose ;  but  a  pool  is  most  desir- 
able. The  goose-hovel  should  be  low,  well 
thatched,  and  not  facing  into  the  farm-yard, 
otherwise  pigs  will  get  through  the  goose- 
aperture.  It  should  have  a  door,  also,  for  the 
poultry-woman  to  enter.  The  nests  should  be 
composed  of  straw,  lined  with  hay,  and  the 
birds  should  be  fed  near  their  home,  to  allure 
them  to  it.  If  some  of  the  goslings  are  hatch- 
ed before  the  others,  they  should  be  removed 
from  the  mother,  kept  warm  in  flannel  before 
the  fire,  and  returned  to  her  when  the  whole 
brood  are  hatched.  Thin  barley  meal  and 
water  is  excellent  food  for  goslings,  with  chop- 
ped goose-grass ;  they  soon  learn  to  eat  oats, 
and  feed  themselves.  Mow  down  hemlock,  if 
any  grows  near  the  poultr}'-yard :  it  is  perni- 
cious in  its  eflTscts  upon  poultry.  Fatten  geese 
in  small  parties,  as  they  love  society.  They 
should  be  cooped  a  month,  fed  plentifully  with 
sweet  oats  and  clean  pure  water  in  a  narrow 
wooden  trough.  An  experiment  has  lately 
been  tried  of  feeding  geese  with  turnips,  cut 
op  very  fine,  and  put  into  a  trough  with  water. 
The  effect  was,  that  six  geese,  weighing  only 
nine  pounds  each  when  shut  up,  actually 
weighed  20  pounds  each,  after  about  three 
weeks'  feeding  with  this  food  alone.  Half- 
grown  or  green  geese  are  delicate  eating  in 
June  and  July;  but  they  need  not  be  cooped, 
they  must  only  be  well  fed.  Goose  feathers  are 
valuable,  and  their  dung  is  employed  as  a 
manure  bv  acrricuUurists. 

GOOSEBERRY  (Ribes  grosmloria).  The 
gooseberry  is  indigenous  to  Great  Britain, 
some  other  European  countries  of  cool  tem- 
pcratnre,  and  also  to  the  mountains  of  North 
America.  The  varieties  of  this  fruit  are  too 
numerous  to  notice.  By  some  botanists  they 
are  referred  to  two  species,  Ribes  grosmlaria, 
the  rmtgh  gooseberry,  and  R.  uva-crispa,  the 
tmooih  gooseberr}';  but  others  consider  the 
latter  as  being  merely  a  variety  of  the  former, 
which  is  more  correct,  as  it  has  been  proved 
by  successive  reproductions  that  the  rough 
wil!  sometimes  become  smooth  and  the  smooth 
rough.  The  gooseberry  ripens  in  the  extreme 
northern  parts  of  Britain,  if  near  the  level  of 
he  sea ;  and  at  an  altitude  of  about  900  feel, 
544 


in  the  centre  of  the  island,  it  acquires  great 
perfection  of  flavour.  In  the  southern  coun- 
ties, if  the  season  be  warm,  it  cannot  bear  full 
exposure  to  the  vertical  rays  of  the  sun  :  in 
such  circumstances  evaporation  takes  place 
from  the  surface  faster  than  the  subjacent 
tissues  Ccin  supply  the  loss,  the  superficial 
cells  get  emptied,  and  the  fruit  dies. 

In  England  the  gooseberry  is  esteemed  one 
of  their  most  valuable  fruits.  In  spring  it  fur- 
nishes the  earliest  as  well  as  the  best  fruit  for 
tarts  and  sauces  :  and  can  be  preserved  green 
as  well  as  ripe  for  winter  use.  When  ripe  it 
makes  an  excellent  jam,  a  delicious  sweetmeat, 
a  luscious  wine,  and  is  a  favourite  dessert. 

The  following  selection  is  recommended  for 
small  English  gardens:  Reds — Old  rough  red, 
Melling's  crown  bob,  Farmer's  roaring  lion. 
Knight's  Marquis  of  Stafford,  Champagne  and 
Capper's  top  sawyer:  one  of  the  best  of  the 
red  gooseberries  is  the  Scotch  ironmonger:  it 
is  hairy,  and  thin-skinned.  Yellows. — Hard- 
castle's  gunner,  Hills's  golden  gourd.  Prophet's 
rockwood,  Hamlet's  kilton,  Dixon's  golden 
yellow,  Gordon's  viper.  Greens. — Edward's 
jolly  tar,  Massey's  heart  of  oak,  Nixon's  green 
myrtle,  early  green  hairy,  Parkinson's  laurel, 
Wain-wright's  ocean.  Whites. — Coleworth's 
white  lion,  Moore's  white  bear,  Crompton's 
Sheba queen,  Saunders's  Cheshire  lass,Welling- 
ton's  glory,  Woodward's  whitesmith.  Smooth 
skins  become  tough  in  cooking,  and  should 
not  be  selected  for  that  purpose. 

The  gooseberry  can  be  raised  from  cuttings, 
from  suckers,  or  from  seeds :  the  former  is 
generally  resorted  to  as  being  the  most  expe- 
ditious ;  and  seed  is  only  sown  to  raise  new 
varieties.  Cuttings  may  be  planted  in  the  fall, 
or  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  weather  will 
permit. 

In  the  U.  S.  the  gooseberry  does  not  maintain 
the  same  prominent  position  among  small  fruits 
as  in  England,  where  it  is  a  special  favourite  and 
hobby,  as  indicated  by  the  names  in  the  small 
list  of  fancy  varieties  just  given.  It  is  a  native 
of  the  soil :  and  loves  to  climb  the  sides  of  our 
mountain  ridges,  and  if  planted  in  places  that 
somewhat  resemble  its  native  habitats,  it  would 
no  doubt  repay  our  care.  It  ought  to  have  an 
airy  situation,  a  rich  soil,  and  a  dry  subsoil  is 
essential,  or  it  becomes  infected  with  mildew. 
If  it  has  no  natural  shade,  during  a  few  hours 
in  the  middle  of  the  day,  it  must  be  shaded 
from  the  extreme  heat  of  the  sun.  The  berries 
acquire  their  finest  flavour  when  brought  to 
maturity  gradually,  under  a  low  temperature. 
In  pruning,  instead  of  the  lateral  young  shoots 
being  cut  close  in,  immediately  above  the  first 
bud  at  their  base,  as  recommended  in  colder 
climates,  two  buds  should  be  left,  to  produce 
leaves  to  shade  the  fruit  in  sumrner.  The 
vigorous-growing  varieties  ought  to  be  prefer- 
red for  planting. 

GoosEHERRT  Caterpillar.  For  the  de- 
struction of  these  insects  fumigations  of  va- 
rious kinds ;  dusting  with  quick  lime,  and 
other  methods  have  been  resorted  to,  but  they 
do  not  always  answer  the  purpose.  Wetting 
them  by  means  of  a  proper  syringe,  with  fresh 
I  lime-water,  whilst  the  sun  is  shining  strongly, 
I  is  said  to  be  a  very  eflfectual  remedy.     The 


GOOSEFOOT. 

roots  of  the  plant  are  not  made  wet  by  this 
operation  which  promotes  the  growth  of  the 
bushes  and  helps  their  bearing  properties. 
Tobacco  liquor  is  also  often  found  a  good  ap- 
plication for  the  destruction  of  caterpillars,  and 
also  the  solution  of  whale  oil  soap,  as  recom- 
mended for  the  destruction  of  bark-lice  and 
aphuliaiis.  This  last  remedy  is  also  said  to  be 
completely  eftectual  in  removing  the  mould, 
rust,  or  mildew  to  which  the  gooseberry-bush  is 
so  very  subject,  an  affection  which  would  seem 
to  be  capable  of  propagation  with  the  plants. 
Mr.  S.  R.  Gummere,  of  Burlington,  New  Jersey, 
an  intelligent  botanist,  and  successful  horti- 
culturist, stales  that  the  russet  mould  to  which 
the  gooseberry-bush  is  subject,  may  be  pre- 
vented by  carefully  removing  the  buds  from 
that  portion  of  the  cutting  which,  in  planting, 
is  inserted  into  the  ground. 

Seventeen  or  eighteen  species  of  gooseberry, 
says  Dr.  Darlington,  are  enumerated  as  natives 
of  the  United  States.  Of  these  the  Missouri 
currant  (liibes  uureum)  is  much  cultivated,  and 
greatly  admired  for  the  beauty  and  spring  fra- 
grance of  its  flowers. 

GOOSEFOOT  (Chenopodium).  An  extensive 
genus  of  plants,  of  which  13  species  are  enu- 
merated by  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  as  natives  of  Britain, 
viz.  1.  Mercury  goosefoot  (C  bonus  Henricus), 
growing  in  waste  ground  and  by  road  sides  fre- 
quent, and  occasionally  in  pastures.  The  root  is 
branchy  and  fleshy ;  the  herb  dark  green,  nearly 
smooth ;  stem  a  foot  high,  terminating  in  a  com- 
pound crowded  cluster,  or  spike,  of  numerous 
green  flowers;  their  stalks  sometimes  unctuous 
and  mealy.  This,  our  only  perennial  chenopo- 
dium, may  be  eaten,  when  young,  like  spinach, 
and  is  cultivated  for  the  table  in  some  parts  of 
Lincolnshire.  It  is  insipid  and  mucilaginous, 
rather  mawkish,  and  soon  becomes  tough  and 
fibrous.  Neither  goats  nor  sheep  relish  this 
plant,  which  is  also  refused  by  cattle  and  hogs. 
2.  The  upright  goosefoot  (C.  ttrbicum),  and  3., 
The  red  goosefoot,  also  occur  commonly  on 
waste  ground;  the  former  sometimes  on  dung- 
hills, and  the  latter  in  low,  muddy  situations. 
In  exposed  situations  the  whole  herb  of  C.  ru- 
brum  assumes  a  red  colour.  This  species  and 
its  allies  are  said  to  be  poisonous  to  swinw ; 
4.  The  many  spiked  goosefoot  (C.  botryoiHcs)  ; 

6.  The  nettle-leaved  goosefoot,  6.  The  maple- 
leaved  goosefoot,  call  for  no  observation.  The 
whole  plant  of  the  two  last  species  is  fetid; 

7.  White  goosefoot,  or  common  wild  orache 
(C.  album),  is  found  in  cultivated  as  well  as 
waste  ground  everywhere.  The  herb  is  mealy, 
with  a  silvery  unctuous  pubescence,  which, 
by  age,  becomes  dry  and  chaffy.  The  young 
plant  is  reported  to  be  eatable  when  boiled, 
and  is  known  by  the  name  of  fat-hen  in  some 
parts  of  Norfolk.  It  is  eaten  by  cattle,  sheep, 
and  hogs,  which   last  devour  it  with  avidity; 

8.  The  fig-leaved  goosefoot  {C.finfolktm),  flou- 
rishes most  on  dunghills,  especially  about 
London ;  9.  The  oak-leaved  goosefoot  (C. 
glaurum),  varies  in  height  from  2  inches  to  2 
feet,  and  grows  for  the  most  part  on  a  sandy 
soil;  10.  Standing  goosefoot  (C.  olidum).  This 
species  is  found  very  commonly  among  sand 
or  rubbish  near  the  sea.  The  whole  herb  is 
of  a  dull  grayish-green,  covered  with  a  greasy 

69 


GOSSYPIUM.  OR  COTTON. 

mealiness,  which,  when  touched,  exhales  a 
strong,  permanent,  nauseous  odour,  like  stale 
salt  fish.  It  is,  nevertheless,  eaten  by  cattle, 
horses,  goats,  and  sheep,  but  refused  by  swine, 
11.  The  round-leaved,  or  all-seed  goosefoot,  or 
upright  blite  {C.  polysfpennum)  ;  12.  The  sharp 
entire-leaved  gooffefoot  (C.  acutifolium),  are  two 
other  species,  which  are  less  common.  The 
former  is  a  curious  plant,  whose  numerous 
black  shining  seeds  might  perhaps  be  advan- 
tageously employed  in  fattening  poultry;  13. 
The  sea  goosefoot,  small  glasswort,  or  sea 
blite  (C.  maritimum)  :  this  species  abounds  on 
the  sea-shore,  and  grows  also  in  sandy  as  well 
as  muddy  places,  flowering  in  July  and  August. 
Stem  thick  and  juicy,  leaves  smooth,  about  an 
inch  long,  salt  to  the  taste,  of  a  light  bright 
green.  Dr.  Withering  mentions  this  as  an  ex- 
cellent pot-herb.  In  Siberia  and  Astracan  the 
inhabitants  obtain  from  this  plant  their  potash, 
which  probably  partakes  more  of  the  nature 
of  soda.  The  alkaline  salt  contained  in  this 
herb  renders  it  serviceable  in  making  glass, 
though  it  is  inferior  to  some  kinds  of  salsola 
found  in  the  south  of  Europe. 

Ten  or  twelve  species  of  goosefoot  have 
been  found  in  America,  six  of  which  Dr.  Dar- 
lington has  detected  in  Pennsylvania.  Most, 
if  not  all,  are  supposed  to  be  foreigners.  They 
are  a  homely  family,  generally  regarded  as 
weeds.  Those  best  known  are  the  C.  album 
or  lamb's  quarter,  used  sometimes  as  spring 
greens ;  and  the  C.  anthelminticum,  or  worm- 
seed,  a  plant  having  a  strong,  disagreeable 
odour,  and  yielding  the  well-known  worm-seed 
oil,  a  valuable  and  powerful  vermifuge. 

GOOSE-GRASS  {Galium  trifidum).  Three- 
cleft  galiura ;  also  known  by  the  common 
name  of  ladies  bed-straw.  This  native  Ame- 
rican plant  is  met  with  in  moist,  low  grounds 
and  thickets,  where  its  small,  white  flowers 
appear  in  July.  Its  root  is  perennial,  the  stem 
rising  1,  2,  or  3  feet  long,  and  much  branched. 
Professor  Hooker  thinks  this  may  be  distinct 
from  the  G.  trifidum  of  Europe,  which,  he  says, 
is  a  more  slender  plant  than  ours.  (Flor.  Ces- 
trim.)     See  Hariff. 

GOOSE-GRASS,  DYER'S.  See  Madder, 
Wild. 

GOSSYPIUM.  The  generic  name  of  cotton. 
This  plant,  which  administers  so  greatly  to  the 
wants  of  man,  and  to  the  wealth  of  countries 
producing  it  abundantly,  has  been  known  and 
employed  by  the  Asiatics  and  Egyptians  in  the 
fabrication  of  clothing,  from  the  earliest  dates 
of  antiquity  that  have  reached  us.  By  the 
Greeks  and  Romans,  however, 'it  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  in  use.  Pliny  informs 
us  that  in  Upper  Egypt,  on  the  borders  of  Ara- 
bia, grew  a  shrub  called  gossipion  or  zylon,  the 
fruit-pod  of  which  enclosed  a  sort  of  sofl  wool, 
of  which  the  garments  of  the  Egyptian  priests 
were  manuf;\ctured.  Goz,  which,  in  the  Arabic, 
implies  a  silky  substance,  is  doubtless  the  root 
of  the  word  designating  the  genus  of  the  plant. 

There  are  several  species  of  the  cotton  plant 
cultivated  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  which 
may  be  resolved  into  the  following:  1.  The 
cornmon  Green-seed  Cotton  of  the  United  States, 
the  Gossypium  herbaceum  of  botanists,  —  fig.  1. 
This  has  a  smooth  stem,  leaves  with  five  lobet, 
2  z  2  545 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


which  are  rouna,  mucronaie,  and  serrate.  It 
grows  from  two  to  five  or  six  feet  high,  bearing 
yellow  flowers  on  the  end  of  iis  numerous 
branches,  which  flowers  are  succeeded  by 
roundish  capsules  or  bolls,  full  of  seed  and 
cotton.  2.  The  Tree  Cotton  (G.  arboreum)  has  a 
high  perennial  sulk,  with  britoches  six  or  eight 
feet  long,  five-lobed,  palmate  leaves,  and  yellow 
flowers,  succeeded  by  oval  pods.  3.  Vine-leaved 
Cotton  (G.  vuifoUwn),  fig.  3,  with  lower  leaves 
five-lobed  and  palmated,  the  upper  leaves  thrte- 
lobed.  4.  Hairy  Cotton  (G.  hirsutum),  with  the 
uppermost  leaves  undivided  and  heart-shaped, 
the  lower  three  five-lobed,  the  stems  and  branch- 
es hairy,  the  flowers  yellow,  succeeded  by  oval 
pixls.  6.  Spotted-barked  Cotton  (G.  religiosum), 
fig.  4,  with  the  upper  leaves  three-lobed  and 
lower  five-lobed,  and  branches  spotted  with 
black.  6.  Barbadues Cotton  (G. narbadeiise),hg.2, 
branching  4  or  5  feet  high,  with  yellow  flowers 
and  oval  pods,  the  upper  leaves  three-lobed 
and  lower  five-lobed,  with  sraoothish  stems. 


The  cotton  blossom,  though  described  as 
yellow,  is  very  often  only  slightly  so,  and  that 
while  just  blowing,  appearing  almost  white 
when  in  full  bloom.  When  wilting,  the  blos- 
soms appear  reddish ;  and  the  whole  process 
of  etflorescence  continues  but  two  or  three 
days,  when  they  fall  off. 

In  those  portions  of  southern  Europe  where 
cotton  is  produced,  Naples,  Sicily,  Malta,  and 
•jspecially  the  Levant,  the  Green-seed  or  com- 
mon cotton  is  the  only  one  cultivated  for  the 
wants  of  commerce.  The  hairy  cotton  is  some- 
times raised  in  the  West  Indies,  although  the 
Barbadoes  is  the  species  most  commonly  cul- 
tivated. Ir.  Jis  East  Indies  and  in  China,  the 
546 


common  and  tree  cotton  are  cultivated,  together 
with  some  other  species  or  varieties,  especially 
that  which  produces  the  nankeen-coloured 
down.  This  last  has  been  successfully  intro- 
duced into  the  United  States,  where  it  is  now 
raised  in  sufiicient  quantity  to  manufacture  the 
yellow  cotton  cloth  called  nankin,  which  was, 
till  lately,  ah  imported  from  China. 

The  seeds  of  the  common  cotton  are  eaten 
in  the  Levant,  where  they  are  esteemed  whole- 
some and  nourishing.  All  the  species  afford  a 
valuable  oil  from  the  seeds,  which,  besides 
being  eaten,  is  used  for  burning,  and  many 
other  purposes  connected  with  the  useful  arts. 

Nicot  first  made  known  the  tobacco  plant, 
and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  has  the  credit  of  intro- 
ducing the  potato  into  Europe.  Two  monks, 
in  the  reign  of  Justinian,  brought  the  eggs  of 
the  silk-worm  from  China  to  Europe,  concealed 
in  the  hollow  of  a  bamboo.  But  of  the  indivi- 
vidual  who  first  introduced  the  seeds  of  the 
cotton  plant  into  America,  history  is  silent. 
He  was,  perhaps,  one  of  that  class  of  which 
examples  are  daily  met  with,  who  take  pleasure 
in  seeking  out  objects  either  curious  or  useful, 
and  dispensing  their  acquisitions  to  others. 
The  cotton  is  a  pretty  plant,  bearing  a  beauti- 
ful flower,  and  was  therefore,  perhaps,  first  de- 
dicated to  the  parterre  of  the  American  garden, 
where  it  appears  to  have  long  remained,  de- 
voted to  ornament,  and  of  little  further  use. 
Authentic  information  shows  that  in  1736,  and 
probably  earlier,  it  was  an  object  of  horticulture 
in  Talbot  county,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Ma- 
ryland ;  and  although  it  may  have  been  raised 
in  squares  and  patches  in  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces, no  particular  attention  was  bestowed 
upon  it  as  a  profitable  crop,  till  some  time  after 
the  date  mentioned.  In  1754  a  small  quantity 
of  cotton  was  exported  to  Europe  from  South 
Carolina,  the  warmer  climate  of  which  and  the 
neighbouring  provinces,  was  found  more  fa- 
vourable to  the  crop  than  the  peninsula  between 
the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Bays,  where  its 
culture  was  first  attempted.  (Jni.  Farmer,  vol. 
ii.)  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  Revolution 
caused  the  supplies  of  foreign  materials  for 
clothing  to  be  cut  off,  that  necessity  drove  the 
American  planters  to  raise  cotton  extensively 
for  home  use  ;  and  so  general  did  this  culture 
soon  become,  when  urged  by  this  necessity, 
that  the  cotton  region  was  made  to  extend  as 
high  north  as  the  lower  counties  of  the  state 
of  Delaware.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolution, 
great  financial  distress  prevailed  throughout 
the  States,  which  had  achieved  their  freedom 
at  the  expense  of  immense  pecuniary  sacrifices. 
Many  were  the  plans  suggested  by  individuals 
and  public  bodies,  called  upon  »o  consider  the 
ways  and  means  adapted  to  reheve  the  embar* 
rassments  of  the  times.  The  si*bject  came  up 
before  the  celebrated  Convention  of  Annapo- 
lis, in  1786.  The  late  President  Madison,  a 
Ii  ember  of  that  body  from  Virginia,  who  had 
given  much  attention  to  the  subject  of  the  cot- 
ton culture,  here  expressed  it  as  bis  decided 
opinion,  that,  from  the  results  of  tb^  garden 
culture  in  Talbot  county,  and  numerous  other 
similar  proofs  furnished  in  Virginia,  there  was 
no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  United  States 
would  one  day  become  "  a  great  cotton-producing 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


eimntry.''*  The  agitation  of  the  subject  was 
commenced  in  the  public  prints  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  the  promising  capacities  of  soil  and 
climate  were  discussed  in  essays  and  discourses 
read  in  and  about  the  year  1787,  before  the 
societies  which  were  led  to  the  consideration 
of  this  and  other  matters  calculated  to  advance 
the  interests  of  the  country.  The  most  early 
and  decided  proof  of  the  practicability  of  rais- 
ing cotton  crops  to  advantage  in  the  United 
States,  was  first  received  in  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Leake  of  Georgia,  addressed  to  General  Tho- 
mas Proctor  of  Philadelphia.  When  it  is  esti- 
mated that  the  cotton  brought  to  Philadelphia 
about  the  year  1787,  and  some  time  after,  sold 
for  home  consumption  at  two  shillings  sterling, 
or  four-ninths  of  a  dollar,  the  inducements  to 
raise  it  may  be  readily  imagined.  Congress 
being  at  length  convinced  that  the  States  could 
produce  sufficient  cotton  for  domestic  use,  in 
the  first  reformed  tariff  bill  laid  a  duty  of  three 
cents  per  pound  on  that  brought  from  other 
countries.  American  cotton  began  to  be  an 
important  article  of  export  in  1798  and  1799. 
It  was,  however,  soon  discovered  that  more 
could  be  raised  than  could  be  picked  or  cleared 
from  seed  by  hand,  the  only  mode  of  accom- 
plishing this  object  then  known,  and  the  one 
which  had  been  practised  by  the  Egyptians 
and  Eastern  people  for  thousands  of  years. 
Eli  Whitney,  a  native  of  Massachusetts  who 
emigrated  to  the  south,  invented  a  mill  to 
gin,  pick,  or  separate  cotton  from  the  seed, 
and  this  with  such  facility  as  to  perform  in 
one  day  the  labour  of  three  thousand  pair  of 
hands.  To  work  or  attend  this  mill,  impelled 
bv  water-power,  requires  only  three  persons. 
Thus,  by  the  aid  of  machinery,  the  capacity  to 
prepare  cotton  for  market  was  made  equal  and 
even  superior  to  the  immense  productive  capa- 
cities of  the  climate  and  soil  of  the  Southern 
States.  These  two  facts,  (says  a  writer  in  the 
American  Farmer,  vol.  ii.).  First,  the  capability 
of  the  southern  country  to  produce  cotton,  and. 
Secondly,  the  invention  of  the  imter  saic-i^in, 
have  effected  the  greatest  and  most  enriching 
change  in  the  agriculture  of  the  United  States, 
ever  experienced  by  any  people,  ancient  or 
modern.  And  to  this  view  must  be  added  the 
results  of  inventions,  principally  in  England, 
but  many  in  America,  of  those  labour-saving 
machines  and  processes  to  pick,  rove,  spin, 
double,  twist,  wind,  weave,  dye,  print,  bleach, 
dress,  &c.,  all  within  a  comparatively  few 
years. 

Such  are  the  considerations  which  are 
calculated  to  inspire  correct  views  of  the  im- 
portance and  extension  of  the  cotton  crop  of 
the  United  States,  the  immense  exportable  pro- 
duce of  which  has  so  much  favoured  every 
branch  of  domestic  industry  in  other  parts  of 
the  country ;  for  those  States  situated  too  far 
northward  to  admit  of  the  advantageous  culture 
of  cotton,  by  which  the  attention  of  the  south- 
ern planter  is  almost  exoJusively  engrossed, 
supply  him  with  bread-stuffs,  meat,  horses, 
mules,  and  most  other  important  appliances 
of  life.  The  necessities  of  the  Revolution,  and 
subsequent  financial  embarrassments  of  the 
country,  led  to  the  developement  of  the  cotton 
culture  in  the  United  States ;  whilst  the  last  war. 


by  cutting  off  the  customary  supplies  of  British 
and  other  foreign  fabrics,  taught  the  Americans 
to  manufacture  for  themselves,  and  thus  opened 
to  the  producing  States,  a  home  market  for  their 
exuberant  cotton  crops. 

The  progressive  developement  of  the  cotton 
culture  in  the  United  States  is  shown  in  the 

I  following  statement  of  the  crops  for  different 

'  periods  ;  viz. — 


In  1800,  about     - 

-        -        -    35,000,000  lbs 

1810.     -       - 

-    85,000,000 

1820,     — 

-  160,000,000 

1830,     — 

-  350,000.000 

1840,      -        - 

-  790,479,257 

It  is  estimated  that  good  lands  yield,  on  an 
average,  from  250  to  300  lbs.  of  clean  cotton 
per  acre,  and  inferior  lands  from  125  to  150  lbs.; 
and  that  the  capital  invested  in  the  cotton  cul- 
ture in  the  Union  is  about  $800,000,000.  The 
annual  value  of  the  crop  is  about  $80,000,000, 
and  of  the  exports  $03,000,000. 

The  cotton  exports  of  the  year  1840  were 
as  follows : — 


To  Great  Britain 
To  France  - 
North  of  Europe 
To  other  poru    - 

Total     - 


-  1,246,791  bales. 

-  447.465 

-  103,231 

-  78,515 

-  1,876,003 


Tbe  total  exports  of  1811,  were 
—  1840, 


1,313,277  balei. 

1,876,603 


562,726 


TThe  amounts  exported  to  various  countries 
in  1841,  were  as  follows  : — 


To  Great  Britain  ... 
To  Frnnce  -  -  -  . 
To  porii  in  north  of  Europe  - 
To  all  other  ports  .        .        - 

Tout 


-  858,748  bales. 

-  348,776 

-  56,279 

-  49,480 

l.n3,277 


We  subjoin,  also,  the  ports  from  which  ±e 
article  has  been  sent,  with  the  portion  from 
each. 

In  1841,  from  New  Orleans  and 


Mississippi 

-       -  656,816  bale*. 

From  Alabama 

-  216,239 

Florida 

-     32,297 

Georgia 

-    35.596 

North  and  South  Carolina  -  162,275 
Virginia  -  .  .  .  4,723 
Baltimore  ....  217 
Philadelphia  ...  1,934 
New  York  ....  149,569 
Boston         ....      3,602 


Total 


1,313,277 


We  annex  an  account  of  the  home  ccai^simp- 
tion. 

Quantity  consumed  by,  and  stock 
remaining  in  the  hands  of  United 
States  manufacturers,  Sept.  30, 

1841 297.288  Ddles. 

Do.  Sept.  30,  1840  ...  295,193 

Do.         do.      1839  ...  276,01S 

The  cotton  produced  and  gathered  in  the 
United  States  is  stated,  in  the  returns  accompa- 
nying the  census  taken  in  1840,  at  790,479,257 
lbs.,  which  product  exceeds  two.thirds  of  the 
annual  cotton  crop  of  the  whole  world,  this 
being  estimated  at  1,000,000,000  lbs.  Of  the 
whole  amount  raised  in  the  United  States,  South 
Carolina  furnishes  about  l-13th.  Every  year, 
however,  opens  new  lands  in  ihe  West  to  ihe 

647 


GOSSyPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


cotton  culture,  where  congeniality  of  soil  and 
climate  to  this  commodity  increases  the  pro- 
duct per  acre,  far  beyond  the  average  in  the 
old  (fotton  States.  This  consequently  reduces 
the  value  far  below  those  prices  which  former- 
ly poured  so  much  wealth  into  the  Southern 
States.  These  newly  cleared  lands  yield,  on 
an  average,  2500  lbs.  of  cotton  per  hand,  whilst 
the  lands  in  the  Carolines  yield  but  1200  'bs. 
per  hand-  As  the  expenses  on  a  labourer  are 
about  the  same  in  either  place,  this  home  com- 
petition mast  be  almost  ruinous  to  the  old  cot- 
ton States,  to  say  nothing  of  that  which  is 
thivatened  abroad  in  India,  South  America,  and 
K.  \;>t.  In  a  recent  speech  in  Congress,  Mr. 
Dixojj  H.  Lewis  declared  that  cotton,  divested 
of  government  embarrassments,  might  be  raised 
in  .\labama  for  three  cents  a  pound.  (Southern 
Revinc  for  April,  1843.) 

There  were  formerly  three  species  of  cotton 
commonly  cultivated  in  the  United  States :  1. 
The  Green  Seed  (G.  herbaceum),  popularly  and 
commercially  called  Upland  Cotton ;  2.  The 
Black  Seedy  producing  a  fine,  soft,  long,  and 
strong  cotton,  of  a  good  staple.  This,  from  its 
flourishing  in  the  lower  country,  and  especially 
the  islands  on  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia,  has  been  called  the  Sea  Island  cotton. 
It  is  regarded  as  a  variety  of  the  Arboreum  or 
Tree  Cotton,  and  on  new  alluvial  soils,  in  warm 
situations,  is  found  to  live  4  or  5  years,  and 
attain  a  height  of  18  feet,  assuming  the  charac- 
ter of  trees  rather  than  shrubs.  But  when  the 
cotton  grows  so  large,  it  yields  no  adequate  re- 
turn to  the  cultivator.  The  seed  of  Sea  Island 
cotton  was  originally  obtained  from  the  Ba- 
hama Islands  about  the  year  1785,  being  the 
kind  known  in  the  West  Indies  as  the  Anguilla 
cotton. 

Of  late  years,  in  addition  to  the  Nankin  or 
yellow  cotton,  two  species  or  varieties  of  up- 
land cotton  have  been  introduced,  which,  in 
some  places,  have  almost  superseded  the  com- 
mon green  seed  kind ;  these  are  the  Mexican 
and  Petit-Gulf,  both  of  which  agree  in  most  of 
their  botanical  characteristics  with  the  Hirsute 
or  hairy  cotton,  especially  in  the  rough  stem 
and  petiole.  The  Petit-Gulf  kind  is  exceed- 
ingly productive,  and  differs  from  the  Mexican 
chietly  in  this  characteristic,  and  in  maturing 
earlier,  a  great  desideratum  with  the  planter, 
since  it  allows  him  a  longer  time  to  gather  the 
crop.  Some  think  the  Petit-Gulf  a  mere  variety 
of  the  Mexican,  improved  by  its  transportation 
to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  where  the  soil 
and  climate  are  peculiarly  favourable  to  its 
developement-  The  planters  of  the  upland 
sections  have  to  purchase  their  Petit-Gulf  seed 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Rodney,  where  it 
now  costs  only  25  cents  per  bushel.  The  4th 
year  after  removal  from  this  locality,  it  has 
so  degenerated  as  to  be  no  more  productive 
than  the  common  green-seed  kind,  or  better  in  I 
quality. 

It  has  been  remarked,  that  in  most  if  not  all  I 
the  species  or  varieties  of  cotton  cultivated  in  ' 
Ihe  United  States,  especially  the  herbaceous 
and  hairy  kinds,  the  close,  short  fur  imme- 
diately enveloping  the  seed,  somewhat  anala- 
gous  to  the  fur  on  an  animal,  has  a  tendency 
to  increase  in  quantity  This,  though  it  tends 
W8 


to  render  the  separation  of  the  loi..g  wool  more 
difficult,  has  no  other  disadvantage. 

The  introduction  of  the  plough,  of  the  horse- 
hoe,  cultivator,  and  other  contrivances  for 
saving  labour  and  improving  the  culture,  have 
been  of  great  service  to  the  cotton  as  well  as 
to  the  corn-planter.  By  the  practice  of  drill- 
ing in  rows  set  wide  apart,  the  same  fields  may 
be  cultivated  frequently  without  such  rapid 
exhaustion  as  would  attend  a  different  course. 
The  land  is  thus  tilled  sometimes  three  suc- 
cessive years  without  rest,  the  drills  being  run 
at  first  4^  feet  apart,  the  position  of  the  drill- 
rows  being  changed  every  year,  so  that  the 
cotton  does  not  occupy  the  same  place  two 
successive  years.  At  the  end  of  the  3d  year 
the  3  drill-rows  will  be  1^  feet  distant  from 
each  other,  and  thus  the  growing  crop  is  an- 
nually furnished  with  fresh  soil. 

The  following  account  of  the  cotton  culture, 
as  conducted  in  the  Southern  States,  is  abridged 
from  a  highly  interesting  essay  upon  the  sub- 
ject by  Mr.  Thomas  Spaulding,  of  Sapelo  Island, 
Georgia: 

"It  was  soon  noticed  by  cotton  growers,"  says 
Mr.  Spaulding,  "that  soil  and  situation  had 
more  than  common  influence,  as  well  upon  the 
quality  as  upon  the  quantity  of  cotton  produced 
upon  any  given  portion  of  land.  Certain  soils 
and  situations  retained  in  the  cotton  its  ori- 
ginal appearance,  an  intenseness  of  yellow  in 
its  blossom,  a  fruit  full  and  sound,  a  seed 
quite  black,  and  free  from  fur  or  down ;  while 
upon  other  soils  and  upon  other  situations  the 
plant,  the  flower,  and  fruit  was  putting  on  other 
appearances.  The  plants,  as  if  anxious  to  ad- 
just themselves  to  a  new  temperature,  took  on 
a  more  coarse  configuration  of  limbs  and  stem, 
a  thicker  branch,  a  rougher,  larger,  and  more 
scalloped  leaf,  a  more  cone-like  pod,  a  seed 
covered  either  in  whole  or  at  its  points  with 
the  close  down  or  fur  that  has  already  been 
described.  At  first  the  most  careful  cultiva- 
tors were  anxious  by  selection  to  keep  the  seed 
as  much  as  possible  resembling  the  seed  first 
introduced  ;  that  is,  black  and  free  from  down, 
and  the  more  so  as  it  was  most  easily  sepa- 
rated from  the  cotton  by  the  machines  em- 
ployed, and  was  considered  most  productive ; 
but  in  process  of  time  the  varieties  that  stole 
up  among  the  original  stock  was  found  to  pro 
duce  a  finer  and  more  uniform  and  longer 
wool.  The  current  of  selection  has  now, 
therefore,  directed  itself  another  way,  and 
these  hybrids,  for  I  believe  them  to  be  so, 
although  the  germs  of  these  changes  may  have 
lingered  for  ages  in  the  original  seed  without 
developing  themselves,  have  taken  on  three 
distinct  appearances  in  seed ;  neither  in  blos- 
som or  plant  differing  to  the  eye  from  each 
other,  although  greatly  differing  from  the  pa- 
rent slock,  as  being  coarser  and  rougher  in 
their  form  and  leaf,  with  blossoms  of  a  lighter 
yellow;  having  bolls  larger  and  more  cone- 
like in  their  shape.  The  finer  cottcns  of  the 
sea  islands  are  obtained  from  these  hree  va- 
rieties of  seed ;  one  with  little  or  no  down  upon 
it,  but  with  a  long  beak  or  point,  to  a  seed 
longer  than  the  original ;  a  seed  with  down 
upon  the  two  ends,  but  still  with  the  pointed 
beak ;  and,  thirdly,  a  long  seed  with  a  sharp 


m 


GOSSYPIUM 


beak,  but  completely  covered  with  a  soft,  close, 
fine  ifur  or  down  inseparably  connected  with 
the  shell  of  the  seed.  These  new  varieties 
which  produce  the  cotton  now  most  in  request, 
are  later  in  perfecting  their  fruit,  and  have, 
consequently,  increased  the  uncertainty  of  the 
most  uncertain  and  doubtful  crop  to  which 
perhaps  human  care  was  ever  directed. 

'>  There  is  a  long  string  of  islands  extending 
from  Georgetown,  in  South  Carolina,  to  St. 
Mary's,  in  Georgia,  that  is,  from  32°  30'  to 
30°  north,  a  distance  of  about  200  miles. 
These  islands  were  covered  with  live  oak  and 
other  evergreens  of  a  southern  climate.  They 
had  been  the  abode  of  the  red  men  of  the 
West,  but  rather  when  the  natives  were  fish- 
ermen than  hunters ;  and  the  vast  accumula- 
tion of  oyster,  and  clam,  and  other  shells,  min- 
gled with  the  remains  of  the  bones  and  pottery 
of  their  old  inhabitants,  fill  every  stranger  with 
astonishment  at  the  multitudes  which  their  re- 
mains would  bespeak,  or  the  long  time  that 
must  have  been  required  to  introduce  such  ac- 
cumulated masses.  These  decaying  shells 
seem  to  have  intermingled  with  the  original 
sandy  soils  of  these  islands,  and  digesting  the 
vegetable  matter  that  fell  from  trees  and  other 
sources,  formed  with  them  a  light  and  fertile 
loam.  These  islands  at  an  earlier  period  of 
colonial  story,  had  been  employed  in  growing 
indigo.  It  was  upon  two  of  these  islands,  sur- 
rounded by  the  salt  waters  of  the  sea,  and  sepa- 
rated from  the  continent  by  several  miles  of 
grassy,  but  salt  meadows,  that  the  cultivation 
of  the  sea  island  cotton  commenced. 

"  If  Frederick  the  Great  never  forgot  him  that 
introduced  a  better  description  of  rye  into  Prus- 
sia, and  if  Swilt  is  right  in  saying  he  merits  a 
great  name  who  will  make  two  blades  of  grass 
grow  where  one  had  grown  before,  why  should 
we  deny  to  the  dead  what  may  be  their  duel 
The  first  cultivators  of  the  sea  island  cotton 
in  Georgia  were  Josiah  Tattnall  and  Nicholas 
TurnbuU,  on  Skideway  island,  near  Savannah; 
James  Spaulding  and  Alexander  Bisset,  upon 
St.  Simon's  island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Alia- 
maha ;  and  Richard  Leake  upon  Jekyl  island, 
adjacent  to  St.  Simon's.  For  many  years  after 
the  introduction  of  the  Anguilla  cotton,  it  was 
confined  to  the  warm  highland  of  these  islands, 
bathed  by  the  saline  atmosphere,  and  sur- 
rounded by  the  salt  water  of  the  sea.  Gra- 
dually, however,  the  cotton  culture  was  ex- 
tended into  lower  grounds,  and  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  islands  to  the  adjacent  shores  of 
the  continent,  into  soils  containing  a  mixture 
of  clay,  and  lastly  into  coarse  clays  deposited 
by  the  great  rivers  where  they  met  the  tides  of 
the  sea.  In  all  these  soils  the  cotton  plant 
grws  well.  In  all  these  soils  fine  cottons  are 
prrduced.  The  only  essential  property  that  is 
required  is  a  saline  atmosphere;  with  it  any 
soil  in  Georgia  or  Carolina  may  produce  fine 
cotton;  without  it  no  soil  will  produce  fine 
cotton. 

"It  is  within  this  district  of  country,  from 
Georgetown,  in  South  Carolina,  to  St.  Mary's, 
in  Georgia,  and  extending  not  more  than  15 
miles  from  the  sea,  to  which  the  sea  island  j 
cotton  is  still  confined.  Whenever  it  has  been 
carried  either  south,  or  north,  or  west  beyond  I 


OR  COTTON. 

these  limits,  a  certain  decline  in  quality  has 
followed  its  removal.  Many  changes  have 
taken  place  in  the  manner  of  cultivating  the 
sea  island  cotton  since  the  first  introduction. 
When  first  introduced,  the  seed  was  deposited 
either  in  hills  raised  a  little  above  the  common 
surface,  at  five  feet  distant  each  way,  or  in 
holes  at  the  same  distance  apart,  and  the  in- 
termediate spaces  were  dug  up,  pulverized,  and 
kept  free  of  grass  or  weeds  by  the  hand  hoe  or 
by  ploughing.  But  it  was  soon  found  that  this 
distant  planting,  with  a  few  seeds  only,  left  a 
great  portion  of  the  field  unoccupied  by  plants, 
and,  consequently,  unproductive;  for,  as  it  has 
already  been  said,  the  cotton  plant  is  one  of 
the  tenderest  productions  of  vegetable  life. 
The  growers  of  cotton  found  it,  therefore, 
necessary  to  increase  the  quantity  of  seed,  to 
insure  a  sufficient  number  of  plants,  and  to 
bring  them  nearer  together.  Fortunately  for 
the  cotton  culture,  Tull's  book  upon  husbandry 
had  been  more  read  in  the  Southern  Colonies 
than  in  England;  and  his  ridge  husbandry  was 
adopted  for  sea  island  cotton,  and  is  particu- 
larly adapted  to  it,  I  may  say  necessary  lo  its 
successful  culture. 

"The  present  process  (and  it  has  been  the 
same  for  25  years  past)  is  to  make  up  the  field 
into  ridges  occupying  5  feet  of  space  each,  and 
extending  in  straight  lines  across  the  entire 
field.  If  the  land  is  at  all  low,  or  subject  in 
any  degree  to  water,  these  ridges  are  inter- 
sected at  .105  feet  from  each  other  by  ditches 
which  receive  the  water  that  may  collect  in 
the  hollow  spaces  upon  which  the  cotton  plant 
is  growing.  These  hollow  spaces  represent 
the  water  furrow  in  wheat  cultivation,  and 
serve  the  same  purpose,  that  is,  in  directing 
the  redundant  water  that  falls,  into  the  drains 
that  take  it  off  the  fields. 

"  A  field  is  well  prepared  to  receive  the  cot- 
ton seed  when  drains  intersect  it  at  regular 
distances  of  105  feet;  when  the  surface  of  the 
land  is  thrown  up  into  ridges  of  5  feet,  rising 
about  10  inches  above  the  intervals,  the  crown 
of  the  ridge  flat,  broad,  and  regular.  A  trench 
is  then  made  along  the  middle  of  the  ridge 
from  2  to  4  inches,  dependent  upon  the  time 
of  planting,  which  extends  from  the  1st  of 
March  to  the  1st  of  May.  Upon  this  subject, 
as  upon  all  others  in  which  men  are  concerned, 
wisdom  is  found  between  the  extremes,  and  ex- 
perienced growers  of  cotton  generally  prefer 
planting  from  the  1st  to  the  15th  of  April.  Whta 
cotton  is  planted  early  in  March,  before  the 
sun  has  warmed  the  soil  to  any  great  depth,  it 
is  necessary  to  deposit  the  seed  in  drills  not 
more  than  two  inches  deep,  or  there  will  not 
be  warmth  enough  to  vegetate  the  seed.  Later 
in  the  season,  when  the  power  of  the  sun  has 
increased,  it  is  necessary,  in  seeking  for  that 
moisture  which  is  as  requisite  for  vegetation 
as  heat  itself,  to  sink  deeper  into  the  soil,  and 
the  drills  which  are  then  made  to  receive  the 
cotton  seed  are  required  to  be  4  inches  d^ep 
From  the  many  accidents  to  which  this  feeble 
plant  is  subject  in  its  first  growth,  experience 
has  taught  the  Georgia  cultivator  that  it  is  ne- 
cessary  to  place  many  more  seeds  in  the  ground 
than  can  grow  there ;  and  it  is  usual,  there- 
fore, to  sow  at  >ast  1  baohel  of  cotton  seed  tor 

549 


GOSSYPIUM. 

the  Englisb  acre.    The  persons  employed  in 
planting  the  cotton  are  generally  divided  into 
gangs   of  three.      One    of   these    opens    the 
drill  along  the  top  of  the  ridge ;  the  most  in- 
telligent of  them  carefully  drops  the  seed  into 
the  trench,  while  the  third  follows  in  his,  or 
more  often  in  her  steps,  and  with  a  hand-hoe 
returns  the  soil  while  yet  moist  into  the  trench 
from  whence  it  was  taken.     For  myself,  I  pre- 
fer performing  this  operation  with  the  foot;  it 
is  less  troublesome  to  the  labourer  than  cany- 
ing  and  using  the  hoe.    It  keeps  the  mind  in- 
K?nt   upon    one    operation    rather    than  two. 
Walking  along  erect,  the  feet  are  alternately 
employed  to  return  the  soil   into  the  trench 
upon  the  cotton  seed ;  and  the  whole  weight 
of  the  person  brought  to  bear  upon  the  foot  that 
has  just  performed  the  operation,  presses  the 
yielding  and  crumbling  soil  into  close  contact 
with  the  seed.    This  pressure  of  the  foot  after 
sowing,  is  like  the  roller  in  English  husbandry, 
and  is  as  beneficial  to  cotton  as  the  roller  is 
known  to  be  to  wheat  or  other  grain.    But 
after  all  this   care  you  are  never  sure  that 
from  your  first  sowing  a  sufficient  number  of 
plants   will  stand.     One  night's  frost,  which 
sometimes  comes  as  late  as  April,  will  destroy 
the  whole  field,  and  drive  you  back  upon  your 
labours;  one  day  of  a  strong,  dry,  northeast 
wind  will  tear,  blight,  and  destroy  your  whole 
field ;  and  upon   the   best   and  richest   soils, 
when  both  these  evils  are  passed  over,  there 
is  another  ensuing,  equally  destructive.     The 
cock-chaffer  or  cut-worm  is  to  be  apprehended 
during  all  the  month  of  April,  and  as  the  cot- 
ton comes  through  the  ground,  and  remains  for 
several  days,  like  the  pea  or  other  pulse,  with 
bnt  two  radical  leaves,  every  one  of  the  plants 
that  are  cut  by  the  worm,  either  above  or  be- 
low the  ground,  are  destroyed ;  so  that  it  is  not 
unfrequent  that  whole   fields  have  to   be  re- 
planted in  the   month   of  May,  about  which 
time  the  worms  pass  into  their  winged  state. 
At  the  close  of  the  month  of  May,  when  appre- 
hension   from   these   accidents    have  passed 
away,  a  new  labor  begins.    The  numerous 
plants  which  crowd  the  ground  begin  to  injure 
each  other,  and  must  be  removed.     Prudent 
persons  divide  their  removal  into  three  opera- 
tions, gradually  adjusting  the  number  to  the 
increased  growth  of  the  plants,  which  are  at 
length  left  in  the  drills,  at  from  6  inches  to  24 
inches  apart  from  each  other,  depending  upon 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  expected  growth 
of  the  plant,  which  rises  in  altitude,  from  3  feet 
to  8  feet  high.    And  here  it  may  be  well  to  ob- 
serve, that  the  cotton  plant  is  a  leguminous 
plant  (a  green  plant),  a  plant  that  sends  its 
roots  down  into  the  ground,  and  draws  much 
of  its  nourishment,  by  its  broad  leaves,  from 
the  atmosphere.    This  increased  distance  in 
the  drill,  therefore,  is  rather  to  allow  space  for 
the   plant  to  extend  itself  at  its  inclination, 
than  from  a  desire  to  add  nourishment  to  its 
roots,  for  at  last  the  whole  field   should  be 
shaded  from  the  sun  when  the  plants  are  fully 
grown,  and  the  number  should  be  adapted  to 
that  end. 

"But  at  every  one  of  these  thinnings,  as  they 
are  called,  or  drawing  of  the  plants,  the  field  is 
rieared  with  the  hand-hoe  from  all  weeds  and 
550 


OR  COTTON. 

I  grass,  and  new  soil  brought  up  around  the  re- 
1  maining  plants  to  support  them,  now  bending 
to  every  wind,  from  their  tall  but  feeble  struc- 
ture.   This  course  of  thinning,  when  it  is  ne- 
cessary, and  the  weeding,  and  grassing,  and 
drawing  up,  which  is  always  necessary,  con- 
tinues until  about  the  20th  of  July,  by  which 
time  the  operation  has  been  repeated  from  3  to 
6  several  times,  dependent  upon  the  soil  and 
season.    About  the  20th  of  July  we  may  ex- 
pect our   summer  rains    should  commence. 
These  rains  are  not  tropical,  but  they  approach 
to  tropical  in  their  violence.     Up  to  that  time 
no  climate  can  be  more  temperate  than  the 
climate  of  the  sea-coasts  of  Georgia  and  Caro- 
lina. Volney,  from  report,  supposed  it  the  best 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  writer  of  this  paper 
believes  it  is  so.    The  atmosphere  is  elastic, 
the  winds  that  blow  every  day  from  the  sea  are 
cool   and  refreshing;    they  bring    health  and 
healing  upon  their  wings  ;  they  drive  the  va- 
pours w^hich  have  been  gathered  upon  the  wa- 
ters, or  that  have  arisen  from  the  marshes 
which  margin  the  shores,  over  the  woods  of 
the    interior.     But  the   time   has   now   come 
when  evil  spirits  should  prevail.    These  va- 
pours have  been  collecting  dark  and  ponderous 
clouds  upon  our  western  hills;  the  equilibrium 
of  our  atmosphere  is  destroyed.     Whether  it 
is  that  the  adjacent  seas  have  become  heated 
by  the  mass  of  warm  water  which  the  gulf 
stream   brings   along   the   coast,  or  that   the 
same  general  cause  which  operates  with  such 
great  power  within  the  tropics,  operates  in  part 
here,  I  know  not ;  but  from  the  20th  of  July  to 
the  1st  of  August,   the   winds   change  from 
southeast    to    southwest,    and    bring  clouds 
charged    with    lightning    and    rain,  in    such 
masses  as  to  deluge  our  fields.     From  the  time 
this  change  takes  place  all  labour  in  the  cotton 
field  should  cease ;  for  the  plants  with  broad, 
succulent  leaves,  and  tall  and  slender  stem, 
heavy  naturally  in  its  growth,  and  feeble  in  its 
structure,  can   illy  bear  up  against  beating 
rains  and  strong  winds,  and  requires  all  the 
support  that  the  original  ridge  in  which  it  was 
planted,  and  the  repeated  dressings  up  which 
have  been  directed,  can  give  it.    And  hence 
arises  the  necessity  of  the  ridge  husbandry  of 
the  sea  island  cotton  in  Georgia  and  Carolina, 
and  the  importance  of  the  repeated  gathering 
or  dressing  up  of  the  soil  to  the  plants,  which 
has  been  described.     The  month  of  August  is 
a  month  of  doubt  and  anxiety  with  the  cotton 
grower.     Too  much  rain  makes  the  plant  cast 
off  its  fruit,  its  blossoms,  and  even  its  leaves. 
The  full  moon  in  the  month  of  August,  too,  is 
the  time  when  the  caterpillar  is  expected.  Thi? 
worm  proceeds  from  a  small  brown  butterfly, 
greatly  resembling    the  candle    moth.    This 
moth  or  butterfly  deposits  its  eggs  upon  the 
leaf  of  the  cotton  plant  always  a  night  or  two 
before  the  full  or  change  of  the  moon.     They 
hatch  in  a  few  hours  after  they  are  deposited, 
then  so  small  as  scarcely  to  be  visible  to  the 
naked  eye.    Like  the  silk  worm,  they  appear 
to  linger  in  their  first  stages,  doing  no  great  in- 
jury during  their  first  9  or  10  days.    But  a  few 
days  before  they  have  completed  their  growth, 
they  become  voracious  in  the  extreme,  and  like 
the  visitations  of  the  locusts  in  the  East,  destroy 


GOSSYPIUM. 

vhole  fields  in  a  few  days.  We  have  seen 
400  acres  of  cottom  that  looked  promising  and 
well  to-day,  and  that  4  days  afterwards  had  not 
a  gveen  leaf,  and  scarcely  a  small  pod  remain- 
ing upon  it.  These  destructive  visitations, 
judging  from  the  past,  may  be  expected  once 
in  about  7  years.  When  cotton  fields  have 
escaped  injury  from  rains,  from  wind,  or 
worms,  they  offer  as  beautiful  a  spectacle  to 
the  observer  as  the  cultivation  of  any  plant 
can  present.  One  wide  and  waving  field  of 
green  leaves,  covered  from  the  1st  day  of  July 
to  the  1st  day  of  September  with  blossoms  of  3 
colours,  and  with  a  multitude  of  pods  of  every 
growth.  The  blossom,  on  the  first  day  of  its 
coming  out,  is  of  a  fine,  yellow  colour,  and  it 
sustains  that  colour  during  the  day.  It  changes 
under  the  influence  of  the  night  air  to  a  crim- 
son or  red  hue;  and  again,  on  the  third  day,  it 
becomes  of  a  rich  chocolate  brown,  and  falling 
to  the  ground  leaves  a  pod  already  of  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  The  time  which  intervenes 
from  the  blossoming  to  the  perfection  of  the 
fruit,  greatly  varies,  depending  upon  the  sea- 
son. We  have  marked  hundreds  of  blossoms 
which  ripened  and  perfected  their  cotton  in  21 
days  from  the  day  of  blossoming ;  and  again 
we  have  frequently  seen  them  require  six 
weeks  to  arrive  at  the  same  end,  which  is, 
however,  a  bad  omen  as  to  ultimate  results. 

"The  cotton  pods  begin  to  open  about  the 
1st  of  August.  From  this  time  to  the  1st  of 
December  the  whole  attention  of  the  cultivator 
is  directed  to  the  picking  in  of  the  cotton  as 
the  pods  daily  open.  During  this  autumnal 
season  in  Georgia  and  Carolina,  upon  the  sea- 
coast,  the  winds  are  violent  and  the  rains 
heavy ;  so  that  the  operation  is  tedious,  al- 
though not  laborious ;  and  during  this  time  the 
persons  employed  may  be  expected  to  gather 
from  the  field  25  pounds  per  day,  when  the 
weather  admits  of  gathering  or  picking  cotton 
as  it  is  called.  When  every  thing  is  favour- 
able, the  persons  employed  should  bring  in  50 
pounds  daily  of  cotton  in  the  seed;  but  as  the 
gathering  is  continued  so  long  as  they  bring  in 
10  pounds,  25  pounds  may  be  considered  the 
full  average  of  labour  so  directed.  There  are 
few  subjects  npon  which  there  is  more  contra- 
riety of  opinion  than  upon  the  real  amount  of 
product  given  by  the  soil  in  any  cultivation ; 
agriculturist  as  I  am,  loving  my  profession  as  I 
do,  seeking  information  to  enlighten  my  la- 
bours as  I  have  done,  I  know  no  book  upon 
which  I  can  lay  my  hand  which  would  give 
me  correctly  the  real  mean  result  of  labour  or 
of  land  employed  upon  any  one  object  through- 
out a  whole  extended  district.  The  Abbe  Ray- 
nal  kindly  tells  us  how  many  coffee  plants  and 
how  many  cotton  plants  grew  upon  the  French 
part  of  the  island  of  St.  Domingo;  and  yet 
there  was  not  one  planter  in  St.  Domingo  who 
could  really  have  told  how  many  cotton  plants  or 
how  may  coffee  plants  grew  upon  anyone  arpent 
of  his  own  field.  Taking,  however,  the  best 
means  my  long  experience  would  give,  I  should 
say  that  a  labourer  cultivates,  in  sea  island 
cotton,  4  English  acres,  and  that  these  4  acres 
yield,  as  the  result  of  his  labour,  500  weight  of  , 
clean  cotton,  or  cotton  separated  from  the  | 
seed,  which  consists  of  400  weight  of  white  j 


OR  COTTON. 

cotton  and  100  weight  of  coloured  or  stained 
cotton;  and  that  these  .500  pounds  of  clean 
cotton  have,  for  the  last  15  years,  averaged  to 
the  grower  20  cents  per  pound  for  his  white 
cotton,  and  10  cents  per  pound  for  his  stained 
cotton,  yielding  in  American  money,  conse- 
quently, S90  to  the  labourer — a  small  remunera- 
tion, certainly,  to  the  cultivator,  and  not  calcu- 
lated to  excite  jealousy  or  hostility  in  any  other 
persons  engaged  in  any  other  pursuit. 

**  Preparing  sea  is/unrf  cottoti  for  market.— 
The  process  of  preparing  the  cotton  for 
market  commences  as  soon  as  it  is  generally 
gathered  in  from  the  field,  and  is  tedious  and 
troublesome  in  a  high  degree.  The  cotton, 
when  gathered  from  the  plant,  is  put  into  a 
bag,  containing  about  half  a  bushel,  which 
hangs  upon  the  person  engaged  in  the  opera- 
tion, suspended  from  the  neck  or  waist  as  they 
may  prefer,  and  wheivit  is  desired  by  them 
they  deposit  the  contents  of  the  bag  in  a  large 
light  basket,  which  contains  the  amount  of 
each  one's  gathering  in  the  day.  At  the  ap- 
proach of  night,  the  cotton  gathered  in  the  day 
is  brought  home  and  weighed  and  deposited  in 
a  common  house,  from  whence  the  next  morn- 
ing, if  the  weather  is  good,  it^js  carried  out 
and  spread  upon  drying  floors  made  of  2-inch 
American  pine.  These  floors  are  of  course 
proportioned  to  the  quantity  of  cotton  expected 
to  be  placed  upon  them  at  any  one  time,  but 
may  be  estimated  at  20  by  40  feet  of  floor  to 
every  100  acres  of  cotton  cultivated,  and  ia 
that  ratio  of  quantities  upon  these  floors.  If  it 
has  been  gathered  from  the  fields  in  good  wea- 
ther, the  cotton  is  allowed  to  remain  but  one 
day  to  take  off  the  dew  of  the  morning  or  the 
damp  of  the  night  air;  but  if  gathered  in  wet 
weather,  it  may  require  two  or  even  three  days* 
exposure  upon  the  drying  floors,  which  are 
raised  upon  posts  three  feet  from  the  ground, 
as  well  to  preser\'e  the  wood  of  which  they  are 
made,  as  to  admit  a  more  free  circulation  of  air. 
It  is,  however,  known  that  strong,  cold  winds 
or  very  bright  suns,  if  continued  too  long,  have 
an  injurious  effect  upon  the  fibre  of  the  cotton; 
and  this  extreme  exposure  to  either  wind  or 
rain  is,  therefore,  carefully  avoided,  and  the 
cotton  left  no  longer  upon  the  drying  floors 
than  is  necessary  to  preserve  it  from  heating 
in  the  house.  Before  it  is  put  up  finally  iu 
the  house,  it  is  usual,  and  quite  proper  to  pass  it 
through  what  is  called  a  '  Whipper,'  to  shake 
off  any  sand  or  broken  leaves,  or  any  other  ex- 
traneous matter  that  may  have  attached  itself 
to  the  cotton  either  in  the  field  or  in  the  gather- 
ing. The  cotton  having  been  gathered,  dried 
upon  the  floors,  and  whipped,  is  ready  for  the 
next  operation,  or  ginning. 

"The  whipper,  which  is  a  very  necessary 
instrument  in  the  well-preparing  of  cotton,  is 
made  of  wood,  is  a  long  barrel  composed  of 
slats  or  reeds  (or  it  would  be  better  made  of 
wire)  6  or  8  feet  in  length,  and  2  feet  in  dia- 
meter, with  one  end  closed  and  the  other  open, 
and  is  supported  at  the  two  ends  by  feet  of  dif- 
ferent lengths,  so  that  the  barrel,  in  its  hori- 
zontal position,  declines  about  1  foot  at  the 
lower  end  ;  a  hopper  containing  about  a  bushel 
rests  upon  the  upper  side  of  the  barrel,  at  the 
upper  enclosed  end  of  iU    This  hopper  lets  th« 

651 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


eotton  that  is  to  be  cleaned  fall  into  the  barrel, 
thronirh  which  runs  in  its  whole  length  a  shaft, 
which  is  turned  by  the  hand  by  a  crank  attach- 
ed to  the  shaft  at  one  end.  This  shaft  is  inter- 
sected by  rods  which  reach  to  within  an  inch 
of  the  barrel.  The  cotton,  as  it  falls  from  the 
hopper,  is  whirled  round  by  these  rods  until  it 
escapes  at  the  lower  end  of  the  barrel,  by 
which  time  any  sand  or  dirt,  or  leaves,  or  other 
matter  attached  to  the  cotton,  has  escaped 
through  the  spaces  intentionally  left  between 
the  slats  or  reeds,  which  constitute  the  external 
rim  of  this  barrel  or  whipper.  This  whipping 
was  formerly  performed  as  well  upon  the  cot- 
ton in  the  seed,  as  after  it  was  separated  from 
the  seed;  but  the  second  operation  of  the 
whipper  has  lately  been  discontinued  under  a 
belief  that  it  produced  a  stringy  appearance  in 
the  cotton  wool. 

**  The  whipping  of  cotton  at  its  first  gathering, 
and  while  attached  to  the  seed,  is  really  bene- 
ficial, and  should  never  be  omitted.  When 
these  operations  are  completed,  the  harvest 
may  be  considered  as  closed,  and  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  cotton  for  market  really  begins. 
Many  machines  have  been  designed,  and  many 
forms  of  the  s^me  machine  adopted,  for  sepa- 
rating the  seed  from  the  sea  island  cotton,  but 
all  of  them  at  last  resolve  themselves  into  two 
wooden  rollers  turning  by  opposite  move- 
ments upon  each  other.  The  rollers  are  from 
half  an  inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  re- 
volve from  100  times  to  500  times  in  a  minute. 
The  whole  resolving  itself  into  this  simple 
rule,  that  the  smaller  the  rollers,  and  the  slower 
they  revolve,  the  cleaner  will  be  the  cotton 
separated  from  the  seed,  because,  if  the  rollers 
are  an  inch  in  diameter,  and,  above  all,  if  they 
revolve  with  a  high  velocity,  they  will  take  in 
soft  seeds,  small  seeds,  and  false  seeds,  or 
motes  as  they  are  called,  and  in  crushing  them 
in  their  passage  through  the  rollers,  will  stain 
and  injure  the  cotton  in  its  appearance. 

"  Much  money  has  been  spent  upon  costly 
machines,  propelled  by  horses,  by  water,  or  by 
wind,  first  in  the  Bahama  Islands,  and  for  many 
years  in  Georgia,  and  Carolina,  but  at  last 
most  of  the  growers  of  sea  island  cotton  have 
returned  to  their  first  and  most  simple  machine, 
to  wit,  two  wooden  rollers,  kept  together  by  a 
wooden  frame  and  a  square  shaft,  upon  which 
is  fixed  a  wooden  or  iron  fly  wheel  from  2  to  3 
feet  in  dimeter.  The  iron  cranks  which  turn 
the  rollers  are  connected  by  strips  of  wood, 
with  a  trendle  worked  by  the  foot ;  this  treadle 
rans  under  the  machine,  and  is  connected  at 
the  farther  end  of  the  floor  of  the  house  by 
sockets,  within  which  it  revolves;  the  man 
stands,  therefore,  in  the  front  of  the  rollers, 
with  a  board  between  him  and  the  rollers,  upon 
which  he  holds  a  larere  handful  of  seed  of  cot- 
wm,  which  he  presents  from  time  to  time  to  the 
rollers  that  are  kept  in  motion  by  the  pressure 
of  the  foot  upon  the  treadle  ;  this  labour,  from 
habit,  becomes  easy,  as  the  feet  are  often 
changed  in  the  operation.  The  task  expected 
from  the  labourer  with  the  machine  (which 
costs,  when  new  and  complete,  10  American 
dollars)  is  from  25  to  30  pounds  per  day. 
Women,  from  their  careful  attention  in  keep- 
ng  the  rollers,  while  they  revolve  upon  each 
552 


other,  well  supplied  with  seed  cotton,  were  un* 
questionably  the  best  ginners,  as  they  are  call- 
ed from  the  term  gin,  applied  to  the  machine; 
but  in  process  of  time  it  began  to  be  believed 
that  the  continued  motion  of  the  feet  produced 
a  relaxed  system  in  women,  which  was  likely 
to  lead  in  the  end  to  abortion  or  miscarriage : 
men  have,  consequently,  been  substituted  for 
this  work,  one  which  being  within  doors,  and 
exercising  both  hands  and  feet  without  very 
much  labour,  is  preferred  by  them  to  any  other 
in  the  winter.    What  is  a  little  surprising,  this 
simple  machine,  the  foot  gin,  which  we  re- 
ceived from  the  West  Indies,  is  mentioned,  if  I 
mistake  not,  in   the  remains  of  'Nearchus's* 
voyage  down  the  Indus  in  Alexander's  expe- 
dition, as  gleaned  and  translated  by  Dr.  Vin- 
cent or  Major  Rennell,  in  his  map  of  Hindostan, 
as  there  employed  for  separating  the  seed  from 
the  wool,  which  the  Greeks,  for  the  first  time, 
saw  growing  upon  trees  and  shrubs.     Could 
Asia  Minor,  could  Greece  and  Egypt  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  cotton  plant  up  to  that 
time  1     The  inquiry  is  a  little  curious,  nor  is  it 
uninteresting,  but  can  belter  far  be  made  by 
one   who  lives   surrounded  by  much   of  the 
wreck  of  past  knowledge,  by  many  of  the  me- 
morials of  past  time,  than  by  him  who  i>s  living 
in  solitude,  under  the  shadow  of  his  oaks,  on 
the  shores  of  the  Altamaha.    To  prepare  the 
cotton  for  this  ginning,  or  separation  from  the 
seed,  when  taken  from  the  house  where  it  was 
put  from  the  field,  it  is  carefully  looked  over 
and  separated,  or  sorted,  as  it  is  called,  the 
yellow  cotton,  the  motes,  any  hard  cotten,  that 
may  have  passed  through  the  whipper,  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  white  ;  this  is  a  work  of  care 
and  attention,  and  the  future  appearance  of  the 
cotton    much    depends   upon   the   manner  in 
which  the  work  is  done.  Women  are  employed 
in  this  operation,  seated  upon  benches  with 
tables  before  them ;  the  seed  cotton  is  spread 
in  small  parcels,  taken  out  of  one  basket,  ex- 
amined and  turned  over  to  another,  into  which 
the  person  puts  the  entire  of  her  day's  labour. 
The  quantity  required  to  be  thus  examined  and 
cleaned  in  the  day  by  each  one  is  from  60  to 
100  pounds,  according  to  the  care  bestowed 
upon  the  cotton  by  the  grower ;  after  this  sort- 
ing it  is  exposed  lightly  and  shortly  to  the  sun, 
that  it  may  take  off  any  dampness  the  cotton 
may  have  acquired  in  the  house ;  it  is  then 
passed  from  this   drying  immediately  to  the 
gin,  or  machine  that  separates  the  seed  from 
the  wool ;  after  going  through  the  gin,  and  be- 
ing separated  from  the  seed,  it  is  again  turned 
over  to   the  women,  who   are  generally  in  a 
large  room,  well  lighted  with  glass  windows. 
They  sit  with  small  tables  before  them,  made 
either  with  open  slats,  reeds,  or  wire,  when  any 
crushed  seeds,  and  cotton  burnt  or  blackened 
by  the  former  machine,  or  moles  that  have 
escaped   the   former   searches,  are  removed; 
and  to  have  this  work  well  done,  30  pounds  is 
all  that  is  required  per  day  from  each  woman. 
After  this  third  operation  it  is  considered  ready 
to  be  bagged  lor  market. 

"The  bags  in  which  sea  island  cotton  is 
shipped  are  almost  exclusively  Scotch,  are 
made  of  hemp,  42  inches  wide  in  the  web,  and 
should  W2igh  1^  pounds  to  the  yard;   these 


GOSSYPIUM. 


^mgs  each  required  from  4}  to  4^  yards,  and 
then  are  made  lo  receive  300  pounds  of  cotton. 
Two  men  are  generally  employed  at  a  time  in 
packing,  and  usually  pack  two  bags  in  a  day, 
in  the  manner  following.  The  room  into 
which  the  cotton  has  finally  passed,  after  being 
prepared  for  the  bag,  is  reserved  expressly  for 
that  purpose,  and  is  kept  as  clean  in  floor  and 
walls  as  possible;  adjoining  to  it  is  a  small 
apartment  under  the  same  cover,  with  a  round 
hole  made  in  the  floor  just  large  enough  to  con- 
tain the  bag  when  full  of  cotton;  the  open  end 
of  the  empty  bag  is  strongly  sewed  with  twine, 
round  a  strong  hoop,  which,  extending  beyond 
the  hole,  suspends  the  bag  vertically  from  it; 
one  of  the  men  then  gets  into  the  bag,  and  with 
a  heavy  wooden  or  iron  pestle  he  presses  the 
cotton  gradually  with  his  feet,  and  finally  beats 
it  down  with  the  pesile  until  the  requisite 
quantity  is  pressed  down  into  the  bag.  The 
bags  were  formerly  made  wet  before  they  began 
to  fill  Ihem,  under  the  belief  that  it  kept  the 
cotton  down  in  the  bag,  when  pressed  there, 
better  than  when  dry,  but  this  is  an  idle  and 
often  an  injurious  practice,  and  should  be  al- 
ways avoided.  We  will  now  look  back  and 
collect  the  quantities  of  labour  that  is  or  should 
be  applied  to  every  bale  of  300  pounds  of  sea 
island  cotton  in  preparing  it  for  market.  It  re- 
quires 1000  pounds  of  seed  cotton  to  produce 
300  pounds  of  clean  white  cotton  wool;  15 
persons  will  be  required  to  sort  and  prepare 
this  1000  pounds  for  the  gin  or  machine;  taking 
all  weather  25  pounds  is  the  mean  quantity 
received  from  each  gin  per  day;  this  gives  12 
days'  labour  to  each  bag  for  ginning,  and  10 
women  mote  these  300  pounds  of  cotton  in  the 
day,  making  for  sorting  15,  for  ginning  12,  for 
moling  10,  for  packing  1,  in  all  38.  But  be- 
sides these  38  that  must  be  good  and  steady 
persons,  there  are  usually  two  inferior  persons, 
young  or  old,  to  place  the  cotton  which  is  aooul 
to  be  ginned  upon  the  drying  floor,  or  to  re- 
move and  pass  it  about  in  any  change  of  wea- 
ther, thus  requiring  to  every  bag  of  sea  island 
cotton  well  put  up  the  labour  of  40  persons  1 
day.  The  bag  costs  for  bagging,  for  twine, 
and  trouble  in  making,  not  less  than  $1  26  of 
American  money;  this,  with  75  cents  for 
freight,  is  to  be  subtracted  from  the  value  of 
cotton,  as  there  is  never  any  return  made  for 
the  ba:2:  by  the  purchaser. 

"  The  quantity  of  sea  island  cotton  has  not 
materially  increased  within  these  last  10  years, 
nor  is  it  likely  that  it  will  increase.  The  par- 
ticular soils  and  climate  that  have  heretofore 
produced  it,  and  to  which  it  probably  owes  its 
quality,  are  confined  to  the  limits  first  stated, 
that  is.  from  Georgetown,  in  South  Carolina,  to 
St.  Mary's,  in  Georgia.  By  looking  at  a  map 
of  the  United  States,  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
long  siring  of  islands  that  bound  our  southern 
shore,  and  separate  the  Atlantic  Ocean  from 
the  continent,  end  at  these  points ;  but  what  is 
more,  the  tides  that  probably  assisted  to  cast  up 
these  islands,  have  changed  their  climate. 
The  tides  along  the  shores  of  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia,  are  ranch  less  than  in  Georgia, 
and  they  rise  still  less  in  Florida  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  that  bounds  the  new  acquired 
70 


OR  COTTON. 

provinces    of   the   American    Union    to    the 
southwest. 

"  Whether  it  is  that  the  cultivation  of  the 
sea  island  cotton  has  afforded  fewer  induce- 
ments than  other  subjects  of  cultivation,  certain 
it  is  that  the  number  of  those  engaged  in  it,  even 
within  these  limited  districts,  have  not  greatly 
increased,  and  it  is  the  successors  of  the  first 
cultivators  that  are  still  engaged  upon  this  ob- 
ject. They  are  generally  an  educated  people, 
and  a  stationary  one,  less  anxious  after  change 
than  their  countrymen  are  supposed  to  be; 
and  although  severely  smitten  in  war  by  Eng- 
land, and,  in  peace,  by  the  National  Tariff, 
I  they  have  still  clung,  with  some  degree  of 
I  fondness,  to  the  places  whereat  they  were 
born,  and  to  the  seas  in  which  they  were  bred. 

"  Short  Staple  Cotton. — The  short  staple  cot- 
tons, of  every  part  of  the  United  States,  are  de- 
rived from  the  first  and  second  varieties  of  cot- 
ton which  were  found  in  the  United  States,  from 
Virginia  to  Georgia,  at  the  close  of  the  Ameri- 
can revolutionary  war,  cultivated  in  small 
quantities  by  the  poorer  classes  of  the  white 
population  of  the  country,  to  be  mixed,  in  their 
domestic  manufactories,  with  their  own  wool. 
The  cotton  for  this  purpose  was  separated  from 
the  seed  by  the  old  and  the  young  with  their  fin- 
gers, sitting  around  their  evening  fire,  and 
was  spun  by  the  hand  wheel,  to  serve  as  a 
warp,  to  be  filled  with  the  wool  of  their  own 
sheep. 

"  As  soon  as  the  attention  of  the  Southern 
Stales  was  called  to  the  profitable  cultivation 
of  cotton,  by  a  few  persons  along  the  shores 
of  Georgia  and  Carolina,  the  cultivation  began 
to  be  extended  into  the  interior.  The  small 
quantity  of  cotton  that  had  been  grown  for  do- 
mestic uses,  was  exchanged  for  larger  quanti- 
ties, to  be  prepared  for  sale.  But  the  great 
difficulty  to  be  overcome  in  the  progress  to  ex- 
tension, was  to  find  out  any  instrument  by 
which  the  cotton  wool  could  be  separated  from 
the  seed. 

"By  this  time  various  machines  had  been 
introduced  for  ginning  the  sea  island  cotton, 
but  all  of  them  ended  at  last  in  two  rollers  re- 
volving upon  each  other,  either  longer  or 
shorter,  and  moving  with,  some  more,  some 
less,  velocity.  Those  rollers  were  but  badly 
adapted  to  the  hairy  cotton,  or  second  variety, 
which  soon  began  to  obtain  the  preference  in 
the  interior  of  Georgia  and  South  Carolina, 
over  the  first  or  smooth-leaved  variety,  and 
merited  to  obtain  that  preference,  as  giving 
when  separated  from  its  downy  seed,  a  finer 
and  stronger,  although  shorter  fibre,  and  as 
perfecting  its  fruit  sooner,  but  which  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  separate  with  the  rollers 
because  the  down  or  fur  upon  the  seed  retained 
the  seed  hanging  upon  the  roller,  and  denied 
admission  to  the  rollers  of  the  fresh  cotton  in 
the  seed  that  was  offered.  Many  plans  were 
suggested,  many  substitutes  for  the  rollers  de- 
signed. All  succeeded  in  part,  but  still  they 
went  on  slow.  Something  was  desired  to 
do  much  in  a  short  time ;  something  that  was 
strong  enough  to  travel  about  without  being 
broken  to  pieces,  and  light  enough  to  move 
with  its  moving  master.  At  last  such  a  th^'ig 
3  A  553 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


was  found  in  Miller  and  Whitney's  gin,  pro- 
hahly  not  the  best  machine  that  could  have 
been  designed,  but  so  operative  to  its  end,  so 
efficient  to  its  purpose,  that  it  took  possession 
of  the  whole  ground.  From  thence  forward  no 
other  machine  was  sought  for,  and  Miller  and 
Whitney's  gin  is  employed  to  separate  the  cot- 
Ion  seed  from  Virginia  to  Louisiana,  save 
where  the  roller  gin  is  used,  and  its  use  is  now 
altogether  confined  to  the  sea  island  cotton, 
whose  superior  value  is  supposed  to  warrant 
the  great  mcrease  of  labour  necessary  in  that 
mode  of  ginning.  Miller  and  Whitney's  gin 
was  designed  by  Mr.  Whitney,  and  executed 
at  the  plantation  of  Mr.  Miller,  16  miles  above 
Savannah,  about  the  year  1795,  and  it  seems 
to  be  derived  from  two  machines  already  used 
upon  cotton,  a  kind  of  cylindrical  whipper,  and 
the  circular  cards,  before  that  time  introduced 
in  manuiacturing  cotton,  a  wooden  shaft  or 
roller  enclosed  within  a  wooden  box.  This 
roller  or  shaft  has  at  every  inch  of  its  length  a 
steel  blade  or  saw  about  a  foot  in  diameter ; 
above  these  saws  is  a  box  containing  the  cot- 
ton in  the  seed.  The  box  has  the  bottom  of 
metal  slits,  through  which  the  saws  pass  about 
an  inch,  and  pulling  off  the  cotton,  but  some- 
limes  cutting  the  fibres  as  it  passes.  This  re- 
volving of  the  saws  carries  the  cotton  in  the 
box  gradually  round,  until  the  seeds  contained 
in  the  box  are  freed  of  the  wool  attached  to 
them,  when  it  is  emptied  of  the  seed  and  re- 
filled with  fresh  cotton  :  it  too  often  leaves 
3ome  of  the  fibre  behind  it,  which  diminishes 
ihe  quantity  as  well  as  injures  the  quality,  so 
much  so  that  the  estimated  difference  of  the 
products  in  these  two  modes  of  ginning  are, 
with  rollers,  300  pounds  to  the  1000,  and  250 
pounds  to  the  1000  with  Miller  and  Whitney's 
gin.  This  gin  having  at  last  given  a  cheap 
and  expeditious  mode  of  taking  the  wool  from 
the  hairy  American  cotton  (for  a  gin  that  cost 
10  pounds  sterling  will  clean  a  bale  a  day  with 
a  single  horse  acting  upon  the  gin,  with  a  band 
wheel  which  any  man  can  make  for  himself), 
the  cultivation  of  this  description  of  cotton 
diverged  in  all  directions  around  Georgia  as 
the  common  centre  ;  it  went  north  into  the  two 
Carolinas;  it  went  west  into  the  hill  country 
of  all  the  Southern  States  ;  it  was  found  capable 
of  adjusting  itself  to  the  soil  and  climate  of  the 
interior  country,  which  the  Anguilla  cotton  had 
not  been  adapted  to ;  still  the  fibre  of  the  hairy 
or  short  staple  cotton  is  better  near  the  sea 
than  in  the  interior.  Above  all,  it  is  found  to 
be  most  productive  in  alluvial  soils  that  are  a 
little  touched  with  salt,  as  are  some  of  the  dis- 
tricts of  Louisiana,  where  the  rivers  rising  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains  draw  some  of  their  wa- 
ters through  the  salt  and  arid  plains  which 
separate  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas  from  the 
vaters  of  Red  River,  where  these  two  varieties 
of  cotton,  and  a  cotton  that  is  possibly  a  hybrid 
between  them,  have  arrived  at  the  greatest  per- 
fection. It  was  there  that  soils  which  are 
deeply  tinged  with  red,  and  heavily  seasoned 
nith  salt,  which  all  the  tributary  streams  of 
Red  River,  flowing  in  from  the  north,  bring 
with  them,  give  forth  the  most  abundant  crops 
of  the  best  quality  of  these  descriptions  of  cot- 
t'.x».  Directing  myself  by  the  information 
664 


I  received  from  one  or  two  friends  who  have 
'  property  there,  I  should  say,  with  reasonable 
j  diligence  and  attention  to  the  object,  IGOO 
'  pounds  of  seed  cotton,  or  about  250  pounds  of 
!  cotton  wool  may  be  expected  to  the  English 
i  acre,  while  the  average  products  of  the  hill 
lands,  from  the  Mississippi  to  North  Carolina, 
should  not  be  taken  at  more  than  500  pounds 
of  seed  cotton,  or  half  the  quantity;  nor  do  I 
believe  there  is  any  material  difference  upon 
the  great  scale  of  products  through  this  wide 
extent  of  country,  judging  for  myself  from  per- 
sonal observation,  for  I  have  passed  through 
all  these  districts,  yet  scarcely  a  year  passes 
without  the  newspapers  announcing  some 
new-discovered  land  of  promise  within  these 
wide  limits,  themselves  misled  by  some  single 
or  partial  result,  or  stimulated  on  by  land 
speculators,  a  curse  of  no  common  character 
to  a  new  country.  But  in  whatever  cause 
originating,  the  evil  is  the  same.  These  ru- 
mours fall  among  a  people  already  heated 
with  a  desire  of  change — a  people  quite  sensi- 
ble to  present  evils,  but  not  reflective  enough 
to  hold  in  remembrance  that  every  wave  of  the 
hand  without  necessity,  and  every  momentary 
evolvement  of  time  without  usefulness,  is  a 
waste  of  power  and  waste  of  time  irreclaim- 
able to  humanity.  The  system  of  agriculture 
through  all  those  districts  is  essentially  the 
same..  You  find  the  Virginian  upon  Red 
River ;  you  find  the  North  Carolina  man,  the 
South  Carolina  man,  and  the  man  from  Geor- 
gia, alongside  of  him  ;  any  improvements,  any 
increased  quantity  of  product,  by  any  new 
course  of  cultivation,  spreads  like  the  fire  of 
the  American  prairie,  a  spark  has  carried  it, 
and  enkindled  it,  far  in  advance  of  the  mass 
of  flame  that  rolls  after  it.  Any  substantial 
improvement,  therefore,  that  is  made  in  Vir- 
ginia or  Georgia,  from  this  extension  of  mind, 
from  this  intermingling  of  men,  is  as  likely  to 
be  reflected  back  upon  the  intermediate  coun- 
try from  Red  River  as  to  reach  it  from  its  first 
.source.  The  system  of  cultivation  is,  there- 
fore, the  same ;  the  moment  the  cultivation  of 
cotton  spread  into  the  interior  country,  from 
the  shores  of  Georgia  and  South  Caro/ina,  the 
hand-hoe  was  exchanged  for  the  plough.  The 
latter  instrument  had  been  employed  at  all 
times  and  in  all  cultures  in  the  hill  country  of 
the  Southern  States;  in  no  agricultural  coun- 
try were  oxen  or  horses  cheaper,  in  no  agri- 
cultural country  were  soils  freer  for  the 
ploughshare,  but  it  was  not  adapted  to  the  sea- 
coast,  because  the  land  is  so  little  above  the 
waters  that  ebb  and  flow,  that  many  drains,  in- 
convenient to  the  ploughman,  are  required  to 
carry  oflf  the  surface  waters.  The  trees,  too,  of 
necessity,  send  their  roots  along  the  surface, 
rather  than  vertically  in  quest  of  moisture,  and 
many  of  them,  like  the  live  oak,  are  scarcely 
destructible  by  time.  They,  too,  obstruct  his 
course ;  but,  above  all,  the  plant  under  culti- 
vation sends  its  roots  around  in  quest  rather 
of  nourishment  than  down  in  quest  of  moisture, 
and  must  not  be  too  readily  dealt  with.  These 
various  causes  have,  finally,  after  long  expe- 
rience, fixed  the  hoe  husbandry  upon  the  sea- 
coast,  and  carried  the  plough  husbandry  into 
the  hills.    The  short  staple  cotton  is,  therefore. 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


as  exclusively  cultivated  by  the  plough,  as  the 
sea  island  cotton  is  exclusively  cultivated  by 
the  hoe.  The  manner  of  treating  the  plant  is 
really  the  same ;  the  hoe  dressing  the  land 
more  neatly  and  garden-like,  the  plough  break- 
ing up  the  land  more  radically,  and  extending 
far  more  widely  its  operation  for  the  quantity 
of  force  employed.  The  consequence  has 
been,  that  while  4  English  acres  is  the  quan- 
tity cultivated  upon  the  sea-coast  of  Georgia 
and  Carolina  with  the  hand-hoe,  8  acres  is 
about  the  quantity  cultivated  of  short  staple 
cotton,  in  the  interior,  with  the  plough.  It  is 
the  ridge  husbandry  in  both  instances  that  is 
now  pursued  ;  more  neatly  executed,  in  the 
first  instance,  by  the  hoe,  and  more  roughly  by 
the  plough  in  the  second,  but  still  the  same. 
The  month  of  April  is  the  best  time  of  plant- 
ing either  variety.  The  distance  between  the 
ridges  is  most  generally  5  feet,  the  plants  left 
in  the  drills  varying  from  6  to  24  inches,  de- 
pendent, as  before  stated,  upon  the  expected 
growth  of  the  plants.  Two  other  circum- 
stances contributed  to  aid  the  cultivation  of 
short  staple,  extrinsic  of  soil  or  real  products. 
The  winds  of  autumn  are  far  more  violent 
upon  the  sea-coast  of  Georgia  and  Carolina, 
than  in  the  interior  country,  and  the  capsules 
thai  contain  the  sea  island  cotton  expand  more 
♦ban  those  that  contain  the  short  staple,  so  that 
-ne  first  has  to  be  gathered  much  more  fre- 
quently from  the  fields  than  the  last,  or  it  falls 
to  the  ground  and  is  lost.  The  consequence 
is,  the  general  gathering  to  the  labourer  per 
day  is  more  than  twice  the  quantity  of  short 
staple  than  of  sea  island,  for  it  is  allowed  to 
hang  upon  the  plants  until  they  are  white  with 
the  open  cotton,  so  that  there  is  only  2,  and 
at  best  3,  gatherings  of  the  one,  to  lo  or  12 
scanty  gleanings  of  the  other.  This  one  cir- 
cumstance, more  than  any  other,  gives  to  the 
grower  of  short  staple  cotton  the  power  of 
something  more  than  duplicating  the  quantity 
of  cotton  wool  produced  by  the  same  quantity 
of  labour  expended. 

"(Joitons  of  various  kinds  grow  well,  and 
perfect  their  fruit,  from  the  southern  borders 
of  Virginia  to  the  southwestern  streams  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  space  of  1200  miles,  and  from 
the  sea  for  200  miles  into  the  interior;  through 
this  wide  space  of  country,  in  every  soil, 
whether  of  clay,  or  loam,  or  even  sand,  the  cot- 
ton plant  will  grow,  and  produce  its  seed  and 
wool,  its  accompaniment,  provided  the  waters 
are  kept  well  drained  from  the  surface  of  the 
land.  The  quantity  of  products  will  of  course 
depend  upon  the  soils,  whatever  they  may  be, 
containing  these  ingredients,  which  constitute 
fertility  in  all  countries,  which  neither  experi- 
ment or  the  philosophy  of  chemistry  has  yet 
been  able  fully  to  discover  or  define.  The 
mean  quantity  given  of  100  pounds  of  sea 
island  cotton  wool  to  the  English  acre,  and  of 
125  pounds  of  short  staple  cotton  to  the  same 
quantity  of  land,  we  believe  not  materially 
wrong,  but  the  quantity  of  labour  to  bring  forth 
these  results  are  very  different.  The  sea  island 
cotton  is  cultivated  neatly  by  the  hoe,  the  short 
staple  more  roughly  by  the  plough;  still  it  is, 
or  should  be,  the  ridge  husbandry  in  both  in- 
stances.   The  plants  are  left  to  stand  in  drills 


upon  the  ridge,  at  distances  from  each  other, 

graduated  as  before  stated,  to  the  expected 
growth  of  the  plant*  from  6  inches  to  2  fee* 
from  each  other,  and  bearing,  without  injury, 
to  stand  much  nearer  than  at  first  sight  may 
be  imagined,  for  the  cotton  plant  does  not  oc- 
cupy much  space  with  its  roots,  sending  them 
down  into  the  ground,  and  not  over  the  surface, 
like  white  or  grain  crops,  and  drawing  like  all 
large-leaved  green  crops,  much  of  its  nourish- 
ment from  the  atmosphere.  It  is  not  an  ex- 
hauster of  soil,  shading  and  protecting  it  from 
the  sun,  and  soon,  by  its  decay  or  by  its  com- 
bustion, returning  almost  as  much  as  it  has 
taken  away;  but  from  the  density  of  its  shade, 
and  the  size  and  swell  of  its  roots,  it  soon 
makes  the  soil  too  loose  to  sustain  the  plant, 
and  the  continued  culture  of  the  same  soil, 
brings  on  a  disease  in  the  plant  greatly  resem- 
bling the  blight  in  wheat,  and  leaving  a  pro- 
pensity in  the  seeds  of  cotton  to  extend  the 
evil,  like  the  propensity  in  blighted  wheat  to 
extend  and  multiply;  nor  have  I  ever  doubted 
that  in  both  instances  the  evil  had  originated 
in  insect  depredations,  for  although  Sir  Joseph 
Banks  discovered  a  fungous  attaching  itself  to 
blighted  wheat,  I  still  believe  that  the  micro- 
scope discovered  in  that  minute  parasitic 
plant  the  effects  of  injury  previously  received 
from  something  that  lived  and  moved  and  had 
animal  being.  Fire,  therefore,  I  have  always 
believed,  and  have  always  acted  upon  that  be- 
lief, is  the  best  security  against  this  increasing 
and  extending  evil;  all  the  weeds  and  grass 
that  are  on  the  land  should  be  burnt  upon  the 
surface  of  the  land,  leaving  no  vegetable  mat- 
ter to  conceal  and  protect  the  germ,  and  by 
fermentation  to  give  heat  and  life  to  it;  it  is 
the  neglect  of  this  course  which  I  think  has 
been  the  cause  that  this  evil,  under  various 
names,  rot,  and  rust,  and  blight,  has  spread  so 
widely  as  it  has  done  within  a  few  years. 

"There  is  no  plant  that  requires  the  inter- 
changeable husbandry  more  than  the  cotton 
plant,  and  there  is  no  country  where  that  hus- 
bandry is  more  essential  than  in  the  Southern 
States.  The  cotton  requires  continued  clean- 
ing during  the  droughts  of  spring  and  the 
heats  of  midsummer;  these  cleanings,  together 
with  the  shade  and  rapid  growth  of  the  plant, 
break  up  the  soil,  and  leave  it  to  be  carried 
away  by  the  first  violent  autumnal  rains.  The 
best  remedy  is  to  give  to  the  fields  of  cotton  in- 
termediate crops  of  grain ;  as  good  a  series  as 
can  well  be  adopted  is  cotton,  rye,  and  wheat 
(where  the  soil  is  fit  for  it),  pasture,  and  again 
cotton.  A  more  extended  rotation  might  b« 
adopted,  but  as  all  root  crops  should  be  avoid- 
ed  in  series  with  cotton,  this  simple  tri-annual 
course,  with  manure  applied  during  the  grain 
year,  to  as  great  extent  as  may  be  convenient, 
will  keep  the  field  without  material  decay 
When  cotton  was  first  introduced,  the  growers 
were  misled  as  to  the  necessity  of  this  change, 
by  observing  that  the  cotton  plant,  upon  new 
lands,  grew  large,  and  gave  little  fruit,  and 
that  it  improved  for  the  second  and  thir*^  year 
in  productiveness,  they  unfortunately  pushed 
the  culture  too  far,  until  possibly  to  this  cause 
many  of  the  diseases  that  have  afflicted  it  in 
its  growth  may  be  attributed. 

555 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


"In  a  preceding  part  of  this  article,  the  pro- 
bable mean  results  for  these  last  15  years,  in 
growing  sea  island  cotton,  has  been  taken  at 
IqO,  or  about  20/.  sterling  to  the  labourer; 
and  taking,  as  we  have  already  done  in  this 
letter,  the  medium  crop  of  short  staple  at  125 
pounds  to  the  English  acre,  and  8  acres  of  this 
cotton,  as  cultivated  by  the  plough,  it  will  give 
1000  pounds  of  short  staple  cotton  wool  to  each 
labourer  employed  upon  it,  which  for  the  last 
7  years  may  have  given  to  the  grower  a  mean 
return  of  10  cents  to  the  pound,  or  100  dollars 
for  the  year's  work.  There  are  exceptions, 
unquestionably,  to  these  estimates ;  a  few  men 
have  received  much  higher  prices  for  their  sea 
island  cotton,  and  a  few  men  have  raised  much 
larger  quantities  of  both  descriptions  of  cotton 
to  the  acre  than  are  given,  but  exceptions  can 
never  serve  as  a  guide,  in  conclusions,  as  to 
either  the  wealth  or  productiveness  of  a  whole 
country." 

Mr.  Croom,  of  Middle  Florida,  thinks  Mr. 
Spaulding  has  made  the  limits  within  which 
the  sea  island  cotton  may  be  cultivated  too 
narrow.  He  states  that  "  it  has  been  raised  in 
Middle  Florida  since  its  first  settlement  about 
the  year  1822;  and  the  crops  made  here  have 
been  annually  sold  in  the  Charleston  market, 
at  prices  a  little  exceeding,  generally,  those  of 
the  '  Mains  and  Santees,'  though  not  quite 
equalling  good  'sea  islands.*  Moreover,  it  is 
produced  from  the  coast  to  the  distance  of  30 
miles  inland,  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  not 
denied  that  the  presence  of  sea  air  is  beneficial 
to  this  crop.  If  I  have  not  been  misinformed, 
this  cotton  is  also  produced  by  the  planters  on 
the  St.  John's,  in  East  Florida,  and  was  for- 
merly produced  in  the  Bahamas,  until  the 
ravages  of  the  caterpillar  compelled  its  aban- 
donment I  think  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
Mr.  Spaulding  is  correct  in  the  opinion  that 
this  cotton  becomes  less  fine  when  carried 
Bouth  of  the  St.  Mary's.  It  is  probably  a  native 
of  a  tropical  climate,  and,  therefore,  most  pro- 
bably would  not  be  less  fine  when  produced  in 
the  West  Indies.  I  have  heard  that  some  of 
this  cotton  produced  at  Cape  Sable  has  com- 
manded 50  cents  per  pound  in  the  Charleston 
market,  without  unusual  care  in  its  growth 
and  preparation. 

•*  In  limiting  the  range  of  the  short  staple  cot- 
Ions  to  200  miles  of  the  sea-coast,  Mr.  Spaul- 
ding appears  to  have  overlooked  North  Ala- 
bama and  West  Tennessee.  In  receding  from 
the  sea-coast,  however,  two  causes  are  con- 
stantly operating  against  the  growth  of  cotton  ; 
a  higher  latitude  and  a  greater  elevation,  both 
tending  to  produce  a  colder  climate.  To  these 
causes  may  probably  be  added  a  third,  the  loss 
of  sea  air.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  cot- 
ton planter,  therefore,  should  prefer  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  sea-coast." 

To  Mr.  Spaulding's  highly  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  cotton  culture  we  shall  add  some 
Airther  details  of  a  miscellaneous  character. 
The  quantity  of  seed  sown  is  usually  from 
1  to  2  bushels  per  acre.  This  is  scattered  in 
the  rows  drawn  upon  the  cotton  beds,  and 
very  lightly  covered.  It  sprouts  and  comes 
up  in  a  very  few  days.  If  injured  from  too 
farly  planting,  it  seldom  recovers  from  the 
55fi 


effects,  and  matures  late.  When  worms  or  lice 
attack  the  young  plants,  it  is  advisable  to  stop 
thinning  the  plants,  and  replant  as  quickly  as 
possible.  The  crop  is  a  precarious  one.  In 
favourable  seasons  more  cotton  is  sometimes 
raised  than  can  be  picked,  whilst  in  others 
there  is  such  a  falling  off  in  the  product  as  to 
leave  many  hands  unemployed,  or  but  par- 
tially so.  Much  wet  weather  occurring  in  the 
spring  may  lead  to  serious  injury  of  the  young 
plants,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season  the 
same  kind  of  weather  may  cause  the  bowls  to 
shed  or  fall  off  too  soon,  and  thus  spoil  the 
cotton.  The  kind  called  Petit-Gulf,  now  so 
highly  prized  by  planters  in  Mississippi  and 
some  other  states,  is  not  only  of  finer  quality, 
but  more  productive  and  easily  gathered,  a 
hand  picking  20  lbs.  per  day  more  than  of  the 
ordinary  upland  kind.  But  it  sheds  its  bowls 
much  sooner,  and  does  not  admit  of  picking 
more  than  half  the  usual  time  of  the  common 
green  seed  species,  which  last  is  often  gathered 
during  4  months  of  the  year.  Hence  the  plant- 
ers in  some  places  put  in  only  a  part  of  the  crop 
of  Petit-Gulf,  reserving  another  portion  of  the 
common  kind  for  later  gathering. 

The  distance  between  the  rows  is  usually 
regulated  by  the  strength  of  the  soil  and  capa- 
city for  producing  vigorous  plants.  It  has 
been  recommended  as  a  good  rule  to  place  the 
rows  on  land  capable  of  producing  from  10  to 
15  bushels  of  Indian  corn  per  acre,  about  4  feet 
apart;  from  15  to  25  bushels  per  acre,  5  feet; 
from  30  to  50  bushels,  6  feet;  50  to  70  bushels, 
7  and  8  feet.  It  is  important  to  be  in  readiness 
to  plant  as  quickly  as  possible  after  frosts  have 
ceased,  one  week  in  the  first  part  of  the  season 
being  considered  worth  a  fortnight  in  the  latter 
part.  As  soon  as  the  fourth  leaf  makes  its  ap' 
pearance,  the  thinning  by  hand  commences, 
when  the  plants,  if  to  be  cultivated  in  drills, 
are  allowed  to  stand  two  and  two,  from  9  inches 
apart  in  light  land,  to  2^  and  even  3  feet  where 
the  ground  is  strong.  When  the  earth  is  dry, 
it  may  be  ploughed,  and  the  dirt  drawn  up  to 
the  cotton  so  as  to  cover  and  smother  the 
young  grass.  When  wet,  the  grass  and  earth 
are  drawn  away  from  the  cotton  very  gently, 
after  which  the  ground  is  ploughed  and  drawn 
up  again  as  soon  as  sufliciently  dry  to  permit. 
This  plan  of  ploughing  and  hoeing  is  followed 
up  until  the  cotton  becomes  so  large  as  to  be 
injured  by  the  passage  of  the  plough,  after 
which  the  earth  is  chopped  over  with  the  hoe 
until  the  crop  is  made,  of  which  a  judgment 
may  be  formed  by  its  beginning  to  open  freely 
at  the  bottom.  Ten  hands  are  considered 
enough  to  cultivate  100  acres  of  cotton  with 
ease ;  but  if  a  good  crop,  it  would  require  at 
least  20  hands  to  pick  it  out. 

The  advantages  derived  from  substituting 
the  plough  to  the  hoe,  so  generally  used  in  the 
low  lands  of  the  old  cotton  states,  are  strikingly 
exhibited  in  the  following  communication  from 
a  Georgia  planter  to  the  editor  of  the  Farmer's 
Register.  We  shall  only  give  extracts  from  the 
article,  which  may  be  found  in  the  6th  vol.  p 
269. 

"An  emigrant  from  your  own  state,  and  the 
vicinity  of  your  city,  formerly  engaged  in  the 
culture  of  the  long-staple  cotton  on  the  main 


IfOSSYPIUM. 

lands,  conversant  with  the  modes  of  culture 
prevalent  there,  and  now  engaged  in  growing 
the  short  cotton  upon  the  plans  adopted  through- 
out the  whole  western  country,  my  experience 
has  enabled  me  to  delect  some  of  the  errors 
formerly  practised  by  myself,  and  my  neigh- 
bours in  Carolina.  My  attention  has  been 
called  to  this  subject  by  the  perusal  of  an  arti- 
cle in  one  of  your  late  numbers,  signed  'An 
Observer,'  giving  an  account  of  the  crop  of  E. 
Frost,  Esq.,  in  St.  Andrew's  parish.  Mr.  Frost, 
it  appears,  planted,  according  to  the  low-coun- 
try system,  four  acres  of  cotton  to  the  hand, 
and  each  hand  made  4,000  pounds  seed  cotton. 
This  the  writer  considers  an  extraordinary 
production — and,  for  that  region  of  country,  so 
ii  is.  It  may  safely  be  predicted  that  it  will  not 
)n  be  equalled  by  Mr.  Frost,  or  any  of  his 
.  ighbours.  With  hands  till  lately  accustomed 
lu  the  same  manner  of  working,  I  planted  last 
year  10  acres  of  cotton  and  10  of  corn  to  the 
hand.  I  never  had  a  cleaner  crop,  and  though 
the  season  was  excessively  wet,  my  negroes 
never  performed  their  tasks  with  greater  ease. 
The  cotton  crop,  seriously  injured  by  the  worm, 
yielded  800  lbs.  to  the  acre,  and  8,000  lbs.  to 
the  hand.  Mr.  Frost's  land  exceeded  mine  in 
productiveness,  yet  my  crop  doubled  his.  His 
is  considered  .so  extraordinary,  that  it  is  held 
up  as  an  argument  against  emigration — mine 
was  an  ordinary  crop,  nearly  doubled  by  many 
ot  my  neighbours.  But  the  question  to  be 
solved  is,  how  is  the  difierence  in  the  results 
obtained  1 

"It  is  unquestionably  true  that  the  soil  and 
climate  of  the  west  is  better  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  cotton, — that  here  a  plant  of  the 
same  size,  and  on  a  soil  of  equal  strength,  will 
send  forth  and  retain  a  greater  number  of  pods, 
Kin  upon  the  sea-board.  It  is  equally  true 
Kit  the  grass  will  grow  as  rapidly  and  as  plen- 
tiiuUy  in  the  one  place  as  in  the  other.  The 
difierence  in  the  soil  and  climate  has  not,  how- 
ever, as  much  influence  as  is  generally  ima- 
gined by  residents  on  the  sea-board.  Would 
they  adopt  the  same  management,  pursue  the 
same  modes  of  culture,  which,  somewhat  modi- 
fied, they  unquestionably  can,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that,  though  they  could  not  obtain  the 
success  of  the  western  planter,  yet  they  would 
make  some  approximation  toward  it." 

With  regard  to  the  management  by  which 
so  large  a  product  was  obtained,  the  judicious 
use  of  the  plough  was  considered  as  the  chief 
agent.  By  it  the  beds  were  prepared  for  plant- 
ing, the  trenches  or  drills  made,  and  the  seed 
covered.  By  it  the  most  part  of  the  grass  was 
destroyed,  and  the  plant  furnished  with  the 
earth  requisite  for  its  support  and  sustenance. 
By  it  the  use  of  the  hoe  was  in  a  great  measure 
superseded.  "  It  may,"  says  the  writer,  "  inte- 
rest some  of  your  readers  who  groan  under 
the  pressure  of  their  crops  of  8  acres  of  corn 
and  cotton  to  the  hand,  and  whose  fears  are 
alarmed  lest  the  grass  should  overrun  them, 
to  learn  how,  by  the  use  of  the  plough,  20 
acres  to  the  hand  can  be  planted,  and  the 
same  crop  secured.  I  will,  therefore,  give 
you  in  detail  the  arrangement  of  the  crop 
on  our  plantation  last  year.  There  were,  be- 
sides the  regular  crop,  75  acres  of  oats,  pota- 


OR  COTTON. 

toes,  and  slips,  enough  for  the  use  of  the  plaata- 
lion,  and  about  15  acres  of  wheat.  The  planta- 
tion worked  30  hands — 15  at  the  plough,  the 
rest  with  the  hoe.  In  March,  300  acres  were 
planted  with  corn,  on  land  previously  well 
ploughed  and  checked.  In  the  first  week  of 
April,  300  acres  of  cotton  were  planted.  The 
land  was  prepared  by  throwing  together  with 
a  turning-plough,  in  the  alleys  of  old  cotton- 
fields,  four  furrows.  Thus  bedded,  the  drills 
were  opened  with  a  small  scutter,  or  bull- 
tongue  plough,  in  which  the  seed  was  sown ; 
they  were  covered  by  a  board  fastened  on  the 
plough-stock,  in  the  place  of  the  mould.  The 
drilling,  planting,  and  covering  occupied  four 
days  and  a  half.  There  was  an  excellent  stand, 
and  no  replanting  necessary.  The  ploughs  and 
hoes  then  went  into  the  corn-field.  These  were 
well  ploughed  and  hoed  by  the  time  the  cotton 
was  out  of  the  ground  and  required  work.  The 
cotton  was  four  times  ploughed,  and  as  often 
hoed,  and  when  laid  by  in  July,  a  hat  would 
have  held  all  the  grass  that  could  have  been 
found.  The  corn  was  twice  more  ploughed, 
and  once  hoed.  The  grass  was  constantly  kept 
down  by  the  ploughs.  The  daily  task  of  a  hoer 
was  100  rows  of  cotton  100  yards  long.  The 
first  and  second  hoeings,  when  the  cotton  had 
to  be  chopped  out  and  reduced  to  a  stand, 
proved  good,  though  not  severe  tasks ;  the  other 
hoeings  were  light,  and  the  workers  were  often 
out  of  the  field  by  12  o'clock.  The  crop  was 
well  worked,  and  with  ease,  by  low-country 
hands,  who  would  think  it  the  worst  calamity 
that  could  befall  them  to  be  compelled  to  re- 
turn to  the  place  of  their  nativity.  The  mules 
and  horses  were  in  as  good,  if  not  better,  con- 
dition than  when  the  ploughing  commenced.'* 

Picking. — The  bowls  of  cotton  mature  and 
open  about  the  last  of  August  and  beginning 
of  September,  when  the  picking  commences. 
This  is  performed  by  hands,  male  and  female, 
who  are  provided  with  osnaburg  bags  hung 
over  the  neck  and  shoulders,  into  which  the 
cotton  is  placed  as  fast  as  picked.  These,  when 
filled,  are  emptied  into  large  osnaburg  sheets, 
placed  in  convenient  spots.  These  sheets  are 
carried  home  in  the  afternoon.  The  pickers 
are  cautioned  to  guard  as  much  as  possible 
against  a  small  leaf,  which,  when  dry,  often 
intermixes  with  the  cotton,  and  never  can  be 
got  rid  of,  thus  injuring  the  sale.  The  general 
average  in  what  is  called  a  good  opening  is 
from  45  to  50  lbs.  per  day  to  each  hand.  The 
freshly  picked  cotton  is  first  dried  upon  scaf- 
folds made  about  4  feet  wide,  so  as  to  admit 
of  reaching  far  enough  to  turn  it  over  with 
ease  whilst  drying.  A  cotton-house  is  at  hand 
to  receive  the  cotton  in  case  of  rain.  After 
being  perfectly  dried,  the  short-staple  or  upland 
cotton  is  ginned  and  w"epared  for  market. 

There  are  several  Tcinds  of  gins  used  for 
cleaning  the  cotton  of  its  abundant  seeds,  such 
as  the  Barrel  gia,  Eres's  gin,  and  Whitney'n  gin. 
The  last  is  that  depended  upon  for  ginning  the 
green  seed,  upland,  or  short-staple  cotton  ;  the 
long-staple  or  sea  island  has  still  to  be  pre- 
pared for  market  by  hand,  involving  tedious 
and  expensive  operations.  Whitney's  saw  gin, 
for  separatign  the  seed  from  upland  or  short- 
staple  cotton,  is  a  mill  worked  by  oxen  or 
3  A  2  557 


oossypiUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


water.  "The  teeth  in  the  circular  iron  plates 
serrated,  about  three-l'ourths  of  an  inch  apart, 
fixed  to  a  cylinder,  draw  the  cotton  wool  from 
the  seeds,  through  the  openings  of  iron  straps, 
out  of  the  bin  and  hopper  in  which  the  cotton 
is  placed.  These  openings  are  too  narrow  to 
suffer  the  seed  to  pass.  The  cotton  is  brushed 
off  the  saws  by  counter-moving  brushes  on  an- 
other cylinder.  By  an  ox  gin,  6  to  900  lbs.  f»re 
cleansed  in  a  day.  After  ginning,  the  cotton 
is  picked  of  all  remaining  broken  seeds  and 
trash,  and  packed  in  bags  of  250  to  300  lbs." 

I'arieltes  of  Colton. — Besides  the  Mexican  and 
Petit-Ctulf,  some  other  kinds  have  recently  ob- 
tained great  celebrity  in  ihe  United  States.  One 
is  called  by  some  the  twin,  by  others  the  Ald- 
ridge  cotton,  the  first  name  being  derived  from 
the  peculiar  manner  in  which  the  branches 
shoot  out  from  the  stalk,  the  second  from  its 
supposed  first  introducer.  There  seems  to  be 
some  doubt  as  to  the  origin  of  this  cotton.  The 
advantages  claimed  for  it  are,  1st,  its  being 
better  able  to  stand  the  effects  of  drought ;  2d, 
not  casting  the  squares  however  severe  this 
may  be;  3d,  admitting  of  very  close  planting 
in  consequence  of  the  great  shortness  of  its 
branches ;  4th,  the  rapidity  of  growth  and  pro- 
ductiveness superior  to  what  is  observed  in 
common  kinds.  The  advantages  of  maturing 
early,  and  thus  allowing  a  longer  time  for  pick- 
ing, is,  as  before  observed,  a  great  desideratum 
to  the  planter.  The  superior  merits  of  this 
new  variety  of  cotton  caused  great  competition 
for  its  seed,  which  at  one  time  sold  for  $5  per 
quart,  and  even  60  cents  the  single  seed. 

A  communication  in  the  7th  volume  of  the 
Farmer' t  Register  (p.  252),  makes  the  following 
statement  in  relation  to  this  variety,  which, 
from  a  resemblance  in  its  stalk  to  a  member 
of  the  Hibiscus  family,  has  been  called  Okra 
cotton. 

•*  A  Mr.  Terry,  of  Autauga  county,  Alabama, 
some  years  ago  bought  some  Petit-Gulf  seed. 
A  single  stalk  was  observed  in  a  field  without 
limbs,  and  having  great  numbers  of  bolls  ad- 
hering immediately  to  the  stalk,  or  in  clusters 
on  very  short  limbs.  The  cotton  had  all  been 
picked  out  except  a  single  lock  with  nine  seeds. 
From  these  seeds  this  variety  has  been  propa- 
gated. The  seed  sold,  in  1837,  at  50  cents  a 
?iece.  Last  fall  I  bought  at  $160  a  bushel. 
'he  cotton  examined  by  me  exhibited  a  dis- 
tinct variety.  It  had  rarely  any  limbs  longer 
than  one  joint,  sometimes  two;  the  bolls  were 
two,  three,  and  as  much  as  seven  in  a  cluster. 
I  had  one  limb  about  4  inches  long,  with  7 
pcod  bolls  opened  on  it  The  stems  of  all  of  the 
bells  shooting  from  one  place,  at  the  top  of  the 
short  limb.  The  cotton  was  exceedingly  fine, 
being,  I  think,  2  to  4  cents  a  pound  better;  be- 
ing in  colour  and  stapl^the  finest  and  softest 
short-staple  I  have  evei^een.  It  opens  earlier. 
The  field  I  examined  was  planted  the  20th 
April.  A  very  intelligent  gentleman,  living  in 
the  neighbourhood,  told  me  he  planted  similar 
land  on  the  1st  of  April,  and  that  the  new  cotton 
was  open  two  weeks  earlier  than  his.  It  grows 
in  good  land  quite  tall,  say  6  or  8  feet;  and  in 
this,  I  fear,  will  be  the  greatest  objection  to  it, 
hs  it  may  fall  when  heavily  fruited  towards  the 
lop ,  but  perhajts  this  may  be  avoided  by  top- 
558 


ping.  Its  advantage  to  an  Alabama  planter, 
if  it  succeeds  in  rich  prairie  lands,  will  be  its 
early  opening,  by  which  the  worm  will  be 
avoided,  a  terrible  enemy,  which  has  eaten 
up  full  one-third  of  my  crops  for  five  years. 
The  appearance  of  the  stalk  is  more  like 
okra  than  any  other — the  leaf  being  a  cotton 
leaf." 

Another  writer  in  the  same  periodical, 
speaking  of  the  two  new  kinds  of  cotton,  says, 
"There  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  twin  or 
okra  cotton.  The  one  called  okra  was  disco- 
vered in  Alabama,  in  first  year's  Petit-Gulf 
seed.  It  grows  up  generally  in  one  tall  stalk, 
sometimes  as  high  as  8  or  9  feet,  with  very 
short  limbs,  which  are  seldom  more  than  6  or 
8  inches  long,  and  having  its  bolls  in  clusters 
of  2  to  7  or  more.  I  have  seen  10  blossoms  or 
forms  in  one  bunch.  Sometimes  1,  2,  or  3 
long  limbs  put  out  near  the  ground,  turn  up- 
wards, and  grow  parallel  to  the  main  stem, 
bearing  fruit  as  it  does." 

"  The  other  new  variety  of  cotton  is  said 
to  have  been  discovered  in  Chester  District 
It  is  now  somewhat  like  the  Alabama  okra, 
without  being  the  same.  It  is  about  a  half- 
way plant  between  the  okra  and  Petit-Gulf.  I 
have  never  seen  it  taller  than  4  or  5  feet.  Its 
limbs  are  longer  than  the  okra,  and  not  as  long 
as  those  of  the  Petit-Gulf.  Both  kinds  have 
twin  bolls,  but  the  bolls  and  blossoms  are  more 
numerous  in  the  okra.  Two  bolls  on  the  same 
stem  are  frequent  in  both;  but  it  is  only  on  the 
okra  that  I  have  seen  3  blossoms  within  the 
same  calyx,  or  4,  5,  or  more  bolls  in  one  clus- 
ter. There  is  also  a  clearly  defined  diiference 
in  the  Chester  twin,  a  darker,  green,  and  more 
naked  seed.  No  person  who  has  once  seen  the 
two  plants  grov/ing,  or  the  two  kinds  of  seed, 
will  ever  mistake  the  one  for  the  other. 

"  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that  the  Chester 
kind  is  not  a  good  cotton.  I  know  too  little  of 
it.  The  staple  is  good ;  I  have  seen  some  stalks 
in  gardens  very  well  filled  with  bolls. 

"  To  the  Alabama  okra  there  is  one  objec- 
tion, which  I  think  can  be  easily  obviated.  It 
grows  too  tall,  and  is  liable  to  fall  down.  The 
remedy  is  to  top  it  at  4^  or  4  feet.  The  stalk 
grows  stronger,  the  bolls  fill  up  larger,  and  the 
product  is  increased  by  it.  As  it  will  bear  great 
crowding  on  the  land,  the  yield  will  be  greater 
than  from  Petit-Gulf.  It  is,  in  fact,  an  im- 
proved Petit-Gulf  seed." 

Okra  cotton  is  also  called  by  some  Alvarado 
cotton.  With  regard  to  its  productiveness  some 
idea  may  be  gained  from  the  following  adver- 
tisement in  the  Columbia  papers,  offering  for 
sale  the  seed  of  this  cotton. 

"  Dr.  J.  H.  Taylor,  from  little  more  than  \  of 
the  stand  he  ought  to  have  had,  gathered  up- 
wards of  1,200  lbs.  per  acre.  The  following  is 
an  extract  of  a  letter  from  Dr.  Taylor:  'You 
must  observe  I  had  not  more  than  ^  of  a  stand, 
and  planted,  too,  at  5  feet  instead  of  3,  and  yet 
I  will  make  about  1,200  lbs.  per  acre.  I  believe 
it  capable,  on  the  same  land,  of  yielding  5,000 
lbs.,  planted  at  5  feet  in  double  rows.  If  I  live 
another  year,  I  will  try  100  acres  in  that  way.' 
Mr.  F.  M.  Gilmer,  of  Montgomery,  Alabama, 
from  as  bad  a  stand,  gathered  1,400  lbs.  to  the 
acre.    Mr.  C.  T.  Billingslea,  of  Bibb  county 


GOSSYPIUM. 

Alabama,  from  ^  of  an  acre  gathered  1,060  lbs., 
and  expected  200  lbs.  more.  Mr.  Aldridge, 
who  first  cultivated  tht^  cotton,  it  is  said  raised 
3.000  lbs.  per  acre  this  year,  and  refused 
$30,000  for  his  crop  of  .30  acres.  Dr.  J.  H. 
Taylor,  from  22,000  lbs.  of  seed  cotton,  ginned 
13  bales  of  600  lbs.  average,  or  35  lbs.  of  clean  ; 
to  100  of  seed  cotton.  Jesse  P.  Taylor,  well 
known  here,  weighed  425  lbs.  of  Petit-Gulf  and 
the  same  of  okra  in  the  seed,  and  ginned  each; 
the  result  was  124  lbs.  of  ginned  Petit-Gulf,  or 
29  lbs.  to  the  100,  and  of  okra  156  lbs.,  or  36^ 
to  each  100  lbs.  of  seed  cotton.  The  staple  is 
decidetUy  finer." 

The  price  of  the  seed  here  offered  for  sale  is 
{flOO  per  bushel,  $20  per  gallon,  and  $5  per 
quart;  which  are  stated  to  be  the  Alabama 
prices. 

Defects  in  Cotton  as  prepared  for  the  Manufao- 
turer. — The  cotton  manufacturers  in  England 
having  met  with  certam  defects  in  the  sea-island 
or  long-staple  cotton,  which  they  thought  might 
be  remedied  by  proper  attention  in  the  primary 
manipulation,  have  recently  addressed  a  com- 
municatiou  on  the  subject  to  Messrs.  Browns 
and  VVeisman,  extensive  cotton  importers  in 
Liverpool,  to  be  forwarded  by  them  to  the 
planters  in  the  United  Stales.  From  this  wc 
extract  portions  which  indicate  the  defects 
complained  of,  as  well  as  the  qualities  most 
desired  by  the  manufacturer,  to  all  which  it 
may  be  the  interest  of  the  producers  to  give 
attention,  especially  since  the  competition 
which  has  sprung  up  in  other  parts  of  the 
world.     The  Manchester  manufacturers  say, 

"  We  have  often,  in  conversation  with  you, 
expressed  our  regret  that  the  growers  of  fine 
sea  islands,  in  so  many  instances,  injured  their 
cotton  by  stringing  and  matting  it  in  the  getting 
up;  and  in  hope  of  drawing  their  attention  to 
the  subject  through  the  medium  of  your  house, 
we  bejT  to  trouble  you. with  the  following  ob- 
servations. 

"Fine  cotton  yarn  is  esteemed  in  proportion 
as  the  thread  is  uniform  in  substance,  free 
from  lumps,  and  strong.  The  latter  has  been 
decidedly  improved  by  the  introduction  of  the 
select  seed  cotton ;  but  the  levelness  of  the 
thread  has  been  impaired  rather  than  other- 
wise, and  this  arises  from  the  multitude  of 
small  white  specks,  or  nitters,  with  which  the 
staple  of  the  finer  and  softer  kinds  of  sea- 
;siands,  and  the  select  cotton  seed  particularly 
abounds. 

"  In  examining  these  nitters  through  a  mi- 
croscope, we  find  them  in  general  composed 
of  kinds  of  fibres,  presenting  an  appearance 
much  resembling  the  misletoe  plant  in  this 
country,  and  for  some  time  we  feared  they 
were  excrescences  peculiar  to  the  fine  fibre, 
and  inseparable  from  it;  but  the  two  recent 
samples  of  beautifully  fine  select  seed  cotton, 
sent  us  by  you,  are  so  free  from  this  defect, 
that  we  have  now  a  strong  impression  they  are 
chiefly  produced  by  an  overhandling  in  the  get- 
ting up;  at  least  we  can  multiply  such  nitters 
here,  by  mismanagement  in  the  cleaning  pro- 
cess ;  and  we  have  no  doubt  the  same  efl^ect  is 
produced  in  America.  We  would,  therefore, 
strongly  urge  the  planter's  attention  to  this 
point;  for  in  all  cotton  goods,  such  as  giuze, 


OR  COTTON. 

muslins,  and  laces,  it  takes  immensely  frorr 
their  value  and  beauty,  and  limits  the  use  of 
the  finer  yarns,  which  are  chiefly  used  for 
these  articles.  As  an  instance  of  this,  we  may 
state,  that  one  of  our  customers  informs  us  he 
frequently  pays  from  9r/.  to  Is.  per  yard,  upon 
his  finest  muslins,  for  picking  out  the  nitters 
one  by  one  with  a  needle,  after  the  goods  are 
woven — an  expense  which  is  equal  to  from 
10s.  to  30s.  upon  each  pound  weight  of  muslin. 
Our  experience  has  proved  that  the  softer  and 
more  silky  the  staple,  the  more  easily  it  is  nit- 
tefed ;  and,  as  the  spinners  possess  no  means 
by  which  nitters  can  be  removed  from  the  cot- 
ton when  once  formed,  the  only  means  of  re- 
medying the  evil  is  to  prevent  their  formation. 

"To  this  point,  therefore,  the  attention  of  the 
grower  should  be  strongly  directed.  Jll  unne- 
cessary handling,  whipping,  tossing,  or  shaking  of 
the  cotton  ought  to  be  avoided.  It  should  be  as 
well  cleaned  as  possible,  but  yet  free  from 
stringiness,  and  the  fibres  be  left  in  the  loose 
and  disentangled  slate  they  appear  when  just 
separated  from  the  seed.  If  this  were  attended 
to,  it  would  materially  improve  the  appearance 
of  fine  yarn,  and  remove  the  never-ceasing 
complaints  of  the  fine  muslin  manufacturers, 
and,  we  are  persuaded,  tend  to  increase  the 
consumption  of  fine  cotton  goods." 

The  committee  to  whom  this  letter  was  re- 
ferred reported: — "That  the  matter  to  which 
their  notice  had  been  directed  is  one  of  deep 
importance  to  the  grower  6f  that  valuable 
staple  production.  If,  in  consequence  of  his 
neglect  or  want  of  skill,  a  pound  of  mus- 
lin, which  would  otherwise  command  its  full 
price,  is  depreciated  from  10  to  30  shillings, 
duty  and  interest  obviously  impel  him  to  the 
providing  of  a  remedy  at  once  prompt  and 
efficient. 

"  Through  the  politeness  of  Messrs.  Browns 
and  Welsman,  three  samples  of  cotton,  being 
specimens  forwarded  from  Manchester,  were 
received  from  Messrs.  Gourdin,  Matthiessea 
&  Co.  These  samples  are  endorsed  as  fol- 
lows:— 'No.  1,  illy  got  up  and  nittered;'  *No. 
2,  illy  got  up  and  partially  open;'  'No.  3,  well 
got  up.'  In  examining  the  'nitters'  in  No.  1, 
through  a  microscope  that  magnified  one  thou- 
sand times,  they  were  discovered  to  be,  in  ge- 
neral, of  a  globular  form,  and  to  consist  of  fila- 
ments of  cotton,  with  interstices  of  various  dia- 
meters, readily  reducible  in  size  by  pulling  the 
long  threads  attached  to  the  mass.  This,  how- 
ever, could  not  always  be  done,  as  the  knot  of 
fibres  constituting  the  nilter  was  in  many  in- 
stances too  strongly  formed.  The  committee 
next  proceeded  to  the  examination  of  samples 
of  seed  cotton.  In  about  a  pound,  personally 
gathered  by  one  of  them,  from  fully  matured 
pods,  produced  from  healthy  plants,  no  nit*ers 
were  observed.  In  the  same  quantity  picked 
from  diseased  stalks,  which  bore  defective  fruit, 
several  were  seen.  These  were  subjected  tc 
the  test  of  the  microscope,  and  precisely  the 
appearance  that  characterized  those  taken  from 
the  ginned  cotton  in  No.  1  was  exhibited.  Re- 
peated inspections  since  have  produced  no 
marked  variation  in  the  general  results.  The 
committee,  therefore,  with  confidence  deduce 
the  inference,  that  preparation,  except  perhaps 

659 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


in  the  isolated  instance  hereafter  to  be  noticed, 
is  not  the  cause  of  the  nitler.  In  confirmation 
of  the  opinion,  putting  aside  the  conclusive 
facts  adduced,  the  different  processes  through 
which  the  cotton  passes,  whilst  in  the  hands 
of  the  planter,  nee^only  to  be  briefly  adverted 
to.  After  the  stained  is  separated  from  the 
white,  the  latter  is  thrown,  i))  small  parcels, 
into  a  whipper,  in  order  to  extract  the  dirt  and 
to  throw  off  the  short  and  weak  fibres,  which, 
if  allowed  to  remain,  would  detract  very  mate- 
rially from  the  value  of  the  crop.  This  ma- 
chine, constructed  of  wood,  with  round  wooden 
teeth,  is  turned  by  the  hand.  Unless  the  door 
of  the  whipper  be  closed,  which  is  never  done, 
the  egress  of  the  cotton  is  quickly  effected. 
After  this  operation  the  cotton  is  ginned,  and 
then  taken  to  the  moting-house,  where,  on  a 
frame  of  wood-work,  it  is  gently  shaken  and 
partially  opened  by  the  hand.  When  clean,  it 
is  received  by  the  packer,  who,  with  a  wooden 
instrument,  compresses  it  into  a  bag,  weighing, 
when  finished,  from  300  to  400  lbs.  In  these 
various  but  necessary  modes  of  treatment,  in 
not  one  of  which  any  violence  is  used,  the  com- 
mittee feel  persuaded  that  the  staple  sustains 
no  injury  whatever.  It  is  well  known  that 
every  description  of  cotton,  except  the  finest 
qualities  of  sea  island,  before  it  is  converted 
into  fabrics,  is  subjected  to  numerous  opera- 
tions, all  of  which  are  performed  by  machinery. 
From  the  willow,  which,  by  its  revolving  spikes, 
tears  open  the  matted  masses,  succeeded  by 
the  scutching  machine,  in  which  the  cotton  is 
beaten  by  metallic  blades,  revolving  on  an  axis 
at  the  speed  of  from  4000  to  7000  revolutions 
in  a  minute,  other  machines  with  iron  fingers, 
teeth,  and  wheels,  follow,  so  that  it  may  almost 
be  said  that,  without  the  aid  of  human  hands, 
the  vegetable  wool  'is  opened,  cleaned,  spread, 
carded,  drawn,  roved,  spun,  wound,  warped, 
dressed,  and  woven.' 

"Now,  although  it  is  represented  that  the 
superior  qualities  of  black-seed  cotton  are  not 
thus  wrongly  treated,  yet,  as  they  are  '  opened 
and  cleaned  by  being  placed  upon  cords 
stretched  on  a  wooden  frame,  and  then  beaten 
by  women  with  smooth  switches,'  the  commit- 
tee are  at  no  loss  to  perceive  how  the  com- 
plaints of  the  manufacturers  by  their  own  act 
may  be  increased.  This  last  mode  of  cleans- 
ing the  raw  material  was  very  generally  pur- 
sued by  the  planter  a  few  years  ago.  Were  he 
now  to  resume  that  ready  method  of  preparing 
his  crop  for  market,  he  is  satisfied  that,  whilst 
his  lime  and  labour  would  be  saved,  the  fabri- 
cation of  fine  goods  would  be  likely  to  incur  an 
additional  expense  of  no  ordinary  magnitude. 
By  using  switches,  it  is  nearly  certain  that  the 
weak  fibres  are  broken  into  minute  parts,  and, 
w^ith  the  naturally  short  and  rotten,  intermix 
and  become  entangled.  Although,  therefore, 
the  imperfection  of  the  staple,  which  is  the 
special  subject  of  this  report,  is  undeniably 
common  to  the  cotton  plant  under  peculiar  cir- 
cumstances, the  committee  incline  to  the  opi- 
nion that  that  imperfection  can  be  created  by 
drtificial  means,  and,  from  experiments  insti- 
tuted by  them,  is  engendered  by  the  different 
pr(»ccsses  through  which  the  cotton  goes  in  its 
conversion  into  cloth,  as  already  particularly 
560 


described.  That  the  nitter,  however,  is  occa« 
sionally  formed  through  the  want  of  foresight 
on  the  part  of  the  planter,  when  his  crop,  from 
adverse  seasons  or  other  causes,  is  defective 
in  texture,  is  highly  probable.  The  filaments 
of  unripe  cotton  are  transparent,  cylindrical 
tubes.  When  ripe,  even  before  the  capsule 
bursts,  the  tubes  collapse  in  the  middle,  form- 
ing semi-tubes  on  each  side,  which  give  to  the 
fibre,  says  Mr.  Baines,  in  his  able  treatise  on 
the  cotton  manufacture  of  Great  Britain,  when 
viewed  in  certain  lights,  the  appearance  of  a 
flat  riband,  with  a  hem  or  border  at  each  edge. 

"The  twisted  and  cork-screw  form  of  the 
filament  of  cotton  distinguishes  it  from  all  other 
vegetable  fibres,  and  is  characteristic  of  the 
ftilly  ripe  and  mature  pod.  This  form  and 
character  the  fibres  retain  ever  after,  and,  in 
that  respect,  undergo  no  change  through  the 
operations  of  spinning,  weaving,  bleaching, 
printing,  and  dyeing,  nor  in  all  the  subsequent 
domestic  operations  of  washing,  &c.  &c.,  till 
the  stuff  is  worn  to  rags,  and  then  even  the  vio- 
lent process  of  reducing  those  rags  to  pulp  for 
the  purpose  of  making  paper  effects  no  change 
in  the  structure  of  these  fibres.  From  the  dif- 
ference between  the  elementary  fibres  of  cotton 
and  flax,  the  latter  being  transparent  tubes, 
cylindrical,  and  articulated  or  jointed  like  a 
cane,  it  has  been  incontestably  proved  that  the 
mummy  cloth  of  Egypt  was  linen. 

"Unripe  cotton  is  finer  than  that  which  has 
attained  its  full  age,  but  is  d^eficient  in  the 
other  essential  attributes  of  a  perfect  staple, 
strength  and  length.  Some  of  the  filaments, 
indeed,  are  not  the  eighth  of  an  inch  long,  and 
until  several  days  after  the  opening  of  the  cap- 
sule are  found  doubled  or  curled,  full  of  watery 
and  oleaginous  particles ;  the  cotton  is  wet  to 
the  touch,  and  is  of  a  brown  hue.  In  this  state, 
unless  dried  in  the  sun,  it  becomes  more  or 
less  mouldy;  the  superfluous  oil  from  the  seed, 
which  ought  to  have  escaped,  is  diffus-^d 
through  the  mass;  the  colour  soon  changes; 
heat  is  generated;  and  the  staple,  originally 
strong,  is  quickly  perceived  to  be  materially 
affected.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that  in 
immature  cotton,  distinguished,  as  it  is  known 
to  be,  for  its  delicacy  of  texture,  variableness 
in  length,  and  want  of  pliability,  when  subject- 
ed to  the  mildest  mode  of  treatment  to  free  it 
from  extraneous  matter,  the  threads  should 
cross  and  mix  with  each  other,  thus  forming 
artificial  nitters.  Within  a  few  years,  the  ac- 
tion of  the  sun,  with  a  view  to  the  dessication 
of  the  wool,  has  been  sedulously  avoided  by 
perhaps  a  majority  of  our  planters.  The  daily 
gatherings  are  spread  in  houses,  or  under  scaf- 
folds erected  for  the  purpose,  and  thus  the  dry- 
ing process,  if  a  few  exposures  in  that  way  is 
worthy  of  this  appellation,  is  conducted.  That 
the  practice  is  radically  wrong,  for  the  reasons 
already  assigned,  the  committee  firmly  believe. 
Damp  cotton,  also,  can  neither  be  ginned  nor 
cleaned  but  with  difficulty;  this  of  itself  is  a 
serious  objection,  to  which  may  be  added  the 
indubitable  fact  that,  from  its  too  unctuous 
properties,  the  floating  dust  of  the  atmosphere 
tends  to  its  discoloration. 

"From  these  observations  it  will  appear  that 
nitters  are  either  natural  or  artificial,  and  that 


I 


GOSSYPIUM. 


both  are  primarily  to  be  traced  to  a  defective 
staple,  arising  from  diseased  plants;  that  the 
artificial  niiter  may  be  generated  even  by  the 
common  method  of  preparation,  unless  the  cot- 
ton be  judiciously  dried;  and  that  the  means 
to  which  the  manufacturer  is  obliged  to  resort 
are  evidently  calculated  to  bring  about  the 
satne  results. 

"Of  these  samples,  Nos.  1  and  2,  which  are 
'illy  got  up,'  are  lumpy  and  stringy,  of  a  deep 
)'ellow  tinge,  and  weak  and  uneven  in  fibre. 
The  cottons  from  which  these  are  taken,  it  is 
likely,  were  never  dried;  it  is  still  more  pro- 
bable that  they  were  the  produce  of  a  scanty 
harvest.  No.  3  is  of  natural  colour,  open,  and 
in  texture  strong  and  long.  It  is  necessary 
here  to  remark,  that  the  stringy  appearance  of 
cotton  is  not  always,  or  even  mainly,  the  fault 
of  the  planter.  It  arises  principally  from  the 
same  cause  to  which  the  nitter  is  referable: 
the  imperfectness  of  the  staple,  or  the  imma- 
turity of  the  fruit.  This  was  especially  true 
tlie  last  year. 

"To  two  considerations,  pertinent  to  the 
matter  under  review,  it  may  be  proper  to  ad- 
vert. In  every  field,  no  matter  under  what 
sinister  circumstances  the  crop  has  grown, 
there  are  small  sections  in  which  the  plants 
come  to  perfection  and  bear  healthy  fruit. 
From  these  the  cotton  that  is  picked  is  marked 
perhaps  by  every  characteristic  of  the  best 
staple,  yet,  almost  from  necessity,  it  is  thrown 
into  the  general  bulk.  Again,  in  harvest  sea- 
son the  labourer  cannot  stop  to  examine,  if  he 
had  the  ability  to  know,  the  variant  qualities 
of  the  cotton  he  is  engaged  in  gathering,  but 
promiscuously  the  bad,  the  fair,  and  the  good 
are  blended.  This  is  unavoidable.  Subse- 
quently the  stained  is  separated  from  the  white, 
but  the  weak  and  strong  continue  together;  a 
part  only  of  the  most  deficient  of  the  former 
being  afterwards  detached  by  the  whipper. 

"  On  the  immediate  topic  of  inquiry,  the  com- 
mittee ask  leave  to  conclude  with  the  follow- 
ing suggestions : — 

♦*1.  The  necessity  of  drying- cotton  in  the 
sun  for  3  or  4  hours,  as  its  dampness  may 
seem  to  indicate. 

"  2.  Select  seed  for  planting,  not  with  a  view 
to  superiority  of  staple,  but  the  production  of 
sound  cotton.  For  that  purpose,  choose  from 
healthy  stalks  those  pods  that  are  fully  blown. 

"  3.  The  first  pickings  should  be  set  apart, 
and  not  mixed  with  the  general  crop.  The  fibre 
is  weak  and  short.  The  same  course  ougnt  to 
be  pursued  with  cottons  gathered  after  a  storm 
or  much  rain. 

"  4.  Cotton  ought  to  be  thoroughly  cleansed 
before  it  is  carried  to  the  gin.  If  it  be  well 
done  the  after-labour  will  be  trifling,  and  the 
fault  of  over-handling  avoided.  Too  much 
pressure  on  the  roller  gives  to  the  cotton  a 
matted  appearance;  if  the  pressure  is  unequal, 
it  will  be  stringy. 

"Before  closing  this  report,  the  committee 
would  offer  a  few  reflections,  not  irrelevant, 
they  trust,  to  the  occasion.  For  many  years 
the  sea  island  crop  has  scarcely  repaid  the  toil 
and  perseverance  incurred  in  its  production. 
From  highly  unpropitious  seasons,  the  ravages 
of  worms,  and  the  cultivation  of  a  plant  pecu- 
71 


OR  COTTON. 

liarly  delicate  and  unfruitful,  it  may  in  verity 
be  said  that  it  is  annually  a  subject  of  congra 
tulation  with  the  planter  if  his  necessary  ex- 
penditures do  not  exceed  his  profits.  Except 
1826,  when  the  exportation  was  about  6,000,000 
lbs.,  from  1833  to  1835  in#usive  the  produc- 
tion was  less  by  from  1  to  7,000,000  than  at 
any  former  period  since  1821. 
Number  of  pounds  nf  sea  island  cotton  exported  in 
18-21        -        11,314,066  1829        -        12,833,307 

1822        -        ll,250,fi34  1830        -  8,147,165 

15>23        -        12.136.688  1831        -  8,311,762 

1824  -    9.525,722         1832    -    8,743,373 

1825  -    9.655.278         1833 

1826  -    5,972.852         1834    -    8,085,935 

1827  -    15,1H),798         1835    -    7,755,73» 

1828  -    11.2d8,4l9 

"  From  these  facts,  added  to  the  wonderful 
machinery  which  enables  a  workman  now  to 
perform  the  work  required  of  2  or  300  men  60 
years  ago,  the  increase  of  population  in  those 
countries  where  the  finest  goods  are  used,  and 
the  decrease  in  the  rates  of  duties  in  Great  Bri- 
tain, it  was  reasonable  to  infer  that  an  aug- 
mentation of  price,  in  some  measure  propor- 
tional to  the  diminished  production,  would  have 
taken  place.  From  1821  to  1829  inclusive, 
when  the  average  export  was  11,016,418  Ibs^ 
the  average  price  in  Liverpool  was  19f/.  From 
1830  to  1835  (excluding  1833,  the  export  of 
which  year  is  unknown  to  the  committee), 
when  the  average  export  was  reduced  to 
8,208.194  lbs.,  the  average  price  was  as  low 
as  n^d. 

1821,  m   to  3(W.  2IK  l^'^O.  lU  to  20d.  I6d. 

1^22,  10    28   19  1831,  9^    18  13| 

1823,  11    21  I'i  1832.  9k        18  13f 

1824,  11^   27   191  1833,  lOJ   22  16* 

1825,  15    42  S8i  18S4,  13^   26  19| 

1826,  10    30   20  1835,  14    33  24^ 

1827,  91    20  Uk  1836,  14    36  25 

1828,  10    22   16         1837,  12    40  26 
1899,  9    SI   15 

i*.  lid.  per  cwt.    In  1821  the  duty  was  6  per  cent,  ad  vaL 

"The  table  from  which  the  above  (to  1833) 
is  taken,  was  published  in  1833,  by  Messrs. 
George  Holt  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool.  It  exhibits 
the  extreme  prices  of  cotton  and  wool  in  thai 
place  from  1806  to  1835  inclusive.  The  state- 
ment of  prices  from  1834  to  1836  inclusive,  is 
extracted  from  a  Liverpool  circular,  published 
in  January  last.  The  difference  between  the 
extreme  prices  has  been  assumed  as  the  me- 
dium price.  What  the  average  price  really 
was  cannot  with  certainty  be  stated. 

"The  long  staple  is  generally  used  for  the 
twist  or  warp,  and  the  short  staple  for  the  wefL 
In  this  way,  the  black  seed  is  made  to  partici- 
pate in  the  changes  which,  no  matter  from  what 
cause,  mark  the  market  value  of  the  green  seed. 
This,  perhaps,  is  the  strongest  reason  why 
a  more  decided  inequality  in  price  between 
the  fine  and  superfine  qualities  of  long  staple 
cotton  ought  to  exist,  to  which  may  be  added 
the  variety  of  uses  to  which  the  former,  alont 
or  mixed,  is  applicable.  From  these  conside 
rations  it  is  apparent  that,  in  relation  to  those 
two  descriptions  of  vegetable  wool,  the  one  is 
really  worth  from  two  to  three-fold  more  than 
the  other,  instead  of  from  30  to  50  per  cent., 
which  continues  to  be  paid. 

"One  pound  of  cotton  usually  makes  8  yard* 
of  coarse  muslin,  and  is  then  increased  in  value 
from  \hf  roiT-  j»Mfon  eight-fold.    But,  if  spifti  in 

56] 


GOSSYPIUM. 


OR  COTTON. 


(he  finest  yarn,  it  is  worth  5  g:uineas,  and  in 
1780,  if  woven  into  muslin  and  tamboured,  was 
worth  16/.  It  may  now  be  converted  into  a 
piece  of  lace  worth  100  guineas. — Report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treatury,  1836. 
"  The  finest  qu^y  of  sea  island  cotton,  re- 


marks Mr.  Baines,  in  ordinary  states  of  the 
market,  is  worth  three  times  as  much  as  the 
common  quality  of  the  same  class.  The  va- 
rieties in  quality  in  most  of  the  other  denomi- 
nations is  from  20  to  25  per  cent.,  and  in  none 
of  them  IS  more  than  50  per  cent. 


The  foUotvinf!  TubU,  taken  from  the  Liverpool  Price  Current,  under  date  of  December  9,  1842,  is  sub- 
j'oiued,  as  sfiowing  the  comparative  prices  of  cotton  from  different  countries,  and  the  sections  of  tht 
globe  where  the  staple  is  cultivated. 


IW 

30 
5,740 

4,440^ 

7,«0 

70  [ 

S30 
1,I80| 

470 


10 

3,400 

100 


«3,I50 


SalM  of  the  week. 


Ben  Island       -        -  - 

ytnined    -        -        -  - 
H<>w»'d,  Georgia 

Mobile      -        -        -  - 
Alabama  and  Tennessee 

New  Orleans  -        -  - 
Pernambuco  and  Parubia 
Aravati  and  Ceura  - 
Dahia  and  Mario     - 

Maranham       -       -  - 
Raw-ginned  do. 

Kgypiian         .       -  - 

Peruvian         _        -  _ 

Lagiiayra         -        -  - 
Cnnitnon  West  India 

Ciirtliagena     -        -  - 

Sural       -        -        -  - 

Madras    •       -        -  - 


OrdiDAry  to  middllDC. 


d.  d. 

Si   to  9} 
4  to  5i 
4  to  4i 
4  to  5 
3|  to  5f 

4  to  6 
6^  to  6} 
Oi  to  4i 
6  to  ftj 
Si  to  5} 

5  to  5i 
6i  to  6i 
41  to  5 
4i  to  4f 
4i  to  5 
3f  to  3| 
3i  to  3* 
3i  to  3i 


Fair  to  good  fair. 


d.  d. 

Ml     to  13 

6  to  6^ 
5i  to 
6i  to 
4J  to 
5f  to 

7  to 
6J  to 
H  to 
6  to 
5i  to 
6?  to 
5i  to 
5i  to 
5i  to 
4  to 
4  to 
3J  to 


d. 
17 
7 

5|  to 
5J  to 


6  to 
71  to 


6?  to 
6i  to 


d. 
to  21 
to  8 


8  to  9 

6  •'to  6i 

6  to  — 

4i   to  4i 

4i   to  4i 

4i  to  4i 


Disenxes  and  Accidents  to  which  Cotton  is  sub- 
jtrt. — The  cotton  crop  is  not  only  rendered  very 
nncertain  from  the  t^ffects  of  the  weather,  but 
frequently  suffers  the  most  serious  injury  from 
the  depredations  of  insects.  The  most  fatal 
enemy  of  the  cotton  crop  in  Georgia,  Alabama, 
Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Texas,  is  a  disease 
called  the  rot,  which  has  been  thus  described 
by  Mr.  Troup,  in'th**  1st  volume  of  the  Ameri- 
can Farmer.  "  The  first  indication  is  seen  in  a 
small  circular  spot  on  the  outside  of  the  bowl, 
exhibiting  a  darker  green  than  the  circumjacent 
parts,  as  if  a  globule  of  water  had  dropped 
upon  it  and  been  absorbed.  Many  of  these  are 
frequently  seen  at  the  same  time  on  the  same 
bowl.  They  spread  themselves  sometimes 
faster,  sometimes  slower,  as  if  influenced 
either  by  the  state  of  the  atmosphere,  or  con- 
dition of  the  plant ;  changing  colour  as  they 
progress,  until  they  assume  a  dark  brown  ap- 
proaching to  black,  and  until  me  whole  exterior 
is  affected  in  like  manner,  or  until  it  receives 
from  some  cause  a  sudden  check,  and  then 
this  appearance  is  only  partial.  In  the  first 
case,  the  disease  has  penetrated  to  the  centre 
of  the  fruit,  the  fermentation  is  complete  and 
universal,  and  is  seen  in  a  frothy  while  liquid, 
thrown  out  on  the  surface.  Putrefaction  fol- 
lows, and  the  destruction  of  the  seed  and  im- 
mature wool  being  finished,  nothing  is  left  but 
the  rind  or  exterior  coating  of  the  bowl,  which, 
exhausted  of  its  juices,  hardens  and  turns 
black,  and  thus  terminates  the  process.  In  the 
other  case  (that  of  suddenly  checked  disease), 
the  interior  of  the  bowl,  in  some  instances, 
remains  unhurt ;  in  others,  is  only  partially  in- 
jured, and  in  this  last  case,  the  pods  remaining 
onhurt,  mature  and  expand.  This,  however, 
rarely  happens,  as  the  disease  is  wonderfully 
capricious,  going  and  coming  unaccountably; 
attacking  at  one  time  with  more,  at  another 
with  less  violence :  so  that  the  fruit  which  es- 
capes entire  destruction  on  the  first  attack, 
5(12 


I  may  fall  a  victim  to  the  second.  Nor  is  this 
capriciousness  justly  attributable  to  changes 
in  the  atmosphere;  its  origin  even  does  not 
seem  to  have  any  connection  with  weather. 
The  year  1817,  when  rot  first  appeared,  was 
i  one  of  remarkable  wet.  The  year  1818,  one 
1  of  remarkable  drought.  The  rot  in  1818  was 
both  more  general  and  more  destructive  than 
that  of  1817.  In  1819,  which  has  been  as  the 
planters  say,  a  seasonable  year,  there  is  more 
rot  discoverable  than  at  the  same  time  of  any 
preceding  year,  and  there  is  every  probability 
that  it  will  be  both  more  general  and  more  de 
structive.  In  the  same  season  too,  according 
to  my  observation,  it  is  in  no  degree  influenced 
by  it — for  instance,  this  year  it  showed  itself 
in  my  neighbourhood  in  the  most  alarming 
manner  for  the  first  time,  when  the  corn  and 
cotton  had  begun  to  suffer  from  a  dry  spell  of 
two  or  three  weeks.  I  have  known  it  to  stop 
for  a  considerable  time  in  very  wet  weather, 
and  to  recommence  its  progress  after  the  rains 
had  ceased.  It  is  earlier  in  its  appearance 
this  year  than  before,  and  I  believe  earlier  the 
last  year  than  the  preceding.  This  disease 
attacking  at  different  limes  with  different  de- 
gree^  of  violence,  I  will  not  hazard  the  asser- 
tion that  its  cause  is  uniformly  distinguished 
by  the  same  appearances.  The  first  indication 
in  very  marty  cases  is  a  dark  brown  or  black 
spot  on  the  bowl;  in  others,  the  whole  exterior 
of  the  bowl  seems  to  have  passed  at  the  same 
time  from  the  green  to  the  dark  brown,  and  is 
saturated  with  moisture,  and  whilst  it  is  evi- 
dently suffering  the  process  of  fermentation, 
will  open  and  deliver  the  wool  uninjured.  It  is 
the  same  disease,  exhibiting  different  features 
as  it  rages  with  greater  or  less  degree  of  acri- 
mony. It  attacks  the  bowl  in  every  stage  from 
the  first  formation  to  that  stage  of  its  perfection 
which  immediately  precedes  developement. 

"It  has  visited  all  varieties  of  soil  and  treated 
all  alike.    I  do  not  mean  that  every  plantation. 


GOSSYPIUM. 

or  that  every  district  of  country,  shared,  in 
equal  degree,  the  evils  of  this  visitation.  Some 
have  escaped  with  more  or  less  injury ;  but  I 
am  inclined  to  think  that  these  who  have  es- 
caped with  least,  will  have  their  turn.  The 
mode  of  cultivation  makes  no  difference.  There 
are  two  modes,  the  close  and  the  thick-set.  The 
last  has  become  fashionable  of  late ;  but  I  have 
seen  the  isolated  plant  and  the  one  environed 
by  the  branches  and  overshadowed  by  the  top 
of  its  neighbours,  equally  afflicted. 

"  I  think  you  will  conclude  from  the  forego- 
mg  statement  that  rain  or  sunshine,  hill  or  dale 
soil,  whatever  the  predominant  earth,  cultiva- 
tion whatever  the  mode,  stop  not  its  march. 
We  recur,  therefore,  to  the  existing  controversy, 
Is  insect  or  constitutional  disorder  of  the  plant 
the  cause  of  roti  If  insect,  would  they  not  be 
seen  in  great  numbers  and  where  their  ravages 
are  greatest  1  I  have  examined  fields  most  in- 
jured by  rot,  and  could  never  m.ike  any  disco- 
very of  them  ;  besides,  the  year  of  drought  is 
the  year  of  insect — the  rot  made  its  appear- 
ance in  a  year  of  wet — since  that,  it  seems  not 
to  have  been  affected  by  either  wet  or  drought." 

There  are  some  who  think  that  the  rot  in 
cotton  is  neither  a  constitutional  disease  of 
the  plant  nor  the  result  of  destructive  insects 
attacking  the  pod,  but  that  the  true  cause  is  a 
fungus  production  or  parasite,  similar  to  that 
which  produces  the  mildew,  rust,  and  blight  in 
wheat.  As  yet  no  remedy  for  this  evil  has 
been  found  deserving  confidence,  unless  it  be 
the  substitution  of  the  Petit-Gulf  variety,  which 
is  confidently  asserted  to  answer  the  purpose, 
by  a  correspondent  of  the  Furmer^t  Register, 
who  had  given  a  two  years'  trial  with  perfect 
success.  (Vol.  ii.  p.  648.)  He  believes  the  rot 
— which,  he  says,  is  most  prevalent  in  rainy 
seasons,  and  in  humid  states  of  the  atmo- 
sphere— is  the  result  of  insect  depredation,  and 
thinks  the  new  kind  of  CQtton  not  agreeable  to 
the  insect. 

The  upland  cotton  is  sometimes  very  much 
injured  by  a  disease  called  the  rust,  and  also 
suffers  from  the  depredations  of  a  greenish 
caterpillar  which  eats  into  the  bowl  and  causes 
great  destruction.  The  Mexican  cotton  was 
introduced  mainly  with  the  hope  of  its  resist- 
ing the  ravages  of  the  caterpillar.  The  cotton 
whilst  young  is  also  apt  to  be  infested  with 
plant  lice  {Aphidians).  The  remedies  adopted 
against  these  are  of  the  most  opposite  kinds, 
namely,  allowing  the  grass  to  grow  for  the 
purpose  of  inviting  the  insects  from  the  cotton, 
Dr  working  and  cleaning  the  ground  with  extra 
attention. 

The  cotton  planters  of  Upper  Mississippi  do 
not  suffer  much  from  the  rot,  the  caterpillar, 
or  the  rust,  the  greatest  enemies  of  their  crops 
being  the  louse,  snails  and  slugs,  and  a  disease 
of  the  stem  of  the  plant  commonly  known  by 
the  homely  name  of  sore-shin.  This  comes  on 
when  the  plants  are  small  and  only  have  the 
third  leaf,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the  effect  of 
wet  weather  and  heavy,  packing  rains.  In 
Louisiana  the  planters  complain  of  their  losses 
from  the  rot,  rust,  boll-worm,  army-worm,  and 
rains.  Such  are  some  of  the  difl&culties,  in 
addition  to  those  commonly  met  with  from 
atmc  spheric  agencies,  against  which  the  coiton 


GRAFTING. 

crop  in  the  United  States  has  to  contend,  and 
by  which  it  is  rendered  exceedingly  precarious. 

A  rich  oil  has  recently  been  expressed  from 
cotton  seed,  and  a  residuum  or  cake  obtained, 
which  promise  to  give  an  additional  value  to 
this  already  profitable  crop.  A  patent  machine 
has  been  invented  by  Mr.  R.  Burn,  which 
entirely  removes  the  cotton  usually  closely  ad- 
hering to  the  seeds,  thus  putting  them  in  the 
most  favourable  state  for  expression,  and  the 
production  of  the  cake.  Chemical  analysis 
made  of  this  cajce,  shows  it  little  if  any  inferior, 
in  the  amount  of  its  feeding  and  fertilizing 
qualities,  to  linseed  or  rape  cake;  the  propor- 
tion of  oil  being  9-08  per  cent.;  sugar  10-70; 
albuminous  compounds  (nitrogen  =  3*95)  21-69; 
the  ash  amounts  to  5-64  per  cent.,  and  contains 
of  silica  1-32  ;  phosphates  2*  19 ;  excess  of  phos- 
phoric acid  0-15.  The  oil-cake  from  cotton  seed 
would  thus  appear  to  be  a  very  important  sub- 
stance to  the  farmer,  whilst  the  oil  must  become 
a  new  source  of  profit  to  the  planter.  In  the 
East  Indies,  where  the  poor  and  badly  cultivated 
cotton  yields  only  2  lbs.  of  seed  to  1  lb.  of  cotton, 
the  seed  sells  for  feeding  cattle,  at  4.».  the 
kulsee,  (  =  666lbs.)  The  quantity  of  seed  ob- 
tained from  good  American  cotton,  is  1§  to  2|, 
for  each  pound  of  cotton.  See  Oil-cakk,  and 
Rapk. 

GOURD  (LageJtart'a  vn/garis,  calabash).  The 
gourd  family  flourish  well  in  the  United  States 
in  the  open  air,  and  the  several  varieties  make 
up  a  large  amount  of  the  produce  of  the  gar- 
dens and  farms.  The  large  bottle  gourds  are 
extremely  useful  among  the  country  people,  by 
whom  they  are  used  a«  dippers.  Some  of  them 
are  so  large  as  to  hold  nearly  a  gallon.  They 
are  light,  and  with  good  usage  may  last  for 
months  and  even  for  several  years.  If,  after  a 
few  gourds  have  set,  the  ends  are  pinched  off 
the  vines,  the  gourds  will  grow  larger  and  bet- 
ter. Some  kinds  of  gourds  are  cultivated  for 
their  beauty.  The  fruit  of  the  bi-coloured  va- 
riety is  small  and  very  pretty,  deep  green  on 
one  side  and  yellow  on  the  other.  There  are 
several  other  varieties,  distinguished  by  the 
shape  and  appearance  of  the  fruit.  It  is  be- 
lieved, says  Dr.  Darlington,  that  there  are  no 
native  species  of  gourd  in  the  United  States, 
though  the  plant  is  said  to  have  been  cultivated 
by  the  aborigines,  from  time  immemorial.  (Flora 
Cextrica.) 

GRAFTING.  The  operation  of  affixing  a 
portion  of  one  plant  upon  another,  so  "is  to  pro- 
duce a  vital  union  between  them,  >as  been 
practised  from  the  most  remote  antiquity.  In  ge- 
neral, all  the  species  of  one  genus  or  tribe  may  be 
grafted  on  another  reciprocally ;  but  in  choosing 
the  stock  or  stem  the  nearer  the  affinity  of  this 
to  the  sppcies  from  whence  the  scion  comes,  the 
better.  The  grafted  plant  consists  of  a  stock  or 
stem  rooted  in  the  ground,  and  the  scion  or 
graft,  consisting  of  the  detached  portion  of  an- 
other plant,  to  be  affixed  to  it.  This  operation 
affords  the  means  of  multiplying  and  perpetuating 
all  our  best  varieties  of  fruit  trees,  and  many 
kinds  of  trees  and  shrubs  not  so  conveniently 
propagated  by  other  means.  Varieties  of  fruits 
are  originally  procured  by  selection  from  plants 
raised  from  seed,  but  they  can  only  be  perpe- 
tuated by  some  mode  which  continues  the  in- 
dividual; and  though  this  may  be  done  by 
cuttings  and  layers,  yet  by  far  the  most  eligible 

1963 


GRAFTING. 


GRAIN. 


mode  is  by  grafting,  as  it  produces  stronger  ' 
plants  in  a  shorter  time  than  any  other  me- 
thods. Grafting  is  performed  in  a  great  many 
diffv^ent  ways;  but  the  most  eligible  for  ordi- 
nary purposes  is  what  is  commonly  called  ■ 
spli'ce-grarting,' whip-grafting,  or  tongue-graft- j 
ing.  In  executing  this  mode,  both  the  scion  \ 
and  the  stock  are  pared  down  in  a  slanting 
direction ;  afterwards  applied  together,  ?nd 
made  fast  with  strands  of  bass  matting,  in  the 
same  manner  as  two  pieces  of  rod  are  spliced 
together  to  form  a  whiphandle.  To  insure 
success,  it  is  essentially  necessary  that  the  al- 
burnum, or  inner  bark  of  the  scion,  should 
coincide  accurately  with  the  inner  bark  of  the 
stock ;  because  the  vital  union  is  effected  by 
the  sap  of  the  stock  rising  up  through  the  soft 
wood  of  the  scion.  After  the  scion  is  tied  to 
the  stock,  the  graft  is  said  to  be  made;  and  it 
only  remains  to  cover  the  part  tied  with  a  mass 
of  tempered  clay,  or  any  convenient  composi- 
tion that  will  exclude  the  air.  Some  of  the 
other  modes  practised  are  termed  cleft,  or  slit- 
grafting,  crown-grafting,  cheek-grafting,  side- 
grafting,  and  gralung  by  approach,  or  in- 
arching. 

The  season  for  performing  the  operation  is, 
for  all  deciduous  trees  and  shrubs,  the  spring, 
immediately  before  the  movement  of  the  sap. 
The  spring  is  also  the  most  favourable  period 
for  evergreens :  but  the  sap  in  this  class  of 
plants  being  more  in  motion  during  winter 
than  that  of  deciduous  plants,  grafting,  if 
thought  necessary,  might  be  performed  at  that 
season. 

Gra/tinf!  Timber  Trees. — The  oak,  ash,  horn- 
beam, and  hazel,  may  be  grafted,  but  there  is  a 
little  ditficulty  in  grafting  some  of  the  hard- 
wood trees.  On  the  oak  may  be  worked  its 
striped-leaved  variety  of  pedimculata,  and  the 
varieties  of  semliflora.  The  lucombe,  and 
other  oaks  of  that  kind,  require  to  have  the 
Turkey  oak  for  a  stock ;  and  the  evergreen,  or 
Ilex  oaks,  must  have  their  own  species.  The 
common  ash  will  take  wi<h  the  ornus,  and  any 
of  the  hardy  varieties  of  true  ashes,  such  as 
the  Chinese  and  entire-leaved.  The  hornbeam 
may  be  used  as  a  stock  for  Carpinus  orientalis, 
and  the  cut-leaved  sort ;  but  the  scions  must  be 
from  two  years  old  wood.  The  purple-leaved 
hazel  may  be  grafted  on  the  hazel  stocks. 

Graftins^  by  approach,  or  inarching,  is  a  mode 
of  grafting,  in  which,  to  make  sure  of  success, 
the   scion  is  not   separated  from   the   parent 

filant  till  it  has  become  united  with  the  stock, 
narching  is  chiefly  practised  with  oranges, 
myrtles,  jasmines,  walnuts,  firs,  &c.,  which 
do  not  ilourlsh  by  the  common  mode  of  graft- 

Graftinn  herbaceous  plants  differs  in  nothing 
Irom  grafting  such  as  are  of  a  woody  nature, 
excepting  that  this  operation  is  performed  when 
both  .-^lock  and  scion  are  in  a  state  of  vigorous 
growtn.  The  only  uset\il  purpose  to  which 
this  mode  has  been  hitherto  applied  is,  that  of 
grafting  the  finer  kinds  of  dahlias  on  tubers  of 
the  more  common  and  vigorous-growing  sorts. 
In  the  Paris  gardens,  the  tomato  is  sometimes 
grafted  on  the  potato,  the  cauliflower  on  the 
borocole,  and  one  gourd  on  another,  as  matter 
of  curii  sitj'. 
564 


Grafting  the  herbaceous  shoots  of  woody  pltxnt$ 
is  scarcely  known  among  English  gardeners; 
but  it  has  been  extensively  employed  by  French 
nurserymen,  and  even  in  some  of  the  royal 
forests  of  France.  The  scions  are  formed  of 
the  points  of  growing  shoots ;  and  the  stocks 
are  also  the  points  of  growing  shoots,  cut  or 
broken  over  an  inch  or  two  below  the  point, 
where  the  shoot  is  as  brittle  as  asparagus. 
The  operation  is  performed  in  the  clef*  manner; 
that  is,  by  cutting  the  lower  end  of  the  scion 
in  the  form  of  a  wedge,  and  inserting  it  in  a 
cleft  or  slit  made  down  the  middle  of  the  stock. 
The  finer  kinds  of  azaleas,  pines,  and  firs,  are 
propagated  in  this  way  in  the  French  nurse 
ries ;  and  thousands  of  Pinus  larix  have  been 
so  grafted  on  Pinus  sylvestris  in  the  forest  of 
Fontainebleau.  At  Hopetoun  House,  near 
Edinburgh,  this  mode  of  grafting  has  been 
successfully  practised  with  Jbies  Smithiatia, 
the  stock  being  the  common  spruce  fir. 
{Branded  Diet,  of  Science.) 

GRAIN  (French  graine ;  Ital.  gran;  Norv. 
grion,  corn).  The  general  name  of  all  kinds 
of  corn.  See  Wheat,  Maize,  Oats,  Barley, 
Conif-LAWs,  &c.  It  means,  in  another  sense, 
the  seed  of  any  fruit,  the  direction  of  the  fibres 
of  wood,  «&c.;  the  form  of  the  surface,  with 
regard  to  roughness  or  smoothness ;  or  a  mi- 
nute particle.  In  this  article  I  have  only  to 
insert  those  facts  with  regard  to  grain  that 
could  not  be  well  included  under  other  heads. 
It  has  been  calculated  that  the  total  consump- 
tion of  wheat  and  other  grain  in  the  United 
Kingdom  is,  in  a  year— of  wheat  12,000,000 
quarters,  and  of  other  grain  40,000,000  quar- 
ters, equal  to  52,000,000  quarters,  or  per  day 
154,762  quarters.  {Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlsr.  vol. 
iii.  p.  1063).  Of  this  about  25,000,000  bushels 
of  barley  are  consumed  in  malt  by  the  brew- 
eries and  distilleries. 

Dr.  Colquhoun  has  calculated  that  the  an- 
nual consumption  of  grain  in  England  by  each 
person  is  as  follows : — 


Species  of  grain 
Wheat 
Barley 

Oats  -        -        - 
Rye 
Beans  and  Peas 


Average  of 
each  person. 

1  quarter. 

W 

1 


The  second  Fiar  Prices  of  Grain  per  imperial 
Quarter  for  the  County  of  Haddington  from 
1647  {at  Intervals  of  Ten  Years)  to  1829. 


Year. 

Wheal. 

Barley. 

c.    1 

L. 

t. 

d. 

L. 

1. 

d. 

L. 

(. 

d. 

1647 

13 

4^ 

0 

16 

Ot 

0 

13 

o\ 

1650 

4 

81 

13 

0? 

1 

4 

Oi 

1660 

10 

Oi 

0 

15 

2* 

0 

12 

2- 

1670 

18 

lOi- 

0 

11 

5i- 

0 

9 

u 

1680 

0 

o| 

0 

11 

H 

0 

8 

1 

1600 

8 

8? 

0 

18 

lU 

0 

12 

9» 

1700 

10 

Oi 

0 

19 

9* 

0 

12 

2i 

1710 

5 

si 

0 

17 

2 

0 

12 

11 

1720 

2 

si 

0 

15 

2i 

0 

10 

91 

1730 

4 

4i 

0 

11 

5i 

0 

10 

6i 

1740 

0 

OJ 

1 

2 

10* 

0 

18 

3i 

1750 

5 

m 

0 

13 

2 

0 

11 

lOi 

1760 

4 

of 

0 

11 

n 

0 

9 

10 

1770 

12 

o{ 

0 

18 

9i 

0 

15 

6f 

1780 

18 

0* 

0 

19 

H 

0 

15 

9* 

1790 

5 

6i 

1 

3 

7 

0 

19 

6* 

1900 

6 

4i 

3 

4 

6 

2 

8 

11» 

1810 

1 

H 

2 

3i 

1 

8 

10 

1830 

1 

5* 

1 

8 

10 

1 

3 

6 

GRAINS. 


jlrerage  Price  of  Grain  per  Quarter  in  England 
and  Wales,  for  Twenty  Years,  ending  1840. 


Year. 

Wheat. 

Barley. 

0*u 

Beana. 

Peas. 

(. 

d. 

$. 

1. 

d 

». 

t.        d. 

1821 

56 

2 

26 

19 

6 

30 

32   9 

1822 

44 

7 

21 

18 

2 

24 

26   5 

1823 

53 

5 

31 

22 

11 

33 

35   0 

18-24 

64 

0 

36 

24 

10 

40 

40   8 

1825 

68 

7 

40 

25 

8 

42 

45   5 

1826 

58 

9 

34 

26 

9 

44 

47   8 

1827 

56 

9 

S6 

27 

4 

47 

47   7 

lf528 

60 

5 

32 

22 

6 

38 

40   6 

1829 

66 

3 

32 

22 

9 

36 

36   8 

1830 

64 

3 

32 

24 

5 

36 

39   2 

1831 

66 

4 

38 

25 

4 

39 

41  11 

1832 

58 

8 

33 

20 

5 

36 

37   0 

J833 

52 

II 

27 

18 

5 

35 

37   0 

1834 

46 

2 

29 

20 

11 

36 

33   0 

1835 

39 

4 

29 

22 

0 

30 

30   3 

1836 

48 

9 

33 

23 

1 

38 

37   3 

1837 

55 

10 

30 

23 

1 

38 

37   9 

1838 

64 

4 

31 

22 

5 

37 

36   8 

1839 

70 

6 

39 

26 

6 

41 

41   1 

1840 

66 

6 

36 

3 

25 

9 

43 

42   5 

GRAINS.  The  amount  of  the  different 
grains  produced  in  the  United  Slates,  collect- 
ively, and  also  for  each  of  the  states,  has  been 
given  under  the  head  of  AfjRicrtxuRAL  Pro- 
ducts. Tabular  statements  under  the  various 
heads  will  show  the  prices  of  grain  in  the 
United  States  for  a  series  of  years.  See  Wheat, 

CORX,  0\T8,  &c. 

GRAINS,  BREWERS',  are  very  extensively 
used  in  the  feeding  of  live-stock.  They  con- 
sist chiefly  of  the  husk,  and  other  insoluble 
matters  of  the  corn  employed  in  the  operation 
of  brewing.  When  speaking  of  the  large  dai- 
ries of  the  metropolis,  Mr.  Youatt  remarks, 
"  The  principal  food  of  the  cows  in  all  these 
is  grains ;  and  as  the  brewing  seasons  are 
chiefly  in  autumn  and  spring,  a  stock  of  grain 
is  generally  laid  in  at  those  seasons  for  the 
rest  of  the  year.  The  grains  are  laid  up 
in  pits  lined  with  brick-worlc,  set  in  cement, 
from  ten  to  twenty  feet  deep,  and  of  any  con- 
v^enient  size.  They  are  firmly  trodden  down, 
and  covered  with  a  layer  of  moist  earth,  eight 
or  nine  inches  thick,  to  keep  out  the  rain  and 
frost  in  winter,  and  the  heat  in  summer.  A 
cow  consumes  about  a  bushel  of  these  grains 
daily,  the  cost  of  which  is  from  fourpence  to 
fivepence,  exclusive  of  carriage  and  preserva- 
tion. The  grains  are,  if  possible,  thrown  into 
the  pit  while  warm  and  in  a  state  of  fermenta- 
tion, and  they  soon  turn  sour;  but  they  are  not 
liked  the  worse  by  cattle  on  that  account:  and 
the  air  being  perfectly  excluded,  the  fermenta- 
tion cannot  run  on  to  putrefaction.  The  dairy- 
men say  that  the  slow  and  slight  degree  offer- 
mentation  which  goes  on  tends  to  the  greater 
developement  of  the  saccharine  and  nutritive 
principle,  and  they  will  have  as  large  a  stock 
on  hand  as  they  can  afford,  and  not  open  the 
pits  till  they  are  compelled.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon for  two  years  to  pass  before  a  pit  of  grains 
is  touched :  and  it  is  said  that  some  have  lain 
nine  years,  and  been  perfectly  good  at  the  ex- 
piration of  that  period.  The  grains  from  a 
large  ale  brewery  are  the  most  nourishing; 
those  from  the  porter  brewers,  not  so  good ; 
and  those  from  the  little  ale  brewers  hardly 
worth  having.  It  is  found  by  the  distillers  that 
rough  clover  chaff,  mixed  with  grains  and 
wash,  will  fatten  to  any  extenu"     (On  Cattle, 


GRAIN-WEEVIL. 

pp.  255—264.)  Grains  fresh  from  the  mash- 
tub,  either  alone  or  mixed  with  oats  or  chaftj 
or  both,  may  be  occasionally  given  to  horses  of 
slow  M^ork :  they  would,  however,  afford  very 
insufficient  nourishment  for  horses  of  quicker 
or  harder  work.  Grains,  in  common  with  most 
vegetable  substances,  are  an  excellent  dressing 
for  grass  lands,  an  application  which  is  thus 
described  in  a  recent  communication  to  the 
editor  of  the  Murk  Lane  Express,  by  Mr.  W.  H 
Buckland  of  Glamorganshire. 

"  Having  observed  the  remarkable  luxuriance 
of  the  grass  on  a  small  portion  of  land  upon 
which  some  brewers'  grains  had  been  scattered, 
was  induced  to  manure  several  meadows  with 
grains  mixed  with  stable-dung,  and  a  fev/  acres 
with  grains  only.  The  crop  of  hay  is  an  ex- 
traordinary one  off  the  land  manured  with 
grains  and  stable-dung  together,  but  from  the 
land  manured  with  pains  alone,  the  crop  is  pro- 
digious.  On  one  part  of  a  steep  declivity, 
where  the  ordinary  produce  has  been  about  10 
or  12  cwt.  of  hay  to  the  acre,  and  the  quality 
very  coarse,  a  good  sprinkling  of  grains  was 
strewed,  leaving  the  other  part  of  the  same 
ground  untouched.  Where  the  grains  were 
spread,  there  is  more  than  two  tons  of  hay  to 
the  acre,  and  the  grass  is  of  the  finest  quality; 
where  no  grains  were  applied,  the  crop  is  as 
usual,  both  as  to  quantity  and  quality. 

"In  addition  to  the  abundance  of  the  crop  is 
the  advantage  of  its  earliness.  On  the  29th  of 
May  I  mowed  a  field  manured  with  grains. 
The  grass  was  over-ripe,  and  might  have  been 
cut  a  week  sooner.  The  neighbouring  fields, 
not  so  manured,  were  full  three  weeks  later. 
This  is  a  matter  of  no  little  importance  in  this 
part  of  the  country,  where  the  weather  is  gene- 
rally dry  about  the  end  of  May  and  beginning 
of  June,  when  there  is  no  grass  fit  to  cut ;  and 
almost  invariably  wet  about  the  end  of  June 
and  beginning  of  July,  when  all  the  farmers 
are  busy  hav-making." 

GRAIN,  STANDARD  WEIGHTS  OF.  la 
England  the  standard  and  common  weights  of 
the  most  important  grains,  are  as  follows ; — 

Commnn  Weight.        Standard  Weight 

Of  Wheat        -  from  i8  to  64  lbs.  60  lbs. 

Rye     -        -  _     49  —  56  56 

Barley  -  —     48  —  56  48 

Oats    -        -  _     30  —  42  32 

Indian  corn  —     54  —  62  56 

The  same  standard  weights  are  established 
in  New  York,  and  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in 
other  states.  It  is  observed  that  the  weights 
of  the  different  kinds  of  grain  increase  in  pro- 
ceeding from  the  Southern  towards  the  North- 
ern and  Eastern  States. 

The  grain  of  each  species  produces  when 
ripe,  nearly  the  following  quantities  of  meal, 
or  household  flour,  and  bread,  per  bushel, 
namely — 

Wheat,  if  weighing 

Rye  

Barley       

Oat8  

(British  Husbandry.) 

GRAIN-WEEVILS   and  MOTHS.     In  Eu 

rope,  stored  grain  is  often  subject  to  seriois  'q 
jury  from  the  depredations  of  two  little  insects, 
and  attacked  in  the  same  way,  and  appareauy 
3B  566 


llw. 

Itw.         lb* 

60 

yields  of  flour  48  bread  64 

54 

42   —   56 

48 

37*  -   50 

40 

22i  -   30 

GRAIN-WEEVIL. 


GRAIN-WEEVIL. 


by  the  same  kind  of  insects  in  the  United 
States. 

"  The  European  grain-moth,  (Tinta  granella), 
in  its  perfected  state,  is,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "  a 
winged  insect,  between  three  and  four-tenths  of 
an  inch  long  from  the  head  to  the  tip  of  its 
wings,  and  expands  six-tenths  of  an  inch.  It 
has  a  whitish  tuft  on  its  forehead;  its  long  and 
narrow  wings  cover  its  back  like  a  sloping 
roof,  are  a  Utile  turned  up  behind,  and  are 
edged  with  a  wide  fringe.  Its  fore-wings  ?.re 
glossy  like  satin,  and  are  marbled  with  white 
or  gray,  light  brown,  and  dark  brown,  or  black- 
ish spots,  and  there  is  always  one  dark,  square 
spot  near  the  middle  of  the  outer  edge.  Its 
hind-wings  are  blackish.  Some  of  these  winged 
rnoths  appear  in  May,  others  in  July  and  Au- 
gust, at  which  times  they  lay  their  eggs;  for 
there  are  two  broods  of  them  in  the  course  of 
the  year.  The  young  from  the  first  laid  eggs 
come  to  their  growth  and  finish  their  transfor- 
mations in  six  weeks  or  two  months ;  the  others 
live  through  the  winter,  and  turn  to  winged 
moths  in  the  following  spring.  The  young 
moth-worms  do  not  burrow  into  the  grain,ashas 
been  asserted  by  some  writers,  who  seem  to 
have  confounded  them  with  the  Angoumois 
grain-worms  ;  but,  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched, 
they  begin  to  gnaw  the  grain  and  cover  them- 
selves with  the  fragments,  which  they  line  with 
a  silken  web.  As  they  increase  in  size  they 
fasten  together  several  grains  with  their  webs, 
so  as  to  make  a  larger  cavity,  wherein  they 
live.  After  a  while,  becoming  uneasy  in  their 
confined  habitations,  they  come  out  and  wander 
over  the  grain,  spinning  their  threads  as  they 
go,  till  they  have  found  a  suitable  place  where- 
in to  make  their  cocoons.  Thus,  wheat,  rye, 
barley  and  oats,  all  of  which  they  attack,  will 
be  found  full  of  lumps  of  grain  cemented  to- 
gether by  these  corn-worms,  as  they  are  some- 
times called;  and  when  they  are  very  nume- 
rous, the  whole  surface  of  the  grain  in  the  bin 
will  be  covered  with  a  thick  crust  of  webs  and 
of  adhering  grains.  These  destructive  corn- 
worms  are  really  soft  and  naked  caterpil- 
lars, of  a  cylindrical  shape,  tapering  a  little  at 
each  end,  and  are  provided  with  sixteen  legs, 
the  first  three  pair  of  which  are  conical  and 
jointed,  and  the  others  fleshy  and  wart-like. 
When  fully  grown,  they  measure  four  or  five- 
tenths  of  an  inch  in  length,  and  are  of  a  light 
ochre  or  buff  colour,  with  a  reddish  head. 
When  about  six  weeks  old  they  leave  the  grain 
and  get  into  cracks,  or  around  the  sides  of 
corn-bins,  and  each  one  then  makes  itself  a 
little  oval  pod,  or  cocoon,  about  as  large  as  a 
grain  of  wheat.  The  insects  of  the  first  brood, 
as  before  said,  come  out  of  their  cocoons,  in 
the  winged  form,  in  July  and  August,  and  lay 
their  eggs  for  another  brood:  the  others  remain 
unchanged  in  their  cocoons  through  the  winter, 
and  take  the  chrysalis  form  in  March  or  Apri. 
following.  Three  weeks  afterwards,  the  shining 
brown  chrysalis  forces  itself  part  way  out  oi 
the  cocoon,  by  the  help  of  some  little  sharp 
points  on  its  tail,  and  bursts  open  at  the  other 
end,  so  as  to  allow  ine  moth  therein  confined  to 
come  forth. 

"The  foregoing  account,  drawn  from  Euro- 
;)fa''i  authorities,  will  probably  enable  readers 
,=)66 


to  determine  whether  these  destructive  in 
sects  are  found  in  the  United  States.  From 
various  statements,  deficient,  however,  in  ex- 
actness, that  have  appeared  in  some  of  our 
agricultural  journals,  I  am  led  to  think  tha 
this  corn-moth,  or  an  insect  exactly  like  i' 
in  its  habits,  prevails  in  all  parts  of  tht 
country,  and  that  it  has  generally  been  mis 
taken  for  the  grain-weevil,  which  it  far  sur 
passes  in  its  devastations.  Many  years  ago  \ 
remember  to  have  seen  oats  and  shelled  cor* 
(maize)  affected  in  the  way  above  described, 
and  have  observed  seed-corn,  hanging  in  th<> 
ears,  to  have  been  attacked  by  insects  of  this 
kind,  the  empty  chrysalids  of  which  remained 
sticking  between  the  kernels ;  but,  for  some 
time  past,  no  opportunity  for  further  investiga- 
tion has  offered  itself."     See  Cohn-Moth. 

The  most  pernicious  of  what  naturalists  call 
snout-beetles  {Rhynchophorians),  are  the  insects 
properly  called  grain-weevils.  These  insects, 
says  Harris,  must  not  be  confounded  with  the 
still  more  destructive  larvae  of  the  corn-moth 
{Tinea  gy-anella),  which  also  attacks  stored 
grain,  nor  with  the  orange-coloured  maggots  of 
the  wheat-fly  (Cecidomyia  Tritici),  which  are 
found  in  the  heads  of  growing  wheat. 

Although  the  grain-weevils  are  not  actually 
injurious  to  vegetation,  yet  as  the  name  pro 
perly  belonging  to  them  has  often  I)een  misap 
plied  in  the  United  States,  thereby  creating 
no  little  confusion,  some  remarks  upon  them 
may  tend  to  prevent  future  mistakes. 

"The  true  grain-weevil  or  wheat-weevil  of 
Europe,  the  Calandra  {Sitophilus)  granaria,  or 
Ciirculio  granariiis  of  Linnaeus,  in  its  perfected 
state  is  a  slender  beetle  of  a  pitchy  red  colour, 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  long,  with  a  slender 
snout  slightly  bent  downwards,  a  coarsely  punc- 
tured and  very  long  thorax,  constituting  almosi 
one-half  the  length  of  the  whole  body,  and  wing- 
covers  that  are  furrowed,  and  do  not  entirely 
cover  the  tip  of  the  abdomen.  This  little  in- 
sect, both  in  the  beetle  and  grub  state,  devours 
stored  wheat  and  other  grains,  and  often  com- 
mits much  havoc  in  granaries  and  brew-houses. 
Its  powers  of  multiplication  are  very  great,  for 
it  is  stated  that  a  single  pair  of  these  destroyers 
may  produce  above  six  thousand  descendants 
in  one  year.  The  female  deposits  her  eggs 
upon  the  wheat  after  it  is  housed,  and  the 
young  grubs  hatched  therefrom  immediately 
burrow  into  the  wheat,  each  individual  occu- 
pying alone  a  single  grain,  the  substance  of 
which  it  devours,  so  as  often  to  leave  nothing 
but  the  hull ;  and  this  destruction  goes  on 
within,  while  no  external  appearance  leads  to 
its  discovery,  and  the  loss  of  weight  is  the  only 
evidence  of  the  mischief  that  has  been  done 
to  the  grain.  In  due  time  the  grubs  undergo 
their  transformations,  and  come  out  of  the 
hulls,  in  the  beetle  state,  to  lay  their  eggs  for 
another  brood.  These  insects  are  effectually 
destroyed  by  kiln-drying  the  wheat ;  and  grain, 
that  is  kept  cool,  well  ventilated,  and  is  fre- 
quently moved,  is- said  to  be  exempt  from  at- 
tack. 

"Another  grain-weevil,  hardly  differing  from 
the  foregoing  except  in  its  colour,  which  is 
black,  is  found  in  New  York.  It  is  the  Calan- 
dra   {Sitophilus)   remoteptmctata  of   Schiinherr 


GRANARY. 


GRAPE-VINE  CATERPILLAR. 


Whether  whsat  and  other  frrain  suffers  to  any 
extent  in  this  country,  from  either  of  these 
weevils,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain,  as  the 
accounts  given  of  the  ravages  of  the  insects 
supposed  to  be  weevils  are  rarely  accompanied 
by  any  description  of  them  in  their  different 
states. 

"Rice  is  attacked  by  an  insect  closely  resem- 
bling the  wheat-weevil,  from  which,  however, 
it  is  distinguished,  by  having  two  large  red 
spots  on  each  wing  cover;  it  is  also  somewhat 
smaller,  measuring  only  about  one-tenth  of  an 
inch  in  length,  exclusive  of  the  snout.  This 
beetle,  the  Calandra  (Sifophilus)  Oryzte,  or  rice- 
weevil,  is  not  entirely  confined  to  rice,  but 
depredates  upon  maize  or  Indian  corn  also.  I 
have  seen  stored  Southern  corn  swarming  with 
them  ;  and,  should  they  multiply  and  extend  in 
this  r.ection  of  the  country,  they  will  become  a 
source  of  serious  injury  to  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able of  our  staple  productions.  It  is  said  that  this 
weevil  lays  its  eggs  on  the  rice  in  the  fields,  as 
soon  as  the  grain  begins  to  swell.  If  this  in- 
deed be  true,  we  have  very  little  to  fear  from  it 
here,  our  Indian  corn  being  so  well  protected  by 
the  husks  that  it  would  probably  escape  from 
any  injury,  if  attacked.  On  the  contrary,  if  the 
insect  multiply  in  stored  grain,  then  our  utmost 
care  will  be  necessary  to  prevent  them  from 
infesting  our  own  garners.  The  parent  beetle 
bores  a  hole  into  the  grain,  and  drops  therein  a 
single  es^g,  going  from  one  grain  to  another  till 
all  her  eggs  are  laid.  She  then  dies,  leaving, 
however,  the  rice  well  seeded  for  a  future  har- 
vest of  weevil-grubs.  In  due  time  the  eggs 
are  hatched,  the  grubs  live  securely  and  un- 
seen in  the  centre  of  the  rice,  devouring  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  substance,  and  when 
fully  grown  they  gnaw  a  little  hole  through  the 
end  of  the  grain,  artfully  stopping  it  up  again 
with  panicles  of  rice-ttour,and  then  arechanged 
to  pupae.  This  usually  occurs  during  the  winter; 
and  in  the  following  spring  the  insects  are 
transformed  to  beetles,  and  come  out  of  the 
grain.  By  winnowing  and  sifting  the  rice  in 
the  spring,  the  beetles  can  be  separated,  and 
should  then  be  gathered  immediately  and  de- 
stroyed."   (Harris.)    See  Corn-Moth. 

GRANARY.  A  place  where  corn  is  stored. 
These  have  of  necessity  been  constructed  in 
all  ages  of  the  world,  and  of  different  mate- 
rials, according  to  the  facilities  afforded  for 
their  construction  by  the  neighbourhood  in 
which  they  are  placed ;  in  England  they  are 
commonly,  for  farming  purposes,  made  of 
wood  or  brick.  In  Sicily  the  public  granaries 
are  in  some  places  hollowed  out  of  the  solid 
rock.  According  to  a  modern  authority  (lin7. 
Hmh.  vol.  i.  p.  94),  "The  best  situation  for  a 
granarj'  is  over  the  thrashing-floor.  It  may  be 
easily  secured  from  vermin;  and  requiring 
only  six  feet  in  height,  it  will  not  interfere  ma- 
terially with  the  bays  of  the  barn,  especially  if 
they  be  loaded  through  the  gables.  A  trap-door 
in  the  tioor,  with  a  rope  and  pulley,  raises  and 
lowers  the  load  in  the  most  easy  manner,  be- 
sides securing  it  more  effectually  from  depre- 
dators ;  and  strong  wired  windows  at  each  end 
ventilate  it  sufficiently.  The  most  general 
mode,  however,  of  forming  granaries,  is  to 
erect  them  of  timber,  and  place  them  upon  pil- 


lars of  stone  or  wood."  It  has  been  suggested 
that  corn  kept  in  granaries  would  be  effectually 
protected  from  the  ravages  of  the  weevil,  by 
mixing  with  it  a  small  quantity  of  common 
salt.     See  Corv-Moth,  Weevil,  and  Corn. 

GRAPE-VINE.    See  Vine. 

GRAPE-VINE  CATERPILLAR.  Every 
person,  says  Dr.  Harris,  who  has  paid  any 
attention  to  the  cultivation  of  the  grape-vine  in 
this  country,  must  have  observed  upon  it,  be- 
sides the  large  sphynx  caterpillars  that  devour 
its  leaves,  a  small  blue  caterpillar  transversely 
banded  with  deep  orange  across  the  middle  of 
each  ring,  the  bands  being  dotted  with  black, 
with  the  head  and  feet  also  orange,  the  top  of 
the  eleventh  ring  somewhat  bulging,  and  the 
forepart  of  the  body  hunched  up  when  the 
creature  is  at  rest.  These  caterpillars  begin  to 
appear  about  the  middle  of  July,  and  others  are 
hatched  afterwards,  as  late,  perhaps,  as  the 
middle  of  August.  When  not  eating,  they 
generally  rest  upon  the  under-sides  of  the 
leaves,  and,  though  many  may  be  found  on  one 
vine,  they  do  not  associate  with  each  other. 
They  live  on  the  common  creeper  as  well  as 
on  the  grape-vine.  They  eat  all  parts  of  the 
leaves,  even  to  the  midrib  and  stalks.  When 
fully  grown,  and  at  rest,  they  measure  an  inch 
and  a  quarter,  but  stretch  out,  in  creeping,  to 
the  length  of  an  inch  and  a  half  or  more. 
Towards  the  end  of  August  ihey  begin  to  dis- 
appear, and  no  more  will  be  found  on  the  vines 
after  September.  They  creep  down  the  vines 
in  the  night,  and  go  into  the  ground,  burying 
themselves  three  or  four  inches  deep,  and  turn 
to  chrysalids  without  making  cocoons.  The 
chrysalis  is  dark-brown,  and  rough,  with  ele- 
vated points.  The  moths  begin  to  come  out  of 
the  ground  as  soon  as  the  25th  of  June, 
and  others  continue  to  appear  till  the  20th 
of  July.  Though  of  small  size,  they  are  very 
beautiful,  and  far  surpass  all  others  of  the  fa- 
mily in  delicacy  of  colouring  and  design.  The 
name  of  this  moth  is  Eudryas  grata,  the  first 
word  signifying  beautiful  wood  nymph,  and  the 
second  agreeable  or  pleasing.  The  antennae  are 
rather  long,  almost  thread-like,  tapering  to  the 
end,  and  not  feathered  in  either  sex.  The  fore- 
wings  are  pure  white,  with  a  broad  stripe  along 
the  front  edge,  extending  from  the  shoulder  a 
little  beyond  the  middle  of  the  edge,  and  a 
broad  band  around  the  outer  hind  margin,  of  a 
j  deep  purple-brown  colour  ;.  the  band  is  edged 
internally  with  olive-green,  and  marked  towards 
the  edge  with  a  slender  wavy  white  line  ;  near 
the  middle  of  the  wing,  and  touching  the  brown 
stripe,  are  two  brown  spots,  one  of  them  round 
and  the  other  kidney-shaped ;  and  on  the  mid- 
dle of  the  inner  margin  there  is  a  large  tri- 
angular olive-coloured  spot ;  the  under-side  of 
the  same  wing  is  yellow,  and  near  the  middle 
there  are  a  round  and  a  kidney-shaped  black 
spot.  The  hind-wings  are  yellow  above  and 
beneath ;  on  the  upper-side  with  a  broad  pur- 
ple-brown hind  border  on  which  there  is  a 
wavy  white  line,  and  on  the  under-side  with 
only  a  central  black  dot.  The  head  is  black. 
Along  the  middle  of  the  thuiax  there  is  a  hroad 
crest-like  stripe  of  black  and  pearl-coloured 
glittering  scales.  The  shoulder-covers  ar© 
white.     The  upper  side  of  the  abdomen  is  ycl 

567 


GRASS. 


GRASS. 


low,  with  a  row  ol  black  spots  on  the  top,  and 
another  on  each  side ;  the  under-side  of  the 
body,  and  the  large  miiff-like  tufts  on  th:;  fore- 
legs, are  white ;  and  the  other  legs  are  black. 
This  moth  rests  with  its  wings  closed  like  a 
steep  roof  over  its  back,  and  it^  fore-legs 
stretched  lorward  like  a  Cn-ura.  It  expands 
from  one  inch  and  a  half  to  one  inch  and  three 
quarters. 

Eudryat  unio,  of  Hubner,  the  pearl  Eudr3'as, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  a  somewhat  smaller 
moth,  closely  resembling  the  preceding,  from 
which  it  did'ers  in  having  the  stripe  and  band 
on  its  fore-wings  of  a  brighter  purple-brown 
colour,  the  round  and  kidney-shaped  spots  con- 
tiguous to  the  former  also  brown,  the  olive- 
coloured  edging  of  the  band  wavy,  with  a  pow- 
dered blue  spot  between  it  and  the  triangular 
olive-coloured  spot  on  the  inner  margin,  and  a 
distinct  brown  spot  on  the  inner  hind  angle  of 
the  posterior  wings  ;  all  the  wings  beneath  are 
broadly  bordered  behind  with  light  brown,  and 
the  spots  upon  them  are  also  light  brown.  It  ex- 
pands from  one  inch  and  three-eighths  to  one 
inch  and  a  half.  This  species  has  been  taken 
in  Massachusetts,  but  it  is  rare,  and  the  cater- 
pillar is  unknown  to  me.    (Harris.) 

GRASS  (Goth,  sras ;  Icel.  graes,  from  gro,  to 
germinate,  to  sprout).  The  common  herbage 
of  the  field  on  which  cattle  feed. 

The  grasses,  it  has  been  often  and  well  said, 
♦•  are  nature's  care."  There  is,  perhaps,  no 
class  of  the  vegetable  world  so  little  under- 
stood as  this.  "  Grass,"  says  Professor  Mar- 
lyn,  "vul?arly  forms  one  single  idea,  and  a 
husbandman,  when  he  is  looking  over  his  en- 
closure, does  not  dream  that  there  are  upwards 
of  300  species  of  grass,  of  which  30  or  40  may 
be  at  present  under  his  eye.  They  have 
scarcely  had  a  name  besides  the  general  one 
till  within  these  20  years;  and  the  few  par- 
ticular names  which  have  been  given  them 
are  far  from  having  obtained  general  use,  so 
that  we  may  fairly  assert  that  the  knowledge 
of  this  most  common  and  useful  tribe  of  plants 
is  yet  in  its  infancy."  {Letters  on  Botany,  xiii.) 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  since  Professor 
Martyn  wrote,  much  has  been  done  to  add  to 
our  knowledge  of  the  grasses.  These  grow  in 
all  parts  of  the  world  promiscuously,  and  with- 
out cultivation,  affording  both  directly  and  in- 
directly the  means  of  subsistence  to  man. 
Europeans  live  chiefly  upon  wheat,  rye,  and 
barley,  to  which  list  their  American  de- 
scendants have  added  maize  or  Indian  corn. 
*«The  cultivation  of  the  earth,"  says  Professor 
Johnson,  "  preceded  the  improvement  of  the  in- 
tellect, and  was  the  herald  of  civilization.  It 
is  remarkable  that  we  have  no  direct  criterion 
f-f  the  origin  of  many  of  those  grasses  met  with 
everywhere  in  ctiltivation,  as  none  of  them  are, 
to  any  extent,  found  wild.  Some  travellers 
have  thought  that  barley  was  indigenous  to 
Tanary.  rie  to  Greta,  and  wheat  to  Asiei,  but 
these  might  have  been  diffu-ed  from  some  cul- 
tivated some  years  previously.  Com  is  not 
only  the  support  of  man,  but  the  grasses  are 
the  subsistence  of  the  animals  which  form  his 
nutriment.  The  nutritive  quality  of  grasses  is 
principally  owing  to  the  sugar  which  they  con- 
fain,  and  of  which  some  English  grasses  con- 
568 


tain  large  quantities,  but  the  sugar  cane  is  the 
only  grass  that  is  exclusively  cultivated  for  ob- 
taining this  article  for  commerce.  The  grasses 
are  applied  to  a  vast  variety  of  important  me- 
chanical purposes;  they  are  found  in  every 
part  of  the  world,  from  the  Poles  to  the  Equa- 
tor; on  the  land,  as  well  as  floating  on  the 
water,  and  are  the  universal  food  of  animals." 

The  botanist  has  shown  that  there  are  more 
than  130  distinct  native  species  and  varie- 
ties of  grass  in  Great  Britain,  all  possessing 
distinct  properties,  and  varying  in  their  de- 
grees of  value  to  the  farmer,  from  the  most 
worthless,  to  those  on  which  his  successful 
farming  chiefly  depends.  The  researches,  too, 
commenced  by  the  late  Duke  of  Bedford,  and 
carried  on  during  a  series  of  years  in  the  grass 
garden  at  Woburn,have  added  very  materially 
to  our  stock  of  knowledge  concerning  these 
plants  ;  for,  instituted  with  a  public  object,  and 
under  the  careful  and  skilful  management  of 
one  of  my  earliest  correspondents,  the  late  Mr. 
George  Sinclair,  the  results  were  given  by  him 
to  the  public  in  the  Hortus  Gnnnineus  Wohuv' 
nensis,  a  valuable  and  elaborate  work,  to  which 
I  am  chiefly  indebted  for  the  matter  of  this  and 
other  articles  upon  the  grasses.  The  manner 
in  which  these  celebrated  experiments  of  the 
Duke  of  Bedford  were  conducted,  is  thus  de- 
scribed; 

"Spots  of  ground,  each  containing  4  square 
feel,  in  the  garden  at  Woburn  Abbey,  were  en- 
closed by  boards  in  such  a  manner  that  there 
was  no  lateral  communication  between  the 
earth  included  by  the  boards,  and  that  of  the 
garden.  The  soil  was  removed  in  these  en- 
closures, and  new  soils  supplied;  or  mixtures 
of  soils  were  made  in  them,  to  furnish  as  far  as 
possible  to  the  different  grasses  those  soils 
which  seem  most  favourable  to  their  growth,  a 
few  varieties  being  adopted  for  the  purpose  of 
ascertaining  the  effect  of  different  soils  on  the 
same  plant.  The  grasses  were  either  planted 
or  sown,  and  their  produce  cut  and  collected, 
and  dried  at  the  proper  seasons,  in  summer 
and  autumn,  by  Sinclair,  his  Grace's  gardener. 
For  the  purpose  of  determining,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble the  nutritive  powers  of  the  different  species, 
equal  weights  of  the  dry  grasses  or  vegetable 
substances  were  acted  upon  by  hot  water  till 
all  their  soluble  parts  were  dissolved;  the  solu- 
tion was  then  evaporated  to  dryness  by  a  gen- 
tle heat  in  a  proper  stove,  and  the  matter  ob- 
tained carefully  weighed.  This  part  of  the 
process  was  likewise  conducted  with  much 
address  and  intelligence  by  Sinclair,  by  whom 
the  various  details  and  calculations  were  fur- 
nished. The  dry  extracts  supposed  to  contain 
the  nutritive  matter  of  the  grasses,  were  sent 
to  me  for  chemical  examination.  The  compo- 
sition of  some  of  them  is  stated  minutely;  but 
it  will  be  found,  from  the  general  conclusions, 
that  the  mode  of  determining  the  nutritive 
power  of  the  grasses,  by  the  quantity  of  matter 
they  contain  soluble  in  water,  is  sufficiently  ac- 
curate for  all  the  purposes  of  agricultural  in- 
vestigation."    (.^gr.  Chem.  app.) 

In  regard  to  the  description  of  soils — 1st.  By 
loam,  is  meant  any  of  the  earths  combined 
with  decayed  animal  or  vegetable  matter.  2d. 
Clayey  loam,  when  the  greatest  proportion  is 


GRASS. 


clay.  3d.  Sandy  loam,  when  the  greatest  pro- 
portion is  sand.  4th.  Brown  loam,  when  the 
g^reatest  proportion  consists  of  decayed  vege- 
table matter.  5th.  Rich  black  loam,  when  sand, 
clay,  animal,  and  vegetable  matters  are  com- 
oined  in  unequal  proportions,  the  clay,  greatly 
divided,  being  in  the  least  proportion,  and  the 
sand  and  vegetable  matter  in  the  greatest. 
The  terms  light  sandy  soil,  light  brown 
loam,  &c.,  are  vaj^ieties  of  the  above,  as  ex- 
pressed. 

Tl.3  systematica-  arrangement  of  gra.sses  is 
a  difficult  and  unsatisfactory  task,  and  has  oc- 
cupied the  attention  of  many  botanists.  The 
mcst  recent  work  upon  the  subject  is  Kunth's 
Jgrosto'^raphia,  pnhhsh'ed  at  Berlin  in  1836. 

In  choosing  the  mixture  of  grass  seeds  most 
valuable  for  the  farmer's  soil,  many  considera- 
tions must  be  taken  into  calculation;  not  only 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  and  the  supply  of  water 
t.)  which  its  habits  are  best  adapted,  but  also 
the  objects  which  the  farmer  has  in  view. 
Thus,  the  meadow  foxtail  (Mopecunu  praten- 
«"«),  although  an  early,  nutritive,  and  produc- 
tive grass,  requires  more  than  two  years  to 
arrive  at  perfection;  it  is,  tlierefore,  better 
adapted  for  permanent  pasture  than  for  the 
alternative  husbandry.  And  then,  again,  the 
meadow  cal's-tail  or  timothy  (Phleum pratetue), 
although  remarkable  for  producing  the  most 
nutritious  culms  of  all  the  grasses,  and  that, 
too,  in  a  considerable  bulk,  yields  aftermath 
f  very  little  value.  Valuable,  therefore,  as  it 
for  hay,  i«  is  of  little  consideration  for  feed- 
;ii4  purposes  if  sown  by  itself;  it  must,  there- 
fore, be  combined  with  other  grasses.  8o  the 
cock's-foot  or  orchard  grass  (Dartylis  glome- 
rata),  which  soon  arrives  at  perfection,  and 
yields  early  and  late  a  profusion  of  leaves, 
which  are  highly  nutritive,  has  culms  or  stalks 
of  little  value;  it  is  a  grass,  therefore,  most 
profitable  for  feeding  purposes.  "Under  these 
dilferenl  relations,  therefore,"  says  Mr.  G.  Sin- 
clair, "a  grass  should  be  considered,  before 
it  is  absolutely  rejected,  or  indiscriminately 
recommended." 

The  knowledge  of  the  relative  nutritive  mat- 
ters contained  in  different  grasses,  will  also 
not  only  be  a  highly  important  object  of  re- 
search, as  connected  with  their  feeding  pro- 
ties,  but  as  throwing  considerable  light  on 
•  powers  of  the  dift'erent  grasses  to  exhaust 
w.  imiToverish  the  soil,  a  question  which  I 
shall  examine  more  at  length  under  the  head 
"Rotation  of  Crops."  A  more  intimate  and 
extensive  knowledge,  with  regard  to  the  com- 
position of  plants,  may  be  derived  from  even 
an  examination  of  their  external  appearance 
than  many  persons  would  deem  possible.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  general  results  of 
the  observations  of  Sinclair: 

1.  Grasses  which  have  culms  with  swollen 
joints,  leaves  thick  and  succulent,  and  flowers 
with  downy  husks,  contain  greater  proportions 
of  sugar  and  mucilage  than  those  of  a  less 
succulent  nature. 

2.  When  this  structure  is  of  a  light  glaucous 
colour,  the  sugar  is  generally  in  excess. 

3.  Grasses  which  have  clums  with  small 
joints ;  flowers  pointed,  collected  into  a  spike 
or  spike-like  panicle  ;  leaves  thin,  flat,  rough, 

72 


GRASS. 

and  of  a  light  green  colour,  contain  a  greater 
proportion  of  extractive  matter  than  others. 

4.  Grasses  which  have  culms  furnished 
with  numerous  joints;  leaves  smocth  and  suc- 
culent; flowers  in  a  spike  or  close  panicle; 
florets  blunt  and  large,  contain  most  gluten  and 
mucilage. 

5.  When  this  structure  is  of  a  glaucous 
colour,  and  the  florets  woolly,  sugar  is  in  the 
next  proportion  to  mucilage. 

6.  Grasses  which  have  their  flowers  in  a 
panicle,  florets  pointed  or  awned,  points  of  the 
culm  smooth  and  succulent,  contain  most  mu- 
cilage and  extractive. 

7.  Grasses  with  flowers  in  a  panicle  ;  florets 
thinly  scattered,  pointed,  or  furnished  with 
long  awns ;  culms  lofty,  with  leaves  flat  and 
rough,  contain  a  greater  proportion  of  saline 
matter  and  bitter  extractive. 

8.  Grasses  with  strong,  creeping  roots,  culms 
few,  leaves  flat  and  rough,  flower  in  a  spike, 
contain  a  greater  proportion  of  bitter  extract 
with  mucilage.     (Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  42.) 

In  the  first  part  of  April  1920  grains  of  the 
leaves  of  the  following  grasses,  &c;  aflford,  ac- 
cording to  Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  the  following  pro- 
portions of  nutritive  matter  : 


Meadow  fnxtail-grnns,  (PI.  5,^) 

Tall  oat-niie  •oft-grnw,  (PI.  5,  ee) 

SwceT-9Ce?ited  vernal,  (PI.  6,  a) 

Roiind-panicled  cock'»-fnot.  (PI.  5,  b) 

PerMiinial  rye-frrasfl,  (PI.  5,  a)      - 

Tall  fescue,  (PI.  5,  e)     - 

Meadow  rescue,  (PI.  9,  (fd)  - 

Crested  drtf's-lajl,  (PI.  6,/) 

Woolly  soft-Krass         -        _        -        _ 

rr-epiii(t  soft  grass,  (PI.  5,  e) 

Meadow  cafs-tall,  (PI.  5,k) 

FMrtile  oMaduw-g raa«  ... 

Nervpd  meadow-grass  ... 

Smooth  awnless  brome-grass,  (PI.  7,  b) 

Wood  meadow-grass  -        .        .        - 

Rmooth  fescue,  (PI.  6.  A)      - 

I.oiig-awned  sheep's  fescue,  (PI.  6,  k) 

Dr\rnel-like  fescue  (PI.  5,/) 

Creeping  heiit,  or  florin  (PI.  5,  n) 

Wood  florin  -         _        .        _         . 

Yellow  vetchling  _        -        _        _ 

Roug't-stalked  meadow-grass,  (PI.  5,  i) 

Broad-leaved  red  clover.  (PI.  8,  b) 

While,  or  Dutch  clover,  (PI.  8,  o) 

Common  quaking  grass,  (PI.  6,  n) 

Greater  bird's-fooi  trefoil,  (PI,  9,  A)     - 

Long-rooted  clover,  (PI.  8,  A) 

Liicern,  (PI.  8,  A) 

Biinias  ..--_. 

Kurnet,  (PI.  9,  o)  - 

Cow  parsnp  ......    go 

{Tbid.  p.  239.) 
It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  cultivator 
to  learn  of  what  these  nutritive  matters  con- 
sist; the  following  is  the  result  of  Mr.  Sin- 
clair's examinations: 


On. 
96 
130 
53 


.  70 

.  94 

.  96 

-  88 

-  80 

-  90 

-  80 

-  70 

-  76 

-  84 

-  68 
.  70 

-  102 
.  110 

-  42 
.  62 

-  40 


-    64 
.    54 


76 


-  100 

-  100 


Bitter  Ex- 

100  ^nt  of  the  Nalri- 
tive  Matter  of  the 

MudUage, 
SUrch. 

Saccb. 

Matter,  or 

Su'ar. 

Glaten. 

tractive 

and 
Saline 
Matters. 

Meadow  foxtail 

consists  of     - 

64 

8 

- 

28 

Meadow  fescue 

59 

20 

_ 

20 

Rye-grass 

C5 

7 

- 

28 

Meadow    cat's- 

tail 

74 

'0 

- 

16 

Cock's-foot 

59 

1 

- 

30 

Meadow-oat      - 

80 

iC 

- 

10 

White  clover  (In 

flower)  - 

77 

2 

7 

14 

Red  clover  (do.) 

79 

8 

5 

8 

Tares 

68 

25 

— 

"" 

Florin  {^groslia 

stolonifera 

55 

5      1 

~ 

40 

3b  2 


569 


GRASS. 


,    300e  (rain*  o(  tha  GraM 
I  HetUtt  of 


'  Tares  consist  of 
I  While  clover 

Cock's-fbol  grass 
[  Meadow-fescue 


tnd  lentil 
Fibre. 


537 
470 
1135 


2250 
2430 
1740 
1590 


NulriliTC 
Matter. 


1U3 
100 
125 
150 


(.StnJair's  Hort.  Gram,  tt'ob.  p.  240,241.) 

The  chemical  composition  of  the  grasses  va- 
ries materially  in  the  progress  of  their  growth, 
a  fact  well  worthy  of  the  fanner's  serious 
attention  in  more  ways  than  one.  "I  found," 
says  Davy,  "  in  all  the  trials  I  made,  the  largest 
quantity  of  truly  nutritive  matter  when  the 
seed  was  ripe,  and  least  bitter  extract  and  sa- 
line matter;  most  extract  and  saline  matter  in 
the  autumnal  crop,  and  most  saccharine  mat- 
ter in  proportion  to  the  other  ingredients  in  the 
crop  cut  at  the  time  of  flowering.  I  shall  give 
one  instance : 

"  100  parts  of  the  soluble  matter  obtained 
from  the  round  panicled  cock's-foot  grass 
(Dadylis  glomerata),  cut  in  flower,  afforded,  of 

Parti. 

Sugar    -       - 18 

Mucilage       -------07 

Extract,  saline  matters,  &c.        •       -       -    15 

100 

••100  parts  of  the  soluble  matter  from  the  seed 
*rop,  afforded,  of 

Parts. 


Sugar  - 
Mucilage 
Extract,  tcc. 


100 


"100  parts  of  soluble  matter  from  the  after- 
math crop  gave,  of 

Parti. 
Sugar    -       -       -       -       -        -       -       -11 

Mucilage       -------59 

Extract 30 

100" 

{Elm.  of^gr.  Chem.  477.) 

The  seeds  of  the  Grasses. — The  ripening  of  the 
seeds  of  the  essential  grasses  (says  Sinclair), 
takes  place  at  three  different  periods  of  the 
•eason,  or,  if  they  are  classed  according  to  the 
lime  about  which  each  species  ripens  its  seed, 
they  will  form  three  divisions  or  groups ;  the 
first,  consisting  of  the  earliest  species,  pp. feet 
their  seed  about  the  end  of  June— such  ^s  the 
sweet-scented  vernal-grass  and  the  aarrow- 
leaved  meadow-grass :  the  second  consisting 
of  the  sheep's-fescue  grass,  and  others,  about 
Ihe  end  of  July ;  and  the  third,  such  as  the  flo- 
rin grass,  and  others,  about  the  first  or  second 
week  in  September,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
followiog 

Table  of  Ihe  average  periods  at  which  different  spe- 
cies of  Grasses  ripen  their  seed,  drawn  up  by  the 
late  Mr.G.  Sinclair,  from  the  details  often  years' 
practical  observation  and  experiment.  {Allow- 
ance must  be  made  for  difference  of  dinuUe  be- 
ticeen  England  atid  jimerica.) 

Anntial  mearlnw-grass   (Pot  annua.    P,  6,  e, 
from  April  10  to  frosts. 

June 
Sweef-srenied    vernal    grass   {jSntkvxanthum 

i»rf«rflfuw).  PI.  6,  a  -         -         -         -         -     10  to  20 

Soft    annual     brotne-grasa    {Bromtia    mollis), 

PI.  7,  ft 12  —  20 

670 


GRASS. 

Silver-hair,  hair-grass  (.^ira  caryophylla)        -  15  to  90 

B'nmr  ven\a\  ^rass  (yl lit huxanthmn  amarum)    -  15  —  20 

Sheathed  cotton-grass  (.Eriophorum  va^inatum)  18  —  20 

Narrow-leaved  c.oiion-grass  (K.  avgustifoliuvi)  20  —  30 

One-flowered  iiielic-grass  (JlftZica  M7ii/l«ra)      -  18  —  24 

Spring  millet-grass  (.Wi/iuwi  rernaie)        -        -  18  —  25 

Alpine  meadow-grass  (Pua  alpina)  PI.  6,  Z        -  18  —  24 
Narrow-leaved  nteadow-grass  (P.  anfruatifo- 

/i</)PI.  6,  e 18  —  24 

Blue  meadow-grass  (Ses/erio  carwZea)       -        -  18  —  24 
Meadow   foxtail-grass  (.^lopecurus  pratensia) 

PI.  5,  ^ 30 

Sweet-scented  soft-grass  (aborti^  generally) 

(Holcus  odoratus  repevs)  -         -         -         -  20 

Barlev-like  fescue  (Festuca  ovina  hordeiformie) 

PI.  6,  i June  20  to  July  20 

July 
Small-flowered  oat-grass  (^vena  parviflora)  -  4  to  10 
Long-flowered  (Bromus  lovgijlorus)  -  -  4 — 13 
Glaucous  fescue  (FestMCft^Zaica)  -  -  -  4  —  24 
llmigar'vdn  (Festnca  pan  no  nica)  -  -  -  4 — 17 
Hard  wheat-grass  C/VitJcMmnardMa)        -        -      4—17 

Smooth  meadow-grass  (.Poa  pratensis)  PI.  5,  A  10  —  17 
Woolly  soft-grass  (i/«Zc>(s  Zonotwfi)           -        -12  —  24 

Creeping  sofi-t-rass  (IIulcus  viollis)  PI.  5,  c       -  14  —  26 
Field  or  meadow  brome-grass  {Bromua  aroen- 

ais)  PI.  7,  o -        -      7 

Jointed  fox-tail  (Jilopecurus  geniculatus)  -        -      7  —  28 

Bulbous  meadow-grass  (Poa  &ttZfrosM«)     -        -  11 

Yellow  oat-grass  {Jiveva  pubescena)  PI.  6,  6     -  15  —  25 

Blue  meadow-grass  (/^oa  c^rM^eo)    -        -        _  16 

Nodding  panicled  bent-grass  {Brovnis  tectorntn)  16 

Crested  dog's-tail  ( Cyrn/nhrus  cristatua)  PI.  6,  /  16  —  30 

Hmn  of  \)]t:i\ty  (Ciirtiucopia  cncullatum)   -        -  16 
Round-headed  cock's-foot  grass  {Dactylia fflo- 

merata)  r\.  b.  b 19  —  30 

Glaucous  cock's- fool  grass  (7).  ^Zawcescens)    -  20 

Striped  cock's-foot  grass  {D.  variegata)  -  20 

Striped  American  variety  (Z).  ./Jmcncano  var.)  22 

Wood  fescue  {Festuca  duvietorum)    -        -        -  19  —    3 

Perennial  rye-grass  {Lolium  perenne)  P1.5,  o  15 

Russell-grass  {Lolium  Russellianum)        -        -  20 

Reflexed  meadow-grass  {Poadistana)      -        -  16 

Rigid  meadow-grass  (P.  rigida)       -        -        -  16 
Rough -stalked   meadow-grass    (P.    Trioialis) 

PI.  5,  t 16 

Smooth-leaved    fescue-grass   {Featuca  glabra 

var.)  PI.  6,  A -  12 

Creeping  fesctie-grass  (Fes/?/ca  rwftra)  -  -  12  —  25 
ComiiKin  quaking  grass  {Briza  media)  PI.  6, 7i  12  —  20 
Melilot  clover  (I'rifolium  Melilotus  officinalis)  -  14 
Upright  brome-grass  {Drovius  erectua)  -  -  20 
Bxish  vexch  {Vicia  sepitini)  -  -  -  -24  —  20 
Sheep's  fescue-grass  {Festuca  ovina)  PI.  6,  k  -  28 
Early  hair-grass  {JUmpracox)  -  -  -  27 
Water  hair-grass  (./9.  ai/Kffltica)  -  -  -  26 
Crested  hair-grass  (j9.  cristata)  -  -  -  29 
Gigantic  brome-grass  {Bromua giganteus)  -  24 
Slender  oat-grass  (./9re?(«/raw'i/is)  -  -  -  24 
Eastern  oat-grass  (j?.  orientalis)  -  -  -  25  —  3© 
Meadow  oal-grass  {~i.  pratensis)  -  -  -  24 
Two-rowed  brtime-grass  {Bromua  diataehyoa)  30 
Wall  brome-grass  {B.  diandrua)  -  -  -  21 
Tongue-forlned  brome-grass  (jB.  ligusticus)  -  30 
Large-panicled  brome-grass  {Bromua  mazimus)  21 
Flat-spiked  brome-grass  {B.  unioloidea)  -  -  21 
Wood  millet -grass  (./V/i/i«7H  f;^ji."swm)  -  -  21 
Brome-like  fescue-grass  {Festuca  bromoidea)  -  21 
Hard  fescue-grass  {F.  duriuacula)  PI.  6,^  -  30 
Crested  brome-grass  (Broz/iws  cmtatJts)  -  -  30 
Slender  fescue-grass  (Fes<Mca^raci/w)  -  -  30 
Slender  sheep's-fescue  (/i'.  o»iwa(e7i«»«)  -  -  30 
Meadow  fescue-grass  (/'.  pratenaia)  PI.  5,  d  d  30 
Slender-leaved  fescue  {F.  tenuifolia)  -  -  30 
Viviparous  fescue  {F.  vivipara)  -  -  -  30 
Sand  canary-grass  {Phnlaria  urenaria)  -  -  30 
('iliated  melic-grass  (JUe/ica  ciZJofa)  -  -  27  —  31 
Nerved  meadow-grass  {Poa  nervate)  -  -  30 
Rye-grass-like  fescue  (Featuca  loliacea),  PI.  5,/  21 
Lesser  meadow  cat's-tail  {Phleum  pratenae  mi- 
nus)          25 

I Auaar -spiked  {Cynosurus  cruceeformia)    -        -  21 

Meadow  cai's-tail  {Phleum  pratenae)  PI.  5,  &    -  25 

Wood  meadow-grass  {Poa  vemoralia)       -        -  30 
j  Bulbous-jointed  cat's-tail  grass  {Phleum  nodo- 

'      aum 30 

Fertile  meadow-grass  {Poa  fertilis)  -        -  30 

Larger  bird's-foot  trefoil  (Lo<M«»na;or)    -        -  30 

Smaller  bird's-foot  trefoil  (L.  minor)        -        -  30 

Capon's-lail  fescue  {Festuca  Myurua)       -        -  29 

Sea-green  meadow-grass  {Pva  caeia)       -       -  27 

Way-bennet,  wall-barley  {Hordeummurinum)  30 

Thouin's  vetch  (rictrt  rAowinJt)        -        .        -  30 

,  Welsh  fescue-grass  {Festuca  Cambriea)  PI.  7,  e  20  —  30 
1  Upright  vetch  (rrciasfricta)     -        -        -        -20  —  30 


GRASS. 

Aogint. 

Cre?tpd  hair-grass  {Aira  cris'ata)     -        -        -  2 

Giant  Ivtiie-irrass  {Klymug  iriffanteus)       .        -  2 

lyfTiimi'fnt  iiieadnw-grass  (Poa  d«eM/iifcr«*)      -  3 

t^peli  whf.ar-Kras*  {Triticnui  spelia)  .         -  3 

Sleo'lfT  vviieal-grass  (V'i'icttTrt  ^cnwe)       -        -  4 

Bearilt'd  wheal-ijrass  iTntieum  caninuvi)  -  4 

AwiilesB  whHat-grass  {Triticum  cavinum,  var.)  4 

Cnriimiiii  beiit-gra»!*  (^i'r"«»w  rw/iurarw)  -        -  4 

Upri'ihi  mat  gra>»9  (J^Turdunetrtcta)  -        -        -  5 

Small  spiiri«»us  tare  (Ernum  Krcilid)        .        _  4 

Broad -leaved  •nt-gras's  {Jlvena  planievlmis)     -  6 

Hairy  tare  (KrrttM /ursMtian)    .         -         -        -  6 

F"ur-s>-eded  lare  (Erctim  lelraspeniium)  -        -  6 

Cilan<-<tii<)  nieadi)W-Kra99  {Poa  glauca)       -         -  6 

Pr<)«iiii>bent  meadow -grass  {Poa  procumbens)  -  6 
Lontf  rooted  c\o\'ki  (Trifulium  macrorhiium)  P\. 

8,  fc 5 

W<»od  I)ent-gra99  {Jl^roaiit  fylva'icus)  -  -  0 
Tall  ff^rlilK  iVsciie  grass  (Feftuca  elatior  feriilut)  6 
M.iny-rt'iwering  broine-grass  yBrumut  muUi^- 

r„s)         -        -        -        -'-         -         -         -5 
PhiUdi'Iphlan  lyme-grass  {Elymua  Pkiladelphi- 

«;w)  -         -  6  to  TO 

Sordid  vetch  (Ficia«»r</irf.i)      -        -        -        -6  —  20 
PleiidiT-leaved  vetch  (f'ifia /^UMi/o/ia)     .        -      8 
fieardltfss  tall  oat-grass  (Holeua  aoenneens  muti' 

eus) 7 

Red  hrotiie-grass  (Bromw>  rabena)  -  -  -  » 
Rauhin's  tnelic-criss  (Afflini  Bnuhini)  -  -  9 
t\tUHi\-\\ke  ffnciif  (Ftstuca  alopecHroideg)  -  10  —  W 
Hedgehog  lyine-grasit  {Kigtmua  hfttm)  -  -  lU 
Barren  hronie-grasa  (firowv*  »teriiw)  -  -  10 
JoUiit^A  \yme-(>ra»»{Elymuafeniculattu)  -     10 

O'dden  oal  {Aven*  fiaviteenat  -  -  -  -  20 
V\i\e.-\m\\K.WA(.AruHdo  CalamagrvBttM)  -  -21—30 
Meadow  harley-grasa  (Hurdeum  pratrnae)  PI.  5,  d  21 
Narrow-leaved  broiiie  (BrvntHB  angiut\foliua)  24 
blender  ry«-graas  (Ao/iMiii(eiiv«)  •  -  -14 
8|>ear-paiiicled  brume-grass  {BromuM  ImnesoU' 

tus) 24 

fi%\nMn  (Onobrfckia  xatiea)  P\.  S,  g         -        -    24 

Winged  hrome-grass  (BromMjfpiNMOtiw)    -        -38 —    5 
Brown  l»eiH-gra!«s  {^/fpoiti*  canina)  -        -    29  —  30 

Uundled-leaved  bent  {A.  vul/raria  fa»eieulari$)  » 
Ctinch  grass  {Tritieum  repent)  -        -        -    30 

Wood  vetch  (Ktcta  »u/ra(ica)     -        -        -        -    30 

tepl. 
Tufted  vetch  (f'iciaeriMrca)        -        -        -        -      4— U 
Foxtail  oal-L'rass  (.^pen/i  a/«p«CMr»i//M)    -        -      5  —  13 
Awnless  brown  bent  (Agro-tia  eaninm,  var.  iiiit- 

tica  .-.-.---5 

Ciuiih  hent-grass  (jf^rojirw  oift-i)       -        -        -      6 — 15 
Fiorin  pr:i8^  (A.  atolunifera)  PI.  5,  «  -        -      8 

Ami  many  others.  Oe»nb«r. 

foMimonret-d -grass  (jfruvrftf  pAra^mi'^)        -     10 — 15 
Anierii  an  cock's-fooi  (Dacliilia  ejinoauroidts)        10 
SlifTwIn-at-crans  (TVirJCMw  rii'iJum)        -         -     12 — 13 
And  Avt;  or  six  others.    {SimcUir'a  Hort.  Oram,  tf'ob.  p. 

Of  these  gfrasses  those  regarded  in  England 
as  the  chief  and  most  useful  species  and  varie- 
ties are  comprehended  in  the  following  list: — 


Agrostis  canina 
Airrostls  siolnnifera. 
Alopecnrnji  pratentiis. 
Anltioxanthnm  odoratuin. 
Avena  flaveucens. 
Avena  pratensis. 
Briza  media. 
Bromus  arvensis. 
Cow -grass,  or  perennial 

red  clover. 
Cynosnrus  cristaius. 
Dactylis  glomerata. 
Fesiiica  cambrica. 
Festiica  iluriuscula. 
Feaiuca  flniians. 
Festnca  glabra. 
Fesiuca  heierophylla. 
Ffsinc.i  hordeiforuiis. 
Ffsiuca  ovina. 
Festuca  pratensis. 


Festuca  rubra. 

Festuca  sylvatica. 

Festnca  lenuifolia. 

Holcus  avenareuB. 

Holcus  lanatns. 

Hordeuni  pratensis 

I^ilium  perenne. 

Phlenni  pratensis. 

Poa  annua. 

Poa  cienilea. 

Poa  fertilis. 

Poa  nemoralis. 

Poa  nervata. 

Poa  pratensis. 

Poa  trivialis. 

Red  suckling. 

Rib-grass. 

TrefniJ. 

White  or  DuUb  clover. 

Yarrow. 


From  some  experiments,  given  in  the  Trans. 
Hi^h.  Snr.  vol.  ii.  p.  250,  by  Messrs.  Lawson  & 
Co.,  it  would  seem  that  the  raising  of  the  seeds 
of  the  artificial  gras.ses  is  attended  with  con- 
siderable )>rofit. 

The  late  Mr.  Blakie  suggested  a  very  excel- 
lent plaK  for  saving  the  seeds  of  down  grasses, 


GRASS 

or  of  those  grasses  which  are  peculiarly  adapt- 
ed for  elevated  dry  soils  (jParr/t.  Journ.  March 
17,  1823),  viz.  to  fence  oft"  a  sutficient  portion 
of  these  pastures,  choosing  such  portions  as 
have  the  best  kind  of  grasses,  and  to  mow  these 
enclosures  for  seed  in  succession,  at  three,  four, 
or  more  different  periods  of  the  season.  "By 
these  means,"  said  Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  "the  seeds 
of  the  early,  midsummer,  and  late  vegetating 
grasses  will  be  obtained,  and  which  could  not, 
it  is  evident,  be  obtained  by  one  mowing  in  one 
season.  This  is,"  he  adds,  "a  highly  valuable 
mode  of  obtaining  the  seeds  of  those  grasses 
adapted  for  downs ;  which,  to  cultivate  sepa- 
rately for  the  seed,  would  be  a  fruitless  under- 
taking. Fence  the  selected  turf  well,  and  early 
in  the  season,  and  prepare  for  mowing  by  pick- 
ing the  stones  or  rubbish  from  the  surface,  and 
by  rolling.  As  the  seeds  ripen,  employ  a  care- 
ful bird-watcher.  Mow  in  dry,  favourable  wea- 
ther. If  the  swaths  are  heavy,  they  should  be 
turned  with  great  caution,  so  as  not  to  shake 
out  the  ripe  seeds.  As  soon  as  the  mowing  is 
dry,  the  seed  should  be  immediately  thrashed 
out  on  a  close  woven  cloth  in  the  field,  and  on 
a  dry  day;  and  when  a  certain  portion  of  the 
later  grasses  ripen  their  seed,  another  mowing 
should  be  effected,  and  so  on,  until  all  the 
grasses  in  the  enclosure  have  perfected  their 
seed."  (Hort.  Gntm.  Wob.  p.  39, 40.)  "As  every 
different  soil,"  continues  Sinclair,  in  another 
portion  of  his  invaluable  work,  "produces 
grasses  peculiar  to  itself,  and  as  no  other  kinds 
can  be  established  or  cultivated  upon  it  with« 
out  first  changing  its  nature  to  resemble  that 
which  produced  the  kind  of  grasses  we  wish 
to  introduce;  it  becomes  a  point  of  the  firat 
importance  in  making  experiments  on  different 
species  of  this  numerous  family  of  plants,  and 
in  stating  results,  to  determine  with  sufficient 
accuracy  the  nature  of  the  soil  or  different  soils 
employed.  The  basis  of  every  improvement  in 
the  cultivation  of  glasses  is  to  sow  the  seeds 
of  those  species  only  which  are  adapted  to  the 
soil,  or  to  change  the  nature  of  unsuitable  soils 
to  that  which  is  fitted  for  the  growth  of  grasses 
most  desirable  to  be  cultivated ;  and,  unless 
this  important  point  is  in  the  first  place  atp 
tended  to,  disappointment  rather  than  success 
may  be  expected  to  follow  the  labours  of  the 
farmer." 

1.  Of  the  grasses  of  rich  natural  pastures. — 
Every  farmer  is  aware  that  peculiar  grasses 
are  the  productive  tenants  of  his  rich  natural 
pastures,  and  that  if  these  are  ploughed  up,  and 
a  course  of  grain  crops  tak^n  from  the  soil,  a 
considerable  period  elapses  before  the  turf  with 
which  it  was  formerly  covered  can  be  restored. 
George  Sinclair  carefully  noted  this  fact,  and 
examined,  not  altogether  unsuccessfully,  its 
cause.  He  observed  that  "the  different  grasses 
and  other  plants  which  compose  the  produce 
of  the  richest  natural  pastures  are  in  number 
26,  and  that  from  the  spring  to  the  end  of  au- 
tumn there  is  not  a  month  that  does  not  con- 
stitute the  particular  season  ^f  luxuriance  of 
one  or  more  of  these  grasitfs ,  hence  proceeds 
the  constant  supply  of  rich,  succulent  herbage 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  season,  a  circum 
stance  which  but  seldom  or  never  happens  in 
artificial  pastures,  where  the  herbage  consisU 

571 


GRASS. 

of  two  or  three  plants  only.  The  plants  which  j 
usually  tenant  the  best  natural  pastures  are 
the  meadow  fox-tail,  round  cock's-foot,  meadow 
fescue,  meadow  cai's-tail,  sweet-scented  vernal 
grass,  tall  oat-like  soft-grass,  creeping  vetch, 
rye-grass,  field  brome-grass,  annual  meadow 
or  Suffolk  grass,  meadow  oat-grass:  these  yield 
the  principal  grass  in  the  spring,  and  a  chief 
portion  of  that  of  the  summer.  Then,  again, 
we  find  the  yellow  oat-grass,  meadow  barley, 
crested  dog's-tail,  hard  fescue,  rough-stalked 
meadow-grass,  smooth-stalked  meadow-grass, 
woolly  soft-grass,  perennial  red  clover,  white 
or  Dutch  clover,  yellow  vetch  or  meadow  la- 
thyrus,  and  the  smooth  fescue,  which  yield  the 
principal  portion  of  the  summer  and  autumn 
produce.  Lastly,  we  find  the  yarrow,  creeping 
bent  or  fiorin,  marsh  bent-gr.ass,  and  creeping 
wheat-grass  or  couch,  vegetating  most  vigo- 
rously in  the  autumn.  Besides  these,"  conti- 
nues Sinclair,  •'  in  the  richest  natural  pastures 
are  invariably  found  the  butter-cups  (Ranuncu- 
lus acris),  rib-grass  or  ribwort  plantain  {Planta- 
go  lanceolata),  and  sorrel  dock  (Rumex  acetosa)." 
Of  these,  however,  except  in  cases  of  necessity, 
live-stock  will  only  eat  the  rib-grass. 

To  examine  the  nature  of  the  change  pro- 
duced on  rich  pasture  land  by  a  course  of  grain 
crops,  Mr.  Sinclair  made  the  following  valuable 
experiments : — 

"A  space  of  2  square  yards  of  rich  ancient 
pasture  land  was  dug  to  the  depth  of  8  inches ; 
400  grains  of  this  soil,  freed  from  moistuie  and 
the  green  vegetable  fibres,  contained — 

Gts. 

calcareous  and  sJlicious  sand     -        -        -  102 
Decomposing  vegetable  matter  and  parti- 
cles of  roots     ------  55 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)           -        -        -  160 

Silica  (flint) 60 

Alumina  (clay)    ------  25 

Oxide  of  iron       ------  4 

Soluble  vegetable  matter,  and  sulphate  of 

lime  (gypsum)          .       .       -       -       -  4 

400 

•  This  soil  was  then  cropped  for  5  seasons 
alternately  with  1,  oats;  2,  potatoes;  3,  wheat; 
4,  carrots;  5,  wheat.  It  was  then  examined,  to 
ascertain  what  change  it  had  undergone  by 
bearing  these  crops.  It  appeared  to  consist  of 

Gn. 

Calcareous  and  silicious  sand     -        -        -  lOO 

Decomposing  vegetable  matter  -        -        -  48 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  -        -        -        -  159 

Silica  (flint)        ------  57 

Alumina  (clay)    ------  26 

Oxide  of  iron      ------  5 

Soluble  vegetable  and  aaline  matter  -       -  3 

398 
LoM 2 


"Thus,  the  earthy  portion  of  the  soil  had 
undergone  but  little  change,  but  it  had  sus- 
tained a  very  considerable  diminution  of  its  de- 
comjiosing  vegetable  and  animal  matters,  par- 
ticularly when  it  is  considered  that  the  turf 
also  was  incorporated  with  the  soil.  Manure 
was  now  for  the  first  time  applied,  and,  with 
the  wheal  stubble,  dug  in  to  the  depth  of  6 
inches.  The  surface  was  then  made  fine  with 
a  rake,  anc*  sown  with  a  mixture  of  the  follow- 
ing grass  seeds,  at  the  rate  of  5  bushels  to  the 
acre: — Meadow  fescue,  meadow  fox-tail,  round 
672 


GRASS. 

cock's-foot,  tall  oat-like  soft-grass,  creeping 
vetch,  rye-grass,  meadow  cat's-tail,  crested 
dog's-tail,  yellow  oat,  meadow  oat,  hard  fescue, 
smooth-stalked  meadow-grass,  fertile  meadow- 
grass,  nerved  meadow-grass,  cow  clover  (Tn- 
folium  medium),  Dutch  or  white  clover,  and 
fiorin,  marsh-bent.  These  were  sown  on  the 
28th  of  August,  1813.  They  all  vegetated  be- 
fore the  first  week  of  October  except  the  creep- 
ing vetch  {Vicia  sepium),  which  did  not  germi- 
nate till  the  autumn  of  1814.  Before  the  frost 
set  in  they  had  a  top-dressing  with  a  compost 
of  rotten  dung,  lime,  and  vegetable  mould,  laid 
on  in  a  fine  and  dry  state,  and  rolled,  and  again 
rolled  in  February.  The  plants  sprang  earlier 
than  those  of  the  old  pasture  (a  circumstance 
common  to  young  plants  in  general).  In  the 
first  week  of  July  the  produce  was  cut  and 
weighed:  it  amounted  to  one-eighth  more  than 
the  produce  of  the  ground  in  its  original  state. 
The  aftermath,  however,  of  the  seedling  grasses 
weighed  one-fifth  less  than  that  cf  the  natural 
pasture.  But  in  1815,  upon  cutting  and  weigh- 
ing the  grass  in  the  first  weeks  of  June  and 
August,  and  again  in  the  middle  of  September, 
the  total  weight  of  these  three  crops  exceeded 
that  of  the  old  turf  exactly  in  the  proportion  of 
9  to  8."    (Hort.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  131.) 

2.  The  grasses  which  are  the  natural  tenants  of 
dry  sandy  and  elevated  soils.- — These,  according 
to  Sinclair,  are  the  sheep's  fescue,  viviparous 
fescue,  purple  fescue,  pubescent  fescue,  glau- 
cous fescue,  wall  fescue,  wall  barley,  fine  bent, 
brown  bent,  lobed  bent,  rock  bent,  snowy  bent, 
purple  bent,  tufted-leaved  bent,  waved  hair- 
grass,  feather-grass,  slender  foxtail,  hairy  oat- 
grass,  blue  melic  grass,  upright  mat-grass, 
blood-coloured  panic-grass,  green  panic-grass, 
barren  brome-grass,  crested  brome-grass,  up- 
right annual  brome-grass,  nodding  brome-grass, 
Alpine  meadow-grass,  Alpine  foxtail-grass, 
blue  moor-grass,  crested  hair-grass,  panicle'd 
cat's-tail  grass,  reflexed  meadow-grass,  flat- 
stalked  meadow-grass,  meadow-barley,  bird's- 
foot  clover,  larger  bird's-foot  clover,  trefoil  or 
nonsuch,  sainfoin,  soft  brome-grass,  creeping 
soft-grass,  and  white  or  Dutch  clover.  (Ibid, 
p.  256.) 

"  When  these  sandy  upland  soils  are  im- 
proved by  the  application  of  clay  or  marl,  they 
are  then  capable  of  supporting  a  very  superior 
description  of  grasses  to  these,  and  the  follow- 
ing varieties,"  says  Sinclair,  "  should  be  sown, 
for  experience  will  prove  that,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, they  are  the  best  for  that  purpose." 
{Ibid.  p.  337.) 

Barley-like  sheep's-fescue    -        -        -    3  pecks.' 
Cock's-foot  grass  -----    3      — 

Crested  dog's-tail  grass         -        -        .    1      — 
Yellow  oat-grass   -        -        -        -        -    2      — 

Rye-grass      ------1      — 

Flat-stalked  meadow-grass  -        -        -    1      — 
Various-leaved  fescue  -        -        -        -    H    — 

Hard  fescue   -        -        -        -        -        -2      — 

Lesser  bird's-foot  trefoil        -        -        -     1    lb. 
White  clover  -        -        -        -        -    3   — 

3.  Tlie  grasses  of  bogs,  or  other  very  moist  soils.— 
These  are  commonly  of  the  most  worthless 
description  to  the  cultivator :  they  are  chiefly 
the  marsh  bent,  awnless  brown  bent,  awned 
creeping-bent,  smaller-leaved  creeping-bent, 
creeping-rooted  bent,  white  bent,  flote  fescue, 
tall  fescue,  turfy  hair-grass,  knee-jointed  fox- 


GRASS. 


GRASS. 


tail-grass,  water  hair-grass,  water  meadow- 
grass,  long-leaved  cotton-grass,  and  sheathed 
cotton-grass.    (Hort.  Wob.  p.  340.) 

4.  The  grasses  of  water  meadows. — "All  the 
superior  perennial  grasses,"  observes  Sinclair, 
"  thrive  under  irrigation  when  the  meadow  is 
properly  formed ;  the  following  species  of 
grass  I  have  invariably  found  to  constitute  the 
produce  of  the  best  water  meadows  : — Meadow 
foxtail,  round-panicled  cock's-foot,  field  brome- 
grass,  meadow  fescue :  these  occupied  the 
crowns  and  sides  of  the  ridges.  The  furrows 
were  stocked  with  the  creeping  bent,  marsh 
bent,  hard  fescue,  lesser  variety  of  meadow 
cat's-tail,  woolly  soft  grass,  rough-stalked  mea- 
dow-grass, meadow  fescue.  A  small  admix- 
ture of  other  species  were  thinly  scattered  over 
every  part  of  the  ridge ;  these  were  meadow 
barley,  yellow  or  golden  oat,  crested  dog's-tail, 
rye-grass,  sweet-scented  vernal-grass,  tufted 
vetch,  with  a  larger  proportion  of  the  tall 
oat-like  soft-grass.  The  soil  of  the  water 
meadows  which  produced  the  above  grasses 
was  either  a  deep  active  peat  incumbent  on 
a  silicious  sand,  or  a  sandy  loam,  on  a 
chalky  or  gravelly  subsoil.  In  some  irrigated 
meadows,  where  the  ridges  were  formed 
nearly  flat,  and  the  soil  consisted  of  a  sandy 
loam  on  a  retentive  clayey  subsoil,  the  follow- 
ing grasses  constituted  the  chief  produce  : — 
Crested  dog's-tail,  creeping-rooted  soft-grass, 
rye-grass,  meadow  barley,  tall  oai-like  soft- 
grass,  sweet-scented  vernal,  and  soft  brome- 
grass."  (Ibid.  p.  383.) 

The  grasses  best  adapted  for  the  alternate 
husbandry  also  attracted  the  attention  of  George 
Sinclair;  but  he  saw  the  difficulty  of  laying 
down  any  systematic  rules  which  should  be 
adapted  for  all  soils  and  situations,  and  the 
dfuiands  for  animal  food :  he  hardly,  therefore, 
made  any  very  practical  general  observations. 
He  gives  us,  however,  among  other  valuable 
statements,  the  following  little  table  of  the  rela- 
tive value  of  three  of  the  crops  he  had  ex- 
amined on  similar  soil : 


Broad-leaved  red  clover 


Lucern 


Sainfoin 


C herhage 
<  hay  - 
(.initritiv( 
Ctram 

-    -J  hay 


itive  matter 
erass  - 


itive  matter 
r herbage 
^  hay      - 
(.nutritive  matter 


IIM.  per 

«iTe. 

49,0<)5 

12,251 

1.901 

70,785 

38,314 

l,B59 

8,848 

3.539 

345 


5.  The  grasses  best  adapted  for  pasture  during 
the  winter. — In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Trans, 
of'  the  High  Hoc.  p.  31,  is  an  essay  on  this  sub- 
ject by  the  late  Mr.  George  Sinclair.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  grasses  he  recommends  as  being 
productive  of  the  most  considerable  quantity 
of  winter's  grass;  and  the  proportion  of  seeds 
which  he  advises  to  be  sown  to  produce  such 
a  pasture  — 

Cock's-foot  (Dactiflis  ^lomerata)     -        -        -    4  pecks. 
Meadow  f.-scue  (Festiira  prnti-wiis)  -        -     3      — 

Tall  fertile  nieadi>vv-i;rass  (Festwaelatior va.r. 

fertilis),  only  in  very  h'-avy  soils  constantly 

depajttiired  with  cattle. 
M»'adf)w  cafs-iail,  or  true  timothy  grass  (Phle- 

um  jirnUnse  major)         -         -         .  _         _       |    

Broa.Meaved  bent,  or  florin   )AffrostU  slolo- 

nifera)  .......     I       

Tall  oat-like  soft-grass  (Wo/e«*orenac«««)      -    2     — 


Woolly  soft-grass  (Holcus  lanatus),  only  in 
cases  of  considerable  elevation  and  poverty 
of  soil. 

Pacey's  perennial  rye-grass  (Lolium  perenne)     3  p«ek«. 

Burnet  (Poterium  Sana-ui^orba)        -        -         -     2      — 

Cow-gras3,or  perennial  red  clover  (Trifolium 
pratense  perenne)  -         .         _        _        ^    6  Ibi^. 

White  clover  (Trifolium  repens)      -        -        -    8  — 

The  quantity  of  the  grass  seeds  employed 
per  acre,  for  permanent  ordinary  pasture  ne- 
cessarily varies  with  the  nature  of  the  soil.  A 
practical  English  farmer  gives  the  following 
as  an  excellent  mixture.  {Mark  Lane  Exp, 
April  5,  1841.) 


1 

Clover,  red         -       .       .       - 

—  white     -        -       -       . 

—  red,  perennial  (cow-grass) 
Rye-grass,  perennial  -        -        - 

—           Italian      ... 
Meadow  foxtail           -        -        - 
Cock's-foot         -        -        -        . 
Fescue,  meadow         -        -        _ 

—  hard       .... 
Rough-stalked  meadow-grass    . 
Hmootli-stalked  meadow-grass  . 
Wood  meadow-grass  (Hudson's 

Bay  grass)        .        .        .        - 
Sweet-scented  vemal-grasf 
Timothy  grass    .        .        -        . 

On  Light 
So)l£ 

^-sfS-^ 

Ibt. 

lb*. 

38 

47 

6.  Transplantation  or  inocula*  ion  of  turf. — This 
plan,  which  is  one  in  certaii»  situations,  offer- 
ing considerable  advantages,  is  described  in 
the  lirit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  523,  and  by  G.  Sinclair, 
Hort.  Gram.  Wob.\t.Mb.  The  mode  of  returning 
tillage  land  to  permanent  pasture,  called  trans- 
planting, was  originally  invented  by  Mr.  Whit- 
worth,  of  Acre  House,  Lincolnshire,  and  it 
was  first  practised  to  any  extent  by  Mr.  .lohn 
Bloomfield,  of  Warham,  Norfolk.  In  laying 
down  land  to  permanent  pasture  by  this  mode, 
it  is  essential  that  the  soil  should  be  free  fr^ 
the  seeds  and  roots  of  weeds,  and  made  per- 
fectly clean  by  a  summer  fallow.  The  autumn 
is  the  best  time  for  transplanting  turf,  and  that 
as  soon  as  the  autumn  rains  have  sufficiently 
moistened  the  turf  to  fit  it  for  paring  off  clean  : 
the  roots  of  the  grasses  thus  get  established 
before  the  commencement  of  warm  weather  in 
the  spring.  It  is  also  essential  that  the  turf 
should  be  selected  or  taken  from  the  very  best 
pasture,  for  otherwise  weeds  and  inferior 
grasses  will  be  propagated.  If  the  field  from 
which  the  turf  is  to  be  taken  to  make  the  new 
pasture,  is  intended  to  be  broken  up  for  a 
course  of  tillage  crops,  then  the  whole  of  the 
turf  may  be  taken  off  and  employed  in  form- 
ing the  new  pasture  to  the  required  extent. 
But  should  the  field  be  required  to  remain  in 
permanent  pasture,  a  portion  only  of  the 
turf  must  be  taken  from  the  field,  and  a  suffi- 
ciency of  the  sward,  or  grass-plant,  left  stand- 
ing for  that  purpose.  In  the  first  of  these 
cases,  Mr.  Blakie  directs  a  paring-plough  to  be 
used ;  but  if  that  cannot  be  convenierfiy  ob- 
tained, a  common  plough,  with  the  coulter  and 
share  made  very  sharp,  wiL  answer  the  pur- 
pose :  a  wheel  plough  is  preierable,  adds  Sin- 
clair, to  a  swing  plough  for  paring  turfs,  be- 
cause it  goes  steadier,  and  cuts  the  turf  more 
regularly.    The  turf  should  be  cut  about  2i 


GEAaa 

inches  thick,  anl  7,  8,  or  9  inches  wide,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  turf-gage  of  the 
plough,  and  the  width  of  the  wing  of  the  share : 
it  is  sometimes  cross  cut  into  short  lengths, 
previous  to  the  operation  of  paring ;  but  this 
'can  only  be  effecied  when  the  turf  is  moist 
and  free  from  stones.  The  cross  cuiting  is 
done  by  a  scarifier,  with  cimeter  lines,  the 
con\'ex  edges  made  very  sharp,  and  faced  to 
the  work,  and  the  implement  heavily  weighted, 
so  as  to  press  the  tines  a  proper  depth  into  the 
lorf :  bat  it  is  best  in  large  flags.  The  turf  is 
then  carried  in  broad-wheeled  carts  to  the  field, 
at  the  rate  of  50  cart-loads  to  an  acre,  placed 
in  heaps,  and  then  chopped  into  small  pieces 
of  about  3  inches  square  ;  the  ground  is  then 
levelled  with  a  scarifier,  and  the  turf  spread 
with  shovels  over  the  field  ;  the  pieces  of  turf 
arc  then  placed  or  planted  by  women  and 
children,  and  pressed  into  the  soil  by  the  foot 
or  a  wooden  rammer.  One  acre  of  turf  di- 
vided into  pieces  will  plant  9  acres — each 
piece  of  turf  standing  9  inches  apart.  The 
expense  per  acre  of  this  mode  of  converting 
arable  land  into  pasture  is  as  follows :  say 

A.  R.  p. 

Extent  of  gnuB  land  clenn  paired  of    -        -        12  18 
Extent  of  arable  land  transplanted  with  the 

above 11    0  15 

Expense.  £    s.   d. 

To  ploiii^hing  or  pairing  1  a.  2r.  18  p.,  at  I0«. 

per  arre      -        -        -        -        -        -        -0    16H 

To  carriaire  of  600  loada  of  tiifl,  fifty  days' 

wiirk  fornne  horse,  at  3«.  per  day  -  -  7  10  0 
To  boys  driving  carts  -  -  -  -  -0  19  8 
To  srarifying  II  acres  or  15  poles  of  ground 

when  covered  with  tuft  cut  in  pieces,  at 

2a.  Prf.  per  acre 1   7  8i 

To  labourers,  at  30«.  per  acre   -   -   -   1  12  9J 

Or  il.9».  2id.  per  acre.  27   6  4 


A  plan  of  improving  old  worn-out  pasture 
lands  (by  dibbling  peas  and  vetches,  with  a 
itfxture  of  18  pounds  of  Dutch  clover,  and  2 
bushels  per  acre  of  Bay  grass)  is  described  by 
Mr.  Salter,  Com.  to  Board  of  Jlgr.  vol.  vi.  p.  357. 
On  the  advantages  of  deep  ploughing,  fallow- 
ing, and  liming  land  intended  to  be  again  laid 
down  to  permanent  pasture,  with  an  experi- 
ment on  17  acres  at  Jedburgh,  there  is  a  paper 
by  Mr.  Bell,  Qiwir/.  Journ.  of  A^.  vol.  i.  p.  570, 
and  another  by  Mr.  Sinclair  {ibid.  p.  65).  To 
this  gentleman's  excellent  work  {Hort.  Gram. 
Woh.),  I  would  especially  commend  my  rea- 
ders, as  it  abounds  with  information  on  the 
grasses.  There  is  also  a  paper  on  the  eco- 
nomical improvement  of  grass  lands  in  Scot- 
land (Qttart.  Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  vii.  p.  547)  ;  and 
in  all  improvements  of  this  kind,  the  use  of  the 
sub-turf  plough  should  not  be  forgotten  by  the 
farmer.     See  Irrioatiox. 

In  addition  to  the  original  article  in  the 
English  edition,  we  deem  the  subject  of  grasses 
so  important,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  subject 
so  limited  in  the  United  States,  that  we  subjoin 
the  following  information  derived  from  the 
best  British  authorities. 

English  writers  have  divided  hay  grasses, 
according  to  their  duration,  into  two  classes — 
the  temporary  and  pervianent. 

The  tall  hay  grasses  of  temporary  duration, 
regarded  as  most  valuable,  are — 

The  Annual  or  Perennial  Rye-Grass  {Lolivm 
IS1\ 


GRASS. 

annua  or  perenne),  see  Plate  of  Tall  Hajr 
Grasses,  PI.  5,  a  ;  Cock's-foot  or  Orchard  Grass 
{Dactylis  glotnerata),  6;  and  Woolly  Soft-Grass 
{Ilnlcus  lanatus),  c. 

Where  a  crop  of  hay  is  desired  within  the 
year,  it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  such  grasses 
as  are  annuals  in  the  strict  senst  of  the  word, 
and  none  (says  Loudon)  can  be  better  for  this 
purpose  than  the  common  oat  {Avena  sativa')^ 
cut  and  made  into  hay  when  it  comes  intc 
flower.  Next  in  order  may  be  mentioned  the 
other  cereal  grasses,  and  the  annual  varieties 
of  Bromus ;  the  latter,  however,  are  very 
coarse  grasses,  though  prolific  in  culm. 

The  biennial  rye-grass,  a  variety  of  tht  pe. 
rennial  Lolium,  is  almost  universally  suwn 
in  England,  either  with  or  without  clover, 
among  grain  crops,  with  a  view  to  one  crop  of 
hay  in  the  succeeding  season.  It  attains  a 
greater  height,  and  produces  a  longer,  broader 
spike  of  flowers  than  the  perennial  rye-grass, 
and  the  produce  in  hay  is  considered  greater 
than  that  of  any  other  annual  grass,  equally 
palatable  to  cattle.  It  prefers  a  rich,  loamy 
soil,  but  will  grow  on  any  surface  whatever, 
except  undecayed  rock  or  bog.  The  perennial 
rye-grass,  which  will  be  more  fully  described 
hereafter,  differs  from  the  biennial  variety  in 
being  of  somewhat  smaller  growth,  and  in  con- 
tinuing in  the  ground  for  several  years;  accord- 
ing to  the  circumstances  of  soil  and  culture. 

The  Cock's-fool  Grass,  or,  as  it  is  generally 
called,  in  the  United  States,  Orchard-Grass, 
from  its  thriving  well  in  moist  shady  places,  and 
especially  orchards  (PI.  5,  b),  is  an  imperfect 
perennial,  and  grows  naturally  on  dry,  sandy 
soils.  This  grass  may  be  recognised  by  its 
coarse  appearance,  both  of  the  leaf  and  spike, 
and  also  by  its  whitish  green  hue.  It  grows 
freely  in  most  situations,  is  very  hardy  and 
productive,  but  rough,  harsh,  and  coarse,  and 
much  improved  by  cultivation  in  open  grounds. 
Hence  its  name  of  rough  cock's-foot. 

This  gr^ss  is  rather  early  in  its  growth,  and 
in  many  excellent  old  pastures  it  constitutes 
one  of  the  plants  always  found  in  the  turf.  It 
vegetates  much  during  the  winter  in  England, 
and  when  sown  at  the  rate  of  2  bushels  an  acre 
with  red  clover,  it  has  speedily  formed  a  very 
good  sward.  As  a  single  plant  to  sow  with 
clover  for  hay,  it  is  altogether  unsuitable.  On 
good  lands  it  shoots  up  strong,  coarse  stalks, 
too  tall  and  few  in  number,  and  unfit  for  fod- 
der ;  and  the  hassocky  tufted  roots  do  not  yield 
at  that  season  a  quantity  of  leaves  to  be  cut 
for  hay.  But  on  inferior  soils  that  are  used 
for  pasturage  for  tw^o  or  three,  or  more  years, 
in  remote  or  high  situations,  it  forms  one  of  the 
most  valuable  of  grasses,  shoots  early,  and  af- 
fords, from  its  tufted  growth,  an  early  bile  for 
sheep,  and  produces  an  abundance  of  sound, 
healthy  seed,  which  is  easily  gathered.  The 
general  complaint  of  running  up  to  coarse 
stalks  may  be  remedied  by  early  and  close 
grazing,  and  when  sown  on  poor  lands  along 
with  other  perennials,  it  will  produce  the  ear- 
liest feed,  and  the  most  abundant  herbage 
during  the  season.  It  is  much  relished  by  all 
kinds  of  live-stock,  and  especially  sheep,  the 
i  quantity  of  which  that  can  in  England  be  kept 
1  upon  it  summer  and  winter  is  quite  surprising. 


HAY  ORASSES  ADAPTED  TO   PARTICULAR  SOILS    8c  SITVATIOKS. 


II 


GRASS. 


the  land  meanwhile  becoming  richer  in  ♦'vo  or 
three  years  from  the  sheep  manure.  AiWr  mid- 
summer, however,  sheep  prefer  the  rj'e-grass. 
Sinclair,  it  is  stated,  considers  "no  grass  so 
well  suited  for  all  purposes  as  cock's-foot." 
{Code  of  Agr^iculture.) 

It  is  observed,  by  high  authority,  "  that  if  one 
species  only  is  thought  preferable  to  another 
in  the  alternate  husbandry,  that  species  is  the 
cock's-foot,  from  its  more  numerous  merits. 
But  a  certain  supply  of  the  most  nutricious 
herbage  throughout  the  season  will  be  in  vain 
looked  for  from  any  one  species  of  grass,  and 
can  only  be  found  where  nature  has  provided  it 
in  a  combination  of  many."  {Hort.  Gram.  Wob., 
2d  ed.  p.  414.) 

The  IVoolly  Soft  Grass  (PI.  5,  r),  is  an  imper- 
fect perennial,  and  rather  a  late  flowering 
grass,  of  a  short,  unsubstantial  appearance, 
and  found  chiefly  in  poor,  dry  soils.  It  is, 
however,  a  very  common  grass  on  all  soils, 
from  the  richest  to  the  poorest.  It  afli'ords 
abundance  of  seed,  light,  and  easily  dispersed 
by  the  wind.  According  to  Sinclair,  of  Wo- 
burn,  it  appears  to  be  generally  disliked  by  all 
sorts  of  cattle.  It  answers,  however,  for  sheep 
pasture.  Being  left  almost  untouched  by  cat- 
tle, it  appears  the  most  productive  part  of  the 
herbai^e,  which  leads  to  a  false  conception  of 
its  pi(>duce.  The  hay  made  from  it  is  gene- 
rally disliked  by  cattle.  The  VVoburn  experi- 
ments lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Holrus 
tuoUitfy  nr  couch  grass,  is  a  better  plant  for  hay 
than  the  species  here  noticed,  but  that  is  a 
more  durable  perennial,  and  therefore  belongs 
to  another  class  of  grasses. 

Tall  Hat  Grasses  of  permanent  duration. — 
"No  permanent  grass,"  says  Loudon,  "has 
been  f(.>nnd  equal  to  the  rye-grass  for  the  pur- 
poses of  convertible  husbandry,  but  others 
iiave  been  selected,  which  are  considered  su- 
perior for  hay  meadows.  The  principal  of 
these  are  the  fescue,  fox-tail,  and  meadow- 
grass."     (Enn/r.  of  Agr,) 

Of  the  various  species  of  fescue  grass,  there 
are  three  held  in  the  highest  estimation  in 
England  as  meadow  hay-grasses,  viz.: 

The  Meadoto  or  Fertile  Fescue  Grass  (Festwca 
prateHsis,  PI.  5,  dd).  This  is  found  in  rich  mea- 
dows and  pastures,  and  is  highly  grateful  to 
all  kinds  of  stock.  In  England  it  is  more  in 
demand  for  laying  down  meadows  than  any 
other  species,  except  the  rye-grass.  The  loss 
sustained  by  leaving  the  crop  of  this  grass  till 
the  seed  be  ripe  is  very  great,  since  by  the  Wo- 
burn  experiments  it  appears  that  the  value  of 
this  grass,  at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe,  is,  to 
that  at  the  time  of  flowering,  as  6  to  18.  It 
may  be  observed,  that  there  is  a  great  differ- 
ence between  straws  or  leaves  that  have  been 
dried  after  they  were  cut  in  a  succulent  state, 
and  those  which  are  dried  by  nature  while 
growing.  The  former  retain  all  their  nutritive 
powers,  but  the  latter,  if  completely  dry,  very 
little,  if  any. 

The  Tall  or  Infertile  Fescue  Grass  (Festuca  ela- 
tior,  PI.  5,  e).  This,  in  appearance,  differs  but 
little  from  the  meadow  fescue,  except  in  being 
larger  in  every  respect.  The  produce,  how- 
ever, is  nearly  three  times  greater;  the  nutri- 
tive properties  being  also  greater,  in  the  pro- 


GRASS. 

portion  of  6  to  8.  This  grass  takes  its  name  in 
England  from  its  seeds  being  infertile  when 
cultivated,  it  being  produced  by  parting  the 
roots  and  planting  them  out. 

The  Spiked  Fescue  Grass,  or  Darnel  Fescut 
Grass  (Festuca  loliacea,  PI.  5,/).  resembles  the 
rye-grass  in  appearance,  and  the  tall  fescue  in 
the  infertility  of  its  seeds.  "It  is,"  says  Lou- 
don, "  considered  superior  to  rye-grass  either 
for  hay  or  permanent  pasture,  and  improves 
in  proportion  to  its  age,  which  is  the  reverse 
of  what  takes  place  with  the  rye-grass." 

The  Mea  low  Fox-tail  Grass  (Mopeairus  pro- 
tensis,  PI.  5,  g),  is  found  in  most  English  mea- 
dows, and  where  the  soil  is  neither  very  moist 
nor  very  dry,  but  in  good  heart,  is  very  produc- 
tive. It  also  does  well  on  water  meadows. 
Sheep  and  horses  seem  to  relish  it  better  than 
oxen.  In  the  Woburn  experiments,  the  resull 
gave  nearly  three-fourths  of  produce  greater 
from  a  cl.iyey  loam  than  from  a  sandy  soil, 
the  grass  from  the  latter  being  comparatively 
of  less  value  in  the  proportion  of  4  to  6. 

Of  the  Meadow  Grasses,  there  are  two  species 
most  esteemed  in  England  and  Scotland  as  hay 
plants,  the  smooth-stalked  and  roughish,  which 
compose  the  greater  part  of  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  meadows,  especially  those  near 
Edinburgh. 

The  Great  or  Smooth-stalked  Meadow  Grass— 
the  Spear-grass  of  America  (Poa  pratensiSf 
PI.  5,  A),  is  distinguished  by  its  height,  smooth 
stem,  and  creeping  roots.  According  to  Sole, 
it  is  the  best  of  all  the  grasses.  Its  foliage  be- 
gins to  shoot  and  put  on  a  fine  verdure  early 
in  the  spring,  but  not  so  soon  as  some  other 
grasses.  Every  animal  that  eats  grass  is  fond 
of  it ;  while  it  makes  the  best  hay,  and  affords 
the  richest  pasture.  It  abounds  in  some  of  the 
best  meadows  in  Great  Britain,  and  has  the 
valuable  property  of  abiding  in  the  same  land, 
while  most  other  grasses  are  continually 
changing.  According  to  some,  it  delights  in 
rather  a  dry  than  a  moist  soil  and  situation,  on 
which  account  it  keeps  its  verdure  better  in  dry 
seasons,  but  it  thrives  most  luxuriantly  in  rich 
meadows.  A  loss  of  more  than  one-fourth  of 
the  value  of  the  whole  crop  is  sustained  if  it  is 
not  cut  till  the  seed  be  ripe,  the  straws  being 
then  dry,  and  the  root-leaves  in  a  decaying  and 
sickly  state.  Those  of  the  lattermath,  on  the 
contrary,  are  luxuriant  and  healthy.  This 
species  sends  forth  flower-stalks  but  once  in  a 
season,  and  those  being  the  most  valuable  part 
of  the  plant  for  the  purpose  of  hay,  it  will, 
from  this  circumstance,  and  the  superior  ^'alue 
of  the  grass  of  the  lattermath,  compaiea  to  that 
of  the  seed-crop,  appear  well  adapted  for  per- 
manent pasture.  It  was  of  this  grass  that  the 
American  prize  bonnet,  in  imitation  of  Leg- 
horn, was  manufactured  by  Miss  Woodhouse. 

The  rovghish  meadotr-grass  (Poa  trivialis,  PI. 
5,  t),  delights  in  moist,  rich,  and  sheltered  situ- 
ations, where  it  grows  2  feet  high,  and  is  very 
productive.  By  the  Woburn  experiments  it  ap- 
pears that  the  proportional  value  in  which  the 
grass  of  the  seed  crop  exceeds  that  at  the  time 
I  of  flowering  is  as  8  to  11.  The  proportional 
I  value  by  which  the  grass  of  the  lattermath  ex- 
ceeds that  of  the  flowering  crop  is  as  8  to  12, 
and  that  of  the  seed  crop  as  11  to  12.     Here 

575 


GRASS. 


GRASS. 


then,  is  a  satisfactory  proof  of  the  superior  va- 
)ue  of  the  crop  at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe,  and 
of  the  consequent  loss  sustained  by  taking  it 
when  in  flower;  the  produce  of  each  crop  be- 
ing nearly  equal.  The  deficiency  of  hay  in  the 
flowering  crop  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  seed 
crop  is  very  striking.  Its  superior  produce,  the 
highly  nutritive  powers  which  the  grass  seems 
to  possess,  and  the  season  in  which  it  arrives 
at  perfection,  are  merits  which  distinguish  it 
as  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  those  grasses 
which  aflect  moist,  rich  soils,  and  sheltered 
situations.  But  on  dry,  exposed  situations,  it 
is  altogether  inconsiderable;  it  yearly  dimi- 
nishes, and  ultimately  dies  off,  not  unfrequently 
in  the  space  of  four  or  five  years.  (Loudon's  En- 
cyclop,  of  Jl^rtcuUurc.) 

The  above  constitute  six  of  the  best  British 
grasses  for  either  dry  or  watered  meadows. 
The  seeds  of  the  two  sorts  of  meadow-grass 
are  apt  lo  stick  together,  and  when  sown  with 
clover  and  other  kinds  of  seeds,  require  to  be 
carefully  mixed  before  sowing.  The  tall  and 
spiked  fescue  grasses,  having  a  number  of 
barren  flowers,  are  not  prolific  in  seeds,  and 
are  therefore  seldom  to  be  got  at  the  seed- 
stores,  though  they  may  occasionally  be  had 
there  gathered  from  plants  in  a  wild  state. 

jii  hay  grasses,  mlapted  for  particular  soils  and 
$Uuations.  the  cai's-tail  or  timothy,  floating  fes- 
cue, and  florin  grass  have  been  recommended 
by  British  agriculturists,  though  not  with  per- 
fect unanimity. 

The  CaVs-tail  or  Timothy  grass  (Phleum  pra- 
tense,  PI.  5,  k),  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  Eng- 
land, although,  from  its  still  partial  use  there, 
and  its  universal  culture  in  all  the  grazing  dis- 
tricts of  the  United  States,  its  valuable  proper- 
ties were  here  first  properly  appreciated,  as  a 
hay  grass  taking  precedence  of  all  others.  It 
is  said  to  have  acquired  its  name  of  timothy 
from  its  first  introducer  into  Maryland,  Ti- 
mothy Hanson.  It  is  a  favourite  grass  in 
Sweden,  and  is  destined  to  become  so  in  Eng- 
land, although  some  of  the  highest  British 
authorities  upon  rural  matters,  Withering, 
Swaine,  Curtis,  and  others,  have  disapproved 
of  its  culture,  as  having  no  properties  in  which 
it  is  not  greatly  surpassed  by  the  meadow  fox- 
tail. Probably  some  mistakes  have  been  made 
by  the  authorities  who  have  treated  upon  the 
subject,  who  have  thus  referred  to  difierent 
grasses.  This  is  rendered  more  probable  from 
the  fact  that  the  English  Flora  enumerates  six 
species  of  cat's-tail,  but  one  of  which  seems  to 
have  any  particular  claims  to  the  attention  of 
the  farmer.  The  Woburn  experiments  present 
timothy  ae  one  of  the  most  valuable  grasses  for 
hay.  In  England,  according  to  Donaldson,  it 
has  very  undeservedly  sunk  in  estimation,  as 
being  harsh,  late,  and  yielding  little  aftermath, 
and  from  possessing  no  quality  in  which  it  is 
supposed  not  to  be  excelled  by  the  foxtail 
grass.  This  last  observation  must  have  pro- 
ceeded from  a  very  limited  experience,  for  in 
general  purposes,  and  in  a  variety  of  soils  and 
of  climate,  it  far  exceeds  the  foxtail,  and  also 
in  yielding  readily  an  abundance  of  sound, 
healihy  seed,  while  many  of  the  seeds  of  the 
foxiail  are  abortive,  and  the  plant  is  very  shy 
e/ growth,  and  confined  to  the  best  cultivation. 


At  the  time  of  flowering,  timothy  grass  pro- 
duced on  one  acre  40,837  lbs.,  when  ripe  it 
yielded  the  same  weight,  but  the  quantity  of 
nutritive  matter  was  more  than  doubled;  the 
lattermath  yielded  9528  lbs.,  and  the  samo 
quantity  of  nutritive  matter  as  at  the  time  of 
flowering:  1920  grains  of  leaves  gave  80  grains 
of  nutritive  matter,  and  100  grains  of  nutritive 
matter  gave  74  of  mucilage  or  starch,  10  of 
saccharine  matter  or  sugar,  and  16  of  bitter 
extractive  or  saline  matter.  The  ripe  crop  ex- 
ceeds the  flowering  in  value  as  14  to  5,  which 
circumstance  gives  great  value  to  the  plant  for 
the  purpose  of  hay.  If  these  statements  of  com- 
parative produce  and  value  be  admitted  as  an 
authority,  it  will  be  seen  that  cat's-tail  exceeds 
the  foxtail  grass  in  every  respect  except  in  the 
produce  of  the  lattermath:  an  advantage  that  is 
much  over-balanced  by  the  greater  produce  and 
the  ready  growth  of  the  timothy  grass.  It  thrives 
much  on  peaty  lands,  and  in  humid  climates, 
and  on  all  damp  soils,  and  on  those  that  pos- 
sess a  degree  of  loamy  softness  in  their  com- 
position; and  is  unfit  for  hot  sands,  gravels, 
and  chalks,  and  for  hard,  sterile  clays.  With 
that  exception,  experience  on  a  great  va- 
riety of  soils  and  for  a  long  period  of  time 
places  this  grass  next  to  ray  grass  for  general 
utility.  It  grows  readily  and  abundantly,  yields 
much  seed  and  of  good  quality.  On  very  good 
lands,  it  has  a  tendency  to  produce  height  of 
stems  in  place  of  number,  and  the  leaves  are 
soon  blanched  and  yellowed  with  rain  in  mak- 
ing into  hay;  but  the  other  grasses  have  a  simi- 
lar tendency,  and  they  are  all  inferior  to  ray 
grass  in  producing  a  crop  of  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  stems  of  an  equal  height.  The  time  of 
flowering  is  little  if  any  later  than  the  cock's- 
foot,  fescue,  or  ray-grass,  and  for  one  crop  of 
hay,  or  for  two  and  three  years'  pasture,  and 
for  permanent  purposes,  the  meadow  cat's-tail 
must  form  a  very  considerable  part  of  the 
mixture.  The  comparative  merits  of  this 
grass  will,  from  the  above  particulars,  appear 
to  be  very  great;  to  which  may  be  added,  the 
abundance  of  fine  foliage  that  it  produces  early 
in  the  spring.  In  this  respect  it  is  only  in- 
ferior to  the  narrow-leaved  meadov-grass  {Poa 
angustifolia),  and  Poa  fertilis.  The  value  of  the 
straws  at  the  time  the  seed  is  ripe  exceeds  that 
of  the  grass  at  the  time  of  flowering  in  the  pro- 
portion of  28  to  10,  a  circumstance  which  raises 
it  above  many  others;  for,  from  this  property, 
its  valuable  early  foliage  may  be  pastured  to 
an  advanced  period  of  the  season  without  in- 
jury to  the  crop  of  hay,  a  treatment  which,  in 
grasses  that  send  forth  their  flowering  straws 
early  in  the  season,  would  cause  a  loss  of  nearly 
one  half  in  the  value  of  the  crop ;  and  this  pro- 
perty of  the  straws  makes  the  plant  peculiarly 
desirable  for  hay.  Timothy  is  doubtless  a  very 
exhausting  crop,  and  some  persons  think  it  en- 
tirely too  costly  a  provender  for  horses  in  com- 
mon use,  and  only  to  be  given  to  racers,  &c 
Cock's-footand  rye-grass  afl^orda  much  cheaper 
hay,  and  are  not  such  great  exhausters  of  the 
soil.  It  seems  certain  that  for  horses  no  kind 
of  hay  is  equal  to  timothy.  Mixed  with  clover 
it  also  makes  an  admirable  hay,  fit  for  both 
horses  and  cattle.  (See  PI.  6,  of  Tall  Hay 
grasses,  a.) 


/V////'  0 


EARLY    PASTURE    GRASSES. 


PASTURE  GRASSES    ADAPTED  TO 


PARTICULAR  SOILS  AND    SITUATIONS 


-^ 


GRASS. 


GRASS. 


The  common  Ray  or  Rye-grass  (Lolium  pe- 
renne),  is  said  to  be  the  first  of  the  grasses  cul- 
tivated in  England,  and  even  in  Europe.  Ac- 
cording to  Donaldson,  the  latest  English  writer 
upon  irrasses,  it  is  still  regarded  as  not  far  re- 
moved from  being  first  in  point  of  general 
utility.  One  of  the  species  of  Lolium,  the  temv^ 
lentvm,  or  bearded  annual  darnel,  is  sometimes 
mistaken  for  what  is  known  in  the  United  States 
by  the  names  of  Cheat  or  Chess,  so  often  found 
among  wheat  and  barley  crops.  See  Darnel. 
The  varieties  of  the  Lolium  perenne  are  very 
numerous,  and  several  improvements  have 
been  effected  in  England  on  the  original  plant, 
known  under  the  names  of  Pacey's,  Stickney's, 
and  Russell's  Ray-grasses,  Pacey's  and  Rus- 
sell's being  considered  the  best.  For  more 
than  a  century  and  a  half  this  grass  has  con- 
tinued in  high  repute  in  England,  both  for  the 
purpose  of  a  single  crop  and  for  pastures,  and 
now  constitutes  a  part  of  all  kinds  of  the  im- 
proved mixtures.  The  modern  objection  to 
ray-grass  is  the  shooting  up  to  stems  and 
culms,  and  the  want  of  foliage,  together  with 
a  deficiency  of  aftermath.  "But,"  says  Do- 
naldson, "the  first  only  happens  in  upland 
situations  and  on  poor  soils,  where  any  other 
plant  would  have  the  same  tendency;  for  on 
good  soils  ray-grass  grows  large,  leafy,  and 
succulent,  and  in  many  cases  it  aflHirds  as 
good  lattermath  as  most  others,  and  forms, 
when  sown  with  clover,  a  very  useful  sward 
for  several  years.  No  pUnt  is  liable  to  greater 
variation  from  soil  and  situation,  and  hence 
may  have  arisen  the  many  discordant  opinions 
of  its  value  ;  and  from  being  sown  singly  with 
clovers  it  has  been  more  exposed  to  observa- 
tion than  any  other  grasses  which  are  usually 
sown  in  mixtures,  and  seldom  tried  singly  for 
one  crop  or  for  a  longer  duration.  It  has  ac- 
cordingly been  much  subjected  to  fancies  and 
conjectures,  which  are  about  equally  divided 
for  and  against  the  use  of  it,  the  former  being 
yet  the  most  numerous.  Coarseness  is  inferred 
from  the  beniy  stalks'  standing  uncropped; 
these  might  be  kept  under  by  early  and  close 
grazing,  and  other  grasses  are  equally  objec- 
tionable on  that  point;  and  it  produces  stems 
during  the  whole  season,  while  some  grasses 
produce  only  one,  and  it  is  not  yet  known  if 
the  leaves  or  stalks  of  plants  contain  most  nu- 
triment. So  far  as  our  knowledge  extends, 
after  all  the  investigations  and  best  experience 
upon  the  subject,  ray-grass  forms  the  plant  of 
all  others  the  best  suited  for  general  purposes. 
For  a  crop  of  hay  along  with  clovers,  no  other 
grass  will  afford  an  equal  quantity  and  quality 
of  produce  on  all  the  different  variety  of  soils 
on  which  they  are  sown.  It  yields  very  readily, 
and  with  much  less  comparative  trouble,  an 
abundance  of  sound,  healthy  seed,  and  of  cer- 
tain growth  ;  it  rises  early  in  the  spring,  and  is 
much  relished  by  all  kinds  of  stock;  the  hay 
is  good  and  fetches  a  high  price,  and  it  is  used 
with  much  advantage  when  sown  in  autumn 
along  with  other  plants  as  spring  feed  for 
sheep."    (DonaldsoTiy  on  Manures,  Grasses,  ^r.) 

After  all  the  experiments  that  have  been 
made  on  the  other  grasses,  none,  says  Loudon, 
have  been  found  to  equal  the  perennial  rye- 
grass for  a  course  of  mowing  and  pasturing 
73 


for  two,  three,  or  seven  years.  It  is  sown  in 
Italy,  and  especially  in  Lombardy,  and  also  in 
France  and  Germany,  along  with  clover,  for 
the  same  purposes  as  in  England;  and,  as  Von 
Thaer  has  remarked,  though  some  have  tried 
other  species,  both  in  these  countries  and  in 
England,  they  have  in  the  end  returned  to  the 
rye-grass.  When  intended  as  a  pasture  grass, 
if  stocked  hard,  and  when  for  hay,  if  mown 
early,  the  objections  to  it  are  remoVed.  {Code 
of  Agriculture.) 

The  Floating  Fesate-grass  (Festuca  fluitanSj 
PI.  5,  /)  is  found  in  England  in  ditches,  ponds, 
and  swamps,  and  in  most  parts  of  the  country, 
especially  in  Cambridgeshire,  where  it  is  said 
to  give  the  peculiar  flavour  to  Cottenham  and 
Cheddar  cheese. 

It  is  greedily  devoured  by  all  kinds  of  stock, 
not  excepting  hogs  and  ducks,  and  gee.se 
eagerly  devour  the  seeds,  which  are  small, 
but  very  sweet  and  nourishing.  They  are  col- 
lected in  many  parts  of  Germany  and  Poland 
under  the  name  of  manna-seeds  (schwaden), 
and  are  esteemed  a  delicacy  in  soups  and 
gruels.  When  ground  to  meal,  they  make 
bread  very  little  inferior  to  that  from  wheat. 
Fish  feed  upon  the  seeds,  and  trout  are  said  to 
thrive  greatly  in  streams  where  this  grass 
grows  abundantly.  Curtis  justly  remarks,  that 
the  flote  fescue  will  not  flourish  except  in  land 
that  is  constantly  under  water,  or  converted 
into  a  bog  or  swamp.    (Loudon^s  Ency.  of  jigr.) 

The  Water  Meadotc-grass  (Poa  aquatica,  PI.  5, 
m),  is  one  of  the  largest  of  English  grasses. 
It  is  found  chiefly  in  marshes,  but  will  grow 
on  strong  clays,  and  yield,  as  the  Woburn  ex- 
periments prove,  a  prodigious  produce.  In  the 
fens  of  Cambridgeshire,  Lincolnshire,  &c.,  im- 
mense tracts,  that  used  to  be  overflowed  and 
to  produce  useless  aquatic  plants,  and  which, 
though  drained  by  mills,  still  retain  much 
moisture,  are  covered  with  this  grass,  which 
not  only  affords  rich  pasturage  in  summer,  but 
forms  the  chief  part  of  the  winter  fodder.  It 
has  a  powerfully  creeping  root,  and  bears  fre- 
quent mowing  well,  sometimes  being  cut  three 
times  in  one  season.  It  grows  not  only  in  very 
moist  ground,  but  in  the  water  itself,  and  with 
cat-tail,  bur-weed,  &c.,  soon  fills  up  ditches, 
and  occasions  therti  to  require  frequent  cleans- 
ing. In  this  respect  it  is  a  formidable  plant, 
even  in  slow  rivers.  In  the  Isle  of  Ely  they 
cleanse  these  by  an  instrument  called  a  bear^ 
which  is  an  iron  roller,  with  a  number  of 
pieces  of  iron,  like  small  spades,  fixed  to  it. 
This  is  drawn  up  and  down  the  river  by  horses 
walking  along  the  banks,  and  tears  up  the 
plants  by  the  roots,  which  float  and  are  carriec' 
down  the  stream. 

The  florin  grass  (Agrostis  stolonifei-a,  PI.  5,  n), 
is  in  England  a  very  common  grass,  both 
in  wet  and  dry,  rich  and  poor  situations.  Few 
plants,  however,  appear  to  be  more  under  the 
influence  of  local  circumstances  than  this 
grass.  On  dry  soils  it  is  worthless,  but  on  rich 
and  moist  soils,  if  we  may  attach  confidence 
to  the  accounts  given  of  its  produce  in  Ireland, 
it  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  herbage  plants. 
(See  Arrostis.)  Though  florin  will,  in  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  ripen  its  seeds  on  a  dry  soil, 
and  these  seeds  being  very  small,  a  few  pounds 
3  C  577 


GRASS. 


GRASS. 


wonld  suffice  for  an  acre,  yet  it  is  generally 
propagated  by  stolones,  or  root-shoots.  The 
ground  being,  previously  prepared  by  plough- 
ing, harrowing,  and  laying  into  ridges,  the 
shoots  are  deposited,  touching  each  other  at  the 
ends,  in  drill  rows  an  inch  or  two  deep  and 
about  6  or  9  inches  apart.  In  6  months,  if  the 
planting  be  performed  early  in  spring,  the 
•whole  surface  will  be  covered  with  thick  ver- 
dure, atfording,  by  autumn,  a  heavy  crop. 

With  regard  to  the  last  described  grasses, 
Mr.  Loudon  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that  neither 
fiorin,  timothy,  or  floating  fescue,  is  ever  likely 
to  be  cnliivatcd  in  Britain,  though,  he  observes, 
the  two  latter  may  succeed  well  on  the  bogs 
and  moist, rich  soilsof  Ireland,  where,  to  second 
the  influence  of  the  soil,  there  is  a  moist  warm 
climate.  In  regard  to  the  merits  of  timothy, 
the  reports  o*f  several  high  authorities,  one  of 
which  (Donaldson)  we  have  just  quoted,  seem 
to  lead  to  a  very  different  conclusion.  The 
observation  maybe  strictly  applicable  to  fiorin 
and  floatins:  fescue,  both  in  England  and  Ame- 
rica, although  there  may  be  some  localities  in 
the  United  States  into  which  one  or  other  of 
these  may  be  advantageously  introduced. 

pASTtTRE  Grassks. — lu  regard  to  grasses  for 
pasturage,  the  following  selection  is  given  by 
Loudon,  as  best  adapted  to  three  main  pur- 
poses ;  namely : — 

For  earhj  pasture  on  all  soils,  the  sweet  ver- 
nal grass  {Jlnthoxanthum  odoratum),  the  sweet- 
scented  soft-grass  {Holms  odoratus),  the  downy 
oat-grass  (Jlvena  pubescens),  and  the  annual 
meadow-grass  (Poa  annua). 

For  late  pasture  on  all  soils,  the  different  spe- 
cies o(  Jlprostis  and  Phleum. 

For  pasture  on  poor  or  secondary  soils,  the  crest- 
ed dog's-tail  (Cynosm-us  cristatus),  hard  and 
sheep's  fescue  {F.  durmsrula  and  ovina),  Poa 
comprcssa,  crifitata,  and  angustifoHa. 

The  grasses  which,  according  to  Loudon, 
aflford  most  nutritive  matter,  in  early  spring, 
>ire  the  foxtail  grass  and  the  vernal  grass. 

The  stveet -scented  vernal  grass  (see  PI.  6,  a),  is 
common  in  almost  all  English  pastures,  and  is 
that  which  gives  the  fragrance  to  natural  or 
meadow  hay.  It  is  chiefly  valuable  as  an  early 
grass;  for,  though  it  is  eaten  by  stock,  it  does 
Boi  appear  to  be  much  relished  by  them.  It  is 
said  to  thrive  best  in  lands  that  are  deep  and 
moist,  and  even  in  peat  bogs.  Donaldson 
places  it  in  the  lower  order  of  the  better 
grasses.     See  Anthoxawthu^t  Odouatum. 

The  Hotrny  oat-grass  (see  PI.  6,  b),  according 
to  the  Woburn  experiments,  possesses  several 
good  qualities  which  recommend  it  to  particu- 
lar notice,  as  being  hardy,  early,  and  more 
productive  than  many  others  which  affect  simi- 
lar soils  and  situations. 

The  annual  meadow-grau  (Poa  anntM,  PI.  6,  c), 
is  the  most  common  of  all  grasses,  being  the 
first  herbage  with  which  nature  covers  the 
earth.  The  root  is  annual,  and  it  is  almost  the 
only  .grass  that  will  grow  in  towns,  or  near 
uorks  where  the  smoke  of  coal  abounds. 
Though  an  annual  grass,  it  is  found  in  most 
meadows  and  pastures  perpetually  flowering, 
and  affording  an  early  sweet  herbage,  relished 
bv  an  stock,  an.d  of  as  grea*  '.raportance  to  birds 
67g 


a."^  wheat  is  to  man.  It  hardly  requires  to  be 
sewn,  as  it  springs  up  everywhere  of  itselfl 
However,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  sow  a  few 
pounds  of  it  per  acre,  whenever  perpetual  pas- 
ture (not  hay)  is  the  object. 

The  fine  bent  {Agrostis  vulgaris,  see  PI.  6,  d  ), 
is  one  of  the  most  common  grasses,  and  one 
of  the  earliest.     See  Aorostis  Vulgaris. 

The  narrou^leaved  meadou'-grass  {Poa  angustu 
folia,  see  PI.  6,  e),  though  it  flowers  late,  is  re- 
markable for  the  early  growth  of  its  leaves, 
which,  according  to  the  Woburn  experiments, 
attain  to  the  length  of  more  than  12  inches 
before  the  middle  of  April,  and  are  soft  and 
succulent ;  in  May,  however,  when  the  flower- 
stalks  make  their  appearance,  it  is  subject  to 
the  disease  termed  rust,  which  affects  the  whole 
plant,  in  consequence  of  which  the  produce  of 
the  crop  is  deficient  at  the  time  the  seeds  are 
ripe.  (See  Poa  Axgustifolia.)  This  grass  is 
evidently  most  valuable  for  permanent  pas- 
ture, for  which,  in  consequence  of  its  superior, 
rapid,  and  early  growth,  and  the  disease  begin- 
ning at  the  straws,  nature  seems  to  have  de- 
signed it.  The  grasses  which  approach  near- 
est to  this  in  respect  to  early  produce  of  leaves^ 
are,  the  fertile  meadotv-grass,  rough  cock's-footf 
timothy,  meadow  foxtail,  avena  elatior,  and  bromus 
littoreus,  all  grasses  of  a  coarser  kind. 

Late  Pasture  Grasses. — Of  these  the  principal 
are  timothy,  and  the  various  kinds  of  bent  or 
agrostis.  The  grasses  which  are  propagated 
by  stolones,  like  fiorin,  and  others  of  the  same 
species,  supply  pasture  throughout  the  year, 
the  concrete  sap  laid  up  in  the  joints  of  their 
roots,  rendering  them  good  food  even  in 
winter. 

Of  Pasture  grasses  for  inferior  soils,  one  of  the 
most  durable  is  the  dog's-tail  grass  (Cynosurtis 
cristatus,  see  PI.  6,/),  in  England,  a  very  com- 
mon grass  on  dry,  clayey  or  firm  surfaces.  In  the 
United  States  it  is  either  little  known,  or  slightly 
estimated.  The  foliage  is  small  and  rather 
late  in  the  spring.  The  wiry  stems  are  refused 
by  cattle,  and  become  very  unsightly,  and  from 
the  smallness  of  produce,  and  the  dense  lufts 
formed  at  the  roots,  it  is  unfit  for  alternate  hus- 
bandry. But  for  pastures,  and  for  all  perma- 
nent purposes,  if  the  land  be  of  a  dry  and  hard 
nature,  and  inferior  in  quality,  and  if  sheep  are 
to  be  fed  upon  it,  this  grass  must  form,  accord- 
ing to  Donaldson,  a  principal  part  of  the  mix- 
ture of  seeds  sown  for  that  purpose.  It  is  not 
at  all  adapted  to  low  swampy  situations,  but 
on  poor,  dry  clays,  and  gravelly  soils,  it  often 
covers  the  ground  and  affords  a  bite  where 
every  other  grass  had  nearly  failed. 

The  hard  fescue  grass  (Festuca  duriusada,  see 
PI.  6,  g),  is  one  of  the  best  of  the  dwarf  sorts 
of  grasses,  grateful  to  all  kinds  of  cattle.  It  is, 
in  England,  present  in  most  good  meadows  and 
pastures,  and  with  the  sheep's-fescue  is  the  best 
for  lawns. 

The  smooth  fescue  (J^.  glabra,  see  PI.  6  A), 
and  long-awned  sheep's-fescue  (F.  hordeiformist 
PI.  6,  i),  greatly  resemble  the  hard  fescue,  and 
may  be  considered  equally  desirable  as  pas- 
ture and  lawn  grasses. 

The  sheep's  fescue  (F.  ovina,  PI.  6,  k),  is  one 
of  the  principal  pasture  grasses  for  inferior 


Phi/r  :. 


OHASSKS.BTC.I-UUND   IN    Hhl.l)>   \\u    MKAIioU-, 


f^lB 


^hlVf, 


i^Aj, 


^^LIF. 


'^^ity  , 


OliNj^ 


GRASSHOPPER. 


GRAVEL. 


soils  and  upland  situations,  peculiarly  adapted 
for  hilly  sheep  pastures.  It  is  a  low  dwarf 
grass,  relished  by  all  kinds  of  cattle. 

The  Alpine  meadow-grass  (Poa  alpina^  see 
PL  6,  I),  turfy  hair-grass  {Aira  crespitosOy  PI. 
6,  m),  common  quaking-grass  (Briza  media,  PI. 
6,  n),  are  all  dwarf  mountain  grasses,  well 
adapted  for  hilly  parks  or  lawns. 

GRASSHOPPER  {Gryllida).  The  destruc- 
tive insects,  popularly  known  in  the  United 
States  by  the  name  of  grasshoppers,  but  which, 
in  our  version  of  the  Bible,  and  in  other  works 
in  the  English  language,  are  called  locusts, 
have,  from  a  period  of  very  high  antiquity, 
attracted  the  attention  of  mankind  by  their  ex- 
tensive and  lamentable  ravages.  It  should  be 
remarked,  observes  Dr.  Harris,  that  in  America 
the  name  of  locust  is  very  improperly  given  to 
the  cicada  of  the  ancients,  or  the  harvest-fly  of 
English  writers.  The  name  of  locust  will  here 
be  restricted  to  certain  kinds  of  grasshoppers; 
while  the  popularly  named  locust,  which,  ac- 
cording to  common  belief,  appears  only  once 
in  17  years,  must  drop  this  name  and  take  the 
more  correct  one  of  cicada  or  harvest-fly.  The 
very  frequent  misapplication  of  names,  by 
persons  unacquainted  with  natural  history,  is 
one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  progress 
of  science,  and  shows  how  necessary  it  is  that 
things  should  be  called  by  their  right  names, 
if  the  observations  communicated  respecting 
them  are  to  be  of  any  service.  Every  intelli- 
gent farmer  is  capable  of  becoming  a  good 
observer,  and  of  making  valuable  discoveries 
in  natural  history  ;  but  if  he  be  ignorant  of  the 
proper  names  of  the  objects  examined,  or  if 
he  give  to  them  names,  which  previously  have 
been  applied  by  other  persons  to  entirely  dif- 
ferent objects,  he  will  fail  to  make  the  result 
of  his  observations  intelligible  and  useful  to 
the  community. 

The  insects  which  Dr.  Harris  calls  locusts,  to- 
gether with  other  grasshoppers,  earwigs,  crick- 
ets, spectres  or  walking-sticks,  and  walking- 
leaves,  soothsayers,  cockroaches,  Ac,  belong 
to  an  order  called  Orthoptera,  literally  straight- 
wings;  for  their  wings,  when  not  in  use,  are 
folded  lengthwise  in  narrow  plaits  like  a  fan, 
and  are  laid  straight  along  the  top  or  sides  of 
the  back.  They  are  also  covered  by  a  pair  of 
thicker  wing-like  members,  which,  in  the 
locusts  and  grasshoppers,  are  long  and  nar- 
row, and  lie  lengthwise  on  the  sides  of  the 
body,  sloping  outwards  on  each  side  like  the 
roof  of  a  house ;  in  the  cockroaches,  these 
upper  wings  or  wing-covers  are  broader, 
almost  oval,  and  lie  horizontally  on  the  top  of 
the  back,  overlapping  on  their  inner  edges; 
and  in  the  crickets,  the  wing-covers,  when 
closed,  are  placed  like  those  of  cockroaches, 
but  have  a  narrow  outer  border,  which  is 
folded  perpendicularly  downwards  so  as  to 
cover  the  sides  of  the  body  also. 

"The  young  grasshopper  comes  from  the 
egg  a  wingless  insect,  and  consequently  unable 
to  move  from  place  to  place,  in  any  other  way 
than  by  the  use  of  its  legs ;  as  it  grows  larger 
it  is  soon  obliged  to  cast  ofl*  its  skin,  and,  after 
one  or  two  moultings,  its  body  not  only  in- 
creases in  size,  but  becomes  proportionally 


longer  than  before,  while  little  stump-like  wings 
begin  to  make  their  appearance  on  the  top  of 
the  back.  After  this,  the  grasshopper  con- 
tinues to  eat  voraciously,  grows  larger  and 
larger,  and  hops  about  without  any  aid  from 
its  short  and  motionless  wings,  repeatedly  casts 
off  its  outgrown  skin,  appearing  each  time 
with  still  longer  wings,  and  more  perfectly 
formed  limbs,  till  at  length  it  ceases  to  grow, 
and,  shedding  its  skin  for  the  last  time,  it 
comes  forth  a  perfectly  formed  and  matured 
grasshopper,  with  the  power  of  spreading  its 
ample  wings,  and  of  using  them  in  flight." 
(Han-is.)     See  Locusts. 

GRATTEN.  A  term  provincially  applied 
to  arable  lands  in  a  commonable  state.  But  it 
is  used  in  Cornwall  to  imply  the  mowing  of 
grass  the  first  year  after  the  lapd  has  been 
manured  with  sea-sand  ;  and  this  operation 
they  call  "  mowing  in  gratten." 

GRAUWACKE.  A  German  miner's  term, 
implying  gray  rock:  adopted  in  geology  to 
designate  some  of  the  lowest  secondary  strata, 
which  form  the  chief  part  of  the  transition  rocks 
of  several  geologists.     See  Geology. 

GRAVEL.  A  term  applied  to  a  well-known 
material,  consisting  of  small  stones,  which 
vary  in  size  from  that  of  a  pea  to  that  of  a 
walnut,  or  something  larger.  It  is  often  inter- 
mixed with  other  substances,  such  as  sand, 
clay,  loam,  flints,  iron  ores,  &c.,  from  each  of 
which  it  derives  a  distinctive  appellation.  See 
Gbologt. 

The  best  kinds  of  manure  for  this  sort  of 
land  are  marl,  or  any  stiff  clay,  cow-dung, 
chalk,  mud,  and  composts  formed  of  rotten 
straw  from  the  dung-hill. 

"Gravels,"  says  Professor  Low,  in  his  re- 
marks on  soils  {El.  of  Agr.  p.  8),  "like  sands, 
have  all  the  gradations  of  quality  from  fertility 
to  barrenness.  The  loose  soils  of  this  nature, 
in  which  the  undecomposed  material  is  great, 
and  the  intervening  soil  silicious,  are  held  to 
be  the  worst  of  their  kind.  These  are,  in 
some  places,  termed  hungry  gravels,  not  only 
to  denote  their  poverty,  but  their  tendency  to 
devour,  as  it  were,  manure,  without  any  cor- 
responding nourishment  to  themselves. 

"The  rich  gravels  will  produce  all  the  cul- 
tivated kinds  of  grain.  Their  loose  texture 
renders  them  less  suited  than  the  clays  to  the 
growth  of  wheat  and  beans ;  but  they  are  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  growth  of  barley  and 
oats.  They  are  quick  in  their  powers  of  pro- 
ducing vegetation ;  and  from  this  quality,  they 
are,  in  some  places,  termed  sharp  or  quick 
soils. 

"  Gravels,  like  sands,  are  suited  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  different  kinds  of  plants  raised  for 
the  sake  of  their  roots  and  tubers ;  and  they 
are  in  so  peculiar  a  degree  suited  to  the  growth 
of  turnips,  that  in  some  parts  they  receive  the 
distinguishing  appellation  of  turnip  soils." 

Gravel,  if  mixed  with  stiff  loam,  makes  ex- 
cellent and  durable  gravel  walks  for  gardens, 
&c.  The  kind  generally  preferred  for  this 
purpose,  is  the  red  gravel.  Previous  to  laying 
it  down,  a  solid  substratum  of  lime,  rubbish, 
large  flints,  or  broken  earthen  pots,  or  any  other 
hard  substance,  should  be  formed  to  the  depth 

579 


GRAVES. 


GREASE. 


of  16  or  18  inches,  in  order  to  keep  the  path 
dry,  and  prevent  weeds  from  shooting  through 
to  the  surface.  The  permanent  or  earthy  ma- 
nures, adapted  to  the  gravels,  are  marl,  clay, 
and  chalk.     See  Mixtuue  of  Soils. 

GRAVES,  or  GREAVES.  The  waste  and 
refuse  of  tallow-chandlers  after  the  candles 
have  been  made,  which  is  sometimes  used  as  a 
manure.  It  consists  of  the  sediment  of  mel'ed 
tallow,  and  is  composed  of  the  membranous, 
vascular,  nervous,  and  muscular  matters 
blended  with  the  fat,  and  which,  not  being  fusi- 
ble, are  easily  separated  from  it  by  straining; 
the  graves  are  made  up  into  hard  cakes,  and 
are  chiefly  used  as  a  coarse  food  for  large 
house-dogs. 

GRAZIER.  A  person  engaged  in  the  art  or 
business  of  pasturing  or  feeding  and  fattening 
different  kinds  of  live-stock  on  grass-land.  In 
order  to  be  capable  of  managing  this  business 
to  the  greatest  advantage,  he  should  have  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  value  of 
all  kinds  of  live-stock,  as  well  as  of  the  land 
on  which  they  are  to  be  fed,  and  of  properly 
suiting  them  to  each  other.  Upon  these  being 
well  understood  and  attended  to,  his  success 
must  depend.  According  to  Mr.  Hillyard,  a 
practical  grazier,  and  the  well-known  president 
of  the  Northampton  Farming  and  Grazing  So- 
ciety, "  the  knowledge  requisite  to  carry  on 
grazing  to  the  most  advantage  is  not  easily 
obtained.  A  man  should  know  how  beasts 
ought  to  be  formed;  should  have  a  quick  eye 
for  selecting  those  with  a  frame  that  is  likely 
to  produce  weight;  and  a  hand  that  should  feel 
the  known  indication  of  the  probability  of  soon 
becoming  fat." 

The  business  of  grazing  is  more  general  in 
some  of  the  counties  of  England  than  in  others  ; 
it  is  for  the  most  part  carried  on  in  Somerset- 
shire, Lincolnshire,  Leicestershire,  and  the 
midland  counties.  It  is  a  system  of  husbandry 
that  can  only  be  profitably  practised  in  districts 
where  the  extent  of  pasture  is  considerable,  or 
the  value  of  the  produce  of  grass-land  small 
in  comparison  with  that  of  animals. 

It  is  well  observed,  by  an  author  of  the  last 
century,  that  the  stocking  of  land  with  proper 
cattle  is  one  of  the  nicest  parts  of  the  science 
of  farming.  Where  nature  is  left  to  herself, 
she  always  produces  animals  suitable  to  her 
vegetation,  from  the  smallest  sheep  on  the 
Welsh  mountains  to  the  largest  sort  in  the 
Lincolnshire  marshes;  from  the  little  hardy 
bullock  in  the  northern  Highlands  to  the  noble 
ox  in  the  rich  pastures  of  Somersetshire.  But 
good  husbandry  admits  of  our  increasing  the 
value  of  the  one  in  proportion  to  that  of  the 
other.  Land  improved  enables  us  to  keep  a 
better  sort  of  stock.  The  true  wisdom  of  the 
occupier  is  best  shown  in  preserving  a  due 
equilibrium  between  this  improvement  of  his 
land  and  stock.  They  go  hand  in  hand,  and 
if  he  neglect  the  one  he  cannot  avail  himself 
of  the  other.  It  should,  therefore,  be  first  con- 
sidered what  kind  of  cattle  or  other  stock  will 
answer  the  purpose  best,  on  the  particular 
description  of  land  upon  which  they  are  to  be 
grazed. 

In  stocking  the  ground,  as  the  proportion  of 
cattlf  must  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  soil, 
5A^ 


it  will  perhaps  be  generally  found  that  local 
habit,  as  being  usually  the  result  of  experience, 
is  the  surest  guide.  In  the  opinion,  however, 
of  the  most  intelligent  graziers,  in  stocking 
enclosures,  the  cattle  should  be  divided  in  the 
following  manner : — Supposing  our  fields,  each 
containing  a  nearly  equal  quantity  of  land,  one 
of  them  should  be  kept  entirely  free  from  stock 
until  the  grass  is  got  up  to  its  full  growth,  when 
the  prime  or  fatting  cattle  should  be  put  into  it, 
that  they  may  get  the  best  of  the  food  ;  the  se- 
cond best  should  then  follow ;  and  after  them 
either  the  working  or  store  stock,  with  lean 
sheep  to  eat  the  pastures  close  down ;  thus 
making  the  whole  of  the  stock  feed  over  the 
four  enclosures  in  this  succession  : — 

No.  1.  Clear  of  stock,  and  reserved  for  the 
fattening  beasts. 

No.  2.  For  the  fattening  beasts  until  sent  to 
No.  1. 

No.  3.  For  the  second  best  cattle,  until  for- 
warded successively  to  Nos.  2  and  1. 

No.  4.  For  stores  and  sheep  to  follow  the 
other  cattle ;  then  to  be  shut  up  until  the  grass 
is  again  ready,  as  at  No.  1,  for  the  fattening 
beasts. 

By  this  expedient  the  fattening  cattle  will 
cull  the  choicest  parts  of  the  grass,  and  will 
advance  rapidly  toward  a  state  of  maturity,  for 
they  should  always  have  a  full  bite  of  short 
and  sweet  grass ;  and  with  such  cattle,  the 
greatest  care  should  be  taken  not  to  overstock 
the  enclosures.  It  is  also  advisable  to  divide 
the  fattening  enclosure  by  hurdles,  so  as  to 
confine  the  beasts  within  one  half  of  it  at  a 
time,  and  to  allow  them  the  other  half  at  the 
other,  so  that  they  may  continually  have  fresh 
pasture. 

Shade  and  pure  water  are  essentially  neces- 
sary ;  and  where  there  are  no  trees,  rubbing- 
posts  should  be  set  up  to  prevent  the  cattle 
from  making  that  use  of  the  gates  and  fences. 
In  marsh  land,  which  is  chiefly  divided  by 
dykes,  this,  indeed,  should  never  be  neglected, 
as  it  is  materially  conducive  to  their  comfort. 
(Comp.  Grazier,  6th  edit.  p.  74  ;  Brit.  Husb.  vol.  i. 
p.  482,  vol.  ii.  p.  368 ;  Hillyard's  Farm,  and  Graz. 
p.  117.) 

GREASE.  In  farriery,  a  disease  incident  to 
horses  or  other  cattle,  consisting  of  a  swelling 
and  inflammation  of  the  legs. 

It  is  sometimes  confined  to  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  fetlocks ;  at  other  times  spreading 
considerably  further  up  the  legs,  and  secreting 
an  oily  matter,  to  which  the  disease  is  probably 
indebted  for  its  name. 

It  is  brought  on  by  sudden  changes  from  a 
cold  to  a  hot  temperature ;  such  as  removing 
horses  from  grass  into  hot  stables;  from  hastily 
substituting  a  generous  after  an  impoverishing 
diet ;  from  the  negligence  of  grooms  in  leaving 
the  heels  wet  and  full  of  sand  and  from  con- 
stitutional debility. 

The  farmer's  horse  is  not  so  subject  to  grease 
as  many  others,  because  he  is  not  usually  ex- 
posed so  much  to  sudden  and  extreme  changes 
of  temperature,  and  the  heels  particularly  are 
not  thus  exposed.  In  many  instances  he  lives 
almost  entirely  out  of  doors,  or,  if  he  is  stabled, 
the  stables  of  the  small  farmers  are  not  always 
air-tight.  The  wind  finds  its  way  through  many 


GREASE. 


GREEN  MANURES. 


a  cranny,  instead  of  entering  at  the  door  alone, 
and  blowing  upon  the  heels.  On  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  grease,  the  heels  should  be  well 
washed  with  soap  and  water,  and  an  ointment 
of  sugar  f)f  lead  and  lard  applied.  In  the  more 
advanced  stage,  when  cracks  begin  to  appear, 
if  they  are  but  slight,  a  lotion  of  blue  vitriol 
(sulphate  of  copper),  alum,  and  water  will  suf- 
fice to  dry  and  close  them  up ;  but  if  they  are 
deep,  with  an  ichorous  discharge,  aud  the  lame- 
ness considerable,  it  will  be  necessary  to  poul- 
tice the  heel  with  linseed  meal,  or  carrots  boiled 
soft  and  mashed.  When  the  inflammation  and 
pain  have  subsided,  the  cracks  may  be  dressed 
with  an  ointment  composed  of — resin,  1  part, 
lard,  3  parts,  melted  together,  and  1  part  of  ca- 
lamine afterwards  added.     (The  Horse,  p.  277.) 

GREASE,  for  wheels  and  machinery.  M.  D'Ar- 
cet,  the  celebrated  French  chemist  and  Master 
of  the  Mint,  recommends  the  following  as  the 
best  grease  for  wheels  and  machinery;  viz., 80 
parts  of  grease  and  20  parts  of  plumbago  (black 
lead),  reduced  to  very  fine  powder,  and  most 
intimately  and  completely  mixed  together.  A 
irery  small  quantity  suffices.  {Journ.  des  Con. 
UsuellcK  d  Prat.  vol.  ii.  p.  237.) 

GREEN  CROPS.  Crops,  in  England,  which 
are  consumed  on  the  farm  in  their  unripe  state. 
(See  Cahisaoes,  Takes,  Turmps,  Carrots, 
RoTATiov  OF  Crops,  &c.)  One  of  the  many 
srreat  improvements  in  modern  farming,  has 
been  the  general  introduction  of  green  crops,  a 
practice  which  I  think  will  yet  be  materially 
sxtended ;  and  to  this  end,  for  the  heavy  land 
farmers,  the  use  of  the  white  or  Belgian  carrot 
promises  to  be  very  serviceable.  Green  crops 
are  either  fed  off,  soiled,  or  ploughed  in  for 
manure.  (See  Green  Manures.)  When  fed 
iff,  the  fertilizing  effects  of  the  sheep  pastured 
upon  them  are  very  materially  promoted  by  the 
addition  to  their  food  of  oil-cake  or  of  corn, 
and,  as  a  condiment,  common  salt.  See  Clover. 

GREEN  FALLOW.  Such  land  as  is  ren- 
dered clean  by  means  of  green  crops,  without 
having  recourse  to  naked  fallowing.  It  is  a 
great  improvement  in  modern  farming.  See 
Fallowing. 

GREEN  FOOD.  Such  food  as  is  made  use 
of  in  its  ^reen,  succulent  state,  in  the  feeding 
and  support  of  different  sorts  of  live-stock. 
This  kind  of  food  has  lately  been  much  more 
extensively  employed  than  formerly;  but  its 
advantages  are  not,  probably,  yet  so  fully  un- 
derstood by  farmers  in  general  as  they  ought. 
A  few  trials  will,  however,  show  their  import- 
ance and  great  utility,  when  properly  made. 
See  Soiling. 

GREEN  GRASS  (Poa  viridis,  Poa  annua). 
A  native  of  the  United  States,  and  especially 
t!.'  the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  where  it 
grows  in  all  meadows  and  rich  soils. — PI.  6.  e. 

Dr.  Muhlenburg  says  it  is  not  described  by 
Linnaeus,  though  nearly  allied  to  his  poa  angtis- 
tifolin.  It  may  be  easily  known  by  the  follow- 
ing description  ;  "  Culm  (or  haulm)  erect  and 
round  (columnar),  panicle  diffuse,  spicules 
five-flowered  and  hairy  at  their  base."  Cattle 
are  very  fond  of  this  grass,  if  cut  when  the 
blossom  opens.  It  produces  less  than  the 
jivena  elatior,  or  tall  meadow-oats,  but  horses 
prefer    it.      It    continues    green    until    even 


!  after  frost,  and  when  all  other  herbage  is 
!  destroyed ;  and,  if  manured,  will  continue  for- 
{  ever.  The  fine  grazing-farm  of  Mr.  William 
West,  of  Upper  Darby,  Delaware  county,  Pa., 
consists  entirely  of  this  grass.  Mr.  West  finds 
it  necessary  to  sow  clover  thinly  on  the  green 
grass  sod  every  three  or  four  years,  to  correct 
a  slight  tendency  which  green  grass  has  to 
bind  the  soil.  When  the  green  grass  appears 
upon  meadows  made  by  banking  out  rivers, 
care  must  be  taken  to  secure  a  supply  of  water; 
otherwise,  according  to  Mr.  J.  Cooper,  the  ends 
of  the  seeds  will  become  affected  with  a  black 
spear,  about  one-fourth  or  one-half  an  inch  in 
length,  similar  to  the  smut  on  rye,  and  cause  a 
loss  of  the  hoofs  of  cattle  that  eat  the  grass. 
{Deane's  N.  E.  Farmer.) 

GREEN-HOUSE.  In  gardening,  a  house 
with  a  roof  and  one  or  more  sides  of  glass,  for 
the  purpose  of  containing  plants  in  pots  which 
are  too  tender  to  endure  the  open  air  the  greater 
part  of  the  year.  The  green-house,  being  a 
structure  of  luxury,  ought  to  be  for  the  most 
part  situated  near  the  house,  in  order  to  be  en- 
joyed by  the  family  in  inclement  weather;  and, 
if  possible,  it  should  be  connected  with  the 
flower-garden,  as  being  of  the  same  character, 
with  reference  to  use.  Its  length  and  breadth 
may  be  varied  at  pleasure,  but  its  height  should 
never  be  less  than  that  of  the  loftiest  apartment 
of  the  house  to  which  it  belongs.  The  best 
aspect  is  to  the  south  or  south-east ;  but  any 
aspect  may  be  chosen,  provided  the  roof  is  en- 
tirely of  glass,  and  abundant  heat  is  supplied 
by  art.  Of  late  years,  green-house  roofs  have 
been  made  of  either  cast  iron  or  of  zinc,  and 
sometimes  in  the  form  of  a  dome.  Both  metals 
are  preferable  to  wood.  In  green-houses  fac- 
ing to  the  north,  however,  the  more  tender 
plants  will  not  thrive  so  well  in  winter :  more 
artificial  heat  will  be  required  at  that  season; 
and  the  plants  should  be  chiefly  evergreens, 
and  other  plants  that  come  into  flower  in  the 
summer  season,  and  grow  or  flower  but  little 
during  winter.  In  most  green-houses  the  plants 
are  kept  in  pots  or  boxes,  and  set  on  stages  or 
shelves,  in  order  that  they  may  be  near  the 
roof,  so  as  to  receive  the  direct  influence  of  the 
rays  of  light,  immediately  on  their  passing 
through  the  glass.  An  orangery  differs  from 
a  green-house  in  having  an  opaque  roof,  and  in 
being  chiefly  devoted  to  plants  which  produce 
their  shoots  and  flowers  in  the  summer  season 
in  the  open  air;  and  they  are  set  in  the  orangery 
merely  to  preserve  them  through  the  winter. 
Such  a  structure  might  with  more  propriety  be 
termed  a  conservatory;  but  custom  in  the  pre- 
sent day  has  applied  this  term  to  structures 
having  glass  roofs,  in  which  the  plants  are  not 
kept  in  pots,  but  planted  in  the  free  soil,  and 
in  which  a  part  of  them  are  encouraged  to 
grow  and  flower  in  the  winter  months.  There 
are  some  interesting  papers  on  the  subject  of 
green-house  plants  by  Mr.  Towers,  author  of 
the  Domestic  Gardener^s  Manual,  in  the  Quart. 
Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  v.  p.  65,  vol.  vi.  p.  48. 
(Brande's  Diet,  of  Science  and  Art.)  See  Cok- 
SERVATORT  and  Orangery. 

GREEN  MANURES.     Th»    use  of  green 
manures  early  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
cultivator.      Xenophon    recommended    green 
3  c  2  f8I 


GREEN  MANURES. 


GREEN  MANURES. 


plants  to  be  ploughed  into  the  soil^  and  even 
that  crops  should  be  raised  for  thar.  purpose; 
lor  these,  he  says,  "  enrich  the  soil  as  much  as 
dung."  And  the  lupin  is  named  as  an  excel- 
lent manure  by  very  early  agricultural  writers. 
The  white  lupin  is  even  now  grown  in  Italy  for 
the  purpose  of  being  ploughed  into  the  soil,  an 
operation  generally  performed  in  October. 

The  white  lupin,  which  is  extensively  em- 
ployejl  for  this  purpose  in  Tuscany,  is  the 
leguminous  annual  plant,  well  known  in  cur 
gardens,  growing  in  sandy  and  loamy  soil  to 
the  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  with  a  stem  of 
equal  strength  with  the  bean,  and  having  some- 
what similar  blossoms  and  pods  ;  but  the  pro- 
duce is  so  bitter,  that  it  is  unfit  for  the  nourish- 
ment of  either  man  or  beast.  It  arrives  to  a 
considerable  size  in  the  month  of  October, 
when  it  is  ploughed  into  the  soil.  It  abounds 
with  gluten,  to  which,  in  fact,  its  fertilizing 
effects  have  been  chiefly  attributed. 

Green  manures,  although  in  some  measure 
rendered  subservient  to  the  enriching  of  the 
soil,  as  soon  as  man  began  to  till  the  earth,  and 
dig  in  the  weeds  of  his  land  and  the  remnants 
of  former  crops,  have  never  been  systematically 
employed  by  the  farmer.  He  has  ever  been 
more  desirous  of  employing,  as  food  for  his 
stock,  the  vegetable  produce  of  his  land,  than 
to  bury  it  in  the  earth  to  promote  the  future 
productiveness  of  the  soil.  Yet,  whenever 
green  succulent  substances,  such  as  weeds, 
river  collections,  sea-weed,  &c.,  have  been 
used,  the  result  has  always  been  most  satisfac- 
tory. The  putrefaction  of  the  vegetables,  and 
the  gases  in  that  case  emitted,  appear  to  be  on 
all  occasions  highly  invigorating  and  nourish- 
ing to  the  succeeding  crop.  During  this  ope- 
ration, the  presence  of  water  is  essentially 
necessary,  and  is  most  probably  decomposed. 
The  gases  produced  vary  in  difl^erent  plants  ; 
those  which  contain  gluten  emit  ammonia ; 
onions,  and  a  few  others,  evolve  phosphorus; 
hydrogen,  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  carburetted 
hydrogen  gas,  with  various  vegetable  matters, 
are  almost  always  abundantly  formed.  All 
these  gases,  when  mixed  with  the  soil,  are  very 
nourishing  to  the  plants  growing  upon  it.  The 
observations  of  the  farmer  assure  us  that  they 
are  so.  He  tells  us  that  all  green  manures 
cannot  be  employed  in  too  fresh  a  state ;  that 
the  best  corn  is  grown  where  the  richest  turf 
has  preceded  it;  and  that  where  there  is  a  good 
produce  of  red  clover,  there  will  assuredly  fol- 
low an  excellent  crop  of  wheat:  he  finds  also, 
that  when  he  ploughs  in  his  crop  of  buckwheat 
to  enrich  his  land,  that  this  is  most  advanta- 
geously done  when  the  plant  is  coming  into 
flower.  The  chemical  explanation  of  these 
practical  observations  is  not  diflicult.  "All 
green  succulent  plants,"  says  Davy,  «  contain 
saccharine  or  mucilaginous  matter,  with  woody 
fibre,  and  readily  ferment ;  they  cannot,  there- 
fore, if  intended  for  manure,  be  used  too  soon 
after  their  death.  When  green  crops  are  to  be 
employed  for  enriching  a  soil,  they  should  be 
ploughed  in,  if  it  be  possible,  when  in  flower, 


nutritive  matter.    Green  crops,  pond  weedS; 
the  parings  of  hedges  or  ditches,  or  any  kind 
of  fresh  vegetable  matter,  require  no  prepara- 
tion to  fit  them  for  manure.    The  decomposi- 
tion slowly  proceeds  beneath  the  soil,  the  solu- 
ble matters  are  gradually  dissolved,  and  the 
slight  fermentation  that  goes  on,  checked  by 
the  want  of  a  free  communication  of  air,  tends 
to  render  the  woody  fibre  soluble  without  occa- 
sioning the  rapid  dissipation  of  elastic  matter* 
When  old  pastures  are  broken  up  and  made 
arable,  not  only  has  the  soil  been  enriched  by 
the  death  and  slow  decay  of  the  plants  which 
have  left  soluble  matters  in  the  soil,  but  the 
roots  and  leaves  of  the  grasses  living  at  the 
time,  and  occupying  so  large  a  part  of  the  sur- 
face, afford  saccharine,  mucilaginous,  and  ex- 
tractive matters,  which  become  immediately 
the  food  of  the  crop,  and  the  gradual  decompo- 
sition affords  a  supply  for  successive  years." 
(Jgr.  Chcm.  p.  280.)      Nothing  will   aid   the 
practical  farmer  so  much  in  understanding  the 
value  of  green  manure,  as  a  knowledge  of  tho 
constituent  elements  of  plants.     Woody  fibre, 
starch,  sugar,  gum,  are  compounds  of  carbon, 
hydrogen,  and  oxygen  ;  the  fixed  and  the  vola- 
tile oils,  wax  and  resin,  are  constituted  of  car- 
bon, with  the  elements  of  water,  and  an  excess 
of  hydrogen ;  vegetable  albumen  and  gluten 
contain  nitrogen  as  an  element;  and  it  is  never 
altogether  absent  in  plants,  either  in  their  solid 
or  fluid  contents.    Now,  reflecting  upon  these 
facts,  it  follows  that  the  developement  of  a  plant 
requires  the  presence  of  substances  containing 
carbon  and  nitrogen,  and  capable  of  yielding 
these  elements  to  the  growing  organism ;  se- 
condly, of  water  and  its  elements ;  and,  lastly 
of  iron,  lime,  and  other  inorganic  matters  es- 
sential to  vegetable  life.  {Liebig's  Organic  Chem.) 
It  is  always  refreshing  to  find  the  sagacious 
conclusions  of  the  philosopher  supported  by 
the  practical  farmer's  observations.     "  In  Oc- 
tober, 1819,"  said  the  late  Dr.  Browne,  of  Gorl- 
stone,  in  Suffolk,  in  a  letter  which  he  sent  to 
me,  "  a  violent  gale  of  wind  drove  to  this  part 
of  the  coast  an  unprecedented  quantity  of  sea- 
weeds.   These  were   eagerly  scrambled  for; 
and,  from  my  greater  vicinity  to  the  beach,  I 
collected  twenty-seven  cart-loads,  each  as  much 
as  four  horses  could  draw;  and  although  other 
persons   deposited   their  collections   in    their 
farm-yards,  to  rot  among  their  other  manure, 
yet  I  spread  mine,  fresh  and  wet,  upon  little 
more  than  an  acre  of  bean  stubble,  instantly 
ploughed  it  in,  and  dibbled  wheat  upon  it.     On 
the  6th  of  October  I  then  salted  the  adjoining 
land  with  three  bushels  per  acre,  manured  it 
with  fifteen  loads  of  farm-yard  dung  per  acre, 
and  dibbled  it  with  wheat  on  the  16th  of  No- 
vember.    The  result  was,  that  the  sea-weeded 
portion  gave  three  times  the  produce  of  any 
equal   part  of  the   field."      (C.    W.   Johnson's 
Essay  on  Salt,  p.  48.) 

No  one  more  perseveringly  advocated  the 
employment  of  green  manures  than  the  late 
Mr.  Knight.  In  his  paper  on  the  question,  he 
supported  his  views  by  some  ingenious  expe- 


oratthetime  the  flower  is  beginning  to  appear;  j  riments,  and  used  every  argument  that  could 
'or  it  is  at  this  period  that  they  contain  the  fairly  be  employed  in  their  favour.  "  Writers 
.argest  quantity  of  easily  soluble  substances,  j  upon  agriculture,"  he  observed,  "  both  in  an- 
and  that  their  leaves  are  most  active  in  forming  !  cienl  and  modern  times,  have  dwelt  much  upon 


OREEN  MANURES. 


GREEN  MANURES. 


the  advantages  of  collecting  large  quantities 
Df  vegetable  matter  to  form  manures;  whilst 
scarcely  any  thing  has  been  written  upon  the 
state  of  decomposition  in  which  decaying 
j^egetable  substances  can  be  employed  most 
idvantageously  to  afford  food  to  living  plants. 
Both  the  farmer  and  gardener,  till  lately, 
Lhon^ht  that  such  manures  ought  not  to  be  de- 
posited in  the  soil  until  putrefaction  had  nearly 
destroyed  all  organic  texture,  and  this  opinion 
is,  perhaps,  still  entertained  by  the  majority  of 
2:ardeners;  it  is,  however,  wholly  unfounded. 
iJarnivorous  animals,  it  is  well  known,  receive 
Tiosr  nutriment  from  the  flesh  of  other  ani- 
mals when  they  obtain  it  most  nearly  in  the 
>tate  in  which  it  exists  as  part  of  a  living 
3ody;  and  the  experiments  I  shall  proceed  to 
state,  afihrd  evidence  of  considerable  weight 
hat  many  vegetable  substances  are  best  cal- 
julated  to  reassume  an  organic  living  stale 
EPhen  they  are  least  changed  and  decomposed 
5y  putrefaction."  The  allusion  to  carnivorous 
inimals  is  misplaced;  as  green  food  must  be 
ioluble,  and  in  a  decomposing  state,  before  it 
;an  be  taken  up  by  plants ;  but  this  does  not 
iveaken  the  argument  in  favour  of  its  utility. 
*I  had,"  continues  Mr.  Knight,  •*  been  engaged 
n  the  year  1810  in  some  experiments,  from 
vhich  I  hoped  to  obtain  new  varieties  of  the 
ilum,  but  only  one  of  the  blossoms  upon 
*'hich  I  had  operated  escaped  the  severity  of 
he  frost  in  the  spring.  The  seed  which  this 
iflfordfd  having  been  preserved  in  mould  dur- 
ng  the  winter,  was  in  March  placed  in  a  small 
farden  pot,  which  was  nearly  filled  with  the 
iving  leaves  and  roots  of  grasses  mixed  with 
I  small  quantity  of  earth,  and  this  was  suffi- 
jiently  covered  with  a  layer  of  mould  which 
;ontained  the  roots  only  of  grasses,  to  prevent, 
n  a  great  measure,  the  growth  of  the  plants 
vhich  were  buried.  The  pot,  which  contained 
ibout  one-sixteenth  of  a  square  foot  of  mould 
md  living  vegetable  matter,  was  placed  under 
iflass,  but  without  artificial  heat,  and  the  plant 
ippeared  above  the  soil  in  the  end  of  April. 
X  was,  three  times  during  the  summer,  re- 
noved  into  a  larger  pot,  and  each  time  sup- 
plied with  the  same  matter  to  feed  upon,  and 
n  the  end  of  October  its  '  ots  occupied  about 
he  space  of  one-third  oi  a  square  foot.  Its 
leight  above  the  surface  of  the  mould  being 
;hen  9  feet  7  inches.  In  the  beginning  of  June 
I  small  piece  of  grouTid  was  planted  with  po- 
atoes  of  an  early  variety,  and  in  some  rows 
?reen  fern,  and  in  others  nettles,  were  em- 
ployed instead  of  other  manure ;  and,  subse- 
3|uently,  as  the  early  potatoes  were  taken  up 
for  use,  Iheir  tops  were  buried  in  rows  in  the 
same  manner,  and  potatoes  of  the  preceding 
^•ear  were  placed  upon  them,  and  buried  in  the 
usual  way.  The  days  being  then  long,  the 
'round  warm,  and  the  decomposing  green 
[eaves  and  stems  affording  an  abundant  mois- 
ture, the  plants  acquired  their  full  growth  in 
an  unusually  short  lime,  and  afforded  an  abun- 
dant produce,  and  the  remaining  part  of  the 
summer  proved  more  than  sufficient  to  mature 
potatoes  of  any  early  variety.  The  market 
gardener  may  probably  employ  the  tops  of  his 
early  potatoes  and  other  green  vegetable  sub- 
stances in  this  way  with  much  advantage. 


"In  the  preceding  experiments  the  plum 
stone  was  placed  to  vegetate  in  the  turf  of  the 
alluvial  soil  of  a  meadow,  and  the  potatoes 
grew  in  ground  in  which,  though  not  rich,  was 
not  poor,  and  therefore  some  objections  may 
be  made  to  the  conclusions  I  am  disposed  to 
draw  in  favour  of  recent  vegetable  substance* 
as  manures.  The  following  experiment  is,  I 
think,  decisive.  I  received  from  a  neighbour- 
ing fanner  a  field,  naturally  barren,  and  so 
much  exhausted  by  ill  management,  that  the 
two  preceding  crops  had  not  returned  a  quan- 
tity of  corn  equal  to  that  which  had  been  sown 
upon  it.  An  adjoining  plantation  afforded  me 
a  large  quantity  of  fern,  which  I  proposed  to 
employ  as  a  manure  for  a  crop  of  turnips ; 
this  was  cut  between  the  10th  and  20th  of 
June,  but  as  the  small  cotyledons  of  the  turnip 
seed  afford  little  to  feed  the  young  plant,  and 
as  the  soil,  owing  to  its  extreme  poverty,  could 
not  afford  much  nutriment,  I  thought  it  neces- 
sary to  place  the  fern  a  few  days  in  a  heap  to 
ferment  sufficiently  to  destroy  life  in  it,  and  to 
produce  an  exudation  of  its  juices,  and  it  was 
then  committed  in  rows  to  the  soil,  and  the 
turnip-seed  deposited  with  a  drilling  machine 
over  it. 

"Some  adjoining  rows  were  manured  with 
the  black  vegetable  mould  obtained  from  the 
site  of  an  old  wood  pile,  mixed  with  the  slen- 
der branches  of  trees  in  every  stage  of  deconv- 
position ;  the  quantity  placed  in  each  row  ap- 
pearing to  me  to  exceed  more  than  four  times 
the  amount  the  vegetable  mould,  if  equally 
decomposed,  would  have  yielded.  The  crop 
succeeded  in  both  cases,  but  the  plants  upon 
the  green  fern  grew  with  more  rapidity  than 
the  others,  and  even  than  those  which  h*d 
been  manured  with  the  produce  of  my  fold  and 
stable-yard,  and  were  distinguishable  in  the 
autumn  from  the  plants  in  every  other  part  Df 
the  field  by  the  deeper  shade  of  their  foliage. 
I  had  made,  in  preceding  years,  many  similar 
experiments  with  small  trees  (particularly 
those  of  the  mulberry  when  bearing  fruit  in 
pots)  with  similar  results ;  but  I  think  it  un- 
necessary to  trespass  on  the  time  of  the  society 
by  stating  these  experiments,  and  conceiving 
those  I  have  stated  to  be  sufficient  to  sho\r 
that  any  given  quantity  of  vegetable  matter 
can  generally  be  employed  in  its  recent  and 
organized  state  with  much  more  advantage 
than  when  it  has  been  decomposed,  and  no  in- 
considerable part  of  its  component  parts  have 
been  dissipated  and  lost  during  the  progress 
of  the  putrefactive  fermentation."  (Trans, 
Hort.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  248.) 

In  an  article  upon  this  subject,  M.  Knoles, 
of  Secheim,  writes  thus:  "My  vineyard  has 
been  manured  for  eight  years  on  the  branches 
cut  from  the  vines,  without  receiving  any 
other  manure,  and  yet  more  beautiful  and 
richly-laden  vines  could  scarcely  be  pointed 
out.  The  branches  are  pruned  from  the  vine 
in  August,  whilst  still  fresh  and  moist,  and 
are  traced  into  the  soil  after  being  cut  into 
small  pieces.  At  the  end  of  four  weeks  not 
the  smallest  trace  of  them  can  be  found." 

When  green  vegetable  substances  are  bu 
ried  in  the  soil,  they  first  lose  their  green 
colour,  speedily  wither,  and  then  putrefactina 

683 


GREEN  MANURES. 

soon  commences.  It  is  requisite,  however,  for 
this  purpose,  that  moisture  sliould  be  present, 
and  that  the  temperature  of  the  soil  should  not 
be  less  than  about  45°.  If  the  atmosphere  has 
access  to  the  vegetable  matter,  the  putrefaction 
proceeds  with  more  rapidity,  but  its  presence 
is  not  essential.  Putrefaction  cannot,  how- 
ever, proceed  if  water  is  absent,  and  hence  it 
has  been  concluded  that  water  is  decomposed 
during  the  process.  The  smell  which  proceeds 
from  the  gases  emitted  varies  according  to  the 
vegetable  substance  which  is  putrefying.  Thus, 
as  I  have  before  remarked,  those  which  con- 
tain gluten  emit  ammonia;  others,  such  as  the 
onion,  evolve  phosphuretted  hydrogen.  Almost 
all  emit  carbonic  acid  gas  and  hydrogen  gas, 
which,  combined  with  various  vegetable  mat- 
ters, are  commonly  produced  in  very  copious 
volumes.  When  wood  decomposes,  a  portion 
of  oxyjien  is  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere, 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  emitted,  and  the  whole 
mass  is  gradually  reduced  to  a  dark  vegetable 
mould.  This  black  substance  is  an  excellent 
fertilizer;  plants  grow  in  it  with  great  luxu- 
riance. The  soils  of  some  of  the  famed  newly- 
enclosed  American  lands  owe  all  their  fertility 
to  the  abundance-  of  this  vegetable  mould 
which  they  contain.  These  are  the  American 
soils  from  which  we  are  told  20  successive 
good  crops  of  wheat  have  been  obtained. 
There  are  some  lands  in  the  Hundreds  of  Es- 
sex, in  Kent,  and  other  places,  whose  luxuriant, 
unfailing  produce  is  hardly  credible  ;  alternate 
crops  of  wheat  and  beans  have  been  obtained 
from  them  from  time  immemorial.  {Johnson 
on  Ferhi'zcrs,  p.  168.)  Vegetable  mould,  as  ob- 
tained from  the  trunks  of  oak  trees,  has  been 
examined  by  MM.  Saussure  and  Einhoff;  by 
distilling  it  they  obtained  from  200  grains 
(Rec.  sur  la  Veg.  p.  162)— 

Cubic  inches. 

Carburetted  hydrogen    -----    124 
Carbonic  acid  gas  ------      34 

Graiiii. 

Water  containing  acetate  of  ammonia           -  53 

Empyreumaiic  oil          -----  jo 

Charcoal         ---_.-.  51 

Agbes 8 

By  the  effects  of  cultivation,  exposure  to  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  roots  of 
plants,  this  mould  becomes  gradually  exhaust- 
ed in  the  soil,  and  the  land  is  of  course  sensi- 
bly impoverished.  On  this  mould  the  alkalies 
operate  very  powerfully,  almost  entirely  dis- 
solving it,  and  hence  one  great  use  of  soda  and 
potash  as  fertilizers. 

It  is  also  a  continued  source  of  carbonic 
acid,  which  it  emits  slowly  ;  hence  it  might  be 
asserted,  that  in  a  good  fertile  soil  there  is  an 
atmosphere  of  carbonic  acid,  which  is  the  most 
nutritive  food  of  the  young  plants  raised  in  it; 
for  when  a  plant  is  fully  matured,  and  is  fitted 
to  obtain  most  of  its  nourishment  from  the  air, 
the  carbonic  acid  of  the  soil  is  no  longer  re- 
quired. It  is  on  that  account  *hat  vegetable 
mould  is  ?o  fertile;  not  by  being  itself  assimi- 
lated into  the  substance  of  the  plant,  but  by 
furnishing  a  slow  but  lasting  supply  of  car- 
bonic acid. 

With  regard  to  the  best  time  to  turn  under 
c!f»ver,  buckwheat,  and  other  green  crops,  for 
jie  purpose  of  enriching  the  ground,  we  have 
5S4 


GREEN  MANURES. 

seen  in  the  preceding  observations  that  Davy 
and  others  have  decided  in  favour  of  the  period 
of  full  vigour,  or  when  the  plants  may  be  in 
blossom.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  results  of 
many  well-conducted  experiments  and  repeat- 
ed observations  lead  to  a  different  conclusion, 
namely,  that  it  is  best  to  allow  the  green  crop  to 
decay  more  or  less  before  ploughing  it  in.  In 
the  course  of  his  agricultural  survey  of  Massa- 
chusetts, Mr.  Colman  found  the  opinion  of  some 
most  successful  farmers  to  be  in  favourof  allow- 
ing the  crop  to  mature  and  perish,  before  it  was 
subjected  to  the  plough  as  a  manure  for  the 
soil.  As  the  opinion  of  such  men  was  at  vari- 
ance with  the  commonly  received  one,  Mr.  Col- 
man addressed  a  letter  to  the  well-known  che- 
mist. Dr.  Dana,  requesting  his  views  on  the 
matter,  as  a  question  for  chemical  investiga- 
tion. Dr.  Dana's  reply  is  contained  in  the 
report  of  the  commissioner. 

The  essential  element  of  fertility  in  a  soil,  he 
says,  has  been  called  humus,  geine,  vegetable 
extract,  mould,  as  well  as  several  other  names, 
all  meaning  a  brownish-black,  powdery  mass, 
the  result  of  putrefactive  decay,  and  the  remains 
of  decomposed  organic  matter.  This  substance 
combines  with  the  alkaline,  earthy,  or  metallic 
bases  of  the  plant  or  the  soil,  and  constitutes 
the  means  of  growth  or  nutrition  in  the  new 
vegetable.  Without  it,  there  seems  to  be  no 
power  in  the  earths  of  producing  vegetation; 
and  if  in  too  great  excess,  as  it  sometimes  ap- 
pears to  be  in  very  pure  manures,  it  is  destruc- 
tive or  unpropitious  to  all  growth.  In  the 
question  now  at  issue,  the  inquiry,  of  course, 
was,  which  furnishes  to  the  soil  the  greatest 
quantity  of  geine  or  humus,  the  green  or  the 
dried  plant.  Dr.  Dana  decides  in  favour  of 
the  latter. 

Fermentation  appears  to  be  the  great  agent 
in  the  decomposition  of  organic  matter;  and 
Dr.  Dana's  survey  of  the  several  kinds,  such 
as  vinous,  acetous,  and  destructive  fermenta- 
tion, seems  to  have  a  direct  bearing  on  the  for- 
mation of  the  elements  of  fertility.  The  juices 
only  that  contain  sugar  or  starch,  converti- 
ble first  into  gum  and  then  into  sugar,  by  the 
action  of  azolized  vegetable  principles,  espe- 
cially gluten,  are  capable  of  the  vinous  fermen- 
tation. The  conditions  necessary  to  this  fer- 
mentation are  moisture,  air,  and  a  tempe/atur« 
not  below  50°,  nor  above  86°. 

"If,"  says  Dr.  D., "  we  plough  in  green  plants, 
we  put  them  in  a  temperature  favourable  to  the 
commencement  of  vinous  fermentation ;  we 
bury  them  full  of  sap,  the  requisite  moisture 
for  vinous  fermentation.  The  sugar  and  starch 
of  the  plant,  fermented  by  its  gluten  and  albu- 
men, are  converted  into  gases  and  alcohol;  the 
former  are  lost  in  air,  and  the  last  washes 
away  or  is  changed  to  vinegar.  All  that  re- 
mains for  the  former  is  the  altered  gluten  and 
albumen,  which  soon  putrefy  and  form  geine. 
All  the  starch  and  sugar  of  the  plant  are  thus 
lost." 

In  his  remarks  on  destructive  fermentation, 
Dr.  Dana  has  the  following  observations  : 

"Doubtless,  all  green  plants  ploughed  in  un- 
dergo, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  desinictive 
fermentation,  which  succeeds  the  vinous  and 
acid  ftrmentations,  perhaps  caused  by  the  ra- 


GREEN  MANURES. 


GREEN  MANURES. 


pidity  of  these  processes.  Hence,  in  addition 
to  the  sQcrar,  gum,  and  starch  of  the  plant,  we 
lose  a  large  portion  of  its  other  substances,  by 
turning  it  in  green.  The  products  of  this  rapid 
fermentation  have  been  but  little  studied.  Happy 
the  farmer  who  never  witnesses  the  process ! 
He  should  never  induce  it,  and  may  generally 
prevent  its  extension  when  once  begun.  It  is 
a  dead  loss  to  him ;  but  in  all  the  other  cases 
of  putrefaction,  the  products  are  valuable." 

Will  not  the  remark  made  above  by  Dr.  D., 
that  the  alcohol  formed  during  the  vinous  fer- 
mentation washes  away  or  is  converted  into 
vinegar,  account  for  the  fact  of  what  some  far- 
mers complain  of,  as  souring  the  soil  in  turning 
in  heavy  crops  of  green  clover  1  We  have 
heard  some  very  successful  farmers  and  wheat- 
growers  assert  that  their  experience  in  turning 
in  the  clover  crop  before  it  had  reached  matu- 
rity, or  while  abounding  in  sap,  had  been  so 
unfavourable,  that  they  had  relinquished  the 
practice,  and  chose  either  to  feed  it  off  with 
sheep,  or  let  it  decay  on  the  ground. 

Still,  no  one  can  doubt  but  that  excellent 
effects  are  produced  by  turning  in  green  crops, 
particularly  such  as  buckwheat,  of  which  three 
or  four  can  be  ploughed  in  in  a  year;  thus 
evidently  giving  more  geine  than  where  the 
ripened  product  is  turned  under.  The  danger 
of  the  practice  appears  to  arise  from  ploughing 
in  the  green  crop  in  that  condition,  and  under 
such  circumstances,  that  the  vinous  fermenta- 
tion and  acetous  one  are  so  rapid  as  to  convert 
the  valuable  products  into  vinegar,  and  thus 
seriously  injure  the  land;  or  when  the  destruc- 
tive fermentation  converts  the  plant  into  sub- 
stances unfit  for  the  food  or  nutrition  of  vege- 
tables.   (Ciiltivnlor.) 

During  the  growth  of  plants,  substances  con- 
taining a  large  proportion  of  carbon  are  ex- 
creted or  thrown  out  by  the  roots,  and  absorbed 
by  the  soil.  These  substances  were  either  in 
excess,  or  unfitted  for  the  nutrition  of  the 
growing  plants.  They  constituted,  therefore, 
excrementitious  matters,  through  which  the 
soil  received  again,  with  usury,  the  carbon 
which  it  had  first  yielded  to  the  young  plants 
as  food,  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid. 

"The  soluble  matter  thus  acquired,"  says 
Liebig.  "  by  the  soil  is  still  capable  of  decay 
and  putrefaction,  and  by  undergoing  these  pro- 
cesses furnishes  renewed  sources  of  nutrition 
to  another  generation  of  plants;  it  becomes 
humus.  The  cultivated  soil  is  thus  placed  in  a 
situation  exactly  analogous  to  that  of  forests 
and  meadows;  for  the  leaves  of  trees  which 
fall  in  the  forest  in  autumn,  and  the  old  roots 
of  grass  in  the  meadow,  are  likewise  converted 
into  humus  by  the  same  influence:  a  soil  re- 
ceives more  carbon  in  this  form  than  its  de- 
caying humus  had  lost  as  carbonic  acid. 

"  Plants  do  not  exhaust  the  carbon  of  a  soil 
in  the  normal  or  regular  condition  of  thinr 
growth  ;  on  the  contrary,  they  add  to  its  quan- 
tity. But  if  it  is  true  that  plants  give  back 
more  carbon  to  a  soil  than  they  take  from  it,  it 
is  evident  that  their  growth  must  depend  upon 
the  reception  of  nourishment  from  the  atmo- 
sphere in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid. 

"Humus  does  not  nourish  plants  by  being 
taken  up  and  assimilated  in  its  unaltered  state, 
74 


but  by  presenting  a  slow  and  lasting  source  of 
carbonic  acid,  which  is  absorbed  by  the  roots, 
and  is  the  principal  nutriment  of  young  plants 
at  a  time  when,  being  destitute  of  leaves,  they 
are  unable  to  extract  food  from  the  atmo 
sphere." 

The  supply  of  humus  usually  effected  by 
turning  under  clover,  rye,  buckwheat,  &c.,  is 
accomplished,  as  Liebig  informs  us,  with  much 
greater  certainty  when  the  fields  are  planted 
with  sainfoin  or  lucern,  a  plan  now  universally 
adopted  in  Bingen  and  its  vicinity,  the  Palati- 
nate, and  other  parts  of  Germany,  where  the 
fields,  thus  treated,  receive  manure  only  once 
every  nine  year&  In  the  first  year  after  the  land 
has  been  manured,  turnips  are  sown  upon  it ; 
in  the  next  following  years  barley,  with  sainfoin 
or  lucern  ;  in  the  7th  year,  potatoes  ;  in  the  8th, 
wheat;  in  the  9th,  barley  ;  on  the  10th  year  it  is 
again  manured,  and  the  same  rotation  ensues. 
Sainfoin  and  lucern  are  remarkable  for  the 
ramification  of  their  roots  and  the  strong  de- 
veloperaent  of  their  leaves,  as  well  as  for  re- 
quiring but  a  comparatively  small  quantity  of 
inorganic  matter. 

"  An  immediate  consequence  of  the  produc- 
tion of  the  green  principle  of  the  leaves,  and 
of  their  remaining  component  parts,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  stem,  is,"  says  Liebig,  "the  equally 
abundant  excretion  of  organic  matters  into  the 
soil  from  the  roots. 

"The  favourable  influence  which  this  exer- 
cises on  the  land,  by  furnishing  it  with  matter 
capable  of  being  converted  into  humus,  lasts 
for  several  years,  but  barren  spots  gradually 
appear  after  the  lapse  of  some  time.  Now  it 
is  evident  that,  after  from  6  to  7  years,  the 
ground  must  become  so  impregnated  with  ex- 
crements that  every  fibre  of  the  root  will  be 
surrounded  with  them.  As  they  remain  for 
some  time  in  a  soluble  condition,  the  plants 
must  absorb  part  of  them  and  suffer  injurious 
effects  in  consequence,  because  they  are  not 
capable  of  assimilation.  When  such  a  field  is 
observed  for  several  years,  it  is  seen  that  the 
barren  spots  are  again  covered  with  vegeta- 
tion (the  same  plants  being  always  supposed 
to  be  grown),  while  new  spots  become  bare 
and  apparently  unfruitful,  and  so  on  alter- 
nately. The  causes  which  produce  this  alter- 
nate barrenness  and  fertility  in  the  different 
parts  of  the  land  are  evident.  The  excrements 
upon  the  barren  spots  receiving  no  new  addi- 
tion, and  being  subjected  to  the  influence  of  air 
and  moisture,  they  pass  into  putrefaction,  and 
their  injurious  influence  ceases.  The  plants 
now  find  those  substances  which  formerly  pre- 
vented their  growth  removed,  and  in  their 
place  meet  with  humus,  that  is,  vegetable  mat- 
ter in  the  act  of  decay. 

"  We  can  scarcely  suppose  a  better  means 
of  producing  humus  than  by  the  growth  of 
plants,  the  leaves  of  which  are  food  for  ani- 
mals ;  for  they  prepare  the  soil  for  plants  of 
every  other  kind,  but  particularly  for  those  to 
which,  as  to  rape  and  flax,  the  presence  of 
humus  is  the  most  essential  condition  of 
growth. 

"The  reasons  why  this  interchange  of  crop 
is  so  advantageous — the  principles  which  regu- 
late this  part  of  agriculture,  are,  therefore,  rh* 

585 


GREEN  SAND. 


GREEN  SAND. 


art'fi'i*.!  pr<^daction  of  humus,  and  the  cultiv^a- 
tion  ni  ditierent  kinds  of  plants  upon  the  same 
held  in  such  an  order  of  succession,  that  each 
shall  extract  only  certain  components  of  the 
soil,  while  it  leaves  behind  or  restores  those 
which  a  second  or  third  species  of  plant  may- 
require  for  its  growth  and  perfect  develope- 
ment. 

"Now,  although  the  quantity  of  humus  in  a 
soil  may  be  increased  to  a  certain  dejjree  by 
an  artificial  cultivation,  still,  in  spite  of  this, 
there  cannot  be, the  smallest  doubt  that  a  soil 
must  gradually  lose  those  of  its  constituents 
which  are  removed  in  the  seeds,  roots,  and 
leaves  of  the  plants  raised  upon  it.  The  fer- 
tility of  a  soil  cannot  remain  unimpaired,  un- 
less we  replace  it  in  all  those  substances  of 
which  it  has  been  thus  deprived.   (Org.  Chenu) 

GREEN  SAND.  This  mineral  fertilizer, 
which,  in  some  portions  of  the  United  States,  has 
been  of  such  immense  service  as  a  manure,  and 
especially  in  restoring  worn-out  soils  to  produc- 
tiveness, is  found  in  great  abundance  in  certain 
portions  of  the  Atlantic  States.  The  stratum 
in  which  it  abounds  as  the  principal  ingredient 
commences  in  Monmouth  county.  New  Jersey, 
at  the  base  of  the  Highlands  of  Nevesink,  and 
along  the  shore  of  the  Atlantic  from  a  little 
north  of  Long  Branch  to  Shark  Inlet.  Ranging 
Bouthwestward,  it  passes  in  a  wide  belt  through 
Monmouth,  and  gradually  contracting,  runs 
parallel  with  the  Delaware  river,  at  a  distance 
of  a  few  miles,  to  Salem.  It  is  prolonged  across 
the  state  of  Delaware,  in  a  narrow  strip,  to  the 
edge  of  Maryland,  where  it  disappears  under 
the  overlapping  tertiary  formations.  The  mi- 
neral shows  itself  again  on  the  Potomac  and 
through  the  tide-water  region  of  Virginia,  but 
in  a  different  stratum,  in  which  it  forms  a  less 
proportion  than  in  the  so-called  "green  marl" 
of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 

The  green  sand  or  "  marl"  of  New  Jersey,  is 
the  second  stratum  in  the  ascending  order  of 
the  five  which  compose  the  upper  secondary 
or  cretaceous  group  of  that  state.  Strictly 
b))eaking,  says  Professor  H.  D.  Rogers,  it  com- 
prises several  subordinate  beds,  all  belonging, 
however,  to  two  principal  varieties.  In  the 
first  of  these,  the  green,  granular  mineral  is  the 
predominant  and  characteristic  ingredient.  The 
second  consists,  on  the  other  hand,  of  a  dark- 
blue  clay,  mingled  with  more  or  less  silicious 
sand.  This  latter  material  constitutes  the  usual 
floor  upon  which  the  true  green  sand  deposit 
rests.  In  New  Jersey,  between  Long  Branch 
and  Deal,  the  marl  stratum  has  been  penetrated 
thirty  feet  The  upper  two  feet  consist  of  a 
green  clay,  seemingly  derived  from  the  disin- 
tegration of  the  green  grains,  intermixed  with 
a  large  proportion  of  yellowish-white  clay.  The 
main  marl-bed,  having  a  thickness  of  about 
twenty-six  feet,  contains  several  subordinate 
layers ;  but  all  contain  a  large  share  (Tf  the 
green  grains.  Beneath  the  whole  there  is  a 
grayish -yellow  clay,  in  which  the  grains 
abound,  they  are  remarkably  large,  and  are 
associated  with  numerous  casts  of  shells. 

"When,"  says  Professor  Rogers,  "  we  behold 

a  luxuriant  harvest,  gathered  from  fields  in 

which  the  original  soil  is  a  kind  least  of  all 

congenial  to  vegetation;  when  we  find  that  all 

.586 


[  this  fertility,  contrasting  so  strikingly  with  the 
barrenness  around  it,  proceeds  from  a  few 
granules  of  a  substance  sparsely  distributed 
through  the  enormous  and  counteracting  ex- 
cess of  sea-beach  sand,  more  arid  than  the  soil 
to  which  it  is  applied,  are  we  not  led  to  look 
with  admiration  on  the  potent  properties  of 
this  curiously  constituted  mineral  1  The  de- 
velopements  of  geology  are  full  of  instances 
like  this,  showing  in  how  many  unlooked-foi 
ways  the  mineral  world  may  be  made  subser- 
vient to  the  good  of  mankind. 

*'  This  striking  proof  of  the  fertilizing  powei 
of  the  marl  ought  to  encourage  those  districts 
not  directly  within  the  tract,  where  some  of  the 
strata  possess  the  green  granules  in  a  sensible 
proportion.  It  expands  most  materially  the 
limits  of  the  territory  where  marling  may  be 
attempted,  and  points  us  to  many  beds  as  fer- 
tilizing, which  otherwise  would  be  deemed 
wholly  inefficacious. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  agriculture 
of  our  seaboard  states  is  destined  to  derive  es- 
sential benefit  from  the  remarkably  wide  dis- 
tribution of  this  green  granular  mineral  undei 
various  geological  relationships,  besides  those 
in  which  it  presents  itself  in  New. Jersey. 

"Thus  the  tertiary  shell-marls  of  Delaware, 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and,  I  might  add,  of 
other  states  still  farther  south,  contain  not  un- 
frequently  as  high  a  per  centage  of  the  green 
sand  as  does  the  sea-beach  sand  upon  the  coast 
of  Monmouth  county.  New  Jersey;  and  I  may 
mention  that  my  brother.  Professor  William  B. 
Rogers,  of  the  tlniversity  of  Virginia,  charged 
with  the  geological  survey  of  that  state,  has 
already  done  important  service  to  the  agricul- 
ture of  some  districts,  by  discovering  and  call- 
ing attention  to  the  existence  of  the  green  sand 
in  the  tertiary  strata  of  Virginia." 

"  Composition  of  the  green  sand. — The  predomi- 
nant and  often  the  sole  ingredient  in  this  bed, 
is  a  peculiar  mineral,  occurring  always  in  the 
form  of  small,  dark  granules,  about  the  size  of 
grains  of  gunpowder.  Their  form  is  roundish, 
and  they  are  often  composed  of  two  or  three 
smaller  ones  united  together;  a  distinctive  fea- 
ture, by  which  they  may  at  once  be  recognised 
from  other  dark  kinds  of  sand.  Though  they 
contain  on  the  average  nearly  fifty  per  cent,  of 
silica,  they  are  not  gritty,  but  may  be  readily 
bruised  between  the  teeth,  or  upon  the  nail; 
and  some  varieties,  when  moistened,  admit  of 
being  kneaded  into  a  half-plastic  mass,  like 
impure  clay.  The  prevailing  colour  of  the 
grains  is  a  deep  green,  though  sometimes  the 
tint  is  as  light  as  that  of  verditer.  It  is  often 
of  a  dull  greenish-blue,  and  not  unfrequently 
of  a  dark  chocolate  colour. 

"Along  the  eastern  side  of  the  marl  tract  in 
Monmouth,  Burlington,  and  Gloucester,  the 
stratum  comprises  very  generally  two  varieties 
of  the  green  sand,  distinct  as  to  colour,  and 
holding  generally  the  same  relative  position  to 
each  other.  The  uppermost  layer,  where  it 
appears  (for  it  is  not  always  present),  is  of  a 
light  and  glowing  green,  having  very  nearly 
the  hue  of  the  green  paint  called  vprdiier:  while 
the  lower  one  is  the  common  dark  variety,  of 
a  dull  bluish-green,  or  sometimes  of  a  dull  blue 
colour  from  adhering  clay. 


GREEN  SAND. 


GREEN  SAND. 


**Tn  some  instances,  particularly  where  the 
material  constitutes  the  soil,  the  granules  pos- 
sess a  brownish  colour,  the  consequence  evi- 
dently of  the  protoxide  of  iron  which  they  con- 
tain havinsj  undergone  upon  the  surface  a 
change  to  the  condition  of  the  peroxide.  The 
dull  colour  so  usual  to  the  surfaces  of  these 
grains,  when  contrasted  with  the  brighter  green 
within  the  mass,  would  appear  manifestly  to 
proceed  from  the  same  cause.  Some  shade  of 
green  may  be  pronounced  to  be  the  colour  es- 
sential to  this  mineral,  as  all  the  deviations 
from  this  tint  are  attributable  either  to  oxida- 
tion or  to  a  thin  coating  of  clay,  which  fre- 
quently encrusts  each  grain,  and  from  which 
the  deposit  is  rarely  altogether  free.  When  a 
mass  of  the  green  sand  or  'marl'  is  washed, 
especially  with  water  to  which  a  small  quantity 
of  an  acid  has  been  added,  we  invariably  find 
the  granules  assuming  a  bright  green  surface. 
This  colour  is  also  produced  in  all  cases  when 
we  mash  or  bruise  a  grain,  no  matter  what 
may  be  its  colour  externally.  By  crushing  the 
grains  upon  a  sheet  of  white  paper,  we  have 
an  easy  and  unerring  test  in  the  colour  of  the 
streak,  by  which  to  recognise  this  material 
from  all  other  varieties  of  sand. 

"Though  the  green  granular  mineral  here 
described  constitutes  the  essential  and  distinc- 
tive ingredient  in  the  green  sand  stratum,  it 
rarely  exists  unassociated  with  several  extra- 
neous substances,  particularly  clay  and  white 
silirimts  miui.  These  constitute  sometimes  as 
large  a  proportion  as  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  bed, 
causing  much  variety  in  its  external  aspect, 
and  influencing  materially  its  properties  as  an 
agricultural  agent;  the  sand,  which  is  generally 
white  or  semi-transparent  quartz,  existing  usu- 
ally in  relatively  small  amount,  the  clayey 
matter  being  ordinarily  the  most  abundant. 
This  latter  is  of  several  lints,  bat  is  commonly 
of  a  light  gray  or  lead  colour.  It  is  also  occa- 
sionally chocolate  coloured,  brown,  and  even 
nearly  white.  Coating  frequently  the  surfaces 
of  the  green  grains,  it  conceals  their  true  colour, 
imparting  its  own  hue  to  the  entire  mass.  As 
it  is  somewhat  adherent  wheii  moist,  it  gives  to 
the  stratum  where  it  is  abundant  the  character 
of  a  partially  plastic  clay.  Besides  the  white 
sand  and  this  clayey  material,  we  often  find  a 
minute  quantity  of  finely  divided  mica  mingled 
with  the  green  sand."  {Report  of  Geological 
Surrey  of  New  Jersey.) 

Professor  Rogers  gives  several  analyses  of 
specimens  of  green  sand  obtained  from  pits  in 
various  parts  of  the  region  where  this  mineral 
abounds  near  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In 
some  of  the  beds  the  green  sand  is  mixed  with 
proportions  of  clay  and  common  quartzose 
sand,  while  in  others,  although  ten  per  cent  of 
,clay  may  be  present,  no  common  sand  is  per- 
ceptible. Besides  the  clay  and  common  sand 
usually  present  with  the  green  sand  in  the  ge- 
neral mass,  there  occur  occasionally  several 
other  substances, "which,  though  comparative- 
ly minute  in  quantity,  are,"  observes  Professor 
Rogers,  "  possessed  of  active  properties.  Some 
of  these  materials  are  probably  deleterious, 
while  others  are  undoubtedly  beneficial  in  their 
action  upon  vegetation.  The  substances  re- 
ferr'^d  to  are  carbonate  of  lime,  sulphate  of  iron 


(copperas),  sulphate  of  alumina,  sulphate  of 
lime,  and  sulphate  of  magnesia;  also  phosphate 
of  iron. 

"  They  appear  to  be  derived,  mainly,  at  least, 
from  constituents  in  the  clay,  and  only  very 
partially,  if  at  all,  from  elements  in  the  green 
sand  itself. 

"The  carbonate  of  lime,  in  most  instances, 
we  can  trace  to  fossil  shells  and  other  organic 
remains,  imbedded  in  the  stratum.  The  sul- 
phate of  iron  obviously  proceeds  from  the 
action  of  the  atmosphere  and  moisture  on  the 
sulphuretof  iron,so  abundant  in  the  clay;  and 
the  sulphate  of  alumina  from  the  union  of  a 
portion  of  the  sulphuric  acid  thus  developed 
with  the  argillaceous  earth  of  the  clay;  while 
the  sulphates  of  lime  and  magnesia  may  result, 
either  from  the  combination  of  the  same  acid 
with  some  of  the  lime  and  magnesia,  sometimes 
present  in  a  minute  share  in  the  green  mineral, 
or,  more  probably,  from  its  reaction  on  the  car- 
bonates of  lime  and  magnesia,  existing,  like 
the  sulphuret  of  iron,  in  an  insulated  state 
The  phosphate  of  iron  is  no  doubt  derived  from 
phosphoric  acid,  traceable  to  the  animal  re- 
mains, acting  on  oxide  of  iron. 

"Several  of  these  substances  develope  them- 
selves upon  the  mass  of  the  marl  after  it  has 
been  dug  and  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  in  the 
form  of  a  white  efflorescence,  encrusting  alike 
the  clayey  matter  and  the  granules  of  green 
sand  with  a  delicate  crystallization,  resembling 
a  light  frost.  Collected  and  carefully  examined 
and  analyzed,  this  efflorescence  will  be  found 
almost  invariably  to  consist,  when  it  is  of  a 
pure  white,  of  either  the  sulphate  of  magnesia 
or  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum),  the  latter  predo. 
minating ;  and  sometimes  these  two  occui 
united.  In  some  instances,  we  recognise  it  to 
contain  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  (Epsom  salts) 
in  sufficient  quantity  to  be  distinguishable  by 
its  taste.  A  yellowish  tint  and  an  astringent 
flavour  are  apparent  when  it  consists  chiefly 
of  the  sulphates  of  alumina  and  iron.  The 
carbonate  of  lime  more  generally  shows  itself, 
not  in  the  shape  of  an  efflorescence  on  the  sur- 
face, like  the  others,  but  dispersed  in  minute 
granules  throughout  the  body  of  the  marl. 
Many  of  these  calcareous  granules  are  grains 
of  dolomite,  analogous  in  composition  to  the 
magnesian  variety  of  the  limestone,  which 
overlies  the  green  sand;  whence,  probably,  the 
true  source  of  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  above 
referred  to.  When  the  traces  of  shells  are 
very  numerous  in  the  bed,  and  their  conversion 
into  the  sulphate  of  lime  has  happened  on  the 
large  scale,  the  gypsum  forms  a  conspicuous 
part  of  a  soft,  white,  clayey  matter,  derived 
from  the  shells  and  interspersed  among  the 
j  green  grains.  The  mixed  mass  of  carbonate 
I  and  sulphate  of  lime  is  then  usually  in  a  yel- 
j  lowish-white,  chalky  condition.  Sometimes  we 
j  may  detect  the  gypsum  in  the  marl  in  the 
]  shape  of  small  regular  crystals  of  transparent 
'  selenite,  at  times  so  minute  as  only  to  be  de 
tected  by  the  magnifier. 

"  Various  fossil  shells,  and  other  marine  or 
ganic  remains,  amounting  to  considerably  mor* 
than  one  hundred  species,  are  scattered  through 
the  green  sand.  These  collections  ol  fossiis 
would  seem  to  be  most  abundant  in  those  par> 

587 


GREEN  SAND. 


GREEN  SAND. 


of  the  stratum  which  consist  largely  of  the 
green  sand. 

"The  water,  percolating  through  the  overly- 
ing sands,  and  also  through  the  pervious  green 
sand  itself,  has  effected,  and  is  daily  effecting, 
important  changes  in  the  condition  of  the  shells 
and  other  fossils ;  sometimes  replacing  their 
carbonate  of  lime  with  oxide  of  iron,  sometimes 
removing  it  altogether,  and  leaving  a  mere 
mould,  forming  either  an  inner  or  an  outer 
cast,  and  sometimes  obliterating  nearly  every 
trace  of  their  former  presence. 

"The  total  thickness  of  the  green  sand  for- 
mation, estimating  it  from  the  bottom  of  the 
lowermost  layers  abounding  in  the  green  gra- 
nular mineral  to  the  overlying  yellow  ferrugi- 
nous sands,  or  the  limestone  bed,  when  this  is 
present,  may  be  stated  approximately  at  about 
one  hundred  feet.  The  only  place  in  the  whole 
district  where  it  is  practicable  to  ascertain, 
with  any  approach  to  accuracy,  either  the  depth 
of  the  formation,  or  the  relative  situation  and 
number  of  the  separate  beds  which  it  comprises, 
is  along  the  shore  of  Sandy  Hook  bay,  in  the 
cliffs  of  the  Nevesink  highlands.  This,  the 
only  coast  section  of  the  strata,  is  still  an  im- 
perfect one ;  large  masses  of  the  upper  beds, 
fallen  from  above,  covering  the  lower  deposits 
near  the  water-side. 

"Owing  to  the  large  amount  of  water  which 
it  usually  contains,  the  green  sand  is  rarely 
penetrated  in  the  numerous  diggings  which  are 
made  in  it  for  the  marl,  to  a  greater  depth  than 
about  twenty  feet,  the  pits  becoming  at  that 
limit  too  wet  to  be  prosecuted  deeper. 

"In  one  or  two  instances,  wells  have  been 
sunk  through  the  stratum,  and  the  depth  of  the 
green  sand  ascertained  to  be  about  thirty  feet, 
as  already  mentioned. 

''Specific  Gravity. — The  specific  gravity  of  the 
green  granular  mineral,  carefully  freed  from 
all  extraneous  adhering  matter,  is,  according 
to  several  experiments  cautiously  made,  about 
2-65.  Three  different  specimens,  taken  from 
remote  localities,  gave  for  the  two  lowest  each 
2-fi3  ;  for  the  highest,  2-70. 

"  The  hardness  of  this  mineral  varies  mate- 
rially, being  dependent  somewhat  upon  the 
lime  elapsed  after  it  has  been  dug:  it  is  softest 
when  moist  and  recently  uncovered.  Freshly 
extracted,  its  hardness  often  does  not  exceed 
that  of  talc ;  but  when  long  uncovered  and  dry, 
it  nearly  equals  that  of  gypsum. 

"It  would  appear  by  experiment  to  be  en- 
tirely insoluble  in  water,  both  cold  and  boiling; 
but  it  dissolves  with  tolerable  facility  in  any 
of  the  stronger  acids,  though  different  speci- 
mens vary  materially  in  this  respect." 

The  experience  of  farmers,  continued  through 
nearly  half  a  century,  had  amply  tested  the 
utMty  of  green  sand  as  an  active  fertilizer 
whf  a  spread  upon  the  ground.  Various  were 
me  views  maintained  in  regard  to  its  active 
principles,  and  much  speculation  was,  as  usual, 
indulged  upon  the  subject.  The  demonstra- 
tion, made  first  by  Mr.  Henry  Seybert,  of  Phi- 
ladelphia, that  the  green  sand  of  New  Jersey 
contained  a  considerable  amount  of  potash, 
seemed  to  afford  a  very  satisfactory  clue  by 
which  its  mysterious  effects  might  be  traced 
'«t. 

588 


Chemical  composition  of  Green  Sand.  From  a 
number  of  analysis  of  specimens  of  this  mine- 
ral, selected  with  the  greatest  care  by  Professor 
Rogers,  and  ascertained  to  be  entirely  free 
from  extraneous  matter,  it  would  seem  that  it 
is  not  quite  uniform  in  its  composition,  but  ex- 
hibits slight  variations  in  the  proportions  of 
its  principal  constituents.  The  following  re- 
sults will  serve  to  display  the  prevailing 
chemical  nature  of  green  sand,  and  the  mode- 
rate variation  of  the  several  ingredients: 

Crreen  Sand  of  Squankum. 

Description. — Colour,  a  dark  olive-green  ; 
granules  of  a  medium  size  ;  it  composes  58-36 
per  cent,  of  the  marl  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
bed,  and  72-36  per  cent,  of  the  lower. 

Composition. — In  100  parts  : 

Silica  ------  5100 

Alumina      -----  650 

Protoxide  of  iron         .        .        -  21-55 

Potasli         -        -        >        .       -  10-50 

Lime    -        -        -        -        -        -  a  trace. 

Magnesia     -        -        -        -        -  1-08 

Water         -----  9.00 

99.63 
Greensand  of  Freehold,  Monmouth  County. 
Description.  —  Colour  of  the  granules,  rich 
green ;  size,  small ;  composes  70  per  cent,  of 
the  upper  part  of  the  bed,  and  50  per  cent,  of 
the  lower. 

Composition. — In  100  parts  : 

Silica 5000 

Alumina      -----      7-00 
Protoxide  of  iron         -        -        -    22  00 

Potasli 1100 

Lime 100 

Magnesia     -        -        -        -        -  a  trace. 


Water 


900 
10000 


Green  Sand  of  the  Marl  of  Poke  Hill,  near  Plaits- 
burg,  Burlington  County. 
Description. — Colour  of  the  granules,  a  rich 
dark  olive-green;  their  size,  rather  above  the 
medium ;  composes  98  per  cent,  of  the  marL 
Composition. — In  100  parts: 

Silica 50-75 

Alumina  -----  6-50 
Protoxide  of  iron  -  -  -  2214 
Potash  -----  1296 
Water 750 

99-85 

Comparing  the  details  of  the  several  analy- 
ses furnished  by  Professor  Rogers,  we  perceive 
that  the  green  sand,  even  when  of  the  greatest 
purity,  is  not  absolutely  constant,  either  in  the 
nature  of  the  ingredients  which  enter  into  its 
composition,  or  in  their  relative  proportions. 
The  per  centage  of  the  silica  varies  from  47-5 
to  51-5;  that  of  the  alumina  from  6  to  9-35; 
that  of  the  protoxide  of  iron  from  20-86  to 
24-74;  that  of  the  potash  from  9-96  to  12-96; 
and  that  of  the  water  from  5-5  to  9-5.  We 
find,  moreover,  that,  in  some  instances,  be- 
sides these  elements,  lime  enters  into  the  con- 
stitution of  the  green  sand,  in  other  cases  mag- 
nesia; while,  occasionally,  both  occur.  The 
amount  of  these  earths  is,  however,  always  in- 
considerable. 

It  appears  that  the  mean  proportion  of  the 
silica  is  approximately  49-5  per  cent. ;  that  of 
the  alumina  7-3;  of  the  protoxide  of  iron  22-8; 
of  the  potash  11-5;  and  of  the  water  7-9  per 


GREEN  SAND. 

cent ;  while  the  lime,  when  present,  seldom 
exceeds  one-half  per  cent.,  and  the  magnesia 
is  rarely  more  than  a  mere  trace. 

A  comparison  of  the  green  sand  of  New 
Jersey  with  that  of  France,  shows  no  essential 
di^fterence  in  their  chemical  nature. 

HL  Green  Sand  of  Havre,  in  France. 

^M  Compofidon. — In  100  parts: 

^            Silica        ------  50 

Aliiiiiina  ------  7 

Protoxide  of  iron     -        -        -        -  il 

Potash 10 

Water 11 

Loss         ------  1 

100 

The  late  lamented  chemist.  Dr.  Edward  Tur- 
ner, of  London,  also  examined,  with  great  care, 
the  chemical  constitution  of  the  green  sand  of 
Kent,  in  England. 

His  experiments  gave,  in  the  100  parts  ; 

S.lica 48-5 

Alumina        -----     170 

Pr(jtoxide  of  iron  -        -        -        -    22  0 

Potash  ------  a  trace. 

Ma(jne«la       -----      3-8 

Waier 70 

983 

The  absence  of  potash  in  the  green  granules 
of  the  English  green  sand,  and  the  large  pro- 
portion of  magnesia,  are  facts  not  a  little  re- 
markable. 

Economical  relations  of  the  Green  Sand  forma- 
tion.— Abundant  evidence  might  be  adduced  to 
prove  that  the  true  fertilizing  principle  in  marl 
is  not  lime,  but  potash.  The  analyses  which 
have  been  made  give  us,  in  several  cases,  no 
lime  at  all;  and  where  a  small  proportion  of 
lime  is  present  in  the  green  granular  mineral, 
il  is  in  a  combined  state,  chemioally  united 
with  the  other  ingredients,  and  not  traceable  to 
the  organic  remains  which  are  in  many  of 
these  instances  not  present  in  the  stratum. 
Besides,  the  quantity  of  shelly  matter,  even 
where  the  shells  are  plentiful,  is  so  dispropor- 
tionately small,  and  the  matter  of  the  shells 
often  so  firm  and  unsusceptible  of  that  easy 
disintegration  necessary  to  form  a  calcareous 
marl  adapted  to  act  speedily  upon  the  crop, 
that  the  striking  effects  witnessed  from  the 
marl  can  in  nowise  be  attributed  to  the  trivial 
amount  of  lime  which  the  shells  may  occasion- 
ally furnish  to  the  land.  Nevertheless,  as 
some  feebly  beneficial  effects  may  possibly 
arise  from  this  source,  it  may  be  of  service  to 
the  agriculturist  in  choosing  between  different 
fossiliferous  marls,  to  attend  to  the  nature  of 
the  particular  fossils,  and  the  state  of  more  or 
less  decomposition  or  change  in  which  they 
are  to  be  found. 

Selection  of  Green  Sand. — For  judging  of  the 
quality  of  a  marl  by  observation,  says  Professor 
Rogers,  "some  familiarity  with  the  multiform 
aspects  which  it  assumes  is  indispensable.  The 
leading  rule,  however,  is  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 
fertilizing  efficacy  of  the  compound  resides  in 
the  minute,  round,  greenish  grains  which  com- 
pose most,  or  sometimes  all  of  it;  and  that  it 
seems,  moreover,  to  be  dependent  upon  the  pro- 
portion in  these  green  grains  of  those  powerful 
alkaline  stimulants  to  vegetation,  potash  and 
lime,  but  especially  potash.  The  first  thing,  then. 


GREEN  SAND. 

is  to  approximate  to  the  relative  quantity  of  th« 
green  grains  in  the  whole  mass,  and  this  may 
be  effected  with  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  ac- 
curacy in  several  ways.  The  simplest  and 
readiest  method  is  to  employ  a  small  pocket 
magnifying  glass,  and  to  become  familiar  with 
the  dark  green  grains,  so  as  to  distinguish 
them  at  once  from  other  dark  varieties  of  sand 
which  sometimes  occur  associated  with  them, 
A  little  practice  will  very  soon  enable  one  to 
use  the  glass  expertly,  and  to  arrive  at  a  pretty 
true  estimate  of  the  probable  percentage  of  the 
green  granules.  But  as  these  granules  cannot 
sometimes  be  distinguished  from  the  grains  of 
ordinary  white  flinty  sand,  or  from  other  kinds, 
in  consequence  of  the  particles  being  all  alike 
coated  with  a  thin  film  of  the  dark  cementing 
clay,  it  will  be  useful  to  adopt  some  method  of 
bringing  out,  under  the  magnifier,  their  differ- 
ent characteristics  of  colour  and  form.  Let 
the  mass  be  washed  in  a  large  glass  tumbler, 
and  repeatedly  agitated  with  the  water,  until  as 
much  of  the  clay  as  possible  has  been  detach- 
ed from  the  grains.  After  pouring  off  the  tur- 
bid water  by  repeated  rinsings,  and  permitting 
it  to  settle  until  clear,  we  may  estimate  the 
comparative  quantity  of  clay  in  different  marls 
by  the  relative  amount  of  sediment  which  sub- 
sides. If  we  wish  to  be  more  accurate,  we 
can  weigh  out  a  given  quantity  of  the  marl, 
then  pursue  the  above  plan,  and  decant  the 
clear  water  from  the  clay,  and  after  thoroughly 
drying  the  clay,  weigh  it  to  ascertain  its 
amount.  Having  got  away  most  of  the  clay,  we 
should  spread  out  the  granular  matter  upon  a 
sheet  of  paper  and  dry  it,  when  there  will  be 
no  further  difficulty  in  distinguishing,  by  their 
colour  and  lustre,  the  foreign  impurities  from 
the  grains  of  true  marl,  and  also  of  estimating 
the  relative  abundance  of  each.  When  the  marl 
to  be  examined  contains  much  clay,  I  would  re- 
commend the  experiments  to  be  made  upon  a 
regularly  weighed  quantity,  weighing  both  the 
clayey  and  the  granular  portions.  A  delicate 
apothecary's  balance  will  commonly  be  found 
accurate  enough.  Another  more  expeditious, 
though  less  accurate  method,  is  merely  to  dry 
the  marl,  spread  it  extremely  thin  upon  a  sheet 
of  white  paper,  and  then  hold  it  near  a  win- 
dow, or  in  the  light,  to  examine  it  carefully  by 
the  magnifier.  The  flinty  sand,  though  stained 
with  clay,  may  then  be  clearly  discerned  in 
consequence  of  its  transparency ;  whereas, 
when  we  inspect  a  solid  lump,  all  the  particles 
upon  the  surface  are  nearly  alike  dark. 

"A  useful  suggestion  is,  to  place  a  portion  of 
the  marl  upon  a  hot  shovel,  or  on  the  top  of  a 
stove,  when  all  the  granules  will  change  from 
their  ordinary  green  tint  to  a  light  red  or  brick 
colour,  while  the  other  materials  of  the  mass 
sustain  little  alteration.  This  will  often  render 
obvious  to  the  naked  eye  the  proportion  of  the 
green  grains. 

"  When  there  is  a  yellowish  or  whitish  in 
crustation  upon  the  marl  after  the  moist  sur- 
face has  remained  for  some  time  exposed  to 
the  weather,  it  is  indicative  of  the  existence  of 
a  portion  of  either  copperas  or  sulphate  of  alu 
mina,  the  hurtful  nature  of  which  has  already 
been  explained. 

"  An  astringent  inky  taste  will  very  often  de 
3D  689 


GREEN  SAND. 


GREEN  SAND. 


tect  the  presence  of  these  noxious  substances 
at  times  when  no  such  efflorescence  shows  it- 1 
self.  If  the  quantity  be  too  small  to  betray 
them  distinctly  to  the  palate,  and  we  are  still 
in  doubt  as  to  their  presence,  other  more 
rigorous  tests  are  within  our  reach ;  and  as 
these  astringent  matters  are  so  unquestionably 
pernicious  in  their  action,  it  is  of  importance 
to  have  the  means  of  determining  in  what  pro- 
portion they  abound  in  difierent  marls.  This 
can  be  effected  with  precision  only  by  a  sys- 
tematic chemical  analysis,  but  their  existence 
can  be  made  to  appear  by  the  following  simple 
tests.  Put  a  small  portion  of  the  marl  in  a 
flask  or  other  thin  glass  vessel ;  pour  upon  it 
some  pure  water,  and  heat  it  moderately;  after 
cau.^ing  the  water  to  dissolve  in  this  way  as 
much  as  possible,  remove  the  heat,  and  let  it 
settle;  then  decant  the  clear  fluid  into  some 
glass  vessel,  such  as  a  wine-glass.  If  there  is 
anv  copperas  present,  it  will  be  evident  upon 
adding  to  the  fluid  a  little  lime  water,  which 
will  produce  a  milky  turbidness  that  after  a 
little  while  will  become  stained  of  a  yellowish- 
brown  colour.  The  milkiness  is  owing  to  the 
formation  of  gj'psurn,  and  the  brown  colour  to 
oxide  of  iron  from  the  copperas.  Or,  in  lieu 
of  this,  add  a  solution  of  oak  bark,  and,  if  cop- 
peras be  present,  we  shall  have  a  dark  inky 
colour  at  once  produced. 

"  A  good  marl  will,  upon  being  squeezed  in 
the  hand,  fall  asunder  again,  rather  than  bake 
into  a  tough  doughy  mass ;  and  upon  being 
left  in  heaps  to  dry,  will  assume  a  light  gray- 
ish-green colour,  and  be  extremely  crumbly. 
It  seems  to  be  a  very  general  characteristic  of 
the  better  class  of  marls,  that  they  throw  out  a 
white  efflorescence  or  crust  upon  those  grains 
which  are  most  exposed  to  the  air ;  hence  the 
very  light  colour  externally  which  some 
heaps  of  marl  possess.  This  crust  I  have 
already  shown  to  consist  usually  of  the  sul- 
phate of  lime  (gypsum),  sulphate  of  magnesia, 
and  carbonate  of  lime.  A  drop  or  two  of 
strong  vinegar,  or  any  strong  acid,  wull  pro- 
duce an  effervescence  or  frothing,  if  it  be  the 
carbonate  of  lime ;  and  should  nothing  of  this 
kind  take  place,  we  may  set  it  down  to  be 
gypsum.  Of  course,  from  the  minuteness  of 
the  quantity  of  the  white  coating,  much  care 
and  accuracy  of  observation  are  demanded  in 
doing  this,  in  order  to  avoid  erroneous  con- 
clusions. 

"Marls  deemed  equally  good  with  the  kind 
showing  the  efflorescence,  very  frequently 
occur,  exhibiting  none  of  the  white  incrus- 
tation. 

"  It  does  not  seem  that  any  general  rule  can 
be  given  for  distinguishing  the  fertilizing  pro- 
perties of  a  marl  by  its  mere  colour,  as  it  must 
appear  from  what  has  been  said,  that  the  pe- 
culiar shade  of  colour  is  frequently  owing  to 
the  colour  of  the  intermingled  clay.  When 
the  mass,  however,  is  comparatively  free  from 
clay  or  common  sand,  and  consists  of  little 
else  than  the  green  sand,  observations  go  to 
show  that  the  rather  dark  green  variety  is 
more  potent  in  its  effects  than  the  very  light 
green  which  sometimes  overlies  it. 

"  The  presence  or  absence  of  shells  I  look 
I'pon  to  b«'  a  poiu    of  but  little  moment,  for  I 
.590 


find  that  several  of  the  most  active  marls  m 
the  region  show  no  traces  of  fossils.  The 
whole  amount  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the 
shape  of  fossils,  and  in  that  of  the  occasional 
white  incrustation  upon  the  grains,  can  in  very 
few  instances  amount  to  1  per  cent.;  whrile, 
as  analysis  shows,  the  lime  chemically  com- 
bined with  the  other  ingredients  in  the  green 
grains,  is  sometimes  1  per  cent.,  and  the  pot- 
ash nearly  12  per  cent." 

Professor  Hitchcock,  in  his  Elementary 
Geology,  has  given  the  following  tabular  view 
of  the  analysis  of  specimens  of  green  sand 
from  different  countries ; 


French 

Mamchu- 

New  Jersey 

rM-B-er-' 

Engliihsand.by 

aelts  tand, 

»nd,by^ 

Prof.  Turner. 

by  Dr.  L.  S. 

Professor  H. 

ihier. 

nana. 

D.  Kogers. 

Silica 

600 

48-5 

56-700 

49-27 

Protoxide  of 

iron 

210 

220 

20100 

24-67 

Alumina    - 

70 

170 

13520 

7-71 

Water       - 

110 

7-0 

7  000 

5-91 

Potassa     - 

10-9 

traces. 

_ 

9-99 

Lime 

_ 

_ 

1-624 

5  08 

Magnesia  - 

- 

3-8 

1-176 

Manganese 

- 

traces,  loss. 

0080 

Application  and  effects  of  Green  Sand. — The 
resemblance  in  composition  of  green  sand  to 
glass,  each  being  composed  mainly  of  silex 
and  potash,  is  striking.  The  investigations  of 
Liebig  demonstrated  the  indispensable  impor- 
tance to  the  growth  of  many  plants,  and  espe- 
cially to  wheat,  of  silex  and  potash  in  that 
state  of  commixture  called  by  chemists  sili- 
cate of  potash.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  de- 
clare an  opinion  that  one  of  the  best  of  ma- 
nures that  could  be  applied  to  the  wheat  crop 
would  be  a  solution  of  glass.  In  making  this 
admirable  induction,  he  was,  apparently,  una 
ware  of  the  fact  that  a  natural  kind  of  glass,  oi 
silicate  of  potash,  under  the  form  of  green 
sand,  had  been  long  spread  over  the  American 
fields  with  the  most  striking  advantages  to  the 
growth  of  wheat  and  other  crops. 

The  effects  of  green  sand  applied  as  a  ma- 
nure, are  strongly  set  forth  in  the  following 
extracts  from  Professor  H.  D.  Rogers's  Report 
of  his  Geological  Survey  of  New  Jersey : 

"Mr.  Woolley  manured  a  piece  of  land  in  the 
proportion  of  200  loads  of  good  stable  manure 
to  the  acre,  applying  upon  an  adjacent  tract  of 
the  same  soil  his  marl  in  the  ratio  of  about  20 
loads  per  acre.  The  crops,  which  were  timo- 
thy and  clover,  were  much  heavier  upon  the 
section  which  had  received  the  marl ;  and 
there  was  this  additional  fact  greatly  in  favour 
of  the  fossil  manure  over  the  putrescent  one, 
that  the  soil  was  also  entirely  free  from  weeds, 
while  the  stable  manure  had  rendered  its  own 
crop  very  foul. 

"  This  green  sand  stratum  at  Poplar  Swamp 
seems  to  be  almost  entirely  free  from  any  sul- 
phate of  iron  or  other  astringent  material,  and 
as  a  consequence  the  crops  seem  not  to  be 
scorched  by  an  extra  dose,  however  lavishly 
applied. 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  that  20  loads  of 
marl  per  acre  must  be  regarded  as  an  unne- 
cessarily bountiful  dressing;  but  computing 
the  relative  cost  of  the  two  manures,  when 
employed  in  the  ratio  above  stated,  we  find  a 


I 


GREEN  SAND. 


considerable  disparity  in  favour  of  the  green 
sand.  Placinof  the  home  value  of  farm-yard 
manure  at  100  cents  for  each  two-horse  load, 
and  that  of  the  marl  at  25  cents  per  load,  we 
have  the  expense  of  manuring  one  acre  $200; 
of  marling  the  same  $5. 

"This  being  an  experiment,  an  extravagantly 
large  dressing  of  manure  was  employed,  but 
not  exceeding  the  usual  average  application 
more  than  the  20  loads  of  marl  surpassed  what 
was  necessary. 

"Experience  has  already  shown  that  land 
once  amply  marled  retains  its  fertility  with 
little  diminution  for  at  least  10  or  12  years,  if 
care  be  had  not  to  crop  it  too  severely ;  while 
with  all  j»raciicable  precaution  the  stable  ma- 
nure must  be  renewed  at  least  three  limes  in 
that  interval  to  maintain  in  the  soil  a  corres- 
ponding degree  of  vigour. 

"At  the  Squankum  pits,  which  are  very  ex- 
tensive, the  marl  is  sold  at  the  rate  of  37^ 
cents  the  load,  the  purchasers  having  to  dig  it. 
It  is  transported  by  wajjons  to  a  distance,  in 
some  directions,  of  20  miles,  and  retailed,  when 
hauled  that  far,  at  the  rale  of  10,  or  even  12^ 
cents  per  bushel,  being  very  profitably  spread 
upon  the  soil  in  the  small  proportion  of  25  or 
even  20  bushels  to  the  acre." 

This  is  cerliiinly  a  strong  proof  of  the  high 
estimation  in  which  green  sand  is  held  as  a 
manure  by  the  prudent  and  thrifty  farmers  of 
New  Jersey. 

Professor  Booth,  in  the  report  of  his  geolo- 
gical survey  of  the  state  of  Delaware,  has 
given  much  highly  interesting  information  in 
regard  to  green  sand.  In  all  essential  particu- 
lars, the  marl-beds  found  in  Newcastle  county 
resemble  those  of  New  Jersey  described  by 
Professor  Rogers. 

"  Practically  speaking,"  says  Prof.  Booth, 
"there  are  two  principal  kinds  of  green  sand, 
that  containing  lime  as  an  essential  ingredient, 
and  that  consisting  chiefly  of  green  particles. 
The  former  contains  variable  quantities  of 
carbonate  of  lime,  the  highest  limit  yet  ob- 
served being  twenty-five  per  cent.  The  ave- 
rage composition  of  the  latter,  in  its  natural 
stale  and  selected,  may  be  thus  expressed: 


Unselected. 

Selected. 

Silica       - 

_ 

58 

50 

PmassR    -        -        . 

_ 

7 

10 

Protoxide  of  iron     - 

_ 

33 

224 

liiiiiiiia 

_ 

5 

7 

Water     - 

. 

8 

10* 

The  first  is  either  cretaceous,  containing  finely 
divided  carbonate  of  lime  not  formed  by  com- 
minuted shells,  and  occurring  on  the  canal;  or 
decomposed  calcareous,  on  the  western  limit 
of  the  state,  from  which  the  calcareous  matter 
has  been  wholly  or  partially  removed,  although 
abounding  in  casts  of  shells;  or  shelly  green 
sand,  on  the  southern  line  of  St.  Geors;e's  hun- 
dred, in  which  there  is  no  fine  calcareous  mat- 
ter but  that  of  comminuted  shells.  The  second 
contains  mere  traces  of  lime,  and  consists  of 
green  sand  particles,  with  variable  quantities 
of  clay  and  common  sand,  and  is  either  bluish- 
green,  and  of  the  finest  quality,  as  found  on 
Drawyer's  and  Silver  Run;  or  yellowish-green, 
containing  white  silicious  sand,  as  on  Draw- 


GREEN  SAND. 

yer's  and  the  Appoquinimink;  or  black-c»3 
loured,  decomposed  externally,  rarely  interna, 
ly,  and  containing  both  white  sand  and  argil- 
laceous matter,  from  Silver  Run  to  Scott's  Run, 
or  dark-coloured,  and  containing  pyrites,  as 
from  the  south-west  corner  of  St.  George's 
hundred,  and  along  the  ridge  to  the  Deep-cut; 
or,  lastly,  the  blue  micaceous  sand  of  the  Deep- 
cut,  rarely  containing  particles  of  green  sand, 
although  abounding  with  casts  and  impressions 
of  shells  characteristic  of  the  green  sand  for- 
mation. We  have  seen  that  the  yellow  sand 
is  the  principal  member  of  the  series,  both 
over  and  underlying  the  green  sand;  that  it  is 
characterized  by  its  uniformity  of  grain  and 
colour,  and,  rising  to  the  surface,  constitutes 
the  chief  and  most  valuable  soil  of  the  region. 
We  farther  observe  that  the  green  sand  stratum 
is  undulating,  and  varies  in  its  depth,  the  ave- 
rage thickness  being  21  feet,  from  which  we 
may  form  a  rough  estimate  of  the  amount  con- 
tained in  the  whole  district.  It  is  7  miles  long, 
and  nearly  6^  broad,  and  therefore  embraces 
about  44  square  miles.  Deducting  from  this 
one-quarter  for  the  place  where  it  fines  out, 
and  for  streams,  ravines,  &c.,  we  have  33 
square  miles  underlaid  by  green  sand.  There 
are  then  102,220,800  square  yards,  which  mul- 
tiplied by  7  yards,  the  average  thickness,  gives 
715,545,600  cubic  yards  of  green  sand  in  Dela- 
ware. Supposing,  then,  that  the  l-l'OOth  part  of 
it  is  accessible,  we  have  more  than  7,000,000 
cubic  yards  which  may  be  made  available.  In 
a  majority  of  cases,  the  flowing  of  water  into 
the  pits  presents  a  source  of  inconvenience 
that  may  be  remedied  without  great  difficulty, 
and  with  a  trifling  expense,  compared  with  the 
value  of  the  material." 

Upon  the  subject  of  the  t*ertilizing  properties 
of  green  sand.  Professor  Booth  makes  the  fol- 
lowing highly  interesting  observations : 

"  When  it  is  decomposed  by  the  ordinary 
processes  of  the  laboratory,  only  a  small  quan- 
tity of  silica  and  all  the  other  constituents  being 
dissolved,  we  may  regard  the  oxide  of  iron, 
potassa,  and  alumina  as  performing  the  prin- 
cipal functions,  assisted  by  the  presence  of 
water.  The  useful  action  of  potash  or  of  ashes 
in  the  soil  has  been  long  acknowledged,  and 
hence,  as  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  green 
sand  contained  potassa,  its  utility  was  imme- 
diately referred  to  that  alkali ;  latterly,  how- 
ever, the  opinion  has  gained  ground  that  the 
protoxide  of  iron  plays  an  important  part  by 
acting  with  the  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  in  a 
manner  resembling  the  saponification  of  oil  by 
potash. 

"The  addition  of  much  unleached  ashes  to  a 
soil  determines  the  formation  of  salts  of  potas- 
sa, which,  being  very  soluble,  are  taken  up  in 
excess  by  growing  plants,  and  produce  such 
luxuriant  vegetation  as  to  cause  it,  technically 
speaking,  to  bum  up.  The  same  operation 
would  probably  occur  with  protoxide  of  iron, 
were  its  salts  not  soon  converted  into  more  in- 
soluble humate  and  crenate  of  the  peroxide. 

"It  might  be  objected  by  many  that  grren 
sand  being  decomposed  with  difficulty  by  itie 
powerful  acids  of  the  laboratory,  ihcre  is  litll«» 
probability  that  it  can  be  resolved  into  its  con. 
stituents  by  the  feeble  action  of  humic  or  ai 

A91 


GREEN  SAND. 


GREEN  SAND. 


mospheric  agents.  Independently,  however, 
ol  the  proof  of  its  decomposition  by  its  induc- 
ing increased  fertility,  and  of  the  mode  by 
which  nature,  operating  with  feeble  agents 
during  a  lengthened  period  of  time,  produces 
great  results,  it  may  be  shown  that  it  is  more 
readily  decomposed  than  is  generally  admitted. 
William  M.  Uhler,  in  conjunction  with  the 
author  of  this  memoir,  has  lately  been  engaged 
in  making  a  series  of  experiments  on  this  sub- 
ject, which,  although  incomplete,  aevertheless 
afford  sufficient  grounds  for  drawing  a  few 
conclusions.  Dilute  acetic  acid  decomposed 
green  sand  after  the  lapse  of  a  week  or  more ; 
oxalic  acid  produced  the  same  result  in  a  few 
days,  and  in  the  course  of  two  weeks  nearly 
all  the  green  sand  had  disappeared,  and  the 
yellow  oxalate  of  iron  precipitated.  But  the 
most  surprising  effects  were  produced  by  the 
action  of  carbonic  aci^l,  one  of  th&  feeblest 
known  to  the  chemist,  the  use  of  which  for  this 
purpose  was  first  proposed  by  Mr.  Charles  Ro- 
berts, of  Philadelphia.  By  a  well-charged  so- 
lution of  this  acid  a  large  portion  of  the  sand 
was  decomposed  m  a  few  days,  and  a  weak 
solution  induced  the  same  effects  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks.  Although  few  experiments 
«rere  made  to  determine  quantitatively  the  re- 
lative amounts  of  the  constituents  taken  up  by 
the  acids,  yet  the  qualitative  tests  were  suffi- 
cient to  show  that  all  the  ingredients  were  se- 
parated from  each  other,  and  that  the  green 
sand  might  be  analyzed  even  by  the  feeble 
operation  of  carbonic  acid. 

''As  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  of 
these  subjects  is  limited  when  compared  with 
that  advanced  stage  which  we  firmly  believe 
chemistry  will  produce  in  process  of  time,  it 
would  be  presumption  to  make  unhesitating 
assertions  relative  to  the  modus  operandi  of 
organic  and  inorganic  manures ;  we  may,  ne- 
vertheless, and  indeed  we  ought  to  draw  such 
inferences  as  are  consistent  with  our  present 
knowledge  of  facts.  The  potassa  of  the  green 
sand  appears  to  act  on  organic  matter  in  the 
soil  by  catalysis  forming  soluble  salts  of  po- 
tassa; the  protoxide  of  iron  acts  in  a  similar 
manner,  but  is  itself  changed  to  a  less  soluble 
compound;  and  the  alumina  probably  has  a 
similar  action,  proportional  to  its  feeble  affini- 
ty. To  the  question  that,  since  potassa  acts  in 
tiiis  manner,  why  does  not  a  large  quantity  of 
green  sand  produce  excessive  luxuriance  1  it 
may  be  answered,  that  it  does  where  the  quan- 
tity is  verj'  large,  but  that  its  action  is  modified 
and  extenuated  by  the  difficulty  with  which  the 
marl  is  decomposed,  and  by  the  presence  of 
other  bases  besides  potassa.  When  green  sand 
is  decomposed  by  nature  or  in  the  laboratory, 
a  small  quantity  of  silica  is  taken  up,  and  even 
this  substance,  by  forming  a  salt  with  crenic 
acid,  may  assist  in  increasing  fertility,  as  i'  is 
an  essential  constituent  of  plants. 

"There  are  two  points  touching  the  theory 
f.f  the  operation  of  green  sand,  which  remain 
to  be  noticed,  the  first  of  which  is,  that  when 
its  decomposition  has  commenced,  it  advances 
in  an  increasing  ratio ;  and  the  second,  that 
the  constituents  of  green  sand  in  their  nascent 
state,  that  is,  at  the  moment  of  their  disengage- 
raent  from  the  '•onipound,  act  with  much 
602 


greater  energy.  Thus  it  would  appear,  then, 
that  all  the  constituents  of  the  marl  exercise 
an  influence  in  promoting  vegetation;  and  this 
action  must  take  place  in  proportion  to  their 
respective  affinities,  potassa  being  the  most 
powerful,  followed  by  lime,  magnesia,  protox- 
ide of  iron,  alumina,  and  silica;  that  the  first 
four  assist  in  the  generation  of  organic  acids, 
with  which  they  and  a  small  portion  of  alumina 
and  silica  combine  to  form  salts  of  different 
degrees,  but  generally  of  difficult  solubility, 
which  nourish  and  invigorate  nascent  vegeta- 
tion ;  that  by  the  presence  of  a  large  portion 
of  bases  which  will  form  salts  of  difficult  solu- 
bility, a  more  prolonged  and  healthy  action  is 
insured. 

"  The  above  remarks  relative  to  the  mode 
of  operation  of  marl,  apply  equally  to  the  seve- 
ral varieties,  as  far  as  relates  to  the  content  of 
green  grains,  but  the  calcareous  species  owe 
their  action  partly  to  lime,  in  proportion  as  its 
carbonate  exists  in  the  marl.  When  phosphate 
of  iron  occurs  in  quantity,  some  notice  must 
be  taken  of  its  probable  influence,  for  in  regard 
to  it,  we  can  only  reason  from  theory,  since  it 
has  never  been  applied  directly  to  land,  with 
the  view  of  ascertaining  its  effects  on  vegeta- 
tion. It  appears  from  the  analyses  of  Berthier, 
that  both  phosphate  of  lime  and  of  iron  exist 
in  appreciable  quantity  in  the  ashes  of  plants; 
for,  in  the  composition  of  oak  ashes,  he  divides 
the  7  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid  between 
lime  and  iron  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form 
nearly  14  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime,  and 
\  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  iron ;  and  in  other 
cases  he  gives  the  amount  of  the  salt  of  iron 
as  high  as  9  per  cent.;  and  we  believe  from 
experience  that  the  utility  of  bone  manure  is 
largely  due  to  its  phosphate  of  lime ;  and  hence 
we  may  infer  that  the  marl  alluded  to  may  be 
serviceable,  or  even  very  valuable,  from  its 
phosphate  of  iron  ;  and  that  if  it  were  mingled 
with  a  little  lime,  where  it  is  wanting  in  the 
marl,  the  atmospheric  and  humic  agents,  if  the 
expression  be  allowed,  will  cause  such  a  trans- 
mutation of  the  constituents  as  to  bring  both 
phosphates  to  exert  their  influence  in  advanc 
ing  the  growth  of  plants.  It  would  appear  un- 
necessary to  add  lime,  when  there  is  already  a 
small  quantity  in  the  marl,  were  it  not  that 
there  is  still  another  substance  mentioned  as 
occurring  chiefly  in  the  marl  of  the  dividing 
ridge  and  deep  cut.  This  substance  is  the 
sulphuret  of  iron,  the  presence  of  which  is 
shown  by  the  large  amount  of  white  efflores- 
cence with  which  it  becomes  coated  after  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  precisely  similar  to  those  pits 
where  it  is  observed  in  pieces  of  considerable 
size.  After  the  marl  has  been  exposed  to  the 
air  for  a  short  time,  a  whitish  efflorescence 
forms  on  its  surface,  which  has  a  strong  styp- 
tic taste,  and  is  the  sulphate  of  iron,  formed 
from  the  sulphuret;  but  the  snow-white  efflo- 
rescence is  chiefly  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster. 
Now,  the  latter  marl  contains  lime,  and  the 
former  does  not;  and  hence  this  operation  of 
nature  in  the  formation  of  plaster  from  sulphu- 
ret of  iron  points  out  to  us  the  manner  of  at- 
taining the  same  result,  viz.,  by  mixing  with 
marl  which  exhibits  an  efflorescence  after  ex- 
posure to  the  air,  a  quantity  of  lime  sufficient 


GREEN  SAND. 


»r  convert  all  the  sulphuret  of  iron  into  sul- ' 
pnale  of  lime ;  for  if  this  be  not  done,  the  sul- 
pnate  of  ironj  or  copperas,  will  be  formed, 
wnich  is  known  to  be  prejudicial  to  vegetation. 
Tne  quantity  required  for  this  purpose  will 
vary  with  the  amount  of  sulphuret  of  iron: 
wnere  the  efflorescence  is  light,  one  bushel  of 
hme  to  100  of  marl  will  be  amply  sufficient; 
and  where  it  is  abundant,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  use  two,  three,  or  four  to  the  100  of  marl. 
If  the  green  sand  contain  already  a  portion  of 
lime,  a  smaller  quantity  will  be  required.  The 
best  method  of  applying  it  will  be  to  remove 
the  marl  from  the  pit  to  any  convenient  adjoin- 
ing spot,  to  form  a  stratum  not  more  than  two 
feet  thick,  and,  after  it  has  been  exposed  to  the 
air  for  two  weeks  or  a  month,  to  cover  it  over 
with  slaked  lime.  After  exposure  to  one  or 
two  rains,  it  may  then  be  most  thoroughly  mixed 
by  passing  a  plough  through  it,  or  digging  it 
down  with  the  spade. 

"In  what  manner  and  in  what  quantity 
should  the  green  sand  be  applied  1  All  varie- 
ties of  the  marl  are  more  or  less  compact,  when 
freshly  extracted  from  the  pit,  and  if  applied 
in  such  a  state,  would  be  unequally  distributed 
over  the  soil ;  and  hence  the  first  precaution  is 
to  suffer  it  to  be  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  few 
days,  according  to  its  compactness  or  tenacity, 
in  order  that  it  may  crumble  to  powder,  if  pos- 
sible: for  the  finer  the  pulverization,  as  shown 
of  lime,  the  greater  will  be  the  immediate  be- 
nefit. There  is  another  advantage  attending 
this  delay,  that  we  may  then  observe  the  efflo- 
rescence, and  obviate  its  ill  effects  by  lime. 
Indeed,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  the  addition  of 
lime  in  small  quantity  will  prove  serviceable, 
since  it  is  generally  wanting  in  the  pure  green 
varieties,  and  yet  it  is  au  important  requisite 
in  the  fixed  constituents  of  vegetables.  The 
most  economical  method  of  applying  the  marl 
as  above  proposed,  will  be  to  cart  it  from  the 
pits  immediately  into  the  fields  to  which  it  is 
to  be  applied,  to  throw  it  into  heaps  at  conve- 
nient distances  for  spreading,  and  then  to  put 
a  small  quantity  of  lime  on  each  heap,  which 
should  remain  exposed  to  the  air  for  a  longer 
time.  In  regard  to  the  quantity  to  be  applied, 
a  variety  of  opinions  exist ;  and  hence  from 
50  to  1000  bushels  per  acre  have  been  tried, 
with  and  without  success.  A  little  attention 
to  the  theory  of  its  operation  will  enable  us  to 
i  >proximat«  to  the  true  proportion.  Its  strong 
:ses  appear  to  act  on  the  organic  matter  in 
liie  soil,  and  to  combine  with  it;  hence  it  would 
DC  useless  to  apply  a  large  quantity  to  a  poor 
and  light  soil,  for  which  60  to  100  bushels 
would  suffice;  but  a  clayey  soil  would  be  ren- 
dered looser  by  it;  and  as  there  is  usually 
more  organic  matter  present  in  such  a  case, 
from  100  to  200  may  be  employed  with  advan- 
tage. Where  the  land  is  already  of  good  qua- 
lity, from  200  to  500  may  be  used,  according 
*o  its  richness  and  tenacity.  Many  persons 
-  .atve  that  because  one  kind  of  marl  is  infe- 
.  .o  another,  a  much  larger  quantity  will  be 
rquired  ;  but  the  truth  is,  that  the  differences, 
although  important,  are  less  so  than  is  gene- 
rally believed,  and  should  not  lead  to  the  em- 
ployment of  quantities  greater  than  have  just 
been  enumerated.  Notwithstanding  the  effects 
75 


GREYHOUND. 

of  marl  will  be  shown  to  be  striking  on  ordina- 
ry, and  even  on  very  poor  land,  yet  it  is  essen- 
tial that  the  soil  should  contain  a  fair  propor- 
tion of  organic  matter,  in  order  to  reap  the 
highest  benefit  from  it.  Hence  the  failure  of 
some  experiments  made  with  the  green  sand; 
for.  although  it  stands  superior  to  lime  in  re- 
quiring the  presence  or  addition  of  less  organic 
manure,  still  the  views  offered  to  explain  its 
mode  of  action  show  the  necessity  of  some  or- 
ganic materials  on  which  to  operate,  and  this 
conclusion  is  strengthened  by  experience. 

"The  difficulty  of  overcoming  prejudice  is 
clearly  exemplified  in  the  progressive  employ- 
ment of  green  sand  in  Delaware.  One  of  the 
first  experiments  made  with  it  in  St.  George's 
hundred  may  probably  be  dated  as  far  back  as 
the  year  1826,  when  a  small  quantity  was 
drawn  out  from  the  site  of  the  canal.  One 
spot  of  ground  where  this  was  applied  was 
observed  in  1837  on  the  farm  of  James  Wilson, 
eleven  years  after  its  application;  and  although 
that  soil  had  received  no  other  assistance,  a 
luxuriant  growth  of  corn  clearly  pointed  out 
the  limit  to  which  it  had  been  spread." 

The  cost  of  the  green  sand  marl  at  the  pits, 
where  these  beds  lie  near  the  surface,  is  com- 
paratively trifling,  so  that  it  can  be  raised  and 
hauled  to  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two  for 
three  cents  per  bushel,  and  yield  a  small  pro- 
fit. Its  weight  is  very  great,  owing  principally 
to  the  large  proportion  of  iron  contained.  Re- 
ference to  its  specific  gravity  (2-63 — 2*70),  as 
determined  by  Professor  Rogers,  shows  it  to  be 
nearly  three  times  heavier  than  the  same  bulk 
of  a  measure  of  water,  a  bushel  weighing  from 
110  to  120  lbs.  This,  of  course,  causes  its 
transportation  to  be  expensive,  except  where 
facilities  for  water  carriage  are  at  hand.  For 
fields  worn  out  by  long  culture,  the  green 
sand  is  generally  found  of  immediate  and  per- 
manent advantage.  Under  such  circumstances 
every  successive  crop  having  removed  from 
the  soil  a  portion  of  the  potash  which  existed 
in  abundance  in  the  first  years  of  its  culture,  the 
absence  of  this  essential  agent  of  fertility  has 
been  supplied  by  the  green  sand.  Where  ashes 
have  been  formerly  applied  freely,  it  is  need- 
less to  expect  much  apparent  benefit,  and  the 
same  may  be  said  where  the  soil  is  already 
duly  supplied  with  potash  from  the  decompo- 
sition of  feldspar,  or  mica,  all  of  which  contain 
proportions  of  potash  which  they  contribute  to 
the  soil.  Hence  the  source  of  frequent  failures 
in  deriving  advantage  from  the  application,  of 
green  sand. 

GREYHOUND.  This  is  one  of  the  principa. 
coursing  agents,  being  a  dog  remarkable  for 
his  swiftness,  strength,  and  sagacity,  in  pursu- 
ing game. 

There  are  several  varieties,  such  as  the  Ita- 
lian, the  Oriental,  and  the  Highland  greyhound  i 
the  last  of  which  is  now  become  exceedingly 
scarce.  A  good  greyhound  ought  to  have  a  '^ 
long  and  rather  large  body,  a  neat  pointed 
head,  sparkling  eyes,  a  long  mouth,  with  sharp 
teeth,  small  ears,'formed  of  a  thin  cartilage;  a 
broad  and  strong  chest;  his  fore  legs  straight 
and  short,  his  hind  legs  long  and  limi>er ;  broad 
shoulders,  round  ribs,  muscular  buttocks,  bat 
i  not  fat,  and  a  long  tail,  strong  and  full  of  ci 
3  B  a  593 


GRIP. 


GROUND-NUT. 


news.  (Treatise  on  Greyhounds.)  A.S  it  is  out 
of  our  province,  in  a  work  of  this  nature,  to 
treat  at  large  of  coursing  and  its  agents,  we 
must  refpf  '^e  sportsman  who  wishes  for  de- 
.•■*pf»  'nlonncw.ion  on  the  points  of  a  good  grey- 

»_. ,  ana  .,f.  breeding,  feeding,  &c.,  to  that 
excellent  manual  of  reference  for  all  matters 
relating  to  the  chase,  Blaine's  Encyclopedia  of 
Rvriil  Sports,  a.  very  learned  and  carefully  ar- 
ranged work,  digested  and  compiled  by  a  mas- 
ter hand. 

GRIP.  A  small  gutter,  or  ditch,  cut  across 
a  field,  to  drain  iU  When  cut  for  draining,  it 
is  mostly  called  a  water  or  draining  furrow. 

A  good  method  of  draining  meadow  or  sward- 
land,  by  grips,  is  that  of  cutting  out  the  pieces 
in  a  somewhat  wedge-like  form,  taking  off  the 
bottom  part,  and  then  replacing  them,  by  which 
means,  a  hollow  is  left  below,  for  permitting 
the  water  to  tlow  off. 

Grip  is  also  provincially  used  to  signify  the 
hollow  or  cavity  behind  the  cattle,  in  cow- 
houses or  cattle-sheds,  into  which  the  dung 
and  urine  is  discharged.  These  cavities  should 
always  be  sunk  about  8,  10,  or  12  inches  below 
the  surface  on  which  the  cattle  stand. 

GRIPES,  or  COLIC.  We  have  found  that, 
in  the  absence  of  a  veterinary  surgeon  in  this 
dangerous  complaint,  the  following  is  the  best 
remedy  for  a  horse : — 1^  pint  of  linseed  oil, 
1^  ounce  of  laudanum,  given  in  a  little  warm 
gruel.  Some  persons  assist  the  operation  of 
the  above  with  a  glyster  composed  of  ^  lb. 
of  epsom  salts,  ^  lb.  of  treacle,  dissolved  in 
three  quarts  of  warm  water.  See  Cattlk,  and 
Shrkp,  Diseases  of. 

GRIT.  Hard  sandstone,  employed  for  mill- 
stones and  grindstones,  pavement,  &c. 

GRITS.     See  Groats. 

GROATS.  In  agriculture,  are  the  small 
grains  formed  from  oats  after  having  the  husks 
or  shells  taken  off  the  grain.  When  crushed, 
they  are  called  Embden  groats.  Gruel  made 
from  groats  is  a  mild,  little  nutritive,  easily 
digested  food,  well  adapted  for  cases  of  fever 
and  inflammation.  An  ounce  of  groats  should 
make  a  quart  of  gruel ;  the  mixture  should  be 
constantly  stirred  during  the  boiling ;  and  when 
eold,  the  clear  liquor  poured  off  from  the  sedi- 
ment. Sugar  or  lemon  juice  may  be  added 
if  circumstances  admit  of  such  additions. 

GROMWELL;  GRAY  MILLET  (Lithosper- 
mum,  from  lithos  a  stone,  and  sperma  a  seed. 
The  little  nuts  or  seeds  being  extremely  hard, 
and  havinsT  a  surface  as  smooth  as  a  polished 
pebble).  Of  this  herbaceous  perennial  plant 
there  are  four  indigenous  species  in  England. 

1.  The  common  gromwell  (L.  officinale),  gro- 
mill,  gray-mill,  or  gray  millet,  for  it  has  various 
.ocal  names,  which  grows  in  dry,  gravelly,  or 
chalky  soils,  and  frequently  amongst  rubbish 
and  ruins,  blowing  pale  buff  flowers,  in  May 
and  June.  The  root  is  tapering,  strong,  and 
whitish.  The  whole  herb  rough  with  minute, 
close,  callous  bristles.  The  stem  is  annual, 
nearly  two  feet  high,  branched  and  leafy.  The 
.eaves  are  sessile,  alternate,grayish- green, ovate 
or  lanceolate  The  seeds  are  gray,  with  a  kind 
of  porcflain  j'olish,  and  a  stony  hardness ; 
▼hence  they  K.ive  been  falsely  reported  to  con- 
laiF  calcareous  earths,  effervescing  with  acids. 
594 


These  seeds  afford  excellent  flour,  which  might 
in  times  of  scarcity  be  converted  into  bread. 

2.  Corn  gromwell.     See  Bastard  Alkanet. 

3.  Creeping  or  purple  gromwell  (L.  purpura 
ceeruleum).  A  rare  plant,  found  occasionally 
in  thickets  on  a  chalky  soil. 

4.  Sea  gromwell  {L.  maritimum),  growing  in 
many  parts  of  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  the 
north  of  England  on  the  sea-shore  among  sand 
or  loose  stones.  The  whole  herb  is  remarkable 
for  its  beautiful  glaucous  hue.  {Eng.  Flor. 
vol.  i.  p.  254.) 

The  field  lithospermum,  or  stoneweed,  a  worth 
less  plant,  is  the  only  species  described  by  Dr 
Darlington,  as  found  in  Pennsylvania.  There 
are  five  or  six  additional  species  in  the  United 
States.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

GROOM  (Flem.  grom,  a  boy).  A  name  now 
usually  applied  to  servants  who  are  employed 
about  horses.  The  chief  requisites  in  a  groom 
are,  a  mild  disposition,  and  a  fondness  for  the 
animals  of  which  he  has  the  care.  Great  atten- 
tion is  also  necessary  to  the  feeding,  dressing, 
littering,  and  keeping  horses  clean.  These 
different  operations  should  be  daily  executed 
with  regularity  and  exactness.  The  stable,  as 
well  as  the  various  articles  that  belong  to  it, 
should  also  always  be  kept  clean  and  in  per- 
fect order. 

GROUND  CHERRY  (Physealis  viscosa), 
clammy  viscosa.  The  specific  name  of  this 
American  plant  is  derived  from  the  Greek  word 
Physa,  a  bladder  or  bag,  in  allusion  to  its  in- 
flated calyx,  or  seed-pod.  It  is  found  in  fields, 
fence-rows,  &c.,  where,  in  the  Middle  States,  it 
flowers  in  July.  The  root  is  annual,  the  stem 
growing  12  to  18  inches  high,  with  spreading 
branches.  Leaves  2  to  4  inches  long,  and  2  to  3 
inches  wide,  roundish  ovate  or  obtuse.  Flower 
greenish-yellow,  with  purplish-brown  spots  at 
the  base.  The  berry  succeeding  the  flower  is 
roundish,  viscid,  enclosed  in  the  inflated  calyx, 
and  of  a  greenish-yellow  colour,  and  when  fully 
mature,  orange.  The  flower  stems  are  very 
hairy.  The  ripeberriesof  one  of  the  more  hairy 
varieties  of  the  ground  cherry  (P.Pennsylvanica), 
are  orange-coloured,  more  succulent  than  some 
others,  and  rather  palatable.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

GROUND  IVY.    See  Alehoof. 

GROUND-NUT  (Apios  tuberosa.  From  apio» 
a  pear,  in  allusion  to  its  pear-shaped  tubers) 
sometimes  called  wild  bean.  An  American 
plant,  growing  in  the  Middle  States,  having 
a  perennial  root,  producing  oval  tubers  half 
an  inch  or  more  in  diameter  at  the  base  of 
the  stem.  The  stem  is  from  4  to  8  feet 
long,  slender,  striate,  slightly  hairy,  sparingly 
branched,  and  climbing.  The  flower  blooms 
in  August,  is  of  a  dingy  purple  with  tinges  of 
green,  rather  handsome  and  pleasantly  fra- 
grant. The  tubers  on  the  roots  are  esculent 
and  nutricious,  and  the  plant  has  been  con- 
sidered an  object  worthy  of  culture.  It  is  the 
only  species  of  the  genus.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

Another  plant  producing  a  ground  nut  is  the 
Arachis  hypogcea.  This  is  an  annual  plant,  with 
long,  trailing  stalks.  A  native  of  Mexico,  but 
now  cultivated  in  the  West  Indies  for  its  nuts, 
which  are  oblong,  and  grow  beneath  the  sur- 
face. These  are  used  by  the  negroes  as  food. 
But  in  France  they  are  now  cultivated  for  the 


GROUNDSEL. 


abundance  of  the  oil  they  produce.  This  is 
said  to  be  equally  as  valuable,  for  the  table  and 
other  purposes,  as  the  oil  of  olives,  and  supe- 
rior to  that  for  burning.  A  bushel  of  the  nuts 
produces  by  cold  expression  a  gallon  of  oil; 
but  more  may  be  produced  by  heat,  but  of  a 
quality  inferior,     (jlm.  Orchardist.) 

GROUNDSEL,  or  RAGWORT  (^Senedo). 
An  extensive  genus  of  plants,  many  of  the 
species  of  which  are  very  ornamental.  Of  this 
genus  Sir  John  Smith  includes  ten  species  as 
indigenous  to  England,  four  only  of  which, 
however,  come  properly  under  the  head  ground- 
sel. The  remainder  are  referred  to  under  the 
name  of  Rao  wort,  by  which  name  they  are 
generally  known. 

Common  groundsel,  or  Simson  (S.  vulgaris), 
grows  almost  everywhere  in  cultivated  or  waste 
grounds,  in  rubbish,  dry  banks,  the  tops  of 
walls,  &c.;  it  flowers  almost  all  the  year.  It 
is  too  well  known  to  need  description.  Cage 
birds  (particularly  goldfinches  and  linnets)  are 
fed  with  the  young  buds,  seeds,  and  leaves, 
which  are  cooling,  and  have  a  saltish  herba- 
ceous flavour.  Cows  do  not  relish  this  plant; 
it  is,  however,  eaten  by  goats  and  swine,  but 
refused  by  horses  and  sheep.  A  weak  infusion 
of  groundsel  is  in  England  a  common  purge; 
a  strong  infusion  or  juice  is  used  as  an  emetic, 
and  sometimes  given  to  horses  to  free  them 
from  bots.    All  the  groundsels  are  annual. 

Fifteen  or  sixteen  species  of  senecio  are 
found  in  the  United  States,  of  which  Dr.  Dar- 
liriu'ton  met  with  four  in  Pennsylvania.  These 
are:— 1.  The  golden;  2.  The  obovate,  which 
iu  New  York  is  called  squaw-weed,  and  de- 
nounced as  poisonous  to  sheep.  3.  Balsamita- 
like,  common  groundsel.  4.  Fireweed,  or  hie- 
racium-leaved.  This  plant  is  remarkable  for 
its  prevalence  in  newly  cleared  grounds,  espe- 
cially around  spots  where  brushwood  has  been 
burned;  whence  it  derives  its  name  of  fire-weed. 
GRUB.  The  common  name  for  worms  or 
maggots,  hatched  from  the  eggs  of  beetles. 
Under  the  name  of  gentles,  grubs  are  a  prin- 
cipal bail  to  the  angler  for  many  kinds  of  fish. 
The  grub  produces  the  beetle,  and  is  by  some 
called  the  rook-worm,  because  rooks  are  par- 
ticularly fond  of  it.  Land  newly  brought  into 
cultivation  is  generally  most  subject  to  the 
grub.  The  best  way  of  destroying  it  is  by 
good  and  frequent  ploughings,  and  the  applica- 
tions of  lime  in  pretty  large  proportions  in  its 
caustic  or  most  active  state,  or  common  salt. 
Irrigation  is  also  very  beneficial,  as  tending  to 
destroy  grubs.     See  Beetles  and  Lvsects. 

GRUBBER,  or  CULTIVATOR.  See  Har- 
row and  Scarifier. 

GUANO.  The  name  of  a  manure  recently 
imported  for  the  first  time  into  England,  which 
has  long  been  extensively  employed  by  the 
cultivators  of  Peru  to  fertilize  their  sterile 
sandy  places — lands,  on  which  occasionally 
there  is  a  total  absence  of  rain  for  many 
months.  This  manure  is  the  excrements  of 
sea-birds,  and,  like  that  produced  by  all  animals 
feeding  on  animal  food,  is  of  a  very  powerful 
iescription.  It  exists,  according  to  M.  Hum- 
boldt, in  the  greatest  abundance  in  some  of  the 
small  rocky  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as 
at  Chinche,  Ilo,  Iza,  and  Arica.    Even  when 


GUANO. 

Humboldt  wrote,  some  20  years  since,  50  ves- 
sels were  annually  loaded  with  the  guano  at 
Chinche  alone,  each  trader  carrying  from  1500 
to  2000  cubic  feet.  The  guano  is  found  on  the 
surface  of  these  islands,  in  strata  of  several 
feet  in  thickness,  and  is,  in  fact,  the  putrefying 
excrements  of  innumerable  sea-fowl  that  re- 
main oji  them  during  the  breeding  season.  It 
is  used  by  the  farmers  of  Peru  chiefly  as  a 
manure  for  the  maize  or  Indian  com,  and  it  is 
said  sometimes  in  the  small  proportion  of 
about  1  cwt.  per  acre.  "  The  date  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  guano  and  of  its  introduction 
as  a  manure,"  says  Mr.  Winterfeldt,  "is  un- 
known, although  no  doubt  exists  of  its  great 
antiquity.  In  many  parts  of  America,  where 
the  soil  is  volcanic  or  sandy,  no  produce  would 
be  obtained  without  the  guano.  It  has  been 
calculated  that  from  12,000  to  14,000  cwts.  are 
annually  sold  in  the  port  of  Mollendo  for  the 
use  of  the  country  round  the  city  of  Arequipa. 
In  the  province  of  Taracapa  and  in  the  valleys 
of  Tambo  and  Victor  the  consumption  should 
be  something  more,  as  wheat,  all  kinds  of  fruit, 
trees  and  plapts,  with  the  single  exception  of 
the  sugarcane,  are  manured  with  the  guano; 
which  is  not  the  case  with  the  district  of  Are- 
quipa, where  maize  and  the  potato  alone  re- 
quire it.  In  the  district  of  Arequipa  3  cwts. 
of  guano  is  spread  over  an  extent  of  5000 
square  yards  (about  an  English  acre)  ;  but  in 
Taracapa  and  the  valleys  of  Tambo  and  Victor, 
5  cwts.  are  required.  The  land  thus  manured 
in  Arequipa  produces  45  for  1  of  potatoes,  and 
35  for  1  of  maize,  where  wheat  manured  with 
horse  dung  produces  only  18." 

There  are,  it  seems,  three  varieties  of  guano, 
which  bear  on  the  coast  of  Peru  different 
prices.  "The  white  guano  is  considered  the 
most  valuable,  as  being  fresher  and  purer.  It 
is  found  on  nearly  all  the  islands  along  the 
coast.  The  red  and  dark  gray  are  worth  2s.  3d. 
the  cwt. ;  a  higher  price  is  given  for  the  white 
on  account  of  its  greater  scarcity ;  it  is  sold  at 
the  port  of  Mollendo  at  3s.  6rf.  per  cwt.,  and  at 
times,  as  during  the  war,  it  has  obtained  as 
high  a  price  as  12s. 

It  appears,  in  the  state  in  which  it  has  been 
lately  introduced  into  England,  to  be  a  fine 
brown  or  fawn-coloured  powder,  emitting  a 
strong  marine  smell:  it  blackens  when  heated, 
and  gives  off"  strong  ammoniacal  fumes.  When 
nitric  acid  is  mixed  with  it,  uric  or  lithic  acid 
is  produced.  It  has  been  analyzed  by  various 
chemists.  In  1806,  an  analysis  of  a  very  ela- 
borate description  was  published  by  MM.  Four- 
croy  and  Vauquelin  ;  they  found  in  it  a  fourth 
of  its  weight  of  uric  acid,  partly  saturated  with 
ammonia  and  partly  with  potash.  Some  phos- 
phate of  lime  and  ammonia,  and  small  quanti- 
ties of  sulphate  and  muriate  of  potash,  a  little 
fatty  matter,  and  a  portion  of  sand.  It  has  been 
more  recently  analyzed  by  Mr.  Hennell  of  Apo- 
thecaries' Hall,  who  found  in  guano  — 

Parts 
Bone  earth      --------    305 

Sulphates  and  muriates  -----      3 

Uric  or  lithic  acid   -------15 

Carbonate  of  ammonia   ------      3 

Matters  volatile  at  212°,  consisting  chiefly  of  water 

and  carbonate  of  ammonia  .        -        ..        -    19 

Other  organic  matters    -..».-    36*5 

100 


GUANO 

It  has  also  been  analyzed  by  Mr.  Brett  of 
Liverpool,  who  found  in  100  parts — 

Part«. 

Earlhy  insoluble  salts,  chiefly  phosphate  of  lime  292 
Soluble  salts,  fixed  alkaline,  sulphate,  and  mu- 
riate       2-5 

Organic  matter        _---.--  68-3 
The  organic  matter  consists  of— 

Llthicacid 161 

Ammonia         -        -        -        -        -        -        -|-8-7 

Other  organic  matter  and  moiBtare       .       .       -  43'5 

♦68-3 

The  composition  of  guano  varies,  however, 
considerably.  According  to  the  analyses  of  MM. 
Voelckel  and  Klaproth,  the  varieties  which 
they  examined  contained — 

Voelckel.        Klapwth. 
Parts.  Parts. 

Urate  of  ammonia        -        -        -        -      9  16 

0.talate  of  aiiinionia    -        ■        -        -  10*6  00 

Oxalate  of  lime     -        -        ...      7  1275 

Pho<>phate  of  ammonia        _        -        .      6  0  0 

—  ammonia,  and  magnesia       2  6  00 

Sulphate  of  potass        -        -        -        -      55  0  0 

—  soda           _        _        .        _      3-3  00 
Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt)       -      00  0  5 

—  ammonia   -        -        -        -      42  00 
Phosphate  of  lime        -        .        -        .  143  10 
Clay  and  sand       -        -        -        _        -      4*7  32 
Undetfrmiiied   orpanic  substances,  of 

which  about  12  per  cent,  is  soluble 
in  water,  a  small  quantity  of  soluble 
aaliof  iron,  water     -        -        -        -    3253  2875 

In  a  few  words,  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  com- 
pound of  urate  of  ammonia  and  other  salts. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  that  it  is  a  very  power- 
ful manure;  the  very  composition  of  its  salts 
would  indicate  this  fact.  Thus,  uric  or  lithic 
acid,  which  is  a  fine  white  powder,  nearly  in- 
soluble in  water  (1720  parts  of  water  only  dis- 
solving 1  part  of  uric  acid),  is  composed,  ac- 
cording to  Dr.  Prout  (Thomson's  Chem.  vol.  ii.p. 
187),  of— 

Partj. 

Hydrogen    -        -       -        -        -  0125 

Carbon         .        .        -        -        .  2  250 

Nitrogen  or  azote        .       -        -  1750 

Oxygen        -----  1-500 

5625 

Urate  of  ammonia  and  urate  of  potash  are 
fine  white  powders,  also  very  insoluble  in 
water:  of  the  phosphate  of  lime,  of  the  guano, 
the  earlhy  salt,  and  most  valuable  portions  of 
bones,  it  is  unnecessary  to  comment;  I  have, 
in  my  work  "  On  the  Fertilizers,  p.  136,"  en- 
den^oured  to  show  how  essentially  valuable 
thii^alt  is  to  all  the  farmer's  commonly  culti- 
vated cn^ps.  The  use  of  the  dung  of  birds  is 
not  a  modern  improvement,  for  that  of  poultry 
has  been  adopted  as  a  manure  from  a  very 
eany  period.  M.  P.  Cato,  the  eariiest  of  the 
agricultural  writers,  in  his  work,  (lib.  Ixxxvi.) 
commends  the  use  of  pigeons'  dung  for  mea- 
dows, corn-lands,  or  gardens.  And  John  Wor- 
idge,  in  1669,  was  warm  in  the  praise  of  the 
dung  of  fowls.  "Pigeons'  or  hens'  dung,"  he 
says  (Myst.  of  ^gr.  71),  "  is  incomparable  :  one 
"'oad  is  worth  ten  loads  of  other  dung,  and  is 
-heref^re  usually  sown  on  wheat  or  barley  that 
.ieth  far  off  and  is  not  easy  to  be  helped."  And 
he  says,  in  another  place,  "A  flock  of  wild 
geese  had  pitched  upon  a  parcel  of  green 
wheat,  and  had  eaten  it  up  clean,  and  sat  there- 

♦  Fo'  these  1  am  Indebted  to  Mr.  M'DonnId,  of  St.  Mil- 
dred e  Court,  Lrndon,  a  considerable  importer  of  the 
fnno 

596 


GUANO. 

■  on,  and  dunged  it  several  nights;  that  the  owner 

I  despaired  of  having  any  crop  that  year;  but  the 
contrary  happened,  for  he   had  a  far  richer 

j  stock  of  wheat  there  than  any  of  his  neighbours 

I  had." 

j  In  some  experiments  made  by  Mr.  Skirving 
of  Walton,  near  Liverpool,  in  1841,  the  guano 
was  tried  at  the  rate  of  two  or  three  cwts.  per 
acre,  as  a  manure  for  Swedish  turnips  and 
Italian  rye-grass,  with  very  considerable  suc- 
cess; it  appeared  to  be  equally,  or  rather  more, 
efficacious  than  20  cubic  yards  per  acre  of 
farm-yard  manure. 

The  most  elaborate  set  of  experiments  upon 
the  guano  with  which  I  am  acquainted  were 
made,  in  1810,  for  potatoes  and  mangel-wurzel, 
at  the  island  of  St.  Helena,  by  the  late  General 
Beatson ;  and  they  are  the  more  valuable  from 
being  comparative.  The  soil  on  which  these 
experiments  were  made  was  rather  stiff,  being 
composed  of  blackish  mould,  intermixed  with 
friable  fat  clay.  The  following  table  gives  the 
results  of  every  experiment:  35  loads  of  horse- 
dung  litter  per  acre  were  used,  35  of  hogs' 
dung  litter,  and  35  bushels  per  acre  of  the 
guano. 

1.  With  potato  seed  the  size  of  walnuts, 
planted  whole — 

Six  inches  deep. 

Busheb. 
Guano  --.-..  554 
Horse  dung    -----    583 

Pigs'  dung 447 

Soil  simple     -----    395 

Three  inches  deep. 

Guano    ------  531 

Horse  dung    -----  479 

Pigs'  dung 414 

Soil  simple    -----  311 

2.  Large  potatoes  cut  in  pieces. 

Six  inches  deep. 

Guano    ------  589 

Horse  dung    -        -.       -        -        -  531 

Pigs'  dung      -----  466 

Soil  simple     -  .        -        .  408 

Three  inches  de^. 

Guano    ------  557 

Horse  dung    -        -        -        -        -  511 

Pigs'  dung      -----  375 

Soil  simple     -        -        .        -        .  414 

3.  From  middle  eye  of  potato  seed  scooped 
out. 

Six  inches  deep. 

Busbelt. 

Guano    ------  576 

Horse  dung    -        -        -       -        -  563 

Pigs'  dung      -----  485 

Soil  simple     -----  337 

Three  inches  deep. 

Guano    ---...  453 

Horse  dung    -----  383 

Pigs'  dung      -----  485 

Soil  simple     -        .        .       -       .  343 

4.  With  small  potatoes  planted  whole. 

Six  inches  deep. 

Bushela. 

Guano    ------  628 

Horse  dung    .        -       .       -        -  583 

Pigs'  dung      -----  544 

Soil  simple     -----  570 

Three  inches  deep. 

Guano    ------  557 

Horse  dung    -----  414 

Pigs'  dung      -----  440 

Soil  simple     -        -        -        _       -  440 


GUANQ. 

The  total  comparative  produce  in  lbs.  of 
potatoes  from  these  manures  was  therefore — 

Guano,  or  sea-fowl  dung,  at  35  bushels  per  acre     -  639 

Horse  dun^,  35  cart  loads  ppr  acre  .        .        -  626 

IIo^s'  dtiMK,  35  cart  loads  per  acre  -        -        -  534 

Soil  simple       --------  446 

With  mangel-wurzel  the  produce  per  acre 
on  a  similar  soil  was  as  follows : — 

Leaves.      Roots, 
loot.         tons. 

Soil  simple 38  19* 

Kogs's  dung  and  ashes,  360  bushels  per 

acre 131  66* 

Guano,  35  bushels  per  acre     -       -       -  153|  77| 

The  guano,  or  sea-fowl  dung,  adds  General 
Beatson,  which  is  found  in  considerable  quan- 
tities upon  Egg  Island,  was  first  recommended 
to  my  notice  by  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  President 
of  the  Royal  Society.  "It  furnishes,"  says  he, 
"the  loading  of  an  immense  number  of  ves- 
sels that  are  constantly  employed  in  bringing 
it  from  small  islands  to  the  main  land  on  the 
western  coast  of  South  America,  where  it  is 
sold  and  distributed  for  the  purpose  of  ma- 
nure, fur  which  it  answers  in  a  degree  infi- 
nitely superior  to  any  other  article  we  have 
tht  knowledge  of.  A  handful  is  considered  as 
sufficient  for  several  square  yards  of  land,  the 
produce  of  which  is  exuberant  in  consequence 
of  the  force  of  this  application." 

The  accuracy  of  this  valuable  communica- 
tion has  been  most  amply  confirmed  by  my 
experiments  in  the  culture  of  potatoes,  as  well 
as  upon  grass  lands.  Thirty-five  bushels  of 
the  guano,  or  3  cart-loads  per  acre  appear  to 
me  equivalent  in  effect  to  70  loads  of  good  rot- 
ten dung.  I  should  imagine  that  abundance 
of  this  most  valuable  manure  might  be  had 
from  many  of  the  rocks  and  islands  on  the 
coast  of  Scotland.  The  effect  of  the  guano 
upon  grass  lands  is  comparatively  greater  than 
in  the  potato  experiment.  From  what  cause 
this  proceeds  it  may  be  difficult  to  explain ; 
but  as  Dr.  Priestley  found,  by  experiment,  that 
vegetables  throve  best  when  they  were  made 
to  grow  in  air  made  putrid  by  the  decomposi- 
tion of  animal  and  vegetable  substances,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  the  very  strong  effluvia 
which  issue  from  the  sea-fowl  dung  or  guano, 
together  with  its  being  readily  washed  among 
the  roots  of  vegetables  by  the  first  falls  of  rain, 
are  circumstances  that  may  possibly  render  its 
effects  as  a  top-dressing  greatly  superior  to 
those  it  produces  when  it  is  mixed  with  the 
soil.  On  the  29th  of  July,  1808,  I  marked  out 
a  space  un  the  lawn  in  front  of  Plantation 
House,  which  measured  1  rod  in  brea-^lth  and 
12  rods  in  length;  this  was  divided  into  12 
equal  parts,  or  square  rods,  and  numbered 
progressively  from  1  to  12.  The  guano  was 
reduced  to  a  powder  and  sifted,  and  upon  No. 
I  a  quart  of  this  powder  was  evenly  strewed 
t/  the  hand;  this  is  at  the  rate  of  5  Winches- 
ter bushels  per  acre,  because  160  square  A)ds, 
or  an  acre,  would  have  required  that  number 
of  quarts,  or  exactly  5  bushels.  In  the  same 
manner  No.  2  had  2  quarts.  No.  3,  3  quarts, 
and  so  on  to  No.  12,  which  had  12  quarts,  or 
at  the  rate  of  60  bushels  per  acre.  From  the 
29th  of  July  there  were  daily  drizzling  rains 
until  the  5th  of  August,  when  the  effect  of  this 
invaluable  manure  began  to  appear.    On  the 


GUANO. 

following  day  the  whole  extent  of  the  12  rods 
became  highly  verdant,  and  exhibited  such  a 
contrast  to  the  unmanured  paiVof  the  lawn, 
that  it  had  the  appearance  of  having  been 
newly  turfed  with  a  finer  kind  of  sod.  The 
effect  gradually  increased,  and  in  the  first 
week  of  October,  that  is,  in  a  little  more  than 
two  months,  the  higher  numbers,  from  6  to  12, 
having  from  30  to  60  bushels  per  acre,  excited 
the  surprise  of  every  person  who  saw  them, 
being  covered  with  the  most  exuberant  grass 
that  can  be  imagined,  and  having  more  the  re- 
semblance of  a  crop  of  young  wheat  very 
thickly  sown,  than  of  any  grass  I  ever  beheld. 
This  is  more  remarkable,  as  at  that  time  the  co- 
pious rains  which  fell  in  August  and  the  spring 
season  had  made  no  visible  effect  on  the  adjoin- 
ing part  of  the  lawn.  It  was  from  a  frequent 
and  careful  inspection  of  the  above  experi- 
ments that  I  have  estimated  35  bushels  of  gu- 
ano per  acre  to  be  equivalent  in  effect  upon 
grass  lands  to  seventy  loads  of  well-rotted 
dung.  I  have  been  informed  that  guano  is 
sold  at  Lima,  and  at  other  towns  on  the  coast 
of  Peru,  for  a  dollar  a  bag  of  50  pounds  weight, 
and  that  it  is  much  in  use  there  for  manuring 
fruit  trees  and  gardens.  It  is  certainly  one  of 
the  most  powerful  of  manures,  and  therefore  it 
is  necessary  to  be  cautious  in  using  it.  I  have 
observed,  when  too  much  is  laid  on  grass, 
that  it  burns  and  destroys  it.  I  would,  there- 
fore, recommend  to  those  who  may  try  it  on 
fruit  trees,  to  begin  with  not  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  pint  to  each  tree,  and  to  trench  it 
about  a  foot  deep  all  round  the  roots.  If  the 
first  application  be  found  insufficient,  a  second 
or  third  may  be  given  at  intervals  of  two  or 
three  months;  or  a  better  mode,  perhaps,  of 
determining  the  quantity  of  guano  proper  for 
each  fruit  tree,  would  be  to  select  about  a 
dozen  trees  of  the  same  kind  and  size,  and  to 
vary  the  quantities  by  an  easy  progression, 
from  three-quarters  of  a  pint  to  one  or  two 
quarts,  or  more,  to  each  tree.  (^Com.  Board  of 
Jgr.,  vol.  vii.  p.  225—240. 

The  price  at  present  of  guano  in  England 
is  about  $45  to  $.50  per  ton.  When  Peruvian 
guano  brings  $47  per  ton  in  England  or  the 
United  States,  the  Peruvian  government  receives 
about  $12  export  duty,  and  the  remaining  $35 
goes  to  pay  for  freight,  commissions,  &c. 

The  importation  of  guano  into  England  was 
commenced  by  Mr.  Myers  of  Liverpool,  who, 
in  1840,  received  20  casks  from  Peru.  In  the 
year  1849,  about  150,000  tons  arrived  in  the 
different  ports,  more  than  one-half  of  which  was 
Peruvian.  Estimated  at  an  average  price  of 
about  $40  per  ton,  this  would  make  the  value 
of  all  kinds  of  guano  imported  into  England  in 
1&19,  about  $6,000,000. 

It  is  a  matter  worthy  the  attention  of  che- 
mists to  consider  whether  a  mixture  similar 
to  the  guano,  and  of  equal  efficacy,  cannot 
be  formed  by  art — not  only  at  a  cost  so  reason- 
able as  at  once  to  make  the  farmer  independent 
of  the  importer,  but  also  in  such  ati.naance  as 
at  the  same  time  to  place  a  highly  valuable 
concentrated  manure  within  the  reach  of  all. 

From  the  many  mixtures  proposed  as  substi- 
tutes for  guano,  some  of  which  have  proved  highly 
successful,  we  extract  the  following,  furnished  by 
Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston,  containing  the  various  in- 

597 


.  0  18 

-  0     1 

-  0    2 

-  0   i 


GUAJ'O. 

gredients  found  in  guano  in  nearly  the  average 
proportions;   and   Mr.  Joinston    believes   it  is 
likely  to  be  at  least  as  etfi«  acious  as  the  natural 
guano,  lor  all  the  crops  to  which  the  latter  has  ; 
hitherto  been  applied. 

£  a. 
315  lbs.  (7  bushels)  of  I>one  dust,  at  2*.  M.  per 

bushel :    „:  ^  ^^ 

100  lbs.  of  Bulplinte  of  ammonia-,  oontaimng  35 

lbs.  of  ammonia,  ut  aUa.  u  cwt. 

5  lbs.  pe.irl  ash  .  .  -  - 
100  lbs.  of  common  salt  .  -  - 
11  lbs.  of  dry  sulphate  of  soda         -  

firtl  lbs.  of  artificial  guano  cost         -        -        -  2    1    0 

The  quantity  here  indicated  may  be  inti- 
mately mixed  with  100  lbs.  of  chalk,  or  dead- 
lime,  and  will  be  fully  equat  in  efficacy,  1  be- 
lieve, to  4  cwt.  of  guano,  now  selling  at  £5. 

In  the  preceding  observations  and  experi- 
mental trials,  Peruvian  guano  is  alone  referred 
to.  This  is  unquestionably  much  the  best  guano 
known,  but  its  high  price,  and  the  monopoly  of 
its  trade,  by  a  company  of  English  merchants 
who  purchased  of  the  Peruvian  government  the 
exclusive  right  of  taking  it  away,  has  induced 
a  search  for  this  fertilizer  in  otter  places,  from 
which  thousands  of  shiploads  are  now  received 
into  England  and  the  United  States.  That  sup- 
plied by  a  small  island  called  Ichaboe,  situated 
on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  though  very  different 
in  appearance  from  Peruvian,  comes  nearest  to 
it  in  its  excellent  qualities.  But  this  is  nearly 
exhausted,  and  the  other  African  guanos,  from 
Saldanha  and  Algoa  Bays,  sold  in  England  from 
$15  to  S20  per  ton,  are  very  inferior,  arul 
chiefly  compelled  of  bard  lumps  difficult  to  ma- 
nage. Large  quantities  of  guano  are  brought 
from  Chili  and  Patagonia;  but  the  deposits 
being  considerably  farther  south  are  subjected 
to  rains,  by  which  some  of  the  most  fertilizing 
constituents  of  the  bird-excrements  are  washed 
away.  The  urate  and  other  soluble  salts  of  am- 
monia are  the  most  important  of  these,  and 
their  retention  in  ihe  Peruvian  guano,  from  its 
never  being  washed  by  rains,  greatly  contri- 
butes to  its  superiority;  cold  water  dissolves 
about  3-5ths  of  this  guano,  which  if  exposed 
to  rains  would  thus  lose  more  than  half  its  best 
ingredients. 

As  guano  is  now  used  to  a  considerable  extent 
in  the  United  States,  and  undoubtedly  destined 
to  become  one  of  very  great  consumption,  it 
is  important  that  some  legal  inspection  should 
be  established  to  protect  the  agricultural  inte- 
rests from  frauds  and  impositions  to  which  they 
must  otherwise  be  exposed,  not  only  from  the 
introduction  of  inferior  kinds  of  guano,  but 
from  adulterations,  imitations,  and  misrepre- 
sentations of  dealers.  Most  of  those  in  the 
English  market  have  been  analyzed  by  Pro- 
fessor J.  F.  W.  Johnston,  who  found  in  these, 
per  cent., 


Kinds. 

Peruvian  . 
Cluliaa 
B>Iivian    . 
Icliaboe 
Saldanha,  light 
»         dark 

Algoa  Bay 

H:.lirax 

Bird's  Island     . 
>»         j» 

<*«taffonian,  light 
"  dark 

598 


Water. 

Ammoniac, 
matter. 

7to   9 

56  to  66 

10      13 

50      56 

6 

65       64 

18      26 

38       44 

<  17       87  > 
>33       44  < 

14       22 

(   '^26 
>33  03 

22-37 

2.?16 

•i4  47 

80-61 

a>49 
1118 

^  19  to  21 1 

40!)9 
20-55 

20       25 

Earthy 
phosphates. 
16  to  23 
22  30 
25  29 
21       29 

43      56 

70-20 
4.3-15 
22-67 
22-43 
5-37 

21  to  32 


GUINEA  GRASS. 

A  few  general  rules  may  be  here  given  for 
the  application  of  guano.  1.  When  used,  as  it 
commonly  is,  in  a  dry  state,  it  should  be  in  fine 
powder,  in  order  to  secure  which,  sifting  must 
be  resorted  to.  2.  When  employed  in  a  liquid 
form,  dissolve  in  the  proportion  of  1  lb.  in  4 
gallons  of  water,  and  sprinkle  from  time  to 
time  by  means  of  a  watering-pot,  over  young 
tobacco  beds,  or  other  plants,  grass  or  grain* 
fields,  sought  to  be  benefited.  3.  For  most 
field  crops  it  is  best  applied  broadcast,  scat- 
tered as  evenly  as  possible,  either  just  before 
the  plough,  or  on  the  rough  ground  before  the 
harrow;  the  great  object  is  to  have  it  speed- 
ily, but  not  too  deeply  covered.  4.  Previous 
to  sowing  it  may  be  useful  to  mix  1  bushel 
of  ground  plaster  of  Paris,  or  the  same  quan- 
tity of  powdered  charcoal,  or  both,  with  100 
lbs.  of  guano.  5.  When  applied  in  the  fall  or 
spring  as  a  top-dressing  to  growing  grain  or 
grass,  it  is  well  to  follow  with  the  harrow  and 
roller.  6.  When  applied  by  the  drill,  or  in  the 
hill  to  corn,  &c.,  it  should  be  previously  well 
mixed  with  5  or  1 0  parts  its  bulk  of  light  vegetable 
mould,  or  soil,  and  then  well  sprinkled.  It  must 
not  come  in  immediate  contact  with  the  seed,  or 
lie  in  a  dense  layer  immediately  beneath  it. 
Half  an  ounce  of  guano  to  the  hill,  supposing  the 
hills  3  by  4  feet  apart,  will  give  150  lbs.  to  the 
acre.  7.  As  a  general  rule,  10  lbs.  of  Peruvian 
guano  is  more  than  equivalent  to  an  ordinary 
load  or  cubic  yard  of  barn-yard  manure,  and  on 
light  land,  300  lbs.  guano  spread  broadcast,  will 
produce  better  crops  than  40  or  50  loads  of  rich 
manure,  and  last  quite  as  long.  It  is  seldom 
if  ever  profitable  to  spread  above  400  lbs.  to 
the  acre.  In  dry  seasons,  the  fullest  eff'ects  of 
guano  ar^  not  to  be  expected,  any  more  than 
from  barn-yard  or  other  manures,  to  which 
the  same  observation  will  apply.  See  Phos- 
phates. 

GUINEA-CORN  {Holcus  sorghum^  Linn.), 
an  exotic  vegetable,  growing  on  the  coast  of 
Africa ;  its  stalks  are  large,  compact,  gene- 
rally attaining  the  height  of  7  or  8  feet,  and 
producing  abundance  of  grain.  It  may  be  ea- 
sily raised  in  sheltered  situations,  especially 
in  exhausted  hot-beds  and  other  loose  soils, 
where  its  seeds  should  be  sown  early  in  the 
spring,  as  the  large  flowery  tops  appear  in  June. 
In  Tuscany,  Syria,  and  Palestine,  the  flour 
made  of  this  grain  is  mixed  with  other  meal, 
and  converted  into  bread ;  which,  however,  is 
generally  brown,  tough,  and  heavy.  Hence 
the  former  is  better  calculated  for  milk  por- 
ridge, that  is  equally  wholesome  and  nutri- 
tive. The  juice  exuding  from  the  stalks  of 
the  Guinea-corn  is  so  agreeably  luscious,  that 
it  affords  excellent  sugar,  by  a  process  simi- 
lar to  that  adopted  with  the  sugar-cane  ;  the 
seeds  furnish  nourishing  food  to  poultry  and 
pigeons,  as  well  as  for  horses  and  hogs.  (Bom. 
Encyc.) 

GUINEA  FOWL.     See  Fowls. 

GUINEA  GRASS.  A  valuable  species  of 
herbage,  thus  denominated,  as  it  was  first  dis- 
covered on  the  coast  of  Guinea,  whence  it  was 
brought  to  Jamaica.  In  point  of  real  utility, 
this  plant  ranks,  in  Jamaica,  next  the  sugar- 
cane; for  the  breeding  farms  throug;hout  the 
island  were  originally  established,  and  are  still 
supported,  chiefly  by  means  of  the  Guinea 
grass,  which  bestows  verdure  and  fertility  on 
lands  that  would  otherwise  not  deserve  to  be 


b 


GUINEA  PIG. 


CuHivatpd.  About  ten  years  since,  it  \v*as  also  ' 
introduced  into  the  East  Indies,  where  it  is  now 
successfully  cultivated,  and  grows  to  the  height 
of  seven  feet:  it  admits  of  being  frequently  cut, 
and  makes  excellent  hay.  Cattle  eat  it,  both  in 
a  fresh  and  dry  state,  with  great  avidity:  hence 
the  culture  of  this  valuable  herbage  has  been 
strongly  recommended  to  the  farmers  of  Corn- 
wall and  Devonshire.  | 
The  following  remarks  on  the  culture  of  this 
grass  are  by  the  late  H.  Lawrence,  of  South 
Carolina. 

"  In  the  last  spring,  I  procured  from  Jamaica 
three  half-pints  of  Guinea-grass  seed,  which  I , 
planted   in  the  drills  of  one-fourth  part  of  an 
acre  of  very  indifferent  land;  the  seed  sprung, 
up  and  soon  covered  the  ground  with  grass  four  ^ 
feet  high  and  upwards.    Being  desirous  of  saving 
as    much   seed   as    possible,  I   cut  one   bundle 
of  grass  for  horses  :  they  ate  it  all  with  great 
avidity.  j 

'•  In  August  I  took  one  of  the  grass  roots  and 
divided  it  into  28  parts,  which  were  immediately  [ 
replanted  :  every  part  took  root,  and  the  whole 
are    now  growing  very  finely  and   seeding.     I  . 
am   of  opinion   this  grass  will  make  the  best  I 
pasture  we  can  wish  for.     From  former  expe- 
rience I  have  reason  to  believe  the  Guinea  grass  ' 
is  pfrt'nnial.     It  is  easily  managed,  requires  but  \ 
one  good  hoeing,  after  which  it  will  take  care  of 
itself. 

**  I  am  informed  a  gentleman  near  Kingston, 
in  Jamaica,  makes  upwards  of  1000/.  sterling 
per  annum  by  Guinea  grass  hay.**     (Domestici 
Eurye'opadiu.) 

GUINEA  FIG  {Covia  eobayn).  This  curious 
litt'e  animal  is  not  a  native  of  Guinea,  but  of 
Brazil,  whence  it  has  been  imported  into  Eu- 
rope. It  is  about  seven  inches  in  length,  and 
its  white  body  is  variegated  with  irregular  black  | 
and  orange-coloured  spots.  In  their  wild  state 
tht'se  animals  multiply  prodigiously,  and  would 
become  innumerable,  if  they  were  capable  of 
sustaining  cold  and  moisture.  The  female 
breeds  at  two  months  old,  and  brings  forth  10, 
.12,  or  14  young  ones,  several  times  in  the 
cour-se  of  the  year,  after  a  gestation  of  three 
weeks.  Guinea  pigs  feed  on  all  kinds  of  herbs, 
but  are  particularly  fond  of  parsley,  as  also  of 
apples  and  other  fruits.  ! 

GULLION.  A  provincial  name  for  gripes 
in  horses.     See  Gripes.  j 

GUM,  BLACK.     See  Black  gum.  I 

GUTTA  PERCH  A.  A  peculiar  gummy  sub- 
stance, consisting  of  the  dried  juice  exuding  from 
tifcs  growing  abundantly  in  Singapore,  Borneo, 
and  other  parts  of  the  East  Indies.  The  remark- 
able properties  of  this  singular  substance  were 
first  made  known  to  us  by  Dr.  Montgomerie,  in 
1815,  since  which  it  has  come  rapidly  into  use 
for  numberless  purposes  in  the  various  mechanic 
arts,  those  especially  in  which  leather,  wood, 
iron,  brass,  and  tin  were  used.  When  immersed 
in  water  heated  to  150  deg.  Fahrenheit  it  be- 
comes plastic,  and  is  capable  of  being  moulded 
to  any  required  form,  which  it  retains  upon 
cooling.  It  is  a  perfect  repellant  of  water, 
acids,  and  fixed  oils,  and  is  therefore  well  adapted 
for  machine  belts  in  damp  localities.  It  is  also 
fonr.d  to  possess,  at  ordinary  temperatures,  a 
P'Tmancnt  elasticity  of  about  5  per  cent.,  and 
does  not  oxidize  like  metals,  or  mould  like 
leather ;  for  water  pipes,  both  for  suction  under 


HACKMATACK. 

great  pressure,  and  for  aqueduct  purposes,  it  it 
found  superior  to  any  other  substance.  It  is 
imporous,  and  conveys  sound  better  than  wood 
or  metal,  hence  it  is  superior  for  speaking  tubes% 
It  is  a  non-conductor  of  electricity,  and  is  useful 
for  insulating  telegraph  wires  under  water  or  the 
ground.  It  never  contracts  or  expands  under  any 
degree  of  cold  or  heat  from  zero  to  100  deg.  Fah., 
and  is  unaffected  by  drypess  or  moisture.  At  220 
deg.  of  Fah.,  it  is  the  most  adhesive  substance 
known,  remains  perfectly  adhesive  at  all  lower 
temperatures,  as  well  as  under  water.  It  resists 
abrasion  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  is  decidedly 
more  durable  than  the  best  of  sole  leather.  It  is  a 
good  absorbent  of  heat  when  exposed  to  its 
direct  rays,  and  a  poor  conductor.  Ice  and 
milk  can,  it  is  said,  be  kept  in  gutta  percha 
vessels  longer  than  in  any  other  substance.  It 
has  great  strength,  and  cannot  be  broken  by  the 
most  violent  blow — is  insoluble  in  alcohol,  ether, 
or  camphene  at  any  ordinary  temperatures ;  but 
is  readily  cut  by  heated  camphene,  or  dissolved 
by  coal  naphtha  and  chloroform,  and  held  in  solu- 
tion at  a  temperature  of  summer  heat.  The 
trees  producing  it  are  the  largest  in  the  Eastern 
forests,  growing  from  60  to  70  feet  high,  and  2 
or  3  feet  in  diameter.  Their  fruit  yields  an  oil 
which  the  natives  use  with  their  food,  but  the 
wood  is  of  little  value. 

GYPSUM.     See  Plaster  of  Paris. 


H. 

HACK,  or  HACKNEY.  In  horsemanship,  a 
general  term  for  a  road  horse,  which  does  not 
always  convey  any  sense  of  inferiority,  or  refer 
to  horses  let  out  for  hire.  It  is,  however,  often 
used  in  that  sense. 

HACKBERRY.  A  species  of  nettle  tree,  a 
native  of  the  United  States,  where  the  banks  of 
the  Delaware,  above  Philadelphia,  may  be  con- 
sidered its  north-eastern  limit.  East  of  the 
mountains  it  is  abundant  only  on  the  Potomac 
and  Susquehanna,  especially  near  Columbia  and 
Harrisburg.  In  the  western  country  it  is  abun- 
dantly multiplied  in  all  the  river  valleys  where 
the  soil  is  fertile.  On  the  Ohio  it  is  called  Hoop- 
ash,  and  in  Kentucky,  Hackberry.  On  rich  soil 
this  tree  grows  straight  and  undivided  to  a  great 
height ;  its  bark  is  grayish,  and  unbroken.  The 
wood  is  weak,  and  subject  to  speedy  decay  when 
exposed  to  the  weather.  Its  elasticity,  however, 
adapts  it  for  making  baskets  and  chair  bottoms. 
It  splits  readily,  and  makes  handsome  fence 
rails. 

The  hackberry  is  certainly  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  trees  of  its  genus,  and  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  for  height  and  for  majesty 
of  form.  In  rich  soils,  the  luxuriance  of  its 
vegetation  is  shown  by  sprouts  6,  8,  and  10 
feet  in  length,  garnished  on  each  side  with  large, 
substantial  leaves.  In  France  it  is  principally 
esteemed  for  the  rapidity  of  its  growth.  {Am, 
Sylva.) 

HACKLE.  A  board  set  with  sharp  iron 
spikes  for  combing  or  pulling  out  hemp  and 
flax.  Also  the  name  of  an  artificial  fly  used  by 
anglers. 

HACKMATACK,  or  American  larch  (ia- 
rix  Americana).  The  European  and  American 
larches,  says  Michaux,  are  more  strictly  confined 
than  any  other  resinous  trees  to  the  northern 

599 


HACKMATACK. 


HAIR. 


Kone  of  the  two  continents,  and  they  are  the  first 
to  disappear  in  approachin^r  a  milder  sky.  The 
American  species  is  most  abundant  in  the 
Stales  of  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Maine ;  but  though  the  soil  is  well  adapted  to 
its  growth  and  the  winter  is  long  and  severe, 
it  does  not  form  the  hundredth  part  of  the  re- 
sinous growth,  which  consists  principally  of 
the  black  spruce,  the  hemlock  spruce,  and  the 
red  cedar.  According  to  my  father's  observa- 
tions in  his  journey  to  Hudson's  Bay,  it  is  only 
beyond  the  St.  Lawrence,  particularly  near 
lake  St.  John  and  the  great  and  the  little  lake 
Mistassin,  that  it  begins  to  abound  and  to  form 
masses  of  woods,  some  of  which  are  several 
miles  in  extent.  I  have  been  informed  that  it 
is  profusely  multiplied  in  Newfoundland,  in 
nearly  the  same  latitude.  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  the  coldest  and  gloomiest  ex- 
posures in  the  mountainous  tracts  of  Virginia, 
are  the  limits  of  its  appearance  towards  the 
south:  but  it  is  rare  in  these  states,  and  in 
Lower  Jersey,  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York,  it 
is  seen  only  in  the  swamps  of  white  cedar, 
with  which  it  is  scantily  mingled.  The  nu- 
merous descendants  of  the  Dutch  in  New 
Jersey  call  it  taviarack. 

I  have  remarked  that  in  the  States  of  Ver- 
mont and  Maine  the  larch  grows  only  in  low 
and  moist  places,  and  never  on  uplands,  as 
about  Hudson's  Bay  and  in  Newfoundland ; 
hence  we  may  conclude  that  the  climate  of  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  United  States  is  loo 
mild  for  its  constitution. 

The  American  larth,  like  that  of  Europe, 
is  a  magnificent  vegetable,  with  a  straight, 
slender  trunk  80  or  100  feet  in  height,  and  2 
or  3  feet  in  diameter.  Its  numerous  branches, 
except  near  the  summit,  are  horizontal  or  de- 
clining. The  bark  is  smooth  and  polished  on 
the  trunk  and  longer  limbs,  and  rugged  on  the 
smaller  branches.  The  leaves  are  flexible, 
shorter  than  those  of  the  European  species, 
and  collected  in  bunches:  they  are  shed  in  the 
fall  and  renewed  in  the  spring.  The  flowers, 
like  those  of  the  pines,  are  separate  upon  the 
same  tree :  the  male  aments,  which  appear 
before  the  leaves,  are  small,  oblong,  and  scaly, 
with  two  yellow  anthers  under  each  scale  ;  the 
female  flowers  are  also  disposed  in  aments, 
and  are  composed  of  floral  leaves  covering 
two  ovaries,  which  in  process  of  time  become 
small  erect  scaly  cones  3  or  4  lines  long.  At 
the  base  of  each  scale  lie  two  minute  winged 
seeds.  On  some  stocks  the  cones  are  violet- 
coloured  in  the  spring  instead  of  green ;  but 
this  is  an  accidental  variation,  for  the  trees  are 
in  no  other  respect  peculiar. 

The  wood  of  the  American  larch  is  superior 
to  any  species  of  pine  or  spruce,  and  unites 
all  the  properties  which  distinguish  the  Eu. 
ropean  species,  being  exc«*edingly  strong  and 
singularly  durablel  In  Canada  it  is  considered 
as  among  the  most  valuable  timber,  and  has 
no  fault  except  its  weight.  In  the  State  of 
Maine  it  is  more  esteemed  than  any  other  re- 
t5inous  wood  for  the  knees  of  vessels,  and  is 
always  used  for  this  purpose  when  proffer 
pieces  can  be  procured.  Turpentine  is  never 
extracted  from  it  in  America,  as  is  done  from 
Uie  native  species  in  Europe. 
600 


The  larch  is  justly  appreciated  in  the  United 
States,  but  it  is  little  employed,  because  it  is 
rare  and  may  be  replaced  by  several  resinous 
trees  which  are  cheaper  and  more  abundant. 

Sir  A.  B.  Lambert,  in  his  splendid  work 
upon  the  pines,  describes  two  species  of  the 
American  larch,  the  first  of  which  is  evidently 
the  tree  we  have  been  considering;  the  second 
he  denominates  Larix  mirrocarpa,  and  charac- 
terizes it  by  smaller  fruit  and  droopingbranches. 
My  father  doubtless  considered  it  as  a  variety, 
and  has  omitted  to  mention  it :  as  I  have 
never  visited  the  northern  parts  of  America,  I 
cannot  decide  the  question. 

The  cones  of  the  European  larch  are  twice 
as  large  as  those  of  the  American  species,  but 
the  two  trees  are  so  analogous  that  a  separate 
description  is  unnecessary,     (jim.  Sylva.) 

HAIR  (Germ,  haare).  The  characteristic 
covering  of  the  mammiferous  class  of  animals. 
It  consists  of  slender,  more  or  less  elongated, 
horny  filaments,  secreted  by  a  matrix,  consist- 
ing of  a  conical  gland  or  bulb,  and  a  capsule, 
which  is  situated  in  the  meshwork  of  the  corium 
or  true  skin.  The  hairs  pass  out  through  ca- 
nals in  the  corium,  which  are  lined  by  a  thin 
layer  of  cuticle  adherent  to  the  base  of  the  hair: 
the  straightness  or  curl  of  the  hair  depends  on 
the  form  of  the  canal  through  which  it  passes. 
The  hair  is  formed  in  an  elongated  sheath  or 
sack,  to  the  bottom  of  which  the  bulb  or  soft 
part  of  the  hair  is  fixed.  The  structure  of 
hairs  difl^ers :  thus,  in  the  bristle  of  the  hog 
there  is  an  internal  cellular  part,  and  an  ex- 
ternal or  cortical  fibrous  part;  and  this  is  also 
the  structure  of  the  hair  of  the  roe  deer.  The 
hair  of  the  bat  is  knotted,  and  that  of  the  mouse 
is  mottled  with  black  and  white.  Hair  is  usu- 
ally distinguished  into  various  kinds,  according 
to  its  size  and  appearance.  The  strongest  and 
stiffest  of  all  is  called  bristle:  of  this  kind  is 
the  hair  on  the  backs  of  hogs.  When  remark 
ably  fine,  soft,  and  pliable,  it  is  called  wool, 
and  the  finest  of  all  is  known  by  the  name  of 
flown.  Spines,  bristles,  fur,  and  wool  (see  those 
heads)  are  therefore  all  modifications  of  hair, 
having  the  same  chemical  composition,  mode 
of  formation,  and  general  structure. 

In  the  spine  of  the  porcupine,  the  bulb  secretes 
a  fluted  pith,  and  the  capsule  invests  it  with  a 
horny  sheath,  the  transparency  of  which  allows 
the  ridges  of  the  central  part  to  be  seen.  In 
the  spine-like  whiskers  of  the  walrus,  as  well 
as  the  bristles  of  the  hog,  the  twofold  structure 
of  the  hair  is  very  conspicuous ;  but  in  the 
finer  kind  of  hair,  as  of  the  human  head  an 
beard,  the  central  pith  can  only  be  demon 
sirated  in  fine  transverse  sections,  viewed  with 
a  microscope.  Some  kinds  of  hair,  as  of  the 
human  head,  the  mane  and  tail  of  the  horse, 
are  perennial,  and  grow  continuously  by  a 
j  persisting  activity  of  the  formative  capsule 
and  pulp  :  other  kinds,  as  the  ordinary  hair  of 
the  horse,  cow,  and  deer,  are  annual,  and  the 
coat  is  shed  at  particular  seasons.  In  the  deer 
the  horns  are  shed  contemporaneously  with 
the  deciduous  hair. 

Many  quadrupeds,  especially  those  of  cold 
climates,  have  two  kinds  of  hair:  a  long  and 
coarse  kind,  forming  their  visible  external 
covering;    and    a    shorter,  finery   and    more 


HAIR  GRASS. 


HAM. 


abundant  kind,  which  lies  close  to  the  skin, 
and  called  "  fur."  With  respect  to  structure, 
Eberle  has  proved  that  the  sheath  of  the  hair 
is  vascular,  and  the  substance  of  the  hair  is 
formed  by  the  secretion  of  horny  matter  on 
the  surface  of  the  vascular  pulp. 

The  organization  of  the  hair  is  such  as  to 
allow  of  its  undergoing  certain  changes  when 
once  formed,  according  to  the  state  of  health 
and  general  condition  of  the  rest  of  the  frame, 
and  even  to  be  affected  by  loss  of  colour  in 
consequence  of  violent  mental  emotions  in  the 
human  subject.  Some  of  the  lower  animals, 
as  the  Alpine  hare,  are  subject  to  periodical 
changes  of  colour  of  their  fur,  by  which  it  is 
made  to  harmonize  with  the  prevailing  hue  of 
the  ground  which  they  habitually  traverse.  The 
chemical  properties  of  hair  were  first  pointed 
out  by  Mr.  Hatcheit,  in  his  paper  in  the  Phil. 
Trans,  for  1800.  It  chiefly  consists  of  an  in- 
durated albumen,  and  when  boiled  with  water, 
it  yields  a  portion  of  gelatin.  Soft  flexible 
hair,  which  easily  loses  its  curl,  is  that  which 
is  most  gelatinous.  Vauquelin  discovered  two 
kinds  of  oil  in  hair:  the  one  colourless,  in  all 
hair;  the  other  coloured,  and  imparting  the 
peculiar  tint  to  hair.  Black  hair  also  contains 
iron  and  sulphur.  The  following  is  his  analy- 
sis : — 1.  An  animal  matter,  constituting  the 
greatest  part.  2.  A  white  solid  oil,  small  in 
quantity.  3.  A  grayish-green  oil,  more  abun- 
dant. 4.  Iron ;  state  unknown.  5.  Oxide  of 
manganese.  6.  Phosphate  of  lime.  7.  Car- 
bonate of  lime,  very  scanty.  8.  Silica.  9. 
Sulphur.  Leuwenhoeck  (Phil.  Trans.)  and 
Hooke  (Micrographia,  p.  156)  have  published 
their  microscopical  observations  on  hair. 

Human  hair  makes  a  very  considerable 
article  in  commerce,  for  wigs,  &c.  The  hair 
of  horses  is  extensively  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  chairs,  sofas,  saddles,  &c. ;  while  the 
hair  or  wool  of  beavers,  hares,  and  rabbits,  &c., 
is  much  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  hats, 
&c.  The  refuse  hair  of  different  animals,  par- 
ticularly the  short  hair  from  hides,  and  that  of 
hogs,  when  it  can  be  procured  in  sufficient 
quantity,  will  be  found  useful  as  a  fertilizer;  a 
fact  that  might  readily  be  imagined  when  it  is 
known  that  its  chemical  properties  closely  ap- 
proximate to  those  of  horn. 
HAIR  GRASS.  See  Aira. 
HALESIA.  The  name  of  two  beautiful  spe- 
cies of  shrub,  or  small  trees,  natives  of  North 
Carolina  and  other  Southern  States.  They  are 
known  by  the  familiar  names  of  silver-bell  and 
snow-drop  tree,  and  are  highly  ornamental, 
producing  ver}'  early,  whilst  the  tree  is  com- 
pletely leafless,  a  profusion  of  snow-white 
hanging  blossoms,  having  a  pleasant  odour  and 
very  much  frequented  by  humming-birds,  bees, 
and  other  insects.  The  flowers  are  disposed 
in  bunches  all  along  the  branches,  each  bud 
producing  from  4  to  8  or  9.  The  flowering 
continues  during  two  or  three  weeks,  and  the 
blossoms  are  succeeded  by  pretty  large  winged 
juiceless  drupes,  hanging  likewise  in  bunches. 
The  tree  is  propagated  by  cuttings  or  suckers 
from  the  roots,  and  appear  to  stand  the  severe 
winters  of  more  Northerly  Stales,  very  well.  A 
Halesia,  with  several  distinct  trunks  from  the 
original  root,  is  now  flourishing  at  the  seat  of 
76 


!  J.  Cowperthwait,  Esq.,  near  Bristol,  PennsyU 
I  vania.  It  is  quite  an  old  tree,  and  has  attained 
the  height  of  35  or  40  feet.  There  are  two 
species  of  halesia,  one  called  flower-winged 
(H.  tetroptera),  and  the  other  the  two-winged 
(h.  diplera).  The  leaves  of  the  latter  are  six 
times  the  size  of  the  former,  and  the  fruit  has 
two  large  wings  and  two  minute  ones. 

HAM  (Dutch,  hammen ;  Fr.  jambon).  In 
commerce  denotes  the  thigh  of  a  hog  or  bear 
salted  and  dried,  so  as  to  preserve  it  in  a  state 
possessing  a  pungent  and  agreeable  flavour. 
York,  Hants,  Wilts,  and  Cumberland  in  Eng- 
land, and  Dumfries  and  Galloway  in  Scotland, 
are  the  counties  most  famous  for  producing 
fine  hams.  Those  of  Ireland  are  comparatively 
coarse,  and  without  flavour.  See  Bacox.  The 
hams  of  Portugal,  Westphalia,  and  Virginia 
are  exquisitely  flavoured,  and  are  in  high  esti- 
mation. The  method  of  curing  hams  in  the 
most  celebrated  districts,  is  to  rub  them  very 
hard  with  bay  or  other  salt;  then  leave  them 
on  a  stone  bench,  in  order  that  the  brine  may 
discharge  itself.  In  a  few  days  the  rubbing 
process  is  repeated;  about  half  an  ounce  of 
saltpetre  (nitrate  of  potassa)  being  added  to 
each  ham.  When  they  have  continued  about 
a  week  longer  on  the  bench,  or  in  the  salting- 
tub,  among  the  brine,  they  are  commonly  hung 
up  to  dry  in  the  sides  of  large  open  chimneys; 
some  have  them  exposed  to  the  smoke  of  wood, 
peats,  coals,  or  other  sorts  of  fuel,  while  others 
carefully  avoid  having  them  smoked.  And 
when  not  sold  sooner,  \\^  are  continued  in 
these  situations  till  the  approach  of  warm  wea- 
ther, when  they  are  packed  up  in  casks  with 
straw,  or  the  seeds  of  oatmeal,  and  consigned 
for  sale.  Hams  lose  about  20  per  cent,  of  their 
weight  in  drying. 

Hams  may  be  cured  in  order  to  resemble,  in 
taste,  those  of  Westphalia,  by  the  following 
process:— Cover  a  young  ham  of  pork  with  dry 
salt;  let  it  be  for  24  hours  to  draw  off  the  blood; 
then  wipe  it  perfectly  dry,  and  take  one  pound 
of  brown  sugar,  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  salt- 
petre, half  a  pint  of  bay  salt,  and  three  pints 
of  salt ;  incorporate  these  ingredients  in  an 
iron  pan  over  the  fire,  and  stir  them  continu- 
ally till  they  acquire  a  moderate  degree  of  heat. 
In  this  pickle  the  ham  must  be  suffered  to  re- 
main for  three  weeks,  frequently  turning  it, 
when  it  should  be  suspended  in  a  chimney  for 
drying  by  means  of  smoke  from  no  other  but  a 
wood  fire.  The  smoke  from  oak  saw-dust  or 
shavings  is  the  best  for  imparting  a  fine  fla- 
vour. This  smoke  contains  imperfectly  formed 
pyroligneous  acid,  which  is  the  agent  that  com- 
municates the  flavour  to  the  Westphalia  hams. 
In  Dumfriesshire  the  pickle  for  hams  is  some- 
times made  with  one-half  ale,  which  renders 
the  hams  shorter,  and  adds  greatly  to  the  rich- 
ness of  their  flavour.  The  imports  of  bacon 
and  hams  into  England,  ha1%  been  kept  low  by 
the  heavy  duty  of  28s.  exacted  on  each  cwt. 
But  the  duty  having  been  recently  greatly  re- 
duced, a  large  amount  of  hams  cured  in  Ame- 
rica will  be  sent  to  the  English  market.  In 
1842,  the  duty  on  foreign  hams  imported  into 
England  was  reduced  to  14s.  the  cwt.,  or  jus 
half  of  what  \i  had  been  for  many  years.  On 
those  imported  from  British  colonies  the  duty 
3E  601 


HAMES. 


HARROW. 


IS  only  3s.  5r/.  per  cwt.  Although  dried  hams 
pay  a  duty  of  14s.,  those  shipped  in  pickle  pass 
the  English  Custom  House  at  the  pork  duty  of 
88.  per  cwt.  As  a  set  off,  however,  against  the 
6s.  saved  in  duty,  it  mast  be  observed  that  pork 
cured  in  pickle  is  of  inferior  quality  to  that 
cured  in  dry  salt,  and  will  not  bring  an  equal 
price.  It  is  also  shipped  in  that  form  at  an  in- 
creased cost  of  packages  and  freight,  and  pays 
a  duty  on  a  greater  weight  than  when  dried. 
See  SwixE. 

HAMES.  The  iron  or  wooden  harness  by 
which  draught-horses  are  attached  to  the  carts, 
&c. 

HAND.  The  measure  of  the  fist  when 
clenched;  it  is  equal  to  four  inches.  The 
height  of  horses  is  computed  in  this  way.  A 
horse  15  hands  high  stands  five  feet  at  the 
shoulders. 

HARE  (Lepus  timi(his).  The  hare  is  natu- 
rally a  timid  animal,  and  extremely  swift  in 
motion  when  pursued  by  dogs.  Hares  are 
dispersed  over  almost  every  climate,  and  con- 
sequently the  varieties  are  extremely  numerous ; 
and  the  sizes,  forms,  and  habits,  adapted  to  the 
physical  wants  of  the  family,  greatly  multiplies 
their  diversities.  Although  hunted  in  all  coun- 
tries, being  prolific  in  the  extreme,  their  spe- 
cies does  not  apparently  diminish  in  number. 
They  begin  to  breed  in  the  first  year,  and  the 
female  generally  produces  four  or  five  leverets, 
after  a  gestation  of  about  31  or  32  days ;  and 
she  is  supposed  to  breed  four  or  five  times  in 
the  year.  Unlike  d^s,  the  eyes  of  these  ani- 
mals are  open  at  tneir  birth ;  and  after  being 
suckled  for  about  three  weeks,  they  are  aban- 
doned to  their  fate.  Hares  in  a  state  of  nature 
are  believed  to  live  from  9  to  12  years.  The 
hare  is  known  to  have  been  a  favourite  object 
of  the  chace  more  than  2000  years  ago. 

Two  or  three  species  of  the  hare  genus  are 
natives  of  the  United  States.  The  common 
American  rabbit,  found  all  over  the  country, 
is  the  Lepus  ^mericanus  and  Lepus  Hudsonius 
of  naturalists.  It  is  smaller  than  the  English 
hare,  and  even  less  than  the  European  rabbit. 
In  dry  places  it  often  burrows  in  the  earth,  and 
is  verj'  prolific,  bringing  forth  3  or  4  times  a 
year  from  5  to  10  at  a  time.  It  carries  its 
young  about  6  weeks.  In  the  domestic  state 
the  male  rabbit  will  often  destroy  the  young. 

A  second  American  species  is  the  Varying 
Hnre,  the  Lepus  Virgiavianus  or  Lepus  varia- 
bilis of  naturalists.  This  inhabits  the  Southern 
and  Middle  States,  and  most  probably  as  far 
north  as  New  England.  Its  colour  is  grayish- 
brown  in  summer,  and  white  in  winter;  the 
rbits  of  the  eyes  are  at  all  times  surrounded 
oy  a  reddish  fawn-colour;  tail  very  short.  The 
largest  of  this  species  are  about  18  inches, 
t:.!al  length,  and  weigh  from  7  to  8  lbs.  These 
animals  never  burrow,  but  frequent  meadows, 
ifcc,  near  the  has*  of  mountains,  and  when 
pursued  retreat  into  hollow  trees.  They  bring 
forth  several  limes  a  year,  3  or  4  at  a  birth, 
after  a  gestation  of  about  30  days. 

In  the  extreme  northerly  parts  of  the  conti- 
nent. Captains  Parry,  Sabine,  and  other  tra- 
vellers, describe  another  American  species 
under  the  name  of  Lcpvs  ghidalis,  which  is 
somewhat  larger  than  the  varying  rabbit,  being  ' 
602 


2  feet  4  inches  from  the  end  of  the  nose  to  tha 
arms,  the  average  weight  being  8  lbs.  The  ear? 
are  longer  in  proportion  than  those  of  the  com 
mon  hare,  and  especially  thosg  of  the  varying 
rabbit.  The  fur  is  exceedu.gly  thick  and 
woolly,  of  the  purest  white  in  the  spring  and 
autumn,  excepting  a  tuft  of  long  black  hair  at 
the  tip  of  the  ears,  which  is  readish-brown  at 
the  base.  The  whiskers  are  also  black  at  the 
base  for  one-half  their  length.  In  the  summer 
the  back  and  sides  become  a  little  grayish,  the 
fur  beneath  still  remaining  white.  The  lepus 
glacialis,  or  hare  of  the  icy  regions,  inhabits 
the  Arctic  circle,  Greenland  (where  it  remains 
entirely  white  even  in  summer).  The  food 
consists  chiefly  of  tender  herbs  gathered  from 
ravines.     {Fauna  Americana.') 

HA  RIFF,  Goose-Grass,  Gliders,  Cleavers,  or 
Catchweed  {Galium  aparine).  PI.  10,  h.  This 
is  an  annual  plant,  with  a  fibrous  root,  growing 
in  hedges  almost  everywhere.  It  is  found  wild 
even  in  Nepal.  The  flowers  are  small,  pale, 
and  buff-coloured,  few  together,  on  lateral 
leafy  stalks,  and  blowing  from  May  to  August. 
The  root  is  fibrous.  The  stem  branched,  brit- 
tle, supporting  itself  upon  other  plants  ;  often 
three  or  four  feet  long ;  the  four  angles  beset 
with  hooked  prickles,  which  are  also  abundant 
on  the  edges  and  keels  of  the  leaves,  by  all 
which  the  herb  sticks  to  the  hands  and  clothes 
of  those  who  touch  it,  as  well  as  to  the  coats 
of  animals,  as  do  likewise  the  seeds.  The 
fruit  is  a  double  globe,  beset  with  minute,  short 
hooks.  The  expressed  juice  of  the  herb  is 
reckoned  anti-scorbutic ;  but  this  is  doubtful, 
as  well  as  some  imaginary  virtues  in  cancer 
which  have  been  attributed  to  it.  The  roasted 
seeds  are  said  to  be  no  bad  substitute  for  coffee, 
to  which  they  are  botanically  related. 

Three-flowered  goose-grass  is  one  of  the 
names  of  the  rough-fruited  common  bed  straw. 
{G.  tricorne). 

HARRIERS.  A  breed  of  dogs  kept  princi- 
pally for  hunting  the  hare.  There  are  three 
prominent  varieties  of  the  harrier, — the  old 
southern  hound,  the  modern  harrier,  and  the 
beagle.  Subordinate  divisions  occur,  and  a 
cross  breed  is  used  in  hunting  the  otter.  The 
modern  harrier  is  little  more  than  a  dwarf  fox- 
hound. The  size  and  form  of  the  harrier,  like 
those  of  the  fox-hound,  should  be  adapted  to 
the  nature  of  the  country  hunted  over.  Some 
sportsmen  have  a  penchant  for  packs  of  under- 
sized harriers ;  and  a  gentleman  of  the  name 
of  Harding  used  to  hunt  the  open  grounds 
about  Dorchester  with  about  17  couple,  which 
were  not  more  than  16  or  17  inches  high. 
{JUqine^s  Rural  Sports,  p.  404.) 

HARROW.  For  the  chief  portion  of  the 
following  article,  I  am  indebted  to  the  Messrs. 
Ransome,  the  celebrated  agricultural  imple- 
ment makers  of  Ipswich;  than  whom  no  per- 
sons can  be  better  acquainted  with  the  con- 
struction and  uses  of  different  machines  and 
implements  for  agricultural  purposes.  This 
instrument  succeeds  to  the  plough  in  the  natu- 
ral order  of  description,  and  in  the  uses  to 
which  it  is  applicable.  Its  purpose  is  to  pul- 
verize the  ground  which  has  been  moved  by 
the  plough,  to  disengage  from  it  the  weeds  and 
roots  which  it  may  contain,  .t  to  cover  the 


(2=^ 


HARROWS     KXTTRPATORS   ft- SCARIFIERS 


CALlFORjVi 


I 


HARROW. 


seeds  of  the  cultivated  plants,  when  sown. 
The  form  of  the  plough  has  been  very  different 
in  different  ages  and  countries,  and  there  is 
little  resemblance  between  the  rude  machines 
of  the  ancients  and  some  of  those  which  are 
now  employed;  but  the  harrow  seems  to  have 
been  nearly  of  the  same  form  from  the  earliest 
times  to  which  we  are  able  to  trace  it  on  sculp- 
tures, medals,  and  other  remains  of  antiquity. 
It  is  a  much  more  simple  machine  than  the 
plough,  and  may  even  be  held  to  be  imperfect 
in  any  form  in  which  it  can  be  made ;  yet  it  is 
an  instrument  of  great  utility  in  tillage,  and  no 
other  has  yet  been  devised  to  supersede  its  use, 
or  to  equal  it,  for  many  of  the  purposes  to  which 
it  is  applicable.  {Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr,  vol.  i.  p. 
603.) 

'I'here  were  various  stages  in  the  gradual 
introduction  of  the  modern  harrow.    The  first 
implement  used  by  men,  for  the  purpose  of 
covering  seed,  is  generally  the  branch  of  a 
tree;    to  these  soon  succeed  more  desirable 
sul)stances,  such  as  beams  of  wood ;  and  then, 
again,  two  or  more  beams  are  fastened  toge- 
ther:  spikes,  or  teeth,  are  a  much  later  im- 
) movement.     Even  now,  in  India  (and  there 
the  natives  but  rarely  alter  their  modes  of  cul- 
ture  or  their  implements),  an  instrument"  is 
used  which  is  intended  to  produce  the  combined 
i('cts  of  the  roller  and  the  harrow.    This,  ac- 
iding  to  Mr.  G.  W.  Johnson,   "is  nothing 
more  in  form  than  an  English  ladder  made  of 
!      bamboo,  about   18   feet  long,  drawn   by  four 
[      bullocks  and  guided  by  two  men,  who,  to  in- 
\      crease  its  power,  stand  upon  it,  as  they  direct 
and  urge  on  the  cattle :  again  and  again  has  it 
to  pass  over  the   same  surface,  and  thus  it 
causes  a  great  waste  of  time  and  labour." 

Important  as  is  the  operation  of  harrowing, 
and  second  only  to  that  of  ploughing,  it  has 
often  appeared  to  us  that  ♦hese  implements 
have  scarcely  obtained  the  attention  which  is 
their  due.  We  here  speak  less  with  reference 
to  the  improvements  which  have  been  carried 
into  effect,  than  to  the  selection  which  appears 
I  generally  to  have  been  made.  The  operation 
^  is  in  many  neighbourhoods  so  performed  as  to 
exhibit  a  prominent  defect,  either  in  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  farm,  or  in  the  construction 
of  the  implement:  perhaps  the  blame  may  be 
fairly  shared.  It  is  admitted  by  all  acquainted 
with  the  subject,  that  harrowing,  especially  on 
heavy  soils,  is  the  most  laborious  operation  on 
'  the  farm, — not  so  much,  perhaps,  on  account 
of  the  quantum  of  power  requisite  for  the 
draught  (though  this  is  sometimes  considera- 
ble), as  for  the  speed  with  which  the  operation 
is,  or  ought  to  be,  accompanied ;  and  yet  it  is 
frequently  left  to  the  charge  of  mere  boys,  and 
sometimes  performed  by  the  worst  horses  on 
the  farm.  If  we  examine  a  field,  one-half  of 
which  has  been  harrowed  by  weak,  inefficient 
horses,  and  whose  pace  was  consequently 
sluggish,  the  other  half  by  an  adequate  strength 
and  swiftness  of  animal  power,  we  shall  find 
the  former  will  be  rough  and  unfinished;  the 
latter  comparatively  firm  and  level,  and  com- 
pleted in  what  would  be  called  a  husbandry- 
like manner.  Scarcely  any  thing  in  farming  is 
more  unsightly  than  the  wavy,  serpentine  traces 
of  inefficient  harrowing.     The  generality  of 


HARROW. 

harrows  appear  to  us  too  heavy  and  clumsy  td 
admit  of  that  despatch  without  which  the  work 
cannot  be  well  done ;  and  though  it  is  evident 
that  different  soils  demand  different  imple- 
ments, of  proportionate  weight  and  power,  yet, 
for  the  most  part,  harrows  have  been  rather 
over  than  under-weighted,  particularly  when 
employed  after  a  drill,  or  to  bury  seeds  of  any 
kind.  Harrowing  has  been  so  long  regarded 
as  an  operation  which  must  be  attended  with 
considerable  horse-labour,  that  our  attention 
has  been  turned  to  the  inquiry,  whether  this 
labour  might  not  be  greatly  reduced  by  lighten- 
ing the  harrows.  Many,  we  think,  would  be 
surprised  at  the  amount  of  reduction  of  which 
seed-harrows,  at  least,  are  capable,  and  where 
land  is  clear,  to  see  how  effective  a  gang  of 
very  light  small-toothed  harrows  may  be  made. 
Having  noticed  the  perfect  manner  in  which 
seed-corn  is  covered  by  a  common  rake  with 
wooden  teeth,  in  some  parts  of  Norfolk,  a  friend 
of  ours  constructed  a  gang  of  harrows  on  the 
following  plan,  and  he  states  that  they  proved 
the  most  popular  and  useful  implement  of  the 
kind  on  the  farm.    PI.  15,  fig.  1. 

The  frames  are  of  ash,  and  as  light  as  pos- 
sible, the  teeth  (of  iron)  being  but  three  inches 
long,  exclusive  of  the  part  which  enters  the 
wood-work.  They  screw  into  the  balks  in  the 
manner  shown  in  PI.  15,  fig.  4. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  above  four  har- 
rows are  amply  suflScient  to  cover  a  twelve- 
furrow  stelch  or  ridge  of  108  inches,  but  three 
will  be  wide  enough  for  a  three-furrow  stetch 
of  90  inches,  exclusive  of  a  small  portion  of 
the  furrows.  If  for  some  purposes  the  teeth  be 
found  too  thick,  every  other  tooth  may  be  taken 
out ;  but  for  general  purposes  this  will  hardly 
be  necessary.  The  two  horses  require,  on  this 
plan,  to  be  kept  quite  level ;  for  if  one  is  suf- 
fered to  go  in  advance  of  the  other,  a  diagonal 
line  is  produced,  by  which  the  teeth  will  be 
made  to  follow  each  other,  instead  of  cutting 
fresh  ground.  We  are  aware  that,  by  the  usual 
construction  of  harrows,  a  diagonal  line  of 
draught  is  required,  in  order  to  throw  the  teeth 
into  a  proper  working  position;  but  we  are 
strongly  inclined  to  the  opinion,  that  the  due 
execution  of  the  implement  ought  to  depend  on 
its  construction,  and  not  on  any  particular 
mode  of  working  it.  Besides,  the  system  of 
keeping  one  horse  in  advance  of  his  partner  is 
bad  in  principle ;  it  is  an  unequal  division  of 
labour,  the  fore-horse  being  compelled  to  do 
more  than  his  share  of  the  work,  which,  under 
any  circumstances,  is  always  heavy  enough. 
We  have  stated  that  the  above  set  of  harrows 
are  of  wood.  Their  extraordinary  lightness 
renders  this  necessary ;  but,  for  general  pur- 
poses, we  prefer  those  made  of  iron,  the  weight 
of  which  can  be  increased  to  any  reasonable 
degree  without  adding  much  to  their  substance. 
This  is  important  in  working  tenacious  clays, 
which,  by  adhering  to  the  clumsy  wooden 
balks,  considerably  increase  the  labour,  and  at 
the  same  time  impede  the  proper  execution. 

In  an  experiment  made  between  a  pair  of 
wooden  harrows  and  a  pair  of  iron  ones,  con- 
structed on  the  same  plan,  having  the  same 
number,  and  precisely  the  same  disposition  o*' 
the  teeth  and  balks,  although  the  iron  wer« 

603 


HARROW. 


HARVESTING. 


<bund  to  be  20  lbs.  lighter  than  the  wooden 
ones,  yet  they  worked  decidedly  better  and 
steadier  than  the  latter;  in  fact  they  cut  into 
the  land,  while  the  M'ooden  ones  rode,  or  rather 
danced,  on  the  surface. 

We  will  now  take  up  the  consideration  of 
the  length  and  position  of  harrow-teeth.  The 
common  plan  is  to  set  them  springing  a  little 
forward,  and  gradually  increasing  in  length 
from  the  fore  to  the  hind  row.  We  think  there 
is  no  advantage  in  this,  but  the  contrary  ;  for, 
if  the  action  of  harrows  so  >eonstructed  be 
carefully  examined,  it  will  be  found  the  reverse 
of  what  it  ought  to  be, — the  hind  part  will  be 
thrown  up,  and  the  fore-teeth,  short  as  they 
are,  will  have  to  do  all  the  work.  In  some  ex- 
periments made  with  harrows,  the  fallacy  of 
the  idea,  that  an  inequality  in  the  length  of  the 
teeth  was  essential  to  the  proper  working  of 
harrows,  was  made  evident.  For  this  purpose, 
a  harrow  was  constructed  on  the  old-fashioned 
plan  of  unequal  and  springing  teeth  in  front ; 
the  whole  of  the  teeth  pointing  backwards  in- 
stead of  forwards.  Nothing  could  work  better: 
there  were  no  chucks  and  snatches,  but  all 
went  on  smoothly  and  steadily.  We  do  not, 
from  this  circumstance,  recommend  harrows 
to  be  so  constructed,  but  we  have  no  doubt  that 
each  harrow  should  have  all  its  teeth  of  equal 
length,  and  should  stand  perpendicularly  from 
tho  balk. 

.^r)nstrong''s  Harroivs. — These  instruments 
difler  from  others  in  the  form  of  their  balks  or 
framing,  which  are  of  iron,  and  of  a  zigzag 
shape,  so  arranged  that  the  tooth  or  tine  shall 
be  fixed  at  each  angle,  in  such  manner  that 
the  lines  formed  by  them  shall  be  equidistant 
over  the  breadth  of  the  land  they  are  intended 
to  cover.  They  can  be  adapted  either  for  heavy 
or  light  work. 

We  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief  description 
of  some  other  implements  intended  for  the 
same  operation,  but  of  a  more  elaborate  cha- 
racter. 

BiddelVs  Extirpating  Harrow. — This  is  a  new 
implement,  somewhat  on  the  principle  of  Bid- 
dell's  scarifier,  and  invented  by  Arthur  Biddell 
of  Playford.  It  is  intended  for  breaking  up 
land  when  it  is  too  hard  for  the  heaviest  har- 
rows, and  for  bringing  winter  fallows  into  a 
state  of  fine  tillage.  In  working  summer  lands, 
by  the  shape  of  its  teeth,  it  is  calculated  to 
bring  to  the  surface  all  grass  and  rubbish ;  it 
will  also  be  found  generally  useful  for  accom- 
plishing fine  tillage.  The  tines  may  be  either 
used  with  points  or  with  steel  hoes ;  and  with 
the  latter  the  skimming,  or,  as  it  is  frequently 
called,  the  "broad-share"  process,  may  be  quick- 
ly accomplished.  The  weight  is  not  found  to 
be  a  disadvantage,  but  the  contrary;  and,  be- 
ing borne  on  high  wheels,  it  does  not  require 
so  much  horse-labour  as  might  be  supposed. 
It  is  at  present  but  in  limited  operation,  though 
highly  valued  by  those  who  have  made  use 
of  it.  Fig.  3,  PI.  15,  is  a  sketch  of  this  har- 
row obtained  from  one  in  use. 

The  Bermckshire  harrow  is,  says  a  writer  in 
the  QvMrt.  Journ.  of  Jgr.,  the  most  perfect  im- 
plement of  the  kind  in  general  use.  It  consists 
c*'l\vo  parts  joined  together  by  iron  rods,  hav- 
,ng  hasps  *»nd  hooks.  PI.  15,  fig.  2.  Each  part 
e04 


consists  of  four  bars  of  wood,  technically  tenn 
ed  bulls,  and  connected  together  by  an  equal 
number  of  cross  bars  of  smaller  dimensions 
mortised  through  them.  The  former  of  these 
bars  may  be  2^  inches  in  width  by  3  inches  in 
depth,  and  the  latter  2  inches  in  width  by  1  inch 
in  depth.  The  longer  bars  are  inclined  at  a 
certain  angle  to  the  smaller,  so  as  to  form  the 
figure  of  a  rhomboid,  and  they  have  inserted 
into  them  the  teeth  at  equal  distances  from 
each  other.  This  inclination  of  the  longer  bars 
is  made  to  be  such,  that  perpendiculars  from 
each  of  the  teeth,  falling  upon  a  line  drawn  at 
right  angles  to  the  line  of  the  harrow's  motion, 
shall  divide  the  space  between  each  bar  into 
equal  parts ;  so  that  the  various  teeth,  when 
the  instrument  is  moved  forward,  shall  equally 
indent  the  surface  of  the  ground  over  which 
thev  pass.    (Quart.  Journ.  Agr.) 

HARVEST  (Germ,  herbst.)  In  agriculture, 
the  period  at  which  any  crop  is  reaped.  The 
term  is  more  commonly  applied  to  the  crops 
of  corn  or  hay. 

HARVEST     FLIES,   Cicadians.      See    Lo- 

CT78TS. 

HARVEST-HOME.  A  sort  of  feast  given 
by  the  farmer,  after  harvest,  to  the  labourers 
and  others  that  have  assisted  in  cutting  and 
securing  the  crops.  The  term  is  sometimes 
also  applied  to  the  song  made  use  of  on  the 
occasion. 

HARVESTING.  The  operation  of  pulling, 
cutting,  rooting  up,  or  gathering  field  crops,  and 
drying  or  otherwise  preparing  them  for  being 
stored  up  for  winter  use.  The  first  harvest 
which  occurs  in  Britain  and  similar  climates 
is  that  of  the  forage  grasses,  or  other  plants 
made  into  hay;  the  next  is  the  harvest  of 
cereal  grasses,  or  of  corn  crops ;  and  the  third, 
the  potato  harvest,  or  harvest  of  root  crops, 
such  as  potatoes,  carrots,  turnips,  mangel-wur- 
zel, &c. 

There  is  also  the  harvest  of  occasional  crops, 
such  as  that  of  rape-seed,  turnip-seed,  dyer's- 
woad,  hemp,  flax,  and  various  other  articles. 
The  commencement  of  harvest  is  necessarily 
regulated  by  the  state  of  the  weather,  and 
varies  in  different  seasons,  even  when  the 
weather  is  favourable,  from  the  middle  of  July 
to  the  end  of  August;  while,  in  some  years, 
and  in  exposed  situations,  it  is  still  later.  It 
is,  therefore,  an  object  of  importance  to  the 
farmer  to  ascertain  the  exact  time  when  it  may 
be  begun,  for  he  must  employ  extra  hands  to 
perform  the  work ;  and  as  it  only  lasts  during 
a  comparatively  short  period,  they  receive  high 
wages,  and  are  maintained  at  a  heavy  cost.  It 
is  also  attended  with  the  most  anxious  solici- 
tude, for  it  is  a  business  which  cannot  be  for  a 
moment  neglected;  and  the  man  who  wishes 
to  get  it  rightly  managed,  must  superintend  it, 
without  intermission,  from  the  dawn  of  the  day 
until  its  final  close.  He  should  previously  get 
rid  of  all  other  work,  and  make  every  prepara- 
tion for  the  due  performance  of  this ;  the  barns 
should  be  thoroughly  swept  out,  both  roof, 
walls,  and  floors;  the  stack-frames  repaired, 
and  every  tool  should  be  in  complete  condi- 
tion. The  straw-bands  should  be  in  readiness 
for  tying  the  sheaves,  as  well  as  the  ropes  for 
securing  the  stacks;  and  ariangeraents  should 


HARVEST-MOON. 


be  made  in  the  house  for  the  regular  supply 
of  whatever  is  to  be  furnished  to  the  labourers, 
so  that  every  unnecessary  delay  may  be  avoid- 
ed. The  strictest  order  should  also  be  main- 
tained ;  but  the  work  will  never  be  well  per- 
formed unless  it  be  conducted  with  perfect 
good  temper.  Fortunately,  the  crops  do  not 
usually  ripen  at  the  same  precise  period;  that 
of  rye  being  the  earliest,  and  wheat  about  a 
fortnight  later;  some  of  the  early  species  of 
oats  and  barley  come  in  between  the  rye  and 
wheat;  but  barley  more  generally  comes  after- 
wards, followed  by  some  of  the  later  kinds  of 
oats.  Grain,  if  not  reaped  until  the  straw  is 
wholly  yellow,  will  be  more  than  ripe,  as  the 
ear  generally,  except  in  late  seasons,  ripens 
before  the  entire  of  the  straw;  and  it  is  observ- 
able that  the  first  reaped  usually  affords  the 
heaviest  and  fairest  sample. 

The  indications  of  ripeness  in  wheat  are  few 
and  simple.  When  the  straw  exhibits  a  bright 
golden  colour  from  the  bottom  of  the  stem 
nearly  to  the  ear,  or  when  the  ear  begins  to 
bend  gently,  the  grain  may  be  cut.  But — as 
the  whole  crop  will  not  be  equally  ripe  at  the 
same  time — if,  on  walking  through  the  field 
and  selecting  the  greenest  heads,  the  kernels 
can  be  separated  from  the  chaff  when  rubbed 
through  the  hands,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  the 
grain  is  then  out  of  its  milky  state,  and  may 
be  reaped  with  safety ;  for  although  the  straw 
may  be  green  to  some  distance  downwards 
from  the  ear,  yet  if  it  be  quite  yellow  from  the 
bottom  upwards,  the  grain  then  wants  no  fur- 
ther nourishment  from  the  earth,  and,  if  pro- 
perly harvested,  it  will  not  shrink.  These 
tokens  will  be  found  to  sufficiently  indicate  the 
ripeness  of  wheat,  barley,  and  oats ;  but  that 
of  rye  arises  from  the  straw  losing  some  of  its 
golden  hue,  and  becoming  paler. 

The  usual  practice  in  England  is  to  cut 
down  all  grain  before  it  is  quite  ripe,  and  to 
leave  it  in  shocks,  or,  in  the  case  of  barley,  on 
the  ledge,  until  the  grain  is  perfectly  matured 
and  hardened;  and  the  same  practice  prevails 
in  Scotland.  Experience,  however,  has  occa- 
sioned a  remarkable  distinction  in  the  mode 
of  harvesting  barley  in  the  two  portions  of 
Great  Britain  just  mentioned.  In  England, 
barley  is  usually  cut  with  the  scythe,  treated 
like  hay  in  the  saving,  and  put  loose  into  the 
rick  or  mow.  In  Scotland,  it  is  cut,  as  in  Ire- 
land, generally  with  the  reaping-hook,  and, 
when  sufficiently  dr)',  bound  up  and  stacked. 
The  cause  of  this  different  treatment  is  the 
difference  of  climate.  See  Barlet,  Reapixo, 
"Wheat,  &c. 

HARVEST-MOON.  That  lunation  about 
harvest-time  when  the  moon  at  full  rises  near- 
ly at  the  same  hour  for  several  nights. 

HASEL,  HAZEL,  or  STOCK  NUT  {Cory, 
lus  avdlana).  This  small,  bushy  tree  is  com- 
mon everywhere  in  our  hedges  and  copses, 
and  also  grows  wild  in  most  parts  of  Europe. 
The  leaves  are  two  inches  wide,  doubly  ser- 
rated, lioht  green,  downy,  especially  beneath. 
The  catkms  are  barren,  clustered,  or  panicled, 
grayish,  long,  and  pendulous,  opening  in  the 
early  spring  before  the  leaves  appear,  and,  in- 
deed, formed  during  the  preceding  autumn. 
The  ovate  scaly  buds,  containing  the  fertile 


HAWKBIT 

j  flowers,  become  conspicuous  at  the  same  tim  i 
1  by  their  tufts  of  crimson  stigmas.     The  nuts, 
!  two  or  three  from  each  bud,  are  ..essile,  round- 
I  ish-ovate,  half  covered  by  the  jagged  outer 
1  calyx  of  their  respective  flowers,  greatly  en- 
I  larged,  and  permar.ent.  The  wood  of  the  hazel- 
I  tree  is  used  in  England  for  making  hoops  for 
]  casks,  hurdles,  crates,  springles  to  fasten  down 
!  thatch,  fishing-rods,  &c.     It  is  also  reported  to 
!  make  excellent  charcoal  for  drawing,  of  the 
I  preparation  of  which,  and  of  the  whole  history 
of  this  plant.  Dr.  Hooker  gives  a  full  account, 
annexed  to  an  admirable  figure.    It  was  for- 
merly much  used  for  making  gunpowder.  (Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  iv.  p.  157.)    See  Filbert. 

In  the  country  where  yeast  is  scarce,  they 
twist  the  slender  branches  of  hazel  together, 
and  steep  them  in  ale  yeast  during  its  fermenta- 
tion ;  they  are  then  hung  up  to  dry,  and  at  the 
next  brewing  are  put  into  the  wort  instead  of 
yeast.  The  chips  of  this  wood  are  used  to  fine 
wines.     (Phillips's  Fruits.) 

HATCHING.  See  Ixcubatiox. 
HAULM.  A  name  given  to  the  stalks  of 
beans  and  pease.  When  well  harvested,  these 
form  a  very  hearty  species  of  fodder.  The 
stalk  of  the  beans  is  indeed  tough  and  some- 
what woody,  and  is  therefore  commonly  thrown 
out  as  farm-yard  litter;  but  the  coving  chalf  is 
very  good  manger-meat;  and  even  the  stalk, 
if  bruised  and  cut,  and  then  steamed,  would  be 
found  useful  in  a  farm-stable. 

Pea  haulm  is  very  generally  given  as  rack- 
meat  to  cart-horses  instead  of  hay,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  well  adapted,  being  succulent  and 
nutritious,  and  nearly  as  much  relished  as  hay; 
although  it  may  not  go  quite  so  far,  yet  there 
is  great  saving  in  its  use.  But  both  these  and 
all  other  kinds  of  straw  haulm  should  be  given 
as  fresh  as  possible  from  the  flail,  for  they 
grow  brittle,  and  lose  a  portion  of  whatever 
sap  they  possess,  by  exposure  to  the  air;  if 
long  kept  they  grow  musty,  and  in  that  state 
neither  are  wholesome  nor  will  be  eaten  by 
horses.  Pea  haulm  should  be  given  cau- 
tiously, as  it  is  flatulent,  and  apt  to  occasion 
colic;  it  is  also  said  to  be  productive  of  bols; 
but  that,  if  true,  is  not  so  peculiar  a  property 
as  to  prevent  its  use.  Sheep  are  extremely 
fond  of  haulm;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  is 
by  no  means  uncommon  for  farmers  who  keep 
large  flocks  to  grow  pease  chiefly  with  a  view 
to  it  as  winter  food  in  pinching  seasons ;  the 
seed  being  in  that  case  generally  sown  broad- 
cast, both  to  preserve  the  succulence  of  the 
haulm,  and  to  save  the  trouble  of  the  drill 
culture.  (Brit.  Hush.  vol.  i.  p.  133;  vol.  ii.  pp. 
219,  463.)     See  Pease  and  Beaxs. 

HAVER.  A  name  given  to  oats  (particu- 
larly to  wild  oats)  in  some  parts  of  Britain; 
hence  haver  meal  is  meal  made  from  oats  by 
I  grinding  and  sifting  through  a  proper  sieve  for 
I  the  purpose.  In  s(  me  pans  of  Scotianc  *  thick 
i  oat  cake  is  used,  and  called  a  haver  rital  ban- 
'  nork. 

HAW,  BLACK;  SLOE.  Plum-leaved  Vi- 
burnum. A  shrub  frequent  in  Pennsylvania, 
along  fence-rows  and  in  thickets,  flowering  in 
May,  ripening  its  sweetish  and  esculent  fruit  in 
October.     See  Hawthorn. 

HAWKBIT  {Apargia).    A  genus  of  herba 
3  E  2  605 


HAWKVi  EED. 


HAY. 


ceous  plants  of  easy  culture.  The  indigenous 
species  found  in  Britain  are  four. 

The  autumnal  hawkbit  (J.  auhimnalis)  is  a 
very  common  and  troublesome  weed  in  all 
meadows  and  pastures.  It  varies  very  much 
in  luxuriance,  and  is  often  found  thriving  in 
extremely  poor  land  newly  turned  up.  The 
root  is  abrupt,  with  very  long,  simple,  lateral 
fibres.  Leaves  several,  almost  entirely  radi- 
cal, lanceolate,  deeply  and  unequally  toothed 
or  pinnatifid.  The  stalks  are  several,  ascend- 
ing or  spreading,  branched,  from  6  to  18  inches 
high.  Each  stalk  is  hollow  internally,  contain- 
ing a  loose,  white,  cottony  tuft.  The  flowers 
are  bright  yellow,  not  large,  often  reddish  un- 
derneath. As  these  are  all  perennial  weeds 
and  encumber  the  ground,  they  should  be  root- 
ed up  in  spring.    {Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  350.) 

HAWK  WEED  (Hieraciicm,  from  hierax,  a 
hawk,  being  supposed  to  sharpen  the  sight  of 
birds  of  prey).  A  very  numerous  perennial 
genus,  generally  inhabiting  mountainous  or 
woody  situations.  They  are,  for  the  most  part, 
pretty  flowering  plants,  with  yellow  blossoms, 
bat  a  great  number  are  mere  weeds.  The 
herbage,  in  general,  is  milky,  and  more  or  less 
bitter;  but  these  qualities  are,  in  some  in- 
stances, hardly  perceptible.  The  dwarf  her- 
baceous kinds  are  remarkably  adapted  for  rock 
work,  or  the  front  of  flower  borders,  the  taller 
kinds  at  the  back ;  they  may  be  increased  by 
seeds,  or  divisions.  The  annual  species  need 
only  be  sown  in  the  open  border. 

Sir  J.  E.  Smith  describes  no  less  than  eight- 
een distinct  indigenous  species,  which  it  would 
carry  me  too  far  into  detail  to  particularize. 

Ten  or  twelve  species  of  hieracium  have 
been  found  by  botanists  in  the  United  States, 
and  14  in  the  British  provinces.  One  called 
the  veined  hieracium,  or  hawkweed  (H.  veno- 
mni),  is  a  frequent  plant  in  clearings  and 
woodlands  in  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  and 
other  Middle  States,  where  it  flowers  in  May 
and  June.  It  has  a  perennial  root,  and  stem 
9  1  to  2  feet  high.  A  few  years  since,  this  plant 
was  announced  as  a  certain  antidote  against 
the  poison  of  the  rattlesnake.  But  its  specific 
virtues  need  to  be  further  tested  before  they 
can  be  regarded  as  fully  proven.  A  great 
many  specifics  and  antidotes  are  vaunted  by 
credulous,  or  designing  persons,  for  the  poison 
of  reptiles  as  well  as  the  bite  of  a  mad  dog, 
and  persons  who  have  taken  them  and  escaped 
any  serious  mischief,  have  led  others  to  believe 
in  the  virtues  of  the  remedies  when  the  pa- 
tients would  have  recovered  without.  In  this 
way  the  most  inert  and  ineflicient  prescriptions 
often  get  the  credit  of  what  properly  belongs 
to  the  agency  of  common  homely  appliances, 
or  the  wonderful  restorative  powers  with  which 
a  kind  Providence  has  endowed  both  man  and 
beast. 

HAWTHORN,  WHITETHORN,  or  MAY 
(Mestpilus  oxyncanthd).  A  common  small  tree, 
or  shrub,  but  beautiful  in  its  appearance,  and 
ifragrant  m  odour.  The  hawthorn  grows  al- 
most everywhere  in  thickets,  copses,  hedges, 
and  hign  open  fields.  The  wood  is  very  hard, 
with  a  smooth,  blac'nrish  bark,  and,  like  the 
whitebeam  hawthorn  {Py-rus  aria),  is  converted 
flpto  axle  trees  and  handles  of  tools.  The 
606 


branches  have  lateral,  sharp,  a\^l-shaped 
thorns.  The  leaves  are  alternate,  deciduous, 
on  longish,  slender  stalks  ;  smooth,  deep-green, 
veiny,  an  inch  or  two  long,  tapering  at  the  base, 
or  wedge-shaped,  and  more  or  less  deeply  three- 
lobed,  with  crescent-shaped  stipules.  The 
flowers  are  corymbose,  terminal,  white,  occa- 
sionally pink  or  almost  scarlet.  The  fruit 
(called  haws)  is  mealy,  insipid,  dark  red,  occa- 
sionally yellow,  furrowed  externally,  and  very 
hard.  Birds  are  fed  with  the  fruit  all  the  win- 
ter long;  but  the  haws  may  be  more  usefully 
employed  in  fattening  hogs.  In  Kamschatka 
they  are  eaten  by  the  peasants,  and  fermented 
into  wine.  The  common  hawthorn  blows  in 
May,  and  can  be  propagated  from  seed,  which 
must  be  kept  in  sand  through  the  winter,  and 
sown  in  spring.  The  young  plants  will  be  fit 
to  place  out  in  two  years.  There  are  several 
varieties  of  this  species,  among  others  the 
celebrated  Glastonbury  thorn,  which  blossoms 
sometimes  as  early  as  Christmas.  The  double 
blossomed  hawthorn  is  one  of  the  greatest  or- 
naments of  our  pleasure-grounds,  whether  it 
be  kept  as  a  shrub,  or  trained  as  a  tree. 

The  yellow-berried  hawthorn,  which  was 
originally  brought  from  Virginia,  has  a  double 
recommendation  to  the  shrubbery,  for  its  buds 
are  of  a  fine  yellow  in  the  spring,  and  its  fruit, 
which  is  of  the  colour  of  pure  gold,  hang  on 
the  branches  nearly  the  whole  of  the  winter, 
giving  great  variety  to  the  plantation.  Ever- 
greens should  never  be  planted  without  a  few 
of  these  shrubs  being  intermixed  to  enliven 
them  in  the  winter  months.  The  hawthorn  is 
peculiarly  adapted  for  small  lawns  or  paddocks, 
where  larger  trees  cannot  be  admitted.  When 
standing  singly,  the  hawthorn  often  reaches  to 
the  height  of  25  or  30  feet,  with  a  trunk  from 
4  to  8  feet  in  circumference. 

In  husbandry,  these  shrubs  are  called  quick- 
sets ;  and  when  kept  well  cut,  they  form  hedges, 
scarcely  less  impregnable  than  those  composed 
of  holly.  The  clipping  of  hedges  and  trim- 
ming of  trees  is  certainly  advantageous  to  the 
farmer,  although  it  adds  nothing  to  the  beauty 
of  rural  scenery.  Hawthorn  hedges  appear  to 
have  come  into  use,  in  England,  about  the  time 
of  Charles  II. ;  as  Evelyn  observes  in  his  Sylva, 
"I  have  been  told  of  a  gentleman  who  has 
considerably  improved  his  revenue,  by  sowing 
haws  only  and  raising  nurseries  of  quicksets, 
which  he  sells  by  the  hundred,  far  and  near. 
This  is  a  commendable  industry,  and  any  neg- 
lected corner  of  ground  will  fit  this  plantation." 
See  TH0R5r. 

HAY  (Germ,  hcu,  Du.  hovi).  Any  kind  of 
grass  cut  and  dried  as  fodder  for  cattle.  Hay 
constitutes  the  chief  dependence  of  the  farmer 
and  others  as  winter  food  for  their  horses  and 
cattle.  The  sale  of  hay  within  the  bills  of 
mortality,  and  30  miles  round  the  cities  of 
London  and  Westminster,  is  regulated  by  the 
act  36  Geo.  3,  c.  88.  It  enacts,  that  all  hay 
shall  be  sold  by  the  load  of  36  trusses,  each 
truss  weighing  56  lbs.,  except  new  hay,  which 
is  to  weigh  60  lbs.  till  the  4th  of  September, 
and  afterwards  56  lbs.  only ;  so  that  till  the  4th 
of  September,  a  load  of  hay  weighs  exactly  a 
ton,  but  thereafter  only  18  cwt.  There  are 
three  public  markets  in  the  metropolis  for  the 


I 


HAY. 


sale  of  bay  and  straw,  Whilechapel,  Smiihfield, 
and  the  Haymarket. 

When  horses  are  fed  on  hay,  it  is  a  matter 
of  dispute  whether  the  light  and  apparently 
acrid  grass  of  uplands,  or  that  of  more  fertile 
natural  meadow  ground,  or  the  rich  produce 
of  the  artificial  grasses,  is  to  be  preferred. 
This  must,  however,  depend  on  the  quantity  of 
corn  with  which  they  are  supplied.  When 
that  is  abundantly  furnished,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  former  will  be  found  better  for 
their  general  health,  and  especially  for  their 
wind;  but  as  farm-horses  are  usually  limited 
in  their  consumption  of  grain,  and  the  slovV^ness 
of  their  movements  renders  the  clearness  of 
their  wind  a  matter  of  comparatively  little 
moment,  the  other  kinds  will  be  found  the  best 
adapted  to  support  their  strength.  In  gentle- 
men's stables  no  other  than  meadow  hay  is 
generally  admitted;  and  it  is  in  all  respects  the 
best.  But  farmers  find  more  profitable  uses 
lor  it  in  the  feeding  of  fatting-slock  and  cows; 
and  clover,  either  alone  or  with  rye-grass, 
sainfoin,  or  tare  hay,  though  coarser,  answers 
every  necessary  purpose  for  farm-horses,  more 
especially  when  cut  into  chafl^,  and  used  along 
with  straw.  Sainfoin  is  commonly  esteemed 
the  first,  and  clover  the  next,  in  quality  ;  but 
tare  hay,  if  well  made,  is  very  hearty  food. 
Old  hay,  as  having  longer  undergone  that  slow 
process  of  fermentation  by  which  the  sugar 
that  it  contains  is  developed,  is  far  more  nutri- 
tive and  wholesome  than  new  hay.  Mow  burnt 
hay  is  more  injurious  to  horses  than  to  any 
otlier  of  the  domestic  animals,  and  is  a  fruitful 
source  of  disease. 

It  is  an  excellent  plan,  especially  when  hay 
nas  been  exposed  to  continued  wet  weather,  to 
add  to  it  a  portion  of  common  salt.  It  not  only 
induces  live-stock  to  consume  it  with  avi{fity, 
but  it  prevents  raouldiness  or  mow  burning; 
it  is  usual  to  put  about  half  a  bushel  of  salt  to 
every  load  of  hay:  it  may  be  spread  by  hand, 
or  through  a  sieve.  Mr.  Woods,  of  Ingatestone, 
in  Essex,  has  employed  it  for  thirty  years;  his 
plain,  unvarnished  statement  need  not  be  sup- 
ported by  any  other.  He  says,  "  I  use  about  a 
quarter  of  a  peck  at  each  laying,  thinly  spread, 
which  I  find  is  about  four  bushels  to  a  stack  of 
twenty  loads.  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  double 
the  quantity  would  be  much  better.  In  a  par- 
ticularly wet  season,  a  few  years  since,  I  used 
twelve  bushels  to  a  stack  of  forty  loads,  the 
whole  of  which  was  consumed  by  my  own 
horses,  and  I  never  had  them  in  better  condi- 
tion. I  am  so  fully  convinced  of  the  benefit  of 
salt  to  hay,  that  while  it  is  allowed  duty  free,  I 
shall  use  it  in  all  seasons."  (Johnson  on  Salt, 
p.  100.)  The  avidity  with  which  animals  con- 
sume salted  hay  is  not  so  generally  known  as 
it  ought  to  be ;  I  will  give,  therefore,  a  fact  re- 
lated to  me  a  short  time  since  by  Mr.  Law,  of 
Reading.  Mr.  Green,  of  Wargrave,  in  Berk- 
shire, had,  in  the  season  of  1824,  a  parcel  of 
sour  rushy  hay  from  a  meadow  on  the  banks 
of  the  Thames,  which  both  he  and  his  men  de- 
spaired of  rendering  of  the  least  value ;  it  was, 
therefore,  stacked  by  itself,  and  well  salted:  the 
quantity  supplied  was  large,  but  Mr.  Law  did 
not  know  the  exact  proportion.  When  the 
period  arrived  ihat  his  sheep  wanted  a  supply 


HAYMAKING. 

of  hay,  Mr.  Green  directed  his  shepherd  tc  ase 
the  salted  inferior  hay  first;  and,  to  his  sur- 
prise, the  sheep  consumed  it  with  the  greatest 
avidity.  The  stack  being  finished,  the  shep- 
herd was  directed  to  supply  them  now  with  the 
best  hay  he  could  find  of  other  stacks  of  fine 
meadow  hay.  He  came,  however,  the  next 
morning  to  his  master,  and  made  the  following 
remark:  "We,  bir,  must  have  made  a  great 
mistake,  and  forgotten  which  stack  we  salted, 
for  our  sheep  will  not  eat  the  hay  which  we 
think  the  besu" 

As  the  hay  grasses  do  not  thrive  m  the 
Southern  U.  States,  the  principal  supply  of  this 
provender  is  sent  pressed  in  bales  or  packages 
from  the  Eastern,  Middle,  and  Western  States. 
In  those  states  where  hay  constitutes  a  prin- 
cipal product  of  the  farms,  New  York  stands 
first  and  Pennsylvania  second.  In  his  observa- 
tions, relative  to  the  hay  crop  of  1842,  Mr. 
Ellsworth  observes,  "Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Michigan,  and  Missouri,  though  devoting  com- 
paratively little  attention  to  its  production,  yet 
seem  to  be  making  some  advance  in  the  same; 
and  accordingly  there  has  been  some  increase 
the  past  year,  though  doubtless  not  a  very  ma- 
terial one.  Some  damage  was  experienced 
from  the  invasion  of  the  army  worm,  but  not 
enough  to  lessen  the  crop  to  any  great  an  ount 
Though  reliance  is  still  placed  on  the  prairie 
hay,  yet  there  is  a  gradual  improvement  with 
respect  to  the  introduction  and  cultivation  of 
the  tame  grasses.  The  low  price  of  grain  in 
New  Orleans  will  no  doubt  lessen  the  demand 
for  pressed  hay,  which  has  heretofore  been  a 
considerable  article  of  export  from  the  states 
bordering  on  the  Ohio  nver  and  its  branches. 
The  whole  number  of  tons  of  hay  raised  in  the 
United  States  in  1842,  is  estimated  to  have 
been  14.053,355." 

HAYMAKING.  The  operation  of  cutting 
down,  drj'ing,  and  preparing  grasses  and  other 
forage  plants  for  being  stacked  for  winter  use. 
The  plants  are  mown  down  at  the  time  when 
they  are  supposed  to  contain,  diffused  through- 
out the  whole  plant,  a  maximum  of  nutritious 
juices ;  viz.,  when  they  are  in  full  flower.  Too 
often  this  period  is  exceeded,  and  the  nutritive 
property  of  the  plant  suffers ;  for  it  is  a  well- 
known  fact  that  the  saccharine  juices  of  a  plant 
disappear  in  the  progress  of  the  ripening  of  the 
seed.  Dry  weather,  and,  if  possible,  that  in 
which  sunshine  prevails,  is  chosen  for  this 
operation;  and  the  mown  material  is  spread 
out,  and  turned  over  two  or  three  times  in  the 
course  of  the  same  day  in  which  it  is  cut.  In 
the  evening  it  is  put  into  small  heaps.  In  the 
morning  of  the  second  day  these  heaps  are 
spread  out,  and  turned  over  two  or  three  times; 
and  in  the  evening  they  are  formed  into  heaps, 
somewhat  larger  than  they  were  the  da>  oefore. 
If  the  weather  has  been  remarkably  vv\arm  and 
dry,  these  heaps,  in  the  course  of  the  third  day. 
are  carted  away  and  made  into  a  stack;  but  if 
the  weather  has  been  indifferent,  the  process 
of  opening  out  the  heaps  and  exposing  them 
to  the  sun  is  repeated  on  the  third  day,  and 
stack-making  is  not  commenced  till  the  fourth. 
The  grand  object  in  making  hay  is  to  preserve 
the  colour  and  natural  juices  of  the  herb.^jje, 
which  is  best  done  by  continually  turning  it, 

607 


HAYMAKING. 


HAYMAKING. 


so  as  never  to  expose  the  same  surface  for  any 
length  of  time  to  the  direct  influence  of  the  sun. 
In  stacking  hay,  the  object  is  to  preserve  the 
green  colour,  and  at  the  same  time  induce  a 
slight  degree  of  fermentation,  which  has  the 
effect  of  rendering  the  fibres  of  the  plants, 
which  compose  the  hay,  more  tender,  and 
changing  a  part  of  the  parenchymous  matter 
into  sugar,  on  the  same  principle  as  is  effected 
by  malting  barley.  This  sweet  taste  renders 
the  hay  more  palatable  to  horses.  The  best 
general  directions  for  haymaking  will  be  found 
in  the  following  extract  from  Middleton's  Agri- 
cultural Survey  of  Middlesex^  although  the  various 
kinds  of  hay,  and  different  soils  and  situations 
■with  which  the  farmer  is  connected,  are  so 
very  numerous,  that  such  directions  can,  of 
necessity,  have  only  a  very  general  applica- 
tion. 

Mr.  Middleton  observes,  when  speaking,  be 
it  remembered,  of  haymaking  in  Middlesex, 
**In  order  that  the  subject  may  be  more  clearly 
understood,  I  shall  relate  the  particular  opera- 
tions of  each  day,  during  the  whole  process, 
from  the  moment  in  which  the  mower  first 
applies  his  scythe,  to  that  in  which  the  hay  is 
secured,  either  in  the  barn  or  in  the  stack. 

^'First  Day. — All  the  grass  mown  before  nine 
o'clock  in  the  morning  is  tedded  (or  spread), 
and  great  care  taken  to  shake  and  strew  it 
evenly  over  all  the  ground.  Soon  afterwards 
it  is  turned,  with  the  same  degree  of  care  and 
attention;  and  if,  from  the  number  of  hands, 
they  are  able  to  turn  the  whole  again,  they  do 
so,  or  at  least  as  much  of  it  as  they  can,  till 
twelve  or  one  o'clock,  at  which  time  they  dine. 
The  first  thing  to  be  done  after  dinner  is,  to 
rake  it  into  what  are  called  single  windrows ; 
that  is,  they  all  rake  in  such  a  manner,  as  that 
each  person  makes  a  row,  which  rows  are 
three  or  four  feet  apart;  and  the  last  operation 
of  this  day  is  to  put  it  into  grass-cocks. 

**  Second  Day. — The  business  of  this  day  com- 
mences with  tedding  all  the  grass  that  was 
mown  the  first  day  after  nine  o'clock,  and  all 
that  was  mown  tnis  day  before  nine  o'clock. 
Next,  the  grass-cocks  are  to  be  well  shaken 
out  into  staddles  (or  separate  plats)  of  five  or 
six  yards  diameter.  If  the  crop  should  oe  so 
thin  and  light  as  to  leave  the  spaces  between 
these  staddles  rather  large,  such  spaces  must 
be  immediately  raked  clean,  and  the  rakings 
mixed  with  the  other  hay,  in  order  to  its  all 
drying  of  a  uniform  colour.  The  next  business 
is  to  turn  the  staddles,  and,  after  that,  to  turn 
the  grass  that  was  tedded  in  the  first  part  of 
the  morning,  once  or  twice,  in  the  manner  de- 
scribed for  the  first  day.  This  should  all  be 
done  before  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  so  that  the 
whole  may  lie  to  dry  while  the  workpeople  are 
at  dinner.  After  dinner,  the  first  thing  to  be 
done  is,  to  rake  the  staddles  into  double  wind- 
rows ;  in  doing  which,  every  two  persons  rake 
thf,  ha)-^  in  opposite  directions,  or  towards  each 
other,  and  by  that  means  form  a  row  between 
them  of  double  the  size  of  a  single  windrow. 
Each  of  ihese  double  windrows  are  about  six 
or  eight  feet  distant  from  each  other.  Next,  to 
rake  the  grass  into  single  windrows;  then  the 
dcable  windrows  are  put  into  bastard-cocks; 
and,  lastly,  the  single  windrows  are  put  into 
608 


grass-cocks.  This  completes  the  work  of  the 
second  day. 

"  Third  Day. — The  grass  mown  and  not  spread 
on  the  second  day,  and  also  that  mown  in  the 
early  part  of  this  day,  is  first  to  be  tedded  in 
the  morning ;  and  then  the  grass-cot;ks  are  to 
be  spread  into  staddles,  as  before,  and  the  bas- 
tard-cocks into  staddles  of  less  extent.  These 
lesser  staddles,  though  last  spread,  are  first 
turned,  then  those  which  were  in  grass-cocks ; 
and,  next,  the  grass  is  turned  once  or  twice 
before  twelve  or  one  o'clock,  when  the  people 
go  to  dinner  as  usual.  If  the  weather  has 
proved  sunny  and  fine,  the  hay  which  was  last 
night  in  bastard-cocks  will  this  afternoon  be 
in  proper  state  to  be  carried.  It  seldom  hap- 
pens, in  dry  weather,  but  that  it  may  be  carried 
on  the  third  day.  But  if  the  weather  should, 
on  the  contrary,  have  been  cool  and  cloudy,  no 
part  of  it,  probably,  will  be  fit  to  carry.  In  that 
case,  the  first  thing  set  about  after  dinner  is,  to 
rake  that  which  was  in  grass-cocks  last  night 
into  double  windrows ;  then  the  grass  which 
was  this  morning  spread  from  the  swarths  into 
single  windrows.  After  this,  the  hay  which 
was  last  night  in  bastard-cocks  is  made  up  into 
full-sized  cocks,  and  care  taken  to  rake  the  hay 
up  clean,  and  also  to  put  the  rakings  upon  the 
top  of  each  cock.  Next,  the  double  windrows 
are  put  into  bastard-cocks,  and  the  single  wind- 
rows into  grass-cocks,  as  on  the  preceding  days. 

"Fourth  Day. — On  this  day  the  great  cocks, 
just  mentioned,  are  usually  carried  before  din- 
ner. The  other  operations  of  the  day  are  such, 
and  in  the  same  order,  as  before  described,  ani 
are  continued  daily  until  the  hay-harvest  is 
completed. 

"In  the  course  of  hay-making,  the  grass 
should,  as  much  as  possible,  be  protected,  both 
night  and  day,  against  rain  and  dew,  by  cock- 
ing. Care  should  also  be  taken  to  proportion 
the  number  of  hay-makers  to  that  of  the 
mowers,  so  that  there  may  not  be  more  grass 
in  hand,  at  one  time,  than  can  be  managed  ac- 
cording to  the  foregoing  process.  This  propor- 
tion is  about  20  hay-makers  (of  which  number 
12  may  be  women)  to  four  mowers  :  the  latter 
are  sometimes  taken  half  a  day,  to  assist  the 
former.  But  in  hot,  windy,  or  very  dry  wea- 
ther, a  greater  proportion  of  hay-makers  will 
be  required  than  when  the  weather  is  cloudy 
and  cool. 

"  It  is  particularly  necessary  to  guard  against 
spreading  more  hay  than  the  number  of  hands 
can  get  into  cock  the  same  day,  or  before  rain. 
In  showery  and  uncertain  weather,  the  grass 
may  sometimes  be  suffered  to  lie  three,  four,  or 
even  five  days  in  swath.  But,  before  it  has 
lain  long  enough  to  become  yellow  (which,  if 
suffered  to  lie  long,  would  be  the  case),  par- 
ticular care  should  be  taken  to  turn  the  swaths 
with  the  heads  of  the  rakes.  In  this  state  it 
will  cure  so  much  in  about  two  days,  as  only 
to  require  being  tedded  a  few  hours,  when  the 
I  M'eaiher  is  fine,  previous  to  its  being  put  to- 
gether  and  carried.  In  this  manner,  hay  may 
be  made  and  stacked  at  a  small  expense,  and 
of  a  good  colour;  but  the  tops  and  bottoms  of 
the  grass  are  insufficiently  separated  by  it." 

HAY-RAKE,  or  HAY-SWEEP.  An  imple- 
ment  contrived  for  the  purpose  of  collpcting 


HAF-KNIFE. 


and  conveying  ha)'  to  the  stack  in  an  easy  and 
expeditious  manner  after  it  has  been  pul  into 
rows.     See  Rakes. 

HAY-KNIFE.  A  sharp  instrument  employed 
for  cutting  hay  out  of  the  stack. 

HAY-RICK.  Mr.  Chambers  (Com.  to  Board 
of  Jigr.  vol.  vii.  p.  374)  describes  an  improved 
hay-rick  which  admits  very  freely  the  cool  air 
to  check  the  fermentation.  A  channel  or  gut- 
ter, a  foot  wide  and  deep,  is  cut  through  ground 
marked  out  for  the  rick,  and  two  across,  which 
is  13  yards  by  9.  Two  chimneys  are  in- 
troduced, like  the  common  hay  funnels,  only 
these  go  full  home  to  the  earth,  which  being 
drawn  up  as  the  rick  is  forming,  and  the  chan- 
nels previously  covered  with  fagots,  except 
where  the  chimneys  are  placed,  leave  them 
open  at  all  points  ;  and  let  the  wind  blow  from 
what  quarter  it  may,  the  current  is  uninter- 
rupted. 

HAZEL.    See  Hasel. 

HEAD-LAND.  A  term  applied  to  the  lands 
or  ridges  in  fields,  on  which  the  plough  turns 
in  cultivating  them.  As  much  soil  is  con- 
tinually accumulating  on  them,  by  means  of 
the  frequent  ploughing  of  the  field,  it  is  a  com- 
mon plan  to  form  them  into  composts  with 
lime  or  other  manures. 

HEAT.  In  horsemanship,  a  terra  used  on 
the  turf,  to  denote  a  certain  distance  which  a 
;jorse  runs  on  the  course.  A  race  may  con- 
sist of  one  or  more  heats,  and  "  the  best  of  three 
heats  "  are  common  at  most  races  ;  but  in  Eng- 
land there  is  never  more  than  one  heat  for  a 
race  at  Newmarket. 

HEAT,  ANIMAL.  See  Vkntilation,  p.l083. 

HEATH.  Waste  land  in  which  the  prevail- 
ing plants  consist  of  one  or  more  of  the  com- 
mon species  of  heath. 

HEATH,  HEATHER,  or  LING  (Calluna 
and  Erica).  A  very  large  and  varied  genus 
of  plants,  of  which  the  following  species  are 
indigenou.s  to  Great  Britain  : — 

L  Common  heath  (Calluna  ru/gan*,  Sal.  The 
Erica  mmmunis  of  Linnaeus).  This  plant  co- 
vers many  hundreds  of  acres  in  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland,  in  Ireland,  and  in  similar  climates 
on  the  continent.  It  attains  in  many  places 
the  height  of  three  or  four  feet;  and  is  much 
used  for  thatching  houses,  making  besoms,  and 
for  a  variety  of  other  purposes.  The  tender 
tops  form  a  substitute  for  mattrasses  in  High- 
land cottages ;  and  they  are  also  eaten  green 
and  in  a  dried  state  by  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep, 
in  countries  where  the  grasses  and  clover  do 
not  begin  to  grow  till  late  in  the  spring.  The 
tender  tops  also  furnish  food  for  grouse. 

2.  Cross-leaved  heath  (Erica  tetralix).  In 
this  shrub  the  roots  are  creeping,  stems  eract, 
from  four  to  six  or  eight  inches  high.  Leaves 
crowded,  spreading  four  in  a  whorl,  revolute, 
downy,  glaucous  beneath.  Flowers  remark- 
able for  their  delicate  wax-like  hue  of  every 
shade  of  rose-colour,  sometimes  snow-white, 
on  hairy  cottony  stalks  collected  into  a  dense, 
round,  terminal  cluster,  ail  elegantly  pendulous 
to  one  side.  It  is  wonderful  that  this  most 
elegant  and  not  uncommon  plant  is  scarcely 
delineated  at  all  by  the  old  authors,  nor  by  any 
of  them  correctly. 

3.  Fine-leaved    heath    (E.   cinerea),   found 

77 


HEDGE. 

plentifully  on  dry  turfy  heaths  everywhere.  It 
grows  on  a  stem  a  foot  high,  or  more,  with  nu- 
merous upright,  round,  hoary,  flowery,  and 
leafy  branches.  The  flowers  are  crimson, 
everlasting,  with  a  tinge  of  blue  or  gray,  occa- 
sionally pure  white. 

4.  Cornish  heath  (E.  vagans),  growing  abun- 
dantly in  Cornwall :  stem  woody,  two  feet  high, 
copiously  and  determinately  branched,  with  a 
smooth,  pale,  deciduous  bark;  leaves  ever- 
green, smooth. 

Mr.  J.  Hall  (Com.  Board  of  .Agr.  vol.  vi.  p. 
381)  speaks  favourably  of  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  heath  in  the  feeding  of  stock, 
and  also  asserts  that  an  infusion  of  the  finer 
parts  of  heath,  when  cut  young  and  in  bloom, 
is  preferable  to  tea. 

HEATH  GRASS  (Triodia  denimbens).  The 
genus  to  which  this  species  belongs  consists 
of  hard,  rigid,  perennial  grasses,  with  leafy 
stems.  Inflorescence  variously  panicled.  The 
decumbent  heath  grass  grows  frequent  in 
spongy  bogs,  and  on  barren,  sandy,  mountain- 
ous ground.  The  root  is  very  slightly  creep- 
ing, with  strong  fibres.  The  whole  plant  is 
harsh  and  rigid,  lying  close  to  the  ground,  ex- 
cept when  in  flower.  The  stem  is  from  4  to 
12  inches  long,  jointed,  bent,  leafy,  and  very 
smooth.  The  leaves  are  linear,  striated,  rather 
glaucous,  smooth,  except  towards  the  points, 
where  the  rib  and  edges  are  very  rough. 
(Smith's  Eng.  Fltrr.  vol.  i.  p.  131.) 

HEATH,  SEA  (Frankenia).  Of  this  mari- 
time decumbent  genus  of  plants  there  are  two 
species,  natives  of  these  islands. 

1.  The  smooth  sea-heath  (F.  Icevis)  is  a  pe- 
rennial, flowering  in  July,  found  common  on 
muddy  salt-marshes,  chiefly  on  the  eastern 
shores  of  England.  It  has  a  woody  root ;  the 
stems  are  quite  prostrate,  forked,  slightly 
downy,  with  leafy,  partly  ascending  branches. 
The  leaves  are  somewhat  glaucous,  about  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  long,  revolute,  fringed  at  the 
base,  convex,  and  smooth  above.  The  flowers 
spring  from  the  forks  of  the  stem,  partly  ter- 
minal, sessile,  solitary,  and  flesh-coloured. 

2.  Powdery  sea-heath  (F.  pulverulent  a).  This 
is  a  very  rare  species,  much  resembling  the 
last,  but  annual,  and  flowering  in  July.  The 
root  and  stems  the  same  as  the  former :  the 
leaves,  which  are  smooth  and  green  above,  are 
hoary,  as  if  powdery,  beneath ;  opposite  or 
four  together,  single  ribbed,  and  revolute.  The 
flowers  are  pale  red.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.voLu. 
p.  186.) 

HEATHY  LAND.  Ground  which  is  co- 
vered with  heath.  In  many  districts  of  the 
kingdom  of  Great  Britain,  there  are  immense 
tracts  of  this  kind  of  land,  that,  in  their  present 
state,  are  of  little  value,  except  for  the  support 
of  a  few  sheep  ;  but  which,  by  proper  cultiva- 
tion, might  afford  useful  crops.  They,  how- 
ever, difl^er  mueh  in  the  nature  of  the  soil.  The 
best  mode  of  reclaiming  these  lands  is  b^ 
draining,  deep  trenching,  or  ploughing,  an« 
spreading  upon  them  any  calcareous  matter 
such  as  lime,  chalk,  or  marl.  And  it  is  very 
'  desirable,  in  many  instances,  to  provide  men* 
'  shelter  by  plantations  of  timber  trees,  cee 
Plaxtatios^s. 

I      HEDGE.     A  living  wall  formed  of  woodi 

609 


HEDGE. 


HEDGE. 


plants,  sown  or  planted  in  a  line,  and  cut  or 
clipped  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  compact 
mass  of  any  degree  of  width  or  height  that  may- 
be required,  either  for  the  purpose  of  shelter, 
separation,  or  defence.  The  fences  most  ge- 
nerally used  in  agriculture  are  made  of  the 
whitethorn,  because  it  has  spiny  branches,  and 
forms  a  strong  defence  against  cattle.  Fences 
for  the  purposes  of  shelter  and  separation  are 
chiefly  used  in  gardening,  and  for  the  most 
part  are  formed  of  evergreen  shrubs,  such  as 
the  holly,  yew,  box,  &c. ;  or  sub-evergreens, 
such  as  the  privet ;  of  flowering  shrubs,  such 
as  the  Cyihytia  jnjponica ;  or  of  deciduous  shrubs 
or  trees,  with  persistent  leaves,  such  as  the 
hornbeam  and  beech. 

In  the  management  of  hedges  of  every  de- 
scription, an  important  point  is  to  keep  them 
thick,  and  impervious  to  wind  or  animals,  near 
the  ground  ;  for  which  purpose  the  section  of 
the  hedge  requires  to  be  made  broader  at  the 
base  than  at  the  top,  in  order  that  the  exterior 
leaves  in  every  part  of  the  hedge  may  enjoy 
in  an  equal  degree  the  influence  of  light,  air, 
and  perpendicular  rains.  Mr.  Stephens  (Quart. 
Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  i.  p.  574)  gives  some  very 
detailed  instructions  "  On  the  Planting  and 
Management  of  Thorn  Hedges;"  but  as  these 
extend  over  upwards  of  50  pages,  we  can  only 
recommend  the  farmer,  who  needs  information 
as  to  the  formation  of  quickset  hedges,  to  con- 
sult the  above  article  ;  Mr.  Blakie's  little  work 
On  Hcr/ges :  and  some  essays  on  raising  and 
managing  hedges  in  the  Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol. 
■jv.  p.  353,  to  378,  by  Messrs.  Montgomery, 
Grigor,  and  Manson.  In  the  same  volume,  p. 
336,  there  is  an  essay  on  the  cultivation  of  the 
common  elder  (Sambucus  nigra)  for  hedges. 
Sir  John  Sinc.air  also  recommends  the  tala 
plant  as  a  substitute  for  thorn  in  hedges. 
{Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  408.)  It  is  a 
small  prickly  shrub,  growing  wild  in  various 
parts  of  South  America,  and  which  has  been 
extensively  used  for  fences  by  the  Scotch 
farmers  who  have  settled  near  Buenos  Ayres. 
An  "  Old  Hedger,"  in  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
vol.  V.  p.  505,  also  gives  the  result  of  his  ex- 
perience and  practice  in  hedge-making.  The 
late  Francis  Blakie  of  Holkham  saw  the  im- 
portance of  the  farmer  paying  more  attention 
than  is  customary  with  him  to  the  plantation 
of  fences,  and  the  management  of  hedgerow 
timber  ;  and  in  his  excellent  little  work  on  this 
subject,  he  told  him  (and  his  experience  was 
of  perhaps  the  most  difficult  of  all  soils  upon 
which  to  rear  good  hedgerows),  "There  may 
be  some  difference  in  opinion  as  to  the  best 
method  of  planting  and  rearing  quickset  (while- 
thorn)  hedges,  but  I  think  there  can  be  none  in 
respect  to  the  propriety  of  thoroughly  cleaning 
and  preparing  the  ground  in  the  first  instance; 
and  all  experienced  men  will  agree,  that  it  is 
not  advisable  to  plant  a  new  hedge  upon  the 
same  spot  where  an  old  one  had  been  recently 
irrubbed  up,  unless  under  unavoidable  circum- 
stances, such  as  boundary  fences,  &c. ;  in  that 
case  the  ground  should  be  well  loosened,  fal- 
lowed for  a  year  or  two,  and  have  fresh  earth 
or  compost  added.  The  better  the  ground  is 
prepared,  the  sooner  will  the  hedge  arrive  at 
iflaturity,  and  the  longer  will  be  its  duration. 
610 


The  practice  in  this  country  (Norfolk),  even  on 
our  lightest  soils,  is  to  put  the  quicksets  (here 
called  layers)  horizontally  into  the  side  of  the 
bank,  raised  from  a  four  or  five  feet  wide  ditch^ 
of  a  proportionate  depth;  and  I  have  never 
seen  whitethorn  hedges  raised  quicker  or  belter 
than  in  this  country,  and  all  upon  that  prin- 
ciple. I  must,  however,  acknowledge,  that 
although  the  Norfolk  farmers  very  generally 
excel  in  raising  hedges,  they  but  too  frequently 
err  in  the  future  management  of  them  ;  youth 
is  succeeded  by  infirmities  ;  there  is  no  prime 
of  life." 

There  is  another  error  which  frequently  oc- 
curs where  quicksets  are  planted  on  the  sides 
of  banks  ;  that  is,  in  not  varying  the  height  of 
the  line  of  quick  in  the  bank  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  sides.  On  the  management  of 
hedgerow  timber,  the  directions  of  Blakie  are 
equally  excellent.  He  says,  "  It  is  not  necessary 
for  me  to  particularize  all  the  varieties  of 
forest  trees  usually  planted  in  hedgerows.  It 
is  suflicient,  in  exemplification,  to  say,  beech, 
ash,  and  firs  are  not  only  ruinous  to  fences, 
but  are  also  otherwise  injurious  to  farmers; 
while  oaks,  narrow-leaved  elm,  and  black 
Italian  poplars  do  comparatively  little  injury ; 
and  as  to  the  age  of  plants,  it  surely  must  be 
obvious  that  a  thrifty  transplanted  nursery  tree 
of  three  years'  growth  is  more  likely  to  suc- 
ceed, when  properly  planted  in  a  hedgerow, 
than  a  puny  yearling  drawn  out  of  a  seed-bed, 
with  its  root  like  a  piece  of  whipcord;  or  a 
tender  sapling,  of  six  or  seven  years'  growth, 
drawn  out  of  a  thick  wood,  whence  it  had  not 
been  previously  transplanted. 

"  In  planting,  the  usual  practice  is  to  lay  the 
roots  of  the  forest-tree  plants  horizontally  into 
the  bank  along  with  the  whitethorns,  and  to 
cut  their  heads  or  tops  off  close  to  the  ground, 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  thorns  ;  a  moment's 
reflection  will  show  the  absurdity  of  this  prac- 
tice. A  surface-rooted  plant,  like  the  white- 
thorn, will  thrive  if  laid  into  the  bank  horizon- 
tally, or  nearly  so ;  but  a  deep-rooted  plant, 
such  as  the  oak,  is  not  likely  to  thrive  if  treat- 
ed in  that  manner.  The  roots  of  oaks  strike 
deep  into  the  ground ;  consequently,  the  plants 
should  be  set  perpendicularly,  and  their  heads 
or  tops  should  on  no  account  be  cut  off"  at  the  time 
of  planting.  But  suppose  that  an  oak  plant, 
when  laid  into  the  bank  horizontally  along 
with  the  quicksets,  does  grow,  and  even  pros- 
pers for  a  time,  which  it  may  do  when  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  roots  are  bent  downwards  by 
the  pressure  of  the  earth  in  the  bank  above, 
and  the  plant  in  consequence  finds  nourish- 
ment and  support  from  the  earth  below ;  the 
top  of  the  plant  will  then  grow  up  among  the 
row  of  thorns,  and  be  protected  by  them  until 
the  hedge  is  cut  (which,  in  process  of  time,  it 
must  be) :  the  oak  plant  will  then  be  left  ex- 
posed, and  as  the  stem  will  have  bent  upwards, 
at  a  sharp  angle  from  the  face  of  the  bank,  the 
top  of  the  tree  (when  agitated  by  the  wind)  will 
act  as  a  powerful  leverage,  and  have  the  efiect 
of  twisting  and  breaking  the  crooked  roots  of 
the  plant  in  the  bank. 

"  These  remarks  are,  in  some  degree  appli- 
cable to  all  forest  trees  planted  in  hedgerows, 
but    more    particularly  to    deep-rooted  ones. 


HEDGE. 


Ths  method  which  I  recommend  for  planting 
forest  trees  generally  in  hedgerows,  but  more 
particularly  oaks,  is  as  follows:  Let  the  quick- 
sets be  laid  in,  and  the  bank  finished  in  the 
usual  way ;  then  select  good  transplanted  trees 
of  2  or  3  years'  growth,  fresh  drawn  from  the 
nursery.  The  broken  roots  and  tips  of  the  long 
fibres  may  be  cut  off;  then  push  the  spade 
down  perpendicularly  into  the  bank  between 
the  roots  of  the  quicksets ;  press  the  spade 
from  side  to  side,  so  as  to  make  a  cleft  open- 
ing, into  which  put  the  root  of  the  plant  as 
deep  as  it  had  before  stood  in  the  nursery ; 
tread  the  earth  firm  to.  the  root,  and  face  the 
bank  up,  as  before:  leave  the  tops  of  forest- 
tree  plants  uncut  at  the  time  of  planting,  unless 
when  they  are  bushy-headed,  and  without 
leaders  or  top-shoots  ;  in  that  case  a  few  of  the 
larger  side  shoots  may  be  nit  in,  that  is,  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  branches  shortened.  It  is  a 
most  pernicious  practice  to  cut  the  tops  of 
young  forest  trees  at  the  time  of  planting,  and 
should  only  be  adopted  in  particular  cases. 
"The  time  most  proper  for  planting  hedgerow 
trees  and  quicksets  is  autumn,  or  early  in 
spring ;  and  the  work  should  never  be  delayed 
till  lale  in  spring,  if  it  can  be  avoided.  But 
when  (from  necessity)  trees  are  planted  late 
in  spring,  and  the  ground  dry  at  the  time,  the 
roots  of  the  plants  should  not  only  be  kept  moist 
before  planting,  but  they  should  also  be  dipped 
into  some  earthy  sludge  at  the  time  they  are 
planted. 

"  Training  of  hedgerow  trees  is  seldom  or 
never  thought  of;  and  I  will  now  add,  when 
pruning  is  practised,  it  is  generally  performed 
in  a  very  injudicious  manner.  Young  hedge- 
row trees  seldom  require  much  attention  in 
training  until  the  hedge  is  cut  the  first  time  ;  the 
trees  should  then  be  examined  ;  if  they  appear 
crooked,  stunted,  and  unlhrilly,  they  should  be 
cut  off  close  to  the  face  of  the  bank  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  thorn  plants  are.  The  oak 
stubs  may  be  expected  to  throw  up  several 
strong  shoots  from  each  plant  in  the  following 
season ;  and  in  a  year  or  two  afterwards,  the 
best  young  shoot  on  such  stub  should  be  se- 
lected to  remain,  and  all  the  others  be  slipped, 
or  cut  off  close  to  the  stub  ;  the  reserved  shoot, 
or  (as  they  may  be  called)  regenerated  plants, 
may  then  be  expected  to  become  timber  trees. 

"When  an  unthrifty  young  tree  is  to  be  cut 
off,  as  here  recommended,  particular  attention 
should  be  paid  to  the  method  of  cutting.  The 
stroke  from  the  workman's  bill-hook  or  hatchet 
should  always  be  upwards,  or  frovi  the  stub,  and 
never  doionwards,  or  to  the  stub;  whenever  the 
latter  practice  is  followed,  the  stub  is  left  shat- 
tered, the  wet  penetrates  through  the  clefts  into 
the  stool,  or  crown  of  the  roots,  canker  is  pro- 
duced, and  the  tree  rots.  No  good  timber  can 
De  expected  to  grow  from  diseased  roots. 

"There  may  be  said  to  be  four  different  sorts 
or  methods  of  pruning  now  in  practice  ;  these 
I  designate  under  the  styles  or  titles  of— first, 
natural  pruning;  second,  close  pruning;  third, 
snag  pruning;  and  fourth,  cutting  in,  or  fore- 
shortening. The  three  latter  more  immediately 
apply  to  hedgerow  trees  ;  but  I  will  review  the 
tour,  and  in  this  review  I  wish  fir  trees  to  be 
understood  as  excepted. 


HEDGE. 

"The  best  of  all  pruning  is  what  I  call  na- 
tnral.  This  is  effected  in  woods  and  plant- 
ings where  trees  stand  thick:  there  the  top» 
of  the  trees  unite  ;  they  draw  one  another  up; 
light  and  air  is  excluded  from  the  lower 
branches,  and  those,  consequently,  dwindle 
away ;  the  stems  of  the  trees  grow  up  straight 
and  tall ;  and  they  gather  proportionate 
strength,  from  the  top  branches  extending, 
when  the  planting  is  thinned  out  gradually  (as 
all  plantations  of  trees  ought  to  be).  This  re- 
mark is  also  applicable  to  hedgerow  trees,  in 
their  infant  state,  when  they  are  drawn  up  and 
nourished  by  the  thorn  bushes.  But  when 
trees  stand  singly,  they  throw  out  strong  side 
branches,  and  their  boles  or  stems  seldom  rise 
to  much  height,  or  attain  to  much  cubic  mea- 
sure, unless  the  side  branches  are  either  crop- 
ped by  cattle  (which  is  a  species  of  pruning), 
or  are  cut  off  by  the  hand  of  man.  Hence 
arises  the  diversity  of  opinion  with  respect  to 
the  most  proper  method  of  obtaining  the  de- 
sired object,  by  the  assistance  of  art,  when  na- 
ture ceases  to  operate  in  the  matter  wished  for. 

''Close  pruning  answers  to  a  certain  extent. 
The  operation  is  performed  by  cutting  the  side 
branches  off  close  to  the  bole  of  the  tree,  when 
it  is  expected  that  the  bark  and  the  timber  will 
heal  over  the  wound  and  become  united.  If 
this  operation  is  completed  when  the  branches 
are  young,  or  mere  saplings,  the  tree  in  a 
vigorous  growing  state,  and  a  few  only  of  the 
branches  cut  off  in  one  season,  the  object  will  be 
obtained,  without  injuring  the  growth  of  the 
tree.  But  the  system,  from  having  been  mis- 
understood, has  been  misapplied,  and  carried 
to  an  alarming  extent,  doing  incalculable  in- 
jury, not  only  to  individuals,  but  to  the  country 
at  large.  Immense  numbers  of  large  boughs 
have  been  amputated  from  the  trunks  of  trees, 
in  the  vain  hope  of  the  timber  growing  over  the 
wounds,  and  uniting  with  the  stumps  of  the 
boughs  left  in  the  body  of  the  tree ;  the  bark 
and  sap-wood  does  indeed  sometimes  grow 
over  such  wounds,  but  the  stumps  of  the 
branches  enclosed  go  to  decay,  become  a  canker 
in  the  bole  of  the  tree,  and  the  result  is  calami- 
tous. It  is  the  ready  extension  of  the  bark 
over  the  wounds  in  trees  which  has  been  the 
means  of  misleading  so  many  people ;  be- 
cause, as  they  see  that  the  bark  unites,  they 
take  it  for  granted  that  the  woody  fibres  does 
so  also ;  and  so,  in  fact,  the  growing  part  of 
the  tree  will  do,  but  the  stump  of  the  ampu- 
tated arm  becomes  a  dead  substance,  and  can- 
not unite  with  a  living  one.  On  the  whole,  it 
is  a  dangerous  practice  to  cut  large  boughs 
close  to  the  stems  of  trees,  particularly  old  and 
unthrifty  trees.  Young  thriving  trees  will  suc- 
ceed, if  close  pruned,  to  a  certain  extent ;  but 
old,  stunted,  or  full-grown  trees,  never. 

''Snag  pruning  is  a  very  pernicious  practice! 
it  is  performed  by  cutting  the  boughs  off  seve- 
ral inches  from  the  bole  or  stem  of  the  tree.  In 
old  trees,  those  stumps  act  as  conductors  for 
wet  into  the  body  of  the  tree ;  in  young  trees 
the  bark  of  the  stubs  throw  out  young  shoots, 
which  flourish  for  a  time,  but  the  heart-wood 
of  those  stumps  decays,  and  has  a  similar  effer* 
to  the  stumps  of  boughs  in  old  trees,  whch  qo 
not  throw  out  young  shoots. 

611 


HEDGE-BIRDS. 


HELIOTROPE. 


Foreshortening,  or  cutting  tn,  is  an  approved 
method  of  pruning,  and  is  admirably  adapted 
to  training  hedgerow  trees,  to  benefit  the  land- 
lord without  doing  much  injury  to  the  tenant. 
This  operation  is  performed  by  shortening  the 
over-luxuriant  side  branches,  but  not  to  cut 
them  to  a  stump,  as  in  snag  pruning;  on  the 
contrary,  the  top  only  of  the  branch  should  be 
cut  off,  and  the  amputation  effected  immediately 
above  where  an  axillary  (side  shoot)  springs 
from  the  branch  on  which  the  operation  is  to 
be  performed:  this  may  be  at  the  distance  of 
two,  four,  or  any  other  number  of  feet  from  the 
stem  of  the  tree;  and  suppose  the  axillary 
branch  which  is  left  (when  the  top  of  the 
branch  is  cut  off)  is  also  over-luxuriant,  or 
looks  unsightly,  it  should  also  be  shortened  at 
its  sub-axillary  branch,  in  the  same  manner  as 
before  described. 

"The  branches  of  trees  pruned  in  this  man- 
ner are  always  kept  within  due  bounds;  they 
do  not  extend  over  the  adjoining  land  to  the 
injury  of  the  occupier,  at  least  not  until  the 
stem  of  the  tree  rises  to  a  height  (out  of  the 
reach  of  pruning)  when  the  top  branches  can 
do  comparatively  little  injury  to  the  land.  By 
adopting  this  system  of  pruning,  the  bad  effects 
of  close  and  snag  pruning  will  be  avoided,  the 
country  will  be  ornamented,  and  the  commu- 
nity at  large,  as  well  as  individuals,  benefited." 
{^Blakie,  On  Hedges  and  Hedgerotv  Timber.)  See 
Fexces  and  HAWTnoRTT. 

A  great  deal  of  valuable  information  upon 
the  subject  of  hedges  in  the  United  States  will 
be  found  in  almost  every  agricultural  periodi- 
cal, in  many  of  which  the  merits  of  the  Virginia 
thorn,  Newcastle  cock-spur,  English  black- 
thorn, Buck-thorn,  Osage  orange,  &c.  &c.,  and 
their  adaptations  to  particular  parts  of  the 
country,  are  discussed.  It  has  been  objected 
against  hedges,  that  they  are  not  only  very  expen- 
sive to  raise  and  keep  in  good  order,  but  by  sha- 
ding and  exhausting  the  ground,  destroy  on  each 
side  the  product  of  a  land  or  ridge.  To  other 
objections  must  be  added  the  difficulty  of  getting 
horses  near  them,  and  the  consequent  retardinsr 
of  the  plough  and  hairow,  with  not  unfrequent 
accidents  from  dangerous  wounds  inflicted  by 
the  thorns.  The  loss  of  ground  from  hedge-rows 
is  most  sensibly  felt,  where  the  enclosures  are 
small,  averaging  about  12  per  cent.,  when  the 
lots  are  between  2  and  3  acres,  and  in  fields  of 
10  acres  amounting  to  4  per  cent.  Hedges  un- 
doubtedly add  great  beauty  to  country  scenery, 
but,  according  to  many  utilitarians,  are  more 
sightly  and  poetical  than  profitable  to  the  farmer. 
See  Orange,  Osage. 

HEDGE  MUSTARD  {SisymbHum.)  A  genus 
composed  for  the  most  part  of  worthless  annual 
and  biennial  plants,  flourishing  in  the  open 
ground  in  any  soil.  The  indigenous  species 
are  three,  all  annuals. 

1.  The  common  hedge  mustard  (S.  officinale), 
growing  in  waste  ground,  by  road-sides,  and  on 
Danks;  very  common  in  England;  flowering  in 
June  and  July.  According  to  Haller,  hedge  mus- 
tard ^prings  up  wherever  houses  have  been 
I'urnl.  The  herb  is  of  a  dull  green,  minutely 
naii7  or  downy;  the  stem  solitary,  two  feet  high, 
erect,  with  numerous  horizontal  branches, 
leafv  round,  clothed  with  fine  defiexed  bristles. 
Leaves  hyrate,  their  lobes  runcinate,  unequally 
612 


toothed ;  the  upper  ones  narrowest.  The 
flowers  are  pale  yellow,  small,  in  little  corym 
bose  heads,  soon  becoming  very  long,  straight, 
close  clusters  of  erect,  tapering  pods,  finely 
downy,  rather  more  than  half  an  inch  long,  on 
very  short  stalks.  Seeds  not  numerous,  about 
six  in  each  cell.  This  species  was  once  used 
as  a  stimulating  expectorant,  but  it  is  now  de» 
servedly  out  of  favour. 

2.  The  broad  hedge  mustard,  or  Lon'^'^n 
rocket  (S.  irio),  grows  chiefly  about  Lond>  \, 
and  in  habit  is  somewhat  like  the  precedii.:^ 
species ;  but  the  herbage  is  of  a  lighter  green, 
and  entirely  smooth.  The  leaves  are  pinnati- 
fid,  runcinate,  acute,  the  upper  lanceolate,  with 
hastate  base ;  the  seed-pod  is  two  inches  long, 
rugged  when  ripe ;  the  seeds  are  very  abun- 
dant. It  is  sometimes  used  as  a  heating  pot- 
herb. 

3.  Fine-leaved  hedge  mustard  or  flixweed 
(S.  Sophia).  In  this  species  the  root  is  small 
and  tapering,  and  the  whole  plant  of  a  slen- 
der, delicate  structure;  stem  branched,  bushy, 
erect;  flowers  small,  greenish-yellow.  Pods  an 
inch  long,  numerous,  erect,  bearded.  (^Smith's 
Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  196.) 

This  is  one  of  the  plants  which  defeats  the 
opinion  that  popular  names  are  never  imposed 
without  good  reason.  The  plant  was  formerly 
supposed  to  be  a  cure  for  fractured  limbs, 
hence  its  name,  Sophia  chirurgorum ;  an  opinion 
only  demonstrative  of  the  contemptible  state 
of  surgery  at  the  period  when  the  name  origi- 
nated. Its  medicinal  powers  as  an  antidysen- 
teric  rest  on  equally  mistaken  observations. 

The  S.  officinalis  is  a  naturalized  foreigner 
in  the  United  States.  The  indigenous  species 
of  this  weed  found  in  the  States  are,  1.  The  5. 
Canadensis,  or  Hoary  sisymbrium.  2.  Arabis4ik4 
sisymbrium.  3.  Thalian  sisymbrium,  commonly 
called  Wall  cress.  Mouse-ear  cress,  extensively 
naturalized  in  the  United  States,  in  which  3  or 
4  additional  species  of  the  plant  are  enume- 
rated.   (See  Flor.  Cestric.) 

HEDGE-KNIFE.  Of  this  implement,  for 
trimming  hedges,  there  are  two  sizes,  to  be 
used  either  with  one  or  both  hands.  The 
smaller  one  is  a  common  and  well-known  im- 
plement. The  larger-sized  knife  should  have 
the  blade  20  inches  long  by  2^  broad,  and  the 
handle  3  feet.    It  is  slightly  curved  at  the  point. 

HEDGE  PARSLEY  (forilis).  Of  this  use- 
less weed  there  are  in  England  three  common 
species  :  the  upright  hedge  parsley  (T.  anthris' 
cus),  the  spreading  hedge  parsley  {T.  infesta), 
and  the  knotted  hedge  parsley  (T.  nodosa). 
They  are  annual  plants,  growing  by  waysides 
and  the  borders  of  fields,  varying  in  height  from 
6  inches  to  3  feet.  The  flowers  are  small,  white 
or  flesh-coloured,  blowing  in  June;  the  umbels 
lateral  and  terminal;  the  rays  from  7  to  10, 
rough,  little  spreading.  Fruit  small,  purplish 
at  the  summit,  furnished  with  incurved  bristles. 
(Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  42.) 

HELIOTROPE  (Heliolropum;  from  heUos,  the 
sun,  and  trope,  twining.  The  flowers  are  said 
to  turn  towards  the  sun).  Some  of  the  plants 
of  this  genus  are  highly  valued  for  the  fragrant 
perfume  of  their  flowers,  and  are  therefore  to 
be  met  with  in  most  gardens.  They  succeed 
freely  in  any  rich,  light  soil;  and  cuttings  of 


HbMLOCK. 


the  shrubby  kinds,  taken  off  when  young,  rea- 
dily strike  in  the  same  kind  of  soil.  {PaxtoiCs 
Lot.  J'irt.) 

HEMLOCK  (Cmium  mnadatvm).  A  her- 
baceous biennial  plant  distinguished  for  its 
poisonous  qualities,  very  common  in  hedges, 
orchards,  and  waste  ground,  especially  near 
towns  and  villages.  The  root  is  tape-shaped, 
whitish,  and  fleshy;  from  6  to  12  inches  long, 
Dot  unlike  a  voung  parsnip. 

HEMLOCK,   THE    WATER.     See  Cow- 

BAXE. 

HEMLOCK,  SPRUCE  (Jbies  Canadenm). 
See  Fins. 

HEMP  (Dan.  hamp.  Cannabis  saliva).  A 
very  valuable  plant  of  the  nettle  tribe,  Urtica- 
ccff,  which  came,  it  is  believed,  originally  from 
fndia,  but  has  long  since  been  npluralized  in 
various  parts  of  Europe.  The  chief  cultiva- 
tion is  now,  for  the  most  part,  confined  to  the 
Russian  empire,  where  it  is  grown  by  the  peas- 
ants in  small  plots.  It  there  forms  an  article 
of  export  of  very  considerable  commercial 
importance.  Of  530,820  cwts.  of  undressed 
hemp,  imported  into  England  in  1831,  506,803 
came  from  Russia,  9472  from  the  East  Indies, 
7405  from  Italy,  2262  from  the  Philippine  is- 
lands, 2248  from  the  United  States.  (AtCidloch.) 
As  Great  Britain  is  principally  dependent  on 
other  countries  for  a  supply  of  hemp,  it  fol- 
lows as  a  natural  consequence,  that,  in  periods 
of  war.  its  price  is  very  considerably  increased. 
The  hemp  plant  is  grown  in  some  parts  of 
Lincolnshire,  Suffolk,  and  Norfolk,  and  in  Ire- 
land (where  it  reaches  a  height  of  6  or  7  feet); 
but  it  is  not  nearly  so  much  cultivated  in  the 
British  islands  as  forntierly,  and  it  is  believed 
by  some  of  the  best  of  the  English  farmers  to 
be  a  crop  that  cannot  be  profitably  grown  in 
England,  although  the  quality  of  the  best  Brit- 
ish hemp  is  much  superior  to  that  of  Russia. 
In  Oriental  countries  it  sometims  attains  a 
height  of  16  to  18  feet.  The  hemp  plant  re- 
quires for  its  growth  a  fair,  highly  manured 
soil,  but  it  is  not  particular  as  to  the  quality. 
Old  deep  meadow  lands,  all  rich  alluvial,  and 
even  peaty  soils,  are  adapted  to  its  growth. 
Its  leaves  are  strongly  narcotic,  and  in  the 
eastern  climates  are  used  like  opium,  and 
smoked  like  tobacco.  From  its  seeds  (which 
are  greedily  devoured  by  birds)  is  extracted 
an  oil,  generally  employed  by  painters.  The 
Russians  and  Poles,  even  of  the  higher  classes, 
bruise  or  roast  the  seeds,  mix  them  wuth  salt, 
and  eat  them  on  bread.  The  hemp  plant  is  fine 
and  graceful ;  its  tough  and  elastic  fibres  are 
adapted,  above  those  of  every  other  plant,  for 
the  making  of  cordage,  canvass,  netting,  and 
various  cloths,  used  in  domestic  economy,  such 
as  iGTTrels,  and  coarse  table-cloths.  Besides 
tne  strong  cloth  and  other  articles  made  from 
it,  hemp  is  of  considerable  utility  for  other 
purposes.  The  refuse,  called  "  hemp  sheaves," 
atfords  an  excellent  fuel ;  and  the  fine  oil,  ob- 
tained from  the  seed,  is  peculiarly  adapted  for 
bjrning  in  chambers,  as  it  is  perfectly  limpid, 
and  possesses  no  smell.  Another  valuable 
property  of  hemp  is,  that  it  effectually  expels 
vermin  from  plantations  of  cabbages  ;  if  it  be 
sovn   on   the   borders  of  fields,  &c.,  planted 


HEMP. 

with  that  vegetable,  no  caterpillar  will  infest 
it.  (Willirh^s  Doni.  Ency.)  It  possesses  the 
anomalous  property  of  growing,  without  dege- 
nerating, for  a  series  of  years,  on  the  same 
ground,  provided  the  land  is  well  manured, 
it  is  what  is  called  a  smothering-crop,  for  its 
copious  foliage  kills  every  thing  that  is  at- 
tempted to  be  sown  with  it.  It  may  be  grown 
in  the  following  rotation,  as  suggested  by  Pro- 
fessor Low: — I.  Fallow;  2. Wheat;  .3. Grasses; 
4.  Hemp ;  5.  Oats.  The  land  intended  for 
hemp  should  be  brought,  by  repeated  plough- 
ings,  into  a  fine  tilth.  The  seed  may  be  sown 
in  April  and  May,  from  two  to  three  bushels 
per  acre,  either  broadcast,  and  hoeing  out  the 
plants  to  a  distance  of  16  or  17  inches,  or  by 
the  drill,  at  a  distance  of  30  inches.  In  the 
autumn,  the  plants  are  pulled,  the  male  plants 
first,  and  the  female  plants  six  or  seven  weeks 
afterwards,  when  they  have  ripened  their  seed. 
Thus  there  are  two  harvests  of  the  hemp  crop. 
The  male  plants  are  readily  known  by  their 
faded  flowers,  and  yellowish  colour.  They  are 
then  tied  in  small  bundles  and  carried  to  the 
pool,  where  they  are  tb'iiye  steeped.  Hemp, 
like  flax,  poisons  the  '^idtr  in  which  it  is 
steeped.  The  same  process  is  followed  when 
the  female  plants  are  pulled;  only  these,  be- 
fore they  are  steeped,  have  their  seeds  beaten 
out. 

The  process  of  steeping  commonly  lasts 
four  or  five  days,  and  is  continued  until  the 
outside  coat  of  the  hei»p  readily  separates.  It 
is  then  carefully  and  evenly  spread  on  some 
grass  turf,  where  it  remains  for  three  or  four 
weeks,  being  turned  over  about  twice  every 
week,  by  which  the  decomposition  of  the 
woody  part  of  the  stem  is  materially  accele- 
rated. It  is  next  carried  to  the  barn,  where  it 
is  bruised  by  the  break,  a  machine  constructed 
for  the  purpose ;  it  is  then  bound  up  into 
bundles,  and  carried  to  market.  (Low's  Prac. 
jJ^r.  p.  348.)  There  is  a  paper  on  a  species 
of  African  hemp  by  Mr.  A.  Hunter  (Trans. 
High.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  87)  ;  others  on  the  culti- 
vation of  hemp  in  America,  by  Mr.  W.  Tonge 
(Jinn,  of  JIgr.  vol.xxiii.  p.  1) ;  in  Italy  (ibid.  vol. 
xvi.  p.  439,  and  vol.  ii.  p.  216),  and  in  Catalo- 
nia. (Ibid.  vol.  viii.  p.  243.)  It  seems  that  100 
parts  of  Indian  hempseed  yield  20  to  25  per 
cent,  of  oil.  (Com.  Jgr.  Jsiat.  Soc.  1838,  p.  69.) 
See  Flax. 

Hemp  being  an  article  of  extensive  utility, 
various  plants  have  been  tried  as  substitutes  ; 
among  which  are  the  Canada  golden-rod  (Soli- 
dago  Canadensis),  a  perennial  plant  that  might 
easily  be  cultivated  in  Britain ;  its  stalks  are 
numerous,  straight,  and  grow  above  five  feet  in 
height ;  they  afllbrd  very  strong  fibres,  if  treated 
in  the  same  manner  as  hemp.  The  sun-flower 
(Helianthns)  also  affords  single  filaments  or 
fibres,  which  are  said  to  be  as  thick,  and  in  all 
respects  as  strong,  as  small  pack-thread.  The 
fibrous  stalk  of  the  common  nettle  (Urtica 
dioica)  has  been  advantageously  manufactured 
into  cloth.  Others  of  the  nettle  tribe,  such  a^ 
the  Chinese,  or  white-leaved  nettle  (U.nivea), 
and  the  Siberian,  or  hemp-leaved  nettle  (U.  can- 
nabina),  yield  tough  and  durable  fibres ;  and 
the  Syrian  SAvallow-wort  (Asclepias  Syriaca)  is 
3F  613 


HEMP. 


HEMP. 


amther  of  the  textile  plants;  but  no  conclu- 
sively satisfactory  experiments  of  their  culture 
appear  to  have  been  made. 

"  Various  common  plants,"  says  Professor 
Low  i^ELof  Prac.Agr.^.  351),  "yield  fibres 
of  sufficient  toughness  to  be  made  into  thread; 
as  the  Esparto-rush  {Stipa  tenacissima),  which 
is  used  in  Spain  for  obtaining  coarse  thread ; 
the  common  broom  (Cyiisiis  scoparia) ;  the  Spa- 
nish broom  {Spartmm  junceum)  ;  different  spe- 
cies of  aloe,  and  several  plants  of  the  lily  tribe. 
The  warmer  regions  of  the  world  abound  in 
plants  possessing  a  fibrous  structure  of  the 
barJ{,  which  renders  them  capable  of  being 
employed  in  making  ropes,  thread,  and  cloth." 

In  Mexico  and  South  America,  the  famous 
centennial  American  aloe  {Agave  Americana), 
which  there  grows  spontaneously,  is  extensively 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  cordage  of  various 
kinds.  There  is  no  doubi.  that  this  plant  would 
do  well  if  introduced  into  the  Florida  Penin- 
sula, as  it  even  bears  the  winters  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  and  Augusta,  Georgia.  "If," 
says  a  correspondent  of  the  Farmers  Register, 
(vol.  ii.  p.6,)  "any  additional  material  for  cord- 
age is  requisite  or  desirable  in  this  country,  we 
have  one  in  a  native  plant,  probably  not  in- 
ferior, for  that  purpose,  to  the  Agave  Amerirana. 
I  allude  to  the  Yucca  Jilamentosa,  which  grows 
spontaneously  in  light  saridy  soils,  (and  often 
on  the  very  poorest)  from  Virginia  to  Florida, 
and  is  commonly  known  under  the  name  of 
bear  grass,  and  sometiijjes  under  that  of  silk 
grass.  The  fibres  of  this  plant  are  remarkable 
for  their  strength,  and  I  have  seen  ropes  made 
of  it  equal  in  strength  and  appearance  to  any 
other.  To  obtain  the  fibres,  the  leaves  are 
•  rotted'  in  water,  or  by  burying  them  in  the  earth. 
Mr.  Elliot,  in  his  Sketch  of  the  Botany  of  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  says  of  this  plant,  that  it 
appears  to  possess  the  strongest  fibres  of  any 
vegetable  whatever;  and,  if  it  can  be  raised 
with  facility,  may  form  a  valuable  article  in 
domestic  economy.  The  root  is  also  a  substi- 
tute for  soap  in  washing  woollens. 

"  Of  the  facility  of  its  production,  I  entertain 
no  doubt.  No  plant  is  more  hardy,  or  bears 
transplanting  better.  Its  roots  are  extensive, 
having  numerous  eyes,  or  buds,  and  each  one 
of  these  will  produce  a  plant.  There  are  mil- 
lions of  acres  in  the  Southern  States  unfit  for 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  agriculture,  which 
would  produce  this  plant  very  well." 

In  the  Western  United  States,  and  especially 
in  the  upper  part  of  Kentucky,  hemp  is  exten- 
sively cultivated,  and  constitutes  a  staple  crop. 
A  very  interesting  communication  was  made  a 
few  years  since  to  the  "  Western  Agriculturist," 
upon  the  mode  of  conducting  the  various  pro- 
cesses connected  with  the  hemp  culture  in 
Kentucky,  by  the  distinguished  statesman  and 
agriculturist,  Mr.  Clay,  The  correctness  of  his 
views  and  recommendations  are  fully  confirm- 
ed by  those  who  have  put  them  to  the  test  of 
experience ;  and  as  the  subject  is  one  of  great 
agricultural  importance,  we  shall  extract  nearly 
the  whole  of  Mr.  Clay's  essay. 

Though  raised  in  other  parts  of  the  state  of 
Kentucky,  hemp  is  most  extensively  cultivated 
in  the  Elkhorn  region  around  and  near  Lex- 


ington. 


614 


The  soil  of  that  region,  says  Mr.  Clay,  is 
a  rich,  deep,  vegetable  loam,  free  from  sand  and 
with  but  little  grit.  It  lies  on  a  bed  of  clay, 
interspersed  with  small  fragments  of  iron  ore, 
and  this  clay  in  its  turn  reposes  on  a  mass  of 
limestone  lying  many  feet  in  depth  in  horizon- 
tal strata.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  ge- 
nerally undulating.  The  rich  land  (and  there 
is  but  little  that  is  not  rich),  in  this  whole  re- 
gion, is  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  hemp, 
where  it  has  not  been  too  much  exhausted  by 
injudicious  tillage.  The  lands  which  produce 
it  best,  are  those  which  are  fresh,  or  which 
have  lain  some  time  in  grass  or  clover.  Ma- 
nuri;ig  is  not  yet  much  practised.  Clover  is 
used  in  lieu  of  it.  Lands  which  remain  in 
clover  four  or  five  years  without  being  too 
constantly  and  closely  grazed,  recover  their 
virgin  ferti  ity.  The  character  of  the  soil  in 
the  other  parts  does  not  vary  materially  from 
that  in  the  Elkhorn  district. 

The  preparation  of  the  ground,  for  sowing 
the  seed,  is  by  the  plough  and  horses,  until  the 
clods  are  sufficiently  pulverized  or  dissolved, 
and  the  surface  of  the  field  is  rendered  even 
and  snjooth.  It  should  be  as  carefully  prepared 
as  if  it  were  for  flax.  This  most  important 
point,  too  often  neglected,  cannot  be  attended 
to  too  much.  Scarcely  any  other  crop  better 
rewards  diligence  and  careful  husbandry.  Fall 
or  winter  ploughing  is  practised  with  advan- 
tage— It  is  indispensable  in  old  meadows,  or  old 
pasture-grounds  intended  for  producing  hemp. 

Plants  for  seed  are  ordinarily  reared,  in  a 
place  distinct  from  that  in  which  they  are  cul- 
tivated for  the  lint.  In  this  respect,  the  usage 
is  different  from  that  wliich  is  understood  to 
prevail  in  Europe.  The  seeds  which  are  intend- 
ed to  reproduce  seeds  for  the  crop  of  the  next 
year,  are  sowed  in  drills  about  four  feet  apart. 
When  they  are  grown  sufficiently  to  distin- 
guish between  the  male  and  female  stalks,  the 
former  are  pulled  and  thrown  away,  and  the 
latter  are  thinned,  leaving  the  stalks  separated 
seven  or  eight  inches  from  each  other.  This 
operation  is  usually  performed  in  the  blooming 
season,  when  the  sexual  character  of  the  plants 
is  easily  discernible ;  the  male  alone  blossom- 
ing, and,  when  agitated,  throwing  off  farina,  a 
yellow  dust  or  flour  which  falls  and  colours 
the  ground,  or  any  object  that  comes  in  contact 
with  it.  A  few  of  the  male  plants  had  better 
be  left,  scattered  through  the  drill,  until  the 
farina  is  completely  discharged,  for  an  obvious 
reason.  Between  the  drills  a  plough  is  run 
sufficiently  often  to  keep  the  ground  free  from 
weeds  and  grass ;  and  between  the  stalks  in 
each  drill  the  hoe  is  employed  for  the  same 
object.  The  seed  plants  are  generally  cut 
after  the  first  smart  frost,  between  the  2.5th 
September  and  the  middle  of  October,  and  car- 
ried to  a  barn  or  stackyard,  where  the  seeds 
are  easily  detached  by  the  common  thrail. 
They  should  be  gathered  after  a  slight,  but 
before  a  severe  frost ;  and,  as  they  fall  out  very 
easily,  it  is  advisable  to  haul  the  plants  on  a 
sled,  and,  if  convenient,  when  they  are  wet.  It 
transported  on  a  cart  or  wagon,  a  sheet  should 
be  spread  to  catch  the  seed  as  they  shatter  out 
After  the  seeds  are  separated,  the  stalks  which 
bore  them  being  too  large,  coarse,  and  liarsh 


I 


HEMP. 


to  produce  lint,  are  usually  thrown  away ;  Ihey 
may  be  profitably  employed  in  makinsj  char- 
coal for  the  use  of  powder-mills.  In  Europe, 
where  tne  male  and  female  plants  are  promis- 
cuously grown  together  in  the  same  field,  both 
for  seeds  and  Ijr  lint,  the  male  stalks  are  first 
gathered,  and  the  female  suffered  to  remain 
growing  until  the  seeds  are  ripe,  when  they 
are  also  gathered,  the  seeds  secured  and  lint 
obtained,  after  the  rotting,  from  both  descrip- 
tions. 

After  the  seeds  are  thrashed  out,  it  is  advi- 
sable to  spread  them  on  a  floor  to  cure  properly 
and  prevent  their  rotting,  before  they  are  finally 
put  away  for  use  the  next  spring.  Seeds  are 
not  erenerally  used,  unless  they  were  secured 
the  fall  previous  to  their  being  sown,  as  it  is 
believed  they  will  not  vegetate,  if  older;  but  it 
has  been  ascertained  that,  when  they  are  pro- 
perly cured  and  kept  dry,  they  will  come  up 
after  the  first  3'ear.  It  is  important  to  prevent 
them  from  heating,  which  destroys  the  vegetat- 
ing property,  and  for  that  purpose  they  should 
be  thinly  spread  jn  a  sheltered  floor. 

The  seeds — whether  to  reproduce  seeds 
only,  or  the  lint — are  sowed  about  the  same 
time.  Opinions  vary  as  to  the  best  period.  It 
depends  a  good  deal  upon  the  season.  The 
plant  is  very  tender  when  it  first  shoots  up,  and 
is  affec:ed  by  frost.  Some  have  sowed  as  early 
as  the  1st  of  April;  but  it  is  generally  agreed, 
thai  all  the  month  of  May,  and  about  the  10th 
of  it  especially,  is  the  most  favourable  time. 
An  experienced  and  successful  hemp-grower, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lexington,  being  asked 
the  best  time  to  sow  hemp,  answered  immedi- 
ately before  a  rain. — And  undoubtedly  it  is 
very  fortunate  to  have  a  moderate  rain  directly 
after  sowing. 

["Would  it  not  be  well  to  soak  the  seed  in 
water  a  few  hours  previous  to  sowing  1  We 
have  found  this  to  answer  nearly  as  good  a 
purpose  as  rain  after  sowing,  with  all  seeds 
with  which  we  have  tried  it.  The  vegetation 
of  mangle-wurzel  is  wonderfully  accelerated 
by  i\"—Ed.  Am.  Farmer.] 

When  the  object  is  to  make  a  crop  of  hemp, 
the  seeds  are  sown  broadcast.  The  usual 
quf.ntity  is  a  bushel  and  a  half  to  the  acre  ;  but 
here  again  the  farmers  differ,  some  using  two 
brshels  or  even  two  and  a  half.  Much  depends 
on  the  strength  and  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the 
care  with  which  it  has  been  prepared,  as  well 
as  the  season.  To  these  causes  may  be  as- 
cribed the  diversity  of  opinion  and  practice. 
The  ground  can  only  sustain  and  nourish  a 
certain  quantity  of  plants;  and  if  that  limit  be 
passed,  the  surplus  will  be  smothered  in  the 
growth.  When  the  seeds  are  sown,  they  are 
ploughed  or  harrowed  in  ;  ploughing  is  best  in 
old  ground,  as  it  avoids  the  injurious  effect  of  a 
beating  rain,  and  the  consequent  baking  of  the 
earth.  It  would  be  also  beneficial,  subse- 
quently to  roll  the  ground  with  a  heavy  roller. 

After  the  seeds  are  sown,  the  labours  of  the 
cultivator  are  suspended,  until  the  plants  are 
ripe,  and  in  a  state  to  be  gathered — every  thing 
in  the  intermediate  time  being  left  to  the  ope- 
rations of  nature.  If  the  season  be  favourable 
until  the  plants  are  sufficiently  high  to  shade 
tho  ground  (which  they  will  do  in  a  few  weeks, 


HEMP. 

at  six  or  eight  inches  height,)  there  is  a  strong 
probability  of  a  good  crop.  When  they  attain 
that  height,  but  few  articles  sustain  the  effect 
of  bad  seasons  better  than  hemp. 

It  is  generally  ripe  and  ready  to  be  gathered 
about  the  middle  of  August,  varying  according 
to  the  time  of  sowing.  Some  sow  at  diflerent 
periods,  in  order  that  the  crop  may  not  all 
ripen  at  the  same  time,  and  that  a  press  of 
labour,  in  rearing  it,  may  be  thus  avoided.  The 
maturity  of  the  plant  is  determined,  by  the 
evapo/ation  of  the  farina,  already  noticed,  and 
the  leaves  of  the  plant  exhibiting  a  yellowish 
hue :  it  is  then  generally  supposed  to  be  ripe, 
but  it  is  safest  to  wait  a  few  days  longer.  Very 
little  attentive  observation  will  enable  any  one 
to  judge  when  it  is  fully  ripe.  In  that  respect 
it  is  a  very  accommodating  crop:  for  if  ga- 
thered a  little  too  soon,  the  lint  is  not  materi- 
ally injured,  and  it  will  wait  the  leisure  of  the 
farmer  some  10  days  or  a  fortnight  after  it  is 
entirely  ripe. 

Two  modes  of  gathering  the  plants  are 
practised;  one  by  pulling  them  up  by  the 
roots,  an  easy  operation  with  an  able-bodied 
man,  and  the  other  by  cutting  them  about  two 
inches  (the  nearer  the  better)  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground.  Each  mode  has  its  parti- 
sans, and  I  have  pursued  both.  From  a  quar- 
ter to  a  third  of  an  acre,  is  the  common  task  of 
an  average  labourer,  whether  the  one  or  the 
other  mode  is  practised.  The  objections  to 
pulling  are,  that  the  plants  with  their  roots 
remaining  connected  with  them,  are  not  after- 
wards so  easily  handled  in  the  several  opera- 
tions which  they  must  undergo  ;  that  all  parts 
of  the  plant  do  not  rot  equally  and  alike, 
when  exposed  to  the  dew  and  rain ;  and, 
finally,  that  before  you  put  them  to  the  brake, 
when  the  root  should  be  separated  from  the 
stalk,  the  root  drags  off  with  it  some  of  the  lint. 
The  objection  to  cutting  is,  that  you  lose  two 
or  three  inches  of  the  best  part  of  the  plant 
nearest  the  root.  Pulling,  being  the  most  an- 
cient method,  is  most  generally  practised.  I 
prefer  upon  the*  whole,  cutting — and  I  believe 
the  number  who  prefer  it  is  yearly  increasing. 
When  pulled,  it  is  done  with  the  hand,  which 
is  better  for  the  protection  of  an  old  leather 
glove.  The  labourer  catches  20  or  30  plants 
together,  with  both  hands,  and,  by  a  sudden 
jerk,  draws  them  without  much  difficulty.  The 
operation  of  cutting  is  performed  with  a  knife, 
often  made  out  of  an  old  scythe,  resembling  a 
sickle,  though  not  so  long,  but  broader.  This 
knife  is  applied  much  in  the  same  way  as  the 
sickle.-  except  that  the  labourer  stoops  more. 

Whether  pulled  or  cut,  the  plants  are  care- 
fully laid  on  the  ground,  the  evener  the  better, 
to  cure — which  they  do  in  two  or  three  days, 
in  dry  weather.  A  light  rain  falling  on  them 
whilst  lying  down  is  thought  by  some  to  be 
beneficial,  inasmuch  as  the  leaves,  of  which 
they  should  be  deprived,  may  be  then  easier 
shaken  off  or  detached.  When  cured,  the 
plants  are  set  up  in  the  field  in  which  they 
were  produced,  in  shocks  of  convenient  size, 
the  roots  or  butt-ends  resting  on  the  ground, 
and  the  tops  united  above  by  a  band  made  of 
the  plants  themselves.  Previous  to  putting 
them  up  in  shocks,  most  cultivators  tie  thi^ 

ol5 


HEMP. 


HEMP. 


•)1ants  in  small  hand-bnndles  of  such  a  size  as 
that  each  can  be  conveniently  held  in  one 
nand.  Before  the  shocks  are  formed,  the 
leaves  of  the  plants  should  be  rapidly  knocked 
off  with  a  rough  paddle  or  hooked  stick.  Some 
suffer  the  plants  to  remain  in  these  shocks 
until  the  plants  are  spread  down  to  be  rotted. 
Others,  again,  collect  the  shocks  together  as 
soon  as  they  can  command  leisure  (and  it  is 
clearly  best),  and  form  them  into  stacks.  A 
few  farmers  permit  these  stacks  to  remain 
over  a  whole  year,  before  the  plants  are  ex- 
posed to  be  rotted.  I  have  frequently  done  it 
with  advantage,  and  have  at  this  time  two 
crops  in  stalks.  By  remaining  that  period  in 
stalks,  the  plants  go  through  a  sweat,  or  some 
other  process  that  improves  very  much  the  ap- 
pearance, and,  I  believe,  the  quality  of  the  lint, 
and  this  improvement  fully  compensates  the 
loss  of  time  in  bringing  it  to  market.  The 
lint  has  a  soft  texture  and  a  lively  hue,  resem- 
bling water-rotted  hemp  ;  and  I  once  sold  a  box 
of  it  in  the  Baltimore  market  at  the  price  of 
Russia  hemp.  In  every  other  respect,  the 
plants  are  treated  as  if  they  were  not  kept  over 
a  year. 

The  method  of  dew-rotting  is  that  which  is 
generally  practised  in  Kentucky.  The  lint  so 
spread  is  not  so  good  for  many  purposes,  and 
especially  for  rigging  and  ships,  as  when  the 
plants  have  been  rotted  by  immersion  in  water, 
or,  as  it  is  generally  termed,  water-rotted.  The 
greater  value,  and  consequently  higher  price, 
of  the  article,  prepared  in  the  latter  way,  has 
induced  more  and  more  of  our  farmers  every 
year  to  adopt  it;  and,  if  that  prejudice  were 
subdued,  which  every  American  production 
unfortunately  encounters,  when  it  is  first  in- 
troduced and  comes  in  competition  with  a 
rival  European  commodity,  I  think  it  probable 
that,  in  a  few  years,  we  should  be  able  to  dis- 
pense altogether  with  foreign  hemp.  The  ob- 
stacles, which  prevent  the  general  practice  of 
water-rotting,  are,  the  want  of  water  at  the 
best  season  for  the  operation,  which  is  the 
month  of  September ;  a  repugnance  to  the 
change  of  an  old  habit;  and  a  persuasion 
which  has  some  foundation,  that  handling  the 
plants,  after  their  submersion  in  water  during 
that  month  is  injurious  to  health.  The  first 
and  last  of  these  obstacles  would  be  removed 
by  water-rotting  early  in  the  winter,  or  in  the 
spring.  The  only  difference  in  the  operation, 
performed  at  those  seasons  and  in  the  month 
of  September,  would  be,  that  the  plants  would 
have  to  remain  longer  in  soak  before  they 
were  sufficiently  rotted. 

The  plants  are  usually  spread  down  to  be 
dew-rotted,  from  the  middle  of  October  to  the 
middle  of  December.  A  farmer  who  has  a 
large  crop  on  hand,  puts  them  down  at  different 
times  for  his  convenience  in  handling  and 
dressing  them.  Autumnal  rotting  is  more  apt 
to  give  the  lint  a  dark  and  unsightly  colour 
than  winter-rotting.  The  best  ground  to  ex- 
pose the  plants  upon  is  meadow  or  grass-land, 
but  ihev  are  not  unfrequently  spread  over  the 
same  ^eld  on  which  they  grew.  The  length 
of  time  they  ought  to  remair\  exposed,  depends 
uiion  the  degree  of  moisture  and  the  tempera- 
♦tire  of  the  weather  that  prevail.  In  a  very 
(16 


wet  and  warm  spell  five  or  six  weeks  may  be 
long  enough.  Whether  they  have  been  suffi- 
ciently rotted  or  not  is  determined  by  experi- 
ment. A  handful  is  taken  and  broken  by  the 
hand  or  applied  to  the  brake,  when  it  can  be 
easily  ascertained,  by  the  facility  with  which 
the  lint  can  be  detached  from  the  stalk,  if  it  be 
properly  rotted.  If  the  plants  remain  on  the 
ground  too  long,  the  fibres  lose  some  of  their 
strength,  though  a  few  days  longer  than  neces- 
sary, in  cold  weather,  will  not  do  any  injury. 
If  they  are  taken  up  too  soon,  that  is  before  the 
lint  can  be  easily  separated  from  the  woody 
part  of  the  stalk,  it  is  harsh,  and  the  process 
of  breaking  is  difficult  and  troublesome.  Snow- 
rotting,  that  is  when  the  plants,  being  spread 
out,  remain  long  enough  to  rot  (which  how- 
ever requires  a  greater  length  of  time),  bleaches 
the  lint,  improves  the  quality,  and  makes  it 
nearly  as  valuable  as  if  it  had  been  water- 
rotted. 

After  the  operation  of  rotting  is  performed, 
the  plants  are  again  collected  together,  put  in 
shocks  or  stacks,  or  which  is  still  better,  put 
under  a  shed  or  some  covering.  When  it  is 
designed  to  break  and  dress  them  immediately, 
they  are  frequently  set  up  against  some  neigh- 
bouring fence.  The  best  period  for  breaking 
and  dressing  is  in  the  month  of  February  and 
March,  and  the  best  sort  of  weather,  frosty 
nights  and  clear  thawing  days.  The  brake 
cannot  be  used  advantageously  in  wet  or  moist 
weather.  It  Is  almost  invariably  used  in  this 
state  out  of  doors  and  without  any  cover,  and 
to  assist  its  operation,  the  labourer  often  makes 
a  large  fire  near  it,  which  serves  the  double 
purpose  of  drying  the  plants  and  wanning 
himself.  It  could  not  be  used  in  damp  weather 
in  a  house  without  a  kiln  or  some  other  means 
of  drying  the  stalks. 

The  brake  in  general  use  is  the  same  hand- 
brake which  was  originally  introduced,  and 
has  been  always  employed  here,  resembling, 
though  longer  than  the  common  flax-brake. 
It  is  so  well  known  as  to  render  a  particular 
description  of  it,  perhaps,  unnecessary.  It  is 
a  rough  contrivance,  set  upon  four  legs,  about 
two  and  a  half  feet.  high.  The  brake  consists 
of  two  jaws  with  slits  in  each,  the  lower  jaw 
fixed  and  immovable,  and  the  upper  cne 
movable,  so  that  it  may  be  lifted  up  by  means 
of  a  handle  inserted  into  a  head  or  block  at  the 
front  end  of  it.  The  lower  jaw  has  three  slats 
or  teeth  made  of  tough  white  oak,  and  the 
upper  two,  arranged  approaching  to  about  two 
inches  in  front,  and  in  such  manner  that  the 
slats  of  the  upper  jaw  play  between  those  of 
the  lower.  These  slats  are  about  six  or  seven 
feet  in  length,  six  inches  in  depth,  and  about 
two  inches  in  thickness  in  their  lower  edges: 
they  are  placed  edgeways,  rounded  a  little  on 
their  upper  eds:es,  which  are  sharper  than 
those  below.  The  labourer  takes  his  stand  by 
the  side  of  the  brake,  and  grasping  in  his  left 
hand  as  many  of  the  stalks  as  he  can  conve- 
niently hold,  with  his  right  hand  he  seizes  the 
handle  in  the  head  of  the  upper  jaw,  which  he 
lifts,  and  throwing  the  handful  of  stalks  be- 
tween the  jaws,  repeatedly  strikes  ihem  by 
lifting  and  throwing  down  the  upper  i-". 
These  successive  strokes  break  the  woo  ' 


HEMP. 


reedy  part  of  the  stalks  into  small  pieces  or 
shoes,  which  fall  off  during  the  process.  He 
assists  their  disengagement  by  striking  the 
handful  against  a  stake,  or  with  a  small  wooden 
paddle,  until  the  lint  or  bark  is  entirely  clean, 
and  completely  separated  from  the  woody  par- 
ticles. 

After  the  above  operation  is  performed,  the 
hemp  may  be  scutched  to  soften  it,  and  to 
strengthen  the  threads.  That  process,  how- 
ever, is  not  thought  to  be  profitable,  and  is  not 
therefore  generally  performed  by  the  grower, 
but  is  left  to  the  manufacturer,  as  well  as  that 
of  beating  and  heckling  it.  Scutching  is  done 
by  the  labourer  taking  in  his  left  hand  a  hand- 
ful of  lint,  and  grasping  it  firmly,  then  laying 
the  middle  of  it  upon  a  semi-circular  nctch  oi 
a  perpendicular  board  of  the  scutching-frame, 
and  striking  with  the  edge  of  the  scutch  that 
part  of  the  lint  which  hangs  down  on  the 
board.  After  giving  it  repeated  strokes,  he 
shakes  the  handful  of  lint,  replaces  it  on  a 
notch,  and  continues 'to  strike  and  turn  all 
parts  of  it,  until  it  is  sutficiently  cleansed,  and 
the  fibres  appear  to  be  even  and  straight. 

The  usual  daily  task  of  an  able-bodied 
hand  at  the  brake  is  80  pounds*  weight,  but 
there  is  a  great  difference  not  only  in  the  state 
of  the  weather,  and  the  condition  of  the  stalks, 
produced  by  the  greater  or  less  degree  in  which 
they  have  been  rotted,  but  in  the  dexterity  with 
which  the  brake  is  employed.  Some  hands 
have  been  known  to  brake  from  150  to  200 
pounds  per  day.  The  labourer  ties  up  in  one 
common  bundle  the  work  of  one  day,  and  in 
this  state  it  is  taken  to  market  and  sold.  From 
what  has  been  mentioned,  it  may  be  inferred, 
as  the  fact  is,  that  the  hemp  of  some  growers 
is  in  a  much  better  condition  than  that  of  others. 
When  it  has  been  carelessly  handled  or  not 
sutficiently  cleansed,  a  deduction  is  made  from 
the  price  by  the  purchaser.  It  is  chietiy  bought 
in  our  villages,  and  manufactured  into  cotton- 
bageiiisr,  bales,  and  other  kinds  of  untarred 
cordaire.  The  price  is  not  uniform.  The  ex- 
tremes have  been  as  low  as  three,  and  as 
high  as  eight  dollars,  for  the  long  hundred — 
the  customary  mode  of  selling  it.  The  most 
general  price  during  a  term  of  many  years,  has 
been  from  four  to  five  dollars.  At  five  dollars 
it  compensates  well  the  labour  of  the  grower, 
niid  IS  considered  more  )»rofitable  than  any 
ihiiisr  el':e  the  farmer  has  cultivated. 

The  most  heavy  labour  in  the  culture  of 
hemp,  is  pulling  or  cutting  it,  when  ripe,  and 
brakins:  it  when  rotted.  This  labour  can 
easily  he  performed  by  men.  Various  attempts 
have  been  made  to  improve  the  process  of 
braking,  which  is  the  severest  work  in  the 
preparation  of  hemp.  A  newly  invented  ma- 
chine was  erected  for  that  purpose  on  my  farm 
six  or  eight  years  ago,  to  dress  hemp  by  dis- 
pensing with  rotting  altogether,  similar  in 
fitructure  to  one  which  was  exhibited  about  the 
same  time  at  Columbus,  during  the  sitting  of 
the  Ohio  legislature.  It  was  worked  by  horse 
power,  and  detached  the  lint  tolerably  well, 
producing  a  very  fine  looking  article,  equalling 
in  appearance  Russia  hemp.  A  ton  of  it  was 
Hold  to  the  navy  department,  which  was  manu- 
factured into  rigging  for  the  ship  of  the  line, 
78 


HEMP. 

the  North  Carolina,  prior  to  her  making  a 
voyage  of  three  years  in  the  Mediterranean. 
Upon  her  return,  the  cordage  was  examiufi 
and  analyzed  ;  and  although  its  exterior  looked 
very  well,  it  was  found,  on  opening  it,  to  be 
decayed  and  affected  somewhat  like  the  dry-rot 
in  wood.  I  considered  the  experiment  deci- 
sive ;  and  it  is  now  believed  that  the  process 
of  water  or  dew-rotting  is  absolutely  necessary, 
either  before  or  after  the  hemp  has  been  to  the 
brake.  There  is  a  sappy  or  glutinous  property 
of  which  it  should  be  divested,  and  that  is  the 
only  process  that  has  been  hitherto  generally 
and  successfully  employed  to  divest  it. 

An  ingenious  and  enterprising  gentleman 
in  the  neighbcurhood  of  Lexington,  has  been, 
ever  since  the  erection  of  the  above-mentioned 
machine,  trying  various  experiments,  by  alter- 
ing and  improving  it,  to  produce  one  more 
perfect,  which  might  be  beneficially  employed 
on  rotted  hemp,  to  diminish  the  labours  of  the 
brake.  He  mentioned  the  other  day  that  all  of 
them  had  failed;  that  he  had  returned  to  the 
old  hand-brake,  and  that  he  was  convinced 
that  it  answered  the  purpose  better  than  any 
substitute  with  which  he  was  acquainted.  I 
observe  Mr.  H.  L.  Barnum  has  recently  adver- 
tised a  machine,  which  he  has  constructed  for 
braking  and  dressing  hemp  and  flax,  which 
can  be  procured  at  the  establishment  of  Mr. 
Smith,  in  Cincinnati.  I  most  cordially  wish 
him  success  ;  but  the  number  of  failures  which 
I  have  witnessed,  during  a  period  of  30  years, 
in  the  attempts  to  supersede  manual  labour  by 
the  substitution  of  that  of  machines,  induces 
me  to  fear  that  it  will  be  long  before  this  desi- 
deratum is  attained. 

The  quantity  of  net  hemp  produced  to  the 
acre,  is  from  600  to  1000  weight,  varying  ac- 
cording to  the  fertility  and  preparation  of  the 
soil  and  the  state  of  the  season.  It  is  said  that 
the  quantity  which  any  field  will  produce,  may 
be  anticipated  by  the  average  height  of  the 
plants  throughout  the  field.  Thus — if  the  plants 
will  average  eight  feet  in  height,  the  acre  will 
yield  800  weight  of  hemp,  each  foot  in  height 
corresponding  to  a  hundredweight  of  the  lint. 

Hemp  exhausts  the  soil  slowly,  if  at  alL 
An  old  and  successful  cultivator  told  me  that 
he  had  taken  13  or  14  successive  crops  from 
the  same  field,  and  that  the  last  was  the  best. 
That  was  probably,  however,  owing  to  a  con- 
currence of  favourable  circumstances.  No- 
thing cleanses  and  prepares  the  earth  better 
for  other  crops  (especially  for  small  grain  or 
grasses)  than  hemp.  It  eradicates  all  weeds, 
and  when  it  is  taken  off,  leaves  the  field  not 
only  clean,  but  smooth  and  even. 

The  rich  lands  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illi- 
nois, are,  I  have  no  doubt,  generally  well 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  this  valuable 
plant;  and  those  states  enjoy  some  advantages 
for  the  cultivation  of  it,  which  this  does  not 
possess.  Their  streams  do  not  dry  up  as  much 
as  ours,  and  they  consequently  employ  better 
than  we  can,  the  agency  of  water,  in  the  pre- 
paration of  it.  Their  projected  canals,  when 
completed,  will  admit  of  its  being  carried  to 
the  Atlantic  capitals  at  less  expense  in  th« 
transportation  than  we  can  send  it.  (Jme- 
rican  Fanner,  vol.  xiv.) 

3f2  617 


HEMP  AGRIMONY. 


HENBIT. 


Mr.  Ellsworth,  in  his  report  upon  improve- ' 
irents  in  agriculture,  &c.,  made  in  the  United 
iSiates,  in  1842,  observes  in  relation  to  the  hemp 
culture,  thai  attention  is  still  directed,  and  it 
would  seem  with  somewhat  more  success,  to  ■ 
the  discovery  of  a  process  of  water-rotting  j 
hemp;  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  difficulties  on 
this  subject  may  yet  be  removed.  It  is  stated 
that,  in  consequence  of  the  promise  last  winter 
of  sending  out  a  government  agent  to  purchase 
water-rotted  hemp  for  the  navy,  the  farmers  of 
Kentucky  and  Missouri  have  water-rotted  700 
tons  or  more.  This,  at  the  prices  paid  by 
the  government  for  Russian  hemp,  is  worth 
$200,000.  Many  specimens,  it  is  further  slated, 
have  been  examined,  and  pronounced  equal 
to  Russia  hemp.  Were  a  suitable  reward  to 
be  offered,  to  stimulate  the  ingenious,  it  can 
hardly  be  doubted  that,  by  a  variety  of  expe- 
riments, some  process  of  preparing  it  for  the 
use  of  the  navy,  as  well  as  the  Russia  hemp, 
might  be  found  out. 

An  important  discovery,  respecting  the  ap- 
plication of  waste  hemp  to  the  purpose  of 
paper-making,  has  recently  been  announced ; 
and  if,  when  it  is  sufficiently  tested,  it  proves 
all  that  it  promises,  it  will  afford  an  additional 
inducement  to  the  culture  of  hemp.  A  process 
is  said  to  have  been  found  out,  by  which  hemp 
can  be  made  white  as  snow,  and  that  it  can  be 
used  in  manufacturing  the  finest  and  whitest 
paper;  and  a  belief  is  entertained  that  hemp 
waste,  which  can  be  furnished  at  two  cents 
per  pound,  will  ere  long  be  sought  for  by 
paper-makers,  to  supply  the  place  of  linen 
rags. 

Hemp  is  beginning  to  be  raised  somewhat 
more  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States. 
This  is  true  especially  of  the  northern  pari  of 
the  stale  of  New  York.  At  present,  however, 
it  is  confined  to  the  seed  crop,  owing  to  the 
high  price  of  the  seed.  It  is  affirmed  to  be  a 
mistake  to  suppose  that  it  must  be  confined  to 
alluvial  lands,  as  has  been  shown  by  the 
farmers  of  Saratoga  and  Washington  counties, 
in  the  state  of  New  York.  We  import  hemp 
or  hempen  articles,  some  years,  to  the  extent  of 
^9,000,000  or  $10,000,000  in  value.  It  is  worth 
from  §200  and  upwards  per  ton.  When  planted 
in  drills,  at  a  suitable  distance,  as  it  should 
be,  and  properly  cultivated,  hemp  generally 
produces  from  20  to  40  bushels  of  seed  to  the 
acre ;  and  instances  are  not  rare  of  its  yield- 
ing from  50  to  60.  The  seed  is  generally 
worth  from  3  to  6  dollars  per  bushel.  When 
sown  for  the  lint,  it  should  be  sown  broadcast, 
from  2  to  3  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre,  depend- 
ng  on  the  quality  of  the  land ;  and  it  usually 
produces  from  700  to  1000  weight  of  clean 
hemp  to  the  acre.  Much  valuable  information 
respecting  the  culture  and  importance  of  this 
crop  may  be  found  in  the  files  of  the  Kentucky 
Farmer  for  the  last  few  years. 

HEMP  AGRIMONY  (Eupatoiium  canna- 
bmvm).  A  rough  perennial  herb,  growing  in 
England  in  watery,  boggy  places,  especially 
about  the  banks  of  rivers,  with  a  tufted,  some- 
wnat  creeping  root,  with  many  long  fibres. 
Stems  several,  2  or  3  feet  high,  branched, 
d'»wny,  often  brown  or  purplish,  filled  with 
618 


pith.  Leaves  on  short  stalks,  deep  green, 
downy,  but  rather  rough  to  the  touch.  Th.e 
flowers  form  dense,  pale,  purplish  corymbcs-* 
tufts,  at  the  top  of  the  stem  and  upp^r 
branches.  The  whole  herb  is  slightly  aroma- 
tic. Some  species  of  agrimony  are  used  in 
gargles,  and  as  tea.  See  Agrimony.  (Smith's 
Enc;.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  400.) 

HEMP,  INDIAN  (Jpocynum  cannabinvm). 
An  American  plant  with  a  perennial  root, 
found  in  the  borders  of  woodlands  and  other 
situations  in  the  Middle  States,  flowering  in 
August.  The  stems  grow  from  2  to  4  feet 
high,  smooth,  purple,  slightly  glaucous,  with 
rather  erect  branches.  The  leaves  are  from 
2  to  4  or  5  inches  long,  half  an  inch  to  an  inch 
and  a  half  wide,  elliptic  in  general  form,  and 
more  or  less  downy  beneath.  The  greenish- 
white  flowers  are  numerous,  and  sometimes 
tinged  with  red.  There  seems  to  be  several 
varieties  referrable  to  this  species,  the  bai'c 
of  which  affords  a  strong  fibre  similar  to  that 
of  hemp.  One  or  two*  additional  species  of 
apocynum  have  been  met  with  in  the  United 
States.     (Floi-a  Cestrica.) 

HEMP-NETTLE  (Galeopsis).  A  genus  of 
annual  weeds  common  in  corn  fields,  flower- 
ing in  July,  August,  and  September.  Dr.  Smith 
describes  four  native  species  in  England. 

1.  Red  hemp-nettle  (G.  ladanum). 

2.  Downy  hemp-nettle  (G.  villosa). 

3.  Common  hemp-nettle  (G.  tetrahit). 

4.  Large-flowered  hemp-nettle.  Bee  nettle 
(G.  versicolor).    (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  92). 

HENBANE  (Hyoscyamus  niger).  Black  hen- 
bane. This  annual  herb  abounds  about  vil- 
lages, road-sides,  and  among  rubbish,  and  in 
England  flowers  in  July.  Neither  horses, 
cattle,  swine,  nor  sheep,  will  touch  this  plant, 
and  it  is  not  relished  by  goats.  The  whole 
plant  is  fatal  to  poultry,  whence  its  common 
name;  it  intoxicates  hogs;  but  cows,  horses, 
dogs,  and  goats  are  able  to  bear  a  tolerable 
proportion  before  they  are  affected.  The  leaves 
are  active  only  in  the  second  year  of  the  plant: 
if  scattered  about  buildings,  they  are  said  to 
drive  away  mice  and  rats.  If  more  than  a 
small  portion  of  the  leaves  should  have  been 
accidentally  swallowed,  brisk  emetics  ought 
instantly  to  be  taken ;  and  after  discharging 
the  contents  of  the  stomach,  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  administer  some  mild  drinks,  such  as 
large  portions  of  vinegar,  or  lemon  juice  di- 
luted with  water,  as  the  stomach  is  able  to 
support  them. 

Henbane  owes  its  medicinal  properties  to 
an  alkali,  hyoscyamia,  which  can  be  obtained 
in  a  separate  state.  It  is  crystallizable.  Be- 
sides this  alkali,  the  plant  yields  by  destructive 
distillation  an  empyreumatic  oil,  which  is  a 
powerful  narcotic  poison.  Notwithstanding 
these  virulent  properties,  henbane  has  been 
professionally  administered  with  considerable 
success  in  many  obstinate  diseases.  The  ex- 
pressed juice  of  the  leaves,  evaporated  to  the 
consistency  of  extract,  has  long  been  used  as 
a  narcotic,  an  anti-spasmodic,  and  a  sopo- 
rific. 

HENBIT,  THE  GREAT,  or  Hexeit  Dead 
Nettle.      See   Dead    Nettle.     In   England 


Plate  9. 


wm 


INFERIOR  HERBAGE  PlAl^TS   OCCASIONALLY  CULT1VA'I:ED. 


I 


HENBIT. 


henbit  is  also  one  of  the  common  names  of 
the  fetid  black  horehound  (Ballota  nigra). 

In  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle  States, 
where  the  dead  nettle  is  extensively  natural- 
ized, it  is  a  troublesome  weed  in  gardens, 
where  it  may  often  be  seen  in  flower  as 
early  as  February  and  March.  (^Flora  Ces- 
tricu.) 

HENBIT,  SMALL.     See  Sperpwell. 

HEPATIC  A,  or  LIVERWORT  (Jnemme 
hcputua).  Miller  mentions  five  sorts  :  the  sin- 
gle blue  (nobilis),  ihe  double  blue  (plena),  the 
single  white  (alba),  the  single  red  {vulgaris), 
and  the  double  red  (rubra).  In  England  these 
beautiful  and  early  perennials  produce  their 
flowers  in  February  and  March,  before  any 
kaf  appears.  The  double  sorts  remain  longer 
ill  flower  than  the  single  ones.  The  single 
Uowers  produce  seed  every  year;  the  seed 
shi)uld  be  sown  in  pots  or  boxes  of  light  earth 
in  August,  to  receive  only  the  morning  sun  till 
October,  when  the  plants  must  be  placed  in  as 
■tnny  a  spot  as  possible  through  the  winter. 
iie  seedlings  may  be  transplanted  the  follow- 
11?  August  into  the  borders,  and  left  there 
undisturbed.  Hepaticas  do  not  bear  trans- 
planting well ;  and  the  roots  should  only  be 
parted  once  in  three  or  four  years.  The  hepa- 
tica  loves  an  eastern  aspect,  and  a  loamy  soil. 
They  are  three  years  before  they  flower  hand- 
somely.   See  LivKRwoHT. 

HERBACEOUS  (Lat.  herba).  In  describing 
the  texture  of  bodies,  denotes  their  being  green 
and  cellular,  as  the  tissue  of  membranous 
leaves.  It  is  also  applied  to  such  perennial 
plants  as  lose  their  stems  annually,  while  their 
roots  remain  permanent  in  the  ground. 

HERBAL  (Lat.  herbarium).  A  collection  of 
dried  plants,  such  as  the  old  botanists  termed 
a  hor'us  siccus  or  dry  garden.  It  is  also  applied 
to  books  which  contain  a  methodical  arrange- 
ment of  the  classes,  genera,  species,  and  varie- 
ties of  plants,  together  with  an  account  of  their 
properties.  Dry  herbals  are  formed  by  glueing 
to  sheets  of  paper,  twigs  and  other  parts  of 
plants  pressed  flat,  and  dried  in  bibulous  paper 
or  otherwise.  If  well  prepared,  they  are  as 
useful  to  the  botanist  as  living  plants ;  but  it 
is  necessary  to  have  some  practical  skill  to  be 
able  to  employ  them  advantageously..  The 
best  method  of  making  a  horlus  siccus  or  herbal, 
is  to  place  the  plant  to  be  dried  between  paper 
of  a  soft  and  spongy,  unglazed  texture,  under 
a  slight  pressure.  On  the  following  day  the 
plant  should  be  spread,  in  as  natural  a  form  as 
possible,  between  folds  of  fresh,  dry,  blotting 
paper;  and  a  pressure  greater  than  before  em- 
ployed. In  a  week  it  will  be  sufiiciently  dry 
for  pasting  on  a  half  sheet  of  white  paper ;  to 
which  the  name  of  the  plant,  its  habitat,  and 
the  natural  order,  with  the  date,  may  be  ap- 
pended. The  largest  public  herbaria  are  those 
of  the  museum  at  Paris,  the  imperial  collection 
at  Vienna,  the  royal  of  Berlin,  and  that  of  the 
British  museum,  London,  formerly  Sir  Joseph 
Banks's.  Nothing  certain  is  known  of  the 
extent  of  these  collections,  but  they  probably 
contain  in  some  cases  as  many  as  60,000 
species.  The  herbarium  is  not  an  attractive 
part  of  public  museums;  but  a  very  important 
one  for  numerous  purposes  of  science,  both 


HICKORY. 

practical  and  speculative.     (Brande's  Did,  of 
\  Science.) 

j  HERBIVEROUS  ANIMALS,  FOOD  OF 
M.  Dumas,  in  a  paper  recently  read  before 
the  French  Academy,  states,  that  he  has  as- 
I  certained  the  quantity  of  fat  in  animals  in  a 
!  healthy  state  does  not  depend  on  some  pecu- 
liar process  in  the  digestion,  but  upon  the 
quantity  of  fatty  matter  contained  in  the  food 
eaten.  He  states,  that  on  analysis  of  hay  and 
Indian  corn  or  maize,  he  found  the  former 
yield  2  per  cent,  of  fatty  matter  and  the  latter 
9  per  cent.  Herbiverous  animals,  he  says, 
always  make  less  fat  than  the  amount  of  fat 
contained  in  their  food ;  but  the  milch  cow 
furnishes  a  larger  quantity  than  any  other  ani- 
mal, and  the  quantity  of  butter  that  she  sup- 
plies, would,  if  weighed,  be  found  equivalent 
to  that  contained  in  her  food. 

HERD  (Sax.  hypt)).  A  number  of  beasts 
congregated  together.  It  is  particularly  applied 
to  black  cattle.  Herd  or  herdsman  also  an- 
ciently signified  a  keeper  of  cattle,  and  in  the 
north  of  England  it  is  still  used. 

HERD'S  GRASS,  or  Foul  Meadow  Grass. 
This  grass  is  a  spontaneous  growth,  says  Buel, 
of  the  wet  lands  of  the  United  States.  The 
white  top  and  red  top  are  different  varieties  of 
herd's  grass. 

HERRING  (Clttpea  harengtis).  This  well- 
known  fish  is  found  in  great  abundance  from 
the  highest  northern  latitudes  down  to  the 
northern  coast  of  France.  Large  shoals  of 
them  frequent  the  coasts  of  the  British  Islands, 
and  give  employment  to  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  boats  and  men,  forming  a  principal  arti- 
cle of  commerce.  A  very  elaborate  treatise  on 
the  natural  history  and  the  different  modes  of 
fishing  and  curing  the  herring,  by  Mr.  John 
Mitchell,  was  published  in  the  Edin.  Quart. 
Journ.  of  Jgr.,  vol.  x.  p.  1. 

The  scales  and  other  refuse  of  the  herring 
fishery  of  the  Suffolk  coast  are  used  with  great 
success  as  a  manure  by  the  farmers  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Lowestoff.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  this  fish  is  a  powerful  manure.  The  cake 
produced  in  Sweden  by  the  herring  oil-makers 
is  considered  by  the  farmers  of  that  cold  coun 
try  to  be  the  most  powerful  of  fertilizers.  And 
I  have  in  another  place  given  the  result  of  an 
experiment  with  some  spoiled  dried  herrings 
on  a  Kentish  hop  plantation.  (Johnson  on  Salt, 
p.  101 ;  Trans.  High.  Sac.  vol.  v.  p.  404.)  See 
Fish,  as  a  Maiture. 

Most  of  the  varieties  of  herring  found  m 
Europe  have  been  recognised  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  the  United  States.  The  manhadeny 
caught  in  such  numbers  on  the  shores  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  and  there  used  so  extensively 
and  profitably  as  manure,  belongs  to  the  her- 
ring family  (Clupea  manhaden). 

HESSIAN  FLY.     See  Fly  ix  Wheat. 

HICKORY.  A  common  name  throughout  the 
United  States,  applied  to  several  species  of  the 
walnut  genus,  which,  in  the  variety  of  trees 
composing  the  vast  original  forests  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  ranks  after  the  oak  in  the  number 
of  its  species.  The  botanical  section  which 
includes  the  hickories,  according  to  Michaux''^ 
arrangement,  contains  eight  species ;  namely 
Pacanenut  Hickory,  BUternut  Hickor^    Water  Bi! 

619 


HICKORY. 


HICKORY. 


^ernut  Hickory,  Mockernut  Hickory,  Shellhark  Hick- 
wv,  Thick  Shellbark  Hickory,  Pignut  Hickory,  and 
Nutmeg  Hickory.  The  three  first-named  species 
bear  the  nearest  relation  with  the  black  walnut 
and  butternut,  their  buds  not  being  covered 
with  scales. 

The  various  species  of  hickory  difl^er  very 
greatly  from  the  black  walnut  and  butternut  in 
the  properties  of  their  wood.  The  general  form 
and  foliage  of  hickories,  also,  bear  a  striking 
resemblance,  though  they  differ  in  the  number 
and  size  of  their  leaflets.  The  fruit  often  varies 
greatly  in  appearance.  All  the  species  of  hick- 
ory, together  with  the  black  walnut  and  butter- 
nut, comprise  an  indigenous  genus,  no  species 
cf  which  is  met  with  in  Europe,  or  any  other 
^art  of  the  old  world. 

1.  Pacanenut  Hickory  (Juglans  olivceformis  of 
Michaux;  Caryn  angustifolia  and  Juglans  angus- 
fi/b/ia  of  othernaturalists).  This  species,  which, 
says  Michaux,  is  found  in  Upper  Louisiana  and 
Illinois,  is  called  by  the  French  Pacanier,  and 
its  fruit  Pacnnes.  On  the  borders  of  the  rivers 
Missouri,  Illinois,  St.  Francis,  and  Arkansas, 
it  is  most  abundantly  multiplied.  It  is  also 
common  on  the  Wabash,  and  on  the  Ohio  is 
found  for  200  miles  from  its  junction  with  the 
Mississippi.  Higher  than  this  it  becomes  more 
rare,  and  is  not  seen  beyond  Louisville.  This 
tree  is  partial  to  cold,  wet  grounds.  On  the 
right  bank  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  river  Cum- 
berland, there  is  a  swamp  of  800  acres,  which 
is  said  to  be  entirely  covered  with  it. 

The  Pacanenut  is  a  beautiful  tree,  with  a 
straight  and  well-shaped  trunk,  attaining  in  the 
forests  the  height  of  60  or  70  feet.  Its  wood  is 
coarse-grained,  and,  like  that  of  other  hickories, 
heavy  and  compact,  possessing  great  strength 
and  durability,  though  in  this  last  respect  not 
equal  to  some  other  species.  The  nuts,  which 
are  usually  abundant,  are  contained  in  a  husk 
from  one  to  two  lines  thick,  and  have  four 
slightly  prominent  angles,  corresponding  to 
their  internal  divisions.  They  vary  in  length 
from  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half,  are  pointed 
at  the  extremities,  of  a  cylindrical  form,  and 
of  a  yellowish  colour,  marked,  at  the  period  of 
perfect  maturity,  with  blackish  or  purple  lines. 
The  shell  is  smooth  and  thin,  though  too  hard 
to  be  broken  by  the  fingers;  the  kernel  is  full, 
and,  not  being  divided  by  ligneous  partitions, 
is  easily  extracted.  These  nuts,  which  are  of 
a  very  agreeable  taste,  form  an  object  of  petty 
commerce  between  Upper  and  Lower  Louisi- 
ana. From  New  Orleans  they  are  exported  to 
the  West  Indies  and  to  the  ports  of  the  United 
States.  They  are  not  only  better  than  any  other 
species  of  North  American  walnuts,  but  they 
appear  to  be  even  more  delicately  flavoured 
than  those  of  Europe.  And,  besides,  varieties 
of  the  pacAnenut  are  found  whose  fruit  is  far 
superior  to  that  of  the  European  walnut  unim- 
proved by  culture.  This  tree  therefore  merits 
fhe  attention  of  both  Americans  and  Euro- 
peans, that  by  assiduous  cultivation  it  may 
be  brought  to  the  highest  degree  of  perfection. 
These  advantages,  it  is  true,  are  balanced  in 
part  by  the  slowness  of  its  growth ;  there  are 
rees  in  France  which  havg  been  planted  more 
than  thirty  years,  and  which  do  not  yield  fruit. 
620 


If  the  practice  should  be  successfully  adopt- 
ed  of  grafting  the  pacanenut  on  the  black  wal- 
nut, or  on  the  common  walnut,  its  vegetation 
would  be  incomparably  more  rapid,  and  no 
motive  would  discourage  its  propagation  in 
Europe. 

2.  Bittei-nut  Hickory  {Juglant  amard).  This 
tree  is  also  called  in  Lancaster  county  and 
some  other  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Middle  States  by  the  names  of  White  Hickcny 
and  Swamp  Hickory,  the  latter  name  being  de- 
rived from  its  frequently  flourishing  on  the 
rich  alluvium  found  in  swamps  and  on  the 
banks  of  rivers  subject  to  overflowing.  Far- 
ther south  it  is  confounded  with  the  Pignut 
hickory.  Its  vegetation  is  more  hardy  than 
that  of  other  hickories. 

The  Bitternut  hickory,  Michaux  informs  us, 
is  nowhere  found  much  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  Vermont  in  the  latitude  of  45°.  "  The  fruit 
is  ripe  about  the  beginning  of  October ;  it  is  so 
plentiful  that  several  bushels  are  sometimes 
gathered  from  a  single  tree.  The  husk  is  thin, 
fleshy,  and  surmounted  on  its  upper  half  by 
four  appendages  in  the  form  of  wings.  It 
never  becomes  ligneous  like  those  of  the  other 
hickories,  but  softens  and  decays.  The  form 
of  the  nut  in  this  species  is  more  constant  and 
more  regular  than  in  the  others.  It  is  broader 
than  it  is  long,  being  6  or  7  lines  one  way  and 
10  lines  the  other.  The  shell  is  white,  smooth, 
and  thin  enough  to  be  broken  by  the  fingers. 
The  kernel  is  remarkable  for  the  deep  inequal- 
ities produced*  on  every  side  by  its  foldings. 
It  is  so  harsh  and  bitter  that  squirrels  and 
other  wild  animals  will  not  feed  on  it  while 
any  other  nut  is  to  be  found. 

"In  some  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  where  this 
tree  is  multiplied,  an  oil  is  extracted  from  the 
nuts,  which  is  used  for  the  lamp  and  for  other 
inferior  purposes.  But  from  these  experiments, 
in  which  individuals  have  succeeded,  it  is  not 
to  be  concluded  that  a  suflicient  product  of  this 
sort  can  be  obtained  to  form  a  branch  of  in- 
dustry. 

3.  Water  Bitternut  Hickory  (Juglans  aquatica). 
"No  specific  name," says  Michaux,  "has  hither- 
to been  given  to  this,  species,  which  is  confined 
to  the  Southern  States ;  it  is  confounded  with 
the  Pignut  hickory,  though  differing  from  it  ia 
many  respects.  The  name  which  I  propose 
appears  suflSciently  appropriate,  for  I  have  al- 
ways found  this  tree  in  swamps,  and  in  the 
ditches  which  surround  the  rice  fields,  where 
it  is  accompanied  by  the  red-flowering  maple, 
Tupelo,  cypress,  and  Carolina  poplar.  The 
Water  Bitternut  hickory  grows  to  the  height 
of  40  or  50  feet,  and  in  its  general  appearance 
resembles  the  other  hickories.  Its  leaves  are 
8  or  9  inches  long,  and  of  a  beautiful  green. 
They  are  composed  of  4  or  5  pair  of  sessile 
leaflets,  surmounted  by  a  petiolated  odd  one. 
The  leaflets  are  serrate,  4  or  5  inches  long,  8 
or  9  lines  broad,  and  very  similar  to  the  leaves 
of  the  peach  tree. 

"The  husk  is  thin,  and  the  nuts  are  small, 
angular,  a  little  depressed  at  the  sides,  some- 
what rough,  of  a  reddish  colour,  and  very  ten- 
der. The  kernel  is  formed  in  folds  like  that 
of  the  Bitternut  hickory :  as  may  be  supposed. 


HICKORY. 


it  is  not  eatable.  The  wood  of  this  species, 
though  partaking  of  the  common  properties  of 
the  hickories,  is  in  every  respect  inferior  to 
thi  others,  from  the  nature  of  the  grounds  on 
wnich  it  grows. 

4.  3Iockernut  Hickory  (Juglans  tomentosa  of 
Michaux,  Carya  tomentosa  of  other  natura- 
lists), Common  hickory.  "In  the  parts  of 
New  Jersey  which  lie  on  the  river  Hudson, 
and  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  its  viciqity, 
this  species,"  says  Michaux,  "is  known  by 
the  name  of  the  Mockernut  hickory,  and  less 
commonly  of  White-heart  hickory;  at  Phila- 
delphia and  Baltimore,  and  in  Virginia,  that 
of  Common  hickory  is  the  only  one  in  use. 
The  French  of  Illinois  call  it  Noyer  dtir,  or 
Hard  walnut.  The  first  of  these  denomina- 
tions, which  is  descriptive  of  the  fruit,  I  have 
for  that  reason  adopted. 

"This  species  is  not,  as  the  name  which  it 
bears  in  that  country  would  indicate,  more 
multiplied  in  Pennsylvania,  and  further  south, 
than  the  other  hickories.  I  have  not  seen  it 
north  of  Portsmouth  in  New  Hampshire,  though 
^00  miles  south,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bos- 
ton and  Providence,  it  is  common.  It  is  most 
abundant  in  the  forests  that  still  remain  on  the 
coast  of  the  Middle  States,  and  in  those  which 
cover  the  upper  parts  of  the  Carolinas  and  of 
Georgia;  but  in  the  last  mentioned  states  it 
becomes  more  rare  in  approaching  the  sea,  as 
the  sterility  of  the  soil,  in  general  dry  and 
sandy,  is  unpropitious  to  its  growth.  I  have 
noticed,  however,  that  this  is  the  only  hickory 
which  springs  in  the  pine  barrens;  the  sprouts 
are  burnt  every  year,  and  never  rise  higher 
than  3  or  4  feet.  I  have  made  the  same  ob- 
servations in  traversing  the  Big  barrens  of 
Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  where  the  Mocker- 
nut  hickory  and  Blackjack  oak  alone  are  seen. 
They  survive  the  conflagrations  which  almost 
every  spring  envelope  the  prairies,  but  their 
vegetation  is  checked  by  the  fire,  and  they  do 
not  exceed  the  height  of  8  or  10  feet. 

"Like  most  of  the  walnuts,  the  Mockernut 
hickory  flourishes  in  rich  soils,  and  chiefly 
on  the  gentle  acclivities  which  surround  the 
swamps,  where  it  grows,  mingled  with  the 
sweet  gum,  poplar,  sugar  maple,  bitternut 
hickory,  and  black  walnut.  In  these  situations 
it  reaches  its  greatest  size,  which  is  commonly 
about  60  feet  in  height,  and  18  or  20  inches  in 
diameter.  I  remember  to  have  seen  larger 
Mockernut  hickories  near  Lexington,  in  Ken- 
tucky, but  this  extraordinary  growth  in  several 
species  of  trees  is  rarely  seen  on  this  side  of 
the  AUeghanies,  and  is  attributable  to  the  ex- 
treme fertility  of  the  soil  in  the  Western  coun- 
try. Of  all  the  hickories,  however,  the  Mocker- 
nut succeeds  best  on  lands  of  a  middling  qua- 
lity; for  it  terms  a  par*  rf  the  waste  and  im- 
poverished forests  which  cover  the  meager, 
sandy  soil  of  Lower  Virginia;  though  under 
these  disadvantages  it  exhibits  but  a  mean  and 
stunted  appearance. 

"  The  buds  of  this  species  are  large,  short, 
of  a  grayish  white,  and  very  hard;  in  the  win- 
ter, after  the  falling  of  the  leaf,  they  afibrd  the 
onl>  characteristic  by  which  the  tree  can  be 
distinguished,  when  it  exceeds  8  or  10  feet  in 
height. 


HICKORY. 

"The  fruit  is  ripe  about  the  15th  of  Ncvem- 
ber.  It  is  odorous,  sessile,  or  rarely  peduncu- 
lated, and  commonly  united  in  paiis.  In  form 
and  size  it  exhibits  remarkable  varieties:  on 
some  trees  it  is  round,  with  depressed  seams ; 
on  others  oblong,  with  angular  or  prominent 
seams ;  it  is  sometimes  2  inches  long  and  13 
or  15  lines  in  diameter,  and  sometimes  of  less 
than  half  this  size.  The  shell  is  very  thick, 
somewhat  channelled,  and  extremely  hard. 
The  kernel  is  sweet,  but  minute,  and  difficult 
to  extract,  on  account  of  the  strong  partitions 
which  divide  it:  hence,  probably,  is  derived 
the  name  of  Mockernut,  and  hence,  also,  this 
fruit  is  rarely  seen  in  the  markets. 

"  Of  all  the  hickories  this  species  is  of  the 
slowest  growth :  a  fact  which  I  have  proved 
by  planting  nuts  of  the  several  species,  and  by 
comparing  the  length  of  their  annual  shoots. 
I  have  also  been  led  to  believe  that  it  is  the 
most  liable  to  be  attacked  by  worms,  and  espe- 
cially by  the  Callidium  Jlexuosum,  whose  larva 
eats  within  the  body  of  the  tree.  These  con- 
siderations appear  sufficiently  weighty  to  in- 
duce cultivators,  in  forming  large  plantations, 
to  prefer  some  other  species  which  are  de- 
scribed in  the  sequel." 

5.  Small-fruiled  Hickory  (Carya  microcarpa  of 
Nutlall  and  Darlington,  Jtigluns  compressa  of 
Muhlenburg,  and  /.  alba  odorata  and  Balsam 
Hickory  of  Marshall.)  This  species  is  allied 
to  the  Carya  tomentosa  or  Common  hickory. 
Nuttall  informs  us  that  he  first  observed  it  on 
the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Darlington  remarks  that 
it  is  frequent  in  moist  woodlands  in  Chester 
county,  Penn.  The  nut  is  of  nearly  the  same 
form  as  that  of  the  Common  h\ckory,  has  a 
thin  shell,  pleasant  taste,  but  i$  quite  small, 
seldom  exceeding  the  size  of  a  nutmeg.  These 
peculiar  nuts  grow  in  Massachusetts.  The 
species  is  remarkable  for  the  smoothness  of  its 
leaflets,  which  in  this  respect,  says  Nuttall,  re- 
semble those  of  the  Carya  glabra  or  Pignut, 
but  they  are  larger  and  less  deeply  serrated. 

6.  Stiellbojrk  Hickory  {Juglans  squamosa  of  Mi- 
chaux, and  Carya  alba  of  Darlington  and  other 
botanists).  The  singular  disposition  of  the 
bark  in  this  species  has  given  rise  to  the  de- 
scriptive names  of  Shellbark,  Shagbark,  and 
Scalybark  hickory,  the  first  of  which  is  in 
most  general  use  in  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States.  Many  descendants  of  the  Dutch  settlers, 
says  Michaux,  call  it  Kisky  Thomas  nut.  It  is 
not  found  further  north  than  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  where  its  stature  is  stunted  by  the 
rigours  of  the  climate.  "  It  abounds  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Erie,  about  Geneva  in  Gene- 
see, along  the  Mohawk  river,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Goshen  in  New  Jersey,  and  on  the 
banks  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Schuylkill  rivers 
in  Pennsylvania.  In  Maryland,  in  the  lower 
parts  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  other  Southern 
States  it  is  less  common.  In  South  Carolina  I 
have  not  noticed  it  nearer  Charleston  than  the 
parish  of  Goose-Creek,  about  24  miles  distant 
It  is  met  with  in  the  Western  States,  but  not 
as  frequently  as  the  following  species,  the 
Thick  Shellbark  hickory,  to  which  it  bears  a 
striking  analogy,  and  with  which  it  is  con- 
founded by  the  inhabitants.    East  (f  the  Alle- 

«21 


HICKORY. 


HICKORY. 


ghanies  the  Shellbark  hickory  grows  almost 
exclusively  about  swamps  and  wet  grounds, 
which  are  exposed  to  be  inundated  for  several 
weeks  together:  in  these  situations  it  is  found 
in  company  with  the  swamp  white  oak,  red- 
flowering  maple,  sweet  gum,  buttonwood,  and 
tupelo.  Of  all  the  hickories  this  species  grows 
to  the  greatest  height  with  proportionally  the 
smallest  diameter,  for  it  i.s  sometimes  seen  30 
or  90  feet  high  and  less  than  2  feet  thick.  The 
trunk  is  destitute  of  branches,  regularly  shaped, 
and  of  an  almost  uniform  size  for  three  quar- 
ters of  its  leTigth,  thus  forming  a  very  fine  tree. 
The  greatest  peculiarity  in  its  appearance,  and 
that  by  which  it  is  most  easily  distinguished, 
is  the  surface  of  the  trunk.  The  exterior  bark 
is  divided  into  a  great  number  of  long,  narrow 
plates,  which  bend  outwards  at  the  ends,  and 
adhere  only  in  the  middle.  Bristling  in  this 
manner  with  projecting  points,  the  Shellbark 
hickory  attracts  the  attention  of  the  most  care- 
less observer.  This  remarkable  exfoliation  of 
the  epidermis  takes  place  only  in  trees  which 
exceed  10  inches  in  diameter,  though  it  is 
much  earlier  indicated  by  seams.  This  cha- 
racteristic, by  which  the  tree  may  be  recog- 
nised in  winter  when  stript  of  its  leaves,  does 
not  exist  during  the  7  or  8  first  years  of  its 
growth;  and  during  this  period  it  may  easily 
be  confounded  with  the  Mockernut  hickory  and 
Pignut  hickory,  if  recourse  is  not  had  to  the 
buds. 

"The  fruit  of  the  Shellbark  hickory  is  ripe 
about  the  beginning  of  October.  Some  years 
it  is  so  abundant  that  several  bushels  may  be 
gathered  from  a  single  tree.  It  varies  in  size 
according  to  the  soil  and  the  exposure  in  which 
it  is  produced,  but  5^  inches  may  be  assumed  as 
the  average  of  its  circumference.  The  shape 
is  uniformly  round,  with  four  depressed  seams, 
in  which  the  husk  opens  at  the  season  of  perfect 
maturity,  dividing  itself  completely  into  equal 
sections.  The  entire  separation  of  the  husk,  and 
its  thickness  disproportioned  to  the  size  of  the 
nut,  form  a  character  peculiar  to  the  Shellbark 
hickories.  The  nuts  of  this  species  are  small, 
white,  compressed  at  the  sides,  and  marked  by 
four  distinct  angles,  which  correspond  to  the 
divisions  of  the  husk. 

"The  Shellbark  nut  contains  a  fuller  and 
sweeter  kernel  than  any  American  walnut  ex- 
cept the  Pacanenut.  These  nuts  are  in  such 
request,  that  they  form  a  small  article  of  com- 
merce, registered  on  the  list  of  exports  of  the 
products  of  the  United  States.  This  exporta- 
tion, which  does  not  exceed  4  or  500  bushels 
annually,  takes  place  from  New  York  and  from 
the  small  ports  of  Connecticut,  to  the  Southern 
States,  to  the  West  India  islands,  and  even  to 
Liverpool,  where  the  fruit  is  known  by  the 
name  of  Hickory  nuts.  In  the  market  of  New 
York  they  are  sold  at  two  dollars  a  bushel. 
They  are  gathered  in  the  forests,  and  from  in- 
sulated trees  which  in  some  places  have  been 
spared  in  clearing  the  lands:  a  precaution 
which  I  have  particularly  noticed  to  have  been 
used  near  Goshen,  in  New  Jersey,  and  on  seve- 
ral estates  about  30  miles  beyond  Albany. 

"The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  shores  of  Lake 
Erie  and  Lake  Michigan  lay  up  a  store  of  th^se 
Tiuts  for  the  winter,  a  part  of  which  they  pound 
fiSS 


in  wooden  mortars,  and  boiling  the  paste  in 
water,  collect  the  oily  matter  which  swims 
upon  the  surface  to  season  their  aliments. 

"I  cannot  forbear  mentioning  a  fine  variety 
of  Shellbark  nuts,  produced  upon  a  farm  at 
Seacocus,  near  Snake-hill,  in  New  Jersey. 
They  are  nearly  twice  as  large  as  any  that  I 
have  seen  elsewhere,  and  have  a  white  shell, 
with  rounded  prominences  instead  of  angles. 
A  oentury  of  cultivation,  perhaps,  would  not 
advance  the  species  generally  to  an  equal  de- 
gree of  perfection,  and  probably  this  variety 
might  still  be  improved  by  grafting." 

7.  Thick  Shellbark  Hickory  {Juglans  laciniosa) 
"This  species,"  says  Michaux,  "bears  a  strik- 
ing analogy  to  the  preceding,  and  is  frequently 
confounded  with  it  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
western  country:  some  of  them  distinguish  it 
by  the  name  of  Thick  Shellbark  hickory,  which 
should  be  preserved  as  its  appropriate  denomi- 
nation. East  of  the  Alleghanies  this  tree  is 
rare,  and  is  found  only  in  a  few  places;  it 
grows  on  the  Schuylkill  river  30  or  40  miles 
from  its  junction  with  the  Delaware,  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Springfield,  15  or  20  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  where  its  fruit  is  called  Spring- 
field nut.  It  is  also  found  in  Gloucester  county, 
in  Virginia,  under  the  name  of  Gloucester  wal- 
nut. These  difl!erent  denominations  confirm 
my  observation,  that  this  species  is  little  mul- 
tiplied on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains;  a  fact  of  which  I  became  assured 
in  travelling  through  the  country.  It  abounds, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  the  bottoms  which  skirt 
the  Ohio  and  the  rivers  which  empty  into  it, 
where  it  unites  with  the  honey  locust,  black 
maple,  hackberry,  black  walnut,  wild  cherry, 
white  and  red  elm,  box  elder,  white  maple,  and 
buttonwood,  to  form  the  thick  and  gloomy  fo- 
rests which  cover  these  valleys.  Like  the 
Shellbark  hickory,  it  grows  to  the  height  of  80 
feet,  and  its  ample  head  is  supported  by  a 
straight  trunk,  in  diameter  proportioned  to  its 
elevation.  The  bark  exhibits  the  same  singu- 
lar arrangement  with  that  of  the  Shellbark 
hickory;  it  is  divided  into  strips  from  1  to  3 
feet  long,  which  are  warped  outwards  at  the 
end,  and  attached  only  in  the  middle.  They 
fall,  and  are  succeeded  by  others  similarly  dis- 
posed. It  is  only  observable  that  in  this  spe- 
cies the  plates  are  narrower,  more  numerous, 
and  of  a  lighter  colour. 

"The  Thick  Shellbark  hickory,  as  has  been 
said,  is  nearly  related  to  the  Shellbark  hickory, 
and  its  wood,  which  is  of  the  same  colour  and 
texture,  unites  the  peculiar  qualities  of  that 
species  with  such  as  are  common  to  the  hicko- 
ries. Its  fruit,  though  larger,  is  inferior  in  taste, 
and  this  consideration  should  induce  proprie- 
tors in  the  western  country,  in  clearing  their 
new  lands,  t;-  spare  *'..e  true  Shellbark  hickory 
in  preference,  when  both  species  are  found 
upon  the  same  soil." 

8.  Pignut  Hickory  (Juglans  porcina  of  Mi- 
chaux. Carya  porcina  of  other  naturalists),  also 
called  Broom  hickory.  "This  species  is  gene- 
rally known  in  the  United  States  by  the  name 
of  Pignut  and  Hognut  hickory,  sometimes  aiSo 
by  that  of  Broom  hickory.  The  first  of  these 
names  is  most  commonly  inuse;  th"  others 
are  known  only  in  some  districts  of  Pennsyl- 


b 


HICKORY. 


vania,  and  particularly  in  the  county  of  Lan- 
caster. Portsmouth  in  New  Hampshire  may 
be  considered  as  limiting  towards  the  north  the 
climate  of  this  tree.  A  little  farther  south  it  is 
abundant,  and  in  the  Atlantic  parts  of  the 
Middle  States  it  helps,  with  the  Mockernut 
hickory,  white  oak,  swamp  white  oak,  sweet 
gum,  and  dogwood,  to  form  the  mass  of  the 
forests.  In  the  Southern  States,  especially  near 
the  coast,  it  is  less  common  in  the  woods,  be- 
ing found  only  on  the  borders  of  swamps  and 
in  places  which  are  wet  without  being  abso- 
lutely marshy  or  exposed  to  be  long  inundated. 
This  tree  is  met  with  in  the  western  country, 
but  less  frequently,  I  believe,  than  the  Thick 
Shellbark  and  Mockernut  hickories.  I  have 
observed'  that  the  last  mentioned  species  grows 
wherever  the  Pignut  is  found,  but  that  the  Pig- 
nut does  not  always  accompany  the  Mockernut, 
which  is  satisfied  with  a  less  substantial  soil. 
This  remark  I  have  made  more  particularly  in 
the  lower  parts  of  Virginia,  of  the  two  Caro- 
linas,  and  of  Georgia.  It  appears,  then,  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  States  of  Vermont 
and  New  Hampshire,  of  the  District  of  Maine, 
of  the  Genesee  country,  and  of  the  cold  and 
mountainous  tracts  along  the  whole  range  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains,  this  tree  is  more  or 
less  abundant  in  the  forests  throughout  the 
United  States. 

"The  Pignut  hickory  is  one  of  the  largest 
trees  in  the  United  States.  It  grows  to  the 
height  of  70  or  80  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  3  or 
4  feet. 

"Tiie  nut  is  small,  smooth,  and  very  hard  on 
account  of  the  thickness  of  the  shell.  Its  ker- 
nel is  sweet,  but  meager  and  difficult  to  extract, 
from  the  firmness  of  the  partitions.  These  nuts 
are  never  carried  to  market,  but  serve  for  food 
to  swine,  racoons,  and  the  numerous  species 
of  squirrels  which  people  the  forests. 

"In  the  Pignut  hickory  the  form  and  size 
of  the  nuts  vary  more  than  in  the  other  species. 
Some  are  oval,  and  when  covered  with  their 
husks,  resemble  young  figs;  others  are  broader 
than  ihey  are  long,  and  others  are  perfectly 
round.  Among  these  various  forms  some  nuts 
are  as  large  as  the  thumb,  and  others  not  bigger 
than  the  little  finger." 

9.  Xittmcg  Hickory  (Juglans  mynsiiccpforviis). 
This  tree,  so  named  by  Michaux  from  the  re- 
semblance of  its  fruit  to  the  nutmeg,  is  found 
in  the  Southern  and  Southwestern  States.  The 
nuts  are  very  small,  smooth,  and  of  a  brown 
colour,  marked  with  lines  of  white.  The  husk 
is  thin,  and  somewhat  rough  on  the  surface. 
The  shell  is  so  thick  as  to  constitute  two-thirds 
of  the  volume  of  the  nut.  The  kemal  is  there- 
fore verj'  minute,  and  the  fruit  even  inferior  to 
that  of  the  Pignut. 

Properties  and  Uses  of  Hickory  Wood. — The 
wood  of  all  the  species  of  hickory  bears  a 
striking  resemblance,  both  as  to  fibre  and  the 
uniform  reddish  colour  of  the  heart.  It  pos- 
sesses great  weight,  strength,  and  unusual  plia- 
bility and  toughness.  When  exposed  to  heat 
and  moisture  it  is  subject  to  rapid  decay,  and 
is  peculiarly  liable  to  injury  from  worms. 

"Throughout  the  Middle  States  it  is  selected 
lor  the  axletrees  of  carriages,  for  the  handles  of 
flxes  ar  d  other  carpenter's  tools,  and  for  large 


HICKORY. 

screws,  particularly  those  of  bookbinder^s 
presses.  The  cogs  of  mill-wheels  are  made 
of  hickory  heart  thoroughly  seasoned ;  but  it 
is  proper  only  for  such  wheels  as  are  not  ex- 
posed to  moisture ;  and  for  this  reason  some 
other  wood  is  by  many  mill-wrights  preferred 
The  rods  which  form  the  back  of  Windsor 
chairs,  coach -v/hip- handles,  musket- stocks, 
rakt-teeth,  flails  for  thrashing  grain,  the  bows 
of  yokes,  or  the  elliptical  pieces  which  pass 
under  the  necks  of  cattle:  all  these  are  objects 
customarily  made  of  hickory.  At  Baltimore 
it  is  used  for  the  hoops  of  sieves,  and  is  more 
esteemed  than  the  white  oak,  which  is  equally 
elastic,  but  more  apt  to  peel  off  in  small  shreds 
into  the  substance  sifted.  In  the  country  near 
Augusta  in  Georgia,  I  have  remarked  that  the 
common  chairs  are  of  hickory  wood.  In  New 
Jersey  it  is  employed  for  shoeing  sledges,  that 
is,  for  covering  the  runners  or  parts  which 
slide  upon  the  snow ;  but  to  be  proper  for  this 
use  it  must  have  been  cut  long  enough  to  have 
become  perfectly  dry. 

"Of  the  numerous  trees  of  North  America 
east  of  the  Alleghany  mountains,  none  except 
the  hickory  is  perfectly  adapted  to  the  making 
of  hoops  for  casks  and  boxes.  For  this  pur- 
pose vast  quantities  of  it  are  consumed  at 
home,  and  exported  to  the  West  India  islands. 
The  hoops  are  made  of  young  hickories  from 
6  to  12  feet  high,  without  choice  as  to  the  spe- 
cies. The  largest  hoop-poles  sold  at  Philadel- 
phia and  New  York  in  February,  1808,  at  $3 
a  hundred.  Each  pole  is  split  into  two  parts, 
and  the  hoop  is  crossed  and  confined  by  notches 
instead  of  being  bound  at  the  end  with  twigs 
like  those  made  of  chestnut.  From  the  solidity 
of  the  wood,  this  method  appears  sufiiciently 
secure. 

"When  it  is  considered  how  large  a  part 
of  the  productions  of  the  United  States  is 
packed  for  exportation  in  barrels,  an  estimate 
may  be  formed  of  the  necessary  consumption 
of  hoops.  In  consequence  of  it,  young  trees 
proper  for  this  object  have  become  scarce  in 
all  parts  of  the  country  which  have  been  long 
settled.  The  evil  is  greater,  as  they  do  not 
sprout  a  second  time  from  the  same  root,  and 
as  their  growth  is  slow.  The  cooper  cannot 
lay  up  a  store  of  them  for  future  use,  for  un- 
less employed  within  a  year,  and  often  within 
six  months  after  being  cut,  they  are  attacked 
by  two  species  of  insect,  one  of  wh.ch  eats 
within  the  wood  and  commits  the  gi^atest 
ravages. 

I      "The  defects  which  unfit  the  hickory  for  use 

!  in  the  building  of  houses,  equally  exclude  il 

from  the  construction  of  vessels.   At  New  York 

and   Philadelphia  the   Shellbark   and  Pignut 

hickories  have  been  taken  for  keels,  and  are 

found  to  last  as  long  as  those  of  other  wood, 

I  owing  to  their  being  always  in  the  water.     Of 

1  the  two  species,  the  Pignut  would  be  prefera- 

1  ble,  as  being  less  liable  to  split,  but  it  is  rarely 

!  found  of  as  large  dimensions  as  the  other. 

"  In  sloops  and  schooners  the  rings  by  which 
the  sails  are  hoisted  and  confined  to  the  mast 
are  always  of  hickory.  I  have  also  been  as- 
sured that  for  attaching  the  cordage  it  makes 
excellent  pegs,  which  are  stronger  than  those 
of  oak ;  but  they  should  be  set  loosely  in  th«^ 

623 


HICKORY  CATERPILLAR. 


HIDE   OF  LAND. 


holes,  as  otherwise,  for  want  of  speedily  sea- 
soning, they  soon  decay.  For  handspikes  the 
hickory  is  particularly  esteemed  on  account 
of  its  strength ;  it  is  accordingly  employed  in 
most  American  vessels,  and  is  exported  for  the 
same  purpose  to  England,  where  it  sells  from 
50  to  100  per  cent,  higher  than  ash,  which  is 
brought  also  from  the  north  of  the  United 
Stales.  The  hickories  are  cut  without  distinc- 
tion for  this  use,  but  the  Pignut,  I  believe,  is 
the  best. 

"All  the  hickories  are  very  heavy,  and  in  a 
given  volume  contain  a  great  quantity  of  com- 
bustible matter.  They  produce  an  ardent  heat, 
and  leave  a  heavy,  compact,  and  long-lived 
coal.  In  this  respect  no  wood  of  the  same  lati- 
tude in  Europe  or  America  can  be  compared 
to  them  ;  such,  at  least,  is  the  opinion  of  all 
Europeans  who  have  resided  in  the  United 
States. 

"It  has  been  seen  by  what  precedes,  that 
though  hickory  wood  has  essential  defects,  they 
are  compensated  by  good  properties  which  ren- 
der it  valuable  in  the  arts." 

In  concluding  this  article,  Michaux  recom- 
mends particularly  for  propagation  in  Euro- 
pean forests  the  Shellbark  hickory  and  the 
Pignut  hickory,  whose  wood  unites  in  the  high- 
est degree  the  valuable  properties  of  the  group. 
He  thinks,  also,  that  the  Pacanenut  merits  at- 
tention from  promoters  of  useful  culture,  not 
so  much  for  its  wood  as  for  its  fruit,  which  is 
excellent,  and  more  delicate  than  that  of  the 
European  walnut.  It  might  probably  be  dou- 
bled in  size,  if  the  practice  was  successfully 
adopted  of  grafting  this  species  upon  the  black 
walnut,  or  upon  the  common  European  walnut. 

HICKORY  CATERPILLAR.  Whilst  the 
wood  of  the  hickory  is  preyed  upon  by  borers, 
the  foliage  suffers  in  the  latter  part  of  summer 
from  troops  of  caterpillars  covered  with  short 
spreading  tufts  of  white  hairs,  with  a  row  of 
eight  black  tufts  on  the  back,  and  two  long, 
slender,  black  pencils  on  the  fourth  and  tenth 
rings.  When  fully  grown,  they  are  nearly  one 
and  a  half  inch  long.  They  leave  the  trees  in 
September,  make  cocoons,  which  are  thin,  oval, 
and  hairy.  The  moths,  which  come  out  of  the 
cocoons  in  the  month  of  June,  are  of  a  very 
light  ochre-yellow  colour,  the  wings  being 
sprinkled  with  brown  dots.  In  England,  the 
moths  that  come  from  caterpillars  having  long 
pencMs  and  tufts  on  their  backs,  are  called  tus- 
sock-moths; and  Dr.  Harris  says  we  may  name 
the  one  under  consideration  the  hickory  tus- 
sock-moth (Lophociimpa  raryce).  They  expand 
their  wings  from  1^  to  2^  inches  or  more.  The 
caterpillars  found  on  the  black  walnut,  butter- 
nut, the  ash,  and  even  the  oak,  closely  resem- 
ble the  hickory  caterpillar  in  shape,  but  not  in 
colour.    They  belong  to  a  different  species. 

HICKORY  TREE  BORER.  The  hickory 
tree  is  much  exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the 
larvEB  of  wood-eating  insects  or  borers,  which 
not  only  attacks  the  trees  of  the  forests,  but 
those  of  orchards,  especially  after  they  have 
passed  their  prime.  The  transformations  of 
*he  insects  take  place  in  the  trunks  and  limbs 
of  the  trees.  "  The  larvae,"  says  Dr.  Harris, 
*'lhat  are  known  to  me  have  a  close  resem- 
blance to  each  other;  a  general  idea  of  them 
624 


can  be  formed  from  a  description  of  that  which 
attacks  the  Pignut  hickory.  It  is  of  a  yellow- 
ish-white colour,  very  long,  narrow,  and  de- 
pressed in  form,  but  abruptly  widened  near  the 
anterior  extremity.  The  head  is  brownish, 
small,  and  sunk  in  the  fore-part  of  the  first  seg- 
ment; the  upper  jaws  are  provided  with  three 
teeth,  and  are  of  a  black  colour;  and  the  an- 
tennae are  very  short.  These  grubs  are  found 
under  the  bark  and  in  the  solid  wood  of  trees, 
and  sometimes  in  great  numbers.  They  fre- 
quently rest  with  the  body  bent  sidewise,  so 
that  the  head  and  tail  approach  each  other. 
This  posture  those  found  under  bark  usually 
assume.  They  appear  to  pass  several  years 
in  the  larva  state.  The  pupa  bears  a  near  re- 
semblance to  the  perfect  insect,  but  is  entirely 
white,  until  near  the  time  of  its  last  transforma- 
tion. Its  situation  is  immediately  under  the 
bark,  the  head  being  directed  outwards,  so  that 
when  the  pupa-coat  is  cast  off,  the  beetle  has 
merely  a  thin  covering  of  bark  to  perforate, 
before  making  its  escape  from  the  tree.  The 
form  of  this  perforation  is  oval,  as  is  also  a 
transverse  section  of  the  burrow,  that  shape 
being  best  adapted  to  the  form,  motions,  and 
egress  of  the  insect. 

"Some  of  these  beetles  are  known  to  eat 
leaves  and  flowers,  and  of  this  nature  is  pro- 
bably the  food  of  all  of  them.  The  injury  they 
may  thus  commit  is  not  very  apparent,  and 
cannot  bear  any  comparison  with  the  extensive 
ravages  of  their  larvae.  The  solid  trunks  and 
limbs  of  sound  and  vigorous  trees  are  often 
bored  through  in  various  directions  by  these 
insects,  which,  during  a  long-continued  life, 
derive  their  only  nourishment  from  the  woody 
fragments  they  devour.  Pines  and  firs  seem 
particularly  subject  to  their  attacks,  but  other 
forest  trees  do  not  escape,  and  even  fruit  trees 
are  frequently  injured  by  these  borers." 

A  borer  belonging  to  another  family  of  bee- 
tles is  also  found  in  the  hickory,  namely,  the 
larvae  of  the  beetle  called  by  naturalists  Steno- 
corns  cinctus,  or  banded  stenocorus,  the  generic 
name  signifyfng  narrow  or  straitened.  Long 
galleries,  running  in  the  direction  of  the  fibres, 
are  made  by  this  grub  in  the  hard  wood  of  the 
hickory.  The  beetle  is  of  a  hazel  colour,  with 
a  tint  of  gray,  arising  from  the  short  hairs  with 
which  it  is  covered.  There  is  an  oblique  ochre- 
yellow  band  across  each  wing-cover.    (Harris.) 

HIDE-BOUND.  In  farriery,  applied  to  a 
certain  disease  of  cows  and  horses,  in  which 
the  skin  adheres  to  their  sides.  Want  of  pro- 
per care,  spare  diet,  and  bad  food,  such  as  rank 
long  grass  in  swampy  situations,  and  musty 
hay  or  oats,  are  the  most  probable  causes  of 
this  affection.  Hide-bound  is  rarely  a  primary 
disease;  it  is  a  symptom  of  unhealthiness,  and 
often  of  disease,  of  the  digestive  organs.  It  is 
sometimes  an  accompaniment  of  chronic  cough, 
grease,  farcy,  and  founder.  A  few  mashes,  and 
a  mild  dose  of  physic,  often  have  a  very  bene- 
ficial effect.  If  the  horse  cannot  be  spared  for 
physic,  the  following  alterative,  which  is  in 
common  use,  may  be  given  every  night  for 
some  time  in  a  mash,  or  in  the  form  of  a  ball  : 
levigated  antimony, 2  drachms;  nitre, .3 drachms; 
sulphur,  4  drachms.  For  the  cow,  eight  ounces 
of  sulphur,  with  half  an  ounce  of  ginger,  ana 


I 


HIDE  OF  LAND. 


a  few  mashes  should  be  given.     (Lib.  of  Use. 
Khoic;   The  Horse,  p.  371 ;  Cuttle,  p.  571.) 

HIDE  OF  LAND  (Sax.  Hyde  lands)  was 
considered,  in  ancient  Britain,  to  be  such  a 
quantity  of  land  as  one  plough  and  its  team 
could  plough  in  a  year.  It  was  hence  called  a 
ploughland.  It  was  about  100,  120,  or  160 
acres.  Bede  calls  it  a.fumiUare,  and  says  it  is 
as  much  as  will  maintain  a  family.  Crompton, 
in  JunsdictioH,  f.  222,  says  that  a  hide  of  land 
contained  100  acres,  and  that  8  hides  made  a 
knight's  fee.  But,  according  to  Sir  Edward 
Coke,  a  knight's  fee,  a  hide  or  ploughland,  a 
yardland,  or  an  ox-gang  of  land,  did  not  contain 
any  certain  quantity  of  acres  (On  Lit.  f.  69), 
but  was  determined  by  the  value  of  20/.  per 
annum.  And  a  ploughland  may  contain  a 
messuage,  wood,  meadow,  and  pasture;  and 
every  ploughland  of  ancient  time  was  of  the 
yearly  value  of  five  nobles ;  and  this  was  the 
living  of  a  ploughman  or  yeoman.  The  distri- 
bution of  England  into  hides  of  land  is  very 
ancient,  for  they  are  meDtiooed  in  the  laws  of 
King  Ina. 

HIDES  (Sax.  hy©e;  Germ,  haute;  Dutch, 
hiiukn).  Generally  speaking,  this  term  is  ap- 
applied  to  the  skins  of  most  beasts;  but  in 
commerce  it  is  limited  to  the  strong  and  thick 
skin  of  the  horse,  ox,  and  other  large  animals. 
Hides  are  raw  or  green ;  that  is,  in  the  state  in 
which  they  are  taken  off  the  carcass,  or  dressed 
with  salt,  alum,  and  saltpetre,  to  prevent  them 
from  putrefying;  or  they  are  cured  or  tanned. 
The  hides  of  South  America  are  in  the  highest 
repute,  and  vast  quantities  of  them  are  annually 
imported  into  Great  Britain.  Large  quantities 
are  also  received  from  various  parts  of  the 
ccmtinent,  and  from  Morocco,  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  &c.  About  200,000  cwt  of  unianned 
hides  are  annually  imported,  and  about  120,000 
cwt.  of  other  hides,  exclusive  of  Russia  hides, 
which  form  a  large  proportion  of  the  imports. 
The  rate  of  duty  charged  on  hides  is — untanned, 
dry,  per  cwt.,  48.  8rf.;  wet,  2s.  4rf.  ditto;  pieces 
of  hide,  or  hides  tawed,  curried,  or  dressed,  9d 
per  lb.;  cut  or  trimmed,  l«.  2</.  per  lb.  Those 
imported  from  British  colonies  are  only  liable 
to  half  this  rate  of  duty. 

HIGHWAYS  received  their  name  from  the 
Roman  method  of  elevating  the  road  upon 
causeways,  or  by  raised  earth.  In  the  English 
common  law,  highways  are  roads  common  to 
all  the  Queen's  subjects,  which  the  parish  are 
liable  to  repair.  All  ways,  either  for  foot  pas- 
sengers, or  carriages  and  horses,  are  properly 
highways.  If  a  road  is  dedicated  to  the  public 
for  25  years,  it  becomes  a  highway,  which  the 
parish  are  bound  to  repair,  although  they  have 
not  acquiesced  in  the  dedication  of  the  road. 
And  if  a  road  has  been  freely  used  by  the  pub- 
lic for  4  or  5  years,  a  jurv  is  warranted  in  pre- 
suLxing  that  the  owners  of  the  soil  consented 
to  its  being  thus  used.  Bridges  in  highways 
become  public  by  whomsoever  built,  but  not 
raised  causeways  furnished  with  culverts  over 
meadows,  if  more  than  300  feet  from  the 
bridge  ;  and  a  bridge  only  used  by  the  public 
in  periods  of  floods,  is  merely  a  public  bridge 
during  that  period.  By  the  common  law,  the 
obligaii(m  to  repair  the  road  lies  upon  the  pa-  I 
rish ;  the  bridges  are  to  be  repaired  by  the  ! 
79 


HIGHWAYS. 

■  county,  and  not  only  the  bridge,  but  since  the 
22  Henry  VIII.  c.  5,  s.  9,  the  road  or  approaches 
for  300  feet  "  from  any  of  the  ends  of  it."  Sur- 
veyors of  the  highways  are  now  annually 
elected  by  the  parishioners  on  or  within  14 
days  of  the  25th  of  March  (5  and  6  W.  IV.,  c. 
50,  s.  6)  ;  and  the  surveyor  may  be,  by  sect.  6 
of  this  act,  re-elected,  who  must  serve,  under  a 
penally  of  20/. :  he  is  entitled,  however,  to  a 
salary;  by  s.  20,  he  is  liable  to  a  penalty  of  6i. 
for  neglect  of  duty.  The  surveyor,  by  s.  25,  is 
authorized  to  use  adjoining  grounds  as  a  tem- 
porary highway  whilst  the  old  road  is  repair- 
ing and  widening ;  and,  by  s.  27,  he  is  empow- 
ed  to  make  a  rate  on  the  inhabitants,  which 
must,  however,  be  allowed  by  the  justices. 
By  s.  47,  any  person  taking  road  scrapings  or 
other  materials  from  the  sides  of  roads,  is  lia- 
ble to  a  penalty  of  10/.  The  surveyor  is  em- 
powered to  dig  for  road  materials  within  his 
own,  or  any  other  parish,  and  to  gather  stones 
free  from  charge,  on  any  land  within  his  par- 
ish, but  he  must  pay  for  any  damage  done  to 
the  land  during  their  removal;  and  after  ob- 
taining license  from  the  justices  in  special 
sessions,  he  may  enter  upon  and  dig  for  road 
materials,  making,  however,  satisfaction  to  the 
owners;  and  he  must  fill  up  the  holes  he 
makes,  or  have  them  filled  up  and  sloped 
down.  No  tree  shall  be  allowed  to  be  planted 
within  15  feet  of  the  centre  of  the  highway; 
and  with  the  authority  of  a  justice  of  the  peace 
(after  duly  summoning  the  owner  to  show 
cause),  the  surveyor  may  order  hedges  and 
trees,  which  shade  or  otherwise  injure  high- 
ways, to  be  cut  and  plashed.  Cartways  must 
be  20  feet,  horseways  8,  and  footways  3  feet 
wide. 

A  surveyor  of  highways  is  not  personally 
liable  to  the  labourers ;  they  must  look  to  the 
commissioners,  or  their  treasurer.  A  way 
warden  may  charge  law  expenses  incurred  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duty. 

Repairing  Rocufs. — The  advantages  of  keep- 
ing roads  in  repair,  if  only  regarded  by  the 
farmer  as  lessening  the  draught  of  his  horses, 
may  be  estimated  from  the  following  table  of 
the  average  force  required  to  draw  a  light 
four-wheeled  cart,  weighing,  with  its  load,  1000 
pounds : 

Force  of  tractnre 
Deicription  of  Road.  reqnired  to  movi 

the  carriage. 

Turnpike  road— hard  dry         -       -       -        -      30^  Iba 

Turnpike  road— dirty       .        -        -        _        -      39 
Hard,  compact  loam         .....      53 

Ordinary  bye-road  ------    106 

Turnpike  road,  newly  gravelled     -        -        .143 
Loose  sandy  road     ......    204 

The  annual  expense  of  repairing  the  roads 
throughout  England,  according  to  a  report  of  a 
committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1814, 
amounted  to  1,500,000/.,  which  Mr.  Penfold  in 
his  Treatise  on  Road-making,  divides  into 

Materials,  tradesmen,  and  officers  ...   £500,000 

Manual  labour 250,000 

Cartage    --..--.-      750,000 

The  chief  points  to  be  attended  to  in  road 
making  are — 1,  the  foundation ;  2,  the  drainage 
3,  the  choice  of  the  materials ;  4,  the  prepara- 
tion of  them ;  and  5,  the  size  of  them.  In  re- 
pairing — 1,  the  scraping;  2,  the  removal  of 
shading  trees,  &c.;  3,  the  watering.  A  carefui 
3G  625 


HIPPOPATHOLOGY. 


HOLCUS. 


attention  to  which  points  will  well  repay  the 
parish  for  the  care  bestowed  upon  them, 
There  is  a  paper,  by  Mr.  Whyte,  upon  a  ma- 
chine for  scraping  and  cleansing  highways 
(Trans.  High.  ISoc,  vol.  iv.  p.  349),  and  on 
roads,  and  the  excessive  weights  carried  on 
them  in  narrow-wheeled  wagons,  by  Mr. 
Whetly  (Coin,  to  Board  of  As,r.,  vol.  vi.  p.  182); 
and  there  is  a  work  on  road-making  by  Sir  C. 
M'Adam,  which  every  road-surveyor  should 
possess.  Sir  Henry  Parnell  has  also  publish- 
ed a  valuable  treatise  on  road-making.  Of  the 
materials  best  adapted  to  road-making,  Mr. 
Penfold  remarks,  "The  trappean  and  basaltic 
rocks  are  those  best  suited  for  the  construction 
of  roads.  No  material  has  ever  been  used  su- 
perior to  the  tough  basalts,  which  are  brought 
as  ballast  in  ships  from  China  and  Bombay, 
and  which  hare  been  partially  used  in  the 
macadamised  streets  of  London.  Limestones, 
in  many  respects,  afford  an  excellent  material. 
The  more  unyielding  the  material,  the  smaller 
is  the  size  to  which  it  ought  to  be  broken, 
liimeslones  have  in  general  a  peculiar  qua- 
lity of  making  smooth  roads,  even  if  not  broken 
to  a  small  size.  Pit  gravel,  especially  that  be- 
longing to  the  new  red  sandstone  formation,  is 
in  general  not  to  be  depended  upon,  as  con- 
taining stones  of  different  sorts,  and  conse- 
quently of  different  degrees  of  strength.  It  is 
one  of  the  greatest  mistakes  in  road-making  to 
lay  on  thick  coats  of  materials.  If  there  be 
substance  enough  already  in  the  road,  and 
which,  indeed,  should  always  be  carefully  kept 
up,  it  will  never  be  right  to  put  on  more  than 
a  stone's  thickness  at  a  time." 

HIPPOPATHOLOGY.  The  science  of  vete- 
rinary medicine  which  comprehends  the  dis- 
eases of  the  horse.  Among  the  writers  on  this 
subject,  within  the  last  century,  may  be  enume- 
rated Gibson,  Clater,  Blaine,  Lowson,  White, 
Rydge,  Coleman,  Dick,  Sewell,  Percivall, 
White,  R3'dge,  Stewart,  Youatt,  and  many 
others  ;  and  although  a  few  of  their  works  may 
now  be  obsolete,  the  greater  portion,  particu- 
larly the  valuable  work  of  Mr.  Youatt  contain 
avast  fund  of  practical  and  useful  information. 
HOAR  FROST.  To  the  authorities  quoted 
in  the  article  Frost,  I  would  add  that  of  the 
Rev.  J.  Farquharson.  He  draws  from  his  ob- 
servations the  conclusions  that  these  frosts 
occur  when  the  thermometer  is  at  ten  feet  from 
the  ground,  of  varying  degrees  of  temperature, 
sometimes  as  high  as  41° ;  2dly,  that  they  take 
^  place  at  the  time  of  a  high  daily  mean  tem- 
perature only  during  a  calm ;  3dly,  that  the  air 
is  alwa3's,  or  nearly  all  of  it,  unclouded;  4thly, 
that  they  most  frequently  lake  place  when  the 
mercury  of  the  barometer  is  high  and  rising, 
and  when  the  hygrometer  for  the  season  indi- 
cates comparative  dryness.  5thly.  In  general, 
low  and  tiat  lands  in  the  bottoms  of  valleys, 
and  grounds  that  are  in  land-locked  hollows, 
suffer  from  these  frosts,  while  all  sloping  lands 
and  open  uplands  escape  injury.  This  he  ac- 
counts for  by  supposing  that  on  sloping 
grounds  there  are  always  currents  of  air  which 
mix  the  upper  and  warmer  strata  of  air  with 
that  which  rests  immediately  on  the  ground, 
and  which  it  would  seem,  from  some  experi- 
ipents  of  Dr.  Wells,  is  no';  unfrequently  much 
626 


colder  than  ihat  only  four  feet  from  the  sur- 
face. He  found,  on  the  19th  of  August,  1813 
{Trans,  High.  Soc.  ix.  250)  :— 


Hme. 

On  the  groiinrt. 

Four  feet  from 
the  ground. 

6  h.  45  m         -        -        - 

7  1).-           ... 
7h.  20  m 

7  h.  40  tn 

8  h.  45  m 

53° 
51 

42 

60i«> 

60i 

59 

58 

54 

The  slightest  protection,  even  that  of  a  bush, 
thin  sprinkling  of  straw  or  litter,  is  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  the  deposition  of  frost,  because 
it  is  only  necessary  to  prevent  radiation. 

HOEiNG  BY  HAND.  The  hand  hoe  is  an 
instrument  too  well  known  to  need  any  de- 
scription. The  operation  of  hoeing  is  benefi- 
cial, not  only  as  being  destructive  of  weeds, 
but  as  loosening  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and 
rendering  it  more  permeable  to  the  gases  and 
aqueous  vapour  of  the  atmosphere.  Hoeing, 
therefore,  not  only  protects  the  farmer's  crops 
from  being  weakened  by  weeds,  but  it  renders 
the  soil  itself  more  fertile,  as  more  capable  of 
supplying  the  plants  with  their  food.  Jethro 
Tull  was  the  first  who  warmly  and  ably  incul- 
cated the  advantages  of  hoeing  cultivated  soils. 
He  correctly  enough  told  the  farmers  of  his 
time,  that  as  fine  hoed  ground  is  not  so  long 
soaked  by  rain,  so  the  dews  never  suffer  it  to 
become  perfectly  dry.  This  appears  by  the 
plants  which  flourish  in  this,  whilst  those  in 
the  hard  ground  are  starved.  In  the  driest 
weather  good  hoeing  procures  moisture  to  the 
roots  of  plants,  though  the  ignorant  and  incu- 
rious fancy  it  lets  in  the  drought. 

HOG  CHOLERA.     See  Swine. 

HOGWEED  (Heradeum  sphondylium).  The 
weed  known  by  this  name  in  Pennsylvania 
and  other  Middle  States,  is  also  called  Ragweed 
and  Bitter-weed,  the  Ambrosia  Elatior  or  Taller 
Ambrosia  of  botanical  writers.  This  apparently 
very  worthless  weed  is  common  in  pastures 
and  cultivated  fields,  always  following  the 
wheat  crop  immediately  after  harvest,  as 
though  a  parasite  of  this  species  of  grain.  If 
the  land  be  good,  the  plant  seems  to  give  place, 
the  following  season,  to  the  crop  of  clover  or 
timothy.  "  I  have,"  says  Dr.  Darlington  "  been 
puzzled  to  determine  this  species  satisfactorily. 
It  is  evidently,  I  think,  the  Ambrosia  Elatior  of 
Bigelow,  and  some  others,  and  as  clearly  the 
A.  artemisifolia  of  Barton,  &c. ;  whilst,  at  the 
same  time,  it  agrees  pretty  well  with  Elliott's 
A. paniculata.  Are  they  all  distinct  species? 
Five  or  six  additional  species  are  enumerated 
in  the  LTnited  States."     {Flor.  Cestrica.) 

This  plant  comes  into  flower  about  the  mid- 
dle of  May  ;  its  nutritive  powers  appear  to  be 
considerable  when  compared  to  those  of  lucern 
and  some  other  plants.  Sinclair  found  that  64 
drs.  of  the  herbage  afforded  of  nutritive  matter 
90  grs.,  lucern  an  equal  proportion,  the  same 
weight  of  burnet  and  of  Bunias  orientalis  100 
grs.  each,  of  the  broad-leaved  cultivated  clover 
80  grains.  See  Cow-PARsifip.  (Hort.  Gram, 
Wob.p.  411.) 

HOLCUS.  The  soft-grass.  A  genus  of 
grasses  of  which  Smith,  in  his  Eng.  Flor.  (voL 
L  p.  107),  describes  three  species,  but  whicl^ 


HOLCUS. 


Sinclair,  in  his  Hortrts  Gramineus,h2LS   extend- 1 
ed  to  5   species  and  varieties,  including  the 
northern  holy-grass,  (Hierochloe  borealis),  which 
Smith  very  properly  refers  to  another  class. 

Holcus  avenaceus  (PI.  5,  cc).  Tall  oat-like 
soft-grass.  In  this  species  the  calyx  is  smooth, 
the  barren  floret  lowest,  with  a  sharply  bent 
prominent  awn ;  fertile  one  bent,  slightly  ele- 
vated, scarcely  awned ;  leaves  rather  harsh ; 
roots  knobbed,  or  with  tuberous  joints  and 
downy  fibres.  In  dry  or  fluctuating  soils  the 
roots  become  largely  bulbous,  and  then  consti- 
tute a  troublesome  weed.  In  the  works  of 
Linnaeus,  Curtis,  and  Host,  this  grass  is  found 
under  the  name  o{  Jlvena  elatior ;  it  has  since 
been  thought  to  agree  better  with  holms  in 
structure ;  but  it  appears  to  belong  to  neither 
of  these  justly,  serving  rather  to  form  the  con- 
necting link  between  the  aventp,  hold,  and  aira. 
This  grass  grows  common  in  pastures,  hedges, 
thickets,  and  by  road  sides.  The  stem  rises  to 
3  feet  high,  is  smooth,  simple,  and  jointed;  the 
joints  sometimes  downy ;  the  leaves  are  deep- 
preen,  rough-edged,  and  rather  harsh  to  the 
touch,  with  long  striated  sheaths,  and  abrupt 
stipules.  The  flowering  panicle  is  erect,  late- 
ral. The  seeds  are  nearly  cylindrical,  and 
coated  with  the  hardened  corolla.  This  grass 
sends  forth  flowering  culms  during  the  whole 
of  the  season.  The  entire  plant  is  subject  to 
rust  after  the  period  of  flowering;  hence  the 
crop  should  be  cut  as  soon  as  the  grass  is  in 
flower.  This  grass  is  eaten  by  all  sorts  of  cat- 
tle, and  is  always  present  in  the  composition 
of  the  best  natural  pastures;  but  it  does  not 
constitute  a  large  proportion  of  the  herbage. 
It  perishes  rapidly  after  being  cropped ;  and 
though  later  in  flowering  (end  of  June)  than 
many  other  species,  produces  an  early  and 
plentiful  supply  of  herbage  in  the  spring. 
These  properties  would  entitle  it  to  rank  high 
as  a  grass  adapted  for  the  alternate  husbandry, 
but  with  respect  to  its  nutritive  properties,  it 
contains  too  large  a  proportion  of  bitter  extrac- 
tive and  saline  matters  to  warrant  its  cultiva- 
tion without  a  considerable  admixture  of  dif- 
ferent grasses  ;  and  the  same  objection  extends 
to  its  culture  for  permanent  pasture. 

HnliHs  avenaceus,  var.  mutinis.  Awnless,  tall, 
oat-iike  soft-grass.  In  this  variety,  which  is 
smaller  in  every  respect  than  the  preceding, 
the  leaves  are  very  short,  the  roots  slightly 
i>  ^rous,  the  panicle  much  contracted,  the 
flowers  without  awns  ;  glumes  pencilled  at  the 
apex  with  purple.  It  flowers  a  week  later  than 
the  awned  variety ;  in  all  other  respects  it  is 
the  same.  It  seldom  perfects  any  good  seed, 
and  appears  to  be  much  inferior  in  point  of 
produce.  Hares  give  a  decided  preference  to 
the  awnless  variety. 

Holcus  lanatus.  Woolly  or  meadow  soft- 
grass.  The  root  in  this  species  is  fibrous  ;  the 
stem  simple,  1^  to  2  feet  high,  smooth  above, 
hairy  below,  with  hairy  sheaths,  and  short 
blunt  stipules.  The  panicle  is  thrice  com- 
pound, erect,  and  spreading.  The  calyx  of  the 
flower  is  woolly,  lower  floret  perfect,  awnless; 
upper  with  an  arched  awn  ;  leaves  downy  on 
bcth  sides.  This  is  a  very  troublesome  grass, 
which  is  difficult  to  get  rid  of;  it  grows  abun- 


HOLCUS. 

dant  in  meadows  and  pastures  on  all  soils,  from 
the  richest  to  the  poorest.  Cattle  prefer  almost 
any  other  grass  to  this;  hence  it  is  seen  in 
pastures,  with  full-grown  perfect  leaves,  while 
the  grasses  that  surround  it  are  cropped  to  the 
roots.  Sir  Humphry  Davy  has  shown  that 
its  nutritive  matter  consists  entirely  of  muci- 
lage and  sugar;  while  the  same  property  in 
the  grasses  most  relished  by  cattle  has  either 
a  sub-acid  or  saline  taste.  This  grass  might 
probably  be  rendered  more  palatable  to  cattle 
by  being  sprinkled  over  with  salt. 

Hard  stocking,  and  never  suffering  it  to  run 
to  seed,  will  at  least  prevent  this  grass  from 
spreading;  but  ploughing  up  the  pasture,  and 
taking  not  less  than  a  five  years'  course  of 
crops  and  then  returning  the  land  to  other 
grasses,  will  be  found  the  best  means  of  getting 
rid  of  it.    It  flowers  and  ripens  the  seed  in  July. 

Holcus  mollis.  Creeping  soft-grass.  PI.  5,  c. 
Couch-grass.  The  specific  character  of  this 
species  is,  root  creeping,  calyx  partly  naked, 
lower  floret  perfect,  awnless,  upper  with  a 
sharply  bent  prominent  awn ;  leaves  slightly 
downy.  The  distinctions  between  this  grass 
and  the  woolly  or  mcd.dcvr  soft-grafs  H  lana- 
tus, are  the  creepmg  root,  and  the  whole  plant 
being  more  slender  and  less  downy.  The 
leaves  are  also  narrower  and  more  soft  than 
those  of  the  H.  lanatus,  and  grow  more  distinct 
from  each  other:  on  the  contrary,  those  of  the 
H.  lanatus  are  in  dense  tufts.  The  panicle  is 
more  loose  and  smoother,  with  conspicuous 
awns,  which,  in  drying,  bend  at  a  right  angle, 
and  extend  beyond  the  calyx.  The  panicle  of 
the  H.  lanatus  is  generally  of  a  reddish  purple 
colour  tinged  with  green,  or,  when  growing 
under  the  shade  of  trees,  of  a  whitish-green 
colour.  The  panicle  of  the  H.  mollis  is  always 
of  the  latter  colour.  This  grass  would  rank  as 
one  of  the  superior  grasses  if  it  did  not  usually 
tenant  a  light  barren  sandy  soil ;  but  it  produces 
little  herbage  in  the  spring,  and  the  aftermath  is 
next  to  nothing.  Pigs  are  very  fond  of  the  roots, 
which  contain  a  very  considerable  quantity  of 
nutritive  matter,  having  the  flavour  of  new- 
made  meal.  The  herbage  is  apparently  more 
disliked  by  cattle  than  that  of  the  H.  lanatus:  it 
is  extremely  soft,  dry,  and  tasteless.  The  roots, 
when  once  in  possession  of  the  soil,  can  hard- 
ly again  be  expelled  without  great  labour  and 
expense.  It  is  the  true  couch  grass  of  light 
sandy  soils,  for  its  roots  frequently  attain  in  a 
few  months  to  4  or  5  feet  in  length.  The  best 
mode  of  banishing  this  impoverishing  and 
troublesome  weed  from  light  arable  lands  that 
are  infested  with  it,  is  to  collect  the  roots  with 
the  fork  after  the  plough ;  and  when  thus  in 
some  measure  lessened  to  apply  yearly  dress- 
ings of  clay,  perhaps  50  loads  per  acre,  till  the 
texture  of  the  soil  is  changed  to  a  sandy  loam; 
this  grass  will  then  be  easily  overcome,  and 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  permanently  increased. 
See  Couch. 

Holcus  odoratus  (repens)  Sweet-scented  soft- 
grass  or  northern  noly-grass.  See  Holt- 
GnAss. 

I  have  placed  together  in  a  tabular  form  the 
comparative  yield  of  produce  of  these  grasses. 
(Sinclair's  Hart.  Gram.  Wob.) 

637 


HOLLY. 


HONEY. 


Holeiu    avenaceus,    anil 

Produce 

per  Acre  in  Pouods. 

Green. 

Dry. 

Nu(.  Mat. 

clayey  loam  in  flower 

17,015 

6,380 

664 

Holcus    avenaceus,    seed 

ripe      -        -        -        - 

16,385 

6,717 

255 

Holcus  avenaceus,  latter- 

math   -        •        -        - 

13,612 

- 

265 

H.  avenaceus,   var.    mu- 

ticiis,  soil  rich  clayey 

loam,  in  flower    - 

12,251 

4,287 

669 

—           latter-math 

3,453 

- 

53 

H.  lavatHS,  clayey  loam. 

in  flower      .        -        - 

19,057 

6.193 

1191 

H.  mollis,  sandy  loam,  in 

flower  -        -        -        - 

34,031 

13,612 

2392 

—       seed  ripe 

21,099 

8,439 

1153 

H.  odoratus   (.repens).  In 

flower-        -        -        - 

9,528 

2,441 

632 

—               —    seed 

ripe      -        -        -        - 

27,225 

9,528 

2233 

HOLLY  (Ilex  aquifolium).  A  handsome 
evergreen  tree,  of  slow  growth,  with  a  smooth, 
gray  bark,  which,  abounding  in  mucilage, 
makes  bird-lime  by  maceration  in  water.  The 
wood  is  hard,  close-grained,  and  covered  with 
the  above  smooth  gray  bark.  The  leaves  are 
alternate,  stalked,  rigid,  shining,  waxy,  with 
spinous  divaricated  lobes ;  the  upper  ones  on 
old  trees  entire,  with  only  a  terminal  prickle. 
The  flowers  are  copious,  white,  tinged  exter- 
nally with  purple,  the  earlier  ones  least  perfect. 
The  berries  are  scarlet,  casually  yellow.  The 
holly  grows  in  hedges  and  bushy  places  upon 
dry  hills.  Numerous  variegated  varieties  are 
kept  in  gardens,  and  one  whose  leaves  are 
prickly  on  the  disk.  Darwin  suggested  the 
idea,  that  the  points  on  the  lower  leaves  of  the 
holly  was  a  provision  of  nature  to  prevent 
them  from  being  eaten  by  cattle ;  hence,  when 
the  tree  grows  beyond  the  reach  of  the  cattle, 
the  leaves  lose  the  pines,  that  species  of  ar- 
mature being  no  longer  necessary.  The  tree 
bears  clipping  well ;  but  it  is  not  so  fashionable 
for  cut  hedges  as  formerly.  The  branches, 
laden  with  berries,  are  stuck  about  rustic 
kitchens  and  churches  at  Christmas,  and  re- 
main till  Candlemas  Day.  In  Norfolk  and 
some  other  English  counties  the  misseltoe  ac- 
companies them,  and  sometimes  branches  of 
the  spindletree  or  prickwood. 

The  common  holly  of  the  United  States  is 
the  Ilex  opaca  of  naturalists,  a  handsome  ever- 
green which,  though  in  some  of  the  Middle 
States  a  mere  shrub,  in  others  assumes  the 
dignity  of  a  tree.  In  Kent  county,  Delaware, 
the  holly  frequently  attains  a  height  of  30  to  40 
feet.  Seven  or  eight  additional  species  are 
found  in  the  United  States,  chiefly  in  the  south. 

HOLM  (Sax.  and  Danish).  An  island  or 
fennv  place  surrounded  by  water. 

HOLM  OAK,  or  HOLLY  OAK.    See  Oak. 

HOLT  (Sax.  a  ivood :  Germ.  holz).  The 
termination  of  many  names  of  places  in  Eng- 
land, derive!  from  their  ancient  situation  in  a 
wood. 

HOLY-GRASS,  NORTHERN  (Hierochloe  bo- 
realis).  The  sweet-scented  soft-grass,  Holcus 
udoratns  (repens)  of  some  botanists.  The  pow- 
erful creeping:  roots  of  this  grass,  its  tender 
nature,  and  tne  great  deficiency  of  foliage  in 
the  spring  are  demerits  which  discourage  the 
Jia.  of  recommending  it  further  to  the  notice 

£90 


of  the  agriculturist.  It  comes  into  flower 
about  the  end  of  April,  and  perfects  hardly 
any  seed;  but  few  grasses  propagate  more 
quickly  by  the  roots.  This  grass  is  said  to  be 
used  at  high  festivals,  for  strewing  the  churches 
in  Prussia,  as  Acorus  calamus  has  time  out  of 
mind  been  employed  in  the  cathedral  an 
streets  of  Norwich  on  the  mayor's  day. 

HOMESTEAD,  or  FARM  STEADING.  A 
collection  of  farm  buildings  and  offices  ar- 
ranged in  a  convenient  form. 

HONEY  (German,  honig).  A  well-known 
vegetable  substance  collected  by  bees.  "Its 
flavour,"  says  Dr.  A.  T.  Thomson,  "varies 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  flowers  from 
which  it  is  collected.  Thus,  the  honeys  of 
Minorca,  Narbonne,  and  England  are  known 
by  their  flavours.  It  is  separated  from  the 
comb  by  dripping,  and  by  expression  ;  the  first 
method  aflbrds  the  purest  sort,  the  second  se- 
parates a  less  pure  honey,  and  a  still  inferior 
kind  is  obtained  by  heating  the  comb  before  it 
is  pressed.  When  obtained  from  young  hives 
which  have  not  swarmed,  it  is  denominated 
virgin  honey.  It  is  sometimes  adulterated  with 
flour  and  starch,  which  may  be  detected  by 
mixing  it  with  tepid  water ;  the  honey  dissolves, 
while  the  flour  or  starch  remains  nearly  un- 
altered." Honey  is  easily  soluble  in  water, 
and,  like  sugar,  readily  undergoes  the  vinous 
fermentation;  in  this  way,  in  fact,  mead  is 
made,  an  intoxicating  beverage,  once  much 
more  extensively  prepared  than  now. 

Honey  constitutes  a  very  important  product 
of  some  countries,  among  which  we  may  name 
Poland,  where  the  management  of  bees  is  an 
extensive  branch  of  forest  culture.  Poland 
honey  is  commercially  divided  into  three 
classes ;  the  finest,  called  lipiec,  is  gathered  by 
the  bees  from  the  lime  tree  alone,  and  is  con- 
sidered on  the  Continent  most  valuable,  not 
only  for  the  superiority  of  its  flavour,  but  also 
for  the  estimation  in  which  it  is  held  as  an  ar- 
canum in  pulmonary  complaints,  containing 
very  little  wax,  and  being,  consequently,  less 
heating  in  its  nature ;  it  is  as  white  as  milk, 
and  is  only  to  be  met  with  in  the  lime  forests 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town  of  Kowno, 
in  Lithuania.  It  is  the  June  and  July  work  alone 
that  constitutes  this  delightful  product,  and 
which  is  carefully  taken  from  the  hives,  in 
which  is  left  for  the  store  of  the  bees  the  honey 
collected  by  them  before  and  after  the  flowering 
of  the  linden,  a  tree  quite  difierentfrom  all  the 
rest  of  the  genus  Tdia,  and  caJled  Kamienna 
lipsa,  or  Stone  Lime. 

The  leszny,  the  next  class  of  honey,  which  is 
inferior  in  a  great  degree  to  the  lipiec,  being 
only  for  the  common  mead,  is  that  of  the  pine 
forests. 

The  third  class  of  honey  is  the  stepowey  pras- 
znymirJ,  or  the  honey  from  meadows  or  places 
where  there  is  an  abundance  of  perennial 
plants,  and  hardly  any  wood.  The  province 
of  Ukraine  produces  the  very  best,  and  also 
the  very  best  wax.  In  that  province  the  pea- 
sants pay  particular  attention  to  this  branch 
of  economy,  as  it  is  the  only  resource  they 
have  to  enable  them  to  defray  the  taxes  levied 
{  by  Russia;  and  they  consider  the  produce  of 
I  bees  equal  to  ready  money. 


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UNIVERSITY 

CALIFORNIA 


I 


HONEY 


In  the  United  States,  the  capacity  to  produce 
honey  seems  only  limited  by  the  ravages  of 
that  great  pest,  the  bee-moth.  Over  this,  how- 
ever, it  is  to  be  hoped  ingenuity  will  finally 
triumph,  if  it  has  not  done  so  already.  See 
Bkks  and  Bke-moth. 

Russian    Ststem    of   maxarixg    Bees    and 
coxstructino  hives. 

In  Russia  and  other  northern  parts  of  Eu- 
rope, honey  and  wax  constitute  great  sources 
of  private  wealth  and  general  trade.  A  large 
amount  of  this  honey  is  obtained  from  trees  in 
the  wild  forests,  which,  when  not  hollowed  by 
nature,  are  scooped  out  by  man  for  the  accom- 
modation of  swarms,  nails  being  driven  into 
the  body,  to  prevent  the  bears  from  climbing 
up  and  getting  at  the  honey.  This  primitive 
plan  may  be  called  the  Forest  system,  to  distin- 
guish it  from  another,  consisting  of  large  as- 
semblages of  hives,  entitling  it  to  the  appella- 
tion of  the  Camp  system.  These  bee-camps  are 
often  removed  from  place  to  place,  according 
to  the  abundance  or  scarcity  of  flowers.  A 
new  system  of  managing  bees  has  been  lately 
introduced  into  Russia,  which  has  acquired 
immense  celebrity,  not  only  in  that  country,  but 
in  other  parts  of  continental  Europe,  to  the 
northern  portion  of  which  it  may  perhaps  be 
more  specially  adapted.  It  is,  however,  at  pre- 
sent receiving  great  encouragement  in  France, 
where  the  most  active  efforts  are  making  to 
promote  its  extension.  Although  we  believe 
that  the  most  essential  objects  obtained  by  the 
Russian  mode  are  gained  through  some  of  the 
almost  innumerable  contrivances  worked  out 
by  American  ingenuity,  still  we  think  it  proper 
to  make  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  ac- 
quainted with  what  is  deemed  of  so  much  in- 
dividual and  national  importance  abroad. 

The  Russian  system  owes  its  origin  and  es- 
tablishment to  M.  Prokopovitsh,  an  individual 
who  has  ievoted  more  than  half  his  life  to  the 
subject.  His  reputation  as  an  apiarian  is  at 
present  so  high  as  to  have  enabled  him  to  esta- 
blish an  extensive  school  for  teaching  the  art 
of  managing  bees.  His  school  and  dwelling- 
houses  are  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  gar- 
den, in  which  are  found  no  less  than  twenty-eight 
hundred  hires.  The  number  of  his  pupils  is 
never  under  eighty,  which  come  from  all  parts 
of  Russia,  and  remain  two  years.  His  terms 
are  very  moderate. 

In  studying  the  nature  and  characteristics 
of  the  queen,  he  made  the  discovery  that  she 
always  keeps  upon  the  honeycomb,  and  never 
creeps  upon  any  part  of  the  hive.  This  obser- 
vation he  has  turned  to  advantage,  so  as  to 
make  the  bees  assort  and  dispose  their  honey 
in  whatever  manner  he  desires  it  to  be  depo- 
sited. 

By  discovering  a  plant  pre-eminently  rich 
in  honey,  he  has  rendered  another  service  to 
his  country,  not  less  important  than  that  just 
referred  to.  This  is  the  Echi^m  Vui,gahe, 
called  in  Russia  Ciniok.  It  has  long  been 
known  to  abound  in  the  materials  of  honey, 
but  hrtd  always  been  left  in  a  wild  state  until 
this  intelligent  Russian  took  it  into  regular 
cultivation  for  the  use  of  his  bees.  In  doing 
this,  says  a  French  writer,  he  has  rendered  a 


HONEY. 

service  to  Europe  similar  to  that  conferred  by 
Parmentier,  who  placed  the  potato  among  the 
number  of  plants  indispensable  to  the  purposes 
of  domestic  economy.  Many  of  the  Russian 
provinces  possess  only  a  very  few  plants  rich 
in  honey;  or,  rather,  owing  to  the  rigours  of 
the  climate,  the  plants  furnish  honey  during  a 
very  short  period.  The  Echium  is  th(5rcfore 
the  more  valuable  from  the  fact  that  it  is  so 
little  sensible  to  the  effects  of  both  heat  and 
cold,  neither  of  which  cause  it  to  part  with  its 
mellifluous  qualities.  Even  after  the  setting 
in  of  white  frosts,  which  ordinarily  commence 
about  the  end  of  September  or  first  of  October, 
it  still  continues  to  flower. 

It  is  proper  to  observe  that  the  plant  which 
has  thus  acquired  such  great  celebrity  bears 
the  same  name  with  a  common  and  very  beau- 
tiful English  wild  plant,  belonging  to  the  Bo- 
rage family,  and  that,  in  his  Flora  Cestrica, 
Dr.  Darlington  describes  the  common  Echium 
as  a  foreign  weed,  extremely  troublesome  in 
some  portions  of  the  United  States,  though  as 
yet  rare  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  A 
species  called  Violet  Echium  is  cultivated  in 
some  flower-gardens  in  the  United  States,  but 
no  American  species  has  yet  been  pointed  out 
by  botanists.  The  French  call  the  common 
Echium  Viperiue,  and  Hcrbe  aux  Viperes ;  the 
Germans,  VVilde  Orhsenzihige,  and  Der  Nalterkopf. 
The  popular  names  in  the  United  States  are 
Bine  Weed,  Blue  Devils,  and  Viper's  Bugloss.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  the  plant  so  much  prized 
in  Russia  is  a  variety  of  Borage  differing  con- 
siderably from  the  weed  denounced  by  Dr.  Dar- 
lington. His  caution,  however,  ought  by  no 
means  to  be  forgotten  by  persons  who  intro- 
duce the  Echium  for  the  benefit  of  their  bees, 
as  it  is  a  biennial,  furnished  with  a  very  thick 
and  hard  tap-root,  which  must  be  very  difl^cult 
to  get  out  of  ground  when  it  has  once  gained 
possession.  It  should  therefore  be  sown  and 
kept  in  places  where  it  may  be  restrained 
within  bounds.  It  may  be  popularly  described 
as  a  plant  with  long  and  rather  narrow  leaves, 
coming  to  a  point,  which  leaves,  with  the  stalks, 
are  covered  with  a  profusion  of  hairs.  It  puts 
out  numerous  spikes  bearing  one  or  two  bell- 
shaped  flowers,  of  a  purple-blue  colour,  having 
five  petals,  which  are  pubescent  or  hairy.  It 
produces  small,  rough,  and  brownish  oval- 
shaped  nuts,  which  are  angular  on  the  inner 
side.  (See  Fig.  6,  on  the  Plate  representing 
the  Russian  Bee-hive,  etc.) 

Description  of  the  Russian  Bee-hive. 

Fig.  1  represents  the  hive  in  perspective, 
supported  upon  a  floor  of  brick  or  stone,  car- 
ried beyond  the  sides  of  the  hive,  so  as  to 
secure  a  solid  foundation.  The  usual  size  of 
this  hive  is  three  feet  six  inches  in  height, 
fourteen,  twenty,  and  even  as  much  as  twenty 
two  inches  in  width,  and  from  twelve  to  sixteen 
inches  in  depth.  The  box  or  case  is  made  of 
five  boards,  either  nailed,  or,  what  is  better, 
dovetailed  together.  The  pieces  represented 
at  a,  a,  a,  are  three  doors  of  equal  size,  which 
are  fixed  into  mortices  or  grooves  and  fastened 
by  the  pegs  b,b.  c,c,  are  two  movable  pieces, 
an  inch  wide,  uoon  which  the  movable  doors 
3  G  2  629 


HONEY. 


HONEY 


rest,  d,  small  slats  fastened  into  the  sides  of 
the  hive  by  mortices.  These  serve  to  prevent 
the  doors  from  touching  the  honeycomb.  Each 
range  of  frames  has  one  of  these  slats. 

e,  c,  e,  are  small  frames  in  which  the  bees 
work  and  deposit  their  honeycombs.  These 
frames  are  notched  or  scooped  out  circularly 
upon^e  loM'er  side,  as  well  as  upon  both  edges 
of  the  front  end,  as  represented  in  fig.  2.  The 
opening  left  by  the  hollow  in  the  lowermust 
side  serves  for  the  bees  to  enter  from  beneath, 
whilst  the  hollows  on  the  two  sides  of  the  front 
end  of  the  frame  admits  the  movements  of  the 
bees  to  be  observed.  These  frames  are  thin  ; 
their  thickness,  however,  is  not  arbitrary,  but 
must  be  made  to  correspond  to  the  size  and 
form  which  the  bees  give  to  their  combs. 
"When  placed  side  by  side  the  frames  must  not 
touch,  but  a  small  space  is  to  be  left  between 
to  allow  a  little  play,  and  prevent  them  from 
wedging  together  and  becoming  tight  in  warm 
weather,  when  the  wood  swells. 

/,/,/,  are  three  places  of  entrance  for  the 
bees,  furnished  with  slides.  These  are  so  ar- 
ranged that  the  middle  one  comes  exactly  in 
the  middle  of  its  compartment ;  the  upper  one 
is  an  inch  higher  than  the  upper  slat;  whilst 
the  lower  opening  is  an  inch  lower  than  the 
lowermost  slat. 

k  (fig.  3)  is  a  grating  to  be  used  in  autumn, 
when  it  may  be  desired  to  separate  the  empty 
parts  from  those  filled  with  comb.  This  grating, 
or  adapter,  remains  in  contact  with  the  bees, 
g  (fig.  4)  represents  a  small  board,  which  is  to 
be  placed  on  top  of  the  grating. 

Fig.  5  is  a  transverse  section,  in  which  may 
be  seen  the  places  of  entrance,/,  the  depth  of 
the  frames,  a,  and  at  c,  one  of  the  combs. 

The  various  kinds  of  hives,  constructed  in 
sections  or  compartments,  may  be  divided  into 
two  classes,  namely, — those  in  which  the  divi- 
.sions  are  made  either  horizontally  or  vertically. 
The  first  are  founded  upon  the  well-known  ne- 
cessity for  allowing  space  for  the  new  combs ; 
the  second  from  the  advantage  derived  from 
separating  the  swarms  artificially.  To  carry 
out  these  plans,  very  complicated  contrivances 
have  generally  been  employed,  whilst  the  Rus- 
sian hive  effects  every  necessary  object  to  be 
gained  from  section  or  division  hives. 

The  leading  principle  of  the  Russian  hive, 
which,  it  will  be  seen,  is  quite  plain  in  con- 
struction, and  economical  as  to  first  cost, — 
consists  in  its  capacity  to  be  reversed  or  turned 
upside  dawn,  a  very  simple  operation,  which, 
however,  leads  to  the  most  important  results  in 
the  management  of  bees. 

Reversing  the  hive  not  only  allows  of  the 
perfect  renewal  of  the  wax,  but  furnishes  an 
opportunity  of  inspecting  every  thing  passing 
within,  by  means  of  the  movable  doors,  and 
at  the  same  time,  of  conducting  all  the  opera- 
tions at  pleasure,  thus  uniting  all  the  advan- 
tages of  the  two  systems  of  horizontal  and  ver- 
tical section  hives,  such  as  the  separation  of 
swarms,  &c. 

By  means  of  the  operation  of  reversing,  the 
jee-manager  who  introduces  a  swarm  into  the 
Russian  hive,  will,  during  three  years,  be  able 
to  withdraw  each  year  one  of  the  three  divi- 
sions alternately,  or  one-thiid  of  the  whole 
630 


mass  of  honey  deposited ;  at  the  end  of  the 
period  mentioned,  he  will  have  thus  produced 
a  perfect  renewal  of  the  wax;  that  is  to  say,  at 
this  time  he  will  be  obliged  to  reverse  or  turn 
up  the  hive,  the  former  bottom  of  which  new 
becomes  the  top. 

The  mode  in  which  M.  Prokopdvitsh  ma- 
nages to  make  his  bees  assort  their  honey 
themselves,  is  effected  by  means  of  a  very 
simple  contrivance.  Many  others  have  de- 
vised modes  very  similar  to  those  adopted  by 
the  Russian  apiarian,  but  it  is  asserted  that 
their  objects  had  not  the  same  end,  since  they 
only  sought  to  obtain  the  virgin  honey.  No 
one  has  before  believed  it  practicable  to  pro- 
cure honey  of  a  uniform  quality  and  which  at 
the  same  time  is  virgin  honey.  The  idea 
therefore  originally  belongs  to  M.  Prokopd- 
vitsh, who,  whilst  pursuing  his  apiarian  stu- 
dies, had  it  suggested  to  him  by  a  plan  adopted 
by  Huber  for  the  mere  purpose  of  being  able 
to  watch  the  habits  of  bees. 

The  process  of  working  the  Russian  hive  is 
as  follows :  In  autumn,  after  having  taken  the 
upper  portion  of  the  crop,  when  the  amount  of 
honey  admits  this  to  be  done,  the  part  of  the 
hive  thus  left  empty  is  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  comb,  by  introducing  the  grating  h,  and 
placing  upon  it  the  board  g.  In  this  state  the 
hive  is  conveyed  to  some  suitable  place  to  pass 
the  winter.  The  following  summer,  at  the  ar- 
rival of  the  season  when  the  plant  from  which 
honey  is  to  be  collected  is  in  flower,  the  board 
is  removed,  and  the  frames  e  placed  upon  the 
grating.  These  frames,  which  are  made  ot 
very  thin  stuflT,  have  a  length  equal  to  the 
depth  of  the  hive.  Their  height  is  about  half 
that  of  their  length,  and  their  width  or  thick- 
ness ought  not  to  exceed  an  inch  and  a  half. 

Two  sides  of  the  frame,  have,  as  already 
described,  two  notches  or  hollows  which  re- 
duce their  width.  One  of  these  is  the  long 
side  which  comes  in  contact  with  the  grating," 
affording  passage  to  the  bees,  whilst  the  other 
is  the  end  near  the  door  which  admits  the 
movements  of  the  bees  to  be  inspected.  Be- 
fore these  frames  are  arranged  in  their  places, 
a  little  dry  wax  is  to  be  stuck  along  the  mid? 
die  of  the  upper  side  of  the  frame,  (the  side 
which  is  not  scooped  out).  This  is  for  the 
purpose  of  directing  the  bees  where  they  must 
place  their  combs. 

By  the  arrangement  described,  the  bees 
finding  above  them  a  vacant  space,  commence 
their  work  in  it,  and  finding  in  the  flowers  in 
bloom  sufficient  material,  fill  the  cases  with 
honey,  and  this  they  do  with  the  more  rapidity 
froia  the  circumstance  of  the  queen's  being 
separated  by  a  space  not  yet  occupied  by  the 
combs,  and  her  inability  to  reach  these  to  lay 
her  eggs  in  them.  The  cases  in  which  the 
honey  is  deposited  are  sealed  up  immediately, 
the  comb  is  observed  to  have  reached  the 
lower  part  of  the  box,  and  before  the  queen 
has  had  an  opportunity  of  depositing  in  it  any 
eggs.  The  honey  thus  obtained  is  of  remark- 
able purity,  and  may  be  taken  to  market  in  <he 
same  frames  in  which  it  was  originally  made. 
These  may  even  be  packed  up  together  in  cases, 
and  transported  in  wagons  to  great  distances, 
without  doing  the  least  injury  to  the  honey. 


I 


HONEY. 


The  first  edition  of  this  work  contained  the 
foregoing  description  of  the  Russian  bee-hive, 
translated  from  a  European  publication  ex- 
pressly for  the  Farmers  and  Planter'' s  Enci/c/o- 
pxdia.  This  was  the  iirst  announcement  of  the 
viovahU  comb  system  maile  in  America.  Any 
one  who  refers  to  this  work  and  the  illustra- 
tive drawing  will  perceive  that  the  movable 
comb-hives,  now  so  much  in  vogue,  are  but 
modifications  of  the  plan  which  forms  one  of 
the  leading  features  of  the  "Russian  bee- 
hive," (p.  625,)  where  the  arrangement  con- 
templates the  constant  capacity  to  watch  the 
bees,  and  remove  the  separate  combs  at 
pleasure,  like  the  volumes  from  a  book-shelf. 
Bees  are  by  no  means  particular  in  their 
choice  of  places  to  deposit  their  honey,  and 
the  arrangement  of  the  Russian  movable 
comb-hive  is  such  that  the  bees  are  made  to 
perform  their  work  under  supervision  at  all 
times,  and  allow  of  the  removal  of  their  sur- 
plus produce  most  conveniently  and  in  the 
best  form. 

Italian  IToney-Bee. — A  highly  interesting  ac- 
count of  the  first  attempts  made  to  introduce 
the  Italian  bee  into  the  U.  S.,  and  its  final  suc- 
cess in  1859,  with  a  description  of  its  appear- 
ance, characteristics,  antl  habits,  has  been 
given  by  R.  Colvin.  Esq.,  of  Baltimore,  in  the 
Report  for  1863  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of 
Agriculture.  The  volume  containing  the  Re- 
port for  1865  contains  a  most  interesting  arti- 
cle on  '-  Bee-Keeping,"  by  Mrs.  E.  S.  Tupper, 
of  I'righton,  Iowa,  and  the  results  of  her  val- 
uable experience  with  the  Italian  honey-bee 
which  she  highly  commends. 

The  Italian  bee  appears  to  be  a  race  differ- 
ing from  those  hitherto  imported  from  Europe, 
or  the  natives  of  the  American  continent, 
having  many  distinct  characteristics  in  exter- 
nal appearance  and  habits.  They  arc  repre- 
sented to  be  stronger,  much  more  industrious, 
and  generally  more  docile,  but  excessively 
violent  and  vindictive  when  irritated.  Their 
sting  is  much  more  severe  than  that  of  ordi- 
nary bees.  Perhaps  their  greater  strength 
may  protect  them  against  the  destructive 
ravages  of  the  bee-moth.  As  the  best  of  bees 
are  known  to  be  great  robbers  and  invaders 
of  neighbouring  colonies,  the  Italian  bee  may, 
from  superiority  of  strength  and  armour,  event- 
ually exterminate  the  old  settlers,  as  the  Nor- 
way rat  has  displaced  the  more  feeble  aborig- 
inal rats.  This,  in  a  destructive  animal, 
begets  a  loss,  whilst  with  a  productive  worker 
it  may  be  attended  by  great  gain. 

All  comparisons  of  the  productive  capacities 
of  the  common  black  bees  with  the  yellow 
Italian  bees  result,  according  to  trials  made 
by  many  apiarians,  overwhelmingly  in  favour 
of  the  latter.  They  appear  to  have  longer 
bills  and  to  be  able  to  reach  the  honey  in 
flowers  —  the  red  clover  for  example — which 
is  not  accessible  to  common  bees.  Not  only 
do  they  store  up  more  honey,  but  the  Italian 
queens  are  much  more  prolific  than  the  black 
queens.  "It  is  wonderful,"  says  Mrs.  Tup- 
per,  "  Jiow  much  brood  may  be  taken  from 
one  of  these  queens." 

HONEY  LOCUST,  or  Sweet  Locust  {01&- 
ditsia  triacanthus).     The  sweet  locust  belongs 


HONEYSUCKLE. 

peculiarly  to  the  country  west  of  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,  and  it  is  scarcely  found  in  any  part 
of  thi  Atlantic  Slates,  except  in  Limestone  Val- 
ley and  its  branches,  which  lie  between  the 
first  and  second  ranges  of  the  Alleghanies,  be- 
ginning near  Harrisburg  in  Pennsylvania,  in 
the  latitude  of  40°  42',  and  extending  from 
north-east  to  souili-west  into  the  state  of  Virgi- 
nia. The  soil  in  this  valley  is  generally  very 
substantial.  In  the  fertile  bottoms  which  are 
watered  by  the  rivers  emptying  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi, in  the  Illinois  country,  and,  still  more, 
in  the  southern  part  of  Kentucky  and  Tennes- 
see, the  sweet  locust  is  abundant.  It  commonly 
grows  with  the  black  walnut,  shell-bark  hick- 
ory, red  elm,  blue  ash,  locust,  box  elder,  and 
coffee  tree,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  forests  that 
cover  the  most  fertile  soils.  In  different  parts 
of  the  United  States,  this  species  is  called  in- 
differently sweet  locust  and  honey  locust;  the 
French  of  Illinois  call  it  fevier. 

In  situations  the  most  favourable  to  its 
growth,  such  as  are  observed  on  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio,  between  Gallipolis  and  Limestone, 
the  sweet  locust  attains  a  very  ample  size. 
Michaux  measured  several  stocks  which  were 
three  or  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  which  ap- 
peared to  equal  in  height  the  loftiest  trees  of 
these  immemorial  forests.  Some  of  them  had 
the  trunk  undivided  for  forty  feet. 

The  perfect  wood  or  heart  of  the  sweet  locust 
nearly  resembles  that  of  the  locust,  but  its  grain 
is  coarser  and  its  pores  more  open :  in  ther,» 
respects  it  is  more  slnKingly  characterized 
than  even  the  wood  of  the  red  oak.  When 
perfectly  seasoned,  it  is  extremely  hard.  It  is 
little  esteemed  in  Kentucky,  where  it  is  more 
employed,  and  consequently  can  be  better  ap- 
preciated, than  elsewhere.  It  is  used  neither 
by  the  carpenter  nor  the  wheelwright:  it  is 
sometimes  taken  by  the  farmers  for  rails  to 
fence  their  fields,  but  only  when  they  arc  unable 
to  procure  better  wood.  It  is  found  by  expe- 
rience to  be  far  inferior  to  the  wild  cherry  and 
black  walnut  for  cabinet-making.  The  only 
destination  for  which  it  appears  to  be  pecU' 
liarly  adapted,  is  the  forming  of  hedges,  which 
would  be  rendered  impenetrable  by  its  long 
thorns. 

The  sweet  locust  has  been  cultivated  for 
many  years  in  Europe.  It  flourishes,  blooms, 
and  yields  seed  in  the  climates  of  London  and 
Paris  ;  but  its  vegetation  is  less  active  than  in 
the  south  of  France.     {Michaux.) 

HONEYSUCKLE  (Lonicera).  A  genus  of 
very  ornamental  shrubs  which  grow  in  any 
common  soil,  and  are  readily  increased  from 
cuttings.  One  of  the  most  hardy  varieties  is 
the  American  Trumpet  Honeysuckle  (L.  sem- 
pervirens). 

There  are  two  varieties  of  the  American, 
both  trailing  and  needing  support.  The  Ger- 
man or  Dutch  variety  is  a  hardy  shrub,  which 
can  be  formed  into  a  good  round  head.  The 
two  Italian  varieties,  the  "early  white,"  fra- 
grant, but  of  short  duration,  blooming  in  May, 
and  the  "yelow,"  the  flowers  of  which  are 
succeeded  by  red  berries.  The  American  ia 
the  most  valuable,  having  strong  branches, 
evergreen  leaves,  red  and  fragrant  flowera 
blooming  from  June  till  frost. 

631 


HONEYSUCKLE. 


HOP. 


HONEYSUCKLE,  FRENCH  {Hedysarum). 
Almost  all  the  species  of  this  genus  are  very 
handsome  flowering  plants,  producing  racemes 
©f  very  beautiful  pea  flowers,  particularly 
adapted  for  borders  or  rock-work.  Miller  men- 
tions nineteen  sorts.  The  greater  number  are 
perennials.  The  most  general  species  in  Eng- 
lish gardens  is  the  H.  coronarium,  which  blooms 
bright-red  flowers,  and  a  variety  of  it,  which 
blooms  white  flowers,  both  flowering  in  June 
and  July.  They  are  propagated  by  sowing 
seed  in  the  spring  in  light  garden  mould,  and 
transplanting  the  young  plants  into  their  des- 
tined places  in  autumn.  The  herbaceous  kinds 
are  increased  by  dividing  the  roots. 

HOOP\  The  horny  part  which  covers  the 
feet  of  many  valuable  quadrupeds.  It  is  either 
cloven,  as  in  cattle,  or  entire,  as  in  the  horse. 
In  the  horse  it  is  that  portion  of  the  foot  which 
is  composed  of  the  crust  or  wall,  the  bars,  the 
sole,  and  the  horny  frog.  There  is  no  frog  in 
the  foot  of  cattle,  nor  are  there  the  provisions 
for  the  expansion  and  elasticity  of  the  foot 
which  we  admire  in  the  horse.  There  is  a  la- 
minated connection  between  the  hoof  of  the  ox, 
and  the  sensible  parts  beneath,  as  in  the  horse; 
but  the  horny  plates  of  the  hoof,  and  the  fleshy 
ones  of  the  substance  which  covers  the  coflin- 
bone,  are  not  so  wide  and  deep,  and  therefore 
the  attachment  between  the  hoof  and  foot  is  not 
so  strong.  The  hoofs  of  cattle  are  used  for 
making  starch  and  Prussian  blue,  as  they  will 
not  make  glue  or  soap  like  the  heels.  {Cattle, 
p.  568;   The  Horse,  p.  2Sl.) 

HOOP-ASH.     See  HACKnr.RUT. 

HOOVE.     See  Cattle,  Diseases  of. 

HOP  (Hiimuliis  hipulus).  This  is  a  well- 
known  climber,  supposed  to  be  indigenous  to 
England,  plants  of  it  being  found  in  hedgerows 
and  waste  places.  The  ancients  were  not  un- 
acquainted with  the  hop.  It  is  mentioned  by 
the  Arabian  physician  Mesue,  who  lived  about 
845 ;  and  it  was  used  for  beer  in  Flanders  in 
1500.  The  female  flowers,  indeed,  have  been 
long  used  in  many  parts  of  Europe  for  the  pur- 
pose of  imparting  a  flavour  to  beer.  It  was 
iiot,  however,  cultivated  in  England  for  this 
purpose  until  about  the  year  1525;  and  as  the 
Reforrfiation  was  then  in  progress,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  hop  is  perpetuated  by  the  follow- 
ing doggerel : 

Hf»p8,  heresy,  pickerel,  and  beer 

Were  brought  into  England  in  one  year. 

In  1528  the  parliament  was  requested  to  prohi- 
bit its  use,  as  an  unwholesome  weed  that  would 
spoil  the  taste  of  beer.  It  is  mentioned  for  the 
first  time  in  1552  in  the  statute-book,  in  the 
5  Edward  VI.  c.  5  (repealed  5  Eliz.  c.  2)  ;  an 
act  directing  that  land  formerly  in  tillage  should 
again  bo  so  cultivated,  but  excepting,  amongst 
other  ground,  "  land  set  with  saffron  or  hops  ;" 
and  down  to  the  year  1693  hops  were  imported 
from  Flanders  in  considerable  quantities.  In 
1578  Reynold  Scott  published  a  curious  little 
nrork  on  the  cultivation  of  the  hop,  which  is 
now  rare:  it  was  entitled,  "A  Perfite  Platforme 
of  a  Hoppe  Garden,"  in  which  the  directions 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  hop  are  given  with 
considerable  care. 

The  chief  counties  in  which  the  hop  is  now 
cultivated    in    England,   are    hose   of   Kent, 
6.S2 


Sussex,  Surrey,  Worcester,  and  Ilssex;  but  th« 
hop-gardens  of  these  counties  are  only  situated 
in  particular  portions. 

The  hop  plant  delights  in  a  rich  loam,  or 
calcareous  sand ;  and  when  these  are  situated 
on  a  calcareous  bed,  the  plants  will  continue 
to  flourish  for  many  years;  but  otherwise  ten 
or  twelve  years  is  about  the  limit  of  their  con- 
tinuance in  perfection.  Under  favourable  cir- 
cumstances, as  on  the  Kentish  ragstone,  the 
roots  of  the  hop  plant  extend  in  some  instances 
to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  feet.  The  hop  plant 
is  usually  raised  from  cuttings  in  the  spring. 
"In  the  early  part  of  the  spring,"  says  Mr. 
Lance,  "  the  old  root  begins  to  bud  or  shoot 
from  the  old  stump  of  the  last  year's  bine, 
which  will  have  two  or  more  buds;  the  crown 
of  the  root  is  then  cleared,  and  these  old  stumps 
are  cut  off,  or  most  part  of  them,  the  hole  co- 
vered up,  and  the  crown  of  the  root  throws  up 
additional  shoots  to  be  tied  up  the  poles.  The 
plant  is  therefore  said  to  have  an  annual  stem, 
but  a  perennial  root.  The  cuttings,  or  old 
stumps,  are  bedded  for  a  season,  to  make  roots 
the  best  way  they  can  from  the  edge  of  the  cut- 
ting: the  plant  being  exceedingly  tenacious  of 
life,  every  portion  of  the  crown  cutting  that  has 
a  bud  will  grow  and  throw  out  roots  from  the 
extremity  of  the  woody  cutting;  they  will  make 
a  circle  of  roots  when  healthy,  and  throw  up 
bine  from  the  eyes  or  buds  at  the  surface  of 
the  ground,  and  other  roots  will  issue  from 
under  the  eyes.  The  shoots  of  the  former  year 
that  may  have  become  covered  with  earth  will 
make  plants  as  layers,  throwing  out  many 
fibrous  roots  before  they  are  cut  off  from  the 
stump  or  crown.  This  is  often  the  most  suc- 
cessful method  of  obtaining  plants,  although  it 
may  in  some  measure  weaken  the  old  root; 
but  the  layer  gets  the  plants  a  year  more  forward, 
as  the  roots  are  already  formed  when  the  plant 
is  taken  from  the  old  stock ;  but  if  all  the  su- 
pernumerary shoots  are  cut  off  after  the  prin- 
cipal ones  are  well  up  the  pole,  then  there  can 
be  no  suckling  plants  formed.  There  are  se- 
veral varieties  of  the  hop,"  adds  Mr.  Lance, 
"  named  according  to  the  colour  of  the  bine, 
the  hanging  of  the  fruit,  or  local  circumstances. 
The  grape-hop  takes  its  name  from  the  hang- 
ing of  the  strobiles ;  the  cluster  being  close 
together,  like  a  bunch  of  grapes.  Those  named 
from  the  bine  are  the  green,  the  white,  the  red. 
Others  are  named  from  places,  as  the  Canter- 
bury grape,  the  Farnham  bell,  the  Mayfield 
grape ;  and  some  few  are  named  from  the  per- 
sons who  have  raised  them  from  seed,  as  Wil- 
liams's white  bine,  at  Farnham,  being  first 
raised  by  a  gentleman  of  that  name  at  Badshot 
Place,  about  the  year  1780.  This  is  the  variety 
now  principally  cultivated  at  Farnham,  and 
may  be  said  to  be  one  of  the  causes  which 
make  that  place  so  famed  for  hops,  they  being 
purchased  with  avidity  bj'  the  brewers  of  the 
west  of  England." 

The  qualities  of  the  hop  regarded  by  the 
dealers  are  the  colour,  scent,  seed,  and  glutinous 
touch.  The  colour,  which  should  b-e  a  light 
green,  is  attained  either  by  a  very  careful  and 
early  picking,  or  by  exposing  the  hops  when 
they  are  drying  to  the  action  of  fumes  of  sul- 
phur.    By  exposure  to  the  air,  however,  the 


HOP. 


natural  brown  colour  of  the  hops  thus  treated 
returns;  and  hence  the  Farnham  hops  are 
often  preferred  by  the  brewers  of  pale  ale,  be- 
cause the  colour  is  not  apt  to  alter. 

About  60  to  100  bushels  of  the  picked  hops 
are  required  for  a  cwt.  of  dried  hops  in  the  bag; 
but  this  varies  with  circumstances.  When 
there  is  an  abundance  of  plump,  well-formed 
seed,  from  40  to  70  bushels  will  form  a  cwt. 
A  bag  of  hops  will  weigh  about  2^  cwts.,  and 
a  Kent  pocket  about  H  cwt.  The  produce  of 
an  acre  of  hops  will  sometimes  amount  to  24 
cwt.,  but  the  average  is  about  10  cwt.  The 
hop  plant  is  subject  to  many  diseases,  to  the 
attacks  of  caterpillars  and  other  insects,  to 
mildew,  and  to  a  variety  of  atmospherical  in- 
fluences, which  renders  it  ever  the  sport  of  the 
weather,  and  occasions  the  proverbial  uncer- 
tainty of  the  crop. 

In  the  culture  of  the  hop,  a  deep  soil  is  pre- 
ferable, and  many  powerful  fertilizers  may  be 
had  recourse  to.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  plant 
which  delights  more  in  those  of  an  oily  nature 
than  the  hop.  The  Kentish  growers  of  the 
valley  of  the  Medway  successfully  employ 
large  quantities  of  sprats,  for  which  they  rea- 
dily give  lOil.  per  bushel.  They  use  from  40 
to  60,  or  more,  bushels  per  acre.  Other  plant- 
ers employ  woollen  rags,  chopped  into  small 
pieces,  from  1  to  2  tons  per  acre.  They  last 
for  2  years.  These  cost  about  5/.  5».  per  ton. 
Salt,  also,  is  an  excellent  addition,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  these,  at  the  rate  of  from  10  to  16 
bushels  per  acre. 

The  plants  are  usually  placed  on  hills,  at  the 
distance  of  5  or  6  feet,  and  this  is  usually  done 
early  in  the  spring,  about  the  eml  of  March. 
The  first  year's  poles  may  be  about  6  feet  in 
length,  but  twelve  feet  poles  are  afterwards 
needed.  Two  or  three  of  these  are  commonly 
placed  on  a  hill:  they  are  generally  set  in  the 
ground  in  the  end  of  April.  About  600  fresh 
poles  are  annually  required  per  acre,  to  keep 
up  the  stock  of  poles,  and  supply  the  place  of 
those  broken  or  otherwise  destroyed. 

The  ground  in  hop  gardens  can  hardly  be 
too  much  stirred  over.  The  drying  of  the  hops 
is  effected  soon  after  they  are  picked.  For  the 
despatch  of  drying,  a  thickness  of  from  1  to  2 
feet  of  hops  are  placed  on  the  kiln  floor,  and  a 
fire  of  culm  or  Welch  coal,  coke,  charcoal,  or 
other  material  that  gives  out  no  smoke,  is  made 
in  an  open  fireplace,  with  only  a  perforated 
hood  over  it;  or,  if  the  kiln  fireplace  is  enclosed, 
and  the  smoke-flue  is  made  to  pass  round  the 
building,  any  firing  may  be  used  :  but  the  neat- 
est and  cleanest  method  is  by  passing  hot  water 
through  pipes,  close  beneath  the  drying-floor. 
About  100  to  200  bushels  are  commonly  dried 
at  once  in  the  ordinary-sized  hop-kilns.  Con- 
siderable quantities  of  sulphur  are  sometimes 
Added  to  the  fire,  sometimes  as  much  as  a  cwt. 
10  a  ton  of  hops.  About  98  to  112  degrees  of 
heat  is  that  commonly  employed  in  the  drj'ing, 
and  the  cost  of  the  process  is  about  14s.  per  cwt. 

In  bagging  the  hops,  great  care  is  requisite 
to  tread  them  as  close  as  possible ;  for  the  more 
Completely  the  air  is  excluded,  the  better  the 
hops  will  keep. 

The  dried  hop  has  been  analyzed,  and  found 
to  contain  lupuUne,  z.  titter  principle,  opism,  a 
8U 


HOP. 

fatty  astringent  matter,  gum,  chhrophylle,  and  lig- 
nin.  In  the  grains  of  the  lupuline  a  volatile  oil 
is  deposited.  The  salts  of  iron,  gelatin,  chloride 
of  barium,  and  oxalate  of  ammonia,  cause  pre- 
cipitates in  the  decoction  of  the  hop.  As  a  me- 
dicinal agent,  hops  display  tonic  and  narcotic 
properties.  A  pillow  of  hops  is  supposed  to  be 
a  good  soporific,  and  was  obtained  for  George 
III.  when  a  lunatic.  The  extract  has  been 
found  to  allay  pain ;  but,  after  all,  it  is  better 
as  an  adjunct  to  beer  than  as  a  medicine. 

In  England,  the  expense  of  1  cwt.  of  hops,  if 
purchased  on  the  poles  (sa)'s  Mr.  Lance,)  may 
be  thus  stated : — 


The  duty  --------0 

Picking  ----_-_.    0 

Bags  -..--___0 

Drying  ---.----0 

Bagging  --------0 

Cartage  --......0 

Sale 0 


1    18    9 


The  following  are  the  expenses  and  produce 
of  4  acres  of  hop  ground  in  Mid-Kent,  in  1836 : — 


L. 

-  8 

-  10 

-  4 

-  8 

-  23 

-  3 


Rent  and  taxes  on  4  acres,  at  40«.  - 
Culiiire  labour,  at  50«.  -  -  _ 
Repair  of  poles  -  _  -  _ 
Dunging,  at  AOs.  .... 
Picking  4,332  bushels,  at  7  for  Is.  - 
Drying,  labour  only  -        -        _        -        _ 

39  pockets,    making,    marking,    sifting,  and 

treading,  at  l«.  2^^.  -  -  -  .  -  2 
Pole  pullers,  measurer,  and  expenses  -  -  4 
Pocket  cloth  -  -  -._  _  -  -4 
Charcoal  --.....-6 
Sulphur  and  lime     .--_--    0 

R*'niofkiln      - 4 

Interest  on  first  years'  expenditure  -  -  4 
Duty  on  64  cwts.,  at  I84.  Sd.  -  -  -  -  59 
Tithe -    4 


147     10    6 


416Z. 


The  produce,  64  cwt.,  at  61.  lOs. 

The  average  produce  of  hops  from  1807  to 
1836,  as  shown  in  a  table  from  the  work  of  Mr. 
Lance  on  the  hop,  is  5^  cwt.  per  acre,  the 
highest  product  in  one  year  having  averaged 
for  the  crop  12  j^^j^  cwt.  in  1808,  and  the  lowest 
only  ^\  in  1825. 

Number  of  Jlcres  of  Hops  in  cultivation. 


No.  of 

Nn.of 

Ave 

rve 

Presumed  ac- 

Acres eiri- 

Acre. 

price  of 

tual  value,  in 

Year. 

mated  ia 

iolbe 

•^the 

the  Clay.. 

cludinsthe    I 

England. 

Clay,. 

country. 

dury.         1 

L. 

i. 

L. 

t. 

L. 

1820 

50,148 

694 

3 

17 

4 

10 

753,110 

1821 

45,662 

691 

4 

4 

4 

6 

1,000,000 

1822 

43,554 

672 

3 

12 

5 

5 

1,221,985 

1823 

41,458 

671 

10 

0 

12 

0 

446,038 

1824 

43,449 

670 

7 

0 

9 

0 

1,847,960 

1825 

46,718 

709 

23 

0 

23 

0 

805,874 

1826 

50,471 

715 

4 

4 

6 

0 

2,010,590 

1827 

49,485 

715 

4 

12 

6 

0 

1,360,835 

1828 

48,365 

711 

5 

5 

7 

0 

1,813,680 

1829 

46,135 

702 

9 

0 

11 

11 

656,125 

1S30 

46,726 

704 

10 

10 

11 

10 

1,509,.5CO 

1831 

47,129 

712 

5 

15 

8 

0 

1,767,324 

1832 

47,101 

714 

9 

0 

10 

0 

2,114,545 

1833 

49,187 

720 

6 

0 

8 

0 

1,841,610 

1834 

51,273 

726 

5 

10 

6 

10 

1,974,010 

1835 

53,816 

734 

5 

0 

6 

6 

2,406.646 

1836 

55,422 

757 

8 

10 

8 

10 

3,155,832 

1837 

56,323 

759 

4 

10 

4 

16 

1,647,396 

1838 

56,104 

749 

5 

0 

6 

0 

1,7.53,120 

1839 

52,365 

3 

3 

3 

12 

1,241,252 

The  number  of  acres  devoted  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  hop  has  long   Oeen  stea^Mly  on  lim 

($33 


HORDEIN. 


HORN. 


increase  since  1693;  when  they  were  first  suc- 
cessfully cultivated  in  Kent;  in  1807,  it  was 
found  that  the  hop-grounds  throughout  Eng- 
land amounted  to  38,218  acres:  these  had  in- 
creased to  46,293  acres  in  1817,  to  49,485  in 
1827,  and  to  56,323  acres  in  1837;  they  had 
decreased  however  in  1839  to  52,365. 

Hops  are  extensively  and  advantageously 
cultivated  in  some  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Guidon  Avery,  in  the  village  of  Waterloo, 
Oneida  county,  N.  Y.,  raised  in  1842,  on  12 
acres  of  land,  29,937  lbs.  of  hops. 

The  hop  is  also  well  known  *s  a  garden 
plant.  It  blows  its  flowers  from  June  till  Au- 
gust, and  is  propagated  by  seed  and  by  dividing 
the  root?;.  It  likes  a  deep  loamy  soil,  and  is 
valuable  as  an  ornamental  climber  over  tem- 
porary arbours,  trellis,  &c.  in  summer,  as  its 
leaves  are  very  large,  and  make  a  fine  shade. 
The  "white  bind"  and  the  "gray bind"  are  the 
best  sorts  for  this  purpose  ;  they  succeed  each 
other. 

The  young  shoots  of  the  hop' are  eaten  as  a 
depurative ;  the  flowers,  besides  their  bitter 
narcotic  qualities,  are  diuretic  and  sedative. 

HORDEIN.  A  modification  of  starch,  which, 
according  to  Proust,  constitutes  about  55  per 
cent,  of  barley-meal. 

HORDEUM.  The  barley-grasses.  Besides 
the  species  of  cultivated  barley  enumerated  in 
the  article  under  that  head,  there  are  three  in- 
digenous species  which  grow  wild  in  Eng- 
.and. 

Hordeum  murinuni.  Wall-barley,  mouse-bar- 
ley, or  way-bennet  grass. 

This  is  an  annual  grass,  with  a  fibrous  root, 
supporting  a  number  of  culms  12  to  18  inches 
high,  procumbent  at  the  base,  afterwards  erect, 
with  three  or  four  joints.  Spikes-brittle,  two 
or  three  inches  long,  flowers  placed  in  two 
rows.  This  is  one  of  the  most  inferior  grasses 
with  respect  to  nutritive  powers ;  and  the  long 
awns,  with  which  it  is  armed  must  make  it 
dangerous  to  the  mouths  of  horses,  when  it 
enters  into  the  composition  of  their  hay.  For- 
tunately it  is  uncommon  in  pastures,  being 
chiefly  confined  to  roadsides  and  other  beaten 
or  barren  places.  I  never  could  observe  this 
grass  eaten  by  cattle  of  any  description,  not 
«;ven  by  the  half-starved  animals  which  feed 
by  roadsides,  where,  in  England,  this  is  often 
the  most  prevalent  grass.  Dr.  Withering, 
however,  says,  it  is  eaten  by  sheep  and  horses, 
and  that  it  feeds  the  brown  moth  {Phalcnna 
granella),  and  the  barley-fly  (Musca  fiif.)  The 
nutritive  matter  afforded  by  this  grass  consists 
chiefly  of  mucilage  and  extractive  matter  inso- 
luble after  the  evaporation  of  a  decoction  of  it. 
^t  flowers  in  England  about  the  first  week  of 
July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  towards  the  end  of 
the  same  month. 

Hordnim  pratense.  Meadow  barley-grass. 
PI.  5,  d.  This  species  has  some  affinity  to  the 
wall  barley-grass  in  appearance,  but  diflTsrs 
from  it  in  being  strictly  perennial ;  and  in 
having  the  culms  more  slender,  much  taller, 
and  erect,  and  the  sheaths  roundish ;  the  spike 
(about  two  mches  long)  is  also  slender  in  com- 
Danson  with  that  of  the  H.  murinum,  and  of  a 
purple  or  greenish  hue,  while  that  of  the  wall 
barley-grass  is  cf  a  dirty  yellow.  The  husks 
634 


of  the  calyx  are  bristle-shaped,  rough,  but  not 
ciliate,  and  the  awns  much  shorter. 

This  is  a  very  hardy  grass,  which  is  tolera- 
bly early  in  the  spring  produce  of  foliage,  and 
its  nutritive  powers  are  considerable.  Though 
said  to  be  partial  to  dry  chalky  soils,  I  have 
always  found  this  grass  most  prevalent  on 
good  rich  meadow  ground ;  it  thrives  under 
irrigation,  and  there  are  but  few  pastures  in 
which  it  is  not  to  be  found.  The  Rev.  G. 
Swayne  observes,  that  in  moist  meadows  it 
produces  a  considerable  quantity  of  hay,  but  is 
not  to  be  recommended  as  one  of  the  best 
grasses  for  the  farmer.  It  is  liable  to  the  same 
objection  as  the  last,  viz.,  the  long  sharp  awns 
with  which  the  spikelets  are  armed,  rendering 
it  dangerous  to  the  mouths  of  cattle  by  stick- 
ing in  small  fragments  to  their  gums  and  pro- 
ducing inflammation.  In  England  it  flowers 
in  July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  August. 

Hordeum  maritimum.  Sea-barley,  or  squirrel- 
tail  grass.  This  species  is  annual  in  its  habit, 
and  grows  in  pastures  and  sandy  ground  near 
the  sea.  It  most  resembles  H.  murinum  in  ge- 
neral habit,  but  is  on  the  whole  rather  smaller, 
and  more  glaucous.  The  awns  are  all  rougher, 
with  minute  bristly  teeth.  The  plant  is  not  of 
common  occurrence,  although  it  abounds  in 
the  isle  of  Thanet.  {Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  179; 
Hort.  Gram.  Wob.) 

HOREHOUND,  WATER.  One  of  the  names 
of  the  common  gipsy-wort  (Lycopus  Europ^us) ; 
which  see. 

The  plant  called  by  this  name  in  the  United 
States,  is  the  L.  sinuatus,  which  frequents  the 
low  grounds  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle 
States.     (Flora  Cestrira.) 

HOREHOUND,  WHITE  (Marrubium  vul- 
gare,  from  marrob,  a  Hebrew  word,  signifying  a 
bitter  juice ;  in  allusion  to  the  extreme  bitter- 
ness of  the  plant).  This  species  grows  in 
rubbish  by  roadsides,  in  dry  waste  grounds, 
and  on  commons,  flowering  from  July  to  Sep- 
tember. The  stem  is  bushy,  branching  from 
ihe  bottom,  bluntly  quadrangular,  clothed  with 
fine  woolly  pubescence.  The  shape  and  size 
of  the  leaves  varies;  the  flowers  are  white,  in 
dense  convex  whorl?.  The  whole  herb  has  a 
white  or  hoary  aspect,  and  a  very  bitter,  not 
unpleasantly  aromatic,  flavour.  Its  extract  i? 
a  popular  remedy  for  coughs  and  asthmatic 
complaints ;  hence  also  the  celebrity  of  hore- 
hound-tea  among  the  common  people.  Bees 
collect  honey  from  the  flowers ;  but  the  herb 
is  not  eaten  by  any  of  the  domestic  animals. 

Any  common  soil  will  suit  these  plants,  and 
they  are  readily  increased  by  divisions  of  the 
roots,  or  by  seeds.  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  103 ; 
Paxton's  Bot.  Did.) 

HORN.  A  hard  substance,  growing  on  the 
heads  of  various  animals,  which  partakes  of 
the  chemical  nature  of  the  cartilaginous  part 
of  bone ;  it  consists  chiefly  of  albumen,  with 
some  gelatin  and  a  trace  of  phosphate  of  lime. 

The  horn  of  the  ox  is  composed  of  an  elon- 
gation of  the  frontal  bone,  covered  by  a  hard 
coating,  originally  of  a  gelatinous  nature.  Its 
base  is  a  process  or  continuation  of  the  frontal 
bone,  and  it  is,  like  that  bone,  hollow  and 
divided  into  numerous  compartments  or  cells, 
all  of  them  communicating  with  each  other, 


I 


HORNBEAM. 


and  lined  by  a  continuation  of  the  membrane 
of  ihe  nose.  The  bone  of  the  horn  is  exceed- 1 
in^ly  vascular,  and  hence,  when  broken,  the  i 
haemorrhage  is  so  great  that  there  could 
scarcely  be  more  bleeding  from  the  amputa- 
tion of  a  limb.  The  riogs  on  the  horns  of  j 
cattle  have  been  considered  as  forming  a  cri-  . 
terion  by  which  to  determine  the  age  of  the  ox. ' 
At  three  years  old  the  first  distinct  one  is  usu- ' 
ally  observed  ;  at  four  years  old,  two  are  seen;  I 
and  afterwards  one  is  added  each  succeeding' 
year.  Thence  was  deduced  the  rule,  that  if 
two  were  added  to  the  number  of  rings  the  age 
of  the  animal  would  be  given.  These  rings, 
however,  are  perfectly  distinct  in  the  cow  only ; 
in  the  ox  they  do  not  appear  until  he  is  five 
years  old,  and  they  are  often  confused :  in  the 
bull  they  are  either  not  seen  until  five,  or  they 
cannot  be  traced  at  all.  As  a  criterion  of  age, 
this  process  of  nature  is  far  too  irregular  for 
any  certain  dependence  to  be  placed  upon  it, 
and  the  rings  are  easily  effaced  by  a  rasp. 
The  length  of  the  horn — whether  classed  as 
long  horns,  short  horns,  or  middle  horns — now 
forms  the  distinguishing  character  of  the  dif- 
ferent breeds  of  cattle.  The  oxen  of  the  north- 
ern part  of  central  Africa,  although  smaller 
than  the  majority  of  the  English  cattle,  have 
horns  that  are  nearly  four  feet  in  length,  and 
will  contain  more  than  ten  quarts.  The  Bur- 
mese oxen,  which  are  much  larger,  have  sin- 
gular horns  of  a  half  spiral  form,  very  soft, 
the  pair  together  scarcely  weighing  4  pounds ; 
yet  Captain  Clapperton  tells  us,  they  are  3  feet 
7  inches  in  length,  2  feet  in  circumference  at 
the  base,  and  1  .foot  6  inches  midway  towards 
the  tip.  Some  of  the  true  Arnee  buffaloes  at 
Bengal,  and  the  Abyssinian  cattle,  have  also 
enormous  horns.  The  horns  of  cattle  are  ap- 
plied to  a  variety  of  purposes  ;  for  making 
combs,  knife-handles,  the  tops  of  whips,  sub- 
stitutes for  glass  in  lanterns,  glue,  and  the 
refuse  chippings  are  used  as  manure. 

The  Iceland  sheep  sometimes  carry  five  or 
six  horns.     (Youatl  on  Cattle,  p.  278—283.) 

HORNBEAM  (Carpinus  betulns,  from  the 
Celtic  rar,  wood,  and  pinda,  head,  the  wood 
being  fit  for  the  yokes  of  cattle).  A  rigid  tree 
of  humble  growth,  patient  of  cropping,  and  well 
suited  for  hedges  or  covered  walks  in  gardens 
of  the  old  style,  some  of  which  may  still  be 
seen  attached  to  several  old  English  mansions. 
In  England  fashion  has  entirely  swept  away  the 
hornbeam,  which  composed  the  labyrinth,  the 
maze,  the  alleys,  the  verdant  galleries,  arcades, 
porticoes,  and  arches  of  our  forefathers,  and 
which  formed  the  leafy  walls  that  divided  their 
stately  gardens  into  stars,  goose-foot  avenues, 
and  devices  as  numerous  as  geometrical  figures 
are  various.  When  standing  by  itself  and 
allowed  to  take  its  natural  form,  the  hornbeam 
makes  a  much  more  handsome  tree  than  most 
people  are  aware  of,  growing  from  12  to  30 
feet  high.  It  is  found  in  woods  and  hedges,  on 
a  meager,  damp,  tenacious  soil,  and  makes  a 
principal  part  of  the  ancient  forests  on  the 
north  and  east  sides  of  London,  as  Finchley, 
Epping,  &c.  The  wood  is,  as  Gerarde  says, 
of  a  horny  toughness  and  hardness :  the  bark 
smooth  and  whitish  or  light  gray.  Leaves  re- 
sembling those  of  an  elm,  but  smooth,  doubly 


HORNED-POPPY. 

serrated,  pointed  about  two  inches  long,  plaited 
when  young,  having  numerous,  parallel  trans- 
verse hairy  ribs. 

Young  trees  are  raised  from  seeds  or  layers 
without  difficulty.  It  is  known  by  different 
local  names,  such  as  the  hard  beam  tree,  the 
horse,  or  horn  beech  tree,  &c.  The  leaves  of 
the  hornbeam  afford  a  grateful  food  to  cattle, 
but  no  grasses  will  grow  under  their  shade. 
The  wood  burns  like  a  candle,  is  much  em- 
ployed by  turners,  and  is  very  useful  for  various 
implements  of  husbandry,  being  wrought  into 
cogs  for  the  wheels  of  mills,  presses,  «&c.  which 
are  far  superior  to  those  made  of  yew. 

There  are  two  trees  in  the  United  States 
which  go  under  the  common  appellation  of 
hornbeam,  namely,  the  water  beech  (Carpinus 
.Americana  of  Michanx,  Betulus  Virginica  of 
Marsh,)  and  the  hop  hornbeam,  more  generally 
known  by  the  name  of  ironwood  (the  Ostrya 
Virginica  of  Darlington,  and  Carpinus  ostrya 
of  Michaux  and  others). 

The  water  beech  is  the  only  known  species 
of  the  Carpinus  genus  in  the  United  States.  It 
is  found  along  the  margins  of  rivulets  in  the 
Middle  States,  where  it  attains  the  height  of 
only  10  or  20  feet,  with  2  to  5  inches  in  dia- 
meter, irregularly  and  obtusely  ridged,  and 
sulcate,  often  branching  from  the  root.  It 
bears  a  broad  ovoid  nut,  somewhat  flattened, 
smoothish,  and  dark  brown. 

The  ironwood,  or  hop  hornbeam  grows  from 
20  to  40  feet  high,  and  4  to  10  inches  in  dia- 
meter, with  a  brown,  roughish,  slightly  fissured 
bark,  and  slender  branches.  It  bears  a  nut 
seated  in  the  bottom  of  a  sac,  3  or  4  lines  in 
length,  somewhat  compressed,  smooth,  shining, 
of  a  pale  olive  colour,  with  a  leaden  tinge. 
This  tree  is  of  very  slow  growth,  and  its  wood, 
as  its  name  implies,  is  very  hard,  which  adapts 
it  to  the  various  useful  purposes  enumerated 
in  the  description  of  the  English  hornbeam. 

HORN  BUG.  A  kind  of  beetle.  The  largest 
of  these  beetles,  in  the  New  England  States, 
was  first  described  by  Linnaeus  under  the  name 
of  Lucanus  capreolus,  signifying  the  young  roe- 
buck; but  here  it  is  called  the  horn  bug.  Its 
colour  is  a  deep  mahogany  brown  ;  the  surface 
is  smooth  and  polished;  the  upper  jaws  of  the 
male  are  long,  curved  like  a  sickle,  and  fur- 
nished internally  beyond  the  middle  with  a  little 
tooth ;  those  of  the  female  are  much  shorter, 
and  also  toothed ;  the  head  of  the  male  is 
broad  and  smooth,  that  of  the  other  sex  nar- 
rower and  rough  with  punctures.  The  body 
of  this  beetle  measures  from  one  inch  to  one 
inch  and  a  quarter,  exclusive  of  the  jaws.  The 
time  of  its  appearance  is  in  July  and  the  be- 
ginning of  August.  The  grubs  live  in  the 
trunks  and  roots  of  various  kinds  of  trees,  but 
particularly  in  those  of  old  apple  trees,  wil- 
lows, and  oaks. 

Several  other  and  smaller  kinds  of  stag- 
beetles  are  found  in  New  England,  but  their 
habits  are  much  the  same  as  those  of  the  more 
common  horn  bug.     (Harris.) 

HORNED-POPPY  (Glaucium,  from  glaukos, 
alluding  to  the  hoary  gray  colour  of  the  plants) 
A  genus  of  very  pretty  annuals,  or  biennials, 
some  of  which  are  particularly  handsome  in 
the  flower  borders  of  the  garden,  where  they 

636 


HORNET 


HORSE. 


flower  and  ripen  seed  in  abundance,  which  has 
only  to  be  sown  in  the  open  border.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  English  species. 

1.  Yellow  horned-poppy  (G.  lutetim).  This 
is  a  biennial,  growing  wild  on  the  sandy  sea- 
coast,  producing  golden-yellow  flowers  in  July 
and  August. 

2.  Scarlet  horned-poppy  (G.  phasniceum). 
This  is  a  very  rare,  or,  as  Smith  observes, 
perhaps  doubtful  native.  It  is  annual  in  habit, 
the  root  is  tapering,  the  herb  rather  less  glau- 
cous, and  more  upright  than  the  preceding. 
The  flower-stalks  and  calyx  are  hairy.  The 
petals  are  smaller  and  narrower  than  those  of 
the  last  described  species,  and  of  a  rich  scarlet, 
with  an  oblong  black  spot  at  the  base.  The 
pod  is  clothed  with  numerous  rigid,  silky 
bristles. 

Violet  horned-poppy  (G.  violaceum).  This  is 
an  annual  met  with  sometimes,  but  not  fre- 
quently, in  grainfields.  The  root  is  slender, 
stem  erect,  a  foot  high,  round,  even,  and  quite 
smooth ;  leaves  dark  green,  twice  or  thrice 
pinnatifid;  flowers  of  a  brilliant  violet  blue, 
very  splendid,  but  extremely  fugacious,  some- 
what larger  than  the  last ;  pods  2  or  3  inches 
long,  cylindrical,  more  or  less  clothed  with 
bristly  prickles.  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  5 ;  Pax- 
ton's  Pot.  Did.) 

HORNET  {Vespa  crabro).  A  well-known 
fierce  insect,  which  is  about  one  inch  in  length, 
and  builds  its  nest  in  hollow  trees.  The  sting 
of  the  hornet  is  severe,  and  occasions  a  con- 
siderable tumour,  accompanied  with  intense 
pain ;  for  the  mitigation  of  which,  there  is  no 
better  remedy  than  sweet  oil,  or  honey  water 
immediately  applied  to  the  place.  Hornets  are 
very  dangerous  enemies  to  bees,  which  they 
attack  and  consume  entirely,  except  the  wings 
and  feet:  they  are  also  very  destructive  to 
fruit. 

The  American  hornet  is  the  Vespa  maculata 
of  naturalists.  Instead  of  building  their  nests 
in  hollow  trees,  the  American  hornets  are  na- 
tural paper-makers,  and  manufacture  water- 
light  nests  of  paper,  which  they  construct 
around  the  branches  of  trees  or  shrubs  where 
they  appear  as  large  globes,  sometimes  a  foot 
or  more  in  diameter.  The  material  of  these 
nests  consists  of  the  fibres  of  wood,  prepared 
by  the  insects,  and  wrought  into  a  substance 
very  similar  to  common  brown  paper  made 
of  rags.  Like  others  of  the  wasp  family  the 
American  hornet  is  a  depredator  upon  fruit, 
and  comes  about  houses  in  search  of  flies. 

HORNWORT  {Ceratophyllum,  from  keras,  a 
horn.  And  phyllon,  a  leaf:  the  petals  are  cut  so 
as  to  appear  like  a  stag's  horn).  These  are 
uninteresting  water  plants,  thriving  in  any 
pond,  and  easily  raised  from  seeds.  The  com- 
mon horn  wort  (C.  demersum)  is  abundant  in 
ditches  and  fish-ponds;  the  herb  floating 
entirely  under  water,  dark  green,  copiously 
branched,  2  or  3  feet  long,  densely  clothed  with 
whorled  spreading  forked  leaves,  eight  in  each 
whorl,  and  axillary,  solitary,  sessile,  pale  green 
flowers.  The  iruit  armed  with  two  spreading 
latera!  spines.  There  is  another  indigenous 
species  the  unarmed  hornwort  (C.  submersum), 
which  is  a  more  rare  plant,  and  the  fruit  is 
destitute  of  soines. 
fi36 


There  are  two  species  of  this  plant  found  in 
the  United  States.  One  of  them  {CeratophyU 
lum  demersum)  is  described  by  Darlington  as 
found  in  the  waters  of  the  Schuylkill,  Brandy- 
wine  and  tributaries;  the  other  {C.  submersum) 
is  described  by  Messrs.  Nuttall  and  Eaton. 

HORSE,  THE.  The  genus  Equus,  accord- 
ing to  modern  naturalists,  consists  of  six  dif- 
ferent animals, — viz.  the  Equus  caballus,  or 
horse ;  E.  hemionus,  the  dziggithai ;  E.  usitius, 
the  ass ;  E.  quagga,  the  quagga ;  E.  zebra,  or 
mountain  zebra ;  and  E.  burchelli,  the  zebra  of 
the  plains.  It  is  only  of  the  first  that  I  shall 
have  to  treat  in  this  article. 

Horse,  the.  This  noble  animal,  there  is  little 
doubt,  is  a  native  of  the  warm  countries  of  the 
East,  where  he  is  found  wild  in  a  state  of  con- 
siderable perfection.  It  is  there  that  we  find 
the  barb  and  the  Arab,  noble  races  of  hor'ses 
that  have  long  mainly  contributed  to  improve 
the  present  English  race-horse,  until  he  ha3 
arrived  at  his  present  state  of  unequalled  per- 
fection. The  use  of  the  horse,  both  as  a  beast 
of  burden,  and  for  the  purposes  of  war,  early 
attracted  the  attention  of  mankind.  Thus  the 
Canaanites  are  recorded  as  having  gone  out  to 
fight  against  Israel  with  many  horses  and  cha- 
riots. (Joshua  ii.  4.)  And  1650  years  b.  c, 
when  Joseph  proceeded  with  his  father's  body 
into  Canaan  from  Egypt,  there  accompanied 
him  both  chariots  and  horsemen.  (Gen.  xix.) 
They  were  fed  in  those  days  on  barley  (1  KingSy 
iv.  28)  :  and  150  years  afterwards,  the  chariots 
of  Egypt  are  described  as  being  exceedingly 
numerous.  The  horse  was  early  employed  on 
the  course.  1450  years  b.  c.  the  Olympic 
Games  were  established  in  Greece,  at  which 
horses  were  used  in  the  chariot  and  other 
races. 

Preserved  from  the  flood  waters  in  the  ark, 
the  first  breed  of  horses  must  have  proceeded 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Mount  Ararat;  but 
whether  the  original  stock  were  first  located  in 
Asia  or  in  Africa  is  an  inquiry  which  we  have 
no  means  of  deciding.  Equally  ineffectual  are 
all  the  attempts  which  have  been  made  to  de- 
cide as  to  which  variety  of  the  horse  constitutes 
the  original  breed  ;  while  some  contend  for  the 
barb,  others  prefer  the  wild  horses  of  Tartary. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  so  late  as  the  se- 
venth century  there  were  but  few  horses  in 
Arabia;  even  now  the  breed  is  much  more 
limited  in  number,  according  to  Burckhardt, 
than  is  commonly  supposed.  He  remarked,  in 
a  letter  to  Professor  Sewel,  "It  is  a  mistaken 
idea  that  Arabia  is  very  rich  in  horses;  the 
breed  in  that  country  is  limited  to  the  extent  of 
its  fertile  pasturing  districts ;  and  it  is  in  these 
parts  only  that  the  breed  prospers ;  while  the 
Bedouins,  who  are  in  possession  of  poor  ground, 
seldom  possess  any  horses.  We  therefore  see 
that  the  tribes  richest  in  horses  are  those  who 
dwell  in  comparatively  the  fertile  plain  of 
Mesopotamia,  on  the  borders  of  the  Euphrates 
and  in  the  Syrian  deserts.  It  is  there  that  the 
horses  can  feed  for  several  spring  months 
upon  the  green  grass  and  herbs  of  the  valleys 
and  plains,  produced  by  the  rains,  which  seem 
to  be  an  absolute  requisite  for  its  reaching  to 
its  full  vigour  and  growth."  The  care  with 
which  the  Arabs  tend  their  horses  is  prover- 


HORSE. 


bial.  "  The  Bedouins,"  adds  Bu  rckhardt, "  when 
a  hcrse  is  born,  never  let  it  drop  down  to  the 
ground,  but  receive  and  keep  it  for  several 
hours  upon  their  arms,  washing  it,  stretching 
and  strengthening  its  limbs,  and  hugging  it 
like  a  baby."  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  vii.  p. 
677.)  None  were  found  either  on  the  conti- 
nent or  on  the  islands  of  the  New  World.  And 
yet  the  large  droves  of  wild  horses  which  have 
descended  from  the  two  or  three  mares  and 
stallions  left  by  the  early  Spanish  voyagers, 
and  which  now  abound  in  the  plains  of  South 
America,  prove  very  clearly  that  the  climate 
and  the  soil  of  the  New  World  are  not  adverse 
to  the  propagation  of  the  wild  horse. 

"  The  horse,"  says  Professor  Low  (Illustra- 
tions of  the  Breeds  of  the  Domestic  Jlnimals,  part 
ix.),  "  is  seen  to  be  affected  in  his  character 
and  form,  by  the  agencies  of  food  and  climate, 
and  it  may  be  by  other  causes  unknown  to  us. 
He  sustains  the  temperature  of  the  most  burn- 
ing regions ;  but  there  is  a  degree  of  cold  at 
which  he  cannot  exist,  and  as  he  approaches 
to  this  limit,  his  temperament  and  external 
con  formation  are  affected.  In  Iceland,  at  the 
arctic  circle,  he  has  become  a  dwarf;  in  Lap- 
land, at  latitude  65°,  he  has  given  place  to  the 
reindeer;  and  in  Kamlschatka, at  latitude  52°, 
he  has  given  place  to  the  dog.  The  nature 
and  abundance  of  his  food,  too,  greatly  affect 
his  character  and  form.  A  country  of  heaths 
and  innuiritious  herbs  will  not  produce  a  horse 
so  large  and  strong  as  one  of  plentiful  herbage. 
The  horse  of  the  mountains  will  be  smaller 
than  that  of  the  plains  ;  the  horse  of  the  sandy 
desert  than  of  the  watered  valley." 

Leaving,  however,  these  interesting,  but  for 
this  work  too  extensive,  researches,  I  propose 
to  direct  my  attention  to  the  English  breed  of 
horses,  and  more  especially  to  those  which 
come  particularly  within  the  farmer's  pro- 
vince. 

From  a  very  early  period  there  appears  to 
have  existed  in  England  a  powerful,  active, 
useful,  and  numerous  breed  of  horses.  Ccesar, 
perhaps  with  the  natural  inclination  of  a  con- 
qneror  to  elevate  the  prowess  of  his  defeated 
enemies,  gives  a  very  lively  account  of  the 
horses  used  by  the  early  Britons  in  their  war 
chariots;  which,  armed  with  iron  scythes 
affixed  to  their  axletrees,  were  driven  furiously 
and  destructively  amid  the  ranks  of  their  ene- 
mies. And  if  it  be  true,  that  when  Cassibel- 
launus  had  disbanded  the  chief  portion  of  his 
army,  he  yet  retained  4000  war  chariots 
to  harass  the  foraging  parties  of  the  Roman 
army ;  the  supply  of  good  horses  able  to  work 
these  heavy  war  chariots  with  sufficient  speed 
over  the  open  country,  and  bad  roads  of  that 
period,  must  have  been  pretty  considerable. 

Of  such  imperfect  materials  is  constituted  all 
the  accounts  in  our  possession,  of  the  native 
breed  of  English  horses.  That  they  were 
valuable,  is  proved,  amongst  other  things,  by 
the  fact,  that  the  Roman  generals  carried  many 
of  them  to  Italy.  The  improvement  of  the 
breed  was  an  object  of  the  early  Saxon  princes 
of  England.  Aihelstan  imported  several  Ger- 
man running  horses,  and  he  even  (930)  prohi- 
bited the  exportation  of  those  bred  in  England, 
a  decree,  which  of  itself  proves  that  they  were 


HORSE. 

then  in  demand  abroad.  It  is  supposed  that 
oxen  were,  in  his  days,  solely  used  for  the 
plough ;  there  is  no  early  record  of  the  horse 
being  used  for  such  a  purpose.  The  first  no- 
tice of  a  horse  being  employed  in  agriculture, 
is  in  tapestry  of  Bayeux  (woven  in  1066), 
where  one  is  depicted  drawing  a  harrow. 

With  William  of  Normandy  came  many 
Spanish  horses.  His  army  was  furnished  with 
a  powerful  cavalry,  to  whom  he  might  well 
attribute  his  hard-earned  victory  of  Hastings. 

In  1121,  we  have  the  first  notice  of  an  Ara- 
bian horse  being  in  Great  Britain  ;  for  in  that 
year,  I  find  that  Alexander  I.  of  Scotland  pre- 
sented one  to  the  church  of  St.  Andrews. 
King  John  procured  from  Flanders  100  stal- 
lions, and  is  to  be  gratefully  remembered  for 
other  efforts  to  improve  the  English  breed  of 
horses.  Edward  II.  and  Edward  III.  also  im- 
ported horses  from  Lombardy,  France,  and 
Spain.  Henry  VIIL  did  all  he  could  to  encou- 
rage the  breed.  Race-courses  were  now  esta- 
blished at  Chester  and  at  Stamford.  But  ii 
was  not  till  the  time  of  James  I.  that  the  mo- 
dern system  of  racing,  under  certain  rules  and 
regulations,  commenced,  and  a  peculiar  breed 
of  race-horses  began  to  be  formed;  for  previous 
to  that  time  fast  horses  of  all  breeds  ran  in  the 
same  race. 

This  noble  breed  of  race-horses,  which  now 
excels  in  beauty,  speed,  and  endurance  that  of 
all  other  nations,  has  been  gradually  formed 
by  the  introduction  of  the  best  blood  of  Spain, 
of  Barbary,  of  Turkey,  and  of  Arabia.  It  would 
be  a  grateful  task  to  follow  the  English  race- 
horse through  his  entire  history,  to  trace  his 
progress  by  gradual  yet  steady  degrees  towards 
perfection,  his  generous  properties,  his  con- 
tests, and  his  triumphs  over  the  best  horses  of 
Arabia,  of  Persia,  and  of  the  New  World ;  out- 
footing  the  fleetest,  and  in  endurance  excelling 
all  that  the  proud  nobles  ai  Russia  could  pro- 
duce of  the  best  and  most  celebrated  Cossack 
horses  of  the  banks  of  the  Don.  But  in  a  work 
devoted  to  agriculture,  my  attention  must  be 
more  directed  to  those  valuable  breeds  of 
horses  generally  employed  by  the  farmer. 

The  Arabian  horse  is  represented  in  PI.  13, 
a ;  the  English  racer,  b,  reduced,  from  Profes- 
sor Low's  splendid  work  on  British  animals. 
The  English  improved  hackney,  d. 

The  Cart  Horse. — Of  this  description  there 
are  several  varieties,  the  principal  of  which  are 
the  Cleveland,  the  Clydesdale,  the  Northamp- 
tonshire, the  Suffialk  punch,  and  the  heavy 
black  or  dray  horse. 

The  Clydesdale  is  a  valuable  breed  of  cart- 
horses,  bred  chiefly  in  the  valley  of  the  Clyde 
(hence  their  name).  They  are  strong  and 
hard)',  have  a  small  head,  are  longer  necked 
than  the  Suffi:)lk,  with  deeper  legs,  and  lighter 
carcasses.    PI.  13,  h. 

The  Suffolk  Punch  is  a  very  valuatie  breed 
of  horses,  especially  for  farms  composed  of 
soils  of  a  moderate  degree  of  tenacity.  They 
originated  by  crossing  the  Suffolk  cart  mare 
with  the  Norman  stallion.    PI.  13,  g. 

"The  true  Suffolk,"  says  the  author  of  the 

Lib.  of  Useful  Know.  ("  The  Horse,**  p.  38),  "  like 

the  Cleveland,  is  now  nearly  extinct.    It  stood 

from  15  to  16  hands  high,  of  a  sorrel  colour 

3H  637 


HORSE. 


HORSE. 


was  large-headed,  low-shouldered,  and  thick 
on  the  top,  deep,  and  round-chested,  long- 
backed,  high  in  the  croup,  large  and  strong  in 
the  quarters,  full  in  the  flanks,  round  in  the 
legs,  and  short  in  the  pasterns.  It  was  the  very 
horse  to  throw  his  whole  weight  into  the  collar, 
with  sufficient  activity  to  do  it  effectually,  and 
hardihood  to  stand  a  long  day's  work.  The 
present  breed  possesses  many  of  the  peculiari- 
ties and  good  qualities  of  its  ancestors.  It  is 
more  or  less  inclined  to  a  sorrel-brown  :  it  is  a 
taller  horse,  higher,  and  finer  in  the  shoulders, 
and  is  a  cross  with  the  Yorkshire  half  or  three- 
fourths  bred.  The  excellence,  and  a  rare  one, 
of  the  old  Suffolk  (the  new  breed  has  not  quite 
lost  it)  consisted  in  nimbleness  of  action  and 
the  honesty  and  continuance  with  which  he 
would  exert  himself  at  a  dead  pull  even  until 
he  dropped." 

The  heavy  black  horse  is  chiefly  bred  in  Lin- 
colnshire, and  the  midland  counties.  PI.  13,  e. 
These  are  commonly  sold  by  the  breeders  at 
two  years  old  to  the  farmers  of  Surrey,  and 
other  metropolitan  counties,  who  work  them 
till  they  are  four  years  old,  and  then  sell  them 
to  the  London  merchants  for  brewers'  drays, 
and  other  heavy  carriages.  "This  kind  of 
horse,"  says  the  same  excellent  authority  I 
have  just  quoted,  "  should  have  a  broad  chest, 
and  thick  and  upright  shoulders  (the  more  up- 
right the  collar  stands  on  him  the  better),  a  low 
forehead,  deep  and  round  barrel,  loins  broad 
and  high,  ample  quarters,  thick  fore-arms  and 
thighs,  short  legs,  round  hoofs,  broad  at  the 
heels,  and  soles  not  too  flat.  The  great  fault 
of  the  large  dray  horse  is  his  slowness.  This 
is  so  much  in  the  breed,  that  even  the  disci- 
plined ploughman  who  would  be  better  pleased 
to  get  through  an  additional  rood  in  the  day, 
cannot  permanently  quicken  him.  The  largest 
of  this  heavy  breed  of  black  horses  are  used  as 
dray  horses.  The  next  in  size  are  employed  as 
wagon  horses;  and  a  smaller  variety,  and  with 
more  blood,  constitutes  a  considerable  part  of 
our  cavalry ;  and  is  likewise  devoted  to 
undertakers'  work."  (Lib.  of  Useful  Know.  p. 
46.) 

"  The  dray  horse,"  says  Mr.  Wilson,  "probably 
results  from  a  fine  carriage  horse,  possessed 
of  a  certain  portion  of  blood,  and  a  very  strong 
well-formed  mare  of  the  country  breed.  The 
gigantic  proportions  and  immense  powers  of 
these  horses  are  only  equalled  by  their  intelli- 
gence and  docility.  It  may  safely  be  said  that 
this  breed  of  horses  is  not  to  be  paralleled  on  the 
face  of  the  earth."  {Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol. 
ii.  p.  34.) 

Besides  these  valuable  kinds  of  English 
draught  horses,  there  are  a  variety  of  mongrel 
breeds  employed  by  the  farmers,  especially  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  London,  and  other  large 
towns,  which  it  is  needless  to  name,  and  diffi- 
cult to  describe.  Aged  or  lamed  cab  horses, 
:he  refuse  of  the  London  hackney  coaches,  &c. 
may  all  be  seen  drawing  the  small  farmers' 
teams  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London.  An 
English  draught  mare  is  represented  at  PI. 
13,  /  reduced,  from  Stephens's  Book  of  the 
Farm. 

Too  little  attention  is  generally  paid,  in  fact, 
6.38 


to  the  breeding  of  superior  cart  horses  by  th« 
farmer.  The  soil  and  the  food  which  the  dis- 
trict produces,  has  commonly  more  influence 
upon  the  size  of  the  animal  than  the  choice  of 
the  mare  or  the  stallion ;  and  although  by  the 
exertions  of  the  Highland,  and  other  Agricul- 
tural Societies,  the  breed  is  now  considerably 
improved,  yet  still  much  more  remains  to  be 
effected  in  this  way  The  Ayrshire  Agricul- 
tural Association,  at  a  l?*e  meeting,  deter- 
mined upon  the  purchase  of  a  Flemish  stal- 
lion, for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  breed  in 
Scotland,  the  Society  being  convinced  that  there 
is  a  much  better  breed  of  draught  horses  in 
Flanders  than  in  any  part  of  Great  Britain. 

"The  most  important  circumstance,"  says  a 
well-known  author,  "  which  influences  the  pro- 
fits of  the  farmer,  is  the  cost  of  his  team  and 
the  wages  of  his  labourers.  These  vary  in 
different  situations.  In  some  parts  of  the 
country  the  horses  are  pampered  and  kept  so 
fat  that  they  can  scarcely  do  a  day's  work  as 
they  ought.  In  others  they  are  overworked  and 
badly  fed.  Either  extreme  must  be  a  lo^s  to 
the  farmer.  In  the  first  case  the  horses  cannot 
do  their  work,  and  consume  an  unnecessary 
quantity  of  provender,  and,  in  the  other,  they 
are  soon  worn  out ;  and  the  loss  in  horses  that 
become  useless,  or  die,  is  greater  than  the 
saving  in  their  food,  or  the  extra  work  done 
by  them.  A  horse  properly  fed  will  work  8  or 
10  hours  every  day  in  the  week,  resting  only 
on  Sundays.  By  a  judicious  division  of  the 
work  of  the  horses,  they  are  never  over-worked, 
and  an  average  value  of  a  day's  work  is  easily 
ascertained.  This,  in  a  well-regulated  farm, 
will  be  found  much  less  than  the  common 
valuations  give  it." 

The  labour  of  a  horse  is  commonly  reckoned 
equal  to  that  of  5  men;  he  works,  however, 
only  8  hours,  while  a  man  works  10.  It  has 
often  been  asserted  that  the  powers  of  endu- 
rance of  a  man  are  considerably  greater  than 
that  of  a  horse ;  and  in  a  hurdle  race  at  Ips- 
wich, in  1841,  between  a  capital  hunter  carry- 
ing 10  stones,  and  Townshend,  a  celebrated 
runner,  over  6  miles  of  ground,  and  100  hurdle 
leaps,  the  horse  was  easily  beaten.  In  a 
second  trial,  however,  the  horse  came  off  the 
winner.  The  power  of  a  horse  in  pulling  sel- 
dom exceeds  144  lbs.;  but  he  will  carry  from 
500  lbs.  to  1000  lbs.  The  power  of  a  horse  in 
pulling,  if  equal  to  144  ibs.  at  a  rate  of  2 
miles  an  hour,  would  be  reduced  to  64  lbs.  at  4 
miles  an  hour,  and  to  36  lbs.  at  6  miles.  In 
wheel  carriages,  on  level  roads,  a  horse  will 
draw  easily  about  15  times  the  power  exerted. 
A  horse,  in  a  single-horse  cart,  seems  capable 
of  drawing  his  load  to  the  greatest  advantage, 
and  of  late  several  improved  single-horse  carts 
have  been  suggested.  (See  Cahts  ;  and  Jour, 
of  Roy.  jigr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  73.)  The  single- 
horse  carts,  both  of  London  and  Liverpool, 
convey  enormous  weights  over  the  paved 
streets ;  and  at  Paris  a  single  horse  draws  2 
tons.  The  carriers  between  Edinburgh  and 
Glasgow,  in  carts  weighing  7  cwt.,  convey  a 
ton  of  goods  22  miles  a  day  with  one  hofse. 
The  carriers  of  Normandy,  with  4  horses,  in 
2-wheeled  carts,  weighing  11  cwt.,  convey  from 


PUfte  /^. 


■4«j^ 


\ 


ii 


■^  -^"TivV^Ji  -.'C'-i'?- 


5^ 


British  Horses. 


^'ALIPORX 


I 


HORSE. 


14  to  22  miles  per  day  4  tons  of  goods.     See 
Tract  I  ox. 

The  Hunter.  PI.  13,  c.  It  has  been  said  that 
the  hunter  should  be  rarely  under  15  or  16 
lands  high ;  below  this  he  cannot  well  stand 
^ver  his  work,  and  above  this  he  is  apt  to  be 
mg-legged  and  awkward  at  his  work.  With 
le  increased  speed  of  the  hounds,  and  by  the 
snclosures  increasing  the  powers  of  the  coun- 
try to  retain  the  scent,  the  speed  of  the  modern 
hunters  is  much  greater  than  that  of  the  olden 
time,  when  with  slow  hounds,  and  strong,  ac- 
tive horses,  the  country  gentlemen  had  their 
•'meets"  at  break  of  day,  and  continued  the 
chase  for  hours.  Hence  it  is  now  pretty  gene- 
rally agreed  that  the  modern  hunter  should  be 
at  least  three-quarters  bred.  Many  prefer  the 
thorough-bred  horse,  especially  if  he  can  be 
procured  with  sufficient  bone.  The  proper- 
ties which  a  good  hunter  should  possess,  are 
thus  described  in  the  Library  of  Useful  Know- 
ledge (I'/je  Hone,  p.  51):  "He  should  be  light 
in  hand;  for  this  purpose  his  head  must  be 
small,  his  neck  thin,  and  especially  thin  be- 
neath his  crest,  firm  and  arched,  and  his  jaws 
wide.  The  head  will  then  be  well  set  on ;  it 
will  form  that  angle  with  the  neck  which  gives 
a  light  and  pleasant  mouth.  Somewhat  of  a 
ewe-neck,  however  it  may  lessen  the  beauty 
of  the  race-horse,  does  not  interfere  with  his 
speed,  because  more  weight  may  be  thrown 
forward,  and  consequently  the  whole  bulk  of 
the  animal  more  easily  impelled;  at  the  same 
time  the  head  is  more  readily  and  perfectly  ex- 
jtended,  the  windpipe  is  brought  almost  to  a 
!llraight  line  from  the  lungs  to  the  muzzle,  and 
the  breathing  is  freer.  Should  the  courser,  in 
consequence  of  this  form  of  the  neck,  bear 
more  heavily  on  the  hand  the  race  is  soon 
over,  but  the  hunter  may  be  our  companion 
and  our  servant  through  a  long  day,  and  it  is 
of  essential  consequence  that  he  shall  not  two 
much  annoy  and  tire  us  by  the  weight  of  his 
head  and  neck.  The  forehead  should  be  loftier 
than  that  of  the  racer.  A  turf  horse  may  be 
forgiven  if  his  hind  quarters  rise  an  inch  or 
two  above  his  fore  ones.  His  principal  power 
is  wanted  for  behind,  and  the  very  lowness  of 
the  forehead  may  throw  more  weight  in  front, 
and  cause  the  whole  machine  to  be  more 
easily  and  speedily  moved.  A  lofty  forehead, 
however,  is  indispensable  in  the  hunter,  the 
shoulder  as  extensive  as  in  the  racer,  as 
oblique,  and  somewhat  thicker;  the  saddle  will 
then  bo  in  its  proper  place,  and  will  continue 
so,  however  long  may  be  the  run.  The  barrel 
should  be  rounder,  to  give  greater  room  for  the 
heart  and  lungs  to  play,  and  send  more  and 
purer  blood  to  the  larger  frame  of  this  horse; 
and  especially  more  room  to  play  when  the 
run  may  continue  unchecked  for  a  time  that 
begins  to  be  distressing.  A  broad  chest  is  an 
excellence  in  the  hunter.  In  the  violent  and 
long-continued  action  of  the  chase,  the  respira- 
tion is  exceedingly  quickened,  and  abundantly 
more  blood  is  hurried  through  the  lungs  in  a 
given  time,  than  when  the  animal  is  at  rest. 
There  must  be  sufficient  room  for  this,  or  the 
animal  will  be  blown,  and  possibly  destroyed. 
The  majority  of  horses  that  perish  in  the  field 


HORSE. 

are  narrow-chested.  The  arm  should  be  as 
muscular  as  that  of  the  courser,  or  even  more 
so,  for  both  strength  and  endurance  are  wanted. 
The  leg  should  be  deeper  than  that  of  the  race- 
horse (broader  as  you  stand  at  the  side  of  the 
horse),  and  especially  beneath  the  knee.  In 
proportion  to  the  distance  of  the  tendon  from 
the  cannon  or  shankbone,  and  more  particu- 
larly just  below  the  knee,  is  the  mechanical 
advantage  with  which  it  acts.  A  racer  may  be 
lied  beneath  the  knee  without  perfectly  de- 
stroying his  power,  but  a  hunter  with  this 
defect  will  rarely  have  stoutness.  The  leg 
should  be  shorter  than  that  of  a  race-horse,  for 
higher  action  is  required  of  him,  that  the  legs 
may  be  cleanly  and  safely  lifted  over  many  an 
obstacle,  and  particularly  that  they  may  be 
well  doubled  up  in  the  leap.  The  pastern 
should  be  shorter,  and  less  slanting,  yet  retain- 
ing considerable  obliquity.  The  long  pastern 
is  useful  by  the  yielding  resistance  which  its 
obliquity  affords  to  break  the  concussion  with 
which  the  race-horse,  from  his  immense  stride 
and  speed,  must  come  to  the  ground ;  and  the 
oblique  direction  of  the  different  bones  beauti- 
fully contributes  to  effect  the  same  purpose. 
With  this  elasticity,  however,  a  considerable 
degree  of  weakness  is  necessarily  connected, 
and  the  race-horse  occasionally  breaks  down 
in  the  middle  of  his  course.  The  hunter,  from 
his  different  action,  takes  not  this  length  of 
stride,  and  therefore  wants  not  all  this  elastic 
mechanism;  he  more  needs  strength  to  sup- 
port his  own  heavier  carcass,  the  greater 
weight  of  his  rider,  and  to  endure  the  fatigue 
of  a  long  day.  Some  obliquity,  however,  he 
requires,  otherwise  the  concussion  even  of  his 
shorter  gallop,  and  more  particularly  of  his 
frequently  tremendous  leaps,  would  inevitably 
lame  him.  The  foot  of  the  hunter  is  a  most 
material  point,  for  it  is  battered  over  many  a 
flinty  road  and  stony  field,  and  if  not  particu- 
larly good,  will  soon  be  disabled  and  ruined. 
The  position  of  the  feet  requires  some  atten- 
tion in  the  hunter;  they  should,  if  possible, 
stand  upright.  If  they  turn  a  little  outward, 
there  is  no  serious  objection,  but  if  they  turn 
inward,  his  action  can  hardly  be  safe,  particu- 
larly when  he  is  fatigued  or  over-weighted. 
The  body  should  be  short  and  compact  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  race-horse,  that  he  may 
not,  in  his  gallop,  take  too  extended  a  stride. 
This  would  be  a  serious  disadvantage  in  a  long 
day,  and  with  a  heavy  rider,  from  the  stress  on 
the  pasterns;  and  more  serious  efforts  required 
when  going  over  clayey,  poachey  ground  in  the 
winter  months.  The  compact,  short-strided 
horse  will  almost  skim  on  the  surface,  while 
the  feet  of  the  longer-reached  animal  will  sink 
deep,  and  he  will  wear  himself  out  by  efforts  to 
disengage  himself.  The  loins  should  be  broad, 
the  quarters  long,  the  thighs  muscular,  the 
hocks  well  bent,  and  under  the  horse."  {Ibid. 
p.  53.) 

Galloways.  A  horse  between  13  and  14 
hands  high  is  called  a  galloway.  The  name 
originated  from  a  beautiful  race  of  little  horses 
once  bred  in  Scotland,  on  the  banks  of  the  Sol- 
way  Frith.  The  pure  galloway  was  distin- 
guished for  its  speed  and  stoutness,  and  was 

639 


HORSE. 


HORSE. 


lemarkably  sure-footed.  Horses  of  this  kind 
are  very  serviceable  and  useful;  are  capable 
of  performing  a  great  deal  of  light  active  work, 
and  are  rarely  so  high-priced  as  the  larger 
horse. 

Ponies.  Of  these  there  are  an  endless  va- 
riety, both  in  fine  shape  and  value.  The  Welch 
pony  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  the  class. 
He  has  a  neat  small  head  and  barrel  that  is  at 
once  round  and  deep,  good  feet,  short,  strong 
joints,  flat  legs,  with  high  withers.  Some  of 
the  most  beautiful  ponies  of  England  are  of  this 
breed. 

I'he  New  Foresters  are  commonly  very  ill- 
made,  coarse,  ragged,  large-hipped,  ugly  ani- 
mals, but  active,  enduring,  hardy,  and  easily 
maintained  upon  very  coarse  food.  The  same 
remarks  will  pretty  generally  apply  to  those  of 
Exmoor  and  Dartmoor  in  Devonshire.       ^ 

Of  the  Scotch  breeds,  the  Highland  is  the 
largest,  and  the  most  useful ;  those  of  the 
Shetland  Isles,  called  in  the  north  shclties,  (PI. 
13,  k,)  range  between  7^  and  9A  hands  in 
height,  are  often  small-headed,  beautiful,  good- 
tempered,  and  docile.  They  have  commonly 
short  necks,  low  and  thick  shoulders,  short 
backs,  possess  great  strength,  and  will  fatten 
upon  the  coarsest  food. 

The  Irish  Horse. — In  the  rich  grazing  districts 
of  Roscommon  and  Meath,  many  large  tho- 
roughbred horses  are  reared,  that  were  formerly 
distinguished  for  their  large,  coarse,  ragged, 
rawboned  appearance,  but  the  breed  has  been 
very  materially  improved  by  the  introduction 
of  superior  stallions  and  other  means,  so  that 
now  many  of  the  Irish  horses  claim  an  equality 
with  the  best  of  those  of  England.  The  Irish 
horse  is  commonly  beautiful,  fiery,  yet  good- 
tempered,  easily  excited,  of  great  endurance, 
and  perhaps  the  best  leaper  in  the  world.  The 
Irish  Hunter  is  represented  in  PI.  13,  i,  from 
Lowe's  work  on  British  animals. 

Feeding  Horses. — The  best  method  of  feeding 
horses,  especially  those  belonging  to  the  farm, 
is  a  Question  highly  interesting  to  the  farmer. 
Many  are  the  substances  employed  for  this 
purpose,  such  as  oats,  oatmeal,  barley,  bran, 
beans,  peas,  potatoes,  turnips,  carrots,  parsnips, 
hay,  sainfoin,  clover,  rye-grass,  straw,  grains, 
and  sometimes  oil-cake  :  bruised  gorse  or  furze 
is  excellent.  The  oats  are  best  given  when 
bruised,  the  potatoes  should  be  steamed  and 
mixed  with  chaff  and  salt ;  hay  and  straw  are 
economically  cut  into  chaflf.  In  many  of  the 
stabies  about  London,  hay  is  never  put  into  the 
rack.  Thus  in  the  stables  of  Hanbury  and 
Truman,  each  horse  is  allowed  per  day  18  lbs. 
of  cut  hay  and  straw  (one-eighth  of  the  latter), 
14  lbs.  of  bruised  oats,  and  1  lb.  of  bruised 
beans;  half  a  pound  of  salt  per  week  is  also 
given ;  in  summer  the  beans  are  withdrawn, 
and  the  oats  increased.  In  France  the  daily 
rations  allowed  to  the  heavy  cavalr^-^  horses 
are,  oats  10  lbs.,  hay  10  lbs.,  straw  10  lbs.  ("On 
the  Norman  Horse,"  Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlgr.) 

Dr,  Sully,  of  Wivelscombe,  some  years  since, 
gave  the  following  statement  of  the  different 
articles  of  food  which  his  horses  received  to 
keep  them  in  excellent  condition.  He,  too,  had 
no  racks  in  his  stables.  (^Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p. 
726.) 

640 


Finl 

Second 

Third  ! 

Fourth 

c.«. 

ClaM. 

Cla-J 

Clan. 

Ibf. 

Ibk 

Ibt. 

lb«. 

1.  Farinaceous    substances, 

consisting  of  bruised  or 

ground  beans,  peas,  bar- 

ley, wheat,  or  oats 

5 

5 

10 

5 

2.  Bran,  fine  or  coarse 

— 

- 

- 

7 

3.  Boiled  or  steamed  pota- 

toes,  mashed    in  a  tub 

with  a  wooden   bruiser 

5 

5 

4.  Fresh  grains  (boiled  bar- 

ley)        -        -        -        - 

6 

5.  Hay  cut  down  into  chaff - 

7 

8 

10 

8 

6.    Straw    cut    down    into 

chaff      -        -        -        - 

7 

10 

10 

8 

7.  Malt  dust,  or  ground  oil- 

cake      .        -        -        - 

- 

2 

- 

3 

30 

30 

30 

30 

With  2oz.  salt  for  each  class 

The  advantage  of  cooking  the  food  for  horses 
has  been  advocated  by  Mr.  Dick,  Ibid.  vol.  iiu 
p.  1024 ;  and  in  many  cases  is  a  practice  highly 
to  be  commended.  An  apparatus  for  steaming 
food  for  horses  with  an  engine  is  given.  Ibid, 
vol.  vi.  p.  33  ;  and  Mr.  Fisher  details  the  mode 
of  feeding  them  with  potatoes,  Co%n.  Board  of 
Jigr.  vol.  iv.  p.  33.5.  A  machine  for  bruising 
grain  for  horses  is  described  in  Quart.  Journ, 
ofJgr.\o\.  V.  p.  100. 

The  number  of  horses  of  all  kinds  in  Eng- 
land is  estimated  by  Mr.  M'Culloch,  to  be  from 
1,400,000  to  1,500,000,  which,  at  an  average 
value  of  from  12/.  to  15?.,  makes  their  totaj 
value  from  18,000,000?.  to  22,500,000?.  In  183?. 
the  riding-horse  duty  was  paid  for  182,878 
horses.  (Com.  Diet.) 

It  appears  from  the  statement  accompanying 
the  census  of  the  United  States  in  1840,  that 
the  number  of  horses  and  mules  in  the  Union 
was  4,333,669. 

The  Wild  Horse.— The  horse  is  still  found 
wild  in  Africa,  in  Tartary,  and  in  America,  iu 
the  Southern  continent,  of  which  last  country 
they  are  said  to  be  sometimes  found  in  droves 
of  i 0,000.  It  is  here  that  they  seem  to  act  both 
in  self-defence,  and  for  the  attack  of  their  ene- 
mies, with  a  subordination  and  union  of  pur- 
pose that  is  not  a  little  curious.  It  seems  that 
they  have  some  bold  and  strong  horse  for  their 
chief,  who  is  their  courageous  leader  in  the 
onset,  the  first  to  direct  their  retreat.  They 
close,  at  some  intelligible  signal,  upon  their 
enemies,  and  trample  them  to  death.  These, 
amongst  the  natives  of  America,  are  neither 
very  numerous  nor  dangerous.  The  leopard, 
tiger,  and  lion  of  the  New  World  are  very  in- 
ferior animals  to  their  namesakes  of  th*e  olden 
continents.  Man  is  their  greatest  enemy;  they 
are  hunted  and  captured  by  the  Guachos  with 
their  lassos,  or  even  killed  for  their  skins  and 
flesh,  in  considerable  numbers.  These  wild 
American  horses  are  not  particularly  fast,  but 
they  can  endure  great  fatigue,  and,  when  once 
tamed,  are  exceedingly  docile.  Other  wild 
hcrses  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
but  nowhere  in  a  state  of  nature  does  he  equal 
the  size,  the  form,  the  speed,  or  the  strength  of 
the  domesticated  horse. 

For  an  interesting  account  of  the  wild  horses 
of  South  America,  see  the  Farmer^s  Register^ 
vol.  ii. 

Good  keep  and  good  management,  indeed, 
strangely  improve  the  appearance  of  even  th« 


I 


HORSE. 


naturally  poorest  breeds.  The  ponies  of  Shet- 
land, or  the  still  more  diminutive  steeds  of 
China,  when  bred  on  rich  English  pastures, 
rapidly  increase  in  size.  The  horses  of  Arabia 
do  the  same. 

In  the  extensive  territory  of  the  United 
States,  several  breeds  of  horses  are  found,  the 
characteristics  of  which  are  widely  different. 

The  Canadian.  This  is  one  of  the  principal 
races  found  in  the  Northern  States,  and  is  ge- 
nerally considered  of  French  or  Norman  de- 
scent, many  of  the  characteristics  of  which 
are  retained. 

The  Morgan  horse.  Perhaps  the  very  finest 
breed  of  horses  in  the  United  States,  when 
general  usefulness  is  taken  into  consideration, 
is  what  is  commonly  known  in  the  Northern 
and  Eastern  Slates,  as  the  Morgan  horse.  This 
breed  is  distinguished  by  its  activity,  united 
with  strength  and  hardiness.  Its  size  is  mo- 
derate, and  though  not  often  possessing  the 
fleetness  which  recommends  it  to  the  sports- 
man, it  has  enough  speed  to  entitle  it  to  the 
appellation  of  a  fast  traveller.  Their  usual 
height  is  from  14  to  15  hands,  colour  bay,  make 
round  and  rather  heavy,  with  lean  heads,  broad 
and  deep  chests,  the  fore-limbs  set  wide  apart, 
legs  clean  and  sinewy,  short,  strong  backs,  with 
that  projection  of  the  ribs  from  the  back-bone 
which  is  a  sure  indication  of  great  develope- 
ment  of  lungs,  and  consequently  of  great  wind 
and  bottom.  For  saddle,  draught,  and  other 
useful  purposes,  the  Morgan  horses  bred  in 
Vermont,  and  in  all  the  Eastern  States,  includ- 
ing the  Northern  and  Western  part  of  New 
York,  are  so  much  prized  as  to  command  much 
higher  prices  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  At- 
lantic States  than  horses  from  other  parts  of 
the  Union. 

This  fine  race  is  generally  believed  to  have 
originated  in  the  northern  part  of  Vermont 
about  the  year  1804,  from  a  mixture  of  the 
French  horse  from  Canada,  with  New  England 
mares.  The  breed  is  sometimes  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Goss  horse.  Some  of  the  cele- 
brated American  trotters  are  of  the  Morgan 
breed. 

Conesfogn  horse.  This  horse,  which  is  found 
chiefly  in  Pennsylvania  and  some  of  the  ad- 
jacent states,  is  more  remarkable  for  endurance 
than  symmetry.  In  height  it  sometimes  reaches 
17  hands,  the  legs  being  long  and  the  carcass 
light.  The  Conestoga  breed  make  good  car- 
riage and  heavy-draught  horses. 

Virgiuia  and  Kentucky  horse.  This  breed, 
■which  predominates  in  the  states  named,  and, 
.0  a  greater  or  less  extent,  in  all  the  Southern, 
Middle,  and  Western  States,  derives  its  origin 
from  English  blood  horses  imported  at  various 
times.  It  has  been  most  diligently  and  purely 
preserved  in  the  South.  The  celebrated  Shark, 
the  best  horse  of  his  day,  was  the  sire  of  the 
best  Virginia  horses,  whilst  Tally-ho,  a  son  of 
Highflyer,  peopled  the  Jerseys.  (Farmer's  Re- 
gister, vol.  ii.) 

In  the  Southwestern  States,  wild  horses 
abound,  which  are  doubtless  sprung  from  ihe 
same  Spanish  stock  as  the  wild  horses  of  the 
Pampas  and  other  parts  of  the  Southern  con- 
tinent, all  of  which  are  of  the  celebrated  An- 
dalusia breed,  derived  from  the  Moorish  Barb. 
81 


HORSE. 

i  The  prairie  horses  are  often  captured,  and, 
'  when  domesticated,  are  found  to  be  capable  of 
j  great  endurance.  They  are  not,  however,  re- 
commended by  the  symmetry  or  elegance  of 
appearance,  for  which  their  type  is  so  greatly 
distinguished,  being  generally  rather  small  and 
scrubby. 

The  following  interesting  observations  rela- 
tive to  some  of  the  American  breeds,  were 
lately  addressed  by  the  editor  of  the  New  York 
Spirit  of  the  Times  to  the  editor  of  the  Cultivator. 
Fifteen  years  ago,  thousands  of  dollars  would 
have  been  wagered,  that  no  horse  in  the  world 
could  trot  a  mile  within  three  minutes ;  as 
many  would  be  laid  down  now,  that  it  could  be 
done  in  two  minutes  twenty-eight  seconds. 
Ten  years  ago,  to  drive  a  horse  70  miles  be- 
tween sun  and  sun,  would  have  been  deemed 
a  great  performance  ;  but  since  strains  of  the 
blood  of  old  Messenger  have  been  introduced 
into  our  road  stock,  at  the  North,  hundreds  of 
horses  can  be  found  that  can  travel  from  80  to 
90  miles  without  distress.  In  our  paper  of  this 
day  is  a  report  of  the  performance  of  a  horse 
in  Boston  that,  without  being  trained,  was 
driven  103  miles  between  sunrise  and  sunset, 
over  a  hilly  road,  before  a  carriage,  which, 
with  the  rider,  weighed  470  lbs. 

The  acknowledged  superiority  of  northern 
carriage  and  draught  stock  is  owing  almost 
entirely  to  the  fact,  that  thorough-bred  horses 
have  found  their  way  north  and  east  from  Long 
Island  and  New  .Tersey,  where  great  numbers 
are  annually  disposed  of  that  are  unsuited  to 
the  course.  The  use  of  thorough  and  half-bred 
horses,  for  domestic  purposes,  is  becoming  so 
common  in  England,  that  in  a  few  years,  no 
other  will  be  used  for  the  road.  The  half-bred 
horse  is  not  only  much  handsomer,  but  his 
speed  and  powers  of  endurance  are  infinitely 
greater.  His  head  and  neck  are  light  and 
graceful,  his  limbs  fine,  his  coat  glossy  and 
soft  as  satin,  while  his  action  is  spirited,  and 
his  courage  and  stamina  suflScient  to  carry  him 
through  a  long  journey  without  his  falling  off 
in  condition,  or  to  undergo  an  extraordinary 
trial  of  speed  and  game  without  distress.  The 
ordinary  cocktail  is,  in  most  instances,  a  mere 
bmte,  that  in  travelling,  sinks  daily  in  strength, 
losing  his  appetite,  and,  of  course,  his  flesh  and 
action,  so  that  at  the  termination  of  a  ten  days* 
journey,  he  is  nearly  knocked  up ;  he  can  travel 
but  about  40  miles  per  day,  and  requires  the 
whole  day  to  perform  this  distance.  An  emi- 
nent southern  turfman,  well  known  the  country 
over,  recovers  his  horses  on  a  journey ;  they  are 
all  from  the  North,  and  have  a  dash  of  blood  in 
their  veins  ;  after  driving  them  hard  about  his 
plantation  in  the  spring,  until  they  begin  to 
look  thin  and  rough,  he  starts  on  his  annual 
journey,  and  by  the  time  he  reaches  the  Vir- 
ginia Springs,  his  horses  are  literally  as  fine 
as  silk,  with  fine  coats,  great  spirit,  and  in  good 
condition  for  fast  work.  In  travelling,  he  starts 
early,  and  drives  at  the  rate  of  8  or  9  miles  the 
hour  until  10  o'clock,  when  his  horses  are  taken 
out,  rubbed  dry,  watered,  and  fed.  In  the  cool 
of  the  day,  they  are  again  harnessed,  as  fresh  as 
if  they  had  not  travelled  a  mile.  In  this  way 
he  accomplishes  a  long  journey,  travelling  be- 
tween 50  and  60  miles  a  day,  without  fatigue 
3  H  2  641 


HORSE. 


HORSE. 


to  himself  or  injury  to  his  horses.  The  slow- 
going,  no-giving  sort  of  style  in  which  horses 
are  jogged  along  at  a  snail's  pace  all  day  under 
a  hot  sun,  knocks  them  up  in  a  short  time; 
they  would  neither  tire  nor  lose  flesh  in  double 
the  time,  if  driven  sharply  a  few  hours  in  the 
morning  and  evening,  allowing  them  to  rest  in 
the  middle  of  the  day.  It  is  the  all-day  work 
that  knocks  up  horses,  not  the  pace. 

Our  friends  of  the  Cultivator  may  not  be 
aware  of  the  vast  amount  invested  in  thorough- 
bred horses  at  this  moment  in  the  United  States, 
or  of  the  prices  some  of  fashionable  blood  com- 
mand. We  can  point  them  to  two  5  year  old 
horses  for  which  $20,000  each  has  been  refused ; 
to  brood  mares  that  will  command  $5000  each 
at  auction ;  to  a  colt  six  months  old,  for  which 
1^4000  has  been  refused.  Among  the  popular 
stallions  we  have  advertised  this  season,  three 
stand  at  $150  each,  fourteen  at  $100,  twelve  at 
$75,  eleven  at  $60,  and  tAventy-three  at  $50. 
Probably  not  less  than  6000  thorough-bred  mares, 
and  as  many  more  that  are  full  or  three-quar- 
ters bred,  will  be  stinted  this  season  to  horses 
that  are  standing  at  from  $35  to  $150.  As  not 
above  2000  out  of  the  whole  number  foaled 
next  season,  will  probably  come  upon  the  turf, 
it  is  clearly  to  be  seen  that  a  vast  number  of 
terribly  high  bred  cattle  must  be  used  for  ordi- 
nary purposes.  Of  these,  the  colts  of  good 
form,  that  have  plenty  of  bone  and  substance, 
■will  of  course  oust  the  common  tackies  and 
cider-suckers  that  infest  country  taverns,  whilst 
the  others  will  be  used  for  the  saddle  and  the 
road.  The  result  rill  be,  that  in  a  few  years, 
the  stock  now  in  use  will  be  supplanted  by 
horses  of  superior  action,  wind,  and  courage, 
whose  greater  beauty  will  not  be  more  appa- 
rent than  their  better  style  of  going,  and  their 
Unequalled  powers  of  endurance.  (New  York 
Spirit  of  the  Times.) 

In  the  observations  which  follow  these  re- 
marks, the  editor  of  the  Cultivator  states  that 
he  hails  with  pleasure  any  improvement  which 
■promises  a  better  race  of  horses  than  those 
which,  too  generally  in  our  country,  are  a  mere 
caricature  of  the  noble  beast.  Our  duty  and 
ciur  inclination,  however,  prompt  us  to  pay 
more  attention  to  those  breeds  and  varieties 
adapted  to  agriculture  and  the  road,  than  to 
those  calculated  for  the  turf  alone.  That  for 
both  these  purposes  horses  of  a  better  kind 
may  be  introduced  by  crosses  of  the  fine-limbed, 
hardj'-constitutioned,  and  beautiful  thorough- 
bred, with  those  possessing  the  bone  and  sub- 
stance necessary  to  give  the  weight  and  firmness 
required  in  the  draught  horse,  whether  the  la- 
bour is  to  be  performed  on  the  road  or  the  farm, 
we  do  not  doubt.  For  the  farm,  the  thorough- 
bred horse  would  be  comparatively  worthless  ; 
he  lacks  weight  and  substance  to  give  value 
and  power  for  draft ;  for  road  work,  the  same 
objections  will  apply,  though  not  perhaps  to  the 
same  extent.  The  best  English  road  horse  is 
a  cross  of  the  thorough-bred  and  the  Cleveland, 
and  a  cross  of  the  same  horse  with  the  thick, 
heavy  Suffolk,  has  giv<«n  a  most  valuable  farm 
horse.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  proper 
degrees  of  blood,  activity,  power  of  endurance, 
weight  and  docility,  so  essential  to  the  horse 
of  the  farmer,  or  for  the  road,  can  be  obtained 
642 


at  once :  but  from  what  we  almost  daily  witness, 
of  the  good  effects  that  have  resulted  alrea.l^ 
from  the  comparatively  little  attention  the  im- 
provement of  horses  for  labour  has  received, 
we  can  have  no  doubt  that  a  field  is  here  open 
for  effectually  benefiting  the  community  at  large 
more  extensive  than  can  be  found  almost  any- 
where else.     {Cultivator,  for  Aug.  1840,  Vol.  7.) 

A  public  benefit  has  been  conferred  upon 
the  country  by  Mr.  Edward  Harris,  of  Moores- 
town.  New  Jersey,  in  the  importation  of  a  fine 
pair  of  Norman  horses,  male  and  female.  The 
following  particulars  relative  to  the  stud  Avere 
communicated  by  Mr.  Harris  to  the  Farmer's 
Cabinet  for  April,  1842,  and  furnish  much  in- 
formation that  must  be  esteemed  valuable: 

"Diligence  is  of  a  handsome  dapple-gray 
colour,  measures  15  hands,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  perfect  animals  of  the  distinguished  breed 
of  Normandy  horses  called  Percheron.  He  was 
chosen  as  a  full-sized  specimen  of  the  breed, 
possessing  all  the  quick  action  of  the  smaller 
horses,  in  order  that  his  immediate  progeny 
from  our  light  mares  might  approach  nearer 
the  true  type  of  the  race.  It  must  be  observed, 
however,  that  it  is  more  in  breadth  and  size  of 
bone  and  muscle  that  he  exceeds  the  standard, 
than  in  his  height,  which  is  very  little  above 
the  average.  An  inspection  of  the  horse  will 
convince  any  one  that  this  race  is  the  origin 
of  the  Canadian  pony,  about  whose  valuable 
properties  little  need  be  said,  as  they  are  well 
known  and  highly  prized  in  this  section  of  the 
country,  and  still  more  to  the  North,  where 
they  have,  undoubtedly,  given  that  stamina 
and  character  to  the  horses  of  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire,  and  the  northern  section  of  N^w 
York,  which  makes  them  so  highly  valued  all 
over  the  Union  as  road  horses;  while  it  is  a 
remarkable  fact,  that  in  those  states  where  the 
attention  of  breeders  has  been  exclusively  de- 
voted to  the  English  race-horse,  the  carriage 
and  the  stage-horse  is  almost  universally  sup- 
plied from  the  North.  It  remains,  therefore, 
for  breeders  to  determine  whether  it  is  not  bet- 
ter to  resort  to  the  full-sized  Percheron  to  cross 
upon  our  light  and  already  too  highly-bred 
mares,  than  to  use  the  degenerated  Canadian 
(degenerate  in  size  only,  through  the  rigour  of 
the  climate,  for  it  must  be  admitted  that  the 
little  animal  retains  all  the  spirit  and  nerve  of 
his  ancestors,  and  lacks  strength  only  in  pro- 
portion to  his  size).  My  own  opinion  is,  that 
a  due  portion  of  the  French  blood  mixed  with 
the  English  will  produce  a  stock  of  horses  in- 
valuable, as  combining  all  the  properties  that 
are  required  for  quick  draught  on  the  road  or 
the  farm.  I  need  not  assure  you,  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  success  of  Diligence  as  a 
stud-horse  in  this  place,  that  such  too  is  the 
opinion  of  the  farmers  of  New  Jersey. 

"I  have  frequently  been  questioned  as  to  my 
reasons  for  selecting  this  horse  for  farmers* 
use  in  preference  to  the  English  draught-horse. 
My  reply  has  always  been,  that  the  draught- 
horse  of  England,  whenever  brought  to  this 
country,  must  prove  a  failure;  he  wants  the 
go-ahead  principle ;  he  cannot  move  out  of  a 
walk,  which  is  saying  quite  enough  for  him, 
without  dwelling  upon  his  defects  of  form, 
which  can  only  be  concealed  by  loads  of  fat, 


I 


HORSE. 


and  not  even  then,  from  the  eye  of  the  horse- 
man. The  true  Percheron,  or  Norman  Dili- 
gence horse,  on  the  contrary,  combines  more 
strength  with  activity  than  any  horse  I  have 
ever  sat  behind.  All  travellers,  on  entering 
France,  are  struck  with  the  properties  of  these 
horses,  as  displayed  in  drawing  the  ponderous 
machine  called  a  Diligence,  by  which  they  are 
conveyed  through  the  kingdom  at  the  rate  fully 
equal  to  the  average  of  stage  travelling  in  this 
country.  English  horsemen  confess  that  their 
road-horses  could  not  hold  out  the  same  pace 
before  the  same  load. 

"  The  origin  of  this  race,  according  to  French 
authorities,  dates  from  the  occupation  of  the 
Netherlands  by  the  Spaniards,  who  introduced 
the  Andalusian  horse,  which  soon  became  the 
favourite  stud-horse  all  over  the  continent. 
The  Spanish  horse  is  known  to  spring  from  the 
Barb  or  Arabian,  introduced  by  the  Moors  on 
their  conquest  of  that  country.  All  who  are 
conversant  with  the  history  of  the  horse,  know 
that  the  Andalusian  has  always  been  cele- 
brated for  his  beauty,  and  for  his  great  spirit, 
combined  with  extraordinary  powers  of  endu- 
rance. The  French  horse,  upon  which  he  was 
crossed,  was  the  old  Norman  draught-horse, 
which  still  exists  in  the  country  in  all  its 
purity,  and  is  perhaps  the  best  of  all  horses  for 
slow  draught. 

•'  The  average  height  of  these  horses  is  16 
hands,  and  they  may  be  described  as  follows : 
Head  short,  wide,  and  hollow  between  the  eyes; 
jaws  heavy  ;  ears  small,  and  pointed  well  for- 
wards; neck  very  short  and  thick;  mane 
heavy;  shoulder  well  inclined  backwards; 
back  extremely  short;  rump  steep;  quarters 
very  broad;  chest  deep  and  wide;  legs  very 
short,  particularly  from  the  knee  and  hock  to 
the  fetlock,  and  thence  to  the  coronet,  which  is 
covered  with  long  hair,  hiding  half  the  hoof; 
much  hair  on  the  legs;  tendons  large,  and 
muscles  excessively  developed." 

An  English  writer  in  the  British  Quarterly 
Jortrnal  of  Jgrindture,  thus  speaks  of  the  Nor- 
man horse.  After  giving  an  account  of  its 
origin,  which  he  agrees  in  tracing  to  the  Spa- 
nish hdrse,  he  observes,  "  The  horses  of  Nor- 
mandy are  a  capital  race  for  hard  work  and 
scanty  fare.  I  have  never  seen  such  horses  at 
the  collar,  under  the  diligence,  the  post-car- 
riage, the  cumbrous  and  heavy  voiture  or  ca- 
briolet for  one  or  two  horses,  or  the  farm  cart. 
They  are  enduring  and  energetic  beyond  de- 
scription ;  with  their  necks  cut  to  the  bone, 
they  flinch  not;  they  put  forth  all  their  eflforts 
at  the  voice  of  the  brutal  driver,  or  at  the 
dreaded  sound  of  his  never-ceasing  whip;  they 
keep  their  condition  when  other  horses  would 
die  of  neglect  and  hard  treatment.  A  better 
cross  for  some  of  our  horses  cannot  be  ima- 
gined than  those  of  Normandy." 

Whilst  lately  in  Europe,  Professor  Gibson, 
of  Philadelphia,  a  passionate  admirer  of  the 
horse,  and  well  versed  in  the  finest  blood  of 
the  United  States,  made  close  observations  of 
the  horses  in  different  parts  of  England  and 
Ireland.  The  following  passage  from  his 
"Rambles"  furnishes  a  condensed  view  of  the 
ressilts  of  his  observations: 

•  The  Irish  horses  have  long  been  consider- 


HORSE. 

ed  the  finest  in  the  kingdom,  and  certainly 
I  saw  none  to  be  compared  to  them  in  any 
part  of  Europe.  In  general  they  are  very 
compact,  strong,  active,  and  spirited,  but  high- 
tempered,  and  difficult  to  manage.  They  bear 
a  close  resemblance  to  our  Vermont  horse  in 
style,  action,  and  shape,  and  might  readily  pass 
for  the  same  breed,  with  the  exception  of  being 
larger.  In  England  they  bring  high  prices, 
and  it  is  not  uncommon  to  meet  with  English 
dealers  at  the  Irish  fairs  buying  them  up,  in 
great  numbers,  for  their  own  markets.  The 
English  horse,  indeed,  within  the  last  20  years, 
has  degenerated  so  much,  in  some  respects,  as 
not  to  serve  the  many  useful  purposes  to  which 
he  was  accustomed  at  that  period,  owing  to 
breeders  having  run  too  much  upon  blood. 
On  this  account  it  is  now  hardly  possible 
to  meet  with  any  of  the  old  stock  of  hun- 
ters so  large  and  powerful,  and  with  so  much 
bone  and  sinew;  so  that  even  in  York- 
shire I  saw  but  a  single  specimen,  a  fine 
black,  in  possession  of  Mr.  Whittaker,  ofOt- 
ley,  30  years  of  age,  but  which  felt  under  me 
like  a  colt,  after  a  ride  of  20  miles.  Even  the 
carriage  horses,  indeed,  throughout  every  part 
of  England,  are  conspicuous  for  their  long, 
low  necks,  slab  sides,  and  spindle  shanks,  and 
very  inferior,  as  a  race,  to  our  own  stock,  for 
the  same  purposes.  In  London,  it  is  true, 
large  showy  animals  are  to  be  seen  in  the  car- 
riages of  noblemen  and  other  persons  of  for- 
tune ;  but  they  are  procured  at  immense 
prices,  often  400  or  500  pounds  each,  and 
even  then  are  deficient  in  action,  and  too  often 
have  broken  knees,  to  which  indeed  most  of 
the  English  horses  are  so  liable,  as  seldom  to 
be  led  or  ridden  out  by  the  groom  without 
having  their  knees  protected  by  leather  or 
woollen  covers  or  caps.  The  Irish  horse,  on 
the  contrary,  is  not  apparently  so  high  bred  as 
the  English,  and  therefore  a  better  animal  for 
draught,  saddle,  and  most  other  purposes.  Yet 
no  blood  horses  in  England  have  proved  supe- 
rior to  the  Irish  racer  in  speed,  bottom,  and  other 
requisites;  and  I  believe  it  is  admitted  on  all 
hands  that  there  is  now  no  horse  in  the  British 
empire  to  be  compared  to  Irish  '  Harkaway,' 
bred  and  owned  by  a  linen-bleacher  of  Belfast. 
A  great  many  inquiries  were  made  of  me, 
also,  respecting 'Skylark,' an  Irish  horse  im- 
ported into  this  country  a  few  years  back,  and 
represented,  by  all  that  spoke  of  him,  as  a 
most  extraordinary  animal,  and  one  that  never 
should  have  been  allowed  to  leave  the  king- 
dom. Both  animals  I  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing — the  one  in  England,  and  the  other  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  soon  after  his  arriva.— 
and  finer  specimens  of  the  kind  I  cannot  ima 
gine  to  exist  in  any  country.  Through  every 
partoflrelandl  travelled, I  could  not  help  being 
struck  with  the  form  and  activity  of  all  classes 
Off  horses ;  and  in  Dublin,  especially,  scarcely 
passed  a  day  without  noticing  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen splendidly  mounted,  the  finest  teams  in 
mail  and  other  coaches,  and  carriage  horses 
of  beautiful  style  and  proportion;  all  which, 
however,  command  there  as  many  pounds 
sterling  as  American  horses— excepting,  per- 
haps, first-rate  trotters— dollars  in  this  coun 
trv;  and  it  is  only   surprising  some   of  out 


HORSE,  AGE  OF. 


HORSE-HOE. 


spirited  Yankee  dealers  do  not  furnish  the 
English  market  with  such  luxuries." 

HORSE,  AGE  OF.     See  Anes  of  Attimals. 

HORSE-CHESTNUT.  If,  says  a  writer  in 
the  American  Farmer  (vol.  xiv.),  the  value  of 
this  nut  was  more  generally  understood,  it 
would  not  be  suffered  to  rot  and  perish  without 
being  turned  to  any  account,  as  at  present. 
The  horse-chestnut  contains  a  saponaceous 
I'uice,  very  useful,  not  only  in  bleaching,  but  in 
washing  linens  and  other  stuffs.  The  nuts  mast 
be  peeled  and  ground,  and  the  meal  of  20  of 
them  is  sufficient  for  10  quarts  of  water;  and 
either  linens  or  woollens  may  be  washed  with 
the  infusion,  without  any  other  soap,  as  it  ef- 
fectually takes  out  spots  of  all  kinds.  The 
clothes  should,  however,  be  afterwards  rinsed 
in  spring  water.  The  same  meal,  steeped  in 
hot  water  and  mixed  with  an  equal  quantity  of 
bran,  makes  a  nutritious  food  for  pigs  and 
poultry.     See  Chestnut,  Horse. 

HORSE  DEALERS.  Persons  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  buy  and  sell  horses.  Each  person 
carrying  on  the  business  of  a  horse  dealer  is 
required  to  keep  a  book,  in  which  he  shall 
enter  an  account  of  the  number  of  horses  kept 
by  him  for  sale  and  for  use,  specifying  the 
duties  to  which  the  same  are  respectively 
liable.  This  book  is  to  be  open  at  all  reasonable 
times  to  the  inspection  of  the  officers ;  and  a 
true  copy  of  the  same  is  to  be  delivered  quar- 
terly to  the  assessor  of  the  parish  in  which  he 
resides.  Penalty  for  non-compliance,  50/.  (43 
Geo.  3,  c.  161.)  Horse  dealers  are  assessed 
if  they  carry  on  their  business  in  the  metropolis 
25/.,  and  if  elsewhere,  12/.  10s.  per  annum. 
From  the  papers  published  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  persons 
of  this  class  assessed  in  1831,  was  74  in  the 
metropolis,  and  963  in  other  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. 

HORSE,  DISEASES  OF.  See  each  dis- 
order. 

HORSE-FLY  or  FOREST-FLY  {Hippobosca 
equina,  Linn.).  In  England  this  fly  lives  chiefly 
on  horses,  but  sometimes  also  attacks  horned 
cattle  and  other  mammalia.  The  male  is 
scarcely  so  large  as  the  house-fly ;  the  female 
is  larger.  The  insect  generally  attaches  itself 
to  ihe  abdomen  of  the  animal,  which  is  least 
covered  with  hair,  particularly  between  the 
hind  legs.  This  fly  has  a  singular  movement: 
it  runs  very  quickly,  but  sideways  like  a  crab: 
it  is  covered  with  a  hard  crust ;  and  adheres 
so  firmly  by  its  claws  as  to  render  it  difficult 
to  take  it  off.  As  it  torments  the  animals  very 
much,  means  of  driving  it  away  must  be  thought 
of.  Picking  off  by  hand  is  too  troublesome. 
By  the  following  remedy  it  may  be  got  rid  of  in 
24  hours'  time :  take  of  mineral  earth  eight 
ounces ;  lard  one  pound,  and  make  them  into 
a  salve.  Some  of  this  salve  is  to  be  rubbed  on 
here  and  there  upon  the  hair,  and  worked  in 
with  a  wisp  of  straw.  After  24  hours  the  salve 
is  to  be  washed  off  with  warm  water,  in  which 
brown  soap  has  been  dissolved.  Care  must  be 
taken  for  some  days  that  the  horse  does  not 
catch  cold.  (Kollar  on  Insects,  Miss  Loucbn's 
Trans.)     See  Gad-Flt. 

HORSE -HOE,  THE.  For  this  valuable  im- 
plement of  agriculture,  the  farmer  is  indebted 
644 


to  the  justly  celebrated  Jethro  Tull.  Previous 
to  his  time,  we  search  in  vain  in  the  works  of 
agricultural  authors  for  the  slightest  allusion 
to  such  an  instrument.  The  production  of  the 
horse-hoe^,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  almost 
a  natural  consequence  of  the  adoption  of  the 
drill  system,  for  which  also  the  cultivator  is 
mainly  indebted  to  Tull.  He  gave  in  his  Hus- 
bandry, more  than  a  century  since,  an  engraving 
of  a  horse-hoe  of  his  own  invention,  which 
resembles  a  common,  rudely-shaped  swing 
plough,  with  the  mould  board  omitted,  and  the 
shares  having  a  cutting  edge  turned  up  on  its 
landside.  A  variety  of  improvements  were 
gradually  made  in  the  construction  of  this  im- 
plement :  I  proceed  to  notice  those  which  are 
now  considered  to  be  the  best. 

The  advantages  which  these  possess  over 
the  hand-hoe  are  very  fairly  stated  by  the  late 
Mr.  Francis  Blakie:  he  remarks,  "In  many 
cases  the  hand-hoe  may  be  used  to  advantage, 
and  should  then  be  so  used.  But  generally 
speaking,  the  hand  is  not  so  efficient  as  the 
horse-hoe.  Expedition  is  a  most  material  point 
in  all  processes  of  husbandry,  carried  on  in  a 
variable  and  uncertain  climate,  and  it  fre- 
quently happens,  that  hoeing,  in  any  way,  can 
only  be  executed  to  advantage,  in  a  very  few 
days  in  spring :  hence  the  horse-hoe  has  a  most 
decided  advantage  over  the  hand-hoe,  for  a 
man  will  only  hoe  about  half  an  acre  a  day 
with  the  latter,  while,  with  the  former,  a  man 
and  a  boy,  with  one  horse,  will  hoe  eight  or  ten 
acres  a  day,  and  that  in  a  more  effectual  man 
ner."  {On  Farm-yard  Manure,  p.  39.) 

Among  the  most  approved  implements  of  the 
kind  in  England,  are  the  following : — 

Clarke's  Universal  Ridge  Horse-hoe. — This  is  a 
very  ingenious  contrivance  for  carrying. out 
the  several  operations  of  ridge  culture.  It  is 
adapted  for  the  uses  of  a  do'-ble  tom,  a  mould- 
ing plough,  a  broad  share  v^i- cleaning  plough, 
and  a  horse-hoe.  It  is  only  as  fitted  for  the 
latter  purpose  that  we  have  now  to  describe  it: 
its  other  forms  will  be  given  under  the  head 
Plough. 

To  the  frame  of  the  plough  is  attached  a 
pointed  share,  which  serves  as  a  hoe  for  the 
centre  of  the  furrow :  a  movable  frame  is  at- 
tached to  the  beam,  which  is  readily  adjusted 
to  any  given  width :  to  this  is  attached,  when 
it  is  intended  to  hoe  plants  upon  the  ridge,  the 
stalks  of  two  curved  hoes;  when  used  upon  flat 
work,  the  flat  hoe  should  be  substituted  for  the 
curved  or  inverted  hoe.  This  forms  a  very 
perfect  and  simple  horse-hoe. 

Blakie's  Inverted  Horse-hoe. — This  excellent 
hoe,  which  was  the  first  that  successfully  hoed 
between  several  rows  of  turnips  at  once,  and 
which  led  the  way  to  the  recent  improvements 
of  Mr.  Garrett,  was  intended  to  be  attached  to 
a  drill-carriage,  or  any  light  axletree,  by  the 
draft-irons  fixed  to  the  handles.  Blakie  de- 
scribed it  pretty  accurately  when  he  said,  "  it 
is  adapted  for  cleaning  between  rows  of  plants, 
growing  at  narrow  intervals,  within  which  it 
may  be  worked  with  perfect  safety  when  in 
their  infant  state ;  indeed  the  idea  first  struck 
me  on  observing  a  large  proportion  of  the 
plants  buried  by  the  operation  of  the  hoes 
formerly  in  use." 


I 


HORSE-HOE. 


Garrett*s  Horse-hoe. — This  horse-hoe,  invented 
by  the  manufacturers,  Garrett  and  Son,  of 
Leiston,  Suffolk,  is  suited  to  all  methods  of  drill 
cultivation,  whether  broad,  stetch,  or  ridge 
plouEching;  and  is  adapted  to  hoeing  corn  of 
all  kinds  as  well  as  roots.  The  peculiar  ad- 
vantages of  this  implement  are  that  the  width 
of  the  hoes  may  be  increased  or  diminished  to 
suit  all  lands,  or  methods  of  planting ;  the  axle- 
tree  being  movable  at  both  ends,  either  wheel 
may  be  expanded  or  contracted,  so  as  always 
to  be  kept  between  the  rows  of  plants. 

The  shafts  are  readily  altered,  and  put  to  any 
part  of  the  frame,  so  that  the  horses  may  either 
walk  in  the  furrow,  or  in  any  direction,  to  avoid 
injury  to  the  crop. 

Each  hoe,  or  each  pair  of  hoes,  works  on  a 
lever  independent  of  the  others;  so  that  no  part 
of  the  surface  to  be  cut,  however  uneven,  can 
escape  ;  and  in  order  to  accommodate  this  im- 
plement to  the  consolidated  earth  of  the  wheat 
crop,  and  also  the  more  loosened  top  of  spring 
corn,  roots,  &c.,  the  hoes  are  pressed  in  by  dif- 
ferent weights  being  hung  upon  the  ends  of 
each  lever,  and  adjusted  by  keys  or  chains,  to 
prevent  their  going  beyond  the  proper  depth. 

And  what  has  hitherto  been  an  objection  to 
the  general  use  of  the  horse-hoe  is  avoided  in 
this,  by  adopting  a  mode  of  readily  shifting  the 
hoes,  by  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  the  steerage, 
so  that  the  hoes  may  be  guided  to  the  greatest 
nicely.  This  implement  is  so  constructed  that 
the  hoes  may  be  set  to  a  varying  width,  from 
seven  inches  to  any  wider  space;  the  inverted 
hoes  are  preferred  when  the  distance  between 
the  rows  is  sufficient  to  admit  two  of  them ; 
or  any  other  form  that  may  be  considered  best 
for  the  purpose. 

Lord  Dude's  Expanding  Horse-hoe. — ^The  pa- 
rallel expanding  horse-hoe  is  used  for  hoeing 
drill  crops,  and  is  constructed  principally  of 
wrought  iron :  it  has  five  tines,  and  can  be 
regulated  to  any  width,  from  12  to  27  inches, 
with  the  greatest  facility,  so  that  the  tine  shall 
always  present  its  edge  to  what  it  has  to  cut; 
this  is  effected  by  the  support  of  each  tine 
moving  parallel  with  the  beam  :  it  is  worked 
on  the  principle  of  the  parallel  rule ;  the  ma- 
chine has  one  wheel  in  front,  with  a  tiller  for 
the  horse  to  yoke  to :  the  depth  it  enters  into 
the  ground  is  regulated  by  raising  or  lowering 
the  wheel  ;  there  is  a  pair  of  handles  for  the 
man  who  attends  the  machine  to  steady  it  by. 

Grant's  Horse-hoe,  and  Moulding  Plough.  By 
substituting  mould-boards  in  the  place  of  the 
wrought  iron  frame  and  hoes,  this  horse-hoe 
becomes  a  moulding  plough. 

White's  Double-action  Turnip  Hoe. — ^This  im- 
plement is  constructed  so  that  it  may  be  used 
with  only  one  horse  and  a  man,  and  is  intend- 
ed to  hoe  either  broadcast,  drilled,  or  ridged 
turnips.  It  hoos  two  rows  lengthways  and 
crossways  at  one  time  when  necessary.  It 
can  be  set  to  suit  the  drills  at  any  distance, 
from  15  to  30  inches,  and  to  leave  the  distance 
Df  each  turnip  9,  12,  or  15  inches  apart.  It 
may  be  used  also  as  a  scarifier  by  removing 
the  cross-cut  hoes,  and  replacing  them  with 
spear-fooled  tines.     (See  Cultivator.) 

HORSE  MINT  (Mentha  sylvestris).  A  spe- 
cies  of  wild  mint,  growing  freely  in  waste 


HORSE-RADISH. 

ground,  especially  in  watery  places.  It  is  a 
perennial,  blowing  dense  crowded  whorls  of 
small,  pale  purple  flowers  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember in  England.  The  whole  herb  is  of  a 
hoary  or  grayish  green,  clothed  with  fine  soft 
downy  hairs,  and  exhaling  a  strong  peculiar 
scent.  The  stems  are  2  or  3  feet  high,  rather 
bluntly  quadrangular;  the  leaves  nearly  ses 
sile,  1^  to  2^  inches  long,  spreading,  strongly 
and  sharply  serrated,  acute ;  their  upper  sur- 
face hoary ;  under,  shaggy,  with  denre  soft 
white  hairs.  It  affords  oil  by  distillation  with 
water.    The  infusion  of  it  allays  sickness. 

The  plant  commonly  called  Hoise  Mint,  in 
the  United  States,  is  the  monarda  fistulosa  of 
botanists — sometimes  called  Wild  Bcrgamot. 
It  has  a  perennial  root,  and  stem  2  or  3  feet 
high,  branched,  mostly  hairy,  especially  at  the 
joints  and  towards  the  summits.  The  violet- 
purplish  or  often  greenish-white  or  flesh-co- 
loured flowers  are  pubescent  or  downy.  This, 
says  Dr.  Darlington,  is  a  variable  plant;  and 
Mr.  Bentham  has  reduced  several  species  of 
preceding  authors  into  this  one.  Five  or  six 
additional  species  of  Monarda  are  enumerated 
in  the  United  States.     {Flora  Cestrica.) 

HORSE  POWER,  in  steam-engines,  is  esti- 
mated by  Mr.  Watt  at  32,000  pounds  avoirdu- 
pois lifted  one  foot  high  per  minute  for  one 
horse.  M.  D'Aubuisson,  from  an  examination 
of  the  work  done  by  horses  in  the  whims  or 
gigs  (machines  a  mnlettes)  for  raising  ore  from 
the  mines  at  Freyberg,  the  horses  being  of 
average  size  and  strength,  has  concluded  that 
the  usual  effect  of  a  horse  yoked  during  eight 
hours,  by  two  relays  of  four  hours  each,  in  a 
manege  or  mill  course,  may  be  estimated  at  40 
kilogrammes  raised  1  metre  per  second,  which 
is  nearly  16,440  pounds  raised  one  foot  per 
minute ;  being  very  nearly  one-half  of  Mr. 
Watt's  liberal  estimate  for  the  work  of  his 
steam-engines. 

HORSE-RADISH  (Cochlear  itf  armoracia— 
from  cochlear,  a  spoon,  the  form  of  the  leaves 
being  rather  hollow,  resemble  an  old-fashioned 
spoon).  The  horse-radish  delights  in  a  deep, 
mouldy,  rich  soil,  kept  as  much  as  possible  in 
a  moderate  but  regular  degree  of  moistness ; 
hence  the  banks  of  a  ditch,  or  other  place 
which  has  a  constant  supply  ol  water,  is  a 
most  eligible  situation  for  the  bods,  so  that 
they  do  not  lie  so  low  as  to  have  it  in  excess. 
If  the  soil  is  poor,  the  roots  never  attain  any 
considerable  size  ;  and  the  same  effect  is  pro- 
duced if  grown  in  a  shady  place,  or  beneath 
the  drip  of  trees.  Should  the  ground  require 
to  be  artificially  enriched,  Mr.  J.  Knight  re- 
commends leaf  mould,  or  other  thoroughly  de- 
cayed vegetable  substance,  to  be  dug  in  to  the 
depth  at  which  the  sets  are  intended  to  be 
planted.  If  cow  or  horse-dung  is  from  ne- 
cessity employed,  it  should  be  in  a  highly  pu- 
trescent state.  Horse-radish  flowers  in  June, 
but  in  England  seldom  perfects  its  seed;  con- 
sequently it  is  propagated  by  sets,  which  are 
provided  by  cutting  the  main  root  and  offsets 
into  lengths  of  two  inches.  The  tops  or  crowns 
of  the  roots  form  the  best ;  those  taken  from  the 
centre  never  becoming  so  soon  fit  for  use,  or 
of  so  fine  a  growth.  Each  set  should  have  at 
least  two  eves,  for  without  one  they  refuse  to 

645 


HORSE-RADISH. 


HORSETAIL. 


Yegetate  at  all.  Mr.  J.  Knight  recommends, 
for  the  obtaining  a  supply  of  the  crowns,  any 
inferior  piece  of  ground  to  be  planted  with 
sets,  6  inches  apart  and  6  deep ;  these  will  fur- 
nish from  1  to  5  tops  each,  and  they  may  be 
collected  for  several  successive  years  with 
little  more  trouble  than  keeping  them  clear  of 
weeds. 

Horse-radish  may  be  planted  from  the  close 
of  January  until  the  same  period  in  March,  but 
the  best  times  are  in  October  and  February ; 
tJr->  first  for  dry  soils,  the  latter  season  for 
*uoist  ones. 

The  sets  must  be  inserted  in  rows  18  inches 
apart  ea<ih  way.  The  ground  should  be  trench- 
ed between  2  and  3  feet  deep,  the  cuttings  be- 
ing placed  along  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  and 
the  mould  turned  from  the  next  one  over  them, 
or  inserted  to  a  similar  depth  by  a  long,  blunt- 
pointed  dibble.  When  the  planting  is  com- 
pleted, the  surface  should  be  raked  level,  and 
kept  clear  of  weeds,  until  the  plants  are  of 
such  size  as  to  render  it. unnecessary.  It  is  of 
great  benefit  if  the  mould  lies  as  light  as  pos- 
sible over  the  sets ;  therefore,  treading  on  the 
beds  should  be  carefully  avoided.  They 
speedily  take  root,  and  send  up  long  straight 
shoots,  which  make  their  appearance  in  May 
or  June.  The  only  cultivation  required  is  to 
keep  them  free  of  weeds,  and  as  the  leaves  de- 
cay in  autumn,  to  have  them  carefully  re- 
moved ;  the  ground  being  also  hoed  and  raked 
over  at  the  same  season,  which  may  be  repeat- 
ed in  the  following  spring  before  they  begin  to 
vegetate.  In  the  succeeding  autumn  they 
merely  require  to  be  hoed  as  before,  and  may 
be  taken  up  as  wanted.  By  having  three  beds 
devoted  to  this  root,  one  will  always  be  lying 
fallow  and  improving,  of  which  period  like- 
wise advantage  should  be  taken  to  apply  any 
requisite  manure.  If  the  plants,  when  of  ad- 
vanced growth,  throw  out  suckers,  these  should 
be  carefully  removed  during  the  summer  as 
they  appear.  In  September  or  October  of  the 
second  year,  the  roots  may  be  taken  up,  and  in 
November  a  sufficient  quantity  should  be 
raised  to  preserve  in  sand  for  winter  supply. 
To  take  them  up,  a  trench  is  dug  along  the 
outside  row,  down  to  the  bottom  of  the  upright 
roots,  which  by  some  persons,  when  the  bed  is 
continued  in  one  place,  are  cut  off  level  to  the 
original  stool,  and  the  earth  from  the  next  row 
is  then  turned  over  them  to  the  requisite  depth, 
and  so  in  rotation  to  the  end  of  the  plantation. 
By  this  mode  a  bed  will  continue  in  perfec- 
tion for  5  or  6  years,  after  which  a  fresh  plan- 
tation is  usually  necessary.  But  the  best  prac- 
tice is  to  take  the  crop  up  entirely,  and  to  form 
a  plantation  annually,  for  it  not  only  causes 
the  roots  to  be  finer,  but  also  affords  the  oppor- 
tunity of  changing  the  site.  If  this  mode  is 
followed,  care  must  be  taken  to  raise  every 
lateral  root,  for  the  smallest  of  them  will  vege- 
tate if  left  in  the  ground.    See  Scurvt-Grass. 

HORSETAIL  (Equisetum,  from  equus,  a 
horse,  and  seta,  hair,  in  allusion  to  the  fine  hair- 
like branches).  Although  the  plants  of  this 
genus  are  looked  upon  as  mere  weeds,  they 
have  a  very  interesting  aspect  when  seen 
rrowingr  in  their  natural  situations;  they  are 
f  imd  in  boggy  places,  and  multiplied  by  di- 
646 


visions.  Several  of  the  species,  like  grasses, 
secrete  a  quantity  of  flinty  earth  (silica)  mostly 
lodged  in  their  articulations.  There  are  seven 
indigenous  species. 

1.  Branched  wood  horsetail  (J5.  sylvaticum), 
growing  in  shady  moist  woods,  by  trickling 
rills,  but  not  very  frequent.  This  is  a  very 
elegant  species,  12  or  18  inches  high,  stems 
erect,  beset  with  many  whorls  of  slender,  com- 
pound, angular,  smooth,  spreading  branches. 

2.  Great  water  horsetail  {E.fluviatik).  Horses 
eat  this  plant  with  avidity,  and  in  some  parts 
of  Sweden  it  is  collected  for  the  purpose  of 
serving  them  as  winter  food;  flourishing  in 
watery  places,  about  the  banks  of  rivers  and 
lakes.  This  is  by  far  the  largest  English  spe- 
cies, differing  from  the  foregoing  in  the  fructi- 
fication, which  is  a  large  cylindrical  calkin, 
having  four  or  five  pale  teeth  on  a  separate 
short  stem,  differing  from  the  branched  or 
whorled  frond,  as  is  likewise  the  case  with  the 
following  one,  E.  arvense:  all  the  others  hitherto 
observed  in  Britain  have  terminal  catkins  at 
the  top  of  the  fronds.  T^e  terminal  stems  of 
the  great  water  horsetail  are  quite  erect;  at 
least  a  yard  high,  often  much  more,  furnished 
from  top  to  bottom  with  whorls  of  numerous 
long  slender  branches.  The  catkins  are  brown, 
with  scales,  which  separate  and  show  the 
white  scales  when  they  are  ripe. 

3.  Corn  horsetail  (E.  arvense).  This,  in  Eng- 
land, is  a  very  common  species  growing  in  wet 
meadows  and  moist  grain  fields.  It  is  a  most 
troublesome  weed  in  pastures,  and  is  seldom 
touched  by  cows,  unless  pressed  by  hunger, 
when  it  occasions  an  incurable  diarrhoea;  it  is 
eaten  with  impunity  by  horses,  but  is  noxious 
to  sheep.  The  fronds  are  reckoned  unwhole- 
some to  such  animals  as  feed  upon  them  in 
autumn,  especially  swine.  This  rough  grass 
is  employed  for  cleansing  and  polishing  tin 
vessels.  In  this  species  the  root  is  much 
branched,  creeping  extensively,  producing  in 
the  spring  several  simple,  upright,  flowering 
stems  quite  destitute  of  branches ;  a  span  high, 
cylindrical,  smooth,  juicy,  of  a  pale  brown, 
bearing  three  or  four  brown-ribbed  sheaths, 
and  at  the  top  a  solitary  catkin. 

4.  Marsh  horsetail,  or  paddock  pipe  (E, 
palustre).  This  species  grows  most  frequent 
in  spongy  watery  bogs,  and  other  marshy 
places,  flowering  in  June  and  July.  The  stem 
is  rather  slender,  deeply  furrowed,  beset 
throughout  with  whorls  of  slender,  angular, 
minutely  rough  branches. 

It  is  not  so  strong  as  the  preceding  species, 
but  is  equally  prejudicial  to  cows.  It  is  also 
very  troublesome  in  drains,  within  which  it 
vegetates,  and  forms  both  stems  and  roots 
several  yards  in  length :  thus  the  course  of  the 
water  is  interrupted,  and  the  drains  are  totally 
obstructed. 

5.  The  smooth  naked  horsetail  (E.  limosum) 
grows  also  in  marshy  watery  places,  and  has 
stems  stouter  than  the  last,  about  two  feet 
high,  very  smooth  to  the  touch,  though  finely 
striated. 

6.  Greater  rough  horsetail.  Shave-grass 
pewterwort  (JE.  hyemale).  This  species  is 
found  in  boggy  woods,  but  not  very  common. 
The  root  is  black,  variously  branched;  stems 


r 


HORTICULTURE. 


of  a  deep  glaucous  green,  from  one  to  two  feet 
high,  cylindrical,  uniformly  and  rather  copi- 
ously furrowed,  the  furrows  minutely  toothed 
and  of  a  strong  hardness.  This  species  is 
wholesome  to  horses,  and  is  eaten  by  them  ; 
but  it  is  hurtful  to  cows  and  disagreeable  to 
sheep.  That  eminent  chemist.  Sir  H.  Davy, 
first  detected  a  quantity  of  pure  silex  in  the 
furrowed  cuticle  of  this  plant,  which  accounts 
for  its  power,  as  a  file,  in  polishing  wood, 
ivory,  or  even  brass.  This  purpose  it  has  long 
served  in  England,  under  the  name  of  Dutch 
rushes,  being  usually  imported  from  Holland, 
and  is  chiefly  employed  by  turners  and  cabinet- 
makers to  polish  their  work,  as  well  as  by 
dairy-maids  for  cleaning  pails  and  other  wood- 
en utensils.  So  wheat-straw,  whose  cuticle 
contains  the  same  earth  in  an  impalpable 
state,  like  others  of  the  natural  family  of 
grasses,  is  used,  when  burnt,  to  give  the  last 
polish  to  marble. 

Mr.  Nuttall  observes  that  this  species  is  very 
abundant  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  below 
the  Platte,  and  called  "  Rushes."  It  is,  he  says, 
found  to  be  injurious  to  horses  which  feed 
upon  it  for  any  considerable  length  of  time. 

7.  Variegated  rough  horsetail  (E.varie^atum) 
is  found  in  wet,  sandy  ground  in  Scotland  and 
Ireland.  The  whole  plant  is  smaller  and  much 
more  slender  than  the  last.  The  fibres  of  the 
root  of  this  curious  little  species  are  remark- 
ably woolly,  like  those  of  grasses  that  grow  in 
loose  sand.  The  sheaths  which  crown  the 
joints  are  lax,  with  lanceolate  teeth.  The 
calkin  is  ovate,  acute,  blacker  than  E.  hyemale, 
with  a  more  slender  stem.  (Eng.  Flor.  iv.  335 
—341  ;    Willirh's  Dom,  Enryc.) 

HORTICULTURE  (Lat.  horttu,  a  garden, 
and  colo,  I  cultivate).  The  culture  of  the 
kitchen  garden  and  orchard.  The  chief  dif- 
ference between  horticulture  and  agriculture 
is,  that  in  the  former  art  the  culture  is  per- 
formed by  manual  labour  in  a  comparatively 
limited  space,  called  a  garden;  while  in  the 
latter  it  is  performed  jointly  by  human  and 
animal  labour  in  fields,  or  in  an  extensive  tract 
of  ground  called  a  farm. 

HORTUS  SICCUS.  A  collection  of  dried 
plants  preserved  in  books  or  papers.  See 
Hkrbal. 

HO  T-BEDS.  In  gardening,  are  made  either 
with  fresh  horse-dung,  or  tanner's  bark,  and 
covered  with  glasses  to  protect  them  from  the 
severity  of  the  wind  and  weather.  It  is  very 
important  in  making  hot-beds  not  to  raise  the 
temperature  too  high,  as  the  plants  become 
scorched.  See  Kitchejt  Garbeit,  and  Forcing 
Pits. 

HOT-HOUSE.  A  general  term  for  the  glass 
structures  used  in  gardening  and  including 
Stoves,  Gheexhouses,  Oiiaxoeries  and  Cox- 
SEHVATORiEs.    Scc  thcsc  heads. 

HOT  WALLS.  In  gardening,  walls  for  the 
growth  of  fruit  trees,  which  are  built  with  flues 
or  other  contrivances  for  being  heated  in 
severe  weather,  so  as  to  facilitate  the  ripening 
of  the  wood  or  the  maturity  of  the  fruit.  The 
advantages  of  hot  walls  are  well  illustrated  by 
their  influence  in  ripening  peaches,  nectarines, 
and  similar  fruits  in  England,  Scotland,  and 
many  parts  of  the  north  of  Europe,  where  such 


HOVEN. 

j  fruits  could  not  be  produced  in  the  open  air 

without  this  aid. 

i  HOUND,  An  appellation  given  to  dogs  of 
'  the  chase.  See  Doo  and  GREXHouifn. 
I  HOUNDS'-TONGUE  (Cy^ioglossum).  \ 
I  genus  of  herbaceous  plants,  of  which  only  two 
j  species  grow  wild  in  Great  Britain.  The  cul- 
;  tivated  foreign  species  are  pretty  border  plants, 
j  succeeding  in  any  common  soil,  and  readily 

multiplied  by  division. 

1.  Common  hound's-tongue  (C.  officinale)  i  j 
found  abundant  in  waste  ground  and  by  roau- 
sides.  The  root  is  fleshy  and  tapering.  The 
whole  herb  of  a  dull  green,  downy,  and  very 
soft,  exhaling  when  touched  a  pungent  and 
nauseous  scent.  When  bruised  it  is  affirmed 
to  drive  away  mice.  The  stem  grows  to  two 
feet  high,  branched,  leafy,  furrowed,  and  hairy, 
bearing  terminal  panicled  clusters  of  dull 
crimson  flowers.  This  plant  is  eaten  by  goats, 
but  refused  by  sheep,  horses,  hogs,  and  cows. 
It  has  a  bitter  taste,  and  is  esteemed  powerfully 
narcotic  and  dangerous/or  internal  use.  The 
roots  are  astringent  andsedative ;  and  are  used 
externally  and  internally  in  decoction  in  cases 
of  scrofula. 

2.  Green-leaved  hound's-tongue  (C.  sylvati- 
mm).  This  is  a  more  rare  plant,  growing  by 
road-sides  and  hedges  in  shady  situations,  and 
is  distinguished  from  the  common  species  in 
its  bright  shining  green  colour,  and  want  of 
downy  softness,  besides  having  scarcely  any 
scent.  The  flowers,  which  blow  in  June,  are 
at  their  first  opening  reddish,  subsequently  of 
a  dull  blue.  (SviUh's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  259; 
Paxton's  Bot.  Diet.) 

Four  species  of  this  plant  are  enumerated  in 
the  United  Slates.  The  common  hound's-tongue 
is  a  foreigner,  now  frequent  in  the  Middle  States, 
and  extending  itself  throughout  the  country.  It 
is  a  biennial,  and  may  be  readily  known  by  its 
disagreeable  odour,  somewhat  resembling  that 
of  young  mice.  It  formerly  enjoyed  some  re- 
putation for  medicinal  properties. 

The  wild  comfrey  (C.  Virginicum)  has  a  pe- 
rennial root,  and  is  common  in  rich  woodlands. 
The  root  is  mucilaginous,  and  frequently  era- 
ployed,  in  domestic  practice,  for  complaints  of 
the  chest,  internally,  and  externally  in  poultices 
for  bruises,  sprains,  &c. 

HOUSELEEK  (Sempervivum,  from  semper 
vivo,  tQ  live  forever ;  the  tenacity  of  life  in  the 
houseleek  is  well  known).  There  are  seven 
species  of  houseleek  mentioned  by  Miller  (but 
these  are  only  a  few  of  this  extensive  genus). 
They  all  thrive  best  on  dry  rocky  situations. 
These  interesting  plants  are  worthy  a  place  in 
every  collection.  The  mountain  houseleek  is 
a  very  hardy  perennial,  bearing  a  purple  flower 
in  June  and  July.  The  houseleek  (S.  arboreum), 
which  is  a  native  of  the  Levant,  is  hardy  and 
handsome,  bearing  a  golden-yellow  flower  in 
autumn  and  even  in  winter.  Cuttings  taken 
ofi"  and  laid  to  dry  for  two  or  three  days,  will 
root  very  freely  The  juice  of  the  common 
houseleek  (S.  tedorum),  applied  either  by  itself 
or  mixed  with  cream,  gives  immediate  relief  in 
bums  or  other  external  inflammations.  (Pax' 
tori's  Bot.  Did.) 

HOVEN.      See   Cattib,  and   Sheep,   Dib 


64  "^ 


HUMMELLER. 


HUMUS. 


HUMMELLER,  BARLEY.  An  instrument 
for  separating  the  awns  of  the  barley  plant 
from  the  seed.  There  are  various  modes  of 
taking:  off  the  awns :  a  common  one  is  by  tread- 
ing it  by  a  horse  walking  over  it;  another,  by 
rolling  it  with  a  grated  roller,  an  instrument 
something  similar  to  a  garden  roller,  the  cylin- 
der being  formed  of  thin,  flat,  wrought  iron 
bars,  placed  about  two  inches  apart,  and  the 
edges  to  the  surface :  this,  rolled  over  the  uar- 
le^,  takes  off  the  awns  or  ailes.  We  have  also 
seen  a  grated  presser  or  chopper,  about  a  foot 
square,  barred  across  with  thin  plates,  which 
is  lifted  up  and  down  by  the  workman,  and 
thus  chops  off  the  awns.  But  the  best  machine 
we  have  seen  is  one  upon  a  wood  stand,  with 
a  hopper  into  which  the  barley  is  thrown,  from 
whence  it  falls  into  a  box  in  which  a  spindle  is 
placed  in  an  inclined  position,  having,  when  at 
a  few  inches  apart,  short  knives  placed  spiral- 
ly, so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  screw,  which,  when 
put  in  motion,  has  a  tendency  to  draw  the  bar- 
ley from  the  upper  end  of  the  box  to  the  lower: 
during  the  operation  the  awns  of  the  barley  are 
eftectually  knocked  off.  This  mode  of  dressing 
barley  constitutes  one  of  the  principal  improve- 
ments in  Salter's  patent  winnowing  machine, 
which  will  be  described  hereafter;  but  the 
hummeller  is  made  in  the  form  described  for 
barley  only,  by  several  makers.  See  Winnow- 
ing Machine. 

HUMUS.  A  modern  term  given  by  some 
chemists  to  the  very  finely  divided  organic 
matters  which  all  cultivated  soils  contain,  and 
which  is  generally  regarded  as  the  chief  ele- 
ment of  fertility,  the  source  from  which  plants 
are  directly  nourished.  Woody  and  vegetable 
fibre  in  a  state  of  decay  constitutes  the  sub- 
stance called  humus.  Liebig  lays  it  down  as 
established,  that  man  and  other  animals  derive 
the  means  of  their  growth  and  support  from 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  whereas  plants  find 
new  nutritive  material  only  in  inorganic  sub- 
stances. According  to  this  doctrine,  humus, 
being  the  product  of  organic  matter,  does  not 
contribute  direct  nourishment  to  plants,  but 
only  constitutes  a  medium  and  agent  through 
which  their  nutriment  is  derived.  "  The  opi- 
nion," he  observes,  "  that  the  substance  called 
humus  is  extracted  from  the  soil  by  the  roots  of 
plants,  and  that  the  carbon  entering  into  its 
composition  serves  in  some  form  or  other  to 
nourish  their  tissues,  is  so  general  and  so 
firmly  established,  that  hitherto  any  new  argu- 
ment in  its  favour  has  been  considered  unne- 
cessary; the  obvious  difference  in  the  growth 
of  plants,  according  to  the  known  abundance 
or  scarcity  of  humus  in  the  soil,  seemed  to  afford 
incontestable  proof  of  its  correctness. 

"Yet  this  position,  when  submitted  to  a  strict 
examination,  is  found  to  be  untenable ;  and  it 
becomes  evident  from  most  conclusive  proofs 
that  htwmSyin  the  form  in  which  it  exists  in  the 
soil,  does  not  yield  the  smallest  nourishment  to 
plants. 

"  The  adherence  to  the  above  incorrect  opi- 
nion has  hitherto  rendered  it  impossible  for  the 
true  theory  of  the  nutritive  process  in  vegeta- 
ble-' 10  oecome  known,  and  has  thus  deprived 
Qs  of  our  best  guide  to  a  rational  practice  in 
agriculture.  Any  great  improvement  in  that 
648 


most  important  of  all  arts  is  inconceivable 
without  a  deeper  and  more  perfect  acquaint- 
ance with  the  substances  which  nourish  plants, 
and  with  the  sources  whence  they  are  derived ; 
and  no  other  cause  can  be  discovered  to  ac- 
count for  the  fluctuating  and  uncertain  state  of 
our  knowledge  on  this  subject  up  to  the  present 
time,  than  that  modern  physiology  has  not  kept 
pace  with  the  rapid  progress  of  chemistry." 

The  chemical  process  through  which  humut 
is  usually  obtained,  is  by  making  an  alkaline 
solution  or  decoction  of  mould,  peat,  soot, 
woody  fibre,  &c.,  and  adding  to  such  decoction 
acids.  The  flocculent  matter  precipitated  is 
called  htimic  acid,  a  substance  but  slightly  so- 
luble in  water,  requiring  no  less  than  2500 
times  its  weight  for  this  purpose.  The  com- 
pounds which  it  forms  with  alkalies,  lime,  and 
magnesia,  have  the  same  degree  of  solubility. 
(Sprengel.) 

"  Vegetable  physiologists  agree  in  the  suppo- 
sition that  by  the  aid  of  water  humus  is  rendered 
capable  of  being  absorbed  by  the  roots  of 
plants.  But,  according  to  the  observation  of 
chemists,  humic  acid  is  soluble  only  when 
newly  precipitated,  and  becomes  completely 
insoluble  when  dried  in  the  air,  or  when  ex- 
posed in  the  moist  state  to  the  freezing  tempe- 
rature.    (Sprengel.) 

"  Both  the  cold  of  winter  and  the  heat  of 
summer,  therefore,  are  destructive  of  the  solu- 
bility of  humic  acid,  and  at  the  same  time  of 
its  capability  of  being  assimilated  by  plants ; 
so  that,  if  it  is  absorbed  by  plants,  it  must  be 
in  some  altered  form. 

"According  to  Dr.  Jackson,  the  substances 
contained  in  humic  extract  form  soluble  salts 
with  lime.  The  acids  form  soluble  salts  with 
the  same  substance,  and  the  salts  are  decom- 
posed in  the  process  of  vegetation. 

"  The  correctness  of  these  observations  is 
easily  demonstrated  by  treating  a  portion  of 
good  mould  with  cold  water.  The  fluid  remains 
colourless,  and  is  found  to  have  dissolved  less 
than  100,000th  part  of  its  weight  of  organic 
matters,  and  to  contain  merely  the  salts  which 
are  present  in  rain-water. 

"  Decayed  oak  wpod,  likewise,  of  which  hu- 
mic acid  is  the  principal  constituent,  was  found 
by  Berzelius  to  yield  to  cold  water  only  slight 
traces  of  soluble  materials;  and  I  have  myself 
verified  this  observation  on  the  decayed  wood 
of  beech  and  fir. 

"  These  facts,  which  show  that  humic  acid 
in  its  unaltered  condition  cannot  serve  for  the 
nourishment  of  plants,  have  not  escaped  the 
notice  of  physiologists ;  and  hence  they  have 
assumed  that  the  lime  or  the  different  alkalies 
found  in  the  ashes  of  vegetables  render  soluble 
the  humic  acid,  and  fit  it  for  the  process  of  as- 
similation. 

"Alkalies  and  alkaline  earths  do  exist  in  the 
different  kinds  of  soil  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
form  such  soluble  compounds  with  the  humic 
acid. 

"  Other  considerations,  of  a  higher  nature, 
confute  the  common  view  respecting  the  nutri- 
tive otRce  of  humic  acid,  in  a  manner  so  clear 
and  conclusive,  that  it  is  diflicult  to  conceive 
how  it  could  have  been  so  generally  adopted. 

"  Fertile  land  produces  carbon  in  the  form 


HUNDRED. 


af  wood,  hay,  grain,  and  other  kinds  of  growth, 
the  masses  of  which  differ  in  a  remarkable 
degree."     (Liebig.) 

In  relation  to  the  fact  observed  of  carbon 
and  humus  often  becoming  every  year  more 
abundant,  in  spite  of  cropping,  Mr.  Ruffin,  an 
author  so  advantageously  known  to  the  Ame- 
rican farmer,  says  there  is  great  difficulty 
in  admitting  thai  land  receives  no  manure, 
even  when  none  is  conveyed  to  it  by  man.  In 
the  case  of  cultivated  lands,  from  which  crops 
are  taken  off,  the  quantity,  it  is  true,  is  small, 
compared  with  that  of  a  forest,  where  much  is 
left  to  fall  and  rot.  Mr.  Rutiin  maintains,  that 
«  so  much  carbon  is  derived  from  the  atmosphere, 
through  the  leaves  of  growing  plants,  that  more 
than  half  the  whole  products  may  be  taken 
away,  and  the  other  half  may  supply  as  much 
humus  and  carbon,  or,  perhaps,  even  cause  an 
increase  of  both.  The  severely  cropped  lands 
of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Rutfin  considers  as 
affording  many  examples  of  the  draught  upon 
the  laud  being  carried  beyond  the  amount  sup- 
plied, and  a  proportional  reduction  in  the  quan- 
tity of  humus.     See  Grekx  Maxures. 

"The  humic  acid  of  chemists,"  obser\'es 
Liebig,  "  is  a  product  of  the  decomposition  of 
humus  by  alkalies:  it  does  not  exist  in  the 
humus  of  vegetable  physiologists."  He  says 
in  another  place,  "Transformations  of  existing 
compounds  are  constantly  taking  place  during 
the  whole  life  of  a  plant,  in  consequence  of 
which,  and  as  the  result  of  these  transforma- 
I  tions,  there  are  produced  gaseous  matters  which 
are  excreted  by  the  leaves  and  blossoms,  solid 
excrements  deposited  in  the  bark,  and  fluid  so- 
luble substances,  which  are  eliminated  by  the 
roots.  Such  secretions  are  most  abundant  im- 
mediately before  the  formation  and  during  the 
continuance  of  the  blossoms :  thoy  diminish 
after  the  developemenl  of  the  fruit.  Substances 
containing  a  large  proportion  of  carbon  are 
excreted  by  the  roots  and  absorbed  by  the  soil. 
The  soluble  matter  thus  acquired  by  the  soil  is 
still  capable  of  decay  and  putrefaction  ;  and 
by  undergoing  these  processes  furnishes  re- 
newed sources  of  nutrition  to  another  genera- 
tion of  plants,  and  it  becomes  humus.  The 
leaves  of  trees  which  fall  in  the  forest  in  au- 
tumn, and  the  old  roots  of  grass  in  the  meadow, 
are  likewise  converted  into  humus  by  the  same 
influence:  a  soil  receives  more  carbon  in  this 
form  than  its  decaying  humus  had  lost  as  car- 
bonic acid.  Humus  does  not  nourish  plants 
by  being  taken  up  and  assimilated  in  its  unal- 
tered state,  but  by  presenting  a  slow  and  last- 
ing source  of  carbonic  acid,  which  is  absorbed 
by  the  roots,  and  is  the  principal  nutriment  of 
young  plants  at  a  time  when,  being  destitute 
of  leaves,  they  are  unable  to  extract  food  from 
the  atmosphere."    {Liebig^s  Organic  Chemistry.) 

Some  recent  experiments  of  Saussure  go  to 
prove  that  plants  do  assimilate  humus  as  direct 
nourishment,  contrary  to  the  views  of  Liebig, 
who,  as  we  have  seen,  regards  it  only  as  a  me- 
dium by  which  nourishment  is  absorbed  and 
subsequently  given  out. 

HUNDRED.  An  ancient  division  of  a  coun- 
ty, which  originated  either  from  its  being  occu- 
pied by  100  families,  or  because  every  such 
district  found  the  king  100  able-bodied  men  for 
82 


HURDLE. 

'  his  wars.  They  were  first  constituted  by  Alfred 
the  Great.  He  is  supposed  to  have  derived  the 
I  idea  from  northern  Germany;  but  there  centa, 
;  or  centena,  is  a  jurisdiction  over  100  towns. 
I  HUNDRED-WEIGHT.  A  weight  of  112  lbs 
1  avoirdupois,  generally  written  cwt. 

HUNGER-ROT.  The  name  of  a  disease  in 
sheep  which  speaks  for  itself.  It  is  occasioned 
by  poor  living,  especially  during  the  winter, 
and  is  best  cured  by  better  keep. 

HURDLE  (from  the  Sax.  hyptjei,  to  keep,  oi 
the  Germ,  hnrden).  The  hurdles  of  the  ancients 
(crates)  were  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
moderns ;  they  were  a  kind  of  wicker-work, 
and  used  for  various  purposes.  When  employed 
for  drying  figs  or  grapes,  they  were  called  Jica- 
ria:  they  were  also  used  for  screening  fruit 
from  the  weather.  (Cohtm.  xii.  15.)  Hurdles, 
Virgil  informs  us  (Georg.  i.  94),  were  employed 
as  harrows  to  level  the  ground  which  had  been 
turned  up  by  the  rastrum,  or  heavy  rake.  They 
are  also  employed  to  feed  silk-worms  upon.  In 
modern  husbandry,  hurdle  implies  a  light  frame 
of  wood  or  iron,  somewhat  in  the  form  of  the 
common  gate,  constructed  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  movable  fence  for  the  confining  of 
sheep  and  other  animals.  They  are  generally 
made  of  some  light  split  timber,  or  of  hazel- 
rods  wattled  together.  These  are  principally 
employed  where  sheep  are  folded  on  arable 
lands,  or  where  they  are  fed  with  turnips  in  the 
field,  to  keep  them  on  a  certain  space  of  ground, 
or  to  confine  them  to  a  certain  portion  of  their 
food  at  a  time,  in  which  way  they  are  extremely 
useful ;  as  the  sheep,  by  being  so  closely  con- 
fined, contribute  greatl)  to  the  improvement  of 
the  lar¥l,  in  the  firs^  case;  and  they  improve 
by  having  a  given  •  nantity  of  food  allowed 
them  at  once,  with  kss  loss  than  they  would 
do  if  allowed  to  range  at  large  over  the  field. 

A  dozen  and  a  half  hurdles  will  fold  thirty 
sheep,  and  twelve  dozen,  one  thousand.  On 
the  South  Downs  the  allowance  is  three  sheep 
to  a  hurdle:  this  of  course  varies  with  the  de- 
scription of  sheep.  A  shepherd  and  his  dog, 
without  any  other  assistance  than  having  the 
hurdles  carted  to  the  field,  will,  with  the  requi- 
site number  of  hurdles,  feed  off  one  hundred 
acres  of  turnips.  "  The  number  of  hurdles  re- 
quired (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  647),  is 
one  row  the  whole  length  of  the  ridges  of  an 
enclosed  field,  and  as  many  more  as  will  reach 
twice  across  two  eight-step  lands  or  ridges,  or 
four  four-step  lands.  This  number  is  sufficient 
for  a  whole  quadrangular  field,  whatever  num- 
ber of  acres  it  may  contain.  The  daily  portions 
are  given,  more  or  less,  accor^iing  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  flock.  Two  of  these  portions  are 
first  set  off,  or  "pitched,"  the  sheep  being  let 
in  on  the  first  or  corner  piece.  Next  day  they 
are  turned  into  the  second  piece,  and  the  cross- 
hurdles  that  enclosed  them  in  the  first  are  car- 
ried forwards  and  set  to  form  the  third  piece. 
These  removes  are  continued  daily  till  the  bot- 
tom of  the  field  is  reached:  both  the  cross-rows 
are  then  to  spare,  and  are  carried  and  set  to 
begin  a  new  long  row,  close  to  the  off-side  of  a 
furrow,  and  the  daily  folding  carried  back  over 
two  or  four  lands,  as  at  first.  It  is  always  pro- 
per to  begin  at  the  top  of  the  field,  if  there  he 
any  difference  in  the  level,  in  order  that  the 
3  I  649 


HURDLE. 


HYDRANGEA. 


fli  ck  may  have  the  driest  lair  to  retire  to  in  I 
wet  weather.  In  the  setting  of  hurdles,  an  iron  ' 
crowbar,  or  fold  pitcher,  is  emploj^ed,  by  which  ' 
much  time  and  loss  by  breakage  of  the  hurdles 
is  effected."  New  hurdles,  in  the  south  of 
England,  are  about  16s.  per  dozen.  They  are 
made  at  4«/.  by  professed  hurdle-makers,  who 
find  their  own  tools :  they  make  about  a  dozen 
per  day.  A  larger  kind  of  hurdles,  called  park 
hurdles,  cost  2s.  each,  and  iron  hurdles  about 
4s.  6f/.  to  6x. ;  and  these  are,  in  the  long  run, 
for  permanent  divisions,  more  economical  than 
wooden  ones.  A  new  kind  of  iron  hurdle  for 
feeding  sheep  in  gardens  and  pleasure-grounds 
is  described,  with  a  wood  engraving,  by  Mr. 
Baist  {Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  113),  and  the  complete 
process  of  wooden  hurdle-making  is  given, 
Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  647.  There  is  also  another 
kind  of  hurdle,  made  with  twisted  hazel-rods, 
very  common  in  the  south  of  England,  whose 
first  cost  is  less  than  the  other  kinds,  but  they 
do  not  last  so  long,  and  sooner  get  out  of  repair. 

The  farmer  who  uses  the  ash  hurdles  would 
find  the  advantage,  on  the  score  of  durability, 
of  charring  (or  partially  burning)  that  portion 
of  them  which  goes  into  the  ground.  Net  hur- 
dles are  also  sometimes  economically  used ; 
but  they  are  rather  more  troublesome  than 
wooden  or  iron  hurdles,  and  require  to  be  kept 
carefully  in  a  dry  place,  when  not  in  use. 
There  is  a  very  elaborate  paper  on  hurdling 
off,  and  more  especially  upon  all  kinds  of  fenc- 
ing, for  the  temporary  or  permanent  enclosure 
of  land,  by  Mr.  Somerville  (Cow.  Board  of  A^: 
vol.  ii.  p.  1);  he  advocates  the  more  general 
hurdling  off  of  grass  lands  in  the  spring  of  the 
year. 

There  are  two  modes  of  folding,  which 
should  be  practised  according  to  circum- 
stances :  the  first  is  where  the  sheep  fed  during 
the  day  on  waste  or  common  land,  are  penned 
at  night,  for  the  sake  of  their  manure,  on  the 
enclosed  arable  pastures  of  the  farm.  This  is 
a  highly  profitable  mode.  It  is  calculated  that 
the  dressing  thus  given  by  300  sheep  is  suffi- 
cient. In  a  week,  for  one  acre  of  land,  and  is 
worth  three  pounds.  Hence  the  enhanced  va- 
lue of  farms  having  ready  access  to  downs,  or 
possessing  a  right  of  common.  The  second 
mode  of  folding  is  the  feeding  off  of  green 
crops  by  sheep  enclosed  in  daily  divisions,  by 
hurdles,  by  which  means  the  land  has  the  full 
benefit,  equally  distributed,  yielded  by  the  con- 
sumption of  the  green  crop ;  of  course  the 
value  of  the  folding  will  mainly  depend,  both 
in  quality  and  quantity,  upon  the  food  con- 
sumed :  hence,  too,  the  superior  fertilizing  effect 
derived  from  sheep  having  oil-cake  or  corn 
added  to  their  green  food.  The  plan  of  feeding 
sheep  on  one  field  during  the  day,  and  folding 
them  :n  another  during  the  night,  is  a  bad  prac- 
tice long  since  condemned  by  Arthur  Young, 
who  describes  it  as  "  merely  robbing  Peter  to 
pay  Pau',"  since  it  is,  in  fact,  only  the  removal 
from  one  field  to  another  of  the  richest  organic 
matters,  th*"  sheep  being  also  injured  by  the 
drift  or  labour  of  removal,  and  by  the  fasting 
(so  contrary  to  their  natural  habits)  during  the 
night. 

The  folding  of  sheep  on  green  crops  is  one 
f  r  the  great  modern  agricultural  improvements. 
650 


It  insures  the  equal  distribution  of  the  manure, 
prevents  waste  of  food,  keeps  the  sheep  quiet, 
gives  them  fresh  ground  daily,  and  enables  the 
farmer  to  plough  close  after  the  sheep,  and 
thereby  prevents  the  loss  by  evaporation  of  the 
finest  portion  of  the  manure.    See  Folds  and 

FoLI)INfJ. 

HURDS,  or  HARDS.  A  provincial  name 
for  the  refuse  of  hemp  or  flax. 

HURTLEBERRY,  and  HURTS.  Provincial 
names  of  the  whortleberry.. 

HUSKS.  The  dry  envelopes,  or  outward 
integument  of  either  fruits  or  flowers. 

HUSBANDRY.  A  comparatively  primitive 
term,  including  both  agriculture  and  gardening, 
or  all  those  country  occupations  which  the  fa- 
ther of  a  family  is  expected  to  perform  in  the 
country.  The  term  is  very  commonly  used  as 
synonymous  with  agriculture.  The  Berwick- 
shire husbandry,  the  alternate  husbandry,  and 
the  convertible  husbandry,  are  terms  employed 
in  agriculture  for  certain  systems  of  cropping, 
in  which  the  land  is  alternately  kept  under 
grass  and  tillage.  See  Ageicultcbe,  and  Ro- 
TATiox  OF  Chops. 

HYBERNATION  (Lat.  hybernus,  wintry). 
The  act  by,  or  the  state  in,  which  certain  ani- 
mals exist  during  the  season  of  the  year  when 
excess  of  cold,  or  lack  of  food,  prevents  their 
going  abroad,  and  performing  their  customary 
functions.  The  bat  and  the  hedgehog,  lizards, 
snakes,  frogs,  toads,  &c.,  are  among  the  ani- 
mals and  reptiles  which  hybernate.  Some  quad- 
rupeds, as  the  dormouse  and  squirrel,  which 
subsist  on  articles  of  diet  better  adapted  to  be 
laid  up  in  store  than  insects,  carry  a  winter 
provision  to  their  hybemating  nests  ;  and  their 
torpidity  is  more  nearly  allied  to  a  profound, 
but  ordinary  sleep. 

HYBRIDS  (Gr.).  The  produce  of  a  female 
plant  or  animal  which  has  been  impregnated 
by  a  male  of  a  different  variety  of  species. 

The  most  common  hybrids  are  those  which 
result  from  the  connection  of  different  varieties 
of  the  same  species,  as  the  produce  of  the  wild 
boar  and  domestic  sow ;  the  endless  modifica- 
tions which  result  from  analogous  inter-breed- 
ing from  varieties  of  the  rose,  the  African 
geranium,  and  other  ornamental  plants,  are 
familiar  examples  of  the  principle  among  vege- 
tables. The  most  common  and  useful  of  hybrids 
is  the  mule.  Although  some  rare  exceptions 
to  the  rule  are  on  record,  it  seems  to  be  a 
principle  of  nature  that  all  hybrids  should  be 
sterile. 

HYDRANGEA  (Hydrangea  arborescens).  A 
hardy  perennial,  native  of  North  America, 
which  flowers  in  July  and  August.  It  loves  a 
moist  soil,  and  should  be  kept  free  from  weeds. 
Its  roots  may  be  parted  in  October.  If  a  severe 
winter  attacks  the  plant,  it  will  only  die  down 
to  the  grounji. 

Besides  the  common  species,  botanists  enu- 
merate 2  or  3  others  found  in  the  Southern  and 
Southwestern  States. 

H.  hortensis,  or  the  changeable  hydrangea, 
blooms  from  June  to  October.  It  is  a  native 
of  China.  Cut  the  stems  down  every  autumn, 
and  cover  the  root  through  the  winter,  to  guard 
it  from  frost.  Hydrangeas  are  propagated  by 
cuttings. 


HYDROGEN. 


HYDROGEN.  A  chemical  element,  which 
derives  its  name  from  two  Greek  words  that 
signify  "a  generator  of  water,"  because  it  is 
one  of  the  constituents  of  that  fluid,  which  is 
always  formed  when  hydrogen  gas  is  burned 
in  combination  with  atmospheric  air,  or  with 
oxygen  gas.  It  is  known  to  us,  in  its  simplest 
form,  only  in  the  state  of  gas,  and  is  speedily 
fatal  to  animal  life  when  it  is  breathed  unmixed 
with  atmospheric  air.  It  is,  however,  a  com- 
ponent of  animal  matters,  and  it  forms  a  very 
essential  part  in  the  economy  of  vegetable  sub- 
stances, in  which  it  is  always  found.  Thus 
sugar  contains  6*90  per  cent,  of  h^'cirogen  ; 
gum,  6-93  ;  bee's  wax,  12-672  ;  wood  of  the  oak, 
5-69;  wheat  starch,  6-77;  acetic  acid  (the  acid 
of  vinegar),  6-35  per  cent.  It  is  regarded  as 
an  element,  because  ii  has  resisted  every  at- 
tempt to  decompose  it.  It  is  the  lightest  of  all 
ponderable  matter,  100  cubic  inches  weigh- 
ing only  2'\5  grains.  No  known  degree  of 
cold  has  been  able  to  condense  it  to  a  liquid. 
It  cannot  support  combustion,  but  is  combusti- 
ble in  conjunction  with  atmospheric  air.  It 
constitutes  one-ninth  of  the  weight  of  water, — 
a  substance  essential  to  vegetation,  and  which 
plants  are  supposed  to  have  the  power  of  de- 
composing. Under  such  circumstances,  Liebig 
asserts  that  8-04  parts  of  hydrogen  unite  with 
100  parts  of  carbonic  acid  to  form  woody  fibre, 
whilst  the  oxygen  is  separated  in  the  gaseous 
state.  {Organic  Chem.  p.  63.)  Most  vegetable 
structures  contain  hydrogen  in  the  form  of 
water,  but  the  hydrogen  essential  to  this  consti- 
tution cannot  exist  in  the  form  of  water.  That 
hydrogen  gas  exerts  a  considerable  influence 
upon  the  leaves  of  plants,  was  first  noticed  by  Dr. 
Priestley.  Sennebier  found  that  plants  which 
lose  their  green  colour  in  the  dark,  preserve  it 
under  those  circumstances,  if  a  small  portion 
of  hydrogen  gas  is  present  in  the  atmosphere  in 
which  they  are  placed;  and  Dr.  Ingenhous  no- 
ticed that  its  presence,  when  they  are  growing 
in  the  light,  renders  their  colour  of  a  deeper 
green  {Jinn,  de  Chem.  vol.  iii.  p.  57) ;  and,  again, 
M.  Humboldt  has  noticed  that  the  Poa  annua, 
TrifoHitm  arvense,  and  other  plants  growing  in 
the  galleries  of  coal  mines,  preserve  their  green 
colour,  although  vegetating  in  the  dark,  and 
that,  in  such  situations,  the  atmosphere  con- 
tains a  proportion  of  hydrogen  gas. 

When  applied  to  the  roots  of  plants  in  mo- 
derate proportion,  the  influence  of  hydrogen 
gas  is  evidently  beneficial  in  all  those  situa- 
tions where  this  gas  is  evolved,  as  in  drains, 
stagnant  waters,  duno-hills  ;  and  the  vegetation 
growing  over  such  places  is  uncommonly  rank 
and  luxuriant.  The  gas  observed  to  arise  by 
the  agitation  of  the  mud  of  stagnant  pools  is 
the  same  gas  employed  for  the  purposes  of 
illumination,  or  carburetted  hydrogen  gas,  a 
peculiar  gas  composed  of  carbon  0*416;  hy- 
drogen 0-0694.  In  the  process  of  putrefaction, 
a  quantity  of  water  exactly  corresponding  to 
that  of  the  hydrogen,  is  formed  by  the  extrac- 
tion of  oxygen  from  the  air;  while  all  the  oxy- 
gen of  the  organic  matter  is  returned  to  the 
atmosphere  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid.  Now 
the  process  of  vegetable  assimilation  consists 
in  the  extraction  of  hydrogen  from  water,  and 
carbon  from  the  carbonic  acid ;  hence  the  ad- 


HYSSOP. 

I  vantage  of  decomposing  vegetable  matter  to 
I  living  plants.  A  small  portion|of  carburetted 
I  hydrogen  gas  in  the  atmosphere,  or  in  the  soil 
!  of  plants,  certainly  therefore  promotes  their 
I  vegetation  ;  but  like  pure  hydrogen  gas,  when 
j  it  constitutes  their  entire  atmosphere,  it  de- 
stroys them.  {TImnsou's  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  347.) 
See  Gases,  thetk  Use  to  Vegetatigx. 

HYGROMETER  (Gr.  Cy^c,,  moist,  and  /urr^ov, 
measure).  An  instrument  which  indicates  thede- 
gree  of  moisture  or  vapour  present  in  the  atmo- 
j  sphere,  or  its  relative  degrees  of  dampness  and 
I  dryness.  Hygrometers  are  of  several  forms, 
and  a  rude  hygrometer  is  easily  made  by  means 
of  a  long  hair,  or  strip  of  leather,  or  cat-gut, 
suspended  from  a  peg,  kept  in  its  upright  po- 
sition by  a  slight  weight:  these,  by  their  very 
sensible  contractions  and  expansion  according 
to  the  humidity  of  the  air,  indicate,  by  an  at- 
tached scale,  its  variations.  Hygrometers  of 
this  kind,  however,  are  defective,  from  the 
irregularity  of  their  action,  and  the  impossibi- 
lity of  comparing  them  with  each  other,  their 
alteration  by  time,  and  other  circumstances. 
These  disadvantages  gave  rise  to  the  construc- 
tion, by  Professor  Daniel,  of  that  now  common- 
ly used  in  England,  and  called  by  his  name. 
This  instrument  is,  however,  somewhat  com- 
plex and  costly,  requiring  considerable  skill  in 
its  use.  It  will  doubtless  be  superseded  by 
other  contrivances  for  ascertaining  the  precise 
quantity  of  moisture  in  air,  one  of  which,  in- 
vented by  Prof.  A.  D.Bache,  of  Philadelphia,  has 
been  already  described  under  the  head  of  Dew. 

The  dew-point  is  the  temperature  imme- 
diately below  »hat  of  the  vapour  contained  in 
the  surrounding  atmosphere :  the  difference, 
however,  between  the  dew-point  and  that  of 
the  vapour  is  so  slight,  that  for  all  ordinary 
purposes  they  may  be  considered  the  same. 

The  temperature  of  the  invisible  vapour  of 
the  atmosphere  being  thus  ascertained  (for  it 
differs  materially  from  the  temperature  of  the 
air  in  which  it  is  contained),  it  is  easy  to  cal- 
culate the  force  it  exerts  as  thus  existing  in 
the  state  of  steam,  and  the  weight  of  a  given 
bulk  of  it.  Tables  have  been  formed  showing 
the  proportion  of  watery  vapour  in  each  cubic 
foot  of  atmospheric  air  corresponding  to  every 
degree  of  the  dew-point. 

HYSSOP,  COMMON  (Hyssopus  officinalis, 
probably  from  the  Hebrew).  There  are  three 
varieties,  distinguished  by  the  colour  of  the 
flowers,  the  while,  red,  and  blue ;  the  last  of 
which  is  most  commonly  cultivated.  It  is  a 
perennial,  native  of  Siberia.  The  root  is 
knobbed,  woody,  fibrous ;  the  stem  about  two 
feet  high,  quadrangular,  erect,  branching. 

A  dry  soil  is  the  one  most  appropriate  fof 
hyssop.  If  it  is  grown  on  a  rich  or  wet  one, 
it  becomes  luxuriant;  but,  from  a  deficiency 
of  woody  matter,  is  generally  destroyed  by  the 
frost,  as  well  as  rendered  less  aromatic  and 
powerful  in  its  medicinal  qualities.  It  is  pro- 
pagated by  seed  and  slips  of  the  branches  and 
young  shoots,  as  well  as  by  offsets.  The  seed 
may  be  sown  from  the  close  of  February  until 
the  end  of  May.  Rooted  oflJ'sets  may  be  planted 
in  March,  April,  August,  and  September;  cut- 
tings of  the  branches  in  April  and  May,  ano 
slips  of  young  shoots  in  June  or  July. 

651 


ICE. 


ICE-HOUSE. 


The  seeds  maybe  inserted  broadcast,  or  pre- 1 
ferably  in  drills,  six  inches  apart,  in  either  case 
"aot  being  buried  deeper  than  half  an  inch.  It 
is  the  usual  practice,  when  the  seedlings  have 
attained  the  growth  of  six  weeks,  to  prick  them 
out  12  inches  apart ;  but  it  is  by  much  the  best 
practice  to  raise  them  where  they  are  to  remain. 

The  slips  and  offsets  are  best  planted  at  first 
in  a  shady  or  north  border;  they  are  generally 
firmly  rooted  in  two  months. 

In  September  or  October  they  are  all  fit  for 
removal  to  their  final  stations.  After  every 
removal,  whether  of  planting,  pricking,  &c., 
they  must  be  watered  plentifully  and  regularly 
until  established.  Hyssop  possesses  some  ex- 
citant and  tonic  powers,  but  is  now  rarely  em- 
ployed in  medicine. 

I. 

ICE  (Sax.  ir;  Dutch,  eyse).  Water  in  a  state 
of  congelation.  Ice  is  about  one-eighth  part 
lighter  than  fresh  water;  hence  it  swims  in 
that  element;  and,  owing  to  this  property,  the 
icebergs  and  ice-islands  are  floated  down  to 
southern  latitudes  from  the  arctic  circle.  Wa- 
ter, which  freezes  at  32°  of  Fahrenheit,  sud- 
denly expands,  and  consequently,  when  it  is 
interposed  in  crevices  and  clefts  of  rocks,  it 
separates  these,  and  often  precipitates  immense 
masses  from  the  tops  of  mountains  into  the 
adjoining  valleys.  This  is  a  principle  which 
should  be  kept  in  remembrance  by  the  farmer 
in  making  mounds  or  walls  of  earth,  for  if  the 
smallest  clefts  be  left,  the  walls  may  be  broken 
down  and  crumbled  to  pieces  even  by  mode- 
rate frosts. 

'  ICE-HOUSE.  A  house  or  vault  for  the 
preservation  of  ice  in  summer,  should  not  be 
regarded  as  merely  administering  to  purposes 
of  luxury,  since  ice  contributes  so  much  to  the 
convenience,  comfort,  and  even  health,  as  to 
make  it  almost  an  indispensable  article  of  do- 
mestic economy.  The  effects  of  the  excessive 
heat  which  commonly  prevails  in  the  sum- 
mers of  the  United  States,  are  greatly  obviated 
by  the  use  of  ice,  which  not  only  serves  for  the 
preservation  of  fresh  meats,  butter,  &c. ;  but  in 
addition  to  these  advantages  and  its  grateful 
employment  for  assuaging  common  thirst,  it 
js  a  powerful  agent  in  tranquillizing  the  irrita- 
bility of  the  stomach  in  bilious  fevers  and  dys- 
enteries, and  relieving  the  pain  and  burning 
heat  often  attendant  upon  inflammations  and 
fevers.  Thus,  by  soothing  the  stomach,  and 
removing  excessive  heat,  iced  drinks  and  ap- 
plications restore  the  deranged  functions  of  the 
nervous  and  muscular  systems  of  the  sick, 
whilst  they  refresh  and  invigorate  persons  in 
health  so  as  to  render  them  capable  of  enduring 
exercise  and  exertion  even  under  circum- 
stances calculated  to  produce  great  oppression 
and  inconvenience. 

An  interesting  writer,  has  left  the  following 
testimony  in  favour  of  ice,  as  a  restorative  and 
remedy  in  fevers,  which  has  been  abundantly 
corroborated  by  subsequent  experience.  "I 
never,"  says  he,  "was  in  better  spirits  than 
here  in  this  hot  country  (Sicily).  I  believe  the 
Cjuantities  of  ice  we  eat,  in  ices,  contribute  to 
for  I  find,  in  a  very  violent  heat  there  is  no 
6.^2 


such  cordial  to  the  spirits  as  ice,  or  a  draught 
of  iced  water.  Its  cold  braces  the  stomach,  and 
gives  a  new  tone  to  the  fibres.  I  knew  an  Eng- 
lish lady,  at  Nice,  soon  cured  of  a  threatening 
consumption,  by  a  free  indulgence  in  the  use 
of  ices.  It  is  the  common  practice  here,  Sicily, 
to  give  quantities  of  ice-water  to  drink  in  in- 
flammatory fevers."  {Brydone.) 

"The  custom  in  Sicily  and  Italy,"  says  an- 
other author,  "of  taking  ice,  is  considered  as 
a  powerful  remedy  in  many  diseases.  The 
physicians  of  these  countries  do  not  give  many 
medicines ;  but  frequently  prescribe  a  severe 
regimen;  and  prevent  the  baneful  effects  of 
various  diseases,  by  suffering  the  sick,  for  se- 
veral days,  to  take  nothing  but  water  cooled  by 
ice,  sweet  oranges,  and  iced  fruits."  (Stolberfi;.) 

One  of  the  greatest  advantages  afforded  by 
ice  houses,  is  that  of  enabling  families  to  pre- 
serve their  butter,  meat,  fish,  poultry,  game, 
&c.,  in  states  of  the  weather  which  would, 
otherwise,  quickly  induce  them  to  spoil.  In  no 
part  of  the  world  are  ice-houses  more  essential 
to  comfort,  convenience,  and  health,  than  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  all  the  northern  and  Mid- 
dle States  the  winters  are  sufficiently  cold  to 
furnish  ice  of  sufficient  thickness  to  lay  by  for 
preservation.  The  cities  of  the  Southern  States 
are  now  regularly  supplied  with  thick  blocks 
of  ice  from  New  England,  which  not  only  afford 
a  regular  article  of  export  to  the  West  Indies, 
but  also  to  Calcutta ! 

Considering  the  small  expense  and  trouble 
at  which  ice  houses  or  vaults  may  be  con- 
structed, and  the  many  advantages  to  be  de- 
rived from  them,  it  is 'surprising  that  any  re- 
spectable country  establishment  should  be 
without  one. 

It  is  considered  that  the  simplest,  and  most 
scientific  form  for  an  ice-house,  is  a  double 
cone,  that  is  to  say,  two  cones  joined  base  to 
base,  the  one  sunk  into  the  earth  with  its  point 
downwards,  into  which  the  ice  is  rammed, 
the  other  being  a  conical  roof,  generally  of 
wood-work,  covered  with  thatch  and  pointed  at 
top.  The  entrance  should  be  placed  always 
on  the  north  side,  and  provided  with  two  doors 
some  distance  apart,  and  the  spot  screened 
from  the  sun  by  trees,  shrubbery,  a  hill,  cliff, 
or  other  barrier.  The  lower  part  may  be  dug 
about  16  feet  in  diameter,  terminating  below 
like  the  point  of  a  sugar-loaf.  Its  ordinary 
depth,  for  a  moderate  family,  may  be  about  24 
feet.  The  larger  the  dimensions,  the  longer 
will  it  preserve  the  ice,  provided  it  be  filled. 
In  digging,  the  workmen  should  slope  the 
ground  progressively  towards  the  axis  of  the 
cone,  to  prevent  the  earth  falling  in.  This 
conical  slope  should  be  faced  with  brick  or 
stone  work  about  one  foot  thick,  and  jointed 
with  Roman  cement,  so  as  to  be  air  and  water 
tight.  A  well  is  to  be  excavated  at  the  bottom 
two  feet  wide  and  four  deep,  covered  at  top 
with  an  iron  grating  for  supporting  the  ice, 
and  letting  the  water  drain  away. 

The  upper  cone  may  likewise  be  built  of 
brick-work,  and  covered  with  thatch  ;  such  a 
roof  would  prove  the  most  durable.  Whatever 
kind  of  roof  be  preferred,  there  must  be  left  in 
it  an  oblong  passage  into  the  interior.  This 
porch  should  face  the  north,  and  be  at  least  8 


ICE-nOUSE. 


feet  long  by  2j^  feet  wide  ;  and  perfectly  closed  ' 
by  a  well-fitted  door  at  each  end.  All  round 
the  bottom  of  this  conical  cover,  a  gutter  should 
be  placed  to  carry  oft'  the  rain  to  a  distance 
from  the  ice-house,  and  prevent  the  circumja- 
cent ground  from  getting  soaked  with  moisture. 

The  ice-house  should  have  no  window  to 
admit  light ;  but  be,  so  to  speak,  hermetically 
sealed  in  every  point,  except  at  its  cess-pool, 
which  may  terminate  in  a  water-trap  to  pre- 
vent circulation  of  air. 

A  clear  day  should  be  selected  for  charging 
the  ice-house ;  but  before  beginning  to  fill,  a 
quantity  of  long  dry  straw  should  be  laid  on 
the  bottom  crosswise;  and  as  the  ice  is  pro- 
gressively introduced,  straw  is  to  be  spread 
against  the  conical  sides,  to  prevent  the  ice 
from  coming  into  contact  with  the  brick  or 
stone  work.  The  more  firmly  compacted  the 
ice  is,  the  better  does  it  keep.  No  layers  ol 
straw  should  be  stratified  among  the  ice,  for  they 
would  make  its  body  porous.  Some  persons 
recommend  to  pour  in  a  little  water  with  the 
successive  layers  of  ice,  in  order  to  fill  up  its 
small  crevices,  and  convert  the  whole  into  one 
mass.  This  may  answer  well  when  the  ice  is 
put  up  very  cold,  as  the  water  may  then  be 
directly  frozen  into  a  solid  mass. 

Over  the  top-layer  a  thick  bed  of  straw  should 
be  spread,  which  is  to  be  covered  with  boards 
surmounted  with  heavy  stones,  to  close  up  the 
interstices  in  the  straw.  The  inner  and  outer 
doors  should  never  be  opened  at  once;  but 
the  one  should  always  be  shut  before  the  other 
is  opened. 

Dry  snow  well  rammed  keeps  equally  well 
with  hard  ice,  if  care  be  taken  to  leave  no  ca- 
vities in  the  mass,  and  to  secure  its  compact- 
ness by  sprinkling  a  little  water  upon  the  suc- 
cessive charges. 

To  facilitate  the  extraction  of  the  ice,  a 
ladder  is  set  up  against  its  sloping  wall  at  one 
side  of  the  door,  and  left  there  during  the 
season.  (Urc's  Diet.) 

The  time  preferred  for  filling  an  ice-house, 
should,  when  practicable,  be  during  the  preva- 
lence of  extreme  cold,  or  as  soon  after  as  pos- 
sible, since  the  colder  the  ice  when  packed 
away,  and  the  thicker  the  blocks,  the  longer  it 
will  last.  Ice  and  snow  can  often  be  laid  by, 
even  in  the  Middle  States,  many  degrees  below 
32°  or  the  common  freezing  point  of  water. 
The  larger  the  quantity  of  ice  accumulated  in 
one  place,  the  slower  will  be  the  rate  at  which 
it  will  melt. 

One  of  the  principal  objects  to  be  kept  in 
view  in  the  construction  of  an  ice-house,  is  to 
have  it  so  that  the  water  will  pass  off  directly, 
as  fast  as  the  ice  thaws.  If  the  situation  is 
sandy,  or  if  you  come  to  a  layer  of  sand  or 
gravel  about  the  proper  depth,  no  further  care 
will  be  necessary ;  but  if  you  find  a  stifi"  clay, 
rock,  or  earth  of  any  kind  impervious  to  water, 
you  must  contrive  an  outlet  or  abandon  the 
place.  This  outlet  may  be  constructed  in  se- 
veral ways.  If  on  the  side  of  a  hill,  dig  a  drain 
and  make  it  air-light  by  means  of  a  water-trap  or 
inverted  syphon;  or  the  water  may  be  drained 
into  a  well  and  pumped  out ;  or  you  may  sink  a 
well  in  the  bottom  until  you  come  to  sand  or 
gravel,  and  fill  it  up  with  stone.    The  cellar 


ICHNEUMON  FLIES. 

walls  maybe  laid  with  stone,  brick,  or  even  lined 
with  wood,  as  is  most  convenient  or  economi- 
cal. A  space  of  8  or  10  inches  is  generally 
left  between  the  wall  and  surrounding  earth, 
which  is  filled  in  with  tan,  charcoal,  straw, 
corn-stalks,  or  any  other  non-conductor  of  heat, 
the  first-named  article  being  generally  pre- 
ferred. A  house  9  feet  square  in  the  clear, 
and  9  feet  deep,  will  hold  about  25  cart-loads 
of  ice,  which  will  be  enough  for  a  large  family. 

A  cheap  ice-house  may  be  made  thus  : — Dig 
a  cellar,  say  10  feet  square,  and  10  feet  deep. 
Then  cut  small  timber  from  the  woods  the  pro- 
per length,  and  build  up  in  the  cellar  after  the 
plan  of  building  log-cabins,  leaving  a  space 
between  the  logs  and  earth  to  be  filled  in  with 
straw,  tan,  or  other  suitable  material.  Raise 
the  wooden  walls  2  or  3  feet  above  the  sur- 
rounding ground,  and  heap  up  a  bank  so  as  to 
turn  off  the  rain-water.  A  thatched  roof  is 
generally  recommended,  as  the  best  to  keep 
out  heat,  but  some  object  to  such  covering  as 
affording  harbour  to  rats  and  other  vermin. 

The  importance  of  keeping  ice  well  sur- 
rounded vith  a  non-conductor,  and  having  the 
water  absorbed  as  fast  as  melting  takes  place, 
is  shown  in  the  following  extract  from  the 
Kentucky  Farmer: — 

"  We  take  at  sunrise  from  the  ice-house,  as 
much  as  will  be  probably  wanted  through  the 
day,  and  cover  it  up  in  some  saw-dust  placed 
in  a  barrel  in  the  dairy-house.  At  night,  the 
size  of  any  given  piece  is  scarcely  perceptibly 
diminished.    It  is  a  perfect  charm." 

In  some  parts  of  the  United  States  where 
thick  ice  is  rare,  some  persons  pack  away 
large  quantities  of  snow,  which,  if  the  mass  be 
large,  and  the  snow  dry  or  previously  well 
drained,  will  often  keep  through  the  summer. 
In  most  seasons  ice  may  be  collected  in  suffi- 
cient quantities  to  fill  ice-houses  in  every  lati- 
tude of  the  Middle  States.  If  no  pond  or 
stream  of  water  of  sufficient  size  be  at  hand, 
advantage  may  be  taken  of  any  little  rill,  which, 
by  the  erection  of  a  small  dam,  may  be  made 
to  overflow  a  considerable  space.  If  the  water 
be  not  more  than  6  or  8  inches  deep  it  will 
answer  every  purpose. 

In  stowing  away  ice  the  pieces  should  be  as 
square  as  possible,  and  as  large  as  they  can  be 
got  or  handled.  They  should  be  placed  closely 
together  like  stone  in  a  wall,  and  the  crevices 
well  filled  with  smaller  fragments.  The  plan 
sometimes  recommended  of  pounding  o^  crush- 
ing the  large  pieces  is  reprehensible. 

ICHNEUMON  FLIES.  Insects  belonging 
to  the  natural  order  Hymenoptera,  which  in- 
cludes bees,  wasps,  anrs,  saw-flies,  &c.  The 
injury  caused  by  this  whole  order  is  so  small, 
and  the  benefits  deiived  from  many  of  them  so 
great,  that  instead  of  being  enumerated  among 
destructive  insects,  they  may  be  pronounced 
the  benefactors  of  ihe  human  race. 

With  regard  to  the  ichneumon  flies,  they 
perform  an  important  and  very  singular  part 
in  the  economy  of  nature,  by  working  the  de- 
struction of  caterpillars,,  plant-lice,  and  othst 
destructive  insects.  This  they  effect  by  piercing 
their  bodies  with  a  kind  of  sting  or  piercer 
called  ovi-positor,  and  thus  laying  their  eggfs 
in  a  living  nest.  Each  ichneumon  fly  seem* 
3  I  2  653 


IGNIS  FATUU8. 


IMPLEMENTS. 


to  single  out  the  larva  or  pupa  of  some  parti- 
cular kind  of  caterpillar  or  other  insect,  to 
which  it  therefore  stands  in  the  relation  of 
parasite.  The  eggs  hatch  in  due  time,  and  the 
larva  of  the  ichneumon  commences  feeding 


to  their  destruction.  The  cause  of  the  pheno 
menon  does  not  seem  to  be  perfectly  under- 
stood ;  it  is,  however,  generally  supposed  to  be 
produced  by  the  combustion  of  some  highly 
inflammable  gas,  such  as  phosphorated  hydro- 


upon  its  victim,  the  vitals  of  which  are  soon  |  gen,  which  takes  fire  spontaneously  on  rising 

destroyed,  after  which  the  parasite  or  ichneu-        -^     . 

mon  comes  forth  in  due  time  to  another  state 

of  existence. 

Some  of  the  ichneumon  flies  are  extremely 

small,  and  confine  their  attacks  to  the  eggs  of 

other  insects,  which  they  puncture,  and  the 

little  creatures  produced  from  the  latter  find  a 

sufficient  quantity  of  food  to  supply  all  their 

wants  within  the  larger  eggs  they  occupy.   The 

ruby-tails  and  cuckoo-bees  lay  their  eggs  in  the 

provisional  nests  of  other  insects,  whose  young 

are  robbed  of  their  food  by  the  earlier  hatched 

intruders,  and    are    consequently  starved    to 

death.    The  obligations  which  the  farmer  and 

society  at  large  owe  to  certain  parasite  insects 

is  forcibly  illustrated  in  the  case  of  the  Hessian 

fly,  the  devastations  of  which  are  often  prevent- 
ed through  the    destruction,  during   a  single 

season,  of  nearly  a  whole  race  by  its  parasite. 
Professor  Peck  has  described  a  minute  ich- 
neumon fly,  stated  by  Mr.  Westwood  to  be  a 

species  of  Encyrhis,  that  stings  the  eggs  of  the 

slug-fly,  and  deposits  in  each  one  a  single  egg  of 

her  own.   From  this  in  due  time  a  little  maggot 

is  hatched,  which  lives  in  the  shell  of  the  slug- 
fly's  egg,  devours  the  contents,  and  afterwards 

is  changed  to  a  chrysalis,  and  then  to  a  fly  like 

its  parent.    Professor  Peck  found  that  great 

numbers  of  the  eggs  of  the  slug-fly,  especially 

of  the  second  hatch,  were  rendered  abortive  by 

this  atom  of  existence. 

In  treating  of  the  pigeon  tremex  (Tremex  co- 

luniba),  which  in  its  larva  state  is  a  destructive 

tree-borer,  Dr.  Harris  observes  that  it  is  often 

destroyed  by  two  kinds   of   ichneumon-flies, 
(Pintpla  atrata  and  lunator  of  Fabricius),  which 

may  be  frequently  seen  thrusting  their  slender 

borers,  measuring  from  three  to  four  inches  in 
length,  into  the  trunks  of  trees  inhabited  by  the 
grubs  of  the  tremex  and  by  other  wood-eating 
insects  ;  and,  like  the  female  tremex,  they  some- 
times become  fastened  to  the  trees,  and  die  with- 
out being  able  to  draw  their  borers  out  again. 
The  ichneumon  flies  are  little  busy-bodies, 
ever  on  the  alert,  and  with  untiring  scrutiny 
continually  prying  into  every  place  to  find  the 
lurking  caterpillar,  grub,  or  maggot,  wherein 
to  thrust  their  eggs.     (Harris.) 

A  specimen  of  this  extensive  family  is  re- 
presented in  PI.  15,  fig.  12,  in  the  Tragus  fulvus, 
which  commits  great  havoc  among  caterpillars 
and  grubs.     See  Aphidiaxs,  &c. 

IGNIS  FATUUS  (Lat.  vain  or  foolish  fire ; 
a  translation  of  the  French /m  follet.)  A  kind 
of  luminous  meteor,  which  flits  about  in  the 
air  a  little  above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
appears  chiefly  in  marshy  places,  or  near  stag- 
nant waters,  or  in  churchyards,  during  the 
nights  of  summer.  There  are,  we  are  told, 
many  mstances  of  travellers  having  been  de- 
coyed by  these  lights  into  marshy  places,  where  |  formation  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  of 
they  have  perished ;  and  hence  the  names  Jack-  j  England.  No  spectator  of  that  show  can  have 
tvith-a-lantern,WiU-icith-a-wisp;  the  common  peo-  !  failed  to  be  struck  with  surprise  and  admira- 
ble ascribing  the  appearance  to  the  agency  of  j  tion  at  the  Liverpool  exhibition.  At  Oxford 
»'vil  spirits,  who  take  this  mode  of  alluring  men  |  there  were  some  examples  of  good  machinery 
f?54 


and  mingling  with  atmospheric  air. 

Milton,  in  his  Paradise  Lost,  b.  ix.  1.  634,  thus 

alludes  to  it: — 

A  wandering  fire, 
Compact  of  unctuous  vapour,  which  the  night 
Condenses,  and  the  cold  environs  round. 
Kindled  through  agitation  to  a  flame, 
Which  oft,  they  say,  some  evil  spirit  attends. 
Hovering  and  blazing  with  delusive  light. 
Misleads  the  amazed  night  wanderer  from  his  way 
To  bogs  and  mires,  and  oft  through  pond  or  pool, 
There  swallowed  up  and  lost,  from  succour  far. 

IGNITION  (Lat.  ignis,  fire).  The  act  of 
setting  fire  to,  or  of  taking  fire,  as  opposed  to 
combustion,  or  burning,  which  is  a  conse- 
quence of  ignition.  The  term  "spontaneous 
ignition"  is  applied  to  cases  in  which  sub- 
stances take  fire  without  previous  application 
of  heat.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  burning  of 
hay-stacks,  when  the  hay  has  been  put  up  too 
green ;  the  scorching  of  corn-stacks  from  the 
same  cause,  and  the  taking  fire  of  ships  laden 
with  fermentable  products. 

IMBRICATED.  In  botany,  a  term  used  in 
speaking  of  the  arrangement  of  bodies,  to  de- 
note that  their  parts  lie  partly  over  each  other 
in  regular  order,  like  the  tiles  upon  the  roof 
of  a  house,  as  the  scales  upon  the  cup  of  some 
acorns ;  also  applied  in  speaking  of  the  sesti- 
vation  of  petals  or  leaves,  to  denote  that  they 
overlap  each  other  at  the  margin  without  any 
involution.     {Brande's  Diet,  of  Science.) 

IMPLEMENTS,  AGRICULTURAL.  Almost 
all  the  operations  of  agriculture  may  be  per- 
formed by  the  plough,  the  harrow,  the  scythe, 
and  the  flail ;  and  these,  or  similar  tools  for 
performing  the  same  work,  are  the  sole  imple- 
ments in  the  primitive  agriculture  of  all  coun- 
tries. With  the  progress  of  improvement,  how- 
ever, many  other  implements  have  been  intro- 
duced, the  more  remarkable  of  which  are  the 
drill-plough,  the  horse-hoe,  the  winnowing  ma- 
chine, the  thrashing  machine,  and  the  reaping 
machine.  The  object  of  all  these  implements 
and  machines  is  to  abridge  human  labour,  and 
to  perform  the  different  operations  to  which 
they  are  applied  with  a  greater  degree  of  ra- 
pidity, and  in  a  more  perfect  manner  than  be- 
fore. In  the  present  work  the  different  imple- 
ments are  treated  of  in  their  alphabetical  order. 
Of  the  progress  made  in  the  construction  of 
agricultural  instruments  in  England,  the  judges 
of  implements  at  the  Liverpool  meeting  of  the 
English  Agricultural  Society,  in  their  report 
very  justly  remark,  when  speaking  of  "the 
good  effects  which  have  already  resulted  from 
the  public  exhibition  of  implements  at  the  So- 
ciety's meetings,  in  stimulating  the  talent  of 
the  mechanic  and  the  zeal  of  the  husbandman. 
At  Oxford  the  show-yard  may  be  said  to  have 
presented  an  epitome  of  the  state  of  agricultu- 
ral mechanism  existing  in  1839,  the  era  of  the 


IMPLEMENTS. 


and  workmanship,  but  many  more  of  rude, 
cumbrous,  and  ill-executed  implements.  At 
Liverpool  many  machines  were  exhibited,  not 
only  of  surpassing  skill  in  contrivance  and 
execution,  but  also  having  for  their  object  the 
effecting  of  processes  in  tillage-husbandry  of 
the  most  refined  nature  and  acknowledged  im- 
portance, but  hitherto  considered  of  very  diffi-  \ 
cult  practical  attainment.  Some  of  these  may  , 
already  be  considered  as  forming  part  of  the  , 
necessary  apparatus  of  every  well-managed  j 
farm,  and  to  be  essential  to  its  economy  and  : 
profit.  This  vast  stride  in  the  mechanics  of  ! 
agriculture,  made  within  so  short  a  period,  has 
doubtless  arisen  from  the  congregating  together  j 
of  agriculturists  and  mechanicians  from  all 
parts  of  the  empire:  and  a  still  higher  perfec- 
tion in  machinery  may  be  confidently  antici- 
pated from  the  opportunity  offered,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Society,  of  periodically  con- 
trasting and  estimating  the  merits  of  varied 
implements  used  for  similar  purposes  in  dif- 
ferent localities  and  soils.  It  is  apparent  that 
the  manufacture  of  even  the  commoner  instru- 
ments has  already,  to  a  great  extent,  passed 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  village  ploughwright 
and  hedge-carpenter,  and  been  transferred  to 
makers  possessed  of  greater  intelligence,  skill, 
and  capital.  The  improved  style  of  finish,  the 
greater  lightness  and  elegance  of  construction, 
and  the  generally  superior  adaptation  of  the 
means  to  the  end,  in  every  class  of  implements, 
were  sufficient  manifestations  of  the  beneficial 
results  arising  from  the  encouragement  given 
by  the  Society  to  these  objects.  Neither  M'ere 
examples  wanting  in  the  higher  classes  of  ma- 
chines to  show  that  the  fourth  important  object 
for  which  the  Society  was  incorporated  is,  to 
some  extent,  fulfilled — viz.  *to  encourage  men 
of  science  in  their  attention  to  the  improve- 
ment of  agricultural  implements.'" 

The  great  variety  of  soils  and  fluctuations 
of  climate  in  the  extensive  territory  of  the 
United  States,  call  for  multiplied  expedients 
to  till  the  various  plants,  and  provide  shelter 
from  heat  as  well  as  cold.  The  wants  and  exi- 
gencies known  in  various  parts  of  the  country 
must  therefore  contribute  to  make  the  United 
States  a  fruitful  field  of  inventions.  Ac- 
cordingly, by  consulting  the  records  of  the 
Patent  Oftlce  at  Washington,  we  find  that  since 
the  year  1793,  when  the  first  patent  law  was 
instituted,  and  up  to  the  year  1836  inclusive, 
the  number  of  patents  taken  out  for  inventions 
is  6000,  of  which  124  are  for  improvements  in 
the  plough, — 119  for  threshing-machines, — 80 
for  churns, — 125  for  washing-machines,  &c. 

The  remarks  of  the  Messrs.  Ransome,  of 
Ipswich,  upon  the  preservation  of  agricultural 
implements  in  general,  are  such  as  every  far- 
mer should  be  guided  by.  They  suggest  to 
farmers  generally,  that  a  little  instruction  given 
to  the  workmen  in  the  use  of  the  machines, 
and  care  in  preserving  them,  would  add  to 
their  eflSciency  and  durability.  Attention  to 
washing  implements  and  machines  before  lay- 
ing them  by,  a  little  oil  on  such  as  have  re- 
volving wearing  parts,  and  a  coat  of  paint 
occasionally  to  each,  will  cost  but  little,  and 
make  the  difference  between  having  a  machine 
'eady  for  use,  or  covered  with  rust  and  W4  it- 


INCUBATION. 

ing  repair  just  as  the  season  for  its  use  coia* 
mences.  These  suggestions  are  so  obvious, 
that  one  would  think  no  apology  needful  for 
making  them,  as  experience  proves  that  a 
large  proportion  of  the  repairs  required  arises 
from  want  of  attentitm  to  these  apparently 
trifling  matters.  And  to  this  end  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Crosskill,  of  Beverley,  may  be  acted 
upon  with  considerable  advantage:  he  says, 
"Select  the  most  likely  labourer  on  the  farm, 
put  the  implements  under  his  care,  make  it  a 
strict  rule  with  all  the  men  that  each  imple- 
ment done  with  for  the  season  shall  be  brought 
to  one  particular  place,  say  near  the  pond  or 
pump;  the  man  having  charge  of  the  imple- 
ments must  then  wash  and  clean  them  well 
before  putting  them  into  the  shed." 

IMPOSTHUME.  In  fiirriery  a  sort  of  swell- 
ing,  or  collection  of  matter  or  pus  in  any  part 
of  the  body  of  an  animal.     See  Absckss. 

IN-AND-IN-BREEDING.  The  practice  of 
breeding  from  close  relations.  See  Breediitg, 
Cattle,  Sheep,  &c. 

INCH.  A  measure  of  length,  the  twelfth 
part  of  a  foot. 

INCISORS  or  INCISORES  (Lat.  incido,  I 
cut).  The  teeth  implanted  in  the  inter-maxillary 
bones  of  the  upper  jaw,  and  in  the  correspond- 
ing place  in  the  lower  jaw,  and  which  are 
generally  shaped  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  or 
coarsely  dividing  the  food.  The  ruminating 
animals,  including  the  bull  and  cow,  sheep, 
goats,  the  deer  tribe,  and  the  camel  have  no 
incisors  in  the  upper  jaw;  but  some  of  them 
have  canine  teeth,  which  project  from  the 
mouth.     See  Aob  of  Animals. 

INCLOSURE  (Lat.  mcWo,  I  shut  up).  See 
Enclohure. 

INCUBATION  (Lat.  inaimbo,  I  brood  over). 
Hatching  or  the  laying  down  of  an  animal 
upon  her  own  or  another's  eggs,  communicat- 
ing to  them  heat,  and  maintaining  them  at 
her  own  temperature,  a  condition  essential  to 
their  developement.  In  many  animals  the  de- 
velopement  of  the  foetus  takes  place  after  the 
exclusion  of  the  egg,  and  whilst  it  is  maintain- 
ed in  contact  with  the  external  surface  of  the 
parent's  body,  as  in  the  crab  and  lobster  tribes 
beneath  the  caudal  plates;  or  agglutinated  to 
the  surface  of  the  abdomen,  as  in  certain  spe- 
cies of  pipe-fish  {syngnathus),  or  concealed  in 
cutaneous  marsupial  cavities,  as  in  other  spe- 
cies of  syngnathvs,  and  the  hippocampus;  but  in 
these  and  other  instances  from  the  cold-blooded 
animals,  the  eggs  are  retained  by  special  con- 
trivances in  contact  with  the  parent,  without 
occasioning  any  restraint  upon  her  postures  oi 
movements. 

That  a  due  degree  of  warmth  is  the  essen 
tial  object  of  incubation  in  birds  is  proved  by 
the  ancient  and  well-known  practice  of  substi- 
tuting artificial  heat,  by  which  fertile  eggs  are 
hatched  in  the  same  period,  and  the  excluded 
chick  is  as  fully  and  strongly  developed  as 
when  produced  by  natural  incubation. 

Artificial  incubation  has  been  practised  from 
a  remote  period  bv  the  Egyptians  and  Chinese ; 
the  former,  indeed,  have  carried  this  process 
to  such  a  high  degree  of  perfection,  as  in  many 
instances  to  have  entirely  superseded  the  use 
of  the  hen  in  hatching. 

65£ 


INCUBATION. 


INDIA,  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


It  is  effected  either  by  means  of  an  oven, 
stove,  or  steam,  and  it  has  been  calculated  that 
the  ovens  of  Egypt  every  year  communicate 
life  to  about  93,000,000  chickens.  This  por- 
cess  has  received  considerable  attention  from 
the  French  philosophers  ;  but  perhaps  the  best 
exemplification  of  its  results,  that  has  been 
witnessed  in  Europe,  was  given  by  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Eccaleobion,  wliich  was  lately  ex- 
hibited in  Pall  Mall,  London. 

The  mean  temperature  of  incubation  is  100° 
Fahr. ;  it  may  vary  from  95=^  to  105°,  and  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  process  may  be  sus- 
pended for  one  or  two  hours,  or  for  a  longer 
period,  according  to  the  degree  of  extraneous 
heat  which  the  eggs  may  derive  from  their 
situation,  without  fatal  consequences  to  the 
embry'o.  The  power  of  communicating  the 
requisite  degree  of  warmth  to  their  eggs  arises 
out  of  the  unusual  developement  of,  and  deter- 
mination of  blood  to,  a  peculiar  plexus  of  ves- 
sels, distributed  over  the  skin  of  the  abdomen, 
and  which,  in  most  birds,  is  connected  with  a 
derivation  of  blood  from  the  internal  organs  of 
generation  after  the  subsidence  of  the  func- 
tional activity  of  the  ovarium  and  oviduct  to 
the  external  integuments.  The  vascular,  hot, 
and  sensitive  condition  of  the  skin  of  the  ab- 
domen is  the  exciting  cause  of  that  uncontrol- 
lable propensity  to  incubate,  which  the  Greeks 
denominated  "  storage,"  and  which,  with  its 
associated  phenomena  of  patience,  abstinence, 
and  self-denial,  forms  so  remarkable  a  feature 
in  the  economy  of  birds.  The  eggs  of  the  bird 
present  several  peculiarities  in  relation  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  the  foetus  is  to  be 
developed ;  their  oval  form  permits  a  greater 
proportion  of  their  surface  to  be  in  contact 
with  the  heat-communicating  skin  of  the  pa- 
rent, than  if  they  had  been  a  spherical  body ; 
while  the  shell,  by  virtue  of  its  hard,  calcareous 
texture,  and  its  arched  disposition  about  the 
soft  contents,  sufficiently  defends  them  from 
the  superincumbent  pressure.  As  warmth  is 
the  only  essential  influence  which  the  egg  de- 
lives  from  the  parent,  the  shell  is  porous  and 
permeable  to  air,  and  the  germ  is  surrounded  by 
an  adequate  store  of  nutritious  matter.  See  Egg. 

The  period  of  incubation  is  generally  di- 
rectly as  the  size  of  the  bird,  but  the  degree 
of  developement  which  the  chick  attains  prior 
to  exclusion  varies.  As  a  general  rule,  it  is 
inferior  in  birds  of  flight,  as  the  Accipitrine 
and  Passerine  orders,  than  in  the  terrestrial, 
wading,  and  swimming  birds ;  and  the  warmth 
and  complexity  of  the  nest  bears  relation  to 
this  difference  of  developement.  If  the  thrush 
had  been  forewarned  that  her  young  would  be 
excluded  from  the  egg  naked  and  helpless,  she 
could  not  have  prepared  beforehand  a  warmer 
and  more  comfortable  abode  than  her  instinct 
had  led  her  to  construct  for  their  accommoda-  [ 
tion;  and  if  with  such  a  nest  we  contrast  the 
rude  mass  of  straw  in  which  the  hen  deposits 
and  incubates  her  eggs,  it  might  be  imagined 
ihat  she  knew  beforehand  that  her  chickens 
would  come  into  the  world  well  clothed  and 
strong  enough  at  once  to  run  about  and  pick 
up  their  own  food.  In  this  case,  therefore,  the 
nest  relates  only  to  incubation;  in  the  other, 
Co  iacubatiop  and  subsequent  reariag  of  the  ; 
656 


young ;  and  according  to  the  degrees  of  deve- 
lopement attained  during  incubation,  and  the 
associated  condition  of  the  nest  and  habits 
of  the  parent,  birds  have  been  divided  into  two 
great  groups,  the  jlves  allrices  and  jlves  prcecoces. 
See  Gestation. 

INDIA,  THE  AGRICULTURE  OF.  The 
British  farmer  will,  I  am  afraid,  not  derive 
many  useful  hints  from  the  most  careful  study 
of  the  agriculture  of  the  eastern  portions  of 
Asia.  In  Hindostan,  for  instance,  too  many 
causes  have  contributed  to  retard  the  march 
of  agricultural  improvement.  The  innate  dis- 
like of  the  natives  to  innovations  of  all  kinds, 
the  nature  of  their  region,  their  indolence,  and 
the  political  oppressions  under  which  they 
have  long  been  labouring,  are  amongst  the 
many  causes  of  the  degraded  state  ^of  Indian 
agriculture.  I  am  indebted  to  my  brother,  Mr. 
George  Johnson,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cal- 
cutta, for  most  of  the  following  sketches  of 
Indian  modes  of  cultivation.  He  says,  in  de- 
scribing the  residences  of  the  Indian  ryots  or 
farmers,  "When  I  speak  of  an  Indian  farm, 
the  image  must  not  rise  to  the  mind  of  the  Eu- 
ropean reader  of  a  substantial  dwelling-house, 
surrounded  by  commodious  outbuildings,  and 
conveniently  placed  amongst  its  compactly  en- 
closed fields;  such  an  agricultural  establish- 
ment bespeaks  a  far  advance  in  the  art  of  cul- 
tivation, the  employment  of  large  capitals,  and 
remunerating  prices  to  the  cultivator.  Now, 
none  of  these  contingencies  occur  in  Hindos- 
tan;  but,  on  the  contrary,the  operations  of 
agriculture  are  rudely  executed;  the  cultiva- 
tors are  poor,  the  profits  are  small,  the  results 
correspondent.  The  dwellings  of  the  ryotf 
throughout  India  are  in  no  degree  superior  te 
the  other  mean  huts  with  which  they  are  asso- 
ciated in  the  village.  No  barn  is  attached  to 
the  residence  of  the  poorer  cultivators,  for  the 
pittance  of  grain  annually  raised  is  imme- 
diately beaten  out — the  major  part  sold  at  once 
to  the  merchant,  and  the  small  residue  for  seed 
and  sustenance  is  stored  in  baskets  or  jars,  and 
these  are  usually  placed  in  the  room  where  the 
family  dwells.  The  outbuildings  rarely  ex- 
tend beyond  an  enclosure  in  which  to  secure 
the  cattle  at  night.  By  far  the  greatest  num 
ber  of  farms  do  not  exceed  a  size  requiring  a 
single  yoke  of  oxen,  for  the  occupier  is  the 
only  ploughman." 

The  various  imposts  to  which  these  little 
farmers  are  exposed,  sound  strange  to  Eng- 
lish agriculturists;  they  are  enumerated  by 
Dr.  Buchanan.  (Ind.  Rech.  vol.  ii.  p.  200.)  The 
ryot's  heap  of  grain  is  usually  about  3000 
seers :  of  this  is  first  set  apart — 

See  re. 

For  the  gods,  or  rather  for  the  priests     -       -        -       5 
For  charity  to  the  brahmins  and  other  mendicants         5 
For  the  astrologer    -------1 

For  the  hereditary  brahmin  of  the  village       -        -        1 
For  the  barber  __-----2 

For  the  potter  >__----2 

For  the  carpenter  and  blacksmith  -       -       -       -       2 

For  the  measurer     -------4 

For  the  waahorwoman    ---«--        9 
For  the  beadle  -------7 

For  the  chief  of  the  village      -----     53 

For  the  accountant  ------    200 

For  the  watchman  -------10 

For  the  conductor  of  the  water       -       .       -       -     20 


r 


INDIA,  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


This  leaves  a  residue  of  2686  seers ;  of  this 
government  takes  10  per  cent.,  and,  after  all 
the  drains  have  been  satisfied,  the  grower  is 
eft  in  possession  of  a  residue  of  two  thou- 
sand seers  of  rice.     (Buchanan's  Mysore,  vol.  i. 

.  265.) 

Irrigation  is  practised  in  India,  and  in  almost 
all  the  hot  countries  of  Asia,  to  an  extent  of 
Arhich  the  English  farmer  has  little  concep- 
jon;  for,  as  Mr.  George  Johnson  remarks, 
*In  every  district  of  Hindostan,  as  in  all  other 
tropical  climates,  irrigation  is  the  most  effec- 
tual mode  of  promoting  fertility.  In  places 
favoured  by  nature,  whole  plains  are  occasion- 
ally flooded  merely  by  the  construction  of  a 
dam  across  the  outlet  of  some  mountain  stream, 
or  it  is  confined  nearer  to  its  source,  so  as  to 
form  a  reservoir,  from  which  the  water  may 
be  obtained  at  the  most  desirable  seasons.  In 
less  favourable  situations,  the  water  frequently 
has  to  be  raised  to  a  considerable  height,  in 
order  to  attain  an  elevation  level  with,  or 
slightly  above  the  cultivated  land.  This  is 
very  generally  effected  by  a  scoop  of  matting 
suspended  between  two  ropes,  the  ends  of 
■which  are  held  by  two  men  who  bale  it  from 
the  reservoir  into  a  hole  some  feet  above  it, 
and  from  thence  it  is  similarly  baled  by  others, 
from  hole  to  hole,  until  the  desired  height  is 
attained.  Sometimes  the  scoop  is  suspended 
between  poles  erected  in  the  form  of  a  gallows ; 
at  others,  as  in  the  Juut  wells,  from  which  the 
water  is  raised  by  cattle  or  by  hand  in  some 
districts.  The  extensive  canals  formed  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Delhi  and  in  the  Punjab  are 
no  longer  employed.  The  machinery,  so  gene- 
ral in  China,  is  nowhere  used  in  India  for 
raising  water.  In  1798,  Dr.  Tennant  relates, 
that  the  practice  of  the  natives  then  was,  and 
is  still  followed,  after  ploughing  the  fields  in 
the  usual  manner,  but  before  sowing,  to  divide 
them  into  regular  small  squares,  like  a  chess- 
board ;  each  square  is  surrounded  with  a  shelv- 
ing border  about  four  inches  high,  capable 
of  preventing  the  escape  of  water.  Between 
these  square  enclosures,  small  dykes  are 
formed  for  conveying  a  rivulet  over  the  whole 
field ;  when  the  water  has  stood  a  sufficient  time 
in  one  square,  it  is  let  off  into  the  surrounding 
dyke,  and  conveyed  to  another,  and  so  on  in 
succession  through  the  whole  field.  The  fer- 
tility induced  amply  recompenses  the  labour, 
and  the  neatness  imparted  to  the  country  by 
this  husbandry  is  very  striking."  (Ind.  Rech. 
ii.  167.)  In  some  places  the  water  has  to  be 
raised  from  deep  wells,  several  of  which  are 
m  the  most  elevated  parts  of  each  field.  The 
work  of  drawing  the  water  is  performed  by 
two  bullocks,  not  travelling  round  in  a  mill, 
but  pacing  in  a  line  direct  from  the  well's 
mouth.  The  various  little  trenches  already 
mentioned,  all  radiate  from  these  wells.  About 
Patna  the  irrigation  water  is  raised  from  the 
wells  by  means  of  a  bamboo  lever,  with  its 
lilcrum  on  a  frame  about  10  feet  high,  a  weight 
at  the  opposite  end  being  employed  to  assist 
the  workmen  in  counterpoising  the  leather  bag 
of  water;  this  plan  is  only  resorted  to  when 
the  wells  are  shallow,  and  the  water  near  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  then  not  bags  but 

buckets   are  used,  sometimes  of  leather,  but 
83 


INDIA,  AGRICUIiTURE  OF. 

more  frequently  of  iron.  Four  bullocks  and 
three  labourers  are  engaged  nine  days  in  irri- 
gating one  acre  of  land  thoroughly.  The  im- 
portance of  this  branch  of  agriculture  is  evi- 
denced by  the  great  number  of  wells,  which 
even  these  most  indolent  people  sink  in  dis- 
tricts deficient  in  streams.  Near  Madras,  at 
Sayrabrumbacum,  a  reservoir  more  than  7 
miles  long  and  3  broad,  for  the  purposes  of  irri- 
gation, has  been  formed  by  merely  raising  a 
bank  across  a  natural  ravine.  In  the  Tamul 
language  a  reservoir  of  this  kind  is  called  an 
Eray.  This  supplies  32  villages  containing 
5000  persons  employed  in  agriculture  (should 
the  rains  fail)  for  18  months.  Sluices  lined 
with  bricks  pass  under  the  banks  to  supply 
the  fields;  the  inner  opening  of  the  sluice  is 
covered  by  a  flat  stone,  in  which  is  cut  a  cir- 
cular hole,  through  which  the  water  is  allowed 
to  pass  as  required,  by  means  of  a  plug  fixed 
to  a  bamboo,  and  secured  from  escape  by 
means  of  stone  pillars  and  cross-bars.  When 
bullocks  are  employed  to  raise  water  from 
wells,  a  leathern  bucket  is  used  which  holds 
45  gallons;  this  two  bullocks  will  raise  every 
minute  and  a  half  from  a  well. 44  feet  deep, 
and  they  work  eight  hours  per  day. 

To  the  insoluble  matter  of  the  water  em- 
ployed in  irrigation,  must  be  attributed  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  its  value.  These  vary  at 
different  seasons.  That  of  the  Ganges,  which 
is  extensively  employed  in  irrigation,  was  ex- 
amined by  Mr.  Everett.  He  found  in  it  of  in- 
soluble matters — 

GniMk 

July  3.  In  a  wine  quart       ....  1 

7. 8 

23. 10 

Aug.  1—8. 581Q 

22. 26 

Sept.  6. 17 

24. 8 

Oct.  8. 6 

This  insoluble  or  mechanically-suspended 
matter  was  analysed  by  Mr.  Piddington :  he 
found  in  200  parts  from  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges,  at  Mohulpore — 

Parh. 

Vegetable  matter  -------51 

Baline  matters,  chiefly  muriate  of  potass      -        -         I 
Carbonate  of  lime  -------      16^ 

Phosphate  of  lime  ------       1 

Oxide  of  iron  ----...12 

Silex -       -       -    !39 

Alumina         --..-.--14| 

Water 3 

Loss _8* 

200 

As  these  rich,  purely  divided  matters,  are 
depositing  on  the  lower  grounds  within  reach 
of  the  flood  waters,  it  follows  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence that  "the  higher  soils  are  generally 
and  rapidly  impoverishing,  and  this  to  a  de- 
gree of  which  few,  who  have  not  made  the 
subject  one  of  attention,  are  aware." 

The  rapid  effects  produced  by  a  copious  ar- 
tificial watering  of  grass  lands  under  the  burn- 
ing sun  of  India,  may  be  judged  by  the  follow- 
ing report  made  in  1841,  by  Sir  Edward  Burnes 
to  Lord  Auckland,  upon  the  artificial  grasses 
of  Cabool. 

"  There  are  three  kinds  of  grasses  cultivated 
in  Cabool—'  rishku,'  or  lucern,  *  shuftul,'  a  kind 
of  trefoil,  and  '  si  barga,'  or  clover.     The  firs 

657 


INDIA,  AGRICULTURE  OF. 


INDIAN  MILLET. 


and  the  last  continue  to  yield  crops  for  some 
years,  but  the  '  trefoil'  (shuftul)  is  an  annual. 
The  hicern  (rishku)  is  sown  in  spring,  gene- 
rally about  the  vernal  equinox;  for  each  ju- 
reeb,  or  about  half  an  English  acre,  2  seers  of 
Cabool,  or  about  28  lbs.  English,  are  required 
as  seed.  In  40  days  it  comes  to  perfection,  and 
is  cut  down,  and  will  yield  4  full-grown  crops 
ere  winter  sets  in,  but  by  early  cutting  6  or  8 
crops  may  be  drawn ;  the  last  may  sometimes 
be  inferior  from  premature  cold.  One  jureeb 
or  half  an  English  acre  yields  on  an  average 
ten  camel  loads  of  grass  at  each  cutting,  as  a 
camel  carries  about  500  lbs. ;  this  is  a  produce 
of  5000  lbs.  the  jureeb,  or  10,000  lbs.  the  Eng- 
lish acre,  and  for  four  fine  crops  40,000  lbs. 
English.  The  third  crop  is  considered  the 
best,  and  from  it  the  seed  is  preserved :  of 
this  the  half  acre  sown  with  the  two  seers  of 
Cabool  will  yield  40  sears,  or  about  560  lbs. 
This  plant  requires  the  best  black  soil,  much 
manure,  and  is  watered  5  times  each  crop — in 
fact  whenever  it  droops.  It  is  sometimes  sown 
along  with  barley,  but  in  that  case  the  grain, 
by  exhausting  the  soil,  injures  the  crop.  The 
seed  is  never  exported,  but  the  grass  is  so 
plentiful,  though  all  the  cattle  are  fed  on  it,  as 
much  to  exceed  the  consumption;  it  is,  there- 
fore, dried,  and  that  produced  at  any  distance 
from  a  market  is  generally  stored  in  this  man- 
ner, and  sold  during  winter.  A  camel  load  of 
it,  or  about  500  lbs.  English,  whether  green  or 
dry,  sells  for  one  Cabool  rupee,  a  coinage  of 
which  115^  are  equal  to  100  Company's  ru- 
pees. Lucern  generally  lasts  for  6  years,  but 
it  will  yield  for  10  )'ears  if  manure  be  abun- 
dantly scattered  over  it.  The  seed  is  at  pre- 
sent sold  for  a  rupee,  a  stone  of  14  lbs. ;  but  as 
it  is  not  cultivated  for  exportation,  this  is 
much  dearer  than  it  might  otherwise  be  had, 
and  its  price  has  been  almost  doubled  by  the 
arrival  of  the  British  troops.  The  trefoil  or 
'  shuftul'  in  cultivation,  in  the  time  of  sowing, 
reaping,  and  soil,  resembles  lucern,  and  the 
calculations  of  produce  for  the  one  will  suffice 
for  the  other,  only  it  is  an  annual  plant.  The 
seedjtoo,  is  dearerby  one  half  than  that  of  lucern. 

"The  clover  or  'si  barga'  (i.e.  three  leaves), 
assimilates  likewise  to  the  lucern,  and  it  lasts 
as  long.  I  may,  however,  observe,  that  the 
climate  of  Cabool  is  much  later  than  that  of 
England,  and,  excepting  the  seed  sown  in  au- 
tumn, nothing  is  put  in  the  ground  here  with 
advantage  before  the  1st  of  April." 

Of  a  rotation  of  crops,  or  of  fallows,  the  ryots 
of  Bengal  have  but  little  idea :  their  richest 
low-lying  grounds  are  devoted  to  the  growth 
of  rice,  and  on  the  uplands  they  generally  crop 
the  soil  till  it  is  exhausted,  and  then  abandon 
it  to  the  weeds,  which  soon  occupy  it  in  profu- 
sion :  they  have,  besides,  a  wretched  method 
of  sowing  various  seeds  together,  in  a  manner 
that  cannot  be  sufficiently  reprehended.  It  is 
only  in  some  parts  of  India  that  any  thing  like 
rotation  of  crops  is  observed.  In  the  highlands 
of  Behar,  the  following  rotation  is  usually 
adopted: — 1.  Year-fallow  and  wheat;  2.  Maize 
(muckai),  followed  by  big  or  bear,  a  kind  of 
barley ;  3.  Murwa,  sama,  and  cowaree,  being 
species  of  millet,  followed  by  cotton. 

There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  domestic 
658 


animals  of  Bengal :  the  oxen  are  inferior,  and 
their  sheep  are  described  as  "  small,  lank,  and 
thin :"  the  colour  of  three-fourths  of  each  flock 
is  black  or  dark-gray.  The  quality  of  the  fleece 
is  worse,  if  possible,  than  its  colour ;  it  is  harsh, 
thin,  and  hairy,  in  a  very  remarkable  degree : 
no  part  of  clothing  or  domestic  furniture,  so 
far  as  Dr.  Tennant  had  observed,  is  manufac- 
tured of  wool,  except  a  coarse  kind  of  blanket- 
ing which  some  of  the  boatmen  (dandies)  and 
people  in  the  upper  districts  use  during  the 
cold  season,  as  a  wrapper  at  night. 

The  same  system  of  irrigation  which  pre- 
vails in  Arabia,  in  Persia,  and  in  Hindostan, 
is  carried  on  to  a  very  considerable  extent  in 
the  empire  of  China,  where  the  soil  is  culti- 
vated perhaps  more  carefully,  and  with  a 
greater  minuteness  of  detail,  or  garden  system 
of  husbandry,  than  in  any  other  country.  I  do 
not  allude  in  this  work  to  their  cultivation  of 
crops  such  as  the  tea  plant,  or  those  from 
which  the  English  cultivator  is  as  little  likely 
to  derive  useful  hints.  They  are  remarkable 
for  the  care  with  which  they  deepen,  even  by 
the  spade,  their  cultivated  lands,  and  their  hus- 
banding of  manures  of  all  kinds  is  admirable; 
every  thing  that  is  produced  in  their  cities  en- 
dued with  fertilizing  properties,  is  collected 
and  preserved  with  the  utmost  care.  The 
night-soil,  for  instance,  is  made  into  a  kind  of 
bricks  with  calcareous  matter,  and  carried  into 
the  most  distant  provinces,  for  the  use  of  the 
farmers.  "  There  is,  perhaps,"  says  the  author 
of  British  Husbandry  (vol.  i.  p.  273),  "  no  part 
of  the  world  in  which  the  preparation  and  the 
practical  application  of  vegetable  and  animal 
manure  is  so  well  understood  as  in  China ;  but, 
owing  to  its  overflowing  population,  almost  the 
whole  of  the  labour  is  performed  by  man,  by 
which  the  number  of  working  animals  is  so 
much  reduced,  that  night-soil  forms  the  princi- 
pal dependence  of  the  farmer.  It  is  extensively 
employed  in  a  dried  state,  and  is  sold  as  an 
article  of  commerce  throughout  the  empire,  in 
the  form  of  cakes,  mixed  up  with  one-third  of 
their  weight  of  marl."  To  the  same  end  the 
poor  are  employed  in  collecting  in  the  public 
roads  and  streets  all  the  horse  and  other  dung, 
which  is  also  made  into  cakes  with  marl,  and 
these  are  afterwards  dried  in  the  sun. 

The  system  of  tillage  formed  by  the  Chinese, 
however  antiquated,  is  not  of  a  general  descrip- 
tion, calculated  to  instruct  the  English  culti- 
vator; and  the  Chinese  husbandmen  are  en- 
tirely uninformed  as  to  any  scientific  principles, 
by  the  observance  of  which  the  cultivation  of 
the  earth  is  improved.  The  same  remark,  in 
fact,  extends  to  most  oriental  farmers :  they 
merely  follow  a  regular  routine  of  operations, 
because  it  is  that  which  their  forefathers  adopt- 
ed :  followed  without  consideration,  it  is  trans- 
mitted unimproved.  See  iRRioAxioif  and 
Night-soil.  (Memoir  on  the  Jlgricidture  of  India^ 
by  G.  W.  Johnson.) 

INDIAN  CORN.    See  Maizb. 

INDIAN  CRESS.     See  Cress,  Indiait. 

INDIAN  MILLET  (Sorghum  vulgare).  Sor- 
ghi  is  the  Indian  name,  according  to  Bauhin. 
The  French  call  it  grand  millet,  the  Italians 
saggena  or  soi-go,  and  the  Spaniards  alcandia^ 
It  is   much  cultivated  in  Arabia   and  most 


b 


INDIAN  RUBBER. 


parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  has  been  introduced 
into  Italy,  Spain,  Switzerland,  and  some  parts 
of  Germany;  also  into  China,  Cochin-China, 
and  the  West  Indies,  where  it  grows  commonly 
five  or  six  feet  high  or  more,  and,  being  es- 
teemed a  hearty  food  for  labourers,  is  called 
Negro  Guinea  corn.  Its  long  awns  or  bristles 
defend  it  from  the  birds.  In  England,  the  au- 
tumns are  seldom  dry  and  warm  enough  to 
ripen  the  seeds  well  in  the  field.  In  Arabia  it 
is  called  dm-a  or  dwra.  The  flour  is  very  white, 
and  they  make  good  bread  of  it,  or  rather  cakes, 
about  two  inches  in  thickness.  The  bread 
which  they  make  of  it  in  some  parts  of  Italy  is 
dark  and  coarse.  In  Tuscany  it  is  used  chiefly 
for  feeding  poultry  and  pigeons;  sometimes 
for  kine,  swine,  and  horses.  Brooms  are  made 
of  the  spikes,  which  are  also  sent  to  England 
for  the  same  purpose.  The  Indian  millet,  as 
well  as  the  common  sort  (panuvm)  is  cultivated 
in  some  parts  of  North  America,  and  has  been 
tried  in  England,  but  it  is  only  in  the  warmest 
autumns  that  it  ripens  its  seeds.  (Loudon's  En- 
eyrlop(pdi(i  of  Plants.)     See  Gcinea  Cokk. 

INDIAN  RUBBER,  Gum  Ela$tir,  or  Caout- 
chouc, is  a  well-known  tough  and  yielding  sub- 
stance, obtained  in  South  America  and  Java 
from  the  sap  of  a  tree  called  the  Siphonia  cahuca. 
To  procure  the  sap,  incisions  are  made  through 
the  bark  in  many  places,  and  the  milky  juice 
which  exudes  is  spread  over  clay  moulds,  and 
dried  in  the  sun,  or  by  a  fire,  the  smoke  from 
which  last  blackens  it. 

The  juice  itself  has  been  of  late  years  im- 
ported. It  is  of  a  pale-yellow  colour,  and  has 
the  consistence  of  cream.  It  becomes  covered, 
in  the  bottles  containing  it,  with  a  pellicle  of 
concrete  caoutchouc.  Its  specific  gravity  is 
1'012.  When  it  is  dried,  it  loses  55  per  cent, 
of  its  weight:  the  residuary  45  is  elastic  gum. 
When  the  juice  is  heated,  it  immediately  coagu- 
lates, in  virtue  of  its  albumen,  and  the  elastic 
srum  rises  to  the  surface.  It  mixes  with  wa- 
ter in  any  proportion  ;  and,  when  thus  diluted, 
it  coagulates  with  heat  and  alcohol  as  be- 
fore. 

The  specific  gravity  of  caoutchouc  is  0*925, 
and  it  is  not  permanently  increased  by  any  de- 
gree of  pressure.  By  cold  or  long  quiescence, 
it  becomes  hard  and  stiff".  By  long  boiling  in  wa- 
ter it  softens,  swells,  and  becomes  more  readily 
soluble  in  its'Tpeculiar  menstrua;  but  when  ex- 
posed to  the  air,  it  speedily  resumes  its  pristine 
consistence  and  volume.  It  is  quite  insoluble 
in  alcohol ;  but  in  ether,  deprived  of  alcohol 
by  washing  with  water,  it  readily  dissolves, 
and  affords  a  colourless  solution.  When  the 
ether  is  evaporated,  the  caoutchouc  becomes 
again  solid,  but  is  somewhat  clammy  for  a 
while.  When  treated  with  hot  naphtha,  dis- 
tilled from  native  petroleum,  or  from  coal-tar, 
it  swells  to  30  times  its  former  bulk ;  and  if 
then  triturated  with  a  pestle,  and  pressed 
through  a  sieve,  it  affords  a  homogeneous  var- 
nish, which  being  applied  by  a  flat  edge  of 
metal  or  wood  to  cloth,  prepares  it  for  forming 
the  patent  water-proof  cloth  of  Mackintosh. 
Two  surfaces  of  cloth,  to  which  several  coats 
of  the  above  varnish  have  been  applied,  are, 
when  partially  dried,  brought  evenly  in  contact, 
and  then  passed  between  rollers,  in  order  to 


INDIAN  RUBBER. 

j  condense  and  smooth   them  together.     Thi 
I  double   cloth   is   afterwards   suspended  iii    a 
I  stove-ioom  to  dry,  and  to  discharge  the  disa- 
greeable odour  of  the  naphtha. 

Caoutchouc  dissolves  in  the  fixed  oils,  such 
as  linseed  oil,  but  the  varnish  has  not  the  pro- 
perty of  becoming  concrete  upon  exposure  to  air. 

It  is  more  or  less  soluble  in  the  oils  of  la- 
vender and  sassafras. 

It  melts  at  248°  Fahrenheit,  and  stands  after- 
wards a  much  higher  heat  without  undergoing 
any  further  change.  When  the  melted  caout- 
chouc is  exposed  to  the  air,  it  becomes  hard 
on  the  surface  in  the  course  of  a  year.  When 
kindled,  it  burns  with  a  bright  flame  and  a 
great  deal  of  smoke. 

Neither  chlorine,  sulphurotts  acid  ga:s,  muri- 
atic acid  gas,  ammonia,  nor  fluosilicic  acid  gas 
affects  it,  whence  it  forms  very  valuable  flexi' 
ble  tubes  for  pneumatic  chemistry.  Cold  sul 
phuric  acid  does  not  readily  decompose  it,  nor 
does  nitric  acid,  unless  it  be  somewhat  strong. 
The  strongest  caustic  potash  ley  does  not  dis- 
solve it,  even  at  a  boiling  heat. 

Mr.  William  Henry  Barnard,  in  the  course 
of  some  experiments  upon  the  impregnation 
of  ropes  with  caoutchouc,  at  the  factory  of 
Messrs.  Enderby,  at  Greenwich,  discovered 
that  when  this  substance  was  exposed  to  a  heat 
of  about  600°  Fahrenheit,  it  resolved  itself  into 
a  vapour,  which,  by  proper  refrigeratory  me- 
thods, was  condensable  into  a  liquid  possessing 
very  remarkable  properties,  to  which  the  name 
caoutchoucine  has  been  given.  For  this  in- 
vention "  of  a  solvent  not  hitherto  used  in  the 
arts,"  Mr.  Barnard  obtained  a  patent,  in  Au- 
gust, 1833.  His  process  for  preparing  it  is 
described  in  his  specification  as  follows  : 

♦*  I  take  a  mass  of  the  said  caoutchouc,  or 
Indian  rubber,  as  imported,  and  having  cut  it 
into  small  lumps,  containing  about  two  cubic  • 
inches  each  (which  I  prefer),  I  throw  these 
lumps  into  a  cast-iron  still.  I  then  apply  heat 
to  the  still  in  the  usual  manner,  which  heat  is 
increased  until  the  thermometer  ranges  at  600 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  or  thereabouts.  And 
as  the  thermometer  ranges  progressively  up- 
wards to  600  degrees  of  Fahrenheit,  a  dark- 
coloured  oil  or  liquid  is  distilled  over,  which  I 
claim  as  my  said  invention,  such  liquid  being 
a  solvent  of  caoutchouc,  and  other  resinous 
and  oleaginous  substances.  When  the  ther- 
mometer reaches  600  degrees,  or  thereabouts, 
nothing  is  left  in  the  still  but  dirt  and  charcoal. 

"I  afterwards  subject  the  dark-coloured  li- 
quid thus  distilled  to  the  ordinary  process  of 
rectification,  and  thereby  obtain  fluids  varying 
in  specific  gravity,  of  which  the  lightest  hitherto 
has  not  been  under  670,  taking  distilled  water 
at  1000.  which  fluids  I  also  claim  as  my  said 
invention. 

"  At  each  rectification  the  colour  of  the  liquid 
becomes  more  bright  and  transparent,  until,  at 
the  specific  gravity  of  680,  or  thereabouts,  it  is 
colourless  and  highly  volatile. 

"  In  the  process  of  rectification  (for  the  pur 

pose  of  obtaining  a  larger  product  of  the  oil 

colourless)  I  put  about  one-third  of  water  into 

the  still.    In  each  and  every  state  the  liquid  is 

!  a  solvent  of  caoutchouc,  and  several  resinous 

'  and  oleaginous  substances,  and  also  of  othef 

659 


INDIAN  TOBACCO. 


INDIGO. 


substances   (such  as  copal),  in  combination 
with  very  strong  alcohol." 

The  discovery  of  the  chemical  solvent  which 
forms  the  sabject  of  the  patent  above  described, 
has  excited  considerable  interest  in  the  philo- 
sophic world,  not  only  from  its  probable  use- 
fulness as  a  new  article  of  commerce,  but  also 
from  two  very  extraordinary  characteristics 
w^hich  it  is  found  to  possess,  viz.,  that,  in  a 
liquid  state,  it  has  less  specific  gravity  than 
any  other  liquid  known  to  chemists,  being  con- 
siderably lighter  than  sulphuric  ether,  and,  in 
a  state  of  vapour,  is  heavier  than  the  most 
ponderous  of  the  gases. 

Its  elementary  constituents  are, 
Carbon        -        -    6-812    -        -    8  proportions. 
Hydrogen   -        -    1000    -        -    7  ditto. 

This  new  material  (when  mixed  with  alco- 
hol) is  a  solvent  of  all  the  resins,  and  particu- 
larly of  copal,  which  it  dissolves,  without  arti- 
ficial heat,  at  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere ;  a  property  possessed  by  no  other 
solvent  known;  and  hence  it  is  peculiarly  use- 
ful for  making  varnishes  in  general.  It  also 
mixes  readily  with  oils,  and  will  be  found  to 
be  a  valuable  and  cheap  menstruum  for  lique- 
fying oil-paints ;  and,  without  in  the  slightest 
degree  affecting  the  most  delicate  colours,  will, 
from  its  ready  evaporation,  cause  the  paint  to 
dry  almost  instantly. 

Cocoa-nut  oil,  at  the  common  temperature 
of  the  atmosphere,  always  assumes  a  concrete 
form ;  but  a  portion  of  this  caoutchoucine 
mixed  with  it  will  cause  the  oil  to  become  fluid, 
and  to  retain  sufficient  fluidity  to  burn  in  a 
common  lamp  with  extraordinary  brilliancy. 

Caoutchoucine  is  extremely  volatile ;  and 
yet  its  vapour  is  so  exceedingly  heavy  that  it 
may  be  poured,  without  the  liquor,  from  one 
vessel  into  another,  like  water.     (Ure^s  Dirt.) 

INDIAN  TOBACCO.     See  Ete-bhight. 

INDIAN  TURNIP  (Jlrumtriphyllmn),Wake- 
robin,  &c.  An  American  plant,  distinguished 
by  its  head  of  beautiful  red  berries  growing 
upon  a  single  stem,  and  its  perennial  bulbous 
root,  resembling  a  small  rough  turnip,  possess- 
ing such  an  extremely  acrid  juice  as,  when 
bitten  or  chewed,  causes  violent  inflammation 
in  the  mouth  and  salivary  glands,  inducing 
copious  salivation.  This  acrid  quality  of  the 
root  is,  however,  dissipated  by  boiling  or  dry- 
ing. The  dried  root,  grated  and  boiled  in  milk, 
IS  a  popular  remedy  for  coughs  and  pulmonary 
consumption. 

The  English  wake-robin,  or  cuckoo-pint,  is  the 
^T-um  nmculatum,  which  in  many  of  its  sensible 
qualities  resembles  the  American  Indian  turnip. 

INDIGENOUS  PLANTS.  Such  plants  as 
are  natives  of  or  are  common  to  a  country. 

INDIGO  (Indigofej-a,  from  indigo,  a  blue  dye- 
stuff,  a  corruption  of  Indicum,  India,  and  fero, 
to  bear;  most  of  the  species  produce  the  well- 
known  dye  called  indigo,  the  finest  of  all  vege- 
table blues).  This  is  an  extensive  genus  of 
rather  elegant  plants,  the  shrubby  kinds  of 
which  are  well  worthy  of  cultivation.  The 
stove  and  green-house  shrubby  kinds  thrive 
best  in  a  mixture  of  sandy  loam  and  peat,  and 
may  be  increased  without  difficulty  by  cuttings 
of  the  young  wood,  planted  in  sand,  under  a 
glass,  in  heat.  The  annual  and  biennial  kinds 
660 


'  must  be  raised  from  seeds  sown  in  a  hotbed  in 
I  spring;  and  when  the  plants  have  grown  a 
sufficient  height,  they  may  be  planted  singly 
into  pots,  and  treated  as  other  tender  annuals 
and  biennials.  The  genus  belongs  to  the  natu- 
ral order  Leguminosie :  hence  the  flowers  resem- 
ble the  pea  tribe.  The  vexillum  is  round, 
emarginate  ;  the  keel  furnished  with  a  subulate 
spur  on  both  sides;  stamens  diadelphous ;  style 
filiform  ;  legume  continuous,  one  or  more  seed- 
ed, two-valved.  The  Indigofera  ccerulea  yields 
the  finest  indigo ;  the  /.  argentia,  an  inferior 
kind,  which  comes  from  Egypt ;  the  /.  tinctoria^ 
besides  yielding  indigo,  is  also  medicinally 
employed ;  and  the  powdered  leaf  of  /.  anil  is 
used  in  some  diseases  of  the  liver.     {Paxton.'\ 

Indigo,  when  cultivated,  thrives  best  in  a 
free,  rich  soil,  and  a  warm  situation,  frequently 
refreshed  with  moisture.  The  usual  course 
pursued  for  its  culture  is  as  follows : — 

Having  first  chosen  a  proper  piece  of  ground, 
and  cleared  it,  hoe  it  into  little  trenches,  not 
above  two  inches  or  two  inches  and  a  half  in 
depth,  nor  more  than  fourteen  or  fifteen  inches 
asunder.  In  the  bottom  of  these,  at  any  season 
of  the  year,  strew  the  seeds  pretty  thick,  and 
immediately  cover  them.  As  the  plants  shoot, 
they  should  be  frequently  weeded,  and  kept 
constantly  clean,  until  they  spread  sufficiently 
to  cover  the  ground.  Those  who  cultivate 
great  quantities,  only  strew  the  seeds  pretty 
thick  in  little  shallow  pits,  hoed  up  irregularly, 
but  generally  within  four,  five,  or  six  inches  of 
one  another,  and  covered  as  before.  Plants 
raised  in  this  manner  are  observed  to  answer 
as  well  as  the  others,  or  rather  better;  but  they 
require  more  care  in  the  weeding.  They  grow 
to  full  perfection  in  two  or  three  months,  and 
are  observed  to  answer  best  when  cut  in  full 
blossom.  The  plants  are  cut  with  reaping- 
hooks,  a  few  inches  above  the  root,  tied  in 
loads,  carried  to  the  works,  and  laid  by  strata 
in  the  steeper.  Seventeen  negroes  are  sufficient 
to  manage  twenty  acres  of  indigo ;  and  one 
acre  of  rich  land,  well  planted,  will,  with  good 
seasons  and  proper  management,  yield  five 
hundred  pounds  of  indigo  in  twelve  months*, 
for  the  plant  ratoons  (stools,  stoles,  or  tillers, 
i.  e.  it  sends  out  stolones,  or  new  growths),  and 
gives  four  or  five  crops  a  year,  but  must  be  re- 
planted afterwards.     {Browne.) 

The  process  by  which  the  blue  colouring 
matter  is  extracted  from  the  plant  in  Mexico, 
the  East  Indies,  <fec.,  is  as  follows : — 

The  leaves  are  gathered  at  maturity,  and  im- 
mersed in  vessels  filled  with  water  till  fermenta- 
tion takes  place.  The  water  then  becomes 
opaque  and  green,  exhaling  an  odour  like  that 
of  volatile  alkali,  and  evolving  bubbles  of  car- 
bonic acid  gas.  When  the  fermentation  has 
been  continued  long  enough,  the  liquid  is  de- 
canted and  put  into  other  vessels,  where  it  is 
agitated  till  blue  flakes  begin  to  appear.  Water 
is  now  poured  in,  and  flakes  are  precipitated 
in  the  form  of  a  blue  powdery  sediment,  which 
is  obtained  by  decantation,  and  which,  after 
being  made  up  into  small  lumps  and  dried  in 
the  shade,  is  the  indigo  of  the  shops.  It  is  in- 
soluble in  water,  though  slightly  soluble  in  al- 
cohol ;  but  its  true  solvent  is  sulphuric  acid, 
with  which  it  forms  a  fine  blue  dye,  known  by 


INDURATED. 

the  name  of  liquid  blue.  It  affords  by  distilla- 
tion carbonic  acid  gas,  water,  ammonia,  some 
oily  and  acid  matter,  and  much  charcoal; 
whence  its  constituent  principles  are  most  pro- 
bably carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  nitrogen. 
Indigo  may  be  procured  also  from  several  other 
plants  besides  Indigofera  tinctoria,  and  particu- 
larly from  Isatis  tinctoria,  or  woad,  a  plant  indi- 
genous to  Britain,  and  thought  to  be  the  plant 
with  the  juice  of  which  the  ancient  Britons 
stained  their  naked  bodies,  to  make  them  look 
terrible  to  their  enemies.  If  this  plant  is  di- 
gested in  alcohol,  and  the  solution  evaporated, 
white  crystalline  grains,  somewhat  resembling 
starch,  will  be  left  behind;  which  grains  are 
indigo,  becoming  gradually  blue  by  the  action 
of  the  atmosphere.  The  blue  colour  of  indigo, 
therefore,  is  owing  to  its  combination  with 
oxygen. 

Indigo  is  not  caltivatedlo  so  great  an  extent 
in  the  United  States  as  formerly,  the  imported 
article  being  obtained  so  readily.  The  follow- 
ing process  of  manufacturing  indigo  in  small 
quantities  for  family  use  is  extracted  from  the 
Southern  JgricuUurist : — Cut  the  indigo  when 
the  under  leaves  begin  to  dry,  and  while  the 
dew  is  on  them  in  the  morning;  put  them  in  a 
barrel,  and  fill  this  with  rain  water,  and  place 
weights  on  to  keep  it  underwater;  when  bubbles 
begin  to  form  on  the  top,  and  the  water  begins  to 
look  of  a  reddish  colour,  it  is  soaked  enough, 
and  must  be  taken  out,  taking  care  to  wring  and 
squeeze  the  leaves  well,  so  as  to  obtain  all  the 
strength  of  the  plant;  it  must  then  be  churned 
(which  may  be  done  by  means  of  a  tolerably 
open  basket,  with  a  handle  to  raise  it  up  and 
down)  until  the  liquor  is  quite  in  a  foam.  To 
ascertain  whether  it  is  done  enough,  take  out 
a  spoonful  in  a  plate,  and  put  a  small  quan- 
tity of  very  strong  lye  to  it.  If  it  curdles,  the 
indigo  is  churned  enough,  and  you  must  pro- 
ceed to  break  the  liquor  in  the  barrel  in  the 
same  way,  by  putting  in  lye,  (which  must  be  as 
strong  as  possible,)  by  small  quantities,  and 
continuing  to  churn  until  it  is  all  sufficiently 
curdled ;  care  must  be  taken  not  to  put  in  too 
much  lye,  as  that  will  spoil  it.  When  it  curdles 
freely  with  the  lye,  it  must  be  sprinkled  well  over 
the  top  with  oil,  which  immediately  causes  the 
foam  to  subside,  after  which  it  must  stand  till 
the  indigo  settles  to  the  bottom  of  the  barrel. 
This  may  be  discovered  by  the  appearance  of 
the  water,  which  must  be  let  off  gradually  by 
boring  holes  first  near  the  top  and  afterwards 
lower,  as  it  continues  to  settle;  when  the  water 
is  all  let  off  and  nothing  remains  but  the  mud, 
take  that  and  put  it  in  a  bag,  (flannel  is  the  best) 
and  hang  it  up  to  drip,  af^terwards  spreading 
it  to  dry  on  large  dishes.  Take  care  that  none 
of  the  foam,  which  is  the  strength  of  the  weed, 
escapes ;  but  if  it  rises  too  high  sprinkle  oil 
on  it. 

Seven  or  eight  species  of  indigo  are  found 
in  the  United  States,  most  of  which  are  in  the 
south.  The  wild  indigo  (Dyer's  Bcptisid),  com- 
mon in  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle  States, 
yields  a  considerable  proportion  of  blue  co- 
louring matter  of  an  inferior  kind.  (Flora 
Cestrira.) 

INDURATED  (Lat.  induro).  A  term  imply- 
ing that  a  substance  naturally  soft  is  hardened. 


INFLAMMATION. 

It  is  a  term  frequently  used  in  botanical  works 
to  signifv  the  above-mentioned  change. 

INERT  VEGETABLE  MATTER.  The 
inert  vegetable  matters  of  the  soil  are  those 
which  decompose  very  slowly,  and  consequent- 
ly afford  very  little  nourishment  to  the  growing 
plant.  Of  this  kind  are  woody  fibre,  tanner's 
bark,  peat,  &c.,  all  of  which,  if  not  previously 
rendered  more  easily  soluble  by  being  mixed 
with  farm-yard  dung,  or  other  easily  fermenta- 
ble substances,  aflbrd  food  to  vegetation  by 
very  slow  degrees. 

INFIRMARY  (Lat.  infirmus,  weak).  An 
hospital  for  the  reception  of  the  sick.  The 
Veterinary  College  in  London  have  an  infirm- 
ary for  sick  and  diseased  horses,  to  which  the 
horses  of  their  subscribers  have  access  and 
medical  treatment,  free  from  charge. 

INFLAMMATION.  In  farriery,  is  a  disease 
or  affection  consisting  in  an  increased  heat  and 
action  in  any  part  of  an  animal,  arising  from 
various  causes,  external  or  internal,  local  or 
universal.  In  animals,  the  chief  causes  are 
wounds,  bruises,  and  sudden  or  excessive  cold, 
and  the  application  of  heat  afterwards. 

The  horse  is  subject  to  inflammation  of  the 
lungs,  stomach,  bowels,  kidney,  and  of  the  eye 
and  foot.  Of  inflammation  of  the  bowels  I 
have  already  spoken  (see  Bowels).  Of  in- 
flammation of  the  stomach  in  the  horse,  except 
from  poisonous  herbs  or  drugs,  we  know  little. 
It  very  rarely  occurs,  and  then  can  with  diffi- 
culty be  distinguished  from  inflammation  of  the 
bowels  ;  and  in  both  diseases  the  assistance  of 
a  skilful  veterinary  surgeon  is  required. 

Among  the  causes  of  inflammation  of  the 
kidney  are,  improper  food,  such  as  mow-burnt 
hay,  musty  oats,  &c.  Bleeding,  in  this  case, 
must  be  promptly  resorted  to,  and  carried  to  its 
full  extent.  An  active  purge  should  next  be 
administered ;  and  a  counter-inflammation  ex- 
cited as  near  as  possible  to  the  seat  of  disease. 

Inflammation  of  the  lungs  is  one  of  the 
causes  of  roaring :  it  is  generally  brought  on 
by  the  respiration  of  heated  and  empoisoned 
air,  in  neglected  and  filthy  stables  ;  by  sudden 
changes  from  heat  to  cold,  or  cold  to  heat, 
from  grass  to  the  stable,  or  stable  to  grass,  and 
so  on.  Bleeding,  blistering,  and  relaxing  me- 
dicines should  be  resorted  to  under  the  advice 
of  a  professional  man ;  for  the  cure  of  this 
malady  can  scarcely  be  safely  undertaken 
without  proper  advice. 

Cooling  applications,  such  as  Goulard's  ex- 
tract, one  drachm  or  half  an  ounce  of  the  tinc- 
ture of  opium  to  a  pint  of  water,  with  mash  diet 
and  gentle  physic,  will  usually  get  rid  of  com- 
mon inflammation  of  the  eye,  or  the  inflamma- 
tion will  subside  itself;  but  should  three  or 
four  days  pass  and  the  inflammation  not  be 
abated,  we  may  begin  to  suspect  that  it  is  spe- 
cific and  fatal  inflammation,  or  true  ophthal- 
mia, for  which  there  is  no  cure.  See  Ete. 
.  Inflammation  of  the  foot  is  brought  on  '■•^ 
over-exertion.  If  a  horse  that  has  been  riddeu 
or  driven  hard  be  suffered  to  stand  in  the  cold, 
or  if  his  feet  be  washed  and  not  speedily  dried, 
he  is  very  likely  to  have  "  fever  in  the  feet." 
Bleeding  at  the  foot,  and  poultices  of  linseed 
meal  to  cover  the  whole  of  the  foot  and  pastern, 
with  sedative  and  cooling  medicines,  should  bfl 
3  K  661 


INFLORESCENCE. 


INSECTS. 


resorted  to.  And  to  promote  evaporation  it  is 
advisable  lo  remove  the  shoe,  pare  the  sole  as 
thin  as  possible,  and  have  the  crust,  and  parti- 
cularly the  quarters,  well  rasped.    See  Gbease. 

For  inflaramation  in  sheep,  see  Sheep. 

In  inflammatory  fever  in  cattle,  profuse  bleed- 
ing, followed  by  immediate  purging  (1^  lbs.  of 
Epsom  salts  dissolved  in  water  or  gruel),  must 
be  had  recourse  to.     {Youatt  on  Cattle,  p.  359.) 

INFLORESCENCE  (L^t.  inflorescere,  to  flou- 
rish). The  general  arrangement  of  the  flowers 
upon  a  stem  or  branch.  It  consists  of  the  fol- 
lowing principal  kinds:  viz.,  the  spike,  the  ra- 
ceme, the  panicle,  the  capitulum,  the  cyme,  and 
the  umbel. 

The  spike  is  a  long  rachis  of  flowers  sessile, 
or  without  foot-stalks.  The  term  raceme  is 
commonly  applied  to  flowers  when  they  are 
arranged  round  a  filiform  or  thread-like  simple 
axis,  each  particular  flower  being  stalked.  The 
panicle  is  a  loose  disposition  of  inflorescence, 
in  which  the  primary  axis  developes  secondary 
axes,  which  themselves  produce  tertiary,  as 
in  oats  ;  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  a  raceme  bear- 
ing branches  of  flowers  in  place  of  simple 
ones.  Capitulum  implies  the  arrangement  in 
small  heads.  The  cyme  is  a  mode  of  inflo- 
rescence resembling  a  flattened  panicle,  as  that 
of  the  elder. 

Of  the  particular  arrangement  of  the  umbel, 
the  carrot  is  a  familiar  example ;  the  pedun- 
cles and  pedicles  spring  from  a  common  cen- 
tre, and  rise  till  they  form  a  nearly  flat  tuft. 
The  difference  between  an  umbel  and  a  corymb 
is,  that  whilst  in  the  latter  the  flowers  form  a 
flat  head,  the  pedicles  do  not,  as  in  the  former, 
spring  from  a  common  centre.  {Paxton^s  Bat. 
Diet. :  Brande's  Diet,  of  Scienee.) 

INFLUENZA.  An  epidemic  catarrh,  at- 
tended by  febrile  and  other  symptoms,  which 
often  run  very  high,  and  assume  a  variety  of 
aspects,  dependant  upon  the  seasons  and  other 
causes.  The  possibility  of  the  existence  of  a 
peculiar  state  of  the  atmosphere,  although  we 
have  no  means  of  detecting  it,  is  undoubtedly 
the  true  cause  of  influenzas.  Miasms,  or  va- 
pours of  a  noxious  kind,  may  exist,  though  in 
very  minute  quantity,  also  as  exciting  causes 
of  influenza,  an  idea  suggested  by  Dr.  Prout. 
It  may  possibly  be  of  volcanic  origin ;  and 
such  a  substance  as  seleniuretted  hydrogen, 
which,  even  in  extremely  minute  quantity,  is 
highly  deleterious,  might  perhaps  account  for 
some  of  the  phenomena  of  influenza ;  but  we 
must  acknowledge  that  nothing  certain  is 
known  respecting  the  cause  of  this  disease. 
See  Distemper,  Epikemic,  and  Murhain. 

INOCULATION.  An  operation  in  the 
management  of  fruit  trees,  which  is  some- 
times called  budding.  It  is  a  kind  of  grafting 
practised  in  the  summer  months  on  various 
trees  and  plants,  and  often  succeeds  better 
than  the  common  method  of  grafting.  (See 
Bcnnixo  and  Grafting.)  It  is  also  a  term 
used  to  signify  the  process  of  transplanting 
grasses.     See  Grasses. 

INSECTS  (Lat.  imecta).  A  very  extensive 
and,  tc  the  cultivators  of  the  earth,  important 
class  of  animals,  bisects  are  distinguished 
from  Worms  by  always  having  feet  in  their 
P'Mlect  or  winged  state,  as  the  beetle,  butterfly, 
662 


moth,  &c.  Worms  crawl  on  their  bellies,  and 
have  no  feet,  as  the  earth-worm,  snail,  slug, 
&c.  Insects,  above  all  other  animals,  are  by 
far  the  most  destructive  to  vegetation. 

On  the  subject  of  the  science  of  entomology 
in  this  work,  we  propose  only  to  touch  upon 
those  which  are  the  most  injurious  or  impor- 
tant to  the  farmer ;  and  many  of  these,  such  as 
the  bee,  ant,  fly  in  turnips,  wireioorm,  &c.,  will 
be  found  under  their  respective  heads ;  indeed 
the  mere  list  of  known  insects  is  so  numerous, 
that  the  catalogue  alone  would  be  too  exten- 
sive for  a  work  of  this  description.  "The 
great  characteristic  of  this  vast  assemblage  of 
animals,"  says  Mr.  Swainson  "is  the  total  ab- 
sence of  internal  bones ;  hence,  their  hardest 
parts  are  always  external,  and  the  muscles  are 
usually  attached  to  the  under  side  of  the  sub- 
stance which  forms  the  covering  of  the  ani- 
mal. The  body  is  always  divided  into  rings 
or  transverse  joints,  from  which  circumstance 
naturalists  have  agreed  to  call  them  annulosCf 
or  ringed  animals."  This  name  is  peculiarly 
applicable,  since  it  expresses  a  marked  dis- 
tinction from  such  as  have  an  internal  skele- 
ton, analogous  to  that  of  man,  and  which  are 
called  Vertehrata,  from  possessing  a  spine. 
The  Annulosa  contain  Insecta  (insects  proper)  ; 
Arachnida  (spiders) ;  Crustacea  (crabs) ;  and 
jlnnelida  (worms) ;  excluding  the  soft  Vermes 
of  Linnaeus,  which  include  the  shell-fishes,  or 
Mollusca.  So  diversified,  indeed,  are  the  difl'er- 
ent  groups  of  this  immense  assemblage,  or 
sub-kingdom  of  the  animal  world,  that  it  is  im  ■ 
possible  to  assign  to  them  any  other  character 
as  a  whole,  than  that  just  mentioned. 

From  the  works  of  Mr.  Swainson,  of  Kirby 
and  Spence,  the  papers  of  Mr.  Duncan,  in  the 
Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlgr.,  the  work  of  V.  Kcillar, 
On  Insects  injurious  to  Gardeners,  Foresters,  and 
Farmers,  and  especially  from  that  of  Dr.  Har- 
ris, the  chief  facts  are  obtained.  In  the  words 
of  M.  Kcillar,  "To  enable  the  readers,  for  whom 
this  work  is  intended,  to  find  more  easily  the 
insect  particularly  interesting  to  each,  it  has 
been  considered  proper  not  to  treat  of  families 
and  species  in  any  systematic  arrangement, 
but  according  to  the  branch  of  culture  to 
which  they  are  particularly  injurious."  And, 
in  pursuance  of  this  object,  I  shall  only  briefly 
allude  to  some  of  the  chief  of  the  insect  depre- 
dators, for  "to  enumerate,"  says  Davy,  "all 
the  destroying  animals  and  tyrants  of  the  vege- 
table kingdom,  would  be  to  give  a  catalogue 
of  the  greater  number  of  the  classes  in  zoology; 
almost  every  species  of  plant  is  the  peculiar 
resting-place  or  dominion  of  some  insect  tribe; 
and  from  the  locust,  and  caterpillar,  to  the  mi- 
nute aphis,  a  wonderful  variety  of  inferior  in- 
sects are  nourished,  and  live  by  their  ravages 
upon  the  vegetable  world." 

Of  the  considerable  extent  to  which  the  va- 
rious insect  tribes  commit  their  depredations, 
no  farmer  will  for  a  moment  doubt,  and  yet  he 
forms  his  judgment  only  upon  the  ravages  of 
the  larger  insects.  Of  the  smaller  tribes — the 
minute  trespassers — the  animalculse — those 
only  discernable  through  the  microscope,  he 
forms  no  estimate.  Yet  of  those  that  he  does 
see,  the  catalogue  is  fearfully  alarming. — 
"  There  is,"  says  Mr  Duncan,  "  scarcely  one 


IXSECTS. 


of  onr  most  nseful  plants  which  is  not  assailed 
in  some  way  or  other;  and  the  forms  of  in- 
sects, and  their  modes  of  livinsj,  are  so  infi- 
nitely diversified  as  to  enable  them  to  continue 
their  depredations  in  all  the  different  states  of 
these  plants.  The  various  rfinds  of  grain,  for 
example,  hare  a  host  of  enemies  in  the  sub- 
terraneous larvae  of  beetles  which  consume 
the  roots ;  various  kinds  of  caterpillars  feed 
on  the  blade ;  some  particular  species  attack 
the  ear;  and  even  whe»  laid  up  in  apparent 
security,  a  small  beetle  is  often  found  to  scoop 
out  the  interior  of  each  grain,  and  convert  it 
into  an  abode  for  itself.  (See  Corx  Wekvil.) 
In  England,  if  the  seed  of  the  turnip  escape 
the  attack  of  a  minute  weevil,  another  enemy 
awaits  the  unfolding  of  the  cotyledon  leaves, 
and  a  third  buries  itself  in  the  bulb  and  root- 
lets, which  become  diseased  and  covered  with 
unseemly  excrescences  (see  Axeuht),  while 
the  mature  foliage  is  often  consumed  by  cater- 
pillars. 

"But  even  when  there  is  no  remarkable 
augmentation  of  their  numbers,  there  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  injury  occasioned  to 
vegetation  by  insects  is  at  all  times  greater 
than  is  generally  supposed.  Their  operations 
are  often  carried  on  under  cover,  either  be- 
neath the  surface  of  the  soil,  within  the  sub- 
stance of  the  plant,  or  in  other  situations 
where  they  escape  observation.  Many  kinds 
again  feed  only  during  the  night,  and  conceal 
themselves  during  the  day  in  holes  and  cre- 
vices. In  consequence  of  this  latent  and  in- 
sidious mode  of  attack,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
we  are  often  led  to  ascribe  the  unhealthiness 
and  decay  of  plants  to  badness  of  soil,  unfa- 
vourable weather,  and  other  causes,  when  in 
reality  they  are  produced  entirely  by  insects." 
(Quart.  Jmirn.  Jgr.  vol.  viii.  p.  97.)  "The  only 
course,"  adds  Mr.  Duncan,  "  which  is  likely  to 
lead  to  the  discovery  of  proper  remedies,  is  to 
investigate  carefully  the  habits  and  natural 
history  of  insects  in  connection  with  the  struc- 
ture and  general  physiology  of  the  plants 
which  they  attack.  In  prosecuting  this  object, 
the  attention  should  be  directed  to  ascertain 
the  time  when,  and  the  manner  in  which,  the 
eggs  are  deposited,  as  well  as  their  composi- 
tion, and  that  of  the  enclosing  membrane,  with 
a  view  to  determine  in  what  way  the  vital 
principle  might  be  most  easily  destroyed.  The 
habits  of  the  larvae  call  for  particular  atten- 
tion, as  it  is  generally  in  this  state  that  the 
mischief  is  committed;  the  period  of  their  ap- 
pearance, their  times  of  feeding,  plants  on 
which  they  feed,  and  (if  attached  to  more  than 
one)  the  kind  they  seem  to  prefer,  the  part  of 
the  plant  attacked,  duration  of  the  larvae  state, 
should  be  carefully  noted;  an  acquaintance 
with  the  places  to  which  the  larvae  usually  re- 
treat when  aboirt  to  change  to  pupae,  and  with 
the  structure,  duration,  &c.  of  the  latter,  might 
probably  suggest  some  easy  means  of  destroy- 
ing many  in  that  dormant  state.  A  knowledge 
of  the  economy  of  the  perfect  insect  is  of 
course  of  the  utmost  importance ;  if  we  could 
becon^.e  acquainted  with  the  retreats  in  which 
th«'y  pass  the  winter,  or  find  means  to  destroy 
the  few  that  generally  survive,  when  they  first 
appear  in  the  spring,  and  before  they  have  de- 


INSECTS. 

I  posited  their  eggs,  the  injuries  which  are  sus- 
1  tained  by  their  means  might  be  altogether  pre- 
I  vented."     (Ibid.  p.  99.) 

Let  not,  however,  the  farmer,  when  he  is  thus 
warmly  engaging  in  the  destruction  of  the  an- 
noying insects  of  the  field,  omit  to  consider 
whether  many  of  these  are  not,  in  some  shape 
or  other,  productive  of  benefit — whether  they 
do  not  serve  to  keep  within  reasonable  limits 
other  insects,  or  perhaps  perform  some  other 
wise  purpose  in  the  works  of  the  creation. 
This  has  been  proved  to  be  the  fact  in  the  case 
of  the  common  earth-worm,  whose  casts  so 
often  annoy  the  gardener  and  the  farmer.  (See 
Earth- WoRx.)  For  these  not  only  assist  in 
the  continual  admixture  of  different  strata  of 
I  earths,  but,  by  boring  the  soil,  they  promote  in 
;  it  the  circulation  of  the  atmospheric  gases,  and 
even  the  drainage  from  it  of  its  superfluous 
moisture.  And  as  White,  of  Selborne,  remarks 
in  his  Natural  History,  "The  most  insignificant 
insects  and  reptiles  are  of  much  more  conse- 
quence, and  have  much  more  influence  in  the 
economy  of  nature,  than  the  incurious  are 
aware  of.  From  their  minuteness,  which  ren- 
ders them  less  an  object  of  attention,  from  their 
numbers  and  fecundity,  earth-worms,  though  in 
appearance  a  small  and  despicable  link  in  the 
chain  of  nature,  yet,  if  lost,  would  make  a 
lamentable  chasm." 

Insects  have  been  divided  by  entomologists 
into  two  great  divisions — the  winged  and  the 
windless. 

Winged  insects  are  divided  into  the  follow- 
ing orders : — 

1.  Coleoptera.  Of  this  order  are  the  weevils, 
the  rose-bug,  ground  and  dung  beetles,  &c. 

2.  Orlhoptera.  Of  this  order  are  the  cock- 
roach, field  cricket,  grasshopper,  &c. 

3.  Hciniptera.  Of  which  are  the  field,  tree, 
and  bed-bugs,  fetid  bugs,  &c. 

4.  Neuroptera.  In  which  are  comprehended 
the  dragon  fly,  lace  fly,  ephemera,  &c. 

5.  Hymenoptera.  In  this  order  are  bees, 
wasps,  ants,  saw-flies,  gall-flies,  &c. 

6.  Lepidoptera.  Of  which  order  are  the  but- 
terflies, moths,  &c. 

7.  Rhipiplera.  Of  which  are  certain  minute 
insect  parasites  living  on  bees,  wasps,  &c. 

8.  Diptera.  Of  this  order  are  gnats,  house 
flies,  musketoes,  ox  and  horse  flies,  &c. 

The  insects  without  wings  (Aptera)  are  di- 
vided into  the  following  orders  : 

9.  Myriapoda.  Of  this  are  the  centipede, 
lulus,  &c. 

10.  Thysanura.  Including  small,  soft,  leaping 
insects,  generally  covered  with  a  silvery  down, 
and  found  in  damp  places,  under  logs,  <fec. 

11.  Parasita.     The  lice  tribe,  &c. 

12.  Sudaria.     The  flea. 

I.  The  Transformation  of  Insects. — Insects 
commonly  change  their  form  several  times  in 
the  most  apparently  magic  manner.  A  few, 
the  Aphis,  for  instance,  are  viviparous,  but 
they  are  generally  produced  from  eggs,  that  is, 
the  eggs  are  produced  in  the  body  of  the  mo- 
ther. "The  female,"  says  Kollar,  "lays  her 
eggs  (which  are  often  stuck  on  and  covered 
with  a  kind  of  glue  to  protect  them  from  the 
weather)  shortly  after  pairing,  instinctively  in 
the  place  best  adapted  for  their  developemeni, 

063 


INSECTS. 


INSECTS. 


and  which  offers  the  proper  food  to  the  forth- 
coming brood. 

Most  insects  issue  from  their  eggs  as  larvae  ; 
those  of  the  butterflies  are  provided  with  feet, 
and  are  called  caterpillars ;  those  of  beetles, 
grubs ;  and  when  they  have  no  feet,  they  are 
called  maggots.  In  this  state,  as  their  bodies 
increase,  the  insects  often  cast  their  skin,  and 
sometimes  change  their  colour.  Many  winged 
insects,  such  as  the  grasshoppers,  dragon  fl'cs, 
&c.,  very  much  resemble  in  their  larva  state 
the  perfect  insect;  they  only  want  the  wings, 
which  are  not  developed  till  after  the  last 
change  of  the  skin.  The  larva  stale  is  the  pe- 
riod of  feeding;  and  insects  are  then  usually 
the  destructive  enemies  of  other  productions 
of  nature,  and  objects  of  persecution  to  far- 
mers, gardeners,  and  foresters. 

The  nympha  or  pupa  state  succeeds  that  of 
the  larva.  Insects  do  not  now  require  nou- 
rishment (with  the  exception  of  grasshoppers 
and  a  few  others),  and  repose  in  a  death-like 
slumber.  To  be  safe  from  their  enemies  and 
the  weather,  the  larvce  of  many  insects,  par- 
ticularly butterflies,  prepare  for  themselves  a 
covering  of  a  silky  or  a  cottony  texture.  Many 
form  themselves  a  house  of  earth,  moss,  leaves, 
grass,  or  foliage.  Many  even  go  into  the  earth, 
or  decayed  wood,  or  conceal  themselves  under 
the  bark  of  trees,  and  other  places  of  security. 

After  a  certain  fixed  period  the  perfect  in- 
sect appears  from  the  pupa.  It  is  usually  fur- 
nished, in  this  state,  with  other  organs  for  the 
performance  of  its  appointed  functions,  as  for 
the  propagation  of  \is  species,  &c.  The  male 
insect  seeks  the  female,  and  the  female  the 
place  best  suited  for  laying  her  eggs;  hence 
most  insects  are  furnished  with  wings.  Food 
is  now  a  secondary  consideration ;  consequent- 
ly, in  many,  the  feeding  organs  are  less  per- 
fectly developed  than  in  the  larva  state,  or  very 
much  modified,  and  suited  for  finer  food,  as, 
for  example,  in  butterflies,  which,  instead  of 
the  leaves  of  plants,  only  consume  the  honey 
out  of  their  flowers. 

II.  The  food  of  insects  is  indeed  procured  from 
an  extensive  pasture.  "From  the  majestic 
oak,"  observes  M.  V.  Kiillar,  "to  the  invisible 
fungus  or  the  insignificant  wall-moss,  the 
whole  race  of  plants  is  a  stupendous  meal  to 
which  the  insects  sit  down  as  guests.  Even 
those  plants  which  are  highly  poisonous  and 
nauseating  to  other  animals  are  not  refused  by 
thera.  But  this  is  not  yet  all.  The  larger 
plant-consuming  animals  usually  limit  their 
attacks  to  leaves,  seed,  and  stalks :  not  so  in- 
sects, to  the  various  families  of  which  every 
part  of  a  plant  yields  suitable  provender. 
Some  which  live  under  the  earth,  attack  roots  ; 
others  choose  the  stem  and  branches  ;  a  third 
divj.jion  live  on  the  leaves;  a  fourth  prefers 
the  flowers;  while  a  fifth  selects  the  fruit  or 
seed.  ]']ven  here  a  still  further  selection  takes 
place.  Of  those  which  feed  on  the  roots,  stems, 
and  branches,  some  species  only  eat  the  rind 
like  the  bee-hawk  moth;  others  the  inner  bark 
and  the  alburnum,  like  the  bark  beetle;  a  third 
division  penetrates  into  the  heart  of  the  solid 
ivood,  like  the  family  of  the  long-horned  bee- 
tles. (See  BoKKTis.)  Of  those  which  prefer  the 
\'f  IJage,  some  take  nothing  but  the  juice  out  of 
664 


the  sap  vessels,  as  the  aphides :  others  devour 
the  substance  of  the  leaves  without  touching 
the  epidermis,  as  the  mining  caterpillars; 
others  only  the  upper  or  under  surface  of  the 
leaves  (leaf  rollers),  while  a  fourth  division 
(as  the  larvae  of  the  Lepidoptera)  devour  the 
entire  leaf. 

Of  those  feeding  on  flowers,  some  eat  the 
petals  (the  rose-bug,  &c.),  others  the  farina 
(bees,  &c.) ;  a  still  greater  number  consume 
the  honey  from  the  .nectaries  (wasps,  flies, 
&c.) ;  other  insects  injure  the  plant  by  punc- 
turing it,  and  laying  their  egg  in  the  wound, 
and  with  it  an  acrid  matter,  which  causes  a 
peculiar  excrescence  in  which  their  young 
are  hatched  and  live,  until  they  are  able  to  eat 
their  way  out,  to  perform  the  functions  of  the 
parents,  such  as  the  gall-fly,  &c.  The  death- 
watch  or  ticking  beetle  {Anobium)  feeds  on  dry 
wood,  long  used,  as  portions  of  our  dwelling 
houses. 

Those  insects  which  tenant  and  feed  upon 
animal  matters,  have  an  equally  varied  taste: 
of  these  are  the  different  kinds  of  bird  and 
sheep  lice,  &c.,  gnats,  midges,  breeze  flies, 
bugs,  fleas,  &c.  Some  of  the  carnivorous  bee- 
tles devour  their  prey  entire  ;  others  only  suck 
out  their  juices ;  others  live  upon  the  food  they 
obtain  in  water,  and  devour  swarms  of  the  in- 
fusoria. Many  live  on  carrion  and  the  excre- 
ments of  the  larger  animals,  such  as  the  dung- 
beetle,  and  carcass-beetle;  others  live  in  the 
stomachs  of  animals ;  many  moths  live  en- 
tirely upon  hair,  leather,  wool,  and  feathers. 

The  food  of  insects  varies  strangely  with 
their  transformations :  the  caterpillar  requires 
very  diff'erent  food  from  the  butterfly ;  the 
maggot  from  the  beetle  andfly.  The  larva  of  the 
Sirex  gigas  feeds  on  wood,  the  perfect  insect  on 
flies.  Those  of  some  melolonthians  live  on 
roots  and  tubers,  the  beetle  on  leaves.  The 
quantity  of  food  consumed  by  diflferent  insects 
varies  very  much :  many  consume  more  than 
their  own  weight  in  a  day.  The  maggot  of 
the  flesh-fly,  according  to  Redi,  becomes  200 
times  heavier  in  the  course  of  24  hours.  Cater- 
pillars digest  every  day  about  one-third  to  one- 
fourth  of  their  weight ;  hence  the  ravages  they 
commit  in  a  few  days'.  Ofothers,  however,  such 
as  the  day-flies  {EphemeridcB)  and  the  breeze- 
flies,  and  even  amongst  the  Lepidoptera  which 
spin  cocoons,  many  appear  to  abstain  from, 
nourishment.  Some  eat  only  during  the  day, 
others  in  the  evening;  and  others,  such  as  the 
caterpillars  of  the  night  moths,  during  the 
night.  Most  of  them  provide  their  own  food; 
but  a  few  which  live  in  communities,  such  as 
the  wasps,  bees,  ants,  &c.,  are  fed  by  the  per- 
fect insect.  Many  provide  a  store  of  food,  but 
the  greater  number  die  unprovided  with  a 
store :  others  feed  their  larvce."  See  Beetle, 
and  BoiiEns. 

III.  Destruction  of  Insects,  <^c.  by  Artificial 
Means. — Various  have  been  the  recipes  sug- 
gested for  the  destruction  of  the  insects 
which  destroy  the  cultivator's  crops.  Ants, 
it  is  said,  may  be  easily  destroyed  by  toasting 
the  fleshy  side  of  the  skin  of  a  piece  of  bacon 
till  it  is  crisp,  and  laying  it  at  the  root  or 
stem  of  any  fruit  tree  that  is  infested  by  these 
insects.  f/"acing  something  over  the  bacon  to 


I 


INSECTS. 


keep  it  dry— the  ants  will  go  under  it ;  after  a 
time  lift  it  up  quickly,  and  dip  it  into  a  pail  of 
water.  While  treating  of  insects,  I  may  inci- 
dentally allude  to  worms  and  slugs,  or  naked 
snails.  For  the  destruction  of  slugs,  warm  in 
an  oven,  or  before  the  fire,  a  quantity  of  cab- 
bage leaves,  until  they  are  soft,  then  rub  them 
with  unsalted  butter,  or  any  kind  of  fresh  drip- 
ping, and  lay  them  in  the  places  infested  by 
slugs.  In  a  few  hours  the  leaves  will  be 
found  covered  with  snails  and  slugs.  Wood- 
lice  are  destroyed  in  the  same  way.  For  field 
operations,  perhaps,  the  best  means  of  destroy- 
ing slugs  and  worms  is  common  salt,  an  agent 
too  little  known  for  this  purpose,  yet  its  powers 
are  undoubted. 

No  person  has  employed  common  salt  for 
the  purpose  of  destroying  worms  to  a  greater 
extent  than  Jacob  Busk,  Esq.,  of  Ponsbourn 
Park,  in  Hertfordshire.  His  valuable  experi- 
ments have  extended  over  some  hundreds  of 
acres  of  wheat.  To  use  his  own  words, — "  In 
every  situation,  and  at  every  time,  the  effect 
appeared  equally  beneficial."  The  quantity 
per  acre, — "about  four  or  five  bushels  sown 
out  of  a  common  seed-shuttle."  The  period, — 
**In  the  evening."  The  effect, — "In  the  morn- 
ing each  throw  may  be  distinguished  by  the 
quantity  of  slime  and  the  number  of  dead  slugs 
lying  on  the  ground.  In  some  fields  it  has  cer- 
tainly been  the  means  of  preventing  the  de- 
struction of  the  whole  crop."  Six  bushels  of 
salt  per  acre  was  applied  by  hand,  in  April, 
1828,  to  a  field  of  oats  attacked  by  the  slugs 
and  worms,  and  the  crop  was  completely  saved 
by  this  application,  although  an  adjoining  field, 
not  salted,  was  entirely  destroyed  by  this  sort 
of  vermin. 

Salt,  too,  is  a  complete  preventive  of  the 
ravages  of  the  weevil  in  grain.  It  has  been 
successfully  employed  in  the  proportion  of  a 
pint  of  salt  to  a  barrel  of  wheat.  I  learn  from 
an  American  merchant,  that  wheat  placed  in 
old  salt  barrels  is  never  attacked  by  these  de- 
structive insects.  Six  or  eight  pounds  of  salt 
sprinkled  over  100  sheaves  in  stacking,  pro- 
duces exactly  the  same  effect. 

The  Eriosonm  lanigera  upon  apple  trees,  and 
several  other  insects  (See  American  Blight), 
may  be  killed  by  clay  and  water,  made  as  thin 
as  whitewash,  and  mixing  with  every  6  gallons 
of  it  2  lbs.  of  cream  of  tartar,  1  lb.  of  soft  soap, 
and  half  a  peck  of  quicklime.  "When  you 
think,"  says  Mr.  Loudon,  "that  the  weather  is 
likely  to  continue  dry  for  some  time,  take  a 
bucketful  of  this  mixture,  and  with  a  large 
brush,  wash  over  the  bark  of  the  trees,  wher- 
ever you  think  it  has  been  infected  with  the 
bug.  A  man  will  dress  a  number  of  trees  over 
in  a  few  days  with  a  whitewash  brush  and  this 
liquid ;  it  is  only  necessary  to  be  careful  to  do 
it  in  dry  weather,  so  that  the  rain  may  not 
wash  over  the  mixture  for  some  time.  The 
clay  and  water  alone  are  sometimes  effectual. 
Flies  and  wasps. — A  mixture  of  pepper,  sugar, 
and  water  will  speedily  attract  and  destroy 
them.  {Gard.  Mag.  No.  37  ;  Quart.  Journ.  .^gr. 
vol.  iii.  p.  1071.) 

Moss  and  Insects. — Mr.  Thomas  recommends 
that  the  trees   infected   should    be  sprinkled 
with  a  fine  powder  in  March,  and  again  in  Oc-  ] 
84 


INSECTS. 

tober,  on  a  foggy  day  when  the  trees  are  damp 
but  not  dripping,  and  I  have  no  doubt  of  it." 
efficacy.  It  is  composed  as  follows;  slack  five 
bushels  of  lime,  hot  from  the  kiln,  with  com- 
mon salt  and  water  (say  one  lb.  of  salt  to  each 
gallon  of  water).  When  the  lime  has  fallen  to 
a  fine  powder,  add  by  small  quantities  at  a 
time  a  bushel  of  soot,  stirring  it  until  com- 
pletely incorporated.  Mr.  Thomas  has  found 
that  one  man  can  dust  over  with  the  powder  fifty 
trees  in  a  day,  and  that  the  moss  in  the  turf 
under  fruit  trees  thus  treated  is  also  completely 
destroyed  by  the  application.  (Trans.  Soc.  Arts.) 
Worms  in  grass  plats  may  be  readily  destroyed 
by  copiously  watering  the  turf  with  lime-water 
(half  a  pound  of  the  hottest  quick-lime  well 
stirred  in  each  gallon  of  water),  or  by  sprin- 
kling common  salt  (20  bushels  per  acre)  over 
it,  or  by  strewing  it  on  gravel  walks  in  rather 
large  proportions.  Lime  is  recommended  for 
the  destruction  of  the  worm  which  sometimes 
injures  young  larch  plantations;  coal-tar  and 
tar  water  to  preserve  hop  poles  and  other 
wood  from  the  ravages  of  insects.  The  cater- 
pillars on  cabbages  may  be  readily  destroyed 
by  sprinkling  them  with  finely  powdered  lime  ; 
and  when  some  years  since  a  black  caterpillar 
attacked  very  generally  and  extensively  the 
turnips,  in  some  instances  they  were  very  suc- 
cessfully destroyed  by  turning  into  the  fields 
considerable  numbers  of  common  ducks. 
Heavy  rolling,  especially  during  the  night,  is 
in  many  cases  destructive  of  slugs;  and  it  is 
certain  that,  by  occasional  material  variations 
in  the  rotation  of  crops  (see  Rotation^  op 
Chops),  the  number  of  predatory  insects  may 
be  very  considerably  reduced  in  cultivated 
soils  by  depriving  the  larvae  of  their  particular 
and  essential  food. 

Mr.  Knight  recommends  the  use  of  carbonate 
of  ammonia  for  the  destruction  of  the  insects 
upon  the  pine  and  other  plants.  Mr.  Baldwin, 
in  effect,  does  the  same,  when  he  commends 
the  use  of  the  steam  from  hot  fermenting  horse 
dung.  Mr.  Robertson  found  soot  (which  con- 
tains ammonia),  when  diffused  in  water,  to  be 
an  excellent  application.  When  speai-  ing  of 
the  use  of  fermenting  horse  dung  in  .\\e  de- 
struction of  insects,  Mr.  Knight  remarked,  "I 
conclude  the  destructive  agent  in  this  case  is 
ammoniacal  gas,  which  Sir  Humphry  Davy 
informed  me  he  had  found  to  be  instantly  fatal 
to  every  species  of  insect;  and,  if  so  this 
might  be  obtained  at  a  small  expense  by  pour- 
ing a  solution  of  crude  muriate  of  ammonia 
upon  quicklime  ;  the  stable  or  cow-house  would 
afford  an  equally  efficient,  though  less  delicate 
fluid.  The  ammoniacal  gas  might,  I  conceive, 
be  impelled  by  means  of  a  pair  of  bellows 
amongst  the  leaves  of  the  infected  plants,  in 
sufficient  quantity  to  destroy  animal  wiihout 
injuring  vegetable  life."  Ammonia  seem.s  pe- 
culiarly distasteful  to  insects.  Carbonate  of 
ammonia  is  often  successfully  placed  in  meat- 
safes  to  prevent  the  attacks  of  flies. 

IV.  The  natural  Enemies  of  Insects. — Among;!! 
the  enemies  by  which  insects  are  kept  in 
check,  may  be  numbered  long-continued  rains, 
late  frosts,  inundations,  storms ;  and,  among 
the  animals,  bats,  mice,  moles,  squirrels,  foxes, 
&c.  Birds  devour  them  by  myriads;  the  greeu 
3  K  2  666 


INSECTS. 


INSECTS. 


finch  tears  open  (says  Reaumur)  the  strong 
nest  of  the  yellow-tailed  moth,  and  eats  the 
infant  caterpillars.  The  woodpeckers  and  tree- 
creepers  commit  great  ravages  amongst  the 
beetles  and  caterpillars.  Crows,  which  in  some 
sections  destroy  the  corn,  commit  great  ravages 
upon  cutworms  and  destructive  insects.  In 
one  of  the  English  counties  where  the  rook  (a 
bird  allied  to  the  crow)  had  increased  so  as  to 
do  some  damage  to  the  crops,  a  destructive 
war  was  waged  against  them,  so  that  they 
were  A.carly  exterminated.  But  under  these 
circumstances  various  species  of  the  insect 
tribe  increased  so  rapidly,  that  it  became  ne- 
cessary to  import  the  rooks  again  from  the 
adjoining  counties.  In  fact,  it  remains  to  be 
proved  whether  any  omnivorous  bird  is  more 
prejudicial  than  useful.  Insects  in  their  va- 
rious states  exist  throughout  the  warm  season, 
whilst  the  crops  are  exposed  to  the  birds  for  a 
comparatively  short  period.  Every  protection 
should  be  given  to  birds,  and  boxes  should  be 
fitted  up  for  martins,  wrens,  and  bluebirds.  To 
these  may  be  added  the  frog,  the  toad,  &c. 
Many  insects,  such  as  the  ground  beetles,  de- 
vour the  pupse  of  others.  Then,  again,  there 
is  the  numerous  order  of  the  IchneumonidcE, 
which  lay  their  eggs  in  the  bodies  of  other  in- 
sects and  destroy  them.  The  eggs  are  hatched 
within  the  body  of  the  living  insect,  and  the 
5'^oung  parasites,  in  the  most  literal  sense,  fat- 
ten on  the  entrails  of  their  prey.  At  last  the 
wounded  caterpillar  sinks,  the  enemies  escape 
through  the  skin  and  become  pupse;  or  the 
caterpillar,  notwithstanding  its  internal  para- 
sites, enters  the  pupa  state ;  but,  instead  of  a 
butterfly,  one  or  more  Ichneunionidce  appear. 
The  beautiful  little  red  insect  familiarly  known 
as  the  lady-bird  or  lad3'^-bug,  is  of  vast  service 
by  the  havoc  which  it  makes  among  the  plant 
and  bark-lice.  Many  a  friendly  ichneumon  fly 
or  lady-bird  has  been  killed  by  those  whose 
want  of  knowledge  led  them  to  consider  these 
insects  destructive  to  vegetation.  To  these 
wonderful  animals  we  often  owe  the  preserva- 
tion of  our  orchards,  woods,  and  grains.  Many 
other  modes,  besides  those  I  have  enumerated, 
have  been  suggested,  by  which  the  number  of 
the  cultivator's  predatory  insects  may  be  re- 
duced, most  of  which  I  shall  notice  under  their 
respective  heads.  I  am  quite  of  the  opinion, 
however,  of  the  authors  of  the  work  I  have  so 
extensively  quoted,  "that  the  most  essential  and 
necessary  means  to  be  opposed  to  the  serious 
injuries  caused  by  insects,  consists  in  the  uni- 
versal dissemination  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
natural  history  of  hurtful  insects  amongst  far- 
mers, gardeners,  foresters,  and  all  those,  in 
fact,  who  are  in  any  manner  connected  with 
agriculture." 

V.  Of  the  Insects  which  live  and  propagate  on 
domistic  animals. — The  chief  are  lice,  which 
corr.monly  originate  from  want  of  cleanliness, 
poor,  unwholesome  food,  or  from  the  weaken- 
ing effects  of  other  diseases.  Old  horses  are 
more  subject  to  them  than  young  ones ;  they 
are  common  in  sheep,  jind  in  swine;  for  which 
the  best  remedies  will  be  found  under  their  re- 
spective heads.  (For  the  bots  in  horses,  see 
Hot;  for  those  in  sheep,  see  Sheep  Box;  for 
t.he  ox-warble,  see  Wahble.)  The  forest  fly, 
6P6 


or  horse  fly,  lives  chiefly  on  horses.  It  flies  in 
short  flights  quickly,  and  moves  about  with 
considerable  agility.  The  female  lays  but  one 
egg  at  a  time,  from  which  the  fly  is  hatched. 
They  abound  in  the  New  Forest.  See  Horse 
Flt. 

The  well-known  sheep  tick  has  no  wings ; 
the  fore  part  of  its  body  is  very  small,  but  the 
abdomen  is  large.  Its  colour  reddish,  with 
white  lines  on  the  side  of  the  abdomen.  The 
farmer  will  find  the  following  an  excellent 
receipt  for  a  sheep-dipping  wash,  by  which 
they  are  readily  destroyed: — ^  a  lb.  of  powder- 
ed white  arsenic,  4^  lbs.  of  soft  soap.  Boi. 
these  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  or  until  the  ar- 
senic is  dissolved,  in  five  gallons  of  water. 
Add  this  to  the  water  sufficient  to  dip  fifty 
sheep.  The  quantity  of  arsenic  usually  re- 
commended is  too  large.     See  Ticks. 

VI.  Insects  which  injure  Bees. — There  are  seve- 
ral insects  which  injure  bees,  such  as  a  para- 
site bee-louse,  which  is  about  the  size  of  a  flea, 
has  no  eyes,  but  the  rudiments  of  four  feelers. 
They  tenant  chiefly  populous  hives  :  sometimes 
two  or  three  are  found  on  a  bee.  These  para- 
sites disturb  and  annoy  even  the  queen  bee. 
"  A  bee,"  says  M.  Kollar,  "  infested  with  a  bee- 
louse,  endeavours,  but  to  no  purpose,  to  get  rid 
of  such  an  unwished-for  guest,  till  at  last  she 
creeps  under  a  number  of  other  bees,  and  rubs 
off"  the  louse  from  her  back,  when  it  imme- 
diately betakes  itself  to  the  back  of  another  bee. 
That  the  presence  of  this  parasite  causes  pain 
to  the  bee,  is  apparent  from  the  restlessness 
with  which  she  runs  out  at  the  hole  and  back 
again.  The  queen  is  also  disturbed  in  her  em- 
ployment of  egg-laying,  when  she  is  infested  by 
them,  so  that  the  hive  suffers  in  another  way 
by  impoverishment.  It  may  even  happen  that 
when  many  of  these  parasites  infest  a  queen, 
she  must  eventually  perish.  In  winter  the  in- 
fected bees  usually  fall  to  the  floor,  and  perish 
with  cold  and  hunger."  Spiders  also  destroy 
bees,  but  only  in  their  nets.  Then  there  is  the 
caterpillar  of  the  honeycomb-moth,  whose  ra^ 
vages  are  very  considerable,  when  once  they 
find  their  way  into  a  hive.  They  devour  only 
the  wax.  Three  hundred  have  been  found  in 
a  hive,  and  there  are  two  generations  of  these 
caterpillars  in  a  year.  Ants  also  are  very  fond 
of  honey,  and  find  their  way  into  hives.  Wasps 
very  frequently  do  the  same.  Bees  even  rob 
each  other's  hives. 

VII.  The  Insects  which  injure  Grain. — These 
are  numerous:  the  chief  of  them  are  the  larvre 
which  feed  on  the  green  leaves  and  roots  of 
grain.  On  these  the  blackbirds,  crows,  and 
other  useful  birds  feed  very  copiously.  The 
barley-midge  (Tipula  cerealis)  attacks  the  bar- 
ley and  spelt  plants. 

VIII.  Insects  luhich  injure  Meadmos, — This  is 
also  a  very  numerous  class.  "  Most  of  the  in- 
sects that  choose  the  various  sorts  of  corn  for 
their  food,"  says  M.  Kollar,  "do  not  reject  the 
other  sorts  of  grasses,  in  the  meadows.  The 
herbage  of  the  meadows  has  also  often  pecu- 
liar enemies,  which  are  very  difficult  to  find 
out  and  destroy.  In  most  cases  the  meadows 
suffer  from  the  roots  of  the  grass  plants  being 
injured,  which  is  chiefly  occasioned  by  the 
larvae  of  various  species  of  cockchaflfeis,  living 


Haff   /6 


J. 


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DEk'^TiRIU^^TIVE    l^SiE'IJf  S,  &r 


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INSECTS. 


I 

I  in  the  earth.  When  bare  spots  are  seen  on 
meadows,  we  may  be  pretty  sure  that  the  larvae 
of  some  species  of  melolontha  are  there  carry- 
ing on  their  work  of  destruction.  The  sub-turf 
plough  disturbs  the  operations  of  these  vermin; 
the  crows  devour  them.    ' 

IX.  Insects  itijurimis  to  cultivated  Vegetables — 
Are  also  numerous,  and  highly  injurious  to  the 
gardener's  crops.  The  flea-beetles  {Haltica) 
are  great  pests  to  the  gardener:  they  attack 
and  devour,  during  the  summer  months, various 
members  of  the  cabbage  tribe,  such  as  the  cab- 
bage, cauliflower,  and  colewort,  the  turnip,  the 
radish,  common  and  water  cress :  they  also 
prey  upon  flax,  hops,  sainfoin,  &c.  (See  Flt 
IX  TuuNiPs.)  The  mole  cricket  (Gryllotalpa) 
is  often  peculiarly  mjurious  to  the  German 
cultivators.  It  does  not  confine  its  ravages  to 
the  garden  crops,  but  injures  very  materially 
those  of  the  meadow  and  corn-fields.  It  mea- 
sures, when  full-grown,  about  two  inches  in 
length.  The  plant-lice  (Jphis)  chiefly  haunt 
the  cabbage,  peas,  and  beans.  They  are  de- 
voured in  great  numbers  by  several  of  the  lady- 
birds (Coccimlla)  and  fly  tribes. 

X.  Insects  which  injure  Green-house  Plants. — 
Of  these  I  need  only  mention  the  orange  scale 
insect  (Coccus  hesperidum)  ;  the  pine-apple  scale 
insect  (Coccus  brotneU(E)  ;  the  mealy  bug  (Coccus 
jidonidum)  ;  the  oleander  scale  insect  (Aspidio- 
tus  Nerii),  abounding  on  oleanders,  acacias, 
aloes,  palms,  &c. ;  the  rose  scale  (A.  toscb), 
found  in  old  rose  stems  and  twigs ;  the  cactus 
scale  (A.  echinocarti),  on  the  cacti ;  the  sweet- 
bay  scale  (A. l(iuri),  on  the  sweet  bay;  the  rose- 
moth  (Tinea  (Or nix)  rhndophagclla)  ;  and  the 
plant-mite  or  red  spider  (Acarius  ielarius). 

XI.  Insects  which  attack  Fruil  Trees.— The 
number  of  insects  which  live  either  partially 
or  entirely  upon  fruit  trees,  is  very  considera- 
ble. I  can  hardly  do  more  in  this  work  than 
give  the  names  of  the  most  formidable  of  these 
little  depredators. 

XII.  Inserts  injurious  to  Forest  Trees. — These 
are  divided  by  M.  Kollar  into  two  classes: — 

1.  Those  which  attack  deciduous  trees ;  and, 

2.  Those  which  are  injurious  to  the  evergreens. 

XIII.  Insects  which  attack  the  Fir  and  Pine 
Tribe — These  often  injure  very  seriously  the 
leaves,  bark,  and  young  shoots  of  some  of  the 
Pinus  tribe. 

Such,  then,  is  a  very  brief  glance  at  that  im- 
mense and  important  class  of  animals  which 
are  included  in  the  science  of  entomology.  It 
must  be  considered,  to  use  the  words  of  Mr. 
Swainson,  only  as  suggestions  and  stimulants 
to  further  inquiry.  The  review,  however,  can- 
not but  fill  us  with  astonishment;  for, although 
we  see  only  a  very  limited  portion  of  the  insect 
world,  yet  that  view,  limited  as  it  is,  is  fraught 
with  instruction  to  the  cultivator.  It  will  lead 
him,  perhaps,  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  the 
often-repeated  truth,  that  nothing  is  created  in 
vain.  It  may  suggest  to  him  also  the  means, 
in  some  cases,  of  arresting  their  ravages,  when, 
by  their  excessive  numbers,  they  become  a 
nuisance  ;  and  it  may  perhaps  be  instrumental 
in  saving  from  destruction  many  a  useful  bird, 
when  the  sportsman  is  made  aware  of  the  num- 
ber of  predatory  insects  which  they  so  unceas- 
ingly destroy.   The  astonishing  number,  habits, 


INSECTS. 

md  instincts  of  the  insect  tribe,  too,  are  equally 
instructive,  and  can  only  be  explained  in  one 
way.  These  phenomena  did  not  escapie  the 
notice  of  the  great  Paley.  Thus  he  observes, 
"Moths  and  butterflies  deposit  their  eggs  in  the 
precise  substance  (that  of  a  cabbage,  for  in- 
stance) from  which  not  the  butterfly  herself, 
but  the  caterpillar  which  is  to  issue  from  her 
eggs,  draws  its  appropriate  food.  The  butterfly 
cannot  taste  the  cabbage ;  cabbage  is  no  food 
for  her;  yet  in  the  cabbage,  not  by  chance,  but 
studiously  and  electively,  she  lays  her  eggs." 
And  when  referring  to  this  imiucncc  mass  of 
animal  life,  he  says,  in  another  place, '  To  this 
great  variety  in  organized  life  the  Dcxty  has 
given,  or  perhaps  there  arises  out  of  it,  a  cor- 
responding variety  of  animal  appetites.  For  the 
final  cause  of  this  we  have  not  far  to  seek.  Did 
all  animals  covet  the  same  element,  retreat,  or 
food,  it  is  evident  how  much  fewer  could  be 
supplied  and  accommodated  than  what  at  pre- 
sent live  conveniently  together,  and  find  a  plen- 
tiful subsistence.  What  one  nature  rejects, 
another  delights  in.  Food  which  is  nauseous 
to  one  tribe  of  animals,  becomes,  by  that  very 
property  which  makes  it  nauseous,  an  alluring 
dainty  to  another  tribe.  Carrion  is  a  treat  to 
dogs,  ravens,  vultures,  fish.  The  exhalations 
of  corrupted  substances  attract  flies  by  crowds. 
Maggots  revel  in  putrefaction."  Neither  can 
the  astonishing  changes  of  some  of  the  insect 
tribe  be  regarded  by  a  rational  being  without 
very  considerable  interest.  "  The  wonderful 
metamorphosis  undergone  by  the  order  Lepi- 
doptera,"  says  Swainson,  "  would  be  almost 
incredible,  were  it  not  familiarized  to  us  from 
early  childhood,  that  a  crawling  worm,  rave- 
nous of  grass  food,  should  voluntarily  seek  a 
retreat  in  the  earth,  or  spin  its  own  shroud; 
that  such  a  change  should  come  over  it,  so 
complete,  as  that  not  a  lineament  of  its  first 
form  was  retained;  that  in  thi?  state,  after  re- 
maining a  misshapen  lump,  tc  all  appearance 
inanimate,  it  should  suddenly  burst  forth,  full 
of  life  and  joy,  and,  with  many -coloured  wings, 
ascend  into  mid-air,  and  derive  its  only  suste- 
nance from  the  nectar  of  flowers; — all  this,  we 
say,  is  one  of  those  miracles  of  nature,  which, 
were  it  told  of  an  insect  that  had  never  yet 
been  seen,  the  world  would  not  believe." 

The  admirable  treatise  of  Dr.  Harris  on 
'^Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,"  has  been  re- 
cently published  by  Dr.  C.  L.  Flint,  with  illus- 
trations drawn  from  nature  under  the  super- 
vision of  Agassiz.  See  also  the  communica- 
tions, with  illustrations,  by  S.  S.  Rathvon,  and 
Townend  Glover,  in  the  Agricultural  Reports 
of  U.  S.  Patent-Office  for  1861-1862,  1863. 

Plate  16  of  this  Encyclopaedia  represents  a 
few  of  our  American  destructive  insects,  with 
those  which  prey  upon  them. 

1.  Elaphidion  putator,  oak  pruner.  See  Bo- 
rers, p.  205. 

2.  Clytus  flexuosus,  locust  tree  borer.  Se« 
BORKRS,  p.  206. 

3.  Criociris  trilineata.     Potato-vine  bug. 

4.  Haltica  striolata,  cucumber  flea  (magnj 
fied),  p.  371. 

5.  Phyllophaga  qucrdna,  p.  172,  173. 

• — 6.  Hylobius  pales,  which  is  very  destructive 
to  the  pine  forests  of  the  south.    The  plum 

667 


INSTEP. 


irriCjai  ion. 


weevil  and  grain  weevil,  as  well  as  this  spe- 
cies, belong  to  the  Curculio  family. 

7.  Agrotis  dandestina,  cut-worm. 

8.  jEgeHa  exitiosa,  peach  tree  borer,  female. 

9.  Gallerea  cereana,  bee-moth,  p.  1 68. 

10.  Caravus  Goryi,  which  may  be  taken  as  a 
representative  of  a  large  family  which  feeds 
upon  other  insects,  caterpillars,  etc. 

11.  Coccinella  borealis,  which  in  its  larva  and 
perfect  state,  feeds  upon  the  aphides  so  destruc- 
tive to  roses  and  other  plants. 

12.  Tragus  fulvus.  The  members  of  the  ex- 
tensive family  {Ichnenwnidce)  to  which  this 
species  belongs,  commit  great  havoc  among 
caterpillars  and  grubs. 

INSTEP.  In  farriery,  a  name  given  to  that 
part  of  a  horse's  hind-leg  which  reaches  from 
the  ham  to  the  pastern  joint. 

INSURANCE.  One  means  of  security 
against  fire.  The  farmer  being  constantly  sur- 
rounded by  much  combustible  matter,  should 
never,  when  possible,  omit  rendering  himself 
aafe  by  insuring  his  stock  of  every  kind  in 
some  public  office,  instituted  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

In  England,  the  legislature  has  wisely  afford- 
ed very  considerable  facilities  to  the  insurance 
of  farming  stock,  which,  by  an  act  of  Parlia- 
ment, is  exempted  from  duty.  "  The  Farmer's 
Insurance  Institution"  of  London  insures  it  at 
Is.  9^/.  per  cent.,  without,  the  average  clause ;  thus 
easily  repaired  are  the  ravages  of  the  incen- 
iiarv,  of  accidental  fires,  and  lightning. 

INTEGUMENT.  The  outer  covering  or 
•.kin  of  an  animal :  it  is  also  used  in  the  same 
«ense  as  a  synonyme  for  Testa,  for  the  husk  or 
exterior  covering  of  seeds. 

INVENTORY  (Fr.  inventaire;  Lat.  inventa- 
rium).  A  detailed  account  taken  of  any  thing 
upon  a  farm.  Inventories  of  the  various  kinds 
of  farming  stock  should  be  taken  annually,  at 
the  close  of  the  year.  See  Book-keepino  and 
Appbaisement. 

INVOLUCRE,  or  INVOLUCRUM.  In  bo- 
tany, the  bractes  (or  small  leaves  placed  near 
the  calyx,  or  the  peduncle  or  pedicil)  which 
surround  the  flowers  or  the  umbels.  Involucels 
are  the  partial  involucres  of  umbelliferous 
plants.     (Paxton^s  Bot.  Diet.) 

IRIS  (from  iris,  the  rainbow;  alluding  to  the 
variety  and  beauty  of  the  colours  of  the  flower). 
This  extensive  genus  has  long  been,  as  it  still 
continues  to  be,  a  great  favourite  in  the  flower 
garden.  "The  sword-leaved  sorts  (says  Sweet) 
do  best  in  a  light  loamy  soil,  and  increase  freely 
by  suckers  from  the  roots  or  by  seeds.  The 
tuberous-rooted  ones  are  more  difficult  to  cul- 
tivate, and  thrive  best  in  a  mixture  of  loam, 
peat,  and  sand,  as  does  also  the  tribe  to  which 
Lpersica  belongs,  as  7.  alata,  I.  caucasica,  I.  reti- 
culata, &c.  The  common  bulbous  species  do 
well  in  any  garden  soil,  the  more  sandy  the 
better."  /.  tuberosa  is  aromatic  as  well  as 
emetic  and  purgative,  and  /.  versicolor  and  /. 
verna  are  used  in  the  United  States  as  cathar- 
tics. {^Paxton^s  Bot.  Did.)  Two  species  of  iris 
only  are  indigenous  to  England, 

1.  The  yellow  water  iris,  or  flower-de-luce 
(/.  pseud-acorus),  which  grows  wild  in  ditches, 
•^ools,  and  rivers,  and  forms  a  handsome  orna- 
668 


ment  for  the  banks  of  ponds  and  streams, 
blowing  from  three  to  six  large,  bright  yellow 
flowers  in  July.  The  root  is  horizontal,  de- 
pressed, brown,  very  astringent ;  the  stem  3  or 
4  feet  high ;  leaves  erect,  ribbed,  grass-green. 
The  disks  of  the  larger  segments  of  the  flowers 
are  pencilled  with  dark  purple. 

2.  Stinking  iris,  or  Gladwyn.  Roast-beef 
plant  {I.  foetidissima).  This  species  grows  in 
groves,  thickets,  and  under  hedges,  but  it  is 
rather  rare.  Dr.  Withering,  however,  observed 
it  to  be  very  common  in  England  in  all  the 
southwest  counties.  It  is  a  perennial,  grow- 
ing to  about  2  feet  high ;  the  leaves  are  dull 
green,  exhaling,  when  rubbed,  a  scent  com- 
pared to  that  of  roast  beef,  to  which  it  is  no 
compliment.  The  flowers,  which  appear  in 
May,  are  dull,  pale  purple,  pencilled  with  dark 
veins.  Seeds  orange-coVoured,  polished.  (Eng, 
Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  48.) 

Miller  only  mentions  19  species  of  cultivated 
irises,  but  there  are  now  nearly  100  known 
species  and  varieties.  Two  or  three  only  are 
much  admired  as  ornamental  flowers.  The 
/.  xiphium  is  a  bulb  from  Spain,  blowing  blue, 
white,  yellow,  and  violet  flowers  in  June.  The 
Persian  iris  blows  a  fragrant  flower  in  March 
and  April ;  plant  the  bulb  in  October,  in  a  pot 
filled  with  equal  quantities  of  fine  mould  and 
sand,  and  house  it  during  frost.  The  dwarf 
iris  is  ornamental  in  clusters  in  a  garden ;  it 
grows  only  three  inches  high,  and  blows  in 
April.  Part  its  roots  in  autumn.  The  Siberian 
iris  blows  in  June,  and  likes  a  moist  situation; 
it  bears  flowers  whose  falling  petals  are  blue, 
and  the  upright  ones  dark  purple ;  its  stem  is 
tall,  and  its  leaves  are  narrow.  I.  susiana,  or 
fleur-de-lis.  The  plant  is  tuberous  rooted,  loves 
a  good  soil,  and  should  be  removed  every  three 
years.  It  flowers  handsomely  in  June,  bearing 
varieties  of  pale  blue,  deep  blue,  and  striped 
or  bluish-white  flowers.  Its  odour  is  feeble, 
but  it  is  fetid.  These  are  the  most  favourite 
kinds  in  gardens.  The  I.  florentina,  which  is 
occasionally  seen  in  our  gardens,  yields  the  orris 
root,  which  is  the  dried  and  peeled  rhizomes 
of  the  plants.  Orris  root  is  prized  chiefly  on 
account  of  its  odour,  which  resembles  that  of 
the  violet.  It  is  added  on  this  account  to  tooth 
powders  and  hair  powder.  A  hazardous  cus- 
tom prevails  of  giving  the  entire  root  to  infants 
to  gnaw  during  teething,  from  which  fatal  re- 
sults have  followed. 

The  wild  flag,  Colour-changing  flax  (7m  Vir- 
giniana),  is  common  on  the  margins  of  ponds 
and  in  miry  places  in  the  Middle  States.  Dr. 
Bigelow  remarks  that  the  root  of  this  is  a  vio- 
lent emetic.  Seven  or  eight  other  species  of 
iris  are  enumerated  in  the  United  States.  (Flor. 
Cestrica.) 

IRON-WOOD  {Carpinus  ostrya).   See  HoRif- 

BEAX. 

IRRIGATION  (Lat.  irj-igio,  to  water).  In 
agriculture,  the  watering  of  the  earth,  to  in- 
crease its  productiveness.  The  term,  however, 
is  confined  to  that  species  of  flooding  which 
consists  of  spreading  a  sheet  of  water  over  a 
field  or  meadow,  in  such  a  manner  that  it  can 
be  easily  withdrawn. 

Irrigation,  or  the  artificial  watering  of  the 


w 

earth,  chiefly 


IRRIGATION. 


Cftrth,  chiefly  to  produce  increased  crops  of 
grass,  has  been  in  use  from  a  very  early  pe- 
riod. In  Oriental  countries,  in  fact,  the  heat 
of  the  climate  is  such,  that  in  many  situations 
the  now  productive  soil  would  be  absolutely 
sterile,  were  it  not  that  the  cultivator  enriched 
his  ground  <vith  a  copious  supply  of  water. 
The  simile  employed  by  Isaiah  (i.  30),  to  indi- 
cate barrenness  and  desolation,  is  "  a  garden 
that  hath  no  water."  And  that,  in  patriarchal 
times,  they  laboured  hard  to  supply  their 
grounds  with  water  by  means  of  various  hy- 
draulic machines,  some  of  which  resembled 
the  water-wheels  of  the  fen  districts  of  Eng- 
land, and  were  worked  by  the  feet  of  men, 
something  after  the  style  of  the  modern  tread- 
mill, is  certain.  Moses  alluded  to  this  prac- 
tice when  he  reminded  the  Israelites  of  their 
sowing  their  corn  in  Egypt,  and  watering  it 
with  their  feet  {Dent.  xi.  10;  2  Kings,  xix.  24), 
and  in  the  sandy  soils  of  Arabia  the  same  sys- 
tem is  still  continued.  (^Niebuhr,  vol.  i.  p.  121.) 
According  to  Dr.  Shaw,  the  following  is  the 
modern  mode  of  raising  and  using  the  water 
of  the  Nile  for  the  purpose  of  irrigation  in 
Egypt.  "Such  vegetable  productions  as  re- 
quire more  moisture  than  what  is  occasioned 
by  the  annual  inundation  of  the  Nile,  are  re- 
freshed by  water  that  is  drawn  at  certain  times 
out  of  the  river,  and  lodged  in  large  cisterns 
made  for  that  purpose.  The  screw  of  Archi- 
medes seems  to  have  been  the  instrument  for- 
merly made  use  of  for  that  purpose,  though  at 
present  the  inhabitants  either  supply  them- 
selves with  various  kinds  of  leathern  buckets, 
or  else  with  a  sakinh,  as  they  call  the  Persian 
wheel,  which  is  the  most  useful  and  generally 
employed  machine.  Engines  and  contrivances 
of  both  these  kinds  are  placed  all  along  the 
banks  of  the  Nile,  from  the  sea  to  the  cataracts, 
their  situations  being  higher,  and  consequently 
the  difficulty  of  raising  the  water  being  greater, 
as  we  advance  up  the  river.  When  their  pulse, 
saffron,  melon,  sugar-canes,  &c.  (all  of  which 
are  commonly  planted  in  rills),  require  to  be 
refreshed,  they  take  out  a  plug  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  cistern,  and  then  the  water  gushing 
out,  is  conducted  from  one  rill  to  another  by 
the  gardener,  who  is  always  ready  as  occasion 
requires  to  stop  and  divert  the  current.  In 
Egypt  at  the  present  day,  according  to  Dr. 
Clarke,  the  water  is  sometimes  raised  for  the 
purposes  of  irrigation  by  means  of  a  wicker 
basket  lined  with  leather,  which  is  held  by 
cords  between  two  men,  who,  by  this  laborious 
means,  swing  it  over  the  banks  of  the  Nile  into 
the  canal  which  conveys  it  to  the  lands  intend- 
ed to  be  irrigated.  A  machine  similar  to  the 
Persian  wheel  is  still  employed  in  China  by 
the  cultivators  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation. 
This  use  of  machinery  for  the  purposes  of 
watering  might,  in  fact,  in  many  situations,  be 
advantageously  employed  in  England  to  a 
much  greater  extent  than  is  commonly  be- 
lieved. It  is  well  known  how  man}^  thousand 
acres  of  valuable  land  are  profitably  drained 
by  means  of  the  steam-engine.  At  this  very 
period  a  public  company  is  proposing  to  en- 
close and  drain  an  arm  of  the  sea  in  Lincoln- 
shire, hy  the  assistance  of  its  gigantic  aid. 
Tet  how  rarely,  if  ever,  is  that  power  employed 


IRRIGATION. 

to  irrigate  the  thirsty  lands  of  England ;  lands 
of  all  others  the  most  profitable,  the  best  adapt- 
ed for  the  formation  of  water  meadows.  The 
tracts  to  which  I  allude  are  those  on  a  slope, 
as  on  the  side  of  a  hill ;  but  these  are  rarely 
found  in  situations  where  a  sufficiently  copious 
supply  of  water  can  be  constantly  obtained  for 
the  purposes  of  irrigation.  Yet  the  quantity 
thus  required  is  not  so  large  as  to  be  beyond 
the  power  of  the  steam-engine  to  supply ;  thus, 
to  sufficiently  saturate  a  square  yard  of  a  cal- 
careous sand  soil  with  water  to  the  depth  of 
one  foot,  as  in  irrigation,  requires  about  30 
gallons  of  water,  equal  to  about  145,000  gal- 
lons per  imperial  acre.  Now,  that  the  steam- 
engine  could  readily  and  profitably  supply  this 
quantity  of  water  may  be  concluded  from  seve- 
ral facts  ;  thus,  the  two  engines,  one  of  80,  the 
other  of  60  horses'  power,  which  keep  Deeping 
Fen,  near  Spalding,  completely  drained,  when 
working,  in  1835,  only  96  days,  of  12  hours 
each,  raised  more  than  14,000,000  tons  of  wa- 
ter several  feet.  The  district  drained  by  them 
contains  about  25,000  acres  {Brit.  Farm.  Mag. 
N.  S.  vol.  iii.  p.  300),  which  would  otherwise 
be  a  complete  swamp.  And  it  has  been  proved 
that,  by  a  common  condensing  steam-engine, 
one  bushel  of  coals  will  raise  more  than 
50,000,000  lbs.  of  water  one  foot.  In  many 
situations,  therefore,  where,  for  the  purposes 
of  irrigation,  good  river  water  can  be  copious- 
ly obtained,  and  fuel  is  at  a  moderate  price,  I 
am  confident  that  great  results  are  yet  to  be 
obtained  by  the  aid  of  mechanical  power.  For, 
by  the  steam-engine,  the  soils  of  all  others  the 
best  adapted  for  irrigation,  may  be  successfully 
brought  into  cultivation ;  for  instance,  the  poor 
sands  and  gravels  on  the  sloping  banks  of 
many  of  the  English  and  Scotish  rivers,  many 
of  whose  waters,  from  being  charged  with  or- 
ganic matter,  the  carbonate  and  sulphate  of 
lime,  and  various  earthy  substances,  are  ex- 
cellent for  the  use  of  water  meadows.  The 
early  employment  of  irrigation  by  the  Egyp- 
tians and  Chinese  was  most  likely  the  result 
of  the  good  effects  which  were  observed  to  be 
produced  by  the  overflowings  of  the  Nile  and 
the  Chinese  rivers  ;  for,  in  the  "  Celestial  Em- 
pire," irrigation  has,  it  seems,  been  employed, 
according  to  their  veracious  historians,  for  a 
period  long  before  that  assigned  to  the  flood. 
In  Italy,  especially  on  the  banks  of  the  Po,  the 
cultivators  of  the  earth  have  certainly  employ- 
ed this  process  for  a  period  previous  to  the 
days  of  Virgil  {Georg.  lib.  i.  v.  106—9),— 

Deinde  satis  iluvium  inducit,  rivosque  sequentes — 

and  it  is  still  carried  on  with  a  zeal  and  care 
worthy  of  the  art  they  practise.  M.  P.  Cato, 
the  earliest  of  the  Roman  writers  upon  agri- 
culture (150  years  before  Christ),  in  his  ninth 
chapter,  told  the  Italian  farmers  to  "make 
water  meadows,  if  you  have  water,  and  if  you 
have  no  water,  have  dry  meadows."  The  di- 
rections of  Columella  seem  to  have  aU  th« 
freshness  of  a  modern  age  about  them.  He 
was  the  first  who  noticed  the  inferior  nu- 
trition aflbrded  by  the  hay  from  water  mea- 
dows. "Land,"  says  he,  "that  is  naturally 
rich,  and  is  in  good  heart,  does  not  need  to 
have  water  set  over  it:  and  it  is  better  hay 

669 


IRRIGATION. 


IRRIGATION. 


^hich  nature,  of  its  own  accord,  produces  in  a 
juicy  soil,  than  what  water  draws  from  a  soil 
that  is  overflowed.  This,  however,  is  a  neces- 
sary practice  when  the  poverty  of  the  soil  re- 
quires it ;  and  a  meadow  may  be  formed  either 
upon  a  stiff  or  free  soil,  though  poor  when 
water  may  be  set  over  it ;  neither  a  low  field 
with  hollows,  nor  a  field  broken  with  steep 
rising  ground,  are  proper;  the  first,  because  it 
contains  too  long  the  water  collected  in  the 
hollows  ;  the  last,  because  it  makes  the  water 
run  too  quickly  over  it.  A  field,  however,  that 
has  a  moderate  descent  may  be  made  a  mea- 
dow, whether  it  be  rich,  or  so  situated  as  to  be 
watered ;  but  the  best  situation  is  where  the 
surface  is  smooth,  and  the  descent  so  gentle 
as  to  prevent  either  showers,  or  the  rivers  that 
overflow  it,  remaining  too  long;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  to  allow  the  water  that  comes  over 
it  quietly  to  glide  off;  therefore,  if  in  any  part 
of  the  field  intended  for  a  meadow,  a  pool  of 
water  should  stand,  it  must  be  let  off  by  drains, 
for  the  loss  is  equal  either  from  too  much  wa- 
ter or  too  little  grass."  (Col.  lib.  ii.  c.  16.) 
Pliny  tells  us  that  "meadows  ought  to  be  wa- 
tered immediately  after  the  spring  equinox, 
and  the  waters  restrained  whenever  the  grass 
shoots  up  into  stalk."  (Nat.  Hist.  lib.  xviii.  c. 
27.)  When,  after  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Em- 
pire, agriculture,  in  common  with  all  other 
sciences,  rapidly  declined,  a  very  remarkable 
exception  to  this  melancholy  result  of  slavery 
and  despotism  was  presented  in  the  case  of 
irrigation,  which  was  carried  on  and  extended 
through  the  long  period  of  the  dark  ages  with 
equal  zeal  and  success.  This  was  more  espe- 
cially the  case  in  Lombardy,  where  it  was  cer- 
tainly prosecuted  on  a  very  bold  and  profitable 
scale  long  before  1037.  The  princes  of  Lom- 
bardy patronised  and  followed  the  example  of 
the  various  religious  establishments  which 
then  monopolized  all  the  wealth  and  learning 
of  the  land,  in  extending  the  employment  of 
water  in  all  possible  directions.  The  monks 
of  Chiazevalle,  in  particular,  were  so  cele- 
brated for  their  knowledge  of  this  branch  of 
agriculture,  and  of  hydraulics  in  general,  that 
the  emperor  Frederick  the  First,  in  the  13ih 
century,  very  gladly  sought  their  advice  and 
assistance.  This  system  has  ever  been  zeal- 
ously and  carefully  extended  and  improved  in 
every  possible  way.  The  waters  of  the  chief 
rivers  of  the  north  of  Italy,  such  as  the  Po,  the 
Adige,  the  Tagliamento,  and  of  all  the  minor 
streams,  are  employed  in  irrigation.  There  is  no 
other  country,  which  possesses  an  extent  of  rich 
water  meadows  equal  to  that  of  the  Lombards. 
The  entire  country  from  Venice  to  Turin  may 
be  said  to  be  formed  into  one  great  water  mea- 
dow :  yet  the  irrigating  system  is  not  confined 
to  grass  lands ;  the  water  is  conveyed  into  the 
hollows  between  the  ridges  in  corn  lands,  into 
the  low  lands  where  rice  is  cultivated,  and 
around  the  roots  of  vines.  From  Italy  the 
practice  extended  into  the  south  of  France, 
into  Spain,  and  then  into  Britain.  In  the 
States  of  Lombardy,  the  water  of  all  the  rivers 
belongs  to  the  state ;  in  those  of  Venice,  the 
government  extends  its  claims  to  that  of  the 
smallest  springs,  and  even  to  collections  of 
-am  water,  so  highly  for  the  use  of  the  cul- 
67: 


tivator,  is  water  of  every  kind  valued  in  the 
north  of  Italy.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  in 
Lombardy,  to  purchase  from  the  state  the 
water  taken  from  the  river;  this  maybe  taken, 
by  means  of  a  canal,  through  any  person's 
grounds,  the  government  merely  requiring  the 
payment  of  the  value  of  the  land  to  the  pro- 
prietor, and  restraining  him  from  carrying  his 
channel  through  a  garden,  or  within  a  cer- 
tain distance  of  a  mansion.  The  water  is  sold 
by  the  government  at  a  certain  rate,  which  is 
regulated  by  the  size  of  the  sluice,  and  the 
time  the  run  of  water  is  used ;  this  is  eithei 
by  the  hour,  half-hour,  or  quarter,  or  by  so 
many  days  at  certain  periods  of  the  year;  the 
right  to  these  runs  of  water  is  regularly  sold  like 
other  property.  ArthurYoung  gives  an  account 
of  the  sale  of  an  hour's  run  of  water  through  a 
sluice  near  Turin,  which  produced,  in  1778, 
1500  livres.  The  rent  of  the  irrigated  lands  in 
the  north  of  Italy  is,  upon  an  average,  more 
than  one-third  greater  than  the  same  descrip- 
tion of  land  not  watered.  (Com.  Board  of  jlgr, 
vol.  vii.  p.  189.) 

In  Bengal,  wells  are  dug  in  the  highest  part 
of  their  fields,  and  from  this,  by  means  of  bul- 
locks and  a  rope  over  a  pulley,  water  is  raised 
in  buckets,  and  conveyed  in  little  channels  to 
every  part  of  the  field.  No  attempts  at  culti- 
vation are  here  made  without  the  assistance 
of  jvater,  obtained  by  some  mode  or  other. 
(See  Ikdia,  Agricultuhe  of.)  The  art  of 
irrigation  was  not  confined  to  the  Old  "World. 
The  Mexicans  practised  it  long  before  the  days 
of  Columbus;  they  collected  the  mountain  tor- 
rents, and  conducted  their  waters  to  their  lands 
in  proper  channels,  with  much  care  and  ad- 
dress. It  was  only  towards  the  termination  of 
the  17th  century  that  water  meadows  were 
constructed  in  Britain  upon  any  thing  like  a 
regular  system.  Of  these,  those  in  Wiltshire, 
which  are  amongst  the  most  celebrated  in 
England,  especially  those  in  the  Wyley  Bourn, 
were  made  between  1700  and  1705.  Those 
of  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  were  constructed 
about  the  same  period,  but  they  were  at  first 
formed  very  inferior  to  the  modern  noble  wa- 
ter-meadow lands  of  those  countries.  Great 
improvements  were  made  towards  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  18th  century,  through  the  publica- 
tions of  G.  Boswell  on  Meadow  Watering  in 
1780,  and  of  the  Rev.  T.  Wright,  of  Auld,  in 
Northamptonshire,  whose  writings  appeared 
at  intervals  from  1789  to  1810.  It  is  notice- 
able that  the  water  employed  for  these  cele- 
brated southern  meads  is  perhaps  the  most 
clear  and  swift  flowing  of  all  the  English 
rivers;  issuing  from  the  chalk  formation,  it  is 
equally  copious  and  transparent.  Some  of  the 
chief  advantages,  therefore,  of  irrigation  may 
evidently  be  derived  from  almost  any  descrip- 
tion of  water;  for  it  is  proved  by  the  good 
effects  produced  by  the  brilliant  chalk-waters 
of  the  south  of  England,  and  the  still  greater 
fertilizing  effect  of  those  surcharged  with  or- 
ganic matter,  as  in  the  Craigintinny  meadows, 
near  Edinburgh,  that  there  is  no  water  too 
bright,  or  too  full  of  impurities,  to  be  useless 
for  the  purposes  of  irrigation. 

I  propose,  in  this  paper,  to  investigate  the 
chemical  properties  of  river  water,  and  of  the 


f 


IRRIGATION. 

effects  produced  by  it  in  irrigation,  adding  a 
few  remarks  upon  the  practice  of  the  best  and 
most  skilful  cultivators  of  the  water  meadows 
of  the  south  of  England. 

1.  With  regard  to  the  composition  of  river 
water,  there  have  been  several  chemical  ex- 
aminations ;  that  of  the  Thames  was  analysed 
by  Dr.  Bostock,  who  found,  in  10,000  parts, 
after  most  of  its  mechanically-suspended  mat- 
ters had  subsided,  about  1|  parts  of  foreign 
substances,  viz. : 


Parts. 

Organic  matters    - 

_ 

_ 

-     007 

Carbonate  of  lime 

- 

- 

-     153 

Sulphate  oflime    - 

- 

. 

-    015 

Muriate  of  soda    - 

- 

- 

-    002 

In  an  equal  quantity  of  the  waters  of  the 
Clyde,  Dr.  Thompson  found  1^  part  of  solid 
substances,  namely : 

Parts. 
Common  salt  ....  0  369 
Muriate  of  magnesia  ...  0*305 
8ulpliate  of  Roda  ...  0114 
Carbonate  of  lime  -  .  .  0394 
Silica 0118 

The  water  of  the  Itchen,  in  Hampshire,  is 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  all  the  southern 
streams,  for  the  use  of  the  irrigator.  I  found, 
in  10,000  parts  of  water,  about  2^  parts  of 
solid  matter,  viz.: 


Pirts. 

Organic  matter     - 

_ 

_ 

-    002 

Carbonate  of  lime 

_ 

_ 

-     1-89 

Sulphate  of  lime  - 

_ 

_ 

-    072 

Muriate  of  soda    - 

- 

- 

-    001 

From  an  examination  of  the  substances 
found  in  these  streams  (and  they  afford  a 
pretty  correct  view  of  the  contents  of  most 
others),  the  farmer  will  see  that  they  all  yield 
ingredients  which  are  the  food  or  natural  con- 
stituents of  the  grasses.  Thus,  sulphate  and 
carbonate  of  lime  are  found  in  most  of  them, 
and  there  is  no  river-water  which  does  not 
contain,  in  some  proportion  or  other,  organic 
matter.  To  ascertain,  therefore,  whether  pure 
water  was  alone  able  to  effect  all  the  magic 
effects  of  irrigation,  it  was  necessary  to  em- 
ploy other  water  than  that  of  rivers,  lakes,  or 
even  springs.  Pure  water,  as  obtained  by  dis- 
tillation, therefore,  has  been  tried  as  a  sup- 
porter of  vegetation,  but  it  was  found  totally 
inadequate  to  the  support  of  plants ;  they 
merely  vegetated  for  a  time,  but  they  could 
not,  by  any  means,  be  made  to  perfect  their 
seeds.  In  this  conclusion  the  experiments  of 
Dr.  Thomson,  and  of  MM.  Saussure  and  Has- 
senfratz,  entirely  agree.  Pure  water,  there- 
fore, notwithstanding  the  dreams  of  the  Greek 
philosophers,  and  the  celebrated  deceptive  ex- 
periments of  Van  Helmont  with  his  willow 
tree,  is  not  able  to  support  the  growth  of  the 
grasses.  Van  Helmont's  tree,  when  he  planted 
it  in  an  earthen  pot,  weighed  5  pounds;  the 
earth,  previously  dried  in  an  oven,  weighed 
200  pounds  ;  after  5  years  it  weighed  164  lbs., 
although  it  had  been  watered  during  that  time 
with  only  rain  and  distilled  water,  and  the 
earth  had  lost  only  two  ounces  of  weight. 
Hence,  said  Van  Helmont  and  his  disciples, 
water  is  the  sole  food  of  plants.  Bergman,  in 
1773,  first  pointed  out  the  source  of  error.  He 
showed,  from  the  experiments  of  Margraff,  that 
the  rain-water  contained  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  earth  to  account  for  the  increased  weight  in 


IRRIGATION. 

the  willow,  every  pint  of  rain-water  containing 
one  grain  of  earth.  Then,  again,  the  earthen 
vessel  (which  was  sunk  in  the  earth)  would^ 
in  this  experiment,  transmit  its  moisture  im- 
pregnated with  all  kinds  of  soluble  substances. 
And  yet  it  has  been  shown  that  impure  water, 
such  as  that  from  a  sewer,  or  from  a  dunghill, 
is  alone  sufficient  to  sustain  vegetation.  This 
was  clearly  evidenced  in  the  experiments  of 
M.  Lampadius  ;  for  he  found  that  plants  placed 
in  a  pure  earth,  such  as  silica  or  alumina, 
although  they  would  not  grow  when  watered 
with  pure  water  only,  yet,  when  watered 
with  the  liquid  drainage  of  a  dunghill,  they 
flourished  very  luxuriantly,  and  this  fact  has 
been  also  proved  in  another  way.  It  has  been 
shown,  by  chemical  analysis,  that  the  quantity 
of  solid  or  earthy  matters  absorbed  by  plants 
is  in  exact  proportion  to  the  impurity  of  the 
water  with  which  they  are  nourished.  Thus, 
equal  quantities  of  some  plants  of  beans,  fed 
by  distilled  water,  yielded — 

Parts. 
Of  solid  matter  or  ashes  -  -  -  3*9 
Those  fed  by  rain-water  -  -  -  7*5 
Those  grown  in  garden  moulJ   -        -    120 

These  facts  strongly  confirm  the  conclusions 
of  some  of  the  most  sagacious  cultivators,  that 
the  chief  advantages  of  irrigation  are  attributa- 
ble to  the  foreign  substances  with  which  the 
water  is  charged ;  although,  as  I  have  else- 
where observed,  almost  every  farmer  has  a 
mode  of  accounting  for  the  highly  fertilizing 
effects  of  irrigation ;  one  thinks  it  cools  the  land, 
another,  that  it  keeps  the  grass  warm  in  winter. 
And  this  was  Davy's  opinion.  He  thought  that 
a  winter  flooding  protected  the  grass  from  the 
injurious  effects  of  frost.  He  says,  "Water  is 
of  greater  specific  gravity  at  42°  than  at  32°, 
the  freezing  point;  and  hence,  in  a  meadow 
irrigated  in  winter,  the  water  immediately  in 
contact  with  the  grass  is  rarely  below  40°,  a 
degree  of  temperature  not  at  all  prejudicial  to 
the  living  organs  of  plants.  In  1804,  in  the 
month  of  March,  I  examined  the  temperature 
in  a  water-meadow  near  Hungerford  in  Berk- 
shire, by  a  very  delicate  thermometer.  The 
temperature  of  the  air  at  7  in  the  morning  was 
43°.  In  general,  those  waters  which  breed  the 
best  fish  are  the  best  fitted  for  watering  mea- 
dows ;  but  most  of  the  benefits  of  irrigation 
may  be  derived  from  any  kind  of  water." 

Such  were  the  opinions  of  Davy  as  to  the 
fertilizing  properties  of  water.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  the  opportunities  for  agricultural 
observations  of  this  great  chemical  philosophes.* 
were  so  few,  for  his  valuable  remarks  wens 
always  cautiously  made.  He  appears,  how- 
ever, as  I  have  remarked  elsewhere,  never  to 
have  steadily  investigated  the  chemical  com- 
position of  river-water,  with  regard  to  its  uses 
in  irrigation,  and,  in  consequence,  knew  little 
of  the  value  of  some  of  its  impurities  to  vege- 
tation. Thus,  if  the  river-water  contains  gyp- 
sum (sulphate  of  lime),  which  it  certainly  does 
— if  the  water  is  hard,  it  must,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  on  this  account  alone  be  highly 
fertilizing  to  meadows,  since  all  grasses  con- 
tain this  salt  in  very  sensible  proportions;  fc.r, 
calculating  that  one  part  of  sulphate  of  lime  is 
contained  in  every  two  thousand  parts  of  river- 

671 


IRRIGATION. 


IRRIGATION. 


•rater,  and  that  every  square  yard  of  dry  mea- 
dow soil  absorbs  only  eight  gallons  of  water 
(and  this  is  a  very  moderate  allowance,  for 
majiy  soils  will  absorb  three  or  four  times  that 
quantity),  then  it  will  be  found  that,  by  every 
flooding,  more  than  one  hundred  weight  and  a 
half  of  gypsum  per  acre  is  diffused  through  the 
soil  in  the  water,  a  quantity  equal  to  that  gene- 
rally adopted  by  those  who  spread  gypsum  on 
their  clover  crops,  lucern,  and  sainfoin,  as  a 
manure,  eiiher  in  the  state  of  powder,  or  as  it 
exists  in  ashes.  And  if  we  apply  the  same 
calculation  to  the  organic  substances  ever  more 
or  less  contained  in  flood-waters,  and  allow 
only  twenty  parts  of  animal  and  vegetable  re- 
mains to  be  present  in  a  thousand  parts  of 
river-water,  then  we  shall  find,  taking  the 
same  data,  that  every  soaking  with  such' water 
will  add  to  the  meadow  nearly  two  tons  per 
acre  of  animal  and  vegetable  matters,  which, 
allowing,  in  the  case  of  water-meadows,  five 
floodings  per  annum,  is  equal  to  a  yearly  appli- 
cation of  ten  tons  of  organic  matter. 

The  quantity  of  foreign  substances  present 
in  river-water,  although  commonly  less,  yet 
very  often  exceeds  what  I  have  thus  calculated 
to  exist  in  it.  I  have  found  it  impossible,  how- 
ever, to  give,  from  analysis,  the  amount  which, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  present  in 
river-waters,  with  any  tolerable  accuracy,  since 
the  proportion  not  only  varies  at  different  sea- 
sons of  the  year,  but  a  considerable  proportion 
of  the  merely  mechanically  suspended  matters 
subside,  when  the  specimen  water  is  suffered 
to  rest.  In  my  conclusions  with  regard  to  the 
theory  of  irrigation,  I  have  found  many  excel- 
lent practical  farmers  concur.  Thus,  Mr.  Sim- 
mons, of  St.  Croix,  near  Winchester,  considers 
that  the  great  benefit  of  winter  flooding  for 
meadows  is  derived,  in  the  first  place,  from  the 
deposits  made  by  the  muddy  waters  on  the  grass ; 
and,  secondly,  from  the  winter  covering  with 
water  preventing  the  ill  effects  to  the  grass  of 
sudden  transitions  in  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere.  This  gentleman  is  perfectly  aware 
of  the  value  of  the  addition  of  the  city  drainage 
of  Winchester  to  the  fertilizing  qualities  of  the 
Itchen  river-water,  and  of  its  superiority  for 
irrigation  after  it  has  flowed  past  the  city,  hav- 
ing water-meadows  both  above  and  below  the 
town  ;  and  he  finds  that,  if  the  water  has  been 
once  used  for  irrigation,  that  then  its  fertilizing 
properties  are  so  materially  reduced,  that  it  is 
of  little  value  for  again  passing  over  the  mea- 
dows ;  and  so  convinced  is  he  of  this  fact  by 
long  experience,  that,  having  in  this  way  long 
enjoyed  the  exclusive  and  valuable  use  of  a 
branch  of  the  waters  of  the  Itchen  for  some 
grass  land,  a  neighbour  higher  up  the  stream 
followed  his  example,  constructing  some  water- 
meadows,  and  using  the  water  before  it  arrived 
at  those  of  my  informant,  who,  in  consequence, 
found  the  water  so  deteriorated  in  quality 
(though  not  sensibly  diminished  in  quantity), 
that  he  had  once  thought  of  disputing  the  right 
with  his  more  upland  neighbour.  The  expe- 
rience of  other  irrigators  tends  to  the  same 
conclusion.  In  the  best-managed  water-mea- 
dows of  Hampshire,  the  farmer  does  not  pro- 
cure annually  more  than  three  crops  of  grass; 
yet  in  situations  where  a  richer  water  is  em- 
6V2 


ployed,  as  near  Edinburgh,  four  or  five  are  rea- 
dily obtained.  It  is  evident,  thereiore,  that  the 
chemical  properties  of  water  have  a  much 
greater  influence  in  irrigation  than  is  common- 
ly believed.  The  quality  of  the  water,  there- 
fore, employed  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation, 
is  of  the  first  importance  to  be  well  understood 
by  the  farmer;  and  although  many  more  mo- 
dern discussions  have  taken  place  upon  the 
subject,  yet  the  definition  which  the  great  Lord 
Bacon  gave,  in  his  Natural  History,  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  "Meadow  Watering,"  has  never 
been  excelled, — "  that  it  acts  not  only  by  sup- 
plying useful  moisture  to  the  grass,  but  like- 
wise by  carrying  nourishment  dissolved  in  the 
water."  This  nourishment  is,  generally  speak 
ing,  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  animal 
and  vegetable  matters  mechanically  suspended 
or  chemically  dissolved  in  the  water; — the 
fouler  the  water,  the  more  fertilizing  are  its 
effects.  The  objection  which  has  been  some- 
times urged  to  this  explanation,  by  instancing 
the  prejudicial  effects  of  some  very  thick  mud- 
dy waters  (as  those  of  the  Humber)  on  meadow 
lands,  is  very  erroneous  ;  for,  in  those  cases, 
the  mud  deposited  on  the  grass  did  not  consist 
of  animal  or  vegetable  matters,  but  of  fine 
earthy  particles,  such  as  clay  or  chalk,  sub- 
stances of  which  the  alluvial  soil,  on  which 
the  same  flood  waters  had  for  ages  occasion- 
ally deposited  their  earths,  was  in  fact  en- 
tirely composed,  and  to  which,  in  consequence, 
any  further  supply  was  almost  useless,  the 
earthy  slime  merely  covering  the  grass  with 
mud,  without  adding  a  single  fertilizing  ingre- 
dient not  already  abounding  in  the  soil.  If, 
however,  the  soil  is  naturally  deficient  in  any 
of  the  earthy  ingredients  contained  in  the  wa- 
ter, then  even  such  flood  waters  are  ever  found 
most  fertilizing. 

"  The  agency  of  water  in  the  process  of  ve- 
getation," says  Mr.  Stephens,  "has  not  till  of 
late  been  distinctly  perceived.  Dr.  Hales  has 
shown  that,  in  the  summer  months,  a  sunflower, 
weighing  three  pounds  avoirdupois,  and  regu- 
larly watered  every  day,  passed  through  it  or 
perspired  22  ounces  each  day,  that  is,  half  its 
weight.  Dr.  Woodward  found  that,  in  the  space 
of  77  days,  a  plant  of  common  spearmint  in- 
creased 17  grains  in  weight,  and  yet  had  no 
other  food  than  pure  rain  water ;  but  then  he 
found  that  it  increased  more  in  weight  when 
it  lived  in  spring  water,  and  still  more  when 
its  food  was  Thames  water."  (Practical  Irri- 
gator, p.  2.)  And  when  speaking  of  the  fact, 
that  some  irrigators  think  clear  spring  water 
equal  to  any,  he  adds  (p.  24),  "  I  would  recom- 
mend to  those  who  are  of  the  same  opinion, 
to  inspect  the  irrigated  meadows  which  are 
watered  by  the  washings  of  the  city  of  Edin- 
burgh, where,  I  trust,  they  will  fl^d  the  supe- 
riority of  muddy  water  to  that  of  clear  spring 
water  most  strikingly  manifested." 

Edinburgh  has  many  advantages  over  the 
most  of  her  sister  cities ;  the  large  supply  ot 
excellent  spring  water  is  one  of  the  greatest 
blessings  to  her  numerous  inhabitants,  both  in 
respect  to  household  purposes  and  keeping  the 
streets  clean,  as  well  as  irrigating  the  extensive 
meadows  situated  below  the  town,  by  the  rich 
stuff  which  it  carries  along  in  a  slate  of  semi- 


ISution,  wher 


IRRIGATION. 


ition,  where  the  art  of  man,  with  the  com- 
mon sewer  water,  has  made  sand  hillocks 
produce  riches  far  superior  to  any  thing  of  the 
kind  in  the  liingdom,  or  in  any  other  country. 
By  this  water,  about  two  hundred  acres  of 
grass  land,  for  the  most  part  laid  into  catch- 
work  meadow,  are  irrigated ;  whereof  130 
belong  to  W.  H.  Miller,  Esq.,  of  Craigintinny, 
and  the  remainder  to  the  Earls  of  Haddington 
and  Moray,  and  other  proprietors.  The  mea- 
dows belonging  to  these  noblemen,  and  part  of 
the  Craigintinny  meadows,  are  what  is  called 
the  old  meadows,  containing  about  50  acres, 
have  been  irrigated  for  nearly  a  century. 
They  are  by  far  the  most  valuable,  on  account 
of  the  long  and  continual  accumulation  of  the 
rich  sediment  left  by  the  water;  indeed  the 
water  is  so  very  rich,  that  the  tenants  of  the 
meadows  lying  nearest  the  town  have  found  it 
advisable  to  carry  the  common  sewer  water 
through  deep  ponds,  into  which  the  water  de- 
posits part  of  the  superfluous  manure  before 
it  runs  over  the  ground.  Although  the  forma- 
tion of  these  meadows  is  irregular,  and  the 
management  very  imperfect,  the  effects  of  the 
water  are  astonishing  ;  they  produce  crops  of 
grass  not  to  be  equalled,  being  cut  from  four  to 
six  times  a  year,  and  the  grass  given  green  to 
milch  cows. 

The  grass  is  let  6very  year,  by  public  sale, 
in  small  patches  of  a  quarter  of  an  acre  and 
npwards,  and  generally  brings  from  24/.  to  .30/. 
per  acre  per  annum.  In  1826,  part  of  the  Earl 
of  Moray's  meadow  fetched  57/.  per  acre  per 
annum. 

About  40  acres  of  the  Craigintinny  lands 
were  formed  into  catch-work  water  meadow 
before  the  year  1800,  which  comprises  what 
is  called  Fillieside  Bank  old  meadows,  and  is 
generally  let  at  from  20/.  to  30/.  per  acre 
per  annum.  In  the  spring  of  1821,  30  acres 
of  waste  land,  called  the  Freegate  Whins, 
and  10  acres  of  poor  sandy  soil,  were  levelled 
and  formed  into  irrigated  meadow,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  1000/.  The  pasture  of  the  Freegate 
whins  was  let,  previously  to  this  improve- 
ment, for  40/.  per  annum,  and  the  10  acres  for 
60/.  They  now  bring  from  15/.  to  20/.  per  acre 
per  annum,  but  may  be  much  improved  by  ju- 
diciously laying  out  200/.  more  in  better  level- 
ling that  part  next  the  sea,  and  carrying  a 
larger  supply  of  water  to  it,  which  might  be 
easily  •'Sone  without  prejudice  to  the  other 
meadows. 

This,  perhaps,  is  one  of  the  most  beneficial 
agricultural  improvements  ever  undertaken; 
for  the  whole  of  the  Freegate  Whins  is  com- 
posed of  nothing  but  sand,  deposited  from  time 
to  time  by  the  action  of  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
Never  was  1000/.  more  happily  spent  in  agri- 
culture ;  it  not  only,  required  a  common  sewer 
to  bring  about  this  great  change,  but  a  resolu- 
tion in  the  proprietor  to  launch  out  his  capital 
on  an  experiment  upon  a  soil  of  such  a  nature. 
Since  the  making  of  the  Freegate  Whins 
into  water  meadows,  Mr.  Miller  has  levelled 
and  formed  40  acres  more  of  his  arable  land 
into  irrigated  meadow,  worth,  before  the  forma- 
tion, 9/.  per  acre  per  annum.  It  will  only  re- 
quire a  few  years  before  these  meadows  will 
be  as  productive  as  the  former;  for  it  is  evi- 
85 


IRRIGATION. 

dent  that  the  longer  water  is  sufiered  to  run 
over  the  surface  of  grass  land,  the  greater 
quantity  of  fertilizing  substance  will  be  collect- 
ed ;  therefore,  as  the  water  is  so  very  superior 
in  quality  to  all  other  water,  a  speedy  return 
for  the  capital  laid  out  may  be  expected.  The 
expense  of  keeping  these  meadows  in  repair  is 
from  10s.  to  15s.  per  acre  per  annum,  which  is 
more  than  double  the  expense  of  keeping  wa- 
ter meadows  in  repair  in  general. 

It  by  no  means,  however,  follows,  as  a  neces- 
sary result  of  any  contemplated  improvement 
in  irrigation,  that  the  water  should  previously 
undergo  a  chemical  examination.  There  are 
many  other  modes  by  which  the  farmer  can 
form  a  pretty  correct  conclusion  as  to  the  fer- 
tilizing properties  of  the  water  he  proposes  to 
employ. 

"  The  surest  proofs,"  says  Mr.  Exeter,  "of  the 
good  quality  of  water  (and  the  observations  of 
this  gentleman  will  be  readily  confirmed  by  the 
irrigators  of  the  southern  counties)  as  a  ma- 
nure, are  the  verdure  of  the  margin  of  its 
streams,  and  the  growift  of  strong  cresses  in 
the  stream  itself;  and  wherever  these  appear- 
ances are  found,  though  the  water  be  perfectly 
transparent,  the  occupier  of  the  soil  through 
which  it  flows  may  depend,  in  general,  on  hav- 
ing a  treasure,  if  he  is  attentive  to  it ;  but  that 
this  is  not  invariably  the  case,  and  that  there 
are  instances  where  a  good  water  wi^l  not  im- 
prove the  herbage  of  certain  soils,  is  proved  by 
the  following  account  (and  there  are  several 
other  cases  with  which  I  am  acquainted)  of 
the  meadows  of  Mr.  Orchard,  of  Stokes  Abbey, 
Devon.  These  two  meadows  are  situated  on 
the  side  of  a  hill,  their  aspect  nearly  south — 
the  superstratum  a  fine  rich  loam,  from  8  to  10 
inches  deep,  on  a  substratum  of  strong  yellow- 
clay.  No  difference  whatever  can  be  seen  by 
the  naked  eye,  in  either  the  upper  mould  or 
the  substratum,  or  in  the  herbage  growing  on 
the  surface  of  them ;  except  that,  in  the  lower 
part  of  one,  a  few  rushes  appear,  in  conse- 
quence of  some  small  springs  which  rise  near 
them,  but  the  water  from  them  is  not  sufficient 
to  render  any  part  of  the  land  poachy.  At  the 
head  of  the  two  meadows  is  a  large  pond, 
formed  by  the  collecting  of  some  small  runs  of 
spring  water  rising  near  it,  and  which  is  also 
improved  by  the  wash  of  a  small  farm-yard 
adjoining,  which,  of  course,  must  add  to  its 
efficacy  as  a  manure.  When  this  water  is 
thrown  over  one  of  the  meadows,  it  produces 
the  richest  herbage  in  abundance,  and  this 
field  is  regularly  mowed  for  hay ;  on  the  other 
meadow,  though  repeatedly  tried,  it  produces 
no  good  whatever."  {Ann.  of  Jigr.  vol.  xxx. 
p.  206.) 

This  result  is  attributable  to  the  superior 
tenacious,  retentive  quality  of  the  substratum 
of  the  lower  field,  or  of  some  chemical  differ- 
ence in  the  composition  of  the  soil ;  and  al- 
though almost  any  description  of  soil  is  adapt- 
ed to  the  formation  of  water  meadows,  those  of 
a  heavy  clay  description  are  generally  the 
most  unsuitable,  those  of  a  light  or  peaty  kind 
are  better,  and  those  with  a  sandy  or  very  ab- 
sorbent gravel  substratum  still  more  so.  Ther«» 
are  some  of  the  most  celebrated  water  mea 
dows  on  the  banks  of  the  Kennet  of  this  d^ 
3L  673 


IRRIGATION. 


IRRIGATION. 


scription,  and  many  of  the  best  on  the  banks 
of  the  Wiltshire  Avon  have  a  mass  of  broken, 
porous  flints  for  a  subsoil.  Those  near  Edin- 
burgh, irrigated  by  the  city  drainage,  rest  upon 
the  sands  thrown  up  by  the  sea. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  it  is  as  impor- 
tant an  object  in  the  construction  of  these 
meadows  to  secure  a  ready  and  rapid  exit  for 
the  flood-waters,  as  to  procure,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, a  copious  and  fertilizing  supply. 

The  farmer  is  generally  well  aware  of  the 
injurious  effects  to  his  meadows  of  suffering 
the  water  to  remain  too  long  on  them.  He 
watches,  therefore,  with  much  care,  for  the 
first  indications  of  fermentation  having  com- 
menced, which  is  evinced  by  the  rising  of  a 
moss  or  scum  to  the  surface  of  the  water — pu- 
trefaction is  now  beginning  in  the  turf,  and  he 
Icnows  very  well  that  if  the  water  is  not  speedi- 
ly removed,  that  his  grass  will  be  either  mate- 
rially injured,  or  entirely  destroyed;  he  hast- 
ens, therefore,  to  open  his  water-courses. 
There  are  some  soils  in  the  vicinity  of  Standen, 
in  Berkshire,  however,  of  so  porous  a  quality, 
that  they  need  not  any  drains  to  empty  the 
water-courses ;  and,  in  fact,  in  many  instances, 
the  farmer  does  not  even  require  them  :  after 
a  few  hours  all  the  water  is  absorbed  by  the 
soil ;  and  yet  these  lands,  with  hardly  6  inches 
of  mould  above  the  gravel,  are  amongst  the 
richest  of  water-meadows ;  the  roots  of  the 
grasses  penetrate  readily  into  the  gravel,  and 
the  earliest  and  sweetest  grasses  are  produced 
Ml  them. 

Almost  any  description  of  grass  will  flourish 
under  proper  management  in  water-meadows. 
Those  whose  soils  consist  of  peat  resting  on 
sand,  or  on  sandy  loam,  with  a  substratum  of 
chalk  or  gravel,  generally  produce  the  meadow 
foxtail  (Mnpcctirus  pratensis),  the  brome-grass 
{Bromus  arvensis),  and  the  meadow-fescue 
(Festuca  pratensis),  on  the  tops  and  sides  of  the 
ridges.  The  furrows  and  sides  of  the  drains 
are  usually  tenanted  by  the  creeping-bent,  the 
hard-fescue,  the  rough-stalked  meadow-grass, 
and  the  woolly  soft-grass.  In  those  water- 
meadows  whose  soil  consists  of  a  sandy  loam 
on  a  clay  subsoil,  the  chief  grasses  are  com- 
monly the  creeping-rooted  soft-grass,  the  crest- 
ed dog's-tail,  the  meadow  barley,  and  the 
sweet-scented  vernal-grass.  But  some  grasses 
change  their  appearance  in  a  very  remark- 
able degree,  when  exposed  under  favourable 
circumstances  to  the  influence  of  the  flood- 
waters.  This  fact  is  strikmgly  exemplified  in 
the  case  of  two  small  meadows  situated  at 
Orcheston,  six  miles  from  Amesbury,  in  Wilt- 
shire, denominated,  from  their  great  produce, 
"  the  long  grass  meads."  These,  says  Davis, 
"contain  together  only  two  acres  and  a  half, 
and  the  crop  they  produce  is  so  immense,  that 
the  tithe  hay  of  them  was  once  sold  for  5  gui- 
neas." Much  discussion  took  place  amongst 
the  Wiltshire  farmers  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
crop  of  these  meads,  before  it  was  at  last 
shown  that  the  greatest  part  of  their  herbage 
consisted  of  nothing  else  than  the  black-couch, 
or  couchy-bent,  the  j3grostis  stolonifera,  one  of 
he  worst  of  the  grasses  or  weeds  which  haunt 
.t,  poor  ill-cultivated  arable  soils. 

It  IS  a  very  general,  as  well  as  correct  con- 
674 


elusion  of  the  English  farmers,  that  the  gras 
and  hay  of  water-meadows  is  not  so  nutritious 
as  that  of  the  permanent  pasture  lands.  The 
difference,  however,  is  not  so  great  as  is  com- 
monly supposed.  The  late  Mr.  George  Sin- 
clair determined  this  experimentally,  and  he  is 
no  mean  authority  with  regard  to  all  that  re- 
lates to  the  grasses. 

He  obtained  from  the  rye-grass  (Lolium  pe- 
renne),  at  the  time  of  flowering,  taken  from  a 
water-meadow  that  had  been  fed  off  with  sheep 
till  the  end  of  April,  of  nutritive  matter  72 
grains ;  and  from  the  same  weight  of  this 
grass,  taken  from  a  rich  old  pasture,  which 
had  been  shut  up  for  hay  about  the  same  time, 
92  grains.  From  the  same  grass  from  the 
meadow,  that  had  not  been  depastured  in  the 
spring,  100  grains.  And  from  the  same  grass 
from  the  pasture  which  had  not  been  fed  off, 
120  grains.  All  the  grasses,  in  fact,  where 
their  growth  is  forced  by  the  application  of 
either  liquid  or  solid  manures,  are  found  to 
contain  nutritive  matter  in  diminished  quanti- 
ties :  this,  too,  was  determined  by  Sinclair. 
From  4  ounces  of  a  very  rankly  luxuriant 
patch  of  rye-grass,  on  which  a  large  portion  of 
cow-dung  had  been  deposited,  he  obtained  of 
nutritive  matter  72  grains.  From  the  same 
quantity  of  the  same  grass  growing  on  the  soil 
which  surrounded  this  luxuriant  patch,  he  ob- 
tained 122  grains. 

And,  in  a  second  trial,  the  same  species  of 
grass,  on  a  soil  entirely  destitute  of  manure, 
afforded  of  nutritive  matter,  95  grains.  On  the 
same  soil,  excessively  manured,  the  grass  af- 
forded only  50  grains.  In  these  experiments 
the  plants  were  of  the  same  age,  and  were  ex- 
amined at  the  same  stage  of  their  growth. 
(Horhts  Gram.  384.) 

With  regard  to  the  construction  and  man- 
agement of  water-meadows,  there  are  many 
practical  works  of  the  highest  authority  to 
which  the  farmer  has  ready  access ;  and,  in 
the  following  observations,  therefore,  I  shall 
merely  very  briefly  paraphrase  the  accounts 
given  by  Mr.  Davis  and  others,  of  the  practice 
of  irrigation  in  the  southern  counties.  In 
this,  however,  even  since  the  time  that  Davis 
wrote,  there  has  been  a  great  and  steady  im- 
provement. The  land  is  better  levelled,  the 
slopes  more  evenly  preserved,  the  water-way, 
aqueducts,  and  hatches,  better  constructed,  and 
in  many  of  the  more  recent  improvements,  in 
the  valley  of  the  Itchen,  in  Hampshire,  the 
sliding- water  doors  are  regulated  by  a  cogged 
wheel  turned  with  a  movable  winch,  so  as  to 
render  them  safe  from  alteration  during  the 
absence  of  the  meadow-keeper. 

The  management  of  the  Wiltshire  and 
Hampshire  water-meadows,  as  well  as  it  can 
be  briefly  described,  is  as  follows  : — In  the  au- 
tumn the  after-grass  is  eaten  off  quite  bare, 
when  the  manager  of  the  mead  (provincially 
the  drowner)  begins  to  clean  out  the  main 
drain,  and  the  main  carriage,  and  to  "  right  up 
the  works,"  that  is,  to  make  good  all  the  car- 
riages and  drains  which  the  cattle  have  trod- 
den in,  so  as  to  have  one  tier  or  pitch  of  work 
ready  for  drowning.  This  is  immediately  put 
under  water,  whilst  the  drowner  is  preparing 
the  next  pitch. 


^^fl( 


IRRIGATION. 


fn  the  flowing  meadows  this  work  ought  to 
be  done,  if  possible,  early  enough  in  the  au- 
tumn to  have  the  whole  meadow  ready  to  catch 
the  first  floods  after  Michaelmas ;  the  water, 
being  the  first  washing  of  the  arable  lands  on 
the  sides  of  the  chalk  hills,  as  well  as  the  dirt 
from  roads,  is  then  thick  and  good ;  and  this 
remark,  as  to  the  superior  richness  of  the  flood 
waters,  is  one  that  is  commonly  made  in  Berk- 
shire and  other  parts  of  England.  The  length 
of  the  autumnal  watering  cannot  be  precisely 
stated,  as  much  depends  upon  situations  and 
circumstances ;  but  if  water  can  be  command- 
ed in  abundance,  the  custom  is  to  give  mea- 
dows a  "thorough  good  soaking  at  first,"  per- 
haps for  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks,  with  an 
intermission  of  two  or  three  days  during  that 
period,  and  continue  for  the  space  of  two  fort- 
nights, allowing  an  interval  of  a  week  between 
them.  The  works  are  then  made  as  dry  as 
possible,  to  encourage  the  growth  of  the  grass. 
This  first  soaking  is  to  make  the  land  sink  and 
pitch  close  together,  a  circumstance  of  great 
consequence,  not  only  to  the  quantity,  but  to 
the  quality  of  the  grass,  and  particularly  to  en- 
courage the  shooting  of  new  roots,  which  the 
grass  is  continually  forming,  to  support  the 
forced  growth  above. 

While  the  grass  grows  freely,  a  fresh  water- 
ing is  not  wanted;  but  as  soon  as  it  flags,  the 
water  must  be  repeated  for  a  few  days  at  a  time, 
always  keeping  this  fundamental  rule  in  view, 
"to  make  the  meadows  as  dry  as  possible  after 
every  watering,  and  to  take  ofl*  the  water  the 
moment  any  scum  appears  upon  the  land, 
which  shows  that  it  has  already  had  water 
enough." 

Some  meadows  that  require  the  water  for 
three  weeks  in  October,  and  the  two  following 
months,  will  not,  perhaps,  bear  it  one  week  in 
February  or  March,  and  sometimes  scarcely 
two  days  in  April  and  May. 

In  the  catch-meadows,  which  are  watered  by 
springs,  the  great  object  is  to  keep  the  works 
very  dry  between  the  intervals  of  watering; 
and  as  such  situations  are  seldom  affected  by 
floods,  and  generally  have  too  little  water,  it  is 
necessary  to  make  the  most  of  the  water,  by 
catching  and  rousing  it  as  often  as  possible ; 
and  as  the  upper  works  of  every  pitch  will  be 
liable  to  get  more  water  than  those  lower 
down,  a  longer  time  should  be  given  to  the  lat- 
ter, so  as  to  make  them  as  equal  as  possible. 
Davis's  JgrictUture  of  mitshire,  p.  125—127.) 

In  Berkshire  they  first  flood  their  water- 
meadows  about  Michaelmas;  these  are  situ- 
ated principally  on  the  banks  of  the  Kennet. 
The  first  flooding  they  deem  the  richest  in 
quality :  this  they  keep  on  the  land  for  about 
four  days,  and  they  then  dry  them  for  about  a 
fortnight,  and  after  that  the  water  is  let  on  for 
three  or  four  days  more;  those  meadows  which 
are  the  most  readily  dried  are  the  most  pro- 
ductive. There  are  none  more  so,  in  fact, 
than  those  which  have  a  porous,  gravell) ,  or 
broken  dint  bottoms,  from  which  the  flood-wa- 
ter readily  escapes,  almost  without  drains. 
They  begin  to  feed  their  meadows  with  sheep 
about  the  6th  of  April,  and  continue  feeding  till 
ahout  the  2 1st  of  May,  when  the  meadows  are 
again  flooded  for  a  crop  of  hay ;  the  land  is 


IRRIGATION. 

then  flooded  and  dried  alternately  for  three 
days  until  hay-time. 

The  number  of  acres  of  land  in  Wiltshire, 
under  this  kind  of  management,  has  been  com- 
puted, and  with  a  tolerable  degree  of  accuracy, 
to  be  between  15,000  and  20,000.  Some  con- 
siderable additions,  however,  have  been  made 
to  the  water-meadows  of  the  district  since  this 
calculation  was  made.  (Davis's  Wilts.,  p.  122.) 
About  the  same  number  of  acres  are  formed 
into  water-meadows  in  Berkshire,  and  a  still 
larger  number  in  Hampshire.  No  one  has  at- 
tended more  carefully  to  his  water-meadows 
than  Lord  Western,  on  some  of  those  situated 
on  the  London  clay-formation  in  the  Black- 
water  valley,  in  Essex,  a  soil  of  all  others,  per- 
haps, from  its  tenacity,  the  least  adapted  to 
their  successful  formation,  and  his  testimony 
is  very  important : — "  There  is  an  old  adage," 
says  his  lordship,  "  that  water  is  the  best  ser- 
vant in  agriculture,  and  the  worst  master. 
Water  has  in  itself  intrinsic  value;  distilled 
through  chalk,  lime,  or  marl,  it  acquires  a  por- 
tion of  their  qualities,  though  preserving  the 
most  perfect  transparency,  and,  coming  down 
in  torrents  and  floods,  it  carries  along  the  finer 
particles  of  earth  and  manure  from  the  moun- 
tains, or  higher  grounds,  into  the  valleys , 
hence,  of  course,  it  is  that  the  valleys  derive 
their  fertility,  and  the  value  of  the  meadow  has 
been  originally  created  by  an  accumulation  of 
wealth  from  the  hills." 

"In  descending  the  Jura  mountains,  which 
divide  France  from  Switzerland,  the  very  first 
pasture  you  find  on  the  descent  evinces  the 
value  placed  on  the  mountain  floods  by  the  in- 
habitants of  those  districts;  and,  accordingly, 
every  stream  is  sedulously  directed  and  con- 
ducted over  the  pastures  in  a  most  skilful 
manner.  The  very  washing  of  the  roads  in 
hasty  rains  is  also  attended  to  and  applied  to 
the  same  purposes."  This  system  of  catching 
the  uncertain  flood-waters  is  known  amongst 
farmers  by  the  name  of  catch-work,  and  though 
highly  valuable,  yet  they  deem  it  infinitely  less 
important  to  them  than  irrigation,  which  is 
watering  (generally  five  or  six  times  a  year) 
from  a  certain  and  ever-accessible  head  of 
water,  as  a  river,  &c.  And  yet  Lord  Western's 
testimony  is  decisive  in  favour  of  even  one 
cafcA-flooding;  for  he  observes,  when  speaking 
of  the  expense  of  constructing  the  requisite 
little  channels  to  disperse  the  flood-waters  over 
the  grass,  "In  many  cases  it  will  be  trifling,  in 
some  cases  considerable  ;  but  when  the  farmer 
reflects  that  one  winter's  flooding  will  do  more 
in  many,  I  may  say  in  most  cases,  than  thirty 
loads  an  acre  of  the  best  rotten  dung  manure 
that  can  be  laid  upon  his  grass  lands,  he  can 
hardly  shrink  from  some  considerable  expen- 
diture." If,  then,  the  effects  even  of  a  catch' 
flooding  with  water  are  so  great,  how  infinitely 
superior  are  the  advantages  capable  of  being 
derived  from  a  regular  constant  supply  of  the 
enriching  foul  waters,  like  those  issuing  from 
the  drains  of  a  large  city,  which  is  even  now 
most  successfully  employed  near  Edinburgh, 
but  worse  than  wasted  in  the  case  of  London  ! 
Whatever  may  be  the  value,  in  an  agricultural 
point  of  view,  of  the  solid  contents  of  the  Lon- 
don sewers,  yet  to  me  the  absolutely  liquid 

675 


IRRITABILITY. 


JACOB'S-LADDER. 


portion,  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation,  appear  at 
least  equally  important. 

Liebig  informs  us  that,  "in  the  vicinity  of 
Liegen  (a  town  in  Nassau),  from  three  to  five 
perfect  crops  are  obtained  from  one  meadow, 
and  this  is  effected  by  covering  the  fields  with 
river  water,  which  is  conducted  over  the  mea- 
dow, in  spring,  by  numerous  small  canals. 
This  is  found  to  be  of  such  advantage,  that 
supposing  a  meadow  not  so  treated  to  yiild 
1000  lbs.  of  hay,  then  from  one  thus  watered 
4500  pounds  are  produced.  In  respect  to  the 
cultivation  of  meadows,  the  country  around 
Liegen  is  considered  to  be  the  best  in  all  Ger- 
many." 

There  is  no  agricultural  question,  therefore, 
of  more  consequence,  in  a  national  point  of 
view,  than  that  of  the  improvement  of  the  soil 
by  the  practice  of  irrigation ;  for,  in  its  prose- 
cution, all  the  rich,  organic,  and  other  matters 
diffused  through  the  rivers,  which  would  other- 
wise be  carried  into  the  sea,  are  saved  to  agri- 
culture. This  is  not,  therefore,  a  question  like 
that  attending  most  other  modes  of  fertilizing 
the  soil,  merely  transposing  manure  from  one 
field  or  district  to  another ;  but  it  is  the  abso- 
lute recovery,  as  it  were,  from  the  ocean,  of  a 
mass  of  finely  divided,  enriching  substances, 
constantly  draining  from  the  land.  It  is  the 
effectual  diversion  of  a  stream  which  is  ever 
steadily  impoverishing  all  cultivated  soils,  and 
which  unnoticed,  and  in  too  many  instances 
deemed  worthless,  gliding  into  the  ocean,  is 
almost  the  only  drawback  to  the  steadily  in- 
creasing fertility  of  our  country. 

There  are  papers  on  irrigation  by  Mr.  J. 
Purdy,  of  Castle  Acre,  in  Norfolk,  Com.  Board 
of  ^g-r.  vol.  vii.  p.  112;  by  Mr.  D.  Shank,  of 
Wigtonshire,  ibid.  p.  170 ;  by  Mr.  Beck,  of  Nor- 
folk, ibid.  p.  108 ;  on  the  irrigation  of  Lombardy 
and  Piedmont,  by  Don  R.  S.  Coutinho,  ibid.  p. 
189 ;  in  Aberdeenshire,  ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  263  ;  in 
Denbighshire,  ibid.  p.  266 ;  by  Mr.  Eyres,  of 
Norfolk,  ibid.  vol.  vi.p.  328;  by  Professor  Ren- 
nie.  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  v.  p.  24;  on  the 
foul  water  irrigation  of  Edinburgh,  ibid.  vol.  x. 
p.  256.  (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  x.  p.  558 ; 
Stephens's  Practical  Irrigator ;  Brown's  Rural  Af- 
fairs, p.  263 ;  Sinclair's  Hortus  Gram.  p.  382 ; 
Davis's  Wiltshire ;  Driver's  Hampshire.) 

IRRITABILITY  OF  PLANTS.  See  Bota- 
HT,  Temperature,  and  Acclimitatiox  of 
Pla7?ts. 

ISNARDIA  (named  in  memory  of  Anthony 
Isnard,  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences). 
These  plants  are  mere  weeds,  or  creeping 
aquatic  herbs,  growing  in  marshy  situations. 

The  marsh  isnardia  (/.  palmtris)  is  the  only 
indigenous  species. 

It  is  an  annual,  growing  in  ponds  and  wa- 
tery places,  blowing  axillary,  solitary,  sessile, 
small,  green,  and  inconspicuous  flowers  in 
July.  The  herb  is  floating,  smooth,  with  nu- 
merous long  filamentous  roots.  The  stems 
are  several,  about  a  span  long,  simple,  or 
slightly  branched,  leafy,  bluntly  quadrangular. 
The  leaves  are  opposite,  stalked,  ovate,  acute, 
entire,  scarcely  an  inch  in  length,  bright  green, 
somewhat  succulent,  the  mid-rib  often  red  or 
purplish.     {Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iv.  p.  264.) 

The  /.  Palustris  is  common  to  America  as 
676 


well  as  to  Europe,  and  is  found  from  Canada 
to  the  West  Indies.  In  Pennsylvania  another 
species  is  met  with — the  Alternate-leaved  Is- 
nardia (/.  allernifolia),  commonly  called  Bas« 
tard  Loose-strife.  The  roots  of  both  species 
are  perennial. 

Besides  these,  there  are  about  a  dozen  addi- 
tional species,  as  the  genus  is  now  constituted, 
in  the  United  States.     (Flor,  Cestrica.) 

ITALIAN  RYE-GRASS.    See  Rte-Grass. 

ITCH.  In  farriery,  a  cutaneous  disease. 
See  Mange. 

IVY  (Hedera  helix).  The  name  appears  to 
be  derived  from  hedra,  a  Celtic  word  signifying 
a  cord ;  and  the  English  name  ivy  is  derived 
from  ivo,  a  word  in  the  same  language  signify 
ing  green.)  A  hardy  evergreen  climber,  com 
mon  everywhere  in  Europe,  which  is  excel 
lent  as  a  screen  planted  against  trellis-work. 
The  common  ivy  is  very  often  employed  for 
covering  naked  buildings  or  trees,  which  latter 
it  invariably  kills.  The  stem  is  branched,  either 
trailing  on  the  ground  and  bearing  5-lobed 
white-veined  leaves,  but  no  flowers ;  or  climb- 
ing, flattened  and  attached  by  dense  tufted  fibres, 
which  serve  for  support,  not  nourishment; 
the  flowering  branches  are  loosely  spread- 
ing, round,  bearing  ovate,  undivided  leaves. 
Umbels  aggregate,  green,  many-flowered,  their 
stalks  covered  with  starry  pubescence,  and  ac- 
companied at  the  base  by  several  small  brac- 
teas.  The  berry  is  the  size  of  a  currant, 
smooth,  black,  internally  whitish  and  mealy, 
with  seldom  more  than  five  seeds.  The  whole 
plant  is  somewhat  aromatic ;  and  a  very  fra- 
grant resin  exudes  from  the  old  stems  when 
bruised. 

IVY,  AMERICAN,  Virdnia  Creeper  (Any 
pelopsis  hederacea).  Ivy-like  ampelopsis.  The 
stem  of  this  climbing  plant  sometimes  grows 
30  or  40  feet  long,  branching  diffusely,  climb- 
ing fences,  trees,  and  walls,  and  clinging  to 
them  by  adhesive  expansions  at  the  points  of 
the  tendrils.  The  leaves  are  digitate  in  clusters 
of  fives,  on  long  stems.  The  plant  is  com- 
mon in  the  United  States  in  woodlands,  fence- 
rows,  thickets,  &c.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  (in  Rees 
Cyclop.)  contends  that  this  is  a  true  vitis ;  but 
Dr.  Darlington  thinks,  that  although  nearly 
allied  to,  it  may  be  very  properly  separated 
from  our  grape  vines.  Two  or  three  other 
species  of  ampelopsis  are  enumerated  in  the 
United  States. 
IVY,  GROUND.  See  Alehoof. 
IVY,  IRISH  (Canatiensis),  is  a  fast-growing 
climber,  with  large  lobed  leaves,  which  soon 
covers  walls  and  houses.  It  is  propagated  by 
layers,  or  slips  taken  off  and  planted  where 
they  are  to  grow. 


JACOB'S  LADDER,  Bitte  or  Greek  Vai.»« 
RiAiT  (Polemonium  cctruleum).  This  plant  is  a 
common  ornament  of  flower  borders  in  rustic 
gardens,  of  no  particular  qualities,  notwith- 
standing its  name  of  valerian,  derived  perhaps 
from  the  leaves,  which  resemble  those  of  some 
of  the  ValeriancR.  The  root  is  fibrous,  not 
creeping,  herb  nearly  smooth,  perennial,  1^  or 


r 


JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE. 


•  feet  high  ;  stems  angular,  leafy,  hollow,  often 
reddish, unbranched,panicled at  the  top;  leaves 
alternate,  of  many  eliptic-lanceolate,  entire 
leaflets,  with  an  odd  one  of  nearly  equal  size. 
The  flowers,  which  appear  in  June,  are  rather 
drooping,  numerous,  blue,  occasionally  white. 
All  the  species  are  of  the  easiest  culture  and 
propagation. 

JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE.  See  Arti- 
choke. 

JOHN'S  WORT,  or  ST.  JOHN'S  WORT 
{Hypericum).  The  generic  name  is  said  to  be 
derived  from  uper,  and  eican,  an  image.  The 
superior  part  of  the  flower  represents  a  figure. 
The  common  name  is  derived  from  their  com- 
ing into  flower  about  St.  John  the  Baptist's  day. 
The  most  part  of  the  species  of  this  extensive 
genus  are  showy  plants.  The  greenhouse  and 
frame  shrubby  kinds  do  well  in  loam  and  peat, 
and  young  cuttings  root  freely  in  sand  under  a 
glass.  The  hardy  shrubs  are  well  fitted  for  the 
front  of  shrubberies,  being  dwarf  and  showy. 
They  may  be  increased  by  divisions  or  seeds, 
as  well  as  the  herbaceous  kinds,  which  thrive 
well  in  any  common  soil.  The  seeds  of  the 
annual  species  have  only  to  be  sown  in  the 
open  ground  in  spring.  Some  of  the  species 
indigenous  to  Britain  are  as  follows : — 

1.  Large-flowered  St.  John's  Wort  (//.  caly- 
cinum).  A  shrub,  growing  wild  in  bushy 
places  in  the  west  of  Ireland  and  Scotland. 
The  root  of  this  species  is  creeping,  the  stems 
shrubby,  erect,  12  or  18  inches  high,  with 
simple,  leafy,  square  branches,  smooth  like 
every  other  parL  The  flowers,  which  appear 
from  July  to  September,  are  2  or  3  inches  wide, 
of  a  bright  golden  yellow,  with  innumerable 
reddish  tremulous  anthers.  This  plant  is  a 
great  ornament  to  shrubberies  and  parks,  and 
ejccellent  as  a  shelter  for  game,  bearing  any 
cold  of  our  climate. 

2.  Tutsan,  or  Park  Leaves  {H.  androseemum). 
This  shrub  is  found  in  moist,  shady  lanes, 
thickets,  and  woods  in  Britain  and  Ireland,  but 
not  very  general.  It  is^  rather  taller  and  more 
branched  than  the  preceding.  The  flowers, 
which  appear  in  July  and  August,  are  an  inch 
wide,  yellow,  with  three  sets  of  stamens,  and 
as  many  styles.  The  leaves  and  other  parts 
have  an  aromatic  scent  when  rubbed. 

3.  Square  St.  John's  Wort,  or  St.  Peter's 
Wort  (//.  quadrangulunx).  This  species  is- 
perennial,  and  common  in  moist  meadows  and 
thickets,  and  about  the  banks  of  rivers.  The 
root  is  somewhat  woody,  creeping;  the  herb 
smooth,  light  green ;  stems  several,  from  one 
to  two  feet  high,  erect,  leafy,  acutely  quadran- 
gular ;  leaves  elliptical  or  ovate,  obtuse,  many- 
ribbed,  veiny,  full  of  minute,  colourless,  pellu- 
cid dots,  and  bordered  with  a  more  or  less 
perfect  row  of  dark-coloured  ones  yielding  a 
blood-red  liquor.  The  uppermost  branches 
form  a  leafy  dense  panicle  of  numerous  lemon- 
coloured  flowers,  about  half  the  size  of  the 
last-described  species. 

4.  Common  perforated  St.  John's  Wort  {H. 
perforatum).  This  perennial  species  is  met 
with  abundantly  in  thickets,  woods,  hedges,  and 
on  dry  banks.  The  root  is  woody,  tufted,  and 
somewhat  creeping ;  the  stem  reaches  to  the 


JOHN'S  WORT. 

height  of  18  inches,  and  is  round  and  bushy 
in  consequence  of  the  much  greater  length  of 
its  axillary  leafy  branches.  The  whole  herb 
is  moreover  of  a  darker  green,  with  a  more 
powerful  scent  when  rubbed,  staining  the 
fingers  with  a  dark  purple,  from  the  greater 
abundance  of  coloured  essential  oil  lodged  in  the 
herbage  and  even  in  the  petals :  the  leaves  are 
very  numerous,  smaller  than  the  last,  elliptical 
or  ovate,  obtuse,  various  in  Avidth  ;  the  flowers 
are  numerous,  in  dense,  forked,  terminal  pani- 
cles, bright  yellow,  dotted  and  streaked  with 
black  or  dark  purple.  This  species  is  eaten 
by  goats,  cows,  and  sheep,  but  is  refused  by 
horses  and  hogs.  As  this  plant  was  found  to 
bleed  at  the  slightest  touch,  it  was  supposed  to 
have  a  vulnerary  quality,  and  became  the 
"balm  of  the  warrior's  wound,"  giving  a  blood- 
red  colour  to  every  composition,  whether  of  a 
spirituous  or  oily  nature,  into  which  it  entered. 
It  contains  resin,  and  the  leaves  give  a  good 
red  dye  to  wool  and  oil. 

5.  Imperforate  St.  John's  Wort  {H.  dubium). 
This  species  inhabits  rather  mountainous 
groves  and  thickets.  The  young  radical  shoots 
are  bright  red ;  the  stem  quadrangular  in  the 
upper  part,  but  not  winged  or  bordered;  the 
petals  and  calyx  are  dotted  and  blotched  with 
dark  purple. 

6.  Trailing  St.  John's  Wort  (H.  kumifusum). 
This  is  a  pretty  little  procumbent  smooth  spe- 
cies, with  the  lemon-like  scent  of  H.  dubium 
and  perforatum,  which  tenants  sandy  or  gravelly, 
heathy,  and  rather  boggy  pastures.  The  root 
is  fibrous,  stem  compressed,  prostrate,;  flowers 
few,  somewhat  cymose;  leaves  elliptical, 
smooth. 

7.  Mountain  St.  John's  Wort  (H.  montanum). 
Though  not  an  ostentatious  plant,  this  species 
well  deserves  John  Bauhin's  epithet  of  "most 
elegant."  The  glutinous  dark  fringes  of  its 
calyx  and  bracteas  r«semble  the  glands  of  a 
moss-rose;  the  stems  are  erect,  round,  smooth, 
about  two  feet  high ;  the  leaves  ovate,  naked, 
clasping  the  stem. 

8.  Bearded  St.  John's  Wort  (H.  harbatum), 
which  grows  for  the  most  part  in  bushy  places 
in  Scotland,  on  an  herbaceous  stem  a  foot  or 
more  in  height,  flowering  in  September  and 
October :  9.  Hairy  St.  John's  Wort  (H.  hirsv,- 
?Mm),  flourishing  in  thickets  and  hedges,  chiefly 
on  a  dry,  chalky  soil,  stem  two  feet  high  :  10. 
Small  upright  St.  John's  Wort  {H.  pulchrvm), 
met  with  very  frequently  in  woods  and  bushy, 
heathy  places,  on  a  clay  soil ;  stem  12  to  18 
inches  high:  11.  Marsh  St.  John's  Wort  (if. 
elodes),  stems  procumbent,  creeping.  There 
are  other  species,  which  call  for  no  detailed 
description. 

The  whole  genus,  says  Mr.  Nuttall,  in  his 
account  of  the  American  species,  appears  to 
possess  active  medicinal  properties  in  common 
with  vismia,  which  afibrds  indeed  much  more 
abundantly  a  yellow  and  resinous  gum,  acting 
as  a  cathartic  in  doses  of  7  or  8  grains.  The 
Vismia  guttifera  of  Surinam  produces  a  ±ind 
of  gamboge.  25  or  2f>  American  species  of 
hypericura  are  enumerated- by  botanists.  Th' 
following  are  mentioned  by  Dr.  Darlington  as 
found  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania. 
3  L  2  577 


JONQUIL. 


JUNIPER. 


1.  Hypericum  Virginiaim,  or  Virginia  hype- 
ricum,  having  a  perennial  root,  stem  18  inches 
to  2  feet  high,  whole  plant  of  a  purplish  hue, 
flowering  in  July  and  August,  the  blossoms 
being  of  a  dull  orange  colour.  It  is  found  in 
wet,  low  ground,  though  rare. 

2.  H.  punctatum,  or  dotted  hypericum,  fre- 
quent in  open  woodlands  and  fields,  flowers  of 
a  pale  yellow  colour,  with  numerous  oblong 
black  dots,  appearing  in  July  and  August. 

3.  H.  perforatum,  or  perforated  hypericum, 
ooiu.nonly  called  St.  John's  Wort.  This  plant 
has  a  perennial  root  and  stem  growing  from  1 
to  3  feet  high.  It  is  frequent  in  fields  and 
pastures  where  it  puts  forth  its  rich  clusters  of 
yellow,  or  orange-yellow  flowers,  from  June  to 
October.  This,  says  Dr.  Darlington,  is  an  in- 
troduced and  pernicious  weed.  The  plant  has 
a  resinous  odour;  and  is  believed  to  produce 
troublesome  sores  on  horses  and  horned  cattle, 
especially  those  which  have  white  feet  and 
noses,  the  skin  of  such  being  more  tender,  or 
irritable.  The  dew  which  collects  on  the  plant 
appears  to  become  acrid ;  as  I  have  seen  the 
backs  of  white  cows  covered  with  sores,  wher- 
ever the  bushy  ends  of  their  tails  had  been 
applied,  after  dragging  through  the  St.  John's 
Wort.  A  tincture  of  the  flowers  and  leaves 
has  been  used,  it  is  said,  with  good  effect  in 
some  complaints  of  the  stomach  and  bowels. 

4.  H.  quinquenervum,  or  five-nerved  hyperi- 
cum. This  is  frequent  in  low  grounds,  along 
streams.  Its  root  is  supposed  to  be  annual, 
and  its  slender  stems  grow  6  to  12  inches  high; 
the  flowers  have  very  small  petals  of  a  yellow 
colour. 

5.  H.  Canadcnse,  or  Canadian  hypericum. 
This  so  much  resembles  the  last  mentioned 
species  as  to  be  regarded  by  some  botanists  as 
identical. 

6.  H.  sarothra,  broom-like  hypericum,  com- 
monly called  ground  pine,netweed,  and  orange 
grass.  This  is  frequent  in  sandy  fields  and 
along  road-sides,  where  it  puts  forth  yellow 
flowers  in  July  and  August.  Its  root  is  annual, 
the  stem  is  slender  and  grows  4  to  8  inches 
high.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

JONQUIL.  A  species  of  daffodil,  of  which 
there  are  several  sorts.  The  great  jonquil  and 
the  odorous  jonquil  blow  about  the  middle  of 
March.  The  lesser  or  proper  jonquil  some- 
what later.  When  they  blow  well  and  early 
they  forebode  a  fine  season. 

JUDAS  TREE  (Ccrcis).  This  is  a  beauti- 
ful genus  of  ornamental  trees,  flowering  early 
in  spring,  and  looking  very  pretty  planted 
singly  on  a  lawn,  or  trained  to  a  wall  or  trellis; 
they  grow  to  the  height  of  20  feet,  prefer  an 
open  loamy  soil,  and  may  be  plentifully  in- 
creased from  seeds. 

The  species  found  in  the  United  States  is  the 
Cercis  Canadensis  of  botanists,  commonly  called 
red  bud.  In  the  Middle  States,  it  is  a  small 
tree  15,  20,  or  30  feet  high,  greatly  admired  for 
the  clusters  of  small  flowers,  which  in  April 
clothe  the  limbs  in  purple  before  the  leaves 
appear.  The  flowers  are  acid  to  the  taste.  It  is 
the  only  species  of  qercis  in  the  United  States. 

JUNE  BERRY  (3Iespilusarborea  of  MichsLXix). 
With  the  exception  of  the  maritime  parts  of 
678 


the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  this  tree,  as  Mi- 
chaux  informs  us,  is  spread  over  the  whole 
extent  of  the  United  States  and  Canada.  But 
it  is  most  multiplied  upon  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains, and  upon  the  elevated  banks  cif  the  rivers 
which  flow  from  them.  In  the  northern  section 
of  the  Union  it  is  called  wild  pear  tree,  whilst 
in  the  Middle  and  other  Stales  it  goes  by  the 
various  names  of  wild  service  berry,  June  berry, 
snowy  medlar,  and  shad-flower.  The  last  name 
is  derived  from  its  blooming  about  the  time  the 
shad  ascend  the  rivers  (beginning  of  April), 
when  it  is  quite  a  showy  little  tree.  The  flow- 
ers, which  are  white  and  pretty  large,  are  ar- 
ranged in  pannicles  at  the  extremities  of  the 
branches.  As  it  blossoms  early,  so  does  it 
mature  its  fruit  amongst  the  earliest  trees  of 
the  forest.  The  largest  tree,  however,  rarely 
yields  more  than  half  a  pound.  Long  culture 
has  been  found  to  improve  the  fruit,  both  in 
size  and  quality.  The  berries  are  roundish,  3 
or  4  lines  in  diameter,  smooth,  dark-red,  and 
even  purple  when  mature,  pleasant  flavoured, 
and  not  unwholesome.  In  Pennsylvania  and 
the  neighbouring  states,  it  is  generally  found 
in  moist  and  shady  situations,  especially  along 
brooks  and  rivulets.  In  the  western  country, 
however,  it  grows  in  the  midst  of  the  forest 
among  theoaks,  walnuts,  &c.,  and  here  reaches 
its  greatest  height,  which  does  not- exceed  35  or 
40  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  10  or  12  inches. 

JUNIPER  (Juniperus,  derived  from  the  Celtic 
juniperus,  rough  or  rude,  in  allusion  to  the  stiff 
habit  of  the  shrubs).  This  genus  is  too  well 
known  to  need  to  be  particularized  here.  All 
the  species  will  grow  in  sandy  loam,  and  some 
in  any  common  garden  soil.  They  are  mostly 
raised  from  seed,  though  cuttings  will  strike 
when  planted  in  a  sheltered  situation,  under  a 
hand-glass.  The  stimulating  and  diuretic 
powers  of  the  savin  (/.  sabina)  are  well  known. 
The  fruit  of  /.  communis  are  proverbial  for  the 
flavour  they  give  to  gin.  {Paxtonh  Bot.  Diet.) 
The  species  are  all  evergreen  aromatic  shrubs, 
with  narrow  leaves,  either  spreading  and  sharp- 
pointed,  or  closely  imbricated,  minute,  and  ob- 
tuse. The  fruit  is  globular  or  oval,  black  or 
brown,  with  a  glaucous  efliorescence. 

/.  sabina  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe, 
but  it  is  cultivated  as  an  evergreen  in  our  gar- 
dens. The  plant  is  a  pyramidal  shrub,  with 
small,  closely-adhering,  glandular  leaves,  which 
exhale,  when  rubbed,  a  strong,  heavy  odour, 
and  have  a  bitter,  nauseous  taste.  By  distilla- 
tion they  yield  a  large  quantity  of  volatile  oil, 
which  has  the  odour  and  taste  of  the  recent 
plant.  Savin  is  a  powerful  acrid  poison,  irri- 
tating and  vesicating  the  skin  when  it  is  ap- 
plied to  it.  When  swallowed  in  large  doses,  it 
causes  vomiting,  purging,  and  inflammation  of 
the  stomach  and  bowels. 

The  common  juniper  (/.  communis)  grows 
wild  on  hills  and  heathy  downs,  especially 
where  the  soil  is  chalky.  Dr.  Sibthorpe  found 
it  on  Olympus  and  Athos,  in  Greece.  It  is, 
like  all  the  species,  a  bushy  shrub,  with  ever- 
green, linear  pointed,  glaucous  leaves,  dark 
green  on  the  under  disk.  The  flowers  are 
axillary,  small,  sessile,  male  and  female  organs 
in  separate  flowers.  The  fruit,  although  called 


JURY 


a  berry,  is  a  galbalus  or  succulent  cone.  It 
requires  two  seasons  to  arrive  at  maturity. 
The  dwarf  alpine  juniper  {J.  nana)  is  a  variety 
of  the  communis.  It  grows  upon  lofty  moun- 
tains, and  is,  as  its  name  implies,  more  humble 
in  its  growth.  These  are  the  only  indigenous 
species.  The  tops  and  the  fruit  are  used  in 
medicine  as  powerful  diuretics.  The  former 
have  a  bitter,  turpentine  flavour  and  colour ; 
the  fruit  is  sweetish,  with  an  agreeable,  some- 
what balsamic  odour,  depending  upon  a  vola- 
tile oil,  and  a  peculiar  saccharine  matter  ana- 
logous to  the  sugar  of  the  grape.  The  volatile 
oil  is  contained  in  cells  in  the  shells  of  the 
seeds ;  hence,  in  making  infusion  of  juniper, 
the  seeds  should  be  bruised.  The  infusion  is 
made  with  an  ounce  of  the  bruised  fruit  and  a 
pint  of  boiling  distilled  water.  It  is  a  useful 
beverage  in  some  kinds  of  dropsies.  The  red 
cedar  (/.  Virginiana),  is  a  hardy,  handsome 
evergreen,  native  of  North  America,  with  dark 
foliage,  producing  a  small  blue  berry-like  fruit 
in  May.  It  frequently  attains  to  the  height  of 
a  very  lofty  tree.    See  Cedar,  Red. 

JURY  (from  the  Latin  jurare,  to  swear).  A 
body  of  men  sworn  to  decide  a  certain  fact  or 
facts  according  to  the  evidence  produced  before 
them. 

This  noble  institution,  like  many  others  as 
dearly  cherished  by  all  lovers  of  freedom,  com- 
menced among  the  northern  nations  of  Europe 
at  a  very  early  period.  The  early  notices  of 
this  mode  of  trial  remaining  to  us  do  not  speak 
of  its  institution :  and,  in  truth,  it  most  proba- 
bly originated  in  some  rude  form  or  other  as 
soon  as  men  began  to  dwell  together  in  fixed 
habitations. 

That  trial  by  jury  was  employed  by  our 
Saxon  ancestors  from  time  immemorial  is  very 
certain,  and  over-industrious  historians  have 
wasted  much  time  in  fruitless  endeavours  to 
assign  the  honour  of  the  first  discoverer  to  the 
real  author.  Thus  Stiernhook  {De  Jure  Sueo- 
num,  1.  i.  c.  4),  ascribes  the  glory  to  Regner, 
king  of  Denmark  and  Norway,  who  was  the 
contemporary  of  our  Egbert.  Archbishop  Ni- 
cholson carries  the  date  of  the  invention  back 
to  Woden,  the  great  captain,  legislator,  and  god 
of  the  Northernmen. 

Sir  Edward  Coke  appears  to  have  fancied 
that  there  is  something  in  the  very  number 
twelve,  in  which  the  laws  of  God  and  man 
seem  to  delight ;  and  he  instances  the  twelve 
judges,  twelve  counsellors  of  state,  twelve  to 
wager  the  laws,  twelve  apostles,  tribes,  stones, 
&c.    (Coke  on  Littleton,  s.  234  b.) 

Trial  by  jury  is  mentioned  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  King  Ethelred,  but  not  as  a  novel  in- 
stitution. (Wilhins*  Laws  of  the  Anglo-Saxons, 
117.)  And  in  Magna  Charta  it  is  mentioned 
more  than  once,  and  particularly  ordained, 
That  no  freeman  shall  be  dispossessed  of  his 
lands  or  goods,  unless  by  the  judgment  of  his 
peers ;  and  amid  all  the  long  continued  strug- 
gles of  Englishmen  for  the  liberty  of  the  sub- 
ject (from  the  days  of  King  John  down  to  the 
time  of  Fox  and  his  declaration  of  the  office 
of  juries  in  libel  cases),  the  preservation  of 
the  freedom  of  juries  has  ever  been  a  darling 
object  with  English  patriots. 


KALE.  SEA. 


K. 


KALE,  SEA  (Crambe  maritxma),  is  found  wild 
on  the  seashore  on  the  southwestern  coast  of 
Great  Britain,  where  the  common  people  have 
from  time  immemorial  been  in  the  practice  of 
watching  when  the  shoots  and  leaf-stalks  begin 
to  push  up  the  sand  and  gravel,  in  March  and 
April,  when  they  cut  them  oif  under  ground,  as 
done  with  asparagus,  and  boil  them  as  greens. 
About  the  middle  of  the  last  century  it  was 
first  introduced  into  gardens,  and  is  now  al- 
most as  universal  as  asparagus. 

A  light,  moderately  rich  soil,  on  a  dry  sub- 
stratum, suits  it  best ;  though  in  any  dry  soil 
it  will  succeed.  A  bed  may  be  composed  for 
it  of  one-half  drift  sand,  one-third  rich  loam, 
and  one-third  small  gravel,  road  stuff,  or  coal 
ashes ;  if  the  loam  is  poor,  a  little  well-rotted 
dung  or  decayed  leaves  being  added.  The  soil 
must  especially  be  deep,  so  that  the  roots  can 
penetrate  without  being  immersed  in  water, 
which  invariably  causes  their  decay.  Mr.  T. 
Barton,  of  Bothwell  Castle,  has  even  found  it 
succeed  well  on  a  pretty  strong  loam  that  had 
a  loose  bottom.  The  depth  should  not  be  less 
than  2^  feet ;  and  if  not  naturally  deep,  it  should 
be  worked  to  it  by  trenching.  '  If  at  all  tena- 
cious, this  opportunity  may  be  taken  to  mix 
with  it  drift  or  sea  sand,  so  as  to  reduce  it  to  a 
mouldy  texture.  If  the  soil  be  wet  it  must  be 
drained,  so  that  water  never  shall  stand  within 
three  feet  of  the  surface.  If  poor,  well-putrified 
dung  must  be  added ;  but  decayed  leaves  are 
preferable  (Trans.  Hart.  Soc.  Lond.  vol.  i.  p.  17), 
and  sea-weed  still  more  so.  These  precautions 
must  all  be  particularly  attended  to,  for  upon 
the  due  richness  and  dryness  of  the  soil  not 
only  depend  the  luxuriance  and  delicate  fla- 
vour of  the  plants,  but  their  very  existence. 
Common  salt,  as  might  be  anticipated,  is  found 
to  be  a  very  beneficial  application,  either  ap- 
plied dry,  or  by  occasional  waterings  with  a 
solution  containing  4  or  5  ounces  in  the  gallon, 
round  every  stool  during  the  summer.  As  re- 
gards the  situation,  it  cannot  be  too  open  or 
free  from  trees.  Sea  kale  is  propagated  both 
from  seed  and  slips  of  the  root ;  the  first  is  by 
far  the  best  mode,  for  although  it  may  be  ob- 
tained from  slips  with  greater  certainty,  yet  the 
plants  arising  from  seed  are  the  strongest  and 
longest  lived;  whilst  the  failure  of  seed,  which 
is  sometimes  complained  of,  mostly  arises 
from  its  being  old,  buried  too  deep,  or  some 
other  extraneous  cause.  The  seed  may  be  in- 
serted in  drills  from  October,  or  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  the  ground  can  be  brought  into  good 
condition.  It  is  by  much  the  best  mode  to 
leave  the  plants  where  raised,  and  with  that 
intent,  to  guard  against  failure,  inserting  the 
seed  in  patches  of  6  or  12  seeds,  each  6  inches 
apart,  and  the  patches  2  feet  asunder.  If,  how- 
ever, they  are  intended  for  transplanting,  the 
seed  may  be  sown  in  drills  12  inches  asunder; 
in  either  case  it  must  not  be  buried  more  than 
2  inches  below  the  surface ;  and  it  is  a  good 
practice,  previous  to  inserting  it,  to  bruise  the 
outer  coat  of  the  seed,  without  injuring  its 
vegetating  power,  as  by  this  treatment  the  ger 

679 


KALE,  SEA. 


KALE,  SEA. 


mination  is  accelerated.  The  plants  will  in  ge- 
neral make  their  appearance  in  4  or  5  months, 
never  sooner  than  6  weeks;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  seed  will  sometimes  remain  12  months 
before  it  vegetates. 

The  best  time  for  increasing  it  by  slips  is  in 
March  and  April.  Rooted  offsets  may  be  de- 
tached from  established  plants  ;  or  their  roots, 
which  have  attained  the  thickness  of  the  third 
finger,  be  cut  into  lengths,  each  having  at  least 
two  eyes.  To  plant  the  offsets  requires  no  par- 
ticular direction:  the  cuttings  must  be  inserted 
in  an  upright  position  2  or  3  inches  beneath 
the  surface.  It  is  best  to  plant  two  together,  to 
obviate  the  danger  of  failure,  at  2  feet  apart, 
to  remain. 

Whatever  mode  of  propagation  is  adopted, 
the  bed  should  be  laid  out  3  feet  wide,  and  a  2 
feet  alley  between  every  2,  in  preference  to  the 
plan  sometimes  recommended  of  planting  3 
rows  in  beds  7  feet  wide,  for  in  such  the  soil 
must  be  consolidated  by  the  feet  during  the  ne- 
cessary grades  of  cultivation. 

If  the  months  of  June  and  July  prove  dry, 
the  beds  should  be  plentifully  watered.  The 
seedlings  require  no  other  attention  during  the 
first  summer  than  to  be  kept  free  from  weeds, 
and,  if  they  come  up  too  numerous,  to  be 
thinned  to  5  or  6  in  each  patch.  When  their 
leaves  have  decayed,  and  been  cleared  away 
about  November,  they  must  be  earthed  over  an 
inch  or  two  with  dry  mould  from  the  alleys, 
and  over  this  about  6  inches  depth  of  long  litter 
be  spread,  and  thus  left  to  stand  the  winter. 
In  the  following  spring  the  litter  is  to  be  raked 
off,  and  a  little  of  the  most  rotten  dug  into  the 
alleys.  When  the  plants  have  perfectly  made 
their  appearance,  they  must  be  thinned,  leav- 
ing the  strongest  plant,  or,  as  Mr.  Maher  re- 
commends, the  three  strongest,  at  each  patch ; 
those  removed  being  transplanted  at  similar 
distances  if  required;  but  it  must  be  remarked 
that  those  transplanted  never  attain  so  fine  a 
growth,  or  are  so  long-lived.  In  this  second 
winter  the  earthing  must  be  increased  to  5  or 
6  inches  deep  over  the  crowns,  and  the  cover- 
ing of  litter  performed  as  before.  In  the  third 
spring,  the  litter  being  removed,  and  some  dug 
into  the  alleys  as  before,  about  an  inch  depth 
of  drift  sand  or  coal  ashes  must  be  spread  re- 
gularly over  the  surface.  The  sprouts  may 
now  be  bleached  and  cut  for  use ;  for  if  this  is 
commenced  earlier,  the  stools  are  rendered 
much  less  productive,  and  much  shorter  lived. 
In  November,  or  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are  de- 
cayed, the  beds  being  cleared  of  them,  the  coat- 
ing of  sand  or  ashes  removed,  and  gently 
stirred  with  the  asparagus  fork,  they  must  be 
covered  with  a  mixture  of  three  parts  earth 
from  the  alleys,  and  one  part  of  thoroughly  de- 
cayed leaves,  to  the  depth  of  3  or  4  inches.  The 
major  part  of  this  is  to  be  removed  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  the  beds  forked,  and  the  cover- 
ing of  sand  renewed ;  this  routine  of  cultiva- 
tion continuing  during  the  existence  of  the 
beds. 

The  above  course  is  the  one  also  pursued  if 
the  plants  are  raised  from  offsets  or  cuttings, 
as  it  is  much  the  best  practice  not  to  com- 
mence cutting  until  they  are  two  years  old. 
680 


Blanching,  as  before  observed,  may  commence 
the  second  spring  after  sowing.  The  most 
simple  mode  is  that  originally  adopted,  name- 
ly, to  cover  over  each  stool  sand  or  ashes  to 
the  depth  of  about  a  foot ;  the  shoots  in  their 
passage  through  it,  being  excluded  from  the 
light,  are  effectually  bleached.  But  pots  are 
by  much  to  be  preferred  to  these  coverings. 
Common  flower-pots  of  large  dimensions  may 
be  employed,  care  being  taken  to  stop  the  hole 
at  the  bottom  with  a  piece  of  tile  and  clay,  so 
as  to  exclude  every  ray  of  light. 

Previous  to  covering  the  stools  with  the  pots, 
&c.,  the  manure  laid  on  in  the  winter  must  be 
removed;  and  the  operation  should  commence 
at  the  close  of  February,  or  at  least  a  month 
before  the  shoots  usually  appear,  as  the  shel- 
ter of  the  pots  assists  materially  in  bringing 
them  forward.  In  4  or  6  weeks  after  they  are 
covered  the  plants  should  be  examined,  and  as 
soon  as  they  appear  3  or  4  inches  high,  they 
may  be  cut ;  for  if  none  are  taken  until  they 
attain  a  fuller  growth,  the  crop  comes  in  too 
much  at  once.  In  order  to  prolong  the  season 
of  production,  Mr.  Barton  recommends  plants 
to  be  raised  annually,  so  that  every  year  a  cut- 
ting may  be  had  from  a  yearling  crop,  which 
comes  in  much  later,  and  consequently  suc- 
ceeds in  production  the  old  established  roots. 
The  shoots  should  be  cut  whilst  young  and 
crisp,  not  exceeding  5  or  6  inches  in  height; 
the  section  to  be  made  just  within  the  ground, 
but  not  so  as  to  injure  the  crown  of  the  root 
Slipping  off  the  stalks  is  said  to  be  preferable 
to  cutting.  The  plants  may  be  gathered  from 
until  the  flower  begins  to  form,  when  all  cover- 
ing must  be  removed.  If,  when  arrived  at  the 
state  in  which  broccoli  is  usually  cut,  the  stalks 
and  immature  flowers  are  employed  as  that 
vegetable,  they  will  be  found  an  excellent  sub- 
stitute ;  and  this  greatly  enhances  the  value  of 
the  plant,  as  broccoli  does  not  stand  the  winter 
frosts  in  the  Northern  States,  and  can  only  be 
had  when  carefully  protected ;  but  this  plr 
is  sufficiently  hardy  to  bear  the  frost  without 
injury.  It  flowers  about  June,  and  produces 
abundance  of  seed  on  every  stem,  which  ripens 
about  the  close  of  July  or  early  in  August. 

To  force  sea  kale,  Mr.  T.  Baldwin,  of  Ragley, 
recommends  that,  on  each  side  of  a  3  foot  bed, 
a  trench  is  to  be  dug  2  feet  deep,  the  side  of  it 
next  the  bed  being  perpendicular,  but  the  outer 
side  sloping,  so  as  to  make  it  18  inches  wide 
at  the  bottom,  but  2^  feet  at  the  top.  These 
trenches  being  filled  with  fermenting  dung, 
which  of  course  ma}'  be  renewed  if  ever  found 
necessary,  and  frames  put  over  the  plants,  the 
light  is  to  be  completely  excluded  by  boards, 
matting,  &c.  Unlike  the  generality  of  vege- 
tables, the  shoots  of  forced  sea  kale  are  always 
more  crisp  and  delicate  than  those  produced 
naturally. 

"  To  have  this  rare  vegetable  in  perfection,** 
says  Bridgeman,  "it  should  be  cooked  as 
soon  as  gathered.  Let  it  be  first  soaked  in 
water,  seasoned  with  salt,  for  half  an  hour ; 
then  wash  it  in  fresh  water,  and  put  it  into  the 
cooking  utensil ;  keep  it  boiling  briskly,  skim 
clean,  and  let  off  steam.  When  the  stalks  are 
tender,  which  may  be  expected  in  from  15  to 


b 


KALE. 


*5  minutes,  according  to  size  and  age,  take  it 
up,  dish  it,  and  serve  it  up  with  melted  butter, 
gravy,  and  such  condiments  as  may  be  most 
agreeable  to  the  palate."   (Gardener^s  ^ssislanf.) 

KALE,  THE  WOBURN  PERENNIAL. 
See  Cabbage,  Bouecolk,  &c. 

KALL  A  sea  weed,  from  the  ashes  of  which 
the  alkali,  called  soda,  is  procured.  See  Kelp, 
Saltwort,  and  Glasswort. 

KALMIA.  American  laurel.  A  North  Ame- 
rican genus  of  hardy  shrubs,  remarkable  for 
the  beauty  of  their  flowers.  The  leaves  are 
considered  poisonous  to  cattle,  and  are  par- 
ticularly fatal  to  sheep.  The  honey  gathered 
from  the  flowers  is  also  charged  with  possess- 
ing deleterious  qualities.  The  plants  do  best 
when  grown  in  a  peat  soil,  though  they  will 
grow  in  a  very  sandy  loam;  they  may  be  in- 
creased by  layers  or  seeds. 

Mr.  Nuttall  describes  five  species  of  kalmia 
found  in  the  United  States: — I.  K.  lutifolia, 
laurel,  or  calico  bush,  common  from  Canada 
to  Georgia.  The  stem  grows  3  or  4  to  10  or  12 
feet  high,  with  irregular,  crooked,  straggling 
branches.  It  frequents  shaded  banks  and  rocky 
hills,  and  blooms  its  beautiful  flowers  in  May 
and  June.  The  wood  of  this  splendid  flower- 
ing shrub  is  very  hard,  and  is  often  used  to 
make  handles  for  small  mechanical  imple- 
ments. A  decoction  of  the  leaves  is  sometimes 
used  as  a  remedy  for  cutaneous  diseases. 
(^Flora  Cestrica.) 

2.  A",  angustifolia,  or  narrow-leaved  laurel, 
commonly  called  sheep  laurel,  and  dwarf  laurel. 
The  stem  of  this  species  grows  about  two  feet 
high,  being  slender  and  somewhat  branching. 
This  pretty  little  species  of  laurel  is  thought  to 
be  particularly  poisonous  to  sheep  and  other 
stock,  when  eaten  by  them.  3.  K.  glaucn.  4. 
K.  nuieata,  found  in  swamps  betwixt  Camden 
and  Statesville,  South  Carolina.  5.  K.hirmta, 
found  constantly  on  the  drier  margins  of  open 
swamps,  abundant  around  Savannah,  Georgia. 

KATY-DID.     See  Plattphtllum. 

KELP,  SEA-WEED,  BARILLA,  &c.  I  class 
these  manures  together,  when  treating  of  kelp, 
since  it  is  to  the  presence  of  various  salts  of 
soda  that  sea-weed  principally  owes  its  ferti- 
lizing qualities,  for  when  they  are  washed  oat, 
the  residuum  is  nearly  inert.  Sea-weed  has 
been  analyzed  by  M.  Gaultier  de  Claubry.  In 
the  Fxiius  saccharinus  and  in  the  Fucus  digita- 
tus  (which  is  much  used  in  Scotland  as  a 
manure)  he  found  the  following  substances 
(Thomson's  Chevu  vol.  iv.  p.  298):— 

Saccharine  matter.  Muriate  of  magnesia. 

Mucilage.  Carbonate  of  potash. 

Vegetable  albumen.  Carbonate  of  soda. 

Oxalate  of  potash.  Ilydriodate  of  potash. 

Malate  of  potash.  Silica. 

8ulph;ite  of  potash.  Phosphate  of  lime. 

Siilphiue  of  soda.  Phosphate  of  magnesia. 

Suiphaie  of  magnesia.  Oxide  of  iron. 

MuriatH  of  soda.  Oxalate  of  lime. 

Muriate  of  potash. 

By  burning  these  weeds  the  kelp  and  barilla 
of  commerce  is  formed  ;  the  first  of  which  has 
been  often  advantageously  employed  in  Ireland 
and  on  the  coast  of  Scotland  as  a  manure.  The 
Suffolk  and  the  Kentish  farmers,  however,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  Scotch,  employ  the  sea- 
weed in  its  freshest  state,  either  ploughing  it 
into  the  ground,  or  spreading  it  on  the  top  of 
86 


KELP. 

their  heaps  of  compost.    The  first  plan,  how 
ever,  I  have  ever  seen  productive  of  the  best 
effects ;  and  in  that  conclusion  I  am  supported 
by  the  experience  of  many  excellent  farmers. 
The  salt  turf  of  the  sea-shore  has  been  long 

;  used  in  many  parts  of  England  as  an  excellent 
manure,  especially  for  potatoes ;  and,  accord- 
ing to  Dr.  Holland  (Survey  of  Cheshire,  p.  143), 

!  even  the  salt  mud  of  the  Mersey  is  extensively 
used  for  the  same  crop,  at  the  rate  of  twenty 

j  tons  per  acre.  "  The  ground  thus  manured  not 
only  gives  a  large  produce  of  potatoes,  but  is 

!  in  a  state  of  excellent  preparation  for  a  suc- 
ceeding crop  of  either  wheat  or  barley.  The 
adoption  of  this  practice  has  increased  very 
greatly  the  value  of  land  about  Weston." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  advantage  of 
using  the  sea-weed,  or  sea-turf,  in  the  freshest 
possible  state,  after  it  has  been  covered  with 
the  salt  water,  as  by  a  spring  tide ;  for  if  the 
salt  water  has  been  suffered  to  drain  away 
from  the  weeds,  and  a  partial  decomposition 
has  taken  place,  their  value  as  a  manure  must 
be  materially  diminished.  The  Cornish  farm- 
ers, when  they  fetch  the  calcareous  sand  from 
the  sea-beach,  are  careful  to  obtain  it  as  much 
wetted  with  the  salt  water  as  possible :  and 
there  are  in  the  juices  and  other  components 
of  marine  plants  a  variety  of  ingredients  which 
must  produce  the  most  luxuriant  effects  upon 
vegetation  growing  at  a  distance  from  the  sea  , 
and  their  constituents  are  peculiarly  noxious 
to  the  vermin  with  which  all  cultivated  soils 
abound.  If  this  conclusion  be  correct,  then 
the  mode  adopted  by  the  Isle  of  Thanet  and 
Suffolk  farmers,  of  collecting  the  sea-weed 
into  heaps,  and  suffering  it  to  putrefy,  is  de- 
cidedly wrong;  for,  by  being  thus  decomposed, 
half  its  fertilizing  virtues  are  lost  to  the  soil. 
The  common  excuse  for  rendering  dung  putrid 
before  it  is  spread,  viz.  that  it  is  a  necessary 
practice  to  kill  the  seeds  of  weeds,  has  no  ap- 
plication here,  for  those  of  marine  weeds  will 
not  grow  on  arable  upland  soils. 

The  use  of  sea-weed  as  a  manure,  in  the 
isles  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  has  been  very 
extensive  from  time  immemorial.  Thus,  in  a 
work  upon  Jersey,  by  the  Rev.  Philip  Falle, 
published  in  1694,  he  observes,  that  "Nature 
having  denied  us  the  benefit  of  chalk,  lime, 
and  marie,  has  supplied  us  with  what  fully  an- 
swers the  end  of  them  in  husbandry — it  is  a 
sea-weed,  but  a  weed  more  valuable  to  us  than 
the  choicest  plant  that  grows  in  our  gardens. 
We  call  it  vrair  (yarec),  in  ancient  records  vetis- 
cum,  and  sometimes  wrecum,  and  it  grows  on 
the  rocks  about  the  island.  It  is  gathered  only 
at  certain  times  appointed  by  the  magistrate 
and  signified  to  the  people  by  a  public  crier 
on  a  market  day.  There  are  two  seasons  for 
cutting  it,  the  one  in  summer,  the  other  about 
the  vernal  equinox.  The  summer  vraic,  being 
first  well  dried  by  the  sun  on  the  sea-shore, 
serves  for  fuel,  and  makes  a  hot,  glowing  fire  ; 
but  the  ashes  are  a  great  improvement  to  the 
soil,  and  are  equal  almost  to  a  like  quantity  of 
lime.  The  winter  vraic  being  spread  thin  on 
the  green  turf,  and  afterwards  buried  in  the 
furrows  by  the  plough,  it  is  incredible  how  with 
its  fat  unctuous  substance  it  ameliorates  the 
ground,  imbibing  itself  into  it,  softening  the 

681 


KELP. 


KELP. 


clod,  and  keeping  the  root  of  the  corn  moist 
during  the  most  parching  heats  of  summer. 
In  stormy  weather,  the  sea  does  often  tear  up 
from  the  rocks  vast  quantities  of  this  weed,  and 
casts  it  on  the  shore,  where  it  is  carefully  ga- 
thered up  by  the  glad  husbandman." 

The  plants  chiefly  valued  for  making  French 
varec  are  Fucus  vesiculostis,  F.  nodosus,  F.  serra- 
ta$,  Laminaria  digitata  and  bulbosa,  Himanthalia 
lorea,  and  Chorda  filum.  Twenty-four  tons  of 
the  sea-weeds  make  one  ton  of  kelp.  The 
Jersey  and  Guernsey  Agricultural  Society  con- 
firmed this  account  of  the  excellent  effects  of 
the  ashes  from  sea-weed,  in  1797,  in  their  re- 
port to  the  English  Board  of  Agriculture,  when 
they  observed — 

"It  is  judged,  that  a  chabot  (half  a  bushel), 
strewed  over  a  perch  of  ground  in  winter  or 
the  beginning  of  spring,  will  be  a  suflicient 
manure.  Our  labourers  are  unanimously  of 
opinion,  that  it  gives  a  full  ear  to  the  corn,  and 
prevents  it  being  laid — those  who  have  any 
varech  to  sell  may  at  all  times  get  a  chaboi  of 
wheat  for  a  quarter  or  six  bushels  of  varech.'^ 
(Com.  to  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  i.  p.  ■216.) 

The  fertilizing  effects  of  sea-weed  are  not 
confined  to  the  better  description  of  soils  ;  the 
poorest  kind  of  heath  lands  are  benefited  by  the 
application  of  this  manure  ; — thus,  Mr.  John 
Sherriff",  of  Haddington,  has  described  the 
effects  of  sea-weed,  or  sea-tang,  as  it  is  called 
in  Scotland,  on  common  heath  or  moor  land, 
in  the  following  terms:  "Sea-weed,  which  is  a 
capital  manure  for  any  land,  may  often  be  pro- 
cured at  little  or  no  expense.  Crops  almost 
incredible  of  turnips,  barley,  clover,  and  rye, 
have,  to  the  writer's  certain  knowledge,  been 
obtained  on  an  extensive  tract  of  the  most 
miserable  benty  wastes  and  poor  rabbit  war- 
rens, by  the  powers  of  this  manure;  soils  which, 
twelve  years  since,  were  not  worth  three  shil- 
lings per  acre.  The  bent  was  torn  up  by  the 
common  swing  plough,  burnt,  and  the  ashes 
•spread ;  the  soil  was  then  manured  with  the 
sea-tang,  as  much  as  could  be  ploughed  in. 
Turnips  were  immediately  drilled,  and  rolled 
to  prevent  blowing ;  this  crop  was  succeeded 
by  rye  or  barley,  and  that  by  red  clover  and 
rye-grass.  On  the  clover  stubble,  and  some- 
times after  the  turnip  crop,  plenty  of  tang  was 
again  laid,  the  ley  ploughed  down,  and  sown 
with  oats,  barley,  or  rye,  and  frequently  with 
turnips,  which  in  this  way  have  succeeded  ad- 
mirably on  the  ley  with  one  ploughing."  {Com. 
to  Board  of  Agr.  vol.  iv.  p.  122.)  It  is  certain, 
from  the  experiments  of  the  late  Mr.  Knight, 
that  green  manures  of  all  kinds  are  an  admir- 
able manure ;  and  it  seems  well  established 
that  the  more  the  juice  of  the  vegetables  so 
employed  is  impregnated  with  saline  matters, 
the  more  fertilizing  are  their  effects :  thus,  in 
Bavaria,  borage  is  very  commonly  cultivated 
for  this  purpose,  and  the  reason  assigned  for 
the  preference  shown  to  this  plant  is,  that  it 
contains  soda  and  other  salts.  (Gardener^s 
M<ig.  vol.  i.  p.  200.) 

I  have  no  doubt  that  in  many  situations  the 
sea-weed  may  be  successfully  cultivated  on  the 
jea-coast,  expressly  for  manure  ;  and  it  seems 
•hat  for  this  purpose  hardly  any  thing  is  re- 
(j^uired  except  placing  stones  on  the  shore,  to 
b&2 


which  the  fuci  can  attach  themselves,  and  in 
two  years  the  crop  may  be  cut.  According  to 
Mr.  Jamieson  {Miner,  of  Scottish  Isles,  vol.  2,  p. 
251),  various  kinds  of  stones  have  been  em- 
ployed in  Scotland,  as  basalt,  sandstone,  and 
limestone,  which  last  is  the  best  adapted  for 
the  purpose,  and  after  that  the  basalt. 

There  are  also  in  many  parts  of  the  coa>.t 
of  Britain  extensive  tracts  of  land  which  it 
would  be  difficult  to  enclose,  and  yet  these 
places  are  either  already  covered  with  a  coarse' 
turf,  or  might  be  so  with  a  little  management, 
and  this  turf,  when  cut  and  carted  on  to  the 
light  upland  soils,  is  found  almost  invariably 
to  be  an  admirable  fertilizer; — for  instance, 
when  spread  over  land  during  the  winter,  and 
then  turned  into  the  soil,  for  potatoes,  the  crop 
is  sure  to  be  excellent.  No  description  of  fer- 
tilizer, perhaps,  can  be  named,  which  freshens^ 
as  the  farmers  say,  an  over-cropped  soil  so* 
much  as  a  dressing  of  from  20  to  25  loads  per 
acre  of  the  turf  from  the  sea-shore,  soaked  with 
sea-water;  and  no  plant  delights  in  fresh  soil 
so  much  as  the  potatoe.  It  is,  therefore,  more 
than  probable,  that  the  exertions  of  the  com- 
monly cultivated  corn  crops  are  peculiar  noxi- 
ous to  this  plant ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the 
potatoe,  by  the  deposit  which  it  leaves  in  the 
soil,  renders  it  distasteful  to  the  crop  by  which 
it  is  succeeded.  Thus  the  wheat  plant  rarely 
looks  well  on  soils  where  the  potato  has  im- 
mediately preceded  it.  Saline  fertilizers,  in 
these  cases,  are  sure  to  be  serviceable,  for  they 
unite  with,  and  neutralize  the  effects,  as  well 
as  promote  the  decomposition,  of  the  excretory 
matters  which  all  plants  deposit  in  the  soil. 

The  chief  fertilizing  qualities  possessed  by 
barilla  are  attributable  to  the  presence  of  soda. 
This  alkali  is  found  in  all  marine  vegetables, 
and  in  most  of  those  which  grow  on  the  sea- 
shore. It  has  been  used  m  several  experi- 
ments as  a  manure  since  the  price  of  soda  has 
been  so  much  reduced;  but  these  have  not 
been  conducted  with  sufficient  accuracy  to 
enable  us  to  judge  of  its  value  as  a  fertilizer. 
What  little  has  been  done,  promises  welL 
Thus,  it  has  been  found,  when  a  pound  of  soda 
is  dissolved  in  14  gallons  of  water,  that  this 
solution  forms  an  excellent  liquid  manure  for 
many  culinary  vegetables ;  for  instance,  the 
vegetable-marrow  plant,  when  thus  treated,  has 
been  found  to  flourish  better  in  common  garden 
mould  than  other  plants  growing  on  a  dunghilL 
And,  as  I  have  remarked  in  another  place,  na- 
ture is  here  again  our  instructor:  the  fertile 
plains  of  Syria,  and  some  of  the  most  profusely 
luxuriant  fields  of  the  orientalist,  abound  in 
carbonate  of  soda.  This  alkali  not  only  enters 
into  the  composition  of  many  vegetables,  but 
it  promotes  the  growth  of  all,  by  preserving 
the  moisture  of  the  soil,  and  by  accelerating 
the  decomposition  of  the  numerous  organic 
substances  found  in  all  cultivated  lands.  The 
sewer  water  of  towns  and  cities,  which  has 
been  found  so  very  rich  and  fertilizing  as  a 
dressing  for  grass  lands,  abounds  with  soda ; 
for  that  is  contained  in  the  soap  suds  and  other 
refuse  washings  which  such  drainage  matters 
always  convey.  Soda  has  been  found  in  very 
sensible  proportions  in  the  urine  of  the  horse, 
by  M.  Fourcroy  ;  and  in  that  of  the  ass,  by  Mr. 


KELP. 

sranae;  ana  a  small  portion  of  this  alkali  is 
usually  presented  in  the  waste  ashes  of  soap- 
makers,  which  many  cultivators  consider  highly 
valuable  as  a  manure. 

As  the  use  of  kelp  has  been  of  late  much 
greater  than  formerly  as  a  manure,  it  will  be 
useful  for  the  cultivator  to  learn  the  proportion 
of  alkali  contained  in  the  kinds  usually  met 
with  in  commerce,  as  determined  by  Mr.  Ja- 
mieson  {Min,  of  Scottish  Isles,  vol.  ii.  p.  248)  : — 

lb*,  oz.        lbs. 

Barilla  from  Alicant,  good        -  -       -  23  8  in  100 

Teneriffe,  had        -  -        -  8  7 

Kelp  from  Norway,  imlifferent  -        -  2  11 

Shetland,  indifferent  -.26 

Lewis,  indifferent    -  -        -  2  6 

W.  Highlands,  much  damaged  0  5|^ 

Arran        _        -        -  _        _  3  8 

Isla,  eood          -        -  -        -  4  0 

Mull,  good         -        -  -        -  4  8 

Morven,  good   -        -  -        -  4  8 

Skye,  good        -        -  -        -  5  0 

Leith  shores     -        -  -        -  4  0 

But,  besides  the  alkali  referred  to,  kelp  con- 
tains iodide  of  potassium,  bromide  of  potas- 
sium, and  sulphuret  of  potassium ;  all  of  which 
probably  exert  considerable  influence  on  vege- 
tation. It  is  well  known  that  seeds  sown  in 
pure  sand,  and  watered  with  a  solution  of 
iodine,  germinate  very  rapidly. 

The  residuum,  when  all  the  soda  and  com- 
mon salt  are  extracted  from  the  barilla,  is 
principally  earthy  matters,  which  are  of  a  very 
inert  nature,  and  need  not  be  regarded  by  the 
cultivator  as  possessing  any  peculiar  fertilizing 
properties  different  from  marl,  which  they 
much  resemble  in  composition. 

100  parts  of  these  insoluble  matters  of  kelp 
are  composed  of — 

Parts. 

^ulphureted  hydrogen  and  carbonic  acid       -  1400 
Carbon    -        -        -        -        -        -        -        -4- 10 

Sulphuric  acid        -       _       -       _       -       -  -47 

Silica 12-30 

Lime        -----___  3260 

Masnesia        --_,__-  1850 

Aliiniina          --■___-  15-40 

Iron         -----_--  -77 

Loss 1-86 

100- 

From  the  quantity  of  kelp  produced  on  the 
shores  of  Scotland,  and  its  reduced  price  since 
the  peace,  which  again  allowed  the  unrestricted 
import  of  Spanish  barilla,  and  more  especially 
since  the  discovery  of  a  cheap  mode  of  extract- 
in<j  soda  from  common  salt,  the  application  of 
kelp  as  a  manure  has  engaged  the  serious  at- 
tention of  the  farmers  of  that  part  of  the  island, 
and  a  committee  was  some  time  since  appoint- 
ed by  the  Highland  Society  of  Scotland  to  report 
open  its  pretensions ;  in  much  of  that  report, 
from  which  the  following  extracts  are  made,  I 
cordially  agree: — 

"Your  committee  are  unwilling  to  offer  any 
theoretical  opinion  as  to  the  way  in  which  kelp 
may  operate  as  a  manure.  From  the  quantity 
of  alkali  which  it  contains,  it  may  naturally  be 
expected  to  operate  by  rendering  the  animal 
and  vegetable  matter  soluble,  and  a  fit  food  for 
plants ;  but,  from  the  series  of  facts  to  be  no- 
ticed, kelp  would  seem  to  possess  other  quali- 
ties as  a  manure.  Although  it  may  be  benefi- 
cially applied  as  a  dressing  by  itself,  yet  the 
committee  are  jt  present  inclined  to  think  that, 


KELP. 

with  a  view  to  raising  of  green  crops,  it  would 
be  better  to  mix  it  in  compost  with  other  sub- 
stances. The  selection  of  these  must  depend 
upon  what  the  farmer  can  furnish ;  but  the 
committee  think  that  good  earth  or  moss  will 
form  a  good  compost,  and  if  to  this  mixture 
can  be  added  a  little  vegetable  or  animal  ma- 
nure, a  beneficial  result  can  be  relied  on.  In 
this  way,  a  few  tons  of  kelp  would  enable  a 
farmer  to  extend  his  farm  dung  over  at  least 
four  times  the  quantity  of  land." 

The  relative  value  of  kelp  as  a  manure  may 
be  estimated  from  the  following  experiments, 
made  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Edinburgh : — 
A  field  upon  the  estate  of  Inverleith,  possessed 
by  Mr.  Hutchinson,  was  selected,  which  had 
been  in  wheat  in  the  year  1828,  hence  it  was 
in  some  measure  in  an  exhausted  state :  upon 
one  ridge  of  this  field  there  was  sown  at  the 
rate  of  12  cwt.  of  kelp  per  acre  ;  on  a  second, 
at  the  rate  of  10  cwt.  per  acre ;  and  on  a  third 
at  the  rate  of  4  cwt.  per  acre.  Two  other 
ridges  were  manured  with  the  best  cow  and 
horse  dung,  at  the  rate  of  20  tons  per  acre; 
and  the  whole  was  sown  with  wheat  late  in  the 
spring  of  1829.  The  two  ridges  which  had  got 
the  greatest  quantity  of  kelp  were  equal  to  that 
which  had  the  dung,  and  the  ridge  which  had 
got  the  smallest  quantity  was  decidedly  supe- 
rior to  the  others.  Similar  experiments  were 
made  upon  the  same  field,  by  sowing  barley- 
after  the  previous  crop  of  wheat;  the  result 
was,  that  the  barley  manured  with  the  kelp 
was,  according  to  the  estimate  of  the  tenant 
and  his  Stewart,  a  much  heavier  crop  than 
after  an  application  of  horse  and  cow  dung, 
and  that  the  ridge  with  the  smallest  quantity 
of  kelp  appeared  the  heaviest  crop. 

A  portion  of  the  lands  of  Bangholm  were 
manured  with  kelp  of  inferior  quality,  at  the 
rate  of  one  ton  per  acre,  and  the  land  sown 
with  yellow  turnip ;  the  crop,  upon  examine 
tion,  is  considered  to  be  fully  equal  to  that  part 
of  the  field  which  has  been  manured  with 
dung.     (Baxter's  Lib.  of  Agr.  Knowl.  p.  406.) 

Mr.  Kerr,  of  Henfield,  has  given  the  result 
of  his  experiments  on  kelp,  from  which  he  is 
of  opinion  that  "  5  cwt.  of  kelp  per  Scotch  acre 
will  produce  a  manifest  improvement  on  any 
crop."  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  i.  p.  320.)  Care  must, 
however,  be  taken  not  to  apply  too  copious  a 
dressing  of  kelp.  Mr.  Mackinnon,  of  Corry, 
draws  the  following  conclusion  from  his  expe- 
riments ;  he  used  the  ashes  of  sea-weed  burnt 
in  aheap:  "of  the  ashes  thus  manufactured, 
20  bushels  were  allowed  to  the  acre,  and  dis- 
tributed in  the  drills.  When  the  turnips  sprout- 
ed, they  had  an  unhealthy  green  or  rather  yel- 
lowish appearance,  but  after  some  time  several 
patches  in  the  field  seemed  to  be  growing  lux- 
uriantly, while  others  seemed  to  retain  their 
sickly  hue.  Upon  a  careful  investigation,  it 
was  discovered  that  wherever  the  ground  was 
deepest,  and  the  ashes  of  the  sea-weed  had 
been  most  mixed  up  with  the  soil,  the  turnips 
were  best ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  where 
the  ashes,  not  being  mixed  up  with  the  soil, 
came  in  contact  with  the  seed,  the  turnips  did 
not  at  all  thrive.  In  clearing  the  ground  the 
weeds  were  collected  into  heaps,  and  bum 
upon  the  spot ;  and  it  was  observed  that  on 

683 


KELP. 


KTONEY-VETCH. 


the  side  of  tnese  heaps  the  turnips  were  verj 
nearly  as  good  as  those  on  an  adjoining  piece 
of  ground  manured  solely  with  dung."  (Ibid. 
vol.  iv.  p.  246.)  There  is  a  good  paper  on  the 
manufacture  of  kelp  in  Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlgr. 
vol.  ii.  p.  927;  and  on  mixing  kelp  with  com- 
posts, peat,  turf,  &c.,  ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  556. 

Every  farmer  has  it  in  his  power,  even  in 
the  most  inland  situations,  to  procure  soda  for 
the  use  of  his  farm,  by  means  of  a  mixture  of 
two  parts  of  lime  and  one  part  of  common  salt, 
and  suffering  the  mixture  to  remain  incorpo- 
rated in  a  shady  place,  or  covered  with  sods, 
in  a  dry  state,  for  two  or  three  months ;  a  plan 
which  I  suggested  some  years  since  (Johnson 
on  Salt,  p.  32,  3d  edit.),  and  which  has  been  re- 
cently successfully  adopted  by  Mr.  Bennet,  in 
Wiltshire.  By  this  process  a  gradual  decom- 
position takes  place,  chloride  of  calcium  and 
soda  are  formed,  the  whole  mass  speedily  be- 
coming encrusted  with  this  alkali.  There  is 
another  advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  adop- 
tion of  this  process,  besides  the  formation  of 
the  soda,  viz.  that  the  chloride  of  calcium  is 
one  of  the  most  deliquescing  or  moisture-ab- 
sorbing substances  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted; and,  in  consequence,  wherever  it 
exists  in  a  soil,  the  warmth  of  the  sun  has,  in 
summer,  much  less  influence  upon  it  than  it 
would  otherwise  have. 

Mr.  G.  Irwin,  of  Taunton,  bears  testimony  to 
the  value  of  common  soap-suds.  "The  portion 
of  the  garden  invigorated  by  the  soap-suds, 
only  annually  exhibits  a  luxuriance  almost 
equal  to  anything  this  fertile  neighbourhood 
can  produce."  The  Rev.  J.  Falconer,  when 
commenting  upon  this  experiment,  says,  "This 
mixture  of  an  oil  and  an  alkali  has  been  more 
generally  known  than  adopted,  as  a  remedy 
against  the  insects  which  infest  wall  fruit 
trees.  It  will  dislodge  and  destroy  the  insects 
which  have  already  formed  their  nests  and 
bred  amongst  the  leaves.  When  used  in  the 
early  part  of  the  year,  it  seems  to  prevent  the 
insects  from  settling  upon  them.  Mr.  Speechly, 
the  author  of  a  treatise  upon  the  Cultivation 
of  the  Vine,  published  in  1796,  used  this  mix- 
ture with  great  success,  although,  from  not 
having  employed  a  garden  engine,  he  applied 
the  soap-suds  awkwardly  and  wastefully.  He 
directs  it  to  be  poured  from  a  ladder,  out  of  a 
watering-pot,  over  both  trees  and  wall,  begin- 
ning at  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  bringing  it  on 
in  courses  from  the  top  to  the  bottom." 

Mr.  Martin,  of  Warbleton,  has  recently  used 
soda  for  turnips,  half  a  cwt.  per  acre,  previ- 
ously to  the  last  ploughing,  thinking,  as  he  ob- 
served, that  it  would  destroy  such  insects  as 
lie  in  the  ground  in  an  embryo  state,  or  pre- 
vent their  arriving  at  maturity  so  as  to  injure 
his  crop.  In  respect  to  the  use  of  soda  on  corn 
lands,  he  said  he  used  it  rather  extensively  last 
season,  and  that  he  had  tried  several  experi- 
ments with  it,  both  upon  grass  and  arable  land. 
That  in  a  field  of  wheat,  a  very  thin,  poor, 
gravelly  soil,  he  sowed  one  warp  without  any 
manure  at  all ;  on  another  warp  adjoining,  he 
ised  one  cwt.  per  acre ;  and  on  a  third  warp 
ne  put  1^  cwt.  per  acre.  The  produce  of  eight 
rods  on  each  warp  was  as  follows :  this  was 
'  n  iand  of  a  very  bad  description: — 
684 


Per  acre. 
8  rods  without  manure,  7  gallons,  or  17i  bushels. 
8  rods  with  1  cwt.  soda  per  acre,  lOi 

gallons,  or  -  -  -  -  -  26  bushqls,  9  galls. 
8  rods  with  li  cwt.  soda  per  acre, 

15^  gallons,  or       -        -        -        -   38  bushels,  6  gallg. 

KENNEL  (Fr.  chenil,  from  chien,  a  dog). 
The  hole  of  a  fox  or  other  wild  beast.  In  rural 
economy,  a  habitation  for  dogs,  especially 
those  of  the  hound  kind  :  it  should  be  situated 
a  good  distance  from  the  house.  Large  ken- 
nels require  to  be  kept  clean,  well  aired,  and 
strewed  with  fresh  straw  to  prevent  the  mange 
or  other  infectious  distempers.  Those  readers 
who  wish  to  acquire  information  on  the  man- 
agement of  the  kennel  will  do  well  to  consult 
Blaine's  Encydopcedia  of  Rural  Sports. 

KERN-BABY  (a  corruption  of  corn-baby) 
was  an  image  formerly  dressed  up  with  corn, 
carried  before  the  reapers  to  their  harvest- 
home. 

KERNEL  (Sax.  c^pnel,  a  gland).  In  general 
this  word  signifies  the  substance  within  a 
shell;  but  it  has  different  meanings,  some- 
times implying  anything  included  in  a  husk 
or  integument,  as  the  seed  of  pulpy  fruits,  the 
grain  of  oats,  &c.  In  horticulture  the  hardy 
fruits  are  generally  arranged  under  the  heads 
of  kernel  fruits,  or  pomes,  including  the  apple, 
pear,  quince,  medlar,  and  service;  stotie fruits, 
as  the  peach,  nectarine,  almond,  apricot,  plum, 
and  cherry ;  berries,  as  the  mulberry,  barberry, 
elderberry,  gooseberry,  currant,  raspberry, 
cranberry,  and  strawberry ;  and  nuts,  as  the 
walnut,  chestnut,  and  filbert. 

KIDNEY-BEAN,  the  kind  of  bean  most  cul- 
tivated in  the  United  States,  whereas  the  va- 
riety mostly  cultivated  in  Europe  is  the  horse- 
bean.     See  Beaxs. 

KIDNEY-VETCH  {Anthyllis;  derived  from 
avQjf,  a  flower,  and  hvxoc,  down,  in  reference  to 
the  flowers  being  usually  covered  with  a  soft 
or  silky  pubescence).  The  species  are,  for 
the  most  part,  elegant  and  free-flowering,  plants 
proper  for  ornamenting  rock-work.  The  hardy 
perennial  and  annual  kinds  thrive  well  in  a 
warm  situation  and  light  soil.  The  green- 
house and  frame  kinds  succeed  best  in  sandy 
loam  and  peat ;  and  increase  plentifully  from 
seeds,  and  sometimes  from  cuttings.  (Paxton's 
Bot.  Did.) 

The  common  kidney-vetch,  or  ladies'  finger 
{A.vulneraria),  is  the  only  species  indigenous  to 
the  British  Islands.  It  is  found  growing  wild  in 
chalky  or  limestone  countries,  where  the  soil  is 
dry  and  rather  barren,  and  the  herbage  affords 
good  pasturage  for  sheep.  The  root  of  this 
species  is  woody,  the  stems  annual,  round, 
hairy,  leafy,  mostly  simple,  ascending,  about  a 
foot  high.  The  radical  leaves  are  simple,  ellip- 
tical, on  long  stalks,  soon  disappearing;  the 
rest  alternate,  pinnate,  with  a  terminal  ellip- 
tical leaflet,  and  several  pairs  of  opposite, 
small,  lanceolate  ones  ;  all  entire,  smooth,  and 
a  little  glaucous  above,  hairy,  or  rather  silky, 
underneath  and  at  the  margin.  The  flowers, 
which  are  numerous,  in  a  pair  of  crowded  ter- 
minal heads,  accompanied  by  figured  bracteas 
are  usually  yellow,  rarely  of  a  fine  red.  It\ 
Germany,  according  to  Haller,  the  flowers  are 
most  frequently  white.  This  plarii  formerly 
had  the  reputation  of  possessing  some  vulne- 


KILN. 


rary  properties,  whence    the  specific  name. 
(Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  269.) 

KILN  (Sax.  cyin).  A  kind  of  furnace  or 
stove  for  admitting  heat,  in  order  to  dry  sub- 
stances of  various  kinds,  as  corn,  malt,  hops, 
&c.  It  also  signifies  a  fabric  or  building  con- 
structed for  the  purpose  of  burning  limestone, 
chalk,  and  other  calcareous  stones,  into  lime. 
Kilns  are  of  various  kinds,  and  formed  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  according  to  the  purposes  for 
which  they  are  designed.  See  Hops,  Malt, 
LiMK,  Clay,  Kilx,  &c. 

KILN  ASHES.  The  ashes  made  in  kilns 
where  wood,  straw,  furze,  &c.  are  burnt.  These 
ashes  are  useful  as  manure  for  almost  any 
kind  of  soil.  They  are  found  to  succeed  best 
when  spread  just  before  rain.     See  Ashes. 

KIT.  In  some  places  a  name  given  to  a 
milking-pail  or  vessel  in  the  form  of  a  churn, 
with  two  ears  and  a  cover,  used  to  convey 
milk  in. 

KITCHEN  GARDEN.  A  piece  of  ground 
laid  out  for  the  cultivation  of  fruit,  herbs, 
pulses,  and  other  culinary  vegetables. 

The  kitchen  garden  is  the  most  important 
object  of  the  horticulturist's  care,  inasmuch  as 
its  productions,  next  to  those  of  agriculture, 
fend  most  to  the  support  of  mankind. 

It  often  affords  the  chief  support  of  the  cot- 
tager, and  ought  to  be  the  constant  attendant 
of  his  dwelling.  Of  more  exalted  mansions  it 
is  always  an  accompaniment,  but  it  is  much 
to  be  regretted  that  a  more  plentiful  use  of  its 
products  is  not  adopted  in  preference  to  grosser 
aliment. 

The  kitchen  garden  also  has  for  its  inmates 
many  plants  chiefly  valuable  as  rendering 
other  kinds  of  food  more  palatable,  or  as  pos- 
sessing sanative  qualities.  These  last  formerly 
far  exceeded  in  number  the  edible  plants.  The 
subsequent  more  general  employment  of  mine- 
ral medicines  has  reversed  this  state  of  our 
kitchen  garden.  The  culture  of  aromatic  herbs 
is  also  much  less  attended  to  since  the  intro- 
duction of  spices.  In  selecting  the  site,  and  in 
erecting  the  enclosures,  as  well  as  in  the  after- 
preparation  of  the  soil,  the  ingenuity  and  sci- 
ence of  the  horticulturist  are  essentially  requi- 
site. He  will  be  called  upon  to  rectify  the 
defects,  and  to  improve  the  advantages  which 
nature  affords;  for  it  is  very  seldom  that  the 
natural  situation  of  a  mansion,  or  the  plan  of 
its  grounds,  allows  him  to  construct  it  in  the 
most  appropriate  spot. 

The  garden  is  best  situated  at  a  moderate 
elevation ;  the  summit  of  a  hill,  or  the  bottom 
of  a  valley,  is  equally  to  be  avoided.  It  is  a 
fact,  not  very  ditficult  of  explanation,  that  low- 
lying  ones  are  the  most  liable  to  suffer  from 
blights  and  severe  frosts ;  those  much  above 
the  level  of  the  sea  are  obviously  most  ex- 
posed to  inclement  winds.  To  determine  the 
appropriate  size  of  a  kitchen  garden  is  impos- 
sible. It  ought  to  be  proportionate  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  family,  their  partiality  for  vegeta- 
bles, and  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  It  may  serve 
as  some  criterion  to  state,  that  the  manage- 
ment of  a  kitchen  garden  occupying  the  space 
of  an  acre  affords  ample  employment  for  a 
gardener,  who  will  also  require  an  assistant  at 
the  busiest  periods  of  the  year.     In  general,  a 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 

family  of  four  persons,  exclusive  of  servants 
requires  a  full  rood  of  open  kitchen  garden. 
It  ought  not  to  be  larger  than  can  be  conve- 
niently cultivated  ;  and  it  is  too  large  if  its  pro- 
prietor is  induced  to  bring  into  it  the  culture 
of  the  field,  for  that  neatness  and  fertility 
which  is  essential  to  the  garden  can  be  obtain 
ed  by  the  use  of  the  spade  only. 

A  wall  of  brick  or  stone  is  the  best  fence ; 
one  of  paling  may  be  placed  next  in  order.  It 
ought  to  be  set  close,  and  kept  in  good  repair, 
and  not  lower  than  6  feet,  that  poultry  may  be 
effectually  excluded.  The  form  of  the  walks  or 
divisions  must  depend  upon  local  circum- 
stances, but  to  some  extent  the  following  re- 
commendations of  Bridgeman  {Gardener's  As- 
sistant, p.  7),  may  be  carried  out:  "Form  a 
border  round  the  whole  garden,  from  5  to  10 
feet  wide,  according  to  the  size  of  the  piece  of 
land  ;  next  to  this  border,  a  walk  may  be  made 
from  3  to  6  feet  wide ;  the  centre  of  the  garden 
may  be  divided  into  squares,  on  the  sides  of 
which  a  border  may  be  laid  out  3  or  4  feet 
wide,  in  which  the  various  kinds  of  herbs  may 
be  raised,  and  also  gooseberries,  currants, 
raspberries,  strawberries,  &c.  The  centre 
beds  may  be  planted  with  all  the  various  kinds 
of  vegetables.  The  outside  borders  facing  the 
east,  south,  and  west,  will  be  useful  for  raising 
the  earliest  fruits  and  vegetables;  and  the 
north  border,  being  shady  and  cool,  will  serve 
for  raising  and  pricking  out  such  young  plants, 
herbs,  and  cuttings,  as  require  to  be  screened 
from  the  intense  heal  of  the  sun."  The  walks 
ought  to  be  drained  in  some  cases,  and  in  all 
well  gravelled.  The  edging  9r  border  may  be 
of  brick,  which  for  a  kitchen  garden  is  prefer- 
able to  all  others,  as  it  affords  no  shelter  for 
slugs  and  vermin,  is  durable,  and  requires  lit- 
tle labour  to  keep  it  in  repair. 

The  order  in  which  successive  crops  are 
grown  on  the  same  compartment  has  very  con- 
siderable influence  in  prolonging  the  continu- 
ance of  the  soil  in  fertility.  Some  vegetables, 
as  onions  and  carrots,  are  extremely  impover- 
ishing to  the  soil,  whilst  lettuces  are  but  in  a 
small  degree  prejudicial.  It  is,  therefore,  ob- 
vious, that  a  succession  of  exhausting  crops 
should  never  be  grown  on  the  same  bed,  how- 
ever plentiful  manuro  may  be,  not  merely  be- 
cause abundance  is  no  excuse  for  a  want  of 
economy,  but  that  fresh  applied  dung  is  not  so 
immediately  beneficial  as  those  remains  of  or- 
ganized matters,  which,  by  long  continuance 
in  the  soil,  have  become  impalpably  divided 
and  diflTused  through  its  texture,  and  of  which 
each  succeeding  crop  consumes  a  portion. 
Those  plants  in  general  are  the  least  exhaust- 
ing which  have  the  larges'  surface  of  leaves, 
and  vice  versa,  because  the  first  are  not  only 
possessed  of  a  larger  proj  ortion  of  aqueous 
than  solid  matter  than  the  latter,  but  also  are 
enabled  to  obtain  a  greater  ouantity  of  their 
food  from  the  atmosphere.  It  may  be  objected 
I  to  many  crops  included  by  this  rule,  and  espe- 
cially to  turnips,  that  they  require  a  soil  of 
extreme  fertility;  but  this  is  only  an  apparent 
I  anomaly,  for,  although  the  turnip,  for  example, 
I  requires  a  rich  soil,  it  is  only  because  it  re- 
quires a  regular  supply  of  moisture:  neithei 
will  a  tenacious  soil  therefore  be  beneficial, 
3  M  68if 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


on  the  contrary,  a  superfluity  or  deficiency, 
according  to  the  season,  being  then  afforded, 
decay  or  immaturity  is  induced. 

There  are  many  other  contingencies  which 
should  regulate  the  rotation  of  crops.  The 
roots  of  different  plants  strike  in  different  di- 
rections, and  to  different  depths  ;  and,  as  their 
constituents  vary,  absorb  different  matters. 
Deep-rooted  plants,  therefore,  should  be  suc- 
ceeded by  such  as  spread  but  a  little  below  the 
surface;  perennials  always  by  annuals;  crops 
left  for  seed,  or  those  that  are  of  a  dry,  solid 
texture,  by  such  as  are  succulent  and  juicy ; 
bat,  above  all,  the  same  species  of  plant  should 
never  be  grown  in  successive  crops  upon  the 
same  ground.  This  is  not  even  palliated  by 
the  excuse  that  manure  is  abundant,  for,  as 
Sir  H.  Davy  observes,  "  though  the  general 
composition  of  plants  is  very  analogous,  yet 
the  specific  difference  in  the  products  of  many 
of  them  prove  that  they  must  derive  different 
materials  from  the  soil ;  and  though  the  vege- 
tables having  the  smallest  systems  of  leaves 
will  proportionably  most  exhaust  a  soil  of  com- 
mon nutritive  matter,  yet  particular  vegetables, 
when  their  produce  is  carried  off,  will  require 
peculiar  principles  to  be  supplied  to  the  land 
which  produces  them."  (^Led.  on  Agr.  Chem. 
p.  358.)  It  is  known  to  every  cultivator  of 
soil,  that  land  soon  becomes  tired  of  the  same 
crop  ;  in  many  instances,  peculiar  diseases  are 
induced  by  the  repetition.  The  most  beneficial 
plan  of  rotation  appears  to  be  that  where  an 
exhausting  and  non-exhausting  crop  alterna- 
tely succeed  each  other,  for  example, 

Onions..  Turnips. 

Lettuce.  Peas. 

Carrots.  Potatoes. 

Manure.  Manure. 

Mr.  Kelly,  of  Airthrey  Castle,  Scotland,  says, 
that  on  poor  ground  the  rotation  he  finds  best 
is,  1st,  celery;  2d  season,  cauliflowers,  and  red 
beet ;  3d,  onions  ;  4th,  German  greens  or  peas. 
By  digging  deep,  and  manuring  abundantly  for 
celery,  the  ground  is  brought  into  such  fine 
tilth,  that  the  whole  rotation  is  often  gone 
through  without  any  further  addition,  and  with- 
out failing  in  any  of  the  crops. 

A  Hotbed  will  be  found  useful  for  forwarding 
several  kinds  of  vegetables  early  in  spring.  In 
it  tomatoes,  egg-plants,  peppers,  , early  bush 
squashes,  and  cucumber  plants  may  be  raised, 
and  planted  out  as  soon  as  the  danger  of  frost 
if-  over.  The  best  material  for  a  hotbed  is  fer- 
menting stable  manure,  which  may  be  mixed 
with  a  portion  of  cow  manure  or  leaves,  and 
turned  over  two  or  three  times,  at  intervals  of 
fi  or  6  days,  before  using.  If  dry,  give  it  a 
little  water  at  each  turning.  The  frame  may 
be  made  of  strong  boards  or  two-inch  plank, 
about  1  foot  high  at  front,  and  1^  foot  at  back. 
The  width  from  back  to  front  may  be  about  6 
feet,  and  the  length  of  any  number  of  sashes 
that  may  be  required.  The  sashes  may  be 
glazed  with  small  glass  from  5  to  10  inches. 
The  smaller  sizes  will  answer  every  purpose, 
are  cheaper,  and  not  so  liable  to  break. 
Having  fixed  upon  the  size  of  the  frame,  and  a 
sneltered  situation  in  which  to  make  the  bed, 
place  a  stake  at  each  corner  of  it,  allowing  a 
f?w  inches  larger  each  way  than  the  frame. 
686 


The  manure  must  be  well  shaken  up  and  tho- 
roughly mixed,  and,  in  building,  the  bed  regu- 
larly beaten  down  with  the  fork  or  lightly 
trodden,  and  if  at  all  dry,  well  sprinkled  with 
water.  If  wanted  for  early  forcing,  the  bed 
should  be  at  least  4^  feet  high ;  if  for  starting 
vegetables  2  feet  will  be  sufl^cient.  The  frame 
and  sashes  may  then  be  put  on,  and  in  three  or 
four  days  8  or  10  inches  of  good  light  earth 
may  be  put  in,  and  the  seed  sown.  Squashes 
and  cucumbers  will  do  best  in  pots.  A  pot  of 
4  to  5  inches  in  diameter  will  be  large  enough 
for  three  plants.  Tomatoes,  egg-plants,  and 
peppers  may  be  sown  over  the  bed,  and  after- 
wards thinned  to  regular  distances.  Early 
cabbages,  cauliflowers,  celery,  and  lettuce  may 
be  raised  in  the  same  way,  and  afterwards 
planted  where  wanted.  But  should  the  man- 
agement of  the  hotbed  be  attended  with  too 
much  trouble  or  expense. 

The  Frame  can  be  used  with  much  advantage, 
as  in  it  plants  can  be  raised  and  kept  safe 
from  frosts  long  before  they  would  bear  ex- 
posure in  the  open  air.  The  frame  may  be  set 
on  the  ground  on  the  south  side  of  the  fence, 
and  if  the  earth  is  rich  and  light,  or  made  so, 
the  seeds  may  be  sown  broadcast  over  a  space 
allotted  to  each  kind,  and  afterwards  thinned 
out  to  proper  distances.  Lima  beans  may  be 
started  in  this  way,  and  transplanted  before 
they  attain  to  any  great  size.  The  frame  is 
also  useful  for  preserving  cabbage,  cauliflower, 
and  lettuce  plants  during  winter,  for  planting 
in  the  spring;  as  well  as  cabbages, lettuce, and 
celery  for  family  use.  A  few  leaves  or  litter 
put  among  the  vegetables  will  aid  materially 
in  excluding  the  frost,  and  a  shutter  and  mat 
must  be  put  over  the  sashes  in  severe  weather. 

Our  object  hi  this  article  is  to  give  a  con- 
densed view  of  the  common  operations  in  the 
kitchen  garden,  as  adapted  to  the  United  States, 
with  a  list  of  such  varieties  of  the  different 
species  of  vegetables  as  have  been  cultivated  in 
this  country,  and  can  be  had  from  the  princi- 
pal seedsmen  in  Boston,  New  York,  and  Phi- 
ladelphia.* Several  articles  are  omitted,  which 
obtain  a  place  in  some  gardens,  but  these  are 
either  thought  not  to  deserve  a  place,  or  to  be- 
long more  properly  to  field  culture.  Fuller 
information  on  any  particular  subject  can  al- 
ways be  found  under  the  proper  head  in  the 
alphabetical  arrangement. 

AsPATiAGus  (Asparagus  officinalis).  Sow  early 
in  the  spring;  having  previously  soaked  the 
seed  in  warm  water  for  24  hours,  then  drill  it 
thinly,  in  rows  sufficiently  wide  apart  to  admit 
the  hoe  ;  when  two  years  old,  transplant  into 
permanent  beds,  which  should  be  so  situate  as 
to  cast  off  an  excess  of  moisture,  and  having 
the  soil  prepared  to  the  depth  of  two  feet  with 
plenty  of  manure  under.  A  convenient  width 
for  the  beds  is  four  feet.  The  plants  should 
be  placed  12  inches  apart  in  each  direction; 
planted  at  least  4  inches  beneath  the  suri^ace; 
well  manured  at  the  time,  and  annually  there- 
after. If  planted  in  rows,  they  should  be  2^ 
feet  apart.  Common  salt  scattered  over  the 
bed  in  the  winter  operates  favourably  in  im- 

*  In  compiling  this  article,  we  would  here  acknowledge 
our  obligations  to  the  excellent  catalogue  of  D.  Lan- 
dreth  &  Co.  of  Philadelphia. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


proving  the  growth  of  asparagus.    Meat  pickle 
or  brine  is  .still  better. 

Beans,  English  (Vicia  faba).  Plant  very 
early  in  the  spring,  in  rows.  Broad  Windsor 
and  Mazagan  are  the  best  varieties. 

Bush  Beans  {Phascolus  vulgaris).  The  Early 
Six  weeks,  China  red-eye,  and  Red  speckled 
Valentine,  are  among  the  earlier;  the  Valen- 
tine, Mohawk,  and  Marrow  are  very  superior 
varieties.  They  may  be  planted  for  the  first 
and  succession  crops  from  the  middle  of  spring 
till  the  close  of  summer;  the  usual  mode  of 
culture  is  in  rows,  two  or  three  in  a  clump,  at 
intervals  of  10  or  12  inches. 

Pole  or  Climbing  Beans  (P.  multiflorus).  The 
best  varieties  are  the  Lima,  Carolina,  White 
Dutch,  Red  and  White  Cranberry,  and  Lon- 
don Horticultural.  The  Limas  are  tender, 
and  should  not  be  planted  till  the  close  of 
spring.  They  may  be  forwarded  by  sprouting 
them  in  a  hotbed,  and  transplanting  them  into 
hills  4  feet  distant  from  each  other.  Poles 
8  or  10  feet  long  should  be  put  into  the  ground 
before  planting,  and  (if  of  seed)  6  or  8  planted 
round  each  pole,  as  the  seed  is  apt  to  rot  in 
cold  or  damp  weather.  Thin  them  afterwards, 
leaving  three  or  four  good  plants  in  each  hill. 
The  London  Horticultural  is  an  excellent  va- 
riety, and  may  be  used  for  the  Lima  in  those 
districts  where  the  Lima  frequently  fails  to 
ripen.    See  Beaxs. 

Bkkt  {Beta  vulgaris).  The  Turnip-rooted  and 
Long  Blood-red  are  generally  esteemed  the  best 
for  tnble  use.  The  turnip-rooted  is  somewhat 
earlier  than  the  long,  and  is  equally  good  for 
wintei  use.  Sow  in  drills  from  early  in  the 
spring  till  the  commencement  of  summer.  The 
plants  should  stand  6  or  8  inches  apart  in  the 
drills,  but  the  seed  should  be  put  in  thick,  to 
secure  a  full  crop.  A  good  plan  is  to  drop 
several  seeds  together  at  proper  distances,  and 
when  up  remove  all  but  the  strongest. 

Suiss  Chard  (Beta  cicla),  is  much  grown  in 
Germany  and  Switzerland,  and  used  as  chard 
or  asparagus.  The  laminae  or  thin  parts  of 
the  leaves,  are  eaten  as  spinage  or  put  in 
soups;  and  the  stalk  or  midrib  is  boiled,  and 
eaien  with  melted  butter  or  gravy  like  aspara- 
gus. The  culture  is  the  same  as  for  the  blood 
beet,  but  the  leaves  are  much  larger,  and  a 
greater  space  should  be  left  between  the  plants 
on  that  account.     See  Bket. 

Cabbage  (Brassica  olcracea  var.  capitala). 
The  earliest  variety  is  the  Early  York ;  next 
the  Early  Sugarloaf,and  Landreth's  large  York; 
Early  Battersea  is  late  in  the  summer.  The 
flat  butch  and  Drumhead  are  for  winter  use, 
and  red  Dutch  for  pickling.  Early  and  sum- 
mer varieties  are  usually  sown  in  seedbeds 
early  in  autumn,  protected  therein  or  in  cold 
frames,  during  winter,  and  transplanted  early 
in  the  spring.  Where  the  climate  is  mild,  and 
the  lanA  light  and  dry,  they  are  planted  in  the 
autumn,  in  which  case  they  head  earlier  than 
those  put  out  in  spring. 

Should  a  supply  of  plants  not  have  been  ob- 
tained in  autumn,  sow  in  a  hotbed  very  early 
in  sprino.or  somewhat  later,  on  a  warm  border 
in  the  open  air.  But  let  it  be  borne  in  mind 
that  in  no  case  can  fine  cabbage  (especially 
the  earlier  kinds)  be  had,  unless  on  heavily 


manured  and  ivell-tilled  land — heavy  or  strong 
loamy  soil  is  best  adapted  to  this  crop. 

For  winter  sorts,  sow  in  a  seedbed  in  the 
middle  or  latter  end  of  spring,  and  transplant 
early  in  summer.  To  have  these  kinds  to  head 
early  in  autumn,  sow  at  the  same  lime  as  the 
early  sorts.  To  preserve  from  the  cabbage-fly, 
sow  in  boxes  elevated  two  or  three  feet  above 
the  surface,  and  as  soon  as  the  plants  are  es- 
tablished, place  them  on  the  ground,  lest  the 
plants  burn  up.  To  keep  them  during  winter, 
bury  the  stalk  and  part  of  the  head  with  earth, 
over  which,  if  the  cold  be  severe,  sprinkle 
straw,  or  put  in  a  cold  frame. 

Savoys  and  Brussels  Sprouts  (B.  olcracea  var. 
bullata),  are  good  for  winter  use,  and  become 
very  tender  after  being  touched  by  frost.  Cul- 
tivate as  winter  cabbage. 

Borecole,  Kale,  &c.  (B.  olcracea  var.  acepha.la)y 
may  be  treated  as  winter  cabbages.  They  are 
said  by  Bridgeman  to  be  delicious  when  ren- 
dered tender  by  smart  frosts;  and  to  be  valu- 
able plants  to  cultivate,  particularly  in  the 
Southern  States,  as  they  will  there  be  in  the 
greatest  perfection  in  the  winter  months;  they 
will  also,  if  planted  in  a  gravelly  soil,  and  in 
a  sheltered,  warm  situation,  bear  the  winter  of 
the  Western  States ;  and  may  be  kept  in  great 
perfection  in  the  Eastern  States,  if  taken  up 
before  the  frost  sets  in  with  much  severity,  and 
placed  in  trenches  up  to  their  lower  leaves,  and 
then  covered  with  straw  or  other  light  cover- 
ing.    See  Cabbage. 

Broccoli  and  Cauliflower  (B.  oleracea  var.  botry- 
tis).  Purple  Cape  broccoli  is  decidedly  the  best 
of  many  varieties.  Sow  in  seedbeds  in  the  mid- 
dle of  spring,  and  transplant  and  manage  gene- 
rally as  winter  cabbage.  Early  Asiatic  cauli- 
flower is  sown  in  seedbeds  in  the  beginning  of 
autumn,  kept  in  a  cold  frame  during  winter,  and 
transplanted  to  very  rich  ground  as  soon  as 
the  frost  ceases.  Hand  glasses  or  boxes  put 
over  them  at  night,  when  they  are  first  put  out; 
are  useful.  The  late  variety  matures  in  au- 
tumn, and  is  sown  at  the  same  time,  and  man- 
aged like  Cape  broccoli.  It  is,  however,  not  so 
sure  to  succeed  as  the  brocci  li,  nor  is  it  a  bet- 
ter vegetable  when  obtained.    See  Broccoli. 

Caruot  (Daucus  carota  var.  hortensis).  The 
Early  Horn  is  best  for  table  use.  The  Long 
Orange  is  more  productive.  The  Allringham 
produces  great  crops,  and  is  suitable  to  raise 
for  horses  and  cattle.  Sow  the  seeds  in  the  mid- 
dle of  spring,  in  a  rich,  sandy  loam,  well  pul- 
verized, in  rows  a  foot  apart,  cover  about  half 
an  inch  deep,  and  thin  the  plants  to  4  in&hes 
distance.  Gather  the  crop  soon  after  the  first 
hard  frost,  and  keep  them  in  a  cave  or  warm 
cellar.     See  Carrot. 

Celery  {Apium  graveolens).  Sow  the  seed 
early  in  spring,  in  rich,  mellow  ground,  and  iu 
a  situation  where  the  plants  can  be  protecttd 
from  the  parching  heat  of  the  sun.  It  can 
either  be  sown  broadcast  or  in  drills,  if  in  drills, 
they  may  be  half  an  inch  deep  and  6  inches 
apart,  that  a  small  hoe  may  be  worked  between 
them.  Plant  out  in  July,  in  a  piece  of  rich 
ground,  in  an  open  exposure,  in  trenches  8  or 
10  inches  wide,  and  allow  the  space  of  4  feet 
between  them.  Dig  each  trench  a  spade  deep, 
laying  the  earth  equally  on  each   side,  anci 

687 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


put  4  inches  of  good  rotten  dung  into  the  bot- 
tom ;  tread  it  firmly,  and  cover  with  an  inch 
of  soil  from  the  sides,  then  plant  a  single  row 
in  the  middle  of  each  trench,  leaving  7  or  8 
inches  between  the  plants.  Give  a  plentiful 
watering,  and  shade  with  a  board  till  they 
strike  root.  It  may  be  grown  also  in  beds,  4 
feet  wide,  with  alleys  4  feet  between,  pre- 
pared as  above.  Plant  4  rows  in  each  bed,  at 
from  6  to  8  inches  apart,  and  water  and  shade 
as  before.  To  blanch,  earth  up  gradually  in 
dry  weather,  as  the  plants  progress  in  growth, 
repeating  the  earthing  every  2  weeks,  at 
which  time  care  should  be  taken  to  gather  up 
all  the  leaves  neatly,  and  not  to  bury  the  heart 
of  the  plants.  The  earthing  up  may  begin  in 
September.    See  Ckleiiy. 

Corn,  Indian  (Zm  Mays).  There  are  se- 
veral varieties  used  at  table,  but  none  are  better 
than  the  common  Sweet  Corn. 

Cucumber  (Cucumis  sativus).  The  Early 
Frame  and  Early  Green  Cluster  are  good  varie- 
ties. The  LongGreen  is  chiefly  used  for  pickling. 
As  soon  as  the  ground  becomes  warm  in  spring, 
plant  in  hills  6  feet  asunder  each  way,  putting 
a  dozen  seeds  in  a  hill,  and  covering  half  an 
inch  deep.  Leave  finally  but  three  of  the 
strongest  plants.  The  ground  must  be  rich 
and  well  manured.  For  very  early  use,  sow 
in  small  pots  in  a  hotbed;  turn  them  into  the 
open  ground  in  May,  taking  care  to  protect 
them  from  the  sun  and  late  frosts.  For  pickling, 
plant  in  the  end  of  June.     See  Cucumber. 

E(;«i-PLANT  (Solamwi  nielongena).  Sow  in 
hotbed,  or  other  protected  place,  very  early  in 
the  spring,  and  late  in  the  spring  transplant 
into  very  rich  ground,  keeping  the  plants  about 
two  feet  asunder.  The  seed  requires  much 
warmth  to  cause  it  to  vegetate.  See  Ego- 
Plant. 

Endive  (Chichorium  endiva).  Sow  at  close 
of  spring  to  middle  of  summer  in  shallow 
drills ;  when  up  an  inch  or  two,  thin  out  to 
stand  a  foot  apart.  In  dry  weather  tie  up  to 
blanch  as  needed.    See  Chicory  and  Endive. 

Leek  (Jlllimn  porruni).  Sow  in  seed-bed 
middle  of  spring;  when  the  plants  are  4  or  5 
inches  high  transplant  into  rows,  setting  them 
aoosely  and  deeply  into  the  soil,  and  leaving 
space  to  admit  the  hoe  between  them.  See 
Leek. 

Lettuce  (Lacfuca  sativa).  The  Early  Cab- 
bage, brownI)utch,RoyalCabbage,CurledIndia 
and  Tennisball  are  good,  and  stand  the  climate. 
Of  the  Cos  varieties,  which  are  very  crisp  and 
tender,  but  soon  shoot  to  seed,  the  Egyptian 
Green  Cos  can  be  recommended.  Sow  in  seed- 
bed from  commencement  to  middle  of  autumn, 
protect  the  plants  by  a  cold  frame  or  with  litter 
as  they  stand  on  the  ground;  early  in  the  spring 
transplant  them  into  rich  ground.  For  a  later 
supply,  sow  in  drills  from  time  to  time  during 
spring  and  summer;  when  up  a  few  inches, 
thin  out,  leaving  plants  at  proper  distances. 
See  Lettuce. 

Melon  (Cucnmis  mclo).  The  Citron,  Persian, 
Nutmeg,  and  Murray's  Pine-apple  are  good  va- 
rieties of  the  canteleup  or  musk-melon.  Plant 
M  hills  of  rich,  light  soil,  at  the  distance  of  6 
fe*>.t  asunder,  in  the  latter  end  of  spring,  putting 
0  --r  8  seeds  into  each  hill,  2  inches  distant 
688 


from  one  another,  and  half  an  inch  deep.  Thin 
out  to  3  in  each  hill ;  draw  the  earth  from  time 
to  time  about  the  hills  as  high  as  the  seed 
leaves.  Pinch  off  the  top  at  the  first  or  second 
joint,  as  this  will  strengthen  the  plants,  and 
cause  them  to  fruit  early.  Grow  no  pumpkins 
or  squashes  near  them. 

Melon,  Water  (Cururbita  citrullus^.  The 
Spanish  and  Mountain  Sprout  are  good  varie- 
ties. The  Citron  is  cultivated  for  preserves. 
Cultivate  as  for  canteleups,  but  let  the  hills  be 
7  or  8  feet  distant. 

Okra  (^Hibiscus  esculenhis).  Plant  in  good, 
rich  ground  late  in  spring,  as  it  is  a  very  ten- 
der vegetable.  Make  drills  an  inch  deep,  and 
3  or  4  feet  asunder,  into  which  drop  2  or  3  seeds 
together,  at  intervals  of  about  8  inches,  and 
cover  them  nearly  art'  inch  deep.  Thin  them 
out  to  8  or  10  inches  as  the  plants  advance, 
and  earth  up  2  or  3  times. 
Onion.  See  that  head. 
Parslet  (Jpium  petrosehnum).  Sow  in  rows 
early  in  the  spring.  By  soaking  the  seed  in 
warm  water  some  hours  immediately  before 
sowing,  it  will  vegetate  more  speedily.  It  some- 
times lies  in  the  ground  2  or  3  weeks  before 
vegetating. 

Parsnip  (Pastinaca  sativa).  Sow  early  in 
spring,  in  good  soil,  deeply  dug,  making  drills 
18  inches  apart.  When  the  plants  are  2  or  3 
inches  high,  thin  out  to  6  or  8  inches  apart. 

Pea  (Pisum  sativum).  Landreth's  Extra 
Early,  and  Bishop  and  Russell's  Early  Dwarfs 
are  the  earliest  varieties,  and  good  of  their 
kind.  Dwarf  Blue  Imperial,  and  Dwarf  Scime- 
tar  are  much  esteemed.  Knight's  Dwarf  and 
Tall  Marrowfats  are  late  kinds,  but  superior  to 
all  others  for  flavour  and  productiveness.  Tall 
and  Dwarf  Sugar  or  string  peas  are  sweet,  and 
productive ;  they  are  boiled  without  shelling, 
and  served  up  as  kidney  beans.  The  dwarfs 
require  sticks  from  2  to  3  feet  long,  the  others 
from  4  to  6,  and  a  greater  width  between  the 
drills. 

Pepper  {Capsicum).  Grossum  or  bellshaped. 
Large  sweet,  and  Squash  or  tomato-shaped,  are 
used  for  pickling;  the  last  variety  is  the  best. 
The  Sweet  has  a  delicate  taste,  and  is  used  as 
a  salad.  Sow  in  hotbed  in  March,  and  trans- 
plant ;  or  in  the  open  ground,  late  in  spring,  ia 
drills  2  feet  apart.  When  the  plants  are  an 
inch  or  two  high,  thin  them  out  to  about  1.5 
inches  apart  in  the  rows,  and  hoe  them  re- 
peatedly. 

Potato.  See  that  head. 
Radish  (Raplianus  sativus).  Short-top  Scar- 
let, Salmon,  Red  and  White  turnip-rooted,  may 
be  sown  in  the  spring,  as  early  as  the  ground 
can  be  worked.  Yellow  turnip-rooted  and 
Summer  White  are  best  for  summer  use. 
White  and  Black  Spanish  for  winter.  Sow 
these  at  close  of  summer,  or  early  in  autumn, 
and  when  ripe  store  them  in  a  cellar.  For  a 
succession  in  spring  and  summer,  sow  every 
two  weeks.  The  ground  should  be  light,  rich, 
and  well  worked. 

Rhubarb  (Rheum).  Tobolisk,  Mammoth, 
and  Giant,  are  the  best  varieties,  and  may  be 
raised  by  dividing  the  roots  early  in  spring, 
and  planting  them  in  rich,  deep  soil,  in  rows  4 
feet  asunder  and  3  feet  distant  in  the  rows 


KITCHEN  GARDEN. 


KNAPWEED. 


To  raise  from  seed,  sow  lale  in  autumn  or  early 
in  spring.  Young  seedling  plants  require  to 
be  protected  the  first  winter  by  soil.  To  force 
very  early,  cover  with  boxes  or  barrels  sur- 
rounded and  covered  with  horse  manure. 
Gather  before  the  leaves  are  fully  expanded. 

Salsify,  or  Vegetable  Oyster  (Tragopogon 
porrifolius).     Cultivate  as  directed  for  carrot. 

Sea-Kalk.     See  Kale,  Sea. 

Spinach  (Spinucia  oleracea').  Round  Savoy- 
leaved,  and  Prickly  seeded.  May  be  grown 
either  broadcast  or  in  drills.  For  spring  and 
early  summer  use,  sow  as  early  as  the  ground 
can  be  tilled,  and  afterwards  at  short  intervals. 
For  the  autumn  supply,  sow  at  close  of  sum- 
mer. For  winter  and  early  spring  use,  sow 
middle  of  autumn.  The  latter  sowing  will 
need  a  sprinkling  of  straw  or  long  manure  on 
the  arrival  of  cold  weather.  Spinach  is  one 
of  those  vegetables  for  which  the  ground  can- 
not be  too  rich ;  the  stronger  it  is  the  more 
succulent  will  be  the  leaves,  and  of  course  the 
more  delicate  and  tender. 

SauASH  {Cucurbita  melopepa).  Early  Bush, 
Early  Crook-neck,  Early  Orange,  Valparaiso, 
Winter  and  Canada  Crook-necks.  The  three 
first  are  early  varieties.  The  bush  occupies 
but  little  room,  and  is  best  adapted  for  small 
gardens.  Cultivate  as  directed  for  cucumber. 
The  three  last  are  winter  varieties,  and  require 
more  room. 

Tomato  {Solanum  ly coper sicuni).  Sow  in  hot- 
bed in  March  or  April,  or  in  a  warm  border 
early  in  spring,  and  transplant,  after  settled 
M  arm  weather,  in  rows  4  feet  apart  and  abopt 
H  feet  distant  in  the  row.  They  may  be  sup- 
ported with  brushwood,  or  trained  to  a  trellis 
or  fence. 

TcRxip  (Brassicarapa).  Early  White  Dutch, 
Early  Stone,  Early  Red-topped,  are  best  for 
early  garden  culture.  For  winter  use  the 
Rutabaga,  Yellow  Stone,  Yellow  Aberdeen, 
and  Dale's  Hybrid,  are  excellent. 

There  is  also  a  variety  of  aromatic  and  me- 
dicinal herbs  cultivated  in  the  kitchen  garden, 
which  are  useful  for  many  purposes.  Of  these, 
the  llrne  Plant,  Sweet  Basil,  Carraway,  Cori- 
ander, Sweet  Marjoram,  and  Summer  Savory 
are  annuals,  the  seeds  of  which  may  be  sown 
in  the  middle  of  spring,  and  thinned  out  to 
convenient  distances. 

Balm,  Chamomile, Horehound, Hyssop,  Fen- 
nel, Lavender,  Mint,  Pennyroyal,  Rosemary, 
Rue,  Sage,  and  Thyme,  are  perennials,  and  may 
be  propagated  by  offsets  or  parting  of  the  roots, 
and  from  seed  sown  in  drills,  and  afterwards 
transplanted. 

These  are  the  most  useful  productions  of  the 
kitchen  garden.  The  varieties  named  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  best,  and  such  as  are  most  cer- 
tain, in  the  United  States,  to  repay  their  culture. 
Those  who  desire  to  go  extensively  into  the 
cultivation  of  vegetables,  can  consult  the  works 
of  M'Mahon,  Bridgeman,  and  Fessenden,  for 
more  minute  details  of  the  modes  of  culture 
and  more  extensive  lists  of  varieties. 

Much  success  in  cultivating  vegetables  will 
depend  on  the  rotation  of  crops.  The  same 
kinds  should  not  be  grown  on  the  ground  suc- 
cessively. The  ground  must  also  be  kept 
rich,  by  the  application  of  manure,  well  work- 
87 


ed,  and  above  all  kept  clear  of  weeds  I 
ought  always  to  be  remembered  that  what  wiL 
nourish  a  crop  of  weeds  will  produce  a  crop 
of  useful  vegetables ;  and  no  operation  wih 
tend  more  to  produce  luxuriant  -Cegetation,  and 
prevent  the  ill  effects  of  drought,  than  the  fre- 
quent use  of  the  hoe. 

For  the  compilation  of  the  preceding  article 
we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  William  Sinton,  gar 
dener  to  General  Patterson,  Philadelphia. 

KNAPPIA,  EARLY  (Knappia  agrostidea).  It 
was  named  by  Sir  J.  Smith  in  compliment  to 
Mr.  M.  Knapp,  a  writer  on  British  grasses. 
Of  this,  one  of  the  least  of  the  British  grasses, 
only  one  species  is  known;  although  common 
on  the  coasts  of  France,  it  is  very  rare  in  Eng- 
land, but  is  found  in  maritime  pastures,  some- 
times in  Wales.  It  is  an  annual ;  root  of  many 
long,  slender  fibres ;  stems  1  to  3  inches  high, 
erect,  simple,  slender,  smooth,  triangular, 
naked,  except  at  the  very  bottom,  where  they 
are  invested  with  the  membranous  sheaths  of 
a  few  short,  obtuse,  channelled  leaves.  Sti- 
pules membranous,  bluntish,  cloven,  but  not 
deeply  divided.  Spikes  solitary,  simple,  erect, 
of  from  6  to  10  flowers,  mostly  sessile,  alter- 
nate, erect;  two  or  three  of  the  lowermost  only 
more  or  less  stalked;  their  common  stalks 
zigzag,  slender,  smooth,  angular,  but  not  exca- 
vated, as  in  the  truly  spiked  grasses.  Flow- 
ers, like  the  top  of  the  stem,  purplish.  (Eng. 
Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  84.) 

KNAPWEED  {Centaurea).  This  is  a  large 
herbaceous  genus  of  plants,  which  Jussieu, 
after  Tournefort,  has  divided  into  several,  by 
the  structure  or  termination  of  the  calyx  scales. 
Linnaeus  has  kept  it  entire,  and  Decandolle 
has  not  disturbed  it.  Smith  {Eng.  Flora),  also, 
makes  one  family  of  them.  The  following  are 
the  indigenous  species  known  under  the  com- 
mon name  of  knapweed,  I  have  treated  of  other 
species  under  the  heads  Blue  Bottle  and 
Star  Thistle. 

1.  Brown  radiant  knapweed  (C.Jacea).  This 
grows  in  meadows  where  the  soil  is  tenacious 
and  moist.  It  is  a  perennial,  flowering  in  Au- 
gust and  September.  The  root  is  rather  woody, 
with  many  long  fibres.  Stem  solid, erect;  afoot 
high,  branched,  angular, furrowed  and  roughish, 
leafy.  Leaves,  light  green,  rough,  with  short 
hairs  ;  radical  ones  largest,  stalked,  toothed  or 
pinnatifid;  the  rest  scattered,  sessile,  oblong,  or 
linear  lanceolate,  entire,  or  toothed  near  the  ba  se. 
Flowers  large,  numerous,  radiant,  light  crim- 
son, solitary  at  the  tumid  end  of  each  branch, 
accompanied  by  a  few  leaves  close  to  the  calyx, 
which  is  brown;  the  calyx  scales  are  mem- 
branous, torn.  Linnteus  says,  the  herb  steeped 
in  water,  with  alum,  before  the  flowers  expand, 
dyes  silk  of  a  fine  yellow. 

2.  Black  knapweed  (C.  nigra).  This  grows 
in  pastures,  and  by  road-sides,  very  common, 
flowering  from  June  to  August.  In  habit  it  is 
like  the  last,  but  the  stem  is  taller,  more  bushy, 
more  deeply  furrowed,  and  rather  less  rough. 
The  lower  leaves  are  somewhat  lyrate,  with 
angular  lobes;  upper  ones  ovate;  their  colour 
always  darker  than  that  of  C.  Jacea.  The 
flowers  are  also  of  a  deeper  crimson,  com- 
monly without  any  radiant  or  abortive  floreui. 
The  flowers  are  occasionally  white. 

3  M  2  68Q 


KNAWEL. 


KNOT-GRASS. 


3.  Greater  knapweed  (C.  sexbiosa)  This  is  ; 
also  a  very  common  species,  growing  in  the  i 
borders  and  ridges  of  corn-fields,  and  by  way- 
sides. The  root  is  somewhat  woody;  stem 
about  two  feet  high,  erect,  branched,  angular, 
farrowed,  leafy,  smooth  to  the  touch.  Leaves 
dark  green,  slightly  hairy  on  both  sides,  pinna- 
tifid.  The  flowers,  which  blow  in  July  and 
August,  are  terminal,  stalked,  solitary,  large, 
and  of  a  handsome  crimson  colour,  rarely 
white ;  their  radiant  florets  are  large,  each 
with  five  deep,  long,  and  narrow  segments. 
Calyx-scales  ovate,  green,  somewhat  downy, 
fringed  with  fine  parallel  teeth.  The  seeds  are 
crowned  with  many  reddish  bristles;  and  after 
they  are  blown  away,  the  calyx  becomes  reflex, 
and  displays  the  silvery  shining  hue  of  its  in- 
side.    (E7ig.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  463.) 

KNAWEL  {Scleranthus,  from  (r*x«§of,  hard, 
and  atv6ic,  a  flower;  in  allusion  to  the  dry,  juice- 
less  calyx).  These  are  dry,  rigid  herbs,  which 
can  only  be  considered  as  useless  weeds. 

The  genus  is  European.  There  are  3  spe- 
cies, one  of  which,  called  S.  annuus,  is  so  abun- 
dantly naturalized  in  sandy,  arable  fields,  as  to 
appear  native  to  some  of  the  United  States. 
{Nuttall). 

1.  The  annual  knawel,  or  German  knot- 
grass (S.  anmms),  which  grows  commonly  in 
dry,  sandy  soils  and  corn-fields,  flowering  in 
.July.  The  root  is  small  and  tapering.  The 
stems  numerous,  widely  spreading,  and  part- 
ly decumbent;  round,  leafy,  a  little  downy, 
branched,  and  many-flowered  at  the  upper 
part.  Leaves  linear, acute, pale  green, combined 
at  the  base  by  a  membranous  fringed  border. 
Flowers  small,  green,  nearly  sessile,  partly 
axillary,  partly  collected  into  dense  forked 
tufts.  Calyx  of  the  fruit  spreading,  with  taper, 
acuie  segments.  The  Swedes  and  Germans 
introduce  occasionally  the  steam  arising  from 
a  decoction  of  the  knawel  into  their  mouths, 
with  a  view  to  cure  the  toothache.  Its  leaves 
are  astringent.  Goats  and  sheep  eat  this  plant, 
but  cows  totally  refuse  it. 

2.  Perennial  knawel  (S.  perennis).  This 
species  is  less  common;  it  flowers  from  Au- 
gust to  October,  while  the  annual  knawel  blows 
in  July.  The  root  is  woody,  branched,  with 
many  decumbent  or  prostrate  stems,  3  or  4 
inches  long.  The  whole  herb  is  of  a  glaucous, 
glistening  appearance,  turning  red  with  age, 
especially  the  stems.  The  leaves  are  more 
tapering,  crowded,  and  curved,  than  in  the 
foregoing.  Segments  of  the  calyx  more  ob- 
tuse, concave,  and  finally  converging.  In 
several  parts  of  Europe  the  roots  of  this  spe- 
cies are  attacked  by  the  insect  called  Coccus 
polonicus  (Linn.  Syst.  vol.  i.  p.  741),  which  yields 
a  fine  crimson  dye :  it  is  said  likewise  to  live 
on  S,  annuus  and  on  some  PotentillcB,  A  good 
account  of  its  economy  is  given  in  the  Upsal 
Transact  ions  for  1742,  t.  i.  p.  51. 

KNEE  GRASS.  A  name  sometimes  given 
fo  the  rough  panic  grass. 

KNIGHT,  THOMAS  ANDREW,  President 
01  the  Horticu'tural  Society  of  London,  F.R.S., 
^c,  a  distingaished  vegetable  physiologist  and 
horticulturist,  was  born  at  Wormsley  Grange, 
m  Herefordshire,  August  12,  1759.  "My  fa- 
ther," says  Mr.  Knight,  in  a  la:e  communica- 
690 


tion  to  me,  "was  a  man  of  much  learning  and 
acquirements.  Having  great  powers  of  mind, 
and  living  in  an  extremely  quiet  and  seques- 
tered spot,  he  was  supposed  by  his  ignorani 
neighbours,  in  their  language,  to  know  every 
thing."  He  died  at  an  advanced  age,  when 
Mr.  Knight  was  an  infant,  and  as  evidence  of 
the  respect  his  knowledge  obtained  him,  when- 
ever in  childhood  his  son  sought  for  informa- 
tion upon  any  unusual  subject,  he  was  told 
.that  his  father  would  have  answered  him,  but 
that  nobody  now  could.  Being  born  in  the 
midst  of  orchards,  "  I  was  early  led,"  he  con- 
tinues, "to  ask  whence  the  varieties  of  fruit  I 
saw  came,  and  how  they  were  produced ;  I 
could  obtain  no  satisfactory  answer,  and  was 
thence  first  induced  to  commence  experiments, 
in  which,  through  a  long  life  of  scarcely  inter- 
rupted health,  I  have  persevered,  and  proba- 
bly shall  persevere  as  long  as  I  possess  the 
power."  Mr.  K.  was  distinguished  for  his  skill 
in  producing  hybrid  plants,  by  impregnating 
the  blossoms.  We  owe  to  him  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude for  many  fine  fruits. 

He  died  May  1 1, 1838,  in  the  80th  year  of  his 
age.  The  death  of  Knight  was  lamented  by  all 
men  of  science,  for,  as  it  was  soon  after  well 
remarked  by  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  when  ad- 
dressing the  Fellows  of  the  Royal  Society,  "It 
would  be  diflicult  to  find  any  other  contempo- 
rary author,  in  this  or  other  countries,  who  had 
made  such  important  additions  to  the  know- 
ledge of  horticulture  and  the  economy  of  vege- 
tation. (Selection  from  his  Papers,  p.  69.)  To 
this  interesting  work  a  memoir  of  its  author 
is  prefixed. 

Mr.  Knight  was  author  of  the  following 
works,  besides  numerous  papers  in  the  Philo- 
sophical and  Horticultural  Transactions : 

1.  A  Treatise  on  the  Culture  of  the  Apple  and  Pear, 
and  on  the  Manufacture  of  Cvder  and  Perry.  London. 
1797.  12mo.  The  3d  edition"  in  1808.  2.  Some  doubts 
relative  to  the  Efficacy  of  Mr.  Forsyth's  Plaister,  in  re- 
novating trees.  London.  1802.  4to.  3.  Report  of  a 
Coriiiniliee  of  the  Horticultural  Society  of  LondoN. 
London.  1805.  4to.  4.  Pomona  Herefordiensis,  or  a 
Descriptive  Account  of  the  old  Cyder  and  Perry  Fruits 
of  Herefordshire.  London.  1809.  4to.  5.  A  Letter  on 
the  Origin  of  Blight,  and  on  raising  Late  Crops  of  Peas. 
This  is  appended  to  Sir  J.  Banks's  Essay  on  the  Mil- 
dew. London.  1806.  8vo.  2d  Edition.  (C.  fV.  John- 
son's Hist.  Eng.  Oard.) 

KNOLL  (Sax.  cnolle).  A  little  round  ele- 
vation; the  top  of  a  hill  or  mountain. 

KNOT-GRASS.  The  common  oat-like  soft- 
grass  (Holcus  avenaceus),  from  its  bulbous  roots 
is  often  called  by  farmers  knot-grass ;  but  in  a 
botanical  sense  the  following  are  the  true  knot- 
grasses. 

This  grass  is  preyed  upon  in  Europe  by  a 
species  of  leaf-beetle  (Chrysomela  polygoni),  and 
likewise  in  the  United  States  by  an  insect 
scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Euro- 
pean beetle.  By  these  the  knot-grass  is  com- 
pletely stripped  of  its  leaves  two  or  three  times 
in  the  course  of  a  summer.  This  little,  beetle, 
says  Harris,  is  about  three-twentieths  of  an  inch 
long.  Its  head,  wing-covers,  and  body  beneath 
are  dark  blue;  its  thorax  and  legs  are  dull 
orange-red ;  the  upper  side  of  its  abdomen  is 
also  orange-coloured;  and  the  antennae  and 
feet  are  blackish.  The  females  have  a  very 
odd  appearance  before  they  have  laid  their 
eggs,  their  abdomen  being  enormously  swelled 


KNOT-GRASS. 


LABOUR. 


out  like  a  large  orange-coloured  ball,  which 
makes  it  very  difficult  for  them  to  move  about. 
I  have  found  these  insects  on  the  knot-grass  in 
every  month  from  April  to  September  inclu- 
sive. The  larvae  eat  the  leaves  of  the  same 
plant.     (Harris.) 

KNOT-GRASS,  COMMON  (Polygonum  avi- 
culare:  from  -roKi,  many,  and  yow,  a  knee;  re- 
ferring to  the  numerous  joints  of  the  stem). 
This  common  annual  grass  is  in  England 
found  almost  everywhere,  in  waste  as  well  as- 
cultivated  ground,  streets,  paths,  and  barren 
sandy  places.  The  root  is  fibrous,  long,  very 
tough,  and  somewhat  woody,  branched  below, 
simple  at  the  crown.  Stems  several,  spread- 
ing in  every  direction,  generally  prostrate, 
much  branched,  round,  striated,  leafy  at  the 
numerous  knots  or  joints.  Leaves  alternate, 
stalked,  hardly  an  inch  long,  elliptic  or  lanceo- 
late, entire,  obtuse,  single  ribbed,  smooth  ex- 
cept at  the  margin;  tapering  at  the  base,  very 
variable  in  width ;  their  substance  rather  co- 
riaceous; their  colour  grayish  or  glaucous, 
stipules  membranous,  acute,  often  red,  with  a 
few  remote,  brownish  ribs.  The  flowers  which 
appear  from  April  to  October  are  axillary,  2  or 
8  together  on  simple  stalks,  small,  seeds  acute- 
ly triangular,  of  a  shining  black,  the  food  of 
many  small  birds.  It  is  common  in  the  United 
States. 

KNOT-GRASS,  VALENTIA.  A  name  by 
which  the  powdery  sea-heath  (Frankenia  pul- 
veruhntn),  is  known  in  some  districts. 

KNOT-GRASS,  WHORLED  (JUecebrum  ver- 
ticillatutn).  This  is  an  interesting  dwarf  pe- 
rennial plant,  which  is  not  uncommon  in 
marshy,  boggy  ground  in  Cornwall  and  Devon- 
shire, flowering  in  July.  The  different  species 
are  pretty,  may  be  grown  in  any  soil,  and  in- 
crease from  seed  without  difficulty.  The  root 
is  creeping;  herb  smooth,  b»-anched,  procum- 
bent. Leaves  small,  ovate,  acute,  or  some- 
times spatulate,  scarcely  stalked,  rather  fleshy. 
Stipules  intra-foliaceous,  small,  white,  jagged. 
The  flowers  are  small,  white,  or  reddish, 
whorled,  without  bractes.  (Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i. 
p.  335.) 

KNOT-WEED.  See  Persicahia. 
KOHL-RABI.  Bulb-stalked  cabbage  (Bras- 
gica  oleracea,  var.  caula-rapa).  This  curious 
variety  of  cabbage  is  a  native  of  Germany, 
where  it  is  much  cultivated,  and  whence  it 
was  first  introduced  into  England  by  Sir  Tho- 
mas Tyrwhitt.  The  stem  is  swollen  like  a 
tuber,  and,  when  divested  of  the  leaves,  may 
readily  be  mistaken  for  one.  The  produce  is 
nearly  the  same  as  that  of  Swedish  turnips, 
and  the  soil  that  suits  the  one  is  equally  good 
for  the  other.  It  may  either  be  sown  in  drills, 
or  raised  in  beds,  and  transplanted  like  cab- 
bages; in  this  case  the  beds  require  to  be 
made  and  sown  the  preceding  autumn.  Two 
pounds  of  the  seed  will  produce  a  sufficiency 
of  plants  for  one  acre  of  ground.  Hares  are 
so  fond  of  it,  that,  on  farms  where  these  ani- 
mals abound,  the  culture  of  this  plant  is  found 
to  be  impracticable.  3840  grains  of  the  lubes 
of  kohl-rabi  afford  105  grains  of  nutritive  mat- 
ter (Sinclair's  Hart.  Gram.  p.  411).  See  Cab- 
»AGi,  p.  247. 


LABELLUM  (Lat.).  In  botany,  the  front 
segment  of  an  orchidaceous  or  other  flower; 
also  the  lower  petal  or  lip. 

LABOUR  (Fr.  labcur;  Lat.  labor).  In  a  gene- 
ral sense,  labour  implies  the  exertion  of  human 
strength  in  the  performance  of  any  kind  of 
work. 

Without  entering  into  an  abstruse  treatise 
on  the  science  of  political  economy,  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  examine  shortly  the  subject, 
for  labour  is  the  only  source  of  wealth  to  the 
farmer;  and  having  done  this,  I  shall  next  in- 
quire into  the  means  by  which  labour  may  be 
rendered  most  efficient.  Nature  spontaneously 
furnishes  the  matter  of  which  all  commodities 
are  made ;  but  until  labour  has  been  applied  to 
appropriate  that  matter,  or  to  adapt  it  to  our 
use,  it  is  wholly  destitute  of  value,  and  is  not, 
nor  ever  has  been,  considered  as  forming 
wealth.  Were  we  placed  on  the  banks  of  a 
river,  or  in  an  orchard,  we  should  infallibly 
perish  of  thirst  or  hunger,  unless  by  an  effort 
of  industry  we  raised  the  water  to  our  lips,  or 
plucked  the  fruit  from  its  parent  tree.  But 
this  illustration  is  an  extreme  case ;  and  it  is 
more  to  our  purpose  to  remark,  that  the  mere 
appropriation  of  matter  is  seldom  sufficient 
In  the  vast  majority  of  cases,  labour  is  required 
not  only  to  appropriate  matter,  but  to  convey  it 
from  place  to  place,  and  to  give  it  that  peculiar 
shape  without  which  it  may  be  totally  useless, 
and  incapable  of  administering  either  to  our 
necessities  or  our  comforts.  The  coal  used  in 
our  fires  is  buried  deep  in  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  and  is  absolutely  worthless,  until  by  the 
labour  of  the  miner  it  has  been  extracted  from 
the  mine,  and  brought  into  a  situation  where 
it  may  be  made  use  of.  The  stones  and  mor- 
tar used  in  building  our  houses,  and  the  rugged 
and  shapeless  materials  that  have  been  fashion- 
ed into  the  various  articles  of  convenience  and 
ornament  with  which  they  are  furnished,  were 
in  their  original  state  destitute  alike  of  value 
and  utility.  And  of  the  innumerable  variety 
of  animal,  vegetable,  and  mineral  products 
which  form  the  materials  of  our  food  and 
clothes,  none  were  originally  serviceable,  while 
many  were  extremely  noxious  to  man.  The 
labour  that  has  subdued  their  bad  qualities, 
that  has  given  them  utility,  and  fitted  them  to 
satisfy  our  wants,  and  to  minister  to  our  com- 
forts and  enjoyments,  is  plainly  therefore  the 
only  source  of  wealth.  "  Labour,"  to  use  the 
words  of  Adam  Smith,  "  was  the  first  price,  the 
original  purchase-money,  that  was  paid  for  all 
things.  It  was  not  by  gold  or  by  silver,  but  by 
labour,  that  all  the  wealth  of  the  world  was 
purchased."  (  Wealth  of  Nations,  p.  14.)  Those 
who  observe  the  progress  and  trace  the  history 
of  the  human  race  in  different  countries  and 
states  of  society,  will  find  that  their  comfort 
and  happiness  have  in  all  cases  been  princi- 
pally dependent  on  their  ability  to  appropriate 
the  raw  products  of  nature,  and  to  adapt  them 
to  their  use.  The  savage  whose  labour  is  con- 
fined, like  that  of  the  Australian,  to  the  gather- 
ing of  wild  fruits,  or  of  shell-fish  on  the  sea 

691 


LABOUR. 


LABOUR. 


coast,  is  placed  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  scale 
of  civilization-,  and  is  in  point  of  comfort  de- 
cidedly inferior  to  many  of  the  lower  animals. 
The  first  step  in  the  progress  of  society  is 
made  when  man  learns  to  hunt  wild  animals, 
to  feed  himself  with  their  flesh,  and  clothe  him- 
self with  their  skins.  But  labour,  when  con- 
fined to  the  chase,  is  extremely  barren  and  un- 
productive. Tribes  of  hunters,  like  beasts  of 
prey,  whom  they  closely  resemble  in  their 
habits  and  modes  of  subsistence,  are  but  thinly 
scattered  overthe  countries  which  they  occupy; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  fewness  of  their  num- 
bers, any  unusual  deficiency  in  the  supply  of 
game  never  fails  to  reduce  them  to  the  extre- 
mity of  want.  The  second  step  in  the  progress 
of  society  is  made  when  the  tribes  of  hunters 
and  fishers  devote  themselves,  like  the  ancient 
Scythians  and  modern  Tartars,  to  the  domesti- 
cation of  wild  animals  and  the  rearing  of 
flocks.  The  subsistence  of  herdsmen  is  much 
less  precarious  than  that  of  hunters ;  but  they 
are  almost  entirely  destitute  of  the  various 
comforts  and  elegancies  that  give  to  civilized 
life  its  chief  value.  The  third  and  most  de- 
cisive step  in  the  progress  of  civilization,  in 
the  great  art  of  producing  the  necessaries  and 
conveniences  of  life,  is  made  when  the  wan- 
dering tribes  of  hunters  and  shepherds  re- 
nounce their  migratory  habits  and  become 
agriculturists  and  manufacturers.  It  is  then 
that  man  begins  fully  to  avail  himself  of  his 
productive  powers.  He  then  becomes  labo- 
rious, and  by  a  necessary  consequence  his 
wants  are  then,  for  the  first  time,  fully  sup- 
plied, and  he  acquires  an  extensive  command 
over  the  articles  necessary  for  his  comfort  as 
well  as  his  subsistence.  The  importance  of 
labour  in  the  production  of  wealth  was  very 
clearly  perceived  by  Locke.  In  his  Essay  on 
Civil  Government,  published  in  1689,  he  has  en- 
tered into  a  lengthened,  discriminating,  and 
able  analysis,  to  show  that  it  is  from  labour 
that  the  products  of  the  earth  derive  almost  all 
their  value.  "  Let  any  one  consider,"  says  he, 
**  what  the  difference  is  between  an  acre  of  land 
planted  with  tobacco  or  sugar,  sown  with  wheat 
or  barley,  and  an  acre  of  the  same  land  lying 
in  common,  without  any  husbandry  upon  it, 
and  he  will  find  that  the  improvement  of  labour 
makes  the  far  greater  part  of  the  value.  I  think 
it  will  be  but  a  very  modest  computation  to 
say,  that  of  the  products  of  the  earth  useful  to 
the  life  of  man,  nine-tenths  are  the  effects  of 
labour;  nay,  if  we  rightly  estimate  things  as 
they  come  to  our  use,  and  cast  up  the  several 
expenses  about  them,  what  in  them  is  purely 
owing  to  nature,  and  what  to  labour,  we  shall 
find  that  in  most  of  them  ninety-nine  hundredths 
are  wholly  to  be  put  on  the  account  of  labour. 

"There  cannot  be  a  clearer  demonstration 
of  any  thing  than  several  nations  of  the  Ame- 
ricans are  of  this,  who  are  rich  in  land  and 
poor  in  all  the  comforts  of  life  ;  whom  nature 
having  furnished  as  liberally  as  any  other 
people  wiih  the  materials  of  plenty,  i.  e.  a  fruit- 
ful soil  apt  to  produce  in  abundance  what  might 
fcerve  for  food,  raiment,  and  delight,  yet  for 
want  of  improving  it  by  labour  have  not  one 
hundredth  part  of  the  conveniences  which 
might  be  enjf  yed. 
692 


"To  make  this  a  little  clearer,  let  us  tat 
trace  some  of  the  ordinary  provisions  of  life 
through  their  several  progresses  before  they 
come  to  our  use,  and  see  how  much  they 
receive  of  their  value  from  human  industry. 
Bread,  wine,  and  cloth  are  things  of  daily  use 
and  great  abundance;  yet,  notwithstanding, 
acorns,  water,  and  leaves  or  skins  must  be  our 
bread,  drink,  and  clothing,  did  not  labour  fur- 
nish us  with  these  more  useful  commodities ; 
for  whatever  bread  is  more  worth  than  acorns, 
wine  than  water,  and  cloth  or  silk  than  leaves, 
skins,  or  moss,  that  is  solely  owing  to  labour 
and  industry ;  the  one  of  these  being  the  food 
and  raiment  which  unassisted  nature  furnishes 
us  with ;  the  other  provisions  which  our  in- 
dustry and  pains  prepare  for  us  ;  which  how 
much  they  exceed  the  other  in  value,  when  any 
one  hath  computed,  he  will  then  see  how  much 
labour  makes  the  far  greatest  part  of  the  value 
of  things  we  enjoy  in  this  world.  And  the 
ground  which  produces  the  material  is  scarcely 
to  be  reckoned  in  as  any,  or,  at  most,  but  a 
very  small  part  of  it;  so  little  that  even 
amongst  us,  land  that  is  wholly  left  to  nature, 
that  hath  no  improvement  of  pasturage,  tillage 
or  planting,  is  called  as  indeed  it  is,  waste :  and 
we  shall  find  the  benefiit  of  it  amount  to  little 
more  than  nothing. 

"An  acre  of  land  that  bears  here  twenty 
bushels  of  wheat,  and  another  in  America, 
which,  with  the  same  husbandry,  would  do  the 
like,  are,  without  doubt,  of  the  same  natural 
intrinsic  value  (utility).  But  yet  the  benefit 
mankind  receives  from  the  one  in  a  year  is 
worth  five  pounds,  and  from  the  other  possibly 
not  worth  a  penny,  if  all  the  profit  an  Indian 
received  from  it  were  to  be  valued  and  sold 
here ;  at  least,  I  may  truly  say,  not  one  thou- 
sandth. It  is  labour,  then,  which  puts  the 
greatest  part  of  value  upon  land,  without  which 
it  would  scarcely  be  worth  any  thing.  It  is  to 
that  we  owe  the  greatest  part  of  all  its  useful 
products  ;  for  all  that  the  straw,  bran,  bread, 
of  that  acre  of  wheat,  is  more  worth  than  the 
product  of  an  acre  of  good  land  which  lies 
waste,  is  all  the  effect  of  labour. 

"  For  it  is  not  barely  the  ploughman's  pains, 
the  reaper's  and  thrasher's  toil,  and  the  baker's 
sweat  is  to  be  accounted  into  the  bread  we  eat; 
the  labour  of  those  who  sell  the  oxen,  who 
digged  and  wrought  the  iron  and  stones,  who 
felled  and  framed  the  timber  employed  about 
the  plough,  mill,  oven,  or  any  other  utensils, 
which  are  a  vast  number,  requisite  to  this 
corn ;  from  its  being  seed  to  be  sown  to  its 
being  made  bread,  must  all  be  charged  on  the 
account  of  labour,  and  received  as  an  effect  of 
that;  nature  and  the  earth  furnished  only  the 
almost  worthless  materials  as  in  themselves.  It 
would  be  a  strange  catalogue  of  things  that 
industry  provided  and  made  use  of  about  every 
loaf  of  bread  before  it  came  to  our  use,  if  we 
could  trace  them ;  iron,  wood,  leather,  bark, 
timber,  stone,  bricks,  coals,  lime,  cloth,  dyeing 
drugS;  pitch,  tar,  masts,  ropes,  and  all  the  ma- 
terials made  use  of  in  the  ships  that  brought 
away  the  commodities  made  use  of  by  any  of 
the  workmen  to  any  part  of  the  work ;  all  which 
it  would  be  almost  impossible,  at  least  too  long, 
to  reckon  up." 


LABOUR. 


LABOURER. 


Labour  is  the  sole  source  of  exchangeable 
value,  and,  consequently,  of  wealth.  It  is  the 
talisman  that  has  raised  man  from  the  condi- 
tion of  the  savage ;  that  has  changed  the  desert 
and  the  forest  into  cultivated  fields  ;  that  has 
covered  the  earth  with  cities,  and  the  ocean 
with  ships;  that  has  given  us  abundance,  com- 
fort, and  elegance,  instead  of  want,  misery,  and 
barbarism.  Labour,  according  as  it  is  applied 
to  ihe  raising  of  raw  produce,  to  the  fashioning 
of  that  raw  produce,  when  raised  into  articles 
of  utility,  convenience,  or  ornament,  or  to  the 
conveyance  of  raw  and  wrought  produce  from 
one  country  or  place  to  another,  is  said  to  be 
agricultural,  manufacturing,  or  commercial. 
An  acquaintance  with  the  particular  process, 
and  most  advantageous  methods  of  applying 
labour  in  each  of  these  grand  departments  of 
industry,  forms  the  peculiar  and  appropriate 
study  of  agriculturists,  manufacturers,  and 
merchants. 

In  thus  endeavouring  to  exhibit  the  import- 
ance of  labour,  and  the  advantages  which  its 
successful  prosecution  confers  on  man,  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  reference  is  made  to  the 
labour  of  the  hand  only.  This  species,  indeed, 
comes  most  under  our  observation ;  it  is  that,  too, 
without  which  we  could  not  exist,  and  which 
princi  pally  determines  the  valueof  commodities. 
It  is  questionable,  however,  whether  it  be  really 
more  productive  than  the  labour  of  the  mind. 
The  hand  is  not  more  necessary  to  execute 
than  the  head  to  contrive.  AH  the  means  by 
which  labour  may  be  facilitated  and  wealth 
increased  resolve  themselves,  1st,  into  the 
better  division  and  combination  of  employment 
among  individuals  and  nations;  and  2d,  into 
the  more  extensive  or  more  judicious  applica- 
tion of  capital  or  stock  in  industrious  under- 
takinsrs. 

The  division  of  employments  can  only  be 
imperfectly  established  in  rude  societies  and 
thinly-peopled  countries;  but  in  every  state  of 
society — in  the  rudest  as  well  as  the  most  im- 
proved— we  may  trace  its  operation  and  effects. 
Even  in  ihe  simplest  business  this  co-operation 
and  subdivision  is  required;  neither  hunting 
nor  fishing,  any  more  than  agriculture  or  ma- 
nufacture, can  be  advantageously  carried  on 
by  solitary  individuals.  As  society  advances, 
this  division  of  labour  extends  itself  on  all 
sides  ;  one  man  becomes  a  tanner  or  dresser 
of  skins,  another  a  weaver,  a  third  a  smith, 
and  so  on.  The  wealth  and  comforts  of  all 
classes  are,  in  consequence,  prodigiously  aug- 
mented. In  countries  where  the  division  of 
labour  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent, 
agriculturists  are  not  obliged  to  spend  their 
time  in  clumsy  attempts  to  manufacture  their 
own  produce,  and  manufacturers  cease  to  in- 
terest themselves  about  the  raising  of  corn,  and 
the  fattening  of  cattle.  The  facility  of  ex- 
changing is  the  vivifying  principle  of  industry ; 
it  stimulates  agriculturists  to  adopt  the  best 
sy-item  o(  cultivation,  and  to  raise  the  largest 
crops,  because  it  enables  them  to  exchange 
whatever  portion  of  the  prr.  luce  of  the  land 
exceeds  their  own  wants  for  other  commodities 
contributing  to  their  comforts  and  enjoyments, 
and  it  stimulates  manufacturers  and  merchants 
to  increase  and  improve  the  quantity,  variety, 


and  quality  of  their  goods,'  thLt  they  may 
thereby  obtain  greater  supplies  of  raw  pro- 
duce. A  spirit  of  industry  is  thus  universally 
diffused  ;  and  that  apathy  and  languor  which 
characterize  a  rude  state  of  society  entirely 
disappear. 

Besides  that  sort  of  division  of  labour  which 
enables  each  individual  in  a  united  society  to 
confine  himself  to  a  particular  employment, 
there  is  another  and  most  important  branch  of 
the  division  of  labour,  which  not  only  enables 
particular  individuals,  but  the  inhabitants  of 
entire  districts,  and  even  nations,  to  addict 
themselves  in  preference  to  certain  branches 
of  industry.  It  is  on  this  territorial  division  of 
labour,  as  it  has  been  appropriately  termed, 
that  the  commerce  carried  on  between  differ- 
ent districts  of  the  same  country,  and  between 
different  countries,  is  founded.  The  variations 
in  the  situation,  soil,  climate,  mineral  products, 
&c.  of  the  different  districts  of  an  extensive 
country,  render  them  more  suitable  for  some 
than  for  other  species  of  industry.  A  district 
where  coal  is  abundant,  which  has  an  easy 
access  to  the  ocean,  and  a  considerable  com- 
mand of  internal  navigation,  is  the  natural  seat 
of  manufactures.  Wheat  and  other  species  of 
grain  are  the  proper  products  of  rich  arable 
soils ;  and  cattle,  after  being  reared  in  moun- 
tainous districts,  are  most  advantageously  fat- 
tened in  meadows  and  low  grounds.  Nothing 
can  be  more  obvious  than  that  the  inhabitants 
of  these  different  districts  will  be  able,  by  con- 
fining themselves  to  those  employments,  for  the 
prosecution  of  which  they  have  some  peculiar 
capability,  to  produce  a  much  greater  quantity 
of  useful  and  desirable  articles  than  they  could 
do  were  they  to  engage  indiscriminately  in 
every  possible  employment. 

Providence,  by  giving  different  soils,  cli- 
mates and  natural  productions  to  different 
countries,  has  evidently  provided  for  their  mu- 
tual intercourse  and  civilization.  By  permit- 
ting the  people  of  each  to  employ  their  capital 
and  labour  in  those  departments  in  which 
their  geographical  situation,  the  physical  capa- 
cities of  the  soil,  their  national  character  and 
habits  fit  them  to  excel,  foreign  commerce,  or 
the  territorial  division  of  labour,  has  a  won- 
derful influence  in  multiplying  the  products 
of  arts  and  industry. 

Having  been  led  thus  far  into  this  fertile 
subject,  I  will  conclude  with  some  apposite 
and  excellent  observations  by  Dr.  Paley: — 
"  Every  man  has  his  work.  The  kind  of  work 
varies,  and  that  is  all  the  difference  there  is. 
A  great  deal  of  labour  exists  besides  that  of 
the  hands;  many  species  of  industry  besides 
bodily  operation,  equally  necessary,  requiring 
equal  assiduity,  more  attention,  more  anxiety. 
It  is  not  true,  therefore,  that  men  of  elevated 
\  stations  are  exempted  from  work ;  it  is  only 
true  that  there  is  assigned  to  them  work  of  a 
different  kind:  whether  more  easy  or  more 
pleasant  may  be  questioned;  but  certainly  not 
less  wanted,  nor  less  essential  to  the  common 
good."     (Brande's  Dirt,  of  Lit.  and  Art.) 

LABOURER.  One  who  is  employed  in 
coarse  and  toilsome  work.  But,  in  agricu' 
ture,  the  term  is  applied  to  a  person  who  per 
forms  the  manual  or  most  laborious  part  ( ^ 

693 


LABOURER. 


LACTOMETER. 


the  business  of  a  farm.  The  price  of  labour 
has  at  all  times  varied  ;  and,  as  the  poorer 
classes  feel,  with  additional  rigour,  every  evil 
arising  from  the  pressure  of  the  times,  different 
expedients  have  been  devised,  with  a  view  to 
alleviate  their  burdens,  supply  their  wants, 
and  render  them  more  comfortable.  From 
these  investigations,  it  appears  that,  in  the 
middle  of  the  14th  century,  the  usual  price  of 
labour  was  2rf.  per  day,  and  wheat  was  sold  at 
from  3s.  4rf.  to  4s.  per  quarter.  In  the  middle 
of  the  15th  century  the  pay  of  a  labourer  per 
day  was  3d.,  and  wheat  cost  from  5s.  to  5s.  6d. 
per  quarter.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  16th 
century  the  price  of  labour  rose  to  3^c?.,  and 
that  of  a  quarter  of  wheat  to  7s.  6d.  About  the 
middle  of  the  17th  century  the  pay  of  a  labourer 
upon  an  average  was  (in  Essex)  13c^.,  and  corn 
had  risen  to  40s.  per  quarter.  Towards  the 
latter  end  of  the  18th  century  the  daily  pay  of 
a  labourer  was  from  14rf.  to  18d.  in  the  coun- 
try, and  from  2s.  to  2s.  6d.  in  the  metropolis, 
while  the  price  of  wheat  was  48s.  per  quarter. 
The  payment  of  daily  wages,  however,  serves 
but  imperfectly  to  ascertain  the  real  price  of 
labour,  as  a  considerable  portion  of  work  is 
performed  by  the  piece,  so  that  a  labourer  in 
general  earns  from  3d.  to  6d.  per  day  more 
than  by  the  common  pay.  The  curious  and 
philanthropic  reader,  who  feels  an  interest  in 
this  popular  inquiry,  will  be  fully  gratified  by 
a  perusal  of  Mr.  Davies's  Case  of  Labourers  in 
Husbandry  Stated  and  Considered,  &c.  4to,  1795, 
p.  200  ;  and  Sir  F.  M.  Eden's  State  of  the  Poor, 
&c.,  3  vols.  4to,  1797.  Mrs.  Davies  Gilbert,  of 
Eastbourne,  a  lady  whose  active  interest  for 
the  prosperity  of  agriculture,  and  the  improve- 
ment of  the  condition  of  the  labouring  poor, 
may  fairly  (as  has  been  justly  observed)  be 
set  as  an  example  for  many  country  gentlemen 
to  follow,  urges  most  strenuously,  in  many  pub- 
lications (but  particularly  in  the  Quart.  Journ. 
of  Jgr.  vol.  xii.  p.  252),  the  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  manual  labour,  in  preference  to 
horse  labour.  In  England,  many  benevolent 
persons  of  distinguished  rank  have  also  re- 
cently taken  up  the  cause  of  the  labourer,  and 
formed  themselves  into  a  society,  very  appro- 
priately named  "the  Labourer's  Friend  So- 
ciety." They  advocate  strongly,  and  endeavour 
to  promote  more  generally  the  system  of  home 
colonies  for  the  cultivation  of  waste  land. 
See  Allotment  and  Spade  Husbandry,  Faru 
Servants,  Workmen,  &c. 

Farm  labourers,  being  the  most  valuable 
class  of  men  that  a  populous  country  pos- 
sesses, should  have  every  comfort  provided 
for  them  that  is  compatible  with  their  situa- 
tion, and  conformable  to  the  general  interest 
of  the  community.  Their  wages  ought  to  be 
everywhere  and  at  all  times  sufficient  for  the 
maintenance  of  themselves  and  families  while 
in  health,  with  a  surplus  to  provide  against 
the  day  of  sickness,  without  their  being  under 
the  debasing  necessity  of  making  application 
to  their  neighbours  for  relief.  Persons  so  es- 
sentially useful  to  society  should  not  merely 
support  existence,  but  have  the  comforts  of 
wholesome  habitations,  with  suff  cient  spaces 
o''  ground  to  furnish  them  and  neir  families 
694 


with  changes  of  proper  vegetable  food  without 
much  expense. 

LACTARY.  A  milk-house,  dairy,  or  place 
where  milk  is  kept.  The  term  has  been  made 
to  designate  the  whole  establishment  of  a 
dairy.     See  Dairy. 

LACTIC  ACID.  This  substance,  in  the 
opinion  of  Berzelius  and  some  other  chemists, 
exists  in  milk,  and  in  larger  proportion  when 
it  has  become  sour;  but  others  imagine  that  it 
is  the  product  of  its  decomposition.  It  waa 
first  recognised  as  a  peculiar  acid  by  Scheele, 
but  he  did  not  obtain  it  perfectly  pure.  It  was 
afterwards  observed  by  Berzelius  in  many  ani- 
mal fluids;  and  by  Braconnet  to  exist  with 
acetic  acid  in  fermented  rice-meal,  wheat- 
paste,  the  juice  of  the  beet-root,  and  other  vege- 
table substances:  he  named  it  nanceic  acid. 
It  is  formed,  also,  dur'iig  the  putrefactive  pro- 
cess in  some  animal  bodies.  Lactic  acid  is  a 
colourless,  inodorous,  syrupy  liquid,  and  very 
sour.  It  may  be  so  concentrated  as  to  have  a 
specific  gravity  of  1'215:  it  attracts  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  dissolves  in  water 
and  alcohol  in  all  proportions.  At  480°  Fah- 
renheit, it  is  decomposed.  When  added  to 
boiling  milk,  it  is  capable  of  immediately  co- 
agulating about  700  times  its  weight;  but, 
when  cold,  it  produces  comparative  little  effect 
upon  it:  it  also  coagulates  albumen.  It  has 
the  property  of  dissolving  fresh  precipitated 
phosphate  of  lime ;  a  property  which  is  of 
great  advantage  in  the  animal  economy,  and 
might  even  be  rendered  useful  in  manures. 
The  constituents  of  the  lactic  acid  are,  6  parts 
of  carbon,  5  of  hydrogen,  and  5  of  oxygen. 
(Penny  Cyclopedia,  vol.  xiii.  p.  268.) 

LACTOMETER  (Lat.  lac,  milk,  and  metrum, 
a  measure).  A  term  applied  to  a  glass  tube 
for  ascertaining  the  proportion  which  the 
cream  bears  to  the  milk  of  any  particular  cow, 
or  the  produce  of  a  whole  dairy.  Lactometers 
of  different  kinds  have  been  invented  ;  the  best 
is  called  "  the  four  or  five  glass  lactometer." 


:-^^^M'^JB^J9"'^J8    \ 


The  principle  of  the  instrument  is,  that  if 
new  milk  is  poured  into  glass  tubes  and  allow- 
ed to  remain,  the  division  between  the  cream, 
which  floats  upon  the  surface  of  the  milk,  will 
be  so  evident  that  its  depth  may  be  easily 
measured ;  and  should  the  milk  from  any  cow 
produce  more  cream  than  that  of  another,  the 
difference  will  be   seen  by  the  divisions  or 


LADIES'  FINGER. 

marks  on  the  glass  tubes.  The  lactometer 
consists  of  4  or  5  glass  tubes,  about  half  an 
inch  diameter,  and  11  inches  long,  fitted  into  an 
upright  mahogany  frame  ;  each  tube  having  a 
fine  line  drawn  round  it  10  inches  from  the 
bottom ;  3  inches  from  the  line  downwards,  it 
is  graduated  into  inches  and  tenths  of  inches. 
At  milking  time  each  tube  is  to  be  filled  up  to 
the  line  with  new  milk.  After  standing  12 
hours,  the  quantity  of  cream  which  floats  upon 
the  surface  is  shown  by  the  scale  of  inches 
and  tenths ;  each  division  will  therefore  repre- 
sent one  per  cent,  of  the  whole. 

If  the  milk  given  by  a  cow  at  one  meal  is 
1  gallon,  or  8  pints,  and  the  thickness  or  depth 
of  the  cream  which  floats  upon  it  measures  14 
divisions,  multiply  the  number  of  pints,  8,  by 
the  depth  of  the  cream,  14;  the  result  will  be 
that  the  produce  of  the  cream  of  that  meal  is 
112,  or  I  pint  y^;^.  Care  must  be  taken  to  fill 
these  tubes  as  soon  as  the  pail  is  taken  from 
under  the  cow,  for  if  any  delay  takes  place, 
some  of  the  cream  will  have  ascended  towards 
the  top.  The  milk  should  be  taken  from  the 
middle  of  the  pail,  which  is  to  be  done  by  dip- 
ping a  cream-pot  below  the  froth.  {Journ.  Roy. 
Inst.  vol.  iv.  p.  157;  Roes' s  Cydo.  vol.  xx.) 

LADIES'  FINGER.  A  name  given  to  the 
common  kidney-vetch  {JuihylUs  vulneraria), 
which,  from  its  soft  and  downy  nature,  was 
supposed  to  possess  vulnerary  properties  in 
stanching    the   blood  of  slight  wounds.     See 

KinNKT-VETCH. 

LADIES'  MANTLE  {Alchemilhi).  The  spe- 
cies of  this  genus  of  plants  are  all  astringent 
in  their  root,  and  somewhat  mucilaginous.  ./?. 
vulgaris  is  slightly  tonic.  Many  of  them  are 
ornamental,  and  well  adapted  for  planting  in 
gardens  near  the  front  of  borders,  or  for  adorn- 
ing rockwork.  They  succeed  well  in  any 
common  soil,  if  not  over  wet,  and  may  be  in- 
creased from  seeds  or  divisions.  The  species 
indigenous  to  Britain  are — 

1.  Common  ladies' mantle  (.4.  tm/^aria).  A 
perennial,  growing  in  dry,  rather  mountainous 
pastures.  The  root  is  woody,  with  long  fibres  : 
stems  from  4  to  8  inches  high,  more  or  less 
procumbent,  alternately  branched,  round, 
hairy,  leafy,  terminating  in  numerous  little  co- 
rymbose clusters  of  green  flowers,  or  smooth, 
almost  capillary  stalks.  The  radical  leaves 
are  numerous,  on  long  footstalks,  large,  round- 
ish, kidney-shaped,  bluntly-lobed,  plaited,  ser- 
rated, of  a  fine  green  above ;  soft  and  hairy 
beneath.  The  stem-leaves  are  of  the  same 
form,  but  a  great  deal  smaller;  alternate,  on 
ihort  stalks,  with  a  pair  of  large  notched  sti- 
pules to  each.  Horses,  sheep,  and  goats,  eat 
this  vegetable;  but  it  is  not  relished  by  cattle, 
and  hogs  totally  refuse  it. 

2.  Alpine  ladies'  mantle  (J.  alpina).  A  pe- 
rennial plant  growing  on  alpine  rocks,  espe- 
cially in  a  micaceous  soil.  It  is  rather  smaller 
in  habit  than  the  lari  species,  and  essentially 
different,  not  only  in  the  silvery  pubescence 
of  the  stalks,  flowers,  and  backs  of  the  leaves, 
but  in  the  latter  being  separated  to  the  base 
into  5  or  6  obovate  lobes,  closely  serrated  to- 
wards the  extremity.  Nothing  can  be  more 
teautiful  than  the  silvery  spl'indour  of  their 
under  sides,  esp' '  ially  in  exj    ;ed  and  barren 


LADIES'  SMOCK.. 

I  spots,  when  the  leaves  are  agitated  by  the 
wind.  No  figure  can  do  them  justice.  The 
upper  surface  is  smooth  and  naked,  of  a  fine 
green.  This  species  is  found  on  the  moun- 
tains of  New  Hampshire. 

3.  Field  ladies'  mantle,  or  parsley  piert  {A, 
arvensis).  This  annual  species  will  generally 
be  found  in  England  growing  in  sandy  or  gra- 
velly fields,  especially  when  fallow,  as  well  as 
on  heathy  banks.  The  root  is  small  and 
fibrous;  stems  numerous,  about  a  finger's 
length,  spreading  or  prostrate,  round,  leafy, 
hardly  subdivided.  Leaves  flat,  three-lobed, 
variously  cut  on  short  stalks.  The  whole 
plant  is  more  or  less  hairy,  and  in  flavour  and 
scent  approaches  its  natural  ally,  burnet. 
(Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  i.  p.  223.) 

LADIES'  SLIPPER  (Cypripedimn,  from 
Cypris,  one  of  Venus's  names,  and  podion,  a 
slipper;  hence  the  name  Venus's  or  ladies* 
slipper).  The  species  of  this  genus  are  re 
markably  handsome  when  in  flower,  and  on 
that  account  deserve  a  place  in  every  collec- 
tion. They  are  all  of  the  easiest  culture.  The 
hardy  species  succeed  well  in  peat  soil,  either 
kept  in  a  frame,  or  planted  out  in  a  shady 
border.  The  species,  natives  of  America,  re- 
quire to  be  protected  from  severe  frost  and 
rain.  The  only  indigenous  species  is  the  com- 
mon ladies'  slipper  (C  calceolus),  which  is  very 
rare,  growing  only  in  mountainous  wqods  and 
thickets  in  the  north  of  England.  It  is  peren- 
nial, blowing  large  yellow,  solitary,  terminal 
flowers,  without  scent,  in  June.  The  stems  are 
solid,  12  or  18  inches  high,  downy,  bearing  3 
or  4  large  alternate,  ovate,  rather  pointed 
leaves,  clasping  or  sheathing  at  their  base. — 
(Eng.  Flor.  iv.  51;  Paxton's  Bot.  Diet.;  see 
Darlington's  Flor.  Cest.  513.) 

LADIES'  SMOCK  (Cardamine).  An  inte- 
resting genus  of  the  simplest  culture  and  pro- 
pagation, natives  of  various  countries,  gene- 
rally preferring  watery  situations.  The  native 
species  are  five  in  number: — 

1.  Daisy-leaved  ladies'  smock  (C.bellidifolid), 
This  perennial  species  grows  in  moist,  grassy, 
lofty,  alpine  pastures.  The  root  is  rather 
woody,  divided  at  the  crown.  Herb  2  or  3 
inches  high,  unbranched,  erect,  bright  green, 
smooth  leaves,  sometimes  a  little  wavy  or  an- 
gular, the  uppermost  nearly  sessile.  Flowers 
few,  corymbose,  white,  appearing  in  August. 
Style  short,  conical. 

2.  Impatient  ladies'  smock  (C.  impatiens). 
This  annual  species  grows  in  shady,  rather 
moist,  rocky  situations  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land ;  it  is  rarely  met  with  in  Scotland.  The 
root  is  small  and  tapering;  the  herbage  pale 
green;  stem  1^  to  2  feet  high;  leaves  pinnate; 
leaflets  lanceolate,  mostly  cut;  stipules  fringed. 
The  flowers,  which  are  numerous,  and  small, 
and  white,  appear  in  May  and  June.  Pods  erect, 
very  slender,  composing  long  clusters,  and  dis- 
charging their  seeds  with  a  crackling  noise  and 
great  force  on  the  slightest  touch  or  concussion, 
by  means  of  the  revolute  valves.  The  '»lirle 
plant  is  disagreeably  bitterish  and  pungent. 

3.  Hairy  ladies'  smock  (C.  hirsuta).  Also 
annual  in  habit.  This  species  is  found  very 
frequent  in  waste  or  cultivated  ground,  espc 
cially  in  moist,  shady  places  ;  flowering  fro 

695 


LADIES'  TRACES. 


LADY  BIRDS. 


March  to  June.  The  root  consists  of  many- 
white  fibres.  The  herb  is  variable  in  size  and 
luxuriance,  deep  green,  more  or  less  hairy, 
rarely  quite  smooth ;  stem  from  3  to  12  inches 
or  more  in  height;  leaves  pinnate,  without 
stipules;  leaflets  stalked,  roundish,  oblong, 
notched. 

4.  Meadow  ladies' smock  (C./7rafensis).  See 
Cuckoo  Flower. 

6.  Bitter  ladies' smock  (C.amara).  This  is  not 
a  common  species,  but  is  found  occasionally  in 
watery  places,  by  the  sides  of  rivers  and  brooks* 
It  is  perennial,  and  before  it  flowers  greatly 
resembles  water-cress,  but  the  taste  is  bitter 
and  nauseous.  The  root  is  toothed,  somewhat 
creeping;  stems  1  to  2  feet  high,  more  or  less 
hairy,  creeping  at  the  base,  with  several  radi- 
cles, and  sometimes  a  few  slender  scions. 
Leaves  pinnate,  without  stipules ;  leaflets  of 
the  lowermost  roundish ;  of  the  rest,  toothed 
or  angular.  Style  obliquely  elongated.  Flow- 
ers, which  appear  in  April  or  May,  always 
white  or  cream-coloured,  with  violet  anthers. 
(Smith's  Ens:.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  pp.  186—91.) 

LADIES'  TRACES  (Neottia,  a  bird's  nest,  in 
allusion  to  the  interwoven  fibres  of  the  roots). 
This  is  a  pretty  genus  of  orchidaceous  plants. 
The  hardy  species  will  succeed  *vell  in  chalky 
soil,  or  a  mixture  of  loam,  peat,  and  sand ;  they 
are  all  increased  by  divisions.  (Paxton's  Bot. 
Diet.) 

There  are  in  Britain  only  two  indigenous 
species: — 

1.  Sweet  ladies'  traces  (N.  spiralis),  which 
grows  in  open  pastures,  on  a  chalky  or  gravelly 
soil,  or  in  meadows  in  various  parts  of  Eng- 
land, flowering  in  August  and  September.  The 
leaves  are  awned,  all  radical,  on  broad  stalks, 
spreading,  ovate,  acute,  ribbed,  rather  glau- 
cous. Stalk  a  finger's  length  or  more,  viscid, 
and  downy  upwards,  clothed  with  several 
sheathing,  upright,  pointed  bractes.  Spike 
spiral,  of  many  crowded  small  white  and 
highly  fragrant  flowers,  in  a  single  row,  each 
with  an  ovate,  tumid,  pointed,  downy,  close 
bracte. 

2.  Proliferous  ladies'  traces  (N.  gemmipara). 
This  species  grows  in  marshes  on  the  west 
coast  of  Ireland,  and  flowers  in  July.  The 
root  consists  of  two  thick,  fleshy,  downy,  an- 
nual, perpendicular  knobs,  each  about  3  inches 
long,  and  one-fifth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  near 
its  origin,  tapering  downwards  to  a  blunt  point. 
After  flowering  the  root  decays.  Leaves  5  or  6, 
upright,  broadly  lanceolate,  acute,  three-ribbed, 
3  inches  in  length.  Foot-stalks  broad,  sheath- 
ing, near  an  inch  long.  Stalk  erect,  2  inches 
high,  sheathed  more  than  half  way  up  by  the 
foot-stalks  of  the  innermost  leaves,  and  bear- 
ing in  the  upper  part  2  or  3  lanceolate,  smooth, 
upright  bractes.  Spike  an  inch  long,  ovat: 
dense,  erect,  of  about  18  white  flowers  in  i 
rows,  twisted  round  in  a  very  remarkable  way, 
and  each  accompanied  by  a  smooth,  lanceolate 
brace,  as  tall  as  itself.  The  outside  of  the 
flowers  and  capsule  are  downy;  every  other 
part  of  the  herb  is  smooth.  Buds  destined  to 
flowe'-  the  following  year  are  formed  among 
the  leaves,  at  the  bottom  of  the  flower-stalk.  In 
the  spring,  each  bud  puts  forth  a  pair  of  oblong 

6d6 


iTiobs  and  becomes  a  separate  plant.    (Smith's 
Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iv.  p.  35.) 

LADIES'  TRACES.  Ladies'  hair  or  quak- 
ing-grass.    See  Briza  Media. 

LADDER.  A  framework  of  steps  between 
two  upright  pieces.  Ladders  of  various  length 
are  essential  requisites  on  a  farm,  whether  for 
use  in  repairs  to  buildings,  for  reaching  stacks, 
or  in  cases  of  fire. 

♦*  Garden  ladders  are  of  three  kinds :  the 
common  wall  tree  ladder, -which  diflfers  from  those 
used  in  other  arts  in  having  two  pieces  of  10 
or  12  inches  in  length,  projecting  at  right  an- 
gles from  the  upper  end,  the  use  of  which  is  to 
avoid  injuring  the  trees,  by  keeping  the  top  of 
the  ladder  at  a  small  distance  from  the  wall, 
and  thus  admit  of  the  operation  of  nailing.  The 
orchard  ladder  consists  of  a  frame  on  low  wheels, 
as  a  basis  for  several  ladders  which  fit  into  each 
other,  and  are  capable  of  being  hoisted  up  by 
machinery,  so  as  a  person  near  the  extremity 
of  the  ladder  may  have  access  to  any  part  of  a 
<tree  with  convenience,  either  to  prune  it  or 
gather  the  fruit. 

The  three-styled,  forked,  and  double  ladders  are 
also  well  adapted  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of 
gathering  fruit  or  pruning.  The  rule-joint  ladder 
is  used  for  working  on  curvilinear  roofs  either 
of  glass,  or  domes  of  lead,  stone,  &c.,  which 
require  panes  renewed  or  trees  nailed.  Such 
ladders  are  particularly  useful  for  repairing  the 
roofs  of  hothouses  and  greenhouses.  The  step 
ladder,  instead  of  round  rods  on  which  to  place 
the  feet,  has  steps  or  boards,  an  improvement 
essentially  necessary  where  much  work  is  to  be 
done,  because  less  fatiguing  to  the  feet.  Such 
ladders  have  a  back  or  fulcrum,  by  which  they 
stand  independently  of  any  other  object,  and 
which  is  removable  at  leisure  by  drawing  out 
an  iron  bolt."       (Loudon's  Enc.  of  Gard.  p.  290.) 

LADY  BIRDS,  or  LADY  BUGS.  Familiar 
names  applied  to  small  hemispherical  beetles, 
scientifically  denominated  coccinella.  These  little 
beetles  are  generally  yellow  or  red,  with  black 
spots,  or  black,  with  white, red,  or  yellow  spots; 
there  are  many  kinds  of  them,  and  they  are  very 
common  and  plentiful  insects,  and  are  gene- 
rally diff'used  among  plants.  They  live,  both 
in  the  perfect  and  young  state,  upon  plant-lice, 
and  hence  their  services  are  very  considerable. 
Their  young  are  small  flattened  grubs  of  a 
bluish  or  blue-black  colour,  spotted  usually 
with  red  or  yellow,  and  furnished  with  six  legs 
near  the  forepart  of  the  body.  They  are  hatch- 
ed from  little  yellow  eggs,  laid  in  clusters  among 
the  plant-lice,  so  that  they  find  themselves  a 
once  within  reach  of  their  prey,  which,  from 
their  superior  strength,  they  are  enabled  to  seize 
and  slaughter  in  great  numbers.  There  are 
some  of  these  lady-birds,  of  a  very  small  size, 
and  blackish  colour,  sparingly  clothed  with 
short  hairs,  and  sometimes  with  a  yellow  spot 
at  the  end  of  the  wing-covers,  whose  young  are 
clothed  with  short  tufts  or  flakes  of  the  most 
delicate  white  down.  These  insects  belong  to 
the  genus  Scymnus,  which  means  a  lion's  whelp, 
and  they  well  merit  such  a  name,  for  their 
young,  in  proportion  to  their  size,  are  as  san- 
guinary and  ferocious  as  the  most  savage 
beast  of  prey.    I  have  often  seen  one  of  these 


LAIR. 

little  tufted  animals  preying  u/  m  the  plant-lice, 
catching  and  devouring,  with  the  greatest  ease, 
lice  nearly  as  large  as  its  own  body,  one  after 
another,  in  rapid  succession,  without  appa- 
rently satiating  its  hunger  or  diminishing  its 
activity.     (Harris.)     See  Aphis. 

LAIR.  Provincialiy,  land  in  a  state  of  grass 
or  sward.  (See  Lat.)  Also  employed  in  some 
countries,  to  signify  soil  and  dung.  Lair  is 
used  sometimes  to  express  the  couch  or  rest- 
ing-place of  a  boar  or  wild  beast,  or  of  cows 
in  dairies. 

LAMA,  or  LLAMA.     See  Alpaca. 

LAMB'S  LETTUCE.     See  Corx  Salad. 

LAMB'S  QUARTERS.  A  name  given  to 
wild  or  mountain  spinach.  (Chempodium  al- 
bum.)    See  GoosEFooT. 

LAMB  SKINS  (Germ.  Lammsfelle).  The 
value  of  lamb  skins  varies  according  to  the 
fineness,  brilliancy,  and  colour  of  the  wool. 
Black  lamb  skins  are  more  generally  esteemed 
than  those  of  any  other  colour.  English  lamb 
skins  are  seldom  to  be  met  with  perfectly 
blaf.k ;  but  since  the  introduction  of  merino 
sheep  into  England,  many  of  the  white  tleeces 
have,  in  point  of  quality,  arrived  at  a  pitch  of 
perfection  which  justly  entitles  them  to  be 
ranked  with  some  of  the  best  fleeces  in  Spain. 
The  importation  of  lamb  skins  is  immense, 
having  amounted  on  an  average  in  1831,  and 
1832,  to  2,365,635.  Eight-tenths  of  the  whole 
quantity  are  supplied  by  Italy.  They  are 
mostly  used  in  the  glove  manufacture.  (Af*Cul- 
locWs  Com.  Diet.)     See  Wool. 

LAMENESS.  In  farriery,  an  affection  in 
the  feet  or  limbs  in  horses  and  other  animals,  by 
which  motion  is  rendered  less  perfect  In  the 
horse,  it  is  brought  on  from  various  causes — 
sprains,  over-exertion,  diseases  of  the  foot,  &c. 
The  muscles  of  the  shoulder  are  occasionally 
sprained,  and  in  this  case  the  animal  cannot 
lift  his  foot  without  great  difficulty,  indeed  he 
will  be  observed  to  drag  his  toe  along  the 
ground.  In  this  case  few  local  measures  can 
be  adopted.  The  horse  should  be  bled  from 
the  vein  on  the  inside  of  the  arm,  fomentations 
applied,  and  a  dose  of  physic  given.  In  this, 
as  in  most  other  cases  of  lameness,  quiet  and 
rest  are  essential  to  the  restoration  of  the  ani- 
mal.    ( The  Horse,  p.  229.) 

LAMMAS  DAY.  In  the  English  calendar, 
the  1st  of  August.  Dr.  Johnson  supposes  *his 
term  to  be  a  corruption  of  lattermalh,  \f.iich 
signifies  a  second  mowing  of  grass.  Others 
derive  it  from  a  custom  which  once  prevailed 
in  some  parts  of  England,  of  bringing  a  lamb 
alive  on  this  day  into  the  church  at  high  mass. 
Others  again  derive  it  from  a  Saxon  term  sig- 
nifying loa/mass,  so  named  as  a  feast  of  thanks- 
giving lor  the  first-fruits  of  the  corn.  {Brande*s 
Did.  of  Lit.  &c.) 

LAMP  BLACK.  A  colouring  substance 
which  is  in  very  general  use  for  several  pur- 
poses. The  finest  lamp  black  is  produced  by 
collecting  the  smoke  from  a  lamp  with  a  long 
wick,  which  supplies  more  oil  than  can  be 
perfectly  consumed,  or  by  suffering  the  flame 
to  play  against  a  metalline  cover,  which  im- 
pedes the  combustion,  not  only  by  carrying  off 
part  of  the  heat,  but  by  obstructing  the  current 
of  air  Lamp  black  is  prepared,  however,  in 
88 


LAND-DITCHING. 

a  much  cheaper  way  for  the  demands  of  trait. 
The  dregs  which  remain  after  the  purificatiou 
of  pitch,  or  else  small  pieces  of  fir  wood,  are 
burned  in  furnaces  of  a  peculiar  construction, 
the  smoke  of  which  is  made  to  pass  through  a 
long,  horizontal  flue)  terminating  in  a  closv* 
boarded  chamber.  The  roof  of  this  chamber 
is  made  of  coarse  cloth,  through  which  the 
current  of  air  escapes,  while  the  soot  remains. 
{Ure's  Did.) 

LANCEOLATE.  In  botany  a  term  used  to 
describe  leaves  which  are  oblong  and  gradu- 
ally tapering  towards  each  extremity,  or  shaped 
like  a  spear  or  lance. 

LANCE  WOOD  (Guatteria,  in  honour  of  J. 
B.  Guatteri,  an  Italian  botanist,  and  once  pro- 
fessor at  Parma).  This  is  a  splendid  genus  of 
evergreen  shrubs,  succeeding  in  a  mixture  of 
loam,  peat,  and  sand.  They  are  natives  of 
warm  climates  and  require  stove  culture. 
Young  plants  are  readily  obtained  by  cuttings 
raised  in  sand  under  a  glass  in  heat.  (Pax- 
ton's  Bot.  Did.) 

LAND  (Germ.),  in  the  widest  acceptation 
of  the  word,  is  used  to  denote  the  solid  matter 
of  which  the  globe  is  composed;  in  contradis 
tinction  to  the  liquid  matter  or  water  (see  Geo- 
logy) :  but  in  its  most  restricted  signification 
it  is  confined  to  arable  ground.  The  latter  is  the 
legal  meaning  of  the  term  ;  and  in  this  sense  it 
is  used  in  all  original  writs,  and  in  all  court 
and  formal  pleadings. 

LAND-DITCRING,  or  hollow  draining  as  it 
is  sometimes  termed,  is  chiefly  practised  in 
England  in  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Hertford. 
It  consists  in  digging  both  main  and  side  drains, 
similar  to  those  generally  adopted  in  draining 
land:  the  former  are  usually  made  from  22  to 
24  inches,  the  latter  from  20  to  22  inches  in 
depth.  The  soil  is  previously  ploughed,  and 
the  length  to  which  the  main  drains  may  be 
protracted  without  a  vent,  depends  upon  the 
situation  of  the  land.  When  the  land  has  a 
regular  declivity,  the  most  proper  method  will 
be  to  carry  off  as  much  water  as  possible,  by 
means  of  side  drains ;  but  if  the  ground  be 
irregular,  it  will  be  requisite  to  form  additional 
main  drains,  so  that  every  advantage  may  be 
derived  from  the  valleys,  into  which  the  latter 
must  often  be  conducted  to  a  considerable  extent. 
The  length  of  the  side  drains  varies  accord- 
ing to  the  elevation  of  the  soil ;  in  general 
they  need  not  be  more  than  one  rod  apart  from 
each  other;  though  in  very  loose  or  porous 
grounds,  they  may  be  dug  at  a  distance  of  one 
rod  and  a  half.  When  the  trenches  are  cut  to 
a  sufficient  depth,  they  are  filled  up  and  cover- 
ed in  the  usual  manner  with  straw  and  bushes. 
The  expense  of  this  method  of  draining  is  com- 
puted in  England  to  be  nearly  Zl.  per  acre. 

Land-ditching  not  only  carries  off  the  water 
from  wet  or  marshy  soils,  but  also  meliorates 
stiff  loamy  clays,  which  being  thus  better  en- 
abled to  resist  the  long  continuance  of  moisture 
on  their  surface  during  the  winter,  promote  ve- 
getation very  early  in  the  spring,  and  the  grass 
]  is  rendered  of  a  superior  quality.    The  weeds, 
I  &c.  change  their  cplour,  and  are  totally  divest 
i  ed  of  their  rankness  ;  the  corn  also  increases 
I  both  in  quantity  and  weight.     Another  import- 
!  ant  advantage  arising  from  this  practice  is,  that 
3  N  607 


LANDLORD. 


LARCH!  REE. 


t  will  admit  of  the  soil  being  ploughed  at  an  ] 
earlier  ])eriod  of  the  spring  and  later  in  autumn; 
while  n  may  be  tilled  with  greater  facility,  and 
kept  clean  from  weeds  at  a  very  small  expense. 

LANDLORD.  One  who  owns  lands  or 
houses,  and  has  tenants  under  him.  See  Te- 
nant, Customs  of  Counties,  Lease,  Agree- 
ment, &c. 

LANDMARK,  signifies  in  a  general  sense 
any  thing  by  w^hich  the  boundary  of  a  prop'^rty 
is  defined.  In  ancient  times  the  correct  division 
of  lands  was  an  object  of  great  importance ; 
and  various  means  were  adopted  to  give  dis- 
tinctness and  permanency  to  the  boundaries  of 
every  man's  property.  Stones  and  hillocks 
were  the  most  usual  landmarks.  The  import- 
ance of  this  subject  among  the  Israelites  par- 
ticularly, may  be  judged  of  from  the  denun- 
ciation of  Moses,  "Cursed  be  he  that  removeth 
his  neighbour's  landmark." 

LANDSCAPE  GARDENING.  The  art  of 
laying  out  grounds  so  as  to  produce  the  effect 
of  a  natural  landscape.  Its  principles  are  the 
same  as  those  upon  which  the  landscape  painter 
proceeds  in  composing  a  picture  ;  and  though 
it  is  an  art  of  which,  like  many  others,  every- 
body thinks  he  is  a  judge,  it  requires  to  be  pro- 
perly practised,  and  the  possession  of  powers 
of  a  much  higher  order  than  fall  to  the  lot  of 
most  men.  Mr.  Brown,  commonly  called  Ca- 
pability Brown,  was  the  first  who  practised  the 
art  in  JEngland,  so  as  to  render  himself  worthy 
of  the  name  of  artist.  To  lay  down  the  prin- 
ciples of  this  art  here  would  be  quite  impossi- 
ble ;  but  this  general  observation  contains  the 
sum  of  them  ;  let  selected  and  beautiful  nature 
be  constantly  your  model,  and  success  must 
follow.  Loudoti's  Enc.  of  Gardening,  and  Down- 
ing^s  Landscape  Gardening,  recently  published  in 
New  York,  may  be  consulted  with  advantage 
by  those  desirous  of  practising  the  art. 

LANDSLIP.  A  portion  of  land  that  has  slid 
down  in  consequence  of  disturbance  by  an 
earthquake,  or  from  being  undermined  by  the 
action  of  water  or  other  means. 

LAND  SPRINGS.  Land  springs  are  sources 
of  water  which  only  come  into  action  after 
heavy  rains ;  while  constant  springs  which 
derive  their  supplies  from  a  more  abundant 
source,  flow  throughout  the  year.  All  springs 
owe  their  origin  to  rains.  In  the  case  of  land 
springs,  the  water  when  it  sinks  through  the 
surface,  is  speedily  interrupted  by  a  retentive 
stratum,  and  there  accumulating  soon  bursts 
out  into  a  spring,  which  ceases  to  flow  a  short 
period  after  the  cause  which  gave  it  birth  has 
ceased  to  operate.;  but  the  water  which  sup- 
plies constant  springs  sinks  deeper  into  the 
earth,  and  accumulates  in  rocky  or  gravelly 
strata,  which  become  saturated  with  the  fluid. 

LAND  STEWARD.  A  person  who  has  the 
care  of  a  landed  estate,  and  whose  duties  vary 
in  different  countries,  according  to  the  mode 
in  which  landed  property  is  managed.  In  Eng- 
land, where  the  landlord  very  commonly  under- 
takes to  keep  the  buildings  and  fences  of  his 
tenants  in  repair,  the  dtities  of  the  land  steward 
are  constant  and  multifarious  ;  while  in  Scot- 
land, where  the  buildings  and  fences  are  kept 
in  repair  by  the  tenant,  the  duties  of  the  stew- 
ard are  limited  to  receiving  the  rents,  and  see- 
698 


ing  that  the  covenants  of  the  leases  are  duly 
fulfilled.  In  many  parts  of  the  Continent,  and 
particularly  in  Italy,  where  the  landlord  is  a 
partner  with  his  tenant,  and  shares  the  produce 
with  him,  the  duties  of  the  land  steward  or  fat- 
tore,  as  he  is  there  called,  are  much  more  one- 
rous than  in  Britain.     See  Bailiff. 

LAND  TAX.  In  England,  a  branch  of 
the  public  revenue,  which  was  first  raised  in 
its  present  form  in  1692.  The  rate  at  which 
this  tax  is  charged  is  4s.  in  the  pound  on  the 
annual  value.  The  amount  which  it  yielded 
to  the  exchequer  in  1837  was  1,192,635^ 
(Penny  Cyclo.  vol.  xiii.  p.  300.) 

LARCH  TREE  (Lat.  larix ;  It.  and  Span. 
larice).  The  larch  is  one  of  the  most  valuable 
exotics  which  has  been  introduced  into  Britain. 
In  the  north  of  Scotland  it  has  been  grown  to 
a  great  extent,  cultivated  with  particular  at- 
tention ;  and  found  to  be  one  of  the  most  pro- 
fitable of  all  trees  to  the  planter,  provided  the 
land  be  well  drained,  but  it  will  not  succeed  in 
swampy  situations.  It  grows  with  great  rapi- 
dity, is  subject  to  very  few  accidents,  trans- 
plants with  but  little  risk,  and  produces  timber 
of  great  excellence  and  value,  not  only  for  do- 
mestic but  for  naval  purposes. 

In  bridges,  dock-gates,  mill  work,  and  espe- 
cially in  mill  axles  (where  oak  only  used  for- 
merly to  be  employed),  larch  has  been  sub- 
stituted with  the  best  effect.  The  small  larch 
is  useful  for  agricultural  implements,  gates, 
upright  palings,  rails,  and  hurdles.  Boats  built 
of  larch  have  been  found  sound  when  the  ribs 
made  of  oak  40  years  old  were  decayed.  A  fine 
frigate  of  36  guns,  named  the  Atholl,  was 
launched  at  Woolwich  in  1820,  built  entirely 
of  larch,  the  growth  of  the  Atholl  plantations. 
It  is  also  very  useful  for  staves  for  casks. 

1.  The  common  larch  fir  or  white  larch 
{Abies  larix).  The  leaves  of  all  the  species  are 
clustered,  and  deciduous.  The  cones  vary: 
in  the  common  larch  they  are  ovate,  oblong, 
blunt;  and  the  flowers  are  pink.  In  moun- 
tainous districts  in  Scotland  the  Duke  of  Atholl 
planted  this  species  in  immense  quantities, 
having  had  nearly  9000  acres  in  cultivation 
with  the  larch  alone.  We  are  told  by  Dr.  An- 
derson that  his  grace  planted  200,000  every 
year;  and  in  the  winter  of  1819  and  the  fol- 
lowing spring  no  less  than  1,102,367  were 
planted  on  556  acres,  at  2000  per  Scotch  acre. 
The  late  Earl  of  Fife  also  planted  181,813  in 
Morayshire.  Goodwood,  the  property  of  the 
Duke  of  Richmond,  was  probably  the  first 
place  at  which  the  larch  was  planted  as  a 
forest  tree,  and  even  there  it  was  only  in  small 
numbers.  A  few  years  after,  viz.  in  1738,  it 
was  introduced  into  Scotland  by  a  Mr.  Menzies, 
About  1740,  James,  Duke  of  Atholl,  commenced 
planting  larches  around  Dunkeld  House  and 
Atholl  House,  the  two  residences  of  his  grace; 
and  great  attention  having  been  paid  to  these 
nurseries  by  his  grace's  successors,  the  plan- 
tations  have  amazingly  increased.  A  very 
detailed  account  of  the  plantations  on  the  Atholl 
estates,  and  experiments  on  the  wood,  will  be 
found  in  the  3d  vol.  of  the  Prize  Essays  of  the 
Highland  Society,  p.  165,  drawn  up  from  pa- 
pers and  documents  communicated  by  his 
grace  s  trustees.     In  a  communication  to  the 


LARCH  TREE. 


LARCH  TREE. 


Board  of  Agriculture  in  February,  1812  (vol. 
vii.  p.  273),  the  Duke  of  AthoU,  speaking  of 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  a  more 
general  culture  of  the  larch,  says,  "The  lower 
range  of  the  Grampian  Hills,  which  extend  to 
Dunkeld,  are  in  altitude  from  1000  to  1200  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  they  are  in  general 
barren,  and  are  composed  of  mountain  schist, 
slate,  and  iron-stone.  Up  to  the  highest  tops 
of  these,  larch  grow  luxuriantly,  where  the 
Scotch  fir,  formerly  considered  the  hardiest  tree 
of  the  north,  cannot  rear  its  head.  In  consi- 
derable tracts,  where  fragments  of  shivered 
rocks  are  strewed  so  thick  that  vegetation 
scarcely  meets  the  eye,  the  larch  puts  out  as 
strong  and  vigorous  shoots  as  are  to  be  found 
in  the  valleys  below,  or  in  the  most  sheltered 
situation."  And  it  further  appears  from  a  re- 
port of  that  nobleman  to  the  Horticultural  So- 
ciety {Trans,  vol.  iv.  p.  416),  that  in  situations 
1500  to  1600  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  he 
has  felled  trees  80  years  old  that  have  each 
yielded  six  loads  of  the  finest  limber.  The 
growth  of  larch  is  not,  however,  confined  to 
Scotland ;  but  much  land  has  been  planted  in 
the  northern  counties  of  England.  The  Society 
in  London  for  the  Encouragement  of  Arts  and 
Manufactures,  so  long  ago  as  1783,  offered  pre- 
miums for  the  planting  of  larch.  A  gold  me- 
dal was  offered  to  those  who  should  plant 
within  any  one  year  5000  larches  from  two  to 
four  years  old  at  a  distance  of  5  feet  asunder  ; 
and  a  silver  medal  to  any  one  who  should 
plant  3000  larches  at  the  same  distance.  This 
premium  only  contemplated  making  planta- 
tions solely  of  the  larch.  The  first  claimant 
for  the  premium  was  the  Bishop  of  Llandaff, 
who  had  by  that  time  planted  48,500  larches 
on  18  acres  of  the  high  grounds  near  Amble- 
side in  Westmoreland,  at  a  distance  of  4  feet 
from  one  another.  Immense  numbers  con- 
tinued to  be  planted  annually  up  to  the  year 
180.5,  from  which  year  to  1816,  no  candidates 
appeared  to  claim  the  premium,  in  consequence 
of  the  severe  blight  which  affected  the  larch 
trees  in  England  for  some  years ;  and  which 
preventing  the  formation  of  the  cones,  deprived 
the  growers  of  larch  plants  of  the  usual  supply 
of  seed. 

There  is  no  account  given  of  the  height  at 
which  these  larches  were  planted.  Had  they 
been  placed  at  a  considerable  elevation  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  they  would  have  probably 
escaped  the  contagion  of  the  blight.  In  the 
account  of  the  Dunkeld  larch  plantations,  the 
late  Duke  of  Atholl  conceived  that  he  had  in- 
troduced three  great  improvements  in  the 
planting  of  the  larch,  when  it  was  to  be  raised 
for  useful  timber.  These  improvements  were 
the  planting  it  at  a  high  elevation  on  the 
mountain  side,  in  a  region  in  which  no  other 
kind  of  limber  tree  would  grow  to  perfection 
in  this  country ;  the  inserting  the  tree  in  the 
soil  at  an  early  age,  not  exceeding  two  years 
old  in  the  seed-bed ;  and  the  notching  the  small 
plants  into  the  ground  by  a  peculiar  instrument 
at  wide  intervals,  not  nearer  than  5  j  feet  to 
each  other;  for,  if  planted  close,  they  exhaust 
the  soil,  and  prevent  its  being  nourished  by  the 
annual  deposition  of  spues,  on  account  of  the 
closeness  of  the  trees. 


In  1820  the  gold  medal  was  awarded  to  the 
Duke  of  Devonshire  for  planting  1,981,065 
forest  trees,  980,128  of  which  were  larch.  Be- 
sides these  instances  of  the  planting  the  larch 
(done,  there  are  many  others  in  England  in 
which  they  were  planted  along  with  other  trees; 
but  as  they  would  probably  be  so  planted  mere- 
ly as  nurses  to  the  hard  timber,  such  planta- 
tions cannot  be  considered  as  interesting  ex- 
periments, in  regard  to  the  value  of  the  larch 
as  timber.  From  the  foregoing  details,  how 
ever,  we  find  that,  mainly  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Society  for  the  encouragement  of  Arts 
and  Manufactures,  1,407,036  larches  were 
planted  in  England  in  37  years.  It  is  singu- 
lar that  so  much  elevated  barren  land  in  the 
counties  of  Hants,  Sussex,  and  Kent  should  be 
suffered  to  remain  unplanted  with  this  and 
other  timber,  which  would  find  a  ready  sale  in 
the  neighbouring  government  yards. 

Plantations  that  are  formed  exclusively  of 
larch  destroy  the  heath  and  all  other  vegeta- 
bles; but  after  a  few  years  a  fine  grass  springs 
up  which  is  so  valuable  for  grazing,  that  it  has 
been  let  from  10s.  to  5/.  per  acre  for  this  pur- 
pose, which,  previously  to  its  being  planted, 
would  not  bring  as  many  pence. 

Three  varieties  of  the  common  larch  are 
mentioned  by  botanical  writers;  one  remark- 
able for  the  young  cones  being  pale  green  in- 
stead of  crimson,  and  erect,  not  drooping.  A 
second  has  a  weeping  habit,  with  pendulous 
branches,  but  is  distinct  in  botanic  characters 
from  the  black  larch  {Laryx  pendula)  of  North 
America;  both  these  varieties  are  natives  of 
the  Tyrol.  The  third  sort  is  of  a  slow,  stunted 
growth,  and  an  inelegant  appearance,  leafing 
early,  and  very  subject  to  injury  from  spring 
frosts.  The  bark  is  cinereous,  not  yellowish 
brown.  It  was  raised  by  the  Duke  of  Atholl 
from  seed,  procured  at  Archangel  in  1806.  Both 
in  its  appearance  as  a  tree,  and  its  value  as 
timber,  this  Russian  larch  is  much  inferior  to 
the  common  larch.  From  the  boiled  inner 
bark,  mixed  with  rye  flour,  and  afterwards 
buried  a  few  hours  in  the  snow,  the  hardy  Si- 
berian  hunters  prepare  a  sort  of  leaven,  with 
which  they  supply  the  place  of  common  leaven 
when  the  latter  is  destroyed,  as  it  frequently  is 
by  the  intense  cold  to  which  hunters  are  sub- 
ject in  the  pursuit  of  game.  The  bark  of  the 
larch  is  nearly  as  valuable  to  the  tanner  as 
oak  bark ;  this  valuable  property  was  first  dis- 
covered by  Mr.  T.White  in  1812.  (Com.  toBoard 
of  Jgr.  vol.yii.  p.  278.)  The  larch  also  produces 
the  substance  called  Venice  turpentine,  which 
is  of  considerable  use  in  medicine,  and  flows  in 
abundance  when  the  lower  part  of  the  trunk 
of  old  trees  is  wounded  or  tapped  between  tht 
months  of  March  and  September.  When  fo 
rests  of  larch  in  Russia  take  fire,  which  some- 
times happens,  a  gum  issues  from  the  medul- 
lary part  of  the  trunks,  during  the  combustion, 
which  is  called  Orenburgh  gum.  A  saccharine 
matter,  also,  resembling  manna.,  and  called 
manna  of  Briangon,  exudes  from  the  lar(;h  in 
June;  and  another  sort  of  manna  is  exuded 
from  its  leaves  in  the  form  of  a  white,  floccu- 
lent  substance,  which  finally  becomes  con- 
creted into  small  bmps.  From  the  inner  rind 
or  bark  of  the  larch  the  Russians  raanufactur«> 

699 


LARCH,  AMEKIUAN. 


LARD  OIL. 


fine  white  gloves,  not  inferior  to  those  made 
of  the  most  delicate  chamois,  while  they  are 
stronger,  cooler,  and  more  pleasant  for  wear- 
ing in  the  summer. 

The  larch  is  propagated  by  seed,  which  is 
generally  ripe  in  September  and  December, 
when  the  cones  may  be  collected  and  carefully 
dried,  and  put  away  till  April,  which  is  con- 
sidered the  best  time  for  sowing.  The  most 
proper  season  for  felling  the  larch  is  July. 

2.  The  red  larch  fir  {A.  microcarpa).  In  this 
species  the  cones  are  oblong,  small,  thin; 
scales  erect,  close  pressed,  the  upper  ones 
much  smaller  than  the  lower.  It  is  a  grace- 
ful tree,  with  much  of  the  habit  of  the  common 
larch,  from  which,  however,  its  very  small 
cones,  of  a  bright  purple,  readily  distinguish 
it.  It  is  a  native  of  North  America.  This  is 
by  no  means  so  well  adapted  to  the  planter's 
purposes  as  the  common  larch.  According  to 
the  Duke  of  Atholl,  trees  when  50  years  old  do 
not  contain  one-third  as  many  cubic  feet  as  the 
common  larch.  The  wood  is  so  heavy  that  it 
will  scarcely  swim  in  water. 

3.  The  black  larch  fir  {J.,  pendula).  Cones 
oblong,  with  numerous  spreading  scales,  which 
gradually  diminish  from  the  base  to  the  apex 
of  the  cones.  Branches  weak  and  drooping. 
The  leading  shoot  will  often  begin  to  droop  at 
the  height  of  15  or  20  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
after  gradually  acquiring  a  horizontal  direction, 
will  bend  towards  the  earth,  so  as  to  form  a 
natural  arch  of  great  beauty.  This  species  is 
also  a  native  of  North  America,  where  it  is 
found  growing  on  a  rich  clay  soil,  mixed  with 
sand,  in  cold,  mountainous  districts.  When 
cultivated  in  Britain  it  is  an  elegant  tree,  hav- 
ing a  good  deal  of  resemblance  to  the  common 
larch,  but  being  of  a  brighter  green  colour,  and 
much  more  graceful.  The  wood  is  less  valu- 
able than  the  common  larch. 

There  is  a  report  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  v. 
p.  391),  by  Mr.  Lawson  on  larches  raised  by 
him  from  seed  imported  from  the  Tyrol,  which 
being  the  native  country  of  the  larch,  is  sup- 
posed to  mature  the  most  perfect  seed. 

The  larch  is  affected  with  many  diseases  in 
Britain.  Some  of  these  have  been  supposed 
to  arise  from  a  constitutional  weakness  engen- 
dered in  the  tree  from  the  seed  not  having  been 
perfectly  ripened.  The  reader's  attention  may 
be  drawn  to  several  valuable  treatises  on  the 
diseases  of  the  larch,  distributed  through  the 
volumes  of  the  Trans,  of  the  High.  Soc.  of  Scot- 
land, &c.  In  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Jlgr.  there  are 
also  some  able  papers,  "On  the  "probable  Cause 
of  the  Diseases  of  the  Larch  in  Great  Britain," 
by  the  late  M.  Decandolle  (vol.  v.  p.  403); 
"On  the  Diseases  of  the  Larch  in  the  South  c: 
Scotland,"  bv  Mr.  Webster  (Ibid.  p.  535)  ;  "On 
the  Rot  in  Larch,"  by  Mr.  Gorrie  {Ibid.  p.  537) ; 
and  some  remarks  on  the  foregoing  papers 
(Ibid.  p.  574);  "On  the  Canker  in  Larch,"  by  I 
Mr.  Drummond,  vol.  ii.  p.  221.  {Penny  Cyclo.  I 
vol.  i. ;  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  794 ; 
Brit.  Husb.  vol.  iii.)     S«»e  Caxkeh,  Firs,  and 

PlWKs. 

LARCH,  AMERICAN.    &ee  Hackmatack. 

LARD.    The  melted  fat  of  the  hog,  which  is 
much  used  for  domestic  purposes  and  in  cook- 
ery, for  ointments,  pomatums,  and  other  pur- 
700 


poses.  Pure  lard  has  little  or  no  taste,  and  no 
I  odour ;  its  melting  point  is  about  97°  Fahren- 
heit. When  long  exposed  to  the  air  it  attracts 
oxygen,  and  becomes  rancid ;  whilst  a  portion 
of  carbonic  acid  is  evolved.  Lard  is  a  com- 
pound of  a  solid,  firm  fat,  stearine,  and  a  semi- 
fluid substance  termed  elaine,  in  the  proportion 
of  38  of  the  former  to  62  of  the  latter. 

Most  fats  and  oils,  whether  of  animal  or 
vegetable  origin,  are  composed  of  these  two 
ingredients,  upon  the  relative  proportion  of 
which  their  consistence  respectively  depends. 
They  may  be  obtained  separate  by  the  action 
of  boiling  alcohol,  which  on  cooling  deposits 
the  stearine,  and  yields  the  elaine  upon  evapo- 
raion.  Another  method  is  to  compress  fat,  or 
oil  congealed  by  cold,  within  the  folds  of  bibu- 
lous paper.  The  elaine  is  absorbed  by  the 
paper,  and  may  be  separated  by  compression 
under  water;  the  stearine  remains. 

Elaine  resembles  oil  in  appearance,  is  co- 
lourless when  pure,  congeals  at  20°  Fahren- 
heit, may  be  evaporated  unchanged  in  vacuoy 
has  little  odour  and  a  sweetish  taste,  is  insolu- 
ble in  water,  but  soluble  in  boiling  alcohol,  and 
consists  of  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen. 

Stearine  is  white,  concrete,  fusible  at  111* 
Fahrenheit,  volatilizable  unchanged  in  vacuo, 
partly  volatilized  and  partly  decomposed  whep 
heated  in  a  retort,  insipid,  inodorous,  slightly 
soluble  in  alcohol,  insoluble  in  water,  and  com- 
posed, like  the  former  principle,  of  carbon,  hy- 
drogen, and  oxygen*. 

Exposed  to  the  air,  lard  absorbs  oxygen  and 
becomes  rancid.  It  should  therefore  be  kept 
in  well-closed  vessels,  or  procured  fresh  when 
wanted  for  use.  In  the  rancid  state  it  is  irri- 
tating to  the  skin,  and  sometimes  exercises  an 
injurious  reaction  on  substances  mixed  with  it. 
Lard  should  never  be  used  when  it  becomes 
rancid.     See  Fat  and  Abeps. 

LARD  OIL.  In  the  United  States,  where 
swine  are  raised  so  abundantly,  oil  is.  now 
very  extensively  separated  from  lard.  Its  close 
connection  with  the  question  of  disposing  of 
the  agricultural  products  of  the  Union,  and 
especially  of  the  Western  States,  forms  a  rea- 
son for  giving  it  an  extended  consideration. 
Several  large  factories  for  the  manufacture  of 
this  oil  have  been  some  time  in  operation  in 
Cincinnati,  and  thousands  of  gallons  are  daily 
prepared  for  home  consumption  and  exporta- 
tion. It  is  also  carried  on  at  Cleveland,  Ohio; 
Chicago,  Illinois;  Burlington,  Iowa;  Hanni 
bal,  Missouri ;  and  other  places  both  in  the 
Western  and  the  Atlantic  States. 

It  is  considered  much  superior  to  olive  or 
sperm  oil  for  machinery  and  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  woollens,  &c.  It  can  be  furnished  also 
at  half  the  price,  and  therefore  it  will  doubtless 
supersede  that  article  of  import.  As  it  con- 
tains less  stearine  than  other  oils,  it  is  found 
much  better  for  combing  wool,  for  which  pur- 
pose a  single  factory  wished  to  contract  for 
10,000  gallons  from  one  establishment.  It  is 
also  undergoing  trial  in  England;  and,  if  it 
succeeds,  of  which  there  can  scarcely  be  a 
doubt,  large  orders  for  it  may  be  expected,  or 
at  least  the  American  lard  itself,  which  pays 
a  less  duty,  will  find  a  ready  market. 

Repeated  experiments  have  shown  that  for 


LARD  OIL. 


LARVA. 


the  purpose  of  combustion,  no  oil  is  superior. 
It  is  important,  in  trying  it  with  this  view,  to 
obtain  a  good  article,  manufactured  from  good 
lard,  and  not  from  the  dark-burned,  which 
creates  smoke  and  clogs  the  flame.  For  want 
of  sufficient  care  in  this  respect,  some  have  no 
doubt  met  with  disappointment  in  their  attempts 
to  substitute  this  oil  for  sperm  oil  in  their 
lamps. 

The  following  are  given  as  the  relative  con- 
stituents of  lard  oil  and  sperm  oil,  in  100  parts 
of  either: — 


Carbon. 

Hydi-'een. 

Oxygen. 

Lard  oil 

7903 

11-422 

9-548 

Sperm  oil 

7905 

11-6 

8-9 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  difference  in 
carbon  is  only  3-00 ;  about  the  same  in  hydro- 
gen; while  in  oxygen  it  is  about  4-10  in  favour 
of  the  lard  oil.  The  large  quantity  of  carbon 
proves  that  it  may  be  relied  on  as  a  material  for 
giving  light,  as  it  is  well  known  that  whenever 
carbon  predominates  in  an  animal  oil,  the  ar- 
ticle is  capable  of  a  high  degree  of  luminous 
power.  Experiments  have  been  made  which 
have  shown  results  in  favour  of  lard  oil. 
About  60  lbs.  in  100  of  good  lard,  in  tallow  only 
28  is  oil ;  and  the  processes  of  manufacture 
resorted  to  show  that  it  may  be  made  a  profita- 
ble business.  Large  orders  have  already  been 
executed  at  the  West  for  this  oil,  to  be  used  in 
the  Eastern  Slates.  The  heat  of  lard  oil  for 
the  blow-pipe  has  been  found  to  be  much 
greater  than  that  of  sperm.  Lard  itself  melts 
at  82°  to  97°  of  Fahrenheit:  its  specific  gravity 
at  60°  is  0.938.  Lard  crystallizes  in  small 
globules ;  sperm  in  flakes  or  scales.  It  is 
soluble  in  boiling  alcohol.  The  proportion  is 
80  gallons  of  lard  to  1  of  alcohol.  The  appli- 
cation of  stearine  for  candles  promises  greatly 
to  reduce  the  price  of  that  article,  so  that  can- 
dles equal  to  spermaceti  may  eventually  be 
reduced  to  12^  cents  per  pound. 

As  the  capillary  attraction  of  the  lard  oil  is 
not  so  great  as  that  of  sperm,  it  is  recommend- 
ed that  the  form  of  the  lamp  should  be  such  as 
to  bring  the  bulk  of  the  oil  as  near  to  the  point 
of  combustion  as  possible. 

It  is  also  recommended  that  the  lube  should 
be  filed  thinner  at  the  top  where  the  wick  is 
inserted,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  heat.  Various 
lamps  have  been  constructed  for  burning  lard 
as  well  as  lard  oil,  which  have  been  found  to 
answer  very  well.  The  burning  of  this  oil  has 
been  introduced  with  entire  success  into  the 
light-houses  on  Lake  Erie.  An  objection  has 
been  made  against  lard  oil,  that  it  is  not  capable 
of  being  preserved  in  a  liquid  state  in  cold  wea- 
ther; but  by  a  process  similar  to  that  by  which 
the  winter  sperm  is  prepared,  lard  oil  can  be 
made  which  will  not  chill  at  30°  of  Fahrenheit. 

The  importance  of  this  application  of  lard 
canscarcelyyet.be  realized.  Vast  quantities 
of  the  oil  can  be  manufactured  at  the  West. 
Indeed,  there  is  hardly  any  assignable  limit  to 
the  power  of  production  of  the  article,  so  that, 
while  the  demand  continues,  the  business  may 
be  conducted  profitably.  The  immense  herds 
of  swine  which  can  be  suffered  to  range  over 
the  lands  adapted  to  them,  and  gather  their 
food  from  mast  as  well  as  the  surplus  of  corn, 
wheal,  potatoes,  «Scc.,  on  which  they  may  be 


sustained,  admit  of  the  manufacture  being  car- 
ried on  to  almost  any  extent. 

The  proportion  of  lard  to  the  whole  hog  is 
about  60  per  cent.,  after  taking  out  the  hams 
and  shoulders,  or  taking  out  the  hams  only; 
the  estimate  for  hogs  of  the  best  breeds,  and  so 
fed  as  to  produce  the  greatest  quantity  of  fat, 
is  70  per  cent.  As  the  object  is  not  in  this 
case  to  make  pork  for  food,  the  objection 
against  those  species  of  nuts,  and  other  modes 
of  feeding  which  render  the  animal  more  gross 
and  oily,  is  obviated;  and  it  has  been  proposed 
to  feed  out  oil-cake  to  swine,  to  increase  the 
proportion  of  oil. 

By  a  new  process  of  steaming,  a  very  sim- 
ple method  described  by  Mr.  Stafford,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  whole  of  the  lard  or  oily  matter 
in  the  hog,  or  of  tallow  in  cattle,  may  be  ob- 
tained; while  the  danger  of  burning  (common 
in  other  modes)  is  avoided,  the  consumption 
of  fuel  lessened,  and  the  degree  of  pressure 
required  not  so  great  as  otherwise.  It  will  be 
recollected  that,  while  conducting  the  manu- 
facture of  lard,  the  other  parts  of  the  animal, 
as  the  hams  and  shoulders,  may  be  tr.rned  to 
profit.  Besides  these,  also,  the  hide:<  may  be 
tanned  by  a  cheap  process :  and  the  bones, 
which  are  worth  half  a  cent  per  pound,  may  be 
calcined  and  made  into  animal  carbon,  for 
which  they  are  said  to  be  worth,  in  this  cal- 
cined state,  2^  cents  per  pound.  (Ellsworth's 
Report.) 

LARKSPUR  (Delphinium,  from  delphin,  a  dol- 
phin, in  reference  to  the  supposed  resemblance 
in  the  nectary  of  the  plant  to  the  imaginary 
figures  of  the  dolphin).  All  the  species  of 
larkspur  are  showy,  and  valuable  as  border 
flowers,  especially  D.  ajacis  and  D.  consolida, 
both  of  which  are  universally  grown  among 
the  border  annuals.  The  herbaceous  and  pe- 
rennial kinds  are  increased  by  divisions  or 
seeds,  and  the  annual  and  biennial  kinds  mere- 
ly require  sowing  in  the  open  border,  where 
they  will  flower  and  seed  freely.  The  field 
larkspur  (D.  consolida),  grows  wild  in  sandy  or 
chalky  corn-fields  in  England,  and  is  regarded 
as  a  simple  astringent.  In  gardens  this  species 
is  called  the  branching  larkspur,  and  attains 
the  height  of  3  or  4  feet,  blowing  vivid  blue 
flowers. 

D.  Grandiflorum  is  a  hardy  And  beautiful  pe- 
rennial, blowing  dark  blue  flowers  in  July  and 
August.     It  loves  a  dry  soil,  and  open  situation. 

The  bee  larkspur  is  a  beautiful  perennial, 
blowing  bright  blue  flowers  in  Jtly  and  Au- 
gust. Sheep  and  goats  eat  the  wild  larkspur, 
horses  do  not  relish  it,  while  cows  and  swine 
totally  refuse  it.  Bees  are  remarkably  attach- 
ed to  its  flowers,  which  are  likewise  gathered 
by  the  country  people  of  Germany,  cut  small 
and  mixed  with  tobacco,  to  improve  its  flavour. 

LARVA  (Lat.  a  mask).  A  term  applied  to 
that  state,  in  which  an  insect  exists,  immedi* 
ately  after  its  exclusion  from  the  egg,  and 
which  precedes  the  pupa  state.  The  animals 
commonly  called  grubs,  maggots,  and  caterpillars^ 
are  larvas.  Grub  appears  to  be  a  general 
term  analogous  to  larva;  the  term  maggot  i« 
most  generally  applied  to  the  larva  state  of 
dipterous  insects  ;  and  caterpillar,  in  the  most 
common  acceptation  of  the  term,  is  used  to  dc 
3  s  2  701 


LAST. 


LAVENDER. 


signate  the  larva  state  of  lepidopterous  insects. 
These  terms,  however,  are  used  in  a  very 
vague  manner.  {Penny  Cyclo.  vol.  xiii.  p.  338.) 

LAST.  An  uncertain  quantity,  varying  in 
different  countries,  and  with  respect  to  various 
articles.  The  following  quantities  of  different 
commodities  generally  make  a  last: — 12  dozen 
of  hides  or  skins  ;  12  barrels  of  meal ;  10^  qrs. 
of  cole  seed;  10  qrs.  of  corn  or  rape  seed  ^in 
some  parts  of  England  21  qrs.  of  corn  go  to  a 
lasts);  12  sacks  of  wool,  1700  lbs.  of  feathers 
or  flax.     (M'Cidloch's  Com.  Did.) 

LATHYRUS  (from  la,  augmentative,  and 
thouros,  any  thing  exciting,  in  allusion  to  the 
medicinal  qualities  of  the  seeds).  This  genus 
belongs  to  the  natural  order  Leguminese.  It 
consists  for  the  most  part  of  very  handsome 
plants  when  in  flower,  well  adapted  for  arbours 
or  shrubberies,  where  they  must  be  supplied 
with  branches  to  support  them,  as  they  climb 
by  means  of  tendrils  terminating  the  footstalk, 
and  sometimes  without  tendrils.  Any  common 
soil  suits  them ;  they  are  increased  by  seeds, 
and  some  of  the  perennial  kinds  by  dividing 
the  roots. 

The  yellow  vetchling  (i.  aphaca)  is  an  an- 
nual, flowering  in  June.  The  plant  is  glaucous, 
without  any  true  leaves  or  leaflets,  except  near 
the  root.  The  flowers  are  solitary  on  long 
stalks,  small,  drooping,  lemon-coloured.  The 
pod  is  an  inch  in  length,  nearly  cylindrical, 
smooth,  and  containing  six  seeds,  which  pro- 
duce intense  headache  if  eaten  in  any  quantity, 
while  the  roots  of  L.  tuberosus  are  said  to  be 
wholesome  food.  {PaxtorCs  BoL  Diet.)  See 
Vetchlixg. 

Crimson  vetch  (X.  nissolia)  is  also  an  annual, 
flowering  in  May.  It  is  destitute  of  tendrils,  it 
has  a  grass-like  form,  and  bears  beautiful 
crimson  flowers,  variegated  with  purple  and 
white.  The  pod  is  long  and  the  seeds  nume- 
rous. 

There  are  five  other  species  of  lathyrus  : 
namely,  L.  hirsutus,  L.  pratensis,  L.  sylvestris,  L. 
pahmris,  and  L.  latifolius,  which  is  the  only  one 
of  importance  as  a  garden  flower. 

Broad-leaved,  everlasting  pea  (L.  latifolius) 
is  a  perennial,  flowering  in  July  and  August. 
The  herb  is  glaucous,  the  stem  winged,  the 
leaflets  broadly  elliptical,  bluntish,  three  or  five 
ribbed,  and  the  tendrils  in  five  branches.  The 
stipules  are  ovate  in  their  upper  part,  and 
broader  than  the  stem.  The  flowers  are  large, 
handsome,  of  a  fine  rose  colour,  and  in  tufts 
of  five  or  ten.  The  legume  is  long,  compress- 
ed, and  narrow.  It  is  one  of  the  most  showy 
of  the  herbaceous  species  of  the  pea  tribe;  and 
well  adapted  as  an  ornament  to  cottages. 

Several  American  species  of  lathyrus  are 
enumerated  by  Nuttall,  among  which  are,  L. 
myrtifoUus  found  near  Philadelphia.  L.  venosus, 
with  about  five  pair  of  leaflets.  This  grows 
on  the  declivities  of  shady  hills,  and  is  com- 
mon in  the  Alleghany  mountains.  L.  polymor- 
phus,  with  naked  quadrangular  stems,  and  four 
or  five  pair  of  leaflets.  This  is  found  on  the 
grassy  alluvial  plains  of  the  Missouri  from  its 
confluence  to  its  sources.  The  flowers  are 
as  large  as  those  of  the  Pisum  maritimum,  and 
of  a  fine  purple,  variable  however  in  size. 
(NutlalCs  Genera.)  See  Evehlastixg  Pea. 
•"02 


LAUREL  (from  the  Celtic  word  hlaur  the  4 
is  dropped,  signifying  green,  in  allusion  to  the 
foliage  of  the  plants).  This  is  a  very  hand- 
some and  interesting  genus  of  plants :  among 
the  most  interesting  and  valuable  of  the  hardy 
kinds,  is  the  bay  tree  (i.  nobilis),  which  is  in- 
jured by  severe  frost.  (See  Bat  Tree.)  L. 
benzoin,  L.  sassafras,  and  several  others  are  de- 
ciduous, and  in  some  situations  attain  a  great 
size.  They  may  be  increased  by  layers  or 
cuttings  of  the  roots.  The  bark  of  L.  benzoin 
or  spice  wood  is  stimulant  and  tonic,  and  in 
North  America  it  is  used  in  intermittent  fevers. 
In  the  L.  fastens,  an  acrid  red  or  violet  juice  is 
particularly  abundant.  All  the  species  are 
more  or  less  aromatic  and  stomachic. 

The  Portugal  laurel  {Prunus  lusitanica),  is  a 
beautiful  evergreen,  which  grows  from  10  to  15 
feet  high,  blowing  handsome  spikes  of  white 
flowers  in  June  and  July.  It  forms  a  round 
head,  and  is  very  ornamental  upon  lawns. 

The  Alexandrian  laurel  (Ruscus  racemosus)  is 
a  dwarf  evergreen  shrub,  growing  about  two 
feet  high,  and  blowing  a  yellow  flower,  suc- 
ceeded by  beautiful  red  berries.  See  Kalmia, 
Chetihy  Laurel,  and  Spurge  Laurel. 

LAURESTINE,  Lauristinus,  or  Wild  Bay 
(Viburnum  tinus,  said  to  be  derived  from  vieo, 
to  tie ;  because  of  the  pliability  of  some  of 
the  branches).  All  the  species  of  viburnum 
are  very  elegant,  rather  early-flowering  shrubs. 
The  hardy  kinds  are  well  fitted  for  planting  in 
ornamental  shrubberies.  They  are  increased 
by  layers  or  by  cuttings  planted  under  a  glass 
in  a  shady  situation.  The  berries  are  vio- 
lently purgmg,  but  become  eatable  after  fer- 
mentation, and  are  made  into  a  sort  of  cake 
by  theNorth  American  Indians.  See  Guelder 
Rose. 

LAURUS  (Sassafras,  spicewood,  &c.).  This 
extensive  genus  of  shrubs  and  small  trees, 
which  afford  the  cinnamon,  the  cassia,  and  the 
camphor  of  commerce,  is  for  the  most  part 
confined  to  the  tropical  and  temperate  latitudes. 
One  species  (L.  nobilis)  is  found  in  Europe; 
five  in  Japan  ;  India  affords  three  of  the  most 
important  species,  long  celebrated  as  spices ; 
in  the  Canary  islands  there  are  two,  the  tropi- 
cal regions  of  America  afford  no  less  than  21, 
amongst  the  most  remarkable  of  which  is  L. 
caustica  of  Chili,  being  poisonous,  and  the  L. 
Persea,  citlled  avocado,  and  alligator-pear,  pro- 
ducing a  large  and  very  grateful  fruit  formed 
like  a  pear. 

In  the  Southern  States  two  species  are  found, 
one  called  L.  calesbm,  and  the  other  L.  Caroli' 
nensis,  or  Red  Bay.  This  last,  which  flowers 
in  July,  Mr.  Nuttall  says  he  has  met  with  as  far 
north  as  Sussex  county,  in  the  state  of  Dela- 
ware. The  whole  plant  is  aromatic.  See 
Sassafrass,  Red  Bat,  Camphor  Tree,  Spice- 
wood, &c. 

LAVA.  The  substances  which  flow  in  a 
melted  state  from  a  volcano.  They  vary  con- 
siderably in  texture  and  composition. 

LA  VENDER  (Lavandula,  from  lavo,  to  wash, 
in  allusion  to  the  use  formerly  made  of  its  dis- 
tilled water  in  baths,  on  account  of  its  fra- 
grance). The  hardy  kinds  are  the  only  plants 
of  this  genus  worth  cultivating. 

Common  garden  lavender  (X.  vera)  is  we . 


Urn 


LAVENDER. 

owi^Sct  much  esteemed  for  the  fragrance 
of  its  flowers,  and  the  volatile  oil  which  they 
yield  by  distillation  with  water.  It  is  cultivated 
in  great  abundance  for  the  London  market,  at 
Mitcham  in  Surrey.  A  very  poor  and  light 
gravelly  soil  is  best  suited  to  this  plant,  being 
in  such  more  fragrant,  longer  lived,  and  more 
capable  of  enduring  severe  weather  than  in  a 
rich  soil.  In  rich  or  moist  soils  it  grows  luxu- 
riantly, but  is  in  general  destroyed  during  the 
winter.  The  situation  cannot  be  too  open.  It 
is  propagated  by  slips  and  cuttings  of  the  cur- 
rent year's  shoots,  which  may  be  planted  in 
May  and  June,  as  well  as  by  cuttings  of  those 
which  are  a  year  old ;  these  are  to  be  planted 
in  March,  April,  and  early  in  May.  Both  slips 
and  cuttings  must  be  from  five  to  seven  inches 
in  length,  these,  after  being  stripped  to  half 
Iheir  length  of  the  lower  leaves,  are  to  be 
planted  to  that  depth  either  in  a  shady  border, 
or  in  any  compartment,  to  have  the  shade  of  a 
mat  during  mid-day  until  they  have  taken  root, 
in  rows  six  inches  apart  each  way.  Water 
must  be  given  in  moderate  quantity  every  eve- 
ning until  fully  established. 

Having  attained  suflicient  strength,  they  may 
be  moved  to  their  final  stations  in  September 
or  October,  which  is  the  season  to  be  preferred 
if  the  soil  is  not  light  and  dry  on  which  they 
have  been  raised;  or  they  may  be  left  until  the 
succeeding  spring.  If  it  is  grown  in  consider- 
able quantity  for  medicinal  purposes,  which  is 
the  only  claim  it  has  to  a  place  m  the  herbary, 
it  must  be  planted  in  rows  two  feel  apart  each 
way,  otherwise,  only  detatched  plants  are  in- 
serted along  the  borders.  The  only  after-cul- 
ture required  is  the  occasional  employment  of 
the  hoe,  the  decayed  spikes  and  branches  be- 
ing removed  in  autumn,  and  the  surface  gently 
stirred  with  the  spade  in  the  spring. 

The  flowers  are  ready  for  gathering  either  to 
dry  or  for  distillation,  in  July  or  the  end  of  June. 
The  flowers  are  used  as  excitants  and  carmi- 
natives in  medicine,  in  the  form  of  tinctures. 
The  oil  is  an  agreeable  perfume,  and  one  or 
two  drops  rubbed  up  with  sugar  and  mixed  in 
water  forms  a  useful  draught  in  nervous  head- 
ache and  hvsteria. 

LAVENDER,  SEA.     See  Thritt. 

LAWN.  A  space  of  ground  covered  with 
grass,  kept  short  by  mowing,  and  generally 
situated  in  front  of  a  house  or  mansion,  or 
■within  the  view  from  such.  Lawns,  when  once 
established,  require  only  to  be  kept  neat  by  the 
ordinary  routine  of  rolling,  mowing,  and  sweep- 
ing, except  keeping  the  surface  perfectly  even, 
by  making  up  small  hollows  with  screened 
mould  early  in  spring.  When  lawns  become 
worn  out,  a  top  dressing  of  any  finely  divided 
manure  will  refresh  them ;  malt  dust  applied 
in  October  is  excellent  for  this  purpose ;  and 
at  the  same  time  an  additional  quantity  of  grass 
seed  may  be  sown. 

LAY.  A  term  applied  to  land  in  the  state 
of  grass  or  sward.  This  kind  of  ground  is  fre- 
quently distinguished  into  such  as  has  been 
long  in  the  state  of  sward,  and  such  as  is  newly 
laid  down  to  grass,  or  into  old  and  new  lays. 
The  proper  method  of  managing  the  latter  is 
of  great  importance  to  the  farmer,  and  which 
Young  thought  should  be  by  keeping  them  per- 


LEAF. 

fectly  free  from  stock  for  the  following  auiumn 
and  winter  after  their  being  laid  down,  when, 
in  the  spring,  they  will  afford  a  growth  of 
young  grass  highly  valuable  for  sheep,  with 
which  they  should  only  be  well  stocked,  and  kept 
down  then,  and  during  the  following  summer. 
Nothing,  in  his  opinion,  being  more  pernicious 
than  mowing  a  new  lay,  as  directed  by  certain 
authors.  They  may,  he  thinks,  have  succeed 
ed  in  spite  of  such  bad  management,  but  never 
by  it. 

LAYERING.    In  gardening,  an   operation 

by  which  the  propagation  of  plants  is  effected 

I  by  laying  down  or  bending  the  shoot,  so  that  a 


portion  of  it  may  be  covered  with  earth.     A 


I  shoot  so  operated  on  is  called  a  layer,  and  the 
point  which  furnishes  the  layers  bears  the 
name  of  stock.  Some  plants  are  so  much  dis- 
posed to  emit  roots  that  if  their  branches  hap- 
pen to  come  in  contact  with  the  earth  they  im- 
mediately begin  to  strike.  Plants  so  situated  as 
to  render  it  impossible  to  bend  their  branches 
to  the  ground,  may  nevertheless  be  layered  by 
having  their  shoots  introduced  into  a  pot  or 
box  of  soil  elevated  to  them,  and  supported  in 
a  convenient  position.  Thi*  «  a  common 
practice  among  the  Chinest  who  cause 
branches  of  trees  to  root  in  this  manner  b}' 
partially  ringing  them,  and  covering  their  parts 
so  ringed  with  a  ball  of  clay,  which  is  kept 
moist.      (Penny  Cyrlo.) 

LEADWORT  {Plumbago;  from  plumbum, 
lead).  A  genus  of  pretty  free-flowering  plants, 
growing  in  any  common  soil,  and  increased 
readily  by  cuttings.  The  root  of  P.  europata,  it 
is  said,  when  chewed,  will  cure  the  toothache. 

LEAF  (Sax.).  The  well-known  fine  mem- 
braneous part  of  a  tree  or  plant,  which  is  put 
forth  and  unfolded  in  the  spring,  and  which  in 
some  trees  falls  off  in  the  autumn.  "  The  leaf," 
says  a  writer  in  the  Penny  Cyclopcedia,  "  is  an 
expansion  of  the  bark  of  a  plant,  from  whose 
axil  a  leaf-bud  is  developed:  but  this  opinion 
is  hypothetical.  The  leaf  is  usually  thin,  and 
traversed  with  one  or  more  veins,  composed 
of  woody  and  vascular  tissue ;  sometimes  it  is 
fleshy,  and  occasionally  cylindrical,  or  nearly 
so."  The  functions  of  the  leaf  being  at  once 
that  of  respiration,  digestion,  and  nutrition,  its 
surface  is  covered  with  stomata,  or  breathing 
pores,  whicli  communicate  with  minute  hollow- 
chambers  in  its  interior.  It  is  in  the  leaf  that 
all  the  peculiar  secretions  of  a  plant  are  pre- 
pared out  of  the  under  sap  which  the  roots  ob- 
tain from  the  soil,  and  which,  carried  up  to  the 
leaves,  is  exposed  to  the  air,  and  undergoes  the 
action  of  the  vital  chemistry  which  converts  it 
into  the  proper  juice.  It  is  then  returned  tt 
the  stem,  and  forms  the  different  secretions  of 
the  plant,  as  resin,  starch,  sugar,  gum,  &c.  A 
leaf  is  either  united  to  the  stem  by  means  of  a 
petiole,  or  stalk,  or  it  is  sessile — that  is  to  say, 
seated  on  the  branch  without  an  intermediate 
stalk;  the  veins  pass  through  the  petiole  be- 
fore they  can  expand  into  the  broad  or  green 
part  forming  the  blade  of  the  leaf.  Some 
leaves  are  furnished  with  an  appendage,  which 
in  grasses  is  a  thin  membranous  body  arising 
from  the  base  of  the  lamina,  and  in  palms  is  a 
coarse  net,  formed,  it  is  said,  of  tissue  belong- 
ing to  the  veins  of  the  leaves.     When  leaves 

70a 


LEAF. 


LEOPARD'S  BANE. 


have  but  one  blade,  they  are  simple,  as  in  the 
apple ;  but  when  there  is  more  than  one  blade, 
each  seated  on  a  ramification  of  the  petiole,  a 
leaf  is  called  compound.  Of  these,  and  of  the 
external  form  of  the  leaf,  there  are  endless 
modifications.  Between  200  and  300  are  enu- 
merated by  Bischoff. 

The  distinction  of  leaves  made  by  those  who 
have  written  on  botany  are  the  following:  a 
simple  leaf  is  that  which  is  not  divided  to  the 
middle.  A  compound  leaf  is  divided  into  seve- 
ral parts,  each  resembling  a  simple  leaf,  as  in 
liquorice,  &c.  A  digitate  leaf  is  a  leaf  divided 
into  several  parts,  all  of  which  meet  together  at 
the  base,  as  in  hemp,  black  hellebore,  &c.  A 
trifoliate  leaf  is  a  compound  leaf,  consisting  of 
three  leaflets,  as  the  trefoil,  &c.  A  quinque- 
foliate  leaf  is  a  leaf  consisting  of  five  leaflets, 
as  in  Hedera  quinquefolia.  A  pinnated  leaf  is  a 
compound  leaf  divided  into  several  parts,  each 
of  which  is  called  a  leaflet,  placed  along  a 
middle  axis,  either  alternately  or  by  pairs. 
"When  the  axis  is  terminated  by  an  odd  leaflet, 
it  is  said  to  be  unequally  pinnated  ;  and  equally 
pinnated  when  it  is  not  terminated  by  an  odd 
leaflet,  as  in  the  cassia;  when  the  leaflets  aire 
all  nearly  of  the  same  form  and  bigness,  it  is 
called  an  uniform  pinnated  leaf,  as  in  the 
liquorice ;  when  they  are  not  so,  it  is  said  to 
be  diffbrm,  as  in  the  agrimony.  A  winged 
leaf  is  a  pinnated  leaf,  with  an  intervening 
membrane.  A  ramose  leaf  is  that  which  is 
still  farther  divided  than  the  pinnated  leaf,  as  in 
the  Osmund  royal,  female  fej-n,  &c.  An  entire 
leaf  or  lobe  is  that  which  has  no  division  on 
its  edges,  as  in  the  apple-tree,  &c.  A  sinuated 
leaf  is  that  which  is  cut  about  the  edges  into 
several  long  segments,  as  in  common  mallows. 
A  serrated  leaf  is  that  which  is  cut  about  the 
edges  into  several  acute  segments,  resembling 
the  teeth  of  a  saw,  as  in  the  nettle,  &c.  A 
crenate  leaf  is  that  which  is  cut  on  the  edges 
into  several  obtuse  segments,  as  in  betony,  &c. 
A  laciniated  or  jagged  leaf  is  that  which  is  cut 
on  the  edges  into  several  pretty  deep  portions 
in  an  irregular  manner,  as  in  the  horned 
poppy,  &c. 

All  the  experiments  which  have  been  made, 
in  order  to  show  how  serviceable  the  leaves 
of  trees  and  plants  are  to  their  well-being,  have 
proved  that  when  the  plants  have  been  divested 
of  their  leaves,  or  their  leaves  have  been  eaten 
or  cut  during  their  growth,  they  have  been 
remarkably  weakened  or  destroyed.  If  the 
leaves  of  plants  be  the  means  by  which  their 
juices  are  prepared  for  their  support,  as  has 
been  just  stated,  it  should  teach  us  not  to  pull 
or  cut  off"  the  leaves  of  trees  or  plants  on  any 
account,  while  they  retain  their  verdure,  and 
are  in  health,  as  they  may  be  greatly  injured 
thereby.  Hence,  probably,  the  error  of  the 
common  practice  of  feeding  down  wheat  in 
the  winter  and  spring  with  sheep,  as,  by  so  do- 
ing, the  stalks  may  in  many  cases  be  rendered 
weak,  and  the  ears  shorter,  the  grains  of  corn 
not  being  so  plump  and  well  nourished  as 
■when  it  is  not  fed  down  upon  the  ground.  It 
is  well  known,  too,  that  in  grass  which  is  often 
mowed,  the  blades  are  rendered  finer  in  pro- 
poviioD  to  the  frequency  of  mowing;  so  that, 
th«  ugn  this  may  be  a  desirable  thing  in  lawns, 
704 


&c.,  where  regard  is  had  to  the  produce,  it 
should  certainly  be  avoided. 

The  leaves  of  trees  or  plants,  where  they 
can  be  collected  in  large  quantities,  as  in  parks 
and  woods,  may  be  highly  useful  in  augment- 
ing the  manure  heaps  of  the  farm. 

Mr.  Young,  in  his  Calendar,  recommends 
that,  in  wooded  countries,  all  the  leaves  that 
can  be  had  at  little  expense,  should  be  raked 
up  in  October,  and  carted  to  the  yards  and 
standing  folds,  for  littering  and  making  them 
into  dung:  he  did  it,  he  said,  at  3(/.  per  ono- 
horse  cart  load.  They  do  not  rot  easily,  but 
that  is,  he  thinks,  no  objection  to  them ;  they 
are  a  sponge  to  be  saturated  with  urine,  and 
if  not  touched  previously  to  carting  on  to  the 
land,  will  convey  to  the  field  much  of  what 
might  otherwise  be  lost ;  and  they  are  extreme- 
ly useful  in  aiding  the  main  object  of  bedding 
the  yards  in  the  autumn  and  winter  season. — 
See  BoTAXT. 

LEAF-BUDS.  Rudiments  of  young  branches, 
made  up  of  scales  imbricated  over  each  other, 
the  outermost  being  the  hardest  and  thickest, 
and  surrounding  a  minute  axis,  which  is  in 
direct  communication  with  the  woods  and  cel- 
lular tissue  of  the  stem.  When  stimulated  by 
light  and  heat  they  extend  into  branches;  or 
if  artificially  removed  from  the  plant  that  bears 
them,  they  are  capable  of  multiplying  the  in- 
dividual from  which  they  have  been  taken.  In 
this  case,  however,  the  individual  is  not  a  pro- 
geny as  from  seed,  but  merely  an  extension  of 
the  parent. 

LEAFLET.  A  part  of  a  compound  leaf,  or 
a  small  leaf  formed  on  the  petiole  of  a  leaf 
branching  out. 

LEAGUE.  A  measure  of  length,  princi- 
pally used  in  reckoning  distances  at  sea.  The 
sea  league  is  3  nautical  or  geographical  miles, 
or  the  l-20th  of  a  degree,  and  consequently 
about  3-45  English  miles.  The  common  land- 
league  is  a  well-known  itinerary  measure  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  chiefly  in  France. 
The  French,  however,  have  two  distinct 
leagues ;  the  legal  posting  league,  containing 
2000  toises,  and  equal  to  2-42  English  miles, 
and  a  league  of  25  to  the  degree,  or  equal  to 
about  2"76  English  miles. 

The  word  is  said  to  have  been  derived  from 
the  Celtic  leach,  stone ;  the  distances  having 
been  marked  by  stones  in  the  Roman  pro- 
vinces.    See  Milk. 

LEOPARD'S  BANE  (Doronicum).  An  or- 
namental genus,  and  from  the  plants  flowering 
early  in  spring,  they  are  well  deserving  of  cul- 
tivation ;  they  grow  in  any  garden  soil,  and 
may  be  increased  with  facility  by  dividing  at 
the  root. 

The  great  leopard's  bane  (D.  pardalianchis), 
is  a  perennial,  native  of  Great  Britain,  grow- 
ing in  mountainous  pastures  or  meadows.  The 
root  is  creeping,  and  consists  of  several  knobs 
connected  by  long  fibres;  woody  at  the  crown. 
The  stem  is  2  or  3  feet  high,  hollow,  round, 
leafy,  and  hairy;  branched,  and  glutinous  at 
the  upper  part.  The  leaves  are  rather  soft  and 
downy,  heart-shaped,  more  or  less  regularly 
toothed,  or  wiry.  The  flowers,  which  appear 
in  May,  are  solitary  at  the  ends  of  the  branches; 
2  inches  wide,  of  a  uniform  bright  yellow;  the 


LEASE. 


LEATHER-WOOD. 


earliest  overtopped  by  succeeding  ones.    The  , 
roots  are  aromatic,  and  used  by  sportsmen  in 
A'pme  countries  against  giddiness.  * 

LEASE  (from  locatio,  letting,  or  dimissio; 
from  the  French  laisscr,  i.  e.  dimittere,  to  depart 
with).  "A  lease,"  says  Woodfall,  in  his  Law 
of  Lvtndlord  and  Tenant,  "is  a  contract  for  the 
pdssession  and  profits  of  lands  and  tenements 
on  the  one  side,  and  a  recompense  of  rent  or 
other  income  on  the  other;  or  it  is  a  convey- 
ance of  lands  and  tenements  to  a  person  for 
life,  or  years,  or  at  will,  in  consideration  of  a 
return  of  rent  or  other  recompense.  The  party 
letting  the  land  is  called  the  lessor  or  landlord, 
and  the  party  to  whom  the  lease  is  made  the 
lessee  or  tenant.  The  connection  between 
landlord  and  tenant  has  gradually  improved 
from  that  of  master  and  slave  into  a  state  of 
almost  total  independence  and  mutual  interest 
in  the  soil. 

"  The  beneficial  effects,  both  to  the  landlord 
and  tenant,  of  leases  of  a  sufficient  duration  to 
encourage  men  of  capital  and  skill  to  properly 
cultivate  the  land  need  hardly  be  pointed  out. 
And  it  will  be  very  desirable  to  have  as  few 
restraining  covenants  introduced  into  these  as 
possible.  They  merely  retard  and  annoy  the 
good  farmer,  and  rarely  improve  the  practice 
of  the  unskilful. 

"In  the  northern  part  of  England,  custom 
and  expediency  have  very  generally  fixed  the 
duration  of  the  lease  at  about  20  years.  Ex- 
perience will  evince  that  the  time  is  not  always 
more  than  enough  to  allow  the  possessor  of  the 
land  to  conduct  and  mature  a  profitable  system 
of  management,  and  to  pay  to  the  owner  an 
adequate  rent.  All  the  great  operations  of  the 
husbandman  have  a  prospective  result  as  re- 
gards the  profit  to  be  derived.  The  capital  ex- 
pended in  such  cases  is  only  to  be  drawn  back 
by  periodical  returns  after  the  lapse  of  time. 
In  the  providing  of  extraneous  manures,  in  the 
adoption  of  rotations  of  crops,  which,  to  be  effec- 
tual to  the  purposes  intended,  must  be  extended 
through  many  seasons,  in  the  draining  of  the 
land,  and  the  like,  time  is  necessary,  both  to 
effect  the  operations,  and  to  recover  with  a  fu- 
ture profit  the  capital  employed.  When,  indeed, 
land  is  of  very  rich  quality,  and  at  onf  e  pro- 
ductive, without  other  outlay  than  the  ordinary 
expenses  of  tillage,  or  when  it  has  the  means 
of  fertilization  near  to  it,  and  abu«)'iant,  as  in 
the  vicinity  of  cities,  the  duration  ^f  the  term 
may  be  comparatively  short.  R»*t  in  other  and 
dissimilar  cases,  this  cannot  be  without  a  sacri- 
fice of  present  income ;  and  a  landlord  will 
scarcely  fail  to  experience  that  if  there  be  not 
a  sufficient  period  of  secure  possession  accord- 
ed to  the  occupier,  the  necessary  expenditure 
on  the  cultivation  of  the  ground  will  not  be 
hazarded;  but  more  than  this,  a  person  of  good 
capital  will,  like  every  trader,  regard  as  a 
benefit  the  power  of  carrying  on  his  business 
undisturbed,  and  will  set  a  pecuniary  value  on 
security  and  independence."  (Quart.  Journ.  of 
^git  vol.  i.  p.  795.)  With  regard  to  a  lease  in 
general,  and  its  covenants,  see  a  good  paper 
(Ilnd.  vol.  ii.  p,  134).  In  speaking  of  rents,  the 
au'.hor  remarks,  "As  to  the  kind  of  rent  to  be 
piid,  constant  experience  proves  that  the  best 
and  most  satisfactory  is  a  fixed  rent  in  money. 
89 


To  rents  payable  in  grain,  or  in  money  regu 
lated  by  the  prices  of  grain,  there  is  this  ob- 
vious objection,  that  the  tenant  will  generally 
be  required  to  pay  the  highest  rent  when  he  is 
least  able  to  do  so,  that  is,  when  prices  rise 
from  a  deficiency  in  the  produce  of  the  crop." 
And  when  speaking  of  the  lease  and  its  pre- 
cautionary covenants,  he  observes,  "  the  great- 
est error  consists  in  vain  precautions  and  at- 
tempts to  provide  against  every  possible  con- 
tingency which,  from  the  nature  of  the  trans- 
action, and  the  unforeseen  events  to  which  it 
may  give  rise,  it  is  impossible  to  do.  All  that 
can  be  done  is  to  make  as  precise  as  possible 
the  conditions  which  experience  shows  to  be 
necessary.  The  terms  of  the  contract  should 
be  few  and  simple,  and  easily  understood  and 
complied  with.  Not  only  are  hurtful  cove- 
nants to  be  avoided,  but  such  as  are  unneces- 
sary, since  to  increase  the  number  of  them  too 
much  serves  but  to  perplex  the  lessee,  and 
give  birth  to  future  quarrels,  and  since  all  ex- 
perience on  the  subject  shows  that  the  interests 
of  either  party  may  be  sufficiently  guarded  with- 
out multiplying  too  much  conditions,  penalties, 
and  restrictions." 

LEASH.  A  term  applied  to  game,  &c.,- by 
sportsmen,  and  which  implies  three ;  as  three 
hares,  partridges,  &c.  It  also  signifies  a  line 
to  hold  a  dog  by. 

LEATHER  (Germ,  leder;  Dan.  Idder).  The 
prepared  skins  of  animals.  The  principal 
object  of  the  art  of  converting  skin  into  leather 
is  to  render  it  strong  and  tough,  durable,  and 
often  water-proof,  and  to  prevent  its  destruction 
by  putrefaction.  The  skins  are  first  cleansed 
of  hair  and  cuticle,  then  impregnated  either 
with  vegetable  tan  and  extract,  as  in  the  pro- 
duction of  what  is  called  tanned  leather.  In 
this  process  the  tannic  acid,  which  is  the  active 
principle  of  the  astringent  vegetables  employed, 
combines  with  the  gelatin  of  the  skins,  and 
forms  an  insoluble  tannate  of  gelatin.  It  is 
this  formation  which  renders  the  skins  imper- 
meable to  water,  and  checks  the  tendency  to 
decomposition  which  they,  in  common  with  all 
animal  matter,  possess.  Instead  of  tan,  some 
leather  is  prepared  with  alum  and  other  salts, 
as  for  tawed  leather.  These  processes  are 
sometimes  combined;  and  tanned  leather  often 
undergoes  the  further  operation  of  airrijing,  or 
impregnation  with  oil.  As  instances  of  these 
different  results, — thick  sole-leather  is  tanned  ; 
white  kid  for  gloves  is  tawed ;  the  upper-leather 
for  boots  and  shoes  is  tanned  and  curried ;  and 
fine  Turkey  leather  is  tawed  and  afterwards 
slightly  tanned.  Morocco  leather,  as  it  is 
called,  is  chiefly  prepared  from  sheep-skins. 
Shammoy  leather  is  generally  sheep  or  doe-skin, 
prepared  by  dressing,  lining,  &c.,  and  dyed,  if 
necessary,  and  then  finished  in  oil.  Russia 
leather  acquires  its  peculiar  odour  from  birch 
tan.  There  is  an  excellent  abstract  of  the  ma- 
nufacture of  different  kinds  of  leather  in  C/re's 
Dictionary  of  Arts,  &fC.,  which  those  who  wish 
to  pursue  the  subject  further  may  consult.  The 
leather  manufacture  of  Great  Britain  is  of  very 
great  importance,  being  inferior,  in  point  of 
value  and  extent,  only  to  those  of  cotton,  wool, 
and  iron. 

LEATHER-WOOD  (Dirca  palustris).    Thi.s 

705 


I.EAVEN. 


LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS. 


is  &  lo;v  shrub,  and  native  of  the  United  States, ; 
growing  in  moist,  shady  places,  seldom  rising  ; 
more  than  four  feet  high,  spreading  into  a  head, ' 
with  many  small  and  very  flexible  branches,  j 
The  flowers  are  produced  at  the  extreme  ends 
of  the  former  years'  shoots ;   they  are  of  an 
herbaceous  colour,  and  make  a  tolerable  ap-  i 
pearance.     The  flowers,  which  appear  the  lat- 
ter end  of  March,  before  any  perfect  leaves,  are 
of  a  yellow  colour.    The  bark  is  uncommonly 
tough,  yet  the  enclosed  wood   is  very  brittle. 
It  was  highly  valued  by  the  native  Indians,  and 
used  in  the  place  of  cords.    This  plant,  accord- 
ing to   the   information  of  Mr.  W.  Bartram, 
occupies  an  extensive  range  of  territory,  from 
Canada  to  Georgia.     (Willich's  Dom.  Ency.) 

LEAVEN  (Lat.  levnre,  to  raise).  A  piece  of 
sour  dough,  used  to  ferment  and  render  light 
dough  or  paste.  It  is  a  very  imperfect  substi- 
tute for  ymsf .-  and  as  it  communicates  to  the 
bread  an  astringent  taste,  which  few  persons 
relish,  it  ought  to  be  used  only  where  yeast 
cannot  be  procured.  As,  however,  the  latter 
ferment  cannot  always  be  obtained,  especially 
during  winter,  I  shall  state  the  most  simple 
methods  of  preparing,  as  well  as  of  preserving 
it,  under  the  article  Yeast. 

By  the  law  of  Moses,  leaven  was  strictly 
forbidden  during  the  passover ;  and  the  Jews, 
who  were  taught  to  regard  it  from  the  vigil  of 
the  feast  as  unclean,  with  religious  scrupulo- 
;;ity  purified  their  houses  from  the  contaminat- 
ing influence.     See  Brkad. 

LEEK  {AUhmi  porrum).  The  leek  is  a  hardy 
biennial ;  for,  although  it  attains  perfection  in 
size  and  for  culinary  purposes  the  first  year,  it 
does  not  run  to  seed  until  the  second,  the  per- 
fecting of  which  it  also  often  survives.  The 
whole  plant  is  eaten,  being  employed  in  soups, 
&c.,  and  is  by  some  persons  boiled  and  eaten 
with  meat.  There  are  four  varieties  :  the  Mus- 
selburgh, and  the  large  London  leek,  which  are 
by  far  the  best ;  the  Scotch  or  flag,  which  is 
larger  and  hardier;  and  the  Flanders.  It  is 
raised  solely  from  seed,  which  must  be  sown 
first  in  the  end  of  February,  a  small  crop  for 
transplanting  in  June  and  July,  as  well  as  in 
part  to  remain  where  sown  ;  again  for  the  main 
crop  in  the  course  of  March  or  early  in  April ; 
and,  lastly,  towards  the  close  of  April  or  begin- 
ning of  May,  for  late  transplanting.  These 
sowings  are  in  general  performed  broadcast, 
and  raked  in ;  though  some  gardeners  employ 
drills,  the  plants  to  remain  after  thinning:  the 
leek,  however,  is  so  much  benefited  by  trans- 
planting as  obviously  to  point  out  the  error  of 
this  practice.  When  the  plants  are  three  or 
four  inches  in  height,  in  eight  or  ten  weeks 
alter  sowing,  they  must  be  weeded,  hoed,  and 
thinned,  where  growing  too  close,  to  two  or 
three  inches  apart;  water  also  being  given,  in 
dry  weather,  will,  with  the  above  treatment, 
strengthen  and  forward  them  for  transplanting 
in  another  month,  or  when  six  or  eight  inches 
high.  They  must  be  taken  away  regularly 
from  the  seed-bed,  the  ground  being  well  wa- 
tcrec  previously,  if  not  soft  and  easily  yielding. 
Wnen  thinned  out,  they  may  be  left  to  remain 
in  me  seed-bed  six  inches  asunder,  as  they  do 
not  grow  so  large  as  the  transplanted  ones, 
vhich  must  b**  set  by  the  dibble  in  rows  ten 
706 


inches  apart,  and  eight  in  the  lines,  being  in- 
serted nearly  down  to  the  leaves,  that  the  neck, 
by  ^eing  covered  with  the  earth,  may  be 
blanched.  Water  in  abundance  must  be  given 
at  the  time  of  planting,  and  the  long  weak 
leaves  shortened,  but  the  roots  left  as  unin- 
jured as  possible.  The  bed  should  be  hoed 
over  occasionally,  as  well  to  kill  the  weeds  as 
to  loosen  the  soil.  By  this  treatment,  and  by 
cutting  off"  the  tops  of  the  leaves  about  once  a 
month,  as  new  ones  are  produced,  the  neck 
swells  to  a  much  larger  size.  The  several 
sowings  above  directed  will  yield  a  supply 
from  August  until  the  following  May,  when 
they  advance  to  seed.  A  portion  should  be 
always  taken  up  and  laid  in  sand  previous  to 
the  ground  being  locked  up  by  continued  frost, 
but  they  will  not  keep  many  days  in  this  situa- 
tion. To  obtain  seed,  some  of  the  finest  roots 
of  the  previous  year's  growth,  which  have  been 
left  where  raised,  may  be  transplanted  thence 
in  February  or  the  early  part  of  March,  eight 
inches  asunder,  in  a  row  beneath  a  warm  fence; 
and  when  seed-stems  arise,  they  must  be  at- 
tached to  stakes  for  support,  or  to  the  fencing: 
the  closer  and  sooner  they  are  drawn  to  this 
latter,  the  better  will  it  enable  the  seed  to  ripen ; 
for  in  cold  summers,  particularly  in  open  ex- 
posures, it  never  comes  to  maturity,  and  by  the 
first  sharp  autumnal  frost  it  is  entirely  destroyed. 
Good  varieties  never  flower  before  May  or 
June,  and  ripen  their  seed  in  September.  The 
heads  should  be  cut  when  changed  to  a  brown- 
ish colour,  with  a  foot  in  length  of  the  stalk 
left  attached,  for  the  convenience  of  tying  in 
bundles,  three  or  four  together,  to  dry:  when 
they  are  perfectly  dry,  they  may  be  hung  up 
and  kept  in  the  head  until  wanted,  or  imme- 
diately thrashed  out  and  stored.  As  the  husk 
is  very  tough,  it  is  usual,  when  small  quantities 
have  to  be  operated  upon,  to  rub  them  against 
a  tile,  which  breaks  it  more  easily  than  any 
other  mode  that  can  be  adopted.  (G.  W.  John- 
soyi's  Kitchen  Garden.') 

LEES.  The  dregs  or  feculencies  of  liquors, 
which,  after  being  separated  by  fermentation, 
fall  to  the  bottom  of  the  vessels.  All  the  vari- 
ous kinds  of  lees,  such  as  those  of  wine,  beer, 
ale,  oil,  &c.,  may  be  made  use  of  as  manures 
when  they  can  be  had  in  suflicient  quantities. 

LEGS.  The  extremities  that  form  the  sup- 
port of  animals.  Of  the  four  legs  of  a  horse, 
the  two  before  have  several  parts,  each  of  which 
has  a  peculiar  name :  thus,  by  the  name  of 
fore-leg,  we  commonly  understand  that  part  of 
the  fore-quarters  that  extends  from  the  hough 
to  the  pastern-joint,  and  which  is  frequently 
called  the  shank.  The  part  that  corresponds 
with  it  in  the  hinder  quarters  is  called  the 
instep.  In  the  language  of  the  manege,  a  horse 
is  said  to  want  the  fifth  leg  when  he  is  tired, 
and,  bearing  upon  the  bridle,  lies  heavy  upon 
the  rider's  hand. 

LEGUMINOUS  PLANTS  (from  legun^en^ 
pulse)  are  those  which  bear  legumes  or  pods, 
such  as  beans,  peas,  tares,  &c.  The  LegumU 
nostB  are  a  very  extensive  natural  order  of 
plants,  found  in  all  pans  of  the  world,  forming 
large  trees  and  huge  twiners  in  the  tropics ; 
herbaceous  plants  or  small  bushes,  rarely  trees 
in  colder  countries.    The  order  contains  a  verj 


r 


LEICESTER  SHEEP. 


^eat  variety  of  useful  and  beautiful  species, 
some  of  which,  like  clover,  lucern,  sainfoin, 
and  vetches,  are  cultivated  for  cattle ;  others, 
as  beans,  peas,  lentils,  and  various  other  kinds 
of  pulse,  form  part  of  the  food  of  man.  Indigo, 
loswood,  and  many  more,  are  well-known  dye- 
ing plants:  several  acacias  produce  gum;  cer- 
tain Astragali  yield  tragacanth ;  the  tamarind 
and  others  bear  pods  whose  interior  is  filled 
with  an  agreeable  pulp ;  Cassia  acutifolia  and 
other  species  of  cassia  yield  senna;  Glycyrrhiza, 
the  liquorice-root;  Ceralonia,  the  wild  locust 
fruits  of  Scripture:  finally,  many  are  valuable 
tonics,  and  some  are  dangerous  narcotics, 
among  w^hich  the  common  laburnum  is  to  be 
named. 

Leguminous  crops,  according  to  the  strict 
agricultural  acceptation,  include  beans,  peas, 
and  other  pulse.  But  the  class  is  made  to  em- 
brace a  much  more  extensive  range  of  plants, 
namely,  all  such  as  are  considered  as  ameliorat- 
ing or  enriching  crops,  such  as  clover,  potatoes, 
turnips,  carrots,  beets,  cabbages,  &c.  These 
latter  are  far  less  exhausting  than  the  culmife- 
rous  or  grain  plants,  as  few  of  them  mature 
their  seeds,  and  all,  on  account  of  their  broad 
leaves,  draw  more  or  less  nourishment  from 
the  atmosphere.  They  also  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  the  soil,  by  dividing  and  loosening 
it  with  their  tap  and  bulbous  roots.  As  they 
generally  receive  manure  and  drill  culture, 
they  are  peculiarly  adapted  to  enrich  and  pre- 
pare the  soil  for  the  culmiferous  crops. 

LEICESTER  SHEEP.    See  Sheep. 

LENTICULAR.  A  botanical  term,  signify- 
ing lens  or  pea-shaped. 

LENTIL  (Ei-vum  Lens,  from  erw,  tilled  land 
in  Celtic ;  some  of  the  species  arc  a  pest  in 
cultivated  ground,  being  useless  and  too  prolific 
weeds).  PI.  7,  s.  An  exotic  plant  of  the  vetch 
or  tare  kind,  cultivated  in  some  parts  of  Eng- 
land as  fodder  for  cattle.  The  lentil  is  an  an- 
nual, growing  to  the  height  of  about  eighteen 
inches,  with  stalks  and  leaves  like  those  of 
tares,  but  smaller,  and  producing  pale  purple 
flowers,  which  are  succeeded  by  small  flat  pods, 
containing  two  or  three  round,  hard,  smooth, 
and  flat  seeds.  There  are  two  sorts  of  lentil, 
the  white  and  the  yellow;  but  the  latter  afibrds 
the  greater  quantity  of  fodder.  The  seeds  of  this 
plant  are  generally  sown  in  March  or  April,  in 
the  proportion  of  one  and  a  half  to  two  bushels 
per  acre.  Lentils  also  furnish  good  dry  fodder 
for  cattle,  and  particularly  for  cutting  into  chaflT 
as  trough-meal  for  sheep  and  horses. 

LETTUCE  (Ladiica,  from  lac,  milk,  on  ac- 
count of  the  milky  juice  which  exudes  from 
Ihe  plants  when  broken).  There  are  in  Eng- 
land three  indigenous  species  of  lettuce,  all 
biennials. 

1.  Strong-scented  lettuce  (i.  virosa),  which 
grows  about  hedges,  old  walls,  and  the  borders 
of  fields  on  a  chalky  soil,  not  uncommon.  The 
whole  herb  abounds  with  an  acrid,  fetid,  milky 
juice,  having  the  smell  of  opium,  but  only 
slightly  narcotic,  and  little  likely  to  produce  the 
consequences  attending  the  use  of  that  drug. 
This  juice  springs  out  suddenly  in  large  drops, 
on  the  slightest  touch,  from  the  calyx  and  ten- 
der leaves,  when  the  plant  is  in  flower,  but  not 
at  other  limes;  evincing  a  considerable  degree 


LETTUCE. 

of  irritability  in  the  plant.  The  root  is  tap- 
shaped.  Stem  solitary,  two  or  three  feet  high 
round,  smooth,  sparingly  leafy,  scarcely  branch- 
ed, panicled  at  the  top,  a  little  prickly  below. 
Leaves  horizontal,  nearly  smooth,  finely  toothed, 
radical  ones  numerous,  obovate,  undivided,  de- 
pressed. Flowers  numerous,  panicled,  light- 
yellow. 

2.  Prickly  lettuce  (L.  scariola).  This  species 
is  found  in  waste  ground,  and  dry,  stony  bor- 
ders of  fields.  The  whole  herb  is  glaucous, 
milky,  bitter,  but  less  fetid  than  the  preceding. 
Stem  two  or  three  feet  high,  leafy,  panicled. 
Leaves  numerous,  vertical,  not  horizontal,  va- 
riously pinnatifid  and  toothed ;  thin  midrib  fur- 
nished with  a  close  row  of  prominent  prickles, 
their  base  clasping  the  stem.  Flowers  small, 
pale  lemon-coloured. 

3.  Least  lettuce  (L.  saligna).  This  species 
grows  in  chalky  waste  ground,  or  about  salt 
marshes.  The  whole  plant  is  very  slender. 
Stem  about  two  feet  high,  wavy,  pale-brown  or 
whitish,  somewhat  branched,  leafy  throughout. 
Leaves  glaucous,  smooth  except  the  midrib 
beneath,  linear,  hastate  or  pinnatifid,  entire, 
sessile.  Flowers  in  small  alternate  tufts  com- 
posing long  clusters,  very  small,  pale-yellow, 
open  in  sunshine  only,  and  soon  fading.  (Smith's 
Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iii.  p.  344.) 

Of  the  well-known  cultivated  lettuce  (i.  sa- 
tiva)  there  are  many  varieties,  which  are  di- 
vided into  families,  the  cos  and  the  cabbage. 
The  first  are  more  grown  in  summer  than  win- 
ter; the  second  at  all  seasons,  but  more  usually 
in  winter,  on  account  of  their  superior  hardi- 
hood. The  cos  varieties  are  characterized  by 
being  of  an  upright  growth,  and,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Brighton,  require  to  have  their 
leaves  drawn  together  for  blanching;  the  cab- 
bage, as  growing  close  to  the  ground,  produces 
a  blanched  heart,  in  the  manner  of  a  cabbage, 
without  any  assistance.  The  cilicias  are  of  a 
nature  intermediate  between  the  two.  When 
young,  the  cabbage  varieties  are  in  general 
sweeter  than  those  of  the  cos  at  the  same  age ; 
but  at  full  growth  this  is  reversed  :  hence  the 
latter  are  preferred  for  salads,  and  the  former 
for  soups. 

The  cabbage  varieties  succeed  better  in  a 
hotbed  than  the  cos. 

The  following  varieties  are  recommended 
for  cultivation  in  England ;  but  as  some  of 
them  have  been  found  not  to  succeed  well  in 
this  country,  those  enumerated  in  the  article 
Kitchen  Garden  had  better  be  depended  on 
for  the  main  crop. 


CABBAGE   VARIETIES. 

Drumheaded. 

Brown  Dutch. 

Tennisball. 

Hardy  green,  or  Capuchin. 

Prussian. 

Prince's. 

Common  white. 

Large  white. 

Imperial.  ^ 

Grand  admirable. 

Large  Roman. 

Lettuces  thrive  best  in  a  light,  rich  soil,  with 
a  dry  substratum.  In  a  poor  or  tenacious  one 
they  never  attain  any  considerable  size,  but  run 
to  seed  prematurely.  Like  most  other  crops, 
that  soil  is  to  be  preferred  which  is  rich  rather 

707 


cos  VARIETIES. 

Brighton. 

Black-seeded  green. 

Early  Egyptian. 

Green. 

White  or  Versailles. 

Silver. 

Spotted  or  leopard. 

Green  and  brown  Cilicia. 

Lop. 


LETTUCE. 


LIBER. 


from  prior  cultivation  than  the  immediate  ap- 
plication of  manure.  It  is  of  advantage  to 
trench  it;  and  if  manure  is  necessarily  applied 
at  the  time  of  insertion,  it  should  be  in  a  state 
of  forward  decay.  For  the  first  and  last  crops 
of  the  year,  a  warm,  sheltered  situation  is  re- 
quired; but  for  the  midsummer  ones,  a  border 
,  that  is  sheltered  during  the  meridian,  but  far 
from  being  confined  or  under  the  shadow  of 
trees,  is  to  be  preferred.  Lettuce  is  propagated 
by  seed  :  that  for  the  first  crop  should  be  sown 
in  a  frame,  on  a  warm  border,  or  slender  hot- 
bed, at  the  end  of  January  or  early  in  February; 
at  the  close  of  this  last  month  a  larger  quantity 
may  be  sown  in  any  open  situation,  and  repeat- 
ed once  every  three  weeks  in  small  proportions 
until  the  end  of  July,  for  summer  and  autumn 
use;  to  be  continued,  at  similar  intervals,  until 
the  close  of  September,  for  winter  and  early 
spring.  They  may  be  sown  either  broadcast 
or  in  rows,  moderately  thin,  each  variety  sepa- 
rate, lightly  covered,  and  care  being  taken  that 
the  bed  is  trampled  upon  as  little  as  possible. 
It  is  usual,  when  the  plants  are  about  a  month 
old,  or  two  inches  in  height,  to  thin  them  to 
three  or  four  inches  apart,  those  removed  being 
pricked  out  at  similar  distances.  Those  from 
the  sowings  in  January  and  February,  in  a 
similar  situation  to  that  in  which  they  were 
raised ;  and  thence  until  August  in  any  open 
situation.  Those  of  the  August  sowing  must 
be  divided  into  two  portions;  the  largest  being 
selected  and  planted  in  an  open  compartment 
for  late  autumn  use,  and  the  smaller  on  a  warm 
border  for  winter  and  early  spring. 

When  planted  out  finally,  they  must  be  set 
in  rows  a  foot  apart  each  way,  which  is  abun- 
dant for  the  largest  variety,  and  not  more  than 
necessary  for  the  smaller.  At  the  time  of  every 
removal,  whether  of  picking  out  or  planting, 
water  must  be  given  moderately,  and  until  the 
plants  are  rooted.  It  may  be  remarked,  that 
transplanted  lettuces  never  attain  so  fine  a 
growth  as  those  left  where  sown,  nor  become 
so  soon  fit  for  use;  those  which  are  planted  out 
at  once  to  remain,  being  better  in  these  respects 
than  those  which  are  pricked  out  previous  to 
final  planting.  The  difference  in  their  time  of 
becoming  fit  for  use,  however,  is  of  advantage, 
as  by  these  means  a  more  perfect  succession 
is  obtained.  Those  which  are  planted  to  with- 
stand the  winter  are  best  planted  on  the  sum- 
mit or  south  side  of  ridges,  as  this  is  a  great 
protection  from  excessive  wet,  from  which  they 
always  suffer.  In  every  stage  of  growth  they 
must  be  kept  free  from  weeds,  well  watered, 
and  the  earth  around  them  frequently  stirred 
for  the  extirpation  of  slugs  and  snails,  which 
are  particularly  injurious,  and  are  very  preva- 
lent in  moist  seasons. 

When  the  cos  varieties  have  attained  an  ad- 
vanced growth,  they  require  their  leaves  to  be 
drawn  together  with  a  shred  of  matting,  to  ren- 
der the  interior  blanched,  care  being  taken  that 
it  is  not  performed  so  tight  as  to  bruise  them. 
Under  every  favourable  circumstance  for  a  vi- 
go'ous  growth,  the  plants,  especially  of  the  cos 
varieties,  and  during  dry  seasons,  will  yet  run 
up  to  seed  before  the  heart  is  perfectly  blanched: 
to  retard  this,  it  is  an  eflfectual  practice,  at  the 
umc  of  tying  them  up,  to  cut  out  the  centre  of 
70S 


each  with  a  sharp  knife.  The  plants  raised 
from  the  September  sowing  may  be  divided  aa 
directed  for  those  of  August ;  but,  in  addition, 
some  of  the  cos  varieties  may  be  planted  on  a 
warm  border,  to  have  the  shelter  of  frames  and 
hand-glasses. 

To  produce  seed,  some  of  the  finest  and  most 
perfect  plants  of  each  variety  that  have  sur- 
vived the  winter,  or  from  the  forwardest  sow- 
ing of  the  year,  should  be  selected.  The  seed 
from  any  that  have  run  up  prematurely  cannot 
be  depended  upon.  All  other  plants  must  be 
removed  from  their  neighbourhood,  themselves 
being  left  at  least  a  foot  apart;  neither  is  it 
allowable  for  two  varieties  to  flower  near  each 
other,  as  only  mongrel  varieties  will  be  obtained. 
Each  stem  is  advantageously  attached  to  a 
slake,  as  a  support  in  tempestuous  weather. 
It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  branches  must  be 
gathered  as  the  seed  ripens  upon  them,  and  not 
left  until  the  whole  is  ready,  as  some  will  ripen 
two  or  three  weeks  before  others,  and  conse- 
quently the  first  and  best  seed  will  be  shed  and 
lost,  it  must  be  well  dried  before  it  is  beaten 
out  and  stored.  Lettuce  seed  is  considered  to 
be  best  the  second  year ;  but  when  three  years 
old  it  refuses  to  vegetate. 

The  juice  of  the  lettuce  inspissated  is  termed 
lactucariunu  It  possesses  slight  narcotic  pro- 
perties, and  is  useful  in  coughs. 

LETTUCE,  LAMB'S.     See  Corx  Sai,ad. 

LEVELLING.  In  husbandry,  implies  ren- 
dering the  ground  even,  and  removing  of  impe- 
diments to  the  common  operations  of  tillage. 
This  is  generally  done  by  the  plough,  but 
sometimes  machines  are  employed  for  the 
purpose. 

LEVER.  In  mechanics,  an  inflexible  rod  or 
bar,  movable  upon  a  fulcrum  or  prop,  and  hav- 
ing forces  applied  to  two  or  more  points.  The 
lever  is  one  of  the  mechanical  powers ;  and 
being  the  simplest  of  them  all,  was  the  first 
that  was  attempted  to  be  explained. 

Examples  of  the  application  of  the  lever  are 
of  constant  occurrence  in  the  mechanical  arts. 
The  crowbar,  the  handspike,  nippers,  pincers, 
&c.,  are  levers  of  the  first  kind.  The  second 
kind  includes  the  chipping  knife,  the  common 
door,  nutcrackers,  the  wheelbarrow,  &c.  To 
levers  of  the  third  kind  belong  the  sheep-shears, 
the  treddle  of  the  turning-lathe,  tongs,  &c.  The 
bones  of  animals  are  generally  levers.  The 
socket  of  the  bone  is  the  fulcrum ;  a  strong 
muscle,  attached  to  it  near  the  socket,  is  the 
power;  and  the  weight  of  the  limb,  with  what- 
ever resistance  is  opposed  to  its  motion,  is  the 
weight.  A  very  moderate  contraction  of  the 
muscle  thus  gives  considerable  motion  to  the 
limb.     (Gregory'?  Mech.  vol.  ii.) 

LEVERET.  A  young  hare,  in  the  first  yeai 
of  its  age. 

LEY,  LEA,  or  LAY.  Land  in  the  state  of 
sward  or  grassy  surface. 

LIBER  (Lat.  bark).  In  botany,  the  interioi 
lining  of  the  bark  of  exogenous  plants.  It  con- 
sists of  woody  tissue  in  great  quantity,  and 
very  thick-sided,  intermixed  with  cellular  tis- 
sue. It  appears  to  be  formed  annually,  at  the 
same  time  as  the  concentric  zones  of  wood, 
and  is  intended  by  nature  to  convey  downwards 
the  secretions  elaborated  in  the  bark  and  leave? 


LIBRARIES,  FARMERS'. 


LICHENS. 


The  liber  is  the  principal  seat  of  lactiferous 
vessels. 

LIBRARIES,  FARMERS'.  Collections  of 
books  on  agricultural  and  horticultural  sub- 
jects are  now  becoming  very  general  through- 
out the  country,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
farmers'  clubs.  They  cannot  fail  of  being 
em:nently  useful  to  the  cause  of  agriculture, 
Dy  iifTusing  among  the  cultivators  of  the  soil 
the  latest  discoveries  and  improvements  in 
husbandry,  as  well  as  the  different  opinions 
and  theories  entertained  on  matters  having  re- 
ference to  agriculture  and  its  collateral  sciences 
of  chemistry,  botany,  natural  history,  geology, 
meteorology,  and  vegetable  physiology,  &c. 

LICE  ON  ANIMALS.  There  is  not  an 
pnimal  that  does  not,  under  suitable  circura- 
slances,  nourish  in  its  hair,  wool,  feathers,  or 
lis  skin,  some  kind  of  louse ;  and  sometimes 
more  than  one  kind  of  these  parasites  lodge 
and  prey  on  the  same  animal.  In  ordinary 
cases,  they  do  not  produce  much  mischief,  but 
when  they  increase  so  much  as  to  produce  the 
disease  called  mange  (Pityriasis),  they  become 
truly  formidable.  The  cause  of  animals  being 
troubled  with  lice,  may  usually  be  traced  to  a 
want  of  cleanliness.  When  the  dust  and  sweat 
accumulated  on  the  hair,  and  in  contact  with 
the  skin  of  the  ox  or  horse,  are  allowed  to  re- 
main undisturbed  by  the  comb  or  brush;  when 
the  stables  are  kept  filthy,  unventilated,  and 
unwholesome ;  when  animals,  reduced  in  au- 
tumn by  want  of  pasture,  or  by  living  in  un- 
healthy ones,  are  suffered  to  take  their  chance 
for  the  winter  without  extra  care  or  attention  ; 
or  when  a  beast  loaded  with  pediculi  is  turned 
into  the  yards  or  the  stables  of  those  exempt 
from  these  parasites,  it  may  be  expected  that 
they  will  multiply  and  infest  animals.  When 
we  see  horses  rubbing  their  tails,  biting  their 
manes,  and  showing  other  signs  of  uneasiness 
and  irritation  ;  when  cattle  are  observed  to  be 
rubbing  their  heads  against  posts  or  fences,  and 
the  hair  coming  off  from  the  head  and  neck ; 
or  when  sheep  tear  out  tufts  of  wool  with  their 
teeth,  and  bite  these  places  till  blood  appears, 
■we  may  expect  that  lice  are  present.  On  most 
animals,  these  parasites  have  some  favourite 
place  of  resort ;  on  horses,  the  mane  and  tail ; 
on  horned  cattle,  around  the  nose,  base  of  the 
homo,  and  the  neck ;  on  sheep,  they  run  over 
every  part ;  and  on  swine,  they  do  not  seem  to 
be  confined  to  any  particular  location. 

Pure  air,  room  for  exercise,  plenty  of  food, 
and  above  all,  cleanliness,  are  the  first  things 
to  be  attended  to  in  the  cure  of  this  evil.  Cur- 
rying, brushing,  and  washing  should  be  resorted 
to,  as,  except  in  bad  cases,  this  treatment  will 
be  usually  sufficient  to  free  the  animal  from 
these  insects,  without  recourse  to  other  reme- 
dies. Where  these  fail,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
have  recourse  to  such  external  or  internal 
applications  as  shall  operate  directly  on  the 
vermin. 

One  of  the  most  common  remedies  is  the 
mercurial  ointment,  commonly  called  unguen- 
Utm:  but  this,  though  effectual,  cannot  be  used 
without  some  danger,  as  numerous  instances 
have  occurred  in  which  valuable  animals 
have  been  destroyed  by  its  too  free  use.  Care 
should  be  taken  to  prevent  the  animal  from 


biting  itself  where  the  ointment  is  applied,  un 
til  it  has  had  time  to  take  effect.  A  decoction 
of  tobacco  leaves,  in  a  strong  lye,  forms  a  very 
good  wash;  but  this,  too,  owing  to  the  narcotic 
poison  of  the  tobacco,  has  caused  death.  Va- 
rious vegetable  remedies  have  been  resorted 
to,  among  which  are  the  seeds  of  the  larkspur 
(Belphinium  staphysagria)  ;  and  the  leaves  and 
flowers  of  the  ledum  palustre,  or  marsh,  or  La- 
brador tea.  The  roots  of  the  black  hellebore, 
or  a  decoction  made  from  them,  have  been  used 
with  success ;  and  it  is  said  that  the  water  in 
which  the  skins  or  parings  of  potatoes  have 
been  boiled  will  effectually  destroy  lice  by  a 
few  washings.  The  internal  use  of  sulphur  is 
an  excellent  remedy,  and  if  given  to  animals 
occasionally,  is  one  of  the  best  preventives. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  apply  remedies  for  lice 
to  sheep  than  to  any  other  animals.  The  English 
shepherds  make  use  of  a  salve  compounded 
of  white  arsenic  and  corrosive  sublimate,  care- 
fully parting  the  wool,  and  applying  the  oint- 
ment in  small  quantities  directly  to  the  skin, 
and  rubbing  it  down  with  the  finger.  Tessier 
prefers  tobacco  smoke  to  this  ointment,  as  at- 
tended with  less  danger  in  its  use.  The  sheep 
is  held  in  such  a  manner  that  tobacco  smoke 
is  forced  from  a  bellows  among  the  wool  to  the 
skin  in  all  directions.  After  this  fumigation, 
the  sheep  must  be  placed  in  the  open  air,  that 
the  vapor  may  have  room  to  pass  off  without 
being  inhaled  by  them.  Perhaps  the  best  re- 
medy for  lice  in  animals,  where  they  have  not 
become  so  numerous  as  to  produce  the  disease 
Pityriasis,  is  to  rub  any  oil,  such  as  whale  oil 
or  melted  lard,  on  such  places  as  they  most 
frequent,  or  on  parts  of  the  animal  where  they 
will  be  most  likely  to  come  in  contact  with  it. 
All  the  pediculi  breathe  through  what  are 
termed  spiracles  or  openings  in  their  bodies, 
and  the  least  particle  of  oil  spread  over  their 
bodies,  by  causing  suffocation,  at  once  effects 
their  destruction.  This  is  also  a  perfectly 
harmless  remedy.  But  prevention  in  this  case 
is  better  than  cure  ;  and  neatness,  cleanliness, 
and  good  keeping,  by  insuring  comfort  and 
health,  leaves  no  opportunity  for  the  attacks 
of  vermin.     (Cultivator.) 

LICE  ON  PLANTS.  See  Aphidians,  Amb- 
RiCAJT  Blight,  and  Insects. 

LICHENS.  Plants  of  a  very  low  organiza- 
tion, which  grow  on  the  bark  of  trees  or  rocks, 
when  they  form  a  kind  of  incrustation,  or  upon 
the  ground,  when  they  consist  of  irregular 
lobes,  parallel  with  the  earth's  surface.  Occa- 
sionally, in  all  situations,  they  are  found  in  a 
branched  state  ;  but  their  subdivisions  are  ge- 
nerally irregular,  and  without  order.  Their 
fructification  consists  of  hard  nuclei,  called 
shields,  which  break  through  the  upper  surface 
of  the  thallus,  or  main  substance  of  the  lichen, 
are  of  a  peculiar  odour  and  texture,  and  con- 
tain the  reproductive  particles.  Lichens  abound 
in  the  cold  and  temperate  parts  of  the  world. 
The  greater  part  are  of  no  known  use;  but 
some,  as  the  reindeer-moss  (Cenomyce  rangife- 
rina),  the  Iceland  moss  (Cetraria  Islandica),  and 
various  species  of  Gyrophora,  are  capable  of 
sustaining  life,  either  in  animals  or  man.  The 
Iceland  moss,  when  deprived  of  its  bitterness 
by  soaking  in  an  alkali  and  then  boiling,  b** 
3  0  709 


LICKS. 


LIGHT. 


comes,  iri'leed,  a  diet  recommended  to  invalids. 
Others  are  used  as  tonic  medicines,  as  Variola- 
rin  fasdiica  and  Parmelia  parietina.  Their  prin- 
cipal use  is,  however,  that  of  furnishing  the 
dyer  with  brilliant  colours;  orchall,  cudbear, 
and  perolle,  with  many  more,  are  thus  employed. 
{Brande's  Did.  of  Science.)     See  Moss. 

LICKS.  A  term  applied  in  the  United  States 
to  places  where  salt  springs  escape  from  the 
earth  and  impregnate  the  soil,  and  sometimes 
give  rise  to  an  efflorescence  of  common  salt. 
To  such  spots  the  deer,  buffalo,  and  almost  all 
graminivorous  animals  resort,  for  the  purpose 
of  licking  the  surface.    See  Salt. 

LID.  In  botany,  the  calyx  which  falls  off 
from  the  flower  in  a  single  piece. 

LIFE  EVERLASTING.    See  Cudweed. 

LIGHT,  ITS  INFLUENCE  ON  VEGETA- 
TION. That  light  has  a  considerable  influence 
upon  the  growth  of  plants,  is  an  observation 
that  must  have  been  very  early  made  by  man- 
kind. The  inferior  green  colour  of  plants 
growing  in  the  shade,  as  in  woods,  or  when 
covered  with  earth,  or  inverted  vessels,  would 
clearly  indicate  to  the  most  careless  observer, 
that  light  at  least  influenced  the  colour  of  ve- 
getation :  every  gardener,  in  truth,  takes  advan- 
tage of  this  fact,  when  he  is  blanching  his 
culinary  vegetables.  But  it  was  not  till  after 
the  days  of  Priestley,  that  the  other  chemical 
effects  which  light  produces  upon  a  growing 
plant  were  so  much  better  understood. 

It  is  probable  that  this  influence  commences 
at  a  very  early  period  in  the  life  of  the  plant, 
with  even  the  germination  of  the  seed.  Ingen- 
houz,  says  Dr.  Thomson,  found  that  seed  al- 
ways germinate  faster  in  the  dark  than  in  the 
light.  {Exper.surla  Veg.  11.)  And  these  expe- 
riments were  repeated  by  Sennebier  with  equal 
success.  (Mem.  Physico-Chem.  vol.  iii.  p.  41.) 
But  the  Abbe  Bertholin,  who  distinguished 
himself  so  much  by  his  labours  to  demonstrate 
the  effect  of  electricity  on  vegetation,  objected 
to  the  conclusions  of  these  philosophers,  and 
affirmed  that  the  difference  in  the  germination 
of  seeds  in  the  shade  and  in  the  light,  was 
owing,  not  to  the  light  itself,  but  to  the  differ- 
ence in  the  moisture  in  the  two  situations,  the 
moisture  evaporafingmuch  faster  from  the  seeds 
in  the  light  than  from  those  in  the  shade ;  and 
he  affirmed  that  when  precautions  were  taken 
to  keep  the  seeds  equally  moist,  then  those  in  the 
sun  germinated  sooner  than  those  in  the  shade. 
(Jour,  de  Physique,  1789.)  But  when  Sennebier 
repeated  his  former  experiments,  and  employed 
every  possible  precaution  to  insure  equality 
of  moisture  in  both  situations,  he  constantly 
found  the  seeds  in  the  shade  germinated  sooner 
than  those  in  the  light.  We  may  conclude, 
therefore,  that  light  is  injurious  to  germination ; 
ana  hence  one  reason  for  covering  seeds  with 
the  soil  in  which  they  are  grown.  But  from 
ihe  more  recent  experiments  of  Saussure,  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  light  is  only  injurious 
to  vegetation  in  consequence  of  the  heat  it 
produces ;  for  where  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun 
were  intercepted,  though  light  was  admitted, 
the  germination  of  the  seeds  was  not  sensibly 
retarded.  (Rerh.  Chem.  stir  la  Veg.  p.  23 ;  Thorn- 
tjn^s  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  307.) 

And  with  regard  to  the  after-gi  ^wth  of  plants, 
710 


light  exercises  a  very  considerable  influence. 
It  is  now  clearly  ascertained  that  plants  vege- 
tating in  the  light,  absorb  carbonic  acid  gas 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  emit  oxygen  gas; 
but  when  vegetating  in  the  dark  ditferent  ef- 
fects are  produced,  for  then  carbonic  acid  gas 
is  emitted,  and  oxygen  gas  absorbed.  (See 
Gases.)  This  latter  process  is  thus  explained 
by  Liebig  : — "  It  is  true  that  the  decomposition 
of  carbonic  acid  is  arrested  by  the  absence  of 
light;  but  then,  namely,  at  night,  a  true  che- 
mical process  commences,  in  consequence  of 
the  action  of  the  oxygen  in  the  air  upon  the 
organic  substance,  composing  the  leaves,  blos- 
soms, and  fruit.  This  process  is  not  at  all 
connected  with  the  life  of  the  vegetable  organ- 
ism, because  it  goes  on  in  a  dead  plant  exactly 
as  in  a  living  one.  The  substances  composing 
the  leaves  of  different  plants  being  known,  it 
is  a  matter  of  the  greatest  ease  and  certainty 
to  calculate  which  of  them  during  life  should 
absorb  most  oxygen  by  chemical  action  where 
the  influence  of  light  is  withdrawn.  The  leaves 
and  green  parts  of  all  plants  containing  vola- 
tile oils,  or  volatile  constituents  in  general, 
which  change  into  resin  by  the  absorption  of 
oxygen,  should  absorb  more  than  other  parts 
which  are  free  from  such  substances.  Those 
leaves,  also,  which  contain  either  the  consti- 
tuents of  nutgalls,  or  compounds  in  which  ni- 
trogen is  present,  ought  to  absorb  more  oxygen 
than  those  which  do  not  contain  such  matters. 
The  correctness  of  these  inferences  has  been 
distinctly  proved  by  the  observations  of  De 
Saussure;  for  whilst  the  tasteless  leaves  of  the 
Agave  Americana  absorb  only  0*3  of  their  vo- 
lume of  oxygen  in  the  dark  during  24  hours,  the 
leaves  of  the  Pinus  abies  which  contain  volatile 
and  resinous  oils  absorb  10  times,  those  of  the 
Quercus  robur  containing  tannic  acid  14  times, 
and  the  balmy  leaves  of  the  Populus  alba  21 
times  that  quantity.  This  chemical  action  is 
shown  very  plainly  also  in  the  leaves  of  the 
Cotyledon  calycinum,  the  Cacalia  ficaides,  anc' 
others;  for  they  are  sour  like  sorrel  in  the 
morning,  tasteless  at  noon,  and  bitter  in  the 
evening.  The  formation  of  acids  is  effected 
during  the  night  by  a  true  process  of  oxydation ; 
these  are  deprived-  of  their  acid  properties 
during  the  day  and  evening,  and  are  changed, 
by  separation  of  a  part  of  their  oxygen,  into 
compounds  containing  oxygen  and  hydrogen, 
either  in  the  same  proportions  as  in  water  or  even 
with  an  excess  of  hydrogen,  which  is  the  com- 
position of  all  tasteless  and  bitter  substances. 
When  the  green  leaves  of  the  poplar,  the  beech, 
the  oak,  or  the  holly,  are  dried  under  the  air- 
pump,  with  exclusion  of  light,  then  moistened 
with  water,  and  placed  under  a  glass  globe  filled 
with  oxygen,  they  are  found  to  absorb  that  gas 
in  proportion  as  they  change  in  colour.  The 
chemical  nature  of  this  process  is  thus  com- 
pletely established.  The  diminution  of  the  gas 
which  occurs  can  only  be  owing  to  the  union  of 
a  large  proportion  of  oxygen  with  those  sub- 
stances which  are  already  in  the  state  of  oxides, 
or  to  the  oxydation  of  the  hydrogen  in  those  ve- 
getable compounds  which  contain  it  in  excess. 
The  fallen  brown  or  yellow  leaves  of  the  oak 
contain  no  longer  tannin,  and  those  of  the  poplar 
no  balsamic  constituents.     (Org.  Chem.  p.  28.) 


LIGHT. 


LIGHT. 


The  action  of  light  upon  the  growing  plant 
is  in  every  point  of  view  full  of  interest  to  the 
cultivator:  "If  all  the  branches  of  a  tree,  ex- 
clusive of  one,"  said  Mr.  T.  M.  Knight  (and  he 
was  one  of  the  ablest  of  modern  vegetable 
physiologists),  "be  much  shaded  by  contigu- 
ous trees,  or  other  objects,  the  branch  which  is 
exposed  to  the  light  attracts  to  itself  a  large 
portion  of  the  ascending  sap,  which  it  employs 
in  the  formation  of  leaves  and  vigorous  an- 
nual shoots,  whilst  the  shaded  branches  be- 
come languid  and  unhealthy.  The  motion  of 
the  ascending  current  of  sap  appears,  there- 
fore, to  be  regulated  by  the  ability  to  employ  it 
in  the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  tree ,  and 
this  current  passes  up  through  the  alburnum, 
from  which  substance  the  buds  and- leaves 
spring.  But  the  sap  which  gives  existence  to, 
and  feeds  the  root,  descends  through  the  bark, 
and  if  the  operation  of  light  give  ability  to  the 
exposed  branch  to  attract  and  employ  the  as- 
cending or  alburnous  current  of  sap,  it  ap- 
pears not  improbable  that  the  operation  of 
proper  food  and  moisture  in  the  soil,  upon  the 
bark  of  the  root,  may  give  ability  to  that  organ 
to  attract  and  employ  the  descending  or  cor- 
tical current  of  sap."  (Selection  of  Papers,  p. 
160.)  "M.  Decandolle,  I  believe,  first  ob- 
served that  the  succulent  shoots  of  trees  and 
herbaceous  plants,  which  do  not  depend  upon 
others  for  support,  are  bent  towards  the  point 
from  which  they  receive  light,  by  the  contrac- 
tion of  the  cellular  substance  of  their  bark 
upon  that  side,  and  I  believe  his  opinion  to  be 
perfectly  well  founded.  The  operation  of  light 
upon  the  teudrils  and  stems  of  the  Ampelopsis 
and  ivy  appears  to  produce  diametrically  op- 
posite effects,  and  to  occasion  an  extension  of 
the  cellular  bark  wherever  that  is  exposed  to  its 
influence ;  and  this  circumstance  affords,  I  think, 
a  satisfactory  explanation  why  these  plants  ap- 
pear to  seek  and  approach  contiguous  opaque 
objects,  just  as  they  would  do  if  they  were 
conscious  of  their  own  feebleness,  and  of  power 
in  the  objects  to  which  they  approach,  to  afford 
them  support  and  protection. 

ItiHuence  of  the  different  rays  of  the  solar  spec- 
trum upon  vegetation. 

The  process  of  germination  is  essentially  a 
chemical  one.  The  seed  is  placed  in  the  soil, 
supplied  with  a  due  quantity  of  moisture,  and 
maintained  at  a  certain  temperature  which 
must  be  above  that  at  which  water  freezes. 
Air  must  have  free  access  to  the  seed,  which, 
if  placed  so  deep  in  the  soil  as  to  prevent  the 
permeation  of  the  atmosphere,  nevev  germi- 
nates. After  this  progresses  beyond  the  first 
stages,  and  leaves  are  formed,  the  plant  com- 
mences to  absorb  carbonic  acid  from  the  atmo- 
sphere through  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves 
and  the  whole  of  the  bark.  It  at  the  same 
time  derives  an  additional  portion  from  the 
moisture  which  is  taken  up  by  the  roots. 

The  phenomena  of  vegetable  life,  such  as 
germination,  growth,  efflorescence,  the  decom- 
position of  carbonic  acid  gas,  the  secretions 
of  the  acid  and  alkaline  juices,  oils,  wax,  resin, 
&c.,  are  all  results  of  solar  influences,  exerted 
by  the  separate  agencies  residing  in  the  difl^er- 
ent  coloured  bands  of  light  into  which  the  white 
light  of  the  sunbeam  is  resolved  by  means  of 


the  prism.  These  variously  coloured  rays  have 
not  the  same  illuminating  power,  nor  do  they 
possess  the  same  heat-giving  property.  The 
yellow  rays  give  the  most  light;  the  red  rays 
have  the  function  of  heat  in  the  highest  de- 
gree. In  addition  to  these  rays  the  sunbeam 
possesses  another,  with  the  power  of  pro- 
ducing chemical  change,  or  actinism.  A  yellow 
glass  allows  light  to  pass  through  it  most 
freely,  but  it  obstructs  actinism  or  chemical 
agency.  A  deep-blue  glass,  on  the  contrary, 
obstructs  the  passage  of  light,  but  it  ofters  no 
interruption  to  the  actinic,  or  chemical  rays. 
A  red  glass  cuts  off"  most  of  the  rays,  except 
those  which  have  peculiarly  a  calorific,  or  heat- 
giving  power. 

It  has  been  found  by  experiment,  that  if, 
above  the  soil  in  which  seed  is  placed,  a  pure 
yellow  glass  is  fixed,  the  chemical  change  which 
marks  germination  is  prevented;  if,  on  the 
contrary,  a  blue  glass  be  employed,  it  ig  accel- 
erated. Seeds  placed  beneath  the  soil  and 
covered  with  a  cobalt-blue  finger-glass  have 
been  found  to  germinate  many  days  sooner 
than  such  as  were  at  the  same  time  exposed 
to  the  ordinary  influences  of  sunshine  —  prov- 
ing the  necessity  of  the  agency  of  actinism  to 
this  first  stage  of  vegetable  life.  Plants,  how- 
ever, grown  under  such  media  present  much 
the  same  conditions  as  those  reared  in  the 
dark  —  are  succulent  instead  of  woody,  and 
have  yellow  leaves  and  white  stalks.  The  de- 
velopment of  the  leaf  is  prevented  whilst  that 
of  the  stalk  is  increased.  This  shows  that  the 
chemical  principle  alone  of  the  sun's  rays  is 
not  sufficient  for  the  proper  development  of  the 
various  functions  of  vegetation.  When,  how- 
ever, the  plant  is  placed  under  the  full  influ- 
ence of  light,  as  separated  from  actinism,  by 
the  action  of  yellow  media,  wood  will  be 
formed  abundantly,  the  plant  grow  most 
healthfully,  and  the  leaves  assume  that  dark- 
green  which  belongs  to  tropical  climes.  Un- 
der the  influence  of  isolated  light  it  is  found 
that  plants  will  not  flower.  When,  however, 
the  subject  of  experiment  is  brought  under 
the  influence  of  a  red  glass,  the  whole  process 
of  floriatiou  and  the  perfection  of  seed  is  ac- 
complished. 

In  spring,  when  the  process  of  germination 
is  most  active,  the  chemical  rays  are  most 
abundant  in  the  sunbeam.  As  the  summer 
advances,  light,  relatively  to  the  other  forces, 
is  largely  increased,  and  at  this  season  the 
trees  of  the  forest  and  all  cultivated  plants  are 
engaged  in  making  wood.  Still  later  in  the 
season  the  heating  rays  predominate,  exert- 
ing their  agency  in  maturing  the  seeds  and 
fruits. 

Thus  under  the  influence  of  the  sunbeam, 
vegetable  life  is  awakened,  continued,  and 
completed ;  a  wondrous  alchemy  is  effected ; 
the  change  in  the  condition  of  the  solar  radia- 
tions determines  the  varying  conditions  of 
vegetable  vitality ;  and  in  its  progress  those 
transmutations  occur,  which  at  once  give 
beauty  to  the  exterior  world,  and  provide  fot 
the  animal  races  the  necessary  food  by  which 
their  existence  is  maintained.  [Professot 
Hunt. ) 

The  influences  exerted  upon  growing  plants 

711 


LIGHTNING. 


LIGNIN. 


by  the  rays  of  light,  are  greatly  promoted  by 
the  presence  of  air  freely  circulating,  and  by 
an  elevated  temperature.  Light  is  the  main 
cause  of  perspiration, —  as  in  darkness  plants 
perspire  little, —  and  is  the  force  which  affects 
the  decomposition  of  carbonic  acid,  and  other 
matters  contained  in  the  cells.  In  the  absence 
of  light,  plants  have  no  colour,  no  strength  of 
tissue,  and  no  natural  flavour. 

The  influence  of  coloured  light  upon  the 
growth  of  plants  is  a  subject  well  worthy  of 
investigation,  from  its  bearing  on  the  interests 
of  agriculture.  To  the  farmer  it  is  important  to 
know  that,  other  things  being  equal,  it  is  upon 
the  quantity  of  light  which  his  plants  receive 
which  regulates  the  amount  of  carbon  by  which 
their  structures  are  built  up,  and  the  quality 
of  their  products  perfected.  Sowing  early  in 
the  season  secures  a  larger  amount  of  solar 
light  between  seed-time  and  harvest.  This 
accounts  for  the  failure  so  common  where  re- 
planting has  to  be  resorted  to,  the  first  growth 
keeping  otF  so  much  light  from  the  low  re- 
plant. It  also  shows  the  advantage  often  do- 
rived  from  sowing  thinly,  so  that  plants  shall 
not  injuriously  stand  in  the  light  of  each  other, 
and  the  benefits  often  derived  from  feeding 
off  by  sheep  in  April,  any  excess  of  luxuriance 
in  wheat,  thus  restoring  the  agency  of  light 
to  the  succulent  stems  of  the  young  plants. 
It  also  shows  the  evil  tendency  exerted  by 
shade  from  trees  or  excessive  growth  of  hedges. 

The  stems  of  plants  rise  perpendicularly 
under  the  influence  of  their  unerring  guide, 
gravitation,  so  long  as  they  continue  to  be 
concealed  beneath  the  soil;  but  as  soon  as 
they  rise  above  it  they  are,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  under  the  control  of  another  agent, 
light,  which  inclines  them  horizontally,  or  in 
whatever  direction  they  receive  the  greatest 
quantity  of  the  genial  rays. 

LIGHTNING.  The  identity  of  lightning 
with  electricity,  though  previously  suspected, 
was  first  demonstrated  by  Dr.  Franklin,  in 
the  year  1749,  in  his  celebrated  experiment 
of  hoisting  a  kite  during  a  thunder-gust. 
It  has  since  been  proved  that,  even  in  the 
absence  of  clouds,  the  atmosphere  is  gen- 
erally in  an  electrical  state,  and  in  the 
clearest  weather,  electrical  currents  may  be 
brought  down  by  means  of  a  kite  furnished 
with  a  wire  string  and  insulated.  Since  Frank- 
lin's discovery,  electricity  has  become  a  sci- 
ence which  has  explained  most  of  the  appear- 
ances connected  with  lightning.  There  are, 
however,  three  phenomena  of  which  no  en- 
tirely satisfactory  explanation  has  yet  been 
given. 

The  first  is  the  form  of  the  flash,  which  is  almost 
always  zigzag,  or  in  broken  lines,  making  a 
greater  or  smaller  angle  with  each  other.  The 
second  is  the  frequent  repetition  of  the  flashes 
from  the  same  cloud,  which  often  follow  one 
another  in  quick  succession,  contrary  to  what 
takes  place  in  the  case  of  electric  conductors, 
which  generally  recover  their  natural  state,  or 
discharge  the  whole  of  their  electricity  at  a 
single  stroka  The  third  is  the  length  of  the 
flash,  which  sometimes  appears  to  embrace  a 
.arge  extent  of  the  sky.  This  phenomenon  can 
be  best  observed  from  the  tops  of  mountains 
712 


reaching  above  the  clouds  from  which  the  light- 
ning proceeds ;  and  observers  in  such  cases 
agree  in  stating  that  they  have  seen  flashes 
certainly  extending  several  miles  in  length. 

The  zigzag  form  of  the  flashes  is  common 
to  lightning  and  the  electric  spark :  the  same 
explanation  should  consequently  apply  to  both; 
but  this  the  theory  has  not  yet  been  able  to  give. 

The  theory  of  the  electric  fluid,  and  the  well- 
ascertained  differences  in  the  conducting  power 
of  different  substances,  suggested  the  idea  of 
protecting  buildings  from  the  destructive  eflfects 
of  lightning  by  metallic  rods.  Such  rods  are 
usually  made  of  iron  about  half  an  inch  in  dia- 
meter. The  lower  portion  should  descend  into 
the  ground  some  3  or  4  feet,  and  in  all  cases 
penetrate  to  the  moist  earth.  It  should  be 
made  rather  larger  than  the  rest  of  the  rod,  and 
have  a  slant  from  the  foundation,  or  outwardly. 
Some  recommend  that  the  lower  end  should  be 
pointed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  upper  ex- 
tremity. The  top  of  the  rod  should  have  one 
or  more  sharp  points.  As  iron  is  so  liable  to 
rust,  by  which  the  points  become  blunted,  it  is 
usual  to  have  these  either  gilt  or  tipped  with 
platinum,  so  as  to  be  preserved  from  oxida- 
tion. The  tops  of  the  rods  may  be  raised  some 
4,  6,  or  8  feet  above  the  chimneys  or  highest 
points  of  the  buildings  they  are  intended  to 
protect.  If  the  buildings  be  large,  there  shoul 
be  more  points  than  one  elevated  at  the  diffe- 
rent parts.  Indeed,  some  persons  who  have  de- 
voted attention  to  the  subject,  say  that  there 
should  always  be  several  projecting  points 
raised  to  receive  the  lightning  from  different 
directions.  Lightning  rods  cost  but  little*  as 
the  platinum  points  can  be  bought  for  $1,25, 
and  the  conductors  may  be  easily  made  by  any 
blacksmith.  They  should  have  as  few  joints 
as  possible,  and  be  inspected  from  time  to  time 
to  see  whether  any  separation  exists,  and  whe- 
ther the  joint  remains  in  its  place.  Where, 
from  rust  or  other  causes,  any  interruption  to 
the  course  of  the  electric  fluid  occurs,  a  light- 
ning rod,  instead  of  furnishing  protection,  is  an 
additional  source  of  danger. 

LIGHTS,  NORTHERN,  or  AURORA  BO- 
REALIS.  A  luminous  meteor,  generally  ap- 
pearing in  the  nortbern  part  of  the  sky,  and 
presenting  a  light  somewhat  resembling  the 
dawn  or  break  of  day.  The  appearances  which 
it  exhibits,  and  the  forms  it  assumes,  are  so 
proverbially  unsteady,  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
comprehend  them  under  any  general  descrip- 
tion. In  the  Shetland  Isles,  and  other  coun- 
tries in  high  latitudes,  the  northern  lights  are 
the  constant  attendants  of  clear  and  frosty 
evenings  in  winter.  They  are  most  frequent 
in  autumn.  A  very  interesting  account  of  this 
meteor,  and  of  the  works  treating  on  this  subject, 
^ill  be  found  under  the  head  "Aurora  Borea- 
lis,"  in  Brande's  Diet,  of  Science,  &c. 

LIGNEOUS  (Lat.  lignum,  wood).  In  ento- 
mology, a  part  so  called  when  it  is  composed 
of  a  hard,  inelastic  substance  like  wood. 

LIGNIN  (Lat.  lignum).  The  woody  fibre. 
This  most  important  proximate  principle  of 
vegetables  exhibits  itself  in  a  variety  of  forms, 
constituting  the  different  textures  of  hard  and 
soft  wood,  and  various  fibrous  products,  such 
as  hemp,  flax,  cotton,  &c.    When  by  fine  me- 


LILAC. 


LILY. 


chaiiii'al  division  it  is  reduced  to  a  pulpy  state, 
it  is  formed  into  paper.  When  by  different  re- 
agents all  the  soluble  matters  are  extracted 
from  wood,  the  insoluble  residue  is  lignin ;  its 
ultimate  components  are  carbon,  oxygen,  and 
hydrogen,  the  two  latter  elements  being  in  the 
same  relative  proportions  as  in  water;  so  that 
woody  fibre  may  be  considered  as  a  compound 
of  carbon  and  water,  and,  according  to  Dr. 
Prout's  experiments,  almost  exactly  in  equal 
weights.  Lignin  is  very  unperishable,  but 
under  certain  circumstances  it  is  attacked  by 
dry  rot,  arising  out  of  the  growth  of  a  parasitic 
fungus,  which  causes  its  rapid  decay.  Damp 
timber,  in  situations  where  air  has  not  free 
access,  is  particularly  subject  to  its  attacks ; 
and  when  once  it  has  made  its  appearance,  the 
well-seasoned  timber  in  its  neighbourhood  be- 
comes liable  to  the  same  disease.  The  dry  rot 
may  be  prevented  by  impregnating  the  limber 
with  certain  saline  solutions,  and  of  these,  so- 
lution of  corrosive  sublimate  has  been  found 
most  effectual ;  this  (the  bi-chloride  of  mer- 
cury) combines  chemically  with  the  albumen 
of  the  wood,  and  the  compound  is  very  inde- 
structible. (See  Dry  Rut.)  Lignin  has  also 
a  strong  attraction  for  alumina,  and  hence 
linen,  cotton,  paper,  and  other  forms  of  this 
fibre,  may  be  aluminized  by  steeping  them  in 
hydrated  alumina  diflTused  through  water,  or 
more  effectively  by  soaking  them  in  certain 
aluminous  solutions,  drying  them,  and  after- 
wards washing  out  the  excess  of  the  salt.  It 
is  in  this  way  that  cotton  goods  are  impreg- 
nated with  alumina  for  the  purpose  of  dyeing 
and  calico  printing.  Other  metallic  oxides  ex- 
hibit similar  attractive  powers,  especially  the 
oxide  of  iron.  The  analogy  that  exists  between 
the  composition  of  sugar,  gum,  starch,  and 
even  vinegar  and  lignin,  suggests  the  possi- 
bility of  the  conversion  of  those  substances,  by 
an  exchange  of  their  proximate  elements,  into 
each  other;  and  it  has  accordingly  been  found 
that  by  carefully  roasting  pure  and  fine  saw- 
dust, it  is  rendered  partially  soluble  in  water, 
and  that  a  part  of  it  is  converted  into  a  nutri- 
tious substance,  probably  intermediate  between 
sugar  and  starch,  and  which,  when  mixed  with 
a  little  flour,  yields  a  palatable  bread,  not  ver)' 
unlike  that  made  by  some  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  northern  parts  of  Europe  of  the  bark  of 
trees.  Mixed  with  sulphuric  acid,  lignin  passes 
into  gum,  and  from  this  sugar  may  be  obtained, 
by  boiling  it  for  some  hours  in  a  very  dilute 
sulphuric  acid;  this  sugar,  when  purified, 
much  resembles  grape  or  honey  sugar.  By 
this  process,  rags  may  be  converted  into  nearly 
their  own  weight  of  this  peculiar  saccharine 
matter. 

The  productionof  vinegar  by  the  destructive 
distillation  of  wood,  was  originally  suggested 
about  the  middle  of  the  I7th  century,  by  Glau- 
ber, a  celebrated  German  chemist  of  that  time; 
it  has  lately  become  a  very  important  branch 
of  manufacture  in  England.  Upon  the  whole, 
there  are  very  few  natural  products  equally 
important  with  lignin  in  their  applications  to 
the  useful  and  ornamental  arts.  See  Ptro- 
LiGNEous  Acid. 

LILAC  (SyringUy  from  syri}ix,  a  pipe.     The 
90 


branches  are  long  and  straight,  and  are  filled 
with  medulla;  hence  the  old  name  of  the  lilac, 
pipe-tree.  The  English  name  of  the  genus  is 
from  lilac  or  lilag,  the  Persian  word  for  the 
flower).  The  species  of  lilac  are  well  known 
elegant  shrubs. 

The  common  lilac  (Syringa  vulgaris)  is  a 
shrub  originally  from  Constantinople,  growing 
to  the  height  of  18  or  20  feet.  The  elegant 
lilac-coloured  bunches  of  flowers  are  very 
sweet  and  graceful  to  the  eye.  There  is  also 
the  white  lilac,  still  more  delicate-looking,  and 
equally  sweet-scented.  The  most  beautiful 
variety  of  the  common  purple  lilac  is  that 
known  by  the  title  of  the  Scotch  lilac. 

The  Chinese  lilac  (S.  chinensis)  is  a  native 
of  China,  and  less  in  size  than  the  common 
lilac;  it  was  first  brought  to  this  country  in 
1795.    Blooms  violet-coloured  flowers  in  May. 

The  Persian  lilac  (S.  persica)  is  a  native  of 
Persia,  and  seldom  exceeds  five  or  six  feet  in 
height,  blowing  light  purplish  pink  flowers  in 
May.  The  lilacs  love  a  good  garden  soil,  and 
may  be  propagated  by  layers,  shoots,  and 
suckers  from  the  roots. 

LILY  {Lilium,  derived  from  the  Celtic  word 
li,  signifying  whiteness;  on  account  of  the 
beautiful  white  flowers  of  the  original  species). 
This  is  a  fine  ornamental  and  well-known  ge- 
nus of  exotic  plants,  almost  all  of  which  are 
remarkable  for  the  delicacy  and  beauty  of  their 
flowers.  Most  of  the  species  succeed  in  a 
rich,  light  soil,  but  the  American  species 
should  be  grown  in  peat.     (Paxton's  Bot.  Diet.) 

Miller,  in  his  Dictionary,  mentions  13  spe- 
cies, with  their  varieties :  but  there  are  now 
more  than  34  known  species,  besides  innume- 
rable varieties :  the  finest  for  garden  ornament 
are  as  follows: — 

The  superb  martagon  (i.  superbum).  A  beau- 
tiful plant,  blowing  many  bright  orange  flowers 
spotted  with  violet.    It  loves  bog  soil. 

Purple  martagon,  which  grows  3  or  4  feet 
high,  blooming  reddish  or  white  flowers  spot- 
ted with  purple.  It  blows  in  July.  It  is  some- 
times called  Turk's  cap.  It  is  a  native  of 
Germany. 

Scarlet  martagon  (X.  chalcedonicum).  Native 
of  the  Levant,  blowing  a  bright  scarlet  flower 
in  June  and  July.    It  likes  a  good  soil. 

Turk's  turban  (i.  pomponium),  blows  a  pretty 
pendulous  red  flower  in  June,  in  the  shape  of 
a  turban.  In  Kamschalka  the  bulb  of  this  spe- 
cies is  cultivated  the  same  as  the  potato  is  in 
this  country. 

Orange  or  fire  lily  (L.  hulbiferum).  L-arge 
flower,  of  a  deep  orange  colour,  flowering  in 
June  and  July.  The  Russians  andTungusians 
also  eat  the  roots  of  this  species,  either  boiled 
in  milk  or  roasted.  A  German  author  informs 
us  that  these  mealy  roots  might,  in  times  of 
scarcity,  be  made  into  wholesome  bread.  The 
roots  are  cathartic,  and  the  leaves  cooling. 

Tiger  lily  {L.  tigrinum).  A  beautiful  showy 
bulb,  blowing  an  orange  flower  in  June ;  it 
loves  a  sandy  soil  and  open  situation. 

Philadelphian  lily  (Z.  Philaddphicum).     Na- 
tive of  North  America,  blowing  a  deep  orange 
spotted  or  scarlet  flower  in  July.     This  very 
elegant  plant  may  be  known  from  the  otht" 
3  o  2  713 


LILY  OF  THE  VALLEY. 


LILY,  THE  WHITE  WATER. 


apecies  by  the  claws  of  the  petals.  The  colour  j 
of  the  flower  is  orange-red.     Protect  it  in  win- 
ter by  spreading  coal  ashes  over  it. 

The  American  or  Canadian  lily  (L.  Cana- 
dense),  has  flowers  of  a  yellowish  orange.  It 
is  a  fine  plant,  growing  2  or  3  feet  high,  and 
found  in  abundance  on  the  marshy  shores  of 
the  Delaware  below  Philadelphia.  It  is  peren- 
nial, and  flowers  in  July. 

The  Superb  American  lily  (X.  superbutn),  is 
a  magnificent  plant,  which,  says  Dr.  Wm.  P. 
C.  Barton,  may  be  ranked  among  the  finest 
vegetable  productions  of  the  United  States.  It 
frequently  attains  the  height  of  6  or  7  feet, 
supporting  a  profusion  of  elegant  deep  scarlet 
flowers.  It  is  found  on  the  marshy  shores  of 
the  Delaware,  and  in  the  bogs  Of  New  Jersey 
and  other  states.  A  perennial,  flowering  in 
July  and  August. 

The  common  white  lily  (X.  candidum),  is  too 
well  known  to  need  description.  It  is  hardy, 
and  produces  a  beautiful  flower,  the  fragrant 
odour  of  which  is  so  powerful  as  to  induce 
fainting  if  numbers  of  them  be  kept  over  night 
in  a  close  apartment.  The  bulb  roasted  is 
emollient  and  suppurative.  All  descriptions 
of  lilies  are  propagated  freely  by  offsets  from 
the  bulbs,  which  should  be  taken  up  when  the 
stem  decays,  and  parted  and  replanted  early  in 
October,  5  to  6  inches  deep,  in  a  light,  dry  soil. 
The  bulbs  of  martagons  must  never  be  trans- 
planted till  after  the  stem  is  decayed,  as  they 
will  not  bear  being  disturbed.  Many  varieties 
of  lilies  are  produced  from  seed,  which  is 
treated  in  the  same  way  as  tulip  seed. 

LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY  (Convollaria  ma- 
jalis,  from  the  Latin  convallis,  a  valley).  This 
very  elegant  sweet-scented  indigenous  peren- 
nial is  not  reckoned  among  the  lily  tribe.  It 
grows  in  woods,  heaths,  and  at  the  foot  of  hills, 
flourishing  and  shedding  its  fragrance  in  May 
and  June.  The  roots  are  thread-shaped,  creep- 
ing, much  entangled.  Leaves  two,  radical, 
eliptical,  3  or  4  inches  long,  acute,  entire, 
many-ribbed,  smooth-stalked.  Flower-stalk 
solitary,  simple,  radical,  naked,  semi-cylindri- 
cal, bearing  a  simple  curved  cluster  of  seve- 
ral pendulous,  cup-shaped,  white  flowers,  with 
rather  distant  segments.  Berry  as  large  as  a 
black  currant,  scarlet.  There  are  varieties 
with  double  or  with  purple  flowers,  sometimes 
seen  in  gardens ;  but  not  easy  of  cultivation, 
and  far  less  elegant  than  the  wild  kind,  which 
is  among  the  most  favourite  of  our  native 
flowers. 

This  vegetable  is  eaten  by  sheep  and  goats, 
but  refused  by  cows,  horses,  and  swine.  The 
flnwers  when  dried  have  a  narcotic  scent,  and 
if  reduced  to  powder  excite  sneezing;  hence 
they  are  sometimes  used  as  a  sternutatory.  A 
beautiful  sreen  colour  may  be  prepared  from 
the  leaves,  with  the  addition  of  lime.  The  lily- 
of-the-valley  will  grow  in  any  moist,  shady 
situation,  and  even  under  the  drip  of  trees, 
where  few  other  plapts  would  succeed.  It  is 
multiplied  by  dividing  the  roots  in  autumn. 
See  SoLo:>fox's  Skal. 

TilLY,  THE  DAY  (Hemcrocallis,  from  »>6g<, 
ri  day,  and  ;to'AXsf, beauty;  alluding  to  the  beauty 
and  duration  of  the  flowers).    This  is  an  orna- 
mental genus  of  exotic  flowering  plants  of  the 
7i4 


simplest  culture,  thriving  well  in  any  light 
loamy  soil,  and  readily  increased  by  divisions. 
The  most  common  species  are  the  yellow  day- 
lily  {H.flavu),  a  native  of  Siberia,  blowing  yel- 
low flowers  in  June,  and  the  fulvous  or  copper- 
coloured  day-lily  {H.  fulva),  a  native  of  the 
Levant,  blowing  fulvous  flowers  in  July  and 
August. 

LILY,  THE  WHITE  WATER.  Candock, 
or  water-socks.  {Nytnpluea,  from  nymphe,  a 
water-nymph  ;  alluding  to  the  habitation  of  the 
plants.)  These  are  beautiful  plants,  well  wor- 
thy of  cultivating  in  every  collection.  The 
stove  species  should  be  grown  in  tubs  of  water, 
placed  in  a  warm  part  of  the  house,  with  some 
rich  loamy  soil  at  the  bottom.  The  hardy  kinds 
may  be  grown  in  ponds,  canals,  &c.  They  are 
all  increased  either  by  seeds,  dividing  the  roots, 
or  separating  the  tubers.     (Paxton.) 

The  great  white  water-lily  (N.  alba)  is  a 
beautiful  perennial,  native  of  Great  Britain, 
perhaps  the  most  magnificent  of  all  its  native 
flowers,  growing  in  clear  ponds  and  slow  rivers. 
The  root  is  tuberous,  horizontal,  sending  down 
numerous  long,  stout  radicles  which  are  fibrous 
at  the  extremity ;  leaves  floating,  a  span  wide, 
oval,  heart-shaped,  with  nearly  parallel  or  close 
lobes  at  the  base,  entire,  smooth.  Every  part 
of  the  herb  is  slightly  vascular,  perspiring  ra- 
pidly, and,  though  so  succulent,  drying  very 
soon.  Flowers  four  or  five  inches  wide,  white, 
with  yellow  stamens  and  pistil;  the  upper  sur- 
face of  the  calyx  leaves  white,  often  tinged 
with  pale  red,  generally  destitute  of  scent.  The 
stems  are  superior  to  oak-galls  for  dyeing  green. 
The  roots  are  astringent,  and  a  M^eak  infusion 
is  said  to  be  useful  in  lepra.  The  roots  are 
used  in  Ireland  and  Jura  for  dyeing  a  brown 
colour.  The  Egyptians  eat  the  roots  boiled, 
and  convert  the  seeds  into  bread.  The  Swedes 
also  have  used  this  root  in  prevailing  dearth, 
as  a  substitute  for  corn ;  though  it  requires  to 
be  previously  divested  of  its  bitter  taste  by  fre- 
quent washings.  According  to  Gleditsch,  the 
roots  of  this  species  and  of  the  yellow  lily  are 
equally  useful  in  tanning  and  currying.  This 
plant  is  eaten  by  hogs,  but  disliked  by  goats, 
and  totally  rejected  by  cows  and  horses. 

The  white  w^ater-lily  looks  very  handsome 
in  sheets  of  water,  or  ponds  in  ornamented 
grounds,  blowing  its  large  flowers  in  June  and 
July.  They  have  a  faint,  sweet  scent,  and  ex- 
pand in  sunshine,  in  the  middle  of  the  day  only, 
closing  towards  evening,  when  they  recline  on 
the  surface  of  the  water,  or  sink  beneath  it. 
The  same  circumstance  is  recorded  of  the 
Egyptian  N.  lotus,  i'rom  the  most  remote  anti- 
quity. The  stimulus  of  light,  which  indeed  acts 
evidently  on  many  other  blossoms  and  leaves, 
expands  and  raises  with  peculiar  force  these 
splendid  white  flowers,  that  the  pollen  may 
reach  the  stigma  uninjured;  and  when  that 
stimulus  ceases  to  act,  they  close  again,  droop- 
ing by  their  own  weight  to  a  certain  depth. 
When  the  flower-seeds  ripen  in  August,  the 
plant  sinks  again  to  the  bottom.  In  transplant- 
ing the  water-lily,  the  pond  must  be  entered, 
the  stem  of  the  plant  felt  for,  and  the  roots  dug 
up  with  a  large  ball  of  its  mud  left  round  them  • 
place  it  in  an  old  fish-basket,  and  remove  it 
speedily,  to  sink  it  in  the  place  intended  for  its 


LILY,  THE  YELLOW  WATER. 


LIME. 


removal.  As  the  basket  rots,  the  plant  becomes 
lixed  ia  its  new  situation.  Propagate  by  throw- 
ing the  ripe  seed-vessels  into  large  ditches  of 
standing  water,  when  the  young  plants  appear 
the  following  spring. 

The  Great  Americayi  Water-Lily,  one  of  the 
most  splendid  productions  of  floral  nature,  is 
comparatively  a  rare  plant.  It  is  found  in  a 
pond  about  a  mile  below  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  not  far  from  Gloucester  Point,  a  place 
much  resorted  to  by  naturalists  and  amateur 
florists  during  the  season  of  flowering  (August). 
Some  have  asserted  a  belief  that  the  seeds  were 
introduced  from  Europe;  but  the  fact  that  a 
plant  precisely  similar  is  found  in  other  parts 
of  the  country,  and  even  in  ponds  along  rivers 
west  of  the  Mississippi  (the  Kanses  and  Osage, 
for  example),  proves  the  Cyamus  or  Nelumbium 
a  native  of  North  America  as  well  as  of  India, 
where  it  is  called  the  Sacred  Bean,  and  conse- 
crated to  religious  purposes.  ''There  is  not," 
says  Professor  W.  P.  C.  Barton,  "any  plant 
in  North  America  comparable  to  this  for  gran- 
deur, simplicity,  and  beauty.  Truly  may  it  be 
styled,  as  I  have  elsewhere  called  it,  the  Queen 
of  American  Flowers.  I  regret  to  say  that  it  is 
not  as  abundant  in  our  vicinity  as  it  was  five 
years  ago.  This  may  be  an  accidental  or  tem- 
porary decrease,  owing  to  a  disturbance  of  the 
site  where  it  grows.  The  leaves  are  perfectly 
round,  and  centrally  peltate.  They  are  from  a 
foot  to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  of  a  rich 
velvety  green  above,  and  very  pale  underneath. 
They  are  supported  by  petioles  from  two  to 
three  and  a  half  feet  in  length."  The  flowers  are 
pale-yellow,  globose,  and  about  three  or  four 
inches  in  diameter,  supported  above  the  surface 
of  the  water  by  petioles  or  a  scape,  a  yard  in 
length,  frequently  muncate  towards  the  upper 
part.  From  this  circumstance,  together  with 
an  accurate  examination  of  a  fine  Chinese 
painting  of  the  India  species,  which  differed 
in  nothing  from  the  American  plant,  except  in 
the  rose-coloured  flower.  Dr.  Barton  considers 
the  two  species  as  identical. 

The  seeds  are  a  kind  of  nut,  very  similar  to 
the  chinquepin,  of  a  very  pleasant  flavour,  and 
eagerly  sought  after  by  boys.  The  Indians  in 
the  Far-West  resort  to  them  as  food. 

Of  the  genus  Nymphcea,  the  Fragrant  Water- 
Lily  is  a  species  native  to  the  United  States,  a 
very  beautiful  aquatic  plant,  with  while  flowers, 
which  exhale  a  delicious  fragrance.  The  leaves 
and  flowers  both  float  on  the  surface  of  the 
water.    It  is  a  perennial. 

LILY,  THE  YELLOW  WATER  (Nuphar, 
from  naufar  or  nyloufar,  the  Arabic  name  of 
Kymphcea).  This,  like  the  last  described,  is 
a  genus  of  very  beautiful  plants,  admirably 
adapted  for  growing  in  ponds,  cisterns,  or  lakes ; 
and  they  are  increased  by  dividing  the  roots, 
or  by  seeds,  which  have  only  to  be  thrown  into 
the  water  where  they  are  intended  to  grow. 
{Paxton.') 

In  England,  the  only  indigenous  species  are, 
1.  The  common  yellow  water-lily,  or  water-can 
{N.  lutea),  which  is  met  with  very  frequent  in 
the  wild  state  in  rivers  and  pools.  The  whole 
plant  is  rather  smaller  than  the  white  water- 
lily.  Footstalks  two-edged,  flattened  on  the 
upper  surface;    leaves  entirely  smooth,  and 


even  rounded  at  the  end,  and  generally  at  the 
lobes,  which  meet  and  lap  over  each  other. 
The  flowers,  which  appear  in  July,  are  about 
two  inches  wide,  cupped,  all  over  of  a  golden 
yellow,  with  the  scent  of  brandy  or  ratafia, 
whence  they  are  called  brandy-bottles  in  Nor- 
folk. They  perhaps  communicate  this  flavour 
by  infusion  to  the  cooling  liquors  or  sherbets, 
so  much  used  in  the  Levant.  The  seed-vessel, 
a  coated  berry,  when  ripe,  bursts  irregularly, 
not  dissolving  away  into  a  mass  of  pulp,  like 
the  Nymphaa.  The  roots,  like  those  of  the 
white  water-lily,  are  astringent,  and  contain  a 
quantity  of  fecula.  If  moistened  with  milk, 
they  are  said  by  Linnaeus  to  destroy  crickets 
and  cockroaches.  Hogs  will  eat  this  aquatic 
plant,  but  all  the  other  species  of  live-stock 
reject  it. 

This  aquatic  plant  is  what  is  so  familiarly 
known  in  the  United  States  by  the  name  of 
splatter-dock,  a  perennial,  blooming  its  yellow 
globular  flowers  in  July  and  August,  filling 
ditches,  and  extending  for  miles  along  the  shal- 
low banks  of  rivers,  below  high  water-mark. 

2.  The  least  yellow  water-lily  (iV.  pumila). 
This  is  much  smaller  than  the  preceding,  and 
flourishes  principally  in  the  highland  lakes  of 
Scotland.  The  marsh-trefoil  is  often  called  the 
dwarf  water-lily. 

Of  the  genus  Nuphar,  another  species  {KaU 
miana)  found  in  the  United  States  is  the  Synal\ 
Water-Lily,  with  leaves  floating  like  those  of 
the  common  splatter-dock,  but  only  about  one- 
third  the  size ;  yellow  flowers,  also  floating,  and 
about  half  an  inch  in  diameter. 

LIMB.  The  border  of  a  flower;  also  the 
branch  of  a  tree. 

LIME  (Germ,  leim,  glue).  This  very  useful 
earth  is  the  oxids  of  a  metal  called  calcium.  In 
England  it  is  obtained  by  exposing  chalk  and 
other  kinds  of  limestone,  or  carbonates  of  lime, 
to  a  red-heat, — an  operation  generally  conduct- 
ed in  kilns  constructed  for  the  purpose:  the 
carbonic  acid  is  thus  expelled,  and  lime,  more 
or  less  pure,  according  to  the  original  qua- 
lity of  the  limestone,  remains.  In  this  state 
it  is  usually  called  quick-lime.  The  purest  quick- 
lime is  obtained  from  the  calcination  of  white 
marble.  When  sprinkled  with  water  it  becomes 
very  hot,  and  crumbles  down  into  a  dry  pow- 
der, called  slaked  lime,  or  hydrate  of  lime,  owing 
to  the  water  becoming  consolidated  and  an  es- 
sential part  of  the  lime.  When  exposed  for 
some  weeks  to  the  air,  it  also  falls  into  powder, 
in  consequence  of  the  absorption  of  moisture; 
but  a  portion  of  carbonic  acid  is  also  absorbed, 
and  the  lime  partially  converted  into  limestone. 
The  uses  of  lime  are  very  numerous.  Its  most 
important  application  is  in  the  manufacture  of 
mortar  and  other  cements  used  in  building.  It 
is  also  very  extensively  used  as  a  manure  to 
fertilize  land. 

LIME  as  a  manure.  There  is  some  reason  to 
infer  that  lime  has  been  used  as  a  manure  from 
a  very  remote  period.  M.  P.  Cato,  in  the  oldest 
agricultural  treatise  which  has  escaped  to  us, 
describes,  in  his  sixteenth  and  thirty-eighth 
chapters,  with  much  minuteness,  the  best  means 
of  preparing  it.  And  although,  in  the  early 
writers  on  rural  affairs,  we  find  but  few  notices 
of  its  use  as  a  fertilizer,  yet  we  may  reasonably 

71  f. 


LIME. 

conclu-le  that  its  employment  was  nearly  as 
extensive  and  as  early  as  that  of  chalk  or  marl, 
arhich  were  in  very  primitive  times  largely  and 
skilfully  used  for  a  similar  purpose.  Pliny 
ittests  ihe  use  of  it  by  the  Roman  cultivators 
•wi  a  dressing  for  the  soil  in  which  fruit  trees 
^ere  planted. 

Of  all  the  earthy  manures  found  in  England, 
(ime  is  certainly  the  most  powerful  and  rapid 
in  its  effects  on  the  soil ;  and  if  its  use  is  not 
so  extensive  on  the  clays  and  peaty  lands  of 
many  districts  of  the  island  as  is  desirable,  this 
does  not  arise  from  the  limited  powers  of  this 
earth,  but  rather  from  a  variety  of  other  causes, 
such  as  its  expense,  the  impurity  of  the  lime 
employed,  and  an  ignorance  of  its  most  econo- 
mical mode  of  application. 

The  common  varieties  of  lime  used  by  the 
English  farmers,  are  procured  by  calcining 
either  chalk  or  limestone.  Such  lime  is  there- 
fore rarely,  if  ever,  chemically  pure,  for  it 
almost  always  contains  a  portion  of  silica 
(flint),  alumina  (clay),  and  some  red  oxide  of 
iron.  These,  however,  are  not  often  present 
in  sufficient  quantities  to  influence  the  fertiliz- 
ing powers  of  the  lime  to  any  material  extent, 
as  will  be  readily  seen  by  the  analysis  of  the 
limestones  and  the  chalk  usually  employed  by 
the  limeburners.  Common  limestone  is  com- 
posed of 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime       ...  9505 

Water 168 

Silica 112 

Alumina      -       .       -       .       _  I-OO 

Oxide  of  iron      ....  -75 

100- 
The  slate-spar  limestone  contains — 


Lime   ... 
Carbonic  acid 
Silica  -       -       . 
Oxide  of  iron 


Common  chalk  is  composed  of- 

Lime  ----.. 
Carbonic  acid  .  .  .  _ 
Water        .       .       .       .       , 


64-70 
43-30 
0-55 
0-80 
0-65 

loo- 


ses 

430 
0-5 


100- 

united  with  various  small  proportions  of  the 
other  earths.  There  is  also  a  very  considera- 
ble proportion  of  lime  made  in  the  north  of 
England  from  the  magnesian  limestone  (called 
by  the  Yorkshire  farmers  "hot  lime"),  all  of 
which  differ  considerably  in  composition ;  that 
from  Sunderland  contains,  in  100  partgfj 

Partt. 

Carbonate  of  lime       ...  66-80 

Carbomite  of  magnesia       -        .  40-84 

Clay,  water,  &.c.          ...  2  00 

Oxirteofiron       ....  o-36 

100- 

This  "hot  lime,"  which  is  well  known  by  the 
farmers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Doncaster, 
and  other  parts  of  the  north  of  England,  can 
only  be  applied  in  limited  quantities,  for  the 
calcined  magnesia  of  the  limestone  remains 
for  a  considerable  period  in  its  pure  caustic 
form,  without  absorbing  carbonic  acid  gas 
716 


LIME. 

from  the  atmosphere,  and  in  this  state  its  effect 
is  very  pernicious  to  many  kinds  of  plants.  It 
is  only  when  pure,  however,  that  magnesia  is 
prejudicial  to  vegetation :  by  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere,  it  gradually  and  slowly  absorbs 
carbonic  acid  gas,  becomes  carbonate  of  mag- 
nesia, and  in  this  state  forms  a  part  of  many 
cultivated  plants.  Some  of  the  most  fertile 
soils  of  Britain,  in  fact,  contain  it  in  this  form, 
in  considerable  quantities. 

Limestone  occurs  of  various  colours  and 
shades,  as  well  as  of  different  degrees  of  hard- 
ness. In  weight  the  compact  varieties  are 
very  much  alike,  being  generally  a  little  more 
than  2^  times  (2-7)  heavier  than  water.  Lime- 
stone may  be  distinguished  from  other  varieties 
of  rock,  by  dropping  on  it  some  strong  acid, 
such  as  the  acetic  acid  (vinegar),  sulphuric  (oil 
of  vitriol),  or  muriatic  (spirit  of  salt),  upon  the 
addition  of  either  of  which  bubbles  of  gas  are 
observed  to  escape  when  lime  is  present,  but 
not  otherwise. 

The  action  of  the  fire  upon  the  chalk  and 
the  limestones  merely  deprives  them  of  their 
water  and  carbonic  acid  gas,  or  fixed  air.  The 
farmer  must  not  fall  into  the  very  common 
error  of  supposing  that  any  thing  is  added  by 
the  fire  to  the  lime ;  on  the  contrary,  it  loses 
very  materially  in  weight,  by  being  deprived 
of  its  carbonic  acid  gas,  burnt  or  ^mcA-'-lime 
losing  about  44  per  cent,  of  its  original  weight, 
a  loss,  however,  which  it  gradually  recovers 
by  exposure  to  the  atmosphere,  which  always 
contains  this  elastic  vapour. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  properties  of 
quick-lime,  is  its  tendency  to  combine  with 
water.  If  quick-lime  be  moistened  with  a 
certain  quantity  of  water,  it  soon  becomes 
heathed,  throws  off  a  portion  of  the  water  in 
the  form  of  steam,  and  falls  to  a  very  fine, 
white  powder,  which  is  a  hydrate  of  lime,  al- 
ways containing  24  per  cent,  water;  if,  how- 
ever, more  water  be  added,  the  same  hydrate 
is  formed,  but  the  excess  of  water  agglutinates 
the  powder  into  lumps  or  masses  which  will 
eventually  become  hard,  and  resemble  stone. 
Still  more  water  immediately  applied  to  quick- 
lime, dissolves  it,  and  forms  lime-water.  If 
quick-lime  be  exposed  to  the  air,  it  also  falls  to 
a  coarser  powder  by  absorbing  12  per  cent,  of 
water  and  24  per  cent,  of  carbonic  acid  from 
the  air,  constituting  a  mingled  carbonate  and 
hydrate  of  lime.  The  same  change  occurs 
gradually  with  that  which  has  been  slacked  by 
water  and  is  exposed  to  the  air,  the  carbonic 
acid  of  the  atmosphere  replacing  the  water  of 
the  hydrate.  The  carbonate  of  lime,  such  as 
exists  in  chalk,  limestone,  &c.,  is  scarcely 
soluble  in  pure  water,  but  if  the  latter  contain 
carbonic  acid,  as  rain  water  usually  does  when 
in  contact  with  the  soil,  the  limestone  enters 
into  solution.     (Booth's  Geology  of  Delaware.) 

The  lime  which  I  have  used,  observes  Mr. 
C.  W.  Johnson,  has  been  principally  made 
from  chalk,  at  an  expense  of  aljout  five  pence 
or  six  pence  per  bushel.  That  which  I  made 
from  the  magnesia  limestone  was  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Sunderland.  This  requires 
less  fuel  to  convert  it  into  lime  than  the  common 
limestone.  For  the  ordinary  kinds,  about  one 
bushel  of  coals  is   required   for  five  or  six 


LIME. 


LIME. 


bushels  of  the  limestone ;  and  from  my  own 
experimentij,  I  am  inclined  to  agree  in  opinion 
with  many  of  the  farmers  of  the  midland  coun- 
ties, that  the  lime  procured  from  limestone  is 
rather  more  powerful  in  its  effects  on  clay  soils 
than  that  made  from  chalk. 

In  either  case  the  shape  of  the  kiln,  and  the 
steady  gradual  application  of  the  heat,  are  very 
material  circumstances  to  be  regarded  by  those 
who  burn  their  own  lime.  The  limestone  and 
chalk  should  be  placed  in  the  kiln  (which  I 
think  is  best  of  an  egg  shape),  in  moderately- 
sized  pieces,  free  from  the  powdered  chalk  or 
stone;  and  care  must  be  taken  to  have  the 
earth  thoroughly  burnt,  of  which  perhaps  the 
best  indications  are  its  lightness,  and  the  alte- 
ration of  the  colour  of  the  flame  issuing  from 
the  top  of  the  kiln,  which,  when  the  lime  is 
sufficiently  made,  loses  its  red  tinge.  The 
price  of  the  fuel,  and  readiness  of  access  to  the 
limestone  or  chalk,  of  necessity  governs  the 
price  of  the  lime:  in  some  districts  of  the 
north  it  is  made  by  the  farmers  for  not  more 
than  one  penny  to  three  halfpence  per  bushel. 

The  chemical  uses  of  lime  to  vegetation  may 
be  conveniently  divided  into  two  heads  ;  first, 
its  direct  action  upon  vegetation ;  and  second- 
ly, its  chemical  operation  on  the  matters  con- 
tained in  all  cultivaieable  soils. 

In  its  direct  action,  as  a  food  or  constituent 
of  plants,  its  uses  are  highly  important ;  for 
hardly  a  single  plant  has  yet  been  analyzed,  in 
which  the  presence  of  lime  has  not  been  de- 
tected, in  combination  with  an  acid.  It  must 
be  regarded  indeed  as  an  essential  ingredient 
in  almost  all  vegetable  substances,  as  a  direct 
food  of  plants. 

It  is  found  in  the  commonly  cultivated  crops 
of  the  farmer,  however,  in  very  varying  pro- 
portions: thus  the  ashes  of  the  oat-plant  contain 
more  than  five  per  cent,  of  lime ;  in  two 
pounds'  weight  of  the  seeds  of  wheat  are  com- 
monly found  about  12  grains  of  carbonate  of 
lime  ;  in  the  same  quantity  of  rye,  about  13-4 
grains  ;  in  barley  24-8  grains  ;  33-75  grains  in 
the  oat,  and  46-2  in  the  same  weight  of  rye- 
straw.  It  abounds  also  with  magnesia  in  the 
wood  of  trees:  the  ashes  of  that  of  the  oak 
contain  about  32  per  cent,  of  the  earthy  carbo- 
nates ;  those  from  the  poplar  27  per  cent. ;  from 
the  hazel  8  ;  of  the  mulberry  56  ;  and  from  the 
hornbeam  26  per  cent.  The  proportion  how- 
ever of  lime  found  in  plants  varies  with  the 
composition  of  the  soil  on  which  they  are  pro- 
duced. Thus  the  ashes  of  the  leaves  of  the  fir 
(Piiius  abies),  growing  upon  a  limestone  hill, 
were  found  to  contain  43-5  per  cent,  of  the  car- 
bonates of  lime  and  magnesia,  but  the  ashes 
from  the  leaves  of  another  fir  growing  upon  a 
granite  soil  yielded  only  29  per  cent,  of  the 
same  earthy  salts.  There  are  very  few  soils 
fit  for  cultivation  from  which  this  earth  is  en- 
tirely absent,  and  its  addition  is  commonly 
found  by  the  former  to  promote  the  fertility  of 
most  barren  lands — the  most  sterile  heaths,  for 
these  are  the  very  lands  whose  soils  contain 
hardly  a  trace  o(  hrae  ;  in  that  of  Bagshot,  for 
instance,  it  exists  in  a  very  minute  proportion. 
The  attraction  of  lime  for  the  aqueous  parti- 
cles of  the  atmosphere  is  considerable.  In  my 
own  experiments  1000  parts  of  lime  previous- 


ly dried  in  a  temperature  of  212°  gained  by  ex- 
posure  for  three  hours  to  air  saturated  with 
moisture,  at  a  temperature  of  60°,  11  parts. 
Professor  Schubler  found  that  the  same  weight 
gained  in  12  hours  26  parts,  in  24  hours  31 
parts,  in  48  hours  35  parts,  when  it  appeared 
to  have  become  saturated  with  moisture,  for  in 
72  hours  it  had  not  again  increased  in  weight. 
Lime  therefore  is  not  without  its  uses  even  in 
this  respect  to  vegetation.  Lime  and  chalk 
differ  in  their  action,  and  in  their  value  as  fer- 
tilizers in  several  respects ;  thus  lime  dissolves 
and  renders  soluble  the  organic  matters  of  the 
soil,  which  chalk  does  not;  its  action,  too,  as  a 
direct  food  of  plants,  is  more  rapid,  from  the 
superior  readiness  with  which  it  mingles  with 
the  soil.  And  again,  its  carriage  is  consider- 
ably lighter,  for  in  the  process  of  lime-burn- 
ing almost  all  the  water  and  carbonic  acid  gas 
of  the  chalk  are  driven  off.  These  amounted 
in  some  specimens  of  Kentish  chalk,  which  I 
examined,  to  more  than  58  per  cent.;  so  that 
when  the  farmer  carries  42  tons  of  recently 
well-burnt  lime,  he  conveys  as  much  real  earth 
on  to  his  land  as  is  sometimes  contained  in 
100  tons  of  chalk. 

The  chemical  action  of  the  lime  on  the  soil 
is  also  very  considerable ;  mixing  with  the 
heavy  adhesive  clays,  it  renders  them  more 
friable,  less  liable  to  be  injuriously  acted  upon 
by  the  sun,  and  much  more  readily  permeable 
by  the  gases  and  vapour  of  the  atmosphere.  It 
renders  them,  the  cultivator  tells  you,  "more 
easily  workable."  And,  again,  the  action  of 
lime  upon  the  organic  substances  always  more 
or  less  contained  in  the  farmers'  soils  is  very 
considerable;  and  this  benefit  is  not  merely 
confined  to  the  vegetable  remains  in  the  land, 
but  it  extends  with  equal  energy  to  the  dead  and 
the  living  animal  matters,  with  which,  in  a 
countless  variety  of  forms,  the  soil  is  tenanted. 
There  are  few  substances,  in  fact,  more  de- 
structive to  grub-worms,  animalculae,  &c.,  than 
lime ;  and  where  these  are  destroyed  by  the 
action  of  the  lime,  the  soil  is,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  enriched  by  their  remains.  On 
soils  which  abound  in  sulphate  of  iron,  which 
is  commonly  the  case  with  those  containing  an 
excess  of  peat,  the  action  of  lime  is  not  only 
highly  beneficial  in  decomposing  or  rendering 
soluble  the  mass  of  inert  vegetable  remains, 
but  the  lime  decomposes  the  sulphate  of  iron, 
and,  uniting  with  its  sulphuric  acid,  forms  the 
well-known  fertilizer,  the  sulphate  of  lime  or 
gypsum  of  commerce. 

When  quick-lime  is  applied  to  the  soil,  it 
gradually  becomes  converted,  by  exposure  to 
the  atmosphere,  into  carbonate  of  lime  (chalk) ; 
its  action  as  a  solvent  ceases,  and  its  presence 
is  now  only  useful  as  a  direct  food  or  consti- 
tuent of  the  farmer's  crops.  This,  however, 
affords  an  opportunity  for  the  beneficial  repe- 
tition of  the  dressing  with  lime,  so  far  as  its 
solvent  powers  are  available.  But  then,  as 
might,  for  the  above  reasons,  have  been  antici 
pated,  the  farmer  finds  that  the  after-linangs 
never  do  so  much  good  as  the  first ;  and  as  by 
each  successive  application  the  lime  reduces 
still  more  and  more  the  quantity  of  organic 
matters  in  the  soil,  so  it  follows  as  a  natural 
consequence  that  after  each  succeeding  dv'ess- 

7*7 


LIME. 


LIME. 


Ing,  the  bt  nefit  produced  becomes  less  and  less, 
and  finally  the  cultivator  informs  us  that  "the 
land  is  tired  of  lime."  This  result  has  been 
experienced  to  a  very  considerable  extent  in 
the  north  of  England,  where  the  cheapness  of 
fuel  and  the  abundance  of  the  common  lime- 
stone has,  in  too  many  instances,  tempted  the 
farmer  to  add  to  his  land  lime  in  excessive 
quantities.  For  such  over-limed  soils,  the  only 
remedy  is  the  addition  of  organic  matters.  In 
such  cases,  peat  will,  in  moderate  quantities, 
be  occasionally  found  an  excellent  dressing. 

The  quantity  of  lime  used  per  acre  of  neces- 
sity varies  with  the  soil,  and  the  expense  with 
which  it  is  procured.  The  heavy  clay  and  peat 
soils  require  the  largest  proportions;  the  light 
lands  need  a  much  smaller  quantity  to  produce 
the  maximum  benefit.  I  have  used  it  at  the 
rate  of  25  bushels  per  acre,  mixed  with  earth, 
on  light  soils,  and  never  more  than  100  bushels 
per  acre  on  clays.  This  is  the  proportion  com- 
monly used  on  the  heavy  soils  of  the  midland 
counties,  and  the  deep  clays  of  the  weald  of 
Kent,  In  Scotland  they  apply  sometimes  as 
much  as  360  bushels  per  acre,  and  in  Ireland 
still  larger  quantities  have  been  successfully 
employed;  and  on  some  of  the  peat  mosses  of 
the  north  of  England,  more  than  1000  bushels 
have  been  used  with  good  effect.  The  employ- 
ment of  such  large  proportions,  however,  can 
rarely  be  justified,  even  when  the  lime  is  ob- 
tainable at  a  very  low  rate. 

I  have  used  lime,  and  have  been  present  at 
other  liming  operations  for  many  years.  I 
have  chiefly  employed  it  either  as  a  top-dress- 
in?,  or  which,  for  light  soils,  I  much  prefer, 
mixed  with  ditch  scrapings,  old  banks  or  pond 
mud,  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  of  lime  to  a  cubic 
yard  of  earth.  And  then,  after  thoroughly  mix- 
ing them  together,  and  allowing  the  mass  to 
remain  for  a  month  or  six  weeks,  I  have  al- 
ways succeeded  in  forming  a  most  enriching 
compost,  which,  on  even  the  gravelly  soils  of 
"^ssex,  applied  at  the  rate  of  20  to  25  cubic 
yards  per  acre,  both  for  wheat,  clover,  and  po- 
tatoes (to  which  crop,  in  general,  lime  is  pre- 
judicial), has  produced  the  most  powerful 
effects,  certainly  increasing  by  one-third  the 
produce  of  the  natural  soil.  It  is  only  in  the 
Slate  of  mixture  with  earth,  or  peat,  or  salt,  that 
I  iiave  found  lime  profitably  useful  for  light, 
gravelly  soils.  Yet  I  have  varied  the  applica- 
tion in  a  variety  of  ways  and  proportions,  but 
still,  for  the  gravels  or  sands,  the  result  was 
never  entirely  satisfactory.  But  I  have  wit- 
nessed, as  a  dressing  for  the  black  hungry 
gravels  of  Spring  Park,  near  Croydon,  lime 
and  prat  mixed  together,  at  the  rate  of  1  part 
of  lime  and  3  parts  of  peat,  with  the  most  com- 
plete success.  The  peat  is  reduced  to  a  finely- 
divided  state,  and  rendered  partially  soluble  by 
the  action  of  the  lime,  and  is  a  most  powerful 
top-dressing  for  young  clovers.  This  is  ex- 
plainable (amongst  other  reasons)  by  the  fact 
that  the  peat  employed  being  saturated  with  a 
solution  of  sulphate  of  iron,  the  lime  converted 
It  into  sulphate  of  lime,  which  is  a  constituent 
or  direct  food  of  clover.  Equally  successful, 
on  'ighi  soils,  have  been  my  trials  of  lime,  \vhen 
mixed  with  common  salt;  2  parts  of  lime, 
mixed  with  1  part  of  salt  in  a  dry  state,  and 
718 


suffered  to  remain  for  three  months  previcus 
to  its  being  used  in  a  dry  place.  By  applying 
this  mixture  at  the  rate  of  from  40  to  60  bushels 
per  acre,  crops  of  turnips  have  been  grown 
under  my  directions  fully  equal  to  any  produced 
by  20  cubic  yards  per  acre  of  farm-yard  com- 
post: and  in  1840,  the  produce  of  ground  thus 
dressed  fully  equalled  that  of  some  adjoining 
lands  of  the  same  field,  which  had  been  ma- 
nured with  the  ordinary  compost.  And  an 
excellent  neighbouring  farmer,  Mr.  Foster,  of 
Great  Tolham,  in  July,  1840,  made  an  experi- 
ment with  turnips,  entirely  confirming  those 
I  had  elsewhere  instituted.  He  applied  a  mix- 
ture per  acre  of  30  bushels  of  lime  with  15 
bushels  of  salt,  to  10  acres  of  a  field  contain- 
ing 12  acres.  The  land  previously  had  a  crop 
of  rye,  which  was  fed  off  with  sheep  ;  and  on 
the  2  acres  to  which  the  salt  and  lime  were  not 
applied,  the  sheep  had  oil  cake  given  to  them, 
and,  moreover,  the  land  was  sub-soiled  to  a 
depth  of  18  to  20  inches.  The  field  previous- 
ly had  a  good  summer  fallow.  The  lime  and 
salt  was  spread  broadcast  after  the  last  plough- 
ing, and  harrowed  in  before  the  seed.  The 
turnips  were  of  the  variety  called  green  rounds. 
The  land  slopes  to  the  south,  and  its  soil  is  a 
light,  mouldy  turnip  soil.  In  examining  them 
in  company  with  Mr.  Foster,  in  the  last  week 
in  August,  he  expressed  himself  abundantly 
satisfied  with  the  result.  The  crop  of  turnips 
was  equally  good  all  over  the  field ;  if  there 
was  a  shade  of  difference,  it  was  in  favour  of 
the  sub-soiled  and  cake-fed  land ;  but  the  ad- 
vantage, if  any,  was  exceedingly  inconsider- 
able. 

In  the  use  of  this  mixture,  I  have  found  the 
moisture  of  the  atmosphere  highly  advanta- 
geous in  increasing  the  operation  of  the  lime 
and  salt;  an  observation,  too,  which  is  not 
confined  to  the  dry,  gravelly  soils  on  which 
my  experiments  were  carried  on.  Thus,  in 
1839,  on  an  exhausted,  rather  heavy  turnip 
loam,  80  bushels  per  acre  of  a  mixture  of  salt 
1  part,  and  lime  2  parts,  made  three  months 
previously,  were  spread  in  July,  and  sown 
with  the  white  round  turnips.  The  turnip 
plants  came  up  equally  well  all  over  the  field ; 
but  on  the  portions  where  the  salt  and  lime 
were  omitted,  they  speedily  perished;  but  in 
every  part  dressed  with  the  lime  and  salt,  the 
crop  was  excellent. 

In  the  dry  season  of  1840,  however,  another 
portion  of  the  same  field  being  treated  in  a 
similar  manner,  the  effect  produced  by  the 
lime  and  salt  was  not  nearly  so  decisive ;  the 
plants  were  weak,  the  crop  inferior. 

I  have  found  the  lime  and  salt  equally  bene- 
ficial as  a  dressing  for  wheat  and  barley;  but 
a  description  of  those  experiments  will  more 
properly  be  found  under  the  head  Salt  and 
Li>iK ;  for  when  the  application  is  made  to  the 
land,  the  lime  and  salt  have,  in  fact,  entered 
into  new  combinations  ;  the  compound  applied 
is  no  longer  a  dressing  with  lime  and  salt,  but 
with  a  mixture  chiefly  composed  of  chloride 
of  calcium  and  carbonate  of  soda,  with  a  por- 
tion of  undecomposed  lime  and  common  salt. 
I  have  several  times  mixed  lime,  in  cases 
where  I  suspected  the  presence  of  grub  and 
the  seeds  of  weeds,  with  farm-yard  compost, 


LIME. 


LIME. 


bnt  never  successfully.  Convinced  of  the  ill 
effects  of  the  lime  being  thus  mixed,  I  have 
long  since  abandoned  the  practice.  There  is, 
in  lact,  no  beneficial  object  to  be  attained  by 
this  mode.  The  natural  well-regulated  fer- 
mentation of  the  dung  effects  all  that  the  lime 
can  do,  and  in  a  better  manner ;  for  the  lime 
dissolves,  and,  to  a  considerable  extent,  decom- 
poses the  finer  and  richer  portions  of  the  com- 
post; and  it  certainly  renders  the  straw  and 
other  coarser  portions  of  the  manure  drier  and 
more  difficult  to  dissolve  in  the  soil.  The 
practice,  therefore,  seems  worse  than  useless. 

In  the  application  of  lime  to  heavy  clay 
land,  I  have  always  found  that  it  was  best, 
used  either  in  its  simple  uncombined  state,  or 
after  an  ultimate  mixture  of  sandy  or  light  cal- 
careous earths,  or  peal,  or  salt.  But  by  no 
means  of  applying  it  (and  I  have  varied  my 
experiments  in  a  variety  of  ways  with  con- 
siderable industry)  on  the  laud,  could  I  ever 
produce  superior  effects  than  by  applying  the 
lime  in  its  uncombined  state,  as  well  burnt  and 
finely  divided  as  possible  ;  and  this  I  have  gene- 
rally done  as  a  top-dressing  (merely  harrow- 
ing it  in  with  the  seed),  from  considering  that 
by  the  soluble  property  of  lime  (1  lb.  of  lime 
dissolving  in  480  lbs.  of  water),  the  rain  always 
conveys  it  deeper  into  the  soil. 

And  yet,  from  an  experiment  recently  made 
at  my  suggestion  by  my  next  neighbour,  Mr. 
Foster,  a  very  excellent  farmer  of  Great  To- 
tham,  in  Essex,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  lime  will  produce  effects  nearly  equally 
important  when  it  is  ploughed  into  the  soil. 
This  trial  was  made  in  December,  1839,  on  a 
field  of  5  acres,  whose  soil  is  a  cold,  stiff, 
deep,  hungry  loam,  that  had  previously  borne 
a  very  poor  crop  of  turnips,  which  were  fed 
off  with  sheep.  This  field  has  a  declination 
towards  the  southwest,  and  has  always  pro- 
duced crops  of  a  very  inferior  description.  In 
the  middle  of  December,  after  spreading  80 
bushels  per  acre  of  lime  (made  from  chalk) 
from  the  cart's  tail,  by  the  shovel,  it  was  im- 
mediately ploughed  in  and  drilled  with  the 
common  red  wheat.  The  effect  was  excellent, 
every  one  of  the  neighbours  agreeing  that  the 
land  never  produced  such  a  crop  before.  And 
that  this  was  owing  to  the  lime,  was  evident 
from  the  inferior  produce  on  the  spots  where 
the  lime  had  not  been  spread. 

The  exact  quantity,  however,  per  acre,  Mr. 
Foster  is  unable  to  state,  owing  to  his  being 
prevented  in  the  hurry  of  harvest  from  keeping 
ii  separate :  he  estimates  it,  however,  at  about  4^ 
quarters  per  acre,  and  he  is  clearly  of  opinion 
that  this  large  produce  (for  his  land)  arose  not 
so  much  from  the  thickness  of  the  crop,  as 
from  the  largeness  of  the  ears. 

In  the  boggy,  unreclaimed  lands  of  Spring 
Park,  the  effect  produced  by  the  direct  use  of 
lime,  at  the  rate  cf  200  bushels  per  acre,  is  ex- 
cellent. The  cost  is  there  4  pence  per  bushel, 
and  it  is  that  made  from  chalk.  But  on  the 
light,  hungry,  black  gravels  of  that  farm,  as 
well  in  fact  as  upon  the  clays  of  that  district 
(and  the  same  remarks  apply  in  general  to  al- 
most all  light  soils  and  situations),  the  lime  is 
never  productive  of  such  powerful  effects  as 
when  mixed  with   the    earthy  matters   from 


ditches,  ponds,  old  banks,  or  headlands.  But 
here  let  me  earnestly  impress  upon  the  farmer 
the  necessity  and  the  great  advantage  of  pay- 
ing much  more  than  common  attention  to  the 
mixing  of  the  lime  with  the  earth. 

The  lime  should  not  only  be  of  the  best 
and  recently  burnt  description,  but  should  be 
mixed  as  thoroughly  and  as  finely  as  possible 
with  the  earth.  By  this  means  the  heat  gene- 
rated in  the  mass  by  the  slaking  of  the  lime  is 
considerable,  and  is  productive  of  several  ad- 
vantages :  it  kills  more  completely  insects  of 
all  kinds — seeds  of  weeds,  and  the  more  stub- 
born roots  of  weeds.  And  the  mixed  earths 
are  rendered  considerably  more  friable,  and 
capable  of  a  much  more  even  and  economical 
distribution  on  the  farmer's  crops,  than  by  the 
ordinary  careless  way  of  mixing  them.  On 
peat  soils,  and  on  those  abounding  in  the 
tough  inert  remains  of  the  heath  plants,  lime 
is  best  applied  in  its  purest  state,  unmixed 
with  any  other  substances  to  weaken  its  effect. 
Its  action  on  such  soils  is  not  dilficult  of  ex- 
planation. It  dissolves  and  renders  soluble 
the  organic  matters  of  the  soil,  and  it  decom 
poses  the  sulphate  of  iron  (or  green  vitriol) 
which  it  often  contains.  In  such  lands,  too, 
we  rarely  find  any  lime :  it  furnishes,  there- 
fore, to  them  a  portion  of  an  earth  whose  pre- 
sence is  absolutely  essential  to  the  prohlr.ble 
growth  of  all  the  most  valuable  vegetables. 
How  excellent  such  an  addition  is  tot;ie:e  soils, 
even  when  applied  only  at  the  rate  of  4  bushels 
per  acre,  has  been  proved  by  some  extensive 
experiments  of  the  Scotch  planter,  the  growth 
of  whose  young  woods  has  been  very  mate- 
rially and  rapidly  promoted  by  merely  placing 
a  handful  of  lime  under  each  plant.  Now  we 
Have  already  seen  how  copiously  this  earth  is 
found  in  the  ashes,  not  only  of  the  fir,  but  in 
those  of  all  other  timber  trees.  So  unvaried,  in- 
deed, is  the  presence  of  the  salts  of  lime  in 
vegetables,  that  they  have  been  supposed  to 
produce  a  similar  supporting  effect  to  that  the 
same  salts  of  lime  yield  in  the  bones  of  ani- 
mals. And  it  is  certainly  worthy  of  remark 
that  the  phosphate  and  carbonate  of  lime,  of 
which  the  bones  of  all  animals  are  chiefly 
composed,  are  precisely  the  salts  of  lime  the 
most  universally  present  in  vegetables. 

Lime  must,  therefore,  be  classed  amongst 
those  manures  which  commonly  serve  to  pro- 
mote Ihe  permanent  fertility  of  the  land,  for  un- 
less it  is  washed  by  the  moisture  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, or  the  flood  waters,  it  can  only  be  re- 
moved from  the  soil  by  becoming  the  food  for 
the  cultivator's  crops.  In  poor,  peaty  soils,  no 
other  manure  can  be  compared  to  it,  either  for 
powerful  effect,  or  for  rapidity  of  action;  and 
its  usefulness  is  nearly  as  great  on  the  stiffest 
clay  land.  Whenever,  therefore,  the  permanent 
improvement  of  such  soils  shall  be  consiiefed 
with  that  general  and  that  patient  attention 
which  the  importance  of  the  object  demands, 
at  that  period  the  fertilizing  powers  of  lime 
will  be  still  more  generally  appreciated,  and 
its  services  be  far  more  extended  than  at 
present. 

The  quantity  of  lime  applied  per  acre  of  ne- 
cessity varies  with  the  description  of  the  soil; 
that  which  contains  most  organic  matter  will, 

7l» 


LIME. 


LIMB. 


ol  necessity,  bear  a  larger  proportion  than  that 
which  is  more  free  from  vegetable  or  animal 
remains.  The  quantity  usually  applied  is  much 
too  large,  and  the  dressing  too  often  repeated 
without  proper  consideration ;  and  it  is  not  until 
the  land  becomes  absolutely  overcharged  with 
lime,  that  the  farmer  begins  to  have  a  sus- 
picion that  his  land  is  tired  of  it.  In  Ire- 
land it  is  sometimes  applied  to  old  pasture 
leys  intended  for  potatoes,  at  the  rate  of  iOO 
bushels  per  acre  ;  and  on  some  of  the  moors 
in  Derbyshire,  1500  bushels  per  acre  have  been 
found  not  too  large  a  quantity.  In  Scotland 
the  quantity  usually  applied  for  light  land  is 
about  160  bushels  per  acre;  for  stiff  clay  soils 
from  240  to  360  bushels.  On  the  stiff  clays 
of  the  Weald  of  Kent,  the  quantity  usually 
employed  is  about  100  bushels  per  acre,  and 
that  is  often  repeated  every  5  years,  on  the  fal- 
low before  wheat. 

Lime  may  be  as  readily  produced  by  burning 
limestone  with  peat  as  with  coals ;  the  heat  pro- 
duced is  amply  sufficient,  and  the  heat  moss  ea- 
sily managed. 

According  to  the  views  of  Professor  Daub- 
ny  and  M.  Prideaux,  lime  operates  beneficially 
on  some  soils,  by  promoting  the  disengage- 
ment of  potash  and  other  substances,  where 
these  exist  in  the  mineral  materials,  thus  con- 
verting dormant  earthy  or  saline  constituents 
into  agents  active  in  the  promotion  of  vegetable 
growth.  The  soil  of  a  field  exhausted  by  long- 
contiiHJed  cropping,  was  found  to  yield  double 
the  quantity  of  potash,  after  being  dressed 
with  lime.  The  action,  therefore,  of  lime  upon 
the  earthy  matters  of  many  soils,  is  exceed- 
ingly beneficial.  The  frequent  application  of 
lime,  however,  tends  to  exhaust  such  soils,  by 
the  rapid  reduction  of  the  proportion  of  their 
potash,  which  is  not  only  furnished  more  copi- 
ously as  a  constituent  to  the  growing  crops, 
but  by  dissolution  in  the  water  becomes  drained 
from  the  land. 

Although  beneficial,  from  these  chemical  ef- 
fects exerted  pvex  the  soil  in  setting  free  and 
rendering  active  some  of  its  most  fertilizing 
agents,  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the  greatest 
benefit  derived  from  the  use  of  lime,  is  from  its 
action  upon  the  vegetable  and  animal  matters 
with  which  it  is  brought  into  contact,  when 
introduced  into  the  soil.  In  numerous  trials 
made  by  Professor  J.  F.  W.  Johnston,  lime  ap- 
peared to  produce  very  slight  benefits  upon  lands, 
in  which  organic  (animal  and  vegetable)  matter 
was  deficient. 

An  ordinary  liming  will  rarely  amount  to  1 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  weight  of  the  soil.  It 
retiuires  about  400  bushels,  or  12  or  15  tons  of 
burned  lime,  per  acre,  to  add  1  per  cent,  of 
lime  to  a  soil  12  inches  deep,  or  2  per  cent,  when 
the  depth  is  only  6  inches.  The  good  effects  of 
lime  are  most  decided,  when  used  as  a  top  dress- 
ing and  kept  near  the  surface.  A  much  smaller 
quantity  wMl  answer,  wh^n  applied  immediately 
upon  being  slak'^d  with  water,  as  in  this  state 
lime  is  quite  soluble,  but  very  slowly  so,  after 
it  has  bi'en  exposed  to  the  atmosphere  and  be- 
come like  chalk.  See  Chalk.  When  after 
slaking  it  has  become  too  wet,  so  as  to  be  ce- 
mented into  lumps,  these  decompose  so  slowly, 
that  they  may  be  almost  regarded  as  a  dead 
Toss. 

The  amount  of  lime  taken  from  the  soil  by 
7i0 


crops,  is  far  greater  than  is  generally  understood. 
Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston  states  the  weight  of 
lime  thus  carried  off  in  25  bushels  of  wheat 
at  9  lbs. ;  50  bushels  of  oats  9  lbs. ;  38  of  barley 
at  15  lbs.;  2  tons  of  rye-grass  33  lbs.;  2  tons 
red  clover  126  lbs.;  25  tons  of  turnips  140  lbs.; 
9  tons  of  potatoes  270  lbs.  This  includes  the 
lime  in  all  its  forms,  and  especially  the  all  im- 
portant phosphate  in  the  grain.  To  this  great 
source  of  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  must  be  added 
the  lime  which  combines  with  several  acid  mat- 
ters, forming  compounds  more  or  less  soluble  in 
water,  in  which  state  it  is  drained  from  the 
land,  or  sunk  into  the  earth  beyond  the  reach  of 
plants. 

Although  light  soils  are  most  readily  ex- 
hausted of  lime,  they  possess  'the  great  advan- 
tage over  heavy  clays,  of  allowing  the  car- 
bonic acid  in  rain  water  more  ready  access 
to  the  roots  of  plants,  and  atmospheric  air 
more  ready  entrance  to  all  decomposing  ma- 
nures, such  as  bones,  fish,  rape-cake,  &c.  Thii 
may  afford  an  explanation  of  the  cause  why 
lime,  as  well  as  other  fertilizers,  frequently 
fail  to  show  prominent  benefits  on  certain 
lands.  In  order  to  act  most  favourably,  they 
need  the  presence. of  carbonic  acid  and  atmo- 
spheric air. 

There  is  perhaps  no  other  country  so  rich- 
ly endowed  with  this  earth  as  England,  for, 
to  say  nothing  of  its  great  strata  of  chalk, 
how  endless  are  the  masses  and  varieties  ot 
limestones.  Let  us  not  therefore  neglect,  but 
extend,  by  every  means  in  our  power,  the 
use  of  the  treasures  we  possess ;  for  by  so 
doing  we  may  not  only  increase  the  fertility 
of  lands  already  (like  the  more  tenacious  clays 
for  instance)  in  some  degree  productive  of 
food,  but  we  can  bring  into  cultivation,  by 
the  judicious  employment  of  this  powerful 
earth,  the  most  sterile  peats,  the  trembling 
bogs,  the  most  worthless  heaths  :  the  infe- 
rior plants,  such  as  the  acid  sorrel,  are  ba- 
nished by  its  influence,  and  the  soil  which 
once  only  held  the  stagnant  water  impregna- 
ted with  unwholesome  vegetable  and  mine- 
ral matters,  is  now  made  to  produce  the  most 
useful  of  the  cultivator's  crops ;  and  the  im- 
provement, too,  is  of  even  national  import- 
ance, for  such  lands  not  only  furnish  addi- 
tional employment  to  the  labourer,  but  they 
now  purify  an  atmosphere  which  their  ex- 
halations in  an  unimproved  state  once  cor- 
rupted. 

"  Much  has  been  written  and  said  relative  to 
the  preservative  and  destructive  effects  of  lime 
on  organic  manures,  from  which  we  learn  that 
it  operates  both  ways,  according  to  its  chemical 
state.  If  employed  as  quick-lime,  and  placed 
in  contact  with  organic  matter,  its  alkaline  pro- 
perties would  lead  us  to  infer  a  decomposing 
influence,  which  is  confirmed  by  experience; 
but  the  effect  is  of  short  duration,  and  is  suc- 
ceeded by  the  reverse  operation,  that  of  pre- 
serving such  matter  from  farther  decomposi- 
tion. The  truth  is,  if  we  could  insure  a  con- 
tinuance of  its  caustic  state,  we  might  be 
equally  sure  of  its  constant  decomposing  pow- 
er, but  by  this  action  it  generates  carbonic 
acid  from  the  organic  matter  uniting  with  it 
and  forming  a  neutral  carbonate,  which  either 
acts  like  other  salts  in  preventing  deoomyjO' 
sition  by  its  presence  or  catalytic  influence,  or 


liME. 


LIME. 


being  formed  and  hardened  in  the  interior  of 
the  organized  material,  protects  it  from  farther 
decay.  For  this  reason  it  may  be  used  to  pre- 
vent excessive  fermentation  in  the  dung-hill; 
and  to  the  same  properties  we  may  in  part 
ascribe  its  utility  in  the  soil,  viz.,  that  of  per- 
mitting the  slow  and  gradual  decay  of  organic 
matter  in  quantities  suited  to  the  demands  of 
vegetation.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the 
chief  value  of  lime  as  a  manure  lay  in  its 
caustic  or  destructive  effects,  but  that  this  po- 
sition is  untenable  is  proved  by  the  successful 
application  of  marls,  and  even  powdered  lime- 
stone, which  are  robbed  of  their  caustic  quali- 
ties. Sir  H.  Davy  and  others  who  have  writ- 
ten on  the  subject  of  agriculture,  refer  the 
utility  of  lime  to  its  causticity,  and  state  that 
•chalk,  marl,  or  carbonate  of  lime  will  only 
improve  the  texture  of  the  soil  or  its  relation 
to  absorption ;  it  acts  merely  as  one  of  the 
earthy  ingredients.'  This  view  is  unquestion- 
ably incorrect,  for  it  has  been  known  to  pro- 
duce astonishing  effects  on  peaty  soils,  when 
applied  in  the  form  of  carbonate  and  not  caus- 
tic lime,  and  powdered  limestone  as  well  as 
marl  have  been  successfully  used  on  ordinary 
soils.  Besides,  if  ♦  the  formation  of  soluble 
matter  from  insoluble  organic  materials'  be 
the  chief  effect  of  lime,  this  effect  should 
take  place  immediately,  while  the  lime  is  in 
its  caustic  state ;  but  it  appears  that  it  soon 
becomes  carbonated  in  the  soil,  or  by  exposure 
to  the  air,  and  yet  its  useful  effects  are  more 
perceptible  a  considerable  time  after  its  appli- 
cation, and  may  be  perceived  for  many  years. 
Whence  it  appears  that  its  action  on  organic 
matters  in  the  soil  is  continued  (probably  not 
increased)  in  the  soil  after  carbonation. 

"Much  of  the  vagueness  in  descriptions  re- 
lative to  the  use  of  lime  has  arisen  from  an 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  organic  constitu- 
ents of  soils,  which  have  lately  been  partially- 
developed.  Authors  have  divided  the  organic 
matter  into  soluble  and  insoluble,  by  the  for- 
mer of  which  we  understand  the  humic,  crenic, 
and  apocrenic  acids,  and  by  the  latter,  humin, 
humus-coal,  and  vegetable  fibre;  and  they  state 
that  lime  is  injurious  where  there  is  much 
soluble  matter  in  the  soil,  as  it  forms  insoluble 
combinations.  The  truth  is,  the  humate  of 
lime  is  partially  soluble,  the  crenate  somewhat 
Fo,  and  the  bi-crenate  very  soluble.  Now,  by 
admitting  these  acids  as  active  ingredients  in 
soils,  we  are  at  no  loss  to  account  for  the 
utility  of  carbonate  of  lime,  for  the  weak  affi- 
nity of  the  carbonic  acid  is  overcome  by  their 
superior  attraction,  and  more  soluble  salts  are 
formed  which  may  then  be  received  into  the 
rootlets  of  plants.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
however,  that  caustic  lime  is  of  greater  benefit 
where  a  soil  contains  humin  and  vegetable 
fibre,  as  it  promotes  their  incipient  decomposi- 
tion. The  utility  of  lime,  therefore,  is  three- 
fold :  first,  that  of  decomposing  organic  matter, 
and  rendermg  it  a  suitable  nourishment  for 
plants  ;  secondly,  that  of  combining  with  orga- 
nic matter  and  rendering  it  capable  of  being 
received  into  the  vessels  of  vegetable  organ- 
ization for  promoting  vegetation ;  and,  lastly, 
that  of  lengthening  the  time  of  decomposition 
of  organic  matter,  which,  therefore,  yields  nu- 
91 


trition  in  proportion  to  the  demands  of  a  plant 
in  the  progress  of  its  growth. 

"  It  has  been  supposed  by  many  to  be  neces- 
sary that  lime  should  be  caustic,  as  it  is  only 
then  soluble,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that 
the  carbonate  is  also  soluble  in  water  contain- 
ing carbonic  acid  ;  and  farther,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  either  the  carbonate  or  quick-lime 
alone  should  be  dissolved  in  order  to  explain 
its  influence  in  vegetation,  for  moisture,  the 
medium  of  chemical  action,  is  always  present 
in  the  soil,  and  assists  in  its  soluble  combina- 
tion with  the  organic  acids.  There  is,  how- 
ever, another  action  of  lime  with  reference  to 
the  soil  itself,  which  is  of  importance,  viz.,  that 
it  renders  clayey  lands  looser,  and  sandy  soils 
more  tenacious.  The  latter  of  these  contrary 
effects  is  of  a  chemical  character,  and  there  is 
little  doubt  that  lime  acts  like  mortar  by  com 
bining  the  particles  of  sand  together.  The 
former  is  partly  mechanical,  the  mingling  of 
less  cohesive  earthy  matter  with  the  clay,  and 
partly  chemical,  in  which  the  lime  dissolved  by 
rains  is  washed  into  the  crevices  and  cracks 
of  the  clay,  where,  becoming  carbonated,  it 
prevents  their  farther  adhesion.  To  effect 
these  results  most  powerfully,  it  is  evident 
that  the  lime  should  be  employed  in  a  caustic 
or  water-slaked  state.  According  to  these 
views,  therefore,  it  is  a  matter  of  less  moment 
on  what  kind  of  land  lime  should  be  spread, 
as  it  tends  to  ameliorate  its  condition  or  tex- 
ture, and  is  the  medium  of  conveyance  of  nu- 
trition to  vegetable  life. 

"Nearly  all  the  limestone  employed  in  Dela- 
ware for  spreading  on  the  soil  is  magnesian, 
and  it  is  therefore  worth  investigating  how  far 
the  magnesia  may  be  injurious.  One  of  the 
first  limestones  employed  for  this  purpose  in 
Pennsylvania,  from  which  lime  derived  much 
of  its  reputation  as  a  manure  in  this  section  of 
country,  and  which  has  not  lost  its  character 
to  the  present  time,  is  nearly  of  the  same  com- 
position with  Jeanes'  stone  ;  a  very  fair  proof 
that  such  a  content  of  magnesia  is  not  inju- 
rious under  certain  circumstances.  Sir  H. 
Davy's  view  of  the  subject  appears  to  be  cor- 
rect, that  magnesia  in  a  caustic  state  is  inju- 
rious, but  that  when  carbonated  it  is  beneficiaL 
It  was  stated  that  it  remains  caustic  for  a  long 
time  exposed  to  the  air,  and  particularly  when 
mingled  with  lime;  therefore,  in  employing  a 
magnesian  limestone,  if  there  is  little  vegetable 
matter  in  the  soil  it  will  be  apt  to  injure  the 
crops ;  but  this  effect  may  be  obviated  by 
mingling  it  with  fermenting  manure,  which 
will  rapidly  carbonate  it.  There  is  another 
view  of  the  subject  which  has  never  been 
broached,  viz.,  the  influence  of  the  organic 
acids  in  the  soil.  If  much  humic  acid  be  pre- 
sent, it  will  form  humate  of  magnesia,  soluble 
in  160  parts  of  water,  while  humate  of  lime 
requires  2000,  so  that  it  will  be  taken  up  in 
greater  quantity  than  lime.  But  by  referring 
to  the  quantity  required  by  plants  as  shown 
by  an  analysis  of  their  ashes,  we  find  that  oak 
requires  about  .5^  times  as  much  lime  as  mag- 
nesia, and  that  ashes  of  straw  yield  nearly  12 
per  cent,  of  carbonate  and  phosphate  of  lime, 
and  no  magnesia,  from  which  it  would  seem 
that  the  latter  is  injurious  to  plants  from  its 
3P  721 


LIME. 


LIME. 


excess  where  humic  acid  is  abundant.  But  if 
the  soil  contain  much  humin,  and  other  inso- 
luble organic  matter,  its  action  in  a  caustic 
state  would  be  beneficial  like  that  of  lime.  We 
have,  therefore,  in  Delaware  abundant  means 
of  rendering  magnesian  lime  useful,  by  em- 
playing  it  in  conjunction  with  peaty  matter,  the 
black  soil  of  marshes,  creeks,  &c."  (Booth's 
Geology  of  Delaware.) 

Ali  the  grain  crops,  as  well  as  those  of  grass, 
are  greatly  benefited  by  judicious  applications 
of  lime  in  some  of  its  various  forms.  Oats 
take  up  a  larger  proportion  than  almost  any 
other  grain,  and  hence  are  observed  to  be 
specially  benefited  by  lime.  Rye  and  Indian 
corn  are  also  greatly  benefited  by  lime,  and 
with  regard  to  wheat,  the  following  strong  tes- 
timony is  from  Dr.  Jackson,  the  able  American 
chemist  and  geologist.  "I  find,"  he  says,  "  by 
chemical  examination  of  several  soils,  that  a 
very  minute  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime,  viz. 
from  one  to  two  per  cent.,  is  amply  sufficient 
to  render  them  capable  of  bearing  heavy  crops 
of  good  wheat.  I  am  also  satisfied  that  a  soil 
is  incapable  of  producing  wheat  of  good  qua- 
lity if  it  does  not  contain  carbonate  of  lime, 
for  this  substance  is  an  essential  ingredient  of 
this  grain." 

It  has  been  computed  that  every  person  who 
consumes  1  lb.  of  wheat  bread  daily,  will,  in  the 
course  of  one  year,  take  into  his  system  3  lbs. 
6  oz.  3  drs.  and  44  grs.  of  phosphate  of  lime. 
"This  circumstance  is  supposed  to  explain  the 
reason  why  this  kind  of  bread  is  so  superior  to 
that  made  of  other  grain,  as  phosphate  of  lime 
forms  aprincipal  element  of  human  bodies.  It  is 
found  in  milk,  where  nature  seems  to  indicate 
that  it  is  contained  for  the  nourishment  of  the 
young  animal,  from  the  remarkable  fact  that, 
when  they  are  able  to  take  other  food,  the  milk 
loses  its  proportion  of  this  substance.  Although 
phosphate  of  lime  is  contained  in  considerable 
quantities  in  the  adult  secretions,  it  is  not  known 
in  those  of  the  young,  being  all  taken  up  for  the 
purposes  of  nutriment.  The  shells  of  eggs  are 
formed  of  this  substance,  and  Dr.  Paris  has  as- 
certained the  singular  fact  that,  if  the  legs  of  a 
hen  be  broken,  she  will  lay  her  eggs  without 
shells  until  these  are  repaired,  for  which  the  lime 
is  required.  Hens  will  also  lay  their  eggs  with- 
out shells  if  there  is  a  deficiency  of  lime  in  the 
yard  in  which  they  roam.  It  is  a  remarkable 
circumstance,  that  although  the  grain  contains 
the  phosphate,  the  straw  contains  the  carbonate 
of  lime.  Carbon  is,  next  to  water,  the  principal 
support  of  vegetation."    {Cultivator.) 

Lime-Kilns  and  Burning. — A  lime-kiln  is  a 
furnace  or  rough  structure  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose of  converting  limestone  into  the  lime  of 
commerce,  by  keeping  it  for  some  time  in  a 
■white  heat. 

The  forms  of  lime-kilns  vary;  but  the  best 
is  that  of  the  frustrum  of  a  cone,  which  per- 
mits the  ignited  mass  in  the  upper  part  to  settle 
down  freely  as  the  lower  portion  is  drawn  out. 
In  some  places  the  kilns  are  sunk  in  the  earth, 
in  the  form  of  inverted  cones,  and  lined  with 
brick.  It  is  calculated  that  such  kilns  will 
burn  150  bushels  of  lime  in  24  hours.  When 
chalk  is  used,  and  it  is  dry,  5  bushels  may  be 
burnt  with  one  bushel  of  coals;  but  the  damp- 
722 


ness  o."  the  chalk  lessens  considerably  tho 
power  of  the  fuel.  Peat  is  sometimes  used  in- 
stead of  coals,  and  some  burners  prefer  it  to 
coal.  Whatever  the  fuel  may  be,  that  is  the 
best  which  prevents  the  lime  from  running  to- 
gether in  masses.  The  best  test  of  the  lime 
being  sufficiently  calcined  is  its  slaking,  and 
falling  into  complete  powder  when  water  is 
poured  on  it. 

Some  excellent  practical  remarks  upon  lime 
burning,  by  Sir  G.  C.  Stewart  Monteath,  were 
published  some  time  since.  He  observes : — 
"  Having  been  engaged  in  burning  lime  for  the 
supply  of  an  extensive  district  of  country  for 
agricultural  improvements,  and  being  distant 
from  coal  16  miles,  it  was  desirable  to  find  out 
the  best  constructed  kiln  for  burning  lime  with 
the  smallest  quantity  of  coal,  and  having  been 
aware,  from  experiment,  that  the  kilns  gene- 
rally employed  in  Great  Britain  for  burning 
lime  are  of  a  construction  too  narrow  at  bot^ 
tom  and  too  wide  at  top,  many  kilns  of  this 
construction  being  not  more  than  3  or  4  feet 
wide  at  bottom,  and  18  feet  wide  at  the  height 
of  21  feet,  were  found  to  waste  the  fuel  during 
the  process  of  calcining  the  lime,  or,  in  other 
words,  did  not  produce  more  than  two  measures 
of  burnt  lime  shells  for  one  measure  of  coal; 
but  it  is  to  be  understood  that,  in  whatever  con- 
struction of  kiln  lime  is  burnt,  the  fuel  required 
to  burn  limestone  must  vary  according  to  the 
softness,  or  hardness,  or  density  of  the  stone, 
and  the  quality  or  strength  of  the  coal  used. 
The  same  measure  of  coal  in  Scotland  called 
chews,  when  employed,  will  burn  a  greater 
quantity  of  lime  in  a  given  time  than  the  same 
quantity  or  weight  of  small  coal,  the  chews  or 
small  pieces  of  coal  admitting  the  air  to  circu- 
late more  freely  through  the  kiln.  Though  this 
fact  should  be  well  known  to  lime  burners,  yet 
they  frequently  employ  small  coal  in  burning 
lime,  from  its  being  procured  at  a  less  price, 
though  really  at  a  greater  expense,  as  it  re- 
quires a  much  larger  quantity  to  produce  the 
same  effect,  and  a  longer  time  to  admit  of  equal 
quantities  of  lime  being  drawn  out  of  the  same 
kiln  in  a  given  time. 

"For  a  sale  of  lime  for  agricultural  purposes 
in  a  limited  district,  I  have  found  kilns  of  small 
dimensions  to  be  most  profitable ;  the  construc- 
tion of  a  kiln  I  have  employed  for  many  years 
was  of  an  oval  shape,  5  feet  wide  at  bottom, 
widening  gradually  to  6  feet  at  the  height  of  18 
feet,  and  continuing  at  that  width  to  28  feet 
high  from. the  bottom.  A  kiln  of  this  construc- 
tion has  been  found  to  burn  lime  in  much  less 
time,  and  with  a  smaller  proportion  of  fuel, 
than  kilns  of  larger  dimensions  narrow  at  bot- 
tom and  wide  at  top,  as  heat  is  well  known  to 
ascend  more  rapidly  in  a  perpendicular  thaa 
in  a  sloping  direction,  from  which  arises  the 
superiority  of  a  narrow  kiln,  with  sides  nearly 
perpendicular,  compared  with  one  with  sides 
that  slope  rapidly. 

"These  narrow  kilns  will  admit  of  being 
drawn  out  of  them  every  day,  if  fully  employed, 
more  than  two-thirds,  or  nearly  three-fourths, 
of  what  they  contain,  of  well-burnt  lime ;  and 
aftbrd  fully  three  of  lime  shells  for  one  measure 
of  coal,  when  large  circular  kilns  will  not  give 
out  more  than  one-half  of  their  contents  every 


LIME. 


iay,  and  require  nearly  one  of  coal  for  every 
two  measures  of  lime  burnt.  In  a  country  sale 
of  lime,  the  quantity  sold  every  day  is  liable  to 
great  fluctuations :  two  or  three  cart-loads  will 
sometimes  only  be  required  from  an  establish- 
ment which,  the  day  before,  supplied  forty;  and 
as  lime  is  known  to  be  a  commodity,  when  ex- 
posed to  the  action  of  air,  which  becomes  more 
bulky  and  heavy,  and  in  that  state  does  not  ad- 
mit of  being  carried  to  a  distance  without  addi- 
tional labour,  it  has  been  an  object  of  import- 
ance with  me  to  find  out  a  construction  of  a  kiln 
which  will  allow  of  lime  being  kept  for  several 
days  without  slaking,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
prevent  the  fire  escaping  at  the  top  of  the  kiln, 
if  the  kiln  stands  24  hours  without  being  em- 
ployed, especially  during  the  autumn  and  win- 
ter, when  the  air  is  cold  and  the  nights  long. 
I  now  employ  kilns  of  an  egg  shape,  and  also 
oval ;  the  oval-shaped  kilns  are  divided  by 
arches  across  the  kiln,  descending  4  feet  from 
the  top;  the  object  of  the  arches  across  the 
kiln  is  to  prevent  ihe  sides  of  the  kiln  falling 
in  or  contracting,  and  also  to  enable  you  to 
form  circular  openings  for  feeding  in  the  stone 
and  coal  at  the  mouth  of  the  kiln ;  upon  this 
plan,  a  kiln  of  any  length  might  be  construct- 
ed with  numerous  round  mouths.  In  the  model 
of  the  kiln  sent  to  the  Highland  Society,  Book- 
er's conical  cover  may  be  seen  revolving  upon 
an  iron  ring  placed  upon  the  circular  mouth, 
and  having  placed  a  lid  to  the  cover,  I  am  en- 
abled to  prevent  the  escape  of  heat  at  the  top, 
and  by  cast-iron  doors  at  the  bottom  the  air  is 
prevented  passing  through  the  kiln ;  so  that, 
by  these  precautions,  the  lime  burner  can  regu- 
late the  heat,  and  prevent  its  escape  for  several 
days,  when  the  fire  would  be  extinguished  at 
this  season  in  the  course  of  24  hours.  This  is 
an  object  of  great  importance,  as  it  enables  the 
lime  to  be  burnt  as  well,  and  with  as  small  a 
quantity  of  fuel  in  the  winter  as  the  summer 
season,  and  to  supply  the  farmer  with  as  well 
burned  lime,  and  at  any  time  of  the  year,  which 
cannot  be  done  in  the  common  construction  of 
Kilns,  open  both  at  top  and  bottom,  for  the  rea- 
sons I  have  before  stated.  From  the  great  ex- 
pense attending  the  driving  of  fuel  from  a  dis- 
tance of  25  miles  from  my  own  coal-pits,  I  have 
adopted  the  practice  of  coking  the  coal,  which 
is  a  saving  of  eight-twentieths  of  the  weight;  and 
I  find  that  an  equal  measure  of  coal  and  coke 
furnish  the  same  quantity  of  heat  in  burning 
lime,  which  is  somewhat  paradoxical,  but  not 
the  less  true.  The  coal  is  found  to  have  little 
eftect  upon  the  stone  till  it  is  deprived  of  its 
bitumen,  or  is  coked  in  the  kiln ;  for,  during  the 
time  the  smoke  is  emitted  from  the  top  of  a 
lime  kiln,  little  or  no  heat  is  evolved.  A  kiln 
in  which  coke  is  the  fuel  employed,  will  yield 
near  a  third  more  lime  shells  in  a  given  time 
than  when  coal  is  the  fuel ;  so  that  coke  may 
be  used  occasionally  when  a  greater  quantity 
of  lime  is  required  in  a  certain  time  than  usual, 
as  it  is  well  known  to  lime  burners  that  the 
process  of  burning  is  done  most  economically 
when  the  kiln  is  in  full  action,  so  as  almost 
constantly  to  have  a  column  of  fire  from  the 
bottom  to  the  top  of  the  kiln,  with  as  short  in- 
tervals as  possible  in  working  the  kiln. 
"In  working  a  kiln  with  narrow  circular 


LIME  GRASS. 

mouths,  the  stone  and  coal  should  be  carefully 
measured,  so  that  the  workmen  can  proportion 
the  fuel  employed  to  the  quantity  of  stones,  and 
it  is  obvious  that  the  quantity  of  coal  to  be 
used  must  depend  upon  its  relative  quality  and 
the  hardness  of  the  stone  to  be  burnt.  If  this 
measure  was  adapted  to  kilns  of  any  con- 
stmction,  the  lime  snells  would  be  found  better 
burnt. 

"Circular  kilns  are  constructed  with  similar 
eyes  or  openings  at  the  bottom,  and  not  more 
than  8  feet  wide  at  18  feet  from  the  base,  and 
contracted  to  4  or  5  feet  wide  at  top.  In  light- 
ing the  kiln  at  the  commencement  of  burning, 
some  care  should  be  taken  not  to  allow  the  fire 
to  remain  below  the  upper  grate.  There  are 
two  iron  grates  at  the  bottom  of  the  kiln :  the 
upper  grate  consists  of  iron  bars  8  or  10  inches 
distant  from  each  other  across  the  kiln,  be- 
tween which  the  pieces  of  burnt  lime  fall  down 
upon  a  lower  grate  with  iron  bars  one  inch 
from  each  other,  which  allows  the  lime  ashes 
to  fall  through  them  into  an  ash  pit;  these 
lime  ashes  are  found  very  useful  as  a  top- 
dressing  for  grass  ground,  and  are  a  clear  gain 
to  the  proprietor  of  lime-kilns  for  public  sale. 
As  a  burner  of  lime  for  agriculture  in  an  ex- 
tensive district  of  country  to  the  extent  of 
150,000  imperial  bushels  annually,  the  value 
of  the  lime  ashes  which  fall  through  the  lower 
grate  amounts  to  more  than  150/.  annually; 
the  lower  grate  is  3  feet  above  the  ground,  and 
the  upper  grate  is  the  same  distance  from  the 
lower  one.  The  kilns  I  employ  at  Closeburn 
are  upwards  of  30  feet  high,  and  nearly  per- 
pendicular, which  is  the  cause  of  the  great 
heat  in  this  construction  of  kiln,  and  which  is 
found  to  burn  lime  more  equally  than  circular 
kilns  of  large  dimensions.  (^Trans.  High.  Soe, 
vol.  ii.  p.  l^.) 

The  limestone  quarries  of  Scotland  are  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  Carmichael  (Ibid.  vol.  v.  p.  57)  : 
he  observes,  when  speaking  of  the  uses  of  this 
valuable  earth,  "how  sterile  must  have  been 
the  soil,  how  cheerless  the  dwellings,  and  how 
scanty  the  resources  of  Britain  before  lim« 
came  into  general  use."  And  on  the  method 
of  calcining  limestone  in  some  of  the  limestone 
quarries  in  Scotland  there  is  a  paper.  (Ibid. 
p.  441.) 

Limestatie  Gravel. — ^There  are  some  traces  of 
this  manure  in  the  Isle  of  Anglesea;  but  in  ge- 
neral, it  is  seen  in  quantities  only  in  Ireland, 
where  it  is  very  common.  It  is  in  appearance 
only  common  gravel,  of  a  blue  colour,  mixed 
with  stones  as  large  as  a  man's  fist,  and  also 
with  loam  or  clay :  it  has  a  strong  effervescence 
with  acids,  and,  when  used,  is  attended  with  the 
usual  effects  of  marl  or  lime.  TiX  bogs,  it  ex- 
ceeds every  other  manure,  as  its  weight  assists 
in  the  improvemont  of  that  loose  and  spongy 
soil.  Upon  strong  clays,  the  use  of  it  is  unri- 
valled, for  it  has  all  the  effect  of  a  dressing  of 
lime,  and  gives  friability  yet  more  than  chalk 
does.  It  destroys  moss  infallibly.  Upon  what- 
ever soil  it  is  used,  it  is  found  very  durable, 
lasting,  in  many  instances,  in  great  heart,  from 
twenty  to  forty  years.  In  limestone  countieii, 
all  blue  gravels  should  be  examined;  for  it  m 
an  invaluable  treasure,  wherever  found. 

LIME  or  LYME  GRASS.    See  Eltmub. 

723 


LIME  PLANT. 


LIME  TREE. 


LIME  PLANT.  A  name  applied  in  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States  to  the  indigenous 
plant  called  in  the  Middle  States  May  Apple 
(^Podophyllum  pcltatum). 

LIMESTONE.  A  generic  term  for  those 
varieties  of  carbonate  of  lime  which  are  neither 
crystallized  nor  earthy ;  the  former  being  cal- 
careous spar,  the  latter  chalk;  when  burned,  they 
yield  (jttirk-lime.    See  Geology,  Chalk,  Lime. 

LIME  TREES  (I'iliu).  These  are  for  the 
most  part  ornamental,  lofty-growing  trees,  well 
suited  for  avenues  and  parks.  They  thrive  in 
any  soil,  and  are  increased  by  layers  or  seeds ; 
if  by  layers,  the  tree  must  be  cut  down  close 
to  the  ground,  and  from  its  roots  a  great  num- 
ber of  shoots  are  produced  in  the  following 
year  :  these  will  be  strong  enough  to  lay  down 
the  succeeding  autumn.  Trees  raised  from 
seed  are  far  preferable  to  those  raised  from 
layers.  The  Russian  bass-mats  are  made  from 
the  inner  bark  of  the  lime  tree,  while  the  wood, 
from  its  being  light  and  white,  is  much  used 
by  the  carver  and  musical  instrument  maker. 

The  charcoal  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of 
gunpowder,  and  is  considered  as  scarcely  infe- 
rior for  that  purpose  to  the  charcoal  produced 
from  the  alder  and  willow.  If  we  possess  no 
evidence  sufficiently  conclusive  to  prove  that 
the  lime  tree  in  any  of  its  forms  is  truly  indi- 
genous in  Britain,  we  have  at  least  enough  to 
show  that  it  has  long  been  naturalized,  and  that 
its  introduction  must  have  taken  place  at  a 
very  distant  period;  for,  upon  referring  to  the 
earlier  works,  such  as  Turner,  Gerard,  Sec, 
we  find  it  (in  the  form  of  T.  E.  mia-ophylla) 
spoken  of  as  a  well-known,  and  in  their  esti- 
mation, apparently,  as  a  native  tree.  By  many 
botanists  (says  Mr.  Selby),  several  species  of 
lime  are  enumerated  as  inhabitants  of  Europe; 
and  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  makes  three  distinct  species 
of  those  cultivated  and  grown  in  Britain ;  viz., 
T.  EuropcBa,  T.  grandifolia,  and  T.  pai-vifolia,  the 
two  latter  answering  to  the  T.  platyphylla  and 
T.  mirrophylla  of  Other  authors.  We  are,  how- 
ever, continues  Mr.  Selby,  inclined  to  adopt  the 
views  and  follow  the  opinion  of  the  author  of 
the  Arboretum  Biil annicnm,  and  to  consider  these 
not  as  specifically  distinct  from  T.  Europcsa,  in 
its  usual  form,  but  as  marked  varieties,  or,  as 
Mr.  Loudon  designates  them,  races,  originally 
produced  from  the  seed  of  one,  and  which  have 
been  kept  distinct,  and  perpetuated  by  means 
of  layers,  grafting,  and  other  artificial  modes 
of  propagation  ;  a  view  we  think  strongly  cor- 
roborated by  the  fact  that  the  seeds  of  the  dif- 
ferent kinds,  or  supposed  species,  do  not  always 
produce  plants  exactly  similar  to  the  trees  from 
which  they  are  gathered,  but  run  into  varieties, 
the  seed  of  T.  E.  platyphylla  often  producing 
plants  similar  in  every  respect  to  those  of  T. 
Kuropan  (the  common  lime),  and  so  with  the 
other  kinds. 

The  lime  tree  appears  to  have  been  held  in 
repute  in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern  times ; 
for  we  learn  from  Theophrastus  that  it  was 
known  to  the  Greeks ;  and  Pliny  speaks  of  it 
as  a  tree  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  Romans, 
/jot  only  for  the  ornament  and  shade  it  afforded, 
but  for  the  qualities  of  its  wood,  and  the  various 
purposes  to  which  it  was  adapted.  Nearly  two 
hundred  yf-ars  have  elapsed  since  it  was  plant- 
724 


ed  along  the  streets  of  continental  as  well  as 
English  towns,  where  their  width  would  admit 
of  it,  as  affording  a  pleasant  shade  and  protec- 
tion during  the  summer  heats,  and  it  was  ex- 
tensively used  in  that  style  of  gardening  called 
architectural,  as  it  bore  cutting  with  the  knife 
or  shears  with  patience  and  comparative  im- 
punity. Examples  of  this  style  still  exist  in 
some  parts  of  England,  and  are  frequent  upon 
the  Continent,  in  France  and  Holland,  where 
pyramids,  arches,  and  colonnades  are  formed 
of  this  tree,  and  sometimes  these  produce  an 
imposing  effect.  As  an  ornamental  tree  in 
picturesque  gardening,  the  lime  is  well  worth 
cultivating,  as  it  ranks  in  the  first  class  in  point 
of  magnitude,  frequently  attaining  a  height  of 
eighty  or  ninety  feet,  and  a  trunk  corresponding 
in  circumference  to  such  an  altitude.  The 
lime  holds  an  important  place  in  the  Materia 
Medica  of  France  and  other  continental  coun- 
tries ;  but  its  medicinal  powers  are  very  feeble. 
Loudon,  in  his  Encyclopaedia  of  Plants,  enu- 
merates eight  species  or  varieties  of  the  linden 
or  lime  tree  (Tiliaceai).  1.  Tilia  rubra,  the  red 
or  common  linden.  2.  T.  intermedia,  or  inter- 
mediate.     3.    T,    parvifolia,  or    small-leaved. 

4.  Platyphylla,  or  broad-leaved.  All  these  are 
found   indigenous   in   the   woods   of   Britain. 

5.  T.  Americana,  American  lime  or  linden. 
(See  Bass-wood.)  6.  T.  pubcscens,  downy  and 
thin-leaved  lime  tree.  7.  T.  heterophylla,  or 
various-leaved  lime  tree.  The  three  last-named 
species  are  indigenous  to  North  America.  8.  T. 
alba  vel  argentia,  the  white  or  silver  linden, 
which  is  stated  to  be  a  native  of  Hungary. 

Michaux  has  described  the  three  American 
species  of  lime  tree,  one  of  which  has  been  al- 
ready referred  to  under  its  common  name  of 
Bass-wood.  The  American  white  lime  is  doubt- 
less a  distinct  species  from  the  Tilia  alba  of 
Hungary. 

"I  have  not,"  says  Michaux,  "met  with  the 
white  lime  tree  east  of  the  river  Delaware,  but 
it  is  abundant  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  De- 
laware, and  the  Western  States.  It  does  not 
grow,  like  the  preceding  species,  in  elevated 
places,  nor  amidst  other  trees  in  the  forests, 
and  is  rarely  seen  except  on  the  banks  of  rivers. 
I  have  particularly  observed  it  on  those  of  the 
Susquehanna,  the  Ohio,  and  the  streams  which 
empty  into  them. 

"The  height  of  the  white  lime  tree  rarely 
exceeds  forty  feet,  and  its  diameter  twelve  or 
eighteen  inches.  Its  young  branches  are  co- 
vered with  a  smooth,  silver-gray  bark,  by  which 
it  is  recognised  in  the  winter.  The  leaves  are 
very  large,  denticulated,  obliquely  heart-shaped 
and  pointed,  of  a  dark-green  on  the  upper  sur- 
face, and  white  beneath,  with  small  reddish 
tufts  on  the  angles  of  the  principal  nerves. 
This  whitish  tint  is  most  striking  on  solitary 
trees  exposed  to  the  sun. 

'*  The  flowers  come  out  in  June,  and,  as  well 
as  the  floral  leaf,  are  larger  than  those  of  any 
other  lime  tree  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 
The  petals  are  larger  and  whiter,  and  are  im- 
pregnated with  an  agreeable  odour.  The  seed* 
are  round,  or  rather  oval,  and  downy. 

"  The  wood  of  this  tree  is  white  and  tender, 
and  I  believe  it  is  never  employed  in  the  arts. 

"This  and  the  folic v"ng  species  have  re 


II 


> 


LIME  TREE. 


ceived  no  popular  specific  names,  but  are  both 
called  lime  tree  and  bass-wood:  that  of  white 
lime,  which  I  have  given  to  this  species  on  ac- 
count of  the  colour  of  its  foliage,  is  peculiarly 
appropriate. 

"  The  Dmvny  Lime  Tree,  belongs  to  the  south- 
ern parts  of  the  United  States.  It  grows  on  the 
borders  of  rivers  and  large  marshes,  where  the 
soil  is  cool  and  fertile,  but  not  exposed  to  inun- 
dation. It  is  little  multiplied,  and  consequently 
is  not  taken  notice  of  by  the  inhabitants ;  for 
this  reason,  and  because  it  is  the  only  species 
of  its  kind  in  the  maritime  parts  of  the  Caroli- 
nas  and  of  Georgia,  it  has  received  no  specific 
denomination,  and  is  called  simply  lime  tree; 
to  which  I  have  added  the  epithet  downy,  derived 
from  a  character  of  its  foliage  not  observed  in 
the  preceding  species. 

"  This  tree  is  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  height,  with 
a  proportional  diameter.  In  its  general  ap- 
pearance it  resembles  the  American  lime  tree, 
which  grows  farther  north,  more  than  the  white 
lime  tree,  which  belongs  to  the  Middle  and 
Western  States.  Its  leaves  differ  widely  in 
size,  according  to  the  exposure  in  which  they 
have  grown  :  in  dry  and  open  places  they  are 
only  two  inches  in  diameter,  and  are  twice  as 
large  in  cool  and  shaded  situations.  They  are 
rounded,  pointed  at  the  summit,  very  obliquely 
truncated  at  the  base,  edged  with  fewer  and 
more  remote  teeth  than  those  of  the  other 
lime  trees,  and  very  downy  beneath.  The 
flowers,  also,  are  more  numerous,  and  form 
larger  bunches,  and  the  seeds  are  round  and 
downy. 

"The  wood  is  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
other  species,  and  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  ever 
employed." 

In  some  parts  of  Europe,  the  honey  gathered 
by  bees  from  a  species  or  variety  of  the  linden 
is  in  great  request  for  its  superior  qualities,  and 
real  or  supposed  healing  virtues.  It  would  be 
highly  desirable  to  have  a  tree  introduced  into 
the  United  States  which  offers  such  a  great  re- 
source to  the  bee  culturists.    See  Honet. 

Insect  enemies. — The  European  species  of  lime 
or  linden,  which  has  been  extensively  introduced 
into  the  United  States  as  an  ornamental  tree,  has 
suffered  greatly  of  late  years  from  the  attacks 
of  several  destructive  insects.  Some  of  these 
are  in  the  form  of  long,  dark-coloured  worms 
or  caterpillars,  with  strong  webs,  which  eat  off 
the  foliage;  others  bore  into  the  wood  of  the 
body  and  branches,  chiefly  in  the  crotches,  and 
so  destroy  the  strength  of  the  limb,  or  the  body 
itself,  that  one  or.both  yield  readily  to  the  wind, 
or  gradually  decay  and  die.  There  are  also  the 
leaf^beetles,  the  most  elegant  of  the  family  of 
Chrysomelians,  which  inhabit  the  leaves,  not 
only  of  the  linden,  but  of  the  elm,  the  broods 
being  found  in  April,  May,  and  June,  and  even 
a  second  brood  in  September  and  October. 
The  trees  are  often  seriously  injured  by  these 
flies  or  beetles  and  their  larvae.  After  a  very 
minute  description  of  this  beautiful  leaf-beetle, 
with  its  dark-green  body,  silvery-white  wing- 
covers,  ornamented  with  green  spots,  and  rose- 
coloured  wings,  Dr.  Harris  remarks  that  he 
thinks  the  grubs  go  into  the  ground  to  turn  to 
pupae.  When  they  become  so  numerous  as 
seriously  to  injure  the  lime  and  elm  trees,  Dr. 


LINEN. 

Harris  recommends  the  employment  of  decoc- 
tions of  tobacco  or  of  walnut  leaves,  thrown  on 
the  trees  by  means  of  a  garden  or  fire  engine ; 
a  method  which  has  been  tried  with  good  effect 
for  the  destruction  of  the  larvae  of  Golemca  cat- 
rnanVnsts,  which  appear  occasionally  in  swarms, 
and  entirely  strip  the  leaves  from  the  elm  trees 
in  midsummer.  Dr.  Harris  describes  a  species 
of  lime-looper  which  proceeds  from  an  umber- 
moth  greatly  resembling  that  known  in  Europe, 
and  called  by  naturalists  Hybemia  defoliaria. 
The  American  insect,  however,  differs  so  much 
in  the  larva  state  from  the  European,  as  to  en- 
title it  to  be  classed  as  a  distinct  species;  and 
accordingly  Dr.  Harris  has  called  it  Hybemia 
tiliaria,  the  lime  tree  winter-moth,  from  Tilia, 
the  scientific  name  of  its  favourite  tree.  The 
fore-wings  of  the  male  moth  are  rusty  buff  or 
nankin-yellow,  sprinkled  with  very  fine  brown- 
ish dots,  and  banded  with  two  transverse,  wavy, 
brown  lines,  the  band  nearest  the  shoulders 
being  often  indistinct.  In  the  space  between 
the  bands,  and  near  to  the  thick  edge  of  the 
wing,  there  is  generally  a  brown  dot.  The 
hind-wings  are  much  paler  than  the  others,  and 
have  a  small  brownish  dot  in  the  middle.  The 
colour  of  the  body  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
fore-wings ;  and  the  legs  are  ringed  with  buff 
and  brown.  The  wings  expand  one  inch  and 
three-quarters.  The  body  of  the  female  is  gray- 
ish or  yellowish-white ;  it  is  sprinkled  on  the 
sides  with  black  dots,  and  there  are  two  square 
black  spots  on  the  top  of  each  ring,  except  the 
last,  which  has  only  one  spot.  The  front  of 
the  head  is  black;  and  the  antennae  and  the 
legs  are  ringed  with  black  and  white.  The 
tail  is  tipped  with  a  tapering,  jointed  egg-tube, 
that  can  be  drawn  in  and  out,  like  the  joints  of 
a  telescope.  Exclusive  of  this  tube,  the  female 
measures  about  half  an  inch  in  length.  The 
eggs  are  beautiful  objects  when  seen  under  a 
microscope.  They  are  of  an  oval  shape  and 
pale-yellow  colour,  and  are  covered  with  little 
raised  lines,  like  net-work,  or  like  the  cells  of 
a  honey-comb. 

As  these  span-worms  appear  at  the  same 
time  as  canker-worms,  resemble  them  in  their 
habits,  and  often  live  on  the  same  trees,  they 
can  be  kept  in  check  by  such  means  as  are 
found  useful  when  employed  against  canker- 
worms.  See  Span-worm. 
LINDEN  TREE.  See  Lime  Tree. 
LINEN  (Germ,  lienwand).  A  species  of 
cloth  woven  with  the  fibres  of  the  flax  plant. 
The  linen  manufacture  has  been  prosecuted  in 
England  for  a  very  long  period;  but  though  its 
progress  has  been  considerable,  particularly  of 
late  years,  it  has  not  been  so  great  as  might 
have  been  anticipated.  It  is  only  within  the 
last  fifty  years  that  any  machinery  has  been 
used  in  the  production  of  linen  cloth ;  the  first 
mills  for  the  spinning  of  |[ax  having  been  coc- 
structed  at  Darlington,  about  forty-eight  yeai^s 
ago.  The  principal  seat  of  the  manufacture 
is,  in  England,  Leeds  and  its  immediate  vici- 
nity, and  in  Lancashire,  Dorset,  Durham,  and 
Salop ;  in  Scotland,  Dundee,  which,  indeed, 
may  be  regarded  as  the  chief  seat  of  the  British 
manufacture;  and  in  Irelan^,  the  province  of 
Ulster.  The  entire  value  of  the  linen  manu- 
facture of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  is  esti 
3  p  2  726 


LING. 


LINSEED. 


mated  at  8,000,000/.,  and  the  total  number  of 
persons  employed  in  it,  about  185,000. 

LING  (Calluua  vulgaris).  A  species  of  heath. 
To  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  giving  a  new 
generic  appellation  to  the  hundreds  of  plants 
familiar  to  everybody  as  Ericee  or  heaths,  Mr. 
Salesbury  has  judiciously  called  our  common 
ling  Calluna,  from  K-zxAvfa);  which  is  doubly 
suitable,  whether  with  Mr.  Salisbury  and  Dr. 
Hull  we  take  it  to  express  a  cleanaing  propeny, 
brooms  being  made  of  ling,  or  whether  we 
adopt  the  more  common  sense  of  the  word,  to 
ornament  or  adoni,  which  is  very  applicable  to 
the  flowers.  This  shrub  grows  aPmost  every- 
where, on  dry  moors,  heaths,  and  open,  barren 
wastes,  as  well  as  in  woods  where  the  soil  is 
sandy  or  turfy.  The  stems  are  bushy,  repeat- 
edly and  irregularly  branched.  Leaves  deep 
green,  minute,  sessile,  acute,  keeled,  somewhat 
arrow-shaped,  closely  imbricated  on  the  young 
branches,  making  a  quadrangular  figure,  like  a 
close-beaten  chain ;  they  are  generally  smooth, 
but  in  one  variety  are  densely  hoary  all  over. 
The  flowers  are  stalked,  drooping,  in  longish 
unilateral  clusters,  soon  overtopped  by  leafy 
shoots.  The  inner  calyx,  which  is  the  most 
conspicuous  part  of  the  flower,  is  of  a  shining 
permanent  rose  colour.  The  flowers  appear 
in  June  and  July.  Grouse  and  other  birds,  as 
well  as  some  quadrupeds,  eat  the  seeds  and 
young  shoots.  There  is  a  white-flowered  va- 
riety, and  a  very  beautiful  double  red  one, 
cultivated  in  gardens,  whose  flowers,  from  a 
copious  multiplication  of  the  corolla,  resemble 
.ittle  roses.     See  Heath. 

LINIMENT  (Lat.  lino,  I  anoint).  In  farrie- 
ry, a  semi-fluid  ointment,  or  a  soapy  application 
to  rub  upon  painful  joints.  The  term  is  also 
applied  to  spirituous  and  other  stimulating  ap- 
plications for  external  use.  Liniments  are  in- 
tended either  to  lubricate  or  to  stimulate ;  but 
in  either  case  they  can  only  be  regarded  as 
topical  applications,  their  influence  not  extend- 
ing beyond  the  part  to  which  they  are  applied. 
In  some  instances  they  are  anodyne;  and  con- 
tain solutions  of  opium  in  oil. 

LINSEED  or  FLAXSEED  (Lat.  lini  semen; 
Germ.  Leinsaat).  The  seed  of  the  flax  plant. 
See  Flax.  This  seed  is  small,  oval,  oblong, 
flattened  laterally,  acute  at  the  extremities, 
glossy,  brown  ;  but  internally  white.  It  is  in- 
odorous, and  tastes  mucilagitious  an  d  oily.  The 
husk  or  testa  yields  much  mucilage  to  water, 
and  the  kernel  a  large  proportion  of  oil  to  pres- 
sure. Besides  upward'  of  11  per  cent,  of  oil, 
linseed  contains  wax,  aa  acrid  soft  resin,  ex- 
tractive, a  yellow  colouring  matter,  starch, 
gum,  tannic  acid,  albumen,  gluten,  emulsive, 
and  some  salts.  When  the  seeds  are  burnt, 
the  ashes  contain  oxide  of  copper.  The  in- 
fusion of  linseed  in  boiling  water  yields  a  de- 
mulcent mucilage,  which  is  much  used  as  a 
domestic  medicine  in  coughs,  and  in  cases  of 
acrimony  in  the  urinary  discharge.  The  lin- 
seed should  not  be  boiled  in  the  water,  as  that 
extracts  the  oil  as  well  as  the  mucilage,  and 
renders  the  decoction  nauseating. 

Lmseed  is  much  used  in  the  economy  of  the 

farm,  for  feeding  cattle  and  other  purposes.    A 

bushel  of  linseed 'averagea  in  weight  about  51 

po'Uids;  this  weight,  when  crushed,  produces 

726 


I  about  a  quarter  of  its  weight  of  linseed  oil,  and 
the  remainder  is  cake.  The  great  bulk  of  this 
'  seed  i»  obtained  from  the  Baltic  and  the  Black 
Sea,  and  recently  considerable  quantities  have 
been  received  from  Egypt  and  Hindostan :  of 
this  last,  the  general  character  is,  that  although 
the  seed  is  good,  the  impurities  with  which  it 
is  mixed  are  very  considerable,  such  as  the 
seeds  of  rape,  &c. ;  for  which  reason  the  oil 
obtained  from  it  does  not  possess  the  drying 
qualities  of  that  expressed  from  the  unmixed 
linseed,  and  the  dealers  in  consequence  will 
not  give  so  much  for  it.  This  arises  not  from 
any  intentional  adulteration,  but  from  the  bad 
farming  and  want  of  cleanliness  of  the  ori- 
entalists. 

Linseed  oil  contains  a  very  considerable 
quantity  of  mucilage,  which  it  almost  entirely 
deposits  by  time  ;  and  hence,  old  linseed  oil  is 
more  valued  by  the  painter,  but  for  the  grazier, 
perhaps,  its  nutritive  powers  decrease  by  time. 
It  is  said  by  some  persons,  that  it  is  to  the  pre- 
sence of  this  mucilage  that  we  must  attribute 
the  fattening  quality  of  linseed  oil  when  mixed 
with  other  substances,  for  linseed  oil  by  itself 
is  almost  as  powerful  a  purgative  as  castor  oil, 
for  which  purpose  indeed  it  is  very  commonly 
employed  by  the  farmer;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  we  must  remember,  that  in  small  doses, 
even  castor  oil  is  very  fattening.  Linseed  is 
in  fact  commonly  given  to  some  birds,  parrots 
for  instance,  for  this  purpose.  Its  purgative 
properties  are  very  inferior  to  those  of  castor  oil. 

LINSEED  CAKE.  Linseed  cake  is  a  well- 
known  and  valuable  article  for  the  food  of  live 
stock,  almost  equally  good  for  cattle,  sheep,  and 
horses.  It  is  the  residuum,  or  refuse,  left  after 
the  oil  is  expressed  from  linseed.  1000  parts 
of  it,  according  to  Davy,  contain  about  151 
parts  of  nutritive  matter.  Its  price  has  induced 
many  attempts  to  economize  its  application.  It 
has  been  often  given  as  recommended  by  Mr. 
Hillyard,  mixed  with  other  substances,  whose 
value  he  thus  estimates: — 

"  The  weekly  cost  of  feeding  each  beast,  in- 
cluding the  expense  of  getting  up,  carting,  and 
cutting  the  turnips  and  hay,  and  attendance, 
will  be — 


t.  d. 
-29 
-53 


lOi  bushels  of  turnips 
I J  cwt.  of  hay   - 


Turnips     -        -        -       -  -    8    9 

H  cwt.  of  cut  and  uncut  hay  -    3    9 

I  bushel  of  meal        -        -  -30 

1  pint  of  linseed  oil  -        .  -    0    6 


i  bushel  of  linseed    - 
3  gallons  of  meal 
Cut  and  uncut  hay   - 


3  6 
1  6 
3    9 


10«. 


Turnips     -        -        -        -       -    2    9 


21  oil  cakes,  at  3id.  -        -        -  6 

3  gallons  of  meal       -        -        -  1 

Cut  and  uncut  hay    -       -        -  3 

Turnips     -----  2 


Us.  M. 


14«. 


"  No  food,"  says  Mr.  Hillyard,  "can  be  given 
to  stall-feeding  beasts  that  will  fatten  them  so 
soon  or  so  well  as  linseed  oil-cake.  It  certain- 
ly is  expensive  feed,  but  not  so  expensive  as  it 
appears  to  be,  taking  into  consideration  that  it 
fattens  quicker.  Beasts  that  have  been  fed 
with  it,  do  not,  after  a  long  drift  to  market,  lose 
their  firmness  of  handling,  as  those  do,  fed 


LINSEED  CAKE. 


without  either  cake  or  linseed,  and  whose  dung 
is  not  of  equal  value.  Some  winters  I  have 
fed  with  linseed  instead  of  cake,  and  found  it 
answer  very  well,  although  it  added  to  the 
trouble  of  feeding.  My  mode  of  preparing  it 
has  been  to  break  it  in  a  little  hand-mill,  and 
steep  it  in  cold  water  in  seven  tubs  of  a  size 
sutiicient  for  one  day's  feed;  in  this  way  it 
will  have  been  steeped  seven  days  before  it  is 
mixed  with  cut  hay  and  barley,  or  (which  is  { 
better)  bean  meal.  If  steeped  in  hot  water, 
two  days  will  do;  if  steeped  longer  than  three, 
it  is  apt  to  get  a  little  sour,  which,  in  my  opi- 
nion, is  not  quite  so  well  for  the  beasts.  Boil- 
ing it  is  troublesome,  but  it  thus  becomes  more 
of  a  jelly,  and  mixes  better  with  the  cut  hay 
and  meal,  and  it  prevents  the  numerous  seeds 
of  weeds,  found  in  foreign  linseed,  from  vege- 
tating. One  stone  of  linseed,  in  a  mixture  of 
other  food,  will  do  as  much  towards  feeding 
as  two  stone  of  cake,  which  is  merely  the  husk 
of  the  seed  after  the  oil  has  been  pressed  out. 
Linseed,  without  being  mixed  with  meal,  is  of 
too  relaxing  a  nature. 

"  Finding  at  Christmas,  1838,  that  I  could 
not  ^et  English  oil-cake  at  home  at  less  than 
about  12/.  10s.  per  ton,  I  determined  to  feed  the 
35  beasts  then  in  my  stalls,  in  the  following 
way,  and  I  never  had  beasts  that  became  better 
meal ;  but  as  the  process  of  preparing  the  food 
is  very  troublesome,  I  should  not  recommend 
this  way  of  feeding  without  the  owner  of  the 
beasts  will  daily  see  that  all  is  done  right: — 

..    d. 
Three  feeds  daily,  of  half  a  bushel  of  cut  hay, 

which  is  5  lbs.  each,  and  4  lbs.  uncut  at  night ; 

1  cwl.  and  not  quite  a  quarter  -  -  -  -  3  6 
Boiled    linseed,    2  lbs.  daily,  56».  per   quarter; 

weight.  5()  lbs.  per  bushel  -  -  -  -  -  8  0 
Boiled  potatoes,  2  lbs.  daily,  U  gallons  -        -     1    6 

Molasses  (which  is  feeding,  but  may  be  left  out 

when  the  beasts  have  taken  to  the  linseed,  as 

it  is  onlv  civen  to  malie  the  mixture  palatable), 

about  a'i  lb.  daily        -        -        -        -        -        -    0    9 

Turnips,  or  mangel  wurzel    -        -        -        -        -    2    6 

Barley  and  bean  meal,  mixed,  3i  gallons       -        -    1    9 

12    0 

"  If  this  mixed  food  could  be  pressed  together 
to  form  a  cake,  it  would  be  a  feeding  one,  and 
the  cost  llrf.  per  stone.  As  a  proof  that  this 
mixture  is  both  palatable  and  nutritive  to 
beasts,  they  will  not  eat,  excepting  in  the  night, 
where  they  have  none  of  it,  any  of  the  sweetest 
hay  that  can  be  put  before  them."  {Prac. 
Farm,  p.  89.) 

Many  farmers  use    ground   linseed  mixed 

with  bran  ancf  chaff  for  their  stock,  deeming  it 

a  more  economical  plan  than  the  employment 

of  linseed  cake.     Others  use  the   linseed  un- 

ground.    The  saving  by  this  mode,  however, 

doubtful,  for  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that 

>  oil  possesses  any  very  material  fattening 

>perties ;  and  if  it  does  not,  then  the  cake  is 

cidedly  the  cheapest.    For  at  the  present 

fuices  (1841),  51  lbs.  of  linseed  are  worth  7s. 

6ff.,  while  51  lbs.  of  cake,  at  11/.  per  ton,  are 

only  worth  about  5s. ;  and  admitting  that  the 

oil  does  contain  some  fattening  properties,  yet 

it  must  be  remembered  that  the  value  of  the  oil 

obtained  from  a  bushel  of  linseed  is  worth,  for 

other  purposes,  about  4s.     But,  on  the  other 

hand,  I  am  aware  that  a  very  intelligent  farmer 

Dear  Rumford.  Mr  9  Poole,  who,  in  1840,  fed 


LIQUID  MANLTIE. 

his  bullocks  with  a  mixture  of  linseed  oil  and 
cut  chaff,  and  also  other  bullocks  with  linseed 
cake  and  hay,  considered  the  oil  to  be  the 
cheapest  of  the  two,  and  in  all  respects  equally 
fattening,  but  then  it  is  certain  that  this  mode 
requires  more  attention  in  the  mixture  of  the 
oil  and  chaff  than  the  other  plan.  He  com- 
menced with  about  a  quarter  of  a  pint  per  day, 
and  gradually  increased  it  to  a  pint. 

The  reported  results  of  experiments  in  feed 
ing  cattle  with  linseed  do  not  always  agree.  In 
a  standard  work  we  find  the  following  passage : 
"Two  Scots  were  fed  on  English  linseed  cakes; 
two  Devons  on  unboiled  linseed ;  two  others  on 
boiled  linseed  ;  and  another  pair  of  Devons  on 
foreign  ;  all  of  them  having  as  much  hay  and 
chaff  as  they  could  eat.  It  was  a  losing  con- 
cern in  every  case.  The  value  of  the  manure 
was  not  equal  to  the  difference  of  the  cost  and 
the  selling  prices ;  and,  strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, the  greatest  loss  was  sustained,  when  the 
beasts  were  fed  on  oil-cake ;  the  next  when 
foreign  cake  was  used ;  the  next  when  boiled 
linseed  was  used  ;  and  the  least  of  all  when  the 
simple  unboiled  linseed  was  given. 

LINSEED  JELLY  is  easily  made  by  adding 
to  6  quarts  of  water  1  quart  of  linseed,  boiling 
it  for  10  minutes.  This,  mixed  with  other  sub- 
stances, is  sometimes  given  to  live-stock  as 
food,  and,  mixed  with  milk,  is  very  nutritive 
for  calves. 

LINSEED  OIL  is  an  excellent  purgative  for 
sheep,  from  2  to  3  ounces;  for  horses,  in  doses 
of  from  16  to  24  ounces ;  for  cattle,  from  16  to  20 
ounces.  The  quality  of  linseed  oil  may  be  de- 
termined in  the  following  manner:  Fill  a  phial 
with  it,  and  hold  it  up  to  the  light;  if  bad  it  will 
appear  opaque,  turbid,  and  thick«  its  taste  is  acid 
and  bitter  upon  the  tongue,  and  li  smells  rancid; 
and  strong  oil,  from  fine  full-grown  ripe  seed, 
when  viewed  in  a  phial,  will  appear  limpid,  pale, 
and  brilliant;  it  is  mellow,and  sweet  to  the  taste, 
has  very  little  smell,  is  specifically  lighter  than 
impure  oil,  and  when  clarified  dries  quickly  and 
finely.     {Quart.  Journ.  of  Jtgr.  vol.  v.  p.  467.) 

LIP.  In  botany,  the  lower  petal  of  any  irre- 
gular flower. 

LIQUID  MANURE.  Liquid  manure  is  not 
a  mode  of  fertilizing  the  land  altogether  of 
modern  origin,  for  a  fermented  mixture  of  wa- 
ter and  night-soil  has,  from  a  very  early  period, 
been  employed  by  the  Chinese  farmers ;  those 
of  Italy  certainly  practised  irrigation  in  the 
days  of  Virgil  (Georgics,  b.  i.  v.  106 — 109),  and 
Cato  adds  that  they  employed  a  mixture  of 
grape-stones  and  water  to  fertilize  their  olive 
trees  (b.  xxxvii.).  Columella  praises  very 
highly  the  use  of  putrid  stale  urine  for  vines 
and  apple  trees  (b.  ii.  c.  15),  commending  also 
the  lees  of  oil  for  the  same  purpose.  More 
modem  agricultural  writers  have  united  in 
praising  various  liquid  preparations ;  thus 
Evelyn  (whose  ingredients  most  of  the  author* 
recommend),  in  his  Treatise  on  Earth,  p.  123- 
160,  gives  several  recipes,  some  of  which  have 
served  as  the  basis  for  recent  modes  of  prepar- 
ing liquid  manure,  such  as  the  dung  of  cattle, 
urine,  salt  and  lime,  and  nitre.  Of  these  arti- 
ficial mixtures,  salt  1  part,  and  lime  2  parts, 
mixed  together  and  allowed  to  remain  in  a 
heap  for  2  or  3  months  (Mr.  Bennett  turns 

727 


LIQUID  MANURE. 

over  3  or  4  times  in  this  period),  is  fully  equal, 
if  not  superior,  to  any  thus  recommended, 
most  of  wliich  I  have  tried.  When  mixed 
with  water  and  spread  over  land  intended  for 
wheat,  at  the  rate  of  from  25  to  35  bushels  of 
the  salt  and  lime  to  10  or  15  tons  of  water  per 
acre  (and  it  answers  very  nearly  as  well  when 
carried  on  the  land  dry),  excellent  results  are 
produced.  The  wheat  which  I  have  thus 
grown  on  clover  leys  has  been  superior  in 
height,  and  strength  of  straw,  to  any  I  have 
seen  produced  under  different  modes  of  treat- 
ment, and  the  seed  very  bright  and  heavy. 

All  substances,  whether  organic,  earthy,  or 
saline,  which  are  employed  to  fertilize  the  soil, 
or  become  the  food  of  plants,  can  only  be  ren- 
dered thus  serviceable  to  vegetation  when  they 
are  presented  to  the  roots  of  plants  in  solution, 
or  in  a  fluid  state ;  and  although  this  may 
appear  at  first  rather  a  sweeping  position,  yet 
such  is  the  real  fact,  the  compost  of  the  farm- 
yard, the  crushed  bones  of  the  turnip  cultiva- 
tor, the  oil  and  bones  of  fish,  the  gypsum  of 
the  grazier,  the  earths,  lime,  magnesia,  and 
even  silica,  and  all  the  saline  manures,  are 
dissolved  by  some  process  or  other  before  the}'^ 
can  be  absorbed  by  vegetables.  Every  attempt 
which  has  been  hitherto  made  to  make  plants 
imbibe  themost  minutely  divided  powders  which 
chemistry  can  produce,  has  been  entirely  fruit- 
less. Davy  ineflfectually  tried  the  finest  im- 
palpable powder  of  charcoal,  and  with  much 
perseverance  I  have  fruitlessly  employed  the 
earths,  saline  substances,  and  organic  matters, 
for  the  same  purpose. 

This  absolute  necessity  for  every  substance 
which  IS  the  food  of  plants  being  of  a  soluble 
nature  did  not  escape  the  sagacity  of  the  early 
Greek  and  Egyptian  philosophers;  it  is  true 
they  carried  their  conclusions  with  regard  to 
subjects  of  natural  philosophy  too  far,  as  in 
this  instance,  when  they  asserted  that  water  is 
the  only  food  of  plants ;  yet  they  must  have 
patiently  noticed  many  facts  in  vegetable  eco- 
nomy, unaided  as  they  were  by  the  light  of  mo- 
dern vegetable  chemistry,  before  they  could 
have  arrived  at  a  conclusion  so  nearly  ap- 
proaching the  truth.  The  idea  was  probably 
of  Egyptian  origin,  for  the  cultivators  of  that 
country  could  not  fail  to  notice  the  magic  fer- 
tilizing powers  of  the  waters  of  the  Nile,  whose 
annual  overflow  is  perhaps  the  most  extensive 
natural  irrigation  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
cultivators  of  the  earth. 

The  same  wild  dream  of  water  being  the  sole 
food  of  vegetables  was  again  revived,  so  lately 
as  1610,by  M.  Van  Helmont,  a  celebrated  Dutch 
chemist,  who  made  some  very  plausible,  de- 
ceptive experiments  on  a  willow  tree,  which 
he  watered  only  with  rain  water;  researches, 
however,  whose  inaccuracy  (owing  principally 
to  rain  water,  as  usually  collected,  not  being 
quite  pure)  was  shown  in  1691  by  Mr.  Wood- 
ward. Although,  therefore,  it  is  now  well  as- 
certained that  water  is  not  the  only  food  of 
]»lants,  yet  it  certainly  contributes  universally 
and  largely  to  their  support ;  and,  as  it  has  been 
well  observed  by  Davy,  no  manure  can  be  taken 
up  by  the  roots  of  plants  unless  water  is  pre- 
sent ;  and  water,  or  its  elements,  exists  in  all 
rhe  products  of  vegetation.  (Lecture  15.) 
728 


LIQUID  MANURE. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  concluded  that  these 
carefully  considered  conclusions,  from  the  re- 
sults of  often-repeated  laborious  experiments, 
are  erroneous,  because  transparent  water,  ap' 
parently  pure,  as  in  water-glasses,  or  in  irri- 
gation, promotes  the  growth  of  bulbs,  grass, 
&c.,  since  the  very  purest  spring  water,  even 
rain  water,  contains  foreign  substances,  as  I 
have  clearly  ascertained  by  experiment;  and 
when  only  chemically  pure  water  is  employed 
to  water  plants,  they  cannot  be  made  to  flourish. 
I  have  fruitlessly  varied  the  attempt  in  several 
ways.  All  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Thomson 
were  equally  unsuccessful,  the  plants  vegetat- 
ing only  for  a  certain  time,  and  never  perfect- 
ing their  seeds.  Similar  experiments  were 
made  by  Hassenfratz  and  Saussure,  and  others, 
with  the  same  unfavourable  result.  Duhamel 
found  that  an  oak  which  he  had  raised  from  an 
acorn  in  common  water,  made  less  and  less 
progress  every  year.  The  florist  is  well  aware 
that  bulbous  roots,  such  as  hyacinths,  tulips, 
&c.,  which  are  made  to  grow  in  water,  unless 
they  are  planted  in  the  earth  every  other  year, 
at  first  refuse  to  flower,  and  finally  even  to 
vegetate.  Moreover,  it  has  been  unanswerably 
shown  by  many  very  accurate  experiments 
{Rech.  sur  la  Veg.  p.  51),  at  the  varied  repetition 
of  which  I  have  personally  assisted,  that  the 
quantity  of  nourishment  or  solid  matters  ab- 
sorl)ed  by  the  roots  of  plants  is  always  in  pro- 
portion to  the  impurity  of  the  water  with  which 
they  are  nourished;  thus  some  beans  were 
made  to  vegetate  under  three  diflferent  circum- 
stances ;  the  first  were  grown  in  distilled  water; 
the  second  were  placed  in  sand  and  watered 
with  rain  water;  the  third  were  sown  in  gar- 
den mould.  The  plants  thus  produced,  when 
accurately  analysed,  were  found  to  yield  the 
following  proportions  of  ashes  : — 

1.  Those  fed  by  distilled  water  -        3*9 

2.  Those  fed  by  rain  water       -        -        7-5 

3.  Those  grown  in  soil      -        -       -      12-0 

And  again,  all  attempts  to  make  plants  flour- 
ish in  the  pure  earths  have  failed  utterly  when 
they  have  been  watered  with  pure  water;  yet 
a  totally  different  result  I  have  invariably  ex- 
perienced when  I  have  employed  an  impure 
solution  or  liquid  manure.  My  trials  have 
been  entirely  supported  by  those  of  M.  Giobert, 
who,  having  formed  of  the  four  earths,  silica, 
alumina,  lime,  and  magnesia,  a  soil  in  the 
most  fertile  proportion,  in  vain  essayed  to 
make  the  plants  flourish  in  it  when  watered 
with  pure  water  only;  but  every  difficulty  was 
removed  when  he  moistened  it  with  the  water 
from  a  dunghill,  for  they  then  grew  most  luxu- 
riantly; and  M.  Lampadius  still  further  de- 
monstrated the  powers  of  such  a  foul  liquid 
manure,  for  he  formed  plots  composed  of  only 
a  single  earth,  pure  lime,  pure  alumina,  pure 
silica,  and  planted  in  each  difl!erent  vegetables, 
watering  them  with  the  liquid  drainings  from 
a  dunghill,  and  he  found  that  they  all  flourish- 
ed equally  well.  The  soluble  matters  of  a  soil 
ever  constitute,  in  fact,  its  most  fertilizing  por- 
tion ;  and  if  by  any  artificial  means  the  richest 
mould  is  deprived  of  these,  as  by  repeated 
washings  in  cold  or  boiling  water,  the  re- 
siduum, or  remaining  solid  matter,  is  rendered 
nearly  sterile :  this  fact,  first  accurately  demon- 


w 


LIQUID  MANURE. 


Btrated  by  M.  Saussure  (Rech.  150),  I  have 
since  confirmed,  by  a  variety  of  experiments 
of  my  own. 

The  soluble  matters  or  liquid  manures  con- 
sumed by  plants  are  sometimes  imbibed  by 
their  roots  unaltered;  in  other  cases  they  are 
decomposed  during  their  absorption.  The 
earths,  gypsum,  and  other  salts,  are  instances 
of  the  first  class  ;  oil,  and  other  purely  animal 
matters,  of  the  last.  Davy  found  that  some 
plants  of  mint,  which  he  forced  to  vegetate  in 
sugar  and  water,  apparently  absorbed  the  sugar 
unaltered,  for  they  yielded  a  considerably 
larger  proportion  of  a  sweetish  vegetable  ex- 
tract than  those  of  the  same  weight  which  he 
had  grown  in  common  water ;  and  it  is  an  as- 
certained fact,  that  the  roots  of  plants  will  ab- 
sorb or  reject  the  various  earthy  substances  of 
a  soil,  or  even  when  placed  in  a  saline  solution, 
jn  a  very  remarkable  manner:  thus,  tvhen 
equal  parts  of  gum  and  sugar  were  dissolved 
together  in  water,  and  some  perfect  plants  of 
Polygonum  Persicarria  placed  with  their  roots 
jn  the  solution,  it  was  found  that  they  absorbed 
36  parts  of  the  sugar,  but  only  26  of  the  gum  ; 
and  when  in  precisely  the  same  proportions 
and  manner  Glauber  salt,  common  salt,  and 
acetate  of  lime  were  used,  then  it  was  found 
ihat  the  roots  of  the  Persicaria  separated  these 
lalts  from  the  solution  with  much  ease,  ab- 
orbing  6  parts  of  the  Glauber  salt,  10  parts  of 
he  common  salt,  but  not  a  trace  of  the  acetate 
if  lime.     {Thomson,  vol.  iv.  p.  321.) 

These  facts  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  the 
rrigalors  or  occupiers  of  the  English  water- 
lieadows,  since  they  may,  in  some  degree, 
erve  to  account  for  the  beneficial  action  of 
tvater  on  such  lands — a  question  not  nearly  so 
r^ell  understood  as  it  ought  to  be,  and  on 
K'hich  widely  differing  opinions  are  commonly 
jeld  by  practical  farmers.  It  is  a  theme  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  subject  of  this  arti- 
f  le,  for  irrigation  is,  in  truth,  a  mode  of  apply- 
•Ag  the  weakest  of  liquid  manures,  on  a  very 
bold  scale,  to  grass-lands.     See  Irrioatiox. 

The  employment  of  artificially-prepared 
liquid  manure  (though  little  known  at  present 
in  England)  is  very  extensive  on  the  Conti- 
nent :  the  Swiss  farmers  call  it  g«//e ;  in  France 
it  is  denominated  lizier ;  and  by  the  Germans, 
mist-wasser.  They  prepare  it  throughout  many 
of  the  German  states,  and  in  the  Netherlands, 
by  sweeping  the  excrements  of  their  stall-fed 
cattle  into  under-ground  reservoirs,  mixing  it 
with  four  or  five  times  its  bulk  of  water,  ac- 
cording to  the  richness  of  the  dung:  five  reser- 
voirs are  generally  employed,  of  such  a  size 
that  they  each  take  a  week  to  fill;  and  thus 
each  has  four  weeks  allowed  to  ferment  before 
the  mass,  which  in  this  time  becomes  of  an 
uniform  consistence,  is  removed,  by  means  of 
a  portable  pump,  in  water  carts,  or  large  open 
vessels.  A  similar  plan  is  adopted  in  the 
north  of  Italy,  and  from  time  out  of  mind  has 
been  practised  by  the  Chinese.  In  that  em- 
pire, however,  the  cultivators  chiefly  employ 
night  soil,  which  is  made  into  cakes  for  this 
purpose  with  lime  or  clay,  in  all  their  large 
cities,  to  prepare  their  liquid  manure. 

It  is  from  long  experience  an  admitted  fact 
%mong  the  German  farmers,  that  there  are  no 
92 


LIQUID  MANURE. 

manures  so  powerful  in  their  operation  as 
those  which  are  liquids,  such  as  human  urine 
or  bullocks'  blood ;  so  that  no  English  farmer 
need  fear  deception  as  to  their  asserted  value. 
This  very  fact  was  submitted  some  years 
since  to  the  consideration  of  Professor  Hemb- 
stadt,  of  Berlin,  by  the  Saxon  and  Prussian  au- 
thorities, who  were  anxious  to  apply  the  con- 
tents of  the  city  drains  towards  fertilizing  the 
barren  lands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dresden 
and  Berlin.  This  talented  agriculturist  under- 
took, in  consequence,  a  series  of  valuable  ex- 
periments, which,  varied  in  every  possible  way, 
were  carried  on  for  a  considerable  period ;  the 
result  of  them,  so  highly  advantageous  to  the 
prosperity  of  Germany,  Hembstadt  then  pub- 
lished. They  were  repeated  with  unvaried 
success  by  Professor  Schiibler,  and  the  results 
may  be  staled  in  the  following  order: — 

If  the  soil,  without  any  manure,  yield  a  pro- 
duce of  three  times  the  quantity  of  seed  origi- 
nally sown,  then  the  same  quantity  of  land  will 
produce — 

5  times  the  quantity   of   seed   sown,  when 
dressed  with  old  herbage,  grass,  leaves,  &c. 

7  times,  when  dressed  with  cow  dung. 

9  times,  with  pigeons'  dung. 
,10  times,  with  horse  dung. 
12  times,  with  human  urine. 
12  times,  with  sheep's  dung, 
14  times,  with  human  manure  or  bullocks*  blood. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  of  seven  usually 
employed  fertilizers,  the  liquid  manures,  urine 
and  blood,  were  found  to  be  decidedly  the  most 
powerful. 

Both  with  regard  to  the  quantity  of  liquid 
manure  applied  per  acre,  and  the  mode  of 
spreading  it,  much  must  depend  upon  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  the  cultivator  is 
placed,  and  the  richness  of  the  liquid  he  em- 
ploys. If  the  impurities  dissolved,  or  mecha- 
nically suspended  in  the  water,  are  equal  to  1 
part  in  10,  then  20  to  30  tons  per  acre  of  the 
liquid  manure  I  have  found  amply  sufficient, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  to  produce  the 
most  excellent  results;  if  the  fluid  mass  is 
purer,  then  more  must  be  applied.  For  gar- 
dens, and  small  plots  of  ground  in  general,  the 
liquid  may  be  readily  and  evenly  distributed 
over  the  beds  by  means  of  a  watering-pot  or 
garden-engine;  for  fields  it  must  be  carried  in 
water-carts,  and  distributed  either  by  being  let 
into  a  transverse  trough,  pierced  with  holes  in 
the  manner  of  those  employed  for  street  water- 
ings, or  the  Flemish  plan  may  be  adopted  (es- 
pecially when  the  manure  is  of  too  consider- 
able thickness  to  flow  readily  through  holes), 
of  taking  it  into  the  fields  in  the  water-carts, 
open  at  the  top  (furnished  with  slight  movab!e 
covers),  and  then  distributing  it  out  of  the  cart 
very  evenly  by  means  of  a  scoop;  and  I  have 
invariably  perceived  the  advantage  of  plough- 
ing the  liquid  into  the  soil  as  soon  after  it  rva$ 
spread  on  the  land  as  possible.  The  cultivator 
will  find  great  advantage  if  he  uses  the  garden 
engine,  watering-pot,  or  cart,  from  straining 
the  liquid  manure  before  he  pumps  it  out  of 
the  reservoir,  either  through  straw,  coarse 
sand,  or  a  basket;  the  pieces  of  straw,  and 
other  coarsely-divided  matters  thus  separated 
by   the   strainer,   he  will   discover   add  very 

729 


LIQUID  MANURE. 


LIQUID  MANUKE. 


slightly  to  the  fertilizing  powers  of  the  liquid, 
and  yet  they  all  materially  hinder  the  even 
distribution  of  the  maJiure. 

The  expense,  per  acre,  of  such  an  applica- 
tion of  liquid  manure,  I  thus  estimate,  sup- 
posing the  cow-herd  to  be  employed: — 

£  8.  d. 
Three  tons  of  cow  or  other  fresh  dung  -  -  0  18.  0 
Labour  in  mixing  and  occasionally  stirring  it 

with  from  20  to  25  tons  of  water  -  -  -020 
Carting,  and  spreading  il  on  the  field       -       -080 

£18    0 


If  it  shall  occur  to  the  farmer  that  the  quan- 
tity of  solid  manure  thus  added  to  the  soil  will 
not,  in  reality,  much  exceed  two  tons  per  acre, 
and  that  this  is,  in  appearance,  a  very  small 
allowance,  I  would  remind  him  that  the  quan- 
tity thus  conveyed  consists  of  the  soluble  or 
richest  portion  of  the  manure,  and  is,  in  fact, 
the  extract  without  any  of  the  straw,  or  other 
inert  residuum  usually  carried  on  to  the  soil ; 
besides,  it  is  a  very  erroneous,  though  common 
conclusion,  that  to  produce  fertility  a  manure 
must  be  used  in  large  quantities.  I  have  ob- 
served in  this  paper  that  a  flooding  with  river 
water,  so  productive  of  heavy  crops  of  grass 
in  the  water  meadows,  does  not  carry  on  to  the 
land  more  than  2  tons  per  acre  of  animal  and 
vegetable  substances ;  and  in  the  successful 
experiments  of  the  late  Lord  Somerville,  at 
Fairmile,  with  whale  blubber,  not  more  than 
a  ton  and  a  half  per  acre  were  applied.  The 
Essex  farmers  find  three-quarters  of  a  ton  of 
sprats  amply  sufficient ;  and  2  cwt.  per  acre  of 
gypsum  is  the  ordinary  successful  allowance 
for  grass  land.  The  exact  evenness,  therefore, 
with  which  a  manure  is  spread  over  the  land 
is  a  highly  important  consideration  as  regards 
the  economy  of  manures.  There  is  no  com- 
monly cultivated  plant  which  more  delights  in 
liquid  manure  than  the  potato.  It  naturally 
luxuriates  near  to  wet  ditches :  on  plots  which 
have  received  the  drainage  of  a  dunghill  it 
grows  with  the  greatest  rapidity.  I  have  in- 
variably found  that,  to  any  liquid  mixture  in- 
tended as  a  manure  for  potatoes,  the  addition 
of  5  or  6  bushels  of  salt  per  acre  is  productive 
of  great  good,  both  as  regards  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  potatoes. 

On  clover  leys  intended  for  wheat,  the  liquid 
should  be  turned  into  the  soil  as  early  as  pos- 
sible after  it  is  spread;  and  if  this  operation  is 
performed  in  moist,  cloudy  weather,  a  very 
material  advantage  will  be  perceptible  in  the 
succeeding  crop.  The  warmth  of  the  sun  is 
certainly  prejudicial  to  the  thinly-spread  liquid 
manure,  composed  of  finely-divided  animal  and 
vegetable  substances. 

Of  the  tanks  for  receiving  or  preparing  the 
liquid  manure,  I  may  remark  that  I  have  al- 
ways found  them  best  made  of  flints  or  bricks 
set  in  good  mortar  or  Parker's  cement ;  they 
may  be  bedded  in  clay,  but  I  would  not  recom- 
mend Ihe  use  of  clay  for  the  brickwork,  since 
worms  are  sure  eventually  to  penetrate  through 
it;  and  I  advise  the  shape  to  be  something  like 
a  decanter,  larger  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom, 
in  the  manner  introduced  at  Eastbourne  and  in 
<3ornwall,  chiefly  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Davies 
Gilbert. 

730 


Mr.  Milburn  has  given  the  annexed  estimate 
for  cutting,  walling,  plastering,  and  covering  a 
tank  of  the  following  dimensions : — Length 
within,  13  feet  6  inches;  width,  6  feet  6  inches; 
depth,  6  feet,  equal  to  19^  cubic  yards. 

£     8.     d. 

Cutting  at  M.  per  cubic  yard        "       -  0    7  7 

Walling,  including  bricks  and  mortar  -  6    8  0 

Plastering  and  cement  -        -        -  0  16  0 

Covering  and  flags        -        -        -        -  2  15  0 


(TVon*.  Hyth.  Soc.  vol.  ix.  p.  280.) 


10    6    6 


This  would  be  a  tank  sufficiently  capacious 
for  a  farm  of  150  to  200  acres. 

To  the  presence  of  a  large  proportion  of 
urine,  the  richest  of  liquid  fertilizers,  must  be 
chiefly  attributed  the  luxuriant  effects  produced 
by  the  liquid  manure,  as  prepared  on  the  Con- 
tinent, and  from  the  use  of  the  sewerage  mat- 
ters of  large  towns,  as  so  strikingly  proved  in 
the  case  of  the  Craigintinny  water-meadows, 
near  Edinburgh,  where  the  drainage  is  em- 
ployed in  the  state  in  whicJh  it  issues  from  the 
sewers,  and  from  its  use  several  crops  of  the 
most  luxuriant  grass  are  annually  obtained. 
"All  urine,"  said  a  late  distinguished  chemical 
philosopher,  "contains  the  essential  elements 
of  vegetables  in  a  state  of  solution."  By  a 
careful  analysis,  human  urine  in  its  fresh  state 
was  found,  by  Berzelius,  to  contain  the  follow- 
ing substances : — 

Parts. 

Water 93300 

Urea  (the  peculiar  animal  matter  of  urine)    3  010 
Sulphate  of  potassa        -        -        -        -      0*371 

Sulphate  of  soda     -----      0-316 

Phosphate  of  soda  -        -        -        -      0294 

Common  salt  ------      0-445 

Phosphate  of  ammonia  -        -        -        -      0-165 

Muriate  of  ammonia       -        -        «        -      0150 
Lactate  or  acetate  of  ammonia      -         "j 
Lactic  or  acetic  acid        -        -        -  1     j.pjr^^ 

Animal  matter,  soluble  in  alcohol  f 

Inseparable  urea     -        -        -        -         J 

Earthy  phosphate  (earth  of  bones)  with 
fluale  of  lime      -----      0-100 

Uric  acid 0-100 

Mucus  of  the  bladder     -        -       -        -      0032 
Silica  (earth  of  flint)      -        -        -       -      0003 

100- 


Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  hardly  a 
single  ingredient  found  in  urine  which  is  not 
either  a  direct  food  for  vegetation,  or  furnishes 
by  its  decomposition  a  supply  in  another  form; 
for  in  it  are  thus  detected  the  ammoniacal  salts 
of  the  dunghill,  the  phosphate  of  lime  of  bones, 
as  well  as  of  many  cultivated  vegetables,  and 
abundance  of  easily  decomposed  animal  mat- 
ters. 

The  urine  of  the  horse  is  nearly  as  rich  in 
animo-vegetable  matters ;  its  composition,  ac- 
cording to  the  experiments  of  Fourcroy  and 
Vauquelin,  are  as  follows : — 

Parts 

Water  and  mucus     -----    94-0 

Urea 07 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  -        -        '      n'o 

Carbonate  of  soda  -  -  -  -  '  o'd 
Benzoate  of  soda  ""'""no 
Muriate  of  potassa    -        -        -        -  "'^ 

100- 

The  following  are  the  constituents  in  that  of 
i  the  cow,  as  found  by  Professor  Brande : 


IR5w 


LIQUID  MANURE. 


Parts, 
650 

40 


Waiei         -.__-- 
Urea  ------- 

Phosphate  of  lime 30 

Muriates  of  poiassa  and  amtnonia    -        -  15-0 

Sulphate  of  p.>tassa  -        -        -        -        -  6  0 

Carbonates  of  potassa  and  ammonia         -  40 
L088    --------30 

100- 

It  would  appear,  from  some  experiments  of 
Dr.  Belcher,  that  the  ammoniacal  salts  of  urine 
have  a  forcing  or  stimulating  power,  which 
considerably  hastens  the  vegetation  of  plants. 
His  experiments  were  made  with  the  common 
garden  cress;  and,  in  his  trials,  some  plants 
nourished  with  a  solution  of  phosphate  of  am- 
monia were  15  days  more  advanced  than  plants 
growing  under  similar  circumstances,  but  wa- 
tered with  plain  water.  In  some  experiments 
of  Mr.  Gregory,  who  watered  half  a  grass  field 
at  Leylon  with  urine,  the  portion  thus  treated 
yielded  nearly  double  the  quantity  of  hay  pro- 
duced by  the  other  unmanured  portion ;  and 
the  use  of  the  urine  of  the  cow,  so  extensively 
employed  for  grass  lands,  and  in  the  garden 
and  orchard,  by  Mr.  Harley,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Glasgow,  was  attended  with  results 
equally  satisfactory,  producing,  when  diluted 
with  water  or  soap-suds,  very  superior  crops 
of  grass  on  land  of  a  very  inferior  description. 
I  shall  conclude  with  a  few  observations  on  the 
loss  which  the  cultivated  lands  of  England  in- 
cessantly sustain  from  the  neglect  of  the  liquid 
manure  of  the  sewers  of  her  cities  and  large 
towns, — a  question  to  which  I  have  before 
alluded  in  this  paper,  and  which  is  not  nearly 
so  well  understood  as  is  desirable.  Thus,  by 
carefully  conducted  experiments,  and  very  ac- 
curate gaugings,  it  has  been  found  that  the 
chief  London  sewers  convey  daily  into  the 
Thames  about  115,000  tons  of  mixed  drainage. 
Consisting,  on  an  average  computation,  of  1 
part  of  solid  and  25  parts  absolutely  fluid  mat- 
ters; but  if  we  only  allow  1  part  in  30  of  this 
immense  mass  to  be  composed  of  solid  sub- 
stances, then  we  have  the  large  quantity  of 
more  than  3S0O  tons  of  solid  manure  daily 
poured  into  the  river  from  London  alone,  con- 
sisting principally  of  excrements,  soot,  and  the 
debris  of  the  London  streets,  which  is  chiefly 
carbonate  of  lime :  thus,  allowing  20  tons  of 
this  manure  as  a  dressing  for  an  acre  of 
ground,  there  is  evidently  a  quantity  of  solid 
manure  annually  poured  into  the  river  equal 
to  fertilizing  more  than  50,000  acres  of  the 
poorest  cultivated  land!  The  quantity  of  food 
thus  lost  to  the  country  by  this  heedless  waste 
of  manure  is  enormous;  for,  only  allowing  one 
crop  of  wheat  to  be  raised  on  these  50,000 
acres,  that  would  be  equal  to  the  maintenance 
(calculating  upon  an  average  produce  of  three 
quarters  of  wheat  per  acre)  of  150,000  persons. 
London,  too,  is  only  one  huge  instance  of  this 
thoughtless  waste  of  the  agricultural  riches  of 
the  soil  of  England;  from  every  other  English 
city,  every  town,  every  hamlet,  is  hourly  pass- 
ing into  the  sea  a  proportionate  waste  of  liquid 
manure;  and  I  have  only  spolcen  of  the  solid  or 
mechanically  suspended  mat'ers  of  the  sewer- 
age; the  absolutely  fluid  portion  is  still  rich  in 
urine,  ammoniacal  salts,  soda,  «&c.,  when  all 
the  mechanically  suspended  matters  have  been 


LIQUID  MANURE. 

separated  from  the  other  portions.  According 
to  very  careful  experiments,  this  fluid  part  often 
contains  16  per  cent,  of  animal  matters,  salts, 
&c.,  intimately  or  chemically  combined  with 
the  water. 

No  farmer,  after  such  an  analysis  of  the 
sewerage  of  a  large  city,  can  feel  surprised  at 
the  important  results  from  the  use  of  that 
sewer  water,  as  long  practised  in  the  vicinity 
of  Edinburgh.  After  learning  the  composition 
of  such  a  foul  mass — its  endless  mixture  of 
organic  matters — its  soot — its  carbonate  of 
lime — and,  above  all,  its  urine,  the  forcing  na- 
ture of  the  ammoniacal  salts  which  that  fluid 
contains,  added  to  the  presence  of  the  other 
matters  which  are  the  food  of  plants,  and  the 
constant  supply  of  such  irrigation  water  in  all 
seasons — he  will  readily  give  credence  to  the 
talented  editor  of  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  jigri- 
atltnre,  when  he  asserts  that,  by  such  treatment 
of  the  Edinburgh  meadows  with  the  sewerage 
irrigation,  they  have  been  increased  in  value 
several  pounds  per  acre  yearly. 

I  have  often  employed,  with  decided  eflfect, 
in  my  own  garden,  for  vines,  peach,  and  stand- 
ard apple  trees,  liquid  manure,  prepared  either 
by  mixing  one  part  by  weight  of  cow  dung 
with  four  parts  of  water,  or  the  collected  drain- 
age of  the  stable  and  cow-house.  Of  these  the 
vine  is  by  far  the  most  benefited  by  the  appli- 
cation ;  but  to  whatever  fruit-tree  the  gardener 
has  occasion  to  apply  manure,  there  is  no  form 
so  ma.iageable  and  so  grateful  to  the  plant 
as  the  liquid.  It  has  been  found  advantageous 
to  plants  cultivated  in  stoves  to  apply  even  a 
liquid  manure,  composed  of  six  quarts  of  soot 
to  a  hogshead  of  water;  and  although  this  is  a 
very  unchemical  mixture,  yet  it  has  been  found 
by  Mr.  Robertson  to  be  peculiarly  grateful  and 
nourishing  to  pines,  causing  them  to  assume  an 
unusually  deep  healthy  green  ;  and  for  stoved 
mulberry,  vine,  peach,  and  other  plants,  the 
late  Mr.  Knight,  of  Downton,  employed  a  liquid 
manure,  composed  of  one  part  of  the  dung  of 
domestic  poultry,  and  4  to  10  parts  of  water, 
with  the  most  excellent  result — the  trees  main- 
taining, at  the  end  of  two  years,  "the  most 
healthy  and  luxuriant  appearance  imaginable." 
(Trans.  Hort.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  127.) 

In  whatever  way  we  view  the  question  of 
liquid  manure,  an  abundant  field  of  research 
presents  itself  on  every  side:  it  is  evidently  an 
investigation  likely  to  amply  repay  the  culti- 
vator for  the  labour  he  may  be  induced  to  be- 
stow upon  it.  By  such  manures,  nourishment 
for  vegetation  is  more  equally  diff"used  through 
the  soil,  and  becomes  more  speedily  service- 
able  to  the  crop,  than  by  any  other  mode  of 
cultivation.  I  have  endeavoured,  also,  in  this 
article,  to  convince  the  farmer  of  what  I  have 
long  remarked  in  my  own  practice — that  a 
much  smaller  quantity  of  manure,  if  uniformly 
mixed  with  land,  is  sufficient  for  all  the  pur« 
poses  of  fertilization  than  is  commonly  be- 
lieved. Such  investigations  must  be  of  the 
highest  interest  to  the  farmer  and  to  the  public 
in  general,  for  they  relate  to  the  increased  pro 
duce  of  the  land  of  England ;  and  not  only  does 
a  fortunate  experiment  carry  with  it  its  own 
reward,  but  even  an  unsuccessful  one  is  not 
without  its  advantages, — it  serves,  at  least,  a< 

731 


LIVESTOCK. 


LOBELIA. 


a  beacon  to  other  cultivators,  and  affords  that 
satisfaction  vv^hich  ever  accompanies  the  ac- 
quirement of  knowledge.  {Jaurn.  Roy.  jlg.  Soc. 
vol.  i.  p.  147.) 

LIQUORICE  (Glycyrrhiza,  from  glnkus,  sweet, 
and  rhiza,  a  root ;  the  sweetness  of  the  root  of 
liquorice  is  well  known).  A  deep,  light,  sandy 
loam  suits  all  the  sppcies  of  this  genus,  and 
they  are  readily  increased  by  slips  from  the 
roots  with  eyes,  and  planting  them  in  spring. 

Common  liquorice  (G.  glabra)  is  a  native  cf 
the  south  of  Europe;  but  it  is  also  cultivated 
in  England  for  medicinal  use.  It  is  a  legumi- 
nous plant,  with  unequally  pinnated  leaves, 
composed  of  ovate,  retuse  leaflets;  the  flowers 
are  in  racemose  spikes,  shorter  than  the  leaves. 
The  legumes  are  smooth,  and  six-seeded.  The 
root,  when  fit  for  use,  is  long,  about  the  thick- 
ness of  the  finger,  grayish  without,  and  yellow 
within.  The  sweet,  subacrid,  mucilaginous 
juice  contained  in  the  root  is  much  esteemed 
as  a  pectoral  demulcent.  Liquorice  requires 
three  years  to  perfect  its  growth,  when  the  roots 
are  taken  up  about  the  end  of  November  with 
the  spade ;  they  are  then  washed,  the  fibres 
trimmed  off,  and  the  smaller  roots  which  are 
termed  "  offal,"  are  separated  from  the  larger. 
The  small  roots  are  dried  and  ground  into 
powder ;  but  the  larger,  which  form  the  princi- 
pal article  of  profit,  are  packed  up  and  sold  to 
the  druggists.  A  fair  crop  will  yield  from  18 
to  20  cwt.,  at  an  average  price  of  about  4.5s.  per 
cwt. ;  but  the  expense  of  digging  up  ard  pre- 
paring it  for  market  is  not  short  of  lOZ.  per 
acre ;  which,  great  as  it  nay  appear,  is  by  no 
means  extravagant,  if  v  e  consider  the  depth  to 
which  the  roots  run,  and  the  care  which  is  ne- 
cessary to  avoid  breaking  or  leaving  any  of 
them  in  the  ground.  (Paxton's  Bot.  Diet.;  Brit. 
Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  330.) 

LIQUORICE,  WILD.  A  species  of  the 
genus  Galium  (Circcezans)  found  in  the  United 
States,  frequent  in  rich  woodlands,  &c.  Its 
root  is  perennial,  and  the  slems  grow  12  to  18 
inches  high,  often  branched  near  the  base.  The 
flowers  are  purplish-white,  and  appear  in  June 
and  July.  The  leaves  have  a  sweet  taste,  re- 
sembling liquorice.     See  Milk-Vetch. 

LITTER.  The  straw,  fern,  or  other  dry  sub- 
stances which  are  placed  under  horses  and 
cattle  in  the  stables,  cow-houses,  farm-yards, 
&c.,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  animals 
clean  and  warm,  and  providing  a  supply  of 
manure.  In  this  last  view,  all  sorts  of  dry  ma- 
terials should  be  carefully  collected  and  stacked 
uj»  for  winter  use. 

LIVERWORT  {Anemone  hepatica,  Hepatica 
Americana,  or  Three-lobed  Liveiwort)  is  very  com- 
mon in  the  open  woodlands  of  the  United  States, 
where  it  flowers  in  Pennsylvania  in  May,  and 
matures  its  seed  in  May  and  June.  This  plant 
has  acquired  much  notoriety,  of  late  years,  as 
a  remedy  in  pulmonary  consumption;  but  its 
virtues  have  doubtless  been  greatly  exagge- 
rated. Dr.  Darlington  thinks  it  the  only  species 
in  the  United  States.  (Flora  Cestrica.)  See 
Hepatica. 

LIVE-STOCK.    See  Horses,  Cattle,  Sheep, 

&c.     In  Great  Britain,  the  live-stock  forms  the 

chief  wealth  of  a  larm.    The  term  implies  cat- 

Me ;  cut  poultry,  too,  is  strictly  live-stock ;  and 

-^32 


in  some  countries,  fish,  game,  bees,  &c.,  are  of 
that  importance  that  they  are  considered  to  be 
live-stock.  In  several  districts  of  England, 
rabbits  are  so,  and  that  to  a  very  essential  ex- 
tent. In  some  parts  of  southern  Europe,  even 
the  silk-worm  is  live-stock. 

Through  the  combined  exertions  of  many 
distinguished  writers,  and  the  practical  know- 
ledge of  modern  breeders,  a  very  material  alte- 
ration for  the  better  in  the  breeds  of  live-stock 
has  taken  place,  and  is  still  progressing ;  and 
there  is  little  reason  to  doubt  but  that  still 
greater  improvements  are  yet  to  be  effected. 
To  such  researches  too  much  attention  can 
hardly  be  paid ;  for  on  the  well  or  ill  stocking 
of  the  land  will  mainly  depend  the  cultivator's 
success.  To  this  end,  however,  much  must 
rest  on  the  circumstances  in  which  he  is  placed. 
See  Agriculture  in  the  United  States. 

LIVE  OAK  (Quercus  virens).    See  Oak.         \ 

LOAD.  A  term  used  in  the  United  States 
rather  vaguely,  and  meaning  different  amounts 
or  measures  in  different  places.  The  general 
meaning  of  a  load  of  manure,  according  to 
Buel,  is  what  can  be  drawn  by  two  horses,  or 
two  oxen,  to  the  field  where  it  is  to  be  applied. 
At  Boston  and  other  large  towns  in  the  East- 
ern, as  well  as  other  States,  the  term  load  is 
applied  commonly  to  express  as  much  as  can 
be  drawn  by  four  and  even  six  cattle  upon  a 
hard  road,  or  about  96  cubic  feet.  A  load  of 
earth,  clay,  or  marl,  is  generally  estimated  at 
a  cubic  yard,  or  27  cubic  feet. 

LOAM.  By  this  term  is  generally  under- 
stood dark-coloured,  rich  mould,  principally 
composed  of  dissimilar  particles  of  earth  and 
decomposed  vegetable  matter,  moderately  co- 
hesive, and  therefore  neither  retentive  of  mois- 
ture, like  clay,  nor  too  ready  to  part  with  it, 
like  sandy  soil.  According  as  the  different  in- 
gredients predominate,  loamy  soils  are  of  dif- 
ferent qualities — friable  and  mellow,  middling, 
or  heavy  loams.  (Pract.  Husb.  p.  284.)  Loam 
is  supposed  to  consist  chiefly  of  woody  fibre  in 
a  state  of  decay,  which,  as  it  progresses,  ac- 
quires a  black-brown  colour,  and  is  then  mould 
or  loam.  It  is  a  continued  source  of  carbonic 
acid,  as  almost  every.particle  of  it  is  enveloped 
by  an  atmosphere  of  that  gas,  which  is  absorbed 
by  the  roots  of  plants,  and  replaced  by  atmo- 
spheric air,  to  be  again  converted  into  carbonic 
acid.  Upon  this  transformation  the  influence 
of  loam  on  vegetation  is  readily  understood :  it 
does  not  itself  nourish  plants,  but  it  presents  to 
them  "  a  slow  and  lasting  source  of  carbonic 
acid,  which  is  absorbed  by  the  roots."  (Liebig, 
Organic  Chemistry  in  its  Application  to  Agriculture, 
p.  48—61.)     See  Humus.  \ 

LOBELIA  (Lobelia,  in  honour  of  Matthew 
Lobel,  author  of  various  botanical  works.  He 
was  a  native  of  Lisle ;  became  physician  and 
botanist  to  James  I.,  and  died  in  London  in 
1616).  This  is  an  extremely  interesting  genus 
of  plants,  on  account  of  the  beauty  of  the  blos- 
soms, and  the  medicinal  properties  of  some  of 
the  species.  The  green-house,  and  stove, 
shrubby,  and  herbaceous  kinds,  grow  well  in  a 
mixture  of  peat  and  sand ;  the  shrubby  kinds 
are  readily  increased  by  cuttings  in  the  same 
kind  of  soil,  and  the  herbaceous  species  by  di- 
viding and  by  seeds.    The  hardy  herbaceous 


LOBLOLLY  BAY. 


LOCUST. 


kinds  do  well  in  a  light,  rich  earth,  or  peat  soil ; 
but  in  winter  most  of  them  require  the  protec- 
tion of  a  frame.'  The  green-house  annuals  and 
biennials  must  be  sown  in  pots,  and  treated  as 
other  green-house  annuals  and  biennials.  The 
seeds  of  the  hardy  kinds  have  only  to  be  sown 
in  the  open  border.  L.  longifiora  is  one  of  the 
most  venomous  of  plants.  Barton  says  the 
Spanish  Americans  call  it  Rebenta  cavallos,  be- 
cause it  proves  fatal  to  horses  that  eat  it,  swell- 
ing them  till  they  burst.  Taken  internally,  it 
acts  as  a  violent  cathartic,  the  effects  of  which 
no  remedy  can  assuage,  and  which  terminate 
in  death.  Another  American  species,  namely, 
L.  injldta,  commonly  called  Indian  Tobacco,  is 
a  powerful  antispasmodic  and  emetic,  and  is 
much  employed  to  allay  the  paroxysm  of  spas- 
modic asthma.  There  are  two  indigenous  spe- 
cies :  1.  The  water  lobelia  (L.  Dartmanna), 
which  grows  in  the  lakes  of  Wales,  Scotland, 
Ireland,  and  the  north  of  England.  The  root 
consists  of  many  long,  simple,  whitish  fibres. 
Kerb  smooth,  immersed  in  water  like  the  Hot- 
tonia.  Leaves  numerous,  two  inches  long, 
linear,  entire,  with  two  longitudinal  cells.  The 
stem  is  nearly  naked,  terminating  in  a  simple 
cluster  of  light-blue,  drooping,  alternate  flowers, 
raised  several  inches  above  the  water,  which 
appear  in  July  and  August. 

2.  Acrid  lobelia  (Z..wrcHs).  This  grows  wild 
on  bushy  heaths  in  Devonshire.  The  root  is 
fibrous  ;  stem  a  foot  or  more  in  height,  nearly 
upright;  lower  leaves  ovate,  slightly  toothed ; 
upper  lanceolate,  serrated ;  the  flowers  are  in 
erect  clusters,  terminal,  of  a  prtVplish-blue  co- 
lour, appearing  in  August  and  September.  The 
whole  herb  is  milkv,  fetid,  and  very  acrid. 

LOBLOLLY  BAY  {Gordonia  lasyauthvs). 
This  American  tree  is  comprehended  within 
the  same  limits  with  the  long-leaved  pine,  being 
confined  to  the  maritime  parts  of  the  Southern 
States,  to  the  two  Floridas,  and  to  Lower  Loui- 
siana. It  is  very  abundant  in  the  branch 
swamps,  and  exists  in  greater  proportion  than 
the  red  bay,  swamp  bay,  and  black  gum,  with 
which  it  is  usually  associated.  In»the  pine 
barrens,  tracts  of  50  or  100  acres  are  met  with 
at  intervals,  which,  being  lower  than  the  adja- 
cent ground,  are  kept  constantly  moist  by  the 
waters  collected  in  them  after  the  great  rains. 
These  spots  are  entirely  covered  with  the  lob- 
lolly bay,  and  are  called  bay  swamps.  Although 
the  layer  of  vegetable  mould  is  only  3  or  4 
inches  thick,  and  reposes  upon  a  bed  of  barren 
sand,  the  vegetation  of  these  trees  is  surpris- 
ingly luxuriant. 

Tlie  loblolly  bay  grows  t9  the  height  of  .50  or 
60  feet,  with  a  diameter  of  18  or  20  inches. 
For  25  to  30  feet  its  trunk  is  perfectly  straight. 
The  small  divergency  of  its  branches  near  the 
trunk  gives  it  a  regularly  pyramidal  form;  but 
as  they  ascend  they  spread  more  loosely,  like 
those  of  other  trees  of  the  forest. 

The  leaves  are  evergreen,  from  3  to  6  inches 
long,  alternate,  oval-acuminate,  slightly  toothed, 
and  smooth  and  shining  on  the  upper  surface. 
The  flowers  are  more  than  an  inch  broad,  white 
and  sweet-scented ;  they  begin  to  appear  about 
the  middle  of  July,  and  bloom  in  succession 
during  2  or  3  months.     This  tree  possesses 


the  agreeable  singularity  uf  bearing  flowers 
when  it  is  only  3  or  4  feet  high 

The  fruit  is  an  oval  capsule,  divided  into 
5  compartments,  each  of  which  contains  small, 
black,  winged  seeds.  These  seeds  appear  to 
germinate  successfully  only  in  places  covered 
with  sphagmtm,  a  species  of  moss  which  co- 
piously imbibes  water,  and  in  which  are  found 
thousands  of  the  young  plants,  which  are 
plucked  up  with  ease. 

The  bark  of  the  loblolly  bay  is  very  smooth 
while  the  tree  is  less  than  6  inches  in  diame- 
ter; on  old  trees  it  is  thick  and  deeply  furrowed. 
In  trunks  which  exceed  15  inches  in  diameter, 
four-fifths  of  the  wood  is  heart.  The  wood  is 
of  a  rosy  hue,  and  of  a  fine,  silky  texture :  it 
appears  to  be  very  proper  for  the  inside  of  fur- 
niture, though  the  cypress  is  generally  prefer- 
red. It  is  extremely  light:  when  seasoned  it 
is  very  brittle,  and  it  rapidly  decays  unless  it 
is  kept  perfectly  dry:  hence  it  is  entirely  neg- 
lected in  use,  and  is  not  employed  even  for  fuel. 

The  value  of  the  loblolly  bark  in  tanning 
compensates  in  some  measure  for  the  useless 
ness  of  its  wood :  it  is  employed  for  this  pup 
pose  throughout  the  maritime  parts  of  the  South- 
ern States  and  of  the  Floridas.  For,  although 
this  branch  of  industry  is  by  no  means  as  ex- 
tensively practised  in  this  part  of  the  country 
as  in  the  Northern  States,  and  though  these 
regions  afford  many  species  of  oak,  yet  the 
species  whose  bark  is  proper  for  tanning  are 
not  sufficiently  multiplied  to  supply  the  con- 
sumption. As  much  of  the  bark  of  the  Spanish 
oak  as  can  be  obtained,  of  which  the  price  is 
one-half  greater,  is  mixed  with  that  of  the  lob- 
lolly bay.  This  tree  has  the  advantage  of 
maintaining  very  long  the  circulation  of  its 
sap,  so  that  the  bark  may  be  taken  off  during 
three  or  four  months. 

The  luxuriance  of  its  vegetation,  the  beauty 
of  its  flowers,  and  the  richness  of  its  evergreen 
foliage  place  the  loblolly  ba)'  among  the  mag 
nolias ;  and,  with  the  other  species,  it  contri 
butes  to  the  ornament  of  the  forests  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the  United  States.  It  is  less 
sensible  to  cold  than  the  big  laurel.  (Michaux.) 

LOBLOLLY  PINE  (Pinus  tceda).   See  Fihs. 

LOCKED-JAW.     See  Tktaxus. 

LOCKING  OF  WHEELS.  The  means  of 
fastening  them  so  as  to  prevent  their  running 
too  swiftly  upon  the  horses,  when  coming  down 
steep  hills.  This  is  effected  in  various  ways; 
as  by  chains,  sledges,  friction-bars,  &c.  See 
Whekl,  and  Wagox. 

LOCULAR.  A  term  in  botany.  A  fruit  is 
called  unilocular  if  it  contains  but  one  cell,  bi- 
locular  if  it  contains  two  cells,  and  so  on.  In 
many  instances,  one  or  more  of  the  cells  are 
abortive,  and  become  obliterated  as  the  fruit 
ripens. 

LOCUST.  A  name  given  by  the  English  to 
the  large  grasshoppers,  but  which,  in  the  United 
States,  and  indeed  almost  universally,  is  applied 
to  the  group  of  insects  which  naturalists  have 
termed  Cicadians,  and  which  are  also  called 
harvest-flies. 

These  insects  are  readily  distinguished  by 
their  broad  heads,  the  large  and  very  convex 
eyes  on  each  side,  and  the  three  eyelets  on  thn 
SQ  733 


LOCUST. 


LOCUST. 


crown:  by  the  transparent  and  veined  wing- 
covers  and  wings  ;  and  by  the  elevation  on  the 
back  part  of  the  thorax  in  the  form  of  the  letter 
X.  The  males  have  a  peculiar  organization, 
which  enables  them  to  emit  an  excessively  loud 
buzzing  kind  of  sound,  which,  in  some  species, 
may  be  heard  at  the  distance  of  a  mile ;  and 
the  females  are  furnished  with  a  curiously  con- 
trived piercer,  for  perforating  the  limbs  of  tree's, 
in  which  they  place  their  eggs.  The  musical 
instruments  of  the  male  consist  of  a  pair  of 
Vettle-drums,  one  on  each  side  of  the  body,  and 
these,  in  the  scventecn-ycar  Cicada  (or  locust,  as 
U  is  generally  but  improperly  called  in  Ameri- 
ca), are  plainly  to  be  seen  just  behind  the 
wings.  These  drums  are  formed  of  convex 
pieces  of  parchment,  covered  with  numerous 
fine  plaits,  and,  in  the  species  above  named, 
are  lodged  in  cavities  on  the  sides  of  the  body 
behind  the  thorax.  They  are  not  played  upon 
with  sticks,  but  by  muscles  or  cords  fastened 
to  the  inside  of  the  drums.  When  these  mus- 
cles contract  and  relax,  which  they  do  with 
great  rapidity,  the  drum-heads  are  alternately 
tightened  and  loosened,  recovering  their  natu- 
ral convexity  by  their  own  elasticity.  The 
effect  of  this  rapid  alternate  tension  and  relaxa- 
tion is  the  production  of  a  rattling  sound,  like 
that  caused  by  a  succession  of  quick  pressures 
upon  a  slightly  convex  and  elastic  piece  of  tin 
plate.  Certain  cavities  within  the  body  of  the 
insect,  which  may  be  seen  on  raising  two  large 
valves  beneath  the  belly,  and  which  are  sepa- 
rated from  each  other  by  thin  partitions  having 
the  transparency  and  brilliancy  of  mica,  or  of 
thin  and  highly  polished  glass,  tend  to  increase 
the  vibrations  of  the  sounds,  and  add  greatly  to 
their  intensity.  In  most  of  our  species  of  Ci- 
cada, the  drums  are  not  visible  on  the  outside 
of  the  body,  but  are  covered  by  convex  trian- 
gular pieces  on  each  side  of  the  first  ring  be- 
hind the  thorax,  which  must  be  cut  away  in 
order  to  expose  them.  On  raising  the  large 
valves  of  the  belly,  however,  there  is  seen,  close 
to  each  side  of  the  body,  a  little  opening,  like  a 
pocket,  in  which  the  drum  is  lodged,  and  from 
which  the  sound  issues  when  the  insect  opens 
the  valves.  The  hinder  extremity  of  the  body 
of  the  female  is  conical,  and  the  under-side  has 
a  longitudinal  channel  for  the  reception  of  the 
piercer,  which  is  furthermore  protected  by  four 
short  grooved  pieces  fixed  in  the  sides  of  the 
channel.  The  piercer  itself  consists  of  three 
parts  in  close  contact  with  each  other;  namely, 
two  outer  ones  grooved  on  the  inside  and  en- 
larged at  the  tips,  which  externally  are  beset 
with  small  teeth  like'  a  saw,  and  a  central, 
spear-pointed  borer,  which  plays  between  the 
other  two.  Thus  this  instrument  has  the  power 
and  does  the  work  both  of  an  awl  and  of  a  dou- 
ble-edged saw,  or  rather  of  two  key-hole  saws 
cutting  opposite  to  each  other.  No  species  of 
Cicada  possesses  the  power  of  leaping.  The 
legs  are  rather  short,  and  the  anterior  thighs 
are  armed  beneath  with  two  stout  spines. 

The  duration  of  life  in  winged  insects  is 
comparatively  very  short,  seldom  exceeding 
two  or  three  weeks  in  extent,  and  in  many  is 
limited  to  the  same  number  of  days  or  hours. 
To  increase  and  multiply  is  their  principal  bu- 
siness in  this  period  of  their  existence,  if  not 
-34 


the  only  one;  and  the  natural  term  of  their  life 
ends  when  this  is  accomplished.  In  their  pre- 
vious states,  however,  they  ot\en  pass  a  much 
longer  time,  the  length  of  which  depends,  in 
great  measure,  upon  the  nature  and  abundance 
of  their  food.  Thus  maggots,  which  subsist 
upon  decaying  animal  or  vegetable  matter, 
come  more  quickly  to  their  growth  than  cater- 
pillars and  other  insects  which  devour  living 
plants :  the  former  are  appointed  to  remove  an 
offensive  nuisance,  and  to  do  their  work  quickly; 
the  latter  have  a  longer  time  assigned  to  them, 
corresponding  in  some  degree  to  the  pro^^ress 
or  continuance  of  vegetation.  The  facilities 
afforded  for  obtaining  food  influence  the  dura 
tion  of  life ;  hence  those  grubs  that  live  in  the 
solid  trunks  of  perennial  trees,  which  they  are 
obliged  to  perforate  in  order  to  obtain  nourish- 
ment, are  longer  lived  than  those  that  devour 
the  tender  parts  of  leaves  and  fruits,  which, 
though  they  last  only  for  a  season,  require  no 
laborious  efforts  to  be  prepared  for  food.  The 
harvest-flies  continue  only  a  few  weeks  after 
their  final  transformation,  and  their  only  nour- 
ishment consists  of  vegetable  juices,  which 
they  obtain  by  piercing  the  bark  and  leaves  of 
plants  with  their  beaks;  and  during  this  period 
they  lay  their  eggs,  and  then  perish.  They  are, 
however,  amply  compensated  for  the  shortness 
of  their  life  in  the  winged  state  by  the  length 
of  their  previous  existence,  during  which  they 
are  wingless  and  grub-like  in  form,  and  live 
under  ground,  where  they  obtain  their  food  only 
by  much  labour  in  perforating  the  soil  among 
the  roots  of  plants,  the  juices  of  which  they 
imbibe  by  suction.  To  meet  the  difficulties  of 
their  situation  and  the  precarious  supply  of 
their  food,  for  which  they  have  to  grope  in  the 
dark  in  their  subterranean  retreats,  a  remarka- 
ble longevity  is  assigned  to  them;  and  one 
species  has  obtained  the  name  of  Cicada  sep- 
iendecim,  on  account  of  its  life  being  protracted 
to  the  period  of  seventeen  years. 

Tuis  insect  has  been  observed  in  the  south- 
eastern parts  of  Massachusetts,  but  does  not 
seem  to  Jiave  extended  to  other  parts  of  the 
state.  The  earliest  account  that  we  have  of  it 
is  contained  in  Morton's  Memorial,  wherein 
it  is  stated  that  "  there  was  a  numerous  com- 
pany of  flies,  which  were  like  for  bigness  unto 
wasps  or  bumblebees,"  which  appeared  in  Ply- 
mouth in  the  spring  of  1633.  "  They  came  out 
of  little  holes  in  the  ground,  and  did  eat  up  the 
green  things,  and  made  such  a  constant  yelling 
noise  as  made  the  woods  ring  of  them,  and 
ready  to  deafen  the  hearers."  Judge  Davis,  in 
the  Appendix  to  his  edition  of  Secretary  Mor- 
ton's Memorial,  states  that  these  insects  ap- 
peared in  Plymouth,  Sandwich,  and  Falmouth 
in  the  year  1804;  but,  if  the  exact  period  of 
seventeen  years  was  observed,  they  should  have 
returned  in  1803.  Circumstances  may  occa- 
sionally accelerate  or  retard  their  progress  to 
maturity,  but  the  usual  interval  is  certainly 
seventeen  years,  according  to  the  observations 
and  testimony  of  many  persons  of  undoubted 
veracity.  Their  occurrence  in  large  swarms 
at  long  intervals,  like  that  of  the  migratory 
locusts  of  the  East,  probably  suggested  the 
name  of  locusts,  which  has  commonly  been 
applied  to  them  in  this  country.    It  appears 


LOCUST. 


(Udi  these  insects  come  forth  at  different  places 
in  dilTereut  years. 

Dog-duy  Hurvest-Jiy. — Another  species  of  har- 
vest-fly, though  it  does  not  make  its  appearance 
in  such  formidable  numbers  as  the  seventeen- 
years  locust,  is  much  more  frequently  met  with. 
Dr.  Harris  calls  it  the  dog-day  harvest-fly 
{Cicada  caniculuris),  £rova  its  invariably  coming 
about  the  beginning  of  dog-days.  "  During 
many  years  in  succession,"  says  Dr.  Harris, 
"  with  only  one  or  two  exceptions,  I  have 
heard  this  insect  on  the  25th  day  of  July,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  season,  drumming  in  the 
trees,  on  some  part  of  the  day  between  the 
hours  of  ten  in  the  morning  and  two  in  the 
afternoon." 

Dr.  Harris  describes  about  twenty  other  spe- 
cies of  the  locust  family  found  in  Massachu- 
setts, and  concludes  the  subject  in  the  follow- 
ing words : 

"After  so  much  space  has  been  devoted  to 
an  account  of  the  ravages  of  grasshoppers  and 
locusts,  and  to  the  descriptions  of  the  insects 
themselves,  perhaps  it  may  be  expected  that 
the  means  of  checking  and  destroying  them 
should  be  fully  explained.  The  naturalist, 
however,  seldom  has  it  in  his  power  to  put  in 
practice  the  various  remedies  which  his  know- 
ledge or  experience  may  suggest.  His  proper 
province  consists  in  examining  the  living  ob- 
jects about  him  with  regard  to  their  structure, 
their  scientific  arrangement,  and  their  economy 
or  history.  In  doing  this,  he  opens  to  others 
the  way  to  a  successful  course  of  experiments, 
the  trial  of  which  he  is  generally  obliged  to 
leave  to  those  who  are  more  favourably  situ- 
ated for  their  performance. 

In  the  south  of  France  the  people  make  a 
business,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  of  col- 
lecting locusts  and  their  eggs,  the  latter  being 
turned  out  of  the  ground  in  little  masses,  ce- 
mented and  covered  with  a  sort  of  gum,  in 
•which  they  are  enveloped  by  the  insects.  Re- 
wards are  oflered  and  paid  for  their  collection, 
half  a  franc  being  given  for  a  kilogramme 
(about  2  lbs.  3^^  oz.  avoirdupois)  of  the  insects, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  franc  for  the  same  weight 
of  their  eggs.  At  this  rate  20,000  francs  were 
paid  in  Marseilles,  and  25,000  in  Aries,  in  the 
year  1613;  in  1824,  5,542;  and  in  1825,  6,200 
francs  were  paid  in  Marseilles.  It  is  stated 
that  an  active  boy  can  collect  from  6  to  7  kilo- 
grammes (or  from  13  lbs.  3  oz.  13-22  dr.  to 
15  lbs.  7  oz.  2'09  dr.)  of  eggs  in  one  day.  The 
locusts  are  taken  by  means  of  a  piece  of  stout 
cloth,  carried  by  four  persons,  two  of  whom 
draw  it  rapidly  along,  so  that  the  edge  may 
sweep  over  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  the  two 
others  hold  up  the  cloth  behind  at  an  angle  of 
45  degrees.  This  contrivance  seems  to  ope- 
rate somewhat  like  a  horse-rake,  in  gathering 
the  insects  into  winrows  or  heaps,  from  which 
they  are  speedily  transferred  to  large  sacks. 
A  somewhat  similar  plan  has  been  successfully 
tried  in  this  country,  as  appears  by  an  account 
extracted  from  the  Portsmouth  Journal,  and 
putliihed  in  the  New  England  Farmer,  vol.  v. 
p.  ij.  It  is  there  stated  that,  in  July,  1826,  Mr. 
Arnold  Thompson,  of  Epsom,  New  Hampshire, 
caught  in  one  evening,  between  the  hours  of  8 
and  12,  in  his  own  and  his  neighbour's  grain- 


LOCUST. 

fields,  5  bushels  and  3  pecks  of  grasshoppers, 
or,  more  properly,  locusts.  '  His  mode  of  catch- 
ing ihem  was  by  attaching  two  sheets  together, 
and  fastening  them  to  a  pole,  which  was  used 
as  the  front  part  of  the  drag.  The  pole  extended 
beyond  the  width  of  the  sheets,  so  as  to  admit 
persons  at  both  sides  to  draw  it  forward.  At 
the  sides  of  the  drag,  braces  extended  from  the 
pole  to  raise  the  back  part  considerably  from 
the  ground,  so  that  the  grasshoppers  could  not 
escape.  After  running  the  drag  about  a  dozen 
rods  with  rapidity,  the  braces  were  taken  out, 
and  the  sheets  doubled  over;  the  grasshoppers 
were  then  swept  from  each  end  towards  the 
centre  of  the  sheet,  where  was  left  an  opening 
to  the  mouth  of  a  bag  which  held  about  half  a 
bushel;  when  deposited  and  tied  up,  tlie  drag 
was  again  opened  and  ready  to  proceed.  When 
this  bag  was  filled  so  as  to  become  burdensome 
(their  weight  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the 
same  measure  of  corn),  the  bag  was  opened 
into  a  larger  one,  and  the  grasshoppers  received 
into  a  new  deposit.  The  drag  can  be  used 
only  in  the  evening,  when  the  grasshoppers  are 
perched  on  the  top  of  the  grain.  His  manner 
of  destroying  them  was  by  dipping  the  large 
bags  into  a  kettle  of  boiling  water.  When 
boiled,  they  had  a  reddish  appearance,  and 
made  a  fine  feast  for  the  farmer's  hogs.'  When 
these  insects  are  very  prevalent  on  our  salt 
marshes,  it  will  be  advisable  to  mow  the  grass 
early,  so  as  to  secure  a  crop  before  it  has  suf- 
fered much  loss.  The  time  for  doing  this  will 
be  determined  by  data  furnished  in  the  forego- 
ing pages,  where  it  will  be  seen  that  the  most 
destructive  species  come  to  maturity  during 
the  latter  part  of  July.  If,  then,  the  marshes 
are  mowed  about  the  first  of  July,  the  locusts, 
being  at  that  time  small  and  not  provided  with 
wings,  will  be  unable  lo  migrate,  and  will  con- 
sequently perish  on  the  ground  for  the  want 
of  food,  while  a  tolerable  crop  of  hay  will  be 
secured,  and  the  marshes  will  suffer  less  from 
the  insects  during  the  following  summer.  This, 
like  all  other  preventive  measures,  must  be 
generally  adopted,  in  order  to  prove  effectual; 
for  it  will  avail  a  farmer  but  little  to  take  pre- 
ventive measures  on  his  own  land,  if  his  neigh- 
bours, who  are  equally  exposed  and  interested, 
neglect  to  do  the  same.  Among  the  natural 
means  which  seem  to  be  appointed  to  keep 
these  insects  in  check,  violent  winds  and  storms 
may  be  mentioned,  which  sometimes  sweep 
them  off  in  great  swarms,  and  cast  them  into 
the  sea.  Vast  numbers  are  drowned  by  the 
high  tides  that  frequently  inundate  our  marshej. 
They  are  subject  to  be  attacked  by  certain 
thread-like  brown  or  blackish  worms  \Filaria), 
resembling  in  appearance  those  called  horse- 
hair eels  {Gordlus).  I  have  taken  three  or  four 
of  these  animals  out  of  the  body  of  a  single 
locust.  They  are  also  much  infested  by  little 
red  mites,  belonging  apparently  to  the  genus 
Ocypete:  these  so  much  weaken  the  insects  by 
sucking  the  juices  from  their  bodies,  as  to 
hasten  their  death.  Ten  or  a  dozen  of  these 
mites  will  frequently  be  found  pertinaciously 
adhering  to  the  body  of  a  locust,  beneath  its 
wing-covers  and  wings.  A  kind  of  sand-wasp 
preys  upon  grasshoppers,  and  provisions  her 
nest  with  them.    Many  birds  devour  them,  par* 

735 


LOCUST-BORER. 


LOOSENESS. 


ticulgH-ly  our  domestic  fowls,  which  eat  great 
numbers  of  grasshoppers,  locusts,  and  even 
crickets.  Young  turkeys,  if  allowed  to  go  at 
large  during  the  summer,  derive  nearly  the 
whole  of  their  subsistence  from  these  insects." 
(Harrises  Treatise  on  Insects.) 

In  England,  Locust  is  the  common  name  of 
a  species  of  insects  forming  a  group  or  sub- 
genus of  the  gryllus  of  Linnaeus.  They  have 
coloured  elytra,  and  large  wings,  disposed, 
when  at  rest,  in  straight,  fan-like  folds,  as  in 
other  orthoptera,  and  frequently  exhibiting 
bright  blue,  green,  or  red  colours.  The  thorax 
is  capacious,  to  afford  room  for  the  powerful 
muscles  of  the  wings,  and  is  marked  in  many 
species  with  one  or  more  crests,  or  wart-like 
prominences.  The  locusts  fly  by  starts,  but 
frequently  rise  to  a  considerable  height.  Cer- 
tain species,  called  "  migratory  locusts,"  unite 
in  incalculable  numbers,  and  emigrate,  resem- 
bling, in  their  passage  through  the  air,  a  dense 
cloud:  wherever  they  alight,  all  signs  of  vegeta- 
tion quickly  disappear,  and  cultivated  grounds 
are  left  a  desert.  One  species  (Jcridmm  migra- 
toi-iuin,  Latr.),  occasionally  commits  devasta- 
tions in  the  south  of  Europe  and  Poland;  and 
stragglers  have  sometimes  reached  England,  a 
circumstance  which  happened  in  1748:  but 
they  soon  perished.  To  our  ideas  of  the  asso- 
ciation of  insects,  the  swarms  of  locusts  which 
have  occasionally  appeared  in  oriental  coun- 
tries seem  almost  incredible.  Major  Moor  states 
that  a  flight  which  ravaged  the  Mahratta  coun- 
try, and  which  he  saw  at  Poonah,  extended  in  a 
dense  column  500  miles,  and  hid  the  sun  like 
an  eclipse.  On  that  occasion,  the  natives  fried 
and  ate  them.  The  devastation  which  they 
make  is  forcibly  described  by  the  prophet  Joel: 
"The  land  is  as  the  garden  of  Eden  before 
them,  and  behind  them  a  desolate  wilderness." 

LOCUST-BORER.     See  Borkrs. 

LOCUST,  HONEY  or  SWEET.  See  Honet 
LocrsT. 

LOCUST  TREE  {Hymencea,  from  Hymen, 
the  god  of  marriage ;  in  reference  to  the  two 
leaflets).  The  species  of  locust  tree  are  highly 
ornamental;  they  delight  to  grow  in  loam  and 
peat,  and  cuttings  will  root  in  sand  under  a 
glass  in  heat.  The  young  plants  should  be 
planted  out  in  the  autumn  of  the  second  year, 
cutting  them  down  within  three  inches  of  the 
ground.  They  must  be  preserved  from  the  at- 
tacks of  hares  and  rabbits,  which  are  very 
destructive  to  them.     See  Acacia. 

LOCUST  TREE  CATERPHXARS.  These 
are  produced  from  the  eggs  of  a  butterfly  be- 
longing to  a  tribe  which,  from  their  habit  of 
flying  but  a  short  distance  at  a  time  with  a 
jerking  motion,  have  acquired  the  name  of 
skippers  (Hespcriadce  or  Hesperians).  They 
frequent  grassy  places,  low  bushes,  and  thick- 
ets. When  they  alight,  they  usually  keep  the 
hind-wings  spread  out  horizontally,  and  the 
fore-wings  partially  closed,  but  not  entirely  so, 
as  in  other  butterflies. 

The  Tityrus  skipper  (Euflamus  tityrus),  and 
its  offspring,  are  thus  described  by  Dr.  Harris. 
**  Wingo  brown  ;  first  pair  with  a  transverse, 
semi-tiansparent  band  across  the  middle,  and 
a  few  spots  towards  the  tip,  of  a  honey-yellow 
rolour;  hind-wings  with  a  short  rounded  tail 
736 


on  the  hind  angles,  and  a  broad  silvery  band 
across  the  middle  of  the  under-side.  Expands 
from  2  to  2^  inches. 

"This  large  and  beautiful  insect  makes  its 
appearance,  from  the  middle  of  June  till  after 
the  beginning  of  July,  upon  sweet-scented 
flowers,  which  it  visits  during  the  middle  of 
the  day.  Its  flight  is  vigorous  and  rapid,  and 
its  strength  is  so  great  that  it  cannot  be  cap- 
tured without  danger  of  its  being  greatly  de- 
faced in  its  struggles  to  escape.  The  females 
lay  their  eggs,  singly,  on  the  leaves  of  the 
common  locust  tree  (Robinia  pseudacncia),  and 
on  those  of  the  viscid  locust  {Robinia  viscosa)^ 
which  is  much  cultivated  here  as  an  ornar, 
mental  tree.  The  caterpillars  are  hatched  in 
July,  and  when  quite  small  conceal  themselves 
under  a  fold  of  the  edge  of  a  leaf,  which  iy 
bent  over  their  bodies  and  secured  by  means 
of  silken  threads.  When  they  become  larger, 
they  attach  two  or  more  leaves  together,  so  as 
to  form  a  kind  of  cocoon  or  leafy  case  to  shel- 
ter them  from  the  weather,  and  to  screen  them 
from  the  prying  eyes  of  birds.  The  full-grown 
caterpillar  which  attains  to  the  length  of  about 
two  inches,  is  of  a  pale  green  colour,  trans- 
versely streaked  with  darker  green,  with  a  red 
neck,  a  very  large  head  roughened  with  minute 
tubercles,  slightly  indented  or  furrowed  above, 
and  of  a  dull  red  colour,  with  a  large  yellow 
spot  on  each  side  of  the  mouth.  Although 
there  may  be,  and  often  are,  many  of  these 
caterpillars  on  the  same  tree  and  branch,  yet 
they  all  live  separately  within  their  own  cases. 
One  end  of  the  leafy  case  is  left  open,  and 
from  this  the  insect  comes  forth  to  feed.  They 
eat  only,  or  mostly,  in  the  night,  and  keep 
themselves  closely  concealed  by  day.  These 
caterpillars  are  very  cleanly  in  their  habits, 
and  make  no  dirt  in  their  habitations,  but 
throw  it  out  with  a  sudden  jerk,  so-  that  it 
shall  fall  at  a  considerable  distance.  They 
frequently  transform  to  chrysalids  within  the 
same  leaves  which  have  served  them  for  a 
habitation,  but  more  often  quit  the  trees  and 
construct  in  some  secure  place  a  cocoon  of 
leaves  or  fragments  of  stubble,  the  interior  of 
which  is  lined  with  a  loose  web  of  silk.  They 
remain  in  their  cocoons  without  further  change 
throughout  the  winter,  and  are  transformed  to 
butterflies  in  the  following  summer.  The  vis- 
cid locust  tree  is  sometimes  almost  completely 
stripped  of  its  leaves  by  these  insects,  or  pre- 
sents only  here  and  there  the  brown  and  wither 
ed  remains  of  foliage,  which  has  served  as  a 
temporary  shelter  to  the  caterpillars.  For  the 
modes  adopted  to  destroy  these,  see  Cater- 
pillars. 

LOLIUM.     See  Rtk-Grass. 

LONDON  PRIDE.     See  Saxifrage. 

LONDON  ROCKET.   See  Hedge-Mustard. 

LONG-HORNED  CATTLE.  A  breed  of 
neat  cattle  now  nearly  extinct,  chiefly  distin- 
guished by  the  length  of  the  horn,  the  thick- 
ness and  firm  texture  of  the  hide,  the  length 
and  closeness  of  the  hair,  the  large  size  of  the 
hoof,  and  the  coarse,  leathery  thickness  of  the 
neck.     See  Cattle. 

LOOPERS.     See  Spaw-worms 

LOOSENESS.     See  Dtarrhka,  and  Dr«- 
I  EASES  OF  Cattle  axd  Sheep. 


LOOSESTRIFE. 


LUCERN. 


LOOSESTRIFE  (Lysimachia,  from  lusis,  dis- 
solution, and  viache,  strife).  A  very  pretty  ge- 
nus of  plants,  with  mostly  yellow  flowers.  All 
the  species  are  of  the  easiest  culture,  and  may 
be  propagated  by  divisions,  except  L.  dubia 
and  L.  Linum-steUatum,  which  must  be  in- 
creased by  seeds. 

Great  yellow  loosestrife  (L.  vulgaris),  grow.*; 
in  watery,  shady  places,  particularly  the  reedy 
margins  of  rivers.  The  root  is  creeping;  stems 
3  or  4  feet  high. 

Wood  leosestrife,  or  yellow  pimpernel  (L. 
nemorttni).  This  species,  which  is  one  of  the 
elegant  though  not  uncommon  English  plants, 
inhabits  woods  and  shady,  rather  watery  places. 
The  stems  are  creeping  at  the  base,  decum- 
bent, often  pendant  from  banks  and  rocks. 

Creeping  loosestrife.  Money-wort  or  herb 
twopence  (L.  numvndnria).  This  is  a  hand- 
some free-flowering  plant,  which,  from  its  trail- 
ing habit,  is  well  fitted  for  decorating  rock- 
work.  It  grows  wild  in  wet  meadows,  boggy 
pastures,  and  the  borders  of  rivulets.  The 
htrbage  is  smooth,  of  a  pale  green ;  stems 
quite  prostrate,  creeping,  a  foot  or  two  in  length; 
leaves  somewhat  heart-shaped ;  flowers  soli- 
tary, pale  lemon-coloured,  rather  larger  than 
the  last  species;  stamens  glandular.  It  flowers 
from  June  to  August,  and  affords  a  wholesome 
food  for  cattle,  especially  sheep.  On  account 
of  its  sub-acid  and  mildly  astringent  proper- 
ties, it  is  considered  as  one  of  the  most  effica- 
cious vulnerary  herbs.  Bechstein  asserts  that 
the  leaves  and  flowers  of  this  plant,  steeped  in 
oil,  furnish  an  excellent  remedy  for  destroying 
the  w(ums  and  insects  infesting  the  floors  of 
granaries. 

LOPPED  MILK.  Provincially,  milk  that 
has  stood  till  it  has  become  sour  and  curdled. 

LOPPING.  The  operation  of  cutting  off"  the 
lateral  or  other  branches  of  trees.  See  Prun- 
ing and  Plantations. 

LOTUS.     See  Birds'-foot  Trefoil. 

LOUSINESS.  In  farriery,  an  affection  of 
the  skin,  arising,  in  cattle  or  other  animals, 
from  the  irritation  of  lice  or  other  animalculse, 
which  may  be  distinguished  by  the  naked  eye. 
Most  animals,  and  even  insects,  are  subject  to 
this  annoyance.  Lousiness  in  live-stock  is 
produced  by  neglect  and  low  keep.  The  best 
remedy  is  more  attention  to  cleanliness,  with 
better  food.  The  lice  may  be  killed  by  a  dress- 
ing applied  with  a  brush  to  the  chief  affected 
parts,  composed  of  four  ounces  of  black  sul- 
phur, mixed  with  a  pint  of  train  oil,  or  a  small 
portion  of  weak  mercurial  ointment. 

LOUSE-WORT.     See  Rattle. 

LOVAGE  (Ligusticum,  so  named  because 
some  of  the  species  grow  in  Liguria).  A  ge- 
nus of  hardy,  herbaceous,  and  biennial,  aro- 
matic plants,  which,  as  flowers,  are  not  v  )rth 
cultivating.  They  will  grow  in  anysoi',and 
are  increased  by  seeds. 

The  Scottish  lovage  or  sea  parsley  (Z.  Scoti- 
ctim),  grows  on  rocks,  cliffs,  and  the  sea-coasts 
of  Scotland  and  the  north  of  England,  on  a 
stem  a  foot  high ;  root  tap-shaped,  warm  and 
pungent;  leaves  stalked,  twice  ternate ;  foot- 
stalks bordered  with  a  purplish  compressed 
membrane  at  the  base;  umbels  smooth,  not 
very  large,  bearing  white  flowers,  with  a  red- 
93 


dish  tinge :  these  appear  in  July.  This  herb  iff 
eaten  by  the  natives  of  Scotland  and  its  isles, 
either  crude  as  a  salad,  or  boiled  as  greens.  The 
flavour  is  highly  acrid,  and,  though  aromatic, 
stomachic,  and  perhaps  not  unwholesome,  yet 
very  nauseous  to  those  who  are  unaccustomed 
to  such  food.  It  is  relished  by  horses,  sheep, 
and  goats,  but  refused  by  cows.  The  stem 
yields  English  opoponax.  The  roots  are  re- 
puted to  be  carminative,  and  an  infusion  ol 
the  leaves  affords  a  good  physic  for  calres. 

Cornish  lovage  (i.  comubiense).  This  is  a 
less  common  species,  found  sometimes  in 
bushy  fields  in  Cornwall.  The  root  is  spindle- 
shaped,  contracted  at  the  crown,  descending 
to  a  great  depth;  when  wounded,  discharging 
a  yellow,  resinous  juice.  The  stem  is  two  cr 
three  feet  high,  solitary,  erect,  branched,  stri- 
ated, purple  at  the  base.  Leaves  deep  greeil ; 
the  radicles  once,  twice,  or  thrice  pinnate, 
rough-edged,  cut;  stem-leaves  ternate,  lanceo- 
late, entire.     Ribs  of  the  seeds  bluntish. 

LOVE-APPLE.     See  Tomato. 

LOVE-GRASS  (Eragrostis,  from  eros,  love, 
and  agrostis,  grass ;  in  allusion  to  the  beautiful 
dancing  spikelets,  whence  also  the  English 
name).  It  is  a  pretty  species  of  foreign  grass, 
growing  in  gardens  about  a  foot  high  in  any 
common  soil. 

LOVE-LIES-BLEEDING.  The  common 
name  of  a  species  of  amaranth  (^.  caudatus). 

LOY.  A  very  long,  narrow  spade,  peculiar 
to  the  province  of  Connaught  and  some  parts 
of  Munster,  and  only  suited  to  stony  land, 
where  a  wider  edge  could  not  so  easily  pene- 
trate.    {M.  Doyle's  Pract.  Husb.) 

LUCAMA.  A  species  of  fruit  growing  in 
Chili,  in  size  and  flavour  resembling  a  peach. 
{Ed.  Enryc.) 

LUCERN,  or  PURPLE  MEDICK  GRASS 
(Medicago  sativa,  PI.  8,  h).  An  artificial  grass, 
called  by  the  French  grand  trcfle,  which  affords 
perhaps  a  larger  produce  of  fodder  than  any 
other  species  of  artificial  grass.  Although 
found  growing  wild  in  hedges,  pastures,  and 
the  borders  of  fields  in  dry,  calcareous  soils, 
yet  it  can  scarcely  be  considered  a  native  of 
England.  The  stems  are  erect  or  somewhat 
reclining,  about  two  feet  high.  Leaflets  oblong, 
inclining  to  wedge-shaped;  more  or  less  acute, 
sharply  serrated  towards  the  end,  clothed  with 
close,  silky  hairs  on  both  sides.  The  flowers 
are  in  clusters,  many,  bluish  purple,  with  a 
small  bristle-like  bracte  under  each  partial 
stalk.  The  legumes  are  spiral,  with  rarely 
more  than  two  or  three  turns ;  they  are  silky 
when  young. 

This  valuable  grass  is  best  cultivated  on  a 
good,  dry,  warm,  barley  soil ;  it  is  not  adapted 
for  heavy  or  wet  soils.  Being  a  deep-rooted 
plant,  it  requires  a  soil  in  which  its  roots  can 
penetrate  to  a  considerable  depth.  It  should 
be  sown  on  land  perfectly  clean,  in  the  months 
of  March  or  April,  with  (or  best  without)  a 
crop  of  grain.  It  is  only  adapted  to  the  south- 
ern parts  of  England,  since  extreme  cold  de- 
stroys it.  It  is  best  sown  alone  in  drills,  at  a 
distance  of  12  to  15  inches;  the  quantity  of 
seed  is  from  10  to  16  lbs.  per  acre.  Any  va 
cancies  in  the  drills  may  in  the  autumn  or  fol- 
lowing spring  be  made  good  by  transplanting 
3  a  5«  737 


LUUERN. 


LUCERN. 


By  careful  weeding  and  hoeing,  and  frequent 
top-dressings  (for  which  purpose  gypsum,  cal- 
careous matters,  ashes,  &c.,  are  excellent),  the 
profitable  duration  of  this  crop  may  be  extend- 
ed eight  or  ten  years,  giving  during  that  period, 
on  an  average,  three  or  four  cuttings  per  an- 
num: the  first  of  which,  in  favourable  seasons, 
will  be  as  early  as  the  middle  of  April.  It 
should  always  be  cut  before  the  appearance 
of  the  blossom.  It  may  be  made  into  hay,  al- 
though much  better  adapted  for  soiling.  An 
acre  will,  upon  an  average,  produce  fodder  for 
two  horses,  from  the  first  cutting  to  October. 
It  is  admirably  adapted  for  milch  cows,  and  is, 
indeed,  relished  by  all  live-stock. 

"Lucern,"  as  observed  by  Mr.  Loudon  (En- 
cydo.  of  Gard.)  "  is  highly  extolled  by  Roman 
writers  ;  it  is  also  of  great  antiquity  in  Spain, 
Italy,  and  the  south  of  France ;  is  much  grown 
in  Persia  and  Peru,  and  mown  in  both  coun- 
tries all  the  year  round.  It  is  mentioned  by 
Hartlip,  Blythe,  and  other  early  writers,  and 
was  tried  by  Lisle;  but  it  excited  little  atten- 
tion till  after  the  publication  of  Harte's  Essays 
in  1757  (?  1764).  Mr.  Towers,  speaking  of 
lucern,  calls  it  '  the  plant  of  plants.'  '  I  have 
grown  lucern  (he  adds)  during  four  or  five 
years,  and  previously  I  had  witnessed  its  great 
success  and  extensive  culture  in  the  Isle  of 
Thanet.'" 

In  cutting  for  a  cow,  it  will  always  be  ad- 
visable to  take  the  plant  when  it  is  tender  and 
juicy;  and  such  it  will  be  when  about  a  foot 
high.  I  have  thus  cut  my  plot  over  six  times 
after  the  first  year;  but  they  who  leave  the 
plants  to  grow  two  feet  high,  will  find  the  stems 
rigid,  fibrous,  and  less  juicy;  and  that  what 
they  gain  in  bulk  will  be  lost  in  time  and  qua- 
lity. Lucern  is  known  to  produce  much  milk, 
perhaps  more  than  any  other  of  the  artificial 
grasses  (Leguminosce) ;  but  some  complain  that 
it  communicates  an  austere  or  bitter  flavour. 
I  doubt  the  fact,  but  would  always  recommend 
that  it  be  not  given  quite  fresh  to  a  cow,  par- 
ticularly at  an  early  period  after  calving. 

If  the  required  quantity  be  cut  over  night,  it 
will  be  fit  for  the  stall  by  ten  o'clock  of  the 
following  morning,  and  again  the  afternoon 
meal  should  be  exposed  to  the  sun  for  2  or  3 
hours  before  it  is  used.  "  As  to  the  trouble  in 
managinsr  an  established  crop,  it  is  really  no- 
thing. Though  I  allow  it  is  good  to  hoe  twice 
during  the  summer,  as  the  plot  is  cut  piece  by 
piece,  yet  one  general  fork-digging  at  that  pe- 
riod of  early  spring  when  the  plants  exhibit 
the  first  symptom  of  growth,  so  as  to  remove 
every  weed,  and  loosen  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
will  be  amply  sufficient  to  secure  the  safety 
and  full  developement  of  the  herb.  Upon  the 
whole,  lucern  is  a  plant  of  the  utmost  value  ; 
for  if  the  seed  be  good,  the  ground  rich  and  in 
aeart,  and  rendered  deep  in  the  first  instance 
by  a  thorough  trenching,  the  young  plants  start 
into  lively  growth,  attain  strength  in  the  short- 
est possible  time,  and  yield  a  bulk  of  luxuriant 
herbage  that  cannot  be  surpassed.  If  the  plant 
require  four  years  to  attain  its  maximum  of 
power,  it  is  still  a  giant  even  from  its  infancy, 
advancing  from  strength  to  strength.  A  well 
piepared  field,  if  kept  clean  by  the  forking, 
will  remain  productive  for  more  than  ten  years; 
738 


but  as  a  change  of  crop  always  promotes  abun 
dance,  it  would  be  advisable  to  prepare  a  sue* 
cessional  plot  every  six  years."  (Quart.  Journ, 
of  Jgr.  vol.  ix.  p.  96.) 

About  80  pounds  weight  per  day  of  24  hours 
is  sufficient  for  the  largest  cow,  and  half  this, 
with  corn,  for  a  horse.  No  stock  should  at  any 
time  be  permitted  to  graze  upon  it. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  lucern,  with  vio- 
let, yellow,  and  variegated  flowers,  which  are 
supposed  to  be  only  a  variation  of  the  same 
plant,  arising  accidentally  from  the  seed. 
However,  neither  the  yellow  nor  the  varie- 
gated is  ever  so  strong  as  the  purple  flowered, 
and  cannot,  of  course,  be  so  profitable  to  the 
cultivator.  Lucern  may  be  estimated  as  the 
choicest  of  all  fodder,  because  it  lasts  many 
years ;  will  bear  cutting  down  four,  five,  or  six 
times  a  year;  enriches  the  land  on  which  it 
grows ;  will  fatten  cattle,  and  often  proves  a 
remedy  for  the  diseased. 

Those  who  wish  to  acquire  more  minute  in- 
formation relative  to  the  management  of  lucern, 
may  consult  the  Rev.  Walter  Harte's  learned 
Essays  on  Husbandry  :  Rocque's  Practical  Trea- 
tise on  Cultivating  Lucern  Grass;  and  British 
Husbandry,  vol.  ii.  p.  307. 

Lucern  is  sometimes  called  French  clover,  and 
has  been  introduced  into  the  United  States  as  a 
new  plant  under  the  name  of  Brazilian  clover, 
called  in  South  America  Alfalfa,  the  Spanish 
name  for  lucern.  It  is  a  kind  of  grass  which 
in  some  situations  has  been  cultivated  with 
great  success  in  the  United  States.  It  is  not, 
strictly  speaking,  a  clover,  though  in  some  re- 
spects similar.  It  is  a  perennial,  and  in  favour- 
able soils  the  roots  are  said  to  live  and  flourish 
a  great  many  years.  Its  advantages  consist  in 
affording  a  greater  amount  of  foliage  for  any 
kind  of  stock  than  any  other  plant,  with  the 
same  labour  and  expense.  "  Several  years 
since,  while  residing  in  the  State  of  Maine,  we 
made  several  experiments  with  lucern,  which, 
although  some  of  them  terminated  unfavour- 
ably, satisfied  us  that  the  most  favourable  soil 
for  it  is  a  deep,  sandy  loam ;  and  as  the  alluvial 
soils  on  this  river  are  generally  of  this  charac- 
ter, we  last  spring  resolved  on  giving  it  a  fair 
trial  here.  We  procured  from  Boston  a  small 
quantity  of  seed,  which  was  sown  on  the  river 
'bottom'  the  last  week  in  May.  As  the  soil  had 
been  badly  managed  for  several  years  previous, 
we  had  feared  that  the  great  growth  of  weeds 
would  check  and  smother  the  lucerne,  and  to 
guard  against  this,  and  get  a  chance  to  extir- 
pate the  weeds,  we  sowed  the  seed  in  drills. 
This  was  done  very  expeditiously  and  exactly 
with  one  of  Ruggles,  Nourse,  and  Mason's  seed 
sowers. 

"In  the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  July,  the 
lucern  had  reached  the  height  of  18  inches  on 
an  average,  and  had  considerably  blossomed. 
We  cut  it  and  fed  it  green,  partly  to  hogs  and 
partly  to  milch  cows, — both  ate  it  voraciously. 
In  just  four  weeks  from  the  time  it  was  cut,  it 
had  again  grown  to  nearly  the  same  height  as 
before,  and  was  cut  a  second  time, — and  on  the 
first  of  November  it  was  cut  a  third  time, — the 
crop  being  heavier  than  either  of  the  preced- 
ing. A  piece  of  common  red  clover  {very 
flourishing)   immediately  adjoining,  the   soU 


r 


LUG. 


precisely  similar,  did  not  yield  nearly  half  as 
much,  in  proportion,  as  the  lucern. 

♦'  We  have  no  doubt  that  it  may  be  cut  five 
times  another  year,  and  will  yield  at  the  rate 
of  a  ton  and  a  half  of  hay  to  the  acre  at  each 
cuttini^."     (ZanesvilU  Gazelle.) 

Upon  analysis,  the  stems,  &c.,  of  lucern  are 
found  to  contain  gypsum,  and  this  furnishes  a 
satisfactory  explanation  of  the  fact,  that  plaster 
of  Paris  applied  to  the  crop  generally  causes 
it  to  grow  luxuriantly.  Live-stock  prefer  plas- 
tered lucern  to  any  other  herbage. 

LUG.  A  long  measure  of  land,  the  same 
with  a  pole  or  perch,  16^  feet.  In  Gloucester- 
shire it  however  signifies  a  land  measure  of 
6  yards,  or  a  rod,  pole,  or  perch  of  6  yards. 
It  is  a  measure  by  which  ditching  and  other 
similar  operations  are  performed  there.  This 
term  is  likewise  applied  to  the  stick  by  which 
the  work  is  measured.  It  is  sometimes  called 
iog. 

LUNGWORT  (Pulnwnaria;  it  derives  both 
its  common  and  generic  names  from  its  sup- 
posed medical  properties  in  diseases  of  the 
lungs).  The  species  of  this  genus  are  very 
pretty  flowering  plants,  well  adapted  for  orna- 
menting the  front  of  shrubberies.  They  thrive 
in  any  common  soil,  and  are  readily  increased 
by  divisions. 

LUPINE  (Lupinus,  from  lupus,  a  wolf;  in 
allusion  to  its  exhausting  or  devouring  the 
soil).  The  species  of  this  genus  are  among 
the  most  beautiful  of  border  flowers.  They 
will  flourish  in  almost  any  soil,  but  a  rich 
loam  suits  them  best.  They  perfect  their  seeds 
very  freely,  from  which  young  plants  are  easily 
obtained.  In  agriculture,  the  lupine  is  culti- 
vated principally  for  being  turned  in  as  a  ma- 
nure. (See  Grken  Manchks.)  This  plant  re- 
quires but  little  trouble  or  labour  in  its  culti- 
vation, as  it  will  thrive  in  any  soil  except  the 
bad  chalks,  and  such  as  are  very  wet.  It  will 
even  grow  well  on  poor,  hungry,  worn-out  land, 
especially  if  it  be  dry  and  sandy.  When  sown 
in  February  or  March,  after  a  single  very  shal- 
low ploughing,  and  slightly  harrowed  in,  it  will 
Dlossom  two  or  three  times  between  May  and 
August,  and  prove  an  excellent  enricher  of  the 
ground  when  ploughed  in  just  after  its  second 
blooming.  The  best  time  for  mowing  this  sort 
of  crop  is  after  a  shower  of  rain,  as  the  seeds 
drop  easily  out  of  their  pods  when  they  are 
gathered  too  dry.  They  must,  however,  be 
laid  up  very  dry,  or  worms  soon  breed  in  them. 
They  are  inferior  to  many  other  plants  for  the 
above  use. 

LUPINE,  WILD.  Mr.Nuttallhasenumerated 
seven  species  of  the  lupine  genus  found  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  United  States  and  territories. 
Dr.  Darlington  has  described  common  wild  lu- 
pine, an  ornamental  plant,  found  in  the  wood- 
lands and  hills  of  the  Middle  States.  The  root 
is  perennial  and  creeping;  stem  9  to  18  inches 
high,  herbaceous,  erect,  or  decumbent,  some- 
»vhat  branching,  striated,  angular,  and  pubes- 
cent. Flower  purplish-blue,  with  violet  shades. 
Legume  or  pod  about  an  inch  and  a  half  long 
and  one-third  of  an  inch  wide,  somewhat  flat- 
tened, hairy,  and  of  a  dark  tawny  colour.  Seed 
obovoid,  slightly  compressed,  smooth,  speckled 
or  variegated  with  whitish  and  dark  brown. 


MADDER. 

LURCHER.  A  sort  of  hunting  dog,  much 
like  a  mongrel  greyhound,  with  pricked  ears, 
a  shaggy  coat,  and  generally  of  a  yellowish- 
white  colour.  It  is  a  very  swift  runner,  so  that^ 
if  it  gets  between  the  burrows  and  the  rabbits, 
it  seldom  misses  taking  them ;  and  this  is  its 
common  practice  in  hunting. 

LURID.  In  botany,  signifies  a  colour  be 
tween  a  purple,  yellow,  and  gray. 

LYME-GRASS.     See  Elymus. 

LYCHNIS  (from  lychnos,  a  lamp ;  on  account 
of  the  brilliancy  of  the  flowers  of  most  of  the 
species).  This  is  an  extremely  beautiful  genus 
of  plants,  well  meriting  extensive  cultivation 
for  the  brilliancy  of  their  flowers.  A  red  va- 
riety is  often  cultivated  in  a  double  state,  and 
called  bachelor's  buttons;  a  name,  however, 
which  is  more  frequently  given  to  a  species  of 
ranunculus. 

LYNCHET.  A  country  term  applied  to  the 
stripes  or  grassy  partitions  in  arable  fields  in 
England,  but  mostly  to  such  as  are  in  the  state 
of  commonage. 

LYNCH-PIN,  or  LINCH-PIN.  The  small 
pin,  in  carts  or  other  carriages,  that  is  put 
through  the  ends  of  the  axle-trees,  to  confine 
the  wheels  on  them. 

LYRATE.  In  botany,  leaves  are  called  ly- 
rate  which  are  shaped  in  the  form  of  a  lyre 

M. 

MACERATION.  The  act  of  softening  any 
substance  by  steeping  it  in  cold  water  or  other 
liquid. 

MACHINE  (Gr.).  In  a  general  sense  this 
word  signifies  any  thing  which  serves  to  in- 
crease or  regulate  the  effect  of  a  given  force. 
Machines  are  either  simple  or  compound.  The 
simple  machines  are  usually  reckoned  six  in 
number;  namely,  the  lever,  the  wheel  and  axle, 
the  pulley,  the  wedge,  the  screw,  and  the  funi- 
cular or  rope  machine.  Compound  machines 
are  formed  by  combining  two  or  more  simple 
machines. 

In  husbandry,  the  term  is  applied  to  various 
implements,  such  as  the  Drill,  Thuashiito, 
and  WiNxowixo  Machines,  the  Steam  Engiks, 
&c.     See  these  respective  terms. 

MADDER  (Rubia,  from  ruber,  red,  in  allusion 
to  the  colour  of  the  roots).  This  is  a  genus  of 
interesting  plants ;  any  common  garden  soil 
suits  them,  and  they  are  easily  increased  by 
seeds  or  divisions  of  the  roots.-  The  root  of  iJ. 
tinctoi-um  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  dyes  with 
which  we  are  acquainted,  and  is  a  very  import- 
ant article  of  commerce.  The  plant  is  herba- 
ceous, several  stems  rising  from  the  same  root; 
tetragonal,  with  hooked  prickles  at  the  angles. 
The  leaves  are  four  or  six  in  a  whorl,  lanceo- 
late, with  the  midrib  on  the  under  disk,  and  the 
margins  aculeated.  The  flowers  are  small, 
yellow,  supported  on  axillary  trichotomous  pe- 
duncles. 

The  dried  root  of  the  madder  is  long,  cylin- 
drical, the  thickness  of  a  goose  quill,  branched 
and  covered  with  a  reddish  cuticle,  which,  as 
well  as  the  bark,  is  easily  separated ;  the  odour 
is  feeble,  and  the  taste  bitter  and  astringent.  It 
is  imported  entire  from  Smyrna  and  the  Levant, 
but  in  coarse  powder  from  Holland  and  France. 

739 


MADDER. 


MADDER. 


The  cultivation  of  madder  has  been  attempted 
in  England,  and  it  is  still  carried  on  to  a  limited 
extent  in  some  districts,  but  without  any  very 
great  success  or  beneficial  results,  owing  to  the 
low  price  at  which  it  can  be  procured  from  the 
Dutch  growers  and  from  Turkey. 

Dyers'  madder  is  an  agricultural  product 
■which  has  been  very  successfully  and  profita- 
bly cultivated  in  the  United  States.  The  rrot 
of  the  plant  is  composed  of  many  long,  thick, 
succulent  fibres,  almost  as  large  as  a  man's 
little  finger;  these  are  joined  at  the  top  in  a 
head,  like  the  root  of  asparagus,  and  strike 
very  deep  into  the  ground,  being  sometimes 
more  than  three  feet  in  length.  From  the  upper 
part  or  head  of  the  root  come  out  many  side- 
roois,  which  extend  just  under  the  surface  of 
the  ground  to  a  great  distance,  whereby  it  pro- 
pagates very  fast;  for  these  send  up  a  great 
number  of  shoots,  which,  if  carefully  taken  off 
in  the  spring,  soon  after  they  are  above  ground, 
become  so  many  plants.  The  root  is  peren- 
nial, although  the  stalk  dies  down  eVery  winter. 

The  soils  most  suited  to  the  cultivation  of 
madder  are  deep,  fertile,  sandy  loams,  not  re- 
tentive of  moisture,  and  having  a  considerable 
portion  of  vegetable  matter  in  their  composi- 
tion. It  may  also  be  grown  on  the  more  light 
descriptions  of  soil,  of  sufficient  depth,  and  in 
a  proper  state  of  fertility.  The  preparation  of 
the  soil  may  either  consist  in  trench  ploughings, 
lengthwise  and  across,  with  pronged  stirrings, 
so  as  to  bring  it  to  a  fine  tilth;  or,  what  will 
often  be  found  preferable,  by  one  trenching,  two 
feet  deep,  by  manual  labour.  The  sets  or  plants 
are  best  obtained  from  the  runners,  or  surface- 
roots  of  the  old  plants.  These  being  taken  up, 
are  to  be  cut  into  lengths  of  from  six  to  twelve 
inches,  according  to  the  scarcity  or  abundance 
of  runners.  Sets  of  one  inch  will  grow  if  they 
have  an  eye  or  bud,  and  some  fibres ;  but  their 
progress  will  be  injuriously  slow  for  want  of 
maternal  nourishment.  Sets  may  also  be  pro- 
cured by  sowing  the  seeds  in  fine,  light  earth, 
a  year  before  they  are  wanted,  and  then  trans- 
planting them ;  or  sets  of  an  inch  may  be  plant- 
ed one  year  in  a  garden,  and  then  removed  to 
the  field  plantation.  The  season  of  planting  is 
commonly  May  or  June,  and  the  manner  is  ge- 
nerally in  rows  nine  or  ten  inches  asunder,  and 
five  or  six  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  Some 
plant  promiscuously  in  beds  with  intervals  be- 
tween, out  of  which  earth  is  thrown  in  the  lazy- 
bed  manner  of  growing  potatoes;  but  this  is 
unnecessary,  as  it  is  not  the  surface,  but  the 
descending  roots  which  are  used  by  the  dyer. 
The  operation  of  planting  is  generally  perform- 
ed by  the  dibber,  but  some  ley-plant  them  by 
the  aid  of  the  plough.  By  this  mode  the  ground 
is  ploughed  over  with  a  shallow  furrow,  and 
in  the  course  of  the  operation  the  sets  are  de- 
posited in  each  furrow,  leaning  on  and  pressed 
against  the  furrow-slice.  This,  however,  is  a 
bad  mode,  as  there  is  no  opportunity  of  firming 
the  plants  at  the  roots,  and  as  some  of  the  sets 
are  apt  to  be  buried,  and  others  not  suffic^'ently 
covered.  The  after-culture  consists  in  hoeing 
and  weeding  with  stirring  by  pronged  hoes, 
either  of  the  horse  or  hand  kind.  Some  earth 
up,  but  this  is  unnecessary,  and  even  injurious, 
as  tearms  the  surface-roots.  The  madder  crop 
740 


is  taken  at  the  CLd  of  the  third  autumn  after 
planting,  and  generally  in  the  month  of  October. 
By  far  the  best  mode  is  that  of  trenching  over 
the  ground,  which  not  only  clears  it  eflfectually, 
but  fits  it  at  once  for  another  crop.  Where 
madder,  however,  has  been  grown  on  land  pre- 
pared by  the  plough,  that  implement  may  be 
used  in  removing  it.  Previously  to  trenching, 
the  haulm  may  be  cleared  off  with  an  old 
scythe,  and  carted  to  the  farmery  to  be  used  as 
litter  to  spread  in  the  straw-yards.  Drying  the 
roots  is  the  next  process,  and,  in  very  fine  sea- 
sons, may  sometimes  be  effected  on  the  soil,  by 
simply  spreading  the  plants  as  they  are  taken 
up ;  but  in  most  seasons  they  require  to  be 
dried  on  a  kiln,  like  that  used  for  malt  or  hops. 
They  are  dried  till  they  become  brittle,  and 
then  packed  up  in  bags  for  sale  to  the  dyer. 
The  produce  from  the  root  of  this  plant  is  dif- 
ferent according  to  the  difference  of  the  soil, 
but  mostly  from  ten  to  fifteen  or  twenty  cwt., 
where  they  are  suitable  to  its  cultivation.  In 
judging  of  the  quality  of  madder-roots,  the  best 
is  that  which,  on  being  broken  in  two,  has  a 
brightish-red  or  purplish  appearance,  without 
any  yellow  cast  being  exhibited.  The  use  of 
madder-roots  is  chiefly  in  dyeing  and  calico- 
printing.  The  haulm  which  accumulates  on 
the  surface  of  the  field,  in  the  course  of  three 
years,  may  be  carted  to  the  farm-yard,  and  fer- 
mented along  with  horse-dung.  It  has  the  sin- 
gular property  of  dyeing  the  horns  of  the  ani- 
mals who  eat  it  of  a  red  colour.  Madder-seed 
in  abundance  may  be  collected  from  the  plants 
in  the  September  of  the  second  and  third  years, 
but  it  is  never  so  propagated.  Madder  is 
sometimes  blighted,  but  in  general  it  has  few 
diseases.     (Loudon's  Ency.  Agr.) 

In  the  Netherlands,  where  every  agricultural 
process  is  conducted  with  such  skill  and  suc- 
cess, madder  sometimes  forms  a  crop.  It  is 
always  put  upon  land  of  the  best  quality,  and 
with  plenty  of  manure.  At  the  end  of  April  or 
May,  accordingly  as  the  young  plants  are  large 
enough  to  be  transplanted,  the  land  must  be 
ploughed  in  beds  of  two  feet  and  two  feet  and 
a  half  wide ;  the  beds  are  then  to  be  harrowed 
and  raked,  and  the  young  suckers  of  the  roots 
or  plants  are  to  be  put  down  in  rows,  at  inter- 
vals of  a  foot  or  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  six  or 
eight  inches  distant  in  the  row.  During  the 
entire  summer  the  land  should  be  frequently 
stirred,  and  kept  free  from  weeds.  In  the 
month  of  November,  when  the  leaves  are  faded, 
the  plants  are  covered  with  two  inches  of  earth 
by  a  plough,  having  the  point  of  the  coulter  a 
little  raised  or  rounded,  so  as  not  to  injure  the 
young  plants.  In  the  following  spring,  when 
the  young  shoots  are  four  or  five  inches  long, 
they  are  gathered  or  torn  off,  and  planted  in 
new  beds,  in  the  same  manner  as  has  been 
pointed  out  above;  and  then,  in  the  month  of 
September  or  October,  after  the  faded  leaves 
have  been  removed,  the  old  roots  are  taken  up. 
The  madder  thus  taken  up  should  be  deposited 
under  cover,  to  protect  it  from  the  rain  ;  and," 
after  ten  or  twelve  days,  placed  in  an  oven 
moderately  heated.  When  dried  sufficiently, 
it  is  gently  beaten  with  a  flail,  to  get  rid  of  any 
clay  that  may  adhere  to  the  plants;  and,  by 
means  of  a  small  windmill,  is  ground  and  sifted, 


MADDER. 


MADDER. 


to  separate  it  from  any  remaining  earth  or  dirt,  i 
It  is  then  replaced  in  the  oven  for  a  short  time,  | 
and  when  taken  out  is  spread  upon  a  hair-  | 
cloth  to  cool ;  after  which  it  is  ground  and  ; 
cleaned  once  more.  It  is  then  carried  to  a  ] 
bruising-mill,  and  reduced  to  a  fine  powder,  after  i 
which  it  is  packed  in  casks  or  barrels  for  market. 

Several  interesting  communications  upon 
the  subject  of  the  culture  of  madder  in  the 
Northern  and  Eastern  States,  may  be  found  in 
the  agricultural  periodicals.  (See  American 
Farmer,  New  England  Farmer,  Cultivator,  &c.) 

Mr.  Russel  Bronson,  of  Birmingham,  Huron 
county,  Ohio,  a  successful  cultivator  of  madder, 
has  published  a  communication  upon  this  sub- 
ject, which  contains  the  following  information: 

A  location  facing  the  south  or  south-east  is 
to  be  preferred.  A  sandy  loam  not  over  stiff 
and  heavy,  or  light  and  sandy,  or  a  good 
brown,  deep,  rich  upland  loam,  free  from  foul 
grass,  weeds,  stones,  or  stumps  of  trees.  Where 
a  crop  of  potatoes,  peas,  corn,  or  wheat  has 
been  cultivated  the  past  season,  plough  deep 
twice,  once  in  September  and  once  in  October, 
and  if  rather  stiff  let  it  lie  after  the  plough 
until  spring.  When  the  spring  opens,  and  the 
ground  has  become  dry  and  warm  (say  in 
Tennessee,  1st  of  April,  Ohio,  15th,  and  New 
York,  25th  to  1st  of  May — I  speak  of  the  spring 
of  1836),  plough  again  deep,  the  deeper  the 
better,  then  harrow  well  and  strike  it  into 
ridges  with  a  one-horse  plough,  3  feet  wide  and 
4  feet  vacant,  or  making  a  ridge  once  in  7  feet, 
raising  it,  if  on  rather  moist  ground,  8  or  10 
inches,  and  dry  land  6  or  eight  from  the  natural 
level ;  then  with  a  light  harrow,  level  and  shape 
the  ridges  like  a  well-formed  bed  of  beets,  &c. 

We  will  suppose  you  intend  to  plant  one 
acre  of  ground,  and  that  you  have  purchased  8 
bushels  of  tap  roots  in  the  fall  and  buried  them 
like  potatoes  on  your  premises — count  the 
ridges  on  your  acre,  and  take  out  of  the  ground 
1  bushel  of  roots  and  plant  it  on  one-eighth  of 
your  ridges ;  you  will  then  be  able  to  ascertain 
30W  to  proportion  your  roots  for  the  remainder. 
The  following  is  the  manner  of  planting,  culti- 
yaatins:,  «Scc.,  when  the  quantities  of  ground  do 
not  exceed  3  or  4  acres.  One  person  on  each 
side  of  the  ridge  to  make  the  holes  (plant  4 
inches  below  the  surface  of  the  bed,  or  there- 
abouts, when  covered)  one  on  each  side  to  drop 
•the  roots,  and  1  on  each  side  to  cover,  pressing 
the  hill  in  the  manner  of  planting  corn;  or,  3 
persons  may  be  placed  on  one  side,  as  the  case 
may  be,  whether  you  have  1  or  more  acres  to 
plant.  Let  the  owner  be  the  dropper  of  roots, 
and  his  most  thorough  assistants  behind  him. 
Make  the  holes  from  12  to  18  inches  apart,  and 
about  6  inches  from  the  edge  of  the  ridge.  As 
the  plants  are  supposed  to  have  been  purchased 
in  the  fall,  the  roots  may  have  thrown  out 
sprouts,  and  possibly  have  leaved.  In  this  case, 
in  dropping  and  covering,  you  will  leave  the 
most  prominent  sprout  or  sprouts  a  little  out  of 
'he  ground,  as  where  a  plant  has  leafed,  it 
xight  not  to  be  smothered. 

When  the  plant  gets  up  3  or  4  inches,  weed 
with  the  hoe,  and  plough  with  1  horse,  be- 
tween the  ridges  or  beds,  but  not  on  them  ;  this 
will  take  place  2  or  3  weeks  after  planting. 
When  up  12  or  15  inches,  muny  of  the  tops  will 


fall ;  assist  them  with  10  foot  poles  crossing 
the  bed,  covering  them  with  a  shovel  or  garden 
rake,  throwing  the  soil  from  between  the  ridges. 
After  loosening  with  the  one-horse  plough,  you 
will  with  a  shovel  scattenthe  earth  between  the 
stalks  rather  than  throw  it  into  heaps ;  of 
course  we  wish  to  keep  the  stalks  separate,  as 
they  are  to  form  new  and  important  roots  in 
the  centre  of  the  beds.  About  the  20th  of  June, 
you  may  plough  between  the  beds,  and  scatter 
more  earth  on  the  fresh  tops  (all  but  the  ends), 
and  when  you  get  through,  you  may  plant 
potatoes  between  the  beds  if  you  please.  I  do 
not  recommend  it,  if  you  have  plenty  of  land, 
although  I  raised  1070  bushels  of  pink  eyes  on 
8  acres  the  first  year,  and  60  bushels  of  corn. 
If  your  land  is  perfectly  clear  of  weeds,  you 
are  through  with  your  labour  on  the  madder 
crop  for  this  year,  except  in  latitudes  where 
there  is  not  much  snow,  and  considerable  frost ; 
in  this  case  cover  in  October  2  inches  or  there- 
about. Second  year,  same"  operations  in  weed- 
ing, but  no  crop  between  ;  cover  once  in  June. 
Third  year,  weed  only.  Fourth  year,  weed  in 
the  spring,  if  a  weedy  piece  of  ground. 

Begin  to  plough  out  the  roots  in  Tennessee, 
[3  years  old]  1st  September.  Ohio,  [4  years] 
same  time.  New  York,  15th  or  20th,  after 
cutting  off  the  tops  with  a  sharp  hoe.  In 
ploughing  out  the  roots  use  a  heavy  span  of 
horses,  and  a  large  plough.  We  ought  to 
choose  a  soil  neither  too  wet  nor  too  dry,  too 
stiff  or  light.  Shake  the  dirt  from  the  roots, 
and  rinse  or  wash,  as  the  soil  may  be  stiff  or 
light;  dry  in  a  common  hop  kiln  ;  grind  them 
in  a  mill  similar  to  Wilson's  Patent  Coffee 
Mill;  this  mill  weighs  from  1  to  2  pounds. 
The  madder  mill  may  be  from  60  to  80  pounds 
weight.  Grind  coarse,  and  fan  in  a  fanning 
mill ;  then  grind  again  for  market.  The  profit 
of  this  crop  is  immense  ;  the  exhaustion  of  soil 
trifling,  and  glutting  the  market  out  of  the 
question. 

Madder  is  used  in  whole,  or  part,  for  the 
following  colours  on  wool,  both  in  England, 
France,  and  America,  viz.  blue,  black,  red, 
buff,  olive-brown,  olive,  navy  blue,  and  many 
others ;  finally  it  produces  one  of  the  most 
beautiful,  durable,  and  healthy  colours  that  is 
at  this  time  dyed ;  as  for  calico  printers,  it  enters 
greatly  into  their  dyes.  (^Am.  Farmer's  Instructor.') 

As  the  tops  of  the  plants  spread  very  much, 
some  advise  placing  them  in  hills  somewhat 
like  Indian  corn,  4  and  even  6  feet  apart  each 
way,  and  2  plants  in  each  hill. 

Rules  have  been  laid  down  by  Miller,  On  the 
Culture  and  Manufacture  of  Madder,  for  manag- 
ing the  land,  separating  and  planting  the  shoots, 
gathering  and  drying  the  roots,  and  for  pound- 
ing, casking,  and  preparing  them  for  sale, 
according  to  the  most  approved  English  prac- 
tice. The  reader  who  wishes  to  attempt  the 
cultivation  of  madder,  vnW  also  find  some  use- 
ful hints  in  the  Penny  Cyclopcedia,  vol.  xiv.  p 
260,  and  Brit.  Husbandry,  vol.  ii.  p.  332  ;  Beck- 
mann's  Hist,  of  Invent,  vol.  iii. ;  and  The  Com- 
plete Farmer,  vol.  ii.  The  haulm  of  madder, 
though  sometimes  employed  in  the  feeding  of 
cattle,  is  not  very  generally  used  for  that  pur- 
pose, for  it  tinges  red  the  milk,  the  urine,  the 
sweat,  emd  even  the  bones  of  the  animals  fed 

741 


MADDER,  THE  PIT^LD. 


MAGNOLIA. 


npon  it.  The  average  annual  imports  into 
lingland  are  about  180,000  cwt.  of  madder-root 
and  ground  madder.  The  duty  chargeable  on 
consumption  is  2s.  per  cwt.  on  the  prepared 
madder,  and  6(/.  per  cavI.  on  the  roots.  Madder 
was  formerly  used  as  a  medicine  in  jaundice  : 
but  it  possesses  no  properties  which  entitle  it 
to  be  regarded  as  a  remedy  in  any  disease. 

MADDER,  THE  FIELD.     See  Sherardia. 

MADDER,  WILD  (liubia  peregrina.)  This 
is  an  indigenous  species  which  is  found  grow- 
ing in  thickets  and  on  stony  or  sandy  ground  in 
the  west  of  Britain.  The  root  is  creeping, 
fleshy,  and  tender,  of  a  tawny  red,  useful  in 
dyeing,  bui  it  is  very  inferior  to  the  cultivated 
madder.  The  stem  is  branched,  spreading, 
square,  perennial,  partly  shrubby,  its  angles 
rough  with  hooked  prickles,  as  are  the  edges 
and  midrib  of  the  broad,  shining,  dark,  ever- 
green, elliptical  leaves,  which  are  four  or  more 
in  a  whorl.  The  flowers,  which  appear  from 
July  to  August,  are  yellowish  green,  five-cleft, 
in  forked  terminal  panicles.  The  berries  are 
juicy,  in  pairs,  black  and   shining. 

The  plant  known  in  the  United  States  by  the 
name  of  wild  madder,  is  the  Galium  tindorium  of 
botanists,  or  Dyers'  Goose-grass.  It  is  a  peren- 
nial, found  in  moist  woodlands  and  low  grounds, 
flowering  in  July  and  August.  The  stems  rise 
12  to  18  inches  high,  generally  erect,  and 
branched.  The  flowers  are  white.  Pursh  says, 
the  North  American  Indians  use  this  plant  for 
dyeing  their  porcupine  quills,  leather,  feathers, 
and  other  ornaments,  of  a  beautiful  red  colour. 

MADL  A  plant,  said  to  be  a  new  genus, 
growing  in  Chili.  Its  seeds  furnish  an  oil 
which  has  been  preferred  to  any  of  the  French 
olive  oils.     (Ed.  Encyc.) 

MAGGOT.    See  Flt  iif  Sheep. 

MAGNESIA  (Fr.  Magnesie  ,•  It.  Magnesia). 
One  of  the  primitive  earths  having  a  metallic 
basis.  It  is  an  oxide  of  magnesium.  It  is 
sometimes  found  native,  nearly  in  a  state  of 
purity;  but  is  generally  prepared  by  calcining 
the  common  carbonate  of  magnesia.  It  is  in- 
odorous and  insipid,  in  the  form  of  a  very  light, 
white,  soft  powder,  having  a  specific  gravity 
of  2-3.  It  turns  to  green  the  more  delicate 
vegetable  blues,  and  requires  for  its  solution 
2000  parts  of  water  at  60°.  It  is  found  com- 
bined with  carbonic  and  other  acids  in  plants. 

It  is  a  useful  purgative  in  an  acid  state  of 
the  stomach  ;  and  taken  daily,  with  short  inter- 
vals intervening,  it  is  a  useful  preventive  of  red 
gravel  or  lithic  acid  deposits  in  the  kidneys. 

As  all  kinds  of  grain  are  found  to  contain  a 
certain  proportion  of  phosphate  of  magnesia, 
the  presence  of  this  substance  cannot  be  sup- 
posed to  be  merely  accidental.  Hence  the 
inference  that  magnesia  must  be  serviceable 
as  a  fertilizer.  It  enters  largely  into  the  com- 
position of  limestone,  of  which  it  constitutes 
sometimes  almost  one  half.  The  magnesian 
lime  has  been  long  applied  with  the  greatest 
advantage  in  Pennsylvania  and  elsewhere.  In 
other  places  the  admixture  of  magnesia  with 
lime  has  been  considered  as  producing  sterility 
rather  than  benefit.     See  Earths,  Lime. 

When  magnesian  lime  has  been  applied  to 
ground  in  undue  quantity,  so  as  to  have  pro- 
duced unfavourable  eflects  upon  vegetation,  it 
742 


has  been  found  that  after  two  years  its  hurtfiA 
influence  has  become  exhausted.  Great  quan- 
tities of  it  are  annually  taken  from  Sunderland 
to  Scotland  by  the  Fifeshire  farmers,  and  ap- 
plied by  them  as  a  manure,  with  the  greatest 
benefits,  even  in  preference  to  other  kinds  of 
lime.  The  same  preference  is  shown  by  many 
Pennsylvania  farmers,  for  magnesian  lime. 
Experience  has  shown  that  it  has  been  unfairly 
denounced  by  Sir  H.  Davy  and  Mr.  Tennent,  as 
a  sterilizer. 

MAGNOLIA  (named  by  Plumier  after  Pierre 
Magnol,  prefect  of  the  botanic  garden  at  Mont- 
pelier,  and  author  of  several  works  on  plants  ; 
he  died  in  1715).  This  is  a  genus  of  very  ele- 
gant and  showy  plants  when  in  flower,  and 
well  worthy  of  extensive  cultivation.  The 
hardy  kinds,  being  remarkably  handsome 
shrubs,  should  be  planted  in  conspicuous  situa- 
tions where  they  will  flower  profusely  when 
they  attain  a  good  size.  M.  glauca,  and  some 
others,  grow  best  in  a  peat  soil  in  a  moist  situa- 
tion. They  are  generally  increased  by  layers 
put  down  in  spring  or  autumn,  or  by  seeds ; 
when  the  layers  are  first  taken  off",  they  should 
be  potted  in  a  mixture  of  loam  and  peat,  and 
placed  in  a  close  frame  till  they  have  taken 
fresh  root.  None  of  the  leaves  should  be  taken 
off"  or  shortened,  nor  any  shoots  be  cut  off",  as 
they  will  not  succeed  so  well ;  for  the  more 
branches  and  leaves  are  on  the  sooner  they 
will  strike  fresh  root.  The  Chinese  kinds  are 
often  inarched  or  budded  on  M.  obovata,  one  of 
the  readiest  growing  kinds,  which  takes  rea 
dily.  The  seeds  of  the  North  American  species 
are  received  annually  from  that  country.  They 
should  be  sown  as  soon  as  possible  after  theit 
arrival,  in  pots  of  light  rich  earth,  covering 
them  half  an  inch  deep  ;  these  may  be  placed 
either  in  a  hotbed  or  a  warm  sheltered  situa- 
tion, or  they  may  be  sown  in  the  open  ground, 
and  when  the  plants  are  of  sufficient  size,  they 
should  be  planted  out  singly  into  pots,  anu 
sheltered  till  they  have  taken  fresh  root ;  they 
should  also  be  protected  from  the  frost  by  r 
frame  for  two  or  three  successive  winters, 
giving  them  the  benefit  of  the  open  air  in  mild 
weather. 

The  Genus  Magnolia  contains  about  fifteen 
species,  almost  exactly  divided  between  China 
and  the  United  States.  There  is  also  one  spe- 
cies in  tropical  America.  The  trees  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a  bark  more  or  less  camphorated 
and  aromatic ;  the  leaves  are  alternate,  entire, 
and  large,  partly  ovate,  and  in  some  species 
auriculate  at  the  base.  The  flowers  are  large, 
fragrant,  white,  yellowish,  or  brown ;  the  seeds 
scarlet  or  fulvous. 

The  following  summary  of  the  American 
species  is  from  NtUtaWs  Genera  of  North  Ame- 
rican Plants. 

1.  M.  grandijlora.  The  most  magnificent 
tree  of  the  southern  states,  the  trunk  often  pre- 
senting a  living  column  of  80  or  90  feet  eleva- 
tion, almost  unobstructed  by  branches,  and 
terminated  by  a  spreading  top  of  the  deepest 
perennial  verdure.  2.  Glauca.  3  Macrophylla, 
This  small  pyramidal  tree  produces  the  largest 
leaves  and  flowers  of  any  other  North  Ameri- 
can plant.  The  limits  of  this  interesting  spe. 
i  cies   appear  to  be   extremely  local.      I    fir?l 


MAIDEN  HAIR. 


MAIZE. 


observed  it  in  Tennessee  near  the  banks  of 
Cumberland  river,  but  of  very  small  size.  In 
the  Southern  States  it  is  not  at  present  known 
to  th?  most  assiduous  collectors  in  any  other 
spot  'han  a  single  narrow  tract  of  about  2 
miles  in  length,  12  miles  southeast  of  Lincoln- 
ton  (Lincoln  county,  North  Carolina).  These 
limits  I  have  carefully  examined  and  found 
them  invariable.  4.  Tripetala  (Umbrella-tree). 
6.  Acuminata  (Cucumber-tree).  Flowers  yel- 
lowish green.  6.  Cordata.  Flowers  yellow; 
appearing  twice  in  the  year  in  the  garden  of 
Mr.  Landreth  of  Philadelphia.  Leaves  sub- 
cordate-oval,  never  truly  cordate.  7.  jluricu- 
lata.  Leaves  rhomboid-lanceolate,  auriculate 
at  the  base.  Considerably  allied  to  M.  Maao- 
phylla.  0.  Pyramidnta.  Nothing  more  than  a 
variety  of  the  preceding,  having  leaves  a  little 
broader  and  shorter.    See  Cucumbkr  Trke. 

MAIDEN  HAIR  {Aihantum,  derived  from 
adiantos,  dry.  Pliny  says,  it  is  in  vain  to 
plunge  the  adiantum  in  water,  for  it  always 
remains  dry).  These  are  elegant  species  of 
ferns  with  beautiful  leaves.  They  succeed 
well  in  a  mixture  of  loam  and  peat;  but  they 
appear  to  thrive  best  if  planted  in  loose  rock- 
work  where  there  is  a  good  drainage,  and  may 
be  increased  by  divisions  or  by  seeds.  A,  Ca- 
pillus  veneris  is  the  only  indigenous  species.  It 
is  often  supposed  that  the  French  syrup  called 
enpillaire  is  made  from  this  plant;  but  it  is  from 
the  Jdiunhim  jyedatum,  a  plant  growing  in  the 
south  of  France.  Our  adiantum,  however, 
would  make  as  useful  a  syrup.  It  is  a  refresh- 
ing beverage,  mixed  with  water,  in  fevers. 
See  Fkk!». 

MAIZE,  MAIZ,  or  INDIAN  CORN  (Zca 
mays,  from  zao,  to  live,  in  reference  to  the  nutritive 
properties  of  the  plants  belonging  to  the  genus). 
A  gigantic  herbaceous  annual  plant,  belonging 
to  the  family  of  grasses  cultivated  for  their 
prains  (Graminfa).  Although,  in  Europe,  the 
word  com  is  synonymous  with  wheat,  rye,  and 
breadstuffs  generally,  in  the  United  States  the 
term,  used  alone,  applies  exclusively  to  maize. 

In  one  of  the  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  a 
man  having  been  indicted  for  stealing  so  many 
.bushels  of  " corn**  exception  was  taken  by  his 
counsel,  that  this  was  not  a  perfect  description 
of  Indian  com ;  the  exception,  however,  was 
overruled  by  the  court,  who  thus  decided  that 
"corn"  was  the  established  name  for  Indian 
corn. 

Maize  is  the  crop,  of  all  others,  best  adapted 
lo  the  climate  of  the  United  States,  where  it  is 
cultivated,  on  every  variety  of  soil,  from  one 
extremity  of  the  Union  to  the  other.  It  con- 
stitutes the  main  stay  of  the  cereal  farmer, 
most  depended  upon  to  furnish  food  and  pro- 
vender for  man  and  beast.  The  crop  raised 
in  the  United  States  in  1839,  has  been  esti- 
mated at  nearly  400,000,000  of  bushels.  That 
of  1842  was  much  greater.  Supposing  it  to 
have  been  500,000,000,  this  at  an  average  price 
of  only  40  cents  per  bushel,  would  make  the 
total  value  of  the  crop  no  less  than  200,000,000 
of  dollars,  which  is  considerably  more  than 
double  the  value  of  the  wheat  crop  estimated 
at  $1  per  bushel.  The  article  on  Agriculture 
will  show  the  states  and  districts  where  the 
largest  proportion  of  this  grain  is  produced. 


The  amount  raised  annually,  increases  in  rapid 
progression. 

Although  America  is  doubtless  the  native 
country  of  a  plant  so  important  to  her  interests; 
still  this  has  been  a  disputed  ^oint.  Fuchs 
very  early  maintained  that  it  came  from  the 
East;  and  Mathioli  affirmed  that  it  was  from 
America.  Regmir  and  Gregory  have  pi  esent- 
ed  fresh  arguments  in  favour  of  its  Eastern 
origin.  Among  them  is  the  name  by  which  it 
has  long  been  known  in  Europe :  BU  de  Tur- 
quie;  and  varieties,  it  is  said,  have  been  brought 
from  the  Isle  of  France,  or  from  China.  Moreau 
de  Jonnes,  on  the  contrary,  has  recently  main- 
tained, in  a  memoir  read  before  the  Academy 
of  Science,  that  its  origin  was  in  America. 
The  name  Bid  de  Turquie  no  more  proves  it  to 
be  of  Turkish  origin,  than  the  name  of  the 
Italian  Poplar  or  Irish  potato,  proves  that  the 
tree  and  the  plant  grew  wild  in  Italy  and  Ire- 
land. It  can  only  signify  that  it  spread  from 
Turkey  into  the  neighbouring  countries.  Its 
general  cultivation  in  Southern  Europe,  and 
the  production  of  some  new  varieties,  proves 
nothing  with  regard  to  the  country  of  the  spe- 
cies. In  favour  of  its  American  origin,  is^the 
fact  that  it  was  found  in  a  state  of  cultivation 
in  every  place  where  the  first  navigators  land- 
ed. In  Mexico,  according  to  Hernandez ;  and 
in  Brazil,  according  to  Zeri ;  and  that  in  the 
various  countries  it  had  proper  names,  such  as 
Maize,  Fluolii,&c.:  whilst,  in  the  Old  World, 
its  names  were  either  all  of  American  origin, 
or  from  the  neighbouring  region,  whence  it 
was  derived.  Immediately  after  the  discovery 
of  America,  it  M'as  spread  rapidly  in  the  Old 
World,  and  soon  became  common,  a  fact 
not  reconcilable  with  the  idea  of  its  former 
existence  there.  To  these  proofs,  Aug.  de 
Saint-Hilaire  has  added  another.  He  has  re- 
ceived from  M.  de  Larranhaga,  of  Monte  Video, 
a  new  variety  of  maize,  distinguished  by  the 
name  of  Tunicata;  because  instead  of  having 
the  grains  naked,  they  are  entirely  covered  by 
the  glumes.  This  variety  is  from  Paraguay, 
where  it  is  cultivated  by  the  Guaycurus  In- 
dians, a  people  in  the  lowest  scale  of  civiliza- 
tion ;  and  where,  according  to  the  direct  testi- 
mony of  one  of  them,  it  grows  in  the  humid 
forests  as  a  native  production. 

The  early  authors  who  have  written  about 
America,  with  few  if  any  exceptions,  mention 
maize  as  an  indigenous  grain.  Thus  Acoste, 
in  his  Natural  History  of  the  West  Indies,  calls 
it  "Indian  wheat,  to  make  bread  of,"  and  says 
"  that  it  was  the  only  grain  found,  in  the  West 
Indies  by  the  Europeans  : — that  it  grows  upon 
a  long  reed  with  large  grains,  and  sometimes 
two  ears  on  a  reed,  on  one  of  which  700  grains 
have  been  told : — that  they  sow  it  grain  by 
grain  and  not  scattering,  as  is  done  with 
wheat;  and  it  requires  a  hot  and  moist  soil. 
There  are  two  sorts  of  it"  (says  our  author), 
"one  large  and  substantial,  the  other  small  and 
dry,  which  they  call '  moroche.'  The  leaves  of 
it  and  also  the  reed  are  very  good  food  for  cat- 
tle, green ;  and  dry,  it  serves  as  well  as  straw. 
The  grain  is  better  for  beasts  than  barley,  but 
they  must  drink  before  they  eat  it ;  for  if  thev 
drink  after  it,  it  swells  and  gives  them  pair 
The   Indian     eat  it  hot,  boiled,  and   call  . 

743 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


mote,*  and  sometimes  toasted.  There  is  a 
sort  of  it  large  and  round,  which  the  Spaniards 
eat  loasted ;  they  also  grind  it  and  make  cakes, 
which  they  eat  hot;  and  these,  in  some  places, 
they  call '  arepas*  They  also  make  bread,  to 
keep,  and  sweet  cakes  of  it." 

As  Acoste  died  in  1600,  at  Salamanca,  in  his 
60th  year,  this  must  be  regarded  as  very  early 
testimony  upon  the  subject.  He  surely  would 
not  have  been  so  very  particular  in  his  desciip- 
lion  of  this  grain  had  it  been  previously  known 
in  Europe.  Indeed  entire  ears  of  Indian  corn 
have  been  found  enveloped  in  Peruvian  and 
Mexican  mummies,  preserved  long  before  the 
discovery  of  America. 

It  is  probable  that  some  inferior  species  of 
the  genus  to  which  maize  belongs,  have  been 
found  in  Guinea,  Turkey,  and  other  portions 
of  the  Old  World;  but  that  the  kinds  now  so 
highly  valued  and  generally  cultivated  were  of 
American  origin,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  both 
from  the  strongest  negative  and  positive  evi- 
dence. Maize  is  now  extensively  cultivated 
in  Asia  and  Africa.  In  Europe,  it  is  only  in  the 
extreme  southern  parts,  France,  Spain,  and 
Italy,  that  the  crop  can  be  raised  so  as  to  be 
profitable. 

Varieties  of  Indian  Corn.  The  varieties  of 
corn  cultivated  in  the  United  States  are  very 
numerous.  A  list  embracing  many  of  these 
has  been  furnished  by  P.  A.  Brown,  Esq.,  in 
an  interesting  Essay  on  Indian  corn.  (See 
Farmer^  Cabinet,  vol.  ii.)  The  following  va- 
rieties, distinguished  by  peculiar  characteristics 
of  the  grain,  cob,  &c.,  are  included  in  Mr. 
Brown's  enumeration.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact,  that  the  rows  of  grains  on  a  cob,  how^ever 
numerous  or  limited,  always  present  even 
numbers. 

Yellow  Corn.  No.  1.  The  yellow  gourdseed, 
so  called  from  the  resemblance  of  its  long, 
narrow  grains  to  the  seed  of  the  gourd.  This 
has  24,  and  occasion aliy  even  more  rows.  Mr. 
Brown  makes  7  varieties  of  this  according  to 
the  number  of  rows  regulated  by  admixture 
with  other  kinds  of  corn.  No.  8.  The  genuine 
King  Philip  corn,  so  called  from  the  celebrated 
chief  of  the  Wampanoags.  It  has  8  rows,  the 
lowest  number  found  on  any  kind  of  Indian 
corn.  It  is  a  hardy  plant,  the  seed  of  which 
was  originally  obtained  from  the  Northern  In- 
dians. No.  9.  The  Sioux  or  yellow-flint  corn 
with  12  rows,  derived  from  the  Sioux  tribe  of 
Indians  which  formerly  resided  in  Canada. 
No.  10.  The  Sioux  variety  grown  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. No.  11.  The  Sioux  and  gourdseed 
mixed — 16  rows. 

White  Indian  Corn,  a  division  in  which  Mr. 
Brown  includes  the  white  flint,  white  flour-corn, 
and  white  sugar,  or  sweet  corn.  He  has 
omitted  the  white  gourdseed,  which  is  by  far 
the  most  common  corn  raised  in  the  South, 
where  it  is  sometimes  found  with  from  24  to  36 
rows  of  grains  upon  the  ear.  No.  12.  Genuine 
white-flint,  12  row  corn  raised  in  Virginia. 
No.  13.  White-flint,— 10  rows.  No.  14.  Early 
white  flint,  and  white  flour  corn, — 12  rows. 
No.  15.  Peruvian  corn, — 8  rows.  No.  16.  Penn- 
sylvania, 8  rows, — called  in  Maryland,  Smith's 
early  white.  No.  17.  New  Jersey — 8  rows. 
No.  18.  New  y-^rk,  10  rows,  and  Mandan  In- 
744 


dian  com.  No.  19.  Mandan  corn,  and  white 
sugar  corn.  No.  20.  Early  sugar  corn,  with 
shrunken  grains  and  12  rows. 

Hcemetite,  or  Blood-red  Indian  Corn,  21.  Com- 
mon sized  haemetite,  with  12  rows  and  red  cob. 
22.  The  red  cob  with  white  grains.  23.  Red 
cob  with  yellow  grains.  24.  Red  cob  with 
brown  grains.  25.  Red  cob,  with  white  gourd- 
seed. 26.  Red  cob  with  gourdseed  and  yellow 
flint.  27.  White  cob  with  red  grain.  28.  Speck- 
led red  and  yellow  grains  on  a  white  cob. 
29.  The  same  on  a  red  cob.  30.  The  dwarf 
haematite,  commonly  called  Guinea  corn. 
31.  Blue  corn,  with  10  rows.  32.  Texas  corn, 
each  grain  of  which  grows  enveloped  in  a 
distinct  covering  or  tunic,  the  whole  ear  being 
also  enveloped  in  a  husk.  33.  Mexican  corn, 
found  in  the  envelope  of  a  mummy.  34.  Corn 
raised  in  England  by  William  Cobbett.  36. The 
celebrated  Dutton  flint  corn. 

The  remarks  of  the  late  John  Lorain,  in  his 
Practice  of  Husbandry,  convey  so  much  infor- 
mation relative  to  the  kinds  of  corn  chiefly 
cultivated  in  the  United  States,  the  various  me- 
rits of  each  kind,  and  the  modes  of  culture,  that 
we  cannot  refrain  from  giving  a  condensation 
of  them. 

There  are  five  original  corns  in  use  for  field 
planting,  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
to  wit :  the  big  white  and  yellow,  the  little  white 
and  yelloiv,  SLwd  the  tvhile  Virginia  gourdseed.  The 
cobs  of  the  two  first  mentioned  are  thick  and 
long,  the  grains  are  much  wider  than  deep,  and 
where  the  rows  of  grains  meet  and  unite  with 
each  other,  their  sides  fall  oflT  almost  to  nothing. 
This  gives  the  outside  ends  of  the  grain  a  cir- 
cular form ;  and  communicates  to  the  ear  an 
appearance  somewhat  like  a  fluted  column. 
This  formation  greatly  diminishes  the  size  of 
the  ends  and  sides  of  the  grains ;  and  is  the 
cause  of  the  hard  flinty  corns  being  less  pro- 
ductive, in  proportion  to  the  length  and  thick- 
ness of  their  cobs,  than  the  gourdseed  corn. 
As  the  little  white  and  yellow  are  formed  much 
in  the  same  way,  and  the  cobs  considerably 
smaller,  they  are  still  less  productive  than  the 
big  white  and  yellow,  but  ripen  earlier. 

The  grain  of  those  four  flinty  kinds  are  very 
firm,  and  without  indenture  in  their  outside 
ends.  The  two  smaller  kinds  seem  to  be  still 
more  hard  and  solid  than  the  larger ;  and  the 
colour  of  the  little  yellow  deeper  than  that  of 
the  big. 

The  ears  of  the  Virginia  gourdseed  are  not 
very  long,  neither  is  the  cob  so  thick  as  that 
of  the  big  white  and  yellow.  But  the  forma- 
tion of  the  grain  makes  the  ear  very  thick. 
They  frequently  produce  from  thirty  to  thirty- 
two,  and  sometimes  thirty-six  rows  of  very 
long  narrow  grains,  of  a  soft  open  texture. 
These  grains  are  almost  flat,  at  their  outside 
ends,  are  also  compactly  united  from  the  cob 
to  the  surface  of  the  ear,  without  any  of  that 
fluted  appearance  between  the  rows  of  grain, 
which  causes  the  flinty  corns  to  be  much  less 
productive  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the  ears. 

The  gourdseed  corn  ripens  later  than  any 
other,  but  is  by  far  the  most  productive.  It  is 
invariably  white,  unless  it  has  been  mixed 
with  the  yellow  flinty  corns.  Then  it  is  called 
the  yellow  gourdseed,  and  too  many  farmerr 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


consider  it  and  most  other  mixtures  original 
corns.  I  have  often  heard  of  original  yellow 
gourdsecd  corn,  but  after  taking  much  trouble 
to  investigate  the  fact,  could  never  find  any 
thing  more  than  a  mixture. 

So  prevalent  are.  mixtures,  says  Mr.  Lorain, 
that  I  have  never  examined  a  field  of  corn, 
(where  great  care  had  not  been  taken  to  select 
the  seed,)  which  did  not  exhibit  evident  traces 
of  all  the  corns  in  general  use  for  field  plant- 
ing, with  many  others  that  are  not  used  for 
this  purpose. 

None  can  be  longer  or  more  readily  traced 
than  the  gourdseed.  If  the  smallest  perfectly 
natural  indenture  appear  in  the  grain  of  the 
hardest  corns,  those  grains,  with  their  descend- 
ants, may  be  grown,  until  a  perfectly  white 
gourdseed  is  obtained,  be  their  colour  what  it 
may. 

In  the  northerly  divisions  of  the  United 
States,  they  frequently  plant  the  small  Cana- 
dian corns. 

These  are  solid  and  very  early,  but  have 
been  generally  thought  too  small  to  be  very 
productive,  and  are  seldom  planted  in  fields, 
where  the  larger  corns  ripen. 

These  corns  and  others  which  are  still  much 
smaller  and  earlier,  are  grown  by  many  for 
early  boiling  or  roasting  while  green. 

The  Canadian  corn  plant  is  considerably 
smaller  than  the  corns  in  general  use  for  field 
planting.  It  is  also  productive  in  ears.  There- 
fore, the  intervals,  as  weU  as  the  clusters  in 
the  row,  might  be  closer  together.  If  the 
soil  were  as  well  manured  for  this  kind  of  corn 
as  is  done  for  the  larger  corns  (when  the 
farmer  is  well  informed  and  able  to  do  it),  very 
valuable  crops  might  be  obtained  from  it :  par- 
ticularly if  it  were  only  slightly  mixed  with 
the  gourdseed  corn. 

There  are  also  red,  blue,  and  purple  corns, 
but  none  of  these  are  used  for  field  planting; 
still,  having  been  introduced,  they  too  often  ap- 
pear in  our  fields,  either  in  their  native  colours 
or  in  variegated  or  enamelled  grains.  The 
leaves  of^  the  plant  are  also  sometimes  varie- 
gated from  the  same  cause.  It  is  said  that  a 
good  purple  dye  is  formed  by  using  the  purple 
corns  for  this  purpose ;  and  the  stalks  and 
leaves  of  this  plant  are  purple,  or  a  shade  be- 
tween that  colour  and  green.  I  have  also  seen 
corn  with  red  stalks  and  leaves,  but  mixed  with 
more  or  less  green. 

As  novelty  and  other  causes  have  introduced 
such  a  great  variety  into  our  fields,  they  will 
continue  to  appear  in  them  until  farmers  gene- 
rally give  more  attention  to  the  economy  of 
maize,  and  see  the  necessity  of  growing  out 
inferior  kinds,  so  far  as  it  may  be  practicable. 
Although  they  may  be  divided  almost  ad  infi- 
nitum, they  cannot  be  entirely  eradicated. 
They  may,  however,  be  readily  reduced  and 
kept  under,  so  as  not  to  do  any  material  injury 
to  the  crops,  provided  the  cultivator  very  care- 
fully and  annually  selects  his  seed.  It  may  be 
from  the  latent  remains  of  these  mixed  varie- 
ties, that  nature,  from  combining  causes,  some- 
times produces  plants  and  animals  more  per- 
fect than  the  class  from  which  they  sprang. 

This  variety,  as  it  regards  corn,  proceeds 
from  ^he  farina  fecundans,  a  light  minute  sub- 
94 


stance  of  a  mouldy  colour,  seen  on  the  clothes 
of  those  working  among  the  plants,  when  it  is 
disengaged  from  the  tassels.  This  is  wafted 
far  by  high  winds,  and  is  the  cause  of  distant 
and  unthought-of  mixtures.  However,  in 
general,  it  is  lightly  and  plentifully  diffused 
through  the  field,  and  lodges  in  sufficient  quan- 
tities on  the  silky  fibres  which  project  from 
the  ears.  A  single  fibre  proceeds  from  each 
grain.  This  has  been  so  constructed  as  to 
convey  the  principle  of  life  contained  in  the 
farina  fecundans  to  the  grain  from  which  the 
fibre  springs,  even  to  the  further  end  of  the 
cob.  This  is  done  with  so  much  certainty  that 
we  rarely  see  abortive  grains,  when  the  plants 
have  been  rendered  healthy  and  vigorous  by  a 
sufficiency  of  nutriment  and  good  cultivation. 
The  change  produced  by  this  mysterious  cause 
is  generally  gradual.  We  first  see  scattering, 
whitish  looking  grains  on  the  ears  of  the  yel- 
low corn  growing  among  the  white,  and  the 
reverse  on  the  ears  of  the  latter,  when  grown 
near  to  the  yellow  corns. 

The  foregoing  facts  have  induced  me  to 
make  experiments.  The  result  seems  to  deter- 
mine, that  if  nature  be  judiciously  directed  by 
art,  such  mixtures  as  are  best  suited  for  the 
purpose  of  farmers,  in  every  climate  in  this 
country  where  corn  is  grown,  may  be  intro- 
duced. Also,  that  an  annual  selection  of  the 
seed,  with  care  and  time,  will  render  them  sub- 
ject to  very  little  injurious  change;  provided 
the  desirable  properties  of  any  of  the  various 
corns  be  properly  blended  together.  They  do 
not  mix  minutely,  like  wine  and  water.  On 
the  contrary,  like  mixed  breeds  of  animals,  a 
large  portion  of  the  valuable  properties  of  any 
one  of  them,  or  of  the  whole  five  original 
corns  commonly  used  for  field  planting,  may 
be  communicated  to  one  plant;  while  the  infe- 
rior properties  of  one,  or  the  whole,  may  be 
nearly  grown  out. 

When  this  object  is  obtained,  and  we  become 
acquainted  with  the  proper  arrangement  of  the 
plants  in  our  fields,  so  as  to  promote  the  utmost 
product,  the  crops  of  maize  will  by  far  exceed 
any  estimate  which  would  at  this  time  be  con- 
sidered probable  by  those  who  have  not  care- 
fully examined  the  economy  of  this  plant. 

It  should,  however,  never  be  forgotten,  that  a 
sufficiency  of  nutriment  and  good  cultivation 
are  quite  as  necessary  to  increase  and  perpetu- 
ate the  size  of  grain  as  plentiful  and  nutritious 
food,  and  proper  care  and  management,  are  to 
accomplish  the  same  in  animals. 

My  ears  of  maize  are  now  at  least  one-third 
larger,  on  an  average,  than  were  the  ears  pro- 
cured three  years  ago  from  Huntingdon  for 
seed.  The  same  may  be  also  said  of  some 
white,  flinty  corn,  procured  by  my  neighbour, 
Mr.  H.  Philips,  from  near  Erie,  for  seed. 

The  quantity  of  the  gourdseed  corn  mixed 
with  the  flinty  yellow  corns,  may  be  determined, 
so  as  to  answer  the  farmer's  purpo'se.  When 
the  proportion  of  the  former  greatly  predomi- 
nates, the  grains  are  pale,  very  long  and  nar- 
row, and  the  outside  ends  of  them  are  so  flat 
that  but  little  of  the  indenture  is  seen.  As  the 
portion  of  gourdseed  decreases  in  the  mixture, 
the  grains  shorten,  become  wider,  and  their 
outside  ends  grow  thicker.  The  indentures 
3R  745 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


also,  become  larger  and  rounder,  until  the 
harder  corns  get  the  ascendancy.  After  this, 
the  outside  ends  of  the  grains  become  thicker 
and  more  circular.  They  also  grow  wider, 
and  the  fluted  appearance  between  the  rows 
increases.  The  indentures  also  decrease  in 
size  until  they  disappear,  and  the  yellow,  flinty 
variety  is  formed.  But,  as  I  believe,  not  so 
fully  but  that  the  latent  remains  of  mixture  will 
forever  subject  it  to  more  or  less  change. 

It  is  more  difficult  to  determine  the  quantity 
of  big  and  little  yellow  corns,  which  may  hap- 
pen to  be  mixed  with  the  gourdseed ;  and  at 
the  same  time  with  each  other.  However,  by 
attention,  a  tolerably  correct  opinion  of  this 
may  be  formed.  The  grain  of  the  big  yellow 
is  much  wider,  and  nothing  like  so  deep  as 
that  of  the  gourdseed;  and  although  the  grain 
of  the  little  yellow  is  not  so  wide  and  deep  as 
that  of  the  big,  still  it  is  wider  than  the  gourd- 
seed; and  its  colour  is  deeper  than  that  of  the 
big  yellow,  and  its  cobs  are  much  slimmer,  as 
well  as  shorter. 

When  a  mixture  with  the  big  yellow  and 
gourdseed  is  desirable,  care  should  be  taken, 
in  growing  out  the  little  yellow,  to  preserve  as 
much  as  possible  of  the  deep  yellow  tinge  and 
solidity  communicated  to  the  grain  by  this  va- 
riety, and  also  of  its  property  to  ripen  early. 

The  soft,  open  texture  of  the  gourdseed  ren- 
ders it  unfit  for  exportation,  unless  it  be  kiln- 
dried.  This  has  given  rise  to  an  unfounded 
prejudice  among  the  shippers  of  this  grain,  in 
favour  of  the  yellow  corns,  although  they  are 
not  more  solid  than  the  white,  flinty  varieties. 
However,  while  this  prejudice  continues,  it  is 
best  for  those  who  depend  on  selling  it  for 
shipping,  to  mix  the  gourdseed  with  the  yellow 
flints,  and  for  those  who  consume  the  produce 
on  their  own  farms,  or  can  readily  sell  the  white 
corns,  to  form  mixtures  with  them  and  the 
gourdseed.  It  is  thought  that  the  white  corns 
are  the  most  productive,  and  ripen  earlier  than 
the  yellow ;  but  of  this  I  know  nothing  certain, 
having  generally  grown  the  yellow.  There  can, 
however,  be  no  question  but  that  the  white 
furnishes  much  handsomer  meal  for  culinary 
purposes.  It  is  also  free  from  that  strong  taste 
so  readily  distinguished  by  those  who  have  been 
accustomed  to  use  the  white ;  but  as  most  of 
the  Pennsylvania  farmers,  and  cultivators  still 
further  north,  have  been  used  to  eat  the  yellow, 
and  habit  causes  most  kinds  of  food  to  become 
agreeable,  they  seem  generally  to  prefer  the 
strong  taste  of  this  variety  to  the  much  milder 
and  pleasanter  taste  of  the  white.  However, 
in  the  countries  where  neither  is  grown,  and  to 
which  it  is  often  exported,  there  can  be  but  lit- 
tle doubt  that  the  white  would  find  a  readier 
market,  and  that  the  demand  for  this  very  nu- 
tritious grain  would  greatly  increase,  if  none 
but  the  white  were  exported :  especially,  if 
laws  were  passed  prohibiting  the  exportation 
of  maize  until  it  had  been  kiln-dried. 

I  believe  there  is  no  grain  that  will  keep 
longer  or  safer  than  corn,  if  it  be  kept  on  the 
cob  in  open  dry  cribs,  and  the  climate  also 
be  dry,  unless  the  weevil  be  introduced  by  not 
carefully  cleaning  the  cribs  of  every  vestige 
of  the  grain  and  vegetable  matters  introduced 
with  it. 

74G 


Flinty  corns,  after  they  have  been  well  dried 
in  such  cribs,  may  be  shipped  in  tight,  dry 
vessels,  with  tolerabte  safety,  to  the  West  In- 
dies ;  but  longer  voyages  subject  this  grain  to 
greater  injuries,  although  it  may  arrive  in  port 
in  tolerable  safety  ;  a  little  damp  communicates 
a  musty  taste  to  maize,  and  if  this  does  not 
happen,  it  is  often  spoiled  by  lying  in  bulk 
after  it  arrives,  and  will  be  considered  much 
less  valuable  on  this  account. 

Either  the  big  yellow  or  white  should  be 
mixed  with  the  gourdseed,  for  planting  in  every 
climate  where  this  mixture  will  certainly  ripen. 
Their  cobs  being  very  long,  and  the  grain  so 
much  wider  and  deeper  than  those  of  the  little 
yellow  or  white,  the  mixture  with  them  will  be 
much  more  productive.  It  is  also  thought,  that 
the  length  of  the  ear  communicated  by  the  big 
yellow  or  white  will  fully  compensate  for  the 
shortening  the  grains  of  the  gourdseed:  there- 
fore, if  the  mixture  be  properly  formed,  its  pro- 
duct may  even  exceed  that  of  the  original 
gourdseed  corn  ;  I  have  measured  the  product 
from  ears  of  this  mixture,  which,  when  shelled, 
yielded  a  full  pint  of  corn,  after  they  had  lain 
twelve  months  in  a  very  dry  place,  although 
the  mixture  had  not  been  well  improved. 

The  little  yellow  and  white,  being  earlier 
than  the  big,  they  should  form  mixtures  with 
the  gourdseed  corn  for  being  grown  in  climates 
more  unfavourable  for  maize.  But  whoever 
may  form  either  of  those  mixtures,  will  find, 
that  he  must  grow  out  either  the  big  or  little 
flinty  corns,  with  many  others,  as  they  are 
more  or  less  mixed. 

The  speediest  and  best  way  to  form  either 
of  those  mixtures,  is  to  select  one  ear  that  may 
possess  most  of  the  desirable  properties  united 
in  it,  and  to  plant  the  seed  where  the  farina 
fecundans  from  the  general  crop  cannot  readily 
obtain  access.  If  it  happen  to  the  cultivators, 
as  it  has  done  with  me,  he  will  certainly  find 
from  the  growth  of  this  seed  many  ears  in  his 
patch,  very  much  like  the  ear  that  grew  the 
seed,  and  many  very  unlike  it;  however,  it  may 
be  that  he  will  find  some  ears  approaching 
nearer  to  the  variety  which  he  wishes  to  form 
than  the  original  ear;  if  so,  he  will  of  course 
select  the  best,  and  go  on  in  the  same  way,  until 
he  has  full  enough  for  planting  his  general 
crop.  After  this,  he  should  aim  at  an  increased 
improvement,  by  carefully  selecting  his  seed 
annually  for  the  ensuing  crop.  (Practical  Hus^ 
ban  dry.) 

Of  these  numerous  varieties  some  are  best 
adapted  to  the  Southern  States — the  white  and 
yellow  gourdseeds:  others  to  the  Middle  States 
— the  gourdseed  and  flint  varieties,  pure  or 
mixed;  whilst  the  heavy  flinty  grained  kinds 
are  almost  exclusively  cultivated  in  the  North- 
em  and  Eastern  States — to  which  they  are 
specially  adapted  by  their  disposition  to  grow 
and  mature  with  great  rapidity,  and  thus  ac- 
comodate themselves  to  the  shortness  of  north- 
ern summers.  Like  all  early  maturing  corn, 
they  are  dwarfish,  though  very  productive.  The 
efl^ect  of  the  longer  and  warmer  summers  in 
more  southerly  situations  is  to  favour  greatly 
the  growth  of  the  stalk,  which  frequently  attains 
10  or  12  feet  in  height;  but  such  luxuriance, 
however  splendid  in  appearance,  is  by  no  means 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


attended  by  a  corresponding  increase  in  the 
product  of  grain.  The  time  taken  by  different 
varieties  in  growing  and  maturing,  differs  ex- 
ceedingly. In  the  Southern  and  Middle  States 
the  crop  occupies  the  ground  from  5  to  7  months, 
whilst  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States  the 
cars  come  to  maturity  in  3  or  4  months,  and 
some  is  even  found  so  precocious  as  to  ripen 
in  6  weeks.  An  interesting  and  plausible  ex- 
planation of  these  facts  is  given  in  the  article 
on  Climate,  and  its  Isflukncb  on  the  Fruit- 
ruLTVKss  OF  Plants. 

Since  Mr.  Lorain  wrote  his  excellent  book, 
several  demonstrations  have  been  furnished  of 
the  practicability  of  improving  corn.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  is  that  made  by  Thomas  N. 
Baden,  Esq.,  of  Prince  George's  county,  Mary- 
land, who,  by  carefully  selecting  the  best  seed 
in  his  field  for  a  long  series  of  years,  having 
special  reference  to  those  stalks  which  pro- 
duced the  most  ears,  ultimately  obtained  a  va- 
riety which  yields  4,  5,  6,  and  even  as  high  as 
8  and  10  ears  to  the  single  stalk.  The  parti- 
culars of  the  plan  pursued  are  as  follows: 

When  the  corn  was  husked,  he  made  a 
re-selection,  taking  only  that  which  appeared 
sound  and  fully  ripe,  having  a  regard  to  the 
deepest  and  best  colour,  as  well  as  the  size  of 
the  cob.  In  the  spring,  before  shelling  the 
corn,  he  examined  it  again,  and  selected  that 
which  was  the  best  in  all  respects.  In  shelling 
the  corn,  he  omitted  the  irregular  kernels  at 
both  the  large  and  small  ends.  He  has  care- 
fully followed  this  mode  of  selecting  seed  corn 
for  hoenty-tiL'o  or  tu'tnty-three  years,  and  still  con- 
tinues to  do  so.  When  he  first  commenced,  it 
was  with  a  common  kind  of  com,  for  there 
was  none  other  in  that  part  of  the  country.  At 
first  he  was  troubled  to  find  stalks  with  even 
tipo  s;ood  ears  on  them,  perhaps  one  good  ear 
and  one  small  one,  or  one  good  ear  and  a 
'nubbin.'  It  was  several  years  before  he  could 
discover  much  benefit  resulting  from  his  efforts; 
however,  at  length  the  quality  and  quantity 
began  to  improve,  and  the  improvement  was 
then  very  rapid.  At  present  he  does  not  pre- 
tend to  lay  up  any  seed  without  it  comes  from 
stalks  which  bear  4,  5,  or  6  ears.  He  has  seen 
stalks  bearing  8  ears.  One  of  his  neighbours 
informed  him  that  he  had  a  single  stalk  with 
ten  perfect  ears  on  it.  In  addition  to  the  number 
of  ears,  and  of  course  the  great  increase  in 
quantity  unshelled,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  it 
yields  much  more  than  common  corn  when 
shelled.  A  barrel  (10  bushels  of  ears)  of  his 
improved  kind  of  corn  measured  a  little  more 
than  six  bushels.  The  common  kind  of  corn 
will  measure  about  5  bushels  only.  He  be- 
lieves that  he  raises  double,  or  nearly  so,  to  what 
he  could  with  any  other  corn.  He  generally 
plants  the  corn  about  the  first  of  May,  and 
places  the  hills  five  feet  apart  each  way,  leav- 
ing two  stalks  in  a  hill. 

Some  of  Mr.  Baden's  seed-ccm  was  sent 
to  Illinois,  with  instructions  how  to  manage  it, 
and  the  product  was  one  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels  on  an  acre ;  there  was  no  corn  in  Illinois 
like  it,  and  it  produced  more  fodder  than  any 
other  kind.     (Farm.  Cab.  vol.  ii.) 

The  Bdden  corn  is  a  white  gourdseed,  the 
«talks    of  which  grow  to    an    extraordinary 


height,  so  that  the  ears  are  often  6  or  8  feet 
above  the  ground,  and  the  summits  twice  that 
elevation.  The  grain  is  of  excellent  quality,  but 
the  ears  are  short  and  considerably  under  the 
average  size  of  the  common  varieties  of  corn. 
When  removed  but  little  farther  north,  as  for 
example  to  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  it  sel- 
dom matures  perfectly.  It  does  not  answer 
well  for  high-land  culture,  but  flourishes  and 
produces  abundance  of  grain  and  fodder  in 
the  rich  flat  lands  of  the  Southern  and  South- 
western States.  It  verifies  the  observation. 
that  high-growing  corn  is  the  least  disposed  to 
ripen  the  ears,  and  consequently  most  liable  to 
injury  from  autumnal  frosts. 

Varieties  cultivated  for  particular  purposes. — 
Among  the  varieties  of  corn  cultivated  for 
special  purposes,  we  may  mention  the  white 
flint,  used  for  making  the  beautiful  hominy 
sold  in  the  Philadelphia  market;  ibe  flour  corn, 
with  a  round,  thick  grain,  filled  with  a  snowy 
white  powder  resembling  starch,  much  used  in 
New  Jersey  for  grinding  up  with  buckwheat,  in 
the  proportion  of  about  one-fourth  or  one-fifth  of 
the  corn,  giving  the  buckwheat-meal  a  lighter 
colour  and  otherwise  improving  it.  The  early 
Jersey  truck  corn,  a  middle-sized  ear,  with 
white  and  rather  flinty  grains,  the  earliest  corn 
raised  for  the  market,  but  not  so  sweet  as  the 
Early  siceet  or  Sugar  com,  which,  when  dry,  has 
shrivelled  grains ;  there  are  two  varieties  of 
this,  the  white  and  red  cob  kinds.  The  small 
flinty-grained  corn  usually  raised  for  parching 
or  popping  is  considered  a  distinct  species  of 
maize,  under  the  name  of  Zea  Caragua,  or  Val- 
paraiso com,  to  which  a  sort  of  religious  repu- 
tation has  been  attached,  from  the  circum- 
stance of  its  splitting  open  when  parched  or 
roasted  so  as  to  present  some  resemblance  to 
a  cross.  Its  appearance  under  this  form  is 
peculiarly  beautiful,  and  bears  a  strong  re- 
semblance to  the  flowers  of  a  cruciferous 
plant.  The  flavour  is  pleasant,  and  it  makes 
a  very  pretty  dessert-dish. 

Preparation  of  the  Land  for  planting. — In  the 
Middle  States  corn  is  planted  in  all  conditions 
of  the  land,  but  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  it 
generally  follows  the  wheat  crop,  upon  which 
all  the  farm-yard  manure  has  been  spread.  In 
the  upper  portion  of  Delaware  and  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  crop  is  generally  put  upon  a  grass 
sward  or  clover  lay.  Where  the  soil  is  a  stiff 
clay,  much  labour  is  bestowed  in  ploughing 
deep,  then  rolling  and  reducing  to  the  finest 
tilth  by  means  of  harrows.  As  a  general  rule, 
after  a  sward  has  been  turned,  care  is  taken 
not  to  harrow  so  deep  as  to  reach  and  drag  up 
the  sods,  which  are  suffered  to  lie  and  decom 
pose,  thus  furnishing  nutriment  to  the  corn, 
and  keeping  the  ground  loose  and  favourable 
to  the  spreading  of  the  roots.  Many  farmers^ 
spread  lime  upon  the  land  intended  for  corn, 
in  the  autumn  or  winter,  previously  to  plough 
ing.  Others  put  the  lime  dressing  on  the 
ploughed  ground.  Although  the  first  may  be 
considered  a  good  plan,  still  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  lime  operates  most  effectually  "when 
lefY  upon  the  surface  so  as  to  be  exposed  to 
the  atmosphere,  and  especially  to  the  full  action 
of  rain  water  with  its  dissolving  agent  carbo- 
'  nic  acid  gas.    But  the  best  plan  of  all  is  tc 

747 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


spread  the  lime  on  the  grass  the  year  preced- 
ing the  tillage  in  corn,  as  then  the  vegetation 
is  greatly  benefitted,  and  the  lime  has  full  time 
to  dissolve  in  considerable  proportion  and  im- 
pregnate the  soil.  Where  the  land  is  light 
or  sandy,  shallow  ploughing  is  frequently 
practised  and  much  less  labour  is  required  to 
prepare  the  ground  for  the  crop.  In  all  cases, 
however,  where  there  is  a  retentive  clay  below 
the  soil,  no  doubt  can  exist  of  the  propriety  of 
stirring  the  earth  as  deeply  as  practicable,  first 
by  the  common  plough,  and  next  by  the  sub- 
soil plough,  which  loosens  the  earth  or  clay 
below  the  furrow  run  by  the  common  plough, 
without  turning  it  up.  This  effectual  and  deep 
breaking  up  of  the  earth  allows  the  water  to 
penetrate  quickly  into  the  soil  charged  with 
all  its  fertilizing  gases  and  salts,  which  would 
otherwise  be  rapidly  dispersed  if  exposed  to 
the  open  atmosphere. 

Season  for  Ploughing. — With  regard  to  the 
best  tim#  for  ploughing,  this  must  depend  much 
upon  the  character  of  the  soil.  Late  fall  or 
winter  ploughing  has  been  thought  useful  in 
turning  up  and  exposing  to  perish,  the  grubs 
and  other  insects  which  have  retreated  below 
the  surface  for  winter  quarters ;  but  in  Penn- 
sylvania this  practice  is  now  generally  aban- 
doned in  favour  of  spring  ploughing. 

The  roller,  when  used,  must  be  drawn  in  the 
direction  of  the  furrows,  and  never  crosswise. 
Then  follows  the  drag-harrow,  in  the  same  di- 
rection, being  the  last  instrument  which,  on 
flushed  ground,  is  employed  preparatory  to 
planting.  The  spikes  of  this  implement  should 
never  be  set  so  deep  as  to  reach  and  drag  up 
the  sod,  an  observation  which  will  apply  to  all 
other  implements  called  in  requisition  during 
the  working  of  the  crop.  The  harrowing 
should  be  continued  until  the  surface  of  the 
inverted  sward  is  completely  broken  up  and 
pulverized. 

In  the  Middle  States,  it  is  a  very  general 
custom  to  prepare  the  ground  for  corn  by  a 
method  called  listing  or  double  furrowing. 
This  consists  of  ploughing  so  as  at  first  to  turn 
two  furrow-slices  together,  leaving  a  middle 
space  which  is  subsequently  ploughed  out  by 
turning  an  additional  furrow  on  each  side. 
This  places  the  ground  in  narrow  lands  or 
ridges,  consisting  of  four  furrow-slices  with 
deep,  intervening  trenches.  The  width  from 
the  middle  of  one  land  to  the  other  is  generally 
about  4  feet.  In  signing  out  for  planting,  a 
plough  is  run  across  these  narrow  lands,  so  as 
to  strike  out  rows  generally  4  feet  apart.  The 
plough  which  performs  this  cross-ploughing, 
is  immediately  followed  by  a  boy  who  drops  4, 
5,  or  7  grains  of  corn  directly  opposite  the 
middle  of  each  of  the  ridges,  and  the  operation 
of  planting  is  completed  by  a  man  who  covers 
the  seed  with  a  hoe. 

Farmers  generally  agree  that  com  should  be 
planted  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  weather 
will  permit,  and  some  of  the  best  are  not  even 
afraid  of  having  the  young  shoots  nipped  off 
by  frost.  The  usual  time  of  planting  in  the 
Floridas  is  early  in  March,  whilst  in  Massa- 
chusetts it  cannot  be  done  before  the  middle  of 
May, — facts  which  show  the  great  range  of 
climate  in  the  United  States. 
748 


Mr.  Lorain,  one  of  the  best  authorities  upon 
this  and  most  other  agricultural  subjects  upon 
which  he  has  treated,  says, — When  corn  is 
planted  very  early,  it  is  commonly  severely 
affected  by  frost ;  so  much  so,  that  many  of  the 
plants  are  cut  off  by  the  ground.  This  is  un- 
questionably an  injury  to  which  no  judicious 
farmer  would  expose  the  plant,  if  the  advan- 
tages obtained  by  very  early  planting  could  be 
had  by  planting  later.  Still  if  the  roots  re- 
main unhurt,  they  are  of  consequence  esta- 
blished, and  very  soon  repair  the  injury  done 
above  the  soil,  after  the  frost  ceases  to  act  on 
the  plants.  Of  course  they  take  the  lead,  and 
will  maintain  their  superiority  over  later  plant- 
ed corn.  The  ears  also  fill  and  ripen  much 
better  in  northerly  climates  from  this  practice. 

The  shooting  and  filling  of  them  take  place 
when  the  heat  of  the  sun  is  much  greater; 
and  when  less  cloudy,  cold,  dripping  weather 
prevails,  and  the  crop  is  nothing  like  so  liable 
to  be  injured  by  frost.  The  grounds  are  also 
sooner  ready  for  crops  sown  in  the  fall.  This 
mode  of  management  will  often  enable  the 
cultivator  to  grow  the  large  and  more  product- 
ive corns,  in  climates  where  they  have  been 
abandoned,  from  observing  that  they  did  not 
ripen  when  planted  at  the  usual  time. 

W'hen  I  introduced  the  large  yellow  gourd- 
seed  corn,  from  seed  procured  from  Hunting- 
don county,  every  farmer  here  ridiculed  the 
idea  of  attempting  to  grow  corn  of  this  descrip- 
tion. They  considered  the  soil  and  climate 
hostile  to  the  growth  even  of  the  smaller  corns, 
and  but  little  was  planted.  As  they  waited 
until  the  earth  was  warmed  before  they  plant- 
ed, the  crops  were  frequently  either  destroyed, 
or  greatly  injured  by  frost.     {Pract.  Husb.) 

In  Pennsylvania,  corn  generally  forms  the 
first  crop  of  the  regular  rotation,  the  sod  being 
ploughed  without  manure,  except  the  occa- 
sional addition  of  a  light  dressing  of  plaster 
of  Paris  (about  one  bushel  per  acre)  or  a  full 
coat  of  lime  (50  to  100  bushels  per  acre).  The 
plan  of  listing  and  ploughing  out,  so  common 
in  the  Southern  and  Middle  States  is  not  fol- 
lowed by  Pennsylvania  farmers,  who  flush  up 
the  ground  so  as  to  present  a  uniform  surface. 

Planting. — After  rolling,  and  then  harrowing 
well,  the  rows- are  struck  out  very  shallow,  and 
the  corn  is  planted  in  hills  3,  4,  4^,  or  5  feet 
apart,  or  dropped  in  rows  from  3  to  5  feet 
asunder,  so  as  to  leave  the  stalks,  when  thinned 
out,  about  1  or  2  feet  apart.  In  this  last  case 
the  tillage  has  of  course  to  be  conducted  in  the 
direction  of  the  rows,  and  never  cross-wise,  as 
is  practised  when  the  grain  is  in  hills  at  regu- 
lar distances.  The  distance  of  the  corn  hills 
or  plants  apart  must  be  regulated  by  the  kind 
of  corn  to  be  planted,  and  the  nature  of  the 
soil.  When  the  growth  is  high,  and  the  soil 
rich,  the  rows  should  be  farther  apart  than 
where  the  growth  is  low,  as  is  the  case  with 
the  Northern  varieties,  which  may  be  planted  3 
feel  apart. 

Whenever  manure  can  be  spared  for  the 
corn  crop,  it  will  always  make  a  good  return 
for  maize  cannot  well  be  too  highl}'^  manured. 
If  the  supply  be  sufficient,  it  may  be  spread 
broadcast  upon  the  land  previous  lo  plou^^hing- 
or,  what  is  better,  spread  upon  ground  that  has 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


been  flushed  up  in  the  autumn  or  winter,  and 
ihen  lightly  ploughed  in.  In  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States  where  the  summers  are  short,  a 
liberal  quantity  of  manure  is  generally  required 
to  assist  in  forcing  the  crop  to  early  maturity. 
When  not  enough  is  at  hand  to  afford  a  good 
dressing  broadcast,  it  is  advisable  to  apply  a 
portion  of  short  manure  to  each  hill  just  before 
planting.  Ashes  are  an  excellent  manure  for 
Indian  corn,  and  may  be  dropped  upon  the 
hills  in  the  proportion  of  a  gill  to  a  pint.  It  is 
common  to  make  a  mixture  of  these  with  lime 
and  plaster.  But  there  is  no  doubt  that  the 
main  benefit  of  the  mixture  proceeds  from  the 
live  ashes.  Almost  every  kind  of  artificial  ma- 
nure may  be  advantageously  applied  to  corn, 
either  in  the  hill  or  broadcast;  and  there  is  none 
perhaps  which  acts  so  promptly  upon  the  young 
plants  as  the  Poudreite  manufactured  in  New 
York  and  other  cities,  the  basis  of  which  fer- 
tilizer is  night-soil.  A  gill  of  this  to  the  hill 
furnishes  a  fair  dressing,  and  pushes  the  young 
corn  forward  with  such  rapidity  as  to  place  it 
very  soon  beyond  danger  from  the  grub,  cut- 
worm, and  other  insect  depredators,  by  which 
the  plants,  especially  those  on  light  and  ex- 
hausted soils,  suffer  such  destruction  during 
their  feeble  and  tardy  growth.  As  conducing 
to  the  same  end,  soaking  the  seed  for  24  or  36 
hours  in  solutions  of  saltpetre,  urine,  the  drain- 
ings  of  the  stables  and  cattle-yards,  &c.  &c., 
have  a  very  good  tendency.  To  protect  it  from 
the  depredations  of  insects,  birds,  and  vermin, 
it  is  often  coated  with  liquid  tar,  and  subse- 
quently rolled  in  ashes,  plaster,  lime,  or  salt- 
petre, which  last  is  considered  one  of  the  most 
convenient,  cheapest,  and  best  of  steeps.  Strong 
solutions  of  copperas,  blue  vitriol,  and  even 
corrosive  sublimate  and  arsenic,  are  sometimes 
used  for  the  same  purpose — which  last,  how- 
ever, is  only  soluble  in  water  by  the  addition  of 
potash,  or  some  other  alkali.  "  The  enemies  to 
be  combatted,"  says  Buel,  "are  the  wire-worm, 
brown  grub,  birds,  and  squirrels.  Of  these,  the 
first  and  two  last  prey  upon  the  kernels,  and 
against  these  tar  offers  a  complete  protection.  I 
soak  my  seed  12  to  20  honrs  in  hot  water,  in 
which  is  dissolved  a  few  ounces  of  crude  salt- 
petre, and  then  aild  (say  to  8  quarts  of  seed)  half 
a  pint  of  tar,  previously  warmed  and  diluted, 
with  a  quart  of  warm  water.  The  mass  is  well 
stirred,  the  corn  taken  out,  and  as  much  plas- 
ter added  as  will  adhere  to  the  grain.  This 
impregnates  and  partially  coats  the  seed  M'ith 
the  tar.  The  experience  of  years  will  warrant 
me  in  confidently  recommending  this  as  a  pro- 
tection for  the  seed." 

Number  of  p-ains  to  the  hill,  and  depth  of  plant- 
ing.— Where  there  is  reason  to  apprehend 
much  mischief  to  the  young  plants  from  black- 
birds, crows,  vermin,  and  insects,  it  is  always 
best  to  drop  from  4  to  7  grains  to  each  hill,  so 
that  some  2  or  3  may  have  a  chance  to  escape. 
An  old  quaint  couplet  lays  down  a  pretty  good 
(though  not  sufficiently  liberal)  rule  upon  this  | 
subject,  when  it  recommends  5  grains —  I 

"  One  fi>r  the  blackbird,  and  one  for  the  crow,  j 

One  for  the  ciil-wonii.  and  two  left  to  grow." 

The  deficiency  is  always  attempted  to  be  made 
up  by  replanting  other  grain,  but  the  product  of 
this  replant  is  too  often  feeble,  and  so  late  in 


I  maturing,  as  to  be  frequently  injured  b>  the 
frost  in  autumn.  A  much  better  plan  is  to  re 
plant  with  the  surplus  of  other  hills.  But  this 
requires  a  damp  and  very  favourable  condition 
of  the  weather.  As  to  the  proper  depth  of  cover- 
ing for  the  seed,  much  difference  of  opinion 
exists  ;  some  advocating  shallow  covering,  that 
is  to  say,  from  an  inch  to  2  or  2^  inches,  whilst 
others  recommend  from  3  to  6,  8,  and  even  10 
inches.  All  covering  which  exceeds  4  or  5 
inches  must,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  be 
considered  extravagant  and  detrimental.  Those 
in  favour  of  deep  covering  say  that  although 
the  corn  does  not  come  up  so  soon,  or  appear 
so  forward,  it  makes  a  much  better  growth 
later  in  the  season  ;  sends  its  roots  lower,  and 
of  course  is  less  affected  by  dry  weather, 
whilst  the  stalks  stand  much  better  against  the 
violence  of  storms,  by  which  they  are  often 
prostrated.  They  also  urge  as  additional  re- 
commendations, that  the  crows  and  blackbirds 
are  unable  to  pull  up  the  young  shoots,  so  as 
to  get  at  the  grain  from  which  it  springs,  whilst 
the  cut-worm  may  sever  the  sprout  in  the  com- 
mon situation  just  beneath  the  surface,  leaving 
enough  still  below  to  push  up  and  continue  the 
growih.     See  Drill. 

It  cannot  be  doubted,  that  where  the  mould 
is  of  a  light  texture,  moderately  deep  covering 
answers  best  as  a  general  rule.  To  cover 
deep  where  the  soil  is  a  heavy  clay  loam, 
would  either  cause  the  grain  to  rot,  prevent  it 
from  rising,  or  dispose  it  to  come  up  twisted, 
unless  opportunely  assisted  by  rain,  to  soften 
the  packed  covering. 

Tillage. — The  corn  once  planted,  its  tender 
blade  pushes  through  the  ground,  usually  in 
about  a  week  or  ten  days,  and  even  sooner 
when  the  grain  has  been  previously  soaked. 
Although  the  field  is  generally  left  at  rest  until 
the  plants  hav;  all  fairly  risen  above  ground 
before  the  tillage  of  the  crop  commences, 
some  begin  with  the  harrows  even  before  the 
corn  is  up.  The  first  objects  to  be  effected  are, 
to  keep  the  ground  stirred  and  free  from  grass 
and  weeds.  Where  danger  is  apprehended 
from  worms,  by  which  it  is  so  frequently  at- 
tacked, many  maintain  that  the  tillage  should 
not  commence  very  soon,  so  that  some  other 
vegetation  being  allowed  to  start  up,  the  young 
corn  will  thus  be  in  a  measure  spared;  where 
as,  if  the  ground  is  perfectly  clean,  the  worms, 
having  nothing  else  to  feed  upon,  will,  of 
course,  destroy  all  the  young  corn.  Instances 
may  occasionally  occur  where  this  practice 
may  prove  advantageous,  but  as  a  general 
rule,  the  young  corn  cannot  be  kept  too  clean, 
or  the  ground  about  it  too  loose. 

The  modes  of  tillage  vary  exceedingly,  not 
only  with  the  variations  in  soil  and  climate, 
but  with  the  views  of  different  persons  in  the 
same  locality.  On  stiff,  clay  soils,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  harrowing  just  before  the  proper 
time  for  the  corn  to  come  up,  favours  this  pro 
cess,  by  loosening  the  tenacious  soil,  especially 
where  a  timely  rain  does  not  occur  to  soften 
the  earth.  After  the  corn  appears,  the  harrow 
should  be  kept  going  until  the  ground  is  ren- 
dered perfectly  loose,  hands  following  with 
hoes  or  short  rakes  to  clear  the  corn  which 
may  be  covered.  Then  comes  the  plougli, 
J  II  2  749 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


irhich,  in  the  Southern  and  lower  portion  of 
the  Middle  Slates,  is  often  used  to  turn  a  fur- 
row from  the  young  corn.  This  operation  is 
termed  bar-ploughing,  because  the  bar  of  the 
plough  is  run  next  to  the  plants.  A  few  days 
after  this,  the  process  is  reversed,  and  the 
/Qould-board  being  turned  next  the  corn,  the 
-oose  earth  is  thrown  back  again.  Many  think 
that  this  second  ploughing,  called  moulding, 
ought  not  to  be  left  longer  than  a  iew  hours 
before  the  earth  should  be  turned  back  again. 
In  some  places  ploughs  are  still  used  for  this 
last  purpose  with  wooden  mould-boards,  as 
these  serve  best  to  push  the  loose  earth  before 
them,  crumbling  and  spreading  it  about  the 
plants  more  advantageously  than  ploughs  fur- 
nished with  smooth  and  polished  iron  mould- 
boards.  Some  use  narrow,  deep-cutting  ploughs, 
which  do  this  work  with  comparatively  little 
labour  to  the  horse,  and  render  the  soil  near 
the  corn  much  more  permeable  by  the  roots, 
and  at  the  same  time,  quickly  accessible  to  the 
rain  and  atmospheric  influences.  Whatever 
tends  to  favour  the  extension  of  the  roots 
downwards,  serves  to  place  the  crop  beyond 
the  vicissitudes  oi  the  season. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  plant  which  withstands 
the  effects  of  drought  so  well  as  Indian  corn, 
whilst  young ;  but  when  its  top  blades  begin 
to  be  heavy,  its  demands  for  moisture  increase 
so  as  to  cause  it  to  suffer  greatly  from  very 
dry  weather.  Heat  and  moisture  are  the  great 
promoters  of  its  luxuriant  growth. 

Mr.  Lorain's  comments  upon  the  custom  of 
bar-ploughing,  as  practised  by  a  distinguished 
Maryland  farmer  and  agricultural  writer,  are 
very  judicious.  Mr.  Boardly,  he  says,  plough- 
ed from  each  side  of  the  rows  of  the  plants  five 
inches  deep,  while  the  plants  were  young;  he 
then  let  them  rest  10  or  12  days  on  the  narrow 
ridges  formed  by  this  practice;  this  was  done, 
that  the  lateral  roots  should  take  their  direc- 
tion under  the  artificial  surface  of  the  ground 
formed  by  the  ploughshare.  If  the  corn-plant, 
when  scarcely  three  inches  high,  be  pulled  up 
by  the  roots  from  an  open  free  soil,  the  lateral 
roots  will  be  found  about  12  inches  long,  beside 
what  remains  in  the  ground ;  consequently 
these  roots  are  cutoff  on  each  side  of  the  rows, 
even  by  the  first  cultivation,  while  the  plant  is 
yet  very  young;  they  are  also  cut  off  by  every 
succeeding  cultivation.  If  the  furrows  made 
along  each  side  of  the  rows,  by  the  first  culti- 
vation, were  kept  continually  open,  and  the 
lateral  roots  of  the  plants  compelled  by  this 
means  to  cross  the  bottom  of  them,  a  little 
within  the  ground,  this  would  not  cause  the 
roots  to  grow  under  the  artificial  surface  of  the 
ground  formed  by  the  ploughshare.  Nature 
immediately  after  they  passed  the  open  fur- 
row, would  direct  them  up  into  the  soil  above, 
to  take  their  natural  range  through  it:  espe- 
cially in  that  part  of  it  where  the  most  genial 
heat  and  nutriment  obtained.  This  is  clearly 
seen  when  the  lateral  roots  of  trees  cross 
ditches,  or  even  deep  gullies,  at  the  bottom  of 
them,  a  little  within  the  ground.  They  imme- 
diately mount  upward  after  they  have  crossed 
the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  take  their  natural 
^n^wth  at  the  same  distance  from  the  surface 
750 


of  the  soil  as  would  have  happened  if  they 
had  met  with  no  obstacles  in  getting  into  it. 

The  roots  of  the  corn-plant  which  proceed 
downward  from  the  stalk,  also  those  that  take 
their  course  along  the  rows,  are  not  injured; 
neither  are  all  those  which  grow  the  deepest 
within  the  soil  in  the  intervals  cut  off.  There- 
fore as  the  corn-plant  is  very  hardy,  it  is  sup- 
ported by  these  roots,  until  nature  repairs  the 
damage  done  by  this  truly  inconsiderate  and 
barbarian  practice.  It  is  of  consequence  by 
no  means  wonderful,  that  Mr.  Bordley,  who 
was  in  many  respects  a  judicious  farmer, 
should  by  his  general  good  management  so  far 
counteract  the  evils  arising  from  this  savage 
practice,  as  to  grow,  under  all  the  disadvan- 
tages resulting  from  it,  crops  that  were  more 
than  equal  to  the  general  crops  of  his  neigh- 
bours. Reason,  however,  as  well  as  practice, 
determines  that  crops  obtained  in  this  way 
must  fall  very  far  short  of  those  that  may  be 
obtained  from  a  rational  system  of  manage- 
ment. It  is  also  obvious,  that  his  mode  of  cul- 
tivation is  well  calculated  to  cause  an  exten- 
sive, useless  waste  of  the  animal  and  vegetable 
matter  contained  in  the  soil.  Likewise  of  the 
farm-yard  manure,  if  that  be  applied  for  the 
growth  of  the  crop.  {Lwain^s  Pract.  Husb.) 

The  farmers  in  some  of  the  finest  districts  in 
Pennsylvania  have  of  late  years  made  much 
less  use  of  the  plough  in  cultivating  their  corn 
than  formerly.  They  now  generally  content 
themselves  with  moulding,  or  throwing  a  single 
furrow  on  each  side  of  the  young  plants,  leav- 
ing a  space  between  the  rows  of  from  3  to  3^ 
feet  untouched.  The  space  left,  is  afterwards 
worked  by  means  of  shovel-ploughs,  and  cul- 
tivators, which  completely  destroy  the  grass, 
and  loosen  the  ground.  This  mode  of  culture 
is  more  quickly  and  economically  performed 
than  the  old  plan  of  ploughing  the  whole  space 
between  the  rows,  and  leaving  the  surface  com- 
paratively level.  If  the  land  be  sufficiently 
loose  and  deeply  stirred,  there  is  little  use  in 
hilling  it.  It  is  sometimes  said  corn  requires 
hilling  to  support  it.  Nature  disproves  this 
argument,  by  the  stiff,  bracing  roots  thrown  out 
by  this  plant,  at  the  time  they  are  wanted,  and 
for  this  very  purpose.  On  wet  lands,  planting 
on  ridges  and  hilling  may  be  advisable,  but 
such  lands  should  never  be  chosen  for  corn. 
If  wet,  drain  thoroughly  in  the  first  place. 
Allow  no  weeds  to  grow  in  your  corn,  says  Buel, 
and  do  not  fear  to  stir  the  surface  in  dry  wea- 
ther. Every  weed  absorbs  nutriment  enough 
to  make  a  good  ear  of  corn,  and  if  any  remain 
after  the  plough  cannot  be  used,  pull  them  up, 
or  cut  them  with  the  hoe. 

Thinning  and  Succouring. — As  quickly  as  pos- 
sible after  it  is  ascertained  that  the  plants  are 
in  a  thrifty  condition,  and  no  longer  in  danger 
of  being  destroyed  by  the  cut-worm  and  other 
enemies,  they  are  thinned  out,  so  as  to  leave 
only  two  or  three  in  a  hill.  Or,  should  they 
stand  in  rows  or  drills,  the  plants  are  left  about 
one  or  two  feet  apart.  The  operation  of  suc- 
couring takes  place  some  time  after  thinning, 
and  consists  in  tearing  off  the  side-shoots  which 
often  sprout  from  the  bottom  of  the  main  stalk. 
It  is  beginning  to  be  thought  that  this  practice 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


's  much  more  hurtful  than  advantageous,  in- 
'uring  the  growth  and  developeraent  of  the 
corn,  and  lessening  the  produce  of  both  fodder 
and  grain.  The  truth  of  these  opinions  seem 
to  have  been  confirmed  by  actual  experiments. 
(See  Cultivatory  vol.  viii.  p.  90.) 

Many  farmers  deem  the  use  of  the  plough 
altogether  unnecessary  and  even  injurious,  and 
conduct  the  tillage  of  the  corn  crop  throughout 
first  with  the  drag-harrow,  and  successively 
with  the  cultivator,  horse-hoe,  and  hand-hoe. 
These  are  kept  going  very  constantly  until 
wheat  harvest,  after  which  further  culture  is 
suspended,  and  the  corn  crop,  in  common  phra- 
seology, is  said  to  be  laid  by.  The  plants  have 
now  attained  from  2  to  4  or  5  feet  in  height,  and 
thrown  out  their  side-shoots.  These  should  be 
left  to  extend  themselves  uninterruptedly  in  all 
directions,  which  they  will  do  with  great  rapi- 
dity provided  the  season  be  favourable  and  the 
soil  loose  and  in  good  tilth.  Should  they  be 
cat  or  torn  asunder  by  late  and  too  deep  work- 
ing, the  crop  must  suffer  serious  injury. 

The  progressive  growth  and  developement 
of  Indian  corn  are  well  described  by  Mr.  Lo- 
rain. 

The  roots  and  stem  of  maize,  he  says,  spring 
from  the  heart  of  the  grain ;  the  former  grows 
from  one  to  two  or  more  inches  long  before  the 
latter  appears,  and  progresses  so  very  rapidly, 
that  if  pulled  up  from  a  loose  soil,  they  will 
measure  about  12  inches  long  when  the  stem 
is  only  about  3  inches  high,  although  their 
finer  fibres  must  be  left  in  the  ground  by  this 
rude  operation. 

The  stem  protrudes  itself  through  the  soil  in 
the  form  of  a  bodkin,  and  is  composed  of  leaves 
rolled  very  compactly  together;  the  first  two 
leaves  expand  soon  after  the  plant  penetrates 
the  soil,  and  other  rolled  leaves  continue  to 
unfold  in  succession  from  the  crown  of  the 
plant,  until  the  tassel  appears  wrapped  up  in 
its  own  leaves:  these  also  gradually  spread 
themselves,  until  the  plant  is  fully  formed. 

The  leaves  increase  in  width  and  length 
from  the  ground  up  to  where  the  most  perfect 
ear  is  formed ;  after  this  they  decrease  in 
length  and  width,  more  rapidly  than  they  in- 
creased below,  and  this  decrease  is  regularly 
maintained  even  to  the  uppermost  leaf,  which 
forms  itself  a  little  below  the  tassel. 

One  leaf  grows  from  every  joint  in  the  stalk, 
but  ia  such  a  way  as  to  alternate  sides;  the 
first  formed  leaf,  and  after  this  every  leaf  in 
regular  succession,  clasps  the  stalk  closely, 
antil  it  approaches  near  to  the  under  side  of 
the  leaf  above ;  after  this  it  grows  out  from 
the  stalk,  and  a  beautiful  fan-like  appearance 
is  at  length  produced,  which  is  not  equalled 
by  any  other  annual  plant  cultivated  for  the 
value  of  its  fruit;  especially  when. the  large 
luxuriant  ears  display  at  their  points  elegant 
tufts  of  silky  fibres,  which  vary  in  colour  when 
mixtures  form  the  seed. 

The  height  of  this  plant  differs  much.  The 
smallest  variety  that  has  been  noticed  by  me 
did  not  seem  to  exceed  3  feet  in  height.  The 
largest  plants  which  I  have  seen  measured 
but  13  feet.  I  have,  however,  heard  of  some 
which  attained  the  height  of  17  feet.    These 


I  must  have  been  grown  on  a  very  rich,  as  weL 
as  a  very  deep  and  open,  free  soil. 

The  lateral  roots  of  maize  soon  spread 
through  the  whole  soil.  The  finger-roots,  as 
they  are  sometimes  called,  dip  much  deeper. 
I  have  seen  them  traced  two  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  soil  by  a  grubbing  hoe,  in  the 
hands  of  a  rugged  workman.  How  much  fur- 
ther their  finer  fibres  might  have  gone  was  not 
ascertained  by  me,  but  this  convinced  me  that 
the  roots  of  maize  were  capable  of  drawing 
very  much  moisture  and  some  nutriment  from 
a  much  greater  depth  than  most  of  the  plants 
cultivated  by  us.  Also,  that  these  manures 
and  smaller  roots  were  better  calculated  to 
effect  this  very  interesting  purpose  than  they 
would  have  been  if  nature  had  formed  the 
whole  of  them  into  one  single  taproot,  which 
extended  no  deeper.  This  is  one  cause,  among 
many  others,  why  maize  is  capable  of  contend- 
ing so  powerfully  with  poverty,  and  notwith- 
standing severe  and  continued  drought,  better 
than  most  other  cultivated  plants.  This  should 
convince  us  that  a  plant  capable  of  drawing 
such  important  supplies  from  beyond  the  range 
of  plants  in  general,  will  not  prove  peculiarly 
exhausting  if  it  be  treated  fairly,  by  having  as 
much  manure  or  as  good  a  soil  appropriated  for 
it  as  is  commonly  used  for  those  plants  which 
farmers  in  general  have  not  learned  to  grow 
on  poor  soils  without  manure. 

The  prop  roots  of  maize  appear  about,  or  a 
little  before,  the  tassels  may  be  seen.  They 
proceed  from  the  joint  at  or  near  the  surface 
of  the  soil.  They  are  numerous,  and  form  a 
circle  round  the  plant.  That  portion  of  them 
which  grows  outside  of  the  ground  is  hard  and 
woody,  similar  to  the  substance  which  forms 
the  outside  of  the  stalk ;  but  so  soon  as  they 
penetrate  the  soil  they  become  softer,  and 
spread  through  it  in  search  of  nutriment;  this 
is  just  at  the  time  the  plant  requires  most  of  it. 
The  tassel  and  the  top  of  the  plants  have  after 
this  to  attain  their  full  size,  and  the  farina  fe- 
cundans,  which  impregnates  the  grain,  is  to  be 
formed.  The  ears  now  begin  to  shoot,  and 
they  are  also  to  be  filled  and  perfected. 

The  prop  roots  are  exactly  calculated  to  sup- 
port the  weight  of  the  tassels  and  ears  during 
high  winds,  and  when  the  grounds  are  softened 
by  rain.  But  farmers  too  generally  thwart 
this  simple  but  wise  arrangement  of  nature, 
oy  hilling  or  ridging  up  the  plants.  These  in- 
considerate operations  not  only  cut  and  rend 
the  roots,  but  also  compel  the  plants  to  grow 
new  sets  of  prop  roots  from  the  joints  above. 
These  seldom  get  sufficiently  established  in 
time  to  support  the  weight  and  height  of  the 
tassels  and  ears ;  and  many  of  the  plants  are 
of  consequence  blown  down,  or  fall  by  their 
own  weight,  when  the  grounds  have  been  pre- 
viously much  softened  by  rain. 

Maize,  from  its  woody  texture  and  com 
manding  size,  might  (without  straining  th« 
point  very  far),  be  called  an  annual  bread 
tree,  producing  the  best  of  all  corns,  and  at  the 
same  time  crops  which  in  magnitude  far  ex- 
ceed that  of  any  other  grain.  Also  tops,  husks, 
and  leaves  which  can  be  readily  gathered,  and 
furnish  abundant  fodder  for  cattle,  equal  to  the 

751 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


02St  hay;  and  independent  of  this,  the  stalks 
supply  much  valuable  litter  for  the  cattle  yard. 

That  part  of  the  leaf  which  surrounds  the 
stalk,  and  adheres  so  closely  that  it  does  not 
permit  a  particle  of  moisture  to  escape,  is 
very  interesting.  The  peculiar  insertion  of  the 
leaf,  together  with  the  formation  of  that  part 
of  the  stalk  covered  by  it,  forms  a  cavity  for 
the  reception  of  the  rich  moisture,  which  is 
gathered  into  it  from  the  atmosphere  by  tlie 
leaves,  and  for  which  they  are  most  admirably 
formed. 

The  shoots  which  form  the  ear  commence 
at  the  joint  in  contact  with  the  ground.  If  the 
soil  be  rich  or  highly  manured,  they  issue  from 
every  joint  up  to  where  the  uppermost  ear  is 
formed  at  the  footstalk  of  the  tassel.  This 
last  or  highest  up  ear  is  almost  invariably  the 
largest,  and  ripens  soonest.  It  seldom  occurs 
that  more  than  two  ears  are  perfected  on  one 
stalk,  unless  the  clusters  of  plants  are  very 
distant  from  each  other,  and  but  few  plants 
stand  in  each  cluster.  If  the  plants  stand 
thick  on  the  ground,  but  one  ear  is  commonly 
perfected  by  each  of  them.  The  abortive  ear 
shoots  are  called  suckers.  These  are  com- 
monly removed,  so  far  as  the  farmer  considers 
conducive  to  the  welfare  of  his  crop.  This 
should  be  done  so  soon  as  they  are  large 
enough  to  be  pulled  off  effectually.  No  part 
of  them  should  be  left  adhering  to  the  stalk, 
or  they  will  grow  again  from  the  stub  left 
behind. 

If  this  operation  be  not  early  commenced 
and  frequently  repeated,  they  become  so  nu- 
merous and  large  in  fields  highly  manured, 
especially  if  the  plants  stand  thin  on  the  ground, 
that  they  are  greatly  injured;  not  only  from 
the  loss  of  nutriment,  but  also  from  the  many 
and  large  wounds  inflicted  by  the  removal  of 
them. 

After  careful  experiment  in  the  removal  of 
suckers,  I  now  pull  none  above  the  joint  in 
contact  with  the  ground;  and  would  not  re- 
move these  if  they  did  not  take  root  in  the  soil, 
and  by  this  means  become  powerful  exhaust- 
ers. Although  it  commonly  happens  that  seve- 
ral ear  shoots  above  this  point  prove  abortive, 
no  sucker  can  be  removed  without  injuring  the 
leaf  which  binds  it  to  the  stalk;  and  so  much 
that  it  is  commonly  rendered  altogether  inca- 
pable of  conducting  moisture.  If  it  be  not  so 
extensively  injured,  the  receptacle  formed  by 
it  is  so  much  deranged  by  this  operation,  that 
it  cannot  retain  the  slight  portion  which  may 
happen  to  be  conducted  by  the  leaf  into  it. 

I  am  still  further  encouraged  to  let  so  many 
of  these  abortive  ears  stand,  as  I  have  observed 
that  so  soon  as  nature  has  determined  the 
number  of  ears  which  existing  circumstances 
may  enable  her  to  fill,  all  her  efforts  are  direct- 
ed to  them,  and  the  abortive  ones  immediately 
dwindle,  and  finally  wither;  and,  for  aught  we 
know  to  the  contrary,  nature  may  cause  them 
to  part  with  the  rich  matters  they  had  pre- 
viously gathered,  and  apply  this  nutriment  to 
assist  in  maturing  her  favourites. 

I  trust  it  will  appear  from  what  has  been 
advanced,  that  in  place  of  abusing  this  invalua- 
ble plant  as  an  exhauster  of  the  soil,  we  should 
consider  it  the  pride  and  boast  of  American 
752 


husbandry,  as  mathematical  demonstration 
cannot  well  afford  stronger  proof  than  has 
been  produced  that  maize  gathers  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  nutriment  necessary  to  perfect  its 
fruit  from  the  atmosphere. 

Still,  it  should  be  remembered  that  suflicient 
nutriment,  provided  in  the  soil,  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  enable  it  to  do  this  very  exten- 
sively. Therefore,  "let  not  what  God  has 
joined  together,  by  man  be  put  asunder,"  by 
vain  philosophical  theories  and  sophistical 
reasonings.  Such  as,  that  the  chief  use  of  the 
soil  is  merely  to  support  the  plants  in  their 
proper  place,  or  that  cultivation  will  supersede 
the  necessity  of  keeping  the  soil  well  stored 
with  animal  and  vegetable  matter. 

The  middle  path  is  certainly  the  path  of  rea- 
son and  experience,  and  should  be  carefully 
and  diligently  pursued  by  the  practical  farmer, 
leaving  those  ideal  speculations  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  learned. 

There  is  no  corn  crop  grown  by  us  which  is 
so  certain  as  maize.  Its  diseases  are  few,  and 
most,  if  not  all  of  them,  proceed  from  an  incon- 
siderate cultivation.  I  do  not  recollect  ever  to 
have  seen  them  so  extensive  in  any  field  as  to 
do  any  very  material  injury  to  the  crop. 

It  withstands  drought  and  contends  with 
poverty  better  than  most  other  plants  cultivat- 
ed by  us,  either  for  the  value  of  their  grain  or 
roots.  It  may  be  advantageously  grown  in 
any  soil  fit  for  cultivation,  not  excepting  blow- 
ing sands  or  retentive  clay^ 

Still,  this  crop  fails  occasionally,  especially 
in  the  higher  latitudes,  or  situations  rendered 
cold  from  local  causes.  It  cannot  withstand 
grass  or  weeds,  and  is  too  generally  planted 
by  far  too  late.  The  seed  is  also  covered  too 
deep,  as  well  as  oppressed  with  clods,  stones, 
or  any  other  rubbish  near  at  hand,  which  pre- 
vents the  plant  from  coming  up.  Too  little 
seed  is  planted  to  secure  a  sufl5ciency  of  plants 
after  birds  and  quadrupeds  have  taken  that 
portion  which  even  proper  vigilance  cannot 
prevent.     {Practical  Husbandry.) 

Savitig  the  Fodder,  ^-c. — The  tops  of  the  Indian 
corn,  when  cut  off  for  fodder,  should  be  re- 
moved previous  to  s-tripping  the  blades  from 
the  stalks  below  the  ear,  which  last  operation 
should  be  delayed  till  near  the  time  of  maturity, 
indicated  by  some  dryness  of  the  leaves  and 
hardness  of  the  grain.  The  ears  are  gathered 
by  hand,  and  the  husks,  when  perfectly  dry, 
stript  off,  and,  together  with  the  stalks,  laid  by 
for  winter  fodder,  while  the  ears  are  conveyed 
to  the  granary.  The  green  stems  and  leaves 
abound  in  nutritious  matter  for  cattle,  and  in 
some  places  it  is  cultivated  solely  for  this 
purpose,  especially  after  early  crops  of  other 
vegetables ;  when  planted  for  this  object,  it 
should  be  sowed  very  thickly.  Corn,  when 
well  dried,  will  keep  good  for  several  years, 
and  preserve  its  capability  of  germination.  It 
is  eaten  in  various  manners  in  different  coun- 
tries, and  forms  a  wholesome  and  substantial 
aliment.  Domestic  animals  of  every  kind  are 
also  extremely  fond  of  it.  According  to  Count 
Rumford,  it  is,  next  to  wheat,  the  most  nutri- 
tious grain.  It  is  considered  as  too  stimulating 
for  the  common  food  of  cattle,  and  is  found  to 
be  more  stimulating  than  any  other  kind  of 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


bread  used  by  us.  The  fattening  and  invigo- 
ratinji  qualities  of  Indian  corn  make  it  the  best 
of  all  kinds  of  food  for  persons  exposed  to  hard 
labour  or  fatiguing  duty.  In  the  United  States, 
however,  the  preference  so  generally  bestowed 
by  the  labouring  classes  upon  Indian  corn,  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  them,  but  shared  alike 
by  rich  and  poor,  for  the  sweetness  of  the  bread, 
and  its  wholesome  and  superior  invigorating 
virtues.  Mixed  with  rye  meal,  it  forms  the 
common  brown  bread  of  New  England;  mixed 
with  water  alone,  it  makes  a  very  palatable 
species  of  extemporaneous  bread.  When 
pounded  in  a  mortar,  or  ground  very  coarse 
and  boiled,  it  forms  the  "hominy"  and  "grits" 
which  are  such  great  favourites  at  the  south ; 
and  the  fine  meal,  boiled  thick  in  water,  is  the 
"mush"  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  "hasty-pud- 
ding" of  the  Eastern  States.  In  the  form  of 
hulled  corn,  or  afl?/i/»,  the  whole  grains  furnish 
a  very  palatable,  although  rather  indigestible 
luxury.  Of  the  husks  a  beautiful  kind  of  writ- 
ing-paper has  been  manufactured  in  Italy;  and 
when  soaked  in  hot  water,  they  make  excellent 
mattrasses.  A  grayish  paper  may  be  made 
form  all  parts  of  the  plant. 

Enemies  and  Diseases. — The  bird,  insect,  and 
other  depredators  have  been  already  referred 
to  under  the  headofBiKDs,  Cut-worm,  Wire- 
woRM,  Plant-licb,  &c.  Amoug  the  diseases, 
the  chief  one  is  a  dark  or  blue-black  spungy 
growth,  which  sometimes  takes  the  place  of 
the  blighted  ear  of  corn.  The  mass  some- 
times grows  till  5  or  6  inches  in  diameter,  and 
is  to  be  considered  a  luxuriant  or  rank  species 
of  fungus.  As  the  species  of  parasitic  plants 
to  which  this  belongs  are  so  readily  destroyed 
by  applications  of  common  salt,  there  is  reason 
to  believe  that  soaking  the  seeds  well  in  salt- 
water previous  to  planting,  or  scattering  salt 
over  the  ground,  will  prevent  this  disease. 

In  all  the  fields  of  maize,  says  Mr.  Lorain, 
which  have  been  examined  by  me,  some  plants 
entirely  barren  have  been  seen  without  any 
apparent  cause. 

The  fungus  appears  to  be  principally  occa- 
sioned by  wounds  inflicted  during  cultivation. 
The  plants  commonly  bleed  from  these  wounds, 
and  a  fungus  is  formed.  This,  when  in  contact 
with  the  ear,  is  certain  destruction  to  it,  unless 
the  fungus  be  soon  seen  and  removed.  When 
it  is  formed  on  other  parts  of  the  plant,  it  fre- 
quently corrodes  them  so  much  that  they  are 
incapable  of  perfecting  their  fruit.  The  only 
remedy  known  to  me  is  speedy  removal,  and 
repeating  the  operation  if  the  fungus  should 
reappear  :  which  generally  occurs.  But  even 
this  tedious  remedy  is  too  often  found  insuffi- 
cient. It  is,  therefore,  far  better  not  to  create 
this  disease,  by  mangling  the  plants,  either  by 
the  savage  practice  of  harrowing  over  them, 
or  by  covering  them  with  clods,  stones,  or  sods, 
as  is  too  often  done  by  the  inconsiderate  mode 
of  hilling  or  ridging  them  up.  Although  many 
of  the  plants  wounded  by  these  injudicious  prac- 
tices survive  and  appear  to  flourish,  even  when 
the  fungus  is  not  removed,  still,  numbers  of 
them  become  too  debilitated  to  perfect  their  fruit. 

A  reddish  kind  of  rust  sometimes  appears 
on  the  leaves,  but  seldom  does  much  apparent 
injury  to  the  ears,  unless  it  becomes  extensive. 
93 


However,  the  same  rust  sometimes  firxes  upon 
the  stalks  and  causes  them  to  decay. 

When  this  is  near  the  ear,  or  the  decay  is 
extensive,  the  plant  produces  little  or  no  grain; 
but  I  have  never  seen  very  extensive  injury 
done  by  this  disease.  The  cause  of  it  is  un- 
known to  me.  It  may,  however,  proceed  from 
the  bruises  and  wounds  inflicted  by  an  incon- 
siderate cultivation ;  especially  as  the  tassel, 
wrapped  in  its  own  leaves,  may  be  seen  formed 
in  the  plant  when  it  is  quite  young.  Too  many 
farmers  think  the  health  and  vigour  of  the 
plants  are  greatly  promoted  by  harrowing  over 
them,  and  mangling  their  tops  while  they  are 
young.  Also,  by  catting  and  rending  the  roots 
of  them,  provided  this  be  not  done  after  the 
tassels  and  ear  shoots  appear;  than  which 
nothing  can  appear  more  preposterous.  {Prao 
tical  Husbandry.) 

It  sometimes  happens,  as  the  effect  of  storms, 
that  the  pollen  is  blown  or  beaten  off  the  tassel 
before  all  the  silk  has  protruded  from  the  ear. 
The  consequence  of  this  is  a  failure  in  the  de- 
velopement  of  grains  in  the  extremity  or  other 
portion  where  the  silk  was  deficient.  It  has 
been  urged,  among  the  reasons  for  letting 
the  suckers  grow,  that  being  later  in  tasseling 
and  less  exposed  to  high  winds,  they  assist  to 
promote  the  process  of  fecundation  after  the 
tassels  of  the  main  stalks  have  shed  their  pol- 
len. As  an  evidence  of  this,  it  has  been  stated 
that  the  earliest  ears  are  always  best  covered 
with  grain,  while  those  which  push  late  often 
exhibit  a  quarter  or  a  half  of  naked  cob, — the 
consequence  of  imperfect  impregnation. 

Harvesting  the  Cntp. — This  is  effected  very 
differently  in  different  portions  of  the  Union. 

1.  In  Pennsylvania,  and  the  Northern  and 
Eastern  States,  the  corn  is  usually  cut  off  at 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  as  soon  as  the  grain 
has  become  glazed,  or  hard  upon  the  outside, 
and  whilst  the  blades  are  still  green,  put  im- 
mediately into  shocks,  and  thus  left  some  time 
standing  in  the  field.  The  corn  after  becoming 
sufficiently  dry  is  husked  and  cribbed,  and  the 
stalks  with  all  the  attached  fodder  and  husks 
are  carted  home  and  stacked  for  provender. 

2.  In  the  Southern  and  Southerly  portions  of 
the  Middle  States,  the  corn  is  commonly  husked 
in  the  field,  the  stalks  having  previously  had 
the  blades  stripped  below  the  ears,  and  the 
tops  lopped  off  above  the  ears.  When,  there- 
fore, the  ear  has  been  separated,  the  naked 
stalk  is  left  standing  with  the  husk,  which  is 
soon  afterwards  eaten  off  by  cattle. 

There  are  some  other  modes  of  gathering 
corn  and   securing  Hhe  fodder,  but  those  de- 
scribed are  by  far  the  most  general.     In  some 
parts  of  the  fertile  Western  States,  where  the 
crops  are  extremely  luxuriant,  with  the  absence 
of  facilities  to  get  the  grain  to  market,  it  is 
common  to  husk  out  and  secure  enough  of  the 
corn  for  family  use  and  then  turn  the  hogs  and 
cattle  into  the  field  to  consume  the  remainder. 
By  the  first  of  these  methods  the  crop  may 
be  secured  before  the  autumnal  rains,  with  all 
its  valuable  fodder,  and  the  ground  cleared  in 
time  for  a  winter  crop  of  wheat  or  rye.    The 
\  juices  retained  by  the  stalk  are  sufficient  to 
j  nourish  the  corn  to  maturity.    By  the  second 
1  mode  there  is  always  a  loss  in  the  grain  pr«r- 

753 


MAIZE 

duct,  which  is  never  so  well  filled  after  the 
blades  and  tops  have  been  removed  in  a  green 
state.  This  has  been  proven  by  actual  experi- 
ments, for  the  particulars  of  which  see  Buefs 
Fannei's  Inslruclor;  also  Farmer's  Jiegister,  vol. 
ii.  p.  91 ;  and  Colmun's  Fourth  Report,  p.  16. 

All,  or  nearly  all  the  accounts  we  have  pub- 
lished of  great  products  of  Indian  corn,  agree, 
says  the  editor  of  the  Cultivator,  in  two  par- 
ticulars, viz. :  in  not  using  the  plough  in  the 
after  culture,  and  in  not  earthing,  or  but  slight- 
ly, the  hills.  These  results  go  to  demonstrate, 
that  the  entire  roots  are  essential  to  the  vigor 
of  the  crop ;  and  that  roots  to  enable  them  to 
perform  their  function  as  nature  designed, 
must  be  near  the  surface.  If  the  roots  are 
severed  with  the  plough,  in  dressing  the  crop, 
the  plants  are  deprived  of  a  portion  of  their 
nourishment;  and  if  they  are  buried  deep  by 
hilling,  the  plant  is  partially  exhausted  in 
throwing  out  a  new  set  near  the  surface,  where 
alone  they  can  perform  all  their  offices.  There 
is  another  material  advantage  in  this  mode  of 
cultivating  the  corn  crop — it  saves  a  vast  deal 
of  manual  labor. 

There  is  another  question  of  interest  to 
farmers,  which  relates  to  the  mode  of  harvest- 
ing the  crop,  that  is,  whether  it  is  best  to  top 
the  stalks,  cut  the  whole  at  the  ground  when 
the  grain  is  glazed,  or  cut  the  whole  when  the 
grain  has  fully  ripened.  Experiments  made 
by  Mr.  Clark,  of  Northampton,  one  of  the 
best  practical  farmers  of  Massachusetts,  and 
of  other  gentlemen,  show  that  the  grain 
suffers  a  diminution  of  six  or  eight  bushels  to 
the  acre,  by  topping  the  stalks ;  and  there 
seems  to  be  no  counterbalancing  benefit  to  the 
fodder,  unless  at  the  expense  of  carrying  the 
stalks  to  the  borders  of  the  field,  that  they  may 
be  secured  before  the  crop  is  gathered,  and 
before  they  become  blanched  and  half-ruined. 
And  it  is  no  protection  against  early  autumnal 
frosts,  but  rather  exposes  unripened  grain  to 
be  more  injured.  Hence  so  far  as  regards 
these  two  modes,  all  who  have  made  a  com- 
parison seem  to  concur  in  the  opinion,  that 
stripping  the  corn  of  its  tops  and  leaves  is  a 
bad  practice. 

The  blades  and  tops  of  corn,  if  well  cured, 
furnish  an  excellent  fodder  for  neat  cattle  and 
horses,  all  kinds  of  stock  being  very  fond  of 
them.  They  serve  greatly  to  increase  the 
amount  of  manure,  collected  in  the  cattle-yard. 
In  Pennsylvania,  in  the  Southern  parts  of 
which  the  crops  of  corn  are  very  luxuriant,  the 
fodder  is  generally  considered  worth  at  least 
$4  per  acre  as  provender.  A  distinguished 
farmer  in  Whitemarsh,  Montgomery  county, 
<)btained,  in  1842,  from  a  30  acre  field,  suffi- 
cient corn-fodder  to  winter  30  large  steers  in- 
tended for  spring  beef.  The  stalks  had  been 
cut  down  with  blades,  «fec.,  attached.  Corn  is 
occasionally  sown  broad-cast  for  the  purpose 
of  being  mown  down  as  green  provender  for 
milch  cows,  &c.,  for  which  it  answers  an  ad- 
mirable purpose.  It  has  been  also  cured  as 
hay,  and  on  some  highly  fertile  or  rich  spots 
has  yielded  6  tons  of  hay  or  fodder. 

Preserving  Corn. — Corn  is  usually  preserved 
\iy  storing  away  the   ears   cleared    from  the 
husks,  in  small  or  narrow  granaries  called 
754 


MAIZE. 

cribs,  the  sides  and  ends  of  which  are  con* 
structed  of  logs  or  laths,  so  as  to  leave  inter- 
stices of  about  an  inch,  or  rather  more,  per- 
mitting a  free  circulation  of  air.  If  the  cribs 
be  wider  than  8  or  10  feet,  the  middle  part  is 
very  apt  to  have  the  corn  injured,  especially 
when  put  away  before  becoming  thoroughly 
dry.  In  the  Southern  States,  corn  jn  the  crib 
is  often  seriously  injured  by  the  weevil  when 
attempts  are  made  to  keep  it  over  the  summer. 
But  in  the  Middle  and  Northern  States,  it  may 
be  preserved  for  many  years  on  the  cob.  In 
the  Louisiana  Register  it  is  stated  that  sprin- 
kling the  corn  whilst  housing,  with  a  solution 
of  common  salt  and  water  (in  the  proportion 
of  about  one  pint  of  salt  to  a  gallon  of  water), 
will  entirely  prevent  the  insect  from  breeding. 
The  ears  of  corn  are  there  frequently  stored 
up  in  the  husks,  which  are  rendered  much 
more  grateful  to  stock  by  the  addition  of  salt. 

There  is  perhaps  no  plant — certainly  none 
of  such  vigorous  growth, — which  will  so  long 
continue  highly  productive  when  raised  year 
after  year  upon  the  same  soil.  In  a  communi- 
cation to  the  Farmer^s  Register,  by  Mr.  Shul- 
tice,  of  Mathews  county,  Va.,  he  says  that  there 
are  in  the  county  named,  small  tracts  of  land 
which  have  been  in  corn,  year  after  year,  as 
far  back  as  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  in- 
habitants extends.  The  same  fields  planted  in 
corn  successively  for  more  than  half  a  century, 
at  present  yield  fair  crops.  Such  land,  when 
new  (judging  by  the  product  of  contiguous 
recently  cleared  land),  yielded  from  3  to  5 
barrels  per  acre.  At  present  the  product  is 
from  2  to  3  barrels,  with  the  occasional  appli- 
cation of  a  very  meagre  dressing  of  manure. 
With  a  fair  supply  of  manure,  the  land  can  be 
readily  made  to  yield  as  much  and  even  more 
than  it  did  when  first  brought  under  cultivar 
tion.  As,  in  the  tillage  of  this  crop,  all  vege- 
tation is  carefully  destroyed,  the  materials 
constituting  the  soil  or  mould  must  have  de- 
composed very  slowly  indeed.  Where  there 
is  much  sand  in  the  soil,  exhaustion  takes 
place  very  quickly ;  but  Indian  corn  can  be 
cultivated  on  land,  long  after  it  has  ceased  to 
afford  compensating  crops  of  any  other  grain. 

Expenses  of  Culture. — These  are  very  differ- 
ently estimated  in  different  parts  of  the  United 
States,  being  influenced  by  a  variety  of  local 
circumstances.  The  following  estimate  and 
accompanying  statement  is  from  Jonathan  Ro- 
berts, Esq.,  a  very  eminent  agriculturist  re- 
siding in  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania  : 

"An  estimate  of  the  expense  of  cultivating 
an  acre  of  maize  15  miles  northwest  of  Phila- 
delphia.    Soil,  a  calcareous  loam. 

Ploughing  sward  -        -        -        -        -        "^onrt 

Harrowing  to  proper  fineness  -  -  -  -  *  00 
Marking  out  and  planting  -  -  -  -  -  *  "" 
3  loads   (2-hor8e  wagon)  manure  to  dress  the 

hills 3  00 

Ilorse-hoeing,  at  least  three  times      -        -        -        *  00 
Moulding  and  horse-hoeing         -        -        -        -        •  00 

Harvesting  --------2  00 

Saving  fodder      -------J  00 

Rent  of  land 500 

Wear  of  gears  and  plough  -        .        -        -        -        l  00 

Amount  of  expense     -        -        -        -        -  #23  00 

Amount  of  crop  60  bushels,  at  60  cts.  per  bushel       36  00 

Fodder 4  00 

♦40  00 
Leaving  a  balance  in  favor  of  the  corn-crop  of      $17  00 


II 


MAIZE. 


"This  estimate,"  says  Mr.  R.,  "is  predicated 
on  practical  husbandry,  with  a  fair  season.  It 
is  not  found  economical,  in  a  regular  course  of 
cropping:,  to  manure  corn  land  beyond  hill 
dressinsr.  The  decomposing  sward  will  be 
found  equal  to  its  production.  The  renovating 
process  of  manure  should  be  applied  in  putting 
in  the  winter  crops  with  the  cultivated  grasses. 
Lime  should  not  be  immediately  applied  before 
sowing  the  winter  crops.  Its  application  ought 
to  follow  the  maize  in  the  fall,  or  at  the  latest 
in  the  following  spring.  By  such  a  course  of 
culture  ground  may  be  kept  improving  in  fer- 
tility. It  is  not  the  pan  of  practical  farming 
to  increase  the  crop  of  corn  by  an  expensive 
manuring;  it  must  be  taken  as  one  of  a  series 
of  ploughed  and  green  crops.  On  a  good  soil, 
and  with  a  good  season,  corn  may  run  to  70  and 
80  bushels  an  acre.  Good  management  will 
be  directed  to  produce  a  series  of  good  crops, 
with  an  improvement  of  soil." 

With  great  deference  to  an  agriculturist  of 
such  matured  experience,  we  cannot  help  ex- 
pressing an  opinion  that  some  of  the  items  in 
the  statement  are  rated  too  high,  and  that  it 
would  perhaps  be  more  correct  to  bring  down 
the  expenses  at  least  as  low  as  those  in  the  fol- 
lowing estimate  furnished  by  Judge  Buel.  This 
last,  it  must  be  remembered,  does  not  include 
manure,  so  much  more  of  which  is  usually  re- 
quired at  the  North,  as  greatly  to  increase  the 
expense  of  the  crop. 

Estimated  expense  of  cultivating  an  acre  of 
Indian  corn  in  the  State  of  New  York : 


One  ploughing  (Biippose  a  clover  lay)         -        -     f2  00 
Ilnrriiwing  niul  planting      -        -        -        -        -        2  00 

S  hneine«i,  4(]ay!i,  and  hnrBe-team       -        -        -        3  75 
Harvesting,  2  days       ------        1  50 

Cutting  and  harvesting  stalks     -        -        -        -        1  50 

Eenl -.--500 

$\5  75 


In  the  New  England  States  the  expenses  of 
culture  are  stated  to  exceed  these  calculations 
considerably.  Mr.  Colman,  in  his  Fourth 
Agricultural  Report  to  the  Legislature  of  Massa- 
dmsetts,  gives  the  following  estimates  for  dif- 
ferent townships. 

"In  Northfield,  the  estimate  was  made  as 
follows : 


Plooghing    -        -        - f4  00 

Draeging 100 

5  cnrds  of  manure  in  the  hill        -        -        -        -  12  00 

(letting  out  and  putting  in  the  hill      -        -        -  4  00 

Seed  corn  1  peck  planted  3i  feet  each  way         -  37i 

riantini; 134 

1st  hoeing  with  man  and  horse  -        -        -        -  2  34 

Sd  hoeing,  #1  17  ;  3d  hoeing,  f  1  17     -        -        -  2  34 

Gathering  and  busking        -        -        -        -        -  5  50 

#32  89i 

Fodder  equal  to  1  ton  of  hay       -        -        -        -    10  00 
to  bushels  of  corn,  at  #1      -        -        .        .        -    40  00 

#50  00 

Balance  in  favour  of  corn    -        -        -        -  #17  lOJ 


"Another  farmer  in  Northfield  gives  the  fol- 
lowing estimate  of  the  expense  of  an  acre  of 
com: 


MAIZE. 

Ploughing,  #2  50;   harrowing,  ^2  50;   holeing, 

50  cts. ^5  50 

6  bushels  leeched  ashes       -        -        -        ,        .  iq 

I  bushel  plaster  or  gypsum,  65  -  -  .  -  6$ 
Seed,  10  quarts,  $1  00;  putting  on  ashes  and 

plaster,  and  planting,  91  ~0     -        -        -        -  2  20 

Harrowing,  30;  weeding,  #1  50          -        -        -  1  80 

Cultivating  twice  in  a  row,  30  ;  2d  hoeing,  #1  10  1  40 

Cultivating,  15;  last  hoeing,  #1  20  -  -  -  135 
Gathering  and  husking,  #5  00 :  gathering  stalks, 

•1  50 6  50 

#19  50 

Corn  fodder  equal  to  1  Ion  of  hay  -  -  -  10  00 
Crop  50  bushels  corn,  at  #1  00  per  bushel  -        -      50  00 

#60  00 

Balance  in  favour  of  crop  -       -       .       .       -    #40  50 

"It  will  be  seen,"  says  Mr.  C,  "that  in  the 
above  case  nothing  has  been  charged  for  ma- 
nure, excepting  ashes  and  plaster.  The  com 
was  raised  after  a  stubble  clover-crop  ploughed 
in,  or  a  green  sward  inverted.  His  corn  usu- 
ally averages  70  bushels  per  acre. 

"The  estimate  of  the  expense  of  a  corn  crop 
in  Deerfield  is  thus  given  by  a  very  careful 
and  successful  cultivator: 

Ploughing,  #2  34  ;  harrowing,  50  ;  holeing,  $1  00,  #3  84 
4  cords  of  manure,  #8  00;    spreading  manure, 

#2  67 10  67 

Seed,  25;    planting,   #100;    weeding,    #2  00; 

horse,  25 3  50 

2d  hoeing,  #1  58;  3d  hoeing.  #1  58     -        -        -  3  16 

Topping  stalk:),  #1  00;  husking,  02  50        -        -  3  50 

Cutting  up  and  gathering  butts,  #1  00        -        -  1  00 

#25  67 
Interest  on  land  ----..-600 

Dr.  the  above  crop      -       -       -       -       -       -   #31  67 

Proceeds  of  crop: 
Fodder  equal  to  |  ton  of  hay,  #9  00     -        -        -        9  00 
50  bushels  corn    ---...        -50  00 

#59  00 

Balance  in  favour  of  corn   -        .       .       .        .   #27  33 

"In  Shelburn,the  estimate  of  the  cost  of  cul- 
tivating an  acre  of  corn  is  given  by  a  farmer, 
whose  skilful  and  successful  cultivation  needs 
no  commendation. 

Ploughing,  3  50;  20  loads  manure  (7  cords), 
#15  00       -        -        - #18  50 

Getting  out  and  spreading  manure  #4  50;  drag- 
ging or  harrowing,  #1  00  -        _        -        .        5  50 

Seed,  1  peck,  38;  manure  for  the  hills  (8  loads), 
#6  00 6  38 

Planting  and  manuring  in  the  hill,  #4  GO    -        -        4  00 

Weeding  and  hoeing,  #3  33;  2d  hoeing,  #2  33; 
3d  hoeing,  #2  33 799 

Cutting  and  shocking,  #2  00;  husking,  #4  00    -        6  00 

#48  27 

Proceeds  of  above  crop  : 
Fodder  eqnal  to  1|  ton  of  hay      -        -        -        -      12  50 
70  bushels  corn,  at  #1  00     -        -        .        .        -      70  00 

#82  50 
Balance  in  favour  of  corn    -----   #3423 

Several  other  estimates  of  the  expense  of 
cultivating  an  acre  of  Indian  corn,  varying 
from  14  to  25  dollars,  are  given  by  Mr.  C.  The 
above  statements  are  from  farmers  of  the 
highest  respectability  for  intelligence  and  ex- 
actness, and  may  be  relied  upon. 

755 


MAIZE. 


MAIZE. 


Mr.  Colman  says,  "that  on  the  hilly  portions 
of  Massachusetts  but  little  C(.rn  is  raised,  but 
that  it  makes  a  large  product  on  the  allu- 
vial lands  of  the  Deerfield  and  Connecticut. 
The  largest  amount  I  have  known  raised  in 
one  year,  by  one  individual,  has  been  1400 
bushels ;  but  many  farmers  produce  from  300 
to  1000  bushels.  The  judgment  of  some  of  the 
most  intelligent  farmers  in  Deerfield  places  the 
average  yield  at  35  bushels  to  the  acre,  which 
seems  to  be  underrated.  I  have,"  he  says, 
"known  upwards  of  90  bushels  grown  on  an 
acre  in  Deerfield  meadows;  an  average  yield 
of  more  than  70  bushels  on  several  acres  in 
Northfield ;  and  other  abundant  crops,  which 
show  at  least  what  might  be  obtained  by  good 
cultivation  ;  and  likewise  how  much  more  pro- 
fitable is  good  than  inferior  cultivation." 

It  is  evident  that  over  that  portion  of  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States  lying  east  of  the 
Mountains,  and  where  the  lands  have  been  so 
greatly  impoverished  by  long  and  scourging 
culture,  commencing  with  that  greatest  of  ex- 
hausters, tobacco,  the  expenses  per  acre  incur- 
red in  the  raising  of  corn  must  be  very  much 
lower  than  either  of  the  estimates  furnished  for 
Pennsylvania  and  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States.  Large  tracts  of  the  light  alluvial  districts 
forming  the  tide-water  sections  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland,  do  not  yield  an  average  per  acre 
exceeding  from  10  to  20  bushels;  and  still  corn 
continues  to  be  cultivated,  even  when  the  price 
is  below  50  cents  per  bushel.  Such  crops  would 
be  ruinous  to  the  farmer,  were  he  not  able  to 
cultivate  his  acres  of  light  unmanured  soil  at 
less  than  5  or  10  dollars  each.  In  the  rich 
prairies  of  the  West  it  is  stated  that  crops  of 
corn,  averaging  50  bushels  to  the  acre,  can  be 
raised  at  an  expense  of  only  3  or  4  dollars  per 
acre. 

Qualities  of  Corn. — Abundant  experience  has 
shown  that  the  fattening  qualities  of  Indian  corn 
are  exceedingly  great;  so  that  all  whocan  obtain 
this  grain  prefer  it  to  every  thing  else  for  fatten- 
ing stock,  all  kinds  of  which  eat  it  with  avidity 
and  advantage.  It  is  rich  in  oil  of  a  very  plea- 
sant and  useful  kind.  That  which  is  best 
known  is  obtained  in  the  process  of  distillation 
for  making  whisky  and  alcohol — a  great  per- 
version of  the  use  of  so  precious  a  grain.  The 
temperance  reform  is  correcting  this  evil,  and 
another  mode  of  manufacturing  the  oil  is  now 
in  great  vogue,  namely,  by  passing  the  grain 
through  the  secreting  organs  of  swine,  and 
thus  obtaining  it  in  the  modified  forms  of  lard 
and  lard-oil.  As  these  commodities  are  both 
in  great  request  at  home,  and  more  especially 
in  Europe,  a  new  and  rich  resource  is  thus 
opened  to  the  corn  planters  of  the  United 
Stales,  those  especially  who  cultivate  fertile 
Western  lands  too  far  from  grain-markets,  to 
be  able  to  dispose  of  their  crops  in  that  form. 

The  chemical  analysis  of  Indian  corn  has  been 
lately  effected  by  Dr.  Dana,  of  Massachusetts, 
and  published  in  the  Nov  England  Farmer.  For 
the  purposes  of  comparing  its  nutritive  and 
fattening  qualities  with  those  of  some  other  ar- 
ticles extensively  used  for  feeding  stock.  Dr. 
Dana  has  added  the  analyses  of  ruta-bagas 
and  potatoes.  The  great  difference  of  what 
756 


Dr.  Dana  calls  the  fat  forming  principles  in 
favour  of  corn,  will  excite  but  little  surprise  in 
those  who  have  witnessed  the  effects  of  the 
several  substances  on  animals,  and  will  go  far 
to  establish  the  position  assumed  by  Payen  and 
Boussingalt,  that  plants  are  valuable  for  giving 
fat  to  animals  only  in  proportion  to  the  vege- 
table oils  ready  formed  such  plants  contain. 


100  Ihi.  of 

Ruta  Baga. 

Potatoa. 

Cum. 

Fresh  dug. 

Fresh  dug. 

Containing    of  flesh 

formitig   principles: 

gluten,  albumen,&c. 

1-26 

1- 

207 

Fat   forming    princi- 

ples :   gum,  starch, 

sugar,  woody  fibre, 

oil,  &c.   -        -        - 

88-43 

13- 

24-34 

Water      - 

fl- 

85- 

72- 

Salts 

1-31 

1- 

1-39 

TMe  showing  the  average  prices  of  Indian  corn  in 
Philadelphia  market  for  each  quarter  of  the 
year,  and  also  the  annual  averages  for  thefoU 
loioing  years,  viz. : 


I  St  Quar. 

2d  Quar. 

3d  Quar. 

4th  Quar. 

Average  for 
the  year. 

1827 

56  cts. 

48i  cts. 

49  cts. 

48f  cts. 

51  Cts. 

1828 

43i 

39f 

39i 

49f 

43 

1829 

m 

47 

47 

461 

49 

1830 

m 

39 

48 

551 

45 

1831 

61 

67* 

66 

57 

63 

1832 

46| 

53f 

67 

71f 

60 

1833 

m 

67- 

64| 

611 

64 

1834 

49- 

57t 

67 

60 

59 

1835 

61- 

7H 

89 

86  . 

78 

1836 

7t;a 

82r 

91 

90 

85 

1837 

96 

91- 

101 

85i 

94 

1838 

72^ 

74 

85| 

801 

78 

1839 

86 

89 

78 

62f 

79 

1810 

531 

50i 

55 

53i 

52 

1841 

42^ 

52 

69i. 

601 

61 

1842 

62| 

551 
Avers 

521 
ige  for  16 

45 
years     - 

51 

63  cts. 

The  above  average  prices  are  for  Southern 
flat  yellow  corn,  commonly  called  gourdseed, 
which  generally  sells  for  about  3  cents  less  per 
bushel  than  the  Pennsylvania  round  or  flint 
corn,  which  last  is  heaviest  by  3  or  4  lbs.  to 
the  bushel.  The  amount  of  white  flat  corn 
sent  to  the  Philadelphia  market  is  inconsider- 
able, being  only  occasionally  in  demand  for 
shipment  to  Southern  ports,  where  the  white 
corn  is  preferred  for  bread,  whilst  in  the  North 
the  preference  is  always  given  to  yellow  corn 
meal.  White  flat  corn  usually  sells  about  3 
cents  lower  per  bushel  than  the  flat  yellow. 

Measuring  Corn,  Shelled  or  on  the  Ear. — The 
following  rule  for  this  purpose  is  given  by 
William  Murray,  Esq.  of  South  Carolina.  It 
is  not  to  be  regarded  as  strictly  accurate,  but 
an  approximation. 

Having  previously  levelled  the  corn  in  the 
house,  so  that  it  will  be  of  equal  depth  through- 
out, ascertain  the  length,  breadth,  and  depth  of 
the  bulk  ;  multiply  these  dimensions  together, 
and  their  products  by  4,  then  cut  off  one  figure 
from  the  right  of  this  last  product.  This  will 
give  so  many  bushels  and  a  decimal  of  a 
bushel  of  shelled  corn.  If  it  be  required  to 
find  the  quantity  of  ear  corn,  substitute  8  for 
4,  and  cut  off  one  figure  as  before. 

Example. — In  a  bulk  of  corn  in  the  ear,  mea- 
suring 12  feet  long,  11  feet  broad,  and  6  feet 
deep,  there  will  be  316  bushels  and  ^\  of  a 


MAIZE. 

bushel  of  shelled  corn,  or  633  bushels  and 
j^  of  ear  corn — as: 

12 

11 

132        * 
0 


792 
4 

316,8 


633,6 


The  decimal  4  is  used  when  the  object  is  to 
find  the  quantity  in  shelled  corn,  because  that 
decimal  is  half  of  the  decimal  8,  and  it  requires 
two  bushels  of  ear  corn  to  make  one  of  shelled 
corn.  In  using  these  rules  a  half  bushel  should 
be  added  for  every  hundred,  that  amount  of 
error  resulting  from  the  substitution  of  the  de- 
cimals. {Southern  Agriculhirist.) 

Distances  of  Planting. — The  following  table 
furnished  by  Judge  Buel,  exhibits  the  difference 
in  product  of  planting  and  serves  to  explain, 
in  part,  the  manner  in  which  large  crops  of 
this  grain  have  been  obtained.  It  is  assumed 
in  the  estimate,  that  each  stalk  produces  one 
ear  of  corn,  and  that  the  ears  average  one  gill 
of  shelled  grain.  This,  says  the  judge,  is  es- 
timating the  product  low ;  for  while  1  am  pen- 
ning this  (October),  I  find  that  my  largest  ears 
give  two  gills,  and  100  fair  ears  half  a  bushel 
of  shelled  corn.  The  calculation  is  also  pre- 
dicated upon  the  supposition  that  there  is  no 
deficiency  in  the  number  of  stalks,  a  contin- 
gency prettj  sure  on  my  method  of  planting. 

HilU.      buth    qt*. 

1.  An  acre  in  hills,  4  feet   apart  each 

wav,  will  pr.xliice  -        -        -  2722  42  16 

2.  The  same,  3  by  3  feet  -        -        -  4810  75  20 

3.  The  same,  3  hy  2^  feel       -        -        -  5808  93  28 

4.  The  same,  in  drills  at  3  feel,  plants 

6  stalks,  I  inch  apart  in  the  drills    -29,040    113    14 

5.  The  siinie  in  do.,  2  rows  in  a  drill,  6 

inched  apart,  and  the  plants  9 
inches,  and  3  feet  9  inches  from 
centre  of  drills,  thus        -        -        -    30,970    120    31 

6.  The  same  in  do.,  3  rows  in  a  drill,  as 

above,  3  feet  from  centre  of  drills  -    43,560    170      5 

The  fifth  mode  I  have  tried.  The  ground 
was  hitrhly  manured,  the  crop  twice  cleaned, 
and  the  entire  acre  gathered  and  weighed  ac- 
curately the  same  day.  The  product  in  ears 
was  103  baskets,  each  84  lbs.  nett,  and  65  lbs. 
over.  The  last  basket  was  shelled  and  mea- 
sured, whrch  showed  a  product  on  the  acre  of 
118  bushels  10  quarts.  I  gathered  at  the  rate 
of  more  than  100  bushels  the  acre  from  four 
rods  planted  in  the  third  method  last  summer, 
the  result  ascertained  in  the  most  accurate 
manner.  Corn  shrinks  about  20  per  cent, 
after  it  is  cribbed.  The  sixth  mode  is  the  one 
by  which  the  Messrs.  Pratt,  of  Madison  county, 
obtained  the  prodigious  crop  of  170  bushels 
per  acre,  the  largest  crop  on  record.  These 
gentlemen,  I  am  told,  are  of  opinion  that  the 
product  of  an  acre  may  be  increased  to  200 
bushels. 

I  am  told  the  Messrs.  Pratt,  above  alluded 
to,  used  seven  bushels  of  seed  to  the  acre,  the 
plants  being  subsequently  reduced  to  the  requi- 
site number.  {BueVs  Farmers*  Instructer.)  See 
also  Planter's  Tablk. 

According  to  the  mode  usually  adopted  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  other  States  in  which  the 
high-growing  varieties  of  corn  are  planted,  the 


MAIZE. 

cornhills  will  average  a  distance  of  4  by  S  feet, 
which  gives  3,600  hills  to  the  acre,  and  allowing 
2  stalks  to  each  hill,  this  makes  7,200  stalks  per 
acre.  In  more  northern  situations  where  they 
are  compelled  to  rely  upon  the  quick-maturing 
varieties,  the  lowness  of  the  stalks  admit  of 
closer  planting,  the  hills  averaging  about  3  by 
2^  feet  apart,  with  4  stalks  per  hill,  by  which 
means  an  acre  is  made  to  contain  5,808  hills, 
and  no  less  than  23,232  stalks — every  stalk,  in 
a  good  season  and  with  proper  tillage,  yielding 
a  good  ear. 

Sugar  from  Maize. — Every  one  familiar  with 
Indian  corn  in  its  growth,  must  have  observed 
the  very  great  sweetness  of  the  juice  exuding 
from  the  green  stalks,  when  broken  or  cut. 
This,  together  with  the  great  resemblance 
between  the  true  sugar-cane  and  maize,  af- 
forded ample  ground  for  believing  that  sugar 
could  be  procured  from  its  juice.  But  whether 
this  can  be  manufactured  with  profit,  still  re- 
mains to  be  fully  demonstrated.  Partial  ex- 
periments have  afforded  favourable  results, 
among  which  the  following  may  be  mentioned. 
The  juice  of  maize  contains  as  much,  if  not  a 
larger  proportion  of  sugar  than  that  of  the 
sugar-cane.  This  sugar  is  precisely  similar 
in  its  crystallizing  and  other  properties  to  that 
of  the  cane. 

The  attention  of  scientific  investigators  has 
for  some  years  been  directed  to  this  subject, 
and  it  has  been  regarded  as  an  important  dis- 
covery that  the  removal  of  the  shoots  forming 
the  rudiments  of  the  ears,  before  these  have 
had  time  to  fill,  has  caused  the  stalks  to  retain 
all  their  saccharine  matter  at  an  advanced 
stage  of  their  growth.  Very  recently  this  has 
been  contested.  At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
French  Academy,  the  distinguished  philoso- 
pher, M.  Biot,  read  the  report  of  a  committee, 
which  paper  contained  the  following  state- 
ments :  Of  the  corn  stalks  experimented  upon, 
the  ears  had  been  removed  from  one  portion, 
and  left  to  grow  on  others.  The  juice  obtained 
from  the  stalks  which  had  been  castrated, 
yielded  12  per  cent,  of  sugar;  that  expressed 
from  the  stalks  on  which  the  ears  had  been 
permitted  to  grow,  13  per  cent.  It  would 
hence  appear  that  the  results  of  former  experi- 
ments showing  great  apparent  advantages  from 
castration,  were  fallacious,  the  operation  being 
rather  injurious  than  otherwise.  The  rapidity 
with  which  maize  attains  its  growth,  admits  of 
its  being  removed  from  the  soil  sufficiently 
early  to  give  place  to  a  winter  crop.  This,  in 
France,  is  reckoned  among  the  great  advan- 
tages it  has  over  the  sugar-beet,  for  which  it  is 
proposed  as  a  substitute.  In  those  countries 
where  the  climate  is  not  sufficiently  warm  to 
bring  the  grain  of  Indian  corn  to  perfect  matu- 
rity, such  as  England  and  Nortl^ern  France,  n 
is  probable  that  the  plant  might  be  brought 
sufficiently  forward  to  admit  of  the  manufac- 
ture of  sugar.  Mr.  Webb,  of  Wilmington, 
Delaware,  has  made  some  interesting  experi- 
ments upon  this  subject,  which  are  highly 
worthy  of  attention.  (See  Farmer's  Cabinet, 
1842,  and  Ellsworth's  Report,  1843.)  The  re- 
sults afford  reasons  for  believing  that  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  maize  may  be  ad- 
vantageously carried  on  in  the  United  States, 
as  757 


MALE  FERN. 


MALT. 


especially  in  the  Western  States,  where  such 
luxuriant  crops  of  maize  can  be  raised  at  little 
expense. 

Estimates  founded  upon  chemical  analyses 
have  been  made  of  the  respective  quantities 
of  inorganic  (or  earthy)  and  organic  (atmo- 
spheric) matter  removed  from  an  acre  of 
ground.  The  following  statement  is  given  by 
Gould,  the  variety  of  corn  being  a  small  white 
flint. 


Inorganic    mattpr    derived 
from  the  soil,  viz. : 

Silicic  acid 210.14  lbs. 

Phospiiates  of"| 

limo,     mag-  (     g^  ^g  .. 

nesia,      and  1 

iron -' 

Potash 64.71  " 

Soda 63.00  " 

Lime 15.69  " 

Magnesia 9.69  " 

Clilorino  19.62  " 

Sulphuric  acid...    30.34  " 


607.77  lbs. 


Organic    (or     combustible 

matter)  derived  from  the 

atmoHphero.  viz. : 
Sugar  &  extract   2R92    lbs 
Starch,  in  kcr- ) 

nel  only | 

Reein,  ia    cob  ) 

only J 

Fibre 11,526 

Albumen 819 

Ca.sein 396 

Zoia,  in  kernel 

only 

Dextrine    and 

giini     

Oil,  in    kernel 

only 

Chlorophyl    & 

wax 

Glutinous 

matter 


5111 


15 


143 
1027      ' 
312 
171% 
420 


22,832  lbs. 

Of  the  508  lbs.  derived  from  the  soil,  only 
99  lbs.  went  into  the  kernel  or  seed. 

Of  the  22,832  lbs.  derived  from  the  atmo- 
sphere, 8,008  lbs.  went  into  the  grains. 

For  a  most  complete  account  of  corn,  its 
varieties,  culture,  &c.,  &c.,  see  Dr.  Salis- 
bury's Essay,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  New 
York  State  Agricultural  Society,  Vol.  VIII.  for 
1848. 

MALE  FERN.  See  Ferw. 
MALIC  ACID.  This  vegetable  acid  exists 
in  the  juices  of  many  fruits  and  plants,  alone, 
or  associated  with  the  citric,  tartaric,  and  oxalic 
acids;  and  occasionally  combined  with  potash 
or  lime.  Unripe  apples,  pears,  sloes,  barber- 
ries, the  berries  of  the  mountain-ash,  elder- 
berries, currants,  gooseberries,  strawberries, 
raspberries,  bilberries,  brambleberries,  whortle- 
berries, cherries,  ananas,  afford  malic  acid  ; 
the  house-leek  and  purslane  contain  the  malate 
of  lime. 

MALLOW  {Malva,  altered  from  the  Greek 
malache,  soft,  which  comes  from  malacho,  to 
soften,  in  allusion  to  the  emollient  qualities  of 
the  species).  This  is  an  extensive  genus  of 
plants,  some  of  the  species  of  which  are  very 
ornamental.  Among  the  most  interesting  oi 
the  hardy  herbaceous  species,  are  M.  moschata, 
M.  munroana,  and  M.  purpurata.  They  should 
be  planted  in  the  flower-border,  and  increased 
by  divisions  of  the  roots,  or  by  seeds.  The 
annual  species  should  be  sown  in  the  open 
ground;  but  few  of  these  are  worth  culti- 
vating. 

In  England,  the  indigenous  species  are  three 
in  number.  1.  Common  mallow  (M.  sylveslris) 
a  perennial  weed  which  is  very  common  about 
hedgerows,  roadsides,  and  in  cultivated  as  well 
as  waste  ground.  The  root  is  tapering,  branch- 
ing, whitish;  stem  upright,  much  branched 
widely  spreading,  1^  to  3  feet  high,  in  a  barren 
soil  recumbent;  leaves  deep-green,  soft,  an»d 
downy,  with  seven  acute  lobes;  foot-stalks 
7ob 


and  flower  stalks  hairy  ;  the  flowers,  which 
appear  from  May  to  August,  are  numerous,  of 
a  shiniiu,  purple,  veiny,  on  simple  aggregate 
stalks.  The  leaves  are  mucilaginous  and 
emollient,  like  the  marsh-mallow;  and  were 
formerly  often  used  in  food  to  prevent  costive- 
ness.  The  fruit  is  a  depressed  disk,  and  is 
called  by  the  country  people  "cheeses." 

2.  Dwarf  mallow  (M.  rotundifolia).  This 
species  is  also  very  common  in  waste  ground, 
and  by  footpaths  near  towns  and  villages.  It 
is  annual  in  habit;  has  a  tapering  root.  The 
whole  plant  is  smaller  than  the  last,  and  is 
quite  prostrate,  with  numerous  stems  scarcely 
branched.  Leaves  roundish,  heart-shaped, 
with  five,  often  seven,  shallow  lobes.  Flowers 
pale  lilac-coloured,  several  together  on  axillary 
hairy  stalks  ;  the  stalks  when  in  fruit  are  bent 
downwards. 

3.  Musk  mallow  (3f.  moschata).  This  is  a 
less  common  perennial  species,  found  in  the 
grassy  borders  of  fields,  &c.,  on  a  gravelly  soil. 
The  root  is  tough  and  woody;  the  herbage  is 
bright  green,  more  or  less  rough,  with  spread- 
ing, simple,  not  starry  hairs,  unaccompanied 
with  any  short,  dense,  woolly  pubescence,  and 
exhaling  a  musky  odour,  especially  in  hot  wea 
ther,  or  when  drawn  tightly  through  the  hand. 
Stems  about  two  feet  high,  leafy,  round,  but 
little  branched.  Radical  leaves  kidney-shaped, 
cut,  soon  withering  away;  the  rest  in  five  deep, 
pinnatifid,  jagged  segments.  The  flowers,  which 
appear  in  July  and  August,  are  on  long,  axillary, 
simple  stalks,  rose-coloured,  large  and  hand- 
some ;  calyx  hairy,  its  outer  leaves  linear-lan- 
ceolate. 

Five  North  American  species  of  the  genus 
Malva  are  described  by  Nuttall.  One  of  these, 
the  M.  coccinea,  is  very  beautiful,  with  scarlet 
flowers  disposed  in  dense  racemes,  and  is  found 
from  the  confluence  of  the  river  Platte  and 
Missouri,  often  extending  over  the  plains  in 
such  quantities  as  to  communicate  a  brilliant 
redness  to  thousands  of  acres.  Dr.  Darlington 
describes  two  species  as  found  in  Chester 
county,  Pennsylvania,  one  of  which  is  the 
woodland  or  wild  malva  (M.  sylvestris),  some- 
times called  high  mallows.  It  is  a  naturalized 
foreigner,  met  with  in  fields  and  waste  places, 
wltiiher  it  has  escaped  from  gardens.  The 
other  species  is  the  round-leaved  malva  (M. 
rotundifolia),  commonly  called  low  mallows, 
and  running  mallows.  This  is  common  in 
yards,  gardens,  and  grass-lots.  It  is  also  a 
foreigner,  and  so  extensively  naturalized  as  to 
be  somewhat  troublesome.  It  is  a  popular  in- 
gredient in  domestic  practice  for  poultices, 
drinks,  &c.  "The  M.  crispa  and  M.  moschata 
are  frequent  in  our  gardens,  and  the  latter  has 
in  a  few  instances  strayed  beyond  the  garden 
limits,  but  can  scarcely  be  considered  as  natu- 
ralized. Several  species  have  been  recently 
found  in  the  distant  territories  of  this  Repub- 
lic, and  in  British  America ;  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  genuine  malva  is  indigenous  in 
the  old  thirteen  states."     (Flor.  Cestrica.) 

MALLOW,  THE  MARSH.  See  Marsh- 
Mallow. 

MALT  (Fr.  mal;  Ital.  malto;  hzt.  maltum). 
The  term  malt  is  applied  to  designate  grain 
which,  being  steeped  in  water,  is  made  to  ger- 


MALT. 


minaie  to  a  certain  extent,  after  which  the  pro- 
cess is  checked  by  the  application  of  heat. 
This  evolves  the  saccharine  principle  of  the 
grain,  which  is  the  essence  of  malt.  Rice,  and  ; 
almost  every  species  of  grain,  has  been  used 
in  malting;  but  in  Europe,  and  especially  in 
England,  malt  is  prepared  almost  wholly  from 
barley.  It  is  the  principal  ingredient  in  the 
manufacture  of  beer  and  of  ardent  spirits. 

The  process  of  malting  is  performed  by 
steeping  any  quantity  of  good  barley  in  cold 
water  for  a  period  which  (as  regulated  by  law) 
must  not  be  less  than  forty  hours  ;  but  beyond 
that  period  the  steeping  may  be  continued  as 
long  as  it  is  thought  proper.  The  proportion 
of  water  imbibed  depends  partly  upon  the  bar- 
ley, and  partly  upon  the  length  of  time  that  it 
is  steeped;  but  the  result  of  a  good  many  trials 
proves  that  the  medium  increase  of  weight 
from  steeping  may  be  reckoned  at  47  lbs.  in 
every  100.  The  average  increase  of  bulk  is 
about  one-fifth.  After  the  grain  has  remained 
a  sufficient  time  in  steep,  the  water  is  drained 
off",  and  the  barley  thrown  out  of  the  cistern 
upon  the  malt  floor,  where  it  is  formed  into  a 
heap,  called  the  couch,  about  16  inches  deep. 
In  this  situation  it  is  allowed  to  remain  about 
26  hours.  It  is  then  turned  by  means  of  wooden 
shovels,  and  diminished  a  little  in  depth.  This 
turning  is  repeated  twice  a  day  or  oftener,  and 
the  grain  is  spread  thinner  and  thinner,  till  at 
last  its  depth  does  not  exceed  a  few  inches. 
The  temperature  which  it  is  wished  to  preserve 
by  these  frequent  turnings  varies  from  55°  to 
62°,  according  to  the  different  modes  of  malt- 
ing pursued.  Soon  after  the  rudiments  of  the 
future  stem,  called  acrospire  by  the  maltsters, 
has  appeared,  the  process  of  germination  is 
stopped  by  drying  the  malt  upon  a  kiln.  The 
temperature  at  first  does  not  exceed  90°,  but  it 
is  raised  very  slowly  up  to  140°,  or  higher  ac- 
cording to  circumstances. 

Barley,  by  being  converted  into  malt,  gene- 
rally increases  2  or  3  per  cent,  in  bulk,  and 
loses  at  an  average  about  20  per  cent,  in  weight, 
of  which  12  are  ascribed  to  kiln  drying,  and 
consist  of  water  which  the  barley  would  have 
lost  had  it  been  exposed  to  the  same  tempera- 
ture; so  that  the  real  loss  does  not  exceed  8 
per  cent. 

The  following  is  Dr.  Thomson's  analysis  of 
barley,  and  the  pale  malt  made  from  it. 

Barley.  Malt. 

Gluten 3  1 

Sugar 4  16 

Gum       -----        5  14 

Starch 88  69 


100 


100 


The  gluten  in  this  case  is  a  most  important 
component,  as  by  its  transformation,  when  the 
malt  is  converted  into  wort,  ferment  is  gene- 
rated ;  whilst  the  saccharine  matter,  which  is 
increased  fourfold,  is  the  origin  of  the  alcohol 
cf  the  beer.  Oxy«  n  is  appropriated  by  the 
gluten  at  the  same  time  that  the  transforma- 
tion of  the  sugar  is  going  on  ;  and  thus  carbo- 
nic acid  and  yeast  are  disengaged  simultane- 
ously. 

In  brewing  ale,  porter,  and  table  beer,  three 
different  kinds  of  malt  are  employed:  1,  pale 
tr  amber  malt,  which  vie.'ds  the  saccharine  or 


MALUS. 

fermentable  extract ;  2,  brown  or  blown  malt, 
which  is  not  fermentable,  but  is  used  to  impart 
flavour;  3,  roasted,  black,  or,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  patent  malt,  which  is  employed 
instead  of  burnt  sugar,  merely  as  a  colouring 
matter  for  porter. 

The  manufacture  of  malt  has  been  carried 
on  in  England  to  a  great  extent  from  a  very 
early  period ;  but  it  is  singular  that  notwith- 
standing the  products  obtained  from  it  have 
always  formed  the  principal  beverage  of  the 
great  bulk  of  the  people,  instead  of  increasing 
with  the  progressive  wealth  of  the  population 
of  the  country,  it  remained  nearly  stationary 
for  more  than  a  century,  and  it  is  only  within 
the  last  8  or  10  years  that  there  has  been  any 
increase  in  the  manufacture.  This  extraordi- 
nary result  is  most  probably  to  be  attributed  to 
the  introduction  and  universal  use  of  tea,  cof- 
fee, &c.,  and  to  the  heavy  duties  that  were  for- 
merly levied  on  beer  and  malt.  The  present 
duty  on  malt  from  barley  is  2s.  7d.  per  bushel, 
and  from  here  or  bigg,  2s.  The  quantity  of 
malt  charged  with  duty  in  the  United  King- 
dom during  the  three  years  ending  1838,  was 
41,814,811  bushels;  and  the  revenue  derived 
from  it  averaged  in  the  same  period  5,282,975/. 

The  following  is  the  quantity  of  malt  con- 
sumed by  the  brewers  of  London  and  its  vici- 
nity from  the  10th  of  October,  1830,  to  the  10th 
of  October,  1840. 


Qi«. 

Qn. 

1831 

622,549 

1836   - 

-   754,313 

1832 

604,477 

1837 

714,488 

1833 

578,588 

18.38 

742,597 

1834 

662,713 

1839 

750,176 

1835 

702,533 

1840 

776,219 

The  6  Geo.  4,  c.  107,  s.  52,  enacts  that  "  malt 
may  not  be  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom 
for  home  use  under  pain  of  forfeiture  ;  but  it 
may  be  warehoused  for  exportation."  The  im- 
portation of  malt  is,  however,  now  allowed 
under  very  high  duties,  fluctuating  with  the 
price  of  home  produce;  but  under  no  state  of 
the  market  can  any  addition  be  thus  made  to 
the  quantity  of  malt  in  this  country,  becaus.' 
barley  which  has  undergone  a  voyage  of  mucn 
length  is  unsuited  to  the  process  of  malting. 
See  Barlet,  Beek,  and  Brewing. 

MALT-DUST.  The  dust  or  substance  that 
separates  from  the  malt  in  the  act  of  drying,  or 
during  its  preparation.  It  is  sometimes  called 
malt-combs,  and  has  been  found  useful  as  a 
manure  or  a  top-dressing  when  sown  over  the 
cereal  grasses  in  the  early  spring  season. 

The  proper  quantity  of  this  dust  is,  if  top- 
dressed,  for  wheat,  36  to  40  bushels ;  if  drilled 
with  the  crop,  for  barley  and  turnips,  30  to  34 
bushels.  It  is  also  eminently  calculated  for 
grass  lands ;  and  if  applied  in  the  latter  pro- 
portion, it  will  produce  a  very  considerable 
increase  of  the  best  feed.  The  common  price 
at  most  malt-kilns  is  from  5s.  to  6s.  per  quar- 
ter. Malt-dust  is  also  in  some  places  employed 
in  the  feeding  of  milch  cows  and  pigs. 

MALUS  (Lat.  malum,  an  apple).  The  wild 
crab  {Pyrus  malus,  see  Crab-tree)  is  the  only 
apple  indigenous  to  England,  and  it  is  on  this 
stock  that  most  of  our  valuable  apples  have 
been  grafted  and  raised  by  the  ingenuity  of 
the  gardeners,  who  have,  by  sowing  the  seeds 
and  studying  the  soil,  so  improved  and  multi 

759 


MALUS. 


MALUS. 


plied  the  varieties  of  this  most  excellent  fruit,  | 
that  it  has  now  become  of  great  national  im-  j 
portauce,  afibrding  an  agreeable  and  whole-  j 
some  diet,  in  a  thousand  shapes,  to  all  classes,  j 
Leonard  Mascal  was  the  first  who  introduced  j 
the  common  or  cultivated  apple  into  England,  ] 
about  the  year  1525.  Some  have  fixed  a  date' 
rather  earlier.  The  varieties  of  the  apple  are 
now  80  numerous  that  the  London  Horticultu- 
ral Society's  catalogue  includes  more  tban 
1400.  The  apple,  like  most  other  hardy  trees, 
may  be  propagated  by  seeds,  cuttings,  suckers, 
layers,  or  engrafting ;  by  seeds  for  obtain- 
ing new  varieties,  and  by  the  other  modes 
for  extending  the  number  of  such  as  are  in 
esteem. 

Apples  are  wanted  for  many  different  pur- 
poses. The  foilowingxlTst,  furnished  by  Mr.  | 
Edward  Tatnall,  of  Wilmington,  Delaware, ' 
will  supply  most  of  the  requisitions  of  the 
Middle  States.  | 

1.  For  summer  culinary  iise,  even  before  they 
are  ripe:  Codlin,  Knowle's  Early,  Early  Red- 
Btreak,  Summer  Queen,  Early  Harvest.  j 

2.  For  summer  eating.  — Knowle's  Early,  Early 
Redstreak,  Early  Harvest,  Primate,  Early  | 
Strawberry,  Large  Yellow  Bough. 

3.  Autumn  cooking  and  baking.  —  Maiden's 
Blush,  Rebecca,  Fallowater,  Smokehouse. 

4.  For  autumn  table  use.  —  Rambo,  Maiden's 
Blush,  Fallowater,  Gravenstein,  Rebecca,  Por- 
ter, Jenneting, 

5.  Cider-making. — Smith's  Cider,  Waugh's 
Crab. 

6.  Winter  culinary  use. — Baldwin,  Rhode 
Island  Greening,  Roxbury  Russet,  Newtown 
Spitzenberg,  Roman  Stem. 

7.  Winter  table  use. — Northern  Spy,  Baldwin, 
R.  I.  Greening,  Roman  Stem,  Wine  Sap,  Ilub- 
bardston  Nonsuch. 

8.  Spring  culinary  use. — N  Y.  Golden  Russet. 
American  Pippin. 

9.  Spring  table  use. — Northern  Spy,  Rawl'a 
Janet,  Great  White  Vandervere  or  Indian 
Apple. 

10.  Early  summer  culinary  and  table  use  till  re- 
turn  of  new  crop. — American  Pippin,  English 
Russet. 

In  the  extensive  range  of  climate  and  soil 
embraced  in  the  U.  S.  it  would  be  impossible 
in  this  work  to  give  a  list  of  apples  adapted 
everywhere  to  general  cultivation.  The  kinds 
suited  to  northern  situations,  when  removed 
to  southern  latitudes,  are  found  to  be  essen- 
tially changed  in  their  appearance  and  quali- 
ties, and  often  so  deteriorated  as  to  be  worth- 
less, and  vice  versa.  Every  locality,  therefore, 
has  been  found  with  its  special  favorites,  and 
these  are  best  determined  by  consulting  the 
books  published  by  Kenrick,  Downing,  Thomas 
Warder,  and  others,  with  the  reports  of  Pomo- 
logical  societies  established  in  most  of  the 
States.  The  general  complaint  is  that  varie- 
ties successful  at  the  North,  ripen  so  early  in 
the  Southern  States,  that  they  fall  off"  and 
perish  before  winter.  A  fall  apple  in  the 
North  will  become  a  summer  apple  in  the 
South,  and  a  winter  apple  in  the  North  becomes 
a  fall  apple  in  the  South. 

Apples  maybe  regarded  equally,  ifnotmore, 
rich  in  fat-producing  products  than  potatoes. 
760 


They  are  also  richer  in  nitrogeneous  or  flesh- 
forming  elements.  Dr.  Salisbury,  in  the  New 
York  State  Agricultural  Reports,  Vol.  IX.  p. 
737,  gives  in  the  following  table  a  comparative 
view  of  the  organic  and  inorganic  constituents 
contained  in  the  ripe  apple,  pear,  peach, cherry, 
and  potato. 


' 

Apple. 

Pear. 

Peach. 

Cherry. 

Potato. 

Su"tir    

8.3 
3.1 
3.2 
1.4 
0.2 
0.3 
0.16 

6.45 
3.17 

3.80 
0.08 

16.48 
6.12 
1.86 
0.17 

18.12 
3.23 
1.12 

0.25 

Fibre  

5.8 

Gluten,  fat,  etc. 

Malic  acid 

03 

0.11 

1.80 

2.01 

Casein      .  ..  

Chlorophyl,  etc 

Starch     

0.08 

1.10 

97 

Lime 

4.19 
82.66 

0.03 
86.28 

0.01 

74.85 

Water 

74.87 

79.7 

Directions  for  the  culture  and  management 
of  apple-trees. 

Tne  seeds  or  pomace  of  the  apple  should  be 
sown  in  autumn  in  a  rich  soil.  When  the 
young  plants  appear  in  spring,  they  should  be 
carefully  thinned  to  the  distance  of  2  inches 
asunder,  and  kept  free  from  weeds  by  carefully 
hoeing  during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  or 
till  of  sufficient  size  to  be  removed. 

At  1  or  2  years  of  age  they  are  taken  up, 
their  tap-roots  shortened,  that  they  may  throw 
out  lateral  roots;  they  are  transferred  to  the 
nursery,  set  in  rows  about  4  feet  asunder,  and 
at  1  foot  distance  from  each  other  in  the  row, 
in  a  rich  and  loamy  soil.  In  the  summer  fol- 
lowing they  are  inoculated,  or  they  are  en- 
grafted or  inoculated  the  year  following. 

Size  and  age  for  transplantirig  to  the  orchard. — 
An  apple  tree,  when  finally  transplanted  to  the 
orchard,  ought  to  be  at  least  6  or  7  feet  high, 
with  branches  in  proportion,  and  full  2  years 
from  the  bud  or  graft,  and  thrifty.  Apple  trees 
under  this  size  belong  properly  only  to  the 
nursery. 

Distance. — The  distance  asunder  to  which 
apple  trees  should  be  finally  set,  when  trans- 
planted to  the  orchard,  depends  upon  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  and  the.  cultivation  to  be  subse- 
quently given.  If  the  soil  is  by  nature  extremely 
fertile,  40  feet  distance  may  be  allowed,  and 
even  45  and  50  feet  in  some  very  extraordinary 
situations ;  for  before  the  trees  become  old, 
they  will  completely  shade  the  ground.  If, 
however,  the  soil  is  not  very  extraordinary  by 
nature,  or  so  rendered  by  art,  this  distance 
would  be  too  great ;  for  the  trees  would  become 
old,  and  their  growth  would  be  finished,  before 
the  ground  could  be  covered  by  their  shadow: 
30  feet  only  may  therefore  be  allowed  in  land 
usually  denominated  of  good  quality,  and  but 
20  to  25  feet  in  land  of  ordinary  quality.  But 
where  economy  of  time,  of  land,  and  of  all 
things  else  is  consulted,  but  one-half  this  di.;- 
tance  will  answer  for  a  series  of  years. 

The  quincunx  mode  is  recommended  for 
close  arrangement,  and  short-lived  trees  may 
be  set  in  the  intervals. 

The  size  to  which  an  apple  tree  may  attain, 
and  the  ground  which  should  be  allotted  to  it, 
depend  also,  in  some  measure,  on  the  particu- 
lar variety  of  apple ;  some  sorts  being  well 


MALUS. 


known  to  attain  to  a  much  greater  size  than  ; 
that  of  others.  i 

The  period  of  growth,  or  the  duration  of  the  , 
apple   tree   is  comparatively  limited;   this  is  1 
suriiciently  evident  from  the  perishable  nature  j 
of  its  timber.     Those  species  of  trees  only  will 
continue   living   anc*   growing   for    centuries, 
whose   timber  may  oe   preserved   incorrupti- 
ble during  the  lapse  of  a  long  succession  of 
ages. 

Soil  and  situation. — A  rich  soil,  rather  moist 
than  dry,  is  that  adapted  to  the  apple  tree ;  but 
what  is  usually  termed  a  deep  pan  soil  is  to  be 
preferred. 

On  such  a  soil,  whether  on  the  plains,  or  in 
the  valley,  or  on  the  sides  and  summits  of  our 
great  hills,  which  almost  always  consist  of 
good  land,  and  even  in  situations  the  most  ex- 
posed, the  apple  tree  will  flourish. 

One  of  the  most  productive  apple-orchards  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Boston  is  situated  on 
the  north  and  north-west  sides  of  a  hill,  the  most 
exposed  to  cold  winds.  The  soil  of  great  hills 
is  generally  of  far  superior  quality  to  that  of 
the  plains;  and  it  is  a  very  mistaken  opinion, 
which  seems  adopted  by  some,  that  the  soil  of 
all  hills  must  of  necessity  be  dry  and  deficient 
in  moisture.  It  is  the  plains  and  the  knolls 
that  are  but  too  generally  thus  deficient,  not  the 
great  hills,  which  almost  always  abound  in 
springs. 

Land  half-covered  with  rocks,  and  incapable 
of  being  cultivated  with  the  plough,  is  in  some 
respects  admirably  suited  to  the  apple  tree ; 
for,  in  such  situations,  they  are  not  liable  to 
suffer  from  drought;  they  receive  nearly  a 
double  portion  of  moisture  from  the  rains  that 
fall,  and  a  greater  degree  of  heat  by  the  reflect- 
ed rays  of  the  sun. 

They  may  even  flourish  on  sandy  plains,  if, 
where  the  tree  is  to  be  placed,  an  excavation 
is  formed  6  or  8  feet  in  diameter,  and  3  or  4 
feet  in  depth,  and  half-filled  either  with  useless 
small  stones,  intermixed  with  rich  loam,  mud 
from  the  low  grounds,  clay,  or  gravelly  clay,  or 
mixtures  of  any  of  these  substances  with  a 
portion  of  manure,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
excavation  filled  to  the  surface  with  rich  loam. 

Manngcmentof  the  Land. — If  the  ground  intend- 
ed for  the  orchard  cannot  conveniently  be  kept 
wholly  in  a  state  of  cultivation  during  the  first 
years,  a  portion,  at  least,  ought  to  be. 

A  strip  of  land  to  each  row,  of  8  or  10  feet 
in  width,  well  manured,  may  be  kept  cultivated, 
and  the  vegetables  which  may  here  be  raised 
will  amply  repay  the  expense  and  labour  be- 
stowed during  the  first  4  or  5  years.  After  this, 
if  the  trees  have  grown  well,  as  they  probably 
must  have  done,  cultivation  at  a  distance  in  the 
intervals  becomes  even  more  important  than 
within  the  limited  distance  of  a  very  few  feet 
from  the  trunk  of  the  tree ;  for,  on  examination, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  small  fibres  or  sponge- 
lets,  by  which  alone  the  tree  derives  all  the 
nourishment  it  receives  from  the  earth,  are 
now  remote  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree ;  they 
are  now  to  be  found  seeking  pasture  beyond 
the  limits  of  its  shade,  and  it  becomes  neces- 
sary that  the  whole  ground  should  be  kept  in  a 
high  state  of  cultivation  for  the  4  or  5  follow- 
ing years.  After  this  period  it  may  occasion- 
Bo 


MALUS. 

ally  be  laid  to  grass,  which,  however,  should 
be  broken  up  at  frequent  intervals,  the  land 
being  always  kept  in  good  heart. 

Pruning. — If  the  branches  of  a  young  tree, 
issuing  at  and  above  the  requisite  height,  be 
made,  by  pruning,  to  diverge  from  the  trunk 
in  every  direction  above  the  horizontal,  and 
the  interior  of  these  be  carefully  kept  from 
any  interference  with  each  other  for  a  few 
years,  little  pruning  will  ever  afterwards  be 
necessary. 

Heavy  pruning  is  seldom  necessary  or  advi- 
sable; but  when,  as  in  the  case  of  grafting,  or 
of  heading  down  for  a  new  growth,  it  becomes 
unavoidable,  it  should  always  be  performed  in 
that  interval  between  the  time  the  frost  is 
coming  out  of  the  ground  in  spring,  and  the 
opening  of  the  leaf. 

For  that  moderate  pruning,  which  alone  is 
generally  needful,  June  and  July,  and  during 
the  longest  days  of  summer,  is  the  very  best 
time :  for  wounds  of  all  kinds  heal  admirably 
at  this  period,  the  wood  remaining  sound  and 
bright ;  and  even  a  tree  debarked  at  this  season 
recovers  a  new  bark  immediately. 

Trees  ought  not  to  be  pruned  in  February 
and  March,  at  the  time  the  frost  is  coming  out 
of  the  ground.  This  is  the  season  when  most 
trees,  and  particularly  the  vine  and  sugar- 
maple,  bleed  most  copiously  and  injuriously. 
It  causes  inveterate  canker ;  the  wounds  turn 
black,  and  the  bark,  for  perhaps  several  feet 
below,  becomes  equally  black,  and  perfectly 
dead,  in  consequence  of  the  bleeding. 

The  lower  side  limbs  of  young  trees  in  the 
nursery  should  be  gradually  shortened,  but  not 
suddenly  close  pruned ;  they  are  essential  for 
a  time  to  strengthen  the  trunk,  and  to  the 
upright  and  perfect  formation  of  the  tree. 

These  directions  are  particularly  applicable 
to  the  apple  tree.  I  would  only  add,  that  when 
these  directions  have  been  followed, — when 
large  and  profitable  crops  are  desired, — our 
cultivators  generally  avoid  robbing  their  trees 
unnecessarily  of  a  particle  of  bearing  wood. 

Those  limbs  which  interfere  with  other  limbs 
by  galling,  the  suckers,  and  dead  wood,  are 
alone  removed;  for  they  consider  that  the 
warmth  of  the  atmosphere  is  of  itself  sufficient 
in  our  climate  to  ripen  the  fruit,  without  at- 
tempting to  admit  the  sun  to  every  part  of  the 
tree. 

These  directions  are  to  be  more  especially 
observed  in  regard  to  old  trees  in  their  declin- 
ing years:  their  trunks  being  too  old  for  the 
reproduction  and  sustenance  of  a  crop  of  new 
and  fruitful  wood,  nothing  should  be  taken 
away  but  the  dead  branches  and  suckers.  We 
have  seen  old  trees,  whose  branches  were  an- 
nually loaded  with  fruit,  despoiled  at  once  by 
the  hand  of  man  of  half  their  bearing  wood, 
under  the  mistaken  idea  that  the  destruction  of 
the  one  half  of  the  tree  would  confer  a  benefit 
on  the  remainder,  and  render  it  still  more  pro- 
ductive. We  noticed,  however,  that  the  effect 
thus  produced  was  directly  the  reverse,  as  their 
total  destruction  usually  followed,  as  a  conse- 
quence, not  long  after. 

Insects. — See  Bo  reus.  Caterpillars,  Cttb- 
cuLio,  &c.  (Kenrick's  New  American  Orcliard> 
ist.) 

3s  2  761 


MALUS. 


MALUS. 


The  same  publication  maybe  referred  to  for 
a  descriptive  list  of  apples  in  cultivation  in  the 
United  States,  together  with  select  foreign  va- 
rieties. From  more  than  200  kinds,  our  limits 
will  only  admit  an  enumeration  of  a  list  recom- 
mended by  the  experienced  author,  as  a  mode- 
rate selection  of  the  kinds  best  known  and  most 
rained  at  the  present  day.  The  numbers  refer 
to  the  entire  catalogue. 

Summer  Apples. 

3.  Fenoni,  a  medium-sized,  red,  and  good 
early  apple. — July. 

4.  Early  Sweet  Bough.  Size  from  medium  to 
large,  form  oblong,  skin  yellow,  juicy,  and  fla- 
vour excellent. — Early  in  August. 

^  8.  Maiden's  Bliish,  or  Hawlhornden  of  the  Eng- 
lish. A  large  and  beautiful  fruit,  shape  flat- 
tened, colour  yellowish-white,  with  a  red  blush 
on  the  sunny  side.  An  excellent  apple  for  mar- 
ket, and  also  for  drying. — August  to  September. 
A  popular  fruit  in  the  Philadelphia  market. 

9.  Porter.  Size  medium,  oblong,  light-yellow, 
with  pale  blush  next  the  sun,  very  beautiful ; 
flavour  lively  and  pleasant;  productive  and 
profitable;  a  popular  fruit  in  the  Boston  mar- 
ket.    Origin,  Sherburne,  Massachusetts. 

10.  P^<m/;^-in Sit'fc/t«g of  NewEngland.  Large, 
round,  flattened,  and  colour  yellow-russet;  the 
flavour  sweet  and  excellent. — August  to  Oc- 
tober. 

11.  Red  Astracan.  An  eminently  beautiful 
and  very  early  apple,  of  medium  size,  nearly 
globular,  of  a  rich  crimson  colour,  covered 
with  a  fine  bloom.  Crisp,  juicy,  and  agreeable. 
The  tree  a  great  bearer,  originally  from  Russia. 

18.  Williams  Apple.  A  beautiful  fruit,  of  me- 
dium size  and  oblong  form ;  colour  deep-red ; 
flavour  lively  and  very  pleasant. — First  of  Au- 
gust.   A  native  of  Roxbury,  Massachusetts. 

AuTUMir  Apples. 

22.  Brabant  Belle  Fleur.  Very  large  and 
handsome ;  of  great  solidity ;  shape  rather  co- 
nical ;  slightly  ribbed ;  yellow  with  reddish 
stripes  ;  juicy  and  of  very  pleasant  flavour. 
A  fine  fruit. — November. 

28.  Emperor  Alexander.  The  fruit  of  this 
Russian  variety  is  very  large,  cordate,  narrow 
at  the  crown  ;  the  eye  is  in  a  broad,  deep  cavi- 
ty ;  colour  greenish-yellow,  slightly  streaked 
with  red  in  the  shade,  and  beautifully  marked 
and  streaked  with  bright 'red  and  orange  next 
the  sun.  Flesh  yellowish-white,  crisp,  tender, 
juicy,  rich,  and  of  aromatic  flavour.  Excel- 
lent for  dessert. — October.  Keeps  till  Christmas. 

30.  Fametm.  Pomme  de  Neige.  A  middle- 
sized  fruit;  shape  globular,  flattened;  skin  light 
green,  tinged  with  light-red  and  dark-red  streaks; 
deep  red  next  the  sun.  Flesh  white  as  snow 
and  ver}'^  tender;  juice  sweet,  with  a  musky 
perfume. — October.  A  most  beautiful  dessert 
fruit.     Origin  Canada. 

33.  Gruvenslein,  said  to  be  the  best  apple  in 
Germany.  Shape  large,  round,  and  angular  at 
the  crown ;  the  eye  sunk  in  a  broad,  deep, 
knotty  cavity;  colour  clear  straw  yellow,  with 
broken  stripes  of  red  next  the  sun.  Flesh  pale 
yellow,  crisp,  high  flavoured  and  delicious, 
ijood  for  dessert  and  cider.  Ripens  in  autumn 
and  keeps  till  winter. 
76S 


35.  Kenrick,  a  large  round  fruit,  pale  green, 
with  bright  red  next  the  sun.  Flesh  tender  and 
occasionally  stained  with  red.  A  native  of 
Newton,  Massachusetts. 

38.  Lyscom.  Sometimes  called  Osgood's  Fa- 
vourite ;  a  large  fruit,  striped  with  red ;  of  ex- 
cellent quality.  Origin  Worcester,  Massachu- 
setts.    Ripens  in  October. 

39.  Monmouth  Pippin.  A  superior,  large,  ami 
handsome  fall  fruit.  Productive  and  saleable, 
from  Monmouth,  New  Jersey. 

41.  Orange  Pippin,  called  also  Marigold  Pip- 
pin, and  Isle  of  Wight  Orange ;  in  size,  form, 
and  colour,  much  resembling  a  middle-sized 
orange.  Flavour  pleasant  and  good  for  desseru 
Excellent  for  cider.  In  Monmouth  county, 
New  Jersey,  considered  one  of  the  most  sale- 
able, profitable,  and  productive  of  all  fall 
apples. 

42.  Orange  Sweeting,  or  Golden  Sweet ;  rather 
large,  flattened  at  the  base  and  summit ;  colour 
yellow  or  orange ;  flesh  sweet  and  excellent.  In 
high  estimation  at  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
where  it  is  brought  from  Connecticut. — Sep- 
tember.    Keeps  till  December. 

44.  Red  Calville ;  of  medium  size,  and  very 
beautiful ;  form  conical ;  colour  fine  red,  and 
on  the  sunny  side,  deep  crimson  ;  flesh  stained 
with  red ;  of  a  vinous  sweet  taste,  and  perfume 
of  violets.  Ripens  in  September,  and  keeps 
till  winter. 

49.  Spice  Sweet.  Fruit  large,  very  sweet 
and  excellent.  Native  of  Taunton,  Massa- 
chusetts. Sometimes  called  Spurr  Apple. — 
September. 

53.  York  Russeting :  remarkably  large,  coni- 
cal-shaped, and  swollen  towards  the  base;  co- 
lour russet-yellow;  juicy,  subacid,  and  good. 
Valuable  for  market,  cooking,  &c. — October 
to  December. 

Winter  Apples. 

55.  ^sopus  Spitzcnberg,  large,  very  beautiful, 
and  excellent;  shape  oblong;  colour  deep  scar- 
let, deepening  to  dark  crimson  next  the  sun ; 
flesh  juicy  and  high-flavoured.  A  very  cele- 
brated fruit,  ripening  in  December,  and  keep- 
ing till  March.  The  Flushing  Spitzenberg  diflfers 
from  this  in  being  round  or  flat. 

56.  Baldwin.  This  capital  variety  is  a  native 
of  Massachusetts,  a  large,  beautiful,  and  fa- 
mous fruit.  Shape  round,  of  a  pale  colour  in 
the  shade,  and  fine  scarlet  crimson  on  the  sunny 
side ;  sometimes  entirely  red.  Flesh  white, 
juicy  and  sugary,  and  of  an  agreeable  acid 
flavour.  The  most  popular  winter  apple  in  the 
Boston  market.  Ripens  in  November,  and 
keeps  till  February  and  March. 

59.  Bellflower,  or  Yellow  Belljloiver.  A  large 
and  beautiful  fruit,  of  an  oblong  or  conical 
form,  colour  bright  yellow,  with  an  occasional 
blush  next  the  sun.  Rich  and  finely  flavour- 
ed ;  excellent  for  dessert  and  cooking,  and  a 
prime  favourite  in  the  Philadelphia  market. 
Ripens  in  October  and  November,  and  will 

'  keep  nearly  all   winter.      The  seeds   are    so 

I  loose  as  to  rattle  in  the  middle  when  shaken. 

'  62.  Blue  Pearmain.  A  large,  beautiful  apple, 
of  a  dark-red  colour,  covered  with  a  thick 
bloom. — October.     Keeps  till  January. 

I      63.  Chandler,  a  superior  variety  from  Con- 


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MALUS. 


aecticut,  wUere  it  is  deemed  one  of  the  best  of 
winter  fruits.  Large,  flat,  with  dull  red  stripes 
next  the  sun.  Eye  large  and  in  a  deep  cavity. 
Flavour  equal  to  the  Baldwin.  Keeps  till 
March. 

67.  Danvers  Winter  Sweety  or  Epses  Sweet. 
Large  and  beautiful.  Colour  bright  yellow, 
with  a  faint  blush  next  the  sun.  Fine  for  des- 
sert and  baking.  Native  of  Danvers,  and  a 
popular  market  fruit. 

74.  Golden  Ball.  Size  rather  above  medium ; 
ribbed  at  the  sides ;  colour  golden  yellow.  A 
very  popular  apple  in  Maine. 

81.  Lady  Jpplc,  or  Pomme  D'Api.  Very 
small  antl  beautiful.  Skin  bright  and  yellow, 
with  a  red  blush  on  the  sunny  side. — Novem- 
ber.    Keeps  till  March. 

85.  Minister.  Large,  oblong,  and  tapering 
towards  the  eye,  like  the  Bellflower,  with  large 
ribs,  or  calville-formed;  striped,  with  bright 
red  on  a  ground  of  pale  greenish-yellow.  Flesh 
yellow  and  high  flavoured.  Esteemed  by  Man- 
ning one  of  the  first  fruits  New  England  has 
ever  produced. — November  to  January.  Origin, 
Rowley,  Massachusetts. 

86.  Late  Pound  Sweet.  Very  large;  form  flat- 
tened.    Colour  pale  yellow.     Origin  Vermont. 

87.  Mda  Curia,  or  Malcarle,  Charles  Apple, 
Pomme  Ferivale.  One  of  the  most  famous  of 
fruits;  size  rather  large;  form  globular,  but 
slightly  ovate.  Eye  and  slender  stem  both  in- 
serted into  deep  cavities.  Skin  beautiful  waxen, 
a  little  marbled  with  faint  green  near  the  eye. 
Splendid  crimson 'colour  on  the  sunny  side. 
Flesh  white,  delicate  sweet,  with  rose  perfume. 
— September.  Keeps  till  spring.  In  Italy  this 
is  considered  the  best  of  all  apples  in  the  world. 
It  is  there  cultivated  extensively  for  exporta- 
tion. Near  Boston,  this  apple  proves  good  but 
not  excellent. 

88.  Monstrous  Pippin,  or  New  York  Gloria 
Mundi ;  a  fruit  of  uncommon  size.  Colour 
yellow  with  numerous  spots  of  white ;  eye 
very  deep.  Excellent  for  cooking.  Origin, 
Lon«r  Island. 

90.  Murphy.  A  large  and  splendid  fruit,  re- 
sembling in  appearance  the  Blue  Pearmain, 
but  more  oblong  and  rather  smaller.  Colour 
pale  red,  streaked  or  blotched  with  darker  red, 
and  covered  with  bloom.  Keeps  till  February. 
Origin, Salem,  Massachusetts. 

94.  Pownal  Spitzenbers;.  Origin,  Vermont. 
Resembles  the  ^Esopus  Spitzenberg,  and  high- 
ly esteemed. 

97.  RamsdeWs  Red  Pumpkin  Sweet ;  a  beauti- 
ful fruit;  over  medium  size  ;  round  or  oblong; 
colour  a  dark  and  beautiful  red,  covered  with 
a  dense  blue  bloom.  The  tree  a  prodigious 
bearer,  native  of  Connecticut.  Fruit  saleable 
and  profitable  :  keeps  till  January. 

98.  Rhode  Island  Grj^ening ;  Jersey  or  Bur- 
lington Greening ;  a  very  large  apple,  flattened 
at  both  ends ;  colour  yellowish  green  at  matu- 
rity, covered  with  dark  clouds  or  blotches ; 
ripens  in  September,  and  keeps  till  March.  A 
highly  esteemed  and  profitable  fruit.  Tree 
bears  abundantly  every  other  year,  and,  in 
the  New  England  States,  is  preferred  for  its 
productiveness  to  the  Green  Newtown  Pip- 
pin. 


99.  Rihston  Pippin,  also  called  Formosa  Pip- 
pin, and  Glory  of  York ;  in  England  esteemed 
very  highly  ;  medium  size,  and  globular  form; 
colour  pale  yellow,  mottled  with  red  next  the 
sun.     Keeps  till  February. 

100.  Red  Scck-No-Farther.  A  large  round 
fruit,  contracted  towards  the  summit;  colour 
fine  deep  red;  flavour  sweet  and  excellent. 
Keeps  till  March.     A  Rhode  Island  fruit. 

101.  Rox bury  Russet ing.  A  fine  old  native  of 
Massachusetts ;  fruit  large  and  of  a  slightly 
flattened  form  ;  colour,  brownish  yellow  russet, 
with  an  occasional  blush  next  the  sun ;  skin 
rough.  Keeps  well  till  June  and  July.  Raised 
in  great  quantities  near  Boston,  for  exporta 
tion,  «&c. 

102.  Scolloped  Gillyflower.  Said  by  good  judges 
to  far  excel  the  Black  Gillyflower,  and  much 
resembling  the  Cornish  variety. 

103.  Stvaar.  This  and  the  Jonathan  apple 
are  esteemed  equal,  at  least,  if  not  superior  to, 
the  Newtown  Pippins  and  Spitzenbergs.  Size, 
medium  ;  shape,  round ;  skin,  greenish  yellow, 
with  a  blush  next  the  sun,  and  thickly  dotted 
with  brown  specks,  intermixed  with  some  scar- 
let   Keeps  till  April. 

104.  White  Spitzenberg.  A  beautiful,  fair,  and 
fine  flavoured  fruit,  about  the  size  of  the  ^Eso- 
pus  Spitzenberg.  Keeps  all  winter,  and  sells 
well  in  the  Albany  market. 

105.  Wine  Apple,  or  Hay's  Apple  ;  also  called 
Large  Winter  Red,  and  Fine  Winter.  F/uit 
very  large  and  beautiful ;  colour,  bright  red  oa 
the  sunny  side,  with  sometimes  a  few  stripes 
and  blotches  of  yellow  on  the  shady  side. 
Flesh  rich  and  excellent.  Keeps  till  February 
and  March.  Tree  very  productive,  and  fruit 
very  saleable  in  the  Philadelphia  market. 

106.  Winter  Sweeting;  called  also  Seaver 
Sweeting,  and  Grafton  Sweeting.  Fruit  large, 
round  and  conical;  colour,  pale  yellow,  with  a 
blush  on  the  sunny  side.  Flesh  yellow,  sweet 
and  fine-flavoured.    Keeps  till  March. 

107.  Winter  White  Calville,  or  Bonnet  Carre. 
Fruit  large  and  of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  with 
a  bright  red  blush  on  the  sunny  side ;  form 
rather  flat  and  ribbed;  flesh  while,  tender,  and 
pleasant.    Keeps  till  March. 

108.  Yellow  Newtown  Pippin.  A  large  flat 
fruit,  of  a  bright  yellow  colour,  and  faint  blush 
next  the  sun.  Keeps  all  winter,  and  flourishes 
better  in  the  New  England  states  than  the 
Green  Variety. 

Celebbated    Cipeb   Apples   cultivated    ik 
THE  United  States. 

109.  Harrison,  or  Long  Stem.  A  native  of 
Essex,  New  Jersey.  The  celebrated  Newark 
cider  is  made  from  this  apple ;  one  tree  in  Es- 
sex county,  New  Jersey,  produced  100  bushels 
in  one  year,  and  10  bushels  make  a  barrel  of 
cider,  which  will  yield  14  quarts  of  brandy. 
The  fruit  is  below  the  medium  size,  rather 
long,  and  deeply  indented  at  the  ends ;  stem 
very  long ;  colour  yellow,  covered  with  black 
spots.  Fruit  ripens  1st  of  November.  Flesh 
yellow,  firm,  tough,  and  dry. 

110.  Taliafero.  A  Virginia  fruit,  about  the 
size  of  a  grape-shot,  or  from  1  to  2  inches  ic 
diameter;  colour  white,  streaked  with  red. 

763 


MALUS. 


MALUS. 


111.  Virginia  Crab,  or  Hewes's  Virginia  Crab. 
A  very  small  round  cider  apple,  of  a  small,  red 
colour,  with  streaks  of  pale  yellow. 

Varieties  for  Pbeseiivino  or  Oritamental 
purposes. 

112.  Red  Siberian  Crab.  Tree  a  profuse 
bearer,  and  very  beautiful  when  the  fruit  is  at 
maturity,  resembling  at  a  little  distance  a  plum 
or  cherry  tree ;  fruit  in  clusters  of  a  brignt 
scarlet  colour,  with  long  stems.  Much  used 
for  preserving. 

113.  Yellow  Siberian  Crab.  The  tree,  foliage, 
and  fruit  equally  beautiful  with  the  preceding 
kind,  which  it  even  excels  in  productiveness. 
The  little  apples  grow  in  clusters,  with  long 
stems  ;  colour  golden  yellow. 

114.  Chinese  Double  Flowering.  Tree  small, 
bearing  very  double  flowers  in  clusters,  re- 
sembling small  roses;  very  superb  when  in 
full  bloom.  Fruit  very  small,  but  tolerable  for 
eating. 

Southern  Apples. 

The  following  are  stated  to  be  some  of  the 
most  esteemed  varieties  of  native  apples  of 
Virginia.  Part  are  described  from  the  autho- 
rity of  Mr.  Coxe,  and  the  remainder  on  the 
authority  of  a  Virginian. 

115.  Beverley's  Red.  The  fruit  is  very  large, 
the  skin  smooth,  of  a  crimson  colour ;  flesh 
very  white,  of  a  pleasant  flavour.  A  winter 
fruit. 

116.  Cart  House,  or  Gilpin.  The  tree  is  a 
great  bearer.  The  fniit  hangs  long  on  the  tree 
in  autumn.  A  small  fruit,  rather  oblong ;  the 
skin  smooth,  of  a  deep  crimson  colour,  with 
occasional  yellow  stripes;  the  flesh  yellow, 
tender,  and  of  good  flavour.  A  native  of  Vir- 
ginia; highly  esteemed  for  its  excellence  as  a 
table  fruit  in  spring ;  also  a  good  cider  fruit. 
Coxe. 

117.  Curtis.  The  skin  is  smooth,  of  a  red 
colour ;  flesh  juicy  and  pleasant.  Ripe  middle 
to  end  of  August. 

118.  Gloucester  White.  The  tree  is  of  vigo- 
rous growth,  and  beautiful  form,  and  very  pro- 
ductive; the  fruit  of  medium  size,  its  form 
varying  from  flat  to  oblong ;  of  a  fine  yellow 
colour,  clouded  with  spots  of  black;  the  flesh 
yellow,  breaking,  juicy,  rich,  and  delicious.  It 
ripens  early  in  October;  and,  according  to  Mr. 
Coxe,  is  not  only  a  most  excellent  dessert  fruit, 
but  makes  exquisite  cider.  Much  cultivated 
aiid  of  high  reputation  in  the  lower  counties  of 
Virginia. 

119.  James  River,  or  Limber  Tung.  Branches 
drooping  or  pendent;  the  fruit  is  of  a  greenish 
colour,  with  a  blush  next  the  sun;  the  flesh 
very  ]uicy,  and  pleasant  at  maturity.  Winter. 
It  keeps  a  long  time. 

120.  Lippincot.  A  fruit  of  Maryland.  Very 
handsome,  and  striped ;  excellent ;  one  of  the 
best  of  all  early  apples.  July  and  August.  jR. 
Sinclair. 

121.  Pryor's  Red.  The  fruit  is  very  large; 
colour  brownish  red;  its  flesh  at  maturity 
juicy,  and  very  fine.    A  winter  fruit. 

122.  Rawle's  Janet,  or  Roc\iTimmon.  The  form 
is  globular,  flattened;  the  colour  red  and  green; 
f  esh  very  fragrant,  more  juicy,  and  of  superior 

7CA 


flavour  to  the  Newtown  Pippin,  and  keeps 
equally  as  well. 

123.  Royal  Pearmain.  Fruit  fine,  of  a  large 
size,  flattened ;  skin  rough,  of  a  fine  russet  colour, 
but  red  next  the  sun,  and  faintly  streaked  with 
russet ;  flesh  a  rich  yellow,  firm,  but  at  matu- 
rity, tender,  sweet,  and  of  very  sprightly  flavour. 
A  good  table  apple;  excellent  for  cider;  and 
highly  esteemed  by  the  planters  of  Virginia, 
near  Richmond,  from  whence  Mr.  Coxe  pro- 
cured it.  The  tree  bears  uniformly  and  abun- 
dantly. It  ripens  in  October,  and  will  keep  till 
February  or  March. 

124.  Striped  June  Apple.  The  fruit  is  as  fra- 
grant as  a  pine-apple  melon.  It  ripens  the  last 
of  June  and  beginning  of  July. 

125.  Virginia  Greening.  The  fruit  is  of  me- 
dium size;  colour  green,  striped  with  red; 
flavour  very  superior.    A  winter  fruit. 

Gathering  and  Preserving  the  Fruit, 

Various  theories  have  been  offered  for  pre- 
serving apples  in  a  sound  state  for  winter  use, 
or  for  distant  voyages.  Some  have  proposed 
gathering  the  fruit  before  it  is  ripe,  and  drying 
it  on  floors  before  it  is  put  up ;  this  has  been 
tried ;  the  apples  lose  their  sprightly  flavour, 
and  keep  no  better  than  by  some  less  trouble- 
some modes.  Dr.  Noah  Webster  has  recom- 
mended that  they  should  be  put  down  between 
layers  of  sand  which  has  been  dried  by  the 
heat  of  summer.  This  is  without  doubt  an  ex- 
cellent mode,  as  it  excludes  the  air,  and  ab- 
sorbs the  moisture,  and  must  be  useful  when 
apples  are  to  be  shipped  to  a  warm  climate. 

Chopped  straw  has  also  been  highly  recom- 
mended to  be  placed  between  the  layers  of 
fruit;  but  I  have  noticed  that  the  straw,  from 
the  perspiration  it  imbibes,  becomes  musty, 
and  may  probably  do  more  hurt  than  good. 
When  apples  are  to  be  exported,  it  has  been 
recommended  that  each  be  separately  wrapped 
in  coarse  paper,  in  the  manner  oranges  and 
lemons  are  usually  put  up.  This  is,  without 
doubt,  an  excellent  mode.  And  Mr.  Loudon 
has  recommended  that  apples  destined  for  Eu- 
rope should  be  packed  between  layers  of  grain. 
Packing  in  oats  is  said  to  succeed  very  well. 

Great  quantities  of  fine  winter  fruit  arc 
raised  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  and  put  up  for 
winter  use,  for  the  markets  and  for  exporta- 
tion. The  following  is  the  mode  almost  uni- 
versally adopted  by  the  most  experienced  ;  and 
by  this  mode  apples,  under  very  favourable 
circumstances,  are  frequently  preserved  in  a 
sound  state,  or  not  1  in  50  defective,  for  a  pe- 
riod of  7  or  8  months.  The  fruit  is  suffered  to 
hang  on  the  tree  to  as  late  a  period  as  possible 
in  October,  or  till  hard  frosts  have  loosened 
the  stalk,  and  they  are  in  imminent  danger  of 
being  blown  down  by^high  winds;  such  as 
have  already  fallen  are  carefully  gathered  and 
inspected,  and  the  best  are  put  up  for  early 
winter  use.  They  are  carefully  gathered  from 
the  tree  by  hand,  and  as  carefully  laid  in  bas- 
kets. New,  tight,  well-seasoned  flour-barrels, 
from  the  bakers',  are  usually  preferred:  the 
baskets,  being  filled,  are  cautiously  lowered 
into  the  barrels  and  reversed.  The  barrels, 
being  quite  filled,  are  gently  shaken,  and  the 
head  is  gently  pressed  down  to  its  place,  and 


MALUS. 


MALUS. 


■ecared.  It  is  observed  that  this  pressure 
never  causes  them  to  rot  next  the  head,  and  is 
necessary,  as  they  are  never  allowed  to  rattle 
in  rentioving.  No  soft  straw  or  shavings  are 
admitted  at  the  ends ;  it  causes  mustiness  and 
decay.  They  are  next  carefully  placed  in 
■wagons,  and  removed  on  the  bulge,  and  laid  in 
courses  in  a  cool,  airy  situation,  on  the  north 
side  of  buildings,  near  the  cellar,  protected  by 
a  covering  on  the  top,  of  boards,  so  placed  as 
to  defend  them  from  the  sun  and  rain,  while 
the  air  is  not  excluded  at  the  sides.  A  chill 
does  not  injure  them ;  it  is  no  disservice ;  but 
when  extreme  cold  weather  comes  on,  and 
they  are  in  imminent  danger  of  being  frozen, 
whether  by  night  or  day,  they  are  carefully 
rolled  into  a  cool,  airVf  dry  cellar,  with  open- 
ings on  the  north  side,  that  the  cold  air  may 
have  free  access ;  they  are  laid  in  tiers,  and 
the  cellar  is  in  due  time  closed  and  rendered 
secure  from  frost.  The  barrels  are  never 
tumbled  or  placed  on  the  head.  Apples  keep 
best  when  grown  in  dry  seasons,  and  on  dry 
soils.  If  fruit  is  gathered  late,  and  according 
to  tlie  above  directions,  repacking  is  unneces- 
sary ;  it  is  even  ruinous,  and  should  on  no  ac- 
count be  practised  till  the  barrel  is  opened  for 
use.    It  has  been  fully  tried. 

When  apples  are  to  be  exported,  Mr.  Cob- 
bett  has  recommended  that  '  they  should,  if 
possible,  be  carried  on  deck;  otherwise  be- 
tween decks.*  Between  decks  is  the  place, 
and  in  the  most  dry,  cool,  and  airy  parL — 
(Kenrick.) 

IxsECTS  INJURIOUS  TO  Trees  axd  Fruit. 

Among  the  insects  that  have  been  brought 
to  America  with  other  productions  of  Europe, 
may  be  mentioned  the  Jpple-worm,  as  it  is  com- 
monly called,  which  has  become  naturalized 
wherever  the  apple  tree  has  been  introduced. 
This  mischievous  creature  has  been  sometimes 
mistaken  for  the  plum-weevil,  from  which, 
however,  it  may  be  easily  distinguished  by  its 
shape,  habits,  and  transformations.  Although 
the  plum-weevil  prefers  stone-fruit,  it  is  some- 
times met  with  in  apples.  On  the  other  hand. 
Dr.  Harris  says  he  has  never  known  the  apple- 
worm  to  be  found  in  plums.  It  is,  he  observes, 
not  a  grub,  but  a  caterpillar,  belonging  to  the 
Tortrix  tribe,  and  in  due  time  is  changed  to  a 
moth,  commonly  called  the  Codlingmoth,  or  fruit- 
moth  of  the  apple.  An  anonymous  writer,  in 
the  Entomological  Magazine  of  London,  has  well 
remarked  that  this  moth  "is  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  beautiful  tribe  to  which  it  belongs;  yet, 
from  its  habits  not  being  krown,  it  is  seldom 
seen  in  the  moth  state;  and  ♦he  apple-grower 
knows  no  more  than  the  mati  in  the  moon  to 
what  cause  he  is  indebted  for  his  basketfuls  of 
worm-eaten  windfalls  in  the  stillest  weather." 

Some  interesting  facts  collected  by  Dr.  Har- 
ris, serving  to  establish  the  difference  between 
the  plum-weevil  and  apple-worm  {codling  cater- 
pillar),  will  be  found  under  the  head  of  Plum- 
weevil. 

The  apple-worm  has  been  long  known  in 
Europe,  and  its  history  has  been  written  by- 
some  of  the  ablest  naturalists.  Accounts  of  it 
have  alsc  been  furnished  in  the  New  England 
Farmer  and  other  good  American  periodicals. 


The  apple-worm  moths  may  be  found  in  the 
early  part  of  summer,  about  the  time  of  the 
first  ripening  of  the  fruit.  They  are  sometimes 
seen  in  houses  in  the  evening,  trying  to  get 
through  the  windows  into  the  open  air,  having 
been  brought  in  with  fruit  while  they  were  in 
the  caterpillar  state.  Their  fore-wings,  when 
seen  at  a  distance,  have  somewhat  the  appear- 
ance of  brown  watered  silk ;  when  closely  exa- 
mined, they  will  be  found  to  be  crossed  by  nu- 
merous gray  and  brown  lines,  scalloped  like 
the  plumage  of  a  bird  ;  and  near  the  hind  angle 
there  is  a  large,  oval,  dark-brown  spot,  the 
edges  of  \vhich  are  of  a  bright  copper  colour. 
The  head  and  thorax  are  brown,  mingled  with 
gray,  and  the  hind-wings  and  abdomen  are 
light  yellowish-brown,  with  the  lustre  of  satin. 
Its  wings  expand  three-quarters  of  an  inch. 
This  insect  is  readily  distinguished  from  other 
moths  by  the  large,  oval,  brown  spot,  edged 
with  copper  colour,  on  the  hinder  margin  of 
each  of  the  fore-wings.  During  the  latter  part 
of  June  and  the  month  of  July,  these  fruit-moths 
fly  about  apple  trees  every  evening,  and  lay 
their  eggs  on  the  young  fruit.  They  do  not 
puncture  the  apples,  but  they  drop  their  eggs, 
one  by  one,  in  the  eye  or  hollow  at  the  blossom- 
end  of  the  fruit,  where  the  skin  is  most  tender. 
They  seem  also  to  seek  for  early  fruit  rather 
than  for  the  late  kinds,  which  we  find  are  not 
so  apt  to  be  wormy  as  the  thin-skinned  summer 
apples.  The  eggs  begin  to  hatch  in  a  few  days 
after  they  are  laid,  and  the  little  apple-worms 
or  caterpillars  produced  from  them  immediately 
burrow  into  the  apples,  making  their  way  gra- 
dually from  the  eye  towards  the  core.  Com- 
monly only  one  worm  will  be  found  in  the 
same  apple;  and  it  is  so  small  at  first,  that  its 
presence  can  only  be  detected  by  the  brownish 
powder  it  throws  out  in  eating  its  way  through 
the  eye.  The  body  of  the  young  insect  is  of  a 
whitish  colour;  its  head  is  heart-shaped  and 
black ;  the  top  of  the  first  ring  or  collar  and  of 
the  last  ring  is  also  black ;  and  there  are  eight 
little  blackish  dots  or  warts,  arranged  in  pairs, 
on  each  of  the  other  rings.  As  it  grows  older, 
its  body  becomes  flesh-coloured ;  its  head,  the 
collar,  and  the  top  of  the  last  ring,  turn  brown, 
and  the  dots  are  no  longer  to  be  seen.  In  the 
course  of  three  weeks,  or  a  little  more,  it  comes 
to  its  full  size,  and  meanwhile  has  burrowed  to 
the  core  and  through  the  apple  in  various  di- 
rections. To  get  rid  of  the  refuse  fragments 
of  its  food,  it  gnaws  a  round  hole  through  the 
side  of  the  apple,  and  thrusts  them  out  of  the 
opening.  Through  this  hole  also  the  insect 
makes  its  escape  after  the  apple  falls  to  the 
ground;  and  the  falling  of  the  fruit  is  well 
known  to  be  hastened  by  the  injury  it  has  re- 
ceived within,  which  generally  causes  it  to 
ripen  before  its  time. 

Soon  after  the  half-grown  apples  drop,  and 
sometimes  while  they  are  still  hanging,  the 
worms  leave  them  and  creep  into  chinks  in  the 
bark  of  the  trees,  or  into  other  sheltered  places, 
which  they  hollow  out  with  their  teeth  to  suit 
their  shape.  Here  each  one  spins  for  itself  a 
cocoon  or  silken  case,  as  thin,  delicate,  and 
white  as  tissue-paper.  Some  of  the  apple- 
worms,  probably  the  earliest,  are  said  by  Kol 
lar  to  change  to  chrysalids  immediately  after 

765 


MANDRAKE. 

their  cocoons  are  made,  and  in  a  few  days  more 
turn  to  moths,  come  out,  and  lay  their  eggs  for  a 
second  generation  of  the  worms ;  and  hence 
much  fruit  will  be  found  to  be  worm-eaten  in 
the  autumn.  Most  of  the  insects,  however, 
remain  in  their  cocoons  through  the  winter, 
and  are  not  changed  to  moths  till  the  following 
summer.  The  chrysalis  is  of  a  brigh;';  maho- 
gany-brown colour,  and  has,  as  usual,  across 
each  of  the  rings  of  its  hind-body,  two  rows  of 
prickles,  by  the  help  of  which  it  forces  its  way 
through  the  cocoon  before  the  moth  comes 
forih. 

As  the  apple-worms  instinctively  leave  the 
fruit  soon  after  it  falls  from  the  trees,  it  will  be 
proper  to  gather  up  all  wind-fallen  apples  daily, 
and  make  such  immediate  use  of  them  as  will 
be  sure  to  kill  the  insects,  before  they  have 
time  to  escape.  Mr.  Burrelle  says  that  if  any 
old  cloth  is  wound  around  or  hung  in  the 
crotches  of  the  trees,  the  apple- worms  will  con- 
ceal themselves  therein;  and  by  this  means 
thousands  of  them  may  be  obtained  and  de- 
stroyed, from  the  time  when  they  first  begin  to 
leave  the  apples  until  the  fruit  is  gathered.  By 
carefully  scraping  off  the  loose  and  rugged 
bark  of  the  trees,  in  the  spring,  many  chrysa- 
lids  will  be  destroyed;  and  it  has  been  said  that 
the  moths,  when  they  are  about  laying  their 
eggs,  may  be  smothered  or  driven  away  by  the 
smoke  of  weeds  burned  under  the  trees.  The 
worms  often  found  in  summer  pears  appear  to 
be  the  same  as  those  that  affect  apples,  and  are 
to  be  kept  in  check  by  the  same  means.  (Harris.) 
See  CiD>:n  and  Orchard. 

MANDRAKE  (Mandragora;  the  name  is 
derived  from  mandra,  an  ox-stall,  something 
relating  to  cattle,  and  agauros,  cruel;  on  ac- 
count of  its  poisonous  effects  on  cattle,  when 
accidentally  gathered  with  their  fodder  in  the 
countries  where  the  plants  abound).  These 
plants,  which  are  natives  of  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope, thrive  well  in  a  light  soil,  in  ^  shaded 
situation.  They  can  only  be  increased  by 
seeds.  The  roots  are  very  apt  to  rot  during 
winter.  The  root  has  an  uncouth  form,  which 
is  supposed  to  resemble  the  human  shape ;  on 
which  account  it  was  imagined  to  be  capable 
of  preventing  barrenness.  It  is,  however,  an 
acro-narcotic  poison,  and  when  taken  proves 
fatal  by  the  extreme  purging  which  it  causes. 
The  common  people  still  believe  in  its  proper- 
ties ;  but  the  root  of  a  species  of  Bryony 
(Tamus  commtmis)  is  usually  sold  for  it  in  the 
herb  shops. 

MANGE.  A  cutaneous  disease,  which  at- 
tacks several  domestic  animals,  especially  the 
dog,  and  which  is  attended  with  an  eruption 
and  loss  of  hair. 

In  the  horse  it  is  known  to  exist  by  the 
animal's  constantly  rubbing  or  biting  himself, 
so  as  to  remove  the  hair,  and  sometimes  pro- 
duce ulceration  ;  the  hair  of  the  mane  and  tail 
frequently  falls  off,  and  small  scabs  may  gene- 
rally be  observed  about  the  roots  of  those 
which  remain.  This  disease  is  seldom  met 
with,  except  in  common  stables  where  scarcely 
any  attention  is  paid  to  the  horses,  and  where 
their  food  is  of  the  worst  quality ;  horses  highly 
kept,  if  not  properly  attended  to,  are  also  sub- 
ject to  this  disease,  which  is  very  contagious. 
766 


MANGEL  WURZEL. 

The  causes  of  mange  are,  sudden  changes 
of  temperature,  hot  stables,  bad  diet,  joined  to 
want  of  cleanliness.  The  perspirable  matter 
being  never  properly  removed  by  friction,  and 
being  frequently  mixed  with  dust,  &c.,  com- 
pletely plugs  up  the  external  exhalents,  where- 
by they  become  obstructed,  and  a  diseased 
action  takes  place.  It  may  also  be  caused  by 
infectious  matter  coming  in  contact  with  the 
skin  ;  as  when  a  sound  horse  rubs  himself 
against  the  stall  in  which  a  mangy  horse  has 
been  kept.  The  principal  symptoms  are,  the 
horse  growing  very  thin,  without  any  apparent 
cause,  attended  with  a  staring  of  his  coat. 
This  is  soon  followed  by  eruptions,  which  dis- 
charge a  thick  yellowish  matter,  forming  a 
kind  of  scurf,  which  peels  off,  and  is  succeeded 
by  fresh  eruptions,  and  the  hair  falls  off.  This, 
though  partial  at  first,  soon  spreads  all  over 
the  body,  is  attended  with  an  itching,  and 
causes  the  horse  to  rub  against  every  thing 
he  comes  near.  In  this  disease  great  attention 
to  cleanliness  is  necessary. 

In  the  horse  the  following  will  be  found  the 
best  remedy.  Bleed  to  the  extent  of  two  or 
three  quarts,  according  to  the  constitution  of 
the  animal,  and  after  first  preparing  the  horse 
by  bran  mashes,  give  the  following  dose  of 
physic : — 

Barbadoes  aloes    -  -  -       6  drachms 

Powdered  ginger      .  -  -       2       — 

Castile  soap          _  -  .       2       — 

Oil  of  carraways  -  -  -  20  drops. 

Honey  or  treacle  sufficient  to  form  a  ball. 
After  which  give  the  following  alterative  balls : 
2  ozs.  each  of  powdered  black  antimony,  pow- 
dered nitre,  flour  of  sulphur,  Castile  soap,  and 
aniseed  powder,  1  oz.  of  rosin,  added  to  a  suf- 
ficient quantity  of  honey  to  make  eight  balls, 
one  to  be  given  every  night. 

The  following  ointment  may  be  applied  ex- 
ternally: — 

Black  sulphur  -        -        -  -  -  8  ozs. 

Strong  mercurial  ointment  -  -  2    — 

Soft  soap  -        -        -  -  -  4    — 

Train  oil  -        -       -        -  -  -  1  pint. 

These  ingredients  to  be  well  mixed,  and  one 
third  part  carefully  .rubbed  in  daily.  If  the 
above  ointment  should  be  found  ineffectual,  4 
ozs.  of  spirit  of  tar  may  be  added. 

Dogs  and  swine  are  frequently  subject  to 
mange.  For  the  common  scabby  variety  in 
the  dog,  the  following  ointment  is  recom- 
mended : — 

Powdered  sulphur   -       -       -  -  4  ozs. 

Muriate  of  ammonia,  powdered  -  i    — 

Venice  turpentine    -        -       -  -  |    — 

Lard,  or  other  fatty  matter      -  -  6    — 
Well  mixed. 

MANGEL  WURZEL.  Field  Beet,  or  Root 
of  Scarcity.  (Germ.  Mangold  Wurzel.)  The 
root  of  the  Beta  hybrida,  or  B.  albissimn,  Linn. 
This  is  a  kind  of  red  beet,  which,  according  to 
Von  Thaer,  is  a  mongrel  between  the  red  and 
white  beet.  It  has  been  long  cultivated  in 
France,  Germany,  and  Switzerland,  partly  as 
food  for  cattle,  and  partly  to  be  used  in  distil- 
lation, and  in  the  extraction  of  sugar.  Its  cul- 
ture in  Great  Britain  is  more  recent;  but  its 
value  is  now  becoming  very  generally  appre- 
ciated, and  the  cultivation  likely  to  become 
more  extensive.    So  far  back  as  the  year  1811, 


MANGEL  WURZEL. 


MANGEL  WURZfiL. 


General  Beat&on,  then  Governor  of  St.  Helena, 
writing  to  the  English  Board  of  Agriculture, 
and  describing  the  extraordinary  produce  of 
some  plants,  the  leaves  of  which  had  been 
repeatedly  cut  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for 
spinach,  says  : — It  certainly  possesses  advan- 
tages over  every  other  plant  hitherto  introduced 
in  field  culture.  Its  produce  is  immense ;  and 
I  have  found  it  to  grow,  with  considerable  luxu- 
riance, upon  land  where  no  other  vegetation 
was  ever  seen.  It  has  also  the  singular  pro- 
perty of  being  unmolested  by  the  dolphin-tly, 
which  is  here  extremely  destructive  to  cab- 
bages, turnips,  and  radishes.  I  have  very 
often  observed,  where  alternate  plants  of  cab- 
bage and  mangel  wurzel  were  growing  in  the 
same  rows,  and  touching  each  other,  that 
whilst  the  former  were  absolutely  annihilated 
by  the  destructive  insect,  not  one  was  to  be 
seen  on  the  mangel  wurzel  leaves." 

Lord  Spencer  reports  the  result  of  a  trial  on 
the  comparative  feeding  properties  of  mangel 
wurzel  and  Swedish  turnips.  "Believing," 
says  his  lordship,  "that  mangold  wurzel  con- 
tained more  saccharine  matter  than  Swedish 
turnips,  and  ought,  consequently,  to  be  the 
more  nourishing  root  of  the  two,  I  determined 
to  try,  practically,  whether  an  ox  fed  upon 
mangoUi  wurzel  increased  in  weight  more  than 
one  fed  upon  Swedish  turnips,  in  proportion 
to  the  quantity  of  each  consumed.  In  order  to 
have  rendered  my  experiment  perfectly  accu- 
rate, I  ought  to  have  ascertained  the  weight  of 
hay  consumed  by  each  beast  during  the  pro- 
gress of  the  trial ;  but  I  did  not  do  this,  although 
I  am  pretty  confident  that  the  quantity  con- 
sumed by  each  was  nearly  the  same.  I  se- 
lected two  steers,  tolerably,  and  at  least  equally, 
well  bred.  No.  1,  calved  March  29th,  1923,  and 
No.  2,  calved  May  6th  of  the  same  year;  and 
on  the  24th  of  December,  1825,  I  put  No.  1  to 
Swedish  turnips,  and  No.  2  to  mangold  wurzel. 
I  ascertained  their  weight  by  measurement,  and 
both  of  them  measured  the  same,  viz.  4  ft.  10 
in.  in  length  by  6  ft.  5  in.  in  girth,  making  them 
to  weigh  668  lbs.  each.  On  the  23d  of  Janua- 
ry, No.  1  had  consumed  1624  lbs.  of  Swedish 
turnips,  and  measured  4  ft.  10  in.  in  length  by 
6  ft.  7  in.  in  girth,  making  him  to  weigh  703  lbs., 
and  to  have  increased  in  weight  35  lbs.,  or  at 
the  rate  of  48^  lbs.  for  every  ton  of  Swedish 
turnips  consumed.  No.  2  had  consumed  1848 
lbs.  of  mangold  wurzel,  and  measured  4  ft.  10 
in.  in  length  by  6  ft.  8  in.  in  girth,  making  him 
to  weigh  721  lbs.,  and  to  have  increased  in 
weight  53  lbs.,  or  at  the  rate  of  65^  lbs.  for 
every  ton  of  mangold  wurzel  consumed. 

"  This  difference,  however,  might  have  arisen 
from  No.  2  having  a  greater  propensity  to  feed 
than  No.  1.  I  therefore  now  put  No.  1  to  man- 
gold wurzel,  and  No.  2  to  Swedish  turnips. 
On  the  20th  of  February,  No.  1  had  consumed 
1884  lbs.  of  mangold  wurzel,  and  measured  4 
ft.  1 1  in.  in  length  by  6  ft.  8  in.  in  girth,  making 
him  to  weigh  734  lbs.,  and  to  have  increased 
in  weight  this  month  31  lbs.,  or  at  the  rate  of 
36^  lbs.  for  every  ton  of  mangold  wurzel  con- 
sumed. No.  2  had  consumed  1880  lbs.  of  Swe- 
dish turnips,  and  measured  4  ft.  11  in.  in  length 
h}  6  ft.  8  in.  in  girth,  making  him  to  weigh  also 


734  lbs.,  and  to  have  increased  in  weight  during 
this  month  13  lbs.,  or  at  the  rate  of  15^  lbs.  for 
every  ton  of  Swedish  turnips  consumed.  I  then 
put  both  to  mangold  wurzel,  and  divided  the 
food  equally  between  them.  On  the  19th  of 
March,  they  had  each  consumed  1792  lbs.  of 
mangold  wurzel ;  No.  1  measured  5  ft.  in 
length  by  6  ft.  10  in.  in  girth,  making  him  to 
weigh  784  lbs.,  and  to  have  increased  in  weight 
50  lbs.;  No,  2  measured  5  ft.  in  length  by  6  ft. 
9  in.  in  girth,  making  him  to  weigh  765  lbs., 
and  to  have  increased  in  weight  36  lbs. 

"It  would  appear,  therefore,  as  if  the  pro- 
pensity to  feed  of  No.  1  was  greater  than  that 
of  No.  2  in  the  proportion  of  50  to  31;  but, 
notwithstanding  this,  in  the  first  month,  when 
No.  1  was  upon  Swedish  turnips,  and  No.  2 
upon  mangold  wurzel,  No.  2  beat  No.  1  in  the 
proportion  above  stated  of  65^  to  48:^^.  It  ap- 
pears as  if  there  could  be  no  great  inaccuracy 
in  estimating  the  relative  weight  of  the  ani- 
mals, as,  soon  after  the  experiment  was  con- 
cluded, I  sold  No.  I  to  a  butcher  in  the  country 
for  24/.  3s.,  and  No.  2,  at  Smiihfield,  for  24/. 

"It  will  be  for  practical  men  to  decide  upon 
the  value  of  this  trial;  what  appears  to  me  to 
be  the  most  conclusive  part  of  it  is,  that  No.  2, 
who  had  during  the  first  month,  when  he  was 
feeding  upon  mangold  wurzel,  increased  in 
girth  3  inches,  in  the  next  month,  when  his 
food  was  changed  to  Swedish  turnips,  did  not 
increase  in  girth  at  all ;  and  when,  in  the  third 
month,  he  was  feeding  again  upon  mangold 
wurzel,  he  again  began  to  increase  in  girth; 
because  it  is  very  well  known,  that,  if  an  ani- 
mal is  changed  from  more  to  less  nutritious 
food,  the  probable  consequence  will  be  that  his 
growth  will  be  stopped.  The  result  appeared 
to  me  so  decisive  that  I  have  not  tried  the  ex- 
periment with  the  same  accuracy  since  ;  but  I 
did  try,  the  following  year,  the  feeding  a  cow 
alternately  on  Swedish  turnips  and  mangold 
wurzel,  and  though  1  have  not  by  me  the  de- 
tails of  the  trial,  I  remember  that  the  result 
confirmed  the  experiment  of  the  previous 
year." 

Mr.  Miles  of  Kingsweston,  in  the  same  vo- 
lume of  the  Journal,  p.  298,  commenting  on  the 
communication  of  Lord  Spencer,  describes  so 
fully  and  explicitly  the  best  mode  of  culture, 
&c.  of  this  root,  that  I  cannot  do  better  than 
adopt  his  paper  entire. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  favourable  results  of 
Lord  Spencer's  experiment  with  mangold  wur- 
zel, the  consideration  will  naturally  suggest 
itself  to  the  mind  of  the  farmer,  previously  to 
his  adopting  the  cultivation  of  this  root,  whe- 
ther, although  the  mangold  wurzel  may  bring 
on  his  cattle  faster  and  better  than  the  Swedish 
turnip,  it  is  not  more  difficult  of  culture,  more 
tender  in  its  habits,  and  less  productive  in  bulk 
per  acre  than  the  Swedish  turnip;  and  I  think, 
therefore,  it  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  lay  be- 
fore the  readers  of  the  journal,  first,  the  che- 
mical analysis  of  the  highest  or  lowest  order 
of  turnip  and  of  mangold  wurzel  as  given  by 
Sir  H.  Davy,  and  of  the  sugar  beet  and  orange- 
globe  mangold  wurzel  as  lately  obtained  on  the 
same  plan  by  the  celebrated  Bristol  chemist 
Mr.  Herepath  ;  and  then  to  point  out  the  system 

767 


MANGEL  WURZEL 


MANGEL  WURZEL 


adopted  l>y  myself  in  the  west  of  England  in 
the  cultivation  of  mangold  wurzel,  which  has 
been  a;i1}iided  with  complete  success. 


Roots. 

Quantity  of  Nutritive  Matter  in  iOOO  parts. 

Species. 

Muci- 
lage or 
Starch. 

Sacctii- 

rine 
riiaiter 

or 
Sugar. 

Gluten 
or*l- 
bume». 

Extract. 

Total 
soluble 
or  nutri- 
tive 
matter. 

Swedish  turnip 
Wliite  turnip  - 
Mangold  wurzel 
Orange-globe  - 
Sugar-beet 

9 

7 
13 
25J 
17* 

51 

34 
119 
106* 
126f 

2 

1 
4 
1-20 

2 

less  than  1 
1 

ISO 

135i 

146* 

"By  this  table,  it  is  apparent  that  equal 
quantities  of  Swedish  turnip,  orange-globe,  and 
mangold  wurzel  contain  very  different  propor- 
tions of  nutritive  matter,  the  latter  more  than 
doubling  the  former  in  quantity;  and  should 
the  mangold  wurzel  be  of  equally  easy  culture 
with  the  Swedish  turnip,  it  seems  almost  unac- 
countable that  it  should  not  yet  have  come  into 
more  general  cultivation.  I  have  grown  the 
common  red  sort  for  six,  the  sugar  beet  for  four, 
and  the  orange-globe  for  three  years ;  these 
kinds  have  regularly  come  into  course  with 
Swedes  upon  light  land ;  the  product  has  al- 
ways been  equal,  in  most  cases  far  heavier. 
The  Swedish  turnip  has  enemies  innumerable; 
I  have  never  observed  the  mangold  wurzel 
attacked  either  by  fly,  slug,  or  wireworm. 
Equally  a  Cleansing  crop  with  the  Swede,  it 
stores  better,  and  lasts  good  for  a  longer  period. 
In  the  summer  of  this  year  I  was  using  sugar 
beet  with  stall-fed  cattle,  which  cut  perfectly 
good  and  crisp  in  August.  The  mode  of  cul- 
ture I  adopt,  up  to  depositing  the  seed  in  the 
ground,  is  the  same  as  that  adopted  in  North- 
umberland for  ridging  the  Swede;  great  care, 
however,  must  be  taken  that  the  seed  of  the 
mangold  wurzel  is  not  buried  too  deep,  or  it 
will  not  vegetate.  Dibbling,  as  you  never  can 
insure  an  equal  depth,  does  not  answer;  nor  does 
the  seed  drill  well,  if  properly  prepared  by  steep- 
ing, which  I  should  recommend,  for  at  least  24 
nours  before  planting.  To  insure,  therefore, 
a  proper  depth,  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
using  an  iron  wheel,  round  the  outer  circum- 
ference of  which,  18  inches  apart,  iron  points 
project,  broad  at  the  base  and  tapering  towards 
the  point,  about  2^  inches  long ;  this  is  wheeled 
upon  the  top  of  the  ridge,  the  man  walking  in 
the  furrow,  and  thus  holes  are  formed  which 
can  never  run  into  the  excess  of  great  depth,  and 
into  which  the  seeds  are  deposited  by  women 
and  boys  following  the  wheel,  and  generally 
covering  the  seed  by  drawing  the  foot  as  they 
advance  at  right  angles  with  the  ridge  over  the 
holes ;  the  roller  follows,  and  thus  the  sowing 
terminates.  One  man  with  the  wheel  will 
keep  six  persons  well  employed  in  depositing 
the  seed  after  him.  This  system  was  recom- 
mended me  by  my  friend  Mr.  Webb  Hall,  and 
since  1  have  adopted  it  my  crop  has  never 
failed. 

"The  after-culture  and  the  storing  is  similar 
to  thai  of  the  Swede;  great  care,  however, 
should  be  taken  in  never  permitffng  two  plants 
to  grow  in  the  same  spot,  which  will  be  the 
case  frequently,  should  only  one  capsule  even 
be  deposuetJ  m  each  hole,  as  every  capsule 
7^8 


contains  many  seeds.  Should  the  tops  remain 
uncut,  the  plant  will  stand  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  frost;  it  should,  however,  be  stored 
early  in  November;  the  best  and  cheapest 
method  is  to  build  it  up  against  some  high  wall 
contiguous  to  your  beast  sheds,  not  more  than 
7  or  8  feet  deep,  carried  up  square  to  a  certain 
height,  and  then  tapering  in  a  roof  to  the  top 
of  the  wall ;  protect  the  sides  with  thatched 
hurdles,  leaving  an  interval  between  the  roots 
and  the  hurdles,  which  fill  up  with  dry  stub- 
ble ;  cover  the  roof  with  about  a  foot  of  the 
same,  and  then  thatch  it,  so  as  to  conduct  all 
moisture  well  over  the  hurdles  placed  as  a 
protection  to  the  sides.  In  pulling  the  plants 
care  should  be  taken  that  as  little  injury  be 
inflicted  upon  them  as  possible;  cleansing 
with  a  knife  should  on  no  account  be  permit- 
ted, and  it  is  safer  to  leave  some  of  the  leaf  on 
than  by  cutting  it  too  close  to  impair  the  crown 
of  the  root.  The  drier  the  season  is  for  stor- 
ing the  better,  although  I  have  never  found  the 
roots  decayed  in  the  heap  by  the  earth,  which 
in  wet  weather  has  been  brought  from  the  field, 
adhering  to  them.  As  to  the  productiveness 
of  the  different  sorts,  in  one  year  I  have  grown 
a  larger  quantity  of  sugar  beet  per  acre,  in  an- 
other of  mangold  wurzel;  both  these,  however, 
I  consider  exhaust  the  land  in  a  greater  degree 
than  the  Swede ;  but  I  have  formed  a  very  high 
opinion  of  the  orange-globe,  though  not  so  large 
a  producer  generally  as  the  two  other  sorts  ;  it 
appears  always  to  throw  at  least  two-thirds  of 
its  weight  above  ground,  neither  is  its  tap-root 
larger  nor  its  fibipus  roots  greater  than  those 
of  the  Swede  turnip.  Care  should  be  taken  in 
giving  cattle  every  species  of  this  root,  as  if 
taken  in  excess  it  is  apt  to  scour ;  indeed,  from 
the  avidity  with  which  cattle  eat  the  sugar  beet, 
and  from  its  viscous  properties  when  quite  fresh 
from  the  ground,  it  should  be  stored  so  as  to 
come  into  consumption  the  last  of  the  roots. 

"In  feeding  store  cattle  I  should  commence 
with  Swede  turnip,  proceed  with  the  orange- 
globe,  then  with  mangold  wurzel,  and  finish  oflT 
with  the  sugar  beet;  thus  not  only  frequently 
varying  the  food,  but  using  them  in  the  order 
corresponding  exactly  with  the  nutritive  matter 
contained  in  each  description  of  plant.  I  have 
found,  indeed,  equally  with  Lord  Spencer,  that 
it  will  not  do  to  return  from  any  sort  of  man- 
gold wurzel  to  Swede  turnips,  as  even  beasts 
in  the  straw-yard  have  for  two  or  three  days 
refused  such  a  change.  I  may  add  that  the 
earlier  in  April  your  mangold  wurzel  is  sown 
the  better,  the  deeper  the  tilth  the  greater  pro- 
bability of  a  heavy  crop,  but  that  although  both 
the  mangold  wurzel  and  sugar  beet  require  a 
deeper  and  stronger  land  than  the  Swede 
turnip,  yet  that  the  orange-globe  will  flourish 
wherever  the  latter  will  succeed." 

Mangel  wurzel  may  be  grown  on  stiffer  soils 
than  those  adapted  for  the  turnip,  and  it  is  bet- 
ter food  for  milch  cows,  as  it  does  not,  like  tur- 
I  nips,  give  to  the  milk  a  taint.    It  cannot  bear 
;  the  cold,   however,  so  well   as   the   Swedish 
]  turnip,  and   hence  is  more  cultivated  in  the 
southern  portions  of  England  than  in  Scotland- 
!      Mr.  W.  Lester  {Quar.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  iii. 
'  p,  365)  describes  a  method  of  making  ale  from 
1  this  root. 


w 

MANGER. 


MANGER. 


kNGER.  A  trough  or  crib  in  the  stable, 
m  which  corn  or  cut  provender  for  the  horse  is 
phiced.  The  usual  method  is  to  have  them  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  stall ;  but  this  is  unneces- 
sary, as,  if  18  or  20  inches  in  length,  and  14  or 
16  in  breadth,  they  will  be  sufficient  for  every 
useful  purpose.  In  the  fixing  of  them,  they 
should  be  so  contrived  as  to  admit  of  being 
"emoved  for  the  purpose  of  being  cleaned. 
This  could,  however,  never  be  done  in  the  old 
method  of  fixing  them,  but  by  a  little  contri- 
vance may  be  easily  effected.  It  is,  in  many 
cases,  a  convenient  plan  to  have  them  in  the 
corners  or  angles  at  the  heads  of  the  stalls. 
See  Stable  and  Stall. 

MANHADEN  (Clupea  manhaden).  A  species 
of  herring  frequenting  the  waters  of  the  New 
England  States  and  Long  Island,  where  it  goes 
under  the  various  names  of  Bony  Fish,  Moss  or 
Mctrsbanker,  Hardhead,  and  Pauhaugen.  The  usual 
length  of  the  manhaden  is  from  10  to  14  inches. 
From  July  to  the  last  of  August,  the  shores  of 
the  sea  swarm  with  shoals  of  this  fish,  which, 
being  very  oily,  is  but  little  resorted  to  for  food, 
though  the  better  adapted  for  manure,  to  which 
purpc»se  it  is  most  extensively  applied,  and  with 
such  beneficial  effects  that  lands  formerly  worn 
out  so  as  hardly  to  compensate  for  their  tillage, 
now  yield  abundant  crops  of  wheat,  grass,  &c. 
It  is  taken  in  large  numbers  upon  the  coast  of 
Massachusetts,  where  it  is  used  for  mackarel- 
bait,  manure,  and  is  also  becoming  an  article 
of  commerce.  For  the  former  purpose  it  is 
worth  from  $2  to  .$4  per  barrel,  in  proportion 
to  the  demand.  At  Lynn,  in  1836, 1500  barrels 
were  used  for  bait  for  other  fishes,  and  as  many 
more  were  thrown  upon  the  land.  At  Province- 
town  they  are  used  only  for  mackarel-bait.  At 
Sandwich,  where  they  are  very  abundant,  the 
inhabitants  strew  them  upon  their  lands  by  the 
cart-load ;  and  thus,  for  miles,  immense  quan- 
tities enrich  the  soil.  It  is  computed  that  a 
single  manhaden  of  ordinary  size  is  equal  in 
richness  to  a  shovelful  of  barn-yard  manure. 
It  is  getting  likewise  to  be  thought  worthy  of 
preservation  as  an  article  of  food.  In  1832, 
300  bbls.  were  inspected;  in  1833,480;  1834, 
1008;  18.3.5,  1443;  1836,  1488. 

Mr.  John  Wells,  of  Long  Island,  in  a  commu- 
nication to  the  editor  of  the  Cultivator,  gives  the 
following  information  in  relation  to  the  mode 
of  applying  this  fish  as  a  manure,  and  the  good 
effects  derived  from  the  practice. 

"I  have,"  he  says,  "used  fish  manure  40 
years  successively,  and  my  land  is  much  bet- 
ter than  when  I  first  commenced  fishing.  I 
make  use  of  from  50,000  to  150,000  of  fish, 
known  here  by  the  name  of  mossbankers,  per 
annum ;  and  could  I  get  a  million,  I  should 
have  none  to  spare.  There  is  no  manure  that 
I  use  equal  to  fish  for  a  crop  of  v/heat,  and  all 
kinds  of  roots  ;  but  they  do  not  have  that  efl^ect 
after  repeating  that  they  have  at  first.  But  this 
is  the  case  with  all  kinds  of  manure.  Thence 
the  necessity  of  mixing  manures.  10,000  moss- 
bankers  per  acre  are  sufficient  for  a  crop  of 
wheat,  without  any  other  manure.  My  practice 
IS,  to  put  on  12  or  15  large  wagon-loads  of  lit- 
ter, and  5,000  fish  per  acre  ;  and  then  I  calcu- 
late for  a  good  crop  of  wheat,  and  after  the 
«^heat  a  good  burden  of  grass  for  3  or  4  years. 
87 


MANURES. 

I  The  same  quantity  of  manure  makes  a  good 
crop  of  Indian  corn.  The  manure  fishery  is 
the  making  of  the  east  end  of  our  island.  I 
think  I  may  say  that  the  production  of  our  land 
is  3  times  as  much  as  it  was  before  we  com- 
menced fishing.  But  it  must  not  all  be  attri- 
buted to  fish.  We  exert  every  means  to  make 
and  collect  manure,  for  without  it  we  cannot 
raise  our  bread.  For  a  farmer  to  break  up  a 
piece  of  land,  and  lay  it  down  poorer  than  it 
was  at  first,  is  like  borrowing  money  to  pay 
his  interest.  It  is  astonishing  to  me  that  there 
are  some  few  farmers  yet,  who  will  let  their 
manure  lie  and  ferment  in  the  yard,  when  they 
must  know  that  they  lose  half  its  virtue ,  for 
there  is  no  time  that  it  brings  forth  vegetation 
so  well  as  when  in  a  state  of  fermentation  under 
the  soil.  I  might  say  that  our  soil  is  a  sandy 
loam." 

The  best  history  of  the  manhaden,  which  is 
a  favourite  food  of  the  whale,  is  by  Latrobe, 
published  in  Transactions  of  the  ^m.  Phil.  Society, 
vol.  v. 

MANNA  (Fr.  manne;  It.  manna).  The  con- 
crete juice  of  the  Fraxinus  ornus,  a  species  of 
ash  growing  in  the  south  of  Europe.  The  juice 
exudes  spontaneously  in  warm,  dry  weather, 
and  concretes  into  whitish  tears ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  the  manna  of  commerce  is  ob- 
tained by  making  incisions  in  the  tree,  and  ^ 
gathering  the  juice  in  baskets,  where  it  forms  ' 
irregular  masses  of  a  reddish  or  brownish  co- 
lour, often  full  of  impurities.  Manna  consists 
of  two  parts ;  one  a  saccharine,  crystallizable 
principle,  named  niannil,  closely  resembling 
sugar;  the  other  an  acrid,  uncrystallizable 
principle,  which  is  the  purgative  agent  in  the 
manna.  This  substance  is  now  seldom  used, 
except  as  a  purgative  for  infants. 

MANIOC.  The  Indian  name  of  the  starchy, 
nutritious  matter  obtained  from  the  shrub 
Jatropa  manihot,  from  which  cassava  and  /a- 
pioca  are  made  in  the  West  Indies.  See 
Tapioca. 

MANURES.  The  word  manure,  according 
to  Todd,  is  derived  from  the  French  manouvrer 
Lemon  gives  the  derivation  as  follows  :  "  Ma^ 
nure, '  omnia  a  manu  operando.' "  Skinner, — 
"All  improvements  in  agriculture  brought  in 
by  ^he  hand."  Webster,  Eng.Dict.,  says,  "  Ma- 
nure, Fr.  mana:uvrer,  but  in  a  different  sense; 
Norm,  mainoverer,  to  manure ;  main,  Lat.  ma- 
ntis, hand,  and  ouvrer,  to  work,  Lat.  operor."  A 
manure  may  be  defined  to  be  any  fertilizing 
compound  or  simple  ingredient  added  to  a  soil, 
of  which  it  is  naturally  deficient;  and  as  all 
cu.  ivi  'ed  lands  should  contain  the  earths,  sili- 
ca, ca:  onate  of  lime,  alumina,  decomposing 
organic  matter,  and  certain  saline  substances, 
it  is  evident  that  in  cases  where  any  one  of 
these  is  contained  in  the  land  in  insufficient 
quantities  for  the  supply  of  cultivated  vegeta- 
bles, that  then  the  addition  of  that  substance, 
either  in  its  simple  or  in  a  compound  form, 
constitutes  the  great  art  of  manuring. 

Fertilizers  therefore  naturally  divide  them- 
selves into  3  classes  :  1.  The  earthy,  which  are 
by  far  the  most  permanent  portions  of  a  soil, 
and  are  usually  applied  in  the  largest  propor- 
tions ;  2.  The  organic  (vegetable  and  animai), 
which  are  the  least  permanent,  and  are  used  in 
3T  769 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


much  smaller  quantities  than  the  earthy;  and, 
3.  The  saline,  which  are  the  most  sparingly 
applied  of  all  fertilizers,  are  the  most  readily 
absorbed  by  plants,  and  whose  period  of  dura- 
tion in  the  soil  is  longer  than  the  organic,  but 
less  than  the  earthy.  A  manure  is  either  use- 
ful to  vegetation,  by  affording,  in  its  simple  or 
decomposed  state,  direct  food  or  constituents, 
or  else  it  is  a  fertilizer,  by  adding  to  the  soil 
additional  power  to  absorb  and  retain  atmo- 
spheric gases  and  moisture.  We  shall  see, 
hereafter,  that  most  manures  which  are  com- 
monly applied  to  the  land  assist  the  growth  of 
plants  in  both  ways.  Looking  at  the  question 
abstractedly,  it  must  be  evident,  that  as  animals 
receive  almost  the  whole  of  their  nutriment 
cither  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  their  excrement,  or  their  decomposed 
bodies,  returning  these  to  the  soil,  must  form 
the  best  manure. 

With  regard  to  inorganic  substances,  clay 
of  the  earthy  manures,  and  some  of  the  saline 
fertilizers,  act  principally  by  their  absorption 
and  retention  of  moisture.  Gypsum,  it  is  true, 
enters  into  the  composition  of  some  of  the 
grasses,  and,  in  minute  proportions,  other  salts 
do  the  same ;  but,  if  we  except  phosphate  of 
lime  (the  earthy  salt  of  bones),  none  of  the 
salts  can  be  considered  to  be  a  very  general 
direct  food  of  plants.  Davy  very  clearly  ex- 
plains the  desirable  objects  in  the  fertilization 
of  soils :  he  says,  "  The  plants  growing  in  a 
soil  incapable  of  supplying  them  with  sufficient 
manure  or  dead  organized  matter,  are  generally 
very  low,  having  brown  or  dark-green  leaves, 
and  their  woody  fibre  abounds  in  earth.  Those 
vegetating  in  peaty  soils,  or  m  lands  too  co- 
piously supplied  with  animal  or  vegetable  mat- 
ter, rapidly  expand,  produce  large  bright-green 
leaves,  abound  in  sap,  and  generally  blossom 
prematurely.  Excess  of  poverty  or  riches  is 
almost  equally  fatal  to  the  hopes  of  the  farmer; 
and  the  true  constitution  of  the  soil,  for  the 
best  crop,  is  that  in  which  the  earthy  materials, 
the  moisture,  and  manure  are  properly  asso- 
ciated, and  in  which  the  decomposable  vegeta- 
ble or  animal  matter  does  not  exceed  one-fourth 
of  the  weight  of  the  earthy  constituents."  (Ele- 
tnenfs  of  Jg.  Chem.  p.  264.) 

Of  the  organic  manures,  those  which  the 
most  readily  putrefy  are  the  most  rapid  in  their 
effects ;  but  then  they  are  the  most  speedily 
exhausted:  thus  oil  and  fish,  the  most  rapid  of 
fertilizers,  are  exhausted  by  the  few  first  crops; 
while  hones,  which  decay  more  slowly,  will 
last  soiixc  time  longer.  The  effect  of  chopped 
woollen  rags  is  excellent  for  two  j-ears  m  tho 
rich  clay  hop-gardens  of  Kent,  and  for  three  or 
four  in  the  light,  chalky,  arable  soils  of  the 
valley  of  the  Kennett  Farm-yard  dung,  when 
applied  in  diiTerenr  states  of  freshness,  illus- 
trates the  same  poMtion.  M.  Hassenfratz  ma- 
nured two  piece?  of  the  same  kind  of  soil,  the 
one  with  a  mixlare  of  dung  and  straw  highly 
puLrefied,the  olherwith  the  same  mixture  newly 
made,  and  the  straw  almost  fresh  ;  he  observed, 
that  during  the  first  year  the  plants  which  grew 
nn  the  land  manured  with  the  putrefied  dung 
produced  a  much  better  crop  than  the  other; 
but  *he  second  year,  the  ground  which  had 
ben  manured  with  the  unputrefied  dung  pro- 
770 


duced  the  best  crop :  the  same  result  appeared 
the  third  year ;  after  which  both  seemed  to  be 
equally  exhausted.  "Another  experiment  cl 
the  same  chemist,"  adds  Dr.  Thomson,  "  ren- 
ders this  truth  still  more  evident.  He  allowed 
wood-shavings  to  remain  in  a  moist  place  for 
about  10  months,  till  they  began  to  putrefy,  and 
then  spread  them  over  a  piece  of  ground  as  a 
manure.  The  first  2  years  this  piece  of  ground 
produced  nothing  more  than  others  which  had 
not  been  manured  at  all;  the  third  year  it  was 
better;  the  fourth  year  it  was  still  better;  the 
fifth  year  it  reached  its  maximum  of  fertility ; 
after  which  it  declined  constantly  till  the  ninth, 
when  it  was  quite  exhausted." 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  the  culti- 
vator that  he  obtains  a  correct  knowledge  of 
the  mode  in  which  those  manures  operate  which 
are  found  to  be  advantageous  to  the  growth  of 
his  crops.  He  must  discard  from  his  mind  all 
those  false  conclusions  which  are  sometimes 
drawn  with  regard  to  an  imaginary  power  as- 
signed to  plants  of  generating  vegetable  sub- 
stances, for  they  can  effect  no  such  miraculous 
results.  It  is  true  that  they  can  combine  the 
gases  or  elements  of  vegetable  matters  together, 
and  form  gluten,  starch,  gum,  sugar,  woody 
fibre,  &c. ;  they  can  absorb  and  arrange  with 
these  the  earths  and  saline  bodies ;  but  the 
oxygen,  the  carbon,  the  nitrogen,  and  the  hy- 
drogen, of  which  the  first-named  are  composed, 
and  which  plants  usually  obtain  from  either 
the  atmosphere  or  by  the  decomposition  of  or- 
ganic matter,  they  can  no  more  create  than 
they  can  form  the  lime  or  the  silica,  which  are 
as  commonly  present  in  most  vegetables  as 
sugar,  gum,  or  woody  fibre.  Davy  proved  this 
when  he  made  a  plant  of  the  oat  grow  in  pure 
carbonate  of  lime,  and  watered  it  with  pure 
distilled  water.  It  grew  but  languidly,  and  al- 
though it  had  a  free  supply  of  the  atmospheric 
air,  yet  the  access  of  all  dust  was  carefully  pre- 
vented. Upon  analyzing  the  plant,  it  was  found 
to  have  much  increased  in  carbonate  of  lime, 
but  its  silica  or  flint  was  rather  diminished,  a 
grain  of  oat  being  found  to  yield  more:  this 
Davy  attributed  to  the  loss  of  its  husk  during 
vegetation.  {Lectures,  ^.Z\'2.)  Whatever  earthy 
or  saline  matters,  therefore,  are  found  in  vege- 
tables, must  have  been  either  derived  from  the 
natural  soil  or  furnished  by  the  manures  added 
to  it — whether  it  be  carbonate  of  lime  (chalk), 
or  silica  (earthy  matter  of  flint),  alumina  (clay), 
sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum),  or  phosphfite  of 
lime  (earthy  salt  of  bone).  It  should  also  be  a 
received  axiom  with  the  farmer,  that  there  is 
no  part  of  any  decomposing  animal  or  vegeta- 
ble manure  but  what  is,  either  in  its  gaseous  or 
solid  state,  the  natural  food  of  plants  :  thus  the 
gases  emitted  by  the  putrefaction  of  a  dunghill 
are  so  much  lost  to  the  vegetable  matters  of  the 
soil,  and  such  an  injury  is  never  submitted  to 
by  the  intelligent  cultivator,  but  from  an  una- 
voidable necessity.  Hence  the  value  of  green 
manures ;  for  in  these  cases  every  portion  of 
the  decaying  and  fermenting  fertilizer  is  gra- 
dually absorbed  by  the  roots  and  leaves  of  the 
succeeding  crop. 

When  the  cultivator  is  in  doubt  with  regard 
to  the  possible  advantages  of  any  manure, 
whether  earthy,  saline,  vegetable,  or  animal, 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


jfie  need  only  ask  himself  this  question :  Does 
this  manure  contain  any  constituents  found  in 
my  cri)j)s,  and  is  the  land  I  cultivate  deficient 
in  any  of  them?  An  inattention  to  this  consi- 
deration has  been  the  cause  of  much  disap- 
pointment and  many  mistaken  conclusions: 
for  instance,  on  many  soils  the  application  of 
gypsum  to  artificial  grasses,  and  even  to  tur- 
nips, is  very  useful ;  on  others  it  produces  no 
effect.  Strange  opinions  were  in  consequence 
long  entertained  with  regard  to  this  manure, 
until  it  was  found  that  the  soils  on  which  it 
was  valueless  naturally  contained  it  in  abun- 
dance, and  that  those  soils  in  which  it  did  so 
much  good  were  nearly  or  entirely  deficient  in 
this  essential  ingredient  of  clover,  lucern,&c. ; 
for  it  was  now  evident,  that  to  add  gypsum  to 
a  soil  which  already  contained  it  in  sufficient 
quantities,  was  as  needless  as  to  add  sand  to  a 
sandy,  or  clay  to  a  clayey  soil. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  plants  derive 
all  their  constituents  from  the  soil  or  the  air, 
ill  either  the  gaseous  or  liquid  state;  that  in 
the  light  they  absorb  carbonic  acid  gas  and 
emit  oxygen  is  well  known ;  by  this  means, 
therefore,  they  readily  obtain  the  necessary 
supply  of  carbon.  The  hydrogen  of  vegetable 
substances  is  most  probably  furnished  by  the 
decomposition  of  either  water  or  the  carburet- 
ted  hydrogen  emitted  during  the  putrefaction 
of  animal  and  vegetable  substances.  This 
latter  seems  peculiarly  grateful  to  plants  in 
those  situations  where  it  is  copiously  emitted, 
as  near  to  stagnant  pools,  over  drains,  &c., 
where  vegetation  is  always  rank;  and  when 
present  in  the  atmosphere,  as  in  coal-mines, 
the  green  colour  of  plants  growing  in  it  is  pre- 
served even  when  they  are  deprived  of  light. 
The  earthy  or  saline  matters  of  vegetables, 
such  as  silica,  carbonate,  phosphate,  and  sul- 
phate of  lime,  &c.,  are  all  in  minute  propor- 
tions soluble  in  water ;  they  are  found  more  or 
less  in  all  cultivated  soils,  and  when  they  are 
deficient,  their  addition,  as  I  have  before  ob- 
.served,  constitutes  the  great  art  of  manuring : 
but  there  are  such  endless  varieties  of  soils, 
that  there  is  hardly  a  manure  that  will  suit 
every  description — each  soil  must  be  separately 
examined — practice  is  the  only  substitute  for 
chemical  investigations. 

Thus,  wood-ashes  of  the  beech  or  bone- 
powder  form  excellent  manures  for  soils  defi- 
cient in  the  phosphates  ;  lime,  where  chalk  is 
altogether  absent,  and  so  on ;  and  whilst  we 
attend  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  we  must  also 
ever  recollect,  as  one  of  the  most  important 
principles  of  agriculture,  that  whatever  is  com- 
pletely removed  from  a  soil  by  crops,  must  be  in 
some  way  or  other  restored  by  artificial  means. 

That  various  earthy,  animal,  and  vegetable 
substances,  when  applied  to  the  roots  of  plants, 
accelerate  their  growth,  has  been  known  from 
a  very  early  period;  but  in  what  manner  these 
fertilizers  serve  as  the  food  of  vegetables  has 
not  been  certainly  determined.  That  they 
must  all  be  in  a  fluid  state,  is  supposed  to  be 
absolutely  necessary:  thus  all  the  attempts  of 
Sir  Humphry  Davy  to  make  plants  absorb  the 
fine  impalpable  powder  of  charcoal  obtahied 
by  washing  gunpowder  entirely  failed. 


I      The  soluble  matters  consumed  by  plants  are 
probably,  in  general,  absorbed  by  their  roots 
unaltered,  although,  in  other  cases,  decomposed 
I  during  their  absorption.    In  the  experiments 
I  of  Davy,  he  caused  the  roots  of  some  plants 
'  of  mint  to  be  analyzed,  which  had  grown  boiii 
j  in  pure  water  and  in  sugar  and  water.     120 
grains  of  the  roots  of  the   mint  which  had 
grown  in  common  water  yielded  3A  grains  of 
deep  olive  extract,  of  a  sweetish  and  astringent 
taste;  120  grains  of  the  roots  which  had  grown 
in  sugar  and  water  afforded  5  grains  of  pale 
greenish,  sweetish  extract,  not  so  astringent  as 
the  other.     (Lectures,  p.  270.)     These  experi- 
ments, therefore,  are  evidently  in  favour  of  the 
opinion  that  plants  absorb  many  of  the  con- 
stituents of  manures  in  an  unaltered  state,  and 
the   experiments  of  the  late  Mr.  G.  Sinclair 
with  saline  substances  are  still  more  decisive. 
See  Salts. 

The  roots  are  the  chief  organs  for  absorbing 
the  food  of  plants;  and  of  the  roots  it  is  nearly 
established  that  the  extremities,  or  spongioles, 
are  the  only  parts  which  have  the  power  of 
absorption ;  and  hence  one  reason  why  they 
increase  in  length  as  the  soil  at  their  extremi- 
ties is  exhausted  of  nourishment.  It  is  from 
this  cause  that  liquid  manure  is  so  valuable  a 
fertilizer;  for  in  the  dissolution  of  the  excre- 
ments of  animals  in  water,  as  practised  so  ad- 
vantageously in  foreign  countries,  and  long 
ably  recommended  by  Mr.  Knight,  the  late 
president  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  for  the 
adoption  of  the  English  farmers,  the  dung  is 
merely  rendered  more  easily  soluble  by  the 
plant,  and  better  diffused  in  the  land.  No  new 
compound  is  formed  by  the  mixture ;  the  action 
of  the  dung,  mixed  with  four  or  five  times  its 
weight  of  water,  is  apparently  much  less  ener- 
getic ;  and  yet  this  plan  is  decidedly  advan- 
tageous, successfully  produces  the  most  luxu- 
riant crops,  is  an  old  practice  on  the  Continent, 
is  gaining  ground  in  England,  and  the  more  it 
is  known  the  oftener  it  will  be  adopted.  Yet 
hitherto  in  England  much  too  little  general 
attention  has  been  paid  to  liquid  manures ;  by 
many  farmers  the  drainage  of  the  farm-yard 
and  the  house  is  generally  disregarded,  and 
allowed  to  escape  in  the  best  way  it  can,  into 
the  nearest  diteh  or  river,  being  supposed  to 
contain  nothing  that  is  the  food  of  plants  ;  and 
this,  too,  by  the  very  same  persons  who  are 
particularly  careful  in  the  preservation,  as 
food  for  their  hogs,  of  every  portion  of  a  mise- 
rable dish  of  cabbage- water.  See  Liaum  Ma- 
nure. 

There  are  certain  properties  in  which  all 
fertilizers,  to  a  certain  extent,  agree: — thus 
they  all  contain  one  or  more  vegetable  con- 
stituents, and  they  have  all  a  strong  attraction 
for  atmospheric  moisture  (the  insensible  va- 
pour always  contained  in  the  atmosphere). 
This  property  is  of  very  considerable  advan- 
tage to  vegetation.  The  comparative  powers, 
in  this  respect,  of  various  manures  may  be 
judged  of  from  the  results  of  my  experiments, 
which  will  be  found  in  the  following  table.  In 
these  the  animal  matters  were  employed  with- 
out any  admixture  of  straw.  {Essay  on  Sall^  p 
8—19.) 

77! 


MANURES. 

P»rt*. 
'000  parts  of  horse-dung,  dried  in  a  trmperatiire 
of  100°.  absorbed  by  exposure  for  three  hours 
to  air  saturated  with  moisture  of  the  tempera- 
ture tia"^ 145 

lOOO  parts  of  cow-dung,  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, absorbed     ------        130 

1000  parts  of  pig-dung  -----        1'20 

1000  pans  of  sheep-dung     -----  81 

1000  parts  of  pigeons'  dung         -        -        -        -  60 

1000  parts  of  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  worth  2  guineas 
per  acre    --------         14 

The  following  were  dried  at  212°. 

1000  parts  of  fresh  tanners' bark         -        -        -  115 

1000  parts  of  putrefied  tanners' bark  -        -        -  145 

1000  parts  of  refuse  marine  salt,  sold  as  manure  49^ 

1000  parts  of  soot          ------  36 

1000  parts  of  burnt  clay        -----  29 

1000  parts  of  coal  ashes       -----  14 

1000  parts  of  lime         ------  11 

1000  parts  of  sediment  from  salt  parts         -        -  10 

1000  parts  of  crushed  rock-salt   -        -        -        -  10 

1000  parts  of  gypsum    ------  9 

1000  parts  of  chalk       ------  4 

There  is  reason  to  conclude  that  some  ma- 
nures act  as  stimulants  to  plants,  and  excite 
them  to  a  more  vigorous  growth :  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  saline  matters  of  farm-yard  com- 
post operate  in  this  way,  and  that  saltpetre  and 
other  saline  fertilizers  do  the  same.  I  have 
often  had  occasion  to  notice  the  increased 
luxuriance  and  productiveness  of  fruit  trees, 
such  as  cherries  and  pears,  by  the  application 
of  common  salt.  (Essay  on  Salt,]).  4:.)  Priestley 
made  similar  observations.  "  It  seems  pretty 
plain,"  to  give  the  words  of  Dr.  Thomson, 
"that  the  vessels  of  plants  are  made  to  contract 
by  various  stinmli:  the  experiments  of  Coulomb 
and  Saussure  render  this  probable ;  and  an 
observation  of  Dr.  Smith  Barton  makes  it  next 
to  certain.  He  found  that  plants  growing  in 
water  vegetated  with  much  greater  vigour, 
provided  a  little  camphor  was  thrown  into  the 
water.  (Chemistry,  vol.  iv.  p.  338.) 

Of  the  organic  manures,  the  richest  abound 
in  azote,  or  nitrogen ;  and,  in  fact,  there  are, 
as  Dr.  Liebig  observes  (Organic  Chem.  p.  70), 
"numerous  facts  showing  that  the  formation 
in  plants  of  substances  containing  nitrogen, 
such  as  gluten,  takes  place  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  this  element,  which  is  conveyed  to 
their  roots  in  the  state  of  ammonia,  derived 
from  the  putrefaction  of  animal  matter.  Am- 
monia, which  is  composed  of  14*15  of  nitrogen 
and  1  of  hydrogen,  is  capable  of  undergoing 
such  a  multitude  of  transformations,  when  in 
contact  with  other  bodies,  that  in  this  respect 
it  is  not  inferior  to  water,  which  possesses  the 
same  property  in  an  eminent  degree."  "The 
employment  of  animal  manure,"  he  adds  (p. 
86),  "in  the  cultivation  of  grain,  and  the  vege- 
tables which  serve  for  fodder  to  cattle,  is  the 
most  convincing  proof  that  the  nitrogen  of 
vegetables  is  derived  from  ammonia.  The 
quantity  of  gluten  in  wheat,  rye,  and  barley  is 
very  different :  these  kinds  of  grain  also,  even 
when  ripe,  contain  this  compound  of  nitrogen 
in  very  different  proportions.  Proust  found 
French  wheat  to  contain  12-5  per  cent,  of 
gluten :  Vogel  found  that  the  Bavarian  con- 
tained 24  per  cent. :  Davy  obtained  19  per 
cent,  from  winter,  and  24  per  cent,  from  sum- 
mer wheat,  from  Sicilian  wheat  21,  and  from 
Barbary  wheat  19  per  cent.  The  meal  of 
Alsace  wheat,  according  to  Boussingault,  con- 
tains I'^-ft  per  cent,  of  gluten ;  that  of  wheat 
772 


MANURES. 

growing  in  the  Jardin  des  Plantes  26*7;  and 
that  of  winter  wheat  3*38  per  cent.  Such  great 
differences  must  be  owing  to  some  cause,  and 
this  we  find  in  the  different  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion. An  increase  of  animal  manure  gives 
rise  not  only  to  an  increase  in  the  number  of 
seeds,  but  also  to  a  most  remarkable  difference 
in  the  proportion  of  the  gluten  which  they  con- 
tain." And  he  adds  (p.  175),  when  speaking 
of  the  action  of  manures,  "according  to  the 
common  view,  the  action  of  solid  animal  ex- 
crements depends  on  the  decaying  organic 
matters,  which  replace  the  humus,  and  in  the 
presence  of  certain  compounds  of  nitrogen, 
which  are  supposed  to  be  assimilated  by 
plants,  and  employed  in  the  production  of 
gluten  and  other  azotized  substances.  But 
this  view  requires  further  confirmation  with 
respect  to  the  solid  excrements  of  animals ; 
for  they  contain  so  sriiall  a  portion  of  nitrogen, 
that  they  cannot  possibly,  by  means  of  it,  ex- 
ercise any  influence  upon  vegetation." 

The  following  table  of  manures,  constructed 
from  the  experiments  of  MM.  Payen  and  Bous 
singault,  showing  the  number  of  loads  required 
in  both  the  moist  (or  ordinary)  and  dried  (or 
prepared)  states  to  equal  100  loads  of  farm- 
yard dung,  so  far  as  the  quantity  of  the  nitro- 
gen they  contain  is  concerned,  will  be  interest- 
ing, I  think,  to  the  farmer.  (Gard.  Chron.) 

Moint.  Drv. 

Pea  straw         ------  22  100 

Saintfoin  straw         -----  83  361 

Vetch  straw     ------  39  174 

Wheat  straw   ------  166  6S0 

Do. 81  367 

Do.,lower  joints  -        .        -        -        -  97  453 
Do.,  upper  joints,  with  the  heads  after 

thrashing  ------  30  137 

Rye  straw        ------  235  975 

Do.,  of  1841 95  390 

Oat  straw         ------  142  641 

Barley  straw    ------  173  750 

Wheat  chaff 47  207 

.Jerusalem  artichoke  straw      -        -        -  108  453 

Broom       -----                 -  32  142 

Green  beet  leaves     -----  80  43 

Potato  leaves  ------72  84 

Carrot  leaves  ------  47  66 

Heath  leaves   ------  22  102 

Sea  wrack     ^-        -----  46  138 

Do. 42  123 

Do.        -...----  28  85 

Do.,  fresh  from  the  sea         -        -        -  74 

Malt  dust           ------8  39 

Buried  clover  roots          -        _        -        -  24  110 

Flax  cake          ------7  32 

Rape  cake         ------  8  35 

Fish  cake          ------  74  322 

Grease  cake     ------  11  49 

Beet-root  pulp          -----  35  154 

Do. 105  154 

Potato  pulp      ------  76  100 

Starch  water    -------  573 

Do. .  _  645 

Starch  refuse  ------  111  107 

Do. 24  — 

Dunghill  drainings  -----  67  12f 

Sawdust  of  acacia  -----  137  513 

Do. 173  629 

Do.  firwood           -----  250  886 

Do. 173  629 

Do.  oak         ------  74  256 

Solid  cow-dung        -----  125  84 

Cow  urine        ------90  51 

Mixed  cow-dung      -----  97  75 

Solid  horae-dung 72  88 

Horse  urine      ------  15  15 

Mixed  horse-dung    -----  54  64 

Do.  pig-dung         -----  63  57 

Do.  sheep-dung    -----  36  65 

Do.  goat-dung       -----  18  49 

Pigeon-dung    ------4  31 

Liquid  Flemish  manure  -        -        .        .  910  — 

Do. 181  — 


MANljRES. 

Moift.  Dry. 

Belloni's  poudrette          _        -        -        -        10  44 

Ovsier  shells    ------      125  487 

Marl 78  — 

Dry  muscular  flesh  -----          3  13 

Cod,  salted       ------5  17 

Do.,  pressed  arid  salted         -        -        -         2  10 

Blood,  soluble  ------3  12 

Do.,  liquid    ------13  — 

Do. 14  - 

Do.,  coagulated  and  pressed         -        -         8  11 

Do.,  dry,  insoluble        -        -        -        -         2  11 

Feathers 2  10 

Cows'  hair -2  12 

Woollen  rags  ------2  9 

Horn  raspings           -----          2  12 

Cockchafers 12  14 

Bones,  hoiled   ------5  25 

Do.,  moist      ------7  — 

Do.,  fat 6  — 

Glue  rofuse 75  213 

Glue  dross 10  34 

Graves     -------          3  15 

Animal  blacking  of  the  maker         -        -        37  95 

Animalized  black     -----        36  96 

Noir  de  champs        -----        32  65 

It  is  a  very  common  error  to  suppose  that 
manures  of  a  vegetable  or  animal  nature  im- 
part any  sensible  warmth  to  a  soil ;  the  analogy 
sometimes  attempted  to  be  drawn  between  the 
action  of  a  fermenting  dung-heap  and  some  15 
or  20  loads  of  fermented  dung,  or  half  a  ton 
of  chopped  woollen  rags,  spread  thinly  over  an 
acre  of  ground,  is  too  absurd  to  be  admitted. 
Yet,although  the  dung  does  not  sensibly  increase 
the  warmth  of  the  land,  the  temperature  of 
the  earth,  and  the  free  access  of  the  gases  of 
the  atmosphere  have  a  very  material  influence 
upon  the  duration  of  the  manure  in  the  soil. 
Thus,  in  the  heavy  clay  and  deep  alluvial  soils 
it  remains  much  longer  than  in  the  sandy, 
chalky,  or  gravelly.  In  the  first  its  good  effects 
may  be  traced  for  three  or  four  years ;  in  the 
last  it  is  usually  consumed  in  one,  two,  or  at  the 
utmost  three  years.  To  the  last  description  of 
land,  therefore,  the  judicious  cultivator  usually 
applies  his  compost  in  a  half-putrefied  state,  in 
order  that  it  may  remain  longer  in  the  soil : 
this  is  now  the  practice  of  some  of  the  most 
enlightened  agriculturists. 

Too  little  attention  is  paid,  in  general,  to  the 
mixture  of  manures  by  the  farmer.  This  re- 
mark not  only  applies  to  those  of  the  farm- 
yard,— little  care  being  usually  taken  to  spread 
evenly  those  of  the  horse,  the  cow,  and  the  pig, 
although  it  is  notorious  to  the  best  cultivators, 
what  was  stated  by  the  late  Mr.  Blakie,  in  his 
Essay  on  the  Mauagenient  of  Farm-yard  Manure, 
that  this  chief  of  fertilizers  is  very  considerably 
improved  by  an  even  mixture, — but  the  remark 
applies  to  almost  all  other  manures.  Thus,  old 
heaps  of  weeds,  pond-mud,  scourings  of  ditches, 
and  all  the  earths  in  which  there  is  any  organic 
matter,  are  best  applied  to  the  soil  after  being 
mingled  with  lime  or  common  salt.  Peat,  saw- 
dust, wood-chips,  and  tanners'  bark,  nearly  in- 
ert substances  in  themselves,  become  excellent 
manure  when  mixed  with  stable-dung.  Sprats, 
and  all  other  fish,  are  successfully  and  econo- 
mically added  to  three  or  four  times  their  bulk 
of  mould;  and  even  bone-dust  is  successfully 
applied  with  a  third  of  its  weight  of  the  dung 
of  the  sheep,  and  may  be  then  drilled  as  ad- 
vantageously with  the  turnip-seed  as  the  bones 
in  their  simple  state.  Then,  again,  mixing 
together  some  kinds  of  manures  produces,  by 
Jieir  c'lcmical  action,  a  third  or  fourth,  which 


MANURES. 

is  more  valuable  than  either.  Thus,  when  salt 
and  lime  are  united  together,  in  the  proportion 
of  one  part  of  the  former  to  two  parts  of  the 
latter,  a  chemical  action  takes  place;  the  mass 
swells,  and  the  salt  is  gradually  decomposed; 
and  in  the  course  of  three  months,  if  the  heap 
is  suffered  to  remain  undisturbed,  both  the  salt 
and  the  lime  nearly  disappear,  and  two  new 
substances  are  formed  by  the  combinations 
into  which  their  constituents  have  entered,  viz. 
soda  and  chloride  of  lime;  both  excellent  ma- 
nures. In  other  cases,  the  mere  mixture  of 
two  well-known  fertilizers,  without  any  che- 
mical action  between  the  two,  produces  much 
greater  effects  than  that  of  both  when  used  se- 
parately. Thus,  a  compound  of  salt  and  soot 
possesses  the  most  extraordinary  fertilizing 
effects.  The  late  Mr.  G.  Sinclair,  in  his  Prize 
Essay  on  Salt,  describes  it  "  as  remarkable,'* 
when  applied  to  carrots ;  a  fact  which  I  have 
often  witnessed  myself.  (My  Essay  on  Salt  for 
Agriculture,  p.  145.)  The  Rev.  Edmund  Cart- 
wright  was  the  first  to  notice  the  same  result 
with  potatoes  (Coyn.  to  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  iv.  p. 
376) ;  and  the  same  benefit  is  evident  when  the 
mixture  is  used  as  a  top-dressing  for  wheat; 
in  which  observation  my  experience  is  con- 
firmed by  that  of  others.  (My  Essay  on  Salt, 
p.  41.)  There  are  a  few  instances,  however, 
in  which  substances  used  as  manures  are  best 
employed  in  their  simple  state.  Thus,  sea- 
weed, which  many  of  the  farmers  on  the  sea- 
coast  throw  on  their  dung-heaps,  is  much  better 
employed  by  itself,  turned  into  the  earth  in  the 
freshest  and  greenest  condition :  and  to  all 
green  manures,  and  to  those  which  contain 
salts  of  ammonia,  such  as  urine,  or  the  liquor 
from  gas-works,  the  same  remarks  are  appli- 
cable.    See  Mixture  of  Soils. 

The  proportion  in  which  fertilizers  are  ap- 
plied is  generally  unnecessarily  large,  even  of 
organic  manures  ;  and  although  this  bad  prac- 
tice has  been  regularly  diminishing  as  agricul- 
ture has  become  better  understood,  yet  much 
remains  to  be  done,  in  preventing  that  wasteful 
expenditure  of  dung  which  is  continually  tak- 
ing place. 

It  is  more  than  probable,  that  the  use  of  the 
improved  manure-drills,  by  the  even  distribu- 
tion of  the  fertilizer,  and  bringing  it  more 
closely  into  contact  with  the  crop,  will  effect 
much  towards  this  very  desirable  saving ;  for 
it  must  be  evident  to  the  most  careless,  that  in 
the  manner  in  which  compost  is  commonly 
spread  over  a  field, — suffered  to  be  dissipate  i 
by  long  exposure  in  heaps  to  the  sun  and  wind, 
and  afterwards  spread  over  spaces  in  which 
there  are  not  any  plants  to  absorb,  during  its 
fermentation,  the  disengaging  gases,  a  very 
considerable  portion  of  it  is  lost  to  the  farmer's 
crops.  See  Manures  applicable  by  the 
Drill. 

It  is  almost  needless  to  remark  upon  the  im- 
portance of  such  investigations  as  these  both 
to  the  cultivator  and  to  the  land-owner,  or  of  tnt 
caution  necessary  in  drawing  conclusions  from 
experiments  in  which  vegetation  is  concerned. 
"Life,"  said  Davy,  "gives  a  peculiar  character 
to  all  its  productions ;  the  power  of  atlractio" 
and  repulsion,  combination  and  decomposition 
are  subservient  to  it ;  a  few  elements,  bv  thf 
3  T  2  773 


MANURES. 

diversity  of  their  arrangements,  are  xnade  to 
form  the  most  different  substances,  and  simi- 
lar substances  are  produced  from  compounds 
which,  when  superficially  examined,  appear 
entirely  different."  And,  as  he  well  remarks 
in  apother  place,  when  speaking  of  the  subject 
of  iLj*  article — "The  doctrine  of  the  proper 
application  of  manures  offers  an  illustration 
of  an  important  part  of  the  economy  of  nature, 
and  of  the  happy  order  in  which  it  is  arranged. 
The  fermentation  and  putrefaction  of  organized 
substances,  in  the  free  atmosphere,  are  noxious 
processes ;  beneath  the  surface  of  the  ground 
ihey  are  salutary  operations.  In  this  case  the 
food  of  plants  is  prepared  where  it  can  be  used, 
and  that  which  would  offend  the  senses  and 
injure  the  health,  if  exposed,  is  converted  by 
gradual  processes  into  forms  of  beauty  and  of 
usefulness."  (Jgr.  Cheni.  pp.  64—309.)  All 
researches  like  these  carry  with  them  their 
own  reward ;  for  not  only  does  a  successful 
experiment  do  so,  but  even  an  unsuccessful 
one  is  not  unattended  with  advantages :  it  at 
least  serves  as  a  beacon  to  other  cultivators, 
and  is  sure  to  afford  to  the  farmer  that  pleasure 
and  increased  power  which  ever  accompanies 
the  acquisition  of  knowledge.  (Johnson  on  the 
Fertilizers,  p.  32.)  See  Gases,  Earths,  Salts, 
Water,  Farm-Yard  Manure,  Bones,  Chalk, 
Lime,  Liq,uid  Manure,  &c. 

Weight  of  a  Cubic  Yard  of  various  Manures. 

Cwts.    qii.    Ib«. 

Oardeii  mould    -        -        -        -        -       -19      3      95 

New  dung  ......        93      18 

Leaves  and  sea-weed  -  ...  9  0  3 
Water 15      0        3 

Compost  of  dung,  with  weeds  and  lime, 
which  had  been  once  turned  over  in  9 
months  -------14      05 

(C.  TV.  Johnson  "On  Fertilizers,"  p.  90.) 

Manures,  on  rendering  them  more  portable  and 
applicable  by  the  Drill. — The  application  of  ma- 
nures in  a  more  concentrated  form  than  that  in 
which  they  naturally  present  themselves  for 
the  cultivator's  service,  was  an  effort  reserved 
for  modern  agriculturists ;  an  improvement 
chiefly  induced  by  the  increase  of  population, 
which  almost  compelled  the  farmer  to  force 
into  cultivation  the  poor  inland  soils  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Continent:  lands  which  could 
only  be  enriched  by  fertilizers  brought  from 
other  districts,  and  from  places  where  men 
congregated  together  in  large  masses.  This 
necessity  was,  some  years  since,  first  felt  and 
acted  upon  by  many  of  the  large  continental 
cities,  such  as  Paris,  Berlin,  Frankfort,  and 
some  of  the  other  chief  German  towns.  The 
contents  of  the  cesspools  were,  in  consequence, 
collected  ;  their  fertilizing  matters  were  mixed 
with  drying,  disinfecting  substances,  and  when 
thus  reduced  to  powder,  or  into  cakes,  sold  at 
a  considerable  profit  The  enlightened  con- 
stituted authorities  of  these  places  felt  that 
they  were,  by  so  doing,  conferring  great  and 
important  benefits  not  only  on  their  fellow- 
citizens,  but  upon  the  distant  cultivator.  They 
did  not  confine  their  attention  to  the  farmers  in 
Iheir  own  direct  vicinity;  because  they  well 
knew  that  those,  in  common  with  the  imme- 
diate agricultural  neighbours  of  all  large  cities, 
have  a  ready  access  to  an  abundance  of  organic 
0 1  Jin  u  res,  since  the  cultivators  so  favourably 
774 


MANURES 

situated  carry  their  produce  w  ith  facility  into 
such  populous  places,  and  return  with  their 
carriages  loaded  with  manuns.  And  yet,  when 
the  German  and  French  authorities  thus  hus- 
banded,— thus  rendered  more  portable,  the 
manure  of  their  large  towns,  they  made  no 
discovery;  they  merely  practised  what  the 
Chinese  had  preceded  them  in  from  lime  im- 
memorial, and  what,  in  Flanders,  is  an  old  and 
long-cherished  custom.  The  only  improve- 
ment which  the  citizens  of  Paris  and  Frankfort 
have  made  is,  that  they  form  with  their  night- 
soil  an  enriching  powder;  while  those  of  China 
and  of  Belgium  still  make  theirs  into  cakes, 
with  a  portion  of  either  clay  or  marl ;  so  that 
the  powder  of  Paris  can  be  either  applied  with 
the  drill  or  dibble,  but  the  Chinese  and  Flem- 
ings are  obliged  to  dissolve  theirs  in  water, 
before  it  can  be  used  as  a  liquid  manure  with 
advantage.  In  England,  however,  notwith- 
standing the  example  of  our  neighbours,  little 
or  nothing  has  yet  been  done  to  render  the 
commonest  manures,  such,  for  instance,  as 
night-soil,  more  portable.  The  nightmen  and 
scavengers  are  still  compelled  to  hurry  away 
their  collections  only  at  stated  hours  and  in  the 
dead  of  the  night;  are  fined  for  any  neglect, 
and  harassed  in  all  possible  ways,  rather  than 
that  this,  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  animal 
fertilizers,  should  be  preserved  for  the  use  of 
the  farmer  in  any  way  that  might  endanger  the 
olfactory  nerves  of  the  citizens.  But  an  en- 
dangerment  upon  sensitive  noses  is  not  essen- 
tial ;  the  night-soil  might  be  preserved  without 
any  offence  to  the  most  sensitive.  But  this 
manure  has  been  hitherto  little  known  or  em- 
ployed in  this  country ;  its  powers  have  been 
misrepresented;  all  sorts  of  prejudices  have 
been  created  against  it.  I  propose  here  briefly 
to  show,  first,  the  composition  and  fertilizing 
powers  of  various  manures  ;  and,  secondly,  to 
examine  the  modes  which  have  been  recently 
adopted  to  render  them  inodorous  and  more 
easily  portable,  so  as  to  bring  them  within  the 
reach  of  even  the  farmer  who  has  to  contend 
with  the  poorest,  the  most  upland  soils  of 
Britain,  far  away  from  its  great  towns.  And, 
although  I  confine  my  attention  in  this  essay 
chiefly  to  one  fertilizer,  yet  there  are  other 
manures,  now  well  known  to,  and  extensively 
employed  by  the  cultivator,  whose  powerful 
action,  when  judiciously  used  in  very  small 
proportions,  well  illustrates  the  truth  of  what  I 
have  so  often  ventured  to  urge  upon  the  far- 
mer's attention,  viz.,  that  a  much  smaller  quan 
tity  of  manure,  composed  of  any  description 
of  organic  decomposing,  matters,  is  sufficient, 
when  applied  in  a  skilful  manner,  to  produce 
more  luxuriant  effects  than  is  commonly  be- 
lieved. The  very  great  importance  of  apply- 
ing fertilizers  in  immediate  juxtaposition  with 
the  young  plant,  even  in  very  small  propor- 
tions, as  by  the  drill,  is  only  now  beginning  to 
be  considered  with  even  patient  attention  ;  and 
yet  there  are  many  circumstances  with  which 
the  farmer  is  well  acquainted,  which  ought  to 
convince,  the  most  inattentive  that  such  is  the 
fact.  The  small  quantity  of  oil-cake  drilled 
with  the  seed ;  the  few  bushels  of  bones  suc- 
cessfully applied  in  the  same  way  per  acre ; 
the  woollen  rags  of  the  Berkshire  farmers  (half 


MANURES. 

K  ton  per  acre  only)  ;  the  2  cwt.  of  gypsum  ap- 
])lied  to  sainfoin  and  clov^er ;  the  1  cwt.  of  salt- 
;)etre,  or  of  nitrate  of  soda,  used  on  the  same 
oxtent  of  land,  all  indicate  the  truth  of  the  case, 
hat  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  apply  fer- 
ilizers  of  any  kind  in  such  great  masses  as 
ire  commonly  deemed  essential  by  the  cultiva- 
;or  I  was  told  not  long  since  by  an  excellent 
farmer  of  Middlesex,  Mr.  George  Sherbourn, 
'.hat  he  had  succeeded  in  producing  the  finest 
3rops  of  turnips  by  merely  mixing  about  30 
bushels  of  coal-ashes  per  acre  with  3  gallons 
of  train-oil,  and  drilling  these  oiled  ashes  with 
the  seed.  It  is  a  folly,  therefore,  to  contend 
that  the  careless  way  in  which  organic  ma- 
nures of  all  kinds  are  usually  employed  is  the 
most  economical,  and  susceptible  of  no  im- 
provement. Such  complacent  feelings  have 
ever  been  the  bane  of  agricultural  improve- 
ment ;  for  it  is  then  certain  to  follow  as  a 
natural  result,  that  the  system  which  the  culti- 
vator deems  perfect  will,  in  his  hands,  remain 
as  he  found  it.  Having  no  hope  for  better 
things,  better  modes  will  by  him  never  be  dis- 
covered. 

Some  recent  experiments  on  a  very  broad 
scale,  in  the  forest  of  Darnaway  in  Scotland, 
have  shown  that  the  application  of  a  quan 
tity  of  lime  under  each  seedling  tree,  even  so 
small  an  amount  as  4  bushels  per  acre,  has 
been  productive  of  the  most  excellent  effects, 
imparting  to  the  plantation  a  degree  of  luxuri- 
ance hardly  credible.  The  same  advantage, 
therefore,  which  is  derivable  from  the  applica- 
tion of  a  very  small  quantity  of  organic  ma- 
nure, in  immediate  contact  with  the  growing 
plant,  is  evidently  also  derivable  from  a  much 
smaller  quantity  of  earthy  manures  than  the 
farmer  commonly  supposes. 

There  are  several  advantages  derivable  from 
placing  the  seed  in  direct  contact  with  the 
manure,  to  which  the  farmer  very  rarely  at- 
tends. For  instance,  the  germinating  seed  in 
the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  fertilizer 
is  by  this  means  well  nourished  at  the  very 
period  of  its  growth  when  it  most  needs  assist- 
ance to  enable  it  to  develope  its  fibres,  and  to 
extend  its  roots.  The  youngplant,  so  situated, 
is  not  exhausted  in  its  extension  ;  it  avoids  the 
usual  fate  of  those  crops  which  tenant  poor 
soils,  whose  roots  are  obliged  to  penetrate  some 
distance  in  search  of  the  requisite  degree  of 
nourishment.  On  the  contrary,  the  strength 
of  the  plant  is  thrown  into  the  stem  and  the 
leaves,  and  the  crop  flourishes  luxuriantly;  for 
the  leaves  and  roots  of  the  invigorated  and 
healthy  plant  are  enabled  to  absorb  the  gases 
and  aqueous  vapour  of  the  atmosphere,  by 
which  the  plant  is  nourished  in  the  most  com- 
plete manner.  The  very  mechanical  effect, 
too,  of  placing  the  decomposing  organic  ma- 
nure in  direct  contact  with  the  roots  of  vegeta- 
bles, facilitating  the  free  access  to  them  of  the 
atmospheric  gases  and  vapour,  would  be  alone 
a  sufficient  reason  for  the  adoption  of  the 
manure  drill  system,  even  if  we  say  nothing 
of  the  other  certain  advantages  of  the  plan, 
such  as,  in  the  case  of  decomposing  fertilizers, 
the  presentation  of  the  gases  of  putrefaction  [ 
lo  the  roots  of  the  plant,  at  the  moment  of  their  I 
extrication,  and   the  economical  and  forcing  1 


MANURES. 

effects  of  this  r^ode  of  distributing  tiie  manure 
The  farmer,  m  fact,  tells  us  that  the  plan  is 
probably  a  good  one,  but  then  his  explanation 
of  the  derived  benefit  is  very  errcneous.  He 
informs  us,  that  thus  to  push  forward  the 
growth  of  the  young  crop  is  very  likely  to  be 
good  husbandry,  especially  on  light  soils, 
since,  by  this  means,  where  the  ground  is  well 
covered  with  the  crop,  'V^e  moisture  is  kept  i?T, 
and  the  sun  is  kept  out."  If  the  cultivator  would 
but  remember,  that  the  quantity  of  moisture 
transpired  by  a  given  surface  of  a  growing 
crop  is  considerably  greater  than  that  emitted 
by  the  most  naked  fallow,  he  would  no  longer 
be  content  with  such  an  explanation  as  this. 

Dr.  Hales  ascertained  that  a  cabbage  trans- 
mits into  the  atmosphere  by  insensible  vapour, 
about  half  its  weight  of  vapour  daily  ;  and  that 
a  sunflower,  three  feet  in  height,  transpired,  in 
the  same  period,  nearly  two  pounds  weight. 
Dr.  Woodward  found  that  a  sprig  of  mint, 
weighing  27  grains,  in  77  days  emitted  2543 
grains  of  water;  a  sprig  of  spearmint,  weigh- 
ing 27  grains,  emitted,  in  the  same  lime,  2558 
grains  ;  a  sprig  of  common  nightshade,  weigh- 
ing 49  grains,  evolved  3708  grains ;  and  a 
lathyrus,  of  98  grains,  emitted  2501. 

If  I  were  asked  to  produce  any  evidence  o/ 
the  extreme  difficulty  with  which  agricultural 
improvements,  even  of  the  most  undoubted 
value,  are  introduced,  I  should  at  once  instance 
the  manure-drill,  the  progress  of  which  has 
been  slow — for  it  has  shared  the  fate  of  very 
many  other  scientific  efforts :  it  has  been  zea- 
lously opposed  by  the  ignorant,  neglected  by 
the  indolent,  and  ridiculed  by  the  bigoted 
farmer,  as  an  innovation  upon  the  good  old 
system  of  the  days  of  the  patriarchs  of  agricul- 
ture, when  the  earth  brought  forth  its  fruits  in 
abundance,  and  the  very  seeds  were  not  sown 
by  man.  But  even  here  this  solitar}'  argument 
of  the  adherent  to  old  customs  fails ;  for  the 
Chinese  (the  most  expert  of  farmers)  and  the 
cultivators  of  Japan  and  of  Arabia  have  drilled 
and  dibbled  in  their  seed  from  time  immemo- 
rial. The  natives  of  the  Carnatic  do  the  same; 
and  after  they  have  thus  deposited  their  seed, 
the  Hindoos  use  a  kind  of  subsoil-plough, 
which  passes  under,  and  loosens,  to  the  depth 
of  about  eight  inches,  the  soil  under,  abf^t 
three  drills'  breadth  at  a  time.  And  so  preju- 
diced are  the  natives  of  those  empires,  too,  in 
favour  of  the  customs  of  their  ancestors — so 
rarely  do  they  introduce  new  modes  of  culti- 
vation, that  it  has  been  very  reasonably  con- 
cluded that  the  drill  system,  so  far  from  being 
entitled  to  the  appellation  of  "the  new  hus- 
bandry," ought  rather  to  be  classed  with  those 
branches  of  the  sciences  which  degenerated,  or 
were  lost  in  the  dark  ages. 

Sir  George  Staunton,  in  his  Accovmt  of  Lord 
Macartney^s  Embassy  to  China,  says  (vol.  ii.  p. 
375) — "Near  Sanchoo,  wheat  was  perceived 
growing  for  the  first  time  in  China.  It  was, 
though  on  a  dry  sandy  soil,  where  no  rain  had 
fallen  for  the  three  preceding  months,  looking 
remarkably  well.  It  was  very  neatly  sown  in 
drills,  or  dibbled,  according  to  the  method  used 
of  late  in  some  parts  of  England.  A  gentleman 
of  the  embassy  calculated  that  the  saving  ■  *" 
the  seed  alone  in  China  by  this  irill  husbandrv, 

776 


MANURES. 


MANT^RES. 


which  would  be  lost  by  that  of  broadcast, 
would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  all  the  Euro- 
pean subjects  of  Great  Britain." 

In  a  communication  to  the  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, dated  at  Junacondah,  December  31, 
1795,CaptainHalcottsays, — "The  drill-plough, 
I  find,  is  in  general  use  here,  and  has  been  so 
time  immemorial,  in  the  culture  of  all  grain 
(except  horse  grain),  and  also  of  tobacco,  cot- 
ton, rice,  and  the  castor-oil  plant." 

The  first  drill  introduced  into  Europe  seems 
to  have  been  the  invention  of  a  German,  who 
made  it  known  to  the  Spanish  court  in  1647. 
(Harte^s  Essays  on  Husbandry.)  The  Roman 
farmers  endeavoured  to  attain  the  advantages 
of  row-culture  by  ploughing  in  the  seeds. 

It  is  useless  to  search  in  the  works  of  Jethro 
Tull  for  any  recommendation  of  the  drill  as  a 
means  of  applying  manure;  for  all  TuU's 
arguments  and  experiments  are  directed  to 
proving  that  the  application  of  manure  of  any 
kind  is  utterly  needless.  And  yet  he  had  the 
discernment,  when  thus  suffering  his  enthu- 
siasm to  carry  him  much  too  far,  to  make  the 
observation,  that  "almost  the  only  use  of  all 
manure  is  the  same  as  of  tillage,  viz.,  the  pul- 
veration  ii  makes  by  fermentation,  as  tillage 
doth  by  attrition  or  contusion  ;  and  with  these 
differences,  that  dung,  which  is  the  most  com- 
mon manure,  is  apt  to  increase  weeds,  as  much 
as  tillage  (of  which  hoeing  is  chief)  destroys 
them."  (New  Husbandry,  p.  166,  1st  edit.  1731.) 
The  advantage,  thus  glanced  at  by  Tull,  of  the 
manure  keeping  the  ground  light  and  porous, 
is  much  greater  than  the  cultivator  commonly 
suspects,  and  this  benefit  is  mainly  owing  to 
the  free  access  which  is  thus  secured  of  the 
watery  vapour  and  gases  of  the  atmosphere  to 
the  roots  of  the  plants.  Now,  for  the  vapour 
of  the  atmosphere,  all  well-pulverized  fertile 
earth  has  a  strong  attraction :  the  richer  and 
the  belter  divided  the  soil,  the  more  copiously 
does  it  absorb  vapour ;  but  the  power  of  the 
richest  cultivated  soils  in  this  respect  is  very 
much  inferior  to  that  of  even  the  most  ordi- 
nary manure.  In  my  own  experiments,  I  have 
never  found,  in  a  given  space,  say  three  hours, 
that  1000  parts  of  the  richest  soil,  previously 
dried,  absorbed  more  than  from  14  to  20  parts 
of  jnoisture ;  but  in  the  same  time,  under  simi- 
lar circumstances,  1000  parts  of  horse-dung 
absorbed  145  parts;  cow-dung,  130  ;  pig-dung, 
120  ;  sheep-dung,  81  ;  pigeons'  dung,  50.  (My 
Work  "  On  Fertilizers,'"  p.  41.)  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  for  the  mere  purpose  of  with- 
standing long-continued  dry  weather,  those 
plants  whose  roots  have  immediate  access  to 
organic  manures  will  be  much  better  enabled 
to  absorb  the  necessary  supplies  of  atmospheric 
moisture  than  those  merely  vegetating  in  the 
unmanured  soil. 

The  merit  of  the  introduction  of  the  drill  to 
freneral  notice  in  England,  is,  however,  to  be 
ascribed,  in  a  great  measure,  to  Jethro  Tull. 
Yet  Jethro  Tull  certainly  thought  himself  the 
inventor :  for  he  tells  us  so  very  clearly,  in  the 
preface  to  the  first  edition  of  his  Horse-hoe  Hus- 
bandry, published  in  1731,  and  even  whence 
he  derived  the  hint  for  his  drill;  he  says, — 
"When  I  was  young,  my  diversion  was  music;  j 
\  had  also  the  curiosity  to  acquaint  myself  j 
77<t 


thoroughly  with  the  fabric  of  every  part  of  my 
organ ;  but  as  little  thinking  that  I  should  ever 
take  from  thence  the  first  rudiments  of  a  drill, 
as  that  I  should  ever  have  occasion  for  such  a 
machine,  or  practise  agriculture ;  for  'twas 
accident,  not  choice,  that  made  me  a  farmer." 
But  he  was  certainly  not  the  originator  of  the 
idea  of  thus  applying  the  seed ;  for,  nearly  a 
century  before  his  time,  John  Worlidge  inef- 
fectually, in  1669,  laboured  hard  to  draw  the 
English  farmers'  attention  not  only  to  the  drill, 
but  to  the  manure-drill  also.  And  little  can  be 
now  added  to  what,  175  years  since,  honest 
John  Worlidge  urged  in  its  favour,  when  he 
said,  after  describing  the  seed-drill, — "  By  the 
use  of  this  instrument,  also,  you  may  cover 
your  grain  or  pulse  with  any  rich  compost  you 
shall  prepare  for  that  purpose,  either  with 
pigeons'  dung,  dry  or  granulated,  or  any  other 
saline  or  lixivial  substance,  made  dispersable, 
which  may  drop  after  the  corn,  and  prove  an 
excellent  improvement;  for  we  find,  experi- 
mentally, that  pigeons'  dung,  sown  by  the  hand 
on  wheat  or  barley,  mightily  advantageth  it  in 
the  common  way  of  husbandry :  much  more, 
then,  might  we  expect  this  way,  where  the 
dung,  or  such  like  substance,  is  all  in  the  same 
furrow  with  the  corn  ;  whereas,  in  the  other 
vulgar  way,  a  great  part  thereof  comes  not 
near  it.  It  may  either  be  done  by  having 
another  hopper  on  the  same  frame  behind  that 
for  the  corn,  wherein  the  compost  may  be  put 
and  made  to  drop  successively  after  the  corn  ; 
or  it  may  be  sown  by  another  instrument  to 
follow  the  former,  which  is  the  better  way,  and 
may  both  disperse  the  soil  and  cover  the  ma- 
nure and  seed." 

Worlidge  was  well  supported  by  Evel3ai, 
'who,  in  a  communication  to  the  Royal  Society, 
dated  in  February,  1669,  urged  the  advantages 
of  a  drill-plough,  which,  first  invented  in  Ger- 
many, had  thence  been  introduced  at  Madrid 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Spanish  monarch, 
and  had  been  forwarded  from  Spain  by  the 
Earl  of  Sandwich,  as  the  invention  of  a  Don 
Leucatilla.  It  is  there  described  as  "  the  Spa- 
nish sembrador,  or  new  engine  for  ploughing, 
and  equal  sowing  all  sorts  of  grain,  and  har- 
rowing at  once."  Leucatilla  saw  very  clearly 
the  errors  of  the  broadcast  system:  he  ob- 
served,— "  Eveti  at  this  day  (1669)  all  sorts  of 
seeds  are  sown  by  handfuls,  heedlessly  and  by 
chance,  whence  we  see  corn  sowed  in  some 
places  too  thick,  in  others  too  thin." 

It  was  between  the  years  1720  and  1740  that 
Jethro  Tull  laboured  thus  hard,  and  with  a 
success  little  equal  to  his  merits,  to  introduce 
the  drill  system:  the  honour, however,  was  re 
served  for  the  present  Lord  Leicester,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  present  century,  of  inducing 
its  general  employment,  for  which  the  soils  of 
the  greatest  portion  of  Norfolk  are  so  very  well 
adapted.  It  then  naturally  followed,  that  vari- 
ous manures  were  found  easily  applicable  at 
the  same  time  with  the  seed.  Powdered  oil- 
cake was  one  of  the  first  substances  that  was 
used  as  a  manure,  and  the  discovery  of  the 
value  of  crushed  bones  as  a  fertilizer  for  tur- 
nips, opened  another  wide  field  for  the  useful 
application  of  this  invaluable  machine.  The 
manure-drill,  in  fact,  thence  received  an  ira- 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


petns  which  it  will  probably  never  lose,  for 
with  its  use  is  now  almost  inseparably  con- 
nected the  cultivation  of  some  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive districts  of  the  poor  light  lands  in  the 
north  of  England;  such  as  on  the  Wolds  of 
Lincolnshire,  and  the  sands  of  Nottingham- 
shire.    See  Boxes, 

The  most  recent  improvement  in  the  manure- 
drill  is  that  of  Mr.  Grounsel  of  Louth,  for  which 
the  English  Agricultural  Society  awarded 
him,  in  1839,  their  silver  medal.  It  is  an  at- 
tempt, and  an  excellent  one  too,  to  imitate  the 
dibbling  system,  so  as  not  ohly  to  save  seed, 
but  the  manure  also.  And  although,  in  all  re- 
searches of  this  nature,  it  is  especially  neces- 
sary to  proceed  with  great  care,  and  to  regard 
single  experiments  with  caution,  yet  what  has 
been  yet  experienced  of  its  powers  is  certainly 
of  a  nature  to  induce  farther  and  more  extend- 
ed trials ;  since  it  is  evident  that  this  drill  can 
apply,  and  evenly  too,  as  small  a  quantity  of 
crushed  bones  or  ashes  as  six  bushels  per 
acre.  In  reply  to  some  inquiries  of  mine,  the 
inventor  says, — "My  drill  will  deposit  from  6 
to  100  bushels  per  acre  of  any  kind  of  compost 
that  may  be  prepared  for  drilling,  from  10 
inches  to  any  greater  distance  apart  in  the 
rows,  with  turnips  or  grain,  and  either  in  a  wet 
or  drj'  condition ;  but  I  recommend,  from  ex- 
perience, ashes  to  be  applied  in  a  wet  state, 
especially  in  a  dry  turnip-seed  season,  for  then 
the  seeds  vegetate  much  sooner.  Another 
equally  excellent  drop,  and  common  drill,  is 
that  made  by  Mr.  Hornsby  of  Grantham."  See 
Drill. 

Admitting  the  truth  of  these  experiments, 
that  one-half  the  quantity  of  organic  manures 
usually  spread  on  the  land  is  sufficient,  when 
applied  by  the  drill,  in  immediate  contact  with 
the  seed,  what  a  field  is  thus  opened  for  the 
manuring  of  much  larger  breadths  of  land 
than  has  hitherto  been  deemed  possible.  The 
complaints  of  the  deficiency  of  manures,  which 
are  now  so  prevalent  with  farmers,  need  then 
no  longer  be  heard.  Their  crops  will  be  pro- 
perly nourished,  and  the  manure  applied  with 
them  will  be  not  only  bestowed  in  the  most 
scientific  manner,  but  it  will  lead  to  other  im- 
provements ;  it  will  enable  the  farmer  to  mix 
his  manures,  according  to  the  nature  of  his 
soil  and  his  crop,  with  much  more  facility  than 
at  present :  he  will  then  study,  not  merely  the 
economy  to  be  regarded  in  its  distribution,  but 
also  its  quality,  or  chemical  composition,  and 
to  what  soils  the  manure  is  best  adapted. 

There  is  one  class  of  fertilizers,  however, 
whose  application  by  the  drill  requires  great 
caution ;  I  allude  to  the  saline  manures,  for 
they  are  often  much  too  powerful  in  their  ope- 
ration to  be  safely  applicable  in  their  pure 
state  or  in  large  proportions.  Common  salt 
has,  in  this  way,  carried  great  destruction  by 
being  drilled  in  with  the  seed,  and  I  have  wit- 
nessed equally  disastrous  effects  from  applying 
the  lime  of  the  gas-works  (sulphuret  of  lime) 
in  the  same  way.  Yet  when  the  seed-wheat  is 
wetted  with  a  nearly  saturated  solution  of  salt, 
and  then  rolled  in  lime,  or  the  salt  and  lime  are 
not  used  until  they  have  been  mixed  together 
for  three  months,  and  then  sown  on  the  land 
broadcast,-  -or  when  the  gas-lime  is  previously 
98 


mixed  with  four  or  five  times  its  bulk  of  sifted 
mould  or  ashes,  then  I  have  seen  the  most 
excellent  effects  produced  by  its  being  drilled 
with  the  turnip-seed:  the  same  remarks  apply 
to  the  chloride  of  lime  of  the  calico-bleachers. 
Other  salts,  whose  action  is  less  energetic,  or 
which  are  applied  in  very  small  proportions, 
are  perhaps  best  applied  by  the  drill ;  for  in- 
stance, saltpetre,  which  is  rarely  applied  in 
larger  proportion  than  1^  cwt.  per  acre,  may 
very  likely  be  still  further  reduced  in  quantity, 
especially  if  mixed  with  other  substances,  such 
as  three  or  four  times  its  bulk  of  mould.  Mr. 
Beadel  of  Witham,  in  Essex,  a  very  excellent 
farmer,  has  found,  that  where  saltpetre  was 
applied  to  his  turnips  broadcast  as  atop-dress- 
ing, it  did  not  succeed,  but  it  did  so  very  de- 
cidedly when  it  was  drilled  with  the  seed. 

In  those  situations  where  night-soil,  or  sprats, 
or  bones  cannot  be  obtained  at  a  sufficiently 
reasonable  rate,  very  great  effects  may  be  pro- 
duced by  the  careful  collection  of  the  excre- 
ments of  domestic  animals,  and  mixing  them 
with  merely  a  sufficient  quantity  of  dry  ashes, 
mould,  saw-dust,  or,  what  is  best  of  all,  recently 
prepared  finely  powdered  charcoal,  to  render 
them  sufficiently  friable  to  pass  the  drill :  this 
is  very  easily  accomplished,  by  making  the 
preparation  under  cover  some  months  before 
it  is  used,  and,  if  necessary,  by  causing  it  to 
be  spread  in  the  sun.  By  the  adoption  of 
these  means,  a  very  recent  mixture  will  be 
found  available  by  the  farmer;  the  excrements 
of  the  horse,  cow,  and  especially  the  sheep 
(still  more  so  if  fed  with  oil-cake),  will  be 
found  excellent  for  this  purpose.  And  in  very 
small  proportions  the  Peruvian  farmers,  ac- 
cording to  Humboldt,  employ  the  guano,  or  ex- 
crements of  seafowl  (which  abound  in  phos- 
phate of  lime,  or  earthy  salt  of  bones),  which 
is  brought  in  sailing  vessels,  from  the  rocky 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  expressly  for  the  use  of 
the  cultivators  of  that  republic.     See  Guaxo. 

And  that  bones  might  be  very  profitably 
mixed  with  other  fertilizers,  so  as  to  materially 
reduce  the  expense  of  the  manure,  is  indicated 
by  more  than  one  successful  experiment.  To 
give  another  instance,  which  has  recently  been 
communicated  to  me,  in  the  trials  made  by 
Daniel  Dixon,  Esq.  of  West  Clandon,  in  Sur- 
rey. "On  a  poor  chalk  soil,"  observed  an  ex- 
cellent and  scientific  friend  of  mine,  "he  has 
used  a  compost  for  a  manure-drill  for  turnips 
with  great  advantage.  He  puts  8  bushels  of 
ground  bones  with  24  bushels  of  any  ashes  he 
can  get  together  in  a  dry  place,  and  f-om  time 
to  time  (as  often  as  possible)  ha  empties  the 
liquid  sewerage  of  the  house  upon  it.  In  two 
or  three  months  it  is  fit  for  use,  working  well 
out  of  the  drill.  The  above  is  the  quantity  for 
an  acre.  The  effect  of  drilling  this  mixture 
with  the  seed  was  very  remarkable,  and  as 
bone-manure  was  drilled  by  the  side  of  it,  the 
contrast  was  at  once  visible ;  the  difference 
was  more  than  double.  In  fact,  the  bones  by 
themselves  seemed  comparatively  useless. 
The  soil  on  which  the  mixture  has  been  ap 
plied  is  poor,  chalky,  and  flinty,  abutting  upon 
the  sheep-walks  and  Guildford  race-course. 
Whenever  the  mixture  is  too  wet  for  the  drill, 
it  is  spread  to  dry  for  a  day  or  two"     {LetUtt 

777 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


of  H(  nry  Dixon,  Esq.  to  the  Author,  November,  1 839, 
and  March,  1840.) 

"  A  friend  of  ours,  a  farmer  in  Northumber- 
land," says  the  excellent  editor  of  the  Quarterly 
Journal  of  Jlp-iadlure,  •'  the  late  Mr.  George 
Brown,  Hetten  Steads,  mixed  any  quantity  of 
coal-ashes,  kept  dry,  and  finely  riddled,  with  a 
quarter  of  bone-dust  per  acre,  and  raised  as 
good  a  crop  of  turnips  (of  course  drilled)  of  all 
kinds,  on  a  clayey  soil,  resting  on  a  retentive 
bottom  (but  drained),  as  he  could  with  two 
quarters  of  bone-dust."  Mr.  Turner  of  Tring, 
in  Hertfordshire,  drilled  with  his  crushed  bones 
an  equal  quantity  per  acre  of  sheep  dung,  col- 
lected for  the  express  purpose,  at  an  expense 
of  S^f/.  per  bushel  paid  to  the  collectors :  this 
he  prepared  in  the  winter,  by  laying  the  bone- 
dust  in  alternate  layers  with  sheep-dung,  and 
suffering  them  to  remain  fermenting  some 
months  until  the  turnip  sowing.  By  this  plan, 
by  the  fermentation  of  the  mass,  the  two  ma- 
nures are  thoroughly  incorporated;  and  he 
considers  that  35  bushels  of  the  mixture  are 
fully  equal  in  effect  to  25  bushels  of  the  bones. 
So  that,  allowing  3s.  6rf.  per  acre  for  the  ex- 
pense of  collecting  the  sheep-dung,  there  will 
be  a  clear  saving  of  12s.  %d.  per  acre  in  bones, 
valuing  these  at  2s.  per  bushel.  The  mixed 
bones  and  sheep-dung  are  invariably  drilled  in 
with  the  turnip-seed. 

The  application  of  rape-cake  powder  by  the 
drill  has  never  been  so  common  as  it  ought  to 
be,  for  it  is  not  only  a  very  powerful,  but  a  very 
easily  manageable  fertilizer;  it  has,  moreover, 
the  advantage  of  being  moderate  in  price,  and 
easily  attainable  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 
There  is  no  doubt  of  the  advantage  of  feeding 
stock  with  this  food,  the  manure  they  produce 
when  thus  fed  being  exceedingly  rich.  Many 
farmers,  however,  owing  to  the  want  of  cattle, 
or  an  unwillingness  to  lay  out  the  requisite 
money  in  a  long  course  of  stall-feeding,  are 
deterred  from  using  oil-cake  to  the  extent  they 
would  otherwise  do.  The  use  of  the  oil-cake 
powder  conveys  to  the  land  all  the  enriching 
ingredients  of  this  fertilizer  at  once,  and  to  the 
exact  extent  the  farmer  requires ;  there  is 
neither  the  waste,  the  risk,  or  the  trouble  of 
stall-feeding  to  be  dreaded.  The  oil  remaining 
in  the  cake  certainly  constitutes  its  most  en- 
riching portion  ;  the  oil  abounding  in  sprats  is 
an  instance  familiar  to  the  farmer,  and  when 
this  oil  is  imperfectly  crushed  out,  the  cake 
produced  (as  is  well  known  to  the  Swedish 
cultivator  in  the  case  of  herring-cake)  is  found 
to  be  exceedingly  enriching.  A  very  small 
quantity  of  oil  left  by  the  crushers  in  the  cake 
will  produce  very  great  results ;  even  three 
gallons  of  train-oil,  as  I  have  mentioned  in 
another  place,  has  been  found  amply  sufficient 
per  acre,  when  mixed  with  earth  or  ashes,  to 
produce  a  capital  crop  of  turnips.  It  has  been 
found  (and  this  is  another  illustration  of  the 
value  of  the  manure-drill),  that  when  rape- 
cuke  is  drilled  with  the  turnip-seed,  3^  cwt.  per 
acre  is  sufficient,  but  if  it  is  applied  broadcast, 
then  double  the  quantity  is  required.  My  friend 
Mr.  Davis,  of  Spring  Park,  in  Surrey,  is  well 
aware  of  the  p-wers  of  oil-cake  as  a  manure; 
h°  has  found  it  even  an  advantageous  plan  to 
anil  common  coal,  wood,  or  turf-ashes,  at  the 
778 


rate  of  40  bushels  per  acre,  with  his  turnip 
seed;  and  this  he  has  successfully  practised 
for  some  years,  so  much  is  he  in  favour  of 
bringing  the  seed  and  the  manure  into  imme^ 
diate  contact. 

In  proceeding  to  examine,  as  an  instance  of 
one  of  the  least  likely  substances  successfully 
applied  by  the  drill,  the  properties  of  night-soil, 
and  the  modes  which  have  been  adopted  to 
reduce  its  weight,  without  impairing  its  effect, 
many  reflections  will  suggest  themselves  to 
the  farmer.  He  will  notice  that  such  a  pro- 
cess, by  producing  it  in  the  state  of  powder, 
renders  it  capable  of  being  readily  drilled  with 
the  seed ;  and  that  the  same  remarks  apply  in 
a  great  measure  to  the  excrements  of  the  farm 
yard,  to  whale-blubber,  and  to  fish.  The  Essex 
farmers  find,  that  when  sprats  are  mixed  with 
earth,  finely  divided,  the  mass,  when  these  very- 
oily  fish  are  quite  dissolved  in  the  mould,  forms 
a  very  powerful  fertilizer,  which  is  excellent 
as  a  drill-manure  for  turnips.  They  tell  you, 
that  the  sprats  lose  none  of  their  enriching 
powers,  even  when  thus  kept  mixed  with  earth 
for  some  months. 

Even  earthy  manures  may  be  advantageously 
reduced  in  weight  by  exposure  to  the  air,  or  by 
the  application  of  artificial  heat.  Chalk,  I  have 
fourd  by  experiment,  loses  from  15  to  25  per 
cent,  of  its  weight  by  being  thus  deprived  of  its 
water ;  and  a  cubic  foot  of  calcareous  sand, 
when  thoroughly  wet,  contains,  according  to 
M.  Schubler,  more  than  31  lbs.  of  water  ;  the 
same  measure  of  sandy  clay,  38  lbs.;  loamy 
clay,  41  lbs. ;  stiff  clay  or  brick-earth,  45  lbs. ; 
pure  gray  clay,  48  lbs.;  garden-mould,  48  lbs.; 
and  fine  slaty  marl,  35  lbs.  By  exposing  the 
earths  to  an  intense  heat,  their  weight  is  still 
further  reduced  by  the  loss  of  their  carbonic 
acid  gas  or  fixed  air;  hence  100  parts  of  chalk, 
for  instance,  when  thus  treated,  lose  very  com- 
monly 24  parts  of  water  and  34  parts  of  car- 
bonic acid;  so  that  42  lbs.  of  lime,  when  well 
burnt,  contain  as  much  real  earth  as  180yparts 
of  chalk.  All  these  facts  are  such  as  the  cul- 
tivator should  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with ; 
for,  in  many  cases,  the  earth  which  the  farmer 
removes  might  be  previously  very  advanta- 
geously dried,  by  exposure  in  spits  to  the  action 
of  the  atmosphere.  Even  the  diflference  of 
labour  to  the  men  and  horses,  between  carting 
them  after  continued  dry  weather  and  in  wet 
periods,  is  much  more  material  than  the  culti- 
vator commonly  believes. 

My  attention,  however,  will,  in  this  place,  be 
principally  confined  to  fertilizers  of  an  organic 
nature,  and  more  especially  to  night-soil. 
Night-soil  has  not,  in  any  form,  been  employed 
by  the  farmers  of  England  to  the  same  extent 
as  on  the  Continent,  although  it  is  certainly  by 
far  the  most  powerful  of  the  organic  manures, 
and  the  most  easily  rendered  applicable  by  the 
drill  of  any  of  the  class.  To  this  neglect  many 
causes  have  contributed.  Its  disagreeable 
odour,  certain  vexatious  fiscal  regulations  with 
regard  to  its  removal,  to  which  I  have  before 
alluded,  and  the  erroneous  modes  of  applying 
it,  either  in  excessive  quantities,  or  mixed  with 
other  composts  in  such  proportions  that  its 
powers  could  not  be  distinguished  in  the  mass 
its  semifluid  nature  requiring  for  its  remova. 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


carriages  of  a  peculiar  construction ;  the  ex- 
tent and  completeness  of  the  sewerage  of  our 
large  cities,  and  several  other  minor  obstacles, 
have  rendered  its  use  not  nearly  so  extensive 
as,  even  in  a  national  point  of  view,  is  desira- 
ble. (See  Night-soil.)  And  yet  the  neces- 
sity for  increasing  the  supplies  of  manures,  in 
order  to  promote  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  will  be 
self-evident  to  every  one  who  remembers,  not 
only  the  increasing  population  of  the  country, 
but  the  immense  drains  upon  its  organic  fer- 
tilizing matters  which  are  hourly  pouring  their 
contents  into  the  sea.  Thus,  as  I  have  else- 
where remarked,  by  carefully-conducted  expe- 
riment it  has  been  clearly  ascertained  that  the 
principal  London  drains  convey  daily  into  the 
Thames  115,000  tons  of  mixed  manure,  con- 
sisting, on  an  average  composition,  of  one  part 
solid  or  mechanically  suspended  matter,  and 
85  parts  absolutely  fluid;  but  if  we  allow  only 
1  part  in  30  of  this  immense  mass  to  be  com- 
posed of  solid  substances,  than  we  have  the  large 
quantity  of  more  than  3800  tons  of  solid  manure 
daily  wasted  in  the  river  from  London  alone. 
What  might  not  the  farmers  of  England  effect 
if  this  mass  of  fertilizing  matter  was  preserved, 
at  a  reasonable  rate,  for  their  use  ]  15  tons  of 
this  solid  manure — nay,  10  tons,  would  render 
fertile  an  acre  of  the  poorest  cultivated,  or  even 
common  or  heath  land.  But  allow,  for  the 
sake  of  argiiment,  that  20  tons  were  required, 
even  then  3800  would  give  a  daily  allowance 
of  manure  sufficient  for  180  acres  of  the  poor- 
est land  in  England  ;  and  if  we  give  300  days 
on  which  this  manure  was  collected,  that 
would  afford  an  annual  supply  for  fifty-four 
thousand  of  suck  acres,  which  land  would  not 
again  need  manuring  for  4  years ;  and  in  this 
calculation  nothing  is  allowed  for  the  fluid  por- 
tion of  the  drainage.  It  is  the  reckless  waste 
of  the  drainage  of  our  large  cities  and  towns, 
which  has  alone  prevented  the  cultivated  lands 
of  England  from  becoming  increasingly  fer- 
tile, because  yearly  more  abounding  in  organic 
decomposing  matters.  For  such  is  the  enor- 
mous yearly  import  of  foreign  products  into 
this  country,  that  it  must  tend  to  rapidly  in- 
crease the  natural  fertility  of  the  soil  of  Eng- 
land, since  all  their  ingredients  ought  and  do, 
in  some  measure,  eventually  find  their  way  as 
a  manure  upon  the  land;  thus,  in  1834,  were 
imported  into  the  United  Kingdom,  according 
to  a  parliamentary  report,  now  before  me,  of — 


Barilla      - 

Cvrtt.      art. 
215,750      1 

Iba. 
22 

Birk  for  tanners 

. 

_ 

854.869    3 

16 

Butter 

_ 

. 

136,674    0 

23 

Cheese     - 

_ 

_ 

134,085    3 

5 

Coffee,  about    - 

. 

. 

250,000    0 

0 

Currants  - 

_ 

. 

141,540    3 

1 

Figs           -        - 

_ 

. 

15,416    3 

14 

Raisins    - 

_ 

_ 

158,290    2 

1 

Molasses  - 

_ 

. 

717,666    2 

4 

Rice 

_ 

_ 

218,867    1 

20 

Seeds,  clover  - 

. 

_ 

53,263     1 

30 

Sugar 

- 

_ 

4,732,749    3 

22 

Tea,  about 

- 

- 

250,000    0 

0 

Wool  and  cotton,  about  -     3,000,000    0      0 

So  that,  including  corn,  oil-cake,  timber,  &c., 
&c.,  at  least  1,000,000  tons  of  vegetable  matters 
alone  are  yearly  imported  from  foreign  coun- 
tries into  the  United  Kingdom,  and  added  to 
the  riches  of  the  soil :  thus  our  merchants  are 
annually  fertilizing,  while  the  Comnnssioners 


of  Sewers  are  in  an  equal  ratio  impoverishmg 
the  island.  But  against  this  great  fertilizing 
import,  we  have  at  present  to  set  off  the  large 
and  ever-flowing  drainage  of  the  cities  and 
towns  of  the  United  Kingdom;  not  only  Lon- 
don, but  Liverpool,  Manchester,  and  a  hundred 
others,  are  incessantly  pouring  the  riches  of 
the  land  into  the  sea;  and  to  such  an  extent  is 
this  done  at  Bristol,  that  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench  was  obliged,  not  long  since,  tc  interfere 
to  protect  the  inhabitants  from  the  nuisance 
created  by  the  non-removal  of  the  city  drain- 
age from  the  bed  of  the  Avon. 

On  the  Continent,  the  use  of  various  manure 
powders  made  from  night-soil  is  equally  ex- 
tensive and  successful.  An  elaborate  report 
upon  these  was  made  a  short  time  since  to  the 
Directors  of  the  Thames  Improvement  Com- 
pany, by  Dr.  Granville,  who  had  been  commis- 
sioned to  make  the  requisite  inquiries  and 
surveys ;  and  from  this  we  learn  that  the  con- 
sumption of  night-soil  in  Flanders  is  very 
large ;  but  that  the  farmers,  instead  of  employ- 
ing it  in  the  dry  or  powdered  state,  rather  pre- 
fer to  mix  it  with  water,  and  thus  form  a  rich 
liquid  manure.  Of  late  years,  the  French 
farmers  have  adopted  the  same  views  with  re- 
gard to  night-soil;  but  the  practice  of  their 
farmers,  in  this  respect,  is  somewhat  different. 
They  prefer,  for  the  sake  of  easy  and  conve- 
nient transport,  to  dry  the  stercoral  substances 
to  powder,  which,  bearing  the  name  ofpoudretfe, 
is  sent  into  the  country  from  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  capital,  and  is  sold  at  a  high  price 
The  success  of  the  establishment  for  the  manu 
facture  of  poudrette,  first  formed  near  Parii 
about  40  years  since,  by  a  person  named  Bri- 
det,  has  been  such  that  in  almost  every  part  of 
the  kingdom  similar  manufactories  have  been 
erected,  and  nothing  now  is  wasted.  The  Pari 
sians  have  at  present  several  such  large  works. 
M.  Bridet  obtained  a  patent  for  his  process  of 
manufacturing  the  poudre  vegetQfif.  He  proved, 
by  experiments,  that  the  poudrette  is  many 
times  more  valuable  than  the  best  sort  of  ordi- 
nary manure.  It  was  found,  after  repeated 
trials,  that  240  lbs.  of  the  poudrette  would  ma- 
nure an  acre  of  ground  with  greater  effect  than 
8  cart-loads  of  the  best  stable  manure. 

Under  the  name  of  "Alkaline- vegetative 
Powder,"  another  preparation  of  night-soil  waa 
ushered  into  notice  in  France,  and  generally 
adopted,  under  the  auspices  of  an  agricultural 
lady,  Madame  Vivert  Duboul,  to  whom,  in  con- 
sequence, the  Royal  Society  of  Agriculture,  in 
1814,  awarded  their  gold  medal.  This  lady 
obtained  a  patent  of  15  years  for  her  process, 
which  consisted  in  promoting  fermentation  in 
the  most  liquid  portion  of  the  excrementitious 
substances,  and  treating  them  with  slaked  lime 
afterwards,  so  as  to  form  a  powder,  which  has 
been  found  to  be  very  superior  to  the  first 
named  poudrette  upon  cold,  light,  or  moist  soils. 
Its  action  is  very  powerful,  and  it  extends  its 
influence  over  the  soil  for  several  years  with- 
out requiring,  during  that  period,  a  repetition 
of  the  manuring  process.  This  is  not  the  case 
with  the  poudrette  of  Bridet,  the  influence  of 
which  over  any  soil  is  only  annual  "M. 
Herrastadt  gave,  in  the  Monthly  Journal  uf  the 
Economic  Soeiety  of  Potsdam,  for  August,  »83» 

779 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


as  the  result  of  his  experiments  instituted  with 
the  view  of  ascertaining  the  comparative  fer- 
tilizing powers  of  farm-yard  manure  and  pcm- 
dret t e,  ihdii  poudrelte  is  a  complete  substitute  for 
common  dung,  whether  with  respect  to  price 
or  quality." 

In  1818  a  company  was  formed  near  Paris 
(Messrs.  Donat  &  Co.),  for  the  manufacture 
of  another  kind  of  manure  from  night-soil. 
The  name  of  "urate"  (from  the  principal  in- 
gredient used)  was  given  to  it;  and  the  Royal 
Society  of  Agriculture  deemed  it  an  object  of 
sufficient  importance  to  deserve  being  submit- 
ted to  the  examination  of  a  joint  committee  of 
chemists  and  agriculturists,  in  which  were  in- 
cluded the  names  of  Vanquelin,  Dubois,  &c. 
The  report  made  by  these  distinguished  men  is 
full  of  interest  to  the  agriculturist.  Urine  is 
the  active  ingredient,  and  plaster  of  Paris 
(gypsum),  so  common  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  that  capital,  the  other  constituent.  This 
mixture  is  reported  by  the  joint  committee  to 
be  so  powerful  in  its  effects  upon  the  dullest 
soil,  that  they  recommend  that  it  should  only 
be  employed  by  skilful  and  discriminating 
farmers.  For  this  discovery  the  inventor  re- 
ceived a  gold  medal  from  the  government.  A 
powerful  manure  of  the  same  name  is  now  ex- 
tensively prepared  by  the  "London  Manure 
Company,"  of  40 New  Bridge  street.  It  abounds 
with  the  salts  of  ammonia,  phosphate  of  lime, 
and  the  animal  matters  of  urine.  It  appears, 
also,  from  the  fine,  dry  state  of  powder  in  which 
the  "urate"  is  delivered,  that  it  is  admirably 
adapted  for  application  by  the  drill  with  the 
seed.  The  quantity  applied  per  acre  is  about 
6  cwt.;  and,  as  it  is  almost  entirely  composed 
of  organic  matters,  phosphate  of  lime  (earthy 
salt  of  bones),  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum),  and 
various  salts  of  ammonia,  it  is  evidently  a 
most  powerful  fertilizer,  as  well  adapted  for 
turnips  as  for  the  grass  and  grain  crops.  I 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting  the 
manufactory  of  this  company,  and  from  the 
care  displayed  in  its  preparation,  the  "  urate" 
will,  I  think,  be  rapidly  and  extensively  em- 
ployed by  the  farmer. 

In  some  recent  reports  of  trials  with  this 
manure  upon  turnips,  I  observe  that  Mr.  An- 
derson, of  Oakley,  Bedfordshire,  describes  it  as 
proving  "itself  quite  equal,  if  not  superior,  to 
the  farm-yard  manure.  The  land  I  used  it  on 
was  a  sharp  gravel,  and  was  much  out  of  con- 
dition previous  to  the  present  crop.  The  6 
tons  were  drilled  with  Swedish  turnip-seed,  18 
inches  apart,  on  18  acres." 

Mr.  Manning,  of  Elstow,  says,  "I  drilled  a 
ton  of  urate  upon  3  acres,  in  rows  17  inches 
apart,  upon  a  very  hot,  pavelly  soil ;  each  side 
abutting  on   this  was   manured  in  the  usual 
way,  with  good  farm-yard  manure,  about  14 
loads  per  acre.     The  turnips  on  the  urate  were 
tit  to  hoe  7  days  before   the  manured  part ; 
from  their  first  appearance,  a  stranger  could 
point  out  ihe  spot  where  it  commenced  and 
ended;  the  difference  is  still  evident,  and  in  its  ; 
favour.     Both  the  manured  and  urate  pieces  j 
were  sown  the  same  day,  about  the  14th  of  | 
June.    I  certainly  consider  it  a  good  artificial  j 
dressing,  and  its  fertilizing  properties  great."     ! 
In  1820,  another  patent  was  granted  to  a  M. 
780 


Loques,  by  the  French  government,  for  a  ma- 
nure called  "stercorat,"  consisting  of  a  mix- 
ture of  both  the  solid  and  liquid  parts  of  the 
excrementitious  matters,  and  some  earthy  sub- 
stance. It  is  said  to  be  particularly  efficacious, 
and  sells  at  a  very  high  price. 

M.  Parmentier,  a  celebrated  French  agricul- 
tural writer,  some  years  since  expressed  his 
surprise  at  the  tardiness  of  his  countrymen  in 
adopting  the  practice  of  their  Flemish  neigh- 
bours, and  in  continuing  so  long  to  pay  money 
for  getting  rid  of  that  which  other  nations  first, 
and  the  French  themselves  afterwards,  found 
to  be  so  productive  of  wealth.  He  quotes  the 
case  of  an  individual  who  in  former  times  had 
amassed  great  wealth  by  the  sale  of  a  manur- 
ing powder,  which  he  manufactured  from  the 
very  soil  he  was  annually  paid  by  government 
to  remove  out  of  the  extensive  military  bar- 
racks of  Lisle. 

There  existed  at  one  time  much  public  pre- 
judice against  this  mode  of  rendering  the  land 
more  productive,  on  the  wild  supposition  that 
the  obnoxious  principles  of  such  a  manure 
would  form  part  of  the  plants  raised  by  means 
of  it;  but  the  most  accurate  experiments  have 
proved,  that  not  the  least  vestige  of  such  ani- 
mal substances  is  to  be  detected  either  in  the 
ascending  sap,  or  in  the  more  solid  parts  of 
the  plants  so  cultivated.  A  great  extent  of  the 
rich  plains  of  Normandy  are  fertilized  every 
year  by  the  manure  powder  manufactured  at 
present  out  of  the  cess-pools  of  Paris. 

The  poudrette  sells  for  eight  francs  the  sestier 
on  the  premises,  and  the  whole  is  fetched  away 
at  that  price  as  soon  as  ready,  and  principally 
distributed  within  12  leagues  of  Paris.  Now, 
as  there  are  7^  sestiers  in  a  ton,  it  is  evident 
that  the  value  of  the  latter  is  60  francs,  or  21. 
10s. ;  and  yet  the  comparative  agricultural  value 
of  this  compost  is  not  so  great  as  that  of  the 
"  Flemish  manure."  Messrs.  Payen  and  Com 
pany,  the  patentees  of  the  "engrais  animalize," 
or  disinfected  night-soil,  sell  their  "poudrette'* 
at  2^  francs  per  ton  under  the  market  price 
of  that  of  Montfaugon,  and  they  have  rarely 
any  left  on  the  premises. 

The  engrais  animaliz6,  or  disinfected  night- 
soil,  has  recently  been  introduced  into  England 
by  M.  Poittevin,  and  a  manufactory  of  it  esta- 
blished in  Whitechapel,  near  London.  It  is 
there  produced  by  mixing  the  night-soil  of  the 
metropolis  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  re- 
cently prepared  charcoal  powder,  and  drying 
the  mass  in  a  very  gentle  heat.  As  thus  pre- 
pared, its  appearance  somewhat  resembles  that 
of  the  friable,  rich,  vegetable  mould  of  an  old 
hot-bed  ;  it  is  of  very  dark  colour,  and  totally 
devoid  of  smell.  Its  introduction  into  England 
has  been  too  recent  for  any  very  extensive 
trials  to  have  been  yet  made  with  it;  my  own 
are  only  now  carrying  on ;  these,  however, 
promise  well.  In  some  comparative  experi- 
ments made  last  year  with  bones,  they  were 
found  to  answer  very  completely.  These  re- 
sults have  been  confirmed  by  sevrral  commu- 
nications with  which  I  have  t«en  recently 
favoured,  stating  that,  to  use  the  words  of  Col 
Challoner,  "  this  manure,  in  its  effects  upon 
the  turnip  crop,  was  fully  equal  to  bones." 
And  Mr.  Beach,  of  Oakley  Hall,  near  Basing 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


Btoke,  who  had  applied  it  by  the  drill  with  the 
seed,  at  the  rate  of  14  bushels  per  acre  to  a 
portion  of  a  field  of  turnips ;  and,  on  another 
portion,  drilled  three  sacks  per  acre  of  crushed 
bones,  mixed  with  turf-ashes ;  and,  on  a  third 
portion,  with  ordinary  stable  manure,  says,  in 
February  last,  "  It  is  impossible  to  distinguish 
any  difference  between  the  three,  some  persons 
fancying  one  part,  and  some  another,  to  be  su- 
perior. In  their  early  growth,  the  night-soil 
had  a  decided  advantage.  The  seed  came  up 
as  thick  as  rows  of  mustard-seed  in  a  hot-bed, 
and  the  turnips  were  hoed  out  within  a  month." 
Mr.  Beach  adds  a  suggestion,  which  I  think 
highly  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  turnip 
cultivators: — "I  am  so  well  satisfied  with  it  for 
turnips,  that  I  shall  use  a  large  quantity  of  the 
night-soil  powder  this  season.  I  shall  also  mix 
10  or  12  bushels  with  a  quarter  of  crushed 
bones,  which  I  am  inclined  to  think  will  an- 
swer well."  I  have  recently  been  shown  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Robert  M'Crea,  of  Grange 
House,  near  Londonderry,  in  which  he  speaks 
of  this  manure  in  the  highest  terms,  as  a  dress- 
ing for  turnips;  those  thus  treated  having  car- 
ried off  last  year  the  first  prize  offered  by  the 
Londonderry  Farming  Society. 

A  preparation  of  night-soil  has  been  lately 
imported  into  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Eng- 
land from  Copenhagen,  under  the  name  of 
Owen's  animalized  carbon,  which  has  answer- 
ed, when  applied  by  the  manure  drill,  very 
well  for  turnips.  Mr.  James  Waldie,  in  his 
recent  prize  communication  to  the  Ayrshire 
Agricultural  Society,  describes  it  as  a  useful, 
auxiliary  manure,  and  as  likely,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  supersede  the  use  of  bones,  now 
that  the  latter  have  risen  to  the  enormous  rate 
of  at  least  38.  per  bushel.  He  says,  "  One  ton 
of  carbon,  the  cost  of  which  is  3/.,  is  sufficient 
for  an  acre  of  land;  and  from  experiments 
which  I  have  made  this  year,  conjoined  with 
what  I  have  observed  of  two  successive  crops 
on  a  farm  m  this  neighbourhood,  where  com- 
parative trials  were  made  with  different  ma- 
nures, on  a  very  extensive  scale,  it  may  be 
inferred,  that  one  ton  of  carbon  is  equal  to  25 
bushels  of  crushed  bones."  These  experi- 
ments are  supported  by  the  observations  of  Mr. 
M.  Milburn,  of  Thorpefield,  near  Thirsk,  when 
describing,  in  his  report  to  the  Yorkshire  Agri- 
cultural Society,  the  various  fertilizers  ad- 
vantageously employed  on  light  lands  in  the 
cultivation  of  turnips;  for,  he  observes,  "Ani- 
malized carbon  has  been  used  advantageously; 
16  bushels  per  acre,  when  drilled,  is  the  quan- 
tity generally  employed.  Pigeons'  dung  is  most 
valuable ;  rape-dust  has  been  used  successfully ; 
malt-dust  is  useful  as  a  top-dressing."  There 
is  a  chemical  "seed  manure"  prepared  by 
Messrs.  Hodgson  and  Simpson,  near  Wakefield, 
which  is  applied,  mixed  with  water,  as  a  liquid 
manure,  or  steep  to  the  seed-corn,  and  seems, 
from  a  communication  with  which  they  fa- 
voured me  in  March,  1840,  to  be  a  kind  of 
secret  preparation,  composed  principally  of 
saccharine  matter,  ammonia,  common  salt,  and 
nitre.  This  seed  manure  is  applied  according 
to  the  following  directions, — instructions  which 
might  be  advantageously  followed  in  the  use 
of  other  fertilizers:  "Dissolve  28  lbs.  of  this 


manure  in  a  pail,  by  adding  water  in  small 
quantities,  stirring  it  at  the  same  time,  until 
the  mixture  is  of  the  consistence  of  thicfe 
cream ;  it  is  then  to  be  poured  over  the  quan- 
tity of  seed  intended  to  be  sown  on  an  acre  of 
land,  and  the  whole  repeatedly  turned  over,  so 
that  it  appears  one  uniform  mixture;  it  is  then 
to  be  spread  out  thin  on  the  floor  to  dry  for  10 
or  12  hours,  and  mixed  with  a  sufficient  quan- 
tity of  soot,  or  any  kind  of  dry  ashes,  to  render 
it  sufficiently  friable  to  be  sown  by  the  hand  or 
by  the  drill."  The  quantity  thus  directed  to  be 
applied  per  acre,  is  certainly  very  small,  and 
yet,  according  to  the  testimonials  which  I  have 
seen,  the  effect  it  produces  is  considerable. 
Mr.  Milburn,  of  Thorpefield,  in  one  of  these, 
tells  us  :  "A  new  principle  in  the  application 
of  manure  has  been  developed  in  the  use  of 
the  chemical  seed  manure,  which,  by  applying 
a  chemical  composition  to  the  seed  itself,  not 
only  secures  immediate  effect  in  the  precise 
situation  required,  but  highly  economizes  the 
quantity  necessary.  I  have  great  pleasure  in 
detailing  a  very  successful  experiment  with  it 
on  a  barley  crop.  The  field  had  grown  a  corn 
crop  the  preceding  year — part  of  the  field  was 
dressed  with  a  coating  of  fermented  farm-yard 
dung — the  remaining  part  with  the  chemical 
seed  manure,  at  the  rate  of  28  lbs.  per  acre. 
The  result  was,  that  the  barley  sown  with  the 
chemical  manure  exhibited  a  decided  supe- 
riority over  the  rest  of  the  field,  in  colour, 
healthiness,  and  general  appearance,  and  main- 
tained that  superiority  to  the  time  of  cutting, 
so  much  so,  that  it  lodged  considerably  more 
than  the  rest  of  the  field." 
Various  modes  besides  those  to  which  I  have 
J  alluded,  have,  at  different  times,  been  suggested, 
by  which  night-soil  might  be  rendered  more 
concentrated  and  more  portable.  Simply  dry- 
ing it  has  been  attempted  with  some  success; 
but  though  by  this  means  about  70  per  cent, 
of  water  is  driven  off",  yet,  at  the  same  time,  a 
considerable  portion  of  ammoniacal  and  other 
gaseous  matters  are  vaporized :  thus  the  ma- 
nure is  impoverished,  while  the  stench  of  the 
operation  is  intolerable.  Then,  again,  it  has 
been  mixed  with  lime,  in  the  way  recommend- 
ed by  Davy;  but  judging  by  my  own  experi- 
ments, and  those  of  my  neighbours,  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  this  is  not  the  most  economical 
way  of  using  night-soil.  The  lime  certainly 
dissolves,  and  partially  decomposes  it,  but  the 
fertilizing  effect  of  a  given  weight  of  night-soil 
mixed  with  lime  is  clearly  not  so  great  as  when 
a  similar  weight  of  it  is  used  either  by  itself, 
or  mixed  with  some  merely  drying  odour-ab- 
sorbing substance.  There  are  several  prepa- 
ration of  this  kind  made  in  large  quantities  in 
London,  such  as  those  of  Mr.  Clarke,  and  of 
Mr.  Lance,  the  author  of  the  Golden  Farmer,  all 
of  which,  I  believe,  are  excellent  manures  ;  but 
I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  examining 
any  of  their  manufactures  except  those  of  the 
London  Manure  Company,  and  of  the  Messrs. 
Poittevin.  The  preparation  of  these  gentle- 
men is  the  same  as  that  so  successfully  carried 
into  effect  by  M.  Payen  at  Paris  :  it  combines, 
and  successfully  too,  the  great  object  of  driving 
off  the  water  of  urine  and  night-soil  by  a  gentle 
heat,  after  all  its  gaseous  matters  have  been 
3  U  78! 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


absorbed,  by  mixing  with  it  a  portion  of  newly- 
prepared  carbon,  in  the  finest  possible  state  of 
division,  than  which  no  known  substance  has 
such  great  powers  of  absorption  of  all  gaseous 
matters  like  those  which  abound  in  and  impart 
the  disagreeable  odour  to  night-soil.  These 
purifying  powers  of  charcoal  have  been  long 
known :  the  medical  man  applies  it  in  putres- 
cent cases,  the  housewife  rubs  it  powdered  over 
her  tainted  meat,  and  the  sailor  chars  the  in- 
side of  his  water-casks  for  a  similar  purpose. 
The  presence  of  the  carbon  in  the  manure  thus 
prepared  is  valuable  in  two  ways;  gradually  it 
combines  with  the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere, 
forming  in  the  state  of  carbonic  acid  gas  the 
food  of  plants ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  all  the 
gaseous  matters  of  putrefaction  with  which  it 
is  saturated  are  thus  preserved,  stored  up,  as  it 
were,  for  the  service  of  the  roots  of  the  culti- 
vator's crops;  nothing  is  lost,  the  emission  of 
the  gases  from  the  slowly  dissolving  charcoal 
being  so  gradual  as  to  be  almost,  if  not  en- 
tirely, imperceptible  to  the  senses. 

Such,  then,  are  the  principal  facts  already 
ascertained  with  regard  to  the  fertilizing  uses 
of  night-soil  and  other  decomposing  manures, 
in  their  ordinary  form,  and  when  reduced  by 
various  processes  to  such  a  state  of  dryness, 
so  as  to  be  easily  applied  in  the  state  of  pow- 
der to  the  soil  by  the  drill.  In  thus  investigat- 
ing the  advantages  of  rendering  manures  more 
concentrated,  1  have  been  induced  chiefly  to 
confine  my  attention  to  one  only  of  the  organic 
manures,  night-soil,  because,  from  its  nature, 
cheapness,  and  powerful  effects,  it  affords,  per- 
haps, greater  facilities  for  accomplishing  this 
important  object  than  any  other  excrement,  and 
is,  besides,  more  commonly  wasted  than  any 
other  fertilizer.  I  hardly  deem  it  necessary  to 
make  any  remarks  upon  the  importance  of  all 
researciies  which  tend  to  the  better  understand- 
ing of  the  powers  and  best  mode  of  employmg 
manures,  for  with  such  investigations  is  inse- 
parably connected  the  gradual  and  steady  in- 
crease of  the  productiveness  of  our  country. 
Such  improvements,  too,  are  full  of  interest,  not 
only  to  the  cultivator,  but  to  everyone  to  whom 
the  vegetable  kingdom  is  an  object  of  import- 
ance. And,  as  I  have  elsewhere  had  occasion 
to  remark,  it  is  hardly  possible,  in  reflecting 
upon  the  essential  use  of  organic  fertilizers  in 
the  production  of  our  food,  to  avoid  being  im- 
pressed with  the  wisdom  and  beneficence  of 
the  Creator,  in  thus  making  decomposing  nox- 
ious organic  substances  the  nutriment  of  vege- 
tation, rendering  the  very  animal  substances 
which  the  grass  once  formed,  its  food  when 
dead.  This  interchange  of  their  elements,  so 
essential  to  each,  is  equally  incessant  and  re- 
markable, the  death  and  decomposition  of  the 
one  ever  imparting  fresh  food  and  life  to  the 
crher.  Thus  the  same  gases  which  are  at  one 
moment  constituting  the  noxious  products  of 
putrefaction,  are  in  the  next  existing  in  the  ex- 
quisite aroma  of  the  flower.  These  facts  are, 
indeed,  too  apparent  to  escape  our  observation ; 
and  the  marvellous  rapidity  and  advantage  to 
ds  of  these  magic  vegetable  combinations  can- 
not but  excite  both  our  curiosity  and  our  grati- 
tude.    (Quart.  Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  x.  p.  142.) 

MjufCHEs,  Hv^tn-y  of.  See  the  heads  Ashes, 
782 


Farm-yaud  Manure,  Boxes,  Ohalk,  Lime, 
Green  Sand,  &c.  The  application  of  manures 
became  one  of  the  sustaining  arts  of  life  as 
soon  as  man  was  ordained  to  earn  his  bread 
by  the  sweat  of  his  brow.  From  that  time  to 
the  present,  the  art  of  manuring  the  soil  has 
been  steadily  improving;  and  there  is  no  doubt 
but  that  it  will  go  on  advancing,  as  long  as 
mankind  continue  to  increase. 

The  first  manure  used  by  man,  as  soon  as 
he  began  to  dwell  in  fixed  habitations  and  till 
the  land  around  him,  would,  of  course,  be  that 
of  his  domesticated  animals ;  but  he  is  natu- 
rally averse  to  labour,  and  consequently  this 
operation  would  be  postponed  until  the  rich 
alluvial  soils,  which  would  be  certainly  the 
first  selected,  were  exhausted  by  over-cropping, 
and  by  the  increase  of  population  the  poorer 
descriptions  forced  into  cultivation  ;  the  occu- 
pier of  the  land  would  naturally  avoid,  if  pos- 
sible, the  trouble  of  spreading  the  dung  of  his 
farm-yards  over  his  fields.  Instances  of  this 
kind  have  not  been  wanting  in  recent  periods 
in  the  newly  settled  rich  prairies  of  America, 
in  which  many  cases  have  occurred  where,  in 
consequence  of  the  enormous  accumulation  of 
dung  around  the  farmer's  sheds,  he  has  been 
induced  to  remove  his  bffildings  to  a  new  spot, 
rather  than  undertake  the  greater  labour  of  re- 
moving the  masses  of  fermenting  manure  which 
so  deeply  encumbered  his  old  farm-yard.  The 
first  rude  mode  in  which  this  was  conveyed  to 
the  land,  was  naturally  by  hand-baskets,  or  by 
sledges  or  barrows ;  the  use  of  beasts  of  bur- 
den was  necessarily  a  later  agricultural  im- 
provement; and,  at  first,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  manure  was  carried  on  their  backs  to  the 
fields,  as  is  even  now  practised  in  the  moun- 
tainous districts  of  the  Continent,  and  in  some 
parts  of  the  north  of  England,  and  in  Devon- 
shire. Dung-carts  were  a  much  later  improve- 
ment ;  and  the  preparation  of  compost  heaps, 
and  exciting  and  regulating  their  fermentation 
by  the  use  of  the  fork,  has  been  a  much  more 
modern  discovery  than  is  usually  believed. 

Irrigation,  which  is  a  mode  of  applying  the 
weakest  of  liquid  manure,  by  the  use  of  the 
waters  of  rivers,  is  of  a  very  ancient  date.  It 
has  been  used  from  a  very  early  period  in  Italy 
and  the  East ;  in  fact,  in  many  warm,  sandy 
countries,  as  in  China,  a  copious  supply  of 
water  is  an  essential  requisite  for  the  success- 
ful cultivation  of  the  earth.  Water-meadows 
were  first  constructed  in  England,  on  a  tolera- 
bly regular  system,  about  the  termination  of  the 
17th  century.  Some  of  the  most  excellent  of 
those  in  Wiltshire,  such  as  those  in  the  Wyley 
Bourne,  were  made  between  the  year?  1700 
and  1705;  and  about  half  a  century  afterwards, 
the  celebrated  Craigintinny  meadows  were 
formed  near  Edinburgh,  by  which  the  town 
drainage  is  rendered  available  in  the  produc- 
tion of  the  most  luxuriant  crops  of  grass. 
These  meadows  were  considerably  enJarged 
towards  the  end  of  the  18th  century,  and  again 
in  1821.  These  might  be  very  advantageously 
imitated  in  the  neighbourhood  of  other  large 
towns. 

Amongst  the  Egyptians  and  Israelites,  whose 
climates  were  hot,  a  plentiful  supply  of  mois- 
ture was  necessary  for  a  healthful  vegetation  ; 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


and  the  simile  of  desolation,  employed  by  Isaiah 
(cha>.  i.  30),  is,  "  a  garden  that  hath  no  water." 
In  Egypt  they  irrigated  their  lands,  and  the  \ 
water  thus  supplied  was  by  an  hydraulic  ma-, 
chine,  worked  by  men,  in  the  same  manner  as  ] 
the  modern  tread-wheel.    To  this  practice  Mo- 
ses alludes,  when  he  reminds  the  Israelites  of  i 
their  sowing  their  seed  in  Egypt,  and  watering 
it  with  their  feet;  a  practice  still  pursued  in 
Arabia.     {Deut.  xi.  10;  Niebuhr's  Voyage  en  Aro' 
bi€,  i.  p.  121.) 

Of  their  knowledge  of  manures  we  know 
little.  Wood  was  so  scarce  that  they  consumed 
the  dung  of  their  animals  for  fuel.  {Parkhurst, 
p.  764.)  Perhaps  it  was  this  deficiency  of  car- 
bonaceous matters  for  their  lands,  that  makes 
an  attention  to  fallowing  so  strictly  enjoined. 
{Levit.  xix.  23 ;  XX v.  3.     Hosea  x.  12.) 

Agriculture  was  loo  important  and  beneficial 
an  art  not  to  demand,  and  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans were  nations  loo  polished  and  discerning 
not  lo  afford  to  it,  a  very  plentiful  series  of  pre- 
siding deities.  They  attributed  lo  Ceres,  as  the 
Egyptians  did  to  Isis,  the  invention  of  the  art 
of  tilling  the  soil.  Superstition  is  a  prolific 
weakness ;  and  consequently,  by  degrees,  every 
operation  of  agriculture,  and  every  period  cf 
the  growth  of  crops,  obtained  its  presiding 
tutelary  deity.  The  goddess  Terra  was  the 
guardian  of  the  soil;  Sterculius  presided  over 
manures,  &c. 

Xenophon  recommends  green  crops  to  be 
ploughed  in,  and  leguminous  plants  to  be  raised 
for  the  purpose  ;  "for  such,"  he  says,  "enrich 
the  soil  as  much  as  dung."  He  also  recom- 
mends earth  that  has  been  long  under  water 
lo  be  put  upon  land  to  enrich  it.  Theopliras- 
tus,  who  flourished  in  the  4th  century  b.  c,  is 
stL.  more  particular  upon  the  subject  of  ma- 
nures. He  states  his  conviction  that  a  proper 
mixture  of  soils,  as  clay  v/ith  sand,  and  the 
contrary,  would  produce  crops  as  luxuriant  as 
could  be  effected  by  the  agency  of  manures. 
He  describes  the  properties  that  render  dungs 
beneficial  lo  vegetation,  and  dwells  upon  com- 
posts. {Hist.  Plant,  ii.  c.  8.)  He  also  recom- 
mends the  stubble  at  reaping-time  to  be  left 
lung,  if  the  straw  is  abundant;  "and  this,  if 
burned,  will  enrich  the  soil  very  much,  or  it 
may  be  cut  and  mixed  with  dung." 

From  the  outline  which  we  can  draw  from 
ancient  authorities  of  the  agriculture  of  the 
Romans,  we  shall  be  surprised  to  find  how 
little  they  differed  from  the  methods  we  now 
employ.  We  are  superior  to  them  in  our  im- 
plements, and  consequently  in  the  facility  of 
performing  the  operations  of  tillage;  but  of  the 
fundamental  practices  of  the  art  they  were  as 
fully  aware  as  ourselves.  No  modern  writer 
could  lay  down  more  correct  and  comprehen- 
sive axioms  than  Cato  did,  in  the  following 
words ;  and  whoever  strictly  obeys  them  will 
never  be  ranked  among  the  ignorant  of  the  art. 
"What  is  good  tillage  1"  says  this  oldest  of  the 
Roman  teachers  of  agriculture.  "To  plough. 
What  is  the  second?  To  plough.  The  third 
is  to  manure."  {Cato,  61.)  In  his  4th  chapter 
he  thus  expresses  his  conviction  of  the  utility 
of  manure:  "Study  lo  have  a  large  dunghill, 
keep  your  compost  carefully;  when  you  carry 
it  out,  scatter  it  and  pulverize  it ;  carry  it  out  in 


the  autvimn.  Lay  dung  lound  the  roots  of  )''ou? 
olives  in  autumn."  And  in  his  29th  chapter  : 
"  Divide  your  manure ;  carry  half  of  it  to  the 
field  when  you  sow  your  provender,  and  if  there 
are  olive  trees,  put  some  dung  to  their  roots." 
In  his  37th  chapter  he  advises  the  use  of  pi- 
geons' dung  for  gardens,  meadows,  and  coru 
lands,  as  well  as  uvierca,  or  dregs  of  oil :  and  re- 
commends the  farmer  to  preserve  carefully  the 
dung  of  all  descriptions  of  animals.  This  was 
advice  given  150  years  before  the  Christian 
era;  and  now, after  the  lapse  of  2000  years,  the 
direction  must  be  still  the  same.  We  learn 
from  Columella  (i.  6)  and  Pliny  (xvii.  9  ;  xxiv. 
19)  that  they  collected  their  manure  and  stored 
it  in  covered  pits,  so  as  to  check  the  escape  Of 
the  drainage ;  and  sowed  pulverized  pigeons* 
dung,  and  the  like,  over  their  crops,  and  mixed 
it  with  the  surface-soil  by  means  of  the  sarcle 
or  hoe.  (Colum.  i.  16;  Cato,  36.)  They  were 
aware  of  the  benefit  of  mixing  together  earths 
of  opposite  qualities,  and  sowing  lupines,  and 
ploughing  them  in  while  green.    {Vinro,  i.  23.) 

Virgil  is  very  particular  in  describing  fertil- 
izers. With  common  manure  he  mentions 
ashes  {Georg.  lib.  i.  80),  pumice-stone,  and 
shells.  (Lib.  ii.  v.  346,  50,  and  in  v.  250,  8.) 
He  advises  the  seeds  of  corn  lo  be  mixed  with 
saltpetre  and  the  dregs  of  olive  oil,  to  make  the 
grain  swell.  (Lib.  i.  1U5.)  Irrigation  was 
employed  in  his  days.  (Lib.  i.  106,  9.)  The 
Italian  farmers  alsct  fed  down  over-luxuriant 
crops  (lib.  i.  3),  and  burned  the  stubble.  (Lib. 
i.  V.  84,  8.) 

Varro  (lib.  i.  c.  38)  mentions  many  kinds  of 
animal  manure,  and  is  particularly  minute  in 
his  enumeration  of  the  dung  of  birds,  and  in- 
cludes even  that  of  blackbirds  and  thrushes 
kept  in  aviaries. 

Columella  (lib.  ii.  c.  5)  advises  the  cultivator 
not  to  carry  out  lo  the  field  more  dung  than  the 
labourers  can  cover  with  the  soil  the  same 
day,  as  the  exposure  lo  the  sun  does  it  con- 
siderable injury;  and  he  enumerates  (lib.  ii. 
c.  15),  as  well-known  fertilizers,  night-soil,  the 
excrements  of  birds  and  sheep,  urine  (espe- 
cially for  apple-trees  and  vines),  dregs  of  oil, 
the  excrements  of  cattle,  the  ass,  the  goat,  of 
pigs;  ashes,  chopped  stalks  of  the  lupine  (or 
hop),  leaves  of  trees,  brambles,  &c.,  and  mud 
from  sewers  or  ditches.  Pliny  also  mentions 
that  lime  was  employed  as  a  fertilizer  in  Gaul, 
and  marl  in  the  same  country  and  Britain;  but 
we  can  only  surmise  th'  nee,  that  they  were  also 
probably  employed  by  the  Romans.  {Pliny, 
xvii.  5.) 

Liquid  manure  is  not  a  mode  of  fertilizing 

the  land  altogether  of  modem  origin.    For  a 

fermented  mixture  of  water  and  night-soil  has 

from  a  very  early  period  been  employed  by  the 

Chinese  farmers.  Those  of  Italy  certainly  prac 

lised  irrigation  in  the  days  of  Virgil  {Georgic, 

lib.  i.  V.  106,  9) ;  and  Cato  adds,  they  employed 

a  mixture  of  grape-stones  and  water  to  fertilize 

!  their  olive  trees.      (Lib.  xxxvii.)      Columella 

I  praises  very  highly  the  use   of  stale,  putrid 

j  urine  for  vines  and  apple-trees  (lib.  ii.  c.  xv.), 

commending  also  the  lees  of  oil  for  the  same 

I  purpose.     More  modern  agricultural  authors 

j  have  united  in  praising  various  liquid  prepara- 

!  tions  ;  thus  Evelyn  (whose  ingredients  most  of 

7S3 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


»hese  authors  recommend),  in  his  Treatise  on 
Earth  (p.  123  — 160),  gives  several  recipes, 
some  of  which  have  served  as  the  bases  for 
recent  modes  of  preparing  liquid  manure ; 
such  as  the  dung  of  cattle,  urine,  salt,  and  lime, 
nitre. 

The  employment  of  crushed  bones  as  a  manure 
is  but  a  very  modern  improvement ;  it  is  not 
one  of  the  fertilizers  even  mentioned  by  the 
early  agricultural  writers  ;  and  to  this  neg'ect 
of  bones  several  causes  contributed.  The  ne- 
cessary machinery  for  crushing  them  was,  in 
the  early  ages  of  agricultaral  efforts,  totally 
unknown  ;  and  bones  when  unbroken  dissolve 
in  the  soil  much  too  slowly  to  be  of  any  appa- 
rent value  as  a  fertilizer.  The  use  of  bones  is 
an  improvement,  for  which  agriculture  is  en- 
tirely indebted  to  the  enterprize  of  the  English 
farmers.  The  refuse  matters  produced  by  the 
ivory  and  bone  turners  and  cutlers  of  Sheffield, 
which  speedily  accumulated  in  very  considera- 
ble heaps  around  their  manufactories,  first 
drew  the  Yorkshire  farmers'  attention  to  bone 
manure.  The  cultivators  of  the  poor  soils  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  that  town,  towards  the 
conclusion  of  the  last  century,  began  to  carry 
away  these  refuse  matters  with  some  readiness, 
and  the  turners  were  at  first  too  glad  to  be 
relieved  from  this  bone-rubbish,  to  think  of 
charging  them  any  thing  for  the  valuable  ma- 
nure they  had  been  the  first  to  employ.  As, 
however,  the  Yorkshire  farmers  soon  began  to 
scramble  for  these  bone-turnings,  the  manu- 
facturers of  Sheffield  speedily  made  a  small 
charge  for  them,  which  has  since  gradually 
increased  in  amount.  It  required,  however, 
some  time  to  bring  about  this  great  and  suc- 
cessful improvement'.  Mr.T.  Ellin,  late  master 
cutler  of  Sheffield,  well  remembers,  some  fifty 
years  since,  the  bone  refuse  carted  into  Shef- 
field Moor,  and  buried  in  pits  as  worthless 
rubbish ;  these  old  deposits,  often  found  in 
digging  foundations,  are  now  carried  off  with 
much  alacrity  to  the  bone-crushing  mills.  The 
farmers  at  first  gave  sixpence  a  bushel  for 
these  parings  and  turnings  ;  of  these  about  600 
tons  are  annually  sold  in  Sheffield.  By  the 
sole  use  of  this  fertilizer,  great  breadths  of 
very  poor  land  have  been  successfully  brought 
into  cultivation,  and  maintained  in  a  state  of 
the  greatest  fertility  in  the  north  and  east  of 
England  and  Scotland.  Their  effects  upon  the 
Wolds  of  Lincolnshire  has  been  magical.  The 
first  person,  perhaps,  who  successfully  used  the 
roughly  broken  bones  from  the  dog  kennel  as 
a  manure  was  General  St.  Leger,  in  1775. 
{Evelyns  Sylva,  by  Dr.  Hunter.) 

Manuring  with  Jish  was  necessarily  an  im- 
provement of  an  advanced  state  of  agricul- 
ture; we  have  no  mention  of  them  as  thus 
used  in  the  early  agricultural  authors  ;  the  im- 
mense shoals  of  sticklebacks,  and  other  small 
fresh-water  fish,  which  once  tenanted  the  fen 
counties  of  England,  first  gave  the  farmers  of 
Lincolnshire  an  opportunity  of  using  this  rich 
oily  manure  ;  they  were  towards  the  latter  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  sold  by  the  fen  fisher- 
men at  about  sixpence  a  bushel ;  and  Arthur 
Young  tells  us,  that  at  one  village  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Cambridgeshire,  2000/.  have  been  taken 
for  these  fish  in  one  season.  It  is  not  often  that 
784 


a  glut  of  herrings,  pilchards,  or  other  valuable  t 
fish,  enables  the  farmer  to  obtain  them  at  a  rate 
sufficiently  reasonable  for  his  land,  a  purpose 
for  which  they  have  often,  however,  been  em- 
ployed with  the  most  luxuriant  effect  on  the 
coasts  of  Scotland  and  Cornwall.  Sprats,  and 
the  fish  called  five-fingers,  are  used  to  a  great 
extent  by  the  Essex  farmers ;  the  demand  for 
these  has  of  late  years  been  fully  equal  to 
the  supply,  although  from  the  evidence  given 
before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Com- 
mons in  1833,  it  seems  that  during  the  season 
more  than  400  boats  are  employed  in  catching 
these  fish,  for  the  purpose  of  selling  them  as 
manure. 

Manuring  with  calcareous  sand  was  practised 
very  early  in  the  middle  ages  by  the  English 
farmers.  This  they  obtained  not  only  from 
inland  pits,  but  from  the  sea-shore,  especially 
in  Norfolk  and  Cornwall.  The  privilege  of 
freely  taking  it  from  the  sea-shore,  the  West 
of  England  farmers  enjoyed  under  a  grant 
from  Richard  Duke  of  Cornwall,  confirmed  by 
another  of  45th  of  Henry  III.,  A.  D.  1261.  This 
is  expressed  in  the  preamble  of  the  act  of  the 
6th  James  IL  c.  18,  A.  D.  1609,  which  says, 
"  Whereas,  the  sea-sand  by  lojig  trial  and  expe- 
rience hath  been  found  to  be  very  profitable  for 
the  bettering  of  land,  and  especially  for  the 
increase  of  corn  and  tillage  within  the  counties 
of  Cornwall  and  Devon,  where  the  most  part 
of  the  inhabitants  have  not  commonly  used 
any  other  worth  for  the  bettering  of  their  arable 
grounds  and  pastures."  This  act,  which  em- 
powers the  farmers  to  take  this  sand  free  from 
any  toll,  was,  after  being  several  times  renewed, 
made  perpetual  by  the  16th  Charles  I.,  c.  4, 
This  wise  encouragement  of  the  use  of  ma- 
nures by  the  legislature  of  England  has  not 
been  confined  to  the  sea-land  of  Padstow  har- 
bour: thus,  uncrushed  bones  passing  through 
a  turnpike  to  be  crushed  for  manure  are  exempt 
from  toll ;  and  carts  loaded  with  common  ma- 
nure are  equally  free;  or  even  when  going 
empty  to  fetch  it;  but  this  exception  does  not 
extend  to  lime.  And  in  authorizing  the  con- 
struction of  railways,  parliament  has  carefully 
provided,  that  the  tolls  levied  upon  the  ma- 
nures conveyed  by  them  shall  be  much  smaller 
than  those  demandable  for  any  other  descrip- 
tion of  goods :  thus,  in  the  Birmingham  and 
Gloucester  Railway  Act,  the  authorized  toll  is, 
for  manure  of  all  kinds,  only  one  penny  per 
ton  per  mile  ;  while  coals,  &c.  are  to  pay  three- 
halfpence,  sugar  twopence,  cottons  and  other 
manufactured  goods,  threepence  per  mile.  The 
same  proportionate  rate  of  tolls  are  authorized 
to  be  taken  on  several  other  railways,  such  as 
the  Birmingham  and  Derby,  the  Midland  Coun- 
ties ;  and  on  the  Eastern  the  difference  in 
favour  of  the  farmer  is  still  greater;  for  while 
limestone,  sand,  and  clay  are  to  pay  a  penny, 
and  all  other  manures  three-halfpence,  coals 
are  to  pay  twopence,  sugar,  &c.  fourpence,  and 
manufactured  goods  sixpence  per  mile. 

Saltpetre  is,  perhaps,  the  most  ancient  of  all 
the  saline  manures,  and  its  introduction  is  not, 
as  is  commonly  believed,  a  modern  improve- 
ment. It  is  commended  by  Virgil  as  a  steop 
with  olive  oil,  to  make  the  seed-grain  swell 
To  this  knowledge  of  the  fertilizing  powers  cl 


w 


MANURES. 


laltpetre  the  earl}-  cultivators  of  the  earth  were 
probably  assisted  from  noticing  that  those  soils 
which  naturally  produce  saltpetre  are  ever 
found  to  be  of  the  most  fertile  description,  and 
that  all  those  rich  eastern  fields  which  are  so 
celebrated  in  Palestine  for  their  fertility,  abound 
in  this  salt.  Three  centuries  since,  according 
to  Googe,  it  was  employed  by  the  German 
farmers.  "  Some  saie  coleworts  prospereth 
best  in  salt  grounde,  and  therefore  they  use 
to  cast  upon  the  grounde  saltpetre  or  ashes." 
In  1676,  Evelyn,  in  his  Discnurse  on  Earth,  tells 
us,  "  rains  and  dews,  cold  and  dry  winters,  with 
store  of  snow,  which  I  reckon  equal  to  the 
richest  manures,  impregnated  as  they  are  with 
celestial  nitre  ;"  which,  although  an  error,  yet 
displays  his  opinion  of  the  fertilizing  power  of 
iiitre.  "I  firmly  believe,"  he  adds,  "  that  were 
saltpetre,  I  mean  fictitious  nitre,  to  be  obtained 
in  plenty,  we  should  need  but  little  other  com- 
posts to  meliorate  our  grounds."  Evelyn  re- 
commends saltpetre  to  be  used  in  solution, 
three  pounds  of  this  salt  to  fifteen  gallons  of 
water  mixed  with  earth.  And  in  this  way  Sir 
Kenelm  Digby  made  some  barley  grow  very 
luxuriantly  by  watering  it  with  a  very  weak 
solution. 

It  would  be,  perhaps,  difficult  to  name  any 
other  substance  in  the  catalogue  of  modern 
fertilizers  whose  powers  have  been  so  often 
disputed  as  common  salt.  For  this  controversy 
many  reasons  may  be  assigned.  It  has  been 
generally  employed  with  little  scientific  accu- 
racy, has  been  tried  in  a  manner  far  too  care- 
less for  any  reliance  to  be  placed  upon  the 
majority  of  the  reports  which  have  been  fur- 
nished to  us,  and  for  many  years  a  prohibitory 
duty  rendered  it  inaccessible  to  the  farmer;  an 
impost  which  has  not  very  long  been  removed, 
and  which  yet  was  the  occasion  of  a  great 
variety  of  blundering  trials,  miscalled  experi- 
ments. The  duty  on  salt  was  indeed  one  of 
long  continuance.  It  originated,  as  a  war-tax, 
in  the  ninth  year  of  the  reign  of  William  the 
Third,  and  was  not  removed  until  after  an 
arduous  debate  at  the  end  of  that  of  George 
the  Third.  The  price  of  salt,  thus  raised  to 
more  than  20s.  a  bushel,  was  in  consequence 
too  expensive  a  fertilizer  to  be  employed  by 
the  English  farmers.  During  that  long  period 
t  was  known  only  in  their  traditions.  Through 
these  they  were  told  that  it  was  formerly  used 
to  kill  worms  and  to  destroy  weeds,  that  it 
cleansed  fallows,  increased  the  produce  of  light 
arable  soils,  and  sweetened  grass.  These  re- 
ported advantages  were  rendered  more  proba- 
te by  certain  facts  that  had  been  forced  a«  •>. 
^  ere  upon  their  attention.  Every  gardener 
uas  aware  that  the  brine  of  the  pickling  tubs, 
when  poured  over  his  heaps  of  weeds,  not  only 
killed  those  weeds  and  their  attendant  seeds 
and  grubs,  but  that  these  heaps  were  then  con- 
verted into  so  many  parcels  of  the  most  fertil- 
izing manure,  whose  good  effects,  especially 
upon  potatoes  and  carrots,  were  very  decided. ' 
It  was  well  known,  too,  that  a  single  grain  of  i 
salt,  placed  upon  an  earth-worm,  speedily  de-  [ 
stroyed  it;  that  if  brine  was  poured  upon  a  lawn, , 
from  that  spot  all  the  earth-worms  were  imme-  | 
diately  ejected;  and  that  if  it  was  sprinkled  over 
a  portion  of  the  grass,  on  this  salted  portion  all  j 
99 


MANURES. 

the  deer,  or  sheep,  or  horses  of  the  park  con- 
stantly repaired,  in  preference  to  any  other 
part  of  the  field.  Salt  evidently  therefore  de- 
stroyed weeds  and  worms,  and  rendered  grass 
more  palatable  to  live-stock;  and  upon  con- 
sulting the  old  agricultural  writers,  it  was 
found  that  the  notices  of  salt  as  a  manure 
were  many  and  important,  and  that  salt  had 
been  employed  in  various  agricultural  opera- 
tions from  a  very  early  period.  Thus,  it  is 
referred  to  by  St.  Luke,  chap.  xiv.  34  ;  Virgil 
reprobates  a  salt  soil ;  Cato  recommends  it  for 
cattle,  hay,  straw,  &c.;  as  does  Virgil  (Lib.iii. 
V.  394).  The  early  German  farmers  knew  of 
its  value  for  sheep ;  and  for  the  same  purpose, 
in  Spain,  it  has  been  employed  from  the  earliest 
ages.  In  1750,  Conrad  Herebasch  commends 
it  as  a  certain  prevention  of  the  "  murrain  or 
rotte."  In  1653,  Sir  Hugh  Piatt  speaks  of  salt 
as  a  fertilizer,  in  his  usual  visionary  manner, 
and  details  the  result  of  a  very  successful 
experiment  on  a  "patch  of  ground''  at  Clapham, 
from  which  some  late  writers  upon  the  uses  of 
salt  have  led  their  readers  into  great  blunders, 
by  stating  this  experiment  to  have  been  per- 
formed upon  an  acre  of  land. 

The  use  of  salt  by  the  cultivator,  since  the 
repeal  of  the  duties  in  1823,  has  been  consider- 
able, however,  in  many  districts  of  England,  in 
spite  of  these  blundering  instructions,  ill-con- 
trived experiments,  and  ignorant  conclusions. 
If  to  this  be  added  the  natural  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining correct  results  in  any  experiments  in 
which  vegetable  life  is  concerned,  we  need  no 
longer  be  surprised  that  many  contradictory 
statements  have  been  made  with  regard  not 
only  to  salt,  but  to  all  other  fertilizers. 

A  mixture  of  s«//.and /iwe  was  recommended 
as  a  manure  by  the  celebrated  German  chemist, 
Glauber,  in  his  "Hints  for  the  Prosperity  of 
Agriculture,"  more  than  two  centuries  since. 
He  at  some  length  described  the  mode  of  pre- 
paring it,  and  characterized  the  compound  of 
soda  and  chloride  of  calcium  produced  as 
"most  fit  for  dunging  lands,  and  to  be  used  in- 
stead of  the  common  beasts'  dung."  (Pros- 
perity of  Germany,  vol.  i.  p.  417.)  Christopher 
Packe,  who,  in  1688,  published  a  huge  folio 
translation  of  Glauber's  works,  enforces  the 
value  of  this  fertilizing  compound  with  much 
earnestness  in  his  preface,  describing  it  "  as 
the  cheapest  of  all  mixtures  for  the  enriching 
of  poor  and  barren  land."  The  want  of  scien- 
tific knowledge  amongst  farmers,  and  the  hin- 
drance to  the  use  of  salt  through  the  duties 
which  were  so  long  imposed  upon  it,  naturally 
prevented  any  extensive  use  of  this  fertilizer; 
yet  there  have  been  many  accidental  or  occa- 
sional notices  of  its  value.  Thus,  for  a  great 
many  years,  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
farmers  of  Essex,  and  other  English  maritime 
counties,  to  steep  their  seed-wheat  in  sea-water, 
strengthened  with  salt,  until  it  is  of  a  sufficient 
gravity  to  float  an  egg,  and  then  roll  the  brined 
seed  in  lime.  This  they  consider  not  only  pre- 
vents smut  in  the  corn,  but  promotes  the  gene- 
ral health  and  vigour  of  the  plant.  The  Essex 
farmers  have  a  tradition  that  this  plan  was  dis- 
covered  by  the  accident  of  a  farmer's  labourer 
dropping  a  sack  of  seed-wheat  from  the  boat  in 
which  he  was  crossing  the  mouth  of  the  River 
3  u  2  785 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


Crouch.  It  was  long,  however,  the  supersti- 
tious belief  of  the  district,  that  the  salt-water 
wetting  must  be  the  resuU  of  accident  to  produce 
a  good  effect.  The  Cornish  farmers  have  for 
centuries  used  the  saline  calcareous  sand  of  the 
coasts  of  Devon,  which  contains  64  per  cent, 
of  lime,  fetching  it  for  some  miles  from  the 
shore,  in  preference,  says  Dr.  Paris,  to  the  un- 
salted  sand,  which  they  can  procure  at  their 
own  doors.  The  very  mixture  of  salt  and  lihie 
was  successfully  employed  in  Ayrshire  many 
years  since.  And  George  Sinclair,  in  1818, 
very  nearly  demonstrated  at  Woburn  the  value 
of  this  application.  He  unfortunately,  how- 
ever, applied  the  salt  and  the  lime  separately, 
yet  still  with  considerable  benefit.  (C.  W.  John- 
son^s  Essay  on  Salt,  p.  40.)  The  use  of  salt  and 
lime  was  noticed  in  the  year  1800,  by  Mr.  Hol- 
lingshead,  of  Chorley,  in  Lancashire,  who  ob- 
serves, "Lime  prepared  for  manure  should 
be  slacked  with  salt  springs  or  salt-water ; 
lime  so  slacked  will  have  a  double  effect."  In 
1804,  in  the  experiments  of  the  late  Rev.  Ed- 
mund Cartwright,  upon  potatoes,  of  25  ma- 
nures, or  mixtures  of  manures,  salt  and  lime 
were  found  superior,  in  their  product  of  pota- 
toes, to  19  others.  And  in  1816,  Mr.  James 
Manley,  of  Anderton,  in  Cheshire,  when  giving 
his  evidence  before  a  committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  on  the  salt  duties,  mentioned  that 
in  getting  marl  (which  is  a  mixture  of  carbo- 
nate of  lime,  alumina,  and  silica),  he  had 
found  that,  by  mixing  it  with  brine  instead  of 
water,  the  portion  of  the  field  on  which  the 
brined  marl  was  used  yielded  5  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre  more  than  that  portion  on 
which  the  watered  marl  was  employed. 

The  use  of  ashes  as  manure  may  be  traced 
to  a  very  early  age.  The  Roman  farmers  were 
well  acquainted  with  paring  and  burning. 
Cato  recommends  the  burning  of  the  twigs  and 
branches  of  trees,  and  spreading  them  on  the 
land.  Palladius  says,  that  soils  thus  treated 
would  not  require  any  other  manure  for  5 
years.  They  also  burnt  their  stubbles — a  prac- 
tice common  amongst  the  Jews  in  Palestine. 
The  ancient  Britons,  according  to  Pliny,  were 
used  to  burn  their  wheat-straw  and  stubble, 
and  spread  the  ashes  over  the  soil ;  and  Conrad 
Herebasch,  a  German  counsellor,  in  his  T7-ea- 
tise  on  Husbandry,  published  in  1575,  which  was 
translated  by  Googe,  tells  us  (p.  20),  "In  Lom- 
bardie  they  like  so  well  the  use  of  ashes,  as 
they  esteem  it  far  above  doung,  thinking  doung 
not  meete  to  be  used  for  the  unwholesomness 
thereof." 

Gypsum,  or  sulphate  of  lime,  when  employed 
as  it  exists  in  an  impure  state  in  ashes,  which 
owe  all  their  virtues  to  the  gypsum  they  contain, 
was  used  by  the  early  Italian  farmers.  Virgil 
(Georg.  i.  1.  80)  gives  the  following  injunction; 

"  Neve 

EficetHs  cineruni  immunduin  jactare  per  agros." 

•Nor  hesitate  to  scatter  the  dirty  ashes  over 
the  exhausted  soils."  And  he  also  recom- 
mends, in  addition  to  ashes,  two  other  reme- 
dies for  sterility  of  soil,  viz.  stercoratio  (or  ma- 
Jiuring),  and  glebarum  cum  stipulis  incensio 
(the  turning  up  and  burning  the  stubble).  Ro- 
bert Ainslie,  steward  to  the  celebrated  John, 
Earl  of  Stair,  at  Culhorn,  in  Wigtownshire,  had 
786 


very  nearly  discovered  the  agricultural  advan- 
tages of  gypsum  in  1728;  for  in  that  year  tiie 
earl  sent  from  London  several  hogsheads  of 
peat-ashes,  which  abound  in  sulphate  of  lime, 
with  directions  for  their  use,  describing  them 
to  Ainslie  as  being  much  employed  in  the 
southof  England  as  an  admirable  top-dressing 
for  grass,  and  even  tillage  lands.  These  ashes 
were  used,  according  to  his  lordship's  direc- 
tions, with  great  success,  on  both  barley  and 
grass  lands.  Ainslie,  convinced  of  their  fer- 
tilizing properties,  immediately  began  to  burn 
turf,  moss,  and  peat,  for  the  use  of  the  farm 
under  his  care,  in  considerable  quantities ;  he, 
moreover,  submitted  these  ashes  to  what  he 
very  ludicrously  calls  an  analysis,  and  gravely 
tells  us,  that  •*  with  a  great  proportion  of  earthy 
substances,  they  contained  many  particles  of 
lime  or  shelly  matter."  This  was  most  proba- 
bly the  gypsum. 

The  use  of  the  mineral  gypsum  as  a  manure 
was  discovered  in  1768,  according  to  Kirwan, 
by  M.  Meyer,  a  German  clergyman  of  great 
talents ;  but  as  in  those  days  the  chemical 
composition  of  gypsum  was  totally  unknown, 
he  naturally  confounded  it  with  other  calca- 
reous earths  which  it  resembled  in  appearance. 
His  merit  consisted  in  discovering  the  use  of 
a  certain  mineral  substance  existing  in  his 
own  neighbourhood,  which  was  long  after- 
wards shown  to  be  sulphate  of  lime,  but  of 
which  fact  Meyer  was  entirely  ignorant.  Even 
as  early  as  1792  gypsum  was  tried  very  suc- 
cessfully by  Mr.  H.  Smith,  of  Highstead,  near 
Sittingbourne,  who  first  noticed,  what  has 
since  been  confirmed  by  numerous  observa- 
tions, that  clover  manured  with  gypsum  is 
always  preferred  by  horses  and  cattle  to  all 
other  clover. 

Sir  Joseph  Banks  recommended  this  sub- 
stance as  a  fertilizer  to  Lord  Leicester,  and,  at 
his  suggestion,  it  was  tried  at  Holkham  many 
years  since  ;  but,  owing  to  mismanagement  in 
its  application,  it  did  not  then  appear  to  an- 
swer the  intended  purpose.  Some  years  after- 
wards, owing  to  the  warm  recommendation  of 
Mr.  Grisenthwaite,  it  was  again  employed 
pretty  extensively  by,  the  same  nobleman,  and 
with  great  success ;  and  so  satisfied  was  this 
great  friend  of  agriculture  with  the  result,  that 
he  presented  Mr.  Grisenthwaite  with  a  piece 
of  plate  for  his  exertions  in  its  introduction. 
In  a  letter  with  which  I  was  favoured  from  the 
Rev.  R.  Collyer,  dated  Holkham,  October  17th, 
1837,  that  gentleman  tells  me,  "Lord  Leicester 
wishes  me  to  say,  in  regard  to  gypsum,  that  its 
effects,  when  applied  to  clover  and  sainfoin, 
have  been  invariably  such  as  to  induce  him  to 
speak  from  his  own  experience  in  favourable 
terms  of  that  fertilizer."  It  has  since  been 
gradually  creeping  into  use  in  the  east  and 
south  of  England.  Mills  have  been  erected  for 
grinding  it,  and  considerable  quantities  have 
been  brought  from  the  northern  counties ;  but 
still  not  one-thousandth  part  of  the  quantity  is 
employed  in  agriculture  that  would  be  used  if 
its  correct  mode  of  application  were  more 
generally  known ;  since,  from  the  small  quan- 
tity used  per  acre,  and  the  low  price  of  the  arti- 
cle, it  constitutes  one  of  the  cheapest  of  the 
artificial  manures. 


MANURES. 


MANURES. 


From  this  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  chief 
manures,  and  of  the  steady  improvement  in  the 
mode  of  applying  them,  we  may  safely  conclude 
that,  as  regards  the  cultivation  of  even  the  most 
barren  soils,  the  drifting  lands  of  Norfolk,  the 
heaih-lands  of  the  north  of  England  and  Scot- 
land, and  even  the  shingle  of  its  sea-coast,  much 
will  yet  be  effected  by  improved  modes  of  ap- 
plying manures.  Let  such  improvements  pro- 
ceed ;  let  science  go  hand  in  hand  with  practice ; 
let  the  naturalist  discover  new  cultivatable  ve- 
getables, or  new  varieties  of  those  already 
known  ;  let  the  chemist  yield  his  magic  aid  to 
demonstrate  the  best  mode  of  promoting  their 
growth,  and  increasing  the  fertility  of  the  soil ; 
and  then  I  fearlessly  assert  that  many  more 
than  the  present  inhabitants  of  Britain  may  be 
amply  supported  by  the  produce  of  the  land  of 
our  birth.  "Nature,"  said  Davy,  "amidst  all 
her  changes,  is  continually  directing  her  re- 
sources towards  the  production  and  multiplica- 
tion of  life ;  and  in  the  wise  and  grand  econo- 
my of  the  v/hole  system,  even  the  agents  that 
appear  injurious  to  the  hopes  and  destructive 
to  the  comforts  of  man  are,  in  fact,  ultimately 
connected  with  a  more  exalted  state  of  his 
powers  and  his  condition.  His  industry  is 
awakened,  his  activity  kept  alive,  even  by  the 
defects  of  climates  and  seasons.  By  the  acci- 
dents which  interfere  with  his  efforts  he  is  made 
to  exert  his  talents  to  look  farther  into  futurity, 
and  to  consider  the  vegetable  kingdom,  not  as 
a  secure  and  unalterable  inheritance,  sponta- 
neously providing  for  his  wants,  but  as  a  doubt- 
ful and  insecure  possession,  to  be  preserved 
only  by  labour,  and  extended  and  perfected  by 
ingenuity."     (Lectures,  p.  267.) 

Manure,  Law  with  regard  to. — In  most  English 
farm-leases  there  are  covenants  introduced 
Vith  regard  to  manure,  which  are  often  worse 
than  useless ;  encumbering  the  efforts  of  the 
skilful  cultivator,  and  rarely  improving  the 
practice  of  the  ignorant,  lazy,  and  unprincipled. 
Thus,  by  some  leases  the  farmer  is  allowed,  on 
certain  conditions,  to  sell  his  straw  and  hay, 
and  bring  on  to  the  farm  in  its  stead  a  given 
weight  of  manure  (commonly  2  tons  of  stable- 
dung  for  a  load  of  straw,  and  3  tons  for  a  load 
of  hay);  in  others  he  is  restrained  from  selling 
either ;  in  others,  from  liming  or  chalking  his 
land.  In  most  leases  he  covenants  to  spread 
the  manure  on  the  farm,  and  to  leave  it,  in  the 
concluding  year  of  his  term,  properly  laid  up 
in  heaps,  if  it  is  not  already  employed  on  the 
land. 

The  mere  relation  of  landlord  and  tenant  is 
a  sufficient  consideration  for  the  tenant's  pro- 
mise to  manage  a  farm  in  a  husbandlike  man- 
ner, and  n^t  to  carry  away  any  straw,  dung, 
compost,  &c. ;  but  to  promise  to  spend  60/. 
worth  of  manure  every  year,  is  not  in  law  an 
obligation  arising  out  of  the  bare  relation  of 
landlord  and  tenant.  A  tenant  from  year  to 
vear,  under  a  notice  to  quit,  cannot  remove 
manure,  except  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country,  and,  if  necessary,  he  may  be  restrained 
by  an  injunction.  The  custom  of  the  country 
•s  usually  followed  with  regard  to  the  manage- 
ment and  sale  of  manure ;  but  in  case  there  is 
a  written  agreement,  no  inquiry  can  be  made 
as  to  the  custom  of  the  country ;  and  when  an 


express  stipulation  is  made,  the  custom  of  the 
country  is  excluded  entirely.  In  this  case  Lord 
Lyndhurst  said,  "The  offgoing  tenant  was 
bound  by  the  custom  of  the  country  to  leave 
the  manure  on  the  premises,  and  was  entitled 
to  be  paid  for  it  by  the  landlord,  or  the  succeed- 
ing tenant ;  but  in  this  case  they  did  not  rely 
on  the  custom.  The  lease  contained  a  cove- 
nant that  the  tenant,  on  quitting  the  farm, 
should  not  sell  or  take  aw^ay  the  manure  which 
should  be  in  the  fold,  but  should  leave  it  to  be 
expended  on  the  land  by  the  landlord  or  his 
succeeding  tenant.  It  is  to  be  left  for  their 
use,  and  there  is  no  provision  as  to  any  pay- 
ment in  respect  of  it.  We  are  of  opinion, 
therefore,  that  the  plaintiff  is  not  entitled  to  be 
paid  for  the  manure."  But  where  an  agree- 
ment is  silent  as  to  the  question  of  manures, 
then  the  custom  of  the  country  is  valid  in  law. 
If  the  outgoing  tenant  has  covenanted  with 
his  landlord  to  sell  the  manure  to  the  incoming 
tenant  at  a  valuation,  and  to  leave  it  on  the 
farm,  the  outgoing  tenant  has  a  right  of  on- 
stand  on  the  farm ;  and  if  the  incoming  tenant 
remove  the  manure  before  such  valuation,  he 
is  answerable  to  the  outgoing  tenant  in  an 
action  of  trespass.  A  tenant  may  sell  or 
assign  over  manure  to  an  assignee,  although 
he  thereby  subjects  himself  to  an  action  of 
covenant.  And  it  is  a  reasonable  custom  for 
the  landlord  to  pay  the  outgoing  tenant  the 
expense  of  manuring.  If  a  tenant,  during  his 
tenancy,  removes  a  dunghill,  and  at  the  same 
time  digs  into  and  removes  virgin  soil  that  is 
beneath  it,  his  landlord  may  maintain  either 
trespass  de  bonat  asportatis,  or  trover,  for  the 
removal  of  the  virgin  soil.  But  if  a  tenant 
covenants  to  sufficiently  muck  and  manure  the 
land,  with  two  sufficient  sets  of  muck,  within 
the  last  six  years  of  his  tenancy,  the  last  muck- 
ing to  be  within  the  last  three  years,  this  cove- 
nant is  satisfied  by  the  tenant  laying  on  two 
sets  of  muck  within  the  last  three  years  of  his 
term,  if  he  shall  think  fit  to  do  so. 

In  valuing  manure  to  an  incoming  tenant, 
much  depends  upon  ^he  custom  of  the  country, 
which  is  usually  followed  in  these  cases. 
Land  which  has  been  rendeied  perfectly  clean 
by  a  year's  fallowing,  is  denominated  a  full 
tillage,  and  by  tillages  the  valuation  is  com- 
monly made. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  manure  in  arable 
land,  it  is  done  by  allowing  a  full  tillage  after 
a  fallow  or  crop  of  turnips  fed  off;  after  a  white 
crop,  half  a  tillage  ;  but  after  two  white  crops 
no  allowance  is  made. 

For  bones  one  tillage  more  is  valued  than 
for  dung,  on  arable  soils ;  two-thirds  of  the 
value  of  the  bones,  and  labour  of  procuring 
and  spreading  them,  being  allowed  after  one 
white  crop,  and  one-third  of  the  value  after 
two  white  crops.  Soot,  rape-cake,  oil,  sprats, 
&c.,  which  are  quickly  exhausted  in  the  soil, 
are  allowed  for  as  one  full  tillage  before  a  crop 
grown,  or  after  turnips,  &c.,  eaten  off;  but  if 
the  turnips,  &c.  have  been  carried  off,  then 
only  one-third  of  the  cost  of  procuring,  carry- 
ing, and  spreading  is  allowed. 

For  earthy  manures  more  is  allowed  in  a 
valuation  than  for  those  of  a  perishable  na- 
ture.   Thus,  on  pasture  land,  lime,  chalk,  or 

787 


MANURES,  ARTIFICIAL. 

marl  are  commonly  valued  foi  six  years  after 
they  have  been  spread  on  the  land.  This  in- 
cludes prime  cost,  carriage,  and  labour  in 
spreading  in  full,  when  laid  on  not  more  than 
a  year;  two-thirds  of  the  value  if  spread  within 
two  years  ;  one-half  in  three  years  ;  one-fourth 
in  four  years;  and  one-sixth  in  five  years:  but 
when  lime  is  used  on  arable  lands,  it  is  com- 
monly valued  in  the  same  way  as  farm-yard 
manure. 

When  compost  is  in  the  heap,  it  is  usually 
valued  in  cubic  yards,  the  value  of  which  ne- 
cessarily varies;  it  may  be  estimated,  how- 
ever, commonly  as  of  the  same  value  as  half 
a  bushel  of  wheat.  (Woodfull,  by  Harrison,  p. 
629  ;  Bayldon  on  Rents ;  Grainger  and  Kennedy 
on  Tillage.) 

The  custom  of  the  incoming  tenant  paying 
for  the  dung  varies  in  different  counties.  In 
the  following  counties  he  wholly  pays  for  all 
dung  on  the  farm:  viz. Essex,  Kent,  Northum- 
berland, Nottingham  (artificial  manure),  Rut- 
land, Stafford,  Suffolk,  Surrey,  Sussex,  West- 
moreland, and  the  West  Riding  of  York.  In 
the  other  English  counties  the  dung  is  usually 
left  free  of  charge  to  the  incoming  tenant. 
This,  in  Scotland,  is  called  holding  in  steel-bow. 
See  Customs  of  Counties. 

MANURES,  ARTIFICIAL.  A  great  many 
fertilizing  compounds  are  now  prepared  in 
large  manufacturing  establishments  specially 
devoted  to  the  purpose,  and  these  are  exten- 
sively used  upon  the  various  field  crops  to 
which  they  have  been  found  best  adapted. 
The  basis  of  many  of  these  is  night-soil,  such 
as  poudrette,  &c.  The  virtues  of  others  de- 
pend upon  various  salts  of  potash  and  soda. 
The  following  list  of  the  leading  articles  of 
this  kind  now  prepared  and  extensively  used 
by  the  English  farmers,  with  the  prices  at 
which  they  are  vended,  cannot  but  be  interest- 
ing to  the  American  agriculturist.  It  forms 
an  ordinary  advertisement  in  a  London  news- 
paper : 

Agricultural  Salt,  per  ton,  30.<f.  to  32». 

—  —    fine,  per  ton,  36s. 

Alexander's  Coitipost,  per  bushel,  Is.  lOd. 
Bleaching  Powder,  per  cwt.  305. 
Bone-dust  and  half-inch  Bone,  per  quarter,  18«. 
Brimstone,  per  ton,  I II. 

Clarke's  desiccated  Compost,  per  hhd.,  31.  12«.  6d. 
Daniell's   Bristol    Manure,  according  to  quantity,  per 

bushel,  lOd. 
Guano  (foreign),  per  cwt.,  10s.  to  12s.  6d. 

—      Potter's  English,  according  to  quantity,  per  cwt., 

13s.  to  14s. 
Gypsum,  according  to  quantity,  per  ton,  30s.  to  42s. 
Hunt's  New  Fertilizer,  per  bushel.  Is.  8d. 
Muriate  of  Ammonia,  per  cwt.,  24s.  to  26s. 

—  Lime,  per  cwt.,  12s. 

Nitrade  of  8oda,  according  to  quantity,  duty  paid,  per 

cwt.,  17s.  6d.  to  18s.  5d.  J         J  y      >y 

Petre  Salt,  per  ton,  M.  10s.  to  5/, 
Phosphate  of  Ammonia,  per  lb..  Is.  9d.  to  2s.  3d. 
Phosphate  of  Soda. 
Poitteviii's  disinfected  Manure,  per  quarter,  13s.  6d. 

—  concentrated  .Manure,  per  quarter,  30s. 
Rapf-dust,  according  to  quantity,  per  ton,  71.  10s. 
Bock  Salt,  per  ton,  4i.,  in  quantity,  3/. 
Saltpntre.  per  cwt.,  25s.  6d. 

Silicate  of  Potash  (pure),  per  cwt.,  65». 

Soda  Ash.  per  cwt.,  14s. 

Sulphate  of  Ammonia,  per  cwt.,  18«. 

—  of  Iron,  per  ton, 

♦  —      of  Soda,  per  ton,  7Z. 
Sulphur,  per  cwt.,  16s. 

Sulphuric  Acid,  according  to  strength,  per  lb.,  Ud.  toi^d. 
Trimmer's  Composition  for  Clover,  per  cwt.,  8*-. 

—  —  for    Wheat,    with    Silicate  of 
Potash,  per  cwt    32s. 

788 


MAPLE. 

Trimmer's  Compost  for  Turnips,  per  cwt.,  8s, 
Urate,  per  ton,  51. 

Watson's  Compost,  per  cwt.,  10s.,  in  quantity,  91.  pet 
ton. 

MAPLE  (jlcer,  from  the  Celtic  ac,  a  point, 
the  wood  having  formerly  been  much  sought 
after  for  manufacturing  into  heads  of  pikes 
and  lances).  The  maples  are  for  the  most 
part  beautiful  trees,  of  considerable  size,  gene- 
rally employed  in  forming  avenues  or  the  back 
of  shrubberies.  The  soil  they  delight  most  to 
grow  in  is  open  sandy  loam,  in  which  also 
cuttings  will  strike  freely  in  the  open  air ;  or 
they  may  be  increased  by  layers  put  down  in 
the  autumn:  but  all  the  best  plants  are  ob- 
tained from  seed,  which  should  be  sown  soon 
after  gathering.  There  are  a  great  many  spe- 
cies of  maple  ;  but  two  only,  with  some  varie- 
ties, are  common  to  Britain. 

1.  The  greater  maple  or  sycamore  {J.pseudo- 
platanus),  which  grows  in  hedges  and  about 
houses,  common,  but  not  truly  wild.  It  is  a 
large,  handsome  tree,  of  quick  growth,  with  a 
smooth  ash-coloured  bark,  and  round  spread- 
ing branches.  The  wood  is  white  and  soft, 
useful  for  many  purposes,  such  as  making 
musical  instruments,  cheese  and  cider  presses, 
tables,  mangles,  and  some  parts  of  machinery; 
but  is  chiefly  employed  by  coopers.  The  sap 
is  said  to  yield  some  portion  of  sugar,  and  to 
be  made  into  wine  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land. The  sycamore  is  propagated  entirely 
by  seed.  The  principal  cultivated  varieties 
are,  the  yellow  variegated  sycamore,  or  Costor- 
phine  plane  {Ac.  p.  flavo-variegata,  Loudon),  the 
white  variegated  leaved  sycamore  (J.  p.  varie- 
gata,  Loudon),  and  the  purple-leaved  variety. 

2.  The  common  or  field  maple  (J.  campestre). 
This  is  a  common  tree  in  hedges  and  thickets, 
but  is  rather  rare  in  Scotland  and  the  north  of 
England.  It  is  of  much  more  humble  growth 
than  the  preceding,  with  more  spreading 
branches  ;  the  bark  corky  and  full  of  fissures ; 
that  of  the  branches  smooth.  The  wood  is 
compact,  of  a  fine  grain,  sometimes  beautifully 
veined,  celebrated  among  the  ancient  Romans 
for  tables,  though  now  superseded  by  mahogany, 
and  even  by  our  native  oak. 

The  Norway  maple  (J.  platanoides)  has  lat- 
terly been  classed  among  British  forest  trees. 
It  is  a  tree  of  the  first  rank,  thrives  well  in 
England,  and  attains  a  height  equal  to  that 
of  the  sycamore  within  a  like  period  of  years, 
it  is  a  decided  acquisition  to  park  and  wood- 
land scenery,  and  its  wood  promises  to  be  of 
more  value,  and  adapted  for  a  greater  variety 
of  purposes,  than  that  of  the  sycamore,  being 
white,  close-grained,  firm,  susceptible  of  a  fine 
polish,  and  frequently  exhibiting  the  beautiful 
appearance  in  the  direction  and  disposition  of 
the  fibre,  for  which  the  bird's-eye  maple  of 
America  is  so  highly  prized  and  sought  after. 
The  foliage,  though  not  so  heavy  and  massive 
as  that  of  the  sycamore,  is  umbrageous  ;  the 
leaves,  which  in  shape  bear  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  those  of  the  Platanus  orcidentalis,  are 
large,  with  slender  petioles,  and,  when  fully 
expanded,  of  a  fine,  shining  light-green ;  in  an 
early  or  half-expanded  state,  they  are  of  a  deli- 
cate yellowish-green,  and  in  autumn,  before 
they  fall,  become  of  a  rich,  warm  yellow. 


MAPLE. 


MAPLE. 


There  are  many  species  of  maple  found  in 
the  North  American  forests,  which  are  gene- 
rally lofty  and  beautiful  trees.  They  are  ca- 
pable of  enduring  the  most  intense  cold,  and 
therefore  form  in  the  north  of  the  new  conti- 
nent, as  they  do  of  the  old,  extensive  forests, 
which,  with  those  of  the  beech,  appear  to  suc- 
ceed the  spruce,  the  larch,  the  pine,  and  to 
precede  the  chestnut  and  oak.  Michaux  gives 
7  species  of  maple  to  Europe,  and  7  to  Ame- 
rica, exclusive  of  the  dwarf  red  maple  of  the 
Northeastern  States,  and  the  species  found  in 
the  Northwestern  territories. 

The  wood  of  the  maples  differs  so  w'idely  in 
quality  in  different  species,  that  it  becomes  diffi- 
cult to  characterize  it  by  general  observations. 
It  may  be  remarked  that  it  speedily  decom- 
poses and  decays  when  exposed  to  the  weather, 
that  it  is  liable  to  be  injured  by  worms,  and 
that  hence  it  is  unfit  for  building.  It  possesses 
properties,  however,  which  compensate  in  part 
for  these  defects,  and  which  render  it  useful  in 
the  arts  and  domestic  economy. 

Two  of  the  American  maples  not  only  flower 
but  mature  their  seed  during  the  spring  months. 
These  are : — the  while  maple  (Jlccr  eriocarpum) 
and  the  red-flowering  maple  (J.  rubrum).  In 
the  other  kinds,  the  fructification  is  autumnal, 
namely : — the  sugar  maple  {A.  saccharimim), 
black  sugar  maple  (J.  nigrum),  moose  wood, 
or  striped  maple  (A.  striatum),  box  elder,  or 
ash-leaved  maple  {A.  negundo),  mountain  maple 
{A.  montanum). 

Some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Western 
States  make  sugar  by  boiling  down  the  sap  of 
the  while  maple,  which,  however,  like  that  of 
the  red  maple,  yields  only  half  the  proportion 
of  sugar  obtained  from  the  juice  of  the  sugar 
maple.  The  sap  is  in  motion  even  earlier  in 
the  white  than  in  the  sugar  maple,  beginning 
to  ascend  about  the  middle  of  January. 

The  red-flowering  maple  is  the  earliest  tree 
whose  bloom  announces  the  return  of  spring, 
the  beautiful  purple  blossoms  unfolding  more 
than  a  fortnight  before  the  leaves.  It  never 
attains  its  full  size  except  in  swamps  where 
the  bottom  is  composed  of  fertile  soil,  and  it  af- 
fords the  wood  chiefly  used  in  the  manufacture 
of  Windsor  chairs. 

The  moose  wood  maple  of  the  Eastern 
States  was  so  called  by  the  first  settlers,  from 
observing  that  the  moose  fed  upon  its  twigs 
during  the  latter  part  of  winter  and  beginning 
of  spring.  Although  it  fills  the  forests  in  Nova 
Scotia  and  Maine,  it  becomes  rare  on  approach- 
ing the  Hudson,  to  the  west  and  south  of  which 
river  it  is  confined  to  the  mountainous  tracts 
of  the  Alleghanies,  on  the  cold  and  most  shaded 
sides  of  which  mountains  it  extends  to  their 
termination  in  Georgia.  Where  it  mostly 
abounds,  its  principal  advantage  to  the  inha- 
bitants consists  in  furnishing  them,  at  the  close 
of  winter,  when  their  forage  is  exhausted,  a 
resource  for  sustaining  their  cattle,  till  the  ad- 
vancing season  has  renewed  the  herbage.  As  i 
roon  as  the  buds  begin  to  swell,  the  famished  | 
horses  and  neat  cattle  are  turned  loose  into  the  i 
woods,  to  browse  on  the  young  shoots,  which 
they  consume  with  avidity.  Poor  as  this  re- 
source may  appear,  it  is  not  wholly  inadequate, 
since  the  twigs  ar?  tender,  and  full  of  sweet  i 


juice.  This  species  of  maple  is  much  admired 
in  European  parks  and  gardens,  particularly 
on  account  of  its  variegated  trunk.  When 
grafted  on  the  Sycamore,  as  is  commonly  the 
case,  the  striped  maple  grows  to  nearly  four 
times  its  ordinary  size. 

The  box  elder,  or  ash-leaved  maple,  is  com- 
mon in  the  states  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  and 
rare  to  the  eastward  of  these  mountains.  It  is 
the  species  which  ventures  least  to  the  north, 
not  being  seen  on  the  Delaware  higher  than 
the  neighbourhood  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  chiefly 
found  in  low  bottoms  where  the  soil  is  deep, 
fertile,  and  constantly  wet.  Even  in  such 
situations  it  seldom  attains  more  than  50  feet 
in  height,  and  20  inches  in  diameter. 

The  mountain  maple  abounds  in  Canada, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  along  the  whole  range  of  the 
Alleghany  mountains,  preferring  the  northern 
sides,  and  the  moist,  coolest,  and  most  shady 
situations,  on  the  abrupt  and  rocky  banks  of 
torrents  and  rivers.  It  seldom  is  more  than  6 
or  8  feet  high,  and  is  most  frequently  in  the 
form  of  a  shrub,  with  a  single,  straight  stock. 
Like  the  moose  wood,  this  maple  is  frequently 
grat\ed  on  the  sycamore  (A.  pseudo-platamis),  by 
which  means  it  is  increased  to  nearly  twice 
its  natural  size.  This  surprising  developement 
proves  how  great  are  the  advantages  which 
may  be  derived  from  this  process  and  from 
continued  cultivation,  in  improving  inferior 
vegetables. 

But  by  far  the  most  interesting  tree  of  this 
family  to  the  American  is  the  sugar  maple, 
which  in  the  north  begins  to  appear  a  little 
north  of  lake  St.  John,  in  Canada,  near  the  48° 
of  latitude,  which  in  the  intensity  of  its  winter 
cold  corresponds  to  the  68°  in  Europe.  It  is 
nowhere  more  abundant  than  between  the  46° 
and  43°,  which  comprise  Canada,  New  Bruns- 
wick, Nova  Scotia,  the  states  of  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  where  it  enters 
largely  into  the  composition  of  the  wide-ex- 
tending forests.  Farther  south,  it  is  common 
only  in  Genesee,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  in  the  northern  highlands  of  Pennsylvania. 
Dr.  Rush  estimated  that  in  the  northern  parts 
of  these  two  states,  there  are  10,000,000  of 
acres  which  produce  these  trees  in  the  propor- 
tion of  30  to  an  acre.  In  some  places  large 
masses  of  woods  are  formed  of  them  almost 
exclusively.  In  Virginia  and  other  Southern 
States,  the  tree  is  comparatively  rare,  and  only 
to  be  found  in  mountainous  situations.  In 
those  sections  of  country  where  the  sugar 
maple  most  abounds,  they  distinguish  the  kinds 
of  soil  into  what  are  called  black,  or  soft  wood 
lands,  comprising  the  pines  and  spruces  cover- 
ing the  low  grounds  and  valleys,  and  the  hard 
wood  lands,  consisting  of  leaf-shedding  trees, 
such  as  the  sugar  maple,  the  white  and  red 
beech,  the  birch,  and  the  ash.  These  last  oc- 
cupy the  level  grounds.  Above  the  46°  of 
latitude,  the  maple  and  other  trees  of  the  hard 
wood  class  begin  to  be  rare,  and  the  pines  and 
other  resinous  trees  take  their  place.  Below 
43°,  the  spruce  and  other  soft  wood  trees  ar** 
less  common,  and  lose  their  preponderance  m 
the  forests,  where  they  become  mingled  with 
the  numerous  species  of  oaks  and  walnut. 
Slack  sugar  maple.    In  the  Western  States 

789 


MAPLE. 


MAPLE. 


Rnd  in  the  parts  of  Pennsylvania  which  lie 
between  the  mountains  and  the  Ohio,  this  spe- 
cies of  maple  is  called  the  black  svgar  tree,  pro- 
bably on  account  of  the  colour  of  its  leaves 
being  darker  than  those  of  the  genuine  sugar 
maple.  In  the  Genesee  country  of  New  York, 
both  species  are  indiscriminately  called  rock 
maple  and  sugar  maple.  The  two  species  have 
also  been  confounded  by  botanists.  In  the 
Northern  States,  the  black  sugar  maple  is  in- 
ferior in  size  and  also  more  rare  than  the  true 
sugar  maple.  A  few  degrees  farther  south,  it 
forms  a  large  part  of  the  forests  of  Genesee, 
where  it  is  one  of  the  most  common  and  most 
lofty  trees.  The  wood  is  much  like  that  of  the 
other  species,  but  coarser  grained  and  less 
brilliant  when  polished.  It  is  comparatively 
but  little  used,  because,  wherever  it  abounds, 
other  trees  are  found,  such  as  oak,  the  walnut, 
cherry,  and  mulberry,  more  esteemed  for 
building  and  cabinet  work.  It  is,  however, 
preferred  for  the  frames  of  Windsor  chairs, 
and,  after  hickory,  considered  the  best  of  fuel. 
It  forms  one  of  the  finest  shade  trees,  assum- 
ing, when  standing  alone,  a  regular  and  beauti- 
ful form.     (Michanx.) 

The  sugar  maple  covers  a  greater  extent  of 
the  American  soil  than  any  other  species  of 
this  genus,  flourishing  most  in  mountainous 
places,  where  the  soil,  though  fertile,  is  cold  and 
humid.  Under  such  favourable  circumstances 
it  is  often  found  70  or  80  feet  high,  and  pro- 
portionably  large  in  diameter.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  native  trees,  and  distinguishable 
by  the  external  whiteness  of  its  bark.  The 
grain  of  the  wood  is  fine  and  close,  and  when 
polished  it  has  a  silky  lustre.  It  is  very  heavy 
and  strong,  but  wants  the  property  of  durabi- 
lity for  which  the  chestnut  and  the  oak  are  so 
highly  esteemed.  Exposed  to  moisture  it  soon 
decays.  The  different  forms  of  this  wood 
furnish  the  most  admired  undulated  or  curled 
maple,  and  the  highly  esteemed  and  still  more 
beautiful  spotted  variety  called  bird's  eye 
maple. 

The  wood  of  the  sugar  maple  makes  good 
fuel,  for  which  purpose  it  is  extensively  used 
in  Boston  and  other  northern  cities.  The  ashes 
afford  a  large  proportion  of  the  alkaline  prin- 
ciples, and,  it  is  asserted,  furnish  four-fifths  of 
the  potash  exported  in  such  abundance  from 
Boston  and  New  York  to  Europe.  The  ex- 
traction of  sugar  from  the  maple  is  a  valuable 
resource  in  a  country  where  all  classes  of 
society  daily  make  use  of  tea  and  coffee.  The 
process  by  which  it  is  obtained  is  very  simple, 
and  everywhere  nearly  the  same.  Though 
not  essentially  defective,  it  might  be  rendered 
still  more  perfect  and  profitable  than  is  com- 
monly the  case. 

The  work  of  sugar-making  commonly  be- 
gins in  the  month  of  February,  or  early  in 
March,  whilst  the  cold  still  continues  intense 
and  snow  covers  the  ground.  Thus  the  sap 
begins  to  move  nearly  two  months  before  the 
general  revival  of  vegetation. 

In  a  central  situation,  lying  convenient  to  the 
trees  from  which  the  sap  is  drawn,  a  shed  is 
constructed,  called  a  sugar-camp,  which  is  des- 
tined to  shelter  the  boilers  and  the  persons  who 
-end  them,  from  the  weather.  An  auger  three- 
79. 


fourths  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  small  troughs 
10  receive  the  sap,  tubes  of  elder  or  sumac,  8 
or  10  inches  long,  corresponding  in  size  to  the 
auger,  and  laid  open  for  a  part  of  their  length, 
buckets  for  emptying  the  troughs  and  convey- 
ing the  sap  to  the  camp,  boilers  of  15  or  18 
gallons' capacity,  moulds  to  receive  the  syrup 
when  reduced  to  a  proper  consistency  for  being 
formed  into  cakes,  and,  lastly,  axes  to  cut  and 
split  the  fuel,  are  the  principal  utensils  em- 
ployed in  the  operation.  The  trees  are  perfo- 
rated in  an  obliquely  ascending  direction,  18 
or  20  inches  from  the  ground,  with  two  holes 
4  or  5  inches  apart.  Care  should  be  taken 
that  the  augers  do  not  enter  more  than  half  an 
inch  within  the  wood,  as  experience  has  shown 
the  most  abundant  flow  of  sap  to  take  place 
at  this  depth.  It  is  also  recommended  to  insert 
the  tubes  on  the  south  side  of  the  tree ;  but 
this  useful  hint  is  not  always  attended  to. 

A  trough  is  placed  on  the  ground  at  the  foot 
of  each  tree,  and  the  sap  is  every  day  collected 
and  temporarily  poured  into  casks,  from  which 
it  is  drawn  out  to  fill  the  boilers.  The  evapo- 
ration is  kept  up  by  a  brisk  fire,  and  the  scum 
is  carefully  taken  off  during  this  part  of  the 
process.  Fresh  sap  is  added  from  time  to 
time,  and  the  heat  is  maintained  till  the  liquid 
is  reduced  to  a  syrup,  after  which  it  is  left  to 
cool,  and  then  strained  through  a  blanket  or 
other  woollen  stufi",  to  separate  the  remaining 
impurities. 

Some  persons  recommend  leaving  the  syrup 
twelve  hours  before  boiling  it  for  the  last  time ; 
others  proceed  with  it  immediately.  In  either 
case  the  boilers  are  only  half-filled,  and  by  an 
active,  steady  heat,  the  liquor  is  rapidly  re- 
duced to  the  proper  consistency  for  being 
poured  into  the  moulds.  The  evaporation  is 
known  to  have  proceeded  far  enough,  when, 
upon  rubbing  a  drop  of  the  syrup  between  the 
fingers,  it  is  perceived  to  be  granular.  If  it  is 
in  danger  of  boiling  over,  a  bit  of  lard  or  of 
butter  is  thrown  into  it,  which  instantly  calms 
the  ebullition.  The  molasses  being  drained 
off  from  the  moulds,  the  sugar  is  no  longer  de- 
liquescent, like  the  raw  sugar  of  the  West 
Indies. 

Maple  sugar  manufactured  in  this  way,  is 
lighter  coloured,  in  proportion  to  the  care  with 
which  it  is  made  and  the  judgment  with  which 
the  evaporation  is  conducted.  It  is  superior  to 
the  brown  sugar  of  the  colonies,  at  least,  to 
such  as  is  generally  used  in  the  United  States; 
its  taste  is  as  pleasant,  and  it  is  as  good  for 
culinary  purposes.  When  refined,  it  equals  in 
beauty  the  finest  sugar  consumed  in  Europe. 
It  is  made  use  of,  however,  only  in  the  districts 
where  it  is  made,  and  there,  only  in  the  country: 
from  prejudice  or  taste,  imported  sugar  is  used 
in  all  the  small  towns,  and  in  the  inns. 

The  sap  continues  to  flow  for  six  weeks ; 
after  which,  it  becomes  less  abundant,  less  rich 
in  saccharine  matter,  and  sometimes  even  in- 
capable of  crystallization.  In  this  case,  it  is 
consumed  in  the  state  of  molasses,  which  is 
superior  to  that  of  the  islands.  After  three  or 
four  days'  exposure  to  the  sun,  maple  sap  is 
converted  into  vinegar,  by  the  acetous  fermen- 
tation. The  amount  of  sugar  manufactured 
in  a  year  varies  from  different  causes.    A  cold 


MARC. 


MARK. 


and  dry  winter  renders  the  trees  more  produc- 
tive than  a  changeable  and  humid  season.  It 
is  observed,  that  when  a  frosty  night  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  dry  and  brilliant  day,  the  sap  flows 
abundantly;  and  2  or  3  gallons  are  some- 
times yielded  by  a  single  tree,  in  24  hours. 
Three  persons  are  found  sufficient  to  tend  250 
trees,  which  give  1000  pounds  of  sugar,  or  4 
pounds  from  each  tree.  But  this  product  is 
not  uniform,  for  many  farmers  on  the  Ohio  do 
not  commonly  obtain  more  than  2  pounds  from 
a  tree.  Trees  which  grow  in  low  and  moist 
places  afford  a  greater  quantity  of  sap  than 
those  which  occupy  rising  grounds,  but  it  is 
less  rich  in  the  saccharine  principle.  That  of 
insulated  trees,  left  standing  in  the  middle  of 
fields  or  by  the  side  offences,  is  the  best.  It  is 
also  remarked,  that  in  districts  which  have 
been  cleared  of  other  trees,  and  even  of  the 
less  vigorous  sugar  maples,  the  product  of  the 
remainder  is, proportionally,  mostconsiderable. 
"Having  introduced,"  says  a  writer,  "twenty 
tubes  into  a  sugar  maple,  I  drew  from  it  the 
same  day,  23  gallons  and  3  quarts  of  sap,  which 
gave  7}  pounds  of  sugar ;  33  pounds  have  been 
made  this  season  from  the  same  tree;  which 
supposes  100  gallons  of  sap.  It  appears  here, 
that  only  a  little  more  than  3  gallons  was  re- 
quired for  a  pound,  though  4  are  commonly 
allowed. 

It  has  been  advanced,  and  doobtless  cor- 
rectly, that  the  Northern  parts  of  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania  contain  maples  enough  to 
supply  the  whole  consumption  of  the  United 
States.  But  the  annual  produce  by  no  means 
answers  to  this  patriotic  calculation.  The 
trees  grow  upon  excellent  lands,  which  by  the 
influx  of  emigrants  from  the  older  settlements, 
and  by  the  surprising  increase  of  the  popula- 
tion already  established,  are  rapidly  clearing; 
so  that  in  less  perhaps  than  half  a  century,  the 
maples  will  be  confined  to  exposures  too  steep 
for  cultivation,  and  will  aflTord  no  resource, 
except  to  the  proprietor  on  whose  domain  they 
grow.  At  this  period  also,  the  wood  will 
probably  produce  a  greater  and  more  ready 
profit  than  the  sugar.  Wild  and  domestic 
animals  are  inordinately  fond  of  maple  juice, 
and  break  through  their  enclosures  to  sate 
themselves  with  it. 

MARC.  The  matter  which  remains  after 
the  pressure  of  fruit ;  or  any  substance  which 
yields  oil ;  or,  in  fact,  any  fluid  matter  for  the 
separation  of  which  the  action  of  the  press  is 
required.  What  remains  in  the  press  is  the 
nunc 

MARCESCENT.  In  botany,  a  term  applied 
to  leaves,  &c.,  which  are  permanent,  and  when 
withered  do  not  fall  off. 

MARCHES.  The  name  given  to  the  bor- 
ders or  frontiers  of  any  district,  but  more  espe- 
cially applied  to  the  boundaries  between  Eng- 
land and  Wales,  and  England  and  Scotland. 

MARE.  The  female  of  the  horse.  See  House. 

MARE'S-TAIL  (Hippuris  vulgaris).  A  cu- 
rious indigenous  aquatic,  growing  in  marshy 
situations,  and  in  ditches,  pools,  and  the  bor- 
ders of  slow  streams. 

MARGARIC  ACID.  An  acid  obtained  from 
animal  fat.  Its  derives  its  name  from  its  re- 
semblance to  Dearl.    Its  appearance  and  pro- 


perties very  much  resemble  those  of  stearic 
acid,  another  product  of  animal  fat,  the  chief 
diflference  being  in  the  greater  fusibility  of  the 
margaric,  which  melts  at  140°  Fah.  See  Acids, 

AlTlMAL. 

MARIGOLD  (Calendula,na.medfrom  calendar 
the  first  day  of  the  month  ;  there  being  flowers 
almost  any  month  in  the  year).  A  genus 
of  showy  plants,  among  which  is  the  old 
and  well-known  common  marigold  (C.  offid' 
nalis).  This  species  was  formerly  used  in 
soups  and  broths,  but  is  now  little  regarded. 

There  are  sevftral  varieties  of  the  common 
marigold,  among  which  are — 

1.  Single.  2.  Common  double.  3.  Largest 
very  double.  4.  Double  lemon-coloured.  5. 
Great  Childing.     6.  Small  Childing. 

MARIGOLD,  CORN.   See  Conx  MAniooLD. 

MARIGOLD,  AFRICAN.  See  Afbicait 
Mariooli). 

MARIGOLD,  THE  MARSH.  See  Marsh 
Mauioold. 

MARINE  ACID.     See  Muriatic  Acin. 

MARINE  SALT.  Common  sea-salt,  or  mu- 
riate of  soda. 

MARJORAM  (Origanum,  from  oros,  a  moun. 
tain,  and  j?ano5,  joy ;  the  delight  of  the  moun- 
tain, in  allusion  to  the  habitation  of  the  plants). 
A  genus  of  well-known,  pungent,  and  grate- 
fully aromatic  herbs.  The  plants  are  all  of 
easy  cultivation ;  the  shrubby  kinds  are  in- 
creased by  cuttings  or  slips;  the  herbaceous 
species  by  dividing  at  the  roots.  There  are 
as  many  as  8  species,  besides  numerous  va- 
rieties. The  species  generally  cultivated  are 
the  common  or  pot  marjorum  (O.vulgare),  smd 
sweet  or  summer  marjoram  (O.  majorana),  and 
bastard  or  winter  marjoram  (O.  heradeoticum.) 

A  light,  dry,  and  moderately  fertile  soil  is  re- 
quired for  their  healthy  growth ;  and  if  it  is 
one  that  has  not  been  cropped  for  a  consider- 
able time,  it  is  the  more  favourable  for  them. 
If  the  soil  is  wet  or  rich,  they  are  deficient  in 
their  essential  qualities,  and  the  perennials  are 
unable  to  withstand  severe  weather.  The  situ- 
ation cannot  be  too  open.  The  sweet  marjo- 
ram is  propagated  solely  by  seeds ;  the  2  pe- 
rennials by  seed,  as  well  as  by  parting  their 
roots,  offsets,  and  slips  of  their  branches.  Sow- 
ing may  be  performed  of  all  the  species,  from 
the  conclusion  of  February,  if  open  weather, 
to  the  commencement  of  June ;  but  the  early 
part  of  April  is  the  usual  time  for  performing 
it.  Portions  of  the  rooted  plants,  slips,  &C., 
may  be  planted  from  February  until  May,  and 
during  September  and  October. 

The  sowing  is  performed  either  in  drills,  6 
inches  apart,  or  broadcast;  in  either  case  the 
seed  being  buried  not  more  than  half  an  inch 
deep. 

The  tops  and  leaves  of  all  the  species  are 
gathered  when  green,  in  summer  and  autumn, 
for  use  in  soups,  &c. ;  and  a  store  of  the 
branches  are  cut  and  dried  in  July  or  August, 
just  before  the  flowers  open,  for  winter's 
supply. 

MARK.  A  term  applied  to  a  horse,  which 
is  said  to  mark  when  he  shows  his  age  by  a 
black  spot,  like  the  eye  of  a  common  bean, 
which  appears  at  about  5^  years  old  in  the 
cavities  of  the  corner  teeth,  and  is  gone  when 

791 


MARKET. 

he  is  8  years  old.  When  he  ceases  to  mark,  it 
is  said  he  has  rased.     See  Age  of  Animals. 

The  term  is  also  applied  to  a  common  mode 
of  marking  hogs,  &c.,  in  those  parts  of  the 
United  States  where  they  are  allowed  to  run  at 
large,  and  where  the  owner  fixes  a  mark  upon 
his  property  by  cropping  more  or  less  of  the 
ears,  slitting  these  into  swallow-forks  and 
every  other  shape  of  mutilation. 

MARKET.  In  English  law  the  liberty  or 
franchise,  whereby  a  town  is  enabled  to  set  np 
juid  open  shops,  &c.,  at  a  certain  place  within 
its  limits  for  buying  and  saving,  and  better 
provision  of  such  victuals  as  the  subject  want- 
eth.  The  establishment  of  a  market,  with  the 
grant  of  the  tolls  thereunto  belonging,  is  one 
of  the  king's  prerogatives,  and  can  only  be  ef- 
fected by  virtue  of  the  king's  grant,  or  sup- 
ported on  long  and  immemorial  usage  and 
prescription,  which  presuppose  such  grant. 
The  general  rule  of  law  is,  that  all  sales  and 
contracts  of  any  thing  vendible  in  fairs  or 
markets  overt  (i.  e.  open),  shall  not  only  be 
good  between  the  parties,  but  valid  against  all 
claim  by  others  having  any  right  or  property  in 
the  subject.     See  Fairs. 

MARL.  Marl  implies,  properly  speaking,  a 
natural  mixture  of  chalk,  shells,  or  carbonate 
of  lime,  in  some  of  its  forms,  with  clay  or  sand, 
or  both.  Its  application  to  land,  as  a  fertilizer, 
is  of  very  ancient  date,  as  it  was  much  used 
by  our  English  forefathers  as  a  manure ;  and 
no  one  can  read  the  account  given  by  Pliny  of 
the  agricultural  operations  of  the  early  Bri- 
tons, without  being  struck  with  the  minute  dis- 
crimination, the  evident  result  of  long,  atten- 
tive practice,  which  was  displayed  by  them  in 
the  application  of  marl  to  particular  soils  ;  and 
from  a  very  early  period  the  Cornish  farmers 
have  been  used  to  employ  extensively  the  sea 
sand  of  Padstow  harbour  (which  contains  64 
per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime),  for  the  same 
purpose,  carrying  it  from  the  sea-shore  either 
in  carts,  or  even  on  horses'  backs,  some  miles 
up  the  country. 

Marl  was  certainly  used  by  the  early  Italian 
cultivators  as  a  valuable  addition  to  the  soil 
of  their  fields.  It  is  thus  spoken  of  by  Colu- 
mella:— "  If,  nevertheless,  you  are  provided 
with  no  kind  of  dung,  it  will  be  of  great  advan- 
tage to  it  to  do  what  I  remember  Marcus  Colu- 
mella, my  uncle,  a  most  learned  and  diligent 
husbandman,  was  frequently  wont  to  do,  viz., 
to  throw  chalk  or  marl  upon  such  places  as 
abound  in  gravel,  and  to  lay  gravel  upon  such 
as  are  chalky,  and  too  dense  and  stiff;  and 
thus  he  not  only  raised  great  plenty  of  excel- 
lent corn,  but  made  most  beautiful  vineyards ; 
for  this  most  skilful  husbandman  denied  that 
dung  ought  to  be  applied  to  vines,  because  it 
would  spoil  the  taste  of  the  wine ;  and  thought 
that  stuff  gathered  together  out  of  thickets,  and 
from  among  briers  and  thorns,  or,  in  a  word, 
any  other  sort  of  earth  fetched  from  any  other 
place,  and  carried  to  them,  was  much  better 
for  making  a  plentiful  vintage." 

The  mixture  of  soils,  we  find  from  Theo- 

phratus,  was  a  practice  common  in  his  days  : 

.hey  found,  it  seems,  the  advantage  of  uniting 

h'  light  with  the  heavy,  the  fat  with  the  lean, 

792 


MARL. 

and,  in  fact,  any  that  were  of  a  contrary  na- 
ture. This  mixture,  he  tells  us,  not  only  sup- 
plies what  shallow  soils  need  in  depth,  but 
adds  to  the  power  of  both ;  so  that  a  worn-out 
soil,  thus  treated,  begins  again  to  bear  crops 
with  renewed  energy  :  thus  barren  clays,  when 
thus  fertilized,  again  become  fruitful ;  in  truth, 
this  mode  of  cultivation  he  deemed  a  complete 
substitute  for  manure.  The  inhabitants  of 
Megara,  besides  practising  this  system,  were 
used  every  5th  or  6th  year  to  trench  their  land, 
digging  as  deep  as  they  imagined  the  rain  to 
penetrate,  and  bringing  the  under  soil  to  the 
top ;  for  it  was  an  axiom  with  the  Megarian 
cultivators,  that  the  lighter  portions  of  earth 
proper  for  the  nourishment  of  plants  are  al- 
ways washed  downwards  as  far  as  the  influ- 
ence of  the  surface  water  extends ;  so  that  we 
see  from  this  that  the  advantages  of  deep 
ploughing,  or  subsoiling,  is  not  a  very  modern 
discovery.  (Col.  lib.  xi.  c.  16  ;  Theop.  I.  ii.  c.  25.) 

The  right  of  sinking  marl-pits  is  mentioned 
in  the  Chartce  Forests,  A.  D.  1285;  and  in  the 
Statum  Wallice,  12  Edward  I.,  marl-pits  are  men- 
tioned as  being  dug  close  to  common  roads. 
"It  is  one  of  the  duties  of  the  sheriff  and  coro- 
ner," says  Daines  Barrington,  "to  inquire  de 
fossatis  et  marleris  levatis  juxta  iter  publicum** 
which  shows  that  this  kind  of  manure  was 
very  commonly  used.  When  a  marl-pit  was 
sunk  in  ground  that  did  not  belong  to  the  king, 
but  which  happened  to  be  in  the  purlieus  or 
neighbourhood  of  a  forest,  prosecutions  were 
instituted  in  the  forest,  which  imposed  heavy 
fines  for  the  offence,  as  the  pit  occasioned  both 
inconvenience  and  danger  to  the  hunter. 

Marl  is  found  in  many  parts  of  England; 
and  any  earthy  substance  in  which  the  propor- 
tion of  calcareous  matter  is  apparent,  mixed 
with  sand  or  clay,  is  styled,  in  popular  lan- 
guage, a  marl.  Of  this  there  are  3  principal 
varieties  :  1.  Clay  marl ;  2.  Sand  marl ;  3.  Slate 
or  stony  marl;  4.  Shell  marl.  Of  these  the 
last  is  commonly  the  richest  in  calcareous 
matter.  In  some  shell  marl  examined  by  Sir 
George  Mackenzie,  he  found — 

Lime 41-45 

Carbonic  acid  ;.        _        -        -  32 

Silex 14 

Argil 14 

Oxide  of  iron  -----  2-5 

Inflammable  matter        -        .        -  2 

Loss 4-70 

100 

Clay  marl  usually  contains  from  68  to  80  per 
cent,  of  clay,  and  from  32  to  20  per  cent,  of 
calcareous  matter.  Silicious  sand  often  con- 
tains 75  per  cent,  of  sand  (Kvivin  on  Manures^ 
p.  13),  Thus,  M.  Thaer  found  in  that  of  Olden- 
burgh — 

Fine  sand        -----       36 

Clay 44 

Mould      ------  5 

Carbonate  of  lime  -        -        -        -        14 

Gypsum  ------  1 

looT 

The  quantity  of  marl  applied  per  acre  neces 
sarily  varies  with  the  kind  of  soil  and  the  qua 
lity  of  the  marl ;  it  is  usual  to  employ  it 


MARL. 


MARSH. 


very  considerable  quantities,  and  it  is  often 
some  years  before  it  is  sufficiently  incorpo- 
rated with  the  soil  to  produce  an  evident  im- 
provement ;  but  then  that  advantage  is  almost 
always,  sooner  or  later,  not  only  decided,  but 
permanent. 

The  clay  marls  render  light  sandy  soils 
more  tenacious ;  the  sandy  marls  materially 
improve  the  friability  of  the  heavy  clays.  In 
Cheshire,  they  often  apply  128  cubic  yards  of 
clay  marl  per  acre  to  light  sandy  soils,  and 
about  half  that  quantity  to  their  heavy  lands. 
Iti  many  parts  of  Scotland  it  is  spread  on  grass 
latids,  and  suffered  to  remain  for  two  or  three 
winters  exposed  to  the  frost,  before  it  is 
ploughed  in,  in  about  the  same  proportions  per 
acre. 

"The  beginning  of  all  improvements  in  Ger- 
many," says  Mr.  8.  S.  Carr,  in  his  Prize  Essay, 
"  is,  to  give  a  dressing  of  marl  (containing,  on 
an  average,  60  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime), 
at  the  rate  of  164  cubic  feet  per  acre :  by  this 
means  land,  not  worth  cultivation  previously, 
yields  excellent  crops  for  8  or  10  years;  and 
if  the  straw  produced  during  that  time  is  care- 
fully converted  into  manure,  the  productive- 
ness does  not  materially  decrease.  Should 
that,  however,  be  the  case,  the  deposits  of 
ponds,  and  even  plots  of  peat-moss,  which  not 
unfrequently  occur,  are  carried  upon  the  fal- 
lows in  winter,  where  these  substances,  when 
broken  down  by  the  frost,  prove  a  valuable  al- 
ternative to  the  texture  of  the  soil,  especially 
where  the  pulse,  rape,  and  clover  crops  are 
gypsumed." 

On  the  heathy  sands  of  Norfolk  much  im- 
provement might  be  effected  by  the  application 
of  marl.  Mr.  Kiddle,  of  Marsham,  in  that 
county,  made  many  experiments  with  marl ; 
he  preferred,  from  long  experience,  the  variety 
denominated  "clayey  marl,"  whrch  he  thought 
the  best  for  sandy  lands,  even  if  brought  from 
a  considerable  flistance.  "  A  few  years  since," 
said  General  Vavasour,  "I  purchased,  with 
other  lands,  a  field  of  10  acres;  it  had  been 
part  of  a  common  enclosed  about  15  years  be- 
fore, and  was  tithe-free,  the  soil  sandy,  mixed 
with  moory  earth.  I  ploughed  and  sowed  it  in 
divisions  with  various  crops,  most  of  which 
failed.  Having  discovered  a  stratum  of  rich 
clay  marl,  within  400  yards  of  the  field,  I  cart- 
ed on  75  cubic  yards  per  acre,  at  lOd.  per  yard, 
or  3/.  per  acre."  The  result  was,  that  the 
value  of  the  land  increased  from  6».  to  1/.  Is. 
per  acre. 

In  Europe,  the  term  marl  is  applied  to  va- 
rious mixtures  of  calcareous  matter  with  clay, 
sand,  &c.,  and  the  common  test  is  to  effervesce 
on  the  addition  of  vinegar,  or  other  acid.  But, 
in  the  United  States,  those  at  least  on  the  At- 
lantic coast,  where  this  fertilizer  is  met  with 
in  great  abundance,  two  kinds  of  marl  are  ex- 
tensively used,  one  of  which  has  been  already 
described  under  the  head  of  Green  Saxd. 
This  is  often  so  free  from  lime,  as  scarcely  to 
retain  a  trace,  and,  consequently,  the  addition 
to  it  of  vinegar,  or  other  acid,  would  jiot  pro- 
duce that  effervescence  necessary  to  constitute 
it  a  marl  in  accordance  with  the  common  test. 
What,  in  the  states  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  and  Virginia,  is  usually  called  green 
100 


'  sand  marl,  instead  of  containing  lime,  aDounds 
in  potash.  See  Green  Sanu. 
1  The  calcareous  marl  found  in  the  states 
named,  generally  contains  more  or  less  of  the 
green  sand ;  and  this  combination  of  lime  and 
potash  forms  a  natural  fertilizing  mixture,  the 
value  of  which  is  scarcely  yet  appreciated  as 
it  deserves  to  be.  Its  great  weight  makes  it  an 
expensive  application  to  land,  wherever  much 
hauling  is  required,  and  consequently  it  yields 
to  burned  lime  under  such  circumstances. 
The  admirable  treatise  upon  the  subject  of 
"  Calcareous  Manures,^'  by  E.  Ruffin,  of  Virginia, 
has  been  extensively  circulated  throughout  the 
United  States,  and  may  be  referred  to  as  contain- 
ing the  most  useful  body  of  information  upon  the 
subject  of  marl  ever  brought  together,  embrac- 
ing every  detail  in  relation  to  lifting,  transport- 
ing, application,  and  effects,  that  can  be  de- 
sired by  the  farmer  or  general  reader.  See 
Mixture  op  Soils,  Lime,  Chalk,  Earths,  &c. 

MARRAM.  One  of  the  common  names  of 
the  sea  mat-weed  or  sea-reed  {Arundo  arenaria). 
See  Reki». 

MARSH  (Sax.  mepfc,  a  fen).  A  flat  surface, 
the  soil  of  which  is  so  far  saturated  with  water 
throughout  the  year  as  to  be  unfit  for  culture 
by  the  spade  or  plough ;  but  not  so  much  as  to 
prevent  it  from  producing  coarse  grasses,  and 
other  kinds  of  herbage.  Marshes  are  generally 
situated  in  bottoms,  where  they  are  kept  moist 
by  the  water  which  descends  from  the  sur- 
rounding lands;  or  along  the  banks  of  rivers 
or  lakes,  where  their  humidity  arises  from 
their  being  nearly  on  the  same  level  with  the 
adjoining  water.  Where  a  marsh  is  situated 
so  as  to  be  occasionally  overflowed  by  the  sea, 
or  by  a  river,  up  which  the  tide  flows,  it  is 
called  a  salt  marsh;  and  the  herbage  produced 
by  such  lands  is  found  highly  conducive  to  the 
health  of  animals  which  pasture  on  them  for  a 
certain  portion  of  the  year,  from  the  alterative 
effect  of  its  saline  properties. 

Salt  marshes  abound  along  the  shores  of  the 
bays  and  inlets  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the 
United  States.  The  natural  grasses  which 
grow  so  luxuriantly  are  extensively  mown, 
and  furnish  an  inferior,  and  generally  a  coarse 
description  of  hay,  which,  however,  is  much  re- 
lished by  cattle  in  consequence  of  its  saltness. 
It  furnishes  excellent  litter,  and  thus  contri- 
butes greatly  to  swell  the  manure-heap.  On 
the  Delaware  bay  it  sells  for  about  $2  to  $4 
per  ton. 

Salt  marshes  are  often  reclaimed  by  em- 
bankments, which  keep  off  the  tide-water.  The 
best  mode  of  managing  land  thus  reclaimed,  is 
well  worth  knowing  ;  and  the  following  direc- 
tions from  Mr.  T.  F^  Lambson,  of  Salem,  New 
Jersey,  contain  valuable  information,  the  result 
of  much  experience  and  expense: — "1st.  The 
marsh  should  be  secured  from  the  tide  by  a 
permanent  bank.  2d.  A  sluice  or  sluices  of 
sufficient  capacity  must  be  laid  to  discharge 
the  rain-water  and  back-waters  which  pro 
ceed  from  adjacent  uplands,  so  tha\  at  no  time 
the  water-courses  and  ditches  will  be  filled  to 
overflowing.  The  sluices  should  be  laid  deep 
enough  to  draw  the  water  through  them  fron* 
the  lowest  part  of  the  marsh :  great  care  should 
be  taken  to  have  the  doors  made  tight,  so  as  lo 
3  X  793 


MARSH-LANDERS. 


MARSH-MUD. 


exclude  all  the  tide-water  possible.  The  water- 
courses and  drains  should  intersect  each  other 
at  right  angles,  and  no  lot  of  marsh  should 
contain  more  than  10  acres.  If  any  rain-water 
•should  lay  upon  the  middle  of  these  lots,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  cut  small  drains,  to  let  it  pass 
off  freely;  these  might  be  covered  where  the 
materials  are  at  hand.  The  mud  and  earth 
which  come  out  of  water-courses  and  ditches 
should  be  removed  into  the  lowest  part  of  the 
marsh ;  by  a  neglect  of  this,  the  rain-water  will 
be  confined  too  long  upon  the  surface,  and  the 
most  luxuriant  growth  of  timothy  or  clover 
may  in  a  short  time  be  converted  into  a  nursery 
of  rushes. 

"  The  best  time  to  sow  down  in  grass,  is 
when  the  tide  is  first  shut  off,  and  when  the 
mud  is  soft;  a  growth  of  coarse  grass  will 
spring  up  sufficient  to  protect  the  fine  grass  in 
its  tender  state;  this  crop  should  be  mown  off, 
and  not  suffered  to  lodge  upon  the  marsh. 
Timothy  and  herds-grass  require  about  1  bushel 
to  sow  4  acres.  The  former  will  flourish  where 
the  water  can  be  kept  2^  or  3  feet  from  the 
surface  ;  where  it  approaches  nearer  than  this 
in  the  ditches,  the  latter  will  succeed  best:  in 
order  to  avoid  having  it  sown  in  rows,  it  should 
be  sown  a  second  time  across  the  first  sowing. 
It  is  not  advisable  to  mow  longer  than  3  years 
in  succession  ;  to  mow  and  pasture  alternately 
is  the  better  plan.  If  the  high  marsh  becomes 
bound  and  unproductive,  ploughing  will  be 
necessary ;  and  after  raising  2  or  3  crops  of 
rye,  Indian  corn,  or  broom  corn,  without  the 
application  of  any  manure,  the  soil  will  be 
quite  renovated,  and  when  sown  down  in  grass 
will  be  much  more  productive.  When  the 
earthy  deposit  is  several  feet  in  depth,  it  will 
not  soon  become  exhausted;  when  it  is  not 
desirable  to  plough,  lime  may  be  used  with 
success.  Low  marsh,  or  turf,  or,  as  we  term 
it  here,  "horse-dung"  mud,  should  not  be  plough- 
ed; when  it  becomes  unproductive,  a  covering 
of  clay  or  loam,  to  the  depth  of  2  or  3  inches, 
will  be  found  the  cheapest  application."  See 
Boo,  Waste  Land,  Peat  Soils,  Grass  Lands, 
Irrigation,  and  Meadow. 

MARSH-LANDERS.  A  term  provincially 
applied  in  England  to  neat  cattle  of  the  short- 
horned  breed,  or  such  as  are  bred  on  lands  of 
the  marsh  kind. 

MARSH-MALLOW  (Alth^Ea,  derived  from 
allheo,  to  cure  ;  from  the  medicinal  qualities  of 
some  of  the  species).  This  is  a  genus  of  tall, 
free-flowering  plants:  the  biennial  and  annual 
kinds  should  be  sown  in  the  open  border  in 
spring,  and  transplanted  when  sufficiently 
fc^rong.  The  herbaceous  kinds  may  be  in- 
creased by  dividing  the  roots  or  by  seeds.  A. 
rosea,  the  parent  of  the  many  beautiful  varie- 
ties of  holly-hock,  yields  a  blue  colouring 
matter  equal  to  indigo.     (Paxton's  Bot.  Die.) 

The  common  marsh-mallow  (A.  officinalis)  is 
in  England  an  indigenous  perennial,  growing 
abundantly  in  marshes,  especially  towards  the 
sea.  The  root  is  perennial,  tap-shaped,  rather 
woody.  The  herbage  of  a  hoary  green,  pecu- 
liarly soft  and  downy,  with  a  fine  starry  pubes- 
cence. Stems  several,  about  a  yard  high, 
simple,  round,  leafy,  tough,  and  pliant.  Leaves 
794 


ovate  or  heart-shaped  at  the  base,  various  ia 
breadth,  soft  and  pliable,  slightly  five-iobed. 
Flowers  (which  blow  from  July  to  September) 
in  very  short,  dense,  axillaiy  panicles,  rarely 
solitary,  of  a  delicate  uniform  blush-colour,  not 
inelegant.  Bees  are  very  fond  of  its  mellife- 
rous flowers.  The  whole  plant,  especially  the 
root,  yields  in  decoction  a  plentiful,  tasteless, 
colourless  mucilage,  besides  a  fatty  oil,  un- 
crystallizable  sugar,  starch,  and  phosphate  of 
lime.  It  is  emollient,  and  salutary  in  cases  of 
internal  irritation.  A  syrup  made  with  the 
root,  as  well  as  the  decoction,  is  an  officinal 
preparation  of  the  Pharmacopoeias.  It  is  used 
in  the  coughs  of  children.     See  Mallow. 

MARSH-MARIGOLD  (CaUha,  a  synonyme 
of  kalathos,  a  goblet;  in  allusion  to  the  likeness 
of  the  form  of  the  carolla  to  a  golden  cup). 
The  species  of  this  genus  are  showy,  and  do 
best  in  a  moist  situation,  but  will  grow  and 
flower  in  a  common  border.  They  may  be 
increased  by  seeds  or  divisions.  The  British 
indigenous  species  are  two  in  number,  viz.: — 

1.  The  common  marsh-marigold  (C.  palns- 
t7-is),  which  grows  in  marshy  meadows,  and 
about  the  margins  of  ponds,  rivers,  and  brooks, 
almost  everywhere.  It  is  perennial  in  habit, 
blowing  in  March  and  April.  The  root  is 
thick  and  somewhat  tuberous,  with  many  sim- 
ple fibres.  Stem  12  or  18  inches  high,  round, 
hollow,  leafy,  branched,  furrowed.  Leaves 
variously  heart-shaped,  rounded.  Flowers  from 
3  to  5,  large,  bright  yellow,  on  alternate  soli- 
tary stalks.  The  flower-buds  pickled  serve 
for  capers,  which  they  resemble,  except  in 
having  numerous  germens.  A  double  variety 
is  frequent  in  gardens. 

2.  Creeping  marsh-marigold  (C.  radicans). 
This  species  is  found  by  the  sides  of  lakes  and 
rivulets  in  Scotland,  and  is  scarcely  half  the 
size  of  the  common  C.  palustris.  A  double  va 
riety  of  this  is  cultivated  near  London. 

MARSH-MUD.  This  substance,  which  forms 
such  an  excellent  manure,  is  not  so  well  appre- 
ciated or  so  generally  employed  in  the  United 
States  as  it  deserves  to  be.  An  intelligent  cor- 
respondent of  the  Farmers'  Register  (for  July, 
1834)  states,  that  he  deems  it  more  valuable 
than  barn-yard  manure,  and  that  it  never  failed 
in  any  application  he  had  made  of  it.  He  even 
prefers  it  to  marl,  because  its  effects  are  more 
quickly  manifested,  and,  when  readily  accessi- 
ble, much  more  improvement  can  be  effected 
for  the  same  money  than  by  applying  marl. 
He,  however,  confesses  that  the  permanent  ad- 
vantages of  marling  are  much  greater,  and 
thinks  that  marl  and  marsh-mud  will  both  be 
improved  by  combination.  This  result  may 
certainly  be  expected  in  most  cases,  but  must 
depend  much  upon  the  prevailing  constituents 
of  the  mud.  The  alluvial  deposits  found  in 
marshes,  must  of  course  contain  more  or  less 
of  the  ingredients  of  the  soils  of  the  neighbour- 
ing uplands.  When  these  contain  lime,  mag- 
nesia, silex,  iron,  &c.,  so  will  the  marsh-mud. 
This  is  clearly  shown  in  the  following  tabular 
statements,  giving  the  results  of  Dr.  Dana's 
chemical  examinations  of  a  few  specimens  of 
marsh-mud  taken  from  the  rocky  coast  of  New 
England. 


MARSH-MUD. 


MASTICATION. 


Analysis  in  the  dry  way  by  Alkali. 


Number. 

T^,r,..                     Water  of 
^^x^'^y-                  absorption. 

1 

OrRinic 
matter. 

Silica. 

Alumina. 

Oxide  of 
iron. 

Ume. 

Salts  solu- 
Magnesia.        ble  in 
water. 

Sulphuretted 
hydrogen 
and  loss. 

135 
136 

Newburyport      -     j      38 
Medford      •         -     1      9-5 

33 
12-5 

681 
50  95 

14-7 
14-9 

7-4 
815 

20 
1-1 

08 
02 

0-2 
0-6 

0-3 
21 

Analysis  by  Dr,  Dana's  Method. 

Number.                                                     I-««»y- 

Solubles       Insoluble 
Geine.           Geiiie. 

Sulplwie 
of  lime. 

Pho»ph.»te 
of  lime. 

Granitic 
sand. 

Specific 

gravity 

134 
135 
136 

Cambridge  -------- 

Newburyport       ------- 

Medford 

130 
1-5 

7-5 

7-4 
0  1 
5-6 

2-3 
30 
2-6 

0-4 
0-5 
0-3 

67-9 
95  1 
84-0 

192 
2-52 
1-92 

"A  substance,"  says  Professor  Hitchcock, 
"  so  rich  in  geine  or  salts  of  lime  and  soda, 
or  in  both,  as  the  above  analyses  show,  cannot 
but  prove  a  fertilizer  of  the  soil  if  spread  upon 
it  If  a  soil  be  quite  poor,  those  varieties 
should  probably  be  chosen  that  contam  the 
most  geine  ;  and  this  can  be  judajed  of  by  their 
comparative  lightness  when  dry ;  the  lightest 
abounding  most  in  organic  matter.  But  if  the 
soil  already  contain  a  good  deal  of  inactive 
vegetable  matter,  the  varieties  that  abound 
most  in  salts  will  probably  be  most  efficacious; 
though  an  additional  quantity  of  geine  can  do 
no  harm,  and  may  do  much  good.  If  marsh- 
mud  be  applied  at  random,  it  is  not  strange 
that  varieties  of  it,  almost  destitute  of  geine, 
should  be  sometimes  put  upon  exhausted  soil, 
and  that  no  good  eftects  should  follow.  Hence 
the  necessity  of  some  fixed  principles  to  guide 
the  farmer.  And  since  Massachusetts  contains 
so  much  sea-board,  and  so  much  land  near  the 
coast  that  may  be  benefited  by  this  substance, 
a  correct  mode  of  applying  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance.    {Geological  Report.) 

The  abundant  deposit  called  marsh-mud 
found  along  the  extensive  marshes  which  border 
many  of  the  shores  of  the  bays  and  rivers  of 
the  Middle  States,  is  variously  constituted,  be- 
ing sometimes  a  black,  unctuous  substance, 
made  up  of  vegetable  and  mineral  matter,  in 
v.liich  sometimes  no  trace  of  vegetable  fibre 
can  be  traced,  whilst  at  others  it  contains  not 
only  a  perceptible  portion,  but  consists  mainly 
of  the  fibres  of  grass-roots  and  leaves,  in  a 
state  of  greater  or  less  decay.  Professor  Booth, 
who  has  treated  of  the  subject  in  his  Geological 
Survey  of  DvUnvare,  says,  that  the  first  of  these 
is  the  most  valuable,  and  may  sometimes  be 
directly  applied  to  land  without  admixture;  but 
it  is  advisable  to  adopt  a  uniform  method  of 
using  it,  which  may  be  done  in  two  ways,  by 
mingling  it  with  lime,  better  after  exposure  to 
the  air  for  some  time,  or  by  drawing  it  into  the 
barn-yard  to  bring  it  into  an  incipient  fermenta- 
tion by  contact  with  stable-manure.  In  either 
case  it  will  more  than  repay  its  expense ;  and 
if  lime  be  employed  on  the  land  at  the  same 
time,  a  more  powerful  and  durable  influence 
will  be  derived  from  it. 

Blue  nud.  The  fertility  of  those  lands  of 
which  blue  mud  forms  the  upper  surface,  and 
its  beneficial  effects  in  the  few  instances  in 
which  it  has  been  employed  on  the  upland,  are 
a  warrant  of  its  fertilizing  powers,  but  it  is  a 
matter  of  some  doubt  to  what  substances  its 
effects  are  mainly  to  be  attributed.  Its  basis 
is  a  fat  clay  both  lead-coloured  and  yellowish, 


with  a  quantity  of  organic  matter,  which  ap- 
pears to  be  chiefly  in  the  state  of  crenic  and 
apocrenic  acids,  combined  with  the  oxide  of 
iron.  There  is  no  doubt  that  it  would  be  ad- 
vantageous if  applied  directly  to  the  soil,  but 
its  tenacity  is  an  objection  to  such  a  mode  of 
using  it,  and  hence  it  is  more  advisable  either 
to  draw  it  into  the  barn-yard,  where  it  will  be 
broken  down  and  mingled  with  manure,  or  to 
mix  it  with  lime,.and  expose  it  for  some  time 
to  the  air,  adding,  at  the  same  time,  the  black 
marsh-soil,  which  is  generally  to  be  obtained 
in  its  vicinity. 

The  blue  mud  is  wholly  unlike  a  peaty  soil. 
but  being  deposited  on  the  river-marshes,  it 
soon  becomes  a  marshy  soil,  and  many  of  the 
creek  and  western  marsh  deposits  are  far  from 
being  peaty,  although  they  contain  much  orga- 
nic matter.  Its  value,  as  a  manure,  rests  not 
on  a  mere  theoretic  assertion,  but  it  has  received 
the  test  and  sanction  of  experience,  and  such 
experience,  both  in  Delaware  and  elsewhere,  as 
may  not  be  contradicted.  As  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  nicety  to  discriminate  between  such 
varieties  as  are  not  suflicienlly  decomposed, 
and  require  some  preparation  prior  to  their 
application,  and  those  which  might  be  directly 
employed,  it  would  be  better  to  adopt  a  general 
rule  relative  to  the  mode  of  using  it,  viz.,  either 
to  draw  it  into  the  barn-yard,  or  to  form  a  com- 
post with  lime,  or  with  ashes.  In  either  case 
it  will  form  an  excellent  manure,  and  with  lime 
or  ashes  a  durable  one. 

MARSH-THISTLE,    or    RED    THISTLE 
(^Cardiius  pahislris).     See  Thistle. 
MARSH-TREFOIL.     See  Buck-bean. 
MARUM.     Bitter.    In   botany,  the  term   is 
used  to  signify  an  herb  with  a  strong  smell. 

MASH.  A  soft  sort  of  diet  occasionally 
given  to  horses.  It  is  prepared  by  pouring 
boiling  water  upon  a  small  quantity  of  ground 
malt,  bran,  or  other  similar  substance,  in  a 
pail,  so  as  just  to  wet  it  well.  After  this  has 
been  done,  it  should  be  well  stirred  about,  till 
it  is  thoroughly  mixed  and  sweetish  to  the 
taste,  when,  after  becoming  lukewarm,  it  is  in 
a  proper  state  to  be  given  to  the  animal.  It  is 
frequently  used  after  purges  to  increase  their 
operation,  as  well  as  after  hard  labour,  and  in 
the  time  of  disease.  Mashes  are  very  useful 
for  restoring  animals  in  these  circumstances. 

MAST.  The  nuts  or  seeds  of  the  beech,  oak, 
and  chestnut-trees,  which  are  the  food  of  hogs, 
squirrels,  &c. 

MASTICATION.  The  process  of  grmdmg 
or  chewing  the  solid  parts  of  food  between  the 
teeth,  by  the  united  motion  of  the  jaws,  tongue, 

795 


MAT-GRASS. 


MEAD. 


and  lips,  in  consequence  of  which  it  is  broken 
into  small  pieces,  mixed  with  the  saliva,  and 
thus  adapted  for  deglutition  as  well  as  more 
easy  digestion;  although  it  is,  perhaps,  not 
more  essential  for  the  latter  purpose  than 
water.  Leuchs  and  Schwan,  two  German 
physiologists,  have,  however,  proved  that  saliva 
has  the  properly  of  changing  starch  into  sugar; 
and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  process  of 
digestion  in  the  stomach  converts  starch  into 
gum,  and  gradually  into  sugar.  Mastication, 
in  the  animal  economy,  is  so  essential  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  individual,  that  old  horses, 
jfec,  whose  teeth  are  impaired,  always  require 
to  have  their  food  broken,  chopped,  or  crushed 
for  them.     See  RcMiirATioir. 

MAT-GRASS,  or  HEATH  MAT-WEED 
(Nardus  slricta).  An  insignificant  species  of 
grass  growing  on  barren,  sandy,  moist  heaths 
and  moors,  in  many  parts  of  Britain.  The 
root  consists  of  numerous  very  strong,  downy 
fibres.  Stems  and  leaves  furrowed,  roughish 
with  minute  bristles,  rigid,  four  or  five  inches 
high,  remaining  bleached  through  the  win- 
ter. Spikes  solitary,  purplish,  bristle-shaped, 
straight,  of  many  slender  flowers.  Schrank 
celebrates  this  deep-rooted  grass  as  a  safe  sup- 
port to  the  hands  of  the  Alpine  botanist,  in 
precipitous  situations,  though  it  renders  his 
path  very  slippery.  The  hard  and  wiry  foliage 
of  the  mat-grass  is  eaten  by  horses  and  goats, 
but  disliked  by  cattle  and  sheep.  This  species 
is  often  a  troublesome  weed  on  arable  lands 
and  pastures,  where  it  affords  but  coarse  food 
to  caltle.  As  it,  however,  forms  large  and  thick 
tufts,  which  resist  the  action  of  the  scythe,  it 
may  be  usefully  transplanted  tp  loose,  sandy 
lands,  where  its  spreading,  horizontal  roots  will 
tend  to  consolidate  the  soil,  and  increase  the 
stratum  of  vegetable  mould,  for  the  reception 
of  more  useful  plants. 

MATH.  An  old  term  for  crop ;  hence  lat- 
termaih  is  the  last  mown  crop  of  grass. 

MATRIX.  The  womb,  or  place  where  any 
thing  is  generated  or  formed.  In  mineralogy, 
it  implies  the  earth  or  stone  in  which  the 
mineral  is  imbedded. 

MATWEED,  THE  SEA.  One  of  the  names 
of  the  sea-reed  {Arundo  arenarid).     See  Rkeo. 

MAUDLIN-WORT.     See  Ox-ete  Daist. 

MAUL.  A  provincial  word,  variously  ap- 
plied to  a  beetle,  a  mallet,  and  the  mallow,  in 
different  localities. 

MAW-SKIN.  A  word  used  in  some  places 
to  signify  the  stomach  of  the  calf  prepared  for 
cheese-making.    See  Rennet. 

MAY-APPLE.  An  American  plant,  so  called 
from  its  flowers  being  very  abundant  in  the 
month  of  May.  Its  botanical  name  is  Podophyl- 
lum peltatum,  and  it  has  also  the  common  names 
of  Wild  Mandrake,  and  Hog  Apple;  the  last 
name  must  be  regarded  as  inappropriate,  since 
hogs  seldom,  if  ever,  eat  them.  The  plant 
grows  very  aoundantly  in  all  moist  and  shaded 
places  in  woods,  almost  from  one  end  of  the 
Union  to  the  other.  It  has  usually  a  simple 
.stem,  terminating  in  a  single  broad  leaf,  4  to  6 
inches  in  diameter,  and  deeply  divided  into  5 
or  7  lobes.  The  root  of  the  plant  is  biennial, 
and  is  frequently  used  as  a  medicine,  being 
active  both  as  an  emetic  and  cathartic,  when 
796 


taken  in  powder,  in  small  quantities.  The 
fruit  consists  of  a  single  large,  long,  and  flat- 
tish  apple,  yellow  when  mature,  and  varying 
in  size  from  1  to  3  or  4  inches  long  by  1  or  2 
broad.  The  sof>  pulp  contained  within  the 
rind  has  a  very  peculiar  musky  taste,  which  is 
relished  by  many  persons.  The  fruit  is  by  no 
means  unwholesome,  and  has  been  introduced 
with  the  dessert,  in  which  case  the  pulp  may 
be  squeezed  into  a  wine-glass,  and,  with  the 
addition  of  a  little  old  Madeira  and  sugar,  is 
said  to  be  equal  to  the  luscious  golden  grana- 
dilla  of  the  tropics,  a  fruit  which  it  greatly  re- 
sembles in  appearance.     (Jm.  Farm.  vol.  14.) 

MAY-DAY.     The  first  day  of  May. 

MAY  TREE.     See  Hawthorn. 

MAY-WEED,  THE  SCENTLESS.  See 
Corn  Feverfew. 

MAY-WEED,  THE  STINKING,  or  MATH- 
ER. Called  in  Pennsylvania,  Stinking  Chamo- 
mile, Dog's  Fennel,  &c.  (PI.  10,  v.)  It  is  fre- 
quent in  the  farm-yards,  lanes,  &c.,  in  the 
Middle  States,  and  is  a  disagreeable  foreign 
weed,  now  extensively  naturalized.  It  is  readi- 
ly distinguished  from  the  preceding  by  its  fetid 
odor, — as  well  as  by  its  botanical  characters, — 
on  which  it  has  been  generically  separated  from 
Anthemis,  by  Cassini,  Lessing,  &c.  There  are 
no  native  species  in  the  United  States. 

MEAD  (Dutch,  meede).  An  agreeable  vinous 
liquor  made  from  honey.  The  use  of  this  sub- 
stance as  one  of  the  ingredients  in  drink  is  of 
very  ancient  date.  When  fermented,  honey- 
water  obtains  the  name  of  mead,  which  is,  in 
fact,  honey-wine :  indeed  the  Germans  call  it 
by  that  name  {Honi^-wnn).  Mead  is  said  to 
have  been  the  principal  beverage  of  the  Britons 
before  the  use  of  malt  liquor  among  them  ;  and 
long  after  the  introduction  of  the  latter  beve- 
rage, mead  was  a  favourite  drink.  Under  the 
name  of  metheglin,  it  was  frequently  alluded 
to  by  old  writers.  Mead  formed  the  ancient, 
and  for  centuries  the  favourite  beverage  of  the 
northern  nations.  It  is  frequently  mentioned 
in  Ossian.     Dryden  has  a  couplet : — 

"T'  allay  the  strength  and  hardness  of  the  wine, 
Let  wiih  old  Bacchus  new  Metheglin  join." 

Queen  Elizabeth  was  so  fond  of  mead,  as  to 
have  had  it  made  every  year  for  her.  Her 
receipt  for  it  has  been  preserved,  and  is  given 
by  Dr.  Bevan,  in  his  interesting  little  volume 
on  the  Honey  Bee : — Take  of  sweet-briar  leaves 
and  thyme  each  one  bushel,  rosemary  half  a 
bushel,  bay  leaves  one  peck.  Seethe  these  in- 
gredients in  a  furnace  full  of  water  (containing 
probably  not  less  than  120  gallons):  boil  for 
half  an  hour:  pour  the  whole  into  a  vat,  and 
when  cooled  to  a  proper  temperature  (about 
75°  Fahr.),  strain.  Add  to  every  six  gallons 
of  the  strained  liquor  a  gallon  of  fine  honey, 
and  work  the  mixture  together  for  half  an 
hour.  Repeat  the  stirring  occasionally  for  two 
days ;  then  boil  the  liquor  afresh,  skim  it  till 
it  becomes  clear,  and  return  it  to  the  vat  to 
cool:  when  reduced  to  a  proper  temperature, 
pour  it  into  a  vessel  from  which  fresh  ale  or 
i3eer  has  just  been  emptied  ;  work  it  for  three 
days  and  turn.  When  fit  to  be  stopped  down, 
tie  up  a  bag  of  beaten  cloves  and  mace  (about 
half  an  ounce  of  each),  and  suspend  it  in  the 
liquor  from  the  bung-hole.    When  it  has  stood 


MEADOW. 


MEADOW. 


for  half  a  year,  it  will  be  fit  for  use.    Such  was  I 
the  receipv. 

In  Wales,  in  ancient  times,  mead  was  held 
in  very  high  repute ;  as  appears  from  an  ancient 
law,  which  has  been  given  by  Dr.  Bevan,  that — 
"  There  are  three  things  in  court  which  must 
be  communicated  to  the  king  before  they  are 
made  known  to  any  other  person :  1st,  every 
sentence  of  the  judge;  2d,  every  new  song; 
3d,  every  cask  of  mead."  The  mead-maker 
was  the  eleventh  person  in  dignity  at  court,  and 
took  precedence  of  the  physician.  Besides  the 
preparation  of  mead,  our  forefathers  were  ac- 
customed to  flavour  their  usual  grape  wines 
with  honey  and  other  ingredients.  There  were 
two  kinds  of  spiced  wines  in  use  in  England 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  called  Hippocras  and 
Clary.  The  first  consisted  either  of  white  or 
red  wine,  and  the  latter  of  claret,  both  mingled 
with  honey  and  spices.  Dr.  Henderson,  in  his 
History  of  Wines,  speaks  of  a  receipt  still  exist- 
ing, which  gives  directions  how  "  to  make 
ypocrasse  for  lords  with  gynger,  synamon,  and 
graynes,  sugour,  and  turesoll ;  and  for  comyn 
pepull,  gynger,  canell,  longe  peper,  and  cla- 
ryffyed  honey."  Mead  formed  the  nectar  of 
the  Scandinavian  nations,  and  was  celebrated 
by  their  bards :  it  was  the  drink  which  they 
expected  to  quaff  in  heaven  out  of  the  skulls 
of  their  enemies;  and  was,  as  might  be  expect- 
ed, liberally  patronized  on  earth.  The  Scandi- 
navian mead  is  flavoured  with  primrose  blos- 
soms.    (Penny  Magazine.) 

MEADOW.  A  field  under  grass  cultiva- 
tion, generally  situated  on  the  banks  of  a  river 
or  lake;  but  so  far  above  the  surface  of  the 
water  as  to  be  considerably  drier  than  marsh 
land,  and,  consequently,  producing  grass  and 
herbage  of  a  superior  quality.  The  soil  of 
meadow  lands  is  generally  alluvial,  and  more 
or  less  mixed  with  sand;  and  it  is  kept  in  a 
state  of  fertility  by  the  depositions  made  on  its 
surface,  in  consequence  of  being  occasionally 
overflowed  by  the  adjoining  waters.  The  pro- 
duce of  meadows  is  generally  made  into  hay, 
which,  though  not  equal  in  quality  to  that  pro- 
duced on  drier  grass  lands,  is  yet  superior  to 
what  is  obtained  from  marshes.  See  Grass, 
Hat,  Irrioatiox,  and  Marsh. 

In  Erigland  some  meadows  of  great  extent, 
belonging  to  a  community  or  district  in  which 
every  inhabitant  has  a  right  to  send  his  cattle 
to  graze  under  certain  regulations,  are  never 
mown.  \Vhen  the  number  of  those  who  have 
a  right  of  common  pasture  is  not  very  great, 
they  frequently  agree  among  themselves  to 
abstain  from  depasturing  the  meadows  in 
spring,  and,  dividing  them  into  portions,  each 
makes  hay  of  his  share  ;  after  which  the  cattle 
are  admitted  in  common  for  the  remainder  of 
the  season.  Thus  a  common  meadow  is  con- 
verted into  a  Lammas  meadow,  that  is,  a  meadow 
which  becomes  a  common  meadow  after  the  1st 
of  August,  this  being  the  time  when  it  is  supposed 
that  all  the  hay  has  been  made  and  secured. 

Low  alluvial  land,  or  that  which  can  be 
•rrigated  at  pleasure,  is  usually  left  for  the 
scythe,  either  from  its  productiveness  from 
the  rich  deposits  which  are  periodically  laid 
upon  it,  or  from  its  being  too  wet  for  cattle  to 
graze  on  it  in  winter  without  poaching  the 


surface.  In  a  proper  rotation  system,  upland 
is  also  occasionally  devoted  to  the  production 
of  grass  for  the  scythe.  In  upland  situations 
meadows  are  either  alternately  mown  and 
pastured,  or  broken  up  for  oats  or  wheat, 
after  they  have  yielded  a  crop  of  hay,  and  been 
grazed  during  the  preceding  year.  The  prac- 
tice of  leaving  young  leys  in  pasture  one  year 
after  the  first  mowing,  and  then  ploughing  them 
up,  is  very  general  in  England  and  Ireland. 
Grass  land  kept  constantly  for  meadow,  ought 
never  to  be  depastured  except  in  dry  weather, 
as  the  breaking  of  the  surface  by  the  feet  of 
the  cattle,  not  only  injures  the  grasses  of  the 
sward,  but,  by  causing  the  stagnation  of  the 
water  in  holes,  promotes  the  growth  of  rushes 
and  other  coarse  aquatic  plants,  besides  killing 
the  finer  grasses,  and  rendering  the  surface 
uneven  for  the  scythe.  A  dressing  of  sand, 
even  of  the  worst  kind,  and  the  use  of  calca- 
reous manures,  or  salt,  will  be  found  excellent 
for  coarse,  rushy  meadows,  by  tending  to  ren- 
der the  texture  of  the  grasses  finer;  but  as  the 
rankness  and  inferiority  of  the  herbage  pro- 
ceeds from  a  superabundance  of  water,  drain- 
ing will  be  found  the  most  certain  remedy,  and 
effectual  means  of  improvement.  The  mea- 
dows which  are  to  be  mown  should  be  shut 
up  early  in  spring,  and  those  which  are  soft 
and  wet  should  have  nothing  larger  than  a 
sheep  admitted  into  them  from  November  till 
after  hay-making  time  the  next  year. 

Of  late  years  the  practice  of  soiling  has 
been  extensively  adopted.  By  this  means  all 
the  advantages  of  mowing  for  hay  are  obtain- 
ed, besides  an  abundant  supply  of  rich  manure, 
which  can  be  applied  to  the  land  in  a  liquid  and 
diluted  state,  when  its  eflfiect  is  powerful  and 
certain.  So  much  more  fodder  is  produced 
from  the  land  by  the  system  of  soiling,  that 
arable  fields  are  converted  into  artificial  and 
temporary  meadows,  in  which  the  diflferent  spe- 
cies of  grasses  are  sown,  in  order  to  be  cut 
green  or  made  into  hay ;  and  when,  from  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  the  herbage  degenerates,  the 
field  is  ploughed  up  again,  greatly  improved 
by  this  change  of  cultivation. 

When  a  natural  meadow  has  been  neglected, 
and  the  grass  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  and 
mixed  with  rank  weeds  and  moss,  it  requires 
much  care  to  restore  it  to  its  original  fertility. 
In  most  cases  (says  a  writer  in  the  Penny  Cy- 
clo])(pdia),  the  shortest  method  and  the  best  is  to 
plough  it  up,  clean  and  manure  it  during  a 
course  of  tillage,  without  taking  very  exhaust- 
ing crops  from  it,  and  then  to  lay  it  down 
again,  in  a  clean  and  enriched  state,  by  sowing 
the  best  sort  of  grass-seeds ;  or,  which  is  pre- 
ferable, by  inoculating  or  planting  in  it  small 
tufts  of  grass  from  some  rich  meadow,  which 
will  soon  increase,  and  produce  a  new  and 
improved  sward.  But  when  the  soil  is  a  very 
stiflfclay,  with  only  a  small  depth  of  good  mould 
over  it,  there  is  'some  danger  in  breaking  the 
old  sward,  for  it  will  take  a  long  time  and  much 
manure  to  reproduce  a  proper  covering  of 
sward.  In  this  case  it  is  a  preferable  practice 
to  scarify  the  meadow,  by  means  of  instruments 
which  do  not  go  deep,  but  only  tear  up  the  sur- 
face. If  this  is  done  in  early  spring,  when  the 
ground  is  moist,  and  the  whole  surface  is 
3x3  1^'^ 


MEADOW  FOXTAIL. 


MEAT. 


brought  to  resemble  a  fallow  field,  good  grass- 
seed  may  be  immediately  sown.  If  rich  ma- 
nure, mixed  with  lime  or  chalk,  is  then  evenly 
spread  over  the  land,  and  the  whole  well  har- 
rowed and  rolled,  the  old  and  young  grass  will 
spring  up  together,  and  show  a  wonderful  im- 
provement in  a  very  few  months.  Great  Britain 
arid  Ireland  are  reputed  to  possess  the  most 
verdant  pastures  and  the  finest  natural  grasses 
in  the  vegetable  creation. 

In  extent  of  meadow  and  pasture-land,  as 
well  as  in  flocks,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
(says  a  French  statistical  account)  are  the 
most  favoured  countries  in  Europe.  They 
contain  5572  square  leagues  (more  than  two- 
thirds  of  their  territory),  in  meadow  and  pasture- 
land.  Germany  comes  next,  having  one-quarter 
of  its  surface  in  this  description  of  land.  Prus- 
sia, Holland,  and  Belgium  have  a  fifth  ;  Austria 
and  Switzerland  a  sixth.  France  does  not 
reckon  in  this  respect  more  than  a  seventh  part, 
namely,  4000  square  leagues.  Italy,  Naples, 
Sicily,' and  Portugal  have  only  a  tenth. 

MEADOW  FOXTAIL.  See  ALOPEcuRrs 
and  Grass. 

MEADOW-GRASS.  See  Poa,  Couch,  Hol- 
CTJs,  and  Grasses. 

MEADOW  OAT-GRASS.    See  Ateita. 

MEADOW-SAFFRON  {Colchicum).  An  or- 
namental genus  of  bulbs,  growing  best  in  a 
light  loamy  soil,  and  increased  by  offsets,  or 
from  seeds.  One  species  only  is  indigenous. 
See  CoLCHicuM. 

MEADOW-SWEET,  or  QUEEN  OF  THE 
MEADOWS  (SpircBaulmaria).  In  England  an 
indigenous  perennial  plant,  growing  in  moist 
meadows,  and  about  the  banks  of  rivers  and 
ditches;  flowering  in  June  and  July.  The  root 
is  fibrous,  without  knobs ;  the  stems  are  her- 
baceous, 3  or  4  feet  high,  leafy,  branched,  fur- 
rowed, angular,  smooth.  Leaves  interruptedly 
pinnate;  downy  beneath;  the  terminal  leaflets 
largest,  and  lobed.  Flowers  extremely  nume- 
rous, cream-coloured,  with  a  sweet  but  oppress- 
ive, hawthorn-like  scent,  in  dense,  compound, 
cymose  panicles,  with  many  styles.  The  taste 
of  the  herbage,  like  the  scent  of  the  flowers,  is 
aromatic,  not  unlike  the  flavour  of  orange- 
flower  water.  The  distilled  water  is  said  to  be 
used  by  wine  merchants  to  improve  the  flavour 
of  made  wines.  Hogs  devour  the  roots  with 
avidity ;  goats  and  sheep  also  relish  the  herb ; 
but  horses  and  cattle  refuse  it. 

MEAL  (Dutch,  meel).  The  edible  part  of 
wheat,  oats,  rye,  barley,  and  pulse  of  diflferent 
kinds,  ground  into  a  species  of  coarse  flour. 
See  Flour. 

ME  ASURES,     See  Weights  and  Measures. 

MEAT  (Sax.  mceTe,  food).  A  general  appel- 
lation for  the  flesh  of  animals  when  prepared 
for  human  food.  See  Beef,  Bacox,  Cattle, 
Mutton,  Pork,  Sheep,  Swixe,  &c. 

"  In  whatever  manner  meat  is  cooked,"  ob- 
serves Mr.  Donovan,  "  there  is  a  considerable 
diminution  of  substance,  the  loss  consisting 
chiefly  of  water,  juices,  soluble  matter,  and  fat. 
In  an  economical  point  of  view,  a  comparison 
of  the  loss  incurred  in  the  two  most  usually 
employed  processes,  roasting  and  boiling,  is 
interesting,  yet  it  has  not  occupied  the  attention' 
of  the  public  so  much  as  the  importance  of  the 
798 


subject  seems  to  demand.  Professor  Wallace, 
of  Edinburgh,  has  given  us  the  results  of  some 
experiments  made  to  determine  the  loss  which 
meat  undergoes  in  cooking.  It  is  to  be  regret- 
led  that  it  is  not  more  in  detail,  and  that  the 
weight  of  the  bone  in  each  joint  was  not  as- 
certained ;  but  still  it  is  of  great  value.  The 
results,  reduced  to  100  pounds  of  meat,  are  as 
follows : — 

Lbs. 

10011.3.  of  beef  lost  in  boiling  -        -        -        -        -  26^ 

100  Ihg.  of  beef  lost  in  roasting         -        -        -        _  32 

100  lbs,  of  beef  lost  in  baiiinp  -  -  -  -  -  30 
100  lbs.  of  legs  of  mutton,  averaging  about  9^  lbs. 

each,  lost  in  boiling       -..-..  2l| 
100  lbs.  of  shoulders  of  mutton,  averaging  10  lbs. 

each,  lost  in  roasting    --....  2li 
100  lbs.  of  loins  of  mutton,  averaging  8  lbs.  12  oz. 

each,  lost  in  roasting    ------  35J 

100  lbs.  of  necks  of  mutton,  averaging  10  lbs.  each, 

lost  in  roasting      --...--  23|' 

Thus,  the  loss  in  boiling  beef  or  mutton  was 
less  than  in  roasting.  And  it  appears  that 
meat  loses  by  the  cooking  about  one-fifth  to 
one-third.  A  few  years  since,  I  undertook  the 
superintendence  of  some  experiments  of  the 
same  tendency,  with  the  view  of  inserting  the 
results  in  this  volume.  These  trials  were  made 
on  several  parts  of  the  different  animals,  with 
as  much  attention  to  accuracy  as  the  nature 
of  the  subject  permitted.  They  were  made  on 
different  qualities  of  the  same  kind  of  meat,  at 
various  seasons,  both  in  England  and  Ireland. 
Such  experiments  are  exceedingly  troublesome, 
and  occasion  no  small  inconvenience ;  it  is, 
therefore,  the  less  surprising  that  the  subject 
has  been  so  little  investigated;  and  the  follow- 
ing results,  in  the  absence  of  any  others  so 
particularly  detailed,  will,  perhaps,  prove  in- 
teresting. Allowance  must  be  made  for  the 
nature  of  such  processes,  as  the  diflficulty  of 
fixing  an  average  price  of  meat,  fish,  and  poul- 
try, owing  to  variations  occasioned  by  the  sup- 
ply and  the  season,  the  want  of  uniformity  in 
the  prices  of  the  city,  and  by  the  exorbitant 
demands  of  some  vendors  of  these  articles. 
The  degree  of  fatness  was  in  all  cases  brought 
to  a  standard  by  cutting  off"  all  excess,  and 
leaving  the  meat  in  a  proper  state  for  house- 
keepers' use.  The  meat  was  in  all  cases  cooked 
as  nearly  as  possible '  to  the  same  degree,  and 
the  weights  were  determined  with  exactness ; 
avoirdupois  weight  throughout  is  intended.  The 
bones  were  entirely  stripped  of  their  meat  pre- 
viously to  their  being  weighed.  The  only  cost 
taken  into  account  is  that  of  meat,  leaving  out 
fuel,  &c. 

'^Experiment  1. — A   piece  of  beef,  roasted. 

It  consisted  of  four  of  the  largest  ribs,  and 

was  not  remarkably  fat :  its  weight  was  HyV 

lbs.    During  the  process  of  roasting  it  lost  2  lbs 

6  oz.,  of  which  10  oz.  were  fat,  and  28  oz.  were 

water  dissipated  by  evaporation.     When  the 

meat  was  dissected  off"  with  the  utmost  care, 

I  the  bones  weighed  16  oz.     Hence,  the  weight 

I  of  meat,  properly  roasted  and  fit  for  the  table, 

I  was  but  7  lbs.  11  oz.,  out  of  11-,-V  Ihs.  originally 

;  submitted  to  experiment.    This  beef  would  cost 

in  London  8^d.  per  lb.    The  roasted  beef  cost, 

therefore,  121</.  per  pound.     In  another  trial,  a 

piece  of  beeifof  the  same  description,  the  tops 

of  the  ribs  having   been   rejected  with   their 

meat,  was  submitted  to  the  same  mode  of  trial; 

the  weight  of  bone  in  10|  lbs.  was  16  oz.,  and 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


the  fat  11  oz.,  which  agrees  with  the  former 
estimate." 

Other  parts  of  mutton,  submitted  to  similar 
tests,  gave  the  following  results. 

^^  Experiment  17. — A  leg  of  mutton,  weighing 
9^-  lbs.,  when  boiled  gave  1  lb.  of  bone,  shank 
included;  it  lost  in  the  boiling  1  lb.  2  oz. :  the 
meat  weighed  7  lbs.  2  oz.  If  the  butcher's 
price  was  Sd.  per  lb.,  the  meat  cost  about  IQ^d. 
per  lb. 

"  Experiment  18. — A  similar  leg,  weighing  9 
lbs.  6  oz.,  afforded  15  oz.  of  bone,  and  lost  12  oz. 
in  the  boiling:  the  meat  weighed  7  lbs.  11  oz. 
At  %(l.  per  lb.  butcher's  price,  the  boiled  meat 
would  cost  9Jf/.  per  lb. 

**  Experiments  19. — A  leg  of  small  Scotch  mut- 
ton, weighing  6  lbs.,  aflbrded  10^  oz.  of  bone, 
lost  5^  oz.  in  the  boiling,  and  the  meat  weighed 
5  lbs. :  cost  9^rf.  per  lb.,  if  butcher's  price  be  8rf." 

The  following  are  miscellaneous  : — 

**  Experiment  28.  —  A  fore-quarter  of  lamb, 
weighing  9  lbs.,  afforded,  when  roasted,  20  oz. 
of  bone,  and  lost  1|  lb.  in  the  roasting :  the  meat 
weighed  6  lbs.  If  the  butcher's  price  be  8^</. 
per  lb.,  the  roasted  lamb  costs  12^^/.  per  lb. 

"  Experiment  31. — A  hand  of  salt  pork  weigh- 
ing 4  lbs.  .5  oz.,  lost  in  boiling  1 1  oz.  The  bone 
weighed  9  oz. :  the  meat  was  8  lbs.  1  oz.  If  the 
first  cost  of  the  pork  was  7^d.  per  lb.,  the  meat, 
when  duly  boiled,  cost  lO^d.  per  lb. 

"Experiment  34. — A  knuckle  of  veal  weigh- 
ing 6  lbs.,  when  duly  boiled,  lost  half  a  pound. 
Its  bones,  perfectly  cleared  of  meat,  weighed  2 
lbs.  6  uz. ;  the  meat  weighed  3  lbs.  2  oz.  Hence, 
if  the  butcher's  price  was  d^d.,  the  boiled  meat 
•iost  lO^f/.  per  lb. 

"  Experiment  35. — A  goose  properly  trussed, 
weighed  4^  lbs.:  in  this  state  it  was  roasted, 
and,  when  sufficiently  done,  was  found  to  have 
lost  18  oz.  The  skeleton  weighed  12  oz. :  the 
meat  weighed  3  lbs.  This  goose  would  cost, 
in  Londoff,  4s.  6c/.  Hence  the  roasted  meat 
amounted  to  Is.  8^d.  per  lb. 

"  Experiment  41. — A  turkey,  with  its  liver  and 
gizzard,  weighing  4  lbs.  14  oz.,  was  boiled  :  it 
lost  12  oz.  The  skeleton  weighed  13^  oz.;  the 
meat,  3  lbs.  4^  oz.  If  this  turkey  cost  3;?.  6d., 
the  boiled  meat  amounted  to  Is.  Id.  per  lb. 

"Experiment  43. — A  young  duck,  weighing 
20  oz.,  lost  5^  oz.  in  roasting.  Its  bones  weigh- 
ed 2, \oz.:  the  meat  was  12^  oz.  It  cost  2s. 
6rf. :  hence  the  flesh  amounted  to  3s.  3^d.  per  lb. 

"Experiment  46. — A  fowl,  with  its  liver  and 
gizzard,  weighing  1^  lb.,  was  roasted.  It  lost 
3  oz. :  the  skeleton  weighed  4^  oz.,  and  the  flesh 
10^  oz.  If  such  a  fowl  cost  2s.  6d.,  its  meat, 
when  roasted,  would  cost  2s.  4^d.  per  lb. 

"  Experiment  47. — A  chicken,  weighing  1  lb. 
4^  oz.,  when  roasted  lost  3^  oz.  The  bones 
weighed  3  oz.,  the  flesh,  13^  oz.  If  the  chicken 
cost  2s.  4rf.,  the  meat,  roasted,  was  worth  2s. 
»d.  per  lb. 

"  Experiment  56. — A  fine  mackerel,  when 
trimmed,  and  ready  for  boiling,  weighed  23^ 
oz.  (including  the  weight  of  the  roe,  2^  oz.) 
It  cost  10^/.  It  lost  1|  oz.  in  the  boiling.  The 
skeleton,  carefully  collected,  along  with  gills, 
fins,  and  tail,  weighed  4^  oz.  Hence,  the  cost 
of  the  eatable  parts  of  the  boiled  fish  was  9§d. 
per  lb." 

It  will  now  be  necessary  to  collect  the  results 


of  all  these  experiments  into  a  kind  of  con- 
spectus, for  the  sake  of  more  easy  comparison; 
and  it  is  to  be  understood,  that,  in  the  following 
estimates,  when  the  butcher's  price  is  men- 
tioned, it  of  course  comprises  meat  and  bone 
in  the  usual  manner.  But,  when  the  ultimate 
cost  of  the  cooked  meat  is  specified,  it  refers  to 
the  price  cost  of  the  meat  only,  the  bone  being 
considered  valueless :  and  it  is  supposed  that 
the  fatness  of  the  meat  was  such  as  good  meat 
is  expected  to  have,  without  any  redundancy 
being  left  on  it.  From  an  average  of  five  ex- 
periments, it  appears  that,  when  the  butcher's 
price  of  ribs  of  beef  is  8^r/.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of 
the  meat,  when  duly  roasted  and  fit  for  the 
table,  is  11^^/.  per  lb.,  and  that  the  average  loss 
of  weight  arising  from  the  liquefaction  of  the 
fat,  and  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the 
juices,  is  18  per  cent.  From  an  average  of  six 
experiments,  it  appears  that,  when  the  butcher's 
price  of  sirloins  of  beef  is  %^d.  per  lb.,  the  cost 
of  the  meat,  when  duly  roasted  and  fit  for  the 
table,  is  Is.  l^rf.  per  lb.,  and  that  the  average 
weight  lost  during  the  roasting  is  20j  per  cent. 
From  an  average  of  other  experiments,  it  ap- 
pears that  when  the  butcher's  price  of  salted 
briskets  of  beef  is  6^/.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the 
meat,  when  duly  boiled  and  fit  for  the  table,  is 
8^</.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  incurred  in  boiling, 
arising  from  the  extraction  of  fat  and  juices,  is 
18  per  cent.  From  an  average  of  two  experi- 
ments, it  appears  that  when  the  butcher's  price 
of  salted  flanks  of  beef  is  6rf.  per  lb.,  the  cost 
of  the  meat,  when  duly  boiled,  is  l^}d.  per  lb., 
and  the  loss  in  boiling  is  )3^  per  cent.  From 
another  experiment,  it  appears  that,  when  the 
butcher's  price  of  salted  tail  ends  of  beef  is  Id. 
per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the  meat,  when  duly  boiled, 
is  8^^/.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  in  boiling  is  13y^g 
per  cent.  From  an  average  of  experiments  17, 
18,  19,  and  2  others,  it  appears  that,  when  the 
butcher's  price  of  legs  of  mutton  is  8^.  per 
lb.,  the  cost  of  the  meat,  when  duly  boiled  and 
fit  for  the  table,  is  \Qd.  per  lb.,  and  that  the 
average  weight  lost  during  the  boiling  is  10 
per  cent.  From  an  average  of  two  experiments 
it  appears  that,  when  the  butcher's  price  of 
legs  of  mutton  is  8d.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the 
meat,  when  duly  roasted,  is  Is.  per  lb.,  and  the 
loss  incurred  by  roasting  is  27^"';^  per  cent. 
From  an  average  of  two  experiments,  it  ap- 
pears that,  when  the  butcher's  price  of  shoul- 
ders of  mutton  is  Id.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the 
meat,  duly  roasted,  is  lie?,  per  lb.,  and  the  loss 
incurred  by  roasting  is  28  per  cent.  From  an 
average  of  experiments  it  appears  that,  when 
the  butcher's  price  of  the  fore-quarter  of  lamb 
is  8^c?.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the  meat,  duly  roast- 
ed, is  Is.  \^d.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  by  roasting 
is  22^  per  cent.  From  experiment  30,  it  ap- 
pears that,  if  the  first  cost  of  hams  be  lOrf.  per 
lb.,  the  meat,  duly  boiled,  skinned,  and  brown- 
ed, will  amount  to  Is.  l^d.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss 
by  boiling  is  12^  per  cent.  From  experiments 
31  and  32,  it  appears  that,  when  the  hand  and 
leg  of  salt  pork  average  M.  per  lb.,  the  boiled 
meat  amounts  to  lO^rA  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  in 
boiling  is  13^  per  cent.  From  an  experiment 
it  appears  that,  if  the  first  cost  of  bacon  is  %d. 
per  lb.,  the  meat,  when  duly  boile.l,  skinned, 
and  browned,  amounts  to  10|c?.  per  ,b.,  the  loss 

799 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


in  boiling  alone  being  6^  per  cent.  From  ex- 
periment 34,  it  appears  that,  when  the  butcher's 
price  of  knuckle  of  veal  is  5^(1.  per  lb.,  the  meat, 
duly  boiled,  costs  10^/i.  per  lb.,  the  loss  in  boil- 
ing being  8^  per  cent.  From  an  average  of 
experiments  .35,  36,  37,  it  appears  that,  at  the 
prices  of  geese  quoted,  which  average  12^d. 
per  lb.  for  the  raw  flesh,  the  cost  of  the  roasted 
flesh  is  Is.  7d.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  per  cent  19^. 
From  an  average  of  three  experiments,  it  ap- 
pears that,  at  the  prices  of  turkeys  quoted, 
which  average  10^/.  per  lb.,  the  cost  of  the  roast- 
ed flesh  is  Is.  2|rf.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  per  cent 
is  20^.  From  an  average  of  experiments  41 
and  42,  it  appears  that,  when  turkeys  are  sold 
at  the  last-mentioned  price,  the  cost  of  the  boil- 
ed flesh  is  Is.  l^d.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss  per  cent 
is  16.  It  appears  also,  that  the  roasted  flesh  of 
turkeys  sometimes  amounts  to  4s.  2d.  per  lb. 
From  experiments  43,  44,  and  45,  it  appears 
that,  at  the  prices  of  ducks  quoted,  which  ave- 
rage Is.  Hr/.  per  lb.  in  the  raw  state,  the  cost 
of  the  roasted  flesh  is  2s.  8^/.  per  lb.,  and  the  loss 
per  cent,  is  27(1.  From  experiments  46,  47, 
and  48,  it  appears  that,  at  the  prices  of  chickens 
quoted,  which  average  Is.  6^d.  per  lb.  in  the 
raw  state,  the  roasted  flesh  amounts  to  2s.  7d. 
per  lb.,  and  the  loss  per  cent,  is  14|.  From  an 
average  of  six  experiments,  it  appears  that,  at 
the  prices  of  chickens  last  quoted,  the  average 
cost  of  the  boiled  flesh  is  2s.  Sd.  per  lb.  and 
the  average  loss  is  13^  per  cent.  From  an  ex- 
periment it  appears,  that,  when  turbot  in  the 
raw  state  is  sold  at  9^d.  per  lb.,  the  boiled  fish 
costs  1  l^r/.  per  lb. ;  the  loss  in  boiling  is  5^  per 
eent.  From  experiment  56,  it  appears  that, 
when  mackerel  sells  in  the  raw  state  at  6^d. 
per  lb.,  the  boiled  fish  costs  9^d.  per.  lb.,  the 
loss  in  boiling  being  7^  per  cent.  From  an  ex- 
periment, it  appears  that  the  roasted  flesh  of  a 
woodcock  sometimes  costs  16s.  per  lb.,  and 
sometimes  2s.  But  the  flesh  of  the  quail  is 
still  more  expensive.  This  bird,  when  fatten- 
ed, is  sold  at  the  enormous  price  of  3s. ;  and, 
when  allowance  is  made  for  the  loss  in  cooking 


Cost 

Cost 

Los?  per 

Names  of  the  Articles  of  Food  eMimated. 

per  lb. 

per  lb. 

cent  in 

raw. 

cooked. 

cooking. 

d. 

d. 

Salted  flank  of  beef,  boiled    - 

6 

n 

13  1-5 

Suited  tail-end  of  beef,  do.    - 

6 

8h 

13  7-10 

Salted  brisket  of  beef,  do 

6 

Sk 

18 

Mackerel,  do.          _        _        _ 

6* 

9^ 

^i 

Less  of  mutton,  do. 

8 

lo' 

10* 

Bacon,  best  part,  do 

8 

10^ 

6^ 

Hand  and  leg  of  salt  pork,  do. 

8 

101 

m 

Knuckle  of  veal,  do. 

5^ 

lOi 

8i 

Shoulders  of  mutton,  roasted 

7 

11 

28 

Ribs  of  beef,  do.      -        .        . 

8i 

IH 

18 

Turbot,  boiled         -        -        . 

n 

lU 

.5  5-9 

Lees  of  mutton,  roasted 

8 

12 

217-10 

Turkeys,  boiled      ... 

10 

l.Sl-9 

16 

Sirloin  of  beef,  roasted  - 

8i 

n\-6 

20i 

Fore-quarter  of  lamb,  do. 

H 

13j 

22I 

Hams  boiled  -        .        -        - 

m 

13, 

12^ 

Legs  of  mutton,  overroasted  - 

8 

14 

27  4-10 

Turkeys,  roasted    ... 

10 

IH 

20J 

Hairiburj;  liung-beef,  ribs 

12 

18 

9  1-5 

€f:ese,  roasted        -        .        - 

m 

19 

m 

1  Woodcocks,  do.,  cheap  season 

24 

'  Chickens,  roasted  ... 

m 

31 

14  3-5 

Chickens,  boiled     .        -        - 

m 

32 

13i 

Ducks,  roasted       -        -        _ 

m 

32 

27  1-6 

Haunch  of  venison,  do. 

46 

Turkeys,  large,  cramuied 

- 

50 

Woodcocks,  scarce  season     - 

_ 

192 

Quails,  fattened     -        -        - 

- 

288 

and  the  bones,  the  meat  may  be  estimated  at 
2  oz.,  which  brings  the  cost  of  the  cooked  flesh 
to  IZ.  4s.  per  lb. !  Those  to  whom  such  morsels 
are  necessary  are  not  to  be  envied.  A  haunch 
of  venison,  weighing  26  lbs.,  will  cost  3^  gui- 
neas. The  meat  of  this,  when  roasted  and 
detached  from  the  bone,  will  amount  to  about 
.3s.  lOd.  per  lb.;  and  if  the  animal  was  more 
than  usually  fat,  to  4s.  The  foregoing  table 
gives  the  results  in  a  still  more  abstract  form ; 
but  the  prices  apply  to  London  only.  The 
articles  are  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  cost- 
liness in  the  London  market. 
It  appears  from  the  experiments,  that 

The  loss  per  cent,  on  roasting  beef,  viz.  sirloins  and 

ribs  together,  is         .--__- 

Do.    on  roasting  mutton,  viz.  legs  aiid  shoulders 

together,  is         -.-_.__ 

Do.    on  roasting  lamb,  viz.  the  fore-quarter,  is  - 

on  roasting  geese,  is    -        -        -        -        . 

on  roasting  turkeys,  is 


Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 


19] 


24| 
22^ 


19* 

20I 


on  roasting  ducks,  Is    -        -       -       -        -   27i 
on  roasting  chickens,  is        _       -       -        -    14| 

Thus,  the  loss  on  roasting  varies  from  145  to 
nearly  double  that  rate.    The  average  loss  on 
roasting  butchers'  meat  is  22  per  cent.,  and  on 
roasting  domestic  poultry  is  20^. 
The  loss  per  cent,  on  boiling  mutton,  viz.  legs,  is   -    10 

-  m 

-  15 

-  131 

-  6i 

-  8* 

-  !6 

-  13* 


Do. 

Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 


on  boiling  hams,  is 

on  boiling  salt  beef,  is 

on  boiling  salt  pork,  is  -        - 

on  borliiig  bacon,  is      -  -        - 

on  boiling  knuckles  of  veal,  is     - 

on  boiling  turkeys,  is  -  - 

on  boiling  chickens,  is  -        - 


Thus,  the  loss  on  boiling  varies  from  6}  to 
16.  The  average  loss  on  boiling  butchers* 
meat,  pork,  hams,  and  bacon,  is  12,  and  on 
boiling  domestic  poultry  is  14|.  These  esti- 
mates of  butchers'  meat  do  not  agree  with 
those  of  Professor  Wallace.  I  shall  select  for 
contrast  all  those  cases  that  can  be  compared. 


lOOIbs.  of  beef  lost  in  boiling   -        -        .  26^ 

Do.     in  roasting   -        _        -        .        _  32 

ino  lbs.  of  legs  of  mutton  lost  in  boiling  .  21} 
100  lbs.  of  shoulders  of  mutton  lost  in 

roasting 3Ii 


Wallace.    My  trial. 


15 


2» 


800 


The  average  loss  in  boiling  and  roasting  to- 
gether is,  according  to  Professor  Wallace,  28 
percent.;  according  to  my  trials,  it  is  but  18.^ 
I  know  not  how  to  reconcile  these  results 
otherwise  than  by  supposing  a  difference  in 
the  meat,  or  its  fatness,  or  in  the  duration  of 
the  heat.  I  used  meat  of  sufficient,  but  not 
unprofitable  fatness,  such  as  is  preferred  in 
families;  the  meat  was  in  all  cases  a  little  rare 
at  its  centre,  and  the  results  were  determined 
with  the  utmost  care.  In  great  public  institu- 
tions, where  economy  is  studied,  and  every 
thing  is  regulated  by  weight  and  measure, 
tables  of  this  kind  do  not  afford  a  guide  that  is 
to  be  implicitly  relied  on.  It  is  obvious  that 
another  element  must  be  taken  into  the  calcu- 
lation, to  insure  true  results ;  the  ratio  in  which 

!  each  article  of  food  satisfies  the  appetite,  which 

j  varies  with  almost  every  individual. 

Butchers'  meat,  taking  one  kind  with  another, 
averages  35  per  cent,  of  real  nutritive  matter; 
at  least,  such  was  the  estimate  presented  by 
MM.  Vauquelin  and  Percy  to  the  French  mi- 
nister of  the  interior.  Adopting  this  determi- 
nation,  we    are    prepared  to  appreciate   the 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


quantity  of  real  nutritive  matter  received  into 
the  stomftch,  when  a  meal  of  plain  meat  and 
vegetables  has  been  eaten  :  it  is  not  practicable 
to  come  to  any  conclusion  when  made  dishes 
are  used.  It  is  a  subject  of  interest,  and  par- 
ticularly so  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  British 
Isles,  who  are  said  by  foreigners  to  make 
use  of  more  animal  food  than  is  necessary  or 
wholesome. 

In  order,  then,  to  equalize  the  animal  and 
vegetable  matter,  and  to  increase  the  total 
quantity,  the  ratio  should  be  8^  oz.  of  boiled 
mutton,  10  oz.  of  potato,  and  the  same  of  tur- 
nip ;  the  total  amount  of  food  swallowed  will 
be  28^  oz.,  but  the  quantity  of  real  nutriment 
will  be  but  6  oz.,  half  being  animal  and  half 
vegetable  matter.  This  is  certainly  a  sufficient 
meal  for  most  persons  who  have  but  little  labo- 
rious occupation ;  for,  if  a  pint  of  liquid  be 
drunk  at  the  same  time,  the  load  on  the  stomach 
will  weigh  3  lb.;  and  this  will  be  increased  to 
4i  lb.  if  a  pint  of  wine  be  swallowed.  Now, 
the  difference  between  8^  oz.  of  boiled  meat 
and  10  oz.  appears  very  trivial ;  but,  if  the 
greater  of  the  two  quantities  be  persevered  in 
regularly  every  day  for  the  term  of  a  man's 
adult  life  of  half  a  century,  it  may  excite  a 
little  surprise  in  the  person  who  practises  it, 
to  learn  that  he  will  have  consumed  a  flock  of 
sheep,  consisting  of  about  fifty-three  head,  in 
excess  above  what  he  ought  to  have  made  use 
of.  In  a  life  of  sixty-five  years,  allowing  8^  oz. 
per  day  for  fifty  years,  two-thirds  of  that  quan- 
tity for  ten  years,  and  3  oz.  a  day  for  three 
years  of  childhood,  the  total  animal  food 
amounts  to  350  sheep.  If  to  this  be  added  the 
excess  above  mentioned,  the  number  of  sheep, 
the  cooked  meat  of  which  is  devoured  by  one 
man  during  a  life  of  sixty-five  years,  is  about 
400 ;  along  with  5  tons  of  potatoes,  about  the 
same  of  turnips  or  other  vegetables,  9  tons' 
weight  of  common  drink,  and  6  tons'  weight 
of  wine,  at  1  pint  per  day  for  three  years 
only :  thus,  for  dinner  alone,  above  30  tons' 
weight  of  solids  and  liquids  must  have  passed 
through  the  stomach.  Inordinate  work  will 
wear  out  any  machinery  before  its  lime,  espe- 
cially if  the  work  performed  be  of  a  peculiar 
wearing  character.  Whether  it  is  advisable  to 
add  the  fifty-three  unnecessary  sheep  to  one's 
dinner,  is  a  question  which  every  reader  will 
answer  to  himself  as  he  thinks  proper.  The 
food  of  old  Parr,  who  died  at  153  years  of  age, 
consisted  of  cheese,  coarse  bread,  milk,  and 
small  beer.  Would  it  have  made  no  difference 
in  the  duration  of  his  life  if  he  had  swallowed 
1050  sheep  ?  for  about  this  number  would  have 
been  his  share  at  the  usual  rate,  along  with 
his  twenty  tons  of  wine.  It  may  assist  in 
drawing  a  conclusion,  to  recollect  that  when 
he  was  brought  to  London,  and  lived  in  splen- 
dour, "  fed  high,  and  drank  plentifully  of  the 
best  wines,"  he  soon  died:  and  his  death  was 
generally  attributed  to  that  cause,  for  he  had 
vigour  of  body  "  to  have  lived  a  good  while 
longer,"  as  the  reporter  says.   {Lnrdner's  Ency.) 

1 .  ScUdian  of  Cattle  and  Beef. — In  the  selec- 
tion of  cattle  to  be  sent  alive  to  market,  they 
should  invariably  possess  fine  symmetry  and 
small  bone,  carrying  the  greatest  weight  of 
beef  on  the  most  valuable  points,  such  as 
101 


rumps,  loins,  and  crops  ;  the  back  well  covered, 
the  buttocks  and  flanks  well  filled  up,  and  the 
whole  carcass  exhibiting  a  fulness  of  flesh,  ex- 
cepting the  necks  and  coarser  parts.  They 
should  handle  hard  and  firm,  in  order  to  stand 
well  the  voyage,  and  handle  and  look  well  in 
the  market.  Fiwn  handlers,  whether  heifers 
or  oxen,  always  cut  well  up.  A  good  coat  of 
hair,  too,  is  of  great  use  in  a  sea-voyage  on 
deck,  and  also  in  enabling  cattle  to  stand  the 
vicissitudes  of  weather  in  the  markets,  and  it 
enables  them  to  be  turned  out  in  safety,  in 
case  they  should  not  be  disposed  of  on  the  first 
market-da)'.  Thin-coated  cattle  always  look 
tender,  and  are,  in  fact,  so  under  any  circum- 
stances. Cattle  only  possessing  these  requisite 
properties  should  be  sent  to  Smiihfield  market, 
and  any  others  will  assuredly  incur  loss  to  the 
shipper.  An  ox  or  heifer  of  these  properties, 
weighing  80  stones  per  Smithficld  stone  of 
8  lbs.,  will  actually  realize  more  money  than 
a  coarse  ox  or  heifer  weighing  100  stones. 
Heavy,  cattle,  however,  do  not  take  readily  in 
Smithfield,  except  for  a  month  about  Christ- 
mas, unless  they  are  remarkably  handsome; 
nor  do  very  light  cattle,  under  40  stones,  for 
two  or  three  months  in  summer,  unless  they 
are  really  neatly  shaped,  and  thick  on  the 
backs  and  best  points.  The  most  saleable 
weights  are  from  50  stones  to  55  stones.  Of 
the  Scotish  breeds,  the  Galloway  and  West 
Highlanders  fetch  generally  the  top  price;  fine- 
Angus  and  Aberdeenshires,  of  fine  points  and 
thick  backs,  take  well ;  and  handsome,  well- 
bred  short  horns  also  take  rt.idily,  but  do  not 
realize  so  much  money  as  Gahoways  or  West 
Highlanders.  Fine  crosses  are  also  very 
saleable. 

The  meat  intended  to  be  sent  to  the  carcass 
market  in  London  should  be  taken  from  such 
cattle  as  we  have  described.  It  is  not  large 
quantities  of  lean  and  fat  that  are  wanted  there, 
but  both  well  mixed.  Ox  and  heifer  beef  of 
equal  quality  command  the  same  prices. 
Rumps,  loins,  crops,  and  other  fine  parts  fitted 
for  roasting  and  steaks,  are  mort  in  demand 
than  the  boiling  pieces,  and  realize  compara- 
tively higher  prices,  and  therefore  they  alone 
should  be  sent.  Coarse  beef  always  fetches 
low  prices  in  London,  and  therefore  should  be 
purchased  (to  use  a  sporting  phrase)  at  a  low 
figure  in  the  country  to  return  any  profit,  for 
the  best  buyers  look  more  to  quality  than 
quantity;  and  as  this  quality  of  beef  is  rather 
cheaper  in  London  than  in  Scotland,  ship- 
pers should  be  cautious  in  sending  any  such 
thither. 

2.  Selection  of  Sheep  and  Mutton. — Ripe,  com- 
pact sheep,  of  light  weights,  carrying  a  large 
proportion  of  lean  on  the  back,  loins,  and 
shoulder,  with  a  full  round  leg  and  handsome 
carcass,  are  admirably  suited  for  Smithfield. 
Such,  from  14  lb.  to  20  lb.  per  quarter,  will 
take  readily ;  but  they  are  most  valuable  from 
16  lb.  to  18  lb.  The  nearer  the  form  and  quality- 
approach  those  of  South  Downs,  the  more  likely 
are  they  to  command  the  top  prices ;  for  the 
Downs  have  long  been  unrivalled  favourites 
in  Smithfield.  True  bred  Cheviots  and  the 
black-faced  Linton  breed  approach  neaily  to 
the  qualities  of  the  South  Downs,  and  com 

801 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


ina»)d  as  high  a  price.  Half-breeds  from  Lei- 
cester rams  and  Cheviot  and  black-faced  ewes, 
which  resemble  the  true  breeds  in  form  and 
quality,  form  saleable  sheep  in  London.  The 
old  black-faced  breed  are  too  thin  in  the  leg 
and  back,  and  are  in  London  termed  ''goaty.'" 
There  are  by  far  too  many  of  this  kind  sent 
from  Scotland,  and  they  are  generally,  besides, 
only  ha\{-nteated,  or  half-fat,  and  of  course  only 
fetch  middling  prices.  They,  however,  gene- 
rally please  the  consumer  for  flavour.  Pure 
bred  Leicesters  are  too  fat,  unless  they  are  sent 
young,  and  do  not  exceed  20  lb.  per  quarter; 
when  above  that  weight  they  fetch  inferior 
prices.  A  fine  South  Down  or  Scotch  sheep, 
of  18  lb.  per  quarter,  will  fetch  Id.  per  lb.  by 
the  carcass,  whereas  a  heavy  Leicester,  Glou- 
cester, Lincoln,  or  Kent,  of  24  lb.  a  quarter  and 
upwards,  will  realize  no  more  than  6d. 

The  carcasses  of  mutton  to  be  sent  to  Lon- 
don should,  of  course,  be  those  of  sheep  such 
as  are  here  recommended  to  be  sent  alive. 
Large  quantities  of  fat  are  not  so  desirable  as 
a  proportionable  mixture  of  fat  with  the  lean. 
In  using  the  loins  and  other  parts  of  very  fat 
mutton  for  chops,  much  of  it  has  to  be  pared 
away,  and  sold  for  the  price  of  raw  fat,  per- 
haps 4:d.  a  pound ;  whereas  well-mixed  chops 
may  be  sold  for  7c/.  or  8c'.  a  pound.  This  shows 
the  nature  of  the  mistake  committed  in  sending 
fat,  heavy  mutton  to  London.  The  great  point 
is,  to  select  ripe  mutton  and  sheep  ;  for  the 
latter  will  stand  the  voyage  better  than  half-fat, 
and  will  not  lose  half  the  quantity  of  flesh  in 
three  days  as  the  latter.  No  overgrown 
animals,  having  masses  of  fat  on  one  place 
and  not  on  another,  would  there^Dre  command 
the  top  price :  but  those  having  plump  car- 
casses, well  mixed  with  fat  and  lean,  firmly 
and  equally  laid  on,  with  fine  symmetry  and 
valuable  points,  will  always  command  the 
top  price,  both  at  Smithfield  and  the  carcass 
markets. 

3.  Selection  of  Lambs. — Lambs  are  a  favourite 
stock  to  send  to  London,  and  they  are  always 
sent  alive.  Leicester  lambs  are  admirably 
adapted  for  the  London  market.  They  are 
handsome,  compact,  thick  on  all  the  points, 
and  although  they  might  become  too  fat  when 
grown  to  sheep,  they  cannot  be  too  fat  as  lambs. 
Their  flesh  is  white,  a  property  much  admired 
in  London,  and  every  joint  of  them  looks  well 
on  the  table.  The  lambs  of  the  cross  between 
the  Leicester  and  the  Cheviot  and  black-faced 
ewes  are  next  best  for  fat  and  lean,  and  cut 
well  into  joints,  although  they  have  not  the 
handsome  figures  of  the  pure  Leicester.  True 
Cheviot  and  black-faced  lambs,  unless  very 
fat,  do  not  take  so  well  in  Smithfield,  not  being 
so  compact,  taking  longer  time  to  come  to  ma- 
turity, not  cutting  up  so  thick,  and  presenting 
small  joints  on  the  table ;  but  they  make  very 
delicate  and  high-flavoured  chops.  No  lambs 
should  be  sent  to  Smithfield  until  they  are  at 
least  three  months  old,  and  have  obtained  the 
weight  of  9  lb.  or  10  lb.  a  quarter;  and  if  they 
are  not  fat  enough,  and  have  not  attained  that 
weight  at  that  age,  they  should  be  kept  on. 
Shippers  may  calculate  on  a  loss  of  1  lb.  a 
quarter  on  the  voyage  :  unless,  therefore,  lambs 
Ve  from  9  lb.  to  10  lb.  a  quarter,  they  would  be 
802 


;  too  small  after  that  loss,  and  they  then  becoms 
I  unsaleable  except  at  low  prices.  Ewe  lambs 
j  are  preferred,  being  more  delicate  than  wethers, 
which  are  next  in  value,  for  ram  lambs  are 
very  unsaleable.  All  wether  lambs,  therefore, 
intended  for  Smithfield,  should  be  castrated 
when  a  few  days  old,  and  their  tails  cut  short, 
leaving  not  more  than  three  inches.  The 
docking  gives  them  a  very  compact  ,^orm,  and 
it  causes  the  flesh  to  grow  up  towards  the  back, 
long  tails  giving  a  contrary  tendency. 

4.  Selection  of  Pigs  and  Pork.- — Much  caution 
is  requisite  on  the  part  of  the  shipper  of  pigs 
for  London.  A  very  mistaken  notion  prevails 
among  many  shippers,  and  the  notion  has  been 
contracted  in  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the'^ 
London  market,  that  pigs  must  be  fat  to  suit 
the  English  taste.  The  fact  is  quite  the  reverse, 
for  the  larger  the  pig  is  fattened,  the  less  money 
per  pound  it  fetches.  Pigs  are  worth  the  most 
money  when  their  weight  ranges  from  35  lb.  to 
40  lb. ;  and  from  this  weight  up  to  60  lb.  or  70  lb., 
they  are  termed  dairy-fed  porkers.  If  at  the 
former  weight,  they  are  of  good  symmetry,  fine 
quality,  delicate  and  white  in  the  flesh,  and  not 
more  than  1  inch  or  li  inch  thick  of  fat  on  the 
back,  they  will  fetch  the  top  price  of  the  day. 
Pigs  of  the  average  weight  of  60  lb.  will  give 
about  7d.  per  lb.;  from  70  lb.  to  100  lb.,  ave- 
raging 85  lb.,  and  2  inches  thick  of  fat,  6d.  per 
lb.;  from  100  lb.  to  150  lb.,  averaging  130  lb., 
and  about  2^  inches  of  fat,  5d.  to  5^^.  per  lb.; 
from  150  lb.  to  200  lb.,  averaging  about  170  lb., 
and  about  3  inches  of  fat,  4c?.  to  ^^d.  per  lb.; 
and  all  above  the  last  weight  and  thickness  of 
fat,  only  about  S^d.  per  lb.  Besides  the  large- 
sized,  a  very  small  fat  pig  is  not  relished  in 
London.  Indeed,  we  need  not  be  surprised  at 
this  preference,  when  we  consider  that  only 
the  small  lean  and  fat  porkers  are  used  for 
roasting,  chops,  and  pickled  pork,  and  the  large 
fat  pigs  are  chopped  down  for  sausages.  No 
pigs,  therefore,  should  be  sent  to  London  ex- 
ceeding 100  lb.,  exclusive  of  head  and  feet,  but 
which  are  only  moderately  fat  and  of  fine 
quality ;  all  other  qualities  should  be  cured  as 
flitch,  bacon,  and  hams.  Pigs,  if  possible, 
should  be  sent  alive  to  London.  Occasionally 
they  arrive  in  pretty  good  order  in  carcass; 
but  in  carcass,  in  thick  weathf^r,  the  flesh  be- 
comes very  soft,  and  the  skin  dry;  and  in  dry 
weather  the  skin  becomes  quite  hard  and 
brown  coloured.  Of  equal  qualities,  the  live 
pig  will  draw  from  a  halfpenny  to  a  penny  a 
pound  more  than  in  carcass.  Feeders  of  pigs 
should  be  careful  on  what  they  feed  their  pigs, 
especially  fish.  The  retail  butchers  are  such 
nice  judges  of  pork,  that  on  buying  a  carcass 
at  Newgate  or  Leadenhall  market,  and  cutting 
a  slice,  they  can  detect  the  least  peculiarity  in 
taste,  which,  if  they  do,  they  will  return  it  again, 
and  cause  the  carcass  to  be  resold  for  what  it 
will  bring,  rather  than  send  any  such  pork  to 
their  customers. 

Cutting  up  Meat. — The  mode  of  cutting  tip 
meat  is  more  diversified  even  than  the  slaugh- 
tering, almost  every  town  having  its  own.  But 
as  London  is  the  great  emporium  of  the  export 
meat  trade  ©f  Scotland,  the  method  of  cutting 
up  meat  in  the  metropolis  should  constitute  the 
particular  study  of  the  shippers  of  meat.    To 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


acquire  this  necessary  information,  the  ship- 
pers should  have  a  few  of  the  most  expert 
butchers  in  London  to  slaughter  and  cut  up 
the  carcasses  of  the  various  sorts  of  animals. 
They  should  never  consider  themselves  above 
acquiring  such  information,  when  their  own 
interest  will  be  benefited  by  its  adoption. 
Whether  the  London  method  of  cutting  up 
meat  is  really  the  best  of  any,  and  we  think  it 
*s,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  London  butchers 
must  have  the  most  extensive  and  varied  expe- 
rience ;  and  any  one  has  only  to  witness  the 
operation  performed  by  expert  London  butchers 
to  be  satisfied  that  they  display  great  skill  in  their 
art,  and  execute  their  work  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cision. Indeed,  the  precision  with  which  they  di- 
vide the  different  qualities  of  meat  from  the  same 
carcass  shows  their  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
qualities  of  meat;  and  the  variety  of  prices 
which  different  parts  of  the  same  carcass  fetch, 
shows  with  what  accuracy  they  can  gratify  the 
tastes  of  the  various  grades  of  their  customers. 
In  practising  this  precision,  they  not  only 
make  the  best  use  of  the  carcass,  but  realize 
the  highest  value  for  it,  and  at  the  same  time 
gratify  the  taste  of  the  greatest  number  of  cus- 
Fip.  1. 


Hind- Quarter. 

1.  Loin. 

2.  Rump. 

3.  Itch  or  adze-bone 

4.  Buitock. 

5.  Ilork. 

6.  Thick  flank. 

7.  Thin  flunk. 

8.  Fore-rib. 


Fore-Q^uarUr. 
9.  Middle-rib. 

10.  Chuck-rib. 

11.  Brisket. 

12.  Leg  of  mutton  piece. 

13.  Clod  and  sticking  and  neck. 

14.  Shin. 

15.  Leg. 


Fig.^. 


Nind- Quarter. 

1.  Sirloin  or  back-sye. 

2.  Hock-bone. 

8.  Buttock.  li,..„« 

4.  Large  round.  P"""?* 

5.  Small  round. 

6.  Hough. 

7.  Thick  flank 

8.  Thin  flank. 
U>  Vine  holes. 


Fore- Quarter. 

10.  Large  runner. 

11.  Small  runner. 

12.  Spare-rib,  or  fore-sye, 

13.  Brisket. 

14.  Shoulder  Iyer. 

15.  Nap  or  shin. 

16.  Neck. 

17.  Sticking  piece. 


tomers.  In  the  carcass  of  any  animal,  an  ox, 
for  instance,  there  are  different  qualities  of 
meat,  and  these  qualities  are  situated  indifferent 
parts  of  the  carcass.  All  the  best  parts  are  in 
London  used  for  roasting  and  steaks,  and  the 
inferior  for  boiling,  either  in  pieces,  or  making 
stock  for  soups,  or  minced  meat,  in  the  various 
forms  of  pies,  sausages,  &c. 

The  carcass  of  an  ox  is  cut  up  into  the  fol 
lowing  pieces,  as  may  be  seen  on  referring  to 
the  numbers  on  the  annexed  cut,  /Jg.  1. 

The  relative  value  of  these  different  cuts  of 
an  ox  may  be  stated  at  their  current  value,  viz., 
when  the  rumps,  loins,  and  fore-ribs  of  a  fine 
ox  fetch  8d.  a  pound,  the  thick  flank,  buttock, 
and  middle  rib  will  fetch  6^/.;  the  itch  or  adze- 
bone,  thin  flank,  chuck  rib,  brisket,  and  leg  of 
mutton  piece,  5^/. ;  the  clod  and  sticking,  and 
neck,  3r/.;  and  the  legs  and  shins,  2(f.  a  pound. 
Such  is  the  difference  in  value  of  the  different 
cuts  of  an  ox  in  the  meal  markets  in  London. 
As  an  object  of  comparison,  we  shall  also 
give  a  figure  of  an  ox  cut  up  in  the  Edinburgh 
method,  as  in  Jig.  2,  and  the  great  difference 
between  both  methods  may  be  seen  at  a  glance.- 
See  cuts. 

It  is  therefore  obvious  that,  of  the 
two  methods  of  cutting  up  beef,  the 
London  affords  much  more  of  roast- 
ing and  steak,  that  is,  the  more  valu- 
able pieces,  out  of  the  same  carcass; 
and,  of  course,  more  money  would 
thereby  be  realized  from  it. 

Much  of  what  we  have  said  on  the 
management  requisite  in  sending 
beef  to  the  London  market  will  ap- 
ply equally  to  sending  mutton,  veal, 
or  lamb  to  the  same  market.  The 
best  pieces  only  should  be  sent  to 
London,  and  the  remainder  kept  for 
the  home  market :  and  were  this  re- 
commendatin  attended  to,  the  ex- 
pense of  expo  "tation  would  be  dimi- 
nished on  what  was  sent;  for  the  best 
pieces  would  nack  well  together  in  a 
comparatively  small  space,  where- 
as whole  carcasses  of  mutton,  by  the 
roundness  of  the  rib,  occupy  much 
unnecessary  room,  for  which  freight 
must  be  paid. 

Mutton  is  also  cut  up  differently  in 
London  and  Scotland,  as  may  be  seen 
on  referring  to  the  figures  at  the  top 
of  next  page,  of  which  the  first  repre- 
sents the  London  method. 

In  the  fore-quarter.  No.  1  is  the 
shoulder,  2  and  2  the  neck,  after  the 
shoulder  has  been  taken  off,  and  3  the 
breast;  and  in  the  hind-quarter,  4  is 
the  loin,  which,  when  cut  double,  that 
is,  partly  from  both  sides  of  the  car- 
cass, is  called  a  chine  or  saddle,  and 
6  is  the  leg.  A  leg  of  mutton  in  Lon- 
don is  cut  short;  a  haunch  is  cut  long, 
taking  in  the  hook-bone,  similar  to  a 
haunch  of  venison.  The  flap  of  the  loin 
is  left  attached  to  that  part  of  the  fore 
quarter  called  the  breast.  The  Scotch 
mode  of  cutting  up  mutton  is  repre- 
sented by  ./fg.  2,  in  which,  in  the  hind 
quarter,  No.  1  is  the  gigot,  and  2  the 
SOS 


MEAT. 


MEAT. 


Fiff.l. 


Fig.  2. 


loin ;  and  in  the  fore,  3  the  back  ribs,  and  4 
the  breast  and  shoulders.  The  gigot  is  cut 
about  half-way  between  the  leg  and  haunch  of 
the  London  method ;  and  the  fore-quarter  is 
cut  right  through  the  shoulders  in  two  places, 
called  back-ribs  and  breast.  Shoulders  of 
mutton  are  never  cut  off  in  Scotland  before 
being  cooked,  except  by  keepers  of  eating- 
houses  ;  but  the  London  plan  of  cutting  mutton 
is  decidedly  the  best,  the  shoulder  forming  an 
excellent  roast,  and  the  best  end  of  the  neck- 
piece being  admirably  suited  for  chops. 

The  different  joints  of  mutton  vary  almost 
as  much  in  price  in  London  as  pieces  of  beef. 
The  leg  is  sometimes  sold  as  high  as  lOr/.  a 
pound,  whilst  the  breast  of  the  same  sheep  will 
only  fetch  4r/.  or  5d. ;  and  if,  in  the  wholesale 
market,  the  whole  carcass  is  sold  at  6d.  a  pound, 
the  hind-quarter-will  be  worth  7d.  and  the  fore 
only  5d.  From  these  facts  it  is  obvious,  that  it  is 
the  interest  of  the  shipper  only  to  send  hind-quar- 
ters of  mutton  to  London,  for  which  7d.  a  pound 
may  be  easily  obtained,  and  a  ready  market  for 
them  in  the  west-end  butchers,  who  seldom 
deal  in  fore-quarters.  The  fore-quarters  could 
be  sold  at  home ;  hence  realizing  as  much  for 
them  as  ihey  could  fetch  in  London,  besides 
saving  on  them  the  freight,  commission,  and 
wharfage.  They  form  excellent  joints  for  trades- 
men's families,  and  are,  in  fact,  generally  pre- 
ferred by  them  to  the  hind-quarters,  which  are 
considered  dry  eating,  and  certainly  do  not 
make  so  good  broth  as  the  fore-quarter.  Be- 
sides the  saving  of  room  in  packing  the  hind- 
quarters, they  would  run  no  risk  of  being 
stained  when  sent  by  themselves,  as  the  stam- 
ing  generally  arises  from  blood  oozing  out  of 
the  veins  ip  *he  fore-quarter. 

Lamb  is.  cut  up  in  London  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  mutton,  excepting  that  the  neck  and 
breast,  when  the  shoulder  is  taken  off,  is  roast- 
ed whole,  and  the  piece  is  called  ribs  of  lavib. 
In  Scotland  lamb  is  cut  up  exactly  as  mutton. 

Veal  is  cut  up  in  London  in  a  different  way 
from  any  other  meat.  The  knife  is  drawn  be- 
tween the  buttock  and  itch-bone,  and  through 
the  pope's  eye,  taKing  a  sloping  direction 
through  the  coarse  end  of  the  buttock,  leaving 
a  flap  The  piece  thus  cut  out  is  called  a  fillet 
804 


of  veal.  It  is  like  a  round  of  beef  with  a  par* 
of  the  thin  flank  left  to  be  skewered  around  it. 
The  round  bone  is  taken  out,  and  stuffing  put 
into  its  place.  When  the  itch-bone  and  hook- 
bone  are  cut  from  the  loin,  the  piece  is  called 
a  chump  of  veal.  The  hind-quarter  of  veal 
thus  consists  of  fillet,  chump,  loin,  and  leg. 
The  fore-quarter  is  cut  in  the  same  manner  as 
mutton,  having  shoulder,  breast,  and  neck.  Ir 
Scotland,  veal  is  cut  very  much  like  mutton. 

The  London  mode  of  cutting  up  pork  is  the 
same  as  the  Scotch  mode  of  cutting  up  mutton, 
so fi^.  2  will  illustrate  the  mode;  in  which,  in 
the  hind-quarter,  No.  1  is  the  leg,  and  2  is  the 
loin;  in  the  fore,  3,  back-rib,  chine,  or  hand; 
and  4,  breast  and  shoulders,  spring  or  belly. 
The  spring  is  used  for  pickling,  and  the  hand 
for  roasting,  and  for  chops,  or  sausages.  In 
Scotland,  the  hind-quarter  consists  of  leg  and 
loin,  and  the  fore  of  back-ribs  and  breast.  For 
pickling  or  roasting,  pork  is  cut  in  the  hind- 
quarter  like  that  of  English  mutton,  and  in  the 
fore  like  that  of  Scotch.  In  both  countries, 
the  ham  is  cut  out  alike.  {Donovan's  Dorn. 
Econ. ;  Quart.  Jour,  of  Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  241— 28 1.) 
See  Cattle  and  Salting. 

MEDICK  {Mcdirago).  An  extensive  genus 
of  herbaceous,  mostly  procumbent,  plants.  The 
perennial  herbaceous  species  are  sometimes 
cultivated  for  ornament;  they  will  grow  in  any 
common  garden  soil,  and  are  increased  by  di- 
viding the  roots  of  the  plants  in  spring.  The 
shrubby  kinds  grow  in  a  similar  soil,  and  are 
readily  increased  by  cuttings.  The  seeds  of 
the  annual  species  require  to  be  sown  in  the 
open  border  in  spring.  There  are  six  indige- 
nous species. 

1.  Purple  medick,  or  lucern  (ilf.  saliva).  See 

LUCKUN. 

2.  Yellow  sickle  medick,  or  button-jags  {M. 
falcala).  This  perennial  species  grows  on  dry, 
gravelly  banks  and  old  walls.  The  root  is  long 
and  woody.  In  habit  it  very  closely  resembles 
lucern,  but  the  numerous  stems  are  procum- 
bent, spreading  every  way,  hairy.  The  flow- 
ers, which  blow  in  June  and  July,  are  generally 
pale-yellow,  but  occasionally  violet,  and  more 
frequently  green,  evidently  from  a  combina- 
tion of  these  two  colours.  The  legumes  are 
black,  downy,  sickle-shaped,  not  twisted  in 
a  screw,  as  in  lucern.  This  species  is,  per- 
haps, as  good  fodder  as  lucern,  though  less 
succulent,  and,  from  its  position,  less  accessi- 
ble to  the  scythe.  It  withstands  severe  winters 
better  than  lucern,  and  is  eaten  eagerly  by 
cattle  and  horses,  though  its  stalks  are  hard 
and  woody. 

3.  Black  trefoil  medick,  or  nonsuch  {M.  hi^ 
pullna).  This  annual  species  is,  in  England, 
very  common  in  meadow  pastures  and  culti- 
vated fields,  where  it  flowers  from  May  till 
August.  The  black  medick  has  the  habit  of 
some  of  the  procumbent  yellow  trefoils,  and 
has  such  general  resemblance  to  the  proper 
trefoils  or  clovers,  that  it  is  often  mistaken  for 
some  of  the  smaller  species.  The  form  and 
colour  of  the  seed-pods  afford  a  ready  distinc- 
tion.     The  root   is   tapering,  and   somewhat 

'  fibrous.  Flowers  small,  yellow,  from  30  to  40 
,  and  upwards  in  each  spike,  which  is  at  first 
J  roundish,  afterwards  ovate.    Leg  ime's  kidney- 


MEDLAR. 


MELTLOT,  COMMON. 


shaped,  rugged  and  veiny,  single-seeded,  turn- 
ing black  when  ripe.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  speaks 
of  this  as  "  one  of  the  most  valuable  of  artifi- 
cial ijrnsses,  affording  excellent  fodder  for 
sheep;"  but  this  good  opinion  is  hardly  borne 
out  by  experience,  for,  though  Arthur  Young 
makes  favourable  mention  of  it,  Sinclair,  in 
his  more  recent  experiments  on  the  grasses, 
observes  that  it  is  only  fit  for  light  soils,  and 
these  must  be  deep,  as  the  root  penetrates  to  a 
considerable  depth.  It  does  not  appear  to  be 
fit  for  separate  cultivation,  nor  even  to  be  em- 
ployed in  any  large  proportion  in  a  mixture  of 
other  seeds;  and  the  root  being  annual,  its  use  is, 
therefore,  confined  to  the  alternate  husbandry. 

4.  Spotted  medick  (M.  maculata).  This  is 
another  annual  species,  growing  on  a  gravelly 
soil  in  the  southern  parts  of  England.  The 
root  is  fibrous,  beset  with  little  fleshy  knobs. 
Stems  prostrate,  various  in  length.  Leaflets 
inversely  heart-shaped,  spotted.  Stipules  di- 
lated, sharply  toothed.  Flowers  yellow,  rather 
small,  two  or  three  together.  Legumes  spiral, 
depressed,  fringed  with  long  spreading  bristles; 
when  ripe,  brown,  not  black.  This  has  been 
mentioned,  but  not  much  recommended  as  a 
fodder  for  cattle. 

5.  Flat-toothed  medick  {M.  muricata).  This 
is  a  doubtful  native,  growing  on  the  sea-coast. 
It  is  an  annual,  and  flowers  in  June  and  July. 

6.  Little  bur  medick  (M.minima).  This  is  a 
little  prostrate  annual  species,  growing  in  sandy 
fields,  but  rare,  clothed  in  every  part  with  fine, 
soft,  rather  silky  hairs. 

MEDLAR  (Meftpilus).  A  genus  of  large- 
growing  fruit  trees,  which  are  very  ornamental, 
and  therefore  worth  a  place  in  every  shrub- 
bery. Any  common  soil  suits  them,  and  they 
are  readily  increased  by  budding  or  grafting 
on  the  common  hawthorn,  or  they  may  be  in- 
creased by  seeds,  which  do  not  vegetate  till  the 
second  year. 

The  common  medlar  (M.  Germanica)  is  indi- 
genous, growing  wild  in  hed-'^es.  The  branches 
of  this  tree  are  spreading,  and  thorny  in  a  wild 
state  ;  but  the  thorns  disappear  by  culture,  and 
are  not  to  be  seen  in  gardens.  Leaves  decidu- 
ous, lanceolate,  4  or  5  inches  long,  a  little 
downy.  Flowers  solitary,  nearly  sessile,  ter- 
minal, large,  with  white  undulated  petals,  in- 
odorous. Styles  5.  Fruit  depressed,  con- 
cave at  the  top,  somewhat  hairy;  austere,  not 
eatable  till  it  is  mellowed  by  keeping.  Culti- 
vation has  produced  many  varieties,  differing 
in  size  and  flavour.  The  Dutch  medlar  is  the 
finest  as  to  size,  and  the  Nottingham  the  most 
delicate  in  flavour. 

The  wood,  being  hai<i  and  tough,  resembling 
that  of  the  pear  tree,  is  useful  for  various  do- 
mestic vessels,  as  well  as  for  the  smaller  im- 
plements of  husbandry. 

MEDULLA,  or  MEDULLIN  (Lat.)  Marrow. 
In  botany  that  tissue  which  constitutes  the 
pith  of  certain  plants,  as  the  pith  of  the  sun- 
flower. Medullary  roys  are  the  vertical  plates 
of  cellular  tissue,  which  radiate  from  the  centre 
of  the  stem  of  exogenous  plants,  through  the 
wood  to  the  bark.  They  cause  that  appearance 
in  timber  which  carpenters  call  silver  grain, 
or  flower  of  the  wood.  The  medullary  sheath  is 
a  thin  layer  of  vessels,  which  surround  the 


pulp  of  exogenous  plants,  and  thenct  extend 
into  the  leaves  and  parts  of  fructification. 

MELIC-GRASS  (Melica,  from  mel,  honey ;  the 
Italian  name  of  the  great  millet).  A  genus  of 
perennial  harsh  grasses,  with  slender,  oblong 
panicles  of  elegant,  often  drooping,  flowers, 
greatly  varied  in  the  different  species.  There 
are,  in  England,  three  indigenous  species. 
1.  Wood  melic-grass  (M.  uniflora).  2.  Moun- 
tain melic-grass  {M.  nutans),  found  in  the 
mountains  of  England  and  Scotland.  3.  Pur- 
ple melic-grass  (^M.  ccerulea). 

For  the  purpose  of  pasture  or  hay,  these 
grasses  are  comparatively  of  no  value.  The 
country  people  make  of  the  tough  straws  a 
neat  kind  of  besoms,  which  they  sell  to  the 
neighbouring  inhabitants  as  a  cheap,  and  no 
despicable  substitute,  for  hair  brooms:  they 
are  even  made  into  baskets  where  better  mate- 
rials are  rare.  Mr.  George  Sinclair  made  some 
experiments  on  an  exotic  species,  the  fringed 
or  ciliated  melic-grass  {M.  ci/ia^«),  which  grows 
wild  in  Germany  on  hilly  grounds,  downs,  and 
by  the  margins  of  woods;  but  the  result  of  his 
observations  only  went  to  prove  that  it  was 
one  of  the  inferior  grasses  with  respect  to 
produce,  nutritive  qualities,  and  reproductive 
powers. 

MELILOT,  COMMON,  Melilot  Trefoil, 
King's  clover.  Hart's  clover.  PI.  10,  6.  {Trifo- 
lium  officinale,)  This  plant  is  very  nearly  allied 
to  the  long-rooted  clover:  the  tapering  root, 
however,  appears  to  be  strictly  annual.  The 
lower  leaves  are  oblong,  wedge-shaped ;  the 
upper  ones  elliptical :  they  are  more  serrate, 
and  smaller  in  every  respect  than  those  of  the 
long-rooted  clover.  The  flowers  are  smaller 
and  more  drooping.  The  legume  contains 
often  more  than  two  seeds,  which  is  seldom  or 
never  the  case  in  the  long-rooted  clover. 

In  England  the  common  melilot  grows  wild 
in  thickets,  hedges,  and  the  borders  of  fields, 
sometimes  among  corn.  Stem  2  or  3  feet  high, 
erect.  Clusters  unilateral,  2  inches  or  more 
in  length,  on  long  axillary  footstalks.  Flowers 
numerous,  all  drooping  towards  one  side,  of  a 
full  yellow,  veiny.  Stipules  awl-shaped.  Le- 
gumes prominent,  acute,  transversely  wrinkled, 
hairy. 

All  the  species  of  live-stock  are  said  to  eat 
this  clover.  The  whole  plant  in  drying  acquires 
a  scent  like  new  hay,  but  far  stronger.  The 
seeds,  when  n.ixed  with  bread-corn,  give  it  a 
nauseous  flavour.  This  plant,  or  a  variety  of 
it,  is  used  in  Making  the  Swiss  cheese  called 
schabzieger.  It  is  ground  in  a  mill,  and  mixed 
with  the  curd  into  a  kind  of  paste,  which  is 
put  into  conical  moulds,  and  there  dried.     See 

ScHABZIEGKR. 

From  the  experience  of  Sinclair  and  others, 
this  plant  appears  to  be  very  much  inferior  tc 
the  long-rooted  clover,  and  cannot  be  put  to 
any  use  for  which  that  species  is  not  equally 
good  or  superior :  it  grows  chiefly  in  clayey 
soils.  In  very  exposed  situations  it  attains 
only  to  a  small  size;  while  in  such  as  arc 
sheltered  it  sometimes  reaches  to  the  height  of 
six  feet.  It  ripens  an  abundance  of  seed,  and 
flowers  in  the  third  or  last  week  of  June. 
Melilot  is  out  of  use  in  medicine,  though  it 
served  too  long  to  give  a  green  colour  and  an 
3  Y  805 


MELILOTUS. 


MELON  CULTURE. 


odious  scent  to  a  sort  of  blister  plaster,  called  [ 
by  its  name,  of  no  use  whatever.  j 

MELILOTUS  (Lat.  mel,  honey,  and  lotus,  a  ' 
leguminous  plant).    The  plants  are  similar  to  i 
the  lotus,  and  are  the  favourite  haunt  of  bees.  | 
These  are,  for  the  most  part,  honey-scented  | 
plants,  with   upright  stems,   and    long  erect 
racemes  of  small  yellow  or  white  flowers,  re- 
sembling those  of  clover,  of  which  they  were 
formerly  considered  distinct  species.     In  some 
parts  of  Europe  two  or  three  varieties  are  cul- 
tivated as  annual  fodder  plants. 

The  Mclilotus  leiccantha  major  is  the  celebrated 
Bohkara  Tree  Clover,  a  plant  which  Mr.  Robert 
Arthur,  of  Edinburgh,  says,  "claims  a  place  in 
every  flower-garden,  for  its  beauty.  It  is  an 
herbaceous  '^>lant  of  very  striking  appearance, 
10  or  \'4  feet  in  height,  covered  with  spikes  of 
white  pea-blossoms,  which  also  shed  a  sweet 
perfume.  Hence  it  is  sometimes  called  Sweet 
Flowering  Clover. 

"I  esteem  its  value  in  agriculture  of  greater 
importance.  The  objections  to  its  cultivation 
are,  that  cattle  give  a  preference  to  other  green 
food,  and  that  the  stem  contains  too  much 
woody  fibre.  The  plant,  however,  is  new  to 
Britain,  and  we  know  that  man  and  animals 
frequently  require  successive  trials  of  new 
food  before  taste  is  acquired  for  it.  As  a  proof 
of  this,  I  understand  that  some  cattle  are  get- 
ting very  fond  of  this  clover;  and  we  know 
that  the  tissue  of  plants  in  general  is  changed 
more  and  more  into  woody  fibre  as  they  pro- 
gress towards  maturity.  Nature  increases  the 
woody  fibre  of  this  clover  for  support  as  it 
elongates  its  gigantic  stem.  If,  however,  it  is 
cut  for  cattle,  when  about  2  feet  in  height,  it 
will  be  found  nearly  as  succulent  as  the  com- 
mon red  clover. 

"I  exhibited  plants  of  it  at  the  Highland  So- 
ciety's show,  last  September,  9  feet  in  height, 
bemg  the  second  crop  of  it  that  season,  from 
poor  sandy  land.  I  know  no  plant  whatever 
that  will  produce  so  much  weight  of  vegetable 
matter  in  equal  time  and  space ;  and  were  it 
only  for  the  production  of  vegetable  manure,  it 
is  a  boon  to  the  agricultural  world.  In  my  ex- 
periments with  it  last  summer,  as  a  manure, 
for  new  varieties  of  Alsike  (1)  Clover,  I  found 
it  the  very  best  and  cheapest  manure. 

"  In  the  economical  formation  of  manure,  it 
might  be  liberally  supplied,  with  other  food, 
throughout  the  summer,  to  young  cattle  and 
pigs,  in  an  open  straw-yard  profusely  bedded 
over  with  layers  of  turf,  peat-earth,  whins, 
broom,  brushwood,  ferns,  straw,  weeds,  &c., 
and  thus  save  much  outlay  on  the  purchase  of 
foreign  manures. 

"  TJie  Bokhara  Clover  may  be  sown  at  any 
time  throughout  the  growing  season ;  but  the 
most  profitable  time  to  sow  it  is  immediately 
after  a  crop  of  early  potatoes,  or  even  after 
grass,  barley,  wheat,  &c.  The  land  being  well 
manured,  ploughed  over,  and  harrowed  smooth, 
it  may  be  sown  in  shallow  drills  18  inches 
apart;  being  cut  once  in  autumn,  it  will  pro- 
duce a  much  earlier  spring  crop  than  tares, 
Italian  rye-grass,  &c.  It  should  always  be  cut 
very  close  to  the  ground,  as  the  shoots  pro- 
'iuced  from  beneath  the  surface  are  the  most 
uxuriant,  and  it  will  thus  stand  a  severe  win- 
806 


ter  much  belter  than  when  its  vitality  is  ex- 
posed on  long  stubble.  Treated  in  this  way 
with  me,  it  stood  two  successive  winters,  and 
acquired  all  the  characteristics  of  a  perennial 
root.  I  have  no  doubt  of  its  continuing  pe- 
rennial and  more  vigjrous  with  the  age  of  the 
plants,  if  only  cut  close  in  autumn,  and  top- 
dressed  with  rich  compost." 

Mr.  James  Gowen,  who  resides  at  Moun 
Airy,  near  Philadelphia,  has  been  much  in  the 
practice  of  keeping  up  a  considerable  stock  of 
urlcommonly  fine  cattle,  and  soiling  them  in 
summer  upon  lucern,  rye,  and  red  clover. 
He  has  raised  patches  of  the  melilotus,  and 
from  his  observation  says,  "  there  is  no  grass 
or  plant  I  have  yet  seen  that  affords  to  me  such 
promise  as  the  Sweet-scented  or  Bokhara 
Clover."     {Cultivator,  Nov.  1842.) 

MELON,  THE  COMMON,  or  MUSK  (Cu- 
cumis  melo).  An  herbaceous,  succulent,  climb- 
ing, or  trailing  annual,  cultivated  for  its  fruit 
in  hot  eastern  countries  from  time  immemorial. 
The  varieties  of  the  melon  are  numerous  ;  yet 
few  of  them  comparatively  are  worthy  of  cul- 
tivation in  England.  The  larger  varieties  espe- 
cially are  deficient  in  flavour  and  richness. 
Mr.  Knight  says,  that  whoever  is  acquainted 
with  the  green-fleshed,  and  Salonica,  or  white- 
fleshed,  will  cultivate  no  other. 

The  cantaleups  are  varieties  characterized 
by  their  rinds  being  universally  covered  with 
reticulations.  With  the  exception  of  the  green, 
or  oblong-ribbed,  these  bear  round  fruit,  more 
or  less  approaching  a  flattened  spheroid.  Their 
common  name  is  derived  from  that  of  one  of 
the  country-seats  of  the  pope,  where  they  are 
much  cultivated. 

MELON  CULTURE.  The  warm  summers 
of  the  Southern  and  most  of  the  Middle  States, 
are  highly  favourable  to  the  culture  of  melons 
of  every  description,  which  in  some  places 
constitute  a  very  profitable  crop.  The  follow- 
ing communication  relative  to  the  culture  of 
the  musk  melon  or  cantaleup,  addressed  to  the 
Editor  of  the  Cultivator,hY  T.  G.  Bergen,  a  per- 
son well  versed  in  the  business,  will  show  how 
this  is  managed  on  Long  Island,  for  the  New 
York  market: 

The  kind  which  we  at  present  cultivate, 
says  Mr.  Bergen,  and  with  which  the  New 
York  market  is  principally  supplied,  is  known 
among  us  by  the  name  of  Skillman  melons. 
They  average  about  6  inches  in  diameter,  are 
nearly  round,  have  a  rough  skin,  and  their 
flesh  is  of  a  green  colour.  This  is  the  sixth 
variety  which  has  been  in  vogue  during  my 
recollection,  and  the  finest  of  them  all.  The 
seed  from  which  all  these  varieties  originated, 
I  believe  to  have  been  imported  from  the  coasts 
of  the  Mediterranean.  They  soon  degenerate 
unless  care  is  taken  in  the  selection  of  the 
seed.  We  prefer  for  melons  a  rich  sandy  soil, 
and  on  this  they  flourish  better  than  on  any 
other,  and  are  not  so  liable  to  speck  in  rainy 
weather.  When  planted  on  a  red  clover  sod  I 
have  seldom  failed  having  a  good  crop;  but 
when  this  is  not  to  be  had,  we  prefer  preparing 
the  ground  by  sowing  with  rye  in  August  or 
September  of  the  preceding  year,  as  described 
in  my  former  communication  on  the  cultiva- 
tion of  cucumbers :  the  ground  is  also  pre- 


oared  i 


MELON  PUMPKIN. 


pared  m  a  similar  manner  in  the  spring, 
except  that  the  hills  are  furrowed  5  feet  apart, 
and  the  same  kind  and  quantity  of  manure 
made  use  of. 

We  f^enerally  commence  planting  about  a 
week  later  than  we  do  cucumbers,  but  occa- 
sionally at  the  same  time,  dropping  from  20  to 
30  seeds  into  a  hill,  and  covering  them  about 
an  inch  deep  with  fine  soil.  Eight  or  10  days 
after  putting  in  the  first  seed  we  commence 
planting  over,  which  we  seldom  perform  the 
second  lime,  unless  by  examination  we  find  the 
first  seed  about  to  fail.  The  seed  of  melons 
is  not  so  liable  to  rot  as  that  of  cucumbers,  but 
long  storms  are  very  apt  to  destroy  the  young 
plants,  and  they  will  even  produce  great  injury 
when  the  plants  have  vined  from  off  the  hills. 
In  1837,  a  succession  of  wet  weather  caused 
the  ends  of  the  principal  part  of  the  melon- 
vines  in  our  vicinity  to  die  as  late  as  the  8th 
of  July;  but  mine  fortunately  did  not  suffer  as 
much  as  those  of  my  neighbours.  We  cuhi- 
vate  the  plants  in  the  same  manner  as  cucum- 
bers, except  that  in  hoeing  it  is  generally  ne- 
cessary to  remove  a  small  portion  of  the  soil 
from  between  them,  in  consequence  of  their 
being  too  short  to  admit  of  the  young  weeds 
being  covered  without  injury  to  the  plants. 
We  gradually  thin  them  down  to  4  in  a  hill, 
standing  from  5  to  6  inches  apart.  The  plants 
are  liable  to  the  depredations  of  the  same  spe- 
cies of  insects  which  prey  upon  cucumbers, 
and  they  are  destroyed  in  the  same  manner. 

Melon  vines  are  in  bearing  from  5  to  6 
weeks ;  whenever  a  drought  occurs,  this  period 
is  much  less,  for  that  of  1838  finished  mine  in 
4  weeks.  They  often  bear  a  second  crop, 
which  answers  for  pickling,  but  I  have  known 
this  crop  to  come  to  perfection. 

When  the  fruit  is  ripe,  it  requires  to  be 
gathered  every  day,  otherwise  there  would  be 
large  quantities  lost  in  consequence  of  be- 
coming too  ripe  and  soft.  When  ripe,  they 
have  a  yellowish  colour;  but  such  as  are 
cracked  around  the  stem  and  come  off  easily 
from  the  vines,  we  always  gather,  for  they  will 
be  fit  for  eating  by  the  next  day,  when  sold  in 
the  markets. 

To  insure  good  crops,  melons  should  not -be 
planted  two  years  in  succession  on  the  same 
ground  ;  they  require  a  rotation.  Marshall,  an 
English  writer,  recommends  the  carrying  of 
cucumber  and  melon  seeds  a  week  or  two  in 
the  breeches  pockets  previous  to  planting,  to 
dry  away  some  of  the  more  watery  particles: 
were  we  believers  of  this  doctrine,  it  would  be 
a  difficult  matter,  and  require  large  pockets  or 
a  regiment  of  small  ones  to  carry  it  into  prac- 
tice, since  some  of  us,  to  secure  our  crops, 
plant  from  3  to  4  bushels  of  seed  in  a  season. 

The  following  is  the  number  of  hills  planted, 
produce  (large  quantities  of  unsaleable  ones 
fed  to  the  hogs  excepted),  and  amount  of  sales 
for  the  preceding  4  years  :  viz. 


Tear. 
1835 
1936 
1837 


Hilli  planted. 

6,664 
7,850 
8,011 
7,590 


Bushels  sold. 

1,133 

561 

990 

823 


Amount  received. 

#939  10 

590  57 

913  56 

713  96 


MELON  PUMPKIN,  or  SQUASH  (Cucur- 
Hia  tttelopepo).     See  Sq.vash. 


METEOROLOGY. 

MELON,  WATER  (Cummis  dtrullus).  A 
plant  well  known  in  the  United  States  for  its 
delicious  and  refreshing  fruit.  To  acquire  the 
greatest  perfection  it  demands  a  warm  and 
sandy  soil,  and  this  it  finds  in  New  Jersey,  and 
more  Southern  States,  where  the  water-melon 
is  extensively  cultivated.  There  are  several 
varieties,  such  as  the  long  and  striped  Caro- 
lina, the  more  round  and  dark-skinned  Spanish, 
&c.  In  some  parts  of  southern  Russia,  a  kind 
of  beer  is  brewed  from  their  very  abundant 
and  cheap  water-melons,  with  the  addition  of 
hops:  they  also  prepare  a  conserve  or  marmo- 
lade  from  this  fruit,  which  is  a  good  substitute 
for  syrup  or  molasses. 

MENDING.  A  country  term  used  to  signify 
the  improving  the  quality  or  texture  of  land  by 
the  application  of  manure. 

MERCURY  (Merairialis).  These  are  re- 
garded as  mere  weeds,  possessing  narcotic, 
fetid,  and  dangerous  qualities. 

MERINO  SHEEP.     See  Sheep. 

MESLIN.  A  term  applied  in  New  England 
to  the  crop  of  peas  and  oats  when  sown  to- 
gether 

MESLIN-CORN.  A  term  applied  to  wheat 
and  rye  produced  in  a  state  of  moisture. 

METEOROLOGY.  The  science  of  meteors, 
or  the  science  which  explains  the  various  phe- 
nomena which  have  their  origin  in  the  atmo- 
sphere. Under  the  term  meteorology,  it  is  now 
usual  to  include  not  merely  the  observation  of 
the  accidental  phenomena  to  which  the  name 
of  meteor  is  applied,  but  every  terrestrial  as 
well  as  atmospherical  phenomenon,  whether 
accidental  or  permanent,  depending  on  the  ac- 
tion of  heat,  light,  electricity,  and  magnetism. 
In  this  extended  signification,  meteorology 
comprehends  climatology,  and  the  greater  part 
of  physical  geography;  and  its  object  is  to  de- 
termine the  diversified  and  incessantly  chang- 
ing influences  of  the  four  great  agents  of  na- 
ture now  named,  on  land,  in  the  sea,  and  in  the 
atmosphere.  It  is  the  object  of  meteorology  to 
investigate  and  discover  the  modes  of  opera- 
tion, and  the  causes  instrumental,  as  well  as 
final,  of  the  multitude  of  interesting  phenomena 
which  exercise  an  influence  on  the  animal  and 
vegetable  kingdoms.  To  this  science  belongs 
the  examination  of  the  force  of  radiation  from 
the  sun,  or  the  temperature  directly  produced 
by  his  beams ;  the  inquiry  into  the  constitu- 
tion, mechanical  as  well  as  chemical,  of  that 
intimate  intermixture  of  gaseous  bodies  which 
is  the  subject  of  what  are  called  atmospheric 
changes ;  the  scrutiny  of  the  laws  governing 
the  variations  of  climate:  that  also  of  those 
which  regulate  the  diminution  of  heat  in  the 
atmosphere,  in  proportion  to  the  altitude ;  the 
developement  of  the  principles  determining  the 
quantity  and  state  of  the  aqueous  portion  of  the 
atmosphere ;  and  the  acquirement  of  know- 
ledge, in  short,  on  every  subject  of  science 
presented  by  the  atmosphere  itself,  or  by  its 
modes  of  relation  to  the  aqueous  and  mineral 
kingdoms,  and  the  general  laws  of  its  influence 
on  organized  matter.  This  branch  of  natural 
history  also  comprehends  the  examination  of 
two  great  series  of  phenomena,  not  strictly 
comprised  by  the  foregoing  enumeration;  by 
which,  on   the  one  side,  its    boundaries  are 

807 


METEORS. 


MIGNONETTE. 


united  with  those  of  physical  geography,  and 
on  the  other  side  with  those  of  astronomy. 
The  temperature  of  the  interior  of  the  earth  it- 
self, and  that  of  the  ocean,  as  well  at  the  sur- 
face as  at  every  accessible  depth — subjects  of 
the  greatest  interest,  with  respect  not  only  to 
the  present  state  of  the  earth,  but  also  to  its 
former  physical  condition — are  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  temperature  and  other  af- 
fections of  the  atmosphere,  that  the  study  of 
them  becomes,  in  fact,  a  department  of  mete- 
orology. And  the  various  Ifinds  of  luminous 
and  igneous  meteors  which  appear  within  the 
atmosphere,  though  some  of  them  originate,  in 
all  probability,  in  distant  regions  of  the  solar 
system, — such  as  the  zodiacal  light,  the  polar 
lights,  or  aurora  borealis  and  australis;  the 
meteors  called  shooting  stars,  and  the  stupen- 
dous masses  of  matter  in  combustion  caWed  fire- 
balls, which  cast  down  upon  earth  immense 
blocks  of  red-hot  iron,  or  showers  of  heated 
stones, — constitute  another  wide  field  of  mete- 
orological inquiry.  This  interesting  branch  of 
science  must  ever  command  the  especial  con- 
sideration of  the  shepherd,  the  farmer,  and  the 
cultivator  of  the  soil  in  general. 

METEORS.  A  name  given  to  any  pheno- 
mena of  a  transitory  nature  originating  in  the 
atmosphere.  Meteors  are  of  various  kinds: 
some  are  produced  simply  by  a  disturbance  of 
the  equilibrium  of  the  atmospheric  fluid,  and 
are  called  aerial  meteors^  such  are  Wixns, 
Whirlwixds,  &c.  a  second  class  arise  from 
the  deposition  of  the  aqueous  particles  which 
the  atmosphere  holds  in  solution,  and  which 
are  precipitated  in  consequence  of  a  dimi- 
nution of  pressure  or  temperature,  sometimes 
in  a  fluid  and  sometimes  in  a  concrete  form. 
These  are  called  aqueous  meteors,  as  Dew,  Fogs, 
Hail,  Raix,  Sxow,  Vapour,  &c.  A  third  class 
of  meteors  or  atmospheric  phenomena  are 
caused  by  the  action  of  the  aqueous  particles 
dispersed  in  the  atmosphere,  or  the  rays  of 
light.  These  are  called  luminous  meteors,  and 
comprise  fata  morgana,  halo,  mirage,  parhelia, 
the  rainbow,  &c.  A  fourth  class  are  the  igne- 
ous meteors,  comprehending  those  which  present 
the  phenomena  distinctive  of  combustion. 
See  Aerolite,  NoRTHEUif  Lights,  Lightning, 
Shootixg  Stars,  &c. 

METHEGLIN  (Germ,  we^/i,  mead).  A  be- 
verage made  of  honey  and  water,  fermented  by 
the  addition  of  yeast.     See  Mead. 

MEZEREON,  or  SPURGE  OLIVE  {Daphne 
mezereum).  This  is  a  pretty  shrub,  indigenous 
to  England,  where  it  grows  wild  in  woods,  but 
is  not  common.  The  stem  is  bushy,  4  or  5 
feet  high,  with  upright,  alternate,  smooth, 
tough,  and  pliant  branches  ;  leafy  while  young. 
The  flowers  are  pale  garnet-coloured,  highly, 
and  to  many  persons  too  powerfully  fragrant, 
seated  in  little  tufts  on  the  smaller  branches. 
The  scarlet  berries,  which  are  the  favourite 
food  of  some  species  of  finch  (Loxia)  are  poi- 
sonous to  many  animals.  There  are  varieties 
with  pink  and  white  flowers ;  and  the  berries 
also  vary  to  a  yellow  or  orange  hue.  The 
bark  of  the  root  is  employed  in  medicine.  It 
is  excitant  and  sudorific.  The  active  principle 
is    a    fixed    acrid    aloe    resin.    See   Spuhgk 

LiUREL. 

<i08 


MICA.  A  well-known  mineral,  with  a  pearly, 
metallic  lustre,  consisting  of  extremely  thin, elas- 
tic plates  or  layers  somewhat  resembling  glass. 
The  largest  sheets  are  brought  from  Siberia, 
and  used  instead  of  glass,  especially  to  enclose 
fire  where  it  is  desirable  to  see  the  flame,  as  in 
stoves,  &c.  Mica  enters  into  the  composition 
of  granite.  Its  specific  gravity  is  2-65.  When 
analyzed  it  is  shown  to  contain  potash,  mag- 
nesia, silica,  oxide  of  iron,  with  other  ingre^ 
dients  of  well-known  fertilizing  properties. 
(See  Geology.)  Hence,  where  any  of  these 
are  deficient  in  soils,  the  application  of  mica 
must  be  advantageous. 

MICE  (Mus).  A  very  destructive  sort  of 
vermin  to  many  of  the  cultivator's  growing 
and  housed  crops,  and  which  should,  therefore, 
be  destroyed  as  soon  as  possible.  Cats,  dogs, 
owls,  snakes,  and  hedge-hogs  are  the  natural 
enemies  of  rats  and  mice,  and  should,  therefore, 
be  encouraged  about  the  farm. 

To  destroy  Rats  and  Mice  in  Corn  Stacks. — The 
following  method  was  adopted  by  the  late  Mr. 
John  Gibson,  of  Millbeck  Hall,  Keswick,  and  is 
still  continued  by  his  son,  Mr.  Joseph  Gibson, 
of  the  same  place,  with  never-failing  success. 
It  is  accomplished  by  simply  driving  in  a  few 
hedge-stakes,  at  about  4  feet  distance,  round  the 
stack  intended  to  be  housed,  and  having  a 
woollen  or  linen  web,  of  about  6-4ths  or  7-4ths 
wide,  upon  the  stakes,  so  as  to  be  perfectly  close 
at  the  bottom,  of  which  particular  care  must 
be  taken,  in  order  that  none  of  the  vermin  may 
creep  under  the  folds.  It  is  certain  that  none 
will  attempt  to  climb  over  the  top,  and  it  mat- 
ters not  whether  there  are  fifty  or  a  hundred 
within  the  enclosed  area,  they  will  be  quite 
safe.  An  active  lad  and  a  dog  may  easily  de- 
stroy any  number,  and  he  must  be  a  clumsy 
fellow  if  he  lose  one  in  a  hundred.  A  few 
neighbours,  by  subscribing  about  2s.  6rf.  each, 
might  get  an  article  at  lOd.Si  yard  that  would 
serve  them  all  for  about  20  years.  If  the 
above  simple  method  were  generally  adopted 
for  a  short  time,  those  destructive  enemies  to 
the  stack-yard  would  soon  be  considerably  re- 
duced. A  correspondent  of  the  Mark  Lane  Ex- 
press suggests  the  following  plan  for  the  de- 
struction of  these  obnoxious  vermin.  Feed 
with  flour  and  a  few  sweet  almonds  bruised 
and  mixed  together  with  a  small  quantity  of 
treacle,  to  form  a  paste  (add  a  few  drops  of  oil 
of  aniseed),  for  5  or  6  nights,  until  they  take 
it  freely,  never  laying  more  of  the  mixture  than 
they  will  eat  up  cle^n  ;  then  add  a  teaspoonful 
of  carbonate  of  barytes  to  about  a  pound  of  the 
paste.  I  prefer  the  barytes  to  arsenic,  it  being 
free  from  the  sour  taste  of  the  arsenic,  which  the 
rats  will  never  take  a  second  time.  By  using 
the  above  composition,  I  have  kept  my  pre- 
mises clear,  without  employing  a  rat-catcher, 
at  the  expense  of  a  few  shillings  a  year. 

MID-RIB.  In  botany,  the  middle  vein  of  a 
leaf,  which  passes  from  the  petiole  to  the  apex. 

MIGNONETTE  (Reseda,  to  calm  or  ap 
pease;  the  Latins  considered  its  application 
useful  in  external  bruises).  The  sweet  migno- 
nette (i?.  odorata)  is  an  old  and  universal  fa- 
vourite, on  account  of  the  very  pleasant  odour 
emitted  by  the  flowers.  Though  usually  an- 
nual, by  care  in  a  green-house  and  constantly 


MILDEW. 


MILDEW. 


pruning,  the   cultivated    mignonette  may  be 
rendered  perennial,  and  even  shrubby. 

MILDEW,  or  RUST.  Of  all  the  many  dis- 
eases which  attack  our  cultivated  plants,  not 
one  is  so  destructive  as  the  mildew.  It  is  the 
**  plague"  of  our  wheat  crops  ;  and  as  that  fatal 
distemper  is  always  lurking  in  some  district 
of  climes  warmer  than  our  own,  so  the  mil- 
dew is  always  in  our  fields,  waiting  for  cir- 
cumstances favourable  to  its  outspread,  and 
ready  to  destroy  the  expected  harvest  of  the 
husbandman.  So  constantly  present  is  this 
destructive  disorder,  that  in  the  fairest  fields 
of  wheat  grown  in  the  richest  corn  districts  of 
England,  and  in  the  most  genial  years,  I  never 
saw  a  single  acre  entirely  uninfected.  Every 
year  the  farmer  is  more  or  less  injured  by  this 
disease,  for  the  produce  of  each  acre  of  wheat 
is  unquestionably  reduced  annually  several 
bushels.  Yet  those  who  suffer  most  by  the  loss, 
the  farmers  themselves,  are  almost  universally 
ignorant  of  the  fact ;  and  their  attention  is 
rarely  arrested  by  it  till  a  year  occurs  in  which 
their  crop  of  wheat  is  nearly  annihilated. 

Its  prevailing  injurious  nature  was  well 
known  in  an  age  as  distant  as  that  of  the  He- 
brews ;  and  it  had  not  spared  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  Even  the  poets,  as  Horace  in  his 
Odes,  speak  of  it  as  the  "sterile  Rubigo"  {Car- 
min.  lib.  3,  ode  23)  ;  and  warning  voices  have 
not  been  since  wanting  to  speak  loudly  of  its 
ravages.  Mr.  Marshall  says,  "  a  certain  pre- 
ventive of  the  mildew  would  be  a  discovery 
worth  millions  to  this  country;"  andmany  others 
have  coincided  in  this  estimate  of  its  injuries. 
This  disease  is  known  to  be  the  effect  pro- 
duced by  a  minute  fungus  belonging  to  a  genus 
closely  allied  to  that  which  causes  the  smut. 
The  roots  of  this  fungus  penetrate  the  vessels 
of  the  plant,  and  are  nourished  by  the  sap  in- 
tendo^  for  perfecting  its  seed ;  consequently, 
if  the  fungi  are  so  numerous  in  each  stem  as 
to  make  it  a  marked  "  mildew  year,"  the  grain 
is  either  partially  or  totally  shrivelled,  owing 
to  the  roots  of  these  parasites  intercepting  the 
sap  in  its  upward  passage. 

The  ignorance  relative  to  this  disease  is  not 
a  consequence  of  its  novelty,  since  it  has  been 
known  and  dreaded  in  the  earliest  ages  to 
which  our  knowledge  extends.  Thus,  when 
God  held  out  as  a  warning  to  the  Israelites  the 
afflictions  he  would  bring  on  them  if  disobe- 
dient, he  enumerated  the  pestilence  and  the 
sword  to  destroy  their  persons,  "with  blasting 
and  with  mildew,"  to  lay  waste  their  fields  {Deut. 
xxviii.«J2;  1  Kings  viii.  37;  2  Chron.  vi.  28)  ; 
and  when  the  same  Almighty  Being  had  pu- 
nished that  rebellious  people,  he  reminded 
them  by  his  prophet ;  "  I  have  smitten  you  with 
blasting  and  mildew ;  when  your  gardens  and 
your  vineyards,  and  your  fig  trees,  and  your 
olive  trees  increased,  the  palmer-worm  de- 
stroyed them."  {^mo8  iv.  9.)  "I  smote  you 
with  blasting,  and  with  mildew,  and  with  hail, 
in  aL  the  labours  of  your  hands."  (Hags;ai  ii. 
17.)  The  Hebrews  called  it  ynrcoon,  implying 
a  yellow  pallidness  arising  from  moisture.  To 
the  Greeks  it  was  known  as  erusibe,  t^vTiCn ;  and 
Theophrastus,  who  wrote  his  History  of  Plants 
about  320  years  before  the  Christian  era,  ob- 
serv^ps  (lib.  viii.  c.  10)  that  it  occurs  more 
102 


frequently  to  com  than  to  pulse ;  that  in  th*» 
climate  of  Greece  barley  was  more  subject  lo 
it  than  wheat,  and  particularly  a  variety  theu 
known  as  achUlum  barley.  Experience  had 
taught  them,  that  the  crops  on  high  lying  lands 
were  seldom  attacked  by  this  disease  ;  but  that 
the  hollows  surrounded  by  hills,  where  winds 
could  not  gel  at  the  crops  they  bore,  were  most 
frequently  infected.  It  is  chiefly  generated, 
concludes  Theophrastus,  during  the  full  moon. 
By  the  Romans,  the  mildew  was  denominated 
"rtibigo."  Pliny  informs  us,  in  his  History  of 
Plants  (lib.  vii.'c.  28  and  29),  that  it  was  the 
prevailing  opinion  that  this  disease  arises  from 
certain  dews  settling  upon  the  corn,  and  obtain- 
ing a  caustic  or  burning  quality  from  the  in- 
tense heat  of  the  sun.  This  naturalist  himself 
thought,  on  the  contrary,  that  the  disease  arises 
from  cold,  considering  that  infection  first  occurs 
during  the  sun,  and  always  about  the  new  or 
full  moon.  Pliny,  and  the  still  later  writers 
of  the  Geoponica  (for  this  work  is  composed  of 
fragments  of  Roman  writers  living  after  the 
removal  of  the  seat  of  empire  to  Constantino- 
ple, though  written  in  the  Greek  language), 
considered  that  the  best  remedies  were  stink- 
ing pungent  smokes ;  hence  they  recommended 
fish,  horns,  goat's  dung,  &c.,  to  be  burned  on 
such  side  of  the  field  as  would  enable  the 
wi-nd  to  diffuse  the  smoke  over  and  throughout 
the  crop.  They  evidently  had  the  same  pre- 
judice as  is  now  entertained  by  our  own  farm- 
ers, that  the  mists  which  frequently  prevail 
during  midday  in  the  hottest  periods  of  sum- 
mer are  the  cause  of  the  mildew;  for  they 
direct  those  fumigations  to  be  performed  at 
such  time  as  it  is  seen  in  the  atmosphere. 
They  also  thought  that  if  branches  of  the  laurel 
were  fixed  among  their  corn,  the  mildew  would 
pass  from  the  crops  to  those  branches.  {Geo- 
pan.  lib.  v.  c.  33  ;  Plinii  Hist.  Plant,  lib.  xvii.  c. 
17,  &c.)  One  of  their  practices  recommended 
is  much  more  rational,  namely,  to  bruise  the 
leaves  or  roots  of  the  colocynth,  to  macerate 
these  in  water,  and,  before  the  sun  has  risen, 
lo  sprinkle  the  infected  crop  with  the  liquor 
thus  obtained.  It  is  possible  that  the  juice  of 
the  colocynth,  which  is  a  violent  purgative  to  the 
human  system,  may  be  destructive  to  the  fungus 
constituting  the  disease.  It  approaches  to  that 
which,  in  modern  times,  has  been  found  the 
only  effectual  curative  treatment;  and  the  di- 
rection that  the  application  should  be  perform- 
ed in  the  morning  evinces  that  it  was  a  direction 
suggested  and  confirmed  by  experience.  Co- 
lumella (lib.  ii.  c.  12)  says,  that  hoeing  corn 
during  wet  weather  is  apt  to  induce  mildew. 

Some  modern  writers  have  considered  that 
the  rubigo  of  the  Romans  is  the  disease  known 
to  us  as  the  smut;  but,  independent  of  the 
name,  which  evidently  referred  to  the  red  or 
rusty  hue  of  the  disease,  and  which  is  not  a 
characteristic  of  the  last-named  disorder,  we 
have  the  direct  testimony  of  Virgil  (Gec^  I. 
150),  that  the  rubigo  was  a  disease  of  the  straw; 
his  words  are,  "Mox  et  frumentis  labor  addi- 
tus  ;  ut  mala  culmos  esset  rubigo,  &c." 

Horace    (Carmimm,  lib.  iii.  ode  xxiii.)  and 
Ovid  (Fast.  iv.  907)  speak  of  the  same  vege- 
table epidemic.     The  Greeks  and  Romans  were 
as  conscious  as  the  Hebrews  of  the  destruction 
3x2  809 


MILDEW. 


MILDEW. 


it  would  inflict  on  their  crops.  They  con- 
si  lered  it  as  the  instrument  of  vengeance  di- 
rected by  a  particular  deity,  to  whom  they  ap- 
plied the  same  appellation  as  to  the  disease 
itself.  {Schneider's  Scriptnrum  Rei  Rusticce,  vol.  i. 
pt.  ii.  p.  246.)  To  propitiate  this  presiding 
deity,  a  festival  entitled  Rubigalia,  was  institut- 
ed by  Numa  in  the  eleventh  year  of  his  reign, 
that  is,  704  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ.  It 
was  celebrated  annually  on  the  25th  of  April, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  grove,  at  the  fiftn 
milestone,  on  the  Claudian  Way, and  comprised 
sacrifices,  races,  and  obscenities.  Reddish- 
coloured  bitches  (»•«/«  canes')  were  sacrificed, 
because  the  lesser  dog-star  was  then  in  the 
heavens,  and  was  considered  unpropitious  to 
corn.  (Plinii  Hist.  Plant,  lib.  xviii.  c.  29  ;  Varii 
Flacci  Facti,  p.  63.) 

Ovid,  who  enters  fully  into  the  religious  per- 
formances of  the  festival,  says,  that  the  limbs 
of  a  sheep  and  the  entrails  of  a  dog  were 
ofl^ered  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  occasion ;  and 
that  the  priest  informed  him  that  he  knew  of 
no  reason  for  the  latter  animal  being  sacrificed, 
but  that  its  name  coincided  with  that  of  the 
constellation  which  at  that  season  was  appa- 
rent in  the  sky.  The  prayer  addressed  by  the 
priest  to  the  presiding  deity  marks  so  strongly 
their  knowledge  of  the  extent  and  inducements 
of  the  disease,  that  I  shall  give  a  nearly  literal 
translation  of  a  part : — 

"O,  blighting  Rubigo,  spare  the  corn-plants. 
And  let  tlie  ear  wave  gently  o'er  the  surface  of  the 

earth  : 
Suffer  the  crops  which  have  been  nourished  by  the 

propitious 
Stars  of  heaven,  to  grow  until  they  become  fit  for  the 

sickle. 
Thine  is  no  small  power;  the  crops  thou  hast  marked 
The  dispirited  cultivator  reckons  as  lost. 
Neither  winds,  nor  showers,  so  much  injure  the  corn  ; 
Neither  when  bitten  by  the  frost  does  it  acquire  a  hue 

so  pallid, 
As  if  the  sun  fervently  heats  the  moist  stalks; 
Then,  O !   dread  goddess,  is  the  opportunity  for  thy 

wrath; — 
Be  merciful,  I  pray,  and  withhold  your  rusting  hands 

from  the  crops ; 
Nor  harm  the  cultivated  land  :  it  is  sufficient  to  be  able 

to  do  harm." 

The  misty  weather,  mistaken  by  the  Roman 
cultivators  as  actually  a  cloud  of  mildew,  is 
only  one  of  many  numerous  instances  which 
might  be  quoted  where  causes  of  the  disease 
have  been  considered  to  be  the  disease  itself. 
To  enumerate  these  would  form  a  long  cata- 
logue of  mistakes ;  yet  these  I  should  not  he- 
sitate to  detail,  because  the  refutation  would 
incidentally  introduce  much  useful  informa- 
tion, but  that  they  will  for  the  most  part  be 
noticed  among  the  circumstances  which  pro- 
mote the  occurrence  and  aid  the  progress  of 
ihis  epidemic. 

The  first  person,  I  believe,  who  correctly 
pointed  out  the  nature  of  mildew,  was  Felice 
Fontana,  who,  in  the  year  1767,  published  at 
Lucca  a  very  particular  description  of  the  fun- 
gus occasioning  it,  in  a  work  entitled  "  Osser- 
vazione  bopra  la  Ruggine  del  Grano.'"'  Since  then 
it  has  engaged  the  attention  of  many  botanists, 
and  the  results  of  their  researches  have  been 
to  establish  it  as  a  distinct  species  of  fungus, 
•  hough  they  differ  as  to  the  genus  to  which 
v'ley  attach  it.  It  is  i\ie  Puccinia  graminis  of 
810 


Persoon  (Disp.  t.  3,  f.  3) ;  and  it  is  the  Uiedtfru* 
menti  of  Sowerby. 

In  Plate  2  there  is  a  representation  of  this 
fungi,  in  which 

I,  is  a  portion  of  wheat-straw  affected  with 
rust,  magnified,  to  show  the  parasitic  plant  or 
fungus,  giving  rise  to  the  disease  called  rust, 
blight,  and  mildew. 

m.  Another  portion  of  a  diseased  stem  in  a 
green  state,  and  before  the  fungus  is  quite  ripe. 

n,  The  small  portion  marked  1  (1),  still  more 
strongly  magnified. 

0,  p,  q,  r,  s,  t,  u,  Very  highly  magnified  repre- 
sentations of  the  fungus  parasite  in  diflferent 
stages  of  growth  and  maturity. 

0,  Shows  it  in  the  young  state;  jo,  full-grown; 
g,  two  plants  bursting  and  shedding  their  seeds 
when  under  water  in  the  microscope  ;  r,  two 
plants  bursting  in  a  dry  place ;  s,  apparently 
abortive;  t,  seeds  in  a  dry  state;  u,  a  small 
part  of  the  bottom  of  a  pore,  with  some  of  the 
parasitic  fungi  growing  upon  it. 

Rust  grows  on  the  leaves  and  stems  of  wheat, 
&c.,  appears  in  dense  diffuse  tufts,  often  con- 
fluent, forming  long,  parallel  lines  on  the  culms ; 
at  first  brownish-yellow,  but  changing  to  black. 
Sporidia  elongated,  clavate,  very  slightly  con- 
stricted at  the  septum  ;  upper  cell  the  shortest ; 
stipes  filiform.  It  must  not  be  confounded  with 
another  parasitical  fungus,  which  is  common 
upon  the  wheat-leaves  and  culms,  but  which  is 
not  so  injurious,  namely,  the  Uredo  rubigo,  of  De- 
candolle  (Flora  Franca,  vol.  vi.  p.  83).  Charac- 
terized by  spots  yellow ;  heaps  oval,  scattered, 
generally  epiguous  ;  epidermis  at  length  burst- 
ing longitudinally;  sporidia  sub-globose,  red- 
brown,  easily  dispersed.  If  the  straw  of  wheat 
be  examined  with  the  assistance  of  a  magnify- 
ing glass,  its  striped  surface  will  be  seen  to  arise 
from  longitudinal  partitions  of  the  outer  bark 
or  epidermis.  The  depressed  partitions  are 
furnished  throughout  their  length  with  I  or  2 
rows  of  pores  or  orifices,  which  seem  capable 
of  emitting  or  imbibing  moisture  as  the  wants 
of  the  plant  may  require.  Similar  pores, 
though  varying  in  form  and  arrangement,  per- 
vade the  leaves  and  chaff",  or  glumes ;  and  it 
is  in  these  pores  that  the  seeds  of  the  parasiti- 
cal Puccinice  obtain  admission,  and,  vegetating 
in  the  cavities  to  which  they  lead,  doubtless 
thrust  their  minute  roots  into  the  cellular  tex- 
ture beneath  the  bark,  and  intercept  for  their 
own  nourishment  that  sap  which  should  pro- 
ceed to  the  grain  for  its  developement  and 
completion.  The  corn  necessarily  becomes 
shrivelled,  proportionally  as  the  fungi  are  more 
or  less  numerous  on  the  plant;  and  as  it  is  the 
nutriment  that  would  have  perfected  the  inte- 
rior of  the  grain,  which  is  chiefly  extracted 
by  the  fungi,  for  the  exterior  form  is  nearly 
completed  before  the  mildew  occurs,  the  pro- 
portion of^ flour  to  bran  is  always  much  reduced. 
Sir  J.  Banks  observed,  in  1804,  which  was  a 
"mildew  year,"  that  some  of  the  wheat  would 
not  yield  from  a  sack  so  much  as  a  stone  of 
flour. 

Sir  Humphry,  then  Mr.  Davy,  placed  the 
loss  caused  by  this  fungus  beyond  a  doubt, 
by  chemical  analysis.  He  found  that  1000 
parts  of 


I 


MILDEW. 


Thin-Bkinnned  Sicilian  (  Gluien,  239  7 
1,  7.i2  5 


Floor. 
961 


Bran. 
39 


wheat  afforded  of    -  1  starch 

Mkliilesex  wheat,  ave-i  Gluten,  190)  q-,  ., 

i  Starch,  765  X  ®^^  *^ 

C  Gluten,  240 1  940  60 

1  Starch,  700 1  *""  ^ 


riisse  crop  - 
Sitriiig  wheat, 


Mildewed  wheat  of  1604. 


Gluten.  1: 
Starch,  520 


940 

650 


350 


Mildewed  wheat  of  1606|  gJi'Jch,'  178  }  ^'°  "^^ 
Showing,  in  one  instance,  a  loss  of  31  percent. 
of  flour  in  the  mildewed  when  compared  with 
the  average  English  wheat,  and  in  the  other  of 
nearly  74  per  cent.  (Klem.  of^gr.  Chem.  p.  150.) 
Mr.  W.  Jones  of  Wilmington,  Somerset,  found 
that  wheat,  partially  mildewed,  produced  one- 
fifth  less  of  flour  than  that  not  aflfecied. 

I  have  almost  always  been  able  to  detect  the 
Purriiiia  upon  the  lower  part  of  the  culms, 
generally  on  the  shoot-blade  (folia  vaganans), 
early  in  June;  but  il  is  not  till  the  following 
month  that  the  season  determines  whether  the 
ravages  of  this  fungus  will  be  more  than  ordi- 
narily extensive.  Throughout  July  the  English 
farmer  should  scrupulously,  and  almost  daily, 
examine  his  wheal  crop,  especially  that  which 
appears  strongest  and  most  luxuriant;  and  if 
he  detects  any  considerable  number  of  tufts  of 
the  fungus  upon  the  stems,  must  lose  no  time 
in  using  those  curative  measures  which  will 
be  detailed  in  the  close  of  this  article.  If  July 
is  hot  and  dry,  it  may  be  concluded,  without 
much  fear  of  disappointment,  that  there  will 
be  but  little  injury  incurred  by  the  mildew. 
The  reason  of  this  is  very  apparent;  for  in 
such  a  season  no  fungus  will  vegetate  vigor- 
ously. This  order  of  plants  invariably  delights 
and  flourishes  in  a  moist  atmosphere,  and  in  a 
subdued  light,  accompanied  by  gentle  warmth. 
A  muiigy  season  is  the  most  expressive  term  to 
describe  that  wherein  the  mildew  vegetates 
most  rapidly.  In  such  seasons  likewise,  it 
uidort^nately  happens  that  the  wheat  plants 
remain  longest  succulent,  their  pores  expanded, 
and  their  fibres  relaxed;  circumstances  pecu- 
liarly favourable  to  the  admission  of  the  seeds 
of  the  fungus,  to  their  vegetation,  and  to  the 
penetration  of  their  roots.  That  it  is  in  such 
seasons  the  Pticrinia  vegetates  most  rapidly  and 
extensively,  is  supportetl  by  the  observations 
of  others ;  for,  although  they  consider  such  a 
season  as  the  actual  cause  of  the  mildew,  their 
testimony  is  equally  valuable,  though  from  it 
they  have  drawn  erroneous  conclusions.  Thus, 
M.  Duhamel  says,  that  the  mildew  is  caused  by 
mild,  hazy,  or  gloomy  weather,  while  the  com 
is  at  the  height  of  its  vegetation  ;  that  is,  about 
the  time  of  its  blooming.  When  a  hot  sun  has 
succeeded  such  weather,  he  observed  the  wheat 
crops  mildewed  in  a  few  days.  He  always 
observed  wet  springs  very  productive  of  this 
disease  ;  but  it  rarely  occurs  in  clear,  dry,  hot 
years.  One  or  two  writers  have  given  most 
incomprehensible  theories  of  the  cause  of 
mildew. 

Mr.  R.  Somerville  concluded  that  the  mildew 
originates  from  the  attacks  of  insects  intro- 
duced with  the  manure ;  but  he  evidently  in- 
tended by  his  descriptions  the  minute  acarus 
(a  species  of  louse),  which  is  almost  always 
to  be  found  upon  decaying  vegetable  matter; 
and  in  the  cases  of  mildews,  this  insect  is  the 
follower,  not  the-  introducer,  of  the   disease. 


MILLEW. 

The  Abb^  Rozier,  in  his  "Dictionary,"  observes 
that  it  is  "caused  by  the  drops  of  fog  or  dew, 
dissipated  by  a  hot  sun ;"  an  opinion  which  is 
the  echo  of  Ovid's  verses  forming  part  of  the 
Flamen's  prayer  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Roman  crops  from  this  disease — 

"  Quantum,  si  cultiins  Titan  incalfacit  udos  ; 
Tunc  locus  est  irae  Diva  iremenda  tute." 

And  such  a  season,  as  I  have  before  observed, 
has  a  damp  atmosphere,  which,  above  all  other 
states  of  the  air,  is  favourable  to  the  vegetation 
of  this  Puccinia.  There  is  no  doubt,  also,  that 
in  such  seasons  vegetables  are  more  than  ordi- 
narily weak  and  prone  to  disease,  in  which 
condition  they  are  likely  to  become  the  prey 
of  parasitic  plants.  "The  application  of  cold 
water  to  the  plant,"  says  Mr.  Knight,  "on  which 
the  sun  is  shining  strongly,  is  very  injurious  to 
its  health,  and  therefore  likely  to  give  increased 
activity  to  any  disease  to  which  the  plant  is 
subject."  This  observation  follows  the  detail 
of  an  experiment,  in  which  he  found  that 
sprinkling  wheat  plants  growing  on  ground 
very  dry,  with  cold  water,  in  the  afternoon  of  a 
warm,  bright  day,  caused  them  to  be  exten- 
sively mildewed.  "A  considerable  absorption, 
therefore,  probably  took  place ;  and  to  this  ab- 
sorption," says  he,  "and  the  effects  of  a  sudden 
change  of  temperature,  as  secondary  causes,  I 
am  disposed  to  attribute  the  appearance  of  the 
disease ;  but  whether  the  seeds  of  the  mildew 
were  carried  into  the  pores  of  the  plants  by  the 
water,  or  existed  there  before,  is  a  question 
which  I  shall  not  attempt  to  solve."  (lianksy 
On  the  Blight  in  Corn,  p.  30.)  There  is  no  dif- 
ficulty in  accounting  whence  the  seeds  of  the 
fungi  came  :  for  Mr.  Knight  records,  in  the 
previous  page,  that  other  wheat  plants  close 
by  were  extensively  mildewed. 

The  observations  of  Mr.  Marshall,  which 
were  the  results  of  long  experience  in  many 
counties  in  England,  coincide  with  the  preced- 
ing opinions.  "In  a  dry,  warm  summer,"  he 
remarks,  "  which  is  well  known  to  be  favoura- 
ble to  the  health,  vigour,  and  productiveness 
of  the  wheat  crop,  the  seeds  of  the  fungi  are 
harmless,  so  long  as  the  fine  weather  continues. 
On  the  contrary,  in  a  cold,  wet  season,  which 
gives  languor  and  weakness  to  the  wheat 
plants,  few  crops  escape  entirely.  A  succes- 
sion of  cold  rains,  while  the  grain  is  forming, 
is  very  inducive."  Mr.  Marshall  previously 
concludes  that  "  The  fungi  are  an  effect,  not 
the  cause  of  the  disease ;"  an  error  which  is 
at  once  refuted  by  the  fact,  that  if  all  the  fungi 
are  removed  from  a  plant,  it  is  speedily  cured. 

Of  other  circumstances  favourable  or  unfa- 
vourable to  the  occurrence  or  exasperation  of 
mildew,  little  need  be  said,  because  they  have 
comparatively  little  influence  upon  its  occur- 
rence. All  soils  and  situations  are  liable  to 
its  incursions ;  for  it  is,  in  the  fullest  sense  of 
the  term,  epidemic.  The  soil  on  which  it  ap- 
pears the  most  rarely  is  a  tenacious  clay;  and 
that  on  which,  when  it  does  occur,  its  ravages 
are  the  most  extensive  and  destructive,  is  the 
light,  calcareous,  and  rich.  "  As  far  as  my  ob- 
servations extend,"  says  Mr.  Egremont,  "  the 
soils  wherein  clay  predominates  have  yielded 
crops  the  least  affected  by  the  mildew.  The 
soils  most  liable  to  have  their  crops  injurei! 

811 


MILDEW. 


MILDEW. 


particularly  that  of  wheat,  are  the  following, 
«nd  in  the  order  stated : — Peat  or  moor,  calca- 
reous, calcareous  loams,  sand,  sandy  loams, 
and  another  kind  not  found  in  any  great 
breadth,  but  in  patches,  chiefly  but  not  exclu- 
sively in  clayey  soils.  The  practical  farmer 
calls  it  gray  earth^  (Egremont*s  Obs.on  the  Mil- 
dew, p.  93.) 

The  slightly  superior  power  of  clayey  soils 
to  protect  the  crop  growing  upon  them  from 
being  the  most  severely  affected  by  the  mil- 
dew, probably  arises  from  the  temperature  of 
such  soils  being  less  liable  than  lighter  ones 
to  sudden  vicissitudes  of  temperature.  Dr. 
Hales  found,  in  the  month  of  August,  when  the 
temperature  of  the  air  and  of  the  surface  of 
the  soil  were  88°,  that  the  temperature  of  the 
soil  16  inches  below  the  surface  was  70°.  In 
October,  when  the  air  and  surface  were  at  35°, 
the  temperature  at  16  inches  beneath  was  48°, 
and  at  24  inches  50°.  This  statement  led  me 
to  make  a  few  experiments  upon  the  compara- 
tive rapidity  of  cooling,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
power  of  conducting  heat  of  various  soils;  and 
I  invariably  found,  that  the  mercury  in  a  ther- 
mometer, whose  bulb  was  buried  equally  deep 
in  a  silicious,  as  those  of  others  were  in  a  cal- 
careous and  in  an  aluminous  soil,  rose  most 
rapidly,  and  that  in  the  last-named  most  slowly. 
Their  rapidity  of  cooling  followed  the  same 
order.  Some  experiments  substantiating  the 
same  fact  will  be  found  in  Sir  H.  Davy's  Jlg- 
riculiural  Chemistry,  p.  179.  Every  gardener 
knows  the  injury  his  plants  sustain  from  sud- 
den vicissitudes  of  temperature.  "Whatever 
has  a  tendency  to  check  a  quick  and  great  loss 
of  heat  in  the  substances  which  surround  such 
vegetables,  particularly  their  roots,  will  be  best 
calculated  to  save  them  from  that  injury,  and 
from  vegetable  death ;  consequently,  those 
earths  which  are  the  worst  conductors  of  heat, 
or,  in  other  words,  are  the  longest  in  heating 
or  cooling,  will  be  most  favourable  in  resisting 
any  sudden  alteration,  and  the  vegetables 
growing  on  them  will  be  the  least  injured 
when  so  assailed."  (Egremont^s  Observations  en 
the  Mildew,  p.  30.) 

Situation  appears  to  have  rather  more  tute- 
lary power  than  the  soil,  since  I  have  invaria- 
bly found  the  wheat  growing  in  fields  lying  in 
closely  enclosed  valleys  more  frequently  and 
more  seriously  injured  by  mildew  than  those 
upon  elevated  exposures.  "A  Lincolnshire 
Farmer,"  Mr.  Lambreth  and  other  writers  in 
the  forty-fourth  vol.  of  the  Annals  of  Agriculture, 
agree  in  this  observation,  and  it  is  no  more  than 
might  be  anticipated  from  our  knowledge  of  the 
habits  of  the  fungus  tribe;  such  situations  being 
always  more  damp,  and  subject  to  a  moist, 
foggy  atmosphere. 

All  varieties  of  wheat  are  liable  to  the  disease, 
but  the  white  is  always  the  earliest  affected,  and 
the  bearded  or  rivet  the  last.  This  may  arise 
from  the  latter  variety  having  a  firmer  epider- 
mis, arising  from  its  containing  a  little  more 
silex,  and  thence  having  its  pores  less  easily 
acted  upon  by  atmospheric  changes,  and  con- 
sequently less  liable  to  the  entrance  of  the 
seeds  of  this  fungus.  Moreover,  the  hardneiis 
-^f  ♦he  epidermis  checks  their  rapid  outspre-d 
812 


when  vegetating.  Mr.  Sirs  considered  -spr^i/jf 
sown  wheat  not  liable  to  this  disease  ol  wic 
mildew,  and  that  is  the  general  opiiiion  in 
South  Holland.  Other  authorities  deny  that 
spring-wheat  is  exempted  from  it ;  and  to  this 
opinion  I  incline,  m  the  absence  of  any  thing 
like  decisive  knowledge  on  the  point. 

Early  souring  is  advisable,  because  the  wheat 
plants,  by  this  means,  have  a  chance  of  pass- 
ing the  time  of  blooming  before  they  are  ex- 
tensively attacked  ;  and  the  more  advanced  the 
growth  of  the  seed,  the  more  it  is  out  of  the 
power  of  this  parasite  to  check  its  perfection. 
Another  reason  suggested  by  Mr.  W.  Jones,  of 
Wilmington,  Somerset,  is,  that  when  sown  late 
the  plants  are  green  and  sappy  in  July,  and 
even  at  the  commencement  of  August,  the  sea- 
son in  which  the  cold  and  frosts  occur  that  are 
so  inducive  of  the  disease;  and  this  green 
state  necessarily  renders  them  more  than  ordi- 
narily liable  to  suffer  by  such  a  reduction  of  tem- 
perature. On  this  account  it  is  that  in  super- 
luxuriant  crops, and  plants  growing  upon  dung- 
hills, the  former  are  liable  to,  the  later  almost 
always  are  infected  by,  mildew.  Yet  the  time 
for  sowing  is  no  unfailing  preventive,  for  in 
"mildew  years"  all  crops  are  attacked;  and 
instances  have  occurred  where,  in  fields  sown 
in  September,  October,  and  November,  the  first 
and  the  last  have  been  most  injured. 

The  berberry  has  been  anathematized  as  a 
source  of  this  vegetable  pest;  but  I  have  never 
yet  met  with  any  facts  which  establish  the 
charge.  It  is  true  that  Rolesbury,  in  Norfolk, 
is  locally  known  as  "  mildew  Rolesbury,"  and 
that  the  berberry  abounds  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  that  village;  but  I  know  many  low- 
lying  arable  districts,  proverbially  liable  to  the 
mildew,  having  no  berberries  in  their  vicinity. 
It  is  true  that  a  band  of  mildew  has  been  traced 
across  a  field  of  wheat  from  a  berberry  bush 
growing  in  one  of  its  hedge-rows;  but  then  I 
have  seen  a  similar  track  of  the  disease  com- 
mencing from  an  oak.  It  is  also  true  that;  Mr. 
Knight,  the  late  excellent  president  of  the  Lon- 
don Horticultural  society,  found  wheat,  sprin- 
kled with  water,  in  which  berberry  branches 
had  been  washed,  speedily  became  infected 
with  the  mildew  ;  but  he  also  ascertained  that 
wheat  sprinkled  with  clear  water,  became 
similarly  diseased.  I  have  tried  many  experi- 
ments, with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  truth  or 
error  of  this  supposition,  but  have  not  suc- 
ceeded. However,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
parasite  which  affects  the  berberry  is  not  the 
Puccinia  graminis :  the  sporidia  are  dissimilar, 
and  the  colour  totally  unlike ;  but  it  maybe, 
and  certainly  much  resembles,  the  Uredo  rubigo. 
It  is  no  objection  to  say  that  the  identity  is  un- 
likely, because  the  plants  attacked  are  so 
widely  distant;  for,  as  already  noticed,  these 
parasites  will  vegetate  on  very  various  and 
even  dead  vegetable  matters.  The  parasite 
which  infects  the  leaves  of  the  berberry  is  the 
^cidium  berberidis :  it  is  a  beautiful  minute  gas- 
tro  mycus,  and  there  is  no  resemblance  be- 
tween it  and  the  rust  of  wheat,  except  in  colour. 
It  is  a  vulgar  error  to  suppose  that  an  JEcidium 
on  the  berberry  could  produce  a  Puccinia  on 
wheat."     See  Berberslt. 


MILDEW 


MILDEW. 


The  age  of  the  seeds,  the  thickness  of  sow- 
ing it,  and  previous  or  subsequent  cultivation, 
appear  to  have  no  preservative  influence ; 
therefore,  it  now  only  remains  to  consider 
whence  the  seeds  of  the  fungi  come  to  the 
crop,  which  will  lead  to  a  consideration  of  the 
modes  of  prevention ;  and,  lastly,  whether 
there  is  any  practicable  cure.  There  seems  to 
me  little  doubt  that  the  fungus  is  communi- 
cated from  the  soil  to  the  crop.  It  is  certainly 
not  conveyed  thither  with  the  seed-corn,  for  no 
washing,  no  cleansing,  nor  pickling  of  this  has 
ever  been  observed  to  have  any  effect.  In 
**  mildew  years,"  all  fields  of  any  infected  dis- 
tricts are  affected;  and  when  it  is  only  partial, 
one  end,  or  a  breadth  across  the  middle  of  a 
field,  of  which  the  seed  has  all  been  treated 
alike,  will  be  grievously  injured,  whilst  the 
other  parts  suffer  little  more  than  ordinarily ; 
for  I  have  previously  noticed,  every  year,  and 
in  all  fields,  the  mildew  is  partially  present. 
There  is  little  difficulty  in  accounting  for  this. 
Every  Puccinia  sheds  some  hundreds  of  seeds, 
more  minute  and  lighter  even  than  those  of 
the  puff-ball ;  and  as  every  wheat  crop  an- 
nually produces  some,  these  are  wafted  over 
neighbouring  closes  by  every  wind  during 
their  seeding-time,  which  is  chiefly  in  the 
months  between  May  and  October.  In  the  soil 
upon  which  those  seeds  alight,  they  attach 
themselves  to  the  stubble  or  other  matters,  and 
vegetate,  reproducing  seeds,  or  remaining 
without  germination  until  the  following  spring. 
This  fungus  has  also  the  characteristic  of 
spreading  by  stooling,  or  throwing  out  offsets. 
This  may  be  seen  if  its  progress  is  watched 
upon  any  culm  which  it  affects.  I  once  placed 
in  a  paper  box  some  pieces  of  straw  that  were 
more  completely  mildewed  than  any  I  had  be- 
fore observed;  this  was  left  during  the  whole 
winter  in  a  closet,  which  at  this  season  is  un- 
usually damp.  Upon  opening  the  box  in  the 
spring  following,  I  found  the  Pitrcinia  had 
grown,  and  spread  in  various  rectilinear  forms, 
upon  one  of  its  sides,  and  upon  the  bottom,  a 
fact  which  I  remember  to  have  seen  confirmed 
in  one  of  the  volumes  of  the  Quarterly  Jmirnal 
of  Scicure.  The  fungus,  then,  though  its  na- 
tural habitat  is  the  culm  of  the  wheat,  will 
vegetate  upon  other  vegetable  bodies ;  and  this 
satisfactorily  explains  the  mode  in  which  it 
may,  after  being  preserved  through  the  winter, 
be  conveyed  to  the  succeeding  year's  crop, — 
to  say  nothing  of  those  seeds  which  may  be  at- 
tached to  the  straw  of  the  preceding  year,  and 
be  conveyed  to  the  next  year's  crop  by  various 
modes. 

These  facts  demonstrate  that  prevention  is 
impossible  ;  for  however  careful  a  farmer  may 
be  to  avoid  every  source  whence  the  seeds  of 
the  Puccinia  may  arrive,  yet  every  summer 
wind  may  waft  them  to  his  crops  from  other, 
even  far-distant  lands.  To  prevent  the  com- 
munication to  the  wheat  from  the  soil  by  the 
stooling,  or  spreading  power  of  the  fungus,  it 
will  be  well  to  sprinkle  the  surface  with  salt, 
immediately  after  sowing,  at  the  rate  of  5  or  6 
bushels  to  the  acre;  and  in  the  spring,  early  in 
May,  to  apply,  in  a  similar  manner,  about  the 
same  quantity  of  caustic  fresh-slacked  lime, 


applications  of  which  are  not  only  destructive 
of  the  Puccinia,  but  also  of  slugs,  and  promote 
the  general  health  of  the  crop. 

For  testimonies  to  the  power  of  common 
salt  to  prevent,  in  some  instances,  the  occur- 
rence of  mildew,  I  would  refer  the  reader  to 
my  brother's  Essay  on  the  Uses  of  Salt,  p.  50 — 
60,  where  will  be  found  the  concurrent  tes- 
timony of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  Mr.  Sickler,  Rev. 
R.  Hoblyn,  Mr.  S,  Robinson,  Mr.  Wood,  and 
Dr.  Paris.  Mr.  Prevost,  quoted  by  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  states  that  the  sulphate  of  copper,  if 
dissolved  in  water  at  the  rate  of  3^  oz.  to  the 
gallon,  forms  a  solution  which  will  prevent  the 
attack  of  mildew  upon  the  wheat  plants  arising 
from  seed  which  has  been  steeped  in  it.  I  am 
afraid  it  has  no  such  power. 

Salt,  if  not  a  complete  preventive,  is  an  ef- 
fectual cure  of  the  mildew.  Mr.  Chatterton,  a 
Lincolnshire  farmer,  says,  in  the  44th  vol.  of 
the  Anfials  of  jlgric,  ihai  "on  the  sea-side  .the 
wheat  is  little  damaged  by  the  mildew,  yet 
within  3  miles  inland  the  crops  are  as  much 
affected  as  those  still  further  from  the  sea." 
This  fact  can  be  supported  by  the  experience 
of  most  farmers  whose  fields  skirt  our  native 
shores ;  and  unquestionably  it  is  owing,  not 
only  to  the  soil  containing  a  greater  proportion 
of  common  salt  than  is  found  in  more  inland 
soils,  but  because  the  sea-haze,  which  rises  al- 
most nightly  in  the  summer  season,  bathes,  as 
it  were,  the  crops  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  coast;  and  this  haze  holds  in  solution  a 
portion  of  salt. 

The  following  well-attested  communication 
front  the  late  Rev.  Edmund  Cartwright,  of  Hol- 
lenden  House,  near  Tunbridge,  is  conclusive 
on  this  subject,  and  gives  full  directions  to  the 
farmer  how  to  apply,  and  at  what  expense,  a 
practical  remedy. 

"It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  have  it  in  my 
power  to  furnish  you  with  some  information 
respecting  the  application  of  salt,  which,  per- 
haps, you  are  not  aware  of.  I,  and  a  neigh- 
bour of  mine,  have  applied  it  as  a  remedy  for 
the  mildew  in  wheat,  with  the  most  unequivo- 
cal success.  I  first  made  the  discovery  2  years 
ago ;  my  experiments  at  that  time  were  upon 
a  very  limited  scale;  they  have  this  year  ex- 
tended only  over  an  acre  and  a  half,  but  under 
circumstances  that  leave  not  a  shadow  of 
doubt  of  salt  being  an  absolute  specific  for 
mildew,  in  the  most  aggravated  stages  of  the 
disorder;  of  this  I  will  state  to  you  a  convinc- 
ing proof.  In  the  year  1818  I  found  a  few  ears 
of  wheat,  which  I  conceived  to  be  a  new  and 
improved  variety ;  from  these  ears  I  raised  as 
much  wheat  as  last  year  planted  a  land  4  feet 
wide  andlOO  yards  in  length  :  the  produce  I  had 
promised  to  Mr.  Coke;  and,  to  augment  that 
produce,  I  had  the  ground,  previously  ^  plant- 
ing, highly  manured ;  and  as  soon  as  the  wheat 
came  up  I  gave  it  a  good  dressing  with  soot, 
and  this  dressing  was  repeated  once  or  twice , 
in  consequence  of  this  superabundant  dressing, 
the  wheat,  as  might  indeed  have  been  expect- 
ed, was  as  rank  as  the  wheat  you  may  observe 
growing  accidentally  upon  a  dunghill,  which 
never  fails  to  rot  upon  the  ground,  without 
bringing  a  single  grain  to  maturity.    The  mil 

813 


MILDEW. 

dtw  made  its  appearance  on^thi .  particular 
part  of  my  field,  while  the  straw  was  quite 
green,  and  the  grain  in  a  milky  state  ;  notwith- 
standing the  danger  that  might  be  apprehended 
to  the  wheat  itself,  from  its  being  thus  succu- 
lent, I  ventured  to  give  it  a  dressing  with  salt 
and  water ;  as  a  heavy  shower  of  rain  fell  a 
few  hours  afterwards,  the  dressing  was  repeat- 
ed the  next  morning.  The  proportion  of  salt 
to  the  water,  1  pound  in  a  gallon,  laid  on  with 
a  plasterer's  brush,  the  operator  bearing  a  pail 
of  the  mixture  in  one  hand,  and  the  brush  in 
the  other,  making  his  casts  as  when  sowing 
corn,  or  else  with  a  common  watering-pot, 
which,  being  swung  with  great  force,  throws 
the  water  very  rapidly;  2  men  will  get  over 
about  4  acres  a  day — the  one  to  spread,  the 
other  to  supply  the  mixture.  The  result  was, 
that  the  mildew  was  completely  subdued,  and 
the  wheat  went  forward  to  maturity ;  and  al- 
though the  sample  was  not  so  bold  as  it  might 
have  been,  it  was  sound  and  marketable.  In 
other  parts  of  the  field  where  the  mildew 
showed  itself,  not  under  the  aggravated  circum- 
stances described  above,  but  as  it  usually  ap- 
pears, the  wheat  was  not  in  the  least  injured 
by  it  after  the  salt  and  water  was  applied;  it 
was,  indeed,  as  fine  a  sample  as  could  be 
grown.  Both  mine  and  my  neighbour's  wheat 
was  examined  by  many  practical  farmers,  who 
are  so  decidedly  convinced  of  the  efficacy  of 
my  remedy,  that  they  intend  never  to  be  with- 
out a  reserve  of  salt  ready  to  meet  the  enemy 
the  moment  he  appears.  The  efiect  of  the  salt 
upon  the  mildew,  to  those  who  do  not  consider 
the  manner  of  its  operation,  is  truly  astonish- 
ing; I  believe  it  to  be  instant  death  to  the  fungus; 
this,  however,  is  certain,  in  less  than  48  hours 
the  straw  nearly  recovers  its  original  colour 
and  brightness.  The  certainty  and  celerity  of 
its  operation  I  account  for  thus :  the  mildew, 
it  is  now  well  ascertained,  is  a  parasitical 
plant  of  the  fungus  tribe,  the  principal  con- 
stituent of  which  tribe  is  w^aler;  when  salt, 
therefore,  is  applied  to  them,  the  aqueous  par- 
ticles are  immediately  absorbed,  and  their 
vitality  destroyed.  The  action  of  salt  upon 
mushrooms,  as  in  making  mushroom  catsup, 
confirms  this  theory."  (Johnson^s  Essay  on  Salt, 
3d  ed.  p.  52—54.) 

I  can  afford  decided  testimony  to  the  efficacy 
of  the  cure  recommended  by  Mr.  Cartwright ; 
but  I  would  add  these  precautions.  The  safest 
quantity  of  salt  per  gallon  is  8  oz.,  and  then 
the  application  may  be  rendered  more  effectual 
by  frequent  repetition,  without  any  danger  of 
injury  to  the  plants.  If  the  application  is  not 
made  during  a  clouded  day,  it  is  best  to  defer 
it  until  the  evening.  Some  have  recommended 
a  rope,  held  at  its  extremities  by  two  men,  to  be 
<lrawn  up  and  down  each  ridge  of  the  infected 
crop  to  remove  the  fungus ;  and  there  is  no 
doubt  that  this  treatment  is  partially  effectual, 
for  the  parasite  is  removed  whenever  it  comes 
in  contact  with  the  rope,  but  the  points  of  con- 
tact necessarily  are  limited. 

Professor  Henslow  endeavours  to  prove  (by 
strengthening  with    additional    evidence    his  ; 
previously   expressed   opinions)   the   specific 
identity  of  the  fungi  producing  rust  and  mil-  . 
'ew.     See  RrsT,  Ergot,  Drt  Rot,  &c.  | 

814 


MILK. 

Mr.  John  Baker  of  Leeds,  in  commenting 
upon  my  brother's  essay,  is  of  opinion  that  the 
berberry  has  a  considerable  influence  in  the 
communication  of  the  mildew  to  wheat,  and 
gives  several  instances  which  seem  to  support 
his  view  of  the  case.  But  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  parasite  of  the  berberry  has  already 
been  mentioned,  and  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  repeat  that  the  one  cannot  produce  the 
other. 

MILE  (Lat.  Mille  pasuvm,  a  thousand  paces). 

The  following  table,  given  on  the  authority 
of  Kelly's  Cambist,  shows  the  length  of  the 
modern  mile,  and  also  the  league,  of  various 
countries,  and  their  relation  to  the  English 
statute  mile. 


Tanls. 

Stat  mile. 

Modern  Roman  mile 

J628 

•925 

English  statute  mile 

1760 

1-000 

Tuscan  mile      - 

1808 

1027 

Ancient  Scotish  mile 

1984 

1127 

Irish  mile 

2240 

1-273 

French  posting  league 

4263 

2422 

Spanish  judicial  league 

4635 

2-634 

Portugal  league 

6760 

3-841 

German  short  mile  - 

6859 

3-897 

Flanders  league 

6864 

3-900 

Spanish  common  league 

7416 

4-214 

Prussian  mile  - 

8237 

4-680 

Danish  mile      - 

8244 

4-684 

Dantzic  mile    - 

8475 

4-815 

Hungarian  mile 

-        9113 

5-178 

Swiss  mile 

_ 

9153 

5-201 

German  long  mile    - 

- 

-     10,126 

5-753 

Hanoverian  mile      - 

_ 

-     11,559 

6-568 

Swedish  mile    - 

- 

-     11,700 

6-648 

According  to  the  same  authority,  the  Arabian 
mile  is  2148  yards,  the  Persian  parasang  6086 
yards,  the  Russian  werst  1167  yards,  and  the 
Turkish  berri  1826  yards.  The  English  geo- 
graphical mile  is  l-60th  of  a  degree  of  latitude, 
or  about  2025  yards;  the  geographical  league  of 
England  and  France  is  3  such  miles,  or  6075 
yards;  and  the  German  geographical  mile  is 
equal  to  4  English  geographical  miles,  or  8100 
yards. 

MILFOIL,  THE  WOOLLY  YELLOW.  See 
Yarrow. 

MILIARY.  In  botany,  a  term  signifying 
granulated;  resembling  many  seeds. 

MILK  (Germ.  Milch).  A  well-known  fluid, 
secreted  by  animals,  for  the  nourishment  of 
their  young.  See  Lactometeh,  Bi7tt£r,Cheks£, 
Dairy,  Cattle,  &c. 

Cow's  milk  is  that  principally  used  by  Eu- 
ropeans; that  of  the  goat,  and  even  of  the  sheep, 
is  used  in  some  parts  of  Britain ;  that  of  the 
mare  is  a  favourite  beverage  in  Tartary  when 
it  is  fermented.  If  milk  be  left  at  rest,  the 
fatty  globules  separate,  rise  to  the  surface,  and 
form  cream ;  if  it  be  long  agitated,  they  attract 
oxygen,  coalesce,  and  form  butter. 

Milk  owes  its  whiteness  and  opacity  to  an 
emulsion  composed  of  the  caseous  matter  and 
butter,  with  sugar  of  milk,  extractive  matters, 
salts,  and  free  lactic  acid ;  the  latter  of  which 
causes  fresh  milk  to  redden  litmus  paper. 
Milk,  in  general,  contains  from  10  to  12  per 
cent,  of  solid  matter,  on  being  evaporated  to 
dryness  by  a  steam  heat.  The  mean  specific 
gravity  of  cows'  milk  is  1-030,  but  it  is  less  if 
the  milk  be  rich  in  cream.  The  specific 
gravity  of  the  skimmed  milk  is  1-035;  and  oi 
the  cream  is  1-0244.  100  parts  of  cream 
milk  contain : — 


MILK. 


Caseous  matter,  containing  some  butter  -        -  2*600  i 

Sugar  of  milk 3-500  j 

Alcoholic  extmcl,  lactic  acid,  and  lactates        -  0  600  i 

Salts  ;  muriate   and  phosphate  of  potash,  and  | 

phosphate  of  lime  ------  0-420 

Water 92-875 


Cream  consists  of— Butter  separated  by  churn- 
ing   

Caseous  matter  precipitated  by  the  coagulation 
of  the  milk  of  the  butter  -        -        -        - 

Buttermilk  ._-.--- 


99,995 
4-5 


35 
920 


1000 


When  milk  contained  in  wire-corked  bottles 
is  heated  to  the  boiling  point  in  a  water-bath, 
the  oxygen  of  the  included  small  portion  of  air 
under  the  cork  seems  to  be  carbonated,  and  the 
tnilk  will  afterwards  keep  fresh,  it  is  said,  for 
a  year  or  two ;  as  green  gooseberries  and  peas 
do  by  the  same  treatment. 

The  number  of  cows  kept  in  London  and  its 
environs  for  the  supply  of  milk  is  estimated 
by  Mr.  Macculloch  to  amount  to  9000,  and  their 
annualproduceof  milk  to  be  equal  to  78,800,000 
quarts.  For  this  purpose  the  Yorkshire  cow 
is  preferred  to  all  others.  The  daily  average 
of  milk  yielded  by  one  of  this  breed  is  es- 
timated, according  to  Mr.  Youatt,  at  22  or  24 
quarts^ 

The  quantity  and  quality  of  the  milk  pro- 
duced by  a  cow  is  materially  influenced  by 
the  food  and  distance  from  calving.  Some 
interesting  experiments  to  determine  this  were 
made  by  IVf  M.  Boussingault  and  Le  Bel.  They  , 
observe,  "In  the  observations,  of  which  the 
following  table  presents  the  abstract,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  quantity  of  milk  given  by 
the  cows  progressively  diminished.  This  di- , 
minution  cannot  be  attributed  to  the  regimen 
to  which  the  cows  were  subjected,  since,  in 


MILK. 

again  putting  them  on  the  food  on  which  they 
had  previously  fed,  the  same  quantity  of  milk 
was  not  obtained  as  at  first ;  the  diminution 
continued.  The  distance  from  the  period  at 
which  the  cow  has  calved  seems  to  be  the 
principal  cause  of  the  decrease  of  the  milk. 
This  cause  is  so  strongly  marked,  that  it  may 
even  prevent  the  influence  that  the  nature  of  the 

food  exercises  over  it  from  being  seen 

Indeed,  this  result  permits  us  to  stale,  that  the 
nlture  of  the  food  consumed  does  not  exert  so 
very  sensible  an  influence  on  the  quantity  and 
chemical  composition  of  milk  (we  do  not  say 
on  its  quality),  if  the  cows  receive  equal  nu- 
trition from  the  different  kinds  of  food.  It  is 
very  evident,  that  if  the  weight  of  the  feeds 
were  not  calculated  according  to  that  of  the 
equivalents,  great  variations  would  be  observed 
in  the  products  of  milk  ;  but  then  those  varia- 
tions would  be  principally  caused  by  the  aug- 
mentation ordiminuti(m  of  the  nutritive  matter. 
We  know,  for  example,  that  cows  which,  dur- 
ing winter,  are  reduced  to  simple  feeding  on 
chopped  straw,  cease  almost  entirely  to  pro- 
duce milk,  and  with  ditticulty  recover  their 
ordinary  rale  of  production;  in  cognisance  of 
such  a  fact,  we  are  led  to  ascribe  the  return 
and  abundance  of  milk  exclusively  to  the  pro- 
perties of  the  green  food  in  spring,  whilst  that 
effect  is  in  a  great  part  produced  by  a  real  in 
crease  in  the  feeds. 

"In  establishments  where  a  regular  rotation 
is  followed,  healthy  and  abundant  nourishmen; 
to  cattle  in  winter  is  in  a  manner  assured,  the 
difference,  if  any  exist,  betwixt  the  feeding  in 
winter  and  summer,  being  in  all  cases  much 
less  considerable.  These  are  the  results  of 
experiments  made  during  a  year  on  eight  cows 
constantly  fed  together  on  a  great  variety  of 
food." 


Firtt  Series  of  Experiments. — Couktbt  Cow. 


Number  of 
days  since 
calving. 

S&Z 

SolM  mat- 
ten  in  100 
lb*,  of  milk. 

LHres. 

1 

50 

21-6 

13 

7-5 

— 

24 

106 

11-9 

35 

120 

131 

200 

5-6 

123 

207 

6-0 

12-4 

215 

5-6 

12-9 

229 

5-0 

135 

240 

3-6 

270' 

34 

_ 

290 

3-5 

125 

302 

2-8 

13-2 

Food  Kiven  eqalvaltnt  to  15  kilogrammet, 
or  about  30  Iba.  of  Hiy. 


Potatoes,  hay     - 

Ditto  -  -  - 
Hay,  green  clover 
Green  clover 
Hay  -  -  -  . 
Turnips  -  -  - 
Red  beet  -  -  - 
Potatoes  -  -  - 
Hay    - 

Potatoes  -  -  - 
Jerusalem  artichokes 
Hay  and  oil-cake 


Compoiition  of  Milk. 


CheeM!.        Batter.       ''jg^lk?'         ^"^ 


15-1 

30 
31 
3-0 
30 
34 
3-4 


3-3 
34 


2-6 

3-5 
5-6 
4-5 
4-2 
40 
40 


3-5 
36 


36 

4-5 
4-2 
4-7 
5-0 
5-3 
5-9 


5-5 
60 


0-3 

0  2 
0-3 
01 
02 
0-2 
0-2 


0-2 
0-2 


78-4 

88-8 
88-9 
87-7 
87-6 
87-1 
86-5 


87-5 
86-8 


Second  Series  of  Experiments. — Swiss  Cow. 


193 
204 


9-3 


9-8 
7-8 


135 
12-8 
112 
12-6 


Potatoes,  hay     - 
Hay,  green  clover 
Green  clover 
Clover  in  flower 


3-3 

40 
4-0 
3-7 


4-8 
4-5 
2-2 
3-5 


5-1 
40 

4-7 
52 


0-3 
0-3 
03 
0-2 


86-5 
87-2 

88-8 
87-4 


There  is  a  paper  on  the  adulteration  of  milk, 
by  M.  Barruel  (Quar.  /o«r.o/^gr.  vol.  ii.  p.  304), 
in  whiv'h  he  states  that  the  substances  used 
to  adulterate  milk  in  London  and  Paris  are 
usually  flour,  sugar-candy,  potash,  and  some- 
times iodine,  to  give  it  its  bluish  colour. 


In  Stephens's  "Book  of  the  Farm,"  we  find  the 
following  interesting  details  relative  to  the  sub- 
ject of  milk,  milch-cows,  and  their  treatment 
in  Scotland,  and  more  especially  in  the  city  of 
Edinburgh. 

Cows  are  kept  on   every  species  of  faniH 

816 


MILK. 


MILK. 


though  for  very  different  purposes.  On  carse ' 
and  pastoral  farms  they  are  merely  useful  in 
supplying  milk  to  the  farmer  and  his  servants. 
On  dairy  farms,  they  afford  butter  and  cheese 
for  sale.  On  some  farms  near  large  towns,  they 
chiefly  supply  milk  for  sale.  And  on  farms  of 
mixed  husbandry,  they  are  kept  for  the  purpose 
of  breeding  young  stock. 

On  carse  and  pastoral  farms,  cows  receive 
only  a  few  turnips  in  winter,  when  they  a^e 
dry,  and  are  kept  on  from  year  to  year ;  but 
where  the  farmer  supplies  milk  to  his  work- 
people, as  a  part  of  wages,  they  are  disposed 
of  in  the  yeld  state,  and  others  in  milk,  or  at 
the  calving,  bought  in  to  supply  their  place, 
and  these  receive  a  large  allowance  of  turnips, 
with  perhaps  a  little  hay.  On  these  farms, 
little  regard  is  paid  to  the  breed  of  the  cow, 
the  fact  of  being  a  good  milker  being  the  only 
criterion  of  excellence. 

On  true  dairy  farms,  the  winter  season  is 
not  a  favourable  one  for  making  butter  and 
cheese  for  sale ;  for,  do  what  you  like  to  neu- 
tralize the  effect  of  the  usual  rooted  green  crops 
on  these  products,  and  especially  butter,  they 
remain  unpalatable  to  the  taste.  The  cows 
are  therefore  in  calf  during  this  season,  and 
receive  the  treatment  described  above  until  the 
period  of  calving  in  spring. 

In  and  near  large  towns,  the  dairy-man  must 
always  have  milk  to  supply  his  customers,  and 
it  is  his  interest  to  render  the  milk  as  palatable 
as  possible.  For  the  purpose  of  maintaining 
the  supply,  he  buys  cows  at  all  seasons,  just 
calved  or  about  to  calve.  He  disposes  of  the 
calves,  without  attempting  to  fatten  them;  and 
to  render  the  milk  he  sells  palatable,  he  cooks 
all  the  food  partaken  of  by  the  cows.  When 
the  cows  run  dry,  they  are  fattened  for  the 
butcher,  and  not  allowed  to  breed  again. 

The  cows  in  the  public  dairies  in  Edinburgh 
are  supported  in  winter  on  a  variety  of  sub- 
stances, namely,  turnips,  brewers'  and  distil- 
lers' grains,  called  draff,  dreg,  malt-comins, 
barley,  oats,  hay-seeds,  chaff,  cut  hay.  One  or 
more  of  these  substances,  with  turnips,  are 
cooked  together,  and  the  usual  process  in  doing 
this,  and  administering  the  cooked  food,  is  as 
follows  : — Turnips,  deprived  of  tops  and  tails, 
and  washed  clean,  are  put  into  the  bottom  of  a 
boiler,  and  covered  near  to  its  top  with  a  quan- 
tity of  malt  comins,  cut  hay,  hay-seeds,  chaff, 
or  barley,  or  more  than  one  of  these,  as  the 
articles  can  be  procu  red.  Water  is  then  poured 
into  the  boiler  sufficient  to  boil  them,  and  a  lid 
placed  upon  it.  After  being  thoroughly  boiled 
and  simmered,  the  mess  is  put  into  tubs,  when 
a  little  pounded  rock-salt  is  strewed  over  it, 
and  chopped  into  a  mash  with  a  spade.  As 
much  dreg  ir.  then  poured  upon  the  hot  mash 
as  to  make  it  lukewarm,  and  of  such  a  con- 
sistence as  a  cow  may  drink  up.  From  1  to  1^ 
stable-pailfuls  of  this  mixture, — from  40  to  60 
pints  imperial, — according  to  the  known  appe- 
tite of  the  cow,  is  then  poured  into  the  trough 
belonging  to  each.  The  trough  is  afterwards 
removed  and  cleaned,  and  the  manger  is  ready 
for  the  reception  of  fodder — hay  or  straw.  This 
mess  is  given  3  times  a  day,  after  the  cows  have 
bpen  milked,  for  dairy-men  understand  that 
animals  should  not  be  disturbed  while  eating 
816 


their  food.  The  times  of  milking  are  6  A.  M., 
12  noon,  and  7  P.  M.  The  sweet  milk  and 
cream  obtained  by  these  means,  and  received 
direct  from  the  dairy,  are  pretty  good.  The 
former  sells  in  Edinburgh  at  Id.,  and  the  latter 
at  Is.  the  imperial  pint.  Dr.  Cleland  states  the 
price  of  sweet  milk  in  Glasgow  at  l^d.  the  im- 
perial pint. 

It  will  be  observed  that  none  of  the  articles 
usually  given  to  cows  are  so  expensive  as  oil- 
cake, cabbages,  kohl-rabi,  or  cole-seed.  These 
products  were  employed  by  the  late  Mr.  Cur- 
wen  in  his  experiments  to  ascertain  the  cost 
of  raising  milk  for  supplying  the  poor,  and  the 
results  show  they  left  him  very  little  profit. 
(CwrHTn's  Agricidtxtral  Hints,  p.  47 — 52.) 

Cattle  are  fed  on  other  substances  than  tur- 
nips, either  with  themselves  or  in  conjunction 
with  turnips.  Oil-cake  and  potatoes  are  the 
most  common  substances  used  for  this  purpose. 
Linseed  oil  and  linseed  have  been  recommend- 
ed, and  many  are  fed  at  distilleries  on  draff  and 
di-eg,  as  the  refuse  of  distillation  are  termed ; 
and  these  are  also  sold  to  the  farmers  for  the 
purpose  of  feeding.  Oats,  barley-meal,  and 
bean-meal,  have  also  been  pressed  into  the 
service  of  feeding  cattle. 

The  potatoes  used  in  feeding  cattle  are  either 
the  common  kinds  known  in  human  food,  or 
others  raised  on  purpose,  such  as  the  yam  and 
ox-noble ;  and  they  are  given  either  alternately 
with  turnips,  or  together.  In  feeding  cattle 
with  potatoes  of  any  kind,  and  in  any  way, 
there  is  considerable  risk  of  flatulency  and 
choking.  To  prevent  the  latter,  the  potatoes 
should  be  smashed  with  a  hammer,  or  with 
an  instrument  like  a  pavier's  rammer,  and 
though  juice  should  come  out  in  the  operation, 
no  loss  is  incurred,  as  it  is  considered  of  no 
service  in  feeding.  To  prevent  flatulence  from 
potatoes  is  no  easy  matter;  but  a  friend  of 
mine  used  a  plan  which  completely  answered 
the  purpose,  which  Avas,  mixing  cut  straw  with 
the  broken  potatoes.  The  straw  obliging  the 
cattle  to  chew  every  mouthful  before  being 
swallowed,  may  prevent  such  a  large  quantity 
of  gas  being  generated  in  the  paunch  as  bruised 
potatoes  alone  would. do,  and  it  is  this  gas 
which  occasions  that  distressing  complaint 
called  haven.  A  farm-steward,  who  had  con- 
siderable experience  in  feeding  cattle  on  pota- 
toes on  a  led-farm,  always  placed  as  many 
potatoes,  whole,  before  cattle  as  they  could 
consume,  and  they  never  swelled  on  eating 
them,  because,  as  he  conjectured,  ftnd  perhaps 
rightly,  they  do  not  eat  them  so  greedily  when 
in  their  power  to  take  them  at  will,  as  when 
doled  out  in  small  quantities.  This  fact  con- 
firms the  propriety  of  mixing  cut  straw  amongst 
potatoes  that  are  given  in  small  quantities,  in 
order  to  satisfying  the  appetite,  and  filling  the 
paunch  with  unfermentable  matter.  The  only 
precaution  required  in  giving  a  full  supply  of 
potatoes,  is  to  give  only  a  few  and  frequently 
at  first,  and  gradually  to  increase  the  quantity. 

Oil-cake  has  been  long  and  much  employed 
in  England  for  the  feeding  of  cattle,  and  it  is 
making  its  way  in  that  respect  into  Scotland. 
It  consists  of  the  compressed  husks  of  linseed, 
after  the  oil  has  been  expressed  from  it,  and  is 
formed  into  thin  oblong  cakes.    The  cakes  ar« 


MILK-FEVER. 


broken  into  pieces  by  a  machine.  Cattle  are 
never  entirely  fed  on  oil-cake,  but  in  conjunc- 
tion with  other  substances,  as  turnips,  potatoes, 
cut  hay,  or  cut  straw.  When  given  with  cut 
hay  or  straw,  an  ox  will  eat  from  7  to  9  lb.  of 
cake  a  day,  and  the  hay  or  straw  induces  rumi- 
nation, which  the  cake  itself  is  not  likely  to  do. 
When  given  with  other  substances,  as  turnips 
or  potatoes,  3  lb.  or  4  lb.  a  day  will  suffice.  A 
mixture  of  oil-cake  and  cut  meadow-hay  forms 
a  very  palatable  and  nutritious  food  for  oxen, 
and  is  a  favourite  one  in  England.  Oil-cake 
costs  from  71.  to  10/.  a  ton. 

Statement  of  the  comparative  quality  of  Milk  from 
8  Alderney  and  8  Kerry  (Irish)  Coios,  upon  the 
Farm  at  Oakley  Park,  in  May,  June,  July,  and 
August,  1840,  by  Mr.  R.  White,  tested  from  a 
Lactometer  holding  I  Pint  of  Milk,  and  divided 
into  100  parts  by  Index. 


Conrt. 

Portioa 
of  Cream 
iulOO. 

Difler. 
eoce. 

Ot)M>rTatioii& 

May. 
Alderneys 
Kerrys     - 

June. 
Alderneys 
Kerrys     - 

July. 
Alderneys 
Kerrys     - 

August 
Alderneys 
Kerrya     - 

25 
10 

15 
10 
13 
3 

In  favour  of  Alderney. 
Ditto. 
Ditto. 
Ditto. 

20 
10 

23 

10 

16 
13 

Butter  churned  from  3  pints  of  cream  from 
each : — 


Alderneys 
Kerrys     - 


^'*'-^*°*-}l8or.  tothepound. 


lb.  4i  oz 

This  was  taken  in  August,  when  the  Alder- 
ney's  produce  of  cream  was  at  the  lowest. 

MILK-FEVER.  Cows  in  high  condition  are 
most  subject  to  puerperal  fever.  This  inflam- 
matory disease  sometimes  appears  as  early  as 
two  hours  after  parturition;  if  4  or  5  days 
have  elapse  1,  the  animal  may  generally  be 
considered  safe.  On  the  appearance  of  this 
fever,  from  6  to  10  quarts  of  blood  should  be 
taken,  according  to  the  age  and  si/e  of  the 
animal.  The  bowels  must  be  opened,  or  the 
disease  will  run  its  course;  and  purging  once 
established  in  an  early  stage,  the  fever  wiL,  in 
the  majority  of  instances,  rapidly  subside, 
leaving  the  strength  of  the  constitution  un- 
touched.    (Youatt  on  Cattle,  p.  547,  548.) 

MILK-HOUSES  AND  CELLARS.  The 
milk-houses  in  Holland  and  elsewhere,  and  the 
spring-houses  of  Pennsylvania,  have  been  re- 
ferred to  anddescribed  under  the  head  of  Dairy. 
Of  late,cellars  under  houses,  properly  arranged, 
are  coming  to  be  preferred  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  milk  to  either  milk-houses,  milk-vaults, 
or  even  spring-houses.  Among  the  advantages 
claimed  for  cellars  are,  being  at  hand  every- 
where at  a  small  cost ;  and  keeping  drier,  thus 
less  disposing  to  must. 

Mr.  Miller,  of  Delaware,  a  correspondent  of 

the  Farmers'  Cabinet  (July,  1843),  speaking  of 

the  cellars  used  in  the  vicinity  of  Wilmington, 

«ays  : — It  is  found  sufficient,  if  the  cellar  be 

103 


MILKING. 

sunk  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
with  a  wide  and  shallow  window  on  each  side, 
the  bottom  of  it  level  with  the  ground  outside ; 
well  protected  with  a  wire  guard  to  keep  out 
vermin,  large  flies,  &c.,  and  provided  with  a 
close  glazed  sash,  which  can  be  opened  and 
closed  at  pleasure,  by  lifting  it  up  to  the  ceiling, 
which  ought  to  be  no  higher  than  the  top  of  the 
windows;  so  that  the  air  of  the  cellar  can  be 
ventilated  by  opening  the  windows  of  the  two 
opposite  sides,  according  to  the  way  the  wind 
sets  at  the  time,  shutting  them  quickly  when 
necessary;  for  in  cold,  windy,  or  damp  weather, 
the  sooner  the  windows  are  again  closed,  the 
better.  Indeed,  to  the  management  of  the  cella 
in  this  particular,  much  of  the  success  of  dai 
rying  is  to  be  attributed;  cold  and  damp  ai- 
being  unfriendly  to  the  formation  of  cream 
and  its  proper  and  entire  separation  from  the 
milk.  Hence,  therefore,  it  is  a  bad  practice  to 
set  the  pans  on  the  brick  floor  of  the  cellar; 
they  ought  always  to  be  placed  around  on 
shelves,  about  three  feet  in  height,  and  these, 
after  being  well  washed  with  hot  water,  should 
be  wiped  quite  dry,  that  no  mouldy  evaporation 
might  take  place  to  spoil  the  butter.  The  air 
near  the  floor  of  a  dairy  is  always  impure, 
being  loaded  with  acid  vapours  and  putrid  ex- 
halations, the  density  of  which  confines  it  to 
the  lowest  part  of  the  room  ;  hence  it  is,  that 
the  doors  of  some  dairies  are  made  with  lattice 
work,  that  the  air  near  the  floor,  a<  ^ell  as  that 
near  the  ceiling,  might  be  ventiUted  at  the 
same  time  ;  these  lattices  being  furnished  with 
sliding  panels,  may  be  kept  close  in  bad  weather. 
The  milk-cellar  ought  always  to  have  a  northern 
aspect,  and  be  well  shaded  by  trees,  not  grow- 
ing too  near  the  windows,  so  as  to  impede  a 
dry  current  of  air,  or  to  create  a  moist  atmo- 
sphere ;  this  consideration  being  of  more  im- 
portance than  would  readily  be  imagined. 

Cellars  thus  constructed  and  carefully  at- 
tended, will,  no  doubt,  supersede  the  use  of 
spring-houses  generally,  before  many  years 
have  passed  away;  by  which  the  business  of 
the  dairy  will  be  rendered  more  agreeable,  less 
laborious,  and  far  less  inimical  to  the  health 
of  those,  particularly  of  females,  whose  occu- 
pation it  is  to  attend  to  its  never-ceasing  duties. 
In  the  Wilmington  market,  "cellar-butter" 
usually  commands  an  extra  price. 

MILKING.  In  the  operation  of  milking,  the 
great  rules  to  observe  are,  regularity,  gentle- 
ness, and  cleanliness.  The  following  observa- 
tions are  taken  from  an  American  periodical  ; 
"  When  you  go  to  milk,  take  a  vessel  of  cold 
water  and  sponge.  Wash  the  udder  and  teats 
clean,  dashing  on  the  cold  water.  This  will 
prevent  the  teats  from  becoming  sore,  and  the 
udder  hot  and  feverish,  besides  rendering  the 
process  of  milking  much  neater.  Milk  with 
clean  hands.  The  whole  business  of  milking 
is  frequently  conducted  in  such  a  slovenly 
manner  that  the  milk  is  entirely  unfit  for  food. 
The  cow  should  be  milked  while  eating  her 
fodder  at  morning  and  evening.  She  should 
always  be  milked  and  fed  at  the  same  time  in 
the  day,  and  uniformly  by  the  same  person. 
Milk  without  interruption.  Be  sure  to  milk 
the  cow  as  dry  as  possible.  To  be  milked  by 
difierent  hands,  at  different  times  in  the  day,  in 
3Z  817 


MILK-PARSLEY. 


MILK  SICK^'ESS. 


a  slow,  interrupted,  gossiping  manner,  and 
leaving  part  of  the  milk  in  the  udder,  will  ruin 
the  best  cow  in  the  world."  If  the  cow  has 
sore  teats,  foment  them  before  milking  with 
warm  water,  and  after  milking,  dress  them  with 
the  following  salve:  Melt  together  1  oz.  of  yel- 
low wax,  and  3  oz.  of  lard,  and  as  these  begin 
to  get  cool,  rub  in  a  i  of  an  oz.  of  sugar  of  lead, 
and  a  drachm  of  finely  pounded  aloes.  (^Youatt 
on  Cattle,  p.  552.) 

MILK-PARSLEY  (Selinum,  from  selinor,  the 
Greek  name  for  parsley ;  applied  to  this  genus 
on  account  of  the  resemblance  in  the  leaves). 
This  is  a  hardy  genus  of  plants  of  no  interest. 
The  only  species  indigenous  to  England  is  the 
marsh  milk-parsley  (.S.  palustre),  which  is  pe- 
rennial, or,  as  some  have  it,  biennial,  growing 
in  wet  and  boggy  meadows,  with  flowers  white, 
numerous,  uniform.  The  root  serves  the  Rus- 
sians for  ginger;  and  the  whole  herb  abounds 
with  a  white,  bitter,  fetid  juice,  of  the  consist- 
ence of  cream,  which  soon  dries  to  a  brownish 
acrid  resin. 

MILK  SICKNESS.  This  name,  together 
with  "  Trembles,"  has  been  applied  to  a  pecu- 
liar and  most  malignant  disease  occurring  in 
some  localities  of  the  Western  United  States, 
and  affecting  certain  kinds  of  farm-stock,  and 
persons  who  make  use  of  the  meat  or  dairy 
products  of  infected  cattle.  Bishop  Hennipin, 
a  French  missionary,  who  ascended  the  western 
waters  early  in  the  last  century,  mentions  the 
existence  of  this  singular  disease  affecting 
animals.  Although  the  cause  and  precise  na- 
ture of  so  frightful  a  malady  are  still  enveloped 
in  great  obscurity,  and  the  treatment  is  far  from 
being  so  generally  successful  as  could  be  de- 
sired, it  may  be  interesting  to  be  acquainted 
with  some  iacts  connected  with  its  existence. 
Dr.  George  B.  Graff,  a  highly  intelligent  physi- 
cian of  Edgar  county,  Illinois,  has  a  communi- 
cation upon  the  subject  in  the  American  Journal 
of  the  Medical  Sciences  (April,  1841),  from  which 
we  draw  the  following  details : — 

The  milk  sickness  is  a  disease  peculiar  to 
the  United  States,  occurring  seldom,  if  ever,  to 
the  eastward  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  It 
is  in  a  greater  or  less  degree  met  with  in  all 
the  Western  States,  as  far  south  as  Mississippi, 
and  extends  north  to  the  boundary.  The  states 
of  Indiana  and  Illinois  are  most  subject  to  its 
occurrence,  whilst  its  existence  in  the  border- 
ing states  is  comparatively  rare.  Among  the 
early  settlers  it  committed  dreadful  ravages, 
and  in  the  formation  of  our  Western  settle- 
ments, its  prevalence  often  served  as  a  cause 
to  disband  a  community,  and  compel  the  in- 
habitants to  seek  a  location  which  enjoyed 
immunity  from  its  occurrence.  Many  of  the 
otherwise  most  desirable  portions  of  that  coun- 
try remained  long  exempted  from  settlement, 
and  even  now  the  inhabitants  of  these  locali- 
ties have,  as  a  condition  of  their  residence, 
entirely  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  milk,  its 
preparations,  and  the  flesh  of  their  cattle. 

Its  occurrence  or  prevalence  is  confined  to 
no  season  or  description  of  weather,  existing 
in  a  like  degree  in  the  heat  of  summer  or  cold 
of  winter,  and  with  like  virulence  and  fre- 
quency during  a  dry  or  wet  season.  An 
-ipmion  is  entertained  by  some,  that  it  is  more 
818 


frequently  met  with  in  the  spring  and  fall 
months,  whilst  others  have  expressed  a  belief 
of  its  more  common  occurrence  during  the 
heat  of  summer.  However  this  may  be,  we 
know  of  no  season  during  which  it  does  not 
occur. 

The  animals  in  which  it  has  been  observed 
are  the  beef-cattle,  horses,  sheep,  and  goats, 
which  seem  to  acquire  it  with  their  food  or 
drink. 

We  will  first  speak  of  the.  symptoms  mani- 
fested in  cattle  affected  with  it,  as  it  is  only 
through  them  that  we  have  yet  found  the  dis- 
ease communicated  to  man.  They  may  be 
affected  to  such  a  degree  as  that  their  flesh 
and  milk  will  produce  the  disease,  and  yet  they 
themselves  manifest  no  unhealthy  symptoms 
whatever.  This  latent  condition  of  the  dii^ease 
may  be  discovered  by  subjecting  the  suspected 
animal  to  a  violent  degree  of  exercise,  when, 
according  to  the  intensity  of  the  existing  cause, 
it  will  be  seized  with  tremors,  spasms,  convul- 
sions, or  even  death.  This  is  a  precaution 
practised  by  butchers  in  these  countries  always 
before  slaughtering  an  animal  in  anywise  sus- 
pected of  the  poisonous  contamination.  An 
ordinary  degree  of  exertion  will  not  develope 
these  phenomena  unless  it  produce  the  symp- 
toms usually  preceding  a  fatal  termination. 
When,  for  instance,  a  cow  is  sufficiently  deeply 
affected,  nothing  peculiar  is  observed  until  im- 
mediately preceding  the  outbreak  of  the  fata. 
symptoms.  She  is  then  observed  to  walk  about, 
without  any  apparent  object  in  view ;  all  food 
is  refused,  and  there  is  evidence  of  impaired 
vision.  The  eye  is  first  of  a  fiery  appearance, 
increasing  to  a  deepened  red  colour,  until  the 
animal  is  observed  to  stagger  and  fall,  when, 
if  she  rises,  the  trembling  of  the  whole  muscu- 
lar system  will  prevent  the  maintenance  of  the 
standing  position.  The  animal  usually  dies 
after  repeated  convulsions,  never  lingering 
beyond  a  few  hours.  Often  it  falls  suddenly^ 
as  if  it  received  a  blow  from  a  heavy  body 
on  the  head,  and  death  is  produced  in  a  few 
minutes. 

From  the  tremulous  motion  imparted  to  the 
muscles,  the  affection  has  received  the  common 
name  of  the  "Trembles"  in  cattle.  A  case 
which  was  characterized  by  the  great  violence 
of  its  symptoms,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  ex- 
amine very  shortly  after  death.  The  brain  I 
found  suffused  with  a  large  quantity  of  fluid 
blood,  which,  from  the  amount  contained  within 
the  cranium,  must  have  made  great  pressure 
on  every  part. 

In  man  the  symptoms  differ  from  these,  and 
are  varied.  The  length  of  time  found  to  elapse 
from  the  reception  of  the  cause  to  the  appear- 
ance of  the  disease,  is  dependent  on  a  multi- 
plicity of  circumstances,  as  the  age,  sex,  cr 
condition  of  the  patient,  and  violence  of  the 
poison.  It  may  be  developed  early  as  the  third, 
or  deferred  until  the  tenth  day.  As  a  premoni- 
tory symptom,  a  peculiar  and  indescribable 
fetor  from  the  lungs  is  the  most  prominent; 
and  so  universally  have  I  found  it  present  and 
to  precede  the  disease,  that  in  almost  every 
instance  where  I  have  been  brought  in  prox- 
imity to  a  person  predisposed  or  attacked,  have 
I  been  able  to  foretell  its  approach,  and  pro* 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


nonnce  on  the  character  of  the  disease.  This 
fetor  can  no  more  be  mistaken  by  a  person 
accustomed  to  it,  than  that  which  is  so  univer- 
sally attendant  on  variola  ;  and  it  may  in  fact 
be  safely  stated  to  be  pathognomonic  of  the 
forming  and  early  stage  of  milk  sickness. 
This  halitus  from  the  lungs,  which  I  have 
never  found  entirely  wanting  even  some  days 
previous  to  an  attack,  increases  in  intensity 
until  the  disease  is  fully  developed,  when  it 
gradually  disappears  with  the  speciiic  symp- 
toms, and  at  the  termination  of  4  or  5  days 
cannot  be  detected.  A  person  labouring  under 
the  peculiar  effluvia  from  the  air  passages,  in 
many  cases  complains  of  no  illness,  and  ap- 
pears entirely  unconscious  of  his  situation, 
unless  advised  of  it  by  his  friends  or  attend- 
ants. His  appetite  may  be,  and  usually  is, 
destroyed ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  days 
he  is  taken  down  with  pain  and  excessive  irri- 
tability of  the  stomach,  obstinate  constipation 
of  the  bowels,  a  cessation  of  all  biliary  secre- 
tion, general  febrile  action,  sometimes  an  in- 
tense burning  sensation  in  the  epigastric  region, 
with  early  and  obstinate  coldness  of  the  ex- 
tremities. Often  the  symptoms  are  observed 
to  differ  widely  from  these.  Besides  the  pecu- 
liar smell  emitted,  there  is  a  premonition  of  the 
attack  ;  for  some  days  previous  to  its  develope- 
ment,  the  patient  experiences  a  restlessness 
and  uneasiness  which  he  cannot  describe,  with 
a  dread  of  some  impending  calamity,  confu- 
sion of  ideas,  and  other  indications  of  irrita- 
tion of  the  brain  and  nervous  system.  Vomit- 
ing announces  the  onset  of  an  attack.  This 
continues  at  short  intervals  for  many  days,  the 
matters  thrown  off  the  stomach  consisting  of  the 
fluids  swallowed,  mixed  with  a  glairy  mucus, 
and  not  un frequently  tinged  with  blood.  Some 
days  frequently  elapse  before  pain  in  the 
stomach  is  complained  of,  but  during  the  time 
the  suffering  is  intolerable,  consistmg  of  a  sen- 
sation of  deep  distress,  which,  though  referred 
to  the  praecordia,  or  abdomen,  the  sufferer  can- 
not locate  in  any  particular  spot.  Pain  in  the 
limbs  is  complained  of,  and  is  severally  referred 
to  each  of  the  extremities,  but  is  more  constant- 
ly located  in  the  spine,  particularly  at  the  nape 
of  the  neck.  The  pulse,  during  the  forming 
stage,  possesses  greater  force  and  volume,  with 
slightly  increased  action.  The  bowels  will 
remain  obstinately  constipated,  the  powers  of 
nature  being  incompetent  to  relieve  the  condi- 
tion, so  that  unless  it  be  done  by  appropriate 
remedies,  at  the  end  of  6  or  8  days  an  offensive 
discharge  takes  place,  quickly  followed  by  dis- 
solution, the  symptoms  being  those  which 
would  indicate  disorganization  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  intestines.  The  tongue,  during  the 
initiatory  stage,  is  slightly  furred,  but  other- 
wise not  much  changed  in  appearance.  This 
coat  disappears  soon  after  the  occurrence  of 
vomiting,  and  becomes  clean,  of  a  pale-red  or 
pink  colour,  greatly  resembling  a  piece  of  raw 
veal.  Next  to  the  fetor  mentioned,  the  change 
of  volume  occurring  in  the  tongue  may  be 
viewed  as  the  great  characteristic  of  this  dis- 
ease. It  rapidly  attains  an  inordinate  size, 
completely  filling  the  mouth,  and  so  flabby  and 
soft  in  its  texture  as  to  retain  perfectly  the  im- 
pressions left  by  the   teeth,  when   extruded. 


Often  a  number  of  efforts  are  necessary  before 
it  can  be  forced  out,  and  then  it  has  a  tremu- 
lous motion.  This  condition  of  the  tongue 
changes  with  the  stage  of  the  disease.  When 
the  vomiting  has  been  suspended,  and  free 
evacuations  from  the  bowels  obtained,  it  is  re- 
duced in  volume,  the  surface  is  for  a  time 
smooth  and  glazed,  soon  after  becomes  dark, 
cracks  open  in  transverse  fissures,  is  hardened, 
with  an  obstinately  dry  and  rough  surface.  Of 
all  the  primary  symptoms,  vomiting  is  the  last 
to  disappear;  it  ceases  very  gradually  to  annoy 
the  patient,  and  its  continued  absence  is  the 
most  certain  indication  of  a  state  of  convales- 
cence. In  no  disease  is  there  a  greater  differ- 
ence or  diversity  of  symptoms  than  are  usually 
found  in  different  cases  to  constitute  what  may 
be  properly  termed  the  secondary  stage  of  milk 
sickness. 

In  some  cases  the  patient  is  affected  with 
drowsiness,  low  muttering  delirium,  nervous 
tremors,  and  the  whole  train  of  symptoms  asso- 
ciated in  low  typhus  fever.  When  recovery 
takes  place  after  severe  attacks,  the  convales- 
ence  is  very  slow,  and  years  may  elapse  before 
a  perfect  restoration  to  health.  Indeed,  it  has 
been  a  question  with  many,  whether  those  once 
severely  attacked  ever  regain  a  perfect  integrity 
of  constitution.  In  cases  which  terminate  fa- 
tally (of  which  description  is  a  large  majority), 
a  length  of  time  of  from  1  to  4  weeks  is  re- 
quired, proportionate  to  the  intensity  of  the 
primary  effects,  the  propriety  of  the  treatment, 
and  the  natural  powers  of  the  resistance  of  the 
constitution,  as  they  often  seem  to  die  from  a 
wearing  out,  or  gradual  destruction  of  cerebral 
and  nervous  energy.  Those  cases  which  occur 
during  the  summer  months,  are  most  decidedly 
inflammatory,  whilst  in  the  winter  there  is 
always  observed  a  disposition  to  assume  a  low 
form.  The  autumnal  cases,  in  their  secondary 
fever,  are  liable  to  assume  a  remittent  aspect, 
and  I  have  seen  them  eventuate  in  a  well- 
marked  intermittent.  When  recovery  has  taken 
place,  the  patient  retains  not  the  slightest  recol- 
lection of  any  thing  which  occurred  during  the 
progress  of  the  disease,  and  this  forgetfulness 
often  extends  as  far  back  as  some  days  previous 
to  the  active  developement  of  the  disease. 

Caust, — The  cause  of  this  disease  in  animals 
is*  as  yet  shrouded  in  mystery  and  uncertainty. 
No  satisfactory  account  of  its  nature  has  ever 
yet  been  given,  and  it  has  in  turn  been  sup- 
posed to  be  of  vegetable,  mineral,  and  even 
aerial  origin.  The  limits  of  its  prevalence  is 
not  often  over  a  large  continuous  tract  of 
country,  but  rather  circumscribed,  and  sur 
rounded  by  localities  never  known  to  produce 
it.  No  example  is  known  in  which  the  property 
of  producing  the  disease  has  been  acquired  by 
any  locality  which  did  not  previously  possess 
it.  The  boundaries  which  were  at  the  first  dis- 
covery of  the  country  found  to  separate  the 
infected  from  healthy  districts,  remain  on- 
changed.  The  locality  which  serves  to  pro- 
duce the  disease,  most  commonly  extends  as  a 
vein  of  variable  breadth,  traversing  the  country 
for  a  considerable  distance.  It  can  be  traced 
in  one  instance  for  nearly  a  hundred  miles, 
running  parallel  to  the  course  of  the  Wabash 
river,  in  the  state  of  Indiana. 

819 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


Again — it  will  be  found  to  occupy  an  isolated 
spot,  comprised  in  an  area  of  100  acres,  whilst, 
for  a  considerable  distance  around,  it  is  not 
produced.  Thus,  having  the  locality  perfectly 
circumscribed,  much  labour  has  been  expended 
in  order  to  discover  some  production  peculiar 
to  the  locality.  The  search  has  been  uniformly 
unsuccessful  in  the  attainment  of  its  object. 
The  general  appearance  of  these  infected  dis- 
tricts is  somewhat  peculiar.  I  have  always 
observed  that  the  situation  of  the  ground  is 
elevated  above  that  of  the  surrounding  country, 
occupying  what  is  denominated  a  ridge,  and 
that  the  quality  of  the  soil  is  in  general  of  an 
inferior  description.  The  growth  of  timber  is 
not  observed  to  be  so  luxuriant  as  in  situations 
otherwise  similar,  but  is  scrubby,  and  stunted 
in  its  perfect  developement,  in  many  instances 
simulating  what  in  the  west  is  denominated 
"Barrens."  Throughout  the  entire  district  in 
which  these  localities  are  interspersed,  there  is 
observed  an  absence  of  the  occurrence  of 
stones  scattered  over  the  surface,  whilst  in  the 
infected  tracts  they  are  almost  universally 
present.  They  are  of  a  small  size  and  dark- 
ened aspect  externally,  breaking  with  a  regular 
and  shining  fracture,  and,  upon  analysis,  im- 
perfectly made,  were  found  to  contain  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  iron,  with  slight  traces  of 
copper.  Another  more  decided  and  peculiar 
appearance,  which  serves  to  distinguish  them 
from  other  spots,  is  the  breaking  forth  of  nu- 
merous feeble  springs,  furnishing  but  a  trifling 
supply  of  water,  but  not  varying  in  quantity 
with  the  change  of  seasons.  In  its  appear- 
ance, it  presents  the  general  evidences  of  a 
sulphurous  and  ferruginous  contamination. 

Experiments  made  upon  the  water  collected 
from  these  springs,  or  more  properly  called 
oozes  from  the  soil,  with  the  greatest  care  by 
the  employment  of  the  most  delicate  chemical 
re-agents,  failed  to  indicate  the  presence  of  any 
mineral  except  iron,  sulphur,  traces  of  mag- 
nesia, and  a  quantity  of  copper  barely  capable 
of  being  demonstrated.  A  belief  being  enter- 
tained by  many  that  the  disease  is  occasion'  ^ 
by  arsenic,  or  some  of  its  salts,  I  with  mucn 
care  and  patience  subjected  not  only  the  water, 
but  likewise  the  earth,  from  these  districts  to  a 
most  rigid  examination,  and  by  no  test  was  I 
furnished  with  the  slightest  evidence  of  Its 
presence. 

An  intelligent  medical  friend  expressed  to 
me  his  belief  that  it  was  produced  by  the  inha- 
lation of  some  noxious  gases  generated  during 
the  night ;  in  proof,  he  stated  that  he  had  ob- 
served cattle,  which  were  regularly  housed 
each  evening,  escaped  its  attacks,  and  that 
when  suffered  to  remain  at  large,  they  were 
frequently  seized  with  the  disease.  It  is  dif- 
ficult to  form  this  belief  of  the  nature  of  the 
cause,  as  we  can  hardly  conceive  the  particu- 
lar action  of  any  combination  of  circumstances, 
capable  of  giving  rise  to  such  an  emanation 
only  at  night,  ceasing  to  act  during  the  day. 
The  most  popular  belief  is  in  favour  of  a  vege- 
table origin.  The  advocates  of  this  method  of 
production  having  failed  to  designate  the  plant 
which  they  supposed  occasions  it,  have  en- 
deavoured to  sustain  their  views  by  supposing 
thai  '.he  poison  exists  in  some  shrub  or  tree, 
820 


which  is  eaten  by  the  cattle,  but  confess  t^teif 
inability  to  designate  any  such  peculiar  growth 
confined  to  these  localities.  If  certain  fields 
which  are  known  to  affect  cattle  fed  upon  them, 
be  suffered  to  grow  in  grass,  and  the  hay  pro- 
duced be  given  to  them  for  their  continual  food, 
no  disease  results,  which  is  a  strong  circum- 
stance, unless  it  be  urged  that  the  active  poi- 
sonous principle  is  destroyed  by  the  desicca- 
tion. Again,  it  has  frequently  appeared  with 
its  greatest  virulence  when  the  ground  has  been 
for  weeks  previously  covered  with  snow. 

Butter  and  cheese,  manufactured  from  the 
milk  drawn  from  an  infected  cow,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  most  concentrated  forms  of  this 
poison.  They  possess  no  distinguishing  ap- 
pearance, odour,  or  taste,  from  the  healthy 
article.  A  very  minute  quantity  of  either  will 
suffice  to  develope  the  disease  in  man.  The 
cream,  ordinarily  sufficient  to  be  added  to  the 
coffee  drunk  at  a  single  meal,  is  said  to  have 
induced  an  attack.  The  butter  or  cheese  eaten 
at  one  repast,  has  frequently  been  known  to 
prove  effective.  The  property  is  not  contained 
in  any  of  the  elements  of  the  milk  exclusively, 
but  distributed  throughout  the  whole  of  them, 
being  possessed  by  the  buttermilk  as  well  as 
by  the  whey.  Beef,  in  the  quantity  of  a  very 
few  ounces,  will  produce  the  disease,  and,  it  is 
generally  believed,  in  a  more  violent  and  fatal 
form  than  when  it  is  produced  by  milk,  or  any 
of  its  preparations. 

In  the  course  of  my  observations  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  experiment  with  a  cow  suffering 
in  but  a  slight  degree  from  the  cause.  She  was 
affected  with  tremors  when  unusually  exer- 
cised, exhibited  a  red  and  suffused  eye,  with 
frequent  twitches  of  portions  of  the  muscular 
system.  She  was  kept  confined  without  an 
opportunity  to  exercise,  and  was  fed  upon  ordi- 
nary food.  At  the  end  of  8  days,  the  milk 
drawn  from  her  possessed  as  violent  poisonous 
properties  as  at  the  time  of  ber  incarceration. 
Her  confinement  was  con»";ued  for  a  week 
longer,  at  the  end  of  which  period,  the  milk 
taken  from  her  was  found  in  an  entirely  healthy 
condition,  and  the  eyes  were  restored  to  their 
natural  appearance.  '  In  this  instance  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  property  of  imparting  the 
poison  to  the  milk  was  lost  in  the  space  of 
between  8  and  15  days.  We,  of  course,  cannot 
fix  on  the  precise  period,  but  we  would  infer 
that  the  property  is  suddenly  destroyed  rather 
than  gradually  dissipated. 

My  trials  with  the  poisoned  flesh  were,  for 
the  most  part,  made  upon  dogs,  which  I  con- 
fined, and  often  watched  the  effect  of  the  poison 
when  administered  at  regular  intervals.  In 
the  space  of  48  hours  from  the  commencement 
of  the  administration  of  either  the  butter, 
cheese,  or  flesh,  from  poisoned  animals,  I  have 
observed  unequivocal  appearances  of  their  pe- 
culiar action.  In  a  few  hours  a  thirst  greater 
than  natural  is  created ;  the  appetite  remains 
unimpaired  until  the  expiration  of  the  fourth  or 
fifth  day,  or  just  before  the  appearance  of  fatal 
symptoms,  when  the  animal  will  refuse  drinks, 
and  the  most  inviting  descriptions  of  food. 

Vomiting  does  not,  as  in  man,  always  pre- 
cede death,  but  the  bowels  are  constipated 
throughout,  except  that,  in  a  single  instanc 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


MILK  SICKNESS. 


observed  copious  alvine  discharges  largely 
mixed  with  blood.  One  ounce  of  butter  or 
cheese,  or  4  ounces  of  beef,  either  raw  or  boil- 
ed, administered  3  limes  a-day,  will  certainly 
prove  fatal  within  fi  days,  and  often  earlier. 
In  these  cases  all  exertions  and  exercise  must 
be  prevented,  or  death  will  occur  much  sooner, 
even  as  early  as  the  third  day.  When  an  ani- 
mal has  been  subjected  to  its  influence  for  only 
a  short  time,  and  is  induced  to  fatigue  itself,  or 
is  driven  a  distance  at  full  speed,  he  suddenly 
stops  and  falls,  and  the  severity  and  duration 
of  the  convulsion  or  spasm  is  in  proportion  to 
the  intensity  of  the  action  of  the  poison.  Often 
he  will  appear  to  entirely  recover  from  the 
first  attack,  but  to  be  repeated  upon  the  re- 
newal of  the  exercise  to  a  sufficient  degree. 

There  is,  however,  one  animal  which,  from 
some  peculiarity  of  organization,  is  rendered 
proof  against  the  pernicious  effects  of  this 
otherwise  powerful  agent.  I  allude  to  the  hog. 
Most  industriously  did  I  feed  a  troublesome 
sow  running  at  large,  administering,  daily,  5  or 
6  pounds  of  infected  beef.  This  was  perse- 
vered in  for  more  than  a  fortnight,  and  under 
the  treatment  she  fattened,  when  I  was  compel- 
led to  desist  from  the  great  quantity  necessary 
to  supply  her  voracious  appetite,  without  en- 
joying the  satisfaction  to  perceive  one  muscu- 
lar twitch  as  an  evidence  that  it  produced  the 
slightest  effect.  When  I  last  saw  her  she  en- 
joyed excellent  apparent  health,  and  was  the 
mother  of  a  numerous  offspring. 

From  all  the  experiments  I  have  made,  and 
the  reasoning  used,  I  can  arrive  at  no  conclu- 
sion, so  far  as  relates  to  the  nature  of  the  ulti- 
mate cause  in  man,  to  whom  it  can  only  be 
communicated  through  the  medium  of  an  ani- 
mal, and  that  capability  of  production  can  be 
acquired  only  by  the  animals  of  circumscribed 
localities.  An  intelligent  medical  friend,  alike 
distinguished  as  a  statesman,  Dr.  John  W. 
Davis,  of  Indiana,  in  a  late  letter  to  me,  ex- 
presses a  belief  that  milk  is  never  a  cause  of 
the  disease.  He  merely  states  his  belief  of  the 
fact,  without  the  evidences  or  observations 
which  have  led  him  to  the  denial  of  a  proposi- 
tion herettifore  viewed  as  settled  beyond  dis- 
pute. My  own  experience  enables  me  to  say 
that  I  have  seen  a  peculiar  affection,  which  I 
feel  assured  could  have  been  no  other  than  the 
milk  sickness,  in  a  city  remote  from  any  of  its 
local  causes,  attacking  every  individual  who 
partook  of  a  certain  cheese  which  had  been 
purchased  from  a  wagon  arriving  from  an  in- 
fected district.  In  this  instance  the  well-marked 
symptoms,  confined  to  those  only  who  partook 
of  this  cheese,  appearing  nearly  at  the  same 
time,  with  no  occurrence  of  new  causes  after 
the  removal  of  this  cause,  all  together  afford 
strong  evidence  of  the  nature  of  the  origin. 

There  is  a  murderous  practice  now  carried 
on  in  certain  districts,  in  which  the  inhabitants 
will  not  themselves  consume  the  butter  and 
cheese  manufactured;  but,  with  little  solicitude 
for  the  lives  or  health  of  others,  they  send  it  in 
arge  quantities,  to  be  sold  in  the  cities  of  the 
West,  particularly  Louisville,  Kentucky,  and 
St.  Louis,  Missouri.  Of  the  truth  of  this  I  am 
well  apprized  by  actual  observation,  and  I  am  as 
certain  that  it  has  often  caused  death  in  those 


cities,  when  the  medical  attendants  viewed  i* 
as  some  anomalous  form  of  disease,  not  sus- 
pecting the  means  by  which  poison  had  been 
conveyed  among  them.  Physicians  of  the  lat- 
ter city  having  been  questioned  particularly  on 
this  subject,  have  mentioned  to  me  a  singular 
and  often  fatal  disease  which  appeared  in  cer- 
tain families,  the  cases  occurring  simultane- 
ously, and  all  traces  of  it  disappearing  sud- 
denly, and  which  I  cannot  doubt  were  the 
result  of  poisoned  butter  or  cheese.  This  reck- 
lessness of  human  life  it  should  be  our  endea- 
vour to  prevent,  and  the  heartless  wretches 
who  practise  it  should  be  brought  to  suffer  a 
punishment  commensurate  with  the  enormity 
of  their  crime.  From  the  wide  extent  of  the 
country  in  which  it  is  carried  on,  we  will  rea- 
dily perceive  the  difficulties  to  be  encountered 
in  the  effort  to  put  a  stop  to  the  practice.  This 
being  the  case,  our  next  proper  aim  should  be 
to  investigate  the  nature  of  the  cause,  and  es- 
tablished a  more  proper  plan  of  treatment  by 
which  it  may  be  robbed  of  its  terrors,  and  the 
present  large  proportionate  mortality  dimi- 
nished. 

Nature  and  Treatment  of  the  Disease. — Much 
diversity  of  opinion  exists  among  medical  men 
in  regard  to  the  essential  nature  and  most 
proper  mode  of  treating  this  fatal  disease,  from 
which  hundreds  of  persons  throughout  the 
West  and  Southwest  annually  perish. 

Owing  to  the  want  of  success  which  has  so 
uniformly  attended  the  practice  of  their  phy- 
sicians, many  of  the  inhabitants  depend  en- 
tirely on  their  domestic  remedies.  It  is  in  that 
country  emphatically  one  of  the  opprobria  me- 
diconim. 

"The  primary  operation  of  the  poison,"  says 
Dr.  Graff,  "  seems  to  be  on  the  brain  and  ner- 
vous system,  and  this  is  indicated  by  the  cere- 
bral irritation  which  so  often  precedes,  and  al- 
ways accompanies  an  attack,  as  well  as  by  au- 
topsic  appearances.  Without  an  exception,  in 
the  animals  poisoned,  I  always  found  the  brain 
and  meninges  phlogosed  with  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  inflammatory  action." 

Dr.  Graff  relates  the  following  circumstances 
connected  with  the  occurrence  of  the  disease, 
which  will  tend  to  show  its  mode  of  develope- 
ment  and  characteristics.  The  entire  family  of 
a  Mr.  Frazier,  moving  westward,  purchased  a 
quantityof  fresh  beef  in  Indiana,  of  which  every 
member  of  the  company  partook  heartily,  daily, 
until  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day,  when  they 
arrived  in  the  Doctor's  neighbourhood.  On 
this  evening  they  all  retired  apparently  in  their 
usual  health,  but  during  the  night  he  was  sum- 
moned to  attend  a  female. with  an  attack  of 
milk  sickness.  Upon  a  careful  examination 
he  discovered  the  peculiar  smell  present  with 
every  member  of  the  family,  and,  on  inquir}% 
ascertained  about  the  beef,  and  the  locality  in 
which  it  was  purchased,  "which,"  he  says,  "  at 
once  satisfied  him  that  they  were  doomed.  Be 
fore  the  next  morning  every  member  of  that 
company  of  6  was  attacked  in  a  violent  "-an 
ner,  and  only  one  of  the  number  recovered." 

The  Legislatures  of  several  Western  States 

have  offered  rewards  for  the  discovery  of  the 

origin  of  the  milk  sickness,  in  order  to  lead  to 

its  prevention  and  cure.    The  reward  offered 

3z3  821 


MILK-VETCH. 


MILLET. 


in  Kentucky  is  $1000.  A  creeping  vine  has 
been  of  late  years  generally  believed  to  be 
the  occasion  of  the  disease,  but  this  has  not 
been  so  well  established  as  to  enable  the  per- 
son who  made  the  supposed  discovery  to  claim 
the  rewards. 

MILK-VETCH  (Jrtragalus).  This  is  an 
extensive  genus  of  herbaceous  and  shrubby 
plants ;  many  of  the  species  are  very  hand- 
some, and  well  suited  for  the  flower-garden. 
There  are  4  species  indigenous  to  England. 

MILKWORT  (Poly gala,  from  poly,  much, 
and  gala,  milk;  reputed  eflects  of  the  plant  on 
cattle  that  feed  upon  it.)  All  the  species  of 
this  genus  are  very  showy.  The  annual  kinds 
require  sowing  in  the  open  ground,  preferring 
a  peat  soil.  Some  of  the  species  possess  use- 
ful medicinal  qualities.  Decandolle  enume- 
rates above  160  species  in  this  genus,  but  only 
one  is  British. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  species  are 
natives  of  the  United  States,  among  which  the 
best  known  is  the  P.  senega,  or  Seneca  snake- 
root. 

MILLET  (Panicvm,  from  panicula,  a  panicle, 
or  panis,  bread).  A  useful  genus  of  grasses, 
one  species  of  which,  called  Bengal  grass,  was 
some  years  ago  introduced  into  Pennsylvania 
as  an  object  of  culture,  and  excited  much  inte- 
rest for  a  time  among  farmers.  It  was  found, 
however,  not  to  be  so  valuable  as  the  usual 
summer  crop  of  which  it  occupied  the  place, 
and  it  is  now  pretty  much  abandoned.  The 
seed  is  sown  in  the  early  part  of  May.  (Flora 
Cestrica.) 

Of  the  millet  there  are  three  distinct  genera : 
the  Polish  millet  (Digitaria),  cultivated  in  Po- 
land; the  common  millet  (Pamatm),  or  panic 
grass,  cultivated  in  Germany,  and  sometimes 
in  England;  and  the  great  or  Indian  millet 
(Holcus),  cultivated  in  India,  Italy,  and  Ame- 
rica. 

Of  the  common  millet  there  are  3  species  : 
Setaria  Gtrmanica,  a  native  of  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope ;  the  P.  miliaceum  (PI.  3, 1),  a,  native  of  the 
East  Indies ;  and  the  Setaria  Italica  (m),  also 
of  Indian  origin. 

The  German  Millet  (Fr.  Moha  de  Hongrie;  S. 
Germanica,  PI.  3,  k)  rises  with  a  jointed  reed-like 
stalk,  about  3  feet  high,  and  about  the  size  of 
the  common  reed,  with  a  leaf  at  each  joint,  1^ 
foot  long,  and  about  an  inch  broad  at  the  base 
where  broadest,  ending  in  an  acute  point,  rough 
to  the  touch,  embracing  the  stalk  at  the  base, 
and  turning  downwards  about  half  the  length. 
The  stalks  are  terminated  by  compact  spikes, 
about  the  thickness  of  a  man's  finger  at  the 
bottom,  growing  taper  towards  the  top,  8  or  9 
inches  long,  and  closely  set  with  small  round- 
ish grain.  It  is  annual,  and  perishes  soon  after 
the  seeds  are  ripe.  There  are  three  varieties 
of  it,  the  yellow,  white,  and  purple  grained. 
It  was  formerly  cultivated  for  bread  in  some  of 
the  northern  countries. 

The  Common  or  Cultivated  Millet  (Fr.  Millet 
tomnnn ;  Panicum  miliaceum),  rises  with  a  reed- 
like channelled  stalk,  from  3  to  4 'feet  high; 
at  every  joint  there  is  one  reed-like  leaf,  joined 
oil  the  top  of  the  sheath,  which  embraces  and 
covers  that  joint  of  the  stalk  below  the  leaf, 
and  is  clothed  with  soft  hairs;  the  leaf  has 
922 


none,  but  has  several  small  longitudinal  fur- 
rows running  parallel  to  the  midrib.  The  stalk 
is  terminated  by  a  large  loose  panicle  hanging 
on  one  side.  Of  this  species  there  are  two  va- 
rieties, the  brown  and  the  yellow ;  the  latter  of 
which  was  formerly  in  cultivation,  and  is  now 
sometimes  sown  for  feeding  poultry,  and  as  a 
substitute  for  rice. 

The  Italian  Millet  (Panis  d'ltalie:  Fr.  3Iillet  a 
grappe :  Set  aria  Italica,  PI.  3,  m),  rises  with  a  reed- 
like stalk,  nearly  4  feet  high,  and  much  thicker 
than  that  of  the  preceding ;  the  leaves  are  also 
broad£r.  The  spikes  are  a  foot  long,  and  twice 
the  thickness  of  those  of  the  common  millet, 
but  not  so  compact,  being  composed  of  several 
roundish  clustered  spikes ;  the  grain  is  also 
larger.  There  are  two  or  three  varieties  of  this, 
differing  only  in  the  colour  of  the  grain.  It  is 
frequently  cultivated  in  Italy  (whence  its  tri- 
vial name),  and  other  warm  countries.  It  is  a 
native  of  both  Indies,  and  of  Cochin  China. 

The  Polish  Millet,  or  manna  grass  of  the 
Germans  (Digitaria  sanguinalis,  formerly  Pa- 
niaim  sanguinalis,  PI.  3, «),  is  a  low,  decumbent, 
annual  plant,  seldom  rising  above  9  inches  or  a 
foot  high,  with  hairy  leaves  and  slender  pani- 
cles. It  tillers  much,  and  forms  a  close  tuft, 
spreading  and  rooting  at  the  joints.  It  is  a 
native  of  England,  but  not  common.  It  grows 
in  abundance  in  Poland,  and  is  sometimes  cul- 
tivated, the  seeds  being  used  like  those  of  the 
other  millets  as  a  substitute  for  rice  or  sago. 

The  Great  or  Indian  Millet  (Lat.  Holcus  sorghum^ 
Sorghum  vulgare,  PI.  3,  o;  Fr.  Sorgho,  gros  millet 
d'ltalie ;  Ger.  Sorgsamen ;  It.  Sagina ;  Span.  McUzd) 
has  a  stem  which  rises  5  or  6  feet  high,  is  strong, 
reedy,  and  like  those  of  the  maize,  but  smaller. 
The  leaves  are  long  and  broad,  having  a  deep 
furrow  through  the  centre,  where  the  midrib  is 
depressed  in  the  upper  surface,  and  is  very 
prominent  below.  The  leaves  are  2^  feet  long, 
and  2  inches  broad  in  the  middle,  embracing 
the  stalks  with  their  base.  The  flowers  come 
out  in  large  panicles  at  the  top  of  the  stalks, 
resembling,  at  first  appearance,  the  male  spikes 
of  the  Turkey  wheat  (maize)  ;  these  are  suc- 
ceeded by  large,  roundish  seeds,  which  are 
wrapped  round  with  the  chaff.  This  grain  is 
a  native  of  India,  where  it  is  much  used  to  feed 
poultry,  and  is  frequently  sent  to  Europe  for 
the  same  purpose.  It  is  much  cultivated  in 
Arabia,  and  most  parts  of  Asia  Minor;  and 
has  been  introduced  into  Italy,  Spain,  Switzer- 
land, and  some  parts  of  Germany,  also  into 
China,  Cochin  China,  and  the  West  Indies, 
where  it  grows  commonly  5  or  6  feet  high,  or 
more,  and,  being  esteemed  a  hearty  food  for 
labourers,  is  called  negro  Guinea  corn.  Its 
long  awns  or  bristles  defend  it  from  the  birds. 
In  England,  the  autumns  are  seldom  dry  and 
warm  enough  to  ripen  the  seed  well  in  the 
field.  In  Arabia  it  is  called  dora  or  durra:  the 
flour  is  very  white,  and  they  make  good  bread 
of  it,  or  rather  cakes,  about  2  inches  in  thick- 
ness. The  bread  which  they  make  of  it  in 
some  parts  of  Italy  is  dark  and  coarse.  In 
Tuscany  it  is  used  chiefly  for  feeding  poultry 
and  pigeons ;  sometimes  for  swine,  kine,  and 
horses.  Caesalpinus  says,  that  cattle  fed  on 
the  greett  herb  are  apt  to  swell  and  die,  but 
thrive  on  "t  when  dried.    They  make  brushes 


MILLET-GRASS. 


MILLS. 


and  brooms  of  its  stalks  in  Italy,  which  Ray 
observed  in  the  shops  of  Venice,  and  which  are 
sent  to  England.  Of  this  species  there  are 
two  distinct  varieties ;  one  distinguished  by 
black,  and  the  other  by  red,  husked  seeds,  be- 
sides sub  varieties. 

The  only  sorts  of  millet  which  are  cultivated 
with  success  in  England  are  the  German,  cul- 
tivated, and  the  Polish  sorts.  According  to 
Professor  Thaer,  the  cultivated  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred, as  having  the  largest  grain. 

The  soil  for  the  millet  should  be  warm, 
sandy,  rich,  and  well  pulverized  to  a  good 
depth.  In  England  the  seed  is  sown  in  May, 
very  thin,  and  not  deeply  covered.  In  the 
course  of  its  growth,  no  plant.  Professor  Thaer 
observes,  is  more  improved  by  stirring  the  soil, 
after  which  it  grows  astonishingly  fast,  and 
smothers  all  weeds. 

In  harvesting  the  millet,  great  care  is  requi- 
site not  to  shed  the  seed ;  and  as  it  ripens  rather 
unequally,  it  would  be  an  advantage  to  cut  off 
the  spikes  as  they  ripen.  No  grain  is  easier 
to  thrash,  or  to  free  from  its  husk  by  the  mill. 
It  is  used  instead  of  rice,  and  in  Germany 
bears  about  the  same  price.  It  produces  a 
great  bulk  of  straw,  which  is  much  esteemed 
as  fodder.     (Loudon^s  Ency.  of  Agricxdlure.) 

The  great  Indian  millet  will  grow  in  Eng- 
land to  the  height  of  5  or  6  feet;  but  will  not 
ripen  its  seeds,  or  even  flower,  if  the  season 
is  not  dry  and  warm.  It  would  doubtless  suc- 
ceed in  the  United  States. 

MILLET-GRASS,  Milira  (Fr.  millet ;  Lat.  mi- 
limn,  from  mille,  a  thousand,  in  allusion  to  the 
immense  number  of  seeds  produced  by  it). 
These  are  hardy, annual, and  perennial  grasses; 
but  in  England  the  climate  is  seldom  warm 
ent)ugh  to  ripen  the  seed,  or  to  allow  of  their 
being  cultivated  to  advantage.  The  hardened 
corolla,  forming  a  coat  to  the  seed,  affords  a 
mark  of  distinction  between  this  genus  and 
jlgrostis,  no  less  obvious  than  important,  as 
those  most  deeply  versed  in  grasses  will  most 
readily  allow. 

There  are  two  English  species: — 

I.  Spreading  millet-grass  {M.efftisum).  Grow- 
ing very  common  in  moist,  shady  places.  The 
root  is  perennial  and  fibrous,  with  several 
creeping  shoots.  Stems  erect,  slender,  gene- 
rally 3  and  4  feet  high,  with  about  4  joints, 
leafy,  smooth.  Leaves  bright-green,  flat,  very 
smooth,  thin  and  weak.  Flowers  solitary, 
slightly  drooping,  ovate,  in  a  loose  spreading 
panicle,  without  awns ;  panicles  from  4  inches 
to  a  foot  in  length.  Mr.  Curtis  observes,  that 
this  is  distinguished  from  the  panic  grasses,  to 
which  it  has  the  greatest  affinity,  by  having  a 
calyx  of  two  valves  only.  The  produce  of  this 
grass  is  very  light  in  proportion  to  its  bulk, 
and  it  is  but  little  nutritive.  Birds  are  remark- 
ably fond  of  the  seeds :  so  much  as  to  render 
it  likely  that,  for  the  sake  of  the  seed  only,  it 
could  be  cultivated  to  advantage  on  the  farm. 
But  in  covers  where  game  are  preserved  there 
cannot  be  a  better  grass  encouraged :  it  will 
save  the  corn  fields.  About  the  beginning  of 
August  is  the  best  season  for  sowing  the  seed. 
The  surface  of  the  ground  near  the  roots  of  the 
bushes  should  be  lightly  stirred,  and  the  seeds 
scattered  a  'er  it  and  raked  in:  a  few  of  the 


decaying  leaves  that  cover  ihe  ground  should 
afterwards  be  thrown  over.  It  flowers  in  the 
second  week  or  latter  end  of  June,  and  the 
seed  is  ripe  in  the  middle  of  July  and  begin' 
ning  of  August. 

2.  Panic  millet-grass  (M.  lanigei-um).  This 
annual  species  is  less  common,  and  grows 
principally  in  fields  where  water  has  stag- 
nated, especially  towards  the  sea.  The  stem 
is  branched  from  the  bottom  and  smooth. 
Flowers  in  a  dense,  spik«d,  erect  panicle,  pale- 
green,  bristly;  corolla  awned. 

MILLS  (Lat.  mola).  The  term  mill  seems 
to  have  signified  originally  an  engine  for  grind- 
ing corn,  but  it  is  now  used  in  a  general  sense 
to  denote  a  great  variety  of  machines,  whose 
action  depends  chiefly  on  circular  motion.  The 
particular  purpose  is  usually  indicated  by  a 
prefix:  thus,  bark-mill,  cotton-mill,  flour-miil, 
oil-mill,  saw-mill,  spinning-mill,  &c. 

The  machinery  by  v/hich  it  is  necessary  to 
accomplish  the  ultimate  objects  of  the  mil] 
must  obviously  vary  almost  indefinitely.  Many 
voluminous  works  on  this  subject  have  beer, 
published,  as  well  as  separate  accounts  of  par- 
ticular structures. 

The  Kibbling-mill  is  well  worthy  of  notice. 
It  is  composed  of  a  small  iron  cylinder,  usually 
about  8  or  9  inches  wide,  and  6  inches  in  dia- 
meter, tapering  slisrhtly  to  one  end,  and  fluted 
on  the  inside.  Within  this  a  barrel  of  the 
same  form,  but  a  size  less,  and  fluted  on  the 
outside,  revolves  by  the  turning  of  a  spindle 
on  which  it  is  fixed.  The  meal  is  rendered 
finer  or  coarser  in  proportion  as  the  working 
barrel  is  set  nearer  to  or  farther  from  the 
small  end.  This  mill  is  made  entirely  of  iron 
and  steel,  and  is  usually  attached  to  a  post.  It 
is  provided  with  a  hopper,  and  is  worked  by  a 
crank  fixed  at  one  end  of  the  spindle,  while  a 
fly-wheel  revolves  at  the  other.  It  is  used  for 
beans,  peas,  and  other  pulse,  for  malt  and  va- 
rious kinds  of  grain,  and  is  a  very  useful  and 
ingenious  contrivance,  but  requires  care  in  its 
adjustment  and  general  management. 

Bean-mill.  A  mill  for  grinding  beans,  con- 
structed by  Seaman  and  Bryant  of  Melton,  in 
Suffolk,  is  as  simple  and  effective  an  imple- 
ment of  the  kind  as  any  we  have  seen.  It  is 
placed  on  a  wooden  stand,  with  crank,  fly- 
wheel, and  hopper;  and  consists  of  a  coarsely 
fluted  barrel,  working  against  a  front  cutting 
plate  ;  the  latter  being  set  at  the  proper  distance 
from  the  barrel  by  means  of  a  screw.  It  is 
used  chiefly  for  beans  and  peas,  but  may 
be  employed  for  grinding  malt,  by  exchang- 
ing the  barrel  and  cutting-plate  for  a  pair  of 
rollers. 

The  Norfolk  Crusher  is  similar  yi  appear- 
ance to  the  foregoing,  and  is  worked  by  two 
rollers  of  equal  dimensions,  each  being  flanged 
at  one  end,  and  reversed  so  as  to  prevent  the 
grain  from  falling  off"  at  the  side.  The  rollers 
are  perfectly  smooth,  and  consequently,  as  its 
name  implies,  it  crushes  the  grain  instead  of 
cutting  it. 

The  Stiffolk  Crusher  is  sin.i'ly  a  varietur  of  the 
above,  and  diflfers  from  it  in  having  its  hind 
roller  finely  grooved,  and  of  half  the  dimen 
sions  of  the  front  one  ;  this  has  no  flange,  but 
works  within  the  flanges  of  the  front  rollei 

823' 


MILLSTONE  GRIT. 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


^rhich  are  attached  at  both  ends.  To  render 
these  mills  effective  for  crushing  oats,  the 
rollers  should  be  left  rough  as  they  come  from 
the  lathe,  to  draw  in  the  kernels,  as  the  latter 
are  apt  to  start  back  at  the  moment  of  entering 
between  the  rollers,  if  they  are  polished.  A 
grooved  or  fluted  roller  has  not  been  found 
adequate  to  the  perfect  bruising  or  cutting  of 
oats,  and  a  mill  that  shall  effect  this  object  may 
be  considered  a  desideratum  in  agricultural 
mechanics.  # 

MILLSTONE  GRIT.  A  geological  term 
applied  to  a  group  of  strata  which  occur  be- 
tween the  mountain  limestone  and  the  superin- 
cumbent coal  formations ;  it  is  a  coarse-grained 
quartzose  sandstone. 

MINT  (Mentha).  The  poets  celebrate  Minthe, 
a  daughter  of  Cocytus,  as  being  transformed 
into  mint  by  Proserpine  in  a  fit  of  jealousy. 
(Ovid.  Met  am.  10,  v.  729.)  This  is  an  extensive 
and  well-known  genus  of  useful  herbs,  with 
the  culture  and  propagation  of  which  every 
one  is  familiar.  In  England  there  are  more 
than  a  dozen  native  species,  besides  numerous 
cultivated  varieties.  The  roots  are  perennial, 
creeping  widely.  All  the  herbage  is  more  or 
less  hairy,  but  variable  in  that  respect;  rarely 
woolly  or  finely  downy;  full  of  pellucid  dots, 
lodging  a  copious  essential  oil,  which  is  pun- 
gently  aromatic,  cordial,  and  stimulant,  and  is 
thence  used  in  medicine  as  an  excitant  and 
stomachic  for  promoting  digestion.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  indigenous  species.  Horse-mint 
(M.  sylvestris),  round-leaved  mint  (M.  rotundi- 
folia),  spear  or  green  mint  (M.  viridis),  black 
or  peppermint  {^M.  -piperita),  bergamot  mint  (M. 
citrata),  hairy  mint  (M.  hirsuta),  fragrant  sharp- 
leaved  mint  (M.  acutifolia),  tall  red  mint  (M. 
rubra),  bushy  red  mint  (M.  gentilis),  narrowed- 
leaved  mint  (M.  gracilis),  corn-mint  (M.  arven- 
sis),  rugged  field-mint  (M.  agrostis),  and  penny- 
royal (M.  pulegium).  See  Cat-mint,  Horse- 
Mint,  Pkppermint,  Pennt-Rotal,  Spear- 
Mint,  &c. 

MISSELTOE  (Viscum;  from  mms, birdlime, 
on  account  of  the  sticky  nature  of  the  berries). 
The  misseltoe  is  a  well-known  parasite,  readi- 
ly propagated  by  sticking  the  berries  on  thorn 
or  apple  trees,  after  a  little  of  the  outer  bark 
has  been  cut  off,  and  tying  a  shade  or  net  over 
them,  to  protect  them  from  the  birds.  Sheep 
eagerly  devour  this  plant,  which  is  frequently 
cut  off  the  trees  for  them  during  the  severe 
winters  ;  nay,  it  is  even  said  to  preserve  them 
from  the  rot.  Its  branches  are  much  sought 
after  at  Christmas  to  hang  up  in  houses,  along 
■with  other  evergreens.  It  was  one  of  those 
plants  held  sacred  to  the  Druids. 

MIST.     See  Fog. 

MITE.     See  Cheese-Mite. 

MIXEN.     A  compost  heap. 

MIXT1;RE  of  soils,  in  agriculture,  is  the 
addition  of  one  soil  to  another,  to  improve  its 
fertility. 

There  is  perhaps  no  agricultural  improve- 
ment more  important  in  both  its  immediate  and 
permanent  effects  than  the  careful,  judicious 
mixture  of  soils,  and  there  is  no  question  more 
likely  to  repay  the  cultivator  for  the  care  he 
*esiows  upon  it. 

This  mode  of  improving  the  land  was  one 
824 


'  which  very  early  engaged  the  attention  of  the 
farmer.  Nature  herself,  in  fact,  pointed  out  to 
him  the  means  of  producing  the  richest  of 
soils  by  earthy  rnixtures  in  very  intelligible 
language.  The  solid  matters  brought  down 
from  the  distant  hills  by  the  flood-waters,  and 
deposited  in  the  valleys  where  the  waters 
rested,  evidently  formed,  by  the  mixture  of  dif- 
ferent strata,  and  by  their  union  only,  the  lich 
alluvial  soils  of  the  old  and  the  new  worlds  ; 
for  that  the  mere  mechanical  separation  of  the 
earth  into  a  fine  state  of  division  is  not  the  sole 
cause  of  the  increased  fertility,  is  apparent  to 
every  farmer. 

It  is  useless,  he  well  knows,  to  expect  the 
debris  of  the  hills  to  produce  fertilizing  effects 
on  soil  of  a  similar  composition.  It  is  the  dis- 
similarity of  the  earths  which  insures  a  maxi- 
mum fertile  mixture:  thus,  in  the  soil  of  the 
rich  marshes  of  the  banks  of  the  Thames  are 
found  the  clay  of  the  London  basin,  the  sands 
of  Middlesex,  and  the  chalks  of  Oxfordshire  and 
Kent;  and  in  a  similar  manner  are  formed  all 
rich  alluvial  lands.  This  good  effect  of  earthy 
deposits  naturally  pointed  out  to  the  Italian 
farmers  the  use  of  earthy  additions  to  the  soil. 
Columella  expressly  notices  the  use  of  sand, 
gravel,  marl,  and  chalk  (book  ii.  c.  16,  p.  93)  ; 
and  the  people  of  Megara,  according  to  Theo- 
phrastus,  had  made  similar  observations  upon 
the  importance  of  mixing  together  different 
strata  of  earth  (lib.  iii.  c.  25) ;  for  every  fifth 
or  sixth  year  they  trenched  the  gravel  to  a 
depth  equal  to  that  they  imagined  the  rain  had 
penetrated.  The  early  inhabitants  of  Britain 
employed  marl,  as  the  people  of  Gaul  did  lime, 
for  spreading  over  their  lands.  And  that  this 
was  done  to  a  very  considerable  extent,  is  shown 
by  several  facts.  Thus,  marl-pits  are  men- 
tioned as  early  as  1285,  in  the  charter  of  the 
forest,  and  again  in  the  statute  of  Wales  in  the 
12  Edward  1.  And  so  early  as  the  days  of 
Richard,  Duke  of  Cornwall,  the  Cornish  farm- 
ers had  a  grant  by  which  they  were  empowered 
to  take  the  calcareous  sandof  Padstow  harbour, 
and  spread  it  over  their  clayey  lands.  The 
successful  mixture  of  the  farmers'  soils,  there- 
fore, is  not  a  modern  improvement;  it  has  evi- 
dently been  practised  with  success  in  all  cli- 
mates, in  different  ages,  and  on  every  descrip- 
tion of  cultivatable  land. 

I  have  witnessed,  however,  even  in  soils  to 
all  appearance  similar  in  composition,  some 
very  extraordinary   results   from   their  mere 
mixture.     Thus,  in  the  gravelly  soils  of  Spring 
Park,  near  Croydon,  the  ground  is  often  exca- 
vated to  a  depth  of  many  feet  through  strata 
of  barren  gravel  and  red  sand,  for  the  purpose 
of  obtaining  the  white  or  silver  sand  which 
exists  beneath  them.     When  this  fine  sand  is 
removed,  the  gravel   and  red  sand  is  thrown 
back  into  the  pit,  the  ground  merely  levelled, 
and  then  either  let  to  cottagers  for  gardens  or 
planted  with  forest  trees  ;  in  either  case  the 
effect  is  remarkable :  all  kinds  of  either  fir  or 
deciduous   trees   will  now  vegetate  with   re- 
markable luxuriance;  and  in  the  cottage-garden 
I  thus    formed,   several    species   of  vegetables, 
1  such  as  beans  and  potatoes,  will  produce  very 
I  excellent  crops  in  the  very  soils  in  which  they 
1  would  have  perished  previous  to  their  mixture. 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


These  instances  are  remarkable,  and  well 
worthy  of  the  careful  consideration  of  ike 
farmer;  for  the  poverty  of  both  the  sand  and 
the  gravel,  which  is  thus  so  successfully  min- 
gled together,  is  very  great.  The  appearance 
of  the  soil  here  gave  no  indications  of  any 
good  being  derived  from  the  union  of  the  two. 
The  black  gravel  and  the  red  sand  were  equal- 
ly sterile;  yet  their  mere  mixture  yielded  a 
productive  soil. 

The  permanent  advantages  of  mixing  soils, 
too,  is  not  confined  to  merely  those  entirely  of 
an  earthy  composition;  earths  which  contain 
inert  organic  matter,  such  as  peat  or  moss 
earth,  are  highly  valuable  additions  to  some 
soils.  Thus,  peat  earth  was  successfully  added 
to  the  sandy  soils  of  Merionethshire  by  Sir 
Robert  Vaughan.  The  Cheshire  farmers  add 
a  mixture  of  moss  and  calcareous  earth  to  their 
"tight-bound  earth,"  the  effect  of  which  they 
describe  as  having  "  a  loosening  operation ;" 
that  is,  it  renders  the  soil  of  their  strong  clays 
less  tenacious,  and  consequently  promotes  the 
ready  access  of  the  moisture  and  gases  of  the 
atmosphere  to  the  roots  of  the  farmers'  crops  : 
their  vigour  is  promoted,  their  food  better  sup- 
plied. There  are  certain  natural  indications 
with  regard  to  the  admixture  of  soils  which 
are  self-evident  to  every  cultivator;  and  there 
are  others  which  are  well  understood  in  par- 
ticular districts.  The  Norfolk  farmers  consider 
that  marl  is  not  far  from  the  surface  when  the 
weed  coltsfoot  {Ttmsilago  fnrfnra)  abounds :  and 
that  all  lands  will  be  much  benefited  by  marl- 
ing which  produce  the  weeds  corn-marigold, 
or  briddle  {Chrymnthemutn  segetum),  and  smart- 
weed,  or  pale-flowered  persicaria  (Polygonum 
Pennsy  Iv  n  n  icum  ) . 

In  the  transfer  of  the  earths  the  farmer  will 
find  it  a  profitable  practice,  especially  when  the 
distance  is  great,  to  have  them  previously  dug 
in  pits,  and  dried  in  the  sun.  In  this  way  the 
weight  of  either  chalk,  marl,  or  clay  is  much 
more  considerably  reduced  than  the  cultivator 
would  suppose.  I  have  found  that  when  moist 
chalk  is  dried  in  this  way  it  loses  from  20  to 
24  per  cent,  of  water.  Strong  adhesive  clay, 
under  similar  circumstances,  loses  from  32  to 
41  per  cent.,  and  marl  from  18  to  26  per  cent, 
of  its  weight;  so  that,  supposing  he  carts  100 
cubic  yards  of  each  of  these  fertilizers,  by 
merely  having  them  previously  dried,  he  saves 
in  weight  of  carriage 

Tom. 

In  the  chalk 20  to  24 

In  the  clay 32  to  42 

In  the  luarl 18  to  26 

As  there  are  only  these  earths  present  to  any 
extent  in  all  cultivated  soils,  and  as  the  propor- 
t:-  n  which  they  bear  to  each  other  makes  the 
cnief  difference  between  fertile  and  barren 
lands,  I  shall  confine  my  attention  in  this  paper 
to  the  application  of  1.  Chalk,  2.  Clay,  3.  Sand, 
to  land  which  is  naturally  deficient  in  them; 
and  in  entering  upon  the  investigation,  I  shall 
suppose  that  the  farmer  is  aware  that  it  is 
merely  the  excess  of  one  of  these  earths  which 
renders  a  soil  unproductive,  and  that  the  ap- 
plication of  the  deficient  earths  operates  so 
advantageously  by  tending  to  render  the  com- 
position more  similar  to  those  of  richer  soils, 
104 


in  which  the  earths  are  mixed  in  a  moie  fertile 
proportion.  It  is  of  the  first  importance,  how- 
ever, that  the  farmer  should  be" aware  of  this 
fact ;  let  him,  to  this  end,  contrast  the  analysis 
of  a  barren  soil  like  that  of  Bagshot  Heath, 
which  is  composed  of 


Coarse  silicious  sand 
Fine  sand  -  -  - 
Iron,  clay,  and  chalk 


Part*. 

380 

9 

11 

400 


with  that  of  the  soil  of  a  Lincolnshire  pasture 
which  contains,  in  the  same  weight. 

Parti. 

Fine  calcareous  sand  and  silicious  sand    -  160 

Soluble  matters          .....  6 

Organic  matters        -       -       ...  40 

Chalk 32 

Oxide  of  iron     ---...  8 

Alumina  (pure  clay)  .....  25 

Silex  (earth  of  flint)-        .        .       -       .  65 

Water,  and  loss         .....  64 

400 

The  soil  of  Bagshot,  he  will  observe,  contains 
nearly  twice  as  much  silicious  matters,  and 
only  one-fifth  the  proportion  of  chalk  and  alu- 
mina, that  is  present  in  the  pasture  from  Croft 
in  Lincolnshire. 

Chalk  and  marl  are  both  used  for  the  sake 
of  the  corbonate  of  lime  they  contain,  and  they 
may,  therefore,  be  treated  of  under  one  head. 
The  proportion  in  which  I  have  witnessed  these 
applied  per  acre  naturally  varied  with  the  ex- 
pense of  the  carriage  of  the  material.  On  the 
light  gravelly  soils  of  the  coast  of  Essex,  I  have 
used,  in  common  with  my  neighbours,  about 
20  to  25  tons  of  the  chalk  of  Kent  per  acre,  at 
a  cost  of  about  6s.  per  ton;  bat  of  marl  the 
quantity  applied  in  the  same  district  is  from 
50  to  100  tons  per  acre,  which  may  be  com- 
monly procured  for  the  expense  of  carriage 
and  spreading;  and  this  addition  to  the  soil  is 
a  very  permanent  improvement.  Chalking, 
the  Essex  farmers  say,  lasts  for  20  years,  and 
marling  for  a  man's  life. 

Upon  analyzing  a  productive  soil,  worth  30s. 
per  acre,  which  had  been  thus  chalked  about 
five  years  previously,  it  was  found  to  contain 

Parts. 

Stones  and  gravel,  principally  silicious  -        -    27 
Vegetable  fibres       -        -        -        -        -        -15 

28-5 

Soluble  matters,  principally  vegetable  extract        -      3 
Carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia  -        -        -        -    18 

Oxide  of  iron  ------.-4 

Animal  and  vegetable  matters        -        ...      1 
Alumina  ........4'5 

Silica  40 

Loss  ......      1 

100 


A  portion  of  the  same  field  (which  was  an 
enclosure  from  a  poor  common),  not  chalked, 
being  examined,  was  found  to  yield  nearly  the 
same  proportion  of  ingredients,  but  the  chalk 
was  almost  entirely  absent.  Now,  before  the 
addition  of  the  chalk,  the  land  was  too  poor  to 
yield  any  thing  except  the  fern  and  the  furze. 

In  Dorsetshire,  near  Weymouth,  and  on  the 
Coomb  Hills,  which  separate  Berks  from  Ham  p- 
shire,  where  chalk  is  in  many  places  readily 
obtained  by  sinking  a  well,  and  drawing  it  up 

8»5 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


MIXTURE  or  SOILS. 


by  A  windlass  to  the  surface,  the  quantity  ap- ' 
plied  per  acre  is  much  more  considerable.     I 
have  seen  from  50  to  100,  or  even  160  tons  per 
acre,  spread  on  the  gravel  and  clay  lands  with  i 
lecided  success. 

The  cultivator  sometimes  deludes  himself 
V'ith  the  conclusion  that  applying  sand,  or  marl,  I 
or  clay,  to  a  poor  soil,  merely  serves  to  freshen  I 
it  for  a  time,  and  that  the  effects  of  such  appli- 
cations are  only  apparent  for  a  limited  period. 
Some  comparative  experiments,  however, 
which  were  made  16  years  since  on  some  poor, 
hungry,  inert  heath-land  in  Norfolk,  have  up  to 
this  time  served  to  demonstrate  the  error  of  such 
a  conclusion.  In  these  experiments  the  ground 
was  marled  with  20  cubic  yards  only  per  acre, 
and  the  same  of  compost ;  it  was  then  planted 
with  a  proper  mixture  of  forest  trees,  and  by 
the  side  of  it  a  portion  of  the  heath,  in  a  state 
of  nature,  was  also  planted  with  the  same  mix- 
ture of  deciduous  and  fir  trees.  Sixteen  years 
have  annually  served  to  demonstrate,  by  the 
luxuriance  of  the  marled  wood,  the  permanent 
effect  produced  by  this  mixture  of  soils.  The 
growth  of  the  trees  has  been  there  rapid  and 
permanent;  but  on  the  adjoining  soil,  the  trees 
have  been  stunted  in  their  growth,  miserable 
in  appearance,  and  profitless  to  their  owner. 
Time  has  made  no  alteration ;  while  the  marled 
soil  has  yielded  an  annual  and  luxuriant  crop, 
the  land  left  in  its  original  state  has  demon- 
strated by  its  produce  that  something  was 
wauting,  some  earthy  ingredient  only  needed 
to  render  it  no  longer  barren,  and  the  adjoining 
marled  land  has  further  shown  of  what  that  ad- 
dition was  composed. 

The  expense  per  acre  of  this  marling,  and 
otherwise  preparing  the  soil,  was 


20  cubic  yards  of  marl,  at  Is.  3d. 
20  cubic  yards  of  compost,  at  55. 
Deep  ploughing      .        -        - 
Trees,  carriage,  planting 


In  this  instance  the  marl  had  to  be  carried 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

It  is  difficult  to  account  for  the  want  of  that 
general  attention  to  the  use  of  earthy  admixtures 
which  so  many  successful  experiments  with 
them  would  lead  us  to  anticipate.  Mr.  Rod- 
well,  of  Livermere,  in  Suffolk,  successfully 
clayed  and  marled  820  acres  of  sandy  heath 
not  many  years  since,  using  about  140,000 
tumbril  loads,  which,  at  S^d.  per  cubic  yard, 
cost  him  4958/.  He  found,  from  experience, 
that  clay  was  to  be  preferred  to  marl  on  all  his 
sandy  soils.  The  result  was  highly  satisfac- 
tory :  350/.  per  annum  was  added  to  the  value 
of  the  estate. 

This  excellent  farmer  practised  also  the  sys- 
tem of  hand-barrowing  the  clay.  "The  men 
make  good  earnings  at  lOd.  a  cubic  yard, 
wheeling  it  30  rods;  and  down  to  7d.  a  yard  at 
shelter  distances:"  and  on  the  whole,  deemed 
this  "  the  cheapest  method  of  all  others,  espe- 
cially on  heavier  soils."  But  he  did  by  far  the 
greatest  part  by  tumbrils,  the  expense  of  which, 
by  contract  carting,  and  labour,  was  8(7.  per 
cubic  yard.  He  found  also,  contrary  to  the 
commonly  received  opinion,  that  deep  ploughing 
826 


£ 

8. 

] 

5 

5 

0 

1 

10 

7 

10 

15 

10 

was  the  best  for  his  marled  and  clayed  lands 
"I  have  found,"  he  said,  "that  the  clay  3,nd 
marl  works  the  better,  the  more  soil  it  has  to 
incorporate  with." 

One  cause  of  the  failures  which  have  some- 
times taken  place  in  the  attempted  improve 
ment  of  soils  by  their  admixture,  arises  from 
the  want  of  a  thorough  union  of  the  heavy  clays, 
added  to  the  light  sandy  soils.  The  earths  were 
in  these  cases  never  incorporated  by  the  aid 
of  the  harrow,  on  such  frosty  mornings  as  are 
best  adapted  to  the  mixture,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, the  more  ponderous  lumps  of  clay  or 
marl  were  allowed  to  gradually  sink,  as  the 
farmers  say,  into  the  sand ;  and  in  some  such 
soils  as  these,  the  stratum  of  clay  and  marl 
which  was  applied  10  years  since  may  now  be 
found  in  one  unbroken  seam,  at  a  depth  of  12 
or  14  inches  in  the  soil.  Such  erroneous  modes 
of  applying  the  earths  are  much  to  be  lamented : 
they  decide  no  controverted  question, — they 
prejudice  the  unreflecting  cultivator, — they 
add  nothing  to  the  common  stock  of  agricultu- 
ral knowledge. 

This  error  was  noted  by  the  late  General 
Vavasour  :  he  told  the  farmers  very  correctly, 
that  under  a  poor  sand,  a  stratum  of  clay,  marl, 
or  other  substance  peculiarly  adapted  to  give 
fertility  to  the  soil  will  generally  be  found 
that  nature  seems  to  have  designed  that  no  land 
should  be  unproductive,  and  if  any  be  unfruit- 
ful, the  cause  is  in  the  ignorance  or  indolence 
of  man.  If  clay  marl,  he  thought,  could  be 
had  at  a  convenient  distance,  75  cubic  yards 
per  acre  was  a  good  covering ;  if  of  a  shelly 
or  soapy  marl,  20  or  25  yards  will  be  sufficient 
The  marl,  after  being  spread,  should  be  repeat- 
edly rolled  and  harrowed,  to  divide  and  pul- 
verize it  the  better. 

The  application  of  sand  to  the  farmers* 
heavy  clay  soils  is  a  practice  which,  in  several 
districts  of  England,  is  attended  with  very 
decided  success.  Thus,  in  that  part  of  Suffolk 
which  is  bounded  on  two  sides  by  the  rivers 
Orwell  and  Stour,  there  is  found  a  fine  red 
sand  abounding  with  shells,  both  in  their  per- 
fect and  broken  state,  which,  when  applied  to 
the  clay  soils  at  ihe  rate  of  20  to  30  tons  per 
acre,  is  productive  of  very  excellent  perma- 
nent good  effects. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Kennett,in  Berkshire,  in 
similar  proportions  I  have  witnessed  the  use 
of  the  gravelly  debris  of  the  Bath  Road  used 
upon  the  peaty  soils  of  that  district  with  excel- 
lent effect,  and  with  equal  success  on  some 
stiff  clay  meadow-land;  the  result  of  dressing 
it  Avith  about  30  tons  per  acre  with  the  same 
road-sand  is  equally  decided.  The  land  is  not 
only  prevented  from  cracking  in  the  summer 
months,  but  the  produce  of  grass  is  very  mate- 
rially increased. 

The  employment  of  sea-sand  is  a  very  an- 
cient custom  in  the  west  of  England;  it  is  one. 
in  fact,  to  which  no  one  can  assign  the  period 
of  its  commencement:  many  thousand  tons 
per  annum  are  carried  away  by  the  farmers 
who  cultivate  the  lands  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Padstow  Harbour,  even  on  horses'  backs, 
and  they  think  it  well  worth  their  while  to  carry 
this  sand  some  miles  into  the  interior  of  the 
country.    In  a  similar  manner  the  farmers  of 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


Devon  dredge  for  the  sand  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tamar,  and  when  they  have  filled  their  barges, 
carry  it  up  the  river.  They  deem  the  fine- 
grained sand  the  most  immediate  in  its  effects, 
but  both  are  very  durable,  and  decided  im- 
provements to  the  soil.  The  coarse  sand,  they 
say,  lasts  for  many  years. 

The  composition  of  the  sands  of  Padstow 
Harbour,  and  of  the  estuary  of  the  Tamar,  are 
very  similar ;  they  contain  from  60  to  70  per 
cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  and  are  both  pre- 
ferred by  the  farmers,  when  they  can  be  ob- 
tained, mixed  with  the  sea-water. 

Another,  but  the  least  commonly  practised 
mode  of  improving  the  staple  of  a  soil  by  earthy 
additions,  is  claying ;  a  system  of  fertilizing, 
the  good  effects  of  which  are  much  less  im- 
mediately apparent  than  chalking,  and  hence 
one  of  the  chief  causes  of  its  disuse.  It  re- 
quires some  little  time  to  elapse,  and  some 
stirring  of  the  soil,  before  the  clay  is  so  well 
mixed  with  a  sandy  soil  as  to  produce  that 
general  increased  attraction  and  retentive 
power  for  the  atmospheric  moisture  which 
ever  constitutes  the  chief  good  result  of  clay- 
ing poor  soils.  Clay  must  be,  moreover,"  ap- 
plied in  rather  larger  proportions  to  the  soil 
than  chalk ;  for  not  only  is  its  application 
rarely  required  as  a  direct  food  for  plants,  for 
the  mere  alumina  which  it  contains,  since  this 
earth  enters  into  the  composition  of  plants  in 
very  small  proportions,  but  there  is  also  another 
reason  for  a  more  liberal  addition  of  clay  being 
required,  which  is  the  impure  state  in  which 
the  alumina  exists  in  what  are  commonly 
called  clay  soils.  For  instance,  chalk  usually 
contains,  when  perfectly  dry,  about  98  per  cent, 
of  carbonate  of  lime.  Mr.  Kirwan  found  in  a 
specimen  of  chalk  2  per  cent  of  alumina,  or 

P»rti. 

Lime 59 

Carbonic  acid      -       -       -        -        .  48 

Waler 3 

Alumina     ......  S 

100 

But  the  heaviest  clay  soils  seldom  contain 
more  than  20  per  cent,  of  alumina  ;  in  the  stiff" 
clays  of  Sussex  and  the  Weald  of  Kent  are 
found  only  about  28  per  cent,  of  this  earth : 
even  the  adhesive  clays  employed  by  the  potter 
yield  only  about  33  percent,  of  alumina,  porce- 
lain earth  only  47  per  cent. 

The  following  is  the  analysis  of  a  heavy 
Sussex  clay  soil : — 

Parts. 

Silica 64 

Alumina      ------  28 

Carbonate  of  lime        .        -       -        .  3 

Oxide  of  iron       -----  5 

Organic  matters          -        -        .        -  4 

Losa,  chiefly  moisture         .       -       -  3 

100 

The  farmer,  therefore,  who  applies  60  tons 
per  acre  of  such  a  clay  to  a  sandy 'field,  only 
adds  about  14  tons  of  alumina  to  the  soil ;  but 
if  he  applies  50  tons  of  chalk,  he  adds  49  tons 
of  carbonate  of  lime. 

Hence,  is  the  reason  why,  in  all  efforts  to 
alter  the  earthy  constitue?its  of  a  soil,  a  much 
smaller  quantity  of  chalk  produces  more  de- 


cided effects  than  the  addition  of  a  much  larger 
proportion  of  the  most  tenacious  clay.  Chalk, 
too,  when  merely  spread  on  the  surface  of  the 
soil,  and  exposed  to  the  action  of  froit,  speedily 
crumbles  to  powder,  and  becomes  intimately 
combined  with  the  other  earths  of  the  soils. 
The  clay,  however,  is  too  adhesive  to  be  thus 
readily,  and  without  some  little  labour,  so  inti- 
mately mixed  with  the  soil  :  its  effects,  how- 
ever excellent,  are  much  more  slowly  appa- 
rent; but  patience  and  judicious  managemeni 
of  clay  will  do  wonders,  even  on  the  most  un- 
likely soils;  and  I  could  not,  perhaps,  state  any 
more  complete  cases  of  the  recovery  of  an 
absolutely  barren  soil  by  means  of  clay  and 
chalk,  and  that,  too,  at  a  reasonably  profitable 
rate,  than  those  successful  experiments  which 
have  recently  been  made  on  the  shingle  of  the 
sea-coast  near  Eastbourn,  in  Sussex,  consist- 
ing entirely  of  silicious  pebbles,  varying  in 
size  from  that  of  hazel-nuts  to  hen's  eggs,  and 
that  extending  to  a  depth  of  many  feet. 

In  this  case  the  clay  was  drawn  in  hand-carts 
by  three  men,  rather  better  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  The  cart  contained  about  880  lb.  of  clay, 
or  about  13  cubic  feet.  Eight  of  these  cart- 
loads, or  about  3 J  tons,  were  spread  on  each 
square  rod  of  16^  feet,  which,  when  first  spread 
loosely  and  in  lumps,  made  the  soil  5  or  8 
inches  deep,  and  when  it  had  become  settled 
and  solid,  about  4  inches  ;  each  cart  took  back 
a  load  of  shingle  to  fill  up  the  hole  made  by 
the  excavation  of  the  clay.  The  work  was  la- 
borious, but  the  men  readily  earned  about  ls.6rf. 
per  day,  and  were  contented.  They  did  their 
work  by  contract,  receiving  3s.  per  square  rod 
for  the  shingle  they  thus  covered,  or  24/.  per 
acre ;  and  for  this  sum  they  carried  2.50  tons 
of  clay.  The  clay  is  of  the  oidinary  red  de- 
scription, so  common  in  Suss*  c,  and  though 
not  particularly  adhesive,  is  yet  sufficiently  so  to 
form  a  plate,  on  which  in  wet  weather  the  water 
stands,  although  this  superstructure  of  clay  is 
resting  on  a  mass  of  coarse  shingle  stones,  15 
feet  in  depth.  This  experiment  was  made  on 
a  small  field  of  about  3  acres  in  1839,  and 
promises  as  well  as  a  similar  effort  made  with 
the  same  clay  in  1832. 

In  this  instance  an  acre  and  a  quarter  of 
shingle  was  covered  with  the  same  clay  to  a 
similar  depth.  But  the  clay  being  only  divided 
in  this  case  from  the  shingle  by  the  Eastbourn 
and  Hastings  Road,  the  expense  was  less ;  the 
men  digging,  carrying,  and  spreading  the  clay, 
for  2s.  per  rod,  or  16/.  per  acre.  This  land  was 
let  in  1834,  for  a  term  of  14  years,  at  40s.  per 
acre.  The  tenant  has  succeeded  in  making  it 
produce  excellent  crops  ;  has  added  to  it  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  muck  and  ditch  scrapings ; 
has  paid  his  rent  regularly,  and  is  contented 
with  his  bargain :  it  produced,  in  1838,  an  ex- 
cellent crop  of  rye,  which  was  cut  green  for 
horses ;  this  was  followed  by  a  good  crop  of 
potatoes,  and  in  1839,  the  tares  which  it  pro- 
duced  were  a  very  heavy  crop.  It  is  rated  to 
the  poor  at  21s.  8d.  per  acre. 

It  would  be  hardly  possible,  I  think,  to  pro 
duce  a  more  complete  case  of  the  absolute  for- 
mation of  a  soil,  by  means  of  claymg,  than 
these  valuable  experiments  ;  the  soil  (if  utterly 
barren  boulder  stones  or  large  shingle  thro wri 

9S/f 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS. 


MIXTURE  OF  SOILS 


up  by  the  sea  can  be  called  soil)  not  affording 
a  single  substance  of  any  kind  which  could,  to 
any  extent,  be  profitably  mixed  with  the  clay. 
The  attempt,  therefore,  was  one  of  much  more 
difficulty  than  any  case  which  usually  presents 
itself  to  the  notice  of  the  cultivator.  It  was  not 
a  mere  claying  a  poor  sand  or  chalk,  or  peat, 
either  of  which  would  assist  in  forming  a 
mould,  but  the  entire  soil  had  to  be  formed ; 
and  this,  it  will  be  seen,  was  accomplished 
successfully  and  profitablj',  and  by  manual  la- 
bour only. 

Some  valuable  observations  and  experi- 
ments upon  claying  a  light  sand  are  contained 
in  the  prize  essay  of  Mr.  Linton.  The  descrip- 
tion of  land  he  improved  "'was  a  light  barren 
sand  ;  the  substratum  a  white  sand,  from  1  to  4 
feet  deep ;  the  surface  of  the  same  texture,  but 
darker  in  its  colour,  through  the  decomposition 
of  vegetable  matter  upon  it.  Beneath  the  bed 
of  sand  lay  a  yellowish  kind  of  clay,  about  1 
foot  thick;  under  it  a  rich  marl,  about  18  feet 
deep.  The  land  generally  being  very  wet,  my 
first  object  was  to  underdrain  it  thoroughly 
with  tiles ;  unless  this  is  first  done,  where  ne- 
cessary, marling  is  a  waste  of  capital.  I  cut 
my  drains  about  24  inches  deep,  and  9  yards 
apart."  As  to  the  choice  of  clay,  Mr.  Linton 
tested  it  with  vinegar  and  water:  the  descrip- 
tion he  used  "  effervesced  nearly  as  tartaric 
acid  and  carbonate  of  soda  do  when  mixed 
together  in  water ;  this  was  my  test,  that  it  con- 
tained a  quantity  of  carbonate  of  lime,  which 
rendered  it  fit  for  my  purpose,  and  worthy  of 
the  name  of  marl.  I  consider,  that  on  the 
proper  testing  and  selection  of  the  clay  or  marl 
chiefly  depends  the  success  of  marling  opera- 
tions. All  clay  will  do  good,  there  is  no  doubt, 
but  on  the  quality  used  must  rest  the  amount 
of  benefit  obtained."  In  these  experiments 
"  the  land  was  made  completely  level  by  the 
plough-harrows,  and  in  some  places  the  spade, 
after  which  it  was  ready  for  the  marl  being 
laid  on,  which  was  done  at  all  times  of  the 
year;"  he  prefers,  however,  doing  this  when 
the  land  is  in  seeds.  The  quantity  laid  on 
"  varied  from  100  to  200  cubic  yards  per  acre, 
the  average  150  yards.  Where  the  land  was 
very  light  and  barren  (which  was  mostly  the 
case  on  elevated  parts),  a  larger  quantity  was 
laid  on ;  but  where  it  was  a  better  soil,  a  much 
less  "quantity  answered  the  same  purpose,  my 
object  being  to  lay  on  just  as  much  as  would 
grow  wheat  after  seeds  ;  to  do  more  than  this 
would  have  been  an  injury  to  the  land,  for  eat- 
ing turnips  upon  it  with  sheep,  and  for  the 
barley  crop;  when  sufficiently  clayed  to  grow 
wheat  after  seeds,  a  point  requiring  close  at- 
tention, I  always  found  it  effectually  done  for 
any  other  crop. 

"  The  way  in  which  it  was  done.  It  was  neces- 
sary, in  the  first  place,  to  fix  upon  the  most  fa- 
vourable situation  for  the  pit,  keeping  three 
oojects  in  view.  1.  The  most  convenient  place 
for  carting  to  the  plot  of  ground  intended  to  be 
marled.  2.  The  best  situation  for  a  pond  to 
answer  for  a  permanent  watering-place,cutting, 
if  possible,  across  a  fence,  so  as  to  water  2  fields, 
one  from  each  mouth  of  the  pit.  3.  Where  the 
clay  could  be  got  with  the  least  difficulty.  After 
fhe  place  was  fixed  upon,  the  work  was  carried 
828 


on  by  5  diggers,  a  driver,  4  horses  or  beascs, 
and  2  carts  (which  are  of  the  Scotch  kind,  with 
short  bodies,  and  broad  wheels)  ;  the  pit  was 
dug  with  a  gradual  descent,  so  that  .3  horses 
could  draw  out  about  a  ton,  which  was  shot 
out  where  wanted,  the  last  returning  by  the 
time  the  other  was  loaded  :  thus,  3  horses  were 
always  ready  for  the  loaded  cart:  the  clay  was 
spread  by  the  diggers,  at  broken  times  after 
being  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  air;  rain, 
after  either  frosty  or  droughty  weather,  would 
cause  it  to  fall  to  pieces,  sufficiently  for  har- 
rowing and  ploughing  in.  The  expense  I  paid 
for  digging,  filling  the  carts,  and  spreading,  was 
from  4rf.  to  5rf.  per  cubic  yard  (full  1  ton),  vary- 
ing according  to  the  quantity  of  stones  im- 
bedded in  the  clay ;  the  total  expense  per  acre 
was  as  follows : — 

£     8.    d. 

Digging  and  spreading  150  yards,  at  ihd.  per 

yard 2  16  3 

4  horses  4  days,  at  2s.  6d.  each,  10s.  per  day    -  2  0  0 

Driver  4  days,  at  2s.  6d.  per  day      -        -        -  0  10  0 

Other  expenses  (wear  and  tear)     -        -        -  0  3  0 

Total  expenses  in  marling  1  acre  ■       -        -    5      9    8 


Mr.  Linton  marled  80  acres  in  this  way ;  but  by 
employing  a  windlass  to  draw  the  carts  out  of 
the  pit,  he  reduced  the  expenses  per  acre  7s. 
As  regards  the  improvement  of  the  land  by 
marling,  the  value  of  the  produce  in  4  years 
before  marling  was 

£    8.  d. 

14    7    0 


24  16    6 
22  15    0 


In  four  years  after  draining : — 

When  marled  upon  seeds        _        _        - 
When  marled  upon  fallow       -        -        - 

Balance  in  favour  of  marling  upon  seeds 


"The  land,"  Mr.  Linton  adds,  "is  never  so 
productive  the  first  2  years  (or  until  the  clay 
has  got  well  pulverized  and  mixed  with  the 
sand)  as  it  is  afterwards,  and  it  will  not  grow 
a  good  crop  or  a  fine  sample  of  barley  for  5  or 
6  years  after  the  clay  is  laid  on.  I  have  there- 
fore sown  oats  instead.  If  people  (he  con- 
cludes) would  improve  the  land  they  have, 
particularly  light  land,  by  draining,  marling, 
&c.,  they  would  realize  a  far  greater  return  for 
the  outlay  than  by  purchasing  more."  {Journ, 
Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  67.) 

From  these  facts  the  cultivator,  I  think,  will 
arrive  at  the  conclusion,  that  the  judicious  ad- 
mixture of  soils,  and  other  applications  of 
manual  labour,  for  the  purpose  of  increasing 
their  productiveness,  can  hardly  fail,  sooner  or 
later,  to  amply  repay  him  for  the  labour  he  thus 
employs.  It  is  an  improvement,  let  him  re- 
member, that,  when  once  accomplished,  lasts 
forever,  since  the  very  character  of  the  soil  is 
changed  ;  his  organic  manures,  such  as  farm- 
yard compost,  oil-cake,  and  even  bones,  are 
gradually  dissolved  or  decomposed,  and  disap- 
pear from  the  land,  are  absorbed  by  his  crops, 
or  evolved  in  the  gases  of  putrefaction  ;  but  no 
^uch  results  arise  from  either  deepening  the 
soil  or  the  addition  of  the  earths,  they,  when 
once  united  to  the  soil,  remain  there  to  increase 
I  the  crops,  to  lessen  the  toils,  and  to  add  to  the 
'  profits  of  succeeding  cultivators,  even  in  dis- 
i  tant  periods.     And  to  effect  these  important, 


MOLASSES. 

these  national  results,  let  him,  too,  remember, 
that  no  neighbouring  lands  are  impoverished, 
no  organic  matters  are  drawn  from  one  field 
to  enrich  another;  the  dead,  the  deep-buried 
earth  is  merely  brought  to  the  surface,  and  that 
which  is  utterly  profitless  in  the  mass  diffuses 
riches  and  gladness  when  spread  over  the 
farmer's  fields. 

MOLASSES  (Port.  Melasso).  The  saccha- 
rine principle  in  the  dregs  or  refuse  drainings 
from  the  casks,  &c.,  of  sugar,  and  the  uncrys- 
tallizable  part  of  the  juice  of  the  cane  sepa- 
rated from  the  sugar  during  the  process  of 
granulation.  It^consists  of  sugar  prevented 
from  crystallizing  by  acids,  saline,  and  other 
matters.  All  cattle  are  fond  of  sweets,  and 
thrive  well  upon  substances  which  yield  a 
large  proportion  of  saccharine  juice,  of  which 
no  better  proof  can  be  aflforded  than  the  con- 
dition of  the  cattle  and  swine  of  the  West 
India  Islands,  which  are  fed  mainly  on  the  tops 
and  refuse  of  the  cane  after  the  juice  has  been 
expressed  for  sugar.  Mr.  E.  Waters  (Com.  to 
Board  ofjlgr.  vol.  vi.  p.  30)  gives  the  result  of 
a  very  satisfactory  experiment  as  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  feeding  live-stock  with  molasses. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  when  this  sub- 
stance can  be  had  cheap,  its  use  must  prove 
very  beneficial  in  improving  the  condition  of 
cattle. 

MOLE.  A  species  of  the  genus  Talpa,  com- 
mon in  England  and  other  parts  of  Europe. 
This  quadruped  exhibits  in  perfection  that 
modification  of  structure  by  which  the  mam- 
raiferous  animal  is  adapted  to  a  subterranean 
life,  lis  head  is  long,  conical,  and  tapering  to 
the  snout,  which  is  strengthened  by  a  bone,  and 
by  strong  gristles  worked  by  powerful  muscles. 
The  body  is  almost  cylindrical,  thickest  behind 
the  head,  and  gradually  climinishes  to  the  tail. 
There  is  no  outward  indication  of  a  neck,  that 
part  being  enlarged  to  the  size  of  the  chest  by 
the  massive  muscles  which  act  upon  the  head 
and  fore-legs.  These,  which  are  the  principal 
instruments  by  which  the  mole  excavates  its 
long  and  intricate  burrows,  are  the  shortest, 
broadest,  and  strongest,  in  proportion  to  the 
size  of  the  animal,  which  are  to  be  met  with  in 
the  mammiferous  class.  The  food  of  the  mole 
consists  of  worms,  insects,  and  the  roots  of 
plants ;  its  voracity  is  great,  and  it  soon  pe- 
rishes if  food  be  scarce  or  wanting.  The  sense 
of  sight  is  very  feeble,  the  eyes  being  minute 
and  rudimental ;  but  the  other  faculties  of 
smell  and  hearing,  as  being  more  serviceable 
in  its  dark  retreat,  are  extremely  acute.  The 
female  prepares  a  nest  of  moss,  dry  herbage, 
roots,  and  leaves,  in  a  chamber  commonly 
formed  by  excavating  and  enlarging  the  point 
of  intersection  of  3  or  4  passages.  The  young 
are  brought  forth  to  the  number  of  4  or  5  in 
April,  and  sometimes  later. 

The  farmer  views  the  operations  of  the  mole 
as  destrucUve  to  his  crops,  by  exposing  and 
destroying  their  roots,  or  by  overthrowing  the 
plants  in  the  construction  of  the  mole-hills; 
his  burrows,  moreover,  become  the  haunts  and 
hiding-places  of  the  field-mouse  and  other  de- 
structive animals.  The  mole  is  also  accused 
of  piercing  the  sides  of  dams  and  canals,  and 


MOLE. 

letting  out  the  water,  and  of  carrying  off  quan- 
tities of  young  corn  to  form  its  nesl.  Hence 
every  means  are  devised  to  capture  and  destroy 
it,  and  in  Europe  men  gain  a  livelihood  exclu- 
sively by  this  occupation.  Some  naturalists, 
however,  plead  that  the  injury  which  it  perpe 
trates  is  slight,  and  that  it  is  more  than  coun- 
terbalanced by  the  benefit  which  it  produces  by 
turning  up  and  lightening  the  soil,  top-dressing 
pasture-land,  and  especially  by  its  immense 
destruction  of  earth-worms,  slugs,  grubs,  wire- 

1  worms,  and  many  other  noxious  animals  and 
insects  which  inhabit  the  superficial  layer  of 

I  the  ground,  and  occasion  great  injury  to  the 
roots  of  grass,  corn,  and  many  other  plants. 

I  The  soundest  practical  conclusion  lies  pro- 
bably in   the   mean  of   these  opinions ;    and 

I  the    enlightened  agriculturist,  while  he  takes 

I  prompt  measures  to  prevent  the  undue  in- 
crease of  the  mole,  would  do  well  to  reflect  on 
the  disadvantages  which  might  follow  its  total 
extermination.  The  Ettrick  Shepherd  (.lames 
Hogg),  from  a  course  of  30  years'  hard-earned 
experience  and  observation,  speaks  of  the  per- 
nicious eflfects  of  destroying  the  moles  on  sheep 
pasture.  He  alleges,  that  besides  the  inferior 
pasturage  which  the  soil  affords  when  moles 
have  been  exterminated,  the  pining  and  the 
foot-rot,  two  baneful  diseases,  come  ia  iheii 
place  to  annihilate  the  stock. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  moles  do  much 
injury  to  gardens,  by  destroying  the  neatness 
of  the  beds,  rooting  up  onions,  tulips,  and  other 
tubers:  but  in  the'wide-spread  surface  of  the 
field  it  is  a  question  whether  he  does  not  do 
more  good  by  his  teeth  than  injury  by  his 
snout. 

The  animal  so  well  known  in  the  United 
States  under  the  name  of  mole,  belongs  to  an 
entirely  different  genus  of  quadrupeds  from  the 
common  mole  of  Europe.  The  late  Dr.  God- 
man  has  designated  the  American,  the  shrew' 
mole,  and  given,  in  his  Batnbles  of  a  Naturalisty 
a  most  interesting  account  of  its  habits,  &c.  It 
is  the  acalops  aqnalicus  of  naturalists.  Whether 
the  true  mole  has  ever  been  found  in  the 
United  States,  appears  doubtful.  Moles  live  in 
pairs,  and  frequent  soils  of  loose  textures  most 
abounding  in  earth-worms  and  insects.  They 
exhibit  great  dexterity  in  skinning  the  worms^ 
which  they  always  do  before  they  eat  them, 
stripping  the  skin  from  end  to  end,  and  squeez- 
ing out  all  the  contents  of  the  body. 

In  the  United  States  where  professional  mole- 
catchers  are  not  yet  to  be  met  with,  other  means 
of  destroying  the  pest  are  resorted  to.  Dogs 
are  sometimes  found  very  expert  in  digging 
out  moles.  Mole-traps  are  also  used,  and  for  a 
good  design  of  one  see  Ellsworth's  Repmt.  It  is 
found  that  if  fine  shreds  of  fresh  lean  beef  are 
placed  in  their  furrows,  the  moles  will  eat 
them,  if  found  soon  after  deposit;  and  if  poison, 
arsenic  or  strychnine,  is  placed  on  these  shreds, 
they  are  frequently  killed.     The  trap  most  re- 

'  commended  is  one  constructed  on  the  principle 
of  that,  a  figure  of  which  is  given  in  the  Culti- 
vator. Wherever  the  mole  shows  itself  in 
numbers,  it  is  a  pest  of  no  small  magnitude. 
For  accurate  descriptions,  with  drawings,  of 

i  the   various   animals    known    in  the   Unite^l 
4  A  829 


MOLE-CRICKET. 


MOON  INFLUENCE  OF. 


Slates  under  the  names  of  moles,  or  mice,  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  1st  volume  of  the  Na- 
tural History  of  the  State  of  Neiv  York. 

MOLE-CRICKET  (Gryllotalpa  vulgaris. 
Mheia  prylhtalpa).  This  destructive  insect  is 
known  in  different  localities  in  England,  under 
the  several  names  of  churr-worm,  jarr-worm, 
eve-churr,  and  earth-crab.  The  mole-cricket 
measures  2  inches  in  length,  and  4  lines  in 
brffadth.  Its  colour  is  dark-brown.  The  most 
remarkable  feature  in  the  insect  is  the  size  and 
strength  of  its  fore-arms.  The  power  which 
is  requisite  to  move  them  is  great.  The  cavity 
of  the  main  trunk  is  divided  lengthways  by  a 
double  gristly  partition,  surmounted  by  a  bony 
frame,  with  an  inferior  condyle,  with  which  the 
inner  part  of  the  base  of  the  clavicle  of  the 
arm  is  hinged;  and  by  this  mechanism  the  arms 
are  moved.  The  mole-cricket  burrows  under 
ground,  and  devours  the  roots  of  plants.  The 
female  hollows  out  a  place  for  herself  in  the 
earth,  about  half  a  foot  from  the  surface,  in 
the  month  of  June,  and  lays  her  eggs  in  a 
heap,  which  often  contains  from  200  to  300. 
They  are  shining  yellowish-brown,  and  of  the 
size  and  shape  of  a  grain  of  millet.  The 
young,  which  are  hatched  in  July  or  August, 
greatly  resemble  black  ants,  and  feed,  like  the 
uld  ones,  on  the  tender  roots  of  grass,  corn,  and 
various  culinary  vegetables.  They  betray 
their  presence  under  the  earth  by  the  withered 
yellow  patches  in  the  meadows,  and  by  the 
withering  decay  of  culinary  vegetables  in  the 
gardens.  In  October  or  November  they  bury 
themselves  deeper  in  the  earth,  as  a  protection 
from  cold,  and  come  again  to  the  surface  in  the 
warm  days  in  March.  Their  presence  is  dis- 
covered by  their  throwing  up  the  earth  like 
moles.  The  best  method  of  destroying  them  is 
to  dig  up  the  young  brood;  but  boiling  water 
or  oil  of  any  kind  poured  over  their  holes  will 
be  found  effectual.  {Kollar  on  Insects,  p.  144.) 
For  a  description  of  the  American  mole-cricket 
see  Cricket. 

M  O  L  E  -P  L  O  U G  H.  See  DKAiifiNG  and 
Ploughs. 

MOLE-TREE  (Euphorbia  lathyrus).  Com- 
monly called  Caper  Spurge,  and  by  the  French 
Epurge  :  a  plant  with  a  biennial  root;  stem  2 
to  3  feet  high;  found  in  the  United  States  in 
gardens  and  lots.  It  is  a  naturalized  foreigner, 
and  was  originally  introduced  under  a  notion 
that  it  afforded  a  protection  against  the  incur- 
sions of  moles.  The  same  common  impres- 
sion once  existed  in  regard  to  the  Palma 
Christi;  but  little  faith  seems  now  to  be  at- 
tached to  either  plant  as  protectives  against 
moles. 

MONADELPHOUS.  In  botany,  having  the 
lllaments  cohering  into  a  tube,  or  one  bundle. 

MONANDROUS.  A  botanical  term  applied 
10  plants  having  only  one  stamen,  or  male 
orsran. 

MONILIFORM.  In  botany,  formed  like  a 
necklace  ;  that  is  to  say,  articulated  with  alter- 
nate swellings  and  contractions  resembling  a 
String  of  beads. 

MONK'S  HOOD.     See  WoLp's-BAyE. 

MONOCOTYLEDONOUS.  In  botany,  hav- 
ng  only  one  seed-leaf  or  cotyledon. 

MOON,  INFLUENCE  OF.  The  follo^»ing 
830 


observations  upon  this  subject  are  taken  from 
a  lecture  delivered  before  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute of  Pennsylvania,  by  G.  Emerson,  M.  D., 
of  Philadelphia. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  opinion  relative  to 
the  phenomena  of  the  natural  world,  more  uni- 
versally maintained,  than  that  the  moon  exerts 
a  decided  influence  over  the  slates  of  the  wea- 
ther. This  long-cherished  notion  has  doubt- 
less derived  increased  strength,  since  it  was 
shown  that  the  ocean  tides  depend  upon  a  phy- 
sical connection  subsisting  between  our  planet 
and  her  satellite. 

I,  however,  think  it  capabie  of  conclusive 
demonstration,  that  the  moon  exerts  no  influ- 
ence in  the  production  of  wet  or  dry  weather. 

I  assume  it  as  incontrovertibly  proven,  by 
the  experiments  of  Mr.  Dalton,  that  the  watery 
vapour  from  which  rain  and  all  the  precipita- 
tions are  formed,  owes  its  elevation  and  sus- 
pension, in  an  invisible  form,  entirely  to  heat, 
deprived  of  a  due  proportion  of  which,  by  any 
refrigerating  cause,  it  is  condensed,  and  falls 
from  the  atmosphere  in  one*  or  other  of  the 
forms  of  aqueous  precipitation.  The  conditions 
of  icet  or  dry  weather  are,  consequently,  to  be  re- 
garded as  regulated  solely  by  temperature. 

Now,  the  nicest  experiments  have  failed  to 
show  that  the  presence  and  light  of  the  moon 
are  attended  by  the  slightest  change  of  tem- 
perature. The  lunar  rays  have  been  concen- 
trated by  powerful  lenses  and  the  largest  re- 
flectors, and  thrown  upon  that  most  delicate 
test  of  heat,  the  differential  thermometer,  with- 
out any  indication  of  their  effect  in  raising  the 
temperature.  Unless,  therefore,  it  can  be 
proved  that  the  moon  exerts  some  perceptible 
influence  upon  the  temperature  of  our  atmo- 
sphere, we  shall  be  warranted  in  believing  that 
she  has  no  power  in*  determining  the  condi- 
tions of  the  weather,  whether  this  shall  be  wet 
or  dry. 

I  am  fully  aware  of  the  multitudes  of  ob- 
servations which  have  from  time  to  time  been 
made  upon  this  question,  and  that  most  of  those 
reported  appear  to  favour  a  belief  contrary  to 
the  position  here  taken. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  power  of  the 
moon,  so  conspicuously  manifested  in  the  pro- 
duction of  the  ocean  tides,  may  also  be  felt  by 
the  atmosphere.  The  aerial  ocean  must,  weight 
for  weight,  be  as  subservient  to  the  law  of  at- 
traction subsisting  between  the  earth  and  her 
satellite,  as  any  other  terrestrial  matter ;  and 
I  have  no  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  the  re- 
sults of  observations  made  in  Italy  and  France, 
by  Polina,  Flaugergues,  and  others,  which  go 
to  prove  that  the  mean  height  of  the  barometer 
is  affected  by  the  different  positions  of  the 
moon  in  relation  to  the  earth,  the  greatest  mean 
elevations  corresponding  with  the  quarters. 
But,  in  thus  admitting  the  existence  of  lunar 
influence  upon  the  terrestrial  atmosphere,  we 
should  not  deceive  ourselves  in  regard  to  the 
nature  of  this  influence.  We  must  not  admit 
that  every  cause  which  operates  in  producing 
the  rise  or  depression  of  the  mercurial  column, 
is  capable  of  influencing  the  hygrometric  con- 
ditions of  the  air,  (If,  in  other  words,  exercising 
an  influence  in  the  production  of  wet  or  dry 
weather.    The  attraction   subsisting  betweer 


MOON. 


MOON. 


6 

to 

5 

to 

2 

to 

2 

to 

5 

to 

4 

to 

1. 

the  earth  and  moon,  causes  an  accumulation 
of  the  liquid  and  movable  materials  spread 
over  the  terrestrial  surface,  on  that  part  ad- 
dressed, towards  the  moon;  hence,  the  rise  ob- 
serve.l  in  the  sea,  and  in  the  mercurial  column. 
But  all  this  is  owing  to  the  agency  of  gravity, 
or  attraction,  which,  we  contend,  has  nothing 
to  do  with  the  production  of  wet  or  dry  wea- 
ther; the  elevation  and  deposition  of  aqueous 
vapour  beinsr,  as  we  have  said  before,  subject 
to  the  agency  o{  temperature  alone. 

As  to  the  calculations,  the  results  of  which 
seem  so  irresistibly  in  favour  of  lunar  influ- 
ence upon  the  weather,  we  think  it  easy  to 
show  that  that  they  must  be  founded  upon  de- 
ceptive data,  and  will  not  bear  a  close  exami- 
nation. The  estimates  of  Toaldo,  a  celebrated 
Italian  philosopher,  embrace  a  series  of  labo- 
rious observations,  collected  during  many 
years,  and  compute  the  number  of  changes  of 
weather  to  the  different  phases  of  the  moo.i,  as 
follows : 

New  moon,  - 

Full  moon    - 

First  quarter 

Second  quarter     - 

Perigee 

Apogee 

That  is  to  say,  of  7  new  moons,  6  were  attend- 
ed with  a  change  of  weather,  and  at  one  of 
them  there  v/as  no  change;  of  6  full  moons,  b 
were  attended  with  a  change  ;  and,  at  the  quar- 
ters, the  changes  were  twice  as  frequent  as  the 
continuance  of  the  previous  weather. 

Now,  such  a  computation,  coming  from  so 
high  an  authority,  might  almost  be  deemed 
conclusive  upon  the  subject.  When,  however, 
we  come  to  inquire  more  closely  into  the  cir- 
cumstances involved  in  the  calculation,  we 
find  ample  grounds  for  suspecting  its  accu- 
racy. In  the  first  place,  the  term  ^' change  of 
weather"  is  used  by  Toaldo  in  an  ambiguous 
and  arbitrary  sense,  so  that  we  are  left  igno- 
rant of  the  specific  change  he  refers  to.  But, 
worse  than  tliis,  he  does  not  restrict  himself  to 
the  day  when  the  change  takes  place,  but  in- 
cludes any  changes  within  2  or  3  days  preced- 
ing or  following  a  phase.  It  is  easy  to  con- 
ceive how  a  person,  especially  one  prepos- 
sessed in  favour  of  a  prevailing  opinion,  might 
have  been  led,  with  such  a  privilege  as  to 
limit,  to  take  or  reject  a  change,  to  throw  it 
into  one  quarter  or  another,  as  he  might  choose 
to  dispose  of  it,  for  the  purpose  of  endowing 
the  moon  with  a  power  to  which  he  thought 
her  entitled. 

The  results  of  a  series  of  observations 
made  by  Pilgram,  make  it  appear  that  the  new 
moon  has  less  to  do  with  the  changes  of  the 
weather  than  the  other  phases;  a  conclusion 
diametrically  opposed  to  that  of  Toaldo,  just 
referred  to.  As  the  estimate  of  Pilgram  is 
founded  on  observations  extending  through  a 
series  of  no  less  than  52  years,  it  might  be  re- 
garded, in  point  of  authority,  as  at  least  equal 
to  that  of  the  Italian  philosopher.  How  are 
these  clashing  results  of  observations,  profess- 
ing to  be  made  with  the  utmost  attention,  to  be 
reconciled  with  truth  1  Do  they  not  leave  us 
lo  infer  that  the  data  employed  have  been  either 
eptive,  unskiUully  grouped,  or  that  some 


incidental  or  accidental  circumstances  hsve 
interfered  with  the  estimates,  and  led  to  eiTo- 
neous  conclusions' 

The  belief  in  the  moon's  influence  over  the 
natural  operations  going  forward  upon  our 
earth,  has  by  no  means  been  confined  to  the 
weather;  and  it  would  be  a  tedious  task  to 
enumerate  all  the  agencies  she  has  been  allow- 
ed to  possess  over  organic  and  vegetable  life 
both  animate  and  inanimate.  "Many  of  the 
opinions  vulgarly  entertained  upon  this  head," 
says  M.  Arago,  "are  founded  on  well-establish- 
ed facts,  the  error  lying,  not  in  the  observa- 
tions, but  in  the  theory  which  makes  the  moon 
ihe  cause  of  phenomena,  of  which  she  is  only 
the  silent  and  unconcerned  spectator."  The 
distinguished  philosopher  from  whom  we  have 
just  quoted,  has  cited  a  number  of  highly  in- 
teresting cases,  which  show  in  the  clearest 
manner  how  the  effects  that  have  been  as- 
cribed to  the  moon's  influence,  can  be  readily 
traced  to  natural  agencies  operating  around 
us,  and  with  which  modern  philosophy  has 
rendered  us  familiar.  Such,  for  example,  as 
the  pernicious  influence  upon  vegetation,  at- 
tributed by  gardeners  and  agriculturists  to  the 
April  moon  ;  the  effect  of  the  moon's  rays  in 
hastening  the  putrefaction  of  animal  sub- 
stances, &c.;  all  of  which  effects  are  doubtless 
connected  with  the  presence  of  moonlight, 
merely,  however,  as  an  incidental  circum- 
stance, for  they  would  take  place  equally  well 
in  a  clear  atmosphere,  even  should  there  be  no 
such  body  as  the  moon  in  existence. 

Let  us  take,  for  example,  the  case  of  the 
April  moon,  denominated  by  the  French  gar- 
deners *'la  lune  rousse."  'The  change  in  this 
case  takes  place  in  April,  and  the  full  either 
about  the  end  of  this  month,  or  some  time  in 
May;  at  which  particular  season,  in  our  cli- 
mate, the  mean  temperature  of  the  air  is  but 
little  above  the  freezing  point.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  radiation  from  the  earth, 
during  a  clear  night,  will  often  reduce  its  tem- 
perature to,  or  even  below,  the  freezing  point ; 
whilst  a  thermometer  suspended  in  the  air,  a 
few  feet  from  the  ground,  will  remain  several 
degrees  above  32°.  Thus,  the  tender  plants  in 
the  soil  may  become  actually  frost-bitten,  whilst 
the  atmosphere  has  been  apparently  too  warm 
to  admit  of  such  an  occurrence.  If,  on  the 
contrary,  the  night  be  cloudy,  the  plants  will 
suffer  no  injur}';  not,  as  the  gardeners  allege, 
because  there  is  no  moonlight  to  hurt  them, 
but  because  the  radiation  and  cooling  of  the 
earth  will  not  take  place.  Thus,  moonlight  or 
starlight,  ihe  injury  to  vegetation  will  be  pre- 
cisely the  same,  and  the  effect  might  as  well 
be  ascribed  to  the  stars  as  to  the  moon. 

And,  again,  it  has  been  noticed  by  Pliny 
and  Plutarch,  and  is  generally  believed  in  most 
countries  at  the  present  day,  that  the  moon's 
light  sheds  a  copious  humidity  on  substances 
exposed  to  its  rays,  and  hastens  the  putrefac- 
tion of  animal  substances.  That  a  copious 
humidity  is  often  shed  during  a  moonlight 
night,  is  not  to  be  disputed  neither  can  it  be 
doubted  that  meats  will  spoil  sooner,  if  ex- 
posed to  her  rays,  than  if  protected  from  thera. 
The  nature  and  source  of  this  humidity  can  bn 
no  mysteries  now  that  the   rationale   of  the 

8.31 


MOON-TREFOIL. 


MORTAR. 


brmation  of  dew  is  so  happily  explained  ;  and 
it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  the  moisture  deposit- 
ed upon  the  meat  causes  it  to  spoil  much 
sooner  than  if  kept  covered,  when  it  would  re- 
main dry.  Meats  are  constantly  preserved  by 
simple  drying;  and  even  the  mummies  in  the 
dry  caverns  of  Egypt  have  lasted  thousands  of 
years,  mainly  from  their  depositories  being 
perfectly  free  from  moisture.  The  preserving 
agency  of  embalming  is,  perhaps,  a  secondary 
consideration,  when  compared  with  the  subse- 
quent state  of  dryness  in  which  the  bodies  are 
kept. 

As  to  the  notion  of  lunar  influence  on  dis- 
ease, which  still  counts  numerous  partisans,  I 
regard  it  as  upon  precisely  the  same  footing  as 
the  exploded  doctrine  of  the  agency  of  the 
stars,  so  long  and  stoutly  maintained. 

Upon  the  whole,  therefore,  I  look  upon  it 
as  clearly  demonstrable,  upon  established  phi- 
losophical principles, 

1st,  That  wet  and  dry  weather  are  matters 
regulated  solely  by  changes  of  temperature,  over 
which  the  moon  has  no  control: 

2d,  That  the  mutual  influence  exerted  be- 
tween the  earth  and  moon,  as  shown  in  the 
ocean  and  atmospheric  tides,  depends  upon  the 
play  of  another  and  entirely  distinct  principle, 
namely,  gravitation  or  attraction  : 

3d,  That  most,  if  not  all,  the  effects  upon 
animal  and  vegetable  substances,  popularly 
ascribed  to  the  action  of  the  moon,  are  to  be 
traced  to  natural  agencies,  entirely  independent 
of  this  satellite. 

MOON-TREFOIL.  A  name  for  one  of  the 
species  of  medick  (Medicago  arborea). 

MOON  WORT  (^Botryrlmwi,  from  botrys,  a 
bunch ;  in  reference  to  the  form  of  the  fructi- 
fication, which  is  much  like  a  bunch  of 
grapes).  The  species  of  this  genus  of  ferns 
are  curious  and  interesting  plants  ;  one  only 
is  indigenous,  the  common  moon  wort  (jB.  luna- 
ria),  which  is  a  perennial  growing  in  moun- 
tainous pastures  or  meadows.  The  root  con- 
sists of  several  simple,  cylindrical,  clustered  or 
whorled  fibres.  The  herb  is  very  smooth,  a 
little  succulent,  of  a  pale  opaque  green,  erect, 
not  a  span  high.  Leaf  solitary,  pinnate  ;  leaf- 
lets fan-shaped,  notched. 

MOOR.  An  uncultivated  surface  of  coun- 
try, without  trees,  and  with  few  grasses  or 
other  herbage  fit  for  pasture  ;  and  usually  con- 
taining scattered  plants  of  heath,  with  a  dark 
peaty  soil.  Moor  lands  are  generally  the  least 
fitted  for  culture  of  any  description  of  surface, 
not  rocky  or  mountainous.  Moors  are  covered 
with  a  very  thin  layer  of  soft,  black,  sterile 
soil ;  and  the  subsoil  is  generally  gravel  or  re- 
tentive ferruginous  clay.  By  the  destruction 
of  the  heath  or  other  bad  herbage,  and  by  sow- 
ing down  with  grass-seeds,  they  may  be  im- 
proved. In  many  cases,  also,  trees  will  grow 
on  drained  moors;  in  which  case  the  soil  ulti- 
mately becomes  ameliorated  by  the  shade  they 
aflford,  and  the  fall  and  decay  of  their  leaves. 
See  Heath,  Morass,  Peat  Soils,  and  Waste 
Laxps. 

MOORBAND  PAN.     This  is  a  name  given 

in  Scotland  to  an  indurated  combination  of 

rlay,   small   stones,  and  iron  in  a  particular 

»tate,  situated  either  immediately,  or  at  some 

W32 


I  distance  below  the  path  of  the  plough,  and 
i  which  is  nearly  impervious  to  water.  All  in- 
'  durated  incrustations,  however,  formed  under 
the  sole  of  the  plough,  says  a  writer  in  a  valu- 
able agricultural  journal,  are  not  moorband 
pan.  In  good  alluvial  loam  of  greater  depth 
than  the  plough-furrow,  and  rendered  adhesive 
by  pressure,  an  incrustation  or  firming  of  the 
subsoil — that  is,  the  bottom  upon  which  the 
plough  moves,  is  frequently  formed  by  the  sole 
of  the  plough  rubbing  constantly  on  the  soil  at 
the  same  depth.  This  incrustated  earth  can 
retain  water,  but  its  effects  on  soils  and  plants 
are  innocuous  compared  to  those  of  moorband 
pan.  Nevertheless,  its  disruption  by  deep 
ploughing  is  of  benefit  to  the  soil,  and  we  have 
experienced  it  in  very  fine  deep  mould.  From 
an  analysis  by  Mr.  John  Gray,  of  Dilston,  of 
two  portions  of  moorband  pan  obtained  from 
Mylnfield  Plain,  120  parts  of  one  were  found  to 
contain  34  of  oxide  of  iron,  74  of  silex,  and  6  of 
alumina  or  clay  and  loss;  the  other  contained 
43  parts  of  oxide  of  iron,  64  of  silex,  and  8  of 
alumina  and  loss. 

MOOSE.     See  Deer. 

MOOSE-ELM.     See  Elm,  Red. 

MOOSE-WOOD.  The  name  of  a  species 
of  maple  {Jiccr  striatum),  so  called  in  the 
northern  section  of  the  United  States,  but  in 
the  Middle  States  known  by  the  common  name 
of  striped  maple. 

MOOR-GRASS  (Sesleria,  named  in  honour 
of  M.  Sesler,  a  physician  and  botanist  of  the 
18th  century).  These  are  uninteresting  grasses 
in  an  agricultural  point  of  view. 

MORASS.  Moor  lands  saturated  with  water 
to  such  an  extent  as  not  to  bear  the  tread  of 
cattle,  A  morass  is  to  a  moor  what  a  marsh 
is  to  a  meadow.  It  is  evident  that  the  drain- 
age of  morasses  and  moors,  by  lessening  the 
evaporation  of  water  from  their  surfaces,  must 
tend  to  improve  the  local  climate.  See  Peat 
and  Plaxtations. 

MORDANT.  Any  substance  used  to  fix 
dyes  or  colouring  matters  upon  difl^orent 
stuffs. 

MOREL  (Germ,  moschel).  The  Moschella  es- 
culenta  is  one  of  the  few  edible  fungi  which 
may  be  used  as  food  with  safety.  It  occasion- 
ally occurs  in  woods  and  orchards,  whence 
it  finds  its  way  to  the  markets;  but  it  is  of 
comparatively  rare  occurrence.  It  has  a  hol- 
low stalk  an  inch  or  two  high,  and  a  yellowish 
or  grayish  indented  head  2  or  3  inches  deep. 
See  FuxGi,  and  Mushrooms. 

MORTAR.  A  well-known  cement  employed 
for  building  purposes,  which  is  thus  described 
by  Dr.  Thomson:  "It  is  composed  of  quick- 
lime and  sand,  reduced  to  a  paste  with  water. 
When  dry  it  becomes  as  hard  as  stone,  and  as 
durable ;  and  adhering  very  strongly  to  the 
surface  of  the  stones  which  it  is  employe  I  to 
cement,  the  whole  wall  in  fact  becomes  no- 
thing else  than  one  single  stone.  But  this 
effect  is  produced  very  imperfectly  unless  the 
mortar  be  very  well  prepared.  The  lime  ought 
to  be  pure,  completely  free  from  carbonic  acid, 
and  in  the  state  of  a  very  fine  powder;  the 
sand  should  be  free  from  clay,  and  partly  in  the 
state  of  fine  sand,  and  partly  in  that  of  gravel 
the  water  should  be   pure,  and  if  previously 


MOSSES. 

saturated  with  lime,  so  much  the  better."  The 
best  proportions,  according  to  the  experiments 
of  Dr.  Higgins,  are  3  parts  of  fine  sand,  4  pa-ts 
of  coarse  sand,  1  part  of  quicklime,  recently 
slacked,  and  as  little  water  as  possible.  The 
stony  consistence  which  mortar  acquires  is 
owing  partly  to  the  absorption  of  carbonic  acid, 
but  principally  to  the  combination  of  part  of 
the  water  with  the  lime.  This  last  circum- 
stance is  the  reason  that,  if  to  common  mortar 
one-fourth  part  of  lime,  reduced  to  powder  with- 
out being  slacked,  be  added,  the  mortar,  when 
dry,  acquires  much  greater  solidity  than  it 
otherwise  would  do.  This  was  first  proposed 
by  Loriot ;  and  afterwards  Morveau  found  the 
following  proportions  to  answer  best: — 

Pari*. 

Fine  sand      ------  3 

Cement  of  well-baked  bricks       -        -  3 

Slacked  lime  -----  2 

Urislacked  lime     -----  2 

10 

The  same  advantages  may  be  obtained  by 
using  as  little  water  as  possible  in  slaking  the 
lime.  Higgins  found  that  the  addition  of  burnt 
bones,  in  the  proportion  of  not  more  than  one- 
fifth  of  the  lime  employed,  improved  mortar  by 
giving  it  tenacity,  and  rendeiring  it  less  apt  to 
crack. 

When  a  little  clay  is  added  to  mortar,  it  ac- 
quires the  important  property  of  hardening 
under  water;  so  that  it  may  be  employed  by 
the  farmer  in  those  edifices  which  are  con- 
stantly exposed  to  the  action  of  water.  Lime- 
stone is  found  not  unfrequenlly  mixed  with 
clay ;  and  in  that  case  it  becomes  brown  by 
calcination,  instead  of  white.  These  native 
limestones  are  employed  for  making  wafer 
mortar ;  but  good  water  mortar  may  be  made 
by  the  following  process  :  Mix  together  4  parts 
of  blue  clay,  6  parts  of  black  oxide  of  manga- 
nese, and  90  parts  of  limestone,  all  in  pow- 
der. Calcine  this  mixture  to  expel  the  carbonic 
acid;  mix  it  with  60  parts  of  sand,  and  form  it 
into  a  mortar  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of 
water.  The  best  mortar  for  resisting  water  is 
made  by  mixing  lime  with  puzzolano,  a  vol- 
canic sand  brought  from  Italy.  Morveau  in- 
forms us  that  basaltes,  which  is  very  common 
in  this  country,  may  be  substituted  for  puzzo- 
lano. It  must  be  heated  in  a  furnace,  thrown 
•while  red-hot  into  water,  and  then  passed 
through  a  sieve. 

MOSSES,  in  common  language,  are  any 
minute,  small-leaved,  cryptogamic  plants. 
Thus,  club-moss  is  a  lycopodium  ;  Iceland  and 
reindeer  mosses  are  lichens :  and  the  nume- 
rous species  of  Jnngermannia  are  all  compre- 
hended under  the  same  term.  But  in  systema- 
tical botany  no  plants  are  considered  mosses, 
except  such  as  belong  to  the  natural  order, 
Bryareee  or  Musci.  Such  plants  are  simple- 
leaved  ;  without  spiral  vessels  or  stomata;  with 
a  distinct  axis  of  growth  ;  and  with  the  spo- 
rules,  or  reproductive  matter  enclosed  in  cases 
called  sporangia  or  thecae,  covered  by  a  cap  or  I 
calyptra.  It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  such  | 
plants  should  have  cases  called  staminidia, 
containing  powdery  matter;  among  which  are 
found  animalcules,  not  distinguishable  from  . 
105 


MOSS  LAND. 

'  such  as  are  called  spermatic,  and  which  swim 
about  freely  in  water.  None  of  the  mosses  are 
]  of  any  known  use,  except  for  the  purpose  of 
j  packing  plants,  and  surrounding  their  roots 
I  v^hen  they  are  sent  to  a  distance.  They  are 
i  bad  conductors  of  heat,  and  might  be  employ- 
'  ed,  instead  of  straw,  to  guard  delicate-growing 
'  plants  from  the  influence  of  frost. 

MOSS  LAND.  Land  abounding  in  peat 
moss,  but  not  so  much  saturated  with  water  as 
to  become  peat  bog  or  morass.  Many  reme- 
dies have  been  prescribed  for  the  destruction 
of  moss.  A  good  scarifying  or  harrowing, 
with  short,  sharp  tines,  succeeded  by  a  top- 
dressing  of  salt  or  soot,  is  probably  the  most 
eflficacious :  lime  in  any  form  is  less  powerful, 
though  (especially  when  combined  with  sand) 
it  remarkably  promotes  the  growth  of  trefoil 
tribes  and  other  grasses,  highly  palatable  to 
cattle,  but  does  not  avail  to  the  exclusion  of 
moss.  Mr.  Bishop  of  Perthshire,  who  has  ob- 
tained from  the  Highland  Society  of  Scotland 
a  prize  for  an  essay  "  On  the  Management  of 
Pasture  in  regard  to  the  Destruction  of  Musci," 
suggests  as  the  most  certain  remedy,  that  a 
great  portion  of  the  summer's  grass  should 
remain  unconsumed  on  the  ground  until  the 
following  winter,  when  the  barer  it  is  eaten 
before  the  new  growth  of  spring,  the  finer  will 
be  the  following  summer's  grass.  Breaking 
up  the  land,  and  sowing  appropriate  grasses 
after  a  course  of  culture,  is  a  certain  remedy, 
but  often  a  very  inconvenient  one.  Mr.  W. 
Bell  gives  an  account  of  certain  experiments 
which  he  carried  on  very  successfully  for  con- 
verting moss  into  manure  by  the  application 
of  whale  oil. 

Mr.  A.  Blackadder,  speaking  of  the  manures 
for  decomposing  moss,  says :  Adjacent  reck 
strata  ought  to  be  carefully  explored,  as  in  ge- 
neral they  have  each  their  corresponding  earthy 
covering,  more  or  less  adapted  to  the  purposes 
of  vegetation.  Where  the  rocks  are  of  the 
primitive  class,  or  of  the  coal  formation,  their 
disintegrated  portions,  and  ofttimes  their  super- 
ficial covers,  are  of  inferior  value  as  a  soil ; 
but  even  the  rock-earth  of  the  latter,  as  also  of 
clay-slate,  lime,  or  even  the  old  red  sandstone, 
though  not  previously  mingled  nor  superim- 
posed in  the  moss,  are  yet  valuable  as  ingre- 
dients of  composts  for  top-dressing,  as  are  also 
those  of  the  finer  sandstone,  greenstone,  and 
sea-sand  containing  calcareous  matters  in  a 
state  of  decomposition,  or  even  where  these 
are  absent.  While  sand  laid  over  moss  pro- 
duces rapid  decomposition,  and  consequent 
vegetation,  no  such  effect  is  produced  by  the 
purer  clays.  Putrescent  matters,  whether  ani- 
mal or  vegetable,  possess  the  most  powerful 
influence.  Lime,  unless  in  compost,  seems  to 
have  no  such  effect  on  simple  mosses  ;  and  its 
effects  on  mixed  mosses,  or  those  in  a  state  of 
partial  decomposition,  must  depend  on  ihe 
quantity  of  foreign  matter  and  other  circum- 
stances. The  value  of  moss  greatly  depends 
on  local  circumstances,  and  particularly  with 
regard  to  the  supply  of  operatives  at  the  com- 
mencement of  improvements ;  access  to  pu- 
trescent manures  ;  markets  for  the  sale  of  the 
produce;  soils  affording  materials  for  top- 
dressing  ;  and  turf  suitable  for  wedge-drains 
4  A  2  83? 


MOTH. 


MOTH 


or  for  drain-tiles,  or  stone  for  drains,  or  clean 
gravel,  if  found  preferable,  the  expense  at  which 
these  can  be  laid  down  at  the  moss  must  enter 
into  the  calculation.  Or,  again,  if  the  moss  is 
to  be  entirely  removed,  whether  an  adequate 
supply  of  water  can  be  obtained,  with  access 
to  a  river  or  to  the  sea,  into  which  it  may  be 
floated  off.  Nothing  adds  more  to  the  intrinsic 
value  of  moss  than  mixtures  of  other  so^ls 
during  the  progress  of  its  formation,  either  by 
means  of  the  winds  carrying  drift  sand,  or  by 
■water  transporting  earthy  particles.  When, 
again,  a  considerable  quantity  is  thus  super- 
imposed, the  soil  ceases  to  be  a  moss,  properly 
so  ciilled,  and  is  an  alluvial  soil  upon  a  moss 
subsoil.  In  either  case,  little  more  is  required 
than  thorough  drainmg,  in  order  to  the  produc- 
tion, by  the  ordinary  means,  of  the  best  crops  ; 
and  such  is  the  description  of  the  greater  part 
of  the  mosses  hitherto  successfully  iniproved 
in  Scotland.  The  same  writer  furnishes  some 
causes  of  the  failure  in  moss  improvements. 

MOTH.  Clothes-moth,  Fur-moth,  Grease-moth, 
&c.  The  various  kinds  of  destructive  moths, 
found  in  houses,  stores,  barns,  granaries, 
and  mills,  are  mostly  very  small  insects ;  the 
largest  of  thetiti,  when  arrived  at  maturity, 
expanding  their  wings  only  about  eight-tenths 
of  an  inch.  The  ravages  of  some  of  these 
little  creatures  are  too  well  known  to  need  a 
particular  description.  Among  them  may  be 
mentioned  the  clothes-moth  {Tinea  vestianella), 
the  tapestry-moth  or  carpet-moth  (T.  tapetzel- 
la),  the  fur-moth  (T.  peUionella),  the  hair-moth 
(T.  n-inella),  and  the  grain-moth  {T.  granelln), 
with  some  others  belonging  to  a  group,  which 
may  be  called  Tineans  (rm€rt(/«)  ;  also  the 
pack-moth  {Anacampsis  sardtella),  which  is 
very  destructive  to  wool  and  fabrics  made  of 
this  material,  and  the  Angoumois  grain-moth 
(^.  cerealella),  both  of  which  are  to  be  included 
among  the  Yponomeutians.  In  the  cabinet  of 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  the 
cases,  containing  the  large  and  beautiful  col- 
lection of  shells,  were  formerly  lined  with  fine 
white  flannel.  In  this  some  moths  soon  esta- 
blished themselves,  multiplied  very  fast,  and, 
in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  did  so  much 
damage  that  it  became  necessary  entirely  to 
remove  the  moth-eaten  linings.  In  their  winged 
State  these  moths  were  of  a  light  buff  colour, 
■with  the  lustre  of  satin,  and  had  a  thick  orange- 
Coloured  tuft  on  the  forehead ;  the  wings  were 
deeply  fringed,  and  the  first  pair  were  lance- 
Shaped,  and  expanded  rather  more  than  half  an 
inch.  This  species  agrees  very  well  with  the 
description  given,  by  the  old  naturalist,  of  the 
Tinea  JJnvifronteUa,  or  the  orange-fronted  tinea, 
and  with  Wood's  figure  of  Tinea  destructor,  the 
destroyer.  Should  it  prove  to  be  different  from 
these,  it  may  be  named  the  satin-buflf  moth. 
Objects  of  natural  histor)--  are  very  apt  to  be 
injured  by  another  moth,  closely  resembling 
the  foregoing,  and  difl^ering  from  it  chiefly  in 
being  somewhat  smaller,  and  in  having  the 
hind-wings  tinged  with  gray.  Chocolate,  as  i 
Reaumur  has  remarked,  is  devoured  by  another  j 
tinea,  whose  little  silken  cases  are  often  seen  ■ 
between  the  cakes,  and  I  have  also  found  them 
m  chocolate  put  up  in  tin  cases.  Other  articles 
oi  lood  are  also  devoured  bv  some  of  these 
834 


tinese,  and  even  our  books  are  not  spared  by 
them. 

Habits  of  Moths,  and  Means  of  preserving  Clothes, 
Sfc,  from  their  Stacks. — The  tineans,  in  the 
winged  state,  have  4  short  and  slender  feelers, 
a  thick  tuft  on  the  forehead,  and  very  narrow 
wings,  which  are  deeply  fringed.  They  lay 
their  eggs  in  the  spring,  in  May  and  June,  and 
die  immediately  afterwards.  The  >*ggs  (ac- 
cording to  Latreille  and  Duponchel,  from  whose 
works  the  following  remarks  are  chiefly  ex- 
tracted) are  hatched  in  15  days,  and  the  little 
whitish  caterpillars  or  moth-worms  proceeding 
therefrom  immediately  begin  to  gnaw  the  sub- 
stances within  their  reach,  and  cover  themsel  ves 
with  the  fragments,  shaping  them  into  little  hol- 
low rolls  and  lining  them  with  silk.  They  pass 
the  summer  within  these  rolls,  some  carrying 
them  about  on  their  backs  as  they  move  along, 
and  others  fastening  them  to  the  substance 
they  are  eating;  and  they  enlarge  them  from 
time  to  time  by  adding  portions  to  the  two  open 
extremities,  and  by  gores  set  into  the  sides, 
which  they  slit  open  for  this  purpose.  Con- 
cealed within  their  movable  cases,  or  in  their 
lint-covered  burrows,  they  carry  on  the  work 
of  destruction  through  the  summer;  but  in  the 
autumn  they  leave  off"  eating,  make  fast  their 
habitations,  and  remain  at  rest  and  seemingly 
torpid  through  the  winter.  Early  in  the  spring 
they  change  to  chrysalids  within  their  cases, 
and  in  about  20  days  afterwards  are  trans- 
formed to  winged  moths,  and  come  forth,  and 
fly  about  in  the  evening,  till  they  have  paired 
and  are  ready  to  lay  their  eggs.  They  then 
contrive  to  slip  through  cracks  into  dark  clo- 
sets, chests,  and  drawers,  under  the  edges  of 
carpets,  in  the  folds  of  curtains  and  of  gar- 
ments hanging  up,  and  into  various  other 
places,  where  they  immediately  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  a  new  colony  of  destructive  moth- 
worms. 

Early  in  June  the  prudent  housekeeper  will 
take  care  to  beat  up  their  quarters  and  put 
them  to  flight,  or  to  disturb  them  so  as  to  defeat 
their  designs  and  destroy  their  eggs  and  young. 
With  this  view  wardrobes,  closets,  drawers, 
and  chests  will  be  laid  open,  and  emptied  of 
their  contents,  and  all  woollen  garments,  and 
bedding,  furs,  feathers,  carpets,  curtains,  and 
the  like,  will  be  removed  and  exposed  to  the 
air,  and  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  for  several 
hours  together,  and  will  not  be  put  back  in 
their  places  without  a  thorough  brushing,  beat- 
ing, or  shaking.  By  these  means,  the  moths 
and  their  eggs  will  be  dislodged  and  destroyed. 
In  old  houses,  that  are  much  infested  by  moths, 
the  cracks  in  the  floors,  in  the  wainscot,  around 
the  walls  and  shelves  of  closets,  and  even  in 
the  furniture  used  for  holding  clothes,  should 
be  brushed  over  with  spirits  of  turpentine. 
Sheets  of  papei  sprinkled  with  spirits  of  tur- 
pentine, camphor  in  coarse  powder,  or  leaves 
of  tobacco,  should  be  placed  among  the  clothes^ 
when  they  are  laid  aside  for  the  summer. 
Furs,  plumes,  and  other  small  articles,  not  in 
constant  use,  are  best  preserved  by  being  put, 
with  a  few  tobacco  leaves,  or  bits  of  camphor, 
into  bags  made  of  thick  brown  paper,  and  close- 
ly sewed  or  pasted  up  at  the  end.  Chests  of 
camphor  wood,  red  cedar,  or  of  Spanish  cedar^ 


k 


MOTH  MULLEIN. 


are  found  to  be  the  best  for  keeping  all  articles 
from  moths  and  other  vermin.  The  cloth  lin- 
ings of  carriages  can  be  secured  forever  from 
the  attacks  of  moths  by  being  washed  or  sponged 
on  both  sides  with  a  solution  of  the  corrosive 
sublimate  of  mercury  in  alcohol,  made  just 
strong  enough  not  to  leave  a  white  stain  on  a 
black  feather.  Moths  can  be  killed  by  fumi- 
gating the  article  containing  them  with  tobacco 
smoke  or  with  sulphur,  or  by  shutting  it  in  a 
tight  vessel  and  then  plunging  the  latter  into 
boiling  water,  or  exposing  it  to  steam,  for  the 
space  of  15  minutes,  or  by  putting  it  into  an 
oven  heated  to  about  160  degrees  of  Fahren- 
heit's thermometer. 

Stored  grain  is  exposed  to  much  injury  from 
the  depredations  of  two  little  moths,  in  Europe, 
and  is  attacked  in  the  same  way,  and  apparent- 
ly by  the  same  insects,  in  the  United  States. 
See  CoRv-MoTH,  Graiji-Wkkvil,  and  Iitsects. 

MOTH  MULLEIN.    See  Mullbix. 

MOTTLED.  In  botany,  signifies  marked 
with  blotches  of  colour  of  unequal  intensity, 
passing  insensibly  into  each  other.  It  is  syno- 
nymous with  maculated;  as,  for  instance,  in 
the  stems  of  common  hemlock  {Conxum  mactt' 
latum). 

MOULD.  A  general  name  for  the  finely 
divided  earthy  substance  that  forms  the  upper 
stratum  or  surface  soil  of  land,  and  in  which 
all  kinds  of  vegetables  strike  root  and  thrive. 
See  Analtsis  of  Soils,  Earths,  and  HvMUt. 

MOULD-BOARD.    See  Plouch. 

MOULD  ON  HOPS.  A  vegetable  disease, 
which  is  liable  to  afi^ect  the  hop  plant,  in  the 
more  advanced  periods  of  its  growth,  and  pro- 
duce much  mischief  to  the  crop.  See  Milukw 
and  Hops. 

MOULDEBAERT.  This  implement  of  Flem- 
ish husbandry  resembles  a  large  square  malt- 
shovel  :  it  is  strongly  prepared  with  three  bars 
of  iron  on  the  lower  side,  secured  by  12  bolts, 
and  is  drawn  by  a  pair  of  horses  with  swingle- 
trees.  It  is  used  for  transporting  compost, 
mould,  dec,  from  one  spot  to  another.  Its  usual 
dimensions  are  as  follows :  breadth  across,  3 
feet  6  inches;  length,  3  feet;  height  of  back,  1 
foot  6  inches ;  length  of  handle,  4  feet.  The 
person  who  drives,  with  long  reins,  by  pressing 
moderately  on  the  handle  as  the  horses  go  for- 
ward, collects  and  transports  about  5  cwt.  of 
earth  to  the  place  where  it  is  to  be  laid  down, 
which  is  done  in  the  most  expeditious  manner, 
by  his  letting  go  the  handle ;  this  causes  the 
front  edge  of  the  implement  to  dip  and  catch 
against  the  ground,  whereby  it  is  at  once  turned 
over  and  emptied  of  its  load.  The  extremity 
of  the  handle,  to  which  a  rope  is  affixed,  by 
this  upsetting  strikes  against,  and  rests  upon, 
the  swingle-tree  bar,  and  in  this  manner  the 
mouldebaert  is  drawn  along  towards  the  heap 
of  earth  or  compost;  the  driver  then,  by  taking 
up  the  rope,  draws  back  the  handle,  collects 
his  load  as  before,  proceeds  to  the  spot  which 
is  to  receive  it,  and  the  horses  are  never  for  a 
moment  delaved. 

MOULTING.  The  fall  of  the  plumage  of 
birds.  It  may  be  either  partial  or  total:  the 
complete  moult  generally  takes  place  annually; 
the  partial  moult  occurs  at  the  change  of  plum- 
age -o  which  some  species  of  birds  are  subject 


MULBERRY  TREE. 

'  at  the  breeding  season.  The  moult  is  always 
accompanied  by  the  developement  of  a  new 
plumage,  which  may  be  of  a  different  colour 
from  that  which  is  lost. 

I      MOUNTAIN  ASH.     See  Rowax  Thee. 

I      MOUNTAIN  EBONY  (Bauhinia ;  in  memo- 

!  ry  of  John  and  Caspar  Bauhin,  botanists  of  the 
sixteenth  century).  A  genus  of  showy  and 
interesting  evergreen  shrubs,  which  will  suc- 
ceed well  in  a  mixture  of  sand,  loam,  and 
peat. 

MOUNTAIN  LAUREL.    See  Kalmia  Lati- 

FOLIA. 

MOUNTAIN  MAHOGANY  {Betula  lenta). 
Black  Birch.     See  Birch. 

MOUSE-EAR  CHICKWEED.    See  Chick- 

WEED. 

MOUSE -EAR  SCORPION-GRASS.  See 
Scorpion-Grass. 

MOW.  A  pile  or  heap  of  corn,  straw,  or 
hay  placed  together  for  tlye  purpose  of  being 
kept  dry.     See  Stack  and  Rick. 

MOW-BURNT.  A  term  applied  to  such 
substances  as  are  over-heated  in  the  mow  by 
the  process  of  fermentation. 

MOWING.  The  act  of  cutting  down  corn, 
grass,  &c.,  by  the  scythe. 

MOWING  MACHINES.    See  Reapino  Ma- 

CHIXES. 

MUCILAGE.  A  turbid,  slimy  fluid,  pro- 
duced by  treating  some  vegetable  substances 
with  cold  water,  others  with  hot.  It  resembles 
gum,  but  is  distinguished  from  it  by  not  form- 
ing a  thick  curd  with  the  solution  of  Goulard's 
extract.  See  Starch,  Linseed,  Marsh  Mal- 
low, Ac. 

MUCK.  A  farming  term  for  any  sort  of  ma- 
terial, such  as  dung,  straw,  &c.,  that  is  moist, 
or  in  a  fermenting  or  decomposing  state. 

MUD.  The  mechanically  suspended  matters 
of  water  deposited  at  the  bottomof  rivers,  ponds, 
ditches,  &c.  As  much  of  this  kind  of  material 
should  be  collected  as  possible,  and  be  thrown 
up  into  heaps  in  order  to  become  mellow.  It 
contains  much  carbonaceous  matter,  and  is  an 
excellent  manure,  either  in  the  simple  or  com- 
pound slate,  mixed  with  compost,  or  with  a 
bushel  of  lime  or  salt  to  each  cubic  yard. 

MUD  WORT  (Limosella  ;  from  Umos,  mud,  in 
allusion  to  the  habitation  of  the  species ; 
whence,  also,  the  English  name).  The  com- 
mon mudwort  (i.  aquatica)  is  an  English 
annual  subaquatic  plant,  growing  in  muddy 
spots,  where  water  has  stagnated  during  winter. 
The  herb  is  diminutive  and  quite  smooth. 

MUGWORT  {Artemisia  vulgaris).  This  spe- 
cies of  Artemisia  grows  very  common  about 
English  hedges,  in  waste  ground,  and  the  rough 
borders  of  fields.  This  species  is  weakly  aro- 
matic, and  bitterish  ;  and  has,  from  remote 
antiquity,  been  esteemed  an  active  warm  me- 
dicine in  decoction. 

MULBERRY  TREE  {Morus ;  from  the  Celtic 
word  mor,  signifying  black,  in  allusion  to  the 
colour  of  the  fruit).  The  species  of  Moru^,  or 
mulberry,  grow  from  10  to  30  feet  high.  A 
moist  situation  and  loamy  soil,  with  a  free  ex 
posure  to  the  sun,  suit  them  best. 

1.  The  common  mulberry  {M.  nigra)  is  in 
general  cultivation  for  the  sale  of  its  fruit, 
which  is  well  known. 

83.5 


MULBERR-y  TREE. 


MULLEIN. 


2.  The  white  mulberry  (M.  aiha)  is  extensive- 
ly cultivated  in  many  countries  for  its  leaves, 
which  form  the  chief  food  of  silkworms. 

The  mulberry  tree  may  be  propagated  by 
layers,  cuttings,  or  grafting.  The  principal 
use  of  the  fruit  of  the  black  mulberry  is  for 
the  dessert ;  but  from  its  cooling  and  laxative 
properties,  its  juice,  diluted  with  water,is  some- 
times used  as  a  beverage  in  fevers.  It  is  also 
employed  in  the  form  of  syrup  for  medicmal 
purposes,  chiefly  to  colour  other  fluid  medi- 
cines. The  juice  is  also  used  to  give  a  dark 
tinge  to  liquors  and  confections.  When  pro- 
perly fermented  and  prepared,  the  fruit  yields 
a  pleasant  vinous  liquor,  known  under  the 
name  of  mulberry  wine.  In  the  cider  counties 
they  are  sometimes  mixed  with  apples,  to  form 
a  beverage  known  as  mulberry  cider.  The 
bark  of  the  root  has  an  acrid  bitter  taste,  and 
is  a  powerful  cathartic;  hence  it  has  been  suc- 
cessfully used  as  ^  vermifuge,  in  doses  of  a 
scruple,  in  powder.  The  wood  of  the  tree  is 
yellow,  tolerably  hard,  and  may  be  applied  to  a 
variety  of  uses  in  turning  and  carving.  It  is, 
however,  necessary  to  steep  it  in  water  before 
it  is  worked,  in  order  to  remove  the  tough  and 
fibrous  bark,  which  is  capable  of  being  con- 
verted into  strong  cordage,  ropes,  and  brown 
paper. 

Linna?us  has  enumerated  seven  species  of 
the  mulberry  known  in  his  day,  all  which  are 
employed  to  feed  silkworms,  except  the  Tivc- 
toria  and  Indicn,  of  which  the  first  named  fur- 
nishes the  well-known  dyeing  substance  called 
fustic. 

The  species  of  mulberry  found  growing  wild 
in  the  United  States,  is  the  Morns  rubra  of 
botanists,  the  berries  being  of  a  round  and 
oblong  form,  and  red,  or  dark  purple,  the  pulp 
enveloping  numerous  small  seeds.  When  per- 
fectly ripe  they  are  pleasant  and  wholesome. 

The  varieties  of  mulberry  employed  in  Eu- 
rope for  feeding  the  silkworm  form  a  long  list. 
They  have  usually  been  multiplied  by  engraft- 
ing the  finer  kinds  on  the  stalks  of  the  com- 
mon white  Italian  mulberry.  Hence,  the  fine, 
large,  and  firm-leav^ed  kind  called  the  Rose  of 
Provence,  Rose  of  Lombardy,  &c.  The  exer- 
tions made  to  improve  the  tree  and  increase 
the  size  of  the  leaf  by  repeatedly  sowing  the 
«eed  of  the  best  kinds,  has  resulted  in  the 
greatest  success,  and  now  the  Moretta,  Elata, 
and  other  varieties,  are  obtained  from  seed, 
with  leaves  sufficiently  large  to  render  grafting 
unnecessary. 

Besides  these  long-known  varieties  of  mulber- 
ry used  for  feeding  silkworms,  comparatively 
few  of  which  have  been  employed  in  the  United 
States,  there  are  two  others,  namely,  the  Multi- 
caulis  and  the  Chinese,  which  have  been  very 
greatly  multiplied,  especially  the  former.  The 
Chinese  is  usually  produced  from  seeds  im- 
ported from  Canton.  Its  growth  is  exceedingly 
vigorous,  and  its  leaves  heart-shaped,  flat,  and 
very  large.  The  Multicaulis  is  always  propa- 
gate-'j  from  cuttings  or  layers, and  is  more  hardy 
than  the  Chinese,  with  larger  leaves,  which  are 
always  hollow  and  uneven.  Even  where  the 
severe  winter  frosts  of  the  Northern  States 
r-ause  the  Multicaulis  to  be  cut  down,  the  suck- 


ers spring  up  from  the  old  roots  so  as  o 
afford  in  good  season  an  abundance  of  foliage. 
Of  late  years,  a  hybrid  variety  of  mulberry  has 
been  produced  in  France  by  shaking  the  pollen 
of  the  Moretta  flowers  over  the  flowers  of  the 
Multicaulis.  The  seed  of  the  Multicaulis  pro- 
duced by  this  mixture,  produces  a  hybrid  va- 
riety with  more  valuable  qualities  than  the 
parent,  and  nearly  as  great  a  capacity  for  pro- 
pagation by  layers  and  cuttings.  The  hybrid 
Multicaulis  has  large  flat  leaves,  like  those  of 
the  Chinese  or  Canton  seedlings.  They  are 
firm,  and  much  relished  by  the  worms.  They 
endure  frost  equally  well  with  the  white  mul- 
berry, and  are  exceedingly  well  adapted  to 
the  silk-culture,  both  from  their  great  pre- 
cocity  of  growth,  hardiness,  and  valuable  qua- 
lities for  feeding  the  worm  and  making  good 
silk. 

MULE.  This  is  the  well-known  oflfspring 
of  the  ass  and  the  mare,  or  of  the  she-ass  and 
the  horse.  In  the  latter  case,  the  produce  is 
called  a  jennet,  and  is  much  less  hardy,  and 
therefore  rarely  bred.  The  term  mule  is  gene- 
rally  applied  in  the  animal  creation  in  the  same 
sense  with  hybrid  in  the  vegetable  world,  sig- 
nifying the  intermixture  of  two  distinct  species. 
Mules  are  very  hardy  animals,  and  therefore 
much  used  in  warm  climates,  where  they  are 
preferred  to  horses,  either  for  the  purposes  of 
draught  or  carriage.  Considerable  numbers 
are  likewise  employed  in  Ireland,  and  in  some 
of  the  northern  counties  of  Britain,  on  account 
of  their  great  strength  and  durability.  No 
animal  is  more  sure-footed  or  more  hardy;  but 
the  pace  of  the  mule  is  disagreeable  to  those 
unaccustomed  to  its  action.  The  diseases  to 
which  the  mule  is  liable  are  few.  He  attains 
double  the  age  of  the  horse,  and  is  much  more 
easily  maintained.  The  mules  of  the  south 
of  Europe  are  frequently  very  fine  animals, 
16  or  17  hands  in  height,  active,  handsome,  and 
peculiarly  patient  of  labour  ;  but  very  inferior 
in  beauty  to  the  horse,  particularly  about  the 
head  and  tail.  The  importation  of  Spanish 
asses  into  England  has  tended  greatly  to  im- 
prove its  mules,  many  of  which,  when  bred 
with  care,  are  sufliciently  thick-set  and  heavy 
for  all  those  purposes  in  which  our  largest 
draught-horses  are  employed. 

To  have  large  and  handsome  mules,  the 
mare  should  be  of  a  large  breed,  well  propor- 
tioned, with  rather  small  limbs,  a  moderate- 
sized  head,  and  a  good  forehead ;  and  the  ass 
should  be  of  the  large  Spanish  breed. 

MULLEIN  {Verbasrum ;  said  to  be  from  bav' 
bascum,  bearded,  in  allusion  to  the  bearded  fila- 
ments). The  English  species  of  Verbasrum  are 
strong,  robust-growing  plants,  producing  an 
abundance  of  showy  yellow  flowers,  and  on 
that  account  they  are  well  adapted  for  plant- 
ing in  the  garden  at  the  back  of  flower  borders, 
or  in  shrubberies.  They  grow  freely  in  any 
soil,  and  are  readily  increased  by  seeds  ;  some 
of  the  perennial  kinds  by  divisions  of  the  root. 
(Paxton^s  Bot.  Did.)  There  are  as  many  as  6 
wild  species  common  to  Britain,  viz.,  great 
mullein,  or  high  taper  {V.  thapsus);  white  mel- 
lein  (V.  lychnitis)  ;  yellow  hoary,  or  Norfolk 
mullein    (F.  pulverulentum)  \    dark    or    black 


836 


MUNJEET. 


MUSTARD,  CULTIVATED. 


mullein  (V.  nigrum);  large-flowered  primrose- 
leaved  mullein  (V.  virgatuju) ;  and  moth  mul- 
lein (  y.  hlattaria).  The  dark  black  mullein  is 
a  perennial,  the  moth  mullein  annual,  and  the 
rest  are  biennial  in  habit.  They  mostly  grow 
to  the  height  of  3  to  5  feet,  in  fields  and  waste 
places,  on  chalky  and  gravelly  soils.  The 
species  of  mullein  common  in  the  United  States, 
in  the  fields  of  slovenly  farmers,  is  the  Verbas- 
cum  th(tpms  of  botanists. 

MUNJEET.  A  kind  of  madder  grown  in 
the  East  Indies. 

MURIATIC  ACID,  called  also  Hydrochlorir 
acid;  anciently  Marine  acid,  and  Spirit  of  sea- 
salt. 

M  URIC  ATE.  In  botany,  implies  covered 
with  short,  sharp  points. 

MURRAIN.  A  contagious,  malignant  epi- 
demic, which  frequently  prevails  in  hot,  dry  sea- 
sons among  cattle,  carrying  off  vast  numbers. 
It  once  used  to  sweep  off  the  horned  stock  of 
whole  districts,  and  there  are  few  years  in 
which  it  is  not  now  seen  in  some  part  of  the 
kingdom.  It  principally  appears  in  marshy 
and  woody  districts,  or  where  under-draining 
has  been  neglected,  or  the  cattle  have  been  ex- 
posed and  half-starved.  The  disease  is  known 
by  the  animals  hanging  down  their  heads, 
which  are  swollen,  by  short  and  hot  breathing, 
cough,  palpitation  of  the  heart,  staggering,  an 
abundant  secretion  of  viscid  matter  in  the  eyes, 
rattling  in  the  throat,  and  a  slimy  tongue.  The 
early  stage  of  murrain  is  one  of  fever,  and  the 
treatment  should  correspond  with  this :  bleed- 
ing and  small  doses  of  purgative  medicine  will 
be  serviceable.  The  peculiar  fetid  diarrhcea 
must  be  met  with  astringents,  mingled  also 
with  vegetable  tonics.  In  combating  the  pus- 
tular and  gangrenous  stage,  the  chloride  of 
lime  will  be  the  best  external  application; 
while  a  little  of  it,  adminisiere^  with  the  other 
medicines  inwardly,  may  possibly  lessen  the 
tendency  to  general  decomposition.  Above  all, 
the  infected  animal  should  be  immediately  re- 
moved from  the  sound  ones.  (Youatt  on  Cattle, 
p.  379.) 

MUSCLE  (Fr.muscle:  Sax. murcula).  Fleshy 
fibres,  susceptible  of  contractions  and  relaxa- 
tions. They  constitute  what  is  commonly 
called  flesh,  the  most  nutritious  species  of 
animal  food.     See  Flesh  and  Gelatix. 

MUSHROOMS  (Fr.mouscheron;  Lat.  ^gari- 
cus,  from  Agaria,  a  city,  or  Agarus,  a  river  of 
Sarmatia,  now  Malamonda).  A  more  exten- 
sive genus  than  this  is  not  known  in  the  whole 
vegetable  kingdom.  Some  species,  as  the  com- 
mon mushroom,  ^.  campestris,  A.  vaginatus,  &c., 
are  well  known  for  the  wholesomeness  of  the 
food  which  is  prepared  from  them.  Others,  as 
A.  mnscnrius,  A.  necator,  the  whole  genus  Ama- 
nita, and  many  others,  are  very  dangerous  poi- 
sons :  indeed,  the  latter  quality  exists  more  or 
less  in  so  many  species,  and  these  resemble 
those  that  are  wholesome  so  nearly  as  to  ren- 
der it  advisable  to  be  exceedingly  cautious  in 
the  use  of  fungi,  for  the  most  dreadful  effects 
are  well  known  to  have  resulted  from  want 
of  caution  in  this  respect. 

The  edible  mushroom  {A.  campestris'),  is 
nearly  inodorous,  but  has  a  grateful  flavour. 
The  crowi    or  hat  is  at  first  hemispherical, 


then  convex,  and  at  last  flat;  fleshy;  about  2 
to  5  inches  broad ;  white,  or  very  light-brown, 
slightly  scaly,  the  scales  soft  and  fibrous  ;  giJls 
pink,  changing  to  fuscous  black;  the  flesh, 
when  divided,  usually  changes  to  a  reddish 
hue.  The  use  of  the  mushroom,  as  an  arti- 
cle of  diet,  was  known  to  the  ancients.     See 

FUXGI. 

To  produce  mushrooms  artificially,  beds  va- 
riously constructed  are  employed ;  and,  from 
the  numerous  modes  which  have  been  invent- 
ed and  adopted  for  their  production,  some  ac- 
companied with  extraordinary  expense,  it  is 
obvious  that  this  "voluptuous  poison"  is  with 
us,  as  it  was  with  the  Romans,  in  high  estima- 
tion. 

MUSSELS,  or  MUSCLES  {Mytilis  edilis).  A 
species  of  shell-fish  which  abound  on  the  rocky 
shores  on  the  borders  of  the  sea  in  many  parts  of 
the  British  islands,  adhering  to  the  rocks.  Mus- 
cles are  also  found  in  immense  beds,  both  in 
deep  water  and  above  the  low  water-mark,  in 
the  British  seas.  Where  they  can  be  collected 
in  large  quantities  they  may  be  made  use  of  as 
an  excellent  manure,  either  alone  or  in  the 
state  of  compost,  with  earthy  substances. 

MUST.  A  term  applied  to  new  wine  and 
wort  before  it  is  fermented.  It  is  also  given 
to  the  saccharine  juice  of  several  fruits  sus- 
ceptible of  the  vinous  fermentation,  and  par- 
ticularly to  the  expressed  juice  of  the  grape 
before  its  conversion  into  wine. 

MUSTARD  (Fr.  moutarde;  Lat.  Sinapis ,•  from 
a-n:t7ri,  on  account  of  its  making  the  eyes  water, 
Trm  a»Ttfc).  A  genus  of  upright,  branching,  an- 
nual or  biennial  herbs,  often  hairy  or  bristly. 
There  are  five  wild  species  common  to  the  Bri- 
tish islands : — 

L  Wild  mustard  (S.  arvensis).  A  very  trou- 
blesome annual  weed  in  corn-fields;  also  abun- 
dant in  waste  ground  newly  disturbed.  The 
seeds  serve  as  an  inferior  kind  of  mustard,  or 
rather,  to  adulterate  that  made  from  the  com- 
mon mustard.     See  Charlock. 

2.  White  mustard  (S.  alba),  3.  Common 
mustard  (S.  nigra),  are  annuals,  in  general 
cultivation,  but  are  also  found  wild  on  waste 
ground  and  by  road-sides,  &c.  See  Culti- 
vated MusTARn. 

4.  Narrow-leaved  wall-mustard  (S.  tenui- 
folia).  This  perennial  species  is  found  grow- 
ing on  old  walls  and  heaps  of  rubbish  about 
most  ancient  cities.  The  root  is  tapering, 
rather  woody.  Herb  for  the  most  part  entirely 
smooth,  and  more  or  less  glaucous  all  over; 
fetid  when  bruised.  Stem  bushy,  erect,  1^ 
or  2  feet  high,  with  numerous  round,  leafy 
branches,  occasionally  besprinkled  with  a  few 
hairs. 

5.  Sand  mustard  (S.  muralis).  This  annual 
species  flourishes  on  sandy,  barren  ground 
near  the  sea.    The  root  is  small  and  tapering 

MUSTARD,  CULTIVATED.  The  species 
of  Sinapis  generally  grown  in  the  kitchen  gar- 
den for  domestic  purposes  are  the  white  mus- 
tard (S.  alba),  and  the  common  or  black  mus 
tard  (S.  nigra).  The  first  is  the  one  grown  lof 
salads ;  but  the  seed  of  both  is  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  mustard. 

The  soil  they  succeed  in  best  is  a  fine,  rich, 
mouldy  loam,  in  which  the  supply  of  moisture 

%37 


MUSTARD.  FLOUR  OF. 


MUTTON. 


is  regu.ar ;  it  may  much  rather  incline  to  light  [ 
ness  than  tenacity.  If  grown  for  salading,  it 
need  not  be  dug  deep;  but  if  for  seed,  to  full 
the  depth  of  the  blade  of  the  spade.  In  early 
spring,  and  late  in  autumn,  the  situation  should 
be  sheltered ;  and,  during  the  height  of  sum- 
mer, shaded  from  the  meridian  sun.  For  sa- 
lading, the  white  may  be  sown  throughout  the 
year.  From  the  beginning  of  November  to 
the  same  period  in  March,  in  a  gentle  hotbed 
appropriated  to  the  purpose,  in  one  already 
employed  for  some  other  plant,  or  in  the  corner 
of  a  stove.  From  the  close  of  February  to  the 
close  of  April,  it  may  be  sown  in  the  open 
ground,  on  a  warm,  sheltered  border;  and  from 
tkence  to  the  middle  of  September,  in  a  shady 
one.  Both  the  white  and  black,  for  seed,  may 
be  sown  at  the  close  of  March,  in  an  open  com- 
partment. 

For  salading,  it  is  sown  in  flat-bottomed 
drills,  about  half  an  inch  deep  and  six  inches 
apart.  The  seed  cannot  well  be  sown  too 
thick.  The  mould  which  covers  the  drills 
should  be  entirely  divested  of  stones.  Water 
must  be  given  occasionally  in  dry  weather,  as 
a  due  supply  of  moisture  is  the  chief  induce- 
ment to  a  quick  vegetation.  The  sowings  a,re 
to  be  performed  once  or  twice  in  a  fortnight, 
according  to  the  demand.  Cress  (Lepidium 
sativtini),  is  the  almost  constant  accompani- 
ment of  this  salad  herb ;  and  as  the  mode  of 
cultivation  of  each  is  identical,  it  is  only  ne- 
cessary to  remark  that,  as  cress  is  rather  tar- 
dier in  vegetating  than  mustard,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  the  obtaining  them  both  in  perfection 
at  the  same  time,  to  sow  it  five  or  six  days 
earlier.     See  Cress. 

It  must  be  cut  for  use  while  young,  and  be- 
fore the  rough  leaves  appear,  otherwise  the 
pungency  of  the  flavour  is  disagreeably  in- 
creased. If  the  top  is  cut  off,  the  plants  will 
in  general  shoot  again,  though  this  second  pro- 
duce is  always  scanty,  and  not  so  mild  or  ten- 
der. For  the  production  of  seed,  whether  for 
manufacture  of  mustard  or  future  sowing,  the 
insertion  must  be  made  broadcast,  thin,  and 
regularly  raked  in.  When  the  seedlings  have 
attained  four  leaves,  they  should  be  hoed,  and 
again  after  the  lapse  of  a  month,  during  dry  wea- 
ther, being  set  8  or  9  inches  apart.  Through- 
out their  growth  they  must  be  kept  free  from 
weeds,  and,  if  dry  weather  occurs  at  the  time 
of  flowering,  water  may  be  applied  with  great 
advantage  to  their  roots.  The  plants  flower  in 
June,  and  are  fit  for  cutting  when  their  pods 
have  become  devoid  of  verdure.  They  must  be 
thoroughly  dried  before  thrashing  and  storing. 
For  forcing,  the  seed  is  most  conveniently  sown 
in  boxes  or  pans,  even  if  a  hotbed  is  appro- 
priated to  the  purpose.  Pans  of  rotten  tan  are 
to  be  preferred  to  pots  or  boxes  of  mould.  But 
whichever  is  employed,  the  seed  must  be  sown 
thick,  and  other  restrictions  attended  to  as  for 
ttie  open-ground  crops.  The  hotbed  need  only 
be  moderate.  Air  may  be  admitted  as  abun- 
dantly as  circumstances  will  allow.  (G.  W. 
Johnson  s  Kitchen  Garden.) 

MUSTARD,  FLOUR  OF.  The  seeds  of  both 
clack  and  white  mustard  are  employed  in  mak- 
ing the  ordinary  flour  of  mustard  for  dietetical 
use.    In  the  dry  state,  mustard  is  inodorous, 
838 


and,  were  it  possible  to  taste  without  the  aid 
3f  moisture  in  the  mouth,  it  would  also  be  taste- 
less ;  the  principle  of  its  odour  and  taste  not 
existing  ready  formed  in  the  mustard,  but  re 
quiring  water  for  its  developement.  The  prin- 
ciples which  exist  in  the  mustard  are  two:  one 
an  acid,  which  has  been  named  myronic  acid, 
and  is  a  compound  of  carbon,  sulphur,  hydro- 
gen, nitrogen,  and  oxygen;  the  oflier  a  sub- 
stance resembling  vegetable  albumen,  which 
has  been  named  emulsin,  or  myrosyne.  When 
the  myrosyne  and  the  myrenic  acid,  which  is 
united  with  potassa  in  the  form  of  a  myronate 
of  potassa  in  the  mustard,  act  upon  each  other 
by  the  aid  of  water,  the  volatile  oil  of  mustard 
is  formed,  and  odour  and  pungency  given  to 
the  mustard.  It  is  the  volatile  oil  which  red- 
dens and  blisters  when  mustard  poultices  are 
used;  and  it  is  important  to  know  that  vinegar 
checks  the  acrimony  of  the  poultice,  and  should 
not  be  used.    Tepid  water  only  is  required. 

MUTTON  (Fr.  mouton).  The  flesh  of  the 
sheep.  Although,  by  recent  extensive  improve- 
ments, the  breed  of  sheep  have  been  diminished 
in  size,  yet  the  smallness  of  bone  and  symme- 
try of  form  which  the  animals  have  thus  ac- 
quired, have  considerably  decreased  the  quanti 
ly  of  offal,  and  added  largely  to  the  dead  weight 
of  marketable  flesh.  Before  that  time  the  mut- 
ton of  those  coarse  sheep  rarely  amounted  to 
more  than  one-half  of  their  live-weight;  where- 
as now,  the  common  average  is  more  than  two- 
thirds;  and  Dishley  wethers,  when  well  fatten- 
ed, are  said  to  be  in  the  proportion  of  an  ounce 
of  bone  to  a  pound  of  flesh.  The  best  and  most 
nutritive  mutton  is  that  of  sheep  which  are  at 
least  three,  but  not  more  than  six  years  old, 
and  which  have  been  reared  on  dry,  sweet  pas- 
tures. The  meat  afforded  by  such  as  have 
been  fed  on  salt  marshes,  or  near  the  sea-coast, 
is  likewise  s\^et  and  wholesome ;  for  they 
have  acquired  both  firmness  and  a  fine  flavour 
from  the  saline  particles  abounding  in  such 
situations. 

A  sheep,  to  be  in  high  order  for  the  palate 
of  an  epicure,  should  never  be  killed  earlier 
than  when  five  years  old,  at  which  age  the 
mutton  will  be  found-  firm  and  succulent,  of  a 
dark  colour,  and  full  of  the  richest  gravy; 
whereas,  if  only  two  years  old,  it  is  flabby, 
pale,  and  savourless.  To  ascertain  the  age  of 
mutton,  Mr.  EUman  directs  :  "  To  observe  the 
colour  of  the  breast-bone  when  a  sheep  is 
dressed,  that  is,  where  the  breast-bone  is  sepa- 
rated; which  in  a  lamb,  or  before  it  is  one 
year  old,  will  be  quite  red ;  from  one  to  two 
years  old,  the  upper  and  lower  bones  will  be 
changing  to  white,  and  a  small  circle  of  white 
will  appear  round  the  edge  of  the  other  bones, 
and  the  middle  part  of  the  breast-bone  will  yet 
continue  red ;  at  three  years  old,  a  very  small 
streak  of  red  will  be  seen  in  the  middle  of  the 
four  middle  bones,  and  the  others  will  be  white ; 
and  at  four  years  old,  all  the  breast-bones  will 
be  of  a  white  or  gristly  colour."  South  Down 
wether  mutton,  in  point  of  delicacy  and  fla- 
vour, is  thought  equal  to  any  that  is  killed ; 
and  in  summer  as  preferable  to  some  other 
fine-flavoured  breeds,  especially  Norfolk  mut- 
j  ton.  This  circumstance  is  attributed  to  the 
)  closeness  of  the  grain,  or  the  specific  gravity 


MUZZLE. 

being  greater,  rendering  it  more  impermeable 
to  the  air  than  coarser  and  looser  fleshed  mut- 
ton, which  is,  of  course,  more  subject  to  pu- 
tridity. The  older  the  mutton,  the  finer  the 
flavour. 

It  is  alnk^oc  jnnecessary  to  remark,  that 
icetlier-miitton  it  always  considered  so  far  pre- 
ferable to  that  of  the  ewe,  that  the  flesh  of  the 
latter,  although  more  commonly  kept  to  a  ma- 
ture age,  always  sells  at  an  inferior  price. 
Connoiseurs,  however,  assert  that  a  spayed  or 
maiden  ewe,  kept  until  five  years  old  before 
she  is  fattened,  produces  mutton  superior  to 
that  of  any  wether. 

The  live-weight,  with  the  offal,  of  a  large,  fat 
wether,  and  the  joints  when  cut  up  for  market, 
were  as  follows  : — 

Live  weight         -        -        .        13  at.  10  lbs. 

Offal.  lb..  01. 

Blnnd  and  entraila       -        -        -  13  0 

Caul  and  loose  fat       -        -  •      -  31  4 

Head  and  pluck  -        -        .        .  8  12 

Pelt 15  12 

Carcass. 

First  fore-quarter        -        _        _  29  0 

Second 28  12 

First  hind-quarter       -        -        -  33  8 

Second        -        ....  32  0 

Joints  of  one  tid*. 

Haunch       .....  23  0 

Loin 10  4 

Neck 12  0 

Shoulder    -       -       -    •    -       -  ,  10  12 

Breast 4  8 

Loss 0  12 

See  Meat  and  Sfeep. 

MUZZLE.  The  nose  of  a  horse  or  other 
animal.  It  also  signifies  a  kind  of  halter  put 
upon  the  nose  of  a  horse  or  mule,  to  prevent 
eating  or  biting. 

MUZZLE  OF  A  PLOUGH.  A  term  some- 
times applied  to  the  copse  or  part  to  which  the 
dransht  is  attached.    See  PtocoH. 

MYRRH.     See  Sweet  Cicelt. 

MYRTLE  (From  myros,  perfume;  myrtos  of 
the  Greeks,  myrtus  of  the  Dutch,  and  of  almost 
t  /ery  other  European  language).  The  myrtle, 
from  the  delightful  perfume,  the  delicacy  of  its 
blossoms,  and  the  glossy  green  of  its  perpetual 
foliage,  is  a  favourite  and  well-known  genus 
of  plants,  which  grow  well  in  sandy  loam  and 
peat;  and  cuttings,  if  not  too  ripe,  will  root 
freely  either  in  sand  or  soil  under  a  glass. 
There  are  nearly  a  dozen  distinct  species,  be- 
sides numerous  varieties.  The  myrtus  ;)im€»i/a 
yields  the  allspice  or  Jamaica  pepper. 

The  common  European  myrtle  {M.  commu- 
nis) is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  grow- 
ing 5  or  6  feet  high,  with  very  fragrant  leaves, 
and  blowing  small  white  flowers  in  summer. 
Being  a  tender  shrub,  this  myrtle  should  have 
a  southern  or  southwestern  aspect,  with  pro- 
fction  in  winter. 

MYRTLE     BILBERRY.       See    Whortle- 

BERRT. 

MYRTLE,  THE  DUTCH,  or  SWEET 
GALE  (Myrira  gale  :  from  myrio,  to  flow,  being 
found  on  the  banks  of  rivers).  This,  in  Eng- 
land, is  an  ornamental,  aromatic,  indigenous 
shrub,  growing  wild  in  bogs  and  marshes,  es- 
pecially on  a  gravelly  soil.  The  stem  is  up- 
right, bushy,  3  or  4  feet  high,  with  numerous 
alternate  branche  >.    It  bears  berries  which  are 


nave;)^. 

very  small,  covered  with  resinous  dots,  exhal- 
ing a  delightful  fragrance  when  rubbed  betweea 
the  fingers.  The  leaves  are  aromatic  from  the 
same  cause.  This  plant,  perhaps  one  of  the 
more  innocent  substitutes  for  hops,  is  used  for 
brewing  by  the  poor  in  Sweden.  Linnaeus 
says  the  berries  boiled  in  water  yield  wax  like 
those  of  the  candleberry  myrtle  (M.  cerifera). 
See  Candleberrt  Mtrtlb. 


N. 

NAG.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  a  horss, 
of  a  small  size  for  the  saddle  ;  such  a  horse  is 
very  useful  for  many  purposes,  where  light 
labour  is  required. 

NAPIFORM.  Formed  like  a  turnip,  tu- 
berous. 

NARCISSUS  (from  narke,  stupor,  on  ac- 
count of  the  effects  produced  by  the  smell 
upon  the  nerves).  This  is  an  old  and  very 
popular  flower  of  great  beauty,  and  some  of 
the  species  are  highly  fragrant. 

NARCOTIC  (Fr.  narcoiique).  Substances 
having  the  double  property  of  exciting  in  the 
first  instance,  and  afterwards  stupifying  and 
producing  sleep  or  torpor.  In  medicine  the 
term  comprehends  opiates,  anodynes,  and  other 
drugs  which  induce  sleep  and  allay  pain. 

NASTURTIUM  (from  7iasus,  the  nose,  and 
tortus,  tormented).  The  acridity  of  N.  offidnaliM 
affects  the  muscles  of  the  nose.  Few  of  thes^ 
plants  are  worth  cultivating;  they  are  of  the 
simplest  culture.  The  seed  of  the  annual 
kinds  has  only  to  be  sown  in  the  open  ground 
in  spring.     See  Cress. 

NAVE  OF  A  WHEEL.  The  short,  thick 
block  in  the  centre  of  the  wheel  which  receives 
the  end  of  the  axletree,  and  from  which  the 
spokes  radiate  :  it  is  bound  with  hoops,  called 
nave-bands,  to  strengthen  it.  It  has  likewise 
in  each  end  of  the  hole  through  which  the 
axletree  passes,  a  ring  of  iron  called  the  wash- 
er, which  saves  the  nave  from  wearing. 

NAVEL-ILL.     See  Calf,  Diseases  of. 

NAVEL-WORT,  Cotyledon  (from  kotyle,  a 
cavity ;  in  allusion  to  the  cup-like  leaves). 
A  numerous  and  rather  ornamental  genus  of 
succulent  herbs  or  shrubs,  with  very  thick, 
juicy,  alternate,  simple,  entire,  or  jagged  leaves. 
In  England,  the  native  species  are  two  in  num- 
ber: both  are  perennial  in  habit, flowering  about 
June  and  July. 

NAVEW.  The  common  wild  navew  (Braa- 
sica  campestris)  belongs  to  the  cabbage  tribe, 
and  is  an  annual  plant,  found  in  corn-fields, 
marshes,  and  about  the  banks  of  ditches  and 
rivers.  The  root  is  tapering;  stem  erect,  3 
feet  high,  leafy,  branched,  glaucous  ;  rough  in 
the  lower  part,  with  small  bulbous  spreading 
bristles;  smooth  upwards.  Radical  leaves  ly- 
rate,  toothed,  and  jagged,  rough ;  stem-leaves 
smooth,  clasping,  oblong,  partly  pinnatifid  ;  all 
somewhat  glaucous.  Flowers  blowing  in  June 
and  July,  yellow,  corymbose,  almost  as  large 
as  those  of  the  turnip.  Pods  on  longish  stalks, 
1^  inch  long,  nearly  cylindrical,  beaked.  The 
roots  are  nourishing,  containing  a  sweet  juice, 
which  is  sometimes  domesticallv  used  in  coughs 
and  asthma. 

899 


NAVICUI.AR. 


MGHTSHADE. 


NAVICULAR.  A  botanical  phrase,  signify- 
ing boat-shaped. 

NEAT  CATTLE.     See  Cattlk. 

NEC  TARY,  in  botany,  is  applied  to  those 
parts  of  a  flower  which  secrete  honey. 

NECTARINE  (^iny^dalus  Persica,  var.  Ner- 
tanna).  A  variety  of  the  common  peach,  from 
which  the  fruit  differs  only  in  having  a  smoother 
rind  and  finer  pulp.  The  culture  is  in  every 
respect  the  same  as  the  peach.  The  varieties 
of  nectarines  are  numerous,  nearly  70  being 
described  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Horticultural 
Society  of  London.  Forsyth  recommends  for 
a  small  garden  the  following  sorts:  —  Fair- 
child's  Early,  Eldridge's  Scarlet,  Newington, 
Red  Roman,  and  Temple's.  Nectarines,  like 
peaches,  are  subdivided  into  free-stones  and 
cling-stones. 

NEP.     See  Catmtxt 

NERVES.  In  botany,  the  strong  ribs  upon 
leaves  or  flowers,  which  are  bundles  of  vessels, 
chiefly  spiral.  Besides  conveying  the  sap  to 
the  leaf,  and  returning  the  proper  juice  to  the 
bark,  they  often  afford  distinctive  characters  to 
the  leaf. 

NETTED.  A  botanical  term,  implying  that 
the  veins  or  membranes  are  reticulated  on  the 
leaf,  or  variously  intersected. 

NETTLE,  Urtica  (from  uro,  to  burn;  in  re- 
ference to  the  stinging  properties  of  most  of 
the  species).  An  extensive  genus  of  herba- 
ceous or  shrubby  plants  of  little  beauty,  and 
which  are  justly  looked  upon  in  the  eyes  of  the 
agriculturist  as  mere  weeds.  The  herbage  in 
all  the  species  is  copiously  armed  with  veno- 
mous perforated  bristles,  each  of  which  has 
a  bag  of  liquid  poison  at  its  base.  This  liquor, 
by  the  slight  pressure  required  to  pierce  the 
skin,  is  transmitted  into  it,  causing  great  irri- 
tation. Many  of  the  numerous  exotic  species 
have  not  this  stinging  property  ;  but  the  sting 
of  common  nettles  is  not  to  be  compared  with 
that  of  some  of  the  Indian  species  grown  in 
the  gardens  cf  Europe.  These  are,  how- 
ever, all  surpassed  in  virulence  by  one  which 
in  Timor  is  called  duoun  sctan,  or  devil's  leaf, 
the  effects  of  which  are  said  by  the  natives  in 
many  cases  to  cause  death.  In  England,  the 
indigenous  species  of  nettle  are  three;  viz.  1. 
Roman  nettle  {U. pihdifera),  a.n  annual  plant, 
growing  in  waste  ground  amongst  rubbish, 
chiefly  near  the  sea.  The  herb  is  armed  all 
over  with  peculiarly  venomous  stings.  The 
•.;tem  is  branched,  leafy,  bluntly  quadrangular, 
often  purple,  about  2  feet  high.  2.  The  small 
nettle  (U.urens)  is  found  to  be  in  all  cultivated 
ground  a  troublesome  weed,  especially  on  a 
light  soil.  It  is  annual  in  habit,  flowering  from 
June  till  October,  smaller  than  the  last,  and  of  a 
much  brighter  green  ;  its  copious  stings  hardly 
less  virulent.  The  several  parallel  ribs  of  the 
leaves  form  its  distinguishing  character.  The 
whole  plant  being  refused  by  every  kind  of 
c-attle,  should  be  carefully  extirpated  from  pas- 
tures. 3.  The  common  or  great  nettle  (U.dioica), 
which  is  a  noxious  perennial  weed,  growing 
almost  everywhere,  and  flowering  in  July  and 
August.  The  root  is  branching  and  creeping, 
with  fle^^hy  roots,  and  many  fibrous  radicles. 
The  herb  is  o^  a  duller  green  than  the  last, 
♦^rect,  3  feet  high,  with  less  irritating  stings. 
840 


Leaves  large,  heart-shaped,  spreading,  pointed 
strongly  serrated,  veiny.  The  leaves  are  employ 
ed  for  feeding  poultry,  especially  in  the  winter; 
when  boiled,  they  are  said  to  promote  the  lay- 
ing of  eggs.  Asses  devour  nettles  eagerly,  but 
all  other  live-stock  refuse  them,  unless  they 
are  dried.  In  the  western  islands  of  Scotland, 
a  rennet  is  prepared  by  adding  a  quart  of  salt 
to  3  pints  of  a  strong  decoction  of  nettles;  a 
tablespoonful  of  which  is  said  to  be  sutficient 
to  coagulate  a  bowl  of  milk.  The  young  tops 
of  the  common  and  smaller  nettles  may  be 
boiled  as  potherbs  during  spring,  and  eaten  as 
a  substitute  for  greens ;  being  not  only  nourish- 
ing, but  mildly  aperient.  The  tough  fibres  of 
the  stem  may  be  manufactured  like  hemp,  and 
are  often  found  in  winter  naturally  separated 
and  bleached.  The  roots  are  astringent  and 
diuretic.     See  Dead-Nettle. 

NETTLE-HEMP.     See  Hemp-Nettle. 

NETTLE  TREE  (Celtis).  This  is  an  orna- 
mental genus  of  trees  and  shrubs,  varying  in 
height  from  6  to  50  feet.  The  most  of  them  do 
very  well  in  any  common  garden  soil,  and  are 
suitable  for  the  back  of  shrubberies  and  planta- 
tions.   They  are  increased  by  seeds  or  layers. 

NETTLE  TREE,  AMERICAN  (Celtis  ocn- 
dentalis).  Sugar-berry.  This  American  tree, 
Michaux  says,  if  not  rare,  is  little  multiplied  in 
comparison  with  the  oaks,  the  walnuts,  and 
maples.  As  it  is  scattered  thinly  through  the 
forest,  it  is  difficult  to  fix  the  point  at  which  it 
ceases  towards  the  north,  but  it  is  believed  not 
to  extend  beyond  the  Connecticut  river.  In  the 
Middle,  Western,  and  Southern  States,  it  bears 
the  name  of  nettle  tree,  whilst  the  French  call 
it  bois  inconnu,  or  unknown  wood.  On  the  Sa- 
vannah river  trees  are  found  60  or  70  feet  high, 
and  18  or  20  inches  in  diameter.  In  the  Mid- 
dle States  it  seldom  grows  above  10  or  15  feet 
in  height.  It  is  similar  in  its  foliage  and  gene- 
ral appearance  to  the  European  nettle  tree. 
The  flowers  are  small  and  white,  and  open  early 
in  spring.  The  fruit  consists  of  small  berries 
disposed  on  stems  singly,  of  a  dull  red  colour, 
purplish  when  mature,  and  of  a  sweetish  taste. 
(Mirhavx.) 

NICKING.  In  farriery,  an  operation  per- 
formed on  the  tails  of  horses  to  make  them 
carry  them  well. 

NIGHTSHADE  (Solanvm).  A  very  nume- 
rous, principally  tropical  genus  of  shrubs  or 
herbs,  more  or  less  narcotic;  though  in  some 
cases  rendered  eatable  by  cookery,  as  in  our 
common  potato.  Some  of  the  genus  are  very 
dangerous  and  highly  virulent  poisons.  Two 
species  only  are  indigenous  to  England, — 1. 
The  woody  nightshade  (S.  dulcamara).  See 
Bittersweet. 

2.  The  common  or  garden  nightshade  (S, 
nigrum).  This  is  common  everywhere,  in  waste 
as  well  as  cultivated  ground.  The  root  is 
fibrous,  annual  in  habit,  occasionally  peren 
nial.  Herb  fetid,  narcotic,  bushy,  with  nume- 
rous angular  or  winged  leafy  branches.  Stem 
herbaceous,  without  thorns.  Leaves  undivided, 
ovate,  lengthened  at  the  base,  smooth.  Um- 
bels from  the  intermediate  spaces  between 
the  leaves,  lateral,  drooping,  solitary,  stalked, 
simple,  downy.  Flowers  white  with  a  musky 
scent.     The   berries  globular,  back;    some 


NIGHTSHADE. 

times,  as  it  is  reported,  yellow.  A  grain  or  two 
of  the  dried  leaf  has  sometimes  been  given  to 
promote  various  secretions.  Both  its  poison- 
ous and  medicinal  powers  depend  on  an  alkaline 
principle,  which  can  be  procured  in  a  separate 
state,  and  has  been  called  solania.  It  is  a 
powerful  narcotic,  and  the  poisoning  principle 
of  the  solanums. 

NIGHTSHADE,  DEADLY,  or  DWALE 
{Atropa  belladonna).  A  plant  with  narcotic  and 
dangerous  qualities,  found  growing  in  hedges 
and  waste  ground  on  a  calcareous  soil,  fre- 
quently about  ancient  ruins.  The  root  is  fleshy 
and  creeping.  Stems  herbaceous,  annual,  3 
feethigh,  round, branched,  leafy,  slightly  downy. 
Leaves  lateral,  mostly  two  together  of  unequal 
size,  ovate,  acute,  undivided.  Flowers  solitary, 
stalked,  drooping,  dark  dull  purple  in  the 
border,  paler  downwards,  about  an  inch  long. 
Berry  of  a  shining  violet  black,  partially  en- 
veloped in  the  calyx,  which  is  persistent,  the 
size  of  a  small  cherry;  sweetish,  and  not  nau- 
seous, so  that  children  have  often  been  tempted 
to  eat  it  to  their  own  destruction.  The  poi- 
sonous principle  is  an  alkali  named  atropia. 

NIGHTSHADE,  ENCHANTER'S.  See 
Exchaxtkk's  Nightshadk.. 

NIGHT-SOIL.  In  agriculture,  a  powerful 
manure.  This  valuable  fertilizer  has  not  been 
employed  in  England  to  the  same  extent  as 
on  the  continent,  although  it  is  certainly  one 
of  the  most  valuable  of  the  organic  manures; 
and  to  this  neglect  many  causes  have  contri- 
buted. Its  disagreeable  odour,certain  vexatious 
fiscal  regulations  with  regard  to  its  removal, 
and  erroneous  modes  of  applying  it,  either  in 
excessive  quantities,  or  mixed  with  other  com- 
posts in  j>uch  proportions  that  its  powers  could 
not  be  distinguished  in  the  mass;  its  semifluid 
nature  requiring  for  its  removal  carriages  of 
a  peculiar  construction,  the  extent  and  com- 
pleteness of  the  sewerage  of  our  large  cities, 
and  several  other  minor  obstacles,  have  ren- 
dered its  use  not  nearly  so  extensive  as,  even 
in  a  national  point  of  view,  is  desirable.  Davy, 
however,  described  it,  25  years  since,  as  "a 
very  powerful  manure,  and  very  liable  to  de- 
compose: a  part  of  it  is  always  soluble  in 
water ;  and,  in  whatever  state  it  is  used,  whe- 
ther recent  or  fermented,  it  supplies  abundance 
of  food  for  plants."  (Lectures,  p.  229.)  "The 
disagreeble  smell,"  he  adds,  "  may  be  destroyed 
by  mixing  it  with  quicklime ;  and  if  exposed 
to  the  atmosphere  in  thin  layers  in  fine  weather, 
and  mixed  with  quicklime,  it  speedily  dries,  is 
easily  pulverized,  and,  in  this  state,  may  be 
used  in  the  same  manner  as  rape-cake,  and  de- 
livered into  the  furrow  with  the  seed." 

Night-soil  is  a  mixture  of  urine  and  foeces; 
and  these  have  been  found  to  contain  the  fol- 
lowing substances.  Foeces  were  analyzed  by 
M.  Berzelius:  the  products  were — 

Pirts. 

Water       -------  733 

Vegetable  and  animal  remains         -        .        7* 
Bile 0-9 

Albumen  -------        09 

Peculiar  and  extractire  matter        -        -        2-7 

Salts 1-2 

Slimy  matter,  insoluble  residue,  kc.       -  14- 


100- 


106 


NIGHT-SOIL. 

The  salts  detected  in  this  analysis,  equal  to 
1-2  parts,  were  carbonate  of  soda,  muriate  of 
soda,  sulphate  of  soda,  ammonia,  phosphate 
of  magnesia,  and  phosphate  of  lime.  (Gehhii's 
Journal,  vol.  vi.  p.  536.)  To  the  same  great 
chemist  we  are  indebted  for  an  analysis  of  hu- 
man urine.    He  found  1000  parts  to  contain — 

Parts. 

Water       -------  933- 

Urea  (peculiar  animal  matter)         -        -  3010 
Sulphate  of  potash   -----      3-71 

Sulphate  of  soda       -----      2-16 

Phosphate  of  soda    -----      294 

Muriate  of  soda  (common  salt)         -        -      4*45 
Phosphate  uf  aiiinionia    -        -        -        -      1-65 

Muriate  of  ammonia         -        -        .        -      1-50 

Acid  matter  "i 

Acetate  of  ammonia         V       -        -        -  17*14 

Aninial  matter  and  ureaj 

Earthy  phosphates  and  tiuate  of  lime      -      1' 

Mucus 0-32 

Silica  (earth  of  flint)        -        .        -        -      003 

1000- 

(Annals  of  Philos.  vol.  xi.  p.  423.) 

The  chemical  composition  of  urine  shows,  that 
it  abounds  in  animal  and  mineral  constituents 
which  must  afford  a  copious  supply  of  food  to 
plants. 

According  to  very  recent  experiments  reported 
by  I.  C.  Nesbit,  the  excretions  of  one  person 
were  found,  from  actual  daily  weighings  long 
continued,  to  average  7  to  8  oz.  avoirdupois  of 
solid  matter,  and  3^  lbs.  of  urine.  This  would 
make  the  annual  amounts  170  lbs.  of  faeces,  and 
1277  lbs.  of  urine.  But  when  these  are  perfectly 
dried,  there  remains  only  45  lbs.  from  the  solid 
matter,  and  35"7  lbs.  from  the  urine,  making  the 
annual  amount  of  dry  matter  in  both,  about  80 
lbs.  From  a  comparison  with  other  manures  in 
the  English  market,  the  actual  value  of  this  80 
lbs.  of  dry  matter  is  computed  by  Mr.  Nesbit 
at  $2.r)0.  This  appears  to  be  a  lower  estimate 
than  that  made  by  Boussingault,  who  considers 
the  excrements  of  a  single  adult  during  a  year 
sufficient  to  produce  14^  bushels  of  wheat; 
an  estimate  which  agrees  better  with  the  views 
of  the  Chinese,  who  reckon  the  ordure  of  even 
a  superannuated  or  disabled  person  as  of  sufl!i- 
cient  fertilizing  value  to  compensate  for  his 
bread.  The  odour  of  night-soil  may  be  de- 
stroyed by  any  means  which  will  dry  it:  such 
as  additions  of  dry  mould,  peat,  powdered  char- 
coal, or  plaster ;  also  by  sprinkling  with  a  satu- 
rated solution  of  copperas  in  water,  or  oil  of 
vitriol  diluted  with  10  parts  of  water. 

Davy's  plan  ofr  destroying  the  smell  of  night- 
soil  by  the  addition  of  quick-lime,  may  answer 
very  well  to  correct  a  nuisance ;  but  the  agri- 
cultural value  of  the  manure  produced,  would  be 
lessened,  since  the  addition  of  caustic  lime  to 
animal  matters  drives  off"  their  ammonia,  the 
most  fertilizing  portion. 

The  account  of  eastern  customs,  furnished 
by  modern  travellers,  illustrates  very  remark- 
ably the  notices  of  the  sacred  historians.  "In 
Arabia,  says  Niebuhr  ("vol.  i.  p.  91),  "the  dung 
of  asses  and  camels  is  chiefly  used  for  fuel, 
because  these  are  the  most  numerous  and 
common.  Little  girls  go  about  gathering 
dung  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  highways ;  they 
mix  it  with  cut  straw;  and  of  this  mixture 
make  cakes,  which  they  place  along  the  walls, 
or  upon  the  declivity  of  some  neighbouring 
eminence,  to  dry  them  in  the  sun."  Tourn" 
4  B  84- 


NIGHT-SOIL. 


NIGHT-SOIL. 


fort,  spealiing  of  Georgia,  says,  "All  this  fine 
country  yields  not  a  single  tree ;  and  they  are 
forced  to  burn  cows'  dung."  (Totime/ort,  vol. 
iii.  p.  137.)  And  again,  when  speaking  of 
Ezeroon,  he  says,  "  You  see  neither  tree  nor 
bush,  and  their  common  fuel  is  cows'  dung." 
And  lie  Bruyn  speaks  of  the  same  custom  as 
occurring  in  Persia: — "Wood  is  very  dear, 
and  is  sold  by  weight;  whence  it  is  that  they 
are  obliged  to  make  use  of  turf  made  of  camels' 
dung,  cows'  dung,  sheeps'  dung,  horses'  dung, 
and  asses'  dung.  They  use  it  more  particu- 
larly for  heating  of  ovens,  in  which  they  bake 
most  of  their  meats  in  this  country.  They 
even  apply  human  dung  in  this  way." 

Long  experience  has  taught  many  nations 
the  value  of  this  manure.  In  China  it  is  pre- 
served with  the  greatest  care,  mixed  with  a  fat 
marl;  and,  according  to  Sir  George  Staunton, 
made  into  cakes,  which,  after  being  dried  in 
the  sun,  constitute  a  regular  article  of  traffic 
bt.'tween  the  citizens  and  the  cultivators  of  that 
singular  empire.  The  same  useful  practice  is 
carried  on  in  Belgium.  What  we  throw  into 
our  rivers  the  more  thoughtful  Belgians  turn 
to  account;  what  is  a  nuisance  in  London  is  a 
source  of  revenue  at  Brussels.  To  a  report 
of  my  friend.  Dr.  Granville,  I  am  indebted  for 
a  pretty  copious  account  of  the  value  assigned 
to  this  manure  in  the  northern  states  of  the 
continent;  and  this  I  will  give  chiefly  in  his 
own  language.  When  describing  a  continental 
tour,  made  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  examin- 
ing the  mode  of  employing  this  description  of 
manure  in  Germany,  he  says,  "  The  kingdom 
of  Wiirtemberg  is  so  overstocked  with  popu- 
lation, and  land,  consequently,  is  of  such 
value,  that  every  inch  of  it  is  progressively 
brought  into  a  state  of  culture  by  dint  of  labour 
and  manuring,  no  matter  how  ungrateful  the 
soil,  or  its  situation,  may  at  first  sight  ap- 
pear. 

"The  cultivation  of  the  vine  is  one  which 
requires,  in  certain  arid  and  mountainous  soils, 
a  liberal  use  of  the  human  manure.  Wishing 
to  ascertain  this  fact  from  my  own  observation, 
I  undertook  a  journey  through  the  principality 
of  Nassau,  and  along  both  banks  of  the  Rhine, 
examining  many  of  the  vine  districts,  as  I  de- 
scended that  river  for  the  purpose  of  visiting 
Holland.  On  my  return,  I  took  French  Flanders 
in  my  way,  looking  particularly  to  the  great 
flax  districts  of  Tournay,  Lflle,  Valenciennes, 
and  Camhray,  where  the  surprising  results 
obtained  from  the  application  of  human  ma- 
nure, like  those  obtained  in  Belgian  Flanders 
by  similar  means,  have  induced  agriculturists, 
within  me  last  few  years,  to  give  to  that  spe- 
cies of  manure  the  name  of  'Flemish  Ma- 
nure.*" 

And,  when  speaking  of  the  little  care  taken 
in  England  of  this  fertilizer,  he  continues: — 
•'  In  no  part  of  France,  Wiirtemberg,  Bavaria, 
Bohemia,  Prussia,  Saxony,  the  Confederated 
Stales  of  Germany,  Holland,  and  Belgium,  is 
*here  a  city  in  which,  as  in  London,  the  gene- 
ral mass  of  filth,  of  every  description,  created 
by  a  vast  population,  is  firsc  allowed  to  enter 
the  river  which  may  happen  to  traverse  that 
city,  and  is  then  returned,  diluted  with  the  wa- 
frr  of  that  river,  to  the  houses  of  the  inhabit- 
842 


ants,  to  be  used  either  for  domestic  or  culinary 
purposes ;  although,  by  avoiding  the  latter  dis- 
gusting alternative,  foreign  cities  are  less  free 
from  unpleasant  smells  than  London  is.  In 
this  respect,  it  may  be  truly  said  that  foreigners 
smell  the  filth  of  their  cities,  but  do  not  swal- 
low it ;  whereas  the  Londoner  swallows  it,  but 
seldom  smells  it. 

"In  no  large  city  of  that  part  of  Europe 
which  I  have  recently  visited,  possessing  a 
river,  is  any  portion  of  the  contents  of  closets 
and  cesspools  suflfered  to  find  its  way,  or  to  be 
emptied  into  it,  except  at  Amsterdam,  Ant- 
werp, Brussels,  Stuttgard,  and  Leipzig;  and 
even  there  only  in  a  partial  manner.  In  Paris 
the  Seine  is  contaminated  by  one  large  drain 
only,  conveying  the  urine  from  the  large  re- 
servoirs of  night-soil  at  Montfau9on,  and  by 
2  smaller  ones  proceeding  from  cesspools.  To 
convey  generally,  or  to  empty  even  partially 
any  such  matter  into  the  river,  is  a  practice 
against  which  the  laws  have  provided  by  heavy 
fines  and  incarcerations.  And  such  is  the  pre- 
sent feeling  of  all  the  governments  on  that 
subject,  even  in  the  great  cities  I  have  just 
enumerated  as  exceptions,  that  the  superior 
authorities  are  seriously  engaged  in  devising 
plans  for  preventing  in  future  every  possible 
infraction  of  those  laws ;  not  because  it  is  de- 
sirable to  preserve  pure  the  water  of  such 
rivers  (since  no  domestic  use  is  made  of  it), 
but  on  account  of  the  loss  of  a  material,  deem- 
ed most  valuable,  which  such  infractions  must 
necessarily  entail. 

"Night-soil  is  husbanded  in  every  part  of 
the  Continent  I  have  visited,  without  exception, 
with  a  jealousy  and  care  which  prove  how 
valuable  it  is  considered  by  the  people.  In 
most  of  the  cities  of  the  second  order,  and  the 
smaller  capitals,  night-soil  is  a  source  of  profit, 
first,  to  the  householder,  next  to  a  middleman, 
and,  thirdly,  to  the  farmer,  who  is  the  last  pur- 
chaser, and  employs  it. 

"In  all  the  towns  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of  Ba- 
den, of  the  kingdom  of  Wiirtemberg,  of  Bava- 
ria (except  Munich  and  Wiirtzburgh),  of  the 
province  of  Salsburg,  of  Bohemia  (except 
Prague),  of  Saxony  {except  Dresden),  in  some 
of  the  minor  cities  of  Prussia,  in  all  the  con- 
federated principalities,  in  all  the  cities  on 
both  banks  of  the  Rhine,  particularly  Stras- 
burg,  Mayence,  Coblentz,  Bonn,  Cologne,  Dus- 
seldorf,  Nimeguen,  &c.,  the  householder  dis- 
poses of  the  contents  of  his  cesspool  for  a 
certain  sum  of  money,  besides  getting  the  ope- 
ration of  emptying  it  performed  gratuitously. 
By  comparing  the  returns  of  the  diflferent 
prices  paid  in  those  cities  for  the  commodity 
in  question,  one  year  with  another,  and  equal- 
izing them  by  an  average  price,  the  inhabi- 
tants appear  to  be  benefited  to  the  amount  of  4 
francs  a  head  yearly,  and  the  middlemen  to  at 
least  40  per  cent,  more  on  the  sum  he  pays  to 
the  original  seller.  I  will  cite  Strasburg  as  an 
example,  since  most  of  the  other  cities  of  the 
same  extent  (on  the  Rhine,  and  in  many  parts 
of  Germany),  and  a  few  cities  even  larger  pre- 
sented the  strongest  analogy  to  the  case  I  have 
selected.  At  Strasburg,  a  company  of  middle- 
men engage  to  empty  the  cesspools,  of  w^ 
every  house  has  at  least  two  (built  air  u 


NIGHT-SOIL. 

water-tight),  once  a  year  for  nothing,  and  pays, 
moreover,  6  francs  per  charetie,  containing  96 
haquets,  of  the  capacity  of  4  gallons  each.  This 
quantity  the  company  sells  afterwards  to  the 
farmers  for  ten  francs.  (The  capacity  of  the 
charetle  being  to  that  of  a  ton  as  28,772  ounces 
are  to  35,840,  it  follows  that  the  price  of  a  ton 
at  Strasburg  would  be  10s.)  Now,  as  there  are 
14,000  houses  in  Strasburg,  10.000  of  which 
have  cesspools  affording  the  soil  in  question 
(which  is  always  semi-liquid),  supposing  the 
latter  to  be  emptied  only  once  a  year,  and  to 
furnish  each  3  charettes  only,  at  six  francs, 
we  have  10,000  X  6  X  3  =  180,000  francs,  which 
the  company  pays  )'early  to  the  inhabitants  of 
a  town  having  a  population  of  70,000  souls. 
But  as  the  company  resell  to  the  farmer  the 
said  soil  for  manuring  purposes,  at  ten  francs 
per  charetle,  it  follows  that  this  article  of  traffic 
produces  yearly  at  Strasburg  300,000  francs, 
or  just  about  4^  francs  for  each  inhabitant." 

The  high  prices  paid  for  this  manure  by  the 
Continental  farmers  betrays  the  estimation  in 
which  they  hold  it.  "The  contractor  at  Brus- 
sels, M.  Champon,"  says  Dr.  Granville,  "sells 
his  manure  for  13s.  4f/.  per  ton — 400  florins,  or 
33/.  6^.  for  a  barge-load  of  50  tons.  M.  Smet, 
the  greatest  trafficker,  perhaps,  in  this  material 
in  East  Flanders,  gets  for  some  of  his  10s.,  and 
for  the  best  and  larger  portion  of  it  15s.  per 
ton  ;  while  the  contractor  at  Antwerp  disposes 
of  all  he  has  of  Flemish  manure  at  52  florins 
the  pnt,  or  624  florins  the  barge-load,  equal  to 
52/.,  or  1/.  10s.  9</.  per  ton.  But  if  we  look  to 
what  takes  place  every  day  at  Montfaupon, 
near  Paris,  where  200  cart-loads  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  cesspools  are  dail)'  deposited,  to  be 
converted  into  pnudrettc,  we  find  the  latter  (a 
dry  and  compound  manure  made  from  night- 
-joil)  to  fetch  a  much  higher  price  than  all  the 
rest. 

"  But  by  far  the  most  important  point  of 
practical  knowledge  in  this  matter,  put  forward 
by  the  same  great  authorities,  and  the  truth  of 
which  was  al'terwards  confirmed  to  me  by 
more  than  one  great  farmer  in  East  Flanders, 
is,  that  while  the  manuring  with  human  soil 
has  produced  14  limes  the  quantity  sown, 
where  horse-dung  has  only  yielded  10,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  human  or  Flemish  manure  em- 
ployed was,  to  that  of  the  horse-dung,  as  1  to  5 
only ;  so  that  with  1  ton  of  the  Flemish  a 
larger  produce  is  obtained  than  with  5  tons  of 
stable  manure."  See  Manureh  applicable  bt 
THE  Drill. 

In  Sweden  the  value  of  night-soil  has  been 
long  well  understood  by  the  farmers.  Nearly 
half  a  century  since  the  Baron  de  Schulze, 
when  writing  to  Sir  John  Sinclair,  observed, 
"They  have  now  ceased  to  spoil  the  fine  har- 
bour of  Stockholm  with  nuisances  of  every 
kind.  The  contents  of  the  privies  are  now 
collected,  by  undertakers,  in  barrels,  of  which 
they  are  obliged  to  have  a  double  quantity  to 
replace  those  deposited  in  the  reservoirs,  from 
whence  they  are  carried  to  the  country.  My 
eldest  son,  who  has*changed  the  sword  for  the 
ploughshare,  has  particularly  attended  to  this 
manure,  being  favourably  situated  on  the  Lake 
Malar,  48  English  miles  from  the  capital ;  he 
conveys  it  in  a  covered  boat,  each  loading  of 


NIGHT-SOIL. 

which  is  sufficient  to  dress  about  3  acres  of 
spring  corn,  and  between  4  and  5  of  winter 
corn  and  meadow  ground.  This  manure,  by 
the  motion  of  the  boat,  becomes  more  liquid; 
and  it  is  conveyed  from  the  hold  of  the  vessel 
by  a  bucket  at  the  end  of  a  lever,  through  a 
spout  into  a  close  cart  on  shore  drawn  by  two 
oxen.  These  carts  are  provided  with  a  mova- 
ble funnel,  and  with  a  strainer  so  regulated, 
by  means  of  a  pole,  that  the  manure  can  be  ad- 
ministered at  pleasure  by  the  driver,  without 
further  attention  to  spreading.  That  the  land 
may  not  be  overdunged,  and  the  crop  conse- 
quently lodged,  care  must  be  taken  not  to  lay 
above  40  such  cart-loads  on  the  Swedish  acre 
for  spring  corn ;  each  cart  containing  180  gal- 
lons English,  or  1920  lbs.  Except  that  other 
powerful  manure  produced  by  the  refuse  of  the 
herring  oil-works,  none  can  come  into  compe- 
tition, for  richness,  with  the  contents  of  the 
privy  mixed  with  urine.  The  effects  of  this 
manure,  no  doubt,  diminish  gradually  ;  yet  its 
operation  may  be  plainly  perceived  in  the 
fourth  successive  crop.  When  clover  is  meant 
to  be  sown  with  the  spring  corn,  this  species 
of  manure  is  unsuitable;  for  although  the  seed 
be  diminished  to  one-third,  the  straw  becomes 
so  thick  and  strong  as  to  choke  the  clover.  A 
mixture  of  lime  is  sometimes  recommended  for 
this  manure,  in  order  to  dry  it  and  correct  the 
smell;  but,  besides  that  lime  is  not  plentiful 
here,  the  process  would  be  found  to  require  a 
considerable  time  and  expense.  A  little  addi- 
tion to  the  wages  of  the  labourers  or  cottagers 
soon  reconciles  them  to  the  inconvenience  of 
the  smell,  and  it  becomes  still  less  offensive  to 
them  if  they  are  allowed  to  use  part  of  it  on 
their  own  little  fields.  If  any  particular  impe- 
diment occurs,  such  as  harvest  work,  this  ma- 
nure is  then  from  the  vessel  conveyed  to  great 
pits,  to  be,  aAer  a  mixture  with  other  sub- 
stances, driven  to  the  field  at  a  more  conve- 
nient season."  {Corn.  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  i.  p. 
326.)  The  prejudice  which  some  English  la- 
bourers entertain  against  the  employment  of 
night-soil  is  readily  overcome  by  a  little  ma- 
nagement. The  stream  which  flows  through 
the  village  of  Eastbourn,  in  Sussex,  had  be- 
come, a  few  months  since,  much  contaminated 
through  the  night-soil  which  had  been  deposit- 
ed in  it  from  the  adjoining  cottages,  and  it  was 
in  vain  that  their  owners  were  advised  to  use 
it  for  their  gardens  ;  until  an  excellent  lady  of 
the  place,  who  is  ever  ready  to  promote  the 
comfort  of  her  poorer  neighbours,  desired  her 
bailiff  to  go  round  and  propose  to  purchase  it 
of  them.  His  offer  was,  however,  rejected,  uni- 
versally rejected;  and  ever  since  they  have 
no  longer  suffered  the  contents  of  their  privies 
to  be  wasted,  but  have  carefully  applied  them, 
and  with  the  best  results,  to  their  own  gardens ; 
remarking,  that  if  it  was  worth  a  farmer's 
while  to  buy  H  of  them,  it  must  be  worth  more 
to  them  for  their  gardens. 

"  By  this  term,  night-soil,"  remarked  the  in- 
defatigable Arthur  Young,  "  at  London,  is  to  be 
understood  the  collections  there  made  of  what 
a  French  marquis  calls  '  I'espece  de  fumier  que 
la  politesse  empeche  de  nommer;'  from  which 
trait  of  him  one  would  not  have  expected  hr 
should  know  so  much  of  the  value  of  it  as  b" 

843 


NTGHT-SOIL. 


NIGHT-SOIL. 


really  did.  An  Englishman  says,  'tis  more 
decent  and  better  to  let  it  alone ;  but  as  I  con- 
ceive it  perfectly  decent  and  efficient,  I  shall 
consider  human  ordure  as  the  very  best  ma- 
nure that  can  be  procured.  But  here,  I  shall 
first  consider  the  farmer's  conduct  at  home, 
where  his  great  object  is  to  raise  as  much  ma- 
nure as  possible  without  being  obliged  to  de- 
pend on  purchases,  which  are  only  to  be  made 
in  certain  situations.  If  the  farmer  manages 
his  necessary-house  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
suffer  nothing  to  run  off  from  it,  and  frequently 
throws  malt-dusi,  saw-dust,  fine  mould,  or  sand 
into  it,  he  may,  every  year,  manure  from  1  to 
2  acres  of  land. 

"  If  the  farmer  is  within  reach  of  any  con- 
siderable town,  and  there  are  scavengers  or 
people  who  will  collect  this  manure  and  keep 
it  separate,  the  farmer  can  hardly  purchase  it 
at  too  high  a  price.  In  the  last  century,  the 
ordure  of  the  galley-slaves  at  Marseilles  was 
all  saved,  and  sold  to  the  farmers  as  a  dressing 
for  grapes,  olives,  and  figs ;  the  last  of  which 
produced  by  it  were  the  best  in  the  world.  At 
Nice  it  sells  high,  and  every  peasant  has  a 
house  of  office  for  passengers.  In  China  it 
seems  to  be  a  manure,  of  all  others,  in  the  most 
request ;  and  in  Italy  they  are  well  acquainted 
with  its  value.  At  London  it  sells  at  from  3s. 
to  6s.  a  load;  at  17  miles  distant,  with  turn- 
pikes and  all  expenses,  it  costs  25s.  a  wagon- 
load  ;  yet  it  answered  greatly.  It  should  be 
laid  by  the  scavengers  in  very  light  swamps 
(not  too  deep)  in  a  grass  field,  and  in  summer 
trenches  cut  through  it  to  drain;  and  then 
being  thrown  in  heaps,  it  is  of  very  light  car- 
riage. Three  wagon-loads,  or  from  240  to  300 
bu&hels,  are  enough  for  an  acre  of  grass  land, 
upon  which  I  think  it  answers  best;  but  mixed 
with  marl,  loam,  turf,  or  dry  pond  mud,  its  use 
for  that  application  is  excellent.  I  have  com- 
pared it  with  all  other  manures,  and  found  that 
none  of  them  I  could  procure  equalled  it  by 
many  degrees.  It  is  a  vulgar  error  to  imagine 
that  manuring  a  field  with  this  substance  will 
give  a  bad  taste  to  plants.  I  dressed  part  of  a 
pasture  with  it,  fed  the  whole  of  that  year  with 
horses,  cows,  and  young  cattle,  and  I  remarked 
to  various  gentlemen  that  saw  it  how  close  into 
the  ground  that  part  was  constantly  eaten, 
while  there  was  much  longer  grass,  &c.,  in 
every  other  part  of  the  field." 

"  On  October  20th,  1772,"  adds  Arthur  Young, 
"I  marked  divisions  each  of  4  square  perches 
on  a  summer  fallow ;  the  soil  a  poor  blue 
pebbly  gravel,  and  manured  these  compart- 
ments as  follows ; — 


Young,  which  are  entirely  confirmed  by  those 
of  the  Essex  farmers,  and  my  own,  that  night- 
soil  is  an  excellent  manure  for  potatoes.  The 
following  table  contains  the  results  ,f  Arthur 
Young's  trials.  The  soil  on  which  these  ex- 
periments were  made  was  a  poor  gravelly 
loam. 

Produce  per  Acre. 

Bu8he1% 
Soil,  simple,  produced  ------    120 

Night-soil,  10  wagon-loads,  each  96  bushels        -    600 


Bones 


10 


-  650 

-  500 

-  650 

-  640 

-  560 

-  480 


Produce  of  Wheat  per  Acre. 


8oil,  simple        -        -       -       - 
Bushels  of  night-soil 

Do       -       -       -       - 

Do.      -       -       -        - 
Uubic  yards  of  farmyard  comp«>«t 

Do. 

Do.,  and  1  cubic  yard  of  chalk 


Bushels. 

-  -  m 

-  320  37i 

-  240  32i 

-  160  3H 

-  60  25 

-  30  23* 

-  30  25 


"  The  effect  of  nig. it-soil,"  he  continues," 
•  was  prodigious ;  it  just  trebles  the  produce. 
In  all  tne  experiments  I  have  made  with  this 
manure,  I  hz"^  ever  found  this  result  almost 
uniform."  {Annals  of  Agr.  vol.  iii.  p.  79.)  It  is 
evidens  also,  from  the  experiments  of  Arthur 
844 


Hog-dung,  60  one-horse  cart-loads 

—  .      30  —  —  -  -  -     4HU 

Yard-compost,  60  one-horse  cart-loads       -       -    300 
_  120        —  —  -       -    480 

—  30        —  —  -        -    140 

These  experiments  are  useful,  as  indicating 
the  comparative  value  of  each  fertilizer,  al- 
though the  quantities  employed  were  evidently 
excessive.  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis,  of  Spring  Park, 
near  Croydon,  finds  6  tons  of  night-soil,  mixed 
with  peat,  to  be  amply  sufficient  for  an  acre  of 
ground.  He  thinks  this  manure  the  best  for 
turnips.  Night-soil  is,  however,  in  spite  of  all 
the  obstacles  of  prejudice  and  inattention, 
much  more  extensively  used  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  large  manufacturing  towns  of  the 
north  of  England  than  it  was  formerly.  Mr. 
Dixon,  of  Hathershaw,  in  Lancashire,  thus  de- 
scribes his  mode  of  using  it.  "  For  the  con- 
veyance of  night-soil  and  urine,  we  have  the 
largest  and  strongest  casks,  such  as  oils  are 
imported  in ;  the  top  of  each  is  provided  with 
a  funnel  to  put  the  matters  through,  and  the 
casks  are  fixed  on  wheels  like  those  of  a  com- 
mon dung-cart.  I  am  fully  aware  that  there 
are  many  localities  where  neither  peat  nor 
night-soil  can  be  readily  obtained;  but  it  is 
worth  a  farmer's  while  to  go  even  more  than 
20,  miles  for  tfie  latter  substance,  provided  he 
can  have  it  without  deterioration:  the  original 
cost  is  often  trifling.  On  a  farm  where  turnips 
or  mangel-wurzel  are  cultivated  to  some  extent, 
the  system  here  recommended  will  be  almost 
incalculably  advantageous.  A  single  horse  is 
sufficient  for  one  carriage;  mine  holds  upwards 
of  a  ton  each ;  6  tons  of  this  manure  in  com- 
post with  peat,  or,  if  that  is  not  convenient,  any 
other  matters,  such  as  ditch-scourings,  or  high 
headlands  which  have  been  properly  prepared 
and  laid  dry  in  a  heap  for  some  time,  would  be 
amply  sufficient  for  an  acre  of  turnips  or 
mangel.  This  manure  is  by  far  the  most  in- 
vigorating of  any  I  have  ever  yet  tried.  Bones 
in  any  state  will  bear  no  comparison  as  a  help 
for  any  crop  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
I  write  on  the  supposition  that  it  has  not  been 
reduced  in  strength  before  it  is  fetched." 

There  have,  been  various  patents  granted  in 
France  for  the  preparation  of  manure  from 
night-soil,  several  ol  which  have  proved  very 
successful.  The  pmtdrette,  or  dried  night-soil, 
first  prepared  by  M.  Bridet,  was  found,  after 
repeated  trials,  to  be  a  verv  powerful  dressing 
for  land  ;  240  Jbs.  ot  this  powder  producing 
effects  equal  to  8  loads  of  stable  manure.  This 
substance  has  been  recently  examined  by  Pro- 
fessor Hermstadt,  who  reports  it  to  be  a  perfect 
substitute  for  common  dung    that  it  is  most 


NIPPERS. 


NITRATES. 


efficacious  in  wet  seasons ;  and  that  in  dry- 
seasons  it  is  less  useful  upon  sandy  soils  than 
upon  greasy  cays.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  very  extXlent  composts  may  be  made 
from  night-soil;  and,  in  fact,  several  are  now 
prepared  in  London,  on  a  very  bold  scale,  for 
the  service  ;i'  the  farmer ;  but  the  success  of 
these  is  usually  impeded  by  the  preparers  pro- 
fessing that  their  preparations  may  be  used  in 
'Quantities  much  too  small.  Then,  again,  one 
or  two  patents  have  been  taken  out  in  England 
for  artificial  manures,  by  persons  who  were 
evidently  very  grossly  ignorant  of  what  they 
professed  to  understand.  (Johnson  on  the  Fer- 
tilizers, p. 92.)    See  FAnM-YAUD  Maxuhe;  Ma- 

SUKES  APPLICABLE   BT  THE  DhILL  ;    UrIXE. 

NIPPERS.  A  term  applied  to  the  four  teeth 
in  the  fore  part  of  the  horse's  mouth,  two  in 
the  upper  and  two  in  the  lower  jaw  :  they  are 
put  forth  between  the  second  and  third  years. 
Nippers,  in  farriery,  are  the  pincers  which  the 
smiths  use  in  shoeing. 

NITRATES  OF  POTASH  AND  SODA. 
Two  salts  lately  much  employed  in  agricul- 
ture. The  first  (nitrate  of  potash)  is  known 
in  commerce  under  the  name  of  saltpetre,  and 
is  principally  procured  from  the  East  Indies, 
where  it  is  found  on  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
especially  in  the  district  of  Tirhut,  in  Bengal. 
It  also  abounds  in  Ceylon,  Persia,  Egypt,  and 
even  in  Spain;  but  that  which  is  brought  to 
England  comes  chiefly  from  India  in  an  impure 
state,  and  contains  about  70  per  cent,  of  pure 
nitre.  It,  however,  varies  in  quality;  but  the 
average  loss  in  the  purification  is  generally 
about  15  to  20  per  cent.  Nitre  is  also  formed 
by  artificial  composts  in  various  parts  of  Eu- 
rope. When  pure,  nitre  is  composed  of  nitric 
acid  54-15  parts,  or  1  equivalent;  and  potash 
47*15  parts,  or  I  equivalent;  or  52*9  per  cent, 
cf  acid  -f  47-1  of  alkali  =  100. 

Nitrate  of  soda,  which  is  known  as  cubic petre, 
is  obtained  chietly  from  Peru,  where  it  is  found 
in  a  thick  stratum,  at  an  elevation  of  3500  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  (Dar- 
win  s  Researches,  p.  443.)  It  is  sold,  it  seems,  at 
the  ship's  side  on  the  coast  of  Peru,  at  14«.per 
cwt.  It  is  composed  of  nitric  acid  62-1  parts, 
and  potash  37-9  parts. 

It  is  only  in  modern  days  that  saltpetre  has 
been  extensively  employed  as  a  fertilizer;  for 
It  is  not  long  that  the  nitre  of  commerce  has 
been  produced  in  quantities  sufficiently  large 
and  reasonable  to  enable  the  farmer  to  profita- 
bly use  it  as  a  manure.  That  the  knowledge 
of  its  enriching  qualities,  however,  is  not  a 
modern  discovery,  is  too  self-evident  to  be 
doubted.  Virgil  {Georgics,  lib.  i.  v.  193,  195) 
recommends  it  to  the  Italian  farmers  as  an  ex- 
cellent addition  to  the  dregs  of  olive  oil,  to  form 
a  steep  to  cause  the  seed-grain  to  swell  and 
vegetate  with  vigour ;  and  from  his  days  to 
our  own,  hardly  an  agricultural  writer  has 
omitted  to  notice  its  powers.  The  very  first 
English  author  who  wrote  upon  husbandry,  in 
1532,  Sir  Anthony  Fitzherbert,  describes  it  as 
having  the  power  to  insure  to  the  farmer  the 
most  abundant  crops.  And  in  1570,  a  learned 
German  cnunsellor,  Heresbaschius,  in  his  Trea- 
tise upon  Rural  jiff  airs,  describes  the  use  of  this 
salt  as  not  an  uncommon  dressing  in  his  time 


for  coleworts.  A  century  afterwards,  Evelyn 
in  his  Discourse  on  Earth,  told  the  farmers  of 
his  age  that  if  they  could  but  obtain  a  plentiful 
supply  of  saltpetre,  they  would  "  need  but  little 
other  compost  to  meliorate  their  ground."  And 
even  Jethro  Tull,  in  the  early  pan  of  the  last 
century,  who  denied  very  zealously  the  neces- 
sary use  of  manures  of  all  kinds — even  Tull 
placed  nitre  at  the  head  of  his  list  of  those 
substances  which  he  deemed  to  be  the  essential 
food  of  plants. 

Saltpetre,  therefore,  must  not  be  regarded  as 
a  modern  introduction  into  agriculture;  for  it 
has  long  been  used  in  limited  quantities  by 
previous  generations  of  cultivators,  who,  like 
us,  were  content  to  notice  the  efiects  which  it 
produces,  without  being  able  to  exactly  com- 
prehend its  mode  of  action. 

It  is  idle  to  merely  substitute  words  in  ex- 
planation of  unknown  effects,  and  to  say  that 
saltpetre  is  a  stimulant,  or  that  it  yields  nitro- 
gen to  ihe  plant;  and  there  is  little  evidence 
of  its  entering  into  the  composition  of  any  of 
the  more  commonly  cultivated  crops:  there  is, 
therefore,  but  a  slight  probability  of  its  being 
a  direct  food  of  the  plants  to  which  the  farmer 
usually  applies  it  The  only  common  excep- 
tion is  that  of  barit  y,  in  which  a  minute  por- 
tion of  cubic  petre  (nitrate  of  soda)  is  found 
to  exist. 

But  although  these  nitrates  have  not  been 
detected  in  the  farmer's  crops,  yet  they  are 
known  to  exist  in  many  plants,  most  likely  as 
essential  ingredients.  Thus  saltpetre  is  found 
in  the  common  horse-radish,  in  the  nettle,  and 
the  sunflower.  M.  Chevalier  discovered  it  in 
the  Chenopudium  olidum;  M.  Vauquelin  in  the 
deadly  nightshade.  Dr.  John  found  it  in  the 
Mescmbryantheinum  crystalliunm;  M.  Chevreul  in 
woad.  The  growth  of  the  sunflower  is  mate- 
rially promoted  by  watering  it  with  a  weak 
solution  of  this  salt.  It  languishes  in  soils 
which  do  not  naturally  contain  it;  but  when 
the  salt  is  added  to  the  earth,  then  it  immediately 
makes  its  appearance  in  the  plant  in  the  usual 
proportions. 

And  although  we  are  not  aware  of  its  exist- 
ence in  the  ordinary  field-crops,  yet  still  it  may 
beneficially  exist  in  them,  and  exert  a  consi- 
derable influence  at  certain  periods  of  their 
growth,  although  in  minute  proportions:  and, 
notwithstanding  we  have  no  direct  evidence 
of  the  fact,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  its  presence 
may  tend  to  vary,  in  the  vegetable  world,  the 
essentially  present  combinations  of  nitrogen,  in 
a  way  which  the  skilful  investigations  of  the 
chemist  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  tracing. 
Such  researches,  however,  have  already  proved 
that  nitrogen  (of  which,  with  oxygen,  the  acid 
of  saltpetre  is  formed)  performs  a  much  more 
important  part  in  vegetable  economy  than  was 
once  supposed ;  and  many  facts  are  a^eady 
apparent  which  should  encourage  us  \o  perse- 
vere in  the  examination.  For  instance,  it  has 
been  observed  by  the  farmer  that  these  two  ni- 
trates (the  base  of  whose  acid  is  nitrogen)  have  a 
very  powerful  effect  in  adding  to  the  deep  green 
colour  of  plants.  Now,  this  is  precisely  the 
effect  produced  by  other  fertilizers,  which  also 
contain  nitrogen  ;  such  as  gelatine,  urine,  oils, 
blood,  soot,  fish,  &c.  In  fact,  I  am  not  awarw 
4  B  2  845 


NITRATES  OF 


POTASH  AND  SODA. 


01  any  manure  producing  this  rapid,  darkly- 
green,  luxuriant  growth,  from  which  nitrogen 
is  absent.  Saltpetre  is  naturally  generated  on 
the  earth's  surface  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, and  in  situations  much  more  frequent 
than  the  farmer  is  wont  to  suspect.  Wherever 
ammonia  is  copiously  generated,  as  in  stables, 
farm-yards,  &c.,  and  wherever  the  nitrogen, 
which  forms  a  component  portion  of  ammonia, 
at  the  moment  of  its  extrication  has  access  to 
potash  or  calcareous  matter,  there  saltpetre  is 
usually  formed.  This  is  naturally  done  so 
copiously,  in  some  of  those  situations  in  which 
the  farmer  is  placed,  as  to  form  fine  crystalline 
exudations  on  the  walls ;  and  it  is  in  such 
places  that  those  plants  which  abound  in  salt- 
petre, as  the  nettle,  the  horse-radish,  &c.,  com- 
monly flourish  with  uncommon  luxuriance.  It 
has  been  proved  by  those  who  gather  the  salt- 
petre from  the  earth's  surface  in  southern 
Africa  and  Hindostan,  as  well  as  by  those  who 
prepare  the  artificial  saltpetre  beds  in  Spain 
from  the  sweepings  of  the  streets  of  Madrid, 
that  nothing  more  is  requisite  for  the  forma- 
tion of  saltpetre  in  these  beds  of  earth,  than  the 
presence  of  a  certain  proportion  of  decompos- 
ing animal  and  vegetable  matters,  with  some 
potash,  and  calcareous  matter.  Now  all  these 
essentials  for  the  formation  of  saltpetre  must 
in  many  situations  be  afl^orded  by  the  farmer's 
own  soils.  There  are,  in  fact,  many  lands  in 
the  cultivator's  possession  where,  especially 
in  dry  summers,  the  formation  of  saltpetre  in 
minute  proportions  is  continually  taking  place; 
where  the  putrefaction  of  animal  matters  must 
in  small  proportions  be  productive  of  ammo- 
nia ;  and  where  an  abundance  of  potash  is  al- 
ready existing  in  the  soil  to  neutralize  the 
nitric  acid  produced,  and  form  with  it  nitrate 
of  potash  or  saltpetre.  For  it  has  been  ascer- 
tained that  if,  at  the  moment  when  nitrogen  is 
evolved,  it  is  presented  with  oxygen  gas,  that  it 
combines  with  it,  and  forms  nitric  acid.  Here, 
then,  we  have  explained  to  us  the  origin  of  the 
acid  of  the  nitre,  and  we  know  that  its  base,  or 
potash,  is  to  be  found  in  some  form  or  other  in 
all  cultivated  soils.  And  if  we  admit  that  this 
must  in  some  instances  be  the  case,  then  we 
shall  be  furnished  with  a  ready  explanation  of 
many  of  the  difficulties  and  discordant  results 
which  have  attended  the  recent  very  general 
application  of  these  two  nitrates,  since  the  fact 
that  saltpetre  has  commonly  been  found  to 
produce  the  least  results  upon  those  deep,  rich, 
alluvial  soils  which  must  abound  in  decom- 
posing organic  matters,  in  some  degree  coun- 
tenances the  conclusion,  as  does  the  smallness 
of  the  quantity  of  saltpetre  applied ;  for,  if  once 
we  concede  the  possibility  of  the  soil,  under 
favourable  circumstances,  being  able  to  gene- 
rate this  salt,  then  it  will  be  allowed  that  one 
OWL  per  acre  is  not  a  large  crop  for  the  soil  to 
pr>-uce.  That  in  this  way  it  is  generated  in 
some  of  the  richest  soils  of  the  East,  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  cover  the  surface  with  a  white 
incrustation,  is  known  to  every  oriental  tra- 
veller. To  a  still  greater  extent  is  the  land 
in  those  countries  impregnated  in  many  situa- 
tions with  the  nitrate  :'  lime,  a  salt  which, 
possessing  thf  same  acid  as  nitre  and  cubic 
nitre,  has  lime  instead  of  potash  or  soda  for 
810 


j  its  base  ;  and  from  some  experiments  which  1 
have  made,  I  have  little  doubt  but  this  nitrate, 
which  is  of  much  less  cost  than  either  the  ni- 
trates of  potash  or  soda,  will  be  found  a  valu- 
able agent  for  the  use  of  the  cultivator.  For 
its  excessive  deliquescent  or  moistening  pro- 
perties, which  render  it  so  unmanageable  for 
many  manufacturing  purposes,  make  it  more 
valuable  to  the  cultivator  of  the  poor,  dry, 
thirsty  soils,  where  artificial  fertilizers  are 
most  in  request.  If  nitrate  of  lime  was  import- 
ed at  a  reasonable  rate,  the  farmer  could  rea- 
dily, if  he  wished,  make  his  own  cubic  petre, 
at  a  very  low  price,  by  mixing  the  nitrate  of 
lime  with  glauber  salts  (sulphate  of  soda),  by 
which  means  a  rapid  decomposition  takes 
place,  the  result  of  which  is  nitrate  of  soda 
(cubic  petre)  and  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum). 
The  inferior,  impure,  refuse  glauber  salts,  made 
by  the  cotton  bleachers  in  the  preparation  of 
their  bleaching  powder,  would  answer  for  this 
purpose  very  well. 

My  experience  of  the  enriching  powers  of 
saltpetre  extends  over  several  years.  My  ear- 
liest experiments  were  made  in  the  kitchen 
and  flower  garden,  in  which  I  found  very  con- 
siderable advantage  in  increasing  the  beauty 
and  in  prolonging  the  bloom  of  several  of  the 
tenants  of  the  latter;  and  in  the  former.I  found 
excellent  results  from  applying  it  at  the  rate 
of  2  cwt.  per  acre  to  my  beds  of  horse-radish, 
and  in  very  small  proportions,  as  one-eighth 
of  an  ounce  per  gallon,  to  the  water  with  which 
I  watered,  to  prevent  mildew,  &c.,  my  early 
and  late  crops  of  pease,  wall-fruit  trees,  &c. 
My  experience  with  it  as  a  field  crop  has  been 
principally  confined  to  the  gravels  of  Essex 
and  the  chalks  of  Hampshire  and  Berkshire, 
in  which,  especially  upon  grass,  I  have  ob- 
tained results  exceedingly  satisfactory.  In 
1840,  I  tried  it  upon  the  old  clay  grass  soils 
of  Knitbury,  in  Berkshire,  with  various  other 
manures;  1st,  at  the  rate  of  1  cwt.  per  acre; 
2d,  nitrate  of  soda,  1^  cwt.  per  acre ;  3d,  Poit- 
tevin's  manure,  14  bushels  per  acre;  4ih,  gyp- 
sum, 1^  cwt.  per  acre ;  5th,  nitrate  of  soda, 
1^  cwt.,  and  gypsum  1^  cwt.  per  acre.  These 
were  all  applied  by  hand  in  the  month  of  April; 
but  although  they  all  produced  a  better  crop 
than  the  soil  simple,  yet  the  extreme  dryness 
of  the  season  operated  very  materially  against 
the  success  of  almost  all  artificial  dressings, 
and  the  produce  of  the  whole  plot  was  much 
below  an  average  crop.  Nos.  1,  4,  and  5  were 
decidedly  the  best,  producing  at  the  rate  of 
rather  more  than  2  tons  of  hay  per  acre;  while 
the  produce  of  the  soil  simple  was  less  than 
22  cwt.  per  acre.  The  grasses  were  of  the 
ordinary  kinds  tenanting  the  upland  pastures, 
mixed  with  a  considerable  portion  of  nearly 
worn-out  roots  of  lucern,  which,  in  the  plot 
No.  4,  gypsum  alone,  and  in  No.  5,  gypsum 
and  cubic  petre  mixed,  was  revived  by  the  ap- 
plication to  a  very  remarkable  degree;  its 
plants  nearly  doubling  in  height  any  other  por- 
tion of  the  land. 

In  some  experiments,  at  which  I  was  pre- 
sent, on  the  barley  and  wheat  land  of  the  chalk 
formation  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Winchester, 
the  effect  of  the  saltpetre  was  excellent;  the 
green  colour  of  the  crops  was  rendejod  much 


NITRATES  OF 


POTASH  AND  SODA. 


more  deep,  and  the  increased  produce  far  more 
ihan  compensated  for  the  expense  of  the  salt- 
petre. And  the  same  success  attended  its  ap- 
plication to  both  red  clover  and  sainfoin  on  the 
down  lands ;  but  when  I  tried  saltpetre  at  the 
same  rale  per  acre  on  the  lawn  of  a  rich  old 
garden,  whose  earth  was  also  principally 
chalk,  there  was  no  perceptible  effect  pro- 
duced, even  in  the  colour  of  the  grass.  This 
soil  abounded  in  decomposing  organic  matters, 
was  within  reach  of  the  soot  and  other  ammo- 
niacal  matters  of  the  city  of  Winchester,  and, 
I  have  little  doubt,  in  minute  proportions  al- 
ready contained  saltpetre.  In  fact,  almost  all 
the  successful  experiments  with  saltpetre  have 
been  made  on  light,  poor  land.  Those  of  Mr. 
Lightfoot  were  on  the  gravels  of  Hertfordshire, 
which  have  a  substratum  of  chalk;  and  yet  he 
produced  with  I  cwt.  per  acre  of  saltpetre 
effects  more  than  equal  to  those  produced  by 
folding  the  land  with  sheep.  And  when  Mr. 
Beadel,  of  Witham,  tried  it  on  the  Essex  clays, 
it  produced  hardly  any  effect,  except  increas- 
ing the  colour  of  the  wheat;  but  when  he  used 
the  same  quantity  (1  cwt.  per  acre)  on  his  light 
barley  land,  after  Swedish  turnips,  the  increase 
was  15  bushels  of  barley  and  640  lbs.  of  straw 
per  acre ;  and  on  a  sandy  field  of  oats,  the  in- 
c»rease  from  its  application  was  20  bushels  of 
oats  and  half  a  load  of  straw.  The  successful 
experiments  of  Mr.  Kimberley,  of  Trotsworth, 
on  clover,  in  which  he  produced  with  1  cwt. 
per  acre  of  nitre  results  fully  equal  to  that  from 
25  cubic  yards  of  horse-dung,  were  upon  the 
sandy  lands  of  Surrey,  "of  moderate  quality." 
Mr.  JEverilt,  of  North  Creake,  bears  out  en- 
tirely these  conclusions,  when  he  applauds  its 
use  "upon  all  light,  warm  soils,"  but  predicts 
that,  "on  cold  clay  land,  on  an  average  of  sea- 
sons, it  will  not  more  than  repay  the  outlay;" 
and  yet  this  excellent  farmer  had  no  reason  to 
be  dissatisfied  with  his  success,  having  ob- 
tained from  an  application  of  1  cwt.  of  salt- 
petre to  "  good  light  land,"  an  increase  of  6^ 
bushels  of  wheat.  The  experiments  of  Mr.  R. 
Harvey,  of  Harlslone,  entirely  confirm  those 
of  Mr.  Everitt;  and  in  the  Repott  of  the  Hurl- 
sione  Farmers'  Club,  in  1839,  it  is  stated  to  be 
**the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  meeting,"  that 
saltpetre  was  excellent  in  its  effects  on  heavy 
clover  layers,  but  that  on  light  land  it  was 
highly  beneficial  to  "  wheat,  clover,  and  other 
layers  and  tares.'* 

One  of  my  neighbours,  too,  an  excellent 
farmer  of  Essex,  in  1839,  found  on  the  fine, 
light  barley  soils  of  his  farm  the  following  re- 
sults from  top-dressing  his  barley  with  1  cwt. 
per  acre  of  saltpetre,  compared  with  the  soil 
undressed,  dressed  with  night-soil,  with  sprats, 
and  with  farm-yard  manure  : — 

Qri.  Bmbelt. 

The  soil,  simple,  yielded     -        -        -        -      5  4^ 

Dressed  with  1  cwt.  of  saltpetre          -        -      0  6 
Dressed  with  50  bushels  of  sprats  per  acre, 

ploughed  in      ------7  1 

Dressed  with  20  bushels  per  acre  of  disin- 
fected nieht-soil  (Poitlevin's)          -        .      6  4^ 
Dressed  with  10  loads  of  farm  manure  per 
acre -.-5  6 

I  have  noticed,  also  (and  the  same  remark 
applies  to  cubic  petre),  that  the  effect  of  salt- 
petre is  the  soonest  apparent  when  it  is  finely 
powdered,  and  spread  on  the  land  in  moist 


weather.  The  explanation  of  this  must,  per- 
haps, be  found  in  the  superior  rapidity  with 
which,  in  such  seasons,  it  mixes  with  the 
soil.  The  cultivator  will  remember  that  moist 
weather  is  also  the  best  adapted  for  the  appli- 
cation of  other  top-dressings,  such  as  gypsum 
and  soot,  I  have  found  in, the  application  of 
crushed  bones  to  grass  lancls,  that  they  never 
produce  such  good  effects  as  when  rolled  into 
the  soil  by  a  heavy  roller,  when  the  ground  is 
softened  by  wet  weather.  The  Staffordshire 
farmers  will  readily  attest  the  same  fact.  If 
long-continued  dry  weather  succeeds  the  appli- 
cation of  the  nitrates  to  clover,  the  leaves  of 
the  grass,  wherever  the  powdered  nitrate  has 
fallen,  become  covered  with  yellowish  spots. 

The  application,  too,  of  either  nitre  or  cubic 
nitre  to  grass  renders  it  much  more  attractive 
to  live-stock,  who,  if  turned  into  a  grass  field 
only  partially  dressed  with  either,  will  almost 
invariably  resort  to  the  portion  of  the  land 
dressed  with  the  nitrates.  This  is  one  argu- 
ment in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that  these 
salts  are  in  minute  proportions  absorbed  by  the 
crops  to  which  they  are  applied.  We  know 
that  this  is  the  case  with  other  saline  manures, 
such  as  gypsum  (sulphate  of  lime)  and  com- 
mon salt ;  and  every  cultivator  who  has  dressed 
his  grass  with  either  salt  or  erypsum  will  attest 
how  decidedly  his  live-stock  prefer  the  grass  so 
treated  to  every  other  portion  of  the  same  field. 

The  effect  of  cubic  petre  as  a  fertilizer  for 
heavy  soils,  seems  to  be  rather  more  favoura- 
ble, as  far  as  my  observations  extend,  than  that 
of  saltpetre;  and  in  this  I  am  confirmed  by 
the  observations  of  many  of  my  neighbours. 
Yet  still  I  am  of  opinion  that,  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  instances,  both  the  cubic  petre  and 
the  saltpetre  will  be  found  much  more  valua- 
ble top-dressings  for  light  lands  than  for  the 
heavier  soils ;  and  I  am  not  much  inclined  to 
alter  my  opinion  from  the  results  of  many  of 
the  carefully  observed  experiments  of  the  very 
dry  season  of  1840;  for  in  such  periods  it  i» 
almost  hopeless  to  expect  that  any  kind  of  top- 
dressing  will  produce  results  such  as  may 
serve  to  guide  us  in  our  future  practice.  Thus>, 
in  seasons  such  as  the  last,  I  have  repeatedly 
witnessed  the  failure  of  top-dressings  of  all 
kinds  ;  not  only  of  the  salts,  such  as  lime  and 
salt,  gypsum  and  soot,  and  malt  coombs,  but 
even  of  the  richest  manure.  My  neighbours 
in  Essex  know  very  well  that  if  a  dry  summer 
follows  the  application  of  their  sprats  (perhaps 
the  most  powerful  of  all  animal  manures),  the 
application  is  entirely  useless.  In  my  own 
experiments  with  nitrate  of  soda  I  have  inva- 
riably foimd  the  most  excellent  effects  produced 
by  its  application  to  barley  at  the  rate  of  1^  cwt. 
per  acre,  sown  broadcast,  as  finely  divided  as 
possible,  soon  after  the  young  plants  were  be- 
ginning to  show  themselves  above  ground. 
The  soils  on  which  these  experiments  were 
made  were  the  barley  soils  of  Hampshire  and 
Essex;  and  the  same  increase  to  the  green 
colour  of  the  crop,  and  a  similar  large  increase 
to  the  produce  of  seed  which  my  neighbours 
experienced,  resulted  from  my  own  experi- 
ments. The  clover  also,  which  was  sown  with 
the  barley  in  most  instances,  seemed  to  derive 
a  considerable  benefit  from  the  dressing ;  and 

347 


NITRATES  OF 


POTASH  AND  SODA. 


I  have  noticed  on  more  than  one  occasion, 
the  advantage  of  sowing  the  cubic  petre  in 
moist  weather.  In  the  dry  summer  of  1840, 
the  effect  of  the  cubic  petre  was  very  inferior 
to  that  produced  by  it  on  similar  land  and  crops 
in  18.38  and  1839— an  effect  which  entirely 
supports  my  conclusions  with  regard  to  the 
inefficacy  of  all  top-dressings  in  periods  of 
long-continued  dry  weather.  Of  this  opmion, 
too,  is  a  very  excellent  and  extensive  farmer 
of  Surrey. 

Mr.  Hewitt  Davis  noticed  too  the  effect  on 
some  of  the  clays  as  well  as  the  sands  of  Surrey 
in  1840, — that  the  effect  of  cubic  petre  upon 
young  wheats  at  the  rate  of  H  cwt.  per  acre 
was  excellent,  not  only  in  producing  a  very 
deep  green  colour,  but  in  inducing  a  very'con- 
siderable  rankness  of  growth.  But  then,  in 
his  experience  and  observations,  he  has  no- 
ticed that  the  wheat  thus  dressed  has  a  stronger 
tendency  to  blight  than  that  growing  on  the 
adjoining  lands.  On  his  farms,  however,  this 
rankness  of  growth  is  not  felt  as  an  evil ;  for 
on  all  soils,  heavy  as  well  as  light,  he  practises 
an  excellent  system  of  thin  sowing,  the  eflfect 
of  which,  as  I  can  attest,  is  excellent  in  pro- 
ducing most  abundant  crops  ;  either  on  the 
poor,  hungry,  black  gravels  and  sands  of  Ad- 
dington  in  Surrey,  or  on  the  tenacious  clays  of 
Sussex,  he  never  drills  more  than  5  pecks  of 
seed  wheat  per  acre  at  intervals  of  12  inches. 
It  is  true  that  by  this  plan  the  appearance  of 
the  wheat  during  the  winter  months  is  not  so 
vigorous  as  many  farmers  would  at  first  sight 
approve  ;  but  the  plants  gradually  get  together, 
stool  out  very  abundantly,  have  all  their  ears 
of  a  uniform  length;  the  produce  is  abundant, 
the  sample  generally  excellent,  and  rarely  sub- 
ject to  blight. 

These  valuable  experiments  of  Mr.  Davis 
entirely  confirm  those  which  I  have  been  in- 
duced to  make  on  several  occasions,  and  may, 
in  a  great  measure,  perhaps,  serve  to  explain 
some  of  the  discordant  results  of  the  recent 
extensive,  and,  in  the  majority  of  instances, 
successful  experiments,  with  nitrate  of  soda 
and  saltpetre,  as  a  top-dressing  for  wheat,  bar- 
ley, and  oats.  For  in  a  great  many  instances 
where  the  cubic  petre  has  failed  to  produce 
advantageous  results,  the  seed  has  been  sown 
in  rather  large  quantities  ;  the  corn,  therefore, 
by  the  action  of  the  salt  becomes  darkly  green, 
grows  with  great  luxuriance — is  perhaps  too 
thick  on  the  ground ;  and  the  farmer,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  finds  that  the  nitrated 
corn  has  a  tendency  to  mildew.  In  the  first 
number  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Journal 
of  the  Royal  Jgncultural  Socie.'y  of  England,  there 
is  a  mass  of  valuable  information,  collected  by 
Mr.  Barclay,  which  illustrates  very  considera- 
bly these  observations  on  the  advantages  of 
thin  sowing  ;  such  as  the  experiments  of  Mr. 
Barker,  Mr.  Hyett,  and  others.  And  although 
I  am  not  prepared  to  contend  that  the  effects 
of  these  two  powerful  salts  will  be  in  all  cases 
the  most  apparent  on  thin-sown  corn,  yet  I  am 
much  inclined  to  think  that  the  farmer  will  find 
that  this  is  very  often  indeed  the  case. 

In  most  soils  there  is  to  be  found  a  certain 
proportion  of  carbonate  of  potash,  and  in  many 
U  exists  in  sufficient  quantity  to  decompose  the 
848 


nitrate  of  soda,  and  form  nitrate  of  potash  and 
carbonate  of  soda.  This  may,  perhaps,  serve 
to  account,  in  some  instances,  for  the  varying 
results  obtained  in  some  apparently  similar  soils 
from  the  application  of  the  nitrate  of  soda,  and 
may  be  one  reason  amongst  others  why  moisture 
is  found  to  be  so  essentially  necessary  for  the 
beneficial  action  of  cubic  nitre ;  for  it  is  a 
chemical  axiom,  that  to  produce  any  chemical 
action  between  two  substances,  one  of  them 
must  be  in  a  fluid  state,  perfectly  dry  sub- 
stances hardly  ever  producing  any  chemical 
action  on  each  other. 

Such,  then,  are  the  results  of  the  long-con- 
tinued experiments  and  observations  upon  nitre 
and  cubic  nitre  which  I  have  been  able  to 
make,  and  to  suggest  to  others  to  re-examine 
and  verify;  and  such,  too,  are,  I  think,  the  rea- 
sonable conclusions  to  be  derived  from  our 
united  experience. 

In  pursuing  a  path  so  novel,  and  so  exten- 
sive, it  need  hardly  astonish  us  that  there  are 
yet  several  sources  of  error  to  be  avoided,  de- 
ceptive appearances  to  be  scrutinized,  and  ad- 
ditional experiments  needed,  before  we  can 
expect  to  arrive  at  the  knowledge  of  the  best 
and  most  economical  modes  of  applying  these 
two  valuable  nitrates.  The  soils  to  w^hich  they 
are  best  adapted,  and  the  causes  of  their  not 
always  producing  even  on  apparently  similar 
soils  the  same  powerful  effects,  are  amongst 
the  objects  of  inquiry  to  which  I  have  alluded 
in  this  paper.  The  advocates,  however,  of 
these  saline  manures  have  no  need  to  com- 
plain of  the  progress  which  they  have  made; 
for  admitting  that  on  some  soils  they  have 
apparently  produced  but  trifling  eff'ects,  and  on 
other  soils  hardly  any,  5'^et  still  in  the  multitude 
of  instances  they  have  amply  repaid  the  farmer 
for  his  outlay.  There  is  no  other  instance,  per- 
haps, of  such  a  rapid  introduction  of  a  saline 
manure  into  agriculture,  as  that  of  the  modern, 
extensive,  and  increasing  use  of  cubic  petre  by 
the  farmers  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  if  we  only 
pause  to  remember  the  difficulties  of  experi- 
mental researches  like  those,  exposed,  as  all 
examinations  of  the  process  of  vegetation  of 
necessity  are,  to  innumerable  sources  of  error, 
we  shall  find  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  suc- 
cess of  its  introduction,  or  of  the  talent  and 
enterprize  with  which  the  farmers  of  England 
have  conducted  their  valuable  experiments. 

There  are  many  experiments  with  these  two 
salts  to  be  met  with  in  the  agricultural  journals 
of  the  last  few  years. 

1.  Memorandum  of  saltpetre,  nitrate  of  soda, 
and  common  salt,  used  as  top-dressings  in  the 
south-east  garden  park,  of  a  lightish  land,  well 
drained,  11th  April,  1840,  on  pasture  laid  down 
with  grain  in  1839:  one  acre  sown  with  1^  cwL 
of  nitrate  of  soda,  measured  and  marked  as 
such ;  then  a  piece  of  one  rood,  without  any 
dressing;  again,  one  acre  sown  with  1^  cwt. 
of  saltpetre ;  next  to  this  half  an  acre  dressed 
with  three-fourths  of  a  cwt.  of  common  salt. 

Remit. — In  little  more  than  a  fortnight  after 
this,  having  had  some  favourable  showers, 
there  was  an  extraordinary  change  on  the  two 
distinct  acres  dressed  with  saltpetre  and  nitrate 
of  soda,  as  compared  with  the  rest  of  the  field. 
The  grass  continued  to  grow  on  these  divisions 


NITRATES  OP 


POTASH  AND  SOD  ^. 


much  stronger,  close,  and  of  an  infinitely  richer 
and  darker  colour;  and  the  cattle  Ij'ing  much 
upon  it,  seemed  very  fond  of  it.  This  superior 
appearance  continued  through  May  and  June, 
and  perhaps  later.  The  grass  was,  after  this, 
eaten  so  close  that  no  difference  could  be  no- 
ticed, if  any  existed ;  it  was  particularly  and 
frequently  observed  in  September,  October, 
November,  and  now,  8lh  December;  and  no 
difference  was  then,  or  is  now,  perceptible  be- 
tween the  ground  dressed  with  saltpetre  and 
what  was-not  so  dressed.  The  pasture  seemed 
equally  benefited  by  the  nitrate  of  soda  as  by 
the  saltpetre ;  and  as  the  latter  cost  in  propor- 
tion to  the  former  as  30s.  to  20s.  per  cwt.,  there 
can  be  no  question  of  preferring  the  nitrate 
of  soda.  No  improvement  could  be  perceived 
to  have  taken  place  from  the  dressings  of  com- 
mon salt. 

2.  Another  trial  was  made  on  pasture  of  the 
second  year,  in  the  lawn,  on  light  land  and  dry, 
14th  April,  1840;  one  acre,  measured  and 
marked,  sown  with  1^  cwt.  of  saltpetre;  ad- 
joining this,  one  acre  sown  with  1^  cwt.  of 
common  salt;  and  next, one  acre,  measured  and 
marked,  sown  with  1^  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda. 

Result. — Every  remark  applicable  to  the  ex- 
periments in  the  south-east  garden  park  applies 
equally  to  this.  In  both,  in  the  different  breadths 
sown  by  the  cast  of  the  hand  where  the  two 
breadths  joined,  and  the  ground  had  got  an 
extra  quantity,  the  grass  was  richer  and  darker, 
showing  that  1^  cwt.  per  acre  is  not  an  over- 
dressing, whether  of  saltpetre  or  of  nitrate  of 
soda. 

3.  Memorandum  of  dressings  of  saltpetre, 
common  salt,  and  of  nitrate  of  soda,  on  the 
16th  of  April,  on  oats  already  brairded  in  Stott's 
Fauld,  partly  on  well  drained,  dry,  and  partly 
on  light  land;  one  acre  and  fifteen  falls,  mea- 
sured and  marked,  sown  with  saltpetre  at  the 
rate  of  IjJ  cwt.  per  acre;  next  to  this,  one  acre 
and  fifteen  falls,  dressed  with  common  salt  in 
tlie  same  proportion ;  next  to  this,  one  acre 
and  fifteen  falls,  sown  at  the  same  rate  with 
the  nitrate  of  soda. 

Bcsiilf. — It  was  long  before  any  effect  was 
perceived  on  any  of  the  oats  dressed  as  above. 
About  the  end  of  June  a  difference  was  per- 
ceived on  the  acre  and  fifteen  falls  sown  with 
saltpetre,  which  had  previously  shown  worm- 
ing, and  then  came  away  darker  and  stronger, 
and  became  a  heavy  crop  of  oats  and  straw. 
The  acre  and  fifteen  falls  dressed  with  nitrate 
of  soda  never  seemed  to  be  benefited  by  the 
dressing  Being  an  inferior,  light,  sandy  soil, 
with  a  red,  irony  bottom,  it  was  injured  by  the 
early  drought,  and  never  recovered;  the  salt 
here,  as  on  the  pastures,  seemed  to  have  no 
eflecU 

4.  Memorandum  of  dressings  of  saltpetre  and 
nitrate  of  soda,  in  Laughlan  Glenfield,  princi- 
pally strung  clay,  thorough-drained,  and  sub- 
soil-ploughed, 26th  April,  1840,  on  red  clover, 
&c.,  for  green  cutting:  one  acre,  measured  and 
marked,  sown  with  saltpetre,  at  the  rate  of  1^ 
cwt.  and  2^  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda,  were  sown 
here  in  the  same  proportion. 

Result. — The   clover,  dec,   seemed    equally 
benefited  by  the  saltpetre  and  by  the  nitrate 
of  soda;   and,  compared  with  what  was  not 
107 


dressed,  the  improvement  was  very  percepti- 
ble in  about  a  fortnight,  and  it  became  a  much 
darker,  stronger,  and  heavier  crop  than  in  that 
part  of  the  field  not  dressed,  and  it  was  ready 
for  cutting  fully  ten  days  earlier.  It  was  not 
weighed,  but  it  is  believed  there  was  from  one- 
third  to  one-half  more  on  the  ground  dressed 
than  where  it  was  not.  The  second  cutting  did 
not  show  a  better  crop  than  where  it  was  not 
dressed.  Nearly  an  acre  was  dressed  with  ni- 
trate of  soda  after  the  first  cutting,  on  the  10th 
of  August,  where  one  had  before  been  applied, 
but  it  did  not  seem  to  do  much  good. 

5.  Memorandum  of  dressing  of  saltpetre  and 
nitrate  of  soda  on  some  winter-sown  wheat  ia 
Bridge  Park,  on  clay  land,  thorough-drainea, 
and  subsoil-ploughed,  20th  April,  1840. 

First  Lot. — Twenty  falls,  measured  and 
marked,  dressed  with  28  lbs.  of  nitrate  of  scdsu 
Produce:  Wheat  7  bushels,  17^  lbs.,  or  per  acre 
(by  an  acre  a  Scotch  acre  is  meant  throughout, 
and  a  Scotch  acre  is  about  one-fifth  longer  than 
a  statute  acre;  and  by  "a  fall,"  a  perch  of 
land),  58  bushels,  26  lbs.;  straw  64  stones,  18 
lbs.,  or  per  acre  518  stones.  Weight  of  wheat 
per  bushel,  157^  lbs.     Sold  to  baker  for  28s. 

Second  Lot. — Twenty  falls,  measured  and 
marked,  sown  with  28  lbs.  of  saltpetre.  Pro' 
dure :  Wheat  6  bushels,  38  lbs.,  or  per  acre  52 
bushels,  24  lbs.;  straw  95  stones,  12  lbs.,  or  per 
acre  764  stones.  Weight  per  bushel,  58  lbs. 
Sold  to  baker  for  28s.  . 

Third  Lot. — Forty  falls  adjoining,  measured 
and  marked,  without  any  dressing.  Produce : 
Wheat  1 1  bushels,  1  lb.,  or  per  acre  44  bushels, 
4  lbs.;  straw  79  stones,  or  per  acre  316  stones 
Weight  59  lbs.     Sold  for  seed  at  35s.  per  boll 

Fourth  Lot. — A  small  quantity  of  oais  ad- 
joining to  this  winter  wheat  was  dressed  with 
saltpetre,  which  produced  a  great  eflfect  on  the 
strength  and  colour  of  the  oats ;  but  the  pro- 
duce was  not  weighed  or  measured  after  being 
cut. 

Fifth  Lot. — Trial  of  nitrate  of  soda  on  six 
drills  of  potatoes,  at  the  rate  of  1^  cwt.  per 
acre,  sown  over  the  stems  when  5  inches  long, 
on  10th  June.  Result:  The  shaws  (tops)  seemed 
much  finer  and  richer  than  those  not  thus  treat- 
ed ;  but  the  potatoes  being  sold,  the  compara- 
tive produce  was  not  ascertained. 

Six  drills  of  Swedish  turnips,  dressed  at  the 
same  rate,  10th  June,  on  a  healthy  braird,  fol- 
lowed by  fine  showers  and  warmth.  Result: 
Both  shaws  and  turnips  much  improved,  as 
comparedwiththose  near  them  not  thus  dressed; 
in  appearance  improved  by  several  tons  to  th« 
acre,  but  no  comparative  weights  were  taken. 

In  the  trial  with  nitrate  of  soda,  in  the  same 
proportions,  on  mangel-wurzel  and  carrots, 
Walls,  the  overseer,  could  not  observe  any  dif- 
ference between  those  so  dressed  and  those 
which  were  not;  and  saltpetre  and  cubic  petre 
were  also  mixed  in  small  proportions  with  the 
compost  from  an  old  hotbed,  and  used  in  the 
garden  for  turnips,  spinach,  carrots,  cauliflow 
ers,  asparagus,  and  onions,  but  without  any 
apparent  advantage. 

Mr.  S.  Martin,  of  Warbleton,  in  Sussex,  has 
given,  in  the  Sussex  Express,  the  following  oe- 
tails  of  his  experiments  with  nitrate  of  soua  as 
a  top-dressing  for  corn,  on  a  four-acre  field  ia 

849 


NITRATE  OF  SODA. 


NUISANCES. 


his  occupation : — "The  soil  of  the  field  selected 
is  a  thin,  gravelly  loam,  with  a  substratuni  of 
sandstone,  and  was  a  rye-grass  ley,  fed  with 
sheep  and  beasts  until  the  last  week  in  May, 
1839,  when  it  was  ploughed  up,  and  afterwards 
twice  stirred  and  harrowed,  and  manured  wiih 
120  bushels  of  lime  per  acre,  previously  to  its 
being  sown  with  the  wheat  "  goldett  drop"  in  the 
autumn.  In  the  last  week  of  April,  this  year, 
I  applied  1  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre  over 
the  whole  field  (with  the  exception  of  two  landt, 
in  the  middle  of  the  field);  in  the  second  week 
in  May,  I  applied  to  two  lands  adjoining  those 
upon  which  none  had  been  sown  an  additional 

1  cwt.  per  acre.  Previously  to  the  application 
of  the  nitrate,  the  plants  had  a  very  sickly  ap- 
pearance, getting  yellow  in  patches,  and  look- 
ing, as  we  call  it  here,  '' speary ;"  but  in  a  very 
few  (lays  subsequent,  its  appearance  was  much 
altered,  it  having  (with  the  exception  of  the 
two  lands  on  which  none  had  been  sown,  and 
which  remained  in  a  very  sickly  state)  changed 
from  a  faint  yellow  to  a  luxuriant  green ;  the 
two  lands  upon  which  the  2  cwt.  per  acre  were 
sown  were  much  darker  in  appearance  than 
the  other,  and  easily  distinguishable  from  the 
remainder  at  a  very  considerable  distance. 

"At  harvest  I  measured  ofl'  exactly  8  rods 
)f  each,  and  had  it  reaped  (leaving  a  stubble 
about  16  inches  high),  and  carted  and  thrashed 
separately;  the  result  was  as  under: — 8  rods 
sriihout  soda  produced  1  bushel,  3  galls.  1  pint, 
r  27  bushels,  6  galls.  4  pints  per  acre  ;  weight, 
61  lbs.  per  bushel ;  straw  89  lbs.,  or  49  trusses, 
16  lbs.  per  acre :  8  rods  with  1  cwt.  of  soda 
per  acre,  2  bushels,  1  gall.,  or  42  bushels,  4 
galls,  per  acre ;  weight,  60^  lbs.  per  bushel ; 
straw,  155  lbs.,  or  86  trusses,  4  lbs.  per  acre  : 
8  rods  with  2  cwt.  of  soda  per  acre,  2  bushels 

2  galls.  7  pints,  or  47  bushels,  1  gall.  4  pints 
per  acre;  weight,  60^  lbs.  per  bushel ;  straw, 
166  lbs.,  or  86  trusses,  24  lbs.  per  acre. 

"On  another  piece  of  land,  soil  very  thin 
and  gravelly,  sown  with  Talavera  wheat  in  the 
autumn,  I  applied  1  cwt.  per  acre  in  the  first 
week  in  May,  and  the  result  was  equally  satis- 
factory, the  produce  good,  and  weighed  64  lbs. 
per  bushel. 

"In  an  adjoining  field  of  precisely  the  same 
description  of  soil,  but  which  had  been  in  hops 
for  11  years  previously,  and  amply  manured 
ftvery  year,  1  sowed  on  two  rods  at  the  end  of 
one  of  the  lands  nitrate  equal  to  1^  cwt.  per 
{wjre,  which  had  a  very  prejudicial  effect;  the 
part  with  nitrate  of  soda  being  much  mildewed 
<\nd  totally  unfit  for  bread,  while  the  straw  on 
the  remainder  of  the  field  was  very  bright  and 
clean,  and  the  grain  full  and  handsome.  I  also 
used  nitrate  of  soda  on  a  meadow,  1  cwt.  per 
acre,  applied  the  last  week  in  April;  produce 
very  trifling. 

"As  far  as  my  experience  goes,  and  from 
the  effect  of  nitrate  of  soda  on  my  neighbours' 
.ands,  I  am  of  opinion  that  it  is  a  very  valua- 
ble manure  for  their  light  soils,  exhausted  by 
repeated  croppings,  particularly  in  districts 
where  the  arable  lands  have  been  repeatedly 
manured  with  lime;  but  I  have  great  doubts 
whether  it  would  answer  for  wheat  on  newly 
broken  up  or  other  land  in  a  high  state  of  cul- 
o  nation  and  full  of  manure.  In  my  experi- 
8.'sn 


ment  on  the  old  hop  ground,  although  the  straw 
was  much  longer,  with  a  blade  broad  and 
flaggy,  the  yield  was  miserably  deficient,  both 
in  quantity  and  quality,  compared  with  the  rest 
of  the  field. 

"  In  respect  to  its  effect  on  the  second  crop, 
I  can  only  observe,  that  a  very  thin,  wornout 
field  of  18  acres,  with  wheat  in  1839,  on  which 

1  cwt.  per  acre  was  used  (one  land  of  which 
had  a  double  quantity),  was  sown  this  year 
half  with  oats  and  half  with  seeds,  that  both 
oats  and  seeds  were  fully  equal  to  any  I  ever 
grew  on  that  field ;  and  that  the  land  where  the 

2  cwt.  per  acre  was  sown  produced  fully  as 
many  plants,  with  longer  straw  and  more  grains, 
and  was,  as  far  as  I  could  judge  from  appear- 
ances (I  did  not  keep  it  separate),  much  supe- 
rior to  the  other." 

.  NITRIFICATION.     See  Eremacausis. 

NODI.  In  botany,  the  knots  or  swelled  ar- 
ticulations of  stems ;  the  place  where  one  joint 
is  articulated  with  another. 

NONE-SO-PRETTY.  One  of  the  names  of 
the  London-pride  Saxifrage.     See  Saxifrage. 

NONESUCH,  or  Black  Medick.    See  Me- 

DICK. 

NOONINGS.  A  term  provincially  used  to 
signify  working  during  dinner-hours. 

NORFOLK  PLOUGH.     See  Ploughs. 

NORTHERN  LIGHTS,  or  AURORA 
BOREALIS.     See  Lights,  Northern. 

NOSE-BAND.  That  part  of  the  head-stall 
of  a  bridle  which  comes  over  a  horse's  nose.  It 
is  sometimes  termed  maserole. 

NUCLEUS  (Lat).  Literally,  any  thing 
round  which  matter  has  accumulated,  or  to 
which  it  is  affixed.  In  botany,  it  is  used  in 
various  significations  : — 1.  The  central,  fleshy, 
pulpy  mass  of  an  ovule.  2.  That  part  of  a 
seed  contained  within  the  testa,  and  consisting 
of  either  the  embryo  and  albumen  or  of  the 
embryo  only.  3.  In  lichens,  the  disk  of  the 
shield,  which  contains  the  sporules  and  their 
cases.  4.  In  the  language  of  the  older  bota- 
nists, what  is  now  termed  by  gardeners  a  clave; 
that  is,  the  secondary  bulb  of  a  bulbous  plant. 

NUISANCES,  in  English  law,  are  of  two 
kinds  :  public  or  common,  which  annoy  the 
king's  subjects  in  general ;  and  private,  which 
are  defined  "  any  thing  done  to  the  hurt  or  an- 
noyance of  the  lands,  tenements,  or  heredita- 
ments of  another."  A  nuisance  may  be  defined 
to  be  any  act  done  which  renders  the  lives  of 
the  neighbours  less  comfortable  than  they  were 
before.  The  remedies  allowed  by  the  law  are 
in  some  cases  summary,  as  when  a  gate  is 
erected  across  a  public  highway,  or  cattle 
trespass  on  the  land ;  and  in  which  cases  the 
passenger  or  owner  of  the  land  is  justified  in 
removing  the  nuisance  :  or  in  other  cases,  the 
general  legal  remedies  are,  indictment  or  pre- 
sentment, for  public  nuisances ;  or  by  an  action 
on  the  case  for  damages,  for  private  nuisances. 

Indictable  Nuisances. — Of  the  number  of 
public  nuisances  which  are  punishable  by 
indictment  are  setting  spring-guns  and  man- 
traps, which,  by  the  7  &  8  G.  4,  c.  18,  is  declared 
to  be  a  misdemeanor ;  but  the  act  allows  such 
to  be  set  "from  sunset  to  sunrise  in  dwelling- 
houses  for  the  protection  thereof."  Other  in- 
dictable nuisances  are  for  erecting  a  privy  or 


NURSERY. 


OAK. 


placin?  putrid  carrion  near  a  highway,  or  keep- 
ing hogs,  and  feeding  them  with  offal  near  to  a 
street ;  fur  keeping  a  dangerous  bull  in  a  field 
through  which  there  is  a  public  pathway  (if 
the  bull  or  other  dangerous  animal  is  purposely 
placed  there  to  stop  a  disputed  path,  and  death 
ensues,  it  is  a  murder) ;  for  keeping  unmuzzled 
a  ferocious  dog;  for  baiting  on  the  queen's 
highway  a  bull,  «fec.  The  punishment  in  any 
case  of  nuisance  is  fine  or  imprisonment,  or 
both ;  and  the  court  may  order  the  defendant 
to  pay  the  prosecutor  his  costs.  It  is  no  de- 
fence to  prove  that  ihe  nuisance  has  existed 
for  a  number  of  years  ;  but  in  some  cases  the 
facts  of  the  case  may  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion by  the  jury,  who  are  to  determine  whether 
the  benefit  derived  by  the  public  exceeds  the 
annoyance.  But  in  indictments  for  obstruct- 
ing the  highway  by  placing  on  it  for  a  length 
of  time  carriages  while  loading  and  unloading, 
it  is  no  defence  to  show  that  space  was  always 
left  for  two  carriages  to  pass  and  repass  on 
the  other  side  of  the  street.  The  non-repair 
of  a  road  or  a  bridge  are  also  well-known 
nuisances,  which  are  indictable. 

Nuisanres  on  which  an  Actwn  on  the  Case  is 
maintainable. — Accidents  from  the  negligent 
use  of  loaded  guns;  placing  baited  traps  so 
near  to  the  premises  of  another,  or  the  high- 
way, that  dogs  are  attracted  into  them  and  in- 
jured. For  an  injury  by  a  vicious  bull;  and 
it  is  no  defence  by  the  owner  of  an  animal  that 
he  has  had  notice  of  having  done  an  injury, 
and  has  taken  every  precaution  to  prevent  it 
doing  so  again.  No  action,  however,  lies  for 
an  injury  by  a  dog  let  loose  on  the  owner's 
closed  premises  at  night  for  their  protection; 
or  on  land  on  which  the  injured  party  has  no 
right  to  go.  If  a  person  harbour  a  dog,  or  al- 
lows it  to  resort  to  his  premises,  he  is  liable  for 
any  damage  it  may  cause.  And  the  owner  of 
a  dog  that  destroys  or  injures  sheep  is,  of  course, 
liable  to  their  owner.  If  the  owner  catch  the 
dog  in  the  act  of  worrying  his  fowls  or  sheep, 
he  is  justified  in  shooting  him;  but  he  must 
not  follow  the  dog  some  distance,  and  then 
shoot  him;  nor  may  he  shoot  a  dog  merely 
trespassing;  but  he  may  if  the  dog  is  chas- 
ing deer  in  a  park.  And  if  any  man  do  any 
thing  on  his  own  soil  which  is  a  nuisance  to 
another,  as  by  stopping  a  rivulet,  and  so  dimi- 
nishing the  water  used  by  him  for  his  cattle, 
the  party  injured  may  enter  on  the  soil  of  the 
other  and  abate  the  nuisance;  and  this  right 
of  abatement  is  not  confined  merely  to  nui- 
sances to  a  house,  to  a  mill,  or  to  land. 

NURSERY.  In  horticulture,  a  piece  of  land 
set  apart  and  appropriated  for  rearing  and  pre- 
serving young  plants  and  trees  of  different 
kinds,  with  a  view  to  supply  both  gardens  and 
plantations.  The  situation  ought  to  be  open 
and  airy,  and  the  soil  of  an  average  quality, 
neither  too  heavy  nor  too  light,  so  as  to  be 
adapted  to  the  majority  of  plants ;  but  in  a 
complete  nursery  there  ought  also  to  be  shady 
borders  for  plants  requiring  shade,  and  beds  or 
compartments  of  peat  soil  or  other  peculiar 
earths,  for  such  plants  as  are  not  readily  in- 
creased and  grown  in  ordinary  soils.  Where 
tender  plants  are  propagated,  or  where  hardy 

nts  are  to  be  raised  from  seeds  or  struck  , 


\  from  cuttings,  which  are  not  easily  germinated 
or  rooted  in  the  open  ground  and  in  the  ordi« 
nary  manner,  hotbeds,  frames,  and  handglasses 
I  are  also  requisite.  Every  private  garden  of 
I  any  extent  requires  a  nursery  to  raise  and 
1  bring  forward  young  plants,  as  a  reserve  for 
supplying  failures  by  disease  or  accident  in  the 
general  garden ;  and  in  every  country  where 
private  gardens  or  plantations  of  trees  are  fre- 
quent, public  or  commercial  nurseries  are 
formed  by  persons  who  adopt  nursery  garden- 
ing as  a  business. 

NUT,  BLADDER.     See  Blabdek-Nut. 

NUT,  THE  EARTH.     See  Earth-Nut. 

NUTRITION.  The  matter  by  which  an  ani- 
mal or  plant  is  supported,  and  its  growth  in- 
creased. See  Food  and  Meat,  Gases,  Earths, 
Salts,  Water,  &c. 

NUTS  (Lat.  nux).  In  botany,  seeds  covered 
with  hard  shells ;  but  in  the  general  accepta- 
tion of  the  word,  signifies  the  fruit  of  difierent 
species  of  hazel  {Coryli). 

NYMPH.    See  Pupa. 

O. 

OAK  (Ger.  eiche ;  Dut.  elk ;  Dan.  eeg ;  Sw.  ek; 
Lat.  Querctis;  from  the  Celtic  gtier,  fine,  and  cueZf 
a  tree ;  others  derive  it  from  the  Greek  word 
choiros,  a  pig,  because  those  animals  feed  on 
the  acorns). 

The  oak  is  indigenous  throughout  Britain, 
and  in  former  ages,  before  the  clearing  away 
of  the  forests  had  commenced,  appears  to  have 
covered  a  very  large  portion  of  its  surface;  for, 
even  in  districts  where  the  natural  or  self-sown 
oak  is  now  rarely  seen,  the  remains  of  noble 
and  gigantic  trees  are  frequently  met  with, 
sometimes  in  the  alluvial  deposits  on  the  mar 
gins  of  rivers,  or  in  boggy  places  covered  with 
a  layer  of  peat-moss,  which  has  been  gene- 
rated around  them  by  the  stagnation  of  the 
water  caused  by  their  fall. 

A  fine  oak  is  one  of  the  most  stately  and 
picturesque  of  trees ;  it  conveys  to  the  mind 
associations  of  strength  and  duration,  which  are 
very  impressive.  The  oak  stands  up  against 
the  blast,  and  does  not  take,  like  other  trees, 
a  twisted  form  from  the  action  of  the  winds. 
Except  the  cedar  of  Lebanon,  no  tree  is  so  re- 
markable for  the  stoutness  of  its  limbs  ;  they 
do  not  exactly  spring  from  the  trunk,  and  thus 
it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  know  which  is  stem 
and  which  is  branch. 

English  oak  warps  and  twists  much  in  dry- 
ing, and  in  seasoning  shrinks  about  ^-^d  of  its 
width.  This  wood  is  more  durable  than  any 
other  timber  in  water  ;  and  in  a  dry  state  it  has 
been  known  to  last  nearly  1000  years.  The 
more  compact  it  is,  and  the  smaller  the  pores 
are,  the  longer  it  will  last ;  but  the  open,  porous, 
and  foxy-coloured  oak,  which  grows  in  Lin- 
colnshire and  some  other  places,  is  not  near  so 
durable.  The  bark,  leaves,  and  fruit  of  all  the 
species  abound  in  astringent  matter,  and  in 
tannic  acid.  The  bark  in  the  spring  contains 
more  tannic  acid,  and  is  more  easily  separated, 
than  at  any  other  season :  hence  oaks  are 
usually  barked  in  May,  June,  and  the  beginning 
of  July.  When  separated,  the  bark  is  dried  by 
being  set  up  in  ranges,  which  are  called  loftes 

851 


OAR. 


OAK. 


In  the  greater  part  of  North  America,  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  there  is  no  tree  so  generally 
useful  as  the  oak,  which  seems  to  have  been 
multiplied  in  proportion  to  its  utility. 

Linna;us,  in  the  third  edition  of  his  Species 
Plantarum,  published  in  1774,  described  14  spe- 
cies of  oak,  of  which  5  only  are  natives  of  the 
New  World.  Since  then,  owing  to  the  labours  of 
those  indefatigable  naturalists,  Humboldt,  Bon- 
pland,  and  especially  Michaux,  the  father,  the 
number  of  American  species  of  oak  has  been 
increased  to  no  less  than  44,  all  of  which  are 
comprised  between  the  20th  and  48th  degrees 
of  North  latitude.  In  the  Old  Continents,  only 
30  species  are  enumerated,  and  these  are  scat- 
tered on  both  sides  of  the  equator.  The  spe- 
cies and  varieties  of  the  oak  added  to  those 
described  by  the  Michaux,  are  chiefly  found  in 
the  extreme  Southern  States,  Texas,  and  Mexi- 
can possessions. 

The  following  classification  of  American 
oaks  was  made  by  the  elder  Michaux,  who  in- 
cludes in  it  three  European  species  : 

First  Division. 

Fructification  annual. 
First  Section — Leaves  lobed. 

1.  White  oak  (Quercus  alba). 

2.  Common  European  oak  (Quercus  robur). 

3.  European  white  oak  {Quercus  robur peduncu- 

lata). 

4.  Mossy-cup  oak  {Quercus  olivceformis). 

5.  Over-cup  white  oak  {Quercus  macrocarpa). 

6.  Post  oak  {Quercus  obtusiloba). 

7.  Over-cup  oak  {Quercus  lyrata). 

Skcoxi)  SECTioif. — Leaves  toothed. 

8.  Swamp  white  oak  {Quercus  prinus  discolor). 

9.  Chestnut  white  oak  {Quercus prinus palustris). 
10.  Rockchestnutoak  {Quercus prinus nionticola). 
il.  Yellow  oak  {Quercus  prinus  acuminata). 

12.  Small  chestnut  oak  {Quercus  prinus  chinca- 

pin). 

Second  Divisigit. 

Fructijication  biennial;  haves  mucronated  (except 

in  the  13th  species). 

First  SECTioif. — Leaves  obtuse  or  entire, 

13.  Live  oak  {Quercus  virens). 

14.  Cork  oak  {Quercus  suber). 
16.  Willow  oak  {Quercus  phellos). 

16.  Laurel  oak  {Quercus  imbricaria). 

17.  Upland  willow  oak  {Quercus  dnerea), 

18.  Running  oak  {Quercus  pumila). 

Secostd  Section. — Leaves  lobed. 

19.  Bartrani  oak  {Quercus  heterophylla). 

20.  Water  oak  {Quercus  aquatica). 

81.  Black  Jack  oak  {Quercus  ferruginea). 
32.  Be  ir  oak  {Quercus  banisteri). 

Third  Sectiox. — Leaves  multijid  or  many-clef  ted, 

23.  Barren  scrub  oak  {Quercus  Catesbai). 

24.  Spanish  oak  {Quercus  falcat a). 

25.  Black  oak  {Quercus  tinctoria). 

26.  Scarlet  oak  {Quercus  coccinea), 

27.  Gray  oak  {Quercus  ambigua), 
28  Pin  oak  {Quercus  palustris). 
29.  Red  oak  {Quercus  rubra), 

852 


The  most  valuable  species  of  the  American 
oaks  is  the  white  oak,  which  is  found  as  far 
north  as  the  small  town  of  Trois  Rivieres,  in 
Canada,  lat.  46°  20',  and  the  lower  part  of  the 
river  Kennebec,  in  Maine,  and  thence  south  on 
both  sides  of  the  AUeghanies  down  to  the  28th 
degree  of  latitude.  Its  vegetation  is  repressed 
in  the  Northern  States  by  the  severity  of  the 
winters.  In  the  lowermost  Southern  States  it 
is  found  only  on  the  borders  of  swamps,  with 
a  few  other  trees,  which  likewise  shun  a  dry 
and  barren  soil.  The  white  oak  is  observed 
to  be  uncommon  on  lands  of  extraordinary 
fertility,  like  those  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
and  Genesee,  and  in  all  the  spacious  valleys 
watered  by  the  western  rivers.  One  may  travel 
whole  days  in  those  states  without  seeing  a 
single  stock,  though  the  few  that  exist,  both 
there  and  in  the  Southern  States,  exhibit  the 
most  luxuriant  vegetation. 

The  white  oak  abounds  chiefly  in  the  Middle 
Stales  and  in  Virginia,  particularly  in  that 
part  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  which  lies 
between  the  AUeghanies  and  the  Ohio.  East 
of  the  mountains  this  tree  is  found  in  every 
exposure,  and  in  every  soil  which  is  not  ex- 
tremely dry  or  subject  to  long  inundations;  but 
the  largest  stocks  grow  in  humid  places.  In 
the  western  districts,  where  it  composes  entire 
forests,  the  face  of  the  country  is  undulated, 
and  the  yellow  soil,  consisting  partly  of  clay 
with  a  mixture  of  calcareous  stones,  yields 
abundant  crops  of  wheat. 

By  the  foregoing  observations  it  appears  that 
the  severity  of  the  climate,  the  fertility  of  the 
soil,  its  dryness  or  humidity,  are  the  causes 
which  render  the  white  oak  so  rare  over  three- 
quarters  of  the  United  States  that  it  is  in- 
adequate to  supply  the  local  demand,  though 
the  country  contains  but  a  small  proportion 
of  the  population  which  it  is  capable  of  sup- 
porting. 

Among  the  American  oaks  this  species  bears 
the  greatest  analogy  to  the  European  oak,  espe- 
cially to  the  variety  called  European  white  oak, 
Quercus  pedunculata,  which  it  resembles  in  fo- 
liage and  in  the  qualities  of  its  wood.  The 
American  white  oak  is  70  or  80  feet  high,  and 
6  or  7  feet  in  diameter;  but  its  proportions  vary 
with  the  soil  and  climate. 

The  excellent  properties  of  the  white  oak 
for  the  construction  of  houses,  ships,  and 
almost  innumerable  other  purposes,  are  too 
well  known  to  need  any  particular  description 
in  this  place. 

Great  black  oak  {Quercus  tinctoria).  The  wood 
of  this  tree  is  of  a  coarser  grain  than  that  of 
the  white  oak,  and  of  a  reddish  colour.  Be- 
tween every  year's  growth,  also,  it  appears 
porous,  yet  when  dry  and  seasoned,  it  becomes 
strong  and  durable.  The  bark  has,  for  a  long 
time,  been  in  great  repute  for  tanning,  and 
for  the  very  excellent  yellow  dye  which  it 
afibrds.  Dr.  Bancroft,  of  London,  learned  the 
use  of  the  bark  as  a  dye,  when  in  this  country, 
during  the  revolutionary  war;  and  introduced 
it  in  the  manufactories  of  England,  to  which 
country  many  ship-loads  of  the  article,  ground, 
have  been  annually  shipped,  under  the  name 
of  Quercitron  bark. 


OAK-APPLE. 


OAK  BARK. 


S)fnnish  oak  {Qtiercus  falcata,  of  Michaux) ; 
Ihe  bark  of  this  species  is  somewhat  rough, 
and  lij?ht-coloured.  The  leaves  are  deeply  and 
obtusely  sinuated,  and  end  in  several  acute, 
bristly  points :  the  foot-stalks  are  pretty  long. 
The  timber  is  generally  worm-eaten,  or  rotten 
at  heart ;  but  the  bark  is  preferred  to  all  other 
for  tanning,  and  is  much  dearer. 

Live  oak  (Queraisvirens).  This  species  is  €X)n- 
fined  to  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  and  Florida. 
The  tree  is  of  uncommon  magnitude,  and  sin- 
gularly beautiful.  The  moss  hangs  in  lengths 
of  several  yards  from  the  large  branches  of  the 
old  trees,  and  waving  with  the  wind,  gives  the 
tree  a  venerable  appearance.  The  wood  is 
proverbial  for  its  durability,  when  cut  at  a 
proper  season,  and  is  much  used  for  ship 
timber.  See  Acobns,  Drt  Rot,  and  Planta- 
tions. 

OAK-APPLE.  This  is  not  to  be  confounded 
with  those  beautiful  little  excrescences  so  com- 
mon upon  the  underside  of  the  leaves  of  the 
oak,  and  known  by  the  name  of  galls  and 
spangles;  they  are  the  nidi  of  different  species 
of  Cynips,  produced  by  the  puncture  of  the  ovi- 
positor of  the  female,  upon  the  different  parts 
where  they  are  found.  The  oak-apple  is  also 
formed  by  the  puncture  of  a  cynips,  upon  the 
twigs  of  Q.  peduncnlata.  It  rises  rapidly,  is 
usually  spheroidal,  in  size  about  1  to  2  inches 
in  diameter.  Its  texture  is  spongy.  It  has 
some  resemblance  to  the  Bedeynur  of  the  Eg- 
lantine, but  is  not  so  rough  and  fibrous  on  the 
surface.  The  oak-apples  are  very  astringent, 
containing  tannic  acid,  and  may  be  used  in 
dyeing,  making  ink,  and  staining. 

The  largest  galls  or  oak-apples,  found  in  the 
United  States,  grow  on  the  leaves  of  the  red 
oak.  They  are  round  and  smooth,  and  measure 
from  U  to  2  inches  in  diameter.  This  kind  of 
gall  is  green  and  somewhat  pulpy  at  first,  but, 
when  ripe,  it  consists  of  a  thin  and  brittle  shell, 
of  a  dirty  drab  colour,  enclosing  a  quantity  of 
brown  spongy  matter,  in  the  middle  of  which 
is  a  woody  kernel  about  as  big  as  a  pea.  A 
single  grub  lives  in  the  kernel,  becomes  a 
chrysalis  in  the  autumn,  when  the  oak-apple 
falls  from  the  tree,  changes  to  a  fly  in  the 
spring,  and  makes  its  escape  out  of  a  small 
round  hole  which  it  gnaws  through  the  kernel 
and  shell.  This,  says  Dr.  Harris,  is  probably 
the  usual  course,  but  I  have  known  this  gall- 
fly to  come  out  in  October.  The  name  of  this 
insect  is  Cynips  confluentus.  Its  head  and  thorax 
are  black,  and  rough  with  numerous  little  pits 
and  short  hairs  ;  the  hind-body  is  smooth,  and 
of  a  shining  pitch  colour;  the  legs  are  dull 
brownish-red;  and  the  fore-wings  have  a  brown 
spot  near  the  middle  of  the  outer  edge.  Its 
body  is  nearly  one-quarter  of  an  inch  long,  and 
its  wings  expand  five-cighths  of  an  inch. 

Clusters  of  three  or  four  round  and  smooth 
galls  are  often  seen  on  the  small  twigs  of  the 
white  oak.  They  are  nearly  as  large  as  bullets, 
of  a  greenish  colour  on  one  side,  and  red  on 
the  other.  They  approach  in  hardness  to  the 
Aleppo  galls,  and  perhaps  might  be  put  to  the 
same  use.  Each  one  is  the  nest  of  a  single 
insect,  which  turns  to  a  fly  and  eats  its  way  out 
in  June  and  July,  having  passed  the  winter  as 


coloured,  egg-shaped  case,  about  three-fwen- 
tieths  of  an  inch  long,  and  with  a  brittle  shell. 
These  little  cases  appear  to  be  cocoons,  but 
are  not  made  of  silk  or  fibrous  matter.  Similar 
cocoons  are  found  within  many  other  galls,  and 
I  have  some  which  were  discovered  under 
stones,  and  were  not  contained  in  galls,  but 
produced  gall-flies,  the  insects  having  left  their 
galls  to  finish  their  transformations  in  the 
ground.  The  gall-fly  of  the  white  oak  varies 
in  colour.  Sometimes  it  closely  resembles  the 
gall-fly  of  our  oak-apple,  differing  from  it  only 
in  size,  and  in  wanting  the  brownish  spot  and 
dark-coloured  veins  on  the  fore-wings ;  and 
sometimes  it  isof  adull  brownish-yellow  colour, 
with  a  brown  spot  on  the  back.  It  is  three- 
twentieths  of  an  inch  long,  and  its  wings  ex- 
pand three-tenths  of  an  inch.  It  is  the  Di^lo- 
lepis,  or  more  properly  Cynips  oneratus  of  Dr. 
Harris's  "  Catalogue." 

Galls  of  the  size  and  colour  of  grapes  are 
found  on  the  leaves  of  some  oaks.  Each  one 
contains  a  grub,  which  finishes  its  transforma- 
tions in  June.  The  winged  insect  is  the  Cynips 
nubilipennisy  or  cloudy-winged  Cynips,  so  named 
from  the  smoky  cloud  on  the  tips  of  its  wings. 
Excepting  in  this  respect,  it  closely  resembles 
the  dark-coloured  variety  of  Cynips  oneralus,a.nd 
very  little  exceeds  it  in  size. 

One  of  our  smallest  gall-flies  may  be  called 
Cynips  seminator,  or  the  sower.  She  lays  a  great 
number  of  eggs  in  a  ring-like  cluster  around 
the  small  twigs  of  the  white  oak,  and  her  punc- 
tures are  followed  by  the  growth  of  a  rough  or 
shaggy  reddish  gall,  as  large  sometimes  as  a 
walnut.  When  this  is  ripe,  it  is  like  brittle 
sponge  in  texture,  and  contains  numerous  little 
seed-like  bodies,  adhering  by  one  end  around 
the  sides  of  the  central  twig.  These  seeming 
seeds  have  a  thin  and  tough  hull,  of  a  yellowish 
white  colour;  they  are  egg-shaped,  pointed  at 
one  end,  and  are  nearly  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
long.  The  gall-insects  live  singly,  and  undergo 
their  transformations  within  these  seeds  ;  after 
which,  in  order  to  come  out,  they  gnaw  a  small 
hole  in  the  hull,  and  then  easily  work  their 
way  through  the  spongy  ball  wherein  they  are 
lodged.  They  are  less  than  one-tenth  of  an 
inch  long,  are  almost  black,  or  of  the  colour  of 
pitch,  highly  polished,  especially  on  the  abdo- 
men, and  their  mouth,  antennae,  and  legs  are 
cinnamon-coloured. 

It  has  been  observed  that  no  tree  in  Europe 
yields  so  many  different  kinds  of  galls  as  the 
oak.  Those  described  are  not  all  that  are 
found  on  oaks  in  the  United  States,  and  they 
seem  to  be  sufficiently  distinct  from  the  galls 
of  European  oaks.     (Harris.) 

OAK  BARK.  The  cortical  layer  stripped  from 
the  oak  tree.  Oak  bark  is  preferred  to  all  other 
substances  in  the  tanning  of  leather,  and  in  Eu- 
rope brings  a  high  price  afterwards  as  a  ma- 
nure. The  exhausted  bark  is  used  by  gardeners 
to  produce  a  slight  equable  heat  by  its  ferment- 
ation, and  may  be  advantageously  used  as  a 
manure.  The  tan-balls,  or  muddy  sediments 
of  tan-pits,  are  used  for  summer  fuel.  The 
bark  contains  different  quantities  of  tannic 
acid,  according  as  it  is  near  to  or  distant  from 
the  wood.    Thus,  the  inner  part,  or  libe'>;  ac- 


a  chrysalis,  within  the  gall,  lodged  in  a  clay-  |  9ording  to 


Sir  H.  Davy's  experiments,  yields 
3C  853 


OAK  PRUNER. 


OAT. 


about  77  per  cent,  of  tannic  acid ;  the  cellular 
layer,  iying  upon  the  liber,  yields  only  56  per 
cent ;  and  the  cuticle  little  or  none.  Dr.  Hig- 
gins  obtained  108  parts  of  tannic  acid  from  the 
bark  of  an  oak  felled  in  the  spring,  and  only 
30  from  an  oak  felled  in  winter.  When  the 
bark  is  set  up  to  dry,  the  air,  aided  by  mois- 
ture, acting  upon  the  tannic  acid,  converts  a 
portion  of  it  into  gallic  acid,  which  is  not  origi- 
nally a  constituent  of  oak  bark.  See  Bark 
and  Tan. 

OAK  PRUNER.  The  ground  beneath  black 
and  white  oaks  is,  says  Dr.  Harris,  often  ob- 
served to  be  strewn  with  small  branches,  neat- 
ly severed  from  these  trees,  as  if  cut  off  with 
a  saw.  Upon  splitting  open  the  cut  end  of 
a  branch,  in  the  autumn  or  winter  after  it 
has  fallen,  it  will  be  found  to  be  perforated 
to  the  extent  of  six  or  eight  inches  in  the 
course  of  the  pith,  and  a  slender  grub,  the 
author  of  the  mischief,  will  be  discovered 
therein.  In  the  spring  this  grub  is  transformed 
to  a  pupa,  and  ir  June  or  July  it  is  changed  to 
a  beetle,  and  comes  out  of  the  branch.  The 
history  of  this  insect  was  first  made  public  by 
Professor  Peck,  who  called  it  the  oak-pruner, 
or  Sle/iocorus  {Elaphidion)  putator.  See  PI.  16,  1. 
In  its  adult  state  it  is  a  slender,  long-horned 
beetle,  of  a  dull  brown  colour,  sprinkled  with 
gray  spots,  composed  of  very  short  close  hairs  ; 
the  antennae  are  longer  than  the  body,  in  the 
males,  and  equal  to  it  in  length  in  the  other 
sex,  and  the  third  and  fourth  joints  are  tipped 
with  a  small  spine  or  thorn ;  the  thorax  is 
barrel-shaped,  and  not  spined  at  the  sides ;  and 
the  scutel  is  yellowish-white.  It  varies  in 
length  from  four  and  a  half  to  six-tenths  of  an 
inch.  It  lays  its  eggs  in  July.  Each  egg  is 
placed  close  to  the  axilla  or  joint  of  a  leaf- 
stalk or  of  a  small  twig,  near  the  extremity  of 
a  branch.  The  grub  hatched  from  it  penetrates 
at  that  spot  to  the  pith,  and  then  continues  its 
course  towards  the  body  of  the  tree,  devouring 
the  pith,  and  thereby  forming  a  cylindrical  bur- 
row, several  inches  in  length,  in  the  centre  of 
the  branch.  Having  reached  its  full  size, 
which  it  does  towards  the  end  of  the  summer, 
it  divides  the  branch  at  the  lower  end  of  its 
burrow,  by  gnawing  away  the  wood  transverse- 
ly from  within,  leaving  only  the  ring  of  bark 
untouched.  It  then  retires  backwards,  stops 
up  the  end  of  its  hole,  near  the  transverse  sec- 
tion, with  fibres  of  the  wood,  and  awaits  the 
fall  of  the  branch,  which  is  usually  broken  off 
and  precipitated  to  the  ground  by  the  autumnal 
winds.  The  leaves  of  the  oak  are  rarely  shed 
before  the  branch  falls,  and  thus  serve  to  break 
the  shock.  Branches  of  five  or  six  feet  in  length 
and  an  inch  in  diameter,  are  thus  severed  by 
these  insects,  a  kind  of  pruning  that  must  be 
injurious  to  the  trees,  and  should  be  guarded 
against,  if  possible.  By  collecting  the  fallen 
branches  in  the  autumn,  and  burning  them 
before  the  spring,  we  prevent  the  develope- 
ment  of  the  beetles,  while  we  derive  some 
benefit  from  the  branches  as  fuel. 

Oak  trees  are  also  subjected  to  the  attacks 
of  insects,  which  destroy  the  leaves,  deposit 
their  eggs  in  the  branches  which  they  destroy, 
and  others  which  devour  the  solid  wood.  See 
Beetles,  Borers,  Caterpillars,  Locusts,  &c. 
854 


I  OAT  (Rnss.  owes ;  "Pol.  owies ;  Dutch,  Jiaver  ^ 
\  Ft.  Avoine;  Lat.  avena).  A  very  valuable  cereal 
I  grass,  of  which  several  varieties  are  cultivated 
for  their  seeds:  the  chief  of  these  are — 1.  The 
Avena  saliva,  or  common  oat.  PI.  3,  e.  2.  The 
A.  orientalis,  or  Tartarian  oat,  /.  3.  A.  strigota, 
or  bristle-pointed  oat.  4.  A.  brevis,  or  short  oat. 
5.  A.  nuda,  or  naked  oat. 

The  common  oat  is  far  the  most  important 
of  these  species.  Its  spikelets  contain  two  or 
three  seeds.  Its  florets  are  sometimes  furnished 
with  awns,  and  at  other  times  are  awnless.  The 
oat  is  a  native  of  cold  climates :  it  flourishes 
in  the  temperate  latitudes,  but  it  degenerates, 
and  at  last  refuses  to  yields  profitable  crops  as 
it  approaches  the  equator.  It  is,  however,  cul- 
tivated with  success  in  Bengal,  as  low  as  the 
25°  of  latitude.  It  flourishes  remarkably  well 
in  Ireland  and  in  Scotland,  and  constitutes  the 
principal  food  of  the  inhabitants.  In  England 
it  is  cultivated  to  a  very  considerable  extent  in 
the  fen  districts  of  the  eastern  counties,  as  well 
as  in  the  northern  border  districts,  in  which 
last  the  oats  are  considered  to  be  very  superior. 
By  cultivation,  difference  of  soil  and  climate, 
and  other  causes,  the  common  oat  (A.  saliva) 
has  produced  several  varieties,  which  have 
been  divided  by  some  authors  into  three  classes, 
the  black,  the  gray,  and  the  white.  Those  of 
the  first  class  are  commonly  hardy,  have  small 
seeds,  become  early  ripe,  and  are  hence  well 
adapted  for  cold  hungry  soils,  such  as  those 
which  are  usually  found  on  considerable  ele- 
vations. 

The  gray,  or  dun-coloured  oats,  although 
possessing  more  valuable  qualities  than  the 
black  oat,  are  still  inferior  in  quality  to  the 
white,  but  on  some  soils  yield  very  remunera- 
tive crops. 

The  third  and  most  valuable  class  of  oats  is 
the  white.  "  The  most  improved  of  these,"  says 
Professor  Low,  "  are  without  awns.  They  are 
the  least  hardy  kinds,  but  they  are  of  the 
greatest  weight  to  the  bushel,  and  the  most 
productive  of  meal.  In  this  class  the  potato 
oat  is  that  which  has  possessed  the  greatest 
reputation  for  a  time  in  the  districts  where  it  is 
cultivated.  It  is  not  so  well  suited  to  inferior 
soils  as  some  of  the  other  white  and  darker- 
coloured  kinds :  it  is  also  less  productive  of 
straw,  though  the  grain  is  more  plump,  weighs 
heavier,  and  yields  a  greater  weight  of  meal. 
The  hardier  kinds,  however,  are  better  suited 
to  certain  situations  than  the  finer,  just  as  the 
hardier  red  wheats  are  better  suited  to  certain 
situations  than  the  thin-chaffed  and  white  varie- 
ties. The  potato  oat  was  the  discovery  of  ac- 
cident, and  the  produce  of  a  single  plant.  It 
has,  in  many  cases,  shown  a  tendency  to  de- 
generate, by  the  husks  becoming  thicker  and 
the  body  less  plump,  and  by  the  partial  appear- 
ance of  awns." 

The  Poland  oat  is  another  valuable  cultivated 
variety  of  the  white  oat.  It  comes  early  to 
maturity,  and  is  a  prolific  bearer.  Its  defects 
are  a  tendency  to  be  deficient  in  straw,  and  a 
liability  to  shed  its  seeds. 

Besides  these  there  are  several  other  varie- 
ties of  the  white  oat,  as  the  Dutch,  or  Friesland 
oat,  the  Hopetoun  oat  of  East  Lothian,  &c. 

The  Hopetoun  oat  was  produced  in  1824,  by 


OAT. 


OAT. 


Ml-  P.  Sherriff,  of  Mungo's  well,  in  the  way  he 
thus  descriLfcs.  ''Having  frequently  had  occa- 
sion to  pass  the  gateway  of  a  crop  of  potato 
oats,  in  the  summer  of  1824,  a  stalk  of  remarka- 
ble height  attracted  my  attention.  When  the 
crop  was  reaped,  the-  grains  supported  by  this 
stalk,  and  those  upon  a  short  one  proceeding 
from  the  same  root,  were  gathered  and  sown  in 
the  following  spring.  The  crop  from  the  grains 
of  the  gigantic  stalk  was  again  conspicuously 
tall,  and  after  the  crop  of  1827  the  new  variety 
established  its  superiority."  In  some  compara- 
tive trials  by  Mr.  Boswell,  "  on  a  good  free 
black  soil,"  the  Hopetoun  exceeded  the  potato 
oat  in  produce,  as,  in  some  experiments  by 
Mr.  Forsyth,  of  Elgin,  "  on  a  rich  loam,"  it  ex- 
ceeded the  late  Angus  oat,  and  in  those  of  Mr. 
Ho  wden,  at  Traprain,  in  East  Lothian,  it  proved 
superior  to  the  gray  Angus,  the  potato,  and  the 
early  Angus  oats. 

The  early  Angus  oat  is  well  known  for  its 
early  ripening,  and  the  late  Angus,  says  Mr. 
Sherriff,  is  also  well  known  for  its  fine  straw 
and  grain  ;  and  although  late  in  ripening,  is  the 
most  esteemed  species  of  oat  in  the  early  dis- 
tricts of  Scotland,  such  as  East  Lothian  and 
M'lrayshire.  There  is  a  difficulty,  however 
(Mr.  Sherriff  very  justly  adds),  of  ascertaining 
thd  merits  of  different  varieties  of  grain  by  ex- 
periment, from  the  many  contingencies  affect- 
ing the  results,  the  most  powerful  of  which  is 
the  nature  of  the  season.  Some  kinds  of  oats 
grow  rapidly  in  the  early  part  of  the  season, 
and  some  attain  their  full  height,  such  as  the 
Polish  and  Georgian  oats,  both  of  which  are 
stunted.  Others  grow  slowly,  and  are  later  in 
arriving  at  their  full  height,  such  as  the  potato, 
Flemish,  and  early  Angus  oats,  which  are  also 
short.  Others  continue  to  grow  through  the 
season,  and  are  still  later  in  arriving  at  their 
full  height,  as  the  Hopetoun  and  late  Angus 
oats,  which  are  taller  than  the  others.  When 
the  early  part  of  the  summer  proves  wet,  and 
is  followed  by  drought,  the  Polish  and  Georgian 
oats  have  an  advantage  over  other  kinds,  as 
they  attain  their  full  height  before  the  drought 
commences.  When  the  early  part  of  the  sum- 
mer is  very  dry,  and  moisture  succeeds,  the 
Hopetoun  and  Angus  oats  benefit  by  the  mois- 
ture, while  the  others  mentioned  do  not.  When 
the  season  proves  wet  throughout,  and  the  dif- 
ferent oats  in  consequence  reach  an  extreme 
height,  the  smaller  species  have  frequently  an 
advantage  over  the  larger  in  grain  produce,  in 
consequence  of  the  straw  of  the  latter  becom- 
ing too  luxuriant. 

The  Cumberland  early  oat,  so  named  from 
being  raised  from  a  single  head  by  a  Cumber- 
land gentleman,  is  of  a  longish  grain,  miore  like 
the  early  Angus  variety  than  the  potato ;  colour 
dark  and  dull.  It  is  as  much  earlier  than  the 
potato  oat  as  the  latter  is  earlier  than  the 
Hopetoun,  being  ripe  nearly  a  fortnight  sooner 
than  the  Hopetoun. 

Red  Oat. — There  is  a  peculiar  variety  of  oat 
(classed  with  the  gray  oats),  called  the  red  oat, 
which  is  a  favourite  in  some  districts,  and  is 
thus  described  by  the  celebrated  William  Daw- 
son, of  Frogdon,  in  1791 : — "  Happening  to  be 
at  Linton,  in  Tweeddale,  which  is  about  the 
highest  land  kept  in  cultivation  in  the  south 


of  Scotland,  I  found  the  farmers  complaining 
much  of  the  loss  they  had  by  late  harvests, 
and  I  asked  if  they  had  tried  the  Dutch  oats, 
which  were  so  much  earlier  than  the  common 
kinds.  They  told  me  that  they  had  tried  the 
Dutch  oats,  but  that  they  had  a  kind  in  their 
own  country  which  were  as  early  as  the  Dutch, 
and  were  superior  in  several  respects ;  they 
were  not  so  apt  to  shake  even  as  the  common 
oat ;  they  suited  every  sort  of  soil  if  in  good 
condition,  and  they  yielded  well  in  meal ;  that 
they  had  been  sown  in  that  country  for  fifty 
years,  but  no  one  knew  where  they  came  from. 
Upon  this  information  I  commissioned  a  boll 
for  a  trial,  and  found  them  answer  so  well 
that  I  have  sown  no  other  sort  for  several 
years.  They  do  not  produce  much  straw,  but 
what  they  do  produce  is  very  good.  I  saw  a 
second  crop  of  these  oats  upon  the  same  land 
last  year,  which  was  good.  I  have  found  that 
they  answer  the  character  given  of  them  at 
Linton  fully.  That  they  answer  best  upon  land 
in  good  condition,  but  that  they  produce  very 
little  straw  upon  poor  land ;  yet  the  produce 
of  corn  is  not  even  in  these  situations  inferior 
to  any  other  oats.  These  properties  give  them 
a  great  superiority  over  every  other  kind  knowi* 
in  this  country,  and  grown  in  high  situations, 
and  cold  climates  and  soils."  They  are  a  kind 
of  oat  much  relished  by  horses,  who,  if  used  to 
them,  do  not  readily  take  to  other,  even  richer 
kinds.  Carters  accustomed  to  them  give  them 
a  decided  preference. 

The  Georgian  Oat  was  introduced  about  the 
year  1824,  but  it  has  not  made  much  progress. 
In  1826,  Mr.  Wilson,  of  Preston,  reported  the 
following  comparative  trials  between  it  and 
the  potato  oat  (Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  153), 
upon  2  English  acres  of  equal  land.  The  quan- 
tity sown  upon  an  acre  was  6  bushels,  and  of 
the  potato  4  bushels.  The  Georgian  was  reap- 
ed 10  days  earlier  than  the  potato,  but  they 
might  have  been  14  days.  The  appearance 
of  the  Georgian  was  by  far  the  most  luxuriant 
during  the  summer,  till  the  end  of  July,  when 
the  potato  shot  out  considerably  longer  in  the 
straw.  They  were  carefully  cut  down,  stacked, 
and  thrashed  in  March,  1826 ;  the  result  was, 
in — 

stones,  lb. 
Weight  of  Straw  of  the  potato  oats  per  acre  -  317  6 
Weight  ofslraw  of  the  Georgian  oatB  per  aore    238      13 

The  produce  of  the  potato  oats  per  acre  was 
69  Winchester  bushels,  and  the  Georgian  68. 

stones,  b. 
Weight  of  meal  from  6  bushels  of  the  potato 

oats -11        5 

Weight  of  meal  from  6  bushels  of  Georgian 

oats       --------      10       0 

The  Tartarian  Oat  is  cultivated  to  some  ex- 
tent in  England,  but  much  more  extensively  in 
some  portions  of  the  Continent.  "Its  fascicle 
is  contracted,  and  nods  to  one  side,  which  dis- 
tinguishes it  from  the  common  oat.  The  co- 
lour of  its  corolla  is  generally  dark,  but  the 
plant  improves  by  culture  in  a  good  soil,  losing 
its  awns,  and  that  darkness  of  colour  which  ap- 
pears  to  distinguish  the  oat  in  its  less  improved 
state."  The  breadth  of  this  oat  annually  culti- 
vated  in  England  has  much  increased  within 
the  last  few  years.    It  is  the  best  description 

855 


OAT 


OAT 


for  the  poorest  exhausted  soils,  producing  the 
most  straw  on  those  sorts  of  any  other  variety. 
The  oat  can  be  profitably  cultivated  upon,  per- 
haps, a  greater  variety  of  soils  than  any  other 
of  the  cereal  grasses.  It  may  be  grown,  too, 
successfully  with  less  preparation  of  the  soil, 
and  less  manure.  The  oat  plant,  however, 
succeeds  best  in  fresh  soils,  in  newly  broken 
up  o"d  pastures,  and  in  those  abounding  in  or- 
ganic matters. 

The  organic  manures  by  which  the  oat  crop 
is  best  nourished,  appear  to  be  green  manures  ; 
fish,  especially  those  like  sprats,  abounding  in 
oil,  and,  in  fact,  all  those  of  a  readily  decompo- 
sable description.  Recently-drained  marshes, 
peaty  soils  after  being  dressed  with  lime, 
newly  enclosed  commons  after  being  chalked, 
all  usually  yield  large  crops  of  oats. 

The  land  intended  for  oats  should  be  plough- 
ed, if  possible,  especially  on  clay  soils,  in  the 
previous  winter,  or  at  least  as  early  in  the 
spring  as  possible:  this  is  a  practice  almost 
always  adopted  by  the  best  farmers  of  our 
island.  A  still  more  common  course  of  crop- 
ping is  to  sow  oats  after  turnips,  or  other  green 
crops,  and  especially  on  the  four-shift  system 
with  grass-seeds. 

A  miserable  custom  still  prevails  in  some 
parts  of  England,  of  taking  two  crops  of  oats 
in  succession,  or  an  oat  crop  after  wheat  or  bar- 
ley. Arthur  Young  long  since  denounced  this 
as  bad  husbandry.  After  observing  that  white 
oats  should  be  sown  in  March,  in  preference  to 
any  other  season,  he  remarked,  that  "in  the 
general  conduct  of  them  the  farmer  should  by 
all  means  avoid  the  common  error  of  sowing 
after  other  corn  crops,  by  which  they  exhaust 
the  land.  They  should  always  receive  the 
same  preparation  as  barley,  nor  ought  a  good 
husbandman  to  think  of  their  not  paying  him 
as  well  for  such  attention  as  that  crop.  It  is  a 
very  mistaken  idea  to  suppose  it  more  profit- 
able to  sow  barley  on  land  m  good  order  than 
oats.  He  was,  from  divers  experiments,  in- 
clined to  think  that  oats  will  equal,  and  in 
many  cases  exceed,  barley.  The  superior 
quantity  of  the  produce  will  ever  be  found  to 
more  than  counterbalance  the  inferiority  of  the 
price ;  which,  however,  sometimes  exceeds 
that  of  barley." 

Oats  are  commonly  sown  from  March  to 
April,  but  it  is  very  probable  that  they  might 
be  advantageously  sown  much  earlier  in  many 
situations,  and  when  on  grass  leys  generally 
broadcast :  from  4  to  6  bushels  per  acre  c'' 
seed  is  the  ordinary  quantity.  By  the  drili, 
after  turnips,  a  much  less  quantity  will  be  suffi- 
cient. I  have  known  from  10  to  11  quarters 
per  acre  grown  year  after  year  from  only  2 
busnels  of  seed. 

They  are  usually  cut  in  the  south  by  the 
scythe — in  the  north  and  western  portions  of 
Britain  b\  (he  sickle;  and  they  should  never 
be  allowed  co  become  perfectly  ripe  before  they 
are  cut.  The  usual  produce  varies  from  25  to 
1)0  bushels  per  acre.  In  the  fens  of  Lincoln- 
aliire,  and  in  Essex  and  Suffolk  on  land  pre- 
viously dressed  with  35  or  40  bushels  of  sprats 
per  acre,  the  yield  is  usually  much  more  con- 
siderable. 

The  weight  of  a  bushel  of  oats  varies  from 
856 


!  35  to  45  pounds,  and  14  pounds  of  oats  com- 
monly yield  about  8  pounds  of  meal. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  quantity 
of  meal  that  is  usually  extracted  from  certain 
weights  of  oats ;  and  though  difl^erent  results 

i  may  be  obtained  by  various  qualities  and  sea- 
sons, yet  the  progressive  ratio  of  the  produce 
will  generally  be  found  nearly  similar. 


Weight  per  BuiheU 

Produce 

in  Meal. 

Produce 

of  Husk. 

421b. 

25  1b. 

2oz. 

161b. 

14  oz. 

40 

23 

16 

10 

38 

21 

12 

16 

4 

36 

20 

15 

13 

34 

18 

11 

15 

5 

32 

17 

14 

11 

30 

16 

13 

5 

Oatmeal  is  a  well-known  article  of  food ;  it 
is  the  flour  from  which,  in  the  northern  portion 
of  Great  Britain,  the  bread  of  the  working 
classes  is  partly  procured.  The  oat-seed  was 
examined  by  Sir  H.  Davy;  he  found  in  1000 
parts  of  Scotch  oats  743  of  soluble  or  nutritive 
matter,  composed  of  641  mucilage  or  starch,  15 
saccharine  matter,  and  87  gluten  or  albumen. 
In  100  parts  of  oats  from  Sussex,  59  parts  of 
starch,  6  of  gluten,  and  2  of  saccharine  matter, 
33  husk. 

The  principal  demand  for  oats  in  Great  Bri- 
tain is  for  horses.  Its  use  for  bread  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  northern  districts.  Meal  is  em- 
ployed also  for  various  domestic  purposes, 
feeding  pigs,  dogs,  &c. ;  and  it  has  been  used 
in  brewing  ale,  and  in  the  malt  distilleries  ; 
but  for  this  purpose  its  value  is  much  inferior 
to  that  of  barley. 

The  seeds  were  analyzed  by  Schraeder ;  he 
found  in  227*8  grains  of  ashes,  obtained  from 

2  lb.  of  oats- 
Grains. 

Silica 144-2 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)         -       -  33-75 

Carbonate  of  magnesia      -       .       -  33-9 

Alumina  (clay)  -----  4-5 

Oxide  of  manganese  -       -       -       -  6-95 

Oxide  of  iron      -----  4-5 

227-8 

The  analysis  of  M.  Vauquelin  rather  differs 
from  this ;  he  found  in  100  parts  of  the  ashes 
of  the  oat — 

Parts. 
60-7 
39-3 


Silica 
Phosphate  of  lime 


100- 


But  by  burning  the  whole  plant,  stalk  and 
seed  together,  he  obtained  a  residuum  com- 
posed of — 


Parts. 
55 
15 


Silica  ------ 

Phosphate  of  lime       -        -        - 

Potash -       xo 

Carbonate  of  lime       _        -        .        -         5 
And  some  oxide  of  iron. 

M.  Saussure  obtained  from  100  parts  of  th« 
ashes  of  the  seeds  of  the  oat — 

Ftrt*. 
Soluble  salts        -----        I 
Earthy  phosphates      -        -        -        -      24 

Silica 60 

Metallic  oxide 0*25 

Loss 14-75 

100- 


OAT-GRASS. 

Average  price  of  oats  in  England,  per  Win- 
chester quarter : — 

£  8.  d.  £    8.  d. 

1771  -  0  16  8  1810  -  19  4 

1775  -  0  16  6  1815  -  13  6 

1780  -  0  12  10  Per  Imperial  quarter. 

1785  -  0  17  2  1820  -  14  9 

1790  -  0  18  10  1825  -  15  8 

1795  -  1  4  9  1830  -  14  5 

1800  .  1  19  10  1835  .  12  0 

1805  -  1  8  0  1840 

Tfte  account,  in  imperial  quarters,  of  the 
foreign  oats  and  oatmeal  entered  for  home  con- 
sumption every  five  years  since  1815,  was — 

Qri.  Qr«. 

1815    -    214,000  1830  -  900.319 

1820    -    726,848  1835  -  176,142 

18-25    -    15,000  1840  -  510,836 

The  annual  average  of  oats,  in  Winchester 
quarters,  imported  into  England  from  1801  to 
1825  was,  from — 

Russia 46,652 

Sweden  and  Norway     -       -       -       -  -2,446 

Denmark 30.672 

Prussia 39.209 

Germany 75,828 

Netherlands 84.269 

France  and  Southern  Europe         -        -  1,953 

America           ......  4 

From  Ireland  were  imported  into  this  coun- 
try, of  oats  and  oatmeal,  in  Winchester  quar- 
ters— 

Qri.  Qr* 

1810    -    493,231  1825  -  1,629.856 

1815    -    597,537  1830  -  1,471,252 

1820    -    916,250  1835  -  1,822,766 

Table  shomng  the  average  Price  of  Oatt  per  Bushel 
in  the  Philadelphia  Market,  for  the  1»/,  2(/,  3rf, 
and  4th  Quarters  of  the  following  Years: 


Year.        j 

|]|  Quirler. 

2d  Q.«rter. 

3J  Quarter. 

1 
4lh  Quarter. 

18.'«      1 

36  cu. 

40  CIS. 

30cts. 

35CU.I 

1831 

27 

31 

30 

33 

1835 

36 

38 

38 

40 

1836 

50 

43 

38 

50 

1837 

50 

49 

45 

36 

1838       1 

33 

37 

41 

41 

1839 

44 

93 

32 

33 

1840 

28 

27 

25 

26 

1841 

26 

W 

47 

46 

1842 

43 

37 

23 

25 

Oats  raised  south  of  Philadelphia  usually 
bring  about  3  cents  per  bushel  less  than  those 
raised  in  Pennsylvania  and  still  further  north, 
which  are  generally  much  heavier. 

OAT-GRASS.     See  Avexa. 

OAT.MEAL.  The  meal  or  flour  of  the  oat  is 
used  in  Great  Britain  to  make  porridge,  gruel, 
bread,  and  poultices.  In  the  mealing  process, 
the  oats,  after  being  previously  dried  in  a  kiln, 
are  made  to  pass  through  the  mill-stone  to  di- 
vest them  of  their  coarser  husks  or  "  sheal- 
ings"  before  being  ground.  The  kernels  are 
then  named  "  grits"  or  "  groats ;"  and  are  next 
ground  over  again  into  a  coarse,  rough  meal, 
varj'ing  in  its  fineness  according  to  the  custom 
of  different  districts.  This  is  afterwards  either 
baked  upon  a  heated  iron,  called  a  gridle  in 
Scotland,  into  thin,  flat  cakes,  or  made  up  with 
water  into  loaves,  and  baked.  When  gradually 
stirred  into  boiling  water,  and  boiled  into  a 
thick  consistence,  it  forms  the  porridge  of 
Scotland.  It  is  eaten  eithtr  with  skimmed 
milk,  butter,  molasses,  or  ale.  It  is  thus  very 
108 


OKRA. 

generally  used  as  the  common  porridge  for 
breakfast  and  supper  of  the  greater  portion  of 
the  peasantry  of  the  northern  parts  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  and  forms  a  very  nutri- 
tive and  healthy  food.  It  is,  however,  apt  lo 
prove  acescent  in  some  stomachs,  and  to  cause 
cutaneous  diseases.     See  Groats. 

OCHRE.     See  Fulleu's  Earth. 

OFFSETS.  In  gardening,  young  radical 
bulbs,  when  separated  or  taken  off  from  the 
parent  roots,  are  so  called.  One  of  the  chief 
methods  of  propagating  plants  is  by  offsets. 

OIL-CAKE.  The  marc  which  remains  after 
the  oil  has  been  expressed  from  the  seeds  of 
flax  and  rape.  See  Colza,  Linseed  Cake, 
Palma  Christi,  Rape. 

OILS  (Ger.  oel;  Lat.  oleum).  This  term  com- 
prehends two  substances  that  have  very  dis- 
tinct properties,  namely,  volatilt  and  fixed  oils ; 
but,  in  general  language,  the  term  oil  is  indi- 
cative of  the  latter.  Fixed  oils  are  unctuous, 
fluid  bodies,  which,  when  dropped  upon  paper, 
sink  into  it,  and  make  it  semi-transparent,  or 
give  it  what  is  called  a  greasy  stain.  They 
are  composed  of  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen. 
Train  oil  has  been  sometimes  used  as  a  ma- 
nure, and  is  a  powerful  fertilizer.  See  Fish. 
Linseed  oil  Is  a  coininon  Iboti  for  live-stock. 
See  Linseed  Oil. 

The  following  results  of  analysis  show  the 
variations  in  the  proportions  of  elementary  sub- 
stances in  olive  and  train,  or  fish  oil,  100  parts 
of  each  : — 

Ilv'Imei-n.  Oxvjen.  Carbon. 

Olive  oil,  13-36  -|-  9- 137 -f- 77-213  =  100  parts. 
Train  oil,  lG-1    4-1503   -f  68-87    =  100  parts. 

The  numerous  uses  to  which  unctuous  oils 
obtained  from  the  seeds  of  various  plants  are 
applied,  for  food,  burning,  soap-making,  &c.  &c., 
give  great  importance  to  their  production  and 
preparation.  The  proportions  yielded  by  100 
parts  of  many  seeds,  are  as  follows  : — 

Palma  Christi,  6-2  per  cent. ;  garden  cress,  .'56 
to  58;  poppy,  C)6  to  63;  oily-radish,  50 ;  sesa- 
mum  or  bene  plant,  .^O;  cabbage,  30  to  39; 
wild  mustard,  30;  weld,  29  to  36;  gourd,  25; 
hemp,  14  to  25  ;  flax,  11  to  22 ;  black  mustard, 
15;  white  mustard,  36  to  38;  rape,  colewort, 
and  Swedish  turnip,  33|;  colza,  36  to  40;  rape, 
30  to  36;  euphorbium  or  spurge,  30;  sunflower, 
15;  stramonium,  15;  ground-nut  with  shells,  21 ; 
cotton,  16;  the  kernels  of  walnuts  and  hickory- 
nuts,  40  to  70;  hazel-nuts,  62;  sweet  almonds, 
40  to  54;  bitter  almonds,  28  to  46;  beech  mast, 
15  to  17;  plum,  33-3;  grape  stones,  14  to  22; 
horse  chestnuts,  12  to  18. 

The  excellent  oils  expressed  so  abundantly 
from  the  seeds  of  the  poppy  and  sesamum  or 
bene  plant,  are  largely  substituted  in  commerce 
for  olive  oil. 

OKRA  (Hibiscus  esculentis).  This  plant  is 
cultivated  extensively  in  the  West  Indies,  from 
whence  it  has  been  introduced  into  the  United 
States.  The  pods  are  gathered  green,  and  used 
in  soups.  They  form  an  important  ingredient 
in  the  celebrated  Gumbo  soup  of  New  Orleans 
and  other  southern  places.  The  pods  are  filled 
with  seeds  and  a  mucilage  of  a  bland  and 
highly  nutritious  quality.  Hence  the  okra  is 
frequently  recommended  to  persons  afflictet' 
with  dysentery  and  other  bowel  complaints 
either  eaten  boiled,  or  made  into  soup.  Whet 
3  c  3  857 


OLEANDER. 


OLIVE. 


buttered  and  spiced,  they  afford  a  rich  dish 
and  with  vinegar,  they  make  a  good  pickle. 
The  plant  comes  to  maturity  in  the  Middle 
States,  and  the  pods  are  abundant  in  the  Phi- 
Jadelphia  market.  Those  who  become  once 
accustomed  to  this  wholesome  vegetable,  con- 
tract a  great  fondness  for  its  peculiar  flavour. 

In  Louisiana  and  other  southern  states,  a 
dinner  is  scarcely  considered  complete  without 
okra  cooked  in  some  way  or  other,  and  the 
poor  consider  it  one  of  their  greatest  blessings. 
Mr.  Legare,  editor  of  the  Southern  Agriculturist, 
has  furnished  the  following  recipe  for  making 
okra  soup,  after  the  celebrated  method  pursued 
in  Charleston.  The  pods,  he  says,  are  of  pro- 
per size  when  2  or  3  inches  long,  but  may  be 
used  as  long  as  they  remain  tender.  If  fit  for 
use,  they  will  snap  asunder  at  the  ends,  but  if 
too  old  and  woody,  they  must  be  rejected.  One 
peck  of  the  tender  pods  are  to  be  cut  crosswise 
into  very  thin  slices,  not  exceeding  one-eighth 
of  an  inch  in  thickness.  To  this  quantity  add 
about  one-third  of  a  peck  of  tomatoes,  previ- 
ously peeled  and  cut  into  pieces.  The  propor- 
tion of  tomatoes  maybe  varied  to  suit  the  taste. 
A  coarse  piece  of  beef  (a  shin  is  generally 
made  use  of)  is  placed  in  a  pot  or  digester 
with  about  2^  gallons  of  water,  and  a  very 
small  quantity  of  salt.  This  is  permitted  to 
boil  a  few  moments,  when  the  scum  is  taken 
off"  and  the  okra  and  tomatoes  thrown  in.  With 
these  ingredients  in  the  proportions  mentioned, 
the  soup  made  is  remarkably  fine.  Still,  some 
think  it  improved  by  additions  of  green  corn, 
Lima  beans,  &c.  The  most  essential  thing  to 
be  attended  to  is  the  boiling,  and  the  excel- 
lence of  the  soup  depends  almost  entirely  on 
this  being  done  faithfully.  For  if  it  be  not  boil- 
ed enough,  however  well  the  ingredients  may 
have  been  selected  and  proportioned,  the  soup 
will  be  very  inferior,  and  give  but  little  idea 
of  the  delightful  flavour  it  possesses  when  well 
done.  A  properly  constructed  digester  is  de- 
cidedly the  best  vessel  for  boiling  this  or  any 
other  soup  in;  but  where  such  a  utensil  is  not 
at  hand,  an  earthenware  pot  should  be  pre- 
ferred ;  but  on  no  account  make  use  of  an  iron 
one,  as  it  would  turn  the  whole  soup  perfectly 
black,  instead  of  the  proper  colour,  namely, 
green,  coloured  with  the  rich  yeilow  of  toma- 
toes. The  time  usually  required  for  boiling 
okra  soup  is  about  5  hours,  during  which  it 
should  be  occasionally  stirred,  and  the  ingre- 
dients mashed.  When  taken  off,  the  original 
quantity  will  be  reduced  to  about  one-half,  and 
the  meat  "done  to  rags;"  the  whole  forming  a 
homogeneous  mass,  of  the  consistence  of  thick 
porridge. 

OLEANDER  {Nerium,  from  nnos,  humid; 
aiiuding  to  the  habitat  of  the  plants).  This  is 
a  genus  of  noble  evergreen  shrubs,  of  easy 
culture,  and  flowering  freely  the  greater  part 
of  the  year.  N.  oleander  and  its  varieties  bear 
forcing  remarkably  well ;  and,  although  treat- 
ed as  green-house  plants,  yet  they  will  not 
flower  well  unless  they  are  kept  in  the  stove. 
They  grow  well  in  any  rich,  light  soils,  and 
young  cuttings  root  in  any  soil,  if  kept  moist. 
The  leaves  of  N.  oleander  contain  tannic  acid, 
aiul  the  leaves  and  bark  of  the  root  of  iV.  odo- 
rum  are  app.ied  externally  as  powerful  repel- 
858 


'  lants  by  the  Indian  practitioners.  N.  tindorium 
yields  indigo.  (P.axlon^s  Bat.  Did.) 
j  OLIVE  {Oled).  This  is  a  very  important 
genus  of  plants,  on  account  of  the  oil,  &C., 
which  is  obtained  chiefly  from  the  O.  Europcecu 
j  It  is  an  evergreen,  small  tree,  with  lanceo- 
late leaves,  of  a  deep-green  on  the  upper,  and 
nearly  while  or  hoary  on  the  under  surface. 
The  flowers  are  small  and  white.  The  fruit  is 
an  elliptical  drupe,  of  a  bluish-purple  colour 
when  ripe.  The  tree  lives  to  an  extreme  old 
age,  and  continues  to  bear  good  olives.  It  is 
also  much  admired  for  the  fragrance  of  its 
flowers,  which  render  it  worthy  a  place  in 
every  green-house  collection.  They  grow  well 
in  loam  and  peat;  ripened  cuttings  root  readily 
in  sand,  under  a  glass.  They  may  also  be  in- 
creased by  grafting  on  the  common  privet. 
The  unripe  fruit  of  the  olive,  preserved  in  salt 
and  water,  is  a  well-known  article  for  the  dessert. 

With  regard  to  the  capacity  of  a  portion  of 
the  Southern  United  States  to  produce  the  olive, 
the  following  extract  from  a  communication 
of  John  Couper,  Esq.,  will  giv€  interesting  in- 
formation:— 

"  I  had  a  very  pretty  grove  of  200  olives,  im- 
ported about  10  years  since,  their  stems  from 
8  to  12  inches  diameter,  and  perhaps  averaging 
20  to  25  feet  high  to  the  top ;  they  have  borne 
fruit  for  some  years.  I  had  also  near  600  trees, 
or  plants,  from  11  to  5  years  old.  From  com- 
parisons between  the  olive  and  orange,  in  pre- 
vious severe  frosts,  where  the  orange  was  much 
hurt,  the  olive  was  uninjured.  I  have,  there- 
fore, no  hesitation  in  believing  the  olive  is  well 
adapted  to,  and  will  succeed  on  our  sea-coast, 
of  both  Carolina  and  Georgia. 

"I  have  been  personally  acquainted  with 
sour-orange  trees,  both  on  St.  Simon's  and  Je- 
kyl,  for  58  years,  and  believe  they  were  plant- 
ed near  100  years  since ;  and  have  never  been 
killed  by  frost  until  last  February,  when  they 
were  all  destroyed.  I  therefore  conclude,  that 
since  the  first  settlement  of  Georgia  the  olive 
would  have  succeeded.  It  occurs  to  me  that, 
notwithstanding  the  immense  value  of  the  olive 
in  France,  they  have  been  cut  down  in  some 
severe  frosts. 

"  The  olive  and  orange  seemed  so  completely 
destroyed,  even  to  some  depth  under  ground, 
that  I  cut  them  down,  and  planted  corn  in  their 
place;  on  examination  about  a  month  since, 
the  lower  roots  still  appearing  fresh,  I  conclud- 
ed that  opening  the  ground  around  them  might 
encourage  vegetation ;  and  have  now  the  satis- 
faction to  see  the  olives  pushing  out  abundance 
of  fine,  strong  shoots,  not  one  failing.  The 
oranges  are  doing  the  same,  though  some  ap- 
pear dead,  not  yet  decided;  by  returning  the 
earth  to  the  olive  shoots,  they  will  throw  out 
roots,  and  furnish  fine  plants.  In  fact,  I  am 
better  satisfied  respecting  the  success  of  the 
olive  than  I  was  before  the  severe  frost."  (^Far- 
mer^s  Register,  vol.  iii.  p.  246.) 

OLIVE,  THE  AMERICAN  (Olea  America- 
na). This  American  tree  belongs  exclusively  to 
the  Southern  States,  the  Floridas,  and  Louisiana. 
Like  the  live-oak  and  cabbage-tree,  it  is  con 
fined  to  the  sea-shore.  "It  is  so  little  multi- 
plied," says  Michaux,  "  that  it  hjfe  hitherto  re- 
ceived no  name  from  the  inhabitants  of  th« 


ONIONS. 


ONIONS. 


•ountry,  except  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Sa- 
vannah, where  it  is  called  Devil  wood. 

"This  tree  grows  in  soils  and  exposures  ex- 
tremely different:  on  the  sea-shore  it  springs 
with  the  live-oak  in  the  most  barren  and  sultry 
spots ;  and  in  other  places  it  is  seen  with  the 
big  laurel,  the  umbrella  tree,  the  sweet  leaves, 
&c.,  in  cool,  fertile,  and  shaded  situations. 

"  This  tree,  or,  to  speak  more  accurately,  this 
large  shrub,  is  sometimes  30  or  35  feet  high, 
and  10  or  12  inches  in  diameter:  but  this  size 
is  extraordinary;  it  commonly  fructifies  at  the 
height  of  8,  10,  or  12  feet.  The  leaves  are  4 
or  5  inches  long,  opposite  and  lanceolate,  en- 
tire at  the  edge,  smooth  and  brilliant  on  the 
upper  surface,  and  of  an  agreeable  light-green. 
They  are  evergreen,  or  at  least  are  partially 
renewed  only  once  in  4  or  5  years.  The  fer- 
tile and  barren  flowers  are  on  separate  trees : 
they  are  very  small,  strongly  scented,  of  a  pale 
yellow,  and  axillary,  or  situated  between  the 
petiole  of  the  leaves  and  the  branches.  The 
season  of  flowering,  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Charleston,  is  about  the  end  of  April.  The 
fruit  is  round,  and  about  twice  as  large  as  a 
common  pea.  When  ripe,  it  is  of  a  purple 
colour,  approaching  to  blue,  and  consists  of  a 
hard  stone  thinly  coated  with  pulp.  As  it  re- 
mains attached  to  the  branches  during  a  part 
of  the  winter,  its  colour  forms,  at  this  season, 
an  agreeable  contrast  with  the  foliage. 

"The  bark  which  covers  the  trunk  of  the 
devil  wood  is  smooth  and  grayish.  The  wood 
has  a  fine  and  compact  grain,  and,  when  per- 
fectly dry,  it  is  excessively  hard  and  very  diffi- 
cult to  cut  or  split;  hence  is  derived  the  name 
of  devil  wood.  It  is,  notwithstanding,  neglect- 
ed in  use.  On  laying  bare  the  cellular  integu- 
ment of  the  bark,  its  natural  yellow  hue  changes 
instantaneously  to  a  deep  red,  and  the  wood, 
by  contact  with  the  air,  assumes  a  rosy  conj- 
piexion.  Experiments  should  be  made  to  de- 
tect the  nature  of  this  active  principle  in  the 
hark,  which  causes  it  to  change  colour  so  sud- 
denly by  exposure  to  the  air. 

"  Fr(>m  the  temperature  of  the  native  skies 
of  this  tree,  we  may  conclude  that  it  is  capable 
of  resisting  a  greater  degree  of  cold  than  the 
common  olive :  it  becomes,  then,  on  account 
of  its  beautiful  foliage,  its  odoriferous  flowers, 
and  its  showy  fruit,  a  valuable  acquisition." 
{^Mirhaux.') 

ONIONS  (Jllium  cepa).  Of  this  genus,  there 
are  eight  individuals  that  demand  the  garden- 
er's care. 

They  all  require  a  rich,  friable  soil,  on  a  dry 
substratum;  a  situation  enjoying  the  full  influ- 
ence of  the  sun,  and  entirely  free  from  trees, 
which  are  very  inimical  to  them,  especially  to 
those  which  have  to  stand  the  winter.  If  the 
soil  be  poor,  or  exhausted,  abundance  of  dung 
should  be  applied  in  the  preceding  autumn  or 
winter,  and  the  ground  thrown  into  ridges.  By 
these  means  it  becomes  well  decomposed  and 
incorporated  with  the  soil ;  for  rank,  unreduced 
dung  is  generally  injurious,  engendering  de- 
cay, and  inducing  maggots;  if,  therefore,  the 
application  of  manure  is  neglected  until  the 
spring,  it  should  be  taken  from  an  old  hotbed, 
or  other  source  whence  it  is  to  be  had  in  a 
thoroughly  putrescent  state,  and  turned  in  only 


to  a  moderate  depth.  Sea-sand,  particularly 
if  the  ground  is  at  all  tenacious,  is  advanta- 
geously employed  ;  coal-ashes,  and  especially 
soot,  are  applied  with  particular  benefit.  In 
digging  over  the  ground,  small  spits  only  should 
be  turned  over  at  a  time,  that  the  texture  may 
be  well  broken  and  pulverized.  A  considera- 
ble degree  of  attention  is  required  from  the 
difficulty  of  giving  the  requisite  degree  of  firm- 
ness to  light  soils,  which,  if  rich,  are  well  suit- 
ed to  the  growth  of  these  vegetables.  Old,  soft. 
or  light,  sandy  soils,  Mr.  A.  Gorrie,  of  Rait,  re- 
commends to  be  dug  rough  in  October,  and 
about  January  to  have  a  top-dressing  of  cow- 
dung  applied  and  left  on,  to  have  its  fertilizing 
matters  washed  in  until  the  time  of  sowing, 
then  as  much  as  can  be  is  to  be  raked  off",  and, 
without  digging,  the  seed  sown,  trod  in,  and 
covered  with  earth  from  the  alleys.  By  this 
management,  soils  will  produce  good  crops 
which  before  were  annually  destroyed  by  the 
maggot.  Onions  for  pickling,  as  well  as  those 
to  stand  the  winter,  should  be  grown  on  light, 
poor  soils,  which  cause  the  first  to  be  small  in 
the  bulb,  and  the  latter,  not  growing  so  luxu- 
riantly, to  withstand  the  winter  better. 

There  are  14  distinct  varieties  of  this  vege- 
table, as  appears  from  the  description  given  by 
Mr.  C.  Strachan,  gardener  to  the  Horticultural 
Society  of  London. 

1.  Silver-skinned  onion.  2.  Early  silver- 
skinned.  3.  True  Portugal.  4.  Spanish.  5. 
Strasburg.  6.  Deplford.  7.  Globe.  8.  James's 
keeping  onion.  9.  Pale-red.  10.  Yellow.  11. 
Blood-red.  12.  Tripoli.  13.  Two-bladed.  14. 
Lisbon. 

In  England  the  onion  is  raised  from  seed, 
which  may  be  sown  for  the  first  main  crop  to- 
wards the  close  of  February,  if  dry,  open  wea- 
ther, otherwise  only  a  small  portion,  in  a  warm, 
dry  situation.  The  principal  crop,  however, 
must  be  sown  during  March,  it  being  kept  in 
mind  that  the  close  of  February  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred, for  the  earlier  the  seed  is  inserted,  the 
finer  will  be  the  bulbs :  main  crops  may  even 
be  inserted  as  late  as  the  beginning  of  April, 
and,  at  its  close,  a  small  sowing  to  draw  young 
in  summer,  and  for  small  bulbs  to  pickle ; 
again  in  July  and  early  in  August  for  sa-lads  in 
autumn ;  and,  finally,  in  the  last  week  of  Au- 
gust, or  early  in  September,  to  stand  the  wmter 
for  spring  and  beginning  of  summer.  The  seed 
is  sown  thinly,  broadcast,  and  regularly  raked 
in.  An  ounce  of  seed  is  abundantly  sufficient 
for  a  rood  of  ground,  especially  for  the  main 
crops,  as  they  should  never  be  allowed  to  grow 
to  a  size  fit  for  salads  without  thinning.  No 
other  seed  ought  to  be  sown  with  it;  for  the 
practice  of  stealing  a  crop  is  detrimental  to 
both  crops,  without  the  slightest  advantage  to 
compensate.  The  beds  should  be  divided  by 
narrow  a'leys  into  portions  about  four  feet 
wide,  for  the  convenience  of  cultivation.  In 
about  six  weeks  after  sowing,  the  plants  will 
be  of  sufficient  size  to  allow  the  first  thinning 
and  small  hoeing,  by  which  they  are  to  be 
set  out  about  2  inches  apart;  if  this  is  per- 
formed in  dry  weather,  it  will  keep  the  beds 
free  of  weeds  for  six  weeks  longer,  when  they 
must  be  hoed  a  second  time,  and  thinned  tt 
4  inches  apart;   and  now,  where  they  ha\ 

869 


ONIONS 


ONIONS. 


failed,  the  vacancies  may  be  filled  up  by  trans- 
planting sone  of  those  thinned  out  into  the 
places;  the  best  time  for  doing  this  is  in  the 
evening,  and  water  must  be  given  for  several 
successive  nights.  In  transplanting,  the  root 
only  is  to  be  inserted,  and  no  part  of  the  stem 
buried ;  for  there  is  very  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  naturally  the  bulb  grows  entirely 
upon  the  surface,  and  that  growing  within  the 
mould  is  a  great  cause  of  their  not  keeping 
well.  After  the  lapse  of  another  month  they 
must  be  thoroughly  gone  over  for  the  last  time, 
the  weeds  eradicated,  and  the  plants  thinned 
to  6  inches  asunder;  after  this  they  in  general 
only  require  to  be  weeded  occasionally  by 
hand;  they  must,  however,  be  kept  completely 
free  from  weeds,  and  the  stirring  of  the  surface 
which  the  hoe  effects  is  very  beneficial.  In 
order  to  prevent  their  running  too  much  to 
blade,  it  is  a  good  practice  early  in  July,  be- 
fore the  tips  change  to  a  yellow  hue,  to  bend 
the  stems  down  flat  upon  the  bed,  which  not 
only  prevents  the  rapid  growth  of  the  blade, 
but  causes  the  bulbs  to  become  much  larger 
than  they  otherwise  would  be.  The  bend  should 
be  made  about  2  inches  up  the  neck. 

About  the  close  of  August  the  onions  will 
have  arrived  at  their  full  growth,  which  may 
be  known  by  the  withering  of  the  foliage,  by 
the  shrinking  of  the  necks,  and  by  the  ease 
with  which  they  may  be  pulled  up.  As  soon 
as  these  changes  appear,  they  must  be  taken 
up,  the  bed  being  frequently  looked  over;  for, 
if  the  whole  crop  is  waited  for,  the  forwardest, 
especially  in  moist  seasons,  are  apt  again  to 
strike  root.  They  should  be  spread  on  mats, 
&c.,  in  the  sun,  frequently  turned,  and  removed 
under  shelter  at  night.  In  2  or  3  weeks,  when 
the  roots  and  blades  are  perfectly  withered  and 
void  of  moisture,  and  the  bulbs  become  firm, 
they  are  fit  for  storing,  being  housed  in  dry 
weather,  and  carefully  preserved  from  bruis- 
ing :  previous  to  doing  this,  all  mould  and  re- 
fuse must  be  removed  from  them,  for  these  are 
apt  to  induce  decay,  and  spread  contagion  to 
all  near  them.  To  prevent  this  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, all  faulty  ones  should  be  rejected :  in  the 
store-house  they  must  be  laid  as  thin  as  may 
be,  and  looked  over  at  least  once  a  month. 
Notwithstanding  every  precaution,  many  will 
decay,  and  more  sprout,  especially  in  mild 
winters;  therefore,  to  preserve  some  for  late 
use,  it  is  useful  to  sear  the  roots  and  the  sum- 
mits with  a  hot  iron,  care  being  taken  not  to 
scorch  the  bulb. 

For  the  winter  standing  crop  the  only  addi- 
tional directions  necessary  are,  to  tread  in  the 
seed  regularly  before  raking,  if  the  soil,  as  it 
ough.  to  be,  is  dry  and  light.  They  must  be 
kept  constantly  clear  of  weeds,  as  well  as  of 
the  fallen  leaves  of  trees,  which  cause  them  to 
spindle  and  become  weak,  but  they  need  not  be 
thinned,  as  they  serve  as  protections  for  each 
other.  Early  in  spring  they  are  to  be  weeded, 
and,  as  may  be  necessary,  transplanted  for 
bulbing.  There  are  several  modes  of  cultiva- 
tion lately  introduced  or  revived,  which  pro- 
duce onions  of  superior  size  and  goodness. 
The  great  obstacle  to  the  production  of  fine 
onions  in  England  is  the  want  of  a  suflicient 
•continuance  of  warm  weather ;  or,  at  least,  the 
860 


inclemency  of  the  early  part  of  the  year  pie 
vents  the  insertion  of  the  seed  until  so  late, 
that  the  most  genial  season  to  vegetation  passes 
away  whilst  the  plants  are  in  their  infancy;  it 
is  the  obviating  this  unfavourable  circumstance 
that  causes  the  superiority  of  the  several  plans 
hereafter  detailed. 

It  is  a  practice  that  originated  in  America, 
and  which  has  met  with  the  decided  approval 
of  Mr.  Knight  and  others,  to  sow  in  May;  to 
cultivate  the  plants  as  in  the  other  crops;  and, 
in  October,  the  bulbs,  being  of  the  size  of  nuts, 
are  to  be  taken  up,  dried,  and  housed,  as  directed 
for  the  full-grown  bulbs.  About  the  middle  of 
the  following  March  they  must  be  planted  out 
in  rows  6  inches  apart  each  way,  and  after- 
wards cultivated  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
other  crops.  If  sown  earlier  than  May,  they 
run  to  seed  when  transplanted.  Another  mode 
nearly  as  efficacious,  and  which,  I  understand, 
has  been  practised  for  a  great  length  of  time 
in  the  south  of  Essex,  is  to  sow  in  the  latter 
part  of  August,  to  stand  the  winter,  and  in 
March,  early  or  late,  according  to  the  forward 
growth  of  the  seedlings,  to  be  planted  out  in 
rows  at  the  before-directed  distance,  and  culti- 
vated as  usual. 

In  Portugal  they  sow  in  a  moderate  hotbed 
during  November  or  December,  in  a  v>^arm 
situation,  with  a  few  inches  of  mould  upon  it; 
and  the  plants  are  protected  from  frost  by  hoops 
and  mats ;  in  April  or  May,  when  of  the  size 
of  a  swan's  quill,  they  are  transplanted  into  a 
light,  rich  loam,  well  manured  with  old  rotten 
dung,  to  bulb. 

It  would  seem,  from  the  practice  of  Mr.  Mac- 
donald,  gardener  to  the  Duke  of  Buccleugh,  at 
Dalkeith,  that  transplanting  alone  is  of  great 
benefit.  "His  soil,"  he  says,  "is  not  very  fa- 
vourable to  the  growth  of  the  onion,  being  light 
and  thin  ;  and  it  was  not  until  after  many  ex- 
periments he  was  able  to  obtain  fine  bulbs,  and 
which  he  at  length  accomplished  by  sowing  in 
the  end  of  February,  and  about  April  trans- 
planting them  at  the  usual  distance  in  drills, 
first  dipping  the  root  into  a  puddle,  consisting 
of  1  part  soot  and  3  parts  earth,  mixed  with 
water;  the  work  being  performed  in  moist 
weather."  The  puddle,  as  is  observed  by  Mr. 
Sinclair,  can  be  of  no  other  use  than  to  assist 
the  rooting  of  the  plants. 

To  obtain  seed,  some  old  onions  must  be 
planted  during  February,  or  early  in  March. 
The  finest  and  firmest  bulbs  being  selected,  and 
planted  in  rows  10  inches  apart  each  way, 
either  in  drills  or  by  a  blunt-ended  dibble,  the 
soil  to  be  rather  poorer,  if  it  differs  at  all  from 
that  in  which  they  are  cultivated  for  bulbing. 
They  must  be  buried  so  deep  that  the  mould 
just  covers  the  crown.  Early  in  spring  their 
leaves  will  appear.  If  grown  in  large  quan- 
tities, a  path  must  be  left  2  feet  wide  between 
every  3  or  4  rows,  to  allow  the  necessary  cul- 
tivation. They  must  be  kept  thoroughly  clear 
of  weeds,  and  when  in  flower  have  stakes 
driven  at  intervals  of  5  or  6  feet  each  side  of 
every  2  rows,  to  which  a  string  is  to  be  fasten- 
ed throughout  the  whole  length,  a  few  inches 
below  ihe  heads,  to  serve  as  a  support,  and 
prevent  their  being  broken  down.  The  seeds 
are  ripe  in  August,  which  is  intimated  by  the 


ONIONS. 


ONION,  THE  WELSH. 


husks  becoming   brownish :    the  heads   must 
then  be  immediately  cut,  otherwise  the  recep- 
tacles will  open  and  shed  their  contents.     Be-  ^ 
ing  spread  on  cloths  in  the  sun,  during  the  day,  j 
and  taken  under  cover  every  night  and  during 
inclement  weather,  they  soon  become  perfectly  | 
dry,  when  the  seed  may  be  rubbed  out,  cleaned  : 
of  the  chaff,  and,  after  remaining  another  day  j 
or  two,  finally  stored.    It  is  of  the  utmost  con- 
sequence to  employ  seed  of  not  more  than  one 
year  old,  otherwise  not  more  than  1  in  50  seeds 
will  vegetate. 

The  goodness  of  seed  may  be  easily  disco- 
vered by  forcing  a  little  of  it  in  a  hotbed  or  in 
warm  water,  a  day  or  two  before  it  is  employed : 
a  small  white  point  will  soon  protrude  if  it  is 
fertile. 

Onions  are  raised  in  large  quantities,  in  the 
town  of  Weathersfield,  Connecticut,  for  exporta- 
tion to  the  West  Indies  and  Southern  Slates. 
The  business  is  there  reduceil  to  a  perfect 
system.  Early  in  spring  the  land  is  manured, 
by  ploughing  in  fine  manure  from  the  stable  or 
barn-yard,  in  the  proportion  of  about  10  loads 
to  the  acre.  That  of  neat  cattle  is  preferred, 
as  that  of  horses  is  considered  to  be  of  too 
heating  a  nature.  It  is  then  well  harrowed  and 
laid  out  into  beds  of  5  feet  wide,  by  turning  a 
furrow  towards  them  each  way;  this  raises  the 
beds  above  the  alleys,  and  allows  the  surplus 
water  to  run  off.  They  are  then  well  raked 
witn  an  iron-toothed  or  common  hay  rake,  and 
the  alleys  suffered  to  remain  as  left  by  the 
plough. 

As  early  as  the  season  will  admit,  the  seed 
is  sown  in  the  following  manner.  A  rake,  with 
teeth  a  foot  apart,  is  drawn  crosswise  of  the 
beds,  and  drills  made  for  the  reception  of  the 
seed;  it  is  then  sown  with  the  thumb  and  fingers 
and  covered  witL  the  hand,  allowing  10  or  12 
lbs.  to  the  acre.  After  the  plants  are  up,  they 
are  kept  clean  of  weeds,  which  generally  re- 
quires four  weedings,  using  a  hoe  of  suitable 
width  to  pass  between  the  rows,  which  saves 
much  labour.  When  ripe,  they  are  pulled,  and 
the  lops  cut  off  to  a  suitable  length  for  tying 
them  to  the  straw  in  roping.  Three  and  a  half 
pounds  are  required  by  a  law  of  the  state  to  be 
put  in  each  rope;  and  the  ordinary  crop  is 
from  6  to  8000  ropes  to  the  acre. 

Onions  may  be  raised  in  the  same  way  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States,  though  the  more 
common  practice  is  to  grow  them  from  small 
bulbs  raised  from  seed  the  previous  year,  by  sow- 
ing thickly  in  rows,  about  9  or  10  inches  apart, 
about  the  middle  of  spring;  if  sown  too  early, 
they  are  apt  to  run  to  seed  when  transplanted. 
Cultivate  and  preserve  as  for  full-grown  bulbs. 
Plant  early  in  spring,  in  well  manured  ground, 
in  rows  about  6  inches  apart,  and  5  inches  in 
the  row,  allowing  about  18  inches  after  every 
fifth  row  as  an  alley  for  convenience  in  weeding. 
If  the  land  is  at  all  light,  it  is  a  good  practice 
to  tread  or  roll  well  before  sowing  or  trans- 
planting, and  be  careful  to  disturb  the  bulbs  as 
little  as  possible  in  weeding. 

Potato,  or  undeT'ground  Onion. — This  species 
of  allium  has  received  the  above  appellations, 
on  account  of  its  producing  a  cluster  of  bulbs 
or  offsets,  in  number  from  2  to  12,  and  even 
more,  uniformly  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil. 


From  being  first  introduced  to  public  notice  in 
Scotland,  by  Captain  Burns  of  Edinburgh,  it  is 
there  also  known  as  the  Burn  onion.  There 
evidently  appear  to  be  two  varieties  of  this  ve- 
getable,one  of  which  bears  bulbs  on  the  summit 
of  its  stems,  like  the  tree  onion,  and  the  other 
never  throwing  up  flower-stems  at  all.  One 
variety  is  much  larger  than  the  other,  and  this 
vegetates  again  as  soon  as  ripe. 

Both  varieties  are  best  propagated  by  offsets 
of  the  root,  of  moderate  size ;  for  if  those  are 
employed  which  the  one  variety  produces  on 
the  summit  of  its  stems,  they  seldom  do  more 
than  increase  in  size  the  first  year, but  are  pro- 
lific the  next ;  this  also  occurs  if  very  small 
offsets  of  the  root  are  employed. 

They  may  be  planted  during  October  or  No- 
vember, or  as  early  in  the  spring  as  the  season 
will  allow,  but  not  later  than  April.  In  the 
west  of  England,  assisted  by  their  genial  cli- 
mate, they  plant  on  the  shortest  and  take  up  on 
the  longest  day.  They  are  either  to  be  inserted 
in  drills,  or  by  a  blunt  dibble  8  inches  apart 
each  way,  not  buried  entirely,  but  the  top  of 
the  offset  just  level  with  the  surface.  Mr.  Ma- 
her,  gardener  at  Arundel  Castle,  merely  places 
the  sets  on  the  surface,  covering  them  with 
leaf  mould,  rotten  dung,  or  other  light  compost. 
The  beds  they  are  grown  in  are  better  not  more 
than  4  feet  wide,  for  the  convenience  of  culti- 
vation. 

The  only  cultivation  required  is  to  keep  them 
clear  of  weeds.  The  practice  of  earthing  the 
mould  over  them  when  the  stems  have  grown 
up  is  unnatural,  and  by  so  doing  the  bulbs  are 
blanched  and  prevented  ripening  perfectly,  on 
which  their  keeping  depends.  So  far  from 
following  this  plan,  Mr.  Wedgewood  of  Betley 
recommends  the  earth  always  to  be  cleared 
away  down  to  the  ring  whence  the  fibres 
spring,  as  soon  as  the  leaves  have  attained  their 
full  size  and  begin  to  be  brown  at  the  top,  so 
that  a  kind  of  basin  is  formed  round  the  bulb. 
As  soon  as  ihey  vegetate,  they  intimate  the 
number  of  offsets  that  will  be  produced,  by 
showing  a  shoot  for  each. 

They  attain  their  full  growth  towards  the  end 
of  July,  and  become  completely  ripe  early  in 
September:  for  immediate  use  they  may  be 
taken  up  as  they  ripen,  but  for  keeping,  a  little 
before  they  attain  perfect  maturity,  which  is 
demonstrated  by  the  same  symptoms  as  were 
mentioned  in  speaking  of  onion. 

ONION,  THE  WELSH,  or  CIBOULE. 
This  is  a  perennial,  which  never  forms  a  bulb, 
but  is  sown  annually,  to  be  drawn  young  for 
salads,  &c.:  on  account  of  its  strong  taste,  it 
is  greatly  inferior  to  the  common  onion  for  this 
purpose;  but  from  its  extreme  hardiness  in 
withstanding  the  severest  frost,  it  may  be  cul- 
tivated with  advantage  as  a  winter  standing 
crop  for  spring  use.  In  France  two  varieties 
are  in  cultivation,  the  white  and  the  red;  the  first 
!  of  which  is  the  one  in  £:„»i-al  use  in  England. 
As  it  may  be  sown  at  aij  times,  in  common 
i  with  the  onion,  and  is  similarly  cultivated,  ex- 
'•  cept  that  it  may  be  sown  thicker,  and  only 
thinned  as  wanted,  the  directions  given  for  that 
vegetable  will  suffice.  The  blade  usually  die* 
away  completely  in  winter,  but  fresh  ones  an* 
thrown  out  again  in  February  or  March. 

86^ 


ONION,  THE  TREE. 


ORANGE,  ObAuE. 


To  obtain  seed,  some  of  the  roots  must  be 
planned  out  in  March,  6  or  8  inches  asunder. 
The  first  autumn  they  will  produce  but  little 
seed  ;  in  the  second  and  third,  however,  it  will 
be  produced  abundantly.  If  care  is  taken  to 
part  and  transplant  the  roots  every  two  or  three 
years,  they  may  be  multiplied,  and  will  remain 
productive  for  many  years,  and  afford  much 
better  seed  than  that  from  one-year  old  roots. 
There  is  good  reason  for  concluding,  as  Mr.T. 
Milne,  of  Fulham,  ingeniously  explains,  that 
by  a  confusion  of  names,  arising  from  simi- 
larity of  appearance,  this  vegetable  is  the  true 
scaliion  of  Miller  and  others,  whilst  the  hollow 
leek  of  Wales  is  the  true  Welsh  onion ;  for 
the  description  of  scaliion,  as  given  by  Miller, 
accords  exactly  with  that  of  the  Welsh  onion  ; 
and  as  he  describes  it  as  a  distinct  variety,  we 
are  reduced  to  the  dilemma  of  receiving  this 
explanation,  or  considering  the  variety  as  lost ; 
for  from  Miller's  known  accuracy  it  is  impos- 
sible to  consider  that  he  was  deceived.  At 
present  all  onions  that  have  refused  to  bulb, 
and  formed  lengthened  necks  and  strong  blades 
in  spring  and  summer,  are  called  scallions. 

ONION,  THE  TREE,  or  CANADA  (M- 
Uum  Canadense).  This,  which  is  a  very  hardy 
perennial  species,  like  the  ciboule,  is  without 
a  bulbous  root,  but  throws  out  numerous  off- 
sets. Its  top  bulbs  are  greatly  prized  for  pick- 
ling, being  considered  of  superior  flavour  to 
the  common  onion  for  that  purpose,  as  well  as 
others  in  which  that  species  is  employed. 

It  is  propagated  both  by  the  root  offsets, 
which  may  be  planted  during  March  and  April, 
or  in  September  and  October,  and  from  the  top 
bulbs,  which  are  best  planted  in  spring,  and 
not  before  the  latter  end  of  April.  The  old 
roots  are  best  to  plant  again  for  a  crop  of  bulbs, 
as  they  are  most  certain  to  run  to  stems.  If 
the  bulbs  be  planted  earlier  than  as  above  di- 
rected, they  are  apt  to  push  up  the  same  season, 
and  exhaust  themselves  without  producing 
either  good  offsets  or  bulbs ;  but  on  the  other 
hand,  by  planting  the  old  roots  in  the  previous 
autumn,  or  early  in  the  spring,  they  will  pro- 
duce good  bulbs  the  same  year.  They  must 
be  inserted  in  rows  12  inches  asunder,  in  holes 
6  inches  apart  and  2  deep,  a  single  offset  or 
bulb  being  put  in  each.  Those  planted  in  au- 
tumn will  shoot  forth  leaves  early  in  the  spring, 
and  have  their  bulbs  fit  for  gathering  in  June, 
or  the  beginning  of  July;  those  inserted  in  the 
spring  will  make  their  appearance  later,  and 
will  be  in  production  at  the  close  of  July  or 
early  in  August:  they  must  not,  however,  be 
gathered  for  keeping  or  planting  until  the  stalks 
decay;  at  which  time,  or  in  the  spring  also,  if 
only  of  one  year's  growth,  the  roots  may  be 
taken  up  and  parted  if  required  for  planting;  but 
when  of  two  or  three  years'  continuance,  they 
-must  at  all  events  be  reduced  in  size,  other- 
wise they  grow  in  too  large  and  sprindling 
bunches ;  but  the  best  plan  is  to  make  a  fresh 
piantati-on  annually  with  single  offsets.  The 
only  cultivacion  necessary  is  to  keep  them 
clear  of  weeds ;  and  when  the  stems  run  up, 
to  give  them  the  support  of  stakes. 

The  bulbs,  when  gathered,  must  be  gradually 
Hhd  carefully  dried  in  a  shady  place;  and  if 
Kept  perfectly  free  from  moisture,  will  continue 
862 


in  good  state  until  the  following  May.     (G.  W 
Johnson.^ 

OPEN.  A  term  frequently  applied  to  ccws 
or  heifers,  signifying  that  they  are  not  in  calf. 

OPEN  CUTS.  Such  drains  or  gutters  as 
are  made  in  land  by  the  spade,  and  left  without 
being  covered  in.  They  are  used  in  draining 
lands  in  particular  cases.  Open  cuts,  if  effec- 
tual, are  the  best  of  all  for  forest  draining,  as 
they  cannot  be  inconvenient,  from  the  plough 
not  being  employed  after  the  trees  are  planted. 
Cuts  of  this  sort  are  frequently  found  useful  in 
the  practice  of  irrigation  or  watering  of  land. 

OPHTHALMIA.     See  Shekp,  Diseasks  of. 

ORACHE  (Jtriplex;  from  atir,  black).  A 
genus  of  herbaceous  or  shrubby  straggling 
plants  of  little  beauty,  and  the  simplest  culture 
and  propagation.  There  are  in  England  sevo 
ral  native  species. 

The  J.  hortensis  is  cooked  and  eaten  in  the 
same  manner  as  spinach,  to  which  it  is  much 
preferred  by  many  persons,  although  it  belongs 
to  a  tribe  whose  wholesomeness  is  very  sus- 
picious. It  flourishes  best  in  a  rich,  moist  soil, 
and  in  an  open  compartment.  Those,  how- 
ever, of  the  autumn  sowing,  require  a  rather 
drier  soil.  It  is  propagated  by  seed,  which 
may  be  sown  about  the  end  of  September,  soon 
after  it  is  ripe,  and  again  in  the  spring,  for  suc- 
cession; the  sowing  to  be  performed  broad- 
cast, the  seeds  being  scattered  thin.  The 
plants  soon  make  their  appearance,  being  of 
quick  growth.  When  they  are  about  an  inch 
high,  they  must  be  thinned  to  4  inches  asun- 
der; and  those  removed  may  be  planted  out  at 
the  same  distance  in  a  similar  situation,  and 
watered  occasionally  until  established.  At  the 
time  of  thinning,  the  best  must  be  thoroughly 
cleared  of  weeds,  and  if  they  are  again  hoed 
during  a  dry  day,  when  the  plants  are  about  4 
inches  high,  they  will  require  no  further  at- 
tendance than  an  occasional  weeding  by  hand. 

For  early  production,  a  sowing  may  be  per- 
formed in  a  moderate  hotbed  at  the  same  times 
as  those  in  the  natural  ground. 

The  leaves  must  be  gathered  for  use  whilst 
young,  otherwise  they  become  stringy  and 
worthless.  To  obtain- seed,  some  plants  of  the 
spring  sowing  must  be  left  ungathtred  from, 
and  thinned  to  about  8  inches  apart.  The 
seeds  ripen  about  the  end  of  August,  when  the 
plants  may  be  pulled  up,  and  when  perfectly 
dry,  rubbed  out  for  use. 

ORANGE,  OSAGE  (Madura  aurantiaca). 
This  is  an  American  deciduous  tree,  which 
grows  wild  in  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  where 
it  attains  the  height  of  a  tree  of  the  second  or  third 
class,  but  in  the  Middle  States  it  seldom  grows 
higher  than  15  or  20  feet.  It  is  very  branching; 
each  branch  being  armed  with  nura«  rous  sharp 
thorns.  The  wood  is  remarkably  tough,  and 
said  to  be  very  durable.  The  male  and  female 
flowers  are  on  separate  trees.  The  fertile  or 
female  tree  bears  fruit  abundantly  in  a  very 
few  years.  These  are  round,  rough,  and  green- 
ish-coloured, resembling  somewhat  an  orange, 
and  weighing  from  12  to  18  ounces,  containing 
from  100  to  250  seeds. 

Recently  this  thorny  tree  has  received  very 
considerable  attention,  with  a  view  to  making 
it  useful  in  the  construction  of  live  fences, 


ORANGE  TREE. 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 


which  purpose  it  is  extensively  cultivated  in 
nurseries.  "  Its  great  merit,"  says  Mr.  T.  S. 
Pleasants,  of  Virginia,  "consists  in  the  spread- 
ing manner  of  its  growth,  the  denseness  of  its 
branches,  and  the  armature  with  which  they 
are  furnished.  Planted  in  hedge-rows,  the  ma- 
elura  would  never  become  unmanageable  on 
account  of  its  size;  at  the  same  time  its  growth 
is  sutliciently  vigorous  to  make  a  fence  in  3, 
4,  or  at  most  5  years,  from  the  seed.  It  may 
be  asserted  with  safety,  that  on  land  of  tole- 
rable fertility,  the  labour  and  expense  of  per- 
fecting a  system  of  hedges  would  not  be  greater 
than  to  keep  ordinary  enclosures  in  good  con- 
dition for  tlie  time  required  to  construct  them. 

"  The  Osage  orange  trees  are  readily  raised 
from  the  seed,  which,  unlike  those  of  the  com- 
mon thorn,  require  no  preparation.  On  the 
contrary,  they  vegetate  with  certainty  in  2  or  3 
weeks  after  planting.  With  tolerable  care  the 
seedlings  will  grow  2  or  3  feet  in  height  the 
first  season  ;  after  which  they  are  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  nursery  rows  to  the  place 
designed  for  the  hedge.  Fifty  of  the  large 
orange-shaped  berries  yield  at  least  a  pound  of 
seed,  or  from  8  to  10,000  grains.  It  is  the  usual 
practice  to  place  the  sets  from  (5  to  9  inches 
apart  in  a  single  row."  {Far mens'  lieguter,\o\. 
0, -p.  Sf).) 

For  modes  of  cultivating  and  managing,  see 
Warder  on  Hedges  ;  also  Patent-Office  Agri- 
cultural Reports  for  18ti4,  p.  415;  and  paper 
by  James  McGrew,  of  Ohio,  p.  418. 

OKANGE  TREE  {Citrus).  The  genus  to 
which  the  orange  tree  belongs  consists  of  or- 
namental species  of  fruit  trees,  growing  from 
3  to  15  feel  high.  The  leaves  are  on  more 
or  less  dilated  and  winged  footstalks;  the 
flowers  are  large,  white,  and  odoriferous,  exist- 
ing at  the  same  time  as  the  fruit,  which  is  too 
well  known  to  require  description.  Orange 
trees  thrive  best  in  a  good  loamy  soil,  mixed 
with  a  quantity  of  rotten  dung.  The  different 
kinds  are  procured  by  budding  or  grafting  on 
common  stocks.  Stocks  for  working  upon  are 
raised  from  any  oranges,  lenaons,  &c.  They 
are  sometimes  raised  from  cuttings,  in  which 
case  they  produce  fruit  when  very  small  plants. 
The  tli)wers  of  the  orange  tree  yield,  by  distil- 
lation, a  fragrant  volatile  oil,  known  by  the 
name  of  oil  of  Neroli.  The  fruit  of  the  bigna- 
roll  or  bitter  orange  makes  one  of  the  best  pre- 
serves which  can  be  eaten,  namely,  Scotch 
marmalade.  The  unripe  fruit  is  used  for  fla- 
vouring the  liquor  called  curajoa.  The  ripe 
fruit  is  wholesome,  and  a  useful  refrigerant  in 
fevers. 

ORANGE,  WILD."  See  Chekht,  Wild. 

ORCHARD  (Gr.).  In  horticulture,  an  en- 
closure devoted  to  the  culture  of  fruit  trees. 
In  England  the  surface  of  the  soil  in  orchards 
13  generally  kept  under  pasture  ;  which,  while 
it  prevents  the  earth  from  being  washed  away 
by  rains,  is  favourable  to  the  running  of  the 
roots  immediately  under  the  surface,  by  which 
they  are  sooner  called  into  action  by  heat  in 
spring,  and  sooner  thrown  into  a  torpid  state 
by  cold  in  autumn.  The  principal  fruits  grown 
in  orchards  of  this  description  in  Great  Britain 
are   the   apple,  the  pear,  the  plum,  and  the 


cherry ;  and  wherever  wheat  can  be  ripened  ia 
the  plains,  these  fruits  will  arrive  at  perfection 
on  declivities  exposed  to  the  south  and  south- 
east. 

ORCHARD-GRASS  (Dadylis  glomerata) 
Called  in  England  cock's-foot.  It  is  an  imper 
feet  perennial,  native  to  the  United  States.  See 
Cock's-Foot,  and  Ghassks. 

ORCHIDACE.^  (On his,  one  of  the  genera). 
A  natural  order  of  herbaceous  endogens,  in- 
habiting all  parts  of  the  world,  excepting  those 
climates  situated  upon  the  verge  of  the  frozen 
zone,  or  remarkable  for  their  exceeding  dry- 
ness. They  are  well  known  for  the  singular 
form  of  their  flowers.  Some  of  them  grow 
in  the  earth,  others  inhabit  rocks  and  the 
branches  of  trees,  and  a  few  appear  to  be  true 
parasites.  They  all  belong  to  the  class  Gy- 
nandria  of  LinnoDus,  are  often  very  agreeably 
scented,  and  sometimes  produce  an  aromatic 
fleshy  fruit,  as  in  the  case  of  the  vanilla,  which 
contains  a  large  quantity  of  benzoic  acid.  The 
nutritious  substance  called  salep  is  prepared 
from  the  amylaceous  tubers  of  the  male  orchis, 
merely  drying  them  in  ovens.  They  become 
semi-pellucid,  and  when  pulverized,  form  a 
mucilage  with  boiling  water.  They  are  usually- 
grown  in  the  frame  or  hothouse,  and  thrive 
best  in  a  mixture  of  loam,  peat,  and  chalk, 
broken  small.  They  can  only  be  increased 
from  seeds.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  to 
describe  the  characters  of  each  species. 

The  species  indigenous  to  England  are — 
I.  Butterfly  orchis  (O.  Infolia).  2.  Pyramidal 
orchis  {O.  pyramidalis).  3.  Green-winged  mea- 
dow orchis  lo.niuris).  4.  Early  purple  orchis 
(O.  mascula).  5.  Dwarf  dark-winged  orchis 
(0.  ustulata).  6.  Great  brown- winged  orchis 
(O,  ftuuu).  7.  Military  orchis  (O.  militaris). 
8.  Monkey  orchis  (O.  tcphrosanios).  9.  Lizard 
orchis  (O.  hircina).  10.  White  cluster-rooted 
orchis  (O.  albiJa).  11.  Frog  orchis  (O.  vindis). 
12.  Marsh  palmate  orchis  (O.  latifolia).  13. 
Spotted  palmate  orchis  (O.  maculata).  14. 
Aromatic  palmate  orchis  (0.  conopsia).  Most 
of  the  native  species  of  orchis  inhabit  mea- 
dows and  pastures,  and  hilly,  chalky  downs. 
The  roots  are  doubly  tuberous,  fleshy ;  leaves 
chiefly  radical ;  flowers  numerous,  spiked, 
purple,  crimson,  or  whitis4i — in  some  highly 
fragrant.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  iv.  pp.  8 — 24). 
OREGON  ALDER  (Mnus  Oregona),  A  spe- 
cies of  the  alder  genus,  which,  like  the  Euro- 
pean alder,  attains  the  height  of  30  or  40  feet. 
(Nuttairs  Supplement  to  Mirhaux.) 

ORGANIC    CHEMISTRY,  is  that  portion 
of  the  science  of  chemistry  which  relates  to 
animal  and  vegetable  substances.    "  The  ob- 
ject of  organic  chemistry,"  says  M.  Liebig,  "is 
to  discover  the  chemical  conditions  which  are 
essential  to  the  life  and  perfect  developemenl 
of  animals  and  vegetables,  and  generally  to  in- 
vestigate all  those  processes  of  organic  nature 
which   are  due  to  the  operation  of  chemica. 
laws."     In  this  article  I  shall  confine  myself 
principally  to  the  results  obtained  by  the  analy 
sis  of  vegetable  and  animal  substances.  Under 
j  the  heads  Atmospheke,  Earths,  Gases,  Tem- 
I  PEHATUHE,  Water,  &c.,  will  be  found  an  ac 
,  count  of  their  respective  uses  to  vegetation 

86.S 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 


There  is  no  branch  of  chemistry  more  diffi- 
cult, and  yet  more  interesting,  than  that  of  or- 
ganic chemistry;  for  in  this  the  chemist  finds, 
added  to  his  ordinary  difficuhies,  and  to  his 
many  sources  of  uncertainty,  the  presence,  and 
very  often  the  controlling  influence,  of  a  living 
principle,  which  in  some  instances  seems  to 
neutralize  and  overcome  even  the  most  power- 
ful chemical  affinities.  "I  would  warn,  there- 
fore, the  reader,"  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Thom- 
son, "not  to  expect  complete  information  in 
this  branch  of  science :  the  wonders  of  the 
vegetable  creation  are  still  but  very  imper- 
fectly explored;  many  of  the  organs  of  plants 
are  too  minute  for  our  senses,  and  scarcely  a 
single  process  can  be  completely  traced.  The 
multiplicity  of  operations  continually  going  on 
in  vegetables  at  the  same  time,  and  the  variety 
of  different  and  even  opposite  substances 
formed  out  of  the  same  ingredients,  and  almost 
at  the  same  time,  astonish  and  confound  us ; 
the  order,  too,  and  the  skill  with  which  every 
thing  is  conducted,  are  no  less  surprising;  no 
two  operations  clash ;  there  is  no  discord,  no 
irregularity,  no  disturbance ;  every  object  is 
gained,  and  every  thing  is  ready  for  its  intend- 
ed purpose.  This  is  too  wonderful  to  escape 
our  observation,  and  of  too  much  importance 
not  to  claim  our  attention.  Many  philosophers, 
accordingly,  distinguished  equally  by  their 
industry  and  sagacity,  have  dedicated  a  great 
part  of  their  lives  to  the  study  of  vegetation. 
But  hitherto  their  success  has  not  been  equal 
to  their  exertions.  No  person  has  been  able  to 
detect  the  formative  agent  in  plants,  nor  even 
the  principle  which  is  always  so  busy  in  per- 
forming such  wonders,  nor  to  discover  him  at 
his  work ;  nor  have  philosophers  been  much 
more  fortunate  in  their  attempts  to  ascertain 
the  instruments  which  he  employs  in  his  opera- 
tions." A  great  variety  of  curious  and  inte- 
resting facts,  however,  have  been  discovered. 
These  I  shall  attempt  to  collect  and  arrange,  to 
point  out  their  dependence  on  each  other,  and 
to  deduce  such  consequences  as  obviously 
result  from  the  discoveries  which  have  been 
hitherto  made. 

The  farmer  will,  upon  reflection,  be  able  to 
call  to  mind  many  circumstances,  showing  the 
influence  of  the  living  principle  upon  the 
chemical  substances  of  organic  matter.  He 
will  remember,  for  instance,  that  the  livivg  suh- 
stance  flourishes  in  the  very  same  position, 
and  under  the  very  same  circumstances,  where, 
when  dead,  it  rapidly  putrefies.  Every  plant 
growing  on  the  soil,  or  on  a  dunghill,  testifies 
to  the  fact.  The  living  plants  which  flourish  in 
the  same  solution  of  a  salt  in  which  they  are 
dissolved,  when  dead,  prove  the  same  thing  in 
another  way;  and  these  proofs  may  be  multi- 
plied v<iry  easily  on  very  slight  reflection.  And 
as  regards  animal  life,  the  very  same  results 
are  obtained ;  the  very  gastric  juice  which  the 
living  stomach  holds  for  an  age,  dissolves  that 
stomach  wnen  dead.  Animals  can  sustain  a 
temperature  considerably  greater  than  that 
where  the  putrefaction  of  animal  substances 
rapidly  proceeds  ;  and  men  even  can  exist  for  a 
ciinsiderable  period  in  an  atmosphere  heated 
considerably  above  the  boiling  point  of  water. 

Fn  this  sketch  of  organic  chemistry,  I  shall 
864 


principally  confine  myself  to  the  vegetable 
branch  of  it,  and  briefly  follow  the  progress  of 
a  plant  through  its  several  stages  of  germina- 
tion, its  growth,  and  its  decay,  leaving  the 
reader  to  refer  to  other  heads  of  this  work  for 
the  information  he  may  need. 

Germination.  That  all  plants  arise  from 
seeds  is  now,  I  believe,  undisputed  by  every 
person,  notwithstanding  the  very  many  puz- 
zling phenomena  which  occasionally  occur; 
such  as  the  profusion  of  some  of  the  grasses, 
occasioned  by  the  application  of  certain  ma- 
nures. Thus,  "by  dressing  certain  soils 
with  bones  and  wood  ashes,  the  white  clover, 
which  contains  this  salt,  appears  in  great  quan- 
tities. Now,  phosphate  of  lime  abounds  in 
bones  and  in  the  ashes  of  wood;  other  plants, 
it  is  probable,  require  the  same  food.  Thus, 
after  the  great  fire  of  London,  says  Mr.  Play- 
fair,  large  quantities  of  the  Erysimum  latifolium 
were  observed  growing  on  the  spots  where  a 
fire  had  taken  place.  On  a  similar  occasion, 
the  Blitum  capilatum  was  seen  at  Copenhagen, 
the  Senecio  viscosus  in  Nassau,  and  the  Spartium 
scoparium  in  Languedoc.  After  the  burnings 
of  forest  pine  in  North  America,  poplars,  ac- 
cording to  Franklin,  grew  on  the  same  soil. 
(Licbig's  Org.  Chem.  p.  152.) 

Seeds,  therefore,  the  farmer  may  rest  as- 
sured, are  essential  to  the  production  of  plants. 
Now,  the  first  movement  of  the  seeds  towards 
the  production  of  plants  is  denominated  their 
germination.  To  this  certain  requisites  are 
essentially  necessary;  such  as  moisture,  mode- 
rate heat,  and  oxygen  gas.  That  all  seeds  re- 
quire a  certain  degree  of  moisture  before  they 
will  vegetate,  is  known  to  every  one:  where 
there  is  no  moisture,  there  can  be  no  germina- 
tion. This,  however,  varies  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  plant.  Some  of  the  mosses,  for 
instance,  will  germinate  on  walls  and  other 
places  where  the  supply  is  very  limited;  others, 
such  as  the  water  plants,  will  only  grow  im- 
mersed in  water.  The  rice  of  Hindostan  is 
grown  in  swamps  abounding  with  water,  which 
would  be  destructive  to  all  the  grain  crops 
of  the  English  farmer.  The  water-meadow 
grasses  of  our  own  coiintry  illustrate  the  same 
position.  The  plant,  too,  has  the  power  of  de- 
composing water,  and  assimilating  its  hydro- 
gen in  the  formation  of  its  own  substances. 
Water  is  composed  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen, 
and  these  substances  are  always  essential  in- 
gredients in  vegetables. 

Heat  is  also  necessary  to  germination:  thus 
few  plants  will  vegetate  below  the  freezing 
point  of  water ;  nevertheless,  this  low  tempera- 
ture does  not  destroy  their  vitality,  for  every 
farmer  is  aware  that  frozen  seeds  will  vege- 
tate after  they  have  been  thawed.  As,  how- 
ever, there  is  a  peculiar  degree  of  moisture  on 
which  every  plant  vegetates  with  the  greatest 
advantage,  so  there  is  a  temperature  pecu- 
liarly  favourable  to  the  growth  of  every  plant. 
'.  The  ivy,  the  elder,  and  the  honey-suckle,  for 
instance,  invariably  produce  their  leaves  long 
before  any  other  English  plant  has  felt  the 
warm  reviving  influence  of  spring. 

And,  again,  if  the  seed  is  not  supplied  with 
oxygen  gas,  the  most  favourable  supplies  of 
moisture  and  heat  will  not  induce  it  to  germi 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 

nate.  Ray  tried  this  in  the  vacuum  of  an  air- 
pump  with  some  lettuce  seed;  they  did  not 
germinate  in  vacuo,  but  they  grew  very  well 
when  the  atmospheric  air  (which  contains  21 
per  cent,  of  this  gas)  was  admitted.  It  is  for 
this  reason  thkt  the  farmer  is  careful  not  to 
bury  his  seed-corn  so  deep  in  the  ground  as  to 
be  out  of  the  influence  of  the  oxygen  of  the 
atmosphere.  Beyond  a  certain  depth,  which 
varies  with  different  plants,  no  seeds,  in  fact, 
will  vegetate.  Seeds  have  been  buried  deep 
in  the  earth  for  centuries,  and  when,  after- 
wards, they  have  been  accidentally  thrown 
upon  the  surface,  have  vegetated.  There  is 
reason  for  believing  that  it  is  not  the  entire  at- 
mospheric air,  but  only  its  oxygen,  which  is 
essential  to  germination.  In  the  experiments 
of  M.  Saussure,  the  quantity  of  oxygen  con- 
sumed by  various  plants  during  their  germina- 
tion varied  very  considerably  in  amount. 
Wheat  and  barley,  weight  for  weight,  con- 
sumed less  oxygen  than  peas ;  and  peas  less 
than  beans  and  kidney-beans-  The  oxygen 
consumed  by  wheat  and  barley  amounts  to  be- 
tween j/rt„th  and  ^V^th  of  their  weight,  while 
that  consumed  by  beans  and  kidney-beans  may 
amount  to  yj^rtth  part  of  their  weight.  The 
oxygen  absorbed  by  the  seed  is  in  all  proba- 
bility combined  with  the  carbon  of  the  plant, 
and  emitted  during  its  germination,  in  the 
state  of  carbonic  acid  gas.  This  gas  is  com- 
posed entirely  of  carbon  and  oxygen,  in  the 
proportion  of  6*12  parts  of  the  former  and  16 
of  the  latter ;  and  the  quantity  of  it  emitted  is 
exactly  equal  in  amount  Id  the  quantity  of  oxy- 
gen absorbed  by  the  seed  that  should  unite 
with  the  carbon  of  the  plant,  to  form  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas,  and  a  certain  quantity  of  carbon 
is  always  lost  by  the  seed  during  vegetation. 

When  once  a  plant  has  vegetated,  its  growth 
proceeds  with  more  or  less  rapidity ;  none  that 
I  am  aware  of  remain  stationary;  indeed,  it 
cannot  remain  stationary,  and  live.  They  in- 
crease in  size,  require  a  supply  of  various  sub- 
stances as  food,  and  the  examination  of  the 
nature  of  this  nutriment  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  valuable  branches  of  organic  chemistry; 
for  under  this  head  are  included  the  assistance 
afforded  to  plants  by  the  gases,  the  earths,  and  by 
water.  In  the  examination  of  the  food  of  plants 
■will  also  be  illustrated  the  important  questions 
of  rotation,  of  fertilizers,  and  of  various  other 
important  questions,  which  in  this  work  will 
be  found  treated  of  under  their  respective 
heads  ;  and  it  will  be  useless  to  repeat  what  I 
have  there  at  some  length  endeavoured  to  illus- 
trate. That  the  atmosphere  yields  its  carbon 
and  its  oxygen ;  the  soil  its  silica,  alumina,  and 
magnesia,  with  various  saline  matters ;  and  that 
water  yields  both  hydrogen  and  oxygen  for  the 
service  of  the  plant,  is  pretty  well  established 
by  many  valuable  experiments  which  I  have 
there  given  :  and  it  is  impossible  to  observe 
the  results  of  the  analysis  of  a  perfect  plant 
without  being  struck  with  the  number  of  its 
ingredients,  and  perceiving  at  once  the  proba- 
ble sources  from  whence  it  drew  its  supply^ 
Take,  for  instance,  the  analysis  by  M.  Cadet 
of  the  solid  matters  or  ashes  of  the  common 
garlic.  From  172  parts  of  these  he  obtain- 
ed of 

109 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 

Farti 

Potash         -..--.  33 

Sulphate  and  muriate  of  potash       •  58' 

Alumina     ------  2" 

Phosphate  of  lime      -       -       -       -  is-g 

Oxide  of  iron      -----  i-j 

Magnesia   ------  9* 

Lime  -------  14* 

Silica-       ------  8- 

1411 


All  these  substances,  there  is  little  doubt, 
were  absorbed  by  the  plant  from  soil  in  which 
it  grew;  but  in  the  fresh  or  unburnt  garlic 
these  are  combined  with  about  eight  times 
their  weight  of  mucilage,  albumen,  sulphur, 
vegetable  fibre,  and  water.  Now  the  three 
first  of  these  must  have  been  formed  during 
the  growth  of  the  plant,  from  either  the  atmo- 
sphere or  from  water :  the  first  (the  atmosphere) 
being  composed  of  oxygen,  nitrogen,  and  car 
bonic  acid;  and  the  latter  (water)  of  hydrogen 
and  oxygen.  Mucilage  was  found  by  M.  Ber 
zelius  to  be  composed  of 

Part*. 
Oxygen  ------      51-306 

Carbon 41-906 

Hydrogen       -----       6-788 

100- 


Albumen  contains,  according  to  the  analysis 
of  MM.  Gay  Lussac  and  Thenard, 

PaHi. 

Carbon   ----.-  52883 

Oxygen 28-879 

Hydrogen 7540 

Nitrogen 15  705 

100- 


The    same   excellent  chemists    have    shown 
woody  fibre  to  be  composed  of 


Oxygen     - 

Carbon 

Hydrogen 


Part*. 
4225 


6-75 
100- 


The  chief  vegetable  matters  of  the  garlic,  there- 
fore, the  student  will  remark  (and  the  same 
conclusion  applies  to  other  vegetables),  are 
composed  entirely  of  two  or  three  principal 
ingredients.  The  composition  of  all  plants  is, 
in  fact,  much  more  similar  than  is  commonly 
supposed.  For  instance,  all  the  vegetable  acids, 
such  as  vinegar  (acetic  acid),  sugar,  gum, 
starch,  woody  fibre,  &c.,  are  composed  of  three 
substances,  viz.,  carbon,  oxygen,  and  hydrogen, 
arranged  in  different  proportions,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  following  table  : 


Acetic  acid  (vinegar) 
Citric  acid  (of  lemons)  - 
Oxalic  acid  (of  wild  sorrel) 
Sugar  -  -  -  - 
Starch  .  -  -  - 
Gum  -  -  -  -  - 
Woody  fibre  of  the  oak  - 
Woodv  fibre  of  the  beech  - 


Carbon.       Oxygen.     Hydrogen. 


50-224 

33-811 

26-566 

42-47 

43-55 

42-23 

52-53 

51-45 


44  147 

59-859 

70-689 

50-63 

49-68 

50-84 

41-78 

42-73 


5-629 
6-330 

2-745 

3-90 

6-77 

6-93 

5-69 

5-82 


The  decomposition  of  vegetable  substances. — All 
dead  vegetable  substances,  when  left  to  them- 
selves, under  favourable  circumstances,  speedi- 
ly decay,  or  decompose,  and  are  resolved  into 
their  constituents.  This  is  commonly  effected 
in  two  ways,  either  by  fermentation  or  by  putro- 
4  D  865 


ORGANIC  CHEMISTRY. 


OSIER. 


faction,  to  thi^,  last  phenomenon  several  requi- 
sites are  necessary ;  moisture  must  be  present, 
and  the  temperature  must  not  be  below  32°  of 
Fahrenheit:  in  fact,  it  proceeds  with  extreme 
slowness  at  a  temperature  below  46°.  It  is  re- 
tarded in  its  progress  by  the  absence  of  the 
atmospheric  air,  but  its  presence  is  not  essen- 
tial :  when  water,  however,  is  entirely  absent, 
putrefaction  cannot  proceed. 

The  disagreeable  odour  which  is  emitted  dur- 
ing putrefaction  is  owing  to  the  gaseous  sub- 
stances which  are  generated.  Those  plants 
which  contain  nitrogen  emit  ammonia :  onions 
produce  phosphuretted  hydrogen.  By  all  of 
them  carbonic  acid  gas  and  carburetted  hydro- 
gen gas  are  emitted  in  considerable  quantities. 
These  gases,  being,  when  presented  to  the  roots 
and  leaves  of  plants,  exceedingly  invigorating, 
are  one  of  the  causes  of  the  increased  luxuri- 
ance of  all  crops  manured  with  green  vegeta- 
ble matters.  When  the  putrefaction  of  the 
vegetable  substance  is  at  an  end,  the  carbon, 
hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  of  which  it  is  composed, 
are  gone,  and  nothing  remains  but  the  earths 
and  salts  with  which  the  purely  vegetable  mat- 
ters were  once  combined  in  the  plant.  The 
ashes  which  are  left  when  putrefaction  ceases, 
are  in  fact  nearly  the  same  as  those  lei^  after 
combustion.     See  Putrefaction. 

Animal  substances. — The  analysis  of  animal 
substances  is  attended  with  all  the  difficulties 
to  which  I  have  alluded  as  attendant  upon  the 
examination  of  vegetable  substances  ;  and  the 
progress  of  chemical  philosophy  has  not  yet 
succeeded  in  demonstrating  ihe  composition  of 
any  great  proportion  of  the  many  substances 
met  with  in  the  animal  world.  The  great  mass 
of  animal  matters  contain  nitrogen,  and  this  is 
the  chief  general  chemical  difference  between 
animal  and  vegetable  substances ;  hence,  when 
animal  substances  putrefy,  ammonia  is  disen- 
gaged, for  this  alkali  is  composed  of  nitrogen 
and  hydrogen. 

The  following  analysis  of  several  animal 
matters  will  show  how  generally  present  is 
nitrogen  in  this  class  of  substances  : — 


Carbon. 

Oxygen. 

Hydrogen. 

Nitrogen. 

Gelatin       (glue. 

isinelass),  &c. 

47-881 

27-207 

7-914 

16-998 

Albumen  (white 

ofegg).  &c.     - 

52-883 

23-872 

7-540 

15-705 

Fibrin    (fibre    in 

clots  of  blood) 

33-360 

19-685 

7-021 

19-934 

Urea    (found   in 

urine)     - 

20- 

26-66 

6-66 

46  66 

These  are  the  chief  animal  substances  of 
which  most  others  are  compounded.  Thus 
Ihe  principal  solid  matter  of  animal  muscle  is 
fibrin.  The  outer  skin  or  cuticle  of  animals  is 
composed  of  from  93  to  95  per  cent,  of  albumen. 
The  solid  matter  of  the  blood  is  chiefly  com- 
posed of  the  same  substance.  Under  the  heads 
Animal  Maxubes,  Fish,  Bones,  Gelatin,  &c., 
ihe  reader  will  find  all  the  animal  chemistry 
bearing  upon  farming  and  rural  affairs,  with 
which  I  am  acquainted.  The  relative  propor- 
tions of  the  inorganic  constituents  of  vegetable 
substances  forms  a  topic  of  great  interest ;  and 
Professor  G.  F.  W.  Johnston's  lectures  upon  the 
subject,  just  published,  will  be  read  with  satis- 
866 


faction.  See  Le^t  IX.,  on  the  Application  of  Che- 
mislry  and  Geologi  to  Agriculture. 

ORNITHOLOGY  (Gr.).  The  science  which 
teaches  the  natural  history  and  arrangement 
of  birds. 

OSIER.  The  name  given  to  various  species 
of  willow  or  salix,  chiefly  employed  in  basket- 
making.  Although  under  the  heads  Sallow  and 
Willow  are  noticed  most  of  the  species  of  this 
genus,  it  may  be  well  to  describe  in  this  place, 
a  few  of  those  which  are  more  generally  known 
under  the  name  osier.  Osiers  differ  from  sal- 
lows in  their  long,  straight,  flexible,  and  mostly 
tough  twigs ;  thin,  generally  sessile  gerrnens, 
and  elongated  styles  and  stigmas.  The  osier 
forms  a  hardy  and  useful  hedge  for  excluding 
boisterous  winds  ;  and  as  it  flourishes  in  wet 
situations  is  frequently  planted  with  a  view  to 
prevent  the  banks  of  rivers  being  washed  away 
by  the  force  of  the  current.  Osiers  are  divided 
into  two  classes  :  the  first  is  known  by  their 
blunt  and  downy  or  mealy  leaves,  which  in  the 
other  are  more  pointed,  smooth,  and  green,  re- 
sembling the  myrtle. 

The  common  osier  (S.viminalis)  is  one  of  the 
most  abundant  species.  This  tree  is  found 
growing  in  wet  meadows,  osier-holts,  the  banks 
of  rivers,  and  other  moist  situations.  The 
branches  are  straight,  erect,  wand-like,  very 
long  and  slender,  round,  polished,  downy  when 
young,  with  fine  silky  hairs.  Leaves  on  short 
foot-stalks,  almost  upright,  about  a  span  long, 
and  half  an  inch  wide.  The  value  of  the  com- 
mon osier  for  various  kinds  of  basket-work  is 
universally  known.  There  is  a  variety  much 
esteemed,  called  the  velvet  osier,  in  which  no 
external  difference  is  discernible,  but  the  twigs 
are  said  to  be  more  pliant.  There  are  also 
various  species  as  well  as  varieties  compre- 
hended under  the  name  of  osiers,  some  of 
which,  having  smooth  leaves,  are  noticed  under 
the  articles  Sallow  and  Willow. 

The  silky-leaved  osier  (S.  Smithiana.)  is  a 
shrub  found  growing  in  meadows  and  osier 
grounds,  the  branches  of  which  are  brittle  and 
unfit  for  basket-work.  It  is  therefore  important 
for  cultivators  of  osiers  to  distinguish  carefully 
between  this  and  the  velvet  osier ;  for  while 
the  latter  is,  for  some  kinds  of  work,  greatly 
esteemed,  the  silky-leaved  osier  proves  of  no 
utility. 

The  auricled  osier  (S.  stipularis')  is  a  com- 
mon species  in  osier-holts,  hedges,  and  woods, 
and  is  easily  known  at  first  sight  by  its  coarse, 
tall  habit,  and  conspicuous  stipules,  but  not 
worthy  of  cultivation  for  any  economical  pur- 
pose. The  twigs  are  upright,  tall,  soft,  and 
downy,  of  a  pale  reddish-brown,  brittle,  and  of 
little  or  no  use  as  an  osier. 

The  fine  basket  osier  {S.  Forbiana)  is  a  shrub 
grown  in  the  meadows  and  osier-holts  of  the 
eastern  part  of  England.  The  stem  is  erect, 
bushy,  with  upright,  slender,  smooth  twigs,  very 
flexible  and  tough,  of  a  grayish-yellow,  not 
purple  hue,  highly  esteemed  and  much  culti- 
vated for  the  finer  kinds  of  basket-work. 

Green-leaved  osier  (S.  rubra).      This  is  a 

small  tree,  with  long,  upright,  smooth,  grayish 

or  purplish,  more  frequently  tawny  branches, 

,  very  tough  and  pliant,  this  being  one  of  the 


OSIER,  GOLDEN. 


OXYGEN  GAS 


most  valuable  osiers  when  cut  down  annually. 
The  very  long  and  narrow  leaves  of  this  rather 
rare  species  agree  in  shape  with  the  common 
osier  {S.  vtminalis),  but  want  its  dense  white 
pubescence. 

In  the  fens  of  the  east  of  England  many  holts 
(as  they  are  provincially  called)  or  plantations 
of  osiers  are  raised,  which  beautify  the  country, 
keep  the  stock  warm  in  the  winter,  and  provide 
much  useful  wood  for  baskets  and  all  kinds  of 
wicker-work.  The  mode  of  planting  is  very 
simple ;  it  is,  first,  to  dig  the  land  from  6  to 
12  inches  deep,  and  then  to  prick  down  cut- 
tings of  4  years'  growth,  and  18  inches  long,  at 
about  3  feet  distance  from  each  other.  The 
soil  may  be  moor  or  clay,  or  any  that  is  low 
and  wet. 

These  holts  or  osier  plantations  must  be 
fenced  round,  either  with  dikes,  which  are 
most  common,  or  with  hedges.  The  proper 
season  for  making  them  (they  seldom  fail  of 
growing  at  any  time),  is  from  the  fall  of  the 
leaf  till  very  late  in  the  spring. 

OSIER,  GOLDEN,  or  YELLOW  WILLOW. 
See  Willow. 

OUZE.    A  deposit  made  by  the  sea. 

OVEN.  A  domestic  furnace  used  for  baking 
bread,  pies,  larts,  &c.  Ovens  are  generally  con- 
strucied  of  brick-work  in  a  semicircular  form, 
with  a  very  low  roof,  and  the  bottom  of  which 
is  laid  with  stone :  in  the  front  is  a  small  aper- 
ture and  door,  by  the  shutting  of  which  the 
heat  is  confined  while  the  bread  is  baking. 
They  are  usually  heated  by  means  of  dry  fag- 
gots, wood,  &c.  As  these  ovens,  however,  are 
not  calculated  for  small  families,  on  account 
of  the  quantity  of  fuel  they  consume,  others 
have  been  contrived,  on  a  more  diminutive 
scale  :  these  are  usually  formed  of  cast  or 
hammered  iron,  and  may  be  heated  by  the 
same  fire  which  serves  for  the  cooking  of  other 
provisions  ;  but  for  baking  bread  these  ovens 
are  inferior  to  the  brick  ovens. 

OVERLAND  FARM.  A  provincial  phrase 
usually  applied  to  a  parcel  of  land  without  any 
building  or  house  attached  to  it. 

OVER-REACH.     See  Clickino- 

OVER-YEARS.  A  country  term  applied  to 
such  bullocks  as  are  not  finished  fattening  at 
three  years  old  when  home-breeds,  or  the  first 
winter  after  buying  in  ;  but  kept  through  the  fol- 
lowing summer  to  be  finished  the  next  winter. 

OVIPOSITOR  (Lat.  ovum,  an  egg;  &r\d pono, 
I  place).  In  entomology,  is  the  instrument  by 
which  an  insect  conducts  its  eggs  to  their  ap- 
propriate nidus,  and  often  bores  a  way  to  it; 
the  same  instrument  is  in  some  genera  used 
as  a  weapon  of  oflf'ence,  whence  it  is  called  the 
•'  aculeus."  In  the  gall  insect,  and  some  others, 
the  ovipositor  is  furnished  at  its  root  with  a  sac 
containing  an  acrid  secretion,  which  is  de- 
posited in  the  wound  made  by  the  ovipositor 
at  the  same  time  as  the  eggs. 

OWLING.  In  law,  so  called  from  its  being 
generally  committed  during  the  night.  An  of- 
fence consisting  in  conveying  sheep  or  wool  to 
the  sea-side,  in  order  to  export  them  clandes- 
tinely. The  offence  was  formerly  capital,  par- 
ticularly if  the  offender  neglecieti  to  surrender 
after  proclamation  made  for  that  purpose. 

OVVLS.    A  ti  ibe  of  reptorial  birds,  including 


those  which  fly  by  night,  and  have  the  eyes 
directed  forwards.  The  owl,  although  fre- 
quently held  in  disrepute,  should  never  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  farmer,  to  whom  he  is  a  great 
friend;  for  his  diet  consists  chiefly  of  field-mice, 
of  which  he  consumes  large  numbers.  The 
owls  are  usually  arranged  into  two  principal 
groups ;  one  in  which  all  the  species  exhibit 
two  tufts  of  feathers  on  the  head,  which  have 
been  called  horns,  ears,  and  egrets ;  in  the 
second  group,  the  heads  are  smooth  and  round, 
without  tufts. 

OX.  Synonymous  with  the  generic  name 
Bos ;  in  a  more  restricted  sense,  it  signifies  the 
castrated  male  of  the  domestic  variety.  See 
Cattle. 

OXALIC  ACID.     See  Acids. 

OXALIS  CRENATA.  A  perennial  orna- 
mental plant,  native  of  Chili,  lately  discovered 
by  Mr.  Douglas.  The  flowers  are  beautiful, 
of  a  yellow  colour,  and  in  umbels  ;  the  stalks 
and  leaves  are  succulent,  of  an  acid  taste,  and 
useful  as  salads ;  the  roots  or  tubers  are  pro- 
duced in  clusters ;  their  taste,  when  boiled, 
somewhat  resembles  a  chestnut.  They  are 
raised  from  the  tubers,  are  extraordinarily  pro- 
ductive, as  easily  cultivated  as  the  potato,  and 
decidedly  superior  in  flavour.  They  require  a 
rich  soil,  and,  like  the  potato,  are  stored  during 
winter  in  cellars.     (Kenrick.) 

OX-BOOSE.  Provincially,  a  stall  or  place 
where  oxen  stand  in  the  winter  to  be  fed  or 
fattened. 

OX-EYE  (Chrysanthemum,  from  chrysos,  gold, 
and  anthemum,  a  flower;  alluding  to  the  colour 
of  some  of  the  flowers).  The  great  white  ox- 
eye  maudlin-wort,  or  moor  daisy  (C  leucanthe- 
mum),  PI.  \0,w,  is  very  common  in  pastures, 
fields,  and  by  way-sides.  The  flavour  of  the 
whole  plant  is  herbaceous,  slightly,  not  ple- 
santly,  aromatic.  Its  properties  are  not  im- 
portant; like  many  other  herbs,  mixed  with 
grasses,  it  makes  a  part  of  the  hay  crop.  The 
root  is  branched,  tough,  and  woody,  with  many 
fibres.  Stem  erect,  simple,  or  branched,  ac- 
cording to  the  soil,  from  one  to  two  feet  high. 
Leaves  deep-green,  clasping  the  stem,  oblong, 
obtuse,  cut,  pinnatifid  at  the  base ;  radical 
ones  obovate,  stalked.  Flowers  large,  terminal, 
solitary,  not  inelegant,  with  a  broad  yellow  disk^ 
and  brilliant  white  radius.     See  Daisy. 

Another  wild  indigenous  species,  the  yellow 
ox-eye  (C.  segetum),  has  already  been  noticed 
under  the  head  Cork  Marigold. 

OX-FEET.  A  term  applied  to  the  feet  of 
horses  when  the  horn  of  the  hind  feet  cleaves 
just  in  the  middle  of  the  fore  part  of  the  hoof, 
from  the  coronet  to  the  shoe :  they  are  not 
common,  but  very  troublesome. 

OX-HARROW.  A  term  applied  to  a  very 
large  sort  of  harrow,  called  in  some  counties  of 
England  a  drag. 

OX-LIP.     See  Cowsijp. 

OXYGEN  GAS.  A  simple  or  undecom- 
pounded  substance,  discovered  in  1774  by  Dr. 
Priestley.  It  constitutes  21  percent,  of  the  at- 
mosphere, and  it  is  that  portion  of  it  which 
supports  animal  life  and  combustion.  It  is 
emitted  by  plants  growing  in  the  light,  and  is 
absorbed  by  them  during  the  night.  It  is  found 
in  combination  with  hydrogen  and  carbon,  and 

867 


OYSTER  SHELLS. 


OYSTER  SHELLS. 


!ess  often  with  nitrogen,  in  all  vegetable  and 
animal  substances.  It  unites  with  various 
bases,  and  forms  alkalies,  acids,  and  metallic 
oxides.  It  is  tasteless,  and  soluble  in  water, 
which  at  a  temperature  of  60°  absorbs  about 
A  of  its  bulk.  One  hundred  cubic  inches  of 
this  gas  weigh  about  34  grains.  See  Gases, 
their  Uses  to  Vegetation. 

I  OYSTER  SHELLS.  As  a  manure,  the  use 
lof  crushed  oyster  shells  has  never  been  so 
{extensive  in  England  as  in  Ireland.  Though 
jConsisting  mainly  of  carbonate  of  lime,  they 
.cojitain  a  very  minute  proportion  of  phos- 
>hate  of  lime,  Ij  to  22  per  cent.,  with  a 
I  mall  proportion  of  magnesia.  They  are  con- 
aequpntly  not  nrarly  so  valuable  as  bones, 
which  contain  the  phosphate  of  lime  in  so 
much  greater  quantity;  and,  unless  pulverized, 
are  not  sufficiently  quick  in  their  effects  to 
encourage  the  farmer  to  use  them  unbro- 
ken.  In  England  they  have  been,  therefore, 
little  employed,  even  in  districts,  such  as  the 
clay  and  sand  formation,  where,  from  the 
absence  of  carbonate  of  lime  in  the  soil,  the 
calcareous  matter  supplied  by  oyster  shells 
would  be  a  very  valuable  addition.  In  Ire- 
land, which  is  almost  entirely  destitute  of 
chalk,  the  use  of  the  broken  oyster  shells 
has  been  more  considerable  than  in  Eng- 
land ;  and  in  Dublin  the  parish  authorities, 
in  hard  seasons,  are  glad  to  set  the  paupers  to 
work  to  collect  and  break  the  shells  which  are 
thrown  away  as  rubbish;  and  I  am  informed 
that  the  money  received  for  the  powdered  shells 
affords  a  very  tolerable  remuneration  for  the 
labour  bestowed  in  their  preparation.  The 
mother-of-pearl  with  which  the  oyster  shells 
are  lined  is  similar  in  composition  to  the  outer 
shell  or -crust.  This  has  been  analyzed  by  M. 
Merat  Guillot,  who  found  in  100  parts  of  mother- 
of-pearl, — 

Parts. 

Carbonate  of  lime  (chalk)  -        -       -       66 
Membrane  ------       34 

100 


Powdered  oyster  shells  should  always,  if 
possible,  be  drilled  in  with  the  seed;  for,  by 
thus  coming  into  close  contact  with  the  plant, 
all  the  volatile  and  earthy  constituents  of  the 
decomposing  shell  are  absorbed  by  its  roots 
and  leaveii  with  the  greater  readiness,  from 
being  placed  more  immediately  in  contact  with 
them.  In  this  way  they  have  been  found  to 
answer  very  well  on  the  light,  sandy  soils  of 
Norfolk,  when  drilled  in  with  the  turnip  seed ; 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  account  of 
Mr.  Blakie,  in  a  letter  to  Sir  John  Sinclair, 
dated  Sept.  18,  1818:— "Oyster  shells  pounded 
or  bruised  (without  having  been  burned)  were 
first  used  upon  Mr.  Coke's  farm  as  a  manure 
m  the  year  1816.  In  the  summer  of  that  year, 
the  experiment  was  tried  upon  a  hungry,  light, 
sandy  soil,  which  had  been  cleaned  for  turnips. 
The  oyster  shell  dust,  or  powder,  was  drilled 
in  the  usual  way,  upon  27-inch  ridges,  at  the 
rate  of  40  l.»;shels  per  acre  (without  any  other 
manure),  was  slightly  covered  with  earth,  and 
the  turnip  seed  sown  upon  it.  Another  part 
of  the  same  field,  quality  of  land  equal,  was 
manured  with  farm-yard  dung,  at  the  rate  of 
8  tons  per  acre,  put  into  the  same  sized  ridges, 
868 


and  sown  with  turnip  seed  as  before  described, 
no  other  manure  having  been  applied.  The 
turnips  proved  a  good  crop  on  both  pieces:  nor 
was  there  any  perceptible  difference  in  the 
bulk,  but  the  produce  was  not  weighed.  The 
turnips  were  all  eaten  upon  the  ground  by 
sheep ;  and  the  succeeding  crop,  barley,  was 
good  on  both,  and  apparently  equal,  but  the 
produce  was  not  thrashed  separate.  The  seeds 
or  layer  crop  of  clover,  in  the  present  season, 
1818,  is  a  good  plant,  and  appears  equally  so. 
In  this  experiment,  so  far  as  it  goes,  it  appears 
that  40  bushels  of  oyster-shell  powder  are  equal 
in  virtue  as  a  manure  to  8  tons  of  farm-yard 
dung,  at  least  for  the  purpose  to  which  it  was 
applied. 

"In  the  autumn  of  1816,  powdered  oyster 
shells  were  tried  as  a  manure  for  wheat,  in 
competition  with  rape-cake  powdered.  The 
experiment  was  upon  a  one  year's  clover  layer; 
the  wheat  sown  after  one  ploughing;  the  soil  a 
kind,  light,  gravelly  loam.  Oyster-shell  pow- 
der, at  the  rate  of  4  cwt.  per  acre,  was  drilled 
with  the  wheat  seed  on  one  part  of  the  field ; 
and  on  another  part,  of  the  same  quality,  rape- 
cake  dust  was  drilled  with  the  wheat  at  the 
same  rate  per  acre  as  the  shell  powder;  no 
other  manure  was  applied  to  either  part.  The 
crop  of  wheat  was  good,  nor  was  there  any 
perceptible  difference  rtpon  the  groimd;  but  the 
produce  was  not  thrashed  separate.  A  similar 
experiment  was  tried  upon  the  same  wheat 
field,  the  manure  applied  at  spring;  the  opera- 
tion 8  "i  follows :  the  wheat  seed  was  sown  without 
any  manure  in  the  autumn  of  1816,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1817  rape-cake  dust,  at  the  rate  of  4 
cwt.  per  acre,  was  drilled  between  the  rows  of 
wheat ;  at  the  same  time  an  equal  weight  of 
shell  powder  was  applied  in  like  manner  to 
another  part  of  the  field.  The  result  of  this 
was  similar  to  the  autumn  experiment,  viz., 
there  did  not  appear  to  be  any  difference  in  the 
crop  produced  upon  the  shell  manure  from 
that  on  the  rape  cake.  The  field  on  which 
these  experiments  were  tried  is  now  in  tur- 
nips, a  good  crop,  and  exhibits  no  difference 
where  the  manure,  as  before  stated,  had  been 
applied  for  the  wheat  crop.  These  experi- 
ments are  satisfactory,  so  far  as  they  go,  but 
certainly  not  conclusive  ;  because  the  produce 
was  in  no  one  instance  either  weighed  or  mea- 
sured. This  I  very  much  regret;  but  it  appears 
to  be  almost  impossible  to  conduct  such  experi- 
ments with  a  requisite  degree  of  accuracy  upon 
a  farm  establishment  of  such  magnitude  as 
that  of  Mr.  Coke  at  this  place.  For,  during  the 
hurry  incident  to  collecting  the  harvest,  the 
farm  manager  has  so  many  important  concerns 
to  attend  to,  that  he  cannot  devote  any  portion 
of  his  time  to  superintending  experimental 
objects;  and  were  he  to  depute  the  manage- 
ment of  such  concerns  to  the  labourers,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  that  they  would  pay  the 
attention  requisite.  The  oyster  shells  are  here 
broken  to  pieces  by  passing  them  through  the 
oil-cake  crusher;  or  are  bruised  by  repeatedly 
drawing  a  heavy  iron  roller  over  them  when 
spread  upon  a  stone  or  hard-burned  brick  or 
edge  floor.  I  give  it  as  an  opinion,  that  oyster 
shell  manure  is  likely  to  answer  for  gardens, 
I  particularly  to  rake  in  with  onions  and  other 


PACANENUT. 


PALMETTO 


small  seed.  I  also  think  it  may  prove  bene- 
ficial as  a  top-dressing  for  grass  plants,  to  de- 
stroy moss,  and  prevent  worms  from  casting. 

Mr.  Livingston,  of  New  York,  says  {Aimals 
ofJgr.  vol.  XX.  p.  87),  "In  April,  1791,1  strewed 
7  bushels  of  ground  oyster  shells  over  half  an 
acre  of  rye,  growing  on  a  very  poor  soil,  and 
3  bushels  of  gypsum  on  another  half-acre  ad- 
joining; sowed  10  lbs.  of  red  clover  seed  over 
both.  The  rye  was  not  better  than  the  rest  of 
the  field;  the  clover  seed  being  bad,  came  up 
but  thinly;  that,  however,  dressed  with  oyster 
shells,  much  better  than  that  manured  with 
gypsum." 

It  is  certain,  therefore,  that  oyster  shells, 
when  powdered  or  crushed,  are  an  excellent 
manure;  and,  in  many  parts  of  England,  where 
they  can  be  obtained  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties, I  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  they 
will  be  found  very  useful  to  the  farmer.  {John- 
son on  the  Fertilisers,  p.  368.) 


P. 


PACANENUT.     See  Hickory. 

PACE.  In  horsemanship,  the  peculiar  man- 
ner of  motion,  or  progression,  in  the  horse  or 
other  animal.  The  natural  paces  of  the  horse 
are,  a  walk,  a  trot,  and  a  gallop,  to  which  some 
add  an  aml>le,  as  some  horses  have  it  natu- 
rall)'.    'See  Canteii,  Gallop,  &c. 

PACK  RAG-DAY.  A  provincial  term  in 
England  signifying  the  day  aAer  Martinmas 
day,  the  time  of  changing  farm  servants. 

PADDLE-STAFF.  An  implement  used  by 
ploughmen  to  free  the  share  from  stubble, 
earth,  &c. 

PADDOCK.  A  small  field  or  enclosure.  It 
also  signifies  a  large  toad. 

PAIL.  A  wooden  bucket  in  which  milk, 
water,  or  other  fluids  are  commonly  carried. 

PAIL-BRUSH.  A  hard  brush,  furnished 
with  bristles  at  the  end,  to  clean  out  the  an- 
gles of  the  vessels  more  fully. 

PALM.  An  ancient  measure  of  length  taken 
from  the  extent  of  the  hand.  The  English 
palm  is  understood  to  be  three  inches. 

PALMATE.  In  botany,  divided  so  as  to 
resemble  a  hand  spread  open. 

PALMA  CHRISTL  See  Castor  Oil  Plant. 
The  cake  left  after  the  expression  of  castor 
oil  is  very  advantageously  applied  to  land  as 
a  manure  for  wheat  and  other  crops.  An  in- 
teresting communication  upon  this  subject  may 
be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Farmer's 
Register,  from  T.  G.  Peachy,  Esq.,  of  Williams- 
burg, Va.,  the  results  of  whose  experiments 
show  the  great  value  of  the  article.  In  one  ex- 
periment he  applied  from  50  to  60  bushels  per 
acre  on  7^  acres  of  land  sown  with  10  bushels 
of  wheat,  and  the  product  was  26  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre.  In  this  case  the  land  was  so 
poor  that  not  over  5  bushels  could  be  expected 
from  it  without  the  dressing.  He  recommends 
about  40  bushels  as  an  ordinary  dressing.  Mr. 
Peachy  does  not  think  the  common  impression 
correct,  that  the  chief  efficacy  of  the  cake  re- 
sides in  the  portion  of  oil  which  it  retains. 
His  pres*,  he  says,  "is  a  very  powerful  one,  and 


leaves  a  very  small  portion  of  oil  in  the  cake. 
There  is,  moreover,  other  refuse  matter  in  suet 
an  establishment  as  ours,  which  contains  a 
vast  deal  more  oil  than  the  cake,  which  I  have 
used  as  manure,  and  been  uniformly  disap- 
pointed in  its  effects.  Accident  has  enabled 
me,  I  think,  to  solve  the  difficulty,  and  to  de- 
clare my  belief  that  the  fertilizing  qualities  of 
the  oil-cake  reside  chiefly  in  the  farina  it  con- 
tains. Some  time  last  year  a  vessel  laden  with 
flour  was  stranded  near  Jamestown,  and  the 
flour  ruined.  Mr.  John  Mann,  who  owns  a 
farm  in  the  neighbourhood,  took  two  or  three 
of  the  barrels  and  top-dressed  a  small  portion 
of  his  wheat  with  it.  I  was  not  an  eye-witness 
of  its  effects ;  but  I  was  informed  it  produced 
as  great  an  increase  of  that  portion  of  his  crop 
as  my  oil  cake  would  have  done. 

"  By  experiment,  I  find  that  50  bushels  of  the 
cake  will  weigh  1800  lbs.;  and  of  this  quantity 
I  have  discovered  that  jl  is  farina  or  flour — 
equal  to  5  barrels  of  flour.  The  cotton  seed,  I 
fancy,  contains  more  farina,  in  proportion  to 
the  oil,  than  the  castor  bean,  and,  I  believe, 
would  produce  as  great  an  effect  after  being 
deprived  of  its  oil,  as  it  would  do  in  its  origi- 
nal state.  I  should  be  much  obliged  to  you  to 
give  us  your  opinion  on  this  subject."  See 
LixsEKD  CakFm  Rape  Cake,  &c. 

PALMETTO  (Chamaops palmetto).  Cabbage 
tree.  This  American  tree  belongs  to  the  ge- 
nus of  the  palms,  and  is  found  farther  north 
than  any  other  species  in  America.  From  its 
lofty  height  it  is  reckoned  in  the  United  States 
as  a  tree.  It  is  first  seen  about  Cape  Hatteras, 
in  the  34th  degree  of  latitude,  from  which  it 
spreads  to  the  extremity  of  the  Florida  penin- 
sula, and  thence  around  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
In  the  extreme  south  the  palmetto  is  not  en- 
tirely confined  to  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
sea.  Its  stem  or  trunk  is  erect,  and  rises  80 
or  90  feet,  embellished  at  top  by  a  globe  of 
plumed  leaves,  each  somewhat  like  a  large 
fan,  and  plicated  in  the  same  manner,  each 
frond,  with  its  stipes  or  stem,  30  feel  in  length  ; 
the  frond,  or  expanded  part  of  the  leaf,  15  feet 
over.  There  are  six  species  of  the  pal^  in 
Carolina  and  Florida,  all  of  which  have  fla- 
belli-formed  leaves  or  fronds. 

It  is  the  central  part  of  this  vast  plant  at  top 
which  stands  erect,  like  a  sharp  cone  or  sugar- 
loaf,  surrounded  by  the  expanding  leaves,  which 
is  eaten  roasted  or  boiled,  like  cabbage ;  and 
consists  of  the  young  frond,  rudiments  of 
fronds,  with  all  the  succeeding  appendages  of 
the  future  growth,  involved  together,  white  and 
tender  as  a  curd,  as  rich,  and  of  the  like  plea- 
sant flavour. 

A  well  grown  palm  stands  perfectly  erect, 
on  a  shaft  or  column  of  60  or  80  feet  high,  its 
base  3  feet  diameter,  having  3  or  4  rings  and 
circular  mouldings,  3  or  4  feet  upwards  ;  from 
thence  upwards  to  the  top  it  diminishes  almost 
imperceptibly,  forming  a  model  of  a  pillar 
for  the  architect,  almost  inimitable.  A  tree 
produces  but  one  cabbage,  and  as  soon  as 
that  is  cut  off,  this  glorious  production  of  na- 
ture perishes.  But,  though  the  tree  dies,  yet 
it  ceases  not  to  be  useful ;  the  exterior  ligne- 
ous part,  of  three-fourths  inch  thickness,  is 
as  hard  as  bone  when  dry,  and  the  interior 
4  D  3  869 


PALMS. 


PAPAW. 


spongy  consistence  being  rotted  out,  or  de- 
voured by  worms,  it  makea  excellent  trunks 
or  conduits  for  draining  off  water,  being  almost 
incorruptible  under  ground.  These  shafts  also, 
split  in  two,  and  set  upright  in  the  ground, 
make  strong  and  durable  palisades ;  and  we 
are  informed  that  they  answered  a  very  good 
purpose  in  South  Carolina,  at  the  time  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  particularly  at  Sullivan's 
Island.  The  ramparts  of  the  fortifications  be- 
ing lined  with  the  trunks  of  the  cabbage  tree, 
split  in  two,  and  set  upright  against  the  wall ; 
their  smooth,  firm,  and  elastic  surface,  together 
with  their  spongy  interior,  united  to  repel  the 
shot  of  their  assailants. 

The  stems  are  also  used  in  Charleston,  S.  C, 
for  the  facing  ol  wharfs,  as  the  salt-water  worm 
never  touches  them.  Pieces  of  the  spongy  part 
of  the  stem  aflTord  a  very  good  substitute  for 
scrubbing-brushes,  and  are  even  preferred  for 
whitening  floors. 

The  leaves  of  the  smaller  species  afford  ex- 
cellent and  durable  thatch  for  covering  barns 
and  out-houses;  and  the  younger  leaves  of  the 
cabbage  tree  are  manufactured  by  the  negroes 
into  beautiful,  light,  and  durable  hats,  called 
Bermudian  hats.  The  repent  caudex  of  the 
saw-palmetto,  being  torn  from  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  cut  into  proper  lengths,  dried,  and 
burned  to  ashes,  produce  the  greatest  quantity 
of  potash  of  any  known  vegetable.  And  the 
drupes,  or  large  berries  of  this  species,  which 
are  of  the  size  and  figure  of  datesi,  and  as 
sweet,  afford  good  and  nourishing  food  to  the 
Indians  and  hunters.  They  are  not  palatable 
to  white  people  till  they  become  accustomed 
to  them. 

PALMS.  A  natural  order  of  arborescent  en- 
dogens,  chiefly  inhabiting  the  tropics;  distin- 
guished by  their  fleshy,  colourless,  six-parted 
flowers,  enclosed  within  spathes  ;  their  minute 
embryo  lying  in  the  midst  of  albumen,  and  re- 
mote from  the  hilum;  and  rigid  plaited  or  pin- 
nate inarticulated  leaves,  sometimes  called 
fronds. 

Palms  is  a  common  name  for  the  male  flow- 
ers of  the  willow. 

PALSY.  In  the  horse  this  nervous  disease 
is  usually  confined  to  the  hinder  limbs.  Old 
carriage-horses,  and  horses  of  draught  of  every 
kind,  although  not  absolutely  paralyzed,  have 
often  great  stiffness  in  their  gait,  and  difficulty 
of  turning.  These  are  evident  injuries  of  the 
spine.  Bleeding,  physicking,  antimonial  me- 
dicines, and  stimulating  embrocations  are  the 
most  likely  means  of  cure  for  palsy.  See 
Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

PAMBINA.  A  species  of  North  American 
bush  cranberry,  discovered  on  the  Columbia 
river. 

PAN.  A  term  applied  to  the  bed  or  flooring 
ivpon  which  the  cultivated  soil  lies  or  is  placed. 
See  MooRBAXi)  Paw. 

PANIC-GRASS  (Panicum).  This  is  a  very 
extensive  genus  of  large,  coarse  grasses,  most- 
ly annual  in  Europe,  of  no  agricultural  use: 
the  inflorescence  spiked  orpanicled;  the  seeds 
in  some  instances  used  for  food.  There  are 
three  indigenous  species:  the  rough,  the  green, 
and  the  loose  panic-grass  (P.  verticiUattim, 
nride,  and  Crm-galli).  Sec  Milibt  Grass. 
870 


PANICLE.  In  botany,  a  form  of  inflores 
cence  in  which  the  primary  axis  developes 
secondary  axes,  which  themselves  produce 
tertiary;  or,  in  other  words,  a  raceme  bearing 
branches  of  flowers,  in  place  of  simple  ones. 

PANNAGE.  An  old  manorial  term  applied 
to  the  food  which  swine  consume  in  woods,  as 
acorns,  and  the  mast  of  beech.  It  also  signi- 
fies the  money  taken  by  the  king's  agistors, 
for  the  privilege  of  feeding  hogs  in  the  king's 
forest. 

PANSY.  A  term  applied  chiefly  to  the  gar- 
den varieties  of  Viola  tricolor,  and  others  which 
are  usually  cultivated  under  the  name  ofheart's- 
ease.     See  Violet. 

PAPAW  (Jlnona  triloba).  An  American 
plant,  which,  though  most  frequently  appear- 
ing in  the  form  of  a  shrub,  sometimes  attains 
the  size  of  a  tree  of  the  third  order.  By  the 
French  of  Upper  Louisiana  the  papaw  is  called 
Jtssiminier.  It  is  not  found  north  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill river,  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia ;  and 
it  appears  to  be  unknown,  or  extremely  rare, 
in  the  low  and  maritime  parts  of  the  Southern 
States.  "It  is  not  uncommon,"  says  Michaux 
"  in  the  bottoms  which  stretch  along  the  rivers 
of  the  Middle  States ;  but  it  is  most  abundant 
in  the  rich  valleys  intersected  by  the  western 
waters,  where,  at  intervals,  it  forms  thickets 
exclusively  occupying  several  acres.  In  Ken- 
tucky, and  in  the  western  part  of  Tennessee, 
it  is  sometimes  seen  also  in  forests  where  the 
soil  is  luxuriantly  fertile;  of  which  its  presence 
is  an  infallible  proof.  In  these  forests  it  attains 
the  height  of  30  feet,  and  the  diameter  of  6  or 
8  inches,  though  it  generally  stops  short  of 
half  this  elevation. 

"  The  leaves  are  borne  on  short  petioles,  and 
are  alternate,  5  or  6  inches  in  length,  and  of  an 
elongated  form,  widening  from  the  base  to  the 
summit.  They  are  of  a  fine  texture,  and  the 
superior  surface  is  smooth  and  brilliant.  The 
flowers,  which  are  attached  by  short  peduncles, 
are  pendent,  and  of  a  purple  hue. 

"  When  the  fruit  is  ripe,  which  takes  place 
towards  the  beginning  of  August,  it  is  about  3 
inches  long,  and  1^  inches  thick,  of  a  yellow- 
ish colour,  and  of  an  Oval  form,  irregular  and 
swelling  into  inequalities.  Its  pulp  is  soft,  and 
of  an  insipid  taste,  and  it  contains  several 
large,  triangular  stones.  It  is  never  brought 
into  the  markets,  and  is  sought  in  the  woods 
only  by  children.  At  Pittsburgh  some  persons 
have  succeeded  in  making  from  it  a  spiritu- 
ous liquor;  but,  notwithstanding  this  experi- 
ment, very  feeble  hopes  can  be  entertained  of 
cultivating  the  tree  with  profit  for  this  pur- 
pose. 

"  The  trunk  of  the  papaw  is  covered  with  a 
silver-gray  bark,  which  is  smooth,  and  even 
polished.  The  wood  is  spongy,  extremely  soft, 
destitute  of  strength,  and  applicable  to  no  use 
in  the  mechanical  arts.  I  have  noticed  that 
the  cellular  integument  of  the  bark,  and  par- 
ticularly that  of  the  roots,  exhales  in  summer 
a  nauseous  odour,  so  strong  as  to  occasion 
sickness  if  it  is  long  respired  in  confined  air. 
(Mirhaux's  Am.  Sylva.) 

The  papaw  belongs  to  the  custard-apple  genus, 
which  in  the  tropics  produces  several  kinds  of 
fruit  highly  esteemed.     Among  these  is  the 


PAPILIONACEOUS  PLANTS. 


PARING  AND  BURNING. 


celebrated  Cherimoyer  {Ationa  cherimolia)  found 
in  perfection  in  Mexico,  Peru,  and  Brazil;  the 
Mligator  pear  {A.  palustris),  the  Sweet  sop  (A. 
squamosa),  all  esteemed  West  India  fruits,  about 
as  lar^e  as  a  middle-sized  apple,  and  filled 
with  a  soft,  rich,  delicious  pulp. 

PAPILIONACEOUS  PLANTS  include 
many  of  the  most  common  and  valuable  plants 
supplying  food  to  man  and  animals,  such  as 
pulse,  beans,  peas,  tares,  sainfoin,  &c.  The 
papilionacae  take  the  name  from  the  resem- 
blance borne  by  their  flowers  to  the  butterfly, 
as  is  seen  in  the  blossom  of  the  common  pea. 
The  fruit  forms  a. pod  called  a  legume,  and 
such  plants  are  hence  named  legtiminous. 

PARASITICAL  PLANTS  are  those  which 
grow  into  the  tissue  of  other  species,  and  feed 
upon  their  juices.  Of  this  kind  are  the  mis- 
seltoe,  the  broom-rape  (Orobanche),the  Lathreea, 
&c.  Such  species  have  no  proper  roots.  The 
term  parasitical  is,  however,  often  applied  to 
mosses,  Orchidaceous  plants,  Tillandsias  and 
the  like,  which  are  mostly  epiphytes,  growing 
upon  the  bark  of  trees,  but  deriving  their  food 
from  the  air,  by  means  of  their  own  roots. 

PARING  AND  BURNING.  This  well- 
known  operation  of  agriculture,  once  much 
more  extensively  practised  in  England  than  at 
present,  consists  in  paring  off  the  turf  to  a 
depth  of  two  or  three  inches,  generally  with 
a  breast-plough  worked  by  a  labourer,  or  by  a 
turf-paring  plough  drawn  by  a  horse  ;  allowing 
it  to  dry,  and  then  burning  it  in  heaps.  It  is 
commonly  best  performed  in  the  months  of 
April  and  May.  It  is  a  practice  now  rarely 
adopted  on  sandy  or  calcareous  soils,  although 
productive  of  good  results  on  peat,  and  some 
kind  of  clay  soil ;  but  even  there  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  it  is  the  best  mode  of  treat- 
ing the  land. 

The  practice  is  certainly  as  old  as  the  days 
of  Virgil,  who  mentions  it  in  the  first  book  of 
the  Georgics.  Endless  have  been  the  theories 
brought  forward  to  account  for  its  operation. 
Dr.  Home  thought  it  dispelled  "a  sour  juice" 
from  the  land.  {Prin.  of  Agr.)  Dr.  Darwin 
considered  it  produced  "a  nitrous  salt"  in  the 
ashes,  "  Many  such  obscure  causes,"  says 
Davy,  "  have  been  referred  to  for  the  purpose 
of  explaining  the  effects  of  paring  and  burning, 
but  I  believe  they  may  be  referred  entirely  to 
the  diminution  of  the  coherence  and  tenacity 
of  clays,  and  to  the  destruction  of  inert  and 
useless  vegetable  matter,  and  its  conversion 
into  a  manure.  All  soils  that  contain  loo 
much  dead  vegetable  fibre,  and  which  conse- 
quently lose  from  one-third  to  one-half  of  their 
weight  by  incineration,  and  all  such  as  contain 
their  earthy  constituents  in  an  impalpable  state 
of  division,  such  as  the  stiff  clays  and  marls, 
are  improved  by  burning;  but  in  coarse  sands, 
or  rich  soils,  containing  a  great  mixture  of  the 
earths,  and  in  all  cases  in  which  the  texture  is 
already  sufficiently  loose,  or  the  organizable 
matter  sufficiently  soluble,  the  process  of  torri- 
faction  cannot  be  useful.  All  pure  silicious 
sands,"  adds  Davy,  "must  be  injured  by  it;" 
and  here  practice  is  found  to  accord  with 
theory.  Arthur  Young  found  "burning  injured 
sand;"  and  ao  intelVigenl  farmer  in  Mount's 


Bay  told  me  that  at  had  pared  and  burned  a 
small  field,  several  years  ago,  which  he  had 
not  been  able  to  bring  again  into  good  con- 
dition. I  examined  the  spot;  the  grass  was 
very  poor  and  scanty,  and  the  soil  a  silicious 
sand. 

The  process  of  paring  and  burning,  therefore, 
seems  to  be  most  adapted  for  peaty  or  clay 
lands ;  for,  as  Davy  continues,  "  the  process 
of  burning  renders  the  soil  less  compact,  less 
tenacious  and  retentive  of  moisture ;  and  when 
properly  applied,  may  convert  a  matter  that 
was  stiff,  damp,  and  in  consequence  cold,  into 
one  powdery,  dry,  and  warm,  and  much  more 
proper  as  a  bed  for  vegetable  life." 

Davy  examined  three  specimens  of  the  ashes 
from  different  lands  that  had  undergone  paring 
and  burning.  (See  Ashks,  a7ite,  p.  115.)  "The 
great  objection,"  he  adds,  "  to  this  operation  is 
that  it  destroys  vegetable  and  animal  matter,  or 
the  manure  in  the  soil :  but  in  cases  in  which 
the  texture  of  its  earthy  ingredients  is  perma- 
nently improved,  there  is  more  than  a  compen- 
sation for  this  temporary  disadvantage.  And 
in  some  soils  where  there  is  an  excess  of  inert 
vegetable  matter,  the  destruction  of  it  must  be 
beneficial ;  and  the  carbonaceous  matter  re- 
maining in  the  ashes  may  be  more  useful  to 
the  crop  than  the  vegetable  fibre  from  which  it 
was  produced."     (Agr.  Chem.  p.  844.) 

Liebig  thinks  that  all  the  benefit  of  burning 
the  soil  is  attributable  to  its  thus  obtaining  in- 
creased powers  for  the  absorption  of  ammonia^ 
He  says,  "Soils  which  contain  oxides  of  iron, 
and  burned  clay,  must  absorb  ammonia,  which 
is  favoured  by  their  porous  condition  ;  they 
further  prevent  the  escape  of  the  ammonia 
once  absorbed  by  their  chemical  properties. 
The  ammonia  absorbed  by  the  clay,  or  ferru- 
ginous oxides,  is  separated  by  every  shower  of 
rain,  and  conveyed  in  solution  to  the  soil. 
Powdered  charcoal  possesses  a  similar  action, 
but  surpasses  all  other  substances  in  the  power 
which  it  possesses  of  condensing  ammonia 
within  its  pores,  particularly  when  it  has  been 
previously  heated  to  redness.  Charcoal  absorbs 
ninety  times  its  volume  of  ammoniaM,l  gas, 
which  maybe  again  separated  by  simply  mois- 
tening it  with  water."     {Organic  Chem.) 

And  it  is  evident,  from  the  experiments 
which  Liebig  gives,  that  charcoal  powder  is  a 
very  fertilizing  application  to  some  plants. 
The  practice,  however,  of  paring  and  burning 
is  evidently  one  whose  advantages  the  farmer 
and  the  chemist  admit  with  reluctance.  And 
it  is  very  probable,  that  by  other  means,  such 
as  the  use  of  lime,  &c.,  most  soils  may  be 
cultivated  with  more  advantage  to  the  farmer 
by  the  avoidance  of  this  expensive  and  de- 
structive process.  "  My  practice,"  remarks 
Mr.  Pearson,  "in  the  use  of  turf  for  various 
purposes,  convinces  me  that  all  lands  must  be 
injured  by  paring  and  burning,  save  those 
lands,  which  are  few  and  far  between,  that 
possess  too  much  inert  vegetable  matter ;  or, 
in  other  words,  lands  that  grow  their  crops  to 
such  a  state  of  luxuriance,  as  to  prevent  the 
desired  intent  of  the  cultivator.  Those  lands 
which  po.ssess  too  much  inert  vegetable  matter 
might  also  be  improved  by  having  part  of  th*»ir 

871 


PARK. 


PARSNIP. 


suhsoils  burned  ;  but  not  by  turning  the  turf 
even  here,  for  that  is  the  only  thing  that  can 
bs  commended  on  the  spot  that  will  cause  fer- 
mentation in  the  soil  when  it  is  ploughed  in." 
See  Pkat  Soils. 

PARK.  A  considerable  extent  of  pasture  and 
woodland,  surrounded  or  adjoining  the  country 
residence  of  a  man  of  wealth,  devoted  to  pur- 
poses of  recreation  or  enjoyment,  but  chiefly 
to  the  support  of  a  herd  of  deer,  though  some- 
times to  cattle  and  sheep.  Parks  were  origi- 
nally nothing  more  than  portions  of  forest 
scenery  appropriated  by  the  lord  of  the  soil  for 
the  exclusive  use  of  animals  of  the  chase;  but 
this  is  now  become,  in  many  cases,  a  seconda- 
ry consideration,  and  the  chief  uses  of  a  park 
are  as  indications  of  wealth  and  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, and  as  grazing  ground  for  domesticated 
animals. 

PARSLEY,  CULTIVATED  (Jpium  petrosi- 
Unum).  There  are  two  varieties  of  this  well- 
known  plant,  the  common  plain-leaved,  and 
the  curly-leaved.  It  is  somewhat  singular  that 
the  first  should  be  most  cultivated,  notwith- 
standing the  superior  beauty  of  the  latter,  as 
well  as  by  reason  of  its  curled  leaves  rendering 
it  more  easily  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
JEthusa,  or  fool's  parsley,  a  variety  of  the  hem- 
lock, often  occurring  in  gardens :  it  requires 
much  care  in  saving  the  seed,  otherwise  it 
degenerates  into  the  plain-leaved.  Parsley 
is  raised  from  seed,  which  is  recommended 
usually  to  be  sown  annually  ;  but  if  never  per- 
mitted to  run  to  seed,  and  the  stalks  are  cut 
down  as  often  as  they  rise,  it  will  last  for 
several  years.  It  may  be  sown  from  the  close 
of  February  until  the  middle  of  June,  and  this 
is  repeated  about  the  middle  of  September,  for 
the  supply  of  winter  and  spring;  but  this  is 
unnecessary  if  the  plants  are  not  allowed  to 
seed.  The  seed  is  to  be  inserted  moderately 
thick,  in  narrow  drills  barely  an  inch  deep,  12 
inches  apart  if  in  a  bed  by  itself,  or  in  a  single 
one  round  the  edge  of  a  bed ;  the  mould  being 
raked  level,  and  the  stones  immediately  over 
them  gathered  off.  The  plants  will  not  make 
their  appearance  in  less  than  three  or  four, 
and  S(Wietimes  six,  weeks.  When  two  or  three 
inches  high,  it  may  be  gathered  from  as  re- 
quired. In  early  June,  when  the  plants  make 
a  show  for  seed,  the  stems  should  be  cut  down 
close  to  the  bottom,  and  again  in  September,  if 
it  has  acquired  a  straggling,  rank  growth  ;  this 
will  cause  it  to  shoot  afresh,  and  acquire  a 
strong  growth  before  the  arrival  of  severe 
weather.  On  the  approach  of  frost,  if  protec- 
tion is  afforded  to  the  plants  by  means  of  haulm 
ov  reed  pannels,  so  supported  as  not  to  touch 
them,  it  will  preserve  them  in  a  much  better 
state  for  use  in  winter  and  spring.  To  save 
seed,  nothing  more  is  necessary  than  to  allow 
some  of  the  plants  to  run  up  in  June ;  they 
should  not,  however,  be  allowed  to  stand  nearer 
than  18  inches  to  each  other.  The  seed  ripens 
in  earl}  autumn,  and,  when  perfectly  dry,  may 
be  beaten  out,  and  stored. 

PARSLEY,  THE  COW.  For  rough  cow- 
parsley,  see  Cicely.  Smooth  cow-parsley,  see 
Chervil. 

PARSLEY,  THE  FOOL'S.     See  Fool's 
Pabslet. 
872 


PARSLEY,  THE   HEDGE.      See  Hkdob- 
Parsley. 

PARSLEY,  HAMBURGH  (Jpium  lalifolium). 
This  esculent  is  likewise  known  by  the  name 
broad-leaved  and  large-rooted  parsley.  It  is 
cultivated  for  its  root,  which  attains  the  size  of 
a  middling  parsnip,  boiling  exceedingly  tender 
and  palatable.  It  is  eaten  both  as  a  sauce  to 
flesh-meat  and  in  soups,  &c.  It  is  propagated 
by  seed,  which  may  be  sown  at  monthly  inter- 
vals from  February  until  the  middle  of  June, 
It  is  sown  either  thinly  in  drills,  9  inches 
apart,  or  broadcast  and  raked  in.  The  plants 
appear  in  about  a  month  after  sowing,  and 
when  of  tolerable  growth  require  to  be  thinned 
to  9  inches  asunder,  and  cleared  from  weeds 
either  by  hand  or  the  hoe ;  which  latter  opera- 
tion being  performed  as  often  as  weeds  appear, 
is  the  only  cultivation  required.  By  the  end  of 
July  or  during  August,  the  earliest  sowings 
will  have  acquired  a  sufficient  size  for  occa- 
sional use ;  but  they  seldom  attain  their  full 
growth  until  Michaelmas  ;  and  the  latest  crops 
not  until  the  following  year.  On  the  arrival 
of  frost  some  of  them  must  be  taken  up,  and 
after  the  removal  of  the  superfluous  fibres,  de- 
cayed leaves,  &c.,  buried  in  sand,  in  a  dry 
situation,  under  cover. 

To  obtain  seed,  some  plants  must  be  left 
where  grown,  and  allowed  to  run  in  May; 
their  produce  will  ripen  in  July  or  August, 
when  it  must  be  cut,  and,  when  perfectly  dry, 
beaten  out  and  stored. 

PARSLEY-PIERT.     See  Ladies'  Mantle. 

PARSLEY,  SMALLAGE,  or  WILD  CE- 
LERY (Jpium  graveolens).  This  wild  plant,  the 
seeds  and  herbage  of  which  in  its  native  ditches 
are  acrid  and  dangerous,  with  a  peculiar  strong 
taste  and  smell,  by  culture  becomes  the  mild  and 
grateful  garden  celery,  for  which  and  its  name 
we  are  indebted  to  the  Italians,  and  which  has 
now  supplanted  our  native  Alexanders.  It  is 
biennial,  and  flowers  in  August  and  September. 
The  root  is  tap-shaped,  and  the  herbage  smooth 
and  shining.  The  plant  grows  in  ditches  and 
marshy  ground,  especially  towards  the  sea. 
The  stems  are  widely  spreading  or  floating, 
long,  branched,  furrowed.  Leaves  bright-green, 
pinnate,  or  ternate  ;  leaflets  wedge-shaped,  en- 
tire at  their  base,  but  variously  notched  above. 
Flowers  in  terminal  and  lateral  umbels,  small, 
numerous,  greenish-white.  Fruit  almost  glo- 
bular, with  permanent,  wide-spreading,  straight 
styles. 

PARSNIP  (Paslinaca,  from  pastinum,  a  dib- 
ble, in  allusion  to  the  form  of  the  root).  The  com 
I  mon  wild  parsnip  (P.sativa)  is  the  well-known 
'culinary  root;  the  other  species  are  unworthy 
I  of  cultivation.  The  original  is  a  biennial  plant, 
i  and  found  in  England  growing  wild  about  the 
borders  of  fields,  on  hillocks,  and  dry  banks,  in 
a  chalky  soil,  the  root  being  spindle-shaped, 
j  white,  aromatic,  mucilaginous,  and  sweet,  with 
j  a  degree  of  acrimony,  which  it  loses  by  culti- 
i  vation.  The  stem  reaches  to  a  yard  high, 
I  erect,  branched,  deeply  furrowed.  Leaves  ob- 
I  long,  simply  pinnate,  downy  beneath  ;  leaflets 
;  serrated  and  cut,  bright-green.  Umbels  termi- 
i  nal,  erect,  of  several  unequal,  angular,  downy 
j  rays.  Flowers  small,  yellow,  appearing  in 
1  July.   Fruit  large,  pale-brown  when  quite  ripe 


PARSNIP. 


PASSION-FLOWER. 


The  Field  Culture  of  tfie  Parsnip. — Colonel  Le 
Couieur  describes  this  valuable  field  crop  as 
thiiviriid;  in  any  deep  land,  whether  stiff  or  light. 
It  succeeds  in  the  island  of  Jersey  admirably 
on  soil  renting  on  granite  or  sienite,  or  argilla- 
ceous schistus,  on  red  clay,  or  on  a  gravelly 
bottom;  on  almost  pure  sand,  if  mixed  with  a 
light  coating  of  earth,  and  on  soils  derived 
from  pudding-stones,  or  white  and  red  felspar. 
This  includes  most  of  the  British  islands,  ex- 
clusive of  the  chalky  or  limestone  ranges. 
Some  persons  cultivate  it  on  poor  black  heath 
soil,  not  above  7  or  8  inches  deep,  and  by 
Cleans  of  heavy  dressings  of  manure  raise  a 
good  crop;  but  the  parsnip  in  such  situations 
forms  a  large  shoulder,  and  forks  away  into 
fingers  when  near  the  hard  subsoil,  whereas,  in 
very  deep  land,  it  Will  ma  down  a  foot  or  two 
of  a  good  size. 

An  old  grass  lay  is  broken  up  by  some  per- 
sons in  September,  by  others  just  before  the 
parsnip  seed  is  sown;  the  former  I  consider  to  be 
the  best  mode.  When  the  turf  is  well  rolled,  iO 
tons  per  acre  of  stable  manure  are  spread  over 
the  land.  A  trench  is  then  opened  through 
the  centre  of  the  field  between  2  and  3  feet 
wide,  and  where  the  soil  will  admit  of  it,  from 
1  foot  to  18  inches  deep.  A  small  two-horse 
plough  then  turns  the  manure  and  about  3 
inches  of  soil  into  the  trench,  and  is  imme- 
diately followed  by  a  large  trench  plough,  with 
3  or  4,  and,  in  many  cases,  with  8  or  10  horses, 
which  turns  a  foot  or  more  of  clean  soil  upon 
the  manure  and  scurf  when  the  land  has  been 
recently  skim-ploughed.  The  soil  is  then  har- 
rowed, and  the  parsnip  seed,  which  should  be 
new,  is  sown  at  the  rate  of  3  or  4  pounds  to  the 
a,cre.  The  plants,  when  they  are  an  inch  high, 
are  weeded,  and  are  thinned  out  to  6  inches 
apart,  and,  according  to  the  soil,  should  be 
again  thinned  out  to  9  inches  or  more  at  the 
second  hoeing.  In  September,  when  the  fine 
aftermath  begins  to  appear,  some  of  this  crop 
may  be  taken  up  for  milch  cows;  as  from  12 
to  25  pounds  of  them  given  at  railking-time 
will  have  a  surprising  effect  on  the  cream,  and 
produce  fine  yellow  butter,  which  will  keep  ad- 
mirably, if  properly  salted  and  prepared,  pre- 
serving an  excellent  and  superior  flavour. 

They  are  taken  up  with  a  fork,  or  ploughed 
up  in  October  or  November.  The  average  pro- 
duce, per  statute  acre,  is  9  to  11  tons.  The  dry 
leaves  of  the  parsnip  are  given  to  cows.  The 
parsnip  will  fatten  pigs  (or  poultry  if  boiled)  in 
an  extraordinary  manner,  and  it  is  certainly 
one  of  the  best  preparatory  crops  for  wheat.  It 
will  keep  in  store  until  April,  and  it  is  advi- 
sable to  remove  the  leaves  before  the  roots  are 
stored.  The  parsnip  being  a  very  hardy  vege- 
table, the  frost  does  not  injure  the  seed  or  the 
young  p.ant;  and,  if  thought  desirable,  the 
former  may  be  sown  as  soon  as  they  are  ripe 
in  autumn.  There  are  only  1  or  2  varieties 
of  parsnips,  of  which  the  common  species  is 
the  be.>t  for  field  culture.  1000  parts  of  the 
parsnip  yielded  Davy  90  parts  of  saccharine 
matter,  and  9  parts  of  mucilage. 

Garden  Culture. — The  soil  in  which  the  par- 
snip succeeds  best  is  a  rich,  dry,  sandy  loam, 
and  the  deeper  the  belter.  The  most  inimical 
to  It  are  gravel  or  clay.  It  is  always  beneficial 
110 


to  trench  the  ground  2  spades  deep,  a  little  ma- 
nure being  turned  in  with  the  bottom  spit.  If 
the  soil  is  suitable  to  them,  they  are  not  much 
benefited  by  the  general  application  of  manure 
at  the  time  of  sowing,  but  often  injured  in  con- 
sequence of  numerous  fibres  being  induced. 
Dr.  Macculloch  says,  that  in  the  island  of 
Guernsey,  which  has  long  been  celebrated  for 
the  fineness  of  its  parsnips,  sea-weed  is  the 
manure  chiefly  employed.  Of  excrementitious 
manure,  that  of  pigeons  is  the  best.  Decayed 
leaves  are  also  very  favourable  to  its  growth. 
The  situation  cannot  be  too  open. 

It  is  propagated  by  seed.  The  usual  time 
for  sowing  is  from  the  end  of  February  to  the 
beginning  of  April,  but  the  earlier  the  better. 
It  has  been  recommended  in  field  cultivation 
to  sow  them  in  September ;  in  the  garden,  when 
sown  at  this  season,  they  also  obtain  a  finer 
flavour,  but  many  of  them  in  general  run  to 
seed.  In  the  isle  of  Guernsey  they  regulate 
their  time  of  sowing  according  to  the  soil;  in 
the  most  favourable  soils  they  sow  in  January; 
or  if  the  soil  is  wet  or  stiff,  they  do  not  insert 
the  seed  until  the  latter  end  of  March. 

The  seed  is  sown  broadcast,  rather  thin,  and 
well  raked  in.  The  compartment  being  laid 
out  in  beds,  not  more  than  4  feet  wide,  for  the 
convenience  of  weeding,  &c.  When  the  seed- 
lings are  2  or  3  inches  high,  they  are  carefully 
thinned  to  10  inches  apart,  and  the  weeds  re- 
moved both  by  hand  and  small-hoeing.  The 
beds  require  to  be  frequently  looked  over  to 
remove  all  seedlings  that  may  spring  up  afresh, 
as  well  as  to  be  frequently  hoed,  until  the 
plants  so  cover  the  ground  as  to  render  it  im- 
practicable. The  roots  may  be  taken  up  as 
wanted,  in  September,  but  they  do  not  attain 
maturity  till  October,  and  which  is  intimated 
by  the  decay  of  the  leaves.  In  November,  part 
of  the  crop  may  be  taken  up,  and  the  tops  be- 
ing cut  close  off,  laid  in  alternate  layers,  with 
sand,  for  use  in  frosty  weather.  The  remainder 
may  be  left  in  the  ground,  and  taken  up  as  re- 
quired, as  they  are  never  injured  by  the  most 
intense  frost,  but,  on  the  contrary,  rendered 
sweeter.  In  February  or  March,  however,  any 
remaining  must  be  extracted,  otherwise  they 
will  vegetate.  Being  preserved  in  sand,  they 
continue  good  until  the  end  of  April  or  May. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  some  of  the 
finest  roots  are  best  allowed  to  remain  where 
grown;  or  else,  being  raised  in  February, 
planted  in  a  situation  open,  but  sheltered  from 
violent  winds.  Seed  should  never  be  employ- 
ed that  is  more  than  a  twelvemonth  old,  as  it 
has  generally  lost  its  vegetative  power  when 
of  a  greater  age. 

PARSNIP,  THE  COW.    See  Cow-Parsitip. 

PARSNIP,  THE  SEA,  or  PRICKLY  SAM 
PHIRE. 

PARSNIP,  THE  WATER.  See  Water- 
Parsnip. 

PARTERRE  (Fr.).  In  gardening,  a  system 
ol  beds  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  in  which 
flowers  are  cultivated,  with  intervening  spaces 
of  gravel  or  turf  for  walking  on. 

PARTURITION.  See  Abortion,  Calving 
OF  Cows,  Gestation,  Pregnancy,  &c. 

PASSION-FLOWER  (Passiflora,  from  pas- 
sto,  passion;  and /os,  a  flower;  in  allusion  to 

873 


PAS  PERN  OF  A  HORSE. 


PEA,  THE. 


fhe  filamentous  appendages  or  rays  bearing  a 
resemblance  to  the  cross;  the  emblem  of  the 
passion  of  Christ).  The  species  of  this  inte- 
resting and  elegant  genus  are  admirably  adapt- 
ed for  stove  and  green-house  climbers,  being 
of  easy  culture,  free  growers,  and,  if  allowed 
plenty  of  room,  producing  abundance  of  beau- 
tiful flowers.  Many  of  the  kinds  produce  fruit 
freely,  from  which,  through  impregnation, 
several  fine  hybrids  have  been  raised.  The 
fruit  of  some,  as  P.  edulis,  P.  laurifoluu,  and  P. 
quadrunirnlnris,  or  granadilln,  are  eaten :  the 
succulent  pulp  which  surrounds  the  seeds  is 
found  to  be  fragrant,  cooling,  and  pleasant, 
agreeably  acid,  and  admirably  adapted  for 
allaying  thirst  in  hot  climates. 

All  the  species  will  thrive  well  in  a  mixture 
of  loam  and  peat,  and  are  easily  increased  by 
cuttings  planted  in  sand.  The  hardy  kinds 
should  be  planted  in  sheltered  situations. 

PASTERN  OF  A  HORSE.  The  distance 
that  intervenes  between  the  joint  of  that  name 
and  the  coronet  of  the  hoof. 

PASTURE  (Fr.).  Ground  on  which  cattle 
feed.  I  have,  under  the  head  Grass,  gone  at 
some  length  into  the  question  of  the  grasses 
best  adapted  for  different  soils.  The  pastures 
of  England  and  Ireland  exceed  in  extend  and 
productiveness  those  of  any  other  country  of 
similar  extent.  "The  excellence  of  pastures," 
observes  the  author  of  The  British  Husbandry, 
vol.  i.  p.  478,  "depends  greatly  both  upon  their 
position  and  the  different  species  of  animals 
for  whose  support  they  are  intended.  Thus, 
uplands  which  are  elevated,  open,  and  dry,  are 
the  best  adapted  for  the  feeding  of  sheep; 
while  a  heavy  stock  is  fed  with  more  advan- 
tage upon  ground  which  is  lower  in  point  of 
situation,  as  well  as  better  enclosed.  The  soil 
of  uplands,  particularly  if  it  be  of  a  chalky  na- 
ture, bears  a  sweet,  though  a  short  bite  of  grass, 
which  is  so  favourable  to  the  pasturage  of  the 
smaller  breeds  of  sheep,  that  although  it  will 
support  but  a  scanty  stock,  it  yet  produces  the 
finest  species  of  mutton.  These  flocks  of  sheep, 
too,  by  the  folding  system,  keep  in  cultivation 
many  a  poor,  thin  soil,  which  would  otherwise 
be  worthless.  There  is  an  excellent  paper,  by 
Mr.  Magillivray,  on  the  natural  pastures  of 
Scotland,  in  which  he  traces  the  natural 
grasses  which  are  f(jund  on  the  highest  ele- 
vations down  to  the  valleys  and  sea-shore. 
"The  bleak  summits  of  these  mountains,"  he 
remarks,  "  exposed  to  the  depressing  influence 
of  a  low  temperature,  boisterous  winds,  and 
abundant  rains,  covered  for  a  great  part  of  the 
year  with  snow,  and  presenting  either  bare  rock 
or  a  shallow,  gritty  soil,  produce  few  plants  of 
any  description,  and  hardly  a  dozen  of  those 
M'hich  are  selected  by  sheep  as  their  food. 
These  latter  consist  of  3  or  4  carices  or  hard 
grasses,  1  or  2  junci  or  rushes,  some  tufts  of 
the  common  club-rush,  together  with  the  Fes- 
tua:  vivipara,  and  1  or  2  other  grasses.  The 
extreme  heights  scarcely  present  any  other 
vegetation  than  Silene  araulis,  Salix  hcrharea, 
and  IStatice  artneria.  Farther  down  the  moun- 
tains, extending  downwards  to  about  5000  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  we  find  a  vegetation 
still  poor  and  stunted,  but  by  no  means  defi- 
cient in  beauty,  and  perhaps  affording  better 
874 


'  pasturage  than  some  of  the  lower  grounds. 
I  We  here  find  irregular  patches  of  verdure, 
consisting  chiefly  of  Carices  and  Scirpus  ccespi- 
tosos,  which,  however,  are  also  eaten  by  sheep; 
by  the  streamlets  are  several  species  of  Alpine 
plants.  Farther  down  the  mountains,  jiira 
flexunsa  grows  in  tufts,  and  of  a  large  size. 
Several  carices  form  a  tolerable  sward  in 
many  places ;  the  As^rostis  vulgaris,  &c.,  occa- 
sionally occurs.  Calluna  vulgaris,  or  common 
heath,  first  makes  its  appearance.  As  we 
proceed  downwards,  and  arrive  at  the  places 
where  the  mountains  begin  to  expand,  we  en- 
ter upon  a  region,  the  predominant  feature  of 
which  is  the  Calluna  vulgaris,  mingled  with 
Erica  cinerca  (the  gray-leaved  heath) ;  the 
vegetation  becomes  more  vigorous ;  varioui 
grasses  present  themselves.  The  valleys  of 
this  region,  in  which  flow  the  streamlets,  are 
generally  more  verdant  than  the  open  ground. 
The  heaths  are  less  abundant,  and  the  pastur- 
age consists  chiefly  of  carices  and  graminejB, 
intermingled  with  many  of  the  plants  of  ordi- 
nary pasture  ground,  such  as  Lotus  corniculatuSf 
Polygala  vulgaris,  &c.  The  general  aspect  of 
the  vegetation,  however,  is  healthy,  and  con- 
tinues so  until  we  reach  the  vicinity  of  the 
river."  For  every  information,  however,  re- 
lating to  the  formation  of  pastures,  and  the 
cultivation  of  the  grasses,  the  farmer  cannot 
consult  a  better  authority  than  the  Hortu« 
Gram.  Woburnensis  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Sin- 
clair. 

In  feeding  pastures,  it  is  usual  with  those  fields 
which  are  shut  up  from  stock  at  Candlemas,  to 
graze  them  in  the  succeeding  May.  Thos6 
which  are  fed  until  April  may,  after  being  shut 
up,  be  grazed  again  at  Midsummer.  If  it  is 
intended  to  feed  a  pasture  during  the  winter, 
it  should  be  allowed  to  rest  in  the  months  of 
October  and  November.  See  Meadow  and 
Grasses. 

PEA,  THE  (Pisttm  sativum,  Fr.  pais,  Span,  pe- 
soles.  The  English  is  evidently  a  corruption 
of  the  Latin  name).  This  valuable  plant  is 
supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe, 
and  was  cultivated  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
It  is  said  by  Acton  to  have  been  brought  to 
England  in  1548.  There  are  only  one  or  two 
kinds  of  pea:  the  gray  pea  (P.  arvense),  and 
the  pea  cultivated  as  a  vegetable  in  gardens 
(P.  sativum).  Of  the  last,  however,  the  varie- 
ties are  endless. 

Of  field  peas,  the  varieties  are  distinguished 
as  the  early  and  the  late  ripening.  The  com- 
mon early  are  small  and  dark-coloured.  The 
gray  pea  of  this  class  is  the  most  common. 

The  later  sown  varieties  are  generally  simi- 
lar in  their  characters  to  garden  peas ;  they 
difl^er,  however,  from  them  in  having  usually 
purple  flowers.  The  most  common  kinds  are 
the  white,  the  early  Charlton,  and  the  pearl. 
Field  peas,  especially  where  there  is  a  consi- 
derable demand  for  them,  as  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  large  towns,  are  a  very  profitable  crop 
to  be  gathered  green,  since  there  is  time  after 
the  peas  are  gathered,  in  the  month  of  June,  to 
prepare  the  land  for  a  crop  of  turnips. 

Where  they  are  grown  for  their  seeds,  the  white 
peas  are  those  generally  cultivated  for  the  pur- 
pose of  boiling,  the  gray  as  food  for  animals. 


PEAS. 

The  pea  will  succeed  pretty  well  on  both 
heavy  and  light  soils ;  but  it  certainly  does  best 
on  the  latter,  especially  if  the  land  abounds 
with  carbonate  of  lime.  It  is  an  excellent  crop 
to  interpose  between  corn  crops,  for  it  affords 
considerable  lacilities  to  the  cleansing  of  the 
land,  and  is  not  otherwise  an  exhausting  crop. 
In  many  parts  of  England  a  pea  crop  is  dibbled 
on  the  clover  and  grass  leys,  and  afterwards  a 
corn  crop  is  taken  with  great  advantage.  In 
others  a  crop  of  oats  is  taken,  and  then  a  crop 
of  peas.  When  this  latter  mode  is  adopted,  the 
land  is  commonly  ploughed  in  the  autumn, 
and  by  cross-ploughing  and  harrowing  in  the 
spring,  brought  into  some  degree  of  tilth,  and 
then  the  seed  may  be  sown  with  the  ordinary 
drill.  The  quantity  of  seed  employed  is  about 
3  bushels  per  acre,  and  the  rows  are  usually 
from  9  to  27  inches  apart.  There  is  every 
facility  aforded  for  the  use  of  the  horse-hoe. 
This  instrument,  with  the  early  and  occasional 
use  of  the  hand-hoe,  will  cleanse  the  land;  to 
which  end  the  crop  of  peas  will,  as  they  approach 
maturity,  materially  assist,  by  overpowering 
and  stifling  the  weeds. 

Peas  are  usually  one  of  the  most  uncertain 
of  the  English  farmer's  crops.  They  are  sub- 
ject to  many  casualties — to  blight  or  mildew; 
to  the  attacks  of  a  variety  of  insects,  such  as 
the  grub,  which  devours  the  roots;  lice,  aphides, 
&c.,  which  haunt  the  leaves;  and  a  small  bee- 
tle, the  liruchus  grunariug,  lays  its  eggs  in  the 
green  pods,  which  produce  a  grub  that  devours 
its  seeds.  Then,  again,  it  is  frequently  injured 
by  the  weather,  in  very  dry,  or  in  continued 
wet,  or  late  harvests ;  and  hence  in  the  east 
of  England  it  is  often  designated  by  the  far- 
mers as  "  a  gentleman  farmer's  crop."  This 
crop,  however,  is  too  often  mismanaged  in  the 
way  to  which  Arthur  Young  so  well  alluded, 
when  he  told  the  careless  farmers  of  his  day 
that  they  were  "too  apt  to  sow  this  pulse  when 
the  land  would  yield  nothing  else.  They  have 
a  proverb  among  them,"  he  adds,  "  which  sig- 
nifies that  the  season  does  as  much  for  peas  as 
good  husbandry;  and  they  from  thence  take 
care  that  good  crops  shall  be  owing  to  season 
alone.  Hence  arises  the  general  idea  of  peas 
being  the  most  uncertain  crop  of  all  others. 
This  is  owing  to  their  being  scarcely  ever 
sown  on  land  that  is  in  good  order.  Let,"  he 
continues,  "the  good  husbandman  lay  it  down 
as  a  maxim,  that  he  should  sow  no  crop  on 
land  that  is  not  in  good  order ;  not  merely  in 
respect  of  fine  tilth  at  the  time  of  sowing,  but 
also  of  the  soil  being  in  good  heart,  and  clear 
of  weeds.  He  would  not,  however,  here  be 
understood  to  rank  all  these  crops  together; 
because  beans  and  peas  will  admit  of  cleaning 
while  they  grow.  On  that  account,  if  a  farmer 
comes  to  a  field  which  his  predecessor  has 
filled  with  weeds,  a  horse-hoed  crop  of  beans 
will  be  expedient,  when  a  barley  crop  would 
be  utterly  improper;  and,  after  land  has  yield- 
ed one  crop  of  barley,  certainly  another  should 
not  be  sown,  but  one  of  pulse  substituted.  If 
these  ideas  are  well  executed,  the  peas  and 
beans,  in  every  course,  will  find  the  land  in 
h  rt  enough  for  barley,  the  soil  will  always 
be  c'tMn,  ana  the  crop  good.  Peas,  when  ma- 
nage 1  in  a  spirited  manner,  will  not  have  the 


PEAS. 

reputation  of  being  so  very  uncertain  a  crop, 
which  character  has,  he  thinks,  in  some  mea- 
sure been  owing  to  ill  conduct." 

Peas  do  not  need  any  particular  dressings 
with  manure ;  in  fact,  few  crops  require  it  so 
little;  and  in  many  situations  manure  produces 
the  ill  effect  of  rendering  the  plant  too  luxu- 
riant. Von  Thaer  found,  by  several  experi- 
ments, that  the  dung  applied  to  the  pea  crop  is 
the  most  profitable  when  used  as  a  top-dress- 
ing. And,  moreover,  he  contends  that  on  sandy 
loams  it  produces  in  this  way  a  much  better 
effect  in  the  succeeding  crop.  Lime  and  soot 
are,  perhaps,  the  best  dressings  for  peas  ;  and 
these  may  operate  to  some  degree  by  killing 
the  insects  of  the  soil,  which  might  otherwise 
prey  upon  them;  besides,  the  pea  plant  seems 
to  delight  in  every  situation  where  it  can  have 
access  to  calcareous  matter.  The  crop  is  com- 
monly cut  with  a  hook  at  the  end  of  a  staff,  or 
the  half  of  an  old  scythe  set  in  a  handle.  By 
these  the  peas  are  severed,  and  made  up  into 
small  bundles,  called  wads  or  wisps,  and  these 
remain  on  the  ground  until  they  are  sufficiently 
dry  to  be  carried.  The.  straw  of  peas  is  very 
useful  for  the  stock  of  the  farm-yard:  cows 
eat  it,  when  it  has  been  well  gathered,  with 
considerable  avidity.     See  Haulm. 

1000  parts  of  peas  grown  in  Norfolk  afforded 
Davy  501  parts  of  starch,  22  of  saccharine 
matter,  35  of  albuminous  matter,  and  16  parts 
of  extract.  The  ashes  obtained  by  burning  the 
pea  plant  in  flower  and  when  ripe  were  exa- 
mined by  M.  Saussure :  he  found  in  100  parts 
of  these  ashes,  procured  from  the  Pisum  sati- 
vum in  flower,  of  soluble  salts  49*8  parts,  of 
earthy  phosphates  17-25,  earthy  carbonates  6, 
silica  2*3,  metallic  oxides  1,  and  loss  24'65  parts. 
And  from  the  ashes  of  the  ripe  plant,  soluble 
salts  84'25  parts,  earthy  phosphates  22,  earthy 
carbonates  14,  silica  11,  metallic  oxides  2-5, 
and  loss  17*25  parts. 

The  average  price  of  peas  in  England,  per 
Winchester  quarter,  was  in 

£   8.  d.  £    s.   d. 

1792  -  1  12  8  1805  -  2  8  4 
1795  -  1  18  4  1810  -  2  15  9 
1800   -    3   7  5     1815   -    1  18  10 

Per  Imperial  Quarter. 

£  a.  d.                                  £  8.    d. 

1820   -   2  5  11      1835   -   1  16  6 

1825    -   2  5  5       1840 

1830    -    1  19  2 

The  amount  of  the  imperial  quarters  of  peas 
and  beans  entered  for  home  consumption  in 
England  every  five  years,  from  1815  to  1835, 
was,  according  to  Mr.  M'Culloch : 

Or*.  Q"- 

1815    -    -    523  1830   -   -  63,664 

1820    -    -  761,125  1835    -    -  94,510 
1825    -    -  30,767 

The  annual  average  of  peas  and  beans,  im- 
ported into  England  from  1801  to  1825,  in  Win 
Chester  quarters,  was,  from 

Qr.. 

Russia 785 

Sweden  and  Norway       "       "       "       gog 

Prussia      ------  7,609 

Germany 7,144 

Netherlands 5,802 

France  and  South  of  Europe    -        -  v,Ui 

America 998 

Ireland *.92B 

Other  countries        -       -       -       -  151 
875 


PEAS. 


PEAS. 


Garden  Culture  of  the  Pea. — Of  the  numerous 
arielies,  which  differ  much  in  their  hardiness, 
field,  height,  &c.,  we  may  enumerate  the  fol- 
lowing:—  Cormack's  early  dwarf-pea,  early 
Charlton,  early  golden  Charlton,  early  Nichol's 
golden  Charlton,  common  Charlton,  Reading 
hotspur,  early  single-blossomed,  early  War- 
wick, early  dwarf  frame,  early  double-blossom- 
sd  frame,  dwarf  marrowfat,  tall  marrowfat, 
green  or  Patagonia  marrowfat,  early  green 
nonpareil,  Knight's  marrowfat  or  wrinkled  pea, 
Spanish  moratto,  imperial  blue,  Prussian  blue, 
egg,  white  Rouncival,  gray  Rouncival,  green 
Rouncival,  blue  Rouncival,  tall  sugar  (the 
sugar-peas  are  eaten  like  kidney-beans),  crown 
or  rose,  Leadman's  dwarf,  dwarf  sugar,  dwarf 
Spanish,  sickle  pea. 

A  soil  moderately  rich  and  mouldy  is  best 
suited  to  this  vegetable ;  rather  inclining  to 
aluminous  for  the  lofty  growers  and  main 
crops,  but  for  the  early  and  late  ones,  light  and 
dry  ;  if  naturally  otherwise,  rendered  so  by  the 
admixture  of  drift-sand  with  the  earth  of  the 
drills.  Dwarf  varieties  will  grow  on  poorer 
and  lighter  soils  than,  the  others.  In  an  ex- 
tremely rich  soil  they  grow  luxuriant  but  un- 
productive. They  are  rather  injured  than 
benefited  by  the  application  of  unreduced  dung 
at  the  time  of  sowing.  Road  dirt  and  rotted 
leaves  form  the  best  compost  for  them.  For 
the  early  and  late  crops,  that  is,  from  October 
until  the  close  of  January,  and  during  June 
and  July,  the  sowings  must  be  performed  in 
sheltered  situations,  as  south  borders.  In  De- 
cember, the  rows  are  best  drawn  parallel  with 
and  within  a  foot  of  the  fence.  At  other  sea- 
sons their  site  cannot  be  too  open. 

They  are  propagated  by  seed,  the  sowing  of 
which  commences  with  the  year.  In  January 
they  may  be  inserted  in  sheltered  borders,  and 
large  supplies  in  an  open  compartment,  and 
thence  continued  throughout  February  and  until 
July,  once  every  two  or  three  weeks.  During 
this  last  month,  and  in  the  first  week  of  August, 
the  last  sowings  must  be  made  for  produc- 
tion the  same  year.  For  the  first  production 
in  the  following  year,  a  small  sowing  may  be 
performed  at  the  close  of  October,  and  repeated 
about  the  middle  of  November  and  December, 
though  it  often  happens  that  these  are  scarcely 
a  week  forwarder  than  those  inserted  in  the 
following  February.  The  necessary  extent  of 
the  various  sowings  may  be  determined  with 
tolerable  exactness  from  the  experiments  of 
Bradley;  he  found  on  the  average  that  3  rods 
of  ground,  containing  18  double  rows,  afforded 
36  quarts  of  shelled  peas. 

The  seed  must  be  inserted  in  drills,  or  by 
the  dibble,  in  rows  at  a  distance  proportionate 
to  the  height  to  which  the  variety  grows,  a.s 
\vell  as  according  to  the  season. 

When  the  plants  have  advanced  to  a  height 
of  2  or  3  inches,  they  are  to  be  hoed,  the  weeds 
cleared  away,  and  earth  drawn  round  the  stems. 
This  should  be  performed  twice  or  three  limes 
gradually  as  they  ascend,  previous  to  the  sticks 
being  placed.  It  should  be  performed  in  dry 
weather,  and  the  leaves  never  covered,  or  in 
wet  weather  they  decay.  For  the  winter  stand- 
ing crops  it  should  be  especially  attended  to,  as 
it  protects  them  greatly  from  frost.  Peas  are 
876 


always  best  supported  by  sticks ;  if  it  is  neg- 
lected, even  for  the  dwarf  varieties,  they  not 
only  produce  less,  but  sooner  decay,  are  incon- 
venient to  cultivate  and  gather  from,  and  never 
so  fine.  Sticking  is  not  required  until  the  plants 
are  6  inches  in  height,  or  show  their  tendrils. 
If,  during  the  time  of  blossoming,  or  swelling 
of  the  fruit,  continued  drought  should  occur, 
water  may  be  very  beneficially  applied,  it  being 
poured  between  the  rows,  if  they  are  in  pairs, 
or  otherwise  in  a  shallow  trench  on  one  side 
of  each.  Watering  the  leaves  is  rather  inju- 
rious. Failures  in  the  rows  of  the  earliest 
crops,  whether  from  mice  or  other  causes,  may 
be  rectified  by  transplanting.  This  is  best  per- 
formed in  March;  the  plants  thus  removed 
must  be  watered  until  they  have  taken  root,  and 
also  shaded,  if  the  weather  is  hot.  It  is  a  good 
practice  to  nip  off  the  top  of  the  leading  shoots 
of  the  early  and  late  crops  as  soon  as  they  are 
in  blossom,  as  it  greatly  accelerates  the  setting 
and  maturity  of  the  fruit.  Too  much  care  can- 
not be  taken  when  the  pods  are  gathered,  not 
to  injure  the  stems.  I  have  heard  it  stated  from 
lengthened  experience,  that  if  the  pods  are  cut 
off  with  scissors,  the  plants  produced  one-fourth 
more  than  when  roughly  gathered  from.  Brad- 
ley makes  nearly  a  similar  observation.  From 
the  main  crops,  or  where  there  is  no  necessity 
for  precipitation  on  account  of  bringing  them 
to  table  early,  the  pods  should  not  be  gathered 
until  the  peas  have  become  plump  and  mode- 
rately firm,  yet  green  and  tender.  The  more 
regularly  the  plants  are  gathered  from,  the 
longer  they  continue  in  production,  as  the 
later  pods  never  attain  maturity  if  the  earlier 
ones  are  allowed  to  grow  old  before  they  are 
gathered. 

In  very  severe  weather  the  winter  standing 
crops  requii'e  the  shelter  of  litter  or  other  light 
covering,  supported  as  much  as  possible  from 
the  plants  by  means  of  branches  laid  between 
the  rows.  Mr.  J.  Laird,  gardener,  at  Portmore, 
N.  B.,  employs  straw  ropes  or  twisted  bands 
for  this  purpose,  which  he  fixes  along  each 
side  of  the  rows  with  wooden  pins,  driven  into 
the  ground.  Whichever  mode  of  shelter  is 
adopted,  it  must  be  always  removed  in  mild 
weather,  otherwise  the  plants  will  be  spindled, 
and  rendered  weaker.  For  the  imperial  blue, 
frame,  and  other  dwarf  varieties,  the  sticks 
need  not  be  more  than  3  feet  high ;  for  the 
Prussian  blue,  hotspur,  and  other  middle-sized 
varieties,  about  5 ;  for  the  Knight's  marrowfat, 
and  other  tall  ones,  at  least  7;  and  for  the  Pa- 
lagonian,  not  less  than  8.  The  best  wood  for 
this  purpose  is  the  brush,  or  fan-shaped 
branches  of  the  hazel,  &c.  Before  they  are 
employed,  the  ends  that  are  thrust  into  the 
ground  should  be  charred,  or  moderately  burnt, 
which  effectually  preserves  them  from  decay. 
If  this  is  attended  to,  and,  when  no  longer  re- 
quired, the  sticks,  if  thoroughly  dry,  on  a  fine 
day  are  stored  in  a  dry  shed,  they  will  last  for 
three  or  more  years. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  leave  some  rows 
that  are  in  production  during  July,  or  sow  pur- 
posely in  March.  Care  must  be  taken,  how- 
ever, that  no  two  varieties  are  in  blossom  near 
each  other  at  the  same  time,  but  a  lapse  of  at 
least  three  weeks  should  occur,  otherwise  no 


PEA. 


PEA-BUG. 


perfect  variety  can  be  obtained.  We  are  much 
in  want  of  observations  on  this  point.  If  hot- 
spurs and  marrowfats  are  sown  on  the  same 
day,  the  latter  will  not  bloom  for  nearly  four 
weeks  after  the  first.  If  the  frame  variety  and 
the  moratto  are  similarly  inserted,  the  latter  will 
succeed  the  first  in  about  five  weeks.  The 
plants  intended  for  seed  ought  never  to  be 
gathered  from.  When  in  blossom,  all  plants 
which  do  not  appear  to  belong  to  the  variety 
among  which  they  are  growing  should  be  re- 
moved. They  are  fit  for  harvesting  as  soon 
as  the  pods  become  brownish  and  dry.  When 
perfectly  free  from  moisture,  they  should  be 
beaten  out,  otherwise,  if  hot,  showery  weather 
occurs,  they  will  open  and  shed  their  seed. 
Seed-peas  preserve  their  power  of  germinating 
for  eight  or  ten  years. 

Forcing  commences  in  December,  in  the 
early  part  of  which  month  they  may  be  sown 
in  a  hotbed  to  remain,  or  thick,  to  transplant 
during  the  succeeding  month  into  others  for 
production.  These  may  be  repeated  in  January, 
and  the  transplanting  take  place  in  February. 
It  is  also  a  common  practice  to  sow  in  a  warm 
border  during  October,  and  the  plants  being 
cultivated  as  a  natural  ground  crop,  are  re- 
moved into  a  hot-bed  during  January. 

The  temperature  employed  in  forcing  may 
be  either  progressive,  beginning  at  40°  and  50°, 
for  the  extremes,  at  the  time  of  sowing,  rising 
to  52°  and  66°  when  in  blossora,'and  to  55°  and 
70°  while  the  fruit  is  swelling;  or  the  tempera- 
ture may  be  uniformly  kept  up  throughout  their 
growth,  having  50°  for  the  minimum  and  70° 
for  their  maximum. 

In  New  York  and  some  other  of  the  North- 
ern and  Eastern  Stales,  the  pea  forms  a  highly 
valuable  crop,  not  only  for  its  intrinsic  value, 
but  as  useful  in  preparing  the  land  for  the 
reception  of  wheat,  and  other  grain,  for  which 
purpose  it  is  considered  on  a  par  with  the 
turnip  and  other  root  crops  of  England.  The 
soil  best  adapted  to  the  pea  is  one  that  is 
good  for  wheat,  and  where  that  grain  is  certain, 
peas  may  be  considered  so.  The  preparation 
Df  the  soil  demands  nothing  peculiar;  it  must 
only  be  made  in  good  order  for  seed,  in  the 
manner  required  for  other  spring  crops,  by 
being  well  ploughed,  harrowed,  and  if  neces- 
sary, manured.  If  manured  too  highly,  how- 
ever, the  vine  or  haulm  is  apt  to  be  too  abun- 
dant, and  the  pea  itself  inferior  in  quantity  and 
quality.  In  this,  as  in  most  other  cases,  too 
great  a  growth  of  vine  or  straw  is  incompatible 
with  great  crops  of  pulse  or  grain.  Lime  in 
all  countries  has  been  found  an  essential  ingre- 
dient of  pea  or  wheat  soils;  and  where  it  does 
not  naturally  exist  in  them,  should  be  applied 
previous  to  attempting  the  culture  of  these 
crops. 

The  kinds  of  pea  most  usually  cultivated  as 
a  field-crop,  are  the  small  yellow  pea  and  the 
marrowfat.  We  prefer  the  latter;  as  it  is 
••qually  certain  with  the  other,  is  excellent  for 
ine  table  as  well  as  for  feeding,  is  as  nutritious 
for  animals,  and  generally  more  productive. 
In  some  situations,  or  in  exhausted  soils,  the 
small  yellow  pea  may  however  be  preferable. 
From  30  to  40  bushels  per  acre  is  not  an  un- 
ttummon  crop,  and  this  highest  amount  is  oflea  , 


exceeded.  The  quantity  of  seed  required  per 
acre  may  be  stated  at  2^  bushels,  although 
some  use  only  2,  and  some  put  on  3  busheli 
per  acre.  For  covering  the  pea  the  cultivator 
is  a  very  good  implement,  as  it  gives  them 
more  earth  than  the  harrow  and  less  than  the 
common  plough.  The  ground  should  be  left 
smooth  by  the  roller  or  otherwise,  as  the  ease 
of  gathering  is  greatly  depending  on  the  state 
of  the  surface. 

In  harvesting  the  pea,  some  farmers  hook 
them  up  with  a  scythe,  some  rake  them  by 
hand  with  the  common  hay-rake,  but  the  most 
expeditious  method  by  far,  is  to  use  the  horse- 
rake  in  gathering  this  crop.  In  whatever  way 
peas  are  gathered,  it  is  necessary  they  should 
be  ripe,  and  of  course,  if  very  dry  at  the  time, 
there  will  be  some  loss  by  shelling,  but  not 
perhaps  more  by  the  horse-rake  than  by  the 
other  methods,  and  four-fifths  of  the  time  re- 
quired by  the  two  first  methoJs  is  saved.  This, 
where  the  land  is  to  be  put  into  wheat,  is  fre- 
quently of  great  consequence.  Once  gathered, 
there  is  no  crop  so  easily  thrashed  and  pre- 
pared for  market  as  ti.e  pea,  and  few  that  bet- 
ter reward  the  cultivator. 

There  is  no  plant  cultivated  which  will  bring 
pigs  forward  more  rapidly  than  the  pea,  if  the 
feeding  is  commenced  as  soon  as  the  peas  begin 
to  harden,  and  the  whole  plant  is  fed  out  to 
them.  When  gathered  and  hard,  two  methods 
of  feeding  have  been  adopted,  both  of  which 
are  far  preferable  to  the  barbarous  practice  of 
giving  swine  the  pea  without  any  preparation. 
The  first  is  to  soak  and  swell  the  pea  in  milk, 
if  it  can  be  had,  if  not,  in  water,  and  feed  it  to 
them  in  that  state.  The  second  is  to  grind  the 
pea,  either  alone  or  with  other  coarse  grain 
and  feed  it  to  animals  in  that  way.  This  is 
preferable  to  feeding  whole,  as  in  corn  or  any 
other  food,  the  finer  it  is  made  the  more  readily 
it  will  be  assimilated,  and  in  all  cases,  if  cooked 
into  pudding  the  advantage  will  be  decisive 
In  England,  where  corn  cannot  be  grown,  a 
mixture  of  peas  and  barley  is  considered  supe- 
rior to  any  other  food  for  making  pork;  here, 
closing  the  process  of  fattening  with  Indian 
corn,  as  giving  more  firmness  to  the  pork,  is 
preferred. 

In  the  Southern  States,  a  kind  of  pea,  called 
there  the  Cow  Pea,  is  cultivated  for  the  puiy  ose 
of  making  into  hay,  and  for  being  ploughed 
under  as  a  fallow  crop,  like  clover. 

PEA-BUG  or  BEETLE.  In  the  spring  of 
the  year  we  often  find,  among  seed-peas,  many 
that  have  holes  in  them  ;  and,  if  the  peas  have 
not  been  exposed  to  the  light  and  air,  we  sea  a 
little  insect  peeping  out  of  each  of  these  hol<!S, 
and  waiting  apparently  for  an  opportunity  to 
come  forth  and  make  its  escape.  If  wo  turn 
out  the  creature  from  its  cell,  we  perceive  it  to 
be  a  small  oval  beetle,  rather  more  than  one- 
tenth  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  rusty  black  colour, 
with  a  white  spot  on  the  hinder  part  of  the 
thorax,  4  or  5  white  dots  behind  the  middle  of 
each  wing-cover,  and  a  white  spot,  shaped  like 
the  letter  T,  on  the  exposed  extremity  of  the 
body.  This  little  insect  is  the  Bruchus  Pisi 
of  Linnceus,  the  pea-Bruchus,  or  pea-weevil, 
better  known  in  America  by  the  incorrec 
name  of  pea-bug.  The  original  meaning  of 
4  E  877 


PEA-BUG. 


PEA,  COW. 


the  word  Bruchns  is  a  devourer,  and  the  insects 
to  which  it  is  applied  well  deserve  this  name, 
lor,  in  the  larva  state,  they  devour  the  interior 
of  seeds,  often  leaving  but  little  more  than  the 
hull  untouched.  They  belong  to  a  family  of 
the  great  weevil  tribe  called  BmchidcE,  and  are 
distinguished  from  other  weevils  by  the  follow- 
ing characters.  The  body  is  oval,  and  slightly 
convex;  the  head  is  bent  downwards,  so  tbit 
the  broad  muzzle,  when  the  insects  are  not 
fejiting,  r^sts  upon  the  breast. 

The  habits  of  the  Bruchians  and  their  larvae 
are  similar  to  those  of  the  pea-weevil,  which 
remain  to  be  described.  It  may  be  well,  how- 
ever, to  state  here  that  these  beetles  frequent 
the  leguminous  or  pod-bearing  plants,  such  as 
the  pea,  Gleditsia,  Robinia,  Mimosa,  Cassia, 
&c.,  during  and  immediately  after  the  flowering 
Season  ;  they  pierce  the  tender  pods  of  these 
plants,  and  cotnmonly  lay  only  one  e^g  in  each 
seed,  the  pulp  of  which  suffices  for  the  food  of 
the  little  rnaggot-like  grub  hatched  therein. 

Few  persons,  while  indulging  in  the  luxury 
of  early  green  peas,  are  aware  how  many  in- 
sects they  unconsciously  swallow.  When  the 
pods  are  carefully  examined,  small, discoloured 
spots  may  be  seen  within  them,  each  one  cor- 
responding to  a  similar  spot  on  the  opposite 
pea.  If  this  spot  in  the  pea  be  opened,  a 
minute  whitish  grub,  destitute  of  feet,  will  be 
found  therein.  It  is  the  weevil  in  its  larva  form, 
Which  lives  upon  the  marrow  of  the  pea,  and 
arrives  at  its  full  size  by  the  time  that  the  pea 
becomes  dry.  This  larva  or  grub  then  bores  a 
round  hole  from  the  hollow  in  the  centre  of  the 
})ea  quite  to  the  hull,  but  leaves  the  latter  and 
g:enerally  the  germ  of  the  future  sprout  un- 
touched. Hence,  these  buggy  peas,  as  they  are 
called  by  seedsmen  and  gardeners,  will  fre- 
quently sprout  and  grow  when  planted.  The 
grub  is  changed  to  a  pupa  within  its  hole  in  the 
pea  in  the  autumn,  and  before  the  spring  casts 
its  skin  again,  becomes  a  beetle,  and  gnaws  a 
hole  through  the  thin  hull  in  order  to  make  its 
escape  into  the  air,  which  frequently  does  not 
happen  before  the  peas  are  planted  for  an  early 
6rop.  After  the  pea-vines  have  flowered,  and 
while  the  pods  are  young  and  tender,  and  the 
peas  within  them  are  just  beginning  to  swell, 
the  beetles  gather  upon  them,  pierce  the  pods, 
And  deposit  their  tiny  eggs  in  the  punctures, 
t^his  is  done  only  du ring  the  night,  or  in  cloudy 
weather.  Each  e^^  is  always  placed  opposite 
to  a  pea ;  the  grubs,  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched, 
penetrate  the  pod  and  bury  themselves  in  the 
peas ;  and  the  holes  through  which  they  pass 
ire  so  fine  as  hardly  to  be  perceived,  arid  are 
soon  closed.  Sometimes  every  pea  in  a  pod 
will  be  found  to  contain  a  weevil-grub  ;  and  so 
^reat  has  been  the  injury  to  the  crop  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  that  the  inhabitants  have 
been  obliged  to  give  up  the  cultivation  of  this 
i^igetable.  These  insects,  as  Mr.  Deane  has 
observed,  diminish  the  weight  of  the  peas  in 
which  they  lodge  nearly  one-half,  and  their 
leavings  are  fit  only  for  the  food  of  swine. 
This  occasions  a  great  loss,  where  peas  are 
raised  for  feeding  stock  or  for  family  use,  as 
they  are  in  many  places.  Those  persons  who 
eat  whole  peas  in  the  winter  after  they  are 
raised,  run  the  risk  of  eating  the  weevils  also; 
878 


but  if  the  peas  are  kept  till  they  are  a  year  old, 
the  insects  will  entirely  leave  them. 

The  pea-weevil  is  supposed  to  be  a  native 
of  the  United  States.  It  seems  to  have  been 
first  noticed  in  Pennsylvania,  many  years  ago 
and  has  gradually  spread  from  thence  to  New 
Jersey,  New  York,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
and  Massachusetts.  It  is  yet  rare  in  New 
Hampshire,  and  I  believe  has  not  appeared  ia 
the  eastern  parts  of  Maine.  It  is  unknown  in 
the  north  of  Europe,  as  we  learn  from  the 
interesting  account  given  of  it  by  Kalm,  the 
Swedish  traveller,  who  tells  us  of  the  fear  with 
which  he  was  filled,  on  finding  some  of  these 
weevils  in  a  parcel  of  peas  which  he  had  car- 
ried home  from  America,  having  in  view  the 
whole  damage  which  his  beloved  country 
would  have  suffered,  if  only  two  or  three  of 
these  noxious  insects  had  escaped  him.  They 
are  now  common  in  the  south  of  Europe  and 
in  England,  whither  they  may  have  been  car- 
ried from  this  country.  As  the  cultivated  pea 
was  not  originally  a  native  of  America,  it 
would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  what  plants 
the  pea-weevil  formerly  inhabited.  That  it 
should  have  preferred  the  prolific  exotic  pea  to 
any  of  our  indigenous  and  less  productive 
pulse,  is  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  analogous 
facts  being  of  common  occurrence ;  but  that 
for  so  many  years  a  rational  method  for  check- 
ing its  ravages  should  not  have  been  practised, 
is  somewhat  remarkable.  An  exceedingly 
simple  one  is  recommended  by  Deane,  but  to 
be  successful  it  should  be  universally  adopted. 
It  consists  merely  in  keeping  seed-peas  in  tight 
vessels  over  one  year  before  planting  them. 
Latreille  and  others  recommend  putting  them, 
just  before  they  are  to  be  planted,  into  hot 
water  for  a  minute  or  two,  by  which  means  the 
weevils  will  be  killed,  and  the  sprouting  of  the 
peas  will  be  quickened.  The  insect  is  limited 
to  a  certain  period  for  depositing  its  eggs ;  late 
sown  peas  therefore  escape  its  attack.  The 
late  Colonel  Pickering  observed  that  those  sown 
in  Pennsylvania  as  late  as  the  20th  of  May, 
were  entirely  free  from  weevils  ;  and  Colonel 
Worthington,  of  Rensselaer  county,  New  York, 
who  sowed  his  peas  on  the  10th  of  June,  6 
years  in  succession,  never  found  an  insect  in 
them  during  that  period.     (Harris.) 

PEA,  COW.  The  plant  called  by  this  com- 
mon name  in  lower  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas, 
is  there  extensively  cultivated.  In  some  parts 
of  Virginia  it  is  called  the  Yeatman  pea,  from 
the  person  by  whom  it  was  introduced  from  the 
Eastern  Shore.  The  pea  is  of  a  yellowish 
colour,  is  very  productive  both  in  vine  and 
seed,  unusually  hardy  in  remaining  uninjured 
by  rain,  after  becoming  ripe,  and  for  table  use 
is  much  esteemed.  But  it  is  chiefly  cultivated, 
in  common  with  several  varieties  of  Indian 
peas,  in  fields,  to  plough  under  for  the  benefit 
of  successive  crops,  as  a  substitute  for  clover, 
buckwheat,  and  other  plants  not  so  well  adapt- 
ed to  southern  culture.  The  vines  of  this  and 
the  varieties  of  the  Indian  pea,  all  make  excel- 
lent long  forage  for  common  work-horses, 
oxen,  milch-cows,  or  sheep.  The  curing  of 
the  vine  is  sometimes  difficult,  as  it  requires  a 
longer  time  than  most  other  forage  plants. 
Some  stack  it  away  with  layers  of  dry  straw 


PEA,  EVERLASTING. 


PEACH. 


as  is  practised  in  the  moist  climate  of  England 
with  clover.  : 

PEA,  EVERLASTING.  See  Everlasting  | 
Pea.  and  Lathyiiijs.  i 

PEAS  and  OATS.  These,  in  the  Eastern  | 
and  Northern  States,  are  often  sown  together  ; 
broad-cast,  producing  a  mixed  crop  called 
Meslin.  The  common  proportions  are  one- 
fourth  of  peas  to  three-fourths  of  oats.  The 
pea  commonly  sown  is  the  green  pea  from 
Canada,  which  ripens  about  the  time  of  the 
oats,  and  fgr  which,  while  growing,  the  oats 
act  as  supporters.  Peas  and  oats  are  usually 
ground  together  as  feed  for  their  fatting  cattle, 
and  are  deemed  valuable,  though  not  so  good 
Of  so  much  relished  as  Indian  meal  without 
mixture.  Forty  bushels  of  peas  and  oats  per 
acre  would  be  regarded  a  large  crop.  This 
has  been  produced,  however,  on  nine  acres,  in 
Deerfield  meadows.  Some  farmers  sow  at  the 
rate  of  one-third  peas  and  two-thirds  oats. 

PEA,  PARTRIDGE.  The  Cassia  ChuTruecrist a 
of  Beck;  a  native  of  the  Middle  and  Southern 
States,  where  it  goes  by  the  common  names  of 
Sensitive  pea  and  Magothybay  bean.  The 
stem  is  1  to  a  feet  high,  rather  erect,  firm,  and 
much  branched,  downy,  and  often  purplish. 
Leaflets  8,  10,  or  12  pairs,  ^  to  ^  inch  in  length 
and  2  to  3  lines  wide.  Petals  of  the  flowers, 
deep  bright-yellow,  obovate,  2  or  3  of  them  with 
a  purple  spot  at  base.  Stamens  10,  unequal,  all 
feiiile;  anthers  very  long,  4  of  them  yellowish 
and  6  purple.  Legume  about  2  inches  long 
and  i  to  ^  of  an  inch  wide,  with  a  short,  abrupt, 
oblique  acumination,  hairy  along  the  sutures. 
See  WiLii  Skxsitive  Plant. 

PEACH  {Yv.perhe;  Lat.  j?;/iy^rfa/««,  derived 
from  amyf^so,  to  lacerate,  in  allusion  to  the  fis- 
sured shell).  The  tall  and  coarse  portion  of 
the  iirnamental,  early  flowering  plants,  of  which 
the  peach  forms  a  species,  may  be  advantage- 
ously disposed  of  in  large  plantations,  and  the 
dwarf  kinds  in  small  shrubberies  at  the  front 
of  the  large  ones.  In  England  the  common 
way  of  increasing  them  is  by  budding  on  the 
plum  stock  or  the  bitter  almond.  Rich  mould 
is  a  proper  medium  for  them.  They  are  most 
valued  for  producing  their  showy  pink  blos- 
soms early  in  the  season,  sooner  than  almost 
any  other  shrubs.  The  peach  is  now  one  of 
the  most  esteemed  fruits:  nearly  200  varieties 
are  enumerated  in  the  London  Horticultural  So- 
cicty''s  Catalogue. 

Although  the  peach  is  raised  in  the  open  air, 
in  every  part  of  the  United  States,  it  succeeds 
best  in  the  states  of  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  some  of  the  Western 
States  in  similar  latitudes.  The  flavour  of  the 
peaches  of  the  United  States  is  far  superior  to 
that  of  the  same  kind  of  fruit  in  Europe.  In 
the  vicinity  of  the  large  cities,  or  where  facili- 
ties of  quick  transportation  to  these  are  fur- 
nished, the  culture  of  the  peach  is  a  source  of 
great  profit. 

Mr.  Thomas  Hancock,  a  very  intelligent 
nurseryman,  near  Burlington,  New  Jersey,gives 
the  following  description  of  the  mode  practised 
by  him  in  planting  and  managing  peach  or- 
chards. "  When  it  is  intended  to  plant  out  a  good 
orchard  of  trees,  we  generally  select  an  elevated 
position,  entirely  unprotected  by  any  timber  | 


or  shelter  of  any  kind;  if  a  situation  can  be 
selected  near  the  bank  of  a  river,  the  crop  is 
more  certain,  as  the  trees  better  withstand  the 
frosts,  which  occasionally  do  much  damage. 

"  Plough,  and  put  the  land  in  good  condition 
for  corn  or  vegetables,  and  plant  the  trees  20 
feet  apart  each  way  ;  continue  to  till  the  land, 
taking  ofl!"  a  crop  of  peas,  beans,  potatoes,  or 
something  that  does  not  grow  too  high  :  wheal, 
rye,  and  oats  are  very  injurious,  and  should  not 
be  planted.  The  land  must  not  remain  with- 
out tillage,  as  the  trees  would  soon  be  injured: 
indeed,  nothing  will  destroy  a  fine  peach  or- 
chard sooner  than  to  let  it  lie  in  sward. 

"  The  trees  should  be  2  years  old  on  the  stock 
from  seed,  and  1  year  from  the  hud,  the  year  after 
budding.  This  is  considered  as  the  best  age 
for  transplanting.  If  the  water  stands  near 
the  surface  of  the  soil,  or  if  the  land  has  springs 
near  the  top  of  the  ground,  I  should  not  deem 
it  advisable  to  plant  with  the  expectation  of 
very  certain  crops.  I  have  lost  two  orchards 
planted  in  this  manner,  while  in  an  adjoining 
field,  where  the  land,  or  a  part  of  it,  was  high, 
with  a  dry  subsoil,  the  trees  flourished  and 
produced  abundant  crops. 

*'  Light  sandy  soil,  or  light  loam,  we  consider 
the  most  preferable  for  planting  out  peach 
orchards,  and  I  should  judge  that  on  many  of 
the  elevated  knolls,  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston, 
the  peach  might  be  cultivated  to  good  advan- 
tage, particularly  the  earlier  varieties.  It  is  at 
least  well  worthy  of  trial."  {OrchardisCs  Com- 
panion.) 

The  peach  crop  is,  however,  limited  in  a 
great  degree  by  the  destruction  of  the  trees 
effected  by  a  worm  which  attacks  the  inner 
bark  of  the  root  about  the  crown,  and  by  a 
disease  of  uncertain  origin,  generally  termed 
the  yellows.  In  some  parts  of  the  country 
where  the  peach  was  formerly  very  extensively 
raised,  the  culture  has  been  abandoned  in  con- 
sequence of  the  destruction  of  the  trees  from 
these  two  causes.  Mr.  Samuel  Reeve,  of  Sa- 
lem, New  Jersey,  very  advantageously  known 
as  a  nurseryman,  says  that  the  attacks  of  the 
peach-worm  may  be  obviated  or  the  insect  de- 
stroyed by  frequently  examining  the  root  at  the 
surface  of  the  ground  while  the  tree  is  in  a 
state  of  vegetation,  removing  the  insects,  as  far 
as  possible,  and  then  washing  the  tree  at  the 
earth's  surface  with  strong  soap-suds,  every 
week  or  two.  Rubbing  the  trunk  and  main 
branches  with  soap-suds  several  times  a  year, 
is  also  highly  conducive  to  keeping  the  tree  in 
a  healthy  stale.  The  ground  should  be  kept 
loose  around  the  peach  tree.  (Orchardist'$ 
Cmnpanion.) 

The  application  of  a  mixture  of  common 
salt  and  saltpetre  has  been  recommended  by  a 
gentleman  in  Maryland,  as  successful  in  pre- 
serving peach  trees  against  the  attacks  of 
worms.  The  proportions  are,  1  part  of  salt- 
petre to  8  parts  of  common  salt.  Half  a  pound 
of  this  mixture  to  a  tree  of  7  years  old  and 
upwards,  is  to  be  strewed  upon  the  surface  of 
the  ground  around  and  in  immediate  conta<'t 
with  the  trunk  of  the  tree.  The  mixture  is 
also  recommended  to  be  sown  over  the  or- 
chard in  the  proportion  of  2  bushels  to  the  acre. 
By  this  means,  it  is  said,  the  fruit  is  improved 

87<» 


PEACH. 


PEACH  TREE  BORER. 


1*1  size  and  flavour,  the  worms  destroyed,  and 
tne  yellows  prevented. 

The  Ydlotos.  The  immediate  cause  of  this 
fatal  disease  with  which  the  peach  tree  is  so 
often  attacked,  is  still  a  matter  involved  in 
.great  obscurity.  The  following  observations, 
by  Mr.  Robert  Sinclair,  of  Clairmont  Nursery, 
near  Baltimore,  Maryland,  contains  the  views 
of  a  person  of  great  intelligence  and  expe- 
rience, in  regard  to  the  disease  in  question. 

As  I  have,  for  about  30  years,  occasionally 
had  my  attention  drawn  to  this  subject,  I  am 
willing,  says  Mr.  Sinclair,  to  throw  in  my  mite 
of  experience.  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  the 
complaint  exists.  Some  persons  say  that  the 
worm  at  the  root  is  the  cause  of  the  yellows. 
I  acknowledge  that  any  disorder  that  destroys 
the  trees  will  cause  the  leaves  to  turn  yellow; 
but  the  complaint  I  call  the  yellows  will  kill  a 
whole  orchard,  without  any  visible  wounds,  on 
or  before  the  third  or  fourth  full  crop.  I  think 
where  any  neighbourhood  abounds  with  peach 
orchards,  it  will  be  nearly  impossible  to  keep 
clear  of  the  disease. 

On  planting  out  young  peach  trees  on  the 
site  of  a  peach  nursery,  two  years  after  the 
nursery  was  removed,  and  although  the  ground 
was  in  other  respects  well  suited  for  the  growth 
of  the  peach  tree,  yet  by  the  next  autumn  many 
of  them  were  dead,  and  the  balance  so  sickly 
that  I  had  them  all  dug  up,  and  there  was  no 
sign  of  the  worm  at  their  roots.  From  this,. 
and  other  similar  experiments,  I  think  the  dis- 
ease may  be  generated  by  planting  too  near 
where  a  nursery  or  orchard  of  peach  trees  has 
been,  or  where  the  latter  is;  consequently, 
where  a  neighbourhood  abounds  with  peach 
trees,  there  is  danger  of  its  becoming  over- 
spread with  disease,  without  greater  care  than 
is  usually  taken  to  prevent  it. 

I  think  I  have  seen  evidences  of  its  being  in 
some  degree  contagious.  Richard  Cromwell, 
the  respectable  and  worthy  peach  raiser,  near 
Baltimore,  has  for  upwards  of  30  years  sup- 
plied that  city  with  peaches  of  the  best  quality, 
on  a  large  scale.  Some  time  since,  when  I  was 
walking  with  Mr.  Cromwell  through  his  peach 
orchard,  when  the  trees  were  hanging  full  of 
ripe  fruit:  he  pointed  out  a  tree  that  he  said  had 
the  yellows,  having  a  full  crop  upon  it,  at  that 
time  worth  one  dollar  per  peck,  and  to  me  it 
appeared  healthy;  but  he  observed  to  me,  "as 
soon  as  I  take  the  fruit  from  the  tree,  I  shall 
dig  it  up,  in  order  to  prevent  the  disease  spread- 
ing any  farther,  for  I  expect  the  side  of  the  ad- 
joining trees  next  to  it  will  be  affected  next 
season."  I  had  occasion  to  pass  through  Mr. 
Cromwell's  orchard  the  next  fruiting  tinrie,  and 
the  sickly  tree  had  been  dug  up,  but,  as  had 
been  predicted,  parts  of  the  four  neighbouring 
trees  were  evidently  much  affected,  but  only 
the  sides  next  to  the  diseased  tree,  which  made 
it  the  more  striking,  and  convincing  of  the 
contagion,  if  this  is  a  proper  term. 

On  another  occasion,  I  had  a  favourite  early 
purple  peach,  before  I  had  a  nursery,  that  I 
suspected  was  partially  affected  by  the  yellows, 
and  being  desirous  of  preserving  the  variety,  I 
cut  the  healthiest  branch  I  could  get,  and  I  had 
12  buas  inserted  in  healthy  peach  stocks;  but 
;Then  they  had  grown  about  3  feet,  they  showed 
880 


the  disease  so  plainly,  that  in  order  to  preven 
it  from  spreading,  1  pulled  up  all  the  trees  and 
had  them  burnt. 

From  these  cases,  it  seems  to  me  the  disease 
may  be  generated  by  planting  old  peach  or- 
chards or  nurseries  too  soon  after  the  removal 
of  the  old  trees,  and  also  by  planting  too  near 
those  already  affected  with  the  disease ;  and 
if  cuttings  or  scions  are  taken  from  diseased 
trees,  their  product  will  be  also  diseased.-  I 
also  think  the  yellows  may  be  communicated 
to  young  trees  by  planting  seeds:, taken  from 
diseased  peach  trees.  {Hovey's  Magazine  of 
Horticulture.) 

Drying  Peaches.  Several  modes  of  effecting 
this  are  pursued.  When  done  in-doors,  furnaces 
should  be  placed  in  the  cellar  from  which  the 
heated  air  may  rise  into  the  building  suitably 
provided  with  shelves,  &c. 

In  some  of  the  Southern  States,  says  Mr. 
Kenrick,  the  process  is  facilitated  by  a  pre- 
vious scalding.  This  is  effected  by  immersing 
baskets  of  the  fruit  a  few  minutes  in  kettles 
of  boiling  water.  They  are  afterwards  halved, 
the  stone  separated,  and  being  laid  with  the 
skins  downwards,  the  drying  is  effected  in  the 
sun  in  three  days  of  good  weather.  They  then 
may  be  stored  in  boxes. 

In  France,  as  we  are  informed,  peaches  and 
other  fruits  are  thus  dried  whole.  The  peaches 
or  other  fruits,  being  pared,  are  boiled  for  a  few 
minutes  in  a  syrup  consisting  of  1  pound  of 
sugar  dissolved  in  3  quarts  of  water,  and  after 
being  drained  by  being  laid  singly  on  board 
dishes,  they  are  placed  in  the  oven  after  the 
bread  is  taken  out,  and  when  sufficiently  dry 
they  are  packed  in  boxes.  The  following  is 
the  mode  of  drying  practised  by  Mr.  Thomas 
Bellangee,  of  Egg  Harbour,  New  Jersey.  He 
has  a  small  house  provided  with  a  stove,  and 
drawers  in  the  sides  of  the  house  lathed  at 
their  bottoms,  with  void  intervals.  The  peaches 
should  be  ripe,  and  cut  in  two,  not  peeled,  and 
laid  in  a  single  layer  on  the  laths,  with  their 
skins  downward,  to  save  the  juice.  On  shov 
ing  in  the  drawer,  they  are  soon  dried  by  the 
hot  air  produced  by  the  stove.  In  this  way 
great  quantities  may  successively,  in  a  single 
season,  be  prepared,  with  a  very  little  expense 
in  the  preparation  of  the  building,  and  in  fuel. 

PEACH  TREE  BORER.  PI.  16,  fig.  8.  The 
following  interesting  description  of  the  peach 
tree  worm,  with  a  mode  of  protecting  against 
its  ravages,  is  from  Dr.  Harris's  'Treatise  on 
Destructive  Insects. 

The  pernicious  borer,  which,  during  many 
years  past,  has  proved  very  destructive  to 
peach  trees  throughout  the  United  States,  is  a 
species  of  JE^erin,  named  exitiosa,  or  the  de- 
structive, by  Mr.  Say,  who  first  scientifically 
described  it  in  the  third  volume  of  the  Journal 
of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  subsequently  gave  a  representation 
and  account  of  it  in  his  .American  Entomology. 
In  the  fifth  volume  of  the  New  England 
Farmery  I  have  given  the  history  of  this  in- 
sect, have  mentioned  the  principal  authors 
who  have  noticed  it,  and  recommended  pre- 
ventive measures,  which  have  been  found 
effectual  in  protecting  the  peach  tree  from  its 
most  serious  attacks.    The  eggs,  from  which 


r 


PEACH  TREE  BORER. 


these  borers  are  hatched,  are  deposited,  in  the 
course  of  the  summer,  upon  the  trunk  of  the 
tree  near  the  root ;  the  borers  penetrate  the 
bark,  and  devour  the  inner  bark  and  sap-wood. 
The  seat  of  their  operations  is  known  by  the 
castings  and  gum  which  issue  from  the  holes 
in  the  tree.  When  these  borers  are  nearly  one 
year  old,  they  make  their  cocoons  either  under 
the  bark  of  the  trunk  or  of  the  root,  or  in  the 
earth  and  gum  contiguous  to  the  base  of  the 
trees ;  soon  afterwards  they  are  transformed 
to  chrysalids,  and  finally  come  forth  in  the 
winged  state,  and  lay  the  eggs  for  another  ge- 
neration of  borers.  The  last  transformation 
takes  place  from  June  to  October,  most  fre- 
quently, however,  during  the  month  of  July,  in 
the  state  of  Massachusetts.  Here,  although 
there  are  several  broods  produced  by  a  suc- 
cession of  hatches,  there  is  but  one  rotation 
of  metamorphosei  consummated  within  a  year. 
Hence  borers,  of  all  sizes,  will  be  found  in  the 
trees  throughout  the  year,  although  it  seems  to 
be  necessary  that  all  of  them,  whether  more  or 
ess  advanced,  should  pass  through  one  winter 
before  they  appear  in  the  winged  state.  Un- 
der its  last  form,  this  insect  is  a  slender,  dark- 
blue,  four-winged  moth,  having  a  slight  re- 
semblance to  a  wasp  or  ichneumon-fly,  to  which 
it  is  sometimes  likened.  The  two  sexes  differ 
greatly  from  each  other,  so  much  so  as  to  have 
caused  them  to  be  mistaken  for  two  distinct 
species.  The  male-  which  is  much  smaller 
than  the  female,  has  all  the  wings  transparent, 
but  bordered  and  veined  with  steel-blue,  which 
is  the  general  colour  of  the  body  in  both  sexes  ; 
the  palpi  or  feelers,  the  edges  of  the  collar,  of 
the  shoulder-covers,  of  the  rings  of  the  ab- 
domen, and  of  the  brush  on  the  tail,  are  pale 
yellow,  and  there  are  two  rings  of  the  same 
yellow  colour  on  the  shins.  It  expands  about 
1  inch.  The  fore-wings  of  the  female  are  blue, 
and  opake,  the  hind-wings  transparent,  and 
bordered  and  veined  like  those  of  the  male,  and 
the  middle  of  the  abdomen  is  encircled  by  a 
broad  orange-coloured  belt.  It  expands  1^  inch 
or  more.  This  insect  does  not  confine  its 
attacks  to  the  peach  tree.  I  have  repeatedly 
obtained  both  sexes  from  borers  inhabiting  the 
excrescences  which  are  found  on  the  trunks 
and  limbs  of  the  cherry  tree ;  and  moreover, 
I  have  frequently  taken  them  in  connection  on 
the  trunks  of  cherry  and  of  peach  trees.  They 
sometimes  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  crotches 
of  the  branches  of  the  peach  tree,  where  the 
borers  will  subsequently  be  found;  but  the  in-  I 
jury,  sustained  by  their  operations  in  such 
parts,  bears  no  comparison  to  that  resulting 
from  their  attacks  at  the  base  of  the  tree,  which 
they  too  often  completely  girdle,  and  thus  cause  i 
its  premature  decay  and  death.  The  following  | 
plan,  which  was  recommended  by  me  in  the 
year  1826,  and  has  been  tried  with  complete 
success  by  several  persons  in  this  vicinity,  will  ! 
effectually  protect  the  neck,  or  most  vital  part 
of  the  tree,  from  injury.  Remove  the  earth 
around  the  base  of  the  tree,  crush  and  destroy 
the  cocoons  and  borers  which  may  be  found  in 
it,  and  under  the  bark,  cover  the  wounded  parts 
with  the  common  clay  composition,  and  sur- 
round the  trunk  with  a  strip  of  sheathing  paper 
8  or  9  inches  wido»  which  should  extend  2 
111 


PEAR  TREE. 

[  inches  below  the  level  of  the  soil,  and  be  se- 
cured with  strings  of  matting  above.  Fresh 
mortar  should  then  be  placed  around  the  root, 
so  as  to  confine  the  paper  and  prevent  access 
beneath  it,  and  the  remaining  cavity  may  be 
filled  with  new  or  unexhausted  loam.  This 
operation  should  be  performed  in  the  spring  or 
during  the  month  of  June.  In  the  winter  the 
strmgs  may  be  removed,  and  in  the  following 
spring  the  trees  should  again  be  examined  for 
any  borers  that  may  have  escaped  search  be- 
fore, and  the  protecting  applications  should  be 
renewed. 

PEACOCK  (Pavo  nistatus.)  The  peacock 
need  scarcely  be  mentioned  as  a  bird- of  eco- 
nomical use.  Pea-hens  and  pea-chickens,  in- 
deed, are  occasionally  used  for  food,  but  this 
splendid  creature  is,  and  ought  to  be,  regarded 
solely  as  an  object  of  beauty.  The  advantages 
to  be  derived  from  rearing  it  for  food  are  not 
to  be  thought  of.     See  Fowl,  the  Pea. 

PEARL-WORT  (Sa^na ;  from  sagino,  fat- 
ness; in  allusion  to  its  presumed  nourishing 
qualities  for  sheep).  These  are  hardy  annual 
weeds,  growing  in  any  soil.  There  are  in  Eng- 
land three  indisrenous  species. 

PEAR  TREE  (Pyrus,  from  piren,  the  Celtic 
word  for  pear).  Like  other  species  of  culti- 
vated fruits,  there  are  now  a  very  great  num- 
ber of  varieties,  more  than  600  being  enume- 
rated in  the  Horticultural  Society's  catalogue. 
A  deep,  rich  loam  is  necessary  for  pear  trees. 
They  are  increased  by  seeds,  or  by  budding 
and  grafting,  which  is  the  more  common  me- 
thod, upon  stocks  of  their  own  kind,  or  upon 
the  quince.  The  established  kinds  are  multi- 
plied by  grafting  the  choicer  on  the  common 
kinds.  Almost  the  same  treatment  is  required 
in  pruning  and  training  the  pear  as  the  apple. 
When  we  reflect  on  the  labours  of  the  horti- 
culturists, who  have  by  cultivation  made  the 
pear  tree  forget  its  natural  thorns,  and  instead 
of  an  acerb  berry,  produce  us  a  fruit  so  fair 
and  uectareous,  we  find  our  warmest  gratitude 
an  insufficient  return. 

The  wild  pear  tree  (P.  communis)  is  a  tall, 
handsome  tree,  growing  in  woods  and  hedges, 
with  thorny  branches,  and  simple,  ovate,  ser- 
rated leaves ;  downy  beneath,  and  fringed  with 
soft,  white  hairs.  The  flowers  are  copious,  ter- 
minal, in  corymbs,  snow-white,  with  pink  an- 
thers. Fruit  obovate,  generally  hard  and  aus- 
tere, but  liable,  even  in  a  wild  state,  to  many 
varieties,  and  sometimes  eatable.  The  wood 
is  light,  of  a  fine  grain,  and  tolerably  hard.  It 
is  used  by  turners  to  make  joiner's  tools  and 
picture-frames  to  be  dyed  black,  and  is  also 
frequently  stained  and  substituted  for  ebony. 
The  white  wild  pear  tree  (P.  aria),  we  have 
already  noticed  under  the  head  Beam  Tree. 
The  expressed  juice  of  the  pear,  when  ferment- 
ed in  the  manner  of  cider,  constitutes  the  well- 
known  beverage,  perry. 

Grafting  and  Inoculating. — In  Europe  it  is  very 
common  to  set  the  pear  on  a  quince  stock  for 
clayey  and  light  soils,  whilst  for  trees  intended 
for  sandy  and  calcareous  soils,  the  free  stock 
pear  is  preferred.  Grafted  on  the  white  thorn 
(which,  like  the  quince,  renders  them  dwarf- 
ish), pears  come  very  early  into  bearing,  con- 
tinue prolific,  and,  in  respect  to  soil,  will  thrive 
4e2  i^[ 


PEAR  TREE. 


PEAR  TREE. 


well  on  a  strong  clay,  which  is  considered  un- 
suitable to  those  on  quinces  and  wildings.  But 
they  are  supposed  to  have  an  unfavourable  in- 
fluence upon  the  fruit,  in  rendering  it  small 
and  hard.  The  following  observations  relating 
to  the  pear  tree,  its  fruit,  diseases,  and  insect 
enemies,  are  from  the  Nav  American  Orchardist, 
by  Mr.  Kenrick,  whose  list  of  fruits  is  valuable. 

By  grafting  or  inoculating  on  the  quinr-e, 
pear  trees  come  much  sooner  into  bearing, 
their  productiveness  is  increased,  the  good 
•juality  of  the  fruit  is  not  changed,  but  the  size 
and  longevity  of  the  tree  are  diminished.  Such 
pear  trees  are  termed  dtoarfs.  This  mode  is 
extensively  adopted  in  France;  but  all  kinds 
of  pears  will  not  grow  on  the  quince  stock. 
Those  dwarfs  trained  in  the  form  of  a  distaff, 
are  called  in  that  country  Qnenouilles. 

The  pear  tree  is  of  an  extreme  hardihood, 
exceeding  that  of  the  quince,  and  is  seldom 
annoyed  by  the  borer.  The  quince,  when  ex- 
posed, is  liable  to  danger  from  the  borer  in  the 
same  degree  as  the  apple  tree.  Their  attacks 
always  commence  in  the  parts  exposed  above 
ground,  or  at  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  never 
beneath.  In  transplanting  the  pears,  therefore, 
the  quince  stock  must  always  be  completely 
buried  more  than  an  inch  beneath  the  soil. 
Thus  situated  and  protected,  the  quince  stock, 
from  its  nature,  will  strike  root  suddenly,  new 
and  numerous  roots  being  produced  on  all 
sides,  quite  to  the  junction  of  the  pear.  Such 
is  the  mode  adopted  in  practice  by  S.  G.  Per- 
kins, Esq.,  and  by  other  experienced  cultiva- 
tors, for  the  complete  protection  of  the  quince 
stock  from  all  dangers  of  every  kind.  • 

Soil  and  Distance. — The  pear  flourishes  in 
rich  soils  and  gentle  declivities ;  they  will  suc- 
ceed in  the  most  common,  deep,  dry  soil,  and 
throw  out  numerous  lateral  shoots.  But  they 
do  not  flourish  in  moist  situations ;  in  a  cold, 
strong,  moist  soil,  with  a  clayey  subsoil,  they 
throw  out  very  few  lateral  roots,  the  fruit  is  not 
so  fair,  or  of  so  good  a  quality,  and  the  trees 
are  not  so  long-lived.  They  will  even  grow  in 
poor  soils,  and  in  the  clefts  of  rocks. 

With  respect  to  distance,  the  same  observa- 
tions to  be  found  under  the  head  of  Apple  may 
here  apply.  But  the  pear,  from  its  pyramidal 
form,  requires  much  less  space.  20  feet,  in 
suitable  soils,  is  a  good  distance ;  but  less 
answers  in  poorer  soils.  Quenouilles  are  found 
to  answer  even  at  4  or  5  feet  distance,  pro- 
ducing large  crops ;  and,  as  they  occupy 
but.  little  space,  and  come  suddenly  into  bear- 
ing, they  are,  for  profit,  extensively  cultivated 
in  France.  The  specimen  pear  trees  at  the 
Jardin  du  Roi,  or  Garden  of  Plants  at  Paris, 
in  the  autumn  of  1840,  were  under  the  par- 
ticular care  and  management  of  Mons.  Dal- 
bret,  the  pupil  of  Thouin,  and  himself  the 
author  of  a  most  valuable  work  on  pruning. 
These  trees  were  kept  in  the  most  perfect  Que- 
v.ovilh  or  pyramidal  form,  from  the  summit 
quite  down  to  the  ground,  by  the  system  of  short 
or  spur  pruning;  and  although  at  the  distance 
of  but  about  7  feet  asunder,  yet  they  appeared 
to  have  ample  space,  and  bore  most  abundant 
crops.  But  M.  Dalbret  then  stated  that  10  feet 
was  the  most  suitable  distance.  In  the  climate 
882 


of  the  United  States,  and  with  more  heat  and 
sunshine,  and  finer  skies,  less  distance  might 
suffice.  Pears  produced  on  quince  stocks  are 
found  to  be  much  improved  in  flavour;  all  but 
some  particular  winter  kinds,  which  are  said 
in  some  cases  to  become  worse. 

The  young,  luxuriant  shoots  of  the  pear  tree, 
by  being  bent  downwards,  generally  produced 
the  finest  possible  bearing  wood  for  the  second 
year;  and,  by  grafting  on  the  quince,  and  bend-* 
ing  the  branches,  fruit  may  be  produced  from 
a  seedling  pear  in  the  third  or  fourth  year  from 
the  seed,  which,  in  the  common  course,  would 
require  from  7  to  14  years.  That  system  of 
rendering  trees  productive  is  fully  described  in 
Mr.  Kenrick's  Orchardist.  He  believes  it  to  be 
the  best  system  of  all  others. 

As  to  standards,  very  little  other  pruning  is 
necessary,  except  taking  out  those  few  limbs 
that  interfere  in  keeping  the  tree  well  ba- 
lanced. 

The  blight,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  fire- 
blight,  is  a  malady  which  sometimes  affects  the 
pear  tree  during  the  months  of  June  and  July, 
causing  the  tree,  or  a  portion  of  its  branches, 
suddenly  to  turn  black,  with  a  mortal  affection; 
its  leaves  wither  at  once,  as  by  a  stroke  of  the 
sun,  and  in  a  few  hours  become  of  a  brown  or 
black  colour.  Mr.  Lowell  is  of  opinion  that 
this  disease  is  caused  by  an  insect  called  the 
Scolytus  pyri.  He  observes,  "  On  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  this  disease,  I  instantly  sawed  off 
all  the  limbs  affected,  and  proceeded  to  exa- 
mine them.  I  found  at  last  the  enemy,  not  at 
the  point  where  death  ensued,  but  some  inches 
below  it.  The  insect  was  very  small,  and  ap- 
parently incapable  of  such  extensive  mischief; 
but  the  effect  was  certain,  and  the  manner  of 
producing  that  effect  was  obvious.  It  had  eaten 
a  complete  circle  of  the  alburnum,  or  sap-wood, 
not  exceeding  the  size  of  a  knitting-needle,  so 
as  completely  to  intercept  the  passage  of  the 
sap."  This  insect  was  shown  by  Mr.  Lowell 
to  the  late  Professor  Peck,  and  in  the  account 
of  the  insect  which  was  soon  after  published 
in  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  Repository,  the 
professor  observed,  that  the  mischievous  effects 
of  this  insect  may  be  observed  in  June  and 
July,  and  that  the  dead  part  of  the  branches 
should  be  cut  off  without  delay  and  burned. 
Mr.  Lowell  has  stated  (New  England  Farmer^ 
vol.  V.  p.  2),  that  by  steadily  pursuing  the  sys- 
tem of  cutting  off  the  limbs  many  inches  below 
the  apparent  injury,  and  burning  them,  the  in- 
sects have  been  extirpated  from  his  estate. 

The  account  of  Professor  Peck  was  repub- 
lished in  the  New  England  Farmer,  vol.  ii.  p.  43, 
Some  writers  have  attributed  this  disease  to  a 
stroke  of  the  sun;  others  attribute  it  to  manur- 
ing too  high;  some  to  excessive  moisture  at 
the  roots,  and  too  much  pruning,  which  is  sup- 
posed to  cause  a  surfeit  and  produce  a  stagna- 
tion. But  all  agree  that  the  only  remedy  is  to 
saw  off  the  limb.     {Kenrick*s  Am,  Orchardist.) 

Some  years  ago,  it  was  ascertained  that  a 
species  of  ^geria  inhabited  the  pear  tree  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  and  it  is  said  that  con- 
siderable injury  has  resulted  from  it.  An  in- 
fested tree  may  be  known  by  the  castings  thrown 
out  of  the  small  perforations  made  by  the  borers 


PEAT. 


PEAT. 


which  live  under  the  bark  of  the  trunk,  and 
subsist  chiefly  upon  the  inner  bark.  They  make 
their  cocoons  under  the  bark,  and  change  to 
chrysalids  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer. 
The  winged  insects  appear  in  the  autumn, 
having,  like  others  of  this  kind,  left  their  chry- 
salis skins  projecting  from  the  orifice  of  the 
holes  which  they  had  previously  made.  In  its 
winged  form,  this  .-Egeria  is  very  much  like 
that  which  inhabits  the  currant-bush  ;  but  it  is  a 
smaller  species.  It  was  described  by  Dr.  Har- 
ris in  the  year  1830,  under  the  name  of  ^geria 
pyri,  the  pear  tree  ^geria ;  and  his  account  of 
It  will  be  found  on  the  second  page  of  the  ninth 
Volume  of  the  New  England  Farmer.  Its  wings 
expand  rather  more  than  half  an  inch ;  are 
transparent,  but  veined,  bordered,  and  fringed 
With  purplish  black,  and  across  the  tips  of  the 
fore- wings  is  a  broad,  dark  band,  glossed  with 
coppery  tints;  the  prevailing  colour  of  the 
upper  side  of  the  body  is  purple-black ;  but 
most  of  the  under-side  is  golden-yellow,  as  are 
the  edges  of  the  collar,  of  the  shoulder-covers, 
and  of  the  fan-shaped  brush  on  the  tail ;  and 
there  is  a  broad  yellow  band  across  the  middle 
of  the  abdomen,  preceded  by  two  narrow  bands 
of  the  same  colour.     (Harris.) 

Drying  Pears. — When  dried  in  ovens,  the 
fruit  will  keep  for  years.  This  mode  of  pre- 
serving is  common  in  France.  Bosc  has  de- 
scribed two  modes  of  drj'ing  pears,  and  adds, 
that,  in  some  of  the  cantons  o(  that  country, 
the  cultivators  annually  preserve,  by  these 
means,  supplies  of  subsistence  extremely 
agreeable  and  wholesome  during  winter  and 
spring.  He  invites  cultivators  not  to  neglect 
this  resource.  In  this  mode  of  drying,  those 
varieties  of  middle  size,  melting  and  sweet, 
are  preferred.  After  the  bread  is  drawn  from 
the  oven,  they  are  placed  on  the  swept  hearth, 
or  on  hurdles  or  boards.  This  operation  is 
repeated  a  second,  a  third,  and  even  a  fourth 
time,  according  to  their  size  and  the  degree  of 
heat.  The  heat  must  not  be  so  great  as  to 
scorch,  and  the  fruit  must  not  be  dried  to 
hardness.  Lastly,  they  are  placed  in  bags,  and 
preserved  in  a  dry  place.  The  second  mode 
of  preserving  is  practised  chiefly  on  the  Rous- 
selets  and  finest-flavoured  varieties.  Bosc 
states  that  he  has  tried  them  after  three  years' 
preservation,  and  found  them  still  good ;  but 
they  are  better  during  the  first  year.  They  are 
gathered  a  little  before  their  maturity,  and  after 
being  half-boiled  in  a  small  quantity  of  water, 
they  are  peeled  and  drained.  They  are  next 
carried  on  hurdles  to  the  oven,  after  the  bread 
is  drawn,  or  the  oven  is  heated  to  a  suitable 
degree  ;  here  they  remain  twelve  hours ;  after 
which  they  are  steeped  in  the  syrup,  to  which 
have  been  added  sugar,  cinnamon,  cloves,  and 
brandy.  They  are  again  returned  to  the  oven, 
which  is  now  heated  to  a  less  degree  than  at 
first.  This  operation  is  thrice  repeated,  until 
they  are  sufliciently  dried,  or  of  a  clear  brown 
colour,  and  firm,  transparent  flesh;  and  finally  I 
they  are  packed  in  boxes  lined  with  paper,  i 
{Kenrirk's  Orchardist.)  I 

PEAT.     A  collection  of  vegetable  remains, 
commonly  collected  together  in  considerable  j 
masses,  either  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  \ 
in  s.irata,  at  various  depths.     Owing  to  the  I 


changes  which  the  plants  composing  it  have 
undergone,  it  contains  much  tannic  acid,  which 
preserves  the  vegetable  matter  from  further 
decomposition.  It  contains  elements  for  the 
formation  of  the  richest  manure  when  sub- 
stances are  added  to  it  to  decompose  the  tan- 
nic acid,  and  hasten  the  decomposition  of  the 
vegetable  matters,  such  as  lime  or  marl.  Peat 
has  been  found,  when  used  alone  as  manure, 
not  to  possess  any  fertilizing  qualities,  as  might 
be  expected  from  its  nature;  but  it  has  been 
advantageously  employed  as  a  mixture  with 
compost.     See  Farm-Yaiii)  Maivure. 

It  often  happens  that  in  extensive  agricul- 
tural districts  at  a  distance  from  cities  and 
other  places  from  which  they  might  obtain 
supplies  of  animal  manures,  the  domestic  re- 
sources of  the  farm-yards  are  entirely  inade- 
quate to  preserve  the  fertility  of  the  extensive 
fields.  It  becomes  a  question  of  deep  interest 
whether  it  be  possible  to  enrich  barren  fields 
without  the  aid  of  animals  and  the  resources 
of  the  farm-yard.  Under  the  head  of  Farm- 
Yard  Manures  it  will  be  seen  that  by  Lord 
Meadowbank,  Mr.  Dickson,  and  other  English 
agriculturists  of  high  reputation,  one  load  of 
dung  has,  by  judicious  mixture  with  peat  and 
other  matters,  been  made  into  six  loads  of  ma- 
nure, possessing  equal  fertilizing  power. 

The  regular  peat  formation  of  geologists,  so 
extensive  in  Britain,  can  hardly  be  said  to  ex- 
ist in  the  United  Slates.  But  a  substance  is 
found  in  abundance  in  bogs  and  marshes 
throughout  the  Union,  sufficiently  analogous  in 
composition  to  answer  most,  if  not  all,  the  va- 
luable purposes  of  European  peat. 

Dr.  Samuel  L.  Dana,  of  Lowell,  Massachu- 
setts, has  published  a  work  of  the  highest  in- 
terest to  agriculturists,  under  the  title  of  j1 
Muck  Manual  for  Farmers.  After  treating  of 
the  various  matters  relating  to  soil,  its  ele- 
ments, and  the  agencies  brought  to  act  upon  it, 
he  introduces,  under  the  head  of  Artificial  Ma- 
nures, chiefly  consisting  of  geine,  the  subject 
of  swamp-muck,  mud,  or  peat. 

Peat,  he  states,  is  the  result  of  a  spontaneous 
change  in  vegetable  matter,  which  ends  in  the 
production  of  geine,  a  term  which  he  applies  to 
designate  humus  and  humic  acid.  Among 
manures,  consisting  chiefly  of  geine,  peat,  he 
says,  is  what  bone-dust  is  among  manures, 
consisting  of  animal  matter.  Peat  is  highly 
concentrated  vegetable  food.  Under  the  gene- 
ral name  of  peal.  Dr.  Dana  comprises  several 
varieties,  distinguished  as,  1st.  Peat,  the  com- 
pact substance  generally  known  and  used  as 
fuel,  under  this  name.  2d.  Turf,  or  swamp 
muck,  by  which  is  to  be  understood  the  paring 
removed  before  the  peat  is  dug.  It  is  a  less 
compact  variety  of  peat,  common  in  all  mea- 
dow swamps,  and  includes  the  hassocks  or 
tussacks.  It  includes  also  the  mud  of  salt 
marshes.  3d.  Pond  mud,  the  slushy  material 
found  at  the  bottom  of  ponds  when  dry,  or  in 
low  grounds,  the  wash  of  higher  lands.  This 
seldom  contains  more  than  20  per  cent,  of 
geine.  These  varieties  comprise  probably  a 
fair  sample  of  all  the  peat,  and  swamp  muck, 
and  pond  mud,  which  occur  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  country.  Dr.  Dana  has  given  analyses 
of  12  specimens  representing  the  diflTerent  va 


PEAT. 


PEAT. 


100  parts,  dried  at  a  temperature  of  300°  Fah 
renheil, — by  which  process  it  loses  73  to  97  per 
cent,  of  water : — soluble  geine,  29-46 ;  insoluble 
geine,  55-03  ;  total  geine,  85-39  ;  salts  and  sili- 
cates, 15-69.  The  poorest  varieties  of  pond 
mud  gave  only  5  to  8  per  cent,  soluble  geine, 
6  to  9  per  cent,  insoluble  geine,  or  about  14  per 
cent,  total  of  geine,  and  85  of  salts  and  sili 
cates. 

When  fresh-dug  peat,  of  average  quality 
is  analyzed  in  its  wet  state,  it  is  found  to  con- 
tain : — 


Water 
Salts  of  lime 
Silicates     - 
Geine 


85- 


100- 


It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  this  result  differs 
very  little  from  the  result  of  the  analyses  of 
fresh  cow  dung,  so  far  as  the  proportions  of 
geine,  water,  and  salts  are  concerned. 

When  allowed  to  drain  as  dry  as  it  will, 
pond-mud  still  contains  about  two-thirds  of  its 
weight  of  water.  It  shrinks  from  two-thirds 
to  three-fourths  of  its  bulk,  a  cubic  yard  wet 
becoming  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  a  yard 
when  dry. 

A  cord  of  pond  mud  weighs,  when  dug,  6117 
lbs.,  and  contains  solid  matter,  3495  lbs. ;  com- 
posed of  geine,  495  lbs. ;  of  silicates  and  salts, 
3005  lbs. 

The  salts  and  geine  of  a  cord  of  peat  are 
equal  to  the  manure  of  one  cow  for  three 
months.  It  is  certainly  a  very  curious  coin- 
cidence of  results,  that  nature  herself  should 
have  prepared  a  substance,  whose  agricultural 
value  approaches  so  near  cow  dung,  the  type 
of  manures.  The  power  of  producing  alkaline 
action  on  the  insoluble  geine,  is  alone  wanted 
to  make  peat  good  cow  dung. 

The  great  question  comes,  how  is  to  be  given 
to  peat,  a  substance  which  in  all  other  respects 
is  so  nearly  allied  to  cow  dung,  that  lacking 
element,  ammonia,  without  which  cow  dung 
would  be  no  better  than  peat,  nay,  not  so  good, 
since  in  peat  nearly  one-half  of  the  geine  or 
humus  is  already  in  a  soluble  state.  It  is  well 
understood  that  the  various  matters  used  as 
manure,  either  solid  or  liquid,  from  whatever 
source  derived,  all  possess  a  common  property 
of  generating  ammonia.  Peat  in  its  ordinary 
state  contains  traces  of  ammonia,  which  is 
evolved  freely  on  the  addition  of  caustic  pot- 
ash or  common  ashes.  Peat,  then,  is  a  source 
of  nitrogen,  since  this  with  hydrogen  consti- 
tiites  ammonia.  Without  going  into  all  the 
nice  chemical  reasoning  of  which  Dr.  Dana 
avails  himself,  we  will  simply  state  his  main 
conclusion,  namely:  that  by  the  addition  of 
alkali  to  peat,  it  is  put  into  the  state  which 
ammonia  gives  to  dung. 

With  regard  to  the  quantity  of  alkali  required 
to  be  added  to  swamp-muck  or  peat,  in  order 
I'  bring  it  to  an  equality  with  cow  dung,  **  It 
;»  found,"  says  Dr.  Dana,  "  that 

52  parts  of  ammonia  are  equal  to 
68  parts  of  soda,  or  white  ash,  or  to 
"'2  parts  of  1st  quality  pot  or  pearlash,  or 
86  parts  of  2d  quality  pot  or  pearlash. 
884 


tieties,  the  average  of  the  10  best  being  per  [  For  all  agricultural  purposes,  it  may  be  con. 
tnn  „„_.„  j_:^j  _.  -  z-^^^n  ^  ,      sidered,  that  salts  of  hartshorn,  or  carbonate 

of  ammonia,  and  white  or  soda  ash,  are  equal, 
pound  for  pound,  and  that  pots  and  pearls  may 
be  taken  at  one-half  more. 

"If  all  the  nitrogen  in  dung  becomes  ammo- 
nia, then  each  100  lbs.  affords  2  lbs.  2  oz. 
Hence,  if  to  100  lbs.  fresh-dug  peat,  there  are 
added  2  lbs.  of  soda  ash,  or  3  lbs.  of  pot  or 
pearl  ashes,  all  the  good  effects  of  real  cow 
dung  will  be  produced.  Peat  or  muck  thus 
requires  2  per  cent,  of  soda  ash,  or  3  per  cent, 
of  potash. 

"A  cord  of  green  peat  weighs  9216  lbs.;  2 
per  cent,  is  184  lbs.  Hence,  a  cord  requires 
that  amount  of  soda  ash,  or  276  lbs.  of  potash. 
But  if  the  peat  is  quite  dry,  so  as  to  have  lost 
I  of  its  bulk,  then  736  lbs.  of  soda  ash,  or 
1104  lbs.  potash  will  be  necessary.  Two  per 
cent,  of  alkali  seems  enormous.  It  is  stated, 
in  the  hope  that  it  may  lead  to  experiments  on 
the  free  use  of  alkali.  But  as  it  will  be  here- 
after shown,  that  this  is  to  be  reduced  by  mix- 
ing with  loam  or  other  matter,  this  quantity, 
even  if  applied  to  one  acre,  will  probably  pro- 
duce very  good  effects. 

"There  are  other  practical  facts,  which  may 
help  to  a  solution  of  the  question,  how  much 
alkali  is  to  be  added  to  a  cord  of  peat.  Ac- 
cording to  the  experience  of  Mr.  Phinney,  of 
Lexington,  an  authority  which  may  not  be 
questioned,  a  cord  of  green  dung  converts 
twice  its  bulk  of  peat  into  a  manure  of  equal 
value  to  itself— that  is,  a  cord  of  clear  stable 
dung,  composted  with  two  of  peat,  forms  a 
manure  of  equal  value  to  three  cords  of  green 
dung.  Indeed,  the  permanent  effects  of  this 
compost,  according  to  Mr.  Phinney,  exceed 
those  of  stable  dung.  On  this  fact,  2  lbs.  of 
ammonia  in  100  lbs.  of  cow  dung,  should  con- 
vert 200  lbs.  of  fresh-dug  peat  into  good  cow 
dung.  The  equivalents  of  these,  as  has  been 
shown,  are  2  lbs.  of  soda  ash,  or  3  lbs.  of  pot- 
ash. Allowing  the  gaseous  ammonia  to  be 
divided  equally  among  the  300  lbs.  of  dung 
and  peat,  this  is  in  proportion  of  10|  oz.  of 
soda  ash,  or  I  lb.  of  potash  to  100  lbs.  of  fresh 
peat.  Now  this  calciilation,  deduced  from  ac- 
tual experiment,  confirms  the  theoretical  pro- 
portions, supposing  only  ^  of  the  nitrogen  acts, 
though  that  was  made  before  the  author  met 
with  the  statement  of  Mr.  Phinney." 

Dr.  Dana  furnishes  another  striking  evidence 
of  the  favourable  results  from  applying  artifi- 
cial manure.  "  Mr.  George  Robbins,  of  Water- 
town,"  he  says,  "is  an  extensive  manufacturer 
of  soap  and  candles,  and  of  starch,  and,  still 
better,  a  man  who  employs  the  refuse  of  those 
trades  in  enriching  and  gladdening  his  land. 
For  four  years  (and  it  is'  believed  his  crops 
will  compare  with  any  of  the  best  cultivators 
around  him)  he  has  not  used  a  spoonful  of 
manure  made  by  any  animal,  walking  either 
on  two  legs  or  on  four.  He  keeps  11  horses, 
4  cows,  100  hogs;  he  uses  not  a  shovelful  of 
their  manure,  but,  selling  that,  he  uses  peat  and 
swamp-muck,  mixed  with  his  spent  barilla 
ashes.  The  proportions  are,  1  part  of  spent 
ashes  to  3  of  peat,  dug  up  in  the  fall,  mixed  in 
the  spring.  After  shovelling  two  or  three  times, 
it  is  spread  and  ploughed  in.    The  effect  is 


PEAT. 


PEAT   SOILS. 


'^mediate,  and,  so  far,  lasting.  The  effects  of 
this  spent  ashes  alone  on  sandy  loam,  are  ex- 
cellent ;  it  makes  the  whole  quite  '  salvy.' " 

"In  the  preparation  of  manure,"  says  Dr. 
Dana,  "price  is  every  thing.  Let  the  cost  be 
estimated  per  cord,  of  artificial  manure,  pre- 
pareil  in  the  proportions  stated.  Peat  or  muck 
may  be  called  worth  50  cents  per  cord,  and  the 
labour  of  digging,  say  ^1. 

$1  50 


92  lbs.  potasJi,  6  cents    -     $5  521 

Is 

ash,  4  cents    -        -      2  44  f     alkalies 


or  61   "    soda  ash,  or  white  (average  of  \    «  aij 

'  alkalies   /    •»  *" 

or  24  bush,  ashes,  12^  cents        3  OOj 

3)10  96 


$5  15 


365 


"Were  they  really  good  hard  wood-ashes, 
about  16  bushels  would  be  sufficient,  but  an 
excess  here  is  allowed,  to  compensate  for  va- 
riation in  quality.  But  this  may  appear  a  very 
high  price ;  but  it  is  to  be  remembered,  that  its 
value  is  to  be  compared  with  that  of  a  cord  of 
clear  cow  dung.  What  is  the  value  of  cow 
dung?  It  appears  from  the  barn  account  of 
the  Merrimack  Manufacturing  Company,  that 
for  9^  years,  ending  October,  1838,  a  bushel  of 
clear  cow  dung  costs  21^  cents.  During  the 
same  time  dung  of  inferior  quality  was  de- 
livered at  the  printworks,  by  the  neighbouring 
farmers,  at  20  cents  per  bushel.  Clear  dung 
is  delivered  at  the  printworks  in  Dover  at  12^ 
cents  per  bushel,  and  at  several  of  the  print- 
works in  Rhodei  Island,  at  16  cents  per  bushel, 
giving  an  average  of  17-45  cents  per  bushel, 
and  as  a  cord  contains,  in  round  numbers,  100 
bushels,  its  price  is  i$17  45 

Deduct  from  this  the  price  of  an 

artificial  cord,  5  15 


$12  30 
«*  It  is  hence  evident  that  an  artificial  cord  is 
only  about  one-third  of  the  price  of  a  natural 
cord,  and  if  the  last  may  be  mixed  with  two 
parts  of  loam  or  swamp-muck,  so  may  the  first, 
which  will  reduce  the  price  of  a  cord  of  artifi- 
cial manure  to  $2  71.  Now  this  is  equal,  ac- 
cording to  all  experience,  cord  for  cord,  to  stable 
manure  ;  the  value  of  that  may  be  estimated 
at  $6,  so  that  an  artificial  cord  costs  only  about 
one-half.  The  best  plan  for  preparing  the  ar- 
tificial manure,  would  be  to  dig  the  peat  or 
swamp-muck  in  the  fall;  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  let  this  be  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  30 
lbs.  of  potash,  20  lbs.  of  soda  ash,  or  8  bushels 
of  common  house-ashes,  to  every  cord  of  fresh- 
dug  peat,  estimating  this  by  the  pit  dug  out, 
and  allowing  nothing  in  the  spring  for  shrink- 
ing. If  ashes  are  used,  they  may  be  mixed  in 
at  once  with  the  muck,  but  if  soda  ash  or  pot- 
ashes are  used,  they  must  be  dissolved  in  water 
and  the  pile  evenly  wet  with  the  solution.  The 
pile  is  then  to  be  well  shovelled  over,  and  used 
as  is  other  manure.  But  it  has  been  found  by 
experience,  that  the  peat  may  be  dug  in  the 
spring,  immediately  mixed  with  the  alkali,  and 
used  forthwith.  If  spent  ashes  are  used  to 
prepare  this  muck,  add  one  cord  of  spent  ashes 
to  three  cords  of  peat  or  swamp  muck. 

"There  are  other  sources  of  alkali,  for  con- 
verting peat  into  soluble  manure.    Of  these  the 


chief  is*  animal  matter.  Her*  we  have  am- 
monia produced.  It  has  been  actually  proved 
by  experiment,  that  a  dead  horse  can  convert 
20  tons  of  peat  into  a  valuable  manure,  richer 
and  more  lasting  than  stable  dung;  a  barrel 
of  alewives  is  equal  to  a  wagon  load  of  peat. 
The  next  great  and  prolific  source  of  ammo- 
nia is  the  urine.  The  urine  of  one  cow  for  a 
winter,  mixed  up,  as  it  is  daily  collected,  with 
peat,  is  sufficient  to  manure  half  an  acre  of 
land  with  20  loads  of  manure  of  the  best  qua- 
lity, while  her  solid  evacuations  and  litter,  for 
the  same  period,  afforded  only  17  loads,  whose 
value  was  only  about  one-half  that  of  the 
former. 

"It  need  only  be  added  in  confirmation  of 
all  that  has  been  advanced,  that  those  who  have 
had  the  prudence  to  fill  their  yards  and  hog- 
pens with  meadow-mud  which  has  thus  be- 
come saturated  with  ammonia,  have  in  no  wise 
lost  their  reward.  If  they  have  been  satisfied 
with  their  practice,  perhaps  they  will  be  no  less 
firm  in  their  belief  of  success,  when  science 
offers  them  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in 
them.     (Muck  Manual.) 

PEAT  SOILS.  The  improvement  of  peat 
soils  is  a  subject  of  very  considerable  agricul 
tural  importance  in  England,  where  it  involves 
not  only  the  permanent  improvement  of  large 
estates,  but  these  peat  soils  include  a  very 
large  proportion  of  several  counties  in  the 
United  Kingdom. 

The  deep  peat  mosses,  or  bogs,  which  are 
naturally  the  most  difficult  to  bring  into  culti 
vation,  often  extend  to  a  depth  of  ma-iy  feet, 
contain  but  little  earth,  are  usually  tolerably 
level,  and  consist  of  a  mass  of  light  vegetable 
fibres.  This  peat,  even  in  the  midst  of  sum 
mer,  is  commonly  saturated  with  watci }  at 
other  periods  semi-fluid,  and  very  often  a  trem- 
bling, dangerous  quagmire.  Its  soil,  if  I  may 
call  it  such,  is  usually  of  a  dark  brown,  chahg- 
ing  to  a  blackish  colour  when  thoroughly  dritd 
by  a  gentle  heat.  In  this  state  the  peat  is  easily 
inflammable,  is  commonly  used  for  fuel,  and 
has  been  occasionally  employed  by  the  gas 
manufacturer,  the  lime-burner,  the  charcoal 
maker,  and  even  the  iron-smelter. 

The  common  masses  of  peat  existing  on  thi 
earth's  surface  in  England  are  the  products  oi 
the  decay  of  the  mosses,  common  heath-plants 
coarse  grasses,  and  the  sedges  which  often 
accompany  them.  But  the  varieties  of  peat 
are  numerous,  according  to  their  age  and  situ 
ation.  There  are  some  of  the  peats  which  are 
found  beneath  the  soil,  in  the  lower  portions  of 
the  valley  of  the  Thames,  which  are  evidently 
the  remains  of  considerable  masses  of  under 
wood,  and  contain  sulphate  of  iron.  Many 
others,  dispersed  over  the  coast  of  Essex  and 
in  Ireland,  abound  with  the  remains  of  large 
forest  trees,  and  were  most  probably  produced 
by  some  great  convulsion  of  the  earth  in  a  dis 
tant  period.  In  the  southern  counties,  except 
in  those  of  the  banks  of  the  Kennett  and  the 
Thames,  the  depth  of  the  peat  has  not  often 
exceeded  a  few  inches ;  but  in  the  places  men- 
tioned, and  in  those  in  the  northern  counties, 
the  depth  generally  extends  to  several  feet. 

The  formation  of  bog-moss  is  first  com 
menced  in  very  many  instances  by  the  rapid 

886 


PEAT  SOILS. 

growing  broad-leaved  bog-moss  (Sphagnum  la' 
tifoliurn),  a  plant  of  very  curious  habits,  whose 
growth  under  favourable  circumstances  (and 
it  is  strictly  an  aquatic)  extends  from  an  inch  in 
length  to  2  or  3  feet.  In  dry  situations,  or  in 
those  only  periodically  flooded,  its  progress  is 
not  rapid ;  but  when  it  vegetates  always  im- 
mersed in  the  water  of  low,  stagnant  situations, 
there  it  increases  with  great  vigour.  It  is  true 
that  this  plant  is  an  annual;  but  it  sheds  aa 
abundance  of  hardy  seeds,  producing  seed- 
lings, which  vegetate  and  easily  support  them- 
selves in  the  water,  with  a  slight  assistance 
from  the  mere  remains  of  their  preceding  ge- 
neration. Their  thread-like  stems  remain  on 
the  surface  of  the  water  till  the  seed  is  ripened ; 
they  then  fall  to  the  bottom  and  form  distinct 
layers,  which,  in  some  specimens  of  peat,  may 
be  distinctly  traced.  The  bog-moss  thus  com- 
menced, gradually  gets  mixed  with  a  variety 
of  lichens,  mosses,  and  scirpi,  which  annually 
add  to  the  depth  of  the  accumulating  peat ;  and 
as  the  moss  becomes  firmer,  other  plants  gra- 
dually establish  themselves,  such  as  several 
varieties  of  the  rushes  and  sedges.  It  is  only 
when  the  peat-moss  is  r&ised  by  the  gradually- 
accumulated  remains  of  these  peats  from  be- 
neath the  surface  of  the  stagnant  waters,  that 
the  heaths,  the  cranberry,  the  bilberry,  and  the 
grass-weeds  make  their  appearance.  The  few 
plants  which  commoA>  tenant  peat  moors  and 
bogs  are  of  the  most  worthless  kind,  such  as 
all  live-stock  commonly  refuse.  Besides  the 
common  heath-plants  there  are  various  rushes 
{Juncus),  sedges  (Carex),  rush-grasses  (Sclicc- 
nus),  club-rushes  (Cyperus),  cats'-tail  rushes 
(Typha),  bur-weeds  (Sparganium),  &c. 

Amongst  the  few  specimens  of  the  common 
grasses  which  are  found  in  such  places,  strug- 
gling, as  it  were,  for  existence,  are  the  marsh- 
bent  (Agrostis  paluslris),  the  awnless  brown- 
bent  {Agrostis  canina).  This  is  a  very  common 
grass  in  bogs  whose  winter  waters  are  deep. 
The  awned  creeping-bent  (j1.  stolonifera  var. 
arista! a),  the  small-leaved  creeping-bent  (A. 
sto.  ang.),  the  black  couch-bent  (Jl.  repens),  the 
white  bent  (j?.  alba),  the  flote  fescue  (Glyceria 
flidtans),  tall  fescue  (Fesluca  elatior),  turfy  hair- 
grass  {Aira  ccespitosa),  knee-jointed  fox-tail 
grass  (jSlopecurus  geniculaius),  water  hair-grass 
(Mra  aquatica), waiter  meadow-grass  (Poa  aqua- 
tica),  long-leaved  cotton-grass  (Eriopharum poly- 
stackion),  and  the  sheathed  cotton-grass  (jE.  va- 
ginalu/ni). 

It  is  of  primary  importance  that  the  farmer 
should  clearly  understand  the  chemical  compo- 
sition of  the  peat  with  which  he  has  to  con- 
tend, and  that  of  the  watery  solution  with 
which  it  is.  usually  saturated.  The  common 
varieties  of  peat,  when  dried  by  a  moderate 
heat,  lose  a  very  considerable  portion  of  their 
weight,  and  are  materially  reduced  in  bulk. 
The  dry  mass  consists  chiefly  of  woody  fibrous 
lemains  of  a  dark-brown  colour,  of  which  a 
very  inconsiderable  portion  is  soluble  in  water; 
and  even  by  exposure  to  the  unassisted  action 
of  the  sun  and  air,  under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances,  it  decomposes  with  extreme 
f  lowness.  When  burnt  to  an  ash,  the  solid 
l>roduct  thus  obtained,  varies  commonly  in  its 
foin position  with  the  nature  of  the  stratum  of 
y«6 


PEAT  SOILS. 

earth  on  which  the  mass  of  peat  rests.  If  th* 
is  of  a  gravelly  or  argillaceous  natuie,  the 
ashes  are  generally  composed  chiefly  of  silex, 
and  a  small  portion  of  alumina,  oxide  of  iron, 
with  some  carbonate  of  lime  and  sulphate  of 
iron  :  if,  however,  the  substratum  immediately 
under  the  peat  is  calcareous,  then  the  ashes 
commonly  yield  a  considerably  larger  propor- 
tion of  carbonate  of  lime,  the  sulphate  of  iron 
(green  vitriol)  is  absent,  and  the  sulphate  of 
lime  (gypsum)  abounds  in  its  place.  The  cele- 
brated Dutch  ashes,  which  are  productive  of 
such  large  crops  of  clover,  are  composed  of— • 

Part., 

8i1icious  earth  -•-.-.  32 

Sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)       -        -        -  12 
Sulphate  and  muriate  of  soda  (Glauber 

salt  and  common  salt)    -       -       -        .  6 

Carbonate  of  lime     -        -       ...  40 

Oxide  of  iron     ---._-  3 

Loss  ..-.---.  7 

100 

The  liquid  with  which  peat  is  usually  soaked 
is  also  equally  varying  in  its  composition.  It 
almost  always  contains  a  very  small  portion 
of  brown  vegetable  extract,  a  quantity  of  the 
red  oxide  of  iron,  and  when  pyrites  (sulphur 
and  iron)  are  contained  in  the  gravelly  or 
other  substrata,  these  are  gradually,  by  the 
action  of  the  water  and  the  oxygen  of  the  at- 
mosphere, converted  to  sulphate  of  iron,  whici> 
dissolves,  and  is  found  in  the  water.  When 
however,  this  solution  comes  in  contact  with 
chalk  or  other  calcareous  matter,  the  lime  de- 
composes the  green  vitriol,  the  iron  is  precipi- 
tated, and  sulphate  of  lime,  so  enriching  to 
some  of  the  artificial  grasses,  is  very  com- 
monly found  with  red  oxide  of  iron,  dissolved 
in  the  peat-water. 

The  chemical  composition  of  peat  soils  of 
course  varies  in  the  proportion  of  their  consti- 
tuents.  The  following  analysis  of  a  specimen 
of  an  entirely  barren  peat  moss,  in  a  perfectly 
dry  state,  will  give  the  farmer  a  tolerable  idea 
of  their  general  composition : — 

Parts. 
Fine  silicious  sand  -  -  ...  29 
Inert  vegetable  matter  ....  289 
Alumina  -  -  --  -  .  .  14 
Oxide  of  iron  -  -  "  -  -  -  -  30 
Soluble  vegetable  matter,  with  gome  sul- 
phate of  potash  -  ....  11 
Sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum)  ...  12 
Loss  .---  ...15 

400 

Such  is  the  composition  of  a  barren  peat 
moss.  The  analysis  of  an  active  or  fertile  peat 
moss,  with  which  it  will  be  well  to  compare  it, 
gave  the  following  results,  after  being  also  dried 
in  a  gentle  heat : — 

Fairta. 

Fine  silicious  sand    -        -       -        -        .  156 

Unalterable  vegetable  fibre       ...  2 

Decomposing  vegetable  matter         .       .  110 

Silica  (flint)       ------  102 

Alumina  (clay)  -.----  16 

Oxide  of  iron      ----._  4 

Soluble  vegetable  and  saline  matter        .  4 

Muriate  of  lime         -       -       .       .       _  4 

Loss  ........  8 

400 

Such  is  the  usual  chemical  composition  of 
peat.    This,  however,  is  occasionally  varied 


PEAT  SOILS. 


PEAT  SOILS. 


by  the  presence  of  other  substances,  but  the 
above  sketch  will  afford  a  tolerably  correct 
view  of  its  ordinary  properties ;  and  this  kind 
of  knowledc^e  will  very  materially  aid  the 
farmer  in  proceeding  to  examine  the  mode  in 
which  the  composition  of  such  soils  may  be 
altered  so  as  to  be  rendered  tenantable  by  use- 
:  il  varieties  of  plants. 

The  most  common  delusion  in  which  the 
possessors  of  peat  soils  are  apt  to  indulge,  is 
the  belief  in  the  possibility  of  rendering  them 
permanently  productive  without  either  previous 
drainage  or  the  application  of  earth.  The  me- 
lancholy attempts  of  this  kind  which  I  have 
witnessed  on  the  peat  land  of  various  parts  of 
England,  especially  in  timber  planting,  can 
only  excite  the  pity  of  those  who  witness  the 
effects  of  such  misspent  time  and  money.  The 
young  trees  too,  which  are  most  commonly 
employed  in  these  ill-judged  attempts,  are  usu- 
ally of  the  fir  tribe,  precisely  the  kind  the  least 
adapted  to  prosper  in  a  bog  of  water  and  peat. 
Common  reflection  would  suggest  that,  if  any 
kind  of  trees  could  be  expected  to  vegetate  with 
even  moderate  vigour  in  soils  such  as  these, 
composed  as  they  are  often  of  merely  a  mass 
of  hard  inert  vegetable  matters,  saturated  with 
a  weak  solution  of  green  vitriol — if  any  kind 
of  plantations  would  progress,  it  would  be  the 
alder,  the  willow  tribe,  or  the  hardy  birch  tree, 
tenacious  of  life,  which  can  endure  more  mois- 
ture and  subsist  on  poorer  soils  than  most  other 
plants.  After  the  slightest  consideration  we 
should  hardly  decide  upon  placing  on  such 
swamps  trees  which  delight  in  dry  upland 
slopes,  as  the  Scotch  fir  and  the  larch ;  yet  we 
can  hardly  traverse  a  single  line  of  railway, 
driven  as  their  constructors  have  too  often 
been  to  take  for  their  line  of  country  the  most 
trembling,  dangerous  bogs,  the  most  worthless 
heaths,  without  being  struck  with  the  ludicrous 
appearance  of  bright  yellow-topped  larches  and 
ragged,  sickly-looking  Scotch  firs,  soaking  in 
bog-water — and  that  too  not  in  mere  patches, 
but  over  hundreds  of  acres.  I  do  not  confine 
these  observations  to  the  north  of  England — to 
Lancashire  and  Yorkshire — but  the  remark 
applies  to  many  of  the  southern  counties :  for 
instance,  by  the  road-side  between  Wareham 
and  Poole,  in  Dorsetshire,  may  be  seen  similar 
wet,  peaty,  heath  plantations  of  Scotch  firs. 

In  eflfeciing  the  underdraining  of  peats,  the 
first  error  to  be  carefully  avoided  is  placing  the 
drains  too  near  the  surface.  I  have  invariably 
found  in  deep  peats,  that  where  the  drains  can- 
not be  placed  beneath  the  peat,  they  should  be 
constructed  at  least  at  a  depth  of  from  4  to  6 
feet  or  even  more  ;  and  this  is  not  adding  ma- 
terially to  the  expense,  for  the  peat-owner  will 
find  that  one  drain  at  the  depth  of  5  or  6  feet 
will  produce  more  powerful  and  far  more  per- 
manent good  effects  than  three  drains  at  a 
depth  of  three  feet.  The  good  results  of  depth 
in  peat-land  drainage  will  be  found  by  the 
farmer  years  after  the  soil  is  reclaimed — for, 
as  the  peat  is  dried  and  its  upper  portion  de- 
composed and  rendered  solid  by  cultivation, 
the  mass  of  peat  gradually  and  very  materially 
sinks,  and  this  too  in  deep  peats  for  a  length- 
ened period.  And  as  this  contraction  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  upper  portion  of  the  peat,  the 


result  is  thai  the  improving  soil  of  the  surface 
gradually  approaches  the  drains,  and  that  in 
some  varieties  of  the  softer  kinds  of  peat  to  a 
very  injurious  extent.  Such  too  is  the  porous, 
spongy  nature  of  most  peat  soils,  that  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  remove  entirely  the  water  from  those 
portions  of  them  lying  on  a  level  with  the 
sides  of  the  drains,  and  in  consequence  the 
roots  of  many  cultivated  crops  are  apt  to  pene- 
trate, under  the  shallow-drain  system,  into  the 
corrosive  water  of  the  peat,  which  they  never 
do  without  material  injury. 

For  let  me  again  remind  the  farmer,  it  is  not 
the  mere  presence  of  too  much  water  which 
renders  the  peat  moss  sterile,  but  the  noxious, 
astringent,  irony  quality  of  that  water. 

In  the  reclamation  of  peat  soils,  the  neces- 
sary drainage  being  effected  (see  Draixino), 
the  next  important  object  is  to  furnish  the  soil 
with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  earthy  matter  to 
support  vegetation,  and  this  may  be  done  in 
several  ways :  that  by  paring  and  burning,  so 
common  in  various  parts  of  Cambridgeshire 
and  Lincolnshire,  I  consider  the  worst  of  all 
modes ;  for  it  merely  furnishes  the  soil  by  an 
expensively  rapid  progress  with  the  freed 
earths  of  the  peat,  which  its  gradual  decom- 
position would  by  other  modes  more  profitably 
and  steadily  effect. 

The  first  operation  after  the  water  has  been 
drained  off  is  to  break  up  as  deeply  as  possi- 
ble, by  the  common  and  the  subsoil-ploughs, 
the  surface  of  the  peat;  and  then,  if  good  well- 
burnt  lime  can  be  procured,  there  is  no  earthy 
addition  so  rapid  and  so  powerful  in  dissolving 
and  rendering  pliable  the  peat  as  this.  A  few 
ploughings,  assisting  the  combined  operations 
of  the  atmosphere  and  the  lime,  will,  in  a  few 
weeks,  bring  the  soil  into  such  a  state  as  to 
enable  it  to  bear  a  first  crop.  The  quantity  of 
lime  should  be  about  250  or  300  bushels  per 
acre;  but  the  quantity  of  necessity  must  vary 
with  the  readiness  with  which  the  lime  is  pro- 
curable ;  where  it  is  very  expensive,  the  culti- 
vator is  obliged  either  to  reduce  the  quantity, 
or  mix  it  thoroughly  with  a  proportion  of  clay 
or  marl  before  he  spreads  it  over  the  surface 
of  the  peat.  Where  limestone  is  to  be  obtain- 
ed in  the  immediate  neighbourhood,  and  other 
fuel  is  not  to  be  readily  procured,  peat  may  be 
employed  in  many  cases  in  the  process  of 
lime-burning  without  much  difficulty,  it  chiefly 
requiring  that  the  peat  should  be  thoroughly 
dried  previous  to  its  being  used.  For  a  first 
crop  on  the  thus  so  far  reclaimed  peat  soils,  I 
have  found  no  other  crop  equal  to  potatoes. 
These  are  best  planted  in  ridges;  the  horse 
hoe-plough  can  then  be  easily  kept  at  work, 
which  not  only  considerably  promotes  the  de- 
composition of  the  peat,  by  facilitating  the  in- 
troduction of  the  moisture  and  gases  of  the  at- 
mosphere, but  this  very  operation  adds  very 
materially  to  the  vigour  and  produce  of  this 
valuable  root,  than  which  no  other  plant  more 
delights  in  fresh  soils,  such  as  that  produced 
by  well-drained,  fresh  earth-dressed  peaty  lands. 

It  is  well  to  avoid  for  a  year  or  two  all  at- 
tempts to  produce  grain  crops  on  land  like  that 
I  am  describing.  The  course  of  cropping 
which  the  farmer  will  almost  always  find  the 
most  profitable,  is  to  follow  the  potatoes  with 

887 


PEAT  SOILS. 


PECK. 


p(?as,  then  turnips,  oats,  grass-seeds,  peaf, 
wheat.  In  all  cases,  too,  he  must  remember  in 
what  small  proportion  some  of  the  essential 
ingredients  of  his  crops  are  at  first  existing  in 
this  peaty  soil,  and  how  valuable  even  a  slight 
dressing  of  clay  or  marl  will  be  found  in  sup- 
plying such  deficiencies. 

And,  again,  it  is  here  that  the  services  of  the 
manure-drill  are  available  to  an  invaluable 
extent  in  applying  bone-dust,  or  any  kind  of 
Drganic  or  even  earthy  manure,  especially  to 
the  young  land's  earliest  crops.  For  the  na- 
tural results  of  the  progress  of  cultivation,  the 
gradual  decomposition  of  the  soil  and  tough 
vegetable  remains,  the  accumulation  of  more 
easily  decomposable  vegetable  matters,  the  ap- 
plication of  the  ordinary  farm-yard  compost, 
finally  sufficiently  enrich  the  ground  with  those 
salts  of  lime  and  of  potash  which  form  the  es- 
sential ingredients  of  all  fertile  land. 

To  expedite  the  accumulation  of  decom- 
posing soluble  matters  in  the  soil,  several  ex- 
pedients may  be  adopted.  For  instance,  if  the 
farmer  has  access  to  night-soil,  an  admirable 
compost  may  be  made  by  mixing  this  seven  or 
eight  weeks  previous  to  its  employment  with 
the  peat  itself.  I  know  of  no  other  compost  so 
powerful  on  peat  soils  as  a  compost  of  well- 
putrefied  peat  and  night-soil:  4  or  5  cubic 
yards  of  the  night-soil  is  an  ample  dressing  per 
acre  with  12  or  15  cubic  yards  of  peat.  If  the 
farmer  has  not  access  to  night-soil,  let  him 
substitute  farm-yard  compost  with  the  peat  in 
a  rather  larger  proportion,  or  even  urine,  or 
the  drainage  from  his  farm-yard.  This  plan, 
first,  I  believe,  successfully  adopted  by  the  late 
Lord  Meadowbank,  is  well  described  by  Mr. 
Dixon,  of  Heathershow,  in  an  essay  for  which 
a  prize  was  awarded  to  him,  in  1839,  by  the 
Royal  Agricultural  Society  of  England. 

The  farmer  must,  to  derive  the  maximum 
benefit  from  this  plan,  avoid  certain  errors, 
which  will  else  materially  deteriorate  the  rich- 
ness of  the  compost.  He  must  be  careful  to 
have  the  peat  he  intends  to  use  dug  for  some 
time  previously,  and  exposed  in  spits  to  the 
drying  influence  of  the  sun  and  winds.  The 
peat,  in  fact,  can  hardly  be  employed  too  dry; 
and  the  farmer  will  find  that,  if  he  makes  the 
compost  in  the  dry,  warm  weather  of  summer, 
he  may  then  use  more  peat  in  proportion  to  his 
farm-yard  dung  or  night-soil,  than  if  he  makes 
the  mixture  when  the  temperature  of  the  air  is 
less.  In  the  warm  weather  of  the  spring  and 
summer  months,  the  cultivator  will  find  I  cubic 
yard  of  fresh,  good  farm-yard  compost  sufli- 
cient  for  3  or  4  cubic  yards  of  peat ;  but  in 
colder  weather  the  proportion  of  peat  must 
be  decreased.  The  farmer  will  find  that  the 
fresher  and  richer  the  animal  manure,  the 
larger  will  be  the  proportion  of  peat  with 
which  it  may  be  successfully  mixed.  Thus, 
with  the  rich  semi-fluid  mixture  from  the 
slaughter-houses  of  London,  with  1  cubic  yard 
of  this,  6  or  7  cubic  yards  of  peat  may  be 
mixed ;  and  I  have  found,  on  several  occa- 
sions, every  reason  to  agree  with  Lord  Mea- 
dowbank and  others  who  have  employed  peat 
m  this  way,  that  it  is  very  desirable  not  to  mix 
nu  re  than  half  the  intended  proportion  of  peat 
8«8 


'  at  first,  but  to  wait  until  'he  fermentation  of 
the  mass  is  somewhat  advanced,  and  the  tem- 
perature of  the  peat  increased,  before  the  last 
half  is  added  to  the  heap.  Some  persons  re- 
commend the  addition  of  a  portion  of  lime  to 
this  compost;  but  this  is  a  plan  I  do  not  con- 
sider either  advantageous  or  harmless  :  for  the 
lime  combines  with,  and  even  partially  decom- 
poses, some  of  the  richest  portions  of  the  ani- 
mal matters  of  the  manure;  and  I  have  on 
some  occasions  suspected,  from  certain  ap- 
pearances, that  it  retarded,  when  thus  used, 
the  dissolution  of  the  peat  In  8  or  9  weeks 
the  compost  will  be  ready  for  use ;  the  peat 
and  dung  will  be  thoroughly  mingled  together, 
and  the  whole  heap  will  have  the  colour  of  a 
dark  garden-mould.  Of  the  nourishing  quality 
of  this  mixture  of  peat  with  night-soil  or  yard- 
manure,  or  urine,  the  farmer  will  readily  con- 
vince himself  by  the  fertile  effects  which  it 
produces  ;  and,  when  drilled  with  turnip-seed, 
the  roots  of  the  young  plants  will  be  found  to 
encircle  the  lumps  of  it,  just  as  they  do  in  the 
case  of  crushed  bones. 

If  the  possessor  of  a  peat  soil  cannot  well 
prepare  a  compost  of  either  night-soil  or  farm- 
manure  with  the  peat,  he  may  still  furnish  his 
soil  with  a  valuable  dressing,  by  mixing  hot 
lime  and  peat  together,  at  the  rate  of  1  cubic 
yard  of  the  former  with  3  or  4  cubic  yards  of 
the  latter.  In  this  case  it  is  not  necessary  to 
dry  the  peat  previously,  for  the  lime  readily 
absorbs  the  water  contained  in  it,  and  in  the 
course  of  7  or  8  weeks  the  entire  mass  is  re- 
duced to  the  state  of  mould.  From  some  ex- 
periments which  I  have  made  on  a  small  scale, 
i  have  found  that  the  addition  of  a  portion  of 
common  salt  to  the  lime,  not  exceeding  1  part 
of  salt  to  3  parts  of  lime,  will  still  more  in- 
crease the  fertilizing  powers  of  this  peat  com- 
post; but  my  experiments  on  this  head  require 
repetition  before  I  can  confidently  recommend 
this  plan  for  the  farmer's  adoption. 

When  once  the  peat  is  well  drained,  a  very 
thin  covering  of  earth  will  produce  much 
greater  effects  in  forming  a  solid  soil  than  the 
farmer  may  imagine  possible  :  the  facility  with 
which  roads  are  made  across  the  extensive 
deep  Scotch  peat-mosses  and  the  great  Irish 
bogs,  in  some  degree  illustrates  the  same  fact : 
the  bog,  when  once  dried,  is  found  to  require 
only  a  thin  layer  of  gravel  to  make  an  excel- 
lent road.  It  is  true  that  these  are  apt  to 
tremble  pretty  considerably  under  the  feet  of 
the  plough-horses,  but  they  bear  the  heaviest 
carriages  with  perfect  safety,  even  in  places 
where  the  bog  of  peat  is  of  a  depth  of  from  20 
to  40  feet. 

Peat-moss  lands  are  commonly  divided  by 
the  deep  ditches  or  channels  by  which  they  are 
drained. 

A  valuable  account  of  the  practice  of  Eng- 
lish farmers  in  the  improvement  of  peaty 
ground,  by  Ph.  Pusey,  Esq.,  more  especially 
those  of  Lincolnshire,  is  contained  in  the 
Jovrn.  Roy.  Agr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  390. 

PECK.  A  measure  of  capacity  containing 
2  gallons,  or  the  fourth  of  a  bushel.  The  im- 
perial peck  contains  5.54'.55  cubic  inches.  Be- 
sides the  standard  peck,  there  are  in  England 


PEE-TSEE. 


PHOSPHATES. 


local  pecks,  which  are  extremely  various  :  thus 
*he  Lancashire  peck  contains  six  gallons;  but 
lU  other  counties  it  is  much  less. 

PEE-TSEE.  A  species  of  water  chestnut, 
which  grows  in  the  southern  provinces  of 
China,  in  shallow  rivers  and  ponds,  with  leaves 
like  a  bulrush,  and  hollow  like  the  stalk  of  an 
onion.  Its  fruit  is  in  the  capsule  of  the  root, 
hge  the  husk  of  a  chestnut. 

PENNYROYAL  {Mentha  puhgium).  Eng- 
lish pennyroyal.  This  well  known  perennial 
plant  is  found  growing  wild  in  England  on  wet 
commons,  and  about  the  margins  of  small 
brooks.  It  has  a  strong  acid,  and  very  pecu- 
liar smell,  and  is  stimulant  and  tonic,  but  less 
grateful  than  peppermint.  The  stems  are 
somewhat  procumbent,  or  quite  prostrate. 
Leaves  ovate,  scarcely  half  an  inch  long,  full 
of  pellucid  dots.  Flowers  whorled.  Flower- 
stalks  purplish,  clothed  entirely  with  very  short, 
dense,  h'oary  pubescence. 

Pennyroyal  is  cultivated  in  Europe  for  its 
use  in  culinary  and  pharmaceutical  prepara- 
tions. There  are  two  varieties — the  trailing, 
which  is  usually  cultivated,  and  the  upright. 
These  plants  are  best  grown  on  a  tenacious 
soil:  even  a  clay  is  moi'e  suitable  to  them  than 
a  light  silicious  one.  It  should  be  moderately 
fertile,  entirely  free  of  stagnant  moisture,  and 
consequently  on  a  dry  subsoil,  or  well  drained. 
A  wet  soil  makes  them  luxuriant  in  summer, 
but  insures  decay  in  winter. 

They  are  propagated  by  parting  the  roots  in 
February  or  March,  September  or  October,  and 
by  slips  or  offsets  at  the  same  season.  The 
mints  likewise  may  be  increased,  by  cuttings 
of  the  annual  shoots  in  May  or  June,  as  well 
as  by  cuttings  of  the  roots  either  in  spring  or 
autumn.  For  production  of  green  tops  through- 
out the  winter  and  ear'.y  spring,  the  spearmint 
is  often  planted  in  a  hot-bed ;  and  more  rarely 
pennyroyal,  every  three  weeks  during  October 
and  three  following  months. 

The  pennyroyal  indigenous  to  North  Ame- 
rica is  the  Hedeomti  piile^ioides,  an  aromatic  an- 
nual plant,  very  different  in  its  habits  from  the 
European  pennyroyal.  It  grows  in  all  parts 
of  the  country,  preferring  dry  grounds  and 
pastures,  where  it  often  scents  the  air  to  a  con- 
siderable distance.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

PEPPER-BRAND.  A  disease  in  grain. 
See  MiLttEw. 

PEPPER-GRASS  (Lepidium  sativum). 
Tongue-grass.  A  kind  of  cress,  possessing 
very  pleasant  and  refreshing  qualities,  and 
generally  cultivated  in  the  United  States  for 
the  table.  The  Virginia  lepidium,  or  wild  pep- 
per-grass, is  an  annual  commonly  found  in 
fields  and  along  road-sides.  One  or  two  other 
species  are  known  in  the  United  States.  {Flora 
Cestrica.) 

PEPPERIDGE.  An  appellation  improperly 
applied  by  the  descendants  of  the  Dutch  in 
New  York,  to  the  tupelo  or  black-gum.  The 
name  more  appropriately  belongs  to  the  com- 
mon barberry. 

PEPPERMINT  (Mentha  piperita).  This 
species  differs  from  the  common  spear  or  green 
mint  chiefly  in  the  intensity  of  its  taste  and 
dark  colour  of  its  foliage.  It  is  only  cultivated 
for  distillation;  the  essential  oil  or  distilled 
112 


water  enters  into  various  cordial  and  medical 
preparations. 

PEPPERS.     See  Capsicum. 

PEPPER-SAXIFRAGE  (Cnidum,  the  an- 
cient name  of  orach).  These  are  worthless 
herbaceous  plants. 

The  meadow  pepper-saxifrage  (C.  silaits)  is 
an  indigenous  perennial  species,  with  smooth 
dark-green  herbage.  The  root  is  spindle- 
shaped  ;  stem  erect,  furrowed,  solid,  tough, 
from  1  to  2  feet  high.  Flowers  yellowish  or 
greenish-white,  blowing  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember. The  whole  plant  being  fetid  when 
bruised,  is  supposed,  in  some  parts  of  Norfolk, 
Eng.,  to  give  a  bad  flavour  to  milk  and  butter; 
but  cattle  certainly  do  not  eat  it,  except  acci- 
dentally or  in  small  quantities.  When  this 
herb  abounds  in  pastures,  it  may  be  found  par- 
tially cropped,  though  generally  left  almost 
entire. 

PEPPER,  THE  WALL.     See  Stonecrop. 

PEPPERWORT  (Lepidium,  from  lepis,  a 
scale,  in  allusion  to  the  shape  of  the  pods, 
which  appear  like  little  scales).  Most  of  these 
plants  are  uninteresting,  and  none  of  them  are 
pretty.  L.  sativum  is  the  well-known  garden 
cress.  There  are,  in  England,  four  indigenous 
species. 

PERCH.  In  land  measure  is  the  fortieth 
part  of  a  rood,  or  equal  to  30:i^  square  yards. 
Perch  is  also  sometimes  used  as  a  denomina- 
tion of  long  measure,  when  it  signifies  the 
same  thing  as  a  rod  or  pole,  being  5^  yards  or 
16i  feet. 

PERENNIALS  (Lat.  perennes,  lasting 
throughout  the  year).  In  botany,  those  herba- 
ceous plants,  the  roots  of  which  remain  alive 
more  years  than  two,  but  whose  stems  flower 
and  perish  annually.  Gardeners  generally  call 
them  herbaceous  plants. 

PERIWINKLE  (Vinca,  probably  from  mn- 
athnn,  a  band ;  in  allusion  to  the  suitableness 
of  the  shoots  for  making  bands).  These  plants 
are  well  adapted  for  covering  naked  ground  in 
shady  situations.  Any  common  soil  suits  them, 
and  they  are  readily  increased  by  separating 
the  rooted  trailing  shoots.  The  two  species 
indigenous  to  England  are  called  the  greater 
and  the  lesser  periwinkles. 

PERSIMMON  {Diopyros  Virgxniana).  This 
American  tree  grows  in  the  Southern  and  Middle 
States  to  the  height  of  60  or  70  feet.  The 
French  call  it  Plaquemimer.  It  produces  an 
abundance  of  excellent  fruit,  abounding  in  sugar, 
and  somewhat  resembling  the  date. 

PHLEUM  PRATENSE.     See  Cat's-tail. 

PHOSPHATES.  Substances  in  which  phos- 
phoric acid  is  united  with  some  other  matter,  such 
as  lime,  magnesia,  potash,  soda,  iron,  &c.  See 
Acids.  Within  a  few  years  past,  a  class  of  manures 
in  which  phosphate  of  lime  is  the  most  active 
fertilizing  agent,  have  acquired  very  great  agri- 
cultural importance.  It  includes  bones,  and  the 
superphosphate  of  lime  prepared  from  them, 
urate,  guano,  &c.,  among  organic  substances, 
and  a  mineral  called  apatite.  Phosphoric  acid  is 
found  in  some  soils  but  not  in  others,  its  defi- 
ciency corresponding  with  difl^erent  degrees  of 
[Sterility.  In  three  specimens  of  soil  analyzed 
;  by  Mr.  Gyde,  he  detected  in  1000  parts  of  one 
fertile  without  manure,  4|  parts;  in  another 
,  fertil*^  with  manure  only  1^  parts,  whilst  in  tho 
4F  889 


PHOSPHATES. 


PINE  TREE. 


third  specimen,  from  a  naturally  barren  soil,  he 
could  not  detect  any  phosphoric  acid. 

Under  the  heads  of  Bones  and  Acids,  will  be 
found  much  valuable  information  relative  to  the 
important  influence  exercised  by  phosphoric  acid 
upon  the  growth  and  fullest  developement  of 
plants,  with  statements  of  the  proportions  in 
which  phosphates  exist  in  different  grains  and 
other  agricultural  crops.  The  extent  of  the  de- 
mands made  upon  the  soil  for  the  phosphate  of 
lime,  by  growing  animals  kept  upon  it,  have 
been  estimated  by  Mr.  Hayward,  a  skilful  che- 
mist. He  calculates  the  amount  of  phosphoric 
acid  annually  abstracted  by  the  live  stock  from 
a  farm  of  100  acres,  to  be  equal  to  413  lbs.,  re- 
quiring to  produce  it  1491  lbs.  of  bones.  His 
estimate  is  as  follows : — 

In  the  bones  and  flesh  of  110  lambs,  of     Acid.  Bones. 

25  lbs.  each,  at  6  weeks  old    .        .        145  537 

In  40  year-old  sheep,  of  90  lbs.  each  .  210  777 
In  4  calves,  at  5  weeks  old,  weighing 

together  500  lbs 21  77 

In  4  young  cows,  forming  135  lbs.  flesh 

and  35  11)8.  of  bone  each  per  annum  .  16  23 
In  2  young  horses,  gaining  tiie  same  us 

the  last 21  77 

Phosphate  of  lime  consists  of  59  parts  phos- 
phoric acid,  and  47  parts  lime.  The  phosphates 
of  magnesia,  potash,  and  soda,  are  found  much 
less  extensively  in  agricultural  products  than 
the  phosphate  of  lime,  which  last  seems  indis- 
pensable to  fertility.  The  chief  modes  in  which 
the  farmer  has  long  been  accustomed  uncon- 
sciously to  return  this  salt  to  the  soil  has  been, 
by  the  use  of  oil  cake  for  his  stock  and  of  crushed 
bones  for  manure.  In  a  more  recent  period  the 
use  of  guano,  of  urate,  &c.,  has  been  in  fact  a 
similar  operation.  It  has  been  found  by  Pro- 
fessor Johnston  {Trans.  High.  Soc.  184.5,  p. 
470),  that  turnips  grown  upon  land  dressed  with 
guano  contained  a  considerably  larger  proportion 
of  phosphate  of  lime  than  the  turnips  grown  in 
the  adjoining  soil,  dressed  in  the  ordinary  way, 
the  ashes  of  the  turnips  grown  with  the  ordinary 
farm-yard  dung  containing  7-73  per  cent,  of 
phosphoric  acid,  whilst  the  turnips  produced 
on  the  land  manured  with  guano  yielded  19-39 
per  cent. 

Perhaps  the  most  economical  plan  by  which 
phosphoric  acid  can  be  introduced  into  the  soil 
is  through  the  application  of  superphosphate  of 
lime,  the  process  of  preparing  and  applying 
which  will  be  found  described  under  the  head  of 
Bones.  Of  bone-dust,  40  lbs.  to  an  acre,  Liebig 
considers  sufficient  to  furnish  the  necessary  sup- 
ply of  pfiosphates  to  3  crops  of  wheat,  clover,  &c. 

Oil  or  linseed  cake  is  not  only  valued  by 
English  farmers  as  food  for  stock,  but,  as  we  have 
previously  stated,  as  a  dressing  for  land.  It  has 
been  usual  to  attribute  its  good  effects  in  pro- 
moling  the  growth  of  plants  mainly  to  the  oil ; 
but  as  this  exists  in  small  proportion,  and  as  the 
efff^cts  of  oily  manures,  such  as  blubber,  fish,  &c., 
only  last  a  single  year,  whereas  those  of  linseed 
cake  endure  for  several  years,  its  fertilizing 
effects  must  depend  upon  some  other  ingredient. 
In  3  specimens  of  linseed  cake  analyzed  by  Mr. 
Gyde,  he  found  respectively  12-4,  lO-."),  and  8  per 
ci^nt.  only  of  fatty  matters.  The  ashes  or  solid 
portions  of  3  varieties  of  oil  cake,  examined  by 
Mr.  Fromberg,  were  found  to  contain  ppr  cent, 
of  earthy  phosphates:  1st,  Gold  of  pleasure, 
^0-.56;  2d,  English  cake,  47-67:  and  3d,  Ameri- 
can cake,  38-28  i  <'the  ashes  constituted  of  the 
890 


1st  cake  6-89,  of  the  2d  7-25,  and  of  the  3d  6-35 
per  cent,  of  the  entire  cake.) 

The  phosphates  of  lime,  magnesia,  soda,  &c., 
which  abound  in  the  urine  of  man,  the  swine, 
and  other  omnivorous  and  carnivoious  animals, 
are  not  met  with  in  that  of  the  ox  or  horse,  which 
last  discharge  all  their  phosphates  with  the  solid 
excrements.  The  superphosphate  of  lime,  as 
prepared  for  sale,  ought  to  contain,  when  genu- 
ine, in  100  parts,  according  to  Mr.  Pusey,  phos- 
phate and  biphosphate  of  lime  35  to  40 ;  Sulphate 
of  lime  or  gypsum  20  to  25;  animal  matter  20; 
water  20  parts.  It  has  often,  however,  other 
substances  mixed  with  it  which  reduce  its  value, 
and  of  these  plaster  of  Paris  is  one  of  the  most 
common.  Its  price  in  England  is  about  7  shil- 
lings, or  $1.75,  for  112  lbs. 

In  an  experiment  where  about  6  cwt.  of 
superphosphate  of  lime  was  applied  to  wheat, 
ploughed  in  at  the  time  of  sowing,  the  produce 
on  the  acre  was  over  53  bushels  of  61  lbs.  each ; 
whilst  an  acre  sown  with  400  lbs.  Peruvian 
guano,  the  ensuing  spring  yielded  40  bushels, 
and  the  soil  without  any  dressing,  about  29 
bushels  per  acre.  Hence  it  appears  probable, 
that  weight  for  weight,  it  is  fully  equal  as  a  fer- 
tilizer to  the  best  guano. 

PIGEON  {Coliimba).  All  the  numerous  va- 
rieties of  this  domestic  bird,  such  as  tumblers, 
carriers,  powts,  &c.,  come  from  one  common 
species — the  stock-dove — which  derives  its  name 
from  building  in  the  stocks  of  trees. 

PIGEON'S  DUNG.  See  Dove-cote  and 
Guano. 

PIGGERY.  A  collection  of  small  sties  where 
hogs  or  swine  are  lodged.     See  Swine. 

PIKE.  A  word  of  various  signification  in  dif- 
ferent districts.  In  some  counties  it  is  applied 
to  a  prong,  or  what  is  generally  called  a  fork, 
used  for  carrying  straw,  &c.,  from  the  barn, 
cocking  of  hay,  &c.  In  others  it  signifies  a  sort 
of  stacklet  or  load,  cock  of  hay,  &c.  In  the 
midland  districts  of  England  it  means  to  glean. 

PILE.  A  sharpened  beam  of  wood  driven 
down  into  the  ground  to  protect  the  banks  of 
rivers,  or  for  other  similar  purposes.  Pile  is 
also  provincially  applied  to  the  breaking  off  the 
awns  of  thrashed  barley,  and  to  a  blade  of  grass. 

PILING-IRON.  A  tool  used  in  breaking  off 
the  awns  of  barley,  and  sometimes  the  tails  of 
oats,  an  operation  which  with  the  farmers  is 
called  piling  barley.     See  Hummeller. 

PILEWORT  CROWFOOT.    See  Crowfoot. 

PILL  WORT  {Pihdarla,  from  jtihda,  a  pill; 
shape  of  the  heads  containing  the  reproductive 
organs).  The  creeping  pill-wort,  or  pepper- 
grass  (P.  glohulifera),  is  in  England  an  obscure 
little  plant,  found  in  dark  meadows  among  grass, 
especially  where  they  have  been  overflowed 
with  water  during  winter.  It  is  perennial  in 
habit,  putting  forth  brown  flowers  in  June  and 
July. 

PIMPERNEL  {Ajiogallis).  A  genus  of  very 
pretty,  interesting  plants,  of  easy  culture. 

PINE  TREE  (Finns,  from  pinos ;  a  Greek 
word  used  by  Theophrastus,  to  designate  a  pine 
tree ;  and  some  authors  derive  it  from  the  Celtic 
pi7i.  or  pi/n,  a  mountain  or  rock,  alluding  to  the 
habitat  of  the  tree).  This  much-esteemed  and 
well-known  genus,  belonging  to  the  gymno- 
spermous  division  of  exogens,  contains  some  of 
the  trees  of  most  universal  use  in  civilized  so- 
ciety, and  which  form  a  very  important  article 


PINE.  THE  GROUND. 


PLANT. 


»f  commerce,  both  in  Europe  and  America. 
The  genus  Pinus  is  distinguished  from  the  firs, 
by  the  leaves  being  needle-shaped  and  grouped 
in  pairs,  or  in  three,  four,  or  five  together;  held, 
as  it  were,  together  by  a  sheath  at  the^  base. 
Most,  if  not  all  of  the  species,  are  highly  de- 
serving of  culture,  being  very  ornamental  and 
beautiful  in  every  stage  of  their  growth.  They 
will  succeed  on  almost  any  kind  of  soil,  but  to 
bring  the  timber  to  its  greatest  state  of  perfec- 
tion, a  somewhat  loamy  surface  soil  and  a  cool 
subsoil  are  requisite.  Young  plants  may  be 
obtained  by  a  variety  of  methods.  All  the  spe- 
cies may  be  propagated  by  layers,  by  inarching 
on  nearly  allied  kinds,  and  by  herbaceous 
grafting;  many  may  also  be  increased  by  cut- 
tings, but  the  speediest  way  is  by  seed,  and 
which  process  I  shall  briefly  notice.  In  some 
of  the  species  the  cones  attain  their  full  size 
the  first  year,  but  in  most  not  till  the  end  of  the 
second  autumn.  The  cones  of  the  Scotch  pine 
(P.  sylvestris),  and  those  allied  to  it,  open  of 
themselves  shortly  after  being  gathered  from 
the  tree,  and  spread  out  in  the  sun;  but  the 
cones  o( P. pinaster,  P. pinea,  and  similar  kinds, 
do  not,  though  treated  in  the  same  manner;  and 
open  their  scales  only  after  several  months. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  on  a  finely-prepared 
rather  sandy  soil,  in  March  or  April.  The  seeds 
of  the  most  common  kinds  are  always  sown 
on  beds,  and  after  being  gently  beaten  down 
are  slightly  covered  with  light  soil. 

There  are  upwards  of  fifty  species  of  pines 
and  the  appearance  of  the  tree,  as  well  as  the 
quality  of  the  limber,  varies  with  the  species 
and  with  the  situation  in  which  each  grows. 
Generally  speaking,  the  timber  is  hardest  and 
best  in  exposed  cold  situations,  and  where  its 
growth  is  slow.    See  Fia  Tkee. 

PINE,  THE  GROUND.    See  BuotE. 

PINK  (Dianthus :  from  dios,  divine;  and 
anihos,  a  flower,  in  reference  to  the  fragrance 
of  the  blossoms  and  the  unrivalled  neatness  of 
the  dowers).  A  truly  beautiful  and  ornamental 
genus,  containing  some  of  the  most  prized 
flowers  we  possess,  on  account  of  the  beauty 
and  fragrance  of  their  blossoms,  and  their  fo- 
liage, which  is  as  green  and  vivid  in  winter  as 
it  is  in  summer.  The  genus  is  divided  into  those 
with  solitary  and  those  with  aggregate  flowers. 

PIP.  A  disease  among  poultry,  consisting 
in  a  white  thin  skin,  or  film,  growing  upon  or 
under  the  tip  of  the  tongue,  which  hinders  the 
feeding.  It  is  supposed  to  arise  from  the  drink- 
ing of  foul  water,  or  eating  filthy  meat;  it  is 
usually  cured  by  pulling  off*  the  film  with  the 
fingers,  and  washing  the  part  with  a  solution  of 
common  salt. 

PIPE-CLAY.  A  species  of  clay  abounding 
in  Devonshire  and  other  parts  of  England,  em- 
ployed in  the  manufacture  of  earthenware. 
See  Mixture  of  Soils. 

PISTIL.  In  botany,  the  columnar  body  in 
the  centre  of  a  flower,  consisting  commonly 
of  three  parts;  viz.,  the  ovary,  styles,  and  stig- 
mas. It  is  one  of  the  essential  parts  of  the 
flower;  and  when  it  is  absent  the  flower  is 
sterile.  It  receives  the  pollen,  and  communi- 
cates its  stimulus  to  the  ovules  ;  without  which 
the  seeds  are  imperfect,  and  do  not  germinate. 

PITCH  {Ger.pech).    In  commerce,  the  resi- 


duum which  remains  on  inspissating  tar,  or 
boiling  it  down  to  dryness.  It  is  a  black  solid 
substance,  with  a  shining  fracture,  softens  at 
90°,  and  becomes  liquid  in  boiling  water.  It 
is  extensively  used  in  ship-building,  and  for 
other  purposes.  Large  quantities  are  manu- 
factured in  Great  Britain,  but  not  sufficient  to 
supply  the  great  demand.  The  duty  on  im- 
portation is  10^/.  percwt.  In  husbandry,  pitch 
signifies  a  fork-full  of  hay,  corn,  or  straw,  or 
as  much  as  is  raised  to  the  load,  stack,  or  mow, 
at  one  time. 

PLANER  TREE  {Planer a  ulmifolia).  "Ken 
tucky,  Tennessee,  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  the  Southern  States,  are,  says  Michaux, 
the  only  parts  of  the  American  republic  where 
my  father  and  myself  have  found  the  planer  tree. 

"I  have  more  particularly  observed  the  planer 
tree  in  the  large  swamps  on  the  borders  of 
the  river  Savannah  in  Georgia.  It  is  a  tree 
of  the  second  order,  and  is  rarely  more  than 
35  or  40  feet  high,  and  12  or  15  inches  in  dia- 
meter. Its  bloom  is  early  and  not  conspicuous. 
Its  minute  seeds  are  contained  in  small,  oval, 
inflated,  uneven  capsules.  The  leaves  are 
about  IJ  inch  long,  oval-acuminate,  denticu- 
lated, of  a  lively  green,  and  a  little  like  those 
of  the  European  elm,  to  which  this  species 
bears  the  greatest  analogy. 

"  The  wood  of  the  planer  tree  is  hard,  strong, 
and  seemingly  proper  for  various  uses;  it  is 
probably  similar  in  its  characters  to  the  ana- 
logous species  in  the  north  of  Asia,  the  Siberian 
elm :  but  the  tree  is  rare  and  the  wood  is  neg- 
lected."    (iV;  J.  Sylva.) 

PLANKS  {(icr.  planken;  D&n.  planker ;  Fr. 
planches).  Thick  strong  boards  cut  from  vari- 
ous kinds  of  wood,  especially  oak  and  pine 
Planks  are  usually  of  the  thickness  of  from 
one  inch  to  four.  They  are  imported  in  large 
quantities  from  the  northern  ports  of  Europe, 
and  from  several  ports  of  North  America. 
Those  employed  for  making  sheds  or  farm 
out-houses  should  be  tarred,  or  steeped  in  cor- 
rosive sublimate. 

PLANT.     In  natural  listory.    SeeAccLixA- 

TATIOX,  BoTA!«Y,  E.VRTHS,  Ga8E8,  ObOANIC  ChB- 

MisTRT,  Temperatcre,  Water,  <&c. 

PLANTS  IX  CI.08ELT  OLAZED  CASES.  By  the 
recent  discovery  of  Mr.  Ward,  of  London,  that 
certain  plants  will  grow  when  enclosed  in 
glazed  cases,  the  most  forbidding  local  circum- 
stances may  be  overcome,  and  any  person, 
whether  inhabiting  the  most  humble  or  the 
most  splendid  dwelling,  provided  they  are  ex- 
posed for  a  few  hours  every  day  to  the  sun's 
light,  has  it  in  his  power  to  rear  and  cultivate 
a  miscellaneous  collection  of  plants,  to  enjoy 
the  beauty  of  their  appearance,  and  to  watch 
their  progress  through  all  the  stages  of  their 
growth,  at  an  expense  so  insignificant  as  to  be 
within  the  means  of  every  one,  even  in  very 
moderate  circumstances;  in  short,  to  enjoy, 
even  in  rooms  heated  with  anthracite  coal,  a 
parlmtr  green-house. 

To  do  this  an  apparatus  must  be  provided, 
consisting  of  a  box  and  a  glass  roof,  such  as  are 
used  for  raising  cucumbers,  for  instance,  or 
more  ornamental,  as  may  be  desired.  The  box 
should  be  lined  in  the  bottom  with  zinc  to  pre- 
vent  leakage.     The  whole  should  be  close,  to 

891 


PLANT. 


PLANT. 


prevent  evaporation,  and  may  be  painted  to 
represent  any  description  of  wood;  a  hole  or 
holes  should  be  left  in  the  bottom,  through  the 
zinc  and  board,  to  carry  off  any  extra  water,  if 
you  find  there  is  too  much  for  the  health  of  the 
plants  enclosed.  At  the  upper  edge  of  the  box 
a  groove  is  sunk  to  receive  the  lower  edge  of 
the  glass  roof,  which  rests  tightly  upon  it. 

The  frame-work  cover  should  be  glazed  with 
good  glass,  with  a  door  on  one  side  made  to  fit 
close,  and  which  may  be  opened  to  remove  dead 
branches,  for  trimming,  and  the  addition  or  sub- 
traction of  plants.  Along  the  top  of  the  roof, 
hooks  or  brass  rods  may  be  placed,  from  which 
small  pots  maybe  suspended  with  brass  wires; 
twine  will  soon  decay  in  the  continued  damp- 
ness. The  whole  of  the  frame-work  should  be 
well  fitted,  so  as  to  preclude,  as  far  as  possible, 
all  interchange  between  the  air  in  the  case,  and 
that  in  the  room. 

Lay  the  bottom  of  the  box  with  pieces  of 
broken  earthenware,  as  an  open  subsoil.  Next 
lay  a  stratum  of  turfy  loam,  one  inch  deep,  and 
fill  in  the  remainder  of  the  space  with  soil, 
composed  of  equal  portions  of  peat  and  loam, 
mixed  with  about  one-twentieth  part  of  rough 
white  sand,  free  from  iron.  The  artificial  gar- 
den plot  is  now  ready  to  receive  the  plants. 
Plant  these  in  the  usual  manner,  and  then 
shower  over  them,  with  a  fine  rose  watering- 
pot,  sufficient  water  to  saturate  the  soil,  till  the 
liquid  begins  to  run  off  by  the  opening  in  the 
bottom.  After  draining  thus  for  24  hours,  cork 
up  the  hole  or  holes,  place  the  glass  case  on 
the  box,  and  the  operation  will  be  finished. 

The  most  remarkable  part  in  the  economy 
of  the  case,  thus  closed  up,  is  the  preservation 
of  atmospheric  purity.  To  all  who  reflect,  for 
the  first  time,  on  this  subject,  it  will  seem  in- 
comprehensible how  the  plants  can  possibly 
thrive  and  blossom,  without  the  occasional  in- 
terchange of  fresh  air  with  the  atmosphere. 
This  certainly  does  appear  extraordinary,  yet 
it  is  ascertained  by  experiment,  that  no  such 
reinvigoration  is  requisite  ;  to  account  for  the 
phenomenon  it  will  be  necessary  to  explain  the 
constitution  of  atmospheric  air,  and  the  means 
adopted  by  nature  for  its  purification. 

Air  consists  of  three  gases  in  close  me- 
chanical union,  nitrogen,  oxygen,  and  carbonic 
acid,  in  the  proportions  of  about  79  of  nitrogen, 
20  oxygen,  and  1  of  carbonic  acid,  in  100  parts 
of  pure  air.  In  this  mixed  composition,  the 
essential  element  for  the  support  of  respira- 
tion in  both  animals  and  plants,  and  also  for 
combustion,  is  the  oxygen,  the  nitrogen  being 
little  else  than  a  diluent  to  modify  the  strength 
of  the  oxygen.  It  was  long  believed  by  men 
of  science,  that  plants  possessed  the  power  of 
exuding  oxygen,  and  so  formed  a  prime  agent 
for  restoring  vitiated  air  to  purity.  Later  in- 
vestigations, however,  by  French  chemists, 
have  made  it  evident  that  plants  have  no  such 
power,  unless  when  placed  under  the  influence 
of  the  sun's  rays,  or,  in  other  words,  that  solar 
light  is  the  grand  cleanser  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  without  which,  both  plants  and  animals 
languish  and  die.  With  respect  to  plants  in 
particular,  it  is  ascertained,  that  while  inhaling 
oxvgen,  and  expiring  carbonic  acid,  their  leaves 
no  wess  the  remarkable  property,  in  conjunction 
8I>2 


with  the  sun's  light,  of  retransformin  g:  the  car- 
bonic acid  into  oxygen.  At  night,  when  the 
light  of  day  has  departed,  the  expired  carbonic 
acid  may  be  detected  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
plants,^nd  hence,  one  cause  of  injury  to  health 
by  breathing  night-air;  but  when  the  morning 
sun  again  bursts  upon  the  scene,  a  great  che- 
mical process  commences  in  the  atmosphere: 
the  carbonic  acid  is  decomposed,  oxygen  is 
evolved,  and  all  nature  rejoices  in  re-creation 
of  its  appropriate  nourishment. 

A  question  will  here  readily  occur — What 
species  of  plants  are  best  adapted  for  these  do- 
mestic green-houses  1  This  has  been  answered 
ably  by  Mr.  Ellis,  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
Edinburgh  Botanical  Society  in  1839.  Accord- 
ing to  this  gentleman's  statement,  the  plants 
most  suitable  are  "those  which  partake  largely 
of  a  cellular  structure,  and  possess  a  succulent 
character,  and  especially  those  which  have 
fleshy  leaves ;  whilst  on  the  contrary,  the  con- 
tinued humidity  is  unfavourable  to  the  deve- 
lopement  of  flowers  of  most  exogenous  plants, 
except  such  as  naturally  grow  in  moist  and 
shady  situations."  Plants,  therefore,  which 
grow  naturally,  and  bloom  in  cavernous  and 
moist  situations,  or  in  moist  and  warm  cli- 
mates, are  best  adapted  for  these  cases  ;  within 
this  class  of  vegetables  there  are  many  beauti- 
ful and  luxurious  plants,  which  it  would  be  no 
small  pleasure  to  contemplate.  We  name  Nut 
a  few  which  have  eminently  succeeded.  A 
specimen  of  this  mode  of  culture  may  be  seen 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  J.  J.  Smith,  Jr.,  Libra- 
rian of  the  Philadelphia  Library,  which  is  emi- 
nently successful. 

Crocuses,  and  winter  aconite;  joy;  lycopo- 
dium  ;  the  various  cactuses  ;  aloes  ;  primroses ; 
the  fairy  roses  ;  begonias;  all  the  ferns  ;  ane- 
mone ;  musk  plants  ;  myrtles  ;  jasmines,  «&c. 

All  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  case  may  be 
employed  in  raising  salads,  radishes,  &c. ; 
"  and  I  think,"  says  Mr.  Ward,"  "  that  a  man 
would  be  a  bad  manager  who  could  not,  in  the 
course  of  a  twelvemonth,  pay  for  his  case  out 
of  its  proceeds." 

Sir  W.  J.  Hooker,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Ward, 
says,  "  Splendid  as  is  the  hot-house  and  green- 
house collection  at  Woburn  Abbey,  I  doubt 
whether  that  gives  more  pleasure  to  the  noble 
proprietors  and  their  numerous  visiters  than 
the  beautiful  little  collection  in  Mr.  Ward's 
case,  that  occupies  a  table  in  the  library,  and 
flourishes  without  requiring  the  skill  of  the 
gardener  in  its  cultivation."  Once  properly 
watered,  these  cases  have  remained  for  seven 
years  without  any  additional  moisture. 

The  uses  to  which  this  discovery  of  Mr. 
Ward's  has  led,  are  important  to  man  ;  espe- 
cially so  in  the  transmission  of  plants  from 
one  country  to  another  by  sea.  So  admirably 
does  it  answer  to  thus  enclose  plants  for  sea- 
voyages,  that  few  instances  of  failure  have  oc- 
curred in  their  transmission,  where  care  has 
been  taken  to  renew  the  glasses,  if  broken,  and 
to  expose  the  cases  to  the  action  cf  the  sun's 
rays  on  deck  in  fine  weather.  But,  even  more 
important  than  this,  it  will  enable  the  chemist 
to  make  observations  strictly  comparative  on 
the  effects  of  different  soils,  manures,  &c. ;  to 
determine  the  powers  possessed  by  plants  of 


PLANTALN. 


PLANTATION. 


absorbing,  and  selecting  various  substances  by  j 
their  roots ;  to  ascertain  the  existence  and  na- 
ture of  the  deleterious  excretions  from  the 
roots  ;  the  poisonous  character  of  these  excre- 
tions, if  they  exist,  being  rendered  very  pro- 
blematical by  the  circumstance  of  plants,  in  a 
state  of  nature,  occupying  the  same  situations 
for  ages;  to  prove  the  effects  of  poisons  on 
plants;  to  test  the  influence  of  light  in  pro- 
tecting plants  from  the  effects  of  low  tempera- 
tures ;  and,  lastly,  by  means  of  these  cases  the 
scientific  naturalist  will  be  assisted  in  explor- 
ing that  debatable  ground  on  the  confines  of 
the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms,  where  it 
is  often  impossible  to  determine  the  point  at 
which  one  ends  and  the  other  begins. 

PLANTAIN  {Plantago:  derived  from  planta, 
the  sole  of  the  foot ;  resemblance  in  the  leaves). 
A  genus  of  plants,  the  greater  number  of  the 
species  of  which  are  mere  weeds:  they  are 
generally  almost  stemless,  and  for  the  most 
part  perennial.  There  are  in  England  five  na- 
tive species : — 

1.  Greater  plantain,  or  way-bread  (P.  major), 
which  is  very  common  in  meadows,  pastures, 
and  waste  and  cultivated  ground,  perennial, 
and  in  flower  all  summer.  The  root  consists 
of  many  long,  stout  fibres.  The  leaves  are 
radical,  numerous,  broad,  with  seven  or  nine 
ribs,  on  channelled,  ribbed  stalks,  often  longer 
than  themselves;  margins  wavy  or  toothed. 
Flowers  on  long  spikes,  small,  whitish,  with 
reddish  anthers,  very  numerous;  the  spikes, 
each  on  a  simple,  naked,  radical  stalk.  The 
seeds,  which  are  angular,  in  a  membranous 
capsule,  are  the  food  of  small  birds.  The  rose- 
shaped  variety  and  the  panicled  one  are  often 
cultivated  in  gardens  for  the  sake  of  curiosity, 
and  afford  remarkable  instances  of  vegetable 
transformation.  This  species,  like  the  whole 
genus,  in  general,  is  mucilaginous,  and  some- 
what astringent,  qualities  which  render  it  not 
altogether  a  useless  rustic  medicine.  Cows 
and  horses  do  not  relish  this  plant,  but  it  is 
eaten  by  sheep,  goats,  and  swine.  This  peren- 
nial-rooted plant  is  extensively  naturalized  in 
the  United  States,  and  is  remarkable,  says  Dr. 
Darlington,  for  accompanying  civilized  man, 
growing  along  his  foot-paths,  and  flourishing 
around  his  settlements.  From  this  circum- 
stance, the  American  Indians  call  it  by  a  name 
which  signifies  ''the  white  man's  foot, ^* 

2.  Hoary  plantain  (P.  media).  This  species 
grows  abundantly  in  chalky  or  gravelly  hills. 
The  root  is  rather  woody.  The  leaves  are 
ovate,  downy,  all  pressed  close  to  the  ground, 
hoary,  entire,  with  five  or  seven  ribs.  The 
hoary  plantain,  a  great  and  lasting  nuisance  in 
fine  grass-plats,  is  best  killed  by  a  drop  of  vi- 
triolic acid  on  the  crown  of  the  root,  which  it 
never  long  survives.  Its  medical  qualities  are 
like  the  former. 

.3.  Ribwort  plantain,  or  rib-grass  (P.  lanceo- 
lata),  is  also  a  very  common  species  in  mea- 
dows and  pastures.  PI.  9,  i.  The  leaves  are 
numerous,  erect,  deep-green,  acute,  each  taper- 
ing at  the  base  into  a  broad,  flat,  ribbed  foot- 
stalk, accompanied  at  its  insertion  with  large 
tufts  of  soft,  white,  woolly  fibres.  Flower- 
stalks  taller  than  the  leaves,  likewise  woolly  at ! 
the  base,  five-angled,  with   intermediate  fur-; 


rows,  nearly  smooth,  twisted.  Spike  ovate,  an 
inch  long,  with  black  imbricated  bractes,  occa- 
sionally leafy  at  the  base.  This  species  makes 
a  part  of  most  meadow  hay, and  has  been  culti- 
vated as  a  crop,  but  seems  to  be  now  disused. 
Cattle  are  said  not  to  eat  it  willingly,  at  least 
by  itself.  The  total  absence  of  rib-grass  in 
marshy  lands  is  a  certain  criterion  of  their  in- 
different quality;  and  in  proportion  as  such 
soils  are  improved  by  draining,  this  plant  will 
flourish  and  abound. 

4.  Sea  plantain  (P.  maritima).  This  grows 
in  muddy  salt-marshes,  and  about  the  mouths 
of  large  rivers.  It  is  perennial,  and  flowers  in 
August  and  September.  The  root  is  long  and 
cylindrical ;  herb  various  in  luxuriance.  The 
leaves  are  all  radical,  numerous,  from  four  to 
twelve  inches  long,  dull-green,  linear,  chan- 
nelled, hiiiry,  nearly  entire.  Flower-stalks 
round,  longer  than  the  leaves,  erect,  smooth. 
Spikes  cylindrical,  slender,  many-flowered, 
dense,  with  fleshy  keeled  bractes,  not  longer 
than  the  calyx.  Sheep  appear  to  be  very  fond 
of  this  species. 

5.  Buck's-horn  plantain,  or  star  of  the  earth 
(P.  Coronopua).  This  is  an  annual  species, 
which  flourishes  on  dry,  sandy,  or  gravelly 
ground,  flowering  from  June  to  August.  The 
root  is  tapering;  leaves  pale,  hairy,  in  pinnati- 
fid,  pointed  segments.  Spikes  numerous,  dense, 
cylindrical,  varying  greatly  iu  length,  on 
spreading  hairy  stalks. 

The  White,  or  Virginia  Plantain,  is  a  native  of 
the  United  States,  where  it  is  commonly  found 
in  barren  old  fields  and  stony  hills.  It  has  a 
biennial  root,  leaves  2  or  3  inches  long  and 
from  1  to  2  wide,  the  whole  plant  being  covered 
with  a  gray  pubescence  or  down.  Nine  or  ten 
additional  species  of  plantain  are  enumerated 
in  the  United  States. 

PLANTAIN,  WHITE,  see  Cudweed. 

PLANTATION.  In  England  this  term  is 
applied  to  a  piece  of  ground  planted  with  trees 
for  the  purpose  of  producing  timber  or  cop- 
pice wood;  and  the  term  is  also  applied  to 
a  collection  of  trees  or  shrubs  placed  in  the 
ground  for  their  beauty  or  usefulness. 

For  the  correct  consideration  of  the  best 
mode  of  forming  plantations  of  timber  trees, 
several  circumstances  must,  of  necessity,  be 
taken  into  the  planter's  account,  of  which  the 
principal  are — 1st,  Thecompositionof  the  soil; 
2dly,  The  trees  to  which  that  soil  is  best 
adapted ;  3dly,  The  elevation,  or  inclination 
of  the  land :  an  inattention  to  these  three  pri- 
mary questions  has  been  the  source  of  much 
waste  of  time,  of  labour,  and  of  capital. 

In  this,  as^in  all  researches  where  vegeta- 
tion is  concerned,  nature  is  ever  our  best  guide 
and  instructor.  We  find  indigenous  on  the 
chalks,  the  be^'oh,  the  birch,  and  the  ash;  the 
oak  tenants  the  clay  formation,  the  elm  delights 
in  rich  alluvial  bottoms,  and  in  warm,  sheltered 
situations.  To  the  sand  is  left  the  fir  tribe, 
the  ash,  and  the  birch ,  whic^  last  most  pic- 
turesque tree  will  endure  a  clmate,  and  vege- 
tate on  soils,  far  too  cold  and  too  barren  for 
any  other  to  exist  in.  On  the  warm  gravels, 
and  on  deep,  light  loams,  we  find  the  Spanish 
chestnut  located;  and  if,  on  even  the  peat,  we 
only  occasionally  meet  with  a  few  straggling 
4  F  2  S93 


PLANTATION. 


PLANTATION. 


mountain  ash  and  Scotch  firs,  it  is  not  because 
the  composition  of  the  soil  is  too  poor  to  sus- 
tain a  better  description  of  timber  tree,  but  that 
the  soil  is  usually  saturated  with  water,  too 
much  impregnated  with  the  salts  of  iron  for 
any  plants  to  be  successfully  planted  till  that 
corrosive  moisture  is  removed. 

Then,  again,  as  regards  the  temperature  best 
adapted  to  the  tree,  much  too  little  attention  is 
commonly  paid.  The  fir  tribe  are  found  to  de- 
light in  dry,  cool  elevations,  whilst  attempts  to 
make  the  larch  grow  in  warm,  rich  bottoms, 
generally  fail. 

'I'hese  facts  should  be  more  carefully  at- 
tended to  by  the  planter:  he  should  consider 
Ihe  inequalities  of  his  land  and  the  habits  of  his 
trees,and  distribute  them  accordingly.  Leaving 
the  natives  of  a  temperate  climate  to  the  south- 
ern and  western  slopes,  he  should  devote  to 
the  northern  declinations  the  natives  of  a  colder 
clime;  to  them  consign  the  larch  and  the 
Scotch  fir,  the  ash  and  the  birch. 

This  last-mentioned  tree  will,  in  fact,  grow 
at  a  greater  elevation  above  the  sea,  and  in  a 
more  northern  latitude,  than  any  other.  As  we 
approach  the  Arctic  regions,  it  is  the  last  tree 
that  remains  to  us.  Long  after  all  others  have 
departed  it  still  flourishes:  in  Greenland  there 
is  no  other  tree. 

Then,  again,  as  in  all  other  questions  where 
plants  of  anyjiind  are  to  be  made  to  vegetate, 
ihe  chemical  composition  of  the  soil  is  a  tole- 
rably certain  criterion,  when  compared  with 
that  of  the  wood  of  trees,  to  guide  us  in  our 
selection  of  the  species  to  which  that  land  is 
the  best  adapted:  the  earths  found  in  them  by 
the  chemist  are  sure  to  indicate  the  soils  on 
which  they  will  flourish.  Thus,  the  ashes  of 
the  perfect  wood  of  the  oak  contain  more  than 
38  per  cent,  of  soluble  salts,  and  only  2  per 
cent,  of  silica  (flint);  that  of  the  fir  (Mies), 
grown  on  granite,  only  16  per  cent,  of  soluble 
salts,  and  19  per  cent,  of  silica.  Now  the 
fir  flourishes  very  well  on  the  poorest  silicious 
sands,  but  the  oak  will  not  grow  on  such 
soils  without  a  dressing  of  other  earths.  Car- 
bonate of  lime  (chalk),  when  in  excess  in 
soils,  is  less  prejudicial  to  the  growth  of  trees 
than  an  excess  of  any  other  earth.  Now  the 
carbonate  of  lime  is  precisely  that  earth  which 
is  most  commonly  found  in  timber  trees,  and 
in  the  largest  proportions.  The  ashes  of  the 
wood  of  the  oak,  for  instance,  contain  about 
22  per  cent,  of  the  earthy  carbonates,  the  pop- 
lar 29,  the  hazel  22,  the  hornbeam  26  per  cent.; 
and  that  of  the  beech  a  still  larger  proportion. 
And  so  almost  universally  does  carbonate  of 
lime  and  silica  exist  in  wood,  that  M.  Einhof, 
an  able  Prussian  cnemist,  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  plant  had  the  power  of  forming 
these  earths  when  growing  on  soils  that  did  not 
contain  them:  they  certainly,  however,  are 
found  to  absorb  the  largest  proportion  of  car- 
bonate of  lime  and  silica  on  soils  in  which 
those  earths  abound.  Thus  M.  Saussure  found 
in  the  ashes  of  the  fir,  growing  on  a  soil  which 
contained  1'74  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime, 
46-34  per  cent,  of  this  earth ;  but  in  the  ashes 
of  the  same  wood,  produced  from  a  soil  con- 
taining 93  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  he 
found  63  per  cent,  of  that  earth.  And  vhen  the 
894 


soil  contained  75-25  per  cent,  of  silica,  the  tim- 
ber growing  on  it  contained  13*49  percent.; 
but  when  the  soil  was  entirely  free  from  the 
earth,  it  was  equally  absent  from  the  wood. 

The  observations  of  the  planter  confirm  en- 
tirely those  of  the  chemist.  Thus,  on  the  poor, 
hungry,  heath  lands,  such  as  those  of  Norfolk, 
Surrey,  and  the  north,  which  contain  hardly  a 
trace  of  carbonate  of  lime,  they  find  that  by 
dressing  land  intended  for  planting  with  chalk 
or  marl,  the  growth  of  the  trees  is  very  mate- 
rially increased;  and  more  recently,  as  in  the 
forest  of  Darnaway,  in  Scotland,  the  planters 
have  found  the  greatest  advantage  from  placing 
only  a  handful  of  lime  (about  four  bushels  per 
acre  is  sufficient)  in  the  soil  under  the  plants: 
by  this  menns  the  young  trees,  they  say,  are 
forced  forward,  that  is,  they  are  supplied  with 
the  carbonate  of  lime  at  the  very  period  of  their 
growth  when  their  roots,  from  want  of  extent 
and  vigour,  are  least  able  to  absorb  from  the 
soil  the  portion  of  this  earth  so  essential  for 
their  healthy  growth.  And  it  is  precisely  such 
heath  soils  as  those  to  which  I  have  alluded  as 
being  so  materially  benefited  by  the  applica- 
tion of  lime,  chalk,  or  marl  (which  also  con- 
tains chalk),  that  are  found  when  examined,  in 
their  natural  state,  to  be  nearly  destitute  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 

It  is  for  the  same  reasons  that,  in  the  early 
state  of  their  growth,  timber  plantations  are 
benefited  so  materially  by  being  manured  with 
organic  matters,  a  fact  well  known  to  those 
who  plant  for  merely  ornamental  purposes; 
and  it  is  because  all  timber  trees  contain  phos- 
phate of  lime  in  very  considerable  proportions, 
that  crushed  bones  are  found  to  be  so  excellent 
a  fertilizer  for  them ;  and  hence  one  reason 
why  it  has  been  long  a  well-known  fact,  that 
by  burying  dead  animals  under  trees  nearly 
exhausted  for  want  of  nourishment,  those  trees 
will  almost  invariably  be  considerably  revived, 
and  send  out  their  shoots  with  unusual  vigour; 
and  how  essential  the  presence  of  phosphate 
of  lime  is  to  their  growth,  may  be  judged  of 
from  the  fact,  that  this  salt  constitutes  4-5  per 
cent,  of  the  ashes  of  the  oak,  35  in  those  of  the 
hazel,  16-75  of  the  poplar,  23  in  the  hornbeam, 
12  per  cent,  in  those  of  the  fir. 

These  chemical  examinations  naturally  sup- 
port the  conclusions  to  which  I  have  long  come 
in  my  own  experiments,  that  in  all  plantations 
of  timber  trees,  both  on  the  score  of  profit  and 
of  ornament,  it  is  in  almost  all  situations  de- 
sirable to  assist  the  growth  of  the  young  trees  by 
a  small  addition  of  manure.  On  a  large  scale, 
this  must  be  chiefly  confined  to  the  use  of  the 
earths,  either  lime,  chalk,  or  marl,  according 
to  their  respective  local  value ;  and  for  this 
purpose  a  smaller  proportion  per  acre  of  any 
kind  of  manure  is  of  much  greater  value  than 
is  commonly  supposed.  In  Scotland  they  have 
found  about  4  bushels  of  lime  an  abundant  ad- 
dition, since  they  merely  mix  a  handful  of  this 
earth  in  the  soil  under  each  plant ;  and  in  the 
fine  wood??  produced  by  Mr.  Withers,  of  Holt, 
'  by  spreading  a  poor  marl  over  his  hungry, 
;  black,  heath  soil,  and  then  ploughing  them  in 
very  deeply,  he  merely  added  about  20  cubic 
yards  per  acre. 
In  preparing  the  land  for  plantations,  th 


PLANTATION. 


PLANTATION. 


same  chemical  examination  of  its  composition 
well  illustrates  the  advantag:e  derived  by  the 
plant  from  merely  previously  stirring  the  soil, 
since  it  is  evident  that  when  the  constituents 
of  the  young  trees  are  contained  in  it  in  only 
very  limited  proportions,  in  such  case  the  more 
easily  their  roots  are  enabled  to  penetrate  in 
search  of  that  necessary  nourishment,  the  more 
rapid  will  be  their  growth.   Previous  trenching 
of  the  soil  also  conduces  to  the  healthy  growth 
of  trees  in  more  ways  than  one.     It  renders  ; 
them  less  subject  to  injury  from  want  of  moist- 1 
ure  in  the  heats  of  summer;  the  atmosphere! 
more  freely  finds  access  to  their  roots,  and  not  j 
only  yields  its  watery  vapour  in  the  warmest 
weather  for  their  service,   but  its   gases,  so 
essential  to  their  ver}'  existence,  are  also  in  a 
similar  manner  more  readily  absorbed. 

I  have  had  many  occasions  to  notice  the  ad- 
vantages of  deeply  stirring  the  land  for  timber 
trees.  In  my  early  plantings,  my  larch  and 
other  timber  trees  made  but  little  progress,  for 
I  merely  placed  them  in  holes  dug  in  the  soil; 
I  neither  manured,  nor  in  any  way  prepared 
the  soil.  An  experiment,  however,  which  I 
made  some  years  since — in  which,  by  merely 
trenching  the  soil  with  the  fork  in  a  clump  of 
larch,  Scotch  firs,  and  birch,  to  the  depth  of 
about  20  inches,  the  growth  of  the  trees,  which 
had  for  several  years  been  extremely  slow,  was 
in  the  succeeding  years  exceedingly  vigorous — 
convinced  me  of  the  truth  of  the  observations 
made  by  Sir  Henry  Steuart,  Mr.  Withers,  and 
others,  of  the  great  advantages  of  trenching  the 
r.oil,  either  by  the  spade  or  by  the  common  or 
the  subsoil  plough. 

The  opinions  and  explanations  given  by  the 
labouring  woodmen  of  the  cause  of  the  occa- 
sional very  luxuriant  patches  in  extensive 
young  plantations  accord  with  these  conclu- 
sions. They  tell  you  that  those  favoured  trees 
are  on  a  thep,  tender  piece  of  land. 

The  last  branch  of  the  investigation — that 
of  the  best  mode  of  planting  and  of  expense — 
IS  now  to  be  considered.  Too  little  attention 
is  usually  paid  by  planters  in  the  choice  of  their 
plants,  the  manner  in  which  they  have  been 
reared,  and  in  the  care  of  their  removal :  in- 
stead of  attending  to  the  acquired  habits  of  the 
tree,  it  is  a  very  common  practice  for  the  plants 
to  be  bought  of  some  nurseryman,  who  has 
reared  them  m  a  warm,  rich  bottom,  and  then, 
as  a  natural  consequence,  when  the  trees  are 
transplanted  to  a  cold,  poor,  hungry,  exposed 
soil,  a  large  portion  of  them  are  sure  to  perish, 
or,  if  they  live,  many  become  stunted  or  stag- 
headed.  That  all  these  evils  may  be  avoided 
with  only  ordinary  care,  is  proved  by  the  ex- 
perience of  the  best  planters,  who  are  careful 
to  procure  their  seedlings  from  land  at  least 
not  better  than  that  on  which  they  are  intended 
to  be  placed ;  and  is  further  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that,  when  the  soil  is  prepared  by  either 
deep  digging  or  manuring,  or  both,  then  the 
mortality  amongst  the  plants  is  very  small  in- 
deed,— they  need  no  further  attention,  they  I 
equally  set  at  defiance  the  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold,  are  very  rarely  diseased,  and  shoot ' 
with  uncommon  vigour.  This  attention  to  the  i 
early  acquired  habits  of  the  plant  is  not  entirely  , 
a  modern  observation — the  early  Italian  plant-  i 


ers  were  careful  in  replacing  the  tree  in  the 
same  position  as  regards  the  cardinal  points 
that  it  occupied  in  its  early  growth.  (Fiirgi/, 
Geo.  ii.  269.) 

There  are  other  very  common  errors,  of  which 
I  have  long  noticed  the  ill  effects;  for  instance, 
the  want  of  care  with  which  the  roots  of  the 
young  trees  are  deposited  in  the  earth,  and  the 
unnecessary  length  of  time  which  is  suffered 
to  elapse  between  the  period  when  the  plant  is 
taken  from  the  nursery  and  replanted.  I  have 
always  found  the  after  good  effect  of  causing 
the  roots  of  the  young  plant  to  be  carefully 
arranged,  and  spread  out  before  the  earth  is 
thrown  in  upon  it;  the  usually  heedless  way 
in  which  the  roots  are  thrust  into  the  hole,  and 
perhaps  broken  or  materially  bruised  in  the 
act  of  treading  in  the  earth  upon  them,  is  of 
necessity  very  prejudicial  to  the  young  plant; 
and  then,  again,  a  still  more  negligent  practice, 
that  of  ploughing  in  the  young  trees,  is  too  often 
adopted  on  a  largfe  scale,  by  which  the  plants 
are  still  more  hastily  deposited  in  the  soil,  and 
are  neither  fixed  with  sutficient  firmness  in  the 
ground,  nor  even  placed  in  an  upright  position. 
From  these  causes  I  have  witnessed  some  very 
decided  failures;  and  there  is  certainly  no  eco- 
nomy in  this  hasty  mode  of  planting;  the  trees 
perish  in  great  numbers  ;  they  linger  for  years 
without  vigour;  have  to  be  replaced  at  a  con- 
siderable expense ;  and  in  the  mean  time  the 
owners  lose  all  the  advantages  which  might 
have  been  insured  from  a  more  skilfully  ob- 
tained rapidity  of  growth. 

The  grouping  or  mixture  of  trees  is  a  ques- 
tion which  rarely  engages  the  attention  of  the 
planter,  although  it  is  certain  that,  like  the 
commonly  cultivated  crops  of  the  farmer,  some 
trees  grow  better  when  mixed  with  other  kinds 
than  when  vegetating  in  plantations  of  the  same 
species;  that  they  have  certain  secretions,  and 
excrete  matters,  both  by  their  roots  and  leaves, 
which  are  noxious  to  other  trees,  is  certain. 
Thus  the  ash,  and  more  particularly  the  locust, 
are  very  obnoxious  to  most  trees.  Then,  again, 
the  grouping  together  of  certain  trees  is  parti 
cularly  grateful  to  them  all.  Thus,  the  larch 
is  a  very  good  neighbour ;  the  Scotch  fir,  the 
birch,  and  the  Spanish  chestnut  grow  very 
luxuriantly  with  it;  the  oak,  the  elm,  the  hazel, 
and  the  hornbeam  are  evidently  good  neigh- 
bours. The  Roman  planters  had  remarked  this 
habit  of  trees.  Thus,  they  believed  that  the 
elm  was  particularly  grateful  to  the  vine;  and 
the}  were  so  convinced  of  the  existence  of  what 
they  called  the  sympathy  between  them,  that 
they  called  the  elm  the  husband  of  the  vine. 
It  was  invariably  their  custom  to  plant  them 
near  each  other,*  and  as  we  are  indebted  to  them 
for  the  introduction  of  the  vine  into  England, 
so  hence,  m  all  probability,  came  with  them 
our  first  elm  trees. 

The  expense  of  these  different  modes  of 
planting  is  next  to  be  ascertained ;  it  is  an  in- 
quiry which  will  well  repay  the  planter.  The 
favourite  mode,  that  of  digging  a  small  hole 
and  inserting  the  tree,  is,  apparently,  attended 
with  the  least  outlay  of  money;  in  some  in- 
stances it  has  been  done  for  4/.  or  5/.  per  acre, 
or  even  less;  but  such  plantations  are  very 
rarely   profitable, — the  plants   die,   or   barel 

89 !» 


PLANTATION. 


PLANTATION. 


regetate  for  years,  have  to  be  renewed  again 
and  again,  and  the  general  appearance  of  the 
plantation,  overrun  with  weeds,  or  heath-moss, 
or  furze,  is  very  melancholy.  About  40s.  per 
acre  more,  bestowed  in  deep  ploughing  or  sub- 
soiling,  will  make  a  strange  difference  in  the 
rapid  growth  and  consequent  early  profit  of  the 
plantation,  and,  moreover,  save  materially  the 
expense  of  the  trees ;  for  the  number  of  then 
which  perish  in  land  thus  prepared  for  their 
reception  is  very  small. 

In  a  still  greater  degree  are  these  good  re- 
sults obtained  by  the  addition  of  say  20  cubic 
yards  per  acre  of  marl,  or  clay,  or  a  still  less 
quantity  of  chalk,  according  to  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  or  lime,  which  may  usually  be  procured 
for  an  outlay  of  less  than  30.>-.  per  acre;  or  of 

2  or  3  tons  of  well  putrefied  farm-yard  manure, 
a  shovelful  under  each  tree,  in  the  manner  I 
have  before  described.  Now,  supposing  that 
even  all  these  preparations  of  the  soil  are  made, 
the  expense  per  acre  will  tben,  in  many  situa- 
tions, stand  as  follows, — 

£   8.  d. 
Ploughing  deeply     -        -        -        -        -        -200 

SO  cubic  yards  of  marl  or  clay,  or  10  of  chalk  -    1     10    0 

3  cubic  yards  of  dung,  at  6«.  -  -  -  -  0  18  0 
Trees,  ploughing,  &c.      -        -        -        -        -600 

io~8~o 

Subsoil  ploughing  will  cost  from  24s.  to  30s. 
per  statute  acre. 

If  the  manure  is  omitted,  as  well  as  the  earth 
and  the  ploughing,  the  outlay  of  5s.  per  acre  in 
lime,  in  the  way  I  have  noticed,  will  not  be 
without  decided  advantage.  I  am  quite  con- 
vinced, therefore,  that  if  all  planters  were  to 
confine  their  operations  to  a  less  extent  of 
land,  and  prepare  and  plant  that  ground  well, 
they  would  reap  a  much  earlier  and  richer 
harvest  from  the  money  expended  than  they 
now  do  from  a  much  greater  extent  of  ill- 
planted,  exhausted  soil.  Such  are  the  facts 
which  I  have  noticed,  in  my  own  practice 
and  that  of  others,  as  most  necessary  to  be  at- 
tended to  in  rearing  profitable,  luxuriant  planta- 
tions of  timber  trees,  on  the  poorest  lands  of 
England;  hardly  any  of  whose  soils,  however, 
are  so  barren  or  so  elevated  as  not  to  be  able 
to  produce,  with  only  reasonable  care  and  ex- 
pense, an  ample  return  for  the  capital  of  the 
planter.  It  is  a  pursuit  which  is,  in  more  re- 
spects than  one,  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the 
landed  proprietor,  since  he  not  only  by  his 
plantations  adds  to  the  beauty  and  income  of 
his  own  estates,  but  at  the  same  time  yields  to 
the  community  at  large  great  and  important 
services;  its  barren  wastes  are  made  to  pro- 
duce timber  and  underwood,  the  soil  is  gradu- 
ally rendered  fertile,  profitable  supplies  of  la- 
baur  are  afforded,  its  health  is  promoted,  the 
very  climate  by  a  general  system  of  plantations 
is  ameliorated,  for  its  bleak  hills  are  clothed. 
Its  stagnant  swamps  are  drained. 

There  is  an  excellent  paper  "On  collecting 
and  preparing  the  seeds  of  Forest  Trees,  the 
mode  of  sowing  them,"  &c.,  by  Mr.  Adam,  and 
other  planters.  {Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  329.) 
He  advises  Scotish  planters  to  collect  the  seed 
of  tne  white  larch  (Pinus  larix)  in  November, 
from  trees  of  20  to  40  years  of  age,  at  an  ele- 
vation not  exceeding  400  feet;  thai  the  seed- 
896 


bed  should  be  manured  with  cow  dung,  weF. 
mixed  with  the  soil  for  some  time  previously  to 
sowing  the  seed,  which  should  be  in  April  and 
May;  the  beds  to  be  42  inches  in  breadth,  with 
intervals  of  18  inches.  The  seed  should  be 
sown  so  that  each  square  yard  of  ground  may 
produce  2000  plants,  which  in  the  first  year 
should  reach  to  a  height  of  5  or  6  inches.  One- 
third  of  the  plants  may  be  drawn  and  pricked 
out  in  rows  at  a  distance  of  10  inches,  and  the 
remainder  left  for  another  year.  The  autumn, 
Mr.  Adams  thinks,  is  the  best  time  for  forming 
plantations. 

The  seed  of  the  Scotch  fir  {Finns  sylvestris) 
is  gathered  in  the  same  way,  and,  to  separate 
the  seeds  from  the  cones,  it  is  necessary  to 
kiln-dry  them;  about  11^  quarters  of  cones 
produce  about  112  lbs.  of  seed.  The  Scotch 
fir  must  stand  2  years  in  the  seed-bed.  Oo/  <? 
are  to  be  sown  early  in  February:  the  be^t 
acorns  are  to  be  had  in  Kent,  the  brightest  and 
heaviest  being  the  most  valuable ;  they  keep 
very  well  spread  on  a  deal  floor;  and  may  be 
placed  in  drills  a  foot  apart,  2  inches  deep,  to 
be  planted  out  when  2  or  3  years  old.  .^sh  keys 
are  gathered  in  December  or  January,  and  laid 
in  heaps  mixed  with  one-third  of  their  bulk  of 
sand  under  cover;  they  should  be  turned  over 
once  or  twice  in  the  following  year,  and  thus, 
after  resting  for  12  or  14  months,  are  ready  for 
sowing  in  March,  in  drills  a  foot  from  each 
other,  and  1^  inches  deep.  The  seed  of  the 
Scotch  elm  is  ripe  in  June,  and  should  be  sown 
soon  after;  that  of  the  beech  is  gathered  in 
September,  and  sown  in  the  following  March 
or  April,  in  drills  1^  inches  deep.  The  seeds 
of  the  Spanish  chestnut  are  best  procured  from 
Spain :  they  may  be  sown  in  February,  in  drills 
4  inches  deep.  The  horse-chestnut  seeds  are  to 
be  sown  in  October:  those  of  the  weeping  birch 
should  be  sown  as  soon  as  gathered,  and  co- 
vered with  earth  half  an  inch  deep.  Those  of 
the  lime  should  be  gathered  and  sown  in  Octo- 
ber.    Poplars  are  propagated  by  cuttings. 

For  a  description  of  the  advantages  of  pre- 
paring the  land  for  plantations,  I  would  advise 
the  young  planter  to  consult  the  works  of  Mr. 
Withers,  the  excellent  Planter'' s  Guide  of  Sir 
Henry  Steuart,  and  the  Journal  of  the  Royal 
Jli^ricuUural  Society  of  England.  And  for  those 
who  wish  to  plant  in  the  most  simple  way  at 
an  expense  of  only  10s.  per  acre,  see  a  paper 
by  Mr.  Grigor.  {Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  iii.  p.  363.) 

By  this  mode,  which  consists  of  merely  mak- 
ing a  hole,  or  raising  the  turf  of  the  ground 
sufficiently  to  put  in  the  plants,  the  estimate  is 
for  a  Scotch  acre  (which  is  equal  to  6150  square 
yards) — 

500  one-year  transplanted  larches    - 
1500  two-year  seedlinp,  do. 
500  one-year  transplanted  Scotch  firs 
1000  two-year  seedling,  do. 
Carriage  of  plants  to  the  moor  - 
Expenses  of  planting  3,500 

Total  expense  per  Scotch  acre   -        -  10    0 

See  Elm,  Fib,  Fohest, Larch,  Oak, Pine,  &c. 

PLANTING.  In  arboriculture,  the  art  of 
forming  plantations  of  trees.  Also  the  art  of 
inserting  plants  in  the  soil  by  the  spade,  dibble, 
trowel,  or  by  other  means  in  use  in  agriculture 


PLANT-LICE. 


PLASTER  OF  PARIS. 


and  gardening.  As  in  the  preceding  article  I 
have  gone  very  fully  into  the  particulars  of 
planting  trees,  I  shall  only  add  in  this  place 
the  following  useful  table,  showing  the  number 
of  plants  required  for  one  acre  of  land,  from  1 
foot  to  21  feet  distance  from  plant  to  plant. 


Dista 

nee. 

niitance. 

Ft. 

111. 

Number. 

Ft. 

In. 

Number. 

1 

0 

- 

43..')60 

8 

6 

. 

602 

1 

6 

. 

19,360 

9 

0 

. 

538 

2 

0 

. 

10,>90 

9 

6 

. 

482 

2 

6 

_ 

6,9fi0 

10 

0 

. 

436 

3 

0 

. 

4,8-10 

11 

0 

. 

361 

3 

6 

. 

3,556 

12 

0 

. 

302 

4 

0 

_ 

2,722 

13 

0 

. 

258 

4 

6 

_ 

2,151 

14 

0 

. 

223 

5 

0 

_ 

1,742 

15 

0 

. 

194 

5 

6 

. 

1,440 

16 

0 

. 

. 

171 

6 

0 

- 

1,210 

17 

0 

- 

- 

151 

6 

6 

_ 

1,031 

18 

0 

- 

. 

135 

7 

0 

. 

889 

19 

0 

. 

. 

121 

6 

. 

775 

20 

0 

. 

_ 

109 

8 

0 

- 

680 

21 

0 

- 

- 

99 

PLANT-LICE.    See  Aphidiaxs. 

PLASHING.  A  mode  of  repairing  or  modi- 
fying a  hedge  by  bending  down  a  portion  of 
the  shoots,  cutting  them  half  through  near  the 
ground,  to  render  them  more  pliable,  and  twist- 
ing them  among  the  upright  stems,  so  as  to 
render  the  whole  effective  as  a  fence,  and  at 
the  same  time  preserve  all  the  branches  alive. 
For  this  purpose  the  branches  to  be  plashed  or 
bent  down  must  not  be  cut  more  than  half 
through,  in  order  that  a  sufficient  portion  of 
sap  may  rise  up  from  the  root  to  keep  alive  the 
upper  part  of  the  branches.  Where  hedges 
are  properly  formed  and  kept,  they  can  very 
seldom  require  to  be  plashed;  but  this  mode 
of  treating  a  hedge  is  most  valuable  in  the  cases 
of  hedges  abounding  with  hedge-row  trees, 
when  I'rom  neglect,  or  from  any  other  cause, 
the  hedge  has  become  of  irregular  growth. 
See  Hkihjks. 

PLASTER  OF  PARIS,  or  GYPSUM.  One 
of  the  common  names  of  the  sulphate  of  lime 
or  plaster  stone,  which  is  found  abundantly 
near  Paris.  When  burnt  and  reduced  to  pow- 
der, and  then  mixed  with  water,  it  forms  a  firm, 
sonorous  substance,  admirably  adapted  for 
forming  models  and  casts. 

Plaster  of  Paris  or  Gtpscm,  as  a  Ma- 
kurS.  It  is  useless  to  search  in  the  works  of 
the  early  agricultural  writers  for  any  notice  of 
the  employment  of  gypsum  as  a  manure.  It 
is  true  that  Virgil  speaks  of  the  value  of  a  very 
impure  variety  of  it,  when  he  is  commending 
the  use  of  ashes  to  the  Roman  farmers.  The 
early  inhabitants  of  Britain  thus  used  it;  the 
farmers  of  Lombardy  did  the  same ;  but  ages 
elapsed  before  even  chemists  were  able  to  dis- 
tinguish this  salt  from  limestone,  or  other  cal- 
careous matter.  Its  uses,  in  its  simple  state  as 
a  manure,  were  first  noticed,  according  to  Kir- 
wan,  about  the  middle  of  the  ISth  century,  by 
a  very  able  German  clergyman,  of  the  name  of 
Meyer,  who  tried  with  success  various  expe- 
riments with  a  mineral  substance  found  in  his 
neighbourhood,  which  was  long  afterwards 
shown  to  be  an  impure  sulphate  of  lime.  The 
name  of  plaster  of  Paris,  by  which  this  sub- 
stance is  commonly  known,  arose  from  its 
abounding  in  the  neighbourhood  of  that  capi- 
tal, where  it  was  burnt  into  a  powder,  and 
used  as  a  stucco.  The  composition  of  sulphate 
of  lime,  when  pure,  is — 
113 


Parto. 
Sulphuric  acid  -  -  -  _  _  43 
Lime  --..__.  33 
Water         --....       34 


100 


But  the  gypsum  of  commerce  is  usually  united 
with  a  portion  of  silica  and  carbonate  of  lime. 
It  is  thus  combined  in  its  native  state.  Ac- 
cording to  Chaptal  and  Buchholz,  gypsum  con- 
sists of— 

Parti. 

Sulphuric  acid      -        -        -        -    32  or  43 

Lime     -        -        -        -        -        -    30  or  33 

Water  - 38  or  24 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  artificial  manure  so 
decided  in  its  etfects  upon  some  soils,  so  readily 
obtainable  by  the  farmer,  and  so  plentiful,  as 
gypsum.  Its  mode  of  action,  too,  is  now  easily 
understood.  It  acts  as  a  direct  food  for  some 
plants.  There  are  five  commonly  cultivated 
crops  which  contain  gypsum  in  sensible  pro- 
portions, and  to  which,  in  consequence,  it  is  a 
direct  food,  viz.,  lucern,  sanfoin,  red  clover, 
rye-grass,  and  turnips.  Now,  these  are  pre- 
cisely the  crops  to  which  the  farmer  finds,  on 
most  soils,  gypsum  to  be  a  fertilizing  top- 
dressing.  Wheat,  barley,  oats,  beans,  and 
peas,  do  not  contain  a  trace  of  this  salt ;  and 
the  farmer  tells  you  that  gypsum  is  of  little  or 
no  service  to  these  crops,  however  the  appli- 
cation may  be  varied.  That  it  does  not  ope- 
rate by  its  attraction  for  atmospheric  moisture, 
I  some  time  since  determined  by  my  own  ex- 
periments; for  1000  parts,  previously  dried, 
when  exposed  to  air  saturated  with  moisture 
for  3  hours,  only  gained  9  parts,  w  lile  under 
the  same  circumstances  a  good  aiable  soil, 
worth  2  guineas  per  acre,  gained  14  parts; 
and  when  compared  with  other  manures,  the 
disproportion  is  still  greater:  thus  soot  gained 
36  parts,  and  horse-dung  145  parts.  That  it  is 
not  a  promoter  of  putrefaction,  I  have  ascer- 
tained by  mixing  this  salt  with  various  animal 
and  vegetable  substances;  it  seemed,  in  every 
case,  rather  to  retard  than  promote  the  spon- 
taneous decomposition  of  them  all.  The  house- 
wives consider  hard  water,  which  commonly 
owes  its  properties  to  the  presence  of  thi#  salt, 
to  be  a  greater  sweetener  of  tainted  food  than 
soft  water.  Davy,  also,  in  some  experiments 
with  minced  veal,  thought  that  the  addition  of 
the  gypsum  rather  retarded  putrefaction. 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  pro- 
portion of  sulphate  of  lime  found  in  certain 
plants  is  as  essential  to  their  growth  as  the 
presence  of  the  other  earthy  salts  and  pure 
earths.    Thus,  those  plants  which  yield  this 
salt  never  grow  well  on  lands  which  do  not 
contain  it;  those  in  which  carbonate  of  lime  is 
found  never  flourish  in  soils  from  which  this 
salt  is  absent.     Plants  which  abound  with  ni- 
trate of  potash  (saltpetre),  such  as   the  sun- 
flower and  the  nettle,  always  languish  in  soils 
free  from  that  salt ;  but  when  watered  with  a 
weak  solution  of  it,  their  growth  is  very  mate- 
\  rially  promoted,  and  the  saltpetre  is  then  found 
!  in  them,  as  shown,  upon  analysis,  in  very  sen- 
'  sible  proportions.    The  same  remarks  apply 
to  the  growth  of  those  plants  which  contain 
common  salt,  or  phosphate  of  lime ;  the  effect 
i  is  the  same,  the  result  invariable. 

897 


PLASTER  OF  PARIS. 

Liebig  contends  that  the  nature  of  gypsum 
consists  in  its  giving  a  fixed  constitution  to 
the  nitrogen,  or  ammonia,  which  is  brought 
into  the  soil,  and  is  indispensable  for  the  nutri- 
tion of  plants.  He  says,  that  100  lbs.  of  gyp- 
sum give  as  much  ammonia  as  6250  lbs.  of 
horses'  urine  would  yield  it :  4  lbs.  of  gypsum, 
he  affirms,  increase  the  produce  of  the  mea- 
dow 100  lbs.  The  decomposition  of  gypsum 
is  slow,  which,  he  says,  explains  the  reason 
why  the  action  of  gypsum  lasts  for  several 
years.     See  Ammonia. 

I  have  noticed,  in  applying  gypsum  to 
grasses,  that  the  weather,  at  the  time  of 
spreading  it,  has  a  very  material  influence 
upon  the  result  of  the  experiment.  Its  eflfects 
are  never  soon  apparent  when  it  is  sown  in 
dry  weather;  but  if  the  season  is  damp,  so  that 
the  white  powdered  gypsum  adheres  to  the 
leaves  and  stalks  of  theyoung  grass,  the  good 
effect  is  then  immediate.  This  observation 
was  made  many  years  since  by  Arthur  Young, 
by  Mr.  Smith,  and  by  the  American  farmers : 
it  is  a  well-known  fact  with  the  sainfoin  grow- 
ers, of  the  Berkshire  and  Hampshire  chalk 
formation  ;  the  clover  cultivators  of  the  gravels 
and  loams  of  Surrey  and  Kent;  and  on  the  lu- 
cern  grounds  of  the  alluvial  soils  of  Essex  and 
Middlesex.  The  farmers  of  the  United  States, 
when  dressing  their  clover  or  turnips  with 
gypsum,  always  found  it  answer  best  when 
spread  in  rainy  weather. 

The  result  of  the  analysis  of  the  clover  and 
sainfoin  grasses  shows  that  an  ordinary  crop 
of  these  usually  contains  from  1^  to  2  cwt.  per 
acre  of  sulphate  of  lime.  Now,  this  is  pre- 
cisely the  proportion  of  gypsum  which  the  best 
cultivators  find  to  be  attended  with  the  maxi- 
mum benefit;  those  of  Kent  and  Hampshire 
find  it  useless  to  apply  more ;  but  then  they 
all  agree  that  the  annual  repetition  of  the 
dressing,  as  long  as  the  grass  is  suffered  to  re- 
main on  the  ground,  is  attended  with  renewed 
benefit.  It  is  here  again  that  the  experiments 
of  the  chemist  and  the  farmer  mutually  con- 
firm and  illustrate  each  other;  the  very  quan- 
tity of  sulphate  of  lime  which  the  first  shows 
to  bAarried  off  the  land  in  the  clover,  is  pre- 
cisely that  which  the  latter  returns  to  it  in  his 
dressings  with  gypsum. 

One  of  the  chief  reasons  why  gypsum  has 
not  been  universally  employed  by  all  cultiva- 
tors of  the  artificial  grasses,  arises  perhaps 
from  the  fact  that  many  good  soils  naturally 
contain  sulphate  of  lime  in  sufficient  abun- 
dance for  the  service  of  the  plant ;  and,  in  con- 
sequence, to  such  lands  the  application  of  gyp- 
sum is  useless — it  is  an  attempt  to  supply  a 
deficiency  which  doe  not  exist.  I  have  inva- 
riably found  in  those  soils  to  which  gypsum  is 
not  a  manure  an  abundance  of  this  salt.  It  is 
not,  however,  necessary  for  the  farmer  to  have 
his  soil  analyzed  to  determine  the  probable  ad- 
vantages of  applying  gypsum  to  his  clover  and 
other  grasses;  there  are  several  easy  observa- 
tions which  will  readily  indicate  to  him  the 
nature  of  the  case.  Thus,  when  he  finds  that 
those  fields  which  once  produced  luxuriant 
crops  of  r&i.  clover  or  sainfoin  will  no  longer 
yield  them  in  abundance ;  if  he  notices  that  the 
roung  plants  soring  up  very  numerously,  but 
898 


PLASTER  OF  PARIS. 

die  awa^  as  the  summer  advances  ;  if  he  finds 
that  his  fields  will  only  grow  clover  success- 
fully once  in  8  or  12  years,  and  that  his  neigh- 
bours tell  him  his  land  is  tired  of  clover,  or  *'  clo- 
ver-sick ;"  if  he  notices  that  even  the  application 
of  farm-yard  compost  hardly  adds  to  the  luxu- 
riance of  his  grasses  ;  he  may  then  safely  con- 
clude that  his  crops  have  gradually  exhausted 
his  land  of  sulphate  of  lime  ;  and  lie  may,  with 
every  confidence  of  success,  apply  a  dressing 
of  gypsum,  at  the  rate  of  2  cwt.  per  acre,  taking 
care  to  choose  a  wet  morning  for  the  applica- 
tion; and  this  may  be  done  at  any  season  of 
the  year,  but  it  is  best  either  in  April  or  the 
first  days  of  May.  These  facts  I  can  attest 
from  the  results  of  my  own  observations  and 
experience.  In  an  old  grass  paddock,  of  about 
70  acres,  in  the  vale  of  Kennett,  in  Berkshire, 
the  grass  had  for  many  years  gradually  be- 
come less  and  less  productive,  and  this  in  spite 
of  all  kinds  of  applications ;  the  earths  (such 
as  clay  and  chalk),  farm-yard  compost,  &c., 
had  been  liberally  and  repeatedly  spread,  with- 
out producing  any  thing  like  a  luxuriant  crop: 
but  it  was  found  at  last  that  the  peat  ashes  of 
the  banks  of  the  Kennett,  when  spread  at  the 
rale  of  about  40  bushels  per  acre,  produced  the 
very  best  results,  an  excellent  crop,  both  in 
weight  and  in  colour;  certainly  more  than  a 
ton  of  hi.y  per  acre  beyond  what  the  soil  yield- 
ed before.  The  fact  was  now  evident  that  it 
was  gypsum  that  the  soil  needed;  for  as  these 
peat  ashes  contain  about  12^  per  cent,  of  sul- 
phate of  lime,  more  than  2  cwt.  of  gypsum  was 
conveyed  into  the  land  in  them  ;  it  constitutes, 
in  fact,  by  far  the  chief  fertilizing  ingredient 
in  these  peat  ashes,  the  remainder  being  about 
40  per  cent,  of  sand,  and  the  rest  chalk,  red 
oxide  of  iron,  and  a  small  quantity  of  common 
salt. 

If  this  conclusion,  therefore,  was  correct,  as 
to  the  gypsum  being  the  only  valuable  portion 
of  the  peat  ashes,  it  was  certain  that  an  appli- 
cation of  2  cwt.  per  acre  of  gypsum  to  the  same 
land  would  produce  similar  beneficial  results; 
and,  upon  a  trial,  it  was  found  that  benefits 
fully  equal  to  any  yielded  by  the  application 
of  the  peat  ashes  resulted.  2  cwt.  per  acre  of 
gypsum,  in  fine  powder,  was  spread  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  grass  with  the  most  excellent  effect: 
the  grass  not  only  grew  with  greatly  increased 
vigour,  but  a  quantity  of  white  clover  and 
other  grasses  made  their  appearance  on  the 
portion  dressed,  in  so  marked  a  manner  as  to 
attract  the  attention  of  the  tenant  to  the  fact. 
The  soil  on  which  these  experiments  were  tried 
consists  of — 

Parts. 

Organic  matter,  chiefly  vegetable  -        -  3-5 

Soluble  matters       -----  3* 

Carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia    -        -  19* 

Oxide  of  iron 2-75 

Alumina  ------  8"5 

Sand  and  gravel      -----  62- 

98-75 

This  is  about  10  inches  deep,  and  it  rests  on  a 
thin  stratum  of  gravel  and  thin  chalk. 

There  is  another  fact  which  clearly  sup- 
ports these  conclusions,  viz.,  the  great  use  of 
common  coal-ashes  as  a  top-dressing  to  clover, 
sanfoin,  and  lucern ;  there  is  no  manure  uni- 


LASTER  FOR  TREES. 


vers  ally  in  the  possession  of  the  farmer,  in 
fact,  e>iual  to  them  for  immediate  effect  upon 
those  j^rasses.  Now,  coal-ashes  usually  con- 
tain about  10  per  cent,  of  sulphate  of  lime; 
and,  therefore,  a  dressing  with  50  bushels  of 
coal-ashes  per  acre  is  equal  to  an  application 
of  about  5  bushels  of  gypsum  ;  the  remaining 
portion  of  the  ashes  consists  principally  of 
about  10  per  cent,  of  lime  and  sand,  and  a 
small  portion  of  red  oxide  of  iron  and  alumina: 
so  that  the  gypsum  is  here  again  evidently  the 
active  ingredient — the  other  constituent  parts 
being  nearly  inert  substances.  My  own  ex- 
periments and  observations  have  been  con- 
firmed by  many  others  within  the  last  two 
years,  for  gypsum  is  evidently  creeping  gra- 
dually into  use  as  a  manure  for  the  grasses. 

In  Flngland,  the  expense  of  the  application 
of  the  gypsum  is  about  7s.  per  acre  ;  this  sub- 
stance being  usually  sold  in  London  for  about 
2/.  10s.  per  ton — at  Reading  and  Southampton 
at  Is.  9(i.  per  bushel.  In  the  midland  counties 
it  may  be  had  at  a  still  more  reascmable  rate  ; 
thus,  in  Derbyshire,  it  is  so  plentiful  that  the 
farmers'  cheese-room  floors  are  commonly 
formed  with  it ;  it  abounds,  too,  in  the  north 
of  England.  The  comparative  produce  of  the 
gypsumed  over  not-gypsumed  land  is  very 
great;  it  of  course  varies  in  amount.  I  have 
seen  it  double  the  produce  of  clover  hay,  and 
give  an  equally  copious  crop  of  lucern  ;  but 
this  last  I  invariably  cut  green  for  soiling. 

Mr.  Smith,  of  Highstead,  found  still  greater 
benefit  from  the  use  of  gypsum  to  his  clover 
leys;  for  where  the  simple  soil  produced  1  ton 
only  per  acre  of  hay,  the  portion  of  the  same 
soil  to  which  5  bushels  per  acre  of  gypsum 
had  been  applied  yielded  3  tons ;  the  first  yield- 
ing only  20  lbs.  of  seed,  while  the  latter  pro- 
duced 105  lbs.  Mr.  Smith,  loo,  first  noticed — 
what  my  own  observations  have  confirmed — 
that  cattle,  horses,  &c.,  always  prefer  the  grass 
growing  on  the  gypsumed  portion  of  the  field 
to  any  other.  The  same  remark  is  made  by 
those  who  spread  coal-ashes  on  their  grass 
leys:  the  peat-ashes  of  Berkshire  produce  the 
same  effect. 

The  general  introduction,  then,  of  gypsum, 
as  a  top-dressing  for  the  artificial  grasses  which 
I  have  mentioned,  is  certainly  an  object  of  no 
mean  interest  to  the  farmer,  especially  if  he  cul- 
tivates the  poor  inland  soils  of  England,  where 
artificial  manures  are  scarce,  and  the  carriage 
of  even  the  most  portable  is  expensive ;  for 
gypsum  possesses,  in  this  respect,  two  advan- 
tages combined,  which  do  not  belong  to  any 
other,  even  of  the  saline  manures  :  its  first  cost 
is  trifling,  and  its  carriage  light,  since  a  wagon 
will  convey  sufficient  gypsum  to  dress  30  acres 
of  grass. 

PLASTER  FOR  TREES.     See  Caxkxr. 

PLASTIC  CLAY.  Clay  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  pottery. 

PLATYPHYLLUM  CONCAVUM,  or 
KATY-DID.  A  kind  of  grasshopper  found  in 
the  United  States.  Dr.  Harris,  who  was  the 
first  to  give  a  scientific  description,  has  called 
it  Platyphyllum  concavum.  The  front  of  its  head 
is  obtuse,  body  of  a  pale-green  colour,  the 
wing-covers  and  wings  beipg  somewhat  darker. 
Its  thorax  is  rough  like  shagreen.    The  musi- 


PLOUGH. 

cal  organs  of  the  male  consist  of  a  pair  of 
taborets,  formed  by  a  thin,  transparent  mem- 
brane, stretched  in  a  strong  half-oval  frame  ia 
the  triangular  overlapping  portion  of  each 
wing-cover.  During  the  daytime  these  insects 
are  silent,  and  conceal  themselves  among  the 
leaves  of  trees ;  but  at  night,  they  quit  their 
lurking-places,  and  the  joyous  males  begin  the 
tell-tale  call  with  which  they  enliven  their  silent 
mates.  This  proceeds  from  the  friction  of  the 
taboret  frames  against  each  other  when  the 
wing-covers  are  opened  and  shut,  and  consists 
of  two  or  three  distinct  notes,  almost  exactly 
resembling  articulated  sounds,  and  correspond- 
ing with  the  number  of  times  that  the  wing- 
covers  are  opened  and  shut;  and  the  notes  are 
repeated,  at  intervals  of  a  few  minutes,  for 
hours  together.  The  mechanism  of  the  tabo- 
rets, and  the  concavity  of  the  wing-covers,  re- 
verberate and  increase  the  sound  to  such  a  de- 
gree, that  it  may  be  heard,  in  the  stillness  of 
the  night,  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  At  the  approach  of  twilight  the  katy- 
did mounts  to  the  upper  branches  of  the  tree 
in  which  he  lives,  and,  as  soon  as  the  shades 
of  evening  prevail,  begins  his  noisy  babble, 
while  rival  notes  issue  from  the  neighbouring 
trees,  and  the  groves  resound  with  the  call  o 
"katy  did,  she  did,"  the  live-long  night.  From 
the  head  to  the  end  of  the  wing-covers,  this 
insect  measures  rather  more  than  1^  inch,  the 
body  alone  being  I  inch  in  length.  The  piercer 
is  broad,  laterally  compressed,  and  curved  like 
acimeter;  and  there  are,  in  both  sexes,  two 
little  thorn-like  projections  from  the  middle  of 
the  breast  between  the  fore-legs.  It  is  found 
in  the  perfect  state  during  the  mouths  of  Sep- 
tember and  October.     (Harris.) 

PLEASURE-GROUND.  That  portion  of 
ground  adjoining  a  dwelling-house  in  the 
country';  and  which  is  exclusively  devoted  to 
ornamental  and  recreative  purposes.  In  the 
ancient  style  of  gardening,  the  pleasure-ground 
was  laid  out  in  straight  walks,  and  regular  or 
symmetrical  forms,  commonly  borrowed  from 
architecture ;  but  in  the  modern  style,  it  is  laid 
out  in  winding  walks,  and  in  forms  borrowed 
direct  from  nature.  A  portion  of  lawn  or 
smooth  grassy  surface  may  be  considered  as 
essential  to  the  pleasure-ground  under  both 
styles. .  See  Gardkniitg,  Lawk,  and  Pahterre. 

PLOUGH.  (Sax.  Plmt ,-  Dan.  Ploegh.)  A 
well-known,  perhaps  the  most  ancient,  cer- 
tainly the  most  valuable  of  all  agricultural  im- 
plements. There  are  traces  of  it  in  even  the 
earliest  of  all  written  authorities,  and,  judging 
of  its  importance  in  agriculture,  we  can  hardly 
imagine  it  possible  to  carry  on  extensive  sys- 
tems of  cultivation  in  any  period  or  country 
without  its  assistance.  By  consulting  the  sa- 
cred records,  we  find,  that  in  very  early  times 
they  ploughed  with  two  oxen  (Deut.  xxii.  10), 
that  their  plough  had  a  coulter  and  plough- 
share (1  Sanu  xiii.  20),  and  that  the>  were 
early  aware  of  the  advantages  of  a  win'er's 
fallow  (Prav.  xx.  4).  It  is  certain  that  vheir 
ploughs  were  long  since  furnished  with  m  heels ; 
a  fact  which  is  proved  by  the  drawings  oi  the 
early  Greek  ploughs  which  have  escaped  to  us 

Hesiod  (  Works  and  Days,  p.  50 — *41)  advised 
the  Greek  farmers  to  have  a  spare  plough,  thai 

899 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


an  accident  might  not  interrupt  the  work;  and 
he  also  eniforces  the  advantages  of  careful  and 
skilful  ploughing. 

The  ploughs  of  Rome  were  of  the  most  sim- 
ple form,  as  may  be  inferred  from  ancient 
drawings.     See  Agriculture. 

Rivalling  these  in  simplicity  and  rudeness 
of  form,  are  the  never  altered  or  improved 
ploughs  of  the  Hindoos  and  the  Chinese,  frcm 
whose  implements  it  is  probable  the  shape  of 
those  of  Rome  was  borrowed. 

The  object  sought  to  be  effected  by  means  of 
the  plough,  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  accom- 
plished in  the  primitive  ages  by  the  spade. 
The  addition  of  cattle  to  force  the  plough  in 
the  operation  of  breaking  up  the  ground,  leads 
to  complexity.  But  although  the  spade  is  an 
implement  of  such  great  simplicity,  the  act  of 
digging  with  it  exacts  a  great  deal  of  indivi- 
dual exertion,  almost  every  muscle  of  the  body 
being  called  into  play  in  alternately  pushing 
and  lifting.  In  this  respect  the  modern  im- 
proved plough  possesses  great  advantages  in 
being  propelled  by  animals  and  directed  with 
very  little  individual  muscular  exertion. 

It  is  curious  to  trace  the  progress  of  plough- 
making  in  England.  Those  of  the  early  culti- 
vators were  of  necessity  rude  and  imperfect, 
for  in  those  days  the  ploughman  made  his  own 
plough.  A  law  of  the  early  Britons  in  fact 
directed  that  no  one  should  guide  a  plough  until 
he  was  able  to  make  one.  The  driver  was,  by 
the  same  law,  to  make  the  traces  by  which  it 
was  drawn,  and  these  were  to  be  formed  of 
withes  of  twisted  willow ;  a  long-exploded  cus- 
tom ;  many  of  the  olden  terms  of  which,  how- 
ever, are  still  retained  by  the  rustic  plough- 
men. Thus  the  voomb-withy  is  yet  called  the 
wambtye  or  wantye.  Withen  trees  are  denomi- 
nated wilten  trees,  or  Whipple  trees,  &c. 

It  is  uncertain  whether  the  early  British 
ploughs  had  wheels ;  some  of  those  of  the 
Saxons  were  certainly  furnished  with  them. 
Yet  it  is  pretty  certain  that  they  used  ploughs 
of  a  form  rivalling  those  of  modern  India  in 
simplicity ;  a  rude  sketch  of  one  of  these  is 
given  in  a  Saxon  MS.  (^Harl.  MS.  603),  from 
which  it  would  seem  that  our  Saxon  forefathers 
were  wont  to  fasten  their  horses  to  the  plough 
by  their  tails ;  a  barbarous  custom,  which  cer- 
tainly was  formerly  practised  in  Ireland  to  such 
an  extent  that  the  legislature  interfered  in  1634, 
and  declared  by  the  11  &  12  Car.  IL  c.  15  (Irish 
Pari.),  entitled  "  An  act  against  ploughing  by 
the  Tayie,  and  pulling  the  Wool  off  living 
Sheep,"  that  "in  many  places  of  this  kingdome 
there  hath  been  a  long  time  used  a  barbarous 
cusiome  of  ploughing,  harrowing,  drawing, 
and  working  with  horses,  mares,  geldings,  gar- 
rans,  and  colts  by  the  taile,  whereby  (besides 
the  cruelty  used  to  the  beasts)  the  breed  of 
horses  is  much  impaired  in  this  kingdome. 
And  also  divers  have  and  yet  do  use  the  like 
barbarous  custome  of  pulling  off  the  wool 
yearly  from  living  sheep,  instead  of  clipping 
or  shearing  of  them."  These  wretched  prac- 
tices are  then  declared  illegal,  and  to  be  pun- 
ishable with  fine  and  imprisonment. 

The  Norman  plough  was  also  furnished  with 
wheels,  and  it  was  usual  for  the  ploughmen  to 
r.axry  a  hatchet  to  break  the  clods,  as  is  de- 
900 


j  picted  in  an  ancient  picture  from  tvhence  the 
sketch  at  page  41  is  engraved. 

It  is  pretty  certain  that  the  ox  was  at  first, 
and  for  a  lengthened  period,  the  only  animal 
employed  to  draw  the  plough.  Thus,  although 
the  plough  and  oxen  are  so  frequently  men- 
tioned in  conjunction  in  the  Bible,  the  horse  is 
never  alluded  to  for  such  an  occupation:  an 
old  British  law  forbade  the  use  of  any  animal 
except  the  ox  for  this  purpose.  The  first  re- 
presentation, of  which  I  am  aware,  observes 
Mr.  J.  A.  Ransome,  of  a  horse  employed  in  the 
plough,  is  that  given  (A.  D.  1066)  in  the  tapes- 
try of  Bayeux. 

There  are  evident  traces  in  the  early  English 
agricultural  authors  of  the  importance  which 
they  ascribed  to  the  improved  construction  of 
the  plough.  This  implement,  however,  was 
long  drawn  entirely  by  oxen  in  Britain. 

Fitzherbert,  in  his  hoke  of  Husbandrye  (1532), 
speaks  in  a  manner  that  shows  that  even  in  his 
day  plough-horses  were  not  generally  employed ; 
he  observes,  "  a  husbande  may  not  be  without 
horses  and  mares,  and  especially  if  he  goe  with 
a  horse-plough."  Worlidge,  in  his  Mystery  of 
Husbandry,  describes  (A.D.  1677)  very  clearly 
the  first  rude  attempt  to  construct  a  sub-soil 
plough:  he  tells  us,  p.  230,  "of  an  ingenious 
young  man  of  Kent,  who  had  two  ploughs  fas- 
tened together  very  firmly,  by  the  which  he 
ploughed  two  furrows  at  once,  one  under 
another,  and  so  stirred  up  the  land  12  or  14 
inches  deep.  It  only  looseneth  and  lighteneth 
the  land  to  that  depth,  but  doth  not  bury  the 
upper  crust  of  the  ground  so  deep  as  is  usually 
done  by  digging."  When  Heresbasch  wrote 
(1570),  it  was  not  uncommon  in  some  of  the 
warmer  parts  of  Germany  and  Italy  to  plough 
during  the  night,  "  that  the  moisture  and  fattness 
of  the  ground  may  remain  shadowed  under  the 
clodde,  and  that  the  caltell  through  overmuch 
heate  of  the  sunne  be  not  diseased  or  hurt." 
(31  b.)  Jethro  Tull,  more  than  a  century  since, 
paid  considerable  attention  to  the  plough ;  he 
had  even  searched  into  the  early  history  of  this 
implement,  and  concluded  that  it  was  "  found 
out  by  accident,  and  that  the  first  tillers  (or 
ploughers)  of  the  ground  were  bogs."  (Husb.' 
p.  131.)  The  ploughs  which  he  describes,  and 
'of  which  he  gives  drawings,  were  evidently 
(although  rudely  and  heavily  constructed)  su- 
perior in  several  respects  to  all  that  had  pre- 
ceded them. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  do  more  than  thus 
slightly  advert  to  the  various  notices  which  are 
to  be  found  in  the  early  histories  and  pictures 
of  this  invaluable  .implement;  for,  in  fact,  for 
ages  the  plough  was  little  more  than  a  rude, 
clumsy  instrument,  which  served  only  to  rake 
the  surface,  instead  of  making  furrows  in  the 
land  sufficiently  deep  for  the  seeds  to  be  buried. 
It  was  not  brought  to  any  thing  like  a  perfect 
tool  for  the  purposes  required  till  the  close  of 
seventeenth  century. 

The  plough,  being  the  fundamental  imple- 
ment of  agriculture,  common  to  all  ages  and 
countries,  its  primitive  form  is  almost  every- 
where the  same.  The  forms  used  by  the  Greeks 
and  Romans  (see  Agriculture)  seem  to  have 
spread  over  Europe,  and  undergone  no  change 
till  probably  about  the  sixteenth  century,  when 


PLOUGH. 

they  began  to  be  improved  by  the  Dutch  and 
Flemish.  In  the  seventeenth  century  the  plough 
underwent  further  improvement  in  England; 
and  it  was  greatly  improved  in  that  following, 
in  Scotland.  There  are  now  a  great  variety  of 
excellent  forms,  the  best  of  which,  for  general 
purposes,  is^n  Britain,  universally  allowed  to 
be  what  is  called  the  Scotch  plough,  and  in 
Seot  and  the  improved  Scotch  plough.  In  speak- 
ing of  the  implement  we  shall  adopt  the  latter 
term,  because  the  unimproved  Scotch  plough 
differs  little  from  some  old  forms  of  the  imple- 
ment common  to  Europe  from  the  time  of  the 
Romans.  As  the  oj.eration  of  ploughing,  like 
many  other  operations  in  practical  husbandry, 
must  often  vary  in  the  manner  of  its  being 
performed,  it  is  evident  that  no  one  particular 
sort  of  plough  can  be  superior  to  all  others,  in 
every  season,  and  under  every  variety  of  soil 
or  inclination  of  surface.  The  Scotch  plough, 
however,  and  the  variations  of  which  it  is 
susceptible,  render  it  perhaps  the  most  uni- 
versal tillage  implement  hitherto  invented  or 
used. 

In  Britain  ploughs  are  classed  into  two  kinds: 
those  fitted  up  with  wheels,  and  called  wheel- 
ploughs  ;  and  those  without  wheels,  called 
swing  ploughs.  The  latter  are  the  lightest  of 
draught,  but  require  an  experienced  and  atten- 
tive ploughman  to  use  them  ;  the  former  work 
with  greater  steadiness,  and  require  much  less 
skill  in  the  manager :  some  sorts,  indeed,  do 
not  require  holding  at  all,  excepting  at  entering 
in,  and  turning  on  and  off  the  work  at  the  ends 
of  the  ridges.  On  the  whole,  taking  ploughmen 
as  they  are,  and  ploughs  as  they  are  generally 
constructed,  it  will  be  found,  that  a  district 
ploughed  with  wheel-ploughs  will  show  greater 
neatness  of  work  than  one  ploughed  with 
swing  ploughs  :  but,  on  the  other  hand,  taking 
a  district  where  the  improved  form  of  swing 
ploughs  is  generally  adopted,  the  ploughmen 
will  be  found  superior  workmen,  and  the  work 
performed  in  a  better  manner,  and  with  less 
expense  of  labour,  than  in  the  case  of  wheel- 
ploughs. 

In  the  construction  of  ploughs,  whatever  be 
the  sort  used,  there  are  a  few  general  principles 
that  ought  invariably  to  be  attended  to ;  such 
as  the  giving  the  throat  and  breast,  or  that  part 
which  enters,  perforates,  and  breaks  up  the 
ground,  that  sort  of  long,  narrow,  clean,  taper- 
ing, sharpened  form  that  affords  the  least  re- 
sistance in  passing  through  the  land ;  and  to 
the  mould-board,  that  kind  of  hollowed-out  and 
twisted  form,  which  not  only  tends  to  lessen 
friction,  but  also  to  contribute  greatly  to  the 
perfect  turning  over  of  the  furrow-slice.  The 
beam  and  muzzle  should  likewise  be  so  con- 
trived, as  that  the  moving  power,  or  team,  may 
be  attached  in  the  most  advantageous  line  of 
liraught.  This  is  particularly  necessary  where 
a  number  of  animals  are  employed  together, 
in  order  that  the  draught  of  the  whole  may 
coincide. 

Land,  when  properly  ploughed,  must  be  re- 
moved from  a  horizontal  position,  and  twisted 
over  to  a  certain  angle,  so  that  it  may  be  left 
in  tbat  inclining  state,  one  furrow  leaning  upon 
another,  till  the  whole  field  be  completely 
plough  »'d.  The  depth  and  width  of  the  furrows 


PLOUGH. 

which  is  most  approved  of  by  farmers,  and 
commonly  to  be  met  with  in  the  best-ploughed 
fields,  are  in  the  proportion  of  2  to  .3;  or,  if  the 
furrow  be  2  deep,  it  must  be  3  wide,  and  left  at 
an  angle  of  45  to  46  degrees. 

Various  forms  have  been  given  to  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  plough,  by  ingenious  persons, 
according  to  their  different  fancies,  in  order  to 
diminish  the  weight  of  the  draught,  and  to  turn 
over  the  furrow,  and  leave  it  in  its  proper  posi- 
tion, without  tearing  or  breaking  it. 

To  have  the  line  of  draught  at  right  angles 
to  the  horses'  shoulders  is  of  great  importance 
in  the  formation  of  a  plough ;  a  circumstance 
of  which  the  greatest  part  of  the  plough-makers 
are  totally  ignorant,  although  it  is  well  known 
to  every  one  that  has  the  least  knowledge  of 
mechanics.  If  we  take  the  angle  that  the 
horses'  shoulders  make  with  a  perpendicular 
from  the  horizon,  and  continue  another  line  at 
right  angles  to  it,  or  parallel  to  the  draught 
chain  ;  the  length  of  this  line  from  the  horses' 
shoulders  to  where  it  meets  or  crosses  the 
coulter,  at  half  the  depth  of  the  furrow,  will  be 
13  feet  2  inches  for  ordinary  sized  horses. 

Length  of  beam. — If  the  plough  be  properly 
made,  the  line  of  draught  should  pass  through 
the  middle  hole  of  the  plough  bridle  at  the  point 
of  the  beam.  This  requires  the  beam  to  be  7 
feet  long,  to  give  it  a  proper  height  at  the 
bridle. 

Left  side  plane. —  That  part  of  the  plough 
next  the  solid  land  should  be  made  a  perfect 
plane,  and  run  parallel  to  the  line  of  draught; 
whereas  some  of  the  common  ploughs  are 
completely  twisted  in  that  part,  and  deviate 
more  than  2  inches  from  the  line  of  draught ; 
this  throws  the  plough  to  the  left,  and  causes 
the  hinder  part  of  the  mould-board  to  press 
hard  against  the  furrow,  and  crush  and  break 
it,  besides  increasing  the  labour  of  the  cattle. 

The  position  of  the  coulter  must  not  deviate 
much  from  an  angle  of  45  degrees :  for,  if  we 
make  it  more  oblique,  it  causes  the  plough  to 
choke  up  with  stubble  and  grass  roots,  by 
throwing  them  up  against  the  beam ;  and,  if 
less  oblique,  it  is  apt  to  drive  the  stones  or 
other  obstacles  before  it,  and  make  it  heavier 
to  draw. 

The  mould-board,  for  all  free  soils,  and  for 
working  fallows,  is  generally  most  effective 
when  it  has  a  considerable  concavity;  but  for 
breaking  up  clover  leys,  pasture,  or  any  firm 
surface,  and  also  for  clayey  soils,  it  is  found  to 
clean  itself  better  and  make  neater  work  when 
it  approaches  nearer  to  a  plane,  and  in  very 
stiff  clays,  is  formed  with  a  concave  surface. 
The  lower  edge  of  the  mould-board,  on  the 
most  improved  forms,  is  in  a  separate  piece, 
which,  when  it  wears,  can  be  taken  off  and 
renewed.  The  technical  name  of  this  slip  of 
iron  is  the  wearing-piece. 

The  materials  with  which  ploughs  are  con- 
structed is,  generally,  wood  for  the  beam  and 
handles,  cast  iron  for  the  head,  side-plates, 
mould-board,  and  sole,  and  wrought  iron  for  the 
share,  coulter,  and  muzzle.  But  of  late  years, 
in  consequence  of  the  dearness  of  timber,  and 
the  cheapness  of  iron  in  Britain,  they  have 
been  constructed  whony  o^  the  latter  material, 
and  with  considerable  advantage  in  point  of 
4G  901 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


•trength  and  durability,  and  some  also  in  poinJ 
of  convenience.  Among  the  conveniences  may 
be  mentioned,  the  facility  which  they  afford  of 
bending  the  left  handle  to  the  right  of  the 
straight  line  first  introduced  by  Mr.  Wilkie 
of  Uddingston  (who,  if  not  the  inventor, 
may  certainly  be  considered  the  greatest  im- 
prover of  iron  ploughs,)  by  which  means  the 
ploughman  is  permitted  to  walk  with  ease  ^n 
the  bottom  of  the  furrow.  The  stilts  or  handles 
may  also  be  joined  to  the  body  of  the  plough, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  admit  of  taking  off  and 
packing  for  a  foreign  country,  or  raising  or 
lowering  the  points  of  the  handles  according 
to  the  size  of  the  ploughman,  as  in  Weather- 
ley's  plough. 

A  wooden  Scotch  plough  with  iron  mount- 
ings, says  Mr.  Stephens,  usually  weighs  13 
stones  imperial,  and  an  iron  one  for  the  same 
work  15  stones.  The  cost  of  a  wooden  one  is 
31.  16{t.,  capable  of  being  serviceable,  with 
repairs,  for  the  currency  of  a  lease  of  19  years ; 
that  of  an  iron  one  4/.  4s.,  which  will  last  a 
lifetime,  or  at  least  many  years.  Some  farm- 
ers, however,  still  prefer  the  wooden  one,  al- 
ledging  that  it  goes  more  steadily  than  the  iron. 
Whatever  of  prejudice  there  may  be  in  this 
predilection  for  the  wooden  plough,  it  must  be 
owned  that  the  iron  one  executes  its  work  in  a 
satisfactory  manner.  There  is,  I  believe,  no 
great  difference  of  economy  in  the  use  of  the 
two  kinds  of  ploughs.     (Stephens.) 

Of  swing  ploughs,  .says  Loudon,  by  far  the 
best  is  the  implement  known  in  England  as  the 
Scotch  plough.  It  is  almost  the  only  plough  used 
in  Scotland,  and  throughout  a  considerable 
part  of  England ;  it  is  drawn  tvith  less  power 
than  wheel-ploughs,  at  least,  those  of  the  old 
construction,  the  friction  not  being  so  great ; 
and  it  probably  admits  of  greater  variations  in 
regard  to  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the  furrow- 
slice.  It  is  usually  drawn  by  two  horses  abreast 
in  common  tillage;  but  for  ploughing  between 
the  rows  of  the  drill  culture,  a  smaller  one 
drawn  by  one  horse  is  commonly  employed. 
A  plough  of  the  swing  kind,  having  a  mould- 
board  on  each  side,  is  also  used  both  in  form- 
ing narrow  ridges  for  turnips  and  potatoes,  and 
in  laying  up  the  earth  to  the  roots  of  the  plants, 
after  the  intervals  have  been  cleaned  and  pul- 
verized by  the  horse  and  hand-hoe.  This 
plough  is  sometimes  made  in  such  a  manner 
that  the  mould-board  may  be  shifted  from  one 
side  to  the  other  when  working  on  hilly 
grounds ;  by  which  means  the  furrows  are  all 
laid  in  the  same  direction. 

Swit^g  ploughs,  similar  to  the  Scotch  plough,  have 
been  long  known  in  England.  In  Blythe's  Im- 
prover Improved  we  have  engravings  of  several 
ploughs  ;  and  what  he  calls  the  "plain  plough" 
does  not  seem  to  differ  much  in  its  principal 
]»arts  from  the  one  now  in  use.  Amos,  in  an 
£»$»','  >n  .^grictdtural  Machines,  says,  that  a  per- 
son named  Lummis  (whom  he  is  mistaken  in 
calling  a  Scotchman)  "  first  attempted  its  con- 
struction upon  mathematical  principles,  which 
he  learned  in  Holland  ;  but  having  obtained  a 
patent  for  the  making  and  vending  of  this 
plough,  he  withheld  the  knowledge  of  these 
principles  from  the  public.  However,  one 
^•ashlev,  plough- wright  to  Sir  Charles  Turner 
902 


of  Kirklcathem,  having  a  knowledge  of  those 
principles,  constructed  upon  them  a  vast  num- 
ber of  ploughs.  Afterwards  his  son  establish- 
ed a  manufactory  for  the  making  of  them  at 
Rotherham.  Hence  they  obtained  the  name 
of  the  Rotherham  plough  ;  but  in  Scotland  they 
were  called  the  Dutch  or  patent  pldfcigh."  Plate 
n,a,  represents  a  Rotherham  plough  constructed 
chiefly  of  wood.  The  Americans  have  claimed 
the  priority  of  the  invention  ;  and  President 
Jefferson,  of  the  United  States,  presented  the 
principles  for  the  construction  of  a  mould- 
board,  first  to  the  Institute  of  France,  and  next 
to  the  Board  of  Agriculture  in  England. 

The  Scotch  plough  was  little  known  in  Scot- 
land till  about  the  year  1764,  when  Small's 
method  of  constructing  it  began  to  excite  at- 
tention {SmalVs  Treatise  on  Ploughs  and  Wheel 
Carriages,  1784;  and  Lord  Kaimes's  Gentleman 
Farmer).  This  ingenious  mechanic  formed 
the  mould-board  upon  distinct  and  intelligible 
principles,  and  afterwards  made  it  of  cast  iron. 
His  appendage  of  a  chain  has  been  since  laid 
aside.  It  has  been  disputed,  whether  he  took 
the  Rotherham,  or  the  old  Scotch  plough,  for 
the  basis  of  his  improvements.  The  swing 
plough  has  been  since  varied  a  little,  in  some 
parts  of  Scotland,  from  Small's  form,  for  the 
purpose  of  adapting  it  more  completely  to  parti- 
cular situations  and  circumstances.  Since  1810, 
this  plough  has  been  very  generally  made  en- 
tirely of  iron.  In  Northumberland,  the  mould- 
board  is  made  less  concave  than  in  Berwick- 
shire, and  in  Berwickshire  it  is  even  less  con- 
cave than  in  Small's  plough.  Different  degrees 
of  concavity  in  the  mould-board  suit  different 
soils  :  soft  and  sandy  soil  requires  most,  and  a 
loamy  or  clayey  soil  least  concavity.  The 
following  are  the  principal  varieties  of  the 
improved  Scotch  plough  at  present  in  use  in 
the  most  improved  districts  of  the  north,  and 
among  scientific  farmers  in  all  countries. 

SmalVs  plough. — The  mould-board  is  more 
concave  than  in  most  other  varieties,  and  this 
may  be  considered  its  characteristic  as  com- 
pared with  these  varieties.  It  is  sometimes 
drawn  by  a  chain  proceeding  from  the  muzzle 
to  the  head,  in  order  to  lessen  the  strain  on  the 
draught-beam,and  in  that  case  it  is  called  Small's 
chain-plough.  It  is  commonly  made  of  wood  and 
iron.  PI.  17,  b.  For  a  design  of  the  East  Lo- 
thian plough,  or  Small's  improved,  see  PI.  17, 
c,  d,  the  figures  representing  two  views. 

In  this  plough  the  proper  lines  of  the  body 
on  the  land-side  lie  all  in  one  plane,  which,  in 
working,  should  be  held  in  the  vertical  position, 
or  very  slightly  inclining  to  the  left.  The 
coulter  slightly  oblique  to  the  land-side  plane, 
the  point  standing  towards  the  left,  the  rake 
of  the  coulter  varies  from  55°  to  65°.  In  the 
mould-board  the  vertical  sectional  lines  ap- 
proximate to  straight  lines,  giving  the  charac- 
ter of  apparent  concavity,  and  it  is  truncated 
forward.  Share  pointed,  with  a  feather  or 
cutter  standing  to  the  right,  having  a  breadth 
of  at  least  -J  the  breadth  of  the  furrow,  the 
cutting  edge  of  the  feather  lying  nearly  as  low 
as  the  plane  of  the  sole.  The  neck  of  the 
share  is  prolonged  backward,  joining  and  co- 
inciding with  the  curve  of  the  mould-board, 
which  curvature  is  also  carried  forward  on  the 


FJa/r  //" 


EJJ^GUSHAND  SCOTCH  PLOUGHS 


P3Diival4CcLrji.FH: 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


back  of  the  feather.  The  character  of  this 
plough  is  to  take  a  furrow  of  10  inches  ia 
breadth  by  7  inches  in  depth,  cut  rectangular, 
leaving  the  sole  of  the  open  furrow  level  and 
clean.  The  resistance  to  the  draught  is  gene- 
rally below  the  average  of  ploughs,  and  this 
plough  is  employed  for  every  kind  of  soil. 
The  improved  English  swing  plough,  as  made 
by  Ransom,  is  represented  in  PI.  17,  c. 

The  Northumberland  plough,  and  the  Berwick- 
shire plough,  are  very  nearly  the  same  imple- 
ment; differing- from  Small's  plough  in  having 
the  mould-board  less  concave. 

IVilhie's  swing  plough,  which  Loudon  says  is 
the  best  iron  swing  plough  in  Scotland,  is 
formed  entirely  of  iron,  except  the  points  of  the 
handles.  Its  characteristic,  in  point  of  form, 
is  a  longer  mould-board  with  a  greater  twist 
in  it,  the  object  of  which  is  to  reverse  the  fur- 
row more  completely  in  light  or  highly  pul- 
verized soils. 

Finlaysons  iron  ploughs  are,  as  he  informs  us 
(British  Farmer,  p.  9),  constructed  in  imitation 
of  those  of  Wilkie,  but  with  improvements  and 
modifications  adapted  for  particular  circum- 
stances. 

The  heath  or  self-cleaning  plough,  or  rid  plough, 
is  formed  with  the  beam  so  curved  vertically, 
or  divided  and  curved  horizontally,  as  to  leave 
no  resting-place  for  stubble,  heath,  or  other  ve- 
getable matter,  at  the  top  of  the  coulter,  where 
in  rough  grounds,  with  ploughs  of  the  ordinary 
construction,  it  gets  entangled  and  stops  the 
work. 

Finlnyson^s  Kentish  skeleton  self-'-leaning  plough 
(PI.  17,/)  is  intended  as  a  substitute  for  the 
common  Kentish  turn-wrest  plough.  "The 
soil,  in  great  part  of  Kent,  is  of  a  peculiarly 
adhesive  clay.  When  this  soil  is  between  the 
■wet  and  dry,  it  adheres  to  the  body  of  the 
plough  like  glue,  by  which  the  draught  is  in- 
creased probably  double  or  treble."  By  sub- 
stituting 3  or  4  iron  rods  for  the  mould-board, 
the  soil  is  prevented  from  adhering,  while  the 
operation  of  ploughing  is  at  the  same  time 
performed  in  an  equally  perfect  manner  with 
two  horses  as  with  four.  This  is  accounted 
for  "  by  the  whole  surface  of  this  plough  not 
being  more  than  one-third  or  one-fourth  the 
surface  of  other  ploughs."  In  like  manner, 
when  it  is  necessary  to  dig  or  trench  very 
strong  clayey  soil  between  the  wet  and  the  dry, 
the  operation  is  performed  with  much  greater 
ease  by  a  two-pronged  fork.  It  is  important  to 
agriculturists  to  know  the  opinion  and  expe- 
rience of  a  man  of  so  much  science  and  ex- 
tensive practice  as  the  late  Mr.  Finlayson,  who 
says,  "from  my  own  experience  I  have  no  he- 
sitation in  saying  that  the  most  adhesive  land 
may,  with  ease,  be  ploughed  by  the  skeleton 
plough  and  one  pair  of  good  horses." 

Finlayson^s  line  plough  is  characterized  by  a 
rod  which  proceeds  from  the  sheath  of  the 
plough  to  the  muzzle,  which  is  put  on  when 
the  plough  is  drawn  by  horses  in  a  line — a  very 
disadvantageous  manner,  but  yet  common  in 
many  parts  of  England. 

The  Somerville  swing  plough  is  known  by  its 
mould-board,  a  part  of  which  is  rendered  mo-  | 
vable  by  hinges ;  the  advantage  of  this  is,  that  ' 
the  furrow  can  be  laid  more  or  less  flat  at 


pleasure.  This  plough,  however,  has  been  but 
little  used,  and  does  not  seem  to  meet  the  ap- 
probation of  the  best  cultivators. 

Turn-wrest  swing  ploughs  are  such  as  admit 
of  removing  the  mould-board  from  one  side  to 
another  at  the  end  of  each  furrow,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  throwing  the  earth  removed  always  to 
one  side.  Their  principal  use  is  in  ploughing 
across  steep  declivities,  in  order  that  the 
furrow-slice  may  always  be  thrown  down. 
Wherever  it  is  practicable,  however,  it  is  best 
to  plough  obliquely  up  and  down  such  decli- 
vities ;  because  the  other  practice  soon  renders 
the  soil  too  rich  and  deep  at  bottom,  and  too 
thin  and  poor  at  top. 

Gray's  turn-wrest  suring  plough  is  one  of  the 
most  scientific  implements  of  the  kind.  The 
beam,  head,  and  sheath,  must  always  be  placed 
in  the  direction  of  a  line  passing  along  their 
middle ;  and  the  two  handles  must  be  placed 
equidistant  on  each  side  of  that  line.  There 
are  two  mould-boards  and  two  coulters,  and  a 
mould-board  is  produced  on  either  side,  at 
pleasure,  by  moving  a  lever  between  the 
plough  handles  from  the  one  side  to  the  other. 
The  line  of  draught  can  be  shifted  with  equal 
ease  and  expedition,  and  at  the  same  time  one 
of  the  coulters  raised  up  clear  of  the  land,  and 
placed  along  the  side  of  the  beam,  whilst  the 
other  is  put  down,  and  placed  in  a  proper  po- 
sition for  cutting  off  the  furrow-slice  from  the 
furrow-ground.  All  this  is  performed  at  once, 
without  the  ploughman  changing  his  position, 
by  means  of  two  levers. 

Jl  sk'iin-cnuher  (PI.  17,  m,  ni)  may  be  added 
to  any  plough,  and  may  be  useful  in  turning 
down  green  crops  and  long  dung,  as  well  as  in 
trench  ploughing.  But  in  most  instances  it  is 
thought  a  preferable  plan,  where  the  soil  is  to 
be  turned  to  an  unusual  depth,  to  make  two 
common  swing  ploughs  follow  each  other  in 
the  same  track ;  the  one  before  taking  a  shal- 
low furrow,  and  the  other  going  deeper,  and 
throwing  up  a  new  furrow  upon  the  former. 

The  double  share  plough  is  distinguished  by 
having  one  share  fixed  directly  over  the  other. 
It  is  made  use  of  in  some  of  the  southern  dis- 
tricts of  England  with  advantage,  in  putting  in 
one  crop  immediately  after  ploughing  down 
another;  as  by  it  a  narrow,  shallow  furrow  is 
removed  from  the  surface,  and  another  from 
below  placed  upon  it,  to  such  depth  as  may  be 
thought  most  proper, — it  being  capable  of  act- 
ing to  10  inches  or  more.  In  this  manner 
many  sorts  of  crops,  such  as  rye  and  other 
green  crops  that  have  much  height  of  stem, 
may  be  turned  down  without  the  inconvenience 
of  any  of  the  parts  slicking  out  through  the 
seams  of  the  furrow-slices,  by  which  the  farmer 
has  a  clean  surface  of  mould  for  the  reception 
of  the  grain. 

The  mining  plough,  or  trenching  plough,  is  some- 
times employed  for  the  purpose  of  loosening 
the  soil  to  a  great  depth,  without  bringing  it  up 
to  the  surface  ;  a  mode  of  operation  which  is 
particularly  useful  for  various  sorts  of  tap 
rooted  plants,  as  well  as  for  extirpating  the 
roots  of  such  weeds  as  strike  deep  into  the 
ground.  For  these  purposes  it  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow  after  the 
common  plough.    It  is  constructed  in  a  v^r? 

903 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


strong  manner,  having  a  share,  but  no  mould- 
board.  The  share  raises  the  earth  m  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow,  and,  passing  on  under 
what  it  has  raised,  leaves  the  soil  where  it  was 
found,  but  in  a  loosened  state.  See  Subsoil 
Plottgh. 

Sonierville's  double-furrow  plough  is  obviously 
advantageous  in  performing  more  labour  in  a 
given  time,  with  a  certain  strength  of  team, 
than  other  sorts  of  ploughs,  as  producing  two 
furrows  at  a  time.  It  has  been  found  useful 
on  the  lighter  sorts  of  land,  where  the  ridges 
are  straight  and  wide,  though  some  think  it 
more  confined  in  its  work  than  those  of  the 
single  kind.  The  saving  of  the  labour  of  one 
person,  and  doing  nearly  double  the  work  with 
but  little  more  strength  in  the  team,  in  the  same 
time,  recommend  it  for  those  districts  where 
four-horse  teams  are  in  use.  This  plough  has 
been  brought  to  its  present  degree  of  perfection 
by  Lord  Somerville,  especially  by  the  introduc- 
tion of  movable  plates  at  the  extremities  of 
the  mould-board,  as  in  his  lordship's  single 
plough.  But,  as  observed  by  an  excellent  au- 
thority, "  with  all  the  improvements  made  by 
Lord  Somerville,  it  can  never  come  into  com- 
petition, for  general  purposes,  with  the  present 
single-furrow  ploughs."  Lord  Somerville  ad- 
mits, that  it  would  be  no  object  to  invade  the 
system  already  established  in  well-cultivated 
counties :  though,  where  large  teams  are  em- 
ployed, with  a  driver  besides  the  ploughman,  it 
would  certainly  be  a  matter  of  importance  to 
use  this  plough,  at  least  on  light,  friable  soils. 
"Their  horses,"  he  says,  "will  not  feel  the 
difference  between  their  own  single  furrow, 
working  one  acre,  and  the  well-constructed 
two-furrow  plough,  with  two  acres  per  day ; 
here  is  no  system  deranged,  and  double  work 
done."  This  plough  is  also  of  particular  va- 
lue for  ploughing  up  and  down  steeps. 

The  Jrgyleshire  plotigh  differs  from  Small's,  or 
any  single  swing  plough,  in  having  no  coulter 
fixed  in  the  beam,  but,  in  lieu  of  this,  a  fin  or 
knife  rising  from  the  left  side  of  the  share, 
which  serves  the  purpose  of  slicing  oflf  the 
furrow  as  well  as  a  coulter.  This  fin  or  fea- 
ther must  be  placed  at  the  same  angle  as  the 
coulter,  and  should  terminate  in  a  lance-like 
shape,  in  order  to  furnish  the  least  obstruction 
to  stubble,  weeds,  or  stones.  This  plough  is 
not  liable  to  be  choked  by  stubble,  or  thrown 
out  by  catching  small  stones  between  the 
points  of  the  coulter  and  sock.  In  point  of 
draught  it  is  precisely  the  same  as  the  common 
plough. 

The  double  motdd-hoard  plough  is  a  kind  of 
plough  often  uspd  with  advantage  in  clearing 
out  furrows,  i.x  setting  potatoes,  cabbages,  and 
other  similar  crops,  and  in  earthing  up  such 
as  are  planted  in  wide  rows.  Those  whose 
mould-boards  move  on  hinges,  and  may  be  set 
wide  or  narrow  a*  pleasure,  are  the  most  con- 
venient. A  variety  of  this  plough,  made  by 
Weir  of  Londoii,  admits  of  removing  the  mould- 
boards,  and  fixing  in  curved  coulters  and  hoes, 
tor  cleaning  between  drilled  turnips  and  similar 
crops. 

The  binot  is  almost  the  same  thing  as  the 
double  mould-board  plough,  and  the  one  is 
r.ommonlv  sold  for  the  other,  with  no  loss  to  the 
904 


purchaser.  It  has  two  mould-boards,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  beam.  It  is  used  in  some  soils 
in  forming  a  ribbed  or  ridged  bed  for  wheat  or 
other  grains;  by  which  means,  when  the  grain 
is  sown  over  the  ribs  or  ridgelets  in  the  broad 
cast  manner,  as  it  falls  for  the  most  part  into 
the  furrows,  or  is  harrowed  into  them,  it  comes 
up  in  rows.  It  is  also  used  in  earthing  up 
crops  ;  and  sometimes  in  Flanders,  but  never 
by  the  best  cultivators  in  England,  in  giving 
the  first  furrow  to  stubbles. 

Tlie  marking  plough  is  used  in  straightening 
and  regulating  the  distance  of  ridges  where  the 
drill  system  is  practised.  Any  plough  with  a 
rod  fixed  at  right  angles  to  the  beam,  and  a 
short  piece  depending  from  this  rod,  will  trace 
a  line  parallel  to  the  furrow  drawn  by  the 
plough,  which  line  will  serve  for  a  guide  as  to 
the  width  of  ridges,  &c. 

Clymer's  plough  is  a  recent  modification  of 
the  implement,  formed  entirely  of  iron,  and 
chiefly  remarkable  for  the  absence  of  the  coul- 
ter, or  rather  its  attachment  to  the  breast,  and 
for  the  share,  mould-board,  and  other  parts 
which  move  under  ground,  being  composed  of 
distinct  pieces  of  cast-iron.  This  is  considered 
as  cheaper  to  commence  with  and  easier  to 
repair,  because  any  one  part  may  be  renewed 
of  the  same  material  without  deranging  the 
rest;  whereas  renewing  or  repairing  wrought- 
iron  shares,  mould-boards,  or  coulters,  is  found 
in  many  districts  both  diflicult  and  expensive. 
It  has  never  come  into  use  in  England. 

Slothard's  plough  is  characterized  by  a  per- 
forated mould-board.  The  holes  may  be  in  any 
form  or  dimensions  ;  and  their  object  is  to  al- 
low the  air  to  pass  through,  and  thereby  pre- 
vent the  adhesion  of  wet  earth,  which  it  is 
contended  adheres  in  ordinary  ploughs  with 
such  a  degree  of  tenacity  as  greatly  to  increase 
the  friction,  and  diminish  the  speed  of  the 
horses. 

Morton's  trenchwg  plough  has  two  bodies,  the 
one  working 4  or  6  inches  deeper  than  the  other. 
The  first  cuts  or  pares  off  the  surface  to  the 
required  depth,  say  5  inches,  and  turns  it  over 
into  the  furrow,  10  or  12  inches  deep,  made  by 
the  main  body.  The  second  body  generally 
works  from  10  to  12  inches  deep,  but  might  be 
made  to  work  to  the  depth  of  13  or  15  inches  ; 
upon  its  mould-board  is  formed  an  inclined 
plane,  extending  from  the  back  part  of  the 
feather  of  the  sock  or  share  to  the  back  part 
of  the  mould-board,  where  it  terminates  about 
6  inches  above  the  level  of  the  sole.  This  in- 
clined plane  raises  the  soil  from  the  bottom  of 
the  furrow,  and  turns  it  over  on  the  top  of  that 
which  has  been  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  pre- 
vious furrow,  by  the  body  going  before. 

Draining  ploughs  are  of  various  kinds,  but 
none  of  them  are  of  much  use ;  the  work  can 
alwa3''s  be  done  better,  and  generally  cheaper, 
by  manual  labour. 

Wheel  ploughs  are  of  two  kinds :  by  far  the 
most  common,  are  those  where  the  wheel  or 
wheels  are  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
gulating the  depth  of  the  furrow,  and  rendering 
the  implement  more  steady  to  hold;  those  less 
common  are  where  a  wheel  is  introduced  for  the 
purpose  of  lessening  the  friction  of  the  sole  or 
share.     This  last  description  of  wheel  plough 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


is  scarcely  known,  but  it  promises  great  ad- 
vaniages.  The  former  is  of  high  antiquity, 
having  been  used  by  the  Romans. 

Ploughs  with  wheels  for  regulation  and 
steadiness  vary  considerably  in  their  construc- 
tion in  different  places,  according  to  the  nature 
of  soils  and  other  circumstances;  but  in  every 
form,  and  in  all  situations,  they  probably  re- 
quire less  skill  in  the  ploughman.  Wheels 
seem,  indeed,  to  have  formed  an  addition  to 
ploughs,  in  consequence  of  the  want  of  expe- 
rience in  ploughmen  ;  and  in  all  sorts  of  soil, 
but  more  particularly  in  those  which  are  of  a 
stony  and  stubborn  quality,  they  afford  great 
assistance  to  such  ploughmen,  enabling  them 
to  perform  their  work  with  greater  regularity 
in  respect  to  depth,  and  with  much  more  neat- 
ness in  regard  to  equality  of  surface.  From  the 
friction  caused  by  the  wheels,  they  are  gene- 
rally considered  as  giving  much  greater  resist- 
ance, and  consequently  demand  more  strength 
in  the  team  that  is  employed ;  and,  besides,  are 
more  expensive  in  their  construction,  and  more 
liable  to  be  put  out  of  order,  as  well  as  more 
apt  to  be  disturbed  in  their  progress  by  clods, 
stones,  and  other  inequalities  that  may  be  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  than  those  of  the 
swing  kind. 

With  regard  to  wheel  ploughs,  those  more 
especially  in  which  the  wheel  is  placed  in  the 
heel  of  the  plough,  the  following  extract  from 
Mr.  Stephens's  Book  of  the  Farm,  will  explain 
both  the  philosophy  and  practical  effect  ; 

The  application  of  a  wheel  in  the  heel  of  a 
plough,  does  not  come  under  the  same  mode  of 
reasoning  as  that  under  the  beam,  the  former 
becoming  a  part  of  the  body,  from  which  all 
the  natural  resistance  flows ;  but  in  viewing  it 
as  a  part  of  that  body  only,  we  can  arrive  at 
certain  conclusions  which  are  quite  compatible 
with  careful  experiments. 

The  breadth  of  the  whole  rubbing  surface 
in  the  body  of  a  plough,  when  turning  a  furrow, 
is  on  an  average  about  17^  inches ;  and  sup- 
posing that  surface  be  pressed  nearly  equal  in 
all  parts,  we  shall  have  the  sole-shoe,  which  is 
about  2h  mches  broad,  occupying  I  part  of  the 
surface  ;  and  taking  the  entire  average  resist- 
ance of  the  plough's  body,  as  before,  at  336  lb., 
we  have  |  of  this,  equal  to  48  lb.,  as  the  great- 
est amount  of  resistance  produced  by  the  sole 
of  the  plough.  But  this  is  under  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  resistance  arises  from  a  uniform 
degree  of  friction  spread  over  the  whole  rub- 
bing surface  of  the  body;  while  we  have  seen, 
on  the  contrary,  that  the  coulter,  when  acting 
alone,  presents  a  resistance  equal  to  the  entire 
plough.  It  is  only  reasonable,  therefore,  in 
absence  of  further  experiments,  to  conclude, 
that  the  fore-parts  of  the  body,  the  coulter  and 
share,  yield  a  large  proportion  of  the  resistance 
when  turning  the  furrow-slice;  but  since  we 
cannot  appreciate  this  with  any  degree  of 
exactness,  let  the  sole  have  its  full  share  of  the 
resistance  before  stated,  namely,  48  lb.  If  a 
wheel  is  applied  at  or  near  the  heel  of  a  plough, 
il  can  only  bear  up  the  hind-part  of  the  sole, 
and  prevent  its  ordinary  friction,  which,  at  the 
very  utmost,  cannot  be  more  than  half  of  the 
entire  friction  due  to  the  entire  sole.  Awheel, 
therefore,  placed  hrre,  and  acting  under  every 
lU 


favouring  circumstance,  even  to  the  supposed 
extinction  of  its  own  friction,  could  not  reduce 
the  resistance  by  more  than  24  lbs.,  being  the 
half  of  that  due  to  the  entire  sole,  or  it  is  y'^  of 
the  entire  resistance.  But  we  cannot  imagine 
a  wheel  so  placed  to  continue  any  length  of 
time,  without  becoming  clogged  in  all  direc- 
tions, thereby  greatly  increasing  its  own  fric- 
tion ;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  the  neces- 
sarily small  portion  of  any  wheel  that  can  be 
so  applied  will  sink  into  the  subsoil,  to  an 
extent  that  will  still  bring  the  sole  of  the  plough 
into  contact  with  the  sole  of  the  furrow.  It 
will  thus  be  found  that  the  amount  of  reduction 
of  the  general  resistance  will  be  very  much 
abridged,  certainly  not  less  than  one-half,  which 
reduces  the  whole  saving  of  draught  to  a  quan- 
tity not  exceeding  12  lb.,  and  even  this  will  be 
always  doubtful,  from  the  difficulty  of  keeping 
such  wheels  in  good  working  condition.  This 
view  of  a  wheel  placed  at  the  heel  has  been 
confirmed  by  actual  experiments,  carefully  con- 
ducted, wherein  Palmer's  patent  plough  with  a 
wheel  in  the  heel,  as  patented  many  years  ago 
(but  in  this  case  it  was  applied  on  the  best  prin- 
ciples), gave  indications  of  increased  resistance 
from  the  use  of  the  wheel,  as  compared  with 
the  same  plough  when  the  wheel  was  removed ; 
the  difference  having  been  1^  stone  in  favour 
of  no  wheel.  I  hesitate  not,  therefore,  to  say, 
that  in  no  case  can  wheels  be  of  service 
towards  reducing  the  resistance  of  the  plough, 
whether  they  be  placed  before  or  behind,  or  in 
both  positions,  and  the  chances  are  numerous 
that  they  shall  act  injuriously.  That  the  use 
of  wheels  may,  under  certain  circumstances, 
bring  the  implement  within  the  management 
of  less  skilful  hands  than  is  required  for  the 
swing  plough,  must  be  admitted;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  there  may  be  a  question  whether, 
even  with  that  advantage,  the  practice  is  com- 
mendable. I  should  be  wanting  in  candour  if, 
for  myself,  I  answered  otherwise  than  in  the 
negative. 

Having,  says  Mr.  Stephens,  in  a  general  way 
described  the  construction  of  the  frame-work 
and  the  acting  parts  of  the  wheel  plough,  there 
remains  for  me  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  wheels 
with  which  it  is  furnished.  I  have  already 
adverted  to  wheels,  as  they  appear  to  me  to 
affect  the  draught  of  ploughs,  and  have  ex- 
pressed myself  in  sufficiently  distinct  language 
to  show  that,  in  my  opinion,  they  must  in  all 
cases  be  injurious,  and  tend  to  increase  the 
resistance  of  the  plough  to  which  they  are  ap- 
pended, whether  they  be  applied  within  the 
body,  or  under  the  front,  or  any  other  part  of 
the  beam.  That  wheels  may  be  of  advantage 
for  the  working  of  a  plough  in  the  hands  of  an 
unskilful  ploughman  may  be  true  ;  but  if  this 
advantage  is  acquired  by  a  certain  additional 
expenditure  of  horse-power,  which,  however 
much  the  proprietor  of  the  team  may  blind 
himself  to,  will  ultimately,  though  probably 
unheeded,  teU  on  his  profit  and  loss  account, 
there  will  be  no  gain,  but  an  ultimate  loss  It 
must  be  admitted,  even  by  the  advocates  ol  the 
wheel  plough,  that  though  they  maybe  handled 
with  perfect  regularity  in  ploughing  along 
ridges,  whether  the  holder  be  an  experienced 
ploughman  or  not,  yet  in  cross-ploughing  they 
4  6  2  90fi 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


cannot  by  any  means  be  brought  so  handily  to 
follow  the  undulations  of  the  surface.  In 
leaving  one  ridge,  the  share  will  pass  too  shal- 
low, and  in  entering  on  the  brow  of  the  next, 
it  will  go  too  deep,  or  at  least  deeper  than  the 
average  of  the  ploughing.  There  is  also  the 
element  of  time,  which  in  all  farming  opera- 
tions is  an  important  one;  and  here  wheel 
ploughs  are  found  to  come  short  by  about  2a 
per  cent,  as  compared  with  swing  ploughs.  Mr. 
Pusey,  in  his  paper  on  the  draught  of  ploughs, 
incidentally  observes :  "  While  the  work  of  our 
ploughing  teams  is  at  best  but  |  of  an  acre 
upon  strong  ground  (and  sometimes  as  much 
as  one  acre  upon  the  lightest),  the  daily  task 
performed  by  2  Scotch  horses  upon  strong  land 
is  li  acre."  This  deficiency  of  effect  cannot 
be  attributed  to  want  of  power  in  the  horses, 
for  English  horses  are  at  least  not  inferior  to 
those  employed  in  Scotland  for  agricultural 
purposes,  neither  can  it  be  from  unskilfulness 
in  the  ploughmen,  for  even  the  most  skilful 
seem  to  come  short  in  this  respect,  by  not  being 
able  to  plough  more  than  ^  of  an  acre  in  a 
day,  while  with  the  swing  plough  almost  any 
ploughman  will  turn  over  his  acre  a  day.  From 
the  remarks  of  the  same  writer,  it  is  to  be  in- 
ferred that  a  Scotch  swing  plough  was  incapa- 
ble of  being  drawn  through  a  certain  clay  soil 
by  2  horses,  while  the  wheel  ploughs  were  found 
to  perform  the  work  with  tolerable  ease,  though 
still  a  heavy  draught.  There  may  be  such 
cases ;  but  from  the  conditions  of  this  par- 
ticular case,  where  the  draught  that  baffled  the 
horses  in  the  swing  plough  seems  not  to  have 
exceeded  52  stones,  there  is  an  ambiguity  in 
the  matter  that  leads  to  doubts  of  the  accuracy 
on  the  part  of  the  observers  of  the  experiment. 
We  know  well  that  in  working  the  Scotch 
swing  plough  in  an  8  or  9-inch  furrow  on  stiff 
land,  the  draught  is  not  unfrequently  as  high 
as  7  cwt.  or  56  stones  ;  but  2  good  horses  never 
shrink  from  the  task ;  and  how  a  less  draught, 
whatever  be  the  soil,  should  have  baffled  the 
exertions  of  2  good  horses  in  a  swing  plough, 
even  in  the  Oxford  clay,  requires  some  further 
investigation  to  be  satisfactory. 

Among  agricultural  writers,  it  seems,  says 
Mr.  Stephens,  to  be  a  prevalent  opinion,  that 
land  when  ploughed  receives  a  curvature  of 
surface ;  whereas,  correct  ploughing,  that  is, 
making  the  furrow-slices  on  the  same  ridge  all 
alike,  cannot  possibly  give  the  surface  any 
other  form  than  it  had  before  it  was  ploughed. 
If  the  former  surface  were  curved,  then  the 
newly  ploughed  surface  would  also  be  curved ; 
but  if  it  were  flat,  the  new  surface  will  be  flat 
also.  A  thoroughly  good  ploughman,  and  I 
have  known  a  few,  but  only  a  few  of  such 
valuable  men,  avoids  so  objectionable  a  prac- 
tice, and  ploughs  always  a  true,  sound  furrow, 
making  it  larger  or  smaller  as  the  particular 
state  of  the  work  may  require. 

Without  putting  much  value  on  the  informa- 
tion, it  may  serve  as  a  fact  to  refer  to,  in  case 
it  should  be  wanted,  to  state  the  weight  of  earth 
turned  over  in  ploughing.  If  10  inches  are 
taken  as  a  fair  breadth  for  a  furrow-slice,  there 
will  be  18  such  slices  across  a  ridge  of  15  feet 
m  breadth ;  and  taking  7  inches  as  a  proper 
'epth  for  such  a  furrow-slice,  a  cross  section 
906 


of  the  slice  will  have  70  square  inches.  A 
cubic  foot  of  earth  is  thus  turned  over  in  every 
24^  inches  and  a  little  more  of  length  of  such 
a  slice ;  and  taking  2-7  as  the  specific  gravity 
of  ordinary  soil,  every  24^  inches  and  a  frac- 
tion more  of  such  a  slice  will  weigh  12  stones 
1  lb.  imperial. 

The  usual  speed  of  horses  at  the  plough  may 
be  ascertained  in  this  way.  A  ridge  of  5  yards 
in  breadth  will  require  a  length  of  968  yards  to 
contain  an  imperial  acre;  and  to  plough  which 
at  9  bouts,  of  10-inch  breadth  of  furrow-slice, 
counting  no  stoppages,  will  make  the  horses 
walk  9]  miles,  which  in  10  hours  gives  a  speed 
of  1742^  yards  per  hour.  But  as  ridges  are 
not  made  of  968  yards  in  length,  and  as  horses 
cannot  draw  a  plough  that  distance  without 
being  affected  in  their  wind,  and  as  allowance 
must  be  made  for  time  lost  in  turning  at  the 
ends  of  the  ridges,  as  well  as  for  affording  rest 
to  the  horses,  that  speed  will  have  to  be  con- 
siderably increased  to  do  that  quantity  of  work 
in  the  time.  By  experiment  it  has  been  found, 
that  1  hour  19  minutes,  out  or  8  hours,  are  lost 
by  turnings  while  ploughing  an  acre  on  ridges 
of  274  yards  in  length,  with  an  8-inch  furrow- 
slice.  Hence,  in  ploughing  an  acre  on  ridges  of 
250  yards  in  length,  which  is  the  length  of  ridge 
I  recommend  as  the  best  for  horses  in  draught, 
in  10  hours,  with  a  10-inch  furrow-slice,  the 
time  lost  by  turnings  is  1  hour  22  minutes.  I 
presume  that  the  experiment  alluded  to  does 
not  include  the  necessary  stoppages  for  rest  to 
the  horses,  but  which  should  be  included  ;  for 
however  easy  the  length  of  ridge  may  be  made 
for  draught,  horses  cannot  go  on  walking  in 
the  plough  for  5  hours  together  (one  yoking) 
without  taking  occasional  rests.  Now  250 
yards  of  length  of  ridge  give  nearly  4  ridges 
to  the  acre,  or  36  bouts  ;  and  allowing  a  rest 
of  I  minute  in  every  other  bout,  18  minutes  will 
have  to  be  added  to  the  1  hour  22  minutes  lost, 
or  very  nearly  IJ  hour  of  lost  time,  out  of  the 
10  hours,  for  turnings  and  rest.  Thus  18,000 
yards  will  be  ploughed  in  S^  hours,  or  at  the 
rate  of  1  mile  422  yards  per  hour.  I  think  this 
result  is  near  the  truth  in  regard  to  the  plough- 
ing of  lea  in  spring  ;  it  is  too  little  in  ploughing 
red  land  in  summer,  and  perhaps  too  much  in 
ploughing  stubble  land  in  winter;  but,  as  lea- 
ploughing  is  the  criterion  by  which  all  others 
are  estimated,  this  result  may  be  taken  as  a 
near  approximation  to  the  truth. 

The  comparative  time  lost  in  turning  at  the 
ends  of  long  and  short  ridges  may  be  seen 
from  the  following  table,  constructed  from  data 
furnished  by  the  experiment  above  alluded  to  : 


Length  or 
ridje. 

Breadth  of 
furrowilice. 

Time  lo6t  in 
turning. 

Time  de- 
voted to 
ploughing. 

Houni  of 
work. 

rard>. 

Inehe$ 

h.  m. 

A.  m. 

h. 

78 

10 

5  11 

4    4 

10 

149 

— 

2  44 

7  16 

— 

200 



2    1 

7  59 

— 

212 

— 

156i 

8    3J 

— 

274 

— 

1  28 

8  32 

Thus  it  appears  that  a  ridge  of  no  more  than 
78  yards  in  length  requires  5  hours  1 1  minutes 
of  lime  to  turn  at  the  landings,  to  plough  an 
acre  in  10  hours,  with  a  10-inch  furrow-slice ; 
whereas  a  ridge  of  274  yards  in  length  only  re- 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


quires  1  hour  28  minutes  for  the  same  purpose, 
making  a  difference  of  3  hours  43  minutes  in 
favour  of  the  long  ridge  in  regard  to  saving  of 
time.  Consequently,  in  the  case  of  the  shortest 
ridge,  only  4  hours  49  minutes  out  of  the  10 
can  be  appropriated  to  ploughing,  whereas  in 
that  of  the  long  ridge,  8  hours  32  minutes  may 
be  devoted  to  the  purpose.  Hence,  so  very 
short  ridges  require  double  the  time  of  long 
ones  to  plough,  and  are  thus  a  decided  loss  to 
the  farmer.  This  is  a  subject  well  worth  your 
experimenting  on,  by  ascertaining  the  time 
usually  taken  in  ploughing  and  turning  and 
resting  on  ridges  of  different  lengths,  in  the 
different  seasons,  and  in  different  soils.  A 
watch  with  a  good  second-hand  to  mark  the 
time  will  be  required,  and  the  observations 
should  be  made  unknown  to  the  ploughmen, 
at  their  usual  rate  of  work  ;  for  if  you  be  con- 
stantly in  the  presence  of  the  men,  more  than 
the  usual  work  will  be  done,  and  less  than  the 
usual  rests  taken. 

The  whole  value  of  ploughing,  scientifically 
speaking,  depends  upon  its  having  the  effect  of 
loosening  the  texture  of  the  soil,  and  thus  per- 
mitting a  free  circulation  of  air  and  moisture 
through  its  interstices,  for  the  double  purpose 
of  increasing  the  rapidity  of  the  disintegration 
of  its  stony  portions,  and  of  re-reducing  to 
powder  what  had  formerly  been  pulverized, 
but  which,  from  the  joint  action  of  pressure, 
and  the  binding  effect  of  root-fibres,  had  become 
agglutinated  together. 

However  well  you  may  manure  your  land, 
however  thoroughly  you  may  drain  it,  you  will 
never  obtain  the  crops  it  is  capable  of  yielding, 
unless  you  pulverize  it;  nay,  so  important  did 
Jethro  Tull  think  this,  that  he  felt  firmly  per- 
suaded that  if  you  pulverized  your  soil  well, 
you  need  not  manure  at  all.  I  need  hardly  tell 
you,  that  we  shall  prove  hereafter  Jethro  Tull 
to  have  carried  his  conclusions  too  far;  but 
still  so  direct  and  unqualified  a  statement,  from 
such  a  writer,  should  have  its  full  influence 
upon  all  who  wish  to  learn  thoroughly  the  art 
of  a2:riculture.  Always  bear  in  mind  that  the 
impalpable  powder  is  the  active  part  of  soil, 
and  that  no  other  portion  has  any  direct  influ- 
ence upon  vegetation,  and  you  will  then,  at  all 
times,  be  sufficiently  impressed  with  the  neces- 
sity of  thorough  ploughing,  harrowing,  &c. ; 
indeed,  you  may  rest  assured  that,  except  upon 
some  few  very  light  sands,  you  cannot  pulverize 
the  soil  too  much — economy  alone  must  fix  the 
limit  of  this  useful  operation. 

Tempering,  Sfc. — A  good  ploughman  will  have 
his  plough  so  *' tempered,"  or  its  different  parts  so 
regulated  or  adjusted,  that  it  will  neither  have  a 
tendency  to  take  more  or  less  earth,  or,  in  other 
words,  go  deeper  or  more  shallow  than  is  ne- 
cessary. The  width  of  the  furrow-slice  will 
be  af  the  same  time  regulated,  so  that  neither 
more  nor  less  land  be  taken  than  is  requisite. 
Some  ploughmen,  says  Mr.  Stephens,  habitually 
make  the  plough  lean  a  little  over  to  the  left, 
thus  giving  it  in  effect  less  land  than  it  would 
have,  were  it  made  to  move  upon  the  flat  of  the 
sole  ;  and  to  overcome  the  consequent  tendency 
of  the  plough  to  make  a  narrower  furrow-slice 
than  the  proper  breadth,  they  move  the  draught- 
bolt  a  little  to  the  right.    The  ploughing  with 


1  a  considerable  lean  to  the  left  is  a  bad  custom, 
!  because  it  makes  the  lowest  side  of  the  furrow- 
I  slice,  when  turned  over,  thinner  than  the  upper 
I  side,  which   is  exposed  to  view,  thereby  de- 
luding you  into  the  belief  that  the  land  has  all 
been  ploughed  of  equal  depth ;  and  it  causes 
the  horses  to  bear  a  lighter  draught  than  those 
which  have  turned  over  as  much  land  in  the 
same  time,  with  a  more  equal  and   therefore 
deeper  furrow-slice.  Old  ploughmen,  becoming 
infirm,  are  very  apt  to  practise  this  deceptive 
mode  of  ploughing.    The  plough  should  always 
move  flat  upon  its  S9le,  and  turn  over  a  rectan- 
gular furrow-slice;   but  there  are  certain  ex- 
ceptions to  this  rule,  depending  on  the  peculiar 
construction  of  parts  of  certain  forms  of  ploughs. 
None  assume  the  habit  of  leaning  the  plough 
over  to  the  right,  because  it  is  not  so  easy  to 
hold  it  in  that  position  as  when  it  moves  upon 
the  sole  along  the  land-side. 

Other  ploughmen,  especially  tall  men,  prac- 
tise the  habit  of  constantly  leaning  hard  upon 
the  stilts,  or  of  steeping;  and  as  this  practice 
has  the  tendency  to  lift  up  the  fore-point  of  the 
plough  out  of  the  ground,  they  are  obliged,  in 
order  to  keep  it  in,  to  put  the  draught-bolt 
farther  from  the  ground  than  it  should  be.  A 
little  leaning  of  the  hands  upon  the  stilts  is 
requisite  at  all  times,  in  order  to  retain  a  firm 
hold  of  them,  and  thereby  have  a  proper  guid- 
ance of  the  plough. 

A  good  ploughman  will  use  none  of  these 
expedients  to  make  his  plough  go  steadily,  nor 
will  he  fall  into  any  of  these  reprehensible 
habits.  He  will  temper  the  irons  so  as  there 
shall  be  no  tendency  in  the  plough  to  go  too 
deep  or  too  shallow  into  the  ground,  or  make 
loo  wide  or  too  narrow  a  furrow-slice,  or  cause 
less  or  more  draught  to  the  horses,  or  less  or 
more  trouble  to  himself,  than  the  nature  of  the 
work  requires  to  be  performed  in  the  most 
proper  manner.  If  he  have  a  knowledge  of 
the  implement  he  works  with — I  mean,  a  good 
practical  knowledge  of  it,  for  a  knowledge  of 
its  principles  is  not  requisite  for  his  purpose, — 
he  will  temper  all  the  parts,  so  as  to  work  the 
plough  with  great  ease  to  himself,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  have  plenty  of  leisure  to  guide  his 
horses  aright,  and  execute  his  work  in  a  credit- 
able manner.  I  have  known  such  ploughmen, 
and  they  invariably  executed  their  work  in  a 
masterly  way;  but  I  never  yet  saw  a  plough- 
man execute  his  work  well,  who  had  not 
acquired  the  art  of  tempering  the  irons  of  his 
plough.  Until  he  learns  this  art,  the  best-made 
plough  will  be  comparatively  worthless  in  his 
hands. 

The  state  of  the  irons  themselves  has  a  ma- 
terial effect  on  the  temper  of  the  plough.  If 
the  cutting  edge  of  the  coulter,  and  the  point 
and  cutting  edge  of  the  sock,  are  laid  with 
steel,  the  irons  will  cut  clean,  and  go  long  m 
smooth  soil.  This  is  an  economical  mode  of 
treating  plough-irons  destined  to  work  in  clay- 
soils.  But  in  gravelly  and  all  sharp  soils,  the 
irons  wear  down  so  quickly,  that  farmers  prefer 
irons  of  cold  iron,  and  have  them  laid  anew 
every  day,  rather  than  incur  the  expense  of 
laying  them  with  steel,  which  perhaps  would 
not  endure  work  much  longer  in  such  soil  than 
iron  in  its  ordinary  state.  Irons  are  now  seldom 

907 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


if  ever  steeled ;  but  whether  they  are  steeled 
or  not,  they  are  always  in  the  best  state  when 
sharp,  and  of  the  proper  lengths. 

An  imperfect  state  of  the  mould-board  is 
another  interruption  to  a  perfect  temper  of  the 
plough.  When  new  and  rough,  it  accumulates 
the  loose  soil  upon  it,  whose  pressure  against 
the  turning  furrow-slice,  causes  the  plough  to 
deviate  from  its  right  course.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  the  mould-board  is  worn  away 
much  below,  it  is  apt  to  leave  too  much  of  the 
crumbled  soil  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrows, 
especially  in  ploughing  loose  soils.  Broken 
side-plates,  or  so  worn  into  holes  that  the  earth 
is  easily  pressed  through  them  into  the  bosom 
of  the  plough,  also  cause  rough  and  unequal 
work;  and  more  or  less  earth  in  the  bosom 
affects  the  balance  of  the  plough,  both  in  its 
temper  and  draught.  These  remarks  are  made 
upon  the  supposition  that  all  ploughs  are 
equally  well  made,  and  may,  therefore,  be  tem- 
pered to  work  in  a  satisfactory  manner;  but  it 
is  well  known  that  ploughs  sometimes  get  into 
the  possession  of  farmers,  radically  so  ill-con- 
structed, that  the  best  tempering  the  irons  are 
capable  of  receiving  will  never  make  them  do 
good  work. 

When  all  the  particulars  which  ploughmen 
have  to  attend  to  in  executing  their  work, — in 
having  their  plough-irons  in  a  proper  state  of 
repair,  in  tempering  them  according  to  the  kind 
of  ploughing  to  be  executed,  in  guiding  their 
horses,  and  in  ploughing  the  land  in  a  method- 
ical way — when  all  these  particulars  are  con- 
sidered, it  ceases  to  surprise  that  so  few  plough- 
men should  be  first-rate  workmen.  Good 
ploughmanship  requires  greater  powers  of  ob- 
servation than  most  young  ploughmen  possess, 
and  greater  judgment  than  most  will  take  time 
to  exercise,  in  order  to  become  familiarized 
with  all  these  particulars,  and  to  use  them  all 
to  the  best  advantage.  To  be  so  accomplished, 
implies  the  possession  of  talent  of  no  mean 
order.  The  ship  has  been  aptly  compared  to 
the  plough,  and  the  phrase  "ploughing  the 
deep"  is  as  familiar  to  us  as  ploughing  the 
land:  to  be  able  to  put  the  ship  in  "proper 
trim,"  is  the  perfection  aimed  at  by  every  sea- 
man ;  so,  in  like  manner,  to  "  temper  a  plough" 
is  the  great  aim  of  the  good  ploughman ;  and 
to  be  able  to  do  it  with  judgment,  to  guide 
horses  with  discretion,  and  to  execute  plough- 
ing correctly,  imply  a  discrimination  akin  to 
sailing  a  ship.     (Stephens.) 

Plough  Handles. — The  handles  should  be  suffi- 
ciently wide  apart  to  allow  the  ploughman  to 
walk  in  the  furrow,  and  long  enough  to  give 
him  a  full  command  of  the  plough,  so  that  he 
can  lift  or  depress  it  readily  in  work,  guide  it 
to  the  right  or  left  hand,  and  swing  it  round  at 
the  land's  end  out  of  the  furrow  into  another. 

Plov^h-bcam. — The  beam  should  be  of  such 
a  length,  that  its  end,  commonly  called  its  head, 
shall  cut  at  the  point  of  draught,  upon  a  hne 
drawn  from  that  part  of  the  collar  to  which  the 
traces  are  attached,  to  the  share  or  that  part  of 
it  where  it  first  raises  the  soil.  On  the  right 
arrangement  of  the  point  of  draught  in  the 
structure  of  the  plough  depends  much  of  its 
steadv  working  at  its  proper  depth.  It  is  from 
'  908 


the  principle  of  balancing  from  a  point  ad- 
justed to  the  line,  of  draught,  that  the  plough 
takes  its  name  of  sunng,  in  contradistinction  to 
the  names  of  foot  and  wheel  ploughs. 

The  beam  should  be  curved  upwards  at  the 
coulter  and  throat  of  the  plough,  to  clear  itself 
of  rubbish  which  sometimes  accumulates,  and 
should  be  inclined  slightly  from  the  land,  or,  in 
other  words,  towards  the  furrow,  because  its 
tendency  is  to  yield  towards  the  loosened  land, 
and  it  therefore  requires  this  counteraction  in 
the  line  of  draught  to  keep  it  in  a  right  line. 
This  is  supposing  a  pair  of  horses  to  be  har- 
nessed abreast ;  if  they  be  harnessed  at  length, 
the  beam  should  be  still  more  inclined ;  for  as 
neither  horse  then  walks  on  the  "land,"  the 
direction  of  the  force  towards  the  land-side  is 
still  further  decreased. 

Ploiigh-head. — The  cross-head  of  the  plough 
forms  a  ready  means  of  increasing  or  de- 
creasing the  inclination  last  spoken  of,  anj 
the  hake,  or  draught-iron,  which  moves  in  tl  i 
arc  of  a  circle  along  the  cross-head,  has  notches 
by  which  the  depth  of  the  plough  can  be  regu- 
lated in  unison  with  the  line  of  draught.  There 
are  various  contrivances  for  these  purposes, 
most  of  which  involve  the  use  of  a  screw  as  a 
means  of  adjustment ;  but  the  plan  of  pins  and 
notches  is  sufliciently  accurate,  and  not  liable 
to  be  out  of  order.  Sketches  of  two,  the  one 
English,  h,  the  other  Scotch,  i,  are  given  in 
PI.  17. 

Plough-share. — The  plough-share  is  the  apex 
of  the  sole,  as  the  hind  part  is  called  the  heel. 
It  varies  in  shape  for  different  purposes.  On 
stony  lands  it  is  best  with  a  point,  as  figured 
PI.  17,  k.  But  where  the  land  is  free  from 
stones,  the  wing  is  best  when  angular,  and  the 
cutting  edge  in  a  line,  or  nearly  so,  as  figured 
in  PI.  17,  l. 

For  different  work,  " hard  lands"  and  "sum- 
mer lands,"  shares  of  a  greater  "  dip"  or  "pitch" 
are  requisite.  A  common  plan  is  to  use  new 
shares  on  hard  lands,  and  to  wear  them  a  day 
or  two,  and  then  lay  them  aside  for  summer 
lands. 

Mould-board. — The  upper  part  over  the  box 
of  the  share  should  form  the  first  part  of  the 
rise  of  the  mould-board.  After  the  coulter  and 
share  have  made  the  vertical  and  horizontal 
cuts  for  the  depth  and  width  of  the  furrow-slice, 
the  mould-board  has  to  complete  the  work  by 
turning  it  over  and  leaving  it  in  its  proper  po- 
sition. On  the  precision  with  which  this  part 
of  the  plough  performs  its  work,  much,  indeed 
nearly  all,  of  the  beauty  of  the  ploughing  de- 
pends :  hence  the  importance  of  discovering  its 
true  form  for  the  land  on  which  it  has  to  be 
used.  Desirable,  however,  as  this  is,  there 
does  not  as  yet  appear  to  be  any  precise  rule 
for  the  formation  of  the  mould-board,  that  has 
met  with  so  uniform  an  approval  under  the 
test  of  practice,  as  would  lead  us  to  speak  with 
entire  confidence  of  it.  We  have  looked  at  the 
mechanical  principles  laid  down  by  Small, 
Bailey,  Gray,  Amos,  Jefferson,  Clymer,  and 
others,  but  are  not  aware  of  any  plough-makers 
of  the  present  day  who  strictly  adhere  to  either 
the  one  or  the  other ;  and  so  long  as  the  mould- 
board  cannot  be  used  on  even  the  same  farm 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


under  circumstances  always  similar,  as  its 
operation  will  necessarily  be  affected  by  the 
weather,  the  state  of  the  land,  with  the  varying 
depth  and  width  of  the  plough,  it  is  not  an  easy 
matter  to  determine  which  form  is  best  for 
general  purposes.  It  is  clear  that  different 
soils,  as,  for  instance,  light  sand  and  heavy 
clay,  require  mould-boards  almost  the  opposite 
of  each  other;  and  such  they  are.  The  Nor- 
folk mould-board  is  short,  with  rather  a  hollow 
or  concave  surface,  whilst  that  used  in  the 
hundreds  of  Essex  is  long  and  convex. 

Lord  Western,  many  years  ago,  improved 
upon  the  form  of  the  heavy  land  mould-board 
in  use  in  that  part  of  the  county  of  Essex  where 
he  resides,  by  cutting  away  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  the  lower  and  hinder  part  of  the  figure, 
and  by  making  it  in  a  straight  line  lengthwise 
from  the  nose  to  the  hind  part. 

Were  the  circumstances  always  the  same, 
there  can  be  no  question  but  that  one  mathe- 
matical form  of  the  mould-board  would  be  pre- 
ferable to  all  others  ;  but,  under  circumstances 
so  various,  the  plan  hitherto  adopted  has  been 
to  prove,  by  experience  and  from  practical 
operation,  the  forms  best  suited  to  different 
lands  under  an  average  depth  and  width  of 
work,  keeping  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the 
principle  of  the  wedge,  as  necessary  for  the 
proper  lifting,  turning,  and  laying  over  the  soil. 
Provided  the  mould-board  be  made  so  that  the 
work,  while  in  operation,  goes  on  as  it  should 
do,  a  good  practical  criterion  as  to  its  figure 
will  be  found  in  the  evidence  of  friction  it  has 
undergone,  and  this,  with  the  fine  cast  metal 
now  in  use,  can  be  determined  to  a  nicety.  If, 
on  a  given  soil,  the  mould-board  becomes 
brightened  uniformly — if  the  mould  appears  to 
slip  with  light  friction  and  with  the  same  pres- 
sure from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  it  cannot 
be  far,  if  any  thing,  out  of  its  proper  shape  for 
the  purpose  intended.  And  yet,  if  the  same 
mould-board  be  used  on  some  other  lands,  it 
will  immediately  show  its  inapplicability  to 
them  by  the  soil  adhering  to  it  in  parts,  not 
slipping  well  through  it,  and  thus  evidencing  a 
want  of  uniformity  in  its  general  friction. 
Therefore,  considering  that  neither  depth  nor 
width  of  furrow  is  always  the  same,  and  that 
scarcely  one  circumstance  affecting  its  use  is 
unvarying,  it  is  ditlicult  to  find  a  rule  which 
shall  aptly  suit  these  changes.  At  the  same 
time  it  is  not  presumed  that  such  will  not  or 
cannot  be  found ;  and  the  theory  which  most 
accoris  with  our  view,  is  one  which  has  re- 
cently been  laid  down  by  the  Rev.  W.  L.  Rham, 
rector  of  Winkfield,  Berkshire,  a  gentleman 
whose  scientific  and  agricultural  Icnowledge 
entitles  his  opinion  to  considerable  deference. 
His  theory  is,  that  the  mould-board  should  be 
composed  of  straight  lines  in  the  direction  of 
its  length,  with  continually  increasing  angles 
to  the  line  of  the  furrow  :  these  last  lines  being 
either  straight,  convex,  or  concave,  horizontal 
sections  of  the  mould-board. 

Coulter. — Simple  as  the  coulter  may  appear 
to  be,  it  is  a  very  important  part  of  the  plough, 
and  much  depends  upon  its  being  properly 
formed  and  fixed  for  the  work  it  has  to  perform 
ia  the  operation  of  ploughing.    It  should  be 


made  of  iron  and  steel,  and  of  sufficient  sub- 
stance to  stand  firmly  to  the  position  in  which 
it  is  set  for  its  work,  not  bending  either  to  the 
right  hand  or  to  the  left.  The  blade  or  cutting 
part  should  be  about  2^  inches  wide,  d.nd 
formed  by  the  meeting  of  two  curves,  as  this 
shape  cuts  the  land  easier  than  when  the  edge 
is  either  in  a  straight  line  or  curved  for»-ard. 
The  land  side  of  the  coulter  should  be  flc  t,  and 
the  opposite  side  a  gradual  taper  from  th«  edge 
to  the  back:  the  thickness  must  be  detevmined 
by  the  strength  of  the  work  it  has  to  perform. 

The  angle  at  which  the  coulter  is  usually  set, 
is  about  forty-five  degrees  from  the  plane  of 
the  ground  ;  but  in  summer  lands  it  requires  to 
be  placed  in  a  more  slanting  position,  and  to 
take  the  lead  of  the  share  about  three-quarters 
of  an  inch,  to  prevent  the  grass  or  rubbish 
driving  in  a  heap,  as  it  otherwise  might  do.  On 
the  contrary,  when  used  ibr  ploughing  up  hard 
fallows,  it  requires  to  be  fixed  in  a  more  up- 
right position,  and  rather  more  backward  than 
the  point  of  the  share.  It  should  be  placed 
about  half  an  inch  above  the  share,  and  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  to  the  land  side  of  it.  Every 
good  ploughman  has  his  own  notions  on  the 
subject  of  setting  the  coulter,  but  the  above 
directions  are  given  from  practical  observation. 

The  usual  mode  of  fixing  the  coulter  in  the 
socket  of  the  frame  or  beam,  is  by  means  of 
wood  or  iron  wedges  driven  above  or  below  the 
socket,  or  by  a  coarse  cut  screw-bolt,  which 
turns  into  the  side  of  the  so«ket  and  presses 
against  the  coulter-stalk.  Each  of  these  modes 
is  defective,  there  being  a  complication  in  the 
details  of  all  that  appears  not  quite  adapted  to 
the  class  of  workmen  who  have  to  use  them. 

Skim  Coulters. — Skim  coulters  are  sometimes 
used  for  the  purpose  of  burying  the  surface- 
grass  or  rubbish.  Sketches  of  two  kinds  are 
given  in  pi.  17,  wj,  m.  The  usual  plan  is  to  fix 
the  skim  about  six  inches  before  the  common 
coulter. 

Wheel  Coulters  are  used  in  the  fen  lands,  and 
are  useful  when  ploughing  up  turf.  One  of 
these  coulters  is  represented  in  pi.  17,  n.  The 
cutting-disk  should  be  made  of  steel,  with  a 
nave  sufficiently  long  for  it  to  be  steady,  and 
the  box  should  be  bored  true,  and  revolve  on  a 
well-fitted  steel  pin,  as  on  the  perfect  fitting  of 
the  box  and  axle  the  correct  working  of  the 
disk,  and  consequently  the  effective  operation 
of  the  plough,  depends. 

Su'inc^  Ploughs. — The  advantages  attributed 
by  Mr.  Ransome  to  the  swing  plough  are  as 
follows : — 

1.  It  admits  of  being  set  into  its  work  at  a 
given  depth,  either  shallower  or  deeper,  by  the 
alteration  of  the  draught  iron  at  the  point  of 
draught,  or  by  increasing  or  decreasing  the 
distance  at  which  the  power  of  the  horses  is 
applied. 

2.  The  ploughman  has  also  the  power  of  re 
gulating,  in  some  degree,  the  depth  of  the  work, 
by  either  lifting  or  bearing  upon  the  handles. 

3.  It  is  a  plough  of  more  simple  construe- 
tion  than  any  other,  and  less  expensive  in  its 
first  cost. 

4.  A  skilful  workman  can  plough  actosM 
ridge   and   furrow  at  very  nearly  a  uraform 

909 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


depth;  he  can  work  with  it  on  almost  all  lands, 
and  in  all  weathers  when  ploughing  can  be 
done  at  all. 

The  Wheel  Plough  (with  high  Gallowses).— This 
derives  its  name  from  having:  the  appendage 
of  a  carriage  and  wheels.  The  body  of  the 
plough  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  of  the 
swing  plough,  and  notwithstanding  the  different 
form  of  its  beam,  the  point  of  draught  should 
be  the  same  as  that  of  the  swing  plough, 
namely,  to  cut  a  line  drawn  from  the  horse's 
shoulder  to  the  share  or  point  of  resistance. 

In  the  Report  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture  from 
the  county  of  Leicester,  published  in  1808,  it 
is  stated, "  "  that  more  than  thirty  years  ago, 
wheels  were  first  applied  to  the  fore-end  of  the 
beam,  and  it  was  found  by  'pitching'  the  plough 
a  little  deeper,  and  setting  the  wheels  so  as  to 
prevent  its  drawing  too  deep,  the  wheels  were 
a  sufficient  guide,  and  the  plough  required  no 
one  to  hold  it  except  in  places  of  difficulty." 
If  properly  adjusted,  a  lad  of  14  years  of  age 
can  manage  it  easily ;  and  the  writer  of  this 
article  once  saw,  at  a  ploughing  match,  a  lad 
having  a  plough  of  this  sort — the  only  one  in 
the  field — walking  leisurely  beside  it,  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  the  other  competitors, 
and  from  whom,  to  their  still  greater  astonish- 
ment, he  carried  away  the  prize.  This  lad  had 
been  taught  ploughing  only  a  few  months. 

When  one  wheel  only  is  attached  to  the 
plough,  some  persons  give  the  preference  to  a 
small  one  to  run  upon  the  unploughed  land,  as 
it  is  less  likely  to  clog  up,  and  requires  no  al- 
teration towards  the  end  of  the  furrow ;  but 
others  prefer  a  larger  wheel  which  runs  in  the 
furrow,  as  it  has  an  even  bottom  to  travel  over, 
and  correctly  regulates  the  width  of  the  furrow- 
slice.  It  also  more  effectually  facilitates  the 
turning  round  at  the  headland,  particularly  if 
the  horses  have  to  go  to  the  right  hand.  The 
larger  wheel  to  run  in  the  furrow,  therefore,  is 
best  for  general  purposes,  and,  with  a  lever 
attached  to  it,  is  rendered  very  easy  of  adjust- 
ment. 

In  the  use  of  a  gauge  for  the  depth  of  plough- 
ing, whether  of  two  wheels,  one  wheel,  or  a 
foot,  the  plough  should  be  so  regulated  as  to 
press  but  lightly  on  the  ground  when  passing 
over  it;  thus  admitting  as  little  of  the  counter- 
acting force  between  the  wheel  and  share  as 
possible. 

In  the  Prize  Essay  by  Henry  Handley,  Esq., 
the  advantages  of  wheels  are  clearly  set  forth, 
and  his  arguments  in  favour  of  their  use  have 
since  been  very  strikingly  confirmed  by  the 
trials  made  under  the  directions  of  Philip 
Pusey,  Esq. 

The  silver  medal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  of  England  was  awarded  to  John 
Clarke,  of  Long  Sutton,  Lincolnshire,  for  the 
invention  of  a  plough  (see  Jour,  of  Roy.  Agr. 
Soc,  vol.  i.  p.  66)  for  the  purpose  of  ridge  cul- 
ture ;  by  an  easy  transition  of  shape,  which 
is  accomplished  in  a  very  simple  manner,  this 
implement  becomes, 

1.  A  double  torn  or  ridge  plough. 

2.  A  moulding  plough. 

3.  A  horse-hoe,  or  cleaning  plough. 

4.  A  skeleton,  or  broad-share  plough. 
%ibsoil  Ploughs. — At  the  thought  of  a  subsoil 

910 


plough,  says  Mr.  Ransoriie,  our  minds  turn  at 
once  to  James  Smith,  of  Deanstone,  as  the  gen- 
tleman who  has  opened  a  very  interesting  and 
important  view  of  tillage,  by  the  system  of  sub- 
soil ploughing,  and  thereby  breaking  the  under 
soil  without  turning  it  up  to  the  surface.  His 
practical  knowledge  has  long  been  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  agriculture,  and  the  results  have 
been  most  beneficial.  The  plough  he  invented 
for  the  purpose  is  too  well  known  to  need  a  de- 
scription, though  we  should  consider  our  Essay 
incomplete  without  a  sketch  of  it.  See  pi.  17,  o; 
also  g. 

Following  the  invention  of  James  Smith,  of 
Deanstone,  was  another  of  a  difl!erent  and 
much  lighter  description,  the  invention  of  Sir 
Edward  Stracey,  Bart.,  Rackheath,  and  the 
plough  is  called  by  the  latter  name.  It  answers 
the  purpose  of  deep  ploughing,  that  is,  from  10 
to  16  inches  below  the  surface,  and  when  pre- 
ceded by  the  common  plough,  which  is 
plan  recommended,  the  depth  below  the  •  r- 
face-ground  is  just  as  much  again  as  the  u* 
plough  effects. 

This  plough  answers  admirably  for  under- 
ploughing  grass  lands,  and  is  made  into  a  sub- 
turf  plough  by  changing  the  wheel  gear  in 
front,  to  that  of  a  carriage  and  two  wheels. 

P.  Pusey,  Esq.,  in  an  interesting  paper  in 
the  Eng.  Agr.  Soc.  Journ.  (vol.  i.  p.  434),  gives 
an  account  of  a  plough,  made  to  his  order  by 
Charles  Hart,  of  Wantage ;  at  the  hinder  part 
of  this  plough  was  fixed  a  strong  tine,  some- 
thing like  those  on  Biddel's  scarifier,  for  the 
purpose  of  under-ploughing  the  soil.  This  tine 
was  made  to  rise  or  lower  at  pleasure;  and 
from  the  description  of  its  use  and  operation, 
given  in  the  above  paper,  we  should  think  it  a 
valuable  invention,  as  it  maybe  easily  attached 
to  a  plough  of  the  common  sort,  and  removed 
when  not  wanted. 

Skeleton,  or  Cleaning  Ploughs,  are  often  the 
transformations  of  common  ploughs  for  that 
purpose,  by  taking  the  mould-boards  and  shares 
oflf,  and  substituting  for  the  shares  subsoil  or 
cleaning  shares,  with  prongs.     See  PI.  17,/. 

The  plan  of  laying  furrows  in  one  direction, 
so  as  to  have  neither  ridge  nor  water  furrows, 
has  within  the  last  year  attracted  more  than 
common  attention  in  Britain.  It  has  led  to  a 
careful  inquiry  into  the  the  system  of  ploughing 
pursued  in  Kent,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  dis- 
position among  many  first-rate  agriculturists 
to  try  the  plan,  provided  lighter  implements 
can  be  furnished  for  the  purpose,  not  exceed- 
ing the  power  of  two  horses'  draught.  To  this 
object  some  eminent  practical  farmers  have 
turned  their  attention,  and  a  plough,  made 
under  the  direction  of  Mr.  William  Smart,  a 
farmer  of  great  respectability  and  experience 
at  Rainham,  in  Kent,  bids  fair  to  open  a  new 
and  very  important  view  of  the  mechanical 
principles  of  the  turn-rest  plough,  which  he 
has  remodelled  ;  and  it  may  be  made  equally 
applicable  to  the  power  of  two  or  four  horses. 

This  gentleman,  after  thany  trials,  arrived 
at  the  conclusion  that,  inasmuch  as  the  work 
of  the  turn-rest  plough  depended  on  its  wedge- 
like construction,  its  form  could  only  be  cor- 
rect in  proportion  to  its  approach  to  the  per- 
fect wedge;  and  this  form,  obtained  by  straight 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


lines  in  the  direction,  first,  from  the  point  of 
the  share  to  the  throat  of  the  plough,  to  pro- 
duce the  effect  of  elevating  the  furrow-slice  ; 
and,  second,  from  the  edge  of  the  coulter  to  the 
heel  of  the  rest,  to  effect  the  turning  of  the  flag, 
is  that  which  he  has  adopted ;  making  these 
lines  tend  to  an  angle  of  15  degrees.  With  the 
assistance  of  an  ingenious  ploughwright  in  his 
own  neighbourhood,  several  ploughs  on  this 
principle  were  constructed,  and  these  have 
been  the  basis  upon  which  still  further  im- 
provements in  the  detail  have  been  carried 
out.  They  are  now  so  constructed  that  the 
ploughman  can  readily  shift  his  coulter  by 
means  of  a  lever,  which  reaches  the  bottom  of 
the  handles,  and  also  his  rests  or  mould-boards 
from  side  to  side,  without  leaving  his  station 
between  the  handles  of  his  plough,  they  being 
so  arranged  that,  by  withdrawing  a  small  pin 
and  pressing  the  projecting  rest  towards  the 
body  of  the  plough,  the  mould-boards  on  either 
side  become  alternately  the  land  side  when  not 
in  work. 

Ploughs  for  the  purpose  of  turning  the  fur- 
rows all  in  one  direction,  and  laying  the  slices 
at  an  angle  with  the  horizon,  as  is  done  by 
ihe  common  plough,  have  been  within  the 
last  year  or  two  brought  before  the  public,  but 
we  cannot  learn  that  they  have  been  generally 
adopted. 

In  going  thus  at  length  into  the  subject  of 
the  plough,  we  have  shown  the  present  state 
of  agricultural  mechanics  as  respects  those  in 
general  use.  To  have  gone  more  fully  into 
the  description  of  those  out  of  the  common  rou- 
tine of  farming,  would  have  carried  us  beyond 
what  we  imagine  to  be  the  proper  limit  of 
this  portion  of  the  work.  At  the  same  time  it 
must  be  observed,  that  there  are  a  variety  of 
puqjoses  for  which  ploughs  of  a  particular 
form,  different  from  any  already  described,  are 
required;  such  as  paring  ploughs,  draining 
ploughs,  drill  ploughs,  &.c.  &c.  On  each,  in- 
deed on  all  of  which,  a  considerable  amount 
of  judgment  and  ingenuity  has  been  expended. 

Ploughs  even  for  common  purposes  have 
been  long  in  arriving  at  their  present  state ; 
and  there  are  doubtless  many  improvements 
that  may  yet  be  accomplished. 

In  the  construction  of  ploughs,  the  first  ob- 
ject to  be  borne  in  mind  is  the  proper  perform- 
ance of  the  work  to  be  done;  the  next,  that  this 
should  be  effected  with  the  least  expenditure 
of  animal  power,  and  with  the  greatest  econo- 
my; and,  lastly,  that  they  should  be  made  as 
simple  as  possible  in  reference  to  the  plough- 
man who  will  have  to  use  them.  The  circum- 
stance of  repairs,  which  will  be  continually  re- 
quired as  the  parts  wear  out,  should  also  be 
kept  in  view,  and  the  whole  require  to  be  made 
on  an  accurate  plan,  so  as  to  insure  every  part 
fitting  properly;  the  workman  may  then  fix 
them  on  the  spot  as  readily  as  a  mechanic  at 
his  manufactory.  Nor  should  it  be  forgotten 
that  quality  of  materials  and  workmanship  are 
main  points  in  economy,  and  that  to  dispense 
with  either  is  to  pave  the  way  to  dissatisfaction 
and  trouble  to  all  parties  concerned. 

It  is  difticult  to  suggest  alterations  on  the 
present    implements,  which    appear  adapted 


to  the  purpose,  and  likely  to  agree  with  the 
description  of  the  requisites  just  given  ;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  plough,  in  its  various 
forms,  is  capable  of  great  improvement;  and 
amongst  the  points  to  which  attention  may  be 
usefully  directed  are  the  following: — 

Amount  of  draught  that  different  forms  of 
mould-boards  and  shares  require,  in  order  to 
determine  those  best  suited  to  the  purpose. 

A  mould-board  that  will  best  turn  the  work 
on  either  side  of  the  plough,  so  as  to  admit  of 
its  being  changed  from  one  to  the  other,  after 
the  plan  of  the  Kent  turn-rest. 

A  ready  means  of  altering  the  depth  or  pitch 
of  the  swing  plough  while  in  motion,  without 
stopping  the  horses,  so  that  it  may  be  accom- 
modated to  any  difference  in  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  or  inequalities  on  its  surface,  which  the 
plough  may  meet  with. 

The  same  as  respects  the  wheel  plough,  with- 
out placing  any  of  its  forces  in  opposition  to 
each  other. 

Many  papers  on  ploughs  and  ploughing  are 
contained  in  the  best  modern  agricultural  pe- 
riodicals. Wilkie's  turn-res^  plough  is  de- 
scribed in  the  Trans.  His;h.  Soc.  vol.  vi.  p.  484. 
Mr.  Heathcote's  steam  plough.  Ibid.  p.  72.  Mr. 
Laidlaw  "On  the  general  advantages  of  Two- 
horse  Ploughs,"  Quart.  Juurn.  of  Agr.  vol.  ii.  p. 
712.  "On  the  Plough  of  Palestine,"  Ibid.  vol. 
iii.  p.  373.  "On  Small's  Plough  as  a  Drill 
Plough,"  Ibid.  p.  854.  "  On  the  Mathematical 
Construction  of  the  Plough,"  by  Mr.  Amos, 
C&m.  Board  of  Jgr.  vol.  vi.  p.  437.  "  On  Wheel 
and  Swing  Ploughs,"  by  Mr.  Handley,  Journ. 
Roy.  Jigr.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  140.  "  On  Draught  in 
Ploughing,"  by  Mr.  Pusey,  Ibid.  p.  219.  "On 
Subsoil  Ploughing,"  by  Sir  James  Graham, 
Ibid.  p.  245.^  "On  the  Rackheath  Subsoil 
Plough,"  by  Sir  E.  Stracey,  Ibid.  p.  253.  "  On 
the  Charlbury  Subsoil  Plough,"  by  Mr.  Pusey, 
Ibid.  p.  433.  "On  the  Rackheath  Subturf 
Plough,"  by  Sir  E.  Stracey,  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  37; 
and  "On  a  Light  Subsoil  Plough,  adapted  for 
two  Horses,"  by  Mr.  Gabell,  Ibid.  p.  421. 

The  Ploufih  in  the  United  States. — Whilst  in 
Europe,  and  parlicularl)  in  Great  Britain,  the 
plough  has  been  so  much  improved,  American 
intelligence  and  ingenuity  have  been  rewarded 
with  great  success  in  the  same  pursuit.  The 
implement  which  the  pioneer  is  obliged  to 
make  use  of  in  first  stirring  and  partially  turn- 
ing up  the  soil  filled  with  roots  and  stones,  is 
necessarily  very  rude,  sometimes  almost  equal 
in  this  respect  to  those  of  the  primitive  ages 
of  husbandry.  One  of  these  rough  contri- 
vances is,  in  New  England  and  the  Northern 
States,  familiarly  called  the  Bidl  plough.  The 
several  improvements  on  the  plough  in  the 
United  States  seem  to  have  progressed,  for  the 
most  part,  with  little  or  no  reference  to  Eu- 
ropean plans  or  models,  and  to  have  been 
almost  exclusively  confined  to  swing-ploughs, 
wheel-ploughs  being  scarcely  ever  seen.  Sim- 
plicity and  economy  seem  to  have  been  kept  in 
view  by  all  who  have  undertaken  to  improve 
or  modify  the  implement.  As  the  various  sec- 
tions of  the  Union  present  varieties  in  the  con- 
ditions of  the  soil,  the  ploughs  are  constructed 
with  reference  to  these  conditions,  so  that  in 

911 


PLODGH. 


PLOUGH. 


the  Northern,  Eastern,  Middle,  and  Western 
Htales,  dirterent  ploughs  are  vaunted  for  their 
excellence.  It  has  been  observed  as  a  singular 
circumstance,  that  to  the  celebrated  author  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  the  United 
States  should  be  also  indebted  for  the  first  theory 
of  the  plough  formed  on  mathematical  princi- 
ples. President  Jefferson's  letter  to  Sir  John 
Sinclair,  president  of  the  British  Board  of  Ag- 
riculture, addressed  in  1798,  is  published  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Jm.  Philosophical  Society, 
vol.  iv.  p.  314.  It  describes  the  mould-board, 
and  the  principles  upon  which  it  is  properly 
constructed.  (See  American  Farmer,  vol.  ii. 
p.  185,  and  Domestic  Encyclopedia,  vol.  iii.  p. 
113.) 

In  England  the  most  complete  set  of  experi- 
ments yet  made  to  ascertain  the  particular 
merits  of  different  ploughs,  are  those  instituted 
by  Mr.  Pusey,  president  of  the  Royal  Agricul- 
tural Society,  and  described  by  him  in  the  3d 
No.  of  the  Journal  of  that  Society.  A  con- 
densed view  of  the  objects  and  results  of  these 
experiments  may  be  found  in  the  Cultivator, 
(vol.  viii.  p.  10)|^ogether  with  the  results  ob- 
tained with  American  ploughs  at  the  Worces- 
ter ploughing  match  in  1840. 

The  points  embraced  in  the  English  experi- 
ments were : 

1.  The  comparative  lightness  in  draught,  of 
wheel  and  swing  ploughs. 

2.  The  lightest  plough  absolutely,  of  what- 
ever kind. 

3.  The  effect  of  different  soils  upon  the  qua- 
lities, and  chiefly  on  the  draught  of  the  plough. 

4.  The  comparative  tenacity  of  difierent 
soils. 

5.  The  power  of  two  horses  to  plough  the 
strongest  or  clay  soil. 

Ten  ploughs,  embracing  some  from  the  most 
celebrated  makers  in  England,  the  highly  famed 
Scotch  swing  plough,  and  several  of  those  in 
common  use  in  the  different  districts  of  the 
kingdom,  were  selected  by  Mr.  Pusey  for  his 
experiments,  and  he  was  aided  by  the  presence 
and  advice  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
agriculturists  in  the  country.  The  ploughs 
were  worked  by  skilful  ploughmen ;  and,  as 
much  interest  was  attached  to  the  experiment 
on  the  Scotch  ploughs,  a  Clydesdale  span  of 
horses  and  a  ploughman  accustomed  to  the 
plough  were  sent  up  by  Lord  Moreton  to 
manage  that  part  of  the  trial.  The  Scotch 
plough  has  obtained  considerable  celebrity 
from  the  strong  praise  bestowed  upon  it  by  Mr. 
Loudon,  who  declares  the  improved  Scotch 
plough  to  be  superior  to  any  similar  implement 
known  in  England.  They  are  constructed  on 
the  principles  laid  down  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in 
his  celebrated  Report  on  the  true  shape  of  the 
mould-board,  addressed  to  the  French  Institute, 
which,  he  showed  from  mathematical  data, 
should  be  in  the  form  of  a  gentle  hollow 
curve;  other  ploughs  constructed  more  full  and 
short,  not  raising  the  earth  gradually  like  a 
wave,  but  throwing  it  over  at  once.  In  con- 
densing Mr.  Pusey's  experiments,  we  shall 
select,  as  sufficient  for  the  present  purpose, 
from  the  list  given  by  him,  three  ploughs — 1st, 
the  improved  Scotch  plough  made  by  Fergu- 
312 


son,  and  entirely  of  iron — 2d,  a  one-wheeled 
plough  of  wood,  with  an  iron  breast,  by  Mr. 
Hart,  but  commonly  known  as  the  improved 
Berkshire  plough  ;  and  3d,  an  old-fashioned 
plough  made  of  wood,  and  such  as  is  in  general 
use  in  many  parts  of  England,  where  ii  is  called 
the  old  Berkshire  plough.  Some  previous  ex- 
periments  had  convinced  Mr.  Pusey  that  the 
Hart  plough  was  of  easy  draught,  and  the  ones 
now  instituted  showed  that  his  impressions 
were  correct. 

The  Clydesdale  horses  were  much  admired 
in  their  work ;  and  it  was  the  opinion  of  the 
bystanders  that  such  land,  usually  worked  with 
four  horses  in  line,  might  be  ploughed  with  two 
such  horses  abreast;  though  it  was  said  it 
would  cost  as  much  to  keep  two  horses  in  that 
condition,  as  to  support  the  four  in  their  usual 
working  state.  On  this  ground,  where  the 
horses  had  a  firm  footing,  they  worked  with  per- 
fect ease. 

In  summing  up  the  trials,  Mr.  Pusey  remarks 
that  the  plough  requiring  the  least  draught  was 
Hart's,  though  in  the  last  trial  it  was  beat  by 
Ransome's  two-wheel  plough;  and  that  of  all 
modern  ploughs  the  Scotch  swing  plough  was 
the  heaviest,  "out  of  the  question  on  a  li?ht 
soil,  and  by  no  means  the  best  on  a  heavy 
one."  The  following  table  shows  the  average 
draught  of  all  the  ploughs  on  the  several  soils 
in  which  the  experiments  were  made  : 

Trial  1.  Sandy  loam  -  -  -  -  17J  stone. 

2.  Clay  loam  -  -  -  -  47^^      " 

3.  Loamy  sand  -  -  -  -  16^      " 

4.  Strong  loam  -  -  -  -  3l|      '* 

5.  Clay  loam  -  -  -  -  28|      " 

6.  Moorysoil  -  -  -  -  20        " 

A  drawing  of  Hart's  improved  Berkshire 
one-wheel  plough  is  given  in  the  Cultivator, 
(vol.  viii.  p.  10.) 

The  trials  at  the  Worcester  ploughing  match 
in  1840,  were  made  to  determine  the  award  of 
two  premiums  offered  by  the  Massachusetts 
Agricultural  Society,  of  $100,  and  §75,  for  the 
best  ploughs,  one  for  lapping  furrows  and  the 
other  for  laying  them  flat.  The  following  re- 
marks by  the  reporting  committee  will  enable 
the  reader  to  understand  the  experiments, 
whilst  the  list  of  ploughs  will  show  the  num- 
ber of  inventors  and  improvers  whose  imple- 
ments have  acquired  most  celebrity  in  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  United  States. 

The  power  required  to  turn  over  a  given 
quantity  of  earth  by  a  plough  is  a  very  im- 
portant consideration.  This  power  can  be 
measured  with  great  accuracy;  greater  than 
many  of  the  committee  supposed,  before  they 
witnessed  the  operation.  The  dynamometer, 
inserted  between  the  plough-beam  and  the 
chain,  measures  with  great  accuracy  the 
strength  exerted  by  the  team.  Suppose  the 
strength  applied  be  the  same  that  would  be  re- 
quired to  raise  336  lbs.  over  a  single  pulley; 
suppose  also  that  the  depth  of  the  furrow  is  6^ 
inches  with  a  width  of  13  inches.  Multiply  13 
by  6^,  and  you  will  have  84  with  a  fraction. 
Now,  if  336  lbs.  of  power  will  take  up  and  turn 
over  84  inches  of  earth,  then  112  lbs.  will  turn 
28  inches.  Tried  in  this  way,  the  ploughs  ex- 
hibited showed  the  following  results.  The 
power  in  each  case  is  112  lbs. 


PLOUGH. 
PtHST  Tkial. — Ploughs  for  lapping  furrows. 


By  Charles  Howard  -  -  - 
Kuggles,  Nourse  &  Mason 
John  Wilson  -  -  -  - 
Stephens*  plough  ... 
James  Slewarl  (Scotch  plough) 
Cornelius  Bergen  -  _  . 
Barnaby  &l  Mooers  -  -  - 
E.  G.  Whiting  .... 


29i  inches. 

24 

21  i       " 

20 

19i       " 

18         «♦ 

17|       " 

18 


Second  Trial. — For  flat  furrows. 

Prouty  &.  Mears        -        -        -  27i  '• 

Charles  Howard       .        -        -  25  " 

Ruggles,  Nourse  &  Co.    .        -  24  " 

Barnahy  &  Mooers    .        -        -  18^  " 

E.  G.  Whiting  -        ...  14  " 

Another  plough  by  Prouty  &.  Mears  26  " 

Do.  do.         Charles  Howard  25  " 

The  terms  used  in  this  ejcperiment  are  dif- 
ferent from  those  adopted  in  the  English  one ; 
but  those  who  choose  may  easily  compare 
them  with  each  other  by  remembering  that  112 
lbs.  is  8  stone,  and  making  the  furrow-slice  to 
correspond,  which  in  the  American  experiment 
was  84  inches,  and  in  the  English  one  4.5;  or 
6i  by  13,  to  5  by  9.  When  this  is  done,  the 
experiments  will  be  found  to  correspond  re- 
markably well,  and  the  general  results  of  both 
may  be  considered  as  establishing  many  im- 
portant truths,  some  of  which  have  been 
already  pointed  out.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that 
in  the  same  soil,  and  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, one  plough  will  work  100  per 
cent,  easier  than  another,  or  that  one  horse 
will  perform  the  work  of  two,  or  two  that 
of  four,  with  the  same  ease.  Could  horses 
speak,  they  would  doubtless  direct  a  vote 
of  thanks  to  the  men  who  have  invented,  and 
the  farmers  who  use,  implements  by  which 
one-half  of  the  severest  labour  the  horse  per- 
forms is  done  away.  We  very  much  question 
whether  our  farm-horses  on  our  heavy  wheal 
lands  do  not  often  perform  much  more  severe 
labour  than  the  highest  rate  named  by  Mr. 
Pusey  (52  stone,  or  728  lbs.),  as  we  have  seen 
them  day  after  day  showing  more  exertion  and 
evident  distress  in  ploughing  than  when  draw- 
ing a  ton  a  day  over  hard  roads.  Whatever  may 
be  the  obduracy  or  tenacity  of  the  soil,  or  the 
toughness  of  the  sward ;  only  one  pair  of  horses 
is  used,  where,  under  the  same  circumstances, 
four  would  be  used  abroad,  and  the  question  is 


PLOUGH. 

never  asked  whether  the  plough  is  of  a  con- 
struction so  defective  as  to  require  5  cwt.  to 
move  it,  or  whether  it  works  with  ease,  with  a 
force  of  2  cwt.  applied.  Mr.  Pusey  estimated 
the  fair  draught  of  the  Clydesdale  horse  at  168 
lbs.  or  12  stone,  and  that  of  a  common  English 
farm-horse  at  112  lbs.  or  8  stone. 

At  a  fair  held  by  the  New  York  Agricultural 
Society,  at  Syracuse,  in  1841,  the  first  of  the 
regular  premiums,  $30,  was  awarded  to  the 
plough  made  by  Howard  Delano  of  Mottsville, 
the  second  premium  of  §20  to  E.  G.  Holliday, 
for  his  plough,  favourably  known  as  the  Laugh- 
lin  plough.  The  Wisconsin  and  other  ploughs 
attracted  considerable  notice;  but  the  double 
mould-board  plough  of  Barnaby  and  Mooers, 
from  the  excellence  and  novelty  of  its  con- 
struction, the  facility  with  which  it  would  ope- 
rate on  side  hills  as  well  as  on  level  land,  and 
its  ease  of  draught,  rendered  it  deservedly  a  fa- 
vourite implement,  and  the- honorary  premium 
was  deemed  well  awarded.  It  M^as  supposed 
by  many  very  good  judges  of  ploughing,  that 
the  resistance  offered  by  the  land-side  share 
would  increase  the  draught  sensibly,  but  the  re- 
sult showed  that  such  was  not  the  case. 

The  trial  of  ploughs  which  took  place  under 
the  direction  of  a  committee  of  the  American 
Institute,  at  New  York,  was  very  well  con- 
ducted; and  although  the  number  of  ploughs 
on  the  ground  was  not  as  great  as  at  Syracuse, 
the  trials  with  the  dynamometer  were  more  sa- 
tisfactory. It  is  to  be  regretted  that  some  of 
the  favourite  Massachusetts  ploughs  had  not 
been  present  for  competition,  as  a  full  investi- 
gation and  understanding  of  the  matter  requires 
repeated  and  careful  comparison  of  ploughs  in 
the  same  soils,  and  as  near  as  possible  under 
the  same  circumstances.  'We  believe  that 
such  will  hereafter  be  the  case.  The  manner 
in  which  the  report  of  the  trials  of  ploughs  last 
year  at  Worcester  was  presented,  renders  a 
comparison  of  the  actual  draught  used  there  and 
at  New  York,  difficult;  but  as  the  mode  was 
adopted  at  New  York  that  English  experiment- 
ers have  used,  a  comparison  between  the 
ploughs  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  those 
of  this  country,  is  more  easily  made.  The  fol- 
lowing table,  which  we  find  prepared  at  our 


Name  of  Plough. 


Hart's  English    .....  140  lbs.  400  lbs. 

Ransonie's  wheel,  do.         ...  168  480 

Yester,  No.  I,  Scotch  -        -       -        _  170  380 

"     2,  English        ...  136  440 

Scoular's  swing,  do.  -        -        .        -  150  446 

Hunter's  English         -        -       _        .  190  560 

Currie's  Scotch  -        .        -        -        .  170  500 

Coltnian's  do.      -        ...        .  176  500 

Hadden's  do.       -        ...        -  180  510 

Neill'sdo.   ......  185  500 

Wilkens's  English      ....  175  540 

Ransome's  swing        ....  160  462 

Palmer's  wheel,  English    ...  230  560 

New  spring,  Scotch    ...        -  189  560 

Sussex,  English  .....  189  680 

The  following  ploughs  were  tried  at  Sing  Sing, 

Barnaby  Sc  Mooers     -        .        -        -  142  350 

Wisconsan  .....  170  438 

Beebe's  siving    -        .        .        .        _  _  451 

Minor,  Horton  &  Co.'s        ...  -  460 

Cornelius  Bergen's     ....  _  472 

115 


Weight  of  Plough. 


Furrow  not  well  taken  out. 
Between  furrow  not  well  laid  up. 
Clean  furrow. 


Furrow  not  well  laid  up. 


Second  best  furrow. 

Third 

Good  furrow. 


Good  work. 


14th  October : 

Best  work  of  any  American 
Second  best  rate. 
Good  furrow. 


4H 


913 


PLOUGH. 


PLOUGH. 


hand  in  an  account  of  the  New  York  trials, 
given  in  the  Brooklyn  Star,  we  transfer  to  our 
columns  with  pleasure,  merely  remarking  that 
we  have  verified  the  correctness  of  the  foreign 
results,  by  reference  to  the  reports  in  the  Jour- 
nals of  the  English  Royal  Agricultural  Society, 
and  the  Scotch  Highland  Agricultural  Society, 
from  which  they  were  taken.  The  reader  will 
see  that  the  best  British  plough,  Tester  No.  1, 
weight  170  lbs.,  draught  380  lbs.,  removed  a  fur- 
row-slice of  only  10  inches  by  6,  while  the  best 
American,  Barnaby  and  Mooers'  double  mould- 
board  side-hill  plough  (the  same  that  received 
the  premium  at  Syracuse),  weight  142  lbs., 
draught  350  lbs.,  removed  a  furrow-slice  of  12 
inches  by  8,  or  nearly  twice  as  large.  We  are 
gratified  to  learn  that  this  plough,  which  re- 
ceived the  premiums  at  Syracuse  and  New 
York,  has  been  presented  by  the  Institute  to 
the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  and  that  doubt- 
less it  will  be  subjected  to  comparison  with  the 
ploughs  of  that  country.  In  examining  the  list 
of  English  agricultural  implements,  we  have 
often  remarked  the  fact,  that  English  ploughs 
range  in  prices  from  $20  to  $30,  while  the  best 
improved  American  ones  do  not  cost  more 
than  from  $10  to  $15.  The  table  will  be  un- 
derstood without  further  explanation. 

In  a  report  of  a  committee  appointed  to  su- 
perintend a  trial  of  ploughs  near  Baltimore, 
in  1842,  the  following  results  are  stated. 

Depth  of  WiJlh  of 

PIou?h.  fiirrow.  furrow.  Force. 

1.  Barnaby  &  Moners'        5  2-0  in.  12  in.        350  lbs. 

2.  Moil's  Wiley  plough     6  6-9  13 1-6        562 

3.  Prouty  &  Mears'  cen- 

tre-draught plough, 

Boston     -        -        -    5  1-9  121-6        500 

4.  Howard  Plough,  Boa- 

ton  -        -  A^  -    5  7-9  14  650 

5.  The  Davis  PlougrT    This  ploueh  worked  well,  bill 

was  withdrawn  before  trial  with  the  dynamometer. 

The  committee  remark,  "the  task  to  the  com- 
mittee, of  deciding  where  such  excellence  was 
to  be  found  in  each  of  the  implements  contend- 
ing, was  one  of  diflSculty,  and  would  have  been 
more  so,  but  for  the  various  purposes  to  which 
the  Barnaby  and  Mooers'  plough  is  adapted,  it 
being  in  fact  a  plough  of  all  work,  and  from 
the  fact  of  its  executing  its  work  with  so  much 
less  draught  than  either  of  the  others." 

In  commenting  on  the  qualities  of  the  seve- 
ral ploughs  submitted  to  trial,  the  committee 
say  of  Barnaby  and  Mooers'  side-hill  plough, 
the  one  used: — "There  is  a  peculiarity  about 
this  plough  which  is  worthy  of  note.  On  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow,  and  on  the  land  side,  it 
cuts  out  fully  12^  inches  of  the  earth,  so  as  to 
reduce  resistance  to  the  turning  of  the  succeed- 
ing furrow,  thereby  facilitating,  not  only  that 
operation,  but  insuring  the  exactitude  with 
which  it  is  performed,  leaving  a  clean  and 
broad  furrow  behind,  in  which  the  furrow-horse 
can  walk,  and  preventing  the  treading  of  the 
ground  in  turning." 

Although  the  trials  made  at  the  various  ex- 
hibitions have  thus  far  resulted  so  much  in 
favour  of  the  double  mould-board  plough  of 
Barnaby  and  Mooers,  still  has  this  been  less 
extensively  adopted  than  it  would  appear  to 
deserve.  Associated  with  its  great  merits,  there 
may  yet  remain  some  obstacle  to  its  general 
use,  of  easy  removal.  The  objection  from  great 
914 


weight  requiring  unusual  exertion  in  throwing 
out  and  turning,  might  possibly  be  obviated 
by  the  addition  of  a  wheel  or  some  other 
device. 

The  price  of  this  plough  varies  from  $-4  for 
No.  3,  a  7  inch  seeding  plough,  to  $10  for 
No.  8^,  a  heavy  two  or  three  horse,  12  inch 
plough. 

The  following  is  a  summary  notice  of  the 
ploughs  best  known  to  the  farmers  of  the  Mid- 
dle States.  The  order  in  which  they  are  men- 
tioned is  not  intended  to  express  the  precise 
dates  of  their  invention  or  their  relative  merits. 

Beech's  Self -sharpening  Plough  has  a  concave 
mould-board.  Its  price  varies  with  the  size, 
from  $6  to  $10,  the  average  price  being  $8. 

Miles's  Plough,  known  also  by  the  name  of 
Dickson's,  has  the  bar-share,  land-side,  and  lock- 
coulter  of  wrought  iron.  They  cost  about  $13. 
This  plough  still  retains  precedence  in  the  old 
counties  of  Pennsylvania,  its  execution  being 
excellent,  and  its  strength  enabling  it  to  con- 
tend successfully  against  obstacles  met  with  in 
stony  ground  and  tough  swards. 

Peacock's  Plough. — This  has  been  long  known 
and  is  still  extensively  used.  It  has  a  bar- 
share  and  lock-coulter,  and  is  best  adapted  to 
soils  of  a  light  texture,  where  shallow  work 
will  answer.  It  does  not  turn  a  sod  so  well  as 
is  desirable. 

Wiley  Plough. — One  of  the  oldest  of  the 
cast-iron  ploughs  still  in  use  is  that  of  B.  H. 
Wiley.  The  share  of  this  has  two  points 
capable  of  being  turned  once.  It  is  adapted 
to  stubbles,  but  does  not  perform  so  well  in 
tough  sward. 

Woodcock's  Plough. — For  the  last  few  years 
this  has  been  in  extensive  use  in  Lancaster 
county,  Pennsylvania,  and  Newcastle  county, 
Delaware.  It  is  a  self-sharpening  implement, 
with  a  slightly  concave  mould-board.  A  cast- 
iron  angular  cutter  supplies  the  place  of  a 
coulter.  It  is  sometimes  constructed  so  as  to 
have  the  mould-board  on  either  the  right 
or  left  side,  thus  adapting  it  to  the  habits 
of  a  few  old  farmers  who  retain  a  partiality 
for  ploug^hs  turning  the  furrow-slice  to  the  left 
hand. 

Prouty  and  Mears's  Centre-draught  Plough.-One 
of  the  chief  late  improvements  on  American 
ploughs  consists  in  lengthening  or  extending 
the  mould-board,  and  still  retaining  the  centre- 
draught  principle,  a  construction  which  enables 
the  instrument  to  turn  a  sod  or  furrow-slice  so 
as  merely  to  lap,  or  to  lie  completely  flat,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  ploughman.  The  cost  of 
these  ploughs,  which  possess  high  merits,  va- 
ries, according  to  size,  from  $7  to  $12.  The 
larger  sizes  are  provided  with  a  small  wheel  to 
each,  attached  near  the  beam,  a  rare  thing  in 
America,  but  which  in  the  present  instance 
serves  to  render  it  more  easy  for  the  plough  to 
follow  the  horses  with  proper  steadiness,  thus 
serving  to  ease  the  ploughman  as  well  as  the 
horses,  the  tendency  to  sink  too  deeply  into  the 
soil  being  completely  checked.  With  regard 
to  the  wheel  to  ploughs,  it  is  worthy  of  remark 
that  there  is  a  disposition  beginning  to  be  ma 
nifested  in  the  United  States  in  favour  of  at 
least  one  such  appendage. 

Subsoil  Ploughs,  now  so  extensively  used  in 


PLOUGHING. 


PLOUGHING. 


Great  Britain,  are  rapidfy  coming  into  use  in  1 
the  United  States,  where  various  sizes  are ' 
made,  the  largest  being  a  heavy  tug  for  four  i 
horses,  whilst  the  smallest  may  be  worked  by  ' 
two  mules  or  one  stout  horse.  Those  made 
by  Prouty  and  Mears  are  very  efficient  imple- 
ments, the  prices  varying  from  $S  for  the  sin- 
gle horse,  and  $10  to  $12  for  the  larger  sizes. 
A  more  simple  and  cheaper  subsoil  plough, 
which  has  proved  very  successful  on  trial,  has 
lately  been  made  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
adapted  to  one  or  more  horses.  These  consist 
of  a  common  plough  from  which  all  the  upper 
portion  of  the  mould-board  has  been  cut  away, 
so  as  to  leave  the  mere  skeleton,  which  strikes 
deep  and  stirs  up  the  subsoil  very  effectually. 
The  price  of  these  varies  from  $4  to  $6,  ac- 
cording to  size.  &c.  They  may  be  had  in  New 
York  at  most  of  the  agricultural  implement 
stores,  and  in  Philadelphia,  of  E.  Chandler, 
agricultural  implement  maker,  196  Market 
street.     See  Subsoil  PLOLOHiTfo. 

PLOUGHING.  The  art  of  turning  over  the 
soil  by  means  of  the  plough.  There  are  va- 
rious kinds  of  ploughing.  Trench  ploughing 
is  effected  by  the  plough  passing  twice  along 
the  same  furrow:  the  first  time  for  the  purpose 
of  throwing  the  surface  soil  into  the  bottom  of 
the  furrow,  and  the  second  time  for  raising  a 
furrow-slice  from  under  that  which  had  been 
already  turned  over,  and  raising  it  up,  &c., 
turning  it  upon  the  first  furrow-slice,  by  means 
of  which  the  surface  soil  is  entirely  buried, 
and  a  stratum  of  subsoil  laid  over  it:  thus 
effecting  in  the  field  what  trenching  with  the 
spade  does  in  the  garden.  Trench  ploughing 
can  only  be  employed  with  advantage  where 
the  subsoil  is  naturally  dry  and  of  good  qua- 
lity, or  where  it  has  been  rendered  so  by  drain- 
ing and  subsoil  ploughing;  for  bad  subsoil 
brought  to  the  surface,  unless  considerably 
altered  in  composition  and  texture,  would  be 
unfit  for  receiving  seeds  or  plants. 

To  excel  in  the  art  of  ploughing,  the  plough- 
man should  take  a  pleasure  in  his  work,  and 
not  rest  satisfied  till  he  can  make  his  furrows 
in  a  straight  line,  and  lay  the  slices  as  much 
as  possible  at  the  same  angle  from  the  bottom 
of  the  furrow.  He  should  open  his  first  furrow 
in  a  uniform  manner,  and  proceed  with  regu- 
larity of  width  and  depth  of  the  furrow-slice, 
and  "shut  up"  clean  at  last. 

Ploughing  matches,  which  of  late  years  have 
been  so  general,  have  given  a  very  increased 
interest  to  ploughmen  and  ploughboys.  The 
face  of  the  country  is  in  many  parts  strikingly 
improved  by  the  change  which  sound  plough- 
ing has  effected,  and  much  of  this  may  be 
traced  to  the  lively  interest  which  has  been 
paid  to  this  part  of  tillage  by  agricultural  so- 
cieties and  by  practical  farmers.  I  never  knew 
a  ploushing-match  meeting  established  in  any 
rural  district  without  very  beneficial  effects  be- 
ing produced  on  the  character  of  the  peasantry. 
It  never  fails  to  elevate  the  ploughman  in  his 
own  opinion  ;  it  induces  him  to  strive  to  excel 
in  his  honourable  vocation,  to  please  his  em- 
ployer, and  to  stand  well  in  the  estimation  of 
his  richer  neighbours.  The  very  assemblage 
of  the  neighbouring  farmers  and  gentry  to  wit- 


ness the  trial  of  skill,  brings  out  all  the  latent 
pride  of  the  roughest  ploughman.  The  flowers 
in  his  horses'  bridles,  the  network  on  their 
ears,  the  new,  gay-coloured  tape  with  which 
their  manes  and  tails  are  braided,  betray  the 
little  feelings  of  honest  pride  in  the  plough- 
man's bosom.  When  at  a  recent  meeting  I 
noticed  the  air  of  triumph  with  which  the  vic- 
tor in  the  field  of  Langley,  in  Buckingham- 
shire, after  having  had  the  queen's  prize  of 
five  guineas  awarded  to  him,  marched  his 
sleek,  well-fed  plough-horses  off  the  field,  with  a 
sprig  of  laurel  in  their  bridles,  I  could  not  but 
admit  that  the  effect  of  that  meeting  would  be 
felt,  not  only  amongst  the  contending  plough- 
men there  assembled,  but  through  the  adjoin- 
ing hundreds.  The  triumph,  too,  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  ploughman ;  his  master,  nay,  his 
parish,  shared  in  the  honour;  and  I  will  en- 
gage that  many  an  honest  ploughman,  between 
one  year's  meeting  and  the  next,  as  he  ploughs 
"his  acre,"  thinks  of  the  field  of  meeting,  and 
of  the  best  means  of  securing  a  prize.  Such 
meetings,  moreover,  teach  even  the  most  igno- 
rant the  importance  of  such  affairs;  that  there 
is  a  great  difference  in  the  neatness,  style,  and 
profit  to  the  farmer  where  the  ploughmen  ex- 
ecute their  work  properly  ;  and  they  are  pretty 
sure  to  convince  even  the  most  listless  that 
there  is  more  skill  required  in  a  ploughman 
than  many  persons  would  readily  believe. 

I  believe  it  admits  of  no  doubt,  says  Mr. 
Stephens,  that,  since  the  institution  of  plough- 
ing matches  throughout  the  country,  the  cha- 
racter of  our  farm-servants  as  ploughmen  has 
risen  to  considerable  celebrity,  not  but  that  in- 
dividual ploughmen  could  have  been  found 
before  the  practice  of  matches  existed  as  dex- 
terous as  any  of  the  present  day,  but  the  gene- 
ral diffusion  of  good  ploughing  must  be  ob- 
vious to  every  one  who  has  been  in  the  habit 
of  observing  the  ploughed  surface  of  the  coun- 
try. This  improvement  is  not  to  be  ascribed 
to  the  institution  of  ploughing  matches  alone, 
because  superior  construction  of  implements, 
better  kept,  better  matched,  and  superior  races 
of  horses,  and  superior  judgment  and  taste  in 
field  labour  and  in  the  farmer  himself,  are  too 
important  elements  in  influencing  the  conduct 
of  ploughmen,  to  be  overlooked  in  a  considera- 
tion of  this  question. 

But  be  the  primary  motive  for  improvement 
in  the  most  important  branch  of  field  labour  as 
it  may,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  a  properly 
regulated  emulation  amongst  workmen  of  any 
class,  proves  a  strong  incentive  to  the  produc- 
tion of  superior  workmanship,  and  the  more 
generally  the  inducement  is  extended,  the  im- 
provement arising  from  it  may  be  expected  to 
be  the  more  generally  diffused;  and  on  this 
account  the  plough  medals  of  the  Highland  and 
Agricultural  Society  of  Scotland,  being  open  for 
competition  to  all  parts  of  Scotland  every  year, 
have  perhaps  excited  a  spirit  of  emulation 
among  ploughmen,  by  rewaraing  those  who 
excel,  beyond  any  thing  to  be  seen  in  any  other 
country.  Wherever  15  ploughs  can  be  gather- 
ed together  for  competition  at  any  time  and 
place,  there  the  ploughman  who  obtains  the 
first  premium  offered  by  those  interested  in  the 

915 


PLOUGHING. 


PLUM. 


exhibition,  is  entitled  to  receive,  over  and  above, 
the  Society's  plough  medal  of  silver,  bearing  a 
suitable  inscription,  with  the  gainer's  name. 
About  40  applications  are  made  for  the  medals 
every  year,  so  that  at  least  600  ploughmen  an- 
nually compete  for  them  ;  but  the  actual  num- 
ber far  exceeds  that  number;  as,  in  many  in- 
stances, matches  comprehend  from  40  to  70 
ploughs,  instead  of  the  minimum  number  of  lo. 
The  matches  are  usually  occasioned  by  the 
welcome  which  his  neighbours  are  desirous  of 
giving  an  incoming  tenant  to  his  farm,  and  its 
heartiness  is  shown  in  the  extent  of  the  assist- 
ance which  they  give  him  in  ploughing  a  field  or 
fields  at  a  time  when  he  has  not  yet  collected  a 
working  stock  sufficient  for  the  purpose. 

Ploughing  matches  are  generally  very  fairly 
conducted  in  Scotland.  They  usually  take 
place  on  lea  ground,  the  ploughing  of  which  is 
considered  the  best  test  of  a  ploughman's  skill, 
though  I  hold  that  drilling  is  much  more  diffi- 
cult to  execute  correctly.  The  best  part  of  the 
field  is  usually  selected  for  the  purpose,  if  there 
be  such,  and  the  same  extent  of  ground,  usually 
from  2  to  4  ridges,  according  to  the  length,  is 
allotted  to  each  portion  of  ground  to  be 
ploughed.  A  pin,  bearing  a  number,  is  pushed 
into  the  ground  at  the  end  of  each  lot,  of  which 
there  are  as  many  marked  off  as  there  are 
ploughs  entered  in  the  competition.  Numbers 
corresponding  to  those  on  the  pins  are  drawn 
by  the  competing  ploughmen,  who  take  pos- 
session of  the  lots  as  they  are  drawn.  Ample 
time  is  allowed  to  finish  the  lot,  and  in  this 
part  of  the  arrangements  I  am  of  opinion  that 
too  much  time  is  usually  allowed,  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  the  spectators.  Although  shortness  of 
time  in  executing  the  same  extent  of  work  is 
not  to  be  compared  to  excellency  of  execution, 
yet  it  should  enter  as  an  important  element  in- 
to the  decision  of  the  question  of  excellence. 
Every  competitor  is  obliged  to  feer  his  own 
lot,  guide  his  own  horses,  and  do  every  other 
thing  connected  with  the  work,  such  as  assort- 
ing his  horses,  and  trimming  his  plough-irons, 
without  the  least  assistance. 

The  judges,  who  have  been  brought  from  a 
distance,  and  have  no  personal  interest  in  the 
exhibition,  are  requested  to  inspect  the  ground 
after  all  the  ploughs  have  been  removed,  hav- 
ing been  kept  away  from  the  scene  during  the 
time  the  ploughs  were  engaged. 

The  primary  objects  of  the  institution  of 
ploughing  matches  must  have  been  to  produce 
the  best  examples  of  ploughmanship ;  and  by 
the  best  must  be  understood  that  kind  of 
ploughing  which  shall  net  only  appear  to  be 
well  done,  but  must  be  thoroughly  and  essen- 
tially well  done.  In  other  words,  the  award 
should  be  given  to  the  plough  thai  produces 
not  only  work  of  a  proper  surface  finish,  but 
which  will  exhibit,  along  with  the  first,  the  pro- 
perty :;  having  turned  up  the  greatest  quantity 
of  soil  and  in  the  best  manner.  (Book  of  the 
Farm.) 

The  following  will  be  found  a  useful  table, 
showing  the  distance  travelled  by  a  horse  in 
ploughing  or  scarifying  an  acre  of  land ;  also 
the  quantity  of  land  worked  in  a  day,  at  the 
»'ate  of  16  and  18  miles  per  day  of  9  hours. 
916 


Breadth  of 
Furrow-slice 

Space  travelled 
Jn  ploughing 

Extent  ploughed  per  day  at  ttta 

nte  of                          1 

or  SMrifier. 

an  acre. 

. 

Inehefc 

Miles. 

18  Milet.          1         16  Miles. 
Acres. 

7 

144 

n 

n 

8 

121 

U 

il 

9 

11 

13-5 

il 

10 

9  9-10 

14-5 

1  3-5 

11 

9 

2 

11 

12 

H 

2  1-5 

19-10 

13 

7i 

H 

2  1-10 

14 

7 

2i 

2i 

15 

6* 

n 

2  2-5 

16 

6  1-6 

2  9-10 

2  3-5 

17 

6* 

3  1-10 

2i 

18 

.     5i 

H 

2  9-10 

19 

5.^ 

H 

3  1-10 

20 

4  9-10 

3  3-5 

3i 

21 

4  7-10 

3  4-5 

3* 

22 

4* 

4 

H 

23 

4i 

41-5 

3  7-10 

24 

4 

4i 

3  9-10 

25 

4 

4* 

4 

26 

3  4-5 

4* 

4  1-5 

27 

3  3-5 

4  9-10 

H 

28 

3i 

8 

4| 

29 

3i 

4  3-5 

30 

H 

6* 

4  4-5 

31 

3  1-5 

5 

5 

32 

3  1-10 

5  4-5 

5i 

33 

3 

6 

5* 

34 

2  9-10 

6  1-5 

H 

35 

2  4-5 

6f 

53-5 

36 

2* 

6i 

5  4-5 

37 

^ 

6^ 

6 

38 

2  3-5 

6  9-10 

6i 

39 

2i 

7? 

4 

40 

2i 

71 

6* 

41 

2  2-5 

7* 

6| 

42 

2| 

7 

6  2-3 

43 

2  3-10 

7  4-5 

7 

44 

2 

8 

7  1-10 

45 

2  1-5 

8  1-6 

u 

46 

2  1-6 

8} 

7  2-5 

47 

2  1-10 

8 

7  3-5 

48 

2  1-12 

81 

7J 

49 

2 

8  9-10 

7  9-10 

50 

2 

9  9-10 

8  1-10 

51 

19-10 

91-5 

8i 

52 

19-10 

9i 

8  2-5 

53 

19-10 

n 

8i 

54 

14-5 

9  4-5 

8  9-10 

55 

14-5 

10 

8 

56 

11 

m 

9 

57 

u 

10  2-5 

9  1-5 

58 

17-10 

10  3-5 

91 

59 

17-10 

m 

n 

60 

13-5 

10  9-10 

9  7-10 

61 

13-5 

11  1-5 

9  4-5 

62 

13-5 

Hi 

10 

63 

13-5 

m 

10  1-5 

64 

n 

117-10 

lOf 

65 

H 

114-5 

m 

66 

n 

12 

10  3-5 

67 

U 

12X 

10  4-5 

68 

H 

12  2-5 

11 

69 

12-5 

12  3-5 

11^ 
lU 

70 

12-5 

121 

71 

12-5 

12  9-10 

lU 

72 

12-5 

13- 

11  3-5 

73 

n 

m 

11  4-5 

74 

H 

m 

12 

75 

u 

13  3-5 

I2I 

76 

13-10 

13  4-5 

77 

13-10 

14 

I2I 

78 

1; 

14} 

12  3-5 

79 

14  2-5 

12* 

80 

1; 

14  3-5 

12  9-lOi 

81 

1  1-5 

14* 

13  1-10 

62 

11-5 

15 

13i^ 

83 

11-5 

m 

13  2-5 

84 

11-6 

13  3-5 

PLUM  (Prunus,  from  prime,  its  Greek  name) 
A  genus  of  trees  and  shrubs,  several  of  which 
are  indigenous  to  Britain.  Having  already 
noticed  the  bird  cherry  (P.  padus),  the  wild 
cherry  tree  (P.  cerasus),  the  wild  bullace  tree 
(P.  insititia),  the  black  thorn  or  sloe  (P.  spinosa)^ 


PLUM. 


PLUM  TREE  WEEVIL. 


nnder  their  several  heads,  it  only  remains  to 
speak  in  this  place  of  the  wild  and  cultivated 
species  of  plum  tree.  The  wild  plum  tree 
(P.  (ionieaiicn)  is  a  moderate  sized  tree,  without 
thorns,  found  growing  sometimes  in  woods  and 
hedges,  flowering  in  May.  The  fruit  is  rather 
oblong,  seldom  quite  globular,  its  colour  and 
flavour  very  variable.  "Whether  all  our  cul- 
tivated plums  have  originated  from  this  spe- 
cies, or  from  the  wild  bullace  tree"  (P.insititia), 
says  Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  "its  thorns  having  disap- 
peared by  culture  like  those  of  the  pear  tree, 
is  a  question  which  perhaps  no  botanist  can 
ever  solve."  As  to  its  varieties,  Gerarde  de- 
clares that  "  to  write  of  plums  particularly 
would  require  a  peculiar  volume,  and  yet  the 
end  not  be  attained  unto,  nor  the  slock  or  kin- 
dred perfectly  known,  neither  to  be  distin- 
guished apart."  He  adds  that  each  country 
has  an  abundance  of  its  own  peculiar  varie- 
ties. All  the  kinds  of  plum  grow  well  in  any 
common  soil,  and  are  increased  by  seeds  or 
suckers,  or  by  grafting  or  budding  to  perpetuate 
the  particular  kinds.  There  are  274  varieties 
named  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Horticultural 
Society.  As  a  choice  selection  for  a  small 
garden,  Mr.  Nicol  recommends  the  following 
twelve  varieties:  Jaune  H^tive,  Wilmot's  Or- 
leans green  gage,  red  magnum-bonura,  white 
ditto,  Coe's  golden  drop,  Caledonian,  mussel, 
damson,  wine-sour,  white  bullace,  blue  impe- 
ratrice. 

The  best  plums  for  cultivation  may  be  thus 
classed — 

a.  PuRi'LE  RousD.^ — Shoofs  smooth. — Purple  gage; 

nectarine  plum;  Kirkes ;  virgin;  queen- 
mother. 

Shoots  downy. — Royal  native;  Orleans; 
early  Orleans ;  Coxe's  fine  late  red;  wine- 
sour. 

b.  Obloxo. — Shoots  smooth. — Blue  imperatrice  ; 

Inkworth  imperatrice ;  Cooper's  large  red. 
Shoots  downy. — Blue  perdrigon;  Shrop- 
shire damson. 

a.  Pale  Round. — Shoots  smooth. — Green  gage; 

Knight's  large  green  drying;  Lucombe's 
nonsuch. 

Shwts  downy. — Drap  d'or;  Mirabelle; 
Washington. 

b.  Obloxg. — Shoots  smooth. — Coe's  golden  drop; 

St.  (Catherine  ;  White  magnum  bonum. 

Shoots  downy. — Gumaraen ;  White  per- 
drigon. 

If  plum  trees  are  much  pruned,  they  grow 
too  luxuriant  to  produce  fruit,  and  often  gum 
arid  spoil.  The  choice  varieties  of  pUims  are 
much  esteemed  for  the  dessert;  the  more  com- 
mon sorts  are  used  for  pies,  tarts,  preserves, 
&c.  The  wood  is  employed  for  turnery  and 
cabinet  work,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  mu- 
sical instruments. 

The  following  information  relative  to  the 
cultivation  and  management  of  plum  trees,  is 
from  a  communication  made  by  Mr.  S.  Reeve, 
of  Salpm,  N.  J.,  to  that  valuable  American 
work,  Hotf3''s  Orchardisi's  (companion. 

Plum  trees,  like  other  fruit  trees,  when  first 
transplant«ed,  and  for  a  few  or  several  subse- 
quent years,  should  be  managed  and  cultivated 
alike;  but  when  the  plum  tree  has  arrived  to 
maturity  and  ready  to  bear,  the  soil  around  it 


should  be  thrown  into  a  hard  texture,  for  in- 
stance, of  the  consistency  of  a  gravel  walk. 

A  pig  and  poultry  yard  which  remains  un- 
cultivated, and  never  suffered  to  become  a 
sward,  is  also  very  appropriate,  from  the  cir- 
cumstance of  its  being  promenaded  over  con- 
stantly by  bipeds  and  animals  so  as  to  preclude 
the  possibility  of  grass  growing. 

In  a  soil  of  this  description,  owing  to  its  be- 
ing compact  and  consequently  remaining  drier, 
the  trees  do  not  grow  so  fast  as  in  cultivated 
grounds,  the  beneficial  result  is,  that  the  sap  cen- 
tres itself  more  in  the  fruit ;  whereas,  when  the 
sap  is  too  abundant,  it  is  more  apt  to  flow  past 
the  fruit  into  the  branches,  and  thus  ultimately, 
from  a  want  of  nourishment,  the  plums  drop 
off  in  profusion,  owing  to  their  starved  condi- 
tion, and  not  so  much,  as  it  is  often  supposed, 
from  the  bore  or  sting  of  the  curculio,  of  which 
it  is  frequently  found  divested  when  picked 
from  the  ground. 

From  a  compact  position  or  nature  of  soil 
as  before  described,  another  important  advan- 
tage arises :  although  not  operating  as  a  perfect 
antidote  to  the  attacks  of  the  curculio,  it  is 
nevertheless  a  great  preventive  to  its  depreda- 
tions, from  the  circumstance  that  this  insect, 
when  the  fruit  does  fall,  not  meeting  with  a 
surface  or  soil  such  as  sward,  garden  ground, 
&c.,  in  which  to  take  shelter  until  the  following 
spring,  when  it  hatches  and  assumes  the 
winged  form,  and  again  commences  its  destruc 
tive  attacks  upon  the  fruit. 

Mr.  Reeve  submits  it  therefore  as  his  opi 
nion,  that  it  would  fully  repay  any  person 
for  his  trouble  or  expense  in  removing  (which 
should  only  be  done  when  vegetation  is 
checked)  from  the  plum  tree,  when  it  has  ar- 
rived to  the  age  of  8  to  10  years,  all  the  rich 
subsoil  from  around  the  tree  in  a  circumfe- 
rence of  from  10  to  12  feet  down  to  the  clay 
soil,  and  fill  up  the  space  again  with  poor  earth, 
sand,  or  gravel,  so  as  to  check  the  growth  of 
the  tree  for  the  benefit  of  the  fruit,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  first  principles  stated  in  this  ar- 
ticle. 

PLUM  TREE  WEEVIL.  It  is  now  well 
known  that  the  falling  of  unripe  plums,  apri- 
cots, peaches,  and  cherries,  is  caused  by  little 
whitish  grubs,  which  bore  into  these  fruits. 
The  loss  of  fruit,  occasioned  by  insects  of  this 
kind,  is  frequently  very  great ;  and,  in  some  of 
our  gardens  and  orchards,  the  crop  of  plums 
is  often  entirely  ruined  by  the  depredations  of 
grubs,  which  have  been  ascertained  to  be  the 
larvae  or  young  of  a  small  beetle  of  the  weevil 
tribe,  called  Rhynchcmus  (Conotrachelus)  Nenu- 
phar, ihe  Nenuphar  or  plum-weevil.  "I  have 
found  the  beetles,"  says  Dr.  Harris,  cf  Boston, 
"  as  early  as  the  30th  of  March,  and  as  late  as 
the  10th  of  June,  and  at  various  intermediate 
times,  according  with  the  forwardness  or  back- 
wardness of  vegetation  in  the  spring,  and  havi 
frequently  caught  them  flying  in  the  middle  or 
the  day.  They  are  from  three-twentieths  to 
one-fifth  of  an  inch  long,  exclusive  of  the 
curved  snout,  which  is  rather  longer  than  the 
thorax,  and  is  bent  under  the  breast,  between 
the  fore-legs,  when  at  rest.  Their  colour  is  a 
dark-brown,  variegated  with  spots  of  white, 
ochre-yellow,  and  black.  The  thorax  is  un 
4h2  917 


PLUM  TK.EE  WEEVIL. 


PLUM  TREE  WEEVIL. 


even;  the  wing-covers  have  several  short 
ridges  upon  them,  those  on  the  middle  of  ths 
back  forming  two  considerable  humps,  of  a 
black  colour,  behind  which  there  is  a  wide 
band  of  ochre-yellow  and  white.  Each  of  the 
thighs  has  two  little  teeth  on  the  under  side. 
They  begin  to  sting  the  plums  as  soon  as  the 
fruit  is  set,  and,  as  some  say,  continue  their 
operations  till  the  first  of  August.  After  mak- 
ing a  suitable  puncture  with  their  snouts,  they 
lay  one  egg  in  each  plum  thus  stung,  and  go 
over  the  fruit  on  the  tree  in  this  way  till  their 
store  is  exhausted  ;  so  that,  where  these  beetles 
abound,  not  a  plum  will  escape  being  punc- 
tured. The  irritation  arising  from  these  punc- 
tures, and  from  the  gnawings  of  the  grubs 
after  they  are  hatched,  causes  the  young  fruit 
to  become  gummy,  diseased,  and  finally  to  drop 
before  it  is  ripe.  Meanwhile  the  grub  comes 
to  its  growth,  and,  immediately  after  the  fruit 
falls,  burrows  into  the  ground.  This  may 
occur  at  various  times  between  the  middle  of 
June  and  of  August;  and,  in  the  space  of  a 
little  more  than  three  weeks  afterwards,  the 
insect  completes  its  transformations,  and  comes 
out  of  the  ground  in  the  beetle  form.  The 
history  of  the  insect  thus  far  is  the  result  of 
my  own  observations;  the  remainder  rests  on 
the  testimony  of  other  persons." 

In  an  account  of  the  plum-weevil,  by  Dr. 
James  Tilton  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  pub- 
lished in  the  Domestic  Encyclopcedia,  (article 
Fruit,)  and  since  republished  in  the  "  Georgi- 
cal  Papers  for  1809"  of  the  Massachusetts  Agri- 
cultural Society,  and  in  other  works,  it  is  stated, 
that  peaches,  nectarines,  apples,  pears,  quinces, 
and  cherries  are  also  attacked  by  this  insect, 
and  that  it  remains  in  the  earth,  in  the  form 
of  a  grub,  during  the  winter,  ready  to  be 
matured  into  a  beetle  as  the  spring  advances. 
These  statements,  says  Dr.  Harris,  I  have  not 
yet  been  able  to  confirm.  It  seems,  however, 
to  have  been  fully  ascertained  by  Professor 
Peck,  Mr.  Say,  and  others,  in  whose  accuracy 
full  confidence  may  be  placed,  that  this  same 
weevil  attacks  all  our  common  stone-fruits,  such 
as  plums,  peaches,  nectarines,  apricots,  and 
cherries;  Dr.  Burnett  has  recently  assured  me 
that  he  has  seen  this  beetle  puncturing  apples  ; 
and  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  the  trans- 
formations of  some  of  the  grubs  may  be  re- 
tarded till  the  winter  has  passed,  analogous 
cases  being  of  frequent  occurrence.  Those 
that  are  sometimes  found  in  apples  must  not 
be  mistaken  for  the  more  common  apple- 
worms,  which  are  not  the  larvae  of  a  weevil. 
The  Rev.  F.  V.  Melsheim^r  remarks  in  his  ca- 
talogue, that  this  insect  Mves  under  the  bark 
of  the  peach-tree.  Professor  Peck  raised  the 
same  beetle  from  a  grub  found  in  the  watery 
excrescence  of  a  cherry  tree,  and  from  this 
circumstance  na.med  ii  Ithyncheenus  Cerasi,  ihe 
cherry-weevil.  The  plum,  still  more  than  the 
cherry  tree,  is  subject  to  a  disease  of  the  small 
limbs,  which  shows  itself  in  the  form  of  large 
irregular  warts,  of  a  black  colour,  as  if  charred. 
Grubs,  apparently  the  same  as  these  that  are 
lv)und  in  plums,  have  often  been  ielected  in 
these  warts,  which  are  now  general jy  supposed 
iO  be  produced  by  the  punctures  of  the  beetles, 
HQd  the  residence  of  the  grubs.  Professor 
018 


Peck  says,  that  "  the  seat  of  the  disease  is  m  the 
bark.  The  sap  is  diverted  from  its  regular 
course,  and  is  absorbed  entirely  by  the  bark, 
which  is  very  much  increased  in  thickness; 
the  cuticle  bursts,  the  swelling  becomes  irre- 
gular, and  is  formed  into  black  lumps,  with  a 
cracked,  uneven,  granulated  surface.  The 
wood,  besides  being  deprived  of  its  nutriment, 
is  very  much  compressed,  and  the  branch  above 
the  tumour  perishes."  The  grubs  found  by  Pro  • 
fessor  Peck  in  the  tumours  of  the  cherry  tree, 
went  into  the  ground  on  the  6th  of  July,  and  on 
the  30th  of  the  same  month,  or  24  days  from 
their  leaving  the  bark,  the  perfect  insects  began 
to  rise,  and  were  soon  ready  to  deposit  their 
eggs  in  healihy  branches. 

In  speaking  of  the  difference  between  the 
grub  of  the  plum-weevil  and  apple  tree  cater- 
pillar. Dr.  Harris  observes,  "  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  this  plum-weevii,  an  insect  un- 
known in  Europe,  when  arrived  at  maturity,  is 
a  little,  rough,  dark-brown  or  blackish  beetle, 
looking  like  a  dried  bud,  when  it  is  shaken  from 
the  trees,  which  resemblance  is  increased  by 
its  habit  of  drawing  up  its  legs  and  bending  its 
snout  close  to  the  lower  side  of  its  body,  and 
remaining  for  a  time  without  motion  and  seem- 
ingly lifeless.  In  stinging  the  fruit,  before  lay- 
ing its  eggs,  it  uses  its  short  curved  snout, 
which  is  armed  at  the  tip  with  a  pair  of  very 
small  nippers ;  and  by  means  of  this  -weapon 
it  makes,  in  the  tender  skin  of  the  young  plum 
or  apple,  a  crescent-shaped  incision,  similar  to 
what  would  be  formed  by  indenting  the  fruit 
with  the  finger-nail.  Very  rarely  is  there  more 
than  one  incision  made  in  the  same  fruit;  and 
in  the  wound,  the  weevil  lays  only  a  single  egg. 
The  insect  hatched  from  this  egg  is  a  little 
whitish  grub,  destitute  of  feet,  and  very  much 
like  a  maggot  in  appearance,  except  that  it  has 
a  distinct,  rounded,  light-brown  head.  By  means 
of  the  microscope  I  have  satisfactorily  ascer- 
tained that  the  grubs  from  the  fruit  and  from  the 
warts  were  exactly  alike,  and  that  both  were 
without  feet.  It  appears,  furthermore,  that  the 
tumours  on  plum  and  on  cherry  trees  are  infested 
not  only  by  these  insects,  but  also  by  another 
kind  of  grub,  provided  with  legs,  and  occasion- 
ally by  the  wood-eating  caterpillars  of  the  JLgeria 
exitiosa,  or  peach  tree  borer.  When  the  grubs  of 
the  plum-weevil  are  fully  grown,  they  go  into 
the  ground,  and  are  there  changed  to  chrysalids 
of  a  white  colour,  having  the  legs  and  wings 
free  and  capable  of  some  motion  ;  and  finally 
they  leave  the  ground  in  the  form  of  little 
beetles,  exactly  like  those  which  had  previously 
stung  the  fruit.  Further  observation  seems  to 
be  wanting  before  it  can  be  proved  that  the 
cankerous  warts  on  plum  and  cherry  trees 
arise  from  the  irritating  punctures  of  the  plum- 
weevils,  and  of  the  other  insects  that  occasion- 
ally make  these  warts  their  places  of  abode ; 
although  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  well- 
known  production  of  galls  by  insects  on  oak 
trees  and  on  other  plants,  would  lead  us  to  sup- 
pose that  those  of  the  plum  tree  have  a  similar 
origin.  In  addition  to  the  means  already  re- 
commended for  preventing  the  ravages  of 
plum-weevils,  I  would  observe  that  wall-fruit 
can  be  perfectly  secured  by  a  screen  of  railli 
net  or  close  netting,  which  should  be  put  on  ar 


POA. 


a-OA. 


Boon  as  the  fruit  is  formed,  and  should  remain 
till  it  begins  to  ripen. 

The  following,  among  other  remedies  that 
have  been  suggested,  may  be  found  useful  in 
checking  the  ravages  of  the  plum-weevil.  Let 
the  trees  be  briskly  shaken  or  suddenly  jarred 
every  morning  and  evening  during  the  time 
that  the  insects  appear  in  the  beetle  form,  and 
are  engaged  in  laying  their  eggs.  When  thus 
disturbed  they  contract  their  legs  and  fall ;  and, 
as  they  do  not  immediately  attempt  to  fly  or 
crawl  away,  they  may  be  caught  in  a  sheet 
spread  under  the  tree,  from  which  they  should 
be  gathered  into  a  large,  wide-mouthed  bottle  or 
other  tight  vessel,  and  be  thrown  into  the  fire. 
All  the  fallen  wormy  plums  should  be  immedi- 
ately gathered,  and  after  they  are  boiled  or 
steamed,  to  kill  the  enclosed  grubs,  they  may 
be  given  as  food  to  swine.  The  diseased  ex- 
crescences should  be  cut  out  and  burned  every 
year  before  the  last  of  June.  The  moose  plum 
tree  (Pruutts  Americana),  which  grows  wild  in 
Maine,  seems  to  escape  the  attacks  of  insects, 
for  no  warts  are  found  upon  it,  even  when 
growing  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  diseased 
foreign  trees.  It  would,  therefore,  be  the  best 
of  stocks  for  budding  or  engrafting  upon.  It 
can  easily  be  raised  from  the  stone,  and  grows 
rapidly,  but  does  not  attain  a  great  size.  For 
further  suggestions  and  remarks,  the  account 
of  this  insect  by  Dr.  Joel  Burnett,  in  the  18lh 
volume  of  the  New  England  Farmer,  may  be 
consulted.     (Harris.) 

Plums,  nectarines,  and  apricots  have  been 
saved  after  being  stung,  by  extracting  the  stung 
part.  This  may  be  done  with  the  point  of  a 
knife  or  nippers  properly  adapted  to  the  pur- 
pose. The  wounds  heal  and  the  fruit  grows 
and  attains  to  perfect  maturity. 

POA  (From  poa,  signifying  grass  or  her- 
bage). The  meadow-grass.  A  genus  of  grasses 
of  considerable  extent,  and  very  abundant  in 
the  pasturages  of  Europe.  This  genus  con- 
tains some  valuable  hay  and  pasture  grasses, 
succeeding  well  in  rich  loamy  soil ;  some  of 
the  species  are  aquatic,  growing  only  in  water, 
or  in  very  moist  situations ;  and  increased  by 
seeds  or  divisions  of  the  roots.  Poa  annua,  pi. 
6,  f,  is  the  most  common  of  all  grasses.  P.  tti- 
vinlis  and  P.  prateims  are  sown  extensively  as 
a  part  of  the  artificial  grasses  for  pastures  and 
lawns,  which  are  now  commonly  made  with 
picked  grasses  instead  of  "  hay  seeds."  In 
general  these  grasses  appear  to  be  nutritious 
and  agreeable  to  cattle.  There  are,  in  Eng- 
land, nine  indigenous  species,  besides  severzil 
varieties. 

1.  Flat-stalked  meadow-grass  (P.compresga), 
pi.  7,  h.  This  is  a  very  common  species  in 
dry,  barren  ground,  flowering  from  June  to  Sep- 
tember. 

The  root  is  moderately  creeping,  with  downy 
fibres ;  stems  obliquely  ascending  in  the  lower 
part,  then  erect  and  often  crowded  together, 
from  1  to  1^  foot  high,  remarkably  compressed, 
by  which  this  species  may  readily  be  known, 
as  also  by  a  sudden  contraction  where  the 
panicle  begins.  Leaves  short,  narrow,  rough- 
ish,  especially  at  the  edges,  with  long  com- 
pressed sheaths,  and  a  short  obtuse  stipule. 
The  whole   plant  is  more  or  less  glaucous. 


Florets  from  three  to  eight  or  nine,  ev;»nnected 
at  the  base  by  a  mass  of  white  folded  threads, 
as  fine  and  soft  as  a  spider's  web,  which  may 
be  drawn  out  to  a  considerable  length.  This 
grass,  though  not  succulent,  is  eaten  by  all 
cattle,  but  cannot  be  cultivated  in  moist  or 
manured  ground.  It  never  forms  a  close  turf, 
and  although  it  possesses  superior  nutritive 
powers,  its  produce  anywhere  is  far  from 
abundant. 

A  variety  of  this  species  (P.  c.  var.  ereda)  is 
mentioned  by  Sinclair,  which  differs  from  the 
last,  in  having  culms  more  upright,  less  com- 
pressed, and  produced  in  greater  quantities.  It 
grows  closer,  forms  a  pretty  good  sward,  and 
the  roots  are  less  inclined  to  creeping.  But  it 
is  nevertheless  inferior  in  point  of  early  growth, 
and  the  produce  of  the  foliage.    See  Bluk  Grass. 

2.  Alpine  meadow-grass  (P.  alpina),  pi.  6,  L 
This  species  is  chiefly  confined  to  alpine  re- 
gions and  lofty  mountains. 

3.  Wavy  meadow-grass  (P.  Z«xo).  This  spe- 
cies grows  in  some  of  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land.    It  possesses  no  agricultural  merit. 

4.  Bulbous  meadow-grass  (P.  bulhosa).  This 
species  tenants  the  sandy  sea-shore,  and  other 
dry,  barren  ground.  It  is  perennial,  and  flowers 
in  April  and  May. 

6.  Roughish  meadow-grass  (P.  triviali$),  pi. 
5,  i.  This  is  a  very  common  species,  in  mea- 
dows and  pastures,  especially  such  as  are 
rather  moist.  Perennial,  flowering  from  June 
to  October.  The  root  is  fibrous,  and  tufted; 
the  stems  several,  about  eighteen  inches  high, 
erect,  leafy,  with  several  knots,  the  naked  part 
cylindrical,  roughish  to  the  touch,  as  are  the 
edges  and  backs  of  the  flat,  slightly  spreading, 
lax,  linear,  deep-green  leaves.  In  their  long 
compressed  sheaths  also  a  slight  roughness  is 
sometimes  perceptible.  Panicle  large,  spread- 
ing with  half-whorled,  horizontal,  wavy,  angu- 
lar, rough-compressed,  unequal  branches.  Mr. 
Curtis,  deeply  versed  in  the  practical  economy 
of  grasses,  declares  this  to  be  one  of  the  most 
valuable  for  pasturage  and  hay,  yielding  abun- 
dantly, though  not  particularly  early ;  and  of 
the  most  excellent  quality.  Mr.  G.  Sinclair, 
another  practical  authority  on  the  grasses,  also 
observes,  "The  superior  produce  of  this  Poa 
over  many  other  species,  its  highly  nutritive 
qualities,  the  seasons  in  which  it  arrives  at 
perfection,  and  the  marked  partiality  which 
oxen,  horses,  and  sheep  have  for  it,  are  merits 
which  distinguish  it  as  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able crt"  those  grasses  which  afiect  moist,  rich 
soils  and  sheltered  situations :  but  in  dry,  ex- 
posed situations  it  is  altogether  inconsiderable; 
it  yearly  diminishes,  and  ultimately  dies  off, 
not  unfrequently  m  the  space  of  four  or  five 
years.  Its  produce  is  always  much  greater 
when  combined  with  other  grasses  than  when 
cultivated  by  itself;  with  a  proper  admixture, 
it  will  nearlj'  double  its  produce,  though  on  the 
same  soil,  so  much  does  it  delight  in  shelter. 
Those  spots  in  pastures  that  are  closely  eateu 
down,  consist  for  the  most  part  of  this  grass." 

6.  Smooth-stalked  meadow-grass  (P.  praterp- 
m),  pi.  5,  h.  This  is  a  very  common  species 
in  all  meadows  and  pastures.  It  is  perennial 
flowering  in  May  and  June.  The  root  is  strong 
and  creeping,  with  horizontal   runiers.    The 

119 


POA. 


POA. 


general  aspect  of  the  plant  is  very  like  the  last, 
with  which  it  has  usually  been  confounded ; 
but  the  stems  and  leaves  betray  no  roughness 
when  drawn  through  the  hand.  Spikelets  four- 
flowered  ;  florets  lanceolate,  ribbed,  connected 
by  a  web.  But  the  clear  and  essential  mark 
of  this  species,  compared  with  the  last,  consists 
in  its  very  short,  abrupt,  pointless  stipule,  which 
in  every  leaf  of  every  variety  proves  constant 
and  invariable. 

As  an  object  of  agriculture,  this  species  is 
not  less  valuable  than  the  P.  trivialis,  especially 
for  permanent  pasture.  It  is  earlier  in  leaf, 
and  will  thrive  with  less  moisture,  though  the 
rough-stalked  meadow-grass  produces,  at  last, 
a  better  crop.  Mr.  Curtis,  and  several  other 
able  botanists,  have  rendered  great  service  to 
the  farmer  in  directing  his  attention  to  such 
objects  ;  and  it  is  undoubtedly  worth  his  while 
to  be  select  in  seeds  for  grass  lands.  But,  after 
all,  Nature  is  supreme  in  the  accommodation 
of  particular  grasses  to  certain  soils  and  situa- 
tions, and  whatever  we  may  sow,  unless  we 
have  well  studied  her  laws,  she  finally  tri- 
umphs. The  great  objection  to  this  grass  is 
the  property  of  the  creeping  roots  to  scourge 
the  soil. 

Mr.  Sinclair  notices,  in  his  experiments  on 
the  grasses,  two  varieties,  the  short  blue  mea- 
dow-grass (P.  pratensis  subccBrulea)  and  the  nar- 
row-leaved meadow-grass  (P.  pratensis  angusti- 
folia),  pi.  6,  p,  which  requires  some  notice  here. 

The  discriminating  characters  of  the  first- 
named  are  as  follows : — Panicle  diffuse ;  spike- 
lets  oval,  generally  three-flowered;  the  culms 
shorter,  and  somewhat  glaucous ;  and  the 
leaves  much  shorter  and  broader  than  those  of 
the  Poa  pratensis.  It  may  be  further  distin- 
guished by  its  delicate  sky-blue  or  glaucous 
colour.  From  its  creeping  roots  and  other  de- 
merits, this  is  evidently  one  of  the  inferior 
grasses.  Although  the  botanical  characters 
of  the  narrow-leaved  meadow-grass  (P.  angus- 
tifolia)  are  not  sufficient  to  constitute  it  a  dis- 
tinct species,  its  agricultural  merits  cause  it  to 
differ  from  P.  pratensis,  to  which  it  is  much 
superior.  Its  spring  produce  is  considerable, 
and  its  properties  of  early  growth  and  great 
nutritive  matter  would  rank  it  with  the  most 
valuable  grasses,  but  for  its  powerful  creeping 
root.  The  culms  are  most  valuable  for  the 
manufacture  of  the  finest  straw-plait,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  celebrated  "Leghorn."  See  Blue 
Grass. 

7.  Annual  meadow-grass,  Sufl'olk-grass  (P. 
annua),  pi.  6,  c.  This  is  an  exceedingly  com- 
mon species  everywhere,  as  well  in  waste  as 
cultivated  ground,  flowering  from  April  to  No- 
vember. The  root  is  fibrous.  Stems  pale, 
very  smooth,  oblique,  compressed,  3  to  12 
inches  long.  Leaves  of  a  fine  light-green, 
spreading,  linear,  bluntish,  flaccid,  roughish  at 
the  edge  only.  Panicle  small,  widely  spread- 
ing. Spikelets  ovate,  five-flowered ;  florets  a 
little  remote,  five-ribbed,  without  a  web. 

This  is  a  good  grass  for  fodder,  abundant  in 
proportion  to  the  richness  of  the  soil,  easily 
raised,  but  not  durable.  The  diminutive  size 
of  the  plant,  however,  renders  its  cultivation 
unprofitable,  compared  with  that  of  any  other 
of  the  pasture  grasses.  It  is  the  most  trouMe- 
920 


some  weed  that  infests  gravel  walks,  stone 
pitchings,  and  the  like.  The  most  effectual 
way  to  extirpate  it  in  such  situations  is  to 
sprinkle  salt  on  it ;  some  recommend  boiling 
water  and  a  layer  of  litter,  &c. 

This  grass,  which  Dr.  Darlington  calls  mea- 
dow-poa,  in  the  Middle  States  goes  by  the  name 
of  green  grass,  spear-grass,  and  meadow-grass. 
Although  it  is  styled  an  annual,  it  has  a  peren- 
nial root.  This  species  varies  considerably, 
in  size  and  appearance,  when  growing  in  dif- 
ferent soils  and  situations.  In  our  best  soils, 
the  radical  leaves  are  very  long  and  luxuriant, 
—when  it  is  known  by  the  name  of  green  grass. 
This  has  by  some  botanists  been  made  a  dis- 
tinct species,  under  the  name  of  P.viridis:  but 
it  is  probably  nothing  more  than  a  variety.  It 
is,  indeed,  as  Muhlenberg  terms  it, "  opiimum,pa' 
bulum ;'' heing  decidedly  the  most  valuable  of 
all  the  grasses  known  in  our  pastures.  It  has 
not  been  found  necessary  to  cultivate  it,  by 
sowing  the  seed  ;  for  when  the  land  is  duly 
prepared  by  lime  and  manure,  it  soon  takes 
possession  of  the  soil, — or  conies  in,  as  the 
farmers  term  it;  and  supersedes  the  artificial 
grasses.  In  very  poor  land,  it  deteriorates  so 
much  that  it  would  scarcely  be  recognised  as 
the  same  plant.  It  is  generally  believed  by  the 
botanists  to  be  a  naturalized  foreigner  in  the 
United  States. 

8.  Glaucous  meadov/-grass  (P.  gZawm).  This 
species  is  found  on  the  mountains  of  Wales, 
Scotland,  and  the  north  of  England. 

9.  Wood  meadow-grass  (P.nemoralis).  This 
is  a  very  common  species  in  some  districts  in 
groves  and  woods,  especially  on  chalk  soils. 
The  whole  plant  is  very  slender  and  delicate, 
1|  or  2  feet  high.  Stems  several,  slightly  com- 
pressed, smooth,  striated,  leafy,  with  4  or  5 
joints.  Leaves  almost  all  on  the  stem,  grass- 
green,  narrow,  flat,  more  or  less  rough,  taper- 
ing to  a  fine  slender  point.  Mr.  George  Sin- 
clair speaks  favourably  of  a  variety  of  this 
species,  which  he  names  P.  nemoralis,  var.  an- 
giistifolia.  Although  the  produce  is  inconsider- 
able compared  to  that  of  many  others  equally 
nutrient,  yet  the  early  growth  of  this  grass  in 
the  spring,  and  its  remarkably  fine,  succulent; 
and  nutritive  herbage,  recommend  it  strongly 
for  admission  into  the  company  of  the  superior 
permanent  pasture  grasses.  It  flowers  in  the 
third  week  of  June,  and  ripens  the  seed  in  the 
end  of  July. 

The  P.  aquatica,  PI.  5,  m,  or  water  meadow- 
grass,  of  some  botanists,  is  the  reedy  sweet- 
grass  (Glyceria  aquatica)  o[  Smith.  The  decum* 
bent  meadow-grass  (P.  (kcumbens)  is  the  de- 
cumbent heath-grass  (Triodia  decumbens)  of 
Smith's  English  Flora.  The  reflexed  meadow- 
grass  (P.  distans)  of  Sinclair  is  the  reflexed 
sweet-grass  (Glyceria  distant)  of  modern  bo- 
tani'-.ts.  The  Glyceriafluitans  is  also  sometimes 
sailed  the  Poafluitans. 

One  or  two  exotic  species  are  mentioned  in 
Sinclair's  work  on  the  grasses,  viz., 

The  soft  meadow-grass  (P.  cenisia).  This 
alpine  species  is  a  native  of  Germany,  and 
attains  to  a  greater  size  than  most  others  of 
the  same  class.  The  root  is  fibrous.  Panicle 
diffiise,  nodding.  Its  nutrient  properties,  as 
1  indicated  by  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  i« 


I 


POCKET. 


contains,  are  not  superior  to  those  of  several 
other  grasses,  which  afford  a  greater  abundance 
of  herbage  throughout  the  season. 

The  fertile  meadow-grass  (P.  fertilis).  It 
produces  flowers  about  the  first  and  second 
weeks  of  July,  and  seeds  in  the  second  week  of 
August.  This  grass,  whic+i  is  also  a  native  of 
Germany,  seems  to  be  allied  to  the  Poa  nemo- 
ralis.  It  differs  in  having  the  panicle  more 
loose  and  spreading,  and  less  attenuated.  The 
spikelets  are  more  oval,  and  nerved.  The 
culm  rises  from  a  fool  and  a  half  to  2  feet  in 
height,  and  sometimes  more,  ascending  at  the 
base,  afterwards  erect,  somewhat  compressed. 
The  root  is  slightly  creeping.  In  regard  to 
early  growth,  this  grass  stands  next  to  the 
meadow  fox-tail,  cock's-foot,  and  tall  oat.  The 
herbage  is  more  nutritive  than  thaiof  either  of 
those  grasses ;  and  from  its  agricultural  merits 
it  deserves  a  place  in  the  composition  of  rich 
pastures,  and  ranks  with  the  superior  grasses 
of  irrigated  meadows.  It  flowers  in  the  begin- 
ning of  July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  towards  the 
end  of  the  month. 

The  nerved  meadow-grass  {P.nervata).  This 
species  is  a  native  of  North  America.  Pani- 
cle uprii;ht,  often  half  a  foot  or  more  in  length, 
with  slender  branches,  pressed  close  and  sub- 
divided. Spikelets  small,  of  a  green  colour. 
Valves  of  the  blossom  smooth,  having  five 
raised  nerves  on  each  valve.  Leaves  in  two 
rows,  resembling  a  fan,  somewhat  rough. 
Culm  a  little  compressed.  This  grass  is  re- 
markably hardy,  and  possesses  many  very  ex- 
cellent properties:  it  will  be  found  a  valuable 
ingredient  in  permanent  pastures,  where  the 
soil  is  not  too  dry,  but  of  a  medium  quality  as 
to  moisture  and  dryness.  The  root  leaves  are 
produced  on  a  shoot,  and  stand  in  two  rows 
after  the  manner  of  a  fan.  This  shoot,  which 
is  formed  by  the  union  of  the  base  of  the  leaves, 
is  very  succulent,  and  contains  a  greater  pro- 
portion of  nutritive  matter  than  the  leaves, 
which  accounts  for  the  superior  nutrient  quali- 
ties of  the  lattermath.  It  flowers  in  the  third 
week  of  June,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  the  last 
week  of  July. 

POCKET.  A  large  kind  of  bag  in  which 
hops  are  packed  up. 

POD.  A  term  used  to  express  the  siliqua 
and  silicula  of  botanists.  A  seed-vessel  of 
some  plants,  consisting  of  two  valves,  sepa- 
rated by  a  linear  receptacle,  along  each  of  the 
edges  of  which  the  seeds  are  alternately  ranged. 
The  wall-flower  affords  an  example  of  the  sili- 
qua, which  differs  from  the  silicula  merely  in 
being  oblong  instead  of  being  short  and  round. 
The  satin-flower,  or  honesty,  bears  a  pouch  or 
silicula. 

POISON  (Fr.).  Any  substance  which  in 
small  quantity  disturbs,  suspends,  or  destroys 
3ne  or  more  of  the  vital  functions.  Poisons  are 
classified  by  Orfila  under  the  four  heads  of  irri- 
tants, narcotics,  narcotico-acrids,  and  putrefi- 
ants,  or  septics,  and,  we  may  add,  sedatives. 
The  same  poisons  which  affect  men  usually 
affect  horses,  cows,  and  dogs ;  but  goats  and 
J  wine  eat  many  things  that  are  virulent  poisons 
to  other  animals.  Sweet  almonds  and  aloes 
are  poisonous  to  dogs;  sugar  is  poison  to 
pigeons,  parsley  to  parrots,  and  pepper  to  hogs. 
116 


POLYPODY. 

I  On  the  other  hand,  hogs  devour  Nux  vomica  and 
'  henbane  with  impunity;  goats  browse  on  Aeon- 
ite,  Cinita  virosa,  and  Arnica  montana,  harmless; 
and  sheep  eat  common  hemlock  without  suffer- 
ing. See  AxiMAL  and  Vegetable  Poiso.vs, 
Fungi,  Sheep,  Diseases  of.  Yew,  &c. 

POITTEVIN'S  MANURE.  A  compound  or- 
ganic  and  earthy  manure  powder,  well  adapted 
for  the  use  of  the  drill.  See  Manures  appli- 
cable BT  the  DhILL. 

In  three  experiments  with  this  manure,  tried 
in  1840,  on  turnips  against  bones,  the  following 
are  the  results. 

Produce. 

Tons.  Cwt 

First,  on  the  stony  soil. 

24  bushels  of  Poittevin's     -        -        -        9  2 

16  bushels  of  bones     -        -        -        -      10  1 

Second,  on  a  sandy  soil. 

21  bushels  of  Poittevin's    -        -        -      15  10 

16  bushels  of  bones      -        -        -        -      13  14 

Third,  on  a  sandy  soil  with  Swedes. 

13  bushels  of  Poittevin's     -        -        -      11  0 

12  bushels  of  bones      -        -        -        -      10  5 

This  manure  answers  best  on  light  soils;  it 
is  generally  used  too  sparingly. 

POLE.  A  measure  of  length  equal  to  16^  feet, 

POLLARD.  A  name  given  to  a  tree  that 
has  been  frequently  polled  or  Icpped,  and  its 
top  taken  off,  or  headed  down  to  the  stem,  for 
the  purpose  of  fire-wood  or  small  poles  for 
hurdle-wood  and  other  similar  uses,  as  well  as 
for  hop-poles,  &c.  The  term  is  most  com- 
monly in  use  in  the  southern  and  eastern  dis 
tricts  of  Great  Britain.  Pollard  is  also  applied 
to  the  fine  bran  or  inner  husk  of  wheat.  It  is 
a  substance  much  used  in  feeding  hogs  and 
different  domestic  animals. 

POLLEN.  In  botany,  the  pulverulent  sub- 
stance which  fills  the  cells  of  the  anthers  of  a 
plant,  consisting  of  a  multitude  of  little  hollow 
cases,  filled  with  a  fluid  holding  very  minute 
molecular  matter  in  suspension.  The  latter  is 
eventually  discharged  by  the  grains  of  pollen 
through  their  hollow  tubes,  and  is  supposed  to 
be  the  spermatic  fluid  of  a  plant.  When  the 
pollen  alights  on  the  stigma  of  the  plant,  the 
membrane  lining  the  shell  is  protruded  to  a 
tube,  which  enters  the  stigma,  and  lengthens 
until  it  reaches  the  ovule,  into  which  it  empties 
the  impregnating  fluid.  The  pollen  grains 
vary  in  form  and  magnitude,  being  globular, 
angular,  compressed,  simple,  and  compound. 
Pollen  is  also  a  provincial  name  given  to  the 
hen-roost.     It  is  sometimes  written  hen-pollen. 

POLL-EVIL.  An  accident  which  sometimes 
occurs  to  horses,  from  the  animal's  rubbing  or 
striking  his  head  against  the  lower  edge  of  the 
manger,  or  hanging  back  in  the  stall  and 
bruising  the  part  with  the  halter.  Such  inju- 
ries are  serious  in  their  nature  and  diflSciLlt  of 
treatment,  and  will  usually  require  the  skill 
and  anatomical  knowledge  of  the  veterinary 
surgeon. 

POLYPODY.  (Polypodium,  from  poly,  many 
and  pons,  a  foot;  having  numerous  root-like 
feet.  This  is  an  extensive  genus  of  very  orna- 
mental ferns.  The  hardy  kinds  are  well 
adapted  for  ornamenting  rock-work,  or  they 
may  be  grown  in  pots,  in  light  loamy  soil. 
Air  the  species  may  be  readily  increased  by 
dividing  the  roots,  or  by  seeds. 

There  are  in  England  four  indigenous  spe- 
cies*. 

921 


POMEGRANATE. 


POPLAR. 


POMEGRANATE  (Ptmica,  from  puniais  of 
"  Carthage,"  near  which  city  it  is  said  to  have 
been  first  found;  or  from  puniceus,  scarlet; 
alluding  to  the  colour  of  the  flowers).  A  beau- 
tiful, hardy,  deciduous  shrub,  growing  from  12 
to  15  feet  high.  There  is  no  tree  more  showy 
than  the  pomegranate.  P.  grnnntnm,  and  its 
varieties,  produce  their  splendid  flowers  and 
fruit  very  plentifully  from  July  to  September,  i 
when  planted  against  a  south  wall.  They  all 
grow  well  in  a  light,  rich  loam,  and  strike  root 
freely  from  cuttings  or  layers  ;  the  rarer  varie- 
ties are  sometimes  increased  by  grafting  on  the 
common  kinds.  The  pomegranate  requires 
shelter  from  frost.  The  pulp  of  the  fruit  is  of 
an  agreeable  acid,  and  the  rind  is  highly 
astringent. 

POPLAR  {Populus;  some  derive  the  word 
from  paipaUo,  to  vibrate  or  shake ;  others  sup- 
pose it  obtained  its  name  from  being  used  in 
ancient  times  to  decorate  the  public  places  in 
Rome,  where  it  was  called  Jlrbor  populi,  or  the 
tree  of  the  people).  Most  of  the  species  of 
poplar  are  very  ornamental,  more  especially  in 
early  spring,  when  the  catkins  of  the  males  are 
produced.  Their  favourite  place  of  growth  is 
in  moist  soil,  near  a  running  stream  ;  but  they 
do  not  thrive  in  very  marshy  situations.  All 
the  species  are  readily  increased  by  cuttings 
or  layers,  and  some  by  suckers.  There  are  in 
England  four  indigenous  species  of  poplar:  the 
white  poplar,  already  noticed  under  the  head 
Abele  Trke;  the  gray  or  common  white  pop- 
lar (P.  canescens)\  the  trembling  poplar  (See 
AspEx) ;  and  the  black  poplar  (P.  nigra). 

The  black  Italian,  or  necklace-bearing  poplar 
(P.monilifera),  appears  to  have  been  first  intro- 
duced into  Britain  from  North  America,  in  1772. 
Of  all  the  poplars  hitherto  introduced,  it  is  by  far 
the  most  valuable,  looking  to  it  in  the  light  of 
a  useful  and  profitable  timber  tree,  as  it  grows 
with  astonishing  rapidity,  and  produces  a  tim- 
ber of  large  scantling  and  excellent  quality, 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  that  of  any  other  of 
its  genus.  The  wood  is  of  a  grayish-white 
colour,  tough  when  seasoned,  and,  if  kept  dry, 
very  durable;  its  great  size  renders  it  fit  for 
the  largest  buildings,  and  as  flooring  for  manu- 
factories and  other  erections,  nothing  can  sur- 
pass it;  for,  in  addition  to  the  property  of  not 
splitting  by  percussion,  it  possesses  the  pecu- 
liar advantage  of  not  easily  taking  fire,  and, 
even  when  ignited,  burning  without  flame  or 
violence.  As  an  ornamental  tree,  it  well  de- 
serves a  place  in  extensive  grounds,  its  spiry 
height  and  pyramidal  form,  before  it  becomes 
aged,  being  well  calculated  to  break  long  hori- 
zontal lines,  or  the  monotonous  effect  of  round- 
headed  trees  :  it  also  in  a  great  measure,  from 
its  semi-fastigiate  growth  in  the  young  state, 
supplies  the  place  of  the  Lombardy  poplar  in 
such  scenery,  either  of  wooded  landscape  or 
in  combination  with  buildings,  as  is  improved 
by  the  presence  of  that  tree. 

The  Lombardy  poplar  {P.  fagtigiata).  In  its 
cU-se  fastigiate  growth  and  cypress-like  form, 
whicfi  seems  to  be  retained  during  the  whole 
ot  its  existence,  the  Lombardy  poplar  is  too 
conspicuous  not  to  be  immediately  recognised 
and  readily  distinguished  from  all  other  spe- 
cie"=^  of  the  genus.  As  a  useful  and  profitable 
922 


timber  tree  it  is  greatly  inferior  to  some  of  the 
species  already  described,  the  twisted  and 
deeply-furrowed  trunk,  even  of  the  tallest  and 
largest  trees,  cutting  to  much  waste,  and  afford- 
ing boards  of  only  a  moderate  size  when  sawn 
up.  The  wood  is  also  softer  and  more  spongy 
than  that  of  the  black  and  the  black  Italian 
poplars,  and  rapidly  decays  unless  kept  per- 
fectly dry.  In  Britain,  therefore,  it  is  cultivated 
almost  exclusively  as  an  ornamental  tree,  for 
which  its  towering  height  and  spire-like  form 
eminently  qualify  it. 

The  Athenian  poplar  (P.  Grteca)  as  an  or- 
namental tree  is  superior,  in  many  respects,  to 
the  aspen  (to  which  it  is  closely  allied).  It 
grows  rapidly,  young  trees  often  making  shoots 
in  one  season  of  5  or  6  feet  in  length,  and, 
though  a  slender-stemmed  tree,  it  has  the  valu- 
able property  of  resisting  the  wind,  and  is  never 
seen,  even  in  the  most  exposed  situations,  but 
an  erect  and  perpendicular  trunk. 

The  bark  of  all  the  poplars  is  more  or  less 
antiperiodic  and  tonic,  containing  an  alkali, 
which  can  be  procured  separate,  and  is  known 
by  the  name  of  Snlirina.  It  may  be  used  for 
curing  agues  in  the  same  manner  as  Quinine^ 
an  alkaloid  got  from  Peruvian  bark. 

There  are  many  North  American  species  of 
poplar,  among  which  is  the  tulip  tree  (Lirio- 
dendron  tulipifera),  one  of  the  most  majestic 
trees  of  the  American  forests,  but  which  has 
been  improperly  classed  among  the  poplars. 
See  Tulip  Tree. 

The  other  and  more  genuine  species  is  the 
Carolina  poplar  (P.  angulata).  The  lower  part 
of  Virginia,  says  Michaux,  is  the  most  northern 
point  at  which  this  species  is  found. 

In  the  shape  of  its  leaves  and  other  charac- 
teristics, it  bears  a  very  strong  resemblance  to 
the  cotton  tree.  The  two  species  may,  how- 
ever, be  readily  distinguished  by  their  buds, 
those  of  the  Carolina  poplar  being  short,  of  a 
deep  green,  and  destitute  of  the  resinous<  aro- 
matic substance  which  covers  those  of  the 
cotton-wood,  and  of  which  the  vestiges  remain 
till  late  in  the  season.  The  wood  of  the  Caro- 
lina poplar  is  white,  but  so  very  soft  as  to  be 
of  little  value. 

The  Cntton-wood  (P.  Canadensis). — I  have 
found  this  tree,  says  Michaux,  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  State  of  New  York,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Genesee,  in  some  parts  of  Virginia,  and 
on  several  islands  in  the  Ohio,  always  on  a 
fat,  alluvial  soil. 

The  leaves  of  this  tree  are  trowel-shaped, 
approaching  to  heart-shaped.  The  seeds  are 
surrounded  with  a  beautiful  plume  which  has 
the  whiteness  of  cotton,  and  the  young  buds 
are  covered  with  a  resinous,  aromatic  sub- 
stance of  an  agreeable  odour.  In  the  Atlantic 
States  this  poplar  is  rare,  and  has  received  no 
specific  name. 

American  poplar  (P.  Iluasonica). — This  species, 
Michaux  says,  he  found  only  on  the  banks  of 
the  Hudson,  above  Albany,  where  it  attained 
a  height  of  30  or  40  feet,  with  12  to  15  inches 
in  diameter.  Several  large  poplars  of  this 
kind  grow  in  and  near  the  city  of  New  York, 
where  it  is  usually  called  American  black 
poplar. 

Virginia  poplar  (P.  monilifera). — This  suecies 


POPPY. 


POPPY,  THE  HORNED. 


was  not  found  by  the  Michaux,  but  has  been 
long  cultivated  in  Europe  as  a  North  American 
tree.  It  is  also  called  the  Swiss  poplar,  and  is 
confounded  with  the  cotton-wood. 

Cotton  tree  (P.  argentia).  This  species  is 
scattered  over  a  great  extern  of  country  com- 
prising the  Middle,  Western,  and  Southern 
Slates ;  but  it  is  so  rare  as  to  escape  the  no- 
tice of  the  greater  part  of  their  inhabitants.  It 
is  called  cotton-wood  on  the  Savannah  in 
Georgia,  where  it  is  confounded  with  the  Ca- 
rolinian poplar. 

Taciimahaca  or  Balsam  poplar  (P.  bahamicd). 
This  species  belongs  to  the  northern  regions 
of  Amer'ica,  being  very  abundant  in  Canada, 
in  the  districts  watered  by  the  river  Sagney, 
between  the  47th  and  49th  degrees  of  latitude, 
where,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  win- 
ter, it  rises  to  the  height  of  80  feet,  with  a  dia- 
meter of  3  feet.  In  the  spring,  when  the  buds 
begin  to  be  developed,  they  are  abundantly 
eoated  with  a  yellowish,  glutinous  substance, 
of  a  very  agreeable  smell. 

Heart-leaved  balsam  poplar  (P.  candirans).  In 
the  Northern  and  Eastern  States,  this  tree, 
which  Michaux  says  is  a  genuine  balsam,  is 
commonly  seen  growing  before  the  houses  in 
town  and  country.  In  spring,  a  fragrant  re- 
sinous balsam  exudes  from  its  buds ;  but  it 
differs  from  the  Tacamahaca,  its  leaves  being 
three  times  larger  and  more  heart-shaped. 

Jlnierican  aspen  (P.  treniuloides).  See  Aspek, 
Amkricax. 

Ameriran  laro;e  aspen  (P.  grandidenta').  This 
species  belongs  rather  to  the  Northern  and 
Middle  than  to  the  Southern  States.  It  is  larger 
than  the  preceding  species,  with  which  it  is 
usually  confounded. 

POPPY  (Papaver,  from  papa,  pap,  or  thick 
millc;  the  juice  of  the  poppy  was  formerly 
used  in  children's  food  to  make  them  sleep). 
These  plants  succeed  best  in  a  light,  rich  soil. 
The  perennial  kinds  are  increased  by  dividing 
at  the  roots.  All  the  species  are  narcotic.  In 
England  there  are  six  indigenous  species  of 
poppy,  which  are  nearly  all  annuals.  They 
are  arranged  under  two  sections: — 1.  Those 
with  bristly  capsules;  2.  Those  with  smooth  cap- 
stdes. 

The  1st  section  contains  the  round,  rough- 
headed  poppy  (P.  hybridum),  which  grows  in 
sandy  or  chalky  fields.  This  is  not  a  hybrid, 
as  its  name  implies,  but  a  true  permanent 
species. 

Long,  rough-headed  poppy  (P.  argcmone). 
This  grows  in  grain  fields  and  thin  borders, 
also  on  gravelly  or  sandy  soils.  It  is  annual, 
and  flowers  in  June  and  July.  Tlie  herbage 
resembles  the  preceding,  but  the  bristles  are 
less  closely  pressed  to  the  stem,  and  the  seg- 
ments of  the  leaves  are  somewhat  broader. 
Petals  pale-scarlet,  black  at  the  base,  soon 
falling,  often  jagged. 

The  2d  section  contains  the  long,  smooth- 
headed  poppy  (P.  dubium).  This  species  is 
found  in  cultivated  fields,  especially  on  a  light 
soil.  Annual,  and  flowering  in  June  and  July. 
It  is  of  a  stouter,  more  luxuriant  habit  than  the 
foregoing,  with  broader  leaves.  The  stem  is 
clothed  with  spreading  hairs;  the  flower-stalks 
with  close-pressed  bristles.      Petals   broader 


than  they  are  long,  of  a  light-scarlet,  the  mar- 
gin mostly  crenate. 

Common  red  poppy,  or  corn  rose  (P.  rhaas) 
See  CoRx  Puppt.  This  is  the  only  officmal 
species  of  the  British  poppies ;  but  it  is  used 
,  in  medicine  merely  as  a  colouring  agent. 
I  White  poppy  (P.  somnifcrutn).  This  species 
appears  to  grow  wild  on  sandy  ground  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  some  of  the  fen  lands.  But 
it  is  probable  that  in  places  where  it  is  found 
apparently  wild,  the  seed  from  the  cultivated 
poppy  has  been  deposited  by  birds.  The  som- 
niferous poppy  is  a  native  of  Asia  and  Egypt. 
It  is  cultivated  in  Hindostan,  Persia,  and  Egypt, 
on  account  of  its  opium  ;  in  Germany  for  the 
oil  expressed  from  its  seeds ;  and  in  England 
for  the  capsules,  which  are  used  in  medicine. 
It  is  universally  known  in  our  gardens  as  an 
ornamental  flower,  and  is  much  cultivated  in 
the  vicinity  of  London.  The  whole  herb  is 
glaucous,  and  generally  smooth,  though  the 
flower-stalks  now  and  then  bear  several  rigid, 
spreading,  bristly  hairs.  The  stem  is  3  or  4 
feel  high,  erect,  branched,  leafy.  Leaves  broad, 
wavy,  lobed,  and  bluntly  notched,  clasping  the 
stem  with  their  heart-shaped  base.  Flowers  3 
inches  broad,  while  or  bluish-white,  with  a 
broad  violet  spot  at  the  base  of  each  petal.  In 
gardens,  double  varieties  of  every  shade  of 
purple,  scarlet,  crimson,  and  even  green  mixed 
with  white,  are  common,  though  nothing  can 
be  more  liable  to  change.  The  capsule  is  near- 
ly globular.  Seed  small,  whitish-brown,  oily, 
sweet,  and  eatable.  There  are  two  varieties, 
namely,  P.  album  and  P.  nigrum,  chiefly  distin- 
guished by  the  foramina  under  the  stigma  be- 
ing absent  in  the  former,  and  present  and  open 
in  the  latter.  The  milky  juice  of  the  capsules, 
when  abstracted  by  transverse  incisions  and 
inspissated,  forms  opium,  which,  as  Haller  well 
observes,  is  far  more  potent  and  dangerous  in 
hot  countries  than  in  our  cooler  climates.  The 
capsules  boiled  afford  a  mild,  narcotic  decoc- 
tion, more  generally  used  for  fomentations  in 
inward  pains,  and  for  making  a  syrup,  which 
is  misused  by  lazy  nurses,  who  administer  it 
to  restless  infants,  and  sacrifice  them  to  their 
own  love  of  ease.  Nothing  is  more  to  be  con- 
demned than  the  indiscriminate  use  of  syrup 
of  poppies.  No  opium,  except  as  experiment, 
is  made  from  poppies  in  England;  and,  could 
it  be  made,  both  it  and  the  foreign  opium 
should  never  be  employed  except  by  the  advice 
of  those  who  alone  ought  to  direct  its  use. 

Yellow  poppy  (P.  cambricum).  This  is  a  pe- 
rennial species  (and  the  only  indigenous  one) 
which  flourishes  in  moist,  rocky  situations  in 
Wales  and  Westmoreland.  It  flowers  in  June. 
The  herbage  is  tender,  brittle,  of  a  light,  slight- 
ly  glaucous  green ;  its  juice  lemon-coloured. 
Stem  a  foot  high,  many-flowered,  thinly  cover- 
ed with  upright  hairs,  leafy,  branched.  Flow- 
ers of  a  most  elegant,  full  lemon  colour,  deli- 
ciously  fragrant. 

Field  poppy  (Papaver  dubium),  bastard  poppy. 
This  foreign  annual,  says  Dr.  Darlington,  has 
made  its  appearance  in  some  of  the  cultivated 
grounds  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  parts  of  the 
United  Stales,  and,  if  neglected,  may  become 
a  troublesome  weed. 

POPPY,  THE  HORNED.  See  Hokned  Poppt 


POPULATION. 

POPULATION.  As  very  erroneous  notions 
with  regard  to  over-populaiion  are  often  enter- 
tained, and  as  many  of  the  most  philanthropic 
men  in  England  have,  at  considerable  personal 
trouble  and  cost,  promoted  emigration,  to  avert 
the  evils  of  war,  pestilence,  and  famine,  from 
what  Mr.  Malthus  supposes  to  be  the  tendency 
of  mankind  to  excessive  population,  it  may  be 
well  fur  the  public  to  peruse  a  paper  (Quart. 
Journ.  Jlgr.  vol.  iii.  p.  89),  which,  in  detail, 
ably  examines  and  refutes  many  of  Mr.  Mal- 
thus's  data,  calculations,  and  conclusions. 
Mr.  Malthus  states,  from  data  derived  through 
a  variety  of  sources,  that  the  average  births 
from  each  marriage  are — 

In  Europe 4000 

England 4136 

France,  during  the  six  years  ending  in  1822  -  4-370 

Russia 4110 

America  (in  towns)  according  to  Mr.  Barton  4500 

America  (in  town  and  country  average)        -  5-000 

But,  from  returns  made  to  government,  it 
appears  that  the  average  births  in  England  and 
Wales,  during  the  30  years  ending  1820,  fell 
considerably  under 4 from  each  marriage;  and 
of  these,  from  personal  deformity,  and  a  hun- 
dred other  causes,  a  considerable  portion  of 
women  must  remain  unmarried. 

But  supposing  every  woman,  married  or  siri' 
gle,  who  lived  to  IS  years  of  age,  should  have  7 
children,  and  the  rate  of  mortality  as  favour- 
able as  at  Carlisle,  the  population  would  re- 
quire more  than  26  years  to  double  itself;  and 
25  years  is  the  lowest  rate  of  increase  Mr. 
Malthus  has  contemplated.  But,  supposing 
one-tenth  part  of  all  the  women  who  attain  20 
to  remain  in  a  state  of  celibacy,  and  the  rest 
were  to  bear  each  3-66  children,  which  is  stated 
by  Mr.  Sadler  to  be  the  average  prolificness  in 
England,  and  the  mortality  continued  as  at 
Carlisle,  the  population  would  remain  entirely 
stationary.  In  the  rich  and  fertile  country  of 
France,  the  population  is  nearly  stationary, 
and  in  Ireland,  population  increases  faster 
than  in  England;  which  can  only  be  account- 
ed for  by  the  institutions  which  encourage  in- 
creased forethought  before  entering  on  the 
married  state.  Amongst  barbarous  nations,  the 
period  of  marriage  is  almost  always  early;  but 
as  countries  become  civilized,  a  portion  of  early 
life  is  devoted  to  labour  of  mind  and  body;  and 
the  desire  of  distinction  in  some,  and,  amongst 
all,  the  pursuit  of  gain,  delays  marriage  ;  and, 
happily  for  mankind,  nothing  is  less  consist- 
ent with  universal  experience  than  the  terrible 
succession  of  evils  Mr.  Malthus  fears  from 
over-population.  Natural  evils,  and  the  more 
dreadful  effects  of  misrule,  have,  indeed,  spread 
death  and  desolation ;  but  the  consequences 
have  noi  been  increased  plenty  to  the  surviv- 
ors: on  the  contrar)',  the  page  of  history  shows 
that,  in  the  fairest  portions  of  the  habitable 
world,  poverty  and  want  have  followed  de- 
creasing numbers. 

Whereas  the  wiser  the  laws,  and,  consequent- 
ly, thp  more  seaire  person  and  property,  the  slower 
men  are  to  marry  till  they  have  secured  for 
themselves  and  families,  in  a  habitation  of  their 
own,  the  conveniences  they  were  used  to  under 
-heir  paternal  roofs;  and,  consequently,  the 
cs  tendency  to  the  excessive  multiplication 
924 


POPULATION. 

of  maLkind;  and  we  refer  to  Scotland,  France, 
&c.,  as  existing  proofs. 

No  society,  well  governed,  we  repeat,  has 
been  known  to  outgrow,  or  tend  to  outgrow,  its 
means  of  subsistence.  When,  in  our  own  coun- 
try, one  of  the  most  populous  in  the  world,  we 
see  how  far  the  earth  is  yet  from  producing  all 
that  labour,  well-directed,  can  bring  forth,  when 
we  look  at  the  tracts  lying  waste  or  half-culti- 
vated, we  must  see  how  little  it  is  to  be  feared 
as  a  possible  evil,  that  our  population  will  ever 
increase  beyond  the  means  of  supplying  itself 
with  food.  We  have  only  to  look  to  what  mi- 
nute care  can  effect  in  multiplying  the  produce 
of  the  earth,  to  feel  in  what  a  prodigious  ratio 
it  may  be  multiplied.  A  piece  of  heath  land 
the  most  worthless,  converted  into  a  cottager's 
garden,  yields  a  return  of  food  exceeding  that 
of  the  richest  land  of  the  cultivated  fields.  And 
nothing  prevents  the  increase  of  this  species  of 
culture  but  the  want  of  hands  to  cultivate  and 
of  mouths  to  consume.  Every  vegetable  that 
grows,  and  is  consumed,  affords  new  materials 
for  fertilizing  the  earth,  and  increasing  its  pro- 
ductions ;  and  thus  every  increase  of  the  num- 
ber of  consumers  :s  a  means  of  calling  new 
food  into  existence. 

The  introduction  of  a  single  plant  from 
another  hemisphere  has  more  than  doubled 
the  power  of  this  and  of  every  country  in  Eu- 
rope to  support  their  inhabitants.  An  acre  of 
potatoes  will  supply  food  sufficient  for  the  sup- 
port, in  healthful  existence,  of  a  family  of  6  hu- 
man beings  for  one  year;  a  square  mile  of  land 
producing  potatoes,  therefore,  will  support  3840 
persons  for  the  same  time.  But  the  produce 
of  the  potato  is  as  nothing  to  that  of  the  banana 
and  other  plants  of  the  tropical  regions.  Nor 
does  the  produce  of  the  potato  in  our  fields 
show  the  full  power  of  the  earth  to  produce 
food.  By  the  minute  cares  of  the  gardener, 
successive  crops  of  vegetables  may  be  pro- 
duced from  the  same  surface,  and  in  the  same 
season.  Our  present  knowledge  of  agriculture 
shows  us,  that  throughout  the  whole  kingdom 
the  productions  of  the  earth  may  be  prodi- 
giously multiplied ;  but  what  our  present  know- 
ledge of  this  art  is  in  comparison  with  what  it 
may  become,  we  know  not.  What  other  plants 
are  yet  to  be  applied  to  the  support  of  animal 
life,  what  other  means  of  fertilizing  the  earth 
are  yet  to  be  discovered,  what  other  application 
of  mechanical  power  may  yet  take  place  in  aid 
of  human  labour,  we  know  not;  nor  need  we, 
with  relation  to  our  present  subject,  be  too 
curious  in  inquiring.  It  suffices  that,  with  our 
present  means  and  knowledge,  limited  as  they 
are,  we  can  multiply  our  means  of  subsistence 
in  a  degree  to  furnish  food  for  increasing  num- 
bers for  more  generations  of  men  than  the 
cares  of  the  living  race  need  extend  to. 

And  if  such  be  the  case  with  a  long-peopled 
country,  what  must  we  think  of  the  fear  that 
the  entire  world  will  be  over-peopled?  The 
richest  regions  of  the  globe  have  yet  been 
scarcely  trodden  by  the  foot  of  the  hunter;  a 
great  part  of  Europe  is  still  a  desert;  and  a 
long  desolation  has  overspread  lands  that  once 
were  the  seats  of  nations,  and  which  only  de- 
mand security  that  they  may  be  blessed  with 
abundance  again.    Such  as  Asia  Minor,  Syria, 


POPULATION. 


PORES. 


and  Greece,  and  such  the  long-desolated  shores 
of  Northern  Africa.  It  is  not  Nature  that  is 
barren  of  her  gifts,  but  it  is  man  that  has  I 
abused  thera  all ;  and,  in  the  climates  and  the 
lands  where  we  might  look  for  the  verdure  of 
arl  eternal  spring,  we  find  only  the  moving 
mountains  and  interminable  tracts  of  the  de- 
sert. 

It  is  unnecessary,  perhaps,  to  enlarge  upon 
this  statement,  but  one  or  two  facts  will  surely 
convince  the  most  incredulous  that  we  are  not 
yet  nearly  arrived  at  the  maximum  available 
produce  of  the  earth.  Even  as  regards  the 
saving  in  the  seed-corn,  we  have  witnessed  in 
our  time  that  the  drill  has  done  much,  and  the 
dibbling  system  still  more ;  but,  by  transplant- 
ing, greater  things  may  yet  be  done.  I  will 
illustrate  this  position  by  only  one  or  two  facts 
out  of  many  of  a  similar  kind  that  I  am  ac- 
quainted with.  At  the  Battle  Horticultural 
show  (in  1837),  R.  White  received"  a  prize  for 
01  fine  ears  of  wheat  growing  from  one  grain, 
which  are  deposited  at  the  apartments  of  the 
Labourer's  Friend  Society  in  Exeter  Hall,  and 
another  prize  at  the  Society  for  Encouragement 
of  Arts,  &c.,  in  the  Adelphi,  and  similar  pre- 
miums are  again  offered  there  and  elsewhere. 
P.  Brown  raised  that  year  345  roots,  with  4250 
ears,  from  one  grain,  since  June,  1836,  the 
plants  having  been  divided  three  times;  and  it 
is  recorded  in  the  P/iihsophieul  Transaction  for 
1768,  that  in  the  same  space  of  time,  one  grain 
of  wheal  produced  21,109  ears,  containing 
576,840  grains,  or  nearly  a  bushel  of  clean 
grain ;  thus,  an  acorn  cup  would  hold  seed- 
wkeat  enough  to  raise  plants  for  an  acre  of 
land,  and  full  10,000,000  bushels  of  seed-wheat 
might  be  saved  on  the  4,000,000  acres  under 
wheat  in  England  and  Scotland ;  which  quan- 
tity, allowing  8  bushels  to  each  person,  would 
support  1,250,000  persons,  who,  if  employed  in 
weeding  the  crops,  would  double  the  produce, 
as  is  shown  by  the  increased  crops  raised  by 
the  tenants  under  the  allotment  system. 

And  again,  as  regards  manuring  the  soil, 
agriculture  is  yet  only  in  its  infancy;  crushed 
bones,  now  so  extensively  employed,  were  un- 
known as  fertilizers  25  years  since ;  gypsum, 
which  abounds  in  England,  is  only  slowiy  com- 
ing into  use;  and  millions  of  tons  of  the  rich- 
est manure  are  now  annually  wasted  in  our 
cities  and  towns — suffered  to  putrefy  in  cess- 
pools, or  poured  into  the  sea  through  a  thou- 
sand sewers;  "and  yet,"  says  the  Thames  Im- 
provement Company,  "strange  as  it  may  ap- 
pear, England  is  almost  the  only  nation  in 
Europe,  notwithstanding  its  advance  in  agri- 
cultural knowledge,  which  suffers  the  peculiar 
manure  in  question  to  be  wasted  and  cast 
away;  while  all  the  other  nations  on  the  Con- 
tinent, and  even  China,  husband  it,  and  trea- 
sure it  up  for  their  lands,  make  it  an  object  of 
extensive  and  lucrative  traffic,  and  some  ex- 
port it  to  their  colonies.  The  principal  Lon- 
don sewers  have  been  carefully  gauged,  and 
are  found  to  convey  daily  into  the  river 
Thames  115,608  tons  of  mixed  drainage." 

By  these  and  other  certain  improvements, 
we  may  safely  conclude  that,  as  regards  the 
cultivation  of  the  most  barren  tracts,  the  drift- 
ing sands  of  Norfolk,  the  heath  lands  of  the 


north  of  England,  and  even  the  shingle  of  it& 
sea-coast,  hardly  a  tithe  has  yet  been  effected 
in  the  way  of  cultivation.  At  the  suggestion 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  an  acre  of  shingle 
at  East  Bourn  was  covered  with  3  or  4  inches 
of  clay,  at  a  cost  of  only  16rf.  This  has  formed 
a  plate  to  retain  what  mould,  &c.,  the  tenant 
has  added,  who  has  hired  this  ground  for  four- 
teen years  at  40s.  per  acre.  So  no  land  is 
hopelessly  barren.  Let  such  improvements 
proceed;  let  science  go  hand  in  hand  with  the 
farmer ;  let  the  naturalist  find  new  cultivata- 
ble  vegetables,  or  new  varieties  of  those  al- 
ready known  ;  let  the  chemist  yield  his  magic 
aid  to  demonstrate  the  best  mode  of  promoting 
their  growth  and  increasing  the  fertility  of  the 
soil ;  and  then,  I  fearlessly  assert  that  many 
times  the  present  inhabitants  of  Britain  may 
be  amply  supported  by  the  produce  of  the  land 
of  our  birth. 

POPULATION,  AGRICULTURAL,  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES.  By  the  census  of 
1840,  it  appears  that  the  number  of  all  the 
males,  of  10  years  old  and  upwards,  in  the 
United  States  and  Territories,  exclusive  of  the 
naval  service,  was  5,907,752.  The  whole 
population  of  the  Union  was  17,069,453,  of 
which  the  number  engaged  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits is  more  than  a  fifth  part  of  the  whole 
population.  When  this  is  compared  with  the 
proportions  engaged  in  some  other  pursuits, 
we  find  the  next  most  numerous  class  com 
prised  of  those  engaged  in  the  various  manu- 
factures and  trades,  which,  in  the  non-slave- 
holding  states  and  territories,  amounts  to  1  in 
17,  and  in  the  slave  states  to  1  in  40 — averag- 
ing, in  the  whole  Union,  1  to  22  of  all  the  in- 
habitants. The  largest  proportion  of  manu- 
facturers is  in  Rhode  Island,  where  it  consti- 
tutes about  four-fifths  of  all  the  males  above 
20  years  of  age  ;  next  in  Massachusetts  ;  next 
in  Connecticut;  next  in  New  Jersey;  next  in 
New  York.  The  proportion  employed  in  com- 
merce comprises,  in  the  free  states,  1  in  122, 
and  in  the  slave  states  1  in  197 — the  average 
in  all  the  states  being  1  in  146  of  the  whole 
population.  The  largest  proportion  is  in  Lou- 
isiana, which  contains  the  great  depot  for  the 
commerce  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Thb 
next  largest  is  in  Wisconsan  Territory,  and 
the  next  in  Rhode  Island;  The  proportion  em- 
ployed in  ocean  navigation  is  greatest  in 
Massachusetts,  where  it  amounts  to  27,153, 
being  1  in  31  of  the  whole  population  of  the 
state,  and  nearly  one-half  of  all  those  engaged 
in  the  same  pursuits  in  the  whole  Union,  viz., 
56,021,  or  1  in  305.  The  next  greatest  is  in 
Maine,  where  it  amounts  to  10,091,  being  1  in 
49-72  of  the  state  population.  New  York  has 
5511,  Connecticut  2700,  and  Pennsylvania 
1815,  employed  in  ocean  navigation.  The  pro- 
portion engaged  in  the  learned  professions,  in- 
cluding engineers,  amounts  to  45,162,  or  1  in 
217  of  the  whole  popuJation  of  the  free  states, 
and  20,093,  or  1  in  361,  of  the  whole  inhabitants 
of  the  slave  states. 

PORES.  In  botany,  apertures,  more  or  less 
visible,  in  the  cuticle  of  plants,  through  which 
transpiration  takes  place.  They  may  exist  on 
the  cellular  tissue ;  and  when  there  they  are 
the  organs  of  insensible  perspiration  of  the 
4 1  92.^ 


PORK. 


POTATO. 


plant:  they  may  exist  as  cortical  pores;  or 
on  the  leaf  as  stornata  or  breathing  pores. 
Pores  also  exist  in  some  kinds  of  anthers, 
through  v/hich  the  pollen  is  ejected;  as  in  the 
potato  (Solunum  tuberosum^). 

PORK.  The  flesh  of  swine  killed  for  culi- 
nary purposes.  See  Bacon,  Ham,  Meat, 
8wi\K,  &c. 

PORTER.  A  well-known  malt  liquor.  Se-d 
Alk,  Bkkr,  and  Brkwino. 

POTASH,  or  POTASSA.  The  name  of  one 
of  the  alkalies,  composed  of  39-15  parts  of  pe- 
culiar metal  called  potassium,  8  parts  of  oxy- 
gen, and  9  of  water.  It  derives  its  common 
name  from  being  first  obtained  from  the  ashes 
of  vegetable  substances  which  had  been  burn- 
ed in  iron  pots,  hence  named  pot-ashes.  Pot- 
ash is  found  in  almost  all  land  plants,  in  com- 
bination with  the  tartaric,  citric,  or  other  vege- 
table acid.  The  potash  in  these  is  no  doubt  an 
essential  food  or  constituent  of  vegetation,  and 
there  is  no  fertile  soil  which  does  not,  in  some 
form  or  other,  contain  this  alkali.  It  exists, 
however,  in  plants  in  varying  proportions. 
See  Alkali.  The  potash  of  commerce  is  an 
impure  carbonate  mingled  with  salts  of  lime 
and  other  substances.  In  its  separate  or  pure 
state,  free  from  carbonic  acid,  it  is  a  white 
salt,  powerfully  attracting  moisture  from  the 
air,  very  soluble  in  water  and  in  alcohol,  cor- 
roding animal  substances,  consequently  de- 
stroying the  skin  when  applied  to  it.  But  pot- 
ash usually  means  the  carbonate.  The  quan- 
tity procured  from  difl!erent  plants  varies. 
Fumitory  yields  79-0  in  1000  parts,  worm- 
wood 73-0,  young  wheat-stalks  47-0,  thistles 
3.5-0,  vetch  27-5,  common  nettle  25-3,  the  sun- 
flower 20-0,  bean-stalks  20-0,  barley  straw  5-8, 
vine-shoots  5-5,  wheat-straw  3-9,  and  flax  5-0. 
The  younger  a  plant  is,  if  full-grown,  the  more 
potash  it  yields. 

"  The  perfect  developement  of  a  plant,"  says 
liiebig  (Organic  Chcm.  p.  104),  "according  to 
this  view,  is  dependent  on  the  presence  of  alka- 
lies, or  alkaline  earths,  for  when  these  sub- 
stances are  totally  wanting,  its  growth  will  be 
arrested,  and  when  they  are  only  deficient  it 
must  be  impeded.  In  order  to  apply  these  re- 
marks, let  us  compare  two  kinds  of  trees,  the 
wood  of  which  contain  unequal  quantities  of 
alkaline  bases,  and  we  shall  find  that  one  of 
these  grows  luxuriantly  in  several  soils,  upon 
which  others  are  scarcely  able  to  vegetate. 
For  example,  10-000  parts  of  oak  wood  yield 
250  parts  of  ashes,  the  same  quantity  of  fire- 
wood only  83,  of  linden  wood  500,  of  rye  440, 
and  of  the  herb  of  the  potato  plant  1500  parts. 
Firs  and  pines  find  a  sufficient  quantity  of  al- 
kalies in  granitic  and  barren,  sandy  soils,  in 
which  oaks  will  not  grow,  and  wheat  thrives 
in  soils  favourable  for  the  linden  tree,  because 
the  bases  which  are  necessary  to  bring  it  to 
complete  maturity  exist  there  in  sufficient 
quantity.  The  accuracy  of  these  conclusions, 
so  highly  iiuporiani  to  agriculture,  and  to  the 
cultivation  of  forests,  can  be  proved  by  the 
most  evident  facts.  All  kinds  of  grasses,  the 
equisetaceoe,  for  example,  contain,  in  the  outer 
pans  of  ti^pir  leaves  and  stalks,  a  large  quantity 
of  silicic  acid  (silica),  and  potash  in  the  form  of 
acid  silicate  of  potash.  The  proportion  of  this 
926 


salt  does  not  vary  perceptibly  in  the  soil  of 
corn-fields,  because  it  is  again  conveyed  to 
them  as  manure,  in  the  form  of  putrefying 
straw.  But  this  is  not  the  case  in  a  meadow; 
and  hence  we  never  find  a  luxuriant  crop  of 
grass  on  sandy  and  calcareous  soils,  which 
contain  little  potash,  evidently  because  one  of 
the  constituents  essential  to  the  growth  of 
plants  is  wanting.  Soils  formed  from  basalt, 
grauwacke,  and  porphyry,  are,  cceteris  paribus, 
the  best  for  meadow  land,  on  account  of  the 
quantity  of  potash  which  enters  into  their  com- 
position." 

In  the  experiments  of  the  Rev.E.Cartwright 
with  various  manures  applied  to  potatoes, 
wood-ashes,  which  contain  potash,  were  found 
to  produce  very  superior  effects  to  several 
others  :  thus,  where  the  soil,  without  any  dress- 
ing, produced  157  bushels  per  acre,  the  land 
dressed  with  60  bushels  of  wood-ashes  yielded 
187 ;  with  60  bushels  of  malt-dust,  184  bushels ; 
with  363  bushels  of  decayed  leaves,  175  bush- 
els ;  with  363  bushels  of  saw-dust,  155  bushels; 
with  121  bushels  of  lime,  150  bushels  per  acre. 
(Com.  Board  of  Jigr.  vol.  iv.  p.  370.)  See  Greex 
Sand,  Alkalis,  and  Salts. 

POTATO  (Solanum  tuberosum'),  A  valuable, 
well-known  root,  first  imported  from  America 
into  England  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  first 
grown  at  Youghall,  in  Ireland.  In  many  parts 
of  England  this  tuberose  plant  is  very  exten- 
sively cultivated,  both  in  the  field  and  in  the 
garden ;  but,  in  districts  removed  from  large 
towns,  or  convenient  markets,  its  cultivation 
is  of  necessity  restricted  to  the  garden,  or  for 
the  consumption  of  the  live-stock  of  the  farm. 
As  regards  the  field  management  of  the  crop, 
a  writer  in  a  popular  journal  remarks,  when 
speaking  of  the  preparation  of  the  ground — 

"  It  is,  I  know,  customary,  upon  a  large  scale, 
to  plough  the  land  and  make  it  tolerably  fine 
before  potatoes  are  planted  ;  but  if  it  is  plough- 
ed 5,  6,  or  7  inches  deep,  and  made  fine  and 
mellow,  still  at  the  bottom  of  such  ploughing 
the  land  is  hard  and  smooth  ;  and  as  the  potato 
is  a  root  that  sends  out  fibres  not  only  near  the 
surface,  but  deeply,  if  possible,  it  can  never  por- 
duce  such  a  crop  as  where  the  land  is  broken 
18  inches  to  2  feet.  The  potato,  like  the  cu- 
cumber, only  enjoys  itself  in  deeply  pulverized 
soils,  which  causes  them  to  flourish  so  much 
in  well-managed  sandy  land. 

"  I  should  therefore  recommend  that,  in  all 
land  where  potatoes  are  to  be  grown,  if  the 
land  be  springy,  or  otherwise  damp,  that  it  be 
drained  deep  enough  to  take  off  all  springs  or 
surface  water.  When  this  is  done,  the  land 
should  either  be  fully  trenched,  or  bastard- 
trenched,  by  the  spade  or  plough,  but  I  prefer 
the  spade.  The  width  of  the  drills  from  each  other 
must  depend  entirely  upon  the  goodness  of  your 
soil :  the  richer  the  land,  the  wider  apart  must 
be  your  rows  and  sets  in  your  rows ;  say,  in 
ordinary  land  rows,  at  2  feet  from  each  other, 
and  12  inches  from  set  to  set  may  do;  but  if 
your  land  be  very  rich,  3  feet  from  row  to  row, 
and  18  inches  from  plant  to  plant,  will  not  be 
too  much." 

In  preserving  your  sets,  always  select  the 
largest  and  finest  potatoes  you  can  procure ; 
do  not  use  the  small  refuse  or  middling-sized, 


POTATO. 


POTATO. 


the  plant  and  produce   from  the  latter  being 
much  inferior.  i 

The  potatoes  most  valued  in  field  culture  are 
the  ox-noble,  yam,  champion,  purple-red,  rough-  ; 
red,  hundred-eyes,  kidney,  and  Mouiton  white. ' 
The  nutritive  qualities  of  these  were  examined  \ 
by  Mr.  George  Sinclair,  with  his  usual  accu- 1 
racy.    "The  yam,"   he  observes,  "is  a  very- 
productive  variety,  attains  to  a  large  size,  but 
ii  often  hollow,  and  less  nutritive  than  most 
others ;  64  drachms  afford  of  nutritive  matter 
190  grains,  which  consist  of  starch  164  grains, 
and  saccharine  and  albuminous  matters  31." 

The  ox-noble  is  a  productive  potato,  adapted 
for  stock;  and  64  drachms  of  it  contain  194 
grains  of  nutritive  matter,  consisting  of  starch 
164,  and  saccharine,  mucilaginous,  and  albu- 
minous matters  31. 

The  purple-red  is  smaller  than  the  ox-noble, 
but  well-flavoured,  and  very  prolific  in  light, 
moist  soils:  64  drachms  afforded  200  grains  of 
nutritive  matter,  consisting  of  starch  169,  and 
albuminous  and  saccharine  matters  31  grains. 

The  hundred-eye  is  very  prolific  on  dry 
loams  ;  64  drachms  afford  218  grains  of  nutri- 
tive matter,  composed  of  170  grains  of  starch, 
and  the  re>t  albuminous  and  other  matters. 

The  rough-red  produces  plentiful  crops  on 
soils  or  climates  of  a  moister  nature  than  that 
adapted  for  the  hundred-eyed  variety:  it  is 
well-flavoured  ;  64  drachms  afford  250  grains 
of  nutritive  matter,  which  is  composed  of  199 
starch,  and  46  mucillage,  sugar,  and  albumen. 

The  champion  grows  to  a  moderate  size;  is 
very  productive,  and  little  subject  to  the  disease 
called  curl. 

It  is,  hence,  of  great  importance,  in  choosing 
seed  potatoes,  to  consider  the  nature  of  the  soil 
and  climate  ;  thus  some  of  our  finest  varieties, 
which  yield  abundantly  when  planted  in  suit- 
able soils  and  moist  situations,  will  yield  but 
iii'^'^rior  returns  when  planted  in  drier  situa- 
t  ^.»s. 


In  7000  grains,  or  I  pound 
of  the  bread-fruit  pota- 
to, I   ft)und  by  careful 
am!  repeated  trials 

the  Barbadoes  potato 

black  kidney  potato 

Soluble 
matter. 

Sureb. 

Fibre. 

i 

Water. 

975 
980 
970 

548 

667 
695 

477 
616 
622 

5000 
4737 
4713 

The  soluble  matters  consisted  of  gum,  or 
mucilage,  extractive,  and  saline  matters. 

The  potato,  although  a  tender  plant,  is  grown 
in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  world,  from  the  equa- 
tor to  Norway;  and  although  it  is  usual  to 
plant  it  early  in  the  spring,  yet  it  is  possible,  by- 
choosing  a  quick-ripening  variety,  to  plant  it 
successfully  even  as  late  as  July. 

The  best  manures  for  the  potato  crop  are 
common  farm-yard  compost,  only  partially  de- 
composed, decayed  leaves,  sea-weed,  the  po- 
tato haulm,  and  any  organic  manures,  that, 
while  they  afford  nutriment,  have  a  tendency, 
by  rendering  the  soil  lighter,  to  facilitate  the 
extension  of  the  roots.  Lime  is  injurious  to  it. 
Pond  mud  or  ditch  scrapings,  to  each  cubic 
yard  of  which,  a  month  previously,  a  bushel  of 
bacon  salt,  or  other  refuse  common  salt,  has 
been  mixed,  is  excellent.  The  soils  best  adapted 
for  the  cultivation  of  the  potato  are  of  the  light, 


sandy,  drained,  peaty,  or  loamy  description 
It  delights  in  fresh  soils;  those  of  a  newly 
broken-ap  meadow,  old  woodlands,  or  the  site 
of  old  yards  or  buildings,  are  excellent.  It 
does  not  do  well  on  wet  clays. 

Potatoes  are  readily  consumed  by  live-stock 
in  their  unboiled  state;  but,  generally  speak- 
ing, they  are  best  when  steamed  and  mixed 
with  chaff. 

The  cultivation  of  the  potato  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Mr.  George  Johnson  ;  and  although 
his  remarks  were  intended  for  the  gardener, 
yet  they  apply  in  a  great  measure  to  the  field 
culture  of  this  valuable  root. 

The  varieties  of  the  potato  are  numerous, 
and  continually  increasing,  as  well  as  becom- 
ing extinct;  the  number,  however,  is  very 
largely  increased  by  local  names  for  the  same 
variety  being  classed  distinct. 

For  forcing, or  first  crop  in  the  open  ground: 
— there  are  Broughton  Dwarf,  Early  Warwick, 
Ash-leaved  Kidney;  Fox's  Seedling,  Early- 
Manly,  Early  Mule,  earliest  for  general  culti- 
vation, Earley  Kidney,  Nonsuch,  Early  Shaw, 
Goldfinger. 

For  main  crops,  the  varieties  are  ranged  in 
this  class,  according  to  their  forwardness  in 
ripening: — Early  Champion,  Ox  Noble,  Red- 
nose  Kidney,  Large  Kidney,  Bread-fruit,  Red- 
streak  or  Lancashire  Pink-eye,  Black  Skin, 
Purple,  Red  Apple,  Rough  Red. 

No  inhabitant  of  the  garden  varies  more  in 
quality  in  different  gardens  than  the  potato ; 
for  a  variety  will  have  a  strong,  unpleasant 
flavour  in  one  soil,  that  has  a  sweet,  agreeable 
one  in  another.  In  a  heavy,  wet  soil,  or  a  rank 
black  loam,  though  the  crop  is  often  fine  and 
abundant,  it  is  scarcely  ever  palatable.  Sili- 
cious  soils,  even  approaching  to  gravel,  though 
in  these  last  the  tubers  are  usually  corroded  or 
scabby,  are  always  to  be  planted  in  preference 
to  the  above.  A  dry,  mouldy,  fresh,  and  mode- 
rately rich  soil  is  unquestionably  the  best  for 
every  variety  of  the  potato ;  and,  for  the 
earliest  crop,  it  may  be  with  advantage  more 
silicious  than  for  the  main  ones.  The  black- 
skinned  and  rough  red  thrive  better  than  any 
in  moist  or  strong,  cold  soils.  If  manure  is 
necessary,  whatever  may  be  the  one  employed, 
it  is  better  spread  regularly  over  the  surface 
previous  to  digging,  rather  than  put  into  the 
holes  with  the  sets,  or  spread  in  the  trench 
when  they  are  so  planted.  Stable  dung  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  of  all  factitious  manures: 
sea-weed  is  a  very  beneficial  addition  to  the 
soil,  as  is  salt.  Coal-ashes  and  sea-sand  are 
applied  with  great  benefit  to  retentive  soils  ; 
but  calcareous  matter  should  never  be  used. 
The  situation  must  always  be  open. 

It  is  propagated  in  general  from  cuttings  of 
the  tubers,  though  the  shoots  arising  from 
thence  and  layers  of  the  stalks  may  be  em 
ployed.  New  varieties  are  raised  from  seed. 
Planting  in  the  open  ground  of  the  early  kinds 
may  commence  towards  the  close  of  February, 
in  a  warm  situation,  and  may  thence  be  con- 
tinued until  the  same  period  of  March ;  and  it 
is  only  during  this  latter  month  that  any  con- 
siderable plantation  should  be  made,  as  the 
late  frost  are  apt  to  injure,  or  even  to  destroy 
the  advancing  plants.    In  the  course  of  April. 

927 


POTATO. 


POTATO. 


the  main  crops  for  winter's  use  should  be  in- 
serted ;  for  although  in  favourable  seasons  they 
will  succeed  if  planted  in  May  or  even  June, 
yet  it  ought  always  to  be  kept  in  mind  that  the 
earliest  planted,  especially  in  dry  soils,  pro- 
duce the  finest  and  most  abundant  crops. 

Of  the  preparation  of  the  sets,  there  is  a 
great  diversity  of  opinion.  Some  gardeners 
recommend  the  largest  potatoes  to  be  planted 
whole;  others,  these  to  be  sliced  into  pieces, 
containing  two  or  three  eyes ;  a  third  set,  to 
cut  the  large  tubers  directly  in  half;  a  fourth, 
the*  employment  of  the  shoots  only  which  are 
thrown  out,  if  potatoes  are  kept  in  a  warm, 
damp  situation ;  and  a  fifth,  that  merely  the 
parings  be  employed.  Cuttings  of  the  stalks, 
6  or  6  inches  in  length,  or  rooted  suckers,  will 
be  productive,  if  planted  during  showery  wea- 
ther in  May  or  June ;  and  during  this  last 
month,  or  early  in  July,  it  may  be  propagated 
by  layers,  which  are  formed  by  pegging  down 
the  young  stalks  when  about  12  inches  long, 
they  being  covered  3  inches  thick  with  mould 
at  a  joint.  These  three  last  modes  are  prac- 
tised more  from  curiosity  than  utility,  whilst  at 
the  same  time  none  of  the  first  five  mentioned 
plans  can  be  individually  followed  to  advan- 
tage, without  modification.  For  the  main  crops, 
it  is  evident,  from  experiment,  that  moderate- 
sized  sets,  having  two  healthy  buds  or  eyes,  are 
most  advantageously  employed;  middling-sized 
whole  potatoes  are  the  best,  from  which  all  but 
the  above  number  of  eyes  have  been  removed, 
but  especially  having  the  crown,  which  is  a 
congeries  of  small  eyes  always  present,  first 
removed;  for  from  these  proceed  an  equal 
number  of  little  spindled  stalks,  which  are 
comparatively  worthless,  and  injure  the  main 
stem. 

For  the   early  crops,  almost  the  very  con- 
trary to  the  above  is  the  most  advantageous  to 
be  practised.     The  set  should  have  the  crown 
eye,  which  is  one  growing  in  the  centre  of  the 
congeries  of  small  ones  above  mentioned,  pre- 
served.    Some  potatoes  have  two  such'  eyes, 
but  the  generality  only  one.    This  is  always 
the  most  prompt  to  vegetate;  and  if  not  known 
by  this  description,  may  bg  evinced  by  placing 
two  or  three  potatoes  in  a  pan  of  moist  earth, 
near  the  fire ;  if  the  earth  is  kept  moist,  the 
crown  eye  will  be  in  a  state  of  vegetation  in 
five  or  six  days.     Again,  as  Mr.  J.  Knight  re- 
marks, although  abundant. crops  of  late  varie- 
ties may  be  obtained  from  very  small  sets,  by 
reason  that  tubers  are  not  produced  until  the  [ 
stem  and  roots  become  capable  of  supplying 
them  with  nourishment;  yet,  to  obtain  early 
crops,  where  tubers  are  rapidly  formed  under  i 
a  diametrically   opposite  state   of  the   plant,  ! 
large  ;iets  must  be  employed ;  in  these,  one  or  i 
two  eye^,  at  most,  should  be  allowed  to  remain.  ' 
Mr.  knight  plants  the  largest  undivided  tubers,  ■ 
which,  from  experiments,  evidently  support  the  ; 
plants,  and  finally  produce   the  earliest  and 
largest  produce  he  ever  obtained.     Another  re-  I 
mark,  which  he  makes,  restrictively  for  the  | 
earlv  crops,  but  may  well  be  attended  to  for  all,  \ 
is,  that  ii  the  sets  are  placed  with  their  leading 
buds  upwards,  few  and  very  strong  early  stems 
will  be   produced  ;   but   if  the   position  is  re- ' 
versed,  many  weak  and  later  shoots  will  arise,  [ 
028 


and  not  only  the  earliness,  but  the  quality  oi 
the  produce  be  depreciated.  For  the  earliest 
crops,  there  are  likewise  several  modes  of  as 
sisting  the  forward  vegetation  of  the  sets. 
These  should  be  prepared  in  November,  by 
removing  every  eye  but  one  or  two;  and  being 
placed  in  a  layer,  in  a  warm  room,  where  air 
and  light  can  be  freely  admitted,  with  a  cover- 
ing of  straw,  they  soon  emit  shoots,  which 
must  be  strengthened  by  exposure  to  the  air 
and  light  as  much  as  possible,  by  taking  off 
the  covering  without  injuring  them.  During 
cold  weather,  and  at  night,  it  must  always  be 
renewed.  The  leaves  soon  become  green,  and 
tolerably  hardy.  In  early  spring  they  are 
pfcintedout,  the  leaves  being  left  just  above  the 
surface,  and  a  covering  of  litter  afforded  every 
night,  until  the  danger  of  frost  is  passed.  The 
only  modification  of  this  plan  that  is  adopted 
in  Cheshire,  where  fhey  are  celebrated  for  the 
early  production  of  potatoes,  is,  that  they  em- 
ploy chaff  or  sand  for  a  covering  instead  of 
straw.  The  most  preferable  mode  of  inserting 
them,  is  with  the  dibble,  in  rows,  for  the  early 
crops,  12  inches  apart  each  way;  and  for  the 
main  ones  18.  The  set  should  never  be  placed 
more  than  4  inches  beneath  the  surface  in  the 
lightest  soil,  but  in  the  more  tenacious  ones, 
3  is  the  extreme.  The  potato  dibble  is  the  best 
instrument  that  can  be  employed;  one  person 
striking  the  holes,  and  a  second  dropping  the 
sets,  the  earth  being  afterwards  raked  or  struck 
in  with  the  spade.  There  are  several  other 
modes  of  insertion,  as  opening  a  small  hole 
with  a  narrow  spade,  and  the  set  being  dropped 
in,  it  is  covered  by  the  earth  taken  out  in  form- 
ing the  next  hole :  or,  at  the  time  of  digging 
over  the  ground,  a  second  person  follows  the 
one  so  employed,  and  places  the  sets  in  the 
trench  he  opens  in  the  pursuance  of  his  work; 
but  both  these  modes  are  open  to  numerous 
obvious  objections. 

The  compartment  may  be  laid  out  level  and 
undivided,  if  the  soil  is  mouldy  and  favour- 
able ;  but  if  a  heavy  one  is  necessarily  em 
ployed,  it  is  best  disposed  in  beds,  6  or  8  feet 
wide.  If  the  staple  of  .th^  soil  is  good  through- 
out, the  alleys  may  be  2  feet  wide,  and  dug  deep, 
otherwise  they  must  be  made  broader,  and  only 
one  spit  taken  out,  the  earth  removed  being 
employed  to  raise  the  beds.  If  the  land  is  low 
and  wet,  it  is  still  further  of  advantage,  after 
the  beds,  which  should  not  be  more  than  4  feet 
wide,  have  been  thus  raised,  if  they  are  dug  in 
parallel  ridges,  and  the  sets  inserted  along  their 
summits.  Some  gardeners,  on  such  soils,  with- 
out digging  the  surface,  lay  some  long  litter  on 
the  intended  beds;  upon  this  the  sets  being 
placed,  some  more  litter  is  thrown  regularly 
over  them  ;  the  earth  is  then  dug  from  the 
alleys,  and  turned  to  the  requisite  depth  over 
the  whole.  As  soon  as  the  plants  are  well  to 
be  distinguished,  they  should  be  perfectly  freed 
from  weeds ;  and,  of  the  early  crops,  the  eanh 
drawn  round  each  plant,  so  as  to  form  a  cup, 
as  a  shelter  from  the  cold  winds,  which  are 
their  chief  enemy  at  that  season  ;  but  the  main 
crops  need  not  be  earthed  up  until  the  plants 
are  6  inches  in  height.  It  is  contended  by 
some  that  this  practice  is  immaterial  in  its 
effect.     If  the  earth  is  brought  so  as  to  be  of 


POTATO. 


PO  TATO. 


considerable  depth  about  the  stems,  it  must  be 
even  injurious  ;  but  if  properly  performed,  it  is 
certainly  beneficial.  Throughout  their  growth 
they  should  be  kept  perfectly  clear  of  weeds. 
It  is  very  injurious  to  mow  off  their  tops,  as  is 
sometimes  recommended.  The  foliage  ought 
to  be  kept  as  uninjured  as  possible,  unless,  as 
sometimes  occurs  on  fresh  ground,  the  plants 
are  of  gigantic  luxuriance,  and,  even  then,  the 
stems  should  be  only  moderately  shortened. 
It  is,  however,  of  considerable  advantage  to 
remove  the  fruit-stalks  and  immature  flowers 
as  soon  as  they  appear.  This  has  been  de- 
monstrated by  the  experiments  of  President 
Knight,  and  others;  indeed,  that  such  would 
be  the  case  is  a  reasonable  expectation,  since 
it  is  known  that  the  early  formation  of  tubers 
prevents  the  production  of  blossom.  It  is  also 
worthy  of  notice,  that  a  potato  plant  continues 
to  form  tubers  until  the  flowers  appear,  after 
which  it  is  employed  in  ripening  those  already 
formed. 

The  very  earliest  crops  will  be  in  production 
in  June,  or  perhaps  towards  the  end  of  May, 
and  may  thence  be  taken  up  as  wanted,  until 
October,  at  the  close  of  which  month,  or  during 
November,  they  may  be  entirely  dug  up  and 
stored ;  or,  at  all  events,  before  the  arrival  of 
any  severe  frost.  Their  fitness  to  be  taken  up 
for  keeping  is  intimated  by  the  decay  of  their 
foliage,  which  generally  loses  its  verdure  with 
the  first  frosts.  The  best  instrument  with  which 
they  can  be  dug  up  is  a  three-flat-pronged  fork, 
each  row  being  cleared  regularly  away.  The 
tubers  should  be  sorted  at  the  time  of  taking 
them  up  ;  for  as  the  largest  keep  the  best,  they 
alone  should  be  stored,  whilst  the  smaller  ones 
are  first  made  use  of.  The  most  common  mode 
of  preserving  them  throughout  the  winter  is  in 
heaps  or  clamps,  sometimes  called  pyeing  them. 
These  are  laid  in  pyramidal  form,  on  a  bed 
of  straw,  and  enveloped  with  a  covering  6  or  8 
inches  thick,  of  the  same  material,  laid  even, 
as  in  thatching,  and  the  whole  enclosed  with 
earth,  in  a  conical  form,  a  foot  thick,  taken 
from  a  trench  dug  round  the  heap,  well  smooth- 
ened  with  the  back  of  the  spade.  Potatoes 
should  not  be  stored  until  perfectly  dry,  nor 
unless  free  from  mould,  refuse,  ahJ  wounded 
tubers.  It  is  a  good  practice  to  keep  a  hole 
open  on  four  different  sides  of  the  heap,  entirely 
through  the  mould  and  straw,  for  a  week  or 
two  after  the  heap  is  formed ;  for  in  proportion 
to  its  size  it  always  ferments,  and  these  orifices 
allow  the  escape  of  the  vapours,  and  perfect 
the  drying.  An  equally  good  mode,  and  much 
more  convenient,  is  to  have  them  heaped  in  a 
dry  shed,  and  covered  thick  with  straw,  as  op- 
portunity is  given  to  look  over  them  occa- 
sionally for  the  removal  of  decayed  tubers, 
shoots,  «fcc.  If  carefully  preserved,  they  con- 
tinue in  perfection  until  late  in  the  following 
summer.  A  variety  of  the  potato  is  generally 
considered  to  continue  about  14  years  in  per- 
fection, after  which  period  it  gradually  loses  its 
good  qualities,  becoming  of  inferior  flavour  and 
unproductive.  Fresh  varieties  must  therefore 
be  occasionally  raised  from  seed.  For  doing 
this  there  are  two  modes;  the  first  of  these, 
about  to  be  detailed,  is,  however,  the  one 
usually  piirsued. 

117 


The  berries  or  apples  of  the  old  stock  havmg 
hung  in  a  warm  room  throughout  the  winter, 
the  seed  must  be  obtained  from  them  by  wash- 
ing away  the  pulp  during  February.  This  is 
thoroughly  dried,  and  kept  until  April,  and  then 
sown  in  drills  about  half  an  inch  deep,  and  6 
inches  apart,  in  a  rich  mouldy  soil.  The  plants 
are  weeded,  and  earth  drawn  up  to  their  stems 
when  an  inch  in  height ;  as  soon  as  this  has 
increased  to  three  inches,  they  are  moved  into 
a  similar  soil,  in  rows  16  inches  apart  each 
way,  and  during  their  future  growth  earthed 
up  2  or  3  times.  Being  finally  taken  up  in  the 
course  of  October,  they  must  be  preserved 
until  the  following  spring,  to  be  then  replanted, 
and  treated  as  for  store  crops.  (Br.  Hunter's 
Georg.  Essays.) 

Some  gardeners  sow  in  a  moderate  hot-bed, 
very  thin,  in  drills,  the  same  depth  as  above, 
and  9  inches  apart.  Water  is  frequently  and 
plentifully  poured  between  the  rows,  and  earth 
drawn  about  the  stems  of  the  seedlings,  until 
they  are  a  few  inches  in  height.  They  are  then 
transplanted  into  rows,  water  given,  and  earth- 
ing performed  as  usual.  The  only  additional 
advantage  of  this  plan  is,  that  as  the  seed  can 
be  sown  earlier,  the  tubers  attain  a  rather 
larger  size  the  first  year. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  tubers  of  every 
seedling  should  be  kept  separate,  as  scarce  2 
will  be  of  a  similar  habit  and  quality,  whilst 
many  will  be  comparatively  worthless,  and  but 
few  of  particular  excellence.  If  the  seed  is 
obtained  from  a  red  potato,  that  flowered  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  a  white-tubered  variety,  the 
seedlings  in  all  probability  will  in  part  resem- 
ble both  their  parents,  as  a  cross  fecundation 
may  take  place ;  but  seldom  or  never  does  a 
seedling  resemble  exactly  the  original  stock. 
At  all  events,  only  such  should  be  preserved 
as  are  recommended  by  their  superior  size, 
flavour,  or  fertility.  It  may  be  stated  as  an  in- 
dication before  these  qualities  can  be  positively 
ascertained,  that  President  Knight  remarks,  that 
the  rough,  uneven  surface  of  the  foliage,  which 
in  excess  constitutes  the  curl,  appears  to  exist 
as,  and  form  a  characteristic  of  every  good 
variety ;  for  he  never  found  one  with  perfectly 
smooth  and  polished  leaves  which  possessed 
any  degree  of  excellence,  though  such  are  in 
general  more  luxuriant  and  productive. 

The  early  varieties,  on  account  of  their  never 
flowering,  were,  until  1807,  obtained  by  chance 
from  plants  that  might  now  and  then  be  pro- 
duced from  seed  of  the  late  kinds.  In  that 
year,  Mr.  Knight  discovered  that  the  cause  of 
their  deficiency  of  bloom  was  the  preternatural 
early  formation  of  the  tubers.  His  mode  of 
causing  them  to  produce  seed  is  to  plant  the 
sets  on  little  heaps  of  earth,  with  a  stake  in  the 
middle,  and  when  the  plants  a/e  about  4  inches 
high,  being  secured  to  the  staj:es  with  shreds 
and  nails,  to  wash  the  earth  away  from  the 
bases  of  the  stems,  by  means  of  a  strong  cur- 
rent of  water,  so  that  the  fibrous  roots  only 
enter  the  soil,  and  these  being  perfectly  dis- 
tinct from  the  runners  that  furnish  the  tubers, 
and  which  spring  from  the  base  of  the  stem, 
none  of  these  are  produced,  and  the  eflfect  is, 
that  blossoms  appear  and  perfect  seed.     - 

There  are  numerous  valuable  communic* 
4  I  2  929 


POTATO. 

tions  with  regard  to  the  potato  dispersed 
through  the  agricultural  journals,  among  which 
is  one  "  On  the  Manures  best  adapted  for  Pota- 
toes," by  the  Rev.E.  Cartwright.  He  remarks, 
"  The  soil  on  which  my  experiments  were  tried 
is  a  ferruginous  sand,  brought  to  a  due  texture 
and  consistence  by  a  liberal  covering  of  pond- 
mud.  Of  this  soil,  in  its  improved  state,  I  mean 
by  the  accession  of  pond  mud  (for,  having  been 
used  merely  as  a  nursery  for  raising  forest 
trees,  previous  to  these  experiments,  the  nur- 
seryman had  not  thought  it  necessary  to  make 
use  of  any  other  manure),  the  following  is  the 
analysis  400  grains  gave : 

Grains. 

OfsiliciiHis  aand,  of  dilferent  degrees  of  fineness        280 
Finely  divided  matter  ------        104 

Loss  in  water        -._---_    16 

400 

"  The  finely  divided  matter  contained — 

Grains. 

(Carbonate  of  lime  -        -                -        -        -        _  jg 

Oxide  of  iron  --------  7 

Loss  by  incineration  (probably  vegetable  decom- 
posing matter)     -        -        --        -        -        -  17 

"  The  remainder,  principally  silex  and  alu- 
mina. There  were  no  indications  of  either 
gypsum  or  phosphate  of  lime. 

"  On  the  14th  of  April,  1804,  a  portion  of  this 
soil  was  laid  out,  in  beds  1  yard  wide  and  40 
in  length,  and  were  manured  as  in  the  follow- 
ing table.  On  the  same  day  the  whole  was 
planted  with  potatoes,  a  single  row  in  each 
bed,  and  that  the  general  experiment  might  be 
conducted  with  all  possible  accuracy,  each  bed 
received  the  same  number  of  sets.  On  the 
21st  of  September  the  potatoes  were  taken  up, 
when  the  produce  of  each  row  was,  in  succes- 
sion, as  follows  : 

Manures  in  bushels,  per  acre.  Product- 

1.  No  manure      -------        157 

2.  Salt  8  buf?h.,  soot  30  bush.       -        -        -        .        240 

3.  Chandler's  graves  9J  cwt.        -        -        _        -        220 

4.  Salt  8  bush.,  wood-ashes  60  bush.  -        -        -        21'7 

5.  Salt  8  bush.,  gypsum  peat  363  bush.,  lime  121 

bnsh.    ----..._  201 

6.  Salt  8  bnsh.,  lime  121  bush.,  dung 363  bush.   -  199 

7.  Salt  8  bush.     -----_.  jgg 

8.  Salt  8  bnsh.,  graves  9|  cwt.    -        -        -        -  195 

9.  Soot  SO  bush.  -----_.  192 
10    Fresh  dung  363  bush.       -        -        -        -        .  192 

11.  Salts  bush.,  malt-dust  60  bush.      -  -  -  189 

12.  Wood-ashes  60  bush.      -        .        .  _  _  I87 

13.  Snit  8  bush.,  decayed  leaves  363  bush.  -  -  187 
It.  Sail  8  bush.,  peat-ashes  363  bush.  -  -  -  185 

15.  Malt-dust  60  hush. -  184 

16.  Salt  8  bnsh,  lime  121  bush.,  peat  363  bush.  -  183 

17.  Salt  8  hush.,  saw-dust  363  bush.    -        -  -  180 

18.  Salt  8  bush.,  peat  363  bush.,  bone-dust  -  -  178 

19.  Decayed  leaves  363  bush.        -        -        -  -  175 

20.  Salt  8  hush.,  lime  121  bush.,  sulphuric  acid  -  175 

21.  Salt  8  bush.,  peat  363  bush.    -        -        -  -  171 

22.  Salt  8  hush.,  lime  121  bush.    -        -        .  -  167 

23.  Peat  363  hush. I59 

24  Sawdust  .T63  bush.  -----         155 

25  Lime  121  bush.         ------        150 

The  following  experiments  upon  potatoes  are 

extracted  from  .Mr.  George  Sinclair's  Commu- 
nication to  the  Board  of  Agriculture,  February 
5.'/th,  1820.  These  experiments  were  made  upon 
a  soil  composed  of  three-fourths  silicious  sand, 
111  plots  of  36  square  feet. 

Builiels  of  Salt 
per  Acre.      No. 

1.  Planted  without  any  kind 

of  manure      -         .        -        Q  124 

S.    Twelve   cubic    inches  of 

salt  with  the  seed  -      13J         106  the  smallest. 

S    Six  cubic  inches  of  salt 

wiTh  the  seed        -        -        6|  90 

♦    Twelve  culiic    inches  of 

salt  mixed  with  the  soil      13}-  93  the  largest. 

930 


POTATO-FLY. 

"  Th:  weight  of  the  crop  of  potatoes  was  not 
taken.  •The  superior  size  of  the  roots  pro- 
duced by  No.  4,  left  no  room  to  doubt  of  the 
advantage  of  13  bushels  of  salt  per  acre,  ap- 
plied to  the  soil  previous  to  planting,  over  the 
other  modes  of  application;  still  the  superi- 
ority was  not  very  great."  "I  may  notice 
here,"  observes  Dr.  Holland,  "a  practice  pur- 
sued  at  Weston,  near  Frodsham,  in  the  culture 
of  potatoes,  which  seems  deserving  of  atten- 
tion. At  this  place,  situated  close  to  the  junction 
of  the  Mersey  and  Weaver,  sea  mud  is  used 
as  a  manure  for  crops  of  potatoes ;  20  loads 
being  the  quantity  usually  laid  on  an  acre. 
The  ground  thus  manured  not  only  gives  a 
larger  produce  of  potatoes,  but  is  in  a  state  of 
excellent  preparation  for  a  succeeding  crop  of 
either  wheat  or  barley.  The  adoption  of  this 
practice  has  increased  very  greatly  the  value 
of  land  about  Weston." 

There  is  also  a  paper  by  Mr.  Knight  "On 
the  advantages  of  employing  large  Tubers  for 
Seed."  "The  good  effects,"  he  observes, 
"  which  I  have  proved  to  arise  from  planting 
large  tubers  of  the  potato  plant,  obviously 
spring  from  the  large  accumulation  of  fecula 
in  them.  Fed  by  means  of  this,  not  only  a 
large  breadth  of  foliage  is  produced,  and  ex- 
posed to  sight  more  early  in  the  year,  but  that 
foliage  contains  much  disposable  organizable 
matter,  which  once  formed  a  part  of  the  parent 
tuber."  Knight  thought  that  the  ordinary  pro- 
duce of  potatoes  might  be  very  materially  in- 
creased. He  remarks,  "  My  opinion  is,  that 
more  than  a  thousand  bushels  of  potatoes  may 
and  will  be  obtained  from  an  acre  of  ground.'* 

Potatoes  are  fermentable,  and  are  conse- 
quently employed  along  with  barley  by  the 
Scotch  distillers ;  and,  also,  by  the  London 
bakers  in  the  manufacture  of  bread.  The 
fecula  is  also  separated  and  sold  as  arrow-root: 
it  is  a  good  and  sufficiently  pure  starch ;  but  it 
is  less  nutritive  than  the  potato  itself,  owing  to 
the  separation  of  the  saccharine  matter  and  the 
albumen. 

POTATO-FLY  or  BEETLE.  The  green 
cantharides,  or  Spanish-flies,  as  they  are  com- 
monly called,  are  found  in  the  south  of  Europe, 
and  particularly  in  Spain  and  Italy,  where  they 
are  collected  in  great  quantities  for  exporta- 
tion. In  these  countries  they  often  appear  in 
immense  swarms  on  the  privet,  lilac,  and  ash, 
which  are  quickly  stripped  of  their  foliage  by 
these  leaf-eating  beetles.  In  like  manner  the 
American  species  of  cantharides  devour  the 
leaves  of  plants,  and  sometimes  prove  very 
destructive  to  them,  especially  to  those  of  the 
potato.  Four  native  species  of  the  cantharides 
found  in  the  United  States,  have  been  tried  and 
ascertained  to  be  as  effectual  in  raising  blisters 
as  the  imported  species.  The  kind  found  on 
the  potato  is  the  striped  cantharis  (CantharU 
vittata).  It  is  of  a  dull,  tawny  yellow  or  light 
yellowish-red  colour  above,  with  two  black 
spots  on  the  head,  and  two  black  stripes  on  the 
thorax  and  on  each  of  the  wing-covers.  The 
under-side  of  the  body,  the  legs,  and  the  anten- 
nae are  black,  and  covered  with  a  grayish 
down.  Its  length  is  from  five  to  six-tenths  of 
an  inch.  In  this  and  the  three  following  spe 
cies  the  thorax  is  very  much  narrowed  before 


POTATO-FLY. 


POULTRY. 


and  the  wing-covers  are  long  and  narrow,  and 
cover  the  whole  of  the  back.  The  striped  can- 
tharis  is  comparatively  rare  in  New  England ; 
but  in  the  Middle  Slates  it  often  appears  in 
great  numbers,  and  does  much  mischief  in  po- 
tato-fields and  gardens,  eating  up  not  only  the 
leaves  of  the  potato,  but  those  of  many  other 
vegetables. 

The  most  destructive  kind  of  Cantharis, 
found  in  Massachusetts,  is  of  a  more  slender 
form  than  the  preceding,  and  measures  only 
from  five  and  a  half  to  six-tenths  of  an  inch  in 
length.  Its  antennae  and  feet  are  black,  and  all 
the  rest  of  its  body  is  ashen  gray,  being  thickly 
covered  with  a  very  short  down  of  that  colour. 
Hence  it  is  called  Cantharis  rinerea,  or  the  ash- 
coloured  cantharis.  When  the  insect  is  rubbed, 
the  ash-coloured  substance  comes  off,  leaving 
the  surface  black.  It  begins  to  appear  in  gar- 
dens about  the  20th  of  June,  and  is  very  fond  of 
the  leaves  of  the  English  bean,  which  it  some- 
times entirely  destroys.  It  is  also  occasionally 
found  in  considerable  numbers  on  potato-vines; 
and  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  it  has  re- 
peatedly appeared  in  great  profusion  upon 
hedges  of  the  honey-locust,  which  have  been 
Vniirely  stripped  of  foliage  by  these  voracious 
insects.  They  are  also  found  on  the  wild  indi- 
go-weed. In  the  night,  and  in  rainy  weather, 
they  descend  from  the  plants,  and  burrow  in 
the  ground,  or  under  leaves  and  tufts  of  grass. 
Thither  also  they  retire  for  shelter  during  the 
heat  of  the  day,  being  most  actively  engaged 
in  eating  in  the  morning  and  evening.  About 
the  1st  of  August  they  go  into  the  ground  and 
lay  their  eggs,  and  these  are  hatched  in  the 
course  of  one  "month.  The  larvae  are  slender, 
somewhat  flattened  grubs,  of  a  yellowish  co- 
lour, banded  with  black,  with  a  small  reddish 
head,  and  six  legs.  These  grubs  are  very 
active  in  their  motions,  and  appear  to  live 
upon  fine  roots  in  the  ground;  but  I  have  not 
been  able  to  keep  them  till  they  arrived  at  ma- 
turity, and  therefore  know  nothing  further  of 
their  history. 

About  the  middle  of  August,  and  during  the 
rest  of  this  and  the  following  month,  a  jet-black 
cantharis  may  be  seen  on  potato-vines,  and 
also  on  the  blossoms  and  leaves  of  various 
kinds  of  golden-rod,  particularly  the  tall  golden- 
rod  (Solidngo  altissima),  which  seems  to  be  its 
favourite  food.  In  some  places  it  is  as  plenti- 
ful in  potato-fields  as  the  striped  and  the  mar- 
gined cantharis,  and  by  its  serious  ravages  has 
often  excited  attention.  These  three  kinds,  in 
fact,  are  ot\en  confounded  under  the  common 
name  of  potato-flies ;  and  it  is  still  more  re- 
markable, that  they  are  collected  for  medical 
use,  and  are  sold  in  our  shops  by  the  name  of 
Cantharis  vittata,  without  a  suspicion  of  their 
being  distinct  from  each  other.  The  black 
cantharis,  or  Cantharis  atrata,  is  totally  black, 
without  bands  or  spots,  and  measures  from 
four-tenths  to  half  of  an  inch  in  length.  I  have 
repeatedly  taken  these  insects,  in  considerable 
quantities,  by  brushing  or  shaking  them  from 
the  potato-vines  into  a  broad  tin  pan,  from 
which  they  were  emptied  into  a  covered  pail 
containing  a  little  water,  which,  by  wetting 
their  wings,  prevented  their  flying  out  when 


the  pail  was  uncovered.  The  same  methtd 
may  be  employed  for  taking  the  other  kinds  of 
cantharides,  when  they  become  troublesome 
and  destructive  from  their  numbers ;  or  they 
may  be  caught  by  gently  sweeping  the  plants 
they  frequent  with  a  deep  muslin  bag-net. 
They  should  be  killed  by  throwing  them  into 
scalding  water,  for  one  or  two  minutes,  aftei 
which  they  may  be  spread  out  on  sheets  of 
paper  to  dry,  and  may  be  made  profitable  by 
selling  them  to  the  apothecaries  for  medical  use. 
A  species  of  the  genus  Meloe  (august icoUis)^ 
or  narrow-necked  oil-beetle  of  Say,  about  an 
inch  long,  and  of  a  dark  indigo-blue  colour,  is 
very  common  on  butter-cups  in  autumn,  and 
is  also  found  on  potato-vines. 

POTATO  MURRAIN.  Since  the  year  1845, 
when  the  great  destruction  of  potatoes  in  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  took  place,  with  the  conse- 
quent famine,  this  disease  has  been  the  subject 
of  most  active'  and  earnest  investigation.  It 
would  be  vain  to  attempt  giving  even  an  epitome 
of  the  various  views  put  forth  on  the  subject. 
At  present  we  will  only  refer  to  a  single  fact, 
which  seems  to  afford  the  best  clue  towards  de- 
termining the  origin  of  the  disease,  as  well  as 
suggesting  the  best  means  of  preservation  and 
cure ;  namely,  that  the  proportion  of  water, 
always  large  in  the  healthy  potato,  is  greatly  in- 
creased, say  6  to  8  per  cent.,  in  those  about  to 
become  diseased.  One  of  the  best  remedies  is 
said  to  be  planting  in  the  fall ;  even  partially 
diseased  tubers  planted  in  autumn  have  yielded 
good  soimd  potatoes  the  succeeding  season. 

POULTICE.     An  external    application  em- 
ployed for  soothing  pain  and  abating  inflamma- 
j  tion,  and  where  this  is  advanced,  promoting  sup- 
'  puratiori  in  gatherings,  &c.  The  best  for  animals 
jare  prepared  of  ground  flax-seed,  or  rye-meal. 


The  main  object  is  to  have  the  poultice  large 
enou'ih  to  continue  long  moist  and  soft  :  a  hard 
and  dry  poultice  is  much  worse  than  none  at  all. 
In  renewing  poultices,  the  parts  should  always 
be  previously  well  fomented  with  warm  water. 
To  remove  unpleasant  smells,  mashed  carrots 
and  powdered  charcoal  will  be  found  to  make  a 
good  poultice. 

POULTRY.  A  general  term  including  every 
kind  of  domestic  fowl,  which  is  reared  about 
the  house  or  farm-yard,  as  cocks  and  hens, 
ducks,  geese,  turkeys,  &c.  Poultry  constitutes 
a  part  of  every  farmer's  stock,  but  the  rearing 
of  it  in  England  is  not  often  productive  of 
any  pecuniary  advantage ;  for  though  fowls  are 
considered  chiefly  as  an  article  of  luxury,  and 
sold  at  high  prices  in  the  market,  they  seldom 
or  ever  repay  the  value  of  the  corn  which  they 
have  consumed,  especially  if  such  grain  must 
be  purchased.  Indeed,  where  profit  is  the  ob- 
ject of  the  husbandman's  labours,  no  poultry 
should  be  admitted  into  the  vicinity  of  barns, 
unless  for  the  purpose  of  picking  up  scattered 
grain  ;  though,  in  general,  it  cannot  be  denied, 
that  they  acquire  their  fat  substance  from  the 
corn  left  in  the  straw  by  negligent  thrashing. 
The  poor  villager  may,  however  reap,  in  some 
cases,  benefit  from  poultry,  as  the  fowls  are 
able  to  shift  for  themselves  the  greatest  part  of 
the  year,  by  feeding  on  insects,  corn,  or  any 
thing  of  that  nature. . 

There  are  many  different  breeds  of  this  sort 


POUND. 


PREGNANCY. 


of  live-stock ;  but  those  best  known  are  the 
game  breed,  the  white  or  English  breed,  the  black 
or  Poland  breed,  the  Dorking  breed,  the  large  or 
Shakebag  breed,  and  the  Malay  breed.  The  two 
first  are  much  smaller  breeds  than  the  others. 
This  kind  of  stock  affords  profit  in  the  eggs,  as 
well  as  the  chickens  ;  therefore  such  as  are  the 
best  layers  and  sitters  should  be  chosen,  which 
are  in  general  the  game  and  Poland  breeds,  but 
the  other  breeds  have  probably  the  advantage 
in  respect  to  the  size  of  the  eggs  :  as  food,  the 
game  and  the  while  breeds  are  said  to  be  the 
most  delicate. 

The  care  and  management  of  the  poultry- 
yard  usually  devolves  upon  the  farmer's  wife, 
and  the  industrious  housewife  will  do  well  to 
see  to  their  food  and  rearing,  &c.,  herself,  and 
not  trust  too  much  to  servants.  For  the  most 
economical  methods  of  keeping  and  managing 
poultry,  &c.,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  different 
heads  of  Dovecotk,  Ducks,  Fowls,  Goose, 
Turkey,  &c.     See  also  Egos,  Feathehs. 

The  comparative  value  of  the  keep  for  domes- 
tic fowls  is  as  follows:  geese  5  per  cent.,  ducks 
7^  ditto,  pigeons  10  ditto,dunghillfowls40  ditto, 
turkeys  and  Guinea  fowls  f>0  ditto.  From  a  series 
of  observations  made  on  the  diseases  of  domes- 
tic poultry,  Mr.  Flourens  makes  the  fallowing 
conclusions : — 1.  In  these  animals  cold  exer- 
cises a  constant  and  determinate  action  on  their 
lungs.  2.  The  effect  of  this  action  is  the  more 
rapid  and  more  severe,theyoungerihe  animal  is. 
3.  When  cold  does  not  cause  acute  ajnd  speedily 
fatal  inflammation  of  the  lungs,  it  produces  a 
chronic  inflammation,  which  is  pulmonary 
consumption  itself.  [This,  however,  is  a  mis- 
take, as  pulmonary  consumption  is  the  deposi- 
tion of  tubercles  in,  not  inflammation  of,  the 
lungs.]  4.  Heat  always  prevents  the  attack  of 
pulmonary  disease:  when  the  latter  has  taken 
place,  heat  suspends  its  progress,  and  even 
sometimes  arrests  it  entirely,  and  effects  a  com- 
plete cure.  5.  Pulmonary  consumption  in  any 
stage  is  never  contagious  :  fowls  affected  with 
that  disease  were  not  only  all  day  along  with 
the  healthy  fowls,  but  at  night  roosted  in  the 
same  places,  without  communicating  their  dis- 
ease to  them.  6.  Lastly,  the  action  of  too  long 
confined  air  exposes  these  animals  to  abscesses 
of  the  cornea,  and  inflammation  of  the  ball  of 
the  eye.  These  abscesses  and  inflammations 
are  also  caused  in  a  still  more  cruel  manner  by 
cold,  especially  when  accompanied  with  mois- 
ture. (Jnnales  des  Sci.  Nal.)  The  reader  will 
find  an  interesting  essay  by  Mr.  England  on  the 
rearing  and  management  of  domestic  poultry, 
in  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Trans,  of  the  Highl. 
Soc,  to  which  a  premium  was  awarded.  There 
is  also  a  paper  on  the  same  subject  in  the 
eighth  volume  of  the  Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr. 
p.  509. 

FOUND.  In  law,  a  place  where  cattle  and 
goods  which  have  been  distrained  are  to  be 
lodged  and  kept  until  redeemed.  The  common 
meaning  in  the  United  States  is,  a  place  where 
tattle  are  enclosed  and  kept.     See  Distress. 

POVERTY  GRASS,  or  Forked  Arislida; 
freiiuent  in  the  Middle  States,  on  dry,  sterile 
soils. 

PREGNAVCY.  In  cattle,  the  state  of  being 
with  voung  Under  the  heads  Abortion, 
932 


Calving,  Gestation,  &c.,  I  have  gone  viry 
fully  into  this  subject.  The  following  excellent 
observations  by  Mr.  Youatt,  on  the  detection  of 
pregnancy  in  the  mare  and  the  cow,  are  highly 
practical  and  useful. 

Among  healthy  animals,  the  impregnation 
of  the  female  rarely  fails  to  be  the  result  of  an 
intercourse  between  the  sexes.  The  assurance, 
however,  of  this  having  taken  place,  is,  occa- 
sionally, an  affair  of  considerable  interest,  and 
of  no  little  difficulty;  and  the  value  and  the 
destiny  of  the  female  may  very  much  depend 
on  the  decision  of  the  question.  A  certain  time 
having  elapsed,  the  thing  will  speak  for  itself; 
but  are  there  any  symptoms  or  circumstances 
that  will  warrant  the  veterinary  surgeon,  or  the 
agriculturist,  in  giving  a  decided  opinion  on 
the  case  in  an  early  period  of  supposed  preg- 
nancy? 

It  occasionally  happens  that  the  fifth  or  the 
sixth  month  arrives,  and,  even  to  the  practised 
eye,  there  are  few  or  no  indications  of  conception 
having  taken  place.  There  are,  also,  but  some- 
what unfrequently,  diseases  which  very  closely 
simulate  this  natural  process.  Can  the  vete- 
rinary surgeon  or  the  breeder  decide  ?  The 
answer  is  in  the  affirmative,  and  plainly  and 
unequivocally.  This  is  one  of  the  boons  which 
the  veterinary  art  can  now  confer  on  the  agri- 
culturist. The  altered  character  of  the  female 
is  regarded,  and  very  properly,  as  a  circum- 
stance of  no  little  weight.  She  is  compara- 
tively calm  and  quiet;  her  appetite  returns,  and 
she  regains  her  former  condition  and  her  former 
habits.  Five  or  six  weeks  pass,  and  there  is  no 
outbreak  of  any  kind.  The  owner  concludes, 
and  he  is  not  often  wrong,  that  She  is  impreg- 
nated. He,  however,  has  had  little  to  do  with 
mares  or  with  cows  who  has  not  witnessed  the 
return  of  the  most  furious  oestrum,  after  a  much 
longer  period  of  time  has  elapsed.  I  have  known 
more  than  3  months  pass  in  this  delusive  qui- 
etude, and  then  a  salaciousness  worse  than  at 
first  has  indicated  that  no  actual  impregnation 
had  taken  place.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
oestrum,  but  not  with  all  its  former  fury,  has 
returned,  2,  and  3,  and  4  months  after  the  con- 
nection ;  and  yet,  as  the  result  finally  shows, 
impregnation  had  taken  place  at  their  first  in- 
tercourse. 

Many  circumstances  may  cause  the  owner 
to  be  anxious  to  know  the  truth  of  the  matter. 
He  may  wish  to  sell  her,  or  he  may  be  unusu- 
ally desirous  to  breed  from  her.  Let  the  animal 
be  examined  per  vaginam.  Let  the  hand  be 
slowly  and  cautiously  passed  up  the  vagina 
until  it  reaches  the  os  uteri.  Let  there  be  no 
attempt  to  penetrate  farther.  No  information 
can  be  gained  from  introducing  the  fingers  into 
the  uterus.  It  is  simply  wished  to  ascertain 
the  character  of  the  os  uteri.  In  its  natural 
and  unimpregnated  state  it  will  be  closed  ;  but 
it  will  not  be  tightly  or  spasmodically  so,  and 
the  contraction  of  the  mouth  of  the  womb  will 
form  a  kind  of  cup,  with  the  base  towards  that 
viscus.  If  she  is  impregnated,  the  entrance  to 
the  uterus  will  be  more  firmly  closed,  and  the 
protrusion  will  be  towards  the  vagina.  This 
is  the  only  exploration  per  vaginam  which  I 
would  allow  ;  it  is  easily  made,  and  it  will  be 
satisfactory.    If  an  exploration  of  this  kind  is 


1  REGIS  ANCY. 


attempted  when  half  or  more  than  half  of  the 
period  of  pregnancy  has  passed,  it  is  not  at  all 
unlikely  that  so  much  irritation  of  the  parts 
will  ensue  as  to  cause  the  expulsion  of  the 
fetus. 

I  will  suppose  that  2  months  have  passed 
since  the  supposed  impregnation.  The  fetus 
is  still  remaining  in  the  pelvic  cavity.  The 
heart  has  begun  to  beat,  and  the  blood  to  cir- 
culate through  its  little  veins.  It  will  be  situ- 
ated immediately  below  the  rectum.  I  intro- 
duce my  hand  into  that  intestine.  I  have  not 
occasion  to  pass  it  very  far  up.  I  feel  the  little 
substance ;  for  it  then  is  small  in  proportion  to 
its  after  growth.  I  feel  it  under  my  hand.  I 
am  certain  that  I  am  pressing  upon  the  uterus 
and  its  contents.  I  cannot  perhaps  detect  the 
pulsation  of  the  embryo ;  but  if  I  had  delayed 
my  examination  until  the  fetus  was  3  months 
old,  I  should  have  assurance  that  it  was  there 
by  its  now  increased  bulk,  while  the  pulsation 
of  its  heart  would  tell  me  that  it  was  living. 

For  2  months  from  this  period  in  the  cow, 
and  for  3  in  the  mare,  I  should  have  no  other 
indication  of  the  presence  of  the  fetus,  nor  of 
its  life  and  growth,  except  from  the  gradual 
enlargement  of  the  abdomen  of  the  mother; 
and,  by  that  time,  the  little  one  would  have  in- 
creased in  size  and  strength,  and  would  have 
begun  to  take  occasional  exercise  in  its  first 
domicile,  and  then  would  become  the  more 
evident,  but  not  more  satisfactory  proof  of  the 
life  of  the  fetus ;  its  motion  strong  enough  to 
be  seen  through  the  integument. 

I  might,  perhaps,  wish  to  give  this  assurance 
of  the  life  of  the  fetus  to  some  curious  spec- 
tator, or  to  some  intended  purchaser.  I  would 
not  gallop  the  mare  in  order  to  effect  this :  I 
would  not  so  far  disturb  her  or  the  young 
animal  that  she  bore  within  her.  Much  less 
would  I  give  her  cold  water  to  drink,  and 
which  she  usually  would  drink  until  she  an- 
noyed the  fetus,  and  the  unborn  animal  told  us 
how  much  we  annoyed  him  by  endeavouring 
to  shift  his  quarters  and  get  away  from  the 
action  of  the  cold.  I  would  not  am  the  hazard 
of  giving  her  the  colic,  and  perhaps  destroying 
him  or  her  by  this  unscientific  and  somewhat 
cruel  method  of  exploration ;  but  I  probably 
should  give  a  tap  or  two  on  the  outer  wall  of 
his  dwelling,  just  sutficient  to  rouse  him  from 
his  slumbers,  and  induce  him  to  express  his 
anger  at  the  annoyance  by  a  tolerably  distinct 
plunge  or  kick. 

Most  certainly,  if  it  was  a  cow  that  I  was 
exhibiting,  I  would  not  give,  nor  would  I  suffer 
an^  one  else  to  give  those  terrible  punches  in 
the  right  flank  which  I  have  no  doubt  are  the 
cause  of  much  unsuspected  injury,  and,  occa- 
sionally at  least,  connected  with,  or  the  origin 
of  a  dithculi  or  a  fatal  parturition. 

I  may  here  observe  that  the  fetus  of  the  mare, 
from  the  beginning,  occupies  nearly  the  centre 
of  the  belly.  In  the  early  stage,  Mr.  Mogford 
generally  found  it  "  lying  across  the  pelvic  I 
cavity,  the  spine  being  immediately  under;  the 
head  on  the  left  side,  and^the  tail  on  the  right  j 
side."  In  the  latter  portion  of  its  fetal  state  its 
motions  are  pretty  equally  distributed  on  either 
side,  and  the  beating  of  the  fetal  heart  is  most 
plainly  heard  at  the  very  base  of  the  abdomen. 


PRIMROSE. 

The  fetus  of  the  cow  is  huddled  up  on  the  right 
side  of  the  belly.  There  its  motions  are  most 
seen,  and  the  beatings  of  its  heart  best  heard. 
The  enormous  paunch,  lying  principally  on  the 
left  side,  presses  every  other  viscus,  and  the 
uterus  among  the  rest,  into  the  right  flank. 
This  also  explains  a  circumstance  familiar  to 
every  breeder.  If  the  cow  should  happen  to 
carry  twins,  they  are  crowded  together  in  the 
left  flank,  and  one  seems  absolutely  to  lie  upon 
the  other.  Whenever  the  farmer  notices  the 
kicking  of  the  fetus  high  up  in  the  flank,  he  at 
once  calculates  on  twins. 

To  return  from  this  digression.  If  half  the 
period,  or  more,  of  utero-gestation  had  passed, 
and  I  could  not  get  the  little  stranger  to  move 
by  my  gentle  tapping,  and  it  was  a  cow  with 
which  we  had  to  do,  and  a  quiet  one,  I  would 
have  her  carefully  held  by  the  cowherd,  while 
I  stooped  and  applied  my  ear  flat  upon  the 
flank,  and  then  slowly  and  with  gentle  pres- 
sure upwards  and  downwards,  and  forwards 
and  backwards,  over  the  flank  and  the  lower 
partof  it,  until  I  heard— and  which  I  should  do 
in  a  great  majority  of  cases — the  pulsations  of 
the  fetal  heart.  I  should  recognise  it  by  their 
quickness,  the  pulsations  of  the  fetus  being 
double  or  more  than  double  those  of  the  other. 

If  it  was  a  mare,  I  would  have  a  halter  put 
on  her,  and  an  assistant  should  hold  up  one  of 
her  legs,  while  some  person  interested  reached 
under,  or  perhaps  knelt  under  the  belly  of  the 
mare,  and  passing  one  ear  along  an  imaginary 
line  from  between  the  teats  to  the  chest,  and 
deviating  a  little  from  one  side  to  the  other,  he 
would  then  also  recognise  the  quick  pulsation 
of  the  fetal  heart. 

These  observations  are  addressed  to  prac- 
tical men,  and  will  be  speedily  put  to  the  test 
by  them.  The  object  of  the  author  is  to  get 
rid  of  the  vulgar  and  ineflicient  methods  of  de- 
tecting pregnancy  which  are  now  in  general 
use,  and  to  introduce  others  that  are  founded 
on  a  surer  and  more  scientific  basis. 

This  subject  has  been  treated  of  by  others, 
and  Dr.  J.  C.  Ferguson,  of  King's  College,  Lon- 
don, has  published  an  Essay  on  Auscultation,  as 
the  only  unequivocal  Evidence  of  Pregnancy.  Aus- 
cultation is  the  method  employed  by  physicians 
to  determine  the  healthy  or  diseased  condition 
of  the  lungs  and  other  internal  parts,  by  means 
of  the  ear  and  stethoscope. 

PRICKING.  In  hunting,  the  tracing  of  a 
hare,  where  her  footing  can  be  perceived.  In 
farriery,  the  term  is  used  to  signify  the  driving 
a  nail  into  the  soft  or  quick  part  of  a  horse's 
foot,  so  as  to  cause  temporary  lameness. 

PRIMROSE  {Primula,  from  primus,  the  first; 
in  allusion  to  the  early  flowering  of  the  plants). 
This  is  an  extensive  genus  of  small,  but  very 
pretty  and  desirable  plants.  All  the  species  of 
primrose  succeed  best  in  a  mixture  of  loam 
and  peat,  and  increase  readily  by  seeds,  or  by 
dividing  the  plants,  which  should  bt  done  as 
soon  as  they  have  flowered.  There  are  in 
England  five  indigenous  species. 

1.  The  common  primrose  (P.  vulgaris)^ 
grows  common  everywhere  in  England, 
adorning  the  groves,  hedges,  and  waste  grassy 
places  in  spring;  flowering  from  March  tc 
June.      Flowers    numerous,    large     su  phur 


PRIMROSE  PEERLESS. 


PULSE. 


coloured,  with  a  darker  radiating  spot  in  the 
middle;  their  scent  agreeable,  though  slight. 
There  are  cultivated  varieties,  white,  parplish, 
or  brown,  single  or  double,  of  which  the  double 
sulphur-coloured  is  peculiarly  elegant. 

2.  Oxlip  primrose  (P.  clatior).  This  is  a 
less  common  species,  found  in  woods  and  pas- 
tures, but  rare.  It  is  perennial,  and  flowers  in 
April. 

3.  Common  cowslip,  or  paigle  (P.  verit). 
See  Cowslip. 

4.  Bird's-eye  primrose  (P.  farinosa).  This 
species  is  fpand  growing  in  wet  pastures  and 
b7  rivulets,  on  mountains  in  the  north  of  Eng- 
land as  well  as  in  Scotland.  It  flowers  later 
than  the  preceding  species,  in  June  and  July, 
and  is  only  about  half  the  size  of  the  cowslip. 
It  is  distinguished  by  the  white  mealiness  of 
the  flower-stalks  and  backs  of  the  leaves, 
whose  upper  sides  are  green,  smooth,  and 
even,  as  well  as  by  the  beautiful  rose-coloured 
flowers,  whose  mouth  is  surrounded  with  a 
notched,  yellow,  glandular  border. 

5.  Scottish  primrose  (P.  Scotica).  This  spe- 
cies is  met  with  occasionally  in  the  north  of 
Scotland,  and  is  near  akin  to  that  last  described. 

PRIMROSE  PEERLESS,  or  Narcissus. 

PRIVET  (Ligustrum,  from  ligare,  to  tie;  in 
allusion  to  the  very  flexible  branches).  The 
common  privet,  print,  or  prim-print  (X.  vidgare), 
is  a  hardy  shrub,  growing  from  6  to  8  feet  in 
height,  in  its  wild  state  tenanting  rather  moist 
thickets  and  hedges,  on  a  gravelly  or  chalky 
soil:  but  it  grows  well  in  any  situation,  and  in 
all  soils.  It  may  be  propagated  by  seeds, 
layers,  or  cuttings.  These  plants  are  well 
suited  for  making  cut-hedges  in  gardens,  espe- 
cially the  evergreen  varieties  of  the  common 
privet.  The  branches  are  straight,  filled  with 
pitch,  and  the  wood  is  hard. 

PROPAGATION  OF  PLANTS.  The 
greater  number  of  plants  are  propagated  na- 
turally by  means  of  seeds ;  but,  in  addition  to 
these,  many  plants  are  extended  over  the  sur- 
face on  which  they  take  root  by  the  production 
of  runners,  or  lateral  shoots,  which  spread 
along  the  surface,  and  root  at  the  joints  or  buds, 
from  which  they  send  up  new  plants,  by  suck- 
ers, or  side  shoots  from  the  roots,  by  bulbs,  by 
tubers,  rhizomes,  and  by  various  other  natural 
means.  Artificially,  plants  are  propagated  by 
seed,  by  runners,  suckers,  offsets,  dividing  the 
tubers,  layers,  cuttings,  grafting,  budding,  in- 
arching, &c.  Seeds  are  gathered  when  mature, 
and  sown  on  recently-stirred  soil,  and  covered 
to  different  depths  according  to  the  size  of  the 
seed,  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  situation,  and 
other  circumstances.  The  plants  formed  by 
runners  are  separated  from  the  parent  plant  by 
cutting  through  the  runner,  and  removing  the 
young  plant,  in  order  to  plant  it  elsewhere. 
Suckers,  slips,  or  side-shoots  from  the  roots  are 
separated  from  the  parent  plant  by  being  slipped 
down,  or  cut  off",  so  as  to  carry  with  them  a 
portian  of  fibrous  roots ;  and  they  are  after- 
wards planted  in  suitable  soil,  &c.  Offsets 
^re  small  bulbs  which  are  produced  round  the 
base  of  larger  ones,  or  on  stems,  in  the  axillae 
.»f  the  leaves,  and,  being  taken  off"  and  planted, 
lifc^me  plants.  Tubers  are  underground 
•jirms  containing  leaf-buds;  and  these  may  be 
934 


separated  and  planted  entire;  or  cut  into  aa 
many  pieces  as  there  are  buds,  in  either  of 
which  cases  new  plants  will  be  formed.  Lay- 
ers are  branches  or  shoots  of  either  woody  or 
herbaceous  plants,  which'  are  bent  down,  and 
a  portion  of  their  length  buried  a  few  inches 
in  the  soil ;  that  portion  having  been  previous- 
ly wounded  by  cutting,  bruising,  or  twisting, 
which,  by  checking  the  descent  of  the  sap, 
gives  rise,  after  a  certain  period,  to  the  pro- 
duction of  roots. 

After  these  roots  are  formed,  the  portion  of 
the  layer  which  has  produced  them  is  sepa- 
rated from  the  main  stock  or  parent  plant,  and 
planted  by  itself. 

Cuttings  are  portions  of  shoots,  either  of 
ligneous  or  herbaceous  plants,  and  they  are 
made  of  the  young  shoots  with  the  leaves  on, 
or  of  the  ripened  wood,  either  with  or  without 
its  leaves ;  and  after  they  have,  either  in  an 
herbaceous  stat^with  the  leaves  on,  or  with  the 
wood  mature,  and  with  or  without  the  leaves, 
been  properly  prepared  and  planted,  they  form 
roots  at  the  lower  extremity,  each  cutting  be- 
coming a  perfect  plant.  In  general,  cuttings 
should  be  taken  from  those  shoots  of  a  plant 
which  are  nearest  the  soil;  because,  from  the 
moisture  and  shade  there,  such  shoots  are 
more  predisposed  to  emit  roots  than  those  on 
the  upper  part  of  the  plant. 

The  young,  or  last-formed  shoots,  are  to  be 
taken  in  preference  to  such  as  are  older,  as 
containing  more  perfect  buds  in  an  undeve- 
loped state,  and  a  bark  more  easily  permeable 
by  roots;  and  the  cutting  is  to  be  prepared  by 
severing  its  lower  extremity  across  at  a  joint, 
the  lenticells,  or  root-buds,  being  there  most 
abundant.  When  the  cutting  is  planted,  the 
principal  part  of  the  art  consists  in  making  it 
quite  firm  at  the  lower  extremity,  so  as  com- 
pletely to  exclude  the  air  from  the  wotmded 
section.  Cuttings  emit  roots  at  this  section, 
either  in  consequence  of  the  action  of  the  ac- 
cumulated sap  in  the  cutting,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  ripened  wood  in  deciduous  trees  and 
shrubs  ;  or  in  consequence  of  the  joint  action 
of  the  accumulated  sap  and  of  the  leaves,  as 
in  the  case  of  cuttings  of  soft  wood  with  the 
leaves  on,  and  in  a  living  state.  A  few  plants 
are  propagated  by  cuttings  of  the  leaves,  the 
petiole  of  the  leaf  being  slipped  off"  from  the 
parent  plant,  and  probably  containing  the  latent 
embryos  of  buds.  Grafting,  inarching,  and 
budding,  are  processes  which  have  been  al- 
ready explained.  See  Buddiitg,  Grafting, 
Latkrtnr,  &c. 

PUCCOON  {Batschia  Canadensis).  A  plant 
in  the  United  States  with  an  extremely  red 
root,  called  American  Alkanet. 

PULSE.  A  term  applied  to  all  leguminous 
plants,  as  peas,  beans,  tares,  vetches,  lupins, 
&c.  All  the  species  of  pulse  afford  excellent 
manure  when  turned  into  the  soil  in  a  green 
state.  The  custom  of  ploughing  in  green  suc- 
culent plants  of  this  kind  is  very  ancient.  All 
the  Roman  agricultural  writers  commend  it 
highly.  Columella,  particularly,  advises  lupins 
!  as  a  manure,  which,  if  cut  down  and  turned  in 
I  while  green,  will  have  as  good  effect  as  the  best 
1  and  strongest  dunging  whatever.  They  may 
I  be  sown  upon  poor  land  about  the  middle  of 


PUMPKIN 


September,  and  be  ploughed  in  before  they 
attain  their  full  growth.  In  gravelly  soils  they 
should  be  cut  down  after  they  have  put  forth 
their  second  flower ;  and  in  strong  lands,  where 
a  little  more  advanced.  In  the  former  of  these 
grounds  they  are  turned  in  while  young  and 
tender,  thai  they  may  quickly  rot ;  and  in  the 
latter,  are  let  stand  till  they  grow  stronger,  that 
they  may  produce  a  better  effect  on  the  stiff 
clods  of  earth,  and  render  them  more 'mellow 
and  friable.  This  practice  is  still  extensively 
followed  in  northern  Italy. 

Peas,  beans,  lupins,  vetches,  and  other  suc- 
culent plants,  have  also  been  strongly  recom- 
mended by  the  older  writers  on  husbandry,  as 
excellent  manures,especially  for  sandy  ground ; 
these  plants  enriching  the  earth  greatly  if 
ploughed  in,  either  green,  or  when  in  bloom. 
In  strong  land  they  are  advised  not  to  be  turned 
down  till  the  pods  begin  to  harden.  See  Greex 
Crops,  Lerumikous  Piukts,  Psas,  Rotatioit 
OF  Crops,  &c. 

FUMPKIN  (Cururbita  pepo).  The  pumpkin 
is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  United  States, 
where  there  are  many  varieties,  some  of  them 
attaining  the  enormous  size  of  2  feet  or  more  in 
diameter.  But  such  large  ones  are  not  so  highly 
esteemed.  The  better  sorts  are  often  used  at 
table,  affording  the  celebrated  pumpkin  pie  of 
New  England;  and  the  coarser  varieties  are 
esteemed  for  feeding  stock.  When  growing  in 
the  vicinity  of  squashes,  the  fruit  of  this  is 
liable  to  be  converted  into  a  hybrid,  of  little 
or  no  value.  Crops  of  pumpkins  have  been 
totally  spoiled  by  that  cause,  the  fruit  becom- 
ing very  hard  and  warty,  unfit  for  the  table, 
and  unsafe  to  give  to  cattle.     Flora  Cestrica. 

PURGATIVES.  In  farriery,  such  medicines 
as  tend  to  evacuate  the  crudities  of  the  bowels 
by  stool,  and  which  are  sometimes  called  ca- 
thartics.    See  Purging. 

The  purgatives  most  frequently  employed 
for  horses  and  cows  are  sulphur,  jalap,  aloes, 
gamboge,  Rhamnus  catharlicusy  and  calomel. 
Saline  purgatives  are  not  often  required;  but 
when  they  are,  Epsom  salts  (the  sulphate  of 
magnesia),  is  adequate  for  every  purpose. 

PURGING  is  necessary  in  a  variety  of  cases, 
for  different  sorts  of  animals,  particularly  in 
diseases  of  the  inflammatory  kind,  swellings  in 
the  extreme  parts.  Aloes  is  the  best  form  of 
physic;  but  Epsom  salts,  linseed,  and  olive  oil, 
are  sometimes  used  on  certain  occasions  as 
laxatives  with  great  propriety  and  benefit,  and 
in  gross,  full  horses,  in  some  disorders  of  the 
stomach,  liver,  &c.,  but  it  should  always  be  di- 
rected with  caution. 

Violent  purging  or  scouring,  attended  with 
inflammation,  will  sometimes  arise  when  a 
horse  is  worked  hard  upon  green  meat.  The 
remedy  is  change  of  diet  or  less  labour.  As- 
tringents should  be  used  with  much  caution. 
It  is  probably  an  effort  of  nature  to  get  rid  of 
something  that  offends.  A  few  doses  of  gruel 
will  assist  in  effecting  this  purpose,  and  the 
purging  will  cease  without  astringent  medi- 
cine. See  Aloes,  Balls,  Drenches,  Lixseed 
Oil.  &c. 

PURSLANE  (PorttUaca:  from  por/o, to  carry, 
and  lac,  milk;  juicy  nature  of  the  plants), 
purslane  is  now  but  little  noticed  as  a  garden 


PUTREFACTION. 

flower,  but  in  Britain  is  still  cultivated  as  & 
salad  and  pot-herb.  The  species  usually  growa 
in  the  kitchen  garden  are  the  green  or  gardea 
purslane  (P.  oleracea),  and  the  golden  purslane 
(P.  saliva). 

PUTREFACTION  (Lsit.  Putrefadio).  The 
spontaneous  decomposition  of  animal  and  ve- 
getable substances,  attended  by  the  evolution 
of  fetid  gases.  The  putrefactive  fermentation 
of  animal  substances  is  usually  attended  by 
more  fetid  and  noxious  exhalations  than  those 
arising  from  vegetable  products.  This  appears 
principally  referable  to  the  more  abundant 
presence  of  nitrogen  in  the  former;  and,  hence, 
those  vegetables  which  abound  in  nitroginife- 
rous  principles,  such  as  most  (if  not  all)  of  the 
cruciform  plants,  exhale  peculiarly  nauseous 
eflluvia;  hence,  also,  such  animal  products  as 
are  destitute  of  nitrogen,  are  either  unsuscepti- 
ble of  what  is  commonly  called  putrefaction, 
or  suffer  it  slowly  and  imperfectly.  The  for- 
mation of  ammonia  or  of  ammoniacal  com- 
pounds is  a  characterisiic  of  most  cases  of 
animal  putrefaction  ;  while  other  combinations 
of  hydrogen  are  also  formed,  especially  carbu- 
retted  hydrogen,  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen, 
together  with  complicated  and  often  highly  in- 
fectious vapours  or  gases,  in  which  sulphur  and 
phosphoms  are  frequently  discerned.  These 
putrefactive  effluvia  are,  for  the  most  part, 
easily  decomposed,  and  resolved  into  new  and 
comparatively  innocuous  compounds  by  the 
agency  of  chlorine  ;  hence  the  importance  of 
that  body  as  a  powerful  and  rapidly  acting  dis- 
infectant. The  rapidity  of  putrefaction  and  the 
nature  of  its  products  are,  to  a  great  extent,  in- 
fluenced by  temperature,  moisture,  and  access 
of  air;  they  do  not  ensue  below  the  freezing 
point,  nor  in  dry  substances,  nor  under  the 
entire  exclusion  of  oxygen ;  and  hence  various 
means  suggest  themselves  of  retarding  or  pre- 
venting putrefaction,  as  well  as  of  modifying 
its  results.  A  temperature  between  60°  and 
80°,  a  due  degree  of  humidity,  and  free  access 
of  air  are  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
proceeds  most  rapidly.  The  most  effective 
antiputrefactives,  or  antiseptics,  are  substances 
which  either  absorb  or  remove  a  portion  of 
the  water  or  moisture,  and  enter  into  new  com- 
binations with  the  organic  matter.  The  astrin- 
gent or  tannic  principle  of  vegetables  is  also  a 
powerful  preserver  of  most  organic  tissues ; 
it  enters  into  chemical  combination  with  the 
albuminous  and  gelatinous  membranes  and 
fibres  ;  and  the  resulting  compound,  of  which 
leather  furnishes  a  characteristic  example,  is 
comparatively  little  prone  to  change,  although 
the  tanning  material  itself,  as  well  as  the  animal 
principles  with  which  it  unites,  are  separately 
liable  to  decay.  Among  saline  substances,  the 
antiputrefactive  powers  of  salt  are  commonly 
known  :  when  a  piece  of  flesh  is  salted,  brine 
runs  from  it,  in  consequence  of  the  energy 
with  which  the  salt  abstracts  the  component 
water  of  the  muscular  fibre  ;  the  flesh  becomes 
indurated,  and  its  susceptibility  to  putrefactive 
changes  is  greatly  diminished;  but  it  becomes 
at  the  same  time  less  easy  of  digestion  as  an 
article  of  food.  Corrosive  sublimate  is  a  far 
more  powerful  preservative  than  common  salt 
and  it  appears  to  act  not  by  the  mere  abttrar 

9?r^ 


PYROLIGNEOUS  ACID. 


QUINOA. 


lion  of  water,  but  b}'  entering  into  chemical 
union  with  the  fibre.  Sulphate  of  copper  and 
several  other  metallic  salts  are  similarly  effica- 
cious; but  their  poisonous  nature  prevents 
their  employment  in  the  preservation  of  arti- 
cles of  food. 

The  inhabitants  of  northern  climates  avail 
themselves  of  freezing  to  prevent  the  putrefac- 
tion of  their  food,  and  the  supplies  of  gane 
and  other  articles  in  the  Russian  markets  are 
retained  in  a  frozen  state.  Our  fishmongers 
resort  to  the  same  expedient  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  unsold  fish,  which  is  daily  removed 
to  the  ice*house,  after  having  been  exhibited  in 
their  shops ;  salmon  is  packed  in  ice  for  the 
purpose  of  transport  and  preservation.  See 
Decomposition,  Dry  Rot,  FKKMENTATJOif,  Ma- 
nures, Organic  Chkmistrt,  &c. 

PYROLIGNEOUS  ACID.  This  term  is 
generally  applied  to  the  acid  liquor  which 
passes  over  along  with  tar  and  gaseous  pro- 
ducts, when  wood  is  subjected  to  destructive 
distillation.  This  acid  liquor  is  an  impure 
vinegar,  from  which  acetic  acid  is  obtained. 
It  has  in  its  impure  state  a  powerful  smoky 
odour,  not  unlike  that  of  Westphalia  ham. 
The  acid  is  purified  by  converting  it  into  ace- 
tate of  soda,  and  decomposing  that  salt  by 
means  of  sulphuric  acid.  This  acetic  acid, 
after  distillation,  is  in  a  high  stale  of  concen- 
tration ;  but  it  differs  from  concentrated  acetic 
acid,  by  being  neither  combustible  nor  crystal- 
lizable.  It  is  usually  lowered  by  the  addition 
of  water.  If  intended  for  the  table  or  for  do- 
mestic use,  as  a  substitute  for  other  forms  of 
vinegar,  it  is  usually  coloured  with  a  little 
burned  sugar.  This  manufacture  of  vinegar 
is  now  carried  on  upon  a  very  large  scale,  and 
the  greater  part  of  the  vinegar  used  for  domes- 
tic purposes  and  in  the  arts,  in  many  of  which 
it  is  largely  consumed,  is  derived  from  this 
source.  Ordinary  vinegar,  besides  containing 
acetic  acid  and  water,  contains  also  sulphate 
of  lime,  some  ethereal  matter,  a  portion  of  sul- 
phuric acid,  and  a  colouring  principle.  See 
Vinebar. 


Q. 


•ib 

QUAKING  GRASS  (Briza;  named  from 
brizo,  to  nod,  on  a^(Jt)unt  of  the  quaking  cha- 
racter of  the  spikelets).  A  genus  of  grasses  of 
which  some  species  are  pretty  and  interesting, 
as  B.  minor,  B.  rubra,  and  B.  clusii;  but  the 
greater  portion  are  mere  weeds.  The  whole 
are  of  easy  cultivation.  Two  species  are  in- 
digenous to  Britain,  the  smaller  quaking  grass 
{B.  minor),  and  the  common  quaking  grass  {B. 
media),  p].  6,  n.    See  Briza. 

QUARRY.  A  pit  or  drift  from  which  stones, 
gravel,  slates,  or  some  other  similar  material 
is  raised. 

QUARTER.  The  fourth  part  of  any  thing, 
as  of  a  carcass.  As  a  term  of  weight  it  de- 
notes the  fourth  of  a  hundred  weight,  or  28  lbs.; 
the  "  Quarter,"  so  frequently  mentioned  in 
British  trade  returns  in  their  reports  of  the 
movements  and  consumption  of  grain,  weighs 
560  pounds,  and  is  made  up  of  eight  bushels 
of  seventy  pounds  each.  It  is  equivalent  to 
five  owl. 

986 


QUARTZ.  A  German  term,  now  universally 
adopted  in  scientific  languages,  and  commonly 
applied  in  mineralogy  to  the  purer  varieties  of 
silica,  especially  to  rock  crystal.  Quartz  oc- 
curs also  in  beds  :  it  is  usually  granular,  white, 
sometimes  mixed  with  mica. 

QUICKS.  The  young  sets  of  the  white  thora 
used  in  planting  hedges.  The  term  is  also 
applied  to  couch-grass,  in  some  places  a  great 
nuisance.     See  Couch  Grass. 

QUICKSANDS— Are  sandy  spots  of  soil 
which  contain  water  in  such  a  proportion  as 
to  form  a  sort  of  shaking  quag  at  certain  times. 

QUICKSET.  A  term  applied  to  the  white 
or  hawthorn,  the  sets  or  young  plants  of  which 
are  raised  by  the  nursery  gardeners  for  sale 
for  this  purpose.  See  Fence,  Hawthorn,  and 
Hedoe. 

QUINCE  (Cydonia),  A  well-known  genus 
of  fruit  trees.  C.  vulgaris  is  the  species  gene- 
rally cultivated  for  its  fruit.  It  is  a  native  of 
Candia;  but  cultivated  over  most  parts  of  Eu- 
rope and  North  America.  It  belongs  to  the 
natural  order  Pomacecp.  The  fruit,  or  quince, 
is  of  a  roundish,  somewhat  pyriform  shape, 
and  contains  ovate-pointed,  plano-convex  seeds, 
yielding  to  boiling  a  large  quantity  of  muci- 
lage, which  is  employed  in  medical  practice  as 
a  demulcent.  The  quince  will  thrive  in  any 
soil,  and  may  be  multiplied  by  suckers.  C.  ;a- 
poiiica  is  one  of  the  handsomest  hardy  shrubs, 
producing  its  beautiful  scarlet  or  white  flowers 
in  great  abundance.  The  Portuguese  quince 
is  reckoned  the  best.  Quince-marmalade  is 
greatly  admired  by  those  who  are  fond  of  the 
fruit,  and  all  good  housewives  know  its  value 
in  adding  richness  of  flavour  to  apple-pie. 

QUINOA,  or  PERUVIAN  RICE  (Chenopo. 
dium  quinoa).  Humboldt  speaks  of  this  plant 
as  one  of  the  few  cultivated  in  the  highest  and 
coldest  regions  of  the  Andes  and  the  Mexican 
Cordilleras,  where  it  ranks  in  utility  with  the 
potato,  Indian  corn,  and  wheat.  Whilst  young, 
the  leaves  are  used  as  spinach,  oxalis  (sorrel), 
or  common  greens,  whilst  the  seeds  are  boiled 
in  soups  and  used  as  a  substitute  for  rice.  The 
plant  is  an  annual,  and  resembles  French  spi- 
nach, or  its  kindred  Lamb's-quarter  (Chenopo- 
dium  album),  which  is  so  widely  diffused 
throughout  the  United  States.  The  seeds  are 
small,  about  the  twelfth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
yellowish-white,  flat,  resemble  those  of  millet, 
and  are  easily  pulverized.  The  plant  attains 
about  3  feet  in  height,  and  produces  greenish 
flowers  about  the  1st  of  August.  Mr.  Gideon  B. 
Smith  has  raised  the  quinoa  at  Baltimore,  and 
found  it  very  productive,  (jlm.  Farmer,  vol.  13.) 
There  are  a  great  many  species  of  chenopo- 
dium,  many  of  which  are  enumerated  under 
the  head  of  goose-foot.  In  Peru,  it  would 
seem  the  quinoa  is  subjected  to  a  process  of 
scalding  or  part-boiling,  before  it  is  disposed 
of  by  the  cultivator,  whether  for  the  purpose 
of  assisting  in  its  preservation,  or  to  prevent 
its  cultivation  in  other  countries,  is  not  ascer- 
tained. To  this  fact  may  probably  be  ascribed 
the  failure  of  all  previous  attempts  to  cultivate 
it.  Having,  says  Mr.  Smith,  eaten  the  quinoa, 
prepared  in  several  ways,  we  are  of  course  en- 
abled to  speak  of  its  qualities  from  experience. 
Gentlemen  who  have  eaten  it  in  Peru,  sv \)g 


QUITTER. 


RADISH. 


of  it  in  the  highest  terms  of  praise.  It  has  a 
very  pleasant  flavour,  although  this  is  peculiar 
and  may  not  at  first  be  relished.  The  taste 
more  resembles  that  of  oat-meal  than  rice.  The 
grain  is  chiefly  composed  of  a  grain  or  sprout 
of  the  young  plant,  closely  coiled,  and  imbed- 
ded in  farina.  In  boiling,  this  spiral  germ  is 
detached,  and  the  dish  presents  the  appearance 
of  being  full  of  skippers,  something  similar  to 
a  dish  of  boiled  beans.  The  description  of  the 
mode  of  sowing  and  cultivating  the  quinoa  in 
Peru,  together  with  the  seed,  was  furnished  Mr. 
Smith  by  Lieut.  Fitzhugh,  U.  S.  N.  From  this 
it  appears  (hat  it  is  sown  broadcast,  and  gathered 
in  ihe  same  seasons  as  wheat.  When  ripe,  the 
grain  shells  oflvery  easily,  and  to  prevent  loss, 
it  is  cut  carefully  and  gathered  in  on  cloths  of 
cotton  or  linen. 

QUITTER.  In  farriery,  an  ulcer  foryied 
between  the  hair  and  hoof,  usually  on  the  in- 
side quarter  of  a  horse's  foot;  it  often  arises 
from  treads  and  bruises,  sometimes  from  gra- 
vel, which,  by  working  its  way  upwards,  lodges 
about  the  coronet;  if  it  is  only  superficial,  it 
may  be  cured  by  cleansing  dressings,  bathing 
the  coronet  every  day  with  spirits  of  wine,  and 
dressing  the  sore  with  lime-water,  or  a  deter- 
gent application,  such  as  red  precipitate. 


R. 


RABBIT.  (Lepusatniittlus).  A  well-known 
animal,  resembling  the  hare,  smaller  in  size, 
belonging  to  the  order  Rodent ite.  The  rabbit  has 
shorter  hind-legs  than  the  hare,  and  the  ears 
are  more  thinly  covered  with  hair.  Rabbits 
abound  in  England,  and  are  in  many  cases 
preserved  in  warrens.  They  are  very  prolific, 
and  begin  to  breed  at  six  months  old,  and  have 
several  broods  in  a  year,  and  from  five  to  seven 
young  ones  in  a  brood.  The  young  are  blind 
at  birth,  and  nearly  naked.  Their  fur,  in  a 
wild  state,  is  of  a  brown  colour;  but  varies 
when  domesticated  It  constitutes  a  principal 
article  in  the  manufacture  of  hats.  Owing  to 
its  slight  conducting  power,  it  is,  next  to  hare's 
fur,  an  excellent  thing  to  wear  over  the  shirt 
for  those  predisposed  to  consumption. 

RACEME  (Lat.  raccmus,  a  bunch  of  grapes). 
In  botany,  a  form  of  inflorescence,  in  which 
the  flowers  are  stalked  along  a  common  un- 
branched  axis,  as  in  the  hyacinth. 

RA(>HIS  (Gr.).  A  branch  which  proceeds 
in  nearly  a  straight  line  from  the  base  to  the 
apex  of  the  inflorescence  of  a  plant.  It  is  also 
applied  to  the  petioles  of  the  leaves  of  ferns. 

RACK.  A  railed  convenience  formed  above 
the  manger  in  a  stable  for  the  reception  of  the 
hay.  It  should  be  constructed  with  openings 
ai  the  bottom  for  the  seed  or  dust  to  pass 
through. 

RADICLE.  In  botany,  that  portion  of  an 
embryo  which  eventually  becomes  the  descend- 
ing axis  or  root.  It  is  the  lowest  of  the  two 
opposite  cones  of  which  an  embryo  plant  con- 
sists. 

RADISH,  CULTIVATED  (Raphamis  sati- 
vu$).  There  are  two  kinds  of  cultivated  radish, 
the  fusiform,  or  spindle-rooted,  and  the  globu- 
lar, or  turnip-rooted ;  and  these  again  are  di- 
llft 


vided  into  the  spring  and  autumn  varieties.  As 
for  the  designation  of  short  and  long  top,  by 
which  the  old  gardeners  divided  the  varieties, 
I  perfectly  agree  with  Mr.  Strachan,  the  gar- 
dener of  the  London  Horticultural  Society,  in 
considering  it  as  giving  importance  to  a  differ- 
ence that  is  by  no  means  permanent.  The 
first  may  be  sown  at  all  times  of  the  year;  but 
the  last,  requiring  a  greater  length  of  time  to 
perfect  their  roots,  can  only,  as  the  name  im- 
plies, be  obtained  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
year. 

Spring  Varieties. — Fusiform-rooted  :  1.  Long 
white,  called  also  the  white  transparent,  white 
Italian,  and  Naples  radish.  2.  White  Rus- 
sian, probably  the  Raphanus  sativus  of  Gerard. 
3.  Twisted  radish  of  Mons.  4.  Scarlet  or 
salmon,  or  scarlet-transparent  radish.  5.  Pur- 
ple, formerly  called  exclusively  the  short- 
topped.     6.  Red-necked  white. 

Turnip-rooted:  7.  White  turnip  is  the  only 
one  noticed  by  Gerard,  as  the  Raphanus  orbicvr 
latus.  8.  Early  white  turnip.  9.  Pink,  rose- 
coloured,  scarlet,  and  crimson  turnip.  10.  Pur- 
ple turnip.     11.  Yellow  turnip. 

Jutumn  and  Winter  Varieties. — These  are  all 
of  the  turnip-rooted  kind;  and  in  the  following 
list  they  are  described  in  the  order  they  follow 
in  coming  into  use.  1.  Yellow  turnip.  2,  Round 
brown.  3.  White  Spanish,  is  Miller's  Rapha- 
nus albusorbimlnris.  4.  Oblong  brown.  5.  Black 
Spanish.  6.  Large  purple  winter,  or  purple 
Spanish. 

The  soil  best  suited  for  this  vegetable  is  a 
mouldy  loam,  rather  silicious  than  otherwise, 
and  moderately  fertile.  It  should  be  dug  a  full 
spade  deep,  and  well  pulverized.  The  subsoil 
is  best  to  be  rather  hard.  Manure  should  not 
be  applied  at  the  time  of  sowing,  if  avoidable, 
as  it  is  apt  to  cause  the  roots  to  be  fibrous.  It 
employed, itshould be  in  afinely-divided, putres- 
cent state.  The  situation  should  always  be 
open  ;  but  for  early  and  late  crops,  warm  and 
sheltered.  Radishes  are  propagated  by  seed, 
which  may  be  sown  at  all  times  throughout  the 
year.  For  the  earliest  productions,  during  De- 
cember, January,  and  February,  in  a  hot-bed ; 
and  in  the  open  ground  once  a  month  during 
winter,  and  every  fortnight  during  the  other 
seasons  of  the  year. 

The  time  of  drawing  radishes  is  by  no  means 
indiflTsrent.  They  eat  in  the  greatest  perfection 
if  pulled  in  the  morning  before  the  sun  has 
attained  any  power,  and  laid  in  a  cool,  damp 
place  until  wanted.  The  bed  should  have  a 
plenteous  watering  the  morning  before  that  on 
which  they  are  taken,  but  none  afterwards 
until  subsequent  to  the  drawing.  In  Novem- 
ber, those  wanted  for  winter  must  be  taken  up 
during  dry  weather,  and  preserved  in  sand. 
,  Forcing. — A  moderate  hot-bed  is  required  for 
this  crop,  of  a  length  according  with  that  of 
the  frame  to  be  employed ;  the  mould,  about 
eight  inches  deep,  on  the  surface  of  which  the 
seed  is  to  be  sown  as  soon  as  the  violent  heat 
is  abated,  and  an  additional  half  inch  of  mould 
sifted  over  it.  The  seedlings  are  in  general 
up  in  less  than  a  week,  and  in  six  they  will  b^ 
ready  to  draw.  Throughout  thoir  growth  air 
must  be  admitted  as  freely  as  is  allowable. 
The  glasses,  however,  must  be  closed  on  the 
4K  937 


RADISH.  THE  HORSE. 


RAIN. 


approach  of  evening,  and  mats  or  other  co- 
vering put  on  in  proportion  to  the  severity  of 
the  season.  When  the  mould  appears  at  all 
dry,  a  light  watering  must  be  given  during 
noon.  The  plants  must  not  stand  nearer  than 
two  inches  to  each  other  The  temperature 
required  is  from  50°  to  70°;  and  it  must  be 
kept  to  this  heat  by  moderate  coatings  a." 
required. 

If  there  is  a  deficiency  of  frames,  hoops  and 
mats  may  be  employed,  a  frame  of  boards 
being  formed  round  the  bed,  light  and  air  being 
admitted  as  freely  and  as  often  as  possible.  If 
seed  is  sown  within  a  frame  without  any  bot- 
tom heat,  the  plants  will  be  two  or  three  weeks 
forwarder  than  if  sown  in  the  open  ground. 

RADISH, THE  HORSE.  See  HonHE-RADisn. 

RADISH,    THE   GREAT    WATER.      See 

CliKSS. 

RADISH-MAGGOT.  Radishes,  while  grow- 
ing, are  very  apt  to  be  attacked  by  maggots, 
and  rendered  unfit  to  be  eaten.  These  maggots 
are  finally  transformed  to  small,  ash-coloured 
flies,  with  a  silverj'-gray  face,  copper-coloured 
eyes,  and  a  brown  spot  on  the  forehead  of  the 
females;  they  have  some  faint  brownish  lines 
on  the  thorax,  and  a  longitudinal  black  line  on 
the  hind-body,  crossed  by  narrower  black  lines 
on  the  edges  of  the  rings.  They  vary  in  size, 
but  usually  measure  rather  more  than  one-fifth 
of  an  inch  in  length.  They  finish  their  trans- 
formations, and  appear  above  ground,  towards 
the  end  of  June.  The  radish-fly  is  called  An- 
thomyia  Raphani,  in  my  "  Catalogue,"  from  the 
botanical  name  of  the  radish,  on  the  root  of 
which  its  larvae  feed.  It  closely  resembles  the 
root-fly  {Anihojiiyia  radicum)  of  Europe.  {Dr. 
Harris.) 

RADISH,  WILD  (Rapkanus  Raphanisticum). 
A  troublesome  weed  found  in  arable  lands. 
See  Charlock. 

RAG.  A  torn  piece  of  cloth  of  any  sort : 
when  of  the  woollen  kind,  they  are  used  as 
manure.  Woollen  rags  are  almost  entirely 
composed  of  animal  matter:  they  are  found  to 
contain  a  very  large  proportion  of  albumen,  (a 
substance  similar  in  appearance  to  boiled  white 
of  egg),  minute  portions  of  lime  and  silica,  and 
traces  of  various  salts.  They  form,  therefore, 
an  excellent  manure,  by  slowly  decomposing  in 
the  soil ;  and  are  found  to  remain  dissolving  in 
it,  and  forming  soluble  and  elastic  matters  for 
the  service  of  plants,  when  applied  at  the  rate 
of  1200  weight  per  acre,  for  periods  varying 
from  two  years  on  the  heavy  clays,  such  as 
those  of  the  hop-grounds  of  the  Weald  of  Kent, 
to  three  or  four  on  the  light,  chalky  soils  of  the 
valley  of  the  Kennet,  in  Berkshire.  The  light- 
ness of  carriage,  and  its  readiness,  as  well  as 
cleanliness  of  application,  render  it  peculiarly 
phgible  as  a  fertilizer;  it  keeps,  too,  for  any 
length  of  time,  until  the  farmer  is  ready  to 
apply  it  to  his  ground,  and  is  much  more  slowly 
decomposed  and  consumed  than  either  blubber, 
rape-cake,  train-oil,  or  bone  dust. 

The  consumption  of  these  rags  by  the  Berk- 
shire and  Oxfordshire  farmers,  and  especially 
in  Kent  for  the  hop  grounds,  is  very  consider- 
able. I  am  informed  by  an  extensive  dealer  in 
these  rags,  that  at  least  20.000  tons  are  annu- 
ally ronsnmei  by  the  farmers  of  the  south  of 
9U8 


England.  My  informant  himself  has  a  sale  of 
more  than  500  tons  per  annum,  which  he  de- 
livers free  on  board  a  vessel,  at  any  of  the  Lon- 
don wharves,  for  5  guineas  per  ton.  The  cus- 
tom of  the  farmer  is,  to  cut  the  woollen  rags,  by 
means  of  a  chopper  and  block,  into  shreds 
about  the  size  of  a  crown-piece,  and  then 
spread  them  on  their  fields  by  hand,  out  of  a 
common  seed-basket,  as  evenly  as  they  can  ; 
they  find  that  this  manure  is  admirably  adapted 
for  hops,  wheat,  turnips,  &c.,  and  that  the  bene- 
ficial effect  is  as  great  the  second  year  as  the 
first.  It  appears  that  one  farmer  in  Kent,  Mr. 
Ellis,  of  Barming,  purchases  annually  4  or  500 
tons  of  these  rags,  almost  exclusively  for  his 
hop  grounds.  The  farmers  of  Kent  think  the 
application  of  the  rags  "warms"  the  ground,  as 
they  slowly  putrefy  in  the  soil ;  they  certainly 
afford  nourishment  to  the  crop,  for  wool  is  com- 
posed almost  entirely  of  a  peculiar  animal  sub- 
stance, with  a  slight  portion  of  phosphate  of 
lime,  or  earthy  matter  of  bones. 

RAGWEED   {Ambrosia   elatior).     See    Hoo- 

WKKH. 

RAGWORT  (Senecio).  A  portion  of  the 
species  of  this  extensive  genus  has  already 
been  noticed  under  the  head  GHouNnsEL;  bit 
there  are  in  England  four  or  five  species  of 
ragwort,  properly  so  called.  These  belong  to 
that  section  of  the  genus  which  have  flowers 
with  spreading  rays  and  pinnatifid  leaves ;  the 
others  to  that  with  undivided  leaves  and  radiant 
flowers. 

RAIN  (Ger.  regen).  In  meteorology,  water 
falling  from  the  clouds. 

As  the  efljects  of  rain  upon  vegetation  are 
so  highly  important,  it  will  be  useful  to  ascer- 
tain the  quantity  or  depth  of  rain  that  falls 
annually  in  various  places,  and  the  difference 
in  the  effects  which  are  produced  by  it,  more 
especially  for  the  formation  of  reservoirs  for 
agricultural  purposes.  To  use  the  words  of 
Mr.  G.  Tatem: — Although  "fully  aware,  that 
little  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  any  theory 
founded  on  data  so  uncertain  as  the  quantities 
of  rain  that  fall  in  different  years,  I  am  con- 
vinced that  something  might  be  done  towards 
establishing  rules  for  the  guidance  of  agricul- 
turists and  botanists,  if  observations  were  made 
at  the  same  place  for  a  series  of  years,  and  the 
results  recorded."  The  average  quantity  of 
rain  which  falls  in  a  year  at  ?,ny  given  place, 
materially  aflfects  the  prod'activeness  of  the 
soil,  and  is  necessarily  influenced  equally  with 
the  climate  by  a  variety  of  general  circum- 
stances and  local  causes;  such  as  latitude, 
proximity  to  the  sea,  elevation  of  the  region, 
configuration  of  the  country  and  of  the  moun- 
tain ranges,  exposure  to  the  prevailing  winds, 
&c. 

Near  the  foot  of  high  hills  a  greater  quantity 
commonly  falls  than  over  a  level  country;  the 
currents  of  the  atmosphere  in  their  course 
meeting  with  a  hill,  are  forced  to  ascend,  and 
gaining  a  higher,  and  of  course  colder  situa- 
tion, the  vapour  is  condensed  into  clouds,  and 
even  into  rain,  so  that  a  deposition  in  showers 
very  frequently  follows.  Hence  the  reason 
why  clouds  are  so  often  observed  on  the  sides 
and  tops  of  mountains,  which  have  been  in 
correctly  supposed  to  attract  them.    Tlie  quan 


RAIN. 


RAIN. 


rity  that  falls,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  falls, 
are  the  circumstances  to  be  attended  to.  A 
great  number  of  rainy  days  are  more  injurious 
lo  the  soil,  even  where  the  quantity  is  not 
great,  than  heavy  falls  at  distant  intervals  of 
time;  the  ground,  in  the  first  case,  being  con- 
stantly over-saturated,  its  fertility  is  much  less- 
en'jd;  in  the  other,  the  superfluous  moisture 
being  soon  drained  off,  only  the  portion  neces- 
sary for  the  nourishment  of  plants  is  left,  which 
is  gradually  given  out  in  dry  weather,  during 
which  the  ground  for  a  time  is  in  its  most  pro- 
ductive state. 

In  general,  more  rain  falls  in  the  north  of 
England  than  in  the  south.  The  east  and 
southeastern  counties  have  usually  the  driest 
seasons  and  years.  The  fall  of  rain  is  various, 
however,  at  any  period  of  the  year,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  annexed  tables.  The  mean  quan- 
tity falling  annually  in  England  is  reckoned  to 
be  32  inches,  or,  according  to  Dalton,  31*3;  but 
this  is  unequally  distributed. 

The  annual  amount  in  Westmoreland  and 


Lancashire,  according  to  Mr.  Whistlecraft, 
usually  ranges  from  above  40  to  nearly  70 
inches,  while  that  noted  by  the  gauge  in  Essex 
and  Suffolk  is  as  low  as  from  14  to  32  inches ; 
seldom,  however,  does  it  exceed  25  inches.  It 
may,  indeed,  be  fairly. inferred,  that  these  tvro 
parts  of  England  produce  extremes. 

Mr.  Howard  gives  the  annual  average  at 
London  equal  to  24*9  inches  ;  Professor  Phil- 
lips at  York  25-7;  and  Mr.  Adie  at  Edinburgh 
25  inches. 

At  Keswick,  in  Cumberland,  the  depth  on  an 
average  of  7  years  was  found  to  be  67  inches* 
at  Baverstock,  near  Salisbury,  during  the  same 
period,  32J  inches ;  and  at  Plymouth,  in  De- 
vonshire, 45  inches.  In  the  western  parts  of 
Scotland  the  depth  is  from  30  to  35  inches, 
which  is  from  6  to  10  inches  more  than  that 
on  the  east  coast. 

The  mean  monthly  and  annual  quantities  of 
rain  at  various  places,  deduced  from  the  ave- 
rage for  many  years,  by  Dalton,  is  given  in  the 
following  table : — 


Miiiche*. 
tcr,33 
year* 

Liverpool, 

Chat.- 

worth,  16 

fear*. 

L»uca»tef. 

Keodal, 

Dumfries 

Gl-goiv, 

r^mdon, 

Paris, 

Vivien.. 

General 

lsyo»r». 

20  yean. 

25  year.. 

16  years. 

17  year*. 

40  year*. 

15  years. 

40  years. 

average. 

Iiiehn. 

iMcheiu 

iDchet. 

locbe*. 

Inchei. 

hiche.. 

iDChe,. 

InchM. 

French  in. 

French  In. 

Inches. 

January 

2-310 

2-IT7 

2196 

3-461 

5-299 

3095 

1  595 

1-464 

1-228 

2-477 

2-530 

February     - 

2-568 

1-847 

1652 

2  995 

5-126 

2837 

1-741 

1-250 

1232 

1-700 

2  295 

March 

2098 

I  523 

1-322 

1753 

3151 

2164 

1-181 

1-172 

1-190 

1-927 

1-748 

April    - 

2010 

2-104 

2-078 

2-180 

2-986 

2017 

0979 

1-279 

1185 

2-686 

1-950 

May     -        - 
June    • 

2-895 

2-573 

2-llS 

2-460 

3-480 

2-568 

1-641 

1-636 

1  767 

2  931 

2-407 

2-502 

2-816 

2286 

2-512 

2-7K 

2  974 

1-343 

1-7.38 

1-697 

2-562 

2-315 

July     - 

3697 

3-663 

3-006 

4-140 

4-959 

3250 

2  303 

2-448 

1-800 

1-882 

3115 

3-665 

3  311 

2435 

4-581 

50S9 

3  199 

2-746 

1  807 

1-900 

2347 

3-103 

SeptHinher  - 

3-281 

3-6M 

2-289 

3-751 

4-874 

4-350 

1-617 

1-842 

1-550 

4-140 

3-135 

October 

3922 

3  724 

3-079 

4-151 

5-439 

4143 

2-297 

2-092 

1780 

4-741 

3-5:^7 

November    - 

3-360 

3  441 

2-634 

3-755 

4-785 

3  174 

1-904 

2-222 

1720 

4-187 

3-120 

December    - 

3-832 

3-288 

2569 

3-955 

6084 

3-142 

1981 

1-736 

1600 

2-397 

3-058 

Annual     - 

36  140 

34-121 

27-6&* 

39-714 

53-914 

36-919 

21331 

20-686 

18-649 

33-977 

The  greatest  depth  of  rain  which  hjis  been 
registered  at  any  place  in  a  year,  is  at  Maran- 
ham,  lat.  2Ji°  S.,  and  which  is  stated  by  Hum- 
boldt to  be  277  English  inches.  But  this  is 
greatly  above  the  average,  and,  indeed,  more 
than  double  the  annual  quantity  which  has 
been  observed  at  any  other  locality.  At  St. 
Domingo,  the  annual  fall  is  estimated  at  120 
inches;  at  Cayenne,  116  inches;  at  the  Ha- 
vana, 91;  at  Calcutta,  from  76  to  118;  at  Bom- 
bay, from  83  to  96;  the  island  of  Martinique, 
87  inches ;  and  at  Sierra  Leone,  86.  Of  Eu- 
ropean countries,  Portugal  appears  to  be  the 
most  humid,  123  inches  having  been  observed 
at  Coimbra  in  a  year. 

Although  winter  usually  produces  more  rainy 
days  than  summer,  the  quantity  of  rain  which 
falls  is  greater  in  the  latter  season.  Dr.  Dal- 
ton has  ascertained  that  the  first  six  months  of 
the  year  may  be  regarded  as  dry,  and  the  last 
six  as  wet  months.  Another  ingenious  author 
has  inferred,  from  long  observation,  that  in 
spring  it  rains  oftener  in  the  evening  than  in 


the  morning,  but  that  towards  the  end  of  sum- 
mer, oftener  in  the  morning  than  in  the  even- 
ing. At  St.  Petersburg,  rain  and  snow  fall  on 
an  average  84  days  of  the  winter,  and  the 
quantity  amounts  to  about  5  inches;  on  the 
contrary,  the  summer  produces  11  inches  in 
the  same  number  of  days.  In  Canada,  the 
average  fall  of  rain  usually  is  about  3  feet, 
which  furnishes  about  20  gallons  of  water  for 
each  square  foot  of  surface  during  the  year. 

In  the  United  States,  the  quantity  of  rain 
falling  per  annum  increases  in  going  south.  At 
Philadelphia,  a  medium  point,  the  results  of 
33  years'  observation  of  the  rain-gauge  have 
been  estimated  by  Mr.  Owen  Evans  as  fol- 
lows:—Whole  quantity,  from  1810  to  1842  in- 
clusive, 1276-435  inches;  annual  mean  or  ave- 
rage, 38-68  inches;  greatest  amount  in  any  one 
year,  55-278  inches  (in  1841);  smallest  quan- 
tity, 23  354  inches  (in  1819).  ^  , 

Mr.  Evans  has  also  constructed  the  follow- 
ing table,  showing  the  monthly  averages  of 
rain,  estimated   for  5  years  (1838  to  1842  in- 


Annual 

Rain  in  inches 
Wind  North     - 

Jan-y. 

Feb'y. 

March. 

April. 

May. 

June. 

July. 

August. 

Sept'r. 

October. 

Nov'r. 

Dec'r. 

mean. 

3-687 

2-574 

3224 

4-600 

4-290 

4-669 

4-785 

5-581 

3555 

3-698 

3  399 

4083 

48145 

n 

2 

3 

u 

If 

li 

2 

4 

2 

2| 

2 

^* 

f! 

"      Northeast 

5 

4 

6 

5» 

^ 

2f 

2 

5f 

6 

6* 

H 

5 

b>i 

•^      East       - 

♦ 

* 

f 

1? 

2 

2 

H 

it 

1! 

i 

t       4?ti 

*'      Southeast 

1 

t 

2 

2 

n 

2 

3 

1* 

i 

i 

ilt 

"      South     - 

2 

2 

n 

2i 

3 

4 

3f 

4 

If 

2 

1 

1 

28i 

**      Southwest     - 

8 

7 

6 

7 

7+ 

81 

IH 

H 

9 

5* 

I* 

6 

t^. 

"      West      - 

5 

4* 

3 

3 

4 

51 

^ 

3 

3 

5 

6 

?.* 

52 

',      "      Northwest     - 

n 

8 

9 

7 

6f 

4f 

5 

3* 

41 

7 

8 

9 

79i  ■ 

939 

RAIN-GiUGE. 


RAKB. 


elusive),  together  with  the  number  of  days  in 
each  month  during  which  certain  winds  pre- 
vailed, the  hist  being  the  resuUs  of  three  ob- 
servations each  day. 

RAIN-GAUGE.  An  instrument  for  measur- 
ing or  gauging  the  quantity  of  rain  which  falls 
at  a  given  place.  It  is  also  known  under  the 
St 'eral  names  of  ombrometer,  udometer,  plu 
viameter,  and  hytetometer.  Its  principles  and 
construction  are  of  the  simplest  nature;  but 
it  is  made  in  a  variety  of  shapes. 

A  convenient  form  of  the  instrument  is  that 
where  the  rain  which  enters  a  funnel  of  certain 
size,  is  collected  in  a  bottle  or  other  vessel,  and 
afterwards  measured  in  a  graduated  cylindri- 
cal glass  tube,  the  marks  on  which  not  only 
represent  the  tenths  and  hundredths,  but  even 
the  thousandth  part  of  an  inch  of  water.  The 
height  is  read  immediately  on  the  scale. 

It  is  requisite  to  be  particular  in  the  situa- 
tion of  the  instrument.  The  gauge  is  best 
placed  about  3  or  4  feet  from  the  ground.  In 
all  cases  an  open  space,  free  from  trees,  shrubs, 
or  buildings,  must  be  chosen. 

RAKE.  A  tool  of  the  toothed  kind,  of  va- 
rious sizes  and  forms,  made  use  of  in  garden- 
ing, and  for  different  agricultural  purposes. 
There  are  several  others  used  for  field  opera- 
tions, some  of  which  are  worked  by  horses. 

The  drag-rake,  in  its  simplest  form,  is  merely 
a  long  cross-head,  with  a  row  of  teeth  placed 
in  it:  in  some  these  are  straight;  they  are, 
however,  generally  bent,  with  their  points  pro- 
jecting forward.  A  very  excellent  and  light  in- 
strument, having  the  teeth  of  steel,  and  made 
with  screws,  so  as  to  admit  of  their  being  easily 
replaced  in  case  of  accident,  is  well  known  in 
England  as  Badgley's  improved  drag-rake. 
These  rakes  had,  from  time  to  time,  increased 
in  length  and  weight,  till  they  became  too  large 
to  be  balanced  by  the  hand.  Two  small  wooden 
wheels  were  then  added,  which  rendered  them 
manageable  by  women  or  boys.  Further  ad- 
ditions having  been  made  to  them,  they  are 
now  sufficiently  strong  to  be  worked  by  a  horse. 
Used  on  fallows  when  foul,  to  remove  the 
couch-grass,  they  act  as  a  harrow,  to  get  to- 
gether the  rubbish;  or  in  harvest-time  they  act 
as  a  rake  to  collect  the  loose  corn  which  may 
have  escaped  from  the  scythe  or  sickle.  In 
order  to  clear  them  readily,  there  are  different 
contrivances.  One  of  the  most  simple  and 
efficient  is  an  arrangement  which,  by  lifting 
the  handle,  causes  the  teeth  to  be  raised  and 
broug'  t  between  two  iron  bars,  which  constitute 
part  01  the  framing;  by  this  means  all  the  rub- 
bi  ,h  IS  stripped  off  from  the  teeth  of  the  rake. 

In  "  Wedlake's  Horse  Hay-Rake,"  the  weight 
of  the  rake  is  balanced  upon  the  carriage  by 
two  heavy  balls  projecting  in  front  of  it ;  so 
that  a  slight  lifting  power  applied  to  the  handle 
will  raise  it  from  the  ground,  and  disencumber 
it  of  the  hay  or  stubble  it  may  have  gathered. 
This  rake  obtained  the  commendations  of  the 
Committee  on  Implements,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  Royal  English  Agricultural  Society  at  Cam- 
bridge. 

The  East- Lothian  Stubble-Rake  is  a  machine 
not  so  well  known  in  England  as  its  merits 
deserve.    Its  advantages  over  those  previously 
940 


described  are  as  follows: — It  has  each  tooth 
placed  in  a  separate  head,  which,  working  upon 
a  centre  like  the  levers  of  a  drill,  adapt  them 
selves  to  any  inequality  in  the  ground.  To  the 
handles,  a  bar  the  length  of  the  harrow  is  firmly 
fastened,  and  from  this  bar  each  lever  is  sus- 
pended by  a  few  links  of  chain.  When  it  is 
necessary  to  clear  the  rake,  these  handles,  on 
being  elevated,  lift  all  the  levers  between  a 
framing  of  light  iron  rods. 

An  ingenious  practical  farmer,  John  Sayer, 
of  Bodham,  in  Norfolk,  made  considerable  im- 
provement upon  this  rake,  by  altering  the  form 
of  the  teeth  to  avoid  tearing  the  land ;  and  in 
order  to  effect  more  work  without  increasing 
the  width  of  the  rake,  the  naves  of  his  wheels 
were  made  to  project  inwards,  so  that  two  ad- 
ditional levers  could  be  introduced,  working 
quite  close  to  the  spokes. 

But  within  the  last  few  months  a  very  im- 
proved implement  of  this  character  has  been 
introduced  and  patented  by  J.  C.  Grant,  of  Stam- 
ford, which  obtained  the  prize  of  the  Royal  Ag- 
ricultural Society  of  England,  at  its  meeting  at 
Liverpool.  Its  advantages  consist  in  the  adap- 
tation of  a  compound  lever,  by  which  the  whole 
row  of  tines  may  be  instantly  raised,  and  as 
quickly  allowed  to  resume  their  position,  while 
the  form  of  the  teeth  being  such  as  to  describe 
part  of  a  circle,  the  centre  of  which  is  the  axis 
of  the  separate  levers  to  which  they  are  at- 
tached, each  portion  of  the  curve  is  succes- 
sively brought  into  a  vertical  position,  thus 
rapidly  disengaging  the  teeth  from  the  mate- 
rial collected,  so  that,  without  stopping  the 
horse,  the  process  of  collecting  is  resumed 
leaving  no  interval  beyond  what  is  requisite 
for  the  deposit  of  the  hay,  corn,  or  stubble  pre 
viously  collected. 

Several  minor  improvements  are  included  in 
the  patent,  but  as  these  mainly  refer  to  modes 
of  construction,  it  will  not  be  necessary  here 
to  particularize  them. 

A  hay-making  machine  invented  by  Robert 
Salmon,  of  Woburn,  and  patented  in  1816,  con- 
sists of  a  series  of  rakes  revolving  upon  two 
skeleton  frames,  to  which  motion  is  communi- 
cated by  cog-wheels  attached  to  the  naves  of 
the  wheels  in  which  it  travels.  It  has  under- 
gone considerable  improvement  by  R.Wedlake, 
an  ingenious  manufacturer,  residing  at  Horn- 
church.  These  improvements  consist  in  form- 
ing the  cylinder  in  two  parts,  each  of  which 
has  motion  independent  of  the  other,  and  in 
placing  the  tines  or  rake-teeth  upon  a  bar, 
which,  being  supported  by  a  spring,  will  yield 
to  any  obstruction  caused  by  sudden  uneven- 
ness  of  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  return 
again  to  its  original  position.  Its  object  is  to 
spread  the  hay,  and  by  thoroughly  separating 
its  parts,  continually  to  expose  them  to  the  sun 
and  wind,  which  it  so  thoroughly  effects  as  to 
render  the  hay  fit  to  cart  much  earlier  than  by 
the  common  process  of  shaking  it  by  the  hand. 
To  the  practical  agriculturist,  it  will  not  be  ne- 
cessary to  remark  on  the  advantages  accruing 
from  the  ability  to  hasten,  if  only  by  a  few 
hours,  the  process  of  hay-making ;  but  it  will 
be  valuable  to  know,  that  the  universal  testi- 
mony  of  all  with  whom  we  have  conversed  ia, 


RAKE. 


RANUNCULUS. 


that  this  implement  is  a  time-saving  machine, 
and  therefore  one  of  the  greatest  value. 

Amerkaa  Revolving  Hay-rake. — This  rake  is 
drawn  by  one  horse;  and  it  can  be  made  to  go 
either  along  or  across  the  ridges,  as  may  be 
required.  It  can  carry  between  100  and  200 
lbs.  of  hay;  and  when  that  quantity  is  upon  it, 
the  hay  can  be  deposited,  by  a  simple  revolu- 
tion of  the  instrument,  in  rows,  or  at  any  par- 
ticular place  required,  without  stopping  the 
horse. 

The  common  horse-rake,  much  used  in  the 
United  States,  especially  in  the  North,  is  de- 
scribed and  figured  in  ihe  Cultivator,  vol.  vii. 
p.  89.  It  is  made  of  a  piece  of  strong  scant- 
ling, 3  inches  square,  and  10  feet  long,  into 
which  about  15  teeth  are  inserted  horizontally, 
and  made  of  strong  white  ash  or  other  tough 
wood.  The  teeth  should  be  about  22  inches 
long,  and  1  inch  by  IJ  at  the  place  of  insertion, 
and  tapering  on  the  under  s-ide,  so  as  to  give 
them  a  slight  turn  upward  at  the  point,  to  pre- 
vent their  running  into  the  ground  while  using. 
The  draught-ropes  are  attached  to  the  end  of 

2  projecting  pieces  of  M'ood  parallel  to  the  teeth 
at  each  end  of  the  rake.  These  projecting 
pieces  should  be  about  one-third  of  the  length 
of  the  teeth.  Those  unskilled  in  the  use  of  the 
rake  sometimes  attach  the  ropes  at  once  to 
the  ends  of  the  head;  in  this  way,  it  becomes 
almost  entirely  unmanageable.  The  forward 
ends  of  the  draught-ropes  ar6  to  be  fastened  to 
the  horse's  collar,  leaving  space  enough  be- 
tween the  horse  and  rake  for  the  collecting 
hay.  Handles  are  to  be  inserted  in  the  head 
near  the  middle,  for  guiding  the  teeth  and  lift- 
ing the  rake  from  the  ground  when  necessary. 

In  using  this  rake,  instead  of  the  teeth  moving 
onward  upon  their  points,  as  in  the  common 
hand-rake,  they  run  along  flat  upon  the  ground, 
passing  under  and  collecting  the  hay;  when 
full,  the  handles  are  thrown  forward,  the  rake 
emptied,  and  lifted  over  the  winrow  for  another 
load.  The  rake  thus  passes  backwards  and 
forwards  across  the  field,  always  emptying  op- 
posite the  last  heap,  and  thus  forming  regular 
winrows  at  right  angles  with  the  path  of  the 
rake.  A  few  hours'  practice  will  enable  any 
one  to  use  this  rake  without  difficulty,  the  only 
skill  required  consisting  in  keeping  the  points 
of  the  teeth  just  so  low  as  to  pass  under  all  the 
hay,  and  yet  not  run  into  the  ground.  When 
small  obstructions  occur,  the  handles  are  de- 
pressed, thus  causing  the  teeth  to  rise,  and  the 
rake  passes  freely  over.  Large  obstructions, 
as  stumps  and  stone-heaps,  require  the  rake  to 
be  lifted  from  the  ground. 

The  chief  recommendation  of  this  kind  of 
rake,  is  its  cheapness  and  simplicity.  A  good 
one  need  not  cost  more  than  $2.  It  may  also 
be  used  on  rougher  ground  than  the  revolving 
rake,  as  it  is  more  easily  lifted  over  obstruc- 
tions. Where  the  ground  is  very  uneven,  the 
teeth  should  be  much  shorter.  When  one  be- 
comes well  accustomed  to  the  use  of  it,  work 
may  be  done  nearly  as  fast  with  this,  as  with  a 
revolving  rake,  though  much  more  laborious. 
Twelve  acres  of  hay,  part  of  it  yielding  nearly 

3  tons  to  the  acre,  on  a  meadow  of  the  writer, 
were  raked  into  winrows,  by  means  of  one  of 
Uiese  rakes,  in  about  6  hours'  working  time. 


It  possesses  another  advantage  over  the,  revolv- 
ing rake — it  may  be  used  for  scraping  the  win- 
rows  into  heaps  for  drawing,  and  if  the  hay  is 
stacked  in  the  field,  for  drawing  the  hay  to  the 
stack.  A  man  with  a  rake  and  horse  not  only 
raked  the  hay,  but  drew  it  at  the  same  time  to 
the  stack,  a  distance  of  from  10  to  20  rods,  as 
fast  as  an  active  man  could  pitch  with  a  fork. 
A  hand-rake  need  scarcely  ever  be  used  on  the 
meadow,  as  all  the  scattered  hay  maybe  raked 
up  in  a  short  time  after  the  rest  of  the  hay  has 
been  drawn  off. 

The  horse-rake  is  very  useful  in  raking 
stubble  of  wheat,  and  eminently  so  in  pulling 
and  gathering  peas. 

Shafts,  instead  of  ropes,  have  been  attached 
to  the  head  of  the  rake,  and  have  been  strongly 
recommended ;  but  they  diminish  the  simpli- 
city of  the  rake,  and  appear  to  possess  no  ad- 
vantage on  the  whole,  and  for  gathering  and 
drawing  hay,  are  positively  detrimental. 

RAMPIONS,  or  RAMPION  BELL-FLOW- 
ER {Campanula  ranunculus).  The  esculent 
roots  of  this  vegetable  are  far  more  delicate 
than  turnips  or  radishes.  They  are  long,  white, 
and  in  the  shape  of  a  spindle.  Like  the  radish, 
it  is  eaten  raw,  having  a  nut-like,  pleasant 
flavour.  The  plant  rises  to  the  height  of  2  feet, 
with  blue  flowers. 

It  is  propagated  by  seed,  which  maybe  sown 
during  March,  April,  and  May ;  the  plants  from 
sowings  in  the  two  first  months,  soon,  however, 
run  up  to  seed.  The  insertions  may  be  per- 
formed either  in  drills  6  inches  apart,  or  broad- 
cast; in  either  mode  the  seed  to  be  buried  ^  an 
inch  deep,  effecting  it  in  the  latter  by  sifting 
mould  over  it ;  for,  if  the  seed  is  raked  in,  from 
its  minuteness,  it  is  apt  to  be  buried  too  deep. 
The  plants  are  to  remain  where  sown;  though, 
in  case  of  any  deficiency,  those  which  are  taken 
away  in  thinning  the  crops  may  be  transplanted 
successfully.  The  best  time  for  performing  the 
removal  is  of  an  evening.  They  are  fit  for 
thinning  when  about  2  inches  in  height,  they 
must  be  set  at  a  distance  of  6  inches  apart, 
being  hoed  at  the  time,  and  the  same  operation 
repeated  two  or  three  times,  which,  if  perform- 
ed in  dry  weather,  will  keep  them  free  from 
weeds  until  used. 

The  plants  of  the  sowings  during  the  two 
first  mentioned  months  will  be  fit  for  use  at  the 
close  of  August,  or  early  in  September,  and 
continue  throughout  the  autumn.  Those  of 
the  last  one  will  continue  good  throughout  the 
winter,  and  until  the  following  April.  The  soil, 
throughout  their  growth,  must  be  kept  moist, 
effecting  it  in  dry  weather  by  giving  frequent 
but  moderate  waterings  through  the  fine  rose 
of  a  watering-pot. 

The  root,  for  which  it  is  cultivated,  either  to 
be  sliced,  together  with  its  leaves,  in  salads,  or 
eaten  as  the  radish,  as  well  as  to  be  boiled  like 
asparagrus,  is  most  palatable  when  drawn 
young,  and  eaten  fresh  from  the  ground. 

For  the  production  of  seed,  a  few  of  the 
winter  standing  plants  are  left  unmoved.  These 
shoot  up  in  the  spring,  flowering  in  July  and 
August,  and  ripening  abundance  of  seed  in 
early  autumn.     (G.  W.JohnsoiCs  Kitch.  Gard.) 

RANUNCULUS  (From  rana,  a  frog  ,  several 
of  the  species  being  found  in  moist  places  frr^ 
4  K  2  941 


RAPE. 


RAPE. 


quented  by  that  reptile).  Many  of  the  plants 
belonging  to  this  extensive  genus  are  well 
worth  the  cultivator's  care,  and  they  have  long 
been  favourites  with  the  florist.  The  aquatic 
kinds  require  to  be  grown  in  water.  The 
grumose-rooted  species  will  thrive  in  any  com- 
mon soil  and  situation  ;  they  are  increased  by 
offsets  from  the  roots,  or  by  seeds.  'J'hese 
plants  are  acrid,  and  most  of  them  poisonous. 
See  Chowfoot  and  SpkarWort. 

RAPE.  A  plant  of  the  cole  kind,  greatly 
cultivated  in  Flanders  for  the  sake  of  the  seed, 
but  extremely  valuable  also  as  green  food  for 
cattle  and  sheep  in  winter  and  spring.  "  The 
plants,"  says  Mr.  Low,  "usually  cultivated 
under  the  name  of  rape,  are  the  fusiform  va- 
rieties of  the  following  species  of  brassica. 
Cole  or  rape  (B.  napus),  colza  (B.  campestris), 
fusiform  common  turnip  (jK.  mpa),  and  early 
cole  (B.  prcEcox).*'  There  are  different  modes 
of  treating  this  plant,  according  to  the  uses  for 
which  it  is  designed.  The  whole  plant  is  of 
great  service  in  feeding  cattle;  and  after  the 
seed  is  thrashed,  the  straw  and  chaff,  on  being 
burnt,  afford  ashes  equally  valuable  as  the  best 
potashes.  Wheat  yields  an  excellent  crop 
after  rape,  and  the  plant  is  grown  with  great 
advantage  on  bog  plant,  where  paring  and 
burning  has  been  practised.  Rape  is  very 
hardy,  and  with  fair  treatment  it  never  fails  on 
any  soil.  Cattle  are  so  successfully  fattened 
with  it,  that  many  farmers  prefer  it  to  turnips. 
See  Cole. 

For  garden  culture,  rape  is  propagated  by 
geed,  and,  like  mustard,  and  other  small  salad- 
ing,  may  be  sown  at  any  period  of  the  year, 
when  in  request;  being  allowed  a  separate  bed. 
For  the  production  of  seed,  some  plants  of  a 
sowing  which  has  been  made  about  the  middle 
of  July,  must  be  thinned  to.  about  18  inches 
apart:  they  will  survive  the  wintei  in  England, 
and  flower  in  May  and  June  of  the  next  year. 
The  seed,  which  is  produced  in  great  abund- 
ance, ripens  in  July  and  August,  and  must  then 
be  cut  and  laid  upon  cloths  to  dry,  as  it  is  very 
apt  to  shed. 

In  England,  rape  (Brassica  napus  sylvestris)  is 
frequently  called  coleseed,  and  in  France  navette. 
In  both  countries  it  is  highly  prized,  not  only 
for  the  value  of  the  oil  expressed  from  the  seed, 
but  for  the  cjike  left  after  pressure,  which  is 
extensively  used  for  feeding  cattle,  its  qualities 
for  this  purpose  resembling  those  of  the  oil- 
cake left  after  pressure  of  flaxseed  in  making 
linseed  oil.  Rape  belongs  to  the  cabbage  or 
turnip  family,  but  it  never  heads,  like  the 
former,  and  its  roots  are  of  little  value  com- 
pared with  the  latter.  Of  the  two  kinds  most 
commoniy  cultivated,  one  is  biennial,  sown  one 
bummer  and  harvested  the  next,  whilst  the 
other  is  a  spring  or  summer  crop. 

Rape,  though  but  little  known  in  the  United 
States,  has  been  tried  in  various  parts,  and 
found  to  stand  the  winters  even  in  New  York 
and  iVew  England.  "Whenever,  therefore,  a 
demand  shall  be  made  for  this  valuable  pro- 
duction of  the  soil,  or  its  near  kindred  of  the 
cabbage  family,  colza,  the  United  States  can 
yield  them  abundantly,  in  almost  every  part. 

According  to  Loudon,  the  place  which  rape 
'occupies  in  a  rotation,  is  between  two  culmi- 
942 


ferous  or  grain  crops.  On  rich  soils  it  may  be 
succeeded  to  the  greatest  advantage  by  wheat, 
as  it  is  found  to  be  an  excellent  preparation 
for  that  sort  of  grain  ;  and  by  its  being  takea 
off  early,  there  is  sufficient  time  allowed  for 
getting  the  land  in  order  for  sowing  wheat. 

In  Notes  on  the  Jlgriculture  of  Germany,  by  Mr. 
Carr,  an  English  gentleman,  he  says  the  after 
course  is  as  follows  : — 

1  year  fallow,  well  dunged, 

2  "     rape, 

3  "     wheat, 

4  "    barley, 

5  "     peas,  light  dunging, 

6  "    rye, 

7  "    oats,  with  rye,  or  timothy  grass- 
seeds,  and  red  clover. 

The  clover  and  peas  plastered  in  May.  The 
clover  is  mown  twice  for  hay,  and  left  two 
years  for  pasture,  when  it  is  heavily  manured, 
fallowed,  and  again  sown  with  rape.  "  The 
rape-seed  is  sown  broadcast  in  the  last  of  July 
or  first  of  August.  This  crop  is  greatly  bene- 
fited the  following  spring  by  dusting  gypsum 
over  it,  about  100  lbs.  to  the  acre.  In  July  the 
seed  is  ripe,  and  as  the  weather  is  generally 
fine,  is  trodden  out  by  horses  very  expeditious- 
ly on  large  canvass  sheets  in  the  field.  The 
oil  of  this  seed  pressed  out,  when  purified,  is 
without  smell,  gives  a  brilliant,  clear-burning 
flame,  and  is  universally  used  all  over  Ger- 
many, in  the  saloon  of  the  rich,  and  the  cottage 
of  the  poor.  The  value  of  the  crop  is  some- 
what precarious,  because  it  is  subject  to  so 
many  contingencies ;  the  turnip-fly  and  cater- 
pillar prey  upon  it  when  young,  and  when  in 
flower,  a  small  beetle  (Haltica  nemorurri)  often 
eats  away  the  blossom-bud,  or  lays  its  minute 
larvae  in  the  petals,  ultimately  furnishing  every 
seed-pod  with  a  maggot  which  either  eats  the 
seeds  away,  or,  forcing  the  pod  open  when 
nearly  ripe,  causes  it  to  fall  out.  When  spared 
these  calamities,  it  is,  however,  a  very  remu- 
nerating crop,  worth  from  10^.  to  20/.  an  acre, 
especially  if  there  is  a  foreign  demand.  The 
straw  is  generally  burned,  and  the  ashes  scat- 
tered over  the  field  ;  it  is  sometimes  sold  to  the 
soap-makers,  who  prize  it  highly.  Two  fur- 
rows are  now  given  for  wheat  sown  broadcast 
in  September." 

Mr.  Blackie,  in  his  Essay  on  the  Improvement 
of  small  Farms,  says,  that  the  produce  of  rape, 
when  well  manured,  is  beyond  any  thing  almost 
that  can  be  imagined,  if  let  stand  until  it  gets 
into  blossom.  Manure,  he  adds,  makes  the 
stalk  tender  and  juicy,  which  would  otherwise 
be  hard  and  dry,  so  that  if  cut  into  small  pieces . 
for  the  purpose  of  feeding  green  to  cattle,  not 
a  bit  will  be  lost,  and  it  grows  to  a  height  of  6 
feet.  I  am,  he  says,  almost  afraid  to  say,  that 
I  believe,  with  the  addition  of  some  straw,  an 
acre  will  keep  30  head  of  cattle  in  full  milk  for 
a  month. 

RAPE,  edible-rooted.  This  name  may  be  ap- 
plied to  a  variety  of  the  rape  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Dickson,  one  of  the  vice-presidents  of  the  Hor- 
!  ticultural  Society.  Its  root  is  white,  and  car- 
j  rot-shaped,  about  the  size  of  the  middle  finger. 
I  It  is  much  more  delicate  in  flavour  than  the 
:  turnip,  like  which  root  it  is  cooked,  only  that  it 
1  is  not  peeled,  but  scraped,  its  skin  being  re» 


RAPE-CAKE. 


RAT. 


■aarkably  thin.  It  has  been  cultivated  for  a 
great  length  of  years  on  the  continent,  and  for 
about  30  years  in  Enojiand,  but  only  by  one 
person,  as  far  as  Mr.  Dickson  is  aware.  It  is 
propagated  by  seed,  which,  for  the  main  crop, 
may  be  sown  from  the  middle  of  July  to  the 
end  of  August,  or  even  later :  these  will  supply 
the  table  until  April;  and,  if  wanted  through- 
out the  year,  a  little  may  be  sown  in  the  latter 
end  of  October,  the  plants  from  which  will  be 
fit  for  use,  if  they  succeed,  during  April  and 
May:  the  last  crop  to  be  inserted  from  the 
middle  of  January  to  the  middle  of  February, 
which  will  come  in  at  the  end  of  May  and  dur- 
ing June.  On  a  north  border,  and  if  the  soil 
is  sandy  and  moist,  it  is  possible  to  have  them 
sweet  and  tender  during  the  whole  summer,  to 
effect  which  the  seed  must  be  sown  at  the  close 
of  March  and  May.  They  require  the  same 
modes  of  cultivation  and  treatment  as  turnips. 
In  dry  weather  the  beds  must  be  watered  regu- 
larly, until  the  plants  have  got  three  or  four 
leaves.  One  great  advantage  atte<iding  the 
cultivation  of  this  vegetable  is,  that  it  requires 
no  manure.  Any  soil  that  is  poor  and  light, 
especially  if  sandy,  is  suitable  to  it.  In  rich 
manured  earth  it  grows  much  larger,  but  not 
so  swt'et  and  good.  For  the  growth  of  seeds, 
Mr.  Dickson  recommends,  in  February  or 
March,  some  of  the  finest  roots  to  be  trans- 
planted to  2  feet  asunder;  but  it  would,  per- 
haps, be  a  better  practice  to  leave  them  where 
grown. 

RAPE-CAKE.  The  refuse  or  marc  remain- 
ing after  the  oil  has  been  expressed  from  the 
rape  or  cole-seed.  (See  Li?iskk»  Cakk.)  The 
use  of  rape-cake  as  a  manure  is  pretty  ex- 
tensive in  some  parts  of  England,  and  its  effects 
are  so  immediate  and  powerful,  that  its  ex- 
pense alone  retards  its  more  general  employ- 
ment. It  contains  a  large  quantity  of  mucilage, 
some  portion  of  albuminous  matter,  and  a 
small  proportion  of  oil.  It  should  be  kept  dry, 
and  used  when  recently  made.  It  answers 
admirably  for  turnips.  When  first  recom- 
mended as  a  fertilizer,  it  was  used  in  the  pro- 
portion of  half  a  ton  per  acre ;  but  by  pul- 
verizing it,  and  drilling  it  in  with  the  seed, 
about  half  that  quantity  has  been  found  suffi- 
cient. Rape-cake  produces,  when  ploughed  in 
with  wheat,  excellent  crops.  It  has  been  found 
exceedingly  noxious  to  the  wireworm,  and 
other  field  vermin,  and  when  applied  in  com- 
post, with  30  times  its  weight  of  farm-yard 
dung,  it  forms  a  very  excellent  manure. 

Rape-cake,  in  common  with  all  fertilizers  of 
an  oily  nature,  is  much  more  decided  in  its 
effects  in  wet  than  in  dry  seasons.  In  York- 
shire and  Lincolnshire  the  quantity  applied 
is  about  16  bushels  per  acre.  It  is  more  ser- 
viceable on  clays  and  other  moist  lands  than 
on  dry  soils  ;  its  benefit  extends  to  only  on« 
crop,  although  there  have  been  occasional  in- 
stances of  its  extending  to  two.  It  may  be 
either  drilled  with  the  seed  or  spread  on  the 
land  before  it  is  ploughed.  See  Liitseeu,  Oil- 
Cakk.  Palxa  Chiiisti,  &c. 

The  practical  benefits  which  are  capable  (  f 
being  derived  from  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
mode  in  which  green  manures  operate,  are 
consiierable.    ^t  should  leach  the  cultivator  to 


carefully  bury  in  the  soil  every  portion  of  either 
animal  or  vegetable  matter  he  can  command; 
for  every  weed,  every  fragment  of  straw  he 
thus  employs,  will  again,  under  judicious  ma- 
nagement, be  returned  to  him  in  new  forms  of 
beautv  and  usefulness. 

RASPBERRY  (Rubus  idceus).  This  shrub,  in 
its  wild  state,  is  found  growing  in  our  moun- 
tainous woods  and  thickets:  llowering  in  May 
and  June.  The  root  is  creeping.  The  stems 
are  biennial,  erect,  3  or  4  feel  high,  branched, 
round,  pale  or  purplish,  more  or  less  be- 
sprinkled with  small,  straight,  slender  prickles, 
frequently  rather  resembling  bristles  than 
prickles,  and  sometimes  altogether  absent. 
Leaves  primate,  of  five  or  three  ovate,  rather 
angular,  lateral  leafiets,  serrated  or  cut,  and 
angular,  green,  and  nearly  smooth  above,  very 
downy  beneath,  and  a  larger  terminal  leaflet. 
The  footstalks  are  furrowed,  downy,  and  prick- 
ly, with  narrow  lateral  stipules.  The  flowers 
are  small,  white,  or  pinkish-white,  pendulous, 
in  drooping  terminal  clusters.  Fruit  crimson, 
of  numerous  juicy  grains,  beset  with  the  per- 
manent styles,  and  highly  fragrant,  with  a 
very  deliciously  perfumed  sweet  and  acid  fla- 
vour, more  exquisite  in  the  wild  state,  in  gene- 
ral, than  when  cultivated. 

The  wood  of  the  raspberry  bush  produces 
fruit  but  one  year,  theretbre  that  should  be 
carefully  cut  down  below  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  the  young  shoots  should  be  shorten- 
ed to  about  2  feet  high ;  and  not  more  than  three 
or  four  shoots  should  be  left  to  each  root,  as 
these  will  produce  a  greater  number  of  berries, 
and  larger  fruit,  than  would  be  obtained  if 
twice  that  number  of  suckers  were  left.  The 
middle  or  end  of  October  is  the  proper  time  for 
this  pruning.  The  fruit  is  produced  from  young 
branches  out  of  the  last  year's  shoots  or  suck- 
ers. The  plants  raised  by  layers  are  much 
preferred  to  those  taken  from  suckers;  they 
should  also  have  plenty  of  room,  for  when 
there  is  not  space  for  the  air  and  light  to  pass 
between  the  rows,  the  fruit  will  be  small,  and 
not  ripen  well.  They  require  a  fresh,  strong 
loam,  deeply  trenched  and  well  manured  in 
the  first  instance,  for  in  warm,  light  ground 
they  produce  but  little  fruit. 

The  following  selection  is  recommended  for 
a  small  garden  : — Barnet,  Cornish,  Double- 
bearing  red  Antwerp,  Williams's  preserving 
yellow  Antwerp. 

This  fruit  is  employed  for  the  dessert;  it  is 
also  in  very  general  use  for  jams  and  tarts, 
and  is  converted  into  wine  and  vinegar,  which 
is  a  refreshing  beverage,  when  diluted  with 
water,  in  fevers.  The  young  and  fresh  leaves 
of  the  common  raspberry  are  eagerly  eaten  by 
kids.     (See  Bramble.) 

RAT.  The  name  of  a  large,  destructive, 
and  very  prolific  species  of  the  genus  Mns,  the 
brown,  or  water-rat  (Mus  decumanus,  Linn.), 
introduced  into  the  British  islands  from  Asia, 
not,  as  is  commonly  believed,  from  Norway. 
It  has  spread  over  all  the  country,  and  multi- 
plied at  the  expense  of  the  old  British  species, 
called  the  "black  rat"  {M.  rattus,  Linn.). 

Of  all  the  four-footed  animals  (says  the  au 
thor  of  Brit.  Husb.)  included  in  the  rank  of 
vermin,  rats  and  mice  are  the  most  pernicru*, 

913 


REAPING. 


REAPING  MACHINE. 


for  they  build  their  nests  under  the  floors  and 
in  the  roofs  of  barns,  nor  are  even  the  stacks  ex- 
empt; and  are  so  prolific  that,  if  not  destroyed, 
they  occasion  incalculable  mischief.  It  there- 
fore behooves  every  farmer  to  use  all  possible 
means  to  check  the  evil,  and  one  might  suppose 
that  every  exertion  was  invariably  made  for 
that  purpose;  yei  we  constantly  find  homesteads 
overrun  with  these  pests,  without  any  other 
pains  bemg  taken  ihan  an  occasional  rat-hunt 
by  farm  servants,  aided  by  a  terrier,  which, 
though  not  to  be  neglected,  is  a  very  ineflfiectua/ 
remedy.  The  best  is,  unquestionably,  the  con- 
struction of  the  barn-floor  and  roof  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  prevent  them  obtaining  a  perma- 
nent harbour  in  the  building.  The  next  is,  be- 
fore the  entire  clearance  of  the  barn,  while  yet 
a  little  corn  remains  to  prevent  them  from 
quitting  it,  to  close  every  part  of  the  barn,  by 
carefully  covering  any  holes  there  maybe  with 
sacks  and  tarpaulings,  so  as  to  prevent  all  ac- 
cess of  tlie  outward  air,  leaving  only  the  door 
for  a  few  minutes  open  while  the  process  is 
^oing  on.  This  done,  some  common  iron 
chafing-dishes,  which  may  be  purchased  for  a 
trifle,  should  be  placed  upon  the  floor,  and  in 
the  bags;  or,  if  they  cannot  be  had,  build  up 
a  few  bricks,  clay,  or  any  rubbish  that  will 
secure  a  fire  from  spreading,  leaving  a  cavity 
in  the  centre,  and  filling  it  up  with  charcoal. 
Then  light  the  charcoal  from  the  bottom,  and 
■when  the  heaps  are  all  burning,  quickly  strew 
a  good  quantity  of  broken  brimstone  upon  the 
top;  retire  immediately,  shut  the  door  fast, and 
»eave  the  building  entirely  closed  during  a 
couple  of  days  following.  On  opening  it,  the 
greater  portion  of  the  rats  and  mice  will  be 
found  dead  around  the  charcoal ;  and,  although 
some  may  have  been  suflbcaled  while  in  their 
holes,  and  if  not  discovered  will  occasion  an 
unpleasant  smell  until  their  remains  are  dr-ied 
up,  yet  it  will  not  last  long.  The  operation 
should  be  again  repeated  just  previous  to  har- 
vest, and  if  any  opening  be  found  into  the 
barns  while  they  are  full,  by  the  burrowing  of 
the  rats,  brimstone  matches  should  be  inserted 
into  them  before  they  are  stopped  up.  Traps 
and  poisons  are  only  partially  eflUcient;  but  an 
effectual  mode  of  trapping  is  detailed  in  a  small 
pamphlet,  published  some  years  ago  by  Mr.  B. 
Broad,  of  Thurton,  under  the  sanction  of  the 
Hereford  Agricultural  Society,  which  ought  to 
be  in  the  hands  of  every  farmer  in  the  kingdom. 

The  ferret  is  a  decided  enemy  to  the  rat,  and 
if  kept  in  a  hutch  or  cage,  and  only  occasion- 
ally used,  will  be  found  very  serviceable :  but 
.16  should  be  well  fed  to  induce  him  to  return, 
or  otherwise  he  will  escape  and  become  de- 
structive to  poultry.  A  cat  or  two  should  also 
always  be  reared  about  a  barn.  In  new  barns 
and  outhouses,  the  entrance  of  rats  is  eflfectu- 
ally  prevented  by  steeping  the  joints,  rafters, 
and  flooring  in  a  solution  of  corrosive  subli- 
mate. If  t  .••at  or  a  mouse  attempt  to  gnaw 
wood  so  prepared,  their  saliva  moistens  the 
sublimate,  they  take  it  into  the  stomach,  and 
are  so  destroyed  by  it.    See  Mice  and  Vkumin. 

REAPING      Cutting  down  wheat  or  other 

corn,  grain,  or  pulse  with  a  sickle,  hook,  or 

hcythe,  or  by  a  reaping-machine.     These  ope- 

lations   are   more   advantageously  performed 

944 


when  the  corn  or  pulse  is  not  quite  rpe,  than 
when  it  is  thoroughly  ripe;  because,  in  the 
latter  case,  the  seeds  are  apt  to  drop  out  in  the 
process  of  handling,  turning,  and  drying. 

Mr.  Hannum  enters  into  some  elaborate  cal- 
culations on  the  advantages  of  reaping  wheat 
a  fortnight  before  it  is  ripe,  from  which  he 
deduces  the  following  results ;  that,  independ- 
ently of  a  gain  of  4  per  cent,  on  the  value  of 
the  grain,  we  have,  1st,  straw  of  a  belter  qua- 
lity; 2dly,  a  better  chance  of  securing  the 
crop  ;  and,  3dly,  a  saving  in  securing  it.  (See 
Whkat.)  The  smaller  the  sheaves  are,  the 
better,  especially  in  a  wet  harvest :  in  general, 
the  diameter  of  the  sheaf  should  not  exceed  30 
inches.  It  is  of  some  importance,  also,  not  to 
tie  the  sheaves  too  near  the  ears.  In  making 
the  shocks,  they  should  be  placed  across  the 
furrows,  in  order  to  procure  a  free  circulation 
of  air  around  them. 

In  some  districts  in  England,  the  scythe  has 
of  late  years  been  partially  employed  for  the 
purpose  of  reaping,  but  with  no  satisfactory 
result ;  and  in  Berwickshire  the  scythe-hook  is 
now  generally  used  in  preference  to  the  toothed 
sickle  of  our  fathers.  Cutting  corn  with  a 
sickle  of  some  sort  is,  however,  considered 
preferable  to  mowing  it  with  a  scythe,  unless 
the  crop  stands  up  well,  and  time  presses. 
Barley  and  oats  may  be  frequently  mown  with 
advantage;  but  wheat,  which  requires  imme- 
diate and  clean  binding,  and  is  too  valuable  to 
admit  of  any  irregularities  or  wastefulness  in 
harvesting,  should  he  reaped.  The  mode  of 
reaping  called  bagging,  and  practised  a  good 
deal  about  London,  and  part  of  the  west  of 
England,  is  thus  executed : — The  left  leg  being 
pushed  into  the  standing  corn,  and  the  straw 
inclined  with  the  left  hand  over  the  left  foot,  is 
then  cut  close  to  the  bottom  with  a  stroke  trora 
the  right  hand.  The  i*ncrease  of  straw,  where 
.this  is  valuable,  renders  this  a  good  method  of 
reaping. 

In  England  the  mode  of  reaping  varies  with 
the  nature  of  the  crop.  Barley  and  oats  are 
generally  cut  with  the  scythe,  beans  with  the 
sickle ;  peas  with  what  are  called  fagging- 
hooks,  which  rather  tear  up  than  cut;  and 
tares  in  the  same  way. 

Reaping  is  a  great  part  of  the  expense  of  a 
crop.  The  average  price  in  England  is  from 
IS**  to  I5s.  an  acre.  See  Bands,  Barley,  Har- 
v«;STiNG,  Wheat,  &C. 

REAPING-HOOK.  An  implement  used  to 
cut  down  corn.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest  instru- 
ments employed  in  husbandry.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  hooks;  that  which  is  principally  used 
by  the  British  labourer  has  a  smooth  blade  of 
wrought  iron  and  steel,  about  25  inches  long, 
and  curved  nearly  to  a  semicircle;  the  other, 
which  is  universally  preferred  by  the  Irish 
reaper,  has  a  finely  serrated  edge,  and  towards 
the  lower  point  recedes  from  the  curved  direc- 
tion to  nearly  a  straight  line.  The  real  action 
of  the  reaping-hook  is  that  of  a  saw,  conse- 
quently the  serrated  edge  is  an  advantage.  See 
Sickle. 

REAPING  MACHINE.  A  contrivance  for 
the  purpose  of  reaping  grain  by  means  of  ani- 
mal labour.  With  this  view,  and  to  facilitate 
an  operation  of  such  importance  to  the  farmer. 


REAPING  MACHINE. 


RED-ROOT. 


different  attempts  have  been  made  to  construct 
machines,  so  as  to  despatch  the  work  in  a  rapid 
manner  by  the  assistance  of  hcrse  labour,  but 
the  success  with  which  they  have  been  attended 
in  England  has  hitherto  been  far  from  com- 
plete. 

Many  contrivances  have  also,  of  late  years, 
been  resorted  to  for  supplying  the  place  of  the 
reaping-hook,  but  hitherto  none  have  proved 
effectual,  nor  are  the  difficulties  arising  from 
roughness  and  irregularity  of  surface  likely 
soon  to  be  surmounted.  No  one  will  dispute 
the  great  utility  and  advantages  of  an  efficient 
reaping  machine,  if  il  could  be  carried  into 
operation,  as  these  advantages  are  universally 
acknowledged.  In  England,  such  an  imple- 
ment is  the  more  required  now  that  the  agri- 
cultural labourers  are  greatly  reduced  in  num- 
ber by  emigration,  and  harvest  work  has  be- 
come more  expensive.  There  is  now  a  much 
greater  quantity  of  corn  to  cut  down,  and  most 
of  the  s:rain  ripens  about  the  same  period.  In 
1815,  Mr.  Smith,  of  Deanston,  invented  a  reap- 
ing machine,  which,  in  some  experimental 
trials,  appeared  to  perform  its  work  exceed- 
ingly well;  but,  upon  longer  trial,  it  has  not 
answered  the  favourable  expectation  formed  of 
il.  Since  that  period,  another  invention  of  a 
similar  nature,  by  Mr.  Patrick  Bell,  has  at- 
tracted considerable  attention,  but  does  not  ap- 
pear to  be  of  sufficient  merit  to  have  come  into 
general  use.  The  original  cost  of  these  ma- 
chines, 40/.  or  50/.,  must,  in  many  instances, 
preclude  their  empk)yment. 

An  excellent  article  on  the  advantages  of  a 
reaping  machine  will  be  found  in  the  first 
volume  of  the  Quart.  Jmirn.  of  jlgr.  p.  137 ;  and 
Mr.  Bell's  machine  is  figured  and  described  at 
p.  217  of  the  same  volume. 

American  ingenuity  has  been  active  in  the 
invention  of  machines  for  harvesting  wheat 
and  other  grains,  Among  those  which  have 
been  brought  into  the  field,  '*  Wilson^ s  Moicing 
Machine,  or  Grass  and  Grain  Cutter**  is  highly 
commended  by  some  who  have  tried  it.  It  has 
been  most  in  use  along  the  Hudson  river,  and 
is  considered  an  improvement  of  Smith's  Eng- 
lish reaping  machine. 

But  the  machine  that  is  perhaps  best  entitled 
to  the  notice  of  farmers,  is  the  one  invented 
by  Obed  Hussey,  which  is  recommended  for 
its  simplicity,  durability,  and  the  great  regu- 
larity and  cleanness  with  which  it  performs  its 
work.  Even  when  the  grain  is  too  much 
lodged  to  be  cradled,  it  will  cut  at  the  rate  of 
two  acres  per  hour,  nearly  as  clean  as  if  it  had 
been  standing.  Il  can  be  adapted  to  the  ine- 
qualities of  the  surface  of  a  field,  and  has  been 
so  improved  by  its  original  inventor  as  to  ope- 
rate with  great  facility  on  stony  land.  This 
machine  has  received  the  most  unqualified  ap- 
probiition  of  nearly  all  farmers  who  have  tried 
it,  or  witnessed  its  operation.  The  Board  of. 
Trustees  of  the  Agricultural  Society  for  the 
Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  in  their  Report, 
made  in  1836,  say,  "We  deem  it  a  simple, 
strong:,  and  effective  machine,  and  take  much 
pleasure  in  awarding  unanimously  the  meri- 
torious inventor  of  it  (Mr.  O.  Hussey)  a  hand- 
Sjme  pair  of  silver  cups." 

The  committee  appointed  by  the  Philadel- 
119 


phia  Society  for  Promoting  Agriculture,  to  su- 
perintend the  operation  of  Mr.  Hussey's  ma- 
chine, make  a  very  favourable  report,  recom- 
mending it  to  the  attention  of  the  society  and 
the  agricultural  community  generally.  They 
state  that  it  was  put  in  operation  in  a  piece  of 
several  acres  of  heavy  wheat,  considerably 
lodged,  and,  contrary  to  their  expectations,  it 
performed  remarkably  well. 

"The  committee  estimate  the  ordinary  per- 
formance of  the  machine  at  from  ten  to  twelve 
acres  per  day ;  although  they  fully  believe,  that 
on  an  emergency,  it  would  accomplish  twice 
this  amount  of  work.  In  confirmation  of  this 
they  would  state,  that  it  cut,  on  this  occasion, 
630  square  yards  in  2  minutes,  doing  its  work 
in  the  most  perfect  manner."  The  cost  of  the 
machine  is  $150.  (See  Farmerh  Cabinet,  vols, 
ii.  and  iii..  Cultivator,  and  other  American  agri- 
cultural periodicals.) 

M^Cormick*s  Reaping  Machine  is  used  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  spoken  of  very  favourably  by  the 
editor  of  the  Southern  Planter,  who  has  furnish 
ed  a  cut  and  explanation  of  it  in  the  number 
of  that  excellent  periodical  for  January,  1843. 
It  is  said  to  cut  15  acres  per  day  without  leav- 
ing a  single  stalk  in  the  field,  and  some  think 
the  wheat  saved  in  harvesting  a  large  crop  will 
more  than  repay  the  first  cost  of  the  machine. 
It  weighs  about  600  lbs.,  resis  upon  two  wheejs, 
and  is  drawn  forward  by  two  horses.  The  cost 
of  the  machine  is  $100. 

In  the  preceding  account,  reference  has  only 
been  made  to  the  pioneer  inventions  which 
were  the  first  to  fully  demonstrate  the  practi- 
cability of  harvesting  grain  and  hay  crops  by 
the  use  of  machinery  driven  b}'  horse-power. 
Several  efforts  had  been  made  in  England  to 
effect  this  desirable  object,  and  those  by  Mr. 
Smith  and  Patrick  Bell  have  been  referred  to. 
But  these  only  obtained  partial  success,  and 
it  was  not  till  American  ingenuity  was  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  subject  that  the  practicabil- 
ity of  reaping  and  mowing  by  machinery  was 
established  as  a  perfect  success.  Since  the 
first  favourable  reports  made  by  American 
Agricultural  societies  of  Hussey's  and  ]\IcCor- 
mack's  machines,  these  and  others  have  re- 
ceived improvements,  until  at  present  there 
appears  to  be  little,  if  anything,  left  to  desire. 

Other  labour-saving  contrivances  for  har- 
vesting grain  have  been  invented  in  the  United 
States  of  late  years,  descriptions  of  which  may 
be  found  in  various  agricultural  periodicals. 

RED  BAY  (Laurus  Caroliniensis).  An  Ameri- 
can species  of  the  laurus  genus  found  in  the 
Southern  States.  (See  Michaux's  North  Ameri- 
can Sylva,  vol.  ii.  p.  150.) 

RED  BUD.     See  Judas  Tree. 

RED  GUM.  A  disease  of  grain,  a  kind  of 
blight.     See  Blight. 

RED-ROOT  (Lithospermum  arvense).  Sit-ne- 
weed.  A  worthless  plant  which  has  been  ii. 
troduced  into  the  United  States,  where  it  has 
spread  itself  extensively,  especially  in  some 
parts  of  New  York,  where  it  is  considered  even 
a  worse  pest  of  the  fields  than  the  Canada 
thistle.  Dr.  Darlington  describes  the  plant  as 
being  hispid,  or  beset  with  bristle-like  and 
rather  short  hairs ;  the  root  annual ;  stem  12  to 
18  inches  high,  generally  much  branched  from 

945 


RED  SPIDER. 


RED-WATER. 


the  root,  and  often  branched  near  the  summ:,. 
Leaves  1  to  2  inches  long,  and  i  to  5  wide, 
without  stems,  narrowed  at  the  base,  and  spear- 
shaped  flowers,  which  show  themselves  in  May 
in  the  Middle  States,  have  yellowish  or  milk- 
white  and  rather  small  corollas.  The  seed- 
nuts  are  ovoid,  with  tapering  points,  rough, 
wrinkled,  and  brown,  when  mature.  When 
this  formidable  weed,  which  is  the  pest  of  »he 
northern  wheat-crops,  first  appears  in  a  field, 
it  may  be  removed  by  carefully  pulling  it  up 
while  in  flower,  and  thus  preventing  it  maturing 
seed  and  propagating  itself.  Where  it  once 
gets  possession,  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
destroy,  as  the  seeds  will  lie  many  years  in  the 
soil  without  coming  up,  in  this  respect  resem- 
bling those  of  charlock  or  the  wild  radish  and 
mustard.  One  of  the  best  methods  of  treating 
it,  says  the  editor  of  the  New  Genesee  Farmer 
(vol.  i.  p.  92),  is  to  harrow,  or  lightly  plough 
the  wheat-stubble  immediately  after  harvest,  to 
cause  the  fallen  seeds  to  vegetate,  and  destroy 
the  young  plants  the  next  season  by  summer 
crops,  which  should  be  repeated  for  a  year  or 
two,  when  the  land  may  be  summer  fallowed 
for  wheat.  Successive  crops  of  buckwheat  are 
said  to  be  advantageous. 

Reu-Root  (Ceanothus  Jlmericanus).  New  Jer- 
sey tea.  A  plant  with  a  large,  red,  perennial  root, 
found  in  the  United  States.  The  stem  grows 
2  to  4  feet  high,  and  is  branched.  It  possesses 
considerable  astringency,  and  during  the  revo- 
lutionary war  the  leaves  were  substituted  for  tea. 

Rkp-Root  (Sanguinaria  Canadensis).  The 
generic  name  is  derived  from  the  colour  of  the 
sap,  which  resembles  blood.  This  American 
plant,  which  abounds  in  the  forests,  is  variously 
called  puccoon  root,  turmeric,  and  Indian  paint. 
The  root  is  perennial,  with  fibres  attached  to  a 
reddish,  horizontal  stem,  about  2  or  3  inches 
long  and  ^  an  inch  thick,  growing  under 
ground.  It  possesses  emetic  and  other  medici- 
nal properties.  It  is  the  only  species  of  its 
genus. 

RED  SPIDER  (Jcarus).  A  well-known  pest 
of  gardens.  It  may  be  destroyed  by  application 
to  plants  of  whale-oil  soap,  in  the  manner  di- 
rected in  the  destruction  of  plant-lice.  See 
Aphis. 

RED  TOP.    See  Hekd's  Grass. 

RED  TOP,  TALL  (Tricuspis  Sesleriaides). 
A  perennial  grass,  found  in  the  Middle  States, 
on  dry  banks  and  sterile  fields,  flowering  in 
August  and  seeding  in  September.  It  has  an 
erect,  jointed  culm  or  stem,  3  or  4  feet  high 
and  very  smooth.  Pursh  calls  it  "  a  most  ex- 
cellent grass,"  and  says  he  has  seen  "  most 
excellent  crops"  of  it,  in  the  mountain  mea- 
dows of  Pennsylvania,  where  they  mow  it  twice 
a  year.  Such  crops  may  possibly  pass  for 
"excellent"  in  mountain  meadows;  but,  ob- 
serves Dr.  Darlington,  they  would  be  not  so 
considered  in  Chester  county.  If  Mr.  Pursh 
has  not  misapprehended  the  fact,  he  is  certain- 
ly mistaken  in  the  character  of  the  plant;  for 
it  is  a  dry,  rigid  grass,  with  unusually  hard 
culms,  and  altogether  unfit  for  making  good 
hay.  It  is  the  only  species  of  the  genus  in  the 
Unit'jd  States.     {Flor.  Cest.) 

RED-WATER.  In  Britain,  a  well-known  dis- 
ease in  ca»f:e     "  The  disease  commonly  called 
Q4« 


red-water,  brown-water,  black-water,  moor-ill, 
&c.,"  says  Mr.  R.  Thompson,  of  Auchterarder 
"is  most  prevalent  in  old,  foggy  pastures.  It 
is  seldom  seen  in  hill  pastures,  or  in  new-sown 
pastures,  in  which  there  is  abundance  of  clover; 
but  it  sometimes  happens  at  the  stall,  where  the 
animal  has  no  other  allowance  than  straw, 
turnips,  and  potatoes.  It  usually  makes  its  ap- 
pearance after  a  few  days  of  rain,  followed  by 
cold,  dry  weather.  As  the  disease  appears  at 
times  in  all  situations,  it  is  difficult  to  trace  its 
existing  cause,  which  may  be  the  nature  of  the 
pasture,  or  the  state  of  the  weather,  or  both 
combined.  It  attacks  every  breed  and  kind  of 
cattle. 

"The  first  symptom  is  the  appearance  01 
something  like  blood  mixed  with  the  urine.  So 
trifling  is  the  complaint  in  some  instances,  that 
no  inconvenience  seems  to  be  felt  by  the  ani- 
mal, who  eats  and  drinks  as  usual,  chews  the 
cud,  and  is  free  of  the  disease  in  a  ie^  days. 
In  such  cases  a  natural  diarrhoea  comes  on,  to 
which  the  cure  may  be  attributed.  In  general, 
however,  the  disease  is  not  observed  until  the 
animal  refuses  food,  separates  from  the  rest  of 
the  herd,  appears  dull  and  heavy,  and  mani- 
fests great  langour  and  apathy.  The  ears 
droop,  the  urine  is  of  a  reddish  or  brownish 
colour,  and  if  it  be  a  milch  cow,  the  milk  is 
often  similarly  tinged.  The  pulse  ranges  from 
60  to  70 ;  there  is  obstinate  constipation  of  the 
bowels ;  the  urine  is  discharged  in  moderate 
quantity,  and  apparently  v/ithout  pain.  If  re- 
lief is  not  afforded  by  some  brisk  purgative,  at 
the  period  when  the  urine  changes  colour  from 
red  to  brown,  the  pulse  begins  to  sink,  and  if  a 
little  blood  be  drawn  at  this  time,  its  surface 
assumes  a  brownish  colour;  the  eye  appears 
of  a  yellowish-brown  tint;  the  urine  acquires  a 
darker  hue ;  the  animal  refuses  to  rise ;  the 
pulse  sinks  ;  the  legs,  tail,  and  horns  turn  cold; 
and  the  animal  dies,  to  all  appearance  per- 
fectly exhausted,  although  it  has  manifestly  no 
symptoms  of  acute  pain  during  the  course  of 
the  disease. 

"  Purgatives  of  any  kind,  if  given  in  large 
quantities  of  water,  are  found  to  be  the  best 
medicines  that  can  be  employed.  Medicines 
given  to  cattle  that  have  lost  the  power  of  chew- 
ing the  cud,  generally  pass  into  the  first  and 
second  stomachs,  and  if  a  good  draught  of 
water  is  not  given  to  wash  them  from  thence, 
if  the  animal  dies,  the  greater  part  of  the  medi 
cines  will  be  found  in  these  stomachs ;  and 
upon  this  principle,  common  salt,  if  properly 
managed,  will  be  found  among  the  best.  Dis- 
solve the  quantity  to  be  given  in  as  much 
water  as  will  enable  it  to  pass  freely  from  the 
bottle  or  drenching  horn,  and  let  the  animal 
have  plenty  of  water  to  drink  afterwards. 
Should  it  refuse  to  drink,  no  time  should  be  lost 
in  drenching  it  profusely  with  water.  With- 
.out  a  plentiful  dilution,  there  is  nc  certainty  of 
purging  cattle  that  have  lost  their  cud.  If 
purging  does  not  commence  in  from  12  to  24 
hours,  a  second  dose  should  be  given.  Injec- 
tions of  soap  and  water  should  also  be  tried,  if 
the  case  is  obstinate,  and  when  they  operate,  a 
i  pint  of  linseed  oil  should  be  given  as  a  laxa- 
j  tive.  So  obstinate  is  the  constipation  in  some 
cases,  that  the  salt  acts   only  as  a  diuretic, 


REED. 


causing  a  plentiful  discharge  of  urine.  Diu- 
retics and  astringents  combined  seem  only  of 
service  when  the  bowels  are  open,  and  their 
improper  administration  often  causes  inflam- 
mation of  the  bowels  and  kidneys.  If,  after 
purgation,  the  bowels  are  kept  open  by  laxa- 
tives, such  as  linseed  infusion,  the  disease  will 
gradually  disappear  without  their  use.  In  the 
last  stage  of  the  disease,  when  the  urine  as- 
sumes a  dark-brown  or  black  colour,  no  remedy 
seems  to  have  any  efficacy;  the  animal  is  sunk 
beyond  recovery,  the  bowels  lose  their  ac- 
tion, suppression  of  urine  follows,  the  animal 
stretches  itself  out  and  dies,  as  if  perfectly 
ejchausied. 

"There  are  two  diseases  which  in  their 
symptoms  bear  some  resemblance  to  red-water 
in  cattle,  viz.,  inflammation  of  the  kidneys,  and 
inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  of  the 
bladder  or  the  urethra,  which  often  happens  at 
calving.  In  these  cases  the  urine,  which  is 
discharged  with  pain,  is  mixed  with  blood,  but 
not  so  intimately  so  as  the  coloured  urine  in 
red-water,  and  it  has  generally  more  or  less 
mucus  mixed  with  it.  Inflammation  of  the  kid- 
neys in  cattle  is  comparatively  rare.  I  have 
seen  only  one  well-marked  case,  which  termi- 
nated fatally.  The  animal  experienced  con- 
siderable pain  upon  pressure  being  applied  to 
the  region  of  the  kidneys.  The  urine  was 
small  in  quantity,  and  nearly  as  thick  as  blood  ; 
and  pulse  ninety  and  very  hard.  As  the  dis- 
ease advanced,  the  urine  became  black  and 
fetid.  The  animal  all  along  exhibited  symp- 
toms of  excruciating  pain,  until  death  termi- 
nated its  sufferings.  Post-mortem  examination 
disclosed  extensive  inflammation  of  the  perito- 
nosum.  The  abdominal  cavity  contained  a 
large  quantity  of  dark-coloured,  fetid  fluid  ;  the 
fat  surrounding  the  kidneys,  as  well  as  the 
kidneys  themselves,  was  in  part  gangrenous ; 
and  the  fat  generally  exhibited  a  yellow  colour, 
as  is  usual  in  cases  where  death  terminates  in- 
flammatory diseases."  {Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol. 
ix.  p.  9.) 

REED  (Jrundo).  A  genus  of  aquatic  plants, 
in  most  instances  mere  weeds,  infesting  boggy 
low  lands  or  meadows  on  the  sides  of  rivers. 

The  best  method  of  destroying  reeds,  is  by 
draining  the  land;  for  if  the  drains  be  cut 
deeper  than  their  roots,  it  will  take  away  their 
nourishment,  and  consequently  destroy  them. 
Common  salt,  ashes,  or  soot,  will  likewise 
sometimes  kill  them ;  and  so  will  ploughing 
up  the  land,  and  laying  it  in  high  ridges. 
Reeds  always  indicate  a  deep,  good,  moist  soil, 
as  a  bad  one  will  not  nourish  or  support  them. 
See  Aruiido,  Aromatic  Reed,  and  Bbnt  or 
Starr. 

The  term  reed  is  sometimes  provincially  ap- 
plied to  the  straw  of  wheat,  rye,  &c.,  that  has 
not  been  bruised. 

REED-GRASS.    See  Cawart-Grass. 

RENNET,  or  RUNNET.  The  prepared 
inner  membrane  of  the  calf's  stomach,  which 
has  the  property  of  coagulating  the  albumen 
of  milk,  and  converting  it  into  curd  and  whey. 
The  maw  is  cleaned,  salted,  and  suspended  in 
paper  bags.  Previously  to  its  use,  the  salt  is 
extracted  by  washing  the  rennet ;  which  is  then 
soaked  in  hot  water  during  the  night ;  and  in  i 


RESINS. 

the  morning  the  infusion  is  poured  into  ths 
milk  to  coagulate  it.  This  is  the  result  of  the 
gastric  juice,  which  is  acid;  and  acts  upon 
the  caseous  part  of  the  milk,  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  other  acids.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
no  rennet  sufficiently  good  for  curdling  milk 
can  be  procured ;  hence  various  plants  have 
been  advantageously  substituted  for  this  pur- 
pose. The  principal  of  these  are  the  flowers 
of  the  yellow  ladies'  bedstraw  (Galium  verum)j 
used  in  England,  and  the  cardoon  (Cynara  car- 
dunculus),  in  Spain.  A  strong  infusion  is  made 
of  the  down  of  the  latter  vegetable  in  the 
evening,  and  on  the  succeeding  morning  ^  a 
pint  is  poured  among  14  gallons  of  new  milk, 
which  is  thus  effectually  coagulated,  and  in 
consequence  produces  a  delicious  cheese.  See 
Chkkse  and  Cheksk  Rennet. 

RENT  {Redditus:  from  redeundo).  The  sum 
of  money  or  other  consideration  issuing  yearly 
out  of  lands  and  tenements  paid  by  the  oc- 
cupier to  the  owner.  This,  in  Britain,  has 
gradually  taken  the  present  form  of  payment 
in  money,  from  a  very  different  original  tenure; 
for,  in  former  days,  the  land  was  generally  held 
of  the  superior  lord,  by  certain  services  ren- 
dered, of  either  a  military  or  servile  nature, 
such  as  carrying  out  the  lord's  manure  on  to 
his  land ;  certain  days  of  ploughing,  digging, 
or  cutting  the  corn,  &c.  of  the  landlord ;  the 
general  adoption  of  a  fixed  rent  or  money  pay 
ment  in  lieu  of  these  arbitrary  and  vexatious 
tenures,  was  an  advance  of  modern  days. 

RESERVOIR.  A  conservatory  of  water. 
The  husbanding  of  water  is  now  becoming  a 
subject  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  English  ag- 
riculturist. This  arises  from  its  scarcity  in 
many  districts,  in  consequence  of  the  improved 
drainage  of  the  land,  and  from  the  many  uses 
to  which  machinery  may  be  applied  in  farming 
operations  by  the  agency  of  water  power.  The 
construction  of  reservoirs  must  resolve  itself 
into  the  following  heads  : — 

First,  where  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water 
can  be  diverted  directly  from  the  channel  of  a 
stream  or  river. 

Second,  where  the  supply  is  to  be  obtained 
from  drainage,  which  maintains  a  stream  dur- 
ing part  of  the  year,  but  which  stream  fails 
during  the  summer  months. 

Third,  where  there  are  grounds  aflfording  a 
favourable  situation  for  the  construction  of  a 
reservoir,  but  through  which  there  is  no  natural 
stream  passing.     See  Pond?  and  Tanks. 

RESINS.  Peculiar  vegetable  substances  of 
allied  properties,  composed  of  carbon,  hydro- 
gen, and  oxygen ;  the  most  common  of  which 
is  the  rosin  of  commerce,  or  residue  after  the 
distillation  of  turpentines,  in  order  to  obtain 
the  volatile  oil.  When  no  water  is  used  in  this 
process,  an  empyreumatic,  brownish-yellow, 
semi-transparent  substance  remains,  namely, 
colophony  or  fidler's  rosin ;  when  water  is  used, 
the  residue  is  the  opaque  yellow  substance 
called  yellow  rosin.  When  every  particle  of 
water  is  evaporated  from  the  last,  and  it  is 
kept  in  a  state  of  fusion  at  a  moderate  tempe- 
rature, and  then  allowed  to  cool  slo-vly,  the  best 
resin  is  procured.  It  is  translucent,  bnttie, 
fusible  at  a  moderate  heat,  inflammable,  and 
soluble  in  spirits  of  wine,  volatile  oils,  and 

847 


REST-HARROW. 


RHUBARB. 


also  fixed  oils  and  fat,  when  aided  by  heat. 
The  mineral  acids  convert  it  into  artificial 
tannin  ;  the  alkalies  inio  soap.  Resin  in  com- 
bination with  wax,  a  little  oil  of  turpentine  and 
wax,  forms  a  good  polish  for  furniture.  Resin 
contains  oxygen  13-337,  carbon  76'944,  hydro- 
gen 10-719.  The  chief  of  the  other  resinous 
substances  are  elenii,  copal,  mastic,  sandarac,  lac, 
labdanvvi,  amber,  &c.  They  are  almost  all  solu- 
ble in  alcohol. 

REST-HARROW  (Ononis,  from  onos,  an  ass, 
and  ouevii  to  delight;  some  of  the  species  are 
said  to  be  grateful  to  asses).  All  the  plants 
belonging  to  this  genus  are  of  easy  cultivation, 
and  several  of  them  are  rather  handsome  when 
in  flower.  The  common  rest-harrow  or  cam- 
mock  (O.  arvetisis),  is  a  native  plant,  with  a 
woody,  tough,  and  strong  root,  resisting  the 
harrow's  prongs,  whence  the  English  name. 
The  stems  are  annual,  though  often  considera- 
bly woody,  or  shrubby,  various  in  length,  hairy. 
Leaves  generally  simple,  entire  towards  their 
base.  Flowers  mostly  solitary,  large,  and 
handsome,of  a  brilliant  rose  colour.  See  Pl.x.A-. 

RHIZOMA  (Lat.  Rhizu,  a  root).  A  term  ap- 
plied to  roots  which  spread  under  ground,  like 
those  of  the  iris. 

RHODODENDRON  (From  rhodo,  a  rose,  and 
dendron,  a  tree,  because  of  the  appearance  of 
the  terminal  bunches  of  flowers).  The  rhodo- 
dendron is  decidedly  one  of  the  finest  of  all 
known  genera,  containing  some  of  the  most 
handsome,  elegant,  and  showy  shrubs ;  all  of 
which  are  admirably  adapted  either  for  orna- 
menting the  green-house  or  shrubbery,  or  for 
planting  singly  on  lawns.  Peat  soil  is  most 
suitable  to  these  plants,  but  they  may  also  be 
grown  in  very  sandy  or  vegetable  mould.  They 
are  propagated  by  layers  or  seeds.  The  small- 
wooded  kinds  may  be  also  increased  very  freely 
by  young  cuttings,  planted  in  sand,  under  a 
glass. 

The  species  found  in  the  United  States  are, 
the  Rhododendron  nudiflorum,  or  naked-flowered 
rhododendron,  commonly  called  the  wild  ho- 
ney-suckle, a  beautiful  American  shrub  found 
in  the  Middle  States,  frequent  in  woodlands 
and  thickets,  where  it  blooms  from  April  to 
May.  The  flowers  are  of  various  shades,  from 
very  pale  to  bright  purple.  There  are  appa- 
rently several  varieties  of  this  beautiful  flow- 
ering shrub.  The  leaves  are  subject  to  large 
green  excrescences,  produced  by  the  puncture 
of  insects.     See  Azalea. 

Rhododendron  viscosum,  clammy  rhododendron, 
or  sweet  white  honeysuckle,  a  fragrant,  pretty 
species,  with  very  clammy  white  flowers,  found 
in  rocky  woodlands  in  the  Middle  States,  flow- 
ering in  June.  The  stems  grow  to  the  height 
of  4  or  6  feet,  with  numerous  short  and  crooked 
branches.     See  Azalea. 

The  Rhododendron  maximum,  or  dwarf  rose 
bay,  forms  a  magnificent  ornament  of  the 
American  mountain  forests.  It  generally  pre- 
sents itself  in  the  form  of  a  shrub,  of  less  than 
10  feet  m  height,  although  it  occasionally  at- 
tains an  elevation  of  20  to  25  feet,  with  a  di- 
ameter of  4  or  .5  inches. 

RHUBARB  (Rheum  rhaponticum,  from  pta,  to 
spread,  and  Rheum  hybridum).    A  hardy  peren- 
nial p'ant,  a  native  of  Asia.    The  leaves  are  , 
948 


very  broad,  and  2  feet  long.  Their  petioles  oi 
stalks  are  large,  and  these  only  are  used.  They 
are  agreeably  acid  and  vinous,  very  wholesome, 
and  much  admired,  whether  stewed  alone  with 
sugar  for  tarts,  and  puddings,  and  pies,  or  com- 
bined with  other  fruits.  Its  use  with  us  is  fast 
increasing,  and  although  its  introduction  to  the 
London  market  did  not  take  place,  it  is  said, 
till  1815,  yet  now,  we  are  told,  a  thousand  cart- 
loads are  there  annually  sold.  The  soil  best 
suited  to  these  plants  is  one  that  is  light,  rich, 
deep,  and  moderately  moist.  A  poor  heavy  or 
shallow  soil  never  produces  them  m  perfection. 

It  may  be  propagated  by  cuttings,  but  the 
mode  almost  universally  practised  in  England 
is  by  seed.  This  should  be  sown  soon  after  it 
is  ripe  in  September  or  October,  for  if  kept  out 
of  the  ground  until  the  spring,  it  will  often  con- 
tinue dormant  for  twelve  months  ;  if  the  danger 
of  this,  however,  is  risked,  it  must  be  inserted 
early  in  February  or  March.  The  seeds  are 
best  inserted  in  drills  3  feet  apart  and  an  inch 
deep,  the  plants  to  remain  where  raised;  for 
although  they  will  bear  removing,  yet  it  always 
checks  and  somewhat  lessens  their  growth. 
When  they  make  their  appearance  in  the 
spring,  and  have  been  thoroughly  cleared  of 
weeds,  they  may  be  thinned  to  6  or  8  inches 
asunder,  and  the  surface  of  the  ground  about 
them  loosened  with  the  hoe.  Towards  the  con 
elusion  of  summer,  when  it  can  be  determined 
which  are  the  strongest  plants,  they  must  be 
finally  thinned  to  3  or  4  feet,  or  the  hybrid  to  6. 
They  must  be  continually  kept  clear  of  weeds. 
In  autumn,  wheffi  the  leaves  decay,  they  are 
removed,  and  the  bed  being  gently  turned  over, 
a  little  well-putrefied  stable-dung  added,  and 
some  of  the  earth  applied  over  the  stools.  In 
the  spring,  the  bed  may  be  again  dug,  previous 
to  the  plants  making  their  appearance ;  and  as 
the  stalks,  when  blanched,  are  much  less  harsh 
in  taste,  require  less  sugar  to  be  rendered 
palatable,  and  are  greatly  improved  in  appear- 
ance, at  this  period  a  trench  may  be  dug 
between  the  rows,  and  the  earth  from  it  laid 
about  a  foot  thick  over  the  stool.  This  cover- 
ing must  be  removed  when  the  cutting  ceases, 
and  the  plants  allowed  to  grow  at  liberty.  As 
the  earth  in  wet  seasons  is  apt  to  induce  decay, 
the  covering  may  be  advantageously  formed 
of  coal-ashes  or  drift-sand,  which  are  much 
less  retentive  of  moisture.  Those  plants  pro- 
duce the  seed  in  greatest  perfection  that  are 
not  gathered  from,  but  on  no  account  must  they 
be  subjected  to  the  process  of  blanching.  Two 
year  old  plants  often  produce  seed,  but  in  the 
third  year  always.  It  must  be  gathered  as  soon 
as  ripe,  and  great  care  taken  that  none  is  scat- 
tered over  the  beds,  for  the  plants  then  pro- 
duced often  spring  up  and  greatly  injure  the 
old  plants  by  growing  unobserved  amongst 
them. 

Varieties. — 1.  Buck^s  new  early  Scarlet  Rhubarb. 
— A  new  and  beautiful  variety,  and  very  early. 
The  stalks  and  the  juice  are  of  a  beautiful  red 
colour,  and  quite  as  high-coloured  as  the  juice 
of  red  currants,  and  of  excellent  flavour.  Fit 
for  use,  in  our  climate,  in  April. 

2.  Tobolsk. — A  new  and  very  superior  va- 
riety;  the  earliest  of  all  the  early,  not  except- 
ing, perhaps.  Buck's  Early  Scarlet.    The  stalks 


RHUS. 


arc  of  a  beautiful  pink  colour,  and  of  excellent 
flavour.  Originated  in  England  by  Mr.  Youle, 
and  fit  for  use  here  in  April. 

3.  JJulliy's  Goliah. — A  new  variety,  which 
grows  to  a  very  large  size. 

4.  Ditlley's  Adinirul. — A  variety  of  a  still  more 
recent  date,  and  remarkably  large. 

5.  Elfort  Rhubarb  (Var.  Undulata). 

6.  Giant  Rhubarb. — A  new  and  large  species. 

7.  WilmoCi  Early  Red. — Early  and  fine,  with 
red  stalks. 

8.  MyatCs  Victoria. — A  magnificent  produc- 
tion, with  leaves  and  stalks  of  enormous  size, 
exceeding,  in  this  respect,  all  other  varieties. 
New,  and  of  excellent  quality. 

9.  Australian  Rhubarb  (Rheum  Jluslrale). — 
A  new  variety  and  valuable  acquisition;  later 
in  its  vegetation  than  any  other  kind:  it  also 
continues  to  grow  vigorously,  and  to  furnish 
a  supply  of  leaves  long  after  all  other  varie- 
ties are  gone,  or  till  hard  frosts.  By  protec- 
tion and  a  frame,  it  lasts  till  January.  The 
flavour  of  Rheum  Auatrale  resembles  apples ; 
and,  though  thought  by  some  to  be  more  medi- 
cinal in  its  effects  than  other  sorts,  yet  those 
who  have  used  it  for  years  have  never  found 
it  prove  injurious. 

Young  seedling  plants  only  need  to  be  pro- 
tected the  first  winter  by  soil.  Rhubarb  may 
be  forced  very  early,  by  being  covered  with 
boxes  or  barrels,  surrounded  by  horse-manure 
at  the  lop  and  sides.  The  rhubarb  is  highly  de- 
serving of  cultivation  by  every  family. 

Rhubarb  IVini: — The  leaf-stalks  of  green-co- 
loured rhubarb,  being  cut  in  pieces  as  for  tarts, 
and  bruised  with  a  mallet  to  extract  the  juice, 
will  make  a  delicious  wine,  quite  equal  to  green 
gooseberry  wine,  and  very  closely  resembling 
Champagne.  Of  the  red  rhubarb  a  fine  red 
wine  is  made. 

Rhubarb  Jam  and  Jelly. — A  superior  jam  or 
jelly  is  thus  made  from  the  tender  leaf-stalks 
of  rhubarb,  equal  or  superior  to  that  from  cur- 
rants, and  of  excellent  flavour.  To  one  pound 
of  the  stalks,  cut  as  for  tarts,  add  one  pound  of 
loaf  or  brown  sugar;  boil  till  the  ingredients 
acquire  a  proper  consistence.  Unground  gin- 
ger and  lemon  peel  added  to  the  jelly  have 
been  found  a  decided  improvement.  Buck's 
early  scarlet  rhubarb  has  a  preference  in  point 
of  colour,  which  is  beautiful  red ;  it  is  also  of 
fine  flavour,  though  not,  perhaps,  superior  in 
this  respect  to  other  varieties.  Rhubarb  will 
answer  for  jelley  three  months  before  the  cur- 
rant is  ripe.  An  excellent  preserve  is  also 
made  of  rnubarb.  For  this  purppse  the  stalks 
are  cut  into  inch  pieces,  and  preserved  in  the 
usual  way  with  sugar.     (Kenrirk.) 

RHUS  (Derived  from  rous,  in  Greek,  which 
is  from  rhudd,  a  Celtic  word,  signifying  red ; 
alluding  to  the  colour  of  the  fruit  and  leaves 
of  some  species  in  autumn).  The  hardy  kinds 
are  rather  ornamental,  and  well  fitted  for  shrub- 
beries ;  some  are  propagated  by  cuttings  of  the 
roots,  and  others  by  cuttings  and  layers.  The 
juice  of  R.  radiratis,  poison  or  swamp  sumach, 
and  R.  toxicodendron,  poison  vine  or  poison  oak, 
is  milky,  stains  black,  and  is  extremely  poi- 
sonous. R.  coriaria  is  powerfully  astringent, 
and  is  used  in  tanning  Turkey  or  Morocco 
leather. 


RICE. 

RIB-GRASS.     See  Plantaik. 

RIBBON-GRASS  (Phalaris).  The  vaii'tr 
of  the  genus  Fhalaris  called  picta,  from  its 
striped  leaves,  is  found  in  gardens  and  yards 
as  an  ornamental  plant.  From  its  tendency  to 
strike  deep  roots  and  spread,  it  often  becomes 
troublesome  to  eradicate.  The  species  called 
reed-like  or  American  Phalaris,  is  common  in 
swampy  places  in  the  Middle  and  Northern 
States.  When,  says  Dr.  Darlington,  the  pani- 
cles of  this  plant  first  appear,  they  have  some 
resemblance  to  those  of  orchard  grass  ;  but  he 
thinks  it  far  inferior  to  the  orchard  grass,  and 
too  much  of  an  aquatic  for  regular  culture. 
Another  species,  the  Phalaris  canariensis,  or 
wild  canary  grass,  is  particularly  naturalized 
in  some  of  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States, 
where  it  produces  crops  of  the  greatest  luxu- 
riance. It  is  perennial,  spreads  rapidly,  and 
may  be  easily  propagated  by  transplantation. 

RICE  {Oryza,  from  the  Arabic  word  eruz^ 
the  Greeks  coined  their  word  csy^u.,  and  the  va- 
rious modern  nations  of  Europe  their  rice,  rizy 
reis,  &c.).  O.  sntiva,  the  common  rice,  has  the 
culm  from  1  to  6  feet  in  length,  annual,  erect, 
simple,  round,  jointed.  Leaves  subulate-linear, 
refiex,  embracing,  not  fleshy.  Flowers  in  a 
terminating  panicle.  Calycine  leaflets  lanceo- 
late. Valves  of  the  carolla  equal  in  length ; 
the  inner  valve  even,  awnless  ;  the  outer  twice 
as  wide,  four-grooved,  hispid,  awned.  Style 
single,  two-parted. 

O.  mutica,  the  dry  or  mountain  rice,  cultivated 
in  Ceylon,  Java,  and  of  late  in  Hungary,  has 
the  culm  3  feet  high,  and  more  slender.  Fruit 
longish,  with  awns  the  longest  of  all.  It  is 
sown  on  mountains  and  in  dry  soils ;  rots  with 
a  long  inundation,  and  perishes  with  sea-water. 

The  varieties  of  rice,  as  of  other  cultivated 
grain,  are  as  numerous  as  the  different  soils, 
climates,  and  other  physical  circumstances,  in 
which  it  is  cultivated :  besides  the  dry  rice,  the 
chief  sorts,  by  some  considered  species,  are 
the  O.  prcBtox,  or  early  rice,  and  the  O.  glutinosa, 
or  clammy  rice,  both  cultivated  in  irrigated 
lands. 

The  native  place  of  rice,  like  that  of  the 
other  sorts  of  grain  in  common  use,  is  un- 
known ;  it  is  cultivated  in  great  abundance  all 
over  India,  where  the  country  will  admit  of 
being  flooded ;  in  the  southern  provinces  of 
China,  in  Cochin  China,Cambodia,Siam,  Japan, 
&c.  In  Japan  it  is  very  white,  and  of  the  best 
quality.  It  has  also  been  introduced  into  culti- 
vation in  the  southern  kingdoms  of  Europe, 
Italy,  Spain,  the  south  of  France,  and  within  a 
few  years  into  Hungary  and  Westphalia.  In 
Carolina  it  has  long  been  a  staple  commodity. 
Houghton's  account  of  its  introduction  there 
is,  that  Ashby  was  encouraged  to  send  a  hun- 
dred pound  bagful  of  rice  to  that  province, 
from  which,  in  1698,  60  tons  were  imported  into 
England.  Dalrymple  says,  that  rice  in  Caro- 
lina is  the  result  of  a  small  bag  of  paddy,  given. 
as  a  present  from  Dubois,  treasurer  of  the  East 
India  Company,  to  a  Carolina  trader.  A  Dutch 
vessel  also,  from  Madagascar,  brought  rice  into 
the  same  province ;  and  to  this  is  attributed 
j  their  having  two  kinds. 

I      In  the  hilly  parts  of  Java,  and  in  many  of  the 
1  Eastern  islands,  the  mountain  rice  is  planted 
4L  949 


RICE. 


RICE. 


upuL  the  sides  of  hills,  where  no  water  but  rain 
can  com«;  it  is,  however,  planted  in  the  be- 
ginning of  the  rainy  season,  and  reaped  in  the 
beginning  of  the  dry  season.  The  natives  call 
it  Paddy  Gutiung,  which  signifies  mountain  rice. 
It  is  entirely  unknown  in  the  western  parts  of 
India,  but  it  is  well  known  in  Cochin  China, 
where  it  thrives  in  dry,  light  soils,  mostly  on  the 
sides  of  hills,  not  requiring  more  moisture  tnan 
the  usual  rains  and  dews  supply,  neither  of 
which  are  frequent  at  the  season  of  its  vege- 
tation. 

There  is  a  kind  of  hill  rice  which  is  hardy 
enough  to  grow  on  the  edge  of  the  Himalayan 
snows.  This,  it  may  be  expected,  will,  at  some 
future  time,  prove  an  acquisition  of  value  to 
the  European  and  American  cultivators. 

Rice  is  extensively  cultivated  in  the  East 
Indies  and  China,  chiefly  on  low  grounds  near 
large  rivers,  which  are  liable  to  be  annu- 
ally inundated,  and  enriched  by  the  deposition 
of  mud.  According  to  Sir  George  Staunton's 
account,  the  Chinese  obtain  two  crops  of  rice 
in  a  year  from  the  same  ground,  and  cultivate 
it  in  this  way  from  generation  to  generation  on 
the  same  soil,  and  without  any  other  manure 
than  the  mud  deposited  by  the  water  of  the 
river  used  in  overflowing  it.  After  the  waters 
of  the  inundation  have  withdrawn,  a  few  days 
are  allowed  for  the  mud  to  get  partially  dry ; 
then  a  small  spot  is  enclosed  by  a  bank  of  clay 
slightly  ploughed  and  harrowed,  and  the  grain, 
previously  steeped  in  dung,  diluted  with  animal 
water,  is  then  sown  very  thickly  on  it.  A  thin 
sheet  of  water  is  immediately  brought  over  it, 
either  by  a  led  stream,  or  the  chain-pump. 
Thus  a  seed-bed  or  nursery  is  prepared,  and, 
in  the  mean  time,  the  remainder  of  the  tract  is 
preparing  for  being  planted.  When  the  plants 
are  6  or  7  inches  high,  they  are  transplanted  in 
furrows  made  by  the  plough,  so  as  to  stand 
about  a  foot  apart  every  way;  water  is  then 
brought  over  them,  and  kept  on  till  the  crop 
begins  to  ripen,  when  it  is  withheld ;  so  that 
when  harvest  arrives  the  field  is  quite  dry.  It 
is  reaped  with  a  sickle,  threshed  with  a  flail  or 
the  treading  of  cattle,  and  the  husk  taken  off' 
by  beating  it  in  a  stone  mortar,  or  passing  it 
between  two  flat  stones,  as  in  a  common  meal 
mill.  The  first  crop  being  cut  in  May,  a  second 
is  immediately  prepared  for  by  burning  the 
stubble,  and  this  second  crop  ripens  in  October 
or  November.  After  removal,  the  stubble  is 
ploughed  in,  which  is  the  only  vegetable  ma- 
nure such  lands  can  be  said  to  receive  from 
man.  In  Japan,  Ceylon,  and  Java,  according 
to  Thunberg,  Davis,  and  Raffles,  aquatic  rice  is 
cultivated  nearly  in  the  same  manner.  Moun- 
tain-rice is  grown  much  in  the  same  way  as 
barley. 

In  Lombardy  and  Savoy  rice  is  sown  on  rich 
lands,  the  sower  often  wading  to  the  knees  in 
water:  one  crop  a  year  only  is  obtained;  but 
four  crops  are  often  taken  in  succession.  In 
America  a  similar  practice  obtains. 

In  Westphalia,  and  some  other  parts  of  the 
south  of  Germany,  rice  has  long  been  culti- 
vated; there  it  is  sown  on  lands  that  admit  of 
irrigation  ;  but  the  water  is  not  admitted  till  the 
seet  has  germinated,  a^d  it  is  withdrawn,  as  in 
Italy,  when  the  crop  c  jmes  into  flower.  From 
950 


long  cu'lTire,  in  a  comparatively  cold  country, 
the  German  rice  has  acquired  a  remarkable 
degree  of  hardiness  and  adaptation  to  the  cli. 
mate ;  a  circumstance  which  has  frequently 
been  alluded  to  as  an  encouragement  to  the 
acclimating  of  exotics.  It  is  found.  Dr.  Walker 
remarks  {Essays  on  Nat.  Hist.),  that  rice  seeds 
direct  from  India  will  not  ripen  in  Germany  at 
all,  and  even  that  Italian  or  Spanish  seeds  are 
much  less  early  and  hardy  than  those  ripened 
on  the  spot. 

In  Hungary  rice  has  not  been  longcultivated: 
the  mountain  sort  has  chiefly  been  tried,  and 
that  in  the  manner  of  our  barley  or  summer- 
wheat. 

In  England  a  crop  of  rice  has  been  obtained 
near  Windsor,  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames. 

By  far  the  best  imported  rice  is  that  from 
Carolina :  it  is  larger  and  better  tasted  than 
that  of  India,  which  is  small,  meager,  and  the 
grains  frequently  broken.  As  an  article  of  diet, 
rice  has  been  extolled  as  superior  almost  to  any 
other  vegetable :  but  whatever  it  may  be  in 
warmer  climates,  where  it  is  a  common,  and 
to  many  persons  almost  their  only  food,  it  does 
not  appear  so  well  calculated  for  European 
constitutions  as  the  potato ;  for  we  find  that 
the  poor  constantly  reject  the  use  of  rice  when 
potatoes  are  to  be  had ;  and  whilst  these  can 
be  obtained,  we  may  venture  to  predict,  that 
rice  will  always  be  considered,  in  Britain, 
rather  as  a  dainty,  to  be  eaten  with  sweet  con 
diments,  spices,  fruit,  &c.,  than  as  ordinary 
food.     Loudon^s  Ency.  of  Plants. 

The  mountain  rice  has  been  raised  in  Mary- 
land by  Mr.  Bordley,  on  dry  sandy  land.  The 
following  comprehensive  directions  respecting 
the  water  culture  of  rice,  were  furnished  by  one 
of  the  most  successful  cultivators  in  South 
Carolina: 

Begin  to  plant  about  the  25th  March,  trench 
shallow  and  wide,  and  scatter  the  seed  in  the 
row  ;  make  72  or  75  rows  in  a  task,  and  sow  2 
bushels  to  an  acre. 

1.  Hoe  about  the  end  of  April  or  beginning 
of  May,  when  the  rice  is  in  the  fourth  leaf; 
then  flood,  and  clear- the  field  of  trash.  If  the 
planting  be  late,  and  you  are  likely  to  be  in 
grass,  flood  before  hoeing;  but  hoeing  first  is 
preferable.  The  best  depth  to  flood  is  3  or  4 
inches.  It  is  a  good  mark  to  see  the  tops  of 
the  rice  just  out  of  the  water :  the  deep  places 
are  not  to  be  regarded ;  the  rice  will  grow 
through  in  3  or  4  days.  Observe  to  make  a 
notch  on  the  frame  of  the  trunk,  when  the 
water  is  at  a  proper  depth :  if  the  rains  raise 
the  water  above  the  notch,  or  it  leaks  out,  add, 
or  let  oflf  accordingly.  This  is  done  by  putting 
a  small  stick  in  the  door  of  the  trunk,  about  an 
inch  in  diameter :  if  scum  or  froth  appear  in 
8  or  10  days,  freshen  the  water,  take  ofl^  the 
trunk  doors,  run  oflf  the  water  with  one  ebb,  and 
take  in  the  nexi  flood .-  then  regulate  as  before. 
Keep  the  water  on  about  15  or  17  days,  accord- 
ing to  the  state  of  the  weather ;  that  is,  if  a  hot 
sun,  15  days;  if  cool  and  cloudy,  17  days,  count- 
ing from  the  day  the  field  is  flooded  ;  then  leak 
off  with  a  small  stick  for  2  days,  then  run  off 
the  whole,  and  keep  the  field  dry.  In  4  or  5 
days  after,  hoe  the  second  time,  stir  the  ground, 
whether  clean  or  not,  and  comb  up  the  fallen 


RICE,  WILD. 


rice  with  the  fingers.  Keep  dry  and  hoe  through 
the  field.  Hoe  the  third  lime  and  pick  clean. 
Thiswill  be  about  the  beginning  of  July.  Then 
flood  as  you  hoe.  Let  the  water  be  the  same 
depth  as  before.  If  any  grass  has  escaped,  it 
must  be  picked  in  the  water  after  it  shoots  out. 
This  is  called  the  fourth  hoeing,  but  the  hoe  is 
never  used  except  for  some  high  places  or  to 
clean  the  dams.  If  the  rice  is  flaggy  and  likely 
to  lodge,  flood  deep  to  support  it,  and  keep  it 
on  until  fit  to  harvest.    {Domestic  Encyclopedia.) 

If  land  is  xcell  drained  and  in  good  order,  it  is 
calculated  that  5  acres  of  rice  and  1  or  1^  of 
provisions  may  easily  be  cultivated  to  the  hand. 

Rice  was  formerly  almost  altogether  export- 
ed in  the  form  of  clean  rice,  but  at  present  the 
largest  amount  of  that  taken  to  England  is  in 
the  husk  or  rough  state,  called  paddy  or  cargo 
rice.  The  rice  crop  for  1842  has  been  esti- 
mated by  Mr.  Ellsworth  at  94.007,484  pounds. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  annual 
quantities  and  value  of  rice  exported  from  the 
United  States  at  diflerent  periods  : 

Years.                                        Ezporti  la  Tierc«i.  Value. 

17»1  -        -        -        -        06,980 

\in  ....       141,762 

1H)3  -        -        -        -        81,838  #9,455,000 

1816  ...        -       137,b43  3,555.000 

1818  -        -        -        -        8S.LS1  3,262,697 

1836  -        -        -         .      2I2,9!S3  2,518,7.-0 

1838  -        -        -        .        71,018  1,721.819 

1841  -        -        -        -      101.617  2,010,107 

(H«nt's  Merekanis'  Magazine,  July,  1843.) 

RICE  WEEVIL.     See  Graix  Wekvil. 

RICE,  WILD  (Zizania).  Nuttall  mentions 
three  species  of  aquatic  grasses,  called  wild 
rice,  found  in  the  United  States,  viz.:  the  Zizania 
aquaticn  (Pi.  4,  c)  ;  Z.  miliacta  :  and  the  Z.  Jltii' 
tans.  This  last  is  very  small  and  easily  con- 
founded with  other  aquatic  grasses.  He  found 
it  around  Savannah  in  Georgia. 

The  Z.nquatica  is  found  in  almost  every  part 
of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  where  it 
goes  by  the  names  of  water  oats,  Indian  rice, 
and  reed.  The  seeds  resemble  those  of  Polish 
millet.  It  is  exceedingly  prolific.  The  root  is 
perennial.  It  grows  in  swampy  places,  and  in 
deep  water  at  the  edges  of  ponds  and  sluggish 
streams.  Stock  of  all  descriptions  are  fond  of 
the  plant  when  green,  or  cured  as  hay.  It  re- 
sembles, at  a  distance,  slender  shoots  of  Indian 
corn.  The  stems  are  jointed,  and  as  large  as 
the  little  finger.  The  panicle  or  head  is  a  foot 
or  more  in  length,  and  the  seeds  blackish, 
smooth,  narrow,  cylindrical,  about  three-quar- 
ters of  an  inch  long,  white  and  farinaceous 
within.  Gilleland's  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Pilot 
contams  the  following  interesting  details  rela- 
tive to  wild  rice:  "Among  the  vegetable  pro- 
ductions of  the  Western  Territory  north  of  Illi- 
nois and  west  of  Green  Bay,  on  the  Ouiscon- 
sin  and  Fox  rivers,  the  wild  rice,  called  Fotle 
avoine  by  the  French,  and  Menonien  by  the  In- 
dians, claims  particular  attention.  It  grows  in 
inexhaustible  abundance,  through  all  parts  of 
the  territory,  in  almost  every  one  of  the  innu- 
merable lakes,  ponds,  bays,  rivers,  and  creeks. 
It  is  said  to  be  as  palatable  and  as  nourishing 
as  common  ritjp,  and  if  so,  it  '^'11  be  incom- 
parably more  valuable.  It  grows  where  the 
water  is  from  4  lo  6  feet  deep,  and  where  the 
bottom  is  not  hard  or  sandy.  It  rises  above 
the  surface  of  the  water  from  4  to  8  feet,  and 


ROLLERS. 

is  often  so  tnick  as  almost  to  prevent  canoes  from 
passing  through  or  among  it.  The  ^talk  is  soft 
like  the  bulrush,  but  grows  in  joints  like  reed- 
cane,  which  it  much  resembles.  It  is  usual  for 
the  Indians  to  force  their  canoes  through  it, 
just  before  it  ripens,  and  tie  it  in  large  bunchts 
for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  wild  ducks 
and  geese  from  breaking  it  down  and  destroy- 
ing it.  When  fully  ripe,  they  pass  through  it 
again,  and,  spreading  their  blankets  in  the 
inside  of  their  canoes,  they  bend  the  branches 
of  the  wild  rice  over  them,  and  thresh  ofl"  the 
grain  with  sticks;  an  operation  which  requires 
little  time,  and  is  generally  performed  by  the 
women.  After  drying  it  in  the  sun,  ihey  put  il 
into  skins,  for  future  use.  Every  autumn  and 
spring  the  wild  ducks  and  geese  resort  to  th(/ 
wild  rice  lakes  in  flocks  incredibly  numerous. 
It  is  thought  by  many  that  the  Zizania  aquatica 
will  some  day  be  an  object  of  culture,  which 
may  afford  a  means  of  bringing  into  use  large 
tracts  of  inundated  land." 

RICK.  A  pile  of  corn,  hay,  straw,  &c.,  regu- 
larly heaped  up  in  the  open  air,  and  sheltered 
from  wet  by  thatch.     See  Stack. 

RIDDLE.  \  sort  of  sieve  used  to  separate 
dust  and  the  seeds  of  plants  from  corn.  They 
are  made  of  various  sizes  for  different  uses. 

RIGGIL.  An  imperfect  male  sheep,  having 
only  one  or  no  testicle  in  the  scrotum. 

RIME.  A  hoary  or  white  frosty  appearance, 
sometimes  on  the  ground  in  the  autumnal, 
winter,  and  early  spring  mornings.  See  Dew 
and  Frost. 

RING-BONE.  In  farriery,  a  callus  growing 
in  the  hollow  circle  of  the  little  pastern  of  a 
horse,  just  above  the  coronet.  It  has  its  name 
from  the  resemblance  to  a  ring. 

RINGS,  FAIRY.     See  Faiut  Rmo. 

RIPPLE  GRASS.  A  popular  name  of  the 
English  plantain  {P.lanceolata). 

ROADS.     See  Highways. 

ROARING.  In  farriery,  a  disease  well  known 
to  jockeys  and  horse-dealers,  which  usually  ac- 
companies or  precedes  broken  wind.  It  is 
generally  the  result  of  long-continued  or  vio- 
lent exercises.  It  is  connected  with  dilatation 
of  the  air-cells  of  the  lungs,  and  is  incurable. 
See  Broken  Wi.vd. 

ROCHAMBOLE.    See  Garlic. 

ROCK  CRESS.     See  Crkss,  Waxx. 

ROLLERS.  An  implement  of  simple  con- 
struction, like  the  roller,  the  main  object  of  which 
is  to  render  smooth  the  surface  of  arable  lands, 
would  not  seem  to  admit  apparently  of  much  va- 
riety in  its  construction.  Nevertheless,  it  is  an 
implement  in  which  greater  diversity  of  form  is 
found  to  exist  than  in  most  other  agricultural 
machines.  Rollers  are  of  all  sizes,  weights, 
and  lengths ;  and  the  material  of  which  they 
are  made  is  occasionally  iron,  sometimes  stone, 
but  most  commonly  wood.  Of  these,  the  first 
is  undoubtedly  the  best,  and  particularly  for 
the  jointed  roller,  by  which  the  operation  of 
turning  at  the  ends  of  the  ridges  is  materially 
facilitated,  and  the  slading  of  the  earth  which 
would  otherwise  take  place  on  the  head-lands, 
not  only  to  their  great  detriment,  but  to  the  no 
small  increase  of  labour  to  the  horses,  is  there- 
by prevented. 

An   ingenious    gentleman,  tnt  .ate  Georg<» 

J51 


ROLLERS. 


ROLLERS. 


Booth,  Ei<?.,  of  Allerton,  near  Liverpool,  who 
to  a  grea»,  love  of  farming  added  a  very  tolera- 
ble share  of  mechanical  skill,  and  to  both  am- 
ple means  to  carry  out  his  various  devices, 
constructed  a  roller,  or  rather  a  nest  of  rollers, 
on  the  lever  principle.  He  contended  for  a 
very  small  diameter  as  the  most  effective  in 
crushing  the  clods,  and  throwing  the  greatest 
possible  weight  on  the  surface  of  the  ground. 
We  regret  being  only  able  to  give  an  idea  of 
his  invention  from  memory;  but  do  not  think 
his  roller  was  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter  at 
the  outside.  It  consisted  of  five  cylinders  or 
rollers,  arranged  in  such  manner  that  three 
hind  ones,  separated  from  each  other,  have  the 
two  spaces  overlapped  by  two  cylinders  placed 
in  front. 

JDnll  tollers. — These  are  made  of  rings  adapt- 
ed to  a  shaft.  They  are  not  by  any  means  of 
modern  invention,  having  been  well  known  to 
the  English  farmers  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  for 
the  greater  part  of  a  century.  The  only  im- 
provement they  have  undergone  has  been  to 
render  each  ring  independent  of  its  neighbour, 
so  that  the  process  of  turning  at  the  end  of  the 
field  is  facilitated,  as  in  the  case  of  the  jointed 
roller.  The  modern  drill  rollers  in  other  re- 
spects have  not  improved,  if  the  doctrine  of 
Mr.  Booth,  already  noticed,  be  correct,  that  a 
small  diameter  is  better  than  a  large  one.  The 
drill  roller  is  used  for  the  double  purpose  of 
crushing  clods  on  rough  lands,  and  making 
grooves  ready  to  receive  the  seed  of  wheat  or 
other  grain  sown  broadcast  on  light  soils.  It 
is  a  capital  tool  for  either  purpose.  In  the  first 
case  it  is  followed  by  a  harrow,  of  sufficient 
weight  to  lighten  up  the  surface ;  in  the  other, 
the  fine,  short-toothed  harrow,  or  even  a  mere 
bush-harrow,  will  be  found  sufficient.  The 
less  such  land  is  disturbed  after  sowing  the 
better,  and  the  more  distinct  will  be  the  seve- 
ral rows  or  grooves  of  corn. 

Heavy  rollers. — The  heavy  roller  is  a  very 
eflfective  implement.  It  is  formed  of  3  sepa- 
rate cylinders,  about  2  feet  in  diameter,  and 
of  the  same  length;  the  axis  of  each  being  in- 
dependent of  the  other.  On  turning,  they  con- 
sequently revolve  in  different  directions,  and 
thus  "slading"  at  the  land's  end  is  avoided. 

The  double-Jointed  barley  roller  is  a  very  use- 
ful implement.  It  is  so  constructed  that  the 
two  sides,  being  separate  rolls  or  distinct 
frames,  may  revolve  at  opposite  angles ;  and, 
M-ncn  required,  one  may  be  placed  behind  the 
other.  A  plan  has  for  many  years  been  in  use 
in  Norfolk,  of  constructing  them  with  twisted 
jomts,  so  that  the  under  end  of  one  roll  shall 
work  behind  the  end  of  the  other,  thus  leaving 
no  seam  between  the  roller. 

Crosskills'  rlod-crusker  is,  under  many  circum- 
stances, a  valuable  implement.  It  is  composed 
of  a  series  of  iron  rings,  with  notched  edges, 
set  apart  from  each  other  about  3  or  4  inches. 
Small  cross-bars  or  knives  are  placed  at  fre- 
quent intervals  on  the  faces  of  these,  and  near 
their  outer  notched  rims,  so  as  to  intersect 
every  portion  of  land  over  which  it  passes.  Its 
construction,  combined  with  its  great  weight, 
renders  it  very  effective  for  the  purpose  which 
Its  name  denotes.  Indeed,  as  an  old  farming 
952 


bailiff  once  aptly  remarked,  it  is  a  roll  and  ft 
harrow  combined.  The  roller  is  an  implement 
which  requires  some  judgment  as  to  the  iime 
of  its  use,  and  this  remark  applies  with  in- 
creased force  to  the  one  under  consideration. 

Seam  or  land-presser. — If  a  drill  is  so  efiective 
an  implement,  far  more  so  is  the  seam  or  land- 
presser,  inasmuch  as  its  whole  force  and 
weight  is  directed  to  each  individual  furrow, 
as  it  is  turned  over  by  the  common  plough. 
The  seam-presser  is  in  fact  an  abstract  of  a 
drill  roller,  consisting  of  but  two  cylinders  of 
cast-iron,  which,  following  in  the  furrow,  press 
and  roll  down  the  newly  turned-up  earth,  and 
it  is  more  particularly  useful  when  applied  to 
clover  stubbles  intended  for  wheat.  {Ransome 
on  Jlgr.  Imp.) 

In  the  United  States  the  roller  is  constructed 
of  wood,  stone,  or  cast-iron,  according  to  con- 
venience or  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  used. 
In  American  husbandry  we  have  yet  no  reason 
to  expect,  or  perhaps  desire,  any  but  those 
made  of  wood,  and  such  as  any  farmer,  who 
has  a  moderate  degree  of  mechanic  skill,  and 
the  carpenter's  tools  which  every  farmer  ought 
to  keep,  may  readily  construct  himself.  A 
good,  sound,  oak  log,  with  the  frame  and  shafts 
appended,  makes  a  good  roller.  They  are 
made  of  different  lengths  and  sizes,  varying 
from  15  to  30  inches  in  diameter.  The  lighter 
kinds  are  made  in  one  piece,  but  the  larger 
and  heavier  kinds  are  advantageously  made  in 
two  pieces,  with  an  iron  rod  passing  through 
the  centre  of  both,  and  upon  which  they  re- 
volve. English  farmers  construct  the  frame 
so  as  to  rise  above  the  roller,  upon  which  a 
box  is  fixed,  either  to  contain  stones  to  add  to 
the  pressure  of  the  roller,  or  to  receive  small 
stones  and  rubbish,  collected  on  the  field  while 
at  work,  which  are  to  be  carried  off.  Their 
shafts,  when  at  work,  are  generally  horizontal. 
We  think  the  roller  is  more  easily  drawn  when 
the  draught  is  on  a  right  line  from  the  collar 
or  yoke  of  the  team  to  the  point  of  resistance. 
This  may  be  done,  and  the  advantages  of  the 
box  retained. 

The  uses  and  advantages  of  the  roller  are 
many  and  important,  and  no  farmer  should  be 
without  one.  They  are  particularly  important 
in  the  seeding  process,  to  break  down  the  clods, 
pulverize  and  smooth  the  surface,  and  to  press 
the  earth  to  the  smaller  seeds,  which  otherwise 
often  fail  to  germinate  for  lack  of  moisture. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  with  oats,  barley, 
and  the  grass  seeds.  In  autumn  the  roller  is 
sometimes  passed  over  winter  grain,  with  a 
view  to  counteract  the  effects  of  frost  the  fol- 
lowing winter.  In  spring  it  is  advantageously 
passed  over  winter  grain,  as  soon  as  the  ground 
is  so  solid  and  dry  that  the  feel  of  the  cattle 
will  not  poach  the  surface.  It  renders  light 
ground  more  compact ;  presses  the  soil  to  the 
roots  of  the  grain,  and  thus  promotes  their 
growth  ;  and  upon  all  soils  closes  the  innume- 
rable cracks  and  fissures  which  abound  on  the 
appearance  of  dry  weather  in  spring,  and,  by 
partially  burying  the  crown,  causes  grain  to 
tiller  better,  that  is,  send  up  more  seed-stalks. 
Finally,  the  roller  is  of  great  advantage  to 
grass  lands  in  the  spring,  by  reducing  the  in- 


ROLLING. 


equalities  of  surface,  and  pressing  down  the 
plants  or  earlh  which  have  been  thrown  up  by 
the  frost. 

There  are  also  rollers  for  other  purposes,  viz., 
the  spiked  roller,  which  is  used  for  pulverizing 
stiff  soils,  preparatory  for  wheat.  This  is 
formed  by  inserting  several  rows  of  spikes,  or 
cast  or  wrought-iroa  darts,  in  a  common  hard- 
wood roller.  The  concave  or  scalloped  roller  is 
adapted  to  the  form  of  ridges,  and  is  often  at- 
tached to  the  turnip  drill.     {Cultivator). 

ROLLING.  In  agriculture,  the  action  or 
operation  of  drawing  a  roller  over  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  with  the  view  of  breaking  down 
the  clods,  rendering  it  more  compact,  and 
bringing  it  even  and  level;  or  for  only  level- 
ling the  surface,  as  in  grass  lands.  This  is  a 
practice  that  becomes  necessary  both  upon  the 
tillage  and  grass  lands,  and  which  is  of  much 
utility  in  both  sorts  of  husbandry.  In  the  for- 
mer case  it  is  made  use  of  with  different  in- 
tentions, as  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  down 
and  reducing  the  cloddy  and  lumpy  parts  of 
the  soil  in  preparing  it  for  the  reception  of 
crops.  It  is  also  of  great  use  in  many  cases 
of  light  soils,  in  rendering  the  surface  more 
firm,  even,  and  solid,  after  the  seed  is  put  in. 

ROOT.  In  botany,  that  part  of  the  central 
axis  of  a  plant  which  is  formed  by  the  descend- 
ing fibres,  and  whose  function  is  to  attract 
liquid  food  from  the  soil  in  which  it  is  mingled. 
It  differs  from  the  stem  in  not  having  leaves  or 
buds  upon  its  surface,  and  in  its  tendency  to 
burrow  under  ground,  retreating  from  light; 
nevertheless,  some  kinds  of  roots  are  exclu- 
sively formed  in  air  and  light,  as  in  the  ivy  and 
other  such  plants ;  but  these  are  to  be  regarded 
as  prehensile  organs,  to  support  the  plants, 
rather  than  as  roots,  or  nutritious  organs.  The 
root-stock  or  rhizome  is  a  prostrate,  rooting, 
thickened  stem,  which  yearly  produces  young 
branches  or  plants.  Ginger  and  orris-root  are 
common  instances  of  it.  It  is  often  confound- 
ed with  the  root.  There  are  many  appendages 
to  the  roots,  namely,  tubers,  bulbs,  &,c.,  which 
are  mere  reservoirs  of  food  for  the  lateral  pro- 
geny of  the  plant.  S»  •;  Bulb,  Rhizome,  Tuber, 
&c. 

ROSE  (Lat.  Rosa,  from  the  Celtic  rhod,  red, 
i^  reference  to  the  prevailing  colour  of  the 
1  vers).  In  botany,  the  English  name  for  the 
well-known  and  universally  cultivated  flower 
of  the  genus  Rosa.  It  is  an  extensive  family, 
but  all  of  the  species  love  a  stiff  soil.  No  roses 
will  thrive  in  shallow,  poor  ground.  Standard 
roses  are  obtained  by  budding  them  upon  vigor- 
ous stocks  raised  from  the  seed  of  the  hedge 
or  dog-rose,  managing  the  stocks  in  the  same 
way  as  fruit-stocks.  Their  heads  must  be 
pruned  occasionally  to  prevent  their  rambling. 
The  dwarf  roses  in  flower  borders  should  be 
pruned  in  January,  down  to  a  foot  high,  cutting 
out  the  old  and  dead  wood.  They  will  produce 
finer  flowers.  R«  ses  bear  their  flowers  upon 
wood  of  the  last  year.  Only  the  China  roses 
flower  upon  the  shoots  of  the  same  year.  Roses 
continue  blowing  a  long  time,  if  the  fading 
flowers  are  cut  oF  instead  of  being  allowed  to 
seed. 

Nearly  a  dozen  :5pecies  of  the  wild  rose  are 
found  in  the  United  States,  among  which  are 
120 


ROSE-CHAFER. 

those  familiarly  known  as  the  swamp,  rock, 
dwarf,  wild,  &c. 

ROSE    BAY,  or  MOUNTAIN    LAUREL 
See  RiioDonExnuox  Maximum. 

ROSE-CHAFER,  or  ROSE  BUG,  is  a  diurnal 
or  da3'-flying  beetle  of  the  Melolonthian  genus. 
Dr.  Harris  states  that  this  rnsect,  which  is  com- 
mon in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  is,  or  was  a  few 
years  ago,  unknown  in  the  northern  and  west- 
ern parts  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire, 
and  Maine.  The  natural  history  of  the  rose- 
bug,  one  of  the  greatest  scourges  with  which 
American  gardens  and  nurseries  are  afflicted, 
was  for  a  long  time  involved  in  mystery,  but 
is  at  present  fully  cleared  up. 

For  some  time  after  they  were  noticed,  says 
Dr.  Harris,  rose-bugs  appeared  to  be  confined 
to  their  favourites,  the  blossoms  of  the  rose ; 
but  within  30  years  they  have  prodigiously  in- 
creased in  number,  have  attacked  at  random 
various  kinds  of  plants  in  swarms,  and  have 
become  notorious  for  their  extensive  and  de- 
plorable ravages.  The  grape-vine,  in  particu- 
lar, the  cherry,  plum,  and  apple  trees,  have  an- 
nually suffered  by  their  depredations;  many 
other  fruit  trees  and  shrubs,  garden  vegetables 
and  corn,  and  even  the  trees  of  the  forest  and 
the  grass  of  the  fields,  have  been  laid  under 
contribution  by  these  indiscriminate  feeders, 
by  whom  leaves,  flowers,  and  fruits  are  alike 
consumed.  The  unexpected  arrival  of  these 
insects  in  swarms  af  their  first  coming,  and 
their  sudden  disappearance  at  the  close  of  their 
career,  are  remarkable  facts  in  their  history. 
They  come  forth  from  the  ground  during  the 
second  week  in  June,  or  about  the  time  of  the 
blossoming  of  the  damask  rose,  and  remain 
from  30  to  40  days.  At  the  end  of  this  period 
the  males  become  exhausted,  fall  to  the  ground, 
and  perish,  while  the  females  enter  the  earth, 
lay  their  eggs,  return  to  the  surface,  and,  after 
lingering  a  few  days,  die  also.  The  eggs  laid 
bv  each  female  are  about  30  in  number,  and 
are  deposited  from  1  to  4  inches  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  soil ;  they  are  nearly  globular, 
whitish,  and  about  one-thirtieth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  are  hatched  20  days  after  they 
are  laid.  The  young  larvce  begin  to  feed  on 
such  tender  roots  as  are  within  their  reach. 
Like  other  grubs  of  the  Scaraba^ians,  when  not 
eating,  they  lie  upon  the  side,  with  the  body 
curved  so  that  the  head  and  tail  are  nearly  in 
contact;  they  move  with  difficulty  on  a  level 
surface,  and  are  continually  falling  over  on 
one  side  or  the  other.  They  attain  their  full 
size  in  the  autumn,  being  then  nearly  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  long,  and  about  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.  They  are  of  a  yellowish- 
white  colour,  with  a  tinge  of  blue  towards  the 
hinder  extremity,  which  is  thick  and  obtuse  or 
rounded;  a  few  short  hairs  are  scattered  on  the 
surface  of  the  body;  there  are  six  short  legs, 
namely,  a  pair  to  each  of  the  first  three  rings 
behind  the  head;  and  the  latter  is  covered  with 
a  horny  shell  of  a  pale  rust  colour.  In  Octo- 
.ber  they  descend  below  the  reach  of  frost,  and 
pass  the  winter  in  a  torpid  state.  In  the  spring 
they  approach  towards  the  surface,  and  each  one 
forms  for  itself  a  little  cell  of  an  oval  shape,  oy 
turning  round  a  great  many  times,  so  as  to  com- 
press the  earth,  and  render  the  inside  of  the  ca 
4  L  2  95.'} 


ROSE-CHAFER 


ROT. 


vity  hard  and  smooth.  Within  this  cell  the  grub 
Is  translbrmed  to  a  pupa  during  the  month  of 
May,  by  casting  off  its  skin,  which  is  pushed 
downwards  in  folds  from  the  head  to  the  tail. 
The  pupa  has  somewhat  the  form  of  the  perfect- 
ed beetle;  but  it  is  of  a  yellowish-white  colour, 
and  its  short,  stump«like  wings,  its  antennae,  and 
its  legs  are  folded  upon  the  breast,  and  its  whole 
body  is  enclosed  in  a  thin  film,  that  wraps  each 
part  separately.  During  the  month  of  June  this 
filmy  skin  is  rent,  the  included  beetle  withdraws 
from  it  its  body  and  its  limbs,  bursts  open  its 
earthen  cell,  and  digs  its  way  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Thus  the  various  changes,  from  the  egg 
to  the  full  developement  of  the  perfected  beetle, 
are  completed  within  the  space  of  one  year. 

Such  being  the  metamorphoses  and  habits 
of  these  insects,  it  is  evident  that  we  cannot 
attack  them  in  the  egg,  the  grub,  or  the  pupa 
state ;  the  enemy,  in  these  stages,  is  beyond 
our  reach,  and  is  subject  to  the  control  only 
of  the  natural  but  unknown  means  appointed 
by  the  Author  of  nature  to  keep  the  insect 
tribes  in  check.  When  they  have  issued  from 
their  subterranean  retreats,  and  have  congre- 
gated upon  our  vines,  trees,  and  other  vegeta- 
ble productions,  in  the  complete  enjoyment  of 
their  propensities,  we  must  unite  our  efforts  to 
seize  and  crush  the  invaders.  They  must  in- 
deed be  crushed,  scalded,  or  burned,  to  deprive 
them  of  life,  for  they  are  not  affected  by  any  of 
the  applications  usually  found  destructive  to 
other  insects.  Experience  has  proved  the  uti- 
lity of  gathering  them  by  hand,  or  of  shaking 
them  or  brushing  them  from  the  plants  into  tin 
vessels  containing  a  little  water.  They  should 
be  collected  daily  during  the  period  of  their 
visitation,  and  should  be  committed  to  the 
flames,  or  killed  by  scalding  water.  The  late 
John  Lowell,  Esq.,  states  that,  in  1823,  he  dis- 
covered on  a  solitary  apple  tree  the  rose-bugs 
"  in  vast  numbers,  such  as  could  not  be  de- 
scribed, and  would  not  be  believed  if  they 
were  described,  or,  at  least,  none  but  an  ocular 
witness  could  conceive  of  their  numbers.  De- 
struction by  hand  was  out  of  the  question"  in 
this  case.  He  put  sheets  under  the  tree,  and 
shook  them  down  and  burned  them.  Dr. 
Green,of  Mansfield,  whose  investigations  have 
thrown  much  light  on  the  history  of  this  in- 
sect, proposes  protecting  plants  with  millinet, 
and  says  that  in  this  way  only  did  he  succeed 
in  securing  his  grape-vines  from  depredation. 
His  remarks  also  show  the  utility  of  gathering 
them.  "  Eighty-six  of  these  spoilers,"  says  he, 
"were  known  to  infest  a  single  rose-bud,  and 
were  crushed  with  one  grasp  of  the  hand."  Sup- 
pose, as  was  probably  the  case,  that  one-half 
of  them  were  females;  by  this  destruction  800 
eggs,  at  least,  were  prevented  from  becoming 
matured.  During  the  time  of  their  prevalence, 
rose-bugs  are  sometimes  found, in  immense 
numbers  on  the  flowers  of  the  common  white- 
weed,  or  ox-eye  daisy  (Chrysanthemum  leucanthc- 
v^um^,  a  worthless  plant,  which  has  come  to  us 
from  Europe,  and  has  been  suffered  to  over- 
run our  pastures  and  encroach  on  our  mowing 
lands.  In  certam  ce^es  it  may  become  expe- 
dient rapidly  to  mow  down  the  infested  white- 
weed  in  dry  pastur*»s,  aiid  consume  it,  with  the 
tluggish  rose-bugs,  on  the  spot. 
954 


Our  insect-eating  birds  undoubtedly  devoui 
many  of  these  insects,  and  deserve  to  be  che- 
rished and  protected  for  their  services.  Rose- 
bugs  are  also  eaten  greedily  by  domesticated 
fowls ;  and  when  they  become  exhausted  and 
fall  to  the  ground,  or  when  they  are  about  to 
lay  their  eggs,  they  are  destroyed  by  moles,  in- 
sects, and  other  animals,  which  lie  in  wait  to 
seize  them.  Dr.  Green  informs  us  that  a  spe- 
cies of  dragon-fly,  or  devil's  needle,  devours 
them.  He  also  says  that  an  insect,  which  he 
calls  the  enemy  of  the  cut-worm,  probably  the 
larva  of  a  Carabus,  or  predaceous  ground-bee- 
tle, preys  on  the  grubs  of  the  common  dor-bug. 
In  France  the  golden  ground-beetle  (Carabm 
auratus)  devours  the  female  dor  or  chafer  at 
the  moment  when  she  is  about  to  deposit  her 
eggs.  I  have  taken  one  specimen  of  this  fine 
ground-beetle  in  Massachusetts,  and  we  have 
several  other  kinds,  equally  predaceous,  which 
probably  contribute  to  check  the  increase  of 
our  native  Melolonthians.    {Harris.) 

ROSE-LICE.     See  Aphis. 

ROSEMARY  (Rosmarinus  officinalis;  from 
ros,  dew,  and  nwrinus,  of  the  sea,  on  account 
of  its  maritime  habitat.  Poetically  implying 
"the  dew  of  the  ocean").  There  are  3  varie- 
ties— the  green,  golden-striped,  and  silver- 
striped.  The  first  is  the  one  in  general  culti- 
vation. 

ROSE-SLUG.    See  Slug. 

ROSIN.     See  Resin. 

ROT.  In  farriery,  a  disease  in  sheep  and 
other  animals,  in  which  both  the  liver  and 
lungs  are  affected,  and  there  is  common ly  a 
dropsical  tendency.  Its  ravages  are  chiefly, 
however,  confined  to  sheep,  and  it  is  most  com- 
monly closely  connected  with  excess  of  moist 
food,  or  placing  these  animals  in  low,  wet  situa- 
tions, every  way  foreign  to  their  natural  habits  ; 
for  sheep,  in  a  state  of  freedom,  seek  the  most 
elevated,  dry,  and  heathy  situations — an  in- 
stinct which  long  imprisonment  and  domesti- 
cation has  not  yet  eradicated:  every  farmer  is 
aware  with  what  tenacity  his  sheep  adhere  to 
the  very  highest  portions  of  a  field.  It  is  only 
when  we  force  them  to  inhabit  low  grounds, 
and  situations  foreign  to  their  habits,  that  they 
thus  become  diseased.  In  a  state  of  nature,  too, 
they  browse  upon  the  heath  plants,  and  seek 
with  avidity  at  certain  periods  salt  springs  and 
salt  exudations,  facts  which  have  not  entirely 
escaped  the  notice  of  modern  flockmasters. 
Thus  the  argali  or  wild  sheep  of  Siberia,  which 
are  the  presumed  origin  of  all  our  domestic 
sheep,  are  found  about  the  size  of  the  fallow 
deer,  on  the  immense  chain  of  mountains 
reaching  through  the  middle  of  Asia  to  the 
Eastern  Ocean.  They  are  found  in  small 
flocks,  ranging  over  the  highest  elevations.  As 
the  winter  approaches,  they  move  downwards 
into  the  plains,  and  exchange  their  food  from 
the  mountain  plants  to  grass  and  other  vegeta- 
bles. They  are  so  partial  to  salt,  that  they 
scrape  away  the  earth  in  considerable  quanti- 
ties in  the  neighbourhood  of  saline  places  in 
order  to  procure  it.  All  animals  in  fact  seek 
salt  with  the  greatest  avidity.  In  Flanders, 
sheep  owners  deem  its  use  an  effectual  prevention 
of  the  rot,  and  there  is  very  considerable  reason 
to  believe  that  by  the  use  of  this  valuable  con- 


ROT. 


ROT. 


diment,  the  ravages  of  this  dreadful  disease 
might  either  be  very  materially  modified,  or 
perhaps  entirely  prevented. 

Many  years  since,  Ellis,  in  his  Practical  Hus- 
bnnfhy,  recommended  the  use  of  salt,  mixed 
with  wort,  in  which  had  been  boiled  sage, 
pennyroyal,  wormwood,  shepherd's  purse,  com- 
frey,  &c.,  as  a  prevention  of  the  rot;  7  or  8 
spoonfuls  was  the  dose,  once  a  week  after 
April,  whenever  the  weather  was  wet. 

More  than  three  centuries  since,  Fitzherbert, 
the  earliest  of  the  English  agricultural  writers, 
alluded  to  this  dreadful  disorder  in  his  Boke  of 
Hmhundry,  and  in  his  section  entitled  What 
thijnges  roitefh  S/iepe,  he  says,  "  It  is  necessary 
that  a  shepherde  shoulde  knowe  what  thynge 
rotipth  shepe,  that  he  myghte  kepe  theym  the 
better.  There  is  a  grasse  called  sperewort, 
and  hath  a  longe  narrow  leafe  lyke  a  spere 
heed,  and  it  wyl-l  growe  a  fote  hyghe,  and  bear- 
eth  a  yellowe  floure  in  lowe  places  where  the 
water  is  used  to  stande  in  wynter.  An  other 
grasse  is  called  peny  grasse,  and  growethe 
lowe  by  the  erthe  in  a  marshe  grounde,  and 
hath  a  leafe  as  brode  as  a  peny  or  two  pence, 
and  neuer  beareth  floure.  All  manner  of 
grasse,  that  the  lande  floudde  runneth  ouer,  is 
very  evylle  for  shepe,  bycause  of  the  sande 
and  fyllhe  that  stycheth  uppon  it.  All  moorish 
grounde  and  marsche  grounde  is  yll  for  shepe. 
The  grasse  that  groweth  upon  falowes  is  not 
good  for  shepe,  for  there  moche  of  it  wede,  and 
ofte  tymes  it  commeth  uppe  by  the  rote,  and  that 
bryngeth  erthe  with  it,  and  they  eate  both,  &c. 
Myldewe  grasse  is  not  good  for  shepe,  and  that 
ye  shall  knowe  two  wayes :  one  is  by  the  leaves 
on  the  trees  in  the  morninge,  and  specially  of 
okes;  take  the  leaves  and  putte  thy  tongue  to 
them,  and  thou  shalt  fcle  like  himy  uppon  them. 
And  also  there  will  be  many  kelles  uppon  the 
grasse,  and  that  causeth  the  myldewe,  where- 
fore theye  may  not  well  be  left  out  of  the  folde, 
tyll  the  Sonne  have  domination  to  drye  them 
awaye.  Also  hunger  rotle  is  the  worst  rotte 
that  can  be,  for  there  is  neither  goode  fleshe  nor 
goode  skynne,  and  that  comethe  for  lacke  of 
meate,  and  so  for  hunger  they  eate  suche  as 
they  can  fynde,  and  so  will  not  pasture  shepe, 
for  they  seldom  rot  but  wythe  myldewes,  and 
than  wyll  they  have  much  talowe  and  fleshe, 
and  a  good  skyn.  Also  white  snailes  be  yll  for 
shepe  in  pastures,  and  in  falowes  there  is  an 
other  rotte  whiche  is  called  pelte  rotte,  and  that 
commeth  of  greatte  wete,  speciallye  in  woode 
countryes  where  they  cannot  drye." 

The  symptoms  of  the  rot,  and  of  some  of  its 
most  decided  remedies,  have  been  thus  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Brown,  of  Boston  (Mag.  of  Nut. 
Hist.  vol.  V.  p.  98),  "It  cannot,  I  conceive,  be 
demonstrated  that  in  this  disease  the  bile  is 
thrown  back  upon  the  system,  and  mingles 
with  the  circulating  fluid;  for  in  the  early 
stages  there  is  no  obstruction  to  the  bile ;  and 
in  the  latter,  what  little  is  secreted  is  inter- 
cepted by  the  flukes  on  the  hepatic  side  of  the 
gall-bladder.  The  eye,  which  some  persons 
take  to  be  an  index  to  the  bilious  condition  of 
the  system,  has  really  not  that  *  tinge  of  yellow 
and  j'aunrliced-like  appearance'  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  disease.  On  the  contrary, 
the  peculia  *  whiteness  of  the  eves  is  the  first 


1  symptom  which  guides  the  shepherd  to  the  un 
I  welcome  truth.  If  the  bile  ducts  be  carefully 
I  examined  in  the  earliest  stage  of  the  complaint, 
there  will  be  found  a  few  flukes  in  the  duct 
j  which  conveys  the  bile  from  the  gall-bladder  to 
I  the  intestine,  but  none  in  the  gall-bladder,  and 
I  none  beyond  it,  a  sound  liver,  no  'tubercles,* 
no  'abscesses,'  and  withal  a  fine,  fat,  healthy- 
looking  carcass.  If  it  be  in  the  latest  stage 
when  the  examination  is  made,  the  gall-blad* 
der  will  be  found  filled  with  flukes  instead  of 
bile:  and  the  animals  will  be  seen  making 
their  way  up  those  channels  which  convey  the 
bile  from  the  liver  to  the  gall-bladder,  arresting 
it  in  its  course,  and  pressing  forward  and  en- 
larging the  biliary  tubes.  Thus,  when  but  few 
of  these  animals  have  possession  of  this  viscus, 
its  function  is  not  materially  impaired ;  the 
parenchyma,  or  substance  of  the  liver,  is  un- 
altered in  appearance ;  the  mucous  channels, 
which  convey  the  bile  to  the  gall-bladder,  and 
from  the  gall-bladder  to  the  intestines,  have 
not  yet  fell  their  presence,  and  the  bile  itself  is 
secreted  apparently  unaltered  in  quality  or 
quantity:  but  here,  as  they  live  in  a  medium 
of  perpetual  nourishment,  they  multiply  to  an 
extent  incredible,  and  impede  the  natural  action 
of  the  liver  and  subordinate  organs  of  the 
body.  They  at  length  completely  block  up  th<« 
conduits  of  the  bile,  devouring  the  bile  as  fast 
as  it  is  secreted;  spreading  irritation  and  dis 
ease  from  the  vessels  in  which  they  live  to  the 
whole  mass  of  the  liver  itself;  and  in  some  in 
stances  they  carve  their  way  through  the  mem- 
brane which  encircles  them,  and  escape  by 
myriads  into  the  cavity  of  the  abdomen;  thus 
completing  the  destruction  of  an  important 
organ,  and  with  it  the  life  of  the  animal.  These 
extreme  states  are  generally  associated  with 
dropsy  and  a  total  degeneracy  of  the  muscular 
tissue;  the  blood  is  deficient  in  quantity,  verv 
serous,  and  almost  destitute  of  fibrin.  A  cor- 
respondent inquires  the  class  and  family  of  the 
fluke,  in  hopes  oC  finding  a  remedy  for  a  disease 
so  fatal.  ^He  will  find  it  in  the  class  Vermes, 
and  order  Intestina,  and  if  is  the  Fasciola  hepd- 
tica.  Contemplating  it,  as  it  is,  as  a  variety  of 
exotic  worm,  it  occurred  to  me  that  vermi- 
fuges, destructive  to  other  species,  might  be 
employed  with  advantage  against  this.  But  in 
instituting  experiments  on  the  living  animals, 
I  discarded  those  popular  remedies  which  have 
only  a  mechanical  action,  and  which  could 
never  reach  the  liver,  for  those  v/hich  operate 
by  a  wider  range  of  influence.  What  I  have 
observed  is,  that  there  are  in  this  class  of  re- 
medies those  which  have  little  or  no  effect 
when  brought  in  contact  with  the  living  fluke ; 
and  there  are  others  which  destroy  the  animal 
immediately.  To  the  fiist  of  those  which  are 
inert,  belong  solutions  of  vegetable  bitters, 
spirits  of  tar,  and  several  others,  which  need 
not  be  enumerated.  To  the  second,  or  to  those 
which  destroy  the  animal,  belong  solutions  of 
mercury  and  the  spirits  of  turpentine.  For 
example :  a  little  calomel  suspended  in  water, 
and  dropped  upon  the  animal,  quickly  deprives 
it  of  life ;  and  a  drop  of  the  spirits  of  turpen 
tine  kills  it  in  a  fevf  seconds.  The  oil  of  tur- 
pentine is  a  deadly  poison  to  the  fluke.  The 
next  consideration  is,  how  far  it  aiAy  be  safe 

Q55 


ROT. 


ROT. 


M  administer  this  medicine  to  the  living  sheep, ' 
and  what  probability  there  is  of  its  disturbing  : 
an  animal  inhabiting  the  liver.     With  regard  \ 
to  the  first  exception,  there  can  arise  no  difli-  \ 
culty.    The  spirit  of  turpentine  is  borne  rea- 
dily by  children,  and  has  been  given  to  adults 
in  doses  of  a  quarter  of  a  pint;  it  is  likewise 
applied  externally  to  blistered  surfaces,  and  as 
a  styptic  to  the  bleeding  mouths  of  ruptured 
blood-vessels.     There  can  be   as  little  doubt 
with  regard  to  the  second  exception,  when  we 
consider  the  penetrating  nature  of  this  drug ; 
when  we  know  that  the  mere  immersion  of  the 
hand  in  it  is  sufficient  to  impregnate  the  uri- 
nary secretion ;  nor  can  we  doubt  that  its  influ- 
ence will  be  acknowledged  by  an  organ  ap- 
proximating   and    communicating    with     the 
stomach,  and    by    the  worm  inhabiting  that 
organ." 

The  outward  symptoms  of  this  disease  were 
many  years  since  well  described  by  Dr.  Har- 
rison of  Boston,  Lincolnshire,  when  he  said, 
"If  in  warm,  sultry,  and  rainy  weather,  sheep 
that  are  grazing  on  low  and  moist  lands  feed 
rapidly,  and  some  of  them  die  suddenly,  there 
is  reason  to  fear  that  they  have  contracted  the 
rot:  this  suspicion  will  be  further  increased, 
if  in  a  few  weeks  afterwards  the  sheep  begin 
to  shrink,  and  become  flaccid  in  their  loins. 
By  pressure  about  the  hips  at  this  time,  a 
crackling  is  sometimes  perceptible.  Now  or 
soon  afterwards  the  countenance  looks  pale, 
and  upon  parting  the  fleece,  the  skin  is  found 
to  have  parted  its  vermilion  tint  for  a  pale-red, 
and  the  wool  is  easily  separated  from  the  pelt; 
as  the  disorder  advances,  the  skin  becomes 
dappled  with  yellow  or  black  spots.  About 
this  time  the  eye  loses  its  lustre,  and  becomes 
white  and  pearly,  from  the  red  vessels  of  the 
tunica  adnata  and  eyelids  being  contracted  or 
entirely  obliterated.  To  this  succeeds  debility 
and  emaciation,  which  increase  continually  till 
the  sheep  die,  or  else  ascites  or  perhaps  gene- 
ral dropsy  supervene  before  the  fatal  termina- 
.ion." 

Such  are  the  symptoms  and  the  most  power- 
ful known  remedies  for  this  disease ;  an  equally 
important  research  is  its  origin,  its  predispos- 
ing circumstances,  or  immediate  cause.  In 
this,  however,  in  common  with  most  other  dis- 
eases of  animal  and  vegetable  life,  difficulties 
occur  at  every  turn,  of  a  nature  almost  entirely 
inexplicable.  We  must  be  content  to  do  little 
more  than  merely  trace  its  symptoms  and  the 
course  in  which  it  commonly  runs.  No  flock- 
masters  are  perhaps  more  anxiously  alive  to 
the  disease,  or  more  often  its  victims,  than  the 
owners  of  the  noble  water-meadows  of  the 
south  of  England,  such  as  those  of  the  valleys 
of  the  Kennett,  the  Itchen,  and  the  Wiltshire 
Avon. 

Thes<:  excellent  farmers  have  noticed,  that 
the  first  crop  of  spring  water-meadow  grass 
never  imparts  the  rot  to  sheep ;  but  that  the 
second  crop,  which  they  therefore  make  into 
hay,  is  almost  certain  to  do  so.  They  notice, 
H-so,  that  the  worst  rotting-time  is  from  Mid- 
summer to  Michaelmas ;  that  almost  all  mea- 
dow land,  if  rhnnre  flooded  in  s\immer,  that  is, 
if  covered  by  the  overflowing  of  rivers,  so  as 
o  be  covered  with  their  muddy  waters,  is 
956 


almost  certain  to  rot  the  sheep ;  that  gravelly 
boHomed  wafer-meadows,  like  those  between 
Marlborough  and  Hungerford,  tiever  rot  the  sheep 
fed  on  them,  m  atiy  season  or  period  of  the  year. 
This  would  appear  to  confirm  the  very  common 
suspicion  that  it  is  not  the  grass  which  rots  the 
sheep,  but  the  gaseous  or  aqueous  vapours 
which  emanate  from  such  places,  more  copi 
ously  as  the  weather  becomes  warmer  in  the 
summer;  but,  then,  against  such  a  conclusion 
we  have  the  fact,  well  known  to  owners  of  the 
water  meads,  that  when  sheep  are  soiled  even 
upon  fine  dry  elevated  soils  (such  as  never 
render  sheep  rotten),  with  the  second  crop  of 
grass  from  water-meads — that  then  the  sheep 
become  as  equally  rotten  as  if  they  had  been 
pastured  on  the  very  meadows  from  whence 
the  grass  was  carried.  It  would  seem,  there- 
fore, that  there  are  more  watery  matters,  or 
other  sources  of  disease  in  the  second  crop 
than  in  the  first. 

That  the  grass  of  the  second  crop  varies 
very  materially  in  its  chemical  composition 
from  that  of  ihe  first,  has  been  clearly  shown 
by  the  analysis  of  the  late  Mr.  George  Sinclair 
He  found  that  rye-grass  (Lolium  perenne)  at  the 
time  of  flowering,  taken  from  a  water-meadow 
that  had  been  fed  ofi"  with  sheep  till  the  end  of 
April,  affiarded  of  nutritive  matter  72  grains. 
The  same  grass  from  the  meadow  that  had  not 
been  depastured  in  the  spring,  aff'orded  100 
grains.  The  same  weight  of  this  grass,  taken 
from  a  rich  old  pasture  that  had  been  shut  up 
for  hay  about  the  same  time,  afforded  of  nutri- 
tive matter  95  grains.  'J'hat  from  the  rich  pas- 
ture that  had  not  been  depastured,  afl!brded  120 
grains.  (Hart.  Gram.  Wob.  p.  384.)  And  in  the 
great  majority  of  instances,  the  aftermath  of 
the  upland  grasses  is  considerably  less  rich  in 
nutritive  matters  than  that  of  their  first  or 
spring  crop. 

Such,  then,  are  the  supposed  causes,  symp 
toms,  and  treatment  recommended  for  the  cure 
of  this  disease.  For  the  cure,  both  turpentine 
and  common  salt  seem  to  have  sometimes  been 
successfully  used.  But  the  effect  of  salt  seems 
to  be  much  more  decided  when  employed  as  a 
prevention,  rather  than  a  cure.  As  a  preventive, 
too,  the  use  of  aromatic  vegetable  substances 
seems  to  be  excellent.  It  is  the  kind  of  pre- 
vention also  which  might  be  supposed  to  be 
efficacious  from  following  the  order  of  nature, 
and  observing  the  habits  of  the  sheep  in  their 
wild  state,  browsing  as  they  invariably  do  upon 
the  aromatic  plants,  and  the  shoots  of  moun- 
tain shrubs;  and  never  descending  to  live  upon 
the  rank  and  watery  grasses  of  the  valleys, 
until  compelled  by  the  severity  of  the  weather. 
Every  farmer  is  aware  with  what  avidity  they 
consume  such  domestic  herbs — the  parsley,  for 
instance — as  abound  in  essential  oils.  An 
attempt  has  indeed  been  recently  made  to  culti- 
vate this  herb  in''the  fields  as  feed  for  sheep; 
and  I  have  little  doubt  that  if  some  attention 
were  paid  to  the  cultivation  of  such  plants  (if 
the  parsley  will  not  bear  the  browsing  of  the 
sheep,  they  might  be  occasionally  soiled  with 
it),  by  way  of  condiment  or  change ;  if  the 
flock  were  allowed,  at  all  times  and  seasons, 
access  to  common  salt  (and  this  might  be 
mixed,  if  necessary,  with  aromatic  substances 


ROT  IN  TIMBER. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS, 


grateful  to  the  sheep) ;  and,  lastly,  if  some 
care  were  taken  in  supplying  them,  when  feed- 
ing on  watery  plants,  with  a  little  hay,  corn,  or 
oil-cake,  that  then  the  destruction  caused  by 
this  melancholy  scourge  of  the  flock-master 
would  be  either  entirely  prevented  or  very  ma- 
terially reduced.     See  Fluke. 

ROT  IN  TIMBER.  It  has  been  noted,  that 
wood  saturated  with  common  salt  is  never  sub- 
ject to  this  disease.  Mr.  Bethel  has  proposed 
a  plan  for  its  prevention,  by  saturating  the 
wood  with  coal-tar.  Mr.  Ryan  uses  for  the 
same  purpose  a  solution  of  corrosive  subli- 
mate (muriate  of  mercury).  Sir  W.  Burnet 
employs  a  solution  of  muriate  of  lime.  See 
Drv-Rot. 

ROTATION  OF  CROPS.  The  order  in 
which  different  crops  are  made  to  succeed  each 
other.  It  was  only  towards  the  middle  of  the 
last  century,  that  the  importance  of  a  scientific 
rotation  of  crops  began  even  to  attract  the 
farmer's  attention.  Previous  to  that  period  we 
search  in  vain  in  the  works  of  agricultural  au- 
thors for  the  slightest  notice  of  such  a  theme. 
The  writers  before  those  days,  as  Arthur 
Young  noticed,  recited  courses  of  husbandry, 
good,  bad,  and  execrable,  exactly  in  the  same 
tone  as  matters  not  open  to  praise  or  censure, 
and  unconnected  with  any  principles  that  could 
throw  any  light  on  the  arrangement  of  the 
farm,  or  its  more  successful  cultivation.  And 
yet  it  is  on  this  difficult  part  of  the  farmer*s  bu- 
siness being  scientifically  pursued,  that  much 
of  the  profits  and  advantages  which  he  is  to 
derive  from  his  land  for  a  course  of  years  must 
depend.  Arthur  Young,  the  most  popular  and 
the  most  rapid  of  observers,  saw  the  import- 
ance of  this  difficult  inquiry  in  its  true  light: 
he  correctly  enough  told  the  farmers  of  his  day, 
that  whenever  very  good  or  very  bad  husbandry 
is  found  on  arable  land,  it  is  more  the  result  of 
a  right  or  wrong  arrangement  of  crops  than 
of  any  other  circumstance  ;  that  no  district  is 
well  cultivated  under  bad  rotations,  while  it  is 
extremely  rare  to  find  any  badly  cultivated 
under  such  as  are  good.  More  accurate  and 
more  generally  diffused  observations  have  long 
since,  however,  led  the  present  race  of  culti- 
vators to  assign  to  the  inquiry  its  proper  value. 
The  importance  in  fact  of  the  investigation  no 
modern  farmer  will  for  a  moment  doubt.  It 
may  not  be  a  useless  mode  of  conducting  the 
research,  if  we  inquire,  as  we  proceed  in  our 
proposed  examination,  into  the  few  yet  valu- 
able lights  which  chemical  and  entomological 
investigations  have  shed  upon  this  important, 
yet,  from  the  endless  variety  of  soils  and  situa- 
tions, somewhat  intricate  and  laborious  theme. 
In  regard  to  the  general  principles,  as  it  has 
been  well  observed,  on  which  the  proper  crop- 
ping of  land  depends,  it  is  now  perfectly  under- 
stood, that  some  kind  of  crops  deteriorate  or 
exhaust  the  land  to  a  much  greater  degree  than 
others ;  that  some  by  their  capability  of  being 
consumed  on  the  farm  (though  they  do  exhaust 
the  soil)  return,  in  such  consumption  by  live- 
stock, as  much  or  perhaps  rather  more  to  the 
soil  than  they  draw  from  it,  during  the  period 
of  their  growth.  And  again,  that  other  crops, 
bv  admitting  of  profitable  tillage  and  cleansing 
tlie  land  during  their  growth,  aid  very  much  in 


the  essential  destruction  of  weeds,  insects,  &C., 
and  in  ameliorating  the  land  for  the  succeeding 
crop ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  diflerent  crops, 
by  not  permitting  such  cultivation,  and  being 
great  exhausters  when  following  in  immediate 
and  rapid  succession,  not  only  deteriorate  the 
soil,  but  fill  it  with  weeds  and  grubs.  Hence 
it  follows  in  practice,  that  by  suitable  arrange- 
ments of  these  different  crops  in  rotation,  most 
kinds  of  land  may,  without  lying  idle,  be  con- 
stantly preserved  in  a  clean  and  productive 
condition.  In  the  management  of  rotations, 
however,  much  careful  attention  and  discrimi- 
nation is  requisite  in  the  cultivator,  to  profit- 
ably adapt  them  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  and 
the  other  circumstances  under  which  he  is 
placed.  Above  all,  the  farmer  must  remember, 
that  as  diflerent  kinds  of  plants  require  difler- 
ent kinds  and  proportions  of  nutritious  mate- 
rials to  be  drawn  from  the  earth  for  their  in- 
crease and  perfect  growth,  so  also  they  need 
different  situations  and  conditions  of  soil  for 
their  most  profitable  development. 

The  farmer,  too,  is  well  aware  that  certain 
crops  never  prosper  well  two  or  more  seasons 
together  in  the  same  land ;  that  they  in  fact 
commonly  exhaust  or  "tear  out"  the  soil  to 
such  an  extent,  that  every  lawyer's  clerk  is 
aware  of  and  notices  it  in  some  restraining  co- 
venant of  "  the  lease." 

Even  the  gardener,  aided  as  he  is  by  the 
most  copious  supplies  of  enriching  composts, 
always  avoids  as  much  as  possible  planting  a 
tree  where  one  of  the  same  species  has  pre- 
ceded it. 

Now  it  is  of  primary  importance  that  we 
should  endeavour  to  understand,  if  possible, 
the  cause  of  this  phenomenon.  This  question, 
therefore,  has  long  engaged  not  only  the  atten- 
tion of  the  most  sagacious  farmers,  but  of 
many  distinguished  chemical  philosophers.  By 
these  it  has  been  regarded  in  chiefly  two  points 
of  view.  First,  it  has  been  contended,  that  as 
each  plant  has  peculiar  excretory  matters, 
which  it  constantly  deposits  in  the  soil  in 
which  it  is  placed — matters  which  are  found 
to  be  particularly  noxious  to  other  plants  of  its 
own  species — that  in  consequence,  until  these 
are  decomposed  and  removed  from  the  earth 
by  other  plants,  or  by  the  gradual  eflfects  of  de- 
composition, the  same  crop  cannot  advanta- 
geously prosper  in  the  soil.  And  in  support 
of  this  doctrine  is  adduced  the  well-known  fact, 
that  the  excretory  matters  deposited  or  diffused 
through  the  water  in  which  bulbs  or  other 
roots  have  been  cultivated,  will  not  well  sup- 
port other  bulbs;  yet  still  that  such  impure 
water  is  found  to  be  more  grateful  than  clear 
water  to  vegetables  of  another  species. 

And,  again,  that  certain  plants  and  trees  are 
well  known  to  be  excellent  and  mutuary  fer- 
tilizing neighbours, — a  knowledge  indeed  as 
old  as  the  days  of  Rome  under  her  emperors; 
for  at  those  periods  the  Italian  farmers  com- 
monly planted  the  elm  as  the  companion,  or 
"  husband,"  as  they  called  it,  of  the  vine ;  and 
every  farmer  is  aware,  amongst  other  facts  ol 
a  similar  nature,  that  the  corn-flower  can  be 
found  only  amongst- his  corn  crops — it  is  in 
vain  to  search  for  it  elsewh?re.  The  gardener 
also  well  knows,  that  it  is  almost  useless  to 

957 


ROTATION  OF  CROPSv 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


replant  old  orchards  with  the  same  trees,  or  to 
replace  old  quick-hedges  with  young  quick 
plants,  yet  an  old  orchard  or  the  site  of  an  old 
hedge-row  are  proverbial  for  their  fertility, 
when  planted  with  other  crops.  There  is  con- 
.siderable  importance  I  think  to  be  attached  to 
this  mode  of  accounting  for  the  facts  of  the 
case,  but  it  is  by  no  means  so  complete  an  ex- 
planation as  is  desirable.  There  are  some 
soils,  for  instance,  which  would  seem  (if  this 
were  the  sole  cause  of  the  phenomeHon)  to  defy 
all  the  excretory  powers  of  the  plant.  Some  of 
the  newly-enclosed  lands  of  the  United  Stales 
of  America,  for  instance,  have  produced  excel- 
lent wheat  crops  for  even  20  years  without  in- 
terruption. Some  of  the  alluvial  soils  of  the 
lower  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Thames  have 
yielded  alternate  crops  of  wheat  and  beans 
from  time  immemorial ;  and  by  the  addition  of 
manure,  the  potato  grounds  near  London  yield 
abundant  crops  for  a  series  of  years.  There 
are  other  observations  too,  of  a  similar  kind, 
which  will  readily  be  remembered  by  the  in- 
telligent farmer,  which  do  not  seem  to  assimi- 
late entirely  with  this  mode  of  removing  the 
difficulties  of  the  case. 

The  other  way  of  explaining  the  reluctance 
with  which  a  crop  follows  another  of  the  same 
description  is,  by  supposing  that  each  kind  of 
plant  has  some  peculiar  and  essential  ingredi- 
ent which  it  absorbs  from,  and  in  a  great  degree 
exhausts  the  soil,  and  that  it  is,  therefore,  only 
after  a  lapse  of  some  time,  when  that  ingredi- 
ent or  those  ingredients  are  restored  by  the  ap- 
plication of  manure,  or  by  other  modes,  that 
the  same  plants  can  be  again  profitably  culti- 
vated. To  a  great  extent  this  theory  is  not 
only  a  very  plausible  but  a  very  probable  and 
reasonable  explanation  of  the  difficulty.  Thus 
t^e  farmer  is  well  aware  that  certain  soils  on 
whi.-h  red  clover  formerly  grew  very  success- 
fully once  in  4  years,  will  now  only  yield  any 
profitable  degree  of  produce  of  the  same  plant 
once  in  8  or  once  in  12  years.  The  excretory 
powers  of  the  plant  in  this  instance,  therefore, 
are  useless  in  explanation  of  the  difficulty;  for 
according  to  that  theory,  the  excretory  matters 
which  long  were  successfully  dissipated  or  ab- 
sorbed by  other  plants  in  the  course  of  4  years, 
should  do  so  in  our  age  just  as  well  as  in  a  for- 
mer period.  But  if  we  admit  what  has  been 
not  only  sometimes,  but  very  often  clearly 
proved  to  be  the  case,  that  the  soils  which  are 
thus  reluctant  to  produce  red  clover,  are  now 
totally  exhausted  of  sulphate  of  lime  (gypsum) 
— that,  moreover,  every  fair  average  crop  of 
this  valuable  grass  contains  from  100  to  200 
pounds  weight  per  acre  of  this  salt — and  that 
by  dressing  the  land  with  this  manure,  in 
almost  exactly  the  same  projxrrtion  and  quantity 
as  that  which  is  contained  in  the  clover,  that 
then  the  land  will  again  grow  the  very  same 
crop  once  in  4  years ;  when  these  and  other 
similar  facts  are  proved,  the  very  strong  pro- 
bable conclusion  to  which  we  must  arrive  is 
apparent,  viz.,  that  the  clover  had  gradually 
exhausted  the  land  of  an  essential  ingredient 
which  only  needed  to  be  restored  to  it,  to  enable 
the  clover  again  to  flourish  with  its  wonted 
vigour.  And  this  is  not  a  solitary  instance: 
'iiu  i,  marine  plants  will  only  grow  successfully 
958 


in  inland  situations,  where  common  salt  is 
added  to  the  soil.  The  sun-flower  and  the  nettle 
need  in  an  equal  degree  the  assistance  of  salt- 
petre. The  presence  in  the  soil  of  phosphate 
of  lime  (the  earthy  salt  of  bones)  is  equally 
essential  to  the  vigorous  growth  of  almost  all 
the  grain  crops. 

Then,  again,  there  are  other  facts  of  a  differ- 
ent nature  well  known  to  the  farmer,  which 
appear  to  lead  us  to  the  same  conclusion ;  for 
instance,  every  cultivator  is  aware  that  by 
cutting  his  crops  green,  his  land  is  not  nearly 
so  much  exhausted  as  when  the  same  crops 
are  allowed  to  ripen  their  seeds.  And  if,  in 
explanation  of  this  observation,  it  can  be  shown 
that  the  plant,  when  ripe,  contains  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  any  peculiar  saline  or  earthy  ^gre- 
dient  than  it  does  when  in  a  growing,  unrifie 
state,  this  will  further  tend  to  establish  the 
truth  of  the  last-named  theory — that  it  is  the 
abstraction  from  the  soil  by  the  plant  of  some 
peculiar  substance,  which  thus  exhausts  and 
indisposes  it  to  support  the  same  crop.  Now 
this,  according  to  chemical  investigations, 
seems,  at  least  in  many  instances,  to  be  the  case. 
Thus,  M;  Saussure,  in  his  chemical  researches, 
has  shown  by  the  results  of  his  analysis,  that 
the  ashes  of  the  plants  of  peas  (Pisum  sati- 
viuin),  when  green  and  in  flower,  contain  only 
17-25  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime,  but  that, 
when  ripe,  they  yield  22  per  cent.  And,  again, 
that  the  ashes  of  plants  of  vetches  (Viciafaba), 
which  yielded  only  13'5  per  cent,  of  the  same 
salt  when  in  flower,  contain  17*75  per  cent, 
when  they  are  ripe.  The  same  result  was  ob- 
tained from  other  plants  :  the  Solidago  vulgaris^ 
for  instance,  which  yielded  8-5  per  cent,  of 
phosphate  of  lime  when  first  in  flower,  con- 
tained 11  per  cent,  when  ripe.  The  turnsole 
{Helianthus  annuus),  which  afforded  only  6  per 
cent,  when  flowering,  contained  22-5  per  cent, 
when  ripe.  The  wheat  plant,  which  held  10-75 
per  cent,  in  flower,  contained  11-75  when  ripe. 
The  ashes  of  the  straw  of  wheat  were  found  to 
yield  only  6-2  per  cent,  of  this  essentially  pre- 
sent salt,  but  its  seeds  held  44-5,  and  its  bi-an 
46-5  per  cent,  of  it.  M.  Vauquelin  obtained  a 
result  somewhat  similar  in  his  examination  of 
the  ashes  of  the  oat  plant ;  the  seeds  affording 
him  39-3  per  cent,  of  phosphate  of  lime,  but 
when  he  burnt  the  whole  plant,  seed  and  stalk 
together,  he  then  found  only  15  per  cent. 

The  evidence,  therefore,  in  favour  of  the  ab- 
sorbent theory,  is  certainly  rather  stronger  than 
that  in  support  of  the  excretory  mode  of  ex- 
plaining  the  phenomenon.  Yet,  in  all  proba 
biliiy,  both  causes  may  contribute  to  produce 
the  effect.  Davy,  the  chief  of  n»odern  che- 
mists, adopted  the  former  mode  of  explaining 
the  reluctance  with  which  a  crop  grows  for  2 
years  successively  on  the  same  land.  {Lec' 
tures,  p.  357.)  Changes  of  all  kind  seem,  in 
truth,  ever  to  be  grateful  to  vegetation — change 
of  soil,  of  seed,  of  the  course  of  cropping,  of 
manure,  &c.  "Peas  and  beans,"  said  Davy, 
"  in  all  instances,  seem  well  adapted  to  prepare 
the  ground  for  wheat;  and  in  some  rich  lands, 
as  in  the  alluvial  soil  of  the  Parret,  and  at  the 
foot  of  the  South  Downs,  in  Sussex,  they  are 
raised  in  alternate  crops  for  years  together. 
Peas  and  beans  contain  a  small  quantity  of  a 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


matter  analogous  to  albumen  (hard  white  of 
eg£r) ;  but  it  seems  that  the  nitrogen  which 
forms  a  constituent  part  of  this  matter  is  de- 
rived from  the  atmosphere.  The  dry  bean  leaf, 
when  burnt,  yields  a  smell  approaching  to  that 
of  decomposing  animal  matter;  and  in  its  de- 
cay in  the  soil  may  furnish  principles  capable 
of  becoming  a  part  of  the  gluten  in  wheat 

"Though  the  general  composition  of  plants 
is  very  analogous,  yet  the  specific  difference  in 
the  products  of  many  of  them,  and  other  well 
ascertained  facts,  prove  that  they  must  derive 
different  materials  from  the  soil;  and  though 
the  vegetables,  having  the  smallest  systems  of 
leaves,  will  proportionately  most  exhaust  the 
soil  of  common  nutritive  matter,  yet  particular 
vegetables,  when  their  produce  is  carried  off, 
will  require  peculiar  principles  to  be  supplied 
to  the  land  in  which  they  grow.  Strawberries 
and  potatoes  at  first  produce  luxuriantly  in 
virgin  mould,  recently  turned  up  from  pasture, 
but  in  a  few  years  they  degenerate  and  require 
a  fresh  soil;  and  the  organization  of  these 
plants  is  such  as  to  be  constantly  producing 
the  migration  of  their  layers.  Thus,  the  straw- 
berry, by  its  long  shoots,  is  continually  en- 
deavouring to  occupy  a  new  soil ;  and  the 
fibrous  radicles  of  the  potato  produce  bulbs  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  parent  plant. 
The  most  remarkable  instance  of  the  powers 
of  the  plant  to  exhaust  the  soil  of  certain  prin- 
ciples necessary  to  its  growth,  is  found  in  cer- 
tain fungi.  Mushrooms  are  said  never  to  rise 
in  two  successive  seasons  on  the  same  spot; 
and  the  production  of  the  phenomena  called 
fairy  rings,  has  been  ascribed  by  Dr.  Wollaston 
to  the  power  of  the  peculiar  fungus  which 
forms  it,  to  exhaust  the  soil  of  the  nutriment 
necessary  for  the  growth  of  the  species.  The 
consequence  is  that  the  ring  annually  extends, 
for  no  seeds  will  grow  where  their  parents 
grew  before  them,  and  the  interior  part  of  the 
circle  has  been  exhausted  by  preceding  crops; 
but  where  the  fungus  has  died,  nourishment  is 
supplied  for  grass,  which  usually  rises  within 
the  circle,  coarse,  and  of  a  dark-green  colour." 
"  When  cattle,"  adds  Davy,  "  are  fed  upon  land 
not  benefited  by  their  manure,  the  effect  is 
always  an  exhaustion  of  the  soil :  this  is  parti- 
cularly the  case  where  carrying-horses  are 
kept  on  estates ;  they  consume  the  pasture 
during  the  night,  and  drop  the  greatest  part  of 
their  manure  during  their  labour  in  the  day- 
time. The  exportation  of  corn  from  a  country, 
'I'ess  some  articles  capable  of  becoming  ma- 
•^  are  introduced  in  compensation,  must 
ij  iinately  tend  to  exhaust  the  soil.  Some  of 
the  spots,  now  desert  sands  in  northern  Africa 
and  Asia  Minor,  were  anciently  fertile  ;  Sicily 
was  the  granary  of  Italy,  and  the  quantity  of 
corn  carried  off  from  it  by  the  Romans  is  pro- 
bably a  chief  cause  of  its  present  sterility." 

The  same  theory  is  also  supported  by  M. 
Liebig:  in  his  excellent  work  on  Orennic  Che- 
mistry, p.  158,  he  remarks,  "It  is  evident  that 
two  plants  growing  beside  each  other  will  mu- 
tually injure  one  another,  if  they  withdraw  the 
same  food  from  the  soil.  Hence,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  Matricaria  chamomilla  and  Spar- 
tium  scnparinm  impede  the  growth  of  grain,  when 
it  is  considered  that  both  yield  from  7  to  7-43 


per  cent,  of  ashes,  which  contain  six-tenths  of 
carbonate  of  potash.  The  darnel  and  the  Eri- 
geron  acre  blossom  and  bear  fruit  at  the  same 
time  as  the  wheat ;  so  that,  when  growing  min- 
gled  with  it,  they  will  partake  of  the  compo- 
nent parts  of  the  soil,  and,  in  proportion  to  the 
vigour  of  their  growth,  that  of  the  corn  must 
decrease  ;  for  what  one  receives  the  others  are 
deprived  of.  Plants  will,  on  the  contrary,  thrive 
beside  each  other,  either  when  the  substances 
necessary  for  their  growth,  which  they  extract 
from  the  soil,  are  of  different  kinds,  or  when 
they  themselves  are  not  in  the  same  stages  of 
developement  at  the  same  time.  On  a  soil,  for 
example,  which  contains  potash,  both  wheat 
and  tobacco  may  be  reared  in  succession,  be- 
cause the  latter  plant  does  not  require  phos- 
phates, salts  which  are  invariably  present  in 
wheat,  but  requires  only  alkalies  and  food  con- 
taining nitrogen.  According  to  the  analysis  of 
Posselt  and  Reimann,  1000  parts  of  the  leaves 
of  the  tobacco  plant  contain  16  parts  of  phos- 
phate of  lime,  8*8  parts  of  silica,  and  no  mag- 
nesia; whilst  an  equal  quantity  of  wheat-straw 
contains  47-3  parts;  and  the  same  quantity  of 
the  grain  of  wheat  99*45  parts  of  phosphates." 

'i'he  late  George  Sinclair  took  a  similar  view 
of  the  cause  of  the  exhaustion  of  soils.  "If," 
he  says,  "a  plant  impoverishes  a  soil  in  pro- 
portion to  the  weight  of  vegetable  matter  it  pro- 
duces on  a  given  space  of  ground,  the  follow- 
ing will  be  the  order  in  which  the  under-men- 
tioned plants  exhaust  the  ground,  being  the 
proportion  they  bear  to  each  other  with  respet 
to  weight  of  produce : — 

Mangel-wurzel  -----  25 

Cahbages     ------  25 

White  turnip       ...        -        _  16 

Potatoes      _----_  15 

Knhl-rahi  (bulb-stalked  cabbage)       -  14 

Swedish  turnip  -----  13 

Carrots        ------  U 

But  when  we  take  the  weight  of  nutritive 
matter  which  a  plant  affords  from  a  given 
space  of  ground,  the  results  are  very  different, 
and  will  be  found  to  agree  with  the  daily  ex- 
perience in  the  garden  and  the  farm. 

The  following  figures  represent  the  propor- 
tion in  which  they  stand  to  each  other  with  re- 
spect to  the  weight  of  nutritive  matter  per 
acre,  and  in  exhausting  the  land: — 


Potatoes 
Cal>bai;es     - 
Mangel-wurzel 
Carrots 
Kohlrabi    - 
Swedish  turnip 
Common  turnip 


Change  of  crops  also  prevents  very  mate 
rially  the  increase  of  the  predatory  grub  and 
insects  which  also  more  or  less  prey  upon  the 
farmer's  crops.  The  parent  of  the  English 
wire-worm,  for  instance,  which  is  the  larva  of 
a  small  beetle,  the  Elaier  segetis,  may  be  seen 
in  the  summer  months  depositing  its  eggs  on 
lays  or  meadows  abounding  with  the  cerea. 
grasses;  for  instinct  teaches  it  to  place  its  eggs 
where  the  young  wire-worm  will  meet  with  its 
natural  food,  which  are  the  cereal  grasses. 
Change  of  crops,  therefore,  not  only  checks  the 
deposit  of  the  eggs,  but,  by  removing  the  natu 
ral  food  of  the  young  vermin,  it  materially  pre- 

959 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

vents  increase,  or  even  their  continuance; 
which  otherwise,  as  is  the  case,  for  instance, 
with  the  wire-worm,  misrht  for  4  or  5  years  be 
a  pest  to  the  soil.     See  Bketle, 

The  ordinary  course  or  rotation  of  crops 
under  which  the  light  lands  of  England  are 
commonly  cultivated,  is  either  on  what  is  de- 
nominated the  four-course  or  shift  system,  or 
the  five-course  or  shift. 

The  four-shift  system  commonly  consists  of 
fallow,  manured;  1,  turnips,  fed  off;  2,  oats  or 
barley;  3,  grass  seed;  4,  wheat. 

The  five-shift  system,  which  is  in  many  situa- 
tions a  much  more  advantageous  course  of  hus- 
bandry, is  commonly  fallow:  1,  turnips;  2, 
oats,  or  barley;  3,  clover;  4,  peas  ;  5,  wheat. 

On  clays  the  course  varies :  on  some  kinds 
of  heavy  clays  it  is  usually  fallow,  with  ma- 
nure: wheat:  beans;  wheat,  manured;  clover; 
oats,  or  wheat. 

On  other  clays  the  system  pursued  is  fallow, 
with  manure;  wheat,  or  oats  ;  clover;  beans; 
wheat. 

The  variations,  however,  are  of  necessity  ex- 
ceedingly various.  Thus,  on  some  of  the  infe- 
rior adhesive  clays  of  the  midland  counties, 
they  adopt  the  four-course  system. 

Another  system  of  moderately  heavy  soil 
husbandry  is : — 

Acres. 

1.  Turnips 20 

Fallow 20 

2.  Barley 20 

Oais        ------  20 

3.  Seeds 20 

Tares  fed  off 20 

4.  Wheat -  40 

There  are  endless  variations,  however,  of 
this  system,  varying  in  their  course  from  that 
practised  in  some  of  the  heavy,  rich  Essex 
soils,  of  a  two-shift  system;  viz.,  1,  wheat;  2, 
beans;  3,  wheat;  with  an  occasional  fallow. 
And  that  more  extensively  used  in  the  hun- 
dreds of  that  great  agricultural  county,  of  a 
five-shift  system  of  fallow:  1,  oats;  2,  clover, 
dunged;  3,  wheat;  4,  beans;  5,  wheat.  To  the 
nine-shift  system  of  husbandry,  sometimes  prac- 
tised, which  is  about  the  longest  course  with 
which  I  am  acquainted,  viz.: 

20  acres  fallow,  or  turnips  manured. 

20  acres  oats  or  barley. 

20  acres  clover. 

20  acres  wheat,  well  hoed. 

20  acres  winter  tares,  sheep-fed. 

20  acres  wheat,  hoed. 

20  acres  seeds,  sheep-fed. 

20  acres,  15  of  beans  and  5  of  peas,  dunged. 

20  acres  wheat,  hoed. 

The  following  course,  which  takes  in  every 
valuable  crop,  without  in  any  instance  violat- 
ing the  rules  that  science  directs,  seems  to  me 
the  best,  and  is  recommended  by  a  Norfolk 
farmer  for  most  clays  not  too  wet.  Say  for  a 
farm  of  350  acres — 100  acres  of  green  crops, 
such  as  cabbages,  turnips,  rape,  and  tares, 
adapting  the  green  crops  to  the  nature  of  the 
land;  50  acres  of  peas  or  beans;  50  acres  of 
barley  or  oats,  laid  down  with  clover;  and  100 
acres  of  wheat. 

You  will  by  this  course  have  every  year  200 
acres  of  wheat  and  other  corn,  50  of  clover, 
and  100  of  green  crops,  thus  saving  your  land 
960 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

from  exhaustion  by  too  frequejit  repetition  ot 
crops  of  the  same  genus.  And  white  crops 
will  in  no  instance  succeed  each  other.  The 
wheat  stubbles  are  in  this  way  sown  with  green 
crops,  to  be  followed  by  50  of  barley  and  50  of 
beans  or  peas ;  the  barley  sown  with  clover 
and  followed  by  wheat,  which  will  thus  be  50 
acres  on  clover,  and  50  on  the  bean  or  pea 
stubble,  taking  care  that  the  50  acres  of  green 
crops,  followed  by  beans  or  peas,  when  next 
coming  in  course  for  green  crops,  shall  be 
sown  with  barley  and  clover,  as  by  this  means 
the  clover  comes  only  once  in  7  years. 

In  whatever  point  of  view,  therefore,  the  far- 
mer examines  the  rotation  of  crops  best  adapt- 
ed to  his  land,  the  more  highly  interesting  does 
the  investigation  appear.  Long  observation 
and  the  practice  of  ages  have  convinced  the 
best  English  cultivators  that  sooner  or  later  the 
soil  is  tired  of  or  exhausted  of  something  essen- 
tial to  its  luxuriant  produce  by  a  repetition  of 
the  same  crops;  that  the  richest  meadows  gra- 
dually decrease  in  their  produce ;  otlier  soils  be- 
come "clover-sick;"  and  it  is  now  even  pretty 
generally  suspected  that  the  land  is  in  many 
districts  gradually  getting  tired  of  turnips.  To 
the  examination,  therefore,  of  this  greatquesti  ), 
let  every  farmer  contribute  his  mite  of  practi.  j 
observations:  it  is  a  theme  whose  investiga- 
tion has  long  yielded  a  rich  harvest  to  English 
agriculture;  for  amongst  its  fruits  must  be 
numbered  the  introduction  of  turnips,  of  man- 
gel-wurzel, and  other  green  crops  ;  its  exami- 
nation led  to  the  adoption  of  the  four-shift  sys- 
tem, and  the  banishment  of  that  which  for  ages 
rested  on  the  miserable  plan  of  one  crop  and 
a  fallow.  It  is  idle,  therefore,  to  contend  that 
nothing  more  is  to  be  effected  by  change  of 
crops ;  for  the  experience  of  all  periods  is 
against  so  indolent  and  so  erroneous  an  as- 
sumption. Let  the  farmer  only  remember 
what  has  been  accomplished  by  the  mere  in- 
troduction of  the  turnip  plant;  what  thousands 
of  acres  have  been  brought  into  cultivation  by 
its  means,  and  how  many  mouths  are  fed  by 
the  increased  fertility  of  the  land  produced  by 
the  adoption  of  that  four-shift  system  of  rota- 
tion of  which  it  is  the  first  crop.  Let  him 
bring  to  mind  what  superior  crops  are  now 
produced  by  the  adoption  of  new  seeds  and 
novel  courses,  to  those  which  a  century  since 
tenanted  the  lands  of  merry  England;  and  he 
will  then  see  abundant  reason  for  hope,  and 
for  an  energetic  perseverance  in  a  course  of 
discovery,  which  has  alre.idy  rendered  such  an 
abundant  harvest  to  the  excellent  cultivators 
of  our  soil.  See  M.  Bousingault  on  the  "  Ro- 
tation of  Crops,"  Qua):  Jour.  j^gr.  vol.  x.  p.  251 ; 
Liebig's  Organ.  Chcrn.  of  J^gr.,  &c. 

To  prevent  the  depreciation  of  soil  and  im- 

I  prove  its  productive  capacity,  a  proper  rota- 
tion   of    crops   is   indispensable.     The    same 

:  general  principles  upon  which  these  objects 
may  be  most  judiciously  accomplished  will 
apply  to  all  countries,  but  the  manner  of  car- 
rying out  these  principles  must  vary  with  lo- 
calities and  peculiarities  of  climate  and  soil. 

;  It  was  once  thought  that,  after  culture,  it  was 
necessary  to  allow  the  land  tc  remain  for  one 

,  or  more  years  at  rest  and  idle,  or  fallow  and 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


unused,  in  order  that  the  soil  might  thus  have 
its  strength  renovated.  It  has,  however,  been 
found  that  with  judicious  management  land 
need  never  be  suffered  to  lie  idle,  but  cultivated 
every  year  in  one  or  more  crops  with  profit, 
and  even  with  improvement  of  the  soil.  In 
other  words,  the  system  carried  out  on  a  small 
scale  in  gardens  may  be  extended  to  farms.  A 
lisrge  portion  of  Europe  is  at  present  cultivated 
without  naked  fallows,  which  are  unknown  in 
the  vast  productive  agricultural  operations  of 
China. 

In  the  United  States,  the  rotations  of  crops 
vary  considerably  in  different  sections.  In 
Massachusetts,  one  of  the  oldest  settled  por- 
tions of  the  Union,  and  the  usages  of  which 
may  perhaps  represent  those  prevailing  through- 
out the  New  England  States,  it  would  appear 
from  Mr.  Colman,  that  little  of  what  may  be 
called  systematic  husbandry  prevails,  the  suc- 
cession of  crops  being  dictated  rather  by  acci- 
dent or  convenience  than  by  any  well-con- 
sidered principles.  The  following  details  from 
his  4lh  Report  an  Agriculture,  will  show  how 
things  are  managed  in  different  parts  of  Massa- 
chusetts. 

The  rotation  of  crops  in  Franklin  county  is 
very  limited,  as  the  crops  cultivated  are  few. 
In  Buckland,  the  first  year  the  land  is  broken 
up,  corn  is  planted  and  manured :  the  second 
year,  oats  are  sowed  without  manure,  and  the 
land  laid  down  to  grass.  It  is  continued  in  grass 
five  years  and  then  broken  up,  and  the  same 
course  repeated.  The  first  year  of  grass  the 
produce  is  about  two  tons  per  acre,  and  when 
It  yields  not  more  than  1500  lbs.  it  is  consider- 
ed proper  to  break  it  up  again.  In  Shelburne, 
on  one  of  the  best  farms  in  the  state,  the  course 
is,  first  year,  Indian  corn  on  green  sward,  ma- 
nured; second  year,  spring  wheat,  and  laid 
down  to  grass ;  the  grass-seed  sown  with  the 
■wheat;  one  peck  of  herd's  grass  and  one  of 
red-top  to  the  acre.  The  land  remains  in  grass 
ordinarily  five  years.  The  average  yield  of 
grass  is  estimated  at  three  tons  to  the  acre, — 
which  I  think  must  be  an  over-estimate, — and 
the  cost  of  getting  the  hay  at  $2  per  ton.  For 
spring  wheal,  in  the  second  year  of  the  course, 
is  sometimes  substituied  rye,  or  oats,  or  oats 
and  peas,  or  oats  and  wheat. 

In  Whately,  first  year,  Indian  corn  ;  second 
year,  oats,  and  laid  down  with  herd's  grass 
(timothy)  and  clover,  and  remains  in  grass 
three  years. 

On  much  of  the  meadow  land  in  Deerfield, 
the  first  year  the  land  is  in  corn;  the  succeed- 
ing year  peas  and  oats,  and  so  on  continually. 
The  corn  is  manured  in  the  hill.  The  land, 
after  the  corn  is  gathered,  is  sometimes  sown 
with  winter  rye. 

In  some  parts  of  Deerfield,  the  usual  rotation 
is,  first  year,  corn,  usually  manured  in  the  hill; 
the  second  year,  spring  wheat,  or  wheat  and 
oats,  or  peas  and  oats,  or  rye  with  southern  clo- 
ver; third  year,  clover;  and  then  plough  again. 

The  best  farmers  universally  advise  to  sow 
the  southern  or  June  clover  with  grain,  to  be 
ploughed  in  with  the  stubble  where  the  land  is 
not  to  remain  in  grass,  with  a  view  to  enrich 
the  land.  If  the  grain  is  winter  grain,  the 
121 


clover  is  usually  sown  in  the  spring  before  the 
snow  has  left  the  ground,  at  the  rate  of  a  bu- 
shel of  clover  chaff  or  clover-seed  not  cleaned, 
or  else  at  the  rate  of  6  or  7  lbs.  of  cleaned  seed. 
One  of  the  most  experienced  farmers  in  the 
town  has  been  accustomed  to  sow  rye  and 
clover  together  on  the  same  land  for  a  succes- 
sion of  years;  in  which  case  the  clover  and 
stubble  were  always  ploughed  in  together  for 
the  purpose  of  enriching  the  land  for  the  suc- 
ceeding crop,  and  in  this  process  he  states  that 
the  condition  of  the  land  was  continually  grow- 
ing better.  The  crops,  however,  at  best  were 
not  large. 

I  think  proper  here  to  mention  the  statement 
of  another  farmer,  a  man  of  much  intelligence 
and  experience,  in  confirmation  of  the  expe- 
rience of  two  other  farmers  referred  to  in  a 
former  report,  that  it  is  much  better  that  the 
clover  should  be  withered  or  dead  when  it  is 
ploughed  in,  rather  than  in  a  green  or  succu- 
lent state. 

In  some  instances,  as  in  Sunderland,  for  ex- 
ample, broom-corn  is  repeated  several  years  in 
succession  on  the  same  land,  and,  as  it  is 
stated,  without  a  diminution  of  product.  In 
these  cases,  the  crop  is  manured  in  the  hill 
every  year ;  and  the  corn-stalks,  after  the  brush 
is  gathered,  are  burnt  upon  the  land. 

In  the  oldest  cultivated  sections  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  rotations  seem  to  have  been 
conducted  with  much  good  judgment,  as  is 
evinced  by  very  successful  results  generally 
obtained.  These,  as  well  as  the  system  highly 
approved  by  many  of  the  most  judicious  far- 
mers, are  set  forth  in  the  following  communica- 
tion in  the  Farmers*  Cabinet  (vol.  v.  p.  94). 

The  example  to  which  I  refer,  says  the  cor- 
respondent, is  that  of  an  old,  practical,  hard- 
working farmer,  who  commenced  in  the  world 
as  a  day-labourer,  and  who  is  now  worth  at 
least  $100,000,  not  taking  in  the  account  many 
heavy  pecuniary  losses  he  has,  at  various  times, 
sustained.  This  man,  when  30  years  of  age, 
by  the  avails  of  his  industry,  added  to  "a  small 
legacy,  was  enabled  to  purchase  and  pay,  in 
part,  for  a  farm  of  130  acres  of  land,  100  of 
which  was  under  cultivation,  but  in  a  very  low 
state.  This  farm  is  altogether  upland,  with  a 
soil  composed  of  lime,  clay,  and  sand,  in  the 
chief  of  which  the  latter  preponderates,  the 
former  being  least  considerable.  When  he 
commenced  farming,  he  adopted  a  particular 
system  of  rotation,  to  which  he  has  implicitly 
adhered  from  that  time  to  the  present,  which  is 
40  years,  and  his  success  is  the  best  comment 
on  the  worth  of  his  experiment.  His  mode  was 
as  follows :  having  divided  his  farm  into  eight 
fields  of  equal  size,  as  nearly  as  possible,  three 
of  these  fields  are  sown  with  wheat  each  year, 
one  with  rye,  one  planted  with  corn,  two  in 
clover,  and  one  an  open  fallow,  on  which  com 
had  been  raised  the  year  previous.  One  of  the 
two  clover-fields  is  kept  for  mowing,  the  other 
for  pasture,  both  of  which  are  ploughed  as 
soon  after  harvest  as  possible,  and  prepared 
for  wheat  in  the  fall.  All  the  manure  which  is 
made  on  the  farm  for  one  year  is  hauled,  in  the 
spring,  on  the  field  intended  for  open  fallow, 
which  is  then  ploughed,  and  after  one  or  two 
4  M  96« 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


cross-ploughinc^s  through  the  summer,  is  also 
sown  with  wheat  in  the  fall.  The  field  on  which 
rye  is  sown,  is  that  from  which  a  crop  of  wheat 
had  been  taken  the  same  year,  and  which  had 
yielded  three  crops  of  wheat,  alternating  with 
crops  of  clover.  Corn  is  planted  on  the  field 
from  which  rye  had  been  gathered  the  year  pre- 
vious, the  stubbles  of  which  are  ploughed  down 
in  the  fall.  Clover-seed  is'  sown  early  in  fhj 
spring  on  two  of  the  wheat  fields,  those  which 
have  been  most  recently  manured.  By  this  me- 
thod, each  field  yields  three  crops  of  wheat,  two 
ofclover,oneofrye,  and  one  of  corn,  every  eight 
years.  Each  field,  in  the  mean  time,  has  lain  an 
open  fallow,  and  received  a  heavy  dressing  of 


manure,  perhaps  at  an  average  of  15  four-horse 
loads  per  acre.  His  crop  of  wheat  is  seldom 
less  than  1500  bushels,  but  often  much  more. 
His  average  rye-crop  is  about  450  bushels,  and 
his  corn  crop,  annually,  about  500  bushels — 
all  which  grain,  at  the  present  low  prices,  would 
amount  to  more  than  $2000  annually,  and  at 
former  prices  to  double  that  amount;  and  his 
farm  is  withal  very  highly  improved. 

This  system  corresponds  very  nearly  with 
that  of  which  a  tabular  statement  is  presented 
in  the  same  volume,  by  Mr.  W.  P.  Kmtzer,  of 
Pequea,  Lancaster  county,  Pennsylvania,  as 
successfully  practised  by  himself.  It  is  as 
follows : — 


Field  No.  I. 

Field  No.  2. 

Field  No.  3. 

Field  No.  4. 

Field  No.  6. 

Field  No.  6* 

Field  No,  7. 

Field  No.  8. 

IstYear    -       -       - 

Wheat 

Rye 

Wheat 

Clover 

Corn 

Wheat 

Clover 

Oats 

2d      "        -        -        - 

Rye 

Clover 

Corn 

Wheat 

Oats 

Clover 

Wheat 

Wheat 

8d      "        -        -        - 

Clover 

Wheat 

Oats 

Rye 

Wheat 

Wheat 

Corn 

Clover 

4th     "        -        -        - 

Wheat 

Corn 

Wheat 

Clover 

Clover 

Rye 

Oats 

Wheat 

5th    «       -       -       - 

Corn 

Oats 

Clover 

Wheat 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Rye 

6ih    "        -        -        - 

OiU8 

Wheat 

Wheat 

Corn 

Rye 

Wheat 

Clover 

Clover 

7th     "... 

Wheat 

Clover 

Rye 

Oats 

Clover 

Corn 

Wheal 

Wheat 

8tb    "... 

Clover 

Wheat 

Clover 

Wheat 

Wheat 

Oats 

Rye 

Corn 

In  the  county  of  Montgomery,  where  agri- 
culture is  in  a  very  flourishing  state, — the  crops 
consisting  of  the  ordinary  grains  and  hay- 
grasses, — ?i five-shift  rotation,  from  the  division 
of  the  farm  into  five  fields,  is  very  much  pursued. 
Commencing  with  Indian  corn,  the  sod,  which 
has  been  top-dressed  with  lime  the  previous 
season,  is  ploughed  in  the  fall  or  spring.  The 
corn  is  followed  by  oats,  which  being  harvested, 
the  stubble  is  turned  under,  manure  spread  upon 
the  ground  and  wheat  sown,  with  timothy-seed 
in  the  fall  and  red  clover  in  the  spring.  The 
wheat  has  thus  the  important  advantage  of 
immediately  succeeding  two  cleansing  crops,  and 
the  ground,  after  harvesting  the  wheat,  is  left 
in  fine  condition  for  the  hay  grasses.  The  first 
year  after  the  wheat  is  harvested,  the  grass  is 
mown,  the  second  year  pastured,  after  which 
the  sod  is  again  turned  under  for  corn,  and  the 
rotation  recommences. 

What  is  known  in  Pennsylvania  as  the  Old 
York  and  Lancaster  system,  corresponds  with 
the  one  last  described,  so  far  as  the  succession 
of  grain  crops  and  sowing  of  the  grass-seeds 
are  concerned,  but  differs  in  allowing  the  hay- 
brasses  to  occupy  the  field  five  years.  The 
first  two  years  are  most  productive  in  red 
clover,  which,  being  a  biennial  and  the  root 
dying  out,  leaves  the  ground  in  possession  of 
the  timothy  and  other  perennial  grasses. 

The  following  interesting  view  of  the  former 
and  present  Virginia  modes  of  conducting  ro- 
tations, and  the  improvements  introduced  and 
suggested,  is  from  the  able  editor  of  the  Far- 
»ier«'  Register  (vol.  vii.). 

The  first  and  most  humble  attempt  at  a 
rotation  in  this  country,  and  the  one  which 
fo'*merly  was  general  on  the  greater  part  of 
most  farms,  and  is  even  now  in  extensive  use, 
is  the  two-shift ;  which,  however,  short  as  it  is, 
had  various  grades  of  bad  quality.  This  usu- 
ally followed  the  continual  cultivation  of  the 
land,  in  its  newer  condition,  in  tobacco,  while 
rich  enough  f(  r  the  crop,  and  afterwards  in 
rorn,  every  year. 

The  two-shift  was  most  usually  this  : 
902 


2d, 


1st  year,  corn — 

("wheat — or  oats,  if  on  land  too  light  or 
too  poor  for  wheat — 
after  harvest,  grazed  closely  until  next 
\^    spring,  when  ploughed  for  corn  again. 

When  too  poor  to  bear  any  small  grain  crops, 
that  part  of  the  course  was  omitted  on  such 
poorer  spots  of  the  field,  and  afterwards  on  all; 
thus  changing  the  rotation  to 

1st  year,  corn — 

2d     "     natural  cover  of  weeds,  grazed. 

When  not  grazed  the  second  year,  as  was 
sometimes  the  case,  for  want  of  separate  fenc- 
ing, or  some  other  cause,  this  rotation  made  a 
nearer  approach  to  alternate  and  improving 
husbandry.    It  was  then — 

1st  year,  corn — 

2d  "  weeds  not  grazed,  and  which  (if 
not  burnt  off,  as  was  done  most  usually)  form- 
ed a  very  poor  manuring  crop. 

The  celebrated  Eastern  Shore  rotation  is  of 
two  shifts  or  fields,  but  of  three  crops  in  the 
two  years.     This  is — 

1st  year,  corn — 

2  J  C     first  crop,  oats — 

'  (_  secondary  crop,  Magothy  bay  bean — 
a  spontaneous  and  close  cover  immediately 
succeeding  the  oats,  and  which  remains  mostly 
or  entirely  untouched  by  the  grazing  stock, 
and  is  ploughed  under  for  the  next  crop  of 
corn.  The  interposition,  by  nature,  and  not 
by  the  design  or  industry  of  the  cultiva- 
tors, of  this  leguminous  and  manuring  crop, 
is  a  most  valuable  feature  in  a  rotation 
which  otherwise  would  be  altogether  exhau«5t- 
ing  and  destructive.  The  moisture  of  the  air, 
no  less  than  the  sandiness  of  the  soil,  and  the 
cleanness  from  other  plants,  give  vigour  to  this 
bean,  and  make  one-third  of  the  whole  course 
meliorating,  to  two-thirds  of  exhausting  crops. 
The  same  moisture  also  nourishes  the  oats, 
and  prevents  that  crop  exhausting  so  much,  as 
in  dryer  regions — and  also  by  its  greater  bulk 
of  straw,  furnishing  more  materials  for  ma- 
nure. These  circumstances  render  this  rota^ 
tion,  severe  and  barbarous  as  it  is,  less  exhaust- 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


ing  (or  more  improving,  if  much  attention  is  ' 
paid  to  manuring)  than  the  ordinary  three-shift 
rotation.  Except  in  the  chance-made  addition 
of  the  spontaneous  bean  crop,  this  rotation 
c»ffends  against  every  principle  and  rule  which 
ought  to  govern. 

'J'he  three-shift  rotation  was  the  next  step  in 
the  supposed  march  of  agricultural  improve- 
ment, and  even  yet  is  that  which  many  remain- 
ing two-shift  or  no-shift  cultivators  aspire  to 
reach,  as  the  limit  of  their  farming  and  im- 
proving ambition,  and  their  ne  plus  ultra  of 
mild  cultivation.    This  was 

1st  year,  corn — 

2d     "     wheat,  and  afterwards  the  sponta- 
neous grass  and  weeds  grazed — 

3d     **      pasture,  closely  grazed. 

The  severity  of  the  second  year  was  gene- 
rally moderated  on  the  poorer  parts,  by  the 
wheat  being  there  necessarily  omitted,  which 
of  course  gave  to  those  parts  two  years  rest 
from  tillage,  in  three;  and,  while  the  wheat 
was  growing,  a  cessation  from  grazing  also. 
With  very  few  exceptions,  such  was  the  gene- 
ral system  of  the  best  cultivated  farms  in  lower 
Virginia,  when  Taylor  wrote;  and  it  is  on  this 
kind  of  three-shift  rotation  that  his  denuncia- 
tions were  so  deservedly  cast.  This  rotation 
violates  every  sound  principle  and  rule,  and 
certainly  deserved  to  be  treated  without  mercy; 
but  many  have  continued  to  denounce  the 
three-shirt  rotation,  even  when  rendered  com- 
paratively mild,  as  if  the  evil  was  in  the  nurn- 
ber  //iM'f,  and  not  in  circumstances  more  im- 
portant than  the  mere  number  of  shifts. 

But,  taken  in  the  aspect  above  described, 
and  which  was  the  best  then  that  was  exhibited, 
the  three-shift  rotation  had  no  merit  whatever. 
It  had  no  other  than  fibrous-rooted  plants ;  no 
other  than  narrow-leaved  crops;  no  root,  legu- 
minous, or  even  grass  crop;  for  the  close 
grazing  merely  served  to  prevent  the  scanty 
weeds  and  grass  from  growing;  and  while 
every  year's  crop  was  exhausting,  the  system 
furnished  but  small  resources  and  materials 
for  manure.  For  the  grazing  animals  were  as 
many  as  the  land  could  keep  alive,  and  scarce- 
ly any  were  fattened  (by  grazing  alone)  for 
home  consumption  or  market;  and  their  sup- 
port served  to  diminish,  instead  of  adding  to, 
the  fattening  or  manuring  of  the  land.  At  that 
time  it  would  have  been  ditficult  for  a  reading 
farmer  to  contprehend  this  undoubtedly  sound 
maxim  of  English  writers,  "  the  more  cattle 
kept,  the  more  grain  and  other  crops  produced." 
But  the  English  farmer  keeps  no  animal  ex- 
cept for  the  profit  it  will  yield;  and  all  that 
are  so  kept,  give  their  rich  and  abundant  pro- 
ducts of  manure,  as  an  additional  profit  to  the 
soil.  But  when  a  stock  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
hogs,  can  barely  make  out  to  keep  alive  through 
the  year,  and  never  fatten,  except  by  stall  and 
grain  feeding,  then  keeping  them  certainly 
yields  no  clear  profit  to  their  owner,  and  their 
close  grazing  of  the  fields  takes  away  more  of 
fertilizing  materials  than  their  dung  can  pos- 
sibly replace.  An  English  or  French  farmer 
would  be  no  less  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  the 
object  (or  even  to  believe  in  such  a  general 
practice)  of  keeping  a  large  stock  of  animals 
f     1  which  no  net  profit  was  obtained,  or  even 


hoped  for;  and  he  would  justly  think  that  it 
would  not  be  more  absurd  for  a  farmer  to  tend 
a  crop  of  grain,  and  then  leave  it  to  rot  on  the 
field,  than  to  give  all  his  grass  through  summer 
to  animals,  and  then  lose  the  flesh  so  acquired, 
by  starvation  through  the  Avinter.  Indeed,  the 
general  cattle  management  of  this  country 
would  scarcely  be  believed  in  any  good  grazing 
or  farming  region.  On  the  farms  under  the  usual 
three-shift  rotation,  say  of  400  acres  of  arable 
land,  there  would  be  from  40  to  60  head  of 
grazing  cattle,  which  furnished  annually  to  the 
owner,  at  most,  about  as  much  milk  and  butter 
as  two  well-kept  cows  might  supply,  one  or 
two  passable  beeves,  with  the  aid  of  grain 
feeding,  a  few  poor  calves  for  veal,  and  a  pretty- 
large  supply  of  hides  from  deaths  by  starvation 
in  the  spring.  There  were  hogs  enough  to 
furnish  the  year's  supply  of  bacon;  but  only 
by  means  of  grain  feeding,  which  alone  was 
admitted  to  cost  nearly  or  quite  as  much  as  the 
market  price  of  the  meat.  A  flock  of  poor 
sheep  were  on  some  farms  also,  of  which,  be- 
fore shearing-time,  half  the  wool  of  many  was 
hanging  on  the  briers,  and  the  remaining 
fleeces  filled  with  burs.  This  sort  of  grazing 
system  accompanied  the  old  three-shift  rota- 
tion ;  and,  inveterate  as  were  old  habits,  and 
patient  as  we  are  of. long-borne  grievances,  this 
evil  was  so  great,  that  none  could  deny  but 
that  the  mere  expense  of  the  dividing  fences, 
necessary  to  keep  the  cattle  from  the  fields  of 
grain,  cost  more  than  all  the  returns  from  the 
grazing  animals. 

The  four-shift  rotation,  recommended  and 
practised  by  Col.  Taylor,  was — 

Islyear,  corn — 

2d     "     wheat,  and  clover  sown — or  if  too* 
poor  for  wheat,  left  at  rest,  and 
not  grazed — 

3d      "     clover  (or  weeds),  not   mown  or 
grazed — 

4th     "     clover,  not  mown  or  grazed. 

This  rotation,  as  before  stated,  was  the  first 
introduction  of  manuring  fields  by  their  own 
vegetable  cover,  and  this  practice,  and  the  ad- 
mission of  the  opinions  on  which  the  new 
practice  was  founded,  was  a  prodigious  step 
towards  agricultural  improvement.  It  is  true 
that  even  this  rotation  is  opposed  to  the  rules 
of  good  husbandry  in  most  respects.  But  the 
giving  of  two  and  a  half  years  out  of  four  for 
vegetables  to  grow,  that  were  to  die  and  decay 
on,  and  be  finally  ploughed  into  fhe  land,  was 
a  feature  that  compensated  for  every  fault,  and 
made  the  rotation  decidedly  meliorating,  if  on 
land  capable  of  being  enriched  by  the  mere 
application  of  vegetable  matters. 

In  the  first  of  these  numbers,  it  was  stated 
incidentally  to  other  matters  why  this  rotation 
became  of  less  benefit  and  more  objectionable, 
in  proportion  to  the  time,  and  to  the  etfect  with 
which  it  operated ;  and  if  it  improved  the  pro- 
ductive power  of  any  land,  that  it  also  greatly 
increased  the  labours  of  tillage,  and  the  de- 
struction of  products,  by  increasing  weeds  and 
noxious  insects.  In  consequence  of  this  ob- 
jection, very  few  disciples  of  the  great  intro- 
ducer of  and  advocate  for  this  rotation,  have 
continued  long  to  pursue  it  strictly. 
i      The  four-shift  and  clover  fallow  rotation  differs 

963 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 


RUBBING -POST. 


widely  from  that  of  Col.  Taylor.  This  has 
been,  and  I  believe  still  is  pursued  with  great 
success  by  Hill  Carter,  of  Shirley,  John  A.  Sel- 
den,  of  Westover,  and  has  been  on  some  other 
of  the  best"lands  on  James  River,  where  it  has 
since,  in  other  hands,  been  either  neglected  or 
abandoned,  for  some  modification  of  the  three- 
shift  rotation.    This  four-shift  system  is 

1st  year,  corn — 

2d  "  wheat,  and  clover  sown,  and  not 
grazed — 

3d  "  clover,  not  grazed,  and  ploughed  in 
deeply  in  August  and  September, 
and  the  field  sown  in  wheat — 

4th  "  wheat,  to  be  followed  by  corn,  in 
recommencing  the  rotation  next 
year. 

A  sufficient  standing  pasture  was  kept  on 
other  land.  Mr.  Carter,  for  a  considerable 
length  of  time,  substituted  oats  for  corn  in  the 
first  year. 

The  farmers  above  named  (whose  accounts 
of  their  systems  and  their  products  were  re- 
ported at  length  in  vol.  i.,  Far.  Reg.),  and  others 
also,  undoubtedly  made  great  crops,  and  great 
improvement  of  land,  under  this  very  severe 
rotation.  But  those  results  were  due  more  to 
the  excellence  of  their  general  management 
than  to  their  rotation.  None  but  admirable 
executive  farmers  can  possibly  overcome  the 
great  ditficulties  which  accompany  this  rota- 
tion. He  who,  in  our  dry  climate,  on  a  stiff 
or  even  medium  soil,  can  plough  every  August 
and  September  one-fourth  of  all  his  arable  sur- 
face, to  the' depth  of  8  or  10  inches,  and  turn  in 
and  cover  effectually  a  heavy  coat  of  clover — 
and  this  Mathout  failing  in  any  year — shows 
'thereby  alone  his  ability  to  execute  the  most 
arduous  undertakings,  and  to  do  well  every 
thing  which  he  may  make  a  part  of  his  general 
plan  of  operations.  This  rotation,  in  such 
hands  as  have  directed  it,  has  some  admirable 
features  ;  but  it  must  be  executed  in  the  most 
perfect  manner,  or  these  best  features  are  lost, 
and  there  will  remain  only  the  great  evil  of 
three  fibrous-rooted,  narrow-leaved,  and  ex- 
hausting grain  crops,  in  succession. 

The  great  merit  of  the  four-shift  rotation,  in 
general,  and  considering  it  as  embracing  both 
of  these  very  different  varieties,  is  its  easy 
adaptation  to  more  mild  or  more  severe  culti- 
vation, without  any  different  arrangement  or 
number  of  fields.  Thus,  Taylor's  rotation  may 
be  rendered  'still  milder  (as  is  needed  on  the 
poorest  lands)  by  omitting  the  wheat  crop ; 
and  as  the  land  improves,  the  richer  spots  may 
be  thrown  under  the  more  severe  cultivation 
of  the  other  four-shift  system,  as  practised  by 
Mr.  Carter  or  Mr.  Selden.  But,  in  any  forni, 
the  rotation  still  remains  objectionable,  for  the 
succession  of  grain  crops  (if  there  are  even 
two  in  the  course),  as  well  as  for  other  things, 
in  one  or  the  other  variety,  which  have  been 
already  stated. 

Every  rotation  yet  known  in  Virginia  is  more 
or  less  objectionable,  upon  one  or  more  of  the 
following  grounds: 

'I'he  adoption  of  certain  usual  crops,  without 
regard  to  the  various  qualities  and  the  wants 
of  the  soils,  or  even  to  the  demand  of  the 
market.    Thus  every  farmer  •    sure  to  make 


com  and  wheat  (or  oats)  his  principal,  if  net  his 
only  crops.  Thus,  the  fields  are  deprived  uni- 
versally of  the  most  improving  culture  of  roots, 
which  dip  into  and  draw  from  the  soil  deeply : 
and  of  pea  crops,  which  feed  on  the  air,  and 
give  the  product  to  the  soil  as  manure  ;  and  of 
all  annual  green  manure  crops,  which  would 
cleanse  the  soil  by  their  getting  in,  their  growth, 
and  ploughing  under,  as  well  as  manure  it ;  and 
the  store  cattle  and  hogs  suffer  for  the  want  of 
roots  and  other  succulent  food,  and  those  which 
are  necessarily  well  fed  consume  grain  almost 
exclusively.  Besides  these  and  other  objec- 
tions, which  any  good  practical  farmer,  or  sound 
theorist,  would  make,  I  would  further  object  to 
the  great  defect  of  the  preparatory  crop  not 
serving  to  destroy  the  weeds  which  will  ob- 
struct, and  the  insects  which  will  prey  on  the 
succeeding  crop.  Two  great  exceptions  to  this 
last  general  fault  are  presented  when  wheat 
follows  clover,  or  tobacco,  both  of  which  are 
plants  of  the  broad-leaved  kind,  unlike  in  all 
respects  to  the  succeeding  crop,  and  of  such 
unlike  conditions  also,  that  it  may  be  presumed 
that  the  growth  of  either  has  served  well  to 
destroy  many  of  both  the  weeds  and  insect 
depredators,  which  are  injurious  to  wheat.  Ac- 
cordingly, these  two  crops  are  the  best  forerun- 
ners of  wheat ;  which  after  them  always  is  an 
excellent  crop  for  the  land  and  the  season. 

Every  well-informed  farmer  will  agree  to  the 
importance  of  there  being  more  meliorating 
crops  introduced  in  our  rotations — more  grass, 
peas,  roots,  and  broad-leaved  vine  crops.  Bu 
the  objection  always  is  to  making  crops  for 
which  there  is  no  sale  or  market  demand.  But 
suppose  there  is  no  direct  sale  and  money  profit 
made  from  hay  or  roots,  they  will  yield  as  much 
profit  by  being  used  to  feed  and  fatten  {not  merely 
to  keep  alive)  the  necessary  farm-stock,  and  thus 
allow  to  be  sold  the  corn  and  other  grain  which 
would  be  otherwise  consumed  by  the  animals, 
with  less  relish  and  less  benefit. 

While  roots  are  totally  wanting  in  our  rota- 
tions, one  important  ofliice  is  left  unfilled,  that 
is,  the  deep  piercing  of  the  soil  and  thorough 
opening  of  it  by  tap-rooted  and  tuberous-rooted 
plants.  Another  thing  wanting,  is  the  plough- 
ing under  of  pea  or  other  annual  green  crops, 
to  cleanse,  as  well  as  to  manure  the  soil.  These 
properly  introduced,  and  the  grain  crops  sepa- 
rated by  green  crops,  would  produce  rotations 
far  more  improving  to  the  land  than  any  yet 
known,  and  probably  as  much  better  for  early 
annual  income  as  for  improvement  of  the  land, 
the  farmer's  best  capital. 

ROWAN  TREE  {Pyrus  aucuparia).  The 
quicken  tree,  or  mountain  ash,  as  it  is  some- 
times called,  is  a  handsome  tree,  of  slow 
growth,  with  a  tough,  cross-grained,  not  very 
hard  wood,  indigenous  to  our  mountains, 
woods,  and  hedges.  The  leaves  are  pinnate 
scarcely  a  span  long,  composed  of  leaflets,  uni 
form,  serrated,  smooth.  The  fruit  is  globose, 
scarlet,  very  juicy,  sour,  and  bitter.  They  are 
eagerly  devoured  by  birds  of  the  thrush  kind- 
The  fruit,  also,  when  the  bitter  is  extracted  by 
soaking  it  in  water,  may  be  made  into  a  pre- 
serve. 

RUBBING-POST.  A  stone  pillar  or  pest  set 
up  in  a  field  for  cattle,  hogs,  or  other  animala 


RUDDLE. 


RYE -GRASS. 


to  rub  against,  and  for  the  protection  of  the 
gates,  trees,  and  fences  themselves. 

RUDDLE  or  RADDLE.  A  kind  of  red 
earthy  ochre,  or  ironstone,  very  easily  reduced 
to  powder,  which  is  found  in  several  parts  of 
England,  especially  in  Derbyshire;  and  is  used 
in  marking  sheep. 

RUE  (Ruta  graveolens).  Rue  thrives  best  in 
a  poor  brick  earth,  in  which  a  portion  of  cal- 
careous rubbish  has  been  mixed.  It  will  not 
endure  the  application  of  dung  or  a  rich  soil, 
for  although  this  causes  a  luxuriant  growth  in 
summer,  death  is  as  certainly  produced  by 
severe  frosts.  It  is  propagated  by  slips  and 
cuttings  as  well  as  from  seeds;  the  first  two 
modes  being  usually  practised  as  being  the 
most  easy.  It  may  be  planted  or  sown  any 
time  during  *.he  spring. 

RUNCINATE.  A  botanical  term,  applied 
to  the  lobes  of  leaves  :  a  leaf  is  said  to  be  run- 
cinate  when  it  is  irregularly  lobed,  the  lobes 
gradually  diminishing  to  the  base,  and  hooked 
backwards.  The  leaf  of  the  dandelion  (Taraxa- 
cum) is  a  good  example  of  the  runcinate  leaf. 

RUNT.  A  name  given  to  a  small  kind  of 
black  cattle  brought  from  Wales  and  Scotland. 
See  Cattle.  It  is  also  a  term  applied  to  the 
weak  and  stunted  pigs  of  a  litter;  also  several 
species  of  pigeons;  as  the  Leghorn,  Spanish, 
and  Friesland  runt. 

RUSH  (Juncus ;  Linnaeus  derived  the  name 
from  jiins:o,  to  join;  in  allusion  to  the  first 
ropes  being  made  from  rushes).  This  is  an 
extensive  genus  of  coarse  plants,  many  of  them 
aquatics,  which  are  common  on  most  wet 
lands.  Rushes  always  intimate  a  deep,  rich 
soil,  and  thrive  best  in  land  which  is  too  cold 
and  wet  for  other  plants.  The  growth  of  these 
plants  may  be  easily  prevented  by  under  or 
surface  draining,  which  will  prevent  the  stag- 
nation of  water  on  the  soil ;  and  by  the  appli- 
cation of  saline  or  calcareous  lop-dressings, 
such  as  sand,  lime  ashes,  and  road-scrapings. 
All  the  species  of  rush  do  best  cultivated  in  a 
moist  situation,  some  of  them  entirely  in  water, 
and  others  in  a  peat  soil ;  they  may  be  in- 
creased by  seeds,  or  dividing  the  roots.  In 
Japan  they  cultivate  the  soft  rush  (/.  effusus) 
for  making  floor-mats. 

Sir  J.  E.  Smith,  in  his  English  Flora,  enu- 
merates 33  indigenous  species  of  rush.  (Pax- 
ton's  Bot.  Did. ;  Smith's  Eng.  Flor.) 

Of  the  sciiyus  genus  of  plants,  which  in- 
cludes the  rushes,  about  40  species  have  been 
found  by  botanists  in  the  United  States.  Among 
these  are  the  club-rush,  or  marsh  scirjius ;  the 
bull-rush,  which  is  also  called  tall  club-rush  or 
lake  scirpuSy  which  grows  so  luxuriantly  along 
the  shores  of  the  Delaware ;  and  the  brown  j 
cotton-grass,  or  wool-bearing  scirpus. 

The  species  of  club-rush  commonly  met  | 
with  in  the  United  States  are  the  Scirpits  palus-  \ 
tris,  S.  obttisis,  S.  tenuis,  which,  with  the  com-  { 
mon  bull-rush,  S.  Lacustris,  are  all  worthless  ' 
occupants  of  low,  wet  grounds.  (Flora  Ces- 
tricn.) 

RUST.     See  Mildew. 

RUTA  BAGA.     See  Turxips. 

RVE  (Seaile  cerenle  :  Germ,  roggen  dut  rog). 
This  species  of  grain  is  much  more  hardy,  but 
incalculably  less  valuable  in  every  respect  than 


wheat.  It  has  been  cultivated  from  time  im- 
memorial, and  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of 
the  Caspian  Caucasian  desert.  In  England 
it  is  very  little  used  as  an  article  of  food  com- 
pared with  wheat  and  oats,  though  in  the  north 
of  Europe,  and  in  Flanders,  it  forms  a  princi- 
pal article  of  human  subsistence,  but  generally 
mixed  with  wheat,  and  sometimes  also  with 
barley.  The  grains  consist  of  65-6  of  meal, 
24-2  of  husk,  and  10*2  of  water.  The  prepa- 
ration and  culture  of  rye  are  essentially  the 
same  as  for  wheat;  but  the  same  quality  of 
soil  is  not  equally  suited  to  each.  Rye  grows 
most  luxuriantly  for  feeding  when  sown  on 
hazel  mould,  but  any  poor,  dry,  sandy  soil  is  fit 
for  its  production.  It  is  sown  either  broadcast 
or  in  drills,  in  the  autumn  or  spring ;  but  the 
spring  variety  is  that  most  hardy  and  most 
generally  cultivated.  The  proportion  of  seed 
is  about  two  or  three  bushels  per  a(  .'e  when 
required  for  a  crop,  and  three  bushels  and  a 
half  when  it  is  intended  to  be  fed  off.  The 
meal  of  rye  is  considered  second  only  to 
wheat ;  it  is  often  used  alone  or  mixed  with  a 
proportion  of  wheat  flour  to  make  bread  and 
gingerbread.  In  those  unaccustomed  to  its  use, 
it  is  apt  to  cause  an  acescent  state  of  stomach 
and  diarrhoea.  Rye  is  liable  to  a  disease  called 
ergot,  which  depends  on  a  fungus,  which  at- 
tacks and  alters  the  character  of  the  grain.  It 
becomes  long,  of  a  deep  violet  hue  externally, 
and  pinkish-white  within.  The  odour  of  the 
ergotted  grain  is  fishy  and  fetid,  the  taste 
slightly  acrid.  Ergotted  or  spurred  rye  is  poi- 
sonous, when  it  is  baked  into  bread.  It  causes 
febrile  symptoms,  great  debility,  often  paraly- 
sis, tremors,  abscesses,  gangrene,  and  death. 
Some  of  the  epidemics  which  have  occasion-  • 
ally  nearly  depopulated  the  north  of  Europe, 
have  been  traced  to  the  use  of  the  spurred  rye. 
As  green  food  for  sheep,  rye  is  not  only  valu- 
able for  its  early  produce,  but  as  producing  a 
flow  of  milk  in  the  ewes.  The  straw  is  highly 
esteemed  for  Dunstable  work,  for  thatching  and 
litter ;  and  is  also  used  to  stuff  horse-collars. 
See  Ergot. 

RYE-GRASS  or  RAY-GRASS  (Lolium  pc 
renne),  pi.  5,  a.  There  has  been  much  differ- 
ence of  opinion  respecting  the  merits  and  com- 
parative value  of  rye-grass.  It  produces  an 
abundance  of  seed,  which  is  easily  collected 
and  readily  vegetates  on  most  kinds  of  soil 
under  circumstances  of  different  management; 
it  soon  arrives  at  perfection,  and  produces  in 
its  first  year  of  growth  a  good  supply  of  early 
herbage,  which  is  much  liked  by  cattle.  These 
merits  have  no  doubt  upheld  it  till  the  present 
day  in  practice,  and  will  probably  for  some 
time  to  come  continue  it  a  favourite  grass  with 
many  farmers.  But  the  latter-math  of  rye- 
grass is  very  inconsiderable,  and  the  plant  im- 
poverishes the  soil  in  a  high  degree,  if  the 
culms,  which  are  invariably  left  untouched  by 
cattle,  are  not  cut  before  the  seed  advances 
towards  perfection.  The  spike  of  the  Lolium 
perenne  is  awnless ;  calyx  shorter  than  the 
spikelets  ;  floret  lanceolate.  The  varieties  of 
this  species  are  very  numerous,  such  as  the 
slender  rye-grass  (var.  tenue) ;  compound  oi 
broad-spiked  rye-grass  (var.  compositum) ;  Pa- 
cev's  rye-grass  (var.  ramosum)-,  Russell's  grass 
4m  2  965 


SACCHARINE. 

(nuMteOimmm);  Whitwoith's  gnss  {Whitunrthi- 
«Mv);  8u<Jk««y*«  gnwt  iStiekneiensi$)  x  pani- 
eM  rygnm*  {pmmeuUuum)i  doublc^owered 
rft-i^nm  (mmutnmmmy,  ▼iriparoos  rye-grass 
(ritiparmm):  all  tlw  Tarielies  have  a  strong 
inMieiley  to  vary  ihetr  form  when  sown  on  dif- 
fvfVBt  toils.  The  annual  species  are  common 
oalr  to  land  ander  caltiration,  under  the  alter- 


1tf^tn»»  appaan  to  hare  been  cultivated 
piwiow  10  the  year  1677  (Woidridge't  Husb. 
(at  i4.),ba*ides  which,  red  clover,  spurrey,  tre- 
Ibil.  and  aon^uch  were  ihe  only  plants  then 
eohivated  as  grasses,  or  termed  such ;  and  it  is 
only  of  late  years  that  any  other  species  of  the 
aatural  gra-nses  has  been  tried  as  a  substitute 
fbr  II 10  forming  artificial  pastures.  One  peck 
of  rye  grass,  with  fourteen  pounds  of  clover, 
ptracfBt  ^  generally  considered  sutiicient  for 
aowiaf  artificial  pastures.  Rye-grass,  when 
■01  Bore  than  three  years  old,  flowers  in  the 
aaeond  week  of  June,  and  ripens  the  seed  in 
about  96  days  aAer :  as  the  plants  become  older 
tbey  flower  nach  later,  sometimes  so  late  as 
iIm  beginning  of  August    See  Grasses. 

A  variety  called  the  Italian  r>'e-grass  was 
9om%  tioM  ■taea  brought  prominently  into  no- 
tin,  nd  b  veil  rooken  of.  One  species  of 
riafian,  tbe  bearded  darnel  {LoHum  tenmlerv- 
hmm)  is  poivmons.  PI.  7,  c.  It  is  an  annual,  and 
floims  in  July.  The  root  is  downy  and  fibrous ; 
ib«  coim  leafy,  smooth,  about  two  feet  high, 
with  leaves  of  a  bright-green,  rough  in  the 
disk.  The  spike  is  a  span  long,  and 
The  calyx  of  the  flowers  linear, 
lay-ribbed,  rising  above  the  spike- 
leia.  Tba  florets  are  six,  with  the  outer  valve 
iA  tbe  corolla  elliptical,  concave,  with  a  dorsal 
awn.  The  seeds  are  elliptical,  flattened,  and 
famished  with  a  furrow  silong  its  upper  side. 
flee  DiaaBt. 


S. 


SAOCHARHIB.  A  term  applied  to  such 
auMtanees  as  contain  sugar.  The  plants  in 
which  this  substance  is  abundant  are  in  gene- 
ral highly  natritious  and  useful  in  the  fattening 
nC  aalaials.    Bee  Molassbs  and  Sugar. 

SACKS.  Tbe  term  sack,  in  the  sense  of  a 
blfc  ia  fcwHl  in  all  the  European  and  many 
Aabiie  luitnages. 

SAFFRON  {Croryu  tatwut).  The  stigmata 
of  Ikis  purple  crocus  are  of  a  deep  orange 
eoloar.  and  when  in  quantity  have  a  peculiar 
and  Tery  charac(eh>tic  odour;  they  are  used 
IB  laedietee,  chiefly  as  a  rich  yellow  or  orange- 
oafjoriaf  aanar.  Saffiron  is  now  chiefly  im- 
ported fmn  tlie  south  of  Europe,  especially 
Spain ;  it  was  formerly  much  cultivated  in 
England  in  the  Ticioity  of  Saffron  Walden,  in 
Caiabridgeiihira. 

SaflTroQ  is  often  larvety  ndnlierated  with  the 
neiaN  of  orher  plat  ally  with  those  of 

thf  marisrold.    Th  affron  ij>  superior 

to  that  brought  from  .>[.  un.  It  should  never 
be  compressed  into  cakes,  but  the  stigmata  left 
•n  a  dry,  shrivelled  stale,  or,  as  it  is  termed,  hay 
cuTron.  Where  tbe  stigmata  are  pale,  the  saf- 
9S6 


SAGO. 

fron  is  bad.    Saffron,  as  a  medicine,  is  of  little 
value.     See  Carthamus  and  Crocus. 
SAFFRON,   THE   MEADOW.     See   Col- 

CHICDX. 

SAGE,  GARDEN  {Salvia  officinalis;  from 
salveo,  to  be  safe,  on  account  of  the  sanative 
properties  with  which  it  was  supposed  to  be 
fraught).  Sage  is  now  used  principally  in  cu- 
linary preparations.  There  are  several  varie- 
ties, as,  1.  The  common  green.  2.  Worm- 
wood. 3.  Green,  with  variegated  leaves.  4.  Red, 
with  variegated  leaves.  6.  Painted,  or  parti- 
coloured. 6.  Spanish,  or  lavender-leaved. 
7.  Red.  A  dry,  moderately  fertile  soil,  is  best 
suited  to  their  growth,  in  a  rather  sheltered 
situation.  If  the  soil  is  rich,  or  super-abound- 
ing in  moisture,  they  grow  luxuriantly,  but  are 
apt  to  perish  in  winter.  Sage  is  propagated  by 
cuttings  of  the  young  shoots  from  the  sides  of 
the  branches,  sometimes  also  by  rooted  offsets, 
and  likewise  by  seed.     See  Clart. 

SAGE,  THE  WOOD.  See  Germander. 

SAGO  (Malay  and  Jav.  sagu).  A  speo-^s 
of  fecula  or  starch  obtained  from  the  celluiar 
substance  of  a  palm  tree — the  Sagus  farini/eraf 
Gaertn;  Sagus  Rumphii,  Wild.  In  the  early 
writers  it  is  called  sagu,  suga,  and  zaga.  In 
Java  the  word  signifies  bread.  The  saira 
which  is  procured  from  the  above  palm,  and 
six  other  species  of  the  same  family,  is  the 
pith  of  the  trunk.  When  the  tree  is  of  suflSl- 
cient  age  it  is  cut  down,  split,  and  the  pith  ex- 
tracted and  reduced  to  powder,  which  is  mixed 
with  water  and  strained  through  a  sieve.  The 
sago  is  deposited  from  the  fluid,  and  after  two 
or  three  washings  it  is  fit  for  use,  and  is  called 
in  this  state,  when  dried,  sago-meal.  For  the 
European  market  it  is  made  into  a  paste  and 
granulated,  and  is  known  in  the  trade  under 
the  name  of  pearl  sago.  The  consumption  of 
sago  has  undergone  an  almost  incredible  in- 
crease within  the  last  twenty  years,  which  is 
wholly  ascribable  to  the  reduction  in  the  inter- 
val of  the  oppressive  duties  by  which  the  arti- 
cle was  formerly  loaded.  Sago  has  latterly 
been  brought  prominently  into  notice  as  food 
for  domestic  animals  usually  reared  upon  the 
farm,  particularly  horses  and  calves.  Experi- 
ence having  decided  in  favour  of  its  whole- 
someness  and  economy,  it  will  no  doubt  very 
soon  become  a  general  and  staple  article  of 
food  on  all  farms  that  rear  young  stock.  From 
its  emollient  and  nutritive  properties,  it  ap- 
pears to  be  admirably  adapted  for  calves  while 
on  milk ;  for  cows  sometimes  before  and  after 
calving;  for  young  horses  in  winter,  instead 
of  much  dry  corn,  or  none  at  all,  as  is  too  fre- 
quently practised;  and  for  young  pet  lambs, 
whose  mothers  have  either  died  or  forsaken 
them,  in  which  events  a  serious  encroachment 
is  apt  to  be  made  on  the  milk  intended  for  the 
calves.  Sago  seems  peculiarly  well  adapted 
for  horses  for  fast  work,  and  for  sporting  dogs, 
since  it  is  found  to  leave  the  wind  unaffected; 
and  with  regard  to  fowls,  the  whole  class  of 
them  might  be  rendered  by  it  much  more  white 
in  flesh  and  delicate  for  the  table,  than  the  food 
usually  allowed  them  on  farms. 

Sago  is  most  commonly  used  in  a  gelatinous 
state,  and  it  is  easily  reduced  to  that  state  bv 
boiling  water. 


SAINFOIN. 


SALT,  COMMON. 


As  a  drink  for  horses,  after  a  severe  run  or 
burst  in  the  field,  sago  gruel,  consisting  of 
about  a  pound  of  the  mucilage  or  jelly,  com- 
pletely dissolved  in  two  or  three  gallons  of 
warm  water,  is  found  to  be  superior  to  any 
other  kind  of  drink.  For  cows,  the  jelly 
should  also  be  given  in  the  shape  of  drink. 
Sago  jelly  mixed  with  new  milk  forms  an  ex- 
cellent food  for  calves.  Dogs  should  have  the 
jelly  poured  over  biscuit,  bread,  or  potatoes. 
To  pigs  sago  should  be  administered  in  the  shape 
of  drink,  from  2  to  3  pounds  being  given  to  each 
pig  once  a  day;  and  the  jelly  for  fowls  should 
be  in  warm  balls,  mixed  up  with  barley  meal. 

Sago  has  been  sometimes  used  as  an  ingre- 
I  dient  of  household  bread,  in  the  proportion  of 
1  part  of  sago  to  3  of  wheaten  flour.  It  forms 
an  excellent  pudding  for  the  convalescents 
from  acute  diseases.  It  is  only  moderately  nu- 
tritious, consisting  chiefly  of  starch;  yet  it  is 
the  bread,  and  may  be  termed  the  staff  of  life 
of  natives  of  the  Molucca  islands. 

SAINFOIN  or  SAINTFOIN  (Hedysarum 
onobryrfiiK).^  The  Bourgogne  or  Esparette  of 
the  French.  PI.  8,  g.  Having  been  first  intro- 
duced to  the  farmer  from  France,  this  plant 
brought  its  French  name  of  saint-foin  along 
with  it;  and  cock's-head,  by  which  it  was  be- 
fore known  as  a  native  of  England,  is  become 
obsolete.  The  stems  of  sainfoin  are  recum- 
bent, 2  or  3  feet  in  length ;  leaves  pinnate, 
nearly  smooth;  flower-stalks  axillary,  ascend- 
ing, longer  than  the  leaves,  each  bearing  a 
dense  tapering  spike  of  handsome  variegated 
crimson  flowers.  The  fruit  is  a  legifrae,  erect, 
single-seeded,  toothed  at  the  margin  and  ribs. 
Sainfoin  is  a  well-known  object  of  cultivation 
as  fodder  for  cattle,  on  dry,  barren,  especially 
chalky  or  marly  ground,  in  open  situations. 
From  its  not  -thriving  well  except  the  soil  or 
subsoil  be  calcareous,  sainfoin  is  not  generally 
met  with  in  England;  it  is  most  extensively 
'  cultivated  on  the  Cotswold  Hills,  and  on  the 
chalk  soils  of  Surrey,  &c.  Its  nature,  quali- 
ties, and  treatment  are  similar  to  those  of  Ld- 
tEHx,  which  see. 

SAINT  JOHN'S-WORT.  See  John's-Wort. 

SAINT    PETER'S -WORT.      See    Johs's- 

WoUT. 

SALAD,  CORN.     See  Cork  Salad. 

SALAL  BEKRY.  A  new  fruit  from  the  valley 
v-  the  Columbia  river.  It  is  about  the  size  of 
a  tonimon  grape,  of  a  dark  purple  colour,  and 
possesses  a  sweet  and  pleasant  flavour. 

SALLOW.  The  common  name  of  several 
Species  of  Salix,  which,  unlike  those  known 
under  the  name  of  osiers,  are  not  flexible,  but 
form  large  trees  or  rough  bushes,  which  grow 
in  moist,  marshy  woods  and  hedges,  in  various 
parts  of  England.  Sallows  generally  yield  the 
best  kind  of  charcoal  for  the  manufacture  of 
gunpowder,  though  all  the  species  of  salix  are 
burnt  for  the  preparation  of  this  substance. 
Sir  J.  E.  Smith  particularizes,  in  England, 
nearly  a  dozen  different  native  species  of  sal- 
low.    See  Osier  and  Willow. 

SALLOW-THORN  {Hippophiie,  from  hippos, 
a  horse,  and  phao,  to  destroy  ,  in  reference  to 
the  supposed  poisonous  qualities  of  the  seeds). 
The  species  are  mostly  ornamental  trees  or 
thrubs,  growing  in  any  common  soil,  and  may 


be  readily  increased  by  layers  or  cuttings  o( 
the  roots.  The  common  sallow-thorn  or  sea- 
buckthorn  (i/.  rhamnoides)  is  a  bushy,  rigid 
shrub,  5  feet  or  more  in  htight,  with  hard 
wood,  and  straight,  spreading,  leafy  branches, 
each  terminating  in  a  thorn.  The  shiub  is  a 
native,  being  found  growing  wild  on  sandy 
cliffs  on  the  eastern  coast  of  England.  The 
leaves  are  linear-lanceolate,  scattered,  decidu- 
ous, 1^  inch  long,  on  short  stalks,  dark-greea 
on  the  upper  side,  minutely  dotted,  beautifully 
silvery  as  well  as  scaly  beneath. 

SALSIFY  {Tragopogon  porrifolius).  An  or- 
namental plant,  which,  when  grown  in  the 
kitchen  garden,  succeeds  in  any  common  soiL 
It  is  sown  and  treated  in  the  same  manner  as 
carrots ;  the  flavour  of  the  root  is  mild  and 
sweetish.  When  properly  cooked,  it  has  a 
flavour  much  resembling  that  of  oysters,  from 
which  it  often  goes  by  the  name  of  oyster  planu 

SALSILLA  (Edible  alstrameria).  A  very 
herbaceous  plant,  a  native  of  Peru.  Its  roots 
are  eaten  like  the  potato.  It  is  cultivated  itt 
the  West  Indies,  and  may  answer  well  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States.     (Kenrirk). 

SALT,  COMMON,  as  a  manure  (Germ,  salz; 
It.  sale).  This  salt  is  a  compound  of  chlorine 
and  a  metal,  the  base  of  soda,  called  sodium; 
or,  in  chemical  language,  salt  is  a  chloride  of 
sodium.  It  is  too  well  known  to  require  de- 
scription; but  it  may  be  proper  to  state  that  it 
dissolves  equally  well  in  cold  and  in  hot  water. 

It  would  be,  perhaps,  difficult  to  name  any 
other  substance  in  the  catalogue  of  modern  fer- 
tilizers, whose  powers  have  been  so  often  and 
so  warmly  disputed  as  common  salt;  and  for 
this  controversy  many  reasons  may  be  assigned. 
It  has  been  generally  employed  with  little  scien- 
tific accuracy,  and  in  far  too  loose  a  manner 
for  any  reliance  to  be  placed  upon  the  majority 
of  the  reports  which  have  been  furnished  to  us ; 
and  for  many  years  a  prohibitory  duty  in  Eng- 
land rendered  it  inaccessible  to  the  farmer — 
an  impost  which  has  not  very  long  been  re- 
moved, and  which  yet  was  the  occasion  of  a 
great  variety  of  blundering  trials,  miscalled  ex- 
periments. The  duty  on  salt  was,  indeed,  one 
of  long  continuance.  It  originated  as  a  war 
tax,  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  reign  of  William 
III.,  and  was  not  removed  until  after  many 
an  arduous  debate,  in  the  end  of  that  of  George 
in.  The  price  of  salt,  in  consequence  of  the 
duty,  was  raised  from  6d.  a  bushel  to  more  thau 
20s. ;  and  was,  therefore,  during  the  continu- 
ance of  the  tax,  too  expensive  a  fertilizer  to  be 
employed  by  the  English  farmer;  and  ic  was 
only  after  being  for  a  century  and  a  half  lost 
to  agriculture,  that  it  was  again  presented,  in 
1823,  unshackled  with  duties,  to  the  notice  of 
the  agriculturist.  During  that  long  interval, 
salt,  as  a  manure,  was  known  only  in  the  tra* 
ditions  of  the  English  farmers.  Through  these 
they  learned,  that  it  was  formerly  used  to  kih 
worms,  and  to  destroy  weeds  ;  that  it  cleansed 
fallows,  increased  the  produce  of  light,  arable 
soils,  and  was  good  to  sweeten  grass.  These 
reported  advantages  were  rendered  uiv-re  pro- 
bable by  certain  facts  that  had  been  forced,  as 
it  were,  upon  their  attention.  The  gardener 
was  well  aware  that  the  brine  of  the  pickling 
tubs,  when  poured  over  his  heaps  of  weeds,  not 

967 


SALT.  COMMON. 

I  ilr  killed  every  weed,  every  seed,  and  every 
•ruh,buf  that  ihe«e  heat*  ^cre  then  converted 
ir.io  »o  many  pafcels  of  the  most  fertilizing 
manure;  the  good  effects  of  which,  especially 
apoB  potatoes  and  carrots,  were  very  decided. 
It  was  well  known,  too,  that  a  single  gram  of 
•alt  placed  upon  an  earthworm  speedily  de- 
•troyed  it ;  that  if  brine  were  poured  upon  the 
UwD.  all  the  earthworms  were  immediate!/ 
ejected  frtira  that  spot;  and  that  if  it  were 
•priskled  about  over  a  portion  of  the  grass,  to 
lUa  tailed  portion  all  the  deer,  sheep,  or  the 
of  iki*  nurk  constantly  repaired,  in  pre- 
r  -  .r  part  of  the  field.    Salt  evi- 

!  .  destroyed  weeds  and  worms, 

and  f«od*r«d  grass  more  palatable  to  live- 
•loek;  and,  upon  consulting  the  old  agricultu- 
ral writers,  it  was  found  that  the  notices  of  salt 
as  a  manure  were  many  and  important ;  and 
that  salt  had  been  employed  in  various  agri- 
enhnral  «»perations  from  a  very  early  period. 
Thus  it  is  referred  to  in  Si.  Luke,  xiv.  34.  Vir- 
gil reprobates  a  salt  soil.  Cato,  150  years  b.  c, 
commends  it  for  cattle,  hay,  straw,  &c.;  as 
does  Vinril,  lib.  S.  v.  394.  The  early  German 
famers  knew  of  its  value  for  sheep;  and  for 
tiM  same  purpose,  in  Spain,  it  has  been  em- 
•loycd  from  the  earliest  ages.  In  1570,  Conrad 
ncmbach  commends  it  as  being  a  certain  pre- 
mikm  of  the  "murrain  or  roite."  In  1653, 
SirHogh  Piatt  speaks  of  salt  as  a  fertilizer  in 
his  usual  visionary  manner,  and  details  the 
molt  of  a  very  successful  experiment  on  a 
"fM/rA  of  ground**  at  Clapham;  from  which 
Some  late  writers  upon  the  uses  of  salt  have 
led  their  readers  into  great  blunders,  by  slating 
that  this  experiment  was  performed  on  an  acre 
of  land. 

The  use  of  salt  by  the  cultivator,  since 
the  repeal  of  the  duties  in  1823,  has  been 
•OBsiderable,  however,  in  many  districts  of 
Bagland,  in  spite  of  these  blundering  instruc- 
tions, ill-contrived  experiments,  and  ignorant 
conclusions.  If  to  this  be  added  the  natural 
difficulty  of  obtaining  correct  results  in  any 
experiments  in  which  vegetable  life  is  con- 
cerned, we  need  no  longer  be  surprised  that 
nany  contradictory  statements  have  been  made 
with  rejrard,  not  only  to  salt,  but  to  all  other 
fertilizers. 

Common  salt  is  composed  of  36'42  parts  of 
chtorine,  and  «3-3  of  sodium.  This  is  not  the 
phice  to  enlarge  upon  its  almost  universal  pre- 
sence in  almost  all  waters,  soils,  and  situa- 
tions, nor  of  the  masses  with  which  our  country 
Is  endowed.  Its  fertilizing  properties,  when 
applied  to  land,  may  be  describHed  as  five  in 
onmber. 

1.  In  fmnll  pmportions,  it  promotes  the  de- 
composition o^  animal  and  vegetable  substances 
^  fact  first  ascertained  by  Sir  James  Pringle 
and  Dr.  Macbride.  Salt,  therefore,  promotes 
the  rapid  di««^"i"»>'>"  <  f  the  animal  and  vege- 
table remain  i  in  all  cultivated  soils. 
The  recent  <  of  M.  Macaire,  with 
fegard  to  the  excretions  of  vegetables,  impart 
considerable  information  as  to  the  use  of  com- 
mon salt  in  promoting  the  putrefaction  of  vege- 
table substances  in  the  soil ;  since  it  has  been 
tliown  by  this  gentleman  that  the  brown  excre- 
•»  ry  matter  of  a  plant  is  extremely  noxious  to 


SALT,  COMMON. 

those  of  its  own  species ;  the  salt,  therefore,  by 
iis  presence  in  the  soil,  promoting  the  putre- 
faction of  the  excretion,  naturally  assists  in 
removingthe  offending  matter ;  and,  in  so  doing, 
the  excretion,  as  it  decomposes,  certainly  af- 
fords nourishment  to  the  plant  which  produced 
it.  We  are  fully  aware  that  this  hypothesis 
may  be  disputed :  we  therefore  offer  it  merely 
as  an  hypothesis.  But  it  is  true  that  salt,  pro- 
perly used,  enables  land  which  has  been  de- 
teriorated by  one  crop  to  bear  another  with 
advantage. 

2.  It  destroys  vermin  and  kills  weeds,  which 
are  thus  converted  into  manure.  3.  It  is  a  di- 
rect constituent  or  food  of  some  plants  ;  and  it 
has  been  clearly  ascertained,  that  if  salt  is 
applied  to  a  soil,  the  vegetables  afterwards 
growing  on  that  land  are  found  to  contain  an 
increased  proportion  of  common  salt.  (Mr. 
George  Sinclair,  Prize  Essay  on  Salt  as  a  Ma- 
nure.) All  marine  plants  contain  it  in  consider- 
able proportions.  4.  Salt  acts  on  vegetable 
substances  as  a  stimulant.  Dr.  Priestley  tried 
various  experiments,  all  supporting  this  suppo- 
sition. He  added  to  phials,  containing  an 
ounce  and  a  half  of  water,  various  proportions 
of  common  salt,  from  1  to  12  grains,  and 
in  the  solutions  placed  various  sprigs  of  mint 
and  other  vegetables.  In  those  solutions  \vhich 
contained  more  than  12  grains,  the  plants  died 
immediately,  and  the  rest  died  in  their  order, 
except  that  which  contained  3  grains  of  salt, 
which  seemed  to  grow  as  well  as  plants  grow- 
ing in  simple  water.  It  was  remarkable,  how- 
ever, that  this  plant,  as  well  as  all  those  that 
died  in  the  stronger  solutions,  seemed  to  flou- 
rish at  first  more  than  those  which  were  grow- 
ing in  simple  water,  and  that  that  which  had 
3  grains  of  salt,  and  that  which  had  1  grain 
only,  continued  to  live  after  the  plants  in  sim- 
ple water  were  dead.  {Nat.  Philos.  vol.  i.  p. 
106.)  That  vegetable  substances  are  capable 
of  being  stimulated  by  chemical  solutions,  is 
well  known.  A  solution  of  chlorine  in  water 
will  make  certain  seeds  vegetate  which  would 
otherwise  rot  in  the  earth ;  and  a  mixture  of 
camphor,  &c.,  has  been  found  to  be  very  bene- 
ficial in  restoring  vitality  to  cuttings  of  various 
exotics  too  long  delayed  on  their  passage. 
5.  Salt  preserves  vegetables  from  injury  by 
sudden  transitions  in  the  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere.  That  salted  soils  do  not  freeze  so 
readily  as  usual  when  salt  is  applied  to  them, 
is  well  known  ;  and  that  salt  preserves  crops 
of  turnips,  cabbages,  &c.,  from  injury  by  the 
frost,  is  equally  well  established.  (Johnson' 
Essay  on  Salt,  pp.  6—68.) 

6.  Salt  renders  earth  more  capable  of  ab 
sorbing  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere — a 
property  of  the  first  importance,  since  those 
soil*  which  absorb  the  greatest  proportion  of 
moisture  from  the  atmosphere  are  always  the 
most  valuable  to  the  cultivator.  "It  affords,'* 
said  the  illustrious  Davy,  "one  method  of 
judging  of  the  productiveness  of  land."  (Jgr. 
Chnn.  p.  184.)     See  Earths. 

The  impure  picking  of  scalings  of  the  salt- 
makers  is  usually  to  be  obtained  by  the  farmer 
at  a  very  low  rate,  and  from  its  being  a  mixture 
of  common  salt  and  gypsum  (sulphaie  of  lime), 
it  is  excellently  adapted  aj  a  manure  for  the 


SALT,  COMMON. 

grasses,  such  as  clover,  lucern,  sainfoin,  &c. ;  ^ 
and,  as  such,  I  will  give  the  chemical  analysis, 
for  ihe  information  of  the  cultivator,  of  the  re- 
fuse of  the  marine  and  fossil  salt-makers. ; 
The  pan  scale  of  the  Lyraington  marine  salt- 
makers  consists,  according  to  the  analysis  of 
Dr.  Henry,  of — 


Muriate  of  magnesia  -  -  - 
Desiccated  sulphate  of  magnesia 
Carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia 
8ulphatt),of  lime  -        -        - 

Muriate  of  soda  (sea-salt)  - 


Parts. 

29 

18 

127 

S16 

610 

1000 


Of  the  pan  scale  of  the  fossil  salt-refiners  of 
Norwich,  two  specimens  were  examined  by 
Dr.  Henry ;  the  first  was  composed  of — 

P»ri«. 
Common  salt  -----  950 
Carbonate  of  lime  -  .  -  -  10 
Sulphate  of  lime         -        ...        40 

1000 

The  second  variety  was  composea  of — 

Part*. 

Common  salt  ...  -  -  100 
Carbonate  of  lime  -  -  -  -  110 
fuluhate  of  lime         -        -        _        -      790 

1000 

Salt,  it  should  be  remembered,  rarely  causes 
the  wheal  plant  to  grmo  larger  or  taller,  but  it  fills 
up  the  ear  better,  and  brings  the  weaker  plants 
forward.  Mr.  Sinclair  informs  us,  that  "  salt 
appears  to  lessen  the  produce  of  straw,  and 
increase  the  weight  of  grain."  I  have  never 
been  able  in  my  experiments,  nor  in  any  I  have 
witnessed  (with  salt  alone),  to  observe  any  in- 
creased quantity  of  straw,  even  in  cases  where 
there  was  an  increased  produce,  by  means  of 
salt,  of  6  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre.  The  salt 
should  be  applied  sometime  before  sowing  the 
seed,  not  less  than  10,  and  not  more  than  20 
bushels  per  acre.  In  my  own  experiments  upon 
a  light  gravelly  soil,  at  Great  Totham,  in  Essex, 
the  use  of  this  quantity  of  salt  per  acre  (in 
1819)  produced  an  increase  of  5^  bushels  per 
acre.  The  following  statement  of  the  result 
of  some  trials  in  1820,  on  a  light  and  gravelly 
soil,  will  show  how  important  may  be  the  result 
to  the  country  at  large  by  its  judicious  applica- 
tion. I  regret  that  incessant  employment  of  a 
very  different  nature  has  hitherto  prevented  my 
continuing  these  experiments. 

Produce  per  Acrr.  Bushels.    lbs. 

No.  1.  Soil  without  any  manure  for  4  years  -      13        26 

2.  Soil  manured  with  stable  dung  to  the 

previous  crop  (potatoes)  -        -      26        52 

3.  Soil  with  5  bushels  of  salt  p^r  acre, 

and  no  other  manure  for  4  years      -      26        12 

The  testimony  of  a  plain  Essex  farmer  cor- 
roborates these  results.  "  The  soil,"  says  Mr. 
James  Challis,of  Panfield,  "that  I  described  to 
you  to  be  of  rather  a  loose,  hollow  description, 
had  a  dressing  of  salt  in  November,  after  the 
wheat  was  sown,  about  14  or  15  bushels  per 
acre  :  it  produced  at  the  rate  of  6  bushels  per 
acre  more  than  that  which  was  not  dressed, 
and  it  may  be  stated  to  be  11.  per  load  of  40 
bushels  better  in  quality."  (Essay  on  Salt,  p.  45.) 

It  is  a  custom  in  most  counties  of  England, 

to  apply  salt  and  water  as  a  steep  to  prevent 

the  ravages  of  the  disease  in  wheat,  called 

smut;  the  value  of  this  is  known  to  almost 

122 


SALT,  COMMON. 

every  farmer.  Recent  experiments  have  s'jg 
gested  that  it  may  even  be  of  use,  when  em- 
ployed in  larger  quantities,  as  a  preventive 
of  mildew  ;  the  most  dreadful  of  the  numerous 
diseases  to  which  the  cultivated  grasses  are 
exposed.  The  experiments  of  the  late  Rev.  E. 
Cartwright  strongly  evidence,  that  when  salt 
and  water  are  sprinkled  with  a  brush  upon 
diseased  plants,  it  effects  a  complete  cure,  even 
in  apparently  the  most  desperate  cases.  (My 
Essay,  p.  49.)  "The  proportion,  one  pound  to 
a  gallon  of  water,  laid  on  with  a  plasterer's 
brush,  the  operator  making  his  casts  as  when 
sowing  corn,  is  instant  death  to  the  fungus." 
The  time  and  expense  are  trifling.  It  appear- 
ed, in  the  course  of  some  inquiries  made  by 
the  Board  of  Agriculture,  that  a  Cornish  fanner, 
Mr.  Sickler,  and  also  the  Rev.  R.  Hoblin,  were 
accustomed  to  employ  refuse  salt  as  a  manure, 
and  that  their  cmps  were  never  infected  ivith  the 
rust  or  blight.     See  Mildew. 

Experiments  demonstrate  the  efficacy  of  salt 
on  barley  and  oats.  In  1820,  on  a  good  alluvial 
soil,  at  Heybridge,  in  Essex,  in  a  field  of  barley, 
the  results  of  two  experiments  were — 

Bushels. 

1.  Soil  dressed  with  6  bushels  of  salt  per  acre,  and 

20  loads  of  earth  and  stable  dung,  at  turnip- 
time,  produced  per  acre  -        -        -        -        65' 

2.  Soil  dressed  with  20  loads  of  dung  and  earth   -        60 

In  the  same  year,  at  Sproughton,  in  Suffolk, 
on  a  sandy,  barley  soil,  belonging  to  Mr.  Ran- 
some : — 

Bushels  of 
Barley. 

1.  Soil  without  any  manure  produced,  per  acre         30 

2.  Soil  dressed  with  16  bushels  of  salt  per  acre 

in  March     ---.---51 

The  following  table  contains  the  results  of 
fourteen  experiments,  made  in  1819,  by  the  late 
Mr.  George  Sinclair,  at  Woburn,  on  the  uses  of 
salt  to  the  barley  crop.  The  soil  had,  the  pre- 
vioBs  year,  carried  a  crop  of  turnips,  and  was 
comfHjsed  of  three-fourths  silicious  sand: — 


Quantity  p«r 

Produce.       \ 

Kind  of  Manure,  and  Mode  of 
applying  iL 

Acre. 

Bushels 

Bushels 

Weight 

of 

of 

Bush. 

per 

Salt. 

Lime. 

Bushel. 

BARLEY. 

Soil    without    manure  of 

lbs. 

any  kind         _        .        . 

- 

- 

12 

43i 

Salt  sown  with  the  seed  - 

55 

- 

20 

43i 

Halt  sown  with  the  seed  - 

5^ 

_ 

20 

421 

Salt  applied  before  sowing 

33 

_ 

m 

44A 

Salt  applied  before  sowing 

11 

_ 

26* 

43 

Salt  applied  before  sowing 

5i 

_ 

23J 

43 

Lime  and  salt  applied  be- 

fore sowing    -        -        - 

33 

60 

9 

42i 

Lime  and  salt  applied  be- 

fore sowing    -        -        - 

11 

60 

22 

42J 

Lime  and  salt  before  sow- 

ing         .... 

161 

30 

13i 

43 

Lime  mixed  and  sown  with 

seed        -        _        _        . 

- 

60 

m 

431 

Lime  mixed  with  soil  pre- 

vious to  sowing      - 

- 

60 

10* 

43i 

OATS. 

Sown  without  any  manure 

- 

_ 

28J 

33 

Salt  with  the  seed     - 

44 

- 

Hi 

30^ 

Salt  mixed  with  the  soil   - 

44 

- 

27 

27 

In  these  experiments  upon  oats,  the  quantity 
of  salt  applied  was  evidently  too  great.     Mr. 
Legrand  states,  that  in   his  experiments  upo 
barley,  "  it  gradually  advanced  in  its  effects 
16  bushels,  and  as  gradually  diminished 
bushels,  when  vegetation  was  stopped." 

969 


SALT.  COMMON. 

The  following  lable  contains  the  results  of 
^«  experiments  made  at  Woburn,  1818-lS, 
br  the  late  Mr.  Oeorge  Sinclair,  with  his  usual 
■eientifie  accoracy.  I  wonld  direct  the  farmer  s 
atteniioB  to  this  table,  as  coniainmg  a  mass  of 
raloable  infonnation. 


SAIiT,  COMMON. 

The  soil  on  which  the'se  experiments  were 
made  was  sandy,  and  the  plots  each  contained 
36  square  feet;  the  Talavera  wheat  was  drilled 
into  the  soil  November  5th,  and  reaped  August 
2d,  1818. 


KW  of  MbMNt  ■■<  Mod*  of  apiilri^  H. 


■-!■  ^mmn  iPOlled  pitiTtoiti  to  towinf  the  teed      .  .  -  - 

■Si  MllMllMii«r«duf  in  aNit  mixed  with  teed     .  .  -  - 

flaH  Mlat4«Mk  «oU  4  Inches  deep  tMfore  sowing       .  -  -  - 

■an          ditto             ditto             ditto          .       -  -  -  - 

8aH  ••••  wHh  M«d  •      --.:."    J 

•an  caaMaod  with  manure,  duf  in  4  inches  deep    •  - 

■•liaMawnurf:  salt  sown  with  seed,  manure  duf  ID  .  -  - 

Hall  ••4aMn«ir«:  salt  applied  to  the  surface    .        -  -  >  - 

8«h»taiplf  •PP""' »""'"»"''■■".  "      , 

•ttliap4aM«ure:  salt  applied  to  the  surface    .        -       -       -       - 

••II  •hnply  apptkNl  to  the  surface      ..----- 

••Maad  IIOM  mixed,  and  applied  with  the  seed         .       .        .        . 

••n  aiMl  llmo  mixed,  and  upplled  before  sowing       -       -       -        - 

Hall  aM  llaie  mix«d,  and  applied  on  the  surface       .       .       •       - 
UaM  applied  with  the  seed        .-..---- 

UaM  appllffd  to  the  surface        ._------ 

Salt,  ItaM,  and  dung  mixed,  and  applied  as  manure  .        .       -        - 
l^aagdoof  <'*'f '"  *" '"*""''^     ...-.--- 
•all  a»d  kmc  dung  mixed,  and  applied  as  manure    .        .        -        • 
■LHaa  and  Iniif  dung  mixed,  and  applied  as  manure  -        .        .        . 
•aNaad  long  diinf  mixed,  and  applied  as  manure    -        -       -       - 

OII<«»lte  mixed,  and  applied  with  the  seed        -       .        -       -       - 

OM-cahe  applied  as  common  manure  -        -        - 

oilcake  and  lime  applied  as  common  manure  -        -        -        -        - 

■all  aad  oil  cake  mixed,  and  sown  with  the  seed      .        .       -       - 
•all  and  oil-cAke  mixed,  and  applied  as  manure       .        .        -        - 
•all,  oilcake,  and  manure,  applied  as  manure  .        .        .        . 

•ak. oil  cAke,  and  manure;  the  salt  and  oil-cake  sown  with  the 
seed,  mannre  previmisly  dug  in  ------        - 

■all.  oil  rake,  and  liote.  applied  as  manure      .        -        .        .        - 
■ail.  oil-cake,  and  lime,  sown  with  the  seed    -        -        -        •        - 
flak,  oU-cake.  and  lime,  applied  to  the  surface  .        .        .        . 

"  to  the  soil  in  the  preceding  spring  .... 

to  the  soil  in  the  preceding  spring  -        .        -       -        - 


Manure*,  omitting  Fractions 
Quantity  per  Acre. 


Dung  in'  Sail  in 
Tom.    Bushels. 


Lime  in 
Busbelt. 


44 

44 
5* 
5* 
5* 
5i 
6i 
5i 

44 

44 
5i 
5i 
6i 


6i 

62 
31 


121 

120 
120 
120 
120 
120 


180 


120 
120 
120 


Oil- 
Cake  in 
Bu<bels. 


Weight 
Bushels.  I     of  a 
Bushel . 


65 
77 
66 
68 
64 
53 
57 
62 
71 
71 
54 

48 

73 

741 

60i 

74i 

74^ 

55^ 

71 

55i 

66 

44i 

26i 


57} 
58 
59 
59 
57 
52* 
59 
57* 
55 
53} 
56 
56J 
56} 
56 
52i 
54i 
56* 
56} 
56 
57 
56 
56 
60 
56} 
2 
58 
58 

55* 

51* 

55* 

68 

57* 

47* 


dia  a  Mamirtfor  Grass  Land,  Meadows,  Sfc.y  salt 
kas  been  used  in  all  parts  of  England,  with 
varying  success.  It  al  ways,  however,  sweetens 
ihe  herbage.  It  has  been  employed  at  the  rale 
of  6  to  16  bushels  per  acre,  and  where  the  pri- 
mary object  has  been  the  destruction  of  the 
old  turf,  even  30  to  40  bushels  have  been  suc- 
cevifully  employed  on  the  same  extent  of  land. 
It  has  the  effect  of  completely  preventing  worm- 
casts  on  lawns,  Sec. 

In  a  letter  with  which  I  was  favoured  from 
Mr.  Collyns,  of  Kenton,  Devonshire,  1826,  he 
sav5— •'One  of  my  neighbours  writes  me,  'In 
u^ini;  salt  as  a  manure  on  grass  land,  I  have 
fiiund  the  salted  portions  not  to  be  affected  by 
severe  (yosty  nights,  when  every  blade  of  grass 
on  the  ansalied  portions  has  been  in  a  frozen 
state.  I  observe,  too,  that  it  is  destructive  to 
•very  kind  of  grub  and  worm  ;  and  I  am  con- 
vinced, where  it  has  been  used  with  judgment, 
that  it  has  not  failed.'  Another  intelligent 
uc'i^hhour.*'  continues  Mr.  Collyns,  "  who.se 
larm  is  almost  entirely  a  light  black  sand, 
wp'fs.  •!  have  found  salt  answer  my  most 
line  expectations  for  barley,  oats,  pota- 
'  .  .Tnd  turnips,  both  as  to  the  increased 
^uantity  and  improved  quality  of  the  crops,  of 
which  I  can  now  give  ocular  demonstration  : 
my  barley  and  oats,  which  used  to  yield  me 
only  15  to  20  bushels  per  acre,  now  yield  from 
40  to  46.  My  wheat  is  certainly  much  im- 
970 


proved  in  quality,  but  I  expected  more  in  quan- 
tity. I  have  had  35  bushels  of  wheat  from  an 
acre  dressed  with  10  bushels  of  salt ;  and  from 
the  same  field  last  year,  after  the  same  quan- 
tity of  salt,  140  bags  of  potatoes  per  acre.  This 
year  again,  dressed  with  10  bushels  of  salt,  I 
have  not  more  than  20  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre,  but  the  quality  .very  superior  indeed,  and 
the  root  of  clover  in  it  very  fine  and  luxuriant. 
In  every  field  I  have  salted,  I  find  the  grass 
very  much  superior  to  any  produced  before  the 
use  of  salt.'  I  have  since,"  adds  Mr.  Collyns, 
"  gone  over  his  farm,  and  am  astonished  at  the 
verdant  pasturage,  in  what  used  to  be  coarse 
and  rushy  meadows.  In  this  arable  land,  he 
never  got  more  than  10  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  until  he  used  salt ;  so  that  this  is  also  a 
decided  improvement." 

In  Suffolk,  according  to  a  statement  furnish- 
ed to  me  by  Mr.  Broke,  of  Capel,  nearlpswicb, 
"In  the  month  of  April,  1821,  6  bushels  of  salt 
manure  were  applied  to  half  an  acre  of  red 
clover;  the  soil  good  turnip  land,  not  sharp; 
extent  of  the  field  10  acres.  The  salted  clover 
at  first  looked  very  yellow,  and  apparently  in- 
jured, but  it  soon  began  to  recover,  and  when 
mown,  the  increased  produce  was,  al  the  very 
least,  10  cwt.  per  acre;  and  the  aftermath  pro- 
portionally good;  the  cattle  eating  it  down 
closer,  and  in  preference  to  any  other  part  of 
the  field." 


SALT,  COMMON. 

With  potatoes. — There  have  be^n  various  ex- 
periments made  with  salt  as  a  manure  for  po- 
tatoes. The  author  of  this  work,  in  1817,  on  a 
gravelly  soil,  at  Great  Totham,  in  Essex,  made 
the  following  trials  : — 

Bushels. 

1.  Soil  simple,  produce  per  acre  .,       -       -        120 

2.  Soil  with  20  bushels  nf  salt  in  September       -        192 

3.  Snil   with    stable    manure,  20  loads    in  the 

spring  of  the  year        -        ...        -       219 

4.  Soil  with  20  loads  of  manure  and  20  bushels 

of  salt 234 

5.  Soil  with  40  bushels  of  salt  alone  -        -        -        192^ 
6    8oil  with  40  bu8hel8  of  salt  and  20  loads  of 

manure        --....-       244 

The  Rev.  Edmund  Cartwright,  of  Hollenden 
House,  in  Kent,  in  1804,  made  various  import- 
ant trials  of  salt  as  a  manure  for  potatoes. 
The  soil  on  which  the  experiments  were  made 
consisted  of  three-fourths  sand.  See  Potatoes. 

"  Of  ten  diflerent  manures,"  said  this  agri- 
culturist, "salt,  a  manure  hitherto  of  an  am- 
biguous character,  is  (one  only  excepted)  supe- 
rior to  them  all.  The  effect  of  the  mixture  of 
salt  and  soot  is  remarkable."  The  writer  of 
this  witnessed  the  same  result  on  carrots,  at 
the  rate  of  Ifi  bushels  of  each  per  acre. 

Vermin. — With  regard  to  the  destruction  of 
vermin  by  means  of  salt,  we  may  safely  assert, 
that  there  is,  perhaps,  no  agricultural  use  of 
common  salt  more  undoubted.  The  effect,  too, 
is  direct,  and  the  result  immediately  apparent. 
For  this  purpose,  from"  5  to  10  bushels  per  acre 
are  surticient.  The  agriculturist  need  be  under 
no  apprehension  that  the  salt  will  destroy  his 
crop,  for  20  bushels  of  salt  per  acre  may  be 
applied  to  young  wheat  with  perfect  safety:  I 
have  seen  even  25  bushels  used  with  advantage. 
See  Insects. 

//*  reference  to  Weeds. — Salt  has  been  of  late 
years  used  at  the  rate  of  from  20  to  40  bushels 
per  acre,  to  kill  weeds  and  to  cleanse  fallows, 
with  great  advantage  ;  it  also,  in  the  large  pro- 
portion we  have  named,  will  destroy  coarse, 
sour  grass,  &c.;  and  though,  for  a  time,  all 
vegetation  is  destroyed,  yet,  in  a  short  period, 
a  much  superior  turf  is  produced.  If  the  culti- 
vator can  collect  weeds,  parings  of  turf,  ditches, 
banks,  &c.,  of  the  most  foul  description,  and 
spread  evenly  on  the  surface  of  the  heap  half 
a  bushel  of  salt  to  every  ton  of  the  collection, 
he  will  find  every  weed,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  killed  and  dissolved  away.  This  plan 
I  have  long  followed  myself,  on  a  light,  gravelly 
soil ;  and  upon  spreading  this  salted  mixture, 
at  the  rate  of  14  or  15  loads  per  acre,  its  bene- 
ficial effects  can  be  traced  to  an  inch.  I  have 
principally  used  it  as  a  dressing  for  turnips 
and  oats. 

In  the  Garden. — Salt  has  been  employed  by 
the  gardener  for  many  purposes ;  most  com- 
monly on  lawns,  at  the  rate  of  10  bushels  per 
acre,  to  prevent  worm-casts ;  and  on  gravel 
walks  in  a  larger  proportion,  to  kill  weeds ;  it 
may  be  employed,  however,  as  a  fertilizer  in 
gardens  with  decided  advantage.  I  have  wit- 
nessed the  results  of  the  following  experiments 
made  by  my  brother,  Mr.  George  Johnson,  at 
Great  Totham;  and  I  the  more  readily  give 
them  a  place  here,  from  knowing  with  what 
care  they  were  made : — 

The  soil  was  composed  of— 


SALT,  COMMON. 

Stones  and  gravel  -       -       -       .       .  37 

Vesretabie  fibre        -        _        -        _        ,  15 

Soluble  matter        -        -        -        -        »  3 

Carbonates  of  lime  and  magnesia  •       •  IS 

Oxide  of  iron  -----.  4 

Animal  and  vegetable  matter         -       .  1 

Alumina         ......  4.5 

Silica      .......40 

Loss        ......  1 

100 

Windsor  beans  were  sown  on  it — 

Produce  pet 
Acre. 

Soil  treated  with  SO  busbels  of  salt  per  acre, 

bushels        .---.-.  217 

Soil  simple     -..«...  135 

Onions — 

Tons.  ewt.  qn.  Ibi. 

Salt  20  bushel,  manure  20  toni,  per  acre       3    12    3    12 
Manure 2    10    2    19 

Carrots — 

1.  Soil  without  any  manure    -       >       •    13      4    0      0 

2.  Soil  with  20  tons  of  manure         -        -    22    18    0    26 

3.  Soil  with  20  bushels  of  salt  -        -    18      2    0      0 

4.  Soil  with  20  bushels  of  salt,  and  20 

tons  of  manure        -        •        -        -2361     18 

Parsnips — 

1.  Soil  with  20  tons  of  manure,  and  20 

bushels  of  salt  -        .        -        .6    15    00 

2.  Soil  with  20  tons  manure   -       -       .61111 

Early  potatoes — 

bbls. 

1.  Soil  simple        .--..-.       308 

2.  Soil  with  20  bushels  of  salt      ....       584 

Beets— 

;  Tom-  c«'f.  qn. 

1.  Soil  simple 4    10    1 

2.  Soil  with  20  bushels  of  salt      -        -        -      4      8    3 

3.  Soil  with  20  tons  of  salt,  and  20  tons  of 

manure         -        -        -        -        -        -700 

4.  Soil  with  2atons  of  manure    -        -        -      6    10    0 

In  preventing  clubbing  in  the  roots  of  some 
of  the  brassica  tribe,  Mr.  Johnson  found  salt 
highly  useful ;  he  states,  in  some  observations 
on  this  disease  read  to  the  Horticultural  So- 
ciety of  London,  October  16,  1821:— "Some 
cauliflowers  were  planted  upon  a  light  silicious 
soil,  which  had  previously  been  manured  with 
well-putrefied  stable  manure,  and  over  one- 
third  of  the  allotted  space  was  sown  salt,  at 
the  rate  of  20  bushels  per  acre,  immediately 
before  planting  in  July,  1821.  The  previous 
crop  had  been  broccoli.  Fifty-four  plants  were 
set  on  the  two-thirds  unsalted,  and  26  on  the 
one-third  salted:  the  result  has  been,  that  of 
the  54  unsalted,  15  have  been  diseased  and  un- 
productive, but  of  the  26  salted  only  2." 

There  is  little  doubt,  but  that  salt  might  b 
much  more  extensively  employed  by  florist 
than  at  present.  A  very  small  quantity  of  sal 
added  to  the  water  in  which  flowers  are  placed, 
adds  considerably  to  their  duration.  There  are 
many  bulbous-rooted  flowers  which  flourish 
best  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  sea.  Mr. 
Edwin  Greville  remarked,  in  1824,  that  some 
common  salt  applied  at  the  rate  of  16  bushels 
per  acre  to  a  portion  of  a  bed  of  stocks,  in  his 
garden  at  Wyaston,  in  Derbyshire,  made  them 
grow  most  decidedly  stronger  and  finer,  and 
bloom  much  more  perfectly  than  those  grow- 
ing in  the  same  bed  unsalted.  "  There  was  no 
possibility  of  error  or  doubt  on  the  subject.'' 
said  my  intelligent  informant.  I  have  given 
the  experiments  of  Dr.  Priestley  upon  various 
plants  vegetating  in  salt  and  water.    He  founj 

971 


8ALT,  COMMON. 

that  the  use  of  salt  materially  protracted  the 
existence  of  the  plant.  It  is  a  common  custom 
with  the  importers  of  exotic  plants,  to  dip  cut- 
tings in  salt-water.  Before  the  adoption  of  this 
plan,  they  almost  invariably  perished  in  the 
PWMge.  .      . 

Among  the  many  excellent  communications 
with  which  I  have  been  favoured  on  the  use  of 
•alt  in  the  cultivation  of  plants,  was  one  frxjxa 
an  eminent  florist,  near  Paddington,  Mr.  Thos. 
Hogg.  ♦*  From  the  few  experiments,"  he  ob- 
MrrcA,  ••  that  I  have  tried  with  salt  as  a  garden 
manare.  I  am  folly  prepared  to  bear  testimony 
to  its  asefulness.  In  a  treatise  upon  flowers, 
published  about  6  years  since,  I  remarked,  that 
the  application  of  salt,  and  its  utility  as  a  ma- 
nore,  was  yet  imperfectly  understood.  It  is  a 
natter  of  uncertainty,  whether  it  acts  directly 
as  a  manure,  or  only  as  a  kind  of  spice  or 
tMWoning,  thereby  rendering  the  soil  a  more 
palatable  food  for  plants.  The  idea  that  first 
suggested  itself  to  my  mind  arose  from  con- 
tenalating  the  successful  culture  of  hyacinths 
in  Holland.  This  root,  though  not  indigenous 
to  the  country,  may  be  said  to  be  completely 
nattiralized  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Haerlem, 
whfre  it  grows  luxuriantly  in  a  deep,  sandy, 
alluvial  soil ;  yet  one  great  cause  of  its  free 
growth,  I  considered,  was  owing  to  the  saline 
atoiosphere:  this  induced  me  to  mix  salt  in  the 
comp<>->it;  and  I  am  satisfied  that  no  hyacinths 
will  grow  well  at  a  distance  from  the  sea,  with- 
oat  tL  I  am  also  of  opinion,  that  the  numerous 
balboas  tribes  of  amaryllidaceae,  especially 
those  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  ixias,  al- 
iioms.  which  include  onions,  garlic,«halots,  &c., 
anemones,  various  species  of  the  lily,  antho- 
lyxa,  colchicum,  crinum,  cyclamens,  narcissus, 
iris,  gladiolus,  ranunculus,  scilla,  and  many 
others,  should  either  have  salt  or  sea-sand  in 
the  mould  used  for  them.  I  invariably  use  salt 
as  an  ingredient  in  my  compost  for  carnations; 
a  plant  which,  like  wheat,  requires  substantial 
soil,  and  all  the  strength  and  heat  of  the  sum- 
mer, to  bring  it  to  perfection  ;  and  I  believe  I 
might  say,  without  boasting,  that  few  excel  me 
in  blooming  that  flower." 

In  the  inundations  of  the  sea,  as  in  Friesland, 
for  instance,  in  1S25,  various  curious  efiects 
were  produced  by  the  salt-water.  The  oak,  the 
malberry.  pear,  peach,  and  others  with  deep 
roots,  did  not  snfler ;  neither  did  the  asparagus, 
oaiooa,  celery,  Ac,  for  they  were  never  finer, 
or  more  luxuriant  But  the  vines  and  goose- 
** '  rries  contracted  a  salt  taste ;  and  the  apricots, 
apples,  cherries,  elms,  poplars,  beech,  willows. 
Ax.,  could  not  brar  the  over-dose  of  sea-water. 
They  pushed  out  a  few  leaves,  but  speedily 
perished.  (Tumer*$  Sacred Hisl.  p.  117.)  Simi- 
lar resalla  were  noticed,  after  an  inundation 
of  the  sea,  in  the  garden  of  the  late  Richard 
Oower,  Esq.,  near  Ipswich,  in  Suflblk,  in  No- 
vember, 1884.  In  this  instance  a  portion  of 
the  garden  remained  24  hours  under  the  sea- 
water.  The  asparagus  beds  were  materially 
improved  in  their  produce.  The  cherry  trees, 
in  the  following  year,  produced  a  numerous 
crop  of  cherries,  which  tasted,  however,  so  very 
mUt  that  tke^  could  not  be  eaten,  although  very 
ine  in  appearance.  These  trees  all  died  in 
972 


SALT,  COMMON. 

the  following  year,  1826.  (Johnson  on  the  Ferti- 
lizers,  p.  374.) 

Salt,  with  other  Manures. — Salt  and  Lime, 
With  a  mixture  of  salt  and  lime,  a  manure  is 
gradually  formed  of  a  most  powerful  descrip- 
tion. It  promises  now,  through  the  successful 
example  of  Mr.  Bennett  and  Sir  C.  Burrell,  to 
be  very  generally  adopted.  It  is  difficult  to  ac- 
count for  the  neglect  of  this  manure,  on  any 
other  ground  than  the  difficulties  which  were 
so  long  thrown  in  the  farmer's  way,  by  the  long- 
continued  tax  upon  salt.  That  it  is  not  a  novel 
plan  for  enriching  the  land  is  quite  certain. 
Glauber,  a  celebrated  German  chemist,  one  of 
the  last  of  the  alchemists,  described  it  in  the 
jargon  of  his  craft  nearly  two  centuries  since, 
when  he  said  "The  Salmirabilis  (common  salt), 
as  it  is  of  itself,  is,  by  reason  of  its  corroding 
virtues,  which  it  as  yet  retains,  plainly  unfit 
for  the  multiplication  of  vegetable,  for  that 
being  so  used  would  prove  more  hurtful  than 
profitable.  Upon  this  account  it  is  necessary 
that  to  one  part  of  it  be  added  two  parts  by 
weight  of  the  best  calyx  vine  (lime),  which 
being  moistened  with  water  and  made  into 
balls,  are  to  be  well  heated  red-hot  for  an  hour, 
that  so  all  the  corrosivity  being  introverted,  the 
sal  mirabilis  may  be  alkalizated,  and  used  to 
vegetables  for  an  universal  medicine :  for  it 
conserves  its  attracting  force,  and  loseth  it  not 
in  the  heating  red-hot."-  (Glauber^s  Works,  by 
Packe,  pp.  2,  47.) 

Christopher  Packe,  who,  in  1688,  published 
in  English  Glauber's  folio  volume,  dwells  at 
considerable  length  in  his  preface  upon  this 
mixture  of  salt  and  lime;  "for  the  enriching 
of  poor  and  barren  land,  it  is  the  cheapest  of 
all  mixtures,  and  is  most  easy  to  be  done  ;  for 
any  ploughman  having  but  once  seen  it  done 
may  be  presently  able  to  manage  it." 

Salt  and  lime  was  used  as  a  manure  by  Mr. 
Mitchell,  of  Ayr,  many  years  since,  and  he,  not 
knowing  what  others  had  done  with  this  fer- 
tilizer before  his  time,  considered  himself  to 
be  the  discoverer.  He  thus  described  his  pro- 
cess : — Take  32  bushels  of  lime,  and  slack  it 
with  sea-water,  previously  boiled  to  the  satu- 
rated state.  This  quantity  is  sufficient  for  an 
acre  of  ground,  and  may  be  either  thrown  out 
of  the  carts  with  a  shovel  over  the  land  in  the 
above  state,  or  made  into  compost  with  40 
loads  of  moss  or  earth,  in  which  state  it  will 
be  found  to  pay  fully  for  the  additional  labour, 
and  is  sufficient  for  an  acre  of  fallow  ground, 
though  ever  so  reduced  before.  Its  component 
parts  are  muriate  and  sulphate  of  lime,  mineral 
alkali,  in  an  uncombined  state,  also  muriate 
and  carbonate  of  soda.  All  the  experiments 
have  done  well  with  it,  but  especially  wheat 
and  beans ;  and  it  has  not  been  behind  any 
manure  with  which  it  has  been  compared. 
There  is  one  instance  in  which  it  was  tried  in 
comparison  with  72  cart-loads  of  soaper's  waste 
and  dung;  and  although  this  was  an  extraordi- 
nary dressing,  yet  that  with  this  salt  and  lime 
manure  was  fully  above  the  average  of  the 
field.  Mr.  Mitchell  calculates  that  3000  gallons 
of  sea-water,  boiled  down  to  about  600  gallons, 
will  slack  64  bushels  of  shell  lime.  (These 
3000  gallons  of  sea-water  will  contain  about 


SALT,  COMMON. 


SALTS. 


0  lbs  of  common  salt.)  A  quantity  sufficient 
for  2  acres.  The  expense  of  carrying  the  water 
from  the  sea,  the  evaporation,  &c.,  he  adds,  will 
cost  20s.  The  64  bushels  of  limestone  cost  him 
40«.,  or  3/.  for  2  acres. 

The  use  of  this  mixture  of  salt  and  lime  was 
also  noticed  in  the  year  1800,  by  Mr.  Hollings- 
head,  of  Chorley,  in  Lancashire,  who  observes  : 
"Lime  prepared  for  manure  should  be  slacked 
with  salt-springs  or  salt-water:  lime  so  slacked 
will  have  a  double  effect."  And  in  1816,  Mr. 
James  Manley,  of  Anderton,  in  Cheshire,  when 
giving  his  evidence  before  a  committee  of  the 
House  of  Commons  on  the  salt  duties,  men- 
tioned, that  in  getting  marl  (which  is  a  mixture 
of  carbonate  of  lime,  alumina,  and  silica),  he 
had  found  that,  by  mixing  it  with  brine  instead 
of  water,  the  portion  of  the  field  on  which  the 
brined  marl  was  used  yielded  5  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre  more  than  that  portion  on 
which  the  watered  niarl  was  employed ;  and 
it  may  be  well  to  remember,  that  the  celebrated 
salt  sand  of  Padstow  Harbour  is  composed  of 
6i  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime  ;  and  that,  in 
the  experiments  of  the  late  Rev.  Edmund  Cart- 
wright,  upon  potatoes,  of  25  manures,  or  mix- 
tures of  manures,  salt  and  lime  were  found 
superior  in  their  product  of  potatoes  to  19 
others. 

Every  farmer  has  it  in  his  power,  even  in  the 
most  inland  situations,  to  procure  this  most  ex- 
cellent manure  for  the  use  of  his  farm,  by 
means  of  a  mixture  of  two  parts  of  lime  and 
one  part  of  common  salt,  and  suffering  it  to 
remain  incorporated  in  a  shady  place,  or  cover- 
ed with  sods,  for  2  or  3  months  ;  a  plan  which 
I  suggested  some  years  since.  (Essay  on  Salt, 
p.  32,  3d  ed.)  By  this  process  a  gradual  de- 
composition takes  place,  muriate  of  lime  and 
soda  are  formed,  the  whole  mass  speedily  be- 
coming encrusted  with  alkali.  There  is  another 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  the  adoption  of 
this  process,  besides  the  formation  of  soda,  viz., 
that  the  muriate  of  lime  is  one  of  the  most 
deliquescing  or  moisture-absorbing  substances, 
with  which  we  are  acquainted  ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence, whenever  it  exists  in  a  soil,  the  warmth 
of  the  sun  has,  in  summer,  much  less  influence 
on  it  than  it  would  otherwise  have. 

I  would  especially  warn  those  who  try  the 
effect  of  a  mixture  of  salt  and  lime,  to  attend 
carefully  to  the  directions  I  have  given,  and 
not,  as  some  farmers  have  done,  to  use  the 
mixed  salt  and  lime  immediately,  before  any 
decomposition  has  taken  place.  After  it  has 
been  well  mixed  together  in  a  dry  state,  it 
should  be  allowed  to  remain  2  or  3  months  un- 
disturbed, and  then  applied  at  the  rate  of  from 
35  to  60  bushels  per  acre,  either  by  sowing  it 
out  of  a  seed-basket,  or  mixed  with  earth,  and 
spread  in  the  usual  way.  It  is  necessary  to 
give  the  mixture  time,  since  the  decomposition 
proceeds  very  slowly,  and  is  not  to  be  hastened 
by  any  simple  process.    See  Lime. 

Salt  and  Soot. — Salt  has  never  been  employed 
with  other  substances  so  extensively  as  it 
might.  I  have  used  it  for  potatoes,  mixed  with 
earth,  ditch-scrapings,  and  with  soot,  with  the 
most  decided  success  ;  the  places  where  it  has 
been  thus  applied  being  much  superior,  both 
in  appearance  and  in  produce. 


'     Tlie    mixture    of  salt  with   soot  produces 
the  most  remarkable  effects,  especially  when 
I  trenched  into  ground  prepared  for  carrots.   Mr. 
j  G.  Sinclair   found  that  when  the  soil,  unma- 
nured,  produced  twenty-three  tons  of  carrots 
I  per  acre,  the  same  soil,  fertilized  with  a  mix- 
I  ture  of  only  six  bushels  and  a  half  of  salt,  and 
six  and  a  half  of  soot,  yielded  forty  tons  per 
'  acre.     Mr.  Belfield  describes  the   mixture   as 
equally  beneficial  for  wheat.     And  Mr.  Cart- 
wright  found,  that  when  the  soil,  without  any 
addition,  yielded  per  acre  157  bushels  of  pota- 
toes, that,  dressing  the  same  land  with  a  mix- 
ture of  thirty  bushels  of  soot  and  eight  bushels 
of  salt,  made  it  produce  per  acre  240  bushels. 
(Johnson  on  Fertilizers.) 

SALTS,  their  uses  to  vegetation.  That  peculiar 
saline  substances  exist  in  almost  all  vegetables, 
was  an  early  observation  made  by  the  natural 
philosopher.  The  saline  and  alkaline  taste 
perceivable  in  the  ashes  obtained  by  the  com- 
bustion of  these  substances,  very  plainly  indi- 
cated the  fact.  And  although  the  skill  of  the 
chemist  did  not  at  first  enable  him  to  accu- 
rately discriminate  between  the  salts,  the  alka- 
lies, or  even  the  earths  contained  in  plant3, 
with  even  tolerable  accuracy,  yet  the  progress 
of  science  has  long  since  surmounted  a  mass 
of  difhculties,  and  has  detected  a  strange  va- 
riety of  salts  in  plants.  A  salt,  be  it  remem- 
bered, is  a  substance  produced  by  the  combi- 
nation of  an  acid  with  a  base,  that  is,  with  an 
earth,  an  alkali,  or  a  metallic  oxide:  the  class 
of  salts,  therefore,  is  exceedingly  numerous 
(they  have  been  estimated  at  about  2000),  and 
includes  many  substances  which  at  first  sight 
do  not  appear  entitled  to  such  a  name;  thus 
the  union  of  the  carbonic  acid  with  the  earth 
lime,  which  is  an  oxide  of  a  metal,  forms  the 
salt  carbonate  of  lime,  or  chalk,  marble,  &c. 
Sulphuric  acid  and  lime  form  the  salt  sulphate 
of  lime  (gypsum),  with  phosphoric  acid,  phos- 
phate of  lime  (earthy  matter  of  bones),  and 
many  other  earthy  salts  look  to  the  mechanical 
eye  as  little  like  salts  as  these. 

The  farmer  must  avoid,  in  entering  into  this 
examination,  the  common  error  of  supposing 
that  the  saline  substances  found  in  plants  are 
not  their  essential  constituents  or  food,  but  are 
merely  there  by  chance ;  that  their  presence  is 
unattended  with  benefit,  and  their  absence 
totally  unproductive  of  injury ;  for  such  is  a 
most  erroneous  conclusion.  Not  only  are  cer- 
tain salts,  the  phosphate  and  sulphate  of  lime, 
and  the  carbonate  of  potash,  for  instance,  inva- 
riably present  in  certain  plants,  but  without 
those  salts  are  present  in  the  soil  in  which  they 
grow,  they  will  not  maintain  a  healthy  vegeta- 
tion. Under  the  head  Earths,  Gases,  Wateb, 
I  have  endeavoured  to  show  how  essential 
those  substances  are  to  vegetation,  and  what  a 
great  part  they  perform  in  the  support  of  the 
farmer's  crops  ;  but  still  it  will  be  found,  that 
when  a  soil  is  carefully  composed  of  all  the 
pure  earths  discovered  in  plants,  watered  in 
abundance  with  pure  water,  and  supplied  with 
all  the  gases  of  putrefaction  and  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, that  still  all  these  are  not  sufficient  by 
themselves  to  support  a  single  ordinarily  culti- 
vated crop;  but  then  it  is  found  that  where 
such  a  soil  is  supplied  with  various  saline  sub- 
4N  973 


SALTBL 


SALTS. 


(for  instance,  with  the  varions  sa- 

Unt  matters  draining  from  a  dunghill),  that 
then  every  difficulty  is  removed.  Neither  must 
Ibt  cultivator  suppose,  that  when  saline  sub- 
•laDces  are  mixed  with  the  soil,  that  then  the 
pUuit  growing  apon  it  ab5orbs  those  salts  as  a 
■alter  of  necessity,  united  with  the  moisture 
eootained  in  that  soil,  without  having  the  power 
of  rtj«ctaaf  or  separating  it  from  its  solution  ; 
kf  wnch  aa  assnmption  has  been  proved  to  be 
eoBtrarjr  to  the  fact  by  several  very  accurate 
•tperimeals.   M.  Saussure,  for  instance,  found 
lluii  plants  had  the  power,  when  placed  in  sa- 
line Miluiion.H.  foreign  to  their  habits,  of  sepa- 
raiinff  them  from  the  water  in  which  they  were 
dissolved.    These  are  researches  fraught  with 
iDslraoiioo  to  the  cultivator.    He  dissolved  the 
ollowing  salts  in  water,  in  such  proportions 
bat  each  solution  contained  y^  part  of  its 
vsight  of  the  salt — muriate  of  potash,  muriate 
of  aoda  (common  salt),  nitrate  of  lime,  sul- 
phate of  soda  (Glauber  salt),  muriate  of  am- 
monia (sal  ammonia),  acetate  of  lime,  sulphate 
of  copper  (blue  vitriol).    In  each  of  these  so- 
Intions  he  pot  plants  of  Polygonum  Persicaria, 
or  of  Puieits  eannabina,  furnished  with    their 
loots.     The  Potygonum  grew  for  five  weeks  in 
dM  solation  of  muriate  of  potash,  nitrate  of 
lime,  muriate  of  soda,  and  sulphate  of  soda, 
aad  its  roou  increased  in  them  as  usual.    It 
taaguisheti  in  the  solution  of  sal  ammoniac, 
and  the  roou  made  no  progress.    It  died  in  8 
or  9  days  in  the  solution  of  acetate  of  lime, 
and  in  less  than  3  days  in  the  solution  of  sul- 
phate of  copper.     When   such  a  number  of 
plants  of  Poiffgomtm  were  put   into  the  solu- 
lioBs  as  to  absorb  one-half  ol  each  in  2  days, 
the  remaining  half  was  found  to  have  lost  very 
different  proportions  of  the  salt  which  it  had 
originally  contained.    Supposing  the   portion 
of  salt  at  first  in  solution  to  be  100,  the  follow- 
ing table  exhibits  the  quantity  of  each  which 
•ad  disappeared  when  one-half  of  the  liquid 
was  absorbed— 


g  C  Nitrate  of  time 
■  i  Stiiptiate  of  copper 

r  Sulphate  of  soda    - 
7.  <  Muriate  of  soda 

(.Acetate  of  lime 


Fartk 
17 
34 

6 
10 

0 


Mortaie  of  potash 
MurUie  of»oda 
Nltnienfiime  - 
••Iphat*  of  aoda 
Mnrtauofammoni) 
Acetate  oflime  - 
Salpliate  of  copper 


Flirt*. 
14-7 
13 
4 

14-4 
12 
8 
47 


The  AdfM  absorbed  pretty  nearly  the  same 
foporttooa.  but  in  general  did  not  vegetate  so 
loaaas  the  Folygomtm, 

whoa  various  salu  were  dissolved  at  once 
■  the  same  solution;  and  plants  made  to  vege- 
tate in  them,  it  was  found  that  different  propor- 
Uon*  of  the  salts  were  absorbed.  The  follow- 
tag  table  exhibits  the  results  of  these  trials 
•apposing,  as  before,  the  original  weight  of 
•ach  Mil  to  have  been  100,  each  solution  con- 
tained j^  part  of  its  weight  of  each  salt— 


I  f  f<alplNiteof»oda  . 
*'  i  Martat*  of  coda  . 
(if  Sulphate  of  aoda    . 

(  Muriate  of  pouah  • 
1^  f  NHrate  of  lime 

I  Muriate  of  ammonia 
I   (  Acetate  oflime 
*  (  8ulphnie  of  copper 
■   (  Acftaie  of  lime 
"^  X  Mariato  oTpMash  - 
«>74 


11-7 
92 

12 
17 

4-5 
16-3 
31 
34 

8 
17 


These  experiments  succeeded  nearly  equally 
with  other  plants,  as  the  Mentha  piperita  and 
the  Scotch  fir.     When   the  roots  were  cut  or 
removed,  the  plants  absorbed  all  solutions  in- 
discriminately; on  examining  the  plants,  the 
salts  absorbed  were  found  in  them  unaltered. 
It  being  thus  clearly  established  that  plants' 
possess  a  discriminating  power,  and  that  they 
do  not  absorb  saline  solutions  merely  because 
they  happen  to  be  dissolved  in  the  soil,  it  next 
becomes  an  object  of  interest,  as  an  illustra- 
tion and  guide  for  the  operations  of  agricul- 
ture, to  ascertain  what  salts  are  found  by  the 
researches  of  the  chemist  in  commonly  culti- 
vated plants.     And  if,  at  the  conclusion  of  our 
examination,  we  find   that  certain   salts   are 
found  in  abundance  only  in  certain  plants,  and 
that  these  saline  substances  exist  in  them  in- 
variably in   all  soils  and  situations,  and  that 
without  their  presence  the  plant  languishes  and 
merely  supports  a  sickly  existence,  we  shall 
be  almost  driven  to  the  conclusion,  that  these 
are  as  essentially  the  food  of  plants,  as  any  of 
the  other  substances  with  which  they  abound. 
For  a  lengthened  period,  the  vegetable  alka- 
line salt,  carbonate  of  potash,  has  been  ob- 
tained from  plants.     Procured  at  first  by  their 
combustion,  in  iron  pots,  it  hence  obtained  its 
name.     Dr.  Thomson  has  given  a  table  of  the 
quantity  of  potash  obtained  from  100  parts  of 
the  ashes  of  various  trees  and  plants.    See 
Alkali. 

In  general,  says  Dr.  Thomson,  three  times  as 
much  ashes  are  obtained  from  shrubs  as  from 
trees.  An  equal  weight  of  the  branches  of 
trees  produce  more  ashes  than  the  trunk,  and 
the  leaves  more  than  the  branches.  Herbs  ar- 
rived at  maturity  produce  more  ashes  than  at 
any  other  time.  Green  vegetables  produce 
more  ashes  than  dry.  The  salt  which  is  ob- 
tained by  the  combustion  of  plant^,  although 
chiefly  composed,  does  not  consist  wholly  of 
potash:  there  are  many  salts  mixed  with  it; 
these  are  usually  sulphate  of  potash,  muriate 
of  potash,  sulphate  of  lime,  phosphate  of  lime, 
&c.,  but  these  bear  in  general  but  a  small  pro- 
portion to  the  potash. 

Perhaps  the  most  copious  table  of  the  alka- 
line and  other  salts  obtained  by  the  combus- 
tion of  various  plants  has  been  given  by  M. 
Saussure  in  his  chemical  researches  on  vege- 
tation. He  obtained  from  100  parts  of  the 
ashes  of  the — 

Lea ves  of  oa  k  (  quereus  Robur) ,  May  10  ^4?-*' 

Do.,  September  27         -        -        -        -  17* 

Wood  of  a  young  oak.  May  10         -        -         7- 
Bark  of  do.        ---___         7. 

Perfect  wood  of  oak  .        .        _        I  gg-g 

Albumen  of  do.         .....  32< 

Bark  of  do.        ----..  7. 

Cortical  layers  of  do.        ....         7. 

Extraclof  wood  ofdo.      ....  51. 

Soil  from  the  wood  of  do.        ...  24' 

Extract  from  do.       -        _        .        .        _  gg. 

Leaves  of  poplar  (Populus  nigra).  May  10  36* 

Do.,  September  12         -        -        -        -  26* 

Leaves  of  hazel         -        -        -        -        .  26* 

Do.,  washed  in  cold  water   -        -        .         8-2 

Leaves  ofdo,  June  22      -        -        .        .  227 

Do.,  September  20        -        -        -        -  II* 


SALTS. 

Part*. 

Wood  of  hazel,  May  1      -        -        -        -  24-5 

Bark  of  do.        -----        -  12-5 

Wood  of  mulberry,  November  -        -  21- 

Wood  of  hornbeam,  November        -        -  22- 
Wood  of  horse-chestnut,  May  10     -        -  9-5 

Fruit  of  do.,  October  5       -        -        -        -  82- 

Plants  of  peas  (Pisum  sativum)  in  flower  49-8 

Do.  ripe -  3425 

Plants    of   vetches    (Ficia  faba)   before 

flowering,  May  23      -        -        -        -  55'5 

Do.  in  flower         -        -        -        -        _  55-5 

Do   ripe,  July  23 50- 

Seeds  of  do 6928 

Do.  in  flower  raised  in  distilled  water  -  60-1 

Plants  of  tamsole,  June  23        -        -        -  63- 

Wheat,  in  flower 4325 

Do.,  seeds  ripe       -----  11- 

Do.  a  month  before  flowering       -        -  60" 

Do.  in  flower,  June  14  -        -        -        -  41* 

Do.,  seeds  ripe       -----  10" 

Bran  ..-..--  4416 

Plants  of  maize  or  Indian  corn         -        -  69- 

Chaff"of  barley  -----  20- 

Seeds  of  do. 29" 

Oats  -_-.-..  1- 

Leaves    of  fir  {Pinus  Mes),  raised  on 

limestone   ------  16" 

Leaves  of  fir,  raised  on  granite        -        -  15' 

Branches  «»f  pine       -----  15* 

M.  Vaiiquelin  found  20  per  cent,  of  potash 
in  the  ashes  of  the  oat;  and  from  his  experi- 
ments it  is  probable  that  potash  exists  in  plants 
in  combination  with  the  acetic  and  carbonic 
acids. 

The  mineral  alkali  soda,  or  carbonate  of 
soda,  is  found  in  almost  all  the  plants  which 
are  found  growing  in  the  sea,  or  on  the  shore, 
within  reach  of  its  influence.  The  amount  of 
alkali  which  these  produce,  is  considerably 
greater,  in  proportion  to  that  produced  by 
plants  natives  of  inland  places.  Thus,  100 
parts  of  the  salsola  soda  yield  19-921  parts  of 
ashes,  and  these  contain  1*992  parts  of  soda 
and  common  salt.  Many  plants,  the  vegetable 
marrow  and  the  vine,  for  instance,  derive  great 
benefit  from  the  application  of  soda  to  their 
roots.  Soap-suds  are  used  as  an  excellent 
liquid  manure  by  many  gardeners. 

Sea-weed,  kelp-soda,  barilla,  and  the  com- 
mon washing-soda  of  the  shops,  have  all  been 
used  successfully  as  saline  manures;  and  the 
well-known  fertilizing  mixture  of  salt  and  lime, 
after  it  has  remained  undisturbed  for  some 
time,  contains  chloride  of  lime  and  soda  in 
abundance.  Sea-weed  abounds  with  a  strange 
mixture  of  alkaline  salts,  and  there  is  no  green 
manure  more  powerful  in  its  eflfects  than  this, 
especially  when  it  is  ploughed  in  as  fresh  as 
possible.  Mr.  Gaultier  de  Claubry  found  in  the 
Fttcus  sacrhariniis  and  in  the  Fucus  digitatus 
(which  is  much  used  in  Scotland  as  a  manure) 
the  following  substances — saccharine  matter, 
mucilage,  vegetable  albumen,  oxalate  of  pot- 
ash, malate  of  potash,  sulphate  of  potash,  sul- 
phate of  soda,  sulphate  of  magnesia,  muriate 
of  soda,  muriate  of  potash,  muriate  of  magne- 
sia, carbonate  of  potash,  carbonate  of  soda,  hj'- 
driodale  of  potash,  silica,  phosphate  of  lime, 
phosphate  of  magnesia,  oxide  of  iron,  oxalate 
of  lime.  In  the  islands  of  Guernsey  and  Jer- 
sey they  employ  the  ashes  of  the  sea-weeds, 
which  they  call  vraic.  Half  a  bushel  strewed 
over  a  perch  of  ground  in  winter,  or  the  be- 
ginning of  spring,  is  sufficient.  It  gives  a  full 
ear  to  the  corn,  and  prevents  it  from  being  laid. 

Phosphate  of  lime,  which  is  composed,  ac- 
cording to  the  experiments  of  M.  Berzelius,  of 


SALTS. 

phosphoric  acid  100  parts,  and  lime  84-53, 
abounds  in  vegetable  substances.  It  forms  the 
basis  of  bones,  from  which,  for  the  purposes 
of  experiment,  it  is  commonly  procured.  Ob- 
tained in  this  way  it  is  always  in  the  form  of  a 
white  powder,  without  either  taste  or  smell ;  is 
insoluble  in  water,  and  unaltered  by  exposure 
to  the  atmosphere.  Phosphate  of  magnesia  is 
composed  of  phosphoric  acid  and  magnesia; 
is  a  salt  soluble  in  15  times  its  weight  of  v/ater. 
These  two  salts  have  been  found  in  a  variety 
of  vegetable  substances  by  MM.  Vauquelin, 
Saussure,  and  other  able  chemists.  See  Bones. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  these  salts  are 
absorbed  from  the  soil  by  the  plants.  Almost 
all  cultivated  soils  contain  them  in  some  form 
or  other;  and  of  the  value  of  their  addition  to 
the  soil  in  almost  every  form,  there  is  consi- 
derable evidence.  Thus,  phosphate  of  lime 
abounds  in  all  the  richest  animal  manures, 
such  as  in  bone-dust  and  the  richest  excre- 
ments of  animals;  and,  again,  it  is  found  by 
the  Cheshire  graziers,  that  the  earthy  salts  of 
bones  obtained  from  the  size-makers,  after 
most  of  the  oily  matters  are  removed  by  the 
action  of  steam,  and  hardly  any  thing  but  the 
salts  of  lime  remain,  are  quite  as  fertilizing  to 
their  pastures  as  when  used  in  their  fresh 
slate,  abounding  with  animal  matters. 

Sulphate  of  lime,  or  gypsum,  is  another  salt, 
which  is  invariably  found  in  and  promotes  the 
growth  of  certain  plants. 

It  must,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  one  of  those 
salts  which  constitute  the  fi»od  or  constituents 
of  plants.  It  is  always  present  in  the  clover, 
lucern,  and  sainfoin,  and  in  smaller  propor- 
tions in  the  potato  and  the  turnip.  See  Plas- 
ter OF  Paris. 

That  it  is  a  food  for  plants,  was  the  opinion 
of  Sir  Humphry  Davy.  He  remarked,  whea 
speaking  of  gypsum  and  the  alkalies,  "It  has 
been  generally  supposed  that  these  materials 
act  in  the  vegetable  economy  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  condiments  or  stimulants  in  the  animal 
economy;  and  that  they  render  the  common 
food  more  nutritive.  It  seems,  however,  a 
much  more  probable  idea,  that  they  are  ac- 
tually a  part  of  the  true  food  of  plants,  and  that 
they  supply  that  kind  of  matter  to  the  vegeta- 
ble fibre,  which  is  analogous  to  the  bony  mat- 
ter in  animal  structures.  Thus,  those  plants 
which  are  most  benefited  by  the  application 
of  gypsum,  are  those  which  always  afford  it 
on  analysis.  Clover  and  most  of  the  artificial 
grasses  contain  it,  but  it  exists  in  very  mi- 
nute quantity  only  in  barley,  wheat,  and  tur- 
nips." {^g.  Chem.  p.  19.)  And  it  is  notice- 
able, that  most  of  these  remarks  apply  to  the 
phosphate  of  lime  (which  can  hardly  be  re- 
garded as  a  stimulant),  since  it  is  not  even 
soluble  in  water;  it  is  also  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, that  the  same  salts  oflime  (the  phosphate 
and  the  carbonate)  which  Dav)  thus  supposes 
to  be  placed  in  plants  to  add  to  their  strength 
and  solidit)',  are  precisely  those  salts  which  for 
that  very  purpose  are  placed  in  the  bones  of  ani- 
mals. They  thus,  as  it  v/ere,  mutually  nourish 
each  other.  The  very  pho.iphate  oflime,  which 
in  the  di.ssolving  bone-dust  is  absorbed  by  the 
plant,  again  becomes,  in  the  food  of  animals,  a 
material  for  the  formation  of  other  bones. 

975 


SALTS. 

The  carbonate  of  lime,  in  some  of  its  forms 
tff  chalk,  limestone,  raarl,  Ac,  is  the  most  uni- 
versally present  of  all  the  salts  contained  in 
vegetables.  It  is,  in  minute  proportions,  solu- 
ble in  water,  and  more  so  if  the  water  is  satu- 
rated with  carbonic  acid  gas,  hence  it  is  readily 
absorbed  by  the  roots  of  plants.  It  exists  in 
vegeubles  in  very  varying  proportions;  thus, 
tbe  asbes  of  the  perfect  oat  plant,  straw  and 
Mid  together,  were  proved  by  M.  Vauquelin  to 
contain  more  than  6  per  cent,  of  this  earth. 
{Jmm.  Jt  Ckem,  vol.  zxix.  p.  19.)  In  32  ounces 
of  seeds  of  wheat,  M.  Schraedar  found  12 
fraio»  of  carbonate  of  lime;  and  in  the  same 
quantity  of  seeds  of  rye  13-4  grains;  24*8  grains 
IB  teeoi  of  barley;  33*75  in  those  of  the  oat; 
tad  44*9  in  the  same  weight  of  the  straw  of 
lye.  It  is  most  commonly,  although  not  al- 
ways, found  in  vegetables  with  carbonate  of 
magnesia.  These  were  found  together  by  M. 
baussure  in  tbe  ashes  of  the  following  different 
sabdtances.  He  obtained  from  100  parts  of 
the  asbes  of  the — 

Fartt. 

Lmvm  nfokic.  K«tb«red  in  Mty      •       -        012 

On..  September S3- 

B»rkoribe<Mk 63  25 

Wood  of  Mk 23- 

•oH  IWmm  wood  ofoak     .       .       -       .  10- 

Wood  of  poplar       -       -       -       -        -  27- 

WoodofiMMl S- 

Wnodnranlberry  -----  56' 

WoodoflNirvbeam 26- 

Pleate  of  pea*,  in  flower  .       -        .         6- 

Do.  nrveichea,  in  flower      -       -        -         4*12 
Do.  r«t«rd  in  dialilled  water         -        -         0* 

Wkvat  In  flower 0*25 

Do.  «e«le,  ripe 025 

Do.  eiraw      ------         !• 

Do.  braa 0- 

Oaieeeda         ------         0- 

Barley  eevde     ------         0- 

Do.  cbair 12  5 

Leave*  of  Rkodadendron   ferrugintum, 

rabed  on  liinfflinne   .        -       .       .  43-25 

Do.  rateed  on  franiie    .       -        -        .  16-75 

Leaveaofflr.ruiaednn  limestone   -       -  435 

Do.,  ralacd  on  granite  ...       -  29- 

Now,  these  two  soils  (the  granite  and  the 
limestone)  contained  carbonate  of  lime  in  the 
following  proportion : — 

Granite.    Limestone. 

CkrWMaieoriime        -        -        -      1-74  96- 

Alualoa 1325  0-6-25 

••»»« 75-25 

PMfoleam    -        -        .        -       _  025 

Ina  and  manganeee   -       -       -  9-  o  25 

9924      99275 

Carbonate  of  lime  has  also  been  detected  in 
ihe  sap  and  white  matter  of  the  ulcer  of  the 
elm  by  M.  Vauquelin;  in  the  ashes  of  worm- 
wood (more  than  60  parts  in  100),  by  Kuns- 
mnller;  in  the  flowers  of  the  arnica,  by  M. 
Chevalier ;  in  the  potato,  by  M.  Einhof ;  in  the 
red  bark  of  St.  Domingo,  in  Peruvian  bark,  and 
in  the  w<x>d  of  the  qningania,  by  M.  Fourcroy. 
Existing,  therefore,  so  universally  in  plants, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  this  salt 
is  fulfilling,  then,  some  wise  and  salutary  pur- 
pose ;  not  fortuitously,  but  with  design  ;  not  by 
chance,  but  by  the  regulation  and  arrangement 
of  their  Divine  Architect. 

Few  If  any  saline  fertilizers  act  so  well  alone, 
as  when  mixed  with  others,  or  with  onlinary 
manures.  As  a  general  rule,  the  more  fertilizers 
are  mixed  the  better  they  operate  upon  plants. 

Nitrate  of  potash,  which  is  composed  of  ni- 
976 


SALTS. 

trie  acid  54-34  parts,  and  potash  45-66  parts, 
enters  into  the  composition  of  a  few  plants,  it 
is  true,  but  in  the  greater  number,  even  in 
those  of  the  farmer's  crops,  on  which  on  some 
soils  its  application  produces  such  luxuriant 
effects,  its  presence  cannot  be  detected,  even 
in  minute  proportions.  Some  plants,  however, 
do  contain  it  in  considerable  quantities.  Thus 
it  has  been  found  in  the  common  nettle,  the 
horse-radish,  and  the  sunflower.  M.  Chevalier 
found  it  in  the  Chenopodium  olidum ;  M.  Vau- 
quelin in  the  leaves  of  the  deadly  ni^fhtshade; 
M.  Chevreul  inwoad;  Dr.  John  in  Vne  Mesem- 
bryanlhemum  crystallinum.  M.  Boullion  Le- 
grange  made  various  plants,  such  as  the  sun- 
flower, vegetate  in  soils  which  did  not  contain 
any  saltpetre:  upon  examining  them,  no  traces 
of  saltpetre  were  discernible,  but  upon  water- 
ing them  with  a  weak  solution,  it  made  its  ap- 
pearance in  them  as  usual.  (See  Nitrates.) 
The  presence  of  cubic  petre  (nitrate  of  soda), 
which  is  composed  of  nitric  acid  62-1,  and  soda 
37-9,  is  still  more  rare  in  plants ;  it  has  only 
been  detected  in  barley. 

The  salts  formed  with  the  vegetable  acids 
existing  in  the  juices  of  plants  are  rather  nu- 
merous. Oxalate  of  potash,  for  instance,  exists 
in  the  Oxalis  acetocella,  and  several  others  • 
oxalate  of  lime  in  rhubarb,  parsley,  fennel, 
squills,  tormentilla,  deadly  nightshade,  and  spi- 
nach. Nitrate  of  lime  is  contained  in  the  onion, 
malate  of  lime  in  the  houseleek,  wake-robin, 
mignionette  ;  and  malate  of  potash  in  rue,  the 
garden  purslane,  nasturtians,  lilac,  madder,  &c. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  saline  substance  that 
exists  to  so  great  an  extent  in  marine  plants, 
and  which  has  been  used  for  so  long  a  period 
and  to  such  an  extent  for  those  growing  in  in- 
land situations,  as  common  salt.  (See  Salt.)  A 
substance  which  not  only  abounds  in  all  plants 
growing  on  the  sea-shore,  but  always  exists  in 
smaller  proportions  in  many  of  those  growing  in 
upland  div'^tricts.  Thus,  Mr.  G.  Sinclair  obtained 
from  1450  grains  of  wheat-chaff  from  Bedford- 
shire, ashes  50 ;  common  salt  2| :  from  1450  parts 
of  the  seed,  ashes  10 ;  common  salt  \.  But  from 
the  same  crop,  which  had  been  dressed  with  44 
bushels  of  common  salt  per  acre,  he  obtained 
from  1450  parts  of  the  chaff,  ashes  40 ;  com- 
mon salt  4 ;  and  from  1450  parts  of  the  seed, 
ashes  10;  common  salt  i. 

Common  salt  is  found  generally  in  minute 
proportions  in  most  cultivated  soils.  Davy 
detected  in  400  grains  of  a  good  silicious  soil 
from  a  Tonbridge  hop-garden,  nearly  8  parts 
of  common  salt. 

Besides  being  in  small  proportions  a  direct 
food  for  plants,  common  salt  also  seems  to 
perform  several  other  services  to  vegetation, 
and  the  same  remark  probably  applies  to  other 
salts;  for  instance,  when  applied  to  the  soil  in 
small  proportions,  it  certainly  promotes  the 
putrefaction  of  its  organic  matters.    See  Salt. 

And  again,  salt,  in  common  with  several 
others,  appears  to  excite  or  stimulate  the  plant, 
when  applied  to  it  in  proportions  not  too  ex- 
cessive ;  a  fact  first  noticed  by  Dr.  Priestley. 

Another  use  of  common  and  other  salts  to 
vegetation  is,  the  preservation  of  the  plant 
from  injury  by  sudden  transitions  in  the  tem- 
perature of  the  atmosphere :  salted  soils  only 


8ALTS. 


SALTS. 


fre«.»ze  in  intense  frosts.  I  have  repeatedly  wit- 
nessed in  the  case  of  culinary  vegetables,  such 
as  cabbages,  broccoli,  &c.,  that,  while  the  pro- 
duce of  the  unsalted  portions  of  the  ground 
were  half-killed  by  the  frost,  the  salted  portions 
have  totally  escaped.  Many  salts  have  also 
the  property  of  retarding  the  evaporation  of  the 
moisture  of  the  soil :  others  absorb  it  from  the 
atmosphere,  or  are  of  the  class  of  deliquescing 
salt;  such  are  the  common  salt,  chloride  of 
calcium,  chloride  of  magnesia,  cubic  petre,  or 
nitrate  of  soda,  &c.,  which,  in  consequence, 
when  they  are  used  as  fertilizers,  they  increase 
this  property,  so  valuable  and  so  essential  to 
all  cultivated  soils.  Thus  I  found  by  some 
experiments  upon  a  rich  soil  near  Maldon,  in 
Essex,  worth  42s.  per  acre,  that  1000  parts, 
dried  at  a  temperature  of  212°,  absorbed  in  18 
hours,  by  exposure  to  air  saturated  with  moist- 
ure at  a  temperature  of  62°,  25  parts.  But 
1000  parts  of  the  same  field,  which  had  been 
dressed  with  12  bushels  of  marine  salt  per 
acre,  under  the  same  circumstances  gained  27 
parts ;  and  1000  parts  of  the  same  soil,  which 
had  been  dressed  with  6  bushels  per  acre, 
gained  26  parts.  The  attraction  of  some  sa- 
line substances  for  the  moisture  of  the  atmo- 
sphere is  very  considerable.  I  found  that  1000 
parts  of  refuse  salt  manure,  dried  at  212°,  ab- 
sorbed in  3  hours,  by  exposure  to  air  saturated 
with  moisture  at  60°,  49^  parts.  1000  parts  of 
the  sediment  or  pan-scratch  of  the  salt-makers, 
gained  10  parts;  1000  parts  of  Cheshire  crushed 
rock-salt,  10  parts;  1000  parts  of  gypsum,  9 
parts.  Chloride  of  calcium  is  so  powerfully 
deliquescent,  that  it  absorbs  sufficient  moisture 
from  the  air  to  dissolve  in  it  and  form  a  solu- 
tion. Dr.  Marcet  found  that  288  grains  in  124 
days  absorbed  684  grains  of  water.  288  grains 
of  nitrate  of  lime,  a  salt  found  in  some  of  the 
richest  alluvial  soils  of  the  East,  absorbs  in  147 
days  448  grains.  Carbonate  of  potash,  another 
saline  fertilizer,  also  absorbs  moisture.  Now, 
it  is  worthy  of  the  farmers'  notice,  that  chlo- 
ride of  calcium  is  the  very  salt  which  is  pro- 
duced in  such  abundance  by  the  decomposition 
cf  common  salt  by  lime,  in  the  way  <;o  suc- 
cessfully recommended  first,  by  the  old  Ger- 
man chemist  Glauber,  by  Mr.  Hollingshead, 
Mr.  Bennett,  and  Sir  Charles  Burrell  (See  Salt 
and  Limk);  for,  by  the  slow  action  carried  on 
for  three  months  by  these  substances  on  each 
other,  this  salt  and  soda  are  produced  by  the 
decomposition;  and  it  is  not  improbable  that 
when  these  salts  are  present  in  the  juices  of 
plants,  that  by  this  means  the  attractive  powers 
of  their  leaves  and  roots  for  aqueous  vapour 
may  be  increased.  Davy  alludes  to  these  es- 
sential, yet  too  little  understood  powers  of  ab- 
sorption possessed  by  vegetables,  when  he  says 
(Lectures,  p.  207), — "  In  very  intense  heats,  and 
when  the  soil  is  dry,  the  life  of  plants  seems 
to  be  preserved  by  the  absorbent  power  of  their 
leaves;  and  it  is  a  beautiful  circumstance  in 
the  economy  of  nature,  that  aqueous  vapour  is 
most  abundant  in  the  atmosphere  when  it  is 
most  needed  for  the  purposes  cf  life,  and  that 
when  other  sources  of  its  supply  are  cut  ofi", 
this  is  most  copious." 

Of  the  salts  of  ammonia,  as  I  have  i  i  another 
place   remarked,  carbonate  of  ammonia  has 
123 


been  detected  in  the  Chenopodium  olidum  by 
Messrs.  Chevalier  and  Lasseigne ;  and  it  pro- 
bably exists  in  other  plants  which  are  distin- 
guished for  their  powerful  disagreeable  odour. 
Muriate  of  ammonia  has  been  found  in  woad 
by  M.  Chevreul.  The  salts  of  ammonia  are  in 
general  exceedingly  fertilizing  in  their  effects 
upon  vegetation.  Soot  owes  part  of  its  efficacy 
to  the  ammoniacal  salts  it  contains.  The  liquor 
produced  by  the  distillation  of  coal  contains 
carbonate  and  acetate  of  ammonia,  and  this 
liquid  of  the  gas-makers  is  a  very  good  manure. 
"In  1808,"  says  Davy,  "I  found  the  growth  of 
wheat  in  a  field  at  Roehampton  assisted  by  a 
very  weak  solution  of  acetate  of  ammonia."  The 
experiments  of  Mr.  Robertson  with  soot  clearly 
show  the  fertilizing  effects  of  the  soluble  por- 
tion of  it.  He  mixed  together,  in  order  to  form 
a  liquid  manure,  six  quarts  of  soot  in  a  hogs- 
head of  water.  "Asparagus,  peas,  and  a  va- 
riety of  other  vegetables,"  says  this  intelligent 
horticulturist,  "I  have  manured  with  this  mix- 
lure,  with  as  much  effect  as  if  I  had  used  solid 
dung."  Care  must  be  taken,  however,  in  using 
this  and  all  other  liquid  fertilizers,  not  to  make 
the  solutions  too  strong:  it  is  an  error  into 
which  all  cultivators  are  apt  to  fall  in  their 
early  experiments.  Even  Davy  was  not  an 
exception,  since,  from  making  his  liquids  too 
concentrated,  he  obtained  results  which  widely 
differed  from  his  later  experiments.  There  is 
no  doubt  but  that  the  salts  of  ammonia,  and  all 
the  compound  manures  which  contain  them, 
have  a  very  considerable  forcing  or  stimulat- 
ing, or,  perhaps,  from  their  decomposition, 
nourishing  effect  upon  vegetation.  In  the  ex- 
periments of  Dr.  I3elcher  upon  the  common 
garden  cress,  by  watering  them  with  a  solution 
of  phosphate  of  ammonia,  the  plants  were  15 
days  forwarder  than  plants  growing  under 
similar  circumstances,  but  watered  with  plain 
water;  and  he  also  describes  the  experiments 
of  Mr.  Gregory,  who,  by  watering  one-half  of  a 
grass  field  with  urine,  nearly  doubled  his  crop 
of  hay.  Other  testimonials  in  support  of  the 
fertilizing  powers  of  the  salts  of  ammonia  are 
furnished  by  Mr.  Handley. 

Of  the  mode  in  which  ammonia  operate* 
upon  plants,  a  late  valuable  work  on  organic 
chemistry,  by  M.  Liebig,  abounds  with  ob- 
servations, with  some  of  which  I  cheerfully 
and  cordially  agree.  To  understand  these  re- 
marks, however,  the  farmer  must  remember 
that  ammonia  is  composed,  according  to  the 
analysis  of  Davy,  of  hydrogen  74  parts,  and 
azote  or  nitrogen  26  parts.  "The  nitrogen  of 
putrefied  animals,"  he  observes,  "is  contained 
in  the  atmosphere,  as  ammonia  in  the  form  of 
a  gas,  which  is  capable  of  entering  into  com- 
bination with  carbonic  acid,  and  forming  a 
volatile  salt.  Ammonia  in  its  gaseous  form, 
as  well  as  all  its  volatile  compounds,  are  of 
extreme  solubility  in  water.  Ammonia,  there- 
fore, cannot  remain  long  in  the  atmosphere,  as 
every  shower  of  rain  must  condense  "t,  and 
convey  it  to  the  surface  of  the  earth :  thence, 
also,  rain-water  must  at  all  times  contain  am- 
monia, though  not  always  in  equal  quantity. 
It  must  be  greater  in  summer  than  in  spring 
or  in  winter,  because  the  intervals  of  time  be- 
tween the  showers  are  greater;  and,  where 
4  N  2  977 


SALTS. 

•ererft*  ^-^t  days  occur,  the  rain  of  the  first 
mm  eontain  more  of  it  than  the  second.  The 
rateof  athuiKler-siorni,  after  a  long-protracted 
oogbU  for  this  reason,  to  contain  the 
quantity  which  is  conveyed  to  the 
h  at  one  time.  But  all  the  analyses  of 
oepheric  air  hitherto  made  have  failed  to  de- 
latrate  the  presence  of  ammonia,  although, 
ling  to  our  riew  (says  M.  Liebig),  it  can 
be  abMBU  If  a  pound  o(  rain-water  con- 
laias  only  one4barth  of  a  grain  of  ammonia, 
theo  a  field  of  40,000  square  feet  must  receive 
aannally  upwards  of  60  lbs.  of  ammonia,  or  65 
lb*,  of  Biiri'ifpn ;  for,  by  the  observations  of 
Sehnbler.  which  were  formerly  alluded  to, 
aboot  7U0.000  lbs.  of  rain  fell  over  this  sur- 
ftet  in  4  months.  This  is  much  more  nitro- 
gM  than  is  contained  in  the  form  of  vegetable 
alkWMQ  and  gluten  in  2650  lbs.  of  woad,  2800 
Ibt.  of  hay,  or  200  cwu  of  beet-root,  which  are 
the  yearly  produce  of  such  a  field ;  but  it  is 
len  than  the  straw,  roots,  and  grain  of  corn 
might  grow  on  the  same  surface  would 
in.  Experiments  made  in  the  laboratory 
of  Oiessen,  with  the  greatest  care  and  exact- 
B«o^  hare  placed  (continues  Liebig)  the  pre- 
•MOO  of  ammonia  in  rain-water  beyond  all 
doabc  It  had  hitherto  escaped  observation, 
baeaose  no  one  thought  of  searching  for  it." 
8e«  Ammoxia. 

I  eannot  recommend  the  farmer  to  adopt  the 
able  conclusions  of  M.  Liebig  without  consider- 
able caution :  hardly  any  thing  retards  the  pro- 
Cftaa  of  science  more  than  erroneous  theories. 
Wltaaaiely.  however,  the  farmer  can  in  all 
eases  patiently  and  successfully  examine  and 
apply  the  valuable  facts  of  the  skilful  chemist 
without  mystifying  himself  with  not  always  in- 
telligible doctrines.  It  is  very  probable  that 
plants  have  the  power  of  decomposing  ammo- 
nia, and  of  assimilating  the  nitrogen  which  it 
ooBtains,  in  the  same  way  as  there  is  little 
doabt  the  hydrogen  of  water  is  assimilated  by 
;  but  we  have  no  direct  evidence  of  the 
and  the  best  course,  therefore,  will  be  to 
regard  them  not  as  absolute  chemical  truths, 
but  merely  as  of  the  class  of  what  may  be  per- 
haps denominated  scientific  probabilities. 

Borne  of  the  other  compounds  of  chlorine, 
the  old  class  of  chlorides  of  the  chemist,  have 
tried  as  fertilizers,  with  very  doubtful 
for  although  at  first  the  seeds  which 
iMd  bf«a  steeped  in  them  germinated  with  a 
OSBsiderably  increased  rapidity,  yet  they  speed- 
By  seemed  to  suffer  by  this  additional  stimu- 
lt».  Davy  tried  solutions  of  chlorine,  and  sul- 
pbalr  nf  iron  (green  vitriol) :  he  says,  "Though 
dM  plume  was  very  vigorous  for  a  time,  yet  it 
bceame  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  weak  and 
•iekly.  and  al  that  period  less  vigorous  in  its 
fTDwth  than  the  radish  sprouts  which  had  been 
naturally  developed,  so  that  there  can  be 
srarcely  any  •acful  application  of  these  expe- 
runeata.  Too  rapid  growth  and  premature  de- 
eay  seen  invariably  connected  in  organized 
structures,  and  it  is  only  by  following  the  slow 
operation?  of  natural  causes  that  we  are  capa- 
ble of  making  imp  ovements."  Oxymuriate 
of  lime,  or.  properly  speaking,  chloride  of  cal- 
rinm.  however,  appears  to  be  beneficial  to 
iTfgetation :  this  was  ascertained  in  1796,  bv 
»7«  ^ 


SAMPLE. 

Ingenhouz ;  and  I  have  given  in  my  work  On 
Fertilizers,  p.  367,  the  result  of  some  trials  by 
Mr.  Finchamwith  this  chloride  that  were  highly 
successful :  he  says,  "  Half  of  some  turnip- 
seed  were  steeped  for  36  hours  in  a  solution 
of  chloride  of  calcium,  composed  of  1  part 
chloride  of  calcium,  and  48  parts  water ;  this 
was  sown  under  precisely  similar  circum- 
stances of  soil  and  aspect  with  the  other  half 
unsteeped.  The  first  came  up  much  sooner, 
was  never  attacked  by  the  fly,  and  the  produce 
was  half  as  much  again,  and  the  tops  made 
more  luxuriant.  He  attributes  the  failure  of 
Davy  to  his  having  used  the  chlorine,  uncom- 
bined  with  the  base  lime. 

Mr.  Owen  Mason,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
has  computed  the  saline  contents  of  the  crops 
raised  from  a  field  near  that  place,  during  8 
years'  cultivation,  as  follows  : — 


Potash 
Soda      .     . 
Lime     .     • 
Magnesia  . 
Alumina 
Silica    .     . 

lbs. 
.     424-92 
.     131-92 
.     532-88 
.     .  64-08 
.     .     5-96 
.     390-40 

lbs. 
Sulphuric  acid     113-88 
Phosphoric  acid  108-12 
Chlorine    .     .       58-64 

Total     .     1830-80 

"  It  is  doubtful,"  Mr.  Mason  observes"  "  if 
the  cultivator  ever  suspected  that  he  carried  to 
his  barn  two  casks  of  potash,  one  cask  of  soda, 
two  casks  of  lime,  a  carboy  of  oil  of  vitriol,  a 
large  demijohn  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  a  variety 
of  other  matters  contained  in  his  fourteen  tons 
of  fodder,  which  were  as  certainly  stowed  away 
in  his  mows  as  if  they  had  been  conveyed  thither 
in  casks  and  carboys."  This  statement  will  per- 
haps s&rve  to  give  some  idea  of  the  enormous  quan- 
tities of  saline  matters  that  are  removed  from  the 
soil  by  the  crops  ordinarily  raised.  When  the 
crops  are  eaten  on  the  farm,  and  the  manure  pro- 
duced therefrom  is  returned  to  the  soil,  there  is 
established  a  continued  circulation  of  those  ingre- 
dients which  would  be  lost  if  the  crops  were  re- 
moved and  the  stock  sold.     See  Soils. 

SALTPETRE  (Germ,  and  F r.  salpetre).  See 
Nitrates  and  Salts. 

SALTWORT  (Salsola,  from  salsus,  salt;  in 
allusion  to  the  saline  properties  of  the  species). 
A  genus  of  plants  which  inhabits  the  sea-coast, 
especially  abundant  on  the  coast  of  the  Medi- 
terranean, where  they  are  extensively  gathered 
and  burnt  for  the  manufacture  of  barilla  and 
soda.     See  Kelp. 

SALT-MARSH  CATERPILLAR.  See  Ca- 
terpillah. 

SALVING  or  SMEARING  sheep  is  resorted 
to  in  various  districts,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
serving the  fleece  from  the  efiects  of  weather, 
destroying  injurious  insects,  and  preventing 
cutaneous  diseases.  A  mixture  of  damaged 
butter,  hog's  lard,  resin,  and  Gallipoli  oil,  is 
found  to  be  the  most  efficacious  salve.  Tar 
stains  and  spoils  the  colour  of  the  wool.  See 
Sheep. 

SAMPLE.  A  small  quantity  of  a  commodity 
exhibited  at  public  or  private  sales,  as  a  speci- 
men. Wool,  wine,  corn,  seeds,  and  indeed 
most  species  of  agricultural  produce  and  mer- 
chandise that  can  be  conveyed  in  small  bulk, 
are  sold  by  sample.  If  an  article  be  not  at  an 
average  equal  to  the  sample  by  which  it  is 
j  sold,  the  buyer  may  cancel  the  contract,  an' 


SAND. 


article  to  the  seller.  {M'CullocWs 
Com.  Dirt.) 

SAND  (Germ.).  Finely  divided  silicious 
matter  constitutes  common  river  and  sea-sand : 
particles  of  other  substances  are  often  blended 
with  it,  and  sometimes  it  becomes  calcareous 
from  the  prevalence  of  carbonate  of  lime. 

Sand  is  often  employed  as  a  manure  by  the 
cultivator  of  the  poor,  hungry  clays,  especially 
if  he  can  obtain  calcareous  sand.  See  Earths, 
Mixture  of  Soils. 

SANDWORT.  See  Chick  weed.  (Jrenaria, 
from  iirenci,  sand ;  referring  to  the  sandy  situa- 
tion in  which  most  of  the  species  are  found.) 
This  is  an  extensive  genus  of  herbs,  of  humble 
growth,  with  numerous  slender  stems,  opposite, 
mostly  narrow,  entire,  undivided  leaves,  and 
small,  white  or  reddish,  inodorous  flowers,  with 
coloured  anthers.  This  succulent  vegetable 
bears  a  great  resemblance  to  samphire,  and 
considerable  quantities  of  it  are  pickled  and 
sold  for  that  plant 

SANICLE  (Saniculuy  from  sano,  to  heal.) 
The  wood  sanicle  (S.  Europea)  is  a  mere  pe- 
rennial weed,  growing  in  woods  and  groves 
abundantly,  about  a  foot  high,  flowering  in 
May.  'J'he  root  is  tufted,  with  fleshy  fibres. 
The  leaves  are  chiefly  r?dical,  simple,  with 
deeply  cleft  lobes,  veiny,  ar.d  of  a  deep  shining 
green.  Flowers  creanr -coloured,  in  capitate 
umbels, in  an  irregular, 'wice  compound,  partly 
umbellate  panicle.  The  herb  is  bitter,  with  an 
acrid,  somewhat  a''omatic  pungency.  Its  re- 
puted vulnerary  qualities  are  no  longer  be- 
lieved. 

SAP.  In  bott^y,  the  fluid  which  is  absorbed 
by  the  root?  from  the  earth,  and  undergoes  the 
first  action  of  the  vital  chemistry  of  the  plant, 
is  called  the  sap.  It  is  formed  as  the  absorbed 
fluid  ascends  upwards  into  the  stem.  It  is 
afterwards  conveyed  to  the  leaves,  where  it  is 
exposed  to  the  influence  of  light  and  air,  loses 
a  large  portion  of  its  water,  undergoes  a  che- 
mical change,  and,  being  returned  to  the 
branches  and  stem,  it  is  analogous  to  the  blood 
in  animals ;  all  the  secretions  being  formed 
from  it.  Changed  in  the  leaf  into  proper  juice, 
it  is  assimilated  to  the  various  parts  of  the 
plant.  In  its  crude  state  it  consists  of  little 
except  water,  holding  earthy  and  gaseous  mat- 
ter in  solution,  especially  carbonic  acid ;  but 
as  it  rises  through  the  tissue  of  the  stem,  it  dis- 
solves the  secretions  it  meets  with  in  its  course, 
and  thus  acquires  new  properties,  so  that  by 
the  time  it  reaches  the  leaves  it  is  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  its  state  when  it  first  entered  the 
root.  The  course  taken  by  the  sap  in  its  pas- 
sage through  the  stem,  is  by  the  whole  of  the 
tissue  included  within  the  bark,  provided  it  is 
all  permeable  ;  but  as,  in  many  plants,  the 
central  part  of  the  stem  becomes  choked  up 
with  solid  matter  deposited  in  the  tissue,  it 
usually  happens,  especially  in  trees,  that  the 
course  of  the  sap  is  confined  to  the  outer  part 
of  the  wood,  hence  called  sapwood.  It  is  not 
certainly  known  through  what  kind  of  tissue 
the  upward  motion  of  the  sap  takes  place,  but 
it  is  probable  that  it  is  carried  onwards  through 
all  the  tubes  and  vessels  of  the  wood,  and  their 
intercellular  passages.  The  dotted  vessels  of 
the   wood  seem  more  especially  destined  to 


SASSAFRAS. 

fulfil  this  office  when  the  sap  is  in  rapid  mo« 
tion  ;  but  as  they  afterwards  become  empty, 
while  the  ascent  of  the  sap  continues,  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  the  woody  tubes  or  pleuren- 
chyma  offer  the  most  constant  means  by  which 
the  sap  is  conveyed.     See  Alburnum. 

SAP-SAGO.  A  kind  of  cheese  made  in. 
Switzerland,  having  a  dark  olive-green  colour 
and  agreeable  flavour,  derived  chiefly,  if  not 
entirely,  from  the  addition  of  mellilot.  See 
Cheese  and  Zahzieger. 

SAVIN.     See  Juniper. 

SAW-DUST.  The  refuse  or  waste  powder 
obtained  from  saw-pits,  after  any  wood  or  tim- 
ber has  been  separated  or  cut  asunder  by  the 
saw.  If  fresh  oak  saw-dust  be  scattered  oa 
gravel  walks  it  efllsctually  prevents  the  growth 
of  weeds,  and  when  mixed  with  blood  and 
quicklime  it  forms  an  excellent  manure  for  the 
garden.  This  substance  has  lately  been  brought 
prominently  into  notice  as  an  adjunct  to  other 
manures.  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  use- 
fulness when  made  into  compost  with  putres- 
cent manures,  saline  substances,  and  organic 
matters.  A  compost  of  this  kind,  which  has 
been  well  mixed  and  decomposed,  and  turned 
over  with  the  spade  at  proper  time,  will  pro- 
duce an  excellent  crop  of  turnips. 

SASSAFRAS  (Laurus  sassafras).  This,  on 
account  of  its  sensible  qualities,  and  real  or 
supposed  active  medical  virtues,  was  among 
the  first  American  trees  which  became  known 
to  Europeans.  In  the  United  States,  the 
neighbourhood  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp- 
shire, in  latitude  43°,  may  be  assumed  as  one 
of  the  extreme  points  at  which  it  is  found 
towards  the  northeast.  But  here  it  is  only  a 
tall  shrub,  rarely  exceeding  15  or  20  feet  in 
height,  whilst  in  the  Middle  States  it  attains  a 
height  of  50  or  60  feet,  being  still  more  stately 
farther  south.  It  is  found  in  the  Western  and  ex- 
treme Southern  States,  and  in  the  low,  maritime 
parts  of  Virginia,  of  the  two  Carolinas,  and  of 
Georgia.  The  sassafras  is  observed  to  grow 
of  preference  about  plantations  and  in  soils 
which  have  been  exhausted  by  cultivation  and 
abandoned.  The  old  trees  give  birth  to  hun- 
dreds of  shoots  which  spring  from  the  earth  at 
little  distances,  but  which  rarely  rise  higher 
than  6  or  8  feet.  Though  this  tree  is  common 
on  poor  land,  and  blooms  and  matures  its  seed 
at  the  height  of  15  or  20  feet,  yet  it  is  never  of 
very  ample  dimensions  except  in  fertile  soils, 
such  as  form  the  declivities  which  skirt  the 
swamps,  and  such  as  sustain  the  luxuriant 
forests  of  Kentucky  and  West  Tennessee. 
About  New  York  and  Philadelphia  the  sassa- 
fras is  in  full  bloom  in  the  beginning  of  May, 
and  six  weeks  earlier  in  South  Carolina.  The 
wood  stripped  of  its  bark  is  very  durable,  strong, 
and  resists  worms,  &c.  It  forms  excellent  posts 
for  gates.  Bedsteads  made  of  it  are  never 
infested  with  bugs.  It  is,  however,  only  occa- 
sionally employed  for  any  useful  purpose,  and 
never  found  in  the  lumber-yards  of  large  towns. 
The  pith  and  dried  leaves  of  the  young  branches 
of  the  sassafras  contain  much  mucilage,  resem- 
bling that  of  the  okra  plant,  and  are  extensively 
used  in  New  Orleans  to  thicken  potage,  and 
make  the  ce\ehrsited.  gumbo  soup.  In  Virginia  and 
other  Southern  States,  the  inhabitants  make  a 

979 


8AW-FLIEa 

beer  by  boiling  Ihe  young  shoots  of  the  sassa- 
fras in  water,  to  which  a  cenain  qoantity  of  mo- 
lasses or  sngar  is  added,  the  whole  being  left  to 
ferment.  The  beer  is  regarded  as  a  wholesome 
and  pleaiiant  drink  daring  summer.  So  is  an 
infusion  of  the  bark  of  the  roots,  which  is 
much  dnink  for  the  care  of  cutaneous  and 
other  disorders. 

8AW.FLIE8.  The  names  of  above  6C 
species  of  saw-flies,  natives  of  the  United 
8utP4.  and  found  in  Massachusetts,  are  given 
in  Dr.  HarriJi's  Catalogue.  Some  of  these  are 
very  inicresiing  in  their  caterpillar  state.  One 
of  the  largest  flies  is  called  Cwi6fx  C7/mt,  be- 
cause il  inhabits  the  elm.  The  female  of  this 
ipecies^at  first  sight,  might  be  mistaken  for  the 
bomeL  (The  name  Cimbtx  was  originally 
rtren  by  the  Greeks  to  certain  insects  resem- 
bling bees  and  wasps,  but  not  producing  honey.) 
The  elm  saw-fly  measures  an  inch  in  length, 
the  winjrs  exp«nding  about  2  inches.    It  ap- 

C»ar»  in  the  Eastern  States  from  the  last  of 
ay  to  the  middle  of  June,  during  which  the 
female  lays  her  eggs  upon  the  common  Ameri- 
can elm,  the  leaves  of  which  serve  as  food  for 
Ihe  young  caterpillars  hatched  out.  These 
come  to  their  growth  in  August,  and  then  mea- 
sure from  I  i  to  2  inches  in  length.  Like  all 
fal*e  caterpillars  of  the  genus  Cimbex,  this  in- 
»ecl,  when  handled  or  disturbed,  betrays  its 
f*.«r<  ,.r  ,t%  displeasure  by  spirting  out  a  watery 
certain  little  pores  situated  on  the 
'^  body  just  above  its  spiracles.  The 
f«l»e  catrrpillars  of  other  saw-flies  prove  very 
destructire  to  pines  and  other  fir  trees.  They 
crawl  down  the  trees  and  weave  cocoons  which 
are  concealed  in  the  leaves,  &c.  In  the  follow- 
ing spring  the  insects  burst  their  chrysalids 
and  comr  forth  as  winged  flies. 

Tfo  means,  says  Dr.  Harris,  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  caterpillars  of  the  fir  saw-fly  have 
been  tried  here,  except  showering  them  with 
>oap-suds,  and  with  solutions  of  whale-oil 
»oap,  which  has  been  found  effectual.  They 
may  also  be  shaken  off"  or  beaten  from  the 
trees,  early  in  the  morning,  when  they  are  tor- 
pid and  easily  fall,  and  may  be  collected  in 
•beets,  and  be  burned  or  given  to  swine.  For 
other  means  to  check  their  depredations  the 
reader  may  consult  the  articles  on  the  pine  and 
fir  saw-flies  of  Europe,  contained  in  KoUar's 
3Vra/iw. 

Dr.  Harris  has  described  a  kind  of  saw-fly 
(Setamdria  vitis),  which  attacks  the  grape-vine. 
It  Is  of  a  jet-black  colour,  except  the  upper 
part  of  the  thorax,  which  is  red,  the  legs  being 
a  pale-yellow  or  whitish.  The  body  is  about 
i  of  an  inch  long.  The  false  caterpillars  pro- 
ceeding from  the  eggs  of  these  flies  may  be 
found  in  swarms  of  various  ages  on  the  lower 
sides  of  the  leaves,  some  very  small  and  others 
fully  grown.  When  fully  grown  they  measure 
about  Jihs  of  an  inch  in  length.  The  body  is 
a  light-green,  the  legs  and  tip  of  the  tail  being 
black.  After  the  first  moulting  they  become 
almost  entirely  yellow,  and  then  leave  the  vine 
to  burrow  in  the  ground.  They  come  out  again 
from  their  chrysalis  state  in  about  a  fortnight, 
pair  and  lay  eggs  for  a  second  brood.  The 
young  of  Ihe  second  brood  ar«  not  transformed 
>oto  flies  until  the  succeeding  spring,  remain- 
980 


SAW-FLIES. 

ing  in  the  ground  in  their  cocoons  through  the 
winter.  "For  some  years  previous  to  the  pub- 
lication of  my  Discourse,'"  says  Dr.  Harris,  "I 
observed  that  these  insects  annually  increased 
in  number,  and,  in  the  year  1832,  they  had  be- 
come so  numerous  and  destructive  that  many 
vines  were  entirely  stripped  of  their  leaves  by 
them.  Whether  the  remedies  then  proposed 
by  me,  or  any  other  means,  have  tended  to  di- 
minish their  numbers,  or  to  keep  them  in  check, 
I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain,  and  have 
had  no  further  opportunity  for  making  observa- 
tions on  the  insects  themselves.  At  that  time, 
air-slacked  lime,  which  was  found  to  be  fatal 
to  these  false  caterpillars  of  the  vine,  was  ad- 
vised to  be  dusted  upon  them,  and  strewed  also 
upon  the  ground  under  the  vines,  to  insure  the 
destruction  of  such  of  the  insects  as  might 
fall.  A  solution  of  one  pound  of  common  hard 
soap  in  five  or  six  gallons  of  soft  water,  is  used 
by  English  gardeners  to  destroy  the  young  of 
the  gooseberry  saw-fly ;  and  the  same  was  re- 
commended to  be  tried  upon  the  insects  under 
consideration. 

"  All  the  young  of  the  saw-flies  do  not  so 
closely  resemble  caterpillars  as  the  preceding; 
some  of  them,  as  has  already  been  stated,  have 
the  form  of  slugs  or  naked  snails.  Of  this  de- 
scription is  the  kind  called  the  slug-worm  in 
this  country,  and  the  slimy  grub  of  the  pear 
tree  in  Europe.  So  different  are  these  from 
the  other  false  caterpillars,  that  they  would  not 
be  suspected  to  belong  to  the  same  family. 
Their  relationship  becomes  evident,  however, 
when  they  have  finished  their  transformations; 
and  accordingly  we  find  that  the  saw-flies  of 
our  slug-worms  and  those  of  the  vine  are  so 
much  alike  in  form  and  structure,  that  they 
are  both  included  in  the  same  genus.  More- 
over, there  are  certain  false  caterpillars,  inter- 
mediate in  their  forms  and  appearance  between 
the  slimy  and  slug  like  kinds  and  those  that 
more  nearly  resemble  the  true  caterpillars; 
thus  admirably  illustrating  the  truth  of  the  re- 
mark, that  nature  proceeds  not  with  abrupt  or 
unequal  steps  ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  amidst 
the  immense  variety  of  living  forms,  where- 
with this  earth  has  been  peopled,  there  is  a  re- 
gular gradation  and  connection,  which,  in  par- 
ticular cases,  if  we  fail  to  discover,  it  is  rather 
to  be  attributed  to  our  own  ignorance  and 
short-sightedness,  than  to  any  want  of  harmony 
and  regularity  in  the  plan  of  the  Creator.  In 
considering  the  resemblances  of  species,  we 
cannot  fail  to  admire  the  care  that  has  been 
taken,  by  almost  insensible  shades  of  differ 
ence  among  them,  or  by  peculiar  circum- 
stances controlling  their  distribution,  their  ha- 
bits of  life,  and  their  choice  of  food,  to  prevent 
them  from  commingling,  whereby  each  species 
is  made  to  preserve  forever  its  individual 
identity. 

•*  The  saw-fly  of  the  rose,  which,  as  it  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  described  before,  may 
be  called  Selandria  rosa,  from  its  favourite 
plant,  so  nearly  resembles  the  slug-worm  saw- 
fly  as  not  to  be  distinguished  therefrom  except 
by  a  practised  observer.  The  caterpillars  of 
these  perform  their  appointed  work  of  destruc- 
tion in  the  autumn ;  they  then  go  into  the 
ground, make  their  earthen  cells,  remain  there* 


SAW-GRASS. 


SCARIFIER. 


m  throughout  the  winter,  and  appear,  in  the 
winged  form,  in  the  following  spring  and 
summer." 

Diiriris:  several  years  past,  these  pernicious 
vermin  have  infesied  the  rose  bushes  in  the 
vicinity  of  Boston,  and  have  proved  so  inju- 
rious to  them,  as  to  have  excited  the  attention 
of  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society,  by 
whom  a  premium  of  i^lOO,  for  the  most  suc- 
cessful mode  of  destroying  these  insects,  was 
offered,  in  the  summer  of  1840.  Showering  or 
syringing  the  bushes  with  a  liquor,  made  by 
mixing  with  wat^  the  juice  expressed  from 
tobacco  by  tobacconists,  has  been  recom- 
mended; but  some  caution  is  necessary  in 
making  this  mixture  of  a  proper  strength,  for 
if  too  strong  it  is  injurious  to  plants;  and  the 
experiment  does  not  seem,  as  yet,  to  have  been 
conducted.with  sufficient  care  to  insure  safety 
and  success.  Dusting  lime  over  the  plants 
when  wet  with  dew  has  been  tried,  and  found 
of  some  use;  but  this  and  all  other  remedies 
will  probably  yield  in  efficacy  to  Mr.  Hag- 
gerston's  mixture  of  whale-oil  soap  and  water, 
in  the  proportion  of  two  pounds  of  the  soap  to 
fifteen  gallons  of  water.  For  particular  direc- 
tions to  use  this,  see  Aphuies. 

For  a  species  of  minute  saw-fly,  destructive 
to  the  turnip  crops  in  England,  see  Flt   is 

TURXIPS. 

SA  W-  GRASS.    See  Bog-Rush. 

SAXIFRAGE  (Saxifraga ;  from  saxuniy  a 
stone,  and  fnmgo,  to  break;  in  allusion  to  its 
reputed  medical  qualities  in  that  disease). 
This  is  a  very  extensive  genus  of  beautiful 
alpine  plants,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  par- 
ticularlv  suitable  for  ornamenting  rock-work, 
or  growing  on  the  sides  of  naked  banks.  They 
are  all  readily  increased  by  seeds  or  divisions. 
These  herbs  are,  for  the  most  part,  perennial, 
various  in  habit,  often  in  some  degree  hairy 
and  glutinous,  with  stalked,  simple,  undivided 
or  lobed  leaves.  Flowers  either  panicled, 
rarely  solitary,  on  a  long  naked  stalk,  or  co- 
rymbose at  the  top  of  a  round  leafy  stem; 
erect,  white,  yellow,  or  purple,  frequently  spot- 
ted, inodorous.  Dr.  Darlington  describes  two 
American  species  under  the  names  of  Virginia 
or  Early  Saxifrage,  and  Pennsylvania  or  Tall 
Saxifrage.  Canada  and  Labrador  have  some 
species. 

SAXIFRAGE,  BURNET.    See  Buknet. 

SAXIFRAGE,  GOLDEN.  See  Golden  Saxi- 
frage. 

SCAB.  A  contagious  disease  incident  to 
sheep,  which,  like  the  mange  in  cattle,  horses, 
and  dogs,  and  the  itch  in  the  human  subject,  is 
the  effect  of  certain  minute  insects  belonging 
to  the  class  ^cai-i ;  at  least  these  insects  al- 
ways are  present  in  this  disease.  In  the  human 
subject  the  itch  insect  obtains  its  food  from  the 
pustules  of  the  disease.  The  cure  of  scab, 
however,  is  supposed  to  be  in  the  destruction 
of  this  insect.  Washes,  whether  infusions  of 
tobacco,  hellebore,  or  arsenic,  appear  to  be  ob- 
jectionable, and  a  safer  and  more  effectual 
method  of  curing  the  disease  and  benefiting 
the  wool  is  the  application  of  a  mercurial 
ointment.  The  ointment  should  be  made  of 
two  strensrths.  That  for  bad  cases  should  con- 
sist of  common  mercurial  or  Trooper's  oint- 


ment, rubbed  down  with  three  times  its  weight 
of  lard.  The  other,  for  ordinary  purposes, 
should  contain  five  parts  of  lard  to  one  of  the 
mercurial  ointment.  (Youatt  on  the  Sheep,  p. 
536.)     See  Sheep,  Diseases  or. 

SCABIOUS  (Scabiosa,  from  scabies,  the  itch; 
the  common  kind  is  said  to  cure  that  disorder). 
Some  of  these  plants  are  well  adapted  for  oi- 
namenting  the  flower-border.  The  herbaceous- 
species  are  readily  increased  by  division  at 
the  root,  or  by  seeci.  The  seeds  of  the  annual 
kinds  merely  require  sowing  in  the  open  bor- 
der. There  are  three  indigenous  species,  all 
perennials;  viz.,  the  devil's-bit  scabious  (S. 
succisa),  which  is  common  in  grassy,  rather 
moist  pastures,  flowering  from  August  to  Oc- 
tober (see  Devil's-Bit  Scabious);  the  field 
scabious  (S.  arvensis),  growing  in  corn-fields 
and  pastures,  with  a  bristly  stem  a  yard  high. 
The  radical  leaves  are  lanceolate,  serrated, 
stalked,  the  rest  pinnatifid  and  quite  sessile. 
The  flowers,  which  appear  in  July,  are  large 
and  handsome,  of  a  fine  pale  purple.  Sheep 
and  goats  are  said  to  eat  this  herb  ;  but  its  bitter 
and  nauseous  flavour  is  not  agreeable  to  do- 
mestic cattle.  The  small  scabious  (S.  coluni' 
baria)  is  a  less  common  species,  attaining  to 
the  height  of  twelve  or  eighteen  inches.  The 
leaves  and  flowers  are  smaller  and  more  deli- 
cate than  the  last. 

SCALD  CREAM.  Provincially,  cream 
raised  by  heat,  or  clouted  cream.  See  Daibt, 
Milk,  Butter,  Lactometer,  &c. 

SCALLION.     See  Oi^iox. 

SCAPE.  In  botany,  a  stem  rising  from  the 
roots,  more  frequently  from  a  rhizome  or  un- 
derground stem,  bearing  nothing  but  the  flow- 
ers.    The  iris  is  an  example. 

SCARIFIER.  A  tillage  implement  for  stir- 
ring and  loosening  the  soil,  without  bringing 
up  a  fresh  surface.  Under  the  same  head  may 
be  included  the  grubber,  the  cultivator,  and  the 
scuflfler,  all  of  which  act  on  the  combined 
principles  of  plough  and  harrow  at  the  same 
time.  Some  of  these  implements  have  wheels, 
by  the  raising  or  lowering  of  which  the  tines 
or  prongs  may  be  made  to  sink  more  or  less 
into  the  earth.     See  Harrow. 

Amongst  the  earliest  of  the  many  varieties 
of  this  implement  that  I  am  acquainted  with 
(says  Mr.  J.  A.  Ransome,  in  his  work  upon  the 
Implements  of  .Agriculture),  is  one  which  the 
late  T.  Cooke  used,  attached  to  the  frame- 
work of  his  drill,  the  coulters  and  apparatus 
of  which,  being  removed,  gave  place  to  a  bar, 
or  head,  suspended  by  joints  to  the  axle,  on 
which  a  row  of  strong  tines  was  fixed.  See 
PI.  14,  fig.  2. 

On  a  similar  plan  to  this,  but  working  on  a 
plough-carriage,  another  invention  by  Robert 
Fuller,  a  practical  farmer  of  Ipswich,  came 
into  operation,  and  worked  exceedingly  well. 

BiddelVs  Scarifier  and  Extirpator  (PI.  15,  fig. 
3)  is  held  in  deservedly  high  repute  in  Suffolk 
(where  it  originated)  and  the  eastern  and  mid- 
land counties,  where  it  is  now  in  very  general 
use.  It  is  an  implement  of  immense  power, 
and  well  calculated  to  supersede  the  extensive 
use  of  the  plough,  otherwise  indispensable  in 
the  cultivation  of  strong  land,  and  we  are  in 
clined  to  believe  with  better  effect.    There  can 

981 


IS: 


SCARIFIER. 

he  DO  qaesUon  thai  in  a  general  way  a  finer 
tilth  may  b«  obtained  with  Biddell's  scarifier 
than  with  any  plough;  and,  for  this  reason, 
ilf<(mg  and  tenacious  clays  and  even  many  of 
IIm  belter  loam*,  though  dry  at  the  surface  and 
apparently  in  good  order  for  ploughing,  fre- 
quently torn  up  coarse  and  "  loamy."  In  the 
early  part  of  the  spring,  the  combined  action 
of  fffMt  and  the  atmosphere  may  probably  in 
liflie  eAel  what  a  scarifier  would  do  at  once, 
▼il^  reduce  the  clods  to  a  comparatively  fine 
mould,  without  which  the  hope  of  a  good  bar- 
cr»'p  is  but  slender.  There  is  no  reason 
y  the  process  of  scarifying  should  not 
prove  equally  beneficial  to  the  turnip  or  any 
other  crop.  Indeed,  some  are  of  opinion  that 
what  IS  usually  called  a  itaU  furrow,  in  contra- 
distinction to  a  newly  ploughed  one,  is  more 
favourable  to  the  germination  and  after-growth 
of  a  plant  like  the  turnip  than  a  sowing  on  soil 
flrctbly  turned  up. 

A  great  improvement  on  Fuller's  extirpator, 
was  /'ii/iif  »n'»  Patent  Stlf-cUaning  Harrow.  PI. 
16w  fig.  6.  This  well-known  implement  may  be 
called  the  parent  of  several  of  the  same  de- 
scription, which,  in  improved  forms,  have  sub- 
aeqaeatljr  come  into  use.  It  is  formed  of  iron, 
aad*  aeoonHiag  to  the  inventor,  has  the  foUow- 
ittf  a^Taatages: — I.  From  the  position  in 
which  the  tines  are  fixed,  their  points  (aaaaa) 
Mfif^np  oearir  on  a  parallel  to  the  surface  of 
the  land,  it  u>Uows,  that  this  implement  is 
drawn  with  the  least  possible  waste  of  power. 
S.  From  the  curved  form  of  the  tines,  all  stub- 
bli^  oovMb,  dice,  that  the  tines  may  encounter  in 
their  progress  through  the  soil,  is  brought  to 
the  surface,  and  rolled  up  to  the  face  of  the 
tines ;  when  it  loses  its  hold,  and  is  thrown  off 
(ub  k  b  b  b)t  always  relieving  itself  from  be- 
ing choked,  however  wet  or  foul  the  land. 
3.  The  mode  by  which  this  harrow  can  be  so 
easily  adjusted  to  work  at  any  depth  required, 
renders  it  of  great  value ;  this  is  done  as  quick 
as  thought  by  moving  the  regulator  (c)  upwards 
or  downwards  between  the  lateral  spring  (rfc); 
aad  by  each  movement  upwards  into  the  open- 
iags  (/f  *!*),  the  fore-tines  (l  1 1 1)  will  be 
allowed  to  enter  the  soil  about  1^  inch  deeper 
by  each  movement  into  the  different  spaces, 
nntil  the  regulator  is  thrown  up  to  (e),  when 
tne  harrow  is  given  its  greatest  power,  and 
wUI  Ihea  he  working  at  the  depth  of  8  or  9 
iaelwa.  Abo  the  axletree  of  the  hind-wheels 
is  Moved  betwixt  o  and  p,  a  space  of  7  or  8 
ioebea,bir  a  screw  through  the  axletree,  which 
is  toroed  hjr  a  smaU  handle  (g),  so  that  the 
haad  part  ot  tbe  harrow,  by  this  simple  mode, 
is  also  regvlated  to  ihe  depth  at  which  it  is 
found  aoMsaary  to  work.  4.  When  the  har- 
row is  drawB  to  the  head  or  foot  lands,  the  re- 
golalor  ia  pressed  down  to  rf,  and  the  fore-wheel 
(m)  is  then  allowed  to  pass  under  the  fore-bar 
(•).  by  which  the  nose  of  the  harrow  is  lifted, 
and  the  points  of  the  fore-tines  (////)  will  then 
be  uven  3  or  3  inches  out  of  the  soil,  which 
affords  the  means  of  turning  the  harrow  with 
the  greatest  facility.  6.  Being  made  of  malle- 
able  iron,  iu  durability  may  be  said  to  be  end- 
ess  ;  whereas,  if  made  of  wood,  the  prime  cost 
would  be  entirely  lost  at  the  end  of  every  5  or 
t  years,    La&tly,  the  mode  of  working  is  so 


SCOURING. 

easy,  that  any  boy  of  10  or  12  years  of  age  is 
perfectly  qualified  to  manage  it.  Next  to  Wil- 
kie's  brake,  we  consider  this  the  most  valuable 
of  pronged  implements,  and  think  that,  like 
Wilkie's  implement,  it  might  be  substituted  for 
the  plough,  after  drilled  green  or  root  crops,  ca 
light  soil  generally.  Some  account  of  the  as- 
tonishing powers  of  the  implement,  as  exem- 
plified in  breaking  up  Hyde  Park,  London,  in. 
1826,  will  be  found  in  the  Gardener's  Magazine^ 
vol.  ii.  p.  260. 

Wilkie^i  ParalleUd justing  Brake  is  very  nearly 
allied  to  the  implement  last  mentioned ;  its  chief 
improvement  consists  in  the  triangular  adjust- 
ment of  the  teeth  or  prongs,  and  the  facility 
with  which  they  may  be  completely  thrown 
out  of  work;  whereas,  with  Finlayson's  har- 
row this  can  only  be  partially  done,  the  hind- 
teeth  of  the  latter  still  retaining  some  hold  of 
the  ground,  even  though  the  first  row  be  lifted 
up.  This  we  are  aware  has  been  represented 
as  an  advantage,  inasmuch  as  the  slight  hold 
retained  by  the  back-row  of  tines  prevents  the 
implement  from  running  on  the  horse's  heels, 
when  turning  at  the  ends  of  the  stetches  on 
hilly  ground.  We  see  but  little  in  this  as  an 
argument  in  favour  of  any  implement  of  the 
kind.  Indeed,  we  are  rather  disposed  to  give 
the  preference  to  one  like  Wilkie's  brake, 
which,  by  a  parallel  movement  of  the  frame  in 
which  the  tines  are  fixed,  can,  either  at  the 
turnings  or  while  in  action,  be  elevated  or  de- 
pressed en  masse. 

Kirkwood*s  Gh-ubber  in  its  operation  somewhat 
resembles  those  last  described,  but  is  superior 
to  them  in  working.  The  leverage  that  is  ob- 
tained by  pressing  on  the  handles  or  stilts  of 
the  machine,  whether  in  action  or  rest,  is  so 
simple,  and  yet  so  powerful  in  its  effect,  as  to 
regulate  the  depth  of  the  tines  to  the  greatest 
nicety;  or,  in  cases  of  obstruction,  to  throw 
them  out  of  work  altogether.  It  is  an  admira- 
ble implement,  and  well  deserving  the  high 
commendation  which  has  been  bestowed  on  it. 

SCORE.  A  term  signifying  20  lbs.  in  speak- 
ing of  the  weight  of  cattle  or  swine. 

SCORING.  A  provincial  term  signifying 
the  glossing  or  making  the  furrow-slice  in 
ploughing  or  turning  land  up,  by  the  plough 
acting  as  a  trowel.  It  is  sometimes  written 
scowering. 

SCORPION-GRASS  (Myosotis,  from  myos,  a 
mouse,  and  otos,  an  ear ;  fancied  resemblance 
in  the  leaves.)  All  the  perennial  species  of 
this  genus  are  very  beautiful,  especially  the 
well-known  Forget-me-not  (M.  paluslris).  They 
grow  best  in  moist  places,  or  by  the  edges  of 
ponds  or  ditches ;  they  may  also  be  grown  in 
pots  among  alpine  plants.  The  annual  species 
like  a  dry,  sandy  soil ;  most  of  the  perennial 
kinds  may  be  increased  by  divisions  of  the 
roots,  and  all  by  seeds.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  de- 
scribes seven  species  of  scorpion-grass  indi- 
genous to  England,  two  of  which  are  annuals, 
the  rest  perennials.  Besides  the  M.  palustris 
and  M.  arvensis,  there  are  one  or  two  other  spe- 
cies found  in  the  United  States. 

SCOTCH  FIR.     A  common  but  improper 
name   for  the   Scotch  pine  {Pinus  sylvestris). 
See  Pine  and  Fik. 
1      SCOURING.    SeePuBGiwo. 


SCRAP 


SEDGE. 


SCRAPER.     See  Mouldbabt. 

SCUFFLER.  An  implement  of  somewhat 
the  same  kind  as  the  scarifier,  but  which  is 
mostly  lighter  and  employed  in  working  after 
it.    See  Hahkow. 

SCULL-CAP  (Scntellaria).  There  are  seve- 
ral species  of  this  plant  found  in  the  L^nited 
States.  The  common  hairy  scull-cap  (S.pilosa) 
has  a  perennial  root,  and  stem  12  or  18  inches 
high,  more  or  less  hairy,  and  often  purplish. 
The  flower  is  a  purple-blue  colour,  and  opens 
from  June  to  August.  There  are  several  va- 
rieties of  this  species.  The  large-flowered  or 
entire-leaved  scull-cap  (S.  integrifolia)  is  dis- 
tinguished for  its  handsome,  large,  bluish 
flowers,  which  bloom  in  June.  It  is  intensely 
bitter  to  the  taste.  The  lateral-flowered  scull- 
cap  (S.  InterifoUa),  has  acquired  the  name  of 
mad-dog  scull-cap,  from  its  having  acquired 
much  notoriety  some  years  ago  as  a  supposed 
remedy  for  hydrophobia.  "Like  its  numerous 
predecessors  of  the  same  pretensions,"  says 
Dr.  Darlington,  "  it  had  its  day  of  importance 
among  the  credulous,  and  then  sank  into  the 
oblivion  which  necessarily  awaits  all  such 
sjienfirs."  Several  other  species  of  scull-cap 
are  enumerated  in  the  United  States. 

SCURVY-GRASS  (Cochlearia),  A  genus  of 
plants  of  little  interest,  with  the  exception  of 
horse-radish  (C  armornrea),  and  the  common 
scurvy-grass  (C.  officinalis).  Besides  these 
there  are  three  other  indigenous  species:  the 
Greenland  scurvy-grass,  the  English  scurvy- 
grass,  and  the  Danish  scurvy-grass.  They  are 
either  annual  or  biennial  herbs,  and  were  once 
celebrated  as  antiscorbutics,  but  have  lost  their 
reputation.  The  plants  are  mostly  smooth  and 
rather  succulent,  with  branched,  spreading 
stems,  and  simple  leaves,  the  radical  ones 
stalked  and  most  entire.  Flowers  white,  or 
pale-purplish. 

The  common  scurvy-grass  is  cultivated  in 
gardens  for  its  leaves.  It  flourishes  best  in  a 
sandy,  moist  soil,  but  will  succeed  in  almost 
any  other,  especially  if  abounding  in  moisture. 
The  situation  must  always  be  as  open  as  pos- 
sible. It  is  propagated  by  seed,  which  should 
be  sown  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe  in  July  or  June, 
for  if  kept  from  the  ground  until  the  spring, 
they  will  entirely  lose  their  vegetative  power, 
or  produce  plants  weak  and  unproductive.  The 
sowing  is  performed  in  drills  8  inches  apart, 
and  half  an  inch  deep. 

SCYTHE.  This  implement  for  mowing 
grass  has  been  latterly  much  used  for  cutting 
grain  crops,  and  with  great  success,  when  it 
has  been  properly  mounted  with  a  rake  or 
cradle,  and  put  into  expert  hands. 

Drummond's  iron-handled  scythe  is  consi- 
dered in  Scotland  very  efiective.  A  good 
mower  will  cut  down  with  it  from  an  acre  and 
a  half  to  two  acres  in  the  day,  and  with  this 
scythe  he  can  either  cut  out  from  the  standing 
com  when  upright,  or  cut  in,  as  he  may  deem 
the  better  way  at  all  times. 

The  common  grass-scythe  will  cut  oats  and 
barley  also  very  well  when  upright,  but  the 
mower  will  perceive  his  inability  to  lay  down 
evenly  and  at  right  angles  with  the  standing 
com,  for  the  convenience  of  the   binders,  a 


heavy  crop  of  wheat  with  this  scythe,  even  il 
furnished  with  a  bow. 

The  Hainault  or  Flemish  scythe,  the  favour* 
ile  Belgian  implement  for  severing  corn,  ap- 
pears to  be  a  very  efficient  instrument,  but 
although  all  the  trials  made  with  it  in  Scotland 
and  England  report  favourably  of  it,  it  has  not 
come  into  use  even  partially;  prejudice  and 
the  results  of  habit  and  custom  rendering  the 
old  sickles,  scythes,  and  reaping-hooks  more 
popular.  See  Hat-Making,  Reaping-Hook, 
Sickle,  &;c. 

SCYTHE  AND  CRADLE.  The  well-known 
American  implement  called  the  snjtfie  and  era- 
die  used  in  the  United  States  for  harvesting 
wheat  and  all  other  kinds  of  small  grain,  is 
much  preferable  to  the  Hainault  scythe.  The 
cradle  is  made  with  5  long  teeth  extending  the 
full  length  of  the  scythe,  and  bent  to  the  same 
shape.  These  teeth  are  generally  made  of  the 
strong  and  pliant  ash,  shaved  down  so  as  to  be 
as  light  as  is  consistent  with  the  necessary 
strength.  The  handle  is  bent  in  such  a 
manner  as  contributes  greatly  to  the  conve- 
nience of  using  the  implement.  It  is  slowly 
becoming  introduced  into  England. 

SEA-BUCKTHORN.    See  SALLow-THOBir. 

SEA-HOLLY.     See  EnTNeo. 

SEA-KALE.     See  Kale. 

SEA-LAVENDER.     See  Thrift. 

SEA-MUD  or  OUSE.  This  rich  saline  de- 
position from  salt-marshes  and  the  sea-shores 
is  found  to  possess  very  enriching  properties, 
and  to  be  a  useful  addition  to  the  soil  where  it 
can  be  obtained  in  any  quantity.  See  Allit- 
virM,  MARSH-Mun,  and  Warping. 

SEAM.  A  provincial  term  applied  to  any 
fatty  substance,  as  tallow,  grease,  or  lard.  A 
seam  of  corn  is  also  a  quarter  or  8  bushels,  and 
a  seam  of  wood  a  horse-load,  or  about  3  cwt. 

SEA- MILKWORT  {GUmx,  from  glaukos, 
gray,  in  allusion  to  the  colour  of  the  leaves). 
The  common  sea-milk  wort,  or  black  salt-wort 
(G.  maritima),  is  in  England  a  pretty  little  in- 
digenous perennial  plant,  growing  abundantly 
in  muddy  salt-marshes. 

SEA-SHELL.  All  marine  shells,  where  they 
can  be  obtained  in  sufficient  quantity,  form  a 
durable  and  lasting  addition  to  the  soil.  See 
Otsteu-Shells. 

SEA-WARE.  A  term  frequently  applied  to 
the  weeds  thrown  up  by  the  sea  in  many  situa- 
tions, and  which  is  collected  and  made  use  of 
as  manure  and  for  other  purposes.  It  con- 
sists principally  of  the  Querais  marina,  and  va- 
rious species  of  Fuci,  and  has  often  the  names 
of  sea-wrack,  ore-weed,  sea-tangle,  &c.  See 
Kelp. 

SECHIUM  (Sechium  edulis  or  Siegos  edulis). 
A  new  vegetable  from  South  America;  in  size 
and  form  resembling  a  very  large  bell-pear; 
the  skin  smooth,  of  a  pale-green  colour;  the 
flesh  solid.  For  the  table  it  is  prepared  in  a 
manner  similar  to  the  squash,  and  is  stated  to 
be  of  a  more  delicate  flavour.  It  has  but  one 
single  flat  seed,  which  is  larger  than  a  Lima 
bean.  A  new  vegetable,  imported  by  Mr.  Buist, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  altogether  unlike  any  thing 
before  known  or  cultivated  here. 

SEDGE  {Carex,  from  careo,  to  want,  the  upper 

988 


SEED. 

•pikes  being  without  weds).  This  is  a  very 
exteniiive  genus,  ihe  species  of  which  are  un- 
interesting ;  pari  of  ihem  are  natives  of  marshy 
situations,  while  a  few  thrive  on  dr)',  sandy 
eminences ;  they  seed  freely,  by  which  they  are 
increased.  The  roots  are,  perhaps  without  ex- 
ception, perennial,  mostly  creeping;  sometimes 
•broQs  and  tufted  only;  herbage  grassy;  stem 
simple,  generally  with  thin,  finely  serrated,  and 
•harplv-cutting  angles,  without  knots  or  joints. 
Leaves  linear,  pointed,  flat,  roughish,  with 
mmilarlv  cutting  edges ;  their  bases  more  or 
leaa  tubular  and  sheathing,  membranous  at  the 
summit,  orten  auricled,  the  upper  ones  becom- 
inc  bractes.  Sir  J.  E.  Smith  enumerates  and 
describes  no  less  than  62  species  of  Carices  in- 
digenous to  Great  Britain.  There  are  a  great 
many.«»pecies  of  sedge  found  in  the  United  Stales. 

SEED  IS  the  reproductive  part  of  a  plant, 
resulting  from  a  change  eflecied  in  the  ovules 
by  the  process  of  impregnation :  it  contains  the 
embryo  or  rudiment  of  a  future  plant 

For  the  preservation  of  the  seed  from  insects 
and  decomposition,  and  for  food  for  the  em- 
bryo, seeds  contain  fecula,  saccharine,  oily, 
and  gummy  matter  within  their  coverings,  and 
sometimes'  acrid,  poisonous  principles.  In 
Iheir  coverings  they  also  contain  mucilage, 
oil,  both  fixed  and  volatile,  and  other  principles 


SENSITIVE  PLANT. 

which  man  makes  subservient  to  his  use,  either 
as  diet  or  condiments,  or  for  other  purposes. 
Seed  is  a  form  of  reproductive  matter  peculiar 
to  flowering  plants,  its  equivalent  in  flowerless 
plants  being  the  sporuli.  It  is  commonly  and 
very  justly  remarked,  that,  as  the  seed  is  the 
part  intended  by  nature  to  multiply  the  races 
of  plants,  in  this  respect  it  resembles  the  egg, 
and,  like  it,  long  retains  its  vitality. 

The  choice  of  the  seed  intended  to  be  sown 
is  an  object  of  greater  importance  than  many 
farmers  seem  to  imagine.  It  is  not  sufficient 
that  the  finest  grain  be  chosen  for  this  purpose, 
unless  it  be  likewise  clean  from  weeds.  In 
procuring  seed,  it  should  be  a  rule  with  the 
farmer  to  purchase  or  reserve  such  as  is  the 
most  full,  plump,  sound,  and  healthy,  whatever 
the  kind  may  be,  as  it  is  perhaps  only  in  this 
way  that  crops  of  good  corn  can  be  insured. 
And  this  practice  is  still  more  obvious  from 
the  circumstance  of  its  being  in  some  measure 
the  same  with  plants  as  with  animals,  that  the 
produce  is  in  a  degree  similar  to  that  from 
which  it  originated.  See  Barlkt,  Grasses, 
Oats,  Temperature,  Wheat,  &c. 

The  usual  quantity  of  seed  applied  per  acre 
for  the  ordinary  crops  of  the  English  farmer, 
when  either  broadcast,  drilled,  or  dibbled,  is  as 
follows : — 


WlN«t.         -         -         - 

Time  oC  towing. 

Broadcast. 

DH„. 

Dibbled. 

September  to  December 

2t  to  3i  bushels. 

2  to  3  bushels. 

U  to  2  bushels. 

©•I.       -         -         -         - 

February  to  April 

4  to  6 

3i  to  4i 

2ito3 

Bwrttjr  .... 

February  to  May   - 

3  to  4 

2i  to  3i 

Ry«      -       -       .       - 

Au|(U8i  and  September  - 

n  to  3i 

2  to  3 

Bmm   .... 

November  to  iMarch 

3  to  4 

2i  to  3i 

2  to  3 

P««t     .       .       -       - 

January  to  March 

3i  to  a 

3  to  4 

3 

T»rM    .... 

August  to  March   . 

2ito3 

2to2i 

Bnckwheal   ... 

May        ...        . 

2to2i 

2 

Clotrer.  Red  - 

March  and  April    . 

12  to  16  lb. 

10  to  14  lb. 

-—  Wh..e^„,„df 

Do.     ...        - 
Do.     -        -        -       - 

3  to  4 
2 

Do.     ...        . 

2 

RjrcGrsM     -       .       - 

Do.      - 

Ipeck 

Turnip.        .       .       - 

May  to  AugUBt 

2  to  3  lb. 

U  to  2  lb. 

Maivel.wnnel     . 

April  and  May 

Potaioe*        ... 

March  to  June 

- 

20  to  25  bush. 

The  quantities  here  given  are  those  common  ! 
throughout  the  island.    But  from  the  general  I 
custom  in  Flanders,  and  from  the  extensive 
oractice  which  I  have  witnessed  on  the  farms 
of  Mr.  Hewitt  Davis  and  other  excellent  far- 
mers, I  am  inclined  to  think  that  these  quanti- 
ucs  may  be  considerably  reduced.    As  in  most  ■ 
cases  it  is  usual  to  have  on  the  land  many 
more  seedling  plants  than  the  soil  can  properly  ! 
mature,  thinner  sowing  has  the  effect  of  pro- ' 
ducing  stronger,  healthier,  and  more  prolific 
betds ;  and  I  am  still  inclined  to  this  opinion 
in  favour  of  thinner  sowing,  notwithstanding  I 
am  aware  that  such  excellent  agriculturists 
is  Lords  Leicester  and  Western  practise,  and 
strongl}  recommend,  thick  sowing. 

As  to  ihe  season  for  sowing,  only  general 
directions  can  be  given.  It  is  a  highly  impor- 
unl  subject,  much  too  little  attended  to  in  ge- 
neral. In  the  north  of  England  they  are  fre- 
-^uently  sowing  weeks  earlier  than  in  the 
vouth. 

SEED-LIP.    A  sort  of  '■»asket  in  which  the 
sower  carries  the  seed  h«  is  about  to  sea  :ter 
ov«r  the  ground. 
984 


SEEL.  A  term  provincially  applied  in  Eng- 
land to  time  or  season  in  respect  to  crops,  as 
hay-seel,  or  hay-time,  and  barley-seel,  or  bar- 
ley-seed time,  bark-seel,  barking-season,  &c. 
It  is  sometimes  written  seal. 

SENNA,  WILD  (Cassia  Marylandica).  This 
plant,  which  is  abundant  in  the  Middle  States, 
is  quite  ornamental,  and  often  introduced  into 
gardens.  It  has  a  perennial  root  and  erect 
stem,  growing  to  the  height  of  3  or  4  feet,  and 
branching.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  the 
imported  senna  (also  a  species  of  cassia),  for 
which  they  are  a  good  substitute,  the  medical 
properties  being  nearly  similar.  Its  flowers 
are  yellow  and  in  clusters,  followed  by  a  seed- 
pod  or  legume  3  or  4  inches  long. 

SENSITIVE  PLANT,  WILD,  commonly 
called TwinklingCassia (Cassia wiV/?'<aws).  This 
plant  is  found  in  the  Middle  States,  on  road- 
sides, &c.  Its  root  is  annual,  and  the  stem 
grows  6  to  12  inches  long,  mostly  oblique, 
slender,  branching,  and  roughish-hairy.  It  pro- 
duces yellow  flowers  in  August,  succeeded  by 
seed-pods  an  inch  to  an  inch  and  a  half  long, 
and  two  or  three  lines  wide. 


SEPTA. 


SHEEP. 


SEPTA.  In  botany,  the  partitions  which 
diviile  tlie  interior  parts  of  a  fruit. 

SERRATE.  A  botanical  term,  implying 
notclif^d,  or  cut  like  the  teeth  of  a  saw. 

SERVICE  TREE  (Pyms).  There  are  in 
England  two  species  of  this  tree,  the  wild  ser- 
vice tree  (P.  torminalis),  and  the  true  service 
tree  (P.  domestira).  Both  are  indigenous  trees, 
often  of  considerable  size,  of  extremely  slow 
growth,  and  the  wood  is  very  hard.  The  service 
tree  is  still  occasionally  to  be  met  with  in  the 
hedgerows  in  Kent,  and  in  the  wealds  of  Sussex, 
as  also  in  the  north  of  England  and  Wales. 
The  leaves  of  the  wild  service  tree  are  dark- 
green,  deciduous,  simple,  somewhat  heart- 
shaped,  serrated,  seven-lobed,  on  long  stalks. 
Flowers  white,  numerous,  in  large,  terminal, 

•rymbose,  downy  panicles.  The  umbilicated 
fruit,  which  is  not  larger  than  that  of  the  haw- 
ti  1,  becomes  agreeably  acid  and  wholesome 
:  .  the  frost  has  touched  it,  or  when,  like  the 
medlar,  it  has  undergone  a  kind  of  putretaclive 
fermentation.  Ray  prefers  its  flavour  to  the 
true  service,  which  latter  is  now  become  obso- 
lete.    See  Junk  Bkhrt. 

SESSILE.  A  botanical  term,  applied  to 
leaves  without  footstalks,  which  are  seated  close 
upon  the  stem. 

SETACEOUS.  In  botany,  implies  shaped 
like  bristles. 

SETON.  In  farriery,  a  small  cord  consti- 
tuted of  a  number  of  threads  laid  together  and 
passed  through  the  skin  by  a  proper  needle,  for 
the  purpose  of  keeping  open  an  issue. 

SH  A  LOT  or  ESC  ALOT  (Mium  ascalonictttn). 
Having  a  stronger  taste  than  the  onion,  yet  not 
leaving,  as  it  is  said,  the  strong  odour  on  the 
palate  which  that  species  of  Allium  is  accus- 
tomed to  do,  the  shalot  is  often  preferred,  and 
employed  instead,  both  in  culinary  prepara- 
tions and  for  eating  in  its  natural  state.  Each 
offset  of  the  root  will  increase  if  planted  in  a 
similar  manner  to  its  parent.  The  planting 
may  be  performed  during  October  or  November, 
or  early  in  the  spring,  as  February,  March,  or 
beginning  of  April.  The  first  is  the  best  sea- 
son, especially  if  the  soil  lies  dry,  as  the  bulbs 
become  finer;  but  otherwise  the  spring  is  to  be 
preferred,  for  excessive  moisture  destroys  the 
sets.  Mr.  Henderson  supports  the  practice  of 
planting  in  autumn,  and  says,  "  if  the  smallest 
offsets  are  employed  for  planting,  they  never 
become  mouldy  in  the  ground,  and  are  never 
injured  by  the  most  intense  frosts."  They  are 
to  be  planted  6  inches  asunder  each  way,  in 
beds  not  more  than  4  feet  wide,  being  usually 
inserted  in  drills,  by  the  dibble,  or  with  the 
finger  and  thumb. 

SHAMROCK.  The  national  emblem  of 
Ireland.  The  term  "  shamrock"  seems  a  ge- 
neral appellation  for  the  trefoils,  or  three- 
leaved  plants.  There  has  been  much  dispute 
as  to  what  is  the  true  Irish  shamrock ;  it  has 
generally  been  considered  to  be  the  clover  or 
Trifolium  repens.  A  writer  in  the  Journal  of  the 
Royal  Listk  No.  3,  advances  abundant  testimony 
in  proof  of  the  wood-sorrel  (Oxalis  acetosella) 
being  the  true  shamrock. 

SHARE  OF  A  PLOUGH.     That  part  which 
cuts  or  breaks  the  ground.     See  Plouoh. 
124 


SHAW.  A  country  term  applied  to  a  wood 
that  encompasses  a  close. 

SHEARING  OF  SHEEP.  The  operation 
of  cutting  off"  the  fleece  or  coat  of  wool  with  a 
pair  of  shears. 

This  is  performed  in  different  ways,  but  the 
best  mode  is  that  of  the  circular  or  round  the 
sheep,  instead  of  the  longitudinal,  which  is 
now  mostly  in  use  in  Britain.  Shearing  is 
usually  performed  about  June  or  July,  accord- 
ing to  situation  and  season,  but  should  not  be 
done  either  too  early  or  be  too  long  protracted, 
as  injury  and  inconvenience  may  attend  either 
extreme.  A  good  clipper  is  capable  of  clipping 
from  14  or  15  to  20  or  25  sheep  in  the  day,  and 
more  are  frequently  done  by  very  expert  per- 
sons. Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  cut  or 
prick  the  animals ;  but  where  this  accident 
happens,  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  kingdom, 
they  touch  the  part  with  a  little  tar  or  sheep- 
salve  ;  and  in  Sweden  it  is  often  done  with  train- 
oil  and  resin  melted  together.  After  shearing, 
the  sheep  should  be  turned  into  a  warm,  dry 
pasture.    See  Shekp. 

SHEARLING.  The  name  given  to  a  sheep 
that  nas  been  once  shorn. 

SHEARS.  A  name  appli'id  to  some  instru- 
ments employed  in  agriculture.  The  shears 
used  for  sheep-shearing  are  of  very  ancient 
origin :  they  were  termed /o//c.c  by  the  Romans; 
and  it  appears  that  no  iniprovement  has  been 
made  on  the  instrumenff  In  a  collection  of 
antique  gems  at  Berlin,  called  the  Stosch  col- 
lection, is  a  gem  bearing  a  representation  of  a 
newly  shorn  sheep,  and  the  shears,  which  are 
exactly  the  same  as  those  now  used.  Shears 
are  also  employed  for  clipping  hedges. 

SHEATH.  In  botany,  the  lower  part  of  the 
leaf  that  surrounds  the  stem. 

SHEEP  (Ovis  nries,  nat.  ord.  Rtmiinantin).  Of 
the  original  breed  of  this  invaluable  animal, 
which  is  in  modern  English  farming  almost 
equally  important  for  furnishing  the  farmer 
with  a  dressing  of  manure,  and  the  community 
at  large  with  mutton,  clothing,  and  other  almost 
necessaries  of  life,  nothing  certain  is  known. 
Several  varieties  of  wild  sheep  have,  by  natu- 
ralists, been  considered  entitled  to  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  considered  the  parent  stock.  Of 
these  are,  1.  The  musmon  (O.  Musimon),  still 
found  wild  in  the  mountains  of  the  larger 
islands  of  the  Mediterranean  and  in  European 
Turkey.  2.  The  argali  (O.  Jlmrnon),  or  wild 
Asiatic  sheep,  which  are  the  tenants  of  the 
highest  mountains  of  central  Asia,  and  the 
elevated,  inhospitable  plains  of  its  northern 
portions.  3.  The  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  (O. 
montana),  which  is  found  on  the  mountains  of 
North  America  ;  and,  4.  The  bearded  sheep  of 
Africa  (O.  tragelaphvs),  found  in  the  high  lands 
of  Egypt,  and  in  Barbary.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  sheep  are  indigenous  to  Britain,  but 
they  are  mentioned  as  existing  there  at  very 
early  periods.  The  Romans  established  a 
woollen  manufactory  at  Winchester,  at  which 
city  the  first  guild  of  fullers  was  established. 
The  natural  habits  of  the  sheep  attach  it  to  the 
highest  ground,  to  the  upland  slopes,  where 
the  heath  and  other  aromatic  plant?  abound. 
Nature  never  intended  this  animal  to  occupy 
4  O  985 


SHEEP. 

A«  deep  allarial  tamip  lands  of  our  rich 
arable  fairos,  or  to  consume  the  succulent 
masesofoar  water-meadows:  every  shepherd 
Si  aware  that  their  natural  instinct,  after  being 
for  ages  domesticated,  still  leads  them  invaria- 
bly to  the  derated  portions  of  the  field  in  which 
Ihey  are  placed.  All  these  facts  tell  the  farmer 
ia  very  iiiielligible  langaaire  that  it  is  change 
•r  food, of  pastarage.  and,  if  possible,  the  giving 
tbeM  occasionally  aromatic  food,  that  will  best 
eondoee  to  the  prosperity  of  his  flock.  With 
thia  view  paraley  has  been  successfully  culti- 
Taied.  Then,  again,  the  wild  sheep  are  found 
lu  frequent  all  those  places  where  saline  exu- 
iauons  are  to  be  found.  In  common  with  the 
deer  and  other  ruminating  animals,  they  lick 
the  salt  clay  of  some  of  the  American  uplands 
lo  such  an  extent,  that  these  places  are  denomi- 
nated Uek$,  Some  of  the  most  skilful  of  the 
English  Aock-masters  never  allow  their  sheep 
to  be  without  salu  The  female  sheep  goes 
with  young  iwenly-one  weeks,  produces  one, 
and  rarely  more  than  two  at  a  birth  ;  her  milk 
yields  abundance  of  strong-tasted  cheese,  but 
a  very  limited  quantity  of  cream.  The  sheep, 
in  temperate  climates,  is  clothed  with  wool, 
which  18  annually  renewed,  but  in  warmer 
eoontries  the  animal  is  furnished  with  hair. 
In  its  wild  state  it  has  generally  horns,  but 
Iheaa  have  nearly  disappeared  in  most  of  the 
breeds  of  domestic  sheep.  The  domesticated 
•heep  is  known  in  Ei^land  by  different  names, 
according  to  its  age  or  sex.  "  The  male,"  says 
Mr.  Youatt,  "is  called  arrrni  or  tup.  While  with 
hi»  mother  be  is  denominated  a  ^i«/7,  or  ram  lamb, 
a  kitdfr,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  west  of  Eng- 
land a  pm-  lamb.  From  the  time  of  weaning 
nniil  he  is  shorn  he  has  a  variety  of  names ; 
being  called  a  Aog,  a  hogget,  a  hoggerel,  a  lamb 
k»gt  a  tup  Aof,  or  a  teg;  and,  if  castrated,  a 
wihtr  kog.  After  shearing,  when  probably  he 
u  a  year  and  a  half  old,  he  is  called  a  shearing, 
a  $kitarUmg,  a  $hear  hog,  a  diamond,  or  dinmont 
ram  or  tup.,  and  a  shearling  wether  when  cas- 
trated. At\er  the  second  shearing  he  is  a  two- 
tktttf  mm  or  tup  or  tctthtr ;  at  the  expiration  of 
another  year  he  is  a  three-shear  ram,  &c.,  the 
name  always  taking  its  date  from  the  time  of 
shearing.  In  many  parts  of  the  north  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland  he  is  a  tup  lamb,  after  he  is 
•alved  and  until  he  is  shorn,  and  then  a.  tup  hog, 
and  arter  that  a  tup,  or  if  castrated,  a  dinmont  or 
wtdJtr.  The  female  is  a  ewe  or  gimmer  lamb 
vntil  weaned,  and  then  a  gimmer  hog  or  ewe  hog, 
or  /eg,  or  sAccdrr  ewe.  After  being  shorn  she  is 
a  tktmrimg  tmt  or  gtmmtr,  sometimes  a  theave  or 
iambU4ooihtH  ewe, or  teg;  and  afterwards  z.two- 
tktar  or  thrte-thtar,  or  a  four  or  six-too!h  ewe  or 
tkt*t9t.  In  some  of  the  northern  districts,  ewes 
that  are  barren  or  that  have  weaned  their 
lambs  are  called  eiid  or  yeld  ewes."  (Youatt  on 
8keiu,  p.  a.) 

The  teeth  of  the  sheep  arc  in  number  the 
•a me  as  those  of  the  ox,  viz.,  eight  incisor  or 
cutting-teeth  in  the  lower  jaw,  and  six  molar 
teeth  on  each  side,  and  in  each  jaw. 

When  the  lamb  is  born  he  has  either  no  in- 
cisor teeth  or  only  two,  but  before  he  is  a  month 
old  he  has  eighu  The  two  central  teeth  of 
these  are  shed,  and  again  at  two  years  old  at- 
986  ^ 


SHEEP. 

tain  their  full  growth  :  when  between  two  and 
three  years  of  age,  the  two  next  incisors  are 
shed ;  at  three  years  old,  the  four  central  teeth 
are  fully  grown ;  at  four,  he  has  six  complete 
teeth.  That  the  primitive  breed  of  sheep  were 
horned,  we  have  direct  evidence.  (Gen,  xxii, 
13;  Joshua  vi.  6.)  Immense  flocks  of  this  ani- 
mal have  in  all  ages  of  the  world  been  kept  by 
man,  but  more  universally  for  their  wool  and 
skins  than  for  their  flesh :  for  that  is  yet  to 
many  nations  by  no  means  a  favourite  meal. 
The  Calmucs  and  Cossacks  still  prefer  that 
of  the  horse  and  the  camel ;  the  Spaniard  who 
can  procure  other  flesh  rarely  eats  that  of  the 
Merino ;  to  many  North  Americans  it  is  still 
an  object  of  dislike.  Englishmen,  perhaps, 
consume  more  mutton  than  the  people  of  any 
other  country,  but  the  taste  for  this  is  certainly 
of  modern  origin.  It  has  rapidly  extended,  as 
better  breeds  and  sweeter  kinds  of  mutton  have 
been  produced. 

My  limits  will  not  allow  me  to  describe  the 
great  variety  of  breeds  of  sheep  which  belong 
to  various  countries ;  I  shall,  therefore,  con- 
fine myself  to  a  brief  notice  of  those  which 
tenant  the  British  islands,  referring  those  of 
my  readers  who  need  further  information  on 
the  valuable  work  of  Professor  Youatt  On  the 
Sheep,  and  to  Professor  Low's  Illustrations  of 
the  Breeds  of  Domestic  Animals,  from  whence 
this  article  is  chiefly  taken ;  there  is  also  an 
excellent  essay  upon  the  sheep  by  Mr.  Ellman 
in  Baxter's  Library  of  Agricultural  Knowledge. 

Class  I. — Sheep  without  Honifs. 

The  new  Leicester  Sheep,  says  Mr.  Youatt, 
which  comprehends  the  most  excellent  of 
Bakewell's  own  breed,  and  of  Culley's  variety 
or  improvement  on  it,  is  precisely  the  form  for 
a  sheep  provided  with  plenty  of  good  food,  and 
without  any  great  distance  to  travel  or  exertion 
to  make  in  gathering  it.  It  should  have  a  head 
hornless,  long,  small,  tapering  towards  the 
muzzle.  Eyes  prominent,  with  a  quiet  expres- 
sion; ears  thin,  rather  long,  directed  back- 
wards ;  neck  full  and  broad  at  its  base,  gradu- 
ally tapering  towards  the  head,  particularly 
bare  at  the  junction  with  the  head ;  the  neck 
seeming  to  project  straight  from  the  chest,  so 
that  there  is,  with  the  slightest  possible  devia- 
tion, one  continued  horizontal  line  from  the 
rump  lo  the  pole.  The  breast  broad  and  full ; 
the  shoulders  broad  and  round,  ijo  uneven  or 
angular  formation,  no  rising  of  the  withers,  no 
hollow  behind  the  situation  of  these  bones. 
The  arm  fleshy  throughout,  even  down  to  the 
knee.  The  bones  of  the  leg  small,  standing 
wide  apart,  no  looseness  of  skin  about  them, 
and  comparatively  bare  of  wool.  The  chest 
and  barrel  deep  and  round;  the  ribs  forming  a 
considerable  arch  from  the  spine ;  the  barrel 
ribbed  well  home  ;  the  carcase  gradually  dimi- 
nishing in  width  towards  the  rump ;  the  quar- 
ters long  and  full ;  the  legs  of  a  moderate 
length;  the  pelt  moderately  thin,  soft,  and  elas- 
tic, covered  with  a  good  quantity  of  white  wool, 
not  so  long  as  in  some  breeds,  but  considerably 
finer.  The  principal  recommendations  of  this 
breed  are  its  beauty,  and  its  fulness  of  form; 
in  the  same  apparent  dimensions  greater 
weight  than  any  other  sheep;  an  early  matu- 


SHEEP. 


SHEEP. 


rity  and  a  propensity  to  fatten,  equalled  by  no 
otht-r  breed;  a  diminution  in  the  proportion  of 
offal,  and  the  return  of  most  nuney  for  the 
quantity  of  food  consumed.  {Culley  o>i  Live- 
stock;  Marshall's  Midland  Counties;  Youatt  on 
Sheep,  p.  111.) 

For  Bakewell's  views,  when  engaged  in  im- 
proving sheep,  see  Dishlet  Breed. 

21ie  Tecstoater  Sfieep  was  bred  originally  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tees ;  it  came  from  the  stock 
of  the  old  Lincolnshire,  and,  like  them,  it  is 
nearly  extinct.  It  was  a  tall,  clumsy  animal, 
polled,  and  with  white  face  and  legs;  they 
were  crossed  by  the  Dishley  sheep,  because  a 
smaller  and  a  better  breed,  and  few  traces  are 
now  to  be  found. 

The  Lincolnshire  Sheep. — CuUey  described  the 
old  breed  of  Lincolnshire  sheep,  half  a  century 
since,  as  having  "no  horns,"  white  faces,  long, 
thin,  and  weak  carcasses;  the  ewes  weighing 
from  14  to  20  lbs.  per  quarter,  the  three  year 
old  wethers  from  20  to  30  lbs ;  thick,  rough, 
white  legs,  large  bones,  thick  pelts,  and  long 
wool,  from  10  to  18  inches,  and  weighing  from 
8  to  14  lbs.  per  fleece,  and  covering  a  slow- 
feeding,  coarse-grained  carcase  of  mutton.  Cul- 
ley,  however,  ran  into  the  opposite  extreme; 
if  the  Lincolnshire  farmers  bred  only  for  the 
wool,  he  regarded  only  the  mutton.  A  cross 
between  the  two  produced  a  very  profitable 
and  much  improved  animal. 

The  Cotswold  Sheep  have  been  long  celebrated 
for  the  fineness  of  their  wool.  In  1467,  a  flock 
of  these  sheep  were  carried  into  Spain  by 
license  from  Edward  IV.  Gervas  Markham, 
in  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  describes  them 
"  as  long-woolled  and  large-boned  breed."  Few 
of  the  original  Cotswold  breed,  however,  now 
remain ;  they  have  been  gradually  improved 
by  crossing  with  the  Leicester  sheep,  and  it  is 
this  half-bred  Cotswold  and  Leicester  which 
now  chiefly  tenants  the  Gloucestershire  and 
Worcestershire  farms.  The  old  Cotswold 
sheep  are  described  by  Mr.  Youatt,  as  being 
taller  and  longer  than  the  improved  breed, 
comparatively  flat-sided,  deficient  in  the  fore- 
quarter,  but  full  in  the  hind-quarter,  not  fatten- 
ing so  early,  but  yielding  a  longer  and  heavier 
fleece.  (Youatt  on  Sheep,  p.  3A0.)  The  mutton 
of  this  breed  is  well  described  by  Mr.  Ellman, 
as  fine-grained  and  full-sized,  but  capable  of 
great  improvement  by  proper  crossing.  "  The 
Cotswold,"  he  adds,  "differ  from  the  South 
Down  in  several  particulars ;  the  skin  of  the 
Cotswold  is  much  thicker  than  the  South  Down; 
the  head  long  and  thin  ;  ears  wide  and  not  too 
thin,  having  no  wool  but  a  tuft  on  the  poll; 
wool  below  the  hock  considered  objectionable. 
On  the  Cotswold  they  never  allow  two  rams  to 
run  together."  He  thinks  twin  ewes  have 
much  more  to  do  with  getting  twins  than  twin 
rams  ;  both,  however,  should  be  attended  to,  as 
well  as  a  still  more  important  particular,  their 
keep.     (Baxter's  Lib.  of  Agr.) 

The  Dartmoor  Sheep. — "The  short  or  rather 
middle-woolled  sheep  of  Devonshire,"  says  Mr. 
Youatt,  "a  few  of  which  are  still  seen  in  South 
Devon,  and  on  the  greater  part  of  the  hills  in 
the  northern  district,  but  most  numerously  on 
ihe  forests  of  Dartmoor  and  Exmoor,  are  every- 
wheie  of  nearly  the  same  character,  and  betray 


on  a  smaller  scale  a  great  aflinity  with  tht 
Dorsets;  have  white  faces  and  legs;  some 
with  and  some  without  horns  ;  small  in  the 
head  and  neck,  and  generally  small-boned; 
carcase  narrow  and  flat-sided,  weighing  when 
fat  from  9  to  12  lbs.  per  quarter;  the  fleece  3 
or  4  lbs.  in  weight  in  the  yolk;  wool  short, 
with  a  coarse  and  hairy  top." 

The  South  Down  Sheep. — The  remarks  of  Mr. 
Ellman  of  Glynde,  in  Sussex,  who  has  done 
more  than  any  one  to  improve  the  race  of 
South  Down,  are  so  practical  and  clear,  that 
what  he  has  done  so  well  it  is  useless  to  give 
in  any  other  language;  he  says,  when  speak- 
ing of  this  valuable  breed,  "  the  head  should  be 
neither  too  long  nor  too  short,  the  lip  thin,  the 
neck  neither  too  long  nor  too  short,  but  thin  next 
the  head,  and  tapering  towards  the  shoulders. 
South  Down  breeders  object  to  a  long,  thin 
neck;  it  denotes  delicacy.  The  breast  should 
be  wide  and  deep,  projecting  forward  before 
the  fore-legs ;  this  indicates  a  good  constitu- 
tion, and  disposition  to  feed.  The  shoulders 
should  not  be  too  wide  between  the  plate-bones, 
but  on  a  level  with  the  chine ;  if  the  shoulder- 
blades  are  wide  on  the  top,  the  animal  generally 
drops  behind  the  shoulders.  The  chine  should 
be  low  and  straight  from  the  shoulders  to  the 
tail;  the  ribs  should  project  horizontally  from 
the  chine,  for  the  animal  will  then  lay  its  meat 
on  the  prime  parts ;  the  sides  high  and  paral- 
lel;  the  rump  long  and  broad;  the  tail  set  on 
high,  and  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  chine  ;  the 
hips  wide ;  the  ribs  circular,  and  barrel-shaped ; 
the  legs  neither  very  long  nor  very  short;  tho 
bones  moderately  fine."  (Baxter's  Lib.  o/Jgr 
p.  570.) 

Romney  Marsh  Sheep. — Towards  the  begin- 
ning of  thii  century,  Mr.  Price  described  "the 
pure  Romney  Marsh  bred  sheep  as  distin 
guished  by  thickness  and  length  of  head,  a 
broad  forehead  with  a  tuft  of  wool  upon  it,  a 
long  and  thick  neck,  and  carcase  flat-sided ; 
chine  sharp,  tolerably  wide  on  the  loins,  breast 
narrow  and  not  deep,  and  the  fore-quarter  not 
heavy  nor  full ;  the  thigh  full  and  broad,  the 
belly  large;  the  tail  thick,  long,  and  coarse,  the 
legs  thiclf,  feet  large,  the  muscle  coarse,  bone 
large.  Wool  long  and  not  fine ;  have  much 
internal  fat,  much  hardihood;  requiring  no 
artificial  food  during  the  hardest  winter,  ex- 
cept a  little  hay."  (Youatt  on  Sheep,  p.  334.) 
With  all  these  good  properties,  however,  the 
old  Romney  Marsh  sheep  has  been  nearly  obli- 
terated by  occasional  crossings  with  the  Lei- 
cester sheep  ;  which,  by  judicious  management 
(taking  care  not  to  render  the  breed  too  tender 
by  the  introduction  of  too  much  of  the  Leices- 
ter), has  produced  a  sheep  possessing  sufficient 
hardiness  for  these  bleak  marshes,  yet  produc- 
ing more  symmetry  of  form,  with  earlier  ma- 
turity, and  greater  propensity  to  fatten. 

The  Cheviot  Sheep  are  a  peculiar  breed,  which 
are  kept  on  the  extensive  range  of  the  Cheviot 
Hills.  They  are  described  as  having  "  the 
face  and  legs  generally  white ;  the  eye  lively 
and  prominent ;  the  countenance  open  and 
pleasing;  the  ear  large,  and  with  a  long  space 
from  the  ear  to  the  eye ;  the  body  long ;  and 
hence  they  are  called  'long  sheep,'  in  distinc- 
tion from  the  black-faced  breed.     They  are  ful 

987 


8HEEP. 

behind  the  shoulder,  have  a  long,  straigMl  back, 
are  round  in  the  rib,  and  well-proportioned  in 
the  quarters;  the  legs  clean  and  small-boned, 
and  the  pelt  thin,  but  thickly  covered  with  fine, 
thort  wool:  they  possess  very  considerable 
latlcning  qualities,  and  can  endure  much  hard- 
ship, both  from  starvation  and  cold.  He  is  fit 
for  the  butcher  at  three  years  old,  and  at  two 
when  crossed  with  the  Leicester."  (Ymiatt  on 
$keep,  p.  886;  **0n  crossing  the  Mountain  and 
Cheviot  Sheep,"  by  Mr.  Hogg,  Quart.  Joum. 
JfT.  vol.  i.  p.  175.) 

Class  II.    HoBHKD  Shxip. 

Tht  Donet  SA«p.— "Most  of  these,"  says  Mr. 
Touatt,  "at  least  of  the  pure  breed,  are  entirely 
white ;  the  face  is  long  and  broad,  and  there  is 
a  tuA  of  wool  on  the  forehead ;  the  shoulders 
low  and  broad;  the  back  straight;  the  chest 
deep ;  the  loins  broad ;  the  legs  rather  beyond 
a  moderate  length,  and  the  bone  small.  They 
are,  as  their  form  would  indicate,  a  hardy  and 
useful  breed.  They  are  good  folding  sheep; 
their  mutton  well-flavoured,  averaging,  when  3 
years  old,  from  16  to  20  pounds  a  quarter. 
Their  principal  distinction  and  value  is  the 
forwardness  of  the  ewes,  who  take  the  ram  at 
a  much  earlier  period  of  the  year  than  any 
other  species,  and  thus  supply  the  market  with 
lamb  at  the  time  when  it  fetches  the  highest 
price.  These  sheep  are  principally  bred  within 
a  circle  of  12  miles  round  Dorchester,  where  a 
consulfrable  quantity  of  house  lamb  for  the 
London  market  is  produced.  In  other  parts  of 
Duplet  the  8outh  Down  breed  prevails;  ex- 
cept in  Portland  and  on  poor,  sandy,  heath  soils 
near  Warebone  and  Poole,  where  a  poor  small- 
homed  breed  prevails,  with  black  muzzles,  well 
adapted  for  this  locality.  Their  meat  is  tender." 

The  Norfolk  Sherp. — "A  peculiar  variety  of 
heath  sheep,"  says  Mr.  Youatt,  "  has  been  found 
in  the  localities  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  from 
time  immemorial.  The  carcass  was  long  and 
slender;  legs  long;  face  and  legs  black  or 
mottled;  face  long  and  thin;  the  countenance 
lively  and  expressive  of  mingled  timidity  and 
witdness :  taken  altogether,  there  was  more  re- 
semblance to  the  deer  in  the  Norfolk  sheep 
than  has  been  observed  in  any  other  species. 
They  were  attempted  to  be  improved  by  being 
cr»ssed  with  the  South  Downs;  but  at  length 
the  pure  South  Down  was  generally  preferred 
to  the  pure  Norfolk,  and,  in  consequence,  the 
race  is  now  nearly  extinct." 

The  Merino  Sherp. — This  celebrated  breed  are, 
in  Spain,  divided  into  the  estantes,  or  stationary, 
and  the  transhumantes,  or  migratory.  The  first 
are  those  which  remain  during  the  year  in  one 
place  or  farm :  the  last  travel  some  hundred 
miles  every  year  ia;search  of  pasture.  They 
are  thus  described  by  Mr.  Low  in  his  excellent 
tlh^rntiom  of  the  Breeds  of  Domestic  Mimals. 

"  The  stationary  sheep  consist  partly  of  the 
larger  sheep  of  the  lower  country,  partly  of 
mixed  races,  and  partly  of  pure  Merinos,  which 
do  not  differ  in  any  respect  from  the  migratory 
sheep  of  that  name,  except  in  the  method  of 
treatment.  The  stationary  Merinoes  are  reared 
where  the  district  or  farm  affords  them  suffi- 
cient food  during  the  whole  season.  They  are 
most  numerous  in  the  central  countries,  where 
the  pastures  are  less  ant  to  be  scorched  bv  the 
988  ^ 


SHEEP. 

heats  of  the  summer,  as  in  Segovia,  and  the 
mountain  ranges  to  north  of  Madrid. 

"  The  migratory  sheep  have  been  reckoned 
to  amount  to  ten  millions,  which  is  probably 
equal  to  half  the  whole  number  of  the  sheep 
of  Spain.  They  may  be  divided  into  two 
great  bodies :  those  which  are  to  pass  further 
to  the  eastward,  to  Soria,  or  even  beyond  the 
Ebro.  These  vast  hordes  of  sheep  break  up 
from  their  winter  cantonments,  south  of  the 
Guardina,  about  the  15th  of  April,  and  proceed 
chiefly  northward.  The  rams  having  been  ad- 
mitted to  the  ewes  in  the  month  of  July,  the 
lambs  are  born  in  November.  In  the  course 
of  their  journey  northward,  they  are  shorn  in 
large  buildings  erected  for  that  purpose.  The 
western,  or  Leonese  division,  crosses  the  Tagus 
at  Almaray.  The  eastern,  or  Sorian  division, 
crosses  the  same  river  further  to  the  eastward, 
at  Talavera,  and  in  its  course  approaches  the 
city  of  Madrid.  Having  reached  their  desti- 
nation, they  are  pastured  until  the  end  of  Sep- 
tember, when  they  recommence  their  journey 
southward.  Each  of  these  journeys,  of  seve- 
ral miles  in  length,  occupies  about  6  weeks  in 
travelling.  The  older  sheep,  it  is  said,  when 
April  arrives,  know  the  time  of  setting  off,  and 
are  impatient  to  be  gone.  In  the  ten  or  twelve 
latter  days,  increased  vigilance  is  required,  on 
the  part  of  the  shepherds,  lest  the  sheep  should 
break  out.  Some  of  them  do  so,  and  pursue 
their  accustomed  route,  often  reaching  their 
former  year's  pastures,  where  they  are  found 
when  the  main  body  arrives  ;  but,  for  the  most 
part,  these  stragglers  are  carried  off  by  wolves, 
which  abound  along  the  course  which  the  mi- 
gratory flocks  pursue. 

"These  migratory  sheep  are  divided  into 
flocks  of  a  thousand  or  more,  each  under  the 
charge  of  its  own  mayoral,  or  chief  shepherd, 
who  has  a  sufficient  number  of  assistants 
under  his  command.  It  is  his  province  to  di- 
rect all  the  details  of  the  journey.  He  goes  in 
advance  of  the  flock ;  the  others  follow  with 
their  dogs,  to  collect  the  stragglers,  and  keep 
off  the  wolves,  which  prowl  in  the  distance, 
migrating  with  the  flock.  A  few  mules  or 
asses  accompany  the  cavalcade,  carrying  the 
simple  necessaries  of  the  shepherds,  and  the 
materials  for  forming  the  nightly  folds.  In 
these  folds  the  sheep  are  penned  throughout 
the  night,  surrounded  by  the  faithful  dogs, 
which  give  notice  of  the  approach  of  danger. 

"When  the  sheep  arrive  at  the  esquilcos,  or 
shearing-houses,  which  is  in  the  early  part  of 
their  journey  northward,  a  sufficient  number 
of  shearers  are  in  attendance  to  shear  a  thou- 
sand or  more  in  one  day.  The  esquilcos  con- 
sist of  two  large,  rude  rooms,  and  a  low,  narrow 
hut  adjoining,  termed  the  sweating-house.  The 
sheep  are  driven  into  one  of  the  large  rooms, 
and  such  of  them  as  are  to  be  shorn  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  are  forced  into  the  long,  narrow 
hut  as  close  as  it  can  be  packed,  where  they 
are  kept  all  night.  They  undergo  in  this  state 
a  great  perspiration,  the  effect  of  which  is  to 
soften  the  hardened  unctuous  matter  which  has 
collected  on  the  fleece.  They  are  then  shorn 
without  a  previous  washing,  and  the  wool  is 
left  in  the  esquilcos,  where  it  is  sorted,  and 
made  ready  for  sale.    By  this  arrangement 


SHEEP. 


SHEEP. 


5000  sheep,  jr  more,  are  shorn  with  only  the 

delay  of  a  day. 

"  The  shepherds  employed  in  tending  these 
sheep  amount  to  50,000,  which,  supposing  there 
to  be  10,000,000  of  sheep,  is  at  the  rate  of 
200  to  each  shepherd.  The  number  of  dogs  is 
calculated  at  30,000.  These  shepherds  form  a 
peculiar  class  of  men,  strongly  attached  to 
their  pursuit,  and  living  in  a  state  of  great  sim- 
plicity. Their  food  is  chiefly  black  bread,  oil, 
and  garlic.  They  eat  the  mutton  of  their  sheep 
when  they  die  or  meet  with  accidents.  In  tra- 
velling they  sleep  on  the  ground,  wrapping 
themselves  in  their  cloaks;  and  in  winter  they 
construct  rude  huts  to  afford  shelter.  They 
seldom,  it  is  said,  marry,  or  change  their  calling. 

"The  whole  of  this  extraordinary  system  is 
regulated  by  a  set  of  laws ;  and  an  especial 
tribunal,  termed  the  mesta,  exists  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  privileges  of  the  parties  having 
the  right  of  way  and  pasturage.  These  par- 
ties claim  the  right  of  pasturage  on  all  the  open 
and  common  land  that  lies  in  their  way,  a 
path  of  90  paces  wide  through  the  enclosed  and 
cultivated  country,  and  various  rights  and  im- 
munities connected  with  the  pasturage  of  the 
flocks.  The  system  is  opposed  to  the  true  in- 
terests of  Spain.  A  change  of  pasture  may  be 
required  for  the  flocks  in  the  drier  countries  at 
( -irtain  seasons,  but  the  periodical  migration 
of  so  vast  a  body  of  sheep  cannot  be  necessa- 
ry to  the  extent  to  which  it  takes  place.  Enor- 
mous abuses  are  committed  on  the  cultivated 
country  as  they  pass  along.  A  fourth  pan  of 
the  year  consumed  in  travelling  must  be  pre- 
judicial to  the  health  of  the  animals  in  a 
greater  degree  than  the  benefits  they  derive 
from  a  change  of  pasturage.  A  prodigious 
mortality  accordingly  takes  place  among  these 
sheep ;  and  more  than  half  the  lambs  are  vo- 
luntarily killed,  in  order  that  the  others  may  be 
brought  to  maturity.  The  sale  of  the  lamb- 
skins, which  form  a  subject  of  export  to  other 
countries,  is  indeed  a  source  of  profit,  but  no- 
thing equal  to  what  the  rearing  of  the  animals 
to  their  state  of  maturity  would  produce.  That 
these  extensive  migrations  are  necessary  to 
preserve  the  fineness  of  the  wool  is  conceived 
to  be  an  error.  Attention  to  breeding  and  rear- 
ing would  more  certainly  produce  this  effect 
than  a  violent  change  of  place.  In  Spain 
itself  there  are  numerous  flocks  of  stationary 
Merinos,  whose  wool  is  of  all  the  fineness  re- 
quired; and  in  other  countries  of  Europe, 
where  the  sheep  are  never  moved  off  the  farms 
that  produce  them,  wool  is  produced  superior 
to  that  of  the  migratory  flocks  of  Spain.  The 
system  is  of  great  antiquity,  and  is  so  riveted 
in  the  habits  of  this  ignorant  and  intractable 
people,  that  it  is  likely  to  be  one  of  the  last  of 
those  ancient  abuses  which  will  yield  to  the  de- 
sire of  change  which  at  this  moment  agitates 
the  feelings  of  men  in  this  distracted  country. 
The  Spaniards  long  preserved  the  monopoly  of 
this  race  of  sheep  with  jealous  care;  but  other 
countries  at  length  were  able  to  carry  off  the 
Golden  Fleece  of  Spain,  and  the  Merino  race 
is  now  spread  over  a  great  part  of  Europe. 

"  The  Merino  breed,  which  had  extended  to 
60  many  countries,  was  at  a  period  more  recent 
introduced  into  the  British  Islands.     George 


in.,  a  zealous  and  patriotic  agriculturist,  re- 
solved to  make  a  trial  of  this  celebrated  breed 
on  his  own  farms,  and  means  were  taken  to 
obtain  a  small  Merino  flock.  This  was  done 
clandestinely ;  the  animals  were  selected  from 
the  flocks  of  different  individuals  where  they 
could  best  be  got ;  were  driven  through  Portu 
gal,  and  embarked  at  Lisbon.  They  were 
safely  landed  at  Portsmouth,  and  conducted  to 
the  king's  farm  at  Kew.  The  flock  was  bad; 
the  selection  had  been  carelessly  or  ignorantly 
made;  and  the  animals  being  taken  from  dif- 
ferent flocks,  presented  no  uniformity  of  cha- 
racters. It  was  then  resolved  to  make  direct 
application  to  the  Spanish  government  for  per- 
mission to  export  some  sheep  from  the  best 
flocks.  The  request  was  at  once  complied 
with;  a  small  and  choice  flock  was  presented 
to  his  majesty,  by  the  Marchioness  del  Campo 
di  Alange,  of  the  Negretti  flocks,  esteemed  to 
be  the  most  valuable  in  Spain;  and  in  return 
his  majesty  presented  to  the  Marchioness  eight 
splendid  coach  horses.  This  flock  arrived  in 
England  in  1791,  and  was  immediately  trans- 
ferred to  the  royal  farms,  while  all  those  previ- 
ously imported  were  disposed  of  or  destroyed. 

"On  the  first  change  of  these  sheep  to  the 
moist  and  luxuriant  pastures  of  England,  they 
suffered  greatly  from  diseases,  and,  above  all, 
the  rot,  which  destroyed  numbers  of  them  ;  and 
from  foot-rot,  which  affected  them  to  a  grievous 
extent.  By  a  little  change  of  pastures  these 
evils  were  remedied;  and,  after  the  first  season, 
the  survivors  became  reconciled  to  their  new 
situation,  and  their  progeny  seemed  thoroughly 
naturalized,  and  remained  as  free  from  diseases 
as  the  sheep  of  the  country.  The  wool  was 
from  year  to  year  carefully  examined  ;  that  of 
the  original  stock  remained  unaffected  by  the 
change  of  climate,  while  in  that  of  their  de- 
scendants little  degeneracy  could  be  detected 
either  in  its  felting  propensities  or  its  fine- 
ness. 

"The  most  distinguished  breeders  of  Merinos 
at  this  time  in  England  are  Lord  Western  and 
Mr.  Bennet,  M.  P.  for  Wiltshire.  Lord  West- 
ern's stock  is  either  Saxon,  or  has  been  crossed 
by  Saxon  rams  ;  Mr.  Bennet's  is  pure  Spanish, 
and  has  undergone  progressive  improvement 
by  selection  of  individuals  of  the  same  blood. 
The  number  of  his  flock  amounteu  at  one  time 
to  7000 ;  it  was  subsequently  reduced  to  3500. 
It  was  treated  in  the  ordinary  manner  of  sheep 
in  England.  Lord  Western's,  it  is  believed, 
is  managed  more  in  the  Saxon  manner,  with 
respect  to  protection  from  the  weather.  Mr. 
Bennet's  fine  flock,  notwithstanding  it  had  been 
thus  acclimated,  perished  in  great  numbers  in 
a  severe  winter  some  years  ago,  proving  that 
the  race  had  not  yet  lived  sufficiently  long  in 
England  to  be  perfectly  inured  to  its  cold  and 
variable  climate.  Other  gentlemen  have  im- 
ported Merinos  direct  from  Saxony,  and  thus 
obtained  at  once  the  highest  perfection  of  the 
fleece ;  but  there  is  little  reason  to  believe  that 
their  experiments  will  be  more  successful  than 
those  previously  made.  Merinos  have  lately 
been  carried  in  some  numbers  to  Ireland,  and 
may  perhaps  prove  more  advantageous  than 
some  of  the  existing  breeds ;  but  this  will  not 
show  the  great  value  of  the  Merinos,  but  *iia 
4  o  2  9S9 


SHEEP. 

•MBpunitirelj  litUe  ralne  of  the  races  which 
*•▼  hmft  »DppiaDted.'* 

Thf  ftwl  impression  (says  Mr.  youaii)  made 
b|r 4m  Merino  sheep  on  one  unacquainted  with 
iMi  Talw  would  be  unfavourable.  The  wool, 
^jfil^  doMf  and  thicker  over  the  body  than  in 
BOAt  olbcr  breeds  o(  sheep,  and  being  abun- 
itatt  in  yolk,  is  covered  with  a  dirty  crust,  ollen 
fall  of  cracks.  The  legs  are  long,  yet  small  ir 
the  bone ;  the  breast  and  the  bark  are  narrow, 
•Bd  the  tides  somewhat  flat ;  the  fore-shoulders 
and  boaooM  are  heavy,  and  too  much  of  their 

,, v..  .,  earned  on  the  coarser  parts.    The 

I  the   male  are  comparatively   large, 

nd  with  more  or  less  of  a  spiral  form. 
1  he  head  is  large,  but  the  forehead  rather  low. 
A  few  of  the  females  are  horned,  but,  gene- 
rally ^peaking,  they  are  without  horns.  Both 
male  and  female  have  a  peculiar  coarse  and 
Qn»i(rhtly  growth  of  hair  on  the  forehead  and 
cheeks,  which  the  careful  flock-master  cuts 
•way  before  shearing-time  :  the  other  part  of 
Ibe  face  has  a  pleasing  and  characteristic  vel- 
vet appearance.  Under  the  throat  there  is  a 
•ingnlar  looseness  of  skin,  which  gives  them 
a  remarkable  appearance  of  throatiness,  or 
lK>llowne9s  in  the  pile:  the  pile,  when  pressed 
opon,  \*  hard  and  unyielding ;  it  is  so  from  the 
thickness  with  which  it  grows  upon  the  pelt, 
and  the  abundance  of  the  yolk  detaining  all 
the  dirt  and  gravel  which  falls  upon  it;  but, 
when  examined,  the  fibre  exceeds  in  fineness, 
and  in  the  number  of  serrations  and  curves, 
that  which  any  other  sheep  in  the  world  pro- 
duces. The  average  weight  of  the  fleece  in 
Spam  is  8  pounds  from  the  ram  and  5  from  the 
ewe ;  when  fatted,  these  sheep  weigh  from  12 
to  16  pounds  per  quarter.  The  excellence  of 
the  Merino  consists  in  the  fineness  and  felting 
qnaliiv  of  their  wool,  and  the  weight  yielded 
by  each  sheep;  the  ease  with  which  they  adapt 
them  selves  to  the  climate,  the  readiness  with 
which  they  take  to  the  coarsest  food,  their  gen- 
tleness and  tractableness.  Their  defects  are 
their  nnprofiiable  and  unthrifty  form,  voracity 
of  appetite,  a  tendency  to  barrenness,  neglect 
of  their  young,  and  inferior  flavour  of  the 
mniion.  (On  Sherp,  p.  148 ;  Dr.  Parry  on  the 
Merino  sheep,  f'om.  Jfoard  of  Jgr.  vol.  v.  p.  337 ; 
Sir  JoMph  Banks  on  ditto.  Ibid,  vol.  vi.  p.  269  ; 
Mr.  Downie  on  ditto.  Ibid.  vol.  vii.  p.  61.) 

TV  Imk  Sherp  have  been  much  improved  by 
the  importation  of  English  rams.  CuUey  de- 
aeribes  them  as  ugly  and  ill-formed.  Bodies 
'■fc.  Lega  long,  thick,  crooked,  and  of  a  gray 
aaloor.  Faces  gray.  Heads  long,  large  flag- 
giafc  ears,  sunken  eyes.  Neck  long,  and  set 
oa  below  the  shoulders.  Breast  narrow,  short, 
and  hollow;  flat-sided. 

The  Sketlamd  Sherp  are  described  by  Mr.  Wil- 
•oa  (QiMirf.  Jotir.  Jp-.  vol.  ii.  p.  557)  as  small 
aad  handsome ;  hornless,  seldom  exceeding  40 
poands  in  weight;  hardy,  feeding  on  even  sea- 
weed :  wool  soft  and  cottony. 

Tkt  ikbrideam  Skeep  is  described  by  Mr.  Wil- 
•OB  as  the  smallest  of  its  kind.  Shape  thin 
Md  lank.  Face  «nd  legs  white.  Tail  short. 
Wool  of  various  colours,  bluish-gray,  brown, 
or  deep  russet  Even  when  fat,  this  sheep 
weighs  only  SO  pounds:  the  wool  rarely  weighs 
•ore  than  1  poand. 


SHEEP. 

With  regard  to  the  profitable  management 
of  sheep,  it  is  only  possible  to  offer  general 
suggestions  to  assist  the  farmer.  I  have  alluded 
already  to  the  advantages  of  varying  the  food 
of  sheep,  and  I  shall  refer  at  the  end  of  this 
article  to  various  important  testimonials  in 
favour  of  the  superior  profit  derived  from 
keeping  sheep  dry  and  warm.  In  every  case 
they  should  have  access  to  dry  food,  and,  if 
possible,  occasionally  to  those  lands  where 
heath  and  other  plants  which  are  indigenous  to 
upland  soils  are  to  be  found :  in  all  cases,  too, 
they  should  have  access  to  common  salt. 

The  importance  of  salt  to  the  general  health 
of  sheep  is  now,  in  fact,  generally  admitted. 
Every  farmer  observes  that  his  cattle,  horses, 
&c.,  are  remarkably  fond  of  licking  the  salt 
earth  of  the  farm-yard,  stables,  &c.  In  Spain, 
they  give  their  sheep  salt  with  great  regularity: 
112  lb.  in  5  months  to  1000  sheep.  I  subjoin 
the  statement  of  the  late  Mr.  Curwen.  He 
employed  salt  to  his  live-stock  daily  for  years  : 
For  horses  he  gave        -       -    6  oz.  per  day. 

Milch  cows      -        -        -    4 

Feeding  oxen-        -        -    6 

Yearlings         -        -        -    3 

Calves     -        -        -        -     1 

Sheep      -       -        -        -    2  to  4  per  week, 

if  on  dry  pastures ;  but  if  they  are  feeding  on 
turnips  or  coles,  then  they  should  have  it  with- 
out stint.  Some  give  it  to  the  live-stock  on  a 
slate  or  stone,  some  lay  lumps  of  it  in  the  cribs 
or  mangers.  It  is  an  asserted  fact,  that  if  sheep 
are  allowed  free  access  to  salt,  they  will  never  be 
subject  to  the  disease  called  the  rot.  Some  recent 
experiments  also  lead  me  even  to  hope  that  I 
shall  one  day  or  other  be  able  to  prove  it  to  be 
a  cure  for  this  devastating  disease.  I  have 
room  but  for  one  fact.  "  Mr.  Rusher,  of  Stan- 
ley, in  Gloucestershire,  in  the  autumn  of  1828, 
purchased,  for  a  mere  trifle,  20  sheep  decidedly 
rotten;  and  gave  each  of  them,  for  some  weeks, 
an  ounce  of  salt  every  morning.  Two  only 
died  during  the  winter;  the  surviving  18  were 
cured,  and  have  now,"  says  my  informant, 
"  lambs  by  their  sides." 

The  late  Mr.  Butcher,  of  Brook  Hall,  in  Es- 
sex, for  years  employed  salt  for  his  cattle  and 
sheep  on  his  farm  near  Burnham,  in  Norfolk. 
One  of  his  fields  was  so  very  unfavourable  for 
sheep,  that  before  he  used  salt  he  had  lost  10 
and  12  sheep  in  a  night,  when  feeding  on  the 
turnips;  but  after  he  had  adopted  salt,  he 
never  lost  one.  He  used  to  let  the  sheep  have 
the  salt  without  stint;  and  he  remarked,  that 
the  sheep  always  consumed  four  times  the  salt 
on  this  partiailar  field  than  when  feeding  on  any 
other  on  the  farm.  Mr.  Butcher  one  year  let 
this  field  of  turnips  to  a  -neighbour,  who  did 
not  use  salt;  and  consequently,  after  losing 
10  sheep  the  first  night,  gave  up  the  field  in 
despair. 

There  are  several  points  in  the  management 
of  sheep  to  which  I  can   only  briefly  allude. 
Coupling  the  male  and  female  is   too  rarely  at- 
tended to;  and  yet,  by  an  attention  to  this  im- 
j  portant  point,  properties  are  added  in  one  sex 
I  which  may  be  deficient  in  the  other ;  but  extreme 
i  care  is  necessary  in  arranging  this,  not  to  in- 
troduce  other  points  which  may  be  still  more 
objectionable  than  those  attempted  to  be  re- 
I  moved.    Mr.  Ellman  is  of  opinion  that  twine 


SHEEP. 


SHEEP. 


Ifcttin*  is  hereditary :  "  Experience,"  he  says, 
•'  has  satisfied  me  that  a  ram  which  may  be  a 
twm  would  ^et  double  the  number  of  twin 
lambs  than  other  rams."  He  advises  that,  just 
previous  to  lambing-iime,  the  ewes  should  not 
be  kept  too  well,  but  that  their  food  should  be 
increased  a  few  days  after  parturition.  Clean- 
liness in  the  lambing-yards  he  very  properly 
deems  to  be  of  the  greatest  importance.  Lambs 
are  best  castrated  at  from  8  to  12  days  old.  In 
Ihe  performance  of  this  operation  it  is  calculated 
riiat,  when  properly  performed,  the  deaths  do 
not  averasre  1  in  a  1000.  Mr.  Ellman  recom- 
mends 80  to  100  ewes  to  each  ram,  or,  when 
lamb  rams  are  employed,  only  40 ;  and  that 
they  should  remain  with  the  ewes  3  weeks,  in 
separate  lots. 

Statistics, — The  number  of  sheep  in  Great 
Britain  has  long  been  gradually  on  the  increase, 
with  the  demands  of  an  enlarging  population. 
To  this  the  introduction  of  turnips  and  other 
better  supplies  of  winter  food,  which  much  in- 
creased the  facilities  for  their  keep,  has  mainly 
contributed.  In  1698,  Gregory  King  calculated 
that  there  were  12,000,000  sheep  in  Great 
Britain;  in  1741  the  number  had  increased  to 
16,640,000;  in  1774,accordingto  Arthur  Young, 
the  number  was  25,589,754;  in  1801,  Mr.  Luc- 
cock  estimated  them  at  26,148,403.  Mr.  M-(.'ul- 
loch,in  1834, slates  the  number  to  be  32,000,000; 
the  value  of  the  wool  7,000,000/.;  and  that  of 
the  manufactured  woollen  articles  21,000,000/.; 
and  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the 
manulacturing  of  these  goods  about  332,000. 
(^Youatt  OH  Sheep;  Low's  Prart.  Jl^ir.,  and  lireedt 
of  Donu  AnimaU ;  Baxter's  Jigr.  Lib. ;  M^CuUoch's 
Com.  Dirt.) 

Of  the  many  valuable  papers  upon  sheep 
dispersed  through  the  British  agricultural  pe- 
riodicals, I  can,  in  this  place,  only  give  a  brief 
catalogue.  There  is  a  letter  by  Mr.  T.  Es- 
court,  Com.  to  Board  of  A^.  vol.  iv.  p.  294,  "On 
keeping  Sheep  warm  when  feeding,"  which 
shows  very  clearly  the  advantages  of  sheep 
being  kept  dry  and  warm  when  feeding,  a  sub- 
ject not  nearly  so  well  understood  as  is  desi- 
rable;  see  also  "On  Sheep  Stells  (Timber 
Clumps),"  by  Dr.  Howson,  Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol. 
vi.  p.  :}32;  "On  Rain-proof  Feeding  Troughs," 
by  Mr.  Buist,  Quart.  Joum.  of  Agr.  vol.ii.  p.  114; 
**  On  Canvass  Sheds  for  Sheep,"  by  Mr.  Munro, 
Ihid.  vol.  xii.  p.  290;  "On  Shed-feeding,"  by 
Mr.  Childers,  Joum.  Roy.  A sr.  Sac.  vol.  i.p.  169 — 
407;  "  On  the  Improvement  of  the  fine-woolled 
Breed,"  Com.  to  Board  of  As;r.  vol.  vi.  p.  65 ; 
the  Rev.  Edmund  Cartwright  "  On  feeding 
Sheep  on  Muscovado  Sugar,"  Ibid.  p.  405 ; 
"On  the  Braxy  in  Sheep,"  Trans.  High.  Soc. 
vol.  i.  p.  43 ;  "On  the  Flesh  Fly  and  Maggot," 
by  Mr.  Hogg,  Ibid.  p.  325,  and  by  Mr.  Mather, 
Ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  221,  and  Quart.  Joum.  of  Agr. 
vol.  i.  p.  210.  "On  Salving  Sheep,"  by  Mr.  J. 
Graham,  Il>id.  vol.  ii.  p.  243  ;  this  salve  is  com- 
posed of  7  lb.  of  rosin,  17  lb.  of  butter,  16  lb.  of 
palm  oil,  2  chopins  of  fish  oil:  and  by  Mr. 
Harkness,  Ibid.  vol.  iv.  p.  125.  "  On  the  Lou- 
pingill,"  by  Mr.  Tod  and  Mr.  Laing,  Ibid.  vol.  iii. 
p.  73 ;  "  On  the  Foot  Rot,"  by  Mr.  Hogg  and 
the  Rev.  H.  Riddell,  Ibid.  p.  307;  by  Mr.  Dick, 
Quart.  Joum.  of  Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  852,  and  by  Mr. 
B.ack,  Ibid,  vol.  iii.  p.  654;  "  On  Blindness  in 


Sheep,"  by  Mr.  M'Farlane,  Trans.  High.  Soc, 
vol.  iv.  p.  393;  "On  Rabies,"  by  Mr.  Dickson, 
Ibid.  vol.  vi.  p.  261;  "On  certain  Diseases  of 
Sheep  (the  Pining,  Scab,  &c.),"  by  Mr.  Hogg, 
Quart.  Joum.  of  Agr.  vol.  ii.  p.  697;  "On  the 
Origin  and  Natural  History  of  the  Sheep,"  by 
Mr.' Wilson,  Ibid.  p.  354— 536  ;  "On  drafting 
i  Sheep,"  Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  1005;  "On  the  acute 
J  Dysentery,"  by  Mr.  Dick,  Ibid.  vol.  p.  411 ;  "On 
I  the  Rot,"  Ibid.'ji.  503;  and  vol.  vi.  p.  117;  "On 
the  Physiognomy  of  Sheep,"  Ihid.  vol.  x.  p.  298; 
"On  different  Breeds,  and  on  feeding  and 
dressing  Tups,"  by  Mr.  Hogg,  Ibid.  vol.  xi.  p. 
105 — 108;  "On  a  peculiar  Affection  of  the 
Liver  in  Ewes,"  by  Mr.  Buckley,  Joum.  Roy. 
Agr.  Soc.  vol.  ii.  p.  116.  See  Foou,  Mkat,  Mut- 
ton, Wool. 

All  the  best  varieties  of  sheep  known  in 
Europe  have  been  introduced  into  the  United 
States,  where  the  raising  of  sheep,  both  for 
the  profits  of  carcass  and  wool,  is  a  highly 
productive  branch  of  agriculture.  The  num- 
ber of  sheep  in  the  United  States,  in  1840,  was 
estimated  at  about  20,000,000.  Immense  num- 
bers of  these  are  raised  in  the  high  and  cool 
districts  in  Northern  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
and  the  Eastern  States.  Various  American 
agricultural  periodicals  contain  valuable  ob- 
servation in  regard  to  sheep  in  the  United 
States.  Jonathan  Roberts,  Esq.,  a  veteran 
farmer  of  Montgomery  county,  Pennsylvania, 
who  has  taken  much  interest  in  this  kind  oi 
stock  for  the  last  half-century,  has  favoured  us 
with  the  following  valuable  observations: 

"  Many  of  the  diseases  which  prevail  among 
sheep  in  Britain  are  little  known  in  this  part 
of  the  United  Stales,  where  the  air  is  drier. 
Such  air,  associated  with  a  broken  and  even 
mountainous  country,  seems  best  adapted  to 
the  breeds  of  this  animal.  Early  in  my  experi- 
ence I  witnessed  the  renovation  of  a  flock  of 
what  we  call  country  sheep,  that  had  been  too 
long  propagated  in  the  same  blood.  This  was 
about  the  year  1789.  An  imported  ram  from 
England,  with  heavy  horns,  very  much  resem* 
bling  the  most  vigorous  Spanish  Merinoes, 
was  obtained.  The  progeny  were  improved 
in  the  quality  of  fleece  and  in  vigour  of  constitu- 
tion. On  running  this  stock  in  the  same  blood 
for  some  12  years,  a  great  deterioration  became 
apparent.  A  male  was  then  obtained  of  the 
large,  coarse-woolled  Spanish  stock;  improve- 
ment in  the  vigour  of  the  progeny  was  again 
most  obvious.  A  Tunis  mountain  ram  was 
then  obtained,  with  a  result  equally  favourable. 
In  this  process,  fineness  of  fleece  or  weight  was 
less  the  object  than  carcass.  In  1810,  a  male  of 
not  quite  pure  Merino  blood  was  placed  with 
the  same  stock  of  ewes;  and  a  change  of  the 
male  from  year  to  year,  for  some  time,  pro- 
duced a  superior  Merino  stock.  Wool  of  a 
marketable  quality  for  fine  cloths  was  now  the 
object,  and  it  was  not  an  unprofitable  husband- 
ry, when  it  would  sell  in  the  fleece  unwashed, 
from  86  cents  to  §1.  The  Saxon  stock  then 
became  the  rage,  and  the  introduction  of  a  tup 
of  that  country  diminished  greatly  the  weight 
of  the  fleece,  without  adequately  improving  its 
fineness.  A  male  of  the  Spanish  stock  would 
give  sometimes  9  lbs.,  and  the  marsh  graziers  say 
that  they  went  so  high  as  15  lbs.    Saxon  inaW 

s9l 


SHEEP,  DISEASES  OF. 

scarcely  exceed  S  lbs.,  and  the  ewes  2i  lbs. 
By  running  in  the  same  blood,  and  poor  keep- 
ing, the  fleece  may  be  made  finer,  but  it  will  be 
lightened  io  proportion,  and  of  a  weak  and 
infirm  textare.  Thereare  few  stock-keepers  who 
have  mixed  the  Spanish  with  the  Saxon  breeds 
but     '  V^rdoor  will  have  cause  to  regret  it. 

In  :  the  country  a  real  Spanish  Me- 

no.. :-!  be  obtained.    Sheep-raising  has 

ceased  to  be  a  business  of  any  profit  nearei  to 
the  maritime  coast  than  our  extensive  movn- 
Uio  ranges,  whether  for  carcass  or  fleece.  I 
•old.  the  last  sea*  )n,  water-washed  wool  of 
very  fine  quality,  for  30  cents  per  lb.  At  such 
a  price  for  wool,  land  near  our  seaports  can  be 
luroed  to  better  account,  even  in  these  dull 
times,  than  wiwl-<;rowing.  Stock-sheep  do  best 
in  stony  and  elevated  locations,  where  they 
have  to  use  diligence  to  pick  the  scanty  blade. 
Sheep  on  the  seaboard  region  should  be  kept 
more  for  carcass  than  fleece:  and  feeding  more 
than  breeding,  ought  to  be  the  object  for  some 
100  mile;'  from  tide-water.  It  is  now  a  well 
ascertained  fact,  that  health  and  vigour  can 
only  be  perpetuated  by  not  running  too  long  on 
the  same  blood.  The  evils  I  have  witnessed 
were  due  to  a  want  of  care  on  this  head  more 
than  to  any  endemical  quality  in  our  climate. 
Sheep  kept  on  smooth  land  and  soft  pasture 
are  liable  to  the  foot-rot.  I  have  found  this 
readily  relieved  by  a  little  spirits  of  turpentine 
or  salted  grease  and  tar,  or  tar  only.  'I'he  hoofs 
of  the  Merino  require  paring  occasionally,  for 
wan?  of  a  stony  mountain-side  to  ascend.  It  is 
no  longer  a  problem  that  this  is  to  be  a  great 
wi»ol-growing  country  as  well  as  a  wool-con- 
taming  one.  There  is,  in  our  wool-growing 
country,  land  in  abundance,  held  at  a  price 
that  will  enable  the  wool-grower  to  produce  the 
flneM  qualities  at  30  cents  per  lb.,  the  cloths  to 
be  manufactured  in  proportion,  and  the  market 
to  be  steady.  I  have  seen  Merino  wool  since 
1810  range  from  5^1  per  lb.  to  18|  cents,  though 
I  do  not  recollect  selling  below  22  cents.  The 
best  variety  of  sheep  stock  I  have  seen,  putting 
fineness  of  fleece  aside,  was  the  mixed  Bake- 
well  and  South  Down,  imported  by  Mr.  Smith, 
o(  New  Jersey.  The  flesh  of  the  Merino  has 
been  pronounced  of  inferior  flavour.  This, 
however,  does  not  agree  with  my  experience, 
as  I  have  found  the  lambs  command  a  readier 
•ale  than  any  other,  from  being  preferred  by 
consumers.** 

In  regard  to  the  particular  distribytion  of 
sheep  through  the  several  slates,  we  find,  ac- 
eording  to  the  returns  accompanying  the 
census  of  1840,  that  there  were  in  Maine, 
e49,2&l:  .\ew  Hampshire. 617.390;  Massachu- 
•etts.  .378.S36;  Rhode  Island,  90.146  ;  Connecti- 
cut. 403.462;  Vermont,  1,681.819;  New  York, 
^118.777;  New  Jersey,  219.285;  Pennsylva- 
nia, 1.767.620;  Delaware.  39.247;  Maryland 
t67.922;  Virginia,  1.293.772;  North  Caro- 
lina. 5.18.279 ;  Tennessee.  741,.'>93;  Kentucky, 
1,008.211;  Ohio,  2.028.401;  Indiana,  695,982,' 
lilin.Ms.  .39.5.672;  Missouri,  348.018. 

SHKKP,  diseases  of.  Jfxrfflery.— Bleed 
copiously  ;  ihen  give  2  ounces  of  Epsom  salts 
in  a  quarter  of  a  pint  of  water. 

B'ficltcairr, — Keep  the  bowels  open  with  Ep- 
Mim  ?ahs ;  and  give  a  tea-spoonful  of  elixir  of 
992 


SHEEP-HOUSE. 

!  vitriol,  or  sulphuric  acid,  diluted  with  7  parts 
j  of  water,  in  an  infusion  of  oak  bark. 
I  Blackmuzzle. — Mix  an  ounce  of  verdigris 
(acetate  of  copper),  4  ounces  of  honey,  half  a 
pint  of  vinegar  ;  simmer  them  together  over  a 
fire  for  10  minutes  in  an  earthen  pipkin.  Ap- 
ply it  to  the  mouth  on  a  piece  of  rag. 

Cough,  or  Cold. — Bleed ;  give  a  solution  of 
Epsom  salts. 

DiarrhcBa.     See  Calves,  Diseases  of. 

Dysentery.     See  Diauuhcea. 

Fly. — Fly  powder :  Two  pounds  of  black  sul- 
phur, half  a  pound  of  hellebore ;  mix  them  to- 
gether, and  sprinkle  the  sheep  from  the  head 
to  the  tail  with  a  di-edging-box.  Sheep  washt 
The  farmer  will  find  this  an  excellent  recipe: 
Half  a  pound  of  powdered  white  arsenic  (atw 
senious  acid),  4^  pounds  of  soft  soap.  Beat 
these  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  or  until  the 
arsenic  is  dissolved,  in  5  gallons  of  water. 
Add  this  to  the  water  sufficient  to  dip  50  sheep. 
The  quantity  of  arsenic  usually  recommended 
is  too  large. 

Foot  Hot. — One  drachm  of  verdigris  (ace- 
tate of  copper),  1  drachm  of  blue  vitriol  (sul- 
phate of  copper),  1  drachm  of  white  vitriol 
(sulphate  of  zinc), 2  ounces  of  water,2  drachms 
of  nitric  acid,  2  drachms  of  butter  of  antimony; 
pare  away  the  horn,  and  apply  the  lotion  upon 
a  feather  to  the  part  affected. 

Redwater.     See  Redwater. 

Rot.    See  Rot. 

Scab,  or  Schab. — Apply  a  lotion  formed  of  1 
ounce  of  corrosive  sublimate,  4  ounces  of  sal 
ammoniac,  dissolved  in  4  quarts  of  rain-water, 
l^his  is  a  powerful  stimulant,  and  must  be  used 
with  caution. 

Ticks.     See  Fly. 

Wotmds. — Wash  the  part,  and  apply  a  lotion 
formed  of  vinegar  1  pint,  spirits  of  wine  1 
ounce,  spirits  of  turpentine  1  ounce,  Goulard's 
extract  1  ounce.  If  the  wound  be  a  recent  one, 
it  is  better  to  stitch  it  up  with  separate  liga- 
tures, which  can  be  easily  withdrawn,  and 
dress  with  cold  water. 

SHEEP-FOLD.  A  yard  or  other  contri- 
vance for  the  purpose  of  confining  and  keep- 
ing sheep  during  the  nights  or  in  bad  weather, 
in  order  to  afford  them  protection  and  shelter. 
They  are  sometimes  fixed,  being  constructed 
of  any  convenient  sort  of  light  material,  so  as 
to  enclose  a  space  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  sheep,  which  is  kept  constantly  well  littered 
with  some  dry  substance,  such  as  stubble,  re- 
fuse straw,  dry  sand,  &c.,  during  the  time  the 
sheep  are  folded  and  foddered  in  them,  in  order 
that  as  much  manure  may  be  raised  as  pos- 
sible. In  some  cases,  also,  for  the  more  perfect 
protection  of  the  sheep,  they  have  sheds  all 
around  them,  under  which  the  sheep  may  lie 
without  injury  from  rain,  snow,  or  any  sort  of 
moisture.  These  usually  are  termed  standing 
folds,  and  are  either  formed  about  the  home- 
stead or  on  some  dry,  rather  elevated  situation 
on  the  farms,  having  the  bottoms  well  laid  with 
some  sort  of  material  that  is  capable  of  keep- 
ing the  sheep  dry  and  clean.  See  Fold,  Fold- 
ing, and  HcRBLKs. 

SHEEP-HOUSE.  A  slight  wooden  building 
constructed  for  the  purpose  of  containing  and 
protecting  sheep  in  bad  weather,  &c     Housea 


SHEEP-PENS. 


SHRUB. 


of  this  kind  are  usually  made  low  for  the  sake 
of  warmth  in  the  winter,  being  mostly  a  third 
part  longer  than  they  have  breadth  :  they  should 
also  be  sutRcientiy  large  for  the  quantity  of 
sheep  that  they  are  to  contain.  The  side  should 
be  lined  with  boards,  and  the  bottoms  be  laid 
in  an  even  manner  with  stone  or  some  other 
material,  that  the  litter  may  be  well  impreg- 
nated with  the  urine  of  the  sheep.  The  sides 
exposed  to  the  sun  should  be  lined  with  mova- 
ble hurdles,  that  when  it  shines  the  whole 
may  be  laid  open,  to  give  due  refreshment  and 
afford  the  sheep  an  opportunity  of  feeding  upon 
the  pasture  wherein  they  stand.  They  should 
be  well  and  securely  covered  with  some  sort 
of  proper  material  upon  the  tops.  They  are 
sometimes  fixed  in  particular  situations;  but 
in  other  cases,  which  is  the  more  improved 
method,  so  constructed  as  to  be  capable  of 
being  removed  as  they  may  be  wanted. 

SHEEP-PENS.  The  divisions  made  by  the 
small  movable  gates  or  hurdles  which  are 
set  up  to  keep  sheep  in  some  particular  spot. 
They  are  usually  formed  on  a  dry  place  about 
the  corners  where  different  enclosures  of  the 
pasture  meet,  so  as  to  be  convenient  for  the 
whole.  Pens  are  useful  for  examining  and 
selecting  the  sheep,  being  divided  so  as  to  con- 
tain about  3  dozen  sheep  each,  as  by  this  means 
they  are  always  at  the  command  of  the  shep- 
herd for  any  purposes  he  may  have  in  view. 
The  bottoms  should  be  firm  and  dry,  so  that  the 
sheep  may  not  be  soiled. 

SHEEP-STEALING.  By  the  7  W.  4,  & 
1  Vict.  c.  90,  every  person  convicted  in  Eng- 
land of  stealing  any  horse,  mare,  gelding,  colt, 
filly,  bull,  cow,  heifer,  ram,  ewe,  sheep,  or  lamb, 
is  liable  to  be  transported  for  a  term  not  ex- 
ceeding 15  years,  nor  less  than  10  years;  or 
be  imprisoned  for  any  term  not  exceeding  3 
years. 

SHEEP'S  SORREL  (Rumex  acetosella).  A 
perennial  species  of  dock,  which  in  England  is 
found  growing  abundantly  in  dry,  gravelly 
fields  and  pastures.  The  herb  is  acrid,  with 
some  astringency.  The  root  is  creeping.  The 
stem  wavy,  slender, often  decumbent.  Thpflow- 
ers  are  dioecious,  small,  separate,  in  numerous 
whorled  leafless  clusters.  The  leaves  lanceo- 
late-hastate above,  but  hastate  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  stem.  The  acid  which  they  contain  is 
the  oxalic,  combined  with  potassa,  as  a  binox- 
alate  ;  but  it  is  less  used  than  its  fellow-species 
R.  ocetosa.     See  Sorrel. 

Dr.  Darlington  informs  us  that  there  are  in 
the  United  States  10  or  12  additional  species 
of  sorrel,  but  it  is  diflicull  to  say  how  many  of 
these  are  indigenous. 

SHEPARDIA,  SILVER-LEAVED.  See  Buf- 
falo Berrt. 

SHEPHERD.  The  person  who  has  the  care 
and  management  of  a  flock  of  sheep.  Mr.  Ban- 
nister says,  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  for  this 
employment  "  a  person  who  is  well  skilled  in 
the  nature  and  managementof  sheep,  and  hath 
been  brought  up  in  that  employment  from  his 
infancy;  who  is  sober,  diligent,  and  good-na- 
tured ;  qualities  essentially  necessary  in  a  shep- 
herd, who,  although  he  may  seem  to  lead  a  life 
of  indolence,  when  contrasted  with  the  more 
laborious  servants  of  the  farm,  need  rarely  to 
125 


have  a  minute's   time   hang  heavily  on  hi-. 

hands,  if  he  will  be  attentive  to  his  busines!.. 

I  which  will  furnish  him  with  sufficient  employ 

j  ment  throughout  the  day,  particularly  in  th«i. 

;  lambing  season,  or  where  there  are  two  f:  'ic!^  at 

i  work ;  nor  will  he  want  opportunity  1:t  the 

i  exercise  of  his  patience  and  good  temper  in  his 

attendance  on  the  sheep,  which  is  by  nature  an 

i  animal  of  great  obstinacy  and  perverseness, 

I  and  hath  often  paid  the  forfeit  of  its  life  to  these 

'  innate   qualities,  where    the  shepherd  was  a 

man  of  a  morose  and  surlv  disposition." 

SHEPHERD'S  NEEDLE  (Scandix  Pecten 
Veneris).  This  is  a  troublesome  annual  weed, 
very  common  in  cultivated  fields  in  England. 
The  root  is  tapering.  The  fruit  is  nearly 
smooth,  with  a  bushy  edge,  having  a  beak 
from  1  to  2  inches  long;  whence  the  specific 
name. 

SHEPHERD'S  PURSE  (Thla spi,  from  thlao, 
to  compress ;  the  seed-vessels  are  compress- 
ed). In  England  this  is  a  genus  of  worthless 
plants,  the  principal  species  of  which  is  the 
common  shepherd's  purse  (T.  bjirsa  pastoris)^ 
which  occurs  in  almost  every  part  of  the  globe. 
It  is  an  annual  plant,  with  a  tapering,  whitish 
root,  having  a  peculiar  smoke-like  scent.  The 
herbage  is  rough,  with  prominent  hairs.  Stem 
branched,  leafy,  from  6  to  12  inches  high.  Ra- 
dical leaves  deeply  pinnatifid.  Flowers  small, 
corymbose,  often  tinged  with  purplish-brown. 
Pouch  inversely  heart-shaped,  somewhat  tri- 
angular. Seeds  about  5  or  more  in  each  celL 
Small  birds  eat  the  seeds  and  flowers. 
SHEPHERD'S  STAFF.  See  Teasel. 
SHERARDIA  (named  by  Dillenius  in  ho- 
nour  of  his  patron,  W.  Sherard,  LL.D.,  consul 
at  Smyrna).  This  is  a  genus  of  uninteresting 
plants.  One  species,  the  blue  sherardia,  or 
little  field-madder  (S.  arvensis),  is  indigenous  to 
England,  where  it  grows  in  fallow  fi-elds,  or 
among  corn,  on  a  light  or  gravelly  soil.  The 
plant  is  annual;  herbage  generally  hairy; 
stems  several,  branched,  spreading,  mostly  de- 
cumbent, 3  to  6  inches  long.  Leaves  whorled, 
pale-green.  Flowers  pale  purplish-blue,  in  a 
sessile  terminal  umbel. 

SHERDS.  In  gardening,  fragments  of  earthen 
pots,  &c.,  employed  to  drain  the  soil  supplied 
to  potted  plants,  and  also  as  under-draining  for 
gravel  walks. 

SHIFTS.  See  Rotation  of  Crops. 
SHIM.  A  tool  of  the  tillage  kind,  used  in 
breaking  down  and  reducing  the  more  stiff  and 
heavy  sorts  of  land,  as  well  as  cutting  up  and 
clearing  them  from  weeds.  They  are  made  of 
different  forms  and  constructions,  to  suit  dif- 
ferent purposes. 

SHOCK.     See  Shuck. 

SHORE  WEED    (Liltorella,   from  littus,  the 

shore,  in  allusion  to  its  place  of  growth).   The 

plantain   shoreweed  (L.  lacustris)  is  a  pretty 

little  perennial  sub-aquatic,  indigenous  to  Eng- 

I  land,  flowering  in  June.     It  has  no  stem;  but 

the   root,   which   is   fleshed    and    tap-shaped, 

throws  up  many  long,  linear,  channelled  leaves. 

The  flowers  are  whitish-green. 

SHORT-HORNS.     See  Cattle. 

SHRUB.     A  small,    low,   dwarfish,  woody 

plant,  resembling  a  tree,  which,  instead  of  one 

single   stem,  frequently  puts  forth   from  the 

993 


SHUCK. 

tcme  mot  several  sets  or  stems.  The  most 
hardy,  indiyenons  shrubs  are  the  box  and  ivy, 
which  resist  the  severest  winters.  Next,  in 
polm  of  hardiness,  ar«  the  holly,  juniper,  and 
fbrte;  bat  there  arc  beside^  numerous  orna- 
mental shrubs,  well  calculated  to  diversify 
partes  and  lawns.  ..,,.,.     ^ 

niHlTCK.  A  husk  or  shell.  In  husbandry, 
It  also  signifies  a  shock  or  stouk  of  12  sheaves 
of  corn  set  np  together  in  the  harvest  field. 
8m  R«AriJi«. 

8HV.  In  norsemanship,  the  startmg  sud- 
deoit  a.<«ide  of  a  horse. 

sifCKLE  (Sax.  r«e«' ;  I>a»ch  ««<^'  •  ^^o""  ^^*- 
$tntt).  A  hook  with  which  corn  is  reaped.  See 
Rairisia-HooK,  Sctthk,  Ac. 

8ILIC.\.  The  name  of  the  earth  which  forms 
almott  the  entire  sobstance  of  common  sand  or 
•ilrx,  and  aUo  of  quartz  and  flint.  Potash  ren- 
ders •ili'X  soluble  in  water,  and  capable  of  en- 
tering into  the  sap  of  plants.  Hence  one  of  the 
great  advantages  of  potash  as  a  fertilizer,  espe- 
cially adapted  to  wheat,  which  demands  much 
itliea,  an  well  as  potash,  in  the  soil.  Silica  en- 
ten  into  the  composition  of  all  plants,  forming 
the  shininK  outer  coating  of  straw,  corn-stalks, 
reeda,  grasses,  Htc.  See  Earths;  Mixture  of 
totu;  Analysis. 

WLK  CULTURE.  The  United  States  being, 
like  China,  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  a 
f^^^>  «.,„ I. ,,.,,, t,  offer  peculiar  advantages  for 
the  i»f  silk.    From  the  general  pre- 

df>m  '  westerly  winds  in  extra-tropical 

regiun.s  the  eastern  sides  of  continents  in  these 
possess  a  dry  and  warm  summer  climate,  pe- 
ealiarly  adapted  to  the  prosperity  of  the  silk- 
worm. In  Europe,  the  region  of  the  silk-culture 
is  confined  to  the  southern  portions,  and  com- 
mences at  a  distance  from  the  sea,  on  the  east- 
em  side  of  the  mountain  ridge  of  the  Cevennes. 
These  mountains  offer  a  barrier  to  the  moisture 
borne  far  inland  by  the  prevailing  westerly 
winds  sweeping  from  the  Atlantic.  In  the 
United  States  the  prevalence  of  the  same 
winds  keeps  off"  a  large  amount  of  the  moisture 
from  the  sea,  and  leads  to  a  comparatively  dry 
atmosphere.  So  far  as  this  characteristic  of 
climate  is  concerned,  the  culture  of  silk  may 
be  extended  to  the  very  shores  of  the  Atlantic. 
Al  rahous  times  attempts  have  been  made  to 
introduce  it  into  the  United  Slates,  but  it  is 
only  within  a  very  few  years  past  that  the 
wl^ect  has  received  the  attention  which  it 
merits  as  an  important  and  most  valuable 
agricultural  resource.  Among  other  obstacles 
which  h-'.""  ">-'«"«  fo  prevent  the  developement 
of  the   ^  ■\  the  comparatively  tardy 

growth  o;  lary  kinds  of  mulberry  trees 

cultivated  for  feeding  the  silk-worm  has  been 
not  the  least,  since  where  immediate  sources  of 
profit  exist  in  other  products  of  the  soil,  few 
will  engage  in  enterprises,  the  profits  of  which 
hare  to  be  so  long  anticipated.  The  introduc- 
tion of  a  new  kind  of  mulberry,  the  Mm-m  MuU 
rtcoti/i*,  a  tree  of  rapid  developement,  having  in 
1  great  measure  removed  the  obstacle  referred 
lo,  the  silk  culture  has,  to  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, been  introduced  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
dK  Eastern  States,  with  a  comparatively  rigor- 


SILK  CULTURE. 

ous  clinate,  have  heretofore  been  almost  tha 
sole  proilucers  of  domestic  silk  as  an  object  of 
profit.  In  some  of  the  townships  of  Connecti- 
cut and  Massachusetts,  silk  has  for  many  years 
been  an  object  of  domestic  culture ;  but  this  was 
carried  on  to  great  disadvantage,  the  cocoons 
having  been  usually  wound  off  upon  common 
wheels,  and  spun  into  sewing  silk.  No  such 
thing  as  a  regular  filature  for  converting  co- 
coons into  reeled  silk,  and  thus  preparing  it  for 
being  woven  into  different  fabrics,  existed  in 
the  Eastern  States ;  so  that,  instead  of  using 
only  the  refuse  cocoons  in  making  seurings,  the 
very  best  were  thus  appropriated.  The  intro- 
duction of  suitable  reels  for  winding  off  silk 
and  placing  it  in  the  best  form  for  mercantile 
purposes,  has  been  comparatively  slow,  owing 
in  a  great  degree  to  the  introduction  of  many 
contrivances  intended  lo  curtail  labour  by  wind- 
ing immediately  from  the  cocoons  and  twisting 
by  the  same  process  into  sewing  silk.  Most 
or  all  such  contrivances  have  proved  very 
unprofitable,  and  have  yielded,  or  may  be  ex- 
pected to  yield,  to  the  simple  but  effective  ope- 
ration of  the  Piedmontese  reel,  the  most  perfect 
of  all  devices  for  taking  silk  from  the  cocoons, 
and  placing  it  in  the  best  forms  for  market. 
Many  very  skilful  reelers  have  been  made  in 
various  filatures  in  the  United  States.  Although 
in  every  part  of  the  Union  the  mulberry  can 
be  reared,  and  the  silk-worm  successfully 
fed,  still  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  southern 
portions  of  the  Middle,  and  all  the  Southern 
States,  afford  peculiar  advantages  to  the  silk 
culture.  An  agricultural  resource,  which  in 
France  and  other  countries  is  so  highly  appre- 
ciated and  fostered  with  so  much  zeal  by  the 
government,  by  the  establishment  of  model  fila- 
tures, and  the  zealous  attentions  of  men  of 
skill  and  science,  should  be  regarded  as  well 
worthy  the  protection  of  the  general  and  state 
governments  of  the  Union.  Many  states  already 
allow  liberal  premiums  for  cocoons  and  raw 
silk  produced  within  their  borders,  and  these 
inducements  to  individuals  should  be  continued 
until  the  silk  culture  becomes  fairly  establish- 
ed as  a  regular  branch  of  rural  labour;  after 
which  it  will,  like  most  other  branches  of  in- 
dustry once  fairly  set  on  foot,  take  care  of  itself. 
Large  crops  of  cocoons  were  last  year  pro- 
duced in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Ten- 
nessee, and  Indiana.  The  comparatively  small 
cost  of  conveying  to  market  an  article  so  highly 
valuable  as  silk,  should  encourage  its  culture 
in  districts  from  which  the  heavy  and  bulky 
products  of  agriculture  cannot  be  transported 
so  as  to  leave  a  fair  profit  to  the  producer.  In 
Ohio  many  thousand  yards  of  silk  stuffs 
were  woven  in  1842,  the  manufacturers  pay- 
ing for  the  cocoons  about  §4  per  bushel.  The 
culturists  find  their  advantage  in  having  the 
silk  reeled  from  the  cocoons  into  organzine, 
instead  of  the  formerly  unprofitable  mode  of 
turning  the  most  valuable  silk  into  sewings. 
American  raw  silk,  when  properly  reeled,  is 
superior  to  that  generally  produced  in  Europe. 
A  person  who  had  been  many  years  engaged 
in  weaving  silk  in  different  establishments  in 
London,  having  had  (as  he  says)  for  15  years 
from  250  to  300  lbs.  of  the  raw  material,  of 


SILK  CULTURE. 


SINCLAm,  GEORGE. 


every  grade  and  name,  passing  throug^i  his 
hands  weekly,  expresses  the  following  opinion 
relative  to  silk  produced  in  the  United  States: 

"I  am  qualified  to  affirm,  from  various  ex- 
periments I  have  tried,  that  the  silk  is  superior 
to  any  I  have  seen  from  Italy,  China,  France, 
Piedmont,  or  Valencia,  where  the  worms  are 
fed  upon  multicaulis,  or  Italian.  Its  brilliancy, 
strength,  and  scent  are  superior.  I  am  aware 
that  an  exposure  to  the  saline  air,  in  the  pas- 
sage across  the  ocean,  may  be  the  cause  of  the 
Joss  of  fragrance  to  imported  silk;  but  the 
bi-ilUiincy  is  peculiar  to  American  silk,  if  reeled 
in  a  proper  manner,  with  cleanliness. 

"I  am  confident  that  the  mammoth  sulphur- 
worm  is  the  pure  Fossam  brown.  To  try  this, 
I  had  about  3  lbs.  of  silk  reeled,  and  enclosed 
it  in  an  air-tight  box  for  3  weeks.  When  I  took 
it  out  it  had  the  fragrance  of  the  Fossam  brown 
stronger  than  any  that  I  ever  smelt  in  Eng- 
land, which  convinced  me  that  the  mammoth 
sulphur  is  the  identical  silk  which  is  always 
from  5  to  8  shillings  per  pound  higher  than  or- 
dinary silk.  The  mammoth  white  and  the  pea- 
nut white  is  a  Novi,  and  superior  to  any  I  have 
seen  in  England.  The  yellow  or  orange  I  can- 
not, satisfactorily  to  my  own  mind,  yet  define, 
but  am  trying  experiments  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain. I  am  strongly  persuaded  it  is  a  Bergam. 
Should  this  be  the  case,  it  will  prove  a  great 
acquisiiion  to  manufacturers  of  silk  velvet. 
Some  h-.ive  supposed  the  pea-nut  white  is  the 
Piedmont,  but  they  are  mistaken.  The  Pied- 
mont cocoon  is  lily-white,  very  diminutive, 
with  a  sharp  point." 

Where  legislative  patronajfe  has  been  ex- 
tended in  the  allowance  of  bounties  on  cocoons 
and  raw  silk,  the  slate  treasuries  may  be  re- 
ferred to  as  criierions  showing  the  increase  or 
diminution  of  the  silk  crop  with  great  preci- 
sion. The  treasurer  of  Massachusetts  has  fur- 
nished the  following  rep<irt,  indicating  how  the 
matter  stands  in  that  state : 


1836  - 

-  #71  m 

1840   -   -  #1.233  59 

1837  . 

.     1P8  00 

1841    -    -   2,111  42 

1838  - 

-   350  52 

1842  to  Oct.  1    3,351  91 

1839  - 

-   434  62 

"Another  consideration,  calculated  to  urge 
the  business  forward,"  says  the  Northampton 
Silk  Convention,  "  is  found  in  the  fact  that  all 
our  present  agricultural  staples  are  now  ex- 
tremely depressed,  and  are  likely  to  remain  so. 
The  market  is  completely  glutted.  Our  far- 
mers must  take  up  something  new,  or  their  suf- 
ferings will  be  prolonged  indefinitely.  In  this 
crisis,  silk  comes  to  their  aid.  In  the  produc- 
tion of  this  article  they  cannot  glut  the  market 
for  one  whole  generation,  most  assuredly." 

Without  desiring  to  excite  undue  expecta- 
tions, it  is  a  question  which  deserves  serious 
consideration,  whether  much  more  may  not  be 
realized  from  the  prosecution  of  this  business 
than  has  hitherto  been  1  The  little  town  of 
Mansfield,  in  Connecticut,  by  a  persevering 
devotion  to  it,  undiscouraged  by  the  ill-success 
of  others,  has  been  enabled  to  derive  therefrom 
a  good  profit;  and  it  appears  from  the  last 
census  that,  with  a  population  of  2276,  not  less 
than  $20,000  is  annually  received  from  this 
business. 

The  bounty  paid  in  Ohio,  in  1841,  amounted 


to  $2681  76;  in  Pennsylvania  $4418  55.  In 
1842  there  was  paid  as  bounty,  in  Ohio, 
$6699  61.  The  whole  amount  of  reeled  silk 
produced  in  Ohio  is  set  down  at  3000  pounds. 
One  person  sold  300  pounds  of  reeled  silk  for 
$1600.  The  whole  aggregate  of  the  silk  crop 
throughout  the  United  States,  for  1842,  is  given 
in  a  tabular  view,  by  Mr.  Ellsworth,  at  244,124 
pounds  of  cocoons.  {Ellsworth's  Report  to  Cow 
gress.) 

Under  the  head  of  Mui.bxrry,  some  observa- 
tions have  been  made  in  relation  to  the  varie- 
ties of  the  tree  best  adapted  to  the  silk  culture 
in  the  United  States.  Besides  the  numerous 
communications  to  be  found  in  most  of  the 
American  periodicals  devoted  to  agriculture, 
and  some  specially  to  the  silk  culture,  many 
excellent  original  treatises  have  been  written 
upon  the  same  subject.  Among  the  last  we 
may  name  the  essay  published  under  the  aus- 
pices of  P.  S.  Duponceau,  Esq.,  of  Philadel- 
phia, one  of  the  greatest  champions  of  the 
legitimate  silk  culture  that  the  Union  has  pro- 
duced. By  legitimate  silk  culture,  is  meant  the 
employment  of  the  Piedmontese  reel,  the  use 
of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  give  the 
product  of  the  cocoonery  its  proper  value. 
The  work  thus  referred  to  is  a  duodecimo 
printed  in  Philadelphia,  and  bears  the  name 
of  M.  d'Homergue.  It  is  particularly  useful  in 
relation  to  the  subject  of  the  Piedmontese  reel. 
A  summary  of  the  principal  Chinese  treatises 
on  the  culture  of  silk,  &c.,  was  published,  in 
1838,  by  P.  Force,  Esq.,  Washington.  An  ex- 
cellent Treatise  on  the  Mulberry  Tree,  and  the 
Production  and  Manufacture  of  Silk,  was  pub- 
lished in  Philadelphia,  in  18.39,  by  Mr.  John 
Clarke.  Several  Manuals  on  the  silk  culture, 
furnishing  abundant  information,  embracing 
the  most  minute  details,  have  been  published 
by  Roberts,  Cobb,  Kenrick,  Comstock,  Clarke, 
&c.,  &c.  Among  the  periodicals  specially  de- 
voted to  the  subject,  the  Silk  Culturist,  edited 
by  F.  G.  Comstock,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
in  1835-6,  and  the  Burlington  Silk  Record,  by  E. 
P.  Morris,  may  be  mentioned.  In  the  latter 
are  given  the  interesting  views  of  Mr.  Morris, 
with  a  description  of  his  newly  invented  and 
valuable  feeding-shelves,  together  with  the  re- 
sults of  many  experiments  in  raising  worms 
upon  an  extensive  scale. 

SILK-GRASS  or  BEAR-GRASS.  See 
YurcA. 

SILK- WEED.     See  Corroir,  Wild. 

SILLS.    A  country  name  for  the  shafts  of  a 

SILVER  BELL.     See  Haiesia. 
SILVER  FIR.     See  Fir  and  Pi?te. 
SILVER- WE  ED,  or  WILD  TANSEY  (Pc 

tentilla  anserina).  An  indigenous  perennial 
plant,  which,  according  to  Linnaeus,  indicates 
clay  under  the  surface.  Although  it  is  found 
frequent  in  osier  holts  and  spongy  meadows,  it 
grows  most  commonly  upon  cold,  stiff  land,  and 
is  a  sure  mark  of  the  sterility  of  the  soil. 
Flowers  large,  bright-yellow,  the  calyx  hairy; 
and  each  on  a  long,  simple  stalk,  mostly  erect, 
blowing  all  the  summer.    See  CiNatrEFoit. 

SINCLAIR,  GEORGE.  An  able  and  sue 
cessful  writer  and  experimentalist  on  the  arti 
ficial  and  other  grasses.    He  carried  on  a  S)©- 

995 


SIT-FAST. 

ri«s  of  valuable  researchca  on  these  in  the 
grass  garden  at  Woburii  Abbey,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  the  results  of 
which  he  gave  to  the  world,  in  his  justly  cele- 
brated  work,  the  Hortus  Gramineus  ]Voburnen*is. 
He  also  edited  a  fragment  of  a  work  of  Mr. 
Holdich  on  The  Weeds  of  JgricuUure,  He  died 
in  1886,  in  the  62d  year  of  his  age. 

8IT-FA8T.  In  farriery,  an  ulcerated  sore  in 
which  a  part  of  the  skin  has  turned  horny;  if 
iteanoot  be  dissolved  and  soAened  by  rubbing 
with  mercurial  ointment,  it  must  have  a  mild 
bUaier  applied,  which  will  cause  it  to  separate. 
It  geoerally  proceeds  from  a  warble  or  little 
tanoar  resulting  from  the  pressure  of  the  sad- 
dle.   See  Back-Sori  and  Galls. 

SIZE.    See  Glob. 

SKEGa  A  kind  of  oat,  sometimes  culti- 
vated as  a  crop  in  Nottinghamshire.  It  is  the 
JfMmt  $iipi/ormi$  of  Linnaeus.     See  Oats. 

8KEP.  A  coarse,  round,  farm-basket.  It  is 
also  provincial ly  used  to  signify  a  bee-hive. 

Slub.  The  chain  by  which  the  wheel  of  a 
wagon  is  fastened,  so  as  to  prevent  its  turning 
roand,  upon  descending  a  steep  hill.  See 
Dbas. 

SKIM  COULTER,    See  Plocoh. 

8 K  U  N  K-C  A  B  B  A G  E  ;  Swamp-cabbage  ; 
8kank-weed.  Familiar  names  applied  to  a 
•laot  common  in  low  grounds  in  the  United 
Olales.  It  is  the  Syiuplocarpus  fcetida  of  some 
botanists,  and  the  Pothos  faiida  of  others.  It 
Ims  a  perennial  root,  and  very  large  leaves, 
oAen,  when  fully  grown,  measuring  2  feet  long 
and  1  foot  wide.  "This  plant,"  says  Dr.  Dar- 
lington. "  is  notorious  for  the  pole-cat-like  odour 
which  It  emits,  when  wounded;  and  is  said  to 
possess  some  medicinal  virtues,  as  an  anti- 
tpasmodic.  The  root,  when  chewed,  produces 
a  tingling  or  pricking  sensation  in  the  mouth. 
It  is  the  only  species  of  the  genus  in  the  United 
Slates:  Dr.  Barton,  however,  describes  a  pretty 
distinct  variety,  near  Philadelphia." 

SLATE.  A  well-known,  neat,  convenient, 
and  durable  material  for  the  covering  of  the 
roofs  of  buildings.  There  are  many  varieties 
of  slate,  and  it  likewise  differs  very  greatly  in 
its  qualities  and  colours.  In  some  places  it  is 
foond  in  thick  lamina  or  flakes,  while  in  others 
it  is  thin  and  light.  The  colours  are  white, 
brown,  and  blue.  Slate  is  so  durable  in  some 
aases  as  ii)  have  been  known  to  continue  sound 
and  good  tor  crnturies. 

SLAUGHTER-HOUSE.    See  Abattoib. 

SLBET.    See  Snow. 

SLOE.  The  American  species  of  sloe  belong 
to  the  vibomium  family,  and  are  not  to  be  con- 
founded With    the  black  hedge   thorn.     See 

SL()l  GH-HEAL.    See  SsLr-HSAL. 

SLUG,  A  genus  of  molluscous  animals,  or 
aake'^.  snails,  comprehending  several  species, 
wl»"  i>  '"^'^'^'^njy  in  colour.  Slugs  infest  gardens 
an  :  are  very  injurious  to  the  growing 

Cr  it  becomes  essential  to  destroy 

loeitt.  Dry  lime  and  slacked  lime  have  been  re- 
commended, which,  being  dissolved  by  the  dew 
and  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  act  as  a  poison 
IP  these  animals.  But  pulverized  lime  is  not 
tnitahle  to  all  soils,  and  may  even  prove  inju- 
rious to  some  crops.  Lime-water  appears  to 
v99 


SMITHFiELD. 

be  preferable.  But  as  many  husbandmen  may 
not  have  an  opportunity  of  liming  their  fields 
or  gardens,  or  of  keeping  a  sufficient  stock  of 
geese,  fowls,  ducks,  &c.,  to  turn  in  and  devour 
the  slugs,  common  salt  will  be  found  an  efiec- 
tual  cure ;  and  tar-water  or  other  refuse  of 
gas-works  will  prove  destructive  to  them,  if 
sprinkled  on  the  land.  See  Insects  and  Snails. 

The  disgusting  slug  infesting  pear  and  cherry 
trees  in  the  United  States  is  a  slimy  false  ca- 
terpillar, the  nature  and  characteristics  of 
which,  and  the  parent-fly,  are  particularly  de- 
scribed by  Professor  Peck  and  Dr.  Harris.  See 
Saw-flies. 

8MALLAGE  PARSLEY.  See  Celert, 
Wild. 

SMITHFIELD.  The  principal  market  for 
the  sale  of  live  cattle  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
It  is  very  inconveniently  situated  in  the  heart 
of  the  metropolis.  The  numbers  of  cattle 
slaughtered  have  been  more  than  double  dur- 
ing the  last  century.  (See  Cattle,  anfc,  p. 293.) 
Although  this  increased  consumption  is  scarce- 
ly proportioned  to  the  increase  of  population, 
it  should  be  remembered  that  a  very  different 
description  of  cattle  are  now  slaughtered  to 
what  were  then  killed.  The  present  average 
dead  weight  of  the  bullock  is  about  656  lbs.,  of 
the  calf  144  lbs.,  of  the  pig  96  lbs.,  and  of  the 
sheep  and  lamb  90  lbs. ;  approaching  to  double 
the  weight  of  these  animals  in  1730.  This 
renders  the  number  of  cattle  slaughtered  in  the 
metropolis,  and  the  increasing  number  of  the 
inhabitants,  a  little  more  proportionate.  From 
this  estimate,  and  the  number  of  cattle  sold  in 
Smithfield  market  in  the  year  1830,  we  may 
now  form  some  not  very  inaccurate  idea  of  the 
amount  of  this  branch  of  the  provision  trade 
in  London. 

Averafce  Weight.  No.  of  lbs. 

Cattle         -        -        159,907           6561b.  104,898,992 

Sheep,  &c.         -    1,287,070             90  115,8.'J6,300 

Pigs  -        -        -        254,672              96  24,448,512 

Calves       -        -         22,500           144  3,240,000 


248,423,804 


Number  of  lbs.  of  meat  consumed 


This,  estimated  at  the  average  price  of  6d., 
would  be  6,210,595?.  2s.  Off.;  at  8d.,  it  would 
produce  8,268,293/.  9's.Ad.,  exclusive  of  bacon, 
hams,  and  all  salted  provisions  brought  from  a 
distance  (the  importation  of  Irish  bacon  and 
hams  into  Great  Britain  is  500,000  cwt.),  and 
also  fish  and  poultry.  This  calculation  will 
enable  us  to  determine  another  curious  ques- 
tion,— what  is  the  average  quantity  of  meat 
consumed  by  each  individual  in  the  course  of 
a  year  1  If  we  divide  the  gross  number  of 
pounds,  248,423,804,  by  1,450,000,  the  estimated 
number  of  inhabitants  in  London  and  its  envi- 
rons, the  quotient  will  be  170,  or  each  indi- 
vidual consumes  nearly  half  a  pound  of  meat 
every  day.  This  is  a  very  high  calculation 
compared  with  that  of  Paris,  where  each  per- 
son is  supposed  to  consume  but  80  pounds  in 
the  year ;  and  Brussels,  where  89  pounds  form 
the  allotment  of  each ;  but  the  English  is  a 
meat-eating  population,  and  composed  chiefly 
of  Protestants ;  and  when  we  remember  that 
this  includes  the  bones  as  well  as  the  meat, 
half  a  pound  a  day  is  not  too  much  to  allow  to 
each  person. 

Cattle  are  sent  from  every  part  of  the  king- 


II 


SMUT. 


m  to  Smith  field  market,  but  many  more  from 
some  districts  than  from  others.  The  farmer 
has  personally  little  to  do  with  the  sale  of  his 
cattle,  hut  custom  and  interest  induce  him  to 
consign  them  to  a  salesman,  who  is  acquainted 
with  all  the  butchers  and  dealers  of  the  district, 
and  with  the  contractors.  He  sees  at  a  glance 
what  is  the  state  of  •the  market;  he  can  tell 
whether  it  is  likely  to  rise  or  fall ;  and  com- 
paring the  lot  which  is  intrusted  to  him  with 
others,  and  with  the  market  generally,  he  knows 
what  they  ought  to  fetch.  The  salesmen  are 
generally  honourable  men ;  they  procure  for 
the  owner  the  value  of  his  cattle  under  all  the 
circumstances  of  the  market,  and  although  it 
may  not  always  be  so  much  as  the  grazier  had 
expected,  it  is  more  than  he  could  have  got 
himself,  and  he  is  always  sure  of  receiving  his 
money.     See  Pocltitt,  Shrep,  Swine,  &c. 

SMUT.  A  disease  affecting  almost  every 
species  of  corn,  the  grains  of  which  become 
filled  with  a  fetid  black  powder,  instead  of  con- 
taining farinaceous  matter.  Wet  seasons,  ani- 
malculre,  organic  weakness,  deficiency  of  the 
parts  of  generation,  and  other  circumstances, 
have  been  assigned  as  the  primary  causes  of 
this  disease,  but  all  the  results  of  experience 
are  against  the  opinion  that  these  are  more 
than  contingencies  which  aggravate  the  symp- 
toms, and  accelerate  the  progress  of  the  infec- 
tion. That  the  smut  does  not  arise  from  a  de- 
ficient fecundity  is  apparent,  because  it  affects 
and  destroys  the  grain  long  before  the  sexual 
organs  are  fully  developed.  Fogs,  exposure 
to  intense  sunshine  when  moist,  or  other  atmo- 
spheric influences  upon  the  ear  after  it  has 
been  protruded,  have  been  assigned  as  causes; 
but  these  cannot  be  productive  of  the  mischief, 
for  the  disease  has  been  observed  during  an 
early  stage  of  the  vegetation  of  the  ear,  and 
long  before  it  has  escaped  from  the  leafy  en- 
velopes; this  also  dismisses  the  opinion  enter- 
tained by  some  that  the  disease  occurs  after 
the  grains  are  fully  formed.  It  does  not  arise 
from  the  too  abundant  moisture  of  the  soil,  be- 
cause I  have  universally  observed  that  the 
driest  parts  of  a  field  are  as  liable  to  bear  an 
infected  grain  as  the  most  wet ;  and  we  all 
know  that  an  infected  plant  stands  surrounded 
by  others  entirely  untainted.  Some  persons 
have  thought  that  insects  are  the  origin  of  the 
disease;  but  the  most  accurate  observations 
have  refuted  this  opinion,  and  shown  that  the 
diseased  grains  may  be  an  agreeable  nidus  for 
the  larvoB,  but  that  these  always  appear  after 
the  disease  is  matured.  Upon  examining  some 
of  the  diseased  grains,  Mr.  R.  Somerville  found 
upon  them  a  minute  insect,  in  form  like  a 
wood-louse,  which  I  know  from  observation  to 
be  a  species  of  the  acarus,  and  these  he  con- 
sidered the  cause  of  the  disease.  But  this  is  a 
conclusion  unwarranted  by  observation,  for 
similar  vermin  are  found  upon  the  roots  of  the 
Brassica  tribe  that  are  infected  with  anbury; 
and,  indeed,  this  genus  of  insects  is  invariably 
found  upon  decaying  vegetable  matter;  it  is 
their  habitat. 

Other  persons  have  thought  that  the  grains 
injured  by  the  process  of  thrashing  are  most 
liable  to  the  disease ;  but  this  is  refuted  by  the 
fact   that  it   appears   in  some  years,  and   is 


SMUT. 

scarcely  to  be  detected  in  others.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Hales  bruised  numerous  grains  of  wheal 
of  different  sizes  with  a  hammer,  but  the  result 
convinced  him  that  this  opinion  is  erroneous. 
Wolfins  thought  it  arose  from  a  monstrosity 
of  the  embryo ;  but  M.  Cymen  has  shown  that 
the  male  flowers  of  some  plants  suffer  from 
smut  as  well  as  the  female,  and  the  former  we 
know  have  no  embryo. 

Some  farmers  have  considered  that  pigeons' 
dung  induced  the  disease,  but  general  expe- 
rience is  against  this  idea.  Nor  is  th^  disease 
the  consequence  of  any  defect  of  the  sap,  for 
all  the  parts  except  the  ear  are  healthy;  and 
there  are  some  plants,  observes  M.  Cymen, 
having  perennial  roots,  and  which  are  vigor- 
ous, yet  their  seeds  are  annually  attacked  with 
this  disease. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  several  causes 
which  have  been  erroneously  assigned,  I  will 
now  proceed  to  detail  the  more  correct  know- 
ledge that  has  been  accumulated  respecting 
this  plague  of  our  corn  crops. 

This  disease  is  severally  termed  smut,  dust- 
brand,  blight,  burnt  corn,  &c.  In  France  it  is 
commonly  known  by  the  names  of  charbon  and 
nielle  volante.  Botanists,  aided  by  the  micro- 
scope, have  discovered  that  the  cause  of  smut 
is  a  parasitical  fungus,  which  preys  not  only 
upon  the  sap,  but  destroys  the  very  organic 
structure  of  the  grain  and  chaff  upon  which  it 
fixes.  The  majority  of  naturalists  agree  in  dis- 
tinguishing the  fungus  by  the  title  of  Uredo 
seg,etutn;  but  as  it  has  oiher  synonymes,  these, 
and  the  authors  who  have  employed  them,  may 
be  usefully  enumerated.  Uredo  segetum,  Pursh, 
n.  27;  Chaos  ustilago,  Lin.  Syst.  Nat.  1326,  n.  4; 
Reliculaire  des  bits,  Bulliard's  Fungi,  vol.  i.  p.  90, 
plate  472,  f.  2.  Relicularia  segetum.  Withering, 
iv.  p.  388.  Charbon,  Tessier  Des  Maladies  des 
Grains,  299.  Bulliard  describes  this  fungus  as 
globular,  extremely  fine,  and  attached  to  a  fine 
efastic  thread.  They  are  exceedingly  nume- 
rous, enveloping  the  seed  and  chaff  of  the 
plants  they  affect,  and  are,  as  well  as  their  own 
still  more  minute  seed,  of  an  intense  black 
colour,  having  a  disagreeable  fetid  smell,  which 
has  been  not  inaptly  compared  to  stale  lobsters. 
Mr.  Kirby  tells  us  that  Mr.  Lathbury  examined 
the  dust  of  this  fungus  under  a  powerful  mag- 
nifier, and  found  it  consisted  of  numerous  mi- 
nute particles,  uniform  in  shape  and  size,  much 
smaller  and  blacker  than  those  of  the  pepper 
brand,  and  less  easily  separable :  they  seemed 
to  be  contained  in  little  irregular  cells.  This 
dust  or  seed  is  the  food  of  a  small,  shiniug, 
black  insect,  the  Dermestes  atn  of  Marsham. 

Chemical  analysis  has  demonstrated  tha' 
this  fungus  effects  an  entire  decomposition  of 
the  vegetable  particles  of  the  grain  it  infects, 
the  saline  constituents  remaining  nearly  un 
altered  in  the  grain.  Parmentier,  Cornet, 
Girot,  Chantians,  Fourcroy,  and  Vauquelin, 
have  successively  examined  it,  and  the  result 
of  their  researches  is,  that  smutted  grains  of 
wheat  are  composed,  1st,  of  about  one-third 
their  own  weight  of  a  green,  butyraceous,  fetid 
and  acrid  oil;  2d,  nearly  one-fourth  of  a  vegeto- 
animal  substance,  perfectly  similar  '^o  that 
which  comes  from  putrid  gluten;  3d,  a  black 
coal,  one-fifth  of  their  weight,  similar  to  tha: 
4P  997 


6MUT. 

which  it  found  in  all  remnants  of  putrefied 
MMinic  compoonds;  4th,  free  phosphoric  acid, 
HBoaniing  •carcely  to  more  than  -004  of  the 
•vol;  &th,  phosphates  of  ammonia,  magnesia, 
and  lime,  in  the  proportion  of  a  few  thou- 
sandths. -  We  must  remark,"  say  MM.  Four- 
eivy  and  Vanquelin,  **  that  in  one  examination 
of  pstrHkd  gluten,  we  found  characters  very 
similar  ti  'hose  of  the  smut  of  wheat;  and  that 
the  produce  '^the  one  are  so  like  those  of  the 
oilier  as  to  reu>r  it  difficult,  in  certain  cases, 
•01  to  confound  nem  together.  It  requires  a  man 
10  he  well  practised  in  chemical  experiments  to 
discern  the  slight  differences  that  exist  between 
these  two  putrefied  matters,  because  the  dif- 
ferences are  only  delicate  shades,  not  easily 
discernible.  The  contagion  attacks  especially 
Ihe  gluten,  and  precedes,  indeed  prevents,  the 
formation  of  the  starch ;  since  we  know  posi- 
tively that  this  fecula,  no  traces  of  which  are 
feiind  in  the  smut  of  wheat,  suffers  no  altera- 
tioii  from  the  septic  process  which  so  power- 
fally  attacks  the  glutinous  substance."  The 
ravages  of  this  disease  are  chiefly,  though  not 
eiclusirely,  confined  to  the  cereal  plants.  Mr. 
Kirby  says  it  is  common  to  wheat,  oats,  bar- 
ley, nad  rye;  and  that  he  has  seen  the  flote 
feaene  (Gt^erria  fluitans),  and  some  other 
frassea,  affected  with  it.  Barley  and  oats  are 
more  flreqaently  affected  by  it  than  wheat, 
trhich  may  proceed  from  the  latter  being  usu- 
ally steeped  before  sowing.  Wildenow,  who, 
in  his  FrinapUs  of  Botany,  §  331,  describes  the 
sihat  under  the  name  of  "  Ustilago,"  and  as 
being  a  small  fungus,  says,  "This  singular 
variety  of  gangrene  occurs  most  frequently  in 
the  species  of  Gramineee,  rarely  in  other  plants, 
someriroes  in  Scorzonera,  Tragspogon,"  &c. 
The  ear  of  com  which  is  attacked  is  in  gene- 
ral totally  destroyed,  but  sometimes  the  same 
eor  contains  sound  as  well  as  smutty  grains  ; 
and  even  one  end  of  the  same  grain  has  been 
found  diseased  and  the  other  end  sound.  How- 
ever, as  all  the  grains  in  an  ear  are  usually 
infpcted,  so,  when  one  stalk  is  smutty,  it  gene- 
rally happens  that  all  the  ears  from  the  same 
root  are  so  too.  In  March  or  April,  upon  care- 
fully opening  the  hose  or  blade  (folium  vafri- 
nmm$)  which  covers  the  ear,  and  examining  the 
joong  ear,  although  it  was  not  above  one-sixth 
pert  of  an  inch  long,  and  almost  close  to  the 
roots,  M.  Du  Uamel  found  this  embryo  already 
Mack  and  distempered;  a  fact  confirmed  by 
the  researches  of  Mr.  Kirby.  When  the  dis- 
eeted  ear  comes  oat  of  the  above-mentioned 
eevelope*  it  looks  lank  and  meager.  About 
half  an  inch  of  the  upper  part  of  its  stalk  is 
eommonly  not  quite  straight  If  cut  asunder 
at  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  below 
Uie  ear,  it  will  be  found  nearly  solid  or  filled 
with  pith;  the  circulation  above  is  therefore 
obainieied.  The  next  most  important  point  for 
caaaideration  is,  from  whence  is  the  infection 
or^mmoaiealed;  and  the  following  experiments 
will  be  fonad  to  have  demonstrated  that  it  is 
capable  of  being  conveyed  to  the  plants  by  the 
agency  of  the  parent  seed.  These  experiments 
are  satisfactory  and  decisive;  for,  although 
they  are  only  in  a^-oordance  with  the  most  pre- 
valent opinions  of  farmers  upon  the  point,  yei 
prevalent  opinions  are  not  always  in  accord- 


SMUT. 

ance  with  truth,  and  are  never  to  be  implicitly 
received  until  sustained  by  evidence,  which  is 
independent  of  prejudice,  and  more  accurate 
than  surmise. 

Mr.  R.  Somerville,  in  a  paper  published  la 
the  Communications  to  the  Board  of  Agriculture^ 
details  experiments  fully  substantiating  the 
fact,  that  the  disease  is  sommunicable  to  the 
crop  from  the  parent  seed.  He  mixed  some 
smutted  grains  with  others  perfectly  healthy, 
and  kept  them  in  a  box  for  two  months ;  after 
which,  previously  to  sowing,  he  rubbed  them 
together  between  his  hands.  The  sample  was 
then  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  one  of  which 
was  well  washed  with  clear  water  three  or  four 
times,  and  then  sown  in  a  drill  in  his  garden. 
The  other  half  was  sown  similarly,  but  without 
being  washed  or  otherwise  prepared.  The 
blades  appeared  above  the  surface  at  the  same 
time,  and  during  the  first  two  months  of  their 
growth  there  was  no  visible  difference  in  their 
appearance.  Soon  afterwards  many  of  the 
plants  from  the  unwashed  seed  were  observed 
to  have  a  darker  and  more  dirty  green  hue  than 
those  from  the  seed  that  had  been  cleansed 
with  water.  This  difference  of  colour  by  de- 
grees became  more  striking,  and  increased 
until  the  grain  was  protruded  from  the  blade, 
at  which  time  many  of  the  dark-coloured  plants 
evinced  symptoms  of  decay ;  and  the  whole  of 
them,  when  fully  developed,  were  found  to 
be  completely  destroyed  by  the  smut.  The 
plants  from  the  washed  seed  produced  scarce- 
ly a  single  diseased  ear.  These  results  were 
not  fortuitous,  for  the  experiment  afforded  a 
similar  testimony  when  repeated  the  next 
season. 

The  experiments  of  Mr.  Harnip  agree  with 
the  preceding.  In  these,  wheat,  consisting 
half  of  sound  and  half  of  smutted  grains,  was 
sown  without  being  previously  at  all  prepared, 
and  this  produced  a  crop  of  which  nearly  two- 
thirds  were  smutted.  Similar  wheat,  soaked 
for  twelve  hours  in  a  saturated  solution  of 
common  salt,  and  then  mixed  with  quicklime, 
produced  on  the  same  soil,  in  the  same  situa- 
tion, and  in  the  same  season,  a  crop  in  which 
not  a  smutted  ear  could  be  found. 

Similar,  but  more  extended,  and  even  more 
accurate  experiments,  were  completed  by  Mr. 
Bevan,  and  are  recorded  in  the  ninth  volume 
of  The  Agricultural  Magazine.  They  give  the 
result  of  his  trials  with  various  liquids  as 
steeps  for  seed-wheat.  The  wheat  was  grown 
on  a  sandy  soil,  at  Leighton  in  Bedfordshire. 
The  columns  in  the  accompanying  table  which 
are  marked  A.  contain  the  results  from  the 
sound  grain  that  was  sown;  and  those  marked 
B.  are  the  results  from  smutted  samples.  (See 
Table  at  top  of  the  next  page.) 

The  conclusion  from  these  and  many  other 
accordant  experiments  is,  that  washing  the 
seed  is  effective  in  preventing  the  communica- 
tion of  the  disease  to  the  crop  to  which  it  gives 
birth.  If  the  washing  was  frequently  repeated, 
or  the  cleansing  made  complete,  by  passing  a 
continual  stream  through  the  seed  for  some 
hours,  it  is  probable  that  simple  water  might 
be  employed  for  this  purpose  as  effectually  as 
any  saline  solution.  But  as  this  would  require 
more  labour  than  is  desirable,  and  as  the  salts, 


SMUT. 


SMUT. 


fee,  employed  are  benefic/al  in  other  ways,  by  1  ing  to  ihe  future  vigour  of  the  plants  steeps  aM 
protecting  the  seed  from  vermin,  and  minister-   generally  and  very  properly  adopted. 


Liquid  employed 


Solution  of  potash        ------ 

muriate  of  potash      -        .        .        . 
nitrate  of  potash  (saltpetre)     - 
Boda  .--_-- 

muriate  of  soda  (common  salt) 
sulphate  of  soda  (Glauber  salt) 
muriate  of  ammonia  (sal  ammoniac) 
common  soot     -        -        -        -        - 

lime  saturated  .        -        .        -        - 
nitric  acid  (aqua  fortis)* 
muriatic  acid  (spirit  of  salt)     - 
sulphuric  acid  (oil  of  vitrol)    - 

Dry  in  Its  natural  state       -        -        .        .        - 

Washed  in  common  water       -        -  -        - 


Specific 
Gravity 

Number  of 

Bushels  of  good 

Cwts.  of  Straw 

of  the 

three  Sheavei. 

Wheat  per  Acre. 

per  Acre. 

Solution. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

1-357 

1 

81 

216 

13-6 

36-6 

291 

low 

3 

218 

20-2 

101 

360 

211 

1080 

7 

115 

23-8 

143 

3()-0 

31-9 

1056 

9 

159 

202 

11-7 

35-6 

26  7 

1089 

. 

290 

240 

14-5 

415 

33-3 

1047 

12 

241 

21-6 

12-3 

38-5 

27-8 

1026 

1 

150 

198 

17-6 

35-4 

.SO  2 

1025 

- 

123 

208 

11-4 

34-8 

25-3 

1-003 

- 

2 

21-9 

12-4 

38-7 

25-9 

1-016 

1011 

- 

136 

20-7 

161 

35-7 

341 

1050 

. 

20-4 

17-8 

35-4 

37-1 

- 

6 

323 

20-3 

14-7 

35-7 

31  0 

■  I 

None 
sown. 

1  107 

18-3 

35-8 

*  The  seed  treated  with  this  acid  did  not  vegetate. 


The  experiments  of  Mr.  Sevan  indicate  that 
lime-water  is  the  most  effective  of  these  prepa- 
rations; and,  if  this  be  adopted,  it  may  be  pre- 
pared by  mixing  1  pound  of  fresh  lime  with 
3  gallons  of  boiling  water,  and  the  clear  liquor 
then  to  be  poured  off  and  immediately  used. 
In  this  liquor  the  wheat  should  be  soaked  for 
12  hours,  stirred  twice  or  thrice  during  the 
time,  and  then  mixed  upon  a  floor,  with  the 
powder  made  by  pouring  3  gallons  of  boiling 
water  upon  4  pounds  of  lime.  I  have  had  no 
experience  of  the  effects  of  lime-water  as  a 
preventive  of  the  smut;  but  with  stale  urine, 
and  a  solution  of  common  salt,  I  have  wit- 
nessed numerous  and  extensive  experiments. 
The  results,  without  exception,  were  favour- 
able and  nearly  similar;  and  this  being  the 
case,  a  preference  is  to  be  given  to  common 
salt,  as  being  decidedly  the  most  cleanly  and 
the  least  disgusting.  The  mode  which  I  have 
observed  to  be  the  most  effective  is,  to  wash 
the  seed  with  pure  water,  pouring  this  off  with 
all  the  floating  grains,  and  then  allowing  the 
seed  to  soak  for  12  hours  in  a  solution  of  com- 
mon salt,  having  a  strength  or  specific  gravity 
sufl^cient  to  float  a  hen's  egg.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  lime,  like  common  salt,  is  effectual  against 
fne  disease,  by  reason  of  its  powerful  action 
apon  the  texture  of  the  fungus  tribe.  Every 
housekeeper  knows  how  completely  mush- 
rooms dissolve  away  when  sprinkled  with  salt; 
and  in  experiments  I  have  made  upon  the 
Urego  segetum,  I  found  that  the  effect  of  common 
salt  upon  this  fungus  is  not  less  remarkable. 

Mr.  Tull,  MM.  de  Lignerolle,  Douat,  and 
others,  agree  in  recommending  that  the  seed  to 
be  sown  upon  any  farm  should  be  frequently 
obtained  from  other  soils  ;  but,  however  bene- 
ficial this  may  be  for  securing  other  desired 
effects,  I  do  not  understand  how  it  can  prevent 
the  occurrence  of  smut  unless  the  seed  is  ob- 
tained from  a  crop  and  a  district  notably  free 
from  the  disease.  There  is  little  doubt  but  that 
the  method  in  which  the  disease  is  imparted  to 
the  plant  is  by  its  root  imbibing  the  extremely 
minute  seeds  of  the  Uredo  along  with  the  mois- 
ture of  the  soil.  This  opinion  is  confirmed  by 
the  observation  that  the  disease  is  most  preva- 
lent when  the  winter  has  been  mild  and  the 
spring  wet;  for,  in  such  seasons,  the  abundant 
moisture  passing  through  the  soil  is  most  likely 


to  convey  the  seeds  to  the  mouths  of  the  plants* 
radicle  fibres. 

I  remember  trying  some  experiments,  the 
full  details  of  which  I  have  accidentally  lost, 
in  which  I  buried  some  of  the  Uredo  scgetum 
about  an  inch  below  the  surface  of  the  soil,  in 
a  garden  pot  in  which  some  wheat  was  grow- 
ing, supplying  those  plants,  during  their  after 
growth,  plentifully  with  water  poured  upon  the 
surface  of  the  soil.  Not  one  of  these  plants 
escaped  infection. 

Another  garden  pot,  in  which  wheat  from  the 
same  sample  was  growing,  and  similarly  treated 
in  every  respect,  but  to  which  moisture  was 
supplied  solely  by  means  of  the  saucer  in 
which  it  was  placed,  both  pots  being  sheltered 
entirely  from  the  rain,  produced  plants  which 
were  not  at  all  infected.  Although  it  is  very 
apparent  that  the  smut  is  generally  imparted 
to  a  wheat  crop  by  the  agency  of  the  seed 
sown,  yet  I  am  by  no  means  of  opinion  that 
this  is  the  only  source  of  infection-  I  have 
kept  ears  of  wheat  that  were  covered  and  de- 
stroyed by  the  Uredo  during  more  than  twelve 
months  in  a  situation  where  they  experienced 
the  vicissitudes  of  temperature  during  all  the 
seasons,  unprotected  by  more  than  the  paper 
envelope  in  which  they  were  suspended  in  an 
outhouse.  Yet  when  the  Uredo  that  had  been 
thus  exposed  was  mixed  with  healthy  well- 
washed  seed-wheat,  this  produced  diseased 
plants  in  a  triplicate  proportion  more  numerous 
than  that  not  so  mixed.  This  experiment  de- 
monstrates that  frost  and  drought,  acting  in 
concert  with  a  damp  atmosphere,  do  not  destroy 
the  vegetating  power  of  the  Uredd's  seed.  Such 
being  the  fact,  why  may  not  this  seed  remain 
in  the  soil  ready  to  impart  the  plague  1  We 
know  that,  owing  to  its  extreme  lightness,  the 
seed  floats  buoyantly  in  the  air,  and  may  be 
carried  by  winds  to  distant  soils,  which  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year,  before  any  extremity 
of  cold  has  been  endured,  will  have  to  bear  the 
wheat  crop  for  the  following  harvest.  The 
opinion  that  the  soil  is  one  source  of  infertion, 
is  sustained  by  the  fact  that  fields  in  the  vici- 
nity of  the  sea  are  rarely  injured,  and  never 
extensively,  by  the  ravages  of  the  smut. 
Such  soils  are  impregnated  more  than  any 
other  with  common  salt,  and  the  effect  of 
this  saline  compound  upon  the  Ureao  has  been 

999 


sMirr. 

noticed  already.  These  considerations  suggest  | 
that  applications  to  the  soil  as  well  as  to  the 
seed  are  necessary  for  the  banishment  of  the 
disease ;  but  a  more  full  notice,  and  some  cu- 
rious particulars  upon  this  point,  will  be  found 
detailed  under  the  head  Mildew. 

I  have  frequently  examined  the  roots  of 
wheat  plants  affected  by  the  smut,  but  have 
never  perceived  that  they  had  a  diseased  ap- 
pearance; a  fact  which  I  find  confirmed  by 
the  researches  of  Mr.  Kirby.  Althougb  the 
root  IS  not  affected,  yet  I  have  invariably  found 
the  smutted  plants  of  a  form  and  habit  much 
less  n»bu5t  than  those  undiseased.  The  ave- 
r«jre  result  of  Mr.  Sevan's  experiments  is,  that 
smutted  wheat  produces  straw  in  the  proportion 
of  only  30  to  36'75,  when  compared  with  wheat 
nnaltmcked  by  the  smut.  This  is  not  a  result 
contrary  to  that  which  might  be  anticipated; 
for  in  plants,  as  well  as  animals,  an  organic 
affection  so  serious  as  this  is  usually  accom- 
panied bv  a  general  emaciation  of  the  frame. 
So  decidedly  is  this  effect  produced  upon  wheal, 
that  a  practised  eye  can  at  once  detect  by  its 
appearance,  before  the  diseased  ear  is  pro- 
traded,  a  plant  that  is  thus  distempered.  The 
stem  and  leaves  look  upright,  thin,  and  stiff, 
wearing  the  aspect  that  is  best  described,  to 
those  who  know  the  appearance,  by  the  term 
ston'iif.  I  cannot  conclude  without  remarking 
that  these  facts  strengthen  the  analogy  I  am  so 
fond  of  tracing  between  plants  and  animals. 
The  atrophy  exhibited  by  both,  when  under  the 
influence  of  disease,  is  strikingly  illustrative 
of  their  close  relationship;  and  this  is  further 
earried  on  by  their  being  equally  liable  to  the 
rarages  of  parasites.  The  skin  of  every  ani- 
nal  is  liable  to  be  infested  by  vermin,  as  its  in- 
testines and  other  viscera  are  by  worms  and 
rarious  other  creatures.  So  plants  are  not 
only  subject  to  invermination,  but,  like  ani- 
mals, they  are  preyed  upon  by  various  genera 
of  their  own  race.  Their  barks  ar^  assailed 
by  numerous  lichens  and  fungi,  whilst  inter- 
nally they  are  a  prey  to  the  Uredo  I  have  just 
described,  and  to  several  others  of  the  fungus 
tribe.  Animals  have  their  larger  parasites,  as 
the  lick,  dec,  and  vegetables  similarly  bear  the 
mtsseltoe,  dodder,  and  others.  This  repeated 
urging  that  plants  are  closely  allied  to  animals 
in  every  particular  is  not  without  its  use. 
ETery  yeai^s  experience  convinces  me  that  it 
is  Ikot  less  beneficial  to  cultivate  plants  with 
the  least  possible  injurj-  to  their  various  parts, 
tbaa  it  i%  to  treat  our  farming  stock  with  gen- 
tleness and  an  attention  to  their  comfort ;  and 
il  is  by  demonstrating  the  analogy  between 
the  two  great  divisions  of  created  beings,  that 
the  reason  of  the  cultivator  is  to  be  drawn  to 
rrgiilaie  his  practice. 

Finally,  I  will  observe,  that  the  farmer  is 
much  ttK>  prone  to  regard  the  diseases  of  his 
crops  as  of  trivial  im^rtance.  In  such  cases 
as  where  the  curl  destroys  whole  fields  of  his 
potatoes,  or  the  mildew  reduces  the  produce 
of  each  acre  of  wheat  to  a  few  bushels,  he  is 
miserably  sensible  of  the  injury  he  has  sus- 
tained: but  if,  within  the  circle  of  corn-ears 
aroand  him,  as  he  surveys  his  crops,  he  only 
aees  a  sprinkling  of  thooC  affected  with  the 
tmut  be  looks  upon  this  as  of  insignificant 
1000 


SNAKE-ROOT. 

consequence.  Yet,  in  the  experiments  of  Mr. 
Bevan,  in  the  instances  where  only  two  smut- 
ted ears  occurred  in  three  sheaves,  the  weight 
of  the  straw  was  reduced  nearly  one-third,  and 
that  of  the  grain  three- sevenths.  (Essay  by 
G.  W.  Johnson,  Quart.  Journ.  jlgr.  vol.  ix.  p.  45.) 
See  Blight  and  Milbew. 

SMUT-MILL.  Of  late  years  the  millers  in 
the  United  States  avail  themselves  of  contri- 
vances called  smut-mills,  the  passage  of  the 
wheat  through  which  clears  it  very  effectually 
from  the  offensive  dust.  "Wheat  affected  with 
smut  was  formerly  much  objected  to  by  the 
grain  merchants  and  millers,  but  since  the  in- 
troduction of  the  machines  referred  to,  is  so 
readily  cleansed  that  smut  is  scarcely  objected 
to  in  the  sample,  and  the  market  price  reduced 
but  little,  if  at  all. 

An  inquiry  made,  in  March,  1842,  into  the 
merits  of  a  smut-mill  invented  by  Mr.  Wm.  C. 
Grimes,  of  York,  Pennsylvania,  by  a  committee 
of  the  Franklin  Institute  of  Pennsylvania,  wap 
ranted  them  in  recommending  the  machine  to 
the  notice  of  millers,  as  capable  not  only  of 
making  good  white  flour  from  wheat  so  badly- 
smutted  as  to  be  generally  considered  unmer- 
chantable, but  which  will  also  improve  the 
general  quality  of  flour,  by  the  removal  of 
cheat,  and  of  the  down  or  furze  which  covers 
one  end  of  the  grain,  and  of  most  other  acci- 
dental foreign  matters  which  tend  to  injure  the 
quality  of  the  flour.  {Jour,  of  the  Fraiikli^i  Inst, 
of  Penn.  vol.iv.,  third  series,  p.  32.) 
■  SNAILS  {Helix— HelicidcB).  A  well-known 
genus  of  molluscous  animals,  comprising  a 
great  many  species.  They  live  throughout  the 
winter  in  a  torpid  state,  in  cavities  in  the  earth, 
which  are  covered  over  with  a  calcareous  kind 
of  wall,  partly  formed  with  its  mucous  secre- 
tion. The  animal  escapes  from  its  cell  in  April, 
bursting  its  operculum,  and  again  breathes  as 
before  its  hybernation.  The  species  of  shell- 
snails  are  very  extensive.  In  the  garden,  snails 
do  much  damage  to  the  vegetables  in  cultivated 
grounds,  biting  off  pieces  of  the  leaves  by 
means  of  a  semicircular,  dentated,  horny  plate 
which  is  affixed  to  the  upper  lip.  To  extirpate 
them,  it  has  been  recommended  to  strew  the 
ground  with  lime  and  ashes,  or  salt.  Snails 
seldom  annoy  farmers,  unless  it  be  under  the 
hedges ;  and  if  they  venture  out  into  the  mid- 
dle of  a  field,  the  roller  is  a  certain  destructive 
implement  to  their  fragile  coverings.  The  red, 
or  great  vine-snail  {H.pomatia),  formed  one  of 
the  luxuries  of  the  tables  of  the  ancient  Ro- 
mans, and  by  peculiar  feeding  and  other  treat- 
ment was  brought  to  attain  an  immense  size 
It  is  still  an  article  of  food  in  certain  cantons 
of  Switzerland  and  France,  and  some  of  the 
provinces  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  This  spe- 
cies of  helix  was  brought  to  England  by  the 
Howard  family,  and  placed  on  the  grounds  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Box-hill,  where  it  is  still 
found;  but  it  does  not  attain  lo  the  size  it  often 
displays  in  Italy.  It  is  supposed  to  be  a  good 
ariicle  of  food  for  the  consumptive. 

SNAKE-ROOT.  Several  plants  in  the  United 
States  go  under  this  appellation.     The  Virginia 
snake-root  {Aristolochia  serpentaria)  is  the  well- 
known  fibrous  root,  noted  for  its  intense  bitter- 
i  ness,  and  extensively  employed  in  medicine  as 


SNOW. 


SOIL. 


Wmiic.    It  is  found  in  rich  woodlands,  in  the    These,  he  calculates  {Elemef?-ts  of  Chemistry,  p. 
Middle  States.     The  root  is  perennial.  51),  will  contain  and  carry  away  from  the  soil 

SNOW.     This  well-known  precipitation  from    (supposing    none  of  them   to   be  eaten  on  the 
the  atmosphere  serves  to  defend  winter  grain-    land) — 
crops  and  all  other  vegetables  from  the  severity 
of  frosts;   for,  being  a  very  bad  conductor  of, 
heat,  it  prevents  the    internal  warmth  of  the  \ 
earth  from  being  carried  off  through  the  surface  ; 
of  the  land,  and  consequently  ameliorates    the  i 
soil.     The  plants    being   thus   sheltered,  shoot  j 
forth  in  the  spring  with  renewed  vigour;  and,    c^  tUo*   ir  ,..    «„  «■  ♦!.         *•  i  j 

cherished  b)  the  genial  rays  of  the  sun,  vegetate    ^°  •^^^^'  '^  ""^  ""'^  °^  ^^"  ^"^"'^  P^°^""^'  ^"^ 
with  increased   luxuriance.     As   ammonia   and 


lbs. 

lbs 

Potash   .     . 

.     280 

Sulphuric  acid 

lU 

Soda       .     . 

.      150 

Phosphoric  acid 

90 

Lime      .     . 

.     242 

Chlorine     . 

39 

Magnesia    . 

.       50 

Silica     .     . 

.     318 

Total 

1280 

other  saline  matters,  jx)ssessing  fertilizing  mat- 
ters, have  been  detected  in  snow,  it  not  only 
cherishes  vegetation  by  the  protection  it  affords, 
but  by  the  direct  influence  of  the  fertilizers 
referred  to. 

SODA.  See  Kelp  ;  Salts,  their  uses  to  vege- 
tation, SfC. 

SOD  BURNING.     See  Paring  and  Burning. 

SOFT-GRASS.     See  Holcus. 

SOIL.  The  upper  surface  of  the  earth  which 
furnishes  a  medium  or  basis  for  the  growth  of 
plants.  Prof.  Johnston,  in  his  Elements  of  Che- 
mistry, has  remarked,  that  the  earthy  part  of  the 
soil  is  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  a  mere  sub- 
stratum, in  which  the  plant  may  so  root  itself  as 


add  none  of  it  again  in  the  shape  of  manure,  we 
ought  every  fourth  year  to  add  to  the  soil  per 
acre,  if  we  wish  to  restore  it  to  its  original  con- 
dition, 

Pearl  or  potash  ...  390  lbs.  ata  cost  of  :£3  10  0 
Crystallized  carbonate  of 

soda 500  "  "  2  12    0 

Common  suit     ....      65  "  "  020 

Gypsum 60  "  "  0    16 

Lime 160  "  »  0    0    8 

Epsom  salts  (sulphate  of 

magnesia)      ....    250  "  "  150 

Bone-dust 300  "  "  12    0 


Total     . 


1785 


£8  13    2 


We  may  safely,  then,  adopt  the  conclusion  of 
Liebig,  when  he  tells  us  (Organic  Chemistry,  p. 
63)  that  "many  of  these  inorganic  constituents 


to  be  able  to  maintain  its  upright  position  against  j  vary  according  to  the  soil  in  which  the  plants 
the  force  of  winds  and  tempests,  but  it  is  a  |  grow,  but  a  certain  number  of  them  are  indis- 
storehouse  of  food  also,  from  which  the  roots  of  pensable  to  their  developement.  All  substances 
the  plant  may  select  such  earthy  substances  as  ,  •»  solution  in  a  soil  are  absorbed  by  the  roots 
are  necessary  or  fitted  to  ■promote  its  growth.  \  of  plants,  exactly  as  a  sponge  imbibes  a  liquid, 
And  the  young  farmer,  when  he  is  endeavouring  ^"<J  a"  that  it  contains,  without  selection.  The 
to  understand  the  true  theory  of  the  food  of  substances  thus  conveyed  to  plants  are  retained 
plants,  and  the  operation  of  fertilizers,  must  dis-  '  >n  greater  or  less  quantity,  or  are  entirely  sepa- 
card  from  his  mind  all  suspicion  that  these  j  rated  when  not  suited  for  assimilation." 
earthy  and  saline  substances,  found  in  the  sub-  I'h"*  results  of  these  chemical  researches  it 
stance  of  his  crops,  are  merely  there  by  acci-  will  be  found  very  serviceable  to  bear  in  mind, 
dent,  or  absorbed  by  their  roots  accidentally  in  1  '"  the  investigation  of  the  composition  and  uses 
the  moisture  of  the  soil:  for,  on  the  contrary,  it    of  all  fertilizers. 

has  been  shown  that  these  substances  are  always  The  chief  cultivated  soils  with  whi(  h  the 
found  in  the  plant,  and  that  they  vary  in  amount  :  farmer  has  to  encounter,  although  in  reality  mix- 
at  different  stages  of  its  growth.  'I'hus,  to  give  '  tares  of  sand,  clay,  and  lime  with  various  saline 
a  single  instance,  Mr.  J.  P.  Norton  (2V^/w.*. ///^A.  |  and  organic  matters,  may,  for  the  convenience 


Soc.  1S15,  p.  321;  Farmer*s  Almavaei-,  vol.  iii. 
p.  19)  has  shown  that  the  ashes  of  the  stalk  of 
the  unripe  potato-oat  contained 


Potash  and  soda 
Common  salt 
Lime  .  .  .  . 
Magnesia  .  . 
Oxide  of  iron  . 
Sulphuric  acid  . 
Phosphoric  acid 
Silica  .     .     .     . 


June  4. 

June  18. 

July  2. 

2t-94 

26-49 

36-25 

32-66 

24-94 

11.62 

2-40 

3-74 

2-64 

0-88 

2-20 

1-17 

0-39 

0-40 

0-88 

6-15 

8-51 

7-98 

16-15 

12 -.55 

2-21 

16-29 

20.41 

36-64 

July  16 
42-43 
4-46 
4-12 
1-47 
0-62 
7-84 
6-31 
34-85 


It  is  true  that  the  amount  of  these  fixed  or  in- 
organic substances  varies  in  the  same  species  of 
plant  grown  on  different  soils ;  but,  although 
the  proportions  vary,  the  ingredients  do  not 
alter ;  and  so  closely  is  the  proportion  preserved 
in  which  they  exist,  that  Professor  Johnston  has 
been  able  to  determine  pretty  accurately  the 
general  amount  of  the  inorganic  ingredients  car- 
ried ofT  the  soil,  per  acre,  by  the  ordinary  rota- 
tion of  the  four-course  system.  As  the  basis  of 
this  calculation,  he  supposes  the  turnips  to  con- 
sist of  25  tons  of  bulbs,  and  7  tons  of  tops  ;  the 
barley,  of  38  bushels  of  63  lbs.  each,  and  1  ton 
of  straw;  the  clover  and  rye-grass,  of  1  ton  of 
each  in  hay;  and  the  wheat  crop  to  be  composed 
of  25  bushels  of  60  lbs.,  and  If  tons  of  straw. 


of  something  like  a  classification,  be  arranged 
under  the  heads  of  sand,  clay,  and  lime.  These, 
it  must  be  remembered,  are  fertilizing  according 
to  the  proportions  in  which  they  are  blended  to- 
gether ;  and,  as  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  taken 
that,  whenever  any  one  of  these  earths  is  defi- 
cient in  a  soil,  the  addition  of  such  earth  will 
add  to  its  fertility;  and  hence  they  all,  in  some 
situation  or  other,  are  found  to  be  useful  addi- 
tions or  fertilizers  to  soils  in  which  thu  added 
earth  naturally  exists  in  insufficient  piopor- 
tions. 

In  burning  a  piece  of  wood  or  any  other  vege- 
table substance,  a  small  portion  of  it  remains 
behind,  called  the  ash  or  inorganic  part — which 
is  a  compound  substance  consisting  of  various  mi- 
neral substances,  gases,  &c.,  that  have  served  as 
the  food  of  the  growing  plant  or  tree,  and  which 
it  is  the  proper  function  of  soils  to  supply. 
Such  are  silica  or  flint;  alumina,  or  the  basis  of 
clay  ;  potash,  soda,  lime,  magnesia,  oxide  of  iron, 
chlorine  united  with  the  soda  in  the  form  of  com- 
mon salt,  sulphuric  acid,  phosphoric  acid,  car- 
bonic acid.  The  portions  of  the  wood  or  other 
vegetable  matter  lost  or  dispersed  in  the  burning 
are  termed  the  organic  constituents.  Sand,  clay, 
and  lime,  although  they  compose  such  a  large 
amount  of  the  inorganic  constituents  of  soils, 
have  associated  with  them  many  other  substancei 
4r3  1001 


SOIL. 

which  exert  important  influences  upon  the  growth 
of  plants,  and  the  ratios  of  which  it  'i  ol  the 
bifbeat  importance  to  the  practical  farmer  to 
nnderstand.  The  presence  of  the  substances 
constantly  found  in  fertile  aoils  in  their  due  pro- 
portions, however  small  these  may  appear,  is 
just  as  necetaary  to  maintain  fertility,  as  that 
of  the  sobstaneet  existing  in  the  largest  propor- 
tioni.  All  the  essential  ingredients  of  a  good 
•oil  must  be  present  to  secure  a  good  crop,  al- 
though they  need  not  always  exist  in  precisely 
the  same  proportions.  Any  one  of  these  primary 
constituents  of  soils  in  superabundant  quantity 


SOIL. 

will  lessen  or  destroy  fertility.  Too  much  pot- 
ash, salt,  magnesia,  iron,  lime,  or  clay,  will  all 
impair  or  entirely  destroy  productiveness  in 
soils,  until  these  have  had  the  superabundance 
washed  away  by  rains.  The  barrenness  of  a 
soil  may  arise  from  its  containing  too  small  or 
too  large  a  proportion  of  one  or  other  of  the 
essential  ingredients.  The  proportions  of  the 
several  inorganic  substances  required  by  plants 
which  are  the  most  common  objects  of  culti- 
yation  in  England,  are  presented  in  the  follow- 
ing table  from  Prof.  Johnston's  Lectures. 


r girf      wkMi 

Mttw 
Wb«t 

Oata 

hutk. 

!    Oatt. 

Hu>k 

straw 

of 
Barley 

Rye. 

Slraw 

of 
Rye. 

Field 
Beans 

straw 

of 

j   Beans. 

Peas. 

straw 

of 
Peas. 

Tur- 
nips. 

PoUtoei 

F^ 

93  7S 

s-ei 

19-09 
0-67 

'4»8i 
O-M 

13.44  20  18 

»0-I0 

8-70    5-95 
3-82    9-95 
I  30    0-40 

307  4'384 
5-P2  10  45 
109    0-26 

1 

,    19-14 
9-69 
807 
3-78 
1-83 

"250 
3-25 
3-25 

8  13  13-64 

1   814 

3-15     262 

6-31 
0-61 
9-53 
322 
0-83 

2208 
11-67 

4-93 
10.35 

1-36 

17-36 
0-31 
9-(X3 
2-41 
1-36 

33-56 
10-60 
5-77 
7-99 
0-56 

53-08    36  05 
1-60      7-42 

19-99      5-29 
6-69,     8-46 
022      0-99 

0-16 

7-24^   33-29 
1-09      4-36 
2-56    - 

4-73  39-82!   55-75 
1 10-86!      1-Pfi 

EijTT 

54-91  1'2-7fi 

2-07 
5-28 
0-52 

12-57 
1365 
4-27 

iOside!^'!^: 
Iiiws  .-. 

109 
1-33 

0-61 
1-54 
646 
0-73 

7-46 
1-48 

6-88 
0-40 

015 
4-83 
6-77 
009 

408 
089 

669 
1315 
3-68 

38  93 
0-10 
0-M 

3  08 
1-63 
0-97 

49-55 
0-98 

3-82 
0-83 
0-46 

37-57 
1-00 
0  73 

SuMd**^'  so. 

3-13 

r^"-""- 

Vi? 

0-06 

6538    267 

0-21 
2710 

1-39 
70-58 

"  *  "o-43 

64 -50 

'  V-is 

0-32 

1-21 

2003 

705 

4-23 

48-42 

76-16 

7-05 

0-51 

90-5ol 

99-78  99  76 

100-00 

99-20 

99-72 

98-15 

101-35 

10011 

09-93 

10000 

100-00 

100-00|  99-37 

100-20 

Although  some  of  these  substances  make  up 
a  compsrattvely  large  amount  of  the  ashes  of 
plants,  potash  composing  2.3  per  cent.,  and  phos- 
phoric acid  nearly  one-half  the  ash  of  wheat, 
oats,  barley,  and  rye,  the  proportion  of  these  in 
the  soil  appears  excedingly  small,  compared  to 
tn«  whole  bulk.     How  eagerly  then  must  such 
tubstunces  be  sought  after  by  the  roots  of  plants 
and  appropriated  as  foo<l !     Straw  contains  but 
a  rerv  small  quantity  of  phosphoric  acid.     The 
potash   taken    up   by  Indian   corn,   is    in    very  ' 
much  the  same  proportion  as  that  abstracted 
by  wheat.     The  phosphoric  acid  ascends  into  the 
grain,  whilst  the  silicious  matter  lodges  in  the  i 
•trawor  stalk,  giving  these  strength  to  support  the 
ears.  In  the  potato  more  than  half  the  ash  consists  1 
of  potash,  whilst  the  proportion  of  phosphoric  acid  ' 
Is  very  small.  Thus  do  plants  of  various  kinds  and 
families  differ  materially  in  their  demands  on  the 
•oil  for  sustenance.     Kven  different  parts  of  the 
•ame  plants  require  various  proportions  of  the  nu- 
tntKMis  substances.     How  is  it  possible  for  the 
delicate  fibrous  roots   of  plants  to  derive   any 
nourishment  from  such  hard  materials  as  flint, 
limestoiw,  shells,  bones,  &c.  ?     The  answer  is 
thai  these  hard  substances  must  all  undergo  solu- 
tion in  water  before  they  can  be  absorbed  by  de- 
licate root*  and  circulated  through  the  infinitely 
minute  sap-vessels.     The  perfection  of  refined 
agricalture  consists   in  knowing  how  to  adapt 
With  precision  the  elements   requisite  as  food 
and  the  modes   of  culture  necessary  in  differ- 
ent  soils  to  favour  in    the   highest  degree   the 
growth  and  fullest  developement  of   plants   of 
various  descriptions.     One  of  the  most  impor-  , 
tant  points   connected    with    practical    farming 
IS  to  be  able  to  specify  what  particular  plants  ! 
take  from  the  soil,  and  what  must  be  applied  ' 
in  order  to  restore   the   deficiency  with    least  i 
expanse. 

Professor  J    F.  W.  Johnston  has   given  the  ! 

.  '*'i."f  J"^"'*''  '''*'*  °^  *^^  composition  of  I 

•oils  of  different  degrees  of  fertility.  j 

1002  '  ' 


The  soil,  of  which  the  composition  is  given 
in  the  first  column,  had  produced  crops  for  (iO 
years  without  manure, — a?id  still  contained  a 
sensible  qncmtity  of  all  the  substances  required 
by  plants.  That  in  the  second  column  produced 
good  crops  when  regularly  manured, — it  ivas  in 
want  of  three  or  four  substaiices  o)ily,  which  were 
given  to  it  by  the  manure.  The  third  was  hope- 
lessly barren, — it  was  in  want  of  many  siibstancea 
which  ordinary  m,anuring  could  not  supply. 


Fertile, 
without 
Manure. 

Fertile, 

with 
Manure. 

Barren. 

97 
648 

57 
59 

e!» 

1 

2 

40 
14 

50 

833 

51 

18 

8 

30 

3 

trace 

f 
If 

4i 

40 

778 

91 

4 

1 

81 

trace 

4i 

Silica  (ill  the  sand  and  clay) 

Alumina  (in  the  clay) 

Jjime . 

Oxide  of  iron 

Oxide  of  manganese '. . 

Potash 

?htinej^''"'''>— -" 

Sulphuric  acid 

Phosplioric  acid 

Carbonic   acid    (combined 

with  the  lime  &  magnesia 

Loss 

1000          1000 

1000 

Soils  generally  have  in  them  some  of  the  ele- 
ments of  fertility  so  locked  up  by  strong  union 
with  other  substances,  that  plants  cannot  appro- 
priate them  to  their  uses,  unless  something  be 
added  which  has  the  power  to  destroy  the 
natural  combination,  release  the  fertilizers,  and 
render  them  accessible  to  the  wants  of  ve- 
getables. Under  such  circumstances,  the  ap- 
plication of  lime  will  unlock  potash  where 
granite  or  felspar  and  mica  exist,  and  the  freed 
potash  will  in  turn  render  silex  soluble.  [See 
SiLEx,  Lime,  Salts.] 

Heavy  and  stiff  clays,  which  cannot  be  culti- 
vated in  grain  crops  to  profit,  will  often  pay 
well  for  grazing  purposes. 


SOILING. 


SOOT. 


SOILING.  T  he  practice  of  supporting  animals 
in  the  summer  season,  with  green  food,  cut  daily 
and  given  to  them  in  their  houses,  stalls,  or  yards. 
A  Lumber  of  different  plants  and  grasses  are 
resorted  to  for  this  purpose,  particularly  those 
which  have  a  quick  and  luxuriant  growth;  as  lu- 
cern,  sainfoin,  tares,  clover,  maize,  turnips,  &c. 

Soiling  appears  to  be  highly  advantageous,  in  a 
variety  of  ways,  by  the  food  being  consumed  with 
much  less  waste,  by  the  great  increase  of  good 
manure  that  is  produced,  and  by  the  stock  A-eding 
with  less  interruption  and  inconvenience,  from 
their  being  more  effectually  shaded  from  the  ex- 
cessive heat  of  the  sun,  and  better  protected  from 
the  attacks  of  flies  and  other  insects.  In  all  these 
respects  it  would  seem  to  have  a  great  superi- 
ority over  that  of  letting  the  animals  range  indis- 
criminately in  the  pastures  or  other  grass  lands. 

Soiling  has  been  found,  by  the  most  careful  ex- 
periments, to  answer  perfectly  both  with  horses, 
neat  cattle,  and  swine;  and  with  cows  it  has  been 
found  very  beneficial  in  the  trials  of  Mr.  Curwen 
and  several  others. 

By  an  extensive  and  judicious  use  of  soiling, 
the  farmer  may  derive  benefit  in  being  enabled 
to  have  a  considerably  larger  extent  of  land  both 
under  the  states  of  tillage  and  grass,  from  the  con- 
siderable increase  of  manure  that  is  produced. 

That  a  great  saving  of  food  is  effected  by 
keeping  cattle  and  other  stock  in  pens,  yards,  or 
stables,  and  supplying  them  with  fresh-cut  green 
herbage,  is  undoubted.  Many  say  that  three, 
and  some  assert  even  four  animals  can  be  well 
kept  upon  the  produce  of  land  where  soiling  is 
practised,  more  than  the  same  land  would  sus- 
tain if  pastured.  Besides  the  very  great  advan- 
tage of  enabling  double  or  treble  the  stock  to  be 
kept  on  a  given  number  of  acres,  soiling  offers 
another  in  the  greatly  increased  amount  of  ma- 
mil.',  which  is  far  beyond  what  would  be  sup- 
posed by  persons  unacquainted  with  the  practice. 
Whore  proper  arrangements  are  made  and  care 
taken,  all  the  manure  of  animals  may  be  saved, 
instead  of  being  scattered  and  partially  lost,  as 
is  the  case  with  a  large  proportion  dropped  in 
the  lanes  or  fields.  It  gives  the  farmer  an  op- 
portunity of  applying  all  his  straw  and  coarse 
litter  to  the  best  advantage,  by  spreading  and 
using  it  as  an  absorbent  for  the  less  solid  por- 
tions of  the  excrements  of  his  animals.  A  good 
suppfy  of  litter  is  indispensable  in  order  to  de- 
rive the  fullest  advantages  from  soiling.  By 
such  means,  and  properly  arranged  gutters  lead- 
ing to  tanks  or  cisterns,  the  farmer  has  the  power 
of  saving  nearly  all  of  the  liquid  or  best  portion 
of  the  manure  of  his  cattle,  his  main  dependence 
for  keeping  up  the  productiveness  of  his  lands. 
(See  Liquid  Manvre,  and  Night-Soil.) 

Another  advantage  derived  from  soiling — and 
a  most  important  one,  too — is  the  saving  of 
fencing  in  the  interior  of  farms. 

Among  the  objections  urged  against  the  prac- 
tice, are  the  great  amount  of  labour  required  for 
cutting  and  carrying  the  feed  for  a  large  stock, 
and  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  supply  of  green 
food  fit  to  mow  sufl[iciently  early  in  the  season. 
It  has  also  been  asserted,  that  cows  soiled  will 
not  give  so  much  milk  as  when  grazed  ;  but  the 
experience  of  others  shows  results  entirely  con- 
trary, and  that,  by  judicious  feeding  and  manage- 
ment, the  amount  of  milk  may  be  regulated 
almost  at  pleasure.  The  success  of  the  plan 
depend?  almost  as  much  upon  securing  to  the 
animals  proper  ventilation,  cleanliness,  and  com- 


I  fort,  as  upon  the  nature  of  the  food.     Whatever 
]  system    of  soiling    may    be    adopted,    it    would 
seem  of  great  importance  that  the  animals  should, 
^  for  the  promotion  of  their  health,  be  occasion- 
,  ally  turned  out   into  the  open  air,  during  some 
I  portion  or  portions  of  the  day.     As  this  cannot 
j  be  done  in  many  large  dairy  establishments  in 
or  adjacent  to  large  cities,  cows  are  often  kept 
tied  up  in  their  stalls  for  weeks,  and  many  for 
I  months   together,  to  the   great   injury  of  their 
health,  and  deterioration  of  their  milky  secretions. 
'  In  an  interesting  report  made  by  the  Commission- 
'  ers  on  the  State  of  Health  in  Large  Towns  in 
]  England,  the  following  observation  occurs:  "It 
is  known  that  tubercular  consumption  is  very 
prevalent  among  the  cows  which  supply  milk  to 
the  inhabitants  of  some  large  towns,  where  they 
are  immured  during  part  of  every  year  in  dairies 
perfectly  closed;  and  which,  being  too  small  for 
the  number  of  animals  which  they  contain,  soon 
become  filled  with  heated,  vitiated  air,  for  the 
removal  of  which  no  provision  is  made.     This 
is  remarkably  the  case  with  the  cows  belonging 
to  the  milkmen  of  Paris,  which  are  annually 
carried  off  by  consumption  in  considerable  num- 
bers.    A  confirmation  of  the  influence  of  this 
cause  is  afforded  by  the  exemption  of  the  horse 
from  consumption,  although  frequently  placed  in 
the    same    circumstances    with    the   cows,    but 
with  intervals  of  exposure  to  fresh  air,  and  the 
enjoyment   of  exercise.     Where   a  number  of 
horses,  however,  are  collected    together   in  ill 
ventilated  stables,  they  may  become  consump- 
tive.    A  discovery  of  this  kind  was  lately  made, 
as  to  the  influence  of  defective  ventilation  on 
the  cavalry  horses  in  some  of  the  government 
barracks   in  England ;    and   it  is   stated   that  a 
saving  of  several  thousand  pounds  per  annum 
was   effected  by  an  easy  improvement  of  the 
ventilation  of  the  barracks  near  the  metropolis." 
(See  Ventilation.) 

In  feeding  cows,  it  must  be  remeiftbered  that 
they  are  very  capricious  in  their  appetites,  and 
do  not  like  to  be  kept  constantly  on  the  same 
kind  of  food.  A  variety  should  therefore  always 
be  resorted  to,  when  practicable.  The  food 
may  be  given  to  them  several  times  a  day,  never 
less  than  three  times,  viz.  early  morning,  noon, 
and  night,  and  oftener  when  convenient.  Water 
should  be  allowed  morning  and  evening,  and 
salt  must  be  at  hand,  so  that  they  can  help 
themselves  at  pleasure. 

SOLAR  INFLUENCE.  See  Tempera  cure, 
Light,  and  Atmosphere. 

SOOT  is  very  extensively  employed  in  the 
east  of  England,  as  a  powerful  manure,  and  pro- 
duces, when  used  at  the  rate  of  12  or  20  bushels 
per  acre,  most  luxuriant  crops  of  wheat  and  other 
grain.  This  valuable  fertilizer  is  composed  of 
a  mixture  of  charcoal,  an  oil,  salts  of  ammonia, 
some  muriatic  acid,  lime,  magnesia,  silica,  and 
other  foreign  substances ;  but  the  charcoal  is  by 
far  the  largest  ingredient,  and  has  a  powerful 
influence  on  vegetation;  and,  according  to  Lie- 
big,  it  can  "completely  replace  vegetable  mould 
or  humus.  Plants  thrive  in  powdered  charcoal, 
and  may  be  brought  to  blossom  and  bear  fruit  if 
exposecl  to  the  influence  of  rain  and  the  atmo- 
sphere." (Organ.  Chem.  p.  61.)  All  the  sub- 
stances contained  in  soot  are  the  natural  food  of 
vegetables;  the  carbon  gradually  combines  with 
the  oxygen  of  the  atmosphere,  and  is  converts' 
into  carbonic  acid  gas,  which  is  readily  absorbe 
by  the  roots  and  leaves  of  plants. 

1003 


SORREL. 

In  Bsacx.lhe  chief  employment  of  soot  is  for 
whe*t,  and  it  is  generally  applied  by  the  chim- 
ney sweepers  to  the  land,  out  of  a  basket,  in 
ibe  same  manner  that  seed  is  sown.  This  is 
nsaally  done  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  in 
March.  April,  or  May.  Wheat  so  treated 
speedily  assaroes  a  very  deep  green,  and  on 
some  soils  grows  with  greatly  increased  luxu- 
riance. 8001  was  employed  by  the  Rev.  E. 
Cartwright  as  a  manure  for  potatoes,  both  by 
itself  and  in  combination  with  various  other 
fertilizing  substances.  The  experiments  were 
made  on  a  portion  of  the  same  soil  as  that  de- 
scribed in  the  article  Arhks.  The  following 
were  the  results  obtained : 

Per  Acre. 

I.  Tb«  •oU,  wltboat  mnj  manure,  yielded  bushels 

o/pttUluM \^ 

t.  Soot  SO  boslMls  ....--  191 

a.  8001  ao  botlMle,  smit  8  bushels  ....  240 

Various  agriculturists  have  noticed  the  good 
results  from  mixing  sail  and  sooU  Mr.  George 
Sinclair,  in  his  prize  essay  On  Salt  as  a  Manure, 
mentions  it  as  "remarkable"  in  the  case  of 
carrots.  Mr.  Belfield  of  Elford  has  done  the 
same  with  regard  to  wheat. 

In  Mr.  Sinclair*s  experiments  upon  carrots, 


TIm  aoile  withoat  any  manure  produced 

carrni* 

Soil  with  ft(  bushels  of  salt  dug  in  - 
Bnti  with  ti  bvsbcis  of  salt,  and  ^  busb- 
tlasooi 


Per  Acre. 
Tod*,   cwt 


23 
44 


40      4 


107 
17 


97 


In  both  the  liquid  and  solid  state,  it  has  been 
employed  by  Mr.  John  Robertson  of  Kilkenny, 
with  |rr<»at  success.  "  On  meadows,"  he  says, 
••I  have  used  soot  with  great  advantage  in  sub- 
stance; and  though  sown  by  the  hand,  one 
dressing  gave  me  always  heavy  crops  of  hay 
for  two  successive  seasons.  But  this  is  a 
wasteful  mode  of  applying  it,  a  great  portion 
of  ittf  ammonia,  one  of  its  most  active  ingre- 
dients being  volatilized,  and  dissipated  in  the 
atmosphere:  when  dissolved  in  water,  there  is 
n^  waste, — it  is  all  available;  and  for  horti- 
cultural purposes  I  have  mostly  used  it  in  that 
state,  mixing  it  up  in  the  proportion  of  about 
six  quarts  to  a  hogshead  of  water.  Asparagus, 
peas,  and  a  variety  of  other  vegetables,  I  have 
manured  with  it,  with  as  much  effect  as  if  I 
had  used  solid  dung;  but  to  plants  in  pots, 
particularly  pines,  I  have  found  it  admirably 
well  adapted ;  when  watered  with  it,  they  as- 
sume a  deep,  healthy  green,  and  grow  strong 
and  luxurianL**  Mr.  A.  Main  makes  some 
pertinent  remarks  on  soot  as  a  top-dressing  to 
crops,  and  describes  a  machine  for  distributing 
II,  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Traiw.  of  the  High- 
land Sor.  p.  535. 

SORREL  (the  genus  rumtx,  from  the  shape 
of  the  leaves  in  many  of  the  species,  resem- 
bling a  pike  or  spear).  There  are  in  England 
several  indigenous  species  of  sorrel,  some  of 
which  have  already  been  described.  The 
common  English  sorrel  (Rumex  acelosa)  is  a 
perennial  plant,  met  with  almost  everywhere 
in  meadows  and  pastures,  flowering  in  June. 
The  root  is  long  and  tapering,  astringent,  and 
somewhat  woody.  The  herbage  is  smooth, 
powerfully  and  agreeably  acid.  Stem  from  1 
»o  2  feet  high,  erect,  simple,  leafy,  striated. 
'.caves  oblong,  arrow-shaped.  Flowers  dioe- 
1004 


SOUTHERNWOOD. 

cious, with  permanent  tuberculated  petals.  The 
acidulous  taste  of  sorrel  depends  on  binoxalaie 
of  potassa  and  tartaric  acid:  the  astringency 
on  tannic  acid. 

The  flavour  of  the  wood-sorrel  (Oxalis  aceto- 
sella)  is  much  more  grateful,  and  the  leaves 
are  more  juicy,  than  those  of  the  common 
sorrel  (R.  acetosa)  and  the  French  or  Roman 
sorrel  (B.  scutatus).  The  acid  is  merely  the 
oxalic,free  and  also  combined  with  potassa  and 
ammonia.  It  likewise  contains  some  saccha- 
rine matter.  The  garden  cultivation  required 
by  them  is  identical.  The  leaves  are  employed 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  in  salads,  sauces, 
&c.  The  wood-sorrel  requires  a  silicious,  yet 
moist  and  moderately  fertile  soil,  in  a  shady 
situation,  as  beneath  a  hedge  with  a  northern 
aspect.  The  garden  sorrel  thrives  best  in  any 
mouldy  garden  soil  that  tends  to  lightness  ra- 
ther than  tenacity,  and  is  not  too  poor.  The 
situation  must  be  open.  French  sorrel  is  most 
healthful  in  a  light,  dry  soil,  that  is  tolerably 
fertile, in  an  open  compartment.  The  rumexes 
are  propagated  by  seed,  and  all  of  them  by 
parting  the  roots,  both  which  modes  may  be 
practised  from  the  middle  of  February  until 
the  same  period  in  May,  and  by  the  latter  also 
in  September  and  October.  The  finest  plants 
are  raised  by  seed,  but  those  from  portions  of 
the  roots  are  soonest  in  production. 

Sheep-sorrel,  or  field-sorrel  (R.  acelosella),  is 
abundantly  diffused  throughout  the  United 
States,  and  often  forms  a  great  pest  to  the  far- 
mer. The  best  way  to  subdue  it  is  by  means 
of  liberal  dressings  with  lime.  This  has  been 
disputed  by  some,  but  where  the  application 
has  been  made  in  large  quantity,  it  will  seldom 
or  ever  fail.  Of  this  genus  two  other  species, 
troublesome  to  farmers,  have  been  already 
mentioned.  These  are  the  sour  or  curled  dock 
(R.  crispus),  and  the  bitter  or  broad-leaved  dock 
(R.  obhmfoUus).     See  Dock. 

SORREL  TREE  (Andromeda  arborea).  This 
is  the  only  species  of  andromeda,  which  rises  to 
a  sufficient  height  to  be  ranked  among  forest 
trees.  It  begins  to  appear  on  the  Alleghanie? 
in  Virginia,  and  is  found  to  their  terminatioc 
in  Georgia.  In  the  fertile  mountainous  regions 
of  North  Carolina,  it  attains  a  height  of  50  feet, 
with  12  or  15  inches  in  diameter.  The  name 
is  derived  from  the  acidity  of^  the  leaves,  which 
in  drying  become  black.  When  sumac  is  not 
to  be  obtained,  these  leaves  are  used  as  a  sub- 
stitute in  dyeing  wool.  The  tree  will  endure 
much  cold,  and  grows  well  in  the  vicinity  of" 
New  York.  It  has  small,  white  flowers,  formed 
into  spikes  5  or  6  inches  long.  These  render 
the  tree  a  very  pretty  ornament  to  gardens,  &c. 

SOUTHERNWOOD  {Absinthium).  The  field 
southernwood  {A.  campestris)  is  a  rather  rare 
species.  It  is  perennial  in  habit.  The  whole 
herb  is  without  any  aromatic  or  bitter  flavour. 
Stems  at  first  prostrate,  becoming  more  or  less 
upright  as  the  flowers  appear,  branched,  leafy, 
straight  and  wand-like,  smooth,  often  reddish, 
near  2  feet  high.  Leaves  irregularly  and  dou- 
bly pinnatifid,  in  many  linear;  blunt  segments. 
Flowers  drooping,  small,  ovate,  yellow  with  a 
purplish  calyx,  forming  numerous  slender  leafy 
clusters  at  the  ends  of  the  stems  and  branches. 
See  WoHMwooD. 


SOWING. 


SPAN-WORMS. 


I      SOWING.     See  Seed. 

P   SOWING  MACHINE.     See  Drill. 

■  SOW-THISTLE  {Sonchus,  from  somphiis,  hol- 
low ;  the  stems  being  hollow).  A  rather  large 
genus  of  annual  or  perennial  plants,  rarely 
shrubby,  generally  tall.  They  have  hollow 
stems,  and  more  or  less  pinnatifid  or  lyrate 
leaves,  toothed  or  prickly  at  their  edges.  The 
surface  of  the  herbage  is  usually  smooth,  that 
of  the  inflorescence  hairy  or  glandular,  often 
viscid.  They  contain  a  bitter  white  juice,  and 
are  plants  of  easy  culture  in  any  common  soil. 
The  herbaceous  species  are  increased  by  divi- 
sion ;  the  seeds  of  the  annual  and  biennial 
kinds  only  require  to  be  sown  in  the  open 
ground.  There  are  in  England  three  indige- 
nous perennial  species :  the  blue  sow-thistle 
(S.  cccruleus),  the  tall  marsh  sow-thistle  (S.  pa- 
lustris),  one  of  the  largest  herbaceous  plants, 
growing  from  6  to  8  feet  high;  and  the  corn 
sow-thistle  (S.  ui-vensis).  The  most- common 
native  species  is  annual  in  habit,  viz.,  the  com- 
mon sow-thistle  (S.  oleracexis),  which  is  found 
almost  everywhere,  in  cultivated  and  waste 
ground;  flowering  from  July  to  September. 
Hares  and  rabbits  are  very  fond  of  the  herb- 
age, which,  like  the  root,  is  milky  and  bitter. 
The  leaves  are  sometimes  dressed  and  eaten 
among  other  culinary  herbs,  and  the  roots  have 
occasionally  been  converted  into  bread. 

SPADE  HUSBANDRY.  There  are  many 
situations  in  which,  from  the  small  size  of  the 
enclosures,  or  the  want  of  suflicient  power  for 
the  easy  working  of  the  common  or  the  subsoil 
plough,  the  cultivator  may  prefer  the  employ- 
ment of  manual  labour  with  the  spade;  and  it 
is  fortunately  found  by  experience  that  the 
difference  in  the  expense  of  deep-digging,  or 
spade  husbandry,  is  not  materially  different 
from  that  of  the  subsoil  plough.  A  great  mass 
of  information  on  this  head  was  collected  by 
the  late  Dr.  Yelloly  ;  not,  however,  so  much 
with  thfi  view  of  showing  the  increased  fer- 
tility of  the  soil  by  deep-stirring,  as  with  the 
intention  of  demonstrating  the  immense  field 
which  is  thus  opened  for  the  profitable  labour 
of  a  teeming  and  increasing  population.  (See 
Dr.  Yelloly  on  Spade  Husbandry ;  also  British 
Farmer^s  Magazine.) 

The  trials  which  have  been  hitherto  made 
of  spade  husbandry,  in  various  parts  of  the 
kingdom,  have  been  insufficient,  in  point  of 
extent,  to  afford  any  adequate  criterion  of  the 
general  applicability  of  that  practice.  Such 
trials, indeed,  have  been  usually  regarded  either 
as  matters  of  speculation  and  experiment,  or 
as  charitable  efforts  adopted  by  the  benevolent 
to  giv.e  employment  to  the  poor,  without  refer- 
ence to  pecuniary  expediency. 

In  most  parts  of  Biscay  and  the  north  of 
Spain,  the  fields  are  commonly  cultivated  .by 
the  spade :  great  crops  of  potatoes  and  turnips 
are  raised  by  these  means."  {Sinclair,  p.  394; 
Brit.  Husbandry,  vol.  ii.  p.  571.)     See  Flanders, 

HCSBANDRT  OF. 

SPANISH    NEEDLE  (Bidens).     See  Bur- 

MARIPrOLI). 

SPAN-WORMS.     A   common    appellation 
applied  to  those  caterpillars  called  also  loopers,  I 
and  geometers.     In   New  England   they  are  j 
called  canker-worms  I 


I  The  caterpillars  of  the  Geometraj  of  Lin 
naeus,  earth-measurers,  as  the  term  implies,  or 
geometers,  span-worms,  and  loopers,  have  re- 
ceived these  several  names  from  their  peculiar 
manner  of  moving,  in  which  they  seem  to 
measure  or  span  over  the  ground,  step  by  step, 
as  they  proceed.  Most  of  these  caterpillars 
have  only  10  legs ;  namely,  6,  which  are  jointed 
and  tapering,  under  the  fore-part  of  the  body, 
'  and  4  fleshy  proplegs  at  the  hinder  extremity; 
the  3  intermediate  pairs  of  proplegs  being  want- 
ing. Consequently,  in  creeping,  they  arch  up 
'  *he  back  while  they  bring  forward  the  hinder 
'  part  of  the  body,  and  then,  resting  on  their  hind- 
j  legs,  stretch  out  to  their  full  length,  in  a  straight 
I  line,  before  taking  another  step  with  their  hind- 
I  legs.  They  have  the  power  of  letting  them- 
I  selves  down  from  any  height,  by  means  of  a 
silken  thread,  which  they  spin  from  their 
mouths  while  falling.  Whenever  they  are 
disturbed  they  make  use  of  this  faculty,  drop 
suddenly,  and  hang  suspended,  till  the  danger 
is  past,  after  which  they  climb  up  again  by  the 
same  thread.  These  span-worms  are  naked, 
or  only  thinly  covered  with  very  short  down  ; 
they  are  mostly  smooth,  but  sometimes  have 
warts  or  irregular  projections  on  their  backs. 
They  change  their  colour  usually  as  they  grow 
older,  are  sometimes  striped,  and  sometimes  of 
one  uniform  colour,  nearly  resembling  the  bark 
of  the  plants  on  which  they  are  found.  When 
not  eating,  many  of  them  rest  on  the  two  hind- 
most pairs  of  legs  against  the  side  of  a  branch, 
with  the  body  extended  from  the  branch,  so  that 
they  might  be  mistaken  for  the  twig  of  the  tree ; 
and  in  this  position  they  will  often  remain  for 
hours  together.  When  about  to  transform, 
most  of  these  insects  descend  from  the  plants 
on  which  they  live,  and  either  bury  themselves 
in  ♦he  ground,  or  conceal  themselves  on  the 
surface  under  a  slight  covering  of  leaves  fas- 
tened together  with  silken  threads.  Some  make 
more  regular  cocoons,  which,  however,  are 
very  thin,  and  generally  more  or  less  covered 
on  the  outside  with  leaves.  A  very  few  of  the 
span-worms  fasten  themselves  to  the  stems  of 
plants,  and  are  changed  to  chrysalids,  which 
hang  suspended,  without  the  protection  of  any 
outer  covering. 

In  their  perfected  state  these  insects  are 
mostly  slender-bodied  moths,  with  tapering 
antennas,  which  are  often  feathered  in  the 
males.  Some  of  the  females  are  without 
wings,  and  are  distinguished  also  by  the  oval 
and  robust  form  of  their  bodies.  These  moths 
are  most  active  in  the  night ;  but  some  of  them 
may  be  seen  flying  in  thickets  during  the  day- 
time. They  are  very  short-lived,  and  die  soon 
after  their  eggs  are  laid. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  the  canker- 
worm  moths  came  out  of  the  ground  only  in 
the  spring.  It  is  now  known  that  many  of 
them  rise  in  the  autumn,  and  in  the  early  part 
of  the  winter.  In  mild  and  open  winters  I  have 
seen  them,  says  Dr.  Harris,  in  every  month 
from  October  to  March.  They  begin  to  make 
their  appearance  after  the  first  hard  frosts  in 
the  autumn,  usually  towards  the  end  of  Octo- 
ber, and  they  continue  to  come  forth,  in  greater 
or  smaller  numbers,  according  to  the  mildness 
or  severity  of  the  weather  after  the  frosts  hav« 

1005 


SPAN-WORMS. 

b«ftin.  Their  general  time  of  rising  is  in  the 
spring,  beginning  about  the  middle  of  March, 
but  sometimes  before,  and  sometimes  after  this 
lime;  and  thejr  continue  to  come  forth  lor  the 
space  of  about  3  weeks.  It  has  been  observed 
that  there  are  more  females  than  males  among 
ihose  that  appear  in  the  autumn  and  winter, 
and  that  the  males  are  most  abundant  in  the 
spring.  The  sluggish  females  instinctive!; 
make  their  way  towards  the  nearest  trees,  and 
creep  slowly  up  their  trunks.  In  a  few  days 
•nerwards  Ihey  are  followed  by  the  winged  and 
active  males,  which  flutter  about  and  accom- 
pany them  m  their  asinnt,  during  which  the 
insects  pair.  Soon  ai\er  this,  the  females  lay 
their  eggs  upon  the  branches  of  the  trees, 
placing  them  on  their  ends,  close  together,  in 
rows,  forming  clusters  of  from  60  to  100  eggs 
or  more,  which  is  the  number  usually  laid  by 
each  female.  The  eggs  are  glued  to  each  other, 
and  to  the  bark,  by  a  grayish  varnish,  which  is 
impervious  to  water ;  and  the  clusters  are  thus 
securely  fastened  in  the  forks  of  the  small 
branches,  or  close  to  the  young  twigs  and  buds. 
Immediately  after  the  insects  have  thus  pro- 
vided for  a  succession  of  their  kind,  they  begin 
lo  languish,  and  soon  die.  The  eggs  are  usually 
hatched  between  the  first  and  the  middle  of 
May,  or  about  the  time  that  the  red  currant  is 
in  blossom,  and  the  young  leaves  of  the  apple 
tree  begin  to  start  from  the  bud  and  grow.  The 
Iitl1«  canker-worms,  upon  making  their  escape 
from  the  eggs,  gather  upon  the  tender  leaves, 
and,  on  the  occurrence  of  cold  and  wet  weather, 
creep  for  shelter  into  the  bosom  of  the  bud,  or 
into  the  flowers,  when  the  latter  appear.  Where 
these  insects  prevail,  they  are  most  abundant 
on  apple  and  elm  trees;  but  cherry,  plum,  and 
lime  trees,  and  some  other  cultivated  and  na- 
lire  trees,  as  well  as  many  shrubs,  often  suffer 
severely  from  their  voracity.  The  leaves  first 
attacked  will  be  found  pierced  with  small  holes ; 
these  become  larger  and  more  irregular  when 
the  canker-worms  increase  in  size  ;  and,  at 
last,  the  latter  eat  nearly  all  the  pulpy  parts  of 
the  leaves,  leaving  little  more  than  the  midrib 
and  veins.  A  very  great  difference  of  colour 
is  observable  among  canker-worms  of  different 
ages,  and  even  among  those  of  the  same  age 
and  size.  It  is  possible  that  some  of  these  va- 
riations may  arise  from  a  difference  of  species; 
hot  it  is  also  true  that  the  same  species  varies 
much  in  colour.  When  very  young,  they  have 
t  minute  warts  on  the  top  of  the  last  ring ;  and 
Ihey  are  then  generally  of  a  tlackish  or  dusky 
brown  colour,  with  a  yellowish  stripe  on  each 
>ide  of  the  body;  there  are  2  whitish  bands 
acniss  the  head  ;  and  the  belly  is  also  whitish. 
When  fully  grown,  these  individuals  become 
ash-coloured  on  the  back,  and  black  on  the 
sides,  below  which  the  pale  yellowish  line 
remains.  When  fully  grown  and  well  fed, 
they  measure  nearly  or  quite  1  inch  in  length. 
They  leave  off  eating  when  about  4  weeks  old, 
and  begin  to  quit  the  trees ;  some  creep  down 
by  the  trunk,  but  great  numbers  let  themselves 
down  by  their  threads  from  the  branches,  their 
Instincts  prompting  them  to  get  to  the  ground 
by  the  most  direct  and  easiest  course.  When 
thus  descending,  and  suspended  in  great  num- 
te's  under  the  limbs  of  trees  overhanging  the 

lOflfi 


SPAN-WORMS. 

road,  they  are  often  swept  off  by  passing  car- 
riages, and  are  thus  conveyed  to  other  places. 
After  reaching  the  ground,  they  immediately 
burrow  in  the  earth,  to  the  depth  of  from  2"to  6 
inches,  unless  prevented  by  weakness  or  the 
nature  of  the  soil.  In  the  latter  case,  they  die, 
or  undergo  their  transformation  on  the  surface. 
In  the  former,  they  make  little  cavities  or  cells 
in  the  ground,  by  turning  round  repeatedly  and 
fastening  the  loose  grains  of  earth  about  them 
with  a  few  silken  threads.  Within  24  hours 
afterwards,  they  are  changed  to  chrysalids  in 
their  cells.  The  chrysalis  is  of  a  light  brown 
colour,  and  varies  in  size  according  to  the  sex 
of  the  insect  contained  in  it ;  that  of  the  female 
being  the  largest,  and  being  destitute  of  a 
covering  for  wings,  which  is  found  in  the  chry- 
salis of  the  males.  The  occurrence  of  mild 
weather  after  a  severe  frost  stimulates  some  of 
these  insects  to  burst  their  chrysalis  skins  and 
come  forth  in  the  perfect  state ;  and  this  last 
transformation,  as  before  stated,  may  take 
place  in  the  autumn,  or  in  the  course  of  the 
winter,  as  well  as  in  the  spring;  it  is  also  re- 
tarded, in  some  individuals,  for  a  year  or  more 
beyond  the  usual  time.  They  come  out  of  the 
ground  mostly  in  the  night,  when  they  may  be 
seen  struggling  through  the  grass  as  far  as  the 
limbs  extend  from  the  body  of  the  trees  under 
which  they  had  been  buried.  As  the  females 
are  destitute  of  wings,  they  are  not  able  to 
wander  far  from  the  trees  upon  which  they  had 
lived  in  the  caterpillar  state.  Canker-worms 
are  therefore  naturally  confined  to  a  very- 
limited  space,  from  which  they  spread  year 
after  year.  Accident,  however,  will  often  carry 
them  far  from  their  native  haunts,  and  in  this 
way,  probably,  they  have  extended  to  places 
remote  from  each  other.  Where  they  have 
become  established,  and  have  been  neglected, 
their  ravages  are  often  very  great.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  season  the  canker-worms  do  not 
attract  much  attention  ;  but  in  New  England  it 
is  in  June,  when  they  become  extremely  vora- 
cious, that  the  mischief  they  have  done  is  ren- 
dered apparent,  when  we  have  before  us  the 
melancholy  sight  of  the  foliage  of  our  fruit 
trees  and  of  our  noble  elms  reduced  to  withered 
and  lifeless  shreds,  and  whole  orchards  look 
ing  as  if  they  had  been  suddenly  scorched 
with  fire. 

In  order  to  protect  our  trees  from  the  ravages 
of  canker-worms,  where  these  looping  spoilers 
abound,  it  should  be  our  aim,  if  possible,  to 
prevent  the  wingless  females  from  ascending 
the  trees  to  deposit  their  eggs.  This  can  be 
done  by  the  application  of  tar  around  the  body 
of  the  tree,  either  directly  on  the  bark,  as  has 
been  the  most  common  practice,  or,  what  is 
better,  over  a  broad  belt  of  clay-mortar,  or  on 
strips  of  old  canvass  or  of  strong  paper,  from 
6  to  12  inches  wide,  fastened  around  the  trunk 
with  strings.  The  tar  must  be  applied  as  early 
as  the  Isl  of  November,  and  perhaps  in  Octo- 
ber, and  it  should  be  renewed  daily  as  long  as 
the  insects  continue  rising;  after  which  the 
bands  may  be  removed,  and  the  tar  should  be 
entirely  scraped  from  the  bark.  When  all  this 
has  been  properly  and  seasonably  done,  it  has 
proved  effectual.  The  time,  labour,  and  ex 
pense  attending  the  use  of  tar,  and  the  injury 


SPAN-WORMS. 


SPAN-WORMS. 


that  it  does  to  the  trees  when  allowed  to  run 
and  remain  on  the  bark,  have  caused  many 
persons  to  neglect  this  method,  and  some  to 
try  various  modifications  of  it,  and  other  expe- 
dients. Among  the  modifications  may  be  men- 
tioned a  horizontal  and  close-fitting  collar  of 
boards,  fastened  around  the  trunk,  and  smeared 
beneath  with  tar;  or  four  boards,  nailed  to- 
gether, like  a  box  without  top  or  bottom,  around 
the  base  of  the  tree,  to  receive  the  tar  on  the 
outside.  These  can  be  used  to  protect  a  few 
choice  trees  in  a  garden,  or  around  a  house  or 
a  public  square,  but  will  be  found  too  expen- 
sive to  be  applied  to  any  great  extent.  Collars 
of  tin-plate,  fastened  around  the  trees,  and 
slopitig  downwards  like  an  inverted  tunnel, 
have  been  proposed,  upon  the  supposition  that 
the  moths  would  not  be  able  to  creep  in  an  in- 
verted position,  beneath  the  smooth  and  sloping 
surface.  This  method  will  also  prove  too  ex- 
pensive for  general  adoption,  even  should  it 
be  found  to  answer  the  purpose.  A  belt  of 
cotton-wool,  which  it  has  been  thought  would 
entangle  the  feet  of  the  insects,  and  thus  keep 
them  from  ascending  the  trees,  has  not  proved 
an  effectual  bar  to  them.  Little  square  or  cir- 
cular troughs  of  tin  or  of  lead,  filled  with  cheap 
fish-oil,  and  placed  around  the  trees,  3  feet  or 
more  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  with  a 
stutfing  of  cloth,  hay,  or  sea-weed  between 
them  and  the  trunk,  have  long  been  used  by 
various  persons  in  Massachusetts  with  good 
success;  and  the  only  objections  to  them  are 
the  cost  of  the  troughs,  the  difficulty  of  fixing 
and  keeping  them  in  their  places,  and  the  in- 
jury suffered  by  the  trees  when  the  oil  is 
washed  or  blown  out  and  falls  upon  the  bark. 
Mr.  Jonathan  Dennis,  Jr.,  of  Portsmouth,  Rhode 
Island,  has  obtained  a  patent  for  a  circular 
leaden  trough  to  contain  oil,  offering  some 
advantages  over  those  that  have  heretofore 
been  used,  although  it  does  not  entirely  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  oil,  and  the  nails,  with  which 
it  is  secured,  are  found  to  be  injurious  to  the 
trees.  These  troughs  ought  not  to  be  nailed  to 
the  trees,  but  should  be  supported  by  a  few 
wofHlen  wedges  driven  between  them  and  the 
trunks.  A  stuffing  of  cloth,  cotton,  or  tow, 
sh(.ul<l  never  be  used;  sea-weed  and  fine  hay, 
which  will  not  absorb  the  oil,  are  much  better. 
Before  the  troughs  are  fastened  and  filled,  the 
body  of  the  tree  should  be  well  coated  with 
clay-paint  or  white-wash,  to  absorb  the  oil  that 
may  fall  upon  it.  Care  should  be  taken  to 
renew  the  oil  as  often  as  it  escapes  or  becomes 
filled  with  the  insects.  These  troughs  will  be 
found  more  economical  and  less  troublesome 
than  the  application  of  tar,  and  may  safely  be 
recommended  and  employed,  if  proper  atten- 
tion is  given  to  the  precautions  above  named. 
Some  persons  fasten  similar  troughs,  to  con- 
tain oil,  around  the  outer  sides  of  an  open  box 
enclosing  the  base  of  the  tree,  and  a  projecting 
ledge  is  nailed  on  the  edge  of  the  box  to  shed 
the  rain ;  by  this  contrivance,  all  danger  of 
hurting  the  tree  with  the  oil  is  entirely  avoid- 
ed. In  the  Manchester  Guardian,  an  English 
newspaper,  of  the  4th  of  November,  1840,  is 
the  following  article  on  the  use  of  melted  Indian 
rubber  to  prevent  insects  from  climbing  up 
trees.     "  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Entomolo-  j 


gical  Society  [of  London],  Mr.  J.  H.  Fennell 
communicated  the  following  successful  mode 
of  preventing  insects  ascending  the  trunks  of 
fruit  trees.  Let  a  piece  of  Indian  rubber  be 
burnt  over  a  gallipot,  into  which  it  will  gradu 
ally  drop  in  the  condition  of  a  viscid  juice, 
which  state,  it  appears,  it  will  always  retain  ;  for 
Mr.  Fennell  has,  at  the  present  time,  some 
which  has  been  melted  for  upwards  of  a  year, 
and  has  been  exposed  to  all  weathers  without 
undergoing  the  slightest  change.  Having 
melted  the  Indian  rubber,  let  a  piece  of  cord  or 
worsted  be  smeared  with  it,  and  then  tied  seve- 
ral times  round  the  trunk.  The  melted  sub- 
stance is  so  very  sticky,  that  the  insects  will 
be  prevented,  and  generally  captured,  in  their 
attempts  to  pass  over  it.  About  3  pennyworths 
of  Indian  rubber  is  sufficient  for  the  protection 
of  20  ordinary  sized  fruit  trees."  Applied  in 
this  way  it  would  not  be  sufficient  to  keep  the 
canker-worm  moths  froiU  getting  up  the  trees ; 
for  the  first  comers  wc  aid  soon  bridge  over  the 
cord  with  their  bodies,  and  thus  afford  a  pas- 
sage to  their  followers.  To  insure  success,  it 
should  be  melted  in  larger  quantities,  and 
daubed  with  a  brush  upon  strips  of  cloth  or 
paper,  fastened  round  the  trunks  of  the  trees. 
Worn-out  Indian  rubber  shoes,  which  arc 
worth  little  or  nothing  for  any  other  purpose, 
can  be  put  to  this  use.  This  plan  has  been 
tried  by  a  few  persons  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton, some  of  whom  speak  favourably  of  it.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  the  melted  rubber 
might  be  applied  immediately  to  the  bark  with- 
out injuring  the  trees.  A  little  conical  mound 
of  sand  surrouruHng  the  base  of  the  tree  is 
found  to  be  impassable  to  the  moths,  so  long 
as  the  sand  remains  dry  ;  but  they  easily  pass 
over  it  when  the  sand  is  wet,  and  they  come 
out  of  the  ground  in  wet  as  often  as  in  dry 
weather. 

Some  attempts  have  been  made  to  destroy 
the  canker-worms  after  they  were  hatched  from 
the  eggs,  and  were  dispersed  over  the  leaves 
of  the  trees.  It  is  said  that  some  persons  have 
saved  their  trees  from  these  insects  by  freely 
dusting  air-slacked  lime  over  them  while  the 
leaves  were  wet  with  dew.  Showering  the 
trees  with  mixtures  that  are  found  useful  to 
destroy  other  insects,  has  been  tried  by  a  few, 
and,  although  attended  with  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  and  expense,  it  may  be  worth  our  while 
to  apply  such  remedies  upon  small  and  choice 
trees.  Mr.  David  Haggerston,  of  Watertown, 
Massachusetts,  has  used,  for  this  purpose,  a 
mixture  of  water  and  oil-soap  (an  article  to  be 
procured  from  the  manufactories  where  whale- 
oil  is  purified),  in  the  proportion  of  1  pound  of 
the  soap  to  7  gallons  of  water;  and  he  states 
that  this  liquor,  when  thrown  on  the  trees  with 
a  garden  engine,  will  destroy  the  canker-worm 
and  many  other  insects,  without  injuring  the 
foliage  or  the  fruit.  Jarring  or  shaking  the 
limbs  of  the  trees  will  disturb  the  canker- 
worms,  and  cause  many  of  them  to  spin  down, 
when  their  threads  may  be  broken  off  with  a 
pole ;  and  if  the  troughs  around  the  trees  are 
at  the  same  time  replenished  with  oil,  or  the 
tar  is  again  applied,  the  insects  will  be  caugh* 
in  their  attempts  to  creep  up  the  trunks.  In 
the  same  way,  also,  those  that  are  coming  down 

1007 


SPAN-WORMS. 

J»e  trunks  to  go  into  the  ground  will  be  caught 
and  killed.  If  greater  pains  were  to  be  taken 
to  destroy  the  insects  in  the  caterpillar  stale, 
ibeir  numbers  would  soon  greatly  diminish. 

Even  aAer  ihey  have  left  the  trees,  have 
cone  into  the  ground,  and  have  changed  their 
Furins,  they  are  not  wholly  beyond  the  reach  of 
means  for  destroying  them.  One  person  told 
me  that  bis  swine,  which  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  turning  into  his  orchard  in  the  autumn, 
rooted  up  and  killed  great  numbers  of  the  chry- 
salids  of  Ihe  canker-worms.  Some  persons 
have  recommended  digging  or  ploughing  under 
Ihs  trees,  in  the  autumn,  with  the  hope  of 
crushing  some  of  the  chrysalids  by  so  doing, 
and  of  exposing  others  to  perish  with  the  cold 
of  the  following  winter.  If  hogs  are  then  al- 
lowed to  go  among  the  trees,  and  a  few  grains 
of  corn  are  scattered  on  the  loosened  soil,  these 
animals  will  eat  many  of  the  chrysalids  as 
well  as  the  corn,  and  will  crush  others  with 
their  feet.  Mr.  S.  P.  Fowler  thinks  it  better  to 
dig  around  the  trees  in  July,  while  the  shells 
of  the  insects  are  soft  and  tender.  He  and 
Mr.  John  Kenrick,  of  Newton,  Mass.,  advise  us 
to  remove  the  soil  to  the  distance  of  4  or  5  feel 
from  the  trunk  of  the  trees,  and  to  the  depth  of 
6  inches,  to  cart  it  away  and  replace  it  with  an 
equal  quantity  of  compost  or  rich  earth.  In 
this  way,  many  of  the  insects  will  be  removed 
also;  but,  unless  the  earth,  thus  carried  away, 
is  ihn^wn  into  some  pond-hole,  and  left  covered 
With  uaier,  many  of  the  insects  contained  in 
It  will  undergo  their  transformations  and  come 
out  alive  the  next  year.  (See  Yankee  Farmer, 
of  July  19,  1840,  and  New  England  Farmer  of 
June  2,  1841,  for  some  valuable  remarks  by 
Mr.  Fowler.) 

Canker-worms  are  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
many  enemies.  Great  numbers  of  them  are 
devoured  by  several  kinds  of  birds,  which  live 
almost  entirely  upon  them  during  their  season. 
They  are  also  eaten  by  a  very  large  and  splen- 
did ground-beetle  {Culusomu  scrutator),  that  ap- 
pears about  the  time  when  these  insects  begin 
to  leave  the  trees.  These  beetles  do  not  fly, 
hot  they  run  about  in  the  grass  after  the  canker- 
worms,  and  even  mount  upon  the  trunks  of  the 
trees  to  seize  them  as  they  come  down.  The 
latter  are  also  stung  by  a  four-winged  ichneu- 
mon-fly, which  deposits  an  egg  in  every  can- 
ker-worm thus  wounded.  From  the  egg  is 
batched  a  little  maggot,  that  preys  on  the  fatly 
Mibstance  of  the  canker-worm,  and  weakens  it 
so  much  that  it  is  unable  to  go  through  its  fu- 
ture transformations.  I  have  seen  one  of  these 
Uies  sting  several  canker-worms  in  succession, 
and  swarms  of  them  may  be  observed  around 
the  trees  as  long  as  the  canker-worms  remain. 
Their  services,  therefore,  are  doubtless  very 
considerable.  Among  a  large  number  of  can- 
ker-worms, taken  promiscuously  from  various 
trees,  I  found  that  nearly  one-third  of  ihe  whole 
were  unable  to  finish  their  transformations,  be- 
cause they  had  been  attacked  by  internal  ene- 
mies of  another  kind.  These  were  Utile  mag- 
gots, that  lived  sinsly  within  ihe  bodies  of  the 
canker-worms,  till  the  latter  died  from  weak- 
ness; after  which  the  maggots  underwent  a 
sbange,  and  finally  came  out  of  the  bodies  of 
victims  in  the  form  of  small  two-winged 
1008  " 


SPEARMINT. 

!  cuckoo-flies,  belonging  to  the  genus  Tachina, 
Mr.  E.  C.  Herrick,  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut, 
has  made  the  interesting  discovery  that  the 
eggs  of  the  canker-worm  moth  are  pierced  by 
a  tiny  four-winged  fly,  a  species  of  Platygaster, 
which  goes  from  egg  to  egg,  and  drops  in  each 
of  them  one  of  her  own  eggs.  Sometimes 
every  canker-worm  egg  in  a  cluster  will  be 
folind  to  have  been  thus  punctured  and  seeder' 
for  a  future  harvest  of  the  Platygaster.  The 
young  of  this  Platygaster  is  an  exceedingly  mi- 
nute maggot,  hatched  within  the  canker-worm 
egg,  the  shell  of  which,  though  only  one-thir- 
tieth of  an  inch  long,  serves  for  its  habitation, 
and  the  contents  for  its  food,  till  it  is  fully 
grown ;  after  which  it  becomes  a  chrysalis 
within  the  same  shell,  and  in  due  time  comes 
out  a  Platygaster  fly,  like  its  parent.  This  last 
transformation  Mr.  Herrick  found  to  take  place 
towards  the  end  of  June,  from  eggs  laid  in  No- 
vember of  the  year  before  ;  and  he  thinks  that 
the  flies  continue  alive  through  the  summer, 
till  the  appearance  of  the  canker-worm  moths 
in  the  autumn  affljrds  them  the  opportunity  of 
laying  their  eggs  for  another  brood.  As  these 
little  parasites  prevent  the  hatching  of  the  eggs 
wherein  they  are  bred,  and  as  they  seem  to  be 
very  abundant,  they  must  be  of  great  use  in 
preventing  the  increase  of  the  canker-worm. 
Without  doubt,  such  wisely  appointed  means 
as  these  were  once  enough  to  keep  within  due 
bounds  these  noxious  insects;  but,  since  our 
forests,  their  natural  food,  and  our  birds,  their 
greatest  enemies,  have  disappeared  before  the 
woodman's  axe  and  the  sportsman's  gun,  we 
are  left  to  our  own  ingenuity,  perseverance, 
and  united  efforts,  to  contrive  and  carry  into 
effect  other  means  for  checking  their  ravages. 

Apple,  elm,  and  lime  trees  are  sometimes 
injured  a  good  deal  by  another  kind  of  span- 
worm,  larger  than  the  canker-worm,  and  very 
different  from  it  in  appearance. 

Probably  more  than  one  hundred  different 
kinds  of  geometers  may  be  found  in  Massa- 
chusetts alone.  Seventy-eight  are  already 
known  to  me.  Some  of  these  are  small,  and 
are  not  otherwise  remarkable;  some  are  dis- 
tinguished for  their  greater  size  and  beauty  in 
the  moth  state,  or  for  the  singularity  of  the 
forms  and  habits  of  their  caterpillars.  None 
of  them,  however,  have  become  so  notorious  on 
account  of  their  devastations  as  the  species 
already  described.  (Harris's  Treatise.)  See 
LiMK  Tree,  Insect  Enemies. 

SPATTLING  POPPY.  A  name  sometimes 
applied  to  chickweed. 

SPAVIN.  In  farriery,  a  disease  in  horses, 
consisting  of  a  swelling  in  or  near  some  of  the 
joints,  by  which  a  lameness  is  produced,  and 
of  which  there  are  three  kinds ;  the  blood-spavin^ 
the  bng-npaiun,  and  the  bone-spavin. 

SPAYING.  The  operation  of  castrating  or 
extracting  the  ovaries  of  the  females  of  different 
kinds  of  animals,  as  sows,  heifers,  mares,  &c., 
in  order  to  prevent  any  future  conception,  and 
promote  their  fattening. 

SPEAR  GRASS.  The  American  name  for 
the  great  smooth-stalked  meadow-grass.  See 
PoA  Pratensis. 

SPEARMINT  (^Mentha  vii-idis).  This  species 
of  mint  is  employed  in  sauces  and  salads,  as 


SPEEDWELL. 


SPINDLE-WORM. 


well  as  dried  for  soups  in  winter.  There  are 
two  varieties,  the  broad  and  narrow-leaved, 
equally  good.     See  Mint. 

SPEEDWELL  (Veronica).  An  extensive 
genus  of  herbaceous  or  somewhat  shrubby 
plants,  with  annual  or  perennial  roots. 

Common  or  male  speedwell  (Officinal  vero- 
nica), called  by  the  French  The  d'Europe,  is  a 
common  plant  in  the  Middle  States,  found  on 
dry  banks,  woodlands,  and  commons,  flowering 
in  June  and  July,  and  ripening  its  seed  in  Au- 
gust and  September.  Water  speedwell,  or 
long-leaved  brooklime,  is  also  occasionally 
found  along  the  muddy  margins  of  rivulets, 
and  also  the  scull-cap  speedwell,  or  shield-like 
Veronica,  with  some  other  species.  (Dr.  Dar- 
lington's Flora  Cestrica.)     See  Bird's  Ete. 

SPELT.  A  species  of  coarse  wheat.  It  will 
afford  to  be  cropped  once  or  twice  in  its  early 
growth,  affording  excellent  pasturage.  Com- 
pared with  wheat,  its  weight,  with  the  hull  on, 
is  as  42  to  70.     See  Whkat. 

SPICE  WOOD  (Laurus  Benzoin).  An  Ameri- 
can shrub  or  small  tree,  called  also  in  the 
United  States  by  the  common  names  of  wild 
allspice,  fever  bush,  and  Benjamin  tree.  The 
stems  grow  to  the  height  of  8  or  10  feet,  and 
are  branched,  the  wood  being  very  brittle,  and 
when  broken  giving  out  a  very  pleasant  aro- 
matic odour.  It  is  found  in  moist  low  grounds. 
An  infusion  of  the  branches  is  often  used  medi- 
cinally, more  especially  in  the  spring  of  the 
year,  as  a  drink  for  horned  cattle.    See  Laurus. 

SPIGNEL.     See  Fknxkl. 

SPIKENARD,  PLOUGHMAN'S  (Conyza, 
from  kimis,d\xsl ;  because  it  was  supposed  to  have 
the  power  of  driving  away  flies;  whence  also 
one  of  the  common  names,  flea  (fly)  bane.  The 
genus  Erigeros  is,  however,  the  real  fly-bane; 
some  of  its  viscid  species,  dipped  in  milk,  being 
used  in  the  south  of  Europe  to  catch  the  va- 
rious little  winged  insects  so  troublesome  in 
warm  climates).  This  is  a  numerous  herba- 
ceous or  shrubby  genus,  of  which  the  only 
British  species  (C.squarrosa)  is  the  type.  This 
is  a  perennial  plant,  growing  in  chalky  or 
lime-stone  countries,  frequent  in  woods,  or  a 
marly  soil.  The  root  is  tapering,  fleshy,  much 
branched ;  the  herbage  soft  and  downy,  bitter, 
somewhat  aromatic,  with  a  portion  of  mucilage. 
The  stem  is  upright,  angular,  leafy,  2  or  3  feet 
high,  terminating  in  a  corymbose,  leafy  pani- 
cle of  numerous  dull  yellow  flowers.  The 
radical  leaves  bear  some  resemblance  to  those 
of  foxglove,  but  when  rubbed  are  readily  dis- 
tinguished by  their  aromatic  scent. 

SPIKE  ROLLER.     See  Roller. 

SPINACH  (Spinacca  oleracea.  From  spina, 
on  account  of  its  prickly  seed).  There  are  two 
varieties,  the  round-leaved  or  smooth-seeded, 
and  the  triangular-leaved  or  prickly-seeded. 
The  first  being  the  most  succulent,  and  conse- 
quently less  able  to  endure  a  low  degree  of 
temperature,  is  employed  for  the  spring  and 
summer  crops,  and  the  latter  for  autumn  and 
winter.  For  the  round-leaved  variety,  a  rich, 
moist,  and  mouldy  loam,  in  an  open  situation, 
is  preferable ;  but  for  the  triangular-leaved  a 
light,  moderately  fertile,  and  dry  one,  which  may 
likewise  be  an  open  compartment,  but  a  shel- 
tered borH*."  ic  most  conducive  of  a  continued 
127 


supply  throughout  the  winter.  The  earth 
should  always  be  well  pulverized  at  the  time 
of  digging,  as  a  fine  tilth  is  one  of  the  greatest 
inducements  to  its  vigour.  It  is  propagated  by 
seed.  The  first  sowing  of  the  round-leaved 
variety  may  take  place  at  the  close  of  January, 
in  a  warm  situation,  to  be  repeated  in  larger 
but  still  small  breadths  at  the  commencement 
and  end  of  February ;  and  thence  to  be  con- 
tinued, as  the  plants  rapidly  advance  to  seed, 
every  3  weeks  until  the  middle  of  April,  when, 
as  this  affection  increases,  it  must  be  performed 
once  a  week  until  the  close  of  May,  when  it 
may  be  reduced  to  once  a  fortnight,  and  so 
practised  until  the  end  of  July.  With  August, 
the  sowing  of  the  triangular-leaved  variety 
commences,  the  main  crop  of  which  should  be 
sown  during  the  first  10  days  of  that  month. 
The  sowing  may  be  repeated,  after  intervals  of 
3  weeks,  until  the  early  part  of  September. 

The  sowings  may  be  performed  broadcast 
and  regularly  raked,  which  is  the  mode  gene- 
rally practised  for  the  principal  crops,  and  for 
the  winter-standing  always,  or  in  drills  an  inch 
deep  and  a  foot  apart ;  in  either  mode  the  seed 
being  scattered  thin. 

Tetragonia,  or  New  Zealand  spinach  (Tetra- 
gonia  expansa),  is  much  admired  as  a  substitute 
for  summer  spinach,  being  of  more  delicate 
flavour,  and  not  so  liable  to  run  to  seed.  It  is 
propagated  by  seed,  which  is  sown,  in  the  seed- 
vessel,  as  gathered  the  preceding  autumn,  at 
the  latter  end  of  March,  in  a  pot,  and  placed  in 
a  melon-frame.  The  seedlings  must  be  pricked 
while  small  singly  into  pots,  and  kept  under 
a  frame  without  bottom  heat  until  the  third 
week  in  May,  or  until  the  danger  of  frost  is 
past. 

SPINAGE,  WILD.    See  Goosefoot.    ' 

SPINDLE  TREE  (Euonymus Europcms.)  This 
shrub  or  small  tree  grows  wild  in  English 
hedges  and  thickets.  The  very  hard  and  fine- 
grained wood  is  preferred  for  spindles  and  for 
skewers.  It  is  fetid  in  every  part  when  bruised, 
and  esteemed  poisonous.  The  branches  are 
smooth  and  even  angular  when  young;  after- 
wards round,  with  a  green,  smooth,  not  warty 
bark.  Leaves  ovate,  pointed,  finely  serrated, 
about  2  inches  long,  furnished  with  awl-shaped 
stipules.  Flowers  fetid,  small,  greenish-white, 
mostly  four-cleft.  The  capsules  usually  of  a 
fine  rose  colour:  seeds  orange-coloured. 

SPINDLE-WORM.  These  American  insects 
are  fatal  to  the  plants  attacked,  the  greater  part  of 
which,  however,  are  without  value  to  the  farmer. 
Indian  corn  must  be  excepted;  for  itoften  suffers 
severely  from  the  depredations  of  one  of  these 
Nonagrians,  known  to  our  farmers  by  the  name 
of  the  spindle-worm.  This  insect  receives 
its  common  name  from  its  destroying  the  spin- 
dle of  the  Indian  corn ;  but  its  ravages  gene- 
rally begin  while  the  corn-stalk  is  young,  and 
before  the  spindle  rises  much  above  the  tuft 
of  leaves  in  which  it  is  embosomed.  The  mis- 
chief is  discovered  by  the  withering  of  the 
leaves,  and,  when  these  are  taken  hold  of,  they 
may  often  be  drawn  out  with  the  included  i>pin- 
dle.  On  examining  the  corn,  a  small  hole  may 
be  seen  in  the  side  of  the  leafy  stalk,  near  the 
ground,  penetrating  into  the  soft  centre  of  the 
stalk,  which,  when  cut  open,  will  be  found  to 
4  Q  1009 


SPlNEb. 

be  perforated,  both  upwards  and  downwards, 
by  a  slender,  worm-like  caterpillar,  whose  ex- 
crenentitious  castings  surround  the  orifice  of 
the  hole.  This  caterpillar  grows  to  the  length 
of  an  inch  or  more,  and  to  the  thickness  of  a 
Koose-quill.  It  is  smooth,  and  apparently  naked, 
rellowish,  with  the  head,  the  top  of  the  first  and 
of  the  last  rings  black,  and  with  a  band  across 
each  of  the  other  rings,  consisting  of  small, 
taooth,  shghilv  elevated,  shining,  black  dots, 
arranged  in  a  double  row.  With  a  magnifyiiig 
•lasa,  a  few  short  hairs  can  be  seen  on  its 
body,  arising  singly  from  the  black  dots.  This 
mischievous  caterpillar,  says  Dr.  Harris,  is  not 
confined  to  Indian  com;  it  attacks  also  the 
•terns  of  the  dahlia,  as  I  am  informed  both  by 
Mr.  Leonard  and  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Russell, 
both  of  whom  have  observed  its  ravages  in  the 
stems  of  this  favourite  flower.  The  chrysalis, 
which  is  lodged  in  the  burrow  formed  by  the 
spindle^worm,  is  slender.  It  is  shining  maho- 
gany-brown, with  the  anterior  edges  of  four  of 
the  rings  of  the  back  roughened  with  litll  3  points, 
and  four  short  spines  or  hooks,  turned  upwards, 
on  the  hinder  extremity  of  the  body.    The  moth 

Produced  from  this  insect  differs  from  the  other 
lonagrians  somewhat  in  form,  its  fore-wings 
being  shorter,  and  more  rounded  at  the  tip.  It 
may  be  called  Gortyna  Zca>,  the  corn  Gortyna ; 
Zfa  being  the  botanical  name  of  Indian  corn. 
The  fore-wings  are  rust-red ;  they  are  mottled 
with  gray,  almost  in  bands,  uniting  with  the 
ordinary  spots,  which  are  also  gray  and  indis- 
tinct; there  is  an  irregular  tawny  spot  near 
the  tip.  and  on  the  veins  there  are  a  few  black 
dots.  The  hind-wings  are  yellowish-gray,  with 
a  central  dusky  spot,  behind  which  are  two 
faint,  dusky  bands.  The  head  and  thorax  are 
rust-red.  with  an  elevated  tawny  tuft  on  each. 
The  abdomen  is  pale-brown,  with  a  row  of 
tawny  tufts  on  the  back.  The  wings  expand 
nearly  one  inch  and  a  half. 

In  order  to  check  the  ravages  of  these  in- 
sects, they  must  be  destroyed  while  in  the 
caterpillar  state.  As  soon  as  our  corn-fields 
begin  to  show,  by  the  withering  of  the  leaves, 
the  usual  signs  that  the  enemy  is  at  work  in 
the  stalks,  the  spindle-worms  should  be  sought 
for  and  killed;  for,  if  allowed  to  remain  undis- 
turbed until  they  turn  to  moths,  they  will  make 
their  escape,  and  we  shall  not  be  able  to  pre- 
vent them  from  laying  their  eggs  for  another 
brood  of  these  pestilent  insects.  {Harris's 
Trtatw.) 

SPINES.  In  botany,  branches  that,  being  im- 
perfectly formed,  lose  their  power  of  extension, 
become  unusually  hard,  and  acquire  a  sharp 
point    They  are  very  different  from  aculei,  or 

{»rickles,  which  are  a  kind  of  hardened  hair.  In 
eaves  they  are  processes  formed  either  by  an 
elongation  of  the  woody  tissue  of  the  veins  or  by 
a  contraction  of  the  parenchyma :  in  the  former 
case  they  project  beyond  the  surface  or  margin 
of  the  leaf,  as  in  the  holly ;  in  the  latter  case  they 
are  the  veins  themselves  indurated,  as  in  the 
palmatpd  spines  of  llerberrU  vulgaris. 

SPLINT.  In  farriery,  a  hard  excrescence 
growing  on  the  shank-bones  of  horses.  Ii  ap- 
pears first  in  the  form  of  a  callous  tumour, 
and  afterwards  ossifies.  If  the  splint  interfere 
with  the  action  of  &cme  tendon  or  ligament,  the 
lOJO 


SPURGE-LAUREL. 

hair  should  be  removed,  a  little  strong  mercu- 
rial ointment  be  rubbed  in  for  two  days,  and 
then  an  active  blister  applied.  (Youatt  on  tht 
Horse,  p.  244.) 

SPRING  WHEAT.     See  Wheat. 

SPRUCE  PINE  (Pinus  Canadensis).  Hem- 
lock spruce.  A  tree  which  abounds  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  New  York, 
and  the  Eastern  States.    See  Fins. 

SPUD.  An  implement  used  advantageously 
in  cutting  up  weeds.  It  consists  of  a  chisel- 
formed  tool,  about  2  inches  wide  on  the  cutting 
edge,  inserted  into  a  handle  of  some  4  or  6  feet 
in  length ;  it  is  often  made  use  of  by  the  far- 
mer as  a  useful  substitute  for  the  walking-cane, 
affording  an  opportunity  of  destroying  weeds 
with  the  utmost  facility  whilst  walking  over 
his  grounds.  Every  farmer  ought  to  own  a 
spud. 

SPURGE  (Euphorbia;  Linnaeus  named  this 
genus  after  Euphorbus,  a  physician  to  Juba, 
King  of  Mauritania).  This  is  an  exceedingly 
variable  and  a  very  extensive  genus  of  plants, 
comprising  a  number  that  are  entirely  unworthy 
of  cultivation.  The  hardy  perennial  species 
thrive  in  any  common  garden  soil,  and  in- 
crease by  divisions  of  the  roots  or  by  seeds. 
The  hardy  annuals  and  biennials  merely  re- 
quire sowing  in  the  open  ground.  The  tender 
kinds  must  be  sown  in  the  hot-house  or  in  a 
hot-bed  frame,  and,  when  potted  off,  must  be 
set  with  other  tender  annuals  and  biennials. 
The  root  of  E.  ipecacuanha  is  said  to  be  equal 
to  that  of  the  true  ipecacuanha.  E.  anliquorunif 
E.  canariensis,  and  some  other  fleshy  species, 
produce  the  drug  "  euphorbium,"  which  is  the 
inspissated  milky  juice  of  such  plants.  There 
are  in  England  13  indigenous  species,  but  the 
only  one  necessary  to  be  noticed  is  the  lesser 
spurge  (E.  lathyris).  It  is  a  biennial,  flower- 
ing in  June  and  July.  The  stem  rises  from  a 
strong,  fibrous  root  to  the  height  of  3  to  4  feet, 
purplish,  smooth,  round,  hollow.  The  leaves 
opposite,  spreading,  in  fours,  sessile,  oblong, 
acute,  entire,  and  glaucous.  The  flowers  are 
in  a  terminal,  solitary  umbel,  consisting  of  4 
repeatedly  forked  branches,  furnished  with  cor- 
date, entire  bractes :  the  flowers  are  variegated 
with  yellow  and  dark  purple.  Capsules  are 
large  and  smooth,  and,  when  half-ripe,  ar« 
pickled  as  capers.  The  seeds,  when  pressed 
between  moderately  heated  iron  plates,  yield  a 
fixed,  acrid  oil,  which  might  be  advantageously 
substituted  for  castor  oil.    See  Mole  Tree. 

SPURGE-LAUREL  (Daphne  laureola.)  A 
British  evergreen  shrub,  growing  in  woods, 
thickets,  and  hedges,  flowering  in  March.  The 
stem  is  2  or  3  feet  high,  with  round,  pale, 
smooth,  brown,  upright,  tough,  and  pliant 
branches,  crowned  with  tufts  of  evergreen 
leaves,  elegantly  drooping  in  all  directions, 
and  about  2  or  3  inches  long,  on  short  foot- 
stalks. The  flowers  are  deep-green,  in  axillary 
clusters,  with  orange  anthers.  Their  scent,  re- 
sembling saffron,  with  an  overpowering  sweet- 
ness, is  perceptible  in  an  evening  only.  The 
berries,  which  are  oval  and  black,  are  poison- 
ous to  all  animals  except  birds.  Every  part 
of  the  plant  is  very  acrid,  producing,  like  the 
mezereon,  a  burning  heat  in  the  n>outh  and 
throat.    The  bark  of  its  root  is  commonly  us«i 


SPURGE,  OLIVE. 

instead  of  mezereon.  It  is  powerfully  excitant 
and  diaphoretic.  The  bark  of  the  stem,  soaked 
in  vinegar  and  beaten  out  flat,  forms  an  excel- 
lent a?ent  for  keeping  blisters  open. 

SPURGE,  OLIVE.    See  Mezekkon. 

SPL'RREY  (Spergula,  from  spargo,  to  scatter, 
because  it  expels  its  seeds.)  A  genus  of  herba- 
ceous, annual,  or  perennial  plants,  with  slen- 
der linear  leaves  and  white  flowers.  There  are 
in  England  four  indigenous  species,  the  most 
common  of  which  is  the  rough-seeded  corn 
spurrey  (S.  arvensis),  an  annual  plant,  which 
grows  in  sandy  corn-fields,  and  flowers  from 
June  to  August.  (See  PI.  9,  b.)  The  stems  are 
spreading,  lax,  6  inches  to  2  feet  long,  mode- 
rately branched,  jointed,  leafy,  angular,  and 
hairy  and  viscid  in  the  upper  part.  Leaves 
whorled,  linear,  narrow,  fleshy,  downy,  obtuse, 
with  short  stipules.  The  flowers  are  white, 
on  slender,  downy  flower-stalks.  The  rough- 
seeded  spurrey  is  a  common  weed  in  sandy 
soils,  and  is  in  Scotland  called  yarr,  and  in 
Norfoik  pick-purse.  It  is  devoured  with  avi- 
dity by  all  cattle,  and  appears  to  be  conducive 
lo  their  health,  while  it  remarkably  tends  to 
increase  the  milk  of  cows,  and  to  fatten  sheep. 
Hence  a  large,  smooth-seeded  variety  of  this 
weed  (S.  sativa)  is  industriously  cultivated  in 
Flanders,  because  it  is  so  far  superior  lo  other 
pasture  grasses  that  it  continues  green  till  a 
late  period  of  autumn,  and  often  throughout 
the  winter.  Its  seeds  afford  on  expression  a 
good  lamp  oil;  the  flour  obtained  from  them, 
when  mixed  with  that  of  wheat  or  rye,  pro- 
duces wholesome  bread,  for  which  purpose  it 
is  often  used  in  Norway  and  Gothland.  Poultry 
eat  spurrey  greedily,  and  it  is  supposed  to  make 
them  lay  a  great  number  of  eggs.  Whether 
given  as  hay,  or  cut  green,  or  in  pasture,  Von 
Thaer  observes  that  it  is  the  most  nourishing, 
in  proportion  to  its  bulk,  of  all  forage,  and 
gives  the  best  flavoured  milk  and  butler.  It 
has  been  recommended  lo  be  cultivated  in 
England,  but  it  is  not  likely  that  such  a  plant 
can  ever  pay  the  expense  of  seed  and  labour 
in  that  country,  even  on  the  poorest  soil;  or,  at 
all  events,  as  Professor  Martyn  observes,  we 
have  manv  better  plants  for  such  soils. 

SQUASH  (^Cuvurbita).  Of  this  plant  there 
are  many  varieties,  distinguished  by  peculiari- 
ties of  shapes,  colours,  &c.  The  young  fruit 
is  a  rich  and  excellent  vegetable  for  boiling, 
stewing,  or  baking.  The  common  round  kind 
(Cuairbita  mahrpcpo)  is  also  called  Cymbling 
(and  by  the  French  Bonnet  de  Prelre).  The 
warty  or  long  squash  (C.  verrucosa),  is  said  by 
Mr.  Nuttail  to  be  cultivated  by  the  Indians  of 
the  Missouri  to  its  source.  Mr.  Kenrick,  of 
boston,  notices  the  following  varieties  : 

1.  Early  orange ;  2.  Early  long  warted  ;  3. 
Early  scallop ;  4.  Acorn ;  5.  Canada  crook 
neck ;  6.  Long  yellow  crook  neck ;  7.  Commo- 
dore Porter's  Valparaiso;  8.  Autumnal  marrow; 
9.  Scarlet  summer. 

The  early  orange  is  a  new  summer  variety, 
very  early,  and  of  superior  quality.  The  Cana- 
da crook  neck  is,  without  doubt,  far  superior  to 
any  and  all  others,  for  the  late  or  niain  crop. 
It  is  fine-grained,  mealy,  and  of  a  sweet,  excel-  I 
lent  flavour.  By  being  kept  in  a  dry  and  suila-  I 
ble  temperature,  they  may  be  preserved  till  the  j 


SQUASH-BUG. 

following  summer.     Sow  in  April  or  May,  as 
soon  as  the  frosts  are  over,  and  the  earth  be- 
comes warm  ;  the  early  or  summer  varieties  in 
1  hills  6  feet  asunder ;  the  winter  varieties  in  hills 
1  8  feet  asunder,  and  4  plants  may  remain  in  a 
I  hill. 

]     Autumnal  marrow  squash  (Cucurbita  succado)^ 

introduced  to  notice  by  John  M.  Ives,  Esq.,  of 

Salem.     A  fine,  new  variety,  of  an  ovate  form, 

,  pointed;  the  skin  extremely  thin,  of  a  cream- 

1  colour;  the  flesh  orange;  the  grain  delicate, 

I  flavour    excellent ;    seeds   large,  pure    white. 

Average  weight,  8  pounds.     It  keeps  well  in 

winter. 

The  scarlet  summer  squash  is  a  new  and 
beautiful  flat  variety,  from  France,  of  the  acorn 
species,  of  a  fine  scarlet  colour. 

The  Valparaiso  squash,  the  seeds  of  which 
were  brought  from  the  Pacific  by  the  late  Com- 
modore Porter,  is  a  splendid  vegetable,  without 
any  neck,  in  shape  and  size  somewhat  resem- 
bling a  long  watermelon,  flattened,  and  of  a 
rich  citron  or  orange  colour.  Mr.  Comfort, 
of  Bucks  county,  near  Philadelphia,  has  raised 
some  weighing  100  lbs.,  which  have  been  greatly 
admired  at  agricultural  and  horticultural  exhi- 
bitions. This  vegetable  possesses  all  the  good 
qualities  of  the  common  kinds  of  pumpkin  and 
squash,  of  which  it  would  seem  to  be  a  hybrid 
variety,  very  superior  to  either.  Being  neither 
watery  or  stringy,  it  makes  a  delicious  pie,  far 
more  rich  and  delicate  than  that  of  the  ordi- 
nary pumpkin.  It  is  also  served  up  at  table 
with  meat,  like  the  common  squash,  either 
boiled,  or  baked  like  a  loaf  of  bread  or  sweet 
potato :  containing  a  large  amount  of  saccha- 
rine and  other  nutritious  properties,  they  are 
also  excellent  food  for  farm-stock,  especially 
milch  cows.  They  are  cultivated  like  other 
vegetables  of  the  same  family,  but  much  care 
must  be  observed  to  keep  them  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  other  varieties,  with  which  they 
have  a  strong  tendency  to  mix,  thus  leading  to 
depreciation.     They  keep  well  in  winter. 

SQUASH-BUG.  The  common  American 
squash-bug  (Coreus  tristis),  so  well  known  for 
the  injurious  effects  of  its  punctures  on  the 
leaves  of  squashes,  is  one  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble insects  belonging  to  the  natural  division, 
which  includes  bed-bugs,  fruit-bugs,  and  vari- 
ous other  fetid  bugs  (Hemiptera).  It  was  first 
described  by  De  Geer,  who  gave  it  the  specific 
name  of  tristis,  from  its  sober  colour,  which 
Gmelin  unwarrantably  changed  to  moesfus,  hav- 
ing, however,  the  same  meaning.  Fabricius 
called  it  Coreus  rugator,  the  latter  word  signify- 
ing one  who  wrinkles,  which  was  probably 
applied  to  this  insect,  because  i^s  punctures 
cause  the  leaves  of  the  squash  to  become 
wrinkled.  Mr.  Say,  not  being  aware  that  the 
insert  had  already  been  three  times  named  and 
described,  redescribed  it  under  the  name  of 
Coreus  ordinatus.  Of  these  four  names,  how 
ever,  that  of  tristis,  being  the  first,  is  the  only 
one  which  it  can  retain.  About  the  last  of 
October  squash-bugs  desert  the  plants  upon 
which  they  have  lived  during  the  summer,  and 
conceal  themselves  in  crevices  of  walls  and 
fences,  and  other  places  of  security,  where 
they  pass  the  winter  in  a  torpid  state.  On  the 
return  of  warm  weather,  they  issue  from 

1011 


SQUASH-BUG. 

winter-quarters,  and  when  the  vines  of  the 
squash  have  put  forth  a  few  rough  leaves,  the 
bags  meet  beneath  their  shelter,  pair,  and  im- 
Mediaiely  afterwards  begin  to  lay  their  eggs. 
This  usually  happens  about  the  last  of  June  or 
beginning  of  July,  at  which  time,  by  carefully 
examining  the  vines,  we  shall  find  the  insects 
on  the  ground  or  on  the  stents  of  the  vines, 
close  to  the  ground,  from  which  they  are  harHly 
lo  be  distin^oiished  on  account  of  their  dusky 
colour.  This  is  the  place  where  they  generally 
remain  during  the  daytime,  apparently  to  es- 
cape observation ;  but  at  night  they  leave  the 
groand,  get  beneath  the  leaves,  and  lay  their 
eggs  in  little  patches,  fastening  them  with  a 
gummy  substance  to  the  under-sides  of  the 
leaves.  The  eggs  are  round,  and  flattened  on 
two  aides,  and  are  soon  hatched.  The  young 
bogs  are  proportionally  shorter  and  more 
rounded  than  the  perfect  insects,  are  of  a  pale 
ash-colour,  and  have  quite  large  antennae,  the 
joints  of  which  are  somewhat  flattened.  As 
ihey  grow  older  and  increase  in  size,  after 
moulting  their  skins  a  few  times,  they  become 
more  oval  in  form,  and  the  under-side  of  their 
bodies  gradually  acquires  a  dull  ochre-yellow 
colour.  They  live  together  at  first  in  little 
swarms  or  families  beneath  the  leaves  upon 
which  they  were  hatched,  and  which,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  numerous  punctures  of  the  in- 
sects, and  the  quantity  of  sap  imbibed  by  them, 
•oon  wither,  and  eventually  become  brown,  dry, 
and  wrinkled ;  when  the  insects  leave  them  for 
fresh  leaves,  which  they  exhaust  in  the  same 
way.  .^s  the  eggs  are  not  all  laid  at  one  time, 
to  the  hugs  are  hatched  in  successive  broods, 
and  consequently  will  be  found  in  various 
stages  of  growth  through  the  summer.  They, 
however,  attain  their  full  size,  pass  through 
their  last  transformation,  and  appear  in  their 
perfect  state,  or  furnished  with  wing-covers  and 
wings,  during  the  months  of  September  and 
October.  In  this  last  state  the  squash-bug 
measures  six-tenths  of  an  inch  in  length.  It  is 
of  a  rusty  black  colour  above,  and  of  a  dirty 
ochre-yellpw  colour  beneath,  and  the  sharp 
lateral  edges  of  the  abdomen,  which  project 
beyond  the  closed  wing-covers,  are  spotted 
with  ochre-yellow.  When  handled,  and  still 
more  when  crushed,  the  latter  give  out  an 
odour  precisely  similar  to  that  of  an  over-ripe 
pear,  but  far  too  powerful  to  be  agreeable. 

In  order  to  prevent  the  ravages  of  these 
insects,  they  should  be  sought  and  killed  when 
they  are  about  to  lay  their  eggs ;  and  if  any 
escape  our  observation  at  this  time,  thoir  eggs 
may  be  easily  found  and  crushed.  With  this 
▼iew  the  squash-vines  must  be  visited  daily, 
during  the  early  part  of  their  growth,  and  must 
be  carefully  examined  for  the  bugs  and  their 
eggs.  A  ver}'  short  time  spent  in  this  way 
every  day,  in  the  proper  season,  will  save  a 
great  deal  of  vexation  and  disappointment 
afterwards.  If  this  precaution  be  neglected  or 
deferred  till  the  vines  have  begun  to  spread,  it 
will  be  exceedingly  diflicult  to  exterminate  the 
insects,  on  account  of  their  numbers;  and  if 
at  this  time  dry  weather  should  prevail,  the 
▼ines  will  suffer  so  much  from  the  bugs  and 
•brought  together,  as  to  produce  but  little  if  any 
♦tiuw  Whatever  contributes  to  h\  ing  forward 
1012 


STACK. 

the  plants  rapidly,  and  to  promote  the  vigour 
and  luxuriance  of  their  foliage,  renders  them 
less  liable  to  suflJer  by  the  exhausting  punctures 
of  the  young  bugs.  Water  drained  from  a  cow- 
yard,  and  similar  preparations,  have,  with  this 
intent,  been  applied  with  benefit. 

The  leaves  of  the  squash  are  also  preyed 
upon  by  another  insect  of  a  very  different  de- 
scription, namely,  the  Coccinella  borealis  (See 
PI.  16,  fig.  11).  Although  the  genus  of  insects 
to  which  this  belongs  destroys  Aphides,  there 
are,  as  Professor  Halderman,  of  Pennsylvania, 
observes,  a  few  exceptions,  among  which  is  the 
species  named,  which  may  be  found,  both  in 
the  larva  and  perfect  state,  eating  the  leaves 
of  the  squash. 

SQUAW-ROOT  {American  orobranche). 

SQUILL  (Scilla,  from  skylla,  to  injure,  the 
bulbs  being  poisonous).  An  extensive  genus 
of  interesting  bulbous  plants.  A  light  soil  is 
most  suitable  for  them  ;  and  they  are  readily 
increased  by  offsets  from  the  bulbs.  The 
leaves  are  radical,  linear.  The  flowers  in. 
clusters,  blue,  purplish,  or  white.  There  are 
four  indigenous  species,  the  vernal  squill  (-S. 
verna),  the  two-leaved  squill  (S.  bifolia),  the  au- 
tumnal squill  {S.  autumnalis),  and  the  harebell 
squill,  or  wild  hyacinth  (S.  nutans).  The  bulb 
of  the  wild  hyacinth  contains  much  mucilage, 
which  can  be  readily  separated  from  an  acrid 
principle  which  is  conjoined  with  it.  It  is  much 
employed  by  calico-printers. 

SQUITCH-GRASS.     See  Bent  and  Couch. 

ST.  JOHN'S  WORT.     See  John's  Wort. 

STACK.  Corn  in  the  sheaf,  piled  up  in  a 
circular  or  rectangular  figure,  brought  to  a 
point  or  ridge  at  the  top,  and  afterwards 
thatched  to  protect  it  from  the  influence  of  the 
weather,  and  more  especially  from  rains.  The 
term  is  also  sometimes  applied  to  hay  piled  up 
in  the  same  manner,  which,  however,  in  most 
places  is  called  a  rick.  The  foundation  of  a 
corn  stack  is  commonly  made  on  a  platform 
of  wood  or  iron,  raised  on  props  to  protect  it 
from  the  moisture  of  the  soil,  and  also  from 
rats  and  mice;  in  which  respect  stacks  of  corn 
differ  from  ricks  of  hay,  which  are  built  always 
on  the  ground.  It  is  of  great  advantage  to 
soak  the  props  in  corrosive  sublimate,  which 
not  only  preserves  the  wood,  but  also  destroys 
vermin.  Stacks  are  of  various  forms  and  di- 
mensions, according  to  circumstances  ;  but  for 
grain  those  of  a  long,  narrow,  square  shape 
are  probably  the  most  advantageous,  where  the 
quantity  of  corn  is  considerable;  as  they  are 
found  to  stand  more  firmly,  have  a  better  ap- 
pearance, are  more  conveniently  and  readily 
built,  and  preserve  the  grain  better  than  those 
of  any  other  form.  And  they  have  the  great 
advantage  of  requiring  less  thatch  as  well  as 
labour  in  putti.ig  it  upon  them  than  the  round 
stack.  But  where  the  corn  is  only  in  a  small 
proportion,  the  round  or  oblong  shape  may  be 
more  proper  and  suitable,  as  being  more  readily 
drawn  up  in  the  roof;  but  the  circular,  with  a 
conical  top  and  cylindrical  body  diverging  a 
little  at  the  eaves,  is  esteemed  the  best  form  by 
some.  For  hay,  the  form  of  the  rick  or  stack 
is  a  matter  of  still  less  consequence ;  the  long 
square  or  oblong  shapes  are  perhaps  the  most 
safe  and  convenient,  especially  when  not  too 


STAG. 


STEAM. 


broad,  as  they  admit  the  air  most  fully,  and  are 
besides  the  most  convenient  to  cut  from  in 
trussing;  hay  for  sale  at  the  market. 

STAG.  A  term  applied  provincially  in  Eng- 
land to  a  young  horse.  Also  to  the  male  of  the 
deer  kind.     See  Deeu. 

STAGGER- BUSH  (Jndromeda  MaHana). 
This  American  plant  grows  in  the  Middle 
States,  with  a  stem  2  to  3  and  4  feet  high.  It 
is  very  abundant  in  New  Jersey,  where  the 
farmers  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  destructive  to 
sheep,  when  eaten  by  them,  producing  a  disease 
called  the  staggers. 

STAGGERS.     See  Apoplexy. 

STALL-FEEDING.  The  process  of  fatten- 
ing cattle  in  the  stall.  The  best  practice  in 
this  mode  of  fattening  is  probably  that  of 
wholly  confining  them  to  the  stalls,  as  by  this 
means  they  are  kept  quiet,  and  free  from  inter- 
ruption, and  of  course  feed  more  quickly  and 
with  greater  regularity,  which  seem  to  be 
points  of  great  importance  in  this  system  of 
management.  There  are,  however,  many  other 
methods  adopted  in  different  situations  and  cir- 
cumstances. 

In  regard  to  the  sorts  of  food  that  may  be  em- 
ployed in  the  way  of  winter-fattening  animals, 
they  are  very  numerous,  but  the  principal  suc- 
culent kinds  are  carrots,  parsnips,  potatoes, 
Swedish  turnips,  cabbages,  common  turnips, 
grains,  &c.;  and  of  the  more  dry  sorts,  oil-cake, 
oats,  barley-meal,  rye-flour,  bean  and  pea-meal, 
and  others  of  the  same  nature,  with  different 
kinds  of  straw  cut  into  chaff  by  means  of  ma- 
chinery, or  hay  cut  in  the  same  manner.  It  is 
usual  with  some  to  employ  the  different  meals 
in  a  siate  of  mixture  in  nearly  equal  propor- 
tions, except  bean-meal,  which,  from  its  heat- 
ing quality,  is  mostly  made  use  of  in  smaller 
quantities.  But  on  the  principle  of  fresh  kinds 
of  food  having  a  more  powerful  effect  on  the 
systems  of  animals  when  first  applied,  it  may 
be  more  beneficial  to  have  them  given  in  alter- 
nation, or  at  distant  intervals,  as  their  effects 
may  in  this  way  be  more  fully  experienced. 

In  respect  to  the  cut  straw  and  hay  that  is 
made  use  of  in  this  wav,  the  first  should  be 
prepared  from  that  which  is  fresh  thrashed  out. 
The  hay,  instead  of  being  of  the  inferior  kind, 
should  be  the  best  that  the  farm  affords,  and 
such  as  is  not  in  the  least  injured  m  the  smell 
or  taste  by  keeping.  The  more  inferior  kinds 
of  hay  have,  however,  by  the  addition  of  a 
very  small  proportion  of  common  salt,  been 
made  to  be  preferred  to  the  best  when  not  pre- 
pared in  that  way.  See  Cattle,  Folding,  Food, 
SoiLiyo,  and  Ventilation. 

STANDARDS.  The  young  trees  reserved 
at  the  felling  of  woods,  for  the  growth  of  tim- 
ber. It  also  signifies  such  fruit  trees  as  are 
intended  to  grow  in  an  open  exposure,  and  not 
to  be  hacked  and  mangled  with  the  knife,  as 
the  dwarf  trees  and  those  planted  against 
walls  are. 

STARR,  or  BENT.     See  Akundo  and  Elt- 

MCS. 

STARCH  (Germ,  stdrke).  One  of  the  com- 
mon proximate  principles  of  vegetables.  It  is 
characterized  by  its  insipidity,  and  by  insolu- 
bility in  cold  water,  in  alcohol,  and  in  ether. 
The  term  "  starch"  is  commercially  applied  lo 


that  obtained  from  wheat,  which  for  this  manu- 
facture is  ground  and  diffused  through  vats  of 
water,  where  it  remains  two  or  more  weeks,  and 
undergoes  a  slight  fermentation,  and  acquires 
a  peculiar  sour  smell.  The  sour  liquor  is 
drawn  off,  and  the  precipitate  washed  in  sieves, 
through  which  the  impure  starch  passes  with 
the  water.  It  is  afterwards  passed  through 
other  waters,  drained  through  boxes  lined  with 
linen  or  canvass,  and  ultimately  stove-dried  in 
paper.  When  drying,  it  cracks  into  the  pris- 
matic pieces,  resembling  miniature  basalt, 
which  is  its  usual  form.  Starch  may  be  ob- 
tained from  many  other  grains,  and  from  pota- 
toes and  several  esculent  vegetables.  Arrow- 
root is  the  starch  of  the  Maranta  arundinacea ; 
British  arrowroot  that  of  the  root  of  Jlrum  mncu- 
latum;  sago,  of  the  Sagus  faranifera,  an  East 
Indian  palm  tree ;  and  tapioca  and  cassava,  of 
the  Jatropha  manihot.  In  the  process  of  germi- 
nation, and  by  various  chemical  agents,  starch 
may  be  converted  into  a  species  of  gum  and 
sugar.  Pure  starch  is  white,  tasteless,  and 
inodorous.  It  consists  of  two  distinct  sub- 
stances, that  are  readily  recognised  under  a 
good  magnifying  lens,  namely,  a  membrane 
called  amylin,  and  a  gummy  semifluid  matter 
named  amiolin ;  the  one  the  husk,  the  other  the 
contents  of  the  granules.  In  cold  water,  unless 
triturated  in  a  mortar,  the  grains  do  not  burst, 
but  remain  entire  and  insoluble  ;  but  in  boiling' 
water  they  burst  and  form  a  mucilage.  Starch 
is  a  compound  of  42-8  parts  of  carbon,  6*35  of 
hydrogen,  and  50-85  of  oxygen  in  100  parts. 
Starch  is  much  less  nutritious  than  wheat 
flour,  or  the  farina  of  any  grain  which  con- 
tains gluten  ;  and  on  this  account  the  starch  of 
arrowroot,  sago,  dec,  is  used  as  a  diet  for  the 
sick.  Starch  is  detected  from  other  mucilages 
by  forming  a  blue  colour  with  iodine,  vvhen  the 
mucilage  is  cold.  Starch  in  England  is  charged 
with  a  duty  of  S^^/.per  lb.,  and  its  manufacture 
is  consequently  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
excise. 

STAR  OF  BETHLEHEM.  See  Bethle- 
hem, Star  of. 

STAR-THISTLE.  A  name  applied  to  some 
species  of  Centaurea,  viz.  Jersey  star-thistle  (C. 
isnnrdi),  the  common  star-thistle  (C  calcitrapd)^ 
and  the  yellow  star-thistle,  or  St.  Barnaby's 
thistle  (C.  solstitialis).  The  first  is  a  perennial 
weed,  the  others  are  annuals.  See  Blue-Bot- 
tle, KSTAPWEED,  &c. 

STARWORT  {Aster,  a  star;  whence  also 
the  common  name,  the  flowers  resembling  little 
stars  from  the  rays  of  their  circumference). 
Many  species  of  this  extensive  genus  are 
stately  and  handsome  plants.  The  swellings 
or  galls  as  large  as  a  walnut,  so  often  found 
on  the  stems  of  some  American  species  of 
starwort,  or  aster,  are  caused  by  the  punctures 
of  a  fly. 

STARWORT,  THE  WATER  (Callitriche  , 
named  by  Pliny  from  kalos,  beautiful,  and  thrix, 
hair).  Annual  aquatic  plants,  which  grow  in 
ditches,  ponds,  and  lakes. 

STEAM.  Water  converted  into  an  elastic 
fluid  by  the  application  of  heat.  It  would  be 
foreign  to  our  subject  to  go  into  any  detail  o' 
the  various  mechanical  uses  and  improve 
ments  to  which  steam  has  been  applied  with 
4q2  1013 


STEAMING  FOOD. 

•o  much  siiccess.  Latterly,  however,  a  spirit 
of  inquiry  has  led  to  an  investigation  into  the 
application  of  steam  to  purposes  of  husbandry, 
•uch  as  engines  for  ploughing,  draining,  &c.; 
asil.  though  there  are  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
their  successful  operation,  there  is  little  doubt 
that  eventually  the  spirit  of  research  and  im- 
provement will  overcome  these  difficulties,  and 
create  a  singular  revolution  in  the  pracliral 
operaiions  of  agriculture,  whereby  a  vast 
MDOonl  of  animal  power  will  be  saved,  and  an 
iaerwsed  impetus  be  given  to  production.  A 
MTiM  of  very  able  papers  on  this  subject  ap- 
peared a  few  years  ago  in  the  Quart,  Joum,  of 
Jitr.  vols.  Vn  vi.,  vii. 

»TEAMINO  FOOD.  The  advantages  to  be 
derived  from  boiling  or  preparing  the  food  of 
lire-stock  are  now  very  generally  understood 
and  appreciated ;  although  it  is  still  a  question 
whether  it  always  compensates  for  the  extra 
labour  and  time  consumed.  We  have  already 
gone  into  this  subject  under  the  head  Foon,  and 
merely  revert  to  it  now  to  call  attention  to 
some  articles  describing  apparatuses  for  steam- 
ing food,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Quart. 
Jimnu  of  Jgr.  in  vols,  iv — vi.  Steaming  is 
also  popularly  treated  of  and  explained  in  the 
first  volomc  of  Brit.  Husb.  p.  129,  and  has  been 
frequently  discussed  in  American  periodicals. 

8TEARINE  (Or.).  That  part  of  oils  and 
fats  which  is  solid  at  common  temperatures. 
Both  in  fats  and  in  fixed  oils  it  is  associated 
with  a  fluid  principle,  which  cannot  be  ren- 
dered solid  at  the  lowest  known  temperatures. 
Sieahne  is  only  found  in  animal  fats;  or,  at 
least*  is  rarely  present  in  those  of  a  vegetable 
origin.    See  Fat. 

STEELYARD.  A  well-known  balance,  by 
which  the  weights  of  bodies  are  determined  by 
means  of  a  single  standard  weight. 

STEEN  KROUT  (Lithospermum arvense). 
Stone  Seed,  Wheat  Thief.    See  Reo  Weed. 

STEEPING.    See  Briniko  of  Grain  and 

8»IT. 

STEPPES  (Russ).  The  name  given  to  the 
▼ast  extent  of  plains  peculiar  to  Asia;  synony- 
mous with  the  prairies  of  North  America,  and 
the  llanos  of  South  America.  The  steppes  of 
Russia  are  not  unlike  the  heaths  of  Germany ; 
being  in  part  susceptible  of  cultivation,  and 
affording  pasturage  for  numerous  herds  belong- 
ing lonomadic  tribes. 

STITCH  WORT  (SteUaria,  from  Stella,  a 
Hot:  the  flowers  are  star-like).  A  genus  of 
herbaceous  plants  which  are  mere  weeds. 
Some  are  annual,  the  others   are  perennial. 

BwCniCKWBED. 

STIGMA.  In  botany,  the  upper  extremity 
of  the  style  without  a  cuticle,  in  consequence 
of  which  it  has  almost  uniformly  a  humid  and 
papillose  surface.  It  is  the  part  upon  which 
the  pollen  falls,  and  where  it  is  stimulated  into 
the  production  of  the  pollen  tubes,  which  are 
indispensable  to  the  act  of  impregnation. 

STILES,  A  well-known  contrivance  for  the 
admission  of  foot-passengers,  without  permit- 
ting the  stock  of  the  enclosures  to  escape. 
Stiles  arc  made  in  very  different  forms  and 
manners  in  diFerent  districts,  according  to  the 
materials,  situations,  and  ourposes  for  which 
*b*v  arc  intended 


STRAINS. 

STINGERS  and  PIERCERS.  A  class  of 
insects  embracing  bees,  wa«;ps,  ants,  saw-flies, 
ichneumon-flies,  &c. 

STIPULES.  In  botany,  small  scales  or  ap- 
pendages situated  on  each  side  at  the  base  of 
the  petioles  or  leaf-stalks,  most  commonly  of  a 
less  firm  texture  than  the  latter,  and  having  a 
subulate  termination. 

STOCK-NUT.     See  Hazel. 

STOLONIFEROUS.  Bearing  runners 
which  root  at  the  joints. 

STOMATA.  In  botany,  orifices  through  the 
epidermis  of  plants,  chiefly  of  the  leaves,  hav- 
ing the  appearance  of  an  areola,  in  the  centre 
of  which  is  a  slit  of  various  form  and  size, 
that  opens  or  closes,  according  to  circum- 
stances, and  lies  over  a  cavity  in  the  subjacent 
tissue.  They  are  universally  regarded  as  spi- 
racles, or  breathing  pores.  In  leaves  of  trees 
and  plants  exposed  to  the  air  they  usually  oc- 
cupy the  under  disk;  on  those  that  lie  upon 
the  surface  of  water,  the  upper  disk. 

STONE.  An  English  common  weight  esti- 
mated at  14  lbs. 

STONECROP  (Sedum).  A  genus  of  herbs, 
with  alternate,  very  succulent,  either  flat,  cy- 
lindrical, or  tumid  leaves.  Root  mostly  peren- 
nial. Flowers  yellow,  white,  or  reddish,  usu- 
ally cymose,  rarely  axillary.  There  are,  in 
England,  ten  indigenous  species,  which  inhabit, 
for  the  most  part,  old  walls,  roofs,  and  dry 
sandy  ground.     See  House-Leek  and  Orpine. 

S'J'ONE-PARSLEY  (Mhamanta),  These 
are  chiefly  weeds. 

STONE  PINE.     See  Fins. 

STONE  WEED  (Field  Lithospermum).  See 
Red-Root. 

STOOKING.  The  Scotch  term  for  setting 
up  sheaves  of  corn  in  stocks  or  shocks.  The 
operation  is  performed  soon  after  the  corn  is 
cut,  it  being  previously  tied  into  bunches  or 
sheaves. 

STOOL.  The  root  of  a  timber  tree,  which 
throws  up  shoots.  Coppice  wood  consists 
chiefly  of  the  shoots  sent  up  by  the  roots  of 
stools,  or  trees  or  shrubs  which  have  been  cut 
over  by  the  surface.  In  general,  all  dicotyle- 
donous trees  are  endowed  by  nature  with  the 
property  of  sending  up  shoots  from  the  stumps 
or  stools ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  with  most  of 
the  gymnosperms  or  coniferous  trees.  A  wood 
of  pines  or  firs,  therefore,  when  once  cut  down, 
can  never  be  renewed,  except  by  seeds.  It  is 
a  curious  fact  that  the  shoot,  however  large  the 
stool  may  be,  can  be  traced  to  the  pith,  and 
therefore  appears  to  have  been  originally  a 
shoot  of  the  first  year's  growth  of  the  plant. 
That  its  growth  has  been  impeded  is  evident; 
but  when  the  tree  is  cut  down,  and  the  whole 
sap  is  thrown  into  a  small  space,  the  latent,  yet 
vital  gum  is  stimulated,  and  a  twig  thence  pro- 
duced. 

STORK'S-BILL  {Erodium,  from  erodios,  a 
heron ;  the  carpels  resemble  the  liead  and 
beak  of  that  bird).  This  is  an  extensive  genus 
ofplants  of  considerable  beauty:  they  thrive  well 
in  any  common  soil  with  the  usual  treatment. 

STRAINS.  In  farriery,  accidental  injuries 
arising  from  over-distension  of  the  muscles  or 
tendons,  in  consequence  of  which  the  animals 
suffer  great  pain,  and  are  generally  lamed. 


STRANGLEa 


STRENGTH. 


STRANGLES.  In  farriery,  a  disease  which 
is  principally  incident  to  young  horses  ;  usually 
appearing  between  the  fourth  and  fifth  year, 
and  oftener  in  the  spring  than  at  any  other  sea- 
son. It  is  preceded  by  cough,  and  is  a  disease 
to  which  all  horses  are  subject,  but  it  never 
returns.  A  blister  will  be  found  ihe  best  appli- 
cation to  hasten  the  formation  and  suppuration  of 
the  tumour  under  the  jaw,  which,  from  its  situa- 
tion, has  probably  given  the  name  to  this  disease. 

STRATH,  in  Scotland,  is  generally  under- 
stood to  signify  a  valley  of  considerable  size, 
whose  appellation  is  determined  by  some  river 
running  through  it,  or  some  particular  charac- 
teristic. 

STRATUM.  When  different  rocks  lie  in 
succession  upon  each  other,  each  individual 
forms  a  stratum.     See  Geoloot. 

STRAW.  The  stalks  or  culms  on  which 
corn  and  other  grasses  grow,  and  from  which  j 
the  grain  has  been  separated  by  thrashing. 
When  chopped  or  cut  small,  it  affords  a  whole- 
some provender  for  horses  and  oxen,  especially 
if  it  be  mixed  with  green  food.  (See  Chaff 
and  Chaff  Exrixes.)  When  not  allowed  to 
be  carried  off  the  premises,  the  chief  value  of 
while  straw  for  farm  purposes  lies  in  its  con- 
version into  manure;  for  although  it  may  carry 
store  cattle  through  the  winter,  it  will  neither 
fatten  them  nor  enable  any  animal  to  work; 
and  its  intrinsic  worth  for  the  uses  of  litter  and 
of  occasional  feeding  has  been  estimated  by 
experienced  farmers  in  England  at  20s.  to  30». 
the  ton.    See  Haulh. 

STR.\WBERRY  {Fragaria,  from  fragrans, 
fragrant;  the  perfumed  fruit  of  the  strawberry 
is  well  known).  The  strawberry  is  our  ear- 
liest fruit,  and  as  the  harbinger  of  the  fructus 
hf»(ei,  its  appearance  is  as  welcome  as  its  fla- 
vour agreeable.  The  cultivation  and  propaga- 
tion of  this  plant  is  so  familiar  to  every  one,  as 
are  the  wholesomeness  and  deliciousness  of 
the  fruit,  that  neither  need  be  particularized 
here.  Three  species  of  strawberry  found  wild 
in  the  United  States  are  enumerated  by  Mr. 
Nuttall :  1.  F.  vesca,  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  near 
Lake  Erie.  2.  F.  Virginiana,  3.  F.  Canadensis, 
both  common  in  the  Southern,  Middle,  and 
Northern  States.  The  species  indigenous  to 
Britain  are  two,  the  wood  strawberry  (F.  vesca), 
and  the  hautbois  strawberry  {F.  elatior).  The 
covering  of  strawberry  plants  with  sea-weed 
in  the  winter  has  been  found  to  increase  the 
size  of  the  fruit  to  a  prodigious  degree.  This 
is  much  practised  in  the  island  of  Jersey. 

STRAWBERRY- LEAVED  CINQUEFOIL. 
See  CiNarEFoiL. 

STRAW-CUTTER.    See  CHAFF-EifGiivE. 

STRAW-YARD.  The  yard  into  which  straw 
is  thrown  in  thrashing.  Also  the  enclosure  in 
which  cattle  are  confined  in  winter,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  being  foddered  on  straw.  There  ought 
to  be  open  sheds  for  shelter  in  the  straw-yard ; 
for  though  pure  air  is  essential  to  the  health  of 
store  and  working  cattle,  cold  winds  and  rain 
are  highly  injurious  to  them.  The  great  use 
of  a  straw-yard  is  for  the  accumulation  of  ma- 
nure, which  cannot  b"?  rich  unless  the  cattle 
get  some  food  besides  straw  to  support  them. 

STREET  DUNG.  The  mixture  of  animal 
and  vegetable  matters,  comminuted  •particles. 


&c.,  swept  up  from  the  streets  of  large  towns, 
which  is  found  to  be  an  excellent  fertilizer;  it 
is  composed  of  a  mixture  of  horse  dung, 
debris  of  the  paving  stones,  soot,  lime,  and  me- 
tallic particles. 

STRENGTH,  in  mechanics,  is  used  in  the 
same  sense  as  force  or  power.  Thus,  strength 
of  animals  is  the  muscular  force  or  energy 
which  animals  are  capable  of  exerting; 
strength  of  materials  is  the  resistance  which 
bodies  oppose  to  a  force  acting  upon  them.  It 
is  obviously  a  matter  of  much  importance  to 
be  able  to  estimate  with  tolerable  accuracy  the 
efforts  which  an  animal  of  the  average  strength 
employed  in  labour  is  capable  of  exerting,  and, 
accordingly,  very  numerous  observations  have 
been  made  on  the  subject;  but  this  species 
of  force  is  subject  to  variation  from  so  great  a 
number  of  circumstances,  both  physical  and 
mechanical,  that  the  results  given  by  different 
authors  present  very  little  agreement  with  each 
other,  though  they  are  of  great  value  as  afford- 
ing data  for  determining  the  modes  in  which  ani- 
mal labour  is  most  advantageously  employed. 

Of  all  animals  employed  as  first  movers,  the 
horse  is,  beyond  question,  the  most  useful,  and 
that  whose  labour  is  susceptible  of  the  most 
numerous  and  varied  applications.  For  the 
purpose  of  determining  his  muscular  power, 
the  dynamometer  may  be  conveniently  used; 
but,  as  the  action  of  the  animal  is  very  quickly 
reduced  by  continued  exertion,  it  is  more  usual 
to  estimate  it  according  16  the  amount  of  daily 
labour  performed.  Desaguliers  and  Smeaton 
estimate  the  strength  of  a  horse  as  equivalent  to 
that  of  6  men ;  the  French  authors  have  com- 
monly slated  it  as  equal  to  7  men  ;  and  Schulze 
makes  it  equal  to  that  of  14  men  in  drawing  ho- 
rizontally. According  to  Desaguliers,  a  horse's 
power  is  equal  to  44  lbs.  raised  1  foot  high  in  1 
minute.  Smeaton  makes  this  number  22-916, 
Hachett  28,  and  Walt  33.  The  last  estimate 
is  commonly  understood  by  the  term  horse- 
poxcer  as  applied  to  steam-engines.  The  quan- 
tity of  action  which  a  horse  can  exert  dimin- 
ishes as  the  duration  of  the  labour  is  prolonged. 
Tredgold  gives  the  following  table,  showing  the 
average  maximum  velocity  with  which  a  horse 
unloaded  can  travel  according  to  the  number 
of  hours  per  day : — 


Time  of 

March  in 

Hour.. 

Greatest  Velocity 
per  Hour  in  Miles. 

Time  of 

M^rch  in 

Hours. 

Greatest  Velocity 
per  Hour  in  Miles. 

1 

s 

3 
4 
5 

14-7 
10-4 
8-5 
73 
6-6 

6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

60 
55 
5-2 

4-9 
4-6 

The  useful  effect  a  horse  is  capable  of  pro. 
ducing,  depends  much  upon  the  manner  ia 
which  his  strength  is  applied.  See  CARTt, 
Dtitamometer,  Horsk-Powek,  Thrashing  Ma- 
chine. 

Strength  of  Materials. — There  are  four  differ- 
ent ways  in  which  the  strength  of  a  solid  body 
may  be  exerted:  first,  in  resisting  a  longitu- 
dinal tension,  or  force  tending  to  tear  it  asuu 
der;  secondly,  in  resisting  a  force  tending  to 
break  the  body  by  a  transverse  strain ;  thirdly 
in  resisting  compression,  or  a  force  tending  to 
crush  the  body;  and,  fourthly,  in  resisting  a 

1015 


STUBBLE. 


force  tending  lo  wrench  it  asunder  by  torsion 
Mr.  HiKigkinson  gives  the  following  results  of 
bis  experiments  on  the  resistance  of  a  crush- 
ing force  of  short  pillars  of  some  of  the  most 
common  descriptions  of  wood,  the  force  being 
applied  in  the  direction  of  the  fibres. 


Owr«ptetrw«^ 

mntfO^pmrt^lnth    j 

{.r  :  ?  :   :   : 

K*:    :    :    :    : 

BMlbli  birch        -       -       - 

RMld«ti      -       -       -       - 
WbltadttI  .       -       -       - 

eider 

Mm 

Plr(«pruc«)-       -       -       - 
ll«hof»ny    -       -       -       - 
0*k  (Qutb«s)      -       -       - 
0«k(Kn(liiili)      -       -       - 
PlB«(pltrh)          -        -        - 
PiM  (red)    .        -        -        - 

r..pi«r 

Plom  (dry)  .       -       -       - 

T^k 

W«liiut        .       -        -        - 
Willow         .        -        -        - 

6831  to  6960 
8683  9363 
7518  7518 
7733  9363 
3997  6402 
5674  5863 
5748  6686 
6781  7993 
7451        9973 

10331 
6499  6819 
8198  8198 
4231  5989 
6484  10058 
6790  6790 
5395  7518 
3107  5124 
8241       10493 

12101 
6063  7227 
2898        6128 

^P^..  : '.  n^rf,  of  Science;  Barlow* t  Treatise  on 
fit.  '  Timber.) 

>  :  t ;.    The  root  ends  of  the  culms  of 

com  Icli  in  the  field,  standing  as  they  grew, 
after  the  corn  has  been  reaped  by  the  sickle  or 
■cytbe.  In  some  parts  of  England  only  a  small 
portion  of  the  straw  is  cut  off  with  the  ears  of 
com,  and  the  stubble  in  that  case  is  a  foot  or  18 
inches  in  length ;  but  in  others  the  corn  is  cut 
MS  close  to  the  surface  as  possible,  in  which 
MM  the  stubble  is  quite  short.  In  general, 
long  stubble  is  a  symptom  of  bad  farming,  be- 
cause a  quantity  of  straw  is  in  this  case  left  to 
waste  in  the  field,  which  might  have  been  car- 
ried home  and  rotted  into  manure. 

STYLE.  In  botany>  is  that  elongation  of  the 
orariam  which  supports  the  stigma.  It  is  an 
extension  of  the  midrib  of  the  carpellary  leaf, 
or  is  formed  by  the  rolling  up  of  the  attenuated 
extremity  of  the  latter. 

8UB80IL.PL0UGH  (PI.  17,0,  g).  See 
Plodsh  and  Subroil-Plouohixg. 

SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING.  In  farming,  the 
operation  of  breaking  the  substratum  by  means 
of  a  plough  constructed  especially  for  that  pur- 
pose. C(»nsiderable  discussion  has  taken  place 
with  regard  to  the  advantages  of  subsoil-plough- 
ing; adifferenceof  opinion  which  appears  tohave 


SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 

time,  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere,  and  per- 
haps by  a  partial  mixture  with  the  surface- 
mould,  rendered  sufficiently  friable  and  fertile. 
It  is  of  necessity  a  consequence  of  this  subsoil- 
ploughing,  that  the  permanent  drains  of  all 
lands  thus  cultivated  must  be  constructed  rather 
deeper  in  the  soil  than  is  usual  with  farmers ; 
the  top  of  those  at  Deanston  are  placed  at  a 
depth  of  22  inches  from  the  surface,  so  as  to 
be  completely  out  of  the  way  of  the  subsoil 
which  the  plough  has  turned  over. 

As  the  description  of  this  valuable  plough 
cannot  be  too  generally  circulated,  I  will  here 
introduce  it  in  Mr.  Smith's  own  words  : — 

"The  subsoil-plough  has  been  constructed  on 
principles  appearing  the  best  fitted  to  break  up 
the  subsoil  completely  to  a  depth  sufficient  for 
thorough  cultivation,  say  14  to  16  inches,  whilst 
the  active  soil  is  still  retained  on  the  surface; 
to  be  of  the  easiest  possible  draught  in  refer- 
ence to  the  depth  of  furrow  and  firmness  of  the 
subsoil ;  to  have  strength  and  massive  weight 
sufficient  to  penetrate  the  hardest  stratum;  to 
resist  the  shocks  from  fast  stones,  and  to  throw 
out  all  stones  under  200  lbs.  in  weight.  All 
this  has  been  accomplished  and  practically 
proved  at  Deanston,  over  an  extent  of  at  least 
200  acres  of  various  soils;  and  also  in  various 
parts  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  during 
several  seasons.  The  plough  requires  4  good 
horses,  an  active  ploughman,  and  a  lad  to 
drive  the  horses  and  manage  them  at  the  turn- 
ings. Six  horses,  yoked  three  and  three  abreast, 
may  be  necessary  in  some  verj'  stiff  or  stony 
soils.  A  common  plough,  drawn  by  two  horses, 
goes  before  the  subsoil-plough,  throwing  out  a 
large  open  furrow  of  the  active  soil ;  the  sub- 
soil-plough following,  slits  up  thoroughly  and 
breaks  the  subsoil,  and  the  next  furrow  of 
active  soil  is  thrown  over  the  last  opened  fur- 
row of  the  subsoil;  the  stones  brought  to  the 
surface  by  the  subsoil-plough  being  thrown 
aside  on  the  ploughed  part  of  the  land  by  a  lad: 
thus  the  work  proceeds  until  the  whole  field  is 
gone  over.  The  lad  should  carry  a  bag  of 
wooden  pins,  that  he  may  mark  the  site  of  the 
large  fast  stones  which  the  plough  cannot  throw 
out,  and  which  must  afterwards  be  dug  out 
with  the  pick,  and  perhaps  blasted. 

"  The  charge  of  subsoil-ploughing  a  Scotch 
acre  may  be  estimated  at  24s.  or  30s.  per  statute 
acre,  being  one-fifth  of  what  a  similar  depth 
with  the  spade  would  cost,  and,  upon  the  whole, 
as  effectually  done.  When  land  which  has 
been  opened  up  by  the  subsoil-plough  shaU 


been  principally  caused  by  an  inattention  to  the 

cheinicale(rectsproducedbythesubsoil,orDean-  j  have  undergone  the  first  rotation  of  cropping 
sionizingsystemof  tillage,  so  named  from  being  several  inches  of  the  subsoil  may  be  taken  up 
first  employed,  or  at  least  first  brought  into  gene-    by  the  plough  to  mix  wMth  the  active  soil ;  and 


ral  notice,  by  Mr.  Smith,  of  Deanston,  in  Stirling 
shiR\  when  he  was  examined,  in  1836,  before 
the  Agricultural  Committee  of  the  House  of 


in  proportion  as  the  subsoil  is  ameliorated,  so 
may  the  greater  depth  be  taken  up  with  advan- 
tage.    In  the  richer  subsoils  it  is  sometimes 


Commons.  By  this  system,  by  means  of  a  sub-  |  expedient  to  plough  to  the  whole  depth  of  the 
soil  plough,  of  which  there  are  several  kinds,  '  moved  subsoil  on  the  first  application  of  the 
the  subsoil,  or  under  crust  of  earth,  is  merely  trench-plough.  The  trench-plough  recommend- 
broken  and  pulverized,  say  to  the  depth  of  from  ed  for  this  process  should  be  made  in  the  form 
Uio20  inches,  without  being  brought  to  the  of  Wilkie's  plough,  having  all  its  dimensions 
surface,  or  mixed  with  the  upper  soil;  after  a  made  of  double  size;  or,  what  is  found  to  an- 
'apseof  4  or  5  years,  a  portion  of  the  previously  swer  fully  as  well,  bv  a  plough  in  the  fashion 
disturbed  substratum  is  found,  by  experience,  of  the  old  Scotch  plough,  but  also  of  double 
in  a  .state  to  be  advantageously  (by  deep  plough-  dimensiouo.  Such  ploughs  require  six  horses, 
•ngl  brough*  to  the  surface;  it  being  in  this    yoked  three  and  three  abreast,  with  one  man  to 


SUBSOIL-PLO  JGHING. 


SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 


hold  the  plough,  and  another  to  manage  the 
horses,  to  do  the  work  effectually.  This  ope- 
ration should  be  performed  in  turning  over  the 
winter  farrow  preparatory  to  a  green  crop,  and 
the  sooner  the  work  is  performed  after  harvest 
the  better.  In  estimating  the  expense  of  this 
operation,  the  horses  may  be  charged  at  4s.  each, 
to  cover  all  expenses,  tear  and  wear,  &c., 
which  will  amount  to  24s.;  two  men,  2s.=4s.; 
and  an  attendant  lad  to  pick  out  stones.  Is. ; 
in  all  29s.  As  the  work  is  heavy,  the  motion 
of  the  horses  is  necessarily  slow,  and  it  will, 
in  general,  take  8  hours'  working  to  accom- 
plish one  statute  acre.  The  expense  of  this 
operation  may  appear  alarming;  but  when  it 
is  considered  that  one  such  ploughing  will  be 
more  effectual  in  killing  weeds,  and  in  expos- 
ing the  soil  to  the  air,  than  two  ordinary  plough- 
ings,  we  may  deduct  the  cost  of  two  such=20»., 
leaving  9s.  to  be  charged  against  the  deep 
working. 

"  When  land  has  been  thoroughly  drained, 
deeply  wrought,  and  well  manured,  the  most 
unpromising  sterile  soil  becomes  a  deep,  rich 
loam,  rivalling  in  fertility  the  best  natural  land 
of  the  country;  and  from  being  fitted  for  rais- 
ing only  scanty  crops  of  common  oats,  will 
bear  good  crops  of  from  32  to  48  bushels  of 
wheat,  30  to  40  bushels  of  beans,  40  to  60 
bushels  of  barley,  and  from  48  to  70  bushels 
of  early  oats  per  statute  acre;  besides  potatoes, 
turnips,  mangel-wurzel,  and  carrots  as  green 
crops,  which  all  good  agriculturists  know  are 
the  abundant  producers  of  the  best  manure. 
It  is  hardly  possible  to  estimate  all  the  advan- 
tages of  dry  and  deep  soil.  Every  operation  in 
husbandry  is  thereby  facilitated  and  cheapen- 
ed; less  seed  and  less  manure  produce  a  full 
effect;  the  chances  of  a  good  and  early  tid  (a 
Scotch  term  for  that  slate  of  the  ploughed  soil 
which  is  most  suitable  for  receiving  the  seed, 
neither  too  moist  nor  too  dry)  for  sowing  are 
greatly  increased,  a  matter  of  great  importance 
in  our  precarious  climate;  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  even  the  clin^jte  itself  will  be 
much  improved  by  the  general  prevalence  of 
land  dry." 

In  this  instance,  as  in  most  other  novel  agri- 
cultural efforts,  the  zeal  of  its  promoters  has 
sometimes  carried  them  too  far;  they  have 
even  confidently  contended  that  in  most  situa- 
tions subsoiling  will  render  draining  unneces- 
sary; a  result  which  would  hardly  have  been 
arrived  at  by  the  most  sanguine  subsoiler,  if 
he  had  paused  to  recollect  that  deepening  the 
soil,  however  it  may  promote  the  absorption 
of  atmospheric  moisture,  can  in  few  situations 
enable  land-springs  and  stagnant  waters  to 
escape.  The  objects  to  be  attained  by  these 
operations  are,  in  fact,  diametrically  opposite. 
The  one  is  adopted  to  increase  the  gradual 
healthful  supply  of  food  and  moisture  by  the 
earth  to  the  roots  of  the  crop,  in  the  degree 
the  most  grateful  to  its  habits.  The  other  ex- 
pensive practice  is  to  remove  that  moisture 
when  (from  any  cause)  it  becomes  too  abun- 
dant for  healthful  vegetation ;  this  removal  can 
only  be  obtained  in  very  peculiar  situations  by 
the  mere  use  of  the  subsoil-plough,  and  then 
to  a  very  limited  extent;  such,  for  example,  as 
when  the  crust  or  subsoil  is  of  such  a  degree 
128 


1  of  thinness  as  to  be  completely  penetrated  by 
the  plough,  and  thus  the  upper  soil  brought,  by 

i  breaking  up  the  separating  crust,  into   imme- 
diate contact  with  a  substratum  of  earth  of 

'  greater  absorbent  properties  than  the  pan-crust 
which  has  hitherto  separated  them. 

The  farmers  of  the  chalky  soils  of  Sussex, 
Dorsetshire,  Wilts,  and  Hampshire,  very  ad- 
vantageously raise  the  substratum  of  chalk  ex- 
isting under  their  lands,  and  spread  it  in  con- 
siderable quantities  on  the  surface.  Those  of 
Essex  and  Suffolk  in  many  places  do  the  same 
with  the  under-stratum  of  clay  or  marl  on 
which  their  surface-soils  immediately  rest;  and 
they  find  this  a  very  profitable  practice,  because 
the  earths  which  constitute  all  fertile  soils 
being  also  the  necessary  constituents  of  the 
commonly  cultivated  grasses,  are  gradually 
and  incessantly  carried  off'from  thence  by  con- 
tinual cropping,  and  consequently  in  time  an 
advantageous  opportunity  is  afforded  for  their 
being  replenished  with  the  earths,  perhaps  con- 
tained in  the  subsoil,  in  which  they  may  have 
become  deficient. 

The  chemical  effect  of  pulverizing  and  break- 
ing up  a  subsoil  is  certainly  advantageous  to 
the  plant  in  two  ways,  besides  others  with 
which  we  are  very  likely  at  present  unac- 
quainted; first,  it  renders  the  soil  penetrable 
to  a  much  greater  depth  by  the  roots,  or  minute 
fibres  of  the  plant,  and  consequently  renders 
more  available  any  decomposing  matters,  or 
earthy  ingredients,  which  that  substratum  may 
contain ;  and,  secondly,  it  renders  the  soil  much 
more  freely  permeable  by  the  atmosphere,  ren- 
dering, in  consequence,  a  greatly  increased 
supply,  not  only  of  oxygen  gas  to  the  roots  of 
the  plants,  but  also  yielding  more  moisture,  not 
only  from  the  soil,  but  from  the  atmospheric 
air;  which  moisture,  let  it  be  remembered  by 
the  cultivator,  is  in  all  weathers  as  incessantly 
absorbing  by  the  soil  as  it  is  universally  con- 
tained in  the  atmosphere,  abounding  most  in 
the  latter,  in  the  very  periods  when  it  is  most 
needed  by  the  plants — that  is,  in  the  warmest 
and  driest  weather. 

It  is,  perhaps,  needless  to  prove,  that  the 
roots  of  commonly  cultivated  plants  will  pene- 
trate, under  favourable  circumstances,  much 
greater  depths  into  the  soil,  in  search  of  mois- 
ture, than  they  can,  from  the  resistance  of  the 
case-hardened  subsoil,  commonly  attain.  Thus 
the  roots  of  the  wheat  plant  in  loose,  deep  soils, 
have  been  found  to  descend  to  a  depth  of  2  or 
3  feet,  or  even  more ;  and  it  is  evident,  that 
if  plants  are  principally  sustained  in  dry  wea- 
ther by  the  atmospheric,  aqueous  vapour  ab- 
sorbed by  the  soil,  that  that  supply  of  water 
must  be  necessarily  increased,  by  enabling  the 
atmospheric  vapour  and  gases,  as  well  as  the 
roots  of  plants,  to  attain  to  a  greater  depth  ;  for 
the  interior  of  a  well-pulverized  soil,  be  it 
remembered,  continues  steadily  to  absorb  this 
essential  food  of  vegetables,  even  when  the 
surface  of  the  earth  is  drying  in  the  sun. 

And  by  facilitating  the  admission  of  air  W 
the  soil,  another  advantage  is  obtained,  that  of 
increasing  its  temperature.  The  earths  arc 
naturally  bad  conductors  of  heat,  especially 
downwards ;  thus  it  is  well-known,  that,  at  the 
siege  of  Gibraltar,  the  red-hot  balls  empbved 

1017 


SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 

Of  ihe  garrison  were  readily  carried  from  the 
furnaces  to  the  batteries  in  wooden  barrows, 
«ho>e  bottoms  were  merely  covered  with  earth. 
Davy  proved  the  superior  rapidity  with  which 
•  loose,  black  soil  was  heated  compared  with  a 
chalky  soil,  by  placing  equal  portions  of  each 
in  Ibe  sansbine;  the  first  was  healed  in  an 
hour  from  6ft®  lo  Se*,  while  the  chalk  was  only 
heated  lo  69«.  (Kiewemt  o/Jigr.  Chein,  p.  178.) 
This  trial,  however,  must  not  be  regarded  as 
absolately  conclusive,  since  the  surface  of  the 
blaek  soils  naturally  increases  more  rapidly 
in  lemperaiure  when  exposed  to  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun  than  those  of  a  lighter  colour.  A 
free  access  of  air  to  all  soils  also  adds  to  their 
fertility,  by  promoting  the  decomposition  of  the 
excretory  matters  of  plants,  which  otherwise 
would  remain  for  a  longer  period,  to  the  annoy- 
ance of  plants  of  the  same  species. 

In  a  recent  communication  to  the  secretary 
of  Ihe  Eufiltsh  J^riadtural  Society,  Sir  E.  Stracey 
has  given  some  of  the  results  of  his  experience 
with  the  Rackhealh  subsoil-plough,  and  they 
are  of  n  description  which  cannot  be  too  gene- 
rally known  :— "  On  my  coming,"  he  remarks, 
"to  reside  on  my  estate  at  Rackhealh,  about  6 
years  since,  I  found  500  acres  of  heath  land, 
composing  2  farms  (which  had  been  enclosed 
onder  an  act  of  parliament  about  40  years), 
without  tenants ;  the  gorse,  heather,  and  fern, 
shooting  up  in  all  parts.  In  short,  the  land  was 
in  soch  a  condition,  that  the  crops  returned  not 
Ihe  seed  sown.  The  land  was  a  loose,  loamy 
luiil,  and  had  been  broken  up  by  the  plough  to 
a  depth  not  exceeding  4  inches,  beneath  which 
was  a  substratum  (provincially  called  an  iron 
pan)  so  hard,  that  with  difhculty  could  a  pick- 
axe be  made  to  enter  in  many  places ;  and  my 
bailiflr,  who  had  looked  after  the  land  for  35 
years,  told  me  that  the  lands  were  not  worth 
cultivation — that  all  the  neighbouring  farmers 
said  the  same  thing — and  that  there  was  but 
one  thing  to  be  done,  viz.,  to  plant  with  fir  and 
forest  trees ;  but  to  this  I  paid  but  little  atten- 
tion, as  I  had  the  year  preceding  allotted  some 
f>arcels  of  ground,  taken  out  of  the  adjoining 
ands,  to  some  cottagers ;  to  each  cottage,  about 
one-third  of  an  acre.  'J'he  crops  on  all  these 
allotments  looked  fine,  healthy,  and  good,  pro- 
ducing excellent  wheat,  carrots,  peas,  cabbages, 
potatoes,  and  other  vegetables  in  abundance. 
The  question  then  was,  how  was  this  done  ? 
On  the  outside  of  the  cottage  allotments  all 
was  barren.  It  could  not  be  by  the  manure  that 
bad  been  laid  on,  for  the  cottagers  had  none 
iKif  that  which  they  had  scraped  from  the 
roads.  The  magic  of  all  this  I  could  ascribe  to 
nothing  else  but  the  spade;  they  had  broken  up 
the  land  1»  :nches  deep.  As  to  digging  up  500 
acies  with  me  spade,  to  the  depth  of  18  inches, 
at  an  expense  of  6/.  an  acre,  I  would  not 
attempt  it.  I  accordingly  considered,  that  a 
plough  might  be  constructed  so  as  to  loosen  the 
soil  to  the  depth  of  18  inches,  keeping  the  best 
soil  to  the  depth  of  4  inches,  and  near  the  sur- 
face, thus  admitting  air  and  moisture  to  the 
roois  of  the  plants,  and  enabling  them  to  ex- 
lend  their  spimgioles  in  search  of  food  ;  for  air, 
moisture,  and  extent  of  pasture,  are  as  neces- 
sary to  the  thriving  and  increase  of  vegetables 
as  of  rnimals.  In  this  attempt  I  succeeded,  as 
•018 


SUBSOIL-PLOUGHING. 

the  result  will  show.  I  have  now  broken  up 
all  these  500  acres,  18  inches  deep.  The  pro. 
cess  was  by  sending  a  common  plough,  drawn 
by  two  horses,  to  precede,  which  turned  over 
the  ground  to  the  depth  of  4  inches  ;  my  sub- 
soil-plough immediately  followed  in  the  furrow 
made,  drawn  by  four  horses,  stirring  and 
breaking  the  soil  12  or  14  inches  deeper,  but 
not  turning  it  over.  Sometimes  the  iron  pan 
was  so  hard,  that  the  horses  were  set  fast, 
and  it  became  necessary  to  use  the  pickaxe  lo 
release  them  before  they  could  proceed.  After 
the  first  year,  the  land  produced  double  the 
former  crops,  many  of  the  carrots  being  16 
inches  in  length,  and  of  a  proportionate  thick- 
ness. This  amendment  could  have  arisen 
solely  from  the  deep  ploughing.  Manure  I  had 
scarcely  any,  the  land  not  producing  then  stover 
sufficient  to  keep  any  stock  worth  mentioning, 
and  it  was  not  possible  to  procure  suificient 
quantity  from  the  town.  The  plough  tore  up 
by  the  roots  all  the  old  gorse,  heather,  and  fern, 
so  that  the  land  lost  all  the  distinctive  charac- 
ter of  heath  land  the  first  year  after  the  det  p 
ploughing  ;  which  it  had  retained,  notwithstan  i- 
ing  the  ploughing  with  the  common  ploughs,  for 
35  years.  Immediately  after  this  subsoii-plough- 
ing,  the  crop  of  wheat  was  strong  and  long  in 
the  straw,  and  the  grain  close-bosomed  and 
heavy,  weighing  full  64  pounds  to  the  bushel. 
The  quantity,  as  might  be  expected,  not  large 
(about  26  bushels  to  the  acre),  but  great  in 
comparison  to  what  it  produced  before.  The 
millers  were  desirous  of  purchasing  it,  and 
could  scarcely  believe  it  was  grown  upon  the 
heath  land,  as  in  former  years  my  bailiff  could 
with  difficulty  get  a  miller  to  look  at  his  sam- 
ple. Let  this  be  borne  in  mind,  that  this  land 
then  had  had  no  manure  for  years,  was  run  out, 
and  could  only  have  been  ameliorated  by  the 
admission  of  air  and  moisture  by  the  deep 
ploughing.  This  year  the  wheat  on  this  land 
has  looked  most  promising ;  the  ears  large  and 
heavy,  the  straw  long;  and  I  expect  the  pro- 
duce will  be  frgtti  34  to  36  bushels  an  acre  ;  the 
wheat,  the  "  goToen  drop."  My  Swedish  turnips 
on  this  land  this  year  are  very  good;  ray  pud- 
ding and  sugar-loaf  turnips  failing  in  many 
parts,  sharing  the  fate  of  those  of  my  neigh- 
bours, having  been  greatly  injured  by  the  tor- 
rents of  rain  which  fell  after  they  had  shown 
themselves  above  the  ground.  Turnips  must 
have  a  deep  and  well-pulverized  soil,  in  order 
to  enable  them  to  swell,  and  the  tap-roots  to 
penetrate  in  search  of  food.  The  tap-root  of  a 
Swedish  turnip  has  been  known  lo  penetrate 
39  inches  into  the  ground." 

Sub'turf  Plmgh. — "  Being  on  the  subject  of 
the  sub-soil  plough,"  says  Sir  Edmund  Stracey, 
"I  may  as  well  tell  you  I  have  contrived  an- 
other plough,  from  the  use  of  which  the  great- 
est benefit  has  been  derived  by  my  park  land. 
I  call  this  my  'snb-turf  plough.*  It  is  used  to 
loosen  the  turf  about  10^  inches  deep  below 
the  surface,  without  turning  over  the  flag; 
loosening  the  soil  underneath,  consequently, 
admitting  the  air  and  the  rain,  and  permitting 
the  roots  of  the  herbage  to  spread  in  search  of 
food.  There  are  no  marks  left  by  which  it  can 
be  known  that  the  land  has  been  so  ploughed, 
except  from  the  straight  lines  of  the  coulter,  at 


SUBSTRATUM. 


SUGJ>R. 


the  distance  of  about  14  inches  one  from  an- 
other.    In  about  three  months  from  the  time  of 
ploughing  these   lines  are  totally  obliterated, 
and  the  quantity  of  aftermath,  and  the  thick-  ' 
ncss  of  the  bottom,  have  been  the  subject  of  ■ 
admiration   of  all   my   neighbours.     Another  I 
advantage  from  this  subturf-ploughing  is,  that, 
before  that  took  place,  water  was  lying  stag- 
nant in  many  parts  (after  heavy  rains),  espe- 
cially in  the  lower  grounds,  to  a  great  depth: 
now  no  water  is  to  be  seen  lying  on  any  part, 
the  whole  being  absorbed  by  the  earth."  (Journ, 
of  Kns.  As.r.  Sor.  vol.  i.  p.  253.) 

Aird  for  heavier  soils,  the  evidence  in  favour 
of  subsoil-ploughing  is  equally  valuable.  In 
the  year  1838,  an  experiment  was  made  by 
Sir  jfames  Graham,  which  is  important  in  se- 
veral respects.  It  was  on  a  field  of  about  8 
acres,  of  the  poorest  and  wettest  land.  "The 
surface-soil  is  about  5  inches  deep  of  black 
earth,  of  a  peaty  quality.  The  subsoil  is  a 
weeping  retentive  clay,  with  sand  and  rusty 
gravel  intermixed.  This  clay  extends  to  the 
bottom  of  the  drains,  which  are  of  tile,  laid  30 
inches  deep  in  every  furrow.  This  field  was 
rented  by  the  out-going  tenant  at  4s.  6d.  per 
acre.  It  was  in  pasture  of  the  coarsest  de- 
scription, overrun  with  rushes  and  other  aqua- 
tic plants.  After  draining,  on  one-half  of  this 
field  I  used  Mr.  Smith's  subsoil-plough.  On 
the  other  half  I  trench-ploughed  to  the  depth 
of  10  inches,  by  two  ploughs  following  in  suc- 
cession. In  the  first  part,  not  mixing  with  the 
surface  any  of  the  subsoil;  in  the  last  part, 
ctunmiiigling  the  surface  and  the  subsoil  in 
nearly  equal  proportions.  The  whole  field 
was  heavily,  but  equally  manured,  and  planted 
with  potatoes ;  and  though  the  potato  crop, 
even  on  good  land  in  this  neighbourhood 
(Cumberland),  was  below  an  average,  yet  the 
crop  in  this  field  exceeded  an  average,  and 
yielded  about  12  tons  per  acre.  The  field  is 
equally  drained  in  every  part.  The  crop  was 
so  equal  throughout  the  field,  that  I  am  un- 
able to  pronounce  positively  which  part  was 
the  best,  but  I  am  inclined  to  give  the  prefer- 
ence to  that  portion  where  Mr.  Smith's  subsoil- 
ploush  was  used." 

SUBSTRATUM.  A  stratum  lying  under 
another  stratum.  The  term  subsoil  is  generally 
applied  to  the  matters  which  intervene  between 
the  surface  soils  and  the  rocks  on  which  they 
rest ;  thus,  clay  is  the  common  substratum,  or 
subsoil,  of  gravel. 

SUCCORY.    See  Chiccokt. 

SUCCULENT.  A  botanical  term,  signify- 
ing fleshy,  or  filled  with  juice. 

SUC'KER.  A  young  twig  or  shoot  from  the 
root  of  a  plant.     See  Propagation. 

SUDORIFIC.  Having  the  power  of  pro- 
ducing perspiration. 

SUET.  The  fat  situated  about  the  loins  and 
kidneys,  which  is  harder  and  less  fusible  than 
that  from  other  parts  of  the  same  animal. 
That  of  the  ox  and  sheep  is  chiefly  used;  and, 
when  melted  out  of  its  containing  membranes, 
it  forms  tallow,  and  is  largely  used  in  the  ma- 
nufacture of  candles  and  the  ordinary  soaps. 
Beef  and  mutt3n  suet,  when  fused,  concrete  at 
a  temperature  of  about  100°.    Like  other  kinds 


of  fat,  it  is  a  compound  of  carbon,  hydrogen, 
and  oxyofen.     See  Ai>eps,  Fat,  Lard,  &c. 

SUFFRUTICOSE  (Lat.  suffrutex,  an  under- 
shrub).  Any  plant  which  is  not  exactly  either 
a  shrub  or  an  herbaceous  plant,  that  is,  which 
has  not  hard  woody  twigs  and  complete  buds, 
like  the  one,  nor  perishable,  succulent  leaves 
and  shoots,  like  the  other,  is  so  termed.  La- 
vender is  an  instance  of  a  suff'ruticose  plant. 

SUGAR  (Fr.  sucrc :  Germ,  zucker).  The 
great  commercial  demand  for  sugar  is  almost 
exclusively  supplied  from  the  sugar-cane 
(.y^nuic/osafc/iariym?),  which  contains  it  in  great- 
er quantity  and  purity  than  any  other  plant, 
and  consequently  affords  the  greatest  facilities 
for  its  extraction.  Cane  sugar  is  combined,  in 
the  juice  of  the  plant,  with  a  number  of  other 
substances.  The  following  analysis  of  M. 
Avequin  shows  the  nature  and  proportions  of 
these: — 0*46  albumen,  0-81  gum,  101'2  crys- 
tallizable  sugar,  41*6  uncrystallizable  sugar, 
0*85  chlorophyle  and  oil,  0*75  stearin,  1*28  resin, 
3-58  salts,  and  700-8  water,  in  1000  parts. 
The  juice,  after  expression,  is  freed  from  some 
acid  which  it  contains,  by  means  of  lime,  and 
then  concentrated  by  boiling;  after  which,  as 
soon  as  brown  grains  form,  the  syrup  is  puri- 
fied, and  allowed  to  crystallize.  The  crystals 
are  next  separated  from  the  molasses,  or  un- 
crystallizable sugar,  by  dripping.  This  forms 
muscovado  or  brown  sugar,  which  is  afterwards 
purified.  The  purest  raw  sugar  comes  from 
Demerara.  Pure  sugar  is  a  compound  of 
44-44  of  carbon,  6-18  of  hydrogen,  and  49-78 
of  oxygen,  in  100  parts.  Sugar  is  nutritive, 
demulcent,  and  powerfully  antiseptic.  Grape 
sugar  undergoes  fermentation  more  readily 
than  cane  sugar.  A  large  quantity  of  sugar, 
identical  to  cane  sugar,  is  contained  in  the  sap 
of  the  American  maple  (Jtcer  saccharinum),  that 
of  the  cocoa-nut  (Cocos  nucifera),  and  in  the 
juice  of  the  beet-root  (Beta  vulgaris),  from  each 
of  which  it  may  be  economically  obtained:  it 
has  also  been  extracted  from  grapes  or  raisins, 
and,  as  is  well  known,  is  contained  abundantly 
in  many  ripe  fruits  and  esculent  vegetables.  It 
is,  however,  in  these  seldom  so  pure  or  in  such 
quantity  as  to  admit  of  ready  separation,  or 
crystallization.  The  total  average  quantity 
entered  annually  for  home  consumption  in 
England,  is,  in  round  numbers,  nearly  4,000,000 
cwts.     See  Maize,  Maple,  Molasses,  &c. 

The  sugar-cane,  under  the  name  of  the  su- 
gar-reed, is  mentioned  in  the  oldest  records  of 
antiquity  as  a  product  of  the  Eastern  world.  It 
would  also  appear,  that  the  sugar-cane  was 
found  growing  luxuriantly  in  Hispaniola,  when 
Columbus  first  discovered  America,  according 
to  the  account  given  by  Peter  Martyr,  written 
during  the  second  voyage  of  Columbus.  There 
are  many  varieties  or  species  of  the  reedy 
grass  producing  sugar,  both  cultivated  and 
growing  wild  on  the  banks  of  rivers  and  mea- 
dows, in  both  the  Indies,  China,  Africa,  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  and  America.  The  common 
sugar-cane  (Saccharttm  officinarum),  Plate  iv.  c?, 
is  a  perennial-rooted  plant,  very  susceptible  to 
frost,  and  therefore  restricted  in  its  cultivation 
to  a  belt  or  zone  extending  from  35°  to  40°  on 
each  side  of  the  e^  lator.    In  the   Southern 

1019 


SUGAR. 

United  States  the  cultivation  cannot  be  carried 
on  advania^eously  higher  than  about  the  32d 
degree  of  latitude,  and  here  the  cane  dies  down 
annually,  unless  cut  in  time  to  escape  the 
effects  of  frost.  It  attains  the  height  of  7  or  8 
feel,  or  more,  and  its  broad  leaves,  and  large, 
<ilky  panicles,  give  it  a  beautiful  aspect.  The 
Ktems  are  jointed,  very  smooth,  shining,  and  fill- 
ed with  a spong)'  pith :  the  flow^jrs  of  the  sugar  • 
cane  are  small,  and  very  abundant,  being  cloth- 
ed eitemally  with  numerous  silky  hairs.  But, 
in  Ihc  regular  course  of  cultivation,  it  never 
flowers  in  Louisiana,  and  but  rarely  in  the 
West  Indies.  Consequently,  seed  is  diflicult 
to  be  procured,  short  of  Otaheite  or  China.  It 
is  well  known  that  where  the  plant  is  allowed 
tu  go  to  seed,  this  natural  process  interferes 
with  the  developement  of  the  saccharine  ma- 
terials. In  the  West  Indies,  it  is  propagated 
by  cuttings  from  the  main  stalk,  planted  in 
hills  or  trenches  in  the  spring  or  autumn. 
The  cuttings  root  at  the  joints  under  ground, 
and  send  up  shoots,  which,  in  8,  12,  or  14 
months,  are  from  6  to  10  feet  long,  and  fit  to 
cat  down  for  the  mill.  A  plantation  lasts  from 
6  to  10  years,  but  in  Louisiana  the  planting  has 
to  be  renewed  every  2  or  3  years. 

The  juice  of  the  sugar-can^  is  so  palatable  and 
nutritive,  that,  during  the  sugar  harvest,  every 
creature  which  partakes  freely  of  it,  whether 
man  or  animal,  appears  to  derive  health  and  vi- 
gour from  its  use.  The  meager  and  sickly  ne- 
groes extiibit  at  this  season  a  surprising  altera- 
tion ;  and  the  labouring  horses,  oxen,  and  mules, 
though  constantly  at  work,  yet,  as  they  are 
allowed  to  eat,  almost  without  restraint,  of 
the  refuse  plants  and  scummings  from  the  boil- 
ing-house, improve  infinitely  more  than  at  any 
other  period  of  the  year.  The  sugar-cane  is 
now  cultivated  in  all  the  warm  parts  of  the 
globe.  The  variety  from  Otaheite  has  lately,  in 
the  West  Indies,  superseded  all  other  kinds  of 
cane,  and  succeeds  in  soils  too  poor  for  the 
common  varieties.  The  qualities  of  the  sugar 
are  also  very  superior. 

Sugar  is  now  cultivated  to  considerable  ex- 
tent in  the  United  States.  On  the  northern  coast 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  for  the  distance  of  about 
iOO  miles,  the  sugar  region  is  almost  entirely 
ombraced  within  the  limits  of  Louisiana.  Here, 
the  soil  being  all  alluvial  and  of  the  richest 
description,  the  cane  is  forced  by  its  exceeding 
fertility,  together  with  the  warmth  of  the  long 
summers,  to  a  state  of  maturity  which  enables  it 
to  yield  sugar  in  the  greatest  abundance,  and  of 
the  finest  quality.  Thus,  the  natural  strength 
of  the  soil  and  warmth  of  the  summer  compen- 
sate in  a  great  degree  for  other  defects  of  the 
climate.  The  extent  of  lands  in  this  portion 
of  the  United  States  admiuing  of  the  profitable 
culture  of  sugar,  is  sufficient  not  only  to  su-pply 
the  entire  amount  required  for  home  consump- 
tion, but  for  large  exportation.  From  1835  to 
1816,  suj^ars  imported  into  the  United  States 
paid  duties  of  2|  cts.  per  lb.  on  muscovado  or 
brown,  white  havannas  4  to  4|  cts.,  and  refined 
6  to  12  cts.  per  lb.  according  to  quality.  This 
protection  of  the  planter  was  reduced  by  the 
tariff  of  1SI6,  to  only  30  per  cent,  ad  valorem 
"♦n  all    kinds. 

Varietiejt  of  the  Cane.     There  are  five  varie- 
1020 


SUGAR. 

I  ties  of  cane  mostly  planted  in  the  West  Indies 
and  Louisiana.  The  Otaheite  cane  is,  as  has 
been  before  observed,  more  extensively  culti- 
vated at  present  in  the  West  Indies  than  any 
other.  It  will  grow  better  on  the  lighter  and 
older  cultivated  soils,  and  has  several  peculiar 
advantages  over  the  B7azilian  or  Creole  canes 
in  former  use,  but  now  generally  superseded. 
The  last  named  is  more  delicate  and  requires  more 
culture  than  any  other  variety,  but  produces  sugar 
of  the  finest  quality.  The  varieties  most  exten- 
sively cultivated  on  the  rich  lands  of  Louisiana, 
are  the  Bourbo7i,  Red-Ribbon  and  Bhie-ribbo?/.,  the 
last  being  the  most  luxuriant.  All  the  varieties 
"  rattoon,"  that  is  to  say,  produce  a  growth  from 
the  roots  two  and  sometimes  three  successive 
years  in  Louisiana.  The  consumption  of  Eng- 
land now  amounts  to  upwards  of  400,000,000 
pounds,  which  gives  an  average  of  about  30 
pounds  for  each  individual.  That  of  the  United 
States  is  about  250,000,000  lbs.  per  annum, 
which,  considering  the  population,  gives  a 
larger  individual  rate  of  consumption  than 
any  other  country  in  the  world. 

In  an  interesting  communication  in  the 
Farmers'  Register,  vol.  iii.,  Mr.  Macrae,  a  Flo- 
rida sugar  planter,  speaks  of  the  sugar  cul- 
ture in  that  region  as  profitable,  but  still,  he 
thinks,  too  uncertain,  from  the  effects  of  frost, 
to  be  depended  upon  to  the  exclusion  of  other 
southern  crops.  The  season  for  manufactur- 
ing, he  observes,  may  not  admit  of  the  saving 
of  500  acres  of  cane ;  but  it  assuredly  admits 
of  100  acres  being  profitably  saved,  with  50 
eflfective  hands,  and  the  requisite  machinery; 
and  that,  too,  without  any  serious  sacrifice  of 
cotton,  or  great  loss  of  labour.  The  opinion 
there  generally  maintained,  that  the  manufac- 
ture of  a  sugar  crop  will  essentially  interfere 
with  and  diminish  the  cotton  crop,  he  regards 
as  erroneous.  In  the  proportion  of  one-fifth 
cane,  he  says  there  need  be  no  such  interfer- 
ence— admitting  that  the  earliness  and  severity 
of  frost  is  such  as  to  compel  the  immediate  ser- 
vice of  all  other  labours  to  the  security  of  the 
cane.  "Your  50  hands  will  mattress  it  (100 
acres)  in  from  3  to  5  days,  where  it  may  lie 
for  a  month.  Half  your  force,  with  tried  ma- 
chinery, will  then  manufacture  it  in  a  fortnight, 
without  any  extra  labour ;  and  your  other  re- 
maining half  of  labourers  will  certainly,  at  that 
season,  save  all  the  cotton  that  is  liable  to  fall. 
It  is  not,  however,  one  year  in  ten,  that  the  sea- 
son would  compel  this  entire  disposition  of 
your  labourers ;  and  certainly  your  chance  of 
revenue  from  two  crops,  not  liable  to  the  same 
disasters  (for  none  can  deny  that  the  cotton 
plant  has  nearly  as  many  risks  to  run  before 
its  fruit  is  saved,  as  the  cane),  is  more  than 
equivalent  to  a  moderate  loss  by  a  heavy  blow 
of  cotton.  No  one  should  attempt  the  cane 
cultivation  as  a  source  of  revenue,  with  a  less 
force  than  50  effective  hands  ;  and  I  attribute 
the  heretofore  failures  of  sugar  here,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  overcropping,  and  a  poverty  of 
labourers." 

The  operation  termed  " mattressing,''  consists 
in  piling  the  cane  which  is  cut,  to  prevent 
injury  from  frost,  in  rows  in  the  field.  The 
plan  recommended  by  Mr.  Macrae,  is  to  cut 
the    cane    down    close    lo    the    ground,   and 


SUGAR. 


SUGAR. 


threw  three  rows  into  one,  thus  forming  wind- 1 
rows  across  the  field,  taking  care  to  place  | 
the  foliage  of  one  stool  of  cane  over  the  butts  of  j 
the  previous  one,  and  laying  them  to  the  height 
of  3  or  4  feet,  like  a  thatched  roof.  In  this  way 
the  cane  can  be  kept  several  weeks  for  grind- 
ing and  pressing.  "  Mattressing"  the  cane  for 
o  limited  period,  even  after  the  frost,  so  far 
from  injuring  its  product,  will,  he  says,  in- 
crease It  in  Florida.  Mr.  Macrae  says,  that  in 
Florida,  no  prudent  man  will  under  any  circum- 
stances attempt  a  sugar  crop  alone,  and  he  advo- 
cates the  sugar  culture  only  in  connexion  with 
cotton.  In  the  West  Indies  from  3000  to  GOOO 
pounds  of  sugar  are  produced  to  the  acre,  whilst 
in  Louisiana  about  1000  lbs.  of  sugar  per  acre 
is  considered  an  average  yield.  The  crop  in  that 
state  in  1847-48,  was  240,000  hogsheads,  each 
estimated  at  1000  lbs.  gross,  with  20  gallons  ol 
molasses,  and  sold  at  the  very  low  price  of  2^  to 
5  cts.  on  the  plantation.  It  is  calculated  that 
$300  capital  is  required  for  the  production  ol 
each  hogshead  of  sugar  and  barrel  of  molasses. 
The  expenses  of  working  an  estate,  including 
wear  and  tear  of  machinery,  have  been  stated  at 
J60  to  5^75  for  each  slave  employed.  The  ave- 
rage product  5  hogsheads  to  the  hand,  or  about  10 
per  cent,  profit  upon  the  capital.  Mr.  Forstall, 
in  his  communication  to  the  Commissioner  of  Pa- 
tents (1847),  estimates  the  profits  at  5,  and  some 
years  only  2\  per  cent.  He  says  that  when  sugars 
•average  4|,  and  cotton  6^  cents,  the  results  per 
slave  are  nearly  the  same,  with  the  advantage  in 
favour  of  the  cotton  crop  of  requiring  only  \  Jess 
cost  of  machinery.  The  slaves  employed  in 
the  sugar  culture  increased  from  1828  to  1844, 
from  21,000  to  50,670;  the  total  capital  from 
$34,000,000  to  $60,000,000.  The  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents  for  1848,  contains  much 
highly  valuable  information  relative  to  the  sugar 
crop,  especially  the  article,  with  drawings,  by 
C.  L.  Fleischman. 

Whilst  the  crop  of  cane  sugar  is  increasing 
annually  at  the  South,  that  from  the  maple  is 
becoming  greater  in  the  Northern  and  Western 
States.  The  amount  of  sugar  made  in  1840, 
from  both  sources,  has  been  reported  at 
155,100,809  pounds.  In  Michigan  alone,  there 
is  said  to  be  no  less  than  30,000  acres  abound- 
ing with  the  maple.  These  trees  have  been 
estimated  at  an  average  as  worth  to  the  farmer, 
for  the  purpose  of  sus:ar-making  alone,  from  2 
to  3  dollars  each.  The  proportion  of  sugar- 
maples  per  acre  in  the  sugar  districts  has  been 
computed  at  30.     See  Maple. 

Under  the  head  of  Maizk  reference  is  made 
to  the  proposed  manufacture  of  sugar  from  In- 
dian corn,  one  acre  of  which,  of  luxuriant 
growth, has  been  estimated  to  produce  from  600 
to  1000  pounds  and  more  of  good  sugar.  The 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  the  beet,  so  exten- 
Bively  carried  on  in  France  and  other  parts 
of  Europe,  has  lately  given  promise  of  suc- 
cess in  the  United  States. 

To  succeed  fully,  the  manufacture  must  be 
carried  on  upon  a  large  icaic,  V/ ;Ui  ample  capi- 
tal. Many  excellent  essays  upon  the  subject 
may  be  found  either  separate  or  published  in 
various  agricultural  periodicals. 

Chemical  composition  of  Sugar. — The  progress 
of  mod  'm  chemistry  in  ascertaining  the  pre- 
cise elements  of  various  substances,  has  de- 


veloped some  highly  interesting  facts  relative 
to  sugar,  showing  the  very  slight  diflference 
between  its  composition  and  that  of  many  other 
matters  to  which  it  apparently  bears  not  the 
least  resemblance,  such  as  starch,  saw-dust,  or 
common  woody  fibre,  linen  rags,  &c.,  which  by 
slight  additions  have  been  actually  converted 
into  sugar.  By  some  chemists,  and  particu- 
larly Prout,  starch  is  considered  as  sugar 
partly  organized,  containing  but  a  small  quan- 
tity of  carbon  and  hydrogen  more  than  sugar, 
the  excess  however  being  sufficient  to  prevent 
crystallization  or  conversion  by  nature  into 
sugar.  The  following  table,  prepared  from  the 
statements  of  Berzelius,  Raspail,  and  Dumas, 
by  Dr.  Prout,  shows  in  a  curious  and  interest- 
ing light,  by  what  mere  shades  of  difference  in 
their  constituent  atoms,  substances,  which  to 
the  sense  appear  as  far  apart  as  the  zenith  from 
the  nadir,  are  separated.  Water  is  composed 
of  definite  and  well-ascertained  proportions  of 
oxygen  and  hydrogen,  and  in  the  formation  of 
sugar,  starch,  acetic  acid,  and  lignin,  or  the 
pure  woody  fibre  of  trees  and  plants,  these  two 
materials  are  found  united  in  the  same  propor- 
tions as  in  water;  the  only  ingredient  added 
for  their  completion  being  carbon.  These  sub- 
stances, sugar,  acetic  acid,  starch,  and  lignin, 
may  therefore  be  considered  as  composed  of 
carbon  and  water  in  the  proportions  here  given. 

Carbon.      Water. 

Sugar.— 100  parts  of  sugar  from  starch 
contain        -        _        -        - 

From  honey   -        -        -        - 

From  East  India  moist  - 

From  beet -root  and  maple     - 

From  English  refined     - 

From  sugar  candy,  pure 
Acetic  Acid    - 

Starch.— Arrow  root    in    its  ordinary 
state    -        -        -        -        - 

From   wheat  in    its  ordinary 
slate    

From  wheat  dried  212°  - 
Lignin.— In  its  ordinary  state  of  dryness 

From  willow  dried  212'^ 

From  box  do. 

Dr.  Prout,  in  his  Bridgewater  Treatise,  re- 
marks, "  that  both  starch  and  wood  can  by  dif- 
ferent artificial  processes  be  converted  into 
sugar  or  vinegar.  But  we  are  unable  to  re- 
verse the  process,  and  convert  vinegar  into 
sugar,  or  starch  into  wood."  The  chemist  Bra- 
connet  has  ascertained  that  a  pound  of  linen 
rags  yields  rather  more  than  a  pound  of  sugar. 

Mr.  Guthrie  of  Sackett's  Harbour,  in  his 
attempts  to  make  sugar  from  potatoes,  pro- 
duced large  quantities  of  molasses,  but  with  all 
his  skill  was  unable  to  crystallize  or  grain  it, 
without  the  introduction  of  some  deleterious 
substance,  lead,  for  instance  ;  and  consequently 
all  his  was  used  in  a  liquid  form,  of  the  con- 
sistence of  thick  syrup,  or  rather  honey.  The 
potatoes  were  first  converted  into  starch,  and 
then,  by  boiling  in  sulphuric  acid,  diluted,  for 
some  hours,  into  sugar.  The  directions  in  the 
Encyclopedia  Americana  for  this  process  are, 
2000  parts  of  starch,  8000  parts  of  water,  and  40 
parts  strong  sulphuric  acid — the  mixture  to 
boil  some  36  hours  in  silver  or  lead;  but  Mr. 
Guthrie  accomplishes  the  conversion  by  tho 
use  of  steam  in  about  6  hours.  The  produc 
tion  of  sugar  or  molasses  is  possible  from  a 
great  variety  of  materials  provided  by  nature, 
such  as  the  cane,  maple,  beet  honey — all  plants 
4  R  1021 


36-20 

63-80 

36  36 

63-64 

40-88 

59-12 

42  10 

57-90 

4205 

5805 

42-85 

57  15 

47-05 

52-95 

3604 

630i 

37-50 

62-50 

42-80 

57-20 

42-70 

57-30 

49-60 

50-20 

50-00 

50-00 

SUGAR  BEET. 

Aat  aflbrl  starch,  or  substances  that  by  chemi- 
^1  pToce  :8  can  be  convened  into  ^um,  as  liax, 
linen  rags,  Ac;  siiH  none  have  yet  been  found, 
which  can  successfully  enter  into  competition 
with  the  cane. 

The  Reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents 
eontnin  much  information  on  the  production 
of  »iujr«r  from  the  beet.  The  latest  publica- 
4I011  upon  the  Cultivation  of  the  Beet  for  Supa-- 
Bftking  is  by  E.  B.  Grant,  of  Boston,  1867. 
Tliert  SMms  to  be  a  growing  interest  upon 
tliis  tolit^eet  in  the  U.  S.,  especially  in  the 
W««tem  Bt«t«8. 

The  following  information  relative  to  the 
beet  culture,  Ac,  is  from  Mr.  Colman's  Fourth 
SUport  ftpon  the  JgricuUure  of  Motsachusetts: 

••Beets  are  oAen  a  very  profitable  crop. 
They  are  raised  in  considerable  quantities;  are 
packed  in  barrels  and  shipped  to  the  south. 
One  dollar  and  a  half  is  a  common  price  for  a 
barrel  containing  2^  bushels.  The  farmer 
givinsr  this  statement  has  often  produced  600 
bushels  to  the  acre.  They  are  planted  on 
ridges  about  4  feet  apart,  in  double  rows ;  and 
the  intermediate  spaces  are  often  sown  with 
turnips.  The  ridge  planting  is  decidedly  pre- 
ferred here  for  all  vegetables  of  this  kind.  In 
my  opinion,  and  so  far  as  my  own  experience 
goes,  which  has  not  been  small,  it  would  be 
belter  to  make  the  ridges  about  27  inches  apart, 
plant  the  beets  in  single  rows,  and  cultivate 
ihem  wnh  a  plough.  A  very  useful  machine 
for  planting  beets  is  a  wheel,  set  like  that  of  a 
wheel-barrow,  with  pins  projecting  from  the 
rim  2  inches,  and  placed  8  inches  apart,  which 
is  pas>pd  along  on  the  top  of  the  ridge,  and  the 
reeds  dropped  by  hand  into  the  holes  marked 
by  the  pins.  They  may  then  be  covered  by 
drawing  a  rake-head  along  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
Too  much  care  cannot  be  taken  to  perform  all 
operations  in  planting,  where  the  vegetable  is 
afterwards  to  be  cultivated,  in  straight  lines. 
The  work  is  by  this  means  greatly  facilitated." 

A  crop  of  sugar  beets  was  raised  at  Nahant, 
in  1840,  by  Mr.  Frederick  Tudor,  of  42,284  lbs. 
on  93  rods,  or  at  the  rate  of  36  tons  746  /y*^  lbs. 
net  weight  per  acre,  being  about  1300  bushels 
per  acre,  allowing  56  lbs.  per  bushel.  One  of 
the  roots  cropped  and  cleaned,  weighed  31  lbs. 
The  ground  was  trenched  to  the  depth  of  20 
inches,  and  well  manured,  the  stones  removed 
being  all  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the  trenches. 
Allowing  the  beets  worth  $5  a  ton,  this  would 
five  5180  to  an  acre,  leaving  the  land  in  high 
tilth  for  further  rich  crops.  The  expenses  of 
cultivating  an  acre  of  sugar  beets  in  the  New 
England  States,  have  been  thus  stated  by  the 
editor  of  the  Yankee  Farmer. 
Vm  «<ran  acre  of  land  well  prepared  Tor  beets, 

mad  manured,  or  managed  in  the  previous 

«'*P^. «1'2  00 

Ptouf  bine 4  00 

Cttfilvatof.hif,  horse,  cultivator  and  hand,  two 

••OMrs 50 

Twke  more  before  sowing        ....  j  qq 

Harrowlns        --.-.__  50 

8#ed  <rt  »,  sowing  with  a  machine  75     -        -  3  00 

f1r»l  h..eirig        - 4  00 

■ccond  hiwinfr,  thinning,  and  transplanting  to 

supply  deficiencies  -  -  -  .  _  4  oo 
Hoeint  again,  and  loosening  the  ground  with 

machines         -••-...  300 

llarvetling 900 

1022  •^ 


SUGAR  BEET. 

This  we  think  a  high  estimate.  Still,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  cost  of  cultivating  an  acre 
of  sugar  beets  much  exceeds  that  of  an  acre  of 
Indian  corn.  In  some  places  the  proportional 
expense  of  a  root  over  a  corn  crop  is  double, 
in  others  treble.  The  following  observations 
upon  the  mode  of  cultivating  the  beet  crop,  are 
also  taken  from  the  Yankee  Farmer. 

Make  the  rows  2  feet  4  inches  apart,  and 
then  a  cultivator  can  be  used  in  hoeing.     If 
I  the  beets  stand  one  foot  apart  in  the  rows,  and 
I  weigh  2i.lbs.  each,  the  yield  will  be  20  tons. 
In  rich  ground,  at  that  distance  a  great  number 
'  will  weigh  4  or  5  lbs.  each  ;  20  tons  is  a  good 
I  crop,  but  not  extremely  large,  for  in  some  cases 
I  25  or  30  tons  to  the  acre  have  been  raised  in 
j  this  country.     At  the  above  expense  of  $40  to 
'  the  acre  with  a  yield  of  20  tons,  the  cost  would 
I  be  $2  per  ton.     We  make  this  estimate,  to  show 
how  cheap  beets  may  be  raised  under  favour- 
able circumstances,  such  as  good  land  at  a  fair 
price,  convenient  machinery  and  implements, 
and  the  most  prudential  management  in  the 
culture,  with  labour  at  a  moderate  price,  and 
a  favourable  season. 

Supposing  we  reckon  the  produce  only  two- 
thirds  as  much  as  above,  say  13^  tons,  and  the 
cost  32^  per  cent,  more,  whidh  will  be  $53  33 ; 
then  the  cost  of  the  beets  will  be  only  $4  per 
ton,  one-fifth  less  than  Mr.  Bosson  reckoned  in 
his  calculation  on  the  cost  of  beet  sugar.  If 
we  reckon  50  lbs.  to  the  bushel,  13^  tons  per 
acre  would  be  only  533  bushels,  which  would 
be  no  more  than  a  middling  crop ;  not  half  as 
much  as  has  been  raised  in  a  number  of  cases 
that  have  been  named. 

In  estimating  the  value  of  sugar  beets  for 
feeding  stock,  &c.,  Mr.  P.  Diehl,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, says  that  in  his  neighbourhood,  persons 
feeding  the  beet  to  cows,  readily  procure  2 
cents  per  lb.  more  for  their  butter  than  their 
neighbours  who  do  not  use  the  beet.  His  hogs 
are  wintered  entirely  on  beets  and  kitchen  slop, 
and  kept  in  fine  condition.  He  states  that  he 
has  fattened  solely  on  sugar  beets,  beeves, 
which  when  sold,  were  pronounced  by  the 
butchers  the  best  they  had  killed  for  many 
years  before.  In  contrasting  the  probable 
amount  of  profit  to  the  farmer,  per  acre,  of  a 
crop  of  corn  and  a  crop  of  beets,  he  says :  Al- 
lowing for  the  average  crop  of  beets  1000  bu- 
shels per  acre,  which  is  moderate,  this  quantity 
will  fatten  11  head  of  steers  in  90  days,  at  one 
bushel  per  day  for  each  steer.  Allowing  the 
average  corn  crop  to  be  50  bushels  p«^r  acre, 
which  is  very  large,  this  product  will  fatten 
only  1^  head,  in  the  same  time,  feeding  at  the 
usual  rate  of  1^  pecks  per  day.  This  leaves 
a  balance  in  favour  of  beets,  fractions  aside, 
of  about  800  per  cent.  (See  Cultivator,  vol.  viii. 
p.  119.)  There  is  perhaps  no  food  which  will 
contribute  in  winter  so  much  to  increase  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  dairy  products  as 
the  sugar  beet.  But  it  should  be  used  along 
with  good  hay,  fodder,  and  other  dry  pro- 
vender. 

Under  the  head  of  Mawgel  Wurzel,  a  tabular 
I  view  is  given  of  the  comparative  nutritive  ma- 
terials in  several  of  the  roots  most  usually  cul- 
tivated for  agricultural  purposes.    From  this 
it  will  be  seen,  that  in  saccharine  matter  as 


SULPHATES. 


SWEET- GRASS. 


well  as  if^  the  total  amount  of  soluble  matter, 
the  beet  transcends  all  the  other  roots  taken  into 
the  estimate.     See  table,  Art.  Food,  p.  499. 

SULPHATES.  A  class  of  concentrated  fer- 
tilizers, in  which  sulphuric  acid  is  combined  with 
different  substances,  as  with  lime  to  form  gyp- 
sum ;  See  Plaster  of  Paris.  Ammonia,  to  form 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  a  new  fertilizer  of  great 
power,  enjoying  high  repute  in  England,  costing 
about  $5  per  100  lbs.,  and  used  at  the  rate  of  100 
to  150  lbs.  per  acre  as  a  top-dressing  or  other- 
wise. Sulphuric  acid  with  soda,  forms  the  well 
known  Glauber's  Salts,  also  used  as  a  fertilizer 
at  the  rate  of  100  lbs.  to  200  lbs.  per  acre,  and 
costing  in  England  about  ^35  per  ton.  Cop- 
peras, or  sulphate  of  iron,  has  been  mentioned 
as  a  great  destroyer  of  disagreeable  odours  when 
added  to  putrid  animal  substances.  See  Night- 
SoiL. 

SUNDEW.  A  most  singular  and  beautiful 
genus  of  plants,having  leaves  ornamented  with  red 
glandular  hairs,  discharging  at  their  ends  a  thick 
acrid  juice  resembling  dew.  The  hairs  are  irri- 
table when  touched,  and  contract  upon  insects. 

SUNFLOWER  {Helianthus,  from  helios,  sun, 
and  authos,  a  flower;  on  account  of  the  bril- 
liant colour  of  the  flowers,  and  from  the  erro- 
neous idea  that  the  flowers  always  turned 
towards  ihe  sun).  A  highly  ornamental  and 
extensive  genus  of  plants;  and  from  their  tall 
growth  they  are  particularly  adapted  to  the 
back  of  flower-borders  or  the  front  of  shrub- 
beries, in  which  situations  they  make  a  splen- 
did appearance  in  autumn  :  they  grow  well  in 
any  common  garden  soil,  the  tender  kinds 
being  protected  in  winter.  It  appears  to  pos- 
sess far  more  profitable  qualities  than  were 
hitherto  supposed,  and,  besides  forming  a  beau- 
tiful object  in  a  bed  of  flowers,  it  may  be  culti- 
vated with  advantage,  and  applied  to  many 
useful  purposes.  An  acre  of  land  will  contain 
2.5,000  sunflower  plants,  12  inches  distant  from 
each  other.  The  produce  will  be  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  soil  and  mode  of  cultivation; 
but  the  average  has  been  found  to  be  50  bush- 
els of  the  seed  per  acre,  which  will  yield  50 
gallons  of  oil.  The  oil  is  excellent  for  table 
use,  burning  in  lamps,  and  for  the  manufac- 
ture f)f  soaps.  The  marc,  or  refuse  of  the 
seeds  after  the  oil  has  been  expressed,  made 
into  cake,  will  produce  1500  lbs.,  and  the  stalks, 
when  burnt  for  alkali,  will  give  10  per  cent,  of 
potassa.  The  green  leaves  of  the  sunflower, 
when  dried  and  burnt  to  powder,  make  excel- 
lent fodder  for  milch  cows,  mixed  with  bran. 
From  the  ease  with  which  sunflowers  are  pro- 
duced in  gardens  (for  they  seem  to  flourish  in 
any  soil,  and  to  require  no  particular  care), 
we  may  safely  say  that  an  acre  of  land  will 
yield  a  considerable  return.  Poultry  are  very 
fond  of  the  seeds. 

SUNFLOWER,  WILD  or  FALSE.  Sneeze- 
tveed  {Helenium  aniumnnle).  A  plant  with  a 
biennial  root  found  in  the  United  States. 

SWAMP.  Ground  habitually  so  moist  and 
soft  as  not  to  admit  of  being  trod  by  cattle,  but 
at  the  same  time  producing  particular  kinds  of 
trees,  bushes,  and  plants.  A  swamp  diflfers 
from  a  bog  and  a  marsh  in  producing  trees  j 
and  shrubs,  while  the  latter  produce  only  herb- 
age, plan's,  and  mosses.  In  autumn  and 
spring,  the  exhalations  from  swamps  are  pro- 


ductive of  agues,  consequently  it  is  imptrtani 
to  fill  them  up  or  drain  them. 

SWAN  (Cygmis).  Of  the  noble  web-footed 
birds  so  called  there  are  three  British  species: 
the  Hooper,  or  Bewick's  ;  the  wild,  and  the 
tame  swan.  The  wild  swan  and  Hooper  ought, 
perhaps,  to  be  regarded  as  the  only  true  native 
species.  The  tam«  swan  (C  olor)  is  superior 
in  bulk  to  either  of  the  wild  species,  and  is  at 
once  distinguished  by  a  large,  black,  callous 
knob  on  the  base  of  the  bill.  Our  remarks  in 
this  place  will  be  exclusively  directed  to  the 
domesticated  swan.  These  graceful  birds  are 
rarely  dressed  for  the  table ;  they  are  consi- 
dered too  ornamental  to  destroy.  They  are  not 
destructive  to  fish,  and  they  keep  the  water  free 
from  weeds.  Mr.  Main,  who  long  studied  their 
habits,  in  his  work  on  Domestic  Pmiliry,  says 
the  tame  swan  is  herbivorous  and  granivorous; 
that  is,  they  feed  upon  weeds  and  grain.  They 
love  also  bread,  vegetables,  &c.,  which  they 
eat  greedily  from  the  hand. 

The  swan  lays  from  5  to  8  eggs  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  breeds  only  once  in  the  year.  They 
love  an  islet  to  breed  their  young  upon,  for  the 
sake  of  its  quiet;  and  a  little  straw  deposited 
there  is  all  they  require  for  making  their  nest. 
The  swan  sits  a  month,  but  if  the  weather  is 
bad,  they  are  known  to  remain  longer  before 
they  hatch.  The  cygnets,  or  young  swans,  re- 
main a  year  with  their  parents  ;  but  when  the 
breeding  season  approaches,  the  old  cob  or 
male  bird  drives  them  away.  This  is  the  pe- 
riod to  sell ;  and  if  the  birds  have  paired,  they 
fetch  a  higher  price  in  the  market.  Swans  are 
not  in  full  plumage  till  the  third  year.  These 
birds  often  take  flight  at  the  fall  of  the  year, 
therefore  the  old  birds  should  have  the  first 
joint  of  one  wing  removed,  which  would  pre- 
vent their  roving.  Two  pair  of  swans  will 
seldom  agree  together  upon  the  same  piece  of 
water.  The  cob,  or  male  swan,  is  larger  than 
the  female,  and  bolder.  They  require  feeding 
in  very  severe  winters,  and  the  ice  should  be 
broken  for  them  to  swim  about.  At  other  times 
they  feed  on  weeds  growing  in  the  water,  or 
herbage  on  the  banks  of  it.  Swans  and  cyg- 
nets are  caught  most  easily  with  a  swan-hook, 
which  is  a  long  pole  of  10  or  12  feet,  with  a 
blunt  hook  10  inches  in  length,  bent  at  right 
angles  to  the  pole;  the  angle  should  be  turned 
like  a  ring,  and  open  in  the  inner  side,  to  let  in 
the  neck  of  the  bird.  The  swan  has  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  snort,  but  no  voice.  They  hiss 
when  angry. 

SWARD.  Green  turf;  that  is,  the  surface 
of  land  under  pasture  grasses.  A  fine  sward 
may  be  called  the  characteristic  feature  of 
British  landscape,  not  being  found  in  the  same 
degree  of  perfection  in  any  other  country,  not 
even  in  Ireland. 

SWEAL.  To  singe  or  burn  off'  the  hair,  a- 
in  hogs.   . 

SWEET-BRIER.     See  Erlaittine. 

SWEET  FLAG.  See  Acohus  and  Aroma- 
TIC  Rkkh. 

SWEET- GRASS  (Glyceria,  from  gInJceros, 
sweet,  alluding  to  the  herbage;  whence  also 
the  common  name).  A  genus  of  grasses  of 
which  some  of  the  species  are  aquatics.  Dr. 
Smith  emumerates    6    species   indigenous  to 

102:{ 


SWEET  POTATO. 

llngland :  viz.  the  reedy  sweet-grass  (G.  aqua- 
tica),  the  floating  sweet-grass  (G.  Jlnilans),  the 
reflexed  sweet-grass  (G.  dUtans),  the  creeping 
sea  sweet-grass  (G.  iiutrilima),  the  procumbent 
tea  sweet-grass  (G.  procumbens,)  and  the  hard 
sweet-grass  (G.  riyida).  The  only  species 
which  have  been  thought  worthy  of  trial  by 
Mr.  Sinclair  and  other  experimental  cultiva- 
tors of  grasses  are : — 

1.  The  floating  sweet-grass  (G.  fluitans). 
Maruna  grass.  The  panicle  is  oblong,  branched, 
divaricating.  Spikelets  close  pressed.  Florets 
numerous,  obtuse,  seven-ribbed,  with  short  in- 
termediate ribs  at  the  base.  Nectary  obtuse, 
tumid.  This  species  appears  capable  of  being 
cultivated  as  a  permanent  pasture  grass.  The 
seetl  will  not  vegetate  unless  kept  very  moist. 
It  flowerN  from  the  first  or  second  week  of  July 
till  the  end  of  summer.  Birds  are  fond  of  the 
seeds,  and  generally  strip  the  panicle  ere  the 
seeds  are  all  perfected.  Schreber  informs  us 
that  it  is  cultivated  in  several  parts  of  Ger- 
many for  the  sake  of  the  seeds,  which  are  es- 
teemed a  delicacy  in  soups  and  gruels.  When 
ground  into  meal,  they  make  bread,  very  little 
inferior  to  that  from  wheau  The  bran  is  given 
to  horses  that  have  the  worms;  but  they  must 
be  kept  from  water  for  some  hours  afterwards. 
Fish,  particularly  trout,  are  said  to  be  very 
partial  to  the  seed. 

8.  The  reedy  sweet-grass  (G.  aquatica).  In 
this  species  the  panicle  is  erect,  repeatedly 
bratuhed.  spreading.  Florets  numerous,  ob- 
tuse, with  seven  ribs.  Nectary  cloven,  acute. 
Thi>  grass  is  common  on  the  banks  of  rivers, 
and  frequent  on  the  margins  of  standing  pools. 
On  the  banks  and  little  islands  of  the  Thames, 
where  it  is  generally  mown  twice  in  the  year 
for  hay,  it  affords  abundant  crops  of  valuable 
winter  fodder.  Mr.  Curtis  informs  us  that  in 
flat  countries,  which  do  not  admit  of  being  suf- 
ficiently drained,  it  is  almost  the  only  grass  for 
hay  and  pasturage.  In  the  fens  of  Cambridge, 
Lincoln,  &c.,  immense  tracts  which  used  to  be 
overflowed  and  produce  useless  aquatic  plants, 
and  still  retain  much  moisture,  though  drained 
by  mills,  are  covered  with  this  grass,  which 
Dot  only  affords  rich  pasturage  in  summer,  but 
forms  the  chief  part  of  their  winter  fodder.  Its 
powerful  creeping  roots  make  it  a  dangerous 
and  troublesome  weed  in  ditches,  where,  with 
other  aquatic  plants,  it  soon  chokes  them  up. 
In  the  fens  of  the  Isle  of  Ely  this  grass  grows 
to  lh«?  heigh:  of  six  feet,  and  proves  excellent 
fodder  for  milch  cows,  though  horses  are  not 
fond  of  it.  The  nutritive  matter  of  this  grass 
contains  a  greater  proportion  of  sugar  than 
exists  in  any  of  the  superior  pasture  grasses. 
The  best  manner  of  propagating  it  is  by  plant- 
ing the  routs  either  in  autumn  or  spring.  It 
flowers  about  the  second  and  third  weeks  of 
July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe  in  the  second  week 
of  .August. 

^SWEET  POTATO  {Convolvulm  bntfatus). 
Carolina  potato.  The  fine,  esculent,  tuberous 
root  of  this  species  of  low-creeping  vine  or 
convolvulus,  is  perennial.  It  flourishes  in  the 
Middle  and  Southern  States — to  which  last  it  is 
native— wherever  the  soil  is  light  and  sandy, 
refusing  to  grow  and  perfect  itself  on  clay  or 
stiff  loam  soils.  The  plant  is  propagated  bv 
1034  r    r  &  J 


SWINE. 

planting  the  tubers  in  beds  early  in  tjje  spring, 
from  which  the  young  sprouts  are  subsequently 
planted  out  in  hills  5  or  6  feet  apart.  The 
trailing  vines  must  not  be  allowed  to  strik** 
root.  The  long  roots  are  of  different  colours, 
being  rich  yellow,  red,  or  white,  and  attain  a 
large  size,  from  a  few  ounces  to  several  pounds 
in  weight.  When  boiled,  baked,  or  roasted, 
I  they  have  a  sweet  and  very  agreeable  taste, 
and  are  very  nutritious. 

SWEET  SCENTED  SHRUB  (Calycanthus 
F/onV/Hs),Carolina  Allspice.  An  American  spicy 
shrub,  the  flowers  of  which  are  extremely  odo- 
riferous, the  perfume  resembling  that  of  the 
strawberry.  The  wood  and  especially  the 
root  are  strongly  camphorated,  and  may,  Mr. 
Nuttall  thinks,  probably  produce  this  drug  as 
abundantly  as  the  Laiirus  cmnphora.  By  cutting 
off  the  terminal  leaf-buds  after  the  usual  sea- 
son, it  is  said  that  a  succession  of  flowers  may 
be  obtained  throughout  the  summer,  every  leaf- 
bud  so  extracted  being  constantly  succeeded  by 
two  flowers.  The  flowers  of  the  Calycanthus 
rarely  produce  seed,  even  in  its  native  moun- 
tains of  Carolina. 

SWINE  (Genus  Sus).  The  hog  has  been 
generally  described  as  a  creature  of  gross  ha- 
bits and  unclean  tastes,  as  having  the  senses 
of  touch  and  taste  obtuse,  and  even  as  being 
so  insensible  that  mice  may  burrow  in  his  skin 
without  his  seeming  to  feel.  But  these  opi- 
nions are  most  unjust  and  incorrect.  Far  from 
being  unclean,  nature  has  furnished  him  with 
powerful  organs  of  digestion,  enabling  him  to 
derive  sustenance  from  a  variety  of  substances, 
and  his  voracity  is  only  the  result  of  the  extent 
and  perfection  of  his  digestive  and  respiratory 
organs.  Although  one  of  the  pachydermatous, 
or  thick-skinned  animals,  the  hog  feels  blows 
acutely,  and  manifests  his  suffering  by  loud 
cries.  Indeed,  the  inference  that  his  sense  of 
touch  is  dull,  because  of  the  thick  layer  of  fat 
with  which  his  body  is  enveloped,  is  most  erro- 
neous, for  it  is  well  known  that  the  plexus  of 
nerves  which  gives  sensibility  to  the  body  is 
exterior  to  this  fatty  layer.  So  far  from  being 
insensible  to  pain,  the  hog  even  suffers  under 
the  irritation  arising  from  the  punctures  of 
gnats,  musquitoes,and  other  small  insects,  and 
endeavours  to  protect  himself  from  their  per- 
secution by  rolling  in  moist  places  and  cover- 
ing himself  with  mud. 

Natural  History  of  the  Hog. — "The  hog  (says 
Prof.  Low)  is  subject  to  remarkable  changes 
of  form  and  characters,  according  to  the  situa- 
tions in  which  he  is  placed.  When  these 
characters  assume  a  certain  degree  of  perma- 
nence, a  breed  or  variety  is  formed  ;  and  there 
is  none  of  the  domestic  animals  which  more 
easily  receives  the  characters  we  desire  to  im- 
press upon  it.  This  arises  from  its  rapid  pow- 
ers of  increase,  and  the  constancy  with  which^ 
the  characters  of  the  parents  are  reproduced  in 
the  progeny.  There  is  no  kind  of  live-stock 
that  can  be  so  easily  improved  by  the  breeder, 
and  so  quickly  rendered  suited  to  the  purposes 
required ;  and  the  same  characters  of  external 
form  indicate  in  the  hog  a  disposition  to  arrive 
at  early  maturity  of  muscle  and  fat  as  in  the  ox 
and  sheep.  The  body  is  large  in  proportion  to 
the  limbs,  or,  in  other  words,  the  limbs  are 


SWINE. 


SWINE. 


short  in  proportion  to  the  body;  the  extremi- 
ties are  free  from  coarseness ;  the  chest  is 
broad,  and  the  trunk  round.  Possessing  these 
characters,  the  hog  never  fails  to  arrive  at 
earlier  maturity,  and  with  a  smaller  consump- 
tion of  food,  than  when  he  possesses  a  different 
conformation." 

The  wild  boar,  which  was  undoubtedly  the 
progenitor  of  all  the  European  varieties,  and 
also  of  the  Chinese  breed,  was  formerly  a  na- 
tive of  the  British  Islands,  and  very  common 
in  the  forests  until  the  time  of  the  civil  wars  in 
England. 

The  wild  hog  is  now  spread  over  the  tem- 
perate and  warmer  parts  of  the  old  continent 
and  its  adjacent  islands.  His  colour  varies 
with  age  and  climate,  but  is  generally  a  dusky 
brown  with  black  spots  and  streaks.  His  skin 
is  covered  with  coarse  hairs  or  bristles,  inter- 
sected with  soft  wool,  and  with  coarser  and 
longer  brisUes  upon  the  neck  and  spine,  which 
he  erects  when  in  anger.  He  is  a  very  bold 
and  powerful  creature,  and  becomes  more 
fierce  and  indocile  with  age.  From  the  form 
of  his  teeth  he  is  chiefly  herbivorous  in  his 
habits,  and  delights  in  roots,  which  his  acute 
sense  of  smell  and  touch  enables  him  to  dis- 
cover beneath  the  sur.Oace.  He  also  feeds  upon 
animal  substances,  such  as  worms  and  larvae, 
which  he  grubs  up  from  the  ground,  the  eggs 
of  birds,  small  reptiles,  the  young  of  animals, 
and  occasionally  carrion ;  he  even  attacks 
venomous  snakes  with  impunity. 

The  female  produces  a  litter  but  once  a  year, 
and  in  much  smaller  numbers  than  when  do- 
mesticated. She  usually  carries  her  young  for 
4  months,  or  16  weeks. 

In  a  wild  state  the  hog  ha.s  been  known  to 
live  more  than  30  years;  but  when  domesti- 
cated he  is  usually  slaughtered  for  bacon  be- 
fore he  is  2  years  old,  and  boars  killed  for 
brawn  seldom  reach  to  the  age  of  5.  When 
the  wild  hog  is  tamed,  it  undergoes  the  follow- 
ing amongst  other  changes  in  its  conformation. 
The  ears  become  less  movable,  not  being  re- 
quired to  collect  distant  sounds.  The  formi- 
dable tusks  of  the  male  diminish,  not  being 
necessary  for  self-defence.  The  muscles  of 
the  neck  become  less  developed,  from  not  be- 
ing so  much  exercised  as  in  the  natural  state. 
The  head  becomes  more  inclined,  the  back  and 
loins  are  lengthened,  the  body  rendered  more 
capacious,  the  limbs  shorter  and  less  muscu- 
lar; and  anatomy  proves  that  the  stomach  and 
intestinal  canals  have  also  become  propor- 
tionately extended  along  with  the  form  of  the 
body.  The  habits  and  instincts  of  the  animal 
change :  it  becomes  diurnal  in  its  habits, 
not  choosing  the  night  for  its  search  of  food  ; 
is  more  insatiate  in  its  appetite,  and  the  tend- 
ency to  obesity  increases. 

The  male,  forsaking  its  solitary  habits,  be- 
comes gregarious,  and  the  female  produces  her 
young  more  frequently,  and  in  larger  numbers. 
With  its  diminished  strength  and  power  of  ac- 
tive motion,  the  animal  also  loses  its  desire  for 
liberty.  These  changes  of  form,  appetites,  and 
habits  being  communicated  to  its  progeny,  a 
new  race  of  animals  is  produced,  better  suited 
to  their  altered  condition.  The  wild  hog,  after 
*T  has  been  domesticated,  does  not  appear  to 
129 


I  revert  to  its  former  state  and  habits ;  at  least 

I  the  swine  of  South  America,  carried  thither  by 

the   Spaniards,   which    have    escaped  to   the 

woods,  retain  their  gregarious  habits,  and  have 

not  become  wild  boars. 

In  its  wild  state  the  hog  has  6  incisor  teeth 
in  the  upper,  and  6  in  the  lower  jaw;  but 
when  domesticated  the  number  is  re(Juced  to 
3  in  each  jaw,  and  this  number  is  not  constant. 
The  vertebrae  of  the  back  vary  from  14  to  15 
in  number;  the  lumbar  and  the  sacral  from  4 
to  6 ;  the  caudal  from  2  to  3  or  4,  the  tail  being 
often  rudimental  in  the  domesticated  races. 

Mr.  T.  E.  Eyton  (Trans,  of  Zool.  Soc,  Feb. 
1837),  amongst  other  osteological  differences 
in  the  races  of  hogs,  points  out  the  following 
as  applicable  to  the  number  of  vertebrae: — 


English 

African 

Chinese 

Wild 

Domestic 

Cervical 

male. 

male. 

male. 

Boar. 

Hog. 

7 

7 

7 

7 

7 

Dorsal  - 

15 

13 

15 

14 

14 

Lumbar 

6 

6 

4 

5 

5 

Sacral  - 

6 

5 

4 

4 

4 

Caudal 

21 

13 

19 

20 

23 

55 

44 

49 

50 

53 

The  hog  family  includes  several  species,  but 
these  have  usually  been  divided  into  three 
genera. 

1.  The  true  hi  g,  which  is  the  most  diffused 
and  important  class,  comprehending  the  wild 
boar  (Susaper)  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa;  the 
babiroussa  (Sus  bahirussa)  of  the  islands  of 
the  Eastern  Archipelago,  which  is  of  lighter 
form  than  the  common  wild  hog;  the  Papuan 
hog  (Sus  pnpuensis)  of  New  Guinea,  and  the 
wood  swine,  or  masked  African  boar  (S.  lar- 
vatus),  of  Southern  Africa  and  Madagascar. 

2.  The  wart-bearing  hogs  of  Africa  {Phaco- 
choRres). 

3.  The  peccaries  of  America.  Of  these 
there  are  two  species,  the  collared  peccary 
(Dirotyles  torquatus)  and  the  white-lipped  pec- 
cary (D.  labiatus),  both  inhabiting  the  countries 
of  the  Atlantic  from  Guiana  and  Paraguay, 
extending  into  the  northern  continent,  being 
common  on  Red  River.  The  peccaries  are 
rather  smaller  than  the  common  swine  of  Eu- 
rope :  they  are  covered  with  stiff  bristles,  very 
long  upon  the  neck  and  spine,  which  they  erect 
when  irritated,  are  nearly  destitute  of  tail,  and 
are  further  characterized  by  a  glandular  open- 
ing in  the  back,  whence  the  generic  term 
dicotyles,  signifying  a  double  navel. 

The  true  hog  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
indigenous  to  America,  but  was  taken  over  by 
the  early  voyagers  from  the  old  world,  and  it 
has  now  spread  and  multiplied  throughout  the 
continent. 

The  first  settlers  of  Canada,  the  British 
North  American  settlements,  and  the  United 
States,  carried  with  them  the  swine  of  the  pa- 
rent country,  and  a  few  of  the  breeds  still  re- 
tain traces  of  the  old  English  character.  From 
its  nature  and  habits  the  hog  was  the  most  pro- 

j  fitable  and  useful  of  all  the  animals  bred  by  the 
early  settler  in  the  distant  clearings.     It  was 

!  his  surest  resource  during  his  first  years  of  toil 

•  and  hardship.     It  arrived  earlier  at  maturity, 
required  less  care,  sought  out,  for  the  most 

1  part,  its  own  food,  was  *he  least  subject  to  ac- 
4r2  1025 


SWINE. 

ei4«nt8  and  diseases  in  a  new  situation,  and 
thererore  best  repaid  any  portion  of  attention 
bestowed  on  the  breeding  and  rearing  iU 

Their  widely  extended  foreign  commerce  af- 
forded the  Americans  opportunities  of  procuring 
Ae  varieties  from  China,  Africa,  and  other  coun- 
tries. The  large  consumption  of  pork  in  the 
United  Stales,  far  exceeding  the  consumption 
of  any  other  country,  has  also  contnbufd 
Biminly  to  the  improvement  of  the  breeds,  by 
Mwriag  the  Americans  to  pay  considerable  at- 
IHrtion  lo  the  rearing  of  swine,  which  have 
thus  become  one  of  the  most  important  articles 
of  commerce,  and  a  source  of  considerable 
proAl  to  the  breeder  on  a  large  scale. 

Brted$^— The  various  breeds  which  have 
been  reared  by  ctt)sses  between  those  procured 
from  different  countries  are  so  numerous,  that 
to  give  any  thing  like  a  detailed  description  of 
all  would  fill  a  volume  instead  of  an  essay.  1 
shall,  therefore,  confine  myself  lo  a  short  no- 
tice of  those  which  are  either  considered  as 
the  origin  of  some  peculiar  race,  or  most  gene- 
rally bred  for  their  fattening  or  other  profitable 
qualities.  The  celebrated  English  breeder,  Cul- 
ley,  only  distinguishes  four  breeds,  the  Berk- 
"  ■     ,  the  Chinese,  the  Highland,  and  the  Irish 


The  principal  breeds  of  England  have  been 
nimally  named  after  the  particular  counties  or 
localities  where  they  have  been,  for  the  most 

Birt,  reared.  Thus,  we  have  the  Berkshire,  the 
ampshire,  the  Essex,  the  Suffolk,  and  a  dozen 
others,  each  supposed  to  be  distinguished  by  a 
evrtain  set  of  common  characters.  Those  ap- 
pro\'ed  on  account  of  their  superior  size,  and 
therefore  usually  reared  for  the  purpose  of 
making  bacon,  are  the  Berks,  Hants,  Hereford, 
Salop,  Norfolk,  and  Chester  breeds.  The 
breed  best  adapted  for  table  pork  is  the  small 
white  Chinese.  There  are,  however,  particu- 
lar breeds  preferred  by  individuals. 

7%*  Btrkshirt  Brted.  This  was  one  of  the 
earliest  improved  of  the  English  breeds,  and 
it  is  now  the  most  widely  distributed,  as  it 
is  the  most  superior,  of  the  numerous  varieties 
of  England.  It  is  a  breed  which  is  distinguished 
by  being,  in  general,  of  a  tawny  white,  or 
rofous-brown  colour,  spotted  with  black  or 
brown;  head  well  placed,  large  ears,  generally 
standing  forward,  though  sometimes  hanging 
orer  the  eyes;  body  thick,  close,  and  well 
made ;  legs  short,  small  in  the  bone ;  coat 
rough  and  curly,  wearing  the  appearance  of 
tiidicaiing  both  skin  and  flesh  of  a  coarse  qua- 
lity. 8uch.  however,  is  not  the  case,  for  they 
have  a  disposition  to  fatten  quickly:  nothing 
can  be  finer  than  the  bacon,  and  the  animals 
attain  to  a  very  great  size,  averaging  from  50 
lo  60  stone,  although  they  have  not  uncom- 
monly reached  to  the  prodigious  weight  of  100 
stone  and  upwards. 

The  county  of  Berkshire  has  long  been  cele- 
brated for  its  famous  breed  of  swine,  and  the 
breed  has,  by  frequent  and  judicious  crossing, 
been  much  altered  for  the  better.  The  original 
breed  was  of  the  larger  race  of  swine,  and  is 
described  as  being  long,  and  rather  crooked- 
•nouted,  with  uncouth,  heavy  ears ;  body  long 
*nd  thick,  though  not  very  deep ;  legs  short, 

ih  much  bone ;  although  slow  feeders,  they 
1086  ■" 


SWINE. 

always  made  great  weights.  The  character  of 
the  true  Berkshire  seems  to  indicate  that  one 
of  the  earliest  means  employed  to  improve 
them  was  a  cross  with  the  wild  boar.  The 
improved  breed  is  lighter  in  the  head  and  ear, 
shorter  in  the  carcass,  with  somewhat  less 
bone,  and  higher  in  the  leg :  in  colour  gene- 
rally dark  spotted.  They  have  little  offal,  thin 
rind  and  hair,  and  few  or  no  stout  bristles. 
The  native  breed  is  still  occasionally  crossed, 
either  with  the  pure  Chinese  or  the  Tonquin 
race  ;  and  it  is  asserted,  on  good  authority,  that 
if  not  crossed  once  in  6  or  7  years  with  the 
Asiatic  breed,  they  will  degenerate  in  shape 
and  quality.  The  improved  Berkshires  will 
be  found  excellent  in  all  respects,  but  particu- 
larly as  a  cross  for  heavy,  slow-feeding  hogs. 
The  unqualified  approbation  which  this  breed 
has  obtained,  renders  it  incumbent  on  every 
breeder  who  wishes  to  improve  his  stock  of 
swine  to  obtain  a  cross  with  that  race.  Al. 
though  hardy  and  thrifty  in  its  nature,  the 
Berkshire  hog  requires  constant  good  keep,  or 
it  will  decline  fast. 

The  old  English  Breed. — The  original  native 
breeds  of  Great  Britain  may  be  arranged  into 
two  general  classes;  but  between  these  ex- 
tremes there  are  so  many  varieties,  that  num- 
bers cannot  be  reduced  to  either  class. 

1.  Those  of  small  size,  with  the  ears  erect,  or 
partly  so,  of  which  the  most  marked  are  those 
of  the  Highlands  and  islands  of  Scotland.  They 
are  hardy  creatures,  usually  of  a  du^ky-brown 
colour,  having  an  arched  back,  with  coarse 
bristles  on  the  neck  and  spine;  and  approxi- 
mate closely  in  character  and  habits  to  the 
wild  hog.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  left  to 
provide  for  themselves,  ranging  at  large  over 
the  heaths  and  moors,  grubbing  up  roots  and 
destroying  the  eggs  of  birds,  and  even  newly- 
born  iambs,  when  they  come  in  their  w^ay. 
These  hogs  are  usually  very  meager  and  thin; 
flesh  coarse  and  fibrous ;  but  it  is  greatly  im- 
proved when  the  animals  are  confined  and 
properly  fed.  When  roaming  at  large  on  the 
sea-coast,  their  flesh,  from  feeding  on  shell- 
fish, sea-weed,  and  the  bodies  of  fish  which 
are  cast  up  by  the  tide,  acquires  a  rank  and 
unctuous  taste. 

2.  The  second  class  comprises  those  of  a 
larger  body,  with  long,  pendent  ears. 

Although  their  colour  varies  considerably, 
they  are,  for  the  most  part,  white,  or  white 
spotted  with  black.  The  characteristics  of  this 
old  race,  where  it  exists  without  intermixture 
with  foreign  blood  (which  is  not  often  the  case 
in  the  present  day),  are  a  huge,  uncouth  form, 
large  bones,  long  limbs,  arched  and  narrow 
back,  low  shoulder,  and  long  snout,  with  the 
ears  large  and  flapping,  covering  the  greater 
part  of  the  face.  They  consume  much  food, 
are  slow  feeders,  and  their  only  recommenda- 
tion is  that  of  being  prolific  breeders,  and  at- 
taining to  a  large  size  when  fattened  at  the  age 
of  two  or  three  years.     The  old  English  breed, 

I  and  many  other  once  celebrated  local  races  of 
that  country,  have  all  had  their  distinctive  cha- 

i  racters  more  or  less  effaced  by  crossing. 

I      The  Chinese  or  Siamese  breed. — The  varieties 

I  of  this  widely-extended  race  which  are  the 
most  common  in  England,  were  brought  to 


SWINE. 


SWINE. 


AiTierica  and  Ens^land  from  Canton  and  other  i 
[ndian  ports,  for  the  most  part  as  sea-stock,  by 
;he  vessels  employed  in  the  tea  trade,  &c.  Ow- ! 
ing  to  the  much  larger  consumption  of  pork  by 
:he  (yhinese  than  of  any  other  animal  food,  they 
pay  great  attention  to  the  rearing  and  fattening 
3f  their  swine.  It  is  said  they  even  use  the 
milk  of  the  sow  for  domestic  purposes.  The 
pure  Chinese  breed  is  too  delicate  and  sensi- 
ble of  cold  to  be  of  much  value  in  climates 
liable  to  frequent  changes  of  temperature.  It 
is  chiefly,  therefore,  by  intermixture  that  its 
value  is  recognised;  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  its  introduction  has  proved  so  beneficial 
in  England,  by  correcting  the  coarseness  of 
form,  quieting  the  restless  disposition,  and  add- 
ing a  greater  tendency  to  mature  quickly  and 
fatten  kindly.  The  flesh  of  the  Eastern  hogs 
is  more  suited  for  pork  than  for  bacon.  Mr. 
Culley  subdivides  the  Chinese  breed  into  seven 
varieties,  but  there  appear  to  be  only  two  dis- 
tinct species — the  while  and  the  black;  the  for- 
mer belter  shaped  than  the  latter,  but  less  hardy 
and  prolific.  Both  are,  however,  small-limbed; 
ears  and  head  ihin  and  transparent,  small  and 
fine;  neck  thick;  the  body  close, compact,  and 
well  formed;  legs  very  short;  flesh  delicate; 
round  in  the  carcass,  thin-skinned,  and  the 
head  so  embedded  in  the  neck  that,  when  quite 
fat,  the  end  only  of  the  snout  can  be  seen. 
They  are  rather  difficult  to  rear;  the  sows  are 
bad  nurses;  and,  from  their  small  size,  they 
seldom  reach  lo  a  greater  weight  than  from  10 
to  12  stone  when  one  year  old,  and  16  to  18 
stone  when  two  years  old. 

The  black  race,  from  their  valuable  proper- 
lies  of  fattening  on  a  small  proportion  of  food, 
being  very  thrifty,  and  prolific  breeders,  not- 
withstanding their  inferior  size,  have  been  ad- 
vantageously crossed  with  other  breeds. 

There  is  a  mixed  tawny  breed,  or  patched 
with  black  and  white,  which  is  valuable  for 
breeding  sows  and  roasters. 

Hampshire  breed. — This  is  a  very  large  breed, 
which  is  longer  in  the  neck  and  body,  but  not 
so  compact  in  form  as  the  Berkshire.  They 
are  mostly  of  a  while  colour,  or  spotted,  and 
are  well  disposed  to  fatten,  coming  up  to  a 
great  weight  when  properly  managed  in  re- 
spect to  food.  The  goodness  of  the  Hampshire 
hog  is  proverbial ;  it  is  principally  fattened  for 
large  hams  and  bacon. 

The  Shropshire  breed  is  large  and  coarse ;  but 
these  hogs  are  found  profitable  where  the  keep 
is  in  sufficient  abundance  for  their  support; 
hence  they  are  held  in  estimation  in  England 
by  distillers,  and  are  commonly  fed  to  30  score 
weight  and  upwards.  They  are  neither  so  well 
formed  as  those  of  the  Berkshire  breed,  nor  do 
they  equal  them  in  their  disposition  to  fatten 
and  thrive  on  cheap  food.  The  standard  co- 
lour of  the  Shropshire  hog  appears  to  be  white, 
or  brindled  with  black,  and  sometimes  sandy 
patches.  The  breed  may  be  described  as  flat- 
boned,  deep  and  flat-sided,  harsh  or  rather  wiry- 
haired,  the  ears  large ;  head  long,  sharp,  and 
coarse ;  leg  too  long,  low,  although  very  sub- 
stantial, yet  not  sufficiently  wide,  considering 
the  great  extent  of  the  whole  frame.  Within 
the  last  15  or  20  years  this  breed  has  been 
much  improved  by  a  cross  with  the  Berkshire, 


which  has  reduced  the  length  both  of  their  legs 
and  carcass,  and  rendered  the  head  lighter. 

The  Rudgitnck  breed. — This  is  the  most  enor- 
mous breed  in  Great  Britain,  and  is  reared 
about  th§  neighbourhood  of  a  village  on  the 
borders  of  Sussex  and  Surrey,  whence  it  takes 
its  name.  They  feed  to  an  extraordinary  size 
without  any  peculiar  care,  and  weigh,  at  two 
years  old,  on  an  average,  full  70  stone,  which 
is  nearly  double  what  other  kinds  will  weigh 
at  the  same  age.  The  Rudwick  sows  are  ac- 
counted good  mothers,  very  prolific  and  hardy, 
and  are  particularly  noted  as  being  an  ex- 
tremely large  sort,  having  been  known  to 
weigh  from  80  to  116  stone,  8  lbs.  to  the  stone. 
Indeed,  some  have  reached  to  the  extraordi- 
nary weight  of  182  stone.  As  large  breeds 
pay  the  farmer  the  best  in  many  cases,  such  a 
breed  as  the  Rudgwick  deserves  to  be  attended 
to  in  the  system  of  hog  management. 

The  Suffolk  and  Norfolk  breeds  have  been  long 
in  repute  as  hardy  and  prolific  species,  and 
when  crossed  with  either  the  Dishley  or  the 
Berkshire  hog,  produce  animals  which  are 
held  in  very  general  esteem. 

The  Norfolk  breed. — This  is  described  as  be- 
ing a  small,  short  set-eared,  thin-skinned  pork- 
ing  sort,  various  in  colour,  white,  bluish,  stri- 
ated; generally  an  inferior  kind.  But  on  the 
Lincoln  side  of  the  county  there  is  a  large 
spotted  variety  of  very  good  form  and  quality. 

The  Suffolk  breed  is  a  small,  delicate,  white 
race,  which  has  for  many  years  been  held  in 
good  estimation.  They  are  shorter  and  more 
pug-formed  than  the  Norfolks ;  and  by  their 
dish  face  and  pendent  belly,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  variety  proceeded  originally 
from  the  white  Chinese  breed.  Their  defects 
are,  that  they  are  great  consumers  in  propor- 
tion to  their  small  bulk,  and  that  they  produce 
little  flesh. 

The  Woburn  breed. — This  is  a  large,  hardy, 
well-formed,  and  very  prolific  variety,  intro- 
duced by  the  late  Duke  of  Bedford,  which  is 
generally  white,  spotted  with  various  colours, 
round  in  the  carcass,  small-limbed  and  headed, 
and  so  kindly  disposed  to  fatten,  that  they  are 
said  to  attain  about  twice  the  size  and  weight 
of  other  sorts  of  hogs  within  the  same  given 
period  of  time. 

The  Tonkey  or  Tovqnin  breed  is  a  cross  be- 
tween the  Berkshire  and  the  Chinese,  which 
has  produced  a  species  possessing  very  many 
good  points. 

The  Dishley  breed,  reared  by  the  celebrated 
cattle-breeder,  Bakewell,  are  remarkably  fine- 
boned  and  delicate,  besides  possessing  consi- 
derable beauty,  and  are  said  to  lay  on  a  larger 
quantity  of  meat,  in  proportion  to  bone  and 
offal,  than  any  other  kind  known.  When  fat, 
they  are  nearly  equal  in  height,  length,  and 
thickness,  their  bellies  almost  touching  the 
ground,  the  eyes  being  deep-set  and  sunk  from 
fat,  and  the  whole  carcass  appearing  to  be  a 
solid  mass  of  flesh.  As  a  set-off  to  these  good 
qualities,  are  the  defects  of  their  being  slow  of 
growth,  tender  constitutioned,  bad  nurses,  not 
very  prolific,  and  requiring  more  food  in  fat- 
tening than  the  larger  hogs.  By  a  cross  with 
a  Dishley  boar,  several  of  the  native  breeds  of 
the  different  English  counties  have  been  much 

1027 


SWINE. 


SWINE. 


improved.  A  roundness  ha;  been  given  to  the 
irame,  with  a  proiwrlionaie  depth  of  body;  the 
legs  have  been  shortened,  a  finer  bone  pro- 
duced, with  a  better  appearance  when  growing 
as  a  store,  and  a  disposition  to  fee^  quicker 
and  more  kindly  in  the  sty. 

Small  white  Entfltth  hrted.— This  breed  of 
small  hogs  is  met  with  in  several  districts,  but 

(►revails  most  in  the  northern  parts  of  England. 
t  is  of  a  white  colour,  thick,  compact,  and 
well  made  in  the  body,  short  in  the  leg;  the 
head  and  neck  well  formed,  ears  slouching  a 
little  downwards ;  hardy,  and  well  disposed  to 
fatten. 

The  E$$ex  breed, — The  original  Essex  breed 
iras  not  held  in  much  repute.  Their  peculiar 
character  was  a  long,  sharp  head-  round- 
backed;  carcass  flat,  long,  and  generally  high 
apon  the  leg;  bones  not  large;  colour  white, 
or  black  and  white;  bare  of  hair;  quick  feed- 
ers, but  great  consumers,  and  of  an  unquiet 
disposition.  A  variety  known  as  the  Essex 
kaif-blarkt,  which  were  introduced  some  years 
ago  by  the  late  Lord  Western,  as  descendants 
from  the  Berkshire,  have  now  justly  acquired 
such  very  great  celebrity,  as  to  be  considered 
by  many  good  judges  superior  to  most  breeds 
in  the  kingdom.  They  are  described  in  the 
Ktstx  Report  as  black  and  while,  short-haired, 
thin-skinned,  with  smaller  heads  and  ears  than 
the  Berkshire,  but  feathered  with  inside  hair, 
which  is  a  distinctive  mark  of  both;  having 
short,  snubby  noses,  very  fine  bone,  broad  and 
deep  in  the  belly,  full  in  the  hind-quarters,  but 
light  in  the  bone  and  offal.  They  feed  remark- 
ably quick,  grow  fast,  and  are  of  an  excellent 
quality  of  meat.  The  sows  are  good  breeders, 
and  bring  litters  from  8  to  12;  but  they  have 
the  character  of  being  bad  nurses. 

The  Wilifhire  Breed. — Originally  this  was  a 
long-bodied,  low  hog,  hollow  about  the  shoul- 
ders, and  high  on  the  rump;  with  middling 
large  pointed  ears;  round  bone;  and  light  in 
colour.  But  of  late  years  this  breed  has  been 
advantageously  crossed  with  the  pig  and  Berk- 
shire sorts,  and  a  smaller  and  better  variety 
produced. 

The  Glourester,  the  Yorkshire,  the  Northampton, 
and  the  Hereford  breeds,  call  for  little  notice. 
The  Hereford  appears  to  be  a  descendant  of 
the  Shropshire,  and  is  a  large,  useful  race  ;  but 
the  others  are  very  inferior  kinds,  possessing 
few  good  points. 

In  reviewing  the  various  breeds  of  swine, 
a  brief  survey  of  the  principal  continental  va- 
rieties and  distinct  races  may  not  be  out  of 
place.  I  shall  therefore  give  a  slightly  altered 
abridgment  of  a  diffuse  article  which  some 
time  since  appeared  in  the  Quart.  Jour,  of  Aer. 
vol.  iii.  p.  49. 

France. — In  the  time  of  Buffon,  the  greater 
portion  of  the  hog3  of  Vivarez  and  the  north 
of  France  were  white  ;  while  in  Dauphiny, 
Languedoc,  and  Provence,  they  were  all  black: 
black  pigs  still  prevail  both  in  Spain  and  Italy. 
The  variety  known  in  France  under  the  name 
of /wrr  de  nnhles  appears  to  be  derived  from  the 
improved  English  breed,  which  originated  in 
a  cross  between  an  Anglo-Chinese  sow  and  an 
eronncipated  American  boar.  The  French 
creeds  of  swine  are  in  general  bad,  but  excel- 
102S 


lent  hams  are  sent  from  Bretagne  from  h.  gs 
reared  on  acorns  and  fatted  off  with  maize. 
The  principal  breeds  of  France  at  the  present 
time  are — 

1.  The  race  of  the  Pays  d'jluge,  in  which  the 
head  is  small  and  sharp,  ears  narrow  and 
pointed,  body  long,  legs  broad  and  strong,  hair 
coarse,  white,  and  bones  small.  It  attains  to 
the  weight  of  800  lbs. 

2.  The  race  of  Poitou. — The  distinguishing 
characters  of  which  are,  head  long  and  thick, 
with  the  point  projecting,  ears  large  and  pen- 
dulous, body  long,  bones  large,  but  broad  and 
strong,  bristles  coarse.  Its  weight  seldom  ex- 
ceeds 500  lbs. 

3.  The  race  of  Perigord.  —  Neck  thick  and 
short,  body  broad  and  compact,  hair  black. 
This  race,  crossed  with  others,  has  produced  the 
pied  swine,  so  common  in  the  south  of  France. 

4.  The  race  of  Champagne. — These  do  not  fat- 
ten well,  they  are  of  large  dimensions,  with 
long,  flat  sides,  broad,  pendent  ears,  and  coarse 
white  hair. 

.5.  The  race  of  Boulogne  are  also  of  considera- 
ble size,  and  disposed  to  fatten  quickly;  ears 
very  broad,  general  colour  white.  This  breed 
has  sprung  from  a  cross  between  the  larger 
English  breed  and  one  of  the  common  races 
of  France. 

The  French  pigs,  although  they  have  excited 
many  facetious  observations  from  travellers, 
and  not  unfrequently  been  compared  to  grey- 
hounds, may  be  fattened,  we  are  assured,  at  a 
small  expense ;  and  the  method  of  doing  this 
is  now  beginning  to  be  understood.  The 
Chinese  and  English  breeds  are  also  getting 
into  use  for  crossing.  The  fact  that  4,000,000 
pigs  are  killed  yearly  in  France,  shows  of  how 
great  importance  they  are  to  the  small  agricul- 
turist.    {For.  Quart.  Rev.) 

Otheu  European  breeds. — In  some  parts 
of  Hungary  the  breed  of  swine  is  excellent. 
In  Germany  swine  are  common,  but  the  breed 
is  everywhere  indifferent.  Of  the  other  con- 
tinental races  only  a  very  few  require  particu- 
lar notice. 

The  Jutland  swine,  which  are  of  a  large  size, 
and  form  an  important  branch  of  Danish  com- 
merce, have  the  ears  large  and  pendent,  body 
elongated,  back  somewhat  curved,  legs  long. 

The  Swedish  sivine. — The  most  peculiar  and 
characteristic  breed  of  Sweden  are  supposed 
to  contain  a  cross  of  the  wild  boar,  and  have 
the  head  broad,  turned  upwards ;  ears  unusu- 
ally erect,  body  lengthened,  legs  long. 

The  Polish  and  Russian  pigs  are  generally 
small,  and  of  a  reddish  or  yellowish  colour. 

Race  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. — This  breed  is 
somewhat  less  in  size,  but  else  approaches 
closely  to  the  Siamese  pig,  and  is  nearly  iden- 
tical with  the  breed  of  the  South  Sea  Islands. 
It  probably  originated  in  India.  The  hair  is 
black  or  deep  chestnut,  hard,  and  thinly  scat- 
tered ;  the  ears  are  straight,  and  tail  pendent 
and  terminated  by  a  tuft  of  bristles.  This  race 
is  now  very  generally  distributed;  it  has  been 
propagated  extensively  in  Australasia,  and  now 
occurs  not  only  in  Southern  Africa,  but  in 
several  parts  of  South  America. 

The  smooth  or  short-legged  swine,  a  breed  de- 
rived from  the  Chinese,  are  bred  in  Spain,  Por- 


IIP 


SWES'E. 


tii2:al,  Savoy,  and  the  north  and  south  of  Italy. 
This  pig  is  of  small  size,  very  productive,  and 
a  ready  fattener;  it  is  usually  of  a  copper 
colour,  but  sometimes  occurs  of  a  bright  fiery 
red.  The  head  is  unusually  short,  the  jaws 
thick,  the  forehead  stunted;  the  skin  falls  in 
folds  above  the  eyes ;  the  ears  are  short,  pointed, 
and  almost  erect ;  the  neck  is  thick  and  strong, 
the  chest  very  vigorous,  the  body  round  and 
lengthened,  the  legs  short  and  strong,  the  skin 
very  thin,  and  the  bristles  short  and  slender. 

The  Zealand  hog  is  of  a  mixed  Chinese  race, 
and  weighs  from  160  to  240  lbs.  about  the  ^nd 
of  its  second  year.  It  has  the  ears  erect,  body 
short,  back  strongly  bristled,  tail  small. 

The  I'lirkish  hog  fattens  in  half  the  time  re- 
quired by  many  of  the  larger  and  more  com- 
mon breeds,  and  weighs  from  300  to  400  lbs. 
It  prevails  throughout  European  Turkey,  and 
a  great  portion  of  the  Austrian  dominions. 
Ears  straight  and  pointed  ;  legs  short  and  fine  ; 
body  scarcely  longer  than  high,  and  covered 
all  over  with  slender  frizzled  bristles,  of  a  gray 
colour,  more  or  less  deep,  approaching  to 
rufous  brown. 

The  pig  of  Guinea  (not  the  Guinea  pig)  is  a 
remarkable  variety,  which  is  little  known. 
The  back  is  bare ;  head  small ;  ears  long, 
slender,  and  much  pointed ;  tail  long,  naked, 
reaching  to  the  ground ;  hair  short,  red,  shining, 
finer  and  softer  than  that  of  any  other  known 
race. 

In  Asia  only  Europeans  and  the  low  Hindoos 
eat  pork.  Wild  hogs  are  abundant,  and  do  so 
much  injury  to  the  rice  fields  that  it  is  a  mate- 
rial part  of  the  ryot's  business  to  watch  them, 
which  he  does  night  and  day,  on  a  raised  plat- 
form of  bamboos. 

Of  the  Mediterranean  breeds  there  are  seve- 
ral, which  are  approved  and  held  in  much  esti- 
mation ;  among  these  are  the  Maltese,  the 
Neapolitan,  &c.,  and  hogs  are  occasionally 
brought  from  the  sea-ports  of  Turkey  and 
Spain. 

The  Maltese  breed  was  at  one  time  in  great 
favour  in  England ;  it  was  of  small  size,  of  a 
black  colour,  nearly  destitute  of  bristles,  with 
an  aptitude  to  fatten  readily.  A  breed  from 
the  country  near  Naples  has  been  recently  in- 
troduced, which  is  extensively  employed  as  a 
cross  with  the  existing  native  breeds.  This 
Neapolitan  breed  is  very  similar  to  the  Maltese 
breed  already  alluded  to.  Their  flesh  is  good 
and  delicate,  but  the  animals  are  not  hardy, 
and  5uite  unfit  for  general  use.  The  duchy  of 
Parma  is  said  to  produce  the  best  hogs  of  Italy, 
which  possess  all  th^  good  qualities  of  those 
about  Naples.  They  are  also  more  hardy,  and 
of  larger  size. 

In  Slexico  they  have  a  very  fine  race  of  hogs, 
which  are  regarded  as  an  important  article  of 
commerce.  They  are  kept  very  clean,  and 
often  given  a  cold  bath,  as  the  breeders  find 
from  experience  that  cleanliness  contributes 
mainly  to  their  rapid  growth,  upon  less  food. 
This  is  fully  corroborated  by  the  following  ex- 
periment, which  was  recently  made  by  a  gen- 
tleman from  Norfolk.  Six  pigs  of  nearly  equal 
size  were  put  to  keeping  at  the  same  time,  and 
treated  the  same  as  to  food  and  litter  for  seven 
weeks.     Three  of  them  were  left  to  shift  for 


SWINE. 

themselves  as  to  cleanliness ;  the  other  three 
were  kept  as  clean  as  possible  by  a  man  em- 
ployed for  the  purpose,  with  a  currycomb  and 
brush.  The  last  consumed  in  seven  weeks 
fewer  peas  by  five  bushels  than  the  other  three, 
yet  weighed  more  when  killed  by  two  stone  and 
four  pounds  upon  the  average. 

Bullock  informs  us  that  the  Mexicans  are 
very  curious  in  rearing  and  feeding  swine,  and 
that  an  essential  requisite  in  a  Mexican  swine- 
herd is  an  agreeable  voice,  in  order  that  he 
may  sing  or  charm  the  animals  into  peace 
when  they  quarrel  and  fight,  and  lull  them  to- 
sleep  at  proper  times,  to  promote  their  fatten- 
ing. (Travels,  1824.)  There  are  many  wild 
swine  in  Paraguay. 

Characteristics  of  a  good  hog. — There  is  evi- 
dently much  diversity  in  swine  in  different  cir- 
cumstances and  situations.  Like  other  descrip- 
tions of  stock,  they  should  be  selected  with 
especial  reference  to  the  nature  of  the  climate, 
the  keep  and  the  circumstances  of  the  manage- 
ment under  which  the  farm  is  conducted.  The 
chief  points  to  be  consulted  in  judging  of  the 
breeds  of  this  animal  are  the  form  or  shape  of 
the  ear,  and  the  quality  of  the  hair.  The  pen- 
dulous or  lop  ear,  and  coarse,  harsh  hair,  are 
commonly  asserted  to  indicate  largeness  of  size 
and  thickness  of  skin  ;  while  erect  or  prick  ears 
show  the  size  to  be  smaller,  but  the  animals  to 
be  more  quick  in  feeding. 

In  the  selection  of  swine,  the  best  formed  are 
considered  to  be  those  which  are  not  too  long, 
but  full  in  the  head  and  cheek  ;  thick  and  rather 
short  in  the  neck;  fine  in  the  bone;  thick, 
plump,  and  compact  in  the  carcase ;  full  in  the 
quarters,  fine  and  thin  in  the  hide;  and  of  a 
good  size  according  to  the  breed,  with,  above 
all,  a  kindly  disposition  to  fatten  well  and  expe- 
ditiously at  an  early  age.  Depth  of  carcass, 
lateral  extension,  breadth  of  the  loin  and  breast, 
proportionate  length,  moderate  shortness  of  the 
legs,  and  substance  of  the  gammons  and  fore- 
arms, are  therefore  absolute  essentials.  These 
are  qualities  to  produce  a  favourable  balance 
in  the  account  of  keep,  and  a  mass  of  weight 
which  will  pull  the  scale  down.  In  proportion, 
too,  as  the  animal  is  capacious  in  the  loin  and 
breast,  will  be  generally  the  vigour  of  his  con- 
stitution; his  legs  will  be  thence  properly  ex- 
tended, and  he  will  have  a  bold  and  firm  foot- 
ing on  the  ground. 

For  head  and  ears,  the  small  Berkshire  or 
Oxford  pigs  are  good  models ;  and  for  true 
shape,  the  improved  Shropshire,  Hereford,  and 
Gloucester.  If  colour  deserve  any  considera- 
tion, perhaps  the  light,  sandy,  and  yellow 
spotted  are  to  be  preferred,  as  these  appear  to 
afford  by  far  the  most  delicate  meat  when  dead. 

Procreation. — The  sow  generally  goes  with 
young  four  lunar  months,  but  the  period  of  ges- 
tation in  different  species  varies  considerablf 
According  to  the  experiments  of  M.Teissier  on 
the  gestation  of  animals,  it  appears  that  the  ex- 
treme periods  of  25  sows  were  109  to  143  days, 
which  would  lead  to  the  inference  that  they  go 
on  an  average  127  days  from  the  tinit>  o^ 
taking  the  boar  until  they  farrow ;  but  expe- 
rience proves  that  they  most  commonly  farrow 
within  little  more  than  16  weeks,  although  they 
occasionally  go  with  young  20  weekj.    Both 

1029 


SWINE. 

dM  sexes  manifest  a  desire  for  coition  at  T  or  8 
moDthj  old;  and  allhouRh  frequently  bi:tight 
fogeihcr  at  a  still  earlier  age,  it  is  more  prefer- 
able to  restrain  them  until  they  have  attained 
to  the  age  of  12  months,  as  a  larger  and 
stronger  litter  will  be  produced.  The  boar 
should  not  commence  serving  until  al  least  a 
year  old.  sod  he  may  be  considered  in  his 
prime  at  8  years  old.  He  should  not  be  strain- 
ed by  being  allowed  to  serve  too  many  sows ; 
from  12  to  14  being  sufficienU  The  sow  should 
nireiv  be  put  to  the  boar  before  8  months  old. 
See  GuTATio!*. 

The  animals  when  collectively  spoken  of 
ar-.  u>ually  either  termed  swine,  hogs,  or  pigs; 
but  when  distinctively  named,  the  young  gelded 
male  is  called  a  "barrow,"  the  male  when  not 
castrated  is  called  a  "  boar,"  and  the  female  a 
••  sow,"  or  "  shoot ;"  their  progeny  when  very 
young  being  styled  "  sucking  pigs,"  and  when 
advanced  somewhat  larger  in  size,  "  porkers." 

There  is  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  best  age  for  breeding  sows.  Some  con- 
aiders  that  sows  at  3  years  old  throw  their 
stock  much  larger  and  stronger  than  when  of 
a  less  age;  while  others  are  of  opinion  that 
they  are  never  such  good  breeders  as  at  the 
age  of  from  a  year  and  a  half  to  two  years  and 
a  half  old;  after  which  they  throw  the  pigs 
aaevenly. 

Regarding  the  sex  of  the  progeny,  it  is  as- 
•erted  in  a  recent  French  work  on  the  subject 
of  generation  {Giron,  sur  la  Reproduction  des 
jtmimaux  Donuttiquet),  that  among  females 
IboM  which  receive  the  male  fir$i  produce 
generally  more  males  than  females.  This  is 
not  a  matter  of  much  consequence  in  swine  ; 
but  in  horses  and  cattle  it  is  a  question  of 
some  moment:  and  if  this  theory  is  borne  out 
by  experience,  the  hint  thrown  out  may  prove 
useful  to  breeders.  The  sow  will  produce  two 
litters  in  a  year  (occasionally  five  in  two  years), 
and  from  8  to  12  pigs  in  each  farrow.  The 
number  of  pigs  to  be  kept  will  be  easily  indi- 
eaicd  by  the  number  of  teats  which  the  mother 
has ;  and  on  no  account  should  more  be  at- 
tempted to  be  retained  than  nature  has  thus 
provided  for. 

"The  choice  of  a  boar,"  says  a  modern 
writer,  "  depends  so  much  upon  fancy,  or  local 
prejudice,  in  favour  of  a  particular  breed,  and 
is  so  little  governed  by  either  soil  or  climate, 
that  no  other  general  rule  can  be  laid  down 
upon  the  subject,  than  to  avoid  an  animal 
which  is  not  small-headed,  deep  and  broad  in 
the  chest,  the  chine  rather  arched,  the  ribs  and 
barrel  well  rounded,  and  the  haunch  falling  full 
down  nearly  to  the  hock.  He  should  also  be 
more  compact  in  his  form  and  rather  smaller 
than  the  sow  ;  for,  if  she  be  coarse,  her  pro- 
geny will  be  improved  in  form  and  flesh  by  the 
cross,  and  the  more  roomy  she  is,  the  better 
chance  will  she  afford  of  producing  a  large  and 
healthy  litter."  (^Brit.  Hwsb.  vol.  ii.  p.  511.) 
The  boar  cannot  be  too  well  kept;  but  the  sow 
should  not  be  highly  fed  before  taking  the  boar. 

The  plan  or  custom  of  breeding  in  and  in  from 
close  relations  is  a  most  injudicious  course, 
and  seems  to  bring  on  degeneracy  in  the  ofl!"- 
spruig.  In  selecting  both  sows  and  boars,  a 
aui    regard  must  be  paid  to  the  object  for 


SWINE. 

which  the  progeny  are  designed.  Small  bone 
is  desirable  in  stock  reserved  for  breeding,  as 
this  description  produces  the  least  offal. 
I  Uses. — A  pig,  for  its  size,  is  one  of  the  most 
useful  animals  in  the  whole  creation,  inasmuch 
as  he  is  food  from  top  to  toe,  and  there  is  no 
part  of  him  which  cannot  be  turned  to  account. 
I  His  fat  is  made  into  lard,  which  is  used  in 
1  medicine,  as  well  as  by  housekeepers,  confec- 
;  tioners,  and  others.  That  about  the  loins  is 
'  the  firmest  and  the  most  dense.  For  ordinary 
use  it  must  be  separated  from  the  membranes, 
which  is  effected  by  melting  it  over  a  slow  fire 
and  straining  through  cloths.  It  should  be 
stirred  as  it  cools,  to  prevent  the  separation  of 
the  solid  part  or  stearine  from  the  eluine  or 
oily  part.  The  flesh  is  either  eaten  fresh  when 
young,  or  of  the  adult  animal,  bacon  hog,  salted 
in  brine  or  with  dry  salt,  and  then  either  kept 
moist,  as  pickled  pork ;  or  merely  dried,  whiti 
bacon ;  or  cured,  dried,  and  smoked,  bacon  :  that 
of  the  hind  legs, /lam,  equally  nutritive,  but  less 
easily  digested;  the  collar  and  head  of  the  old 
boars  are  made  into  brawn ;  the  skin  or  rind  is 
eaten  with  the  flesh,  if  not  smoked,  and  is  also 
tanned  for  saddle-seats,  shoes,  covers  for  pocket- 
books,  &c.;  the  bladders  are  prepared  as  ox 
bladders.  The  bristles  clean  our  teeth  and 
brush  our  clothes :  those  of  superior  quality 
from  Russia,  fetch  14.1.  to  26/.  the  cwt. ;  the 
second  quality,  from  5/.  to  lOZ.  The  abdominal 
fat  is  used  ;  as  also  the  blood  for  food,  and  it 
yields  a  bezoar,  principally  from  a  morbid  con- 
cretion in  the  stomach  of  the  wild  hog.  Even 
the  intestines  are  used  for  chitlings,  and  con- 
verted into  an  inferior  kind  of  lard,  by  being 
cut  open  and  washed  clean,  and  (after  the 
water  is  well  pressed  out  of  them)  melted  in 
the  same  way  as  lard:  this  substance  is  very 
useful  for  making  common  candles,  greasing 
wheels,  and  other  general  purposes.  To  sum 
up  all,  the  hog  multiplies  his  species  in  a 
degree  proportioned  to  his  usefulness. 

The  flesh  of  the  hog,  when  fresh,  is  easy  of 
digestion  and  nutritive ;  but  it  is  not  a  food 
capable  of  being  eaten  for  a  length  of  time  with 
impunity.  It  is  apt  to  cause  derangements  of 
the  mucous  membrane,  and  diseases  of  the  skin. 

Bacon. — In  Great  Britain  the  curing  of  bacon, 
as  an  article  of  commerce,  prevails  most  in  the 
counties  of  York,  Hants,  Cumberland,  North- 
ampton, Dumfries,  Galloway,  and  the  northern 
and  other  ports  of  Ireland. 

For  bacon  flitches,  the  larger  breeds,  such 
as  will  weigh,  when  killed,  from  18  to  22  impc' 
rial  stone,  are  always  preferred,  from  being  the 
most  profitable  to  the  farm  and  readily  taking 
the  market.  In  selecting' pigs  for  this  purpose, 
the  sow  should  be  of  a  large,  deep  carcass ; 
head  long,  with  deep  ears,  straight  chine,  and 
of  equal  symmetry  from  the  shoulders  to  the 
tail;  of  fine  skin,  which  shows  an  aptitu(?e  to 
fatten,  and  the  boar  should  be  of  a  thicker  and 
closer  make  than  the  sow. 

Small  hogs  for  bacon  will  be  ready  for  the 
knife  in  12  weeks,  and  the  larger  from  16  to 
20  weeks.  The  girth  of  fat  bacon  hogs  is 
about  as  follows : — When  ten  score,  4  feet  1 
inch;  twelve  score,  4  feet  4  inches;  fourteen 
score,  4  feet  7  inches  ;  sixteen  score,  4  feet  1 1 
inches  ;  eighteen  score,  5  feet  2  inches  ;  twenty 


SWINE. 


SWINE. 


score,  5  feet  1  inches.    (Halyard's  Pract.  Farm. 
p.  61.) 

"In  Hampshire,  and  some  adjoining  coun- 
ties, after  the  hog  is  killed,  they  first  swale  him, 
or  singe  off  the  hairs,  by  kindling  a  fire  round 
him,  which  is  far  preferable  to  scraping  off  the 
bristles  with  warm  water,  as  the  latter  mode 
softens  the  rind,  and  injures  the  firmness  of 
the  flesh.  He  is  then  cut  into  flitches,  which 
are  well  rubbed  with  common  salt  and  salt- 
petre mixed,  and  are  laid  in  a  trough,  where 
they  continue  for  three  weeks  or  a  month,  ac- 
cording to  size,  and  are  often  turned.  They  are 
then  taken  out,  suspended  in  a  chimney,  over 
a  wood  or  turf-fire,  or  in  regular  curing-houses, 
till  they  are  quite  dried.  In  Kent  they  are  dried 
before  a  slack  fire,  which  requires  a  similar 
method  and  time  to  that  employed  in  salting. 
'J'hey  are  hung  up  or  deposited  on  racks  for 
use.  Somersetshire  or  Wiltshire  bacon,  which 
is  the  best  in  England,  is  cured  as  follows: — 
The  sides'of  the  hogs  are  laid  in  large  wooden 
troughs,  sprinkled  with  bay  salt,  and  left  un- 
moved for  24  hours,  to  drain  off  the  blood  and 
juices.  Then  they  are  taken  out.  and  wiped 
quite  dry,  and  some  bay  salt,  previously  heated 
in  an  iron  fryingpan,  is  rubbed  into  the  flesh, 
till  enough  of  it  is  absorbed.  This  is  continued 
for  four  successive  days,  during  which  the 
flitches  are  turned  every  second  day.  With 
large  hogs,  the  flitches  must  be  kept  in  brine 
for  3  weeks,  and  must  be  turned  every  other 
day,  after  which  they  are  dried  as  usual.  In 
these  methods  the  hide  or  skin  is  left  on ;  but 
in  some  counties  there  is  a  different  practice, 
which  has  been  recommended  abroad  as  pre- 
ferable, because  it  affords  an  opportunity  of 
converting  the  skin  into  leather,  while  the  meat 
takes  the  salt  and  is  cured  as  well  as  in  the  for- 
mer mode.  The  hides  of  swine  have  long  been 
made  into  shoes  in  China.  Where  the  con- 
sumption of  bacon  is  very  rapid,  the  last-men- 
tioned practice  may  be  adopted ;  but  it  is  cer- 
tain that  bacon  will  in  a  short  time  become 
rusty,  and  consequent  loss  be  incurred,  if  it  be 
not  cured  with  the  rind,  and  kept  in  a  dry 
room."     (The  Complete  Grazier.)     See  Bacox. 

Pork. — In  England,  mess  or  table  pork,  or 
that  for  the  London  market,  is  generally  cured 
near  the  principal  sea-ports,  and  along  the 
coast,  from  whence  it  can  easily  be  shipped  to 
the  metropolis.  If  the  object  of  breeding  hogs 
is  for  pork  and  hams  only,  it  is  evident  that 
pork  from  a  hog  of  25  to  35  stone  (8  pounds  to 
the  stone)  is  by  far  more  profitable  than  those 
from  35  to  50  stone;  in  which  case  a  cross 
between  the  Chinese  and  Essex  will  be  found 
tr)  answer  very  well,  as  the  progeny  come  to 
early  maturity.     {Baxter's  Agr.  Lib.) 

The  middle-sized  hogs,  such  as  the  Northum- 
berland, the  Berkshire,  the  Suffolk,  and  Oxford 
breeds,  are  those  generally  preferred  for  this 
purpose,  and  their  ordinary  weight  will  be 
from  8  to  10  or  12  imperial  stone. 

For  delicate  pork  for  lamily  use,  the  smaller 
kindlv-fpe:llng  pigs  are  chosen.  The  Berk- 
snire  and  the  Suffolk  breeds,  when  not  too 
large,  will  be  the  best  for  this  purpose.  The 
Chinese  will  answer  well  at  6  or  8  months  old, 
when  it  will  weigh  4  to  8  imperial  stones.  By 
higher  'ceding  it  may  be  made,  when  a  little 


older,  to  attain  to  double  this  weight ;  but  th« 
meat  will  then  be  fc>und  coarse.  Weanlings 
are  generally  fatted  in  a  very  short  period.  A 
pig  of  5  or  6  months  old  will  fatten,  if  in  good 
condition,  in  8  or  10  weeks. 

The  fat  of  the  hog  is  neither  mixed  with  the 
flesh  nor  collected  at  its  extremeties,  but  covers 
the  animal  all  over,  and  forms  a  thick,  distinct, 
and  continued  layer  beneath  the  integuments, 
and  in  this  respect  may  be  said  to  resemble  the 
whale  and  other  cetaceous  animals.  It  is 
termed  lard,  and  differs  in  chemical  composi- 
tion and  properties  from  the  fat  of  the  rumi- 
nating animals.  It  more  readily  imbibes  salt 
than  any  other  kind  of  fat ;  and  the  same  pro- 
perty being  possessed  by  the  flesh,  there  is  no 
animal  food  better  suited  than  pork  for  preser- 
vation by  salting.     See  Lahh. 

Statistics. — The  number  of  swine  sold  in 
Smithfield  market  in  1830  was  254,672,  which, 
at  the  average  weight  of  96  lbs.  each  (a  very 
moderate  computation),  gives  the  number 
of  pounds  of  pork  consumed  annually  at 
24,448,512.  {Youatt  on  Cattle.)  The  swine 
iold  in  Glasgow  market  in  1822  were  6539. 
The  exports  of  swine  from  Ireland  in  1825, 
were  65,919;  in  1835,  376,191.  Estimated 
value  in  the  latter  year,  893,839/.  Increase 
between  these  two  periods,  310,272. 

In  the  United  States  of  America  a  very  large 
number  of  hogs  are  reared  ;  and  latterly  much 
attention  has  been  paid  to  the  improvement  of 
the  breed  by  judicious  crosses.  The  piggeries 
are  on  an  extensive  scale;  and  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon thing  in  some  of  the  Western  States  for  a 
drover  to  have  from  3000  to  4000  pigs.  In  a 
letter  written  from  Michigan  city,  dated  11th 
September,  1841,  the  writer,  a  farmer,  states 
that  he  had  then  3500  pigs  up  to  fatten  !  The 
bountiful  crops  of  Indian  corn  raised  on  the 
fertile  Western  lands  afford  greater  advantages 
than  any  other  part  of  the  world  for  the  rearing 
of  this  kind  of  stock.  Corn-fed  bacon  is  pro- 
verbially excellent. 

Diseases. — The  diseases  of  swine  are  gener- 
ally the  result  of  want  of  care  and  cleanliness, 
or  arise  from  improper  food  and  irregular 
feeding,  and  from  being  kept  in  loathsome 
and  uncomfortable  situations. 

Hog  Cholera. — This  apparently  modern  dis- 
ease causes  great  devastation  in  the  extensive 
piggeries  of  the  Western  States,  sometimes 
putting  an  end  to  the  pork-raising  business  in 
extensive  districts.  One  of  the  most  reliable 
accounts  of  the  malady  has  been  furnished  by 
Dr.  George  Sutton,  of  Aurora,  Indiana,  and 
was  published,  iu  18')8,  in  the  "  Medico-Chi- 
rurgical  Review."  His  description  of  the  dis- 
ease is  as  follows :  — 

The  hog  at  first  appears  weak,  his  head 
droops,  and  sometimes,  in  a  few  hours  after 
these  symptoms,  diarrhoea  commences,  and 
frequently  vomiting.  In  some  cases  the  dis- 
charges are  watery  and  clay-coloured,  some- 
times dark,  bloody  and  mucous,  like  those  of 
dysentery.  The  urine  at  first  is  generally 
small  in  quantity  and  high-coloured,  but  as  the 
animal  recovers,  it  becomes  abundant  and 
clear,  a  very  favourable  symptom.  In  a  largo 
number  of  cases  the  lungs  are  affected,  indi- 
cated  by   coughing,    wheezing,    and    difficult 

1031 


SWINE. 


SWINE. 


breathing  The  larynx  also  becomes  inflamed 
so  hs  to  stop  squealing.  There  is  frequently 
BwelUng  of  the  tongue  with  bleeding  from  the 
nose.  When  the  lungs  becotne  much  affected, 
there  is  little  or  no  diarrh^Tea  or  dysentery. 
In  many  cases  the  side  of  tlie  head  becomes 
affected,  and  the  ear  swollen  to  twice  its  usual 
thickness.  The  inflammation  spreads  to  the 
eyes,  producing  blindness.  Sometimes  one  or 
more  of  the  legs  become  inflamed  and  swollen, 
and  sores  break  out  on  the  flanks.  Inflamma- 
tion of  the  brain  and  delirium  occur.  Sudden 
changes  in  the  weather,  particularly  from 
warm  to  cold,  appears  to  increase  the  fatality 
of  the  disease. 

The  best  preventive  is  cleanliness,  regular 
and  wholesome  food,  good  pasture  in  season, 
anti  raoderute  salting. 

Professor  J.  B.  Turner,  of  Jacksonville. 
found  the  following  preparation  very  effectual 
in  this  malady. 

Take  1  peck  of  ashes.  4  lbs.  of  salt,  1  lb.  of 
black  antimony,  7  lbs.  of  copperas,  1  lb.  of  sul- 
phur, I  or  i  lb.  saltpetre;  pound  these  ingre- 
dients tine  and  mix  them  well  together.  Keep 
this  mixture  in  a  separate  trough,  and  let  each 
bog  eat  what  it  will  each  day.  When  predis- 
pOMd  to  cholera,  they  will  take  it  much  more 
trwly  than  if  entirely  well.  At  such  times  the 
expense  will  be  considerable.  If  a  hog  gets 
down,  induce  it  to  drink  in  slops,  or  drench 
him  with  one  gill  of  coal-oil  per  day. 

A  strong  solution  of  alum  in  water  has  been 
recommended,  of  which  about  a  pint  may  be 
given  every  two  or  three  days,  either  mixed  in 
awill  or  in  a  drench,  and  continued  for  2  or  8 
weeks  during  the  prevalence  of  the  disease. 

The  most  formidable  of  the  diseases  to  which 
swine  are  liable,  is  inflammation  of  the  lungs, 
and  other  internal  parts.  This  disease  has 
been  known  to  destroy  a  fourth  of  the  hogs  in 
a  distillery  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks.  The 
chief  indications  of  the  di.sease  will  be  the  dis- 
tressing cough,  the  heaving  of  the  flanks,  and 
the  refusal  of  all  food.  Bleeding  must  be 
promptly  resorted  to,  and  moderate  purges 
cautiously  administered.  The  safest  aperients 
arc  castor  oil  or  Epsom  salts,  after  which  the 
following  sedative  powder  may  be  given  :  fox- 
glove {lUf^italU)  2  grs.,  antim.  powd.  2  grs., 
nitre  half  a  drachm. 

In  cases  of  murrain,  a  species  of  leprosy, 
which  prevails  chiefly  in  hot  seasons,  the  best 
advice  that  can  be  given  is  to  keep  the  animal 
cool,  and  not  suffer  carrion  or  portions  of  ani- 
mal food  to  be  given. 

The  health  of  swine  is  to  be  estimated  by 
their  cheerfulness,  by  the  gloss  upon  their 
coals,  their  skin  being  wholly  free  from  erup- 
tion. If  pigs  snort  on  being  disturbed,  it  is  an 
excellent  sign  of  sound  health  and  good  keep. 
The  state  of  the  excrement  or  digestions  will 
generally  indicate  pretty  correctly  the  thriving 
condition  of  the  animal,  for  unless  these  are 
of  a  firm  consistence,  the  hog  will  not  fatten 
rapidly.  If  store  or  stock-pigs  are  kept  well 
and  in  good  condition,  it  will  prevent  most  of 
the  diseases  to  which  the  animals  are  subject, 
and  they  will  also  thrive  and  fatten  at  half  the 
exf.ense  when  shut  up  for  that  purpose.  From 
the  cpntiMemenl  of  the  hog,  and  the  nature  of 
1012 


his  food,  a  description  of  dyspepsia  takes  place, 
a  superabundant  acid  is  formed  in  the  stomach, 
and,  the  skin  sympathizing,  cutaneous  erup- 
tions display  themselves;  one  of  the  best  pro- 
phylactics in  such  a  condition  of  the  animal 
are  cinders  or  charcoal.  It  operates  as  a  most 
salutary  tonic,  and  improves  the  general  pow- 
ers of  digestion.  Hogs  are  so  fond  of  cinders, 
that  when  a  handful  of  them  is  thrown  into  a 
sty,  the  animals  fpght  for  them. 

Weaning. — If  the  young  pigs  have  been  well 
fed,  they  may  be  weaned  after  six  weeks,  and 
in  all  cases  in  two  months.  In  their  after 
treatment,  when  separated  from  their  mother, 
they  should  be  regularly  fed  3  times  a  day 
and  their  food  should  at  first  consist  of  warm 
liquid  food,  such  as  whey,  milk,  or  the  refuse 
of  the  dairy  and  kitchen,  &c.,  raised  to  the 
temperature  of  the  mother's  milk  by  the  addi- 
tion of  a  little  warm  water.  They  will  soon 
learn  to  partake  of  more  solid  substances. 

The  rearing  and  fattening  of  the 'hog  pre- 
sents little  difficulty,  for  this  animal  is  reared 
equally  well  on  a  small  or  a  large  scale;  by 
the  cottager,  from  the  wash  and  refuse  of  his 
house  and  garden,  or  by  the  extensive  breeder, 
who  has  more  abundance  and  variety  of  food 
at  command. 

As  the  situation,  climate,  crops,  and  other 
local  circumstances  must  to  a  great  extent 
regulate  the  breeding  and  feeding  of  swine,  it 
is  quite  impossible  to  lay  down  rules  of  gene- 
ral application,  or  to  describe  a  practice  which 
necessarily  varies  in  almost  every  district.  I 
shall  content  myself,  therefore,  with  noticing  a 
few  of  the  substances  upon  which  the  animals 
are  usually  fed  and  found  to  thrive  best. 

It  constitutes  the  principal  value  of  swine, 
that  they  can  be  maintained  on  almost  any 
kind  of  aliment.  In  America,  Indian  corn  or 
maize  is  largely  used.  In  the  West  Indies,  the 
cane  tops,  refuse  trash  from  the  cane  after  the 
juice  has  been  expressed,  and  the  washings  of 
the  sugar-coolers,  boilers,  distillery  vats,  &C., 
form  their  principal  food.  In  Newfoundland, 
Labrador,  and  other  parts  where  fish  is  plenti- 
ful, they  are  freely  fed  upon  the  waste  refuse 
from  the  fisheries ;  and  although  they  thrive 
well  upon  this  food,  their  flesh  is  coarse  and 
strong. 

Where  the  farmer  or  breeder  has  a  rich 
piece  of  grass  or  clover  unemployed,  hogs 
which  are  not  put  up  for  feeding  may  be  turned 
into  it  with  advantage ;  but  there  is  an  objec- 
tion to  this  on  the  score  of  the  manure  which 
is  lost.  When  the  field  is  so  situated  that  the 
hogs  can  return  at  night  to  the  well-littered 
sties,  the  practice  may  then  be  found  beneficial. 

But  roots,  rather  than  herbage,  is  their  na- 
tural food,  such  as  earthnuts,  the  roots  of 
couch  grass, &c.:  acorns,  chestnuts,  beechmast, 
hazel-nuts,  and  other  dry  seeds  and  fruits,  are 
eagerly  consumed  by  them  ;  and  hence,  in  the 
countries  in  the  south  of  Europe,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  forests  where  these  abound,  they 
are  frequently  suffered  to  range  at  large  and 
collect  their  own  food.  Hogs  are  also  very 
partial  to  juicy  and  pulpy  fruits,  such  as  the 
grape,  the  orange,  the  refuse  of  apples,  pears, 
olives,  &c.,  after  the  juice  has  been  expressed. 
Although  hay  and  dried  fodder  is  not  adapted 


SWINE'S  CRESS. 


TANK. 


JO  the  feeding  of  swine,  if  these  substances 
are  chopped  and  boiled  they  will  not  refuse 
them. 

Moist,  succulent,  green  food,  such  as  clover, 
tares,  lucern,  sainfoin,  buckwheat,  succor)'  or 
chiccory,  cabbage,  lettuce,  «S6C.,  is  more  suited  to 
their  taste.  Every  kind  of  farinaceous  sub- 
stance, such  as  oat-meal,  barley-meal,  bran, 
maize,  millet,  pease  or  beans  bruised,  and  in- 
deed the  seeds  of  all  gramineous  and  legu- 
minous plants,  are  the  most  fattening  sub- 
stances that  can  be  given  to  them.  They  will 
feed  greedily,  and  thrive  surprisingly,  on  mo>i 
kinds  of  roots  and  tubers,  such  as  carrots,  tur- 
nips, beets,  potatoes,  the  Jerusalem  artichoke, 
&c.,  particularly  when  prepared  by  boiling.  It 
may  be  taken  as  a  general  rule,  that  boiled  or 
prepared  food  is  more  nutritious  and  fattening 
than  raw  or  cold  food;  the  additional  expense 
and  labour  will  be  more  than  compensated  by 
the  increased  weight  and  quality.  Thus  cab- 
bage, turnip  and  potato  tops,  the  husks  of  peas 
and  beans,  and  even  many  green  weeds,  such 
as  nettles  and  thistles,  fatten  ;  and  others,  void 
of  poisonous  qualities,  will  be  found  very  fat- 
tening if  boiled  and  mixed  with  other  food,  and 
given,  as  most  food  should  be,  lukewarm.  The 
refuse  of  the  kitchen,  garden,  and  dairy,  the 
grains  and  wash  or  liquid  refuse  of  breweries, 
distilleries,  and  sugar  manufactories,  where 
they  can  be  obtained,  the  sweepings  of  barns 
and  granaries,  will  all  be  found  exceedingly 
fattening.  Animal  substances,  particularly 
fish,  should,  however,  be  seldom  or  never 
given  as  food,  smce  they  will  necessaiily  im- 
part a  strong  and  disagreeable  flavour  to  the 
meat.  A  little  salt  should  be  generally  added 
to  all  their  victuals,  which  will  create  thirst, 
and  induce  the  animals  to  consume  a  greater 
quantity  of  food.  Fermented  wash  is  found  to 
fatten  swine  much  quicker  than  fresh  food. 

Ringing.  —  The  practice  of  ringing  swine, 
which  wa«  usually  performed  at  the  time  of 
weaning,  is  growing  into  disuse,  and  the  ring- 
ing is  not  advisable,  inasmuch  as  it  not  only 
proves  painful  to  the  animal,  but  troublesome 
to  the  owner;  for  it  frequently  happens  that 
the  ring  breaks,  or  is  worn  out;  the  cartilage 
gives  way,  and  the  ring  has  to  be  as  often 
replaced  by  a  fresh  operation.  A  more  pre- 
ferable and  lasting  process  is  now  adopted, 
which  consists  in  either  cutting  the  two  strong 
tendons  of  the  snout  (the  cartilaginous  and 
ligamentous  prolongations)  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  from  the  nose,  by  a  slight  incision  with 
a  sharp  knife,  or  else  to  shave  or  pare  off  the 
gristle  on  the  top  of  the  nose,  which  may  be 
done  without  prejudice  to  the  animal,  when 
about  two  or  three  months  old.  The  place  heals 
over  in  a  short  time,  and  the  animals  are  thus 
prevented  from  grubbing  or  tearing  up  the 
ground.  The  Report  for  the  year  1863,  of  the 
U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  contains  an 
interesting  and  highly  valuable  communica- 
tion from  H.  D.  Emery,  of  Chicago,  on  hogs, 
their  good  points,  different  breeds,  various 
modes  of  raising,  costs  of  corn-fed  pork,  plan 
of  hog-house  and  yards,  marketing,  hog-tam- 
ing, diseases,  killing,  packing,  prices  at  Chi- 
cago, model  packing-house,  cutting-up,  cur- 
ing, &c.,  &c. 

SYCAMORE,  or  BUTTONWOOD. 
130 


TACAMAHACA.     See  Poplar. 

TAG.  A  term  applied  to  a  young  sheep  of 
the  first  vear.     See  Sheep. 

TALLOW  (Germ.  folg).  The  fat  obtained 
by  melting  the  suet  of  the  ox  and  sheep,  and 
straining  it  so  as  to  free  it  from  membrane. 
When  pure,  it  is  white,  tasteless,  and  nearly 
insipid;  but  the  tallow  of  commerce  has 
usually  a  yellow  tinge,  and  is  divided,  accord- 
ing to  the  degree  of  its  purity  and  consistence, 
into  candle  and  soap  tallow.  Tallow  consists 
of  stearine,  eluine,  margarin,  and  traces  of 
hircin.  According  to  Chevreul,  its  ultimate 
components  are  78-996  of  carbon -|-  11*708  of 
hydrogen  -j-  0-304  of  oxygen  in  100  parts.  It 
is  used  in  medicine  as  an  emollient  and  a 
demulcent.  Tallow  is  an  articie  of  great  im- 
portance. It  is  manufactured  into  candles  and 
soap,  and  is  extensively  employed  in  the  dress- 
ing of  leather  and  in  various  processes  of  the 
arts.  Besides  the  supplies  of  native  tallow,  a 
very  large  quantity  is  annually  imported  into 
England,  principally  from  Russia.  The  exports 
of  tallow  from  Petersburg  amount,  at  an  ave- 
rage, to  between  3,500,000  to  4,000,000  poods, 
of  which  the  largest  portion  bv  far  is  brought 
to  England.     {M'CtdloclCs  Conu  Diet.) 

TAMARISK  (T(imarix).  This  is  a  genus  of 
very  elegant  shrubs.  The  hardy  indigenous 
species,  or  French  tamarisk  (S.  Gallica),  is  well 
suited  for  ornamenting  shrubberies  ;  it  will 
grow  in  any  soil  or  situation,  and  is  freely  in- 
creased by  cuttings  planted  in  the  open  ground, 
in  spring  or  autumn.  Sheep  feed  greedily  on 
this  species  for  the  sake  of  its  salt  taste.  The 
stem  is  slender,  with  abundance  of  long,  droop- 
ing, smooth,  red,  shining  branches.  Leaves 
minute,  lanceolate  deciduous,  spurred,  acute. 
Lateral  cylindrical  clusters  of  numerous, nearly 
sessile,  reddish  or  white  bracieated  flowers, 
without  sc^nt. 

TANK.  In  gardening,  a  cistern  or  reservoir 
made  of  stone,  timber,  or  some  other  material. 
Tanks  are  used  for  collecting  and  preserving 
water  during  a  scarcity  or  drought.  They  are 
sometimes  built  in  the  ground,  and  lined  with 
lead  or  cement.  Where  wells  cannot  be  sunk, 
and  water  is  scarce  at  some  seasons,  tanks 
are  necessary  appendages  to  a  house. 

A  tank,  12  feet  by  7  feet,  has  been  found 
sufficient  to  supply  with  water  a  large  family 
and  6  horses:  this  was  surrounded  by  only  4^ 
inch  brick-work,  resting  solid  against  the  sides, 
in  consequence  of  being,  like  a  decanter, 
smaller  at  the  bottom  than  higher  up;  and  the 
dome  is  constructed  on  the  Egyptian  plan,  by 
projecting  horizontally  each  row  of  materials 
one-third  of  their  length  beyond  those  below, 
by  filling  up  the  back  with  earth  as  it  pro- 
ceeded, to  balance  the  weight  of  this  projecting 
masonry. 

At  the  Eastbourne  work-house  for  14  parishes, 
a  tank  has  been  made  23  feet  deep  by  11  wide, 
of  the  roughest  materials,  b^-ng  only  flint 
stones,  and  though  they  require  more  mortar 
than  if  they  had  been  regularly  shaped,  only 
90  bushels  of  lime  were  allowed,  inciudin-^  ? 
4  S  10.33 


TANNER'S  BARK. 

ecats  of  plaster,  and  the  workmanship  is  exe- 
cuted like  field  walls  at  10s.  per  100  square 
leel;  the  only  essential  being  that  no  clay  be 
used  (which  worms  in  time  bore  through),  and 
ihal  the  lime,  or  Parker's  cement,  be  ^ood. 

A  current  of  air  is  said  to  promote  the  purity 
of  watei  in  tanks,  which  is  easily  effected  by 
ihe  earthenware  or  other  pipe  which  conveys 
the  water  from  the  roof  being  of  6  or  8  inches 
in  diameter,  and  an  opening  left  for  the  surplus 
water  to  run  away;  and  where  the  prevailing 
winds  do  not  blow  soot  and  leaves  on  the  house, 
the  water  remains  good,  even  for  drinking,  with- 
out clearing  out  the  rubbish  more  than  once  a 
yrar;  but,  in  some  cases,  filtering  by  ascension 
may  be  found  useful,  and  effected  by  the  water 
bemg  delivered  by  the  pipe  at  the  bottom  of  a 
cask  or  other  vessel,  from  which  it  cannot 
escape  till  it  has  risen  through  the  holes  in  a 
b<>Ard  covered  with  pebbles,  sand,  or  powdered 
charcoal.     See  Rkseuvoirs,  Ponds,  &c. 

TANNER'S  BARK.  The  bark  of  oak, 
chestnut,  willow,  larch,  and  other  trees,  which 
abounds  in  tannic  acid,  and  is  used  by  tanners 
for  preparing  leather.  After  being  exhausted 
of  the  tanning  principle  by  being  chopped  into 
small  pieces,  or  bruised  and  steeped  in  water, 
it  IS  laid  up  in  heaps  to  dry,  and  sold  to  gar- 
deners for  the  purpose  of  producing  artificial 
heat  by  fermentation  in  pits  or  beds,  in  bark- 
stoves  or  other  out-houses.  See  Bark  and 
Far.m-Yahi»  Maxurk. 

TANNIC  ACID.  This  term  has  been  espe- 
cially applied  to  a  substance  obtained  by  Pfe- 
longe,  by  acting  upon  bruised  galls  by  common 
unrectified  ether,  in  a  long,  narrow  funnel  or 
percolater.  Tannic  acid  is  a  white  uncrystal- 
line  powder,  very  astringent,  little  soluble  in 
water,  and  reddening  litmus.  When  moistened 
and  exposed  to  air,  it  attracts  oxygen,  is  de- 
composed, and  is  converted  into  gallic  acid. 
It  is  extremely  astringent,  and  appears  to  be  the 
active  principle  of  tanning  substances  (tannin) 
in  general.  Its  ultimate  elements  are  30  atoms 
of  carbon,  18  of  hydrogen,  and  24  of  oxygen. 

TANNIN.  A  word  synonymous  with  tannic 
acifl,  the  pure  astringent  principle  upon  which 
their  power  of  converting  skin  into  leather 
depends.  Its  leading  character  is  its  property 
of  producing  a  dense  whitish  precipitate  in  a 
strong  solution  of  animal  jelly,  such,  for  in- 
stance, as  isinglass ;  and  on  this  account  it 
condenses  the  gelatin  of  animal  hides,  and,  ren- 
dering them  impermeable  to  water,  converts 
them  into  leather.  It  may  be  obtained  tolera- 
bly pure  by  infusing  bruised  grape-seeds  in 
cold  water,  or  more  circuitously  by  adding 
acetate  of  copper  to  filtered  infusion  of  galls, 
washing  the  precipitate,  and  decomposing  it 
(diff'used  through  wAter)  by  sulphuretted  hy- 
drogen. On  evaporating  its  solution,  it  is 
obtained  as  a  pale  yellow  extract  of  a  strong 
astringent  taste.  The  action  of  astringents 
upon  persalts  cf  iron  has  given  rise  to  its  dis- 
tinction into  two  varieties,  the  first  changing 
them  to  deep  blue  or  black,  the  second  to  green. 
The  tan  of  galls,  oak,  bark,  grape-seeds,  &c., 
possesses  the  former  property;  that  of  catechu 
and  tea,  tho  latter.     {Hrunde^s  Did.  of  Science.) 

TANNING.  The  art  of  preparing  leather 
from  raw  skins  and  hides  so  as  to  render  them 
1034 


TAR-ROOT. 

more  pliant,  durable,  and  impermeable  to 
water.  The  processes  employed  for  this  pur- 
pose are  various,  every  tanner  adopting  some 
peculiar  or  favourite  method. 

A  discovery  has  recently  been  made  which 
seems  likely  to  revolutionize  the  tanning  trade. 
By  means  of  a  tanning  machine,  or  pair  of 
horizontal  rollers  fixed  over  a  tan-pit,  between 
which  is  fixed  a  band  or  belt  of  hides  attached 
by  ligatures  to  each  other,  to  the  number  of  50 
to  100,  and  by  which  the  rollers  are  constantly 
fed  or  supplied,  the  hides  are  lifted  out  of  the 
pit  on  one  side  of  the  machine;  as  they  pass 
between  the  rollers,  the  exhausted  ooze  or  tan- 
ning liquid  is  pressed  out  of  them,  and  they 
are  deposited  in  folds  in  the  pit  on  the  other 
side  of  the  machine,  where  they  absorb  another 
supply  of  fresh  tannin.  The  first  hide  having 
been  inserted  between  the  rollers,  the  others 
follow  in  succession,  and  upon  arriving  at  the 
end  of  the  band  the  motion  of  the  roller  is 
reversed,  and  the  belt  is  returned  through  the 
machine  to  receive  another  squeeze.  This  al- 
ternating motion  is  constantly  repeated,  the  pit 
being  replenished  from  time  to  time  with  fresh 
solutions  of  tan,  till  the  operation  is  completed. 
The  eflTects  produced  by  this  simple  plan,  are— - 
1.  The  shortening  of  the  time  of  tanning  to 
one-fourth  of  that  generally  required.  2.  The 
production  of  a  considerable  increase  of  weight. 
3.  The  leather  tanned  by  this  method  resists 
water  longer  than  that  tanned  by  the  old  pro- 
cess. 4.  The  new  method  is  cheaper  than  the 
old.  h.  It  is  applicable  to  the  existing  tan- 
yards,  at  a  comparatively  trifling  expense,  with 
a  capability  of  working  in  rounds  or  series,  and 
of  expending  tan  or  liquor.  6.  That  it  is  availa- 
ble for  all  sorts  of  leather. 

TANSY  (Tanacelum).  The  species  of  tansy 
are  not  possessed  of  much  beauty.  The  hardy 
kinds  succeed  in  any  common  soil,  and  are 
readily  increased  by  rooted  slips  of  the  fibrous 
creeping  root.  They  increase  freely  by  cut- 
tings. Withering  asserts  that  if  meat  be  rubbed 
with  the  leaves  of  tansy,  the  flesh-fly  will  not 
touch  it.  In  England  the  only  indigenous  spe- 
cies is  the  common  tansy  (T.  vulgare).  Every 
part  of  the  herb  is  bitt-er,  with  a  strong  but  not 
unpleasant  scent.  The  qualities  are  esteemed 
of  a  tonic  and  cordial  nature,  expelling  intes- 
tinal worms,  and  strengthening  the  digestive 
powers.  The  plant,  however,  does  not  agree 
with  every  stomach.  There  are  two  varieties 
of  this  species,  the  variegated,  and  the  curled 
or  double  tansy,  which  is  kept  for  use  in  gar- 
dens, as  being  more  wholesome  or  milder  than 
the  wild  sort;  but  in  England  tansy  pudding  is 
out  of  fashion. 

TAPE-GRASS  or  EEL-GRASS.     See  Va- 

LESNERIA. 

TAPIOCA.  A  white,  edible  substance,  con- 
sisting of  very  pure  starch,  obtained  from  the 
root  of  a  tropical  plant  called  manioc  (Jatropa 
manihot)  or  cassava. 

TAP-ROOT.  A  root  which  penetrates  deep 
and  perpendicularly  into  the  ground  without 
dividing,  and  has  few  lateral  fibres.  In  shape 
it  resembles  a  spindle ;  hence  it  is  botanically 
termed  a  fusiform  root.  But  the  main  trunk 
of  any  root  that  penetrates  vertically  deep  intc 
the  ground  is  called  the  tap. 


TAR. 


TENANT. 


TAR.  A  dark  brown,  viscid  liquor,  obtained  [ 
by  charring  the  wood  of  the  fir  tree;  it  consists 
of  resin,  empyreumatic  oil,  and  acetic  acid. 
"When  inspissated  by  boiling,  it  is  converted 
into  pitch.  The  manufacture,  which  is  carried 
on  in  the  pine  forests  of  Northern  Europe,  is 
simple.  A  conical  hole,  usually  in  the  side  of 
a  bank,  being  made,  roots  and  fillets  of  pine 
are  let  into  the  cavity,  and  the  whole  is  cover- 
ed with  turf,  which  is  beat  firmly  down  above 
the  wood.  The  wood  being  kindled,  a  slow 
combustion  takes  place.  A  cast-iron  pan  at 
the  bottom  of  the  cavity  receives  the  fluid,  and 
has  a  spout  which  projects  through  the  bank 
and  carries  the  tar  into  barrels.  As  quickly 
as  the  barrels  are  filled,  they  are  closed  with 
bungs,  when  the  material  is  ready  for  exporta- 
tion. This  manner  of  preparing  tar  has  been 
derived  from  the  earliest  ages.  Tar  is  a  very 
compound  substance ;  it  contains  modified  re- 
sin, and  oil  of  turpentine,  acetic  acid,  charcoal, 
and  water.  Tar  is  used  in  medicine  as  well 
as  in  the  arts.  It  is  an  excellent  topical  stimu- 
lant, when  made  into  an  ointment  with  lard,  in 
dry  skin  diseases.  These  two  substances,  tar 
and  pitch,  are  of  extensive  use  in  the  arts. 

Tar  may  be  found  useful  as  an  application 
for  cuts  in  sheep  by  clipping,  and  also  to  the 
parts  affected  by  the  fly.  It  is  also  of  great 
use  in  some  cases  for  applying  as  a  paint  to 
boarding,  &c.;  but  in  this  use  a  little  tallow  or 
other  coarse  fat  should  be  melted  with  it,  as  by 
this  means  it  goes  farther,  and  resists  the  wea- 
ther more  effectually.  Large  quantities  of  tar 
are  made  from  the  abundant  pine  forests  of 
North  Carolina.    See  also  Gas-Tab.  ^ 

TARE  EVERLASTING.  See  Lathikcs 
and  Vktchlino. 

TARES  (£>T«wi,  from  «rvo,  tilled  land;  some 
of  tlie  species  are  a  pest  on  cultivated  ground). 
The  word  tare  is  frequently  applied  to  what 
is  properly  the  common  vetch  (Vicia  saliva). 
There  are  in  England  two  indigenous  species 
of  tare,  which  are  troublesome  annual  weeds. 

1.  Smooth  tare  {E.  letraspemium,  PI.  10,  r), 
which  grows  in  corn-fields,  hedges,  and  thick- 
ets, particularly  such  as  are  rather  moist.  The 
root  is  small  and  tapering.  The  herbage  is 
besprinkled  with  fine,  soft  hairs,  especially  the 
flower-stalks  and  calyx.  Stem  weak,  quadran- 
gular, branched  from  the  bottom,  leafy,  climb- 
ing to  the  height  of  2  or  3  feet.  Flowers  mostly 
in  pairs,  small,  drooping,  pale  gray;  the  stand- 
ard streaked,  and  the  keel  tipped  with  a  deep 
blue.  Legumes  pendulous,  oblong,  bluntish, 
smooth.     Seeds  most  generally  4. 

2.  Hairy  tare  (E.  hirsutum),  which  is  in 
habit  much  like  the  foregoing;  the  flowers  are 
in  clusters  of  5  or  7,  very  small,  pale  blue,  or 
almost  white,  with  two  dark  spots  on  the  keel. 
liCgumes  short,  dark  brown,  besprinkled  with 
hairs,  to  which  the  specific  name  alludes. 
Seeds  two  in  each  legume,  large  and  promi- 
lent.  See  Lathtrhs,  Soiling,  Vetch,  Vetch- 
tiso,  &c. 

TARO.  A  bulbous-rooted  plant  of  the  genus 
Arum,  a  native  of  the  valley  of  the  Columbia 
river.  It  is  planted  on  hills,  and  cultivated  in 
the  manner  of  rice,  on  ground  so  situated  as 
to  be  partially  flooded  with  water.  It  comes 
to  maturity  in  8  or  10  months  from  the  time 


of  planting.  To  prepare  them  for  food,  they 
are  roasted;  they  then  become  a  substitute  for 
bread ;  or  they  are  made  into  poi,  by  pulveriz- 
ing and  converting  them  into  a  paste. 

TEAM.  A  number  of  horses  or  oxen  draw 
ing  at  once  in  the  same  plough,  cart,  or  other 
carriage. 

It  has  been  long  a  disputed  point  among  far- 
mers whether  horses  or  oxen  form  the  most 
economical  and  advantageous  team  for  the 
purpose  of  the  cultivator  in  performing  his 
work.  The  question  remains  still  undecided, 
though  many  intelligent  farmers  in  England 
now  incline  to  the  side  of  horse  teams,  except 
in  particular  circumstances  and  situations. 

TEASEL,  or  TEAZLE  (Dipsacvs,  supposed 
to  be  derived  from  dipsuo,  to  thirst ;  in  conse- 
quence of  the  leaves  holding  water).  It  is  a 
curious  genus  of  plants:  some  of  the  species 
are  pretty  flowering  plants,  especially  the  small 
teasel.  They  grow  well  in  any  common  soil, 
and  are  readily  increased  by  seeds.  There  are 
in  England  three  native  species,  all  biennial. 

1.  The  manured  or  fuller's  teasel  (D. /w//o- 
rum),  although  growing  about  hedges,  can 
scarcely  be  considered  wild.  This  species  is 
extensively  cultivated  in  the  west  of  England, 
the  dried  heads  of  which  furnish  the  teasel 
used  by  fullers  in  dressing  cloth.  The  root  is 
fleshy,  branched,  and  tapering.  Stem  .'>  to  6 
feet  high,  erect,  strongly  furrowed,  prickly, 
leafy,  branched  at  the  top.  The  leaves  sessile, 
combined,  serrated,  with  prickly  ribs.  Flowers 
whitish,  with  pale  purple  anthers,  very  nume- 
rous, in  a  close,  obtuse,  conical  head,  the  in- 
termediate scales  bristly  at  the  edges;  rigid 
and  hooked  at  the  points,  by  which  they  are 
rendered  serviceable  for  teazing  woollen  cloth, 
being  fixed  in  several  rows  in  wooden  frames 
with  handles  adapted  for  that  purpose.  The 
scales  are  just  strong  enc  ugh  to  raise  the  wool, 
giving  way  before  they  t  an  injure  the  cloth. 
Many  mechanical  inventions  have  been  at- 
tempted to  set  aside  the  teasel,  but  without 
success,  all  of  them  having  proved  inefficienl 
or  injurious.  The  dressing  of  a  piece  of  cloth 
consumes  from  1500  to  2000  teasels.  They 
are  repeatedly  used  in  different  parts  of  the 
process. 

TEA.  (TTiea  viridis  of  Linnxns.)  The  gen- 
uine Tea  plant  of  China  has  been  introduced 
into  the  U.  S.,  and  although  not  yet  extensively 
cultivated,  there  is  every  reason  to  conclude 
that  the  time  will  come  when  this  hardy  ever- 
green will  furnish  a  profitable  crop,  especially 
in  the  mountains  of  the  Southern  States,  where 
it  will  find  climate  and  soil  as  congenial  as  in 
similar  parallels  in  China  and  Japan. 

For  further  information,  see  Report  of  Com- 
missioner of  Patents  for  18G0,  where  will  be 
found  the  modes  of  gathering  the  leaves,  and 
preparing  the  diff"erent  kinds. 

TEATHING.  Provincially,  the  practice  of 
eating  turnips  off,  upon  young  wheat  crops,  in 
the  early  spring  months,  by  live-stock,  as  sheep 
and  bullocks.    It  is  often  written  tathing. 

TEETH.     See  Age  of  Animals. 

TEMPERATURE.  See  Atmospheke,  Alh- 
TUDE,  Climate,  Earths,  Elevation,  Meteob» 

OLOOT. 

TENANT  (Tenens,  from  the  Latin  tencre.X\ 

1035 


TENDRILS. 

hold).  In  law,  one  who  holds  or  possesses 
lands  or  tenements  by  any  kind  of  right,  either 
in  fee  for  life,  for  vears,  or  at  will.    See  Lease. 

TENDRILS.  The  curling,  twining  organs 
of  prehension,  by  which  some  plants  lay  hold 
of  others. 

TEN-O'CLOCK.  A  troublesome  perennial 
plant  and  weed,  with  a  bulbous,  fibrous  root, 
difficult  to  destroy,  as  it  will  grow  even  years 
•ncr  the  tops  are  cut  off.  Fields  must  not  be 
ploughed.  This  foreigner  has  escaped  from 
the  gardens,  and  has  become  a  grievous  nui- 
sance on  many  farms.  Although  it  rarely  per- 
fects its  fruit,  the  bulbs  are  propagated  laterally 
with  great  rapidity;  and  are  extremely  difficult 
to  extirpate.  One  native  species  has  been 
found  in  the  United  States,  on  the  Rocky 
Mountains.     (Flora  Ccslrica.) 

TETHERING.  The  practice  of  confining 
♦o  precise  limits  or  pasturage  any  kind  of 
ilock,  by  means  of  light  chams  or  ropes  fas- 
tened to  iron  pins  (with  swivel  rings)  driven 
into  the  ground.  For  the  small  farmer  with 
indifferent  fences,  or  for  gentlemen  with  limited 
and  ornamental  lawns,  this  practice,  which 
secures  shrubs  and  pleasure-grounds  from 
injury,  is  obviously  often  an  advantageous 
system ;  and  indeed  a  rich  lawn  imvnediately 
in  view  of  a  house  is  the  fittest  situation  for 
tethering,  as  an  impoverished  field  would  di;5- 
appoint,  and  demand  a  too  frequent  and  th'ere- 
fore  troublesome  change  of  tether.  The  prac- 
tice is  almost  universal  throughout  France, 
even  in  common  farms. 

THATCH.  Straw,  or  any  other  dry  vege- 
table substance,  laid  on  the  top  of  a  building, 
rick,  Ac,  to  keep  out  the  wet 

There  are  many  different  sorts  of  materials 
that  may  be  made  use  of  as  thatch,  but  the 
straw  of  wheat  and  rye,  when  well  laid,  forms 
the  neatest  and  most  secure  covering  for  gene- 
ral purposes. 

The  reed  is  a  highly  valuable  article  for  the 
purpose  of  thatch,  where  a  lasting  roof  is  re- 
quired; but  is  much  too  expensive  at  first, 
although  it  is  cheapest  in  the  end.  Reed  is 
also  thought  to  be  too  stubborn  for  common 
purposes.  Fern  is  also  occasionally  used. 
See  Fr-Rx. 

THERMOMETER  (Gr.).  An  instrument  for 
measuring  variations  of  heat  or  temperature, 
loo  well  known  to  need  description.  See  At- 
■ospHBRK,  Climate,  METEonoLoeT,  &c.  See 
also  Table  in  next  column. 

THISTLE.  A  well-known  prickly  weed, 
common  in  corn-fields  and  pastures.  Where- 
e^er  thistles  grow  naturally  it  is  a  sure  sign 
that  the  land  is  strong,  and  of  a  tolerably  good 
quality ;  but  they  are  at  the  same  time  a  great 
annoyance  to  every  plant  intended  to  be  cul- 
tivated. 

By  an  excellent  regulation  in  France,  a 
farmer  may  sue  his  neighbour  who  neglects  to 
thistle  his  land  at  the  proper  seasons,  or  may 
employ  people  to  do  it  at  the  other's  expense : 
and  it  were  to  be  wished  that  a  similar  law  was 
in  force  here,  to  prevent  the  wide-spreading 
mischief  occasioned  by  the  seeding  of  this 
pernicious  weed ;  among  which  may  be  reck- 
oned, besides  its  choking  the  young  com,  that 
•f  wheat  in  particular  be  not  well  thistled,  the 
1036 


THISTLE. 

Table  exhibiting  the  degrees  of  the  Centigrade  an/ 
Fahrenheit's  Thermometers  corresponding  to  thoM 
of  Reaumur's  Thermometer, 


Reaum. 

Cent. 

Fahr. 

Reaum. 

Cent. 

Fahr. 

80 

100- 

212- 

29 

36-25 

97-25 

JQ 

98-75 

*':'«-75 

28 

35- 

95- 

78 

97-5 

207-5 

27 

33-75 

92-75 

77 

96-25 

205-25 

26 

32-5 

90-5 

76 

95- 

203- 

25 

3125 

88-25 

75 

93  75 

200-75 

24 

30- 

86- 

74 

92-5 

198-5 

23 

28-75 

83-75 

73 

91-25 

196-25 

22 

27-5 

81-5 

72 

90- 

194- 

21 

26-25 

79-25 

71 

88-75 

191-75 

20 

25- 

77- 

70 

87-5 

189-5 

19 

23-75 

74-75 

69 

86-25 

187  25 

18 

22-5 

72-5 

68 

85- 

185- 

17 

21-25 

70-25 

67 

83-75 

182-75 

16 

20- 

68- 

66 

82-5 

180-5 

15 

18-75 

65-75 

65 

81-25 

178-25 

14 

17-5 

63-5 

64 

80- 

176- 

13 

16-25 

6125 

63 

78-75 

173-75 

12 

15- 

59- 

62 

77-5 

171-5 

11 

13-75 

56-75 

61 

76-25 

169-25 

10 

12-5 

54-5 

60 

75- 

167- 

9 

11-25 

52-25 

59 

73-75 

164-75 

8 

10- 

50- 

58 

72-5 

1625 

7 

8-75 

47-75 

57 

71-25 

160-25 

6 

7-5 

45-5 

56 

70- 

158- 

5 

6-25 

43-25 

55 

68-75 

155-75 

4 

5- 

41- 

54 

67-5 

153-5 

3 

8-75 

38-75 

53 

66  25 

151-25 

2 

2-5 

36-5 

52 

65- 

149- 

1 

125 

34  25 

51 

f.3-75 

146-75 

0. 

•0 

32- 

50 

fi2-5 

144-5 

1 

1-25 

2975 

49 

0125 

142-25 

2 

25 

27-5 

48 

60- 

110- 

3 

3-75 

25-25 

47 

58-75 

137-75 

4 

5- 

23- 

46 

57  5 

135-5 

5 

6-25 

20-75 

45 

56-25 

133-25 

6 

75 

18-5 

44 

55- 

131- 

7 

8-75 

1625 

43 

53-75 

128-75 

8 

10- 

14- 

42 

52-5 

1265 

9 

11-25 

11-75 

41 

51-25 

124  25 

10 

125 

9-5 

40 

50- 

122- 

11 

13-75 

7  25 

39 

48-75 

119-75 

12 

15- 

5- 

38 

47-5 

117-5 

13 

16-25 

2-75 

37 

46-25 

115-25 

14 

17-5 

0-5 

36 

45- 

113 

15 

18-75 

1-75 

35 

43-75 

110-75 

16 

20- 

4- 

34 

42-5 

108-5 

17 

21-25 

625 

33 

4125 

106-25 

18 

225 

8-5 

32 

40- 

104- 

19 

23-75 

1075 

31 

38-75 

101-75 

20 

25- 

13- 

30 

37-5 

99-5 

reapers  take  up  the  grip  so  tenderly,  lest  they 
should  prick  themselves,  that,  by  their  loose 
handling  of  them,  they  sometimes  leave  upon 
the  ground  corn  enough  to  sow  the  whole  field. 
There  are  no  plants  over  which  the  economical 
farmer  ought  to  kf  f  p  a  more  watchful  eye  than 
the  thistle  tribe,  as  they  are  not  only  useless, 
but  occupy  much  ground,  and,  being  furnished 
with  winged  downy  seeds,  are  capable  of  being 
multiplied  and  carried  almost  to  any  distance: 
besides,  they  do  much  mischief  by  impeding 
the  work  both  in  handling  hay  and  corn  crops. 
It  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  much  consequence 
to  be  well  acquainted  with  the  qualities  of  each 
kind,  in  order  to  enable  us  to  judge  with  cer- 
tainty how  far  and  by  what  means  their  de- 
struction may  be  effected  in  the  most  certain 
and  ready  manner. 

There  are  in  England  many  sorts  of  thistles, 
but  those  which  chiefly  deserve  the  attention 
of  the  farmer  are  either  of  the  annual,  bien- 
nial, or  perennial  kinds. 

The  annual  species  of  thistle  are  the  musk- 
thistle  {Carduus  nutans),  the  milk-thistle  (C. 
marianus),  the  welted  or  curled  thistle  (Cacan- 
thoides),  the  slender-flowered  thistle  (C.  tenui' 
florus'),  the  common  sow-thistle  ^Sonchus  okra^ 


THISTLE. 


THORN. 


ems).  The  principal  biennial  thistles  are  the 
spear  or  bull-thistle  (C.  lanreolatus),  the  marsh- 
thistle  (C.  palustris),  and  the  cotton-thistle 
(Onopordum  acantheum).  The  perennial  species 
are  two,  the  common  sow-thistle  (Sonchus  ar- 
vensis),  and  the  common  or  field-thistle  (Cnims 
arvensis),  or  Canada  thistle.  The  dwarf  or 
stemless  thistle  (C  aautlis),  the  star-thistle 
{Centourea  calcitropa),  and  the  common  carline- 
thistle  {Carlina  wlguris),  are  more  trequenily 
found  to  infest  dry  sandy  pastures  and  calca- 
reous soils  than  loamy  or  damp  grass-lands. 
Where  they  prevail  to  a  great  extent,  there  is 
no  remedy  like  breaking  ap  the  land  and  taking 
a  course  of  crops  ;  for  palliative  remedies  are 
of  little  avail.  Hand-weeding,  when  the  weeds 
are  confined  to  local  spots,  and  are  only  just 
beginning  to  spread  generally  over  the  soil, 
will  be  found  effectual ;  but  when  once  the  pas- 
ture becomes  generally  infected  with  the  seeds 
and  roots  of  these  plants,  no  time  should  be 
lost  in  using  the  plough,  harrow,  and  horse-hoe, 
and  a  judicious  course  of  cleansing  crops  be- 
fore returning  the  land  again  to  permanent 
pasture. 

Among  the  species  of  pasture-weeds  that 
generally  prevail  4n  loamy  soils,  and  are  also 
prevalent  in  clayey  and  damp  soils,  are  the 
marsh  or  red  plume-thistle  {Cnicus  palustris), 
the  meadow  or  small  purple  plume-thistle 
(Cninis  pratensis),  and  the  melancholy  plume- 
thistle  {Cnictts  heternphyUus).  In  crops  of  artifi- 
cial grasses,  such  as  sainfoin,  lucern,  &c., 
where  the  dwarf  plume-thistle  (Cnicus  aamlis) 
prevails,  and  when  it  is  impracticable,  under 
such  circumstances,  to  draw  out  this  weed 
without  injuring  the  crops,  a  good  remedy  will 
be  found  in  the  use  of  common  salt.  Children 
may  be  employed  to  apply  the  salt  by  hand  to 
the  crown  of  the  weed.  If  the  least  part  of  the 
root  of  the  thistle  be  left,  it  springs  up  season 
after  season.  Besides  possessing  this  principle 
of  vitality  in  the  root,  its  seeds  are  so  winged 
with  down  as  to  render  dissemination,  even  to 
a  great  distance,  by  means  of  the  wind,  almost 
certain. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  annual  and  biennial 
species  of  thistles  may  be  readily  removed  by 
preventing  their  running  to  seed  and  dissemi- 
nating themselves,  which  is  best  effected  by 
carefully  eradicating  them,  or  frequently  mow- 
ing them  over  close  to  the  surface,  and  rolling. 
But  in  the  perennial  kinds,  from  their  roots 
continuing  in  the  earth,  increasing  and  throw- 
ing out  new  shoots  or  stems  every  year,  there 
is  much  difficulty  in  extirpating  them,  and  they 
perhaps  can  be  no  other  way  destroyed  than 
by  rooting  them  out  of  arable  land  by  deep 
ploughing  and  frequent  ha rro wings,  or  by  fal- 
lowing or  laying  the  land  down  to  pasture;  the 
annual  species  seldom  appear  in  pasture-lands. 
But  for  destroying  the  common  thistles  the  best 
method  is  by  weeding-pincers,  or  the  finger  and 
thumb  when  in  loose  land,  cutting  them  over  in 
the  bleeding  season  frequently  by  weeding- 
knives,  and  applying  salt  to  the  cut  stalk. 

The  most  common  thistle  found  in  the  United 
States  is  the  C.  lanceolatus,  a  biennial.  The 
most  troublesome  pest,  the  C.  arvensis.  (See 
Canada  Thistle.)  Dr.  Darlington  thinks  the 
yellow  thistle  a  fr«reigner  introduced  into  the 


United  States.  It  is  the  most  prickly  of  all 
the  tribe,  and  hence  called  by  botanists  Carduus 
spinosissimus,  and  Cnicus  horriduus.  The  root 
of  this  is  considered  by  some  biennial,  by  others 
perennial.  The  tall  or  tallest  thistle  (C.altissi- 
mns),  is  common  along  fence-rows,  &c.,  in  the 
Middle  and  other  States.  The  dwarf  carduus 
(Cardifus  Pumihfs),  is  common  in  Pennsylvania 
and  other  Middle  States,  growing  in  old  fields, 
&c.,  from  1  to  2  feet  high,  with  flowers  of  a  pale 
reddish-purple,  and  quite  fragrant.  The  heads 
are  handsome,  and  the  largest  of  any  other 
American  species.  Several -other  species  of 
thistle  are  found  in  the  United  States.  See 
Canada  Thistle. 

THISTLE,  PLUME  (Cnicus).  This  is  a 
separation  from  the  genus  Carduus  made  by 
Sir  J.  E.Smith.  They  are  prickly,  herbaceous 
plants,  and  differ  chiefly  in  the  down  being 
evidently  feathery,  not  merely  rough.  The 
biennial  sper-ies  may  be  readily  destroyed  by 
mowing  before  the  flowers  form  seed.  There 
are  in  England  nine  indigenous  species  of 
plume  thistle.  Some  of  which  are  common  in 
waste  ground,  moist  meadows,  &c.  Those 
which  give  most  trouble  to  the  farmer  are,  the 

Marsh  plume-thistle  (C. palustris),  a  biennial, 
growing  plentifully  in  moist  meadows  or  pas- 
tures, and  watery  spots  by  road-sideS!  Stem 
from  3  to  6  feet  high.^ 

Creeping  plume-thistle  (C.  arvensis).  A  very 
troublesome  perennial  weed  in  cultivated  fields 
and  by  way-sides,  from  its  flesny  root,  which 
is  very  tenacious  of  life,  creeping  deeply  into 
the  earth  to  a  great  extent.  Stems  3  or  4  feet 
high. 

Branching  bog  plume-thistle  (C.  Forsteri).  A 
perennial,  flowering  in  July  and  August,  with 
a  tapering  root. 

Woolly-headed  plume-thistle  (C.  eriophorus), 
A  large  and  conspicuous  perennial  plant,  grow 
ing  in  waste  mountainous  ground,  and  by  road 
sides,  on  a  limestone  or  chalky  soil. 

Melancholy  plume-thistle  (C.  heterophyllus). 
A  perennial,  growing  in  moist  mountain  pas- 
tures in  the  north. 

Meadow  plume-thistle  (C.pratensis).  A  pe- 
rennial, growing  in  low,  wet  meadows  and  pas- 
tures, especially  among  trees.     Root  fibrous. 

Dwarf  plume-thistle  (C  acaulis).  A  peren- 
nial, growing  on  chalky  and  gravelly  soils. 
Root  woody,  running  deep  into  the  ground- 
Stem  entirely  wanting.  The  large  bright-green 
leaves,  spreading  close  to  the  ground,  in  a 
circle  near  a  foot  in  diameter,  choke  all  other 
herbage. 

THORN  (Cratagus).  A  name  given  to 
several  indigenous  shrubs  and  email  trees. 
See  Black-Thohx,  Buckthorn,  Hawthorn, 
White-Thorn,  &c. 

Of  this  genus  of  shrubbery  trees  so  valuable 
in  an  agricultural  point  of  view,  there  are 
many  species  and  varieties.  Dr.  Darlington  de- 
scribes the  following  as  found  in  Chester  county, 
Pennsylvania:  1.  The  Newcastle  orcockspur 
thorn  (C.  crus  galli).  Two  varieties  of  this  exist 
the  most  common  of  which  is  much  employed 
in  making  the  fine  hedges  for  which  New- 
castle county,  Delaware,  is  celebrated.  Dr. 
Darlington  thinks  that,  with  proper  manage- 
ment, this  kind  will  ultimately  make  a  inpore 
4s2  1037 


THORN. 

durable  ^nd  effective  hedge  than  the  Washing- 
ton ihorn  (C.  cordata),  which  is  now  generally 
used  in  Chester  county.  It  is  a  more  rugged 
plant,  and  seems  to  be  less  liable  to  disease,  or 
lo  be  injured  by  insects,  than  the  Washington 
thorn.     (Flora  Cestrica.) 

2.  The  small-leaved  thorn  (C.  parvi/olia),  a 
rugged  little  bush  abundant  in  New  Jersey. 

3.  Thorn-bush  or  dotted  craicegus  {C,  punc- 
tata), a  red-fruited  variety.  The  fruit  is  large, 
half  lo  two-thirds  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  mostly 
Ihree-seeded.  red,  sometimes  yellow  when  ma- 
lure,  doited  and  esculent. 

4.  Black-thorn  (C.Jlava),  yellow  Crataegus, 
an  apparent  misnomer.  The  fruit  is  pear- 
shaped,  large  (about  half  an  inch  in  diameter), 
Ihree  or  four-seeded,  greenish-yellow,  with  a 
tinge  of  dark  red  when  mature,  esculent,  but 
rather  insipid. 

6.  White-thorn  or  crimson  Crataegus  (C. 
corcinea).  This  is  the  most  common  species  in 
Chester  county,  Pennsylvania.  The  thorns 
have  more  resemblance  to  the  cock-spur,  than 
Ihose  of  the  real  rnts  galli  or  Newcastle  thorn. 
The  fruit  is  one-third  to  half  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  bright  purple  when  mature. 

6.  The  Washington  thorn  (C.  cordata).  This 
species,  says  Dr.  Darlington,  was  introduced 
into  Chester  county  from  the  neighbourhood 
of  Washington  city,  and  is  now  extensively 
used  in  hedging.  It  grows  fast  in  favourable 
siiuatii>ns,  under  good  management,  and  will 
make  a  handsome  hedge  in  about  10  years 
from  the  time  of  planting.  It  does  not  succeed 
well  on  dry,  rocky  banks,  and  especially  in  the 
red  shale  districts.  The  young  branches  are 
alsi)  subject  to  disease  from  the  puncture  of 
insects.  "I  have  used  this  thorn,"  says  Dr. 
Darlington,  "to  a  considerable  extent,  and  have 
succeeded  in  obtaining  some  pretty  fair  hedges ; 
hut  I  am  now  strongly  inclined  to  the  opinion 
ih.it  the  C.  cru$  gullij  or  cock-spur  thorn,  is  en- 
tilled  to  the  preference,  for  that  object.  One 
important  fact,  however,  applies  to  every  sort 
of  ihorn,  and  should  be  remembered  by  all 
persons  who  may  undertake  hedging,  which  is, 
that  if  they  are  not  carefully  attended  to,  and 
skilfully  managed,  the  hedges  will  become  a 
nuisance  and  a  source  of  vexation,  rather  than 
a  benefit,  and  had  better  never  be  attempted. 
With  doe  care  and  skill,  they  make  a  valuable 
and  ornamental  enclosure. 

7.  Hawthorn  or  English  thorn  (C.  oxyacan- 
/A/j),sharp-thorned  Crataegus.  This  species  (of 
which  there  are  several  varieties  in  Europe) 
was  introduced  many  years  ago,  and  is  appa- 
rently naturalized  in  a  few  localities ;  but  does 
not  seem  to  extend  itself  much.  It  is  said  to 
be  the  favourite  thorn  for  hedging  in  England; 
but  is  rarely  applied  to  that  use  here.  Some 
10  or  12  additional  species  have  been  enume- 
rated in  the  United  .States ;  but  the  genus  stands 
greatly  in  need  of  a  careful  revision.  (Flora 
Cestrica.) 

Many  species  of  the  thorn  genus  are  highly 
ornamental.  Of  these  the  most  beautiful  of 
all  thorns  when  in  bloom,  is  the  C.  oxyacantha 
rosea  superba,  with  deep  crimson  flowers  and 
small  red  fruit.  The  swpet-scented  thorn  (C. 
odomlissima)  has  ver;  large,  pale  red  fruit. 
XT»e  large  tansy-lraved  thorn  (C.  iemna),  has 
1038 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 

large  pale  red  fruit.  The  small  black-fruiteo 
thorn  (C  Oliveriana),  bears  very  profusely,  but 
matures  late.  The  new  double-scarlet  is  a 
I  most  beautiful  variety  of  the  C.  oxyacantha 
rosea  superha,  just  mentioned. 

THORN-APPLE  (Datura).  An  ornamental 
genus,  but  chiefly  composed  of  plants  possess- 
ing very  deleterious  qualities.  One  species 
indigenous  to  England,  is  the  common  thorn- 
apple  (D.strunionimn),'dn  annual,  which  grows 
in  waste  grounds  and  dung-hills.  It  is  a  bushy, 
fetid  herb,  2  or  3  feet  high,  of  a  narcotic  quality, 
and  greatly  in  repute  as  a  remedy  for  the 
asthma,  being  smoked  like  tobacco.  The  leaves 
are  ovate,  smooth,  sinuated.  The  flowers  are 
axillary,  erect,  white,  sweet-scented,  especially 
at  night,  about  3  inches  long.  Fruit  as  big  as 
a  walnut  in  its  outer  coat,  very  prickly.  Seeds 
black.  In  the  United  States  it  goes  by  the  name 
of  Jamestown  weed,  doubtless  from  the  place 
where  it  was  first  naturalized,  in  Virginia. 

THRASHING,  or  THRESHING.  The  act 
of  beating  out  the  corn  from  grain  or  other 
crops.  The  flail  was  the  implement  formerly 
used  for  thrashing  corn,  and  which  separated 
the  grain  from  the  straw  and  husks  very  effect- 
ually and  expeditiously;  but  as  it  is  now  be- 
come expensive,  and  always  bruises  a  great 
many  seeds,  it  has  been  attempted  to  avoid 
these  inconveniences  by  proper  machines  pro- 
vided with  a  number  of  flails,  or  other  parts 
answering  the  same  purpose,  made  to  move  by 
the  power  of  water,  wind,  or  horses.  By  this 
means  the  business  of  thrashing  is  found  to  be 
performed  cheaper,  more  expeditiously,  and 
with  less  damage  to  the  health  of  the  thrasher, 
which  is  frequently  thought  to  be  injured  by 
the  dust,  &c.,  which  arises  in  the  common  way 
of  thrashing,  as  well  as  by  the  extreme  labo- 
riousness  of  the  work.  Various  machines  for 
effecting  the  purpose  of  thrashing  have  been 
lately  invented.  See  Flail,  and  Thrashing- 
Machine. 

THRASHING-MACHINE.  To  the  farmer 
on  an  extensive  scale,  the  thrashing-machine 
is  absolutely  necessary.  He  cannot  wait  for 
the  tedious  operation  of  the  flail  to  prepare  a 
delivery  of  corn  for  a  given  day,  or  pressing 
purpose ;  nor  can  he,  without  the  risk  of  pil- 
fering and  imposition,  keep  his  barn  constantly 
open  for  thrashers.  The  flail,  however,  is  still 
the  implement  in  general  use  among  all  who 
farm  on  a  scale  not  suflSciently  extensive  to 
require  any  of  the  complex  machinery  which 
modern  skill  has  invented.  The  advantages 
of  the  flail  are,  its  simplicity,  the  power  of 
giving  employment  to  the  labourers  in  the 
barn  during  wet  days,  and  the  convenience  of 
having  fresh  straw  for  fodder  every  day. 

The  following  description  of  the  thrashing- 
machine  is  chiefly  derived  from  the  valuable 
essay  On  Aricultural  Implements^  by  Mr.  J.  Allen 
Ransome,  of  Ipswich,  England. 

In  ancient  times  various  modes  of  thrashing 
out  grain  were  resorted  to,  and  we  read  of 
"  the  bruising  with  the  cart-wheel,"  "  the  sharp 
thrashing  instrument  having  teeth,"  "the 
trampling  under  the  feet  of  the  unmuzzled  ox," 
or  "  the  rollers  plain  or  fluted"  mentioned  in 
the  later  practice  of  continental  agriculture. 
But  of  all  these  the  flail  aione  remains  in  use 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 


in  England ;  and  it  is  with  this  instrument, 
preserving  very  nearly  its  original  form,  by 
which  till  very  lately  the  entire  growth  of  corn 
and  seeds  in  this  kingdom  were  thrashed. 

That  the  flail  may  be  made  thoroughly  to 
effect,  though  at  great  cost  of  labour  and  lime, 
the  purpose  of  clearing  the  grain  without 
damage  either  to  the  corn  or  the  straw,  is  a 
point  none  will  be  inclined  to  dispute.  But  the 
disadvantages  attending  its  use  are  not  confined 
to  waste  of  labour  and  time  ;  for,  though  it  may 
be  granted  that  the  operation,  if  properly  per- 
formed, may  be  perfect,  how  difficult  it  is  to 
secure  its  proper  performance,  every  agricul- 
turist whose  journeys  to  his  barn  have  from 
time  to  time  interrupted  his  surveys  of  other 
not  less  important  agricultural  operations,  can 
fully  testify.  It  is  evident  that  the  latter  part 
of  this  operation  will  require  much  more  la- 
bour to  produce  a  given  quantity  than  its  earlier 
stages;  and  hence  the  straw  is  frequently  passed 
away  partially  thrashed,  in  order  to  procure  a 
greater  bulk  in  a  given  time.  Nor  are  these 
disadvantages  all  with  which  we  have  to  con- 
tend :  constant  inspection  may,  perhaps,  to 
some  extent,  remedy  them  ;  but  no  attention 
will  altogether  suffice  to  remove  the  temptation 
to  pilfer,  which  is  continually  presented  where 
large  quantities  of  grain  are  ever  under  the 
eye  and  in  the  power  of  those  to  whom  a  small 
portion  ^is  of  great  importance;  and  hence 
arises,  even  when  undetected,  and  often  indeed 
when  not  committed,  a  cause  of  painful  tempta- 
tion on  the  one  hand,  and  injurious  suspicion 
on  the  other. 

To  overcome  these  evils,  prejudicial  not 
only  to  the  true  economy  of  the  farm,  but  to 
those  feelings  of  confidence  which,  justly  to 
sustain  the  social  bond,  should  ever  exist  in 
the  relation  between  the  labourer  and  his  em- 
ployer, the  attention  of  our  enterprising  neigh- 
bours in  Scotland  was  first  directed  to  the  con- 
struction of  machinery;  and  in  1732,  Michael 
Menzies,  a  gentleman  of  East  Lothian,  invented 
and  patented  a  machine  for  thrashing  grain. 
We  regret  that,  as  nothing  but  the  bare  record 
of  this  invention  is  enrolled  in  the  Patent-office, 
we  have  not  been  able  to  learn  more  of  this, 
the  germ  of  thrashing-machine  invention,  than 
that  it  was  a  contrivance  by  which  a  series  of 
tlails  were  made  to  revolve  upon  a  cylinder ; 
but  we  are  pleased  to  be  able  in  some  degree 
to  redeem  it  from  the  "condemnation  of  faint 
praise,"  with  which  we  find  its  memory  gene- 
rally accompanied,  by  reference  to  the  report 
of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  Society  of 
Improvers  in  Scotland,  to  inspect  its  operation, 
and  determine  upon  its  merits.  This  com- 
mittee, after  various  trials,  reported  it  to  be 
"their  opinion  that  the  machine  would  be  of 
great  use  to  farmers,  both  in  thrashing  the  grain 
clean  from  the  straw  and  in  saving  a  great  deal 
of  labour;  for  one  man  would  be  sufficient  to 
manage  a  machine  which  would  do  the  work 
of  six."  They  further  recommended  the  so- 
ciety "  to  give  all  the  encouragement  they  could 
to  so  beneficial  an  invention,  which,  being 
simple  and  plain  in  the  machinery,  might  be  of 
universal  advantage."  The  society  approved 
of  the  report,  and  acted  upon  the  recommen-  i 
dation. 


During  the  next  period  of  twenty  jears  we 
are  not  aware  of  ar.y  other  attempts  to  carry 
out  the  object  of  thrashing  by  machinery;  but 
1  in  1753-8,  Michael  Sterling,  a  farmer  in  the 
parish  of  Dumblane,  Perth,  applied  the  princi- 
ple of  the  mill  in  common  use  for  hulling  H?.x 
I  to  this  purpose.  This  mill  had  a  vertical  shait, 
with  4  cross  arms  enclosed  in  a  cylindrical  Ca^e, 
3  feet  6  inches  high, and  about  8  feet  in  diameter. 
The  shaft  was  made  to  turn  at  considerable  ve- 
locity, and  the  sheaves  were  gradually  let  down 
from  an  opening  at  the  top ;  the  grain  and  straw, 
after  being  subjected  to  this  beating,  were  then 
pressed  through  an  opening  in  the  flttor,  where 
rakes  and  fanners  completed  the  separation  of 
the  grain  from  the  straw  and  chaff.  It  was, 
however,  found  that  this  machine  broke  off  the 
ears  of  barley  and  wheat  instead  of  clearing 
them  of  the  grain,  and  that  at  best  it  was  only 
fit  for  oats. 

It  is  curious  to  trace  the  various  plans  by 
which  the  desideratum  of  thrashing  b)--  ma- 
chinery was  attempted  to  be  accomplished;  a 
few  of  these  we  shall  venture  to  bring  before 
our  readers,  and  a  slight  sketch  of  them  will 
sutfice  satisfactorily  to  show  that  in  following 
out  the  principles  which  distinguish  Meikle's 
machine  (hereafter  to  be  mentioned),  little  of 
value  has  beer\,lost  to  the  public  of  those  which 
have  fallen  into  desuetude.  In  1772,  two  gen- 
tlemen residing  in  Northumberland,  Aldcrton 
and  Smart,  invented  a  machine,  by  which  the 
sheaves  were  carried  round  between  an  in- 
dented drum  of  6  feet  diameter  and  a  number 
of  fluted  rollers,  which,  pressing  by  means  of 
springs  against  the  fluted  concave,  rubbed  out 
the  corn  from  the  ears;  and  in  1785,  William 
Winlaw,  of  Mary-le-bone,patented  an  invention 
which  he  denominated  a  "mill  for  separating 
grain  from  straw." 

This  mill  was  made  on  a  principle  similar 
to  the  coffee-mill,  but  was  found  to  exceed  the 
simple  object  proposed  in  the  specification,  by 
grinding  the  grain  as  well  as  separating  it  from 
the  straw.  Other  machines  upon  the  plan  of  ' 
rubbing  out  the  corn  were  also  tried,  but,  on 
account  of  the  damage  done  to  the  grain,  were 
discarded,  in  addition  to  the  mill  invented  by 
Winlaw,  a  machine  was  in  1792  patented  by 
Willoughby,  of  Bedford,  Notts,  the  principle 
of  which  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  simi- 
lar to  that  of  Menzies  ;  how  nearly  so,  we  regret 
we  have  not  the  opportunity  of  judging.  It 
comprised  a  series  of  loose  flails  made  to  act 
upon  a  grated  floor,  and  turned  rapidly  round 
by  means  of  a  horse-wheel.  The  straw  was 
presented  by  hand  to  the  action  of  the  flails. 

In  1795,  an  individual  of  the  name  of  Jubb, 
residing  at  Lewes,  obtained  a  patent  for  an  in- 
vention of  which  the  principal  feature  was  the 
passing  the  straw  between  two  rapidly  revolv 
ing  beaters,  under  which  it  was  held  by  two 
feeding  rollers,  whence  the  corn  fell  into  a 
winno  wing-machine. 

The  inventive  talent  of  the  Americans  was 
at  this  time  brought  to  bear  upon  this  import- 
ant subject.  James  Wardrop,  of  Ampthill,  # 
Virginia,  invented  a  machine,  which  was  intro- 
duced into  England  about  1796,  to  be  worked 
by  two  men ;  it  was  made  with  flails  or  elastic 
rods  12  feet  in  length,  of  which  1 2  were  attache 


THBA8HINGMACHINE. 

is  series,  each  having  a  spring  requiring  a 
power  of  SO  pounds  lo  raise  it  3  feel  high  at 
Che  point;  a  wallower  shaft,  with  catches  or 
teeth,  in  ito  revolution  successively  lifted  each 
flail  10  alternate  movements,  so  that  three  of 
the  flails  were  operated  upon  by  the  whole 
oower,  vii«  20  pounds.  The  flails  beat  upon  a 
(rating  to  whicn  the  corn  is  introduced  by  hand. 

In  1785,  Andrew  Meikle,  an  ingenious  m- - 
ch.anc  iif  Tyningham,  East  Loihian,  first  in- 
troduced to  the  public,  through  the  medium  of 
•  Kenileman  of  the  name  of  Stem,  of  Ki  I  bogie, 
the  loveotioo  whose  principle  has  been  the 
basis  upon  which  the  machines  in  use  in  Bri- 
tain up  to  the  present  time  have  been  mainly 
eoostructed.  It  appears  that,  his  attention 
having  been  long  turned  to  the  subject,  he  dis- 
covered that  the  plan  of  rubbing  would  never 
be  otherwise  than  attended  with  the  disadvan- 
tage before  alluded  to;  and  his  son  George 
■greed  with  the  gentleman  above  named  to 
•rect  a  pcrfec  machine,  and  in  1786  he  com- 
pleted the  first  that  was  ever  made,  adopting 
the  plan  of  introducing  between  two  rollers  the 
corn,  which  was  then  thrashed  out  by  four 
beaters  fixed  upon  a  revolving  drum,  each 
striking,  as  it  revolved,  the  corn  held  between 
the  rollers.  The  machine  alluded  to  was 
erected,  and  found  to  work  exceedingly  well. 
A  patent  was  accordingly  applied  for,  and, 
after  some  opposition  from  a  party  not  con- 
eemed  in  the  invention,  obtained. 

In  the  trials  between  the  erection  of  the  ori- 
ginal machine  and  the  obtaining  the  patent,  a 
new  principle  appears  to  have  suggested  itself, 
TiXn  that  of  stripping  off"  the  corn  from  the  ear 
by  a  comparatively  sharp  edge,  or,  as  termed 
by  hire,  "scutching  out  the  grain,"  instead  of 
beating  it  by  a  flat  surface.  The  difference  has 
been  partially  illustrated  by  supposing  a  hand- 
ful of  straw  with  the  corn  in  the  ear  to  be  held 
in  the  hand,  while  with  the  flat  sides  of  a  two- 
feet  rule  the  ears  should  be  struck  or  beaten ; 
this  IS  the  operation  of  the  common  beater.  If, 
instead  of  striking  the  ears  with  the  flat  side,  a 
sharp  blow  be  given  with  the  thin  edge  of  the 
rale  in  the  direction  of  the  ear  where  the  rule 
touches,  it  will  strip  the  corn  from 'the  ear  with 
less  labour  and  with  greater  certainty.  This 
may  be  called  the  scutching  principle  to  which 
Meikle's  beaters  in  his  patent  were  applied. 

It  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  learn,  upon  the 
authority  of  Sir  John  Sinclair,  "  that  the  invent- 
or of  this  important  machine  was  rendered 
comfortable  in  his  old  age.  and  enabled  to  pro- 
Tide  for  his  family  after  his  death,  by  the  vo- 
luntary donations  of  his  grateful  countrymen." 
Not  less  gratifying  is  the  testimony  of  Pro- 
fessor Low,  in  his  admirable  treatise  on  the 
Eltntenii  of  Practirai  jignnUturt,  that  "  to  An- 
drew Meikle,  beyond  a  question,  belongs  the 
honour  of  having  perfected  the  thrashing-ma- 
chine. Changes  and  improvements  have  in- 
deed been  made  on  certain  parts  of  the  original 
machine;  but  in  all  its  essential  parts,  and  in 
the  principle  of  its  construction,  it  remains  as 
It  came  from  the  hands  of  its  inventor." 

By  the  drawings  and  specification  of  Meikle's 
machine,  it  appears  that,  at  the  time  of  taking 
out  this  patent,  the  plan  of  shaking  the  straw 
uy  means  of  circular  rakes  had  not  been  sug- ! 
1040 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 

gested ;  and  in  the  report  drawn  up  for  the 
consideration  of  the  "  Board  of  Agriculture" 
for  the  county  of  Northumberland,  we  find  that, 
in  1789,  the  first  machine  having  a  circular 
rake  attached,  and  with  fanners  below,  lo  per- 
fect the  cleaning  of  the  grain,  was  erected.  Al- 
though it  is  not  there  staled,  we  have  good 
reason  to  believe  that  this  imporlanl  improve- 
ment, occasioning  the  addition  of  but  one  light 
wheel  to  the  machine,  was  the  invention  of  J. 
Bailey,  the  enterprising  occupier  of  Chilling- 
ham,  one  of  the  gentlemen  appointed  to  draw 
up  the  report  alluded  to. 

We  have  thus  far  traced  carefully,  and,  we 
trust,  correctly,  the  progress  of  the  invention 
of  the  thrashing-machine  used  in  Scotland,  till 
it  has  arrived  at  very  nearly  its  present  perfec- 
tion. Various  combinations  of  mechanical 
powers,  and  many  contrivances,  have  doubt- 
less been  since  added  to  produce  particular 
efl!ects,  which  have  progressively  tended  lo  its 
improvement  and  ultimate  perfection. 

It  will  be  diflicult,  within  the  limits  to  which 
this  article  must  necessarily  be  confined,  to 
enter  minutely  into  detail,  or  adequately  lo  set 
forth  the  merits  of  the  various  inventions  and 
improvements  on  this  machine,  for  which  in 
the  course  of  the  last  half-century  no  fewer 
than  25  patents  have  been  obtained;  besides 
several  awards  from  the  Bath  and  West  of 
England  Society  and  the  Society  of  Arts.  But 
we  should  do  injustice  lo  the  subject,  did  we 
not  here  mention  the  name  of  Lester,  whose 
mechanical  talent  and  skill  as  an  engineer 
have  not  a  little  contributed  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  higher  style  of  excellence  in  agri- 
cultural mechanics  than  was  coincident  with 
the  then  taste  of  the  age  in  that  much  neg- 
lected department. 

The  machines  now  in  general  use  through- 
out the  eastern  counties  of  England  are,  with 
tew  exceptions,  portable.  They  are  frequently 
the  property  of  individuals  who,  itinerating 
from  farm  to  farm,  thrash  at  a  certain  price  per 
quarter;  the  farmer  finding  horses,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  the  proprietor,  who  feeds  the 
machine,  the  necessary  complement  of  men. 
They  are  simply  thrashing  instruments,  having 
neither  circular  rakes  nor  fanners  attached. 
The  beaters,  4,  5,  or  6  in  number,  are  so  placed 
round  the  drum  that  their  beating  edge  shall 
radiate  from  the  centre.  These  strike  upon  the 
straw,  which  is  passed  along  a  feeding-board 
placed  at  an  inclination  of  about  30°,  tending 
to  a  point  equidistant  from  the  centre  and 
upper  part  of  the  circumference  of  the  drum. 
The  concave  describes  the  third  part  of  a  cir- 
cle, and  is  formed  alternately  of  iron  ribs  and 
open  wire-work  in  segments,  so  placed  that  its 
inner  surface  may  be  brought  into  near  contact 
with  the  edges  of  the  revolving  beaters,  and 
susceptible  of  adjustments  by  screws  to  in- 
crease or  diminish  the  distance.  The  usual 
plan  is  to  place  it  with  about  |  of  an  inch 
space  at  the  feeding  part,  and  gradually  to 
increase  the  distance  to  I^  or  2  inches  at  the 
lower  end,  where  the  straw  is  delivered  upon  a 
fixed  harp  or  riddle,  through  which  such  part 
of  the  grain  as  is  not  driven  through  the  wired 
part  of  the  concave  falls,  w  hile  the  straw  is  re- 
moved by  forks. 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 


The  thrashing  part,  commonly  called  the 
barn  work,  occupies  a  space  of  6  feet  by  4^ 
feet,  and,  together  with  the  apparatus  by  which 
motion  is  communicated  (which  is  made  either 
for  2,  3,  or  4  horses'  power),  may  at  pleasure 
be  elevated  upon  a  pair  of  wheels  and  axle, 
and  thus  removed  by  two  horses. 

Many  of  these  machines  are  made  by  per- 
sons who  possess  little  claim  to  any  mechanical 
knowledge,  and  who,  purchasing  the  unfitted 
castings,  by  the  help  of  village  artisans,  pro- 
duce an  imitation  of  those  which  are  considered 
good.  As  the  perfection  of  these  machines 
must  depend  upon  mathematical  accuracy  in 
the  adjustment  of  all  their  parts,  and  in  the 
truth  and  precision  of  their  fittings,  it  is  un- 
reasonable to  expect  that  this  can  be  accom- 
plished where  no  facilities  exist  beyond  the 
forge  and  the  work-bench ;  and  hence  arises  a 
degree  of  discredit,  which  is  unfairly  thrown 
upon  the  principles  upon  which  the  machine 
is  constructed. 

With  these  machines,  properly  constructed, 
barley  may  be  thoroughly  thrashed  with  as 
little  or  less  damage  than  with  the  flail,  and 
wheat  straw  need  not  be  so  broken  as  mate- 
rially to  diminish  its  usefulness  even  for  the 
purpose  of  thatching.  We  cannot,  with  Sir 
Jofin  Sinclair,  reckon  the  circumstance  of 
breaking  the  straw  one  of  the  advantages  of 
thrashing  by  machinery,  as  we  do  not  think  it 
desirable  that  any  slovenly  performance  of  the 
thrashing-machine  should  trench  upon  the 
legitimate  occupation  of  the  chaff-engine  ;  and 
we  repeat  our  opinion  that  all  disadvantages 
from  the  above-mentioned  causes  may,  by  a 
well-constructed  machine  and  a  competent 
manager,  be  entirely  remedied. 

The  latest  patent  which  is  at  present  in  ope- 
ration is  one  taken  out  by  Joseph  Atkinson,  of 
Braham  Hall,  Yorkshire,  which  appears  to  be 
of  American  origin.  The  thrashing  or  beat- 
ing-out process  is  obtained  by  means  differing 
from  any  previously  mentioned ;  the  drum  be- 
ing surrounded  by  a  series  of  pegs,  so  arranged 
as  in  its  motion  to  pass  similar  rows  of  pegs 
placed  at  intervals  in  a  concave,  surrounding 
nearly  one-half  of  the  circumference  of  the 
drum.  This  machine  is  not  at  present  so  fully 
introduced  into  England  as  to  afford  opportunity 
for  fairly  testing  its  comparative  merits  ;  and  it 
would  be  unfair  to  give,  upon  slight  evidence, 
an  opinion  which  may  have  any  tendency  to 
increase  the  difficulty  of  the  introduction  of  a 
new  article.  We  can  therefore  say  little  more 
than  that  while  such  trials  as  have  fallen  under 
our  own  inspection  have  not  convinced  us  of 
its  superiority,  we  are  inclined  to  the  belief 
that  the  principle  is  not  so  defective  as  to  pre- 
vent its  being  carried  out  to  advantage,  under 
such  modifications  as  may  be  suggested  upon 
further  trials. 

We  have  now  to  draw  the  attention  of  our 
readers  to  a  machine  in  operation  upon  Lord 
Ducie's  example-farm  at  Whitfield,  of  which  it 
is  probable,  in  a  forthcoming  report  of  that  in- 
teresting establishment,  that  a  full  account,  ac- 
companied by  the  necessary  drawings,  will  be 
given.  Through  the  kindness  of  the  manager, 
John  Morton,  in  accordance  with  whose  sug- 
gestions it  was  constructed,  we  have  been 
131 


j  favoured  with  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  its 
performance,  and  with  the  following  descrip- 
tion, which  we  give  in  his  own  words : — 

"  This  machine  is  worked  by  a  steam-engine 
of  six  horse  power.  The  corn  is  brought  from 
the  stack  upon  wagons  running  along  a  tram- 
road  upon  an  inclined  plane,  to  the  doors  of 
the  building,  whence,  sheaf  by  sheaf,  it  is 
thrown  by  children  into  the  buckets  of  an  ele- 
vator, which,  in  its  rotation,  carries  them  to  the 
feeding-board.  This  feeding-board  is  placed 
at  a  tangent  from  the  drum  parallel  with  its 
top  ;  and,  as  in  Lee's  machine,  and  the  portable 
machines  in  Suffolk  and  Norfolk,  the  feeding- 
rollers  are  dispensed  with,  an  endless  web 
gradually  carries  the  unthrashed  straw  to  the 
feeding-mouth,  from  which  the  revolving 
scutches  rapidly  convey  it  to  the  concave. 

"The  drum  and  concave,  being  the  part  on 
which  the  separating  of  the  corn  or  thrashing 
principle  depends,  we  shall  first  describe: — 
The  drum  is  about  18  inches  diameter,  formed 
of  sheet-iron  strained  round  a  cast-iron  skeletoa 
accurately  turned ;  upon  this  the  beaters,  or 
rather  scutches,  formed  of  angle-iron  with  its 
edges  planed,  are  so  placed  as  to  describe  an 
angle  with  the  surface  of  the  drum,  pointing  for 
ward  in  the  direction  of  its  motion  ;  these  project 
about  seven-eighths  of  an  inch.  The  screen 
or  concave  encloses  the  drum  to  the  extent  of 
about  one-third  of  its  circumference,  and  con- 
sists of  4  or  5  arched  pieces  of  grating,  3  inches 
wide,  jointed  together.  It  is  made  of  cast-iron 
bars,  having  a  square  section  placed  so  that 
every  one  shall  present  an  edge  to  the  passage 
of  the  straw,  uniting  (as  is  not  uncommon  in 
other  machines)  the  fluted  concave  of  the 
Scotch  machine  with  the  wired  grating  of  the 
English  ones ;  the  screen  is  supported  on  iron 
bolts,  so  that  it  approaches  to  within  about  one- 
eighth  of  an  inch  of  the  edge  of  the  scutcher. 
Spiral  springs  surround  these  bolts,  which  per- 
mit the  bars  of  the  concave  to  yield  when  too 
much  pressure  may  at  any  time  occur  between 
them  and  the  revolving  drum.  The  grain  is 
thus  separated,  most  of  it  passing  through  the 
screen  of  the  concave ;  but  in  order  that  no 
grain  shall  be  allowed  to  pass  away  with  the 
straw,  it  is  thrown  upon  the  shaker  below. 

The  motion  given  to  the  straw  by  this  shaker 
is  the  most  perfect  we  can  conceive;  the  blows 
occasioned  as  each  series  of  spars  strike  .it 
from  beneath,  effectually  remove  every  particle 
of  loose  grain,  while  the  shaker  rapidly  carries 
forward  the  straw,  and  at  its  termination  depo- 
sits it  in  the  straw-house,  while  the  corn  sifted 
out  by  its  action  falls  before  the  blast  of  a 
fanner  (the  construction  of  which  is  peculiar); 
and  all  the  light  grain  and  short  straws  thrown 
out  by  the  first  winnowing  into  the  light  corn 
spout  is  then  taken  up  by  another  elevator, 
deposited  again  upon  the  feeding-board,  and 
passed  a  second  time  through  the  drum,  in 
order  effectually  to  separate  any  that  may  re- 
main. After  passing  through  another  win 
nower,  the  thoroughly  cleaned  corn  is  taken 
up  by  a  third  elevator,  and  dropped  into  a 
hopper,  through  which  it  passes  into  a  sack, 
wh'ch  is  placed  on  a  weighing  machine,  and  it 
is  there  weighed  and  left  thoroughly  fit  fof 
market. 

1041 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 

We  have  introduced  at  len^h  the  descrip- 
tion of  this  machine,  or  rather  series  of  ma 
rhines,  as  bein?  the  most  complete  of  any  that 
h»Te  fallen  within  the  range  of  our  observa- 
tion; the  most  comprehensive  in  its  design, 
performing  every  operation,  from  receiving 
the  sheaf  at  the  barn-door  to  depositing  its  grain 
in  a  clean  siate  weighed  up  in  the  sacks,  and 
excellent  in  the  greater  part  of  its  detail,  which 
is  carried  out,  both  as  regards  ingenuity  and 
workmanship,  in  a  style  very  superior  to  the 
general  character  of  agricultural  machines. 

With  regard  to  the  moving  power  most  ad- 
Tanlageou5ly  connected  with  the  thrashing- 
machine,  it  may  be  observed,  that  where  the 
locality  admits  of  the  use  of  a  water-wheel, 
this  power  is  most  economical  and  easily  ma- 
naged ;  but  the  advantage  is  limited  to  peculiar 
titnations. 

Where  the  quantity  of  work  to  be  performed 
is  sufficient  to  repay  the  interest  of  outlay, 
eipense  of  wear  and  tear,  &c.,  a  steam-engine 
tronld  be  most  advantageously  employed  on 
the  farm.  Of  its  economy,  as  compared  with 
either  horse  or  manual  labour,  there  need  be 
no  question.  But  as  few  farms  in  England  at 
present  have  these  appendages,  the  question 
fcr  consideration  is  narrowed  to  the  compa- 
rison between  horses  and  manual  labour.  On 
the  authority  of  Dr.  Gregory,  the  dynamic 
power  of  a  hop»e  at  a  dead  pull  may  be  calcu- 
lated in  the  main  as  equivalent  to  that  of  six 
men,  or  to  420  lbs.,  if  exerted  in  a  direct  line ; 
bat  the  result  of  experiments  made  by  Tred- 
gold  tend  to  prove  that  sustained  effort  at  the 
rate  of  three  miles  per  hour  must  not  be  calcu- 
lated at  more  than  equivalent  to  120  lbs.  drawn 
over  a  pulley.  This,  taking  six  hours  of  labour 
per  diem  as  the  utmost  he  would  recommend, 
wonld  be  the  maximum  of  useful  effect.  Under 
ihecircumstanceofany  deviation  from  a  straight 
line,  this  must  be  materially  reduced ;  and  in 
describing  a  circle  of  18  feet  radius,  the  cramp- 
ed position  of  the  horse  will  probably  prevent 
his  power  from  being  advantageously  exerted 
to  the  extent  of  much  more  than  half.  It  will, 
therefore,  be  seen  that  a  very  large  proportion 
of  dypamic  effjrt  is  wasted  ;  and  this  not  only 
arises  from  the  constrained  position  of  the 
horse's  movement,  but  from  the  friction  of  the 
mill  by  means  of  which  motion  is  communi- 
cated to  a  machine. 

It  is  affirmed  by  Emerson  that  a  man  of  or- 
dinary strength,  turning  a  roller  by  the  handle, 
ean  act  for  a  whole  day  against  a  resistance 
eqnal  to  30  lbs.  weight;  and  if  he  works  10 
boars  a  day,  he  will  raise  this  weight  through 
t|  feet  in  a  second,  or  about  2 J  miles  per  hour. 

Animal  power  is,  however,  so  varied  by  the 
character  of  the  exertion,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
arrive  at  a  correct  calculation.  The  late  Ro- 
bertson Buchanan  ascertained  that  in  the  action 
of  working  a  pump,  of  turning  a  winch,  of 
ringing  a  bell,  or  rowing  a  boat,  the  dynamic 
results  were  respectively  as  the  numbers  iOO 
167.  227,  and  243.    See  Strexoth. 

Having  caused  a  machine  with  beaters  to  be 
•onstrucici,  '^nrked  by  4  men  whose  force 
should  be  exerted  as  m  the  manner  of  rowing 
a  boat,  the  results,  as  compared  with  a  ma- 
chine requiring  the  force  of  4  horses  in  a  circle 
1042 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 

!  of  18  feet  radius,  we  found  might  be  taken  on 
i  an  average  as  5  to  12.  It  was  thought  the 
continuous  effort  might  be  for  an  equal  length 
of  time  exerted  by  6  men  relieving  each  other 
at  intervals,  as  by  the  same  number  of  horses 
relieved  in  the  same  way. 

We  have  not  yet  had  opportunity  to  repeat 
the  experiment;  and  we  instance  this  only  ed 
show  that,  although  advantage  may  be  on  the 
side  of  horse-labour  for  large  quantities,  ma- 
nual force  is  not  so  inapplicable  to  this  object 
as  most  writers  have  represented  it  to  be ;  and 
we  are  of  opinion  that,  on  small  farms,  hand- 
machines  may  with  great  advantage  be  used. 
A  simple  and  effective  hand  thrashing-machine, 
which  was  exhibited  at  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society's  meeting  at  Liverpool,  obtained  the 
commendation  of  the  judges  (vide  their  re- 
port). It  is  worked  by  4  men,  and  the  moving 
power  being  obtained  by  means  of  a  lever  on 
the  one  side,  and  by  a  crank  handle  on  the 
other,  the  men  working  it  may  relieve  each 
other  by  change  of  motion.  It  requires  one 
man  to  feed  the  machine,  and  the  number  of 
hands  necessary  to  bring  the  sheaves  and  re- 
move the  straw  will  depend  upon  the  distance 
it  has  to  be  conveyed.  When  the  straw  is 
short,  and  the  wheat  of  average  yield  and  in 
good  condition,  it  will  thrash  at  the  rate  of  12 
to  16  bushels  per  hour. 

In  England  the  cost  of  the  thrashing-ma- 
chines of  former  days  varied  considerably,  and 
their  performances  were  very  unequal.  It  may 
not  be  uninteresting  to  compare  them  with  those 
of  the  present  day.  The  following  are  ex- 
tracted from  the  Agricultural  Reports : — 

Thrashing  per  Day. 

In  the  reports  of  Roxburgh  and  Sel-1  „<:       on  u  n 
kirk,  in  1796,  R.  Douglas  slates  that  [^^  °^  30  bolls, 
mills  by  water,  or  with  4  horses,  f.r:n,^\an°^,  u 
would  do  great  execution.  J  ^^  *«  ^^^  ^"""^ 

In  the  report  of  Norfolk,  in  1804,  ' 

Arthur  Young  gives  an  account  of 
machines  which  belonged  to  the  fol- 
lowing parties: 

Droziers,  Reedham,  built  by  Wigfull,  [i^  ^°-  wheat, 
cost  mi.,  worked  by  7  persons  and^  ^J  «,«•  ^^']t^' 
6  horses.  j  ^^  '^^-  "^^^   ^ 

L  peas. 

Farrow,  Shibidham,  built  by  Wigfull,  f??  *^°-  ^^heaC 


worked  by  7  persons,  and  by" 4.  5,^  S  co. 'oals^or 
L  peas. 


or  6  horses. 


Beck,  Castle  Rising,  built  by  Wigfull,")  32  co.  wheat. 

cost  200  guineas,  worked  by  6  per-  >64  co.  barley. 

sons,  and  4,  5,  or  6  horses.  }  80  co.  peas. 

Whiting,  Tring,   built    by    Fordyce,724  co.  wheat. 

from  Scotland,  cost  200Z.,  worked  >55  co.  barley. 

by  6  persons  and  6  horses.  3  63  to  84  co.  oats. 

Bevaii,  Riddles  worth,  engineer  from")  40  co.  wheat. 

Leilh,  cost    100/.,   worked    by   10  MO  co.  barley. 

men  and  8  horses.  j  50  co.  oats. 

Coke,  Holkham,  cost  600Z.,  worked  "Ja^  u     .. 

by  12  m«n  and  8  horses.  ]-64.  co.  wheat. 

Reeves,  Heverland,  built  by  Assby, ")  30  co.  wheat. 

BIyboro',  cost  100  guineas,  worked  >-32  co.  barley. 

with  2  or  3  horses.  3  40  co.  peas. 

Styleman,    Smithsham,    cost    300l.,S^?.^°-  T^^*' 
worked  by  10  persons  and  8  horses.")  ^'^^  ^"-  ^^r^^V* 
^  (.     peas,  or  oat«- 

In  the   report  of  Kent,  R.  Boys,  in' 
1805,  remarks  on  the  only  thrash- 
ing-mill then  in  Kent,  which,  by  a  ,  „.  . 
number  of  improvements,  and  after  [it  ^"-  ^Jl,f„ 
many  alterations,  he  finds  to  an-  fi^  T.l'  !!"  ^* 
swer  extremely  well ;  and  he  states 
that  it  requires  4  horses  and  12  men 
to  work  it. 

In  Sir  John  .Sinclair's  System  of  Hus- 
bandry, published  in  1812,  we  find 
an  account  of  R.  Kerr's  machine, 
which,  with  6  horses,  4  men,  and  4 
women,  would  thrash 


40  qrs.  oats. 


50  bolls,  or  about 
'    300  bushels  of 
wheat. 


THRASHING-MACHINE. 


THRIFT. 


Considerable  improvements  have  since  been 
effected.  In  the  statements  of  the  trials  of  im- 
plements at  the  Royal  English  Agricultural  So- 
ciety's meeting  at  Cambridge,  in  1841,  the 
quantity  of  wheat  thrashed  by  two  four-horse 
poital)le  machines  manufactured  by  J.  R.  and 
A.  Ransome,  of  Ipswich,  and  R.  Garrett  and 
Son,  lieiston,  was  respectively  61  bushels  and 
^  of  a  peck,  and  61  bushels  and  ^  of  a  peck 
per  hour ;  and  the  corn  was  clean  thrashed  and 
uninjured. 

This  must  not  be  taken  as  a  criterion  on 
which  to  found  an  average,  as  it  was  doubtless 
the  result  of  .stimulated  exertion  ;  but  it  is  not 
unusual  with  machines  of  this  construction, 
with  reaped  wheat  in  fair  condition,  to  thrash 
100  CO.  or  400  bushels  in  a  day  of  10  hours,  and 
the  same  quantity  of  mown  barley. 

It  should,  however,  be  observed,  that  these, 
having  neither  rakes  nor  fans,  the  work  of 
which  is  done  by  hand,  would  require  8  men 
and  5  boys,  and  a  change  of  horses  in  the  day. 

Thrashing-machines  are  now  very  generally 
used  in  the  United  States,  to  get  out  the  crops  of 
wheat,  &c.  Before  their  introduction  flails  were 
employed  in  the  Northern  and  Eastern  Slates, 
whilst  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States, 
treading  with  horses  and  cattle  was  the  cus- 
tomary mode  of  thrashing.  The  cost  by  em- 
ploying the  flail  was  generally  estimated  at  10 
bushels  out  of  every  100,  which,  when  wheal 
was  a  good  price,  proved  very  expensive.  The 
employment  of  horses,  though  expeditious,  is 
very  objectionable,  the  grain  being  rendered 
gritty  and  filthy,  so  as  to  lessen  its  value  in 
the  market.  The  practice,  too,  of  setting 
horses  at  suf  h  hard  and  peculiar  work  in  hot 
weather  pro  »ed  injurious  and  often  destructive 
to  them. 

The  notice  furnished  in  this  article  of  the 
successive  improvements  made  in  Britain,  in 
contrivances  for  thrashing  out  grain,  will  show 
the  elTorts  there  made  and  the  results  obtained. 
Ingenuity  would  seem  to  have  been  still  more 
actively  employed  in  the  same  pursuit  in  the 
United  States,  where,  within  a  few  years  past, 
more  than  100  patents  have  been  obtaiiied  for 
inventions  and  improvements  of  the  thrashing- 
machine.  These  have  nearly  all  involved  two 
main  principles :  1st,  a  beater  consisting  of 
bars ;  and,  2dly,  a  cylinder  furnished  with 
spikes  instead  of  bars.  This  last  may  perhaps 
be  called  the  American  principle,  par  excelleiice. 
Where  bars  are  used,  the  machine  requires  an 
increased  velocity  equal  to  300  revolutions  per 
minute,  over  what  is  requisite  where  the  cylin- 
der is  furnished  with  spikes.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son chiefly,  that  the  spike  machines  have  been 
so  much  more  generally  used.  It  must,  how- 
ever, be  observed,  that  where  the  beater  is  com- 
posed of  bars,  the  force  required  to  work  the 
machine  is  about  one-third  less  in  performing 
the  same  amount  of  work.  In  Eams's  patent, 
the  bars  are  of  wrought  or  cast-iron,  notched 
on  the  edges. 

Pitts's  Thrasher  and  Separator  is  con- 
sidered a  machine  by  which  a  great  saving  of 
labour  is  effected  over  the  ordinary  machines, 
the  operations  of  thrashing  and  cleaning  being 
performed  at  the  same  time.    The  bundles  are 


fed  to  the  machine  at  one  end,  and  the  clean 
seed,  without  a  kernel  being  scattered,  taken 
from  the  other.  Its  weight  is  about  700  lbs., 
and  it  occupies  a  space  about  8  feet  by  2  feet  4 
inches.  The  whole  machinery  is  durable,  and 
easily  kept  in  repair.  It  thrashes  and  cleans 
all  kinds  of  grain  in  the  best  manner,  perform- 
ing the  work  at  the  rate  of  from  25  to  50  bushels 
per  hour.  Four  hands  are  required  to  tend  the 
machine  when  in  operation,  viz. — one  to  for- 
ward the  bundles,  one  to  feed,  one  to  measure 
and  put  the  grain  into  bags,  and  one  to  pitch 
the  straw  away  as  it  comes  from  the  machine. 
It  can  be  easily  moved  from  place  to  place,  and 
attached  to  any  horse  power,  and  can  be  used 
in  the  field  as  well  as  on  the  thrashing-floor, 
there  being  no  loss  or  scattering  of  grain  after 
it  is  once  fed  into  the  machine.  The  late  Judge 
Buel  considered  this  machine  as  the  best  adapt- 
ed to  the  purpose  of  any  he  had  ever  seen. 

Horse  Power. — The  power  almost  universally- 
employed  to  propel  thrashing-machines  in  the 
United  States  is  that  adapted  to  horses.  These 
are  generally  of  a  description  which  admits  of 
transportation  along  with  the  machine  from 
place  to  place.  They  are  of  two  kinds,  one 
called  the  streep  poire);  in  which  the  horses 
attached  pass  round  in  a  circle ;  the  other 
called  the  endless  chain  or  tread  potcer,  where  the 
horse  or  horses  move  as  if  walking  or  trotting, 
but  in  consequence  of  the  rotation  of  the  end- 
less chain  of  bars  on  which  they  are  placed, 
always  remain  in  the  same  place.  Mixe's  cast 
iron  portable  siceep  power  is  generally  considered 
the  best  now  in  use,  in  the  Middle  States  at  least. 
Its  weight  is  from  700  to  1000  lbs.,  and  the  price 
$80  for  a  two-horse,  and  5^90  for  a  four-horse 
power. 

The  endless  chain  or  tread  power  is  coming 
into  very  general  use,  being  specially  adapted 
to  farms  where  there  is  much  barn  or  shed- 
room,  admitting  of  the  thrashing  being  done 
under  shelter;  whereas,  with  the  sweep  power, 
the  operations  require  the  open  yard. 

The  tread  power,  called  Pitts's,  is  now  in 
high  repute.  These,  as  well  as  all  i)ther  kinds 
of  machinery  used  in  thrashing,  are  exten- 
sively manufactured  in  Wilmington, Delaware, 
by  HoUinsworth  &  Co.,  and  may  also  be  had 
of  Mr.  Chandler,  manufacturer  of  agricultural 
implements,  196  Market  street,  Philadelphia, 
as  also  at  most  of  the  numerous  depots  for 
agricultural  implements  in  that  and  other  cities 
in  the  United  States.  The  price  of  the  one- 
horse  endless  chain  power  is  $75  ;  of  the  two- 
horse  do.,  $85.  It  is  said  that  a  two-horse 
tread  power  is  equal  to  a  four-horse  sweep 
power. 

THREAVE.  A  quantity  of  grain,  consisting 
of  24  sheaves.    It  is  sometimes  written  thrave. 

THRIFT  {Statice,  from  statizo,  to  stop:  in 
allusion  to  the  powerful  astringency  of  some  of 
the  species).  The  species  of  thrift  ought  to  ha 
in  every  garden,  on  account  of  their  lively  little 
flowers.  There  are  three  indigenous  species 
of  thrift  or  sea-lavender,  all  perennial,  viz  ; — 

1.  The  common  thrift,  or  sea  gilliflower  (S, 
./^rwcria),  which  is  a  common  ornament  of  rus- 
tic gardens,  where  it  serves  for  edgings  of 
flower-beds ;  nor  does  this  plant  suflfer  av\c\x 

1043 


THRIP8. 

ftoin  the  smoke  even  of  London.    The  flowers 
are  uumeroas,  rose-coloured,  inodorous. 

2.  Blue  spiked  Ihrifi,  or  common  sea-laven- 
der (&  /MtomtMR),  which  crows  plentifully  on 
muddy  tea-thores,  and  about  the  mouths  of 
large  riTcrs.  The  root  is  woody  and  lough. 
Learec  leatbenr,  glaucous,  usually  2  or  3 
inches  long.  Panicle  of  spikes  of  imbricated, 
upright,  fine  blue  flowers. 

3.  Matted  thrift  (&  rtticulata),  growing  on 
muddy  »ea-9hores,  chiefly  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  Enifland.     (SmUk'i  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  1 15.) 

A  kind  of  American  sea-lavender,  S.  Carolim- 
mma)  is  described  by  Nuttall  as  apparently  a 
mere  vaneiy  of  the  S.  limoniutn.  The  flowers 
are  of  an  elegant  blue. 

THRIP8.  The  Thript,  or  vine-fretter,  as  it 
is  often  called,  is  a  very  minute,  light-coloured 
or  spotted  fly,  exceedingly  active  in  all  its  mo- 
tions, and  appearing  to  leap  rather  than  fly. 
They  hve  on  the  buds,  leaves,  and  flowers  of 
planLn,  being  so  small  as  readily  to  escape 
notice,  unless  particular  attention  is  directed 
lo  them.  They  arc  generally  found  by  observ- 
ing the  effects  of  their  apparently  poisonous 
bites  which  produce  deformities  in  the  leaves 
or  blossoms,  causing  these  often  to  swell  or 
curl  up.  The  peach  tree  occasionally  suffers 
severely  from  their  attacks,  as  well  as  from 
ttMM*  of  the  plant-lice,  to  which  family  of  insects 
they  are  allied.     {Harris  on  Destructive  Insects.) 

A  remedy  for  thrips  will  be  found,  with  the 
mode  of  using  it,  under  the  head  of  jJphis. 

A  new  disease  of  the  plum  tree,  occasioned 
by  thrips,  is  described  by  Dr.  Harris,  in  Ho- 
Wff't  HortiruUurnl  Mngnzine. 

THVME,  GARDEN  {Thymus  vulgaris,  from 
bufii:,  courage,  being  considered  a  reviver  of 
the  spirits:  or  from  di^,  to  sacrifice,  being 
employed  as  incense).  The  varieties  are, — 
the  broad-leaved  green,  narrow-leaved  green, 
▼ariegatf^,  and  lemon-scented.  The  varie- 
gated is  grown  almost  solely  on  account  of  its 
ornamental  foliage.  A  poor,  light,  and  dry 
soil  ia  best  suited  to  it  In  moist  or  rich  ones, 
it  becomes  luxuriant,  but  deficient  in  its  aro- 
matic qualities,  and  generally  perishes  during 
the  winter.    The  situation  cannot  be  too  open. 

Thyme  is  propagated  both  by  seed  and 
rooted  slips.  Sowing  may  be  performed  from 
the  middle  of  March  until  about  the  beginning 
of  May.  Slips  may  be  planted  from  the  begin- 
ning of  February  until  the  close  of  May. 

The  seed  must  be  sown  neither  thin,  nor 
raked  in  more  than  half  an  inch  below  the  sur- 
face, it  is  sometimes  sown  in  drills  of  a  simi- 
lar depth,,  six  inches  apart,  or  as  an  edging  to 
a  bed  or  border.  The  seedlings  must  be  kept 
clear  of  w»^s,  and,  if  the  season  is  dr>',  watered 
moderately  twice  a  week.  When  of  about  six 
weeks*  growth,  or  when  3  or  4  inches  high, 
they  require  to  be  thinned  lo  6  inches  apart, 
unless  grown  as  an  edging,  jwhen  they  must 
be  left  thick.  Those  removed  may  be  pricked 
out  to  a  similar  distance,  if  required.  Water 
IS  require4  occasionally  until  they  have  taken 
foot  The  plants  may  be  left  in  the  situations 
•hey  a-e  placed  in  at  this  season,  or  be  finally 
plamed  out  in  September  or  October,  or  in  the 
early  spring  of  the  following  year.  To  obtain 
slips,  some  old  stools  may  be  divid  *.d  into  as 
1044 


^  TOAD. 

many  rooted  portions  as  possible,  or  layers 
may  be  obtained  by  loosening  the  soil  around 
them,  and  pegging  the  lateral  shoots  beneath 
the  surface.  They  must  be  planted  out  at  dis- 
tances similar  to  those  raised  from  seed,  water 
and  weeding  being  similarly  required. 

In  autumn  the  decayed  stalks  should  be 
cleared,  and  a  little  fresh  earth  scattered  and 
turned  in  among  the  stools. 

Although  this  herb  is  perennial,  ye.  after  3 
or  4  years  it  becomes  stunted  and  unproduct- 
ive, consequently  requiring  to  be  raised  peri- 
odically from  seed.  For  the  production  of 
seed,  some  plants  should  be  allowed  to  run  up 
without  being  gathered  from  in  early  summer. 
The  seed  is  ripe  during  July,  and  must  be  cut 
immediately  it  is  so,  and  laid  on  a  cloth  to  dry, 
otherwise  the  first  rain  will  wash  it  out  of  the 
seed-vessels. 

THYME,  WILD  {Thymus).  A  genus  of  aro- 
matic, pungent,  branched,  somewhat  shrubby 
plants,  belonging  to  the  natural  order  Labiatce, 
They  are  often  diffuse  in  England,  and  of  hum- 
ble growth :  in  some  instances  annual.  The 
common  wild  thyme  {T.  serpyllum)  is  plentiful 
almost  everywhere,  particularly  on  heaths  and 
dry  mountainous  ground.  The  odour  of  the 
plant  is  gratefully  aromatic.  Bees  are  fond  of 
the  I  flowers.  Whether,  as  alleged,  the  quality 
of  mutton  is  improved  by  the  sheep  feeding  on 
this  plant,  or  on  fine,  short  grasses  which  usu- 
ally accompany  it,  is  still  a  matter  of  great 
doubt     See  Basil,  Calamint,  and  Thyme. 

TICKS.     See  Sheep,  Diseases  of. 

TILLER.  A  term  applied  to  the  branching 
of  the  stems  of  wheat,  &c.,  from  the  roots. 

TILTH.  The  condition  of  the  earth  after 
ploughing,  &c. ;  or  the  state  of  the  soil  in 
respect  to  tillage  as  relating  to  manure. 

TIMBER  (Germ,  zimrner ;  Du.  timmerhout). 
The  term  used  to  express  every  large  tree 
squared,  or  capable  of  being  squared,  and  fit 
for  being  employed  in  house  or  ship-building. 

TIMBER  TREES.  See  Trees,  Planta- 
tions, and  the  several  indigenous  trees,  under 
their  alphabetical  heads. 

TIMOTHY  GRASS  {Phleum  pratense).  See 
Cat's-Tail  Guass. 

TINE.  A  tooth  or  spike  placed  in  any  im- 
plement, but  especially  in  the  harrow  kind. 
See  Harrow. 

TOAD  {Rana  bufo.)  A  well-known  and 
much  dreaded,  though  perfectly  innoxious  rep- 
tile of  the  frog  genus,  which  feeds  on  insects, 
flies,  ants.  Sec.  It  is  preyed  upon  by  owls, 
buzzards,  snakes,  &c. ;  otherwise  the  toad  at- 
tains to  a  considerable  age,  some  remarkable 
instances  of  which  have  been  recorded. 

Dr.  H.  Storer,  in  some  remarks  upon  reptiles 
furnished  by  him  to  Professor  Hitchcock,  and 
published  in  the  Zoological  Survey  of  Massachu- 
setts, observes  :-^Great  errors  also  exist  with  re- 
gard to  the  order  Batrachia.  The  acrid  secretion 
found  upon  the  skin  of  the  Hyla  versicolor,  the 
toad,  and  several  species  of  efts  and  newts,  has 
caused  them  to  be  considered  venomous^ 
which  is  incorrect  Every  species  of  this 
order  is  inoffensive,  and,  when  better  known, 
will  undoubtedly  be  found  beneficial  to  man. 

In  some  countries,  the  flesh  of  the  different 
Rana,  frogs,  is  an  article  of  food.     With  us, 


PJfiU'  4^ 


KiCE.  srGAH.TOBArr  o  F/rr 


CALlFOi«AxA 


TOAD-FLAX. 

the  nabits  of  the  Bufo  ^merkanus,  or  common 
toad,  are  becoming  better  understood,  and  the 
horticulturist,  instead  of  destroying,  carefully 
preserves  it  on  his  grounds,  for  the  benefit  it 
affords  him,  by  feeding  upon  noxious  insects. 
In  the  same  way  are  our  springs  and  wells 
rendered  the  purer  by  the  presence  of  the  car- 
nivorous salamander. 

TOAD-FLAX.  A  name  applied  to  two  pe- 
rennial species  oi  Antirrhinum.  \.  The  creep- 
ing, pale  blue  toad-flax  {A.  repens)  is  a  rare 
species,  growing  on  chalky  banks  or  rocks 
near  the  sea.  Tlie  herbage  is  smooth  and 
glaucous,  stem  panicled,  leaves  linear,  scat- 
tered, partly  whorled;  flowers  sweet-scented. 

2.  ('ommon  yellow  toad-flax  {A.  linoria), 
which  is  common  about  hedges  and  the  bor- 
ders of  fields.  The  leaves  are  linear-lanceo- 
late, crowded;  stems  erect;  spikes  terminal; 
flowers  terminal,  inodorous.  (PI.  10,  x,x.)  See 
Fluellix  and  Sxap-Dragox. 

Common  linaria  is  found  in  the  Middle  States, 
where  it  bears  the  names  of  toad-flax,  butter-and- 
eggs,  and  Ramstead-weed.  It  is  a  foreigner,  fre- 
quenting fence-rows  and  pastures,  where  it  is  a 
showy  but  very  obnoxious  weed.  {Flora  Ces- 
trica.) 

TOAD-FLAX,  BASTARD.  See  Bastard 
Toad-Flax. 

TOBACCO.  Botanists  have  given  this  well- 
known  American  plant  the  generic  name  of 
Nicniiana,  from  John  Nicot,  of  Nismes,  in  Lan- 
guedoc,  ambassador  from  the  King  of  France 
to  Portugal,  where  he  procured  the  seeds  from 
a  Dutchman  who  had  derived  them  from  Flo- 
rida. The  first  plant  was  said  to  have  been 
presented  by  Nicot  to  Catharine  de  Medicis, 
whence  the  'former  French  name,  Herbe  a  la 
Reine,  or  the  queen's  plant.  The  name  tobacco, 
which  has  superseded  all  others,  is  an  appella- 
tion acquired  from  the  place  from  whence  it 
was  originally  most  geaierally  derived,  namely, 
the  island  of  Tobago,  in  the  West  Indies.  Ac- 
cording to  Linnaeus,  tobacco  was  known  in 
Europe  as  early  as  1560.  It  was  taken  to 
England  from  the  West  Indies  or  Mexico  by 
Ralph  Lane  in  1586,  but  only  the  herb  for 
smoking,  a  practice  introduced  into  England 
by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  acquired  it  from 
Captain  Lane.  In  the  house  in  which  he  lived 
at  Islington  are  his  arms  on  a  shield,  with  a 
tobacco  plant  on  the  top.  Smoking  has  conse- 
quently been  common  in  Europe  for  upwards 
of  two  centuries.  It  is  a  powerful  narcotic, 
and  also  a  strong  stimulant  with  respect  to  the 
whole  system,  but  especially  to  the  stomach 
and  intestines,  to  which,  in  small  doses,  it 
proves  emetic  and  purgative.  The  smoke 
thrown  up  the  anus  acts  as  a  glyster:  an  infu- 
sion of  the  leaves  forms  a  powerful  lotion  for 
obstinate  ulcers.  The  decoction,  powder,  and 
smoke  of  tobacco  are  used  in  gardening  to  de- 
stroy insects,  and  in  agriculture  for  the  same 
purpose,  and  to  cure  cutaneous  eruptions  in 
domestic  animals. 

Botanists  have  identified  many  different  spe- 
cies of  tobacco,  and  Loudon,  in  his  Encyclopce- 
dia  of  Plants,  makes  the  following  list  of  those 
enumerated  under  the  generic  head  of  Nico- 
tiana,  with  the  places  from  which  they  were 
derived : — 


TOBACCO. 

Comii.oii  Name. 

Origin  and  Datet 

Virginian 

America 

157S 

Larjie-leaved 

America 

Slirubby 

Cliina 

1699 

Sweei-scented 

N.  S.  W. 

1800 

Common-green 

America 

1570 

Panicled 

Peru 

1752 

Clammy 

Peru 

1759 

Curled-leaved 

America 

1816 

Primrose-leaved  Vera  Cruz 

1733 

Four-valved 

N.  America 

1811 

Dwarf. 

N.  America 

1823 

Langsdorff's 

Chili 

1819 

Honeywort 

" 

1821 

Havannah 

Havana 

1823 

Species. 
Nicotiana  tabacum 
macrophylla 
fruticosa 
undulata 
rustica 
paniculata 
glutinosa 
pUimbaginifolia 
pusilla 
quadrivalvis 
nana 

Langsdorffii 
ceriiithnides 
repanda 

In  the  4th  plate  there  are  representations  of 
the  species  known  as  Virginia  tobacco  (Nico- 
tiana tabacum,  /),  common  green  tobacco  (N. 
rustica,  g),  Havana  repanda  (//),  of  which  the 
fine  and  fragrant  cigars  are  made;  the  Qua- 
drivalvisj  or  four-leaved  tobacco  (i),  and  the 
Nana,  or  dwarf  species  (A:),  both  of  which  last 
are  used  by  the  Indians  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
Tobacco  is  cultivated  in  Europe  as  far  north 
as  Sweden,  and  is  also  grown  in  China,  Japan, 
and  other  eastern  and  hot  countries.  The  sort 
most  generally  preferred  is  the  Virginia  spe- 
cies, a  very  beautiful  plant.  The  cc  umon 
green  kind  (N.  }-ustica),  is  also  frequentl_)  cul- 
tivated, especially  in  Europe,  it  being  consi- 
dered hardier  than  the  Virginian  sort.  Parkin- 
son says  he  has  known  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
when  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  prefer  it  to  make 
good  tobacco,  "which  he  knew  so  rightly  to 
cure."  Tobacco  has  been  successfully  culti- 
vated and  cured  in  England,  but  its  growth  is 
prohibited  as  a  crop,  and  it  is  now  only  grown 
for  curiosity  as  a  border  flower,  or  by  garden- 
ers for  the  destruction  of  insects.  In  Germany 
and  other  northern  countries,  moit  families 
who  have  gardens  grow  enough  of  N.  rustica 
for  their  own  use ;  but  as  they  do  not  know 
how  to  cure  it  properly,  it  is  not  much  valued, 
and  is  never  made  into  chewing  tobacco  or 
snuff",  but  used  for  smoking. 

Although  tobacco,  an  annual  plant,  may  be 
brought  to  maturity  in  almost  every  country, 
even  in  Russia  and  Sweden,  with  their  tran- 
sient summers,  still  will  the  plants,  under  such 
unfavourable  circumstances, be  small,  and  their 
flavour  weak.  In  long,  moist,  and  not  very 
warm  summers,  such  as  those  of  Ireland,  the 
plants  may  attain  a  very  large  size,  but  they 
will  not  have  that  superior  flavour  which  can 
only  be  derived  from  abundance  of  clear  sun- 
shine, and  free,  dry  air.  The  fragrant  tobacco 
of  Havana  and  Luconia  may  retain  pre-emi- 
nence for  smoking,  but  for  all  other  purposes 
the  peculiarly  high  and  rich  flavour  of  ihe  to- 
bacco of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  neighbouring 
states  must  always  give  it  preference,  both  at 
home  and  abroad. 

It  will  be  seen  from  an  estimate  furnished 
Congress  by  Mr.  Ellsworth,  Commissioner  of 
Patents,  of  the  agricultural  products  of  the 
United  States  in  1842,  that  tobacco,  though  cul- 
tivated in  every  State  of  the  Union,  constitutes 
a  staple  crop  in  comparatively  few,  namely, 
Virginia,  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee  and  Missouri.  The  crop  of  the 
year  mentioned,  was  below  the  average,  and 
in  Virginia  not  o\|pr  two-thirds  of  the  regular 
crop,  being  both  light  and  of  bad  quality.  L 
was  distributed  as  follows :— ■ 

4  T  1045 


TOBACCO. 

jy.^                                     Nfc  of  pound*  fathered. 
New  H«mp.hlr«        -       -       -       "  (r  ?S 
Rhode  bland *^. 

Vermonl '     i  ASi 

K.wVorll i'"S 

PvUMylvuita    ...        -         480,374 

Worth  Crolina         -        -        -     »«.»2M74 

OmiwIb      ....        -  141,523 

Al^ZZZk 264,018 

MImIhSh         ...        -  145,212 

Lonkteaa  .....  118,146 

1V»nM!e«         ....  88.289,171 

KrlSelir-        -        -        -        •  45,494.083 

Ohio -  5,264,766 

llliDoto 984,900 

MtMoari 12,727.350 

MlrfcljiB  ..-.--  2,725 

FlortfcTerrllorjf      .       -       -       -  86,877 

Wlnowan  Territory        -       -       '  ..^i 

l©w«  Ttrrhory  -       .       .       -       -  11,153 

DIrtrkt  of  Columbia-        -       -        -  65,b54 

194,694,891 

• 

Increased  attention  has  been  latterly  paid  to 
the  culture  of  tobacco  in  Illinois  and  even  in 
•one  of  the  New  England  Stales.  The  follow- 
inf  statement  would  seem  to  show,  that,  not- 
withstanding the  vast  amount  of  tobacco 
raised  in  the  Union  for  home  consumption  and 
exportation,  there  is  yet  no  reasonable  ground 
for  apprehending  an  over-stock  of  the  market. 
In  a  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
relative  to  the  amount  of  home  consumption 
aod  exports  of  tobacco,  with  a  great  variety  of 
other  particulars,  it  is  stated  that  the  whole 
ainouni  supplied  elsewhere  than  in  the  United 
Slates,  is  about  150,000,000  pounds;  the 
amount  of  possible  consumption  of  American 
tobacco  is  put  at  not  less  than  1,000,000,000 
pounds.  So  that  were  only  one-half  of  this 
quantity  actually  consumed,  it  would  be  four 
times  more  than  our  present  export,  which,  in 
value,  is  only  second  to  that  of  cotton. 

In  almost  every  country  in  Europe  the  most 
rexatious  restrictions  in  the  forms  of  excessive 
duties  and  imposts  are  levied  upon  tobacco. 
In  general,  the  governments,  such  as  France, 
Bpain,  Italy,  dec,  take  possession  of  all  the 
tobacco  imported  or  raised,  and  farm  or  let  out 
to  great  capitalists  for  immense  sums,  the  pri- 
vileges of  vending  to  manufacturers  and  re- 
tailers. In  this  way  the  cost  of  tobacco  in 
Europe  is  usually  extremely  high,  and  govern- 
ment manage  to  derive  from  their  subjects 
vast  sums  of  money  by  exactions  in  the  shape 
of  imposts  upon  the  tobacco  they  consume. 
In  France  the  revenue  thus  annually  derived, 
is  $10,000,000,  and  all  this  from  a  reduced  im- 
portation of  some  oOOO  or  7000  hogsheads.  It 
wou!d  indeed  seem  to  be  a  favourite  object  for 
excessive  taxation  in  nearly  every  government. 
Ai  a  great  meeting  of  tobacco  planters  held  in 
May,  1840,  it  was  shown  from  authentic  docu- 
ments, that  on  an  export  of  100,000  hogsheads, 
valued  here  at  $7,000,000,  a  duty  was  paid  by 
the  consumers  in  the  various  countries  of  Eu- 
•t»pe.  of  more  than  $30,000 ,OgO.  "As  a  matter 
'>f  interest  to  many  of  our  readers,"  says  the 
editor  of  the  CuUiratorf  **  we  copy  or  condense 
1046 


TOBACCO. 

from  the  report  of  that  body,  the  amount  of 
tobacco  exported  to  the  European  countries 
respectively,  or  the  nios'.  prominent  ones: 

Coontriet.  Eiport  of  Tobacco  id  hhds.  Tax  p«r  lb. 

Russia         -  -  -  358 

Holland       -  -  -      3,300        -        -        13    ct8. 

Belgium      -  -  -       6,000        -        -        24      ' 

Great  Britain  -  -  28,772       -        -        72*    • 

France        -  -  -  12,000 

Spain  -  .  -       5,700 

Portugal     -  .  -         363 

Italian  States  -  -      2,000 

Austria       -  -  -      4,000 

The  remainder  of  the  100,000  hogsheads  is 
distributed  through  the  German  States,  Sardi- 
nia, Hungary,  &c.  &c.  We  have  been  unable 
to  ascertain  the  precise  duties  paid  in  all  cases, 
but  the  enormous  rales  of  those  ascertained, 
and  the  fact  that  the  tobacco  import  is  in  most 
of  the  countries  of  Europe  farmed  out  for  a 
stipulated  sum,  renders  it  certain,  that  while 
none  are  below  what  is  here  named,  some  of 
the  highest  much  exceed  the  almost  prohibitory 
imposts  of  Great  Britain.  A  duty  of  800  per 
cent.,  such  as  England  imposes  on  our  tobacco, 
is  an  anomaly  in  the  history  of  trade ;  and 
which,  under  all  circumstances,  may  be  deemed 
positively  unjust."  This  excessive  duty,  how- 
ever, is  imposed  merely  for  revenue  purposes, 
not  for  protection  to  agriculture,  like  the  duty 
on  wheat ;  as,  excepting  a  few  plants  for  pri- 
vate use,  for  medicinal  purposes,  «fec.,  it  is  pro- 
hibited  to  be  grown. 

"The  culture  of  tobacco  is  every  year  ex- 
tending itself  in  the  Western  States,  and  pro- 
mises to  become  a  most  important  article  of 
export  from  the  rich  districts  north  and  south 
of  the  Ohio.  That  tobacco  can  be  grown  in 
Indiana,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  with 
a  profit  greater  than  that  attending  the  culture 
of  wheat  and  corn,  seems  certain ;  and  we 
doubt  not.  that  as  the  cultivation  progresses, 
and  the  better  methods  of  curing  are  adopted, 
the  tobacco  of  the  new  States  will  rival  in  qua- 
lity and  celebrity  that  of  the  old.  The  plants 
on  new  land  grow  more  luxuriantly  than  on 
soils  cultivated  for  any  considerable  time  ;  but 
experience  proves  that  the  quality  is  not  so 
fine.  The  best  tobacco  in  any  country  is 
grown  on  lands  in  good  condition,  but  not  ex- 
travagantly rich,  or  highly  manured." 

Many  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
first  production  and  exportation  of  tobacco  in 
America  are  highly  interesting.  Some  of  these 
were  collected  by  an  intelligent  investigator 
a  few  years  ago,  from  which  we  extract  the 
following.  In  a  letter  still  extant,  of  the  Go- 
vernor and  Council  of  Virginia,  dated  James* 
City,  January  20,  1622,  it  is  stated,  that  there 
was  not  then  above  60,000  lbs.  of  tobacco  made 
in  the  colony.  In  1639,  however,  only  17 
years  afterwards,  the  Grand  Assembly  passed 
a  law  which  recites,  that,  "  Whereas,  the  ex- 
cessive quantity  of  tobacco  of  late  years 
planted  in  the  colony,  has  debased  the  quality," 
and  enacts,  "that  all  the  tobacco  planted  this 
present  year,  and  the  two  succeeding  years,  in 
the  colony  of  Virginia,  be  absolutely  destroyed 
and  burned,  excepting  and  reserving  so  much 
in  equal  proportion  to  each  planter,  as  shall 
make  in  the  whole  just  the  quantity  of  120,000 
lbs.  of  tobacco,  stripped  and  smoothed,  &c.  In 
consideration   whereof,   the   creditors    of   the 


TOBACCO. 


TOBACCO. 


planters  were  compelled  to  "accept  and  re- 
ceive to  lbs.  of  tobacco  so  stripped  and 
smoothed,  in  full  satisfaction  of  every  100  lbs. 
now  due  them."  It  is  not  important  to  ascer- 
tain whether  this  law  was  re-enacted  at  the 
end  of  the  3  years  named  in  it ;  fur  we  find  in 
an  official  report  to  the  commissioners,  that  the 
yearly  exports  of  tobacco  for  ten  years  end- 
ing in  1709,  were  28,868,666  lbs.,  of  which 
11,260,659  lbs.  were  annually  consumed  in 
Great  Britain,  and  17.598,007  lbs.  in  other 
countries  of  Europe.  In  1744 — 1776,  the  ave- 
rage annual  exportation  was  40,000,000  lbs., 
of  which  7,000,000  lbs.  were  consumed  in 
Great  Britain,  and  33,000,000  lbs.  in  other  Eu- 
ropean countries.  The  annual  average  ex- 
portation from  1768  to  1770,  both  inclusive, 
was  67,780  hhds.  of  about  100  lbs.  each,  or 
67,780,000  lbs.  As  we  have  now  approached 
the  period  when  the  exportation  of  tobacco  ar- 
rived at  a  point  from  which  it  has  vibrated, 
(sometimes  a  little  above  or  below  it,)  we  sub- 
join a  statement  of  the  exportation  for  the 
years  1772—1775,  inclusive,  which  will  fur- 
nish the  remarkable  fact  that  (compared  with 
any  succeeding  four  years  since  that  period) 
the  annual  exportation  of  tobacco  just  before 
the  Revolution,  was  about  the  same  that  it  has 
been  at  any  time  since,  in  our  most  prosperous 
periods.  For  although  1790 — 1792  were  three 
years  of  very  heavy  exportations,  they  fell  off 
in  1793  nearly  one-half,  making  the  annual 
average  exportation  not  materially  different 
from  1772—1775 : 

Statement  shounng  the  quantity  of  tobacco  export- 
ed from  the  United  Colonies  from  1772  to  1775, 
inclusive. 


Tear*. 

Poaodt  eiported. 

Ptoundi  conturoed 
or  remaiiiiii<  on 
hiii>l    in    Greait 
BriUin. 

FWinds  coiKumed 
or  miiaiiiiiit  on 
hand     ill    other 
counlrie*  of  Eu- 
rope. 

1772 
1773 
1774 
1775 

97,799,963 
100,472.007 

97,397.252 
101,828,617 

97,791,805 

3.695,564 

18,698,337 

27,623,451 

7.458 
96,776,443 
78,676.915 
74,205,166 

397,497,139 

147.809,157 

949,665.982 

Total  exportation  for  the  4  years,  397,497,139 
lbs.,  or  an  annual  average  of  99,374,785  lbs. 
This  brings  up  to  the  period  of  the  Revolution. 
The  following  will  exhibit  the  exportation  of 
the  article  during  ^t  period. 

Statement  shotcing  the  quantity  of  tobacco  exported 
from  the  United  Colonies,  from  1776  to  1782, 
inclusive. 


Tors. 

Pound,  exported. 

Pound.  <»n.umed 
or  remaining  on 
hand    in   Great 
Britain. 

Pound,  consomed 
or  remaining  on 
hand    io    other 
coontrie.  of  Eu- 
rope. 

1776 
1777 
1778 
1779 
17S0 
1781 
1762 

14,498.500 
2.441,214 
11,961.533 
17,155,907 
17,424,267 
13..339,168 
9,828.244 

* 

7.520,550 
10,982,899 
11,474.791 
7,600,296 
6,364,813 

14,498,500 
2,441.214 
4,440,783 
6,173,008 
5,950,176 
5,738.872 
3,463,431 

86,649,533 

43,913,349 

42,705,984 

•  This  year  Great  Britain  exported  to  the  Continent 
nearly  2fi.b(t0.000  lbs.  of  old  stock. 

f  n'rpat  Britain  exported  this  year  to  the  Continent 
•.000.000  lbs.  of  foriiier  stuck. 


Total  exportation  for  the  7  years,  86,649,533 
lbs.,  or  an  annual  average  of  12,378,504  lbs. 
Of  the  total  7  years'  exportation,  33,974,949  lbs 
were  captured  by  the  British  during  the  war. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  exports  of 
tobacco  from  the  United  States,  for  the  vears 
1787,  1788,  1789,  immediately  preceding  the 
adoption  of  the  present  Constitution. 

Statement  showing  the  quantity  of  tobacco  exportea 
from  the  United  States,  from'l7S7  to  1789,  in- 
clu^ve. 


Yean. 

Pound,  exported. 

Pound,  consumed 
or  remaining  on 
hand    in   Great 
BriUin. 

Pounds  consumed 
or  remaining  on 
hand    in   other 
countries  of  Eu- 
rope. 

1787 
1788 
1789 

99,041,000 
88,595,000 
88,675,000 

45,379,795 
39,600,404 
48,831,232 

41,661,205 
4S.v)95,I86 
39,843,768 

267,311,000 

133,811,431 

133,500,159 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark,  that  the  weight 
of  a  hogshead  of  tobacco  is  much  greater  now 
than  formerly.  Originally,  tobacco  being  less 
compactly  pressed,  the  hogsheads  averaged 
only  600  lbs.,  but  they  gradually  increased,  and 
in  1770,  reached  1000  lbs.  averags.  At  this 
time  Kentucky  averages  about  1300  lbs.  per 
hog>;head,  and  the  average  of  all  kinds  (Ken- 
tucky, Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Ohio)  we  have 
estimated  at  1200  lbs.  per  hogshead,  which  we 
believe  to  be  very  nearly  right.  I'he  annual 
average  exportation  for  the  last  21  years,  from 
1815  to  1835,  inclusive,  is  within  a  fraction  of 
82,760  hogsheads.  Taking  our  estimate  of 
1200  lbs.  per  hogshead  to  be  the  true  weight, 
we  shall  thus  have  99,313,000  lbs.  as  the  an- 
nual average  for  the  last  21  years,  and  we 
have  seen  that  the  annual  average  exportation 
for  the  four  years  ending  in  and  including 
1775,  was  99,374,785  lbs.,  which  establishes 
the  remarkable  fact,  that  the  exportation  of 
leaf  tobacco  has  remained  stationary  for  a 
period  of  60  years. 

On  a  careful  examination  of  the  foregoing 
statements,  it  appears,  that  when  our  exports 
of  leaf  tobacco,  for  two  or  three  successive 
years,  much  exceed  100,000,000  lbs. ;  for  some 
succeeding  years  they  are  proportionably  re- 
duced below  that  standard.  It  is  also  evident 
that  the  revolutionary  war  gave  a  check  to  the 
exportation  of  leaf  tobacco  from  which  it  has 
never  recovered ;  for  until  that  period,  as  may 
be  seen  by  reference  to  the  preceding  state- 
ments, the  annual  average  exportation  increased 
regularly  and  steadily.  It  was  37,780,000  lbs. 
greater  for  the  years  1763  to  1770,  than  for  the 
years  1744  to  1746;  and  for  the  years  1772  to 
1775,  it  was  31,594,785  lbs.  more  than  the  an- 
nual average  for  the  years  1763  to  1770.  In 
other  words,  for  the  31  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  revolution,  our  exports  of  leaf  to- 
bacco annually  increased  very  nearly  2,328,000 
lbs.,  and  for  the  60  years  since  that  period,  it 
has  remained  stationary,  except  when  inter- 
rupted by  wars  or  other  commercial  embar- 
rassments. The  reason  is  apparent.  Before 
the  revolution,  all  Europe  depended  on  us  for 
supplies  of  the  article ;  but,  being  cut  off  from 
the  supplies  by  the  war,  Europeans  turned 
their  attention  to  growing  it  for  themselves,  and 

!047 


TOBACCO. 


TOBACCO. 


9l0ttmint 
1885, 


t  exhibUing  the  number  of  hogsheads  of  tobacco  exported  from  the  United  States  from  1790  to 
incltuivf,  and  the  average  price  per  pound,  and  gross  value  from  1802  to  1835,  inclusive.    Also 

of  pounds  of  manufactured  tobacco  and  snuff  exported  from  1791  to  1835,  inclusive,  and 

from  1817/0  1835,  iMf/imre. 


nM 

HokdrkM^LNr 

'Tr»r*- 

Tol»l  wlue. 

Minufaclured  To- 
bacco—lbs. 

SnuflC 

Value  or  manufac- 
tured ir  «ff. 

mi 

ITtI 
I7W 

m* 

1700 

1000 

1001 

iS 

UM 

IPIIIIIS 

Average  price 
per   lb.  not 
•■ceruined. 

0|c. 

Total  value  of 
Leaf  Tobacco 
ascertained. 

#6,220,000 

81,122- 

117,874 

137,784 

19,370 

20,263 

29,181 

12,805 

142,269 

406,076 

457,713 

472,282 

233,591 

Snuff  and 

80,991 
83,341 
71,251 

6 

6,230.000 

152,415 

manufactured 

Value  unas- 

5} 

6,000,000 

.    298,139 

Tobacco  in- 

certained. 

7| 

6.311,000 

428,460 

cluded. 

83,180 

4 

6,572,000 

361,733 

IMO 

08,230 
0,576 

n 

7* 

5,476,000 
838,000 

274,952 
36,3.32 

53,931 

5} 

3,774,000 

350,835 

IflOf 
1011 

Sl,134 

5 

5,048,000 

529,285 

S5388 

5 

2,150,000 

752,553 

lOiiil 

SIOM 

5 

1,514,000 

588,618 

18131 

5,314 

5 

319.000 

283,512 

lOH^ 

3,125 

6i 

232,000 

79.377 

1M?1 

85,337 

8 

8,2.S.'-).000 

1,034,045 

1910 

69,241 

I5i 

18,800,(00 

576,246j 

1817 

68,365 

m 

9,230,000 

1,115,874 

5,080 

#281,509 

1018 

84,337 

10 

10,241,341 

1,486,240 

5,513 

373,875 

1810 

09.497 

lOi 

6,874,167 

926,833 

13.710 

237,192 

1810 

83.940 

8 

8,188,188 

593,358 

4,996 

149,.589 

101 

60858 

^i 

5,798,045 

1,332,949 

44,552 

149,083 

sslioo 

Oi 

6,380,020 

1,414,424 

44,602 

157,182 

1888 

99,000 

5i 

6,437,627 

1,987,.')07 

36.684 

154,955 

1884 

77;883 

5} 

5,059,355 

2,477,990 

45;i74 

201^,789 

in» 

75,984 

6J 

5,287,976 

1,871,368 

53,920 

172,353 

1888 

04.096 

6} 

5,347,208 

2,179,774 

61,601 

210,134 

1887 

100,f>23 

5} 

6,816,116 

2,730,255 

45,812 

239,024 

96.278 

4} 

5,480,707 

2,637,411 

85,655 

210.747 

I8» 

77,131 

5| 

5,185,370 

2,619,399 

19,509 

202,390 

1898 

83,810 

5? 

5,833,112 

3,199,151 

29,425 

246,747 

1811 

86,718 

4} 

4,892.388 

3,639,856 

27,967 

292,475 

isn 

10?,900 

41 

5,999.769 

3,456.'>:: 

31,175 

295,771 

isn 

83.153 

5* 

4,755,968 

3,790,310 

13,453 

288,973 

I8SI 

87.979 

H 

6,595,305 

3,956,.')79 

57,826 

328,409 

1835 

M,353 

7i 

6,250,577 

3,817,854 

36,471 

357,611 

•  French  revolution. 
I  Ranibouillet  decree. 


f  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees. 
II  War  with  Great  Britain. 


t  Embargo. 
H  Peace. 


hare  continned  to  cultivate  it  all  over  the  con- 
tinent. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  exportation  of 
m an n fact  11  red  tobacco  and  snuff  has  increased 
more  than  44  fold  since  1791,  and  more  than 
3  fold  since  1817;  but  the  gross  value  has  not 
proponionably  increased,  at  least  since  1817. 

From  a  review  of  tne  subject,  as  above  de- 
tailed, it  will  be  perceived,  that,  if  it  were 
in  our  power  to  furnish  a  precise  statement  of 
the  exports  of  each  description  of  tobacco,  and 
the  coantries  to  which  it  was  exported  (al- 
ihoDgh  very  desirable  on  many  mccounts),  it 
would  not  fnrnish  satisfactory  evidence  that 
the  consumption  of  tobacco  generally,  or  of 
any  particular  description,  had  increased  or  di- 
minished in  Europe,  without  knowing  tr/ia«  they 
fT'tJir,  as  well  as  ichat  trt  export.  We  have  de- 
voted much  labour  and  attention  to  this  part  of 
the  subject;  but,  although  we  can  learn  gene- 
rally that  the  production  of  it  in  Europe  keeps 
pace  with  the  increased  consumption,  yet  our 
re'searches  have  not  enabled  us  to  lay  before 
you  any  useful  statement,  either  as  to  the  quan- 
lity  or  the  qualities  grown,  except  for  3  years 
•n  France,  as  follows; 
1(H8 


Statement  showing  the  quantity  of  Tobacco  grown 
in  France  for  the  years  1818 — 1820. 


Yean. 

KUogramme*. 

Pound!. 

No.ofhhdj.,  esli. 
mated  at  1,200 
lb».  per  hhd. 

1818 
1819 
1820 

7,418,000 
10,360,000 
13,155,000 

18,545,000 
25,gMi)00 
32,8f^00 

15,454 
21,583 
27,406 

This  shows  an  increased  production  of  near- 
;  ly  double  in  the  3  years. 

I      It  will  strike  you  with  surprise,  as  it  did  us, 
!  that  the  consumption  of  tobacco  has  increased 
!  so  much  in  our  own  country  as  to  carry  off 
j  the  very  large  surplus  grown  beyond  the  foreign 
I  demand.     Formerly,  when  all  the  tobacco  was 
j  grown  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  we  exported 
as  much  as  we  do  now;  and  now,  in  addition 
:  to  those  states,  which  produce  nearly,  or  quite 
as  much  as  they  did  then,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and 
Tennessee,  together  with  Connecticut,  Penn- 
sylvania,  Indiana,  and  Missouri,  produce  as 
much  more.      We  must,   therefore,   consume 
more  than  the  quantity  required  for  exportation. 
Remarks. — If  the  preceding  statements  may 
1  be  relied  on  as  correct,  it  appears  that  there 


TOBACCO. 


TOBACCO. 


has  been  a  very  surprising  increase  of  the  use 
of  tobacco  in  this  country,  and  that  the  annual 
consumption  now  amounts  to  upwards  of 
100,000,000  lbs.:— giving  about  7  lbs.  to  every 
man,  woman,  and  child.  The  sum  annually 
paid  by  the  consumers  of  this  quantity  of  to- 
bacco in  its  manufactured  state,  has  been  com- 
puted by  a  writer  in  The  Portsmouth  Journal,  at 
^20,000,000.  (National  Gazette,  Philadelphia, 
Oct.  6,  183ft  Republished  in  Farmer's  Register, 
vol.  vi.  1838.) 

Culture  of  Tobacco. — The  following  concise 
directions  for  the  cultivation  and  management 
of  tobacco  are  chiefly  taken  from  a  communi- 
cation drawn  up  by  Mr.  J.  F.  Edmunds,  of 
Mecklenburg,  Virginia,  and  originally  pub- 
lished in  the  Farmer's  Register. 

Raising  the  Plants. — The  land  for  the  plant- 
bed  is  usually  selected  in  a  warm  exposure  on 
the  south  or  southeastern  side  of  a  hill  in  a 
wood,  new  ground  being  always  preferred. 
From  this  the  roots  should  be  grubbed,  the  rub- 
bish cleared  away  and  the  old  leaves  raked  off. 
Brush  of  pine  or  other  wood  is  then  to  be 
piled  on  until  from  2  to  3  feet  thick  all  over  the 
bed,  and  this  is  to  be  set  on  fire.  As  the  beds 
should  be  prepared  for  seeding  immediately 
after  the  frost  is  out  of  the  ground,  the  brush 
should  be  collected  and  put  in  place  some  time 
during  the  winter.  Instead  of  burning  over 
the  whole  bed  at  once,  a  part  may  be  fired  for 
an  hour  or  so  at  a  time,  proceeding  thus  over 
the  entire  bed.  The  place  is  then  to  be  broken 
up  with  hoes,  and  sometimes  with  coulters 
drawn  by  horses  or  oxen,  and  the  work  re- 
peated until  the  earth  is  made  perfectly  fine, 
being  careful  to  avoid  turning  under  the  sur- 
face. All  the  roots  should  then  be  extracted, 
and  the  land  laid  off  in  beds  (slightly  elevated 
if  dry,  and  more  if  moist  or  wet)  4  feet  wide. 
And  to  16  square  yards,  a  common  pipe-bowl 
of  seed  is  sown.  The  bed  is  then  trodden  or 
pressed  with  hoes,  and  well  covered  with  brush 
to  protect  the  plants  from  frosts.  When  the 
plants  have  come  fully  out,  they  should  be 
slightly  manured  with  strong  manure  made 
fine ;  this  should  be  repeated  frequentl}',  and 
in  larger  quantity,  as  the  plants  increase  in 
size  and  are  able  to  bear  it. 

When  the  plants  have  attained  a  good  size, 
and  there  is  no  longer  danger  of  frost,  the 
covering  of  brush  is  removed,  and  the  bed 
weeded  with  the  hand,  those  employed  in  this 
duty  taking  great  care  to  avoid  bruising  the 
tender  plants.  The  beds  require  frequent  pick- 
ing to  keep  down  the  weeds. 

Preparation  and  Planting. — The  plants  wfll 
be  generally  ready  for  removal  about  the  last 
of  May  or  first  of  June.  They  are  to  be  drawn 
out  after  a  rain  and  transplanted  in  good 
ground  previously  well  prepared  for  their 
reception. 

Soil  and  Season. — In  Virginia  and  the  other 
states,  the  best  tobacco  is  grown  in  rich,  light, 
alluvial,  loamy  land,  or  such  as  has  been  re- 
cently cleared  and  brought  into  cultivation. 
Tobacco  requires  a  mild  and  warm  season,  and 
can  never  be  worth  growing  in  situations  ele- 
vated much  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  in 
northern  exposures,  or  in  wet  and  springy  land. 

Field  Culture. — The  land  for  tobacco  should 
132 


be  of  the  best  quality,  either  newly  cleared  and 
virgin  soil,  or  old  ground  highly  manured  and 
welV  pulverized,  or  good  clover  fallow,  ploughed 
in  the  fall,  manured  and  cross-ploughed  in  the 
spring,  just  before  planting,  well  harrowed, 
and  then  laid  off  with  a  plough  in  rows  3,  3^, 
or  4  feet  apart  each  way.  Every  square  thus 
made  is  to  be  scraped  with  the  hoe  so  as  to 
;  form  a  hill  in  which  one  plant  is  to  be  set.  In 
case  the  plants  die  from  drought,  or  are  de- 
stroyed by  worms,  a  very  common  occurrence, 
others  must  be  set  in  their  places. 

Cultivaiioyi. — The  culture  is  very  much  like 
that  usually  adopted  for  Indian  corn,  the  plough, 
cultivator  and  hand-hoe  being  freely  used  to 
keep  down  weeds  and  loosen  the  earth. 

It  is  important  to  the  early  growth  of  the 
plant  to  plough  and  work  deep  once  or  twice, 
so  that  when  it  is  ripening,  the  ground  will 
be  broken  deep  and  fine.  (The  coulter  is 
preferred  for  this  operation.)  This  should  be 
eflfected  without  much  interference  with  the 
roots,  as  that  would  check  the  growth,  and  pre- 
vent the  plant  from  attaining  its  proper  size. 
And  hence  the  advantage  of  greater  distance 
between  the  rows  than  the  common  distance 
of  3^  feet — because  the  wide  rows  can  be 
ploughed,  and  worked  with  less  damage  to  the 
roots.  In  this,  as  in  all  other  crops,  if  we  wish 
a  good  return,  "  we  must  speed  the  plough"  and 
hoe,  before  the  roots  run  out.  On  our  high 
lands  we  should  endeavour,  by  deep  and 
horizontal  ploughing,  to  counteract  the  bad 
effects  of  drought.  On  our  flats,  we  should  aim 
to  prevent  the  collection  of  water  by  drains  dis- 
charsed  at  the  lowest  point. 

The  bed  is  best  for  high  land,  because  it 
retains  more  moisture  where  it  is  generally 
needed.  The  hill,  retaining  less  moisture,  is 
best  for  flat  land,  where  there  is  commonly  a 
superabundance. 

Priming,  Topping,  Suckering,  and  Worming.-— 
As  the  tobacco  plant  grows  and  developes,  a 
blossom-bud  puts  out  from  the  top,  which  is 
termed  buttoning.  This  top  must  be  pulled  off 
along  with  such  of  the  upper  leaves  as  are  too 
small  to  be  of  any  value.  The  plants  are  thus 
left  usually  about  2  or  3  feet  high.  The 
plants  also  shoot  out  suckers  from  every  leaf, 
which  must  be  broken  off,  care  being  taken  not 
to  break  the  leaf  from  the  main  stem.  This 
causes  the  leaves  to  spread. 

The  most  regular  topping  is  performed  by 
measure.     The  topper  carries  in  his  hand  a 
measure  6  inches  long,  by  occasionally  apply- 
ing which,  he  can  regulate  the  priming  with 
great  accuracy;  and  as  the  remaining  leaves 
are  numbered,  this  governs  the  operation,  and 
gains  the  object  of  even  topping.    The  topper 
should    always    carry   this    measure    in    his 
hand,  as  it   serves    to   prevent    excuses    for 
negligence  and  uneven   topping.      Prime  six 
inches,  and  top   to   eight   leaves.     We   have 
found,  by  experience,  that  this  is  the  best  ave- 
j  rage  height.     We  sometimes,  but  seldom,  vary 
!  from  this  general  rule.     If  the  land  is  poorei 
I  than  common,  or  if,  from  the  backwardness  of 
I  the  plant,  and  the  advanced  state  of  the  season, 
i  we  apprehend  frost,  we  do  not  prime  as  high  ; 
'  (say  4  inches.)     If  we  have  an  uncommonlv 
[  rich  spot,  and  there  is  danger  that   the  top 
4t2  1049 


TOBACCO. 

ihives  will  come  to  the  ground,  we  should  rise 
in  the  same  proportion.  The  crop  should  be 
wormed  and  snckered,  at  least  once  a  week. 

rw/iHf  and  Housing. — In  about  3  months 
after  setting  oat,  the  plants  assume  a  spotted 
and  yellowish  appearance,  indicating  that  they 
bare  attained  sufficient  maturity  for  culling 
and  honsing.  This  stage  of  the  tobacco  cul- 
lore  is  generally  reckoned  the  most  diflici'li 
and  delicate  part  of  the  whole  business,  and 
the  planter,  if  he  wishes  to  be  successful,  must 
Ifire  It  all  his  attention,  as  the  profit  of  a  whole 
plantation,  for  the  year,  greally  depends  upon 
the  diligeace  and  skilful  management  exercised 
during  the  few  days  of  cutting.  He  should 
therefore  be  well  prepared  for  this  stale  of  the 
crop,  by  having  the  barns  close,  carts  and 
wagons  in  good  order,  and  every  thing  ar- 
ranged to  despatch  business  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, since  it  is  hard  work  he  has  lo  encounter. 
To  aave  a  heavy  crop  in  ihe  best  manner 
requires  both  energy  and  activity.  The  most 
judicious  hands  should  be  selected  for  cutters. 
The  plants  are  cut  with  a  knife  near  the 
ground,  and  suffered  to  lie  in  the  sun  for  a 
few  hours,  to  cause  them  to  "fall"  or  will. 
When  the  field  is  a  pretty  large  one,  a  middling 
or  average  hand  should  count  the  whole  num- 
ber of  plants  he  cuts,  so  that,  allowing  each 
cutter  the  same  number,  we  may  arrive  ai 
nearly  the  whole  quaniity  cut.  We  should 
never  cut  more  nor  less  than  will  fill  the  con- 
templated bam;  otherwise  there  is  labour  lost 
in  attending  to  a  barn  not  full,  or  the  overplus 
is  injured  for  want  of  firirg.  The  tobacco, 
after  it  has  "fallen,"  or  becomes  sufficienlly 
limber,  is  carried  to  ihe  barn  in  carls  or  wa- 
gons, being  from  6  to  10  plants  on  a  slick,  and 
stowed  away  for  firing.  Ii  is  also  of  great  im- 
portance lo  be  particular  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  sticks.  The  equal  and  general  circula- 
tion of  heat  throughout  the  house  depends  on 
the  manner  in  which  this  is  done.  Our  barns 
commonly  have  three  firing  tiers  above,  and 
three  below  the  joists.  We  commence  ar- 
ranging the  sticks  on  the  most  elevated  tier 
in  the  roof,  to  which  we  give  five  inches  dis- 
tance; and  on  each  tier,  as  we  descend,  we 
gain  one  inch  ;  so  that  on  the  lowest  tier,  near- 
est the  fire,  the  sticks  are  placed  eleven  inches 
•part  This  disposition  of  the  sticks,  I  have 
ascertained  by  late  experiment,  is  important. 
The  sticks  of  tobacco  being  wider  apart,  next 
o  the  fires,  gives  a  freer  circulation,  and,  con- 
sequently, a  more  equal  temperature,  than  the 
osaal  way  of  equal  distance  from  bottom  to 
top.  The  heat  having  more  space  to  ascend, 
must  be  more  equal  and  generally  diflrused,and 
will  give  a  more  uniform  house  of  tobacco.  I 
esteem  this  a  considerable  improvement ;  and 
if  we.  have  house-room,  and  make  a  greater 
difference  in  the  proportionate  distance  be- 
tween the  sticks,  it  will  be  a  still  better  arrange- 
ment. 

Curing, — We  commence  our  warming  or 
preparing  fires,  says  Mr.  Edmunds,  the  day 
after  nousing.  We  prefer  what  is  commonly 
called  the  "bed  logs"  of  green,  and  the  "  feed- 
ing" of  dry  or  seasoned  wood.  By  this  ar- 
rangempnt  the  fires  are  rendered  more  govern- 
afde.  The  bed  logs  should  be  nicely  fitted  to 
1050 


TOBACCO. 

the  barn  floor,  two  lengths  to  reach  across,  the 
large  ends  placed  outwards,  to  guard  against 
the  tendency  of  heat  to  the  centre.  We  k»;ep 
up  our  warming  fires  from  36  to  48  hours,  the 
mercury  ranging  from  100°  to  115°.  This 
will  generally  bring  the  leaf  to  the  drying  state-; 
the  tail,  or  end  of  ihe  leaf,  now  begins  to  curl 
handsomely  ,  and  then  the  planter  must  be  on  the 
alert.  If  he  is  careless,  and  his  fires  are  made 
too  hot,  the  aromatic  oil  passes  off  with  the  sap 
and  smoke,  and  he  has  a  house  of  red  or  dark 
inferior  tobacco.  If  his  fires  are  kept  too  low, 
his  tobacco  gets  into  a  clammy  sweat,  and  the 
oil  escapes.  There  is  much  more  danger  of 
the  former  than  of  the  latter  evil.  There  is 
more  tobacco  injured  by  too  much  heat  than 
by  the  want  of  a  sufficiency.  The  fires  should 
now  be  kept  steady  and  regular,  with  a  gradual 
increase  of  heat,  so  that  in  48  hours  the  mer- 
cury will  stand  150°  to  160°.  It  must  be  kept 
at  or  about  that  temperature  until  the  tobacco 
is  cured. 

Stripping,  Prizing,  SfC. — After  the  plants  be- 
come sufficiently  dried,  known  by  the  stems 
gelling  hard,  which  will  be  in  about  2  months 
after  housing,  the  leaves  are  stripped  from  the 
stalks.  For  this  operation  a  moist  time  in  the 
spring  or  late  in  winter  is  chosen,  to  prevent 
the  leaves  from  crumbling.  They  are  divided 
by  select  hands  into  three  classes  for  stripping: 
1st,  that  which  is  of  the  best  colour  and  qua- 
lity; 2dly,  that  which  is  somewhat  inferior, 
comprising  the  balance  of  the  leaf;  3dly, 
lugs,  or  ground  leaves.  Some  planters  make 
still  more  classes,  but  this  requires  more  at- 
tention and  discrimination  than  can  be  gene- 
rally bestowed,  at  least  by  ordinary  hands. 
After  sorting,  the  leaves  are  neatly  tied  up  in 
bundles  called  ''hands,"  consisting  of  4  leaves 
in  each  bundle  of  the  first  class,  or  6  of  the 
second  and  third  classes.  The  hands  are  next 
"  put  down  to  condition,"  as  the  process  is 
commonly  termed.  This  consists  in  putting  it 
in  large  biilks  and  subjecting  it  to  pressure 
from  weights,  in  which  state  it  undergoes  a 
sweat.  It  must  be  watched  during  this  pro- 
cess, and  as  soon  as  it  is  observed  beginning 
to  heat,  taken  out  and  hung  up  to  dry.  After 
drying  thoroughly,  it  must  be  again  taken  down 
and  put  into  bulk,  a  damp  spell  being  chosen 
so  as  to  prevent  the  leaves  from  breaking  or 
crumbling.  In  Mr.  Edmunds'  instructions  he  ob- 
serves, that, "  at  the  close  of  each  day's  stripping, 
and  oflener  if  the  weather  is  drying,  we  bulk 
down  what  has  been  stripped,  being  careful  to 
pack  straight.  It  is  left  in  this  situation  until 
we  wish  to  commence  prizing,  and  then  hung, 
from  12  to  15  bundles  on  a  smooth  stick,  and 
hoisted  in  the  barn,  the  sticks  placed  6  inches 
apart,  the  hoister  carrying  a  measure  in  his 
hand.  It  is  important  to  measure,  as  the  order 
will  be  more  uiiiform.  It  should  remain  until 
the  stems  are  perfectly  dry;  after  which  it 
should  be  taken  down  for  prizing,  as  dry  as  it 
can  be  handled  without  breaking.  It  remains 
in  this  state  a  few  days,  until  the  leaves  are 
pressed  together,  and  we  have  soft  weather 
for  packing.  Each  bundle  is  then  carefully 
straightened,  repacked,  and  heavily  weighted. 
It  is  then  ready  for  prizing.  We  should  prize 
in  weather  when  the  order  of  the  tobacco  will 


TOBACCO. 


TOBACCO. 


not  chan;?e.  Each  bundle  should  be  straight,  ana 
closely  packed  in  hogsheads  in  the  usual  way." 
Some  very  excellent  views  upon  the  culture 
and  subsequent  management  of  tobacco  will 
be  found  dispersed  through  the  different  south- 
ern agricultural  periodicals,  and  especially  the 
first  volume  of  the  Farwip/'s  Register.  One  of 
the  communications  in  this  last  work,  signed 
Frederick  Oronoko,  is  very  full  of  information 
upon  every  branch  of  the  subject.  The  writer 
states  that  two  great  errors  are  generally  com- 
mitted in  topping  and  priniing.  On  rich  land 
the  plants  are  topped  too  low,  which,  with 
planting  too  far  apart,  causes  the  leaves  to 
grow  loo  large,  coarse,  and  curly.  On  such 
lands,  instead  of  making  10  leaves,  at  least  12 
should  be  made  by  topping  to  about  16,  and 
not  finishing  priming  with  the  topping,  but 
commencing  again  when  the  four  top  leaves 
get  about  half-grown.  If  the  seasons  be  fa- 
vourable to  a  rapid  growth,  some  of  the  high 
top  suckers  shoula  be  indulged  a  while,  which 
in  a  wet  summer  will  prevent  the  leaves  from 
growing  coarse.  Nothing,  he  says,  is  easier 
than  to  keep  down  the  size  of  the  leaves,  and 
prevent  them  from  getting  too  large,  if  you  will 
only  top  high  and  indulge  the  suckers  to  a  pro- 
per extent  in  the  early  part  of  the  summer, 
when  the  seasons  are  favourable  to  rapid 
growth.  Sucker  and  prime  judiciously,  as  the 
rains  subside  and  dry  weather  sets  in.  By 
turning  out  a  superabundance  of  leaves,  it  en- 
ables one  to  speculate  on  the  weather  in  this 
crop  with  more  certainty  than  can  be  done 
with  any  other.  The  four  top  leaves  are  al- 
ways the  richest,  if  ripe,  and  of  much  the  best 
and  most  useful  shape.  In  a  plant  of  10  leaves, 
he  thinks,  in  general,  they  are  worth  more  than 
the  other  six,  althou£rh  the  four  are  not  so 
large,  and  do  not  usually  weigh  more  than  half 
as  much  as  the  six.  The  same  rules,  he  thinks, 
are  also  applicable  to  the  culture  of  tobacco  on 
thin  land,  such  as  can  just  barely  produce  a 
crop,  although  he  is  opposed  to  the  culture  of 
such  poor  land.  One-third  to  one-half  of  the 
Virginia  crop  is  made  upon  such  land  as  does 
not  pay  for  the  labour.  It  is  a  general  im- 
pression that  much  of  the  fine,  high-priced 
tobacco  has  been  made  on  poor  land.  It  will, 
he  says,  "be  well  to  correct  this  error,  as  it  has 
caused  much  injury,  and  great  loss  of  labour, 
and  final  destruction  and  death  to  a  great  deal 
of  thin  land,  either  poor  originally,  or  in  the 
last  stage  of  consumption  by  the  Virginia-kill- 
ing mode  of  cultivation.  It  is  true,  however, 
to  a  notorious  degree,  that  several  poor  coun- 
ties have  of  late  been  very  conspicuous,  and, 
perhaps,  meritoriously  celebrated,  for  making 
fine,  high-priced  tobacco ;  but  the  fine  tobacco 
was  not  made  on  poor  land,  when  the  land  was 
actually  poor;  it  was  made  on  the  richest, 
liveliest  spots  that  could  be  picked  out  in  those 
poor  counties.  Many  of  those  who  have  not  rich 
land,  have  resorted  to  the  necessity  of  picking 
the  best  spots  of  thin  land  with  only  a  meager 
coat  of  soil,  and  that  coat  nearly  all  composed 
of  vegetable  matter,  scraped  into  hills,  which 
causes  them  to  be  tolerably  rich,  active,  and 
productive  for  one  or  two  years,  as  this  is 
generally  new  ground.  In  this  way  a  part  of 
the  fine,  high-priced  tobacco  has  been  made, 


but  much  the  greater  part  has  been  produced 
by  the  rich  land,  with  the  aid  of  the  art  of  high 
curing,  with  but  little  or  no  fire." 

Another  great  error  dwelt  upon  by  the  same 
writer  is  that  of  cutting  before  the  plant  gets 
entirely  ripe,  which  is  the  chief  cause  why  so 
much  is  defective  in  flavour,  colour,  and  sub- 
stance; and  why  so  much  feels  rich  and  thick 
without  being  so.  The  odoriferous  qualities 
of  most  aromatic  plants  are  acquired  in  great- 
est perfection  during  the  last  stages  of  their 
I  growth,  and  some  are  never  fully  developed 
till  they  get  through  the  process  of  curing, 
which  is  peculiarly  the  case  with  tea,  coffee, 
and  tobacco.  Much  of  the  substance  as  w«ll 
as  weight  are  therefore  sacrificed  by  premature 
cutting,  which  also  prevents  the  plant  from 
curing  with  a  good,  lively,  healthy  colour.  A 
dull,  dingy  hue  will  inevitably  be  the  aspect  of 
all  that  is  cut  green,  cure  it  as  you  may.  Any 
bright  colour  given  to  it  artificially  by  the  pro- 
cess of  curing  will  fade  away.  "I  hazard  no- 
thing in  the  declaration  that  every  rich  plant 
cut  in  perfection,  fully  ripe,  whether  on  rich 
or  thin  land,  bottom  or  high  land,  may  be  cared 
of  good  colour  and  flavour,  that  will  be  lasting 
and  delicious  to  the  taste  and  smell.  And  al- 
though good  colour  and  flavour  constitute  the 
chief  value,  yet  no  more  than  about  one-tenth 
of  the  Virginia  crop  has  ever  come  to  market 
with  these  great  advantages. 

"Many  incorrect  and  erroneous  opinions 
have  gone  into  circulation  respecting  colour. 
Impressions  have  been  extensively  made  in  the 
country  that  yellow  is  a  favourite  hue.  A 
bright,  lively  colour  is  invariably  admired  by 
the  purchasers  who  give  the  highest  prices. 
But  neither  brown,  red,  nor  yellow  will  do.  A 
rich  mixture  of  red  and  yellow  on  the  under 
side  of  the  leaf  is  desirable;  such  a  mixture 
as  is  to  be  found  in  fat  lightwood,  and  brilliant, 
rich,  bright  mahogany.  The  dull  brown  and 
dark,  dingy  colours  are  very  objectionable. 
The  next  best  colour  to  the  favourite  one  just 
described,  is  a  rich,  deep  yellowish-green,  or 
rather  the  fat  lightwood  colour,  with  a  slight 
admixture  or  tinge  of  green,  but  it  is  so  much 
the  worse  of  the  green,  in  the  ratio  that  it  con- 
tains that  shade,  which  lessens  the  fine  flavour, 
and  detracts  from  the  value. 

"A  similar  colour,  in  a  faint  and  feeble  de- 
gree, can  be  given  to  the  poor,  thin  tobacco, 
and  is  certainly  a  handsome  dressing  for  it  in 
the  new  state,  and  is  well  calculated  to  take 
with  superficial  judges.  But  as  such  a  dress- 
ing injures  the  stamina,  and  increases  the  fad- 
ing in  going  through  the  sweat,  either  on  land 
or  at  sea,  it  should  never  be  attempted,  as  it  is 
an  injury,  and  will  never  take  with  any  com- 
petent judge." 

The  dapple,  or  pieball,  is  very  much  adpiired 
by  many  purchasers  who  are  esteemed  good 
judges,  but  the  writer  thinks  those  variegated 
i  colours  a  disadvantage,  and  the  results  of  either 
I  too  rapid  curing,  or  bruising  in  pressing.  A 
competent  judge,  he  says,  had  rather  have  the 
under  side  of  the  leaf,  stem,  and  fibres,  all  of 
one  colour,  of  the  fat  lightwood  appearance;  am' 
this  uniformity  in  colour  proves  the  maximum, 
and  is  the  best  evidence  of  rich,  wel\-cured 
tobacco,  in  its  highest  perfection. 

1051 


TOBACCO. 

The  same  wrilcr  thinks  that  Jhing  has  been 
carried  to  great  excess,  very  much  to  the  injury 
of  tobacco,  of  late  years,  both  in  smoking  it  too 
maeh,  aod  |»Mduog  and  curing  it  too  rapidly. 
Tlig  smoke  it  a  Tery  objectionable  flavour, 
aod  Um  exaoasire  parching  makes  the  leaf  too 
eri»p,  and  destroys  the  valuable  elasticity.  It 
ahoald  be  well  cured,  with  as  little  fire  as  pos- 
sible.   Somtt  enr»  if  v$ry  wH  wiihouifire. 

Several  yeart  ago,  a  great  number  of  plants 
era  look  up  the  impression,  that  the  purchasers 
were  fond  of  bard-fired  tobacco,  from  the  erro- 
neona  opinion  of  some  of  them,  who  said  they 
liked  to  smell  the  effects  of  fire,  because  it 
waa  an  evidence  that  it  was  well  cured ;  but 
tbey  have  since  discovered  their  error,  and  no 
one  ia  now  fond  of  the  smell  of  smoke,  which 
is  a  great  objection  in  every  market  in  Europe 
aa  well  aa  in  America. 

The  following  additional  observations  rela- 
tive to  curing  tobacco,  are  furnished  by  the 
%tm%  aalhority. 

SMiaiaff  the  tobacco  is  very  necessary  after 
eouiny;  but  it  should  not  be  kept  in  the  field 
any  longer  than  to  kill  and  make  it  sufficiently 
limber  for  removal  to  hang  on  sticks  upon  a 
scalTold  at  the  lobacco-house,  where  it  should 
k«ig  in  open  airy  order,  at  first  letting  in  the 
sun  well  upon  the  stalks.  In  this  way  the  butt- 
end  of  the  stalks  and  big  ends  of  the  leaves 
and  stems  will  get  a  great  deal  of  the  .sun's 
beat,  which  ihey  require  in  curing.  And  as 
faal  as  the  leaves  contract  and  draw  up  from 
Iwat,  and  in  drying,  the  plants  should  be  moved 
op  nearer  to  each  other,  in  closer  and  closer 
order,  to  prevent  the  lower  parts  of  the  leaves 
from  being  exposed  to  the  sun. 

It  woold  be  a  great  advantage  to  split  the 
atalks,  as  it  facilitates  the  curing  very  much. 
They  should  be  split  from  the  top  down  within 
J  or  8  inches  of  the  cutting  point.  The  plants 
thus  split  should  straddle  the  sticks,  and  the 
clicks  should  range  north  and  south,  so  that 
the  morning's  sun  will  shine  on  one  side  of  the 
stalks,  and  the  evening's  on  the  other.  In  this 
manner  it  .should  take  the  sun  and  open  air 
night  and  day,  until  it  becomes  well  cured, 
and  until  the  stalks,  and  stems,  and  leaves  get 
dry.  Showers  of  rain,  and  even  heavy  showers, 
in  this  situation,  while  the  leaf  continues  green, 
are  of  little  disadvantage ;  because  they  only 
wet  a  small  part,  viz.:  the  under  side  of  the 
leaves,  which  are  now  uppermost.  Nearly  all 
of  the  rich  ingredients  arc  concentrated  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  plants  as  they  stand  growing. 

But  hot,  sultry  spells  of  rainy  or  very  damp 
weather,  of  many  days  continuance,  will 
mould,  mildew,  rot,  or  wash  it  to  destruction, 
particularly  after  a  considerable  progress  in 
curing.  And  when  the  winds  come  from  the 
eastward,  preceded  by  several  damp,  cloudy 
days,  you  may  count  upon  a  long  spell,  and 
then  you  should  commence  housing  before  the 
rain  sets  in,  or  much  falls ;  and  use  fire  as  the 
weather  may  require. 

The  firing  should  be  in  close  houses ;  the 
closer  the  better.  And  the  more  windows,  the 
b«'fter,  all  with  tight  shatters,  to  shut  out  the 
damp  in  long  wet  spells,  and  let  it  in  when 
ranted  to  bring  the  tobacco  in  order.    No  to- 


TOBACCO. 

bacco  can  be  finally  well  cured  without  coming 
and  going  frequently.  You  cannot  have  any 
command  of  your  tobacco  as  regards  weather, 
without  close,  tight  houses,  which  are  of  very 
great  importance. 

Five  fires  dispersed  are  enough  for  a  room 
20  feet  square ;  and  they  should  not  be  large, 
but  burn  free,  steady,  and  gradual,  and  would 
be  the  better  of  never  going  entirely  out,  if  you 
intend  curing  by  this  destructive  mode.  But 
why  make  fires  in  the  house  at  alii  As 
smoke  is  now  so  very  objectionable,  why  not 
do  the  little  firing  that  may  be  necessary  in 
very  long  wet  or  damp  spells,  to  prevent  mould, 
mildews,  &c.,  in  the  manner  that  plank  is 
steamed  and  dried  at  saw-mills  1 — by  stoves, 
or  by  running  a  ditch  or  two  through  the  house, 
and  covering  this  with  flat  slabs  of  rock,  or 
arching  it  over  with  brick,  and  making  the  fire 
at  one  end,  out  of  doors.  The  heat  and  smoke 
thus  procured  will  be  enough  in  a  close  house, 
with  the  windows  all  shut,  to  prevent  mould, 
mildew,  &c. 

Those  who  cure  without  firing,  or  with  as 
little  as  possible,  let  it  remain  after  it  turns 
yellow  until  the  stalks  and  stems  as  well  as  the 
leaves  get  dry,  in  the  open  air  and  sun,  if 
the  weather  permits,  or  in  the  house  by  the  aid 
of  fire,  if  necessary.  But  if  the  stalks,  stems, 
and  leaves  get  dry  before  the  leaves  get  suffi- 
ciently yellow,  let  the  tobacco  hang  until  it  be- 
comes very  high  indeed  from  wet  or  damp  wea- 
ther, and  bulk  it  in  this  damp,  soft,  high  order,  in 
very  large  bulks,  in  a  very  close  room,  and  cover 
well  with  straw,  &c.,  with  heavy  weights  on 
the  top,  and  let  it  remain  till  it  gets  warm  ;  ex- 
amine it  every  three  to  four  hours  night  and 
day,  and  as  soon  as  it  yellows  sufficiently, 
hang  it  up  in  the  house,  if  the  weather  be  wet 
or  very  damp,  and  fire  it  moderately  and  gra- 
dually until  dry. 

The  best  kinds  of  woods  to  use  are  those 
which  make  the  most  heat  and  weakest  smoke. 
The  kinds  best  for  smoking  bacon  are  the  worst 
for  firing  tobacco,  since  the  smoke  flavour  has 
become  objectionable. 

Another  correspondent  of  the  Farmer's  Re- 
g'lster  shows,  by  observations  of  the  thermome- 
ter, the  precise  degrees  of  heat  to  which  the 
tobacco  is  subjected  in  the  different  stages  of 
firing.  He  has  also  furnished  valuable  in- 
formation in  relation  to  other  points  connected 
with  the  curing  process.  In  warm  weather, 
says  this  writer,  we  hang  from  8  large  plants 
to  10  small  ones  on  each  stick;  the  sticks 
should  be  carried  immediately  into  the  house, 
and  placed  8  or  9  inches  apart.  The  sticks 
having  been  regularly  arranged  throughout  the 
house,  the  process  of  curing  then  comes  on. 

My  practice  for  several  years,  with  but  little 
variation,  has  been  to  regulate  the  sticks,  the 
day  after  cutting  and  next  morning.  Com- 
mence with  small  fires,  so  as  to  raise  the  ther- 
momeier  to  90°  ;  this  heat  should  be  continued 
from  36  to  48  hours,  which  we  call  the  warm- 
ing or  preparatory  fire :  (the  small  yellow 
tobacco,  when  cut,  requiring  a  shorter  prepara- 
tion than  large,  thick,  green  tobacco;)  the  hea». 
should  then  be  raised  gradually  10°,  and  con- 
tinued 4  or  5  hours — thus  continuing  to  raise 


TOBACCO. 


TOBACCO. 


the  heat  throighout  the  whole  process  10° 
every  4  or  5  hours,  until  the  thermometer 
reaches  150°,  which  is  called  a  curing  heat. 
The  continuation  of  this  heat  depends  much 
on  the  scate  of  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  on 
the  size  of  the  plant:  it  should,  however  be 
continued  until  the  whole  plant  is  thoroughly 
cured.  As  soon,  then,  as  the  tobacco  comes  in 
order  to  handle,  you  may  remove  it  to  some 
other  house,  hanging  it  as  thick  as  you  can 
conveniently  press  the  sticks  together,  where 
it  will  remain  in  perfect  security  until  you  are 
ready  for  stripping. 

In  the  month  of  November  you  may  safely 
begin  to  strip  ;  and  much  care  should  be  used 
in  making  the  different  qualities,  as  well  as 
tying  the  different  bundles;  the  "tie  leaf 
should  be  stemmed,  which  looks  much  better 
than  to  have  one-half  of  the  leaf  hanging 
down  the  bundle.  A  good  hand  will  tie  from 
700  to  1000  bundles  in  the  day  The  tobacco 
stripped  during  the  day,  can  be  easily  packed 
down  in  bulk  at  night,  on  a  platform  raised  18 
or  20  inches  from  the  floor,  where  it  may  re- 
main until  winter  is  nearly  over,  when  it  must 
be  rehung  in  order  to  get  it  in  prizing  order. 

Much  depends  on  the  order  for  prizing.  The 
stem  must  be  perfectly  dry :  never  strike  or 
take  down  tobacco  for  prizing,  unless  the  wind 
is  at  some  southern  point ;  and  it  should  be 
taken  down  as  dry  as  you  can  possibly  handle 
without  very  much  breaking  it.  When  down, 
it  should  be  well  covered  with  fodder  or  leaves ; 
if  the  "  season"  continues,  you  may  pack  it  in 
bulk  as  straight  as  possible  for  prizing;  the 
hogshead  weighing  from  16  to  18  cwt.  The 
following  are  a  few  extracts  from  notes  taken 
last  summer  during  the  curing  season. 

"  15th  Sept.  183.3.  First  barn— tobacco  very 
ripe — weather  hot  and  dry — cut  Friday — com- 
menced firing  Monday  morning — thermometer 
90°  at  9  o'clock— 12  o'clock  106°— process  too 
rapid — half  past  3  o'clock,  110° — fired  all  night 
—Tuesday  9  o'clock,  120°— 3  o'clock  150°— 
fired  all  night — Wednesday  1.50° — fired  all 
night— Thursday  150°— Friday  150°— fires 
kept  up  irregularly,  and  stopped  in  the  evening, 
High  wind  each  day — thermometer  at  back 
side  of  the  house."  When  this  tobacco  came 
in  order  to  be  examined,  I  discovered  that  a 
small  portion  was  somewhat  injured  by  the 
fires  being  too  strong  in  the  commencement, 
as  seen  above. 

«16ih  Sept.  1833.  Second  barn — tobacco 
ripe — but  not  very  ripe — weather  hot  and  dry — 
cut  Saturday — commenced  firing  Monday — 
smoked  all  day  at  90° — Tuesday  the  same  half 
day — Tuesday  evening  thermometer  100° — 
Wednesday  morning  leaf  half  cured  on  the 
lower  tier — heat  140° — fired  half  night — Thurs- 
day 146°— Friday  146°— fired  half  night— hand- 
somely cured — thermometer  3  feet  from  the 
door  and  5  feet  high — windy  each  day. 

"  22d  Sept.  Third  barn— dry  weather — cut 
Saturday — not  very  ripe — commenced  firing 
Monday  morning  90° — continued  all  night  at 
same — Tuesday  9  o'clock  110° — tails  curling — 
tobacco  looks  very  well — Wednesday  120°  at 
9  o'clock — lower  tier  leaf  nearlv  cured — Thurs- 
day 150'— fired  all  night— Friday  160°— fired 


I  till  bedtime."     This  house,  on  examination^ 
I  was  very  well  cured. 

!  I  forgot  to  mention  in  the  proper  place  thai 
'  my  barns  are  made  as  tight  and  close  as  pos- 
sible. I  do  not,  however,  think  that  the  roof 
should  be  very  close ;  my  barns  are  covered 
with  oak  boards,  and  are  generally  open  enough 
to  let  off  the  smoke  and  vapour  as  fast  as  they 
are  formed.  Some  of  my  neighbours  have  win- 
dows made  just  under  the  comb  of  the  house. 

As  the  essential  properties  of  the  tobacco 
plant  are  very  volatile,  the  writer  maintains 
that  the  sooner  it  is  well  cured  and  pressed  into 
hogsheads  the  better,  and  the  hogshead  cannot 
be  too  tight.  If  the  crop  comes  in  early,  so  as 
to  admit  of  being  cured  in  autumn,  it  will  be 
all  the  better.  It  should  not,  if  possible,  be  al- 
lowed to  remain  out  of  the  hogsheads  all  winter. 
He  tells  the  planters  of  Virginia  not  to  fear  that 
they  will  ever  overstock  the  world  with  fine 
tobacco,  and  thereby  reduce  the  price.  The 
finer  it  is  made,  the  less  will  be  made  in  Eu- 
rope and  other  countries  not  so  favourable  to 
the  perfection  of  its  qualities.  The  low,  dull 
state  of  the  markets  for  common  and  inferior 
tobacco,  is  not  the  result  of  too  much,  but  a 
consequence  of  its  indifferent  quality,  which 
causes  it  to  be  little  if  any  better  than  thai 
which  is  made  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
with  which  it  comes  in  competition. 

In  Maryland  and  Virginia  it  is  estimated 
that  one  good  hand  can  manage  6000  plants, 
which,  allowing  a  yard  to  each,  would  cover 
about  an  acre  and  a  quarter.  A  hogshead 
weighing  1.350  lbs.  (some  weigh  1800)  is  con- 
sidered a  good  yield  for  one  hand.  On  the  fine 
rich  lands  of  Kentucky,  from  1000  to  1500  lbs. 
are  raised  per  acre.  In  Virginia  the  leaves  of 
4  good  plants  are  estimated  to  make  1  lb.  of 
cured  tobacco. 

Some  of  the  diseases,  accidents,  and  ene- 
mies to  which  tobacco  is  exposed,  are,  in  the 
language  of  the  planter,  worm-holes,  ripe-shot 
or  sun-burnt,  moon-burnt,  stunted,  torn  by 
storms  of  hail  and  wind,  injured  or  killed  by 
frost,  house-burnt. 

Tobacco,  Chemistry  Af.  Under  the  head  of 
Ammoxia  it  has  been  observed  that  the  juice  of 
fresh  tobacco  leaves  contains  ammoniacal 
salts.  The  existence  of  ihe  volatile  alkali  in 
cured  tobacco,  is  shown  by  the  action  of  the 
smoke  of  a  cigar  upon  blue  vegetable  flowers, 
or  vegetable  colours,  turning  the  reds  to  purple, 
and  the  purples  to  green. 

When  the  leaves  of  the  tobacco  plant  are 
subjected  to  distillation  with  water,  a  weak 
ammoniacal  liquid  is  obtained,  upon  which  a 
white,  fatty,  crystallizable  substance  swims, 
which  does  not  contain  nitrogen,  and  is  quite 
destitute  of  smell.  But  when  the  same  plant, 
after  being  dried,  is  moistened  with  water,  tied 
together  in  small  bundles,  and  placed  in  heaps, 
a  peculiar  process  of  decomposition  takes 
place.  Fermentation  commences,  and  is  ac- 
companied by  the  absorption  of  oxygen  ;  the 
leaves  now  become  warm  and  emit  the  cha- 
racteristic smell  of  prepared  tobacco  and  snuff. 
When  the  fermentation  is  carefully  promoted 
and  too  high  a  heat  avoided,  this  smell  in- 
creases and  becomes  more  delicate  ;  and  after 

1053 


TOBACCO. 

iIm  (WraMDUtion  is  completed,  an  oily,  azotizcd, 
volatile  matter  called  nieotint  is  found  in  the 
UavM.  This  sub«t«oce,  nitotin;  which  pos- 
«#MM  all  the  properties  of  a  base,  was  not 
present  before  the  fermentation.  The  different 
kimk  of  tobacco  are  distinguished  from  one  an- 
,  ocher,  like  wioea,  by  having  very  different  odo- 
riferous subetances,  which  are  generated  along 
with  the  uitotiMS. 

On  a  soil  which  contains  potash,  both  wheat 
and  tobacco  may  be  reared  in  succession,  be- 
cause the  latter  plant  does  not  require  so  much 
of  the  phosphates,  salts  which  are  invariably  de- 
manded largely  in  wheat,  but  requires  only  al- 
kalies, and  food  containing  nitrogen. 

According  to  the  analysis  of  Posselt  and  Rei- 
mann,  10,000  parts  of  the  leaves  of  the  tobacco 
plant  contain  16  parts  of  phosphate  of  lime, 
8*8  parts  of  silica,  and  no  magnesia;  whilst  an 
equal  quantity  of  wheat  straw  contains  47-3 
parte,  and  the  same  quantity  of  the  grain  of 
wheat  99-4d  parts  of  phosphates. 

Now,  if  we  suppose  that  the  grain  of  wheat 
is  equal  to  half  the  weight  of  its  straw,  then  the 
quantity  of  phosphates  extracted  from  a  soil  by 
the  same  weights  of  wheat  and  tobacco  must  be 
as  91'!  :  16.  This  difference  is  very  considera- 
ble. The  roots  of  tobacco,  as  well  as  those  of 
wheat,  extract  the  phosphates  contained  in  the 
•oil,  but  they  restore  them  again,  because  they 
are  not  essentially  necessary  to  the  develope- 
meot  of  the  plant.  (Liebig^s  Organic  Chemistry.) 

TuiartQ  is  a  plant  that  contains  much  mineral 
matter.  An  acre  yielding  800  lbs.  would  con- 
tain about  160  lbs.  of  mineral  matter,  most  or 
all  of  which  is  carried  off  from  the  soil.  Hence 
Ih"  rxhaustion  of  land  from  this  crop  is  greater 
than  that  from  grain  crops,  provided  their  strata 
U  dmltf  rgturned  to  the  fields,  as  in  this  case  the 
loss  would  be  confined  to  the  phosphates  and 
other  mineral  matters  removed  with  the  grain, 
which  in  a  four  years'  rotation  would  amount  to 
only  about  83  lbs.  per  acre,  instead  of  about  600 
lbs.  carried  off  by  the  tobacco  in  the  same  time. 
The  following  analysis  furnished  by  Professor 
J.  F.  W.  Johnston  of  the  ashes  of  tobacco  leaves, 
gives  the  mineral  constituents,  with  their  pro- 
portions per  cent : 

Potash .  12-14 

Soda 0-07 

Lime 45-90 

Magnesia  .     .     .  • 13-09 

Chloride  of  sodium  (common  salt)  .  3-49 

Chloride  of  potassium        ....  3-98 

Phosphate  of  iron 5-48 

Phosphate  of  lime 1-49 

Sulphate  of  lime  ^gypsum)    .     .     .  6-35 

Silica  (sand  or  flint) 8-01 

From  this  view  of  the  mineral  constituents  of 
tobacco,  the  soil  most  favourable  to  its  growth 
may  be  readily  recognised.  The  proportions  of 
the  several  articles  removed  by  every  100  lbs. 
is  not  difficult  to  estimate,  with  the  additions  of 
the  special  manures  required  to  prevent  the 
exhaustion  of  the  soil.  Among  these  it  will  be 
obsprv.»d,  the  largest  amounts  are  lime,  magne- 
sia, potash,  iron,  and  silica. 

Some  successful  results  are  reported  in  the 
Afbmty  Cultivator,  of  the  culture  of  tobacco  in 
Massachusetts.  The  variety  produced  there  is 
called  the  "Connecticut  Seed-leaf,"  and  it  usually 
brings  double  the  price,  and  sometimes  even  , 
nore,  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky  tobacco.  For 
1054  ^  ' 


TORMENTIL. 

'  a  profitable  crop,  rich  land  is  necessary,  though 
sandy  soils  munured  at  the  rate  of  10  or  20  two- 
borse-loads  per  acre,  will  produce  well.  With 
good  management,  the  yield  is  from  1500  to 
2000  lbs.  per  acre,  of  marketable  tobacco,  capa- 
ble of  bringing  an  average  price  of  8  cts. 

The  Massachusetts  growers  believe  that,  with 
proper  attention,  instead  of  injuring  the  soil,  to- 
bacco may  be  made  an  ameliorating  or  improving 
crop,  the  liberal  manuring  required  favouring  the 
after  crops;  wheal  and  other  grain,  and  also  grass 
crops,  flourishing  better  when  tobacco  forms  a 
part  of  the  rotation,  than  where  it  does  not. 
Where  $36  worth  of  manure  was  put  upon  1 
acre  and  100  rods,  a  ton  of  tobacco  was  raised, 
worth  $160.  The  same  piece  of  land,  sown 
immediately  afterwards  in  wheat,  yielded  30 
bushels.  The  following  crop  being  grass,  pro- 
duced 4  tons  of  hay  at  two  cuttings.  One  farmer 
I  in  South  Hadley  had  17  acres  planted  in  tobacco. 

A  long  and  instructive  account  of  the  mode 
of  cultivating  tobacco  in  Cuba  is  given  in  the 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  for  1817. 

'J'OMATO,  or  LOVE-APPLE.  (Solynnm 
ly  coper  sic  am;  Lycopersincm  esculatnm.)  Several 
varieties  of  this  plant  are  found  in  our  gardens  and 
fields,  some  of  which  are  red  and  others  yellow  ; 
among  the  reds  are,  1st,  the  common  large;  2d, 
the  small;  3d,  the  pear-shaped;  4th,  the  cherry- 
shaped.  Of  the  yellow  there  are,  1st,  the  large 
yellow;  2d,  the  small  or  cherry-yellow. 

The  tomato  is  a  native  of  South  America. 
It  forms  a  rich  vegetable  sauce,  and  an  excel- 
lent addition  to  soups.  With  sugar  it  makes 
a  very  valuable  preserve.  In  the  Middle  or 
Northern  States,  the  seed  may  be  sown  in  April, 
in  a  hot-bed ;  or  in  May,  in  a  warm  situ- 
ation, and  transplanted  as  soon  as  the  season 
will  admit.  A  middling  soil  produces  more 
fruit  and  less  vines  than  a  very  rich  soil. 

Tomatoes  remaining  on  the  vines  late  in  the 
season,  and  which,  if  left  out,  would  be  destroyed 
by  frost,  may  be  preserved  for  many  weeks  by 
simply  pulling  up  the  vines  and  hanging  them 
up,  with  the  fruit  upon  them,  in  some  house  or 
sheltered  situation.  Those  not  ripe  when  the 
vines  are  pulled  mature  afterwards. 

Cows  are  said  to  thrive  well  and  give  an  in- 
creased quantity  of  milk  of  improved  quality 
when  fed  upon  tomatoes.  They  may  not  take 
them  kindly  at  first,  but  are  said  to  grow  fond 
of  them  soon. 

TOMENTOSE.  In  botany,  means  covered 
with  dense,  close,  white  hairs,  or  down. 

TOP-DRESSING.  A  term  applied  to  such 
manures  as  are  laid  upon  land  without  being 
turned  in  :  and  also  to  the  practice  of  dressing 
the  surface  of  grass  land,  or  other  crops,  with 
some  kinds  of  highly  reduced  manure,  that  can 
be  evenly  spread  out  or  sown  equally  over  them 
by  the  hand. 

A  great  variety  of  substances  are  in  use  for 
this  purpose,  such  as  soot,  ashes,  guano,  and  the 
dung  of  pigeons  and  other  birds,  rape  dust,  lime, 
gypsum,  &c.,  the  benefits  of  which  are  noticed 
Udder  their  respective  heads. 

TORMENTIL  {Tormentilla,  alluding  to  a  sup- 
posed efficacy  in  toothache,  as  well  as  to  a  belief 
that  it  could  cure  diseases  of  the  bowels).  The 
British  species  are  two;  both  perennial.  They 
are  now  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  genus 
Potentilla,  and  the  natural  order  Rosar.ece. 

1.  In  England  common  tormentil  or  sept-foil 
(P.  officinalis  or  tormentilla)  grows  in  barren  pas- 


TOUCH-ME-NOT. 


TREES. 


tures,  heaths,  and  bushy  places.  The  stem  is 
slender,  ascending,  branched.  The  woody  red 
roots  are  so  astringent  as  to  be  used  in  the 
western  isles  of  Scotland  for  tanning  leather, 
for  which  purpose  they  are  superior  even  to 
oak  bark.  The  root  is  likewise  one  of  the  most 
efficacious  of  English  indigenous  aromatic  as- 
tringents, and  may  be  used  with  great  effect  in 
cases  where  medicines  of  this  class  are  proper ; 
namely,  in  chronic  purgings.  It  is  usually 
given  in  decoction,  but  is  best  administered  in 
powder. 

2.  Trailing  tormentil  {T.replans).  This  spe- 
cies grows  sparingly  about  the  borders  of  fields 
and  hedges.  The  stems  are  2  feet  long,  haiiy, 
prostrate,  but  not  cfeeping  ;  the  leaves  com- 
posed of  5  leaflets,  obovate,  strongly  serrated, 
bright  green,  on  long  hairy  footstalks.  Flower 
of  a  full  yellow,  twice  the  size  of  the  foregoing. 
Stipules  undivided,  ft  is  also  astringent,  but 
less  so  than  its  congener. 

TOUCH-ME-NOT.     See  Balsam. 

TOWER-ML'STARD  (Turrilis,  from  tvrris, 
a  tower;  the  foliage  is  so  disposed  on  the  stems 
as  to  give  them  a  pyramidal  form,  and  for  the 
same  reason  the  plants  are  called  tower-mus- 
tard). The  species  are  hardy  annuals:  one, 
the  smooth  tower-mustard  (T.  glnbra),  is  indi- 
genous, and  grows  wild  on  banks  and  by  road- 
sides, in  a  dry  gravelly  soil.  The  flowers  are 
numerous,  closely  corymbose,  pale  sulphur- 
coloured.  Pods  very  long  and  slender,  on 
short  stalks.  Seeds  about  60  in  each  cell,  very 
small. 

TRACTION.  See  Camts,  Hobse,  Roap, 
Strkngth,  &c.  The  reader  may  also  consult 
a  very  able  essay  "On  Draught"  in  Professor 
Youait's  work  on  The  Horse,  of  which  our  space 
will  not  allow  us  to  give  even  an  outline. 

TRANSPLANTING.  The  act  of  removing 
either  cuttings,  layers,  roots,  or  entire  plants, 
from  one  soil  into  another.    See  Plantixg  and 

PHOPACJATlOy. 

TRAPA  NATANS.  This  plant  grows  in 
ponds,  and  is  eaten  like  the  chestnut.  The 
canal  of  Versailles  is  covered  with  the  plant, 
and  the  root  is  sometimes  served  up  at  table. 

TRAVELLER'S  JOY.     See  Clematis. 

TREACLE-MUSTARD  ( Erysimum,  from 
erimi,  to  draw  and  cure :  it  is  popularly  reck- 
oned a  cure  for  a  sore  throat,  and  is  also  said 
to  draw  and  produce  blisters).  An  extensive 
genus  of  plants,  possessing  warm  and  pungent 
qualities.  The  leaves  are  simple,  often  lanceo- 
late, and  nearly  entire.  PMowers  corymbose, 
yellow,  sulphur-coloured,  or  while.  Pods  in 
very  long  upright  clusters.  There  are  in  Eng- 
land three  indigenous  annual  species.  1.  The 
worm-seed  treacle-mustard  (E.  cherianthmdes)  .- 
2.  The  garlic  treacle-mustard  {E.  alliaria), 
known  also  under  the  local  names  of  Jack-by- 
the-hedge,  or  sauce-alone.  3.  Hare's-ear  trea- 
cle-mustard (E.  orientale).  The  second  is  the 
most  common.  The  whole  herb  is  smooth, 
shining,  deep  green,  and  exhales,  when  bruised, 
the  smell  of  garlic;  and  the  seeds  are  stronger 
than  the  other  parts  of  the  plant.  The  stem  is 
a  foot  high,  somewhat  branched.  The  leaves 
stalked,  cordate,  acute,  veiny,  and  broadly  ser- 
rated. The  flowers  are  white.  The  pods  erect, 
smooth,  on  a  spreading  stalk.    The  peasantry 


eat  the  young  leaves  with  bread  and  buUer. 
See  Hedge  Mustard. 

TREES  are  divided  naturally  into  two  prin- 
cipal classes,  namely,  fruit  and  timber  trees: 
the  former  includes  all  such  as  are  raised 
chiefly,  or  entirely,  for  their  edible  fruit,  an  ac- 
count of  which,  together  with  their  modes  of 
cultivation,  the  reader  will  find  in  alphabetical 
order,  and  also  in  the  articles  Fruit,  Orchard, 
Pruning,  &c. 

The  second  division  comprehends  those 
trees,  the  wood  of  which  is  employed  in  ship- 
building, machinery,  or  for  other  useful  pur- 
poses, such  as  the  oak,  elm,  larch,  &c.,  the 
culture  of  which  has  been  discussed  under 
those  respective  heads.  For  the  diseases  of 
trees,  see  Americax  Blight,  Canker,  Mil- 
dew, &c. 

By  timber,  in  English  law,  is  intended  only- 
such  trees  as  are  considered  fit  and  proper  by 
the  custom  of  the  country  to  be  employed  in 
building  or  repairing  houses;  and  timber  trees 
are  those  which  are  of  20  years'  growth.  The 
custom  of  the  country  naturally  varies  Mnth  re- 
gard to  the  kind  of  trees  which  are  considered 
to  be  timber.  The  oak,  the  elm,  and  the  ash  are 
universally  deemed  to  be  such  :  beech  is  con 
sidered  so  in  Buckinghamshire,  birch  in  York- 
shire, because  it  is  generally  used  for  buildings 
of  an  inferior  kind.  Thus  the  chestnut,  wal- 
nut, lime,  and  others  may,  under  similar  cus- 
toms, be  considered  timber.  If  pollards  are 
sound,  it  seems  that  they  must  be  considered 
as  timber:  this  was  the  opinion  of  Chancellor 
King. 

According  to  English  common  law,  the 
property  of  the  tree  is  in  the  owner  of  the  soil 
on  which  it  grows ;  and  though  its  roots  may 
extend  into  two  estates,  yet  it  belongs  to  the 
owner  of  the  land  on  which  it  was  originally 
planted  or  sown.  Nurseries  of  young  fruit 
trees,  raised  for  filling  up  orchards,  cannot  be 
removed  by  the  tenant,  but  a  nurseryman  may 
do  so. 

The  tenant  for  life,  without  impeachment  of 
waste,  of  an  estate,  may  cut  down  timber  in  a 
husbandlike  manner.  But  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery will  restrain  such  tenant  from  cutting 
down  underwood  of  an  insufficient  growth,  or 
ornamental  or  sheltering  trees.  But  this  shel- 
ter or  ornament  is  not  to  be  construed  to  mean 
extensive  woods. 

By  custom,  but  not  by  common  law,  the  trees 
growing  on  a  copyhold  estate  may  belong  to 
the  lord.  The  copyholder  is  not  guilty  of 
waste  if  he  cut  timber  merely  for  necessary 
repairs.  Timber  trees  growing  on  the  estates 
of  ecclesiastical  corporations  are  to  be  devoted 
to  the  repair  of  the  church.  And  consequently 
neither  they  nor  their  lessee  can  fell  timber  for 
their  own  use.  Neither  can  a  mortgagor  cut 
down  timber  if  the  land  without  it  is  a  scanty 
security.  But  the  Court  of  Chancery  will  not 
restrain  a  mortgagor  from  cutting  timber, 
unless  the  security  is  insufficient  without  it. 
Though  the  timber  of  the  estate  belongs  to  the 
landlord,  and  also  such  trees  as  are  likely  to 
become  timber,  yet  the  general  property  in 
bushes  and  trees  not  timber  is  in  the  tenant, 
and,  therefore,  the  landlord  cannot  maintain  an 
action  of  trespass  against  a  stranger,  for  ciH- 

105') 


TREFALLOW. 

ting  bashes  and  thorns  growing  in  a  hedge,  if 
the  teaaot  aAerwards  assented.  The  tenant  or 
ItMoe  has  no  right  to  cut  timber;  and  in  an 
lyBtion  for  waste  the  defendant  cannot  give  in 
evideooe,  even  in  mitigation  of  damages,  that 
the  limber  was  cut  for  the  purpose  of  neces- 
sary repair*;  or,  that  after  it  was  cut  the  lim- 
ber was  exchanged  with  the  lessor's  consent 
for  timber  more  fit  for  the  purpose  intended. 
But  he  may  cut  timber  without  waste  which 
has  been  cut  wuhin  20  years ;  and  in  Kent  they 
are  in  the  habit  of  cutting  trees  of  26  or  28 
year^'  growth.  Windfalls  belong  to  the  lord, 
and  the  Court  of  Chancery  will,  if  necessary, 
order  it  to  be  preserved  for  him  who  has  the 
first  estate  of  inheritance  in  the  land.    See 

BaBK,  FoaMT*.  NUBSKKT,  TiMUKR,  &C. 

TKEFAIiLOW.  A  local  term,  signifying  to 
plough  land  the  third  time  before  sowing. 

TUEFOIL  {Tri/olium,  from  ires,  three,  and 
Mmm,  a  leaf.  All  the  species  have  trifoliate 
iMves.  The  French  call  it  trefle,  and  the  Eng- 
Ush  /rr/oi/,  or  clover).  An  extensive  and  well- 
known  genus  of  herbaceous  plants,  natives  of 
cold  or  temperate  climates,  either  perennial  or 
annual.  Many  of  the  species  are  highly  im- 
portant as  fooil  for  cattle,  either  fresh  or  in  the 
atate  of  hay,  oAen  acquiring  a  fragrant  scent 
in  drying.  The  while,  red,  and  yellow  clover 
are  amongst  the  most  valuable  herbage  plants 
adopted  in  European  agriculture. 

Lucern  has  been  recommended  as  superior 
to  clover  and  sainfoin,  and  various  other  legu- 
minous plants  have  been  highly  extolled;  yet 
the  red  clover  for  mowing,  and  the  while  for 
pa.sturage,  far  excel  all  other  plants  in  these 
respects.  All  the  species  thrive  in  common 
garden  soil,  and  many  of  them  being  very 
abowy  are  well  suited  for  ornamenting  the 
flower  border.  The  perennial  kinds  are  rea- 
dily increased  by  dividing  the  plants  at  the 
roots  in  spring,  or  by  seeds.  See  Binu's-Foor 
TaKroiL.  Clovkr,  and  Mklilot. 

TKKKOIL.  THE  MARSH.  See  Buck-Beax. 

TRENCH  PLOUGH.     See  Plough. 

TRENCHING.    See  StHsoiL  Ploughino. 

TRIFOLIUM  INCARNATUM.  A  well- 
known  and  much  esteemed  species  of  trefoil. 
See  Clotkr  and  Trefoil. 

TRITICUM.    See  Wheat-Grass. 

TRUFFLE  {Tuber  ciUanum).    A  round  fun- 

guf  growing  under  ground  in  many  parts  of 
oalhem  Europe,  destitute  of  roots  and  leafy 
appendages.  It  absorbs  nutriment  at  every 
point  on  its  surface.  The  truffle  is  composed 
of  globular  vesicles,  destined  for  the  reproduc- 
tion of  the  vegetable,  and  short,  barren  fila- 
ments, called  by  Turpin  tigcUules;  and  the  re- 
productive bodies,  trufinelUs.  Each  globular 
vesicle  is  fitted  to  give  origin  to  a  multitude  of 
reproductive  bodies,  but  a  few  of  ihem  only 
perfect  the  young  vegetable.  The  parent  dies; 
the  trufinelles  are  nourished  by  its  dissolving 
aubstance,  and  ihe  cavity  it  originally  filled 
becomes  the  abode  of  a  mullitude  of  young 
truffles;  but  many  of  them  die,  the  stronger 
starving  the  weaker.  As  truffles  spread  over 
a  large  space,  ii  is  difficult  to  say  by  what 
means  they  progress.  The  truffle  is  one  of  the 
most  wholesome  and  nutritive  of  the  esculent 
fungi,  and  is  generally  discovered  bv  means  of 
1066 


TUCKAHOE. 

dogs,  which  are  taught  to  scent  it ;  so  that,  r>n 
smelling  the  truffle,  they  bark  and  scratch  it 
up.  Truffles  are  highly  esteemed  at  the  tables 
of  the  luxurious,  where  they  are  served  up, 
either  roasted  in  a  fresh  state  like  potatoes,  or 
they  are  dried,  shred,  and  dressed  as  ingredi- 
ents in  soups  and  ragouts.    See  Tuckahoe. 

TRUSS.  A  bundle  of  hay,  straw,  &c.  It 
may  be  observed  that  in  England  a  truss  of 
hay  must  contain  56  lbs.  or  half  a  cwt. ;  a  truss 
of  straw  36  lbs. :  36  trusses  make  a  load.  In 
June,  July,  and  August,  a  truss  of  new  hay 
must  weigh  60  lbs.     See  Hat  and  Straw. 

TUCKAHOE.  This  curious  vegetable  is 
sometimes  known  by  the  name  o[  Indian  breads 
or  Indian  loaf.  It  is  found  in  the  Southern 
States  on  the  Atlantic,  and  even  as  far  north  as 
Kent  county,  Del.  It  is  a  natural  production, 
the  origin  of  which  has  greatly  perplexed  na- 
turalists, as  it  is  commonly  found  several  feet 
under  the  surface,  and,  like  the  truffle  of  Eu- 
rope, has  apparently  no  stem  or  leafy  appendage 
connecting  it  with  the  external  atmosphere. 
They  are  generally  found  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  hogs,  whose  acute  sense  of  smell- 
ing enables  them  to  fix  upon  the  spot  where 
they  lie  buried.  They  are  usually  of  a  glo- 
bular or  rlattened  oval  shape,  and  rather  regu- 
lar surface,  the  large  ones  resembling  some- 
what a  brown  loaf  of  coarse  bread.  The  size 
varies  from  that  of  an  acorn  to  the  bigness  of 
a  man's  head.  Clayton,  the  celebrated  bota- 
nist, was  the  first  naturalist  who  has  mentioned 
the  Tuckahoe.  He  gave  it  the  Latin  name  of 
Lycoperdon  solidu.  (See  his  Flora  Virginica.)  In 
May,  1817,  Dr.  Macbride,  of  Charleston,  S.  C, 
communicated  a  memoir  on  the  subject  to  the 
New  York  Philosophical  Society.  Although 
the  tuckahoe  is  quite  common  in  the  Southern 
and  one  or  two  of  the  Middle  States,  its  natu- 
ral history  is  still  involved  in  much  obscurity. 
Its  name  in  the  Indian  language  is  said  to  de- 
signate bread,  and  is  applied  to  certain  edible 
roots.  Though  sometimes  found  emerging 
from  the  earth  and  exposing  a  small  part  of 
the  surface,  it  is  generally  met  with  2  or  3  feet 
below  the  soil.  When  first  dug  up,  it  is  soft 
enough  to  be  easily  cut  with  a  knife,  and  of  an 
acrid  taste.  Its  colour  internally  is  while,  like 
that  of  the  meat  of  the  cocoa-nut,  and  its  tex- 
ture compact  and  homogeneous.  It  is  covered 
with  a  tough  substance,  strongly  adhering  to 
the  white  parencliyma,  of  a  dark  brown  colour, 
and  somewhat  wrinkled.  When  dried,  the  in- 
ternal substance  becomes  hard  and  loses  its 
acrimony,  possessing  very  little  taste  or  smell, 
and  capable  of  being  reduced  to  powder  with- 
out difficulty.  When  examined  by  the  mi- 
croscope, the  tuckahoe  exhibits  no  fibres  or 
pores  or  any  other  indications  of  organization, 
so  easily  detected  in  roots  and  other  vegetable 
productions  of  ordinary  growth.  Its  substance 
breaks  as  easily  in  one  way  as  another,  like  a 
lump  of  starch  or  chalk.  From  these  charac- 
lerislics,  together  with  the  peculiar  nature  of 
the  bark  or  external  covering,  it  has  been 
classed  among  the  fungus  tribe.  In  those  parts 
of  the  country,  however,  where  the  tuckahoe 
most  abounds,  it  is  generally  supposeU  to  be 
the  root  of  a  species  of  Convolvuhis  {Panduro^ 
ius),  called  *'the  man  of  the  earth."     But  both 


TULL,  JETHRO. 


l}n  l^facoride  and  Mr.  La  Conte,  after  much  | 
attentive  examination  in  its  native  state,  are  j 
iecidedly  of  the  contrary  opinion,  the  roots  of 
the  Convolvulus  being  unlike  those  of  the  tucka- 
.oe.  Most  of  the  southern  botanists  regard  it 
■IS  a  fungus.  (See  Medical  Repository,  vol.  vi.) 
See  Trufflk. 

TULIP  {Tulipa).  A  genus  of  celebrated 
and  much-prized  florists'  flowers.  They  suc- 
ceed well  in  rich  loam  and  sand,  and  are  in- 
creased by  oflfsets  ;  new  varieties  are  obtained 
from  seed.  The  choicer  kinds  require  to  be 
taken  up  and  dried  after  they  have  ceased  flow- 
ering, and  planted  again  in  the  autumn.  They 
should  be  slightly  protected  in  very  rainy  or 
frosty  weather,  as  they  are  very  liable  to  rot. 
One  species,  the  wild  tulip  {T.  sylvestris),  is  in- 
digenous to  England,  growing  about  old  chalk- 
pits. It  bears  sweet-scented,  bright-yellow, 
somewhat  drooping  flowers  in  April.  Although 
the  Tulipomania,  which  rose  to  such  an  absurd 
height  in  Holland  in  the  17th  century,  is  long 
since  extinct,  yet  the  rage  for  producing  fine 
tulips  still  exists.  The  finest  tulips  are  reared 
at  Haarlem.  The  principal  florists  have  their 
favourite  breeders.  A  breeder  is  a  seeding 
tulip,  8  or  9  years  from  the  seed,  but  still  vigor- 
ous. If  the  stem  be  tall;  the  petals  of  the 
flower  blunt  at  the  apex;  if  the  flower  be  self- 
coloured,  or  of  an  equal,  uniform  colour  on 
both  surfaces  of  the  petals;  if  the  base  be  pure 
white  or  bright  yellow;  and  the  anthers  and 
stigmas  dark  or  black,  it  is  highly  esteemed  as 
a  breeder.  The  bulb  is  planted  deep  in  a  shel- 
tered, sunny  place,  and  care  is  taken  to  prevent 
the  leaves  being  injured  by  wind  or  hail;  the 
stem  is  propped,  and  the  flower  carefully  se- 
cured from  the  hot  rays  of  the  sun,  as  well  as 
from  wind  and  violent  rain.  The  seed  is  care- 
fully collected,  and  from  it  many  fine  tulips  are 
anticipated.  The  varieties  at  Haarlem  are 
very  numerous;  they  are  chiefly  varieties  of 
the  Tulipii  Gesiieriana  and  T.  Suaveolens. 

TULIP  POPLAR  (Liriodendron  iulipifera). 
This  tree,  the  only  one  of  its  genus,  is  found 
in  great  abundance  in  the  Middle  United  States, 
where,  on  the  rich  woodlands  in  the  alluvials 
bordering  the  Delaware  and  other  bays,  it  at- 
tains a  growth  which  makes  it  the  most  majes- 
tic tree  of  the  American  forest.  Trees  are 
frequently  found  from  100  to  140  or  150  feet  in 
height,  and  6  or  8  feet  in  diameter,  the  trunk 
being  sometimes  60  or  80  feet  perfectly  straight 
and  without  a  knot  or  branch.  This  stately 
tree,  when  its  wide-spreading  branches  extend 
from  the  ground  to  the  summit,  loaded  in  May 
with  its  tulip  flowers,  has  been  referred  to  in 
the  article  on  the  Bke,  as  the  most  magni- 
ficent of  floral  productions.  The  wood,  which 
is  very  soft,  is  highly  valued  for  building,  and 
also  for  many  purposes  to  which  it  is  applied 
by  the  cabinet-maker  and  other  mechanic  ar- 
tists. The  variety  called  yellow  poplar  is  gene- 
rally preferred.  It  is  known  by  its  thicker 
and  more  deeply  furrowed  bark.  The  bark, 
which  is  very  thick  and  spongy,  is  also  a  valu- 
able aromatic  bitter;  and  has  been  success- 
fully used  in  intermittents. 

TULL,  JETHRO.    The  science  of  agricul- 
ture, although  the  first  in  tmportance  to  man- 
kind, is  yet  remarkable  for  the  few  great  names 
133 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

whose  discoveries  or  general  abilities  adorn  its 
history.  For  an  explanation  of  this  fact,  we  must 
in  some  measure  t,e  contented  with  the  com- 
mon observation  that  its  advances,  its  improve- 
ments, are  so  slow,  as  to  be  almost  impercep- 
tible ;  are  dependent  upon  much  more  tedious 
experiments  than  any  other  science :  for  in- 
stance, it  is  true  that  many,  very  many  of  the 
processes,  daily  witnessed  and  carried  on  by 
the  cultivator,  are  based  upon  chemical  princi. 
pies,  and  may  be  illustrated,  and  very  materi- 
ally assisted,  by  chemical  experiments :  but 
those  who  have  studied  the  science  the  most 
'carefully  are  fully  aware  that  no  experiments 
upon  the  laws  of  dead  matter  even  nearly 
equal  in  difficulty  those  upon  living  substances, 
for  these  last,  in  many  instances,  seem  endow 
ed  with  powers  which  completely  neutralize 
and  overcome  the  very  principle  of  chemical 
attraction  and  repulsion.  Such  experiments, 
too,  are  not,  like  those  made  in  the  philoso- 
pher's laboratory,  secure  from  interruption,  and 
carefully  and  readily  guarded  from  every  source 
of  error;  on  the  contrary,  those  of  even  the 
most  scientific,  the  most  careful  cultivators, 
are  of  necessity  liable  to  many  accidents,  are 
ever  the  sport  of  the  winds  and  the  weather, 
require  months  to  complete,  and  often  the  dura- 
tion of  a  life  to  repeat  and  firmly  establish. 
Then,  again,  to  add  to  the  difficulty  of  such  in- 
vestigations, there  are  hardly  two  soils  to  be 
found,  in  England  or  elsewhere,  whose  compo- 
sition and  conditions  are  even  nearly  the  same. 
All  difler  either  in  the  proportion  of  some  ingre- 
dient, in  climate,  in  declination,  or  in  the  nature 
of  their  substrata;  the  variations  in  their  treat- 
ment, therefore,  mustoften  be  as  different  as  their 
numerous  varieties.  Thus,  encircled  with  diffi- 
culties, requiring  for  the  attainment  of  consider- 
able eminence  the  union  of  both  practical  ex- 
perience, patient  and  long-continued  research, 
and  scientific  knowledge,  we  need  hardly  feel 
surprised  that  those  who  have  made  important 
improvements  in  agriculture  have  been  but 
few  in  number,  and  that  these  illustrious  ex- 
ceptions to  the  general  rule  have  appeared  at 
very  distant  intervals.  The  farmer,  too,  how- 
ever skilful  and  successful  in  his  business, 
however  industrious  and  talented,  is  but  rarely 
induced  to  describe  the  improvements  he  has 
caused,  or  the  implements  he  has  improved  or 
invented;  he  is  too  often  content  with  the  profit 
derived  from  his  own  ingenuity,  and  too  fre- 
quently lets  others  reap  all  the  honours  of  dis 
coveries  to  which  he  is  more  justly  entitled. 

In  the  list,  however,  of  distinguished  English 
farmers,  Jethro  Tull  presents  us  with  a  highly 
honourable  exception  to  the  general  rule;  for, 
utterly  regardless  of  all  selfish  considerations, 
he  not  only  made  great  and  successful  efforts 
for  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  but  he  made 
those  valuable  researches,  publicly  known  in 
a  work  entitled  the  Horse-hoeing  Husbandry, 
which  will  hand  him  down  to  all  after-ages  a^ 
one  of  the  chief  of  English  farmers;  as  a  pa 
triot  who,  undaunted  by  the  natural  difficulties 
of  the  attempt,  attained  great  and  important 
advances  in  the  cultivating  and  increasing  the 
fertility  of  the  land,  and  in  enlarging  the  re- 
sources of  the  followers  of  a  business  to  which 
he  was  not  originally  bred;  for,  as  we  shall 
4U  1057 


TT7LL,  JETHRO. 

pfvsently  see,  TuU  became  a  farmer  not  from 
inelination,  bui  from  the  effects  of  a  sickly  con- 
•titnlion  and  diseased  frame. 

The  life  of  Jethro  TuU  will,  indeed,  well  re- 
pay the  careful  and  often-repeated  study  of  the 
iSn^lish  fanner  in  more  ways  than  one;  will 
•flbrd  not  only  instmction,  but  encouragement 
to  bim  who  has  to  contend  against  the  poorest 
toils.  Ibo  most  advtrse  of  circumstances;  for, 
if  Meh  a  coltirator  holds  a  poor,  thin,  hungry 
Mil*  io  did  Jethro  Tall  ;--if  he  farms  in  a  re- 
»  Md  drMilale  district ;  if  he  has  ignorant 
obstinate  labourers;  if  he  is  visited  by 
if  he  in  almost  driven  from  his  pro- 
by  even  incurable  diseases,  so,  let  him 
be  awured.  was  that  great  farmer  whose  la- 
boon  are  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  The 
dauntless  intrepidity  and  perseverance,  too,  of 
TuU,  should  always  be  remembered  to  his 
boooar.  Knowing,  as  he  did,  the  correctness 
of  tbe  principles  for  which  he  so  nobly  contend- 
ed, be  never  relaxed  in  his  nuleavours  to  in- 
duce their  general  adoption ;  and  if  it  was  only 
after  the  lapse  of  many  years,  when  Tull  had 
long  been  in  his  grave,  that  those  principles 
and  those  mechanical  inventions  for  which  he 
•o  tBergetically  contended  were  commonly 
•daalod,  the  fault  was  not  TulPs,  but  must  be 
attnboted  to  the  ignorance  and  the  apathy  of 
tbe  ftfe  in  which  he  made  his  important,  his 
ill-reqaited  discoveries. 

Tbe  debt  of  gratitude  which  all  modern  far- 
■ers  owe  to  Tall  is,  indeed,  a  large  one; 
be  was  the  first  who  boldly  and  zealously 
contended  for  the  adoption  of  improved  ma- 
chinery in  all  agricultural  operations ;  the 
ploughs  which  he  depicts  in  the  engravings 
which  accompany  his  Horse-hoe  Husbandry, 
btvc  not  been  very  materially  improved  in  the 
last  century.  He  invented  several  varieties 
of  band  and  horse-hoes.  He  was  very  nearly, 
if  not  quite,  the  first  who  produced  a  practically 
iiefal  drill.  He  shared  the  fate  of  all  those 
wbo,  as  discoverers,  have  the  temerity  to  dis- 
tnrb  old  systems.  He  was  regarded  by  the 
balk  of  his  contemporaries  as  an  idle,  restless 
inoorator.  He  was  ridiculed,  thwarted,  and 
opposed  in  every  way,  not,  as  might  have  been 
reasonably  expected,  by  the  most  ignorant,  but 
by  those  who  either  did  know,  or  ought  to  have 
known,  better  things.  His  neighbours  regarded 
bim  af  almost  a  lunatic  ;  and  the  tradition  of 
tt»e  neighbourhood  of  Shalborn  still  is,  that  he 
waa  even  wicked  enough  to  attempt  to  banish 
the  flail  from  his  ^arm,  and  that  he  had  a  ma- 
chine in  his  bam  at  Prosperous,  which  worked 
a  set  of  sticks  so  readily  as  to  thrash  out  his 
corn  without  the  assistance  of  the  labourer. 
This,  there  is  little  doubt,  was  an  attempt  to  con- 
siroct  a  thrashing-machine  ;  and  that  it  was,  in 
those  quiet  days  for  agriculture,  regarded  as  a 
wonder,  is  proved  by  the  existence  of  the  tra- 
dition. When  thus  located  in  a  remote  rural 
pansh,  on  th*  borders  of  the  counties  of  Berks, 
Hanls,  and  Wilts,  Tull  wrote  his  Htisbandry, 
a  book  which  is  not  nearly  so  well  known  as 
it  ooght  to  be ;  for,  though  the  progress  of 
science  has  rendered  a  considerable  portion  of 
Tull's  writings  obsolete,  yet  much,  very  much, 
remains  unaltered  by  the  progr'Jss  of  discoverv. 
1058  ^ 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

to  amply  repay  the  farmer  for  a  careful  and 
often  repeated  perusal. 

Tull  wrote  with  ail  the  modesty  and  diffi- 
dence of  genius:  he  tells  us,  in  the  preface  to 
his  Husbandry,  that  he  knew  that  he  had  un- 
dertaken a  task  of  which  he  was  incapable, 
and  that  it  was  produced  during  a  long  con- 
finement within  the  limits  of  a  lonely  farm,  in 
a  country  where  he  was  a  stranger.  And 
when  we  remember  that  he  was,  through  life, 
an  invalid, — obliged  to  abandon  his  sedentary 
profession  of  the  law,  and  seek  for  health  by 
foreign  travel  and  by  country  pursuits, — when 
we  think  of  these  things,  we  cannot  but  still 
more  admire  the  energy  of  mind  he  betrayed, 
and  the  difficulties  he  overcame.  He  feelingly 
alludes  to  some  of  these,  when  he  says,  with 
regard  to  his  great  work — "  'Tis  no  wonder 
that  the  style  is  low  as  the  author,  or  as  the 
dust  that  is  here  treated  of,  since  the  whole  was 
written  in  pains  of  the  stone,  and  other  dis- 
eases as  incurable  and  almost  as  cruel;  but 
fine  language  will  not  fill  a  farmer's  barn." 
Every  thing  connected  with  the  history  of  this 
great  benefactor  of  agriculture  must  be  inte- 
resting to  the  cultivators  of  this  and  all  other 
countries.  I  regret  that,  with  some  industry,  I 
have  not  been  able  to  obtain  for  the  farmer 
more  information  with  regard  to  him.  He  was 
born  in  Oxfordshire,  on  his  paternal  estate. 
He  was  educated  for  the  legal  profession,  be- 
came a  member  of  Staple  Inn,  and  was  called 
to  the  bar  on  the  Uth  December,  1693,  by  the 
benchers  of  Gray's  Inn,  and  not  at  the  Temple, 
as  is  commonly  asserted  in  the  biographical 
dictionaries.  He  was  afflicted  soon  after  his 
call  to  the  bar  with  a  pulmonary  disorder,  and, 
in  consequence,  abandoned  his  Oxfordshire 
farm,  and  for  some  time  travelled  on  the  Con- 
tinent. He  was  for  a  considerable  period  at 
Montpelier,  in  the  south  of  France.  Returning 
to  England,  he  took  into  his  own  hands  the 
farm  called  Prosperous,  at  Shalborn,  in  Berk- 
shire, where,  again  resuming  those  agricultural 
eflTorts  which  he  had  commenced  in  Berkshire, 
he  wrote  his  Horse-hoe  Husbandry. 

During  his  tour  on  the  Continent,  Tull  care- 
fully compared  the  agriculture  of  France  and 
Italy  with  that  of  his  own  country,  and  omitted 
no  occasion  to  observe  and  note  every  thing 
which  supported  his  own  views  and  discove- 
ries. He  particularly,  on  more  than  one  occa- 
sion, in  his  work,  alludes  to  the  similarity  of 
the  practice  followed  by  the  vine-dressers  of 
the  south  of  Europe,  in  constantly  hoeing  or 
otherwise  stirring  their  ground,  and  his  own 
horse-hoe  husbandry.  Finding  that  they  did 
not  approve  of  dunging  their  vineyards,  Tull 
readily  adduced  the  fact  in  favour  of  his  own 
favourite  theory,  that  manuring  a  soil  is  an  un- 
necessary operation. 

After  Tull's  decease,  his  lands  in  Berkshire 
found  their  way  into  Chancery,  and  were  sold, 
by  order  of  the  court,  in  1784,  to  Mr.  Blandy, 
the  father  of  the  present  owner.  It  consists  of 
about  70  acres  of  freehold  land,  but  Tull  held 
about  130  acres  in  addition,  by  a  different  te- 
nure. The  house  in  which  he  dwelt  has  been 
modernized,  but  the  old-fashioned  brew-house 
yet  remains  as  Tull  had  it ;  and  when  I  visited 


TULL,  JETHKO. 

Prosperous,  in  July,  1840,  was  still  in  very- 
good  condition.  Of  the  out-houses,  Tull's  gra- 
nary and  his  stables  are  yet  in  existence, 
though  fast  verging  to  destruction  ;  and  at  the 
end  of  this  granary,  which  Tull  built,  is  an  old 
well  in  which,  when  cleared  out  some  years 
since,  was  found,  deeply  buried  in  the  accu- 
mulated mud  of  nearly  a  century,  a  three- 
pronged  hoe,  which  there  is  no  doubt  belonged 
to  Tull,  and  is  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Royal 
A  ^'ricultural  Society  of  England.  Into  this  well 
it  was  most  likely  thrown  by  his  men,  who, 
adopting  the  use  of  his  new  tools  with  the  ut- 
most reluctance,  annoyed  him  in  many  ways. 
Against  these  he  declaims  with  much  bitterness: 
"  'Tis,"  he  says,  "  the  most  formidable  objec- 
tion against  our  agriculture,  that  the  defection 
of  servants  and  labourers  is  such,  that  few 
gentlemen  can  keep  their  lands  in  their  own 
hands,  but,  rather  than  make  nothing  of  them, 
they  let  them  for  a  little  to  tenants  who  can 
bear  to  be  insulted,  assaulted,  kicked,  cuffed, 
and  bridewelled,  with  more  patience  than  gen- 
tlemen are  endowed  with."  This  burst  of  feel- 
ing would  very  clearly  intimate  the  probable 
truth  of  the  case — that  Tull  was  energetic  and 
irritable — that  his  servants  pillaged  and  an- 
noyed him,  and  that  he  did  not  submit  to  their 
impositions  without  struggling  against  them  in 
a  way  which  his  legal  education  should  have 
taught  him  to  avoid. 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  enterprise,  and  such 
was  the  genius  of  Tull,  that  no  difficulties,  how- 
ever formidable,  stopped  him  in  his  researches. 
His  experiments,  carried  on  in  his  garden  and 
in  his  house,  with  regard  to  the  food  and  the 
habits  of  plants,  some  of  which  he  gives  in  the 
first  pages  of  his  work,  betray  the  thirst  for 
knowledge,  the  industry,  and  tact,  which  he 
possessed. 

The  tradition  of  his  neignbours  is,  that,  when 
confined  to  his  room  and  to  his  couch  by  his 
incurable  maladies,  he  yet  managed  to  carry 
on  his  experiments  on  vegetation,  by  having 
large  boxes  and  garden-pots  of  earth  placed  in 
his  room,  and  before  his  windows,  where  he 
sowed  his  seeds,  and  watched  their  progress 
under  different  modes  of  cultivation,  with  all 
the  zeal  of  a  martyr,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  an 
inventor.  He  is  still  spoken  of  by  the  old 
labourers  of  that  district,  as  being  a  man  whom 
it  was  impossible  to  oppose,  in  any  of  his 
plans,  with  eventual  success.  He  was  evi- 
dently the  wonder  of  his  neighbours,  who 
would,  perhaps,  have  regarded  him  as  a  ma- 
gician, if  the  age  of  witchcraft  had  not  then 
been  nearly,  if  not  quite,  over.  It  would  seem, 
from  what  Tull  says  (p.  50),  that  it  was  in 
1701  thatJie  constructed  hisfirstdrill  for  plant- 
ing sainfoin.  And  the  occasion  of  his  doing 
so  he  thus  describes  in  his  preface:  "It  was 
very  difficult  to  find  a  man  that  could  sow 
clover  tolerably ;  they  had  a  habit  (from  which 
they  could  not  be  driven)  to  throw  it  once  with 
the  hand  to  two  large  strides,  and  go  twice  on 
each  cast;  thus,  with  9  or  10  pounds  of  seed 
to  the  acre,  two-thirds  of  the  ground  v/as  un- 
planted,  and  on  the  rest  it  was  so  thick  that  it 
did  not  prosper.  To  remedy  this,  I  made  a 
hopper,  to  be  drawn  by  a  boy,  that  planted  an 
acre   sufficiently  with  6  pounds  of  seed;  but 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

M'hen  I  added  to  this  hopper  an  exceedingly 
light  plough,  that  made  6  channels  8  inches 
asunder,  into  which  2  pounds  of  seed  to  an 
acre  being  drilled,  the  ground  was  as  well 
planted.  This  drill  was  easily  drawn  by  a 
man,  and  sometimes  by  a  boy." 

Jethro  TuU's  great  improvements  in  tillage 
consisted  in  the  use  of  his  drill,  and  in  the  adop- 
tion of  such  wide  intervals  between  his  rows 
of  turnips  (several  feet,  3  to  6),  that  the  horse- 
hoe  could  be  easily  and  constantly  employed. 
He  ridiculed,  very  justly,  the  delusions  under 
which  the  farmers  then  laboured  with  regard 
to  the  unvaried  advantages  of  thick  sowing. 
He  told  them  that  they  "  did  not  grudge  to  be- 
stow three  or  four  pounds  in  the  buying  and 
carriage  of  dung  for  an  acre,  but  that  they 
thought  themselves  undone  if  they  afforded  an 
extraordinary  eighteen-pennyworth  of  earth  to 
the  wide  intervals  of  an  acre,  not  considering 
that  earth  is  not  only  the  best,  but  also  the 
cheapest  entertainment  that  can  be  given  to 
plants."  And  again,  in  another  place  (p.  32), 
he  told  the  thick-sowing,  broadcast  cultivators 
of  those  days,  what  must  have  not  a  little  as- 
tonished them,  "  that  every  row  of  vegetables 
to  be  horse-hoed  ought  to  have  an  empty  space 
or  interval  of  30  inches  on  one  side  of  it  at 
least,  and  of  nearly  5  feet  in  all  sorts  of  corn;" 
and  he  was  very  justly  suspicious  that  what  he 
was  going  to  advance  "  would  seem  shocking 
to  them  before  they  have  made  triafls." 

Tull  was  the  first  English  farmer  who  advo- 
cated to  its  fullest  extent  the  decided  advan 
tages  of  constantly  pulverizing  and  stirring  the 
soil,  to  illustrate  which  almost  all  his  experi 
ments  were  directed.  His  explanations,  how 
ever,  of  his  own  discoveries  were  not  always 
so  good  as  the  object  he  had  in  view,  although 
there  is  little  to  find  fault  with  in  his  theory  of 
the  advantages  of  tillage.  "I  have  had,"  he 
says  (p.  24),  "the  experience  of  a  multitude  of 
instances,  which  confirm  it  so  far,  that  I  am  in 
no  doubt  that  any  soil,  be  it  rich  or  poor,  can 
ever  be  made  too  fine  by  tillage ;  for  one  cubi- 
cal fool  of  this  minute  powder  may  have  more 
internal  superficies  than  a  thousand  cubical 
feet  of  the  same  or  any  other  earth  tilled  in  the 
common  manner;  and  I  believe  no  two  arable 
earths  in  the  world  do  exceed  one  another  in 
their  natural  riches  twenty  times  ;  that  is,  one 
cubical  foot  of  the  richest  is  not  able  to  pro- 
duce an  equal  quantity  of  vegetables,  catena 
paribus,  to  20  cubical  feet  of  the  poorest;  there- 
fore, it  is  not  strange  that  the  poorest,  where, 
by  pulverizing,  it  has  obtained  100  times  the 
internal  superficies  of  the  rich,  untilled  land, 
should  exceed  it  in  fertility;  or,  if  a  foot  of  the 
poorest  was  made  to  have  20  times  the  super- 
ficies of  such  rich  land,  the  poorest  might  pro- 
duce an  equal  quantity  of  vegetables  with  the 
rich.  Besides,  there  is  another  extraordinary 
advantage  when  a  soil  has  a  large  internal 
superficies  in  a  very  little  compass ;  for  then 
the  roots  of  the  plants  in  it  are  better  supplied 
with  nourishment,  being  nearer  to  them  on  all 
sides  within  reach  than  it  can  be  when  the 
soil  is  less  fine,  as  in  common  tillage,  and  the 
roots  in  the  one  must  extend  much  farther  than 
in  the  other  to  reach  an  equal  quantity  of  nou- 
rishment; they  must  ra»ge  and  fill  perhaps 

1059 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

tbo^  e  90  times  more  space  to  collect  the  same 
quantity  of  food.  But,  in  this  fine  soil,  the 
»o«t  weak  and  tender  roots  have  a  free  passage 
U»  the  utmost  of  their  extent,  and  have  also  an 
fay.  due,  and  equal  pressure  everywhere,  as 
in  water." 

lie  did  not  confine  his  attention  to  the  ad- 
Taatages  of  Ihoroujfhiy  pulverizing  the  land : 
bs  was  also  an  advocate  for  much  deeper 
pkwfliing  than  was  usual  in  his  time,  and  in 
OM  or  two  places  laments  the  supineness  of 
the  farmers  in  this  respect,  and  the  idleness 
of  the  plottjfhmen,  in  only  half-penetrating  the 
soil,  for  fear  of  injuring  the  appearance  of  their 
bones ;  and  he  illustrated  the  advantages  of 
hfai  proposed  mode  of  ploughing  by  the  best 
OMans  in  his  power,  not  only  by  general  ob- 
•enration,  but  by  also  appealing  to  several 
f«ry  ingeniously-contrived  little  experiments 
apon  the  habits  of  plants. 

Tull  saw  very  clearly  that  this  theory  of  the 
■dTantages  of  pulverizing  and  deepening  soils 
would  be  strongly  supported  if  it  could  be 
shown  that  the  roots  of  the  commonly  culti- 
grasses  would,  under  favourable  circum- 
penetrate  to  more  considerable  depths 
tfUlB  the  ordinary  shallow  soils  of  the  farmer 
allowed  them.  He  paid,  therefore,  considerable 
•Hention  to  the  roots  of  plants,  not  only  in  his 
•Mali  experimental  glasses  and  pots,  but  in  his 
fltlds.  He  found,  by  some  observations  on  the 
routs  of  some  wheat  plants  growing  in  a  deeply 
kMNwaed  soil,  that  their  roots  had  penetrated  to 
OMir*  than  double  the  depth  of  the  commonly 
ploagbed  land  of  the  farmer;  and  all  this  I  can 
•■pport  from  my  own  observations  on  the  roots 
of  the  crops  growing  on  the  edge  of  chalk  and 
loam  pits,  and  in  other  situations  where  the 
•oil  has  been  loosened  to  great  depths.  Tull, 
loo,  noticed  the  very  considerable  and  rapid 
extension  of  the  roots  of  trees  growing  near 
to  old  dunghills,  sewers,  &c.,  and  he  hence  ad- 
duced another  argument  in  favour  of  the  advan- 
tafe?  which  are  derived  from  assisting,  in  the 
ke«t  ordinary  way  then  known,  the  roots  of 
plants  to  penetrate  deeper  into  the  soil.  Had 
Toll  lived  in  our  days,  he  would  have  been  an 
ardent  advocate  for  the  subsoil  and  subturf 
plooghs:  he  would  not  then  have  confined  his 
•flbrts  to  the  increased  use  of  the  common 
pbugh  and  the  trenching-spade. 

A  century  has  now  elapsed  since  Jethro  Tull 
Alls  earnestly  endeavoured  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  the  farmers  of  England  to  the  import- 
ance of  deepening,  pulverizing,  and  mixing 
their  soils.  Tull,  unfortunately  for  himself, 
lived  an  age  or  two  too  soon :  had  to  encounter 
the  ignorance  and  the  obstinacy  of  his  work- 
men, the  apathy  of  his  neighbours,  the  ridicule 
of  those  who  understood  him  not,  and  the  anger 
of  the  mdolent  The  principles,  however,  which 
he  inculcated  have  sur^'ived  and  overcome  all 
these  obsiacles;  are  vearly  more  prized,  be- 
cause better  understood.  Tull  thought  that  the 
earth,  and  the  earth  alone,  did  every  thin?  for 
tegetaUon;  astonished  at  the  effects  which 
were  produced  by  merely  deepening  and  pul- 
ireiizing.  he  allowed  his  enthusiasm  to  carry 
him  too  far.  "Every  plant,"  he  tells  us,  "is 
earth,  and  the  growth  and  true  increase  of  a 
plant  is  the  addiucm  of  more  earth ;"  and  in 
1060 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

another  place  he  adds,  "too  much  nitre  cor- 
rodes a  plant,  too  much  water  drowns  it,  too 
much  air  dries  the  roots  of  it,  too  much  heat 
burns  it;  but  too  much  earth  a  plant  never  can 
have."  Thus  impressed  with  the  value  and 
the  all-sufficient  powers  of  earth  to  support 
vegetation,  it  need  hardly  surprise  us  that  Tull 
soon  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  under  a  pro- 
per management  of  the  plough  and  the  scarifier 
(for  a  rude  instrument  of  this  kind  was  known 
in  TuU's  days),  the  land  might  be  so  pulverized 
and  deepened  as  to  bear  its  crops  without  the 
addition  of  any  decomposing  manures. 

Tull  deceived  himself,  in  this  instance,  by 
not  attending  to  the  quantity  of  finely-divided, 
slowly  decomposing  substances,  which  all  cul- 
tivated soils  contain  in  some  shape  or  other. 
By  ploughing  and  pulverizing,  the  progress  of 
the  putrefaction  of  these  organic  matters  was 
accelerated,  they  were  rendered  more  soluble, 
and  then  the  succeeding  crop  was,  by  their  de- 
composition, sufficiently  nourished.  But  these 
operations  could  not  be  long  continued;  at 
each  repetition  of  the  experiment  the  amount 
of  the  stubborn,  slowly  decomposing  matters 
of  the  soil  became  reduced,  and,  in  conse- 
quence, the  crops  produced  under  the  system 
became  less.  TuH's  farm  at  Shalborn  was 
well  adapted  to  try  the  effect  of  this  theory;  it 
is  situated  on  the  crown  of  a  rising  ground, 
whose  thin-skinned  soil  is  a  light  loam  mixed 
with  gravel,  resting  on  chalk ;  of  such  a  soil 
the  organic  matters,  of  necessity,  are  speedily 
exhausted  by  cropping  and  pulverizing.  Tull 
soon  found  this  out;  he  struggled  hard  against 
the  necessity,  but  he  finally  had  recourse  to 
the  employment  of  manures;  he  found  at  last, 
that,  however  valuable  good  tillage  is  to  the 
application  of  fertilizers,  it  is  utterly  incapable 
of  supplying  their  place.  The  failure  of  Jethro 
Tull,  therefore,  in  this  great  effiort  was  com- 
plete ;  but  it  was  the  failure  of  a  man  of  genius. 
He  tardily  admitted  the  value  of  dunging  the 
land;  but  he  still  explained  its  operation  in 
such  a  way  as  to  refer  all  the  benefit  to  the 
earth,  when  he  told  the  farmers  of  those  days, 
"its  use  is  not  to  nourish,  but  to  dissolve,  that 
is,  divide  the  terrestrial  matter  which  affords 
nutriment  to  the  mouths  of  vegetable  roots." 
To  a  very  considerable  extent  Tull  was  cor- 
rect in  this  explanation  of  the  mode  in  which 
common  manure  operates  in  rendering  the  soil 
more  fertile ;  for  it  renders  the  land  more  per- 
vious to  the  atmospheric  gases  and  vapour, 
and,  in  consequence,  all  vegetation  grgwing 
upon  the  land  is  better  nourished.  But  the 
benefit,  as  Tull  imagined,  does  not  end  here; 
the  organic  matters  of  the  compost,  as  they 
slowly  dissolve  in  the  soil,  gradually  give  out 
a  considerable  proportion  of  various  gases, 
such  as  carburetted  hydrogen  and  carbonic 
acid  gas,  all  of  which  are  absorbed  by  the  plant 
at  the  moment  of  their  extrication,  enter  inU". 
new  combinations,  and  promote  its  vigorous 
growth.  That  this  is  not  a  merely  mechanical 
advantage  is  proved  in  several  ways ;  for  in- 
stance, the  benefit  of  the  application  of  the  de- 
composing compost  is  proved  to  be  just  as 
advantageous  in  some  instances  to  the  crop 
where  it  is  not  even  mixed  with  the  soil.  This 
is  shown  by  the  effect  (known  to  every  gar- 


TULL,  JLTHRO. 


TULL,  JETHRO. 


dener)  which  is  produced  b}'  placing  the  ma- 
nure in  a  chamber  beneath  the  soil,  so  that  the 
roots  of  the  plants  neither  mix  with,  nor  does 
the  soil  even  touch  the  compost.  The  gases 
of  putrefaction,  however,  arise  and  mix  with 
the  soil,  and  the  most  luxuriant  effects  are  pro- 
duced without  any  division  of  ''the  terrestrial 
matter,"  which  Tull  imagined  to  be  so  essen- 
tial to  the  explanation  of  the  phenomenon.  We 
need  not  search  in  the  works  of  Tull  for  any 
attempts  to  use  the  drill  for  the  application  of 
fertilizers,  for  all  TuU's  efforts  were  directed 
to  cultivate  the  earth  without  manure  of  any 
kind.  He  admitted  the  necessity  of  using  it  at 
all  only  with  extreme  reluctance;  he  told  his 
readers,  7  years  before  his  death,  that  "the  par- 
ticular scheme  of  raising  constant  annual  crops 
of  wheat  without  dung  or  fallow  is  as  yet  only 
upon  probation ;  but,  by  six  crops  I  have  had 
in  that  manner,  I  see  nothing  against  their  be- 
ing continued.  This,  it  is  true,  requires  greater 
care  in  their  management  than  any  other  branch 
of  the  husbandry;  but  he  who  can  do  this  with- 
out dung  or  fallow,  may  easily  do  it  with  one 
or  both  of  them ;  and  there  may  be  such  wet, 
clayey  land  which  the  plough  cannot  well  pul- 
verize without  help  of  the  ferment  or  dung." 

Tull,  in  fact,  let  no  opportunity  escape  him 
to  decry  the  ill  effects  of  employing  manure. 
Modern  gardeners  would  be  astonished  at  his 
zeal  when  he  contends  for  its  banishment  from 
the  kitchen  garden.  "There  is,"  he  says  (p. 
18),  "  much  more  reason  to  prohibit  the  use  of 
dung  in  the  kitchen  garden,  on  account  of  the 
ill  taste  it  gives  to  esculent  roots  and  plants, 
especially  such  dung  as  is  made  in  great  towns. 
It  is  a  wonder  how  delicate  palates  can  dis- 
pense with  eating  their  own  and  their  beasts' 
ordure,  but  a  little  more  putrefied  and  evapo- 
rated, together  with  all  sorts  of  filth  and  nasti- 
ness,  a  tincture  of  which  those  roots  must  un- 
avoidably receive  that  grow  amongst  it.  In- 
deed, I  do  not  admire,  that  learned  palates,  ac- 
customed to  the  gout  of  silphium,  garlic,  and 
mortified  venison,  equalling  the  stench  and 
rankness  of  this  sort  of  city  muck,  should 
relish  and  approve  of  plants  that  are  fed  and 
fattened  by  its  immediate  contact.  People 
who  are  so  vulgarly  nice  as  to  nauseate  the 
modish  dainties,  and  whose  squeamish  sto- 
machs even  abhor  to  receive  the  food  of  nobles, 
so  little  different  from  that  wherewith  they  re- 
gale their  richest  gardens,  say,  that  even  the 
very  water  wherein  a  rich  garden  cabbage  is 
boiled  stinks;  but  that  the  water  wherein  a 
cabbage  from  a  poor  undunged  field  is  boiled 
has  no  manner  of  unpleasant  savour;  and  that 
a  carrot  bred  in  a  dunghill  has  none  of  that 
sweet  relish  which  a  field  carrot  affords.  Dung 
not  only  spoils  the  fine  flavour  of  these  our 
eatables,  but  it  spoils  good  liquor.  The  dunged 
vineyards  in  Languedoc  produce  nauseous 
wine  ;  from  whence  there  is  a  proverb  in  that 
country,  that  poor  people's  wine  is  best,  be- 
cause they  carry  no  dung  to  their  vineyards." 
Our  author,  however,  had  a  better  opinion  of 
vegetable  manures  than  those  of  animals,  for 
he  says,  "Vegetable  dunsr,  unless  the  vegetable 
be  buried  alive  in  the  soil,  makes  a  much  less 
ferment  in  it,  and.  consequently,  divides  it  less 
than  animal  dung  does.    But  the  dung  of  vege- 


tables is  much  more  wholesome  for  the  use  of 
edible  roots  and  plants  than  that  of  animals." 

Jethro  Tull,  according  to  Chalmers,  died  at 
his  house  at  Prosperous,  January  3,  1740.  Of 
his  works  and  inventions  of  agricultural  ma- 
chinery  I  have  already  spoken.  Five  chapters 
of  his  only  work  that  I  am  acquainted  with, 
Tlie  Horse-hoe  Husbandry,  were  published  in 
folio  in.  1731,  the  chief  volume  in  1733;  and 
in  the  same  year  some  additions  were  printed 
which  are -not  found  in  many  of  the  copies  of 
that  year,  or  even  in  that  of  1751.  Cobbett, 
however,  was  careful  to  add  it  to  an  octavo  edi- 
tion which  he  printed  in  1829.  In  this,  he 
omitted  only  the  plates  of  the  ploughs  and 
other  agricultural  implements ;  but  he  added 
an  introduction,  in  which  he  did  little  except 
laud  Tull,  and  vituperate  those  who  had  adopt- 
ed TuU's  plans,  without  acknowledging  the 
source  of  their  obligation ;  not  remembering 
that  many  a  Tullian  improvement  has  been 
often  made  since  our  author's  time,  by  plain, 
practical  farmers,  who  never  even  heard  the 
name  of  Tull  mentioned. 

Tull,  as  I  have  before  remarked,  published 
his  "  addenda"  to  his  Husbandry  in  the  same 
year  that  the  first  edition  appeared;  in  these  he 
takes  more  notice  than  was  perhaps  necessary 
of  certain  attacks  which  had  been  made  upon 
his  book,  by  the  members  of  a  certain  "  equi- 
vocal society,"  amongst  whom  was  the  cele- 
brated Stephen  Switzer,  the  most  talented 
seedsman,  gardener,  and  horticultural  author 
of  his  day.  It  appears,  too,  that  a  society  of 
gentlemen  in  Dublin  had,  without  his  leave, 
reprinted  for  distribution  his  five  "  specimen 
chapters,"  all  of  which  annoying  circum- 
stances evidently  irritated  him;  besides  these 
controversial  notices,  and  certain  corrections 
of  the  errors  made  by  the  printer,  the  long  ad- 
denda do  not  contain  any  thing  very  valuable. 
Time  has  settled  pretty  well  the  respective 
merits  of  the  contending  parties  ;  the  fame  of 
Tull  is  steadily  increasing,  while  the  name  and 
works  of  even  the  classical,  the  elegant  Swit- 
zer, are  much  too  little  known  amongst  modern 
cultivators. 

Twenty-four  years  after  the  death  of  Jethro 
Tull,  a  paper  appeared  in  the  Gentleman's  Ma- 
gazine, vol.  xxxiv.  p.  522,  dated  at  Hungerford, 
about  4  miles  from  the  farm  where  he  lived  and 
died,  and  signed  with  the  initials  D.  Y.,  which 
details  almost  all  that  is  known  of  the  life  of 
the  great  introducer  of  the  drill  system.  It 
was  written  by  one  of  his  neighbours,  who  had 
known  and  associated  with  him,  and  valued 
very  properly  his  services  in  the  cause  of  agri- 
culture. He  describes  in  that  essay  the  sen- 
sation produced  by  the  unheard-of  attempts  of 
Tull.  He  says,  "Novelty  always  excites  curi- 
osity— many  gentlemen  came  from  different 
parts  on  the  fame  of  this  new  method  of  farm- 
ing, some  of  whom  were  persuaded  by  the 
weight  of  Mr.  TuU's  arguments,  tc  go  hand  in 
hand  with  him  in  the  course  of  his  experi- 
ments, while  others,  who  thought  themselves 
more  ^jvise  and  more  discerning,  took  every 
occasion  of  ridiculing  the  practice,  and  of  re- 
presenting it  as  a  fanciful  project,  that,  after  a 
great  expense,  would  end  in  nothing  but  the 
ruin  of  the  proprietor.  In  general,  the  whole 
4u2  1061 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

bodr  of  farmers  and  husbandmen  pronounced 
the  man  as  a  conjuror,  who,  by  sowing  a  third 
part  of  his  land,  would  make  it  produce  a 
quantity  «iual  to  that  of  w)wing  the  whole. 

The  farm  of  Jethro  Tull  will  ever  be  an  ob- 
ject  of  interest  to  the  lover  of  agriculture.  Ar- 
thur Young  made  a  pilgrimage  to  Prosperous 
(Jnmah  of  Jgr-  vol.  xxiii.  p.  173),  and  William 
Cobbeit  did  the  same.  More  persons  would 
Tisit  It  if  they  knew  where  it  was  to  be  found. 
To  such  it  will  be  interesting  to  know  that  the 
roral  parish  of  Shalbom  is  situated  under  the 
Coomb  Hills,  about  4  miles  south  of  Hunger- 
ford  ;  that  the  roads  are  tolerable,  and  the  pre- 
sent holder  of  the  farm  obliging,  and  not  insen- 
sible of  Tull's  great  merits.  If  Tull  was  de- 
oeJTCd  in  his  belief  of  the  powers  of  the 
ploofh  to  render  the  soil  fertile  without  the  as- 
tj^ft^  of  manure,  he  was  yet  fully  justified 
toaloKNit  everything  that  he  predicted,  with 
regard  to  the  advantages  of  thoroughly  pulver- 
isinf  aod  increasing  the  depth  of  the  soil. 

"The  difference  betwixt  the  operation  of  the 
tpade  and  that  of  the  common  plough,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  is  only  this,  that  the  former  commonly 
divides  the  soil  into  smaller  pieces,  and  goes 
deeper;**  and  he  adds,  "how  easy  and  natural 
it  is  to  contrive  a  plough  that  may  equal  the 
spade,  if  not  exceed  it,  by  going  deeper,  and 
catting  the  soil  into  smaller  pieces  than  the 
spade  commonly  does."  The  explanation,  too, 
vhicb  Jethro  Tull  gave  to  the  advantages  or 
theory  of  deep  ploughing  was  excellent,  consi- 
deriof  the  chemical  knowledge  of  his  days; 
for  the  modem  cultivator  must  remember,  that, 
io  bis  time,  the  composition  of  the  atmosphere 
was  almost  entirely  unknown.  Tull  could  not 
have  known  any  thing  of  the  three  gases, — 
nitrogen,  oxygen,  and  carbonic  acid, — of  which 
it  is  BOW  found  to  be  constituted ;  and  of  the 
existence  of  its  insensible  aqueous  vapour  he 
was  equally  unacquainted;  he  did  not  know 
how  important  these  are  to  the  roots  of  plants, 
and  how  the  access  of  them  all  is  naturally 
promoted  by  pulverizing  the  land  on  which  they 
v^tate.  But  though  Tull  did  not  know  these 
things,  yet  it  is  certain  that  he  had  carefully 
observed  many  facts  which  proved  that  vapour 
WM  absorbed  by  the  soil,  and  that  this  absorp- 
tion was  promoted  by  pulverization.  "  To  de- 
BKmstrate,**  he  says  (pp.  27,  28),  "  that  dews 
moisten  the  land  when  fine,  dig  a  hole  in  the 
hard,  dry  ground,  in  the  driest  weather,  as  deep 
as  the  plough  ought  to  reach ;  beat  the  earth 
▼ery  fine,  and  fill  the  hole  therewith ;  and  after 
•  few  nights'  dews,  you  will  this  fine  earth  be- 
come moist  at  the  bottom,  and  the  hard  ground 
all  round  will  become  dry.  Till  a  field  in 
lands:  make  one  land  very  fine  by  frequent 
deep  ploughing,  and  let  another  be  rough  by 
insufficient  tillage  alternately ;  then  plough  the 
whole  field  crosswise  in  the  driest  weather, 
whicn  has  continued  long,  and  you  will  per- 
ceive, by  the  colour  of  the  earth,  that  every 
fine  land  will  be  turned  up  moist,  but  every 
rough  land  will  be  dry  as  powder  from  top  to 
bottom.  In  the  driest  weather,  good  hoeing 
procures  moisture  to  roots;  though  the  igno- 
rant and  incurious  fancy  it  lets  in  the  drought, 
wd  therefore  are  afraid  to  hoe  their  plants  at 
Sttch  times." 


TULL,  JETHRO. 

Tksse  enlightened  observations  of  Tull  have 
been  verified  and  illustrated  by  the  prepress  of 
agricultural  discovery,  by  the  improved  modes 
of  practice  adopted,  by  modern  farmers,  and  by 
the  march  of  chemical  philosophy.  Evelyn 
had  observed  the  advantages  of  continually 
keeping  the  ground  of  fruit  orchards  hoed  or 
dug.  Sir  Henry  Sieuart  attests,  with  Sir  Wal- 
ter Scott,  Withers,  and  a  hundred  others,  the 
same  fact,  as  applicable  to  timber  plantations. 
The  farmers  of  even  the  most  sandy  soils  of 
Norfolk,  on  the  very  same  principle,  keep  the 
ground  between  their  rows  of  turnips  con- 
stantly stirred,  just  as  Tull  proposed  and  prac- 
tised a  century  since.  And  when,  long  at'ter 
Tull  was  in  his  grave.  Dr.  Priestley  discovered 
the  oxygen  gas  of  the  atmosphere,  it  was  soon 
found  that  its  presence  was  essential  to  the 
growth  of  plants ;  that  it  was  highly  grateful 
to  the  roots  of  plants,  either  when  applied  to 
them  in  its  simple  state,  or  when  combined 
with  the  aqueous  matters  of  the  atmosphere ; 
and  that  this  application  was  very  sensibly 
indeed  promoted,  in  either  form,  by  increasing 
the  finely  divided  state  of  the  soil ;  and,  fur- 
ther, that  without  this  division  of  its  particles, 
the  earth  was  totally  incapable  of  absorbing 
either  the  necessary  gases  or  the  watery  va- 
pour. 

The  subsoil-plough  of  Mr.  Smith  of  Dean- 
ston,  and  the  subturf-plough  of  Sir  Edward 
Stracey,  which  have  both  proved  so  successful 
in  our  days,  only  illustrate  the  truth  of  Tull's 
principles  and  Tull's  sagacious  observations 
Tull  was  an  advocate  for  deep  ploughing,  and 
for  internal  pulverizations :  he  did  not,  it  is 
true,  see  the  necessary  limits,  on  ordinary  soils, 
and  with  common  ploughs,  to  the  realization 
of  this  theory:  he  forgot  that  the  inert  nature 
of  many  substrata  would  render  it  inxpossible 
to  bring  them  at  once  to  the  surface ;  but 
though  he  omitted  to  take  this  into  his  calcula- 
tion, yet  still  he  argued  correctly  enough,  when 
he  so  strenuously  urged  his  brother  farmers  to 
increase  the  depth  of  their  soils  by  every  prac- 
ticable means,  to  let  in  the  air  to  the  roots  of  • 
their  crops,  and  to  give  every  facility  possible 
to  the  growth  of  the  roots  of  the  plants  ;  for,  by 
so  doing,  he  very  plainly  told  them  they  derived 
benefits  which  exclusively  belong  to  the  vege- 
table world.  "  There  is  yet,"  he  said  (p.  28), 
"  one  more  benefit  hoeing  gives  to  plants, 
which  by  no  art  can  possibly  be  given  to  ani- 
mals ;  for  all  that  can  be  done  in  feeding  an 
animal  is,  to  giye  it  sufficient  food  at  the  time 
it  has  occasion  for  it;  if  you  give  an  animal 
any  more,  it  is  to  no  manner  of  purpose,  unless 
you  could  give  it  more  mouths,  which  is  im- 
possible ;  but,  in  hoeing  a  plant,  the  additional 
nourishment  thereby  given  enables  it  to  send 
out  innumerable  additional  fibres  and  roots ;  so 
that  hoeing,  by  the  new  pasture  it  raises,  fur- 
nishes both  food  and  mouths  to  plants." 

To  every  agricultural  operation,  in  fact,  of  a 
mechanical  nature,  Tull's  genius  was  admira- 
bly adapted;  his  ploughs,  his  hoes,  his  drills, 
were  all  of  a  description  far  superior  to  those 
of  the  rest  of  the  farmers  of  those  days.  It  was 
only  where  he  attempted  to  reason  upon  the 
habits  and  food  of  plants,  involving  chemical 
truths,  that  Tull  made  great  blunders.     Thus, 


TITLL,  JETHRO. 


believing:,  as  he  did,  that  earth,  and  earth  alone, 
was  the  sole  food  of  plants  of  all  kinds,  he 
ridiculed  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Woodward,  that  all 
the  constituents  of  plants  were  conveyed  to 
them  through  the  agency  of  water.  Woodward 
thought,  very  justly,  "that  water  is  only  the 
agent  that  conveys  the  vegetable  matter  to  the 
bodies  of  plants,  that  introduces  and  distributes 
it  to  their  several  parts  for  their  nourishment." 
This  theory  seemed  absurd  to  Jethro  Tull,  who 
believed  that  all  plants  fed  upon  the  same  kind 
of  food,  and  that  that  food  was  earth,  and  only 
earth.  It  is  true  that  Tull  had  a  very  indistinct 
idea  that  something  else  was  requisite  for  the 
food  of  plants,  and  that  "certain  materials  con- 
tribute in  some  manner  to  the  increase  of 
plants."  And  he  then  specifies  five  substances, 
at  the  head  of  which  it  is  not  a  little  singular 
that  he  places  saltpetre  or  nitre.  But  how  this 
salt  operated  as  a  fertilizer  was  not  at  all  more 
clear  to  Tull  than  to  any  who  have  succeeded 
him  in  the  investigation.  "Nitre,"  he  says, 
(p.  10),  "is  useful  to  divide  and  prepare  the 
food,  and  may  be  said  to  nourish  vegetables,  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  my  knife  nourishes 
me,  by  cutting  and  dividing  my  meat ;  but  when 
nitre  is  applied  to  the  root  of  a  plant,  it  will 
kill  it  as  certainly  as  a  knife  misapplied  will 
kill  a  man.  Nitre  is,  in  respect  of  nourish- 
ment, just  as  much  the  food  of  plants  as  white 
arsenic  is  the  food  of  rats."  Tull,  however, 
had  a  high  opinion  of  the  powers  of  common 
salt,  when  used  as  a  steep  for  seed-corn,  to  pre- 
vent the  smut  in  wheat;  and  he  gives  (p.  60) 
this  account  of  the  origin  of  the  practice. 
"Brining  of  wheat,  to  cure  or  prevent  smutti- 
ness,  was  accidentally  discovered  about  70 
years  since,  in  the  following  manner :  A  ship- 
load of  wheat  was  sunk  near  Bristol  in  autumn, 
and  afterwards  at  the  ebb-tide  all  taken  up, 
after  it  had  been  soaked  in  sea-water ;  but  it 
being  unfit  far  making  of  bread,  a  farmer 
sowed  some  of  it  in  a  field,  and  when  it  was 
found  to  grow  very  well,  the  whole  cargo  was 
bought  at  a  low  price  by  many  farmers,  and  all 
of  it  sown  in  diflerent  places.  At  the  following 
harvest,  all  the  wheat  in  that  part  of  England 
happened  to  be  smutty,  except  the  produce  of 
the  brined  seed,  and  that  was  all  clean  from 
srauttiness."  He  then  gives  the  farmer  direc- 
tions for  drying  the  brined  seed,  by  rolling  it 
in  quicklime,  just  as  is  now  commonly  prac- 
tised by  the  farmer. 

Water,  Tull  thought,  was  not  a  food  for 
plants,  because  it  commonly  contains  earth,  to 
which  he  attributed  the  origin  of  the  common 
opinion  that  water  is  a/oorf  of  plants.  And  as 
to  air  being  their  food,  which  it  certainly  is, 
Tull  considered  this  as  a  complete  "phantasie," 
— quite  an  "Hiry  hypothesis."  In  common  with 
many  of  the  learned  of  his  days,  Tull  here 
strangely  confused  himself,  by  not  attending  to 
observations  and  experiments  with  regard  to 
,)lants,  and  to  these  only.  The  merit,  however, 
of  Tull,  amid  his  occasional  mistakes,  was  en- 
hanced by  his  modesty;  and  it  is  impossible 
ft)r  us,  when  we  reflect  upon  the  difficulties  he 
had  to  encounter  in  the  prosecution  of  his  re- 
searches, and  in  the  production  of  his  book,  to 
be  insensible  to  his  appeal,  where  he  tells  us, 
at  the  conclusion  of  his  preface,  "One  cause 


ItJMBRIL. 

that  made  the  three  parts  of  this  bcr>k  ("that  is 
to  say,  the  theory,  or  speculative  part,  the  prac- 
tical part,  and  the  description  of  the  tools),  the 
more  defective  was,  that  all  three  were  too 
many  for  me  to  make  perfect  at  once,  and  two 
would  have  been  useless  without  the  third: 
therefore,  it  was  better  to  give  but  a  sketch  of 
all  than  to  have  made  any  two  of  them  never 
so  full  and  perfect,  leaving  out  the  other." 

Such  was  the  modesty,  such  were  the  merits 
of  this  great  father  of  the  drill  and  the  horse- 
hoe  husbandry,  to  whose  memory  something,  I 
hope,  will  one  day  be  erected — some  memorial 
to  indicate  the  agriculturist's  gratitude,  worthy 
of  the  English  farmer.  Tull  lies  buried  with- 
out even  a  stone  to  indicate  that  such  a  bene- 
factor of  agriculture  reposes  beneath  it.  His 
grave  is  even  doubtfully  placed.  If  Tull  died 
at  Shalborn,  as  Chalmers  asserts,  he  was  not 
buried  there.  There  is  no  trace  of  him  in  the 
parish  register;  the  tradition  of  the  old  people 
of  the  neighbourhood  is,  that  he  died  and  was 
buried  in  Italy.  His  deeds,  his  triumphs,  it  is 
true,  were  of  the  quiet,  peaceable  kind,  with 
which  the  world  in  general  is  little  enamoured; 
but  their  results,  their  value  to  the  land  of  his 
birth,  were  of  no  mean  order.  His  drill,  his 
horse-hoe,  have  saved  his  country,  in  seed 
alone,  the  food  of  millions ;  and  when  used 
as  a  distributer  of  manure,  it  has  done,  and  it 
will  hereafter  accomplish,  still  greater  things. 
It  has  brought  into  cultivation  thousands  of 
acres  of  the  barren  craig,  the  wolds  of  Lincoln- 
shire, of  the  deep  sands  of  Norfolk;  and  its 
powers  are  not  yet  nearly  exhausted,  for,  as 
fresh  fertilizers  are  discovered,  the  drill  evenly 
and  economically  distributes  them;  and  as  im- 
provements in  its  construction  are  continually 
taking  place,  there  is  evidently  much  yet  to  be 
achieved  by  its  use.  The  same  remarks  apply, 
in  a  great  measure,  to  his  hoe,  and  to  his  sys- 
tem of  attempted  cultivation  without  manure ; 
for,  although  the  last  was  a  complete  failure, 
yet  even  this  bold  attempt  was  not  unattended 
with  benefit  to  agriculture ;  for  the  farmer  was 
hence  taught,  that,  although  by  deep  ploughing 
and  complete  pulverization  of  the  soil  the  use 
of  manure  could  not  be  entirely  avoided,  yet 
that  by  these  means  a  much  smaller  quantity 
was  sufficient  than  under  the  old  and  indolent 
mode  of  tilling  the  land.  The  efforts,  too,  of 
Tull  were  productive  of  advantage  in  other  and 
in  indirect  ways ; — his  researches,  his  suc- 
cesses, his  example,  excited  a  spirit  of  inquiry, 
which  since  his  days  has  hardly  ever  entirely 
slumbered.  He  was  certainly  the  first  who 
dared  to  boldly  quit  the  beaten  track,  which 
had  been  used  by  the  farmer  for  ages,  and  fol- 
low a  way  of  his  own.  And  although  he  has 
been  well  followed  and  imitated  by  succeeding 
cultivators,  who  have  availed  themselves  of 
new  discoveries  and  machinery  of  which  Tull 
had  not  the  assistance,  yet  there  have  been  none 
who  have  since  excelled,  or  perhaps  equalled 
him,  in  the  boldness  and  originality  of  his  con- 
ceptions, or  in  the  energy  with  which  he  real- 
ized them.   (Quart.  Journ.  of  Agr.  vol.  xi.  p.  342.) 

TUMBREL.  A  sort  of  dung-cart,  convenient 
for  many  purposes. 

TUMBRIL.  A  machine  employed  chiefly  m 
the  county  of  Lincoln,  for  the  purpose  of  g' ving 

1063 


TUPELO. 

har  to  sheef  4t.ring  the  winter.  It  resembles 
the  basket fish-pcts  used  by  fishermen,  and  con- 
sists of  a  circular  cage  or  crib,  which  may  be 
made  of  osiers,  willows,  or  other  pliant  brush- 
wood of  any  kind.  The  whole  is  about  10  feet 
in  circumference,  and  closely  wattled  to  the 
height  of  about  one  foot,  above  which  it  is  left 
open  for  the  space  of  18  inches;  it  is  then 
wattled  again  to  the  height  of  8  or  10  inches 
and  an  opening,  about  18  inches  in  breadth,  is 
left  at  the  top,  for  putting  in  the  roots  or  other 
food,  whether  green  or  dry.  The  staves  which 
form  the  skeleton  of  it  are  10  inches  asunder, 
so  thai  12  >heep  may  feed  at  the  same  time  in 
each  tumbril. 

TUPELO.  Under  this  name  Michaux  de- 
scribes three  species  of  the  genus  Nyssa  found 
in  the  I'niied  States.  One  of  these,  the  Nymt 
aquatifa,  has  already  been  described  with  the 
Black  gum,  with  which  it  is  commonly  con- 
founded where  both  grow  together.  (Michaux, 
vol.  iii.  p.  40.) 

TURF.  A  term  often  applied  to  the  green 
surface  or  sward  of  grass  lands.  Also  the 
name  given  to  peat,  which  is  used  in  several 
part.*  a.s  fuel.  It  varies  much  in  its  nature  in 
different  places,  being  sometimes  hard  and  of 
a  dark  or  black  colour,  while  in  others  it  is 
soft  and  spongy.  It  is  a  substance  very  useful 
in  burning  calcareous  stones  into  lime.    See 

Ll«K,  Mms,  PsAT. 

TURKEY  (MeUagri$  gallo^nvo).  A  wild 
fowl,  originally  introduced  into  Europe  from 
America.  They  require  care  in  their  infancy. 
The  black  turkey  is  the  best  sort,  both  for  size 
and  delicacy.  Turkeys  are  particularly  clean 
birds,  Ii»ving  sweet  food  and  delighting  in  air. 
They  prefer  roosting  in  trees,  for  which  reason 
an  evergreen,  such  as  a  yew  tree,  spruce  fir, 
Ac,  is  a  great  advantage,  planted  in  the  centre 
of  a  pouhr}--yard.  Turkeys  and  pea-fowl  hop 
op  gradually  from  the  low  branches,  and  are 
sheltered  from  frost.  But  where  this  is  not 
the  case,  the  turkey-house  must  be  dry  and 
warm  in  winter,  and  cool  in  summer;  it  must 
be  kept  free  from  vermin,  and  the  dung  and 
litter  of  feathers.  &c.,  should  be  often  swept 
away.  The  perches  must  be  large  for  their 
talons  to  grasp ;  and  there  should  be  plenty  of 
ventilation,  by  gratings  or  holes  bored  in  the 
floor. 

Turkeys  seek  quiet  places  to  lay  in,  and 
often  stray  far  from  home.    Their  nest  must 
be  watched,  and  the  newly  laid  eg^  exchanged 
for  one  made  out  of  chalk  every  day.    The 
tnrkey-hen  lays  from  12  to  20  eggs;  and  when 
she  desires  to  sit,  place  her  in  the  turkey-house 
on  her  eggs,  and  coop  her  up  with  them,  if  she 
is  unwilling  to  remain,  till  she  becomes  settled. 
Do  not  disturb  the  hen  while  sitting,  or  attempt 
to  assist  the  chick  in  piercing  the  shell.  When 
the  young  ones  are  born,  keep  them  in  the  nest 
for  some  time,  as  thev  love  warmth,  but  do  not 
handle  them.  Keep  them  warm  and  dry.  When 
the  red  colour  of  the  head  appears,  they  are 
considered  safe  from  the  diseases  of  their  in- 1 
fancy.     Do  not  allow  a  turkey  to  sit  twice  in  a  j 
fccasop  ;  the  young  ones  never  succeed  unless 
•jhey  are   full    feathered    before    Michaelmas.  I 
reed  young  turkeys  three  or  four  times  a  day. ' 
and  lei  the  food  be  a  ihickish  paste,  made  of  I 
1064  ^ 


TURNIP. 

fine  barley-meal,  mixed  with  finely  chopped 
onions,  nettles,  and  pot-herbs.  The  French 
give  their  turkeys  plentiful  supplies  of  nettles, 
of  which  they  are  very  fond;  it  is  a  warming 
and  nutritious  herb.  Let  the  food  be  given 
fresh  every  day,  and  place  it  on  a  board  with  a 
shallow  pan  of  water.  Coop  the  hen  while  the 
young  ones  feed,  or  she  will  eat  it  herself. 
When  the  chicks  begin  to  follow  the  turkey 
into  the  poultry-yard,  do  not  let  them  out  till 
the  dew  is  off  the  ground.  Vetch  and  marrow- 
fat peas  are  poisonous  to  young  turkeys;  let- 
tuce brings  on  looseness;  and  hemlock  and 
henbane  should  be  destroyed  near  all  poultry- 
yards. 

Turkeys  love  oats,  boiled  potatoes  mashed 
with  the  meal  of  buckwheat,  barley,  or  beans; 
or  plain  barley,  like  other  fowls.  Let  the  water 
always  be  sweet  and  clean.  A  turkey  is  six 
weeks  fattening;  if  possible,  feed  two  or  three 
together,  as  they  do  not  love  solitary  confine- 
ment. Let  them  eat  as  much  as  they  like,  but 
let  the  food  be  fresh  every  day,  and  let  it  be  the 
paste  above  mentioned,  softened  by  melted  lard. 
Cramming  turkeys  is  a  cruel  practice,  and  is 
not  often  done.  They  will  feed  well  enough 
and  fast  enough  if  plenty  of  sweet  food  is 
placed  before  them,  and  if  they  are  allowed 
some  little  space  to  move  about  in.  It  is  a 
curious  fact,  that  turkeys  in  America  feed  on 
the  caterpillars  that  are  found  on  the  tobacco 
plant  with  impunity. 

Turkey  eggs  are  very  good  in  pastry,  and 
mixed  with  hen  eggs  they  improve  omelets. 
Turkey's  dung,  properly  mixed  with  other  com- 
posts, makes  a  valuable  manure. 

TURNIP  (Brassica  rapa).  No  vegetable  has 
bad  such  influence  in  advancing  the  husbandry 
of  Great  Britain  as  the  turnip.  By  whom  and  at 
what  period  turnips  were  first  used  in  England 
as  the  food  of  cattle,  however,  does  not  appear; 
but  from  various  accounts,  their  culture  and  uses 
were  known  in  the  Low  Countries  as  far  back 
as  there  are  any  records.  The  ancients  ap- 
pear to  have  been  well  acquainted  with  the 
value  of  this  root;  Columella,  speaking  of  the 
several  kinds  of  vegetables  adapted  for  the 
farm,  recommends  the  cultivating  of  rapa  in 
plenty,  because,  says  he,  those  roots  that  are 
not  wanted  for  the  table  will  be  eaten  by  the 
cattle.  Worledge,  in  his  Mystery  of  Husbandry, 
&c.,  printed  in  1669-81,  says,  that  "although 
turnips  be  usually  nourished  in  gardens,  and 
be  properly  a  garden  plant,  yet  are  they,  to  the 
very  great  advantage  of  the  husbandman,  sown 
in  his  fields  in  several  places  in  England,  not 
only  for  culinary  uses,  as  about  London  and 
other  great  cities,  but  also  for  the  food  of 
cattle."  Again,  he  says,  "that  in  Holland  they 
slice  their  turnips  with  the  tops,  and  rape-seed 
cakes  and  grains,  &c.,  and  therewith  make 
mashes  for  the  cows  and  give  it  them  warm, 
which  the  cows  eat  like  hogs."  He  likewise 
complains  of  the  very  great  neglect  and  defi- 
ciency of  English  husbandry  in  this  particular. 
Some  time  since,  a  very  excellent  paper  "  On 
the  Cultivation  of  the  Turnip  Crop  on  Light 
Soil,  by  Mr.  M.  Miiburn,"  appeared  in  the 
Tranxadions  of  the  Yorkshire  Agriadtural  Society, 
from  which  this  paper  is  chiefly  extracted. 
It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  cultivation 


TURNIP. 


TURNIP. 


of  turnips  as  a  field  crop  was  introduced  into 
Norfolk  b}'  Lord  Townshend;  but  there  is  still 
further  evidence  that  they  were  known  as  such 
some  time  before  the  date  assigned  for  their 
introduction.  They  are  mentioned  in  Hough- 
tons  Collection  of  Papers,  vol.  i.  p.  213,  as  food 
for  sheep,  in  1684.  Since  that  period  consi- 
derable improvements  in  their  cultivation  have 
taken  place,  and  a  great  variety  of  very  inferior 
soils  have  been  made  capable  of  growing  con- 
siderable crops  of  them,  by  judicious  mana^re- 
ment  and  proper  selection  of  manure. 

On  the  value  and  importance  of  the  turnip 
crop  to  England,  it  is  unnecessary  to  expatiate. 
Not  only  does  it  enable  the  fanner  to  supply 
the  consumer  with  fresh  meat  during  the  win- 
ter, instead  of  the  salted  food  upon  which  our 
ancestors  had  almost  exclusively  to  depend, 
but  also  partially  supplies  the  place  of  a  fal- 
low; it  imparts  to  the  land  a  degree  of  fertility 
which  ensuresjunder  proper  management,  a  suc- 
cession of  crops  for  the  following  years  of  the  ro- 
tation. It  is  indeed  the  sheet-anchor  of  light  soil 
cultivation,  and  the  basis  of  the  alternate  sys- 
tem of  English  husbandry,  to  which  every  class 
of  the  community  is  so  much  indebted. 

Prepiimlion  of  the  Soil. — Turnips  generally 
succeed  a  crop  of  wheat.  In  some  cases,  on 
very  poor  soils,  the  clover  leys  are  broken  up 
for  turnips;  and,  on  others,  a  crop  of  winter 
tares,  either  mown  or  depastured,  are  taken  off" 
between  the  wheat  crop  and  ploughing  for  tur- 
nips. As  a  regular  system,  the  former  cann(«i 
be  pursued  ;  for  the  frequent  recurrence  of  the 
turnip  and  clover  crops  would  operate  injuri- 
ously, and  defeat  the  object  of  the  cultivator; 
and  the  latter  is  only  applicable  to  soils  quitt' 
free  from  root  weeds,  of  a  superior  staple,  or 
in  a  very  high  state  of  cultivation. 

As  soon  as  the  grain  crop  is  secured,  and 
the  stock  have  passed  over  the  stubble,  it  is 
desirp.ble  to  have  it  ploughed,  to  subject  the 
soil  to  the  ameliorating  influence  of  the  frosts 
of  winter.  In  all  cases  the  plough  shcnild  be 
below  the  couch-grass,  which  is  usually  most 
abundant  on  inferior  soils,  but  seldom  below 
the  mould.  In  ordinary  cases,  nothing  is  more 
necessary  than  to  prevent  the  water  from  stand- 
ing in  any  part  during  the  winter;  where  the 
land  is  intended  for  Swedes,  an  effort  should  be 
made  to  have  it  partly  or  entirely  cleared  of 
weeds  before  the  winter 

When  the  land  is  free  from  weeds,  the  cross- 
ploughing  may  be  begun  as  soon  as  the  dr\'- 
ness  will  admit  of  it.  It  may  take  place  in 
February  with  advantage ;  inasmuch  as  it  ex- 
poses a  new  and  more  extensive  surface  to  the 
action  of  the  frosts  which  generally  succeed. 
If  allowed  to  remain  a  month  or  two  longer,  it 
may  advantageously  be  crossed  with  Finlay- 
son's  harrow.  Where  the  couch-grass,  how- 
ever, is  abundant,  it  is  positively  injurious  to 
cross-plough  early,  as  the  operation  breaks  the 
roots,  and  renders  the  clearing  of  the  land 
afterwards  tedious  and  difficult.  Where  very 
abundant,  the  operation  should  be  delayed  until 
the  soil  is  dry,  even  if  it  should  be  the  latter 
end  of  April  or  the  beginning  of  May;  more 
will  be  effected  by  one  ploughing  in  this  case 
than  by  two  under  different  circumstances. 

When  the  dryness  admits  of  it,  usually  in 
134 


two  or  three  days,  the  land  should  be  harrowed 
across  ;  first  with  the  patent  or  hinge  harrows, 
and  subsequently  with  the  loose  harrows,  which 
separate  the  rubbish  more  eflfectually  from  the 
soil;  and  then  the  weeds  should  be  raked  off, 
which  is  generally  performed  by  women. 

As  soon  as  the  couch-roots,  &c.,  are  cleared 
off,  either  by  carting  into  large,  or  burning  in 
small  heaps,  the  land  may  be  dragged  with  Pin- 
layson's  or  any  approved  drag;  and  the  same 
course  followed  alternately,  so  long  as  any 
roots  remain.  When  they  are  unable  to  rake 
them  off,  they  should  be  hand-gathered,  and  no 
dependance  whatever  should  be  placed  on  the 
destruction  of  any  by  the  sun's  rays,  until  the 
25th  of  June,  a  time  when,  on  most  soils,  the 
sowing  should  be  concluded.  It  is  desirable 
that  the  land  should  lie  a  week  or  ten  days  be- 
fore the  last  ploughing  is  given  to  it,  as  it 
admits  of  the  germination  of  such  seeds  of 
weeds  as  may  be  lying  dormant  in  the  soil,  and 
is  likewise  favourable  to  the  accumulation  of 
moisture  in  a  dry  season.  The  turnip-seed 
should  be  sown  immediately,  however,  after 
the  last  ploughing. 

Manure. — In  treating  of  the  manures  with 
which  the  turnips  should  be  dressed,  farm-yard 
manure  stands  the  foremost,  because  it  is  what 
every  farmer  possesses,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  calcareous  soils  in  the  East  Riding 
of  Yorkshire,  is  almost  invariably  employed  ia 
the  cultivation  of  turnips.  In  general,  it  never 
will,  and  never  can  be  superseded;  and,  though 
every  deference  is  due  to  the  practical  know- 
ledge of  the  East  Riding  farmers,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that,  if  their  straw  were  more  carefully 
rtuide  into  manure,  and  applied  to  the  turnip  crop 
in  conjunction  with  bones,  it  would  be  decidedly 
advantageous.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  that 
house-made  manure,  and  by  fattening  cattle, 
especially  such  as  are  consuming  artificial 
food,  is  the  best ;  and  that  of  horses,  cows, 
pigs,  &c.,  should  be  mixed  as  intimately  as 
possible,  the  hot  character  of  horses'  dung  neu- 
tralizing the  coldness  of  that  of  the  cow,  and 
vice  veisa.  It  is  desirable  to  cart  this  mixture 
to  the  fields  intended  for  turnips  in  January 
and  February,  during  the  frost,  or  at  such  other 
times  as  convenience  may  dictate;  but  the  ear- 
lier the  better.  About  three  weeks  before  used 
it  should  be  turned  over,  the  sides  of  the  mixen 
being  carefully  turned  into  the  middle.  With- 
out entering  in  particular  into  the  much  dis- 
puted question  of  the  fermentation  of  dung  be- 
ing useful  or  otherwise,  thus  much  every  farmer 
will  know  well  the  truth  of,  that  on  light  soils, 
and  for  turnips,  well  rotted  dung  is  indispensa- 
ble, where  it  is  used  at  all.  When  fermentation 
is  progressing  so  fast  as  to  induce  destructive 
heat,  or  mouldiness,  it  may  be  checked  by 
treading  the  mixen  and  covering  it  with  soil; 
and  when  it  is  sluggish,  it  may  be  excited  by 
turning  and  watering. 

For  sandy  or  gravelly  soils,  farm-yard  ma- 
nure is  an  almost  necessary  ingredient  in  pro- 
ducing a  crop  of  turnips.  The  rapid  decom- 
position of  vegetable  matter  which  takes  place 
on  such  soils  requires  that  there  should  be  a 
supply  for  that  succulent  crop  ;  and,  as  before 
stated,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its  utility  to 
calcareous  soils ;   but  for  peaty  ■descriptions 

1065 


TURNIP. 

there  is  abundance  of  vegetable  matter, 
M  IS  lew  useful. 

The  time  for  laying  on  the  manure  depends 
M  the  method  of  sowing  adopted,  and  clear- 
BtM  of  the  land  from  weeds.  If  the  plough- 
drill  be  tt»ed,  it  is  desirable  to  imraediately 
precttl«»  the  plough ;  if  the  N(»rfolk,  or  large 
drill,  il  is  belter  to  lay  it  on  a  week  or  two  be- 
iora  aowing.  to  allow  it  to  mix  intimately  with 
gb«  toil,  especially  if  other  manure  is  intended 
«>  be  used,  and  the  soil  pretty  free  from  weeds. 
The  quantity  to  be  applied  will  vary  with  cir- 
camt^uncrs:  U  to  14  tons  per  acre  may  be 
stated  as  an  average,  and  more  if  the  soil  be 
poor  and  do  other  manure  intended;  while  less 
■lay  be  used  in  proportion  as  other  manures 
•re  applied. 

Lime  sunds  next  in  importance,  as  a  dress- 
ing. The  object  of  all  manure  is  to  supply 
•oae  deficiency,  remedy  some  mechanical  in- 
•onvenience.or  correct  some  detrimental  agent 
In  the  soil.  When  dung,  for  instance,  has  been 
applied  for  ^everal  successive  crops,  a  quantity 
pf  undecomposed  vegetable  matter  accumu- 
lates, which  the  natural  soluble  properties  of 
ttie  Mul  cannot  dissolve,  and  it  remains  inert. 
A  dote  of  lime  will  correct  this,  and  bring 
•very  particle  of  such  inert  matter,  with  which 
it  eomea  in  contact,  available  as  food  to  the 
•Innta.  It  also  assists  in  the  intimate  pulver- 
ttntkm  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  corrects  any 
acidity  which  may  exist  in  it,  from  causes 
which  the  agriculturist  can  seldom  foresee,  nor 
correct,  except  by  its  use.  It  is  also  destruc- 
tive to  weeds  in  the  soil,  and  hence  exceedingly 
valuable ;  for  every  farmer  knows  that  weeds, 
being  indigenous,  are  much  mure  ready  to 
yrow  in  the  soil  than  his  crops,  which  are  arti- 
icial,  and  often  exotic.  For  peaty  soils,  an  oc- 
Msional  dressing  of  quick  lime  is  invaluable, 
•apecially  if  there  is  an  addition  of  clay,  road 
scrapings,  dec,  to  give  the  requisite  firmness 
to  the  soiL  It  should  be  laid  on  as  soon  as 
convenient  after  bringing  from  the  kiln,  and  in 
as  hot  a  state  as  possible.  The  time  for  laying 
on  lime  is  a  few  weeks  before  the  sowing,  in 
order  that  the  subsequent  ploughings  may  mix 
it  thoroughly  with  the  soil,  and  thus  its  effects 
be  more  immediate  after  the  sowing.  The 
quantity  per  acre  entirely  depends  upon  the 
character  of  the  lime  in  the  locality.  Two  to 
four  chaldrons  per  acre  are  used;  but  as  it  is 
applied  for  turnips  generally  in  conjunction 
with  other  fertilizers,  the  former  may  be  stated 
%s  the  better  quantity.  If  dung  is  also  applied, 
they  should  be  used  at  as  great  a  distance  of 
time  between  each  other  as  circumstances  will 
admit  of.  and  the  latter  not  long  before  the 
sowing. 

Bones  form  one  of  the  most  valuable  ma- 
nures for  turnips  on  all  light  soils,  on  account 
of  their  portable  and  stimulating  character; 
Ihey  are  least  useful  on  a  gravelly  or  loamy 
soil.  They  have  converted  barren  moor  lands 
into  hch,  fertile,  and  productive  farms,  luxuri- 
•tinjT  in  every  valuable  product  of  the  earth. 
Their  value  is  beyond  all  praise.  The  East 
Hiding  of  Yorkshire  affords  a  specimen  of 
what  they  have  effected ;  and  they  require  only 
o  be  known  to  be  extensively  applied.  In 
1066  ^ 


TURNIP. 

many  cases  they  are  used  alone ;  in  others,  in 
conjunction  with  farm-yard  manure,  with  ashes, 
and  with  lime.  Ashes  are  sometimes  drilled 
with  them  as  a  substitute,  by  diminishing  the 
quantity  of  the  bones.  Lime  is  a  valuable 
auxiliary,  on  "old  going  land,"  or  soil  which 
has  been  long  under  cultivation.  On  pea'y 
soils,  having  a  substratum  of  sand,  they  ha\  e 
produced  wonderful  crops,  by  supplying  them 
with  the  necessary  animal  matter.  The  quan- 
tity varies  from  12  to  30  bushels  per  acre.  Six- 
teen bushels  per  acre  will  produce  a  fair  crop, 
on  average  soils ;  and  some  farmers  say  that 
more  than  that  quantity  is  waste.  It  is  desi- 
rable to  mix  them  with  a  quantity  of  ashes, 
when  they  are  drilled  in  the  above  quantity. 
This  facilitates  the  early  progress  of  the  plants, 
and  supports  them  until  the  bones  become 
available.  English  bones  are  generally  pre- 
ferred to  foreign;  but  from  experiments  made 
by  the  writer,  he  prefers  foreign  to  Englis' 
and  also  to  recent  bones ;  for,  although  th^ 
latter  have  more  of  their  juices  than  the  former, 
the  former  sooner  decompose  ;  and  the  fat  and 
animal  juices  require  considerable  chemical 
changes  before  they  are  available  as  food  for 
the  plants.  A  mixture  might  be  judicious,  but 
he  has  not  tried  it,  nor  is  he  aware  of  the  trial 
having  been  made. 

Other  manures  of  a  miscellaneous  character 
are  used  for  turnips.  Pigeon's  dung  is  most 
valuable ;  rape  dust  has  been  used  success- 
fully; and  animalized  carbon  has  also  been  ad- 
vantageously employed.  Sixteen  bushels  per 
acre,  when  drilled,  is  the  quantity  generally 
applied.  Malt  culms  are  useful  as  a  top-dress- 
ing.    (Trans.  York.  jlgr.  Soc.) 

A  machine  for  sowing  turnip-seed  with  bone- 
dust  is  described  in  the  second  volume  of 
Trans.  High.  Soc.  p.  205;  and  the  results  of 
some  experiments  with  different  manures  is 
given,  Trans.  High.  Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  66,  72,  vol.  iv. 
p.  233. 

Weirds  Manuring  one-row  Turnip  Drill,  is  de- 
scribed and  figured  by  Loudon,  and  said  to  be 
a  remarkable  improvement  on  the  Northum- 
berland implement.  It  has  a  manure  hopper, 
and  a  seed  hopper,  the  same  as  the  others ;  but 
the  manure,  in  place  of  being  dropped  along 
with  the  seed,  is  deposited  in  a  deep  gutter 
made  by  the  coulter  which  goes  before ;  this 
manure  is  covered  by  a  pronged  coulter  which 
follows  the  other:  next  comes  the  coulter 
which  forms  the  gutter  for  the  seed,  which  are 
deposited  1  inch  above  the  manure.  (Sec 
Loud.  Ency.  of  Jlgr.) 

Varieties. — There  are  numberless  varieties 
and  sub-varieties  of  turnips,  which  arrange 
themselves  under  four  heads  : — 1.  Swedish  tur- 
nips, or  Ruta  baga :  2.  Yellow  and  white  tur- 
nips ;  3.  Yellow  turnips  ;  and  4.  White  turnips. 
Professor  Low  has  divided  them  into  three 
classes,  distinguished  by  their  form: — 1.  The 
round,  or  globular;  2.  The  depressed;  and 
3.  The  fusiform.  These  may  be  considered  as 
types,  to  which  the  different  cultivated  kinds 
more  or  less  approach.  Many  varieties  are 
cultivated  which  are  more  fanciful  than  useful. 
For  the  main  particulars  of  the  following  list 
I  am  chiefly  indebted  to  an  interesting  Essay  on 


TURNIP. 


TURNIP. 


Turnips  pablished  by  Dr.  William  Ellis  of 
Caiitor,  Lincolnshire,  and  to  Messrs.  Lawson's 
excellent  jlpicullurist^s  Manual. 

Swedish  Turxips. — The  Ruta  £a§-rt,  or  Swed- 
ish turnip  is  hardier  and  more  nutritious  than 
any  of  the  common  sorts,  and  in  addition  to  its 
bein^r  more  esteemed  as  food  for  horses  through- 
out the  turnip  season,  is  better  adapted  for  spring 
feedmg  generally.  It,  however,  requires  a 
somewhat  deeper  and  superior  class  of  soils, 
together  with  a  greater  allowance  of  manure. 
Swedish  turnips  are  generally  sown  from  about 
the  middle  to  the  end  of  May,  and  2  to  2^  lbs. 
of  seed  per  imperial  acre  are,  under  ordinary 
circumstances,  considered  sufficient.  They 
possess  an  advantage  over  the  others  in  being 
easily  transplanted,  so  that  the  blanks  in  the 
rows,  either  of  the  Swedes  or  other  sorts  (when 
they  occur),  are  by  that  means  easily  filled  up. 

Skirving^s  new  improved  Purple-topped  Swede. — 
Mr.  William  Slcirving  of  Walton  Nursery,  near 
Liverpool,  who  has  for  many  years  directed  his 
attention  to  the  improvement  of  agricultural 
roots  and  plants,  introduced  last  season  for  the 
first  time  the  above  variety.  From  comparison 
with  every  known  variety  of  turnip,  which  Mr. 
Skirving  has  been  at  pains  to  collect  from  all 
quarters,  both  in  England  and  on  the  continent, 
it  appears  to  have  shown  itself  to  possess  all 
the  good  qualities  of  a  turnip,  and  gives  a 
greater  weight  per  acre  of  sound  nutritive 
bulb:  it  is  also  hardier,  and  keeps  longer  than 
any  other  variety.  The  leaves  of  Mr.  Skir- 
ving's  Swede  appear  to  partake  considerably 
of  the  character  of  those  of  the  common  tur- 
nips, being  less  smooth  and  more  serrated  at 
the  edges,  and  deficient  in  that  glaucous  bloom 
which  distinguishes  the  leaves  of  the  genuine 
Swedish  turnip,  which  leads  me  to  suspect  that 
he  has  attained  the  size  by  hybridizing  with 
some  of  the  larger  varieties  of  yellow  turnips. 

]hiUiiHtyne^8  new  wipnwed  Purple-topped  Stvede. 
— This  improved  variety  for  symmetry  of 
shape,  equality  of  size,  and  for  the  uniform  deep 
purple  colour  of  its  top,  is  unsurpassed  by  any 
other  variety  which  has  come  under  our  notice. 

Smiths  Prize  Purple-topped  Swede. — ^This  is  ox- 
heart  shaped,  purple  above  ground,  and  yellow 
fleshed,  with  a  small  top. 

Laing'anew  Pvple-toj)ped  Swede  is  a  decidedly 
distinct  variety.  It  has  a  leaf  something  like 
that  of  a  lettuce.  The  leaves  are  so  inserted 
in  the  top  of  the  turnip  as  to  give  it  much  the 
appearance  of  that  of  a  pine-apple.  It  grows 
to  a  good  size,  keeps  well,  and  bears  a  very 
high  character  among  the  agriculturists  of 
Berwickshire  and  Northumberland,  where  it  is 
extensively  cultivated.  The  crop  has  a  most 
beautiful  appearance  when  in  full  leaf. 

Green-topped  Yellow  Swede. — This  variety  is  of 
longer  standing  than  the  purple-topped,  since 
the  introduction  of  which  less  attention  has 
been  bestowed  by  cultivators  in  procuring  im- 
proved stocks  of  the  green-topped  Swede, 
which  has  on  that  account  fallen  somewhat  in 
the  estimation  of  growers  ;  but,  where  the  same 
care  is  taken  in  selecting  the  roots  grown  for 
seed,  the  green-topped  may  be  considered  as 
being  equal  in  merit  to  the  purple. 

Scott^s  Prize  Green-topped  Yellow  Swede  is  an 
im^  rn^-ed  variety  of  the  above.    The  purple- 


topped  Swedes  are  at  present  more  popular,  as 
we  before  mentioned  ;  but  where,  as  is  the  case 
with  Mr.  Scott's,  equal  care  has  been  bestowed 
on  the  selection  of  stocks,  and  in  the  subse- 
quent management,  the  green  is  in  no  way  in- 
ferior to  the  purple-topped  variety. 

Hillyardh  Tho>peland  Swede. — This  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  true  Swedish  turnip,  and  is  said  to 
be  more  nutritive,  bulk  for  bulk,  than  some  of 
the  larger  varieties,  which  may  or  may  not  be 
the  case.  Its  dwarfish  size,  and  the  impossi- 
bility of  raising  any  great  weight  of  food  per 
acre  from  it,  must,  notwithstanding  its  other 
merits,  be  a  great  obstacle  to  its  making  its 
way  among  the  larger  sorts  which  now  invite 
the  attention  of  cultivators. 

Cox^s  new  Imperial  Swede. — This  variety  may 
be  considered  as  intermediate  in  colour  be- 
tween the  purple  and  green-topped  sorts;  its 
roots  often  attain  a  large  size,  but  are  rather 
irregular,and  of  a  somewhat  coarse-like  quality. 

White  Swede. — The  roots  of  this  turnip  are 
very  irregularly  shaped,  with  numberless  fangs : 
they  are  white  under  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
and  greenioh  above.  It  is  impossible  to  say 
what  improvement  may  do  for  even  this  kind, 
but  at  present  we  are  acquainted  with  no  va- 
riety of  white  Swede  worthy  of  cultivation. 

Yellow  axo  White  Turxips. — Common 
turnips  are  divided  into  two  important  classes, 
viz.  the  white  and  yellow-rooted ;  the  former 
comprehending  those  which  are  most  tender 
and  arrive  soonest  at  maturity,  and  which  are 
best  fitted  for  using  during  the  earlier  part  of 
the  season  ;  and  the  latter,  with  trifling  excep- 
tions, such  as  from  their  hardiness  and  period 
of  arriving  at  perfection,  are  interniediate  be- 
tween the  white  sorts  and  the  Swedes,  and,  like 
the  latter,  require  a  somewhat  superior  soil 
and  an  additional  allowance  of  manure.  The 
period  of  sowing  common  turnips  should  be 
regulated  according  to  the  length  of  time  that 
the  variety  to  be  grown  requires  to  arrive  at 
maturity;  for  when  allowed  to  remain  in  the 
ground  in  what  may  be  termed  growing  weather, 
or  before  winter  sets  in,  after  they  attain  to  a 
full  size,  they  become  soft,  spongy,  and  of  in- 
ferior quality.  A  general  rule,  however,  is,  to 
commence  with  the  yellow  sorts  about  a  fort- 
night after  the  Swedes,  or  about  the  beginning 
of  June,  and  to  follow  with  the  white  sorts  from 
the  middle  till  towards  the  end  of  that  month. 

Yellow  Turnips. — Altringham  Yellow.-— 
This  turnip — although  from  its  being  rather 
below  the  medium  size  attained  by  yellow  tur- 
nips in  general,  it  is  more  particularly  suited 
for  garden  culture — is  also  in  good  repute  in 
some  quarters  as  a  field  turnip.  It  is  recom- 
mended for  its  fine  globular  shape,  and  the 
superior  solidity  of  its  flesh.  It  has  a  light 
greenish  top,  very  small  neck,  and  tap-root. 

Aberdeenshire  Sugar  Yellow. — This  is  a  very 
hardy  turnip ;  it  buries  itself  considerably  in 
the  ground,  is  highly  nutritious,  and  one  of  the 
most  approved  of  the  variet'Vs  .ately  intro- 
duced. 

Border  Imperial  Purple-toppea  Yellow. — The 
following  particulars,  respecting  this  varitty, 
are  given  by  Mr.  Hogg : — "  This  turnip  pos- 
sesses all  the  qualities  of  the  Swedish,  with 
the  advantage  of  being  a  much  freer  grower 


TURNIP. 

It  produces  a  larger  crop  than  the  white  globe, 
b  a  good  feeder,  and  stands  the  winter  better 
than  any  of  the  common  yellows.  It  is  in  full 
perfection  for  using  in  February,  and  continues 
for  a«  long  a  period  .is  the  Swedes;  and  should 
the  latter  fail,  the  border  imperial  being  sown 
as  late  as  the  month  of  June,  will  yield  a  crop 
equal,  if  not  superior,  to  what  might  have  been 
expected  from  the  Swedes,  had  they  suc- 
ceeded." 

Grttm^opptd  Bullock  FfZ/oir.— This  turnip  at- 
tainn  a  moiium  size.  Its  shape  is  globular,  or 
somewhat  flattened,  with  a  very  small  tap-root; 
it  15  an  old  variety,  and  is  held  in  deserved  es- 
timation. 

Pwrplt-toppfd  Bullock  Yellow.^This  variety 
differs  from  the  former  chiefly  in  the  colour  of 
the  lop;  the  size,  shape,  and  quality  of  the 
roots  being  pretty  nearly  the  same.  It  is  also 
highly  esteemed,  and  is  considered  by  some  to 
come  nearest  to  the  Swedes  in  hardiness  and 
solidity  of  texture. 

Skinnng^$  Improved  Purple-topped  Bullock  Yel- 
low,— This  improved  variety  of  the  above  ob- 
tained for  its  introducer — Mr.  Wlllaim  Skirv- 
ing,  of  Liverpool — the  medal  of  the  Highland 
8<Kiety  of  Sicoiland.  It  has  been  generally 
grown  for  a  number  of  years  by  the  first  agri- 
callurisis  in  Lancashire  and  the  northwestern 
counties. 

Grtm  and  Purple-topped  Yellow  Scotch  differ 
hut  little  in  any  of  their  essential  properties 
from  green  and  purple-topped  bullock  yellow. 
The  roots  are  flatter,  and  grow  more  in  the 
ground. 

Ox'htart  Yellow  is  an  excellent  turnip;  al- 
though it  comes  early  to  maturity,  and  attains 
a  considerable  size,  it  is  by  no  means  deficient 
in  hardiness. 

Yellow  Globe. — ^This  is  a  superior  turnip,  both 
for  field  and  garden  culture.  Its  roots  are  of 
medium  size,  globular,  and  always  nearly  un- 
der the  surface  of  the  ground ;  top  greenish, 
leaves  rather  small  and  spreading. 

Yellow  Sone, — This  variety  differs  from  the 
last  in  growing  more  out  of  the  ground,  and 
having  a  greener  top ;  in  other  respects  it  is 
pretty  similar. 

Brown-topped  Tankard  Yellow. — Root  bright 
yellow,  with  a  purple  or  brownish  top,  of  a 
somewhat  irregular  long  or  tankard  shape. 
This  variety  is  in  great  repute  in  Aberdeen- 
shire. A  sub-variety,  of  not  so  very  long  a 
shape,  is  preferred  by  some  growers.  They 
are  both  excellent  turnips. 

Green-topped  Tankard  Yelloto  differs  from  the 
above  chiefly  in  the  colour  of  the  top.  Of  this 
there  is  also  a  sub-variety,  of  a  flatter  shape. 

Large  Laurencekirk  Yellow  Tankard,  intro- 
duced by  Mr.  Robert  Scott,  of  Laurencekirk, 
resembles  Dale's  hybrid  in  many  particulars, 
like  which  it  grows  a  good  deal  out  of  the 
ground,  but  is  distinguished  by  its  more  oblong 
and  more  uniformly  shaped  roots.  It  arrives 
*?ariy  at  macuriiy,  but  is  generally  considered 
as  rather  less  hardy,  although  it  yields  an 
eqnallv  bulky  crop. 

Dalc'$  Hybrid.— This  highly  esteemed  variety 
•s  a  cross  between  the  green-topped  Swede 
and  white  globe,  procured  by  repeated  impreg- 

ations.  Its  most  distinguishing  characteristics 
1068 


TURNIP. 

are  as  follow  : — foliage  strong  and  luxuriant, 
roots  of  a  large  size,  oblong  shape,  and  of  a 
lightish  yellow  colour,  with  light  green  top, 
having  also  a  small  neck  and  tap-root.  The 
form  of  the  root,  however,  although  generally 
oblong,  is  rather  apt  to  vary,  being  sometimes 
almost  globular;  but  its  more  material  cha- 
racteristics, of  large  size  and  luxuriance  of 
growth,  are  always  the  same.  Compared  with 
any  other  of  the  yellow  field  sorts,  it  is  found 
to  arrive  sooner  at  maturity,  and  consequently 
may  be  sown  at  a  later  period  of  the  season  ; 
while  at  the  same  time  it  is  equally  hardy,  or 
at  least  has  been  found  sufficiently  so,  to  with- 
stand the  severest  winters  which  have  occurred 
since  its  introduction. 

Gordon^  Yellow. — This  very  superior  variety 
is  of  a  rather  oblong  shape,  deep  green  colour 
on  the  top,  which  is  generally  very  slightly 
tinged  with  red.  It  is  very  nearly  allied  to 
Dale's  hybrid,  being  a  cruss  between  the  Aber- 
deenshire bullock  yellow  and  the  Swede.  Sir 
F.  A.  Mackenzie,  Bart.,  upon  whose  extreme 
accuracy  as  an  experimentalist  the  utmost  re- 
liance may  be  placed,  grew  last  year  a  con- 
siderable number  of  the  most  approved  kinds 
of  turnips,  on  his  farm  at  Conan  Mains,  near 
Dingwall,  in  Ross-shire,  with  the  view  of  select- 
ing such  as  might  be  found  most  worthy  of 
being  kept  in  cultivation  as  best  suited  to  the 
soil  and  climate  of  Ross-shire.  The  result  of 
his  experiments  was,  that  of  Swedes,  Skirv- 
ing's  is  decidedly  the  best,  Gordon's  yellow 
the  best  of  the  yellow-fleshed,  and  Scott's  pur- 
ple-topped hybrid  and  the  old  white  globe,  of 
the  white-fleshed  kinds. 

Hood's  New  Large  Yellow  is  a  very  superior, 
large,  globular-shaped,  hardy  turnip,  remarka- 
bly perfect  in  symmetry,  with  rather  a  lightish 
green  top. 

PoUexfen  Yellow. — This  turnip  derives  its 
name  from  its  introducer,  Thomas  Pollexfen, 
Esq.,  of  Cairston.  From  his  peculiar  method 
of  selecting  and  transplanting  the  bulbs,  as 
well  as  of  stacking  and  preserving  the  seed,  the 
turnip-seed  of  Mr.  Pollexfen's  growth  has  long 
been  held  in  deserved  estimation  in  Scotland, 
and  has  commanded  the  highest  prices.  The 
insular  situation  of  Orkney,  although  in  lati- 
tude 59°  north,  renders  its  climate  less  exposed 
to  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  than  in  more 
continental  situations  farther  south,  the  winters 
being  mild,  and  the  frost  so  gentle  that  the 
ice  is  seldom  sufficiently  strong  to  sustain  the 
weight  of  a  man.  Its  climate  is  on  that  ac- 
count peculiarly  favourable  to  the  growth  of 
turnips,  and  turnip-seed  grown  in  Orkney  is 
accordingly  highly  prized  by  the  Scotch  far- 
mers. The  Pollexfen  yellow  is  a  green-topped 
turnip  of  a  large  size,  rather  flattish  in  shape, 
skin  very  smooth  and  thin;  the  flesh  is  firm 
and  nutritious,  being  slightly  impregnated  with 
the  green  topped  Swedish.  It  is  adapted  for 
winter  and  spring  feeding,  and  is  not  liable  to 
injury  from  frost.  This  turnip  obtained  the 
prize  at  the  meeting  of  the  Highland  and  Agri- 
cultural Society  of  Scotland,  held  at  Inverness 
in  1836,  in  the  report  of  which  it  is  highly 
commended. 

White  Turkips. — White  Globe. — Roots  glo. 
bular ;  skin  smooth,  and  perfectly  white ;  neck 


TURNIP. 


TURNIP 


and  tap-root  small.  Although  the  above  de- 
scription embraces  the  principal  characteristics 
of  the  white  globe  turnip,  yet  there  is  a  con- 
siderable variety  in  those  to  which  the  name 
is  applied,  arising  from  the  degree  of  care  and 
attention  bestowed  by  growers  in  selecting 
their  seed-roots ;  and  the  shape  is  often  not 
%  little  affected  by  the  kind  and  state  of  the 
soil  in  which  they  are  grown.  Thus  globes 
of  any  kind,  and  particularly  the  variety  here 
mentioned,  when  grown  on  a  very  superior 
rich  soil,  may  be  said  to  be  forced  beyond  their 
natural  size,  and  thereby  acquire  somewhat  of 
a  monstrous  or  overgrown  appearance,  losing 
in  a  great  measure  their  natural  symmetry  of 
shape. 

Pomeranian  Globe.' — This  variety  was  intro- 
duced some  years  since  from  Pomerania,  and 
may  be  considered  the  most  perfect  globe  tur- 
nip in  shape,  as  well  as  the  most  regular  or 
uniform  grower.  Its  skin  is  of  a  smooth  white, 
and  somewhat  shining  or  transparent-like  in 
appearance  ;  leaves  smoothish,  of  a  dark  green 
colour,  with  whitish  nerves. 

Green  Globe. — Roots  of  a  fine  globular  shape, 
with  a  small  neck  and  tap-root;  very  white 
beneath,  and  green  above  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  of  medium  size,  hardy  and  firm  of  tex- 
ture, but  scarcely  so  much  so  as  the  green  round, 
although  it  arrives  at  maturity  rather  earlier. 

Stone  Globe. — This  is  considered  to  be  the 
hardiest  of  all  the  entire  white  globe  turnips. 
It  grows  naturally  deeper  in  the  soil  than  the 
others,  and  has  stronger  and  darker  green 
foliage. 

lied  Globe. — Roots  medium-sized,  globularly 
shaped,  and  firm  in  texture.  This  is  an  old, 
and,  in  some  districts,  a  pretty  extensively  cul- 
tivated variety.  It  is  medium  early,  and  gene- 
rally allowed  to  be  particularly  well  suited  for 
light  soils  and  exposed  elevated  situations. 

White  Round  is  known  in  Lincoln  by  the 
name  of  spring  white.  It  is  the  largest  of  the 
round  turnips,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  soft- 
est and  most  irregular  in  shape.  It  is  gene- 
rally hollowed  towards  the  neclc,  and,  being  so, 
is  apt  to  be  injured  by  retaining  moisture, 
which  renders  it  unfit  for  using,  except  in  the 
beginning  of  the  winter  season. 

Green  Round. — The  round  turnips  are  all  of 
a  peculiar  flatlish  shape,  rather  hollowed  to- 
wards their  neck,  as  also  on  their  under  side  ; 
and,  when  grown  to  a  large  size,  they  become 
more  or  less  of  an  irregular  round,  or  some- 
what cornered  shape.  The  green-topped  va- 
riety possesses  these  characters  in  a  less  de- 
gree than  the  former,  and  is  generally  of  a 
pretty,  regular,  round  shape,  flaUened,  but  not 
much  hollowed,  on  the  upper  and  under  sur- 
face, the  former  of  which  is  of  a  green  colour, 
and  the  latter  white.  It  is  also  the  hardiest  of 
the  round  turnips. 

Red  Round. — This  sort  is  inferior  in  size  to 
the  two  former,  but  rather  firmer  in  texture, 
and  more  regular  in  shape.  It  should  also  be 
used  in  the  early  part  of  the  season. 

White  Tankard. — The  tankards,  like  the  three 
preceding  kinds,  are  unsuitable  for  winter 
feeding,  not  so  much  on  account  of  their  soft- 
ness, as  from  their  ^tanding  mostly  above 
ground,  and  being  thereby  much  exposed  to 


frost.  They  are  generally  earlier  in  arriving 
at  maturity  than  the  others.  The  white  tan- 
kard has  its  roots  more  than  half  out  of  the 
ground,  oblong,  or  tankard-shaped,  but  often 
bent  or  crooked.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  tan- 
kards, but  is  also  softer  in  texture  than  either 
red  or  green  ;  its  leaves  are  large  and  luxu- 
riant: it  is  the  earliest  in  maturing  of  any,  tjjt 
will  not  stand  the  frost. 

Green  Tankard. — The  roots  of  this  species 
are  also  more  than  half  above  ground ;  of  a 
greenish  colour,  except  on  the  under  surface, 
which  is  white. 

Red  Tankard. — In  size,  form,  and  texture,  this 
variety  may  be  considered  as  occupying  an 
intermediate  place  between  the  white  and 
green  tankard.  It  is  of  a  bright  red  colour  on 
the  upper  surface,  and  white  on  the  under. 

Lawton  Hybrid. —  Hardy,  ana  possessed  of 
more  solidity  and  firmness  than  most  of  the 
white  sorts. 

Scott^s  improved  Purple-topped  Hybrid. — For 
a  white-fieshed  turnip  is  remarkably  solid,  and 
attaining  a  great  size. 

Leivisham  Green-topped  Ox-heart. — An  excel- 
lent variety,  grown  in  some  of  the  southern 
districts  ol"  B'ngland  and  Scotland. 

The  short  seasons  of  growth  allowed  the 
turnip  in  the  American  climate,  renders  most 
of  the  preceding  varieties  unfit  for  culture.  Mr. 
Buistof  Philadelphia,  recommends  the  two  fol- 
lowing preferable  to  the  most  superior  of  the 
European  sorts. 

Red  or  Purple-topped.  (American,)  shape  flat 
and  round,  with  purple  top ;  very  hardy  and  keeps 
well.  Sow  about  the  end  of  August,  or  not  later 
than  the  8th  of  September. 

White  or  Flat  Dutch  ;  often  called  strap-leaved 
White,  is  in  form,  size  and  qualities,  very  simi- 
lar to  the  preceding;  it  is  more  generally  culti- 
vated in  the  United  States  than  any  other  kind 
of  turnip. 

Lewisham  Green-topped  Ox-heart. — This  is  an 
excellent  variety,  grown  in  some  of  the  south- 
ern districts  of  England,  and  in  Scotland.  It 
acquired  this  name  from  having  been  first 
introduced  by  Messrs.  Willmot  &  Co.  of  Lew- 
isham. 

jititumn,  Stubble,  or  Six  Weeks. — Roots  much 
above  ground,  rather  large,  of  an  irregular 
globular  shape,  or  in  form  between  the  white 
globe  and  white  round,  and  rather  soft.  This 
sort  arrives  sooner  at  maturity  than  any  of  the 
others,  the  tankard  turnips  perhaps  excepted; 
and  from  its  natural  softness  of  texture  should 
always  be  sown  late,  and  used  before  the  se- 
vere frosts  set  in.  As  descriptive  of  its  for- 
wardness, it  has  received  the  above  names, 
being  suited  for  sowing  in  early  situations  in 
autumn  after  the  corn  crop  has  been  removed, 
and  It  is  also  valuable  for  making  up  blanks 
in  turnip  fields,  where  the  first  sowing  may- 
have  partially  failed. 

The  comparative  nutritive  powers  of  the 
different  varieties  of  tui'nips  appear  to  be  as 
follow : — 

Graios  of 
Nutritive  Matt«. 

64  drachms  of  the  Swedish  turnip  afford     -  110 

Stone  or  garden  turnip        -        _        .        -  85 

Norfolk  while  turnip 83 

Common  or  white  loaf         -        -        -        -  80 

Tankard  or  loiig-rooted      ....  70 

(Sinclair's  Hort.  Oram,  p  406./ 
4X  1069 


TURNIP. 

MetkedM  of  toaing.— The  modes  of  sowing  are 
Tarioas ;  bat  -.he  general  principle  to  be  at- 
tended lo  is,  to  get  the  seed  into  the  nearest 
pusMblc  connection  with  the  manure  used,  so 
that  It  may  hare  all  the  advantage  of  its  fer- 
tilizing influence  in  the  earliest  stage.  This 
i«  foresUlUng.  because,  it  decides  the  drill 
aiethud  to  be  the  most  valuable,  before  we  de- 
scribe the  others ;  but  it  is  a  principle  so  ne- 
eessary  and  obvious  as  to  strike  every  reflect- 
ing person  at  the  outset.  The  old  broadcast 
!iUtn  vaA.  to  spread  on  the  manure,  plough  it 
n.  and  then  very  carefully  sow  the  seed  with 
the  band.  This  practice  is  almost  everywhere 
abandoned,  nor  can  it  be  justified  or  recom- 
Mendrd  in  any  case. 

The  plough  drill  is  used  where  farm-yard 
manure  only  is  employed.  The  manure  is 
■prend  on  the  ground,  and  the  plough  follows 
with  the  drill,  lM;ing  fixed  to  the  right-hand  side 
of  the  plough,  and  thus  deposits  the  seed  im- 
mediately in  the  seam  made  by  the  plough,  and 
directly  upon  the  manure  just  covered  by  the 
plough.  The  plough-drill  is  only  useful  where 
Tery  bulky  manure  alone  is  applied.  See 
DaiLL. 

The  ridge  or  Scotch  method  is  used  with 
•ticcess,  especially  on  inferior  and  thin  soils, 
tad  has  its  decided  advantages.  The  ridges 
ire  m.ide  either  with  a  single  cast  of  the  double 
nould-board  plough,  or  a  double  one  of  the 
common  or  ribbing  plough,  and  from  20  to  28 
inches  apart  A  cart  with  manure  follows,  and 
Women  are  generally  employed  lo  drop  the 
manure  into  the  seams  made  by  the  plough. 
The  plough  again  follows,  and  closes  the 
ridges,  covering  the  manure ;  and  the  drill 
aocceeds,  drawn  by  one  horse,  and  sows  one 
ridge  at  a  lime.  A  light  roller  goes  over  the 
•own  ridges  to  cover  the  seed,  and  sometimes 
the  ridges  are  rolled  before  the  sowing.  This 
plan  uikts  more  time  and  labour  to  effect  it, 
om  the  turnips  generally  succeed;  and  if  they 
should  be  destroyed  by  the  flea-beetle,  they  can 
be  resown  with  more  probability  of  success 
than  by  any  other  method. 

The  general  and  most  expeditious  way  is  by 
the  Urge  drill.  This  is  constructed  to  deposit 
lb«  bones,  ashes,  dec,  with  the  seed,  upon  the 
level  surface,  drilling  6  or  7  rows  at  once.  It 
is  drawn  by  3  horses,  and  will  drill  12  acres 
par  day.  The  seed  does  not  run  down  the 
•tme  fannel  as  the  bones,  but  has  a  separate 
^paraiDs  immediately  behind  the  latter,  and 
eoalters  of  the  drill  generally  cover  the 
A  pair  of  light  harrows  are  usually 
over  once  after  the  sowing;  and  should 
much  heavy  rain  succeed,  it  is  desirable  to 
give  it  another  turn  with  the  harrows  imme- 
diately before  it  is  dry,  to  prevent  it  from 
♦carping.  The  quantity  of  seed  sown  by  each 
of  these  methods,  is  from  2  to  3  pounds  per 
acre. 

AfliT  r«i/wrr.— When  the  turnip  plants  are 
of  about  3  weeks'  growth,  they  require  to  be 
thinned,  and  the  weeds  destroyed.  This  is 
usually  performed  by  hand-hoeing;  but  in 
some  cases  Swedes  are  hand-thinned  by  wo- 
men, and  subsequently  horse-hoed,  which  can 
be  ione  in  all  cases  where  they  are  sown  in 
ndges,  and  is  a  considerable  saving  of  labour. 


TURNIP. 

No  two  plants  should  be  left  together  at  the 
first  hoeing,  but  they  should  be  thoroughly 
singled ;  and  a  second  hoeing  must  take  place 
about  2  or  3  weeks  afterwards,  to  destroy  the 
weeds.  For  ordinary  crops,  they  should  be 
left  7  to  12  inches  distant,  according  to  the 
richness  or  poverty  of  the  soil;  if  the  latter  is 
the  case,  they  should  be  at  shorter  distances, 
as  they  will  grow  to  a  smaller  size.  The 
whole  of  the  ground  should  be  gone  over,  as  it 
loosens  the  earth,  and  promotes  the  growth  of 
the  plants.  The  double  operation  is  usually 
performed  for  from  6s.  to  73.  per  acre.  Some- 
times the  crop  requires  hand-weeding  in  the 
autumn,  especially  if  the  soil  is  infested  with 
charlock. 

Diseases. — The  extensive  and  repeated  cul- 
ture of  the  turnip  has  fostered  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  its  natural  enemies  ;  and  after  all  the 
pains,  labour,  and  expense  of  the  cultivator,  he 
often  sees  his  crop  entirely  destroyed,  or  seri- 
ously injured.  The  remedies  he  can  apply  for 
many  of  these  can  only  be  termed  palliative; 
but  still  he  has  much  in  his  power;  and  as  the 
knowledge  of  natural  history  and  field-ento- 
mology advances,  he  may  expect  more  and 
more  assistance.     See  Insects. 

The  turnip  flea-beetle  (Haltica  nemorutn)  is 
one  of  the  worst  enemies  which  attack  the 
turnip  plant,  which  it  does  when  in  its  seed- 
leaf  state,  and  often  deirtroys  a  crop,  and  even 
the  second  and  third  sowings.  Various  steps 
have  been  taken  in  order  to  prevent  its  attacks, 
and  several  steeps  for  the  seed  used,  but  with- 
out success;  top-dressings  of  a  saline  and  as- 
tringent character  have  been  applied,  but  have 
failed;  machines  have  been  invented,  but  none 
of  these  have  succeeded.  The  only  directions 
which  can  be  given  are:  sow  plenty  of  seed; 
use  stimulating  manure,  to  excite  the  plants  to 
vigorous  growth  in  their  first  stages,  and  se- 
cure a  sufficiency  of  moisture  in  the  soil  at  the 
time  of  sowing;  especially  keeping  seedlings 
in  turnip  fields  clear  of  charlock,  which  nurses 
the  flea.     See  Flt  ix  Turnips. 

The  black  caterpillar,  larva  of  the  Alhalia 
centifolice,  also  preys  upon  the  leaves  in  a  more 
advanced  stage,  appeairing  on  the  plants  when 
they  are  about  3  weeks  old.    See  Saw-Flt. 

Another  disease  to  which  the  turnip  is  liable, 
is  vulgarly  called  "fingers  and  toes."  See  An- 
bury. 

The  wire-worm  is  a  sad  enemy.  (See  Wire- 
Worm.)  The  swarms  of  aphides,  or  plant 
lice,  severely  injure  the  turnips  ;  and,  from  the 
smallness  of  their  size,  are  often  unobserved. 
In  1836  they  committed  terrific  ravages.  They 
suck  the  juices  of  the  plant,  and  appear  in 
countless  numbers.  They  are  both  oviparous 
and  viviparous,  and  increase  with  amazing 
rapidity.  Happily  they  are  always  followed  by 
swarms  of  lady-cows,  which  feed  on  them,  as 
well  as  insectivorous  birds,  which  destroy  vast 
numbers.  No  remedy  can  be  applied  with  any 
probability  of  success.  Every  farmer  should 
carefully  protect  swallows,  red-breasts,  <fcc., 
which  are  great  destroyers  of  the  aphides. 

Slugs  are,  especially  on  newly  ploughed  soils, 
great  devourers  of  the  turnip  plant  in  all  its 
stages.  Ducks  will  devour  them,  but  always 
injure   the  plants.     Three  bushels   of  quick 


TURNIP. 


TURNIP. 


b.ne  per  acre,  scltered  over  the  plants  early 
w;  tne  morning,  when  the  slugs  are  active,  is  a 
certain  method  of  destroying  them.  Perhaps 
0)»*  very  best  preservative  from  ail  the  above 
oiseases  may  be  staled  to  be — liberal  manuring, 
a'lapted  to  the  soil ;  thorough  clearing  of  the 
land  from  weeds;  and,  in  short,  pursuing  the 
steps  above  detailed  for  securing  a  full  crop. 
The  vigour  of  the  plants  in  such  cases,  and 
their  rapid  vegetation,  often  enable  them  to 
overcome  many  serious  attacks. 

&'/on>ig. — There  are  ditTerent  modes  of  per- 
forming this  useful  practice.  The  common 
way  is  to  take  up  the  turnips,  choosing  dry 
weather,  cutting  off  the  leaves  and  taproots 
(provincially  called  topping  and  tailing),  which 
operation  should  be  performed  with  as  much 
exactness  as  possible,  so  as  not  to  wound  the 
bulb,  as  this  would  cause  the  turnip  to  rot;  nor 
yet  to  leave  much  of  the  leaves,  as  this  would 
make  the  turnip  vegetate  on  receiving  a  .<light 
degree  of  heat ;  after  this  the  turnips  are 
placed  in  a  well-aired  situation,  adjoining  to 
the  feeding  byre,  in  a  narrow  tapering  ridge, 
similar  to  potato  pits,  and  this  is  covered  with 
straw  and  secured  with  ropes.  The  situation 
chosen  for  the  store  should  be  as  dry  as  pos- 
sible. 'I'he  heaps  must  not  be  covered  with 
earth,  like  potatoes;  for  this  would  cause  the 
turnips  to  heat  and  completely  destroy  them. 

But  as  this  practice  of  storing  is  only  adapt- 
ed for  the  Swedish  and  yellow  varieties,  the 
white  globe  variety  possessing  too  much  water 
to  be  preserved  for  any  length  of  time,  another 
method  is  often  practised  by  what  is  called 
platiiifT,  The  tap-roots  being  taken  off,  the 
bulbs,  with  the  leaves,  are  placed  close  together 
in  the  position  they  grew,  upon  some  dry  place 
Bear  to  wht-re  they  are  to  be  consumed.  In 
this  way  they  will  keep  longer  than  if  they  had 
been  left  in  the  field,  as  they  are  not  so  apt  to 
run  to  seed. 

But  even  the  placing  system  has  its  objec- 
tions ;  for  if  a  tract  of  dry  weather  set  in,  the 
turnips,  from  being  merely  on  the  surface,  be- 
come soft  and  shrivelled,  and  not  so  palatable 
to  the  cattle,  and  will  even  continue  so  for  a 
considerable  time,  although  the  weather  should 
be  rainy,  until  the  fibres  begin  to  take  hold  of  the 
soil;  and  another  objection  is,  that  if  the  turnips 
are  not  placed  near  the  steading,  the  destruction 
from  game,  hares,  wood-pigeons,  &c.  is  very 
great,  particularly  if  the  turnip  be  Swedish. 

In  order,  therefore,  to  remedy  these  objec- 
tions, another  method  has  been  adopted,  which 
has  been  found  to  answer  every  purpose  in- 
tended. The  turnips  are  brought  from  the 
field,  without  either  "topping  or  tailing,"  to  a 
piece  of  dry  ground  near  the  straw-yard  ;  then 
a  man  with  one  horse  in  a  plough  makes  a 
straight  furrow  ;  the  turnips  are  then  placed  in 
the  furrow  quite  close  together,  till  the  whole 
is  filled  from  end  to  end;  then  the  man  with 
the  plough  moves  round  to  where  he  com- 
menced, drawing  another  furrow  just  as  close 
to  the  turnips  as  to  enable  him  to  cover  them, 
and  so  on  alternately,  the  men  making  the  fur- 
row and  covering  the  turnips,  while  the  women 
and  girls  lay  in  the  turnips.  By  this  method 
the  turnips  keep  as  fresh,  preserving  all  their 
natural  juice    and  are  as  well  relished  by  the 


'  cattle  as  though  they  were  taken  from  the  field; 
I  thus  allowing  the  land  to  be  sown  with  wheal. 
The  report  of  the  Harleston  Farmers'  Club 
for  1839,  attirms  that  the  best  method  of  pre- 
serving roots  during  the  winter,  is  by  clamping 
them,  both  as  regards  protection  from  frost  and 
maintaining  their  quality;  and  thai  the  follow- 
ing is  a  very  effectual  method  of  making  the 
clamps: — Select  a  convenient  and  dry  situa- 
tion, and  pack  the  roots  carefully,  with  their 
crowns  outside,  in  a  row  about  6  feet  wide  at 
the  bottom,  and  terminating  in  a  narrow  ridge 
at  the  top;  then  dig  a  trench,  commencing  im- 
[  mediately  at  the  edge  of  the  roots,  2  feet  Vide 
[  and  1  deep,  turning  the  mould  from  the  heap; 
j  thatch  the  latter  carefully  with  straw,  com- 
I  mencinsr  in  the  trench,  so  that  all  the  rain  may 
j  drain  off  the  heap  into  it.  The  clamp  may  be 
[  left  two  or  three  weeks  in  this  state,  that  the 
evaporation  from  the  roots  may  escape ;  the 
mould  already  taken  out  of  the  trench  is  then 
to  be  laid  on  the  straw,  commencing  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  thatch,  and  covering  the  heap  12 
inches  thick  throughout,  finishing  with  a  sharp 
edge.  Half  the  trench  originally  made  will, 
of  course,  by  this  plan  be  filled  up  with  straw 
and  mould;  the  other  half  will  remain  as  a 
channel  for  the  water  falling  off  the  heap;  and, 
as  sutficient  mould  will  not  have  been  raised 
from  the  original  excavation,  it  will  be  advis- 
able, in  procuring  more,  to  make  the  channel 
left  round  the  heap  a  few  inches  deeper,  as 
well  as  wider.  If  the  roots  are  stored  late  in 
the  season,  and  the  probability  of  frost  setting 
in  renders  it  necessary  to  cover  the  heap  with 
mould  as  soon  as  it  is  made,  it  would  be  better 
to  leave  the  top  uncovered  for  a  week  or  ten 
days  longer,  that  the  heat  may  escape.  There 
is  no  objection  to  ihe  roots  being  wet  and  dirty 
when  they  are  clamped:  the  tops  should  be  cut 
oft,  but  not  too  close  to  the  crown ;  the  roots 
and  fibres  should  be  left  on. 

In  England,  the  turnip  crops  cultivated  with 
so  much  care  and  at  so  much  cost,  yield  a 
most  abundant  supply  of  vegetable  matter, 
most  of  which,  owing  to  the  comparatively 
mild  winters,  is  left  on  and  in  the  ground  to  be 
eaten  off  by  sheep.  This  adds  great  fertility 
to  the  soil  and  prepares  it  for  producing  those 
astonishingly  luxuriant  crops  of  wheat  of  40, 
50  and  60  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  profits  of 
the  turnip  crop,  either  direct  or  indirect,  must 
be  very  great,  to  authorize  a  tenant  on  land 
loaded  with  taxes,  to  go  to  an  expense  of  nearly 
$50  per  acre  in  putting  in  his  root  crop,  as 
may  be  seen  in  the  article  Apptiaiskmkxt, 
where  the  details  of  expenditures  in  putting  in 
only  17  acres  of  Swedish  turnips  are  estimated 
at  £117  15s.  sterling,  equal  to  nearly  $900,  of 
federal  money,  a  sum  actually  paid  for  the 
crop  in  the  ground  by  an  incoming  tenant. 
The  root  crops  of  Britain  which  form  the  basis 
of  her  agricultural  prosperity,  can  only  be  par- 
tially carried  on  in  the  United  States,  ov/ing  to 
the  severity  of  the  winter,  by  which  every  thing 
on  or  near  the  surface  of  the  ground  is  bouni 
in  early  and  enduring  frost.  But  then,  where 
cold  thus  opposes  a  barrier,  a  high  summer 
heat  opens  a  new  resource,  and  where  nature 
obstructs  the  way  in  one  direction,  she  opens 
others  to  agricultural  thrift.    One  of  these  ia 

1071 


rURNIP  CART. 

the  Indian  corn  crop,  denied  to  Europe,  except 
in  a  small  space  on  or  near  the  Mediterranean. 
The  value  of  this  crop,  far  transcending  that 
of  any  other  staple,  is  referred  to  under  the 
bead  of  Maizk.  In  reference  to  the  agricul- 
tural value  of  the  turnip  and  other  roots,  Mr. 
Nicholas  Biddle  in  an  address  before  the  Phi- 
ladelphia Agricultural  Society  in  1842,  made 
the  following  interesting  observations : — 

♦*ll  is  strange  how  things  so  lowly  acquire 
national  importance.  The  best  farming  is  that 
which  will  give  the  greatest  mass  of  suste- 
nance to  animals — since  the  less  land  required 
for  animals,  the  more  can  be  given  for  the 
maintenance  of  human  beings.  That  fine 
farming  region,  England,  had  reached  the  limit 
of  its  power  of  supporting  animals — since  it 
turned  to  the  root  culture  it  more  than  doubled 
or  quadrupled  its  power — and  now,  odd  as  the 
mingling  of  such  dissimilar  notions  may  seem, 
it  is  acarcely  an  exaggeration  to  say,  that  Eng- 
land's poiyer  is  based  upon  its  iron,  its  coal, 
and  its  turnips.  Then,  that  beet,  which  the 
commercial  jealousy  of  Napoleon  endeavoured 
to  rai.se  to  the  dignity  of  the  sugar-cane,  which 
at  this  moment  yields  to  France  more  than  60 
millions  of  pounds  of  good  sugar,  and  has  now 
become  so  incorporated  into  the  French  agri- 
colture  as  to  divide  the  government  of  France 
between  the  encouragement  of  the  foreign 
sugarcane  and  the  domestic  sugar  beet.  To 
US  the  question  is  unimportant,  since  sugar  is 
so  cneap  in  this  country  as  to  leave  to  us  the 
sugar  beet  as  an  excellent  food  for  our  cattle." 

•AUhxugh  the  excessive  frosts  in  the  United 
Stairs  interfere  with  the  English  plan  of  feeding 
the  turnips  from  the  ground  during  winter,  still 
there  is  no  question  that  great  advantages  may 
be  derived  by  the  American  farmer  from  the 
cultivatitm  of  the  turnip,  the  Swedish  especially, 
to  lay  up  as  green  and  succulent  food  for  stock, 
to  be  used  conjointly  with  hay  and  other  kinds 
of  provender.  Very  satisfactory  experiments 
have  demonstrated  the  value  of  turnips  appro- 
priated in  this  way,  for  an  account  of  which  the 
reader  may  consult  Jiuel^s  Farmer's  Instructor, 
ColrmaiCn  Rrportt,  the  CuUivator,  and  other  Am. 
agricultural  periodicals. 

Thf  xnurta  which  attack  turnips  in  America  will 
be  found  described  under  the  heads  Caterpil- 
lAK.  Flk\-B»:ktlk.  Flt  in-  Turxips,  &c. 

TtlLMP  CART.  This  is  an  ingenious 
adaptation  of  the  disc  turnip  cutter  to  the  tur- 
nip cart  The  disc  is  put  in  motion  by  a  face- 
wheel  fixed  upon  the  nave  of  the  cart-wheel, 
which,  as  it  revolves  communicates  by  means 
of  cog-wheels  with  the  axis  of  the  cutting- 
plale.  It  offers  a  very  convenient  mode  of 
feeding  sheep  on  pastures  or  lawns,  and  was 
introduced  about  the  year  1834,  by  Arthur  Bid- 
dell,  farmer,  of  Playford,  the  inventor  of  the 
well-known  scarifier,  which  bears  his  name. 

TCRMP  CUTTERS.  Although  there  are 
s«r/eral  kinds  of  turmp  cutters,  the  principles 
upon  which  they  are  constructed  do  not  em- 
brace much  variety:  setting  aside  the  simple 
application  of  the  knife  with  a  lever  handle, 
the  others  may  be  divided  into  two  classes; 
first,  those  which  have  their  knives  placed  on 
a  disc ;  and  secondly,  those  with  their  cutting 
«d«es  arranged  on  a  cylinder. 
1072 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 

As  the  object  to  be  effected  is  simple,  and 
involves  little  mechanical  contrivance,  a  5in»'rt 
description  will  suffice. 

Gardner^s  Patent  Turnip  Cutter^is  pronounc-d 
the  best  known  in  England.  In  Ransome's  Bar- 
row 2\irnip  Cutter,  Gardner's  machine  is  used, 
the  disc  of  which  is  attached  to  the  side  of  a 
barrow,  which  serves  as  a  hopper  ;  the  knife  is 
nearly  the  length  of  the  radius,  and  when  re- 
quired to  cut  the  turnip  in  slices  is  alone  used; 
if  it  be  necessary  to  cut  small  slices  for  sheep, 
the  small  cross-knives  are,  by  a  simple  con- 
trivance, adjusted  to  dissect  the  slice;  and  in 
this  case  the  barrow  is  useful,  as  it  is  easily 
moved  from  trough  to  trough,  into  which  the 
small  slices  may  be  made  to  fall. 

It  is  intended  to  cut  into  small  slices  for 
sheep,  and  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  the 
best  implement  for  the  purpose  that  is  at  pre- 
sent in  use  in  England. 

TURPENTINE.  A  transparent,  oleo-resin- 
ous  substance,  which  exudes  naturally,  but  is 
chiefly  obtained  by  incision,  from  various  spe- 
cies of  pine.  There  are  several  kinds  of  tur- 
pentine, namely,  common,  Bordeaux,  Cana- 
dian, Strasburg,  Venice,  and  American  white. 
The  Chian  turpentine  is  the  production  of  the 
Pistachia  terebinthus;  but  all  of  them  possess 
the  same  general  and  chemical  properties. 

TUSSER,  THOMAS,  a  celebrated  agricul- 
tural writer.  Five-and-twenty  years  after  the 
publication  of  the  first  English  work  upon  agr;  ■ 
culture  {Fitzherbert's  Boke  of  Husbandryc),  ap- 
peared (in  1557)  the  One  Hundred  Points  of 
Good  Husbandry,  by  Thomas  Tusser.  Thii 
celebrated  work  must  be  regarded  more  as  a 
series  of  poetical  good  farming,  and  domestic 
directions  and  axioms,  than  as  a  regular  treat- 
ise upon  agriculture.  All  that  is  known  of  the 
author  of  this  curious  production  has  been  col- 
lected by  Dr.  Mavor,  in  his  able  edition  of 
Tusser's  book,  and  by  my  brother,  Mr.  George 
W.  Johnson,  in  his  History  of  English  Garden- 
ing; and  both  these  authors  have  been  obliged 
to  content  themselves  chiefly  with  Tusser's 
own  account  of  himself;  for  Tusser  did  what 
few  men  ever  attempt — he  wrote  his  own  life, 
and  in  a  manner  still  more  rare,  in  verse.  His 
life  was  full  of  adventure ;  for  he  evidently  had 
ail  the  restlessness  of  genius,  with  the  unsettled 
habits  too  commonly  confirmed  by  continued 
change  of  occupation. 

He  was  born  about  the  year  151.5,  at  Riven- 
hall,  a  village  on  the  high-road  between  the 
towns  of  Witham  and  Keldevon,  in  Essex,  of  a 
family  allied  by  marriage  to  the  higher  ranks 
of  society.  y 

He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Mildred 
in  the  Poultry,  according  to  Stowe,  with  this 
epitaph : 

"Here,  Thomas  Tusser,  clad  in  earth,  doth  lie, 
That  sonif-tiine  made  the  Points  of  Husbandry  : 
By  him  then  learn  thon  may'st;  here  learn  we  must. 
When  all  is  done,  we  sleep,  and  turn  to  dnst ; 
And  yet,  through  Christ,  to  heaven  we  hope  to  go; 
Who  reads  his  books,  shall  find  uis  faith  was  so." 

In  whatever  capacity  he  at  various  times 
lived  he  acted  with  ability,  yet  never  so  as  to 
benefit  his  fortune.  That  he  excelled  as  a 
chorister, — to  which  he  was  originally  edu- 
cated, though  strongly  against  his  inclination. 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 


—is  certain ;  for  none  but  those  of  more  than 
ordinary  powers  are  admitted  into  the  royal 
choir.  As  a  courtier  he  was  unfrowned  upon 
till  the  disgrace  of  his  patron.  As  a  farmer  it 
is  evident  that  he  possessed  a  correct  know- 
ledge, from  his  work  upon  the  subject.  The 
same  book  testifies  that,  as  an  author  and  a 
poet,  he  was  far  above  mediocrity.  Fuller,  in 
his  Worthies  of  Essex,  describes  him,  in  his 
usual  quaint  manner,  as  "  a  musician,  school- 
master, serving-man,  husbandman,  grazier, 
poet;  more  skilful  in  all  than  thriving  in  any 
vocation.  He  spread,"  he  adds,  "  his  bread 
with  all  :orts  of  butter,  yet  none  would  stick 
thereon.'  The  testimony  of  Fuller  to  the  ex- 
cellent piivate  character  of  Tusser  is  valuable 
as  coming  from  one  who  must  have  been  the 
contemporary  of  many  persons  who  well  re- 
membered our  author.  "I  hear,"  says  Fuller, 
"  no  man  to  charge  him  with  any  vicious  ex- 
travagancy or  visible  carelessness."  The  true 
reason  of  his  ill  success  in  life  is  to  be  found, 
perhaps,  in  the  verses  of  a  poet  almost  his  con- 
temporary. Peacham,  in  his  Minerva,  a  book 
of  emblems,  published  in  1612,  has  a  device  of 
a  whetstone  and  a  scythe,  with  this  beneath: 

"They  tell  me,  TiisBer,  when  thou  wert  alive, 
And  hndst  for  profit  turned  every  sione, 
Where'er  thou  CHiiiest  thnn  couldst  never  thrive, 
Thnii(;h  hereto  best  couldst  counsel  every  one; 
As  it  may  in  thy  Husbmdry  a|)|»enr, 
Wherein  afresh  thou  livest  among  us  here. 
So,  like  thyself,  a  number  more  are  wont 
To  sharpen  others  with  advice  of  wit, 
Whea  they  themttelves  are  like  the  whetstone  blunt." 

Tasser*s  work  first  appeared  in  1557,  en- 
titled ".4  Hundreth  Good  Pointes  of  Husbandrie : 

"A  hundreth  good  p<»lnt8  of  husbandry 
Maintaineth  good  household,  with  huswifry. 
Housekeeping  and  hiisbindry,  if  it  be  good. 
Must  love  one  another  like  cousinnes  in  blood. 
The  wife,  too,  must  hushand  us  well  as  the  man, 
Or  farewel  thy  husbandry  do  what  thou  can. 

Imprinted  at  London,  in  Flete  strete,  within 
Temple  barre,  at  the  sygne  of  the  hand  and 
starre,  by  Richard  Totell,  the  third  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, An.  1557.  Cum  priviligio  ad  imprimea- 
dum  solum." 

A  copy  of  this  edition,  which  Dr.  Mavor  con- 
siders to  be  unique,  is  in  the  British  Museum. 
It  consists  of  only  13  quarto  leaves. 

The-  Book  of  Hiisicifry,  it  is  supposed,  was  at 
first  printed  by  itself;  it  was  afterwards  added 
to  the  editions  of  the  Husbandry. 

Editions  of  this  work  appeared  in  1561,  1562; 
and  another,  "newly  corrected  and  amplified," 
1570,  1571  (Watts).  To  these  succeeded  an 
enlarged  edition  and  several  reprints,  the  last 
of  which  is  that  edited  by  Dr.  W.  Mavor  in 
1812,  4to  and  8vo,  with  many  notes  and  addi- 
tions. 

To  this  Book  of  Husbandry,  says  Weston,  is 
often  joined  The  Booke  of  Regarde,  containing  the 
Castle  of  Delight,  the  Garden  of  Unthriftinesse,  the 
jirbonr  of  Virtue,  and  the  Castle  of  Repentance. 
Another  work  is  ascribed  by  Haller  to  the  pen 
of  Tusser,  viz.  Tractatns  de  ligriadtura  Versibus 
Jnglicis.  London,  1638-72.  Both  these  last- 
raentioned  works  are  extremely  rare. 

Tusser  dedicated  his  book  first  to  Lord  Wil- 
liam Paget,  in  an  acrostic,  and  after  his  death 
U)  "the  Lord  Paget  of  Beaudesert,"  his  son  and 
130 


heir.    From  this  we  find  that  Tusser  shared  au 
author's  very  common  fate,  for  he  tells  us 

"  By  practice  and  ill  speeding. 
These  lessons  had  their  breeding, 
And  not  by  hearsay  or  reading. 

As  some  abroad  have  blown; 
Who  will  not  thus  believe  me. 
So  much  the  more  they  grieve  me. 
Because  they  grudge  to  give  me, 

What  is  of  right  mine  own." 

Its  price,  when  first  published,  as  described 
in  his  prefatory  address  to  the  reader,  was  only 
id.  or  Sd.     He  says, 

"  What  is  a  groat 
Or  twain  to  note, 
Once  in  the  life. 
For  man  or  wife  V 

The  Style  in  which  Tusser  wrote  his  book  is 
plain,  and  sometimes  rather  hobbling;  but  at 
the  same  time  it  is  a  metre  easily  remembered; 
and  verse  is  well  adapted  to  impress  upon  the 
memory  the  mass  of  useful  truths  and  rural 
directions  contained  in  the  work.  In  the  rhym- 
ing preface,  "to  the  buyer  of  this  book"  (for 
Tusser  seemed  to  do  every  thing  in  verse),  he 
says, — 

"  What  look  ye,  I  pray  you  shew  what  1 
Terms  pointed  with  rhetorick  final 
Good  husbandry  seeketh  not  that, 
Nor  is't  any  meaning  of  mine." 

His  tenth  chapter  consists  of  a  series  of  63 
excellent  "Good  Husbandry  Lessons,  worthy 
to  be  followed  of  such  as  will  thrive."  He 
omitted  no  opportunity  to  give  occasion  for 
seasonable  reflections : 

"A«  hnd,  by  appearing,  betok'neth  the  spring, 
And  leaf,  by  her  falling,  the  contrary  thing; 
So  youth  bids  us  labour  to  get  as  we  can. 
For  age  is  a  burden  to  labouring  man." 

He  comments  the  system  of  moderate  corn- 
rents,  and  was  evideaitly  no  enemy  to  the  sports 
of  the  field: 

"  To  hunters  and  hawkers  take  heed  what  ye  say, 
Mild  answer  with  courtesy,  drives  them  away ; 
So  where  a  man's  better  will  open  a  gap. 
Resist  not  with  rudeness,  for  fear  of  mishap." 

He  begins  his  monthly  husbandry  with  Sep- 
tember, for  that  was  then  the  period,  as  now  in 
England,  when  arable  land  was  commonly  en- 
tered upon  by  the  farmer.  He  says,  in  his 
opening  stanza, — 

"At  Michaelmas  lightly,  new  farmer  comes  in. 
New  husbandry  forceth  him  ;  new  to  begin  ; 
Old  farmer,  still  taking,  the  time  to  him  given. 
Makes  August  to  last  untill  Michaelmas  even." 

In  furtherance  of  his  object,  that  of  giving 
some  very  minute  directions  to  the  incoming 
tenant,  he  even  gives  a  catalogue  of  farming 
implements  in  verse,  in  which  he  manages 
with  some  adroitness  to  include  several  ap- 
parently impracticable  names,  such  as, — 

"A  hand-barrow,  wheel-barrow,  shovel,  and  spade, 
A  curry-comb,  mane-comb,  and  whip  for  a  jade." 

It  was  the  approved  practice  in  Tusser's 
days  to  "  sow  timely  thy  white  wheat,  sow  rye 
in  the  dust."  They  were  used  also  to  put  rye- 
meal  into  their  wheat-flour : 

"  But  sow  It  not  mixed  to  grow  *o  on  land. 
Lest  rye  tarry  wheat  till  it  shed  as  it  stand." 

Thick  and  thin  sowing  had  even  then  tne.* 
I  respective  advocates : 

4x2  1073 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 


•fkeagh  beam  b«  in  towing ; 


but  scattered  in, 
„  7heat,  rye.  and  peason,  I  l«»ve  noi  too  tliin : 
Sow  barley  and  dredge  with  a  plentiful  hand, 
LmI  weed,  stead  ofaeed,  overgrowelh  thy  land. 


It  is  evident  that  in  those  days  the  farmeis 
were  not  able  to  grow  their  grain  on  many  soils 
where  the  modem  holders  find  no  obstacles. 
Thus  he  speaks  of  the  difficulty  they  found  in 
prt>ducing  barley  in  the  parish  of  Brantham, 
IB  Essex,  where  he  farmed  some  land;  and, 
•fftio,  he  lells  us,  what  will  surprise  the  mo- 
tern  skilful  Suffolk  farmers,— 

•*Ib  Suffolk,  again,  whereas  wheat  never  grew, 
Good  husbandry,  used,  good  wheat  land  I  linew." 

And  he  adds, — 

M^a  gravel  and  sand  is  for  rye  and  not  wheat." 
He  mentions  several  varieties  of  wheat  then 
irrown  by  the  farmers  of  the  reign  of  good 
Queen  Bess,  such  as  while  and  red  rivet,  white 
and  red  pollard,  Turkey  and  gray.  But  of  this 
iMt  be  says, — 

•■Oats,  rye,  or  elae  barley,  and  wheat  that  is  grey, 
Brlofs  land  out  of  comfort,  and  soon  to  decay.'' 

The  land,  however,  was  evidently  farmed 
with  little  skill : 

**Two  crops  of  a  fhllow,  enricheth  the  plough, 
Though  t*  one  be  of  pease.  It  is  land  good  enough  : 
One  crop  and  a  fhllow  B«)me  soil  will  abide, 
Where,  if  ye  go  further,  lay  profit  aside." 

He  warns  the  farmers  to  beware  of  corn 
stealers,  and  to  keep  their  soil  in  good  heart ; 
U»  mannre  their  land  with  the  earth  from  head- 
lands and  old  banks;  he  commends  the  use  of 
night-soil  for  gardens;  and  recommends  the 
mannre  of  the  farm-yard  to  be  laid  up  "round 
on  a  hill.**  And  he  had  the  wisdom  to  perceive 
the  advantages  of  shed-feeding  live-stock : 

**Tb«>  hoiueing  of  cattle,  while  winter  doth  hold, 
It  !•  good  fur  all  such  as  are  feeble  and  old  ; 
It  savoih  much  compass  and  many  a  sleep, 
And  spareth  the  pasture  for  walk  of  thy  sheep." 

Crazing  has,  since  Tusser's  days,  been  more 
and  more  on  the  decline,  as  soiling  has  been 
better  appreciated.  A  distinguished  modern, 
willy  divine,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  thus  zeal- 


7 

»ly 


ously  denounces  the  grazing  system  :  "  Grazing 
is  an  absolute  barbarism ;  it  is  just  the  same 
as  if  yoQ  desired  your  servants  to  trample  and 
roll  over  your  bread  and  butter." 

Por  faint  cattle  he  recommends  the  use  of 
bay-salt;  and  in  his  February's  husbandry  gives 
some  directions  for  the  management  of  their 
dung,  which  betrays  a  deplorable  want  of  know- 
ledge in  its  economy : 

*Wholayetb  on  dnng.ere  he  laveth  on  plow, 
a«ch  husbandry  useth,  as  thrift  doth  allow  : 
One  month  ere  ye  spread  it,  so  still  let  it  stand, 
Bre  ever  to  plow  it,  ye  take  It  in  hand. 

Place  dnng.heap  alow,  by  the  furrow  along. 
Where  water,  all  winter-time  did  it  such  wrong: 
■o  make  ye  the  land  to  be  lusty  and  fat. 
And  corn  thereon  sown,  to  be  better  for  that." 

In  another  place,  however,  he  recommends 
the  farmer  to  use  the  mud  from  ditches  and 
ponds  as  a  dressing  for  their  land. 

They  harvested  their  com,  it  seems,  then, 
much  after  ihe  same  manner  as  at  the  present 
day.  They  reaped  their  wheat  and  mowed 
;heir  stubbles ;  and  this  they  carried  as  we  do 
now.  as  soon  as  possible  after  harvest : 
1074 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 

"For  fear  of  destroying  with  cattle  or  rain. 
The  sooner  ye  load  it  more  profit  ye  gain  " 

And  as  to  barley,  Tusser  says, — 

"  The  mowing  of  barley,  if  barley  do  stand. 
Is  cheapest  and  best,  for  to  rid  out  of  hand  • 
Some  mow  it,  and  rake  it,  and  set  it  nn  cocks; 
Some  mow  it,  and  bind  it,  and  set  it  on  shocks.'* 

They  let  out,  at  the  period  when  Tussef 
wrote,  it  seems,  the  harvest-work  either  by  the 
acre  or  by  the  day  ;  of  which  modes  of  getting 
in  the  corn  he  seems  to  prefer  the  latter : 

"  By  great  will  deceive  thee,  with  ling'ring  it  out. 
By  day  will  despatch,  and  put  all  out  of  doubt." 

His  directions  to  the  farmer  with  regard  to 
the  treatment  of  his  harvestmen  and  the  pooif 
gleaners,  and  his  warm  hopes  for  the  farmer's 
success,  betray  the  excellent  benevolent  spirit 
with  which  he  was  actuated.     He  says, — 

"  Corn  carried,  let  such  as  be  poor  go  and  glean. 
And  after  thy  cattle,  to  mouth  it  up  clean  ; 
Then  spare  it  for  rowen  till  Michel  be  past. 
To  lengthen  thy  dairy,  no  better  thou  hast. 

In  harvest-time,  harvest-folk,  servants  and  all, 
Should  make  altogether,  good  cheer  in  the  hall; 
And  fill  out  the  bluck  bowl  of  blylhe  to  their  song, 
And  let  them  be  merry  all  harvest-time  long. 

Once  ended  thy  harvest,  let  none  be  beguil'd ; 
Please  such  as  did  help  thee — man,  woman,  and  child. 
Thus  doing,  with  ulway,  such  help  as  they  can; 
Thou  winnest  the  praise  of  ilie  labouring  man. 

Now  look  up  to  God-ward,  let  tongue  never  cease 
In  thanking  of  Him  for  his  mighty  increase. 
Accept  my  good  will, — for  a  proof  go  and  try  ; 
The  better  thou  thrivesl  the  gladder  am  I." 

Having  commenced  his  directions  with  the 
outgoing  tenant,  his  last  stanza  concludes  with 
a  reference  to  the  incoming : 

"New  farmer  he  Ihinketh  each  hour  a  day, 
Until  the  old  farmer  be  packing  away." 

"Thus  endeth  and  holdeth  out 
August's  Husbandry  till 
Michaelmas  Eve.    Tho.  Tusser.'' 

The  Book  of  Husbandry  of  Tusser  is  also  in- 
teresting from  the  information  it  gives  us  with 
regard  to  the  customs  and  habits  of  the  farmers 
of  more  than  two  centuries  and  a  half  since. 
It  is  evident  that  they  then  lived  very  much 
upon  salt  fish,  for  in  his  directions  for  the  far- 
mer's diet,  he  mentions  for  Lent  herrings  and 
salt  fish — at  Easter  they  had  veal  and  bacon — 
at  Martinmas,  beef — before  the  feast  of  St. 
John,  mackerel — fresh  herrings  at  Michaelmas 
— at  Hallowtide,  sprats  and  spurlings — for 
Christmas  fare  they  seemed  to  have  all  the 
modern  standing  dishes, — 

"Good  bread  and  good  drink,  a  good  fire  in  the  hall. 
Brawn-pudding  and  souse,  and  good  mustard  withal; 
Beef,  mutton,  and  pork,  shred  pies  of  the  best. 
Pig,  veal,  goose,  and  capon,  and  turkey  well  drest.'' 

They  evidently,  however,  lived  generally 
very  frugally : 

"Where  fish  is  scant,  and  fruit  of  trees. 
Supply  that  want  with  butter  and  cheese. 
Quoth  Tusser." 

They  bought,  in  Tusser's  time,  such  stocks 
of  salt  fish  as  would  amaze  a  modern  farmer 
in  these  protestant  days,  when,  by  the  increase 
of  green  winter  food,  cattle  and  sheep  are  kept 
easily  through  the  winter,  and  fresh  meat  is 
always  to  be  had.  Few  farmers  would  nowr 
think  of  undertaking  a  journey  to  buy  fish ; 
yet  he  directed  the  farmer  of  the  sixteenth 
century, — 


TUSSER,  THOMAS. 

"  When  harvest  is^nded,  take  shipping  or  ride, 
Lini;,  salt  fish,  and  herring  tor  Lent  tn  provide  ; 
Get  home  that  is  bought,  and  gu  stack  it  up  dry. 
With  [leHse-Btraw  between  it,  the  safer  to  lie." 

They  had  a  rude  way  of  measuring  time,  it 
seems : 

**  As  huswives  are  teached.  Instead  of  a  clock, 
How  winter  nights  passeth  by  crowing  of  cock." 

The  care  of  the  garden  evidently  fell  to  the 
wife's  share,  who  had  also  to  see  to  the  feeding 
of  the  household.  It  seems  that  the  labourers 
had  then  a  great  fondness  for  porridge,  for 
Tusser  tells  us, — 

"  No  spoon-meat,  no  bellyfull,  labourers  think." 

In  other  days,  too,  it  is  evident  that  spinning 
was  no  mean  part  of  the  mistress's  avocation, 
for  it  is  here  said, — 

••  Wife,  pluck  fro  thy  seed  hemp  the  fimble  hemp  clean  ; 
This  lookeih  more  yellow,  the  other  more  green. 
I'sse  t'  one  for  thy  spinriing.  Michell  the  t'other, 
For  shoe-thread  and  halter,  for  rope  and  such  other: 
Now  pluck  up  thy  Hax  for  the  maidens  to  spin." 

Tusser  never  seems  to  have  forgotten,  on 
any  occasion,  to  recommend  to  the  landholder 
the  payment  of  his  just  dues;  even  the  ques- 
tion of  the  tithes,  once  so  obnoxious  to  the 
farmer,  was  not  overlooked  by  him.  He  ad- 
vised his  farming  brethren  to 

"Tithe  duly  and  truly,  with  hearty  good  will, 
That  (lod  and  his  blessini;  may  dwell  with  thee  still; 
ThoiiKh  piirsnn  neKlecteih  his  duty  for  this, 
Thank  thou  thy  Lord  Uod,  and  give  ev'ry  man  his." 

The  Pointt  of  Huxicifery,  united  to  the  Comfort 
of  Husbandry,  by  Thomas  Tusser,  Gentleman, 
was,  it  is  concluded,  first  published  with  The 
Husbandry  in  1561  or  1662.  It  is  written  in 
rather  a  more  lively  style  than  the  former,  and 
has  an  epistle  dedicatory,  "  to  the  right  honour- 
able, and  my  especiall  good  lady  and  mistress, 
the  Lady  Paget,"  which  he  thus  commences : 

'•Though  danger  he  mickle. 
And  favour  so  fickle; 
Vet  duty  doth  tickle 

My  fancy  to  write  : 
Concernine  how  pretty. 
How  line  and  how  netty. 
Good  huswife  should  jetty 
From  morning  to  night." 

This  work  contains  an  abundance  of  direc- 
tions, in  his  usual  style  of  versification,  for  the 
conduct  of  household  duties.  He  directs  the 
servants,  before  breakfast,  to  be  set  to  work: 

"Let  some  to  peel  hemp,  or  else  rushes  to  twine, 
To  spin,  or  to  card,  or  to  seething  of  brine." 

At  breakfast  time  the  wife  was,  in  those 
days,  the  carver  for  the  farm  servants  : 

"Let  huswife  be  carver,  let  pottage  be  heat, 
A  mess  to  each  one  with  a  morsell  of  meat." 

In  the  cookery  department  the  now  nearly 
extinct  race  of  turnspits  were  indispensable 
attendants  upon  the  cook : 

"Good  diligent  turnbroche,  and  trusty  withal." 
In  his  washing  section  he  is  rather  more 
terse  than  gentle  in  his  conclusion: 

"Maids,  wash  well,  and  wring  well,  but  beat,  ye  wot 
how, 
If  any  lack  beating,  I  fear  i«  be  you. 

In  his  directions  for  malt-making  he  alludes 
to  the  use  of  straw  and  wood,  but  does  not 
mention   the   modern   fuel,  coke,   or  cinders.  | 
They  used,  it  seems  to  dine  at  uoon :  | 


UDDER. 

"  By  noon,  see  your  dinner  be  ready  and  neat ; 
Let  meat  tarry  servant,  not  servant  his  meat." 

The  mistress  of  the  house  then  made,  as  now 
in  some  parts  of  England,  her  own  candles,  it 
seems : 

"  Provide  for  thy  tallow,  ere  frost  cometh  in. 
And  make  thine  own  candle,  ere  winter  begin." 

Twice  a  week,  Sundays  and  Thursdays,  the 
ploughmen  were  entitled  to  roast  meat  for  sup- 
per ;  and  to  a  harvest  goose  when  the  corn  was 
gathered  in.  At  harvest-home  the  mistress  was 
enjoined, — 

"  Remember  thon,  therefore,  thouph  I  do  it  not. 
The  seed-cake  and  pasties,  and  furmety  pot." 

In  Tusser's  time  a  very  unwholesome  custom 
prevailed,  in  the  absence  of  carpets,  of  strew- 
ing the  citizens'  houses  with  rushes,  and  those 
of  the  country  with  flowers.  He  gives,  there- 
fore, a  list  of  "  strewing  flowers  of  all  sorts,'* 
in  which  we  find  only  the  common  sorts  of 
flowers  now  cultivated,  such  as  cowslips,  dai- 
sies, lavender,  roses,  sage,  tansy,  violets,  &c. 

Such  were  the  works  of  Tusser,  writings 
which  were  long  in  the  hand-book  of  the  Eng- 
lish country  gentleman.  That  they  were  popu- 
lar is  evidenced  by  the  rapid  succession  of 
copious  editions  which  fell  to  their  lot;  that 
they  were  read  with  delight  is  shown  by  the 
way  in  which  he  is  commonly  quoted  by  the 
farmer  of  all  grades.  If  he  had  spoken  in 
prose,  as  has  been  sometimes  suggested,  he 
might  certainly  have  been  more  instructive  to 
the  few,  but  he  would  not  have  been  read  by 
the  many. 

The  popular  details  and  histories  of  all  na- 
tions escaping  from  rudeness  are  commonly 
written  in  verse ;  and  multitudes  can  learn 
these  by  heart  who  never  were  taught  to  read: 
Tusser,  therefore,  is  deserving  of  the  gratitude 
of  the  English  farmer,  for  his  labours  tended 
to  improve,  to  refine,  to  elevate  the  profession 
he  celebrated  in  his  verses.  The  attempt  at 
any  thing  like  a  systematic  treatise  on  farming 
had  not,  when  Tusser  died,  been  deemed  pos- 
sible.    (Quart.  Jnurn.  Agr.  vol.  xii.  p.  69.) 

TWAYBLADE  (Listera ;  named  in  honour 
of  Martin  Lister,  M.D.,  a  famous  English  phy- 
sician and  naturalist;  best  known  as  aconcho- 
logist  and  entomologist).  A  genus  of  curious 
little  native  plants,  growing  wild  in  shady 
places.  They  may  be  grown  in  a  mixture  of 
peat  and  loam,  and  are  increased  by  divisions 
of  the  roots. 

T  W I G  -  R  U  S  H  (Cladium,  from  klados,  a 
branch  or  twig,  referring  to  the  appearance  of 
the  plant).  This  is  a  genus  of  hard,  harsh, 
rushy,  often  prickly-edged  plants,  whose  stems, 
whether  round  or  triangular,  are  more  or  less 
clothed   with    alternate   sheathing   leaves   or 

TWITCH.    See  Couch. 


U. 


UDDER.  The  glandular  organ  of  a  cow, 
mare,  ewe,  or  other  animal  which  is  destined 
for  the  secretion  of  milk.  There  are  four  teats, 
each  of  which  consists  of  two  granular  lobatetf 
glands,  comprehending  bloodvessels,  nerves 

1075 


UMBEL. 

tnd  milk  ducts,  all  of  which  first  unite  into 
eight  or  ten  principal  ducts,  and  these  again 
into  one,  which  perforates  the  skin  of  the  teat 
at  its  apex.  The  granular  part  is  the  secreting 
organ. 

UMBEL.  In  botany,  a  particular  arrange- 
ment of  the  flowers  in  certain  plants,  of  which 
the  carrot  is  a  familiar  example ;  the  pedun- 
cles and  pedicles  spring  from  a  common  centre, 
and  rise  till  they  form  a  somewhat  flat  tuft. 
The  umbel  is  a  loose  inflorescence,  the  primary 
axis  of  which  is  short,  and  the  secondary  long; 
and  the  grobel  becomes  compound  when  the 
lecondary  axes  are  developed,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  primar>'.  Both  the  primary  and 
the  secondary  umbel  is  generally  furnished 
with  bractes  at  the  point  of  its  divergence. 
The  secondary  umbel  is  termed  umbellule.  The 
'*.iflerence  between  an  umbel  and  a  corymb  is, 
iiat  in  the  latter  the  flowers  form  a  flat  head, 
the  secondary  axes  arising  alternately  from 
different  points  of  the  primary,  not,  as  in  the 
former,  springing  from  a  common  centre.  See 
iMrLONRwrK^ri. 

UMBELLIFEROUS  PLANTS  (Umbclli' 
ftur).  An  extensive  group  of  useful  plants, 
jy,^i..-ji,.,T  those  well-known  garden  vegetables 
y  '-ry,  carrots,  fennel,  caraway,  cori- 

a-  -.  anise,  lovage,  angelica,  eryngo, 

samphire,  hemlock.  The  name  of  the  class 
was  given  from  a  fanciful  resemblance  to 
•ome  parts  of  an  umbrella  or  parasol.  The 
flower-.stem  divides  at  the  top  into  a  number 
of  short,  slender  branches,  which  ail  run  from 
a  common  point  or  centre  like  the  rays  of  an 
umbrella  from  the  ring  sliding  up  and  down 
the  slick.  The  class,  though  containing  so 
many  useful  plants,  has  many  possessed  of 
extremely  poisonous  qualities,  such  as  hem- 
lock, the  fool's  parsley  ( Sithusa  cynapium,  PI. 
I0,g),  dropwort,  &c.  The  blossom  of  the  elder 
resembles  at  first  sight  those  of  umbelliferous 
plants,  to  which,  however,  the  elder  does  not 
belong,  because  the  rays  of  the  flower  do  not 
proceed  from  a  common  point,  some  being 
nijjher  and  some  lower. 

UNDERWOOD.  A  term  applied  to  coppice, 
or  any  wood  not  accounted  timber.  See  Cop- 
»icK,  FoassT,  and  Plastatiojt. 

URINE.  A  saline  fluid  secreted  from  the 
blood  of  animals  by  the  kidneys,  collected  in 
the  urinary  bladder,  and  emitted  by  the  canal 
of  the  urethni.  Urine  diflfers  in  diflJerent  ani- 
mals, and  varies  in  its  characters,  according  to 
the  kind  of  food  employed.  The  usual  salts 
contained  in  it  are,  sulphates,  phosphates,  and 
chlorides,  all  of  which  are  fertilizing  sub- 
stances. The  urine  also  of  oxen  and  horses  is 
alkaline;  it  undergoes  decomposition  less  ra- 
pidly than  that  of  carnivorous  animals:  it 
contains  hippurates,  but  no  lithic  acid,  that 
substance  which  forms  red  gravel  m  man.' 
Hippuric  acid  contains  7  per  cent,  of  nitrogen. 
Urine,  therefore,  is  of  much  use  as  a  manure, 
improving  most  kinds  of  soil.  Columella  has 
asserted  that,  stale,  it  is  excellent  for  the  roots 
«f  trees.  And  Hartlib  commends  the  Dutch 
for  preserving  (he  urine  of  cows  as  care- 
fully as  Uiey  dt  the  dung,  to  enrich  their 
.auds. 

1076 


VEGETABLE  CHEMISTRY. 

I  It  is  a  fluid  capable  of  being  employed  with 
great  benefit  both  on  meadows  and  on  arabU 
land.     See  Liauin  Manure  and  Night-soil. 

URITH.  Provincially  the  etherings  or  bind- 
ings of  hedges. 

USTILAGO  (from  ustus,  scorched  appear- 
ance). A  genus  of  fungi,  parasitical,  which 
are  found  preying  upon  the  cereal  and  other 
grasses.    See  Smut. 


V. 

VALLESNERIA  (Spiralis).  This  plant 
grows  very  abundantly  from  the  bottoms  of 
fresh  water  rivers  and  lakes  over  the  whole 
United  States,  where  the  flow  of  water  is  not 
very  rapid.  It  goes  by  the  different  names  of 
eelgrass,  tapegrass,  and  channelweed.  It  is 
upon  the  roots  of  this  grass,  or  a  native  spe- 
cies of  vallesneria,  that  the  canvass-back 
duck  feeds,  and  to  which  its  peculiarly  delicate 
flavour  is  ascribed,  by  Wilson,  the  ornitho- 
logist. 

VALUATION.     See  Appuaisement. 

VEGETABLE  CHEMISTRY  is  that  branch 
of  the  science  of  chemistry  which  relates  to 
vegetable  substances.  Under  the  heads 
Analysis,  Chemistry,  Organic  Chemistry, 
Gases,  Earths,  Water,  Salts,  &c.,  I  have 
endeavoured  to  include  all  the  facts  supplied 
by  this  important  science  for  the  assistance 
of  the  farmer  with  which  I  am  acquainted; 
I  shall,  therefore,  merely  insert  in  this  place 
the  chemical  analysis  of  the  inorganic  sub- 
stances found  in  several  of  the  commonly  cul- 
tivated crops  of  the  farmer ;  and  this  I  take 
from  p.  318,  of  the  valuable  Lectures  on  Agri- 
cultural Chemistry  and  Geology,  by  J.  F.  Johnston; 
see  also  Liebig's  Organic.  Chemistry. 

Besides  the  elements  of  the  organs  of  plants, 
other  substances,  obtained  from  inorganic  na- 
ture, are  necessary  for  certain  organs  destined 
to  special  functions  peculiar  to  each  family  of 
plants.  In  the  ashes  of  the  plants  left  after 
burning  them,  these  substances  are  found 
Almost  all  plants  contain  acids,  in  combination 
with  soda,  potassa,  lime,  alumina,  or  magnesia. 
The  quantity  of  these  salts  varies  at  different 
periods  of  the  growth  of  the  plant:  thus  unripe 
grasses  contain  more  bitartrate  of  potassa  than 
the  ripe,  and  the  potato  more  potassa  before  it 
blossoms  than  afterwards.  The  nature  of  a 
soil,  as  has  already  been  detailed,  alters  the 
quantity  of  salts  found  in  plants.  The  Salsola 
kali,  raised  from  seeds  of  plants  near  the  sea, 
in  an  inland  garden,  contains  both  potassa  and 
soda ;  but  the  plants  from  the  seed  of  this  con- 
tain potassa  only.  But  these  facts  are  detailed 
under  the  head  Salts,  &c. 

In  examining  the  results  of  these  analyza- 
tions,  the  farmer  must  remember,  that  the  acids 
and  their  bases  do  not  exist  in  plants  in  an 
uncombined  state,  but  in  combination  with 
each  other;  that  is,  as  salts. 

1.  Of  the  Ash  of  Wheat. — According  :o  the 
analysis  of  Sprengel,  1000  lbs.  of  wheat  leave 
11-77  lbs.  and  of  wheat  straw  35-18  lbs.  of  ash, 
consisting  of— 


VEGETABLE  CHEMISTRY. 

Potash          -        .        _        - 

Soda 

Lime     -        -        -        -        - 
Magnesia     -        -        -        - 
Alumina,  with  a  trace  ofiron 

Silica 

Sulphuric  acid     -        -        - 
Phosphoric  acid   -        -        - 
Chlorine       -        -        -        - 

Grain  of 
Wheat. 

Straw  of 
Wheat. 

2-25  lbs. 

2-40 

096 

0-90 

0--6 

400 

0-50 

040 

010 

0  20  lbs. 
0-29 
2-40 
0-32 
090 
28-70 
0-37 
1-70 
030 

11-77  lbs. 

3518  lbs. 

VEGETABLE  CHEMISTRY 


2.  Of  the  Mh  of  Barley. — A  thousand  pounds 
of  the  grain  of  barley  (two-rowed,  Hordeum  dis- 
tichon)  leave  23^  lbs.,  and  of  the  ripe  dry  straw 
62'42  lbs.  of  ash.    This  ash  consists  of — 


Potash         -       -       -        - 

Grain. 

straw. 

2-78  lbs. 

1-80  lbs. 

Soda 

290 

0-48 

Lime 

1-06 

5-54 

Magnesia     .... 

1-80 

0  78 

Alumina       .... 

0-25 

146 

Oxide  ofiron        -       .        . 

a  trace. 

014 

Oxide  of  manganese    - 

- 

0-20 

Silica 

1182 

38-56 

Sulphuric  acid     -        -        . 

0-59 

118 

Pho8|)lioric  acid   -        -        _ 

210 

1-60 

Chlorine       -        .        -        . 

019 

0-70 

23-49  lbs. 

•W-l^  Ibfl. 

3.  Of  the  Ash  of  Oats.—\n  1000  lbs.  of  the 
grain  of  the  oat  are  contained  about  26  lbs., 
and  of  the  dry  straw  about  57^  lbs.,  of  inorganic 
matter,  consisting  of— (see  next  column) 


Potash          .        -        -        . 

Grain. 

Stravr. 

l-501bs. 

8-70  lbs. 

Soda 

1-32 

0-2 

Lime     -        -        -        -        - 

0-86 

1-52 

Magnesia     .... 

0-67 

0-22 

Alumina       .... 

0-14 

006 

Oxide  of  iron        ... 

0-40 

002 

Oxide  of  manganese    - 

0- 

0-02 

Silica   -        -        -        -        - 

19-76 

45-88 

Sulphuric  acid      -        .        - 

0-35 

0-79 

Phosphoric  acid  -        -        - 

0-70 

012 

Chlorine       ...        - 

010 

005 

25-80  lbs. 

57-40  lbs. 

4.  Of  the  Ash  of  Rye. — The  weight  of  ash  con- 
tained in  1000  lbs.  of  the  grain  of  rye  is  10^  lbs., 
and  of  the  straw  28  lbs.  This  ash  consists  of — 


Potash         -       -       -       -  > 

Soda ( 

Lime 

Magneaia     -        -        .        - 
Alumina       .        -        -        - 
Oxide  ofiron        .        -        - 
Oxide  of  manganese    . 

Silica 

Sulphuric  acid     -        .        - 
Phosphoric  acid   -        .        - 
Chlorine       -        -        -        - 

Grain.       |       Straw. 

5-32  lbs. 

1-22 

0-44 

0-24  •> 

0-42  ]■ 

0-34 

1-64 

0-23 

0-46 

009 

S  0-32  lbs. 

loll 

1-78 
0-12 

025 

22-97 
170 
051 
0-17 

10 40  lbs. 

27-93  lbs. 

5.  Of  the  Ash  of  Beans,  Peas,  and  Vetches. — The 
ash  of  the  seed  and  straw  of  the  field  bean,  the 
field  pea,  and  the  cotnmon  vetch  {Vicia  sativa), 
dried  in  the  air,  contains  in  1000  lbs.  the  several 
inorganic  compounds  in  the  following  propor- 
tions : — 


Potash    .       -       - 

Soda       -       .       - 

Lime       -        -        . 

Magnesia 

Alumina 

Oxide  ofiron  - 

Oxide  of  manganese 

Silica 

Sulphuric  acid 

Phospiinric  acid 

Chlorine 


415 

8-16 
1-65 
1-58 
0-34 


1-26 
0-89 
2-92 
041 


21-36 


.Stnw. 


16-56 
050 
6-24 
2-9 
0-10 
007 
005 
220 
0.34 
2-26 
0-80 


Seed. 


8-10 
7-39 
0-58 
1-36 
.1-20 
0-10 

4-10 
0-53 
1-90 
0-38 


31-21 


24-64 


235 

27-30 
3-42 
060 
020 
007 
9-96 
3.37 
2-40 
004 


49-71 


Common  Vetch. 


Straw. 


8-97 
6-22 
J -60 
1-42 
0-22 
009 
0-05 
200 
0-50 
1-40 
0-43 


22-90 


18-10 
052 

1955 
3-24 
015 
009 
0-08 
4-42 
1-22 
2-80 
0-84 


51-01 


6.  The  Ash  of  the  Turnip,  Carrot,  Parsnip,  aru?  I  from  the  field,  contain  respectively  in  10,000 
Potato. — These  4  roots,  as   they  are  carried    lbs. — 


Potash  .  -  - 
Soda  -  -  - 
Lime  -  .  - 
Magnesia 

Alumina  -        -        - 
Oxide  ofiron  - 
Oxide  of  manganese 
Sili.:a       -        -        . 
Sulphuric  acid 
Phosphoric  acid 
Chlorine 


Turnip*. 


Roots. 


23-86 
10-48 
7-52 
2-54 
036 
0-32 

3"88 
801 
3-67 
2-39 


63-3 


Leaves. 


32-3 

22-2 

62-0 

5-9 

0-3 

1-7 

12"8 

25-2 

9-8 

8-7 


180-9 


35-33 
922 
6-57 
3-84 
0-39 
0-33 
0-60 
1-37 
2-70 
5-14 
0-70 


Parsnip. 


66-19     I  41-80 


Roofs,      j     Tops. 


40-28 
23-34 
3-31 
3  24 
0-50 
0-32 

0-84 
5-40 
4-01 
1-60 


81-9 
0-9 
129-7 
17-0 
0-4 
0-2 

49-4 
4-2 

19-7 
5-0 


7.  Of  the  Ash  of  the  Gi-asses  and  Clovers. — The 
following  table  might  have  been  much  en- 
larged. I  have  thought  it  necessary,  however, 
to  introduce  in  this  place  only  those  species 
of  grass  and  clover  which  are  in  most  exten- 


sive use.  I  have  also  calculated  the  weight.s 
given  below  for  these  plants  in  the  state  uf  hay 
only,  as  the  succulency  of  the  grasses — that  is, 
the  quantity  of  water  contained  in  the  green 
crop — varies  so  much  that  no  correct  estimate 

1077 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY. 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY. 


•oQld  be  made  of  the  quantity  of  inorganic  I  annexed  quantities  are  contained  in  1000  Ibi 
matter  present  in  hay  or  grass,  from  a  know- 1  of  the  dry  hay  of  each  plant : 
kdge  of  its  weight  in  the  green  state  only.  The  | 


^Um»     '      -  - 

« MainMte      •  - 

Alirailna 
OiW«  of  Iron 
Olid*  ormaDgaoMe 
Mica    • 

0«lpbttrlc  acid  • 

PlMwHNirk  acM  • 

OklMiM       -  - 


""'tifT 

Red 

Clover. 

White 
Clover. 

Lucern. 

Sainfoin. 

8-81 

19-95 

31-5 

13-40 

20-57 

3-94 

5-29 

579 

6  15 

4-37 

734 

27-80 

23-48 

4831 

2195 

0-90 

3-33 

3-05 

3-48 

2-88 

0-31 

014 

1-90 

0-30 

066 

063 

030 

27-72 

3-60 

14-73 

3-30 

5- 

3-53 

4-47 

3-53 

404 

341 

0-'i5 

6-57 

505 

13-07 

916 

0-06 

3-62 

211 

3-18 

1-57 

52-86 

74-78 

91-32 

95-53 

69  57 

VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY  is  that  sci- 
which  treats  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  its 
habits,  properties;,  and  organization,  in  the  most 
comprehensive  manner.  Its  object.*!  have  been 
elearly  staled  by  Mrs.  Marcet,  in  her  excellent 
Comttrtalums  on  I'egftabU  Physiology,  when  de- 
scribinir  the  lectures  of  M.  Decandolle  on  this 
science ,  snd  what  she  has  so  well  described, 
it  is  Beedless  lor  me  to  give  in  other  words. 
*8o  far  from  confining  himself  to  the  classifi- 
^tion  of  plants,  the  physiologist  examines  the 
tfCfretable  kingdom  in  its  most  comprehensive 
and  philosophical  point  of  view.  In  describing 
the  structure,  he  investigates  the  habits  and 
properties  of  plants^  and  shows,  not  only  how 
VODderfuUy  they  have  been  formed  to  fulfil  the 
purposes  of  their  own  multiplication  and  pre- 
servation, but  how  admirably  they  answer  the 
high  purpose  which  nature  has  assigned  to 
them,  of  ministering  to  the  welfare  of  the  ani- 
mal creation,  and  more  especially  to  that  of 
man.  He  turns  his  attention  particularly  to 
point  out  the  means  by  which  the  science  of 
botany  can  promote  that  with  which  it  is  most 
intimately  and  importantly  connected — agricul- 
ture. He  makes  ready  the  soil  and  sows  the  seed 
for  the  husbandman ;  he  extracts  the  healing 
juice.s  and  the  salutary  poisons  for  the  physi- 
cian; he  prepares  materials  for  the  weaver,  co- 
lours for  the  dyer :  in  a  word,  as  he  proceeds, 
there  is  scarcely  an  art  on  which  he  does  not 
confer  some  benefit,  either  by  pointing  out  a 
new  truth,  or  warning  against  an  old-establish- 
ed error."  From  this  description  of  the  objects 
of  the  science  of  vegetable  physiology,  the 
reader  will  see  that  almost  all  its  difl^erent 
branches  are  treated  of  separately  in  articles 
which  are  dispersed  through  this  volume.  It 
is  only,  therefore,  a  few  scattered  fragments 
which  I  propose  to  gather  together  in  this 
place  See  Acclimation,  Botast,  Eauths, 
Gasbs.  Liobt,  Putrekactiox,  Salts,  Tempe- 
BATTRK,  Water,  Ac. 

The  description  of  the  cambium  for  the  de- 
scending sap  of  plants  was  omitted  in  its  pro- 
rer  place,  and  the  efl'ect  of  gravity  or  attrac- 
tion upon  plants  was  referred  to  this  head. 
1  he  sap  having  ascended  into  the  leaves,  and 
bemg  in  its  course  gradually  altered  into  a 
luid  suitable  for  the  nourishment  of  the  plant, 
descends  principally  through  the  liber,  or  inner 
layer  of  bark,  but  a  small  portion  also  descends 
through  the  young  wood,  or  alburnum.  This 
movement,  espeoiallv  through  the  plants  with 


pendent  branches,  is  materially  facilitated  by 
motion,  as  by  the  action  of  the  wind.  "  Mr. 
Knight,"  adds  Mrs.  Marcet,  "  has  made  a  va- 
riety of  interesting  experiments  on  this  subject. 
He  confined  both  the  stem  and  branches  of  a 
tree  in  such  a  manner  that  it  could  not  be 
moved  by  the  wind.  The  plant  became  feeble, 
and  its  growth  much  inferior  to  that  of  a 
similar  tree  growing  in  its  natural  state.  He 
confined  another  tree  so  that  it  could  be  moved 
only  ]jy  the  north  and  south  winds,  and  ob- 
tained the  singular  result  of  an  oval  stem,  the 
sides  accessible  to  the  wind  growing  more 
vigorously  than  those  sheltered  from  its  influ- 
ence. Every  species  of  restraint,  and  espe- 
cially such  as  tend  to  render  plants  motion- 
less, impedes  their  growth.  Stakes  by  which 
young  trees  are  propped,  nailing  them  to  walls 
or  trellises,  green-houses,  or  confined  situations 
where  the  air  has  not  free  access,  check  and 
injure  the  vigour  of  vegetation,  and  render 
plants  diminutive  and  weakly.  The  cambium 
descends  almost  entirely  through  the  liber  or 
most  internal  and  youngest  layer  of  the  bark; 
if,  therefore,  a  ring  is  cut  completely  through 
the  bark,  this  fluid  is  arrested  in  its  course, 
and,  accumulating  around  the  upper  edge  of 
the  intersected  bark,  will  cause  an  annular  pro- 
tuberance. The  descent  of  the  cambium  thus 
being  obstructed,  it  will  accumulate  in  that  part 
of  the  tree  above  the  intersection,  aflTord  it  a 
superabundance  of  nourishment,  creating  a 
proportional  vigour  of  vegetation,  and  a  cor- 
responding excellence  and  profusion  of  pro- 
duce." This  operation,  or  ringing,  is  often  per- 
formed on  the  non-productive  branches  of  fruit 
trees. 

The  eflfect  of  gravitation  or  attraction  upon 
plants  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  their  ger- 
mination and  their  growth.  From  the  very 
nature,  however,  of  this  essentially  present 
power,  a  principle  known  only  to  us  by  its 
eflfects,  the  research  is  surrounded  with  difli- 
culties.  Mr.  Knight,  the  late  excellent  presi- 
dent of  the  Horticultural  Society,  described 
some  of  the  eff'ects  of  gravity  upon  plants  in 
his  usual  happy  manner,  when,  in  addressing 
the  fellows  of  the  Royal  Society,  he  observed, 
"  It  can  scarcely  have  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
most  inattentive  observer  of  vegetation,  that  in 
whatever  position  a  seed  is  placed  to  germi- 
nate, its  radicle  invariably  makes  an  effort  to 
descend  towards  the  centre  of  the  earth,  while 
the  elongated  germen  takes  precisely  the  oppo- 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY. 

;ute  direction ;  and  it  has  been  proved  by  Du- 
liamel,  that  if  a  seed  during  its  germination  be 
.  requently  inverted,  the  points  both  of  the  radi- 
'jle  and  gerraen  will  return  to  the  first  direc- 
ion.  Some  naturalists  have  supposed  these 
Dpposite  effects  to  be  produced  by  gravitation ; 
md  it  is  not  difficult  to  conceive  that  the  same 
agent,  by  operating  on  bodies  so  differently 
organized  as  the  radicle  and  germen  of  plants 
are,  may  occasion  the  one  to  descend  and  the 
other  to  ascend."  The  hypothesis  of  these  na- 
turalists it  was  the  intention  of  Knight  to  exa- 
mine by  certain  experiments,  which  he  thus 
proceeds  to  describe:  "I  conceived  that  if  gra- 
vitation were  the  cause  of  the  descent  of  the 
radicle  and  the  ascent  of  the  germen,  it  must 
act  either  by  its  immediate  influence  on  the 
vegetable  fibres  and  vessels  during  their  forma- 
tion, or  on  the  motion  and  consequent  distribu- 
tion of  the  true  sap  afforded  by  the  cotyledons; 
and  as  gravitation  could  produce  these  effects 
only  while  the  seed  remained  at  rest,  and  in 
the  same  position  relative  to  the  attraction  of 
the  earth,  I  imagined  that  its  operation  would  be- 
come suspended  by  constant  and  rapid  change 
of  the  position  of  the  germinating  seed,  and 
that  it  might  be  counteracted  by  the  agency  of 
centrifugal  force.  Having  a  strong  rill  of  wa- 
ter passing  through  my  garden,  I  constructed  a 
small  wheel,  similar  to  those  usfjd  for  grinding 
corn,  adapting  a  wheel  of  a  different  construc- 
tion, and  formed  of  very  slender  pieces  of 
wood,  to  the  same  axis. 

"Round  the  circumference  of  the  latter,  which 
was  11  inches  in  diameter,  numerous  seeds  of 
the  garden  bean,  which  had  been  soaked  in 
water  to  produce  the  greatest  degree  of  expan- 
sion, were  bound  at  short  distances  from  each 
ether.  The  radicles  of  these  seeds  were  made 
to  point  in  every  direction,  some  towards  the 
centre  of  the  wheel,  and  others  in  the  opposite 
direction ;  others  at  tangents  to  its  curve ;  some 
pointing  backwards  and  others  forwards,  rela- 
tive to  its  motion,  and  others  pointing  in  oppo- 
site directions  in  lines  parallel  with  the  axis 
of  the  wheels.  The  whole  was  enclosed  in  a 
box  and  secured  by  a  lock,  and  a  wire-grate 
was  placed  to  prevent  the  ingress  of  any  body 
capable  of  impeding  the  motion  of  the  wheels. 
The  water  being  then  admitted,  the  wheels  per- 
formed something  more  than  150  revolutions 
in  a  niinute,  and  the  position  of  the  seeds  rela- 
tively to  the  earth  was  as  often  perfectly  in- 
verted within  the  same  period  of  time,  by  which 
I  conceive  that  the  influence  of  gravitation 
must  have  been  wholly  suspended.  In  a  few 
days  the  seeds  began  to  germinate;  I  soon  per- 
ceived that  the  radicles,  in  whatever  direction 
they  were  protruded  from  the  position  of  the 
seed,  turned  their  points  outward  from  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  wheel,  and  in  their  subse- 
quent growth  receded  nearly  at  right  angles 
from  its  axis.  The  germens,  on  the  contrary, 
took  the  opposite  direction,  and  in  a  few  days 
their  points  all  met  in  the  centre  of  the  wheel. 
Three  of  these  plants  were  suffered  to  remain 
on  the  wheel,  and  were  secured  to  its  spokes 
to  prevent  their  being  shaken  off  by  its  mo- 
tion. The  stems  of  these  plants  soon  extended 
beyond  the  centre;  but  the  same  cause  which 
first  occasioned  them  to  approach  its  axis  still 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGf 

'  operating,  their  points  returned  and  met  again 
at  its  centre.     The  motion  of  the  wheel  being 

,  in  this  experiment  vertical,  the  radicle  and  ger- 
men of  every  seed  occupied  during  a  minute 

I  portion  of  time  in  each  revolution  precisely  the 
same  position  they  would  have  assumed  had 
the  plants  vegetated  at  rest;  and  as  gravitation 
and  centrifugal  force  also  acted  in  lines  paral- 
lel with  the  vertical  motion  and  surface  of  the 
wheel,  I  conceived  that  some  slight  objections 
might  be  urged  against  the  conclusions  I  felt 
inclined  to  draw.  I  therefore  added  to  the  ma- 
chinery I  have  described  another  wheel,  which 
moved  horizontally  over  the  vertical  wheels ; 
and  to  this,  by  means  of  multiplying  wheels  of 
different  powers,  I  was  enabled  to  give  many 
different  degrees  of  velocity.  Round  the  cir* 
cumference  of  the  horizontal  wheel,  whose  dia- 
meter was  also  11  inches,  seeds  of  the  bean 
were  bound  as  in  the  experiment  which  I  have 
already  described,  and  it  was  then  made  to  per- 
form 250  revolutions  in  a  minute.  By  the 
rapid  motion  of  the  water-wheel,  much  water 
was  thrown  upwards  on  the  horizontal  wheel, 
part  of  which  supplied  the  seeds  upon  it  with 
moisture,  and  the  remainder  was  dispersed  in 
a  light  and  constant  shower  over  the  seeds  in 
the  vertical  wheel,  and  on  others  placed  to 
vegetate  at  rest  in  different  parts  of  the  box. 

"  Every  seed  on  the  horizontal  wheel,  though 
moving  with  great  rapidity,  necessarily  retained 
the  same  position  relative  to  the  attraction  of 
the  earth,  and  therefore  the  operation  of  gravity 
could  not  be  suspended,  though  it  might  be 
counteracted  in  a  very  considerable  degree  by 
centrifugal  force,  and  the  difference  I  had  an- 
ticipated between  the  effects  of  rapid  vertical 
and  horizontal  motion  soon  became  suflicient- 
ly  obvious.  The  radicles  pointed  downwards 
about  10  degrees  below,  and  the  germens  as 
many  degrees  above,  the  horizontal  line  of  the 
wheel's  motion,  centrifugal  force  having  made 
both  to  deviate  80  degrees  from  the  perpendi- 
cular direction  each  would  have  taken  had 
they  vegetated  at  rest.  Gradually  diminishing 
the  rapidity  of  the  horizontal  wheel,  the  radi- 
cles descended  more  perpendicularly,  and  the 
germens  grew  more  upright,  and,  when  it  did 
not  perform  more  than  80  revolutions  in  a  mi- 
nute, the  radicle  pointed  about  45  degrees  be- 
low, and  the  germens  as  much  above,  the  hori- 
zontal line;  the  one  always  receding  from, 
and  the  other  approaching  to,  the  axis  of  the 
wheel. 

"I  would  not,  however,  be  understood  to 
assert  that  the  velocity  of  250  or  80  horizontal 
revolutions  in  a  minute  will  always  give  accu- 
rately the  degrees  of  depression  and  elevation 
of  the  radicle  and  germen  which  I  have  men- 
tioned; for  the  rapidity  of  the  motion  of  my 
wheels  was  somewhat  diminished  by  the  col- 
lection of  fibres  of  confervae  against  the  wire 
grate,  which  obstructed  in  some  degree  the 
passage  of  the  water ;  and  the  machinery  hav- 
ing been  the  workmanship  of  myself  and  m> 
gardener,  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  movtd 
with  all  the  regularity  it  might  have  done,  had 
it  been  the  work  of  a  professed  mechanic.  But 
I  conceive  myself  to  have  fully  proved  that  the 
radicles  of  germinating  seeds  are  made  to  de- 
scend, and  their  germens  to  ascend,  bv  soa»«» 

1079' 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY. 

eiiem»l  cause,  and  not  by  any  power  inherent 
in  vepptable  life;  and  I  see  little  reason  to 
doubt  that  gravitation  is  the  principal,  if  not 
lh« only,  agent  employed  in  this  case  by  nature. 
Mr.  Knight  has  endeavoured  to  point  out  the 
neans  by  which  he  conceives  the  same  agent 
may  pnKluce  eftects  so  diametrically  opposite 
lo  etch  (Hher. 

It  hnH,  however,  been  objected  by  Duhamel 
(and  the  greatest  deference  is  always  duu  to 
hi»  i»f  inions)  that  gravitation  could  have  little 
indarnre  on  the  direction  of  the  germen,  were 
it,  in  the  first  instance,  protruded,  or  were  it 
rob«eqii»*nlly  inverted,  and  made  to  point  per- 
pendicularly downwards.  To  enable  myself, 
says  Mr.  Knight,  lo  answer  this  objection,  I 
made  manf  experiments  on  trees  of  the  horse- 
ebestnui  and  of  the  bean,  in  the  box  I  have 
already  described ;  and  as  the  seeds  there  were 
stinpendcd  out  of  the  earth,  I  could  regularly 
watch  the  progress  of  every  effort  made  by  the 
radicle  and  germen  to  change  their  positions. 
The  extremity  of  the  radicle  of  the  bean,  when 
made  t«»  point  perpendicularly  upwards,  gene- 
raJiy  formed  a  considerable  curvature  within 
a  or  4  hours  when  the  weather  was  warm. 
The  germen  was  more  sluggish ;  but  it  rarely 
or  never  failed  to  change  its  direction  in  the 
coarse  o(  84  hours ;  and  all  my  efforts  to  make 
it  grow  downwards  by  slightly  changing  its 
direction  were  invariably  abortive. 

As  trees  possess  the  power  of  turning  the 
imper  surfaces  of  their  leaves  and  the  points 
or  their  shoots  to  the  light,  and  their  tendrils  in 
any  direction  to  attach  themselves  to  conti- 
foous  objects,  it  may  be  suspected  that  their 
lateral  nnns  are  by  some  means  directed  to  any 
soil  in  their  vicinity  which  is  best  calculated 
to  nonrish  the  plant  to  which  they  belong;  and 
it  h  well  known  that  much  the  greater  part  of 
the  rtxiis  of. an  aquatic  plant  which  has  grown 
in  a  drj-  soil,  on  the  margin  of  a  lake  or  river, 
have  been  found  to  point  to  the  water,  whilst 
tbose  of  another  species  of  tree  which  thrives 
best  in  a  dry  soil  have  been  ascertained  to  take 
an  opposite  direction  :  but  the  result  of  some 
experiments  I  have  made  is  not  favourable  to 
this  hypothesis ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
that  the  roots  disperse  themselves  in  every 
direction,  and  only  become  more  numerous 
where  they  find  most  employment,  and  a  soil 
best  adapted  to  the  species  of  plant. 

A  tree  growing  upon  a  wall  at  some  distance 
from  '.he  ground,  and  consequently  ill  supplied 
with  food  and  water,  has  also  been  observed  to 
adapt  its  habits  to  its  situation,  and  to  make 
▼ery  singular  and  well-directed  efforts  to  reach 
the  soil  beneath  by  means  of  its  roots.  Dur- 
ing the  period  in  which  it  is  making  such 
efforts,  little  addition  is  made  to  its  branches, 
and  almost  the  whole  powers  of  the  plant  ap- 
pear to  be  directed  to  the  growth  of  one  or 
more  of  its  principal  roots.  To  these  much  in 
coiijequence  is  annually  added,  and  they  pro- 
ceed perpendicularly  towards  the  earth,  unless 
made  to  deviate  by  some  opposing  body;  and 
as  soon  as  the  roots  have  attached  themselves 
to  the  soil,  the  branches  grow  with  vigour  and 
rapidity,  and  the  plant  assumes  the  ordinary 
abits  of  its  species.. 

In  some  other  experiments  of  Knight  to  illus 
1080 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY 

trate  these  highly  interesting  habits  of  plants, 
pieces  of  alum,  and  of  the  sulphate  of  iron 
(green  vitriol),  blue  vitriol  (sulphate  of  cop- 
per), were  placed  at  small  distances  perpendi- 
cularly beneath  the  radicles  of  germinating 
seeds  of  different  species,  to  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  whether  any  efforts  could 
be  made  by  them  to  avoid  poisons ;  but  ihey 
did  not  appear  to  be  at  all  influenced  except  by 
actual  contact  of  the  injurious  substances. 
The  growth  of  their  fibrous  lateral  roots  was,, 
however,  obviously  accelerated  when  their 
points  approached  any  considerable  quantity 
of  decomposing  vegetable  or  animal  matter; 
and  when  the  growth  of  the  roots  was  retarded 
by  want  of  moisture,  the  contiguity  of  water 
in  the  adjoining  mould,  though  not  apparently 
in  actual  contact  with  them,  operated  benefi- 
cially: but  I  had  reason  to  suspect  that  the 
growth  of  roots  was,  under  these  circum- 
stances, promoted  by  actual  contact  with  the 
detached  and  fugitive  particles  of  the  decom- 
posing body  and  the  evaporating  water. 

The  way  in  which  plants  establish  them- 
selves in  opposition  to  the  various  obstacles 
they  have  to  encounter,  as,  for  instance,  in 
withstanding  violent  winds,  is  very  remarkable. 
The  growth  and  forms  assumed  by  the  roots 
of  trees  of  every  species  are,  to  a  great  extent, 
dependent  upoa  the  quantity  of  motion  which 
their  stems  and  branches  receive  from  winds ; 
for  the  effects  of  motion  upon  the  growth  of 
the  root  and  of  the  trunk  and  branches  are 
perfectly  similar.  Whatever  part  of  a  root  is 
moved  and  bent  by  winds  or  other  causes,  an 
increased  deposition  of  alburnous  matter  upon 
that  part  soon  takes  place,  and  consequently 
the  roots  which  immediately  adjoin  the  trunk 
of  an  insulated  tree  in  an  exposed  situation  be- 
come strong  and  rigid,  whilst  they  diminish 
rapidly  in  bulk  as  they  recede  from  the  trunk, 
and  descend  into  the  ground ;  by  this  sudden 
diminution  of  the  bulk  of  the  roots  the  passage 
of  the  descending  sap  through  their  bark  is  ob- 
structed, and  it,  in  consequence,  generates,  and 
passes  into  many  lateral  roots,  and  these,  if  the 
tree  be  still  much  agitated  by  winds,  assume  a 
similar  form,  and  consequently  divide  into 
many  others.  A  kind  of  net-work,  composed 
of  thick  and  strong  roots,  is  thus  formed,  and 
the  tree  is  secured  from  the  danger  to  which 
its  situation  would  otherwise  expose  it.  In  a 
sheltered  valley,  on  the  contrary,  where  a  tree 
is  surrounded  and  protected  by  others,  and  is 
rarely  agitated  by  winds,  the  roots  grow  long 
and  slender,  like  the  stem  and  branches,  and 
comparatively  much  less  of  the  circulating 
fluid  is  expended  in  the  deposition  of  alburnum 
beneath  the  ground  ;  and  hence  it  not  un fre- 
quently happens  that  a  tree  in  the  most  shel- 
tered part  of  a  valley  is  uprooted,  whilst  the 
exposed  and  insulated  tree  upon  the  adjoining 
mountain  remains  uninjured  by  the  fury  of  the 
storm. 

j  All  such  investigations  as  these  are  fraught 
i  with  instruction  to  the  cultivator  of  the  earth. 
i  They  not  only  illustrate  the  every-day  opera- 
tions of  the  farmer,  but  they  guard  him  against 
j  the  adoption  of  specious  novelties  and  unsci- 
j  entific  efforts  to  increase  the  fertility  of  the 
soil.    Such  researches,  too,  will  hardly  fail  to 


VEGETABLE  PHYSIOLOGY. 


VENTILATION. 


instruct  and  elevate  the  character  of  the  tiller 
of  the  earth  in  more  ways  than  one.  They 
will  teach  him,  as  M.  Mirbel  long  since  well 
remarked,  that  every  operation  "  is  connected 
in  the  vast  system  of  the  globe,  and  that  order 
emanates  from  the  equipoise  of  conflicting 
phenomena.  Animals  carry  off  the  oxygen  of 
the  atmosphere,  replacing  it  by  carbonic  acid 
gas ;  and  are  thus  at  work  to  adulterate  the 
constitution  of  the  air  and  render  it  unfit  for 
respiration.  Vegetables  take  up  carbonic  acid 
gas,  retain  the  carbon,  and  give  out  oxygen ; 
and  are  thus  purifying  the  air  tainted  by  ani- 
mals, and  re-establishing  the  necessary  propor- 
tions between  its  elements.  In  Europe,  while 
our  vegetables,  stripped  by  the  severity  of  the 
season  of  their  foliage,  no  longer  yield  the  air 
contributing  to  life,  the  salutary  gas  is  borne 
to  us  by  trade  winds  from  the  southernmost 
regions  of  America.  Breezes  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  world  intermingle  thus  the  various 
strata  of  the  atmosphere,  and  keep  its  consti- 
tution uniform  in  all  seasons  and  at  all  eleva- 
tions. The  substances  which  are  produced  by 
the  dissolution  of  animal  and  vegetable  matter 
are  absorbed  by  plants,  and  constitute  a  por- 
tion of  the  nourishment  by  which  they  are 
maintained ;  plants,  in  their  turn,  become  the 
food  of  animals,  and  these  again  the  prey  of 
others  which  subsist  on  flesh.  Yet,  in  spite  of 
this  perpetual  state  of  war  and  destruction, 
nothing  perishes,  for  all  is  regenerated.  Na- 
ture has  ordained  that  the  two  great  divisions 
of  organized  beings  should  depend  the  one 
upon  the  other  for  support,  and  that  both  the 
life  and  death  of  individuals  should  be  equally 
serviceable  in  preserving  the  harmony  of  the 
universe." 

If  we  come  to  consider  vegetation  as  it  re- 
gards ourselves,  we  shall  find  that  this  great 
agent  of  nature,  subjected  iu  a  certain  degree 
to  the  control  of  man  in  a  state  of  society,  is 
the  main  source  of  his  prosperity  or  of  his 
misery.  How  many  countries  have  the  greedy 
ambition  of  priuces,  and  the  degradation  and 
ignorance  of  the  people,  made  barren  !  Recol- 
lect what  Asia  Minor,  Judea,  Egypt,  the  pro- 
vinces at  the  foot  of  Mount  Atlas,  have  been, 
and  behold  what  they  are  at  this  day.  Recol- 
lect Greece,  once  the  country  of  science  and 
of  liberty,  now  that  of  ignorance  and  slavery ; 
she  can  be  only  recognised  in  her  ruins,  and 
her  monuments  of  the  dead.  Man  had  denied 
his  labour  to  the  earth,  and  the  earth  her  trea- 
sures to  man;  all  vanished  with  agriculture. 
The  traveller  who  passes  that  country  of  so 
great  renown,  finds,  in  the  place  of  the  fine 
forests  that  crowned  its  mountains,  of  the  rich 
harvests  reaped  by  twenty  busy  nations,  of  the 
numerous  flocks  that  enriched  its  fields,  only 
naked  rocks  and  sterile  sands,  with  here  and 
there  a  miserable  village.  He  seeks  in  vain 
for  several  rivers  recorded  in  history  ;  the;-^  are 
gone  !  Thus  the  rage  of  conquest  and  of  rule 
not  only  overturns  cities,  depopulates  whole 
countries,  and  brings  back  barbarism,  but  it 
dries  up  the  very  springs  from  which  the  natu- 
ral riches  of  the  earth  have  flowed.  To  these 
melancholy  resu.ts  of  our  passions  we  might 
oppose  the  more  cheerful  ones  of  our  industry; 
but  they  are  more  properly  within  the  province  ] 
136 


]  of  the   arts  of  cultivation  than  of  vegetable 
phvsiologv. 

^  VEGETABLE  MARROW^  {Cucnrhita  ovifcra). 
This  fruit  of  the  succada  gourd  is  uniformly 
of  a  pale  yellow  colour,  and  of  an  elliptic* 
oblong  shape,  the  surface  having  irregular, 
longitudinal  ribs,  uniting  into  a  projecting 
apex.  When  full  grown  it  is  about  9  inches 
in  length  and  4  in  diameter,  and  is  by  far  the 
best  adapted  for  culinary  purposes  of  any  spe- 
cies of  the  gourd  tribe.  It  is  of  recent  intro- 
duction into  Europe,  having  been  brought  from 
Persia.  It  is  useful  for  culinary  purposes  in 
every  stage  of  its  growth  ;  ^hen  very  young, 
it  is  good  if  fried  with  butter;  when  large,  or 
about  half-grown,  it  is  excellent  either  when 
plain,  boiled,  or  stewed  with  rich  sauce ;  for 
either  of  these  purposes  it  should  be  cut  in 
slices.  The  flesh  has  a  peculiar  tenderness 
and  softness,  from  which  circumstance  it  has 
received  its  name,  much  resembling  the  buttery 
quality  of  the  bcurrd  pear,  and  this  property  re 
mains  with  it  till  it  is  full-grown,  when  it  is 
used  for  pies.  It  is  in  its  intermediate  state  of 
growth  that  it  is  likely  to  be  most  approved. 
Compared  with  all  the  other  vegetables  of  the 
same  family,  its  superiority  is  decided.  I  con- 
sider the  vegetable  marrow  without  a  rival. 

"  We  have  grown  the  true  vegetable  marrow 
two  seasons,"  says  the  editor  of  the  Cultivator, 
"and  although  we  have  not  used  it  in  the  inter- 
mediate state  of  its  growth,  as  recommended  by 
Mr.Sabine,  we  esteem  it  among  the  best  varieties 
of  the  cucurbita  for  boiling  and  for  pies.  It  is 
cultivated  like  the  common  pumpkin  or  squash, 
and  will  ripen  in  the  U.  S.  in  a  high  latitude." 

VEGETABLES.  The  observations  of  vege- 
table physiologists  and  the  researches  of  che- 
mists have  mutually  contributed  to  establish 
the  fact,  that  the  growth  and  developement  of 
vegetables  depend  on  the  rejection  of  oxygen, 
which  is  separated  from  the  other  component 
parts  of  their  nourishment. 

In  contradistinction  to  vegetable  life,  the  life 
of  animals  exhibits  itself  in  the  continual  ab- 
sorption of  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and  its  com- 
bination with  certain  component  parts  of  the 
animal  body. 

While  no  part  of  an  organized  being  can 
serve  as  food  to  vegetables,  until,  by  the  pro- 
cesses of  putrefaction  and  decay,  it  has  as- 
sumed the  form  of  inorganic  matter,  the  ani- 
mal organism  requires,  for  its  support  and 
developement,  highly  organized  atoms.  The 
food  of  all  animals,  in  all  circumstances,  con- 
sists of  parts  of  organisms. 

Assimilation,  or  the  process  of  formation 
and  growth, — in  other  words,  the  passage  of 
matter  from  a  state  of  motion  to  that  of  rest,— 
goes  on  in  the  same  way  in  animals  and  in 
vegetables.  In  both,  the  same  cause  determines 
the  increase  of  mass.  This  constitutes  the 
true  vegetable  life,  which  is  carried  on  without 
consciousness.     (Liehig's  Animal  Chemistri/.) 

VENISON.  The  flesh  of  deer.  See  Deer 
and  Meat. 

VENTILATION.  The  injurious  effects  of 
close  and  dirty  stables,  and  other  places  where 
stock  are  often  kept,  and  the  great  advantajje? 
derived  from  securing  a  proper  veritilaTioii  or 
continual  supply  of  fresh  unbreathed  air  to 
4  Y  1081 


VENTILATION. 

J,  are  matters  which  have  received,  of  late,  j 
agrctt  Ut-al  of  merite«l  attention.  The  owner  of 
borset  or  othf  r  Mock,  intent  upon  protecting  these 
from  the  wet  ami  cold,  and  placing  theni  in  the 
moat  favourable  position  to  take  on  lat,  often  ex- 
po««t  them  to  the  most  injurious  effects  induced 
by  the  breathing  of  impure  air.  «  We  generally 
find,"  »ayi  an  able  writer  upon  this  subject, 
••that  the  unhealthinesa  of  the  atmosphere  in 
wbirb  ttableti  horses  and  cattle  are  placed, 
increMM  with  the  value  of  the  animal ;  this  is 
specially  the  case  with  the  horse.  The  groom 
finding  no  mode  so  easy  in  his  endeavours  to 
procure  for  hit  horses  a  fine  coat,  as  that  of 
keeping  ihcm  in  a  high  temperature,  is  pretty 
•ore,  if  not  restrained,  to  effect  this  by  excluding 
from  his  stable  every  breath  of  air  by  which  its 
temperature  may  be  lowered,  or  its  purity  pre- 
•ervetl.  It  results  then  (often,  it  is  true,  by  slow 
degrees)  that  the  animal,  from  the  breathing  an 
■tmosphere  surcharged  as  a  certain  consequence 
with  the  carbonic  acid  gas  emitted  from  the 
lungs  of  the  horses  in  the  stable,  and  with  fumes 
of  ammonia  from  the  decomposing  urine  with 
which  the  floor  is  saturated  (a  decomposition 
accelerated  by  the  warmth  of  the  place),  becomes 
tender  and  diseased.  That  to  this  source  must 
be  attributed  the  majority  of  those  diseases  of 
the  lungs  by  which  so  many  valuable  horses  are 
annually  carried  off,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt. 

*  The  temperature  of  the  stable,'  says  Professor 
Youatt,  in  his  excellent  treatise  on  the  horse, 

*  should  never  in  winter  exceed  ten  degrees 
above  that  of  the  external  air,  and  during  the 
rest  of  the  year  should  be  as  similar  to  it  as 
possible.'  And  he  adds  a  fact  which  is  far  too 
little  known  to  the  owners  of  live  stock:  'The 
return  to  a  hot  stable  is  quite  as  dangerous  as 
the  change  from  a  heated  atmosphere  to  a  cold 
and  biting  air.  Many  a  horse  that  has  travelled 
without  injury  over  a  bleak  country,  has  been 
suddenly  seized  with  inflammation  and  fever 
when  he  has  immediately  at  the  end  of  his 
journey  been  surrounded  with  heated  and  foul 
air.'  ♦  And,'  he  adds  in  another  place,  'of  no- 
thing are  we  more  certain,  than  that  in  the 
majority  of  the  maladies  of  the  horse,  those  of 
the  worst  and  most  fatal  character,  directly  or 
indirectly  are  to  be  attributed  to  the  unnatural 
heat  of  the  stable.'  The  evil,  then,  being  cer- 
tain, the  remedy  merely  consisting  in  the  better 
and  more  ri-^/Zar  ventilation  of  the  stable,  can  I 
orge  opon  the  horse's  owner  a  more  reasonable 
or  a  more  profitable  improvement  than  this  ? 
My  own  experience  tells  me  that  a  warm  box, 
well  ventilated  and  constantly  kept  clean,  is  by 
for  the  best  and  the  most  healthy  medium  in 
which  a  horse  can  be  placed.  Both  elea}rli?iexs 
and  ventilation  must,  of  course,  go  together;  for 
it  ia  easy  to  lose  the  advantages  of  ventilation 
by  a  disregard  to  the  cleanliness  of  the  stable. 

"  With  regard  to  the  stall-fed  cow  and  the  ox, 
the  same  erroneous  mode  of  treatment  is  too 
constantly  adopted  :  warmth  and  qiiiet,  and  an 
absence  of  light,  it  is  true,  have  all  been  deter- 
mined to  be  highly  conducive  to  the  rapid  pro- 
gress of  the  animal  to  maturity,  but  no  sensible 
farmer  ever  yet  concluded  that  the  purity  or  the 
foulness  of  the  air  in  which  the  animal  is  placed, 
»s  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference:  and  yet  in 
now  many  instances  are  such  cows,  such  fatten- 
ing oxen,  stall-fed,  in  an  atmosphere  in  which 
the  lungs  of  the  animals  must  be  weakened,  their 

low 


VENTILATION. 

health  endangered  ?  How  commonly  do  we  sea 
them  placed  in  low  close  stables,  into  which  a 
breath  of  fresh  air  rarely  enters  '  It  is  idle  to 
contend  thai  to  confine  them  in  such  an  atmo- 
sphere does  them  no  injury.  It  has  been  found 
that  the  same  kind  of  impure  air  which  these 
animals  are  too  often  made  to  endure,  is  cer- 
tain death  to  the  smaller  animals  ;  and,  that  the 
mortality  increases  as  the  size  of  the  animal 
decreases,  has  been  well  shown  by  many  curious 
and  valuable  inquiries.  I  will  give  a  few  only 
of  these,  being  quite  sure  that  to  many  of  iny 
readers  they  will  afford  matter  of  grave  and 
useful  reflection,  when  they  are  considering  the 
ventilation  not  only  of  the  stables  of  their  live 
stock,  but  of  the  cottages  of  their  labourers,  and 
the  rooms  which  the  farmer  is  himself  inhabiting. 
Let  us  commence  our  inquiries,  then,  with  the 
effects  of  bad  air  upon  the  smaller  tribes  of 
birds,  and  proceed  afterwards  to  the  larger  ani- 
mals. *  It  is  well  known,'  says  Dr.  Arnott 
(Report  of  Commissio?iers  npo?i  the  Health  of 
Towns,  p.  61),  'that  a  canary  bird  suspended 
near  the  top  of  a  curtained  bedstead  in  which 
people  have  slept,  will  generally,  owing  to  the 
impurity  of  the  air,  be  found  dead  in  the  morn- 
ing; and  small,  close  rooms,  in  the  habitations 
of  the  poor,  are  sometimes  as  ill-ventilated  as 
the  curtained  bedstead.' 

"Mr.  Edwin  Chadwick,  the  excellent  Secre- 
tary to  the  Poor-Law  Commissioners,  in  his  able 
supplementary  report  upon  the  sanatory  condi- 
tion of  the  labouring  classes,  gives  some  striking 
facts  in  illustration  of  the  ill  effects  of  bad  smells 
upon  the  health  of  small  birds.  He  says  (p.  10), 
'  In  the  course  of  some  inquiries  which  I  made 
with  Professor  Owen,  when  examining  a  slaugh- 
terman as  to  the  effects  of  the  effluvia  of  animal 
remains  on  himself  and  family,  some  other  facts 
were  elicited  illustrative  of  the  effects  of  such 
effluvia  on  still  more  delicate  life.  The  man 
had  lived  in  Bear  Yard,  near  Clare  Market, 
which  was  exposed  to  the  combined  effluvia 
from  a  slaughter-house  and  a  tripe  factory.  He 
was  a  bird  fancier,  but  he  found  that  he  could 
not  rear  his  birds  in  this  place.  He  had  known 
a  bird,  fresh  caught  in  the  summer  time,  die  there 
in  a  week.  He  particularly  noted,  as  having  a 
fatal  influence  on  the  birds,  the  stench  raised  by 
boiling  down  the  fat  from  the  tripe  offal.  He 
said,  '  You  may  hang  the  cage  out  of  the  garret 
window,  in  any  house  round  Bear  Yard,  and  if 
it  be  a  fresh  bird  it  will  be  dead  in  a  week.' 
He  had  previously  lived  for  a  time  in  the  same 
neighbourhood,  in  a  room  over  a  crowded  burial- 
ground  in  Portugal  Street.  At  times,  in  the 
morning,  he  had  seen  a  mist  rise  from  the  ground, 
and  the  smell  was  offensive.  That  place  was 
equally  fatal  to  his  birds.  He  had  removed  to 
another  dwelling-house  in  Vere  Street,  Clare 
Market,  which  is  beyond  the  smell  from  this 
particular  place,  and  he  was  now  enabled  to  keep 
his  birds.  In  town,  however,  the  ordinary  sing- 
ing birds  did  not  actually  live  more  than  about 
eighteen  months.  In  cages,  in  the  country,  such 
birds  were  known  to  live  as  long  as  nine  years  or 
more,  on  the  same  food.  When  he  particularly 
wished  to  preserve  a  pet  bird,  he  sent  it  for  a 
time  into  the  country;  and  by  repeating  this 
removal  he  preserved  them  much  longer.  The 
fact  of  the  pernicious  effect  of  offensive  smells 
on  the  small  graminivorous  birds,  and  the  short 
duration  of  their  life  in  close  rooms  and  districts^ 


VENTILATION 


VENTILATION. 


was  attested  by  a  bird-dealer  In  respect  to 
cattle,  the  slaughterman  gave  decided  reasons 
for  the  conclusion,  that,  whilst  in  the  slaughter- 
house, they  lost  their  appetites  and  refused  food, 
from  the  effect  of  the  efiluvium  of  the  place,  and 
not,  as  was  popularly  supposed,  from  any  pre- 
sentiment of  their  impending  fate.'  'The  spread 
of  the  knowledge  of  the  lact  that  animals  are 
subject  to  typhus,  consumption,  and  the  chief 
of  the  train  of  disorders  supposed  to  be  pecu- 
liarly human,'  remark  the  Commissioners  in 
another  place,  'will,  it  may  be  expected,  more 
powerfully  direct  attention  to  the  common  means 
of  prevention.'  {Report^  p.  103.) 

hpizoon?  diseases,  are  such  as  prevail 
among  a  large  number  of  animals  at  th»'  same 
timf ,  just  as  epidemics  do  in  the  human  species. 
*  The  epizootie  are,  in  many  respects,  less  serious 
than  the  epidemics  :  nevertheless,  as  they  often 
affect  the  animals  which  serve  for  the  nutriment 
of  man,  and  that,  apart  from  this  consideration, 
they  may  have  grave  consequences  for  the  puWic 
health,  they  have  constantly  engaged  the  care  of 
the  Council.  In  1834  an  fpizoatie  was  reported 
to  the  Administration,  which  prevailed  amongst 
the  cows  of  the  communes  round  Paris,  and 
which  caused  a  great  mortality.  The  researches 
of  the  Council  established  that  this  epizootie  was 
only  a  chronic  disease,  a  true  pulmonary  phthisis, 
to  which  has  been  given  the  name  oi  pommel i ere, 
and  by  which  the  greater  part  of  the  cows  had 
been  attacked  which  fill  the  stables  of  the  milk- 
men of  Paris  and  its  environs.  According  to 
the  Council,  the  principal  cause  of  the  evil  was 
to  be  attributed  to  the  vicious  regmien  to  which 
this  animal  is  subjected.  It  is  known  that  they 
pass  a  part  of  the  year  in  stables  perfectly  closed, 
in  which  the  space  is  not  proportioned  to  the 
number  of  inmates,  in  which  the  vitiated  air 
renews  itself  with  extreme  difficulty,  and  in 
which  the  heat  is  sometimes  suffocating.  It  is 
known,  also,  that  they  pass  suddenly  from  the 
food  of  the  stable  to  pasture,  and  that  in  this 
change  they  go  from  the  hot  and  humid  atmos- 
phere of  the  stable  to  a  sudden  exposure  to  the 
continued  variations  of  the  external  air.  This 
alternation  of  food,  and  of  heat  and  cold,opeiates 
as  a  powerful  cause  of  disease.  But  as  the  evil 
does  not  announce  itself  in  a  violent  manner,  as 
its  progress  is  not  very  rapid,  as  there  is  even  a 
perio<l  in  the  disease  in  which  the  animal  is  dis- 
posed to  get  flesh,  the  cow-feeder,  who  knows  to 
what  point  to  keep  her,  sells  her  when  she  is 
ready  to  calve.  It  is  in  a  radius  of  thirty  leagues 
from  the  capital  that  cows  of  this  kind  are  pur- 
chased by  the  jobbers,  who  supply  the  milkmen 
of  Paris.  With  these  last  they  still  hold  out  a 
certain  number  of  years,  if  they  are  properly 
cared  for  ;  but  in  general  they  are  kept  in  stables 
which  are  neither  sufiiciently  large  nor  sufficiently 
airy,  where  they  are  exposed  to  the  same  causes 
which  gave  birth  to  the  malady.  The  phthisis 
arrives  insensibly  at  its  last  stage,  and  carries 
off  every  year,  from  Paris  and  its  neigbourhood, 
a  great  number  of  these  cows.' 

"  A  similar  discovery  was  only  lately  made  as 
to  the  effect  of  defective  ventilation  on  the  ca- 
valry horses  in  some  of  the  government  barracks 
in  England;  and  it  is  stated  a  saving  of  several 
thousand  pounds  per  annum  was  effected  by  an 
easy  improvement  of  the  ventilation  of  the  bar- 
racks near  the  metropolis.  An  auriculturist  had 
a  larse  number  of  sheep  housed  to  feed  them  on 
mangel  wurzel,  but   a  great    number   of  them 


sickened  and  died,  and  he  supposed  that  it  wag 
the  food  which  had  killed  them.  A  veterinary 
surgeon,  however,  w^ho  happened  to  be  aware  of 
the  consequences  of  defective  ventilation,  pointed 
out  the  remedy — a  better  ventilation  for  the 
over-crowded  sheep.  The  defect  was  remedied ; 
the  sheep  throve  well." 

In  adopting  means  for  the  removal  or  extraction 
of  foul  air,  in  dwellings  ibr  man,  as  well  as  in 
stables,  dairies,  and  even  sheep-cots  and  pig- 
pens, when  these  are  made  close,  the  ventilator, 
or  holes  for  its  escape,  should  always  be  placed  at 
the  highest  part  of  the  ceiling.  Withdrawing 
the  foul  air  from  the  bottom  of  buildings,  on  the 
supposition  that,  as  carbonic  acid  gas  is  heavier 
than  common  air,  it  must  necessarily  subside  to 
the  lowest  portion  of  the  interior,  though  plausi- 
ble in  theory,  is  found  to  be  altogether  erroneous 
in  practice.  For  it  has  been  ascertained  that 
this  heavy  gas,  as  it  comes  from  the  lungs 
combined  with  heat  and  moisture,  is  lighter  than 
common  air,  as  we  see  by  the  rising  of  the 
breath  in  frosty  weather.  In  the  ventilation  of 
stables,  cow-houses,  &c.,  the  supply  of  air  will 
require  to  be  of  larger  amount  than  for  buildings^ 
intended  for  human  beings.  About  ^00  cubic 
inches  per  minute  is  the  usual  allowance  of  air 
breathed  by  an  adult  person ;  but  for  horses  and 
cows,  three  times  as  much  is  required. 
.  The  one  or  more  openings  for  the  escape  of 
the  foul  air,  have  their  sizes  or  areas  calculated 
according  to  the  following  rule.  Multiply  thp 
number  of  horses  the  stable  is  to  contain  by  12, 
and  divide  the  product  by  43  times  the  square 
root  of  the  height  in  feet  from  the  ceiling  to 
the  floor,  and  the  quotient  is  the  area  of  the  ven- 
tilation tube  or  tubes  in  feet.  (Burn  on  Practi- 
cal Ventilation.) 

;  No  foul  air  can  by  any  possibility  be  extracted 
from  the  interior  of  a  building,  however  well 
arranged  it  may  be,  unless  an  ample  supply  of 
pure  air  is  admitted,  because  it  is  the  force  of 
the  entering  air  that  causes  the  vitiated  to  be 
expelled. 

The/r««/i  air  should  be  admitted  by  apertures 
in  the  walls,  made  close  to  the  floor  under  each 
window.  Where  this  can  be  done,  and  supposing 
there  were  six  windows,  and  the  fresh-air  ducts 
required  to  be  6  square  feet,  six  openings  should 
be  made,  each  equal  to  one  square  foot.  All  the 
openings  should  have  valves  fixed  on  the  outside, 
to  regulate  the  admission  of  air.  In  stables, 
&c.,  well  supplied  with  the  means  of  admitting 
fresh  air  and  withdrawing  the  foul  air,  the  doors 
and  windows  may  be  made  as  tight  as  possible, 
yet  the  interior  will  smell  sweet  and  clean. 

'  Dairies  cannot  be  too  well  supplied  with 
pure  fresh  air  ;  to  secure  which,  they  should  not 
be  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  any  source  of  con- 
tamination. (See  Burn's  Treatise  on  Practical 
Ventilation,  for  further  details.)     See  Soiling. 

Animal  Heat. — Recent  researches  made  by 
chemists  have  developed  many  wonderful  pheno- 

j  mena  of  lifer  hitherto  regarded  as  inexplicable 
mysteries.  Among  these  is  that  relating  to  the 
source  of  animal  heat,  and  the  kinds  and  propor- 
tions of  food  necessary  to  maintain  it.  This 
being  a  subject  intimately  connected  with  the 
practices  of  sheltering  and  feeding  cattle  and 
other  stock,  it  of  course  drmands  the  close  con 

I  sideration  of  the  intelligent  farmer,  to  whom  we 

I  present  the  results  recently  obtained  through  the 

}  investigations  of  Dr.  Playfair  : — 

1      "  The  average  temperature  of  the  bodies  of 

1083 


VENTILATIOX. 

Mr  cattle  i«  about  lOO**,  or  more  than  40'*  higher 
than  the  ordinary  temperature  of  the  climate  ol 
En|;land.  Hence  there  must  be  some  provision 
in  the  aDimal  body  to  sustain  the  heat,  which  is 
•baolutely  neceasary  for  the  performance  of  the 
organic  fonctiona.  The  air,  being  so  much  cohler 
than  the  body,  must  constantly  withdraw  from 
it  ikaat,  and  tend  to  lower  its  temperature. 
WbMce,  then,  comes  the  fuel  for  the  production 
oftbelMatr 

"The  fuel  consists  of  those  ingredients  of 
food  from  which  nitrogen  is  absent;  they  ali 
contain  carbon  and  the  elements  of  water.  We 
know  that  oxygen  is  continually  inhaled  in  the 
air  we  breathe,  and  that  it  is  never  again  expired 
aa  such.  Expired  air  consists  of  carbonic  acid, 
a  gas  coropoaed  of  carbon  and  oxygen.  In  the 
body,  therefore,  the  oxygen  has  united  with  car- 
bon; or  it  has  produeed  the  very  gas  u-hieh  is 
0klmu94  by  bHmi»f!  a  piece  of  eliarcoal  i?i  the  open 
mr.  Now  the  heat  generated  by  the  combustion 
of  the  carbon  in  the  body  must  be  exactly  equi- 
valent to  that  protluced  by  burning  the  same 
amount  in  the  atmosphere." 

Experiments  have  taught  us,  that  the  average 
qoantity  of  carbon  in  the  food  of  an  adult  man 
amounts  to  14  ounces  daily.  By  the  combustion 
of  this  quantity  197,477*'  of  heat  are  produced, 
and  this  is  amply  sufficient  to  account  for  the 
lust  of  the  human  body. 

The  experiments  of  Boussingault  show,  that  a 
eow  breathes  out  about  70  ounces  of  carbon 
daily,  and  from  this  we  calculate  that  987,385^ 
of  brnt  must  be  produced  in  the  body  of  a  cow 
in  the  apace  of  twenty-four  hours.  These  cal- 
ealationa  will  at  once  prove  that  there  is  little 
diAculty  in  accounting  for  the  heat  of  the  animal 
body. 

But,  as  the  heat  of  the  animal  body  is  the  same 
in  all  regions,  it  is  obvious  that  the  quantity  of 
fuel  (food)  necetaary  to  sustain  the  constant  tem- 
perature of  the  body  must  vary  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  climate.  Thus  less  food  is  required 
for  this  purpose  in  India,  where  the  temperature 
of  the  external  air  equals  that  of  the  body,  than 
in  the  polar  regions,  in  which  it  is  very  many 
iagreea  lower.    But  a  beneficent  Providence  has  i 
annnged  the  produce  of  different  countries  so  as  j 
to  meet   the  exigencies   of  the  climate.     The  \ 
froita,  upon  which  the  inhabitants  of  warm  coun- 
triea  love  to  feed,  contain  only  12  per  cent,  of 
carbon,  while  the  train-oil  enjoyed  by  the  inha-  \ 
bitaots  of  arctic  regions  contains  above  70  per  I 
cent,  of  the  same  element. 

It  baa  been  shown  that  the  food  of  various 
countries  is  more  or  less  combustible,  according 
lo  tbe  temperature  of  the  climate;  and  proofs 
that  the  amount  of  the  food  con- 
varied  al^o  according  to  the  temperature. 
The  animal  body  is  a  furnace  which  must  be 
kept  up  to  a  certain  heat  in  all  climates.  This 
farnnco  must,  therefore,  be  supplied  with  more 
or  lane  foel  according  to  the  temperature  of  the 
external  air.  If  then  in  winter  we  wish  to 
retain  the  viul  functions  of  our  cattle  in  a  pro- 
per decree  of  activity,  we  must  keep  up  the 
bent  of  their  bodies.  This  we  may  do  in  two 
ways.  We  may  either  add  more  fuel  (food)  to 
the  furnace,  or  we  may  protect  their  bodies  from 
the  cold.  Warmth  is  an  equivalent  for  food, 
which  may  thus  be  economized.  As  a  proof  of 
the  view  I  have  now  given,  I  will  cite  the  fol- 
lowing experiment,  which  was  made  by  the  Earl 
of  Pucie  at  Whitfield  farm. 
'0«4 


VENTILATION. 

One  hundred  sheep  were  folded  by  tens  in  pens^ 
each  of  which  was  22  feet  in  length  by  10  feet 
in  breadth,  and  possessed  a  covered  shed  attached 
to  it  oi  12  feet  in  length  by  JO  feet  in  breadth. 
They  were  kept  in  these  from  the  10th  of  Octo- 
ber to  the  10th  of  March,  f^ach  sheep  consumed 
on  an  average  20  lbs.  of  swedes  daily.  Another 
hundred  were  folded  in  pens  of  a  similar  size, 
but  without  sheds  attached.  They  were  kept 
during  the  same  time,  and  their  daily  consump- 
tion of  swedes  amounted  to  25  lbs.  each.  Here 
thtt  circumstances  were  precisely  similar  with 
respect  to  exercise,  the  only  difference  being 
that  the  first  hundred  sheep  had  sheds  into  which 
they  might  retire,  and  thus  be  partially  pro- 
tected from  the  cold. 

This  partial  protection  was  equivalent  to  a 
certain  amount  of  food,  and  consequently  we 
find  that  the  sheep  enjoying  this  protection  con- 
sumed one-fifth  less  food  than  those  sheep  which 
were  left  entirely  exposed  to  the  cold.  In  the 
last  case  the  consumption  of  the  additional  food 
arose  wholly  from  the  necessity  of  adding  more 
fuel  (food  to  the  furnace  of  the  body,)  in  order  to 
keep  up  its  normal  temperature.  This  was 
proved  from  the  circumstance,  that  those  sheep 
which  enjoyed  the  protection  had  increased  3 
lbs.  each  more  than  those  left  unprotected,  al- 
though the  latter  had  consumed  one-fifth  more 
food. 

The  influence  of  warmth  in  reducing  the  con- 
sumption of  food  has  been  examined  experimen- 
tally by  other  farmers,  who  pretty  well  agree 
in  the  conclusion,  that  warmth  is,  to  a  consider- 
able extent,  a  substitute  for  food.  It  is  true, 
that  in  the  experiments  with  sheep  the  results 
have  been  somewhat  discordant,  but,  as  I  have 
elsewhere  had  occasion  to  remark,  this  has 
arisen  in  many  cases  from  inattention  To  other 
injurious  influences  to  which  these  animals  were 
exposed.  Warmth  is  not  only  essential  to  their 
health  and  fattening  progress,  but  this  must  be 
a  dry  and  a  wholesome  warmth.  To  confine  the 
sheep,  as  is  sometimes  done,  over  putrefying 
masses  of  fold,  shed,  or  farm-yard  dung,  in  an 
atmosphere  saturated  with  fumes  of  ammonia 
and  the  gases  of  putrefaction,  is  to  substitute 
one  drawback  upon  the  health  and  comfort  of 
the  animal  for  another,  which  produces  a  greater 
evil  than  cold.  The  sheep,  in  a  state  of  nature, 
carefully  avoids  all  these  things;  it  leaves  to 
the  ox  the  deep  rank-growing  grasses  of  the 
damp  lowland  pastures.  It  carefully  seeks  its 
food  and  its  habitation  on  the  highest  elevations, 
amid  dry  rocks  and  heath-producing  soils,  far 
away  from  all  great  masses  of  decomposing 
organic  matter.  The  domestic  sheep  of  our  en- 
closed lands,  by  always  occupying  the  most  ele- 
vated portions  of  the  field,  clearly  indicates  that 
its  natural  instinct  in  this  respect  is  still  un- 
changed by  all  the  efforts  of  the  breeder.  Fol- 
low, then,  the  sheep  from  his  upland  pastures, 
in  the  clear,  dry,  warm  climate  of  Asia,  and 
view  him  placed  in  our  cold  temperature,  in  a 
warm  shed  it  is  true,  but  with  the  floor  of  that 
shed  covered  for  a  depth  of  many  inches  with  a 
mass  of  putrefying  dung,  and  then  let  us  ask 
ourselves,  "  Is  this  the  way  fairly  to  test  the 
advantages  of  shelter  and  of  warmth  to  the  do- 
mestic sheep  \  Is  this  the  way  to  fairly  try  the 
economy  of  raising  the  temperature  of  the  atmo- 
sphere in  which  it  is  placed  ?"  The  Rev.  A. 
Huxtable  saw  this  in  its  true  light,  when  he 
commenced  his  trials.    He  tells  us,  in  his  valua- 


VENTILATION. 


VENTILATION. 


bio  little  paper  Jour.  R.  A.  S.  voL  vi.  p.  2  12,) 
'•  Having  observed  that  sheep  in  wet  weather 
on  our  downs  always  select  the  most  beaten 
roads  lor  their  bed,  it  occurred  to  rne  that  not 
only  when  under  sheds  should  they  lie  on  boards, 
according  to  your  own  experinnent,  but  also  that 
the  courts  to  which  they  have  daily  access  whilst 
their  houses  are  being  cleaned  should  be  co- 
vered, not  with  soft  litter,  but  with  hard  chalk 
or  sand,  or  other  nnaterials  to  form  a  solid  bot- 
tom. My  little  yards  attached  to  the  sheds  are 
floored  with  a  sort  of  asphalte  made  of  chalk 
beaten  small,  covered  with  gas-tar  and  sand.  In 
constructing  sheds  for  my  sheep  I  have  kept  in 
view  the  strictest  economy ;  and  I  venture  to 
send  these  minute  details,  which  I  hope  will 
serve  to  prove  that  the  protection  of  sheep  from 
the  inclemency  of  the  weather  is  within  the 
reach  of  every  tenant  farmer.  Each  of  these 
sheds  contains  about  50  sheep.  They  are  erected 
on  a  very  simple  plan  :  a  couple  of  fir  poles,  12 
feet  long,  are  nailed  together  at  the  top;  their 
extremities,  at  a  distance  of  15  feet,  are  driven 
into  the  ground ;  anotiier  couple,  10  feet  distant, 
are  united  with  this,  and  held  firm  by  a  ridge- 
pole nailed  into  and  lying  between  the  tops  of 
the  fir  poles.  Side  pieces  are  nailed  parallel  to 
the  ridge-pole,  and  small  hazel-wood  is  interlaced 
so  as  to  8upjx)rt  the  thatch,  which  a  labourer 
ties  on  with  tar-twine.  The  thatch  in  front  and 
behind  reaches  to  about  3  feet  from  the  ground; 
behind,  a  bank  of  turf  is  raised  to  meet  the 
thatch;  the  front  is  guarded  by  a  hurdle,  move- 
able at  pleasure,  to  allow  the  sheep  to  go  into 
the  court,  which  is  of  the  same  size  as  the  shed. 
It  is  important  that  both  ends  of  the  shed  should 
be  protected  with  bavins  only,  which  will  secure 
a  free  ventilation,  yet  keep  out  rain.  My  sheds, 
about  50  feet  long  (not  charging  the  straw),  cost 
about  41  J.  each. 

"  These  sheds  are  floored  with  1-inch  boards, 
separated  (each  strip  from  the  other)  by  |  inch 
intervals.  The  cost  of  the  timber  and  mode  of 
preparing  the  floor  were  as  follows:  —  White 
pine  timber  was  used  for  its  cheapness,  being 
1*.  3d.  the  tube  foot,  which  would  therefore 
give  eleven  1-inch  boards.  On  account  of  the 
IKirticular  width  of  the  logs  which  I  bought,  the 
board  was  sawn  into  pieces  7  inches  broad  and 
1  inch  thick.  These,  for  economy,  are  hand- 
sawn  into  three  parts,  and  are  nailed  upon  joists 
at  a  distance  of  f  inch.  By  this  plan  nearly  one- 
third  of  timber  is  saved;  so  that  each  sheep, 
requiring  9  feet  of  space,  lies  actually  on  6  feet 
of  1-inch  board.  The  cost  of  timber  for  joists, 
nails,  and  carpenters'  work,  raises  the  total  ex- 
pense of  placing  the  sheep  on  boards  to  Is.  4fi. 
per  head.  Instead  of  sleepers  I  used  small 
blocks,  6  inches  thick,  to  keep  the  rafters  from 
direct  contact  with  the  manure.  The  boards 
are  put  together  into  frames  about  10  feet  by  4, 
so  that  they  may  easily  be  taken  up  by  one  man. 
Beneath  the  boards  the  floor,  excavated  8  or  9 
inches,  is  puddled  and  made  water-tight,  and 
govered  with  6  inches  of  sawdust,  burnt  clay,  or 
good  dry  mould.  This  receives  and  absorbs  the 
manure  which  falls,  or  is  swept  below  twice  a 
day.  The  boards,  after  sweeping,  are  watered 
with  a  solution  of  3  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  iron  (cop- 
peras), which  instantaneously  removes  the  odour 
not  only  of  thp  ammonia,  but  of  the  more  off'en- 
Bive  sulphuretted  hydrogen.  The  boards  should 
be  laid  perfectly  flat,  to  prevent  the  sheep  slipping 
about.     The  sheep  are  fed  under  the  sheds,  not 


I  in  the  courts.  The  results  of  this  arrangement 
have  been  most  successful,  both  in  the  health 
and  well-doing  of  the  sheep. 

"  It  is  true  that  I  have  lost  four  head,  which 
seem  to  have  died  from  apoplexy  ;  but  I  lost  the 
same  number  in  the  flock  which  were  at  large, 
and  treated  in  the  usual  manner.  Though  I 
have  had  more  than  300  Southdowns  so  shedded, 
some  of  them  longer  than  five  months,  yet  I 
have  never  seen  any  instance  of  lameness,  even 
in  the  least  degree. 

"Their  food  consists  of  turnips,  for  the  last 
fortnight  only  of  swedes ;  half  a  pint  per  day 
(never  more)  of  oats  or  peas;  with  straw  cut 
into  chaff,  over  which  ground  linseed  has  been 
poured,  mixed  with  boiling  water. 

"  I  regret  that  I  cannot  send  the  important 
statistics  of  weight  and  improvement  under  thi» 
regimen.  During  one  month  the  sheep  were 
weighed,  and  found  to  have  increased  about  3 
lbs.  per  week  on  an  average ;  that  is,  ten  were 
selected  and  weighed  which  seemed  fairly  to 
represent  the  flock,  and  they  had  made  this  im- 
provement. The  illne«s  of  my  bailiff  stopped 
these  calculations;  but  the  general  issue  will  be 
allowed  to  be  satisfactory,  as  more  than  half 
have  been  sold  which  in  twelve  weeks  have 
paid  13a-.  a  head. 

"  Leaving  out  of  the  account  both  the  injury 
which  in  bad  seasons  my  clay-lands  would  have 
sustained  by  the  treading  of  the  sheep,  and 
the  value  of  the  rich  manure  saved  under  shelter 
(its  gases  fixed  by  the  sulphate  of  iron  and  gyp- 
sum strewed  daily  over  the  boards),  I  consider 
that  the  whole  expense  of  boards  and  sheds  was 
saved  in  the  first  month." 

In  the  stall  feeding  of  cattle,  the  application 
of  these  just  principles  can  hardly  be  too  sys- 
tematically regarded.  Of  this  opinion,  too,  is 
Mr.  George  Dobito,  who,  in  his  prize  "  Essay 
on  fattening  Cattle,"  {Jour.  R.  A.  S.  vol.  vi.  p. 
78),  remarks,  '•  Cleanliness,  warmth,  and  quiet, 
are  the  great  points  I  insist  upon,  of  course  cou- 
pled with  good  feeding;  but  many  tons  of  oil- 
cake are  annually  wasted,  because  the  comfort 
of  the  animals  is  not  more  attended  to." 

The  subjects  of  air  and  food  are  so  closely 
allied  as  Ip  be  viewed  to  most  advantage  toge- 
ther. That  vegetable  substances  contain  animal 
.matters  ready  formed,  was  a  suspicion  which 
was  entertained  in  d  confused  shape  by  more 
than  one  of  even  the  early  Greek  philosophers, 
but  it  was  reserved  for  the  modern  chemist  to 
prove  the  truth  of  the  supposition.  This  has 
been  thus  explained  by  Dr.  Lyon  Playfair  {Jour. 
R.  A.  S.  vol.  iv.  p   216  :— 

"  All  vegetable  food  has  been  found  to  contain 
a  peculiar  substance,  which,  though  it  differs  in 
appearance  and  in  form,  according  to  the  source 
from  whence  it  is  obtained,  is  in  reality  the 
same  body.  It  has  received  the  name  of  gluten 
or  albumen^  and  is  precisely  identical,  in  chemi- 
cal composition,  with  the  albumen  obtained  from 
the  white  of  an  egg.  This  substance  is  invaria- 
bly present  in  all  nutritious  food.  Chemists 
were  surprised  to  discover  that  this  body  never 
varies  in  composition;  that  it  is  exactly  the 
same  in  corn,  beans,  or  from  whatever  plant  it 
is  extracted.  But  their  surprise  was  much  in- 
creased when  they  remarked  that  it  is  quite 
identical  with  the  flesh  and  blood  of  animals.  It 
consists,  like  the  latter,  of  carbon,  hydrogen, 
nitrogen,  and  oxygen,  and  in  the  very  samo  pro- 
portion in  100  parts.  By  identity  in  composition 
4  V  2  1085 


VENTILATION. 

{•  not  meant  a  nrjere  similarity,  but  an  absolute 
identity ;  §o  much  so,  that  if  you  were  to  place 
in  a  eheraist'i  hand  some  gluten  obtained  from 
wheat  Hour,  some  dry  albumen  procured  from 
the  white  of  an  egg,  a  fragment  of  the  flesh  of 
an  ox  or  of  a  roan,  or  some  of  their  dried  blood, 
and  request  him  to  examine  their  difference,  he 
would  tell  you,  strange  as  it  may  api>ear,  that 
tbey  are  precisely  the  same,  and  that  with  all 
the  reflnemeirta  of  his  science  he  was  unable  to 
detect  any  essential  difference  between  them. 
There  is  much  difference,  indeed,  in  external 
appearance  and  in  structure,  but  in  their  ultimate 
composition  there  is  none."  To  render  this 
niore  obvious,  I  subjoin  the  composition  of  these 
various  substances,  as  obtained  by  different  che- 
mists, who  executed  their  analyses  without 
any  knowledge  of  the  results  obtained  by  the 
others  >— 


Carhoa 64  J 

liydnigsn....  7^ 
NllnigSD....  13.9 
OxjfVOT M.4 


Srborer. 
64.138 
7.160 
16.072 
23.034 


from  Eicn.  Ox  Rlood.  Ox  Fleah. 
Wavhir.        Wavfair. 
54.35  ■  -- 

7.50 
15.76 
J>2.39 


100.0    100.00   100.00   100.00   100.00 

These  analyses  do  not  differ  from  each  other 
more  than  the  analyses  of  the  same  substance 
Qtually  do.  Thus  we  are  led  to  the  startling 
conclusion,  that  plants  contain  within  them  the 
flesh  of  animals  ready  formed,  and  that  the  only 
duty  of  animals  subsisting  upon  them  is  to  give 
this  flesh  a  place  and  form  in  their  organism. 
When  an  animal  subsists  upon  flesh,  we  find  no 
difficulty  in  explaining  its  nutrition ;  for  the 
flesh  being  of  the  same  composition  as  its  own 
body,  the  animal,  in  a  chemical  point  of  view, 
may  be  said  to  be  eating  itself;  nor,  with  a 
knowledge  of  this  identity  of  vegetable  albumen 
with  flesh,  is  there  any  difficulty  in  comprehend- 
ing the  nutrition  of  vegetable  feeders. 

P/rtM/i,  then,  in  reality,  form  the  Jlesk  of  ani- 
mals; and  the  latter  merely  appropriate  it  a 
place  in  their  organism. 

It  follows,  then,  as  a  conclusion,  that  the  ana- 
lysis of  any  vegetable  substance  pretty  accu- 
rately indicates  its  nutritious  powers.  "It  has 
been  shown  by  many  laborious  chemical  re- 
searches," to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Playfair, 
"that  there  are  two  kinds  of  food.  The  first, 
which  contains  nitrogen,  is  exactly  of  the  same 
composition  as  the  principal  tissues  of  the  human 
botly,  and  is  the  only  substance  which  can  sup- 
ply  the  waste  of  these  tissues.  The  second  kind  ' 
of  food  is  that  destitute  of  nitrogen,  such  as  I 
•tarch,  gum,and  sugar,  all  of  which  are  destined  ' 
for  the  support  of  respiration  and  consequent  I 
heal  of  the  animal.  The  latter  kind  of  food,  I 
when  in  excess,  is  converted  into  fat,  but  never 
into  muscle.  The  increase  of  flesh  in  an  animal 
consists  in  two  changes  of  the  matter  of  the  food, 
without  any  alteration  in  its  composition.  The 
albumen  or  nitrogenous  constituent  of  the  food 
is  first  converted  into  blood,  without  decompo- 
sition, and  the  blood  is  afterwards  converted 
into  flesh.  In  order  to  show  that  the  transforma- 
tion IS  actually  effected  without  change,  we  have 
only  to  refer  to  the  following  results  of  the  ana- 
lysis of  vegetable  albumen,  of  ox  blood,  and  of 
flesh  : — 

„     .  V«t«tible  Albna 

Cnrbon 5.5  ]qq 

Hydroffen 7.055 

Nitrogen 15.996 

•>x>-»en ^ 81.18 

108t 


1 

Jnazotized 

UtLizotized 

.Albumen. 

Matter. 

100  lbs.            Albumen 

Matter. 

lbs. 

lbs. 

It.s. 

Il>8. 

.    25 

0 

Oats  ...     11 

68 

.    20 

0 

Barleynjeal    14 

6»i 

.    31 

6U 

Hay  ...      8 

664 

.    29 

51  i 

Turnips      .      1 

9 

.    33 

48 

Carrot    .     .      2 

10 

2 

25 

Red-beet   .      1-i 

8i 

OtBlnod. 

Fl-8h. 

5135 

51. 12 

7.50 

7.P9 

15.78 

15.07 

22^9 

22.32 

VENTILATION. 

*' As  muscle  thfii  is  foimed  only  by  the  albu- 
men or  gluten  of  the  food,  which  albumen  is  in 
reality  flesh  itself,  we  can  ascertain  the  compa- 
rative value  of  food,  as  far  as  the  production  of 
muscle  is  concerned,  by  estimating  the  exact 
quantity  of  the  nitrogenous  constituent  of  the 
food.  The  following  table,"  continues  Dr.  Play- 
fair,  "  contains  the  apjiroximative,  though  not 
perfectly  accurate,  information  relative  to  the 
value  of  food  for  the  support  of  respiration  and 
production  of  fat : — 


100  Ibk 

Flesh  . 
Blood  . 
Beans  . 
Pens  .  . 
Lentils 
Potatoes 


That  fat  exists  ready  formed  in  various  vege- 
table substances,  has  been  proved  by  careful 
chemical  examination.  Thus,  according  to  Lie- 
big,  hay  contains  1-56  per  cent.,  and  maize  4-07 
per  cent,  of  fat.  Braconnot  found  1-20  per  cent, 
in  peas,  while  Fresenius  got  2-1  per  cent.;  and 
in  lentils  1-3  percent.  Vogel  obtained  2-00  per 
cent,  of  fat  in  oats;  Liebig  0-3  per  cent,  in  dry 
potatoes;  and  Braconnot  0-13  per  cent,  in  rice, 
although,  in  another  variety,  Vogel  states  that 
he  detected  1-05  per  cent.  The  substance  here 
called  fat  is  in  reality  a  waxy  or  resinous  body, 
and  not  tallow,  except  in  a  few  instances. 

[Food.]  An  animal  requires,  to  sustain  its 
body  in  good  condition,  supply  heat,  and  make 
up  for  daily  waste,  about  l-60th  part  of  its  own 
weight.  If  the  object  be  to  increase  the  size,  en- 
able it  to  work,  or  give  milk,  a  still  larger  pro- 
portion of  food  must  be  given.  Thus,  to  feed  for 
milk  twice  the  quantity  of  food  named  will  be 
required.  If  muscle  for  labour  be  needed,  food 
containing  gluten  must  be  given,  and  as  peas 
and  beans  contain  gluten  in  the  largest  quantity, 
they  constitute  exceedingly  valuable  food  for 
working  horses.  Wheat  contains  35  to  40  per 
cent,  of  the  gluten  out  of  which  muscle  is  formed. 
Cabbage  is  rich  in  gluten,  and  the  flower  of  the 
cauliflower  contains  more  gluten  than  any  other 
garden  vegetable  we  raise  for  food.  When  fat  is 
required,  or  a  good  coat,^  give  substances  contain- 
ing oil,  such  as  Indian  corn,  oats,  linseed-cake, 
as  well  as  rape-cake  and  poppy-seed  cake.  Farm- 
ers generally  prefer  those  substances  which  unite 
the  muscle  and  fat-giving  qualities.  The  milk- 
man desirous  of  quantity  and  little  regarding 
quality,  gives  his  cattle  grains  from  the  brew- 
ery— and  various  kinds  of  watery  slops.  But 
where  the  dairyman  wants  butter  or  cheese, 
then  quality  is  to  be  considered.  In  order  to 
make  butter,  the  milk  must  be  rich,  and  he  has 
it  in  his  power  to  add  largely  to  the  ordinary 
produce  of  the  dairy,  by  the  selection  of  food  rich 
in  oil.  In  P^ngland  oil-cake  is  given,  but  not 
much  at  a  time,  as  it  gives  an  undesirable  taste 
to  the  butter.  A  skilful  dairyman  can,  however, 
often  manage,  by  giving  a  large  quantity  of  oil- 
cake, to  get  a  far  better  quality  of  milk  than  by 
giving  any  other  kind  of  food.  If  the  object  be 
to  make  cheese,  food  is  given  rich  in  the  mate- 
rial to  produce  curd  —  which  is  precisely  that 
furnishing  the  flesh  or  muscle,  already  referred 
to.  To  feed  with  cabbage  would  produce  a  poor 
cheese,  which  contains  little  fat,  but  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  curd  or  muscle-forming  material. 
Where  milk  to  make  butter  or  rich  cheese  is 


VENT  I L  ATI  ox. 


VENTILATION. 


required,  more  fatty  food  must  be  furnished;  and 
of  all  substances  for  etfectmg  this  object,  linseed- 
cake,  and  maize  are  perhaps  the  best. 

It  IS  of  great  importance  to  attend  to  the  state 
in  which  food  is  introduced  into  the  stomach  of 
animals.  Indian  corn,  for  example,  given  with- 
out mixing  with  other  food,  will  not  be  so  readily 
digested.  The  proper  preparation  of  food  for 
animals  is  a  branch  of  agricultural  knowledge 
which  has  been  found  highly  profitable  to  the 
farmer.  By  mixing  different  kinds  of  food,  the 
requirements  of  the  animal  are  best  met.  Cut 
straw  or  chaff  is  an  admirable  substance  with 
which  to  mix  other  more  nutritious  materials, 
rendering  these  more  readily  digested  and  nourish- 
ing, besides  making  the  food  go  further.  Malt  is 
often  employed  with  great  advantage,  mixed  with 
other  food.  Other  influences,  such  as  warmth, 
shelter,  ventilation,  and  quiet,  exert  a  great 
effect  in  promoting  the  thrift  and  welfare  of 
animals. 

The  amount  of  nutriment  found  in  different 
varieties  of  the  food  consumed  by  the  farmer's 
live  stock,  has  been  referred  to  under  the  head 
Food,  where  some  interesting  facts  will  be  found, 
chiefly  derived  from  the  researches  of  Davy.  It 
is  a  subject  to  which  still  more  recent  inves- 
tigations have  given  additional  interest.  The 
proportions  in  which  the  several  elementary 
substances  exist  in  100  parts  of  some  of  the 
most  commonly  cultivated  grains  and  products 
of  the  farm,  are  represented  in  the  following 
table  from  Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston's  Lectures. 


likewise  contain  a  substance  called  gluten,  but 
in  quantities  varying  very  much,  as  may  be  seen 
by  running  the  eye  down  the  4th  column  of  the 
table ;  the  greatest  proportion  of  this  and  albu- 
men being  found  in  beans,  which  explains  their 
highly  nutritious  qualities.  Even  pea-straw  is 
very  rich  in  these  materials,  which  makes  them 
valuable  provender,  where  other  kinds  of  straw 
are  almost  worthless.  Of  oil  or  fatty  matter, 
wheat  and  barley  have  very  little,  whilst  in 
oats  and  Indian  corn,  oil  abounds.  The  root 
crops  and  straws  have  very  little.  Plants  take 
in,  through  their  leaves  and  roots,  the  carbonic 
acid  and  other  materials,  the  changes  in  which 
produce  the  starch,  gluten,  and  fat  to  be  found 
in  them  all,  and  which  go  to  nourish  animals. 

It  forms,  says  Mr.  Karkeek,  in  his  "Essay  on 
Fat  and  Muscle"  {Jour.  R.  A.  S.  vol.  v.  p.  249), 
a  curious  and  interesting  subject  for  the  feeder  to 
ascertain  the  respective  quantities  of  the  fleshing 
and  fattening  properties  contained  in  an  acre  of 
the  different  crops  commonly  used  in  the  rearing 
and  feeding  of  stock.  The  following  acreahle 
table  of  nutrition  has  been  constructed  chiefly 
from  Professor  Johnston's  calculations;  the  pro- 
portions of  gluten,  &c.,  from  Boussingault's  ana- 
lysis, which  indicate  Xhe  fleshing  propfrties ;  and 
the  proportions  of  starch,  gum,  and  sugar,  the 
fattening  properties  : — 


1 

i« 

fii 

O     5 

^1 

ll 

WI.eat      .     . 

15 

15 

55 

lOtolO 

2to4 

2 

JJarley      .     . 

15 

15 

60 

12tol5 

2to3 

3 

Oats     .     .     . 

16 

20 

60 

14tol9 

5to7 

4 

Rye      .    ;     . 

12 

10to20 

80 

lOtolS 

3to4 

2 

liidiMU  corn  . 

14 

6 

70 

12 

5to9 

u 

IJuekwheut  . 

15 

25 

50 

8 

0-4 

4 

Rice     .     .     . 

13 

3 

75 

7 

0-7 

Oi 

BeaQs  .     .     . 

14 

811 

40 

ai-28 

2-3 

3 

Poas     .     .     . 

14 

9 

50 

24 

2  1 

3 

Potatoes  .     . 

75 

4 

18 

2 

0-3 

1 

Turnips    .    . 

88 

2 

9 

1-5 

0-3 

tto4.5 

Carrots     .     . 

85 

3 

10 

1-5 

0-4 

lito2 

Mungel-Wur- 
zel     .     .     . 

85 

2 

11 

20 

? 

}toli 

Meadow  hay 

14 

30 

40 

7-1 

2to5 

StolO 

Clover  hay    . 

14 

25 

40 

9-3 

3to5 

9 

Pea  straw     . 

lOtoiS 

25 

45 

12-3 

15 

4to6 

Oat  straw     . 

12 

45 

35 

13 

0-8? 

6 

Wheat  straw 

12tol5 

50 

30 

1-3 

2to3. 

5 

Barley  straw 

12tol5 

50 

30 

1.3 

? 

5 

Rye  straw     . 

12tol5 

45 

38 

1.3 

? 

4 

Indian  corn 

stalks    .     . 

12 

25 

52 

30 

1-7      3to7  1 

Produce 
per 
Acre. 


Weight '^.!-f     VVKof, 


I  Bushel.  (I 


Gluieu. 
,  AlbM- 
I  men,  ft 
aseine. 


Field  beans  . 
Peas  .  .  . 
Oats  .  .  . 
Hay      .     .     . 

Potatoes  .  . 
Carrots  .  . 
Turnips  .  . 
Wheat  straw 
Out  straw  . 
Barley  straw 


)(«. 

25  busk     &4 
25      "        66 
50     "        42 

3  ton?  1     . . 

12      '-    '     .. 

25      «< 

•• 

.30      '« 

" 

3,0(M)  lbs. 

2,700     " 

,, 

2,100     " 

.. 

starch,  \    Weight 
Gum,    I  of  W.aler 


lbs. 

450 

380 

290 

480  2,790 

600  3.330 
1,120  5,800 

800  '6,700 
40  WO 
36  970 
28  I  646 


lbs. 

256 

208 

336 

752 

20,250 

47,000 

56,950  , 

450 

324 

252 


Some  of  the  numbers  in  the  above  table  are  ' 
given  as  mere  approximations,  especially  those  ' 
referring  to  buckwheat  and  fatty  matter,  which  \ 
last  is  very  uncertain.  j 

It  hence  appears  that  water  enters  into  the  i 
composition  of  every  vegetable  product,  wheat  j 
containing  l-*)  per  cent.,  the  turnip  88  to  90  per 
cent.,  exhibiting  the  strong  contrast  between 
grains  and  roots.  The  second  column  represents 
woody  fibre,  straw  and  husks,  parts  of  plants 
which  animals  cannot  digest,  and  from  which 
they  consequently  derive  no  nourishment.  In 
wheat  and  other  grains,  the  proportion  of  this 
varies  from  10  to  20  per  cent.  In  the  column 
designating  the  proportions  of  starch,  gum,  and 
sugar,  the  grain  of  wheat  exhibits  about  G.")  per 
cent.,  Indian  corn  70  per  cent.,  Indian  corn  stalks 
52  per  cent.,  rice  75  per  cent.,  &c.     All  grains 


i  Another  table  showing  the  nutritive  properties 
per  acre  of  the  ordinary  crops  of  the  farmer  has 
I  been  given  by  Mr.  Hyett,  and  will  be  found  at 
j  the  head  of  the  next  page. 

The  tables  just  given  from  analyses  made  by 
Prof.  J.  F.  W.  Johnston,  and  other  eminent 
chemists,  show  the  proportions  of  water,  with 
I  those  of  the  several  dry  organic  constituents,  as 
I  well  as  the  ashes  or  saline  matters  contained  in 
I  many  of  the  articles  of  food  with  which  the  far- 
1  mer  is  most  familiar.  From  these  it  may  be 
I  seen  that  it  is  very  important  for  the  economical 
i  management  of  live-stock  to  know  the  amount 
'  of  water  as  well  as  of  the  organic  and  nutritive 
■  ingredients  which  each  kind  of  food  contains. 
Thus  we  find  that  in  giving  a  pig  100  lbs.  of  po- 
tatoes, we  actually  give  it  about  75  lbs.  of  wa- 
ter. But  in  giving  it  100  lbs.  of  Indian  corn,  we 
contribute  only  about  14  lbs.  of  water,  nearly 
all  the  remaining  8-)  lbs.  being  nutritious  matter. 
As  already  observed,  the  table  just  given  from 
Professor  J.  F.  W,  .Johnston  shows  the  propor- 
tion of  woody  fibre  freed  from  the  nutritious  sub- 
stances, well  known  to  be  contained  in  greater  or 
less  proportion  in  husks,  straw,  &c.  This  woody 
fibre,  as  it  cannot  be  digested  by  animals, 
must  therefore  be  deducted  from  the  amount  of 
nourishment.  It  constitutes  half  the  amount  of 
w^heat  and  rye  straw,  whilst  it  makes  but  30  per 
cent,  of  ordinary  meadow  grass  hay,  and  only  23 
per  cent,  of  clover  hay, 

•087 


VENTILATION. 


VENTILATION. 


AmuiwU 
Avcrv" 
pT  Acre^ 

32  bush. 
:\0  CWt. 
20  bush. 

40  bush. 
20  CWt. 
50  bush. 
40  CWt. 
32  bush. 
40  CWt. 
30  CWt. 
20  CWt. 
100  bags 
20  tons 
25  tons 
25  tons 
6  tons 
25  tons 

Taken  at 

Ave  age 
per  .-.ore  in 

Equivalent! 

of 

NouriBhment 

Nourisliiuent  per 
Ace. 

Wheat 

♦♦  atraw  .  .  . 
Pf» 

"  straw  .  .  . 
Barley 

««  straw  .  .  . 
OMi 

««  straw  .  .  . 
Beans    

"  straw  .  .  . 
Clorer  hay  .  .  . 
Ordinary  bay .  .  . 
Potatoes  .... 
Cabbage     .... 

Oarrots 

Beet 

Green  clover  .  .  . 
Turnips      .... 

GO  lbs.  per  bushel    = 

«                   «           = 

48    «               "        = 
if               «         = 

40    "               "         = 
«               t*         = 

60    «               "        = 
it                a         = 

f(                 «          = 

t(                «          = 

280  lbs.  per  bag       = 
ft              «        = 

1,920 
3,360 
1,200 

1,920 

2,240 

2,000 

4,480 

1,920 

4,480 

3,360 

2,240 

28,000 

44,800 

55,000 

55,000 

13,440 

.  55,000 

-~     41 
-T-  450 
^     45 
-i-  125 
-T-     54-5 
-T-  300 
-T-     55 
-^  300 
H-     61-5 
•     -r-  450 
-1-     90 
-4-  100 
-j-  200 
-4-  250 
-f-  275 
-^  397 
-4-  475 
-i-  500 

7-46   \^^  ^ 
26-6      * 

37-3 
22-4 

140 
179-2 
200 
138-5 
28-29 
110 

And  in  the  same  economical  point  of  view,  it 
becomes  an  important  question  to  ascertain,  pro- 
Tided  the  result  of  modern  experiments  relating 
to  the  formation  of  flesh  and  the  generation  of 
beat  is  correct,  and  calculating  from  the  data 
which  they  furnish,  the  relative  value  of  each 
description  of  food.  This  has  been  attempted 
by  Dr.  Playfair,  with  a  result  which  he  thus 
de»cribt?8  (Jour  R.  A.  S.  vol.  vi.  p.  560  :  "All 
food  then  has  two  distinct  purposes,  the  forma- 
tion of  flesh,  and  the  sustenance  of  animal  heat. 
The  substances  in  vegetables  destined  for  the 
fommtionof  flesh  are  perfectly  identical  with  it 
in  composition,  and  are  known  by  the  names  of 
gluten,  albumen,  fibrin,  or  casein  ;  those  which 
are  suited  for  the  support  of  animal  heat  are  not 
ai  all  similarly  composed  to  flesh,  and  consist 
of  starch,  gum,  sugar,  &c.  Knowing  these  facts, 
it  becomes  a  money  question  as  to  the  value  of 
particular  kinds  of  food  for  the  support  of  the 
frame.  We  know  how  much  of  flesh-giving 
principle  each  variety  of  food  contains,  and 
therefore  we  can  at  once  estimate  how  much  of 
each  it  will  be  necessary  to  consume  to  obtain 
one  pound  of  real  nutriment,  and  what  the  cost 
of  that  pound  will  be  to  the  consumer.  The 
following  table  is  constructed  on  this  principle, 
but  as  prices  vary  in  different  localities,  these  may 
be  altered  to  suit  the  peculiar  case  :  in  the  table, 
'*»JM'C  f  >ven  at  the  rate  at  which  the  respective 
Mbatances  might  be  purchased  in  London  under 
BTOorable  circumstances. 

Qimmtitf  of  Food  neetMsary  to  produce  1  /b.  of 
JtaAyond  tks  Monty-Cost  of  it!t  •production. 
85  lbs.  of  milk  furnish  1  lb.  of  flesh,  £..  s.   d. 


100 

00 

4 


'TO 
3i    " 


and  cost 0 

tornipa       0 

potatoes 0 

carrots 0 

batcher's  meat,  free  from 
fat  and  bone,  furnish  1 

lb.  of  flesh,  and  cost,  0 

oatmeal o 

barleymeal 0 

bread       .     •     .     .      .     .  0 

flour 0 

P««      •     .     .  ...  0 

oeans   ...  ...  0 


0 
10 
2 
2 
2 
7 
H 


Let  us  look  »t  rh*  various  kinds  of  food  with 
reference  to  li^eir  value  as  fuel,  and  we  shall 

loss 


perceive  the  potato  takes  its  proper  rank.  1  lb.  of 
carbonaceous  fuel  to  sustain  animal  heat  would 
be  furnished  by  different  weights  of  the  following 
articles  at  the  English  prices  named  :  4  lbs.  of 
potatoes,  2|ri. ;  10  lbs.  carrots,  2d.  ;  1|  lb.  flour, 
2  8-lOd.',  1\  lb.  barleymeal,  2d.',  11  1-10  lb. 
tm-nips,  2d.;    1|  lb.  oatmeal,  S^d.',   1  9-10  lb. 

I  beans,  3f/. ;    1  9-10   lb.  peas,  3   S-lOd.;    2   lb. 

i  bread,  4.d.;  11  9-10  lb.  milk.  Is.  5d.  These  esti- 
mates must,  however,  be  considered  as  rough 
approximations. 

't  will  not  be  unattended  with  benefit  if  w-e 
contrast  these  valuable  scientific  researches  upon 
the  cost  of  production  with  the  results  of  the 
trials  of  a  practical  Scotch  farmer. 

From  some  careful  experiments  of  Mr.  Bruce, 
of  Waughton,  in  East  Lothian  {Tray/s.  High. 
Soe.  1846,  p  375),  with  linseed  cake  and  other 
substances  in  sheep  feeding,  he  concludes  that 
"  mutton  can  be  produced  at  a  lower  rate  per  lb. 
upon  liberal  use  of  foreign  keep  along  with  tur- 
nips, than  upon  turnips  alone,  taking  of  course 
the  increased  value  of  the  manure  into  account;" 
that  of  this  foreign  keep  "  linseed  is  the  most  valu- 
able, and  beans  the  least  so;  but  that  the  mixture 
of  both  forms  a  useful  and  nutritious  article  of 
food.  In  his  trials  95  Cheviot  ewes  were  di- 
vided into  five  lots,  and  enclosed,  and  fed  with 
turnip  tops  and  the  following  subsVances,  upon 
portions  of  equally  sheltered  grass  land.  Lot 
A  consisted  of  15  ewes,  B,  C,  D,  and  E,  of  20 
each. 


Weight 

Average  Consumption 
of  each  Sheep  per 

Cost  of  Prod  action 
per  lb. 

Lot, 

Oct.   21. 

Dec.  23, 

Itn. 

Ills. 

OK. 

oe. 

A 

19-39 

•2U08 

5Gk  Linseed. 
H  Beans. 

461  Linseed. 

B 

2401 

2G03 

113i  Lins'd  cake. 

101     Lins'd  cake. 

2382 

95i  Beans  and 

59    Beans  and 

C 

Linseed. 

Linseed. 

2G57 

157f  Poppy  cake. 

106     Poppy  cake. 

D 

24  fW 

25.57 

113     Boan.s. 

133    Beans. 

E 

2417 

27.*W 

100    Bcrms  and 
liinseed. 

561  Beans  and 

Linseed,    j 

See  Organic  Chemistry,  Food,  Gelatin,  Ve- 
getable Chemistry,  and  other  heads  relating  to 
these  subjects. 

VERBENA.     See  Vervain. 

VERJUICE.  An  acid  liquor,  prepared  from 
the  twigs  of  the  vine,  or  from  grapt^s  or  apples 
that  are  unfit  to  bp  convertf'd  into  wine  or  cider. 
It  is  also  made  from  the  wild  crab  apples. 


VERMIN. 


VETCH. 


VERMIN.  A  general  name  for  all  birds, 
animals,  insects,  &c.,  which  prey  upon  or 
prove  injurious  to  the  cultivator's  crops,  and  to 
his  live-stock. 

The  insects,  &c.,  comprise  the  most  exten- 
sive and  fearful  class  of  depredators.  Among 
these  are  the  aphides,  caterpillars,  ants,  beetles, 
and  their  grubs,  wire-worms,  slugs,  earth- 
worms, &c. 

VERNAL  GRASS.    See  Axthoxanthum. 

VERSATILE.  In  botany,  signifies  swinging 
lightly  on  the  stallf,  so  as  to  be  continually 
changing  direction.  It  is  illustrated  in  the 
leaves  of  the  aspen. 

VERTICILLATE.    Disposed  in  a  whorl. 

VERVAIN  (Verbena;  said  to  be  derived 
from  its  Celtic  name  Ferfaen).  This  is  a  genus 
of  extremely  beautiful  ornamental  plants  while 
in  flower,  either  when  grown  in  pots  in  the 
green-house  or  when  planted  out  in  the  flower 
garden;  and  they  will  all  succeed  well  in  the 
open  ground  during  the  summer  months.  The 
flowers  of  F.  leucrioides  have  a  delightful  jas- 
minelike odour.  They  all  flourish  well  in  a 
light  loamy  soil,  with  careful  drainage  when 
kept  in  pots.  The  herbaceous  perennial  kinds 
increase  rapidly  by  cuttings,  planted  in  sand 
under  a  glass;  the  green-house  kinds  in  a  little 
heat.  The  annuals  and  biennials  should'  be 
ra'.sed  on  a  gentle  hot-bed. 

One  species  is  indigenous  to  England,  the 
common  vervain  (V.  qfficinalis),  a  perennial 
which  grows  by  road-sides  and  in  dry  waste 
grounds,  or  pastures  about  villages.  The  root 
is  woody,  somewhat  creeping.  Stem  ascend- 
ing, Ij^  foot  high,  leafy,  roughish,  with  minute 
prickles  or  bristles.  Leaves  deeply  cut.  Spikes 
slender,  several  composing  a  sort  of  panicle 
of  small,  bluish,  inodorous  flowers.  This  spe- 
cies has  scarcely  any  aromatic  or  other  sen- 
sible quality.  The  root  worn  about  the  neck 
with  a  string  is  an  old  superstitious  remedy  or 
charm  for  the  king's  evil. 

A  great  many  species  of  vervain  or  verbena 
are  found  in  various  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Nuttall  enumerates  10  in  this  country,  and 
altogether  20  American  species  in  the  two 
hemispheres. 

VESICLES.  In  botany,  inflated,  hollow  ex- 
crescences, like  bladders  or  blisters. 

VETCH  (  Vicia,  from  vincio,  to  bind  together, 
because  the  species  have  tendrils  by  which 
they  encircle  other  plants).  Some  of  the  spe- 
cies of  this  genus  are  well  worth  cultivating  in 
the  flower-border  for  the  beauty  of  their  flowers. 
They  are  of  the  easiest  culture  in  any  common 
garden  soil.  The  perennial  kinds  may  be  rea- 
dily increased  by  dividing  the  root  or  by  seeds. 
The  seeds  of  the  annual  kinds  only  require  to 
be  sown  in  the  open  border  in  spring.  V.  saliva 
and  its  varieties  are  extensively  cultivated,  and 
well  known  by  the  common  name  of  vetch  or 
tares;  they  are  used  in  England  as  early  fodder 
for  all  kinds  of  cattle,  and  are  allowed  to  be 
more  nutritive  and  profitable  than  hay  or  any 
other  herbage.  The  seeds  also  form  the  food 
of  pigeons.  There  are  in  Britain  10  indigenous 
/pedes  of  vetch,  the  principal  of  which  are  the 
tufted  vetch,  wood  vetch,  common  vetch,  and 
bush  vetch.  Of  all  the  diff*erent  vetches  (says 
ft«clair)  that  were  submitted  to  experiment, 
137 


the  winter  tare  or  common  vetch  (V.  sativa^ 
var.)  aflTorded  the  most  nutritive  matter:  64 
I  drachms  of  the  herbage,  cut  at  the  time  of 
i  flowering,  aflTorded  4  drachms  4  grains  of  nu- 
j  tritive  matter;  while  spring  tares  only  yielded 
I  3  drachms  3  grains,  which  confirms  the  justice 
j  of  that  preference  which  practice  has  given  to 
the  former. 

1.  The  tufted  vetch  {V.  cracca),  is  a  peren- 
nial, very  common  in  England  in  a  wild  state 
in  hedges,  thickets,  osier  grounds,  and  bushy, 
low  meadows.  The  stems  are  2  or  3  feet  high, 
furrowed,  rather  downy,  climbing  by  means  of 
their  long,  many-branched  tendrils,  by  which 
they  choke  and  overtop  other  herbs.  Flowers 
numerous,  in  dense  clusters,  beautifully  varie- 
gated with  tints  of  bright  violet-blue,  and  some 
purple.  Legume  scarcely  an  inch  long,  smooth, 
with  4  or  5  dark,  globular  seeds,  the  size  of  a 
lentil.  This  vetch  is  said  to  be  nutritious  food 
for  cattle,  but  it  has  not  come  into  use,  proba- 
bly from  the  difficulty  of  gathering,  or  of  culti 
vating,  so  pertinacious  a  climber.  Dr.  Plot,  in 
his  History  of  Staffordshire,  says  that  this  and 
the  Vicia  sylvalica  advance  starved  or  weak 
cattle  above  any  thing  yet  known;  and  Dr. 
Anderson,  in  his  Essays,  speaks  highly  of  this 
plant.  It  is  inferior  to  the  wood  vetch,  or  com- 
mon tare  (F.  sylvutica),  in  the  quantity  of  nu- 
tritive matter  it  affords,  but  contains  much  less 
superfluous  moisture.  This  must  give  it  a  su- 
periority, in  regard  to  nutrient  properties,  over 
tares  which  contain  an  excess.  But  it  has  a 
strong,  creeping  root,  that  will  always  prevent 
its  admission  to  arable  lands.  It  might  be  best 
cultivated  on  tenacious  soils,  and  used  after 
the  manner  of  lucern,  to  which  it  is  much  su- 
perior in  nutritive  qualities,  though  greatly  de- 
ficient in  the  weight  of  crop.  Forty-three  grains 
of  nutritive  matter  consisted  of — 


Saccliarine  matter,  or  sugar 
Mucilage  -        -       p        - 
Insoluble  and  saline  matter 


Grains. 
20 
12 
11 


The  tufted  vetch  flowers  about  the  middle  of 
July  or  the  beginning  of  August,  and  the  seed 
is  ripe  at  the  beginning  of  September. 

2.  The  wood  vetch  (  V.  sylvaticu )  grows  in  woods 
and  hedges,  chiefly  in  the  move  mountainous 
parts  of  Britain,  and  is  one  of  our  most  elegant 
wild  plants,  well  worthy  to  decorate  shrubbe- 
ries, or  to  be  trained  over  a  trtllis  or  bower. 
The  habits  of  this  vetch  are  similar  to  those 
of  the  species  last  described,  but  it  seems  more 
impatient  of  exposure,  and  thrives  best  where 
it  has  the  support  of  bushes.  The  root  is  creep- 
ing, perennial ;  herbage  smooth.  Stems  nume- 
rous, much  branched,  climbing  to  the  height 
of  6  or  7  feet,  and  spreading  widely,  decorating 
the  bushes  which  support  them  with  a  profu- 
sion of  delicate  flowers,  elegantly  variegated 
with  blue  and  white,  streaked  with  gray.  Le- 
gume the  size  of  the  last,  bright  brown,  minutely 
dotted.  When  transplanted  to  open  situations, 
the  produce  is  inconsiderable  compared  with 
that  of  the  tufted  vetch  or  the  bush  vetch, 
though  in  its  natural  place  of  growth  the  pro- 
duce is  six  times  that  of  either  of  these  species ; 
it  is  likewise  superior  in  the  quantity  of  nutri- 
tive matter  it  aflTords.  Horses,  cows,  sheep, 
and  the  South  American  llamas,  ate  this  vetch 

10S9 


VETCH,  THE  BITTER. 

with  more  eagerness  than  they  did  the  other 
Tetchcs  or  natural  grasses  that  were  on  seve- 
ral trials  offered  to  them.  The  wood  vetch 
lowers  in  July  and  August,  and  the  seed  is 
ripe  in  September.  /rr      *•      t>i 

3.  The  common  vetch  or  tare  (K.  sativa,  ri. 
7,  r)  is  an  annual  plant,  which  is  in  general 
cultivation,  and  therefore  too  well  known  to 
need  description;  3000  grains  of  the  green 
herbage  of  the  common  vetch  consist  of— 

Onim. 
Woody  or  »nd»|e«llble  tubftance    -       -       557 

W.ltr 22J0 

NnulUve  inttUer      -----       i^J 

Hence  1.136  if  rains  of  the  woody  fibre  of  tares 
are  combined  with  27^  grains  of  saline  matter. 

In  England  vetches  are  very  commonly  sown 
upon  a  wheat  stubble,  and  no  crop  belter  re- 
pays the  addition  of  any  organic  fertilizers. 

The  bush  vetch  (F.  upium)  has  been  already 
noticed.    See  Bush  Vetch. 

The  other  British  species  of  vetch  or  tare  are 
ihe  narrow-leaved  crimson  vetch  (F.  angusti- 
fdia),  spring  vetch  (F.  Inthyroides),  rough-pod- 
ded yellow  vetch  (F.  lutea),  hairy-flowered  yel- 
low vetch  (F.  hybrida),  smooth-podded  sea-vetch 
(F.  lavi^ata),  and  rough-podded  purple  vetch 
(F.  6i/Ayrtfrt).  These  call  for  no  detailed  de- 
scription. \  few  species  of  the  vetch  family  are 
foond  in  the  United  States  and  Territories.  The 
species  called  tufted  vetch  (F.  cracca),  is  com- 
mon on  the  borders  of  woods  and  meadows,  and 
troublesome  in  some  gardens  in  the  southern 

8 arts  of  Pennsylvania  and  other  Middle  States. 
Ir.  Nuttall  says  it  is  smaller  than  the  European 
Elant  described  under  the  same  name,  but  Dr. 
>arIington  does  not  feel  satisfied  of  its  being 
a  native  of  the  United  States. 

The  species  enumerated  by  Mr.  Nuttall  are, 
1.  F.  pustlla,  2.  Sativa.  3.  Americana.  4.  Syl- 
catiea,  inhabiting  the  alluvial  banks  of  the  Mis- 
souri as  far  north  as  Fort  Mandan.  Leaflets  a 
little  more  bbtuse  than  usual.  5.  Cracca.  6. 
Caroliuiitna.    See  Tare  and  Vetculing. 

VETCH,  THE  BITTER  {Orobus,  from  oro, 
to  excite,  and  bout,  an  ox  ;  the  orobos  of  Theo- 
phrastus  was  the  name  of  a  plant  used  for  fat- 
tening oxen).  The  plants  of  this  genus  deserve 
to  have  a  place  in  every  flower-border,  on  ac- 
count of  their  very  elegant  papilionaceous  blos- 
soms. Any  soil  suits  them,  and  they  are  readily 
increased  by  dividing  the  plants  at  the  roots  in 
spring,  or  raised  by  seeds.  There  are  in  Eng- 
land two  native  species,  both  perennials. 

1.  The  common  bitter  vetch,  or  heath  pea 
(O.  tubrrotut),  grows  in  elevated  or  mountain- 
ous pastures,  thickets,  and  woods.  The  root 
is  creeping,  externally  blackish,  swelling  here 
and  there  into  oblong  knobs.  Herbage  smooth, 
darkish  preen.  Stems  simple,  erect,  a  foot  high, 
compressed  and  winged.  Leaves  alternate. 
Fbwers  in  loose,  long-stalked,  axillary  clus- 
ters, elegantly  variegated  and  veined,  with  pur- 
ple, crimson,  and  shades  of  blue  and  flesh  co- 
lour. Legumes  pendulous,  long,  cylindrical, 
black  when  ripe.  The  roots  have  a  sweetish 
laste,  and  aflTord  some  luxuries  and  refresh- 
menUs  to  the  hardy  independent  Highlander. 
There  is  considerable  elegance  in  the  flowers, 
»nd  in  the  plant  altogether. 
«.  WtK)d  bitter  vefch  (0.  syhaticus).  In  this 
1090 


VETERINARY  C0LL:EGE. 

species  the  root  is  woody  and  tough,  deeply 
fixed  in  the  ground.  The  stems  are  numerous, 
spreading  or  recumbent,  1  to  2  feet  long,  hairy, 
more  or  less  branched.  Clusters  of  numerous 
flowers,  which  have  a  hairy  calyx,  are  cream, 
coloured,  streaked,  and  tipped  with  purple. 
The  legumes  are  ovate-oblong,  smooth,  com- 
pressed, and  shorter  than  usual  in  the  genus. 

VETCH,  KIDNEY.     See  Kioney-Vktch. 

VETCH,  MILK.     See  Milk-Vetch. 

VETCHLING  (Lathyrus.)  A  numerous 
herbaceous  genus  of  annual  or  perennial  plants. 
The  flowers  are  stalked,  axillary,  either  soli- 
tary, in  pairs,  or  in  clusters;  either  crimson, 
purplish,  blue,  or  yellow.  The  herbage  com- 
monly affords  good  fodder;  the  seeds  are  scarce- 
ly used  for  any  purpose.  There  are  seven  indi- 
genour  species  of  vetchling,  or  everlasting  pea; 
the  yellow  vetchling  (i.  aphaca),  the  crimson 
vetchling  or  grass-vetch  (L.  nissolid),  the  rough- 
podded  vetchling  (Z,.  hirsutus),  the  yellow  mea- 
dow vetchling,  or  tare  everlasting  (X.  pratensis), 
narrow-leaved  everlasting  pea  (i.  sylvestris), 
broad-leaved  everlasting  pea  {L.  lat if oli us),  a.nd 
the  blue  marsh  vetchling  (i.  palustris):  most 
of  these  species  have  been  already  noticed  un- 
der the  heads  Everlasting  Pea  and  Latht- 
Rus.  The  latifolius  is  that  species  usually  cul- 
tivated in  gardens  on  account  of  the  beauty  of 
the  flowers.  It  has  been  recommended  for  field 
cultivation,  but  the  advice  has  not  been  fol- 
lowed. Bees  procure  much  honey  from  the 
flowers. 

VETERINARY  COLLEGE.  The  Highland 
Society  of  Scotland  have  instituted  a  veterinary 
school  in  connection  with  their  establishment, 
which  is  under  the  management  of  Professor 
Dick.  By  difl^using  generally  a  practical  know- 
ledge of  veterinary  medicine,  it  cannot  fail  to 
be  attended  with  the  happiest  consequences  to 
the  community  at  large.  A  veterinary  college 
has  long  been  established  in  London;  and  that 
useful  periodical,  the  Veterinarian,  edited  by 
Professor  Youatt,  has  added  much  valuable  in- 
formation to  our  stock  of  knowledge  on  the  dis- 
eases of  animals.     See  Farhierx  and  Hippo- 

PATHOLOGT. 

The  London  Veterinary  College  was  first 
established  in  the  year  1792,  at  St.  Pancras. 
Mr.  Boardman,  in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Veteri- 
nary Art,  remarks,  that  "  the  public  are  indebt- 
ed for  this  national  foundation  to  the  exertions 
of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Odiham,  in 
Hampshire.  The  first  professor  was  M.  St, 
Bel,  a  Frenchman,  who  had  previously  signal- 
ized himself  in  this  country  as  a  veterinary 
anatomist,  by  dissecting  the  famous  race-horse 
Eclipse.  This  college  is  supported  by  public 
subscription.  The  annual  contribution  is  2 
guineas,  but  payment  of  20  guineas  at  once 
constitutes  a  subscriber  for  life. 

"The  views  and  objects  of  the  college  ap- 
pear in  the  following  statement,  printed  by  the 
authority  of  the  governors.  The  grand  object, 
they  observe,  is  the  improvement  of  veterinary 
knowledge,  in  order  to  remedy  the  ignorance 
and  incompetency  of  farriers,  so  long  univer- 
sally complained  of.  For  this  end,  a  range  of 
stables,  a  forge,  a  theatre  for  dissections  and 
lectures,  with  other  buildings,  have  been 
erected :  a  gentleman  of  superior  abilities  has 


VILLOUS. 

DCPh  appointed  professor,  with  other  requisite 
officers. 

"The  anatomical  structure  of  quadrupeds, 
as  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  dogs,  &c.,  the  diseases 
to  which  they  are  subject,  and  the  remedies 
proper  to  be  applied,  are  investigated  and  re- 
gularly taught;  by  which  means  enlightened 
practitioners  of  liberal  education,  whose  whole 
study  has  been  devoted  to  the  veterinary  art  in 
all  its  branches,  may  be  gradually  dispersed 
over  the  kingdom,  in  whose  skill  and  expe- 
rience confidence  may  be  securely  placed. 

"Subscribers  have  the  privilege  of  sending 
their  diseased  animals  to  the  college,  without 
further  expense  than  that  of  their  daily  food, 
and  these  in  general  form  a  sufficient  number 
of  patients  for  the  practice  of  the  professor 
and  pupils.  On  fixed  days,  the  professor  pre- 
.«icribes  for  animals  belonging  to  subscribers 
who  find  it  inconvenient  to  spare  them  from 
home,  provided  the  necessary  medicines  be 
furnished  and  compounded  at  the  college; 
subscribers'  horses  are  also  there  shod  at  the 
ordinary  prices." 

VILLOUS.  A  term  in  botany,  signifying 
covered  with  soft,  close,  long,  loose  hairs,  re- 
sembling shag. 

VINE  (Vitis,  from  the  Celtic  e:und,  signifying 
the  best  of  trees.  Wine  is  derived  from  the 
Celtic  word  pi'in).  A  valuable  genus  of  plants. 
The  common  grape  vine  (  V.  vmifera),  with  its 
very  numerous  garden  varieties,  is  in  general 
cultivation  for  its  much-esteemed  fruit.  None 
of  the  other  species  are  worth  cultivating. 
The  acids  of  grapes  are  chiefly  the  tartaric 
and  acetic;  but  malic  acid  is  also  present  in 
them.  Mr.  Loudon,  in  his  Encydopadia  of 
Garde nins:y\\\\xs  botanically  describes  the  vine: 
— "The  grape  vine  is  a  trailing,  deciduous, 
hardy  shrub,  with  a  twisted  irregular  stem,  and 
long  flexible  branches,  decumbent,  like  those 
of  the  bramble ;  or  supportmg  themselves, 
when  near  other  trees,  by  means  of  tendrils, 
like  the  pea.  The  leaves  are  large,  lobed,  en- 
lire,  or  serrated  and  downy,  or  smooth  ;  green 
in  summer,  but  when  mature,  those  varieties 
in  which  the  predominating  colour  is  red  con- 
stantly change  to,  or  are  tinged  with,  some 
shade  of  that  colour ;  and  those  of  white,  green, 
or  yellow  grapes  as  constantly  change  to  a 
yellow,  and  are  never  in  the  least  tinged  with 
purple,  red,  or  scarlet.  The  breadth  of  the 
leaves  varies  from  5  to  7  or  10  inches,  and  the 
length  of  the  footstalks  from  4  to  8  inches. 
The  flowers  are  produced  on  the  shoots  of  the 
same  year,  which  shoots  generally  proceed  from 
those  of  the  year  preceding;  they  are  in  the 
form  of  a  raceme,  of  a  greenish-white  colour, 
appearing  in  the  open  air  in  England  in  June; 
and  the  fruit,  which  is  of  the  berry  kind,  attains 
such  maturity  as  the  season  and  situation  ad- 
mit by  the  middle  or  end  of  September.  The 
berry  or  grape  is  generally  globular,  but  often 
ovate,\  val,oblong,orfinger-shaped;  thecolours 
are  green,  white,  red,  yellow,  amber,  or  black,  or 
a  variegation  of  two  or  more  of  these  colours. 
The  skin  is  smooth ;  the  pulp  and  juice  of  a 
dulcet,  poignant,  elevated,  generous  flavour. 
Every  berry  ought  to  enclose  five  small  heart 
;-r  pear-shaped  stones ;  but  as  they  are  par- 
tially abortive,  they  have   seldom  more  than 


VINE. 

three ;  and  some  varieties,  as  they  attain  a 
certain  age,  as  the  Ascalon  or  Sultana  raisin, 
have  none.  The  weight  of  a  berry  depends 
not  only  on  its  size,  but  on  the  thickness  of  its 
skin,  and  texture  of  the  flesh,  the  lightest  be- 
ing the  thin-skinned  and  juicy  sorts,  as  the 
sweet-water  or  Muscadine." 

Although  we  presume  the  excellent  treatise 
of  Mr.  Clement  Hoare  on  the  Culture  of  the  Vine 
is  in  the  hands  of  most  of  our  readers,  yet,  as 
there  is  no  other  standard  work  of  reference 
on  this  subject,  we  must  necessarily  draw  upon 
this  for  our  extracts. 

Of  all  the  productions  of  the  vegetable  world 
(observes  this  experienced  cultivator)  which 
the  skill  and  ingenuity  of  man  have  rendered 
conducive  to  his  comfort  and  to  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  sphere  of  his  enjoyments,  and  the 
increase  of  his  pleasurable  gratifications,  the 
vine  stands  forward  as  the  most  pre-eminently 
conspicuous.  Its  quickness  of  growth,  the 
great  age  to  which  it  will  live, — so  great,  in- 
deed, as  to  be  unknown;  its  almost  total  ex- 
emption from  all  those  adverse  contingencies 
which  blight  and  diminish  the  produce  of  other 
fruit-bearing  trees;  its  astonishing  vegetative 
power;  its  wonderful  fertility,  and  its  delicious 
fruit,  applicable  to  so  many  purposes,  and 
agreeable  to  'all  palates,  in  all  its  varied  shapes, 
—combine  to  mark  it  out  as  one  of  the  great- 
est blessings  bestowed  by  Providence  to  pro- 
mote the  comfort  and  enjoyments  of  the  human 
race. 

From  the  remotest  records  of  antiquity,  the 
vine  has  been  celebrated  in  all  ages  as  the  type 
of  plenty  and  the  symbol  of  happiness.  The 
pages  of  Scripture  abound  with  allusions  to 
the  fertility  of  the  vine  as  emblematic  of  pros- 
perity;  and  it  is  emphatically  declared,  in  de- 
scribing the  peaceful  and  flourishing  state  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel  during  the  reign  of  So- 
lomon, that  "Judah  and  Israel  dwelt  safely, 
every  man  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig 
tree,  from  Dan  even  to  Beersheba."  The 
source  of  enjoyment  thus  mentioned  to  record 
the  happy  state  of  the  Jewish  nation  may  be, 
with  reference  to  the  vine,  literally  possessed 
by  the  greater  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Great  Britain. 

The  native  country  of  the  vine  is  generally 
considered  to  be  Persia.  The  finest  grapes  in 
the  world  are  those  of  Shiraz  and  of  Casvin. 
The  latter  city,  says  M.  Morier,  is  environed 
by  vineyards  and  orchards,  and  the  former 
yield  a  grape  which  is  celebrated  throughout 
Persia.  It  is  along  the  line  of  mountains  that 
stretch  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Caspian 
Sea,  that  the  best  vine  districts  are  situated; 
but  the  grape  vine  has  been  found  wild  in 
America,  and  has  now  become  naturalized  in 
all  the  temperate  regions  of  the  world.  In  the 
northern  hemisphere  it  forms  an  important 
branch  of  rural  economy,  from  the  21st  to  the 
51st  parallel  of  latitude;  and  by  an  improved 
method  of  culture  very  fine  grapes  may  be 
annually  grown  on  the  surface  of  walls,  in  the 
open  air,  as  far  north  as  the  54th  parallel,  and 
even  beyond  that  in  favourable  seasons.  The 
vine  is  supposed  to  have  been  introduced  into 
Britain  at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
era.    It  certainly  did  not  exist  before  the 

1091 


VINE. 

man  invasion,  as  neither  Cesar,  Pliny,  nor 
Tacitas  notice  it  in  the  description  of  Great 
Britain.  Bedc  informs  us,  that  in  the  com- 
menccment  of  the  eighth  century  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  vine  had  made  some  progress  m 
Oreal  Britain :  vines  are  mentioned  in  the  laws 
of  Alfred.  History,  indeed,  amply  proves,  that 
for  a  long  series  of  ages  vineyards  were  cora- 
OK>o  in  the  soalhern  parts  of  England,  and  that 
the  qaantity  of  wine  produced  from  them  was 
so  irreai  as  to  be  considered  one  of  the  staple 
prodocisor  the  land.  Lambarde  (Topogrnphi- 
eai  Dictionary  of  England)  informs  us,  that  at 
Hallmg.  near  Rochester,  the  bishop's  vineyard 
yielded  such  excellent  wine,  that  a  present  of 
it  was  sent  to  Edward  II.  when  he  was  at 
Bakingfu-ld.  There  was  a  royal  vineyard  at 
Rockingham,  in  the  fifth  year  of  King  Stephen  ; 
and  William  of  Malmsbury,  speaking  of  the 
vale  of  Gloucester,  says,  "this  district,  too, 
exhibits  a  greater  number  of  vineyards  than 
%%j  other  county  in  England,  yielding  abund- 
aut  crop'J,  and  of  superior  quality."  The  same 
author  also  says,  that  in  the  isle  of  Ely  the 
soil  is  "covered  with  vines,  which  either  trail 
along  the  ground  or  are  trained  on  high,  and 
supported  on  poles."  In  the  time  of  Richard 
lU  also,  the  vine  grew  so  plentifully  in  Wind- 
sor Little  Park,  that  part  of  the  wine  made 
there  was  sold  for  the  king's  profit.  From 
foaie  cause  or  other,  however,  the  cultivation 
of  the  vine  has  fallen  into  general  neglect, 
although  good  grapes  might  be  grown  on  vines 
trained  as  espaliers,  or  in  the  same  manner  as 
in  the  vineyards  abroad,  from  which  excellent 
wine  could  be  made,  at  a  cost  that  would  not 
exceed  that  of  moderately  strong  beer.  Why 
vineyards  should  have  so  completely  disap- 
peared, it  is  difficult  to  say,  since  there  are 
many  thousands  of  acres  of  poor  land  that  are 
of  little  value  in  an  agricultural  point  of  view, 
but  on  which  vines  would  flourish,  and  pro- 
duce abundant  crops  of  grapes,  and  yield  there- 
by a  most  profitable  return. 

Fruu-txaring  Potcers  of  the  Vine. — From  a 
long  course  of  experiments,  Mr.  Hoare  has 
computed  the  following  scale  of  the  greatest 
qaantity  of  grapes  which  any  vine  can  per- 
fectly mature,  in  proportion  to  the  circum- 
ference of  its  stem  measured  just  above  the 
ground. 

lb. 

-  45 
50 
55 
60 
65 
70 
75 


ItacliM 

?  : 

*k     - 
6 

?  : 


IbL 

CIrcum. 

5 

7  inches 

10 

7*     - 

15 

8        - 

SO 

8*     - 

S5 

9       . 

SO 

0*      - 

85 

10      . 

No  vine  should  be  suflTered  to  ripen  fruit 
until  its  stem  measures  3  inches  in  girt  In 
general,  rines  are  allowed  to  bear  a  much 
greater  quantity  of  grapes  than  the  above  scale 
represents,  but  in  all  such  cases  it  will  be 
found  that  they  are  not  perfectly  ripened ;  and 
moreover,  by  producing  a  superabundance  of 
fruit,  the  plants  are  crippled  for  many  years. 

Asptrt. — The  warmer  the  aspect,  the  greater 
perfection  does  the  grape  attain  in  the  climate 
of  England,  provided  all  other  circumstances 
are  alike;  and  if  the  greatest  quantity  of  the 
•tin's  rays  shining  on  the  surface  of  a  wall 
1092 


VINE. 

were  alone  to  be  considered  as  constituting  the 
best  aspect,  there  would,  of  course,  be  no  dif- 
ficulty in  naming  a  due  southern  one  as  better 
than  any  other.  But  warmth  alone  is  not  suffi- 
cient; shelter  from  the  withering  influence  of 
the  wind  is  equally  necessary.  The  best  as- 
pects are  those  that  range  from  the  eastern  to 
the  southeastern,  both  inclusive.  The  next 
best  are  those  from  southeast  to  south. 

Soil. — The  natural  soil  which  is  Thost  con- 
genial to  the  growth  of  the  vine,  and  to  the 
perfection  of  its  fruit  in  this  country,  is  a  light, 
porous,  rich,  sandy  loam,  not  more  than  18 
inches  in  depth,  on  a  dry  bottom  of  gravel, 
stones,  or  rocks.  A  strong  argillaceous  soil  is 
injurious  to  the  vine  :  it  checks  the  expansion 
of  the  roots,  and  retains  too  much  moisture. 
In  calcareous  soils  the  vine  always  flourishes, 
especially  if  the  bottom  be  stony  or  gravelly. 
No  subsoil  can  possess  too  great  a  quantity  of 
these  materials  for  the  roots  of  the  vine,  which 
run  with  eagerness  into  all  the  clefts,  crevices, 
and  openings  in  which  such  subsoils  abound. 
In  these  dry  and  warm  situations,  the  fibrous 
extremities,  pushing  themselves  with  the  great- 
est avidity,  and  continually  branching  out  in 
every  possible  direction,  lie  secure  from  that 
excess  of  moisture  which  frequently  accumu- 
lates in  more  compact  soils  ;  and,  clinging  like 
ivy  round  the  porous  surfaces  of  their  retreats, 
extract  therefrom  a  species  of  food,  more  nou- 
rishing than  that  obtained  by  them  under  any 
other  circumstances  whatever.  All  borders, 
therefore,  made  expressly  for  the  reception  of 
vines,  ought  to  be  composed  of  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  dry  materials,  such  as  stones  and 
brickbats,  broken  moderately  small,  lumps  of 
old  mortar,  broken  pottery,  oyster  shells,  &c., 
to  enable  the  roots  to  extend  themselves  freely 
in  their  search  after  food  and  nourishment;  to 
keep  them  dry  and  warm  by  the  free  admission 
of  air  and  solar  heat,  and  to  admit  of  heavy 
rains  passing  quickly  through,  without  being 
retained  sufficiently  long  to  saturate  the  roots 
and  thereby  injure  their  tender  extremities 
The  sweepings  obtained  from  a  turnpike  road, 
or  from  any  other  high  road  kept  in  a  good 
state  of  repair  by  the  frequent  addition  of 
stones,  and  on  which  there  is  a  considerable 
traffic  of  horses  or  other  cattle,  is  the  very  best 
compost  that  can  be  added  to  any  border  in- 
tended for  the  reception  of  vines.  Its  compo- 
nent parts,  consisting  chiefly  of  sand,  gravel, 
pulverized  stones,  and  the  residuum  of  dung 
and  urine,  aff()rd  a  greater  quantity  of  food, 
and  of  a  richer  and  more  lasting  nature,  than 
can  be  found  in  any  other  description  of  com- 
post that  I  have  ever  seen  or  heard  of  being 
used  for  that  purpose.  Borders  in  which  vines 
are  planted  should  never  be  cropped  nor  digged. 

Manure. — The  best  species  of  manure  for  the 
vine  are  those  which  afi()rd  a  considerable  de- 
'  gree  of  nourishment,  but  at  the  same  time 
slowly  decompose  in  the  soil.  Such  are  bones, 
whole  or  crushed,  the  horns  and  hoofs  of  cat- 
tle, the  entire  carcasses  of  animals,  cuttings  of 
leather,  woollen  rags,  feathers,  and  hair,  and 
the  leaves  of  the  vines  themselves.  Liqjid 
manures  are  also  valuable,  and  forcing  in  their 
effect;  of  this  class  the  most  powerful  are 
urine,  soot-water,  blood,  the  drainings  of  dung 


VINE. 

heaps,  and  soap-suds.  It  should,  however,  al- 
ways be  recollected,  that  the  more  manure  is 
used,  the  poorer  the  wine  procured  from  the 
grapes.  As  a  top-dressing,  and  to  be  forked 
into  the  border,  night-soil,  refuse  fish,  stable 
manure,  and  the  excrements  of  all  birds  and 
animals,  will  be  found  highly  enriching  sub- 
stances as  fertilizers,  and  their  nutritive  and 
stimulating  properties  have  been  frequently 
alluded  to  in  the  progress  of  this  work;  but  if 
rich  manures  are  used,  they  should  be  mixed 
with  turf  and  sand.  In  the  Alto  Douro  is  a 
law  which  prohibits  the  vine  being  "littered;" 
as  this  operation,  though  it  considerably  aug- 
ments the  produce,  tends  to  deteriorate  the 
quality  of  the  wine. 

On  the  Construction  of  Walls. — No  general 
rule  can  be  laid  down  as  to  the  height  of  the 
wall,  which  must  necessarily  vary  under  differ- 
ent situations  and  circumstances.  Mr.  Hoare 
states,  that  in  unsheltered  situations  and  ex- 
posed aspects  he  has  never  seen  fine  grapes 
produced  much  higher  than  8  feet  from  the 
ground. 

But,  in  favourable  situations,  height  is  no 
consequence.  If  built  for  the  express  purpose 
of  rearing  grapes,  low  walls  of  not  more  than 
6  feet  are  to  be  preferred,  as  more  convenient 
for  pruning  and  training  the  vines.  Brick 
walls  are  undoubtedly  the  best,  the  surface 
being  smooth  and  even.  A  considerable  heat 
is  obtained  by  blackening  the  wall. 

Propagation. — Vines  are  propagated  in  the 
open  ground  by  layers  and  by  cuttings.  The 
former  is  the  most  expeditious  mode,  provided 
the  shoots  be  laid  down  in  pots,  and  planted 
out  the  same  summer.  The  latter  mode  is 
much  the  best.  To  provide  cuttings  to  be 
planted  at  the  proper  season,  select  at  the  au- 
tumnal pruning:  a  sufficient  number  of  shoots 
of  the  preceding  summer's  growth.  Choose 
such  as  are  well  ripened,  of  a  medium  size,  and 
moderately  short-jointed.  Cut  them  into  con- 
venient lengths  of  6  or  8  buds  each,  leaving  at 
the  ends  not  less  than  a  couple  of  inches  of 
the  blank  wood  for  the  protection  of  the  termi- 
hal  buds.  Stick  these  temporary  cuttings  about 
9  inches  in  the  ground,  in  a  warm  and  sheltered 
situation,  where  they  will  be  effectually  pro- 
tected from  the  severity  of  the  winter.  The 
best  time  to  plant  them  out  is  about  the  middle 
of  March,  but  any  time  from  the  1st  of  that 
month  to  the  10th  of  April  will  do  very  well. 

Pruning  and  training  are  so  closely  connected 
together,  and  so  mutually  dependent  on  each 
other,  that  they  almost  constitute  one  operation. 
The  judicious  pruning  of  a  vine  is  one  of  the 
most  important  points  of  culture  throughout  the 
whole  routine  of  its  management.  The  object 
is  to  get  rid  of  all  the  useless  and  superabun- 
dant wood,  for  those  shoots  of  a  vin^  which 
bear  fruit  one  year  never  bear  any  afterwards. 
There  are  three  methods  of  pruning  vines  in 
practice  amongst  gardeners;  namely,  the  long- 
pruning,  spur-pruning,  and  the  fan  or  fruit  tree 
method.  The  first  is  considered  to  be  the  most 
elis'ible  method,  and  is  that  which  is  practised 
and  recommended  by  Mr.  Hoare.  As  the  sole 
object  in  view  in  pruning  a  vine  is  to  increase 
its  fertility,  the  best  method  to  accomplish  this 
is  M  leave  a  sufiicient  supply  of  bearing  shoots 


VINE. 

on  the  least  possible  proportiona.t  quantity  of 
old  wood. 

Long-pruning  appears  to  recommend  itself 
by  its  simplicity  ;  by  the  old  wood  of  the  vine 
being  annually  got  rid  of;  by  the  small  num 
ber  of  wounds  inflicted  in  the  pruning;  by  the 
clean  and  handsome  appearance  of  the  vine 
and  by  the  great  ease  with  which  it  is  managed, 
in  consequence  of  its  occupying  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  surface  of  the  wall. 

Mr.  Hoare  lays  down  the  following  practical 
general  rules  for  the  guidance  of  the  pruner : — 

1st.  In  pruning,  always  cut  upwards,  and  in 
a  sloping  direction. 

2d.  Always  leave  an  inch  of  blank  wood  be- 
yond the  terminal  bud,  and  let  the  cut  be  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  bud. 

3d.  Prune  so  as  to  leave  as  few  wounds  as 
possible,  and  let  the  surface  of  every  cut  be 
perfectly  smooth. 

4th.  In  cutting  out  an  old  branch,  prune  it 
even  with  the  parent  limb,  that  the  wound  may 
quickly  heal. 

5th.  Prune  so  as  to  obtain  the  quantity  of 
fruit  desired  on  the  smallest  number  of  shoots 
possible. 

6th.  Never  prune  in  frosty  weather,  nor  when 
a  frost  is  expected. 

.  7th.  Never  prune  in  the  months  of  March, 
April,  or  May.  Pruning  in  either  of  these 
months  causes  bleeding,  and  occasions  thereby 
a  wasteful  and  an  injurious  expenditure  of  sap. 

8th.  Let  the  general  autumnal  priming  take 
place  as  soon  after  the  1st  of  October  as  the 
gathering  of  the  fruit  will  permit. 

Lastly,  use  a  pruning-knife  of  the  best  de- 
scription, and  let  it  be,  if  possible,  as  sharp  as 
a  razor. 

Training. — To  train  a  vine  (Mr.  Hoare  goes 
on  to  observe)  on  the  surface  of  a  wall  is  to 
regulate  the  position  of  its  branches,  the  prin- 
cipal objects  of  which  are,  to  protect  them  from 
the  influence  of  the  wind ;  to  bring  them  into 
close  contact  with  the  wall,  for  the  purpose  of 
receiving  the  benefit  of  its  warmth  ;  to  spread 
them  at  proper  distances  from  each  other,  that 
the  foliage  and  fruit  may  receive  the  full  effect 
of  the  sun's  rays,  and  to  retard  the  motion  of 
the  sap,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  the  forma- 
tion of  fruit-buds.  The  flow  of  sap,  it  must  be 
remembered,  is  always  strcngest  in  a  vertical 
direction,  and  weakest  in  a  downward  one. 
For  this  reason,  the  method  of  serpentine  train- 
ing may  be  considered  preferable  to  every 
other,  being  calculated  in  a  greater  degree  to 
check  the  too  rapid  ascent  of  the  sap,  and  to 
make  it  flow  more  equally  into  the  fruiting 
shoots,  and  those  intended  for  future  bearers. 
On  walls  that  are  much  less  than  5  feet  high, 
a  portion  of  the  shoots  must  be  trained  hori- 
zontally. 

Varieties  of  Grapes. — The  following  12  sorts 
of  grapes  are  those  best  adapted  for  culture  on 
open  walls  in  England: — 

1.  Black  Hamburgh.  As  a  splendid  table. 
fruit,  this  is,  in  every  respect,  one  of  the  mos* 
valuable  grapes  that  can  be  grown  on  open 
walls.  It  is  a  prolific  bearer,  hardy  in  its  na- 
ture, and  under  judicious  culture  will  ripen 
with  as  small  a  portion  of  direct  solar  heat  as 
any  grape  we  have. 

4  Z  1093 


VINE. 


VINE. 


t.  Black  Prince.  This  is  a  very  fine  grape, 
and  nearly  if  not  quite  equal  to  the  black 
Hamburj?h;  both  of  these  sorts  ripen  in  a 
gouiheasiern  aspect,  about  the  middle  of  Oc- 
tober. 

3.  Bsperione.  The  Esperione  vine  is  very 
hardy,  extremely  prolific,  and  ripens  its  fruit 
perfectly  in  any  season,  however  unfavourable. 

4.  Black  Muscadine.  This  is  also  a  prolific 
bearer,  but  it  requires  a  good  aspect  to  ripen  it 
perfectly. 

6.  Miller's  Burgundy.  This  is  a  very  hardy 
and  prolific  grape,  and  ripens  perfectly  in  any 
season.  Its  leaves,  which  are  very  thick,  dis- 
tinguish it  from  every  other  sort,  being  covered 
on  both  sides  with  a  hoary  down,  which,  vvhen 
they  are  young,  is  nearly  white ;  hence  it  is 
called  the  "mi//er'»"  grape. 

6.  Claret  grape.  This  is  a  very  fine  wine 
grape.  It  requires  a  good  aspect.  Early  in 
the  summer  its  leaves  change  to  a  russet  red, 
and  die  in  the  autumn  of  a  deep  purple  blood 
colour. 

7,  8,  9.  Black,  grizzly,  and  white  Frontignan. 
The  flavour  of  these  three  sorts  is  so  extremely 

.delicious,  that  no  good  vine  wall  should  be 
without  them.  They  ripen  well  in  favourable 
aspects,  and  where  the  soil  is  very  dry;  but, 
being  thin-skinned,  and  constitutionally  dis- 
posed to  decay  after  they  become  fully  ripe, 
they  cannot  be  kept  long  on  the  vine,  particu- 
larly if  the  wall  against  which  they  are  grow- 
ing be  destitute  of  a  projecting  coping. 

10.  White  Muscadine.  This  is  an  exceed- 
ingly fine  grape,  and  a  prolific  bearer;  and 
from  its  hardy  nature,  and  the  certainty  with 
vhich  it  ripens  in  any  season,  it  may  be  con- 
sidered as  the  best  white  grape  that  can  be 
grown  on  open  walls. 

11.  Malmsey  Muscadine.  This  resembles 
the  preceding,  except  that  the  berries  are 
Smaller,  and  the  branches  not  so  regularly 
formed;  but  the  juice  is  sweeter,  and  pos- 
sesses a  higher  flavour. 

12.  White  Sweetwater.  This  is  a  delicious 
grape;  but,  owing  to  its  tenderness  when  in 
blossom,  the  berries  sit  very  unevenly  on  the 
branches. 

If  it  be  desired  to  have  a  very  early  sort,  to 
the  preceding  may  be  added  the  early  black 
July;  which,  though  the  branches  and  berries 
are  smaller,  and  the  latter  in  general  unevenly 
set»  is  a  very  sweet  and  also  a  well-flavoured 
grape.  {Hoare  on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Grape- 
Vitu  on  open  Walls,  3d  edition ;  Phillips's  Hist, 
of  Fntiis,  p.  177.) 

The  work  of  Mr.  Hoare  is  so  full  of  details 
that  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  any  thing 
to  the  directions  contained  in  his  work ;  and 
we  shall  therefore  confine  ourselves  to  a  state- 
ment of  a  few  general  truths  in  regard  to  the 
cultivation  of  the  vine  in  the  United  States,  the 
results  of  much  observation  and  some  experi- 
ence. 

1.  The  vine  is  a  native  of  America,  as  it  is 
of  Asia,  while  it  was  an  exotic  in  Europe. 
There  is  nothing,  therefore,  in  the  soil  or  cli- 
mate of  America  uncongenial  to  the  vine,  and, 
in  fact,  there  are  few  parts  of  the  United  States 
where  the  forests  are  not  filled  with  grape-vines 
growing  with  the  greatest  exuberance.  If. 
1094 


therefore,  the  cultivation  of  the  vine  has  made 
comparatively  little  progress,  it  is  mainly  be- 
cause other  fruits  and  other  crops  have  offered 
greater  attractions.  But  as  the  country  has 
advanced,  and  the  population  is  concentrated 
in  large  towns,  the  grape  has  become  an  ob- 
ject of  more  interest,  and  we  think  it  would 
now  reward  the  industry  of  our  farmers. 

2.  This  cultivation  would  have  two  objects, 
the  making  of  wine,  and  the  supply  of  grapes 
for  the  table.  As  to  the  first,  we  have  no  doubt 
that  wine  can  be  made  of  an  excellent  quality 
and  at  not  unreasonable  prices  in  the  United 
States.  In  fact,  we  know  that  cultivators  on  a 
large  scale,  such  as  Mr.  Rapp,  at  Harmony,  Mr. 
Longworth,  in  Ohio,  Mr.  Geo.  Sheaff,  and  Mr.  N. 
Biddle,  both  of  Pennsylvania,  have  succeeded 
in  making  wine — good,  sound,  palatable  wine, 
which  would  require  only  the  wine-dealers'  arts 
to  place  it  on  a  footing  of  equality  with  some  of 
the  best  wines  of  Europe.  But  so  long  as  the 
wines  of  France  and  of  the  old-established  wine 
countries  of  Europe  can  be  produced  so  cheap- 
ly, and  imported  with  scarcely  any  duty,  the 
competition  of  the  foreign  wine-makers  is  diffi- 
cult to  withstand,  and  it  is  mainly,  therefore, 
when  raised  for  the  table  that  grapes  will  repay 
the  labour  of  the  farmer;  and  this,  we  think, 
they  certainly  would  do.  The  importation  of 
grapes  and  raisins  into  the  United  States  will 
afford  the  best  evidence  of  the  consumption  of 
those  articles,  and  their  cost  to  us. 

We  happen  to  have  before  us  two  returns 
of  importations  for  different  years,  from  which 
we  make  the  following  extracts. 

In  the  year  1834  the  importation  stood  thus— 


Raisins  in  jars 
All  other  raisins 


Quantity.  Value. 

6,897,517  lbs.        #477,318 
7,423,567  306,516 


14,321,084 


The  importation  of  1837  was — 


Raisins  in  boxes 
All  other  raisins 


Quantity. 
12,331,782  lbs. 
6,605,316 


19,137,098 


«783,834 


$1,320,830 


We  have  not  at  haTid  any  more  recent  state- 
ments, and  therefore  do  not  know  how  these 
importations  have  been  sustained.  But  these 
tables  show  an  efficient  yiemand  for  grapes, 
fresh  and  dried,  of  no  less  than  1,320,000  dol- 
lars in  a  single  year.  Such  an  object  is  worth 
contending  for.  These  imported  grapes  are 
generally  not  of  the  best  kind,  even  in  their 
own  country,  being  selected  mainly  on  account 
of  their  hard  skins  and  their  ability  to  bear  the 
long  voyage.  They  are  gathered  before  they 
are  fully  ripe,  and,  being  packed  in  sawdust, 
they  retain  too  much  of  the  flavour  of  that  ma- 
terial. Now,  if  these  grapes  were  met  on  their 
arrival  by  grapes  grown  here,  and  plucked 
from  the  vines  within  a  few  hours  instead  of 
a  few  months  before  they  are  brought  on  the 
table,  the  preference  could  not  fail  to  be  giv^en 
to  the  native  fruits. 

Such  fruits  might  be  furnished  from  vineries 
covered  with  glass,  or  raised  in  the  open  fields. 

For  raising  grapes  under  glass,  we  do  not 
think  it  necessary  to  give  any  directions,  since 
whoever  proposes  it  will  find  ample  instruf- 


VINE. 


VINE. 


tions  in  the  works  of  M'lntosh  and  other  gar- 
deners. Of  the  kinds  of  grapes  best  adapted 
for  culture  under  glass  we  may  speak  with 
some  confidence.  These  kinds  are  very  nume- 
rous— great  varieties  of  Chasselas — great  va- 
rieties of  Muskats — many  of  Frontignac.  But 
we  think  that  the  labour  and  time  are  best  re- 
warded by  the  black  Hamburgh,  which,  for  its 
excellence  and  its  abundant  bearing,  may  per- 
haps be  placed  at  the  head  of  all  the  grape 
family;  by  the  Muscat  of  Alexandria,  the  fla- 
vour of  which  is  of  surpassing  richness,  though 
an  uncertain  and  scanty  bearer,  and  by  one  or 
two  varieties  of  the  Frontignac.  These  are  at 
the  head  of  their  respective  kinds,  and  none 
of  the  imported  grapes  can  be  placed  in  any 
sort  of  comparison  with  them. 

The  cultivation  of  grapes  in  the  open  air  is 
of  course  cheaper  and  easier  to  farmers. 

The  best  kind  of  foreign  grapes,  such  as  are 
above  enumerated,  may  be  successfully  grown 
in  city  gardens  with  much  shelter  and  care, 
and  there  are  few  gardens  in  which  they  would 
not  prosper.  But  as  yet  the  foreign  grape  has 
not  succeeded  in  field  cultivation,  and  accord- 
ingly for  this  purpose  we  must  employ  other 
varieties,  which,  though  of  inferior  quality, 
are  either  natives,  civilized  by  cultivation,  or 
foreigners  gradually  acclimated.  The  sorts 
which  are  most  considered  are  the  Scuppernon, 
a  vine  of  doubtful  origin,  which  thrives  well 
and  bears  abundantly  in  North  Carolina,  but 
as  yet  has  made  little  progress  to  the  north, 
thongh  worthy,  we  believe,  of  more  extensive 
experiments.  Those  most  known  to  field  cul- 
tivation in  the  Middle  States  are  the  Alexan- 
der, the  Isabella,  and  the  Catawba;  and  on 
these  our  markets  will  probably  rely  for  some 
time.  They  may  be  cultivated  in  rows  exactly 
like  Indian  corn,  with  the  plough  and  the  hoe- 
harrow;  they  do  not  require  even  as  much 
trouble  as  a  field  of  Indian  corn,  and,  instead 
of  being  renewed  and  replanted  every  year, 
the  plants  will  last  for  many  generations  of 
men.  They  require  no  covering  in  winter,  but 
will  stand  unharmed  the  severest  frosts  and 
snows. 

On  the  whole,  what  we  think  should  come 
next  in  the  progress  of  American  farming  is,  that 
every  farm-house  should  have  its  patch  of  grapes 
as  well  as  of  peas  or  beans,  of  the  improved 
native  grapes,  and  that  by  degrees  the  highest 
kinds  of  foreign  grapes  should  be  acclimated, 
so  as  to  form  a  part  of  field  cultivation.  This 
we  believe  entirely  practicable,  and  to  this  we 
invite  the  attention  of  farmers. 

Of  foreign  grapes  two  kinds  are  well  known 
in  Virginia  and  other  Southern  as  well  as  Mid- 
dle States,  namely,  the  Summer  sweetwater  and 
the  White  sweetwater.  Highly  interesting  com- 
munications upon  the  subject  of  the  vine  cul- 
mre  in  the  United  States  will  be  found  in  the 
jSmencan  Farmer,  Farmer^s  Regislei;  and  many 
other  valuable  periodicals. 

Among  the  various  species  of  grape-vines 
found  wild  in  the  forests  of  the  United  States, 
the  following  have  been  described  by  botanists. 

I.  Pi'X-grape  (^fitis  labruska  or  Vitis  vulpina). 
The  berries  of  this  luxuriant  vine  grow  in  short 
clusters,  and  are  about  half  an  inch  and  often 
mo/  3  in  diameter,  varying  ai.  maturity  f-om  near- 


ly black  to  dark  amber  or  copper  colour  and 
greenish-white.  The  flavouris  musty  and  strong. 
;  "All  kindsofthis grape," says  Bartram, "possess 
;  a  strong,  rancid  smell  and  taste,  have  a  thick 
,  coriaceous  skin,  and  a  tough,  jelly-like  pulp  or 
I  tegument  which  encloses  the  seeds.  Between 
this  nucleus  and  the  skin  is  a  sweet,  lively 
\  juice,  but  a  little  acerb  or  stinging  to  the  mouth 
,  if  pressed  hard  in  eating  them.  There  is  an- 
other property  of  this  grape  which  alone  is 
sufficient  to  prove  it  to  be  the  V.  vulpina,  that 
is,  the  strong,  rancid  smell  of  its  ripe  fruit, 
very  like  the  effluvia  arising  from  the  body  of 
the  fox,  which  gave  rise  to  the  specific  name 
of  this  vine,  and  not,  as  many  have  imagined, 
from  its  being  the  favourite  food  of  the  animal 
for  the  fox  (at  least  the  American  species)  sel- 
dom eats  grapes  or  other  fruit  if  he  can  get 
animal  food."  "In  the  wild  state,"  says  Dr. 
Darlington,  "we  find  varieties  in  the  fruit,  and 
in  our  gardens  and  vineyards  we  have  grapes 
under  several  names,  which  appear  to  be  no- 
thing more  than  varieties  of  this — (or  possibly 
some  of  them  may  be  hybrids) — such  as  the 
Isabella  grape,  the  Schuyl/dll  (called  also  .^/exan- 
fler's  and  Taskei-^s  s,rape),  the  Catawba  grape,  and 
Bland's  grape.  The  two  former  of  these  are 
nearly  black,  the  two  latter  copper  or  amber 
coloured — with  less  of  the  musky  flavour  than 
the  others.  The  Srhuylhill  and  Catawba  varie- 
ties have  been  cultivated  with  the  most  suc- 
cess in  Chester  county."    {Flora  Cestrira.) 

2.  Little  summer  grape  (F.  cBstivalis),  called 
also  the  Common  blue  grape  and  Bunch  grape. 
In  this  most  common  of  all  American  wild 
grapes  the  berries  are  round  and  small,  gene- 
rally about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
of  a  deep  blue  or  nearly  black  colour,  covered 
when  ripe  with  a  thick  bloom  or  powder.  Their 
flavour  when  mature,  which  is  generally  after 
the  first  frost,  is  of  an  agreeable  sprightly  acid. 
"This  species,"  says  Dr.  Darlington,  "presents 
several  varieties ;  some  of  them  with  a  larger 
fruit,  which  is  much  esteemed,  and  well  worthy 
of  culture.  It  sometimes  attains  to  a  great 
height  in  rich  woodlands;  the  upper  branches 
sustaining  it  by  clinging  to  the  limbs  of  tall 
trees,  and  gradually  ascending,  whilst  the  older 
branches  below  die  and  drop  oflJ',  leaving  the 
stem  naked  and  suspended,  somewhat  resem- 
bling a  topgallant  halyard,  belayed  at  the  root." 

3.  Chicken  grape  (V.  cordifolia  and  V.  labrusca 
of  Marsh,  and  V.  serotina  of  Bartram),  also 
called  Winter  grape  and  Bermudian  grape. 
This  kind  has  very  small  berries,  not  so  large 
as  currants.  They  are  very  late  in  ripening, 
and,  when  mature,  are  nearly  black,  and  pos- 
sessed of  so  much  acerbity,  that  even  birds 
will  not  eat  them  until  they  have  undergone 

I  melioration  from  autumnal  frosts.     This  vine 

'  is  remarkable  for  its  sweet  flowers.    It  mounts 

to  the  top  of  trees,  and  its  stems  and  twigs  are 

more  hard  and  woody  than  those  of  the  preced- 

I  ing  variety,  or  Summer  grape. 

4.  Bull  or  Bulk  ^?o/>e  (F.  iawrina  of  Bartram, 
and  V.  vulpina  of  Linnoeus  and  Walter).  This 
excellent  grape  is  a  native  of  the  Southern 
States,  and  in  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  ihe 
Floridas  is  called  the  Bull  grape.  It  is  pro- 
nounced by  Bartram  and  others  a  distinct  va- 
rietv  from  that  which  it  riTembles  in  externaJ 

10j5 


VINE. 


appearance,  called  Fox  grapes  from  Pennsylvania  ,  "-Jj^^; -y^ie 
toTloriila.     The   Bullet  or  Bull  grape  is  des- 
cribed by  Bartram  as  having  "  A  stiff,  ligneous, 

•mooth  stem,  of  paJ*  «^^  <^°'°"^'  *"'*  '""""^^  ^'^ 
a  creat  height  by  climbing  up  trees.  The  leaves 
are  cordated  and  serrated,  thin,  and  both  sur- 
face* naked  or  smooth.  The  racemes  or  fruit 
bunches  short,  containing  15  or  20  grapes  at  a 
medium.  The  berries  or  acini  are  large,  near 
the  si«e  of  a  rifle  ball;  of  a  black  colour  wien 
ripe;  having  a  bluish  nebule  over  them,  which 
being  rubbrd  off  they  appear  of  a  deep  blood  co- 
lour.  In  figure  they  approach  to  an  ellipsis  or 
prolate  spheroid  ;  however,  at  a  little  distance 
they  appi-ar  black  and  round.  This  species  is 
deservedly  esteemed  the  best  native  grape  in 
America,  and  would  make  a  rich  and  delicious 
wine.  The  juice  is  sweet,  rich,  and  lively,  and 
Ihere  is  but  little  of  the  tough,  jelly-like  sub- 
stance enclosing  the  seed.  The  skin  of  the 
grape  is  rather  thick,  yet  there  is  a  sweet,  melt- 
Hig  pulp  within,  which  mixes  with  the  saccharine 
iutce  when  eaten.  This  undoubtedly  is  the 
first  American  grape  which  merits  attention  and 
cultivation  for  wine.  It  thrives  in  every  soil 
and  ailuation,  from  the  sea-coast  to  the  moun- 
Umm;  it  even  thrives  and  is  fruitful  when  grow- 
ing in  the  barren  sandhills  of  Carolina  and  Flo- 
rida." 

After  describing  these  distinct  varieties  of 
fr»paa  found  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Bartram 
OMntions  several  others  which  he  considers  de- 
rived from  a  commixture  of  those  described,  as 
Ahfindfr^s  or  Tasier's  grape  ;  Blafid's  grape  ; 
RtuooH  grap*.  Other  varieties,  possessing  still 
superior  properties,  have  since  been  Sdded,  such 
as  the  Isitbeltay  Powelly  Catawba,  Seuppernon, 
fcc,  already  mentioned. 

Althou!;h  so  short  a  time  has  elapsed  since  the 
previous  observations  relative  to  the  grapes  and 
t'ueir  culture  in  the  United  States  were  written, 
vineyards  have  become  an  important  branch  of 
husrandry  in  various  parts  of  the  United  Stales, 
especially  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio. 


VINE. 

&c 63.00 

...15U.UU 


Average  cost,  say,  S300  per  acre 1,800.00 

In  this  instance  the  vineyard  was  on  a  gentle 
declivity,  not  requiring  terracing  or  be>icki)ig; 
nor  was  there  much  stone  to  remove,  both  of 
which  would  have  added  much  to  the  expense. 
"  By  proper  economy,"  Mr.  B.  says,  "a  man 
may  have  a  vineyard  of  several  acres  in  a  few 
years,  without  feeling  the  expense  to  be  burthen- 
some.  Commence  by  trenching  w^th  the  spade 
2  or  2^  feet  in  the  fall  or  winter,  and  planting 
out  in  spring.  Next  year  another  acre,  and  so 
on  for  five  or  six  years.  After  the  third  year  he 
will  have  his  own  cuttings  from  the  first  acre, 
and  also  grapes  enough  to  pay  the  cost  of  planting 
the  succeeding  additions  to  his  vineyards.  The 
stakes  can  be  got  out  in  winter  at  little  cost  in 
money,  and  in  this  way  a  vineyard  of  six  acres 
might  be  established  at  one  half  the  cost  of  the 
estimate  just  given." 

Mr.  B.  estimates  the  cost  of  vineyards  in 
trenched  ground  at  $200  to  $350  per  acre^-ac- 
cording  to  situation  and  condition  of  the  soil,  and 
the  judicious  economy  displayed  in  the  manage- 
ment. 

The  expenses  of  attending  a  vineyard  will  be 
comparatively  small  where  there  are  workers  in 
the  family.  But  where  hired  hands  have  to  be 
employed,  in  Ohio  a  vineyard  of  6  acres  will 
cost  for  a  vine  dresser,  who  boards 'himself,  $240 
per  annum  ;  assistants  in  pruning,  $25  ;  assistance 
in  the  spring  culture,  $40,  and  summer  culture, 
$55  ;  in  all  $360,  or  at  the  rate  of  $60  per  acre. 
Where  the  cuttings  can  be  sold  for  $2  to  2.5C 
per  1000,  it  will  reduce  the  sxim  about  $100. 

The  vineyard  should  be  laid  off  with  a  line, 
so  as  to  make  rows  5|  to  7  feet  apart,  with  the 
vines  3  to  4  feet  asunder.  The  more  level  the 
ground,  the  farther  apart  should  be  the  vines,  so 
as  to  give  freer  access  to  the  sun  and  air.  Mark 
1  with  a  stick  about  15  inches  long,  every  place 


where  a  vine  is  to  grow,  digging  a  hole  a  foot 
deep  in  which  two  cuttings  are  to  be  placed  in  a 
An  interesting  publication,  made  in  1850  by  \  slanting  position,  separated  6  or  8  inches  at  the 
R.  Bnchanan,  Esq.,of  Cincinnati,  furnishes  in  a  !  bottom,  and  one  inch  at  the  top  of  the  hole. 
smiui  space,  a  very  great  amount  of  instructive  \  Cover  with  a  shovelful  of  rich  vegetable  mould 
information  relative  to  this  culture  and  wine  ,  from  the  woods,  leaving  the  top  eye  of  each  cut- 
■»aking,a8carried  on  in  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  |  ting  even  with  the  surface,  or,  if  the  weather  be 
•^hprethe  general  intelligence  and  capital  of  the  I  dry,  covered  with  the  light  mould  half  an  inch  or 
Am«»rican8  is  seconded  by  the  practical  expe- |an  inch.  If  both  cuttings  grow,  one  should  be  re- 
rience  of  the  very  numerous  German  settlers.  i  moved  or  cut  off  the  following  spring,  leaving  but 
The  soil  where  these  vineyards  are  mostly  one  to  each  stake.  To  preserve  and  prepare  the 
planted  gives,  on  analysis,  from  3  to  4  per  cent,    cuttinus,  the  trimmings  pruned  from  the  vines 


•f  carbonate  of  lime,  with  oxide  of  iron  from 
»  per  cent,  to  0*30;  vegetable  matter,  10  to  13 
per  cent. :  sand  and  clay,  about  80  per  cent. 
Mr.  B.  gives,  from  his  own  experience,  the 


should  be  buried  in  the  earth ;  about  the  last  of 
March  or  first  of  April,  the  proper  time  for 
planting,  cuttings  may  be  made,  having  each  4 
eyes   or   joints,  taken  from  ripe  wood  ;   and  if 


following  estimate  of  the  cost  of  a  vineyard  of    some  of  the  old  wood  is  left  on,  so  much    th 
6  acres,  containing  14,400  vines;  the  details  are 
kighly  interesting,  as  showing  the  several  opera- 
tions to  be  performed,  and  cost  of  each. 


TrcMThimr,  two  feet  deep,  ma  per  acr^ 8390.1 

S^xiiliiut  avenues 60.i 


1.00 

.^  „..oo 

r..*t  of  30.000  cutting*,  at  $2.50  per  thousand 75  00 

Pl'"'«n»r 70.00 

H.500  l.>cn«nitakee,  at  tS  per  handred 4^5  00 

.55.00 


9«tUiif  U.500  stakes 


Coet  of  attemtia*  the  first  rear— vine  dresser, 
tSI6,  and  a  hand  for  one  month,  S15,  (and 

board  themselves) .   j(23i  oo 

-i  ye«r— Tine  dresser,  S21fi.  and  a  hand  fo: 

two  noatha.  at  SIS  per  month asO  00 

Cutliof  s,  wfter  first  year,  u»  replace  failures,  sav  2[i  00 
1096 


better.  Cut  them  off  close  below  the  lowe. 
joint,  and  about  an  inch  above  the  upper.  Some 
have  recommended  planting  with  roots  2  years 
old,  but  experience  seems  to  be  in  favour  of 
planting  cuttinss,  as  the  most  thrifty  vines  are 
those  which  have  never  been  transplanted  or 
disturbed. 

Treatment  of  the  Yonvg  Vineyard. — The  first 
year,  keep  the  ground  clean  and  free  from  weeds, 
with  the  hoe  ;  many  use  the  plough  as  being  more 
expeditious  and  economical,  but  the  more  careful 
vine  dressers  who  can  afford  it,  never  cultivate 
with  the  plough,  using  only  the  two-pronged 
German  hoe,  made  especially  for  the  purpose. 


VINE. 


VINE. 


The  earth  should  be  stirred  around  the  youna; 
vines,  two  or  three  times  durinji  the  season,  to 
pronaote  their  growth;  snperHuous  shoots  must 
be  pulled  off,  leaving  but  one  or  two  to  grow,  at 
first,  and  but  one  eventually. 

In  the  spring,  cut  the  young  vine  down  to  a 
single  eye,  or  bud;  at  first,  if  two  are  left  for 
greater  safety,  take  off  one,  afterwards;  drive  a 
stake  6  or  7  feet  long  firmly  to  each  plant.  Locust 
or  cedar  is  preferred,  but  oak  or  black  walnut, 
charred  at  the  end,  driven  into  the  earth,  or 
coated  with  coal  tar,  will,  it  is  said,  last  nearly 
ds  long.  Keep  the  young  vine  tied  neatly  to  the 
stake,  with  rye  or  wheat  straw — pick  off  all 
suckers,  and  let  but  one  stalk  or  cane  grow. 
The  vineyard  must  be  kept  clean  of  weeds,  and 
the  young  vines  hoed  as  before. 

The  second  spring  after  planting,  cut  down  to 
two  or  three  eyes,  or  joints,  and  the  third  year 
to  four  or  five ;  suckering,  tying  up,  and  hoeing 
the  vines  as  recommended  above. 

Re-plant  from  the  nursery,  where  the  cut- 
tings have  failed  to  strike  root  in  the  vineyard. 

The  third  year,  the  vines  will  produce  a  few 
grapes,  sometimes  enough  to  pay  the  expenses  of 
attending  them. 

Train  tioo  canes  to  the  stake  this  year,  take  off 
suckers,  and  keep  well  hoed. 

The  vineyard  having  now  commenced  to  bear, 


bearing,  it  can  be  replaced  by  a  layer  from  the 
adjoining  vine,  which  is  a  much  better  mode 
than  planting  a  young  vine.  The  layers  may 
be  put  down  late  in  summer,  but  spring  is  pre- 
ferred. 

Cultivate  the  yellow,  and  the  osier  willow,  to 
make  ties  for  the  spring  pruning.  They  will 
grow  in  any  wet  place. 

Summer  Prtuiing  consists  in  removing  suck- 
ers, and  pinchii/g  off  all  lateral  shoots,  leaving 
but  two  stalks  or  canes  to  be  trained  for  bearing 
wood  the  ensuing  year,  and  pinching  off  the  ends 
of  the  bearing  branches,  about  the  time  of  blos- 
soming, some  two  or  three  joints  beyond,  or 
above  the  last  blossom  bunch ;  pull  no  leaves  off 
the  bearing  branches,  and  but  very  few  from 
any  other.  As  the  vines  grow,  tie  them  neatly 
to  the  stakes,  with  rye  straw,  (some  use  grass), 
and  when  they  reach  the  top,  train  them  from 
one  stake  to  the  other,  until  the  fruit  has  nearly 
matured ;  the  green  ends  may  then  be  broken 
off.  If  this  is  done  too  early,  there  is  danger  of 
forcing  out  the  fruit-bearing  buds  for  the  next 
year,  and  of  injuring  the  grapes  in  ripening. 

Mr.  Longworth  cautions  American  vine  grow- 
ers against  a  common  European  practice  of 
shortening  the  leading  branches  intended  to  pro- 
duce the  next  year's  crop,  heading  in  the  short 
branches  and  thinning  out  the  leaves  for  the  pur- 


may  be  considered  ^s  fairly  established  ;  and  for  j  pose  of  exposing  the  fruit  to  the  sun  and  air  to 


the  fourth  and  successive  years,  the  following 
treatment  is  generally  adopted. 

Spring  Pruning. — This  is  usually  done  from 
the  middle  of  February  to  the  first  week  in 
March.  Some  prune  in  January,  and  Mr.  Schu- 
man  has  recommended  November  and  December, 
as  the  proper  time. 

No  serious  injury  to  the  vines,  by  winter 
pruning,  has  yet  been  discovered.  I 

Pruning,  the  fourth  year,  requires  good  judg- 
ment, as  the  standard  sterriy  or  stalky  has  to  be  i 
established.  { 

Select  the  best  shoot  or  cane  of  last  year,  and 
cut  it  down  to  6  or  8  joints,  and  fasten  it  to  the 
adjoining  stake  in  a  horizontal  position,  or  bend 
it  over  in  the  form  of  a  hoop  or  bow,  and  tie  it 


promote  its  ripening.  This  method,  though 
sometimes  advantageous  where  there  are  cold 
summers,  he  says  will,  in  the  hot  American  cli- 
mate, where  some  shade  is  necessary,  prove 
highly  injurious,  if  not  entirely  destructive  to 
the  grapes.  No  more  lateral  branches  should  be 
taken  from  the  main  shoots  intended  for  next 
year's  fruit,  then  to  give  them  the  necessary 
length.  A  large  crop  is  often  occasioned  by 
leaving  too  much  bearing  wood.  This  should 
always  be  avoided;  for  even  if  the  crop  ripens 
thoroughly,  too  much  of  the  sap  is  taken  by  the 
fruit,  and  too  little  left  to  produce  good  young 
wood  for  the  next  season's  crop. 

Cidtnre. — The  vineyard  must  be  kept  perfectly 
clean  from  weeds  and  grass,  and  should  be  hoed 


to  its  own  stake.     The  ties  should  be  of  willow,    twice  during  the  spring  and  summer. 


This  is  the  bearing  wood.  The  other  cane,  cut 
down  to  a  spur  of  two  or  three  eyes,  to  make 
bearins  wood  for  the  next  season. 

Mr.  Schuman  remarks  in  his  treatise,  "There 
are  various  methods  of  training  adopted.  Some 
tie  the  shoot  up  to  the  stake  with  two  or  throe 
ties  at  proportionate  distances. 

"  Th«»  greater  part  of  the  German  vine-plant- 
ers make  circular  bows  with  three  ties,  and 
another  mode  is  to  make   half-circle  bows.     I 


The  cultivator  or  the  plough  is  less  expensive, 
but  the  vines  and  roots  are  in  danger  of  being 
injured  by  that  mode  of  culture;  therefore 
the  hoe  is  preferred  by  those  who  can  afford 
it.  It  has  been  recommended  by  some  writers, 
to  cut  off  the  roots  of  the  vines  near  the  surface 
of  the  ground,  and  4  or  5  inches  under,  that  the 
roots,  when  the  vines  are  young,  may  be  well 
established  at  a  proper  depth  below. 

By  others,  this  plan  is  thought  to  be  injurious. 


reconr^mend  the  latter  as  the  best,  and  proceed  to    The  majority,  however,  prefer   cutting  off  the 


describe  it. 

"  Give  the  shoot  the  first  tie  on  the  stake  9 
nches  from  the  ground,  and  the  second  9  inches 


surface  roots  for  the  first  three  or  four  years. 

About  every  third   year,  put  in  manure,  by 
opening  a  trench  the  width  of  a  spade,  and  four 


above  it:  then  bow  it   over  to  the  neighbour-    or  five  inches  deep.     Above  and  near  each 


ing  stake  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  give  it 
the  third  tie  to  that  stake,  at  the  top  of  the 
rine." 

In  the  succeeding,  and  all  subsequent  years, 
cut  away  the  old  bearing  wood,  and  form  the  new 
bow.  or  arch,  from  the  best  branch  of  the  new 
wood  of  the  last  year,  leaving  a  spur  as  before, 
to  produce  bearing  wood  for  the  coming  year, 
thus  keeping  the  old  stalk  of  the  vine  down  to 
within  18  to  l\  inches,  from  the  sround.  The 
vine  is  then  always  within  reach  and  control 


throw  in  two  or  three  inches  of  well  rotted  ma- 
nure, and  cover  up  with  the  earth. 

Another  plan  adopted,  is  to  run  a  furrow  wMth 
the  plough,  put  in  manure,  and  cover  over,  either 
with  the  plough  or  hoe. 

Others,  again,  scatter  manure  over  the  surface, 
and  dig  it  in. 

An  intelligent  cultivator,  J.  A.  Corneau.  re- 
marks :  "High  manuring  is  generally  admitted 
to  be  injurious  to  the  vinous  quality  of  the  grape  ; 
or,  in  other  words,  it  accelerates  a  larger  growth 


Should  a  vine  be  lost  after  the  vineyard  is  in  ;  of  wood,  and   a  more  attractive-looking   fruit 
138  4z2  1097 


VINE. 

while  the  more  essential  qualities  of  the  grape 
for  wine  making,  are  very  much  deteriorated. 
No  substance  should  ever  be  used  which  has  a 
tendency  to  ferment,  or  which,  in  undergoing  a 
chemical  change  in  the  soil,  would  form  an  acid 
or  a  salt  of  a  highly  stimulating  nature.  Vege- 
table manures,  bones,  &c.,  may  be  used  to  ad- 
vantage." Well  rotteU  stable-yard  manure  has 
been  0»cd  moderately^  by  the  writer,  with  good 
effects  to  the  plants  and  the  fruit,  and  without 
»ny  perceptible  injury  to  the  «  vinous  quality  of 
the  grape."  _, 

Diseases,  Insects,  and  Frosts — The  "  rot,"  as 
it  is  termed,  is  the  great  evil,  especially  in  culti- 
vating the  Catawba. 

This  takes  place  usually  in  the  latter  end  of  June 
or  early  in  July,  Dr.  Warder  says,  "about  the 
period  of  stoning,"  or  "  hardening  of  the  seed," 
after  continued  heavy  rains,  and  hot  sweltering 
suns.— It  strikes,  something  like  the  rust  in 
wheat,  suddenly,  and  with  the  same  disastrous 
effect  to  the  crop.  Various  modes  of  prevention 
have  been  recommended,  but  none  yet  tried  have 
proved  always  effectual. 

The  causeis  supposed  to  he  an  excess  of  water 
about  the  roots  of  the  vine,  in  any  clay  subsoil 
retentive  of  moisture ;  sandy  soils  with  a  gravelly 
substratum,  are  generally  exempt  from  this 
disease. 

The  opinions  of  Mr.  Elliott,  Mr.  Longworth, 
and  the  Fruit  Committee  of  the  Cincinnati  Hor- 
ticulural  Society,  on  this  subject,  are  quoted. 

Mr.  Elliott,  in  the  Horticulturist,  Vol.  2,  p. 
311,  says  the  rot  for  the  past  three  years  has 
followed  excessive  rains  in  July  and  August. 
Dr.  Flagg,  two  years  since,  found  a  small  part 
of  a  vineyard  where  the  rot  was  very  slight. 
This  had  not  been  worked  after  the  spring,  and 
the  ground  was  in  such  a  state,  that  most  of  the 
rains  passed  off  on  the  surface.  Vines  planted 
in  rows  eight  feet  apart,  in  one  instance  were 
found  to  be  affected  with  rot,  but  very  slightly. 

In  the  same  article,  Mr.  Longworth  says: 
**  It  is  of  late  years  only,  that  the  rot  has  been 
•o  destructive  among  our  grapes;  one  thing 
is  certain,  if  we  had  little  or  no  rain  after  the 
grapes  are  fairly  forward,  we  should  see  but 
little  of  the  rot ;  certain  it  is,  that  continued  rains 
followed  by  a  hot  sun,  cause  us  to  lookout  for  the 
appearance  of  the  rot." 

He  also  refers  to  instances  where,  in  seasons 
when  the  rot  prevailed  extensively,  crops  es- 
caped although  raised  upon  a  stiff  clay  sub-soil. 
In  sach  cases  the  ground  had  been  left  without 
hoeing,  and  become  so  hard  baked  on  the  surface 
as  to  prevent  the  rnin-water  from  penetrating  to 
the  roots.  Under  draining  will  doubtless  be 
found  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  vineyards  on 
soils  retentive  of  moisture,     ^e  Draining. 

,  In  the  able  report  of  Dr.  Mosher,  Mr.  Ernst, 
and  Mr.  Kidd,  the  Fruit  Committee  of  the 
Society  for  1818,  it  is  remarked,  "  some  vine- 
yards were  injured  by  the  wet  weather  in 
July,  causing  the  grapes  to  rot  and  fall  off;  this 
however,  seems  to  have  been  confined  to  situa- 
tions where  the  air  had  not  a  free  circulation, 
allowing  fogsand  vapours  to  remain  too  long  upon 
rhe  vines  in  hot  weather,  as  well  as  to  a  tena- 
cious clayey  soil ;  on  dry  and  moreairy  situations, 
anil  where  the  ground  was  thoroughly  drained, 
the  crop  has  been  fine  and  fair." 

H.    W.  S.  Cleveland,  of  Burlington,  N".   J., 
who  has  a  vineyard  of  two  to  three  acres,  and 
who,  Mr.  Downing  says,  is  one  of  the  most  reli- 
1098 


VINE. 

able  horticulturists  in  the  State,  recommends 
covering  the  whole  surface  of  the  vineyard  with 
shavings,  leaves,  or  coarse  grass,  to  prevent  the 
ravages  of  insects,  and  diseases  of  the  fruit — see 
Horticulturist,  Vol.  3,  p.  113. — In  the  same 
Vol.  p.  121,  "  A  Jerseyman,"  in  summer  pru- 
ning, put  the  leaves  and  young  stems  in  a  trench 
at  the  root  of  the  vines — sprinkled  gypsum 
on  them,  and  covered  over  with  earth.  This  was 
done  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Downing,  who 
strongly  recommends  it  to  the  vine  dressers  on 
the  Ohio,  with  a  request  that  upon  trial  they 
"  report  progress." 

And  at  page  161,  of  the  same  Vol.,  "B.," 
"of  Chester  Co.  Pa."  recommends  "special 
manures,"  as  a  certain  specific — having  tried 
with  success,  a  mixture  of  guano,  gypsum,  and 
wood  ashes. 

Mr.  Downing  says  to  "  J.  D.  Legare,  Aiken, 
S.  C."  in  the  same  Vol.  p.  255,  "  We  note  your 
experiment  with  ashes  to  prevent  rot,  but  you 
must  not  decide  against  it  with  one  year's  trial. 
— It  has  been  found  effectual  here  at  the  north, 
when  used  along  with  gypsum." 

Two  years  ago,  the  writer  of  this  treatise 
tried  ashes  on  a  small  scale,  bitt  without  gyp- 
sum ;  a  trench  was  dug  above  two  rows,  the 
width  of  a  spade,  some  four  inches  deep,  and 
two  or  three  inches  of  leached  ashes  put  in  and 
covered  over  with  earth.  No  beneficial  effect 
was  perceived.  The  two  rows  were  slightly 
affected  by  the  rot,  as  were  those  adjoining. 

Hoeing  in  autumn,  and  not  stirring  the  ground 
at  all  in  the  spring  and  summer,  but  keeping  the 
weeds  cut  down,  and  the  surface  smooth,  that 
the  water  may  not  sink,  but  pass  off  rapidly, 
has  also  been  spoken  of  as  a  probable  remedy 
against  rot. 

Some  persons  even  recommend  letting  the 
weeds  grow  ;  to  say  the  least  of  it,  this  would 
be  slovenly  culture. 

With  a  view  to  test  the  advantages  of  wide 
planting  and  high  training,  in  preventing  the 
rot,  Mr.  Werk  has  planted  on  his  farm  near 
Cheviot,  eleven  acres  in  the  Catawba  grape, 
twenty  feet  apart  in  the  rows  each  way,  and  the 
vines  are  trained  to  locust  stakes  twelve  feet 
high.  Last  year  they  produced  fruit  for  the  first 
time,  and  were  entirely  free  from  rot.  But  here 
it  must  be  remarked,  that  the  first  crop  from 
young  vmes,  is  generally  but  little  affected  by 
that  disease.  Mr.  Werk  also  cultivated  the 
ground  between  the  rows,  for  other  purposes. 

The  "  mildew"  comes  earlier  in  the  season, 
when  the  grapes  are  about  one  fourth  grown, 
blighting  occasionally  a  few  bunches,  and  some- 
times only  the  lower  end.  It  is  neither  common 
nor  destructive. 

The  "  speck,"  by  some  persons  mistaken  for 
the  rot,  and  by  others  called  the  bitter  rot,  is 
a  large  circular  spot  on  the  side  of  the  grape, 
looking  as  if  caused  by  the  sting  of  an  insect, 
and  extending  to  the  seed  on  one  side  of  the 
berry,  whilst  the  other  is  uninjured ;  but  owing 
to  this  wound,  or  speck,  the  juice  will  be  bitter. 
This  has  been  attributed  to  the  action  of  the 
sun  on  the  fruit  when  covered  with  rain  or  dew- 
drops. 

The  vine  is  so  remarkably  healthy,  and  of 
such  luxuriant  growth  in  almost  any  proper  soil, 
that  diseases  at  the  root  are  almost  unknown 
here.  Mr.  Schuman  states  that  a  white  worm 
resembling-  the  peach  tree  worm,  is  sometimeg 
i  found  eating  off  the  young  roots  of  the  vine,  and 


VINEGAR. 

IVfr.  Mottier  has  also  found  and  destroyed  it — 
but  it  is  rarely  nriet  with  in  vineyards. 

The  Insects  found  most  annoying,  are  a  green 
worm  that  feeds  on  the  vines  just  as  the  fruit 
buds  appear,  and  before  they  blossonn,  eating  off 
the  tender  bunches,  and  doing  great  mischief  if 
not  promptly  destroyed.  The  Canker,  or  Mea- 
suring Worm  (of  which  the  above  may  be  a  va- 
riety) is  sometimes  found  on  the  leaves  and 
young  shoots.  The  Cztrcnlio,  so  destructive  to 
the  plum,  has  occasionally  been  found  on  the 
grapes;  they  can  be  readily  shaken  down  on 
a  sheet,  by  a  sudden  blow  on  the  stake,  and 
destroyed.  If  ever  permitted  to  get  domesti- 
cated in  a  vineyard,  this  insect  would  be  im- 
mensely destructive. 

The  Rose-bug,  Dr.  Shaler  says,  has  been  ob- 
served in  some  vineyards  in  Kentucky,  but  it  is 
rarely  met  with  here. 

A  large  brown  beetle,  or  bug,  will  frequently 
sting  the  young  tender  branches  of  the  vine  in 
summer,  making  a  wound  that  subjects  the 
branch  to  be  broken  off  by  strong  winds.  They 
can  be  watched  and  picked  off,  late  in  the  evening, 
or  early  in  the  morning.  All  horticulturists 
are  familiar  with  the  spring  and  the  early  fall 
caterpillar,  and  of  course,  would  not  permit 
either  to  get  a  foothold  in  the  vineyard. 

Frost. — Late  spring  frosts  have  some  years, 
but  not  often,  been  highly  injurious,  especially 
to  vineyards  near  small  streams  of  water,  damp 
woods,  or  in  cold  situations.  The  most  severe 
within  the  memory  of  Mr.  Buchanan,  occurred 
on  the  9th  of  May,  7th  of  May,  and  15th  of 
April,  of  three  successive  years,  when  the  buds 
had  so  far  put  out,  that  their  loss  was  not  replaced 
by  the  pushing  out  subsequently  of  the  latent, 
or  twin  bud,  which  partially  overcame  the  loss 
of  the  first  bud  in  the  latter  year,  1849. 

In  warm  and  sandy  lands,  with  a  gravelly  sub- 
stratum, the  buds  are  in  some  years  pushed 
forward  prematurely  by  warm  autumns,  so  as  to 
be  killed  by  the  severe  frosts  in  winter.  See 
Wine. 

VINEGAR  is  the  acetous  and  acetic  acids  of 
the  chemist,  containing  a  variety  of  foreign  ad- 
mixtures, some  colouring  matter,  and  an  ethe- 
real substance  or  spirit,  which  gives  it  a  grateful 
aroma.  Vinegar  has  been  known  from  a  very 
early  age.  It  was  by  far  the  earliest  known 
acid  of  commerce.  That  it  was  drunk  in  re- 
mote periods,  diluted  with  water,  by  the  labour- 
ers and  soldiers,  is  very  certain.  It  is  repeat- 
edly mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament.  But  then 
they  had  several  descriptions,  one  of  wliich,  a 
kind  of  small  wine,  which  they  called  pesea  or 
sera,  is  supposed  to  be  that  offered  to  Ruth 
{Ruth,  ii.  14),  and  to  our  Saviour  by  the  Roman 
soldiers  {Matt,  xxvii.  48).  The  stronger  va- 
riety of  vinegar  is  alluded  to  in  another  place 
[Prov.  X.  26).  They  mixed  it  also  with  nitre, 
or,  properly  speaking,  natron,  which  was  an 
alkali  that,  by  neutralizing,  destroyed  its  sharp- 
ness. "  As  vinegar  upon  nitre,  so  is  he  that 
singeth  songs  to  a  heavy  heart."  {Prov.  xxv. 
20.)  They  made  it  in  those  days  from  wine. 
(Numb.  vi.  3.)  It  is  known  to  every  one,  that 
when  wine  or  beer  is  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
the  atmosphere,  it  becomes  sour  or  acid ;  now 
this  acid  is  the  acetic.  In  the  wine  countries  it 
is  chiefly  made  from  the  produce  of  the  vine, 
weak  or  low  wines;  the  shoots  of  the  vine,  &c  , 
being  also  employed  for  that  purpose.  It  may 
be  readily  made  from  merely  sugar  and  water. 


VINEGAR. 

That  of  commerce  in  England  is  usually  made 
from  wort  from  malt  Jiquor  or  cider.  Vinegar 
is  of  a  yellowish  or  reddish  colour,  an  acid  taste, 
and  pleasant  odour.  Its  specific  gravity  is  com- 
monly between  1-0135  and  1-0251.  It  usually 
holds  in  solution  various  foreign  substances,  such 
as  colouring  matters,  sulphate  of  lime,  mucilage, 
sulphuric  acid,  and  the  ethereal  spirit  already 
mentioned.  Vinegars  differ  greatly  in  strength 
and  in  purity.  The  best  known  in  England  for 
domestic  purposes  is  the  French  white  wine 
vinegar ;  but  the  Vinaigre  d'Orleans,  made  from 
the  red  wine  of  the  Orleanois,  is  that  most  es- 
teemed in  France ;  and  that  imported  from 
Boardeaux,  although  named  Champagne  vine- 
gar, is  often  made  from  red  wine.  The  density 
of  French  vinegars  varies  from  10- 14  to  10-22. 
The  free  sulphuric  acid  in  British  vinegar  is  per- 
mitted by  the  English  excise  laws  to  the  amount 
of  one  part  in  one  thousand,  but  it  is  often  added 
to  four  times  that  amount. 

Vinegar  is  readily  purified  from  its  impurities 
by  distillation,  and  in  this  form  is  the  transpa- 
rent distilled  vinegar  of  commerce.  But  even 
then  it  is  united  with  a  considerable  portion  of 
water. 

The  specific  gravity  determines  this  point. 
Thus,  at  10*  14  it  contains  10  per  cent,  of  real 
acetic  acid,  at  10-22  15  per  cent.,  at  10-25  18 
per  cent.,  at  10-35  26  per  cent ,  at  10-60  50  per 
cent.,  and  so  on,  until  it  reaches  10-635,  which 
is  the  strongest  liquid  acetic  acid. 

When  deprived  of  all  impurities  and  water, 
by  chemical  means,  pure  acetic  acid  is  com- 
posed, according  to  the  analysis  of  M.  Berze- 
lius,  of — 

Parti. 

Carbon        46-83 

Oxygen 46-82 

Hydrogen 6-35 

100- 


Some  plants  contain  acetic  acid  naturally.  M. 
Vauquelin  found  it  in  the  sap  of  various  trees, 
and  in  the  chick-pea.  Scheele  detected  it  in  the 
elderberry.  It  has  been  found  also  in  the  date 
palm  tree,  and  in  several  others  ;  and  few  plants 
exist  in  which  acetic  acid  in  the  form  of  salts, 
such  as  the  acetates  of  lime  or  potassa,  is  not 
found. 

In  England,  for  domestic  purposes,  it  is  pre- 
pared in  several  very  considerable  manufactories 
from  a  mixture  of  barley  or  malt  with  water,  by 
keeping  the  wash  exposed  in  open  vessels  to  the 
influence  of  the  atmosphere,  in  rooms  heated  to 
a  particular  temperature.  The  formation  of  the 
acetic  acid  in  this  manner  is  in  these  w'orks  pro- 
moted by  the  addition  of  a  certain  small  propor- 
tion of  acetic  acid. 

All  excellent  vinegar  for  domestic  purposes 
may  be  readily  made  by  exposing  a  mixture  of 
one  part  of  brown  sugar  by  weight  with  seven 
parts  of  water  and  some  yeast,  in  a  cask  whose 
bung-hole  is  only  slightly  covered  over  (as  by  a 
piece  o-f  gauze  pasted  down  to  keep  out  insects), 
for  some  weeks  to  the  action  of  the  atmosphere 
and  the  sun.  The  acetic  fermentation  and  the 
goodness  of  the  vinegar  are  promoted  by  the  ad- 
dition of  vine  leaves. 

Although  vinegar  is  familiarly  used  in  small 
quantity  as  an  agreeable  and  useful  addition  to 
food,  yet  in  large  quantities  it  interrupts  diges- 
tion, and  induces  emaciation.     In  combination 

1099 


VIOLET. 


WALNUT  TREE. 


with  water,  it  is  an  excellent  cooling  and  invi- 
gorating substance  when  employed  for  spong- 
ing the  body,  especially  in  febrile  conditions 
of  i? :  its  vapour  inhaled  with  the  vapour  of  hot 
water  relieves  hoarseness;  and,  when  mode- 
rately diluted,  it  forms  an  excellent  gargle  in 
inflamed  or  sore  throats.  See  Acids  and  Pt- 
■oLiflWEocs  Acin. 

VIOLET  {llola).  All  the  species  of  this 
genus  deserve  to  be  cultivated,  either  for  the 
beauty  or  the  scent  of  their  flowers.  Tha  spe- 
cies natives  of  America  thrive  best  in  vegeta- 
ble mould  or  peat,  and  are  readily  increased 
by  parting  the  roots  or  by  seeds.  There  are  8 
native  species  of  violet  in  England,  and,  ac- 
cording to  Schweiniiz,  29  in  the  United  States. 

VIOLET,  AMERICAN  (Erythronmm  Ameri- 
eanmn).  Sometimes  called  Dog's-tooth  violet. 
This  very  pretty  plant  is  found  throughout 
the  Atlantic  Slates  on  the  lowest  alluvial 
banks  of  streams,  and  in  most  moist  places, 
where  it  puts  forth  its  beautiful  violet  flowers 
in  April  and  May.  It  has  a  perennial  bulbous 
root,  rather  deep  in  the  ground.  Among  other 
American  species  of  the  violet  enumerated  by 
botanists,  is  the  white  violet  {E.  albidum),  found 
throughout  the  Western  States  and  Territories, 
in  Upper  Louisiana,  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Missouri,  where  no  other  species  appears  to 
exist.  There  appears  to  be  a  yellow-flowered 
species  confounded  with  this  white  species, 
and  nearly  allied  to  it. 

VIPER'S  BUGLOSS.    See  Hoset,  Ciniak. 


W. 

WAGES.  The  price  or  hire  paid  to  labour- 
ers or  servants  for  performing  diflferent  sorts 
of  farm  work. 

These  diflTer  greatly  in  different  districts  and 
situations,  and  according  to  the  character  and 
employment  of  the  workmen,  but  in  all  they 
are  considerably  increased  within  the  last  15 
or  20  years.  They  may  perhaps  be  stated  as 
varying,  in  England,  under  different  circum- 
stances, from  9».  to  18s.  by  the  week,  and  from 
9/.  to  15/.  or  18/.  by  the  year. 

WAGON.  A  wheel-carriage,  of  which  there 
are  several  varieties,  accommodated  to  the  dif- 
ferent uses  which  they  are  intended  to  serve. 

In  the  business  of  husbandry,  wagons  con- 
Btmcted  in  different  forms,  and  of  various  di- 
mensions, are  made  use  of  in  different  districts 
or  parts  of  the  kingdom ;  and  mostly  without 
much  attention  to  the  nature  of  the  roads,  or  the 
articles  which  are  to  be  conveyed  by  them; 
being  in  general  heavy,  clumsy,  and  incon- 
venient. There  is,  however,  a  wagon  much 
employed  in  Berkshire,  England,  which  is 
constructed  on  a  more  simple  and  convenient 
principle  than  those  mostly  met  with  in  the 
other  southern  parts  of  the  island,  not  having 
the  height  or  weight  of  them,  while  it  possesses 
sufficient  strength,  and  is  easy  in  the  draught. 

Wagons  require  more  power  in  the  draught 
than  carts,  which  is  certainly  an  objection, 
though  they  carr}-  a  much  greater  load,  and  are 
far  from  being  so  handy  and  convenient;  and 
Mr  Parkinson  is  of  opinion,  that  more  work 
IICO 


may  be  done  in  any  particular  time,  with  the 
same  number  of  horses,  by  carts  than  by  wa- 
gons, in  the  general  run  of  husbandry  busi- 
ness, especially  where  the  distance  is  small  be- 
tween loading  and  unloading ;  a  fact  which 
has  long  been  known  and  attended  to  in  Scot- 
land. 

Where  wagons  are  used  for  husbandry,  they 
should  be  made  wide  and  low.  Manures  may 
be  carried  in  this  sort  of  wagon  almost  as 
well  as  in  carts.  Broad  wheels  are  improper 
for  passing  and  repassing  upon  tillage  lands; 
for,  if  in  fallow,  they  press  the  land  too  much, 
and  make  it  so  hard  as  to  prevent  its  being 
ploughed  till  wet  comes ;  but  on  grass  land 
broad  wheels  are  proper  for  all  uses,  as  there 
they  operate  as  rollers. 

Wagons  are  probably  the  best  conveyances 
for  different  sorts  of  heavy  loads  to  a  distance ; 
but  for  home  business,  especially  harvest  and 
other  work,  which  requires  to  be  speedily  per- 
formed in  the  field,  carts  with  proper  shelving 
will  be  found  preferable.  See  Caiit  and 
Highway. 

WAIN.  A  name  applied  to  an  ox  cart, 
without  any  side  rails,  or  ladders,  in  some  dis 
tricts  in  England;  but  in  others  shelvings  are 
added,  and  the  body  is  large  and  open.  They 
are  rarely  met  with  at  present.  In  Gloucester- 
shire they  adapt  them  to  harvest  work  by  fixing 
ladders  and  rathes  on  them.  In  the  lower  part 
of  the  vale  they  are  called  cJungpots :  but  in  the 
forest  districts,  where  drawn  by  oxen,  wains. 

WALNUT  TREE  (Jiiglans,'from  Jovis  glans; 
literally  the  nut  of  Jove).  All  the  species  of 
the  ornamental  genus  to  which  the  well-known 
walnut  tree  belongs  are  tall,  stately-growing 
trees,  well  adapted  for  parks  and  lawns.  They 
grow  freely  in  any  rich  loamy  soil,  and  are 
raised  from  seeds.  This  deciduous  tree  was 
formerly  held  in  great  esteem  in  England  for 
its  wood,  which  is  often  very  finely  veined; 
but,  on  account  of  its  aptness  to  be  worm- 
eaten,  it  has  long  since  given  place  to  the  ma- 
hogany. As  a  fruit  tree,  independent  of  its 
timber,  which  is  still  of  much  value,  it  merits 
attention,  and  it  is  also  useful  as  an  ornamental 
tree.  There  are  several  species  capable  of 
being  cultivated  with  advantage  both  for  their 
wood  and  fruit;  as  the  common  walnut,  the 
white  walnut,  and  the  black  walnut  tree. 

The  common  walnut  (/.  regia)  is  a  very 
large  and  lofty  tree,  which  has  strong  spread- 
ing boughs.  The  leaves  are  pinnate,  with  a 
very  strong  but  not  unpleasant  smell ;  the  leaf- 
lets 3  pairs  (sometimes  2  or  4),  nearly  equal, 
except  that  the  odd,one  is  largest;  they  are  en- 
tire, smooth,  and  shining.  The  male  flowers 
are  in  close,  pendulous,  subterminating  fila- 
ments; the  females  scattered,  frequently  2  or 
3  together.  Fruit  an  ovate,  coriaceous,  smooth 
drupe,  inclosing  an  irregularly  grooved  nut, 
which  contains  a  four-lobed,  oily,  eatable  ker- 
nel, with  an  irregular  knobbed  surface,  and 
covered  with  a  yellow  skin.  This  tree  is  a 
native  of  Persia. 

It  has  been  noticed  by  Martyn,  "  that  as  they 
all  vary  again  when  raised  from  the  seed,  and 
that  as  nuts  from  the  same  tree  will  produce 
different  fruit,  those  who  plant  the  walnut  for 
its  fruit  should  make  choice  of  the  trees  in  the 


WALNUT  TREE. 


WALNUT  THEE. 


nurseries,  when  they  have  their  fruit  upon 
them." 

The  conimon  walnut  has  several  varieties, 
as  the  oval  walnut,  the  round  walnut,  the  large 
walnut,  the  small-fruited  walnut,  the  double 
walnut,  the  early  walnut,  the  late  walnut,  the 
tender  thin-shelled  walnut,  and  the  hard  thick- 
shelled  walnut 

There  are  two  other  species,  the  hickory-nut, 
or  white  walnut  (/.  alba),  and  the  black  walnut 
(/.  nigra).  Both  these  are  natives  of  Virginia; 
but  they  are  seldom  cultivated  in  Britain,  ex- 
cept as  timber  trees. 

The  best  manure  for  the  walnut  is  ashes, 
spread  in  the  beginning  of  winter,  the  land 
having  been  first  ploughed  or  trenched  over  in 
an  effectual  manner. 

The  length  of  time  in  which  the  English 
walnut  bears  well  from  the  nut  is  about  20 
years. 

Mr.  Knight  has  suggested  that  this  tree  will 
bear  much  sooner  when  raised  by  grafting, 
with  bearing  branches,  by  approach.  But 
where  the  trees  are  intended  for  timber,  it  is  a 
good  practice  to  plant  them  out  at  once  where 
they  are  to  grow,  as  they  thrive  faster,  and 
form  better  trees,  by  that  method  of  raising 
them. 

These  trees  should  not  be  planted  nearer 
together  than  40  feet,  and  even  more  distant, 
if  they  are  designed  for  fruit.  They  delight  in 
a  firm,  rich,  loamy  soil,  or  such  as  is  inclinable 
to  chalk  or  marl;  and  will  thrive  very  well  in 
stony  ground,  or  on  chalk  hills,  as  is  evident 
from  those  large  plantations  near  Leaiherhead, 
Godstone,  and  Carshalton  in  Surrey,  where 
great  numbers  of  these  trees  planted  upon  the 
downs  produce  annually  large  quantities  of 
fruit,  to  the  no  small  advantage  of  their  owners. 

In  order  to  preserve  this  fruit,  it  should  be 
left  upon  the  tree  till  it  is  thoroughly  ripe,  and 
then,  as  it  would  be  exceedingly  troublesome 
to  gather  it  by  hand,  it  may  be  beaten  off,  but 
not  with  such  violence  as  is  commonly  used, 
from  a  mistaken  notion  that  the  tree  is  im- 
proved thereby;  for  most  certainly  it  cannot 
be  benefited  by  that  rough  way  of  forcing  off 
the  young  wood  upon  which  this  fruit  grows. 

The  fruit  is  used  in  two  different  stages  of 
its  growth :  as  when  green,  to  pickle ;  and 
when  ripe,  to  eat  the  kernel.  For  the  first  pur- 
pose, the  young  green  walnut,  when  about  half 
or  near  three  parts  grown,  before  the  outer  coat 
and  internal  shell  shall  become  hard,  is  most 
exceUent,  for  which  they  are  generally  ready 
in  July  or  the  following  month,  and  should  be 
gathered  by  the  hand,  choosing  such  as  are  as 
free  from  specks  as  possible.  But  the  fruit  is 
discovered  to  be  fully  ripe  by  the  outer  husk 
easily  separating  from  the  nut,  or  by  the  husks 
sometimes  opening  at  the  valve,  and  the  nuts 
dropping  out,  which  occurs  usually  about  the 
latter  end  of  September.  In  trees  of  consider- 
able growth,  it  is  commonly  beaten  down  with 
long  poles ;  for,  as  the  walnuts  grow  mostly  at 
the  extremity  of  the  branches,  it  would,  in 
very  large  spreading  trees,  be  troublesome  and 
tedious  work  to  gather  them  by  hand.  As  soon 
as  gathered,  they  should  be  laid  in  heaps  a  few 
days  to  heat  and  sweat,  to  cause  their  outer 
husks,  which  closely  adhere,  to  separate  from 


the  shell  of  the  nuts ;  after  which  they  shouW 
be  cleaned  from  the  rubbish,  and  deposited  iu 
a  dry  room  for  use,  covering  them  over  close 
with  dry  straw,  a  foot  thick,  where  they  will 
keep  3  or  4  months.  They  always  command 
a  ready  sale  at  market  in  large  towns,  where, 
at  their  first  coming  in,  they  are  bought  with 
their  husks  on,  and  sold  by  the  sack,  or  bushel, 
but  afterwards  cleaned,  and  sold  both  by  mea- 
sure and  by  the  thousand. 

Plantations  of  these  trees  in  England  are 
therefore  profitable,  in  their  annual  crops  of 
fruit,  while  growing,  and  in  their  timber  when 
felled  or  cut  down. 

It  is  stated  in  the  Gloucestershire  Report,  that 
"it  will  grow  almost  in  any  soil,  wants  no 
pruning  nor  care,  and  in  less  time  than  the  oak 
it  will  make  a  large  tree.  The  wood  is  too 
valuable  to  apply  to  the  usual  purposes  of  tim- 
ber trees,  but  is  always  used  either  in  cabinet 
work  or  for  gun-stocks;  for  the  latter,  indeed, 
so  great  has  been  the  demand  for  a  few  years 
past,  from  the  Birmingham  gun-makers,  that 
the  county  has  been  ransacked  for  this  wood, 
and  high  prices  have  been  held  out  to  tempt  the 
sale  of  it.  In  consequence  of  this,  the  stock 
has  been  much  diminished,  and,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  only  here  and  there  is  a  solitary 
walnut  tree  seen  growing.  In  the  parish  of 
Arlingham  there  are  more,  perhaps,  than  in 
many  other  parishes  combined." 

Were  it  only  for  the  oil  that  these  nuts  afford, 
the  trees  which  produce  them  would  be  worth 
some  care.  It  has  been  observed  by  Evelyn, 
that  one  bushel  of  them  will  yield  15  lbs.  of 
peeled  kernels,  and  that  these  will  yield  half 
that  weight  of  oil,  which,  the  sooner  it  is  drawn, 
is  the  more  in  quantity,  though  the  drier  the 
nut,  the  better  is  its  quality.  He  adds,  that  the 
leCi  or  marc  of  the  pressing,  is  excellent  for 
fattening  hogs.  Certainly  it  would  be  good 
manure  for  land;  as  are  the  cakes  of  linseed, 
rape,  &c.,  after  the  oil  has  been  squeezed  out 
of  them.  The  green  husks  boiled,  without  any 
mixture,  make  a  good  colour  to  dye  a  dark  yel- 
low-brown. The  kernel  being  rubbed  upon 
any  crack  or  chink  of  a  leaking  vessel,  stops 
it  better  than  either  clay,  pitch,  or  wax.  {Phil- 
lips's Fruits,  p.  342.) 

In  the  variety  of  trees  which  compose  the 
vast  forests  of  North  America  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  walnut,  says  Michaux  the  younger, 
ranks  after  the  oak,  among  the  genera  whose 
species  are  most  multiplied.  In  this  particular, 
the  soil  of  the  United  States  is  more  favoured 
than  that  of  Europe,  to  no  part  of  which  is 
any  species  of  this  tree  indigenous.  This  ar- 
dent student  of  nature  has  designated  10  spe- 
cies of  walnut  in  the  United  States,  including 
the  hickories,  and  thinks  others  may  yet  be 
discovered  in  Louisiana.  There  is,  he  adds, 
room  to  think  that  species  may  be  discover- 
ed, susceptible,  like  the  pacanenut  hickory, 
of  speedy  melioration,  by  the  aid  of  grafting 
and  attentive  cultivation.  Some  weight  is  given 
this  consideration,  by  an  observation  of  Michaux 
the  father,  that  the  fruit  of  the  common  Eu- 
ropean walnut,  in  its  natural  state,  is  harder 
than  that  of  the  American  species  just  men- 
tioned, and  inferior  to  it  in  size  and  quality. 
To  the  members  of  agricultural  societies  in 

UOl 


Walnut  tree. 

the  United  States  it  belongs  to  extend  their  ob- 
servations and  experiments  on  this  subject, 
aAer  the  example  of  our  ancestors,  to  whom 
xre  arc  indebted  for  a  rich  variety  of  fruits, 
equally  salutary  and  beautiful. 

The  walnuts  of  North  America  appear  to 
present  characters  so  distinct  as  to  require 
Iheir  division  into  two  sections.  These  cha- 
racters consist  principally  in  the  form  of  'he 
barren  aments  or  calkins,  and  in  the  greater  or 
less  rapidity  of  vegetation  in  the  trees.  The 
first  section  is  composed  of  walnuts  with  sin- 
^e  aments,  and  includes  two  species,  the 
black  walnut  and  the  butternut ;  to  which  sec- 
tion is  added  the  European  walnut.  The  second 
section  consists  of  such  as  have  compound 
aments,  and  comprises  the  8  species  already 
described  under  the  name  of  Hickort. 

The  black  walnut  {Juglans  nigra),  is  known 
by  no  other  name  in  all  parts  of  the  United 
Slates  where  it  grows.  East  of  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  the  most  northern  point  at  which  it 
appears,  is,  says  Michaux,  about  Goshen  in 
the  state  of  New  Jersey,  in  the  latitude  of  40° 
60'.  West  of  the  mountains,  it  exists  abun- 
dantly 2**  farther  north,  in  that  portion  of  Ge- 
nesee which  is  comprised  between  the  77th 
and  79th  degrees  of  longitude.  This  observa- 
tion, as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  remark,  is  ap- 
plicable to  several  other  vegetables,  the  north- 
ern limit  of  whose  appearance  varies  with  the 
Climate,  and  this  becomes  milder  in  advancing 
towards  the  west 

This  last  observation  of  Michaux  in  respect 
to  the  amelioration  of  climate  in  going  west, 
has  been  ascertained,  from  exact  thermometri- 
cal  observations,  to  be  applicable  only  to  those 
sections  of  country  situated  sufficiently  near  the 
Lakes,  and  to  the  eastward  of  them  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  the  greaterequalily  of  temperature 
maintained  by  bodies  of  water  than  by  land. 
The  proximity  of  those  great  internal  seas  have 
a  similar  effect  in  modifying  climate  to  that 
manifested  on  the  Atlantic  border,  where  many 
trees  and  plants  creep  up  several  degrees  higher 
thin  they  can  be  found  further  in  the  interior. 

(8ce  CtlMATK  OF  THE  UxiTKD  StaTES.) 

The  black  walnut  is  multiplied  in  the  forests 
ab*iui  Philadelphia,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  lower  pans  of  the  Southern  States,  where 
rhe  soil  is  sandy,  or  too  wet,  it  is  met  with  to 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  throughout  an 
extent  of  2000  miles.  East  of  the  Alleghany 
moantains  in  Virginia,  and  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  Carolihas  and  of  Georgia,  it  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  valleys,  where  the  soil  is  deep 
and  fertile,  and  which  are  watered  by  creeks 
and  rivers :  in  the  western  country,  in  Ge- 
nesee, and  in  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
where  the  soil  in  general  is  very  rich,  it  grows 
in  the  forests,  with  the  coffee  tree,  honey-locust, 
red  mulberry,  locust,  shellbark-hickory,  black 
sugar  maple,  hackberry,  and  red  elm;  all 
which  trees  prove  the  goodness  of  the  soil  in 
which  they  are  found. 

It  is  in  these  countries,  says  Michaux,  that 
the  black  walnut  displays  its  full  proportions. 
On  the  banks  cf  the  Ohio,  and  on  the  islands 
of  that  beautiful  river,  I  have  ofien  seen  trees 
of  3  or  4  feet  in  diameter  and  60  or  70  feet  in 
Ueight  It  is  not  rare  to  find  them  of  the  thick- 
il02 


WALNUT  TREE. 

ness  of  6  or  7  feet.  I'.s  powerful  vegetation 
clearly  points  out  this  as  one  of  the  largest 
trees  of  America.  When  it  stands  insulated, 
its  branches,  extending  themselves  horizon- 
tally to  a  great  distance,  spread  into  a  spacious 
head,  which  gives  it  a  very  majestic  appear* 
ance. 

The  leaves  of  the  black  walnut  when  bruised 
emit  a  strong  aromatic  odor.  They  are  about 
18  inches  in  length,  pinnate,  and  composed  in 
general  of  6,  7,  or  8  pair  of  leaflets,  surmount- 
ed by  an  odd  one.  The  leaflets  are  opposite 
and  fixed  on  short  petioles  ;  they  are  acuminate, 
serrate,  and  somewhat  d^wny.  The  barren 
flowers  are  disposed  in  pendulous  and  cylin- 
drical aments,  of  which  the  peduncles  are 
simple,  unlike  those  of  the  hickories.  The 
fruit  is  round,  odoriferous,  of  rather  an  uneven 
surface,  and  always  appears  at  the  extremity 
of  the  branches:  on  young  and  vigorous  trees, 
it  is  sometimes  7  or  8  inches  in  circumference. 
The  husk  is  thick,  and  is  not,  as  in  the  hicko- 
ries, divided  into  sections;  but  when  ripe  it 
softens  and  gradually  decays.  The  nut  is  hard, 
somewhat  compressed  at  the  sides,  and  sul- 
cated.  The  kernel,  which  is  divided  by  firm 
ligneous  partitions,  is  of  a  sweet  and  agree- 
able taste,  though  inferior  to  that  of  the  Eu- 
ropean walnut.  These  nuts  are  sold  in  the 
markets  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bal- 
timore, and  served  upon  the  tables.  The  size 
of  the  fruit  varies  considerably,  and  depends 
upon  the  vigour  of  the  tree,  and  upon  the  na- 
ture of  the  soil  and  of  the  climate.  On  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio,  and  in  Kentucky,  the  fruit 
with  the  husk  is  7  or  8  inches  in  compass, 
with  the  nut  proportionally  large :  in  Genesee, 
on  the  contrary,  where  the  cold  is  intense,  and 
in  fields  exhausted  by  cultivation,  where  these 
trees  have  been  preserved  since  the  first  clear- 
ing of  the  land,  it  is  not  of  more  than  half  this 
bigness.  Some  variations  are  observed  in  the 
form  of  the  fruit,  and  in  the  moulding  of  the 
shell ;  but  these  I  consider  as  merely  acci- 
dental differences.  Indeed,  there  is  no  genus 
of  trees  in  America,  in  which  the  fruit  of  a 
given  species  exhibits  such  various  forms  as 
in  the  walnut;  and  doubtless  this  circumstance 
has  misled  observers,  who,  being  acquainted 
only  with  the  small  number  of  trees  existing 
in  European  gardens,  have  described  them  as 
distinct  species. 

The  bark  of  the  black  walnut  is  thick,  black- 
ish, and  on  old  trees  deeply  furrowed.  When 
the  timber  is  freshly  cut,  the  sap  is  whitft  and 
the  heart  of  a  violet  colour,  which  after  a  short 
exposure  to  the  air  assumes  an  intenser  shade, 
and  becomes  nearly  black :  hence  probably  is 
derived  the  name  of  black  walnut.  There  are 
several  qualities  for  which  its  wood  is  princi- 
pally esteemed;  it  remains  sound  during  a 
long  time,  even  when  exposed  to  the  influences 
of  heat  and  moisture ;  but  this  observation  is 
applicable  only  to  the  heart;  the  sap  speedily 
I  decays.  It  is  very  strong  and  very  tenacious  : 
when  thoroughly  seasoned  it  is  not  liable  to 
warp  and  split ;  and  its  grain  is  sufficiently 
fine  and  compact  to  admit  of  a  beautiful  polish. 
It  possesses,  in  addition  to  these  advantages, 
that  of  being  secure  from  worms.  On  account 
of  these  excellencies,  it  is  preferred  and  sue- 


WARBLE. 


WARPLNG  OF  LAND. 


c«ssfulljr  employed   in   many  kinds  of  w^ork, 
chiefly  in  cabinet-making. 

The  husk  of  the  fruit  yields  a  colour  similar 
to  that  which  is  obtained  from  the  European 
walnut.  It  is  used  in  the  country  for  dyeing 
woollen  stuffs. 

This  tree  has  been  long  since  introduced,  in 
England  and  France,  into  the  gardens  of  the 
lovers  of  foreign  culture.  It  succeeds  per- 
fectly and  yields  fruit  abundantly.  Though 
differing  widely  from  the  European  species,  it 
bears  a  nearer  resemblance  to  it  than  any 
other  American  walnut.  By  comparing  the 
two  species  as  to  their  utility  in  the  arts  and  in 
commerce,  it  will  appear  that  the  wood  of  the 
black  walnut  is  more  compact,  heavier,  and 
much  stronger;  that  it  is  susceptible  of  a  finer 
polish,  and  that  it  is  not  injured  by  worms; 
qualities  which,  as  has  been  seen,  render  it  fit 
not  only  for  the  same  uses  with  the  European, 
but  also  for  the  larger  works  of  architecture. 
These  considerations  sufficiently  evince  that  it 
is  a  valuable  tree,  and  that  it  is  with  great 
reason  that  many  proprietors  in  America  have 
spared  it,  in  clearing  their  new  lands.  On  high- 
roads, I  am  of  opinion  that  it  might  be  chosen 
to  succeed  the  elm ;  for  experience  has  proved, 
that  to  insure  success  in  the  continued  culti- 
vatitm  of  trees  or  herbaceous  plants  on  the 
same  soil,  the  practice  must  be  varied  with 
species  of  different  genera. 

Nuts  of  the  European  walnut  and  of  the 
black  walnut  have  been  planted  at  the  same 
time  in  the  same  soil;  those  of  the  black  wal 
nut  are  observed  to  shoot  more  vigirrously,  and 
to  grow  in  a  given  time  to  a  greater  height. 
By  grafting  the  European  upon  the  American 
species  at  the  height  of  8  or  10  feet,  their  ad- 
vantages, with  respect  to  the  quality  both  of 
wood  and  of  fruit,  might  be  united.    (Michaux.) 

The  second  species  of  walnut,  properly  so 
called,  has  been  described  under  the  head  of 

BuTTKHXrT. 

WARBLE.      See    Back-sore,   Galls,    and 

SiTFAST. 

WARP.  A  slimy  deposit  or  ooze  left  upon 
land  by  the  receding  sea  tides  in  par»icular 
situations.     See  Alluvium  and  Wartinb. 

WARPING  OF  LAND.  A  mode  of  fertiliz- 
ing and  improving  tillage  lands  practised  in 
particular  situations  on  the  borders  of  large 
rivers  and  waters  into  which  the  sea  tides  flow, 
and  where  the  level  of  the  ground  is  such  as 
to  admit  of  their  being  flooded  with  great  faci- 
lity. The  practice  is,  for  the  most  part,  confined 
to  the  districts  situate  on  the  coasts  of  Lincoln- 
shire and  Yorkshire.  The  water  of  the  tides 
that  come  up  the  Trent,  Ouze,  Dun,  and  other 
rivers  which  empty  themselves  into  the  great 
estuary  of  the  Humber,  is  muddy  to  an  excess; 
insomuch  that  in  summer,  if  a  cylindrical 
glass,  12  or  15  inches  long,  be  filled  with  it,  it  I 
will  presently  deposit  an  inch,  and  sometimes  | 
more,  of  what  is  called  warp  :  a  circumstance  j 
which  renders  them  so  fertile. 

The  fertility  of  Egypt,  of  the  land  bordering  ' 
on  the  shores  of  the  Ganges,  and  some  of  the 
large  American  rivers,  I  have  already  shown 
to  be  attributable  to  the  periodical  overflowing 
of  the  waters    which  are  surcharged  with  a 


large  quantity  of  earthy  substances  which  they 
hold  in  solution. 

"  The  effect  of  warping  is  very  different  from 
that  of  irrigation ;  for  it  is  not  the  water  that 
works  the  effect,  but  the  deposition  of  the  mud, 
so  that  in  floods  the  business  ceases,  as  also  in 
winter;  and  the  object  of  this  practice  is  not 
to  manure  the  soil,  but  to  create  it.  The  qua- 
lity of  the  land  intended  to  be  warped  is  not 
of  the  smallest  consequence;  a  bog,  clay,  sand, 
peat,  or  a  barn  floor,  are  all  one ;  as  the  warp 
raises  it  in  one  summer  from  6  to  16  inches 
thick,  and  in  the  hollows,  or  low  places,  2,  3, 
or  4  feet,  so  as  to  leave  the  whole  piece  level. 
Thus  a  soil  of  any  depth  you  please  is  formed, 
which  consists  of  mud  of  a  vast  fertility, 
though  containing  not  much  besides  sand." 

This  is  a  practice  which  is  begun  in  the 
month  of  July,  and  is  proceeded  with  during 
the  summer  season ;  and  as  it  can  only  be 
performed  at  that  period,  every  occasion  of 
having  it  executed  should  be  embraced,  by 
having  the  work  in  perfect  repair,  that  every 
tide  may  be  made  to  produce  its  full  effect. 
With  regard  to  the  advantage  of  doing  this 
work  in  the  summer  months,  it  may  be  re- 
marked that  at  these  times  the  lands  not  only 
become  the  soonest  dry,  a  circumstance  which 
must  always  fully  take  place  before  the  pro- 
cess of  cultivation  can  be  carried  on,  but  the 
tides  are  less  mixed  with  fresh  water,  in  which 
situation  they  are  constantly  found  the  most 
effectual. 

The  method  of  executing  the  work  is  thus 
described,  jn  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  the  West 
RuUnfiof  Yorkshire,  by  Lord  Hawke: — 

"The  land  to  be  warped  must  be  banked 
round  against  the  river.  The  banks  are  made 
of  the  earth  taken  on  the  spot  from  the  land: 
they  must  slope  6  feet,  that  is,  3  feet  on  each 
side  of  the  top  or  crown  of  the  bank,  for  every 
foot  perpendicular  of  rise:  their  top  or  crown 
is  broader  or  narrower,  according  to  the  impe- 
tuosity of  the  tide  and  the  weight  and  quantity 
of  water;  and  it  extends  from  2  to  12  feet: 
their  height  is  regulated  by  the  height  to  which 
the  spring  tides  flow,  so  as  to  exclude  or  let 
them  in  at  pleasure.  In  these  banks  there  are 
more  or  fewer  openings,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  ground  to  be  warped,  and  to  the  choice 
of  the  occupier;  but  in  general  they  have  only 
two  sluices,  one  called  the  flood-gate,  to  admit, 
the  other  called  the  dough,  to  let  ofi"  the  water 
gently;  these  are  enough  for  10  or  15  acres. 
When  the  spring  tide  begins  to  ebb,  the  flood- 
gate is  opened  to  admit  the  tide,  the  clough 
having  been  previously  shut  by  the  weight  of 
the  water  brought  up  the  river  by  the  flow  of 
the  tide.  As  the  tide  ebbs  down  the  river,  the 
weight  or  pressure  of  water  being  taken  from 
the  outside  of  the  clough  next  the  river,  the 
tide  water  that  has  been  previously  admitted 
by  the  flood-gate  opens  the  clough  again,  and 
discharges  itself  slowly  but  completely  through 
it.  The  doughs  are  walled  on  each  side,  and 
so  constructed  as  to  let  the  water  run  oflT  be- 
tween the  ebb  of  the  tide  admitted  and  the  flow 
of  the  next;  and  to  this  point  particular  atten- 
tion is  paid.  The  flood-gates  are  placed  so 
high  as  only  to  let  in  the  spring  tides  when 

1103 


WARRANTY. 

opened.    They  are  placed  above  the  level  of 
ihe  common  tides. 

"Willows  aii  also  occasionally  planted  on 
the  front  of  the  banks,  to  break  the  force  of  the 
tides,  and  defend  the  banks  by  raising  the  front 
of  ihem  with  warp  thus  collected  and  accu- 
mulated; but  these  willows  must  never  be 
planted  on  the  banks,  as  they  would  destroy 
them  by  giving  the  winds  power  to  shake  then^." 

It  is  staled  that  in  England  the  first  cost  of  a 
liluice  for  warping,  that  is,  5  feet  in  height  and 
7  feel  in  width,  may  be  estimated  at  from  400/. 
to  600/;  and  that  such  a  sluice  will  in  general 
be  adequate  to  the  warping  of  50  acres  annu- 
ally, and,  w  here  the  soil  is  contiguous  to  the 
rirer,  for  70  or  more. 

The  following  is  given  as  the  substance  of  a 
note  by  a  commissioner  employed  in  warping: 
—^  Warp  leaves  one-eighth  of  an  inch  every  tide 
on  an  average ;  and  these  layers  do  not  mix  in 
a  uniform  mass,  but  remain  in  distinct  layers. 

"If  only  one  sluice,  then  only  every  other 
tide  can  be  used,  as  the  water  must  run  per- 
fectly off,  ihat  the  surface  may  incrust;  and  if 
the  canal  be  not  empty,  the  tide  has  not  the 
effect 

•*  As  a  new  soil  is  created  by  this  practice,  it 
is  of  little  consequence  what  the  original  nature 
of  the  land  may  be,  almost  all  kinds  being  im- 
proved by  it.  But  at  the  same  time  it  may  be 
the  most  bene6cial  in  such  light  soils  as  are 
▼ery  open  and  porous,  and  such  stiff  ones  as 
•re  defective  in  calcareous  matter,  and  which 
require  substances  of  this  kind  to  render  them 
less  tenacious.  Land,  when  once  well  warped, 
will  continue  for  a  vast  length  of  time  in  a 
good  state  of  fertility ;  but  still  it  is  suggested 
by  some  experienced  warpers  as  a  better  prac- 
tice lo  apply  a  small  portion  of  warp  whenever 
the  land  is  in  the  state  of  fallow,  which  will  be 
about  every  5  or  6  years,  as  by  this  means  the 
fanner  will  be  more  secure  of  having  good 
crops.  The  depth  to  which  the  lands  are  co- 
vered by  ihe  tides  must  be  regulated  according 
to  their  levels,  and  the  height  of  the  tide  in  the 
rivers  from  which  they  proceed.  It  may  be 
admitted  to  the  height  of  3,  or  4,  or  more  feet; 
but  the  deposit  of  sediment  is  in  some  measure 
proportionate  to  the  height  of  the  water,  though 
the  same  effects  may  be  obtained  from  much 
smaller  quantities  of  water  by  continuing  the 
process  a  great  number  of  tides." 

The  expense  of  this  mode  of  improving 
lands  must  necessarily  differ  much  in  different 
Mses,  according  as  the  circumstances  of  situa- 
tion and  distance  vary ;  but,  according  to  Mr. 
Young,  it  can  seldom  exceed  12/.  or  15/.  the 
acre,  and  in  most  instances  it  must  be  greatly 
below  such  estimates. 

Warped  lands  are  found  capable  of  growing 
most  kinds  of  crops  in  great  plenty,  but  par- 
ticularly oats,  beans,  wheal,  flax,  potatoes,  and 
grass-seeds. 

WARRANTY.  In  horsemanship,  &c.,  a 
term  applied  to  the  assurance  of  the  animal's 
being  sound  when  purchased.  See  Buting 
and  Skllixg. 

W^ARREN.  A  franchise,or  place  privileged, 
either  by  prescription  or  grant  from  the  king,  to 
keep  beasts  and  fowls  of  warren  in ;  as  rabbits, 
hares,  partridges,  pheasants,  &c.  i 

1104 


WASP 

By  statute  21  Edw.  3,  a  warren  may  lie  open, 
and  there  is  no  need  of  closing  it  in,  as  there 
is  a  park. 

In  the  forming  a  warren,  great  caution  is  to 
be  used  for  the  fixing  upon  a  proper  place  and 
a  right  situation.  It  should  always  be  upon  a 
small  ascent,  if  possible,  and  exposed  to  the 
east  or  the  south.  The  soil  that  is  most  suita- 
ble is  that  which  is  sandy ;  for  when  the  soil 
is  clayey  or  tough,  the  rabbits  find  great  diffi- 
culty in  making  their  burrows,  and  never  do  it 
so  well ;  and  if  the  soil  be  boggy  or  moorish, 
there  would  be  very  little  advantage  from  the 
warren ;  for  wet  is  very  destructive  to  these 
animals.     See  Rabbit. 

WASP  (Vespa).  An  extensive  genus  of  in- 
sects, of  which  three  species  are  common  to 
Britain.  The  hornet,  or  V.  crabro,  already  men- 
tioned; common  wasp,  or  V.  vulgaris,  which 
makes  its  nest  in  the  ground;  the  small  wasp, 
or  V.  coaretata,  the  nest  of  which  is  a  kind  of 
paper  made  of  woody  fibre  and  suspended  to 
the  boughs  of  trees. 

Of  the  wasps  most  commonly  known  in  the 
United  States  there  are  two  species,  namely, 
the  large,  fierce,  stinging  insect  which  builds 
its  flat  paper  nest  in  bushes,  &c.,  and  the  more 
harmless  blue-winged  mud-wasp,  commonly 
called  the  mason,  from  its  plastering  its  nest 
with  mud  against  the  walls  of  houses,  &c. 
These  nests  are  composed  of  cells,  each  one 
of  which  contains  a  single  egg,  together  with  a 
considerable  number  of  living  spiders,  caught 
and  imprisoned  therein  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  the  little  mason's  young  a  ready 
supply  of  fresh  provisions.  In  noticing  this 
characteristic  of  the  mud-wasp.  Dr.  Harris  also 
refers  to  the  habits  and  nests  of  some  other 
tribes  of  the  same  family,  such  as  the  holes  of 
the  stump-wasp,  stored  with  hundreds  of  horse- 
flies for  the  same  purpose ;  the  skill  of  the 
leaf-cutter  bee  in  cutting  out  the  semicircular 
pieces  of  leaves  for  her  patchwork  nest;  the 
thimble-shaped  cells  of  the  ground-bee,  hidden 
in  clusters  under  some  loose  stone  in  the  fields, 
made  of  little  fragments  of  tempered  clay,  and 
stored  with  bee-bread,  the  work  of  many  weeks 
for  the  industrious  labourer;  the  waxen  cells 
made  by  the  honey-bee,  without  any  teaching, 
upon  purely  mathematical  principles,measured 
only  with  her  antennae,  and  wrought  with  her 
jaws  and  tongue ;  the  water-tight  nests  of  the 
hornet  and  wasp,  natural  paper-makers  from 
the  beginning  of  time,  who  are  not  obliged  to 
use  rags  or  ropes  in  the  formation  of  their 
durable  paper  combs,  but  have  applied  to  this 
purpose  fibres  of  wood,  a  material  that  the 
art  of  man  has  not  yet  been  able  to  manufac- 
ture into  paper.  These  are  only  a  few  of  the 
objects  deserving  of  notice  among  the  insects 
of  this  order;  many  others  might  be  men- 
tioned, that  would  lead  us  lo  observe  with  what 
consummate  skill  these  little  creatures  have 
been  fashioned,  and  how  richly  they  have  been 
endowed  with  instincts,  that  never  fail  them 
in  providing  for  their  own  welfare,  and  that  of 
their  future  progeny.  (Treatise  on  Des.  Insects.) 
Wasps  are  not  only  destructive  to  grapes, 
peaches,  and  the  more  delicate  kinds  of  fruit, 
but  also  to  bees,  the  hives  of  which  they  attack 
and  plunder,  frequently  compelling  these   in- 


WATEK. 


WATER. 


dastrious  insects  to  change  their  habitation. 
The  nests  of  those  wasps  which  build  in  the 
earth  may  be  destroyed  with  hot  water  or  oil ; 
those  on  trees  are  best  suffocated  by  lighted 
brimstone.     (^Kollaron  Insects,  p.  79.) 

Wasps  are  much  affected  by  cold;  so  that 
when  winter  begins  to  set  in  they  become  less 
bold  and  savage,  and  they  all  perish,  except  a 
few  females,  as  soon  as  the  frost  begins.  This 
is  a  wise  provision  of  nature ;  for,  did  they 
survive  the  winter,  they  would  soon  rival  the 
locust  in  their  destructive  depredations. 

WASTE  LAND.  The  following  is  an  ac- 
count of  the  quantity  of  land  uncultivated  and 
wai>te  in  the  British  dominions,  including  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  and  the  British  islands,  according 
to  the  evidence  of  Mr.  Cowling  before  the 
Emigration  Committee  in  1827: — 


England        ... 
Wales  ...        - 
Scotland       ... 
Ireland          -        -        - 
British  Islands      -        - 

Uiicullivjted 
Acr«. 

Uopmfilable 
Acrn. 

3,454,000 

530,000 

5,950,000 

4,900,000 

166,000 

3,256,000 
1.103.000 
8,523,930 
2,416.661 
569,469 

15,000,000 

15,871,463 

WATER.  A  well-known,  universally  dif- 
fused substance,  which  in  ordinary  tempera- 
tures is  fluid,  but  is  solid  when  cooled  down  to 
32°  of  Fahrenheit's  thermometer.  It  rises  into 
vapour  at  all  temperatures,  even  below  the 
freezing  point,  and  at  212°  expands  suddenly 
into  steam.  It  is  composed,  by  weight,  of  oxy- 
gen 8  parts,  and  hydrogen  1  part. 

Water  is  one  of  the  most  useful  elements  in 
the  arts  and  manufactures,  as  well  as  in  rural 
and  domestic  economy.  The  extensive  utility 
of  water  for  imparting  motion  to  machinery,  and 
for  domestic  purposes,  is  too  well  known  to 
require  explanation;  and  as  we  have  already 
treated  of  its  beneficial  properties  for  irrigat- 
ing land,  under  this  head  we  shall  have  prin- 
cipally to  confine  ourselves  to  its  uses  to 
plants. 

Its  Uses  to  Vegetation, — The  value  of  water  to 
vegetation  very  early  attracted  the  attention  of 
mankind.  In  the  most  ancient  of  all  books. 
Genesis  ii.  10,  we  are  told  that  "  a  river  went  out 
of  Eden  to  water  the  garden."  And  the  earliest 
of  the  Greek  and  Egyptian  philosophers,  as- 
tonished and  confused  by  the  magic  effects 
which  water  produced  upon  the  rank  and  luxu- 
riant lands  of  the  warm  eastern  climates,  were 
loud  in  their  praises  of  the  unaided  powers  of 
water  to  support  vegetation.  They  not  only 
regarded  it  as  one  of  the  four  elements  of  which 
the  world  was  composed,  but  Hippocrates  con- 
sidered it  to  be  the  substance  which  nourishes 
and  supports  plants  and  animals.  Theophras- 
ttts  even  considered  that  all  metals  were  pro- 
duced from  water.  The  opinion  that  pure 
water,  and  water  only,  was  able  to  support 
vegetation,  was  in  succeeding  ages  long  the 
opinion  of  many  philosophers  distinguished 
for  their  laborious  investigations  and  their 
ardent  love  of  truth.  Amongst  these  may  be 
named  Van  Helmont,  Bonnet,  Duhamel,  Tillet, 
and  the  Illustrious  Boyle.  These  great  men 
deceived  themselves,  however,  by  not  suffi- 1 
ciently  attending  to  the  purity  of  the  water  j 
139 


with  which  they  experimented,or  guarding  with 
rigid  accuracy  against  other  sources  of  error. 
Of  the  many  researches  M'hich  they  instituted 
to  determine  this  point,  none  was  more  appa- 
rently conclusive  than  that  of  the  well-known 
willow  tree  experiment  of  Van  Helmont,  which 
long  deceived,  from  its  apparent  accuracy,  the 
philosophers  of  that  age.  This  celebrated  ex- 
perimentalist planted  a  willow  which  weighed 
5  lbs.  in  a  common  earthen  vessel  filled  with 
200  lbs.  of  soil,  which  had  been  previously 
thoroughly  dried  in  an  oven,  and  then  moisten- 
ed with  only  rain-water.  This  earthen  vessel 
he  placed  in  the  earth  in  a  garden,  covering  it 
over  in  such  a  manner  that  all  access  of  dust, 
&c.,  was  prevented.  For  five  years  this  willow 
continued  to  grow,  although  moistened  only 
with  either  rain  or  distilled  water.  At  the  end 
of  that  period,  it  was  found  to  weigh  169;^  lbs., 
although  the  earth  in  which  it  was  planted, 
when  again  dried  and  weighed,  was  found  to 
have  lost  only  two  ounces  of  its  original  weight. 
Here,  then,  said  the  contemporaries  of  Van 
Helmont,  is  an  increase  of  164  lbs.,  and  yet 
the  only  food  the  willow  had  was  water ;  it  is 
evident,  therefore,  that  pure  water,  and  water 
only,  is  quite  suflScient  to  support  vegetation. 

Various  sources  of  error  were,  however 
speedily  discerned  to  prove  that  this  experi- 
ment was  totally  insufficient  to  decide  this 
question.  The  illustrious  Bergman,  in  1773, 
showed  that  the  rain-water  employed  by  Van 
Helmont,  so  far  from  being  chemically  pure, 
contained  sufficient  earthy  matters  to  supply 
the  whole  of  that  found  in  the  willow  tree. 
And,  in  addition  to  this,  it  was  afterwards 
shown  that  unglazed  earthen  vess'els  readily 
imbibe  and  transmit  the  moisture  of  the  soil 
in  which  they  are  placed :  now  this  moisture 
abounds  with  a  variety  of  solid  matters,  both 
organic,  earthy,  and  saline.  (Thomson,  vol.  iv. 
p.  313.) 

Still  more  accurate  experiments  have  been 
since  instituted  with  water  chemically  pure,  with 
very  different  results.  In  this  way  all  attempts 
to  raise  plants  have  in  every  instance  totally 
failed,  although,  as  I  have  in  another  place 
had  occasion  to  remark,  I  have  fruitlessly  va- 
ried the  attempt  in  several  ways.  See  Liauin 
Manure. 

Although,  however,  it  is,  from  th^  result  of 
these  laborious  researches,  pretty  clearly 
proved  that  water  is  not  the  sole  food  of  plants, 
yet  it  must  be  evident  to  the  most  casual  ob- 
server what  an  indispensable  food  this  univer- 
sal fluid  is  to  vegetation.  To  all  vegetation,  in 
fact,  it  is  an  indispensable  necessary  of  life, 
although  almost  every  species  of  plant  re- 
quires to  be  supplied  with  it  in  varying  pro- 
portions :  some,  such  as  the  aerial  epidendron, 
and  other  Oriental  plants,  being  able  to  supply 
themselves  from  merely  the  aqueous  portion 
of  it  which  always  exists  in  the  atmosphere ; 
while  some,  such  as  the  rice  plant,  and  the 
aquatics,  cannot  prosper  without  being  sup- 
plied with  it  in  such  copious  quantities  as 
would  be  destructive  to  the  ordinary  crops  of 
the  farmer.  In  some  proportion  or  other,  how- 
ever, they  all  require  it,  and  all  attempts  have 
been  in  vain  made  to  cause  plants  to  grow  in 
situations  where  moisture  was  absolutely 
5  A  1105 


WATER. 

mnoved  both  from  the  earth  and  their  sur- 
rorndinsr  atmosphere. 

M.  Berthollet  was  of  opinion  that  the  leaves 
of  plants  have  the  power  of  decomposing  wa- 
ter when  exposed  to  the  light  of  the  sun.  The 
oxygen  gas,  according  to  this  distinguished 
philosopher,  which  is  always  emitted  under 
these  circnmsiances,  is  derived  partly  from  the 
decomposition  of  the  water.  "Indeed,"  adds 
Dr.  Thomson.  "If  we  consider  the  great  quan- 
tity of  hydrogen  contained  in  plants,  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  conceive  how  they  should  obtain  it, 
provided  the  water  they  absorb  does  not  con- 
tribute to  furnish  it."  (System  of  Chem.  vol.  iv. 
p.  349.)  These  views  open  a  field  for  future 
and  hitrhly  interesting  researches,  which  will 
probably  lead  to  the  establishing  of  new  facts 
highly  important  to  the  cultivator.  And  as 
Davy,  the  chief  of  chemists,  well  said,  "We 
can  only  reason  from  facts.  We  cannot  imi- 
tate the  powers  of  composition  belonging  to 
vegetable  structures,  but  at  least  we  can  under- 
stand them  ;  and  as  far  as  our  researches  have 
rone,  it  appears  that  in  vegetation  compound 
forms  are  uniformly  produced  from  simpler 
ones;  and  the  elements  in  the  soil,  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  the  earth,  absorbed  and  made  parts 
of  beaiyiful  and  diversified  structures."  {Lee- 
}wvs,p.  314.) 

Pure  water,  therefore,  is  certainly  not  capa- 
ble of  entirely  supporting  vegetation.  Yet, 
ilthough  it  cannot  produce  effects  so  extensive 
as  these,  yet  its  uses  are  many  and  iu:portant, 
and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  is  decom- 
posed by  plants,  its  oxygen  partially  evolved, 
and  its  hydfogen  assimilated  with  carbon  and 
oxygen  into  a  variety  of  vegetable  substances, 
most  of  which  contain  hydrogen  in  some  form 
or  other :  thus 

Sugar  i%  composed  of— 

Pirts. 
Hydrogen  ...  -  -  618 
Oxygen  ..----  49  38 
Carbon 4444 

100 

Gum,  of— 

Hydrogen       -       -       .       -       .  c-43 

Oxygen  --.---  51-46 

Carbon    •...._  4211 

100 
Starch,  of— 

Hydrogen 622 

0«y«en 49-78 

Carbon   --.-..       44- 

100 

It  would  be  difficult  indeed  to  account  for  the 
large  proportion  of  hydrogen  present  in  vege- 
table substances,  without  we  allow  that  in  some 
instances  water  is  decomposed  by  the  plant. 
•All  the  hydrogen,"  says  Professor  Liebig, 
rather  too  sweepingly,  "  necessary  for  the  for- 
mation of  an  organic  compound  is  supplied  to 
a  plant  by  the  decomposition  of  water.  (Orean, 
Chem.  p.  66.)  ^     * 

That  plants  have  a  strong  attraction  for  wa- 
ter is  evident  from  a  variety  of  circumstances; 
ihu?  by  their  leaves  and  roots  they  separate 
the  aqueous  vapour  of  the  atmosphere  from 
the  gases  in  which  it  is  contained,  and  that  too 
1106 


WATER. 

in  all  ordinary  temperatures.  This  unvaried 
presence  of  aqueous  vapour  in  the  atmo- 
sphere is  not  less  remarkable  by  the  immense 
importance  it  is  to  vegetation  ;  for  without  the 
assistance  which  the  farmer's  crops  derive 
from  it  in  dry  weather,  the  warmth  of  the  sun 
would  too  often  in  the  summer  months  wither 
and  destroy  them.  This  beautiful  arrange- 
ment of  creative  wisdom  did  not  escape  the 
attention  of  Davy,  who  noted  too  the  variations 
in  its  quantity  according  to  the  changing  de- 
mands of  vegetation.  The  quantity  of  water, 
he  remarked  (Elements  of  Agr.  Chem.  p.  207), 
which  exists  in  air  as  vapour,  varies  with  the 
temperature.  In  proportion  as  the  weather  is 
hotter  the  quantity  is  greater.  At  50°  of  Fah- 
renheit's thermometer,  air  Contains  about  one- 
fiftieth  of  its  volume  of  vapour;  and  as  the 
specific  gravity  of  vapour  is  to  that  of  air  nearly 
as  10  to  15,  this  is  about  one  seventy-fifih  of  its 
weight.  At  100°,  supposing  that  it  has  a  free 
communication  with  water,  it  contains  about 
one-fourteenth  part  in  volume,  or  one  twenty- 
first  in  weight.  It  is  the  condensation  of  va- 
pour by  the  diminution  in  the  temperature  of 
the  atmosphere  which  is  probably  the  princi- 
pal cause  of  the  formation  of  clouds,  and  of 
the  deposition  of  dew,  mist,  snow,  or  hail.  The 
leaves  of  living  plants  appear  to  act  upon  the 
vapour  likewise  in  its  elastic  form,  and  to  ab- 
sorb it.  Some  vegetables  increase  in  weight 
from  this  cause  when  suspended  in  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  unconnected  with  the  soil;  such 
are  the  house-leek,  and  different  species  of  the 
aloe.  In  very  intense  heats,  adds  Davy,  and 
when  the  soil  is  dry,  the  life  of  plants  seems  to 
be  preserved  by  the  absorbent  power  of  their 
leaves ;  and  it  is  a  beautiful  circumstance  in 
the  economy  of  nature,  that  aqueous  vapour  is 
most  abundant  in  the  atmosphere  when  it  is 
most  needed  for  the  purposes  of  life,  and  that 
when  other  sources  of  its  supply  are  cut  off, 
this  is  most  copious. 

And,  again,  when  water  is  combined  with 
saline  substances,  the  roots  of  plants  separate 
it  from  them  in  a  very  remarkable  manner. 
Some  curious  experiments  of  this  kind  were 
made  by  M.  Saussure.  '  See  Salts,  their  Uses  to 
Vegetation. 

That  plants  have  the  power,  when  nourished 
only  with  pure  water,  of  decomposing  the  car- 
bonic acid  gas  of  the  atmosphere,  has  been 
shown  by  some  very  careful  experiments  of 
M.  Saussure.  He  found  that  some  sprigs  of 
peppermint,  when  supplied  with  pure  water 
only,  and  allowed  to  vegetate  for  some  time  in 
the  light,  nearly  doubled  the  portion  of  carbon 
which  they  originally  contained.  The  quan- 
tity of  water  which,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, plants  absorb,  is  very  considerable ; 
thus,  Dr.  Hales  ascertained  that  a  cabbage 
transmits  into  the  atmosphere,  by  insensible 
vapour,  about  half  its  weight  of  water  daily; 
and  that  a  sunflower,  3  feet  in  height,  trans- 
pired in  the  same  period  nearly  2  lbs.  weight. 
(Veg.  Statics,  vol.  i.  p.  5,  15.)  Dr.  Woodward 
found  that  a  sprig  of  mint,  weighing  27  grains, 
in  77  days  emitted  2543  grains  of  water.  A 
sprig  of  spearmint,  weighing  27  grains,  emitted 
in  the  same  lime  2558  grains.  A  sprig  of  com- 
mon nightshade,  weighing  49  grains,  evolved 


WATER. 


WATER. 


3708    grains,  and   a  lathy rus    of   98  grains  [ 
emitted  2501  grains.  j 

In  a  previous  page  of  this  Encyclopedia,  I 
have  endeavoured  to  show  the  various  uses  of 
the  earths  to  vegetation.  (See  Earths.)  The 
cultivator  will  observe  how  many  of  their  chief 
fertile  properties  are  connected  with  their  at- 
traction for  the  aqueous  vapour  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, their  powers  of  absorption,  their  capa- 
bility of  retaining  it.  It  is  in  vain,  indeed,  by 
any  contrivance  to  attempt  to  make  plants  of 
any  description  vegetate  in  absolutely  dry  earth, 
or  in  air  from  which  the  aqueous  vapour  is  en- 
tirely withdrawn.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the 
flowering  roots  of  the  East,  and  some  of  the 
mosses  of  our  own  country,  almost  appear  to 
do  so;  but  such  plants  support  themselves  by 
absorbing  a  certain  degree  of  moisture,  even 
when  suspended,  as  in  oriental  countries,  by  a 
silken  cord  from  the  ceiling  of  the  room,  or 
from  apparently  dry  brick  walls;  for  when  by 
chemical  means  the  moisture  is  entirely  re- 
moved from  them,  even  these  hardy  plants 
cease  to  vegetate. 

Various  foreign  substances  have  been  sup- 
posed to  exist  in  minute  proportions  in  rain- 
water, to  which  its  fertilizing  effects  have  been 
chiefly  ascribed:  thus  ammonia  is  believed  by 
Professor  Liebig  to  exist  in  rain-water.  No- 
thing, however,  is  more  likely  to  lead  to  erro- 
neous general  conclusions  than  the  detection 
of  minute  foreign  substances  in  water.  Such 
hasty  generalizations  have  often  deceived  the 
most  excellent  philosophers :  thus  the  great 
Boyle,  by  digesting  pure  water  for  a  lengihen- 
ed  period  in  glass  vessels  hermetically  sealed, 
found  that  it  deposited  a  minute  quantity  of 
flint  in  powder;  and  hence  he  was  led  to  con- 
clude that  water  was  in  this  way  converted  by 
long  boiling  into  silica,  an  error  which  several 
other  philosophers  adopted,  until  the  celebrated 
Lavoisier  and  Dr.  Priestley  proved  that  the 
flint  deposited  arose  from  the  water  having,  by 
long  boiling,  partially  dissolved  the  glass.  In 
the  same  way  even  Davy,  the  most  cautious 
of  experimentalists,  once  thought  that  chlorine 
and  soda  might,  by  the  influence  of  the  voltaic 
pile,  be  obtained  from  water  absolutely  pure ; 
but  more  careful  and  rigid  experiments  soon 
convinced  him  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing entirely  pure  water,  the  vessels  in  which 
the  water  was  procured  communicating,  with 
every  apparent  caution,  sundry  impurities ;  and 
this  difficulty,  I  think  it  very  likely,  the  skilful 
chemists  of  Germany  have  not  successfully 
escaped. 

Water  exists  in  all  cultivated  land  in  some 
proportion  or  other.  The  quantity,  however, 
necessary  to  be  present  in  the  farmer's  soils  to 
obtain  the  maximum  advantage  varies  with 
their  nature,  the  climate,  and  the  crop.  For 
instance,  the  rice-fields  of  India  require  a  de- 
gree of  moisture  which  would  be  utterly  de- 
structive to  the  grain  crops  of  the  English  far- 
mer. The  most  porous,  sandy  land  in  a  rainy 
climate  will  be  prolific,  when  the  same  soil  in 
a  dry,  warm  country  will  be  absolutely  barren. 
Even  the  drifting  sands  of  Arabia,  for  instance, 
if  placed  under  the  incessant  rains  of  the  Ame- 
rican Andes,  would  certainly  be  speedily  cover- 
ed with  vegetation.    Some  of  the  richest  water- 


meadows  of  the  south  of  England  and  of  Scot- 
land are  formed  on  subsoils  of  broken  flints, 
gravels,  and  the  roughest  shingle.  And,  again, 
the  meadow-lands  often  need  such  copious  sup- 
plies of  moisture  as  would  be  the  means  of  de- 
stroying the  grain  crops.  The  surface  water 
which  tenants  many  uncultivated  soils  is  gene- 
rally surcharged  with  a  variety  of  foreign  sub- 
stances, very  commonly  with  vegetable  mat- 
ters. That  in  the  gravelly  soils  is  usually  sur- 
charged with  oxide  of  iron ;  that  resting  on 
calcareous  soils,  with  sulphate  of  lime  (gyp- 
sum); whilst  those  from  peat  lands  commonly 
abound  with  sulphate  of  iron,  or  the  red  oxide 
of  the  same  metal. 

In  most  of  the  soils  which  the  farmer  has  to 
bring  into  cultivation,  the  removal  of  these  wa- 
ters is  his  first  care;  for  such  an  abundance 
of  moisture  is  not  only  pernicious,  from  the 
usual  bad  quality  of  the  land  water,  but  from 
the  quantity  being  far  too  great  for  the  habits 
of  the  plants  which  the  farmer  intends  to  cul- 
tivate; such  waters,  too,  dissolve,  and  some- 
times carry  off'  from  the  soil,  in  their  imper- 
ceptible drainage,  all  the  soluble  richest  por- 
tion of  the  soil.  For  many  reasons,  therefore, 
draining  has  been  long  very  justly  held  to  be 
the  foundation  of  all  agricultural  iny)rove- 
ments ;  since  its  good  effects  are  not  confined 
to  the  low  marsh  land,  but  its  beneficial  influ- 
ence is  extended  to  the  most  upland  soils.  It 
removes  the  land  springs,  and  dries  the  sur- 
face of  thousands  of  acres  of  even  the  most 
elevated  of  the  English  gravels. 

Almost  to  an  equally  beneficial  extent  has 
the  addition  of  water  to  plants  for  ajengthened 
period  been  carried  on  by  the  cultivator  in  a 
variety  of  modes ;  by  the  gardener,  either  ir. 
steam  in  his  conservatories,  or  by  the  watering- 
pot  in  the  open  ground.  Almost  en'dless,  in- 
deed, are  the  varieties  of  artificial  irrigation, 
from  the  minor  applications  of  the  gardener  to 
the  more  gigantic  efl'brts  of  the  managers  of 
the  water-meads.  It  is  this  branch  of  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  uses  of  water  to  vegetation 
which  is  the  most  interesting  to  the  farmer, 
and  to  the  head  Irhioation  I  must  refer  the 
reader.  In  regarding  the  uses  of  water  to  vege- 
tation in  this  manner,  however,  the  cultivator 
must  remember  that  it  is  not;jMre  water  that  he 
is  thus  using  for  his  crops,  but,  as  I  have  be- 
fore remarked,  water  surcharged  with  a  variety 
of  earthy,  saline,  and  organic  matters,  to  whose 
presence  a  chief  portion  of  the  fertilizing  efl^ect 
of  such  streams  must  be  attributed ;  for  it  is 
found  that  the  most  foul  and  impure  waters  are 
much  the  best  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation: 
thus  the  water  of  a  river  below  a  town  is  found 
to  be  much  more  fertilizing  than  the  same  wa- 
ter before  it  has  been  mixed  with  the  contents 
of  the  sewers.  These  are  facts  well  known, 
for  instance,  to  the  owners  of  the  fine  water 
meadows  of  the  valleys  of  the  Itchen,  the  Ken- 
net,  and  the  Avon.  That  of  the  Thames  above 
the  influence  of  the  tide  is  not  nearly  so  valua- 
ble to  the  grazier  as  it  is  after  it  has  had  mixed 
with  its  waters  the  huge  mass  of  impure  matters 
from  the  London  sewers.  Then,  again,  by  far 
the  richest  irrigating  waters,  because  the  very 
foulest  of  all,  are  those  of  the  sewers  of  the 
city  of  Edinburgh,  which  produce  such  singu- 

1107 


WATER. 

larly  loxuriant  cr  >ps  of  grass  on  the  Craigin- 
tinny  meadows.  This  observation  is  not  con- 
fined to  the  English  graziers :  those  of  the  duchy 
of  Milan  long  since  made  the  same  remark. 
Haifa  century  since,  Mr.  Songa,  when  describ- 
ing the  meads  of  the  banks  of  the  Brembo, 
says,  "That  water  is  found  excellent  which 
passes  through  the  fosses  of  the  town  of  Tre- 
viglio,  and  discharges  itself  irom  them  uy  form- 
ing a  canal  of  8  or  10  feet  broad,  and  1  foot  or 
1^  fool  deep.  The  lands  irrigated  with  this 
water  seem  to  receive  every  time  the  advan- 
tage of  a  dunging,  and  on  this  account  sell 
from  a  third  to  a  half  dearer  than  any  other  of 
an  equal  quality  of  soil."  (  Young's  Annals,  1793, 
I  p.  182.)  Watering  the  land  to  add  to  its  fer- 
tility is  a  very  ancient  practice. 

Such,  then,  are  a  few  of  the  well-ascertained 
facts  with  regard  to  the  application  of  water  to 
vegetation,  uses  which  are  so  valuable  when 
well  understood  by  the  farmer.  In  all  his  ope- 
rations this  universal  fluid  will  be  found  to  in- 
fluence his  arrangements ;  and  in  a  due  and 
regular  supply  of  it  to  his  crops  consists,  in 
fact,  the  success  of  most  of  his  efforts.  If,  for 
instance,  a  farmer  would  judge  of  the  value  of 
a  particular  field  from  merely  a  specimen  of  its 
soil,  the  attraction  of  the  previously  dried  earth 
for  the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere  will  afford 
a  very  tolerable  indication  of  its  comparative 
value ;  those  soils  which  attract  the  most  wa- 
ter being  commonly  those  which  obtain  the 
highest  rents. 

All  researches  like  these,  in  many  obvious 
and  indirect  ways,  are  attended  with  consider- 
able advantage  to  the  cultivator.  For,  the 
more  he  becomes  acquainted  with  the  uses  and 
properties  of  water,  the  more  readily  will  he 
be  able  to  avail  himself  of  every  opportunity 
which  may  present  itself  for  extending  its 
sphere  of  usefulness.  It  is  idle  to  conclude 
that  every  thing  possible  has  been  effected  with 
regard  to  the  agricultural  uses  of  water;  for, 
saying  nothing  of  the  inferior  extent  of  our 
water  meads  to  those  of  even  the  banks  of 
the  Italian  rivers,  much  still  remains  to  be  ac- 
complished in  rendering  available,  not  only  the 
liquid  drainage  of  our  large  towns,  but  in  the 
use  of  the  steam-engine  for  the  purposes  of 
irrigation;  an  agent  to  which  I  have  in  this 
work  already  alluded,  and  for  obtaining  whose 
magic  assistance  the  farmers  of  no  other  coun- 
try are  so  well  situated  as  those  of  our  own 
island.  To  the  cultivator,  therefore,  an  exami- 
nation of  the  powers  and  properties  of  water 
will  in  many  ways  be  attended  with  benefit ; 
for  if  the  farmer  once  seriously  contemplates 
the  powerfully  invigorating  and  enriching  qua- 
lities of  the  waters  near  to  which  he  is  very  often 
placed,  the  abundance  of  organic  matters  which 
they  contain,  and  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  their  judicious  application,  he  will  speedi- 
ly devise  some  means  or  other  by  which  he 
may  avail  himself  of  this  too  often  neglected 
agent.  The  finely  divided  earthy  and  organic 
matters  which  now  so  copiously  pollute  the 
waters  of  our  rivers  are  m  fact  the  only  great 
drawbacks  upon  the  otherwise  gradually  in- 
creasing productiveness  of  the  land.  (See  Ai- 
irviiM  and  Warping.)  These,  be  it  remem- 
b««ied,  aie  ever  quietly  yet  incessantly  acting 
11U8  *• 


WATER-MELON. 

as  drains  upon  the  fertility  of  the  /and ;  they 
never  cease  the  work  of  impoverisiiment;  and 
it  is  only  by  the  efforts  of  the  merchant,  the 
fisherman,  and  the  irrigator,  that  any  portion  of 
these  finely  divided  matters  ever  return  again  to 
the  cultivated  soils  of  our  country.  See  Inai- 
GATioN  and  Rain. 

WATER-ALOE,  or  WATER  SOLDIER 
(Slratiotes  aloides ;  from  stratos,  an  army,  in  allu- 
sion to  its  long  sword-like  leaves).  In  England, 
an  ornamental  native  aquatic,  which  fills  the 
ditches  in  summer  with  a  close  phalanx  of 
sword-like  leaves,  and  increases  so  fast  in  the 
ponds  where  it  is  planted  as  to  become  almost 
a  troublesome  weed.  In  its  wild  state  it  inha- 
bits deep  ditches  and  pools,  and  is  a  stolonife- 
rous,  smooth,  floating  herb,  with  numerous  ra- 
dical leaves,  and  a  solitary  central  flower-stalk, 
but  no  stem.  The  parent  plant  sinks  to  the 
bottom  after  flowering,  and  sends  out  long  sim- 
ple runners,  each  terminating  in  a  leaf,  bud,  or 
young  plant,  which  first  lakes  root  in  the  mud, 
by  several  long  fibres,  and  in  the  following 
summer  rises  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  blos- 
soms and  then  again  subsides  to  ripen  its  seeds 
and  throw  out  fresh  runners,  each  tuft  of 
leaves  flovv'ering  but  once.  The  leaves  are  a 
span  long  or  more,  acute,  highly  vascular, 
fringed  with  very  sharp  saw-like  teeth.  Flow- 
ers white,  large  and  handsome,  the  stalk  firm, 
stout,  two-edged,  much  shorter  than  the  leaves. 

WATER-CARPET.  A  name  in  Pennsylva- 
nia for  the  GoLT)E?r  Saxifrage,  which  see. 

WATER-COWBANE.     See  Cowbane. 

WATER-CRESS.     See  Cress. 

WATER-DROPWORT.     See  Dropwort. 

WATER-ELDER.     See  Guelder  Rose. 

WATER-FARCY.     See  Farct. 

WATER-HEMLOCK.     See  Cowbane. 

WATER-LILY,  THE  FRINGED.  See 
Buckheax. 

WATER-LILY,  YELLOW.— See  Lilt,  Wa 

TER. 

WATER-LILY,  WHITE.  See  Lilt,  Water. 

WATER-MELON.  The  following  direc- 
tions for  cultivating  water-melons  for  an  early 
market,  are  given  in  the  Southern  Agriculturist. 

Select  a  high  and  dry  soil  for  the  purpose. 
Plough  it  up  well,  and  harrow  it.  Check  off 
the  spot  thus  treated  at  distances  of  10  feet 
each  way.  Dig  out  each  check  with  a  hoe  or 
spade,  and  into  the  same  place  5  or  6  quarts  of 
cotton  seed;  or  if  this  cannot  be  procured,  fill 
the  place  with  stable  manure,  partly  decom- 
posed. Haul  over  this  the  earth  before  dug 
from  the  hole,  and  mix  it  well  with  the  manure. 
If  you  have  used  cotton  seed,  in  the  spring,  it 
will  have  sprouted  a  week  or  two  after  being 
put  into  the  hole ;  and  must  now  be  killed  by 
chopping  up  the  same  well,  and  mixing  it  with 
the  soil.  This  being  done,  you  may  now  haul 
up  the  manure  and  earth  as  before  directed, 
into  hills,  on  the  top  of  which  you  must  place 
about  a  peck  of  sand,  taken  from  some  street 
or  well-travelled  road.  Your  hills  will  be  now 
ready  for  planting.  I  should,  however,  state 
that  the  hills  must,  instead  of  being  made  high, 
be  made  flat  and  broad. 

Soak  your  seed  over  night  in  milk-warm 
water,  and  plant  them  out  the  next  m:.  ruing, 
placing  from  5  to  6  seed  to  each  hill.     The 


Plaie  10. 


\sv 


l-ns  AND  TlU)l.Bl.KSn\1K    PLANTJ^S 


WATER-PEPPER. 

seed  must  not  be  covered  more  than  1  or  2 
inches  under  ground.  Water  the  hills  for  a 
few  days  until  the  seed  has  sprouted,  and  then 
leave  the  plants  to  run. 

As  soon  as  the  plant  has  got  6  leaves,  take 
off  the  centre  plant  with  a  sharp  penknife,  and 
when  the  lateral  shoots  are  6  inches  or  a  foot 
long,  take  off  all  but  three.  When  the  shoots, 
thus  left,  begin  to  run  to  the  ground  between 
the  hills,  stake  them  down  with  a  small  cross- 
stick. 

As  the  vines  begin  to  branch,  at  every  3  or 
4  feet,  where  the  vine  branches,  put  a  shovel- 
ful of  rich  earth  over  the  same,  and  press  it 
down  lightly  with  the  foot.  Wet  weather  should 
be  selected  for  this  operation,  and  by  so  doing 
the  vines  will  never  fail  to  take  where  they 
have  been  set.  The  spaces  between  the  hills 
should  be  kept  free  of  grass — and  by  following 
the  above  directions,  large  melons  will  be  pro- 
duced. 

From  a  quarter  acre  of  land  thus  treated, 
more  melons  will  be  made  than  from  four 
times  the  amount  as  usually  cultivated.  See 
Melon,  Wateh. 

WATER-PEPPER  (Polycronum  punctatum). 
A  plant  found  in  the  Middle  and  other  States, 
possessing  very  acrid  qualities,  causing  obsti- 
nate ulcerative  inflammation  when  applied  to 
the  skin. 

WATER-PLANTAIN  (Misma,  from  the 
Celtic  alis,  water).  A  genus  of  pretty  little, 
aquatic,  perennial,  smooth  plants,  with  simple, 
entire  leaves,  and  numerous,  stalked,  white, 
yellowish  or  purplish,  panicled  or  umbellate 
inodorous  flowers.  In  England,  there  are  four 
native  species;  viz.: 

1.  The  greater  water-plantain,  or  thrumwort 
(A.  plant  it  co),  which  is  very  ccmmon  in  pools, 
ditches,  and  about  the  margins  of  rivers.  The 
root  is  fibrous.  Leaves  all  radical,  on  long 
stalks,  erect,  ovate,  acute,  ribbed,  in  deep  or 
running  water  lengthened  out  more  or  less.  It 
has  been  recommended  in  hydrophobia;  but, 
like  many  other  wonder-working  remedies,  it 
is  worthless. 

2.  Star-headed  water-plantain  {A.  damasoni- 
ttm),  found  in  ditches  and  pools  on  a  gravelly 
soil,  but  not  common.  The  root  consists  of 
many  long  pale  fibres.  The  leaves  all  radical, 
floating,  bluntish  or  oblong,  heart-shaped  at  the 
base.  Footstalks  very  broad,  with  many  ribs, 
<tnd  a  membranous  border,  tapering  upwards. 
Flower-stalks  scarcely  a  span  high,  bearing 
1  or  2  whorls  of  white  flowers,  yellow  in  the 
middle.  Capsules  six,  spreading  in  the  form 
of  a  star,  half-ovate. 

3.  Floating  water-plantain  (./^.nafans).  This 
species  frequents  the  lakes  of  North  Wales 
and  Cumberland. 

4.  Lesser  water-plantain  (A.  rammculoides). 
This  grows  in  swamps  and  turfy  bogs,  but  is 
not  a  very  common  species. 

5.  Creeping  water-plantain  (A.  repens).  This 
has  only  been  found  on  the  margins  of  some 
of  the  lakes  in  North  Wales. 

WAX  (Germ,  wnrhs).  A  solid  concrete 
abounding  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  whence 
it  is  erroneously  supposed  that  it  is  collected 
by  bees.  Bees'  wax  is  a  secretion  in  the  body 
of  rhe  bee,  and  is  accumulated  in  what  are 


WAY-GOING  CROP. 

called  the  wax-pockets.  Bees  confined  to  a 
hive,  and  fed  merely  on  sugar,  form  wax.  It 
constitutes  the  partitions  of  the  cells  in  which 
they  store  their  honey.  It  is  obtained  by  melt- 
ing the  comb.  Wax,  when  pure,  is  of  a  whit- 
ish colour;  it  is  destitute  of  taste,  and  has 
scarcely  any  smell.  Bees'  wax,  indeed,  has  a 
pretty  strong  aromatic  odour ;  but  this  seems 
chiefly  owing  to  some  substance  with  which  it 
is  mixed;  for  it  disappears  almost  completely 
by  exposing  the  wax,  drawn  out  into  thiia 
ribands,  for  some  time  to  the  atmosphere  to 
blanch,  frequently  changing  the  surface  thus 
exposed,  by  remelting  it,  and  reducing  it  again 
to  thin  flakes.  By  this  process,  which  is  called 
bleaching,  the  yellow  colour  of  the  wax  disap- 
pears. White  wax  is  principally  used  in  mak- 
ing candles,  and  in  white  ointments,  for  the 
sake  of  its  colour.  Wax  is  insoluble  in  water; 
nor  are  its  properties  altered  though  kept  under 
that  liquid.  When  heat  is  applied  to  wax,  it 
becomes  soft ;  and  at  the  temperature  of  142°, 
if  unbleached,  or  of  155°,  if  bleached,  it  melts 
into  a  colourless  transparent  fluid,  which  con 
cretes  again,  and  resumes  its  former  appear- 
ance, as  the  temperature  diminishes.  If  the 
heat  be  still  further  increased,  the  wax  boils 
and  evaporates;  and  if  a  red  heat  be  applied 
to  the  vapour,  it  takes  fire  and  burns  with  a 
bright  flame.  It  is  this  property  which  renders 
wax  so  useful  for  making  candles.  Wax  com- 
bines readily  with  fixed  oils  when  assisted  by 
heat,  and  forms  with  them  a  substance  of  greater 
or  less  consistency,  according  to  the  quantity 
of  oil.  This  composition,  which  is  known  by 
the  name  of  cerate,  is  much  employed  by  sur- 
geons. 

According  to  the  experiments  of  Gay-Lussac 
and  Thenard  (Rech.  Pkysico-Chim.  vol.ii.  p.  316), 
100  parts  of  wax  are  composed  of — 

Parts. 
Oxygen     ------        554 

Hydrogen  -----      12-67 

Carbon 8178 

100 

Wax  is  sometimes  adulterated  with  the  white 
oxide  of  lead  to  increase  its  weight,  with  white 
tallow,  and  with  potato  starch.  The  first  is 
detected  by  melting  the  wax  in  hot  water,  when 
the  oxide  falls  to  the  bottom  undissolved ;  the 
presence  of  tallow  is  indicated  by  the  wax  be- 
ing of  a  dull  opaque  white,  and  wanting  the 
transparency  which  distinguishes  pure  wax ; 
and  starch  may  be  detected  by  applying  strong 
sulphuric  acid  to  the  suspected  wax,  as  the 
acid  carbonizes  the  starch  without  acting  on 
the  wax. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  supply  of  wax 
produced  in  England,  a  considerable  quantity  is 
imported  from  abroad ;  but  it  is  subject  to  the 
high  duty  of  1/.  10s.  per  cwt.  The  price  va- 
ries, duty  included,  from  5Z.  to  lOl.  per  cwi 
(Thomson's  Chem.  vol.  iv.  p.  103  ;  Thomson's  Du 
pensatory  :  M'Culloch's  Com.  Did.) 

WAX-MOTH.     See  Bee-Moth,  and  PI.  16,  g. 

WAY-BREAD.  One  of  the  common  name^ 
of  the  Common  or  Great  Plantain. 

WAYFARING  TREE.    See  Guelder  Rose 

WAY-GOING  CROP.    That  which  is  taker- 
from  the  land  the  year  the  tenant  leaves  a  farrr 
5a2  1109 


WAY,  PRIVATE  RIGHT  OF. 

^^  4Y,  PRIVATE  RIGHT  OF.  This  may 
arise  either  from  grant  or  by  prescription  and 
usage  from  time  immemorial,  for  this  is  in  law 
supposed  to  arise  from  a  grant.  According  to 
English  common  law,  a  right  of  way  may  be 
to  a  particular  person  to  go  over  the  grantor's 
land  to  church,  to  market,  or  to  any  particular 
close.  Such  a  special  permission  is,  however, 
to  be  construed  strictly:  the  grantee  cannot, 
under  such  a  grant,  justify  going  beyond  the 
place  specified  in  the  grant;  nor  can  he  take 
»ny  other  person  with  him  ;  neither  can  he  as- 
sifrn  <'ver  this  right, — it  dies  with  him.  And  a 
grant  f<»r  agricultural  purposes  does  not  au- 
thorize the  grantee  to  use  the  road  for  com- 
mercial or  general  purposes ;  neither  does  a 
prescriptive  right  of  way  for  all  kind  of  car- 
riages, prove  a  right  of  way  for  ail  manner  of 
cattle.  If  a  grantor  convey  a  piece  of  ground 
ID  the  middle  of  his  own  land,  the  law  will 
presume  that  he  also  granted  a  way  to  it. 
**When,"  said  Lord  Kenyon,  in  this  case, 
••  they  made  the  conveyance,  it  must  Ke  taken 
for  granted  that  they  intended  to  convey  some 
beneficial  interest ;  but  he  can  derive  no  bene- 
fit whatever  from  the  grant  unless  he  has  a 
right  of  way  to  the  land."  But  if  by  purchas- 
ing other  land,  or  new  circumstances  after- 
wards arise  by  which  he  can  approach  the 
public  road,  then  the  right  of  way  ceases  with 
the  necessity.  And  if  a  private  wfty  is  granted, 
that  does  not  justify  a  person  for  going  over 
the  land  by  the  side  of  it,  even  if  the  road  is 
overflown  with  water  from  an  adjoining  river. 
Lord  Ellenborongh,  C.  J.,  said,  in  this  case,  "It 
is  a  thing  founded  in  grant,  and  the  grantor  of 
a  private  way  does  not  grant  a  liberty  to  break 
out  of  it  at  random  over  the  whole  surface  of 
his  close.** 

By  the  3  dc  3  W.  4,  c.  71,  it  is  enacted,  that 
in  all  claims  for  right  of  way  by  prescription, 
where  it  has  been  enjoyed  for  20  years,  such 
right  shall  only  be  defeated  or  destroyed  by 
showing  that  such  right  was  first  expired  at 
any  time  previous  to  such  20  years  ;  and  where 
it  has  been  enjoyed  for  full  40  years,  the  right 
shall  be  absolute  and  indefeasible,  unless  it 
shall  appear  that  the  same  was  enjoyed  by 
some  consent  or  agreement  by  deed  or  writing. 

WE.\NING.  The  means  employed  to  re- 
concile a  young  animal  to  the  loss  of  its  mo- 
ther's milk,  and  habituate  it  to  take  common 
food.  Under  the  head  Foal  we  have  already 
given  directions  for  their  management  during 
and  aHer  weaning.  The  process  of  weaning 
calves  is  variously  managed  by  different  far- 
mers. When  not  let  run  with  the  cow,  the 
most  advisable  mode,  as  it  regards  the  calf,  is 
to  place  it  loose  in  a  crib,  and  to  suckle  it  by 
hand  with  the  mother's  new  milk,  of  which  it 
will  consume  for  some  time  not  more  than 
about  four  quarts  per  day  :  the  quantity,  how- 
ever, must  then  be  gradually  increased,  as  it 
will,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks,  require  as 
much  as  three  gallons.  If  the  weather  be  fine, 
it  should  be,  within  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks] 
turned  out  daily  in  the  orchard,  or  some  well- 
sheltered  enclosure  of  sweet  herbage;  and,  as 
it  will  in  the  course  of  10  or  12  weeks  have 
acquired  some  relish,  for  the  pasture,  it  may  be 
ri?i  larly  weaned  by  gradually  diminishing  the 


WEATHER. 

I  quantity  of  milk,  and  then  substituting  th« 
skimmed  for  the  new.  Calves  may,  however, 
be  reared  with  skimmed  milk  and  meal,  with- 
out any  portion  of  new  milk,  except  the  first 
few  days'  biestings,  and  many  persons  give 
them  nothing  but  water-gruel  and  hay-tea  with- 
in a  fortnight  after  they  have  been  removed 
from  the  cow.  Sago  and  linseed  jelly  are  also 
very  nutritious,  and  calves  may  be  weaned  on 
them  without  any  other  food.  (^British  Husb. 
vol.  ii.  p.  441.) 

The  time  of  weaning  lambs  differs  mate- 
rially, according  to  the  locality  of  the  farms 
and  the  quality  of  the  pasture.  Four  months 
old  is  about  the  period  usually  selected. 

The  lambs  should  be  turned  into  somewhat 
better  pasture  than  that  to  which  they  had  been 
accustomed,  in  order  to  compensate  for  the  loss 
of  the  mother's  milk.  Many  farmers  are  very 
fanciful  as  to  the  provision  for  the  weaned 
lambs.  The  clover  or  the  sainfoin,  or  the 
aftermath,  are  selected  by  some ;  others  put 
their  smaller  and  more  weakly  lambs  to  weed 
the  turnip  crops ;  but  there  can  be  nothing 
more  desirable  than  a  fresh  pasture,  not  too 
luxuriant,  and  yet  sufficient  to  maintajn  and 
increase  their  condition.  {Youatt  on  Sheep,  p. 
516.)     For  directions  as  to  weaning  pigs,  see 

SwiXE. 

WEASEL-SNOUT  (Galeobdolonliiteum).  The 
weasel-snout,  yellow  archangel,  or  dead  nettle, 
is  a  pretty,  indigenous,  perennial  plant,  found 
abundantly  in  most  parts  of  England,in  marshy, 
shady  places.  The  root  is  somewhat  tuberous, 
moderately  creeping.  The  stems  are  18  inches 
high,  simple,  leafy,  covered  with  close  deflexed 
hairs.  Leaves  stalked,  ovate,  acute,  serrated, 
slightly  hairy,  bright  green,  various  in  breadth. 
Whorls  numerous,  each  composed  of  many 
large,  handsome,  inodorous  yellow  flowers, 
whose  lower  lip  is  spotted  with  red,  the  middle 
segment  stained  with  orange-colour.  The 
flowers  afford  to  bees  an  abundant  supply  of 
honey. 

WEATHER  (Sax.).  A  term  applied  to  de- 
note the  state  or  disposition  of  the  atmosphere, 
with  regard  to  heat  and  cold,  drought  and 
moisture,  fog,  fair  or  foul,  wind,  rain,  hail, 
frost,  snow,  &c. 

A  knowledge  of  this  is  of  vast  importance 
to  the  farmer,  as  the  securing  of  his  produce 
in  a  perfect  manner  greatly  depends  upon  it ; 
and  as  it  is  in  and  by  means  of  the  atmosphere 
that  plants  are  nourished,  and  animals  live 
and  breathe,  any  alteration,  in  its  density,  heat, 
purity,  &c.,  must,  of  course,  necessarily  be 
attended  with  proportionable  effects  on  orga- 
nization. 

The  great  but  regular  alterations  a  little 
change  of  weather  makes  in  many  parts  of 
inanimate  matter  is  fully  shown  in  the  com- 
mon instances  of  barometers,  thermometers, 
hygrometers,  &c. ;  and  it  is  owing  partly  to 
our  inattention,  and  partly  to  other  causes,  that 
man,  like  other  animals,  does  not  feel  as  great 
and  as  regular  ones  in  the  lubes,  chords,  and 
fibres  of  his  own  body. 

In  order  fully  to  establish  a  proper  theory 
of  the  weather,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have 
registers  carefully  kept  in  different  parts  of  the 
globe  for  a  long  series  of  years,  whence  we 


WEATHER. 

might  be  enabled  to  determine  the  directions,  ' 
breadth,  and  bounds  of  the  winds,  and  of  the  I 
weather  they  bring  with  them ;  with  the  cor-  | 
respondence  between  the  weather  of  divers 
places,  and  the  difference  between  one  sort  and 
another  at  the  same  place ;  and  thus,  in  time, 
learn  to  foretell  many  great  emergencies ;  as 
extraordinary  heats,  rains,  frosts,  droughts,  &c.  [ 
But  hitherto  very  few,  and  only  partial,  regis-  \ 
ters  or  accounts  of  the  weather  have  been  kept. 
The  Meteorological  Society  of  Great  Britain,  j 
and  the  British  Association  for  the  Advance-  : 
ment  of  Science,  have  latterly  done  much  to-  i 
wards  increasing  our  stock  of  meteoric  know-  ' 
ledge,  and  have  collected  an  immense  body  of 
facts  and  registers,  from  which  many  useful 
inferences  have  been  drawn,  and  some  impor- 
tant theories  deduced.  The  general  conclu- 
sions that  have  been  drawii  from  the  experi- 
ments that  have  been  made  on  this  subject  are 
— that  barometers  generally  rise  and  fall  toge- 
ther, even  at  very  distant  places,  and  a  conse- 
quent conformity  and  similarity  of  weather; 
but  this  is  the  more  uniformly  so,  as  the  places 
are  nearer  together,  as  might  be  expected; — 
that  the  variations  of  the  barometer  are  greater 
as  the  places  are  nearer  to  the  pole  :  thus,  for 
instance,  the  mercury  at  London  has  a  greater 
range  by  2  or  3  lines  than  at  Paris ;  and  at 
Paris,  a  greater  than  at  Zurich ;  and  at  some 
places  near  the  equator  there  is  scarcely  any 
variation  at  all; — that  the  rain  in  Switzerland 
and  Italy  is  much  greater  in  quantity  for  the 
whole  year  than  in  Essex;  and  yet  the  rains 
are  more  frequent,  or  there  are  more  rainy 
days,  in  Essex  than  at  either  of  these  places ; — 
that  cold  contributes  greatly  to  rain,  apparently 
by  condensing  the  suspended  vapours,  and  so 
leading  to  their  precipitation;  thus,  very  cold 
months  or  seasons  are  commonly  followed  im- 
mediately by  very  rainy  ones,  and  cold  sum- 
mers are  always  wet  ones.  High  ridges  of 
mountains,  and  the  snows  with  which  they  aie 
covered,  not  only  affect  the  neighbouring  places, 
but  even  distant  countries  often  partake  of 
their  effects. 

The  science  of  meteorology,  or  the  study  of 
the  changing  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere, 
&c.,  has  from  the  earliest  periods  occupied  a 
greater  or  less  share  of  attention  from  the  tiller 
of  the  soil,  the  gnrdener,  and  those  engaged  in 
the  pasturage  of  animals.  To  no  individual 
(the  mariner,  perhaps,  excepted)  is  a  fore- 
knowledge of  the  probable  future  state  of  the 
weather  of  more  consequence  and  importance 
than  the  agriculturist;  for  on  this  must  mainly 
depend  the  progress  and  success  of  his  field 
operations,  his  seedtime  and  his  harvest,  and 
the  greater  or  less  return  afforded  by  his  crops. 

It  may  not  comport  with  the  dignity  of  the 
man  of  science,  or  the  elevated  learning  of  the 
erudite  philosopher,  to  have  his  eyes  and  ears 
open  to  the  plain  and  simple  rules  and  guides 
which  nature  lays  out  before  him.  Perhaps  he 
has  little  of  leisure  to  note  the  every-day  phe- 
nomena which  the  atmosphere  and  all  animate 
and  inanimate  nature  hold  up  to  observation, 
as  in  a  glass,  where  all  who  use  their  eyes  may 
read  as  they  run.  The  companions  of  his 
study  are  the  more  *.ostly  and  elaborately  pre- 


WEATHER. 

pared  philosophical  instrumen.« :  how  much, 
however,  might  their  value  be  enhanctd  by  a 
careful  and  comparative  observation  of  the 
"skyey  influences,"  as  the  poet  terms  them  1 
But  to  these  closet  companions,  the  husband- 
man, the  shepherd,  the  traveller,  the  fisherman, 
and  the  mariner  have  rarely  access,  while  en- 
gaged in  the  busy  out-of-door  occupations  of 
their  several  avocations.  Those  who  till  the 
land,  or  who  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  of 
all  others,  are  they  who  become,  by  habits  of 
observation  and  reflection,  most  conversant 
with  the  signs  and  changes  of  the  heavens; 
the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  are  to  them 
monitors  and  instructors,  whose  warning  voices 
meet  a  prompt  and  ready  response.  The  ripple 
of  the  wave,  the  curl  of  the  smoke,  the  pass- 
ing shadow  of  the  cloud,  the  budding  of  the 
tree,  the  arrival  and  departure  of  the  migratory 
birds,  the  frolicsome  gambols  of  animals,  every 
leaf  that  quivers  in  the  sunbeam,  every  plant 
that  drinks  the  dew  of  heaven,  the  myriads  of 
insects,  and  creeping  things  innumerable,  that 
inhabit  each  leaf  and  opening  flower,  are  all 
fraught  with  instruction  and  information  to  the 
experienced  and  watchful  observer. 

Around,  above,  beneath,  all  animate  and  in- 
animate creation,  animals,  vegetables,  the  ele- 
ments, a  thousand  objects  in  a  thousand  direc- 
tions, in  every  recurring  season,  furnish  their 
quota  of  information  towards  our  stock  of  mete- 
oric knowledge,  and  foretell  the  approaching  va- 
riations of  atmospheric  phenomena.  The  ex- 
perienced fisherman  and  the  watchful  and  wary 
mariner  will  predict  the  corning  storm,  by  the 
tiny  cloud  and  other  unerring  criteria  which 
frequent  and  attentive  observance  of  the  sky 
has  rendered  familar,  long  before  its  approach 
is  visible  to  the  ken  of  the  ordinary  and  inat- 
tentive observer. 

It  has  been  well  remarked,  that  "  the  shep- 
herd, whose  sole  business  it  is  to  observe  what 
has  a  reference  to  the  flock  under  his  care, 
who  spends  all  his  days  and  many  of  his  nights 
in  the  open  air,  under  the  wide-spread  canopy 
of  heaven,  is  obliged  to  take  particular  notice 
of  the  alterations  of  the  weather;  and  when 
he  cares  to  take  a  pleasure  in  making  such  ob- 
servations, it  is  amazing  how  much  progress 
he  makes  in  them,  and  to  how  great  a  certainty 
he  arrives  at  last,  by  mere  dint  of  comparing 
signs  and  events,  and  connecting  one  observa- 
tion with  another.  Every  thing  in  time  be- 
comes to  him  a  weather-gauge  :  the  sun,  the 
moon,  the  stars,  the  clouds,  the  winds,  the 
mists,  the  trees,  the  flowers,  the  herbs,  and 
almost  every  insect,  animal,  and  reptile  with 
which  he  is  acquainted — all  these  become,  to 
such  a  person,  instruments  of  real  knov- 
ledge." 

To  the  farmer,  a  careful  study  of  the  wea- 
ther, and  of  the  inferences  to  be  drawn  from 
precedent,  and  from  natural  and  artificial  data, 
come  fraught  with  numerous  and  important 
considerations.  Like  the  angler,  the  husband- 
man "  must  observe  the  wind,  sun,  and  clouds 
by  day ;  the  moon,  stars,  and  wanes  of  the  air 
by  night."  Few  are  so  entirely  dependent  on 
the  caprice  of  the  weather,  for  the  commonest 
routine  operations  of  the  farm,  as  the  agricn^ 

nil 


WEATHER. 

tnrist.  And  how  soon  may  his  fairest  crops 
be  blighted  by  adverse  and  unfavourable  sea- 
sons, or  by  the  baneful  effectjj  of  scorching  and 
arid  winds,  of  severe  frosts,  of  heavy  rains. 
Some  winds  come  fraught  with  disease  and 
death;  murrain,  malaria,  and  epidemics,  in  hot, 
dry  seasons,  commit  fearful  ravages  among  his 
live-stock;  and  these  are  frequently  to  be  attn- 
bated  to  some  mysterious  atmospheric  agency: 
other  winds  bring  swarms  of  noxious  insects 
and  predatory  birds  to  our  shores;  the  light- 
Bins  and  the  whirlwind  level  his  plantations  or 
ire  his  ricks ;  the  hail-storm,  and  the  frost,  and 
•xeess  of  rain,  damage  and  destroy  his  grow- 
ing crop,  or  that  to  which  he  has  looked  for 
reward  and  profit  for  all  his  toil  and  outlay. 

The  various  casualties  and  diseases  to  which 
his  crops  are  liable  are  frequently  attributable 
to,  and  certainly  much  aided  by,  the  state  of 
the  weather  and  conditions  of  the  atmosphere. 
Information  relative  to  many  of  the  impor- 
tant phenomena  connected  with  the  atmo- 
spheric states  and  changes,  will  be  found 
dispersed  through  this  work  under  various 
beads,  such  as  Atmosphfre,  Altitude,  Ba- 
loMrrcR.  Climats,  Dew,  Foos,  Frost,  Hoah 
Paorr,  Liohtkixo,  Raix,  Snow,  Mooir,  In- 
Jhitiut  of,  dec. 

As  means  of  prognosticating  the  future  states 
of  the  weather,  data,  either  natural,  artificial, 
or  both  comoined,  are  usually  referred  to.  In 
the  natural  data  are  included  those  of — 

I.  The  vegetable  kingdom ;  many  plants 
shuttin:;  or  opening  their  flowers,  contracting 
or  expanding  their  parts,  &c.,  on  approaching 
changes  in  the  humidity  or  temperature  of  the 
atmosphere. 

t.  The  animal  kingdom;  most  of  those  fa- 
miliar to  us  exhibiting  sfgns  on  approaching 
changes,  of  which  those  by  cattle  and  sheep 
are  more  especially  remarkable. 

3.  The  mineral  kingdom ;  stones,  earths,  me- 
tals, salt,  and  water  of  particular  kinds,  often 
affording  indications  of  approaching  changes. 

4.  Appearances  of  the  atmosphere,  the  moon, 
the  general  character  of  seasons,  «&c.  The 
characters  of  clouds,  the  prevalence  of  parti- 
cular winds,  and  other  signs,  are  very  com- 
monly attended  to. 

The  artificial  data  arc  the  various  meteoro- 
logical instmraents,  as  the  barometer,  hygro- 
meter, pluviometer,  and  thermometer,  &c., 
which  arc  all  extremely  useful  aids  to  the 
fanner. 

It  is  a  very  common  error  to  predict  the  fu- 
ture state  of  the  season  from  some  single  appear- 
ance in  the  commencement  of  it,  as  an  early 
bee,  an  early  bud  or  blossom,  the  premature 
appearance  of  a  swallow;  but  this  is  both  un- 
philosophical  and  fallacious. 

In  Eneland  a  moist  autumn,  succeeded  by  a 
mild  winter,  is  generally  followed  by  a  dr}'  and 
cold  spring,  in  consequence  of  which  vegeta- 
tion is  greatly  retarded.  Should  the  summer 
be  uncommonly  wet,  the  succeeding  winter 
will  be  severe ;  because  the  heat  or  warmth  of 
the  earth  will  be  carried  off  by  su-,h  unusual 
evaporation.  Farther,  wet  summers  are  mostly 
attended  with  an  increased  quantity  of  fruit  on 
the  whjie-thom  (Mespilus  oxycantha)  and  dog- 


WEATHER. 

rose  {Rn$a  canina)\  nay,  the  uncommon  fruit 
fulness  of  these  shrubs  is  considered  as  the 
presage  of  an  intensely  cold  winter. 

A  severe  winter  is  supposed  to  be  indicated 
by  the  appearance  of  birds  of  passage  at  an 
early  period  in  autumn;  because  they  never 
migrate  southward  till,  the  cold  season  has 
commenced  in  northern  regions.  Great  storms, 
rains,  or  other  violent  commotions  of  the 
clouds,  produce  a  kind  of  crisis  in  the  atmo- 
sphere; so  that  they  are  attended  with  a  regu- 
lar succession  either  of  fine  or  of  bad  weather 
for  some  months.  An  unproductive  year  mostly 
succeeds  a  rainy  winter,  as  a  rough  and  cold 
autumn  prognosticates  a  severe  winter.  Very 
cold  months  or  seasons  are  commonly  followed 
immediately  by  very  rainy  ones,  and  cold  sum- 
mers are  always  wet  ones. 

Plants. — The  sensitive  indications  afforded 
us  by  many  plants  first  claim  attention,  and 
will  be  found  amply  to  repay  the  time  that 
may  be  bestowed  upon  the  singular  properties 
inherent  to  them. 

Very  many  of  our  most  common  plants  are 
unerring  guides  for  the  foretelling  rain  and 
other  atmospheric  changes.  The  opening  and 
shutting  of  some  flowers  depends  not  so  much 
on  ihe  action  of  the  stimulus  of  light  as  on  the 
existingstate  of  the  atmosphere,  and  hence  their 
expansion  or  contraction  betokens  change. 

The  common  chickweed  or  stitchwort  (Stcl' 
laria  media)  may  be  considered  a  natural  baro- 
meter; for  if  the  small,  white,  upright  flowers 
are  closed,  it  is  a  certain  sign  of  rain;  while 
during  dry  weather  they  expand  freely,  and  are 
regularly  open  from  nine  in  the  morning  till 
noon.  After  rain  they  become  pendent,  but  in 
the  course  of  a  few  days  they  again  rise. 

The  purple  sandwort  (^Arenaria  rubra)  is  an- 
other example  of  a  true  prophet  prior  to  a 
coming  shower.  The  beautiful  pink  flowers 
expand  only  during  sunshine,  and  close  at  the 
approach  of  evening  or  before  rain. 

The  pimpernel  {Anagallis  arvensis')  has  been, 
very  justly  named  "the  poor  man  s  weather- 
glass." This  little  plant  blooms  in  June  in  our 
stubble-fields  and  gardens,  and  continues  in 
flower  all  the  summer.  When  its  tiny  brilliant 
red  flowers  are  widely  expanded  in  the  morn- 
ing, we  may  generally  expect  a  fine  day;  on 
the  contrary,  it  is  a  certain  sign  of  rain  when 
its  delicate  petals  are  closed. 

The  goat's-beard  (Tragopogon  pratensis)  will 
not  unclose  its  flowers  in  cloudy  weather. 
From  its  habit  of  closing  its  flowers  at  noon, 
this  plant  has  received  the  common  name  of 
"Go-to-bed-at-noon,"  and  in  many  districts  the 
farmers'  boys  regulate  their  dinner-hour  by  the 
closing  of  the  goat's-beard. 

It  is  stated  in  Kcilh^s  Botany,  that  if  the  Sibe- 
rian sow-thistle  shuts  at  night,  the  ensuing  day 
will  be  fine;  and  if  it  opens,  it  will  be  cloudy 
and  rainy. 

When  the  African  marigold  remains  closed 
after  7  o'clock  in  the  morning  or  evening,  rain 
may  be  expected.  If  the  trefoil  and  the  con- 
volvulus contract  their  leaves,  thunder  and 
heavy  rain  may  be  expected.  Lord  Bacon 
tells  us  that  the  stalks  of  the  trefoil  swell  and 
grow  more  upright  previous  to  rain. 


WEATHER. 


WEATHER. 


T\ie  dark  and  lovely  gentianella  opens  its 
blue  eyes  to  greet  the  midday  sun,  but  closes 
its  petals  against  the  shower. 

The  germander  speedwell  (Veronica  chamce- 
drys),  So  universal  a  favourite  in  every  hedge- 
row, closes  its  blue  corolla  before  rain  comes 
on,  opening  again  when  it  ceases.  The  red 
campion  (Lychnis  diurna)  uncloses  its  flowers 
in  the  morning.  The  flowers  of  the  white  cam- 
pion (Lychnis  vespertina)  open  and  expand 
themselves  towards  the  approach  of  night. 
The  wood  sorrel  (Oxalis  acetosella,  "la  Petite 
Oseille,"  or  Suselle,  of  the  French),  an  unoblru- 
.sive,  elegant  little  inhabitant  of  the  moist, 
shaded  bank,  as  soon  as  night  approaches,  as  it 
is  of  too  delicate  a  structure  to  bear  the  storm, 
closes  up  its  curious  triple  leaves,  hanging  its 
flowers  towards  the  earth,  thus  preserving  the 
more  tender  parts  from  injury;  but  as  soon  as 
the  morning  sun  arises,  these  expand  and  re- 
gain their  beauty.  Most  of  the  Hieraciums, 
or  hawkweed  tribe,  also  open  their  flowers 
with  the  morning  light,  going  to  sleep  again  in 
the  afternoon.  The  clear,  bright,  and  gay 
flowers  of  the  succory  (Cychoriumintybtts)  fore- 
tell the  commencement  of  the  daylight.  Another 
of  the  components  of  Flora's  clock  which  de- 
serves a  passing  word,  is  the  common  daisy 
(Bellis  perennis),  opening  at  sunrise,  and  clos- 
ing its  flowers  at  sunset:  hence  by  Chaucer 
called  the  "Eie  of  Day."  The  great  white  ox- 
eye  (Chrysanthemum  leucanthennim),  foretelling 
the  coming  storm,  closes  its  flowers.  The 
flowers  of  the  alpine  whitlow  grass  (Draba  al- 
pina),  the  bastard  feverfew,  the  winter  green 
(Trienialis  Europmi),SL\\  hang  down  in  the  night 
as  if  the  plants  were  asleep,  lest  rain  or  the 
moist  air  should  injure  the  fertilizing  pollen. 
The  common  nipplewort  (Lnpsann  communis), 
that  lovely  gem,  the  white  water-lily  (Nymphcea 
alba,  "the  naiad  of  the  river,")  and  several  of 
the  diadelphous  tribe  of  plants,  in  serene,  calm 
weather  expand  their  leaves  in  the  day-time, 
and  contract  them  during  night. 

jlnimnls. — Among  quadrupeds  the  following 
are  believed  to  indicate,  by  their  restlessness 
and  peculiar  actions,  a  /oreknowledge  of  ap- 
proaching changes  of  weather.  When  horses 
stretch  fvirth  their  necks,  neigh  much,  snuff' the 
air  with  distended  nostrils,  and  assemble  in  the 
corner  of  a  field  with  their  heads  to  leeward, 
rain  may  be  expected. 

Sheep  are  seen  running  to  and  fro,  jumping 
from  the  ground,  and  in  their  gambols  appa- 
rently fighting,  previously  to  a  change  of  wea- 
ther. Fine  weather  may  be  expected  to  con- 
tinue when  cattle  lie  in  the  open  field  or  in  the 
courts  instead  of  the  sheds;  when  sheep  take 
up  their  lair  for  the  night  on  the  brow  of  a 
knoll;  when  pigs  lie  down  for  the  night  with- 
out covering  themselves  up  in  litter.  Bad  wea- 
ther is  said  to  be  prognosticated  when  asses 
hang  their  ears  forward,  or  rub  themselves 
against  walls  or  trees.  Swine  also  become  un- 
easy, restless,  grunting  and  squealing  loudly, 
and  return  to  their  sties.  Before  rain  dogs  are 
apt  to  grow  very  sleepy  and  dull,  and  to  lie  all 
day  before  the  fire,  showing  a  reluctance  to 
food,  except  grass.  When  cats  lose  their  viva- 
city, remaining  within  doors,  wet  or  windy 
•Vk  -ather  may  be  expected.  Finally,  when  rats 
140 


and  mice  are  more  than  usually  restles  5,  for- 
saking the  fields  and  ditches,  approaching  rain 
may  be  anticipated. 

Fallow  deer,  and  many  other  animals,  be- 
coming restless  from  the  uneasiness  they  feel 
owing  to  the  altered  condition  of  the  atmo- 
sphere, prognosticate  the  approach  of  rain.  If 
frogs  croak  more  than  usual — if  toads  issue 
from  their  retreats  in  great  numbers — if  earth- 
worms come  forth  from  their  holes — if  moles 
throw  up  the  soil  more  than  usual — if  pigs 
shake  and  spoil  the  stalks  of  the  corn — if  oxen 
lick  their  forefeet — all  these  signs  are  said  to 
indicate  rain. 

It  may  be  remarked  that,  in  summer,  when 
sheep  rise  early  in  the  morning,  it  is  a  sure 
sign  of  either  rain  or  a  very  hot  day;  and  that 
in  all  seasons  when  they  jump  and  play  about 
it  is  a  sign  of  rain  or  wind  (but  generally  both) 
in  the  summer,  and  very  stormy  weather  in  the 
winter. 

In  winter,  when  the  sheep  lie  under  a  hedge, 
and  seem  loth  to  go  off*  to  pasture,  and  bleat,  it 
is  considered  a  sign  of  a  storm. 

When  rabbits  come  out  to  feed  early  in  the 
evening,  it  is  a  sign  of  rain  in  the  night  in  sum- 
mer, and  of  either  rain  or  snow  in  winter ;  and 
when  it  is  likely  to  be  a  bad  night,  they  will  be 
apt  to  return  to  their  burrows  before  it  is  dark. 

Next,  with  respect  to  bi7-ds :  there  is  an  old 
saying  that  "when  swans  fly  it  is  a  sign  of 
rough  weather,"  and  the  correctness  of  this 
saying  would  appear  to  be  proved.  A  late 
writer  states  that  he  had  invariably  found  that 
when  the  swan  flies  any  distance  against  the 
wind,  however  fine  the  weather  may  be  at  the 
time,  so  sure  will  a  wind,  almost  amounting  to 
a  hurricane,  arise  within  24  and  generally  12 
hours  after  the  bird  has  taken  flight.  The 
early  appearance  of  woodcocks,  snipes,  field- 
fares, and  other  birds  of  passage,  &c.,  are  prog- 
nostics of  severe  winters.  When  owls  hoot 
and  screech  during  bad  weather,  it  is  a  sign  of 
coming  fine  weather.  The  missletoe  thrush 
(Ttirdus  viscivorus)  frequently  sings  particularly 
long  and  loud  before  rain,  and  sometimes  even 
during  severe  storms:  hence  it  is  termed  the 
"storm-cock."  The  blue  macaw  is  said  to  be 
a  true  indicator  of  the  changes  of  the  weather. 
Dr.  Thornton  is  stated  to  have  had  one  some 
years  ago  whose  blue  feathers  assumed  a 
greenish  hue  in  rainy  weather,  or  gray  in  clear 
weather,  if  likely  to  change  for  wet. 

When  cranes  fly  exceedingly  high,  in  silence, 
and  ranged  in  order,  it  is  said  to  indicate  fine 
weather;  but  if  their  flight  is  in  disorder,  and 
they  speedily  return  with  cries,  it  foretells  wind. 
If  fowls  roll  themselves  in  the  sand  more  than 
usual,  it  denotes  rain;  also  when  the  cocks 
crow  in  the  evening,  or  at  unusual  hours. 
When  peacocks  cry  at  night,  rain  may  shortly 
be  expected.  When  peacocks  roost  on  the  tops 
of  houses,  when  the  raven  sails  round  and 
round  high  up  in  the  air,  and  when  the  song- 
birds carol  late  in  the  evening,  the  weather  will 
continue  fair. 

The  croaking  of  crows  is  said  to  indicate  fino 
weather.  When  ducks  and  geese  fly  backwards 
and  forwards,  and  frequently  plunge  into  the 
water,  or  send  forth  cries ;  or  when  pigeons 
return  slowly  to  their  houses,  the  probabilitf 

1113 


WEATHER. 


WEATHER. 


S  that  the  succeeding  day  will  be  rainy.  It  is 
a  sign  of  rain  or  wind  when  sparrows  chirp  a 
great  deal;  if  the  redbreast  be  seen  near  houses; 
or  swallows  fly  near  the  ground,  or  brush  the 
surface  of  the  water.  When  sea-fowl  and  other 
aquatic  birds  retire  to  the  sea-shore,  or  more 
inland,  it  generally  indicates  a  change  of  wea- 
ther. If  larks  or  kites  soar  high,  and  continue 
so  for  Sonne  time,  it  is  generally  a  sign  of  fine 
weather.  If  the  kingfisher  disappear,  expect 
line  weather.  If  swallows  and  martins  fly  lower 
than  usual,  foul  weather  may  be  expected. 

Mr.  Varrell,  in  his  History  of  Brilish  Birds, 
Tol.  iii.  p.  117,  records  an  instance  of  instinct, 
showing  how  useful  an  attention  to  the  move- 
mentjt  of  animals,  dcc^  might  occasionally 
prove: — ♦*!  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of 
Lord  Braybrooke  for  the  following  account  of 
a  female  swan,  on  the  small  stream  at  Bishop's 
Btortford.  This  swan  was  18  or  19  years  old, 
had  brought  up  many  broods,  and  was  highly 
ralued  by  the  neighbours.  She  exhibited,  some 
•  or  9  years  past,  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
instances  of  the  power  of  instinct  that  was  ever 
recorded.  She  was  sitting  on  four  or  five  eggs, 
and  was  observed  to  be  very  busy  in  collecting 
grass,  weeds,  Ac,  to  raise  her  nest;  a  farming 
man  was  ordered  to  take  down  half  a  load  of 
haalm  straw,  with  which  she  most  industriously 
raised  her  nest  and  the  eggs  2^  feet;  that  very 
Bight  there  came  down  a  tremendous  fall  of  rain, 
which  flooded  all  the  malt-shops,  and  did  great 
damage.  Afan  made  no  preparation;  the  bii-d 
did.  Instinct  prevailed  over  reason  ;  her  eggs 
were  above,  and  only  just  above,  the  water." 

The  same  author,  in  his  account  of  the  green 
woodpecker  (Picut  viridis),  known  in  some  lo- 
calities as  the  "  rain-bird,"  from  being  very 
vociferous  when  rain  is  impending,  alludes  to 
the  probable  means  by  which  birds  and  some 
other  animals  become  cognisant  of  approach- 
ing changes  in  the  weather.  The  following  is 
the  rationale  referred  to: — 

•*  It  is  highly  probable  that  no  change  takes 
place  in  the  weather  without  some  previous 
alteration  in  the  electrical  condition  of  the  at- 
mosphere, and  we  can  easily  understand  that 
birds,  entirely  covered  as  they  are  with  feathers, 
which  are  known  to  be  readily  afl!ected  with 
electricity,  should  be  susceptible  of  certain  im- 
pressions, which  are  indicated  by  peculiar 
actions;  thus,  birds  and  other  animals,  cover- 
ed only  with  the  production  of  their  highly  sen- 
sible skin,  become  living  barometers  to  good 
observers."  (Forrrfr*  British  Birds,  vol.  ii.  p. 
136.)  ^ 

fnsedSy  being  very  sensible  of  every  change 
in  the  atmosphere,  are  good  weather  guides. 

When  gnats  collect  themselves  before  the 
aciting  sun.  and  form  a  sort  of  vortex  in  the 
shape  of  a  column,  it  announces  fine  weather. 
I.  they  play  up  and  down  in  the  open  air  near 
sunset,  they  presage  heat ;  if  in  the  shade,  mild 
and  warm  showers ;  but  if  they  sting  those 
passing  them,  cold  weather  and  much  rain  may 
oe  expected. 

U  garden  spiders  break  off*  and  destroy  their 
webs,  and  creep  away,  expect  continued  rain 
and  showery  weather. 

If  spider  webs  (gosaamer)  fly  in  the  autumn, 
•xjiect  fine  weather. 
1114 


The  following  curious  observations  on  the 
singular  foreknowledge  possessed  by  the  spidei 
are  extracted  from  a  little  work  entitled  Tht 
Pocket  Jhironieter.  This  despised  insect  often- 
times indicates  a  coming  change  in  the  weather 
10,  12,  or  14  days  previous  to  its  taking  place. 
The  following  directions  will  be  a  guide  to  the 
curious  in  their  observations  of  this  insect: — 
If  the  weather  is  likely  to  become  rainy,  or 
tvindy,  spiders  fix  the  terminating  filaments  on 
which  the  whole  web  is  suspended  unusually 
short.  If  the  terminating  filaments,  on  the 
contrary,  are  very  long,  the  weather  will  be 
serene,  and  continue  so  for  14  days.  If  spiders 
be  totally  indolent,  rain  generally  ensues; 
though  their  activity  during  rain  is  a  certain 
proof  of  its  short  duration,  and  that  it  will  be 
followed  by  fine  and  settled  weather.  Spiders 
usually  make  some  alteration  in  their  webs 
every  24  hours.  If  this  take  place  between 
the  hours  of  6  and  7  p.  m.,  it  foretells  a  clear 
and  serene  night. 

The  weather  is  about  to  become  cloudy  and 
change  for  wet,  when  flies  sting  and  are  more 
troublesome  than  usual.  Most  insects  become 
torpid  when  their  temperature  is  much  reduced. 
When  it  approaches  the  freezing  point,  they 
fall  into  a  lethargic  state,  and  require  no  food. 
Ants  present  a  remarkable  exception  to  this 
rule ;  for  they  are  not  benumbed  till  the  ther- 
mometer is  27°  of  Fahr.,  or  5°  below  freezing 
point.  When  bees  do  not  range  abroad  as 
usual,  but  keep  in  or  about  their  hives,  it  is  a 
sign  of  rain. 

In  the  summer  season  much  information  re- 
lative to  the  change  of  the  weather  may  be 
gained  from  watching  the  movements  of  ants. 
The  finer  the  day,  the  more  busily  are  they 
employed,  as  they  never  bring  out  their  corn  to 
dry  but  when  the  weather  is  clear  and  the  sun 
very  hot.  A  celebrated  naturalist  relates  the 
following  curious  anecdote:  —  He  one  day 
observed  these  little  creatures,  after  having 
brought  out  their  corn  at  eleven  in  the  forenoon, 
removing  the  same,  contrary  to  their  usual 
custom,  before  one  in  the  afternoon.  The  sun 
being  very  hot,  and  tjie  sky  remarkably  clear, 
he  could  perceive  no  reason  for  it ;  but  half  an 
hour  after,  his  surprise  ceased — the  sky  began 
to  be  overcast,  and  there  fell  a  shower  of  rain, 
which  caused  all  this  bustle,  no  doubt,  among 
these  active  little  creatures:  they  evidently 
foresaw  rain,  and  provided  accordingly;  and 
were  we  minutely  to  examine  into  the  economy 
and  management  of  these  wonderful  artificers, 
many  other  similar  and  equally  curious  facts 
might  be  gleaned  relative  to  the  weather. 

The  leech  also  possesses  the  peculiar  pro- 
perty of  indicating  approaching  changes  of  the 
weather  in  a  most  eminent  degree.  In  fair  and 
frosty  weather  it  remains  motionless  and  rolled 
up  in  a  spiral  form  at  the  bottom  of  the  vessel ; 
previous,  however,  to  rain  or  snow,  it  will 
creep  to  the  top,  where,  should  the  rain  be 
heavy,  or  of  long  continuance,  it  will  remain 
for  a  considerable  time, — if  transient,  it  will 
descend.  Should  the  rain  or  snow  be  accom- 
panied with  wind,  it  will  dart  about  with  great 
velocity,  and  seldom  cease  its  evolutions  uniA 
it  blows  hard.  If  a  storm  of  thunder  or  light- 
ning be  approaching,  it  will  be  exceedingly 


WEATHER. 


WEATHER. 


agitated,  and  express  its  feelings  in  violent 
convulsive  starts  at  the  top  of  the  glass.  It  is 
remarkable,  that  however  fine  and  serene  the 
weather  may  be,  and  to  our  senses  no  indica- 
tion of  a  coming  change,  either  from  the  sky, 
the  barometer,  or  any  other  cause,  yet,  if  the 
leech  shifts  its  position,  or  moves  about  slug- 
gishly, the  coincident  results  will  undoubtedly 
occur  within  26  hours. 

Si<j;ns  of  Rain. — Although  we  have  incident- 
ally glanced  already  at  some  of  these  indica- 
tions, it  may  be  well  to  sum  them  up  in  a  body, 
as  being  more  easy  of  reference. 

A  white  mist  in  the  evening  over  a  meadow 
or  a  river  dispersed  by  the  sun  next  morning, 
indicates  that  the  day  will  be  bright.  Five  or 
six  fogs,  successively,  portend  rain.  Where 
there  are  high  hills,  and  the  mist  which  hangs 
over  the  lower  land  draws  toward  the  hills  in 
the  morning,  and  rolls  up  to  the  top,  it  will  be 
fair;  but  if  the  mist  hangs  upon  the  hills,  and 
drags  along  the  woods,  there  will  be  rain  soon. 
A  general  mist  before  the  sun  rises  is  a  sign 
of  fair  weather. 

Against  much  rain,  the  clouds  grow  bigger 
and  increase  very  fast,  especially  before  thun- 
der. When  the  clouds  are  formed  like  fleeces, 
but  dense  in  the  middle,  bright  towards  the 
edge,  with  the  sky  bright,  they  are  signs  of  a 
frost,  with  hail,  snow,  or  rain.  If  clouds  breed 
high  in  the  air,  in  the  white  train  like  locks  of 
wool,  they  portend  wind,  and  probably  rain. 
When  a  general  cloudiness  covers  the  sky, 
and  small  black  fragments  of  clouds  fly  un- 
derneath, they  are  sure  signs  of  rain,  and  pro- 
bably it  will  be  lasting.  Two  currents  of 
clouds  generally  portend  rain,  and  in  summer 
thunder. 

If  the  dew  lies  plentifully  on  the  grass  after 
a  fair  day,  it  is  a  sign  of  another  fine  day.  If 
not,  and  there  is  no  wind,  rain  will  follow.  A 
red  evening  portends  fair  weather;  but  if 
spread  too  far  upward  from  the  horizon  in  the 
evening,  and  especially  morning,  it  foretells 
wind  or  rain,  or  both.  When  the  sky  in  rainy 
weather  is  tinged  with  sea-green,  the  lain  will 
increase ;  if  deep  blue,  it  will  be  showery. 

If  there  be  a  haziness  in  the  air,  which  fades 
the  sun's  light,  and  makes  the  orb  appear 
whitish  or  ill-defined;  or  at  night,  if  the  moon 
and  stars  grow  dim,  and  a  ring  encircles  the 
former,  rain  must  follow.  If  the  sun  appears 
white  at  setting,  or  goes  down  into  a  bank  of 
clouds  in  the  horizon,  bad  weather  is  expected. 
If  the  moon  looks  pale  and  dim,  we  expect 
rain ;  if  red,  wind  ;  and  if  the  natural  colour, 
with  a  clear  sky,  fair  weather.  If  the  setting 
sun  appears  yellow  or  gold  colour,  and  parti- 
cularly if  accompanied  with  purple  streaks, 
the  following  day  will  be  fine. 

If  the  wind  veers  about  much,  rain  is  pretty 
sure.  If,  in  changing,  it  follows  the  course  of 
the  sun,  it  brings  fair  weather;  the  contrary, 
foul.  Whistling  or  howling  of  the  wind  is  a 
sure  sign  of  rain. 

The  aurora  borealis,  after  warm  days,  is 
generally  succeeded  by  cooler  air.  Shooting 
stars  are  supposed  to  indicate  wind. 

Before  rain,  swallows  fly  low;  dogs  grow 
sleepy  and  eat  grass;  waterfowls  dive  much; 

b  will  not  bite;  flies  are  more  troublesome; 


toads  crawl  about;  moles,  ants, bees,  and  many 
insects, are  very  busy;  birds  fly  low  for  insects; 
swine,  sheep,  and  cattle  are  uneasy,  and  evea 
1  the  human  body. 

I      "  The  air,  when  dry,  I  believe,  refracts  more 

I  red  or  heat-making  rays ;  and  as  dry  air  is  not 

perfectly  transparent,  they  are  again  reflected 

j  in  the  horizon.     I  have  generally  observed  a 

I  coppery  or  yellow  sunset  to  foretell  rain  ;  but, 

I  as  an  indication  of  wet  weather  approaching, 

nothing  is  more  certain  than  a  halo  round  the 

moon,  which  is  produced  by  the  precipitated 

water;  and  the  larger  the  circle,  the  nearer  the 

clouds,  and  consequently  the  more  ready   to 

fall."     (Sir  H.  Davy.) 

To  turn  now  to  the  atmosphere:  the  bulk 
of  our  most  valuable  meteorological  observa- 
tions are,  of  course,  deducible  from  its  electri- 
cal condition,  and  the  precise  kind  of  electricity 
present;  from  the  power  of  evaporation  exer- 
cised, from  the  state  and  direction  of  the  wind, 
from  a  careful  examination  of  the  clouds;  in 
fact,  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  are 
wellnigh  endless.  But,  though  endless  in  the 
variety  of  their  forms  and  consequences,  and 
for  the  most  part  uncertain  in  the  time  of  their 
occurrence,  yet  they  are  successively  the  same 
in  their  nature  to  parts  and  properties,  and  are 
all  the  production  of  simple  causes.  The 
principal  agents  in  producing  these  phenomena 
have  already  been  noticed  under  the  head  Me- 
TEonoLooY.  I  need  not  enlarge  further  upon 
the  advantages  to  science  in  general  derivable 
from  the  accurate  and  careful  investigation  of 
meteorological  researches,  aided  by  the  excel- 
lent instruments  that  are  now  attainable,  and 
at  a  moderate  expense.  From  the  accumula- 
tion of  a  multitude  of  such  facts  can  we  alone 
hope  at  some  future  time  to  derive  that  accu- 
rate knowledge  and  insight  into  the  secret 
springs  that  would  appear  to  be  the  movers  of 
these  phenomena.  This  may  not  be  too  much 
to  effect  from  the  analogies  of  the  seasons  and 
the  results  of  experience;  and  this,  we  may 
venture  to  predict,  will  be  the  crowning  reward 
of  meteorological  research.  (Trans,  of  Met.  Soc. 
vol.  i.  1839.)     See  Moox,  Influence  of. 

Clouds. — The  following  definitioa  of  the  de- 
scriptive terms  now  employed  by  meteorolo- 
gists to  define  various  clouds,  may  prove  useful 
to  those  in  the  habit  of  consulting  meteorolo- 
gical registers,  which  are  occasionally  pub- 
lished in  newspapers  and  scientific  journals 
It  is  taken  from  Ure's  Chemical  and  Miner.  Dict.y 
article  "  Cloud,"  p.  338. 

A  cloud  is  a  mass  of  vapour,  more  or  less 
opaque,  formed  and  sustained  at  considerable 
heights  in  the  atmosphere,  probably  by  the 
joint  agencies  of  heat  and  electricity.  The 
first  successful  attempt  to  arrange  the  diversi- 
fied forms  of  clouds,  under  a  few  general  mo- 
difications, was  made  by  Luke  Howard,  Esq. 
We  shall  here  give  a  brief  account  of  his  in- 
genious classification. 

The  simple  modifications  are  thus  named  and 
defined — 1.  Cirrus;  parallel,  flexuous,  or  di- 
verging fibres,  extensible  in  any  or  in  all  direc- 
tions. 2.  Cumulus ;  convex  or  conical  heaps, 
increasing  upwards  from  a  horizontal  base. 
3.  Stratus ;  a  widely  extended,  continuous  hori 
zontal  sheet,  increasing  from  below. 

111.'^ 


WEATHER. 

The  intermediate  modifications  which  require 
lo  be  noticed  are — 4.  Cirro-cumulus;  small, 
weli'defined,  roundish  masses,  in  close  horizon- 
tal arrangement  6.  Cirro^tratw ;  horizontal 
or  slightly  inclined  masses,  attenuated  towards 
a  part  or  the  whole  of  their  circumference,  bent 
downward,  or  undulated,  separate  or  in  groups, 
consisting  of  small  clouds  having  these  cha- 
rielers.  ^    ^ 

The  tomfomtd  modifications  are — 6.  Cumulo- 
ttnum;  the  cirro-stratus  blended  with  the  cu- 
mulus, and  either  appearing  intermixed  with 
the  heaps  of  the  latter,  or  superadding  a  wide- 
ipread  structure  to  its  base. 

7.  CmmtUxirro-4tratiu,  vel  Nimbtu ;  the  rain 
elood,  a  cloud  or  system  of  clouds  from  which 
rain  is  falling;  it  is  a  horizontal  sheet,  above 
which  the  cirrus  spreads,  while  the  cumulus 
enters  it  laterally  and  from  beneath. 

The  rimu  appears  to  have  the  least  density, 
the  greater  variety  of  extent  and  direction,  and 
10  appear  earliest,  in  serene  weather,  being  in- 
dicated by  a  few  threads  pencilled  in  the  sky. 
Before  storms  they  appear  lower  and  denser, 
and  usually  in  the  quarter  opposite  to  that  from 
which  the  storm  arises.  Steady  high  winds 
are  also  preceded  and  attended  by  cirrus  streaks 
ninnine  quite  across  the  sky  in  the  direction 
they  blow  in. 

The  atnmuha  has  the  densest  structure,  is 
formed  in  ibe  lowest  atmosphere,  and  moves 
mloDg  with  the  current  next  the  earth ;  a  small 
irregular  spot  first  appears,  and  is  as  it  were 
the  nucleus  on  which  they  increase.  The  lower 
nirface  continues  irregularly  plain,  while  the 
upper  rises  into  conical  or  hemispherical  heaps, 
which  may  aAerwards  continue  long  nearly  of 
Ibe  same  bulk,  or  rapidly  rise  into  mountains : 
they  will  begin  in  fair  weather  to  form  some 
hours  aAer  sunrise,  arrive  at  their  maximum 
in  the  hottest  part  of  the  afternoon,  then  go  on 
diminishing,  and  totally  disperse  about  sunset. 
Previous  to  rain  the  cumulus  increases  rapidly, 
appears  lower  in  the  atmosphere,  and  with  its 
surface  full  of  loose  fleeces  or  protuberances. 
The  formation  of  large  cumuli  to  leeward  in  a 
strong  wind  indicates  the  approach  of  a  calm 
with  rain ;  when  they  do  not  disappear  or  sub- 
side about  sunset,  but  continue  to  rise,  thunder 
is  to  be  expected  in  the  nighu  The  stratus  has 
a  mean  degree  of  tensity,  and  is  the  lowest  of 
eloodt,  its  inferior  surface  commonly  resting 
€•  the  earth  or  water.  This  is  properly  the 
efcmd  of  nighi»  appearing  about  sunset.  It 
comprehends  all  those  creeping  mists  which  in 
calm  weather  ascend  in  spreading  sheets  (like 
an  inundation  of  water)  from  the  bottom  of 
vallers  and  the  surfaces  of  lakes  and  rivers. 
On  the  return  of  the  sun  the  level  surface  of 
this  cloud  begins  to  put  on  the  appearance  of 
emndmt,  the  whole  at  the  same  lime  separating 
from  the  ground.  The  continuity  is  next  de- 
stroyed, and  the  cloud  ascends  and  evaporates, 
or  passen  off  with  the  appearance  of  nascent 
eomulns.  This  has  long  been  experienced  as 
a  prognostic  of  fair  weaiher. 

The  ami*  having  continued  for  some  time 
increasing  or  stationary,  usually  passes  either 
lo  the  orro-eMfitti/tM  or  the  cirro-stratus,  at  the 
same  time  descending  to  a  lower  station  in  the 
atmosphere.  This  modification  forms  a  very 
1116 


WEATHER. 

beautiful  sky,  and  is  frequent  in  summer,  as 
an  attendant  on  warm  and  dry  weather.  The 
cirro-stratus,  when  seen  in  the  distance,  fre- 
quently gives  the  idea  of  shoals  of  fish  (a 
mackerel  sky).  It  precedes  wind  and  rain ;  is 
seen  in  the  intervals  of  storms,  and  sometimes 
alternately  with  the  cirro-cumulus  in  the  same 
cloud,  when  the  different  evolutions  form  a  cu- 
rious spectacle.  A  judgment  may  be  formed 
of  the  weather  likely  to  ensue,  by  observing 
which  modification  prevails  at  last.  The  solar 
and  lunar  halos,  as  well  as  the  parhelion  and 
paraseline  (mock  sun  and  mock  moon),  prog- 
nostics of  foul  weather,  are  occasioned  by  this 
cloud.  The  cumulo-stratus  precedes,  and  the 
nimbus  accompanies  rain. 

When  there  are  small  round  clouds,  of  a 
dapple-gray  colour,  with  a  north  wind,  it  may 
be  concluded  that  there  will  be  fair  weather  for 
2  or  3  days,  but  that  large  clouds  like  rocks 
are  a  sign  of  great  showers.  And  when  small 
clouds  increase,  it  is  a  sign  that  there  will  be 
much  rain,  but  if  the  large  clouds  are  seen  to 
lessen,  there  will  be  fair  weather. 

In  summer  or  harvest,  when  the  wind  has 
been  south  2  or  3  days,  and  it  grows  very  hot, 
and  clouds  are  seen  to  rise  with  great  white 
tops  like  towers,  as  if  one  were  on  the  top  of 
another,  and  joined  together  Avith  black  on  the 
lower  side,  it  may  be  considered  a  sign  that 
there  will  be  thunder  and  rain  suddenly.  When 
two  such  clouds  rise,  one  on  each  hand,  it  is 
time  to  make  haste  to  shelter. 

When  a  cloud  is  seen  to  rise  against  the 
wind  or  side  wind,  it  is  a  sure  sign  that  whea 
the  cloud  comes  up  near  you,  the  wind  will 
blow  the  way  that  the  cloud  came.  It  is  the 
same  with  the  motion  of  a  clear  place,  when 
all  the  sky  is  thick  except  one  edge. 

At  all  times,  when  the  clouds  look  black  in 
the  west,  it  is  sure  to  rain,  or  if  raining,  it  is 
sure  to  continue,  whatever  quarter  the  wind 
may  be  in ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  if  it  breaks 
in  the  west,  it  is  sure  to  be  fair. 

It  is  often  observed,  on  those  clear  sunny 
mornings  which  occur  in  summer  and  autumn, 
that  it  is  very  likely,  if  not  certain,  to  rain  be- 
fore evening;  and  there  is  frequently  much 
truth  in  the  remark.  The  reason  is,  that  when 
moisture  accumulates  in  the  air,  before  it  be- 
gins to  be  precipitated,  it  imparts  to  it  a  higher 
refractive  power;  and  it  becomes,  in  conse- 
quence, more  bright  and  transparent.  (British 
Almanac,  1830.) 

The  gradual  diminution  of  clouds,  till  they 
are  no  longer  observable,  is  a  sign  also  of  fine 
weather.  So,  likewise,  is  the  continuance  or 
abundance  of  dew  upon  the  grass,  after  a 
serene  day. 

During  winter,  fleecy  clouds  being  thick  and 
close  in  the  middle,  and  very  white  at  the 
edges,  the  surrounding  sky  being  remarkably 
blue,  indicate  hail  or  snow,  or  cold,  chilling, 
showers  of  rain. 

Where  the  clouds  appear  moving  in  two  op- 
posite currents,  and  the  lowest  is  wafted  rapidly 
before  the  wind,  it  is  a  certain  sign  of  rain ; 
and  if  this  occurs  during  summer,  or  generally 
in  hot  weather,  ii  announces  a  thunder-storm. 

It  may  be  a  useful  piece  of  information  for 
agriculturists,  or  those  concerned  in  getting  in 


WEATHER. 


WEATHER. 


their  crops,  to  describe  the  appearance  of  a 
small  cloud,  which,  from  its  rapid  formation 
and  disappearance,  is  likely  to  escape  the  ob- 
servation of  most  persons,  but  which,  from  mf 
own  experience,  I  have  found  a  very  faithful 
forpwarner  of  foul  weather.  It  appears  mostly 
in  the  mild  weather  of  spring,  summer,  and 
autumn,  when  its  warning  token  becomes  most 
acceptable.  It  is  a  small,  delicately  soft,  thin, 
white,  curved  cloud,  formed  suddenly  upon  the 
summit  of  those  fine  heaped  clouds  (termed 
cumuli)  which  often  prevail  in  warm  weather, 
and  app«ar  to  tower  up  to  a  prodigious  height. 
It  is  necessary  to  keep  a  watchful  eye  upon  the 
summit  of  the  cumulus.  When  this  little  film, 
which  I  term  "  the  storm  cap,"  appears,  it  lies 
closely  over  the  rounded  summit,  like  a  white 
silken  web;  in  a  very  few  seconds  it  will  dis- 
appear, sinking,  I  suppose,  into  the  cumulus ; 
but  in  a  little  time,  and  when  heavy  foul  wea- 
ther threatens,  the  film  again  appears,  disap- 
pearing as  shortly  as  before.  {Mag.  Nut.  Hist. 
vol.  iv.  p.  444.) 

The  following  indications  have  been  record- 
ed, as  shown  by  the  predominance  of  certain 
of  the  prismatic  colours  of  tne  rainbow,  but 
they  are  perhaps  too  fanciful  to  be  de- 
serving of  much  credence. — 1.  Red;  if  this 
colour  be  very  predominant,  wind,  or  wind  and 
rain,  may  be  expected.  2.  Orange  ;  when  the 
orange  colour  appears  strong  and  very  full,  it 
generally  indicates  approaching  rain.  3.  Yel- 
low ;  when  yellow  is  more  conspicuous  than 
the  other  colours,  it  foretells  dry  weather.  4. 
Green;  approaching  rain  may  be  expected 
when  the  green  is  very  predominant.  5.  Blue; 
fine  weather  may  be  expected  when  the  blue  is 
particularly  full.  6.  Purple ;  if  the  purple  be 
a  very  full  colour,  wind  and  rain  may  be  ex- 
pected. 7.  Violet ;  the  violet,  when  very  clear, 
generally  indicates  approaching  fine  weather. 
See  Rainbow. 

The  Wind. — The  earth  is  surrounded  to  the 
extent  of  60  miles  with  an  atmosphere,  on 
which  all  nature  mutually  depends  for  life. 
This  aerial  ocean  revolves  with  our  earth 
round  the  sun,  is  very  susceptible  of  motion, 
and  some  parts  of  it  is  constantly  in  restless 
commotion.  These  commotions  are  called 
winds,  and  are  principally  caused  by  heat  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  which,  rarefying  the  air, 
causes  it  to  ascend;  and  the  vacuum  thus 
formed  is  filled  up  with  a  colder  air  from  the 
north  and  south. 

Wind  has  been  explained  in  the  following 
manner: — Heated  air  has  a  tendency  to  rise, 
and  cold  air  rushes  in  to  supply  its  place. 
Thus  the  heated  air  of  the  equatorial  regions 
rises  and  gives  place  to  a  current  sent  from  the 
polar  regions,  which  is  a  process  that  serves  to 
equalize  the  temperature  of  the  world.  But 
the  polar  countries  lying  near  to  the  axis  of 
the  sphere,  the  air  from  those  regions  has  not 
received  so  much  motion  as  that  about  the 
equator,  or  greatest  distance  from  the  axis; 
wherefore  it  arrives  at  the  equator,  where  the 
motion  of  the  earth  is  greater.  If  it  had  no 
motion  before,  an  east  wind  would  be  the  con- 
sequence, and  the  force  of  that  wind  would  be 
as  the  difference  between  the  motion  of  the 
earth  where  the  air  came  from,  and  that  where 


\  it  arrived :   but  then,  in  the  northern  hemi. 
sphere,  it  has  a  motion  to  the  south ;  for  it  is 
I  rushing  into  a  vacuum  left  by  the  air  which 
j  rises ;  so  that  the  wind  will  not  be  from  the 
,  east,  but  northeast;  and  the  number  of  degrees 
j  north  of  the  east  from  which  it  will  blow  will 
[  depend  upon  the  comparative  force  of  the  cur- 
j  rent  of  air  from  the  north  to  the  difference  be- 
'  tween  the  earth's  motion  at  the  equator  and  at 
the  polar  region,  whence  the  air  comes.    As 
there  must  be  a  corresponding  efflux  from  the 
equator  higher  up,  according  to  this  theory  the 
wind  should  everywhere  be  northeast  or  south- 
west, but  it  blows  in  very  different  directions 
at  different  times  and  places,  owing  chiefly  to 
circumstances  connected  with  the  distribution 
of  land  and  water,  and  the  variations  in  tem- 
perature  at  different  times  and  places. 

From  observing  the  wind  a  fair  idea  of  the 
coming  weather  may  oftentimes  be  drawn;  and 
yet,  as  Solomon  observes,  *'he  that  considers 
the  wind  shall  never  sow;"  that  is,  he  that 
busies  himself  too  much  about  the  wind  will 
become  superstitious.  The  indicatioiis  to  bR 
drawn  from  observing  the  direction  and  changes 
of  the  wind  must  vary  in  different  countries^ 
according  to  the  relative  positions  of  these  in 
regard  to  the  sea,  lakes,  plains,  or  mountains 
covered  with  snow.  Yor  an  explanation  ol 
some  of  the  phenomena  of  climate  and  weather, 
the  reader  is  referred  to  preceding  articles, 
under  the  beads  of  Barometer,  Climate  o' 
THE  United  States,  &c. 

In  all  countries,  therefore,  particular  wind? 
are  noted  for  being  accompanied  with  either 
wet  or  dry  weather.  Thus  the  south  and  south- 
west winds  bring  much  moisture  into  Britain  j 
while  those  from  the  north  and  northeast  ar . 
cold,  dry,  and  penetrating.  Hence  the  old  Eng 
lish  proverb — 

"  When  the  wind  's  in  the  80«tb, 
It's  in  the  rain's  mouth." 

Not  only  does  this  arise  from  the  immense 
surface  of  ocean  over  which  th'^^se  winds  swee^ 
south  of  the  equator,  the  evapora.tior^  from  which 
must  be  prodigious;  but  from  these  southerly 
winds  being  of  a  higher  temperature,  whereby 
they  hold  a  greater  quantity  of  vapour  in  sus- 
pension or  solution,  the  condensation  of  which 
must  be  proportionally  greater  on  arriving  in 
this  colder  climate.  Accordingly,  it  has  been 
observed  that  the  wind  will  turn  from  the  north 
to  the  south  quietly  and  without  rain  ;  but  on 
returning  from  the  south  to  the  north,  will  blow 
hard  and  bring  much  rain.  Again,  if  it  begin 
to  rain  from  the  south,  with  a  high  wind  for  2 
or  3  hours,  the  wind  falls ;  but  if  the  rain  con- 
tinues, it  is  likely  to  rain  for  12  hours  or  more, 
and  does  usually  rain  until  a  strong  north  wind 
clears  the  air.  For  the  same  reason,  winds 
from  the  west  and  southwest  are  in  England 
considered  to  bring  with  them  wet  weather. 
(Chambers'  Information  for  the  People,  No.  58, 
New  Series.) 

A  change  in  the  warmth  of  the  weather  is 
often  followed  by  a  change  in  the  wind.  Thus, 
the  northerly  and  southerly  winds,  though  com- 
monly accounted  the  causes  of  cold  and  warm 
weather,  are  really  the  effects  of  the  cold  ov 
warmth  of  the  atmosphere. 

5B  1117 


WEATHER. 

Mr.  Towers  (Qmtrt.  Jour,  of  Jgr.  vol.  ix.  p. 
49)  relates  ihe  case  of  a  person  in  Somersel- 
»hire  who  had  been  haymaking  nearly  40  years, 
and  had  hardly  in  one  instance  failed  to  carry 
in  gt>od  condition.  He  had  observed  that  in  the 
month  of  June,  earlier  or  later,  there  are  three 
or  more  days  wherein  the  wind  blows  from  the 
northeast,  and  that  period  is  invariably  dry. 
When  that  wind  first  occurred,  he  seized  the 
opportunity  of  cutting  his  grass  and  carrying 
Uie  crop  before  the  wind  veered  to  the  south. 
This  theory  holds  good  as  respects  the  south- 
ve»tern  counties,  where  the  wind  from  any 
qnarier  between  north  and  east  is  the  sure  con- 
ooiniiant  of  dry  weather. 

The  following  predictions  of  the  weather  are 
met  wiih  in  the  Holy  Scipiures;  and,  applying 
with  rqual  correctness  in  the  present  day  as  at 
the  tune  they  were  written,  I  subjoin  them: — 
A  south  wind,  or  great  heat  in  summer,  por- 
tends a  whirlwind.  {Job  xxxvi.  9.)  Cold  or 
Ijur  weather  is  indicated  by  the  north  wind, 
which  drives  away  rain.  {Ibid,  xxxvii.  9,  22.) 
A  red  sky  in  the  evening  foretells  fair  weather; 
in  the  morning,  fou!.  "  When  it  is  evening  ye 
sajr,  It  will  be  fair  weather,  for  the  sky  is  red. 
And  in  the  morning.  It  will  be  foul  weather  to- 
day, for  the  sky  is  red  and  lowering."  {Matt. 
XTi.  a,  3.)  "  When  ye  see  a  cloud  rise  out  of 
the  west,  straightway  ye  say.  There  cometh  a 
shower;  and  so  it  is.  And  when  ye  see  the 
south  wind  blow,  ye  say,  There  will  be  heat ; 
and  It  Cometh  to  pass."    {Luke,  xii.  54,  55.) 

It  results  from  observations  made  by  M. 
Scbow,  that  in  the  north  of  Europe  the  west- 
em  winds  are  more  frequent  than  the  eastern. 
This  rule  is  without  exception ;  but  the  west- 
em  winds  diminish  more  and  more  as  we  ap- 
proach the  centre  of  the  Continent,  being  more 
lirequent  in  England,  Holland,  and  France  than 
in  Drnmark  and  the  greater  part  of  Germany; 
and  more  frequent  in  these  latter  countries  than 
in  Russia  and  Sweden.  At  London,  the  east 
wind  is  lo  the  west^s  1-  to  1-7;  at  Amsterdam, 
as  1  to  1*6;  at  Copenhagen,  as  1  to  1-5;  at 
Stockholm,  as  1  to  1-4;  at  Petersburg,  as  1  to 
1*3.  The  west  winds  seem  to  incline  the  more 
to  the  south  according  to  the  propinquity  of  the 
Atlantic  sea;  towards  the  interior  of  the  Con- 
tinent they  incline  more  to  the  northwest  The 
nonh  winds  appear  to  increase  towards  the 
easu  .\mongst  the  winds  which  come  from  the 
west,  that  of  the  southwest  predominates  in 
England,  Holland,  and  France;  that  of  direct 
west  in  Denmark  and  the  greater  part  of  Ger- 
muiy;  ai  Moscow  the  northwest  predominates; 
nt  r?tersbarg  and  Stockholm  the  north  wind  is 
much  more  frequent  than  in  the  western  parts 
of  Europe.  In  the  western  and  middle  districts 
of  northern  Europe,  such  as  England,  France, 
Denmark,  Germany,  and  Norway,  the  west 
winds  are  much  more  frequent  during  the  sum- 
mer than  during  the  winter  or  spring.  This 
does  not  appear  to  be  the  case  in  Sweden  and 
Russia.  During  the  winter  the  west  winds  are 
more  southerly;  during  the  summer  more  di- 
rect and  more  northerl;  y^Jahrb.  der  Fhys.  und 
Cktmit,  1828.) 

With  regard  to  the  supposed  influence  of  the 
moon  upon  the  conditions  cf  the  weather,  and 
Ills 


WEATHER. 

the  strong  evidences  to  prove  that  this  satellite 
exerts  no  influence  in  controlling  the  atmosphere, 
so  far  as  wet  and  dry  weather  are  concerned, 
see  Moon,  Influbnck  of. 

Under  the  head  of  BAnoMF.TER  it  has  been 
observed  that  changes  of  weather  are  indicated, 
not  by  the  actual  height  of  the  mercury,  but  by 
its  change  of  height.  One  of  the  most  general, 
though  not  absolutely  invariable,  rules,  is,  that 
where  the  mercury  is  very  low,  and,  therefore, 
the  atmosphere  very  light,  high  winds  and 
storms  may  be  expected. 

In  winter  the  rising  of  the  barometer  pre- 
sages frost;  and  in  frosty  weather,  if  it  falls 
three  or  four  divisions,  there  will  follow  a  thaw; 
but  if  it  rises  in  a  continued  frost,  snow  may 
be  expected. 

The  mercury  generally  rises  very  fast,  after 
great  storms  of  wind,  when  before  it  was  very 
low.  In  England  it  has  been  observed  to  rise 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  six  hours,  after  a  long- 
continued  storm  of  southwest  wind. 

The  words  on  the  plate  of  a  barometer  are 
not  strictly  to  be  adhered  to,  though  they  will  in 
general  agree;  for  a  fluctuating  and  unsettled 
state  of  the  merburial  column  indicates  uncer- 
tain or  changeable  weather.  The  height  of  the 
mercury  does  not  so  much  indicate  the  wea- 
ther as  its  motion  up  and  down  :  to  know,  there- 
fore, whether  th^  mercury  is  actually  rising  or 
falling,  observe — 

1st.  If  the  surface  of  the  mercury  is  convex 
(or  stands  high  in  the  middle),  it  is  then  rising. 

2d.  If  the  surface  is  concave  (standing  low 
in  the  middle),  it  is  then  falling. 

3d.  If  the  surface  is  plain,  or  a  little  con- 
vex, it  may  be  considered  as  stationary. 

4th.  A  small  tap  on  the  barometer  case,  by 
shaking  the  tube  will  sometimes  bring  the  mer- 
cury to  its  approaching  height. 

The  greatest  heights  of  the  mercury  are  on 
easterly  and  northeasterly  winds ;  and  its  low- 
est station  on  southerly  winds. 

If  the  weather  is  about  to  be  cold,  frosty,  or 
foggy,  it  rises  pretty  high ;  but  if  going  to  be 
windy  or  tempestuous,  it  will  then  sink  very 
low,  and,  as  soon  as  the  first  storm  is  over,  it 
will  rise  again  apace. 

The  domestic  barometer  would  become  a 
much  more  useful  instrument  if,  instead  of  the 
words  usually  engraved  on  the  plate,  a  short 
list  of  the  best  established  rules,  adapted  to  the 
particular  locality  in  which  it  was  situated, 
accompanied  it,  which  might  be  either  engrav- 
ed on  the  plate,  or  printed  on  a  card.  It  would 
be  right,  however,  to  express  the  rules  only 
with  that  degree  of  probability  which  observa- 
tion of  past  phenomena  has  justified.  There 
is  no  rule  respecting  these  effects  which  will 
invariably  hold  good. 

In  the  following  table  the  mean  temperature, 
mean  highest,  and  mean  lowest,  have  been 
calculated  from  observations  made  on  regis- 
tering thermometers,  hung  on  a  post  2  feet 
8  inches  from  the  grass,  facing  the  north, 
and  in  no  v/ay  sheltered.  The  barometer  is 
in  a  vestibule.  No  corrections  of  any  kind 
have  been  made  in  registering  the  barometer. 
{JohnsorCi  and  Shaui's  Farmer's  Almanac,  vol.  i, 
p.  157.) 


WEEDS. 


WEEDS. 


Tables  calculated  from  Atmospherical  Observations, 
made  in  the  Parish  of  Cobham,  Surrey,  England, 
during  .he  Eight  Years  f ram  1833  to  1840. 


THERMOMETKn. 


Month. 

Ulmort 
Range. 

Mean. 

Mean 
Highes. 

Mean 
Lowest. 

Difference,! 
or  Solar 
Va.iation. 

January  - 

60 

10 

3S-S8 

52  6 

14-6 

380 

February 

60 

14 

3984 

54-7 

206 

341 

March      - 

66 

16 

4202 

60-1 

205 

39-6 

April 

85 

17 

46-25 

71-3 

23  0 

48-3 

May 

b6 

23 

55-25 

79-8 

303 

49-5 

June 

93 

33 

61-31 

88-5 

37-8 

50-7 

July 

M8 

33 

63  00 

89-2 

39.2 

500 

Aufiust     - 

94 

32 

61-83 

85-8 

36  7 

49-1 

!*e|iteinber 

82 

27 

56-32 

760 

32-3 

43-7 

Oclobf-r    - 

79 

21 

49-87 

68-4 

25-8 

42-6 

Nov«iMber 

66 

16 

4304 

58-8 

21-8 

37  0 

December 

63 

4 

38  98 

57-5 

18-« 

38-7 

BAROMETER. 


Month. 
January  - 

UtmcJ  lUuge. 

Mean. 

Mean 

HighMt. 

Mean 

Lowest. 

Differ. 

eiice. 

30-83 

28  97 

29-986 

30-59 

2917 

1-42 

February 

3UH2 

28-62 

29-819 

3044 

29-04 

1-40 

March      - 

;<068 

2.^70 

29-915 

30-47 

29  24 

123 

April 

30-53 

29  02 

29-999 

30  41 

29  34 

1  07 

Mav 

30-62 

2942 

29  960 

30  42 

29-54 

0-88 

June 

30-42 

29  29 

30  008 

30  35 

29  55 

080 

July 

30-47 

29  ;c 

30  (I.W9 

30  36 

29-57 

079 

Aiipiitil     - 

30-4S 

29-11 

30-()23 

30-35 

29-42 

0-93, 

Sepieniber 

.30-.^8 

28  99 

3I-1N2 

30-34 

29  26 

1-08: 

Oct..ber    - 

30-71 

28-«H 

29  997 

30  50 

29-24 

1-26 

Niiveiiiber 

30  48 

28-67 

29-822 

30-38 

29-00 

1-38 

December 

30-66 

29  04 

30-038 

30-50    29-28 

1-22 

Tables  showing  the  mean  temperature  in 
most  sections  of  the  United  States,  and  also  at 
many  noted  places  in  Europe  and  Asia,  will 
be  found  under  the  heads  of  Atmosphebe  and 
Climate. 

WEEDS.  A  weed  has  been  aptly  defined 
"a  plant  out  of  place."  The  clearing  of  all 
kinds  of  crops,  and  keeping  them  free  from 
weeds,  is  an  essential  part  of  cultivation  :  if 
this  be  omitted,  neglected,  or  but  partially  per- 
fornied,  a  portion  of  the  crop  will  be  lost,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  prevalence  of  such  weeds,  from 
defective  preparation  or  partial  extirpation. 
The  nourishment  drawn  from  the  ground  by  the 
roots  of  all  vegetables  being  somewhat  simi- 
lar, where  that  nourishment  is  suffered  to  be 
drawn  by  weeds,  it  is  lost  to  the  intended  crop, 
which  will  therefore  be  reduced  in  produce  in 
proportion  as  it  has  been  deprived  of  nutri- 
ment from  the  soil,  and  prevented  from  occu- 
pying its  whole  extent  of  ground.  The  same 
observation  will  apply  to  pastures,  to  hedges, 
and  plantations,  and  to  all  parts  of  the  earth's 
surface  reclaimed,  occupied,  and  cultivated  for 
the  use  of  man;  for  therein  the  growth  of 
noxious  or  useless  plants  will  be  injurious  to 
the  success  of  the  useful  ones,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  the  former  abound,  the  latter  must  prove 
defective 

Th^  clearing  of  crops  from  weeds  must  be 
effected  in  two  ways:  1.  In  the  preparation; 
and,  2.  During  the  growth  of  the  crop.  In  the 
preparation,  attention  must  be  given  to  dis- 
tinguish root  weeds  from  seedlings,  as  their 
destruction  must  be  effected  upon  different 
principles.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  particu- 
larly, attention  should  be  paid  to  hoeing  and 
weeding. 

And  old  Tusser's  advice  may  be  followed 
with  advantage : — 


"In  May  get  a  weed -hook,  a  crotch,  and  a  glove, 
And  vvfied  out  such  weeds  as  the  corn  doih  not  love  ; 
For  weeding  of  winter  corn,  now  it  is  best. 
But  June  is  the  better  for  weeding  the  rest. 

The  May-weed  doth  hum,  and  the  thistle  doth  fret, 
The  fitches  pull  downward  both  rye  and  the  wheat, 
The  brake  and  the  cockle  be  noisome  too  much, 
Yet  like  unto  boodle  no  weed  there  is  such. 

Slack  never  thy  weeding,  for  dearth  nor  fur  cheap. 
The  corn  shall  reward  it,  ere  ever  ye  reap  ; 
And  'specially  where  ye  do  trust  for  to  seed. 
Let  that  be  well  used,  the  better  to  speed." 

The  plants  we  term  weeds,  considered  as 
respecting  mankind,  are  not  totally  useless  ; 
many  of  them  have  valuable  medical  quali- 
ties, and  some  of  them  may  be  applied  to  use- 
ful purposes,  so  as  to  pay  something  towards 
the  expense  of  clearing  them  from  the  ground. 
Thus,  sow-thistles  (Sonrhus)  afford  food  for 
rabbits  or  hogs  ;  the  hog-weed,  or  cow-parsnip 
(Heracleurn  sphondylium),  is  good  for  either 
swine  or  cattle;  horses  and  asses  are  fond  of 
young  thistles  when  partially  dried,  and  the 
seed  may  be  prevented  from  spreading  by- 
gathering  the  down,  which  makes  good  pillows; 
however,  there  is  some  danger  of  trusting  them 
to  this  stage  of  growth,  as  a  high  wind  would, 
and  frequently  does,  disperse  them  over  a 
whole  country.  Charlock,  or  wild  radish, 
when  drawn,  may  be  given  to  cows,  which  are 
very  fond  of  it,  particularly  of  the  smooth  kind; 
and,  in  the  Oxford  Report,  it  is  stated  that  it  can 
be  converted  into  good  hay.  Nettles,  fern,  and 
the  more  bulky  hedge-weeds,  are,  in  Stafford- 
shire, collected  annually  about  midsummer 
and  burned;  their  ashes  being  afterwards 
formed  into  balls,  which  are  of  considerable 
value,  being  used  in  composing  a  ley  for  scour 
ing  and  cleaning  linen  and  other  clothes. 

It  is  said  that  pigeons  are  of  use  in  picking 
up  the  seeds  of  many  weeds  that  would  other- 
wise vegetate  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  a 
prodigious  quantity  of  the  seeds  of  weeds  are 
eaten  by  small  birds,  particularly  of  most  of 
the  snake-weeds  (Polygonums),  of  the  spurry 
(Spergula),  and,  in  severe  weather,  of  the  dif- 
ferent sorts  of  charlock  {Sinapis,  Brassica,  and 
Raphanus),  and  of  many  other  kinds.  It  has 
been  observed  that  bees  have  not  thriven  so 
well  in  England  since  the  extirpation  of  weeds 
has  been  more  attended  to.  In  China'  and  Ja- 
pan, it  is  said,  not  a  weed  is  to  be  seen,  and 
that  they  only  make  use  of  night-soil  as  a  ma- 
nure, partly  with  a  view  of  preventing  any 
rise  of  weeds. 

Weeds,  like  all  other  vegetables,  may  be 
distinguished  into  annuals,  biennials,  and  pe- 
rennials, according  to  their  term  of  duration. 

Annuals  are  those  which  continue  only  one 
year,  the  plants  dying  after  perfecting  thei- 
seeds :  these  are  generally  very  prolific  in  seed. 
Biennials  are  those  which  continue  two  years, 
and  die  after  perfecting  their  seed :  these  also 
produce  an  abundance  of  seed.  Perennials 
are  those  which  continue  many  years :  some 
of  these  perfect  their  seeds  every  yeaj",  and 
others,  being  very  tenacious  of  growth  by  their 
roots,  and  having  the  faculty  of  reproducing 
themselves  in  this  way,  are  less  prolific  in 
seeds ;  but  many  of  them  increase  both  by 
seeds  and  roots. 

The  weeds  of  agriculture  are  very  numerotis 
but  by  far  the  greater  part  are  underlings,  a^d 

1119 


WEEDS. 

are  liUle  noticed ;  these  are  comparatively  in- ' 
nocent,  and  a  very  great  portion  of  them  have 
BQ  local  or  common  names.    Mr.  William  Piit, 
in  his  essay  On  the  Exnrpatioti  of  Weeds  (Corn. 
to  Board  of  Jgf  vol.  v.  p.  233),  enumerates  55 
weed}^  and  the  list  might  have  been  greatly  | 
extended ;  but  few  farmers,  whose  knowledge 
is  bounded  by  the  soils  they  respectively  cnl-i 
livalc,  would  think   themselves  troubled  with 
more  than  a  dozen  to  twenty  ;  that  is,  four  or 
five  which  trouble  them  in  their  fallows  ;  four 
or  five,  the  seeds  of  which  infest  their  samples 
of  com ;  and  a  few  besides,  which  are  locally 
pre\*ailing  and  obtrusive,  but  (as  seems  to  have 
been  too  generally  considered)  not  very  hurtful. 

The  fact  was,  that,  before  the  improved 
•jricultiire  became  so  generally  known,  those 
weeds  which  did  not  hurt  the  samples  the  far- 
mers cared  little  about ;  not  considering  how 
much  ihey  hurt  the  crops :  and  hence  it  has 
been,  that  on  the  different  soils  corn  poppy, 
charlock,  blue-bottles,  corn  marygold,  May- 
weed, &Cm  have  been  suffered  to  abound. 

The  weeds  of  agriculture  may  be  divided 
into,  1.  Those  which  infest  samples  of  corn ; 
t.  Rooted  or  fallow  weeds,  and  such  others  as 
are  hard  to  destroy  ;  3.  Those  which  are  prin- 
cipally objectionable  as  they  encumber  the 
Mil ;  i.  Underling  weeds,  such  as  never  rise 
with  the  crop  or  come  into  the  sickle.  Under 
ibeir  respective  heads,  in  alphabetical  order, 
we  have  already  treated  of  the  deteriorating 
qualities  and  mode  of  destruction  of  each  weed; 
but,  fullowing  the  above  arrangement,  we  shall 
classify  them,  and  add  such  further  remarks  as 
may  be  required. 

1.  H'tetis  which  infest  Samples  of  Corn. — In 
England  the  weeds  of  this  description  do  not 
exceed  ten  in  number,  and  it  very  rarely  hap- 
pens that  more  than  two  sorts  are  found  asso- 
ciated in  one  sample  of  wheat.  They  vary  as 
to  soil  so  much,  that  some  of  the  worst  weeds 
in  fens  and  marshes  are  not  known  at  all  on 
clay,  cold  soils,  and  are  but  very  little  seen  on 
any  sort  of  dry  turnip  land.  Light  loams  and 
iecp,  loose  soils  generally  have  most  weeds  by 
nature.  The  weeds  which  infest  the  sample 
are,  darnel,  cheat,  or  chess  (Bromus  sccalinus 
and  moUi*)t  cockle  (Jgrostemma  Gilhago),  tares 
(jEmnit  tttraspermum  and  hirstUum),  melilot 
(Mtiitotus  oficimalis),  wild  oats  (Jvena  falua), 
harifT  (GoIiiimJ^Hinn*),  crow-needles,  or  shep- 
herd's needle  {Scandix  pecten  Veneris),  black 
bindweed  (Po/ygonum  Convolvulus),  annual 
snake- weed  (Polygonum  lapat  hi  folium),  and 
charlock  seeds  in  barley  sometinies. 

Of  these  ten  weeds,  whose  seeds  infest  sam- 
ples of  com,  five  are  principally  injurious  to 
wheat;  the  others  are  partial,  and  more  com- 
mon in  barley  and  oa:h. 

a.  On  FalLw  JfWrf*.— The  objects  of  a  fal- 
low arr.  end  always  were,  first,  to  eradicate 
root  weeds,  and  cleanse  and  open  the  soil  to 
the  fibres  of  future  crops;  second,  to  pulverize 
and  bi^ak  down  the  texture  of  clay  soils,  and 
mix  them  with  manure,  in  order  to  bring  the 
land  peritvlically  into  a  mild  and  fertile  condi- 
tion. Seedling  weeds  are  destroyed  incident- 
ally ;  and  good  fallows,  with  good  seasons, 
kill  a  great  many,  though  it  be  not  the  object 
of  fallowing 
1120 


WEEDS. 

The  English  fallow  weeds  axe  principally 
the  following :  couch,  including  Triticum  re- 
pens,  Agroslis  repens,  Holms  mollis,  and  Poa  pro-  i 
tensis,  rest-harrow  {Ononis  arvensis),  saw-wort,  j 
the  common  way-thistle,  or  pasture-thistle 
(Carduus  an;eMSts),  curled  dock  (liumex  crispus), 
tall  oat-like  soft-grass  (Holms  avenacevs),  colt's- 
foot  (Tussilago  Farfara),  corn  bindweed  (Co)i- 
volvulus  arvensis),  corn  mint  (Mentha  arvensis), 
surface-twitch  (Agroslis  stolonifera  angustifolia), 
black  foxtail-grass  {Jlopccurus  agrestis),  com- 
mon knot-grass  (Polygonum  aviculure),  wild 
carrot  (Daucus  Carota),  hedge  parsley,  or  dill 
(Toiilis  infesta),  common  fool's  parsley  (JEthu^- 
sa  Cynapium),  spingel  or  fennel  (Meuni  Fcsnicur 
lum). 

3.  Weeds  which  are  principally  objectionable  as 
they  encumber  the  Soil,  or  tvhose  Roots  are  annual, 
and  tvhose  Seeds  pass  the  Corn-sieve. — Of  this 
class  of  weeds,  the  following  deserve  particu- 
lar notice;  charlock  (several  species),  corn 
poppy  (Papaver  Rhoeas),  blue-bottle  (Centaurea 
Cyanas),  stinking  May- weed  (Anthemis  cotula), 
corn  marigold  (Chrysanthemum  segclum). 

To  extirpate  these  weeds,  clean  corn-seed 
must  be  used,  not  a  single  plant  of  these  weeds 
must  be  suffered  to  perfect  seed  in  the  hedge- 
rows, and  a  judicious  rotation  of  crops  adopt- 
ed, so  as  to  admit  of  the  unsparing  use  of  the 
horse-hoe,  as  well  as  of  the  hand,  in  weeding; 
by  which  means  these  noxious  and  disgraceful 
pests  of  corn-fields  will  be  overcome,  and 
banished  from  the  soil. 

The  corn-poppy  particularly  accumulates 
upon  gravelly  soils  of  low  quality,  also  on  dry 
sandy  soils,  and  generally  on  all  dry  and  shal 
low  lands  which  are  overcropped  and  neglect- 
ed. But  much  better  soils,  as  loamy  gravel, 
&c.,  are  infested  with  it ;  only  here  the  crops 
are  generally  good  enough  to  keep  it  under, 
and  being  less  abundant,  it  is  much  easier  sub- 
dued by  weeding.  But  the  corn  poppy  is  never 
so  triumphant  as  in  a  hot  and  dry  season,  in 
which  case  many  fields,  which  should  have 
been  corn,  are  wholly  covered  with  il.  One  of 
three  things  must  be  done  by  way  of  remedy  : 
1st,  the  soil  must  be  clayed  or  marled  ;  2d,  or  it 
must  be  fed  with  much  larger  quantities  of 
farm-yard  dung  or  compost;  3d,  if  neither  of 
these  be  easily  practicable,  the  rotation  must 
be  changed. 

4.  Of  the  Weeds  called  Underlings,  or  such  as 
never  rise  in  the  Crop,  nor  come  into  the  Sickle. — 
These  are  groundsel  or  Simson  (Seuecio  vulga- 
ris), annual  meadow-grass  (Poa  annua),  chick- 
weed  (Stellaria  media),  shepherd's  purse  (Thlap- 
si  bursa  pasloris),  spurry  (Spergula  ai-vensis), 
camomile  feverfew  (Matricaria  Chamomilla), 
fat  hen  or  wild  spinach  (Chenopodium  album), 
corn  salad,  or  lamb's  lettuce  (Fedia  olitoria), 
flixweed  (Sisymbrium  Sophia),  common  fumito- 
ry (Fumaria  officinalis),  and  sand  mustard 
(Sinapis  muralis). 

Land  may  be  rendered  inert  or  unfertile  from 
an  excess  of  manure,  as  well  as  from  the  want 
of  it;  severe  and  avaricious  cropping,  long 
,  persevered  in,  being  understood  in  both  cases. 
;  Over-stimulus,  as  in  the  first  instance,  wears 
'  out,  or  renders  inert,  the  principle  of  fertility 
j  in  the  land ;  and,  in  the  latter  instance,  the 
I  want  of  stimulus  produces   the   same  effect 


WEEDS. 


WEEVILS. 


The  underling  weeds,  above  mentioned,  flou- 
rish and  prosper  under  this  state  of  the  land, 
brought  on  by  either  cause.  The  remedy  is 
therefore  obvious,  viz.,  rest,  or  a  clear-out  sum- 
mer fallow :  and  if  in  the  first  mentioned  case 
(which  is  to  be  met  with  in  deep  fen  land  and 
in  old  garden  mould),  apply  a  dressing  of  lime, 
and  sow  down  with  the  superior  pasture-grasses 
and  clovers,  to  remain  for  not  less  than  five 
years.  In  the  latter  case,  or  when  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  is  worn  out  by  injudicious  cropping, 
and  a  niggardly  supply  of  manure,  joined  to 
the  naturally  thin  and  poor  staple  of  the  soil, 
then  a  full  application  of  manure,  or  marl  and 
manure,  the  latter  consisting  as  much  as  pos- 
sible of  cow-dung,  should  be  given,  and  the 
land  sown  down  with  the  superior  permanent 
pasture-grasses  suited  to  the  soil,  with  a  due 
admixture  of  clover. 

5.  Pasture  Weeds. — Some  farmers  seem  to 
suppose  that  if  they  keep  the  weeds  subdued 
in  the  growing  crops,  they  have  performed 
wonders  (and  too  many  have  reason  to  con- 
gratulate themselves  if  they  do  this),  while  all 
kinds  of  nuisances  in  the  shape  of  weeds  dis- 
figure and  overrun  their  pastures.  But  this- 
tles, milkweed,  everlasting,  John's-wort,  sweet 
elder,  &c.,  flourish  undisturbed,  and  fill  the 
earth  with  seeds  or  roots  in  readiness  to  spread 
and  grow  whenever  the  earth  is  moved  for 
their  reception.  Any  plant  not  wanted  on  a 
farm,  or  not  required  in  course  of  cultivation, 
should  never  be  allowed  to  perfect  its  seeds  on 
any  part  of  it ;  if  they  are,  the  farmer  will 
find,  to  his  sorrow,  that  he  has  suffered  an  ene- 
my to  steal  a  march  upon  him,  one  which  it 
may  require  much  time  and  labour  to  subdue. 
Allow,  then,  nothing  to  go  to  seed  on  your  farm 
you  do  not  mean  to  cultivate;  dig  them  up  root 
and  branch,  or,  if  this  is  not  practicable,  take 
your  scythe  and  cut  them  at  once. 

The  following  weeds  are  more  frequently 
found  to  infest  dry,  sandy  pastures,  and  calca- 
reous soils,  than  loamy  or  damp  grass  lands. 
Dwarf-lhistle  {Carduus  acaulis),  common  camo- 
mile (Jnthemis  nobilis),  ox-eye  daisy  (^Chrysan- 
themum leiicanthemiwi),  great  fleabane,or  plough- 
man's spikenard  (^Conyza  squarrosa),  cheese 
refining,  or  yellow  ladies'  bedstraw  {Galium 
venim),  longrooted  hawk-weed,  wild  thyme 
(Thymus  serpyllum),  sheep's  sorrel  (Rutnex  Ace- 
toscUa),  knot-grass,  or  snake-weed  {Polygonum 
aviculure),  yellow  rattle  {Rhinanthus  crlstagalli), 
common  Carline  thistle  {Carlina  vulgaris). 

Where  these  are  found  to  prevail  to  a  great 
extent,  there  is  no  remedy  like  breaking  up  the 
and  and  taking  a  course  of  crops,  for  pallia- 
tive remedies  are  of  little  avail.  The  this- 
tles, sheep's  sorrel,  and  knot-grass,  are  the 
most  formidable.  Hand-weeding,  when  the 
weeds  are  confined  to  local  spots,  and  are  only 
Just  beginning  to  spread  generally  over  the 
soil,  will  be  found  effectual ;  but  when  once 
the  pasture  becomes  generally  infected  with 
the  seeds  and  roots  of  these  plants,  no  time 
nhould  be  lost  in  using  the  plough,  harrow,  and 
horse-hoe,  and  a  judicious  course  of  cleansing 
crops,  before  returning  the  land  again  to  perma- 
nent pasture. 

The  pasture  weeds  tvhich  generally  prevail 
in  loamy  soils,  and  such  as  are  prevalent  in 
141 


clayey  and  damp  soils,  are  principally  as  fol* 
lows  : — yellow  goat's  beard  {Tragopogon  prateiv 
sis),  marsh,  or  red  thistle  {Carduus  palustris), 
melancholy  plume-thistle  {Cndus  heterophyllus)^ 
meadow  plume-thistle  {Carduus  pratensis)^ 
common  butter-bur  {Tussilago  Petasites),  rag- 
wort {Scnccio  Jacobcea),  common  daisy  {Bellts 
perennis),  black  knap-weed,  or  matfellow  {Cen- 
taurea  nigra),  broadleaved  dock  {Rumex  obtusi' 
folius) ;  several  species  of  orchis,  common 
cow  parsnip,  or  hog-weed  {Heracleum  Sphondy- 
Hum),  and  sedge  {Carex). 

The  means  to  be  adopted  for  the  extirpation 
of  these  noxious  weeds  in  pastures  must  be 
regulated  by  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the 
comparative  prevalence  of  the  weeds.  In  good 
pasture  land,  where,  from  accident  or  neglect, 
these  weeds,  in  part  or  wholly,  have  insinuated 
themselves,  hand-weeding  may  most  advan- 
tageously be  had  recourse  to ;  and  particularly 
for  the  larger  weeds,  such  as  thistles,  rag-weed, 
docks,  and  knapweed,  it  will  be  found  the  best 
temporary  remedy.  Should  the  coarseness  of 
the  pasture  have  been  occasioned  by  too  fre- 
quent haying,  then  depasturing  closely  for  two 
or  three  years,  with  a  good  top-dressing  of  dung 
compost  applied  in  the  early  part  of  the  spring 
or  late  in  the  autumn,  with  strict  attention  to 
hand-weeding,  will  be  found  effectual  to  reco- 
ver the  pasture  and  extirpate  the  weeds.  Fre- 
quent top-dressings  are  of  the  greatest  use  in 
effecting  the  above  improvements  on  deterio- 
rated thin  pasture  lands,  as  regards  the  destruc- 
tion of  weeds,  as  well  as  of  improving  the 
quality  of  the  pasture.  When  the  sedges, 
marsh-thistle,  pestilent  wort,  &c.,  prevail  in 
meadows,  then  recourse  must  be  had  to  other 
means  than  that  of  hand-weeding,  viz.,  drain- 
ing, paring  and  burning,  liming,  and  a  judi- 
cious rotation  of  crops  under  the  horse-hoe 
husbandry,  until  every  vestige  of  the  seeds  and 
roots  of  these  noxious  weeds  disappear.  The 
ground  may  then  be  laid  down  to  permanent 
pasture,  with  the  seeds  of  the  most  valuable 
species  adapted  to  the  soil,  and,  where  water 
can  be  commanded,  converted  to  water  mea- 
dow, by  which  the  value  of  the  land  will  be 
considerably  increased.  {Holdich's  Weeds; 
Pities  Essays  on  Weeds.)  See  Canada  Thistle, 
Chahlock,  Couch,  &c.,  &c. 

WEEVILS.  In  the  winged  state,  the  insects 
thus  called  are  hard-shelled  beetles,  which, 
says  Dr.  Harris,  are  distinguished  from  other 
insects  by  having  the  forepart  of  the  head  pro- 
longed into  a  broad  muzzle  or  a  longer  and 
more  slender  snout,  in  the  end  of  which  the 
opening  of  the  mouth  and  the  small  horny 
jaws  are  placed.  The  flies  and  moths  produced 
from  certain  young  insects,  called  weevils  by 
mistake,  do  not  possess  these  characters,  and 
their  larvse  or  young  differ  essentially  from 
those  of  the  true  weevils.  The  latter  belong  to 
a  group  called  Rhynchophoridce,  literally,  snout- 
bearers. 

Among  insects  of  this  class  is  the  Pales 
weevil,  Curmlio  {Hylobius)  Pales.  See  PI.  16,  6. 
This  is  a  beetle  of  a  deep  chestnut-brown  co- 
lour, having  a  line  and  a  few  dots  of  a  yellow- 
ish-white colour  on  the  thorax,  and  many  small 
yellowish  white  spots  sprinkled  over  the  wing- 
covers.  All  the  thighs  are  toothed  beneatli, 
5b2  U21 


WEEVILS. 

and  ihe  snoul  is  slender,  cylindrical,  inclined, 
and  nearly  as  long  as  the  ihorax.  On  account 
of  the  length  of  the  snout  this  insect  has  been 
placed  in  the  genus  Rhynduttms  by  some  nalu- 
rall^ts;  but  the  antenna  are  implanted  before 
the  middle  of  the  snout,  and  not  far  from  the 
•ides  of  the  mouth.  This  beetle  measures 
from  two  to  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length, 
eidusive  of  the  snout.  Ii  may  be  found  in 
flMt  abundance,  in  May  and  June,  on  board- 
teMftt  the  Mdes  of  new  wooden  buildings,  and 
on  the  trunks  «>f  pine  trees.  I  have  discovered 
them,  10  considerable  numbers,  under  the  bark 
of  Ihe  pilch  pine.  The  larvoe,  which  do  not  ma- 
tenaliv  ditler  from  those  of  other  weevils,  in- 
habit ihoe  and  probably  other  kinds  of  pines, 
doing  sometimes  immense  injury  to  them. 
Wilson,  Ihe  orniihologisl,  describes  the  depre- 
dations of  these  insects,  in  his  account  of  the 
ivory-billed  woodpecker,  in  the  following 
words.  "Would  it  be  believed  that  the  larvae 
of  an  insect,  or  fly,  no  larger  than  a  grain  of 
rice,  should  silently,  and  in  one  season,  destroy 
some  lht)UNand  acres  of  pine  trees,  many  of 
Ihem  from  3  to  3  feet  in  diameter,  and  150  feet 
higkl  Yet  whoever  passes  along  the  high- 
road from  Georgetown  to  Charleston,  in  South 
Carolina,  about  20  miles  from  the  former  place, 
can  have  striking  and  melancholy  proofs  of 
the  fact.  In  some  places  the  whole  woods,  as 
lar  as  you  can  see  around  you,  are  dead,  stripped 
of  the  bark,  their  wintry-looking  arms  and  bare 
inioks  bleaching  in  the  sun,  and  tumbling  in 
rums  before  every  blast,  presenting  a  frightful 
piciure  of  desolation.  Until  some  efiectual 
preventive  or  more  complete  remedy  can  be 
devised  against  these  insects  and  their  iarvas, 
I  would  humbly  suggest  the  propriety  of  pro- 
tecting, and  receiving  with  proper  feelings  of 
gratitude,  ihe  services  of  this  and  the  whole 
Inbe  of  woodpeckers,  letting  the  odium  of 
foilt  fail  to  its  proper  owners."  {American 
OmiiAo/ogy,  vol.  iv.  p.  21.)  Some  years  ago 
Mr.  Nuiiall  procured,  near  the  place  above 
mentioned,  specimens  of  the  destructive  in- 
sects referred  to  by  Wilson.  They  were  of 
three  kinds.  Tho^e  in  greatest  abundance 
were  the  pales  weevil.  One  of  the  others  was 
a  larger,  darker-coloured  weevil,  without  white 
spots  on  it,  and  named  Hylobius  picivorus,  by 
Ocrmar  and  Schonherr,  or  the  pitch-eating 
weevil ;  it  is  seldom  found  in  Massachusetts. 
The  third  was  the  white  pine  weevil.  It  is  said 
that  t)iese  iieetles  puncture  the  buds  and  the 
tender  bark  of  the  small  branches,  and  feed 
npon  the  juice,  and  that  the  young  shoots 
are  often  so  much  injured  by  them  as  to  die 
and  break  off  at  the  wounded  part.  But  it 
is  in  the  larva  state  that  they  are  found  to  be 
Host  hurtful  to  the  pines.  The  larvae  live 
Hnder  the  bark,  devouring  its  soft  inner  sur- 
face, and  the  tender  newly  formed  wood.  When 
they  abound,  as  they  do  in  some  of  the  pine 
for-'Vs  of  Ihe  United  States,  they  separate  large 
pieces  of  bark  from  the  wood  beneath,  in  con- 
»equ-"^  of  which  the  part  perishes,  and  the 
tree  iisilf  soon  languishes  and  dies. 

The  white  pine  weevil,  Rhynchanus  (PUsodes) 
Slrobi,  of  Professor  Peck,  unites  with  the  two 
preceding   insecis  in    destroymg  the   Ameri- 
can pines,  as  above  describe''.      But  it  em- 
1122 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

ploys  also  another  mode  of  attack  on  the  white 
pine,  of  which  an  interesting  account  is  given 
by  the  late  Professor  Peck,  the  first  describer 
of  the  insect,  in  the  4th  volume  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural  Repository  and  Journal,  ac- 
companied by  figures  of  the  insect.  The  lofty 
stature  of  the  white  pine,  and  the  straightness 
of  its  trunk  depend,  as  Professor  Peck  has  re- 
marked, upon  the  constant  health  of  its  leading 
shoot,  for  a  long  succession  of  years ;  and  if 
this  shoot  be  destroyed,  the  tree  becomes 
stunted  and  deformed  in  its  subsequent  growth. 
This  accident  is  not  uncommon,  and  is  caused 
by  the  ravages  of  the  white  pine  weevil.  This 
beetle  is  oblong-oval,  rather  slender,  of  a 
brownish  colour,  thickly  punctured,  and  varie- 
gated with  small  brown,  rust-coloured,  and 
whitish  scales.  There  are  two  white  dots  on 
the  thorax ;  the  scutel  is  white ;  and  on  the 
wing-covers,  which  are  punctured  in  rows, 
there  is  a  whitish  transverse  band  behind  the 
middle.  The  snout  is  longer  than  the  thorax, 
slender,  and  a  very  little  inclined.  The  length 
of  this  insect,  exclusive  of  its  snout,  varies 
from  one-fifth  to  three-tenths  of  an  inch.  Its 
eggs  are  deposited  on  the  leading  shoot  of  the 
pine,  probably  immediately  under  the  outer 
bark.  The  larvae,  hatched  therefrom,  bore  into 
the  shoot  in  various  directions,  and  probably 
remain  in  the  wood  more  than  one  year. 
When  the  feeding  state  is  passed,  but  before 
the  insect  is  changed  to  a  pupa,  it  gnaws  a 
passage  from  the  inside  quite  to  the  bark, 
which,  however,  remaining  untouched,  serves 
to  shelter  the  little  borers  from  the  weather. 
After  they  have  changed  to  beetles,  they  have 
only  to  cut  away  the  outer  bark  to  make  their 
escape.  They  begin  to  come  out  early  in  Sep- 
tember, and  continue  to  leave  the  wood  through 
that  month  and  a  part  of  October.  The  shoot 
at  this  time  will  be  found  pierced  with  small 
round  holes  on  all  sides ;  sometimes  30  or  40 
may  be  counted  on  one  shoot.  {Harris.)  See 
CoRir  Weevh,  Cuhculio,  Grain  Wkevil,  Pe4 
Weevil,  Plum  Tree  Weevil,  &c. 

WEIGH.  In  England,  a  weight  of  cheese, 
wool,  &c.,  containing  256  lbs.  avoirdupois.  Of 
corn,  the  weigh  contains  40  bushels  ;  of  barley 
or  malt,  6  quarters.  A  weigh  of  cheese  or 
butter  in  Suffolk  is  256  lbs.,  and  in  Essex 
336  lbs. 

WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES.  The  pro- 
portions or  quantities  by  which  various  sorts 
of  agricultural  or  other  produce  are  disposed 
of.  In  Britain  they  vary  greatly  in  different 
districts,  and  even  in  different  places  of  the 
same  district  or  county. 

In  a  general  sense  the  term  measure  is  ap- 
plied to  that  by  which  any  thing  is  compared 
in  respect  of  quantity.  Thus  we  have  mea- 
sures of  extension,  of  weight,  time,  force,  re- 
sistance, temperature,  &c.;  in  short,  of  every 
thing  of  which  greater  or  less  can  be  predi 
cated;  and  it  frequently  happens  that  the  unit 
or  measure  is  not  taken  in  the  thing  or  pro- 
perty which  is  the  immediate  subject  of  con- 
sideration, but  in  something  else  which  de- 
pends on  it,  or  is  proportional  to  it.  Angular 
space,  for  example,  is  measured  by  an  arc  of  a 
circle ;  time,  by  the  rotation  of  the  earth  upon 
its  axis,  or  its  revolution  around  the  sun ;  force, 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


ty  the  quantity  of  motion  it  impresses  on  a 
Dody;    decrees  of  heat,  by  the  expansion  of 
cnetals  or  other  substances  ;  muscular  strength, 
by  the  resistance  of  a  spring.     See  Dtnamo- 

METKH,  SrREXOTH,  THERMOMETER,  &C. 

By  measure,  in  an  absolute  sense,  is  under- 
stood the  unit,  or  standard,  by  which  we  mea- 
sure extension.    We  have,  therefore,  measures 
of  length,  of  superficies,  and  of  volume  or  ca- 
pacity ;  but,  as  the  two  latter  may  be  deduced 
in  all  cases  from  the  former,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  establish  a  unit,  or  standard  of  length. 
The  choice  of  such  a  standard,  and  the  differ- 
ent multiples  and  parts  of  it  taken  for  the  uses 
of  society,  form  a  metrical  system,  or  system 
of  metrology. 

As  no  precise  notion  can  be  formed  of  the 
magnitude  o''  a  line  in  any  other  way  than  by 
comparing  i.  with  another   line  of  a  known 
length,  the  necessity  of  having  recourse,  for 
the  interchange  of  ideas,  to  measures  not  en- 
tirely arbitrary,  but  fixed  by  nature  and  intel- 
ligible alike  to  all  mankind,  seem  to  have  been 
perceived  in  the  earliest  ages.     Hence  origi- 
nated the  foot,  the  cubit,  or  length  of  the  arm 
from  the  elbow  to  the  tip  of  the  middle  finger; 
the  nlnit,  arm,  or  yard;  the  span;  the  digit,  or 
finger;  the  palm;  the  fathom,  or  space  from 
the  extremity  of  one  hand  to  that  of  the  other, 

when  they  are  both  extended  in  opposite  direc» 
tions;  the  pace,  the  barley-corn,  the  hair's 
breadth,  and  other  denominations  of  measure 
taken  from  parts  of  the  human  body,  or  from 
natural  objects,  which,  though  not  of  an  abso- 
lute and  invariable  length,  have  a  certain  mean 
value  sufficiently  definite  to  answer  all  the  pur- 
poses required  in  a  rude  state  of  society.  But 
as  civilization  advanced,  the  necessity  of  adopt- 
ing more  precise  standards  would  be  felt,  and 
the  inadequacy  of  such  measure  as  the  foot, 
the  cubit,  &c.  (referred  only  to  the  human 
body),  to  convey  accurate  notions,  would  be 
rendered  most  apparent  in  their  application  to 
itinerary  measures,  or  the  estimation  of  great 
distances. 

English  System  of  Lineal  Measures. — The  unit 
of  lineal  measure  in  England  is  the  yard,  all 
other  denominations  being  either  multiples,  or 
aliquot  parts  of  the  yard.  The  yard  is  divided 
into  3  feet,  and  the  foot  subdivided  into  12 
inches.  The  multiples  of  the  yard  are  the  pole 
or  perch,  the  furlong,  and  the  mile;  5^  yards 
being  a  pole,  40  poles  a  furlong,  and  8  furlongs 
a  mile.  But  the  pole  and  furlong  are  now 
scarcely  ever  used,  itinerary  distances  being 
reckoned  in  miles  and  yards. 

The  relations  of  these  different  denomina- 
tions are  exhibited  in  the  following  table: — 

behai. 

FMt 

Y»nJt. 

FBlet. 

Furlongs. 

Miles. 

1 

12 
36 

198 
79-20 
63360 

0083 
1 
3 
16-5 

m 

5280 

0-038 
0-333 

1 

1760 

000505 
0-06060 
01818 
1 
40 
320 

000012626 
OOOLM-MS 
0004545 
0025 

1 
8 

0-0000157828 

0  000 18939 

0-00056818 

0003125 

0125 

1 

Of  the  different  measures  of  length  used  in 
European  countries,  the  foot  is  the  most  uni- 
versally prevalent.  We  subjoin  the  relation 
between  the  fool  of  different  countries  and  the 
English  foot. 


English  foot. 

Russian  foot      -        -        - 

_ 

l" 

Paris  foot  .        -        -        - 

_ 

1065765 

Prussian  and  Danish  foot 

_ 

l-0-297-2a 

Bav.iriun  fool     -        -        - 

_ 

0-957561 

Hanoverian  foot 

_ 

0-95833.? 

Saxon  foot          -        -        - 

_ 

0-929118 

Austrian  foot      -        -        - 

- 

1037128 

See  Foot,  League,  Mile,  &c. 


Measures  of  Sitperjicies. — In  square  measure 
the  yard  is  subdivided,  as  in  general  measure, 
into  feet  and  inches;  144  square  inches  being 
equal  to  a  square  foot,  and  9  square  feet  to  a 
square  yard.  For  land  measure  the  multiples 
of  the  yard  are  the  pole,  the  rood,  and  the  acre  • 
30:J-  (the  square  of  5|)  square  yards  being  a  pole, 
40  poles  a  rood,  and  4  roods  an  acre.  (See 
Ache.)  Very  large  surfaces,  as  of  whole  coun- 
tries, are  expressed  in  square  miles. 

The  following  are  the  relations  of  square 
measure : — 


Square  Feet. 

Square  Yards. 

Poles. 

Roods. 

Acres. 

1 

9 

272  25 

10890 

43,i60 

01111 

1 

30.25 
1210 

4840 

0-00367309 
0-03305798 
1 
40 
160 

0-0000918-27 
0-000826448 
0025 

1 
4 

0-000022957 
0000206612 
0  00625 
0-25 

1 

Land  is  usually  measured  by  a  chain  of  4 
poles  or  22  yards,  which  is  divided  into  100 
links.  Three  chains  in  length  and  one  in 
breadth  make  an  acre,  which  equals  169  square 
perches,  or  4840  square  yards. 

Land  Measure. 


English 

No.  equal  to 

Countries. 

Measore. 

Square 
Vard. 

10  English 
Acres. 

England 

Acre 

4840 

10000 

Scotland 

BI50 

7860 

Ireland  - 

_ 

7840 

6173 

France    - 

Hectare 

11960 

4046 

Prussia  - 

Morgen  - 

3053 

15853 

Hainbure 

— 

11545 

4192 

Amsterdam     - 



9722 

4978 

Dantzic  - 

— 

6650 

7278 

Square,  or  Superficial  Measure, 

144  square  inches  =  1  square  foot. 

9      —      feet  =  1      —      yard. 

30^    —      yards  =  1      —      rod. 

40      —      rods  =  1      —      acre. 

640      —      acres  =:  1      —      mile. 

Measures  of  Volume. — Solids  are  measured  by 
cubic  yards,  feet,  and  inches;  1728  cubio 
inches  making  a  cubic  foot,  and  27  cubic  feet 
a  cubic  yard.  For  all  sorts  of  liquids,  corn, 
and  other  dry  goods,  the  standard  measure  is 
declared  by  the  act  of  ]  824  to  be  the  imperial 
gallon,  the  capacity  of  which  is  determined  im- 
mediately by  weight,  and  remotely  by  thf 
standard  of  length.     See  Gallox. 

The  parts  of  the  gallon  are  quarts  and  pints, 
2  pints  being  a  quart,  and  4  quarts  a  gallon. 

U23 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

Its  multiples  are  the  peck,  the  bushel,  and  the 
quarter;  the  peck  being  2  gallons,  the  bushel 
4  pecks,  and  the  quarter  8  bushels.  The  fol- 
lowing are  the  rotations :— 


TUf^ 

JQ-* 

OallML 

r^ckt. 

ftNhtb. 

Qmirten. 

1 

1 

•*6 

0-ISft 

OO0S1 

00I56U 

0001953195 

1 

0*t5 

0*116 

003125 

000390625 

8 

5 

1 

0-3 

0125 

0  015625 

10 

8 

t 

1 

015 

003125 

•4 

SI 

8 

4 

I 

0  125 

l»lt 

IM 

46 

31 

6 

1 

Cubic  or  SoHd  Measure. 

1  cubic  foot. 
1  cubic  yard. 

1  load. 


tm  cobte  inehei  make 
fl7  cuMe  feel      - 
40  1)Mtorrnufh  timber^ 
80  fe«t  of  bewn  Umber  j 


This  comprehends  length,  breadth,  and  thick- 
ness. 

And  108  solid  feet,  that  is,  12  feet  in  length, 
t  feet  in  breadth,  and  3  feet  deep,  or  commonly 
14  feet  long,  3  feet  I  inch  broad,  and  3  feet  1 
inch  deep,  are  a  stack  uf  wood. 

And  128  solid  feel,  that  is,  8  feet  long,  4  feet 
broad,  and  4  feet  deep,  are  a  cord  of  wood. 

Grain  Meamres. 


.-^ 

BoOtU. 

Naofi-qoal 
to  Eiucliih 
Quarten. 

Name  of 
Measure. 

laila»4       -       - 

••oilaa4 

PraMla 

•pala  .       .       . 

1000 
10« 
4427 
8157 
1479 
1599 
1451 

8800 
7827 
1807 
2534 
5409 
S003 
5518 

Setior. 

Mudde. 

Scheffel. 

Fanaga. 

Korzee. 

1  quart 

=        69} 

1  nllon 

=      2771 

Ipeck 

=      544i 

1  bushel 

=    2218i 

1  quarter 

=        m  cubic  ft. 

1  load 

=       5H 

(Loudon's  Eneyc.  of  Agr.  p.  20.) 

Eugliih  Com  Meamres. 

4  fills  zs       1  pint  =       34f  cubic  in. 

tplnta  = 

4  q«arU  = 

tfallOM  s: 

SaalloM  ss 

SbwMt  =: 

ftqoartert  s 

See  BiTSRCL,  Peck,  Quarter. 

The  Winchester  quarter  is  more  than  the 
Imperial  quarter,  being  in  the  proportion  of  1 
to  <H>6945.  The  English  Imperial  quarter,  in 
estimating  weight,  means  the  i  of  a  ton  of  2240 
Iba.  —  560  lbs.  or  1  quarter. 

Emglisk  Measure$  of  Wood  and  other  Fuel. — 
Cord-wood,  being  the  bigger  sort  of  fire-wood, 
is  measured  by  a  cord  or  line,  whereof  there 
•re  two  measures ;  that  of  14  feet  in  length,  3 
feet  in  breadth,  and  3  feet  in  height.  The  other 
is  8  fret  in  leneih,  4  feet  in  height,  and  4  feet 
in  breadth.  This  last  is  generally  adopted  in 
the  Uoiled  Sutes. 

tfVi^/«.— Wrights  are  used  to  ascertain 
the  gravity  of  bodies,  a  quality  depending  part- 
ly on  their  magnitude  and  partly  on  their  den- 
sity. The  determination  of  the  gravity  or 
weight  of  different  bodies  supposes  the  in- 
vention of  the  balance.  Nothing  is  known  of 
the  steps  which  led  to  its  introduction;  but  it 
was  used  in  the  remotest  antiquity.  Weights 
hav*»  frequently  been  derived  from  grains  of 
com.  Hence  in  Er.gland,  and  in  some  other 
European  countries,  the  lowest  denomination 
of  weight  is  a  grain :  and  32  of  these  grains  are 
directed,  by  the  ancient  statute,  called  Composi- 
tw  Menmrarum^  to   compose   a  pennyweight, 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

whereof  20  make  an  ounce,  12  ounces  a  pound, 
and  so  upwards. 

Tables  of  Weights  and  Measures  according  to  tht 
Imperial  Standard. 


Avoirdupois  Weight. 

1  drachm 
16  drachms        1  ounce 
16  ounces  1  pound 

28  pounds  1  quartercwt.^ 

4  quarters        1  cwt. 
20  cwt.  1  ton. 


French  granamet. 

1-771 

28-346 

453-544 

12  699  kilogram. 

50-796 

1015920 


In  England  the  stone  is  generally  14  lbs* 
avoirdupois  weight,  but  for  butchers'  meat  or 
fish  it  is  8  lbs.  Hence  the  cwt.  equals  8  stone 
of  14  lbs.,  or  14  stone  of  8  lbs. 

Hay  and  straw  are  sold  by  the  load  of  36 
trusses.     See  Hat  and  Truss. 

The  custom  of  allowing  more  than  16  ounces 
to  the  pound  of  butter  used  to  be  very  general 
in  several  parts  of  England. 

Wool  Weight. — Like  all  other  bulky  articles, 
wool  is  weighed  by  avoirdupois  weight,  but  the 
divisions  differ  thus, 


7  pounds 

= 

1  clove. 

2  cloves 

r= 

1  stone. 

2  stone 

= 

Itod. 

6i  tods 

= 

1  wey. 

2  weys 

= 

1  sack. 

12  sacks 

= 

1  last. 

Cheese  and  butter. 

8  pounds               = 

1  clove. 

32  cloves                = 

1  wey  in  Essex. 

42  cloves                = 

1  wey  in  Suffolk. 

56  pounds               = 

1  firkin  of  butter 

Miscellaneous  Information  relative  to  Weightn 
and  Measures. — Specific  gravity  is  determined 
by  weighing  the  substance  first  in  air,  and  then 
in  water  at  the  temperature  of  60°  Fahrenheit. 
In  the  latter  case  the  substance  loses  of  its 
weight  a  quantity  precisely  equal  to  the  weight 
of  its  own  bulk  of  water.  The  total  weight  in 
air  is  then  divided  by  the  loss  of  weight  in  water, 
and  the  quotient  is  the  specific  gravity.  This 
is  either  over  or  under  that  of  pure  water, 
which  is  the  standard  of  comparison.  The 
standard  of  weights  is,  the  cubic  inch  of  dis- 
tilled water,  weighing  253-458  Troy  grains; 
the  Troy  pound,  5760  grains,  or  22-8157  inches. 
The  same  standard  of  7000  Troy  grains  makes 
the  pound  avoirdupois,  27-7274  cubic  inches; 
10  of  which,  or  277-274,  being  the  imperial 
gallon,  or  a  quart  69-32 ;  and  a  gill  of  5  ounces 
of  water,  equal  to  8-664. 

The  specific  gravity  of  water  being  1*000, 
that  of  alcohol,  pure,  is  0-829;  beer,  1-034; 
cider,  1-018;  milk,  1-032;  linseed  oil,  0-94; 
vinegar,  1-025;  sea-water,  1-026;  ox  bone, 
1-666;  brass,  7-824;  brick,  2-;  cork,  0-24;  gold, 
19-2587;  granite,  2-728;  bar-iron,  7-68;  lead, 
11-352;  lignum  vitae,  1-33;  mahogany,  1-06; 
marble,  2-7I6;  mercury,  13-58;  oak,  1-17; 
platina,  20-722;  silver,  10-474;  clay-slate,  2-67; 
tin,  10-717;  limestone,  1-386;  elm,  0-671  ;  ho- 
ney, 1-45.     {Treasury  of  Knowledge.) 

A  cubic  foot  of  loose  earth  or  sand  weighs 
95  lbs. 

A  cubic  ft.  of  common  soil  weighs  124     lbs. 


strong  soil,        " 

127       " 

clay, 

135       " 

mason's  work    " 

205       " 

distilled  water, 

62-5    « 

cast-iron,            " 

450-45  « 

steel,                   « 

489-8    « 

■^ 


EIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


A  cubic  ft.  of  lead,  weighs     709-5    lbs. 

"      "        platina,  "      1,218-75    " 

I"      "        copper,  «        486-75    " 

«      "       cork,  «         15  " 

"      "        tallow,  «        59  " 

"      "       oak,  "         73-15      « 

"      «       brick,  «       125 

"      "       air,  «  -0753" 

The  American  quintal  is  100  lbs.  The  ton 
2240  lbs. 

The  weight  of  a  cubic  inch  of  distilled  wa- 
ter, in  a  vacuum,  is  252-722  grains,  and  in  air, 
is  252-458  grains. 

The  Turkish  pound  is  7578  grains;  the 
Danish,  6941 ;  the  Irish,  7774;  the  Neapolitan, 
4952  ;  the  Scotch  pound  Troy,  7620-8. 

The  imperial  gallon  contains  10  lbs.  avoir- 
dupois of  distilled  water,  weighed  in  air  at  62°, 
with  the  barometer  at  30  inches.  Two  gallons 
are  equal  to  a  peck,  8  gallons  to  a  bushel, 
and  8  bushels  to  a  quarter. 

Heaped  measure,  per  bushel,  is  2815^  cubic 
inches  clear. 

The  Winchester  bushel  is  18^  inches  in  dia- 
meter, and  8  inches  deep,  containing  2154-42 
cubic  inches. 

1000  ounces  of  rain-water  are  equal  to  about 
7^  gallons  wine  measure,  or  to  a  cubic  foot. 

Seven  lbs.  avoirdupois  is  a  gallon  of  flour. 

A  chaldron  of  coals  is  58^  cubic  feet 

Twelve  wine  gallons  of  distilled  water  weigh 
iOO  lbs.  avoirdupois. 

The  imperial  dry  bushel,  when  not  heaped, 
is  2218-192  cubic  inches;  the  peck,  554-548; 
gallon,  277-274,  and  quart,  69-3185.  The  bu- 
shel is  8  inches  deep,  and  18-8  wide,  with  a 
heap  6  inches  high. 

The  Troy  pound,  according  to  the  standard 
of  the  U.  S.  Mint,  bears  the  proportion  to  the 
avoirdupois  pound  of  7000  to  576. 

A  Scotch  pint  is  equal  to  4  English  pints. 

A  Scotch  quart  is  208-6  cubic  inches. 

There  are  545,267,000  cubic  yards  in  a  cu- 
bic mile. 

According  to  usage  in  Philadelphia  and  other 
parts  of  the  United  States,  building-stone,  when 
piled,  or  "  perched,"  as  it  is  usually  termed,  is 
measured  by  allowing  25  cubic  feet  to  the 
perch.  But  when  placed  in  the  wall,  only  22 
feet  are  allowed  to  the  perch.  In  measuring 
stone  wall,  14  inches  of  thickness  is  usually 
allowed.  When  the  thickness  of  the  wall  ex- 
ceeds 14  inches,  the  extra  thickness  is  estimated 
and  made  an  additional  charge.  This  is  the 
common  rule  when  the  walls  have  only  one 
face.  In  doubie-i'aced  walls,  there  is  common- 
ly an  allowance  of  about  one-third  more.  Three 
pecks  of  good  lime  will  generally  suffice  to  lay 
one  perch  of  stone  wall.  About  2  one-horse 
loads  of  sand  are  allowed  to  make  mortar  for 
3  perches  of  stone  wall. 

To  convert  cubic  feet  into  perches,  divide 
by  25;  or,  what  is  still  more  easy,  multiply 
by  -04. 

In  brick-work,  14  bricks  are  usually  allowed 
to  the  cubic  foot:  sometimes  only  13  are  al- 
lowed. To  convert  cubic  feet  into  cubic  yards, 
livide  by  3,  and  the  product  by  9. 

Lumber  Measure. — In  estimating  the  number 
-f  feet  in  a  board,  the  length  in  feet  is  to  be 
mult/plied  ^y  the  width  in  inches,  and  the  re- 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

suit,  divided  by  12,  shows  the  contents  in  feei 
When  boards  are  more  than  1  inch  thick,  all 
over  is  added.  A  board  12  feet  long  and  H 
inch  thick,  would  of  course  be  estimated  to 
contain  one-fourth  more  than  a  board  only  1 
inch  thick. 

A  bill  passed  by  the  legislature  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1833,  for  the  regulation  of  weights  and 
measures  in  the  state,  provides  for  procuring 
and  preserving  standards,  which  are  to  con- 
form to  those  of  the  United  States,  when  esta- 
blished ;  the  linear  standard  to  be  the  yard,  with 
the  customary  multiples  allowed. 

Superficial  Measure. — Acre  defined  to  be  4840 
sq.  yards. 

Capacity  Measures. — Wine  gallon  231  cubic 
inches.  Beer  gallon  282  cubic  inches.  Bushel 
21.50-42  cubic  inches.  Lime  bushel  13^  inches 
diameter  at  bottom,  15  inches  at  top,  and  13-47 
inches  deep.  A  cord  of  wood  to  contain  128 
cubic  feet.  A  hogshead  of  cider  110  wine 
gallons. 

Legal  Weight  of  Orain,  etc.,  in  Penmylvania. 


Wheat 6011)8. 

Shelletl  Com 56  " 

Corn  on  the  Cob 70  " 

Rye 56  " 

Oats 32  " 

Barl.-y 58  " 

Buekwhont 52  " 

CloverSfH.fi  60  " 

Timothy  Seed 45  " 

Flax  Swd 58  " 


Blue  Grass  Seed 14  lbs. 

Homp  Seed 44  " 

Bran 20  " 

Beans 60  " 

Peas 64  " 

Cantor  Beans 33  " 

Potatoes 60  « 

Onions  57  " 

Dried  Peaches 33  " 

Dried  Apples 24  " 


85  lbs.  of  coarse  salt  (foreign), 

70  lbs.  of  ground  salt, 

62  lbs.  of  fine  salt,  to  pass  for  a  bushel. 

If  the  square  of  the  diameter  of  a  circle  be 
multiplied  by  -7854,  the  product  is  the  area. 
If  the  diameter  of  a  sphere  be  cubed  and  mul- 
tiplied by  -6236,  the  product  is  the  solidity  ;  and 
the  square  of  the  diameter,  multiplied  by 
3-14159,  is  the  surface  of  the  sphere. 

To  find  the  contents  of  a  cask,  add  double 
the  square  of  the  bung  diameter  to  the  square 
of  the  head  diameter,  and  multiply  this  sum  by 
the  head  of  the  cask ;  then  divide  the  product 
by  1077  for  ale  gallons  of  280  cubic  inches 
each,  or  by  882  for  wine  gallons  of  231  cubic 
inches  each. 

Method  of  ascertaining  the  Weight  of  Cattle 
vjhile  living. — This  is  of  the  utmost  utility  for 
all  those  who  are  not  experienced  judges  by 
the  eye,  and,  by  the  following  directions,  the 
weight  can  be  ascertained  within  a  mere  trifle. 
Under  the  head  Cattle  we  have  already  given 
a  useful  table  on  this  subject;  but  the  annexed 
rules  will  be  found  of  service.  Take  a  string, 
put  it  round  the  beast,  standing  square,  just 
behind  the  shoulder-blade;  measure  en  a  foot- 
rule  the  feet  and  inches  the  animal  is  in  cir- 
cumference, this  is  called  the  girth  ;  then  with 
the  string  measure  from  the  bone  of  the  tail, 
which  plumbs  the  line  with  the  hinder  part  of 
the  buttock ;  direct  the  line  along  the  back  to 
the  fore-part  of  the  shoulder-blade ;  take  the 
dimensions  of  the  foot-rule,  as  before,  which  is 
the  length,  and  work  the  figures  in  the  follow- 
ing manner ;  — Girth  ot  the  bullock,  6  feet  4 
inches ;  length,  5  feet  3  inches  ;  which,  raulti- 
I  plied  together,  make  31  square  superficial  feet; 
,  that  again,  multiplied  by  23  (the  number  of 

1125 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

■oands  allowed  to  each  superficial  foot  of  all 
cattle  measuring  less  than  7  and  more  than  5 
feet  in  girth),  makes  713  lbs.;  and  allowing  14 
lbs.  to  the  stone,  is  SO  stone  13  lbs. ;  and  where 
the  animal  measures  less  than  9  and  more  than 
7  feel  in  girih,  31  is  the  number  of  pounds  to 
each  foot.  Again,  supposing  a  pig  or  any 
•mall  beast  should  measure  2  feet  in  girth,  and 

5  feet  along  the  back,  which,  multiplied  to- 
gether, make  4  square  feet,  that  multiplied  by 
U,  the  number  of  pounds  allowed  for  each 
noare  foot  of  cattle  measuring  less  than  3  in 
^rth,  *Dakes  44  lbs.;  which,  divided  by  14,  to 
Mtoff  it  to  stones,  is  3  stones  2  lbs.    Again, 

a  calf,  »heep,  &c.,  should  measure  4 
6  inches  in  girth,  and  3  feet  9  inches  in 
which,  multiplied  together,  makes  16^ 
•qnare  feet;  that  multiplied  by  16, the  number 
of  pounds  allowed  to  all  cattle  measuring  less 
than  5  feet  and  more  than  3  in  girth,  makes 
S04  lbs.;  which,  divided  by  14,  to  bring  it  to 
stones,  is  18  stones  12  lbs.  The  dimensions 
of  Ibe  girth  and  length  of  black  cattle,  sheep, 
Cftlvest  or  hogs,  may  be  as  exactly  taken  this 
w»jr  as  it  is  at  all  necessary  for  any  computa- 
tion or  valuation  of  stock,  and  will  answer  ex- 
actly to  the  four  quarters,  sinking  the  offal,  and 
which  every  man  who  can  get  even  a  bit  of 
chalk  may  easily  perform.  A  deduction  must 
be  made  for  a  half-fatted  beast  of  1  stone  in  20 
from  that  of  a  fat  one,  and  for  a  cow  that  has 
bad  ealves,  1  stone  must  be  allowed,  and  an- 
other for  not  being  properly  fat. 

The  last  act  of  Parliament  on  the  subject  of 
weights  and  measures,  is  the  5  &  6  W.  4,  c.  63, 
which  contains  some  important  provisions.  It 
abolishes  all  local  or  customary  measures 
nnder  a  penally  of  40#.  for  every  sale  made  by 
them ;  it  prohibits  the  mischievous  practice  of 
selling  by  heaped  measure;  it  enacts  that  coals 
shall  in  all  cases  be  sold  by  weight ;  that  with 
the  exception  of  the  precious  metals,  jewels, 
and  drugs,  all  other  articles  sold  by  weight 
shall  be  aold  by  avoirdupois  weight  only ;  and 
that  a  Moae  shall  in  all  cases  consist  of  14  lbs. 
aroirdnpois ;  a  hundred  weight  of  eight  such 
stones,  Ac.  Lead  and  pewter  weights  are  not 
to  be  stamped.  It  enacts  that  the  Winchester 
boshel,  the  Scotch  ell,  and  all  local  or  customary 
■attares  shah  be  abolished ;  and  every  person 
who  shall  sell  by  any  measure  other  than  one 
of  the  imperial  measures,  or  some  multiple  or 
aliqoot  pan  thereof,  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty 
Dol  exceeding  40«.  for  every  such  sale.  That 
the  use  of  heaped  measure  shall  be  abolished, 
and  all  bargains,  sales,  and  contracts  made 
atter  the  passing  of  this  act,  by  heaped  mea- 
aare,  shall  be  aall  asd  void. 

Jrtitim  mU  6y  ktofttd  Meaturt,  hoxc  to  be  sold. 
—Whereas  some  articles  heretofore  sold  by 
heaped  measure  are  incapable  of  being  stricken, 
and  may  not  be  conveniently  sold  by  weight; 
it  is  enacted,  that  all  such  articles  may  hence- 
forth be  sold  by  a  bushel  measure,  correspond- 
ing in  shape  with  the  bushel  prescribed  by  the 

6  G.  4.  c  74,  for  the  sale  of  heaped  measure, 
or  by  any  multiple  or  aliquot  part  thereof,  filled 
in  all  parts  as  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  brim 
as  the  size  and  shape  of  the  articles  will  ad- 
mit ;  btft  nothing  herein  shall  prevent  the  sale 

1126 


WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 

:y  weight  of  any  article  heretofore  sold  by 
heaped  measure. 

All  coals,  slack,  culm,  and  cannel  of  every 
description  shall  be  sold  by  weight  and  not  by 
measure. 

All  articles  sold  by  weight  shall  be  sold  by 
avoirdupois  weight,  except  gold,  silver,  platina, 
diamonds,  or  other  precious  stones,  which  may 
be  sold  by  Troy  weight,  and  drugs,  which,  when 
sold  by  retail^  may  be  sold  by  apothecaries' 
weight. 

The  stone,  hundred  weight,  Sfc. — From  and  after 
the  passing  of  this  act,  the  weight  denominated 
a  stone  shall,  in  all  cases,  consist  of  14  stand- 
ard pounds  avoirdupois,  the  hundred  weight  of 
8  such  stones,  and  the  ton  of  20  such  hundred 
weights  ;  but  nothing  herein  shall  prevent  any 
bargain,  sale,  or  contract  being  made  by  any 
multiple  or  aliquot  part  of  the  pound  weight. 

Fiar  prices. — In  Scotland,  from  and  after  the 
passing  of  this  act,  the  fiar  prices  of  all  grain 
in  every  county  shall  be  struck  by  the  imperial 
quarter,  and  all  other  returns  of  the  prices  of 
grain  shall  be  set  forth  by  the  same,  without 
any  reference  to  any  other  measure  whatso- 
ever; and  any  sheriff-clerk,  clerk  of  a  market, 
or  other  person  offending  against  this  provision 
shall  forfeit  not  exceeding  5/.     See  Fiar. 

Penalty  on  price  lists,  ^-c. — From  and  after  the 
1st  of  January,  1836,  any  person  printing,  or 
clerk  of  any  market  or  other  person  making 
any  return,  price  list,  price  current,  or  any 
journal  or  other  paper  containing  price  list  or 
price  current,  in  which  the  weights  and  mea- 
sures quoted  or  referred  to  denote  or  imply  a 
greater  or  less  weight  or  measure  than  is  de- 
noted or  implied  by  the  same  denomination  of 
imperial  weights  and  measures  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  shall  forfeit  and  pay  not  ex- 
ceeding 10s.  for  every  copy  of  every  such  return, 
price  list,  price  current,  journal,  or  other  paper 
which  they  publish.  {Branded  Diet,  of  Science; 
M'CullocWs  Com.  Diet.) 

The  following  observations  relative  to  the 
weights  and  measures  of  the  United  States  are 
derived  from  a  correspondent  of  the  Farmer^s 
Cabinet. 

The  subject  of  establishing  by  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  a  uniform  standard  of 
weights  and  measures  for  the  whole  confede- 
racy, is  a  matter  of  great  importance  to  the 
agricultural  and  commercial  interests.  Most 
of  the  states,  perhaps  all,  have  legislated  on 
this  very  interesting,  important,  and  difficult 
subject,  and  it  is  obvious,  from  the  results  o2 
their  disjointed  labours,  that  there  is  still  room 
for  the  exercise  of  the  skill,  judgment,  and 
science  of  the  most  learned  men  in  the  nation, 
to  reduce  the  chaos  to  order,  and  to  prepare  a 
uniform  system,  founded  on  scientific  princi- 
ples, for  the  use  of  the  whole  nation.  Much 
confusion  and  loss  must  be  sustained  by  the 
great  discrepancies  which  exist  in  the  weights 
and  measures  in  use  in  the  different  states 
which  are  in  habits  of  constant  commercial 
intercouse. 

On  an  examination  of  the'  learned  and  able 
report  made  by  John  Quincy  Adams  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1821,  and  that 
made  by  F.  R.  Hassler  to  the  same  body  in 


WELD. 


on  this  subject,  it  does  not  appear  that 
the  bushel  in  any  two  states  contains  ihe  same 
number  of  cubic  inches,  and  some  of  them 
differ  materially  from  each  other;  the  weights 
also  are  variant,  and  the  measures  do  not  al- 
ways correspond  with  each  other.  In  Penn- 
sylvania the  Winchester  bushel,  18*5  inches  in 
diameter  and  8  inches  deep,  and  containing 
2150-42  cubic  inches,  is  understood  to  be  the 
standard  dry  measure;  one-eighth  of  this,  or 
268-8  inches,  is  a  gallon,  and  67*2  cubic  inches 
the  quart,  dry  measure.  The  ale  gallon  is  282 
cubic  inches,  and  the  quart  70*5  inches;  and 
this  is  understood  to  be  the  quart  by  which  dry 
articles  are  measured.  The  wine  gallon,  which 
is  also  the  measure  of  all  spirituous  liquors, 
contains  231  cubic  inches,  and  the  quart  57*75 
inches.  'J'he  reason  for  these  differences  is  not 
sufficiently  apparent  to  be  recognised  by  any 
person  of  ordinary  understanding,  but  they  are 
calculated  to  produce  much  embarrassment, 
and  not  a  little  fraud,  for  there  are  always  per- 
sons who  are  disposed  to  sell  by  the  smaller 
rather  than  the  larger  measure.  In  England, 
whence  we  obtained  all  our  standards  of 
weights  and  measures,  a  better  system  has  of 
late  years  been  adopted,  by  which  the  pint, 
quart,  and  gallon,  for  wine,  ale,  beer,  and  grain 
or  corn,  measure  the  same  with  regard  to  mag- 
nitude; 8  of  these  gallons  make  one  bushel; 
and  one  gallon  contains  277-274  cubical  inches, 
or  10  pounds  of  distilled  water  at  a  tempera- 
ture of  62  degrees;  and  the  imperial  bushel 
2218-192  cubic  inches,  or  80  pounds  of  water 
at  62  degrees. 

From  the  above  it  appears  that  the  English 
bushel  at  present  in  use  contains  67-772  cubic 
inches  more  than  the  standard  bushel  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

WELD  (Reseda  luteola).  The  dyer's  weed, 
yellow  rocket,  or  yellow  weed,  is  in  England 
an  indigenous  annual  plant,  growing  in  waste 
ground,  especially  on  a  chalky  soil,  as  well  as 
in  fallow  fields,  and  on  walls.  The  root  is 
tapering.  The  stem  wand-like,  striated,  leafy, 
somewhat  branched,  smooth,  like  the  rest  of 
the  herb ;  2  or  3  feet  high.  The  leaves  are 
sessile,  of  a  darkish  green,  linear-lanceolate, 
obtuse,  entire,  single-ribbed.  The  flowers  are 
in  terminal  clusters,  erect,  many-flowered, 
dense,  pointed.  The  flowers  themselves,  which 
blow  in  July,  are  small,  greenish-white,  with- 
out much  scent  Weld  is  cultivated  for  the 
sake  of  its  stalks,  flowers,  and  leaves,  which 
are  employed  for  dyeing  wool  and  other  sub- 
stances yellow,  or,  mixed  with  indigo,  green. 
The  whole  plant  is  fetid  when  bruised.  When 
it  has  attained  maturity,  which  is  about  the 
time  of  flowering,  it  is  pulled,  and  made  into 
bundles  and  dried,  in  which  state  it  is  used  as 
a  dye-stuff.  Weld  is  preferred  to  all  other  sub- 
stances for  giving  the  lively  green  lemon-yel- 
low: but,  to  render  the  yellow  permanent,  the 
wool  must  be  previously  prepared  with  a  mor- 
dant of  alum  and  tartar.  Being  an  exhaust- 
ing crop,  and  liable  to  failure  from  many 
causes,  the  cultivation  of  the  dyer's  rocket  is 
only  partially  carried  on  in  Essex  and  a  few 
other  places  in  England. 

Weld  will  grow  on  any  soil,  but  fertile  loams 
produce  the  best  crops.     Loudon  gives  the  fol- 


WELD. 

lowing  directions  for  sowing  and  managing 
weld. 

The  soil  being  brought  to  a  fine  lilih,  the  seed 
is  sown  in  April  or  the  beginning  of  May,  ge 
nerally  broadcast.  The  quantity  of  seed  is  from 
two  quarts  to  a  gallon  per  acre,  and  it  should 
either  be  fresh,  or,  if  two  or  three  years  old, 
steeped  a  few  days  in  water  previously  to  being 
sown.  Being  a  biennial,  and  no  advantage  ob- 
tained from  it  the  first  year,  it  is  sometimes 
sown  with  corn  crops  in  the  manner  of  clover, 
which,  when  the  soil  is  in  a  very  rich  state, 
may  answer,  provided  also,  that  hoeing,  weed- 
ing, and  stirring  take  place  as  soon  as  the  corn 
crop  is  cut.  The  best  crops,  however,  will 
obviously  be  the  result  of  drilling  and  culti- 
vating the  crop  alone.  The  drills  may  be  a 
foot  asunder,  and  the  plants  thinned  to  6  inches 
in  the  row.  In  the  broadcast  mode  it  is  usual 
to  thin  them  to  6  or  8  inches  distance  every 
way ;  often,  when  weld  succeeds  corn  crops,  it 
is  never  either  thinned,  weeded,  or  hoed,  but 
left  to  itself  till  the  plants  are  in  full  blossom. 

The  crop  is  taken  by  pulling  up  the  entire 
plant,  and  the  proper  period  for  this  purpose 
is  when  the  bloom  has  been  produced  the  whole 
length  of  the  stems,  and  the  plants  are  just  be- 
ginning to  turn  of  a  light  or  yellowish  colour ; 
as  in  the  beginning  or  middle  of  July  in  the 
second  year.  The  plants  are  usually  from  1  to 
2^  feet  in  height.  It  is  thought  by  some  ad- 
vantageous to  pull  it  rather  early,  without  wait- 
ing for  the  ripening  of  the  seeds,  as  by  this 
means  there  will  not  only  be  the  greatest  pro- 
portion of  dye,  but  the  land  will  be  left  at 
liberty  for  the  reception  of  a  crop  of  wheat  or 
turnips ;  but  in  this  case  a  small  part  must  be 
left  solely  for  the  purpose  of  seed.  In  the  exe- 
cution of  the  work,  the  plants  are  drawn  up  by 
the  roots  in  small  handfuls,  and  set  up  to  dry 
after  each  handful  has  been  tied  up  by  one  of 
the  stalks,  in  the  number  of  4  together  in  an 
erect  position  against  each  other.  Sometimes 
they,  however,  become  sufficiently  dry  by  turn- 
ing without  being  set  up.  After  they  have  re- 
mained till  fully  dry,  which  is  mostly  effected 
in  the  course  of  a  week  or  two,  they  are  bound  up 
into  larger  bundles,  that  contain  each  60  hand- 
fuls, and  which  are  of  the  weight  of  56  lbs.  each: 
60  of  these  bundles  constituting  a  load.  These 
last,  in  places  where  this  kind  of  crop  is  much 
grown,  are  tied  up  by  a  string  made  for  the 
purpose,  and  sold  under  the  title  of  weld  cord. 

The  produce  oficeld  depends  much  on  the  na- 
ture of  the  season ;  but  from  half  a  load  to  a 
load  and  a  half  is  the  quantity  most  commonly 
afforded,  which  is  usually  sold  to  the  dyers  at 
from  51.  or  6/.  to  10/.  or  12/.  the  load,  and 
sometimes  considerably  more.  It  is  mostly 
bought  by  persons  who  afterwards  dispose  of 
it  to  the  dyers  occasionally  as  they  find  it  con- 
venient. The  demand  fcT  it  is  sometimes  very 
little,  while  at  others  it  is  so  great  as  to  raise 
the  price  to  a  high  degree.  It  is  sometimes 
gathered  green,  and  treated  like  woad  or  in- 
digo ;  but  in  general  the  dried  herb  is  used  by 
the  dyers  in  a  state  of  decoction. 

The  use  of  tveld  in  dyeing  is  for  giving  a  yel- 
low colour  to  cotton,  woollen,  mohair,  silk,  and 
linen.  Blue  cloths  are  dipped  in  a  decoction 
of  it,  which  renders  them  green ;  and  the  yei 

ir:.7 


WELL. 

^w  colour  of  the  paint  called  Dutch  pink  is 
obtained  l.om  weld. 

To  »av4  $*ed,  select  a  few  of  the  largest  and 
healthiest  plante,  and  leave  them  to  ripen.  The 
Med  is  easily  separated. 

The  chief  diMatt  of  weld  is  the  mildew,  to 
which  it  is  very  liable  when  young,  and  this 
is  one  reason  that  it  is  often  sown  with  oth'^r 
crops. 

WELL  (Sax.).  A  term  sometimes  applied 
to  a  chimney  or  vent-hole  left  in  a  rick  o»  mow 
of  hay,  or  other  similar  materials,  to  prevent 
its  overhealinif. 

WHEAT  (Tritirum).  This  is  undoubtedly 
the  roost  important  genus  of  the  order  Gratni- 
mtm ;  for  wheat  is  that  species  of  grain  which 
is  more  generally  cultivated  than  any  other, 
and.  from  the  universal  demand  and  high  price 
it  obtains,  best  repays  the  European  farmer's 
toil  and  outlay. 

The  flour  of  wheat  is  the  most  nutritious  and 
palatable  of  all  the  cereal  grasses  used  as  the 
food  of  man.  Linnteus  comprehended  all  the 
difTerent  varieties  of  wheat  known  in  his  day 
VDder  six  species ;  but  modern  botanists  enu- 
OMrate  about  30  species,  and  some  hundreds 
of  snb-varieties  brought  into  existence  by  con- 
tinned  cultivation.  It  has  been  well  observed 
that  for  mere  practical  purposes  it  is  sufficient 
to  have  two  general  classes,  namely,  white  and 
red,  and  the  varieties  distinguished  by  their 
snikelets,  as  the  smooth  or  bearded,  the  woody- 
chafied  or  the  hairy-chaffed.  There  are  some 
varieties  characterized,  also,  as  spring  or  win- 
ter (Lammas)  wheats,  though  these  are  fre- 
quently apt  to  lose  their  distinguishing  charac- 
ters and  to  accommodate  their  habits  to  the 
season  in  which  they  are  sown. 

•*lt  is  to  l>e  presumed,"  says  Colonel  le  Cou- 
tenr,  ••  from  the  passage  •  In  the  sweat  of  thy 
face  shalt  thou  eat  bread,'  (Gen.  iii.  19),  that 
wheat  was  coeval  with  the  creation;  and  that 
upwards  of  a  thousand  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian era,  some  improvement  in  its  culture  and 
some  knowledge  of  a  superior  variety  had  been 
attained,  by  the  circumstance  of  its  being  stated 
that '  Judah  traded  in  wheat  of  MinnithJ  "  (^Ezek. 
xxvii.  7.) 

Columella,  who  wrote  about  the  time  of  our 
Lord,  makes  some  interesting  remarks  on 
wheat  :— 

"The  chief  and  the  most  profitable  corns  for 
men,"  he  observes,  "are  common  wheat  and 
bearded  wheat.  We  have  known  several  kinds 
of  wheat:  but  of  these  we  must  chiefly  sow 
what  is  called  the  red  wheat,  because  it  excels 
both  in  weight  and  brightness. 

"The  while  wheat  must  be  placed  in  the 
second  rank,  of  which  the  best  sort  in  bread  is 
deficient  in  weight 

"The  trimestrian  shall  be  the  third,  which 
husbandmen  are  mighty  glad  to  make  use  of; 
for  when,  by  reason  of  great  rains  or  any  other 
eause,  the  early  sowing  has  been  omitted,  they 
Inivc  recourse  to  this  for  relief;  it  is  a  kind  of 
white  wheat."  Pliny  says  that  "this  is  the 
most  delicious  and  the  daintiest  of  any  sort  of 
wheat,  exce*«dine  white,  but  without  much  sub- 
stance or  strength,  only  proper  for  moist  tracts 
of  land,  such  as  those  of  Italy,  and  some  parts 
ul  IJaul ;  that  it  ripens  equally,  and  that  there 
1126 


WHEAT. 

is  no  sort  of  corn  that  suffers  delay  less,  be- 
cause it  is  so  tender  that  such  ears  of  it  that 
are  ripe  presently  shed  their  grains ;  but  in  the 
stalk  it  is  less  in  danger  than  any  other  corn, 
for  it  holds  its  ear  always  upright,  and  does 
not  contain  the  dews  which  occasion  blasting 
and  mildew."  (This  description  of  Pliny's 
seems  to  accord  with  the  spring  wheat  of  the 
present  day,  which,  be  it  remembered,  came  to 
us  from  Spain.) 

"The  other  sorts  of  wheat  are  altogether  su- 
perfluous," continues  Pliny,  "  unless  any  man 
has  a  mind  to  indulge  a  manifold  variety,  and 
a  vainglorious  fancy.  But,  of  bearded  wheat, 
we  have  commonly  seen  four  sorts  in  use ; 
namely,  that  which  is  called  clusinian,  of  a 
shining  bright  white  colour;  a  bearded  wheat, 
which  is  called  venuculum  ;  one  sort  of  it  is  of 
a  fiery  red  colour,  and  another  sort  of  it  is 
white,  but  they  are  both  heavier  than  the  clusi- 
nian. The  trimestrian,  or  that  of  3  months* 
growth,  which  is  called  halicastrum ;  and  this 
is  the  chief,  both  for  its  weight  and  goodness. 
But  these  sorts,  both  of  ordinary  common 
wheat  and  of  bearded  wheat,  must,  for  these 
reasons,  be  kept  by  husbandmen ;  because  it 
rarely  happens  that  any  land  is  so  situated  that 
we  can  content  ourselves  with  one  sort  of  seed, 
some  part  of  it  happening,  contrary  to  our  ex- 
pectation, to  be  wet  or  dry.  But  common 
wheat  thrives  best  in  a  dry  place,  and  bearded 
wheat  is  less  affected  by  moisture." 

Hence  it  appears  that  Ronjans  were  aware 
of  the  propriety  of  selecting  their  wheat,  and 
that  it  was  then  believed  that  winter  or  beard- 
less wheat  was  best  suited  to  dry  uplands,  and 
bearded  wheat  to  low  or  moist  lands.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  winter  wheats,  some  of  which  he 
states  to  be  bearded,  he  distinctly  alludes  to  the 
trimestrian  or  spring  wheat,  of  which  I  shall 
speak  hereafter.  In  the  edition  of  GerarrTs 
Herbal,  printed  in  London  in  1660,  only  5  kinds 
of  wheat  are  enumerated  ;  and,  although  this 
was  the  leading  botanical  work  of  the  day, 
these  are  most  indistinctly  described. 

Modern  writers  generally  are  equally  vague  ; 
they  merely  designate  a  number  of  varieties ; 
but  no  attempt  appears  to  have  been  made  to 
class  them  correctly,  or  to  ascertain  their  rela- 
tive values  by  comparison. 

In  Sinclair's  Hortus  Gramineug  Woburnensis,  42 
of  the  cultivated  varieties  are  enumerated  as 
winter  or  spring  wheats,  according  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  Linnaeus,  which  this  illustrious 
writer  has  merely  given  as  a  sort  of  botanical 
classification. 

The  Maison  Rustique  for  1835,  enumerates  39 
varieties ;  and,  although  a  short  notice  is  given 
of  them,  it  is  by  no  means  sufficient,  as  their 
farinaceous  qualities  are  not  explained.  Mr. 
Paxton,  in  his  Botanical  Dictionary,  enumerates 
25  distinct  species,  besides  several  varieties. 

A  classification  of  wheat  is  much  required, 
pointing  out  the  relative  value  of  varieties,  in 
their  quantity  of  meal,  the  weight  of  bran  and 
pollards,  with  the  weight  of  straw  of  each,  and 
their  adaptation  to  soils.  That  this  is  a  deside- 
ratum no  one,  I  imagine,  will  deny  ;  but  that  it 
requires  time,  attention,  and  perseverance,  to 
make  such  discoveries,  will  also  be  conceded, 
when  it  is  stated  that  I  already  possess  up- 


■?^^ff 


WHEAT. 


Trards  of  150  varieties  or  sub-varieties.  (Le 
Couteur  on  Wheat.) 

The  most  popular  description  of  the  different 
species  of  wheat  which  admit  of  cultivation 
for  their  seed  is  that  given  by  Professor  Low, 
in  his  work  on  the  Elements  of  Agriculture,  and 
I  shall  therefore  avail  myself  of  his  scientific 
description. 

Specific  character, — The  calyx  of  wheat  con- 
sists of  2  valves  or  glumes,  enclosing  several 
florets.  In  each  of  these  florets  there  are  2 
valves,  forming  the  corolla,  and  enclosing  the 
seed.  Sometimes  the  corolla  encloses  a  per- 
fect seed,  and  sometimes  the  seed  is  not  per- 
fected. Each  calyx,  with  the  florets  which  it 
encloses,  is  termed  a  spikelet.  The  part  to 
which  the  spikelets  are  attached  is  termed  the 
rachis  or  shaft,  and  the  spikelets  placed  one 
above  the  other,  on  each  side  of  the  rachis, 
form  the  ear  or  head.  The  rachis  is  jointed, 
and  the  spaces  between  the  joints  are  termed 
the  internodii. 

Species. — 1.  Spring  or  summer  wheat  {T.  mti- 
xnnfn)  PI.  2,  a,  has  awns  both  on  the  calyx  and 
corolla.  Each  spikelet  has  usually  5  florets, 
of  which  2  are  barren.  The  grain  is  too  ten- 
der to  bear  the  frosts  of  the  winter,  but  as 
quick  in  progress  from  its  first  shoot  to  ripe- 
ness as  barley,  oats,  or  any  other  spring  corn. 
It  requires  a  shorter  period  to  complete  its  ve- 
getation than  any  of  the  other  kinds.  Summer 
wheat  is  the  prevailing  species  of  warmer 
countries,  and  is  cultivated  in  many  parts  of 
Europe.  It  is  much  used  in  France,  where  it 
is  called  bli  de  Mars,  from  the  season  in  which 
it  is  usually  sown,  and  in  some  provinces  bleJs 
tremoif,  from  the  time  it  takes  between  seed- 
time and  harvest.  In  Spanish  it  is  called  trigo 
rff  mnrgo  :  in  Portuguese  trigo  tremes  ;  and  in 
German  sommer  waitzen,  all  which  names  mark 
distinctly  the  difference  between  this  and  win- 
ter corn.  It  does  not  appear  from  the  older 
books  on  husbandry,  that  it  was  at  any  period 
much  cultivated  in  England  ;  the  more  modern 
ones  are,  in  general,  silent  on  the  subject  of  it; 
they  mention,  indeed,  under  the  name  of  spring 
wheat,  every  kind  of  winter  wheat  which  will 
ripen  when  sown  after  turnips  in  February. 
This  is  probably  the  reason  why  the  real  spring 
wheat  has  been  so  little  known  ;  agriculturists 
in  general  conceiving  themselves  to  be  actually 
in  the  habit  of  sowing  spring  wheat,  when,  in 
reality,  they  were  substituting  winter  wheat  in 
its  place,  have  been  little  inclined  to  inquire 
into  the  properties  of  the  true  spring  wheat 
when  they  had  an  opportunity  of  so  doing. 

Its  grains  are,  for  the  most  part,  small,  and 
the  produce  of  the  straw  is  less  than  that  of 
some  other  species,  when  cultivated  under  the 
same  circumstances.  Professor  Low  says,  that 
"the  trials  which  have  been  made  with  it  in 
this  country  have  shown  it  to  be  inferior  in 
productiveness  and  quality  to  the  better  kinds 
of  winter  wheat.  The  advantage  which  it  pos- 
sesses is  the  earlier  period  of  its  ripening,  on 
which  account  it  may  be  sown  so  late,  even  in 
this  climate,  as  the  beginning  of  May."  The 
Board  of  Agriculture  being  desirous  of  bring- 
ing spring  wheat  into  general  cultivation,  in 
1805  oifered  large  premiums  to  those  who 
should,  in  the  spring  of  that  year,  sow  the 
142 


WHEAT. 

greatest  quantity  of  land  with  spring  wheat 
In  one  of  the  communications  made  to  the 
Board,  Sir  Joseph  Banks  states  that  "  in  the 
countries  best  acquainted  with  its  culture, 
spring  wheat  is  preferred  to  all  other  corn  for 
raising  a  crop  of  seeds.  This  is  owing  to  the 
small  quantity  of  leaf  it  bears,  less,  perhaps,, 
than  any  ether  corn,  and  to  the  short  duration 
of  the  leaf,  which  fades  and  falls  down  almost 
as  soon  as  it  has  attained  its  full  size. 

"  In  cases  where  red  wheat  has  been  da- 
maged by  the  wire- worm,  a  mischief  which 
seems  of  late  years  to  have  increased  in  Great 
Britain,  spring  wheat  appears  to  hold  out  an 
easy  and  simple  remedy.  In  the  first  week  of 
May  the  ravages  of  the  worm  have  somewhat 
abated ;  if  then  the  seed  of  spring  wheat  is  at 
that  time  dibbled,  or  only  raked  with  a  garden 
rake,  into  the  naked  spots  left  by  the  worm, 
though  it  will  not  attain  the  growth  at  which 
the  worm  begins  to  prey  upon  it  till  he  has 
changed  his  state  for  that  of  a  winged'beetle, 
it  will  certainly  be  ripe  as  soon  as  the  winter 
wheat,  and  may  be  thrashed  out  and  sold  with 
it;  or,  if  it  is  preferred,  may  be  reaped  sepa- 
rately, as  the  appearance  of  the  ears,  which,  in 
the  Lincolnshire  sort,  have  longer  beards  or 
awns  than  the  rivet  or  cone  wheat,  will  point 
it  out  to  the  reapers  in  such  a  manner  that  no 
great  error  can  happen  in  separating  it  from 
the  Lammas."  {Com.  to  Board  of  jigr.  vol.  v 
p.  181.)  To  the  miller  this  mixture  of  grain 
can  be  of  no  consequence ;  but  it  would  be 
scarcely  safe  to  employ  the  produce  as  seed. 

From  the  analysis  of  Sir  H.  Davy  it  may  be 
inferred  that  bread  made  of  the  flour  of  spring 
wheat  is  more  nutritious  than  that  made  of 
winter  wheat,  because  the  former  contains  a 
larger  proportion  of  gluten  or  half-animalized 
matter.     He  found  that 


100  parts  of  the  best  Sicilian 

wheat  contained 
100  parts  of  spring  wheal  of 

1804    -        -        -        -        - 
100    parts    of  good    English 

wheal  of  1803      - 
100  parts  of  blighted  wheal  of 

180i 


Gluten. 

Starch. 

Insoluble 
Matter. 

21 

75 

5 

24 

70 

6 

19 

77 

4 

13 

52 

44 

2.  Winter,  or  lammas  wheat  (T.  Lyburnum), 
PI.  2,  h,  is  distinguished  from  the  last  by  its 
appearance,  being  much  more  vigorous  in  the 
stem,  more  erect  and  thick  in  the  ear,  by  hav- 
ing no  awns  upon  the  calyx,  and  only  short 
awns  upon  the  corolla,  near  the  summit  of  the 
spike.  But  the  awns  not  being  a  good  botani- 
cal character,  many  botanists  have  conceived 
the  species  to  be  the  same.  The  characters, 
however,  of  either  kind  being  permanent  and 
remaining  under  given  circumstances  un- 
changed for  an  unknown  period,  they  may  be 
regarded  as  species.  The  winter  wheat  has 
usually  5  or  6  florets,  of  which  2  are  barren. 

Winter  wheat  is  that  which  is  the  most  im- 
portant with  relation  to  its  cultivation  in  North- 
ern Europe.  It  is,  in  England,  generally  sown 
in  autumn,  or  previously  to  the  winter  months, 
and  ripens  its  seed  in  the  following  summer, 
but  it  is  an  annual  plant,  and  may  be  sown  in 
spring. 

6  C  1129 


WHEAT. 

•  Siiphl  varieties  of  this  species  are  exceed- 
nglv  common  in  different  localities,  and  are 
probably  tUribuiable  to  some  peculiarities  m 
•Jie  mode  of  culture.  The  common  varieties 
of  winter  wheal  are  diMinguished  from  each 
ether  according  to  the  colour  of  the  tunic  en- 
veloping the  grain,  and  the  dit^erence  observ- 
able in  their  chaff.  The  colours  are  usually 
divided  into  white  and  red,  .he  latter  ol  these 
including  many  different  shades  of  brown.  Red 
wheal  is  commonly  said  to  be  more  hardy  than 
white;  it  is  therefore  thought  belter  suited  for 
eoitiration  in  bleak  and  upland  districts.  The 
plant  is,  however,  not  so  productive  as  the 
white,  and  the  flour  which  it  yields  is  seldom 
of  9o  desirable  a  quality."  (Baxte/s  Lib.  of 
Jgr,  p.  040.) 

3l  Compact  wheat  (T.  conipactum)  is  allied 
to  Ihe  two  last-named  species,  and  may  be 
merely  a  variety  of  them.  In  it  the  internodii 
of  the'  rachis  are  very  short.    It  is  partially 

trodaced  in  different  parts  of  Europe.  "I 
ave  received  specimens  of  it,"  says  Professor 
Low,  •*  from  France  and  Sweden,  and  have  cul- 
tivated them  without  observing  any  change  of 
characters.  Whether,  however,  the  charac- 
ters which  distinguish  it  are  sufficiently  per- 
manent to  entitle  it  to  be  regarded  as  a  species, 
baa  not  been  determined.  In  the  mean  time, 
iollowinc  the  authority  of  Host  {Irones  el  Des. 
Gramu  Jiwf.),  I  have  placed  it  amongst  the 
species.'* 

4.  Egyptian,  or  many-spiked  wheat  (T.  com- 
fo$ihtm)t  PI.  S,  r,  is  distinguished  from  the 
others  by  its  branched  or  compound  spike, 
which  no  other  species  tends,  under  any  cir- 
camstance,  to  prcnduce.  Its  seeds  are  nume- 
roos,  and  the  produce  abundant.  It  requires  a 
good  climate  and  a  fertile  soil,  for  in  unfavour- 
able situations  the  branches  of  the  spike  are 
not  evolved,  and  then  it  assumes  the  appear- 
ance of  ordinary  wheat.  It  is  cultivated  in 
Egypt  and  the  east,  as  it  is  in  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope and  different  parts  of  Italy.  It  was  known 
in  Germany  about  240  years  ago,  and  in  France 
it  is  said  to  have  been  cultivated  for  about  80 
years,  having  been  brought  from  the  east  un- 
der the  name  of  wheat  of  Smyrna.  In  England 
it  has  been  partially  cultivated  as  the  subject 
of  experiment.  It  is  uncommonly  fruitful,  and 
the  straw  is  very  strong  and  tough,  whence  it 
has  received  the  name  of  reed  wheat. 

The  grains,  however,  do  not  yield  so  large  a 
proportion  of  flour  or  meal  as  any  of  the  other 
species  and  their  varieties,  and  the  flour  is 
scarcely  sapehor  to  that  obtained  from  the 
finest  barley.  Eg}'pttan  wheat  will  bear  great 
degrees  of  heat  and  drought  without  harm,  so 
that  it  i»  found  to  yield  abundantly  in  situations 
"Where  other  kinds  would  be  greatly  injured,  if 
not  destroyed ;  a  circumstance  which  points  it 
ont  as  admirably  adapted  to  the  arid  lands 
whereon  it  is  chiefly  cultivated.  It  would  be 
more  caltivated  in  England,  if  its  form  did  not 
canse  :•  to  hold  the  wet  at  harvest-lime,  and 
nencc  it  is  very  liable  to  be  laid. 

6.  Turgid  wheat  (T.  turgjdum),  PI.  2,  d.  In 
this  species  the  corolla  is  awned,  but  not  the 
calyx ;  the  spikes  are  covered  with  soft  hairs, 
and  in  some  rarieties  change  to  a  dark  colour, 
and  the  awns  drop  off  as  the  seeds  become 
1120 


WHEAT. 

ripe,  in  which  respect  it  differs  from  summer 
wheat.  It  is  known  in  different  localities  un- 
der the  several  names  of  gray  wheal,  duck's 
bill  wheat,  gray  pollard,  rivet,  pole  rivet,  cone, 
pendulum,  &c.  This  species  grows  very  tall, 
with  a  thick  and  rigid  stem.  The  spikes  are 
large  and  heavy,  and  nod  to  one  side  as  the 
grain  increases  in  weight.  The  kinds  or  minor 
varieties  are  distinguished  by  the  farmer  from 
their  qualities  of  earlier  or  later  ripening,  and 
greater  or  less  productiveness.  One  of  the 
most  esteemed  of  these  is  cone  wheat,  so  named 
from  the  conical  form  of  its  spike.  The  tur- 
gid wheats  are  productive  in  corn  and  straw, 
but  the  grain  is  coarse  and  hard,  and  the  flour 
much  browner  and  of  an  inferior  quality. 
They  are  chiefly  suited  to  the  inferior  clays, 
upon  which  in  England  they  are  extensively 
cultivated.  They  are  valued  under  such  cir- 
cumstances for  their  productiveness  in  grain 
and  their  large  growth  of  straw;  but  being  in- 
ferior to  the  winter  wheats  in  the  quality  of 
their  produce,  the  cultivation  of  them  is  not 
likely  to  be  extended  in  that  country. 

6.  Dark-spiked  wheal  (T.  ntratum)  is  allied 
to  the  last  species,  if  it  is  not  rather  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  variety  of  it.  It  has  merely  been 
made  the  subject  of  experiment,  but  not  of 
extended  cultivation.  It  is  not  superior  in 
productiveness  to  the  turgid  wheats  in  com- 
mon use. 

7.  Barley-like  wheat  {T.  hordieiforme),  so 
named  from  its  peculiar  form,  resembling  that 
of  barley,  seems,  like  that  last  described,  to  be 
derived  from  Africa.  The  florets  are  av/ned, 
and  the  calyx  and  corolla  become  dark  as  the 
seeds  ripen.  But  it  resembles  the  class  to  be 
next  referred  to,  termed  spelt-wheat. 

8.  Far  (T.  zea)  is  one  of  the  class  of  spelt- 
wheats.  It  is  distinguished  by  the  distance  of 
its  spikelets  from  one  another.  The  straw  is 
rigid;  the  calyx  and  corolla  adhere  closely  to 
the  seed,  and  the  spikelets  again  so  closely  to 
the  rachis,  that  they  cannot  be  separated  from 
the  rachis  without  breaking  it.  This  wheat  is 
cultivated  in  some  parts  of  Europe  on  inferior 
soils. 

9.  Spelt-wheat  (T.  s/jcfta),  PI.  2,/,  is  distin- 
guished like  the  last  by  its  spikelets  being 
firmly  attached  to  the  rachis,  and  by  its  rigid 
calyx  and  corolla  closely  enveloping  the  seed. 
Spelt  is  much  cultivated  in  the  south  of  Eu- 
rope. It  is  grown  extensively  in  the  southern 
provinces  of  France,  in  Switzerland,  Italy,  in 
several  parts  of  Germany,  and  in  Arragon, 
Catalonia,  and  other  parts  of  Spain,  as  well  as 
in  the  north  of  Africa,  and  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope.  Spelt  could  be  raised  in  England  with 
facility,  and  it  is  probable  on  soils  low  in  the 
scale  of  fertility.  It  has  been  cultivated  in 
Scotland,  600  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
It  is  said  that  spelt-wheat  is  better  adapted 
than  any  of  the  more  delicate  kinds  for  culture 
in  Australia,  and  probably  it  will  be  found  the 
more  preferable  sort  in  all  the  more  southern 
wheat-growing  countries. 

There  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  spelt, 
distinguiahed  as  the  awned  and  the  awnless ; 
the  latter  is  perhaps  the  most  naked  of  all  the 
cerealia.  The  grains  of  this  are  large,  but  th« 
ear  contains  only  a  small  number  of  them,  as 


WHEAT. 


a  portion  of  the  flowers  prove  barren.  It  is 
genff-ally,  if  not  always,  a  spring-sown  crop; 
grows  strongly,  and  its  stalks  are  nearly  solid. 
Bread  made  of  its  flour  is  said  to  be  of  a  dry 
quality.  It  is  well  known  in  commerce  that 
the  incomparable  Nuremberg  and  Frankfort 
starch  and  flour  are  solely  obtained  from  spelt- 
wheat.  The  l^ain  cannot  be  divested  of  its 
husks  by  thrashing,  and  therefore  requires  to 
be  passed  through  a  mill.  It  should  however 
be  sown  or  drilled  with  the  husks  on. 

10.  One-grained  wheat,  or  St.  Peter's  corn 
{T.monoccocum),  PI.  2,  if,  is  readily  distinguished 
from  all  the  other  wheats  by  its  general  ap- 
pearance, in  which  it  resembles  barley.  Its 
spikelet  consists  of  three  or  four  florets,  one 
of  which  only  is  for  the  most  part  fertile,  and 
hence  its  name  of  one-grained  wheat.  The 
fertile  floret  has  a  long  awn.  The  stem  of  this 
species  of  wheat  is  slender  and  rigid;  and, 
from  being  both  hard  and  fine,  the  straw  is  ex- 
cellent for  thatching.  It  is  allied  to  the  spells, 
with  which  it  was  classed  by  some  of  the  older 
botanical  writers.  This  species  is  principally 
cultivated  in  the  mountains  of  Switzerland  and 
other  elevated  regions  of  Europe,  and  in  barren 
soils.  In  consequence  of  its  containing  less 
gluten  than  common  sorts,  it  answers  better  for 
being  boiled  into  gruel  and  for  being  baked 
into  bread.  The  four-sided  form  of  the  ripe 
ear  is  so  regular,  that  it  has  the  appearance 
of  being  carved  in  ivory.  It  has  never  formed 
an  object  of  cultivation  in  this  country,  and 
does  not  appear  to  possess  properties  to  entitle 
it  to  be  introduced. 

11.  Polish  wheat  (T.  pohnicum),  PI.  2,  e. 
This  species  has  long  awns,  and  is  distin- 
guished from  all  the  others  by  its  long  and 
leafy  calyx  and  corolla.  It  is  cultivated  in 
Germany,  in  Poland,  and  in  Spain.  It  was 
brought  into  notice,  and  partially  cultivated,  in 
some  of  the  counties  of  England,  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  and  it  is  said 
to  have  been  valued  on  account  of  its  produc- 
tiveness of  flour.  But,  although  it  may  be 
possessed  of  this  quality,  its  florets  are  often 
infertile,  and  it  does  not  merit  a  more  extended 
culture  in  this  country.  Unless  sown  sparing- 
ly, it  is  apt  to  lodge,  in  consequence  of  which 
the  quality  of  the  corn  is  impaired. 

Varieiies. — The  minor  varieties  of  any  spe- 
cies of  wheat  are  not  permanent  in  their  cha^ 
racter,  though,  under  given  conditions,  they 
will  remain  unchanged  for  an  indefinite  period. 
Under  other  circumstances,  however,  they  de- 
generate; and  hence  particular  kinds  that  were 
once  valued  have  now  ceased  to  be  so.  The 
best  advice  that  can  be  given,  therefore,  in  the 
choice  of  varieties  and  sub-varieties,  is  to  select 
those  which  the  practice  and  experience  of  the 
principal  farmers  of  the  neighbourhood  have 
stamped  as  the  best.  Colonel  Le  Couteur,  one 
of  the  best  authorities  on  the  culture  of  wheat, 
has  given  us  the  result  of  his  experiments  and 
great  experience,  upon  four  of  the  best  pure 
and  improved  varieties  of  wheat  lately  intro- 
duced into  England.  {Journ.  Roy.  Eng.  Agr. 
Soc.  vol.  i.  p.  113.) 

1.  White  downy. — This  excellent  variety  is 
believed  to  be  the  same  that  is  so  well  de- 
scribe;, by  Boys  in  his  General  View  of  the  Agri- 


WHEAT. 

culture  of  Kent,  as  the  "  Hoary  White,"  or  "  Vel- 
vet-eared," said  by  him  to  have  been  much 
prized  by  the  millers,  but  then  entirely  lost. 
The  seed  after  being  washed  and  steeped  was 
sown  in  drills  7  inches  apart,  at  the  rate  of  two 
bushels  or  a  little  more  to  the  acre.  The  wheat 
was  carefully  hand-hoed  in  the  month  of  May, 
which  caused  it  to  tiller  freel}'.  The  preceding 
crop  was  potatoes.  This  wheat  will  withstand 
the  most  severe  weather.  The  season  1837  to 
1838  was  a  very  trying  one,  both  as  to  wetness 
and  severity  of  cold,  the  thermometer  having 
fallen  to  18°  below  freezing  ;  but  the  crops  of 
this  wheat  raised  by  my  neighbours  were  per- 
fectly insensible  to  it,  and  of  great  produce. 
This  wheat  is  not  remarkable  for  its  early 
maturity,  though  it  cannot  be  called  a  tardy 
variety.  It  is  not  subject  to  degenerate,  and 
if  attention  is  paid  to  sowmg  the  seed  pure, 
and  annually,  or  even  occasionally,  varying 
the  manure  intended  for  it,  it  is  possible  that 
it  may  never  degenerate.  The  only  objection 
to  it  is  the  huskiness  or  velvety  ear,  which  in 
damp  weather  is  retentive  of  moisture;  and  in 
snatchy  seasons  the  grain  is  more  apt  to  sprout 
than  the  smooth-chaffed  varieties.  It  is  not 
much  affected  with  dust-brand;  and  when 
pickled  and  limed,  has  never  been  found  with 
smut-balls.  It  is  little  liable  to  shed,  even 
when  over-ripe,  and  will  resist  very  heavy 
gales  without  being  laid  or  broken. 

2.  Jersey  Danlzic. — The  seed  is  described  as 
having  been  raised  from  a  single  ear,  originat- 
ing from  seed  procured  from  Dantzic,  selected 
from  the  finest  "  high  mixed."  It  is,  however, 
suspected  to  be  identical  with  some  excel- 
lent sorts,  called  in  Sussex,  Kent,  and  some 
parts  of  Surrey,  the  "Chittums;"  in  other 
parts  "Pegglesham;"  in  Berkshire,  "Trump;" 
in  Essex,  "  Hardcastle ;"  in  some  counties, 
»  Old  Suffolk;"  in  Scotland,  "Hunter's  White;" 
and  assuming  several  other  names.  This 
wheat  is  not  quite  so  hardy  as  the  "  hoary ;"  it 
is,  nevertheless,  considered  sufficiently  so  to 
succeed  throughout  the  kingdom,  excepting  the 
northern  parts  of  Scotland.  In  rich  soils  it 
tillers  amazingly,  and  produces  a  longer  straw 
than  the  hoary,  nor  is  it  so  liable  to  sprout  in  a 
moist  climate  from  being  smooth-chaffed:  in 
very  severe,  moist,  and  stormy  weather,  it  will 
be  laid  sooner  than  the  hoary. 

It  ripens  a  week  earlier  at  least  than  the  va- 
riety last  described,  and  should  be  reaped 
while  the  grain  can  be  marked  by  pressure 
from  the  thumb-nail,  as  it  is  rather  liable  to 
shed  if  over-ripe,  a  disadvantage  which  the 
hoary  is  peculiarly  free  from,  as  it  is  tenacious 
to  the  ear.  In  the  dry  season  this  wheat  will 
afford  a  beautiful,  clean,  white  straw,  fit  for 
bonnet-making,  or  any  purpose  of  thatching  • 
it  is  firm  and  tenacious.  In  wet  seasons  it  is 
rather  subject  to  rust,  which,  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, almost  all  wheat  suffers  from. 

3.  Wliittington  Wheat. — The  seed  was  ob* 
tained  from  Mr.  Whittington  himself,  and  was 
a  very  fine,  pure  sample.  The  grain  is  large, 
full,  and  plump,  rather  of  a  whitish-red  cast, 
and  a  little  thick-skinned.  The  seed  was 
washed,  pickled,  drained,  and  limed,  then  sowr 
in  drills  seven  inches  apart,  about  three  bushe. 
to  the  acre.    When  the  seed  is  large,  it  is  cor 

1131 


AV^HEAT. 

sidercd  prodent  tc  add  half  a  bushel  or  more  to 
•he  acre.  I  consider  this  to  be  a  very  hardy 
wheat,  afibrding  much  herbage  and  straw,  very 
fit  for  being  eaien  down  by  sheep  in  the  spring 
when  sown  early  in  the  fall.  The  Whitlington 
is  rather  a  late  wheat,  ripening  a  week  or  ten 
days  later  than  the  Jersey  Dantzic  before  de- 
acribed.  though  il  was  in  bloom  on  the  saR;e 
day.  From  the  purity  of  the  seed,  and  the 
uniform  appearance  of  the  crop,  it  does  not 
appear  likely  lo  degenerate,  nor  does  it  seem 
more  liable  to  disease  than  other  wheats.  The 
straw  is  brittle,  and  many  ears  break  off.  I 
am  of  opinion,  from  what  I  have  witnessed, 
that  the  value  of  this  description  of  wheat  is 
much  overrated:  the  millers  dislike  it,  and  in 
certain  situations  it  is  apt  to  blight. 

4,  BtlUvu*  Talavera.— This  admirable  variety 
is  invaluable  where  it  is  adapted  to  the  soil 
and  climate.  The  seed  being  large,  a  greater 
qoanlily  of  it  should  be  allowed  than  usual. 
This  wheat  has  succeeded  in  the  north  of  Scot- 
land, and  is  sufficiently  hardy  to  withstand  the 
winter  in  its  grassy  state,  but  it  is  otherwise 
more  valuable  as  a  spring  crop :  without  doubt 
it  may  be  sown  as  late  as  the  first  week  in  Feb- 
niary  in  all  the  milder  parts  of  England,  with 
a  prospect  of  reaping  quite  as  good  an  average 
crop  from  it  as  from  any  other  wheat,  but  with 
a  certainty  of  obtaining  more  flour  than  from 
most  There  is  no  tendency  to  degenerate  ob- 
senrahle  in  this  wheat,  as  far  as  the  experience 
of  five  or  six  years  goes ;  nor,  from  its  early 
Mbit?,  is  it  at  all  likely  to  become  intermixed 
by  fecundation  from  other  varieties,  though 
aown  aboat  the  same  period,  as  it  will,  in  such 
eaaes,  flower  a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  before 
Ikcm.  It  is  not  more  liable  to  disease  than  or- 
dinary while  wheats,  and  affords  a  very  fine, 
clear,  white  straw:  it  is,  indeed,  one  of  the 
Italian  bonnet>making  varieties.  There  is, 
lK>werer,  one  disadvantage  in  it,  which  is,  that 


WHEAT. 

the  ear  is  so  heavy  that  it  is  apt  to  break  down, 
though  not  break  off,  when  swept  by  a  gale 
about  the  period  of  ripening;  but  it  has  a 
countervailing  good  quality,  of  ripening  the 
grain  equally  well  though  bent  down ;  as  is  the 
case  with  spring  wheats,  which  ripen  their 
seed  well  though  quite  laid,  wl^ich  with  winter 
wheats  is  doubtful.  Another  peculiarity  is  the 
tenacity  of  the  chaff  to  the  ear,  more  remain- 
ing on  it  after  passing  through  the  thrashing- 
machine  than  any  other  variety  I  am  acquainted 
with. 

The  following  sorts  I  have  also  grown  expe- 
rimentally, but,  not  having  raised  them  in  quan- 
tities sufficient  to  warrant  a  positive  opinion, 
which  probably  might  only  tend  to  mislead, 
they  are  merely  named. 

The  "golden  drop"  is  one  of  the  best  red 
wheats,  affording  great  produce  in  corn  and 
straw,  and  a  larger  quantity  of  flour  than  some 
white  wheats. 

"Hickling's  prolific  red"  is  a  productive  va- 
riety, but  rather  coarse.  The  properties  of  this 
wheat  are,  straw  long,  stout  at  the  bottom,  and 
tapering  at  the  head ;  head  short,  thick,  close, 
and  heavy ;  kernels  four  in  the  row  across  the 
ear,  and  red  in  colour,  with  the  chaff  while ;  in 
sample  the  wheat  is  short,  plump,  thin-skinned, 
and  looks  as  if  it  would  flour  well :  colour 
dark  orange-red. 

Brown's  "ten-rowed  chevalier,"  or  prolific, 
is  well  named,  where  it  suits  the  soil  and  cli- 
mate: it  is,  when  pure,  a  very  fine  variety. 

"Gale's  Hampshire"  is  a  very  enormously 
productive  sort  of  bearded  wheat.  "Essex 
red,"  a  very  good  variety.  "The  duck's-bill" 
wheat  is  very  productive,  but  shedding  greatly, 
and  not  very  farinaceous. 

In  order  to  present  the  particular  points  of 
comparison  between  the  four  principal  varie- 
ties above-described,  the  results  are  appended 
in  a  tabular  form: — 


- 

-~ 

per  Acre. 

Time  of 
Sowing 

Harvested. 

Produce  per  Acre. 

Produce  per 
Acre  in 

J. 

II 
zi 

|oo 

2; 

a 

s 
o 

1 

1 

■o    . 

II 

1 

i? 

11 

WUlt*      5 
Dovay' 

ArfinaeMM 

Yz"^-"} 

3  bushels. 

Jan.  29. 

Aug.  16. 

buah 

48 

lbs. 
4557 

lbs. 
315 

lbs. 

62 

lbs. 
2402 

lbs. 
542 

lbs. 

25 

L.  s.  d. 

7   4  9 

Dhto. 
Do.  M   a  C 
boiioiiJl 

Ditto. 

ihhds.ofllme. 
•  qrs.  lime  ashes. 
ftqrs.  kelp  ashes. 

Ditto. 
U  bush. 

Ditto. 
Jan.  8, 

Aug.  12. 
Aug.  24. 

43i 
33 

4681 
7786 

430 
483 

63 
61 

2161 
1454 

606 
524 

251 
23! 

5  99 

2  7  6 

TMsven 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 

Feb.  3. 

Aug.  17. 

52 

5480 

282 

61 

2485 

626 

25 

812  9 

MU>'^»r  iM^i!!l.  of  P'ofltt  in  the  last  column,  the  calculation  is  not  made  with  relation  to  the  respective 
Iki- 7.in-  «r  Jlwwi -fi.^*.'*  w*"  P^xJuctiveness  in  flour,  which  it  might  be,  but  according  lo  the  ordinary  maritet- 
■M«  valo*  of  rood  wbtrnt  j  the  ttniw  is  valued  as  intended  for  manure. 

Th^  following  is  an  excellent  account  of  an  |  The  profits  of  farming,  whether  the  land  be 
experiment  on  the  relative  values  of  several  pasture  or  arable,  and  the  tenant  be  a  feeder 
varieties  of  wheat  by  Mr.  John  Morton,  which  ;  of  stock  or  a  tiller  of  the  ground,  may  be  in- 
I  hare  extracted  from  the  first  volume  of  the  creased  in  two  ways.  The  stock-farmer  knows 
Jamn.  of  (h»  Kn^.Jljpr.  Sor.,  p.  39.  It  is  from  very  well  that  the  return  he  obtains  from  his 
practical  and  careinlly  carried  out  experiments,  caitle  depends,  not  only  on  the  kind  of  food 
such  as  these,  that  we  shall  be  able  to  arrive  i  given  to  them,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
at  the  proportionate  value  of  different  species  ,  supplied,  but  also  on  the  feeding  qualities  of 
and  n^^^arictiesof  wheat,  and  from  which  i  the  breed  to  which  they  belong;  and  he  in- 
we  may  ^f  <?nabled  to  select  the  good  and  re-  >  creases  his  chance  of  profit  as  much  when,  on 
liy»  I  purchasing  from  the  breeder,  he  selects  with 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


judgment,  as  when  he  adopts  an  improved 
mode  of  feeding.  The  intelligent  farmer  of 
arable  land,  again,  expects  a  greater  crop,  the 
more  he  has  been  able  to  improve  the  texture 
of  the  soil,  and  the  better  the  nature  and  state 
of  the  manure  which  it  contains.  He  expects  it, 
because  he  knows  that  it  depends  on  the  nature 
of  the  food  given  to  the  plants,  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  are  provided  with  a  constant 
supply  of  it.  The  crop  does  not,  however,  de- 
pend only  on  this :  for  as  two  beasts,  fed  in 
exactly  the  same  manner,  may  not  be  equally 
profitable,  owing  to  a  difference  between  them 
regarding  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  meat 
they  afford,  so  two  different  kinds  of  wheat, 
though  sown  on  land  precisely  similar,  and  in 
equally  good  condition,  may  give  unequal  re- 
turns, owing  to  a  difference  between  them  re- 
garding the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  flour 
they  afford.  Hence  the  importance,  too  often 
overlooked  by  farmers,  not  only  of  preparing 
the  land  for  the  crop  in  a  good  and  sufficient 
manner,  but  also  of  selecting  that  kind  of  seed 
which  experience  has  pointed  out  as  being 
most  valuable  and  productive.  It  was  with  a 
view,  not  only  of  ascertaining  the  relative 
value,  hardiness,  and  other  properties  of  seve- 
ral of  the  most  commonly  planted  wheats,  but 
also  of  effecting  an  improvement  in  the  best 
of  them,  that  the  following  experiment  was 
commenced  on  the  Isi  of  November,  1837.  To 
insure  accuracy  in  the  results,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  the  seeds  of  each  variety  should  be 
planted  so  as  to  have  them  all  at  equal  distances. 
To  effect  this,  two  boards  were  used,  each  6 
inches  wide,  9  feet  long,  and  ^  inch  thick. 
Along  the  centre  of  each  board  was  a  row  of 
holes,  3  inches  apart  and  1  inch  in  diameter. 
A  dibble  was  made  to  fit  into  the  holes,  having 


a  shoulder  at  the  distance  of  2^  inches  fron: 
the  point. 

When  the  board  was  placed  on  the  ground, 
and  the  dibble  put  through  each  hole  in  succes- 
sion, a  series  of  holes  was  thus  made,  2  inches 
dee-p,  and  3  inches  apart  from  centre  to  centre. 

After  this  had  been  done  through  the  first 
board,  the  second,  which  was  touching  it,  and 
parallel  to  it,  was  served  in  the  same  way ;  and 
then  the  first  was  taken  up,  and  placed  on  the 
other  side  of  the  second.  By  proceeding  thus, 
the  whole  ground  was  finished,  and  then  one 
grain  of  wheat  was  dropped  into  each  hole. 
The  rows  were  thus  exactly  6  inches  apart, 
and  the  grains  in  the  rows  were  3  inches  from 
one  another.  The  regularity  with  which  the 
planting  was  performed  was  thus  mathemati- 
cally accurate.  The  ground  planted  lies  on 
the  lower  edge  of  the  great  oolite  formation, 
and  the  soil  is  a  stone  brash,  about  10  inches 
in  thickness.  Crops  of  potatoes  had  been 
taken  off  it  for  a  succession  of  eight  years; 
and  it  had  been  manured  every  alternate  year 
with  a  compost  of  equal  bulks  of  stable-dung 
and  earth,  at  the  rate  of  about  20  cubic  yards 
per  acre.  It  was  67  feet  in  length ;  and  3 
rows  of  each  variety  of  wheat  were  planted, 
except  the  first  and  last  numbers,  of  which 
there  were  4  rows.  The  outer  row  of  each  of 
these,  however,  was  not  taken  into  account, 
because  their  roots  had  a  much  greater  extent 
of  ground  for  their  growth  than  the  others, 
whose  roots  touched  one  another  all  round. 
The  end  plants  of  each  row  were  also  rejected 
for  the  same  reason.  Sixty-six  feet  in  length 
of  ground  were  thus  taken  up,  and  three  rows 
of  each  variety  occupied  in  width  1^  foot:  tha 
ground  occupied  by  each  variety  was  thus  99 
square  feet,  the  440th  part  of  an  acre. 


1 

No. 

Name  of 
Wheat 

Whence 
obiaioed. 

1 

1 

6 

i 
Is 

II 

f 

Prod 
of9£ 

•5 

uce 
ct. 

a 

o 

• 

i 

1 

1 

1 

Weight  of 

Wheat  per 

Acre. 

'S 
£  . 

y 

11 

i 

1 

1 

II 

Weight  of 

Straw  per 

Acre. 

ei 

Jo 

II 

Weight  of 

Roots  per 

Acre. 

Z 

o 

•c-^ 

^ 

•^ 

^ 

2 

X 

i 

< 

^ 

i 

^ 

JN^i 

~" 

lbs. 

T.  cwt.qr.  lb. 
13    2    8 

ft.  in. 

lbs. 

T.  cwt.qr  lb. 
3    5    2  24 

lbs. 

T.cwt.ar.Ib. 
0J19    2    6 

*' 

1 

Old  red 

PuMy,  Betks 

-92 

3S7 

05 

2463 

S5 

6 

6 

41  3  4 

5    8 

16  1-2 

5 

1 

IjLinmu. 
Gr.ldendrop. 

_ 

T91 

191 

501 

2542 

25 

5 

63-4 

16    2    8 

46  3-t 

6    6 

15  1-4 

3    0    0    3 

S  M 

1     0    2  14 

u 

' 

Ten-rowed 

Harebv.  I.in- 

prolific. 

colushire. 

T92 

391 

401 

1^ 

19 

3  1-2 

4  1-2 

0  16    2  16 

27 

5    5 

12  3-4 

2  10    0  10 

5 

0  19    2    6 

41 

HuDteHs. 

Leek,  Lin. 

coln«hire. 

7W 

273 

519 

2028 

20 

4  M 

4  12 

0  16    2  16 

27 

5    6 

12  3-4 

2  12    0  10 

5 

0  19    2    6 

tt 

Thick-set 

Lyford. 

SiifTolk. 

Berk,. 

792 

120 

672 

8039 

30 

4  1-2 

10  1-2 

2    110 

72  1-4 

5    8 

19  12 

3    5    2  14 

7  1-2 

1    9    1  24 

It 

Hick  ins'. 

Old  Buckicg- 

prolific. 

in^hara, 
Norfolk, 

792 

132 

6S7 

2386 

29 

4  1-2 

10  1-4 

I  19    3    3 

69  1-2 

5    7 

16  1-2 

3    5    224 

63-J 

16    2    8 

1     16 

White  Taun- 

Wallingford, 

1 

ton. 

Berks. 

^92 

305 

487 

2695 

27 

5  1-4 

6 

1    3    1  20 

41  1-2 

5    6 

15  1-4 

3    0    0    0 

5  1-2 

1     1    2  12 

" 

Silver  drop. 

Lyford, 
Berks. 

-92 

218 

574 

25S2 

26 

4  1-2 

8 

1  11     1  20 

55 

5    6 

18  1-2 

3  12    2  12 

6 

13    2    8 

" 

Scotch 
white. 

-92 

379 

413 

2386 

24 

5  3-4 

6  1-4 

14    2    6 

43 

5    9 

16  12 

3    5    224 

5  1-2 

1     1    2  12 

ii 

10 

T»l»venu 

Taunton. 

7:-i2 

434 

358 

19S5 

20 

5  1-2 

5  1-4 

1    0    2  14 

36 

5    8 

14  1-2 

2  16    3  14 

5  1-2 

1     1    2  12 

XI 

11 

Smithers' 
Hereford 

Cirencester. 
(Smi.h). 

792 

319 

473 

2529 

25 

5  1-4 

9  12 

1  17    1    S 

65  1-2 

5    6 

17  1-2 

3    8    3  20 

6 

0  19    2    0 

" 

12 

white. 
A  red  wheat. 

- 

792 

252 

540 

34S3 

35 

6  1-2 

12 

2    5    1  12 

82  1-2 

5    0 

22 

4    7    0    2 

9 

1  15    2    6 

13 

KRvplian 
cone. 

. 

792 

528 

264 

711 

7 

2  M 

S  1-4 

0  13    0  24 

23 

6    0 

8  1-4 

1  11    2    2 

3 

0  11    3    4 

" 

M 

Redttraw. 
UnimM. 

m 

5in 

282 

2006 

21 

7  1-2 

4  1-2 

0  16    2  16 

27 

5    8 

14  1-2 

2  16    3    4 

5 

0  19    2    6 

(1 

15 

2 

70' 

^6) 

528 

162b 

16 

5 

6 

1     3     1  28 

41   1-2 

6    0 

9  3-4 

1  16    1  16 

6 

13    2    8 

11 

16 

Red  cone. 

792 

4^6 

336 

244fc 

24 

7 

10 

1  19     1    4 

68  3-4 

5    3 

12  1-2 

2    9    0    0 

43-4 

0  18    2  10 

1 

2 

3 

4 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

II 

12 

13     1     M 

15     '           It) 

17 

18 

JVofe.— Specimens,  in  the  straw,  of  each  of  the  varieties  mentioned  in  the  Table,  were  laid  before  the  Society. 


Athough  the  tabular  form  in  which  this  ex- 
periment is  detailed  explains  itself  by  the  head- 
ings of  each  column,  yet  it  is  considered  ne- 
cessary to  give  a  somewhat  fuller  account  of 


It,  The  seed  from  which  the  first  ten  varieties 
were  raised  was  carefully  selected  from  speci- 
mens of  each  obtained  in  the  ear.  The  other* 
were  from  samples,  and  here,  also,  the  grf>atest 
5  c  2  1133 


WHEAT. 

care  wa*  taken  thai  the  seed  from  which  each 
was  raised  should  be  the  best  and  plumpest 
that  could  be  obtained. 

The  fiml  five  colamns  need  no  explanation 
beyond  whal  is  given  at  the  head  of  each ;  the 
siiih  shows  the  number  of  grams  lost  from 
casualties.  If  the  frost  had  been  the  only  aj?ent 
in  the  destruction  of  so  many  of  the  seeds,  this 
column  might  have  been  considered  as  a  very 
accurate  index  of  the  relative  hardiness  of  each 
variety.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case ;  for 
the  havoc  which  the  birds  made  must  also  be 
taken  into  accuunu  It  was  thought  at  the  time 
that  more  injury  was  sustained  from  the  latter 
causr  by  those  varieties  planted  on  (he  21st 
than  by  any  of  the  others ;  but  this  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  the  case,  for,  if  the  great 
loas  sustained  by  these  had  been  wholly  owing 
to  the  havoc  committed  by  the  birds,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  the  varieties  marked  Nos.  12  and  15 
would  not  have  been  so  slightly  injured,  while 
Nos.  11,  13,  14.  and  16  suflered  so  severely. 
The  figures  in  this  column  may,  therefore,  be 
said  to  indicate  with  tolerable  accuracy  the  re- 
lative ability  of  each  variety  to  withstand  the 
efiects  of  a  severe  and  changeable  winter,  such 
as  that  during  which  the  experiment  was  made. 

The  number  of  plants  of  each  variety  which 
came  to  perfection  is  placed  opposite  the  name 
of  each  m  the  seventh  column.  This  was  as- 
certamed  by  pulling  each  as  they  respectively 
ripened,  and  counting  the  plants  of  each  before 
proceeding  to  the  others.  In  this  way,  by  a 
simple  subtraction,  the  numbers  contained  in 
the  sixth  column  also  were  ascertained. 

When  all  the  plants  of  any  variety  had  been 
palled,  the  number  of  ears  also  belonging  to 
them  was  counted,  and  the  results  are  placed 
in  the  eighth  column. 

By  dividing  these  by  99,  the  number  of  square 
feet  which  each  variety  occupied,  we  obtain  the 
number  of  ears  in  each  square  foot;  and  this 
is  placed  opposite  the  name  of  each  wheat,  in 
the  ninth  column. 

The  average  number  of  ears  to  each  root, 
ascertained  by  dividing  the  number  of  ears  by 
that  of  the  roots,  is  placed  in  the  tenth  column. 
This  colamn  shows  the  degree  in  which  each 
•pedaa  possesses  the  important  property  of 
spreading  and  shooting  out  stems,  or,  as  it  is 
technically  termed,  of  tillering;  and  it  will  be 
teen  that  they  vary  in  this  respect  greatly. 

After  having  been  pulled  and  dried,  the  wheat 
•us  carefully  nibbed  out ;  and,  after  the  light 
and  imperfect  grains  had  been  separated,  the 
weight  of  the  remainder  was  taken,  and  placed 
opposite  each  son,  in  the  eleventh  column. 

Th*"  thineenth  column  contains  the  number 
of  bushels  per  acre  raised  from  each  variety. 
As  the  quantity  produced  was  so  small,  there 
was  some  diflicnity  in  obtaining  the  particulars 
which  this  column  contains. 

TV-  m  !.<  n! opted  was  this:  The  average 
''  il  of  the  varieties  was  ascer- 

lai:u.:.  by  uc;c.Mung8  pints  of  each,  to  be  at 
the  rate  of  64  lbs.  per  bushel,  some  being  rather 
more  and  others  less.  The  number  of  bushels 
werp  then  obtained  from  the  weight  of  wheat 
per  acre,  by  dividing  it  by  64. 

The  weight  of  straw,  which  is  placed  in  the 
fiftejnth  and  sixteenth  columns,  was  ascerlain- 
2134 


WHEAT. 

ed  after  the  roots  had  been  cut  off,  and  after  it 
had  remained  out  sufficiently  long  to  dry  it 
perfectly. 

After  the  earth  had  been  removed  from  the 
roots,  which  had  been  cut  off  with  about  two 
inches  of  the  stem,  they  were  weighed,  and  the 
result  placed  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
columns.  The  object  of  this  was  to  ascertain 
the  amount  of  vegetable  matter  left  in  the  soil 
after  the  wheat  crop  has  been  removed,  and 
the  result  greatly  exceeds  any  conception  of  it 
that  had  been  previously  entertained. 

The  inferences  which,  it  is  presumed,  may 
be  drawn  from  the  above  details,  are  the  fol- 
lowing:— 

1st.  With  regard  to  the  hardiness  of  the  va- 
rieties, which,  as  we  have  already  said,  may, 
to  a  certain  extent,  be  deduced  from  the  parti- 
culars contained  in  the  sixth  column,  that  they 
may  be  placed  in  three  classes.  Nos.  5,  6,  8, 
12, 15,  4,  and  2  being  the  hardiest;  Nos.  13,  14, 
16,  and  10  being  the  most  delicate;  and  Nos. 
1,  3,  7,  9,  and  11  occupying  an  average  station. 

2d.  With  regard  to  the  property  of  tUleritig, 
of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  that  Nos.  12, 
14,  16,  and  1  possess  it  in  the  greatest  degree; 
that  Nos.  3,  13,  4,  5,  6,  15,  8,  and  2  possess  it 
in  the  least;  and  that  Nos.  7,  9, 10,  and  11  hold 
a  medium  rank. 

3d.  That  witli  respect  to  the  relative  value 
of  each  variety  mentioned  in  the  table,  No.  12 
is  undoubtedly  the  best  of  any,  in  productive- 
ness, and  in  being  sufficiently  hardy;  that  No. 
13  is  as  undoubtedly  the  worst  of  any,  as  will 
be  seen  by  a  reference  to  any  of  the  columns ; 
and  that  the  others  vary  greatly,  some  possess- 
ing nearly  three  times  the  productiveness  of 
others. 

These  16  different  sorts  of  wheat,  with  the 
exception  of  Nos.  13,  15,  16,  which  are  beard- 
ed, are  merely  varieties  of  one  species  of  the 
genus  Triticum;  and  the  circumstance  of  dif- 
ferences existing  among  them,  some  possess- 
ing three  times  the  value  of  others,  shows  that 
any  variety  is  capable  of  improvement.  This, 
indeed,  is  shown  by  many  other  plants  besides 
the  wheat.  The  originals  of  the  potato,  the 
carrot,  and  the  turnip,  were  comparatively  in- 
significant and  useless  in  their  application  as 
food,  and  it  was  only  by  careful  and  repeated 
cultivation  that  they  were  at  length  brought  to 
their  present  condition,  and  made  to  hold  such 
an  important  rank  among  the  many  nutritive 
plants  cultivated  for  the  food  of  man  and  beast. 
It  is  supposed,  then,  and  where  it  has  been  tried 
experience  shows  it  to  be  a  fact,  that,  by  first  as- 
certaining the  best  of  many  varieties  of  wheat, 
and  planting  the  finest  and  plumpest  seeds  se- 
lected from  the  best  sample  that  could  be  obtain- 
ed of  it,  the  last  of  a  succession  of  crops,  the  first 
of  which  was  raised  in  this  manner,  and  all  the 
others  from  seeds  selected  out  of  the  produce 
of  the  preceding  harvests,  would,  at  length, 
afford  a  wheat  of  a  more  productive  and  valu- 
able kind  than  has  hitherto  been  used  by  the 
farmer.  The  experiment  here  detailed  is,  then, 
merely  the  first  step  in  the  process ;  it  merely 
points  out  the  best  of  the  varieties  which  were 
tried.  The  improvement  of  these  by  repeated 
cultivation  still  remains  to  be  effected. 
During  the  growth  of  the  wheat,  a  journal 


WHEAT. 


was  kept,  an  extract  from  which  is  given  here, 
as  it  refers  to  an  insect  which  was  observed 
after  the  blossoming  of  the  plants,  and  to  which 
the  destruction  of  many  of  the  seeds  was  owing. 
Observations  of  this  Icind  might  be  easily  and 
generally  made,  and  they  would  be  uset*ul  as 
information  regarding  the  nature  and  habits 
of  the  insects  which  attack  wheat;  and  answers 
to  the  how,  when,  and  where,  on  ihe  sub- 
ject, which  would  thus  be  obtained,  afford  the 
only  guide  to  the  invention  of  means  for  their 
destruction. 

1 838.  Extract  from  Journa I. 

July  5th. — All  the  wheat  is  in  blossom,  except 
Nos.  13  and  15. 
14th. — Very   rainy    and    windy    weather. 
Whether  will   this    be   found  to 
injure  or  improve  the  quality  of 
the  grain  ? 
i^K        16th. — Since  the  rain  of  the  14th,  an  orange- 
^^ft  coloured  substance,  like  rust,  has 

I^K  been  observed  in  the  seed-vessels 

^H^  of  some  of  the  ears,  as  if  the  rain 

^H^  had  got  in  and  rotted  the  pollen. 

^Kf  A  very   small   fly  has   been   ob- 

^^B.  served  about  the  ears  in  the  even- 

^^K  ing.     Many  of  the  ears  are  filling 

^Hk  rapidly ;  some   are   already   full, 

and  others  are  only  in  blossom. 
19th. — In  the  ears  of  wheat,  which  were 
before-mentioned  as  having  abor- 
tive grains,  owing,  as  was  thought, 
to  the  pollen  having  been  rotted 
by  the   rain,   I   now   find    small 
orange-coloured  grubs,  about  the 
tenth  of  an  inch  long,  doubtless 
the  offspring  of  the  small  fly  ob- 
served about  a  week  ago. 
Aug.4ih. — All  these  grubs  have  disappeared. 
27th. — Nos.  4,  10,  and   11,  are   ripe  and 

pulled. 
28th. — Nos.  3, 5,  and  6,  are  ripe  and  pulled. 
29th. — Nos.  7, 8,  and  9,  are  ripe  and  pulled. 
30th. — Nos.  2,  12,  and    16,  are   ripe   and 
pulled. 
Sept.  1st. — Nos.  1  and  14  are  ripe  and  pulled. 
2d. — Nos.  13  and  15  are  ripe  and  pulled. 
The   account  of    this   experiment   is    thus 
finished,  and  there  now  remains  but  to  state 
what  will  have  already  occurre'^  to  the  reader, 
especially  if  he  be  a  practical  man,  that  it  is 
not  one  nor  many  experiments,  if  conducted  on 
a  small  s^ale,  which  will  accurately  determine 
the  point  this  tends  to  ascertain. 

Sail. — Although  wheat  can  be  cultivated  on 
any  soil,  yet  heavy  loams,  strong  clays,  and 
marls  are  considered  to  be  the  best  wheat  soils, 
and  the  larger  the  proportion  of  alumin  in  the 
soil,  the  heavier  will  be  the  grain,  and  the  more 
productive  the  crop. 

Sandy  soils  (says  a  modern  writer)  are  un- 
favourable to  the  growth  of  wheat,  for  they  are 
deficient  in  that  degree  of  firmness  which  is 
necessary  to  support  the  roots  of  the  plants.  It 
is  therefore  a  crop  which  should  never  be 
so-vn  on  such  land  ;  or  if  grown,  it  should  only 
be  upon  one  ploughing  of  a  clover  ley,  and 
then  afterwards  folded  by  a  flock  of  sheep. 
{Brit.  Husb.  vol.  ii.  p.  140.) 
Very  fine  descriptions  of  wheat  are  grown 


WHEAT. 

on  gravelly,  chalky,  and  flinty  soils,  which 
have  a  dry  subsoil. 

In  England  the  cultivation  of  wheat  varies 
in  different  districts,  and  according  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  soil.  Upon  heavy  clays,  the  course 
of  cropping  is  commonly  a  twelvemonth's  fal- 
low, with  from  four  to  six  ploughings,  &;c.,  and 
a  dressing  of  manure  or  lime,  or  both.  On 
this  description  of  land,  wheat  also  very  com- 
monly follows  beans,  which  have  been  care- 
fully cleaned;  and,  thirdly,  is  sown  extensively 
lipon  clover-leys.  On  lighter  soils,  a  crop  of 
turnips  or  rape  sown  in  May,  and  fed  off  by 
sheep  early  in  the  autumn,  is  frequently  sub- 
stituted with  advantage  instead  of  a  year's 
naked  fallow.  And,  again,  a  practice,  but 
which  I  strongly  condemn,  is  still  followed  in 
several  parts  of  England,  of  sowing  dressed  or 
folded  rye-grass  leys  with  wheat.  (See  Rota- 
tion OF  Crops.)  On  soils  adapted  for  turnips, 
and  where  the  drill  and  horse-hoe  are  employ- 
ed, a  course  I  much  approve  from  the  ley's 
return,  from  a  small  expenditure,  consists  of: 
1st,  turnips;  2d,  oats  or  barley;  3d,  clover; 
4th,  beans  or  peas  ;  and  then,  5th,  wheat. 

The  quantity  of  seed  varies  considerably; 
and,  although  I  have  witnessed  large  crops 
grown  from  one  bushel  of  seed  drilled  per  acre, 
the  rows  at  foot  intervals,  yet  the  general 
practice  may  be  taken  at  from  two  to  three 
bushels  per  acre.  The  time  of  sowing  is  from 
September  to  March ;  the  winter  varieties 
should  be  in  the  ground  by  the  end  of  Novem- 
ber, and  the  spring  varieties  as  early  as  the 
season  will  admit.  For  the  diseases  of  wheat,- 
see  Fly  in  Whkat,  Mildew,  and  Rust.  And 
I  may  observe  that,  although  subject  to  several 
diseases,  yet  upon  the  whole  it  is  the  hardiest 
of  the  cereal  grasses,  and  flourishes  under  a 
greater  variety  of  seasons  and  climate. 

Saunng. — Wheat  is  either  sown  broadcast,  or 
by  the  drill  or  dibble.  Drilling  is  the  most 
preferable  mode.  When  it  is  sown  in  drills, 
the  usual  distance  between  the  rows  is  from 
9  to  12  inches;  but  it  is  conceived  that  the 
larger  intervals  are  the  better,  and  that  they 
may  in  most  cases  be  even  more  than  12 
inches.  The  best  period  of  sowing,  it  has  been 
said,  is  from  about  the  middle  to  the  end  of 
September.  The  early  part  of  October,  how- 
ever, is  well  suited  to  the  sowing  of  wheat,  and 
it  may  be  continued  till  the  middle  of  No- 
vember. 

The  proportion  of  seed  that  is  necessary 
must  depend  upon  and  be  regulated  by  a  va- 
riety of  different  circumstances,  but  in  general 
from  two  to  three  bushels,  according  to  the 
state  of  the  soil,  the  nature  of  the  climate,  and 
the  period  in  which  it  is  put  into  the  ground, 
may  be  the  most  suitable  proportion  for  soils 
of  a  medium  state  of  fertility,  under  the  broad- 
cast method  of  husbandry ;  but  where  the  drill 
or  dibble  system  of  culture  is  practised,  a  con- 
siderably less  quantity  may  be  sufficient  for 
the  purpose.     See  Seed. 

In  the  case  of  summer-fallow  the  quantity 
of  seed  need  not  exceed  two  bushels  to  the 
acre.  When  the  sowing  takes  place  in  spring, 
the  quantity  may  be  extended  to  three  bushels, 
rather  less  than  more. 

The  cultivation  of  wheat  is  verv  rapid  bv 

1135 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT 


fiAer  of  the  following  methods  :  1.  By  select- 
ing the  grains  of  superior  ears  and  dibbling 
tb«m  in  «  seedling  bed,  4  inches  apart  every 
way.  2.  By  dividing  and  transplanting  the 
rootK. 

The  same  weight  of  Rostock  and  Dantzic 
floor  from  wheat  grown  in  the  Baltic,  made 
only  83  poands  of  bread,  very  iight  and  good, 
but  not  so  white  by  many  shades  or  well-fla- 
voared  as  that  made  from  the  two  first  varie- 
ties of  home  growth. 

These  experiments  having  been  made  in  my 
own  presence,  may  be  relied  on.  The  dough 
was  worked  in  the  French  mode,  not  pushed 
down,  tarned  and  worked  with  closed  hands, 
bat  drawn  up  into  long  strings,  and  repeatedly 
liAedt  in  onler  to  expose  it  to  the  action  of  the 
air  as  much  as  possible,  which  tends  greatly  to 
improve  the  bread,  by  rendering  it  more  light 
and  easy  of  digestion.    See  Brkau. 

The  superiority  of  the  hoary  variety  of  wheat, 
which  furnished  three  pounds  more  bread  on  a 
baking  of  IS  pounds  of  flour,  or  an  increase  of 
one-sixth  over  the  Dantzic  and  Kostock,  which 
was  also  a  very  fine  sample  of  flour,  is  thus 
dearly  established.  (Le  Couteur  on  Wheat, 
p.  44.) 

Stfurinf  tht  m,p. — I  have  already  briefly  ad- 
rerlcd  under  the  head  Rkapixo  to  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  harvesting  the  grain 
before  it  is  fully  ripe,  but  have  reserved  to  this 
place  some  further  experiments  and  details 
corroborative  of  the  benefit  and  profit  resulting 
dierrfroin.  by  Mr.  John  Hannam  of  North 
Deighton,  near  Wetherby.  This  gentleman 
remarks,— 

"Having  selected  a  field  of 'old  square-headed 
nd  tcheai'  for  the  experiments,  on  August  4, 
1840, 1  cut  a  sheaf.  .\t  this  time  it  was  quite 
green,  i.  e.  both  straw  and  ears  were  in  full 
vigour,  and  full  of  sap.  Though  the  grain  ap- 
peared perfectly  formed,  the  chatT  still  adhered 
»0  firmly  to  it  that  it  was  scarcely  possible  to 
•eparate  them  by  friction  in  the  hands.  When 
separated  it  was  large  and  plump,  but  so  full 
of  milk,  that  the  slightest  pressure  reduced  the 
whole  to  a  juicy  consistency  or  pulp. 

"This  sheaf  stood  in  the  field  for  a  fort- 
night, when  it  was  housed.  On  the  same  day, 
August  18, 1  cut  another.  The  whea;  was,  of 
course,  yet  'green,'  speaking  positiVely,  or 
•not  ripe,*  if  we  speak  negatively,— being  what 
farmers  commonly  term  'nur.'  This  is,  the 
airaw,  tLough  appearing  at  a  distance  green, 
when  examined  closely,  was  of  a  hue  fast  ap- 
proximating to  yellow  ;  while,  for  about  a  foot 
upwards  from  the  ground,  ii  was  quite  yellow. 
The  cani,  too,  were  more  open,  the  chaff'  tinged 
with  vari  '  ^  of  yellow  and  green,  and 

w*  ?»■«*'>  "  separated,  soft  and  pulpy, 

!>"*  not  i .v.  iuil  iif  fluid  as  before.    The 

judgment  of  the  farmer  will,  however,  best  tell 
him  the  conditions  of  the  wheat,  both  at  this 
and  at  the  preceding  cutting,  when  I  say,  that 
m  another  fortnight  the  whole  field  was  ripe. 
At  the  end  of  this  fortnight,  (September  1,)  I 
housed  the  sheaf  cut  on  August  IS,  and  which  ! 
had  remained  exposed  to  the  weather  in  the 
interval,  and  cut  a  third.      This  I  have  said 
was  •  ripe  ;*  but  by  the  term  I  don't  mean  that  | 
degree  of  ripeness  wh^Q  the  straw  breaks,  the  I 
1136 


ears  curl,  and  the  grain  shakes  out ;  but  that 
condition  in  which  it  is  customary  to  commence 
reaping  it  — when  the  straw,  from  the  roots  to 
the  ear,  is  uniformly  yellow,  and  has  lost  all 
symptoms  of  vivid  health. 

"On  the  14th  of  September  the  third  sheaf 
was  taken  from  the  field  and  carefully  pre- 
served, along  with  the  other  two,  till  the  1st  of 
November,  when,  out  of  each  sheaf,  I  selected 
100  ears,  and  put  each  parcel  into  a  separate 
bag.  The  straw  from  each  of  these  parcels  of 
ears  was  preserved  carefully. 

"The  ears  in  one  bag  (No.  1,  or  that  cut 
very  green)  were  now  thrashed,  the  chaff  care- 
fully separated,  and  the  gross  weight  of  the 
corn  yielded  ascertained  by  an  extremely  ao- 
curate  balance.  The  weights  of  a  fixed  mea- 
sure of  a  certain  number  of  grains  were  next 
found.  To  avoid  error,  this  was  repeated  several 
limes. 

"No.  2  (cut  raw)  and  No.  3  (ripe)  under- 
went the  same  process :  for  the  results  of 
which  see  the  following  table  : — 

Comparative  Weights  of  Wheat  reaped  at  different 
periods. 


Time  of  reaping,  and  Condition. 

Gross 
Produce. 

Equal 
Measure. 

Equal 

Number  of 

Grains. 

No.  1.  August  4  (very 

green         -        _        . 

No.  2.  Aufirust  18  (raw) 

No.  3.  Sept.  1  (ripe)    - 

576 
736 
650 

568 
580 
570 

191 

IS 

"As  this  table  is  merely  comparative  (the 
weights  used  being  in  parts,  and  decimal  parts 
of  the  same,  for  the  convenience  of  minute  ex- 
periments), it  may  not  be  unnecesiiary  to  give 
the  following  table  of  the  absolute  weights  of 
each  sample  in  ounces,  drachms,  scruples,  and 
grains  Troy : — 


Gro«8  Produce. 

Eqtal  Measures. 

Equal  Number 
of  Grains. 

No.  1. 
No  2. 
No.  3. 

5  5  9  gr. 

4  0    0    0 

5  0    2  13 
4    4    0    6 

^39  gr. 

3  7    1     13 

4  0    0    13 
3    7    2      0 

1.5  9gr. 

0    1    0    51 
0     1     0  17i 
0     1     0  151 

"  The  straw  belonging  to  each  sample  was 
now  weighed  (all  the  parcels  having  previ- 
ously been  made  of  the  same  length,  commenc- 
ing from  the  bottom  of  the  ear),  when  the  fol- 
lowing was  the  result: — 

Comparative  Weights  of  100  Straws  of  an  eqttal 
length,  belonging  to  the  samples  Nos.  ^  2,  3. 


No.  1.  fgreen) 
No.  2.   (raw) 
No.  3.  (ripe) 


550. 
475. 
450. 


"The  next  thing  to  be  ascertained  was  the 
quality  of  the  produce,  or  the  comparative 
worth  of  each  description.  Believing  in  the 
old  saying,  that, 

'The  proper  value  of  a  thing 
Is  just  as  much  as  it  will  bring,' 

on  the  5th  of  November  I  attended  market,  and 
asked  the  opinion  of  an  extensive  corn-grower 
as  to  the  values  of  the  respective  samples,  ac- 
cording to  the  prices  of  the  day.  His  opinion 
was, 

No.  1,         .        -        -    61s.  per  quart«r. 


No.  2. 
No.  3. 


-  61s.      do. 

-  62s.      do. 


WHEAT. 


Putting  the  same  samples  into  the  hands  jf  an 
extensive  corn-factor  and  miller,  his  opinion  of 
Its  value,  a7id  what  he  would  give  to  buy,  was  for 


No.  I. 
No.  2. 
No.  3. 


-  eis.  per  quarter. 

-  638.      do. 

-  6ls.      do. 


Adding  these  values  respectively togetht.,  and 
taking  the  mean  price  of  each  (by  which  we 
shall  obtain  as  near  an  approximation  tc»  the 
truth  as  possible),  we  have 


No.  1. 

rr 

6l5. 

Od.  per  quarter 

No.  2. 

=r 

63s. 

6d.      do. 

No.  3. 

^ 

6U. 

6d.      do. 

"  The  loss  or  gain  on  these  samples,  by  reap- 
ing at  different  periods,  will  be  best  seen  from 
the  following 

Table  of  the  relative  Weights  and  Value  of  Wheat 
cut  August  4,  August  18,  and  September  1  ;  that 
cut  lust  {or  ripe)  being  taken  as  the  standard, 
and  unity  assumed  as  its  value  in  each  column. 


[— 

Weight 
Produce. 

WeichI 
nf  equal 
Meuurt*. 

Weight 

of  an 

equal  No. 

of  Gntiii*. 

Value. 

VVeichi 
of  (be 
Slraw. 

No.  3.  Sept.  1. 

(ripe)  - 
No.  2.  August. 

(raw) 
No.  1.  August. 

(green) 

1 

1 
,    I 

1 

I 

ill 

"According  to  this  table,  it  is  evident  that 
the  wheat  reaped  a  fortnight  before  it  was  ripe 
has  the  advantage  of  the  ripe  in  every  point : 

1st.  In  weight  of  gross  produce  ^5,  or  13j[ 
per  cent. 

2d.  In  weight  of  equal  measures  3',,  or  near- 
ly i  per  cent. 

3d.  In  weight  of  equal  number  of  grains  ^j, 
or  nearly  21  per  cent. 

4th.  In  quality  and  value  y^j,  or  above  3^^ 
per  cent. 

5th.  In  weight  of  straw  yY  or  above  5  per 
cent. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  reaped  a  month  before 
it  was  ripe,  has  an  advantage  of  22  per  cent, 
in  weight  of  straw,  compared  with  the  ripe, 
but  in  every  other  point  has  the  disadvantage : 
thus, 

1st.  In  weight  of  gross  produce  ^^j,  or  Uy^j 
per  cent. 

2d.  In  weight  of  equal  measures  jip  or 
rather  more  than  ^  per  cent. 

3d.  In  weight  of  equal  number  of  grains  ^, 
or  better  than  13J  per  cent. 

4ih.  In  quality  and  value  y|j,  rather  more 
than  ^  per  cent. 

"It  maybe  here  necessary  to  mention  that 
the  sample  No.  3  (ripe)  was  very  bold,  but 
ratlier  coarse,  feeling  rough  in  the  hand ;  while 
No.  2  (raw)  was  quite  as  bold,  but  very  fine  and 
thin  in  the  skin.  No.  3  (green)  was  also  a  good 
and  clear  sample,  but  much  smaller  than  either 
of  the  others.  This  will  account  for  the  appa- 
rently anomalous  fact  of  there  being  scarcely 
any  difference  in  the  marketable  value  of  the 
green  compared  with  the  ripe,  while  there  is 
a  difference  of  13  per  cent,  in  favour  of  the 
ripe  in  weight  of  equal  numbers  of  grains;  for 
the  sample  being  dry  and  good,  the  buyer  lost 
little  by  this  inferiority  in  the  size  of  grain,  as 
the  weights  of  equal  measure's  were  the  same, 
H3 


WHEAT. 

—the  difference  of  ^\-g  scarcely  matfing  ^  ib 
in  the  sack. 

"  Before  venturing  to  draw  any  deductions 
from  these  experiments,  let  us  put  their  results 
in  a  still  more  practical  point  of  view. 

"Suppose  we  have  3  acres  of  wheat,  1  of 
which,  reaped  when  ripe,  yields  us  30  bushels 
of  corn  and  1  ton  of  straw ;  what  will  be  the 
gross  value  of  the  same  1  And  what  the  value 
of  the  other  2  acres,  according  to  the  data  fur- 
nished by  the  foregoing  experiments,  supposing 
each  acre  to  be  exactly  equal  in  crop,  and  the 
one  reaped  a  fortnight  and  the  other  a  motUh 
before  the  ripe. 

"Before  answering  this,  we  must  fix  a  value 
for  the  straw — say  'id.  per  stone,  which,  taking 
into  account  that  used  by  the  farmer  himself — 
and  many  cannot  sell  any — is  as  much  as  it  is 
actually  worth.  Whence  we  have,  for  the  acre 
of  ripe, 

L.  t.  d. 
30  bushels  of  wheat,  at  61s.  6d.  per  quarter 

(the  price  of  sample  No.  3.)       -        -        -    11  10  7^ 

1  ton  of  straw,  at  2d.  per  stone    -       -       -      1  6  8 


Gross  produce 


£12    17    3} 


"  Let  US  next  take  the  acre  cut  *  rat«.'  Before 
we  can  come  to  its  value,  we  must  first  resolve 
the  question.  How  much,  in  measure,  will  the 
acre  produce  us,  supposing  it  to  produce  30 
bushels,  if  cut  when  ripe  1 

"In  solving  this,  as  we  must  assume  each 
crop  to  be  exactly  equal  if  cut  at  the  same 
time,  it  is  obvious  that,  if  we  would  determine 
the  difference  caused  by  reaping  at  an  earlier 
period,  we  cannot  found  our  calculations  upon 
the  p-oss  xveight  of  the  two  samples  (Nos.  2  and 
3)  ;  for,  although  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  this 
weight  was  materially  affected  by  the  condition 
of  the  wheat  at  the  time  of  reaping  (indeed, 
the  difference  in  the  weight  of  equal  numbers 
of  grains  proves  the  fact),  it  is  possible  that, 
in  selecting  the  100  ears  from  the  sheaf,  1 
might  take  out  of  one  sheaf  ears  with  a  greater 
number  of  grains  in  them  than  those  taken  out 
of  the  other.  This,  then,  would  affect  the  total 
or  gross  weight;  and,  therefore,  it  cannot  be 
taken  into  account  in  the  present  case,  where 
both  aci-es  are  supposed  to  have  an  equal  number 
of  grains. 

"  To  the  weights  of  equal  measures,  and  of 
equal  numbers  of  grains,  both  the  result  of 
many  careful  trials,  this  objection  cannot  be 
urged ;  and  they  are  amply  sufficient  to  enable 
us  to  tell  the  produce  of  an  acre  of  'raw,'  when 
that  of  the  *  ripe'  is  30  bushels.  Thus,  in  the 
first  table,  we  have. 


No.  2.  (raw) 
No.  3.  (ripe) 


Wtiehf  of  equal  Weight  of  equal 

Measures.  Numbers  of  Grains. 
580  2.*}-25 

570  ^-75 


Now  put  m=this  measure,  and  «=the  num- 
ber of  grains  weighed  of  each  sort ;  then 

22'75 

n  :  22-75 : :  1  : =the  weight  of  one  grain 

of  No.  3.,  whence 
— ^  :  1 : :  570  :  S7r^=the  number  of  gram* 

n  22/5 

of  No.  3  in  the  measure  m. 

23-25 
Again,  similarly,  n  :  23-25  : :  I : ,  weight 

of  one  grain  of  No.  2,  and 

1137 


»« 


WHEAT. 


.  1 . .  680  :  ^=sthe  number  of  grains 


of  No.  2  in  the  measure  m 

57011      »75«i 
&70ii 


And  m-i-i^;;^  „!?=the    space    occupied 


ft-75 

hf  one  grain  of  No.  3  (ripe)  ;  and 
„  1  *^^— *^^**— th>  space  occupied  by  one 

grain  of  No.  2  (raw). 

Now,  as  there  are  the  same  number  of  grains 
opoD  each  acre,  and  as  the  acre  of  ripe  yields 
Wbaahels.  wc  have 

•^  :  H:?*" : :  30  bushels  :  301307313  bush- 
tftOm       M0«  •11 

eU  the  produce  of  one  acre  cut  a  fortnight  be- 
fore the  ripe. 

Airain.  by  reference  to  the  second  table,  we 
bare  I  and  I ,',  as  the  relative  weights  of  the 
•traw  No.  3  and  No.  2;  whence,  as  No.  3  is 
•apposed  to  produce  one  ton, 

I :  lA  : :  160  stones  :  168;;  stones,  the  weight 
upon  the  acre  reaped  when  raw.  And  for  the 
whole  produce  of  the  acre,  we  have 

L.     I.     d. 
lO-WT  bMlMis  of  wheal,  at  63*.  M.  per 

JMfitr 11    19    1* 
■toaca  ofatraw,  at  2<I.  per  stone     -       -18    1} 


£13     7    3^ 


Adopting  the  same  course  for  the  produce  of 
the  acre  cut  first,  i.t.z  month  before  the  ripe, 
and  which  corresponds  with  sample  No.  1,  we 

^^     the  number  of  grains  of  the  green  in 


the  measure  m ;  whence 


l»-75w 

66b» 


=lhe  space  oc- 


enpied  by  one  grain  of  green. 
But  (ru/«  above), -j^^jj^space  by  one  grain 

of  the  ripe ;  whence-rs^  :  j^ : :  30  bushels : 

t6*1356  bushels,  the  produce  of  the  acre  cut  a 
wmmtk  before  the  ripe.  And  {vide  "Table  of 
relative  weights,"  dec. 

1 :  1| : :  160  stones  :  195^  stones  of  straw,  the 
produce  of  the  same ;  whence  we  have 


L. 

r     9 

1 

». 

19 
13 

£11 

11 

m 

I  orwhMl,  at  6I«.  per  quarter 
WH atoa—  of  atmw,  at  3d.  per  ttone     - 


The  total  prodacts  of  the  three  acres  stand 
thus: — 

L.      I.       d. 

No.  3l  Reaped  when  ripe  -  .  -  13  17  3^ 
N«.S.  Reaped  a  fori  night  earlier  -  13  7  3i 
No.  1.  Reaped  a  month  t>erore  the  ripe    11    II    10^ 

Showing  a  Jou  of  1/.  5«.  5</.,  or  about  10  per 
eant.,  by  cutt  ng  very  green ;  and  a  gain  of 
10$,  ptr  aert^  jr  nearly  4  per  cent.,  by  reaping 
in  a  raw  state,  or  a  fortnight  before  it  was  ripe. 
•*From  the  above  details,  it  would  appear 
that  it  is  the  fanner's  interest  to  cut  his 
wheat  before  it  becomes  thoroughly  ripe. 
Many,  no  doubt,  will  be  disposed  to  doubt  de- 
ductions of  such  importance,  drawn  from  such 
limited  experiments.  This  objection  the  writer 
anticipates,  because  it  is  a  natural  one,  which 
he  fell  himself,  when  he  considered  the  most 
important  conclusions  which  resulted;  when, 
however,  he  retraced,  step  by  step,  his  investiga- 
tcitkotU  any  variation  in  that  result,  he  could 
lUiS 


WHEAT. 

no  longer  refuse  to  believe  it  true  till  he  proved 
it  untrue.  He  is  aware  that  there  are  other 
points  of  consideration  in  this  subject — that 
there  are  peculiarities  in  the  nature  of  land,  of 
seed,  or  of  season,  and  that  there  is,  as  in  all 
man's  investigations,  a  possibility  of  error;  any 
of  which  circumstances  might  materially  affect 
the  result  of  experiments  upon  so  limited  a 
scale  as  the  present  one ;  and  for  this  reason 
he  will,  if  all  be  well,  give  the  subject  a  trial  in 
the  ensuing  harvest,  on  a  much  more  com- 
prehensive scale.  That  the  results  of  these 
experiments  will  be  corroborative  in  the  main 
points,  he  has  no  doubt,  and  for  this  cause  he 
feels  no  hesitation  in  laying  the  preceding 
'details'  before  the  agricultural  world;  more- 
over, as  he  has  in  no  case  given  a  deduction 
without  the  grounds  upon  which  it  rested,  the 
degree  of  'acceptation'  which  the  reader  may 
give  it  rests  with  himself.  The  most  skeptical, 
he,  however,  flatters  himself,  will  think  it 
'  worthy  of  being  tested,  if  of  nothing  more. 

"In  testing,  however,  the  conclusion  which 
the  foregoing  experiments  warrant,  there  are 
some  other  advantages  which  strengthen  that 
conclusion,  which  must  not  be  forgotten.  That 
they  have  not  been  considered  in  the  preceding 
pages,  is  not  because  they  are  of  no  import, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  because  they  are  of  such 
consequence,  that  the  writer  could  not  assign 
them  an  adequate  momentary  value.  And  had  he 
attempted  to  do  so,  he  would  have  at  once 
made  the  details  of  his  experiments  valueless 
by  mixing  the  real  results  of  practice  wi\h  the 
imaginary  ones  of  opinion.  Before  the  sub- 
ject, however,  can  be  thoroughly  sifted,  they 
must  be  considered.  The  circumstances  are 
these: — independently  of  the  4  per  cent,  gain 
(according  to  the  foregoing  experiments)  by 
reaping  our  wheat  a  fortnight  beiore  it  is  ripe, 
we  have, 

"  1st,  Straw  of  a  better  quality. 

"2d,  A  better  chance  of  securing  the  crop; 
and, 

"3d,  A  saving  in  securing  it. 

"1st,  'Straw  of  a  better  quality.'  This  is 
easily  demonstrated,  both  for  the  purpose  of 
food  and  manure. 

"As  an  article  of  food,  the  value  of  any 
vegetable  depends  upon  the  gross  quantity,  or 
upon  the  combination  of  certain  substances 
termed  soluble,  from  their  entering  into  union 
with  water.  This  rule  applies  particularly  to 
the  grasses  which  are  used  for  the  purpose  of 
feeding  stock.  The  substances  generally  found 
in  these  grasses  are  saccharine  matter  or 
sugar,  mucilage  or  starch,  and  gluten  or  albu- 
men, and  bitter  extract  and  saline  matters.  Of 
these  the  sugar  is,  no  doubt,  the  most,  and  the 
extractive  matter  the  least,  nutritive ;  the 
latter  having  been  found,  by  experiment,  to 
come  away  in  the  dung  of  the  animal  con- 
suming it,  while  the  other  matters  were  ab» 
sorbed  by  the  body. 

"Now,  wheat  is  a  species  of  grass,  and  the 
value  of  the  straw,  as  an  article  of  food,  depends 
upon  the  quantity  of  nutritive  matter  contained 
in  it.  'This  nutritive  matter  must  be  very 
small  in  straw,  as  now  generally  used,*  the 
j  practical  farmer  will  say,  'for  straw /?cr  sc  is 
I  but  poor  food,  and  scarcely  able  to  sustain  life.' 


WHEAT. 


This  if3  true ;  *  from  400  grains  of  dry  barley- 
straw,*  says  Sir  H.  Davy,  *  I  obtained  8  grains 
of  matter  soluble  in  water,  which  had  a  brown 
colour,  and  tasted  like  mucilage.  From  400 
grains  of  wheaten  straw  I  obtained  5  grains  of 
a  similar  substance.'  With  this  paucity  of  nu- 
tritive matter  in  the  straw  before  us,  how  can 
we  account  for  the  fact  that,  in  the  sap  of 
wheat,  the  straw,  and  in  all  succulent  plants, 
there  is  naturally  a^great  proportion  of  mucilagi- 
nous and  saccharine  mailer?  The  answer  is  this  : 
in  all  grasses  and  succulent  plants,  the  great- 
est proportion  of  this  is  present  before  the 
flower  is  dead  ripe.  So  in  wheat,  when  we 
allow  the  straw  to  remain  till  thoroughly  ripe, 
a  portion  of  the  sugar  is  converted,  by  the 
action  of  light,  heat,  &c.,  into  mucilage,  and  a 
great  proportion  of  the  nutritive  powers  of  the 
grass  absorbed  by  the  atmosphere,  or  lost  in 
some  manner;  for,  as  Mr.  Sinclair  observes  in 
his  Report  of  Experiments  of  Grasses,  '  there  is  a 
great  difference  between  straws  or  leaves  that 
have  been  dried  after  they  were  cut  in  a  suc- 
culent state,  and  those  which  are  dried  (if  I 
may  so  express  it)  by  Nature  while  growing. 
The  former  retain  all  their  nutritive  poivers,  but 
the  latter,  if  completely  dry,  very  little,  if  any.' 

"As  a  manure,  too,  the  straw  cut  'raw'  is 
equally  superior  to  the  ripe;  for,  as  it  is  an 
agricultural  axiom,  that  the  better  the  food  of 
an  animal  is,  the  better  the  manure  from  it; 
the  manure  from  a  stock  consuming  this 
straw,  containing  a  fair  proportion  of  nutritive 
mattei;  must  be  more  valuable  than  that  from 
stock  consuming  the  ripe  with  scarcely  any 
in  it. 

"  But  a  great  proportion  of  the  farmer's  straw 
is  converted  into  manure  without  undergoing 
the  process  of  mastication  and  digestion.  For 
this  purpose  the  unripe  straw  is  equally  pre- 
ferable, as  all  unri])e  vegetables  are  manures  icith- 
out  preparation :  the  soluble  and  nutritive  ex- 
tracts which  they  contain,  being  the  principal 
agents  in  forming  vegetable  manure ;  as  they 
not  only  combine  to  render  the  proces*;  of  de- 
composition the  more  rapid,  by  breaking  down 
the  woody  fibres,  &c.,  in  the  manure  heap,  but 
are  also,  in  their  pure  and  separate  stales,  sti- 
mulants to  vegetation. 

"  It  may  be  urged,  that  the  increased  value 
of  the  straw  is  more  in  favour  of  that  cut  very 
green  (No.  1)  than  that  cut  a  fortnight  later 
(No.  2).  This  is  true  ;  but  to  produce  this  in- 
crease of  value,  if  we  cut  our  wheat  so  early  as 
No.  1,  we  have  a  desiccation  of  the  grain  to  such 
on  extent  as  to  diminish  the  measured  produce  above 
12  per  cent. :  while,  by  reaping  with  No.  2,  we 
are,  so  far  from  injuring  either  sample  or  mea- 
sure, actually  improving  both,  and  at  the  same 
time  gaining  above  5  per  cent,  in  the  weight, 
and  at  least  as  much  in  the  quality  of  the 
straw.  For  the  increase  of  weight  in  the  latter 
is  not  produced  by  a  greater  produce,  but  by 
the  presence  of  a  greater  portion  of  those  solu- 
ble substances  which  are  alike  necessary  to 
animal  and  vegetable  life — are  alike  the  nutri- 
tive part  of  food  and  the  quickening  principle 
of  manure. 

"  2d,  We  come  now  to  the  second  advantage, 
the  *  better  chance  of  securing  the  crop.' 

"  This  is  self-evident.    We  gain  a  fortnight 


WHEAT. 

at  the  commencement  of  harvest.  If  the 
weather  be  good,  we  can  secure  a  great  portion 
of  our  wheat  before  we  should  scarcely  have 
begun  upon  the  old  sysiera.  If  not,  we  can 
wait ;  so,  under  any  circumstances,  our  chances 
of  securing  the  grain  must  be  greater.  More- 
over, if  we  take  a  retrospect  of  the  harvests  for 
a  number  of  years,  we  shall  find  that  nearly  all 
the  early  harvests  have  been  what  we  terra 
*good'  ones,  i.  e.  good  as  regards  weather  and 
the  condition  in  which  the  grain  was  secured. 
When  the  peculiarities  of  our  climate,  its  ge- 
neral fickleness,  and  its  still  greater  liability  to 
change  as  the  autumn  advances,  are  consider- 
ed, this  will  require  no  explanation. 

"  If  we  look,  too,  at  the  later  harvests,  we 
shall,  I  venture  to  say,  find,  that  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  the  grain  which  was  first  cut  was 
secured  in  the  best  condition.  As  an  example 
of  this,  the  crop  of  1839  will  suffice.  The 
crops  were  late,  the  beginning  of  reaping  the 
same,  and  the  result  was,  that  in  the  North  of 
England /w/Z  75  per  cent,  of  the  whole  wheat  crop 
was  damaged.  And  full  75  per  cent,  of  that 
which  was  uninjured,  I  will  also  venture  to  say, 
was  that  which  was  cut  the  first.  In  Yorkshire 
this  wa*s  especially  seen  ;  for  the  earliest  wheat 
was,  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  secured.  In 
this  village  (North  Deighton)  not  a  sheaf  was 
in  stack  till  the  day  before,  and  on  some 
farms,  the  very  day  on  which  the  rainy  weather 
set  in. 

"The  frequent  recurrence  of  such  years  as 
this,  will  teach  the  value  of  even  a  fortnight, 
better  than  any  thing  that  can  be  said  here. 
And  that  they  will  recur  is  beyond  a  doubt. 
What  has  happened  once  may  happen  again, 
but  what  has  frequently  happened  (as  this  sort 
of  harvest  has),  with  the  same  causes  in  opera- 
tion, we  are  warranted  in  saying  ivill  happen 
again,  and  often. 

"  3d,  The  saving  in  securing  the  crop  is  a  dou- 
ble one.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  less  waste 
in  moving  or  reaping,  and  no  danger  of  '  shak- 
ing' or  'necking'  in  strong  Avinds.  In  the 
second  place,  there  is  an  absolute  economy  in 
the  expense  of  reaping  the  crop,  which  may  be 
thus  illustrated. 

"  The  busy  period  of  harvest  with  the  farmer 
generally  extends  over  four  or  five  weeks.  In 
this  month  a  certain  portion  of  his  work  is 
done  by  his  own  hands,  i.  e.  by  the  regular  la- 
bourers and  servants  of  the  farm  ;  therefore,  by 
beginning  a  fortnight  sooner,  and  extending  the 
season  of  harvest  over  six  weeks  instead  of 
four,  it  is  evident  that  these  regular  servants 
would  cut  a  much  greater  proportion  of  his 
crop — in  fact,  one-half  more.  By  this  he  is  ren- 
dered less  dependent  on  those  extraneous  'helps* 
or  *  takers'  who,  in  the  seasons  of  hurry  and 
anxiety,  fix  their  own  terms. 

"To  assign  a  value  for  these  advantages  is, 
as  has  been  said  before,  for  the  farmer  himself; 
and  it  will  not  be  an  insignificant  one.  For  if 
beginning  harvest  a  fortnight  earlier  enables 
him  to  save  a  crop  from  spoiling  once  in  a  life- 
time,— if  the  improved  quality  of  his  straw  as 
food  for  his  stock  allows  him  to  plough  out  an 
acre  more,  or  to  pasture  another  acre  of  clover 
with  feeding-stock,  instead  of  mowing  it  for  his 
l«an  stock,  every  grain  saved,  every  extra  bushel 

'  1139 


WHEAT. 

§f  tffm  vroduetA  and  evtry  extra  head  of  stock  fed, 
is  a  beoefil  to  the  whole  community  as  well  as 
to  himself,— is  so  much  added  to  the  gross 
produce  and  wealth  of  the  country :  there  be- 
Wg,  in  fact,  an  increaud  return  without  an  in- 
crtamd  outlay**     {Quart,  Journ.  of  Jgr.  vol.  Xii. 

In  a  recent  obliging  communication,  with 
reference  to  this  important  subject,  made  to 
me  (March  1842),  by  Mr.  John  Hannam,  he 
ol»»erves  in  reference  to  the  experiments  above 
detailed.  "  At  the  time  I  wrote  you  last  I  slated 

i»hat  the  bulk  of  the  wheat  reaped  by  me  during 
I  he  present  harvest  was  unthrashcd.  I  could 
Jierefore  only  give  you  an  idea  of  the  quality 
of  the  raw  and  the  ripe  by  public  opinion  from 
a  sample  sheaf.  Since  then  the  various  cut- 
tings (for  I  made  severaH  have  been  thrashed 
aitd  ground.  The  result  of  which  was,  3^ 
bashels  of  the  ripe  gave  10  st.  1 1  lbs.  of  good 
flour,  1  sU  9  lbs.  of  seconds  (technically  termed 
*  sharps'),  and  2  st.  5  lbs.  of  bran :  3^  bushels  of 
rai»  gave  12  st  6  lbs.  of  flour,  12  lbs.  of  sharps, 
and  2  si.  1  lb.  of  bran.  From  which  it  appears 
that  the  rauf  cut  wheat  gave  6^  lbs.  of  flour  to 
the  bushel  more  than  the  ripe  gave,  while  the 
latter  gave  3^  lbs.  more  sharps  and  U  lb.  more 
bran  than  the  former  per  bushel. 

••  Your  question  as  to  the  effect  of  early  reap- 
ing upon  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  seed  I 
have  not  answered,  because  I  can  give  no  an- 
swer but  what  depends  more  upon  opinion  than 
fact  I  have  never  seen  a  practical  trial  made 
of  wheat,  as  seed,  in  the  various  conditions 
nece».sary  to  warrant  a  flnal  and  deflnite  con- 
clohion.  An  American  writer,  commenting 
upon  my  experiments,  while  he  coincides  with 
my  conclusions  as  incontrovertible,  says  that 
it  is  'tgwtlly  indisputable*  that  the  ripe  wheat  is 
preferable  for  seed.  For  all  this,  I  am  not  dis- 
posed to  assent  blindly  to  any  such  doctrine, 
because  I  have  seen  early  cut  wheat  used  with 
pfr/fff  fueress  as  seed  many  times." 

The  editor  of  the  Cultivator,  in  noticing  these 
facts,  remarks: — "A  farmer  friend  of  ours, 
growing  wheal  extensively,  found  last  season 
that  one  of  his  fields  of  wheat,  then  in  a  very 
raw  or  green  state,  was  badly  struck  with  rust. 
He  determined  to  cut  it  at  once,  and  did  so, 
amid  the  laugh  or  pity  of  his  neighbours,  who 
thought  him  little  better  than  crazy.  The  ad- 
joining fields  suffered  little  from  rust,  and  stood 
till  fully  hpe;  yet,  at  thrashing,  the  wheat  first 
cat  gave  the  finest  wheat  and  the  best  yield." 
Mr.  Hannam  mentions  a  similar  instance,  in 
which  it  was  remarked  of  a  farmer  who  was 
coning  his  wheal  earnestly,  that  he  "  had  cut 
grass,  and  stacked  muck;"  when  thrashed  it 
yielded  four  bushels  per  acre  more  than  it  had 
been  estimated  at,  and  was  sold  for  the  highest 
price  in  ihe  market.  In  this  country,  the  same 
reason,  arising  from  bad  weather  or  a  late 
harvest,  does  not  exist  for  early  cutting,  as 
in  England;  but  there  are  others  which  ren- 
der ihe  subject  of  little  less  interest  here  than 
there;  and  the  agricultural  public  of  both  coun- 
tries are  certainly  much  indebted  to  Mr.  Han- 
nam for  the  skill  and  perseverance  with  which 
he  has  pursued  these  investigations  in  all  their 
pans. 

The  editor  of  the  Cultivator  proceeds  to  no- 
lUO 


WHEAT. 

tice  the  experiments  reported  by  Mr.  Hannam, 
and  in  so  doing  exhibits  the  results  in  a  man- 
ner calculated  to  be  more  striking  than  the 
statements  recently  presented  in  detail.  It 
appears,  says  the  editor,  that  J.  Hannam,  Esq.^ 
a  farmer  of  Yorkshire,  England,  made  an  ex- 
periment in  cutting  wheat  by  reaping  at  five 
different  times  from  the  same  crop,  with  the 
following  results  as  to  the  time  of  cutting  and 
value  of  the  produce  of  an  acre,  which  he  sets 
down  at  28  bushels  : 

No.  1  was  cut  a  month  before  fully  ripe. 

No.  2  was  cut  3  weeks  before  fully  ripe. 

No.  3  was  cut  2  weeks  before  fully  ripe. 

No.  4  was  cut  2  days  before  fully  ripe. 

No.  5  was  cut  when  ripe. 

Taking  100  lbs.  of  grain,  he  found  it  to  yield 
flour  as  follows : — 


Cfo. 

Flour. 

Seconds. 

1 

75  lbs. 

7lb8. 

nibs 

2 

76 

7 

3 

80 

5 

4 

77 

7 

5 

72 

11 

"  It  thus  appears,"  says  Mr.  Hannam,  "  that 
No.  3  (cut  two  weeks  before  it  was  fully  ripe) 
is  superior  to  all  other  varieties;  giving  more 
per  bushel  than  No.  5  (cut  when  fully  ripe)  by 
6^  lbs.  of  flour,  and  again  of  about  15  per  cent, 
on  the  flour  of  equal  measure  of  grain.  100  lbs. 
of  wheat  of  No.  3  makes  80  lbs.  of  flour;  while 
100  lbs.  of  No.  5  yields  72  lbs. ;  showing  an 
average  of  8  per  cent,  in  favour  of  grain  cut 
raw.  In  grinding,  it  was  found  that  No.  5 
ground  the  worst — worse  than  No.  1.  In  No. 
5  were  a  greater  quantity  of  flinty  particles, 
which  would  not  pass  the  bolt,  than  in  any  of 
the  others.  The  bran  from  No.  5  was  coarse 
and  heavy;  while  that  from  No.  3  was  'thin  as 
a  bee's  wing.' " 

Mr.  Hannam  extended  his  experiments  to 
some  length,  and  suras  up  the  advantages  of 
cutting  wheat  two  weeks  before  it  is  fully  ripe, 
as  follows  :  first,  there  is  a  gain  of  15  per  cent, 
of  flour  upon  equal  measures ;  second,  a  gain 
in  the  weight  of  straw  of  14  per  cent.;  third, 
a  gain  of  about  163  .in  the  value  of  every 
quarter  of  wheat;  and,  fourth,  a  gain  of  about 
583  upon  every  acre  producing  28  bushels. 
These  calculations  are  founded  upon  the  price 
of  wheat  in  England,  at  the  time  the  experi- 
ments were  made.  The  flour  produced  from 
No.  3  was  of  a  far  better  quality  than  that  pro- 
duced from  the  grain  cut  at  any  other  times. 

Produce. — The  fair  produce  of  wheat  (as  is 
well  observed  by  the  author  of  British  Hus- 
bandry) varies  so  much  upon  diflferent  kinds 
of  land,  and  is  so  much  governed  by  climate 
and  mode  of  cultivation,  that  it  is  diflicult  to 
form  any  acreable  estimate  of  the  amount 
or  average  quality  in  ordinary  seasons  and 
under  the  common  course  of  management; 
it  may,  however,  be  fairly  calculated  at  3 
quarters,  or,  perhaps,  28  bushels  per  imperial 
acre.  To  produce  the  latter  quantity,  circum- 
stances must,  however,  be  favourable,  and  any 
I  thing  beyond  that  may  be  considered  large, 
j  though  on  some  land  4  to  5  quarters  are  not 
i  unusual.  The  weight  may  average  60  lbs.  per 
I  bushel.  The  straw  is  generally  reckoned  to 
I  be  about  double  the  weight  of  the  grain ;  an 
'  acre  producing  three  quarters  of  wheat  of  the 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


ordinary  quality  may  therefore  be  presumed  to 
yield  about  26  cwt. 

The  use  to  which  the  grain  is  applied  is  al- 
most exclusively  that  of  food  in  its  various  pre- 
parations, and  chiefly  in  that  of  bread,  though 
a  considerable  quantity — but  generally  of  an 
inferior  or  damaged  kind — is  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  starch.  This  preference  is  due, 
not  only  to  the  superiority  of  its  nutritive  pro- 
perties, but  also  to  their  peculiar  nature ;  for 
"more  water  is  consolidated  in  bread  made 
from  barley,  and  still  more  in  that  from  oats; 
but  the  gluten  in  wheat  being  in  a  much  larger 
quantity  than  in  any  other  grain,  seems  to  form 
a  combination  with  the  starch  and  water  which 
renders  it  more  digestible  than  any  other." 
(Lectures  on  Agr.  Chem.  -p.  121.) 

Since  the  Western  States  have  become 
thickly  settled,  and  so  much  of  their  rich  lands 
been  brought  under  tillage,  especially  since  the 
completion  of  numerous  canals  and  rail-roads 
have  opened  ready  markets  in  the  commercial 
cities,  they  have  poured  into  these  such  vast 
quantities  of  wheat  as  have  reduced  the  price 
and  tended  greatly  to  lessen  the  profits  of  hus- 
bandry in  the  old  Atlantic  States.  At  present, 
more  than  a  third  of  the  whole  wheat  crop  in 
the  Union  is  produced  west  of  the  mountains, 
and  the  proportion  is  every  year  rapidly  in- 
creasing. By  reference  to  the  tabular  state- 
ments of  crops  (art.  Agricclturk)  it  appears 
that  Ohio  stands  at  the  head  of  the  wheat-grow- 
ing states  ;  her  product  in  1839  having  been  es- 
timated at  over  16,500,000  bushels.  Pennsyl- 
vania stands  next,  having  furnished  that  year 
upwards  of  13,000,000.  The  produce  of  New 
York  is  estimated  at  over  12,000,000;  and  of 
Virginia,  10,000,000  for  the  same  time.  These 
four  large  states  raised  upwards  of  52,000,000 
of  the  total  amount  of  84,82.3,272  bushels 
produced  that  year  in  the  whole  United  States. 
The  aggregate  of  the  wheat  crop  of  the  United 
States  for  1 842,  has  been  estimated  at  102,317,540 
bushels.     (Ellstvorth'' 8  Report  to  Congress.)     The 


Governor  of  Ohio,  in  his  message,  computes 
the  wheat  crop  of  that  state  in  1842,  at  no  less 
than  24,000,000  bushels,  of  which,  he  thinks, 
14,000,000  may  be  allowed  for  exportation,  after 
deducting  10,000,000  for  domestic  consump- 
tion.  Some  idea  of  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  wheat  crop  increases  in  the  Western  States, 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact,  that,  in  1840,  the 
amount  of  wheat  shipped  from  Chicago  to  Buf- 
falo amounted  to  only  20,000  bushels,  whilst, 
in  the  following  year,  1841,  it  amounted  in  the 
same  period  to  no  less  than  200,000  bushels. 

The  United  States  present  almost  boundless 
facilities  over  an  immense  extent  of  fertile 
territory  for  raising  wheat.  But,  great  as  the 
aggregate  crop  at  present  appears  from  the 
preceding  statements,  it  scarcely  exceeds 
that  of  the  comparatively  insignificant  li- 
mits comprehended  by  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain.  Notwithstanding  her  im- 
mense domestic  product  of  wheat,  England  is 
compelled  to  import  annually  many  millions 
of  bushels  from  other  countries,  for  only  a 
small  portion  of  which  is  she  indebted  to  the 
American  farmers,  who  have  for  so  long  a  pe- 
riod worn  her  cloths  and  tilled  their  ground 
with  implements  of  British  manufacture.  In 
1841,  when  the  imports  of  foreign  wheat  into 
the  kingdom  amounted  to  21,604,840  bushels, 
the  proportion  received  from  her  great  cus- 
tomer the  United  States,  only  amounted  to 
2,.528,600  bushels. 

In  June,  1840,  Lord  Palmerston,  the  British 
prime  minister,  caused  letters  to  be  addressed 
to  the  British  consuls  in  various  parts  of  North- 
ern and  Southern  Europe,  from  which  wheat  is 
extensively  exported.  These  letters  contained 
certain  queries  relating  to  points  connected 
with  the  grain-growing  countries  and  their 
markets.  A  great  many  highly  interesting 
facts  were  elicited  in  the  answers  to  these  cir- 
culars, many  of  which  have  been  condensed  in 
the  following  tabular  form.  < 


St.  Petersburg 
Riga 

Liebau  - 
Odessa  - 
Warsaw 
Stockholm  - 
Dantzic  - 
Konigsburg  - 
Stettin  - 
Memel    - 

Elsinore 
Ilambnrfif 
Rotterriam     - 
Antwerp 
Palermo 

Total     - 

Gen'l  average 


What  qu.in- 
tily  of  Wheal 
might  br  ex- 
pected In 
Eociand. 


Quartert. 
192,500 

30,000 

150,000 

300,000 

1,000 

315,000 

65,000 

250,000 

5,964 

175,000 
538,000 


200,000 


2,222,464 


Averatce  price  of 
Wheat 


d.  $. 

1  to  0 

7  to  0 

7  to  0 

6  to  0 

0  to  0 

0  to  35 

0  to  0 

0  to  45 

0  to  0 

0  to  0 


30  0  to  36  0 

35  0  to  46  0 

55  0  to  0  0 

56  5  to  0  0 
38  0  to  0  0 


40*.  M. 


Whether  the  quantity  produced  would  be  materially 
iucreased. 


Antwen, 
No 

No -       - 

No .-        - 

No 

To  a  certain  extent,  say       -        -        - 
Yes,  if  foreign  capital  were  employed 

No 

No 

No 

Might  be  increased  one-fourth  If  there 

were  a  great  demand        -        -        - 

Yes       ------- 

Probably  not         -        -        -        -        - 

To  no  great  extent      -        -        -        - 

No        ------- 

Would  increase  in  3  or  4  years    - 


Freight  per 
Quarter. 


d.  I. 

5  to  5 
9  to  0 

6  to  5 
0  to  0 


3  6  to  4 

3  6  to  4 

4  0  to  6 
4  0  to  5 


0  to  5 

6  to  5 

6  to  5 

0  to  2 

0  to  2 

3  to  0 


4a.  %U. 


Cost  per  bush. 

on  board  of 

vessel  at 

Liverpool. 


D.  ctt. 

0  931 

1  50 

1  32i 

1  00 

1  42 

0  99 

1  m 

1  30i 
1  22 

1  09i 
I  02 
1  2U 
1  57 
1  6H 
1  27 


I  24i 


Other  facts  elicited  by  these  inquiries  with 
respect  to  other  countries  competing  with  the 
agricultural  interests  of  the  United  States,  may 
be  interesting.  Among  these  are  the  following; 

It  appears  that  in  the  grain-growing  districts 
in  Europe,  the  coil  contiguous  to  seaports  has 


already  been  extensively  tilled,  and  cannot  be 
pushed  further  without  the  aid  of  artificial  ma- 
nures, while  the  bad  roads  from  the  interior 
shut  them  out  from  a  competition  with  this- 
and  other  countries  more  favourably  situated. 
Thus  in  Russia:  The  corn  districts  are  io« 
5D  1141 


WHKAT. 

ftom  the  seaports  for  the  grain  to  be 
rvady,  in  season,  for  exportation  ;  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  manofaclures  has  withdrawn  from 
tillage,  Ac. 

lo  Poland,  there  is  a  deficiency  of  manure, 
and  scarcity  of  hands,  and  want  of  skill  in 
collivation. 

Prom  Odessa,  the  report  is  that  the  crops  ar<» 
precarioutt,  on  account  of  drought;  tillage  is 
defective,  and  improvement  difficult;  distances 
great;  no  roads;  the  rivers  unnavigable ;  the 
landholders  impoverished,  and  no  improve- 
ments to  be  expected. 

It  may  also  be  gratifying  to  some  to  compare 
the  lrao^p<»rution  of  Hour,  &c.,  from  Poland 
(cm  of  the  greatest  grain-growing  districts) 
and  the  United  States  to  England. 

From  Poland  to  Dantzic,  the  grain  is  chiefly 
brought  from  the  interior  in  flatboats  of  the 
rudest  construction,  similar  to  those  in  use  on 
the  western  waters  of  the  United  States,  at  an 
expense  of  26  cents  per  bushel,  open  to  the 
weather,  Ac.  During  the  voyage  the  wheat 
sprouts,  and  forms  a  thick  mat  or  covering  for 
the  bulk.  On  reaching  Dantzic,  the  boat  is 
broken  up  and  sold,  the  wheat  taken  out  and 
dried  in  the  fields,  then  stored  in  the  ware- 
bouses  at  an  expense  of  6  cents  per  bushel. 
From  Dantzic  to  England  the  freight,  &c.,  not 
including  the  duty,  is  nearly  Sd. — equal  to  about 
16  cents  per  bushel;  making  in  all  about  46 
cents  per  bushel.  From  Illinois  to  Liverpool 
the  whole  freight  would  be  14«.  per  quarter,  or 
If.  9</^— equal  to  38  cents  per  bushel;  being 
about  8  cents  in  favour  of  Illinois.  There  are 
costs  and  charges  also,  in  both  cases,  which 
would  probably  be  in  favour  of  our  export. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  be  interesting  to 
compare  a  detailed  estimate  of  the  exports  of 
wheat  from  Illinois  to  England,  both  by  New 
Orleans  and  Canada. 

niinoi*  wheats  via  New  Orleans  to  Liverpool. 


Whfm,  4}  buvhelt,  at  50  cents,  is  - 
Grinding  and  tHtrreling  (witb  offal) 
Freight  to  New  Orleans 
Prelfhl  to  Liverpool       ... 


•2  37 
50 


4  15 


WHEAT. 

!  against  such  a  misfortune  as  a  failure  of  the 
i  usual  harvest.  Exportation  thence  is  also  for- 
bidden in  certain  cases,  but  in  the  United 
States  no  such  prohibition  exists. 

While,  therefore,  we  may  look  with  confi- 
dence to  advantages  in  our  favour  in  the  Bri- 
tish market,  we  must  remember  that  we  have 
to  compete  against  almost  unpaid  labour,  and 
cannot  expect  a  great  profit  on  our  culture,  un- 
less the  very  cheapest  mode  of  production  is 
studied.  Labour  (as  we  have  before  remarked) 
must  doubtless  fall  very  considerably  in  agri- 
cultural districts,  or  else  farmers  and  planters 
cannot  hire.     {Ellsworth^  Report.) 

With  regard  to  the  different  kinds  of  wheat 
cultivated  in  the  United  Slates,  some  are  best 
adapted  to  one  latitude  and  soil,  some  to  an- 
other. The  fine  varieties  which  succeed  so  well 
in  England  and  other  parts  of  Northern  Eu- 
rope, very  often  fail  in  the  United  States,  and 
the  most  common  difficulty  with  them  arises 
from  the  circumstance  of  their  tardy  habit  of 
maturing,  which  exposes  them  to  rust  and  mil- 
dew. Seeds  from  the  southern  pans  of  Eu- 
rope and  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  are  those 
which  seem  best  adapted  to  the  climate  of  the 
United  States,  since  these  mature  very  early.  A 
fine  red  variety,  now  commonly  known  as  the 
Mediterranean  wheat,  is  being  very  extensively 
cultivated.  It  seems  to  have  improved  under  cul- 
ture in  the  United  States  in  the  essential  quali- 
ties for  making  flour,  since  the  millers,  who  at 
first  objected  to  it  and  would  only  purchase  at 
a  reduced  price,  now  pay  the  same  as  for  other 
red  wheat.  This  wheat  has  been  already  men- 
tioned as  resisting  the  attacks  of  that  great 
American  scourge  of  wheat  crops,  the  Hes- 
sian fly. 

For  the  following  valuable  table,  showing 
the  exports  of  flour  from  the  United  States, 
during  a  long  series  of  years,  with  the  prices 
per  barrel,  we  are  indebted  to  Hunt's  Merchant's 
Magazine. 

Exports  of  Flour  from  the  United  States,  and  Prictf 
from  1795  to  1843. 


which  is  a  little  less  than  90  cents  per  bushel. 
Charges  would  be  alike  in  both  cases. 

View  the  matter  in  another  point  of  light. 
Sappose  the  wheat  or  flour  of  the  Western 
States  carried  through  Canada,  and,  after  the 
6ih  July,  to  pay  3*.  on  an  imperial  quarter,  viz., 
(8  bushels),  which  is  about  8^  cents  per  bushel : 
Foreign  wheat  would  have  to  pay,  at  the  pre- 
sent slidinjr  rule,  about  60  cents  per  bushel. 

•  The  United  States,  therefore,  could  succeed 
with  the  greatest  competitor;  but  that  compe- 
titor cannot  supply  1,500,000  bushels — less 
than  the  surplus  of  some  of  the  smaller  states 
of  thi«  ''nion  produce;  and,  indeed,  all  Eu- 
rope could  not  supply  England  with  more  than 
18,000,000  bushels,  under  the  most  favourable 
circumstances — about  three-fourths  as  much 
as  the  state  of  Ohio  now  furnishes. 

It  may  be  remarked,  too,  that  the  crops  on 
ihe  continent  are  far  more  precarious  than 
ihose  of  the  United  Slates ;  and  hence  the  con- 
tinental governments  find  it  necessary,  and  are 
careful  to  reserve  large  granaries,  to  guard 


Year 

Flour. 

Price  per 

Year. 

Flour. 

Price  per 

Barrels. 

Barrel. 

Barrels. 

Barrel. 
"is  00 

1795 

687,369 

#12  00 

1819 

750,660 

1796 

725,194 

16  00 

1820 

1,177,036 

537 

1797 

515,633 

10  00 

1821 

1,056,119 

4  25 

1798 

567,558 

7  00 

1822 

877,867 

7  00 

1799 

519,265 

10  00 

1823 

756,702 

7  75 

1800 

653,052 

10  00 

1824 

996,792 

6  62 

1801 

1,102,444 

13  00 

1825 

857,820 

5  37 

1802 

1,156,248 

9  00 

1826 

868,696 

5  25 

1803 

1,311,853 

7  00 

1827 

837,385 

8  00 

1804 

810,808 

7  75 

1828 

860,809 

5  50 

1805 

777,513 

13  00 

1829 

1,227,434 

5  50 

1806 

782,724 

7  50 

1830 

1,806,529 

7  25 

1807 

1,249,819 

8  25 

1831 

864,919 

5  62 

1808 

262,813 

6  00 

1832 

955,768 

5  87 

1809 

846,247 

7  50 

1833 

835,352 

5  50 

1810 

789,436 

825 

1834 

955,768 

5  00 

1811 

1,445,012 

10  50 

1835 

779,396 

9  00 

1812 

1,443,492 

10  75 

1836 

505,400 

7  50 

1813 

1,260,942 

13  00 

1837 

318.719 

10  25 

1814 

393,274 

14  50 

1838 

448;i61 

9  50 

1815 

862,739 

9  25 

1839 

923,121 

6  75 

1816 

729,053 

7  37 

1840 

1,897,501 

5  00 

1817 

1,479,198 

14  75 

1841 

1,032,011 

6  50 

1818 

1,157,697 

10  25 

1842 

- 

4  50 

From  these  tables  it  appears  that,  during  the 
period  1795  to  1810,  which  embraced  the  Eu- 
ropean wars,  and  when  the  populatiuu  of  the 
United  States  averaged  5,000,000,  the  exports 


I 


WHEAT. 


of  flour  averaged  nearly  1,000,000  barrels  per 
annum,  at  near  $10  per  barrel,  or  an  export  of 
1  barrel  to  every  5  inhabitants.  During  the 
non-intercourse,  from  1807  to  1811,  the  price 
fell  very  low;  and  in  1812  the  export  was  re- 
sumed, and  was  so  large  that  the  rates  again 
rose  very  high,  so  high  as  to  check  the  export. 
Under  the  high  successive  tariffs  of  1824-28-33, 
the  export  of  flour  declined,  and  with  that  de- 
cline prices  fell;  until  after  1834,  when  debt 
and  state  stocks  were  exported  in  return  for 
foreign  goods,  instead  of  the  legitimate  export 
of  produce,  and  the  rage  of  speculation,  by 
checking  agriculture,  produced  actual  scarcity, 
which  again  brought  up  prices.  The  revulsion 
drove  people  to  work,  and  the  large  crops  of 
1839,  assisted  by  a  scarcity  in  England,  caused 
a  great  export,  which,  with  the  1,000,000  bar- 
rels sent  forward  in  1841,  raised  the  value  of 


WHEAT. 

the  whole  crop  $1  50  per  barrel,  or  25  per  cent, 
in  that  year.  The  surplus  of  those  two  year-* 
may  be  estimated  at  2,500,000  barrels.  Ac- 
cording to  the  census,  there  were  produced  in 
1839,  in  round  numbers,  8,000,000  ban-els  of 
flour,  and  the  product  of  1840  was  estimated  at 
12,000,000  barrels,  worth  $60,000,000.  The 
export  of  one-sixth  part,  or  2,000,000  barrels, 
raised  the  price  to  $6  50  in  1841,  or  the  value 
of  the  crop  to  $78,000,000;  making  a  dif- 
ference, in  favour  of  the  farmer,  equal  to 
§18,000,000  or  30  per  cent.     (Hunt's  Mag.) 

The  average  price  of  wheat  may  be  esti- 
mated pretty  correctly  from  that  of  flour,  by 
adopting  the  miller's  rule  of  computing  the 
price  of  a  bushel  of  wheat  weighing  60  lbs.  at 
one-fifth  the  price  of  a  barrel  of  flour.  See 
Bread,  Flouk,  Fit  in  Wheat,  Grain,  Grain 
Flt,  &c. 


Parliamkntart  Papers  relating  to  Wheat  and  othek  Grain. 
Statement  of  the  Quantities  of  each  kind  of  Grain  imported  into  England  from  1828  to  1841, 


WHEAT  and 
WHEAT  FLOUR. 

QoantitiM  Imported. 

Quantities  entered  for  Home  Contumption. 

Quantities  remaining  in  Ware- 
house at  tiie  end  of  each  Year. 

FortJJjn. 

Colonial. 

TnUI. 

Forelpj. 

Colonial. 

Total. 

Foreign. 

Colonial. 

Total. 

Qr,, 

Qn. 

Qr,. 

Qr*. 

Qr,. 

Qrs.                 Qr,. 

Qr,. 

Qrs. 

1828  (from  15lh  July) 

570,799 

20,130 

590,929 

740,458 

20,021 

760,479 

32,005 

212 

32,217 

18-29        -        -        - 

1,715,442 

10.339 

1,725,781 

1,434,096 

8,605 

1,442,701 

246,092 

l.^'A) 

247,752 

is:?!)       ... 

1,592,768 

70,.M5 

1,6*;3  283 

1.667,228 

60,559 

1,727,847 

143,131 

11, '23'^ 

154,367 

1831 

2,083,812 

426,158 

2,309,970 

1,369,044 

135,696 

1,-506,740 

801,527 

99,925 

901,445 

18.12 

845,386 

121,516 

469,902 

182,770 

193,985 

376,755 

673,673 

28,620 

70-2,293 

1833        -        -         - 

183,229 

114,33f. 

2i)7.565 

1,3.30 

82,706 

84,036 

764,984 

57,868 

822,852 

1831 

109,734 

66,5«7 

176,.32l 

290 

64,684 

64,974 

715,1.'?2 

59,053 

774,185 

1835 

43,801 

83,104 

66,905 

124 

28,430 

28,.554 

627.180 

53.978 

681,158 

1836 

234,503 

7,240 

241,743 

1,045 

29,062 

30,107 

599,463 

:ii;980 

631,443 

1837        -        -        - 

544.1.-40 

15.792 

559.942 

210,897 

33,375 

244,272 

630,310 

14,361 

644,671 

1838        -        -        - 

1,355,314 

16,613 

1,371,957 

1.818,828 

29,647 

1.848,475 

24,229 

1,500 

25,729 

1839 

2,862,933 

12,772 

2,875,605 

2,698,981 

12,742 

2,711,723 

174,188 

1,494 

175,682 

1810 

2,284,289 

148,  »76 

2,4.32.765 

2,287,637 

113,799 

2.401,436 

102,845 

36,563 

139,408 

1641*      - 
Total      - 
BARLEY. 

2,524,443 

259,159 

2,783,602 

2,389,072 

259,736 

2,647,808 

16.450,503 

1,115,767 

17,566,270 

14,800,860 

1,075,047 

15,875,907 

1828  (from  15th  July) 

125,490 

_ 

125.490 

195,075 

195,075 

699 

- 

699 

1829        -        -        - 

305,798 

_ 

305.798 

209.799 

. 

2-29,799 

64,979 

_ 

64,979 

1830 

132,210 

. 

132,210 

48,505 

- 

48,505 

147,025 

- 

147,025 

1831         -        - 

368,809 

223 

309,032 

514,395 

215 

514,610 

1,889 

- 

1,889 

1832 

101,713 

97 

101,810 

77,891 

97 

77,988 

17,504 

- 

17,504 

1833        .        -        - 

85,221 

85,221 

1,226 

. 

1,226 

98,341 

. 

98,341 

1834 

88,562 

1 

88,562 

11,071 

_ 

11,071 

165,717 

- 

165,717 

18.15 

67,796 

_ 

67,796 

136,853 

_ 

136,853 

51,762 

- 

51,762 

1836 

83,483 

83,483 

110,021 

_ 

110,021 

.  7,078 

- 

7,078 

1837        _        -        - 

87,791 

87,791 

47,475 

_ 

47,475 

37,053 

- 

37,053 

1833 

2,203 

1 

2,203 

8,192 

_ 

8,192  j    11,409 

- 

11,409 

1839        -        -        - 

579,405 

_ 

579,405 

594,301 

_ 

594,301 

1,121 

- 

1,121 

1810 

625,437 

_ 

6-25,437 

619,801 

. 

619,801 

9,110 

- 

9,110 

1841*      - 
Total      - 
OATS  and  OAT- 

264,460 

"525 

2f)4,985 

-222,312 

525 

222,837 

2,918,378 

845 

2,919,223 

2,816,917 

837 

2,817,754 

MEAL. 
1828  (from  15lh  July) 

147,251 

580 

147,831 

11,790 

580 

12.370 

143,606 

_ 

143,606 

1829        -        -        - 

548,588 

61 

548,649 

189,815 

61 

189,876 

443,451 

- 

443,451 

1830        -        .        - 

511,936 

1,.'>55 

513,491 

902,917 

1,555 

904,472 

25,726 

- 

25,726 

1831 

615,117 

7,099 

622,216 

348,666 

6,826 

355,492 

282,251 

233 

282,484 

1832 

31,138 

709 

31,817 

2,150 

932 

3,082 

225,175 

- 

225,175 

1833        -        -        . 

23,334 

23,334 

975 

_ 

975 

226,384 

- 

^o?'^ot 

1834        -        .        - 

175,026 

'_ 

175,026 

55,620 

- 

55,620 

331,521 

- 

331,521 

1835        -        -        - 

113,188 

_ 

113,188 

176,142 

_ 

176,142 

239,688 

- 

239,688 

1836        .        -        - 

131,466 

_ 

131,466 

97,197 

- 

97,197 

216,660 

- 

216,660 

1837  -        -        - 

1838  -        _        . 

418,885 
55,539 

4 

418,885 
55,543 

334,024 
11,068 

4 

334,024 

253,854 
242,199 

" 

253,854 
242,199 

1839 

1840        -        -        . 

670,453 
541.400 

60 
4,?63 

670,513 
546,263 

862,729 
513,338 

60 
3,714 

862,789 
517,052 

15,845 
15,011 

975 

15,845 
15,986 

1841*      - 

Total        -        - 

123,006 

8.019 

131,025 

20,769 

7,149 

27,918 

4,106,3-27 

22,950 

4,129,277 

3,527,200 

20,881 

3,548,081 

*  Tb».  Returns  for  1841  will  be  liable  to  alteration  (although  not  to  any  considerable  extent)  when  the  Accounts 


of  that  year  shall  have  been  finally  adjusted 


1143 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


1 



1 

QuaDtitiw  entered  for 

Quantities  remaining  in 

QMlite  iBpOfM.                       1 

Uoi 

ue  CoMumptioD. 

of  each  Year. 

»TB.Jh»15 

isr  • 

i   : 

r-«*^ 

CokmM. 

Total. 

TMt^pU 

Colonial. 

Total.       [ 

Foreign.          Colonial. 

Total. 

On. 
&M 

On. 

Qr«. 

28,172 

67,392 

44,78-1 

93,006 

4,646 

3,370 

10 

Qrs. 

144 

64,9<'3 

19,189 

56,203 

60 

1 

22 

3 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

144 

64,963 

19,189 

56,203 

60 

22 
3 

Qrs. 

31,609 

26,435 

17,604 

20,703 

4,054 

5,720 

5,108 

3,450 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

31,609 
26,4.^5 
17,004 
20,703 
4,054 
5,720 
5,1  OS 
3,450 

IS  : 
!S  : 

MM      . 

M4M    . 

TWml. 

PEAS,  from 

A.0M 

»,71I 

1.781 

143,«73 

s,sss 

15,600 

- 

6,626 
30,711 

1,781 
153,673 

3,332 
15,600 

18 

19,576 

2,517 

152,582 

1,857 

518 

-       - 

18 

19,.576 

2,517 

152,582 

1,857 

518 

6,805 
12,047 
5,079 
3,036 
3,326 

~       ~ 

6,805 
12,047 
5,079 
3,036 
3,326 

45S,10S 

-      - 

453,103 

317,653 

-        - 

317,653 

!Si"*'T 

41.S95 

1,499 

42,794 

42,2f)9 

1,499 

43,768 

.^Al^ 

- 

8,338 

ino 

1,140 

40,412 

35,271 

1,140 

36,411 

10,207 

- 

10,207 

1830 

£o07 

1,905 

31,572 

42,598 

^'H?H 

44,507 

192 

- 

im 

58.9S) 

582 

59,507 

57,365 

612 

57,977 

699 

- 

isa 

%,100 

8 

20,198 

16,587 

8 

16,595 

3,088 

- 

3,088 

18a 

15,879 

11 

15,8iK) 

18,081 

11 

IM^I 

315 

- 

315 

18N 

07,505 
<3,5fi6 

285 

67,880 

57,417 

285 

67,702 

9,935 

- 

9,935 

18M 

650 

24,216 

21,525 

659 

25,184 

7,705 

- 

iS    . 

78,289 

10 

78,299 

80,918 

10 

80,928 

3,154 

- 

3,I.')4 

Mn 

111.954 

7 

111,261 

87,608 

7 

87,615 

22,929 

- 

22,929 

iSb     . 

«9,753 

95 

29,848 

11,525 

93 

11,618 

35,120 

1 

35,121 

iS     . 

139,734 

278 

140,012 

169,991 

279 

170,270 

3,867 

- 

3,867 

MM 

154,370 

4,216 

158,486 

155,202 

4,255 

159,457 

2,904 

2,904 

MU*    . 

TduU 

BBAll«,from 

138.709 

16,728 

149,497 

118,113 

14,744 

132,857 

W5,458 

27,414 

972,872 

917,470 

25,511 

942,981 

gi«riy- 

>7,9M 

, 

37,230 

72,863 

.        . 

72,863 

17,951 

17,951 

int 

4fl»487 

_ 

46,487 

61,406 

- 

61,406 

^^l  ' 

- 

2,557 

MM       . 

10.909 

_ 

16,909 

18,697 

. 

18,697 

808 

- 

808 

im 

tt.S45 

. 

22,345 

17,678 

- 

17,678 

5,305 

- 

5,305 

laM     . 

«7.914 

. 

27,914 

7,439 

- 

7,439 

20,962 

- 

20,962 

itti 

tt^SO 

. 

22,859 

6,028 

- 

6,028 

37,223 

- 

37,223 

18SI       . 

47J50 

. 

47,756 

44,566 

_ 

44,566 

38,557 

- 

^^'^^ 

18SS 

34,380 

_ 

34,380 

69,824 

- 

69,824 

2,306 

- 

2,306 

ISM 

93,056 

- 

93,056 

87,796 

. 

87,796 

7,374 

- 

7,374 

tor 

105,007 

_ 

105,607 

109,076 

_ 

109,076 

4,519 

. 

4,519 

01,358 

. 

64,358 

54,240 

_ 

54,240 

14,314  ,     -        - 

^^'Ht 

MM 

100310 

. 

109,810 

12,3,597 

_ 

123,597 

701       -        - 

701 

MM       . 

1«,M1 

-       57 

129,418 

129,460 

57 

129,517 

760       -        - 

760 

MU*    . 
Toul. 

SMAM 

294,532 

267,697 

- 

267,697 

1 

l,0M,fl04 

57 

1  1.052.661 

1,070,367 

57 

1,070,424 

,  tol83S,the  monthly  returns  of  the  importation  and  consumption  of  foreign  and  colonial  corn  were 

celteecad  tofcttwr.  In  annnnt  prrfotl<>,  commencing  on  1st  January,  and  terminating  on  31st  December.    From  1833, 
dowaward*.  thejr  have  '  ip.  like  the  other  accounts  of  this  department',  in  periods,  commencing  on  6th 

immuaj  In  each  year,  n  l-  on  5th  January,  in  the  year  succeeding.    This  circumstance  is  necessary  to 

v  Thf  aggregate  imports  and  consumption  of  the  several  years,  from  1828  to 
0(1  111  -titement,  will  be  found  to  differ,  to  a  small  extent,  from  the  quantities 

whi'  roiupiled,  not,  as  in  this  case,  from  special  monthly  returns  of  the  com 

L'-'neral  commerce  of  the  country. 
•TteraniTDS  twlNii  wiu  :>.•  n;il)le  to  alteration  (although  not  to  any  considerable  extent)  when  the 


lfa4«.feMft 


of  Itat  yaw  ilaU  hare  been  finally  actuated 


;  of  tlM  tapteaalal  Price*  of  each  kind  of  Grain,  as  prepared  for  the  Purposes  of  the  Tithe  Commission,  in 
each  Year,  from  1835  to  1841. 


NrkxberSMMTwt 


MK 
1836 
1837 
1838 
18M 
1840 
1841 


d. 
Oi 
8i 
61 
6i 
9 

lU 
3f 


Average  Prices  per  Imperial  Butl)el. 


Biriay. 


d. 
IH 
llj 
11^ 

9* 

lU 

1 

2 


9 

81 
8 

lOJ 

IH 


Rye. 


d. 

6J 

6* 
10 

6* 

8 
10 
11 


m 
m 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


i»t£ment  of  the  Total  Quantities  of  Wheat  and  Wheat  Flour  imported  into,  and  exported  from,  Ch-eai 
Britain,  in  each  Year,  from  1697  to  1S41. 


T««. 

Imporied. 

Exporled. 

Yeirs. 

Imported. 

Exported. 

Years. 

Imported. 

Exported. 

Qr,. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qra. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

1697 

400 

14,698 

1746 

- 

131,105 

1795 

313,793 

18,839 

1698 

1,689 

6,886 

1747 

- 

270,491 

1796 

879,200 

24,679 

1699 

486 

557 

1748 

6 

545,240 

1797 

461,761 

54,525 

1700 

5 

49,057 

1749 

382 

631,007 

1798 

396,721 

59,782 

1701 

1 

96,324 

1750 

280 

950,483 

1799 

463,185 

39,362 

1702 

- 

90,230 

1751 

3 

662,957 

1800 

1,264,520 

22,013 

1703 

50 

106,615 

1752 

430,117 

1801 

1,424,765 

28,406 

1704 

2 

90,314 

1753 

- 

300,754 

1802 

647,663 

149,304 

1705 

- 

96,185 

1754 

201 

356,781 

1803 

373,725 

76,580 

1706 

77 

188,332 

1755 

- 

237,466 

1804 

461,140 

63,073 

1707 

174,155 

1756 

5 

102,752 

1805 

920,834 

77,955 

1708 

80 

83,969 

1757 

141,562 

11,545 

1806 

310,342 

29,566 

1709 

1,552 

71,618 

1758 

20,353 

9,234 

1807 

404,946 

25,113 

1710 

400 

16,607 

1759 

162 

227,641 

1808 

84,889 

98,005 

1711 

. 

80,9U 

1760 

3 

393,614 

1809 

455,987 

31,278 

1712 

_ 

148,539 

1761 

- 

441,956 

1810 

1,567,126 

75,785 

1713 

- 

179,969 

1762 

56 

295,385 

1811 

336,131 

97,765 

1714 

16 

180,665 

1763 

72 

429,538 

1812 

290,710 

46,325 

1715 
1716 

173,237 

75,876 

1764 
1765 

1 
104,547 

396,857 
167,126 

1813 

559,000 

S  Records 
\  destroyed. 

1717 

25,637 

1766 

11.020 

164,939 

1814 

852,567 

111,477 

1718 

74,381 

1767 

497,905 

5,071 

1815 

384,475 

227,947 

1719 

20 

130,533 

1768 

349,268 

7,433 

1816 

332,491 

121,611 

1720 

84,343 

1769 

4,378 

49,892 

1817 

1,089,855 

317,524 

1721 

] 

82,718 

1770 

34 

75,419 

1818 

1,694,261 

58,668 

1722 

_ 

178,915 

1771 

2,510 

10,089 

1819 

625,638 

44,689 

1723 
1721 

148 

158.082 
247,132 

1772 
1773 

25,474 

56,857 

6,959 
7,637 

1820 
1821 

996,479 
707,384 

94,657 
199,846 

1725 

12 

211,175 

1774 

289,149 

15,928 

1822 

510,602 

160,499 

1726 
1727 
1728 

74,574 

143,626 

31,030 

3,935 

1775 
1776 
1777 

560,988 
20,578 
233,323 

91,037 
210,664 

87,686 

1823 
1824 
1825 
18-26 

424,019 
441,591 
787,606 
897,127 

145,951 
61,680 
38,796 
20,0.54 

1729 

40,315 

18,993 

1778 

106,.194 

141,070 

1827 

711,868 

57,323 

1730 

76 

94,530 

1779 

5,039 

222,261 

1828 

1,410,300 

76,489 

1731 
1732 

4 

130,650 
202,612 

1780 
1781 

3,915 
159,866 

224,059 
103,021 

1829 
1830 

2,190,095 
2,205,751 

75,097 
37,149 

1733 

7 

427,425 

1782 

80,695 

145,152 

1831 

2,867,860 

65,875 

1734 

7 

498,747 

1783 

584,183 

51,943 

1832 

1,254,351 

289,558 

1735 
1736 

9 
18 

155,280 

118,218 

1784 
1785 

216,917 
110,863 

89,288 
132,685 

1833 
1834 

1,166,457 
981,486 

96,212 
159,482 

1737 

32 

46e,071 

1786 

51,463 

205,466 

1835 

750,808 

134,076 

1738 

3 

588,284 

1787 

59,339 

120,536 

1836 

861,156 

256,978 

1739 

23 

285,492 

1788 

148,710 

82,971 

1837 

1,109,492 

308,420 

1740 

5,469 

54,391 

1789 

112,656 

140,014 

18.38 

1,923,400 

158,621 

1741 

7,540 

45,417 

1790 

222,557 

30,892 

1839 

3,110,729 

42,512 

1742 

1 

295,698 

1791 

469,056 

70,62© 

1840 

2,526,645 

87,242 

1743 

3 

375,979 

1792 

22,417 

300,278 

1841 

2,923,189 

30,390 

1744 

2 

234,274 

1793 

490,398 

76,869 

1745 

8 

325,340 

1794 

327,902 

155,048 

..J 

JfoU.- 
144 

-Thia^ 

:ount  includes 

the  Trade  wit 

h  Ireland 
5d 

2 

1145 

WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


St  ttement  of  the  Quantities  of  the  several  kinds  of  Grain  and  Meal  imported  from  each  Country,  and 
hktwue  of  tht  Quantities  reexported  from  the  Warehouse  to  each  Country,  in  each  Year,  from  1828 
to  1840,  (otnitting  1829  and  1831.) 


^ 

WHEAT. 

Qu-mtiiiet  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom. 

IML 

im 

ISM. 

1833 

1834. 

183S. 

1836. 

■  837. 

1838. 

1839. 

1840. 

SWV4WB    •          •           • 

Norway  -       -       - 

SSSi:  --  } 

PraaM    .      •      - 
Poruif^.  Proper    - 

AlOTM     - 

Or.. 

18.096 
1,303 

41.150 
831,906 
149,396 

167,023 

t0,439 

'S3,316 
*  5,216 

Or*. 

835,803 
9,937 

'88,039 
517,844 
364,961 

76,711 

15,219 

"   1,141 

"39,493 

"98,6l9 
7,268 

Qra. 
91,290 

33,548 
119,320 
43,046 

475 

'  1,763 

"2,304 

1,062 
10 

1,642 

945 

25 

89,516 

6,286 
180 

Qrs. 

18,656 
357 

"7,958 
87,903 
49,421 
C     276 

"  692 

41 
6 

2,696 

752 

79,410 

Qrs. 

11,732 
29,826 
42,770 

"1 

'  1,616 

471 

1,766 

44,907 

Qrs. 

9,758 

3,236 

11,577 

8 

111 

2,158 
6 
1 

1,107 

336 

1 

14,326 

1 

Qrs. 
1,036 

10,258 

100.199 

51,562 

3,984 

'  1,593 

"4 

1 
1 

"8 

Qrs. 
11,244 
251 

18,240 

315,121 

87,665 

10,741 

420 

746 

'1 

"4,483 
6,390 

257 
310 

Qrs. 
41,339 

111,499 

550,826 

312,442 

82,010 

17,396 

53,190 

15 

421 

30,264 
11,647 
5,370 
3,150 
800 

555 
'  20,531 

Qrs. 

371,693 

.    392 

360 

196,730 

710,203 

409,729 

116,480 

2.%  141 

278,182 

26,.382 

1,561 

616 

17,741 

4,573 

335,612 

16,370 

13,928 

43,740 

1,729 

3,360 

2 

27 
3,766 

'28,236 

Qrs. 

268,263 

l.'>0,351 

H00,.508 

364,553 

50,612 

7,627 

48,350 

1,396 

46,939 

1 
149,328 
1,544 
1,960 
4,802 
2,874 

2 

8,192 

73,755 

91 

12,233 

•'^       Cmn^ot' 

GlknJur        •      - 
iMilaa  1*r«nds~ 

tSEm.  Taab;  All 
^m.aiidMoroeeo 

OmoTGoodHope- 

E.lMllaCompany't 
TarriioriBs      and 
Gavku         -       - 

Brhbh  8«>tUein«iits 
taAaainilia-       - 

BrMrt  North  Aaa- 
rkaa  Ooloolea     - 

Vmtlai     Stataa    af 
▲iMriea      - 

Chili 

1 
14,415 

656 

58,963 
6,066 

Pani       -       -      - 

ChaaMlUaads     . 

Toul      -       - 

22,359 

"32,079 

715,^2  1,475,314 

391,417 

248,171 

133,091  42,628 

168,647 

455,871 

1,241,460 

2,634,556 

1,993,383 

Cmmttim. 

Quantities  re-exported  from  the  United  Kingdom. 

i8tn. 

1830. 

1832, 

1833. 

1834. 

1835. 

1836. 

1837. 

1838. 

1839.            1840. 

Rwala    .       .       . 
Norwajr .       -       - 
Dcamark 

Praaala  -      .       - 
Garmiijr        .       . 
IMIaod  .       -      \ 

P^aaca    . 
Pertaial.  Proper    - 

Qrs. 

1,849 
S3,904 

'1,398 
100 

"4,099 

500 
53 

"  8,996 
*M,804 

Qrs. 

2,900 
20,660 

670 
820 

Qr». 

1,677 

75,017 

147,443 

883 

450 

3,595 

175 

"  1,212 

63 
1,927 

3,441 

Qrs. 

f  5,187 

1  1,182 

50 

1,351 

150 

5,609 

3,966 

'3,346 

304 
294 

5,971 
1,027 

1,127 

3,339 

1,577 

Qrs. 
3,772 
29 

6,296 

961 
68,891 

7,117 
3,403 
1,035 
2,404 
2,030 
5,748 

300 

1 

4,748 
308 

62 

3,420 
3,051 

Qrs. 
713 
1,283 

281 
1,083 

1,818 
111 

874 
580 

19,118 

10,540 

423 

390 

6,222 

923 

'l,723 

966 

24,569 
1,200 

m 

200 

3,460 

Qrs. 
10 

3,360 
2,398 

3,769 
250 

1,122 

872 
3,313 

10,393 

64,055 
6 

80,972 
114 

3,300 

Qrs. 

40 
800 

10,235 

708 

2,180 
4,437 

1,718 

99,522 
121 

87,418 
8,658 

Qrs. 

539 
4,442 

1,371 
1,109 

896 
67,368 

14,530 
5,146 

Qrs. 

9 

5 
6 

3,052 

2,100 
818 

602 
1,179 

Qrs. 

11,468 
700 

2,411 
1,500 

5 

3,308 
479 

11,874 

1*-.  .'^'": 
lis.  :   :   : 

lonlaB  blaada 
OMg«fOoo4Hopa- 

B.  Mia  Ctoa^«j'f 

^y^        '      ' 

BvitMi  OaniaaaBta 

faiAMivalia 
Brltiah  North  Aae. 

1  rnhed     Sutes    of 

1      Aaarica 
Bravt     .       .       ■ 
Slate*  ofthe  Rio  da 

1     laPuu       .       . 

{  GKaael  Maads     . 

L  J-  ■  - 

58,646 

25,050 

235,683 

34,480 

113,576 

84,992 

173,934 

215,837 

95,402j 

7,770      31,745 

lUU 

" 

WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


Statement  of  Quatitities  of  Grain  and  Meal  imported,  and  Quantities  re-exported,  in  each  Year,  from 

1828  to  1840— Contiaued. 


Countrie*. 

BARLEY. 

Quantities  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom.                                                                   1 

1828. 

1829. 

issa 

1831. 

1832. 

1833. 

1834. 

1835. 

1S36. 

.837. 

1838. 

1839. 

1840. 

Qr,. 

Qr,. 

Qrs. 

Qrs 

Qn,. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 

Qrs 

Russia 

1,824 

7,989 

4,06-2 

42,568 

8,820 

1,579 

1,270 

24 

338 

18,338 

4,6.57 

Sweden 

1,393 

6,179 

579 

1,719 

- 

27 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

2,499 

23,783 

Norway 

_ 

143 

_ 

. 

_ 

. 

_ 

_ 

233 

S20 

Denmark      - 

96.041 

144,262 

75,537 

115,658 

54,859 

70,651 

82,781 

65,693 

21,779  23,536 

11 

210,134 

2.52,037 

Prussia 

21.297 

49,61.^ 

29,508 

60,886 

11,373 

8,734 

2,166 

823 

29,586  28,443 

469 

139,153 

189,167 

Germany 

33,031 

55,193 

27,722 

116,928 

16,208 

4,219 

2,161 

1,267 

24,327.24,780 

1,384 

75,694 

81,017 

Bftleium        -       j" 

9,137 

4,182 

1,184 

12,284 

- 

^.' 

178 

7 

6,333 1    3,585 
735        404 

- 

13,057 
4,318 

0,584 

France 

•  3,1W7 

9,845 

- 

18,738 

4,.381 

1 

2 

459 

3,706 

_ 

105,326 

5B,207 

Portu?aI,  Proper 

_ 

_ 

_ 

555 

Spain  and  the  Ba- 

learic Islands  - 

_ 

139 

. 

2.318 

. 

_ 

.  ■ 

_ 

_ 

600 

677 

Canaries 

. 

_ 

. 

419 

Italy  and  the  Ita- 

lian Islands 

- 

- 

- 

3,003 

. 

6 

_ 

> 

1 

2,696 

Malta  . 

_ 

_ 

1 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

„ 

1,660 

594 

Turkey 

. 

. 

624 

96 

. 

. 

. 

. 

_ 

. 

1,77a 

Egypt  - 

. 

. 

. 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

. 

. 

604 

. 

9  ii76 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 

. 

_ 

. 

1 

East  India  Compa- 

ny's Territories 

and  Ceylon 

_ 

_ 

_ 

15 

2 

_ 

_ 

_ 

_ 

1 

3 

British  N.  Ameri- 

can C(donie8    - 

_ 

_ 

_ 

223 

96 

United    States  of 

America   - 

_ 

1 

Isles  of  Guernsey, 

Jersey,     Alder- 

nev,    and    Man 

(Foreign  Goods) 

Total 

To  a\  quantities  I 
re-exported      3 

2,718 

5,159 

6.528 

1.128 

' 

- 

- 

4 

262 

8 

- 

6,621 

3,66! 

168,672 

281,713 

145,119 

376.513,  95,839 

85,221 

88,561 

67,796 

83,483  87,790 

2,2031579,405 

625,438 

4,117 

10,297 

1,285 

642 

7,822 

3,210 

9.865 

44,365 

18,219  10,605 

I 

19817         620 

4,379 

Statement  of  (^untitles  of  Grain  and  Meal  imported,  and  Quantities  re-exported,  in  each  Year  from 
1828  to  1840  (omitting  1829)— Continued. 


CountriM. 

OATS. 

QuADtllies  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom. 

\m. 

1890. 

irai. 

1892. 

1833. 

1834. 

1935, 

1836. 

1837. 

1S38. 

1839. 

1840. 

Qn. 

Qn. 

Qr.. 

Q*^ 

Qn.. 

Qr>. 

Qr,. 

Q's. 

Qrs 

Qrs. 

Q"-  ^ 

Qrs. 

Russia    -        -        - 

35,036 

122,015 

371,710 

17,696 

18,047 

13.017 

12.370 

1,731 

151,205 

10,229 

316,823f 

167,248 

Swed.-n  - 

13,601 

8,732 

20,663 

1,120 

19,667 

26,785 

5s735 

2,307 

- 

3,604 

17,047 

Norway  -        -        _ 

, 

. 

480 

. 

3 

Denmark 

65.403 

1 18,203 

96,996 

7,992 

2,888 

79,128 

52,591 

23,321 

26,109 

3,085 

46,235 

78,919 

Prussia   -        -        - 

12,063 

130,961 

70,597 

_ 

83 

11,189 

4,051 

18.749 

99,251 

198 

99,521 

105,629 

Germany 

25,354 

68,324 

31,434 

2,273 

5W 

26,717 

12,210 

36,086 

91,897 

15,879 

75,010 

114,668 

Holland  -        .         1 
Belgium  .        -        3 

10,523 

39,891 

15,641 

221 

11" 

22,8S.5 
2,422 

5,035 

45,413 

40,082 
130 

23,681 
467 

101,336 
21,196 

50,215 
266 

France    - 

1,508 

15,684 

7,936 

_ 

_ 

. 

80 

- 

5,640 

606 

Portugal,  Proper    - 

_ 

4 

_ 

_ 

_ 

. 

_ 

300 

Spain       -        .        - 

. 

. 

30 

_ 

. 

20 

Italy  and  the  Italian 

Islands 

_ 

_ 

1 

_ 

_ 

. 

. 

. 

5,361 

. 

- 

83 

Cape  of  Good  Hope 

. 

. 

1 

East  India  Compa- 

ny's   Territories 

and  Ceylon 

. 

. 

_ 

2 

_ 

_ 

- 

.- 

- 

4 

- 

4 

British  North  Ame- 

rican Colonies    - 

580 

1,223 

6,329 

_ 

_ 

- 

1 

British  West  Indies 

_ 

672 

United     States     of 

America 

. 

599 

_ 

_ 

. 

_ 

. 

- 

> 

- 

5,306 

Channel  Islands     - 

2,351 

1,600 

- 

- 

- 

- 

20 

- 

- 

452 

... 

745 

Total     - 

166.423 

506,637 

621,940 

28,858 

23,334 

174,975 

113,067 

131,056 

416,424  53,544'  670,117 

540,736 

Total  quantities     \ 
re-exported         j" 

6,694 

26,140 

5,571 

83,793 

19,491 

13,446 

30,792 

56,184 

46,917  54,424    40,205 

I 

36,48* 

JTote— Of  the  Oats  re-exported,  by  far  the  largest  amount  went  to  the  British  Colonies,  especially  to  those  In 
the  West  Indies.  ,,.„ 

1147 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


of  (htantitiei  of  Chrain  and  Meal  imported  and  Quantities  re-exported,  in  each  Year,  from 
1828  to  1840— Continued. 


CmMm. 

RYE. 

Quantitiet  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom. 

ISO. 

I8». 

issa  1  )s3i. 

'832. 

1833.    1    1834. 

1835. 

1838. 

1837. 

1838. 

1839. 

1840. 

Iwila    .      '      • 
■wedea  -       •       • 
ttorwj .      .      - 
DMWMirk        .       - 
Prwak  .       .      . 
Oanaaay 
Hollaad  -      .      I 

RSSr:   -   - 

ItalT  aad'iba  Itallui 
Itlandi 

UaMed  Suiaa  of 
Aatrka      •       . 

Wm  of  Oaaraaey, 
Jeratf.  AMemey, 
aad  Man  (PoreifD 
Ooodt)         -       - 

Total      . 

Total    qoantitiet  ) 
rt-exported        J 

On. 
H,4«9 

1,154 
13,009 

»,oa5 

9 

Ore. 

99,478 
1,432 

6,103 
19,693 
8,669 

4,531 
9 

On. 
15,625 
333 

1,151 

91,460 

5,785 

153 
45 

Qrs. 

53,911 

60 

5,832 

18,447 
7,103 

4,205 

137 

1,867 

Qrs. 
4,627 

-'{ 

Qrs. 
3,363 

- 
6 

Qrs. 
10 

Qrs. 

Qrs. 
998 

5,542 

Qrs. 
2,105 

606 

1,100 

24,057 

67 

2,401 

370 

Qrs. 

1,290 
360 
131 

Qrs. 
14,030 
273 

16,460 
97,834 
16,588 

6,170 
215 

1,738 

365 

Qrs. 

333 
2,932 

8 

59 

29,562  65,910 

45,155 

91,565 

4,627 

3,369 

10 

- 

6,626 

30,710 

1,781 

153,673 

3,332 

886    7,861 

35,408 

36,735 

18,216 

1,521 

600 

926 

3,300 

5,932 

6,080 

4,192 

1,215 

Jtytt.—Ot  theae  re.exportations  the  largest  amount  went  to  Holland  and  Belgium,  and  in  the  years  1836, 1837, 
•ad  1838  to  the  United  States. 


9t9Um*ni  of  Qitan/tltet  of  Grain  and  Meal  imported  and  Quantities  re-exportea,  m  each  year,  from 
1828  to  1840,  {omitting  1829)— Continued. 


1 

BEANS  AND  PEAS.                                                                                 ' 

Quanlities  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom.                                                              { 

lan. 

1830. 

1831. 

1832. 

1833. 

1834. 

1835. 

1836. 

1837. 

1838. 

1839. 

1840.  ; 

1 

Ra«ia    .       .       . 
Sweden  .       -       - 
Norway  ... 
Denmark        .       . 
PruMia  -       .       . 
nernany 
Holland  .       .      \ 

Ftaace    ... 

TfeaAsorea    .      - 

SSlu.;    : 

THpoll,  Tanl^  All 
gfew,  aad  Morocco 

WMtcm  Coait  of 
AfHea.       .       . 

■nrpt     -      -      - 

gPjg^oodHope- 

1.  India  OoMii^ny's 
Tarrkortoa  and 
Oaylon        .       . 

CUm     .       •      . 

■rktok  North  Ame. 
rkaaOolontoa     . 

■Httob  Weat  ladtoa 

Ualia^  Stataa  of 
AaMtica      .       . 

Chanal  Wanda     . 

Total      .       - 

JTBtal    'pu.iittoa) 
[      ie.eiported         | 

Qrs. 
1,642 
9,394 

35,796 
13,694 
4.3,506 

10,456 

1,881 

i;«36 

19i904 

10 

1,868 

100 
916 

Qrs. 

788 
516 

5,181 
23,931 
19,063 

1,411 

15 

9 

I 

8 

1,494 

185 

Qrs. 

6,418 

34 

3,966 
37,318 
21,627 

7,543 

1,576 

5 

3,691 
1,031 

136 
461 

'•2 

Qrs. 
1,364 

7,044 
14,869 
15,550 

29 

8 

649 

3 

9,995 

8 
9 

Qrs. 
146 

10b 

8,599 

4,734 

15,282 

|5,104 

"  1 
4,760 

10 

Qrs. 

197 
2,686 
165 
26,927 
12,131 
64,455 
6,734 
518 

1 
l',215 

35 
983 

280 

Qrs. 

87 
752 

13,420 
7,778 

34,881 
1,007 

2 

15 
650 

Qrs. 
1 

222 

34 

37,838 

44,556 

79,448 

8,114 

692 

1 

2 

'l03 

6 

4 

1 

329 

Qrs. 
3,121 
144 

37,010 

64,873 

71,041 

21,077 

1,388 

9,567 

1 

6 

8"ll5 
313 

8 
203 

Qrs. 
1,126 

23,875 
8,656 

53,951 

4,776 

1,648 

30 

7 

1 

55 
39 

39 

Qrs. 
3,104 
1,506 
484 

29,579 
113,610 

50,521 

19,109 
2,351 

28,580 

8 
1 

"  36 
279 

654 

Qrs.  ; 
270, 

3,688i, 

46,207 
110,076 
74,194 
12,684 
5 
18,780, 

390 
15,191 
1,459 1 

57i 

1 

! 

53 

1 

4,216. 
1' 

96 

196,99» 

89,533 

88,904 

41,895 

38,749 

115,635 

58,596 

171,355 

216,868 

94,207 

249,823 

287,905 

%7n 

677 

577 

3,011 

1,381 

672 

3,792 

2,379 

4,813 

5,389 

2,446 

~       J 
2,055, 

-af( 


^!l^'il2f.?II^'t^^i'^5***'"*.*'^"**°*  "**  ^•"»  ™*"y  went  to  the  British  North  American,  but  by  for  the 
rg eM  went  to  toe  West  India  colon  ^ 


1148 


WHEAT. 


WHEAT. 


Russia  -  -  -  -  - 
Sweden  -  -  -  -  - 
Denmark  -  -  -  -  - 
Prussia  -  -  -  -  - 
Germany  -  -  -  -  - 
Holland  .  -  -  -  1 
Belgium  -  -  -  -  J 
France  .  -  -  -  - 
Portugal,  Proper  -  -  - 
Spain  and  the  Balearic  Islands 

Gihraliar 

Italy  and  the  Italian  Islands  - 
Malta  .  .  -  -  - 
Turkey      -        -       -        -        - 

Egypt 

Western  Coast  of  Africa  - 
Cape  of  Good  Hope    -         -        - 
East  India  Company's  Territo- 
ries and  Ceylon      -        -        - 

China 

British  Settlements  in  Australia 

North  American  Colonies 

West  Indies  .        -        - 

United  Stales  of  America 

Brazil 

Channel  Islands  (Foreign  Goods) 

Total       .        .        -        - 


WHEAT-MEAL  AND  FLOUR. 


Quantities  imported  iato  the  Uoited  Kingdom. 


2,41 
6,426 


1,534 
4,485 


10,575 

1 

47,470 

64.992 


1830.     I     1832. 


Cwti.     I  Cwts, 

1,740  51 
79 
246 

7,936.  10 

3,570,  534 

247 


5,112 


151,038, 


61,916 

3 

623,745 

2,660 


707,082 


30,219 


7,895 

41,749 

3.541 


21,898 
137 


40.386 


48,831 
3 
114,9091   34,974 


712 


8,577     32,560 
37,292'    79,790 


5,196 


32 


36 

15,897 


97,619 

179 

709 

14 


35 


12 

7,172 


9,735  18,025 

6!  125 

6,809|  1,183 

1,389  13,374 


194,896  151,306    84,969  255,831 


41,370 
122,959 
120,133 
919 
956 
883 
42 


1.677 
1 


44,667 

1 
9,527 


130 
20,974 


241 

77,233 
123,119 
131,936 

3,639 
26,740 


2,596 

1 


18,911 

'  14 

39,745 

5 

19,550 

12,756 


Cwts. 
3,946 

39,395 
96,360 
66,528 
1,474 
6,061 
115,502 

185 

422 

19,488 

60 


17,632 


27,094 

1 

432,742 

3,251 

12,917 


1840. 


364,248  456,739 


843,046 


Cwti. 

63 

23 

10,951 

23,433 

21,795 

175 

1,070 

3 

73 


13,026 

10 

24 

478,969 

984,467 

1 

3,753 


7,838 


Russia  -  -  -  -  - 
Sweden  -  -  •  -  - 
Norway  -  -  -  -  - 
Denmark  -  -  -  -  - 
Prussia  _  -  -  -  - 
Germany  -  -  -  -  - 
Holland  .  .  .  ~  } 
Belgium  -  -  -  -  J 
France  -  -  -  -  - 
Portugal,  Proper        _        -        - 

Azores         -        -        - 

Madeira       -        -        - 

Spain  and  the  Balearic  Islands 

Canaries         -        -        - 

Gibraltar 

Italy  and  the  Italian  Islands    - 

Malta 

Ionian  Islands  -  -  -  - 
Morea  and  the  Greek  Islands  - 

Turkey 

Syria  and  Palestine  -        -        - 

Egypt 

Tripoli,  Tunis,  Algiers,  and  Mo- 
rocco _  -  -  -  - 
Western  Coast  of  Africa  - 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  -  -  - 
Cape  Verd  Islands  -  -  - 
St.  Helena  .        -        -        - 

Mauritius  -  -  -  -  - 
Isle  of  Bourbon  _        -        - 

Arabia  _  -  -  _  - 
East  India  Company's  Territo- 
ries and  Ceylon  -  -  - 
Sumatra,  Java,  &c.  -  -  - 
Philippine  Islands  -  -  - 
China  .  _  -  -  - 
British  Settlements  in  Australia 
New  Zealand  -  -  -  - 
British  North  American  Colonies 

West  Indies    -        -        - 

Havti 

Cuba  and  other  Foreign  West 
Indies  -  -  -  -  - 
United  States  of  America 
Mexico  .  -  -  -  - 
Guatemala  -  -  -  - 
Columbia  -  -  -  -  - 
Brazils  ..... 
Stales  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata    - 

Chili 

Peru  .        .        .        -        - 

Channel  Islands  (Foreign  Goods) 

Total        ...        - 


Quantities  re-exported  from  the  United  Kingdom. 


93 


22 


497 


700 

2,5e3 

61 


1,781 
5 

408 


349 
24 


14,925 

27,776 

119 


174 

288 

5,709 

1,623 

52 

9 

1,980 


313 
2,514 


1,997 
23 
61 

914 

52 

11,776 

9,149 

5 

26 
86 
35 

19 

3,999 

853 

196 


15 

2 

42 

3 

370 

20,255 

27,469 

3,119 

138 

4,591 

4,332 

87 

9,741 

41 

12 

2 

S3 

'  14 

'871 


984 
11.676 


2,418 
37 
3 


1834. 


.465 


19,719 
36,966 


25,338 

559 

37 

64 

12,169 


58,846j  33,768|  83,073 


S      130 
I   10 

'. 

35 

- 

1,293 
24 

^"S 

208 
14 
44 
S 

1,680 
174 

23 

9 

2,258 

231 

46 

232 
513 

943 

4,901 

21 

1,152 
9,217 

35 

2,949 
379 
21 
241 

1,963 

2,581 

525 

9 

340 

9,365 

9,785 

57,776 

12 

5,269 

79,875 

424 

12 

86 
28 

530 

6,921 

32 

40 
74,357 

9 
41,328 

_90 

'"  8 

178 

73 

1,739 

30 

105 


1837. 


432 
72   1,683 
811   833 
1,557 


160,731 


165,309 


717 
4,776 

2,039 
8,557 

39 

4,271 
1,533 

277 
16,422 

49,091 

133,645 

1,375 

66 
15,780 


14 

42,567 

61 

43 

84 


94 


12 

10 

7 

1,547 

2, 

1 

73 
24 
5 
7 
3 
4 


2,561 

5 

3,492 

9,379 

27 

2,911 

31 

II 

145 

5,331 

65,700 

181,462 

2,364 

1,752 

1,233 

62 

40 

900 

39,363 

50 

122 

67 

29 


323,244 


547 

3,891 

3 

557 
3,332 


2,646 
1,081 

"210 

7,776 

30 

58,202 

102,131 

1,344 


16 
29,107 

222 
43 
53 

344 


212,461 


344 

1,640 


1,357 
3.861 


1,396 


56 
10,525 


6,006 

57,288 


14 

113 

12 

18 

28 

11,901 

931 

333 

26 


10 

9 

200 

2 
240 

5 
16 
68 

7 

2 
1,462 

5 

5 
12 
50 
63 
21 

21 
40 

5 


27,199 

1 
15,343 

16 

5,521 

234 

19 

153 

65,151 

3,535 

4,609 

23,775 

194 


378 

'8 

5 

16 

20,848 


108,920  181,306 
1149 


WHEAT,  OOW. 


WHEAT-GRASS. 


Jm  Jeeimnt  of  the  total  Quantilies  in  England  of  each  kind  of  Grain,  Foreign  and  Colonial,  xoith  the 
Mai  JmtmfU  of  Duty  paid  upon  each  kind,  and  the  average  Rate  thereof  during  the  whole  Period 
fnm  July,  1828,  to  December,  1841. 


CORN,  MEAL  AND  FLOUR. 

rORBION  CORN,  MEAL,  AND  FLOUR. 

the  produce  of,  and  imported  from,  British  powessions 
out  of  Europe. 

(!«■  lb*  (MMiaR  of 
llMAc<(IS«hJuly, 

Quantilies  charged 
with  duty  for  home 

Amooal  of 

Bates  of  Duty 
taken  on  the 

consuniption,  under 
Act  9  d.  IV.  c.  60, 

Amount  of 

Rates  of  duty, 
taken  on  the 

D«»T  receired 
liereon. 

avrrage  of  the 
whole  period. 

from  the  passing  of 

the  Act  (15lh  July, 

1828),  to  the  5lb 

January,  1842. 

thereon. 

average  of  Ihe 
whole  pi;riod. 

Per  Qr. 

Per  Qr. 

qn. 

£ 

r      d. 

Qrs. 

£ 

(.      d. 

WUrtt         -        -        - 
Barly        -       -       - 
Oats    ...       - 

1>,»5,471 

3,779,417 

5       7 

589,012 

104,639 

3      7 

J,89S.397 
3,534,627 

659,659 
1,137,940 

4      8 
6      5 

839 
9,060 

89 
303 

2      1 

0      8 

•y     -        -        -       - 

319342 

49,195 

3      I 

9I9.V«7 

266,374 

5    10 

25,872 

1,786 

1      5 

BrMni-        ... 

1,071.369 

371,698 

6    11 

57 

1 

0      6 

Indtan  corn 

140,164 

26,940 

3    10 

8,365 

456 

1      1 

Bvckwbeat 

40,084 

12,357 

'     6      2 
Per  Cwt 

Per  Cwt. 

CwK 

:      d. 

Cwt3. 

s.      d. 

WhMt  OMal  and  flour 

4,303,981 

428,083 

2      0 

1,704,528 

81,479 

0     11 

0»tm«l      .       -       - 

1,4W 

253 

3      7 

18,877 

932 

1      0 

Btttitment  of  the  Decennial  Fluctuations  in  the 
Friet  of  Wheat  in  England,  front  1646  fo  1815; 
fmm  1816  to  1828;  and  from  1829  to  1841; 
txkUnting  the  highest  atul  lowest  annual  Average 
im  each  Decennial  Period  and  the  per-centage 
Jhnomid  of  Difference. 


WHE.\T,  COW  (Melampyrum,  from  melas, 
black  ;  tnd  pyros,  wheat).  A  genus  of  branched, 
spreading,  annual,  nearly  smooth  herbs,  grow- 
i»f  lo  the  heij^hl  of  twelve  or  eighteen  inches. 
The  seeds,  which  resemble  grains  of  wheat  in 
shape  and  colour,  turn  black  in  drying.  There 
•re,  in  England,  foar  indigenous  species  of 
eow-wheat,  namely : — 

1.  Crested  cow-wheat  (.¥.  cristatwn),  which 
grows  in  woods  and  thickets,  and  sometimes  in 
aom-fields,  flowering  in  July.  Flower  rather 
saall.  not  quite  closed,  variegated  with  cream 
colour  and  light  purple;  the  palate  yellow. 
The  seed-vessel  is  a  crescent-shaped  capsule, 
containing  two  large  seeds  in  each  cell. 

2.  Purple  cow-wheat  (M.  arvense).  This 
species  grows  in  corn-fields  on  a  light  soil,  and 
flowers  in  July.  Stem  1^  foot  high,  purplish, 
acntely  quadrangular;  the  branches  more  up- 
right than  in  tb^  foregoing.   Leares  lanceolate. 

ll.'iO 


rough-edged.  Spikes  long,  many-flowered. 
Bractes  loosely  spreading,  deeply  pectinated  or 
pinnatifid,  the  upper  ones  entirely,  and  the 
lower  ones  partially,  coloured  of  a  delicate 
purplish  rose  colour.  The  flowers  are  large 
and  scentless.  The  seeds  are  two  or  three  in 
each  capsule,  but  one  is  often  abortive.  This 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  English  wild 
plants.  It  will  grow  from  fresh  seeds  in  a  dry 
garden,  and  is  well  worthy  of  cultivation. 

3.  Common  yellow  cow-wheat  (M.  pralense). 
PI.  7,  q.  This  is  a  very  common  species  in 
woods  and  bushy  places,  especially  on  clay  or 
loamy  soil.  It  flowers  in  July  and  August. 
Stem  smooth,  with  several  wide-spreading 
branches.  Leaves  bright  green,  lanceolate. 
Flowers  axillary,  solitary,  ppposite,  turned  in 
pairs  to  one  side.  The  capsules  have  a  curved 
point.  Cows  are  reported  to  be  fond  of  this 
plant ;  and  Linnceus  says  the  best  and  yellow- 
est butter  is  made  where  it  abounds. 

4.  Wood  cow-wheat  {M.  sylvaticum).  This 
species  grows  in  alpine  woods,  especially  in 
forests  of  fir.  It  agrees  with  the  last  in  gene- 
ral habit,  but  is  rather  smaller,  especially  the 
flowers,  and  the  capsule  is  less  pointed. 

Two  or  three  species  of  cow-wheat  are 
found  in  the  United  States. 

WHEAT-GRASS  (Triticum).  Of  this  ge- 
nus, to  which  belongs  our  cultivated  wheat, 
there  are  five  species  indigenous  to  England. 

1.  Sea  rushy  wheat-grass  {T.junceum),  whi'ch 
is  frequent  on  the  sandy  sea-coast,  is  a  pe- 
rennial, and  flowers  in  July.  The  root,  with 
its  widely  creeping,  numerous  woolly  fibres, 
is  well  calculated  for  binding  the  loose  sand, 
which  purpose  it  serves  in  common  with  Ely- 
mus  arenarius,  Arundo  arcnaria,  &c.  The  whole 
plant  is  glaucous  and  rigid,  like  those  grasses. 
Stem  12  or  18  inches  high,  simple,  inclining, 
smooth,  even  and  polished,  tinged  with  a  bright 
violet  hue  below,  striated  above.  Leaves  in- 
volute, sharp-pointed. 

2.  Creeping  wheat-grass,  or  couch-grass  (T. 
repens).  PI.  10,  i.  This  is  a  common  pest 
everywhere,  in  waste  as  well  as  cultivated 
land.    The  long-jointed,  creeping  root-stock,  or 


WHEAT-GRASS. 


WHEEL. 


rhizome,  strikes  so  deeply  and  widely  as  to  be 
very  difficult  of  extirpation.  It  is,  in  fact,  an 
underground  stem,  vivacious,  and  consequently 
shooting  up  stems  and  leaves  at  every  joint. 
The  stem  above  ground  is  slender,  2  feet  high, 
and  leafy.  Leaves  linear,  flat,  of  a  dull,  some- 
what glaucous  green,  most  numerous  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  stems.  But  the  plant  is  so 
well  known  that  it  requires  no  description. 
Forking  out  the  roots  after  the  plough  is  doubt- 
less the  best  mode  of  extirpating  this  noxious 
weed  ;  but  the  process  must  not  be  discontinued 
while  a  particle  of  the  root-stock  is  suspected 
to  remain  in  the  soil,  as  the  least  portion  will 
grow,  and  the  land  being  so  much  broken  and 
loosened  by  the  operation,  gives  double  encou- 
ragement for  the  rapid  growth  of  the  plant.  It 
does  not  thrive  well  when  combined  with  other 
grasses,  but  is  naturally  more  common  in 
hedges.  The  root-stock  contains  a  large  pro- 
portion of  nutritive  matter;  it  is  esteemed 
abroad  for  feeding  horses.  At  Naples  the  root- 
stocks  are  collected  in  large  quantities  for  this 
purpose,  and  brought  to  market.  The  niitritive 
matter  from  the  leaves  contains  an  excess  of 
bitter  extractive  and  saline  matters.  Dogs  eat 
the  leaves,  and  also  those  of  the  Holms  avena- 
ceus,  to  excite  vomiting;  hence  it  is  sometimes 
called  dog's  grass,  and  in  other  places  bears 
the  name  of  quitch  or  quicks.     See  Couch. 

3.  Fibrous-rooted,  or  bearded  wheat-grass 
(T,  cani7wni).  This  differs  essentially  from 
the  common  couch-grass  last  described,  in 
having  the  root  fibrous,  without  a  rhizome.  It 
grows  in  woods  and  shady  hedges  on  a  chalky 
or  limestone  soil.  The  stems  are  2  feet  high, 
very  smooth.  Leaves  nearly  upright,  lanceo- 
late, taper-pointed,  thin,  flat,  bright  green,  rough 
on  both  sides.  As  this  grass  yields  a  large 
supply  of  early  spring  herbage,  and  produces 
a  sufficiency  of  seeds,  which  vegetate  quickly 
on  all  soils  except  such  as  are  tenacious  or  re- 
tentive of  moisture,  it  might  be  cultivated  to 
advantage  on  soils  of  an  inferior  quality  in- 
stead of  rye-grass.  But  for  soils  of  the  best 
quality  it  does  not,  as  yet,  uphold  a  sufficient 
claim,  the  awns  of  the  spike  being  objectiona- 
ble, and  the  produce  of  the  latter-math  very  in- 
considerable. 

4.  Crested  wheat-grass  (T.  cristaltim),  a  na- 
tive of  Scotland.  The  roots  of  this  species 
consist  of  several  long,  strong  woolly  fibres, 
suited  to  a  sandy  soil.  The  culms  are  ascend- 
ing, 12  or  18  inches  high,  simple,  rigid,  slen- 
der, leafy  ;  hairy  at  the  top.  This  grass  seems 
well  adapted,  from  its  comparative  merits,  for 
culture  on  light  heath  soils;  the  produce  of 
early  herbaee  in  the  spring  being  superior  to 
most  of  the  alpine  grasses,  or  those  which 
affect  sandy  dry  soils.  The  latter-math  is  pro- 
ductive, and  very  nutritious.  It  flowers  about 
the  second  week  of  July,  and  the  seed  is  ripe 
about  the  end  of  August. 

5  Dwarf  sea  wheat-grass  (T*.  hUaceum). 
This  is  an  annual  species,  growing  on  the 
sandy  sea-coast,  flowering  in  June  and  July. 
The  root  is  formed  of  many  long  downy  fibres. 
Stem  rigid  and  wiry,  branched  from  the  bottom, 
generally  2  or  3  inches  high,  but  various  in 
luxuriance,  leafy,  very  smooth,  and  polished, 


erect  or  decumbent.      Leaves    linear,  acute 
nearly  smooth,  involute  when  dry. 

WHEEL.  A  circular  piece  of  wood,  me« 
tal,  or  other  substance,  that  revolves  on  an 
axis.  It  consists  of  three  principal  parts, 
the  nave,  heel,  or  the  centre;  the  spokes  or 
radii,  and  the  periphery  or  ring.  The  strength 
of  the  wheel  depends  much  on  the  framing 
and  the  arrangement  of  the  spokes,  every  one 
of  which  should  stand  perpendicularly  to  the 
nave.  In  England  and  other  parts  of  Europe, 
the  elm  is  considered  the  best  wood  for  making 
naves,  as  it  bears  the  cutting  of  the  mortices 
truer  than  any  other.  See  Elm.  In  making 
wheels,  after  they  are  loosely  put  together,  they 
are  either  left  to  season  in  a  current  of  air  for 
some  weeks,  or  they  are  exposed  to  a  heat  of 
140°  Fah.  in  a  kiln.  After  this  they  are  exa- 
mined, and  if  every  thing  is  correct,  the  tire  or 
iron  hoop  is  put  on,  whether  made  of  one  hoop 
or  separate  pieces.  Some  years  since  a  patent 
was  taken  out  in  England  by  Mr.  T.  Jones  for 
making  iron  wheels,  many  of  which  are  now 
in  use.  These  wheels  are  not  conical,  nor  what 
is  termed  dished,  but  cylindrical,  which  enables 
them  to  run  lighter  and  also  prove  less  destruc- 
tive to  roads.  They  are  not  heavier  than 
wooden  wheels,  they  require  less  draught,  and 
are  more  durable,  Some  improvements  ha\  3 
been  made  on  Mr.  Jones's  wheel  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Howard,  but  the  merits  of  this  have  not 
yet  been  fully  proved. 

The  utility  of  wheels  to  carriages  may  be 
said  to  be  twofold ;  namely,  by  diminishing  or 
more  easily  overcoming  the  resistance  or  fric- 
tion from  the  carriage,  and  more  easily  over- 
coming obstacles  in  the  road.  In  the  first  the 
friction  on  the  ground  is  transferred,  in  some 
degree,  from  the  outer  surface  of  the  wheel  :o 
its  nave  and  axle,  and  in  the  latter  they  serve 
easily  to  raise  the  carriage  over  obstacles  and 
asperities  met  with  on  the  roads.  In  both 
these  cases  the  height  of  the  wheel  is  of  mate- 
rial consideration  ;  as  the  spokes  act  as  levers, 
the  top  of  an  obstacle  being  the  fulcrum,  their 
length  enables  the  carriage  more  easily  to  sur- 
mount them,  and  the  greater  proportion  of  the 
wheel  to  the  axle  serves  more  easily  to  dimi- 
nish or  to  overcome  the  friction  of  an  axle,  as 
has  been  shown  by  Jacob  in  his  work  on  Wlieel 
Carriages. 

Carriages  with  four  wheels  are  much  more 
advantageous  than  carriages  with  two  wheels, 
as  carts ;  for  with  two  wheels,  it  is  plain,  the 
tiller  horse  carries  part  of  the  weight  in  one 
way  or  other;  in  going  down  hill  the  weight 
bears  upon  the  horse,  and  in  going  up  hill  the 
weight  falls  the  other  way  and  lifts  the  horse, 
which  is  still  worse.  Besides,  as  the  wheels 
sink  into  the  holes  in  the  roads,  sometimes  on 
one  side,  sometimes  on  the  other,  the  shafts 
strike  against  the  tiller's  sides,  which  destroys 
many  horses ;  moreover,  when  one  of  tho 
wheels  sinks  into  a  hole  or  rut,  half  the  weight 
falls  that  way,  which  endangers  the  ovKrturu- 
ing  of  the  carriage. 

With  respect  to  the  utility  of  broad  wheei,^ 
in  amending  and  preserving  the  roads,  it  ha.j 
been  so  long  and  generally  acknowledged  as  to 
have  occasioned  the  legislature  to  enforce  their 

1151 


WHEEL-PLOUGH. 

ose.  At  Ihe  same  lime  the  proprietors  and 
drivers  of  carriages  seem  to  be  convinced,  by 
experience,  that  a  narrow-wheeled  carl  is  more 
easily  and  speedily  drawn  by  the  same  number 
of  horses  ihan  a  broad-wheeled  one  of  the  same 
banlen:  probably  because  they  are  much 
IL'  '  liave  less  friction  on  the  axle. 

PLOUGH.    See  Plouoh. 

V,  ii^..  A  provincial  term  applied  to  the 
serous  part  of  the  milk,  from  which  the  curd 
has  been  separated. 

Whey,  when  new  and  of  a  pale  green  colour, 
forms  an  agreeable  beverage,  and  with  oatmeal 
makes  an  excellent  gruel  or  porridge.  Iicft  till 
it  gets  sour,  il  undergoes  the  vinous  fermenta- 
doo  as  readily  as  buttermilk.  Among  the  Tar- 
Itrs  and  Scythians  a  spirituous  liquor  is  pre- 
pared from  milk  which  has  undergone  fer- 
mentation. 

Whey  is  divided  into  two  sorts,  green  and 
white;  the  former  escaping  readily  from  the 
curd,  while  the  latter  is  freed  from  it  by  means 
of  pressure.  There  are  different  methods  of 
extracting  the  whey.  In  some  dairies  the  whole 
whey,  when  taken  from  the  cheese-tub,  is  put 
into  pails  or  other  vessels,  where  it  remains 
for  about  24  hours;  when  it  is  creamed,  and 
the  whey  is  applied  to  the  use  of  calves  and 
pigs  which  are  said  to  thrive  as  well  on  it 
after  the  cream  has  been  taken  from  it  as  be- 
fore. The  cream,  when  skimmed  off"  the  whey, 
is  put  into  a  brass  pan  and  boiled,  and  after- 
wards set  in  pans  or  jars,  where  it  remains  till 
a  sufficient  quantity  for  churning  is  procured, 
which  in  large  dairies  happens  generally  once, 
but  sometimes  twice,  in  the  week.  In  Ayr- 
shire whey  is  given  to  horses.  See  Dairy  and 
Milk. 

WHEY  BLTTER,  as  its  name  implies,  is 
batter  made  from  the  whey  which  is  taken  from 
the  curd,  after  the  milk  is  coagulated  for  the 
manufacture  of  cheese.  It  is  chiefly  made  in 
those  counties  where  cheese  is  manufactured, 
and  where  it  forms  no  inconsiderable  part  of 
the  profits  of  the  dairy.  In  the  county  of  Derby, 
more  bulier  is  said  to  be  made  from  whey  than 
from  the  cream  of  milk,  or  from  milk  churned 
altogether.  A  similar  preparation  in  the  United 
States  ROCS  under  the  names  of  cottage  cheese, 

Sr^  c,  dec. 

GORSE.    See  FrnzK. 

V  ...  .^j..  A  spirit  obtained  by  distilla- 
tion from  corn,  sugar,  or  molasses,  though 
generally  from  the  former.  Whisky  is  the 
"national  spirit,**  if  we  may  so  term  it,  of 
Scotland  and  Ireland;  but  that  distilled  in  the 
former  is  generally  reckoned  superior  to  that 
of  the  latter. 

WHITE  CROPS.  A  term  used  in  England 
to  designate  crops  of  grain,  such  as  wheat, 
barley,  oats,  dec. 

WHITE-ROT  (Hydrocofyle ;  from  hydor,  wa- 
ter, and  roiyU,  a  cavity;  in  reference  to  the 
{)lants  growing  in  moist  situations,  and  the 
eaves  being  hollowed  like  cups).  One  spe- 
cies only  is  indigenous,  the  common  white-rot 
or  marsh  penny-wort  (H.  vulgaris),  which  grows 
very  frequent  on  moist  heaths,  boggy  com- 
iii.^ns,  and  the  margins  of  little  clear  rivulets. 
Il  is  perennial  in  habit,  flowering  in  May  or 
June,    The  roots  are  fibrous ;  stems  creeping 


WHORTLEBERRY. 

to  the  extent  of  2  or  3  feet,  slender,  smooth, 
often  subdivided,  quite  prostrate.  Leaves  soli- 
tary or  aggregate,  on  upright,  simple  foot-stalks, 
2  or  3  inches  high  ;  orbicular,  peltate,  smooth, 
cloven  at  the  base.  Umbels  very  small,  of  di- 
minutive white  or  reddish,  nearly  sessile  flow- 
ers. Fruit  somewhat  wrinkled,  compressed. 
This  herb  is  acrid,  and,  probably,  like  others 
of  the  umbelliferous  tribe  growing  in  wet 
places,  poisonous.  But  whether  il  causes  the 
rot  in  sheep,  and,  indeed,  whether  these  ani- 
mals ever  touch  it,  is  doubtful.  Too  moist  a 
pasture  is  known  to  produce  that  disease,  and 
there  the  Hydrocotyle  is  genei-aUy  to  be  found. 
See  Rot. 

WHITE-THORN.    See  Hawthorn. 

WHITE-TOP  {Agrostis  alba).  See  Herd's 
and  Yellow-Top. 

WHITLOW- GRASS  {Drabay  from  draba, 
acrid,  biting;  alluding  to  the  taste  of  the 
leaves).  Some  of  the  species  of  this  genus 
are  very  pretty,  being  well  adapted  for  orna- 
menting rock-work  or  growing  in  pots  among 
other  alpine  plants.  A  mixture  of  loam  and 
peat  suits  them  best;  and  they  increase  with 
facility,  either  by  dividing  at  the  root  or  by 
seeds.  There  are  in  England  five  native  spe- 
cies:  the  common  whitlow-grass  {D.  verna); 
the  yellow  alpine  whitlow-grass  (Z).  aizoides); 
the  simple-haired  whitlow-grass  {D.hirta)\  the 
twisted-podded  whitlow-grass  (D.  incana) ;  and 
the  speedwell-leaved  whitlow-grass  (D.  mura- 
lis).  The  leaves  are  undivided;  the  flowers 
either  white  or  yellow. 

WHORTLEBERRY  {Vaccinium).  A  genus 
of  shrubs  mostly  of  very  humble  growth,  with 
simple,  alternate,  evergreen,  or  deciduous 
leaves.  Flowers  stalked,  solitary  or  aggre- 
gate, reddish  or  while,  very  elegant.  Berries 
blue,  black,  or  red,  acid  and  eatable.  The  ge- 
nus is  chiefly  American,  and  the  foliage  turns 
red  in  decay.  All  the  species  are  well  worth 
cultivating,  some  of  them  for  the  sake  of  their 
frail,  some  for  curiosity,  and  others  for  orna- 
ment. The  different  kinds  of  whortleberry  and 
bilberry  succeed  we|l  in  peat  soil  or  very 
sandy  loam.  Some  of  them  grow  best  in  moist 
situations,  and  others  in  dry.  They  may  be 
raised  from  root  suckers,  creeping  roots,  trail- 
ing rooting  stems,  or  from  seeds.  There  are 
four  indigenous  species,  namely: — 

1.  In  England  the  black  whortleberry  or  bil- 
berry ( V.  mirtyllus),  is  a  shrub  growing  on  stony 
heaths,  and  in  woods  where  the  soil  is  turfy, 
chiefly  in  mountainous  countries,  abundantly 
flowering  in  May.  The  stem  is  bushy,  from  1  to 
2  feel  hitjh,  with  irregular,  smooth,  green,  leafy, 
angular  branches.  Leaves  stalked,  ovate,  ser- 
rated, about  an  inch  long,  bright  green,  smooth, 
thin,  delicate,  and  veiny;  deciduous.  Flowers 
on  simple,  axillary,  solitary,  drooping  stalks. 
Corolla  ovale,  bright  red,  with  a  waxy  trans- 
parency. Berries  bluish-black,  of  5  cells,  acid, 
but  not  agreeable  nor  wholesome  except  when 
dressed.  They  are,  nevertheless,  eaten  raw  in 
some  countries  with  boiled  cream  and  sugar. 
The  leaves  contain  a  good  deal  of  tannic  acid, 
and  have  been  substituted  for  those  of  Uva  ursi, 
as  an  astringent  medicine,  but  are  very  inferior 
to  them. 

I.  Bog  whortleberry  or  great  bilberry  (,V 


WHORTLEBERRY. 


WILLOW. 


uhginosicm),    grows    on    boggy,    mountainous  '  delphia  market.  15.  uliginosum.  The  European 
heaths,  and  is  common  in  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 1 
land.    It  flowers  in  May.    Taller  than  the  pre- 
ceding, with  round  branches.    Leaves  obovate, 


entire,  smooth,  deciduous.  Flowers  several 
together,  flesh-coloured.  Berries  large,  bluish- 
black,  less  acid,  and  less  wholesome  than  the 
former. 

3.  Red  whortleberry,  or  cowberry  (V.  vitis 
idcea.)  This  species  grows  on  dry,  stony,  turff 
heaths,  or  in  mountainous  woods,  in  many 
parts  of  Scotland,  Wales,  and  the  north  of 
England.  It  is  plentiful  in  Derbyshire.  It  is 
an  evergreen,  flowering  in  June.  The  roots 
are  creeping;  stems  erect,  3  or  4  inches  high, 
with  a  few  irregular,  wavy,  leafy,  downy 
branches  at  the  summit.  Berries  globose, 
deep  red,  astringent,  and  acid,  with  much  bit- 
terness, which  they  lose  by  immersion  for  some 
hours  in  water  before  they  are  made  into  pies, 
rob,  or  jelly.  In  the  latter  state  this  fruit  is 
excellent  for  sore  throats,  as  well  as  for  eating 
with  venison  or  other  roast  meat,  as  is  prac- 
tised generally  in  Sweden.  The  leaves  of  this 
species  are  often  mistaken  for  those  of  Uva  ursi. 
They  contain  much  astringent  matter,  and  are 
liitle  inferior  to  Uvu  ursi  as  a  medicine. 

4.  Marsh  whortleberry,  or  cranberry  (F.  oxj/- 
coccus).  This  species  grows  in  clear,  watery, 
turfy  bogs,  among  mosses.  The  roots  are 
creeping,  with  many  long  fibres.  Stems  slen- 
der, wiry,  trailing,  and  creeping,  with  numerous 
leafy  branches.  Leaves  ovate,  entire,  smooth, 
revolute,  acute,  perennial.  Flowers  very  ele- 
gant, drooping,  on  simple  red  stalks,  several 
together  at  the  end  of  each  branch.  Berries 
spotted  in  an  early  state,  finally  deep  red,  very 
acid,  highly  grateful  to  most  people  in  tarts  or 
other  preparations  with  sugar;  though  in 
Sweden  they  serve  only  for  the  acid  liquor  to 
boil  silver  plate  in,  to  eat  away  the  minute  ex 
ternal  particles  of  the  copper  alloy. 

Mr.  Nuitall  enumerates  twenty-five  species 
uf  whortleberry,  or  huckleberry,  natives  of 
the  United  States,  17  of  which  are  deciduous, 
and  8  evergreens.  The  following  is  his  enu- 
meration : 

1.  Leaves  deciduous. 
1.  Vaccinium  stamineum.  Berries  large,  partly 
pyriform,  and  green  when  ripe;  bitter  and 
scarcely  edible.  2.  album.  3.  arbmeum.  The 
largest  species  of  the  genus  in  North  America; 
branches  divaricated;  flowers  partly  as  in  V. 
stamineum;  berries  rather  dry  but  sweet,  with 
a  granular  pulp.  4.  dumosum.  Very  low,  and 
running  profusely;  berries  perfectly  black  to 
appearance,  conspicuously  crowned  by  the 
persistent  calyx.  5.  frondosum.  Berries  and 
under  side  of  the  leaves  glaucous  ;  fruit  large 
and  rarely  copious;  agreeable,  but  quickly  de- 
liquescent, and  subject  to  be  infested  by  the 
larva  of  insects.  6.  pallidum.  7.  resinosum. 
Flowers  reddish,  angular.  Fruit  not  much  es- 
teemed, 8.  corymbosum.  Fruit  subacid,  and 
agreeable,  as  well  as  that  of  the  following. 
9.  amoenum.  10.  virgaium.  11.  fuscalum.  12. 
gakzn^is.  1.3.  ligustrinum.  14.  tenellum,  some- 
times called  sugar-huckleberries,  small  and 
rather  too  saccharine,   but   a  very  agreeable 


whortleberry.     16.  myrtilloides.     17.  ccespitosum, 
2.  Leaves  sempervirent. 

Berries  scarlet,  farinaceous, 


1 8.  Vitis  idcea. 
and  insipid.  A  small  subalpine  species,  indi- 
genous also  to  the  north  of  Europe.  19.  myr- 
tifolium.  20.  crassifoUum.  A  variety  probably 
of  the  following.  21.  nitidum.  Branches  pro- 
cumbent and  repent.  From  Virginia  to  Georgia. 
22.  myrsinites.  23.  buxifolium.  24,  ovatum.  25. 
obtusum.  These  two  last  are  indigenous  to  the 
northwest  coast. 

Vaccinium  is  a  North  American  genus,  with 
the  exception  of  3  species  in  Europe,  1  in  Ja- 
maica, 1  in  the  islandof  Taheiti,  in  the  Pacific, 
1  indigenous  to  Madeira  and  Cappadocia,  and 
3  in  Japan. 

Thespeciesfirstnamedby  Mr.Nuitall,is  what 
is  commonly  called  in  the  Middle  States  squaw 
huckleberry  and  deerberry,  the  stems  of  which 
are  low.  The  5th  species,  or  leafy  vaccinium,  is 
commonly  called  blue  huckleberry,  and  blue- 
tangles.  The  stems  grow  from  2  to  5  feet  high. 
The  large  and  dark  blue  berries  of  this  species 
are  a  very  agreeable  fruit.  The  7th  species,  or 
resinous  vaccinium,  is  commonly  known  in  the 
Middle  States  by  the  appellation  of  black  huckle- 
berry ;  the  fruit  of  this  has  larger  seeds  than 
the  species  last  described,  and,  though  pleasant, 
is  not  so  much  esteemed.  The  8th  species,  or 
corymbose  vaccinium,  is  what  is  known  in  the 
Middle  States  as  the  swamp,  or  tall  huckleberry, 
a  stout  shrub,  growing  from  5  to  10  feet  high, 
yielding  abundantly  large  berries,  one-third  of 
an  inch  in  diameter,  purplish-black  when  ripe. 
Some  other  species,  especially  the  V.  fuscatum, 
and  V.  amoenum,  are  confounded  with  this  by 
some  naturalists.  The  14th  species  is  also  called 
thePennsylvania  vaccinium,  and  commonly  the 
sugar-huckleberry.  The  stem  of  this  is  from  1 
to  2  feet  high,  and  much  branched.  The  berries 
are  middle-sized  and  covered  with  a  little  sil- 
very powder  or  bloom  when  mature.  The  pro- 
duct is  very  abundant  and  the  fruit  sweet  and 
pleasant. 

In  Kent  county,  Delaware,  a  new  species  or 
variety  of  whortleberry  has  been  recently 
discovered,  the  fruit  of  which  is  of  a  beautiful 
rich  white  colour  with  a  yellowish  tinge.  The 
flavour  is  extremely  pleasant,  and  free  from  the 
least  harshness  or  acerbity.  They  are  of  course 
exempt  from  the  objection  to  the  common 
kinds,  that  of  staining  the  teeth  and  lips. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  river  a  new 
species  of  bushberry  has  been  discovered, 
called  Pambina. 

WIKES.  A  provincial  term  in  England, 
signifying  temporary  boundaries  or  marks,  sei 
up  to  divide  swath,  to  be  mown,  such  as  boughs 
in  the  common  fields,or  meadows.  Also  boughs 
set  upon  haycocks  for  tithes,  &c. 

WILD  OATS.     A  name  given  to  the  tall 
oat-like  soft  grass  (Hokus  avenaceus).      A  noxi- 
ous weed  in  arable  lands.     See  Holcus. 
WILD  PEAR  TREE.     See  June  Berry. 
WILLOW    (Salix ;  from  sal,  near,  and  lu, 
water  (Celtic) ;  in  allusion  to  the  place  of  its 
growth  :  or  from  salire,  to  leap,  because  of  the 
rapidity  of  its  growth).     An  extensive  genus 
fruiCbrougM  In 'gr'eat~qu~an titles  to  the  Phila- '  of  well-known   useful   and  ornamental    trees 
245  5E  1153 


WILLOW 

4cd  shrubs.  They  all  delight  to  grow  in 
•wanpy  places,  and  are  increased  by  cuttings, 
thoogh  some  of  the  more  rare  alpine  kinds 
root  with  difficalty.  There  is  no  tribe  of  trees 
of  >uch  various  magnitude  as  the  willows,  from 
U.e  large  white  willow  to  the  minute  Salix  fur- 
bmua,»ix  of  which  maybe  placed  between  two 
le«r«e  of  a  dnodecimat  roots,  stems,  leaves, 
tad  iowers.  Many  of  the  species  of  willov/, 
OMier  ihe  names  of  osier  and  sallow,  are  ex- 
IMsively  (frown  for  the  manufacture  of  basket- 
rods;  the  best  sorts  for  which  are  the  great 
round-leaved  sallow  (S.  caprea)  and  the  com- 
aoo  o»ier  (5.  rttiniKi/u).  The  branches  of 
■one  of  the  species  are  used  as  stakes,  poles, 
handles  to  rakes,  hoes,  and  a  great  variety  of 
economical  purposes.  Loudon  {Jrb.  Brit.)  says, 
«*In  the  north  of  Europe  the  bark  of  S.  alba  is 
vaed  for  tanning  leather,  and  for  dyeing  yarn 
of  a  common  cinnamon  colour;  and  the  leaves 
and  young  shoots  are  given  to  cattle  in  a  gree^i 
state,  or  dried  like  the  twigs  of  the  birch,  and 
laid  up  for  winter  fodder."  The  bark,  how- 
ever* is  less  valuable  than  that  of  some  of  the 
other  species.  The  leaves  of  the  least  willow 
(&  hrrbartu),  soaked  in  water,  are  employed  in 
Iceland  for  tanning  leather.  (Paxion's  Bot. 
Diet.)  The  arrangement  of  the  species  of 
willows  is  a  matter  of  considerable  difficulty, 
as  well  as  their  technical  discrimination. 
Among  the  numerous  species  of  willows  there 
are  only  a  few  which  are  cultivated  for  farm 
purposes:  of  these  we  shall  enumerate  and 
describe  the  following: — 

1.  The  |{»ng-leaved  triandrous  willow  (S. 
trimmira).  This  tree  is  very  common  in  wet 
woods,  hedges,  and  osier  grounds.  It  is  of  an 
aprifht  form,  rising  naturally,  when  not  in- 
Jnred,  to  the  height  of  30  feet;  towards  autumn 
aasiinglhe  bark  ofits  trunk  and  larger  branches 
io  broad,  solid  portions,  cracking  angularly 
aaonder,  like  the  plane  tree.  The  young 
branches  are  erect,  long,  tough,  and  pliant, 
smooth,  leafy,  brownish,  somewhat  brittle  at 
their  joint  or  insertion.  Leaves  linear-oblong, 
aerrated,  smooth,  rather  unequally  sloping  at 
tiM  base.  The  narrower-leaved  willows  gene- 
rally come  under  the  denomination  of  osiers, 
of  which  this  is  one  of  the  most  valuable.  It 
u  coltivated  for  white  basket-work,  producing 
rods  8  or  9  feet  long,  tough  and  pliant,  even 
when  stripped  of  their  bark,  and  very  durable. 
They  are  cut  down  every  year.  There  are 
serenil  varieties  of  this  species ;  one,  called 
tke  French  willow,  is  cultivated  in  Sussex  and 
III  the  eastern  parts  of  England;  it  is  more 
tiendcr  in  form, and  onlv  about  12  or  15  feet  high. 

t.  Bedford  willow  (s.  RiM$ellinna).  Wh*en 
this  tree  was  first  recommended  for  cultivation, 
bjr  the  name  of  the  Leicestershire,  or  Dishley 
wilVow,  it  was  regarded  with  scorn  as  "  only 
the  crack  willow"  (S.  fraf^lU),  a  sort  noto- 
riously u?<eless.  This  ignorance  and  prejudice 
are  now  removed,  and  this  willow  is  found  the 
most  profitable  for  cultivation  of  any  species 
of  the  genus,  for  the  value  of  its  timber  as 
well  AS  bark,  the  rapidity  of  its  growth,  and 
the  handrome  aspect  of  the  tree.  This  spe- 
cies  of  willow  was  first  brought  into  notice  by 
lh«  late  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  engaged  an 


WILLOW. 

able  chemist,  Mr.  Biggin,  to  make  experiments 
upon  it.  It  was  found  to  contain  in  its  bark 
more  of  the  tanning  principle  than  any  other 
tree  of  England,  except  the  oak.  The  bark 
also  contains  the  largest  quantity  of  salirina,  a 
salt  which  has  been  found  useful  as  a  substi- 
tute for  the  quinia  and  cinchona  in  agues,  and 
which  is  much  less  liable  to  excite  irritation 
in  the  stomach  than  the  salts  of  the  cinchona 
tt  is  of  great  importance  that  the  distinctions 
between  this  willow  and  the  crack  willow  {S. 
fragilis)  should  be  clearly  pointed  out,  on  ac- 
count of  the  wide  difference  in  their  qualities 
and  value.  This  tree  is  more  handsome  than 
the  crack  willow  in  its  mode  of  growth,  as  well 
as  altogether  of  a  lighter  or  brighter  hue.  The 
branches  are  long,  straight,  and  slender,  not 
angular  in  their  insertion,  like  S.frag-ilis;  and 
the  trees,  when  stripped  of  their  leaves,  may 
always  be  distinguished  by  these  marks.  They 
are  polished,  very  tough,  flexible,  round,  and 
smooth.  Leaves  lanceolate,  tapering  at  each 
end,  serrated  throughout,  and  very  smooth. 
Those  of  S.f7-agilis  are  ovate-lanceolate;  the 
foot-stalk,  also,  is  longer  than  the  scale,  whilst 
in  iS.  fragilis  it  is  so  short  that  the  leaf  is  nearly 
sessile.    In  both  it  is  glandular  or  leafy. 

3.  Bitter  purple  willow  (-S.  purpurea).  This 
is  a  shrub  growing  in  low  meadows,  about  the 
banks  of  rivers  and  ditches,  but  not  common. 
The  trunk  is  3  or  4  feet  high,  with  long,  slen- 
der, very  smooth  branches,  spreading  widely, 
and,  if  not  supported,  trailing  on  the  ground, 
of  a  rich  and  shining  purple,  with  a  somewhat 
glaucous  hue.  Leaves  partly  opposite,  obovate- 
lanceolate,  serrated,  very  smooth,  narrow  at  the 
base.  This  is  a  very  valuable  osier  for  fine 
basket-work,  but  more  especially  for  platting 
into  low,  close  fences,  to  keep  out  hares  and 
rabbits ;  the  leaves  and  bark  being  intensely 
bitter,  those  animals  will  not  touch  either.  The 
twigs,  moreover,  are  so  long,  tough,  and  flexi- 
ble, that  they  may  be  interwoven  into  any 
shape,  and  kept  very  close  to  the  ground,  as 
they  always  retain  their  horizontal  mode  of 
growth.  Such  a  fence  is  scarcely  inferior  to 
one  made  of  wire,  and  is,  perhaps,  more  dura- 
ble, as  continually  producing  young  shoots,  to 
supply  the  place  of  those  that  decay.  It  is  im- 
portant to  distinguish  this  useful  and  elegant 
willow  from  that  to  be  next  described.  The 
bark  contains  much  salicina. 

4.  The  rose  willow  (S.  helix)  grows  in. 
marshes,  osier  holts,  and  about  the  banks  of 
rivulets.  It  is  a  tree  of  humble  growth,  erect, 
about  10  feet  high,  smooth  in  every  part,  alto- 
gether of  a  lighter  hue  than  the  last.  The 
branches  not  trailing,  but  upright,  smooth,  and 
polished,  of  a  pale  yellowish  or  purplish  ash 
colour,  tough,  and  pliable,  less  slender  and 
elongated  than  the  foregoing  species,  though 
useful  for  the  coarser  sorts  of  basket-work. 
Leaves  partly  opposite,  oblong-lanceolate, 
pointed,  slightly  serrated,  very  smooth,  linear 
towards  the  base.  Their  colour  a  light,  rather 
glaucous  green,  turning  blackish   in  drying. 

i  The  leaves  and  twigs  are  less  bitter  than  the 
former,  and  the  greater  size  of  the  trunk,  as 
well  as  branches,  renders  this  species  fit  for 
several  purposes  which  that  is  not.    It  also 


WILLOW. 

makes  a  better  figure  in  plantations,  and  the 
roots  give  more  solidity  to  the  banks  of  rivers 
or  ditches. 

5.  Common  -white  willow  (S.  alba).  This  is 
a  tall  tree,  whose  bark  is  thick,  full  of  cracks, 
useful  for  tanning  ;  and,  as  yielding  much  sali- 
cina,  good  also  for  the  cure  of  agues,  though 
inferior  in  quality  to  that  of  the  true  Bedford, 
or  Huntingdon  willow.  The  bark  is  called 
cortex  saligfium,  and  angUcunum  by  some  writers. 
The  branches  are  numerous,  spreading  widely, 
silky  when  young.  Leaves  all  alternate,  ellip- 
tic-lanceolate, pointed,  serrated,  silky  on  both 
sides;  the  lowest  serratures  glandular.  There 
is  a  variety  which  is  very  superior  in  the 
value  of  the  wood  and  bark,  and  the  rapid 
growth  as  well  as  handsome  aspect  of  the 
tree,  to  the  original  species.  See  Osier  and 
Saliow. 

The  willow  genus  contains  more  than  130 
species,  chiefly  distributed  over  the  northern 
parts  of  Europe  and  America.  Many  of  the 
species  are  alpine.  Only  4  have  as  yet  been 
found  indigenous  to  South  America,  whilst  in 
North  America  botanists  enumerate  upwards 
of  25  indigenous  kinds.  Some  of  these  are 
mere  shrubs. 

The  black  willow  {S.  nigra)  is  the  most  com- 
mon of  the  American  willows,  and  the  most 
analogous  to  that  of  Europe.  It  is  less  multi- 
plied in  the  Northern  and  Southern  than  in  the 
Middle  and  especially  in  the  Western  States. 
It  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the  great  rivers, 
such  as  the  Susquehanna  and  the  Ohio,  and  is 
called  black  willow,  or  simply  willow. 

The  black  willow  is  rarely  more  than  30  or 
35  feet  high  and  12  or  15  inches  in  diameter. 
It  divides  at  a  small  height  into  several  diver- 
gent but  not  pendent  limbs,  arid  forms  a  spacious 
summit.  The  leaves  are  long,  narrow,  finely 
denticulated,  of  a  light  green,  and  destitute  of 
stipulx.  In  the  uniformity  of  its  colouring  the 
foliage  of  this  species  difl"ers  from  that  of  the 
European  willow,  the  lower  surface  of  which 
is  glaucous. 

Upon  the  trunk  the  bark  is  grayish  and  fine- 
ly chapt;  upon  the  roots  it  is  of  a  dark  brown, 
whence  may  have  been  derived  the  specific 
name  of  the  tree.  The  roots  afl!brd  an  in- 
tensely bitter  decoction,  which  is  considered 
in  the  country  as  a  purifier  of  the  blood,  and 
as  a  preventive  and  a  remedy  for  intermittent 
fevers. 

The  wood  is  white  and  soft,  and  the  branches 
are  easily  broken  from  the  tree.  Neither  the 
wood  nor  the  twigs  are  applied  to  any  useful 
purpose.     (Michaux.) 

Michaux  describes  two  other  species  of  Ame- 
rican willow.  One,  from  being  found  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Champlain,  he  calls  Cham- 
plain  willow  (S.  ligustrina).  It  grows  20  to  25 
feet  high,  with  7  or  8  inches  diameter,  and  very 
much  resembles  the  black  willow,  except  that 
the  leaves  are  longer  and  narrower.  The  other 
is  the  shining  willow  {S.  lucida),  so  called  on 
account  of  the  brilliancy  of  its  foliage.  This 
Michaux  found  onl)  in  the  Middle  and  North- 
ern States.  It  is  found  in  moist  but  open 
grounds,  and  is  more  common  on  the  edges  of 
the  salt  meadows  than  in  the  interior  of  the 
forests :  it  is  also  seen  on  the  islands,  not  co- 


WILLOW-HERB. 

vered  with  woods,  in  the  rivers,  and  nsar  the 
shores  of  the  lakes. 

This  species  is  easily  distinguished  by  the 
superior  size  of  its  leaves,  which  are  oval- 
acuminate,  denticulated,  and  sometimes  4  inches 
in  length. 

The  shining  willow  attains  the  height  of  18 
or  20  feet;  but  its  ordinary  elevation  is  9  or  10 
feet.  Baskets  are  made  of  its  branches,  when 
those  of  the  European  willow,  which  are  pre- 
ferable, cannot  be  obtained ;  but  it  possesses 
no  property  that  recommends  it  to  attention. 

Many  species  of  willow  are  found  in  the 
United  States  and  in  Canada,  the  greater 
part  of  which  are  susceptible  of  no  useful  em- 
ployment. The  three  species  described  are 
distinguished  only  by  their  superior  height; 
but  even  these  are  greatly  inferior  to  the  Eu- 
ropean willow  in  size  and  in  the  properties  of 
their  wood.  In  the  Northern  and  Middle  States, 
particularly  in  Pennsylvania  and  in  some 
townships  in  the  lower  part  of  New  Jersey, 
great  numbers  of  the  European  willow  have 
been  planted,  of  which  light  baskets  are  fabri- 
cated for  the  market  of  Philadelphia.  This 
tree  furnishes  the  charcoal  for  the  manufacture 
of  gunpowder.     (Michaux.) 

The  common  yellow  willow  is  the  S.  vitellina 
of  botanists.  It  is  also  frequently  called  golden" 
willow,  and  by  some  egg-yolk  willow.  The 
French  call  it  Le  Saule.  This,  says  Dr.  Darling- 
ton, was  early  introduced  here  as  a  shade  tree, 
and  has  become  partially  naturalized  in  many 
places.  I  think  I  have  never  seen  any  but  the 
pistillate  plant.  A  variety  with  paler  bark  (per- 
haps the  S.  alba  of  authors)  is  also  occasionally 
to  be  met  with.  The  handsome  &  babylonica,  or 
weeping  willow,  is  more  generally  preferred  as 
an  ornamental  shade  tree,  and  the  pistillate 
plant  of  that  species  is  extensively  propagated 
about  houses,  but  it  can  hardly  be  said  to  be 
naturalized. 

WILLOW.  OSIERS.  For  the  manufacture  of 
baskets  and  other  willow  ware  there  is  already 
a  large  consumption  of  willow  in  the  U.  S., 
and  besides  what  is  procured  at  home,  the  im- 
portation from  Europe  is  estimated  at  over 
$5,000,000  annually.  At  present  there  are 
few  who  are  systematically  cultivating  this 
valuable  product.  Of  more  than  100  varieties 
of  European  and  American  willows,  there  are 
only  a  very  few  which  have  been  tested  and 
found  of  superior  value,  and  it  is  said  that 
many  kinds  prized  in  Europe  do  not  prove  of 
equal  value  in  the  U.  S.  The  following  have 
been  pronounced  by  Dr.  Grant  the  most  val- 
uable osiers  in  New  York.  Long-leaved  wil- 
low (S.  Triandra)  is  very  vigorous  and  pro- 
ductive, and  excellent  for  basket-work,  and 
especially  for  split-work. 

Salix  Forbyana,  emphatically  excellent  in  all 
respects.  Purple  willoio,  (Salix  purpurea.) 
"  If  there  were  only  one  osier  in  existence, 
this  would  supply  more  of  the  wants  of  willow- 
workers  than  any  other  one."  It  is  so  in- 
tensely bitter  that  neither  animals  nor  insects 
will  touch  it. 

Cuttings  two  feet  long  are  planted  so  as  to 
show  only  two  or  three  inches  above  the  sur- 
face, in  rows  three  or  four  feet  apart,  and  one 
foot  between  the  plants.     At  the  end  of  the 

1155 


WILLOW-HERB. 

MeoBd  jemr  they  will  be  fit  to  harvest,  which 
mftv  be  done  in  the  fall  or  early  spring. 

If  eat  io  winter,  the  osiers  are  tied  in  bun- 
<11m«  and  stood  up  in  cold  water  till  spring. 
Every  shoot  must  be  cleared  from  the  stool, 
leaving  about  two  inches  for  young  shoots  to 

•prtng  from.  ,      ,    ,.  w 

A  variety,  called  the  Italtan  oner,  is  culti- 
Tatad  in  Uiaaiaeippi.  on  the  uplands,  produc- 
ing BometimM  clear  shoots,  eight  or  ten  feet 
long,  ia  a  seaaon.  These,  when  parted,  bring 
eight  or  ten  cents  per  pound  in  the  markets 
of  New  Orleans  and  Natchez.  Cut  green,  in 
September,  with  leaves  stripped  off,  they 
i  brSig  about  two  cents  per  pound,  and  are  in 
I  great  demand. 

The  SalU  Caprea,  Palm,  or  German  Willow, 
puts  out  bright  silvery  buds  early  in  spring, 
followed  by  yellow  catkins  about  the  first  of 
April,  at  which  time,  and  before  any  leaves 
appear,  it  is  fragrant,  and  supplies  bees  with 
abundance  of  honey,  making  it  a  valuable 
tree  on  this  account.  It  is  quite  ornamental 
very  early  in  spring.  Charcoal  made  of  its 
wood  is  preferred  for  making  gunpowder. 

WILLOW-LICE.    See  Aphidians. 

WILLOW-WEED.  In  England,  a  name 
Applied  in  the  fens  to  the  snake-weed,  or  pale- 
flowered  persicaria  (Polygonum  lupalhifolium), 
ID  annual  plant,  which  grows  very  freely  on 
all  loose  and  deep  soils,  and  on  marshy  lands, 
iboagh  it  be  scarcely  known  to  any  of  the  cul- 
tivators of  clay,  and  it  is  as  rarely  to  be  seen 
oo  any  sort  of  turnip  land.  This  plant  grows 
commonly  from  18  inches  to  2  feet;  its  stalks 
are  tender  and  succulent,  pale,  spotted,  or  red- 
dish; the  joints  much  swollen.  The  plant 
branches  most  when  it  has  free  growth,  and 
produces  a  great  number  of  crowded  spikes  of 
•eeds.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  the  wil- 
low, hot  are  charged  with  dark  spots  in  the 
middle.  The  seeds  are  very  bright  and  heavy, 
highly  noiriiious.and  therefore  very  grateful  to 
birds,  e^cially  partridges.  Those  who  keep 
decoys  for  catching  wild  ducks  will  buy  the 
seeds  to  feed  and  entice  the  fowl.  Pigs  will  do 
well  on  them,  if  boiled.  These  seeds  very 
much  infest  samples  of  fen  corn,  whether 
wheat,  oats,  or  barley.  As  a  weed  in  fen  soils, 
this  plant  is  the  most  ramping  and  cumber- 
some of  any  weed  that  grows. 

WIND.    See  Wratheh. 

WIND-FLOWER.  One  of  the  names  of  the 
marsh  p^entian.    See  Gkhtiak. 

WIND,  in  HORSES.  See  Bkokew  Wikd 
and  RotaiKo. 

WINDMILL.     A   well-known    contrivance 

for  erinding  com  or  raising  water,  which  is 

r  ''*>n  by  the  action  of  the  wind  upon 

vanes.     They  are  of  two  kinds,  ver- 

<..  ..  ......  ...rrizonial,  but  the  former  is  generally 

preferred.  Since  the  extensive  introduction  of 
impnwed  horse  power,  hand,  and  steam  ma- 
chiner>-,  windmills  are  becoming  much  less 
common  throughout  the  country;  and  from 
depending  entirely  upon  the  caprice  of  the 
weather,  they  are  only  suited  to  elevated  or  ex- 
pi.-fw  .situations,  where  they  will  catch  every 
passing  breeze;  and  are  much  less  useful  than 
water-mills,  which  can  generally  be  kept  at 
work  continuously,  or  for  a  much  longer 
1156 


WINE. 

period.  A  set  of  arms  and  sails  might,  he  ad- 
vantageously used  in  some  situations  for  pump- 
ing up  water  from  a  well  into  a  trough  or  cis- 
tern for  cattle,  or  for  the  purposes  of  irrigation. 
In  the  West  Indies,  a  simple  apparatus  of  this 
kind  is  usually  attached  to  the  pump  car  wellin 
the  farm-yard.  The  velocity  of  the  sails  of  a 
windmill,  in  a  moderate  wind,  was  calculated 
by  Mr.  Ferguson  to  be  thirty  miles  an  hour. 

WIND-PLANT.  Wood  or  Grove  Anemone 
(J.  mmorosa).  An  American,  plant,  with  a  pe- 
rennial root,  found  in  the  moist  woodlands  and 
thickets  of  the  Middle  States,  flowering  in  April 
and  May.  Flowers  white,  often  tinged  with 
purple. 

WINDROW.  A  term  signifying  in  England 
the  green  parts,  or  borders  of  a  field,  dug  up, 
in  order  to  carry  the  earth  on  other  land  to 
mend  it;  so  called  because  it  is  laid  in  rows, 
and  exposed  to  the  wind.  It  is  also  applied 
to  a  row  of  peats  or  a  line  of  hay  exposed  to 
dry,  and  also  to  turfs  cut  up  in  paring  and 
burning. 

WINE  (Fmwm,  Lat.;  vin,  Fr.;  vino,  Ital. 
and  Span.;  vinho,  Portu.;  wein,  Germ.;  wyrtj 
Dutch ;  ivin,  Swed. ;  viin,  Dan. ;  vino,  Russ.)  A 
well-known  agreeable,  and,  when  moderately 
used,  wholesome  liquor,  prepared  from  the 
juice  of  the  grape,  and  that  of  some  other 
fruits.  The  invention  of  wine  is  involved  in 
the  obscurity  of  the  earliest  ages.  The  sacred 
writings,  however,  lead  us  to  believe  that  it 
must  have  been  known  before  the  deluge  ;  for 
we  are  informed  that  the  patriarch  Noah,  im- 
mediately after  that  overwhelming  event,  "be- 
gan to  be  a  husbandman ;  and  he  planted  a 
vineyard ;  and  he  drank  of  the  wine,  and  was 
drunken"  (Genesis,  ch.  ix.  v.  20,  21),  a  suffi- 
cient reason  for  supposing  that  it  was  a  fer- 
mented liquor,  and  not  merely  the  simple  juice 
of  the  grape.  It  is,  indeed,  natural  to  imagine, 
that  in  those  countries  where  the  vine  is  a 
native,  the  spontaneous  fermentation  of  the 
juice  of  the  fruit,  when  it  was  expressed,  either 
purposely  or  accidentally,  and  not  immediately 
used  as  a  beverage,  would  have  naturally  led 
to  the  invention  of  making  wine  at  a  very 
early  period.  It  is,  nevertheless,  certain,  that 
until  modern  times  the  preparation  of  wine 
was  purely  empirical. 

The  history  of  wine  is  of  great  interest,  but 
it  would  be  impossible  to  attempt  even  a  very 
brief  sketch  of  it  in  an  article  of  this  descrip- 
tion, and  therefore  we  shall  confine  our  remarks 
upon  that  part  of  the  subject  to  some  account 
of  the  wines  used  in  England,  our  object 
being  rather  to  treat  of  the  general  rules  to  be 
followed  in  making  and  preserving  wine,  and 
to  explain  its  dietetic  qualities,  than  to  trace  its 
history. 

Wine,  at  a  former  period,  was  made  in 
England  for  sale,  and  most  of  the  large  abbeys 
were  supplied  with  it  from  grapes  raised  in 
their  own  vineyards  ;  but  at  no  time  was  it  con- 
sidered equal  in  quality  to  foreign  wine ;  and 
certainly  no  stronger  reason  for  the  neglect 
into  which  wine-making  in  England  fell  need 
be  stated.  Soon  after  the  Norman  conquest, 
much  encouragement  was  given  to  the  importa- 
tion of  the  wines  of  Anjou  and  of  Poitou  ;  and 
in  the  time  of  Henry  III.  we  find  those  of  the 


WINE. 


Moselle  and  St.  John,  probably  an  Italian  sweet 
wine,  were  added  to  the  imports.  But  for  a 
:onsiderab)e  period  the  foreign  wines  were 
not  drunk  in  their  genuine  form,  but  were 
mixed  with  honey,  sugar,  orange  juice,  and 
even  opium.  Chaucer,  in  the  Knight's  Tale, 
speaks  of 

•*  A  clarrie  (claret)  made  of  certain  wine. 
With  narcotise  and  opie  of  Tliebes  fine." 

These  mixed  wines  received  different  names, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  wine  employed. 
When  made  with  Burgundy  or  Bordeaux,  the 
mixture  was  called  Bishop;  when  with  old 
Rhenish,  its  name  was  Cardinal;  and  when 
with  Tokay,  it  was  dignified  with  the  title  of 
Pope.  In  the  reign  of  Edward  II.  the  taste  for 
sweet  wines  prevailed;  and  consequently  we 
find  the  wines  which  Alsace  then  furnished, 
which  were  chiefly  sweet,  were  much  used.  In 
the  time  of  Elizabeth,  the  profusion  and  diver- 
sity of  wines  displayed  on  the  tables  even  of 
the  citizens  of  the  metropolis,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  southern  provinces,  almost  exceed 
belief.  Harrison,  in  his  account  of  the  mode 
of  living  in  England  in  that  reign,  states,  that 
there  were  upwards  of  eighty-six  different 
wines  in  use;  "whereof,"  he  adds,  "Vernage, 
Cale-piment,  Raspis,  Muscadell,  Romnie,  Bas- 
tard, Tire,  Oseie,  Caprike,  Clareie,  and  Mal- 
meseie  are  not  least  of  all  accompted  of,  be- 
cause of  their  strength  and  valure."  (//o//m«- 
/jer/'.-j  Chrun.  p.  167.)  Sack,  with  which  all  are 
familiar  who  have  read  the  works  of  our  im- 
mortal dramatist,  was  a  dry  Spanish  wine;  but 
sugar  was  often  added  to  it,  with  the  view,  as 
Venner  informs  us,  to  lessen  the  hot  and  pene- 
trative quality  of  the  wine.  In  truth,  the  best 
sack  (for  there  were  several  kinds  in  use)  was 
of  the  growth  of  Xerez,  or  in  other  words 
sherry.  In  PasquiPs  Palinodia,  published  in 
I6I9,  this  is  stated  in  the  following  lines: — 

** give  me  sacke,  old  sacke,  boys, 

To  make  the  muses  merry  ; 
The  lift?  of  Miirih,  and  the  joy  of  earth. 
Is  a  cup  of  good  old  sherry." 

The  Spanish  wines  still  retained  the  first 
place  on  English  tables,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  After  this  time,  the 
preference  was  given  to  the  Canary  wines, 
more  of  which,  Howell  (Familinr  Letters,  part 
ii.  60)  informs  us,  ♦'  was  brought  into  England 
than  to  all  the  world  besides."  Champagne  ap- 
pears to  have  been  unknown  in  Britain  until  a 
present  from  Louis  XIV.  of  two  hundred  hogs- 
heads of  wine,  consisting  of  Champairne,  Bur- 
gundy, and  Hermitage,  was  sent  to  the  king  of 
England;  but  it  was  long  after  this  time  un- 
known to  those  not  connected  with  the  court, 
and,  therefore,  it  was  regarded,  as  Venner 
terms  it,  '•  a  regal  wine."  Even  at  this  period, 
however,  although  much  wine  was  drunk,  yet 
few  persons  kept  a  stock  of  it  in  private  cel- 
lars;  the  chief  consumption  was  in  taverns. 

The  war  with  France  in  1689  introduced  the 
use  of  the  wines  of  Portugal,  particularly  the 
red  wine,  or  port,  as  a  substitute  for  the  growths 
of  Bordeaux;  and  the  celebrated  Methuen 
treaty,  which  obliged  us  to  receive  the  wines 
of  Portugal  in  exchange  for  our  woollen  manu- 
factures, and  at  one-third  less  rate  of  the  duty 


WINE. 

levied  on  French  wines,  confirmed  the  taste  of 
Englishmen  for  this  strong  and  intoxicating 
beverage,  a  taste  which  is  again  happily,  as 
respects  health  and  longevity,  on  the  decline. 

From  the  foregoing  sketch  it  is  evident  that 
the  English  taste  in  wine  has  varied  considera- 
bly at  different  periods.  For  five  or  six  cen- 
turies, the  light  wines  of  France  and  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine,  and  the  rich  sweet  wines  of  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  Archipelago,  were  in 
high  estimation.  Then  came  the  dry  Spanish 
wines;  and  at  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  red  growths  of  the  Bordelais  were 
in  most  frequent  demand;  which,  however, 
owing  to  the  wars  with  France,  were  given  up, 
and  the  rough  wines  of  Portugal  substituted 
for  them.  But,  as  we  have  already  said,  the 
use  of  these  is  now  on  the  decline,  and  our 
growing  intercourse  with  the  continent  has 
revived  the  taste  for  light  wines.  (Henderson's 
History  of  Wine.) 

As  far  as  concerns  what  is  denominated 
home-made  wines,  there  is  in  England  scarcely 
any,  if  we  except  the  gooseberry  (intended  to 
imitate  Champagne)  and  raisin  wine,  that 
merit  any  notice.  Indeed,  it  is  an  incontro- 
vertible fact,  that  grapes  ripened  on  walls  and 
trellises  are  in  general  unfit  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  wine ;  and,  in  England,  those  cultivated 
under  glass  are  too  valuable  for  the  dessert  and 
other  purposes,  in  their  recent  state,  to  be  em- 
ployed for  making  wine.  Still,  however,  to 
make  home-made  wine  forms  one  of  the  occu- 
pations of  the  wife  of  a  farmer,  and  tolerable 
wine  may  be  made  with  a  mixture  of  raisins 
and  grapes  cultivated  in  the  open  air, in  favour- 
able seasons.  The  principles  of  wine-making 
are  the  same,  whatever  kind  of  fruit  is  em- 
ployed: in  knowing,  therefore,  the  maraf:..;;ture 
of  grape-wine,  it  is  easy  to  modify  the  process, 
so  as  to  render  it  applicable  to  every  other 
description  of  wine. 

The  juice  of  the  grape,  when  chemically 
analyzed,  is  found  to  consist  of  a  considerable 
portion  of  sugar  and  water,  mucila^je,  tannic 
acid,  bitartrate  of  potassa,  tartrate  of  lime, 
phosphate  of  magnesia,  chloride  of  sodium, 
sulphate  of  potassa,  and  a  mucososaccharine 
principle,  on  which  the  fermentative  process 
productive  of  the  wine  depends.  Thenard,  a 
distinguished  French  chemist,  assures  us  that 
this  substance  excites  the  vinous  fermentation 
by  abstracting  a  portion  of  oxygen  from  the 
sugar,  by  means  of  its  carbon,  forming  carbonic 
acid  gas,  whilst  its  hydrogen  and  the  remaining 
oxygen  and  carbon  of  the  sugar  are  converted 
into  alcohol,  the  basis  and  exciting  principle 
of  all  wines.  When  the  must,  or  expressed 
juice  of  the  grape,  is  exposed  to  a  temperature 
of  65°  Fahr.,  this  chemical  change  or  fermenta- 
tion commences;  an  intestine  motion  takes 
place  in  the  liquor;  bubbles  are  evolved,  which 
buoy  up  the  grosser  matter,  increasing  the  bulk 
of  the  mass,  and  forming  a  scum  upon  the 
surface.  An  augmentation  of  temperature  now 
takes  place ;  the  must  loses  its  saccharine 
taste ;  it  acquires  a  deeper  colour  than  before, 
and  a  vinous  flavour,  which  increases  with  the 
advancement  of  the  process.  After  a  few  day:  - 
the  fermentation  gradually  subsides,  the  mass 
returns  to  its  original  bulk,  the  scum  s-n'js  t« 
f>E2  1157 


WINE. 


WINE. 


the  bottom  of  the  vessel,  the  liquor  becomes 
transparent,  and  it  is  now  wine.  The  constitu- 
tion of  the  most  is  liable  to  be  greatly  influ- 
enced by  the  quality,  the  variety,  the  climate, 
•Dd  the  culture  of  the  grapes,  as  well  as  the 
nature  of  the  seasons.  In  a  cold  year,  owing 
to  the  deficiency  of  the  saccharine  matter,  the 
wine  is  weak,  harsh,  and  acescent ;  in  wet  sea- 
toa%  it  is  devoid  of  a  competent  quantity  of 
spirit:  high  winds  and  fogs  are  also  injurious. 

In  England,  the  mode  of  training  the  vine 
high  upon  walls  is  a  disadvantage  for  making 
the  fruit  into  wine.  In  the  best  wine  countries, 
it  is  never  allowed  to  grow  more  than  3  or  4 
fret  high;  and  it  is  found  that  the  bunches 
nearest  to  the  soil,  if  they  do  not  touch  it,  are 
.  always  the  richest.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose 
that  sweet  wines  are  the  most  susceptible  of 
decomposition;  on  the  contrary,  they  can  be 
kept  for  almost  an  indefinite  length  of  time 
without  undergoing  any  deleterious  change. 
All  wines  continue  to  suffer  a  certain  degree 
of  fermentation  after  they  are  racked  off  and 
nt  into  casks  ;  and  as  long  as  the  saccharine 
matter  is  supplied  to  maintain  this  slow  fer- 
mentation, the  wine  remains  good ;  but,  when 
that  is  exhausted,  the  acetous  fermentation 
begins,  and  the  wine  is  converted  into  vinegar. 

Admitting,  however,  the  goodness  of  the  fruit, 
and  the  wine  to  be  made  consequently  expected 
to  be  excellent,  many  circumstances  may  de- 
stroy that  hope,  for  the  process  does  not  pro- 
ceed in  the  regular  manner  above  described, 
unless  certain  rules  be  strictly  observed :  these 
are  the  following: — 1.  The  grapes  should  be 
well  and  equally  bruised  or  trodden ;  for  the 
juice  that  ftrst  flows  contains  little  mucoso- 
tarrhannt  matter,  and  consequently  does  not 
ferment  freely.  That  substance  is  contained 
chiefly  in  the  insoluble  organized  parts  and  the 
skin,  which  also  contains  the  greatest  part  of 
the  acid,  the  resinous  extractive,  and  the  colour- 
ing principle.  2.  The  fermentation  should  be 
conducted  at  a  temperature  of  60°  to  65°  Fahr., 
below  which  it  languishes,  and  above  which  it 
proceeds  too  violently.  When  it  progresses 
too  slowly,  that  evil  may  be  remedied  by  the 
addition  of  a  little  boiling  must.  3.  The  con- 
tact of  air  is  essential  in  the  commencement; 
and  this  affords  another  reason  for  the  good 
bruising  of  the  fruit,  as  much  air  is  absorbed 
ita  that  stage  of  the  process.  But  after  the  fer- 
mentation is  established,  the  air  should  be  ex- 
cluded, for  the  sake  of  preserving  the  aroma ; 
and  to  secure  this,  the  French  chemist,  Chap- 
tal,  who  paid  much  attention  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  wines,  recommends  the  vats  to  be  co- 
rered  with  boards  and  linen  cloths.  4.  The 
greater  the  bulk  of  material,  the  more  perfect 
the  wine.  6.  When  the  wine  is  perfected  and 
racked  off",  it  should  be  sulphured  by  burning 
sulphur-matches  within  the  casks  intended  to 
contain  it,  in  order  to  restrain,  within  a  cer- 
tain degree,  the  further  fermentation. 

When  good  wine  is  actually  produced,  much 
of  the  advantage  expected  from  the  possession 
of  it  depends  on  the  future  management  and 
preservation  of  it;  for  every  wine  contains 
withm  Itself  the  sources  of  both  improvement 
and  decline.  The  chief  points  to  be  attended 
to  are  guardmg  against  vicissitudes  of  tempera- 
1158  ^ 


ture  and  the  contact  of  air.  Wines  in  the  cask 
or  wood,  as  the  term  is,  are  liable  to  become 
sour,  either  by  a  sudden  transition  t:om  cold 
j  to  heat,  or  the  reverse  ;  and  the  same  suscepti- 
bility to  acescency  is  favoured  by  defect  of 
proper  fining;  but  this  process  should  not  be 
frequently  repeated,  as  it  impairs  the  flavour 
and  the  body  of  the  liquor.  Wines  are  mel- 
lowed by  the  slow  precipitation  of  the  tartar, 
which  carries  down  with  it  the  colouring  mat- 
ter and  the  salts  of  lime ;  and  this  occurs  in 
the  ratio  of  the  evolution  of  the  alcohol,  during 
the  continued  gradual  fermentation  which  goes 
on  even  after  the  wine  is  bottled.  This  would 
strengthen  wine  in  the  cask,  were  it  not 
balanced  by  the  evaporation  of  the  alcohol 
through  the  sides  of  the  cask.  Old  Rhenish 
wines  kept  in  the  barrel  lose  nearly  one-half  of 
their  original  alcohol;  yet  it  is  an  undoubted 
fact,  that  wine  in  bottles,  not  corked,  but  tied 
over  with  a  bladder,  becomes  stronger: — that 
membrane  permitting  water  to  pass  through  it, 
but  not  spirit.  Another  curious  fact,  however, 
must  not  be  forgotten,  namely,  that  whilst  the 
wine  becomes  weaker  when  kept  in  cask,  it 
becomes  much  improved  in  its  other  qualities; 
a  fact  which  is  illustrated  by  the  transporta- 
tion of  Madeira  to  India,  or  keeping  it  in  a 
warm  place. 

The  adulteration  of  wine  is  too  comprehen- 
sive a  subject  to  be  here  fully  treated  of;  but, 
independent  of  this  evil,  every  foreign  wine 
sent  to  Great  Britain,  except  the  best  of  the 
Rhenish  wines,  contains  much  uncombined 
brandy,  which  tends  not  only  to  render  them 
unwholesome,  but  impairs  their  original  fla- 
vour, and  risks  their  partial  decomposition. 
Were  home-made  wines  free  from  this  evil,  it 
would  tend  greatly  to  encourage  a  new  branch 
of  trade  which  has  lately  sprung  up  in  Scot- 
land, chiefly  at  Edinburgh,  Leith,  and  Glasgow. 
From  a  parliamentary  return,  we  find  that 
24,848  gallons,  equal  to  nearly  150,000  bottles, 
were  sent  to  England  in  1839,  and  23,089  gal- 
lons in  1840.  Of  the  24,848  in  1839,  about 
13,000  gallons  were  shipped  from  Leith,  and 
11,000  from  Glasgow;  and  of  the  quantity  in 
1840,  about  14,700  gallons  went  from  Leith, 
and  7,000  from  Glasgow. 

In  the  present  day,  when  temperance  has 
made  so  favourable  an  impression  on  the 
habits  of  all  classes  of  society,  some  remarks 
on  the  dietetic  properties  of  wine  become 
essential  in  an  article  devoted  to  its  other 
qualities.  Were  technical  phraseology  allow- 
able, we  should  say  that  wine  is  stimulant  and 
salutary  in  small,  narcotic  and  poisonous  in 
large  quantities.  This  opinion,  however,  nei- 
ther implies  that  it  is  necessary  as  an  ordinary 
article  of  diet,  nor  that  it  is  deleterious  even  in 
the  largest  doses,  as  a  medicinal  agent.  Wine, 
moderately  used,  in  the  artificial  state  of  mo- 
dern civilized  society,  is  not  at  all  essential  for 
the  healthy,  however  occupied,  except  under 
exposure  to  unusual  fatigue.  But  were  this 
principle  of  necessity  to  guide  the  regulation 
of  diet  and  beverage,  the  art  of  cookery  would 
be  annihilated ;  and  the  growth  of  wine,  as  well 
as  the  manufacture  of  every  spirituous  liquor, 
under  whatever  name  it  is  known,  ardent  spi- 
rits, cider,  or  malt  liquor,  would  cease  to  exist 


WINE. 


WINNOWING-MACHINE. 


In  noticing,  therefore,  the  dietetic  properties  of 
wine,  we  must  take  society  as  we  find  it,  not  as 
it  ought  to  be  constituted.  The  stimulant  ope- 
ration of  wine  is  exerted  on  the  nerves  of  the 
stomach,  and  the  secreting  powers  of  that 
organ  are  influenced  by  these ;  and  thus  a 
beneficial  effect  results  when  the  digestive 
powers  are  depressed.  This,  in  a  great  degree, 
depends  on  the  alcohol  contained  in  the  wine  ; 
yet  it  is  a  fact,  that  the  same  quantity  of  brandy 
diluted  with  water,  to  the  strength  of  wine,  will 
cause  intoxication  more  speedily  than  when  it 
is  taken  in  the  form  of  wine,  especially  if  the 
wine  contains  no  uncombined  alcohol.  The 
stimulant  power  of  wine,  however,  depends  on 
the  quantity  of  alcohol  in  its  composition  ;  but 
this  power  is  much  greater  in  those  wines  that 
contain  adventitious  and  imperfectly  combined 
spirit.  On  this  account.  Port-wine  is  more  apt 
to  derange  the  stomach,  and  to  cause  intoxica- 
tion, than  Sherry  of  the  same  strength ;  and 
Claret  or  Rhenish  less  than  either.  But  besides 
the  evils  arising  from  wines  containing  uncom- 
bined brandy,  those  wines  that  contain  much 
acid  are  usually  deleterious  to  persons  of 
sedentary  habits,  or  who  have  weak  stomachs. 
Indeed,  the  daily  use  of  the  best  wine  can  only 
be  supported  with  impunity  by  those  who  take 
much  exercise  in  the  open  air.  But,  if  we 
admit  that  wine  is  a  necessary  article  of  life 
for  the  healthy,  there  can  be  only  one  opinion 
respecting  the  superiority  of  the  belter  kinds  of 
Bordeaux.  Whatever  wine  is  taken,  it  should 
not  be  conjoined  with  other  sorts,  as  nothing 
impairs  digestion  more  than  mingling  several 
sorts  of  wine  at  one  meal. 

Such  are  the  general  effects  of  the  moderate 
use  of  wine;  its  abuse  is  so  well  known,  both 
in  reference  to  mind  and  body,  that  it  is  unne- 
cessary to  make  a  single  remark,  in  this  place, 
upon  the  subject,  except  to  caution  those  who 
feel  no  immediate  injurious  effects  from  a  pint 
of  Port,  or  indeed  of  any  wine,  daily,  not  to 
rely  too  confidently  upon  their  apparent  pow- 
ers of  resisting  its  evil  influence ;  for  a  foun- 
dation may  be  slowly  formed  for  maladies,  that, 
when  »hey  appear,  are  always  difficult  of  cure, 
and  often  altogether  irremediable. 

With  respect  to  the  comparative  value  in 
reference  to  the  wholesomeness  of  different 
wines,  a  few  remarks  may  be  necessary,  be- 
fore concluding  this  article.  Among  the  brisk 
wines.  Champagne  is  the  least  noxious,  even 
when  it  is  drank  to  excess,  the  excitement  is 
of  shorter  duration,  and  the  subsequent  ex- 
haustion is  less.  It  is  said  to  be  hurtful  to  the 
gouty  ;  but  gout  is  almost  unknown  in  the  pro- 
vince where  it  is  made ;  and  more  of  the  evil 
said  to  be  caused  by  Champagne  is  due  to  the 
variety  and  the  nature  of  the  dishes,  and  the 
period  of  the  day  at  which  they  are  eaten,  than 
to  the  wine  itself.  The  red  wines  of  Burgundy 
are  strong,  heating,  and  consequently  intoxi- 
cating, and  they  should  only  be  taken  in  very 
small  quantity.  The  Bordeaux  wines,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  are  the  safest  for  daily  use. 
They  certainly  do  not  excite  inebriety  so  ra- 
pidly as  most  other  wines.  The  wines  of 
Oporto  abound  in  astringent  matter,  and  in  un- 
combined brandy.  They  are  unfit  for  weak 
stomachs ;  they  tend  to  cause  sleep  rather  than 


to  elevate  the  spirits,  and  they  are  the  most 
;  pernicious  as  daily  beverage.  The  Spanish 
J  wines,  especially  Sherries,  are  less  objection- 
j  able,  but  they  should  never  be  drunk  without 
dilution  with  water,  unless  for  medicinal  pur- 
poses. The  same  opinion  may  be  hazarded 
with  respect  to  Madeira;  and  perhaps  no  wine 
is  more  suited  for  the  dyspeptic,  if  hypochon 
driasis  be  absent.  The  best  light  wines  of  the 
Rhine  and  the  Moselle  are,  of  all  others,  the 
most  wholesome.  They  contain  little  alcohol, 
and  that  little  is  wholly  combined.  They  prove, 
in  many  instances,  refrigerant,  and  have  a  ten- 
dency, from  the  nature  of  the  acid  which  they 
contain,  the  tartaric,  to  diminish  obesity.  Last- 
ly, all  sweet  wines  are  apt  to  disorder  the  sto- 
mach ;  and  when  used  freely  they  intoxicate  as 
readily,  and  cause  as  deleterious  subsequent 
effects  as  the  stronger  wines.  But,  after  all,  we 
must  revert  to  the  opinion,  that  wine  is  an  un- 
necessary article  of  diet  for  all  who  are  healthy 
and  robust;  and  must  truly  be  regarded,  be- 
yond certain  limits,  either  as  a  medicine  or  a 
poison.  {Henderson^s  History  of  Ancient  and  Mo- 
dan  Wines;  Mundloch  on  Wine-7naking.)  See 
Alcohol  and  Vine. 

Account  of  the  Quantity  of  Foreign  Wine  retained 
in  England  for  Home  Consumption,  in  Wine  Gal- 
lom,from  1789  to  1836. 


Yean. 

Oallnni. 

Tear?. 

Gallons. 

1789 

5,814,665 

1823 

4,845,060 

1790 

6,492,313 

1824 

5,030,091 

1792        - 

8,082,249 

1825 

8,009,542 

1794 

6,799,220 

1826 

6,058,443 

1796        - 

5,732,385 

1827 

6,826,361 

1798        - 

4.760,657 

1828 

7,162,376 

1800 

7,728,871 

1829        - 

6,217,652 

1802 

6,355,749 

1830 

6,434,445 

1804 

4,840,719 

1831 

6,212,264 

1805 

5,936,235 

1832 

5,965,542 

1810 

6,805,276 

1833 

6,207,770 

1815 

5,968,435 

1834        - 

6,480,544 

1820        - 

5,019,960 

1835 

6,420,342 

1822 

4,975,159 

- 

Account  exhibiting  the  Quantities  of  the  different 
Sorts  of  Wine  imported  into  and  exported  from 
the  United  Kingdom  in  the  Year  ending  the  5th 
of  January,  1840,  and  the  gross  Revenue  accru- 
ing  thereon. 


Species  of  Wine. 

Quantities 

imported  into 

the  United 

Kingdom. 

Quantities 

exported  from 

the  United 

Kingdom. 

Gross  amount 
of  revenue 
rece-ved 
thereon. 

Cape    - 
French 
Madeira 
Portngnjse 
Spanish 
Rhenish 
Canary 
Fayal 

Sicilian  and 
other  wines 

•Total    - 

Gallons. 

723,740 

508,329 

267,047 

3,272,206 

4,130,753 

62,910 

341,225 

202 

582,310 

Gallons. 
3,520 
121,525 
162,527^1 
299  355  1 
989  776] 
13,350  I 
292,779  '" 
90 

170,163, 

£ 

73,596 
109,820 

1,732,232 

9,908,722     1 

2,053,085     1     1,915,648     | 

American  Wine  Making. — For  their  efforts  to 
introduce  the  grape  culture  into  the  United  States, 
great  credit  is  due  to  the  German  vine  dres- 
sers. But  for  the  first  demonstration  that 
good  wines  resembling  those  of  the  Rhine  and 
Moselle  can  be  made  on  this  side  of  the  Atlan- 
tic, we  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Longwoah,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, whose  zeal,  intelligence,  liberal  expen- 
ditures, and  final  triumphant  success,  t'ntitle  him 

115» 


WINE  MAKING. 

to  the  lasting  gratitude  of  bis  countrymen.  This 
gentlerrian,  who  now  owns  m  the  vicinity  of 
CiDcmnati  122|  acres  in  vineyards,  cultivated 
by  27  tenanta— wys,  *' I  have  for  30  years 
ezperinnented  on  the  foreign  grape,  both  for  the 
Ubie  and  for  wine.  In  the  acclimation  ol 
plants,  I  do  not  believe ;  for  the  White  Sweet 
Water  does  not  succeed  as  well  with  me,  as  it 
did  30  years  since.  I  obtained  a  large  variecy 
of  French  grapes,  from  Mr.  Loubat,  many  years 
since.  They  were  from  the  vicinities  of  Paris 
and  Bordeaux.  From  Madeira  I  obtained  6000 
vines  of  their  best  wine  grapes.  Not  one  was 
found  worthy  of  cultivation  in  this  latitude,  and 
were  rooted  from  the  vineyards.  As  a  last  ex- 
periment, I  imported  7000  vines  from  the  moun- 
tains of  Jura,  in  the  vicinity  of  Salins,  in  France. 
At  that  point  the  vine  region  suddenly  ends, 
and  many  vines  are  there  cultivated  on  the  north 
tide  of  the  mountain,  where  the  ground  is  co- 
Tered  with  snow  the  whole  winter,  from  3  to  4 
feet  deep.  Nearly  all  lived,  and  embraced  about 
twenty  varieties  of  the  most  celebrated  wine- 
grapes  of  France.  But  after  a  trial  of  five  years, 
all  have  been  thrown  away.  I  also  imported 
samples  of  wine  made  from  all  the  grapes. 
One  variety  alone,  the  celebrated  Arbois  wine, 
which  partakes  slightly  of  the  Champagne  cha- 
lacter,  would  compete  with  our  Catawba.  If 
We  intend  cultivating  the  grape  for  wine,  we 
must  rely  on  our  native  grapes,  and  new  varieties 
raised  from  their  seed.  If  I  could  get  my  lease 
of  life  renewed  for  twenty  or  thirty  years,  I 
would  devote  my  attention  to  the  subject,  and 
I  would  cross  our  best  native  varieties  with  the 
beat  table  and  wine  grapes  of  Europe.  I  have 
heretofore  wanted  faith  in  the  doctrine  of  French 
horticulturists,  that  to  improve  your  stock  of 
peara,  you  must  not  select  the  seed  of  the  finest 
fruit,  but  of  the  natural  choke-pear.  I  am  half 
converted  to  their  views.  The  Catawba  is 
claarl^  derived  from  the  common  Fox  grape. 
In  raising  from  its  seed,  even  white  ones  are 
produced,  but  I  have  not  seen  one  equal  to  the 
parent  plant ;  and  in  all,  the  white  down  on  the 
under  si«le  of  the  leaf,  and  the  hairs  on  the 
stalk,  common  to  the  wild  Fox  grape,  are  abun- 
dant." 

The  Catawba,  which  has  led  the  way  in  Ame- 
rica to  the  production  of  wines  calculated  to 
compete  with  the   finer  vintages  of  Europe,  at 

riretent  stand*  without  a  rival  as  a  wine  grape. 
I  makes  an  excellent  sparkling  wine,  resembling 
•parkling  Mo«elle,and  also  a  good,  dry  Hock.  Its 
colour  varies  from  almost  clear  water  to  straw  co- 
lour and  pink,  and  it  possesses  a  fine  fruity  flavour, 
and  most  grateful  aroma.  It  requires  no  sugar 
in  fermentation  when  the  grapes  are  well  ripened. 
It  is  but  justice  to  one  of  the  most  persevering 
pioneers  in  the  grape  culture  and  wine  making 
m  the  United  States,  Major  Adlum,  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  to  say  that  he  had  long  since  enter- 
tained the  most  exalted  views  in  regard  to  the 
valuable  qualities  presented  by  the  Catawba 
yrepe.  In  a  letter  to  Mr.  Long  worth  he  says— 
"  In  bringing  this  grape  into  public  notice,  I  have 
rendered  my  country  a  greater  service  than  I 
would  have  done,  had  I  paid  oflT  the  National 
Debt ;"  and  Mr.  Longworth  expresses  his  con- 
currence in  this  enthusiastic  estimate. 

In  regard  to  the  present  cost  of  making  wine 
in  th«  valley  of  the  Ohio,  Mr.  Buchanan  states,  i 
from   his  own  experience,  that  when  done  by  | 
hired  labour,  the  gathering,  pressing,  and  filling 
1160  ' 


WINE  MAKING. 

the  juice  into  casks,  comes  to  an  average  of  $25 
to  $30  per  acre,  it  is  the  German  emigrants 
who  make  wine  to  greatest  prolit,  as  the  most 
of  the  work  is  done  by  their  wives  and  daughters. 
The  largest  profits  will  accrue  to  those  who 
bring  into  requisition  the  most  intelligence  and 
skill,  who  take  care  to  have  the  fruit  gathered 
when  fully  ripe,  the  green  and  decayed  berries 
picked  out,  (from  which  by  the  addition  of  8  or 
10  ounces  of  sugar  to  the  gallon,  wine  of  an 
inferior  quality  may  be  made,)  who  use  a  clean 
press,  clean  casks,  a  cool  cellar  from  which  the 
external  air  can  be  excluded,  who,  during  the 
period  of  fermentation,  which  continues  from 
two  to  four  weeks,  attend  to  keeping  the  casks 
filled  td"  within  four  or  five  inches  of  the  bung, 
(which  last  must  be  put  on  loosely,)  and  racking 
off  at  the  proper  time  in  spring,  always  keeping 
the  casks  after  fermentation,  full  and  air-tight, 
never  bottling  till  4  or  5  years  old,  and  finally 
selling  without  their  names  in  seasons  when 
wine  is  not  of  the  best  quality. 

The  great  secret,  for  such  it  has  been  gener- 
ally kept  among  wine-makers  —  of  producing 
an  effervescing  wine,  consists  simply  in  mixing 
the  wine  of  the  new  vintage  with  wine  of  the 
previous  vintages,  half  and  half. 

Although  400  and  even  over  600  gallons  of 
wine  per  acre  have  been  occasionally  obtained 
from  Ohio  vineyards  in  some  very  favourable 
seasons  and  situations,  Mr.  Buchanan  sets  down 
the  average  produce  of  an  acre  (containing  2420 
vines,  planted  3  by  6  feet  apart),  in  fair  seasons 
at  300  to  400  gallons.  A  probable  average  for 
8  or  10  years,  with  but  little  rot,  would  be  250 
gallons.  And  with  a  reasonable  allowance  for 
loss  by  rot,  frosts,  &c.,  200  gallons  might  beset 
down  as  a  fair  average. 

A  bushel  of  grapes  on  the  stem  will  yield 
from  3  to  3|  gallons  of  juice.  Some  have  yielded 
4  gallons,  but  this  is  rare.  In  measuring,  the 
bushel  is  "  heaped,"  or  liberally  rounded  on  the 
top.  A  recapitulation  of  Mr.  Buchanan's  state- 
ments would  give  the  costs  and  profits  of  an 
Ohio  vineyard  as  follows : 

Cost  of  the  vineyard  per  acre,  say  $250, 

interest  per  annum 15.00 

Cost  of  attendance  per  acre       ....  60.00 

Cost  of  making  the  wine 25.00 


Probable  average  annual  product 
200  gals,  of  wine,  at,  say  $1.00  .    . 

Supposed  profit  per  annum      .     .   . 


$100.00 
$200.00 

$100.00 

A  press  capable  of  expressing  from  160  to  300 
gallons  per  day,  will  cost  $60  to  $150 — the  ves- 
sels $10  to  $15,  and  the  casks  from  4  to  8  cts. 
per  gallon,  according  to  size  and  quality.  The 
loss  in  quantity  in  making  the  wine,  by  fermen- 
tation, lees  in  racking,  and  by  evaporation,  is 
about  10  per  cent.     See  Vine. 

The  experiment  of  letting  the  grapes,  after 
being  mashed,  ferment  in  the  skins  slightly  before 
pressing,  has  been  found  to  afford  some  advan- 
tages. The  mashed  grapes  are  allowed  to  stand 
in  large  open  hogsheads,  for  24  to  30  hours,  or 
until  they  begin  to  ferment,  and  the  grapes  rise 
to  the  surface.  They  are  then  pressed.  Too 
much  fermentation  in  this  state  would  be  inju- 
rious, and  give  a  bitter,  astringent  taste  to  the 
wine;  but  a  slight  fermentation  adds  to  the 
colour  and  aroma. 


WINE  MAKING. 


Mr.  Longworth  states  that  it  is  a  very  great 
error  in  wine  making,  to  have  tlie  grapes  gath- 
ered too  soon,  and  before  the  saccharine  princi- 
ple is  fully  developed.  The  richness  of  the  wine 
is  estimated  by  the  weight  of  the  must  or  fresh 
juice,  the  average  of  the  least  being  95  deg.  on 
the  scale  of  the  Hydrometer.  He  states  that 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cincinnati  he  found 
some  from  well  matured  fruit  which  weighed  101, 
whilst  that  of  other  vineyards  weighed  only 
from  65  to  80.  He  says  that  he  would  rather 
pay  75  cts.  per  gallon  fojr  must  weighing  95, 
than  5  cts.  for  that  which  weighs  only  75. 

Fermeiitatioji. — The  casks  are  to  be  filled  up 
till  within  3  or  4  inches  of  the  bung,  and  this 
is  to  be  put  in  loosely.  The  gas  escapes  without 
the  wine  running  over.  Usually  in  2  to  4 
weeks  the  fermentation  ceases,  and  the  wine  be- 
comes clear  ;  then  fill  up  the  casks  and  tighten 
the  bungs. 

In  February  or  March,  rack  off  the  wine  into 
clean  casks.  A  second  but  moderate  fermenta- 
tion will  take  place  late  in  the  spring,  after 
which  the  wine  becomes  clear  and  is  ready  for 
sale.  If  the  casks  are  kept  well  filled,  and  the 
bungs  tight,  it  will  improve  for  many  years. 
Use  no  brandy  or  sugar  if  the  grajies  are  sound 
and  well  ripened. 

It  was  a  long  time  disputed  whether  alcohol 
existed  already  formed  in  the  wine,  or  whether 
it  was  developed  through  the  application  of  heat 
in  distillation.  Gay-Lussac  succeeded  in  ex- 
tracting alcohol  from  wine  in  a  vacmim  at  the 
temperature  of  59  deg.  Fahrenheit,  thus  demon- 
strating that  it  was  not  developed  by  the  heat 
used  in  distillation. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  add  sugar  to  grape 
juice,  experience  has  proved  in  France  that 
phtcose,  or  the  sugar  made  from  starch,  is  to  be 
preferred,  since  it  more  resembles  that  of  the 
grape  Than  the  sugar  made  from  the  cane  or  the 
beet.  Sugar  ought,  however,  never  to  be  added 
except  with  the  greatest  caution  and  judgment, 
being  apt  to  make  the  wine  thick,  flat,  and  acid. 
Although  it  may  increase  the  proportion  of  alco- 
hol, the  quality  of  the  wine  will  never  equal  that 
of  good  seasons,  when  sugar  can  be  dispensed 
with.  Some  add  alcohol  instead  of  sugar  to  the 
fermenting  must.  But  although  this  may  fur- 
nish the  wine  with  strength,  it  will  never  be 
equal  to  that  in  which  sugar  has  been  used. 

The  safest  way  of  keeping  the  wine  is  in 
bottles  well  corked  and  sealed,  and  placed  on 
their  sides.  The  fewer  rackings  it  receives, 
and  the  less  exposure  to  the  air,  the  sweeter  and 
better  it  will  keep.  The  bottling  may  take 
place  one  year  after  racking,  although  better  de- 
ferred till  the  lapse  of  2  years.  Never  bottle 
before  the  second  fermentation,  which  takes  place 
in  the  spring  succeeding  the  vintage,  unless  it  is 
■where  the  sparkling  quality  is  desired,  which, 
as  has  been  already  stated,  is  imparted  by  mix- 
ing the  wine  of  the  new  with  that  of  an  old  vin- 
tage. The  fining  of  wine  can  be  done  to  the 
gieatest  perfection  by  bottling  or  racking  off 
during  the  very  eoldext  weather  in  wivter,  at  which 
time  it  will  of  course  deposit  most  of  its  solu- 
ble materials.  This  was  an  important  secret, 
kept  and  practised  upon  with  great  success  by  a 
celebrated  Philadelphia  wine  merchant. 

Co7tsumption  of  Wines  in  Gnat  Britain  and 
the  JJniteA  Slates. — The  importations  of  wine 
into  ths  United  KingcVom  of  Great  Britain  in 
146 


In  Casks. 

In  Bottles. 

$1,716 

$2,181 

21,630 

1,916 

109,983 

1,379 

170,134 

4,141 

221,416 

109,638 

14,087 

— 

6,816 

— 

67,364 

— 

1,998 

— 

180,928 

— 

193,358 

— 

— 

288,256 

— 

38,068 

WINXOWING-MACHINE. 

1849,  amounted  to  7,970,06?  galls.,  and  the  in- 
crease in  the  homo  consumption,  compared  with 
the  previous  year,  was  115,315  galls.  The  pro- 
portions in  which  the  various  wines  were  con- 
sumed in  England  in  the  year  1849,  are  stated  as 
follows  :  Of  the  total  amount  drank,  Cape  con- 
stituted 3-87  per  cent. ;  French,  5-30  ;  Portugal, 
42-36  ;  Spanish,  39-16  ;  Madeira,  1-14  ;  RhenTsh' 
0-74 ;  Canary,  0-32 ;  Sicilian  and  other  sorts 
fiom  the  Mediterranean,  7-11 ;  total,  100-00. 

As  nearly  all  the  wine  imported  in  the  United 
States  is  consumed  at  home,  the  following  state- 
ment will  show  the  proportions  of  various  wines 
consumed,  and  consequently  exhibit  the  Ame- 
rican taste. 

The  values  of  the  different  wines  imported 
into  the  United  States  in  one  year,  namely,  from 
July  1st,  1847,  to  July  1st,  1848,  were  as  follows  : 

Wines. 

Burgundy     

Madeira 

Sherry  and  San  Lucar   .     .     . 

Port 

Claret 

Teneriffe  and  Canary    .    .    . 
Fnyal  and  other  Azores     .     . 
Sicily  and  other  Mediterranean 
Au.stria  and  other  German 
Red  Wines  not  enumerated     . 

White  Wines 

Champagne 

All  other  kinds 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  English  taste  runs 
mainly  upon  Port  and  Sherry,  which  constitute 
81 A  per  cent,  of  all  the  wines  they  drink.  Their 
consumption  of  French  wines,  or  Claret  and 
Champagne,  amounts  to  only  5-30  per  cent., 
and  of  Madeira  to  only  1*14  pei  cent.  In  the 
United  States,  on  the  contrary,  the  French 
wines,  including  Champagne  and  Claret,  consti- 
tute over  a^  per  cent,  of  the  valueof  all  the  wines 
consumed,  Port  and  Sherry  19,  Madeira  about 
1-64,  and  Claret  and  other  red  wines  alone,  36. 

WINE-PRESS.  The  one  most  commonly 
used  near  Cincinnati  is  made  somewhat  like  a 
"  Screw  Cider  Press."  The  screw,  which  is  of 
iron,  and  about  3  or  4  inches  in  diameter,  is 
placed  either  in  a  strong  upright  frame,  or 
coming  up  through  the  centre  of  the  platform, 
the  last  plan  being  the  cheapest  and  most  sim- 
ple. A  strong,  tight,  box  platform,  6  or  7  feet 
square,  made  of  2  or  3  inch  plank  6  or  8  inches 
high  at  the  sides,  is  wedged  into  heavy  timbers, 
and,  in  this,  a  box  of  1^  inch  boards,  5  or  6  feet 
square,  perforated  with  holes  near  the  lower 
edge,  8  or  10  inches  high  at  the  sides  (made  so 
as  readily  to  be  taken  apart),  is  placed  to  contain 
the  grapes.  Boards  to  fit  loosely  inside  of  this 
box,  and  lie  on  top  of  the  pile  of  mashed 
grapes  (or  the  "  cheese"),  and  pieces  of  scantling, 
to  lay  across  to  receive  the  pressure,  complete 
the  press.  The  pressing  power  is  applied  by 
a  strong  lever  attached  to  the  nut  or  female 
screw,  and  the  juice  runs  out  through  a  hole. 

WINNOWING-MACHINE.  A  contrivance 
employed  for  separating,  by  an  artificial  cur- 
rent of  air,  the  chaff  from  the  grain,  after  it 
has  been  thrashed  out  of  the  straw.  Various 
are  the  accounts  (remarks  Mr.  J.  A.  Ransome 
in  his  Treatise  on  tJie  Implements  of  Agriculture) 
given  of  the  introduction  of  this  niachine,  and 
many  of  the  claimants  for  the  credit  of  having 
been  the  first  maker  of  this  piece  of  mechan- 

1161 


WDINO\'VTNG.MACHINE. 

t9in  in  England  or  Scotland.  All,  however, 
agree  that  Ihe  idea,  design,  or  model  was  origi- 
nally furnished  from  Holland,  earlier,  however, 
than  ihe  date  of  any  of  these  by  at  least  a  pe- 
riod of  tweniy  years.  We  learn  from  the  pa- 
per* of  Robert  Somerville  of  Haddington,  that 
in  1710,  pursnant  to  articles  of  agreement  be- 
tween himself  and  Fletcher,  laird  of  Saltou-;, 
James  Meikle  (father  to  Meikle  of  thrashing- 
machine  memory)  visited  Holland  for  the  pur- 
pose of  leaniing  "the  perfect  art  of  sheeling 
btrtey,**  in  order  to  the  introduction  of  the  bar- 
ley-mill.  The  same  authority,  1805,  states, 
"that  on  Meikle's  return  he  made  the  first  fan- 
ners which  were  seen  in  Britain ;"  and  that 
these  were  in  use  only  a  few  years  before  that 
date  at  the  Saltoun  barley-mills.  That  the  ma- 
chine was  not  made  public  till  many  years 
afterwards  may  be  attributed  to  a  clause  in  the 
abore-mentioned  agreement,  by  which  Meikle 
was  bound,  on  leaving  Saltoun's  service,  "not 
to  profit  any  more  by  this  mill,  nor  communi- 
cate the  arts  he  had  learned  to  any  other."  In 
1737,  through  the  medium  of  Rogers  of  Cavers 
and  others,  it  was  brought  into  more  general 
Qse;  and  in  1768,  A.  and  R.  Meikle  obtained  a 
patent  for  a  machine  of  this  kind.  Although 
a  very  considerable  advantage  over  the  plan 
o(  dressing  by  hand,  these  still  appear  to  have 
been  but  very  imperfect,  the  corn  having  to  be 
passed  through  them  twice  or  thrice,  in  order 
to  be  perfectly  separated.  And  in  1798,  R. 
Dooglas.  in  his  ^grimUural  Survey  of  Roxburgh- 
akin,  remarking  upon  these  defects,  mentions 
an  improvement  invented  by  one  Moodie  of 
Liiliesleaf,  "in  which  he  had  happily  combined 
some  properties  of  other  fans,  so  that  the  grain 
at  one  operation  could  be  both  separated  from 
the  chaff  and  lighter  seeds,  and  completely  rid- 
dled of  all  sorts  of  refuse." 

Other  patents  had  been  taken  out  which  do 
not  appear  to  have  involved  much  real  im- 
provement, till,  in  1800, 1.  Cooch  of  Northamp- 
ton patented  the  machine  which  has  since  been 
known  by  his  name,  and  has  obtained  deserved 
commendation,  being  in  use  and  approved  be- 
yond most  at  the  present  day.  This  machine 
dresses  all  kinds  of  seeds,  and  its  work  is  per- 
formed in  a  perfect  manner:  its  principle  in- 
volved more  mechanical  combinations  than 
were  at  that  time  generally  understood  by  the 
class  for  whose  use  it  was  intended ;  and  this, 
together  with  its  then  cost,  retarded  its  more 
general  adoption. 

In  1812,  John  Elmy  obtained  a  patent  for 
improvements  in  winnowing-machines,  and 
produced  a  very  efficient  implement;  the  ar- 
rangement of  its  various  parts  were  simple, 
and  greater  effect  was  obtained  from  the  blast. 
Comparing  this  with  the  drawings  and  descrip- 
tion of  one  we  find  in  the  Edinburgh  Journal  of 
JtcrinUturr,  and  with  that  described  by  Profes- 
aoi  »jow.  we  have  little  doubt  of  their  general  , 
"''  ■'  this,  the  model  upon  which  the  I 

^'  general  use  are  now  made.  ! 

i..  .   -J.  i .  F.  Salter  obtained  a  patent  for  a  ' 
machine  for  winnowing  and  dressing  corn  and 
seeds,  whiclj  at  the  R  A.  S.  E.  meeting  at  Cam- 
bridge was  exhibited,  and  obtained  the  silver 
medal. 

In  this  invention  are  combined  the  princi- 
JI62  ^ 


WINNOWING-MACHINE. 

pies  of  Grant's  hummelling  machine,  described 
in  British  Husbandry,  vol.  xi.  p.  204,  and  of 
Hall's  smut  machine  (Loudon's  Ency.  of  Jlgr.  p. 
439,  fig.  403),  with  the  operations  of  the  com- 
mon winnower. 

The  undressed  grain  from  the  hopper  passes 
through  a  cylindrical  sieve,  having  within  it  a 
rotary  spindle,  upon  which  short  blunt  arms 
are  arranged  in  a  spiral  direction;  these  agi- 
tate the  grain  as  it  passes  along,  and  thus  se- 
parate the  small  dirt  and  dust  as  well  as  the 
awns  of  barley,  which  fall  through  in  a  closed 
box  or  cupboard.  The  cylinder  is  placed  in  a 
slanting  direction,  and  is  provided  at  each  end 
with  slides,  which  regulate  the  quantity  and 
speed  with  which  the  grain  shall  pass.  Through 
the  slide  aperture  at  the  lower  end  the  grain  is 
introduced  upon  other  sieves,  which,  having  a 
backward  and  forward  motion,  distribute  it 
equally  over  their  surface,  when  it  is  subjected 
to  the  blast  of  the  fan,  driving  obliquely  through 
the  sieves ;  this  carries  the  chaff  out  of  the 
machine ;  the  grain  falls  on  a  screen,  which, 
having  a  similar  motion  to  the  sieves,  separates 
from  it  all  small  seeds,  and  the  dross  corn  is 
carried  away  in  a  division  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose. The  grain,  dross,  corn  and  chaff  are 
thus  all  thoroughly  separated  from  each  other, 
and  the  dust,  dirt,  and  small  seeds,  having  fallen 
in  an  enclosed  box  from  the  cylinder,  may  be 
entirely  removed. 

We  have  heard  this  machine  highly  ap- 
proved by  many,  and  when  pains  are  taken  to 
separate  the  corn  from  the  short  straw,  &c., 
previously  to  submitting  it  to  the  machine,  we 
believe  it  to  be  very  effective;  but  as  there  is 
some  degree  of  complication  in  its  details,  it  is 
chiefly  suited  to  those  to  whom  a  high  degree 
of  excellence  in  the  manner  of  "  making  up 
their  corn"  is  a  matter  of  more  importance 
than  the  time  or  labour  it  may  require. 

We  now  come  to  the  description  of  the  win- 
nower used  in  combination  with  the  thrash- 
ing apparatus  at  Whitfield,  in  which  the  prin- 
cipal feature  is  the  improvement  of  the  fan  or 
blower.  Having  noticed  that  the  ordinary  form 
and  position  of  the  fans,  which  are  flat  boards, 
radiating  from  the  centre,  tended  to  keep  the 
air  contantly  whirling  within  the  casing,  rather 
than  to  force  it  forwards;  and  that  if,  instead 
of  being  flat,  they  were  curved  forward  in  the 
direction  of  their  motion,  they  would  draw  the 
air  in  from  the  tube  and  force  it  out  at  the 
sides,  J.  Clyburn  of  Uley,  the  engineer  by 
whom  the  machinery  at  Whitfield  was  executed, 
constructed  a  blower,  in  which,  by  a  certain 
curvature  of  the  fans,  and  a  different  arrange- 
ment of  the  chamber  in  which  they  revolve, 
the  tendency  to  form  a  vacuum  is  considerably 
increased,  and  greater  force  is  consequently 
obtained  from  the  blast. 

We  are  not  disposed  to  leave  this  part  of 
our  subject  without  some  allusion  to  an  inven- 
tion for  still  further  carrying  out  the  process 
of  cleaning  corn,  known  as  Tuxford's  reeing- 
machine.  This  consists  of  a  series  of  sieves, 
to  which  a  rotatory  motion  is  given  :  the  grain  is 
by  this  means  separated  from  any  small  dust 
and  dirt,  which  passes  through  the  wires  of 
the  sieve,  while  all  the  lighter  rubbish  is  by 
the  motion  brought  to  the  top,  whence  it  is  re- 


YAM. 


YEAST. 


YAM  (Dioscorea  sativa).  A  climbing  plant, 
cultivated  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  Its 
roots  are  very  large,  flattened,  sometimes  pal- 
mated.  It  is  boiled  or  roasted  like  the  potato, 
and  is  wholesome,  palatable,  and  nutritious. 
The  flour  is  also  used  for  puddings  and  bread. 
The  D.  alnta  is  equally  cultivated;  its  root  is 
3  feet  long,  and  often  weighs  30  lbs.  Of  both 
kinds  there  are  numerous  varieties. 

YARD-DUNG.     See  Farm-Yahi)  Manure. 

YARD  OF  LAND.  A  quantity  of  land 
which  in  some  counties  in  England  signifies 
15  acres,  in  some  20,  and  in  others  24,  30,  and 
34  acres. 

YARROW  {Achillea).  A  genus  of  show5% 
free-flowering  plants,  succeeding  well  in  any 
common  soil,  and  readily  increased  by  divid- 
ing the  roots.  The  species  are  possessed  of 
aromatic,  bitter,  tonic,  and  stimulating:  quali- 
ties. In  England  the  following  are  indigenous 
perennials: — 

1.  Sneezewort  yarrow,  or  goose-tongue  {A. 
plarmica),  which  grows  in  wet  hedges,  or  about 
the  banks  of  rivers,  flowering  in  July  and  Au- 
gust. The  root  creeps  widely,  and  is  diflicult 
of  extirpation  where  the  soil  is  moist.  Stems 
upright,  about  2  feel  high ;  corymbose  at  the 
top.  Leaves  sessile,  linear,  pointed,  equally 
and  sharply  serrated,  and  of  a  glaucous  green. 
Flowers  numerous,  small,  milk-while  in  the 
disk  as  well  as  in  the  radius,  with  an  irregular 
number  of  ligulate  florets.  The  whole  plant 
has  a  pungent  flavour,  provoking  a  flow  of 
saliva,  and  this  flavour  renders  it  acceptable, 
as  Schreber  asserts,  to  sheep,  who  delight  es- 
pecially in  saltish  food.  The  sneezing  caused 
by  the  dried  and  powdered  leaves  is  rather 
owing  to  their  little,  sharp,  marginal  prickles. 
Its  name  is  derived  from  this  property  of  caus- 
ing sneezing. 

2.  Serrated  yarrow  (A.  serrata).  This  is  a 
much  less  common  species,  in  which  the  root 
is  fibrous,  leaves  linear,  lanceolate,  downy, 
deeply  serrated.  Flowers  of  a  yellowish-while 
or  bufl^  colour,  not  half  the  size  of  the  forego- 
ing. The  whole  herb  has  a  powerful  aromatic 
scent  and  bitter  flavour,  somewhat  like  tansy. 

3.  Common  yarrow  or  milfoil  {A.  millifo' 
Hum),  PI.  9,  A'.  This  species  grows  abundantly 
in  English  meadows  and  pastures.  The  root 
is  creeping,  with  smooth,  reddish,  subterrane- 
ous shoots,  which  are  warm  and  agreeably 
pungent,  partaking  of  the  flavour  and  salivat- 
ing quality  of  the  pellitory  of  Spain  (A.  py- 
rethum).  Stems  furrowed,  erect,  about  a  foot 
high.  Leaves  doubly  pinnatifid,  hairy;  seg- 
ff  ?nts  linear,  toothed,  pointed.  Flowers  nume- 
n  us,  white,  occasionally  reddish  or  purple. 
The  whole  herb  is  astringent,  and  weakly  aro- 
matic. Although  considered  a  bad  weed  in 
pasture  and  arable  lands,  in  consequence  of 
its  creeping  root.  Dr.  Anderson  and  others  have 
recommended  it  for  cultivation;  but  its  pro- 
ductive and  nutrient  properties  are  very  inferior 
to  many  other  plants  eqiially  adapted  to  light 
soils;  64  drachms  of  the  leaves  and  stems,  cut 
when  in  flower,  afforded  98  grains  of  nutritive 
matter.  Linnaeus  says  that  its  properties  are 
vuluerarv  and  styptic.    An  essential  oil  is  ex- 


tracted from  the  flowers ;  and  aj  ointrti^l 
made  of  the  leaves  is  reckoned  good  against 
the  scab  in  sheep.  A.  moschata,  an  exotic  spe- 
cies, a  native  of  Italy,  is  sudorific  and  acrid, 
and  makes  a  wholesome  food  for  cattle. 

4.  Woolly  yellow  milfoil,  or  yarrow  {A.  to- 
mentosa).  This  species  grows  about  dry  hilly 
pastures  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  root  is 
woody,  slightly  creeping,  with  many  long  fibres. 
Stems  scarcely  a  foot  high,  curved  at  the  base, 
then  erect.  Leaves  doubly  pinnatifid,  woolly, 
segments  linear,  crowded,  acute.  Flowers 
densely  corymbose,  on  woolly  stalks,  of  a 
bright  golden  yellow.  The  whole  herb,  as  well 
as  the  flowers,  has  an  aromatic  scent  when 
rubbed.  It  serves  to  decorate  rock-work  in 
gardens,  but  will  not  bear  wet  or  shade. 

YEARLINGS.  A  term  applied  to  calves, 
colts,  and  other  young  stock,  when  they  have 
completed  their  first  year. 

YEAST.  The  froth  or  scum  which  rises  on 
beer  during  the  act  of  fermentation.  (See 
BnEwiiro  and  Fermentatiox.)  It  contains  a 
variety  of  components  ;  among  others,  carbon, 
acetic  and  malic  acids,  alcohol,  potassa,  lime, 
a  saccharine,  mucilaginous  extract,  gluten,  and 
water. 

Yeast  is  an  article  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  domestic  economy,  forming  a  necessary  in- 
gredient in  the  manufacture  of  bread,  which 
would  otherwise  become  heavy  and  unwhole- 
some. When  put  in  contact  with  saccharine 
matters,  at  a  temperature  of  between  50°  and 
60°,  it  causes  fermentation,  and  changes  the 
sugar  into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid.  Yeast 
may  be  dried  and  yet  retain  its  properties,  but 
a  temperature  of  212°  destroys  it. 

The  yeast  prepared  by  the  Hungarians  will 
keep  for  a  whole  twelvemonth.  During  the 
summer  season  they  boil  a  quantity  of  wheaten 
bran  and  hops  in  water;  the  decoction  is  not 
long  in  fermenting,  and  when  this  has  taken 
place  they  throw  in  a  suflicient  portion  of  bran 
to  form  the  whole  into  a  thick  paste,  which 
they  work  into  balls,  that  are  afterwards  dried 
by  a  slow  heat.  When  wanted  for  use  they 
are  broken,  and  boiling  water  is  poured  upon 
them  ;  having  stood  a  proper  time,  the  fluid  is 
decanted,  and  in  a  fit  state  for  leavening  bread. 
See  Breao. 

"The  substance  called  yeast  or  ferment,  de- 
rives its  name  from  the  power  it  possesses  of 
causing  fermentation  in  sugar,  or  saccharine 
vegetable  juices.  It  possesses,*'  says  Liebig, 
"  all  the  characters  of  a  compound  of  nitrogen  in 
the  state  of  putrefaction  and  eremacausis. 

"Like  wood  in  the  state  of  eremacausis,  yeast 
converts  the  oxygen  of  the  surrounding  air  into 
carbonic  acid,  but  it  also  evolves  this  gas  from 
its  own  mass,  like  bodies  in  the  state  of  putre- 
faction. (Colin.)  When  kept  under  water,  it 
emits  carbonic  acid,  accompanied  by  gases  of 
an  ofl^ensive  smell  (Thenard),  and  is  at  last  con- 
verted into  a  substance  resembling  old  cheese. 
(Proust.)  But  when  its  own  putrefaction  is  com 
pleted,  it  has  no  longer  the  power  of  inducing 
fermentation  in  other  bodies.  The  presence 
of  water  is  quite  necessary  for  sustaining  the 
properties  of  ferment,  for  by  simple  pressure 
its  power  to  excite  fermentation  is  much  di 
minished,  and  is  completely  destroyed  by  drv 

1175 


YEAST. 

teg.  Its  action  is  arrested  also  by  the  terapera- 
lar«  of  boiling  water,  by  alcohol,  common  salt, 
an  excess  of  sugar,  oxide  of  mercury,  corro- 
ttre  sabliraatc,  pyroligneous  acid,  sulphurous 
acid,  nitrate  of  silver,  volatile  oils,  and,  in 
short,  by  all  antiseptic  substances. 

**  Tke  in$ohMt  pari  of  the  tubitance  called  fer- 
Mcnl  dbn  not  cauH  ftnneniation.  For  when  tht 
yeast  from  wine  or  beer  is  carefully  washed 
with  water,  care  being  taken  that  it  is  always 
covered  with  this  fluid,  the  residue  does  not 
B  fermentation. 
The  $oluhie  part  of  ferment  likemse  does  not  ex- 
riit  frrmmtation.  An  aqueous  infusion  of  yeast 
maj  be  mixed  with  a  solution  of  sugar,  and 
preserved  in  vessels  from  which  the  air  is  ex- 
cluded, without  either  experiencing  the  slight- 
est change.  What  then,  we  may  ask,  is  the  mat- 
ter in  ferment  which  excites  fermentation,  if  nei- 
ther the  soluble  nor  insoluble  parts  possess  the 
power!  This  question  has  been  answered  by 
Colin  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner.  He 
kis  shown  that  in  reality  if  is  the  soluble  part. 
Before  it  obtains  this  power,  the  decanted  in- 
ftision  must  be  allowed  to  cool  in  contact  with 
the  air,  and  to  remain  some  time  exposed  to 
its  action.  When  introduced  into  a  solution 
^f  sugar  in  this  state,  it  produces  a  brisk  fer- 
mentation ;  but  without  a  previous  exposure  to 
(he  air  it  manifests  no  such  property. 

•*  During  the  fermentation  of  sugar  by  yeast, 
both  of  these  substances  suffer  decomposition 
at  the  same  lime,  and  disappear  in  conse- 
qoence.  But  if  yeast  be  a  body  which  excites 
fermentation  by  being  itself  in  a  state  of  de- 
composition, all  other  matters  in  the  same  con- 
dition should  have  a  similar  action  upon  sugar; 
and  this  is  in  reality  the  case.  Muscle,  urine, 
isinglass,  osmazome,*  albumen,  cheese,  glia- 
dine,  gluten,  legumin,  and  blood,  when  in  a 
stale  of  putrefaction,  have  all  the  power  of 
producing  the  putrefaction  or  fermentation  of 
a  solution  of  susrar.  Yeast,  which  by  con- 
tinued washing  has  entirely  lost  the  property 
of  inducing  fermentation,  regains  it  when  its 
putrefaction  has  recommenced,  inconsequence 
of  its  being  kept  in  a  warm  situation  for  some 
lime. 

•*If  we  consider  the  process  of  the  fermenta- 
tion of  pure  sugar,  in  a  practical  point  of  view, 
we  meet  with  two  facts  of  constant  occurrence. 
When  the  quantity  of  ferment  is  too  small  in 
proportion  to  that  of  the  sugar,  its  putrefaction 
will  be  completed  before  the  transformation  of 
all  the  sugar  is  effected.  Some  sugar  here  re- 
mains undecomposed,  because  the  cause  of  its 
transformation  is  absent,  viz.,  contact  with  a 
body  in  a  state  of  decomposition. 

•♦  But  when  the  quantity  of  ferment  predomi- 
nates, a  certain  quantity  of  it  remains  after  all 
the  sugar  has  fermented,  its  decomposition  pro- 
ceeding very  slowly,  on  account  of  its  insolu- 
bility in  water.  This  residue  of  ferment  is 
still  able  to  induce  fermentation,  when  intro- 
duced into  a  fresh  solution  of  sugar,  and.  re- 
tains the  same  power  until  it  has  passed 
through  all  the  stages  of  its  own  transformation. 

"  Hence  a  certain  quantity  of  yeast  is  neces- 


•  An  extractive  animal  matter  on  which  the  peculiar 

J^™'JLf^r*J';*  »"PP«««J  to  depend  ;  hence  iu.  name,  | 

rrom  the  Greek  for  odour  and  broth.  ' 

1776  1 


YELLOW-WOOD. 

sary  in  order  to  effect  the  transformation  of  a 
certain  portion  of  sugar,  not  because  it  acts  b^ 
its  quantity  increasing  any  affinity,  but  becauss 
its  influence  depends  solely  on  its  presence, 
and  its  presence  is  necessary,  until  the  last 
atom  of  sugar  is  decomposed. 

*•  We  have  seen  that  ferment  or  yeast  is  a 
body  in  the  state  of  decomposition,  the  atoms 
of  which,  consequently,  are  in  a  state  of  mo- 
tion or  transposition.  Yeast,  placed  in  contact 
with  sugar,  communicates  to  the  elements  of 
that  compound  the  same  state,  in  consequence 
of  which,  the  constituents  of  the  sugar  arrange 
themselves  into  new  and  simpler  forms,  name- 
ly, into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid.  In  these 
new  compounds,  the  elements  are  united  toge- 
ther by  stronger  affinities  than  they  were  in 
the  sugar,  and  therefore  under  the  conditions 
in  which  they  were  produced  further  decompo- 
sition is  arrested. 

"  We  know,  also,  that  the  elements  of  sugar 
assume  totally  different  arrangements,  when 
the  substances  which  excite  their  transposition 
are  in  a  different  state  of  decomposition  from 
the  yeast  just  mentioned.  Thus,  when  sugar 
is  acted  on  by  rennet  or  putrefying  vegetable 
juices,  it  is  not  converted  into  alcohol  and 
carbonic  acid,  but  into  lactic  acid,  mannite, 
and  gum. 

"Again,  it  has  been  shown,  that  yeast  added 
to  a  solution  of  pure  sugar  gradually  disap- 
pears, but  that  when  added  to  vegetable  juices 
which  contain  gluten  as  well  as  sugar,  it  is  re- 
produced by  the  decomposition  of  the  former 
substance. 

"  The  yeast  with  which  these  liquids  are  made 
to  ferment,  has  itself  been  originally  produced 
from  gluten. 

"  The  conversion  of  gluten  into  yeast  in  these 
vegetable  juices  is  dependent  on  the  decompo- 
sition (fermentation)  of  sugar;  for,  when  the 
sugar  has  completely  disappeared,  any  gluten 
which  may  still  remain  in  the  liquid  does  not 
suffer  change  from  contact  with  the  newly  de- 
posited yeast,  but  retains  all  the  characters  of 
gluten. 

"Yeast  is  a  product  of  the  decomposition 
of  gluten  ;  but  it  passes  into  a  second  stage 
of  decomposition  when  in  contact  with  water. 
On  account  of  its  being  in  this  state  of  further 
change,  yeast  excites  fermentation  in  a  fresh 
solution  of  sugar,  and  if  this  second  saccha- 
rine fluid  should  contain  gluten,  (should  it  be 
wort,  for  example,)  yeast  is  again  generated  in 
consequence  of  the  transposition  of  the  ele- 
ments of  the  sugar  exciting  a  similar  change 
in  this  gluten. 

"  After  this  explanation,  the  idea  that  yeasc 
reproduces  itself  as  seeds  reproduce  seeds, 
cannot  for  a  moment  be  entertained."  (Liebig.) 

YELLOW-BEAR.     See  CATEUPiLtAR. 

YELLOW-TOP  (Jgrostis  alba).  A  variety 
of  Herds.  Called  also,  in  the  New  England 
states.  White-top. 

YELLOW-WEED.     See  Weld. 

YELLOW-WOOD  (^Virgilia  lutea).  This 
tree,  says  Michaux,  is  confined  to  that  part  of 
West  Tennessee  which  lies  between  the  35th 
and  37th  degrees  of  latitude,  where  it  is  com- 
monly designated  by  the  name  which  is  here 
adopted. 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

them  the  profit  they  might  derive  from  such 
foresighted  enterprise,  "What  can  be  more 
pleasant  than  to  have  the  bounds  and^imits  of 
your  own  property  preserved,  and  continued 
from  age  to  age  by  the  testimony  of  such  grow- 
ing and  living  witnesses,  in  the  spring  yielding 
a  reviving  cordial  to  your  winter-chilled  spirit, 
giving  you  an  assurance  of  the  approaching 
summer  by  their  pregnant  buds  and  musical 
inhabitants  ?  In  the  summer,  what  more 
delectable  than  the  curious  prospect  of  the 
variety  of  greenness,  dark  shades,  and  retire- 
ment from  the  scorching  sunbeams'!"  He 
well  knew,  too,  what  some  of  my  northern 
friends  are  only  now  proving  to  be  practically 
the  case,  that  "woods  also  finely  refrigerate 
the  air  in  the  summer's  parching  heats,  and 
qualify  the  dry  and  injurious  winds,  both  in 
winter,  spring,  and  autumn."  He  devotes  a 
long  chapter  to  the  profits  and  pleasures  of 
fruit  trees,  and  ridicules  very  quaintly  the  ob- 
jection too  commonly  made  to  such  plantations, 
viz.,  "  that  their  fruit  would  be  stolen."  "When," 
he  says,  "they  become  more  common,  they 
will  be  little  regarded  by  these  filchers,  or  if 
they  do  borrow  a  few  sometimes  in  their 
pockets,  or  to  make  a  few  apple-pies  withal, 
yet  that  is  a  poor  discouragement  to  an  inge- 
nious spirit,  and  much  like  that  rustick  humour 
of  one  that  would  not  improve  a  very  good 
piece  of  ground  for  that  purpose  with  fruit 
trees,  because  the  parson  would  have  the  deci- 
mation of  it,  and  so  denied  himself  the  nine 
parts,  because  the  parson  should  not  have  the 
remainder." 

Of  the  ploughs  employed  150  years  since,  he 
mentions  the  double-wheeled  or  Hertfordshire 
plough,  the  turnwrest  or  Kentish  plough, 
"  which  surpasseth  for  weight  and  clumsiness" 
the  one-wheeled  plough,  the  plain  plough,  and 
the  trenching  plough. 

W^iolridge  gives  also  sundry  directions  for 
angling,  fowling,  bird-catching,  horse-breeding, 
and  sundry  other  rural  affairs,  and  finally  he 
winds  up  with  a  Kalendarium  Rusticum.  In 
these  he  gives  various  monthly  directions,  of 
which  one  specimen  will  sutfice,  of  the  mode 
of  farming  then  commonly  adopted.  In  May 
he  directs  the  farmer  "  to  kill  ivy,  to  feed  down 
or  mow  rank  corn ;  to  sow  barley,  buckwheat, 
pease,  hemp,  and  flax,  clover-grass,  St.  Foyn, 
and  other  French  grasses ;  to  pare  and  burn 
land,  and  wean  lambs."  He  every  month,  as 
if  in  rivalry  of  the  almanac-makers  of  former 
generations,  treated  the  farmer  to  some  poetry, 
often  of  a  most  absurd  description  ;  thus,  in  the 
month  of  March,  after  having  told  them  that 
"this  month  ushers  in  the  most  welcome  sea- 
son of  the  year,"  and  that  "now  gentle  Zephyrus 
fans  the  sweet  buds,  and  the  caslestial  drops 
water  fair  Flora's  garden,"  he  could  not  help 
adding  some  of  his  own  poetry,  telling  them 
what  must  have  been  indeed  novel  informa- 
tion, that  now 

"  Tlie  lofty  mnuntains  standing  on  a  row. 
Which  but  of  late  were  perriwipe'd  with  snow, 
DoflTtheir  old  roats,  and  now  are  daily  seen 
To  stand  on  tiptoes  all  in  swasgnring  green  ; 
Meadows  and  gardens  are  prankt  up  with  buds. 
And  chirping  birds  now  chant  it  in  the  woods    ' 

"Woolridge  labo  ired  hard,  however,  in  spite 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

of  occasional  absurdities  of  expression,  to  ele- 
vate the  science  of  agriculture;  and  that  it  was 
deemed  a  science  in  the  17th  century,  is  evi- 
dent in  this  opening  address  to  the  farmer, 
when  he  says,  "Agriculture  hath  been  (not 
undeservedly)  esteemed  a  science  that  prin- 
cipally teaches  us  the  nature  and  divers  pro- 
perties and  qualities,  as  well  of  the  several 
soils,  earths,  and  places,  as  of  the  several  pro- 
ductions or  creatures,  whether  vegetable,  ani- 
mal, or  mineral,  that  naturally  proceed  or  are 
artificially  produced  from,  or  maintained  by, 
the  earth."  This  he  promises  the  husbandman 
he  will  do  "after  a  plain  and  familiar  method." 
He  soon,  however,  begins  to  illustrate  his 
"  plain  and  familiar  method,"  by  talking  of  the 
"secret,  mystical,  and  mechanick  indagations 
of  nature,  the  universal  spirit,  or  spirit  of  mer- 
cury and  of  salt ;"  and  gives  us  but  a  mean 
opinion  of  his  natural  philosophy,  by  gravely 
telling  us  that  "soon  will  horse-hairs  receive 
life  lying  in  rain-water  but  a  few  days  in  the 
heat  of  the  sun  in  spring-time." 

But  in  spile  of  these  occasional  mistakes, 
the  book  of  Woolridge  was  perhaps  the  most 
practical,  and  therefore  the  most  useful  book 
which  had  yet  appeared  treating  of  agriculture 
and  rural  affairs.  The  very  publication  of 
such  an  expensive  folio,  of  326  pages,  betrayr 
the  increasing  thirst  for  knowledge  of  the  cul- 
tivator's of  those  days,  and  the  same  remarks 
apply  generally  to  those  of  Platte  and  of  Hart' 
lib  ;  in  truth,  both  agriculture  and  agricultural 
writers  could  hardly  fail  to  keep  pace  with  the 
rapid  increase  to  the  general  slock  of  know 
ledge  which  the  age  in  which  they  flourished 
received  to  so  remarkable  an  extent;  and  this 
improvement  was  not,  as  my  brother,  Mr. 
George  Johnson  remarks  (Hist,  of  Gard.),  in 
only  one  branch  of  knowledge,  but  in  the  whole 
circle  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  reforma- 
tion was  not  confined  to  religion.  By  deliver- 
ing the  human  mind  from  servile  thraldom,  and 
teaching  man,  instead  of  bowing  blindly  to 
custom,  merely  on  account  of  its  antiquity,  to 
have  a  self-dependence,  it  gave  an  impulse  to 
improvement  which  no  tyrant  opposition  of 
either  bigotry,  indolence,  or  self-sutficiency 
could  check.  Such  men  as  Bacon,  Peiresc, 
and  Evelyn  arose,  and  whilst  the  first  traced 
the  path  which  men  of  science  should  tread,  the 
two  latter  lent  their  talents  and  their  wealth  to 
sustain  them  in  the  pursuit.  Bacon,  it  has 
been  truly  observed,  was  the  first  who  taught 
men  that  they  were  but  the  servants  and  inter- 
preters  of  nature,  capable  of  discovering  truth 
in  no  other  way  than  by  observing  and  irritat- 
ing her  operations ;  that  facts  must  be  collecied 
instead  of  speculations  formed,  and  that  the 
materials  for  the  foundations  of  true  syoiems 
of  knowledge  were  to  be  discovered,  not  in  'he 
books  of  the  ancients,  not  in  metaphysical 
theories,  not  in  the  fancies  of  men,  but  by  care- 
ful, and  laborious,  and  patient  experiments 
and  observations  in  the  external  world.  Peiresc 
was  a  munificent  man  of  letters;  his  advice, 
his  purse  were  open  to  the  votaries  of  every 
art  and  every  scfence  ;  his  library  was  stored 
with  the  literature  of  every  age  and  nation,  his 
garden  with  the  rarest  and  most  useful  exotics, 
and  these  last  he  delighted  to  spread  over  the 

1173 


WORM. 

country.  When,  indeed,  we  cast  our  eyes  over 
a  list  of  the  men  of  science  and  literature  of  all 
kinds  that  adorned  this  age,  especially  in 
chemistry  and  in  botany,  the  two  sciences  per- 
haps of  all  others  the  most  important  to  agri- 
culture, we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  how 
rapidly  it  was  rising  from  being  a  mere  art  of 
empiricism  •  and  when  we  note  how  rapidly 
the  tb..»l  for  foreign  research  was  prevalent, 
we  can  easily  perceive  how  improved  modes 
of  culture  and  new  plants  were  acquired  to 
agriculture.  Cavendish,  but  especially  Ka- 
lei^h,  by  their  visits  for  Inert  as  well  as  fame 
to  the  Spanish  settlements  of  America  in 
1580-8,  led  the  way  in  a  path  which  Lancaster 
and  Raymond  '"ollowed  in  1791,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  that  anomalous  copartnership  of 
commercial  monarchs,  the  East  India  Com- 
pany. Annual  fleets  now  returned  from  the 
ea&l  and  west,  laden  with  the  curiosities  of  both 
the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms ;  of  these 
the  potato,  tobacco,  and  tea  need  alone  be  in- 
stanced; and  although  the  views  of  men  were 
not  yet  liberal  enough  to  prompt  them  to 
voyages  of  discovery,  with  an  unmixed  desire 
of  extending  the  field  of  science,  or  an  enlarged 
wish  to  benefit  mankind,  yet  new  plants,  in 
common  with  other  hitherto  strange  natural 
products,  attracted  their  attention,  and,  though 
at  first  imported  as  novelties,  soon  became  by 
decrees  to  be  desired  and  sought  for  as  the 
luxuries  and  necessaries  of  life.  (Quart.  Jour. 
Jtgr.  rol.  xii.  p.  4G0.) 

WORM.      See     Cut-worm,    Earth- worm, 

WiRK-WOH.X,  &c. 

WORM-SEED  (Chenopodium).  See  Goose- 
foot. 

WORMS,  INTES'HNAL.  A  troublesome 
sort  of  vermin  found  in  the  intestines  of  horses 
and  other  animals.  There  is,  perhaps,  nothing 
so  destructive  to  the  health  and  appearance  of 
the  horse  as  worms.  When  they  have  obtain- 
ed a  settlement  in  the  intestines,  neither  the 
labour  of  the  groom  nor  the  liberality  of  the 
master  will  prove  of  any  avail  towards  im- 
proving the  animal's  condition  :  for  as  fast  as 
the  chyle  is  formed  from  the  aliment,  which 
ought  to  be  converted  into  blood,  these  nume- 
rous guests  first  satiate  their  craving  appe- 
tites, and  leave  but  a  scanty  supply  for  the 
exhausted  system  of  the  horse,  so  that  a  double 
allowance  of  corn  would  not  preserve  a  healthy 
state:  because  the  digestive  organs  cannot  ex- 
en  an  extraordinary  power  for  any  length  of 
lime,  without  producing  such  a  state  of  debility 
as  to  render  them  incapable  of  performing 
aAerwards  their  proper  office. 

In  these  animals,  the  most  common  kinds 
are  the  fi)llowing:— 1.  Bots,  which  many  young 
horses  are  subject  to  in  the  spring ;  2.  Those 
that  resemble  earth-worms,  and  which,  by  phy- 
sicjans,  are  called  Inmbrici ;  3.  'i'hose  that  are 
about  the  size  of  the  largest  sewing-needles, 
withflatheads.calledascarides;  4.  Thatspecies 
of  worm  cal led  tanta,  or  tape- worm.     See  Bora 

rLrKK-WORM,  &c.  ' 

WORMWOOD  (Jrtemisia,  so  named  in  ho- 
nour  of  Artemisia,  wife  of  King  Mausolus,  or 

?Tu   '^"•"^^-    '^^^'■^  ^'^  ^^^•-  perennial- 
rooted  bitter  aromatic   herbs   included  under 
ih.s  name,  and  cultivated  solely  for  medicinal 
1174 


WOUNDWORT. 

purposes:  —  Common  wormwood  (Jl.  aiy 
sialhium)  is  a  native  of  almost  every  pait  of 
Europe,^ and  in  England  is  found  by  road-sides 
I  on  heaps  of  rubbish,  &c.  It  is  an  erect  under 
shrub,  with  hoary  tri-pinnatisert  leaves.  The 
flowers  in  small,  globose,  nodding,  racemose 
panicles.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the 
drooping  sea-wormwood  {J.  rnuritima),  which 
is  found  on  salt  marshes  and  the  sea-coast. 
Roman  wormwood  {A.  pontica)  is  a  native  of 
Italy;  and  Santonicum  or  Tartarian  worm- 
wood {A.  Santonica),  which  is  a  mere  variety 
of  A.  maritima,  of  Persia  and  Siberia.  The 
soil  best  suited  to  the  growth  of  these  plants  is 
one  that  is  dry,  light,  and  poor,  otherwise  they 
become  luxuriant,  and  are  defective  in  their 
medicinal  qualities,  as  well  as  in  their  power 
to  withstand  the  rigour  of  the  winter.  Any 
situation  will  suit  the  common  and  the  sea- 
wormwoods  that  is  open  and  unconfined;  but 
the  exotic  species  require  to  be  sheltered  from 
the  severe  aspects.  In  a  severe  winter,  the 
Tartarian  can  only  be  preserved  under  a  frame. 
The  sea-wormwood  seldom  flourishes  from  the 
want  of  a  genial  soil;  the  application  of  salt 
would  undoubtedly  be  beneficial. 

They  are  all  propagated  by  seed,  as  well  as 
slips  and  cuttings,  the  first  of  which  may  be 
sown  in  March  or  April,  and  the  latter  planted 
during  June,  July,  and  beginning  of  x'Vugust. 
The  seed  is  sown  thinly  broadcast,  and  when 
the  plants  arrive  at  a  height  of  2  or  3  inches, 
are  weeded  and  thinned  to  6  inches  asunder; 
and  those  taken  away  pricked  out  at  a  similar 
distance,  water  being  given  if  the  weather  is 
at  all  dry.  The  slips  and  cuttings  are  planted 
in  a  shady  border,  about  8  inches  apart,  and 
water  given  regularly  every  evening  until  they 
have  taken  root.  They  are  all  to  be  trans- 
planted finally  early  in  the  following  spring,  by 
whichever  mode  they  are  raised,  setting  the 
plants  at  last  18  inches  apart.  See  Mugwort, 
and  SouTHBUNwooi). 

WOUNDWORT  (Stachys,  from  stachys,  a 
spike,  alluding  to  the  mode  of  flowering).  A 
genus  of  rather  weedy-looking  plants,  hardly 
worth  cultivating  for-  ornament.  They  all 
succeed  in  common  garden  soil.  The  peren- 
nial kinds  are  easily  increased  by  dividing  the 
roots  in  spring  or  autumn.  The  seeds  of  the 
annual  kinds  should  be  sown  in  spring,  in  the 
open  border.  As  a  vulnerary  these  plants  have 
no  power.  There  are  five  indigenous  species: 
the  hedge  woundwort  (S.  sylvatica)  ;  the  ambi- 
guous woundwort  (S.  ambigua) ;  the  marsh 
woundwort  (S.  palustris);  the  downy  wound- 
wort (S.  germanica) ;  and  the  corn  wound- 
wort (S.  arvensis).  The  marsh  woundwort 
has  a  fleshy  root,  creeping  extensively;  throw- 
ing out  in  autumn  a  number  of  tuberous 
shoots,  which  render  it,  in  low,  wet  ground, 
very  difficult  of  extirpation.  This,  therefore, 
should  be  attempted  in  summer  before  these 
knobs  are  produced,  when  the  flowers  are 
appearing. 

Several  species  of  woundwort,  or  hedge- 
nettle,  are  found  in  the  United  States.  One, 
called  S.  sylvatica,  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  on  the  skirts  of  thickets,  giving  out  the 
same  fetid  odour  as  the  European  species. 
The  flowers  are,  however,  paler.     (^NuttalL) 


WINTER  CHICKWEED. 

moved  by  hand.  This  implement  is  more, 
perhaps,  adapted  for  millers;  and  its  cost  pre- 
sents, in  its  present  form,  a  bar  to  its  general 
introduction.  If  it  could  be  reduced  to  the 
power  of  being  worked  by  hand,  it  would  be  a 
▼ery  valuable  assistant  to  the  proper  prepara- 
tion of  the  ?rain  for  market. 

The  American  machines  for  cleaning  grain 
are  commonly  designated  Faiu,  Grain  Fan$, 
and  m  the  Eastern  Stales,  Winning  MiU$.  Their 
construction  ditl'ers  materially  from  such  as 
are  used  for  sinriilar  purposes  ia  Europe,  being 
much  more  simple,  and  not  having  more  than 
half  the  machinery.  The  old  *♦  Dutch  Fan," 
formerly  used,  and  which  had  no  shaking  screen^ 
is  now  superseded  by  highly  improved  fans. 
The  principal  modern  improvement  in  these 
consists  in  the  application  of  a  screen  attached 
to  the  shaker,  which  more  eflectually  rids  the 
g^ain  from  cockle  and  dirt  that  cannot  be 
blown  out.  The  ordinary  size  of  an  American 
lin  is  about  5  feet  in  the  frame  or  boarding,  3^ 
feet  in  height,  aod  about  2  feet  4  or  6  inches  in 
width.  The  blower  or  fan  is  about  2^  feet  in 
djameter.  Screens  and  ridd'es  from  18  to  20 
inches  square,  from  8  to  6  riddles  accompany- 
ing each  fan.  The  most  simple  arrrangeroent 
for  wiirking  a  shaker  is  a  small  crank  attached 
to  a  rod  leading  from  the  side  of  the  fan  to  the 
riddle-frame  or  shaker. 

A  fan  of  the  dimensions  described  will  clean 
from  40  to  60  bushels  of  wheat  per  hour.  Eng- 
lish farnierswho  have  come  to  the  United  States, 
say  that  ihe»e  simple  winnowing-machines  do 
far  more  work  than  the  English,  which  last  are 
complicated  with  much  machinery,  for  cleaning 
smut,  dec.  (See  SxtT-MiLL.)  The  English 
winnowing-machines  cost  from  $40  to  $60, 
whilst  the  American  are  made  for  $16  to  $34, 
according  to  the  size  and  number  of  screens ;  at 
which  prices  they  are  furnished,  among  other 
places,  at  No.  H»f.  \i:>rk«>t  street,  Philadelphia, 
by  Mr.  Chnnti  iral  implement  maker. 

WINTEK  «  i:BD.  See  CaicKWBtn, 

EraopKAN-.  , 

WINTER-CRESS  (Burharta,  on  account 
of  its  being  formerly  called  the  herb  of  St. 
Barbara).  There  are,  in  England,  two  indi- 
genous species;  1.  The  bitter  winter-cress,  or 
yellow  rocket  {B.  vuUaris),  a  perennial,  which 
is  common  in  rather  moist  waste  ground,  about 
hedges,  or  in  marshy  meadows.  The  root  is 
tapering,  somewhat  woody ;  stem  about  2  feet 
high,  simple  or  branched,  leafy,  stout,  angular, 
and  furrowed.  Lower  leaves  lyrate,  the  termi- 
nal lobe  roundish ;  upper  obovate,  toothed, 
strongly  ribbed,  of  a  fine  texture,  quite  smooth. 
Flowers  bright  yellow,  in  round-headed  corym- 
bose clusters.  Pod  quadrangular,  about  an 
inch  long.  The  whole  herb  is  nauseously  bit- 
ter, and  m  some  degree  mucilaginous.  A  dou- 
ble-rt(»uered  variety,  with  innumerable  petals 
produced  in  long  succession,  and  turning  white 
as  they  fade,  is  frequent  in  gardens.  2.  Early 
winter-cress  (JB.  pracox).  This  biennial  spe- 
cies is  found  in  watery,  grassy  places,  or  on  the 
banks  of  ditches.  Stems,  one  or  more,  erect, 
li  or  2  feet  high,  smooth,  a  little  branched, 
tinged  at  the  bottom  with  a  violet  hue.  Lower 
leaves  lyrate:  upper  deeply  pinnatifid,  with 
huear,  oblong,  entire  segments;  flowers  fewer, 


WIRE-WORM. 

smaller,  and  paler  than  those  of  B.  vulgaris. 
Pods  thrice  as  long  as  in  that  species,  exactly 
square,  smooth.  This  species  propagates 
Itself  abundantly  by  seed,  but  the  root  is  not 
perennial.  It  may  be  eaten  like  water-cresses, 
with  which  it  agrees  in  flavour,  except  being 
rather  more  pnnjrent. 

WINTER.GREE]>ip(Pyro/fl,  from  the  leaves 
being  similar  to  those  of  the  pear  tree).  A 
genus  of  very  pretty  plants,  rather  difficult  to 
cultivate.  A  shaded  peat  border  appears  to 
suit  them  best,  and  they  are  readily  increased 
by  divisions  or  seeds.  The  whole  genus  is 
astringent  and  tonic.  There  are,  in  England, 
five  native  species, all  perennials, as  follows: — 
1.  Round-leaved  winter-green  (Pyrola  roiundi- 
folui).  2.  Intermediate  winter-green  {P. media). 
3.  Lesser  winier-green  (P.  minor).  4.  Serrated 
winter-green  {P.  semndu)  ;  and,  5.  Single-flow- 
ered winter-green  (P.  nmjlora).  They  all  in- 
habit alpine  wooded  localities;  the  flowers  are 
while  or  reddish,  often  highly  fragrant.  P.  uni- 
flora  is  one  of  the  most  curious  and  elegant  of 
British  flowers. 

WiNTRR-GiiKEx,  Ameiiican  (Pyrola  nmheU 
lala),  Pip.sissiwa.  The  Chimaphila  umbellata 
of  Nullall.  This  plant  is  very  abundant  in 
cool  situations  in  the  United  States.  It  has  a 
long  creeping  root,  and  ascending  stem  3  to  6 
inches  long,  leafy  at  the  top.  The  leaves  are 
of  a  deep  green  and  very  glossy,  possessing  a 
peculiar  flavour,  some  bitterness,  and  a  mode- 
rate degree  of  astringency.  Under  the  Indian 
name  of  Pipnssiwu,  this  plant  has  been  long 
noted  as  a  popular  medicine.  It  has  doubtless 
some  virtues,  but  its  properties  are  very  often 
misapplied  in  its  empirical  use. 

The  Spotted  Winter-Grten  {Pyrola  maculata) 
is  also  a  common  plant  in  the  United  States 
erroneously  called  Pipsissiwa  by  Pursh.  Its 
properties  are  similar  to  those  of  the  first- 
named  species,  though  weaker.  Five  or  six 
additional  species  of  the  Pyrola  genus  are 
found  in  the  United  States. 

WINTER-PROUD.  A  term  provincially 
applied  to  wheat  which  in  wmler  puts  on  a 
more  green  and  luxuriant  appearance  than  it 
is  able  to  support  in  the  following  summer;  or 
in  which  the  ramifications  become  too  nume- 
rous to  be  kept  up,  or  brought  to  maturity,  from 
the  previous  over-exertion  of  the  soil.  In 
these  cases  the  crops  decline  during  the  spring 
and  summer,  and  at  harvest  yield  imperfectly, 
falling  much  below  other  crops  which  had  a 
more  backward  appearance  in  the  winter. 

WINTER- WEED.  A  name  given,  in  Nor- 
folk and  other  parts,  to  the  ivy-leaved  speed- 
well (Veroiiirn  hederi folia).     See  Speeowell. 

WIRE-WORM  (Elaler  segefis).  These  are 
larvaB  of  that  tribe  of  insects  named  Elateridce, 
or  click-beetles,  which  are  readily  known  by 
having  the  sternum  produced  behind  into  a 
strong  spine  fitted  to  enter  a  groove  in  the  ab- 
domen situated  between  the  intermediate  pair 
of  legs.  By  bringing  these  parts  suddenly  into 
contact,  the  insects  are  enabled  to  s})ring  to 
some  height  into  the  air,  and  thus  recover 
their  natural  position,  when  they  happen 
to  fall  on  their  backs,  which  they  frequen dy 
do,  when  dropping  from  plants  to  the  grov.nd. 
A  special  provision  of  this  kind  is  rendered 

U63 


WIRE-WORM. 

^,  in  consequence  of  the  shorlness  and 
veairness  of  iheir  legs.  The  wire-worms  have 
a  lone,  slender,  and  cylindrical  body,  covered 
bv  H  hard  crust,  which  has  obtained  for  them 
the  .ilH.ve  name.  They  are  composed  of  twelve 
fce;.'mfi»ts  filling  closely  to  each  other,  and  are 
j.:..v  ided  with  six  conical  scaly  feet,  placed  in 

?air»  on  ihe  three    seeri^nts   next   the  head. 
'he  lalier  is  furnished  with   short  antennae, 
palpi,  and  two  .«iin>ng  mandibles  or  jaws. 
I  p wards  of  sixty  different  species  of  these 

; >-   -"iir  in  Britain,  and  it  is  probable  that 

ible  pri»portion  of  them  feed  upon 
t  .  iluable  cultivated  plants.   The  same 

»pecie«  of  larva  does  not  appear  to  confine 
itself  lo  one  kind  of  food,  but  attacks  indiscri- 
minately the  roots  of  grain  and  other  grasses, 
as  well  as  esculent  roots,  such  as  turnips,  car- 
rots, radishes,  6cc,  But  it  is  at  the  same  time 
deserving  of  notice,  that  as  a  strong  similarity 
prevails  among  larvae  specifically  distinct,  it  is 
probable  that  different  kinds  may  often  have 
been  confounded,  and  a  more  correct  know- 
led^xe  may  prove  them  to  be  more  restricted  in 
their  choice  of  food   than  is  at  present  sup- 

So»ed:  this*  at  least,  is  rendered  not  unlikely 
y  what  is  observed  in  analogous  cases.  We 
arc  as  yet  acquainted  with  the  metamorphoses 
and  habits  of  a  very  small  number  of  these 
in!iccts ;  and  it  is,  therefore,  highly  desirable 
that  whcneirer  a  destructive  species  of  wire- 
worm  prevails,  it  should  be  traced  to  the  per- 
fect Ci>ndition.  This,  however,  is  attended 
with  considerable  difficulty,  owing  to  the  length 
of  Jime  they  continue  in  the  larva  state,  ex- 
tending, in  many  instances,  to  several  years. 

This  insect  occurs  in  considerable  plenty 
throughout  the  country  in  grass  fields  and  pas- 
lure  lands,  and  is  usually  found  creeping 
among  ihe  herbage,  or  lying  at  the  sides  of 
stones;  it  is  scarcely  ever  observed  on  the 
win/.  The  extent  of  the  injury  they  sometimes 
occasion  may  be  estimated  fr  )m  the  fact,  that 
a  sin;rle  worm  has  been  observed  to  bite  from 
8  to  20  plants  in  a  very  short  time;  and  they 
are  occasionally  so  abundant,  that  from  4  to  8 
have  been  turned  up  by  the  spade  in  a  space 
of  4  square  feet.  The  depredations  of  the 
wire-worm  in  England  being  principally  con- 
ftned  to  wheat  sown  upon  clover  leys,  old  pas- 
lore.H  recently  broken  up,  pea  and  bean  stub- 
bles, Ac,  we  may  suppose  the  general  average 
of  the  injury  to  amount  to  about  a  twentieth 
part  of  what  is  sown  upon  this  description  of 
lands.  This  may  be  deemed  a  very  fair  and 
moderate  calculation. 

When  the  fields  lie  fallow,  these  insects  conti- 
nue to  feed  on  the  grass  and  other  weeds,  which 
are  frequently  allowed  to  overrun  the  surface ; 
whereas,  if  the  soil  were  kept  clean,  they  would 
either  die  for  want  of  food,  or  be  compelled  to 
remove  to  some  other  place.  As  these  larvs 
inrariablv  live  beneath  the  surface  of  the  soil, 
erery  plan  sugeesied  for  their  destruction  must 
oe  founded  on  this  consideration. 

Without  adverting  to  this  fact,  many  super- 
ficial applications,  such  as  strewing  the  sur- 
ffice  with  quicklime,  soot,  &c.,  have  been  tried 
wiinout  effect  The  most  obvious  remedy  is  to 
satura-e  the  soil  with  some  fluid  which  has 
be«i:  previously  ascertained  to  destroy  the  in- 
1164 


WIRE-WORM. 

sects  without  injuring  the  plants;  that  is,  if  the 
latter  be  of  a  kind  which  it  is  necessary  to 
preserve,  as  will  usually  be  the  case.  In  a  fal- 
low field,  this  precaution  need  not  be  observed, 
as  a  double  benefit  would  ensue  from  the  de- 
struction of  both  insects  and  weeds.  More 
carefully  conducted  experiments,  and  on  a 
more  extensive  scale  than  any  that  have  yet 
been  undertaken,  will  be  necessary  to  show 
what  kind  of  liquid  is  best  adapted  for  this 
purpose.  Probably,  different  substances  will 
be  found  most  useful  in  different  situations,  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  chemi- 
cal ingredients  which  enter  into  its  composi- 
tion. The  latter  consideration  should  be  par- 
ticularly attended  to  in  all  experiments  on  the 
subject,  as  most  likely  to  suggest  the  most  ap- 
propriate remedy;  and  it  might  even  happen 
that  the  fluid  employed  to  destroy  the  insects 
might  be  so  managed  as  to  produce  a  most 
beneficial  change  in  the  chemical  qualities  oi 
the  soil.  If  a  strong  saline  solution,  for  exam- 
ple, should  be  found  to  kill  the  insects,  as  it  is 
very  likely  to  do,  there  are  few  soils  which 
would  not  derive  benefit  from  such  an  applica- 
tion. Of  course,  many  substances  prove 
speedily  fatal  to  these  insects,  and  among  these 
the  choice  would  have  to  be  determined  by 
cheapness  and  ease  of  application.  Beirkan 
der,  a  Swedish  observer,  who  has  investigated 
their  habits,  found  that  they  lived  among — 


Garlic 

Spruce  leaves    - 
Fir  leaves 
Ledum  paiustre 
Myrica  gale 
111  water    - 


Days.  Hours. 

9  0 

0  14 

0  12 

0  9 

0  2 

4  0 


He  suggests  that  such  of  these  plants  as 
proved  most  speedily  fatal  should  be  mixed 
with  the  manure.  He  also  considers  it  of  great 
advantage  to  cause  children  to  follow  the 
plough,  and  pick  up  all  that  happen  to  be 
turned  up.  He  states  that  in  this  way  he  has 
seen  351  wire- worms  collected  in  a  field  not 
exceeding  600  feet  Ipy  56. 

Sir  .Joseph  Banks  suggested  a  very  simple 
plan  for  alluring  the  wire-worms  from  the 
plants,  and  collecting  them  that  they  might  be 
destroyed.  This  consisted  merely  in  burying 
slices  of  potato,  stuck  upon  skewers,  near  the 
seeds  sown.  As  the  larva?  arevery  fond  of  this 
root,  they  leave  the  young  plants  and  fix  upon 
it.  These  slices  require  to  be  examined  every 
day,  and  the  wire-worms  collected  upon  them 
destroyed.  Mr.  Tallant  affirms  that  he  has  fre- 
quently freed  fields  entirely  from  wire-worms 
by  sowing  a  crop  of  white  mustard-seed.  The 
experiment  he  has  tried  so  frequently,  and  in 
circumstances  so  well  calculated  to  demon- 
strate its  effects,  that  he  is  perfectly  satisfied 
that  the  reined/  is  efficient.  "Encouraged," 
he  observes,  "  by  the  results  of  my  former 
trials,  I  sowed  a  whole  field  of  42  acres,  which 
had  never  repaid  me  for  19  years,  in  conse- 
quence of  nearly  every  crop  being  destroyed 
by  the  wire-worm ;  and  I  am  warranted  in 
stating  that  not  a  single  wire-worm  could  be 
found  the  following  year;  and  the  crop  of 
wheat  throughout,  which  was  reaped  last  har- 
vest, was  superior  to  any  I  b'^d  s^rown  for  21 
years.    I  am,  therefore,  unc^'^r  a  "^irong  persua- 


WISP. 

sion  that  the  wire-worm  may  be  successfully 
repelled  and  eradicated  by  carefully  destroying 
all  weeds  and  roots,  drilling  white  mustard- 
seed,  and  keeping  the  ground  clear  by  hoeing."  . 
(Brit.  Farm.  Mag.  1831.)  | 

Nature  herself  has  taken  means  to  check  [ 
their  superabundant  increase  by  making  them 
the  prey  of  a  small  ichneumon,  which  searches  i 
out  their  retreats,  and  deposits  its  eggs  in  their 
bodies,  which  are  consumed  by  the  parasitical 
larvae  as  soon  as  hatched."  (Mr.  Duncan,  Qiunt. 
Journ.  of  A^r.  vol.  viii.  pp.  96,  348.)  (See  Lv- 
SECTs.)  Under  the  head  Beetle,  at  page  174, 
the  American  wire-worms  have  been  described 
as  materially  differing  in  structure  and  habits 
from  those  of  Europe. 

WISP.  A  term  applied  to  a  small  bunch 
of  hay  or  straw,  when  used  in  rubbing  down 
horses  or  cattle. 

WITHY.  A  name  sometimes  given  to  the 
flexible  boughs  of  willows  and  osiers. 

WO  AD,  DYER'S  {hatis  tinctoria).  This  is  a 
biennial  plant,  growing  wild  in  cultivated  fields 
and  about  borders  in  England,  but  rare.  As 
the  ancient  Britons  are  reported  to  have  paint- 
ed their  bodies  with  the  blue  colour  obtained 
from  this  plant,  which  is  still  used  in  dyeing, 
the  woad  is  most  probably  an  original  produc- 
tion of  England;  though  what  occurs  now  and 
then  about  cultivated  fields  is  supposed  to  have 
escaped  from  the  crops  occasionally  raised, 
chiefly  in  the  middle  part  of  the  island.  The 
naturalized  plants  are  less  perfectly  smooth, 
and  far  less  luxuriant  than  the  cultivated  ones. 
This  plant  has  a  tapering  and  fibrous  root. 
The  stem  rises  2  or  5  feet  high,  wand-like, 
slightly  glaucous,  leafy,  panicled  at  the  top. 
Panicle  of  many  compound  racemose  branches, 
beset  with  diminished  lanceolate  leaves,  all  of 
a  yellow  hue  as  well  as  the  stalks.  Flowers 
numerous,  small,  bright  yellow. 

Woad  has  been  cultivated  in  France  from 
time  immemorial.  In  England  its  culture  is 
mostly  confined  to  Lincolnshire,  where  it  is  a 
common  practice  to  take  rich  flat  tracts  near 
rivers,  at  a  high  price,  for  the  purpose  of  grow- 
ing ir  for  2  or  4  yeanS-  Those  who  engage  in 
this  sort  of  culture  form  a  sort  of  colony,  and 
move  from  place  to  place  as  they  complete 
their  engagementj;.  It  is  sometimes,  however, 
grown  by  stationary  farmers.  The  leaves  are 
the  parts  of  the  plant  used,  and  it  is  considered 
as  a  severe  crop. 

There  is  a  variety  of  woad,  called  the  Dalma- 
tian, described  by  Miller,  and  also  a  wild  sort, 
but  only  the  common  is  cultivated  in  England. 
The  soil  for  woad  should  be  deep  and  per- 
fectly fresh,  such  as  those  of  the  rich,  mellow, 
loamy,  and  deep  vegetable  kind.  Where  this 
culture  is  carried  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
perfection,  as  in  Lincolnshire,  the  deep,  rich, 
putrid,  alluvial  soils  on  the  flat  tracts  extend- 
ing upon  the  borders  of  the  large  rivers,  are 
chiefly  employed  for  the  growth  of  this  sort  of 
crop ;  and  it  has  been  shown  by  repeated  trials 
that  it  answers  most  perfectly  when  they  arc 
broken  up  for  it  immediately  from  a  state  of 
sward. 

The  preparation  of  the  soil,  when  woad  is  to  be 
grown  on  grass  land,  may  either  be  effected  by 
deep  pluughings,  with  the  aid  of  the  winter's 


WOx-VD,  DEER'S. 

frost;  cross-ploughing  and  harrowing  in  spring; 
by  deep  ploughing  and  harrowing  in  spring;  by 
paring  and  burning;  or  by  trench-ploughing  or 
spade-trenching.  The  first  mode  appears 'the 
worst,  as  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  reduce  old 
turf  in  one  year,  and  even  if  this  is  done,  the 
danger  from  the  grub  and  wire-worm  is  a  suf- 
ficient argument  against  it.  By  ploughing  deep 
in  February,  and  soon  afterwards  sowing,  the 
plants  may  germinate  before  the  grub  is  able 
to  rise  to  the  surface  ;  by  trench-ploughing  the 
same  purpose  will  be  more  effectually  obtained; 
and,  best  of  all,  by  spade-trenching.  But  a  me- 
thod which  is  equally  effectual  with  the  first, 
more  expeditious,  and  which  has  a  superiority 
over  it  in  more  completely  destroying  grubs, 
insects,  and  other  vermin,  which  are  apt  to 
feed  on  the  plants  in  their  early  growth,  is  that 
of  paring  and  burning.  This  is,  however, 
chiefly  practised  where  the  sward  is  rough  and 
abounds  with  rushes,  sedge,  and  other  plants 
of  the  coarse  kind,  but  might  be  had  recourse 
to  on  others  with  benefit. 

The  time  of  sowing  may  be  extended  from  Feb- 
ruary to  July.  Early  sowing,  however,  is  to  be 
preferred,  as  in  that  case  the  plants  come  up 
stronger,  and  afford  more  produce  the  first 
season. 

The  mode  of  smving  is  generally  broadcast,  but 
the  plant  might  be  most  advantageously  grown 
in  rows  and  cultivated  with  the  horse-hoe.  The 
rows  may  be  9  inches  or  a  foot  apart,  and  the 
seed  deposited  2  inches  in  depth.  The  quantity 
of  seed  for  the  broadcast  method  is  5  or  6  lbs. 
to  the  acre  ;  for  the  drill  mode,  2  lbs.  are  more 
than  sufficient,  the  seed  being  smaller  than  that 
of  the  turnip.  New  seed,  where  it  can  be  pro- 
cured, should  always  be  sown  in  preference  to 
such  as  has  been  kept  for  some  time ;  but  when 
of  the  latter  kind,  it  should  be  steeped  for  some 
time  before  it  is  put  into  the  ground. 

The  after-culture  of  the  woad  consists  in  hoe- 
ing, thinning,  prong-stirring,  and  weeding, 
which  operations  may  be  practised  by  hand  or 
horse-tools,  as  in  the  culture  of  teazle. 

In  respect  to  the  business  of  gathering  the  crops, 
with  the  spring-sown  ones,  the  leaves  will  ge- 
nerally be  ready  to  be  gathered  towards  the 
latter  end  of  June  or  beginning  of  July,  accord, 
ing  to  the  nature  of  the  soil,  season,  and  cli 
mate ;  but  for  those  put  in  at  a  later  period  it 
the  summer,  they  are  often  fit  to  be  gathered 
earlier.  This  business  should,  however,  con- 
stantly be  executed  as  soon  as  the  leaves  are 
fully  grown,  while  they  retain  their  perfect 
green  colour  and  are  highly  succulent,  as, 
when  they  are  let  remain  till  they  begin  to  turn 
pale,  much  of  their  goodness  is  said  to  be  ex- 
pended, and  they  become  less  in  quantity,  and 
of  an  inferior  quality  for  the  purposes  of  the 
dyer.  In  the  execution  of  this  sort  of  business, 
a  number  of  baskets  are  usually  provided  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  crop,  into  which 
the  leaves  are  thrown  as  they  are  taken  from 
the  plants,  which  is  effected  by  the  hand,  by 
grasping  them  firmly  and  giving  them  a  sort 
of  a  sudden  twist.  In  favourable  seasons, 
where  the  soils  are  rich,  the  plants  will  often 
rise  to  the  height  of  8  or  10  inches:  but  iu 
other  circumstances  they  seldom  atcain  mere 
I  than  4  or  5 ;  and  where  the  lands  are  well  ma- 
'  5F  •    1165 


WOLFS-BANE. 


WOOL. 


^      in  the  callure  of  the  plants,  they  will 

often  tJiord  two  or  three  gatherings,  but  the 
best  euluvaiors  seldoro  lake  more  than  two, 
which  are  sometimes  mixed  together  in  the 
■utoufaciuring  of  them.  It  is  necessary  that 
llw  after  croppings,  when  they  are  taken,  are 
eoMlantiv  kept  separate  from  the  others,  as 
IIm^p  w.      '  .'  the  whole  if  blended  together, 

aad  Ci'  .hmini.Nh  the  value  of  the  pro- 

daee.  1»  .-  -i-i  that  the  best  method,  where 
a  third  crvppiog  is  either  wholly  or  partially 
■Mde,  IN  to  keep  it  separate,  forming  it  into  an 
ialerior  kind  of  woad. 

Tk*  prvthut  ia  mostly  from  about  a  ton  to  a 
loB  and  a  half  of  green  leaves.  The  price 
▼artes  considerably;  but  for  woad  of  the  prime 

Duality  It  is  oAen  from  25/.  to  30/.  the  ton,  and 
n  thai  of  an  inferior  quality  6/.  or  71.,  and 
aometimes  much  more. 

T^prqtart  it  for  the  dyer,  it  is  bruised  by  ma- 
ehinery  to  press  out  the  watery  part;  it  is  after- 
wards formed  into  balls  and  fermented,  re- 
froand,  and  fermented  in  vats,  where  it  is 
evaporated  into  cakes  in  the  manner  of  indigo. 
The  haulm  is  burned  for  manure  or  spread 
over  the  straw^yard,  to  be  fermented  along  with 
•iraw«dang. 

The  WK  of  woad  in  dyeing  is  as  a  basis  for 
the  black  and  other  colours. 

To  •  iw  $eed,  leave  some  of  the  plants  unde- 
oaded  of  their  leaves  the  second  year,  and 
when  it  is  ripe  in  July  or  August,  treat  it  like 
tan»ip>»eed. 

Tkt  Only  distaan  to  which  the  woad  is  liable 
are  the  mildew  and  rust;  when  young  it  is 
oAen  attacked  by  the  fly,  and  obliged  to  be  re- 
sown,  and  this  even  on  winter-ploughed  grass 
Iand>  more  than  once.    {Loudon.) 

WOLF'S-BANE  {Aconitum).  A  genus  of 
ornameDtal,  tall,  free-flowering,  very  hardy 
plants,  succeeding  well  under  the  shade  of 
IffMs;  increased  by  division  or  by  seeds.  All 
the  tpeoies  are  to  be  dreaded,  being  of  a  poi- 
•onoas  quality,  highly  narcotic,  and  acid.  The 
aconite  han,  however,  become  of  great  service 
as  a  narcotic  in  many  very  troublesome  disor- 
ders. One  species,  the  common  wolf's-bane 
or  monkVhood  {A.  napellus),  is  a  native  of 
Greece,  but  now  grows  wild  in  this  country  in 
wat^r)'  places.  It  is  perennial  in  habit.  Root 
fleshy,  tapering;  stem  erect,  simple,  leafy, 
dolhed  wuh  minute,  close  hairs,  and  terminat- 
ing m  a  solitary,  simple,  upright,  spike-like 
panicle  of  Urge,  dark-blue,  helmeted  flowers, 
without  scent.  The  nectaries  are  full  of  honey, 
and  form  the  spur  of  the  flower.  Leaves  deeply 
five^lefi,  cut,  with  linear  segments,  furrowed 
above,  and  of  a  deep  green,  but  pale  beneath. 
8ee  .\ro«iTB. 

WOOD.  The  fibrous  or  ligneous  substance 
of  which  the  branches,  trunks,  and  roots  of 
trees  are  principally  composed.  In  vascular 
trunks,  the  hardest  wood  is  always  in  the 
centre.  See  Bark,  Libbr,  Liowkx,  Timber. 
raKKR,  fee,. 
WOODBINE.  See  HosBTsucKLE. 
WOOD-RUSH  (ZucToia,  from  the  Gramen 
iMsulst,  or  glow-worm  grass  of  Bauhin).  These 
plants  are  nearly  related  to  Juncu$,  from  which 
they  are  at  once  distinguished  by  their  flat 
.  They  possess  little  beauty,  and  are  of  I 
llOQ    • 


Iravfls 


the  easiest  culture.  There  are  seven  indige- 
nous species,  all  of  which  are  described  in 
Smith's  Eng.  Flor.  vol.  ii.  p.  177. 

WOODSIA  (named  in  honour  of  Joseph 
Woods,  F.  L.  S.,  an  excellent  practical  British 
botanist,  who  first  illustrated  our  native  species 
of  Rosa).  A  genus  of  small  ferns,  of  which 
two  species  only  have  hitherto  been  discover- 
ed : — the  oblong  Woodsia  (  W.  ilvensis),  and  the 
rounded-leaved  Woodsia  (  IV. hyper borea).  These 
ferns  grow  best  in  peat  and  loam  mixed,  and 
are  increased  by  division,  or  by  seed.  Their 
roots  are  fibrous;  fronds  tufted,  erect,  stalked, 
pinnate,  pinnatifid,  clothed  with  simple  hairs, 
or  narrow-pointed  scales.  (Smith's  Eng.  Flor, 
vol.  iv.  p.  322.) 

WOOD,  PRESERVATION  OF.  To  prevent 
decay  in  wood  exposed  to  the  destructive 
agents  existing  in  air,  earth,  and  water,  va- 
rious devices  have  been  resorted  to  with  more 
or  less  success.  Independently  of  other  inter- 
ests connected  with  internal  transportation, 
and  the  commercial  and  naval  marine,  those 
of  agriculture  are  subjected  to  enormous  costs 
to  supply  the  waste  of  timber.  It  has  been 
stated  by  a  high  authority,  (J,  S.  Skinner,) 
"that  the  setting  and  repair  of  fences  of  the 
U.  S.  actually  cost  the  country  as  much  as  the 
building  of  the  towns  and  cities."  In  Eu- 
rope, where  the  want  of  timber  is  most  se- 
verely felt,  various  plans  have  been  resorted 
to,  among  which  are  —  Kyanizing,  or  saturat- 
ing wood  with  a  dilute  solution  of  corrosive 
sublimate, — Burnettizing,  a  similar  process,  in 
which  a  solution  of  chloride  of  zinc  is  substi- 
tuted for  the  mercurial  preparation,  &c.  The 
effort  to  accomplish  the  desired  object  through 
the  transfusion  into  the  pores  of  wood  various 
saline  solutions,  either  alone  or  commingled, 
has,  however,  proved  partially  successful,  and 
sometimes  has  exerted  an  unfavourable  effect 
upon  the  fibre,  rendering  the  wood  brash.  The 
most  successful  method  proposed  at  present 
consists  of  a  simple  and  cheap  process,  through 
which  wood  is  charged  and  permeated  by  hot 
oleaginous  vapors  arising  from  the  distillation 
of  coiil-tar,  one  of  the  essential  ingredients  of 
which  is  that  special  preserver  of  all  vegetable 
and  animal  matter,  creosote  or  carbolic  acid. 
This  not  only  preserves  wood  from  ordinary 
decay,  but  from  the  destruction  wrought  by 
worms  and  insects  found  on  land,  and  abound- 
ing in  the  sea.  The  commonest  woods  are 
thus  rendered  not  only  imperishable,  but  often 
greatly  improved  in  texture,  and  better  adapted 
to  all  useful  purposes. 

For  preserving  fence-posts,  &c.,  charring 
the  part  put  under  ground  serves  as  a  partial 
preserver.  In  this  case  it  is  better  to  have 
the  coal  scraped  off,  as  it  assists  in  detaining 
moisture.  The  preserving  agent  here  is  prob- 
ably not  so  much  the  charcoal  coating  as  the 
action  of  heat  in  solidifying  the  albumen  of 
the  wood. 

WOOD-W^ASP.  See  Saw-Flt. 
WOOD-WAXEN.  See  Greenwked. 
WOOL  (Germ,  wolle;  Dutch,  tool:  Kus. 
wolna).  The  soft,  hairy,  or  downy  substance 
which  forms  the  covering  of  sheep,  and  is 
found  in  smaller  proportion  on  many  other 
animals.    It  is  an  article  which  has  continued 


WOOLLEN  RAGS 

cts.  a  lb.  This  is  a  large  per  centage,  we  ] 
admit;  but  not  so  large  as  that  6  3tablished  by! 
the  Tariff  of  1832,  which  on  all  wool  over  8  \ 
cts.  a  lb.  levied  a  duty  of  4  cts.  a  pound  and 
32  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  On  wool  costing  over 
8  cts.,  the  duties  during  all  the  years  embraced 
in  the  second  of  the  above  tables,  except  a  part 
of  1842,  were,  on  an  average,  as  high  as  they 
are  now.  We  wish  this  fact  to  be  particularly 
noted;  for  it  affords  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  smallness  of  the  importations  of  wool  since 
tlie  new  Tariff  went  into  operation,  is  not  oc- 
casioned by  that  Tariff.  It  is  occasioned,  in 
part,  by  the  market  having  been  over-stocked 
with  coarse  wool  during  1841  and  1842  (nearly 
17,000,000  lbs.  having  been  imported  during 
those  2  years  from  Buenos  Ayres  alone), — 
partly  by  the  prostration  of  carpet  manufactur- 
ing in  this  country  for  the  last  year  or  two,  on 
account  of  low  prices  and  the  scarcity  of  mo- 
ney,— and  partly  by  the  cheapness  of  wool  grotcn 
in  the  Uni!fd  States.  This  last  is  what  is  going, 
very  soon,  to  nullify  the  Tariff,  and  importa- 
tions too,  so  far  as  wool  is  concerned.  We 
have  no  doubt  that  in  10  years — perhaps  less — 
we  shall  become  a  wool-exporting  country  to 
such  an  extent  that  protection  against  imported 
wool  will  be  as  effective  as  it  now  is  against 
imported  cotton  ; — and  no  more  so.  [We  still 
lay  a  duty  of  3  cts.  a  pound  on  cotton,  which 
does  neither  hurt  nor  good.]  The  great  west 
is  coming,  with  her  immense  prairies,  admi- 
rably adapted  to  sheep, — and  she  will  soon  de- 
luge the  country  with  wool  and  sheep-skins,  as 
she  now  does  with  hogs,  bacon,  pork,  lard,  lard- 
oil,  soap,  &c. 

WOOLLEN  RAGS.    See  Rag. 

WORK.     See  Labour. 

WORLIDGE.  or  WOOLRIDGE,  JOHN.  An 
ear'.y  English  agricultural  writer.  But  little 
more  is  known  of  his  history,  than  that  he  was 
a  irentleman  who  was  a  great  lover  of  rural 
affairs  and  gardening.  Of  his  works  I  am  only 
acquainted  with  the  following:  —  1.  Systema 
jSpirullurce ;  The  Mystery  of  Husbamhy  disco- 
vered and  laid  open,  1669—77—81,  1687,  folio, 
1716,  8vo.  2.  Treatise  on  Husbandry,  1675, 
folio.  3.  Systema  Hoilictdlur(e ;  or.  The  Art 
of  Gardening,  1677.  4.  Vinetum  Brilannirum, 
1678 — 91,  8vo.  5.  The  most  easy  way  of  mak- 
ivg  Cyder,  1678.     6.  Jpiarium,  1691,  12 mo. 

The  Syste/na  jigriculturce  was  the  most  bulky 
folio  volume  on  agriculture  that  had  yet  ap- 
peared, and  its  comprehensive  themes  are  all 
set  forth  in  its  first  page.  The  authors  of  those 
days  seemed  to  consider  it  essential  that  their 
readers  should  have,  in  the  title-pa^e  of  a  book, 
a  complete  summary  of  its  inviting  contents. 
Woolridge  was  evidently  of  this  opinion,  for 
his  title-page  announces  that  this  was  the 
**  Systema  Agriculturae,  or  the  Mystery  of  Hus- 
bandry discovered  ;  treating  of  the  several  new 
and  most  advantageous  ways  of  tilling,  planting, 
sowing,  manureing,  ordering,  improveing,  of 
all  sorts  of  gardens,  orchards,  meadows,  pas- 
tures, corn-lands,  woods,  and  coppices ;  as  also 
of  fruits,  corn-grain,  pulse,  new  hays,  cattle, 
fowl,  beasts,  bees,  silk-worms,  and  fish,  with 
an  account  of  the  several  instruments  and  en- 
gines used  in  the  profession ;  to  which  is  added, 
Kalendarium  Rusticum,  or  the  husbandman's 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

monthly  directions;  also  the  prognostieks  of 
dearth,  scarcity,  plenty,  sickness,  heat,  cold, 
frost,  snow,  winds,  rain,  hail,  thunder,  &c.; 
and  Dictionarium  Rusticum,  or  the  interpreta- 
tion of  rustick  terms ;  the  whole  work  being 
of  great  use  and  advantage  to  all  that  delight 
in  that  most  noble  practice."  It  is  dedicated 
to  the  gentry  and  yeomanry  of  England,  and 
opens  with  a  preface  laudatory  of  agriculture. 
Notwithstanding,  however,  the  ill  aspect  of 
this  heavy  title-page,  the  book  contains  more 
useful  and  more  enlightened  observations  on 
many  points  of  husbandry  than  any  which  had 
preceded  it.  He  was  a  warm  friend  to  the  en- 
closure of  commons  and  other  waste  land,  and 
he  suggested,  what  in  fact  he  appears  (p.  21) 
to  have  carried  into  effect  in  1665,  at  Wilton, 
the  erection  of  water-works  for  the  purpose  of 
flooding  meadows,  an  improvement  of  which 
I  think  not  nearly  so  much  has  been  made  as 
is  possible  in  this  land  of  steam  and  steam- 
engines.  He  was  evidently  well  acquainted 
with  the  management  of  water-meads,  and  his 
directions  with  relation  to  them  are  practical 
and  sensible.  He  advises  that  sandy  meadows 
should  be  chalked,  and  ashes  applied  to  sour 
rushy  grasses.  When  speaking  "  of  several 
new  species  of  hay  or  grass,"  he  enumerates 
clover-grass,  trefoyle,  St.  Foyn,  La  Lucern, 
ray-grass,  &c.  He  also  recommends  the  deep 
ploughing  or  digging  of  land,  and  on  all  occa- 
sions seemed  alive  to  any  improvement  in  the 
implements  of  agriculture.  After  giving  an 
account,  at  some  length,  of  the  rude  and  clumsy 
contrivance  of  Gabriel  Platte,  for  a  dibbling- 
machine,  he  elaborately  and  earnestly  advocates 
the  use  of  a  drill,  an  engraving  of  one  of  which, 
primitive  enough,  it  is  true,  in  its  appearance, 
he  gives  in  his  work.  "To  remove,"  he  says, 
"all  manner  of  errors  or  inconveniences  that 
can  be  found  in  setting  or  hoeing  of  corn,  I 
shall  here  give  you  a  plain  and  perfect  de- 
scription of  an  easy  and  feasible  instrument 
that  shall  disperse  your  corn,  grain,  or  pulse, 
of  what  kind  soever,  at  what  distance,  and  in 
what  proportion  you  please."  The  farmer 
may  be  curious  to  know  the  construction  of 
this  drill  of  a  century  and  a  half  since.  It  had 
a  coulter,  a  pipe,  a  hopper,  wheels,  and  axle- 
trees.  He  was  the  first  English  author,  I  be- 
lieve, who  suggested  the  use  of  the  manure- 
drill,  for,  when  speaking  of  the  drill,  he  says 
(p.  52),  "  By  the  use  of  this  instrument  also, 
you  may  cover  your  grain  or  pulse  with  any 
rich  compost  you  shall  prepare  for  that  pur- 
pose, either  with  pigeon's  dung,  dry  or  granu- 
lated, or  any  other  saline  or  lixivial  substance 
made  disperseable,  which  may  drop  after  the 
corn,  and  prove  an  excellent  improvement;  for 
we  find  experimentally,  that  pigeon's  dung, 
sown  by  the  hand  on  wheat  or  barley,  mightily 
advantageth  it  by  the  common  way  of  hus- 
bandry; much  more  might  we,  therefore,  ex- 
pect this  way,  where  the  dung,  or  such  like 
substance,  is  all  in  the  same  furrow  with  the 
corn,  where,  in  the  other  vulgar  way,  a  grea* 
part  thereof  comes  not  near  it.  It  may  either 
be  done  by  having  another  hopper,  on  the  same 
frame,  behind  that  for  the  corn,  wherein  the 
compost  may  be  put,  and  made  to  drop  suc- 
ceisively  after  the  corn,  or  it  may  be  sown 

1171 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

with  •nolher  insirument  to  follow  the  former, 
which  U  the  better  way,  and  may  both  dis- 
perse the  noil,  and  cover  boih  soil  and  seed." 

Woolridge  was  evidently  an  observer  who 
WM  able  and  willing  to  think  for  himself.  He 
advocated  change  of  seed  "from  dry,  hungry, 
barren  land,  to  rich  and  fat  land ;  also  from 
land  inclining  to  the  south,  to  land  inclining 
towards  the  north,  and  the  contrary;"  all  of 
which,  he  well  adds  (and  the  reader  muri  re- 
in .Sor  that  Woolridge  was  writing  when 
ii.-  iustrf  existed  only  in  name),  "are  mani- 
fest signs  that  there  is  some  particular  thing 
wherein  each  seed  delights,  which  if  we  did 
bat  undersund  we  might  properly  apply  ii,  and 
gain  riches  and  honours  to  ourselves ;  but  be- 
MOM  we  are  ignorant  thereof,  and  are  content 
•o  to  remain,  we  must  make  use  of  such  soils, 
duga,  composts,  and  other  preparations  and 
wajra  of  advancement  of  the  growth  of  vege- 
tables as  are  already  discovered  and  made 
«se  of."  (p.  67.) 

He  extols  the  use  of  steeps  for  seed-corn, 
mentions  with  approbation  for  this  purpose 
nitre,  common  salt,  as  well  as  urine,  and  gives 
a  recipe  for  making  a  kind  of  liquid  manure 
with  sheep-dung  (i  bushel),  saltpetre  (i  lb.), 
and  common  salt  (1  lb.),  boiled  together  for 
MB  minutes  in  water  (20  quarts),  and  this  he 
eonmends  very  highly  as  a  steep ;  and  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  something  of  this  kind 
of  rich  liqnor,  more  especially  if  the  seed  was 
aAerwanIs  dried  by  being  sprinkled  with  some 
of  the  very  fine  manure  powders  at  present 
pmposed,  such  as  the  urate  of  the  London 
Manure  Company,  the  composition  of  M.  Poitte- 
vin,  the  guano,  gypsum  powder,  &c.,  might  be 
used  more  profitably  by  the  cultivator  than  at 
first  sjirhi  he  may  be  inclined  to  believe.  He 
was  in  favour  of  paring  and  burning  on  some 
aoiU,  and  had  the  good  sense  to  discern  the 
advantages  capable  of  being  derived  from  the 
permanent  improvement  of  the  soil  by  the  use 
of  earthy  manures.  He  devotes,  therefore,  a 
chapter  io  the  soils  and  manures  taken  from  the 
earth  (p.  65) ;  notices  the  uses,  for  this  pur- 
pose, of  chalk,  lime,  marl,  clay,  fuller's  earth. 

The  value  of  sand  as  a  fertilizer  did  not 
escape  our  author's  attention.  He  notices  the 
raloe  to  tome  soils  of  that  of  the  calcareous 
^ores  of  Cornwall,  and  of  the  Suffolk  craig 
formation,  and  of  that  which  he  advise?  the 
Ikrmer  to  lay  under  his  farm-yards  and  sheep- 
pens. 

The  excrements  of  fowls  were  strongly  re- 
eomended  bjr  Woolridge  as  a  fertilizer.  He 
deacribeslhoee  of  pigeons  and  hens  as  "incom- 
f«rable,— one  load  is  worth  ten  loads  of  other 
dung;**  commends  the  use  of  "all  marrow- 
bones,  fisb-bonea,  horn,  or  horn-shavings ;" 
but  he  fell  into  the  error  with  regard  to  those 
which  it  required  a  century  and  a  quarter  to 
remove,  vix.,  he  fancied  that  all  the  enriching 
qualities  of  the  bones  were  to  be  attributed  to 
the  grease  they  contained,  instead  of  to  their 
phosphate  of  lime.  He  advocated  the  mixture 
of  peat,  saw-dust,  and  tanners'  refuse  bark 
wiih  dung-heaps, — a  plan  which  is  even  now 
not  nearly  so  extensively  adopted  as  its  merits 
deserve.  Indeed,  as  holiest  John  Woolridge 
eo'iclude5  his  section  (p  85),  "The  well-pre- 

in2 


WORLroGE,  JOHN. 

paring  of  dung-mixt  is  a  piece  of  husbandry  not 
to  be  slighted,  on  which  point  of  good  or  ill 
husbandry  depends  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
rents  or  values  of  many  farms  in  this  king, 
dom." 

Every  account  of  live-stock  given  by  the 
earlier  agricultural  writers  betrays  the  total 
want  of  attention  then  paid  by  the  farmers  to 
the  breeding  of  stock,  or  if  they  do  mention  the 
points  to  be  commended  in  an  ox  or  a  sheep, 
they  are  precisely  those  which  a  modern 
breeder  endeavours  to  avoid.  For  instance, 
the  chronicler  Hollingshed  commends  the  Eng- 
lish cows  for  their  largeness  of  bone,  and 
even  Woolridge,  writing  centuries  after  him, 
although  very  elaborate  on  most  points  of  hus- 
bandry, treats  of  the  farmer's  live-stock  in  a 
manner  that  clearly  indicates  that  in  those 
days,  to  use  a  Norfolk  phrase,  "a  cow  was  a 
cow,  and  a  sheep  a  sheep."  Thus  all  the  in- 
struction he  gives  the  breeder  with  regard  to 
the  selection  of  a  cow  is,  that  "  the  best  sort  is 
the  large  Dutch  cow,  that  brings  two  calves  at 
one  birth,  and  gives  ordinarily  two  gallons  of 
milk  at  one  meal."  His  account  of  sheep  I 
will  also  give,  without  abridgment,  for  its  facts 
will  sound  still  more  novel  to  a  modern  farmer: 
— "There  are  divers  sorts,  some  bearing  much 
finer  wool  than  others:  as  the  Herefordshin 
sheep  about  Leraster  bear  the  fairest  fleeces  ol 
any  in  England.  Also  they  are  of  several 
kinds  as  to  their  proportion:  some  are  very 
small,  others  larger.  But  the  Dutch  sheep  are 
the  largest  of  all,  being  much  bigger  than  any 
1  have  seen  in  England,  and  yearly  bear  two 
or  three  lambs  at  a  time.  It  is  also  reported 
that  they  sometimes  bear  lambs  twice  in  the 
year."  This  seemed  to  convince  Woolridge, 
and  very  naturally,  too,  of  their  value,  for  he 
adds,  "It  may  doubtless  be  of  very  good 
advantage  to  obtain  of  those  kinds  and  also  of 
Spanish  sheep  that  bear  such  fine  fleeces." 

The  scientific  modern  breeder,  when  he 
smiles  at  this  negligence  and  folly  of  a  by-gone 
race  of  farmers,  must  remember,  however,  the 
difficulties  under  which  they  laboured,  not  only 
from  lack  of  knowledge,  but  also  of  the  means 
to  improve  at  a  reasonable  rate  their  ill- 
shaped,  large-boned,  and  slow-feeding  race  of 
oxen.  He  should  recollect  that  they  had  not 
had  the  advantage  of  a  Bakewell,  a  Culley,  or  a 
Collings,  to  labour  during  a  lengthened  period 
for  their  improvement, — the  days  of  the  Smith- 
field  Club,  and  of  the  Highland  Society,  were 
yet  far  distant.  They  had  not  even  a  suspicion 
of  what  improved  breeding  would  effect ;  and 
if  they  were  ignorant,  as  they  evidently  were, 
that  their  breeds  were  inferior,  we  can  hardly 
wonder  that  they  were  content  to  labour  on, 
since  the  very  first  step  to  improvement,  a  be- 
lief in  greater  excellence  being  possible,  was 
wanting. 

The  opinions,  however,  of  Woolridge  with 
regard  to  plantations  of  timber-trees  were  evi- 
dently more  enlightened;  for  although  he  lived 
a  century  before  the  days  of  our  modern  ex- 
tensive planters — of  such  men  as  the  Lords 
Athol,  Devonshire,  and  Fife,  and  of  Sir  Henry 
Steuart — yet  he  earnestly  advised  the  planting 
of  the  poorer  soils  of  our  island;  he  asked  the 
landowners   of  his  time,  after  describing  to 


WOOL. 


WOOL. 


An  account  of  Sheep  and  Lamhs^  Wool  iwpo7-ted 
into  Great  Britain  in  the  undermentioned  Years. 
(McCuUoch's  Com.  Diet.) 


In  1810 


1825 
1830 


1841 


Lbs. 
10,914,137 
9,789,020 
43,795,281 
32,313,059 
38,076,413 
57,379,923 
56,170,974 


An  Account  of  the  Quantity  of  Sheep  and  Lambs  j 
Wool  imported  into  the  United  Kingdom  in  the 
Year  1841 ;  specifying  the  Countries  from  xohich 
it  came,  the  Quantity  that  paid  a  Duty  of  One 
Penny  per  Pound,  and  the  Quantity  that  paid  a 
Duty  of    One  Halfpenny  per   Pound;    of   the 
Quantify  of  Foreign   Wool  re-exported   during 
the  same  period,  and  the  Countries  to  which  it 
was  sent;  and  the  Quantity  remaining  tvarehoused  , 
under  Pond  cm  the  hth  day  of  January,  1842. 
(Pari.  Paper,  No.  237,  Sess.  1842.) 
Quantity  of  sheep  and  lambs'  wool  imported 

.n-o  the  United  Kingdom: — 


Quantity  of  foreign  sheep  and  lambs*  wool 
remaining  warehoused  under  bond  on  5th 
January,  1842 6,912,060 


An  Account  of  the  quantity  of  British  Sheep  and 
Lambs'  Wool,  and  Woollen  Yarn,  exported  from 
the  United  Kingdom  in  the  Year  1841;  specify- 
ing the  Countries  to  which  they  were  sent.  (Pari. 
Paper.) 


From  Russia   -       -       - 
Sweden  and  Norway 
Denmark 

Prussia  -        -        - 
Germany 
Holland 
Belgium 

France   -        -        - 
Portugal 
Spain 


Lbs. 

4,131,652 

15,424 

778,256 

165,125 

20,958,775 

121,061 

300,862 

14,659 

679,071 

1,088,200 


aKtar ,25,678 


Italy       

Malta 

Turkey  ------ 

Egypt 

Morocco         -       -       -       -        - 

Cape  of  Good  Hope        -        -        - 
St.  Helena      -        -        -        -        - 

East  India  Company's  Territories 
New  South  Wales  -        -        - 

Van  Diemen's  Land      .        -        - 
Swan  Riwer  Settlement 
South  Australia      -        -        -        - 

New  Zealand         -        "      ."  .      " 
British  North  American  Colonies 
British  West  Indies        -        -        - 
Cura^oa  _        -        -        -        - 

United  States  of  Amevica      - 
Brazil     ------ 

Sta  les  of  the  Rio  de  ta  Plata 

Chili 

Peru       ------ 


1,502,251 

124,989 

447,563 

70 

85.250 

1,079,910 

990 

3,008,664 

7,993,060 

3,597,531 

48,590 

759,909 

272 

4,881 

5,014 

224 

58,791 

318 

5,105,637 

923,832 

3,144,462 


Countries  to  which  exported. 


Russia  -  -  -  -  - 
Sweden  -  -  -  -  - 
Norway  -  -  -  -  - 
Denmark  _        -        -        - 

Prussia  -  -  -  -  - 
Germany  -        -        -        - 

Holland 

Belgium  -  -  -  -  - 
France     - 

Portugal,  Azores,  and  Madeira 
Spain  and  the  Canaries  - 
Gibraltar  -        -        -        - 

Italy         

East  Indies  and  China  - 
Western  Coast  of  Africa 
British     Colonies     in     North 

America       .        -        -        - 
British  West  Indies 
Foreign  West  Indies 
United  States  of  America 
Chili         -        -        -        -        - 
Isles  of  Guernsey,  .lersey,  Al- 

derney,  and  Man 


Sheep  and 
Lambs'  Wool. 


Woollen  and 
Worsted  Yarn 

(including 
Yarn  of  Wo(;l 
or  Worsted 
mixed  with 

other 
materials). 


2,514 

10,525 

7,544,196 

894,704 


4,480 
8,950 


5,796 


Foreign  -^ooi      .        -        -        -        -  56.170,974 
Produceof  »ne:sle  of  Man        -       -  ».^^. 


Total  quantity  imported       -        -  56,179,641 
Quantity  of  foreign  sheep  and  lambs'  wool 


,471,235 


Lh«. 

123,896 

1,964 

955 

828 

944 

2.638,311 

i;264,090 

123,784 

300,560 

2,780 

96 

50,958 

54,594 

3,752 

150 

22,335 

16 

112 

292,754 

224 

20,188 


4,903,291 


Account  of  the  Pieces  of  Woollen  Cloths,  Coatings, 
and  Kerseymeres,  exported  in  the  Years  1820, 
1830,  and  1840. 


retained  for  home  consumption : — 

Charged  with  duty  at  Id.  per  lb.    - 

Do.        -        at  id.     do.       -        -        - 
Do.        -        at6d.     do.,  being  red  wool 

Duty-free,  being  the  produce  of  British  pos- 
sessions 


Total  quantity  retained  for  home  consump- 

lion 52,862,0 


Lbs. 
22,051,796 
14,495,002 
4,306 

-    16,310,916 


Quantity  of  foreign  sheep  and  lambs'  wool 
re-exported : — 


To  Germany  ------- 

Holland 

Belgium     ------- 

France       ------- 

Portueal    ------- 

United  States  of  America         -        - 
Islands  of  Guernsey,  Jersey,  and  Man     - 


Lbs. 

19,484 

67,517 

,094,636 

846,460 

3,927 

620,460 

1,971 


ToUl  quantity  re-exported  - 

147 


-    2.554,455 


Countries  to  which  exported. 


Russia     -        -        -  - 

Sweden   -        -        -  - 

Norway  -        -        -  - 

Denmark          -        -  - 

Prussia    -        -        -  ' 

Germany          -        -  - 

Netherlands     -        -  - 

Frnnce     -        -        -  " 

Portugal,  Azore.s,  &c.  - 

Spain,  &.C.       -        -  - 

Gibraltar          -        -  - 

Italy         -        -        ■  ' 

Malta       -        -        -  - 

Ionian  Isles     -        -  - 
Turkey  and  Levant 

Guernsey,  Jersey,  &c.  - 

East  Indies  and  China  - 

Australia         -        -  ' 
Cape  of  Good  Hope 
Other  parts  of  Africa 
British  America 
British  West  Indies 

Foreign  West  Indies  - 
United  States  of  America 

Brazils    -        -        "  " 

Mexico    -        -        •  " 


Pieces. 

31,824 


Total 


790 

220 

54 

91,802 

24,.584 

15 

51,979 

4,791 

7,248 

28,967 

725 

12 

313 

3,192 

43,133 

584 

2,2.')8 

193 

20,513 

14,559 

5,633 

76,114 

35,913 

12,063 


427,288  1445,360  1258-942 


Pieces. 

Pieces. 

7,415 

1,680 

33 

205 

1,276 

550 

248 

101 

14 

- 

54,502 

21,572 

21,313 

10,832 

169 

211 

29,597 

10.577 

5,685 

J69 

2,122 

2,093 

15,204 

2,829 

736 

644 

134 

207 

1,782 

663 

3,419 

2,809 

72,390 

44,396 

1,363 

7,3.^6 

3,8ii0 

3.354 

370 

1,006 

33,088 

25,661 

8,262 

3,623 

3,859 

2.525 

101,294 

46,945 

22,509 

18,044 

51,760 

46,370 

(Leeds  Times,  Aug.  1841.) 

Under  the  head  of  Aghicultubal  PROBrcxj 
OF  THE  United  States,  the  gross  amount  of 
wooTfor  1839  was  stated.  The  proportions 
furnished  by  individual  states  were  as  lo' 
lows:-  ^^^  „g9 


WOOL. 


HatMCfeHMtU 

Oasneclicut 
▼•raoM      • 
N«wYork   . 

D«l««ar«     * 

Marjriaud     - 
Vircinla 

OiroliM 


ArkaaMS      - 

Mkblfaa      -       • 
nwtda  Tanitnry 
WMioMaa  Terrllory 
l««m  Tirrttonr     - 
mMftetorOoinnbia 


Foandt  of  WooL 

1,465,551 

1,260,517 

»tl.iK)6 

183,830 

889,870 

.    3,699,235 

9,845,'295 

397.W7 

3,048  564 

64,404 

488,201 

a.538,.T74 

625,044 

299,170 

371, .303 

220,353 

175,196 

49,283 

1,000,332 

.     1,796,847 

.     3,685,315 

.     1,237,919 

.       6J0.007 

562,265 

61.U13 

.       153,375 

7,285 

6,777 

23,039 

707 


Toul 


35,802,114 


Tlie  following  statement  from 
Mper,  (the  fiurlint^ton  Democrat,) 
prices  of  wool  from  1821  to  1843. 

1831  - 

1832  . 
1834   - 
18B6 
1830 
1818 
18S9 

1840   • 
164S   - 


MtoSScM.I 

n 

.85 

a» 

.  65 

» 

-70 

ss 

.70 

15 

.09 

» 

.  SO 

» 

.50 

« 

a  Vermont 
shows   the 

45  to  70  cts. 

42  -  63 

43  -  60 
55  -  65 
60  -  80 
45  -  47 
45  -  60 
43  -  44 
25  -  30 


An  Interertinf  view  of  the  foreign  wool  trade 
•n^  the  check  upon  this  effected  through  the 
protection  received  from  Congress,  is  exhibited 
ID  the  following  account  derived  from  the  co- 
lumns of  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce, 
(for  8epL  1843.) 

In  a  communication  to  the  Middlebury  Pea- 
pU$  Pren,  dated  10th  July  last,  and  signed  by 
the  Hon.  William  Slade,  late  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Vermont,  some  interesting  facts  are 
•Uled  as  to  the  operation  of  the  new  Tariff 
upon  the  iinportation  of  wool  from  foreign 
ooantries.  By  information  received  from  the 
Refi-Mer  of  the  Treasury,  it  appears  that  dur- 
iof  the  1st  half  of  the  present  fiscal  year,  which 
commenced  on  the  1st  of  October  last,  about  a 
after  the  new  Tariff  went  into  operation, 
was  irop<Trted  into  the  United  Slates,  of 
vool  costing  7  cts.  a  lb.  or  under,  only  881,568 
tiM.  and  of  wool  costing  over  7  cts.  a  lb.,  only 
17S;NS  Iba.  Making  a  total  of  only  1,037,530 
lb«.orall  descriptions  of  wool  in  6  months! 
This  is  a  0K)sI  extraordinary  falling  off,  com- 
^lared  with  the  importations  of  previous  years, 
W  will  be  seen  from  the  following  schedule : 

Tmt.  OadOT  »  ciB. 

18M  5,M),«36 

I8W  11.033,010 

Wm  «.48Q,I99 

18»  6,551, 1« 

1188  -        -         74«,5Ifl 

1840  .        .         9,303.993 

»«1  11,409,704 

itCi  10;fifl8,9Wlb« 

Making,  on  an  average  of  7  years,  something 
nrer  9,000,000  lbs.  per  annum,  jjths  of  which, 
at  the  place  whence  imported,  cost  less  than  8 
1170 


WOOL. 

cts.  a  lb.  The  new  Tariff  makes  the  minimum 
7  cts.  per  lb.  instead  of  8  cents,  and  levies  a 
duty  of  5  per  cent,  on  wool  not  above  that  mi 
nimum,  wHereas  under  the  old  Tariff  such  wool 
was  duty  free.  But  these  changes  are  so  slight, 
that  they  are  not  at  all  sufficient  to  account  for 
the  immense  decrease  in  the  amount  imported. 
Lest  such  should  be  the  inference  of  the  wool- 
growers,  Mr.  Slttde  tells  them  that  through  the 
efforts  of  the  Vermont  delegation  in  Congress, 
the  word  "coarse"  was  inserted  in  connection 
with  cheap  wool,  so  that  now,  in  order  to  be 
admitted  at  the  low  duty  of  5  per  cent,  (which 
cannot  exceed  3J^  mills  per  lb.),  wool  must  not 
only  have  been  bought  at  7  cts.  a  lb.  or  under, 
but  must  also  be  coarse:  and  he  adds,  "I  have 
no  doubt  that  with  a  careful  and  thorough  exe- 
cution  of  the  coarse  wool  provision,  according 
•to  its  true  intent  and  meaning,  the  reduction  [in 
the  quantity  of  wool  imported]  would  have 
been  still  greater."  To  illustrate  this  point,  he 
spates  the  following  particulars  : 

"  It  appears  from  the  Custom  House  returns 
that  1101  sheep,  of  the  aggregate  value  of 
$10,565 — averaging  $9  60  each,  and  therefore 
presumed  to  have  been  merino  bucks — were 
exported  from  the  United  States  to  Buenos 
Ay  res  in  the  years  1837  and  1838.  The  quan- 
tity of  wool,  the  product  of  the  crossings  of 
these  merino  with  the  native  South  American 
sheep,  imported  into  the  United  States  at  and 
below  the  value  of  8  cts.,  cannot,  of  course,  be 
ascertained.  The  importations  from  that  coun- 
try of  wool  costing  8  cts.  and  under,  were 
greatly  increased  in  the  succeeding  years  ;  em- 
bracing, as  is  well  known,  much  fine  wool,  and 
therefore  presumed  to  have  been  the  product 
of  the  crossings  referred  to.  That  increase 
will  appear  by  the  following  statement  of  the 
importations  of  wool  costing  8  cts.  and  under, 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  during  the  years  1839, 1840, 
and  1841,  compared  with  the  previous  3  years. 


Over  h  cti. 

388.830  lbs. 

806,370 

703,276 

445,478 

627,620 

675,009 

981,281 

351,384 


In  1836 
1837 
1838 
1839 
1810 
1841 


2,256,887  pounds. 

2,108,582 

2,515.883 

683,535 

566,468 
8,870,799 


"The  French  blockade  of  Buenos  Ayres  in 
1839  and  1840  diminished  the  exports  of  those 
years,  and  consequently  swelled  those  of  1841 
when  the  blockade  was  raised.  The  annual 
average  of  the  3  years  was  3,373,600  lbs.  That 
of  the  preceding  3  years  was  2,293,784  lbs. ; 
making  an  excess  of  the  average  of  the  last  3, 
over  that  of  the  first  3  years,  of  1,079,816  lbs. 
— an  increase  of  about  47  per  cent. 

"It  was  the  extraordinary  quantity  of  fine 
wool  thus  cheapened  in  the  market  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  thrown,  in  large  quantities,  upon 
our  own,  that  suggested  the  necessity  of  the 
introduction  of  the  word  'coarse'  into  the 
clause  in  question.  Its  intended  effect  was,  to 
subject  to  the  higher  duty  all  wool  not  coarse, 
though  costing  less  than  7  cts." 

This  higher  duty,  which  applies  to  all  wool 
costing  over  7  cts.  a  lb.,  and,  according  to  Mr. 
Slade's  construction,  to  all  wool  not  coarse, 
whatever  may  be  its  cost,  is  3  cts.  a  lb.  and  30 
per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Hence  the  duty  on  wool 
costing  10  cts.  at  the  place  whence  imported, 
is  6  cts.  a  lb. ;  and  on  wool  costing  20  cts.  <> 


WOOL. 


WOOL. 


from  the  earliest  period  down  to  the  present 
day  to  be  of  primary  importance,  having 
always  formed  the  principal  partof  the  clothing 
of  mankind  in  most  temperate  regions.  Authors 
have  seemed  to  imagine  that  the  production  of 
wool  was  confined  to  the  sheep;  practical  men, 
however,  know  that  there  is  a  numerous  list 
of  animals,  on  whom,  at  some  season  of  the 
year  at  least,  wool  is  found. 

M.  Chevreul,  who  has  long  devoted  himself 
to  the  examination  of  wool,  has  proved  that 
wool  contains  three  or  four  different  substances. 
The  following  is  the  result  of  an  examination 
of  100  parts  of  a  merino  fleece: — 

Parts. 
Earthy  substances  -        .        -        26-06 

Fat  matters  dissolved  by  washing  33*74 

Fat  matters     -----  9-fl7 

Clean  wool     -        -        -        -        -        31-23 


100  00 

A  consideration  of  the  most  important  pro- 
perties of  wool  cannot  be  better  introduced 
than  in  the  words  of  one  to  whom  the  agricul- 
turist, whatever  department  of  husbandry  may 
chiefly  occupy  his  attention,  is  much  indebted. 
— "Fine  and  coarse,"  says  Arthur  Young, 
"are  but  vague  and  general  descriptions  of 
wool ;  all  fine  fleeces  have  some  coarse  wool, 
and  all  coarse  fleeces  some  fine.  I  shall  en- 
deavour, for  the  information  of  my  readers,  to 
distinguish  the  various  qualities  of  wool  in  the 
order  in  which  they  are  esteemed  and  preferred 
by  the  manufacturer.  First,  fineness  with  close 
ground,  that  is,  thick-matted  ground.  Second, 
fineness.  Third,  straight-haired,  when  broken 
by  drawing.  Fourth,  elasticity,  rising  after 
compression  in  the  hand.  Fifth,  staple  not  too 
long.  Sixth,  colour.  Seventh,  what  coarse  is 
in  it  to  be  very  coarse.  Eighth,  tenacity. 
Ninth,  not  much  pitch-mark;  but  this  is  no 
other  disadvantage  than  the  loss  of  weight  in 
scouring.  The  bad  or  disagreeable  properties 
are, — thin,  grounded,  toppy,  curly-haired,  and, 
if  in  a  sorted  state,  little  that  is  very  fine,  a 
tender  staple,  no  elasticity,  many  dead  white 
hairs,  very  yolky.  Thope  who  buy  wool  for 
combing  and  other  light  goods  that  do  not  want 
milling,  wish  to  find  length  of  staple,  fineness 
of  hair,  whiteness,  tenacity,  firmness,  elasticity, 
and  not  too  many  pitch-marks."  {Annals  of 
Agriculture^  vol.  xviii.  p.  329.)  The  fineness  of 
the  wool  differs  greatly  on  the  different  parts  oX 
the  sheep.  That  running  down  the  side  of  the 
neck,  and  covering  the  shoulders,  the  ribs,  and 
the  back,  is  the  finest;  the  next  covers  the 
superior  parts  of  the  legs  and  the  thighs,  and 
extends  up  to  nearly  the  haunch  and  \he  tail, 
and  a  still  inferior  portion  runs  along  the 
upper  part  of  the  neck,  the  throat,  the  breast, 
the  belly,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  legs.  There 
is  considerable  variation  in  this  respect  in  dif- 
ferent breeds,  and  in  individuals  of  the  same 
breed;  and  although  a  fleece,  taken  generally, 
may  be  said  to  be  adapted  to  a  particular  use, 
yet  a  portion  of  it  may  be  employed  in  the 
manufacture  of  a  much  more  valuable  article; 
and  at  the  same  time,  a  greater  quantity  will 
be  thrown  aside  as  not  sufficiently  fine  for  the 
originally  intended  purpose.  The  influence  of 
temperature  on  the  growth  of  wool  is  very  con- 
siderable.    Sheep  in  a  hot  climate  will  yield  a 


comparatively  coarse  wool,  and  those  in  a 
cold  climate  will  carry  a  finer,  but,  at  the  same 
time,  a  closer  and  a  warmer  fleece.  The  na- 
tural instinct  of  the  sheep  would  seem  to  teach 
the  wool-grower  the  advantage  of  attending  to 
the  influence  of  temperature  on  him.  He  is 
evidently  impatient  of  heat.  In  the  open  dis- 
trict, and  where  no  shelter  is  near,  he  climbs 
to  the  highest  parts  of  his  walk,  that  if  the  rays 
of  the  sun  must  still  fall  on  him,  he  may  never- 
theless be  cooled  by  the  breeze  ;  but  if  shelter 
is  near,  of  whatever  kind,  every  shaded  spot  is 
crowded  with  sheep.  Pasture  has  a  very  great 
influence  on  the  fineness  of  the  fleece".  The 
staple  of  the  wool,  like  every  other  part  of  the 
sheep,  must  increase  in  length  or  in  bulk 
when  the  animal  has  a  superabundance  of  nu- 
triment; and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  secretion 
which  forms  the  wool  must  decrease,  like 
every  other,  when  sufficient  nourishment  is 
not  afforded.  Connected  with  fineness  is  true- 
ness  of  staple — as  equal  a  growth  as  possible 
over  the  animal — a  freedom  from  the  shaggy 
portions,  here  and  there,  which  are  occasion- 
ally observed  on  poor  and  neglected  sheep. 
These  portions  are  always  coarse  and  com- 
paratively worthless,  and  they  indicate  an 
irregular  and  unhealthy  action  of  the  secretion 
of  wool,  which  will  probably  weaken  or  render 
the  fibre  diseased  in  other  parts.  Soundness 
and  elasticity  are  also  very  important  prop3r- 
ties  in  wool. 

If  the  pile  is  sound,  there  are  few  qualities 
I  in  wool  of  so  much  consequence  as  softness. 
j  Fashion  has  done  much  in  effecting  this.  Soft- 
ness of  the  pile  is  evidently  connected  with  the 
presence  and  quantity  of  yolk.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  this  substance  is  designed,  not  only 
to  nourish  the  hair,  but  to  give  it  richness  and 
pliability.  Bad  management,  neglect,  expo- 
sure, starvation,  impair  the  pliability  of  the 
woolly  fibre,  but  chiefly  so  because  they  arrest 
the  secretion  of  the  yolk,  or  change  its  proper- 
ties. The  colour  of  the  fleece  is  of  minor,  and 
yet  of  no  trifling  importance.  The  alteration 
of  the  colour  was  the  first  recorded  improve- 
ment of  the  sheep;  and  its  purity,  its  perfect 
whiteness,  should  never  be  lost  sight  of  by  the 
sheepmaster  of  the  present  day.  To  a  certain 
extent,  the  fleece  is  frequently  stained  with  the 
colour  of  the  soil  on  which  the  animal  grows. 
In  some  parts  of  Gloucestershire  the  wool  ac- 
quires an  orange  colour;  in  Hertfordshire  and 
Warwickshire  it  is  of  a  brownish  red;  and  in 
the  fens  of  Lincoln  and  Cambridge  it  has  a 
dark  blue  tint. 

In  some  districts,  and  particularly  in  the 
west  of  England,  the  farmer  needlessly  uses  a 
considerable  quantity  of  ochre  or  ruddle,  either 
in  the  composition  of  his  salving  mixture,  or 
to  gratify  a  foolish  fancy.  The  tar  gives  con- 
sistence to  the  oil  or  butter,  and  although  it  is 
often  with  considerable  difficulty  washed  away, 
yet  while  it  remains  on  the  fleece,  it  gives  a 
permanency  to  the  smearing  process  ;  not  one 
plea,  however,  can  be  offered  in  favour  of  the 
ruddle.    See  Salvino. 

It  is  not  necessary  (nor,  indeed,  would  our 
space  permit  it)  to  go  into  the  construction  of 
wool,  as  seen  through  the  microscope.  We 
shall  pass  on,  therefore,  to  point  out  the  differ 

1167 


WOOL. 


WOOL. 


ence  between  hair  and  wool.  The  fibre  of 
wool  is  crisped  or  curled,  the  curls  increasing 
according  to  the  fineness  and  felting  property 
of  the  wool:  hair  is  often  disposed  to  curl,  but 
in  an  inferior  degree.  The  distinction,  there- 
fore, between  these  substances  is  more  in  de- 
gree than  intent.  Wool  is  decidedly  crisped 
and  serrated;  hair  is  sometimes  curled,  but  to 
an  inferior  degree,  and  the  irregularities  of  its 
edge,  in  some  few  cases,  assume  the  form  of 
slight  serrations.  Wool  will  felt;  hair  will 
only  entangle  and  harle  to  a  limited  extent. 
See  Fklt  and  Hair. 

The  old  and  apparently  simple  division  of 
wool  was  into  lonif  and  short,  or,  according  to 
the  purposes  to  which  it  was  devoted,  "  comb- 
ing*^and  "clothing  wool;"  but  there  was  con- 
siderable difficulty  in  arranging  some  fleeces 
which  were  of  intermediate  lengths,  and  con- 
rertible  to  either  purpose.  A  third  subdivision, 
that  of  "  middle  wool,"  has  recently  been  added. 
These  arc  again  divided  into  subordinate 
classes,  according  to  the  fineness  of  the  fibre. 
••  In  sorting  wools,"  says  Mr.  McCuUoch,  "  there 
are  frequently  eight  or  ten  different  species  in 
Jtn  .dccmtnt  of  the  Quantity  and  declared  Value  of  British  Woollen  Manufactures  exported  from  the 
United  Kingdom  in  the  Year  1841.  '  (Pari.  Paper,  No.  23,'Sess.  1842.) 


a  single  fleece;  and  if  the  best  wool  of  one 
fleece  be  not  equal  to  the  finest  sort,  it  is  thrown 
to  a  2d,  3d,  or  4th,  or  to  a  still  lower  sort,  of  an 
equal  degree  of  fineness  with  it.  The  bes» 
English  short  native  fleeces,  such  as  the  fine 
Norfolk  and  Southdown,  are  generally  divided 
by  the  wool-sorter  into  the  following  sorts,  all 
varying  in  fineness  from  each  other: — viz, 
1.  Prime;  2.  Choice;  3.  Super;  4.  Head;  5. 
Downrights;  6.  Seconds;  7.  Fine  Abb;  8. 
Coarse  Abb;  9.  Livery;  10.  Short  coarse,  or 
breech  wool.  The  relative  value  of  each  va- 
ries, according  to  the  greaterdemand  for  coarse, 
fine,  or  middle  cloths."  (Youatt  on  Sheep,- 
BnkewelVs  Observations  on  Wool;  Luccock  on 
Wool;  Jnderson  on  Wool.)  See  Alpaca,  Fleece, 
LAMB-sKiifs,  and  Sheep. 

Price  of  Southdown  Wool  in  England,  in  different 
Years. 


t. 

d. 

t.    d. 

1784 

- 

- 

8i 

1810 

_ 

_ 

2  4 

1785 

. 

- 

9 

1815 

_ 

_ 

1  11 

1790 

- 

-  1 

Oi 

1820 

_ 

_ 

1  5 

1795 

- 

-  1 

3 

1825 

_ 

_ 

1  4 

1600 

- 

-  1 

5 

1830 

_ 

_ 

0  10 

1805 

- 

-  2 

3 

183.3 

- 

_ 

1  5 

Rnstla 

Norwny 
Denmnrk 


6«rmany 
Holland        .       . 
BelKitim 
France 
PorliijrnI,  Azores 

and  Madeira 
Spain  and  the  Ca- 

nariea 
Oibraltar     - 
Italy    - 
Malta  - 

Itnian  Tjilanda     . 
Klncdniii  of  Greece 
Turkey 

Syria  and  Paleatine 
Bast    Indies    and 

China 
Settlements  ioAns- 

tralia 
New  Zealand 
Cape  of  Good  Hope 
Other    paru   of 

Africa 
British  Colonies  in 

North  \iiiprica 
British  \V>*t  Indies 
Foreign   West   In- 
dies . 
United    Slates  of 

America   - 
Braxil  - 
Meileo    and    the 

States  of  South 

Amerira    - 
•sles  of  Guernsey. 
Jersey.  Alderney, 

•Dd  Man 


Cloth* 
of  all 


i 

I 


Pieeos.     Pieces. 

839  1 

2fi4       -     I 

671,      136 

64       101 1 

5.      -     I 

15,800    5,124 

1,624    1,585 

5b2    2,325 

274       135 


10,031 

069 

5,758 

2,127 

1,436 

98 


45,068 

4,282 

27 

3,416 

879 

22,374 
2,708 

1,823 

39,670 
17.325 


33,274 


41 


30 


40 


27 
798 


Pieces 

367 

50 

157 

39 

9 

2,663 

209 

421 

50 

349 

214 
727 
1,429 
25 
3 
24 
78 


265 


2,981 
184 


Baizes 
of  all 
•orti. 


Stufts, 
Woollen 


Total 
1168 


213,125,11,491 


25 


5,866 
2,374 


1,749 


22,131 


824 

15,662 

112 

15 

3,474 

3,207 
58 
3 


122 


221 


575 
258 


154 
370' 


Piecns. 

52,212 

14,905 

2,650 

.318 

164 

512,493 

156,747 

56,272 

18,299 

44,623 

25,309 

38,942 

112,739 

3,173 

522 

286 

10,242 

408 

126,016 

10,521 

419 

12,400 


106,510 
14,381 

12,184 

49S,246 

79.789 


3,750     86,142 

64       4,256 
37,160  2007,366 


Yards. 

2.798 
5^4 

3,608 
565 

385,083 

127,500 

114,973 

10,424 

8,943 

4,313 
28,031 
3,191 
4,625 
3,458 
390 
3,034 


164,170 


3.922 
56,475 

10,316 

509,861 
59,527 


29,115 
17,360 


98,089 


Blankets 

and 
Blanket. 

ing. 


Carpets 

tad  Car* 

peting. 


Yards, 

1,451 

2.')0 

416 

( 

H 

86,800 

57 

3,44 

1,000 

3,771 

8,noo 

700 
7,118 
5,738 


448 


33,130 

227.881 
26.834 
27,390 

6,452 

466,358 
56,868 

90,830 

f25,038 
150,382 


36,365 


79,230      19,638 


Yards. 

5,3fi0 

1,736 

410 

252 

366 

93,776 

62,771 

19^167 

26,259 

3,952 

16,718 

8,837 

22,997 

2,487 

4S5 

35 

14,620 


9,947 

25,072 
3,198 
3,.370 


Woollens 

niix^d 

with 

Cotlon. 


1820,244,2187,329 


465 

186,567 
2,031 

6,145 

166,820 
10,125 


85,661 


29,116 


809,315 


Yard; 

90,430 

9,450 

3,383 

1,196 

2,000 

519,623 

246,049 

198,570 

129,853 

31,955 

7.727 

67,082 

22 1,031 

200 

470 

360 

17,290 

2,000 

62,159 

52,709 

1 ,200 

57,100 


141 
ill 


Dozen 

Pairs. 

253 

14 

363 

7 

1,053 

4,138 

3, 

22 

2,125 

600 

207 

2,270 

94 


125 


,090 


332 

302 

1,055 

105 


373,200 
57,969 


26,457 


2325,488 
142,885 


353,455 


4,876 

196 

1,113 

2,111 

29.900 
2,376 


68,554 
2.342 


6,193 


5015,087  135,909 


19,733 

8,025 

900 

863 

1,242 

649 
2,55 
3,917 
274 
327 
193 
691 


6,699 

6,028 

27 
3,214 


28.471 
8,907 


,201 


46,263 
7,098 


£ 

102,733 

26,620 

11,930 

1,774 

663 

883,878 

316,769 

110,792 

38,043 

164,251 

60,342 

92,261 

203,797 

15,010 

2,234 

752 

20,913 

571 

.532,710 

91,851 

4,767 

55,185 

24,447 

515,.344 
62,919 

56,962 

1521,980 


468,070 


1,383  31,121 

163,900  5748,673 


WOOL. 


WOOL. 


An  account  of  Sheep  and  Lambs*  Wool  imported  | 

into  Great  Britain  in  the  undermentioned  Years.  I  ^"^"''?y.  "*"  foreign  sheep  and  lambs'  wool 


(McCulloch's  Com.  Diet.) 

In  j8»0 10,914,137 

1^^ 9,789,020 

1^-5 43,795,281 

1830 3*2,313,059 

1833 38,076,413 

1839 57,379,923 

184 » 56,170,974 

Ah  Account  of  the  Quantity  of  Sheep  and  Lambs* 
Wool  imported  into  the  United  Kingd&m  in  the 
Year  1841 ;  specifying  the  Countries  from  which 
it  came,  the  Quaidity  that  paid  a  Duty  of  One 
Penny  per  Pound,  and  the  Quantity  that  paid  a 
Duty  of  One  Halfpenny  per  Pound;  of  the 
Quantity  of  Foreign  Wool  re-exported  during 
the  same  period,  and  the  Countries  to  which  il 
was  sent:  and  the  Quantity  remaining  warehoused 
under  Bond  on  the  fith  day  of  January,  1842. 
(Pari.  Paper,  No.  237,  Sess.  1842.) 
Quantity  of  sheep  and  lambs*  wool  imponed 
.no  the  United  Kingdom: — 

4,131,653 

n,12» 
:>j!56 

}i>.'^-.s.:75 
l.'l.oc.i 

:;'Ht.-fi'2 

I4,fi5» 
e7».07l 


remaining  warehoused  under  bond  on  5th 
January,  1842 6,912,060 

An  Account  of  the  quantity  of  British  Sheep  and 
Lambs*  Wool,  and  Woollen  Yarn,  exported  from 
the  United  Kingdom  in  the  Year  1841;  specify- 
ing the  Cowitries  to  which  they  were  sent.  (Pari. 
Paper.) 


From  Ruifiia  .... 
Rwediiit  and  Norway  - 
Denmark  ... 
Prusaia  .... 
Germany  ... 
Holland 

BelKtum  ... 

France    .... 
Portufal 


Spain 1,068,200 

Gibraltar S5.fi78 

Haly 1,502,254 


Malta     . 

Turkey  ..-_.. 

Egypt 

Morocco  .        .        .        .        , 

Cape  nf  Good  Hope       -       -       . 

Bi.  Helena     .        .        .        .        . 

East  India  Cnmpany'a  Territories 

New  South  Walea 

Van  Diemen'a  Ijind 

Swan  River  BeitlenMDi 

8outh  Australia     .        .        .        . 

New  Zealand         .        .        .        . 

Briliah  North  American  Loloniet 

British  West  Indies 

Cura^oa         .       .        -        .       . 

United  States  of  Ame< lea 

Brazil 

States  of  the  Rio  de  ta  Plata 

Chili 

Peru       .---.. 


121,989 

447,563 

70 

85.250 

1.079,910 

990 

3,008,664 

7,993,060 

3,597,531 

48,590 

759,909 

272 

4,861 

5,014 

224 

58.791 

318 

5,10.\637 

923,832 

3,144,462 


Woollen  and 

Worsted  Yarn 

Coontriei  to  which  exported. 

Sheep  and 
Lambs'  Wool. 

(including 
Yarn  of  Wool 
or  Worsted 
mixed  with 

other 
materials). 

Russia 

Sweden  -        .       -        .       . 

Lbs. 

Lbs. 
123,896 
1,964 

Norway 

_ 

955 

Denmark         .... 

828 

Prussia    -       -       .       .       . 

944 

Germany         .... 

2,514 

2,638,311 

Holland 

10,r,25 

1,264.090 

Belgium  -       .        -        -        . 

7,544,196 

123,784 

France     ..... 

894,704 

300,560 

Portugal,  Azores,  and  Madeira 

2,780 

•Spain  and  the  Canaries  - 

_ 

96 

Hibraltur          -        -        .        . 

. 

50,956 

Italy         

_ 

54,594 

East  Indies  and  China    - 

_ 

3,752 

1  Western  Coast  of  Africa 

_ 

150 

British     Colonies     in     North 

America       -        .        .        _ 

70 

22,335 

British  West  Indies 

16 

Foreign  West  Indies       - 

4,480 

112 

Ut.ited  Stales  of  America 

8,950 

292,754 

Chili 

_ 

224 

Isles  of  Guernsey,  Jersey,  Al- 

derney,  and  Man 

5,796 

20,188 

8,471,235 

4,903,291 

Account  of  the  Pieces  of  Woollen  Cloths,  Coatings, 
and  Kerseymeres,  exported  in  the  Years  1820, 
1830.  and  1840. 


Foreign  ^oo<      .        .        . 
Produce  of  the  !sle  of  Man 


56,170,974 
8,667 


56,179,641 


Total  quantity  imported 

Quantity  of  foreign  sheep  and  lambs*  wool 
retained  for  home  consumption: — 

Lbt. 
Charged  With  duty  at  Id.  per  lb.    ...    22,051,796 
Do.        .        at  id.    do.        .        .        -     14,495.002 
Do.        .        at  W.    do.,  being  red  wool  4,306 

Duty-free,  being  the  produce  of  British  pos- 
sessions     .......    16,310,916 

Total  quantity  retained  for  home  consump- 
tion       59,862,020 

Quantity  of  foreign  sheep  and  lambs'  wool 
re-exported : — 

Lb*. 

To  Germany  .......  19,484 

Holland      ---..--  67,517 

Belgium 1,094,636 

France       -.--.-.  846,460 

Portueal    --..-..  3,927 

United  States  of  America         ...  520,460 

Islands  of  Guernsey,  Jersey,  and  Man   ^-  1,971 


Couotrie*  lo  which  exported. 


Total  quantity  re-exported 

147 


-    «,554,455 


Russia     .       .       .  . 

Sweden  .        -        .  - 

Norway  .        .        -  - 

D<>nmark          .        .  - 

Prussia    .        -        -  - 

Gt-rmany          .        _  _ 

N»;lhHrland3     -        .  - 

France     .        -        -  - 

Portugal,  Azores,  &c.  - 

Spain,  &:c.       -        -  - 

Gibraltar          -        -  - 

lialy         .        .        .  - 

Malta       -        -        .  - 

Ionian  Isles     .        .  - 
Turkey  and  Levant 

Guernsey,  Jersey,  &c.  - 

East  Indies  and  China  - 

Australia         -        -  - 
Cape  of  Good  Hope 
Other  parts  of  Africa 
British  America 
British  West  Indies 
Foreign  West  Indies 
United  States  of  America 

Brazils    .        .        -  - 

Mexico    .        -        -  - 

Total        .        -  - 


Pieces. 

31,824 


790 


54 

91,802 

24  ,.584 

15 

51,979 

4,791 

7,248 

28,967 

725 

12 

313 

3,192 

43,133 

584 

2,258 

193 

20,513 

11.559 

5.633 

76,114 

35,913 

12,063 

427,288 


1830. 


neces. 

7,415 

33 

1,276 

248 

14 

54,502 

21,313 

169 

29,597 

5,685 

2,122 

15,204 

736 

134 

1,782 

3,419 

72,390 

1,363 

3,890 

370 

33,088 

8,262 

3,859 

101,294 

22,509 

51,760 


1840. 

Pieces. 

1,680 

205 

550 

101 

21,572 

10,832 

211 

10.577 

J69 

2,093 

2,829 

644 

207 

663 

2,809 

44,396 

7,336 

3,354 

1,006 

25,661 

3,623 

2,525 

46,945 

18,044 

46,370 


44,5,.360   1258.942 


{Leeds  Times,  Aug.  1841.) 

Under  the  head  of  Agricultural  Products 
OF  THE  United  States,  the  gross  amount  of 
wool  for  1839  was  stated.  The  proportions 
furnished  by  individual  states  were  as  fo' 
lows : — 

5f2  1169 


WOOL. 


WOOL. 


Maine  - 

New  Hampahire  - 
Ma«aachu«etta      - 
Rhode  Iiland 
Connecticut 
Vermont 
New  York    - 
New  Jersey 
Ptnnnylvania 
OeUwere     - 
Marylniid     - 
Virginia       - 
North  Carolina   - 
Bo«(b  Carolina   • 
Oeoigia 
Alabama      - 
MWaUaippl  - 
Louisiana    - 
Tennesaee   - 
Kentucky 


Pounds  of  WooU 

1,465,551 

1,260,517 

941,906 

183,830 

8*19,870 

3,699,235 

9,845,295 

397,207 

3,048.564 

64,404 

488,201 

2.538,374 

625,044 

299,170 

371,303 

220,353 

175,196 

49,283 

1,060,332 

1,786,847 


Ohio 3,685,315 

-  1,237,919 

-  650,007 

-  562,265 
64,943 

-  153,375 
7,285 
6,777 


Indiana        ... 
lllinoie         .       .       - 
Mlasourl       .       .       . 
Arkanaaa      .        .        - 
Miclilfan      - 
Florida  Territory 
Wiakonsan  Territory  - 
Iowa  Territory      - 
Diat r it t  of  Columbia    - 


707 


Total 


35,802,114 


The 
paper, 
prices 


following  statement  from  a  Vermont 
(the  Burlington  Democrat,)  shows  the 
of  wool  from  1821  to  1843. 


1830 


55  to  85  cU 
S»  •  65 
S»  .  65 
«  .  70 
23-70 
25  -  65 
«5  .  50 
»  -30 
«5  -  45 
38-66 


1831 
1832 
1834 
1835 
18:i6 
1838 
1839 
1840 
1843 


45  to  70  cts. 

42  -  63 

43  -  60 
55  -  65 
60  -  80 
45  -  47 
45  ■  60 
43  -  44 
25  -  30 


An  interesting  view  of  the  foreign  wool  trade 
and  the  check  upon  this  effected  through  the 
protection  received  from  Congress,  is  exhibited 
in  the  following  account  derived  from  the  co- 
lumns of  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce, 
(for  Sept.  1843.) 

In  a  communication  to  the  Middlebury  Peo- 
ples Pr«f,  dated  10th  July  last,  and  signed  by 
the  Hon.  William  Slade,  late  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  Vermont,  some  interesting  facts  are 
•tated  as  to  the  operation  of  the  new  Tariff 
upon  the  importation  of  wool  from  foreign 
countries.  By  information  received  from  the 
Register  of  the  Treasury,  it  appears  that  dur- 
ing the  Isl  half  of  the  present  fiscal  year,  which 
eommenced  on  the  1st  of  October  last,  about  a 
awolh  after  the  new  Tariff  went  into  operation, 
Bire  was  imported  into  the  United  States,  of 
wool  cosUng  7  cts.  a  lb.  or  under,  only  881, .568 
ibs.  and  of  wool  costing  over  7  cts.  a  lb.,  only 
175,962  lbs.  Making  a  total  of  only  1,037,530 
lbs.  of  all  descriptions  of  wool  in  6  months ! 
This  is  a  most  extraordinary  falling  off,  coml 
pared  with  the  importations  of  previous  years, 
as  will  be  seen  from  the  fallowin?  scHpHiiIp  • 


ins 

1836 
1837 
1838 
1810 
1840 
1841 


the  fallowing  schedule  : 

Under  8  cti.  Over  S  ct». 


5,543,628 
11,083,010 

9,480,195 

6,551,126 

7.398.519 

9,303,992 
11,409,764 
M,558,99S  lbs 


388,830  lbs. 

806,370 

703,276 

445,478 

527,620 

675,009 

981,281 

351,384 


Making,  on  an  average  of  7  years,  something 
over  9,000,000  lbs.  per  annum,  i^ths  of  which, 
•t  the  p.ace  whence  imported,  cost  less  than  8 


cts.  a  lb.  The  new  Tariff  makes  the  minimum 
7  cts.  per  lb.  instead  of  8  cents,  and  levies  a 
duty  of  5  per  cent,  on  wool  not  above  that  mi 
nimum,  whereas  under  the  old  Tariff  such  wooJ 
was  duty  free.  But  these  changes  are  so  slight, 
that  they  are  not  at  all  sufficient  to  account  for 
the  immense  decrease  in  the  amount  imported. 
Lest  such  should  be  the  inference  of  the  wool- 
growers,  Mr.  Slade  tells  them  that  through  the 
efforts  of  the  Vermont  delegation  in  Congress, 
the  word  "coarse"  was  inserted  in  connection 
with  cheap  wool,  so  that  now,  in  order  to  be 
admitted  at  the  low  duty  of  5  per  cent,  (which 
cannot  exceed  3^  mills  per  lb.),  wool  must  not 
only  have  been  bought  at  7  cts.  a  lb.  or  under, 
but  must  also  be  coarse  :  and  he  adds,  "  I  have 
no  doubt  that  with  a  careful  and  thorough  exe- 
cution of  the  coarse  wool  provision,  according' 
to  its  true  intent  and  meaning,  the  redaction  [in 
the  quantity  of  wool  imported]  would  have 
been  still  greater."  To  illustrate  this  point,  he 
spates  the  following  particulars  : 

"  It  appears  from  the  Custom  House  returns 
that  1101  sheep,  of  the  aggregate  value  of 
$10,565— averaging  $9  60  each,  and  therefore 
presumed  to  have  been  merino  bucks — were 
exported  from  the  United  States  to  Buenos 
Ayres  in  the  years  1837  and  1838.  The  quan- 
tity of  wool,  the  product  of  the  crossings  of 
these  merino  with  the  native  South  American 
sheep,  imported  into  the  United  States  at  and 
below  the  value  of  8  cts.,  cannot,  of  course,  be 
ascertained.  The  importations  from  that  coun- 
try of  wool  costing  8  cts.  and  under,  were 
greatly  increased  in  the  succeeding  years  ;  em- 
bracing, as  is  well  known,  much  fine  wool,  and 
therefore  presumed  to  have  been  the  product 
of  the  crossings  referred  to.  That  increase 
will  appear  by  the  following  statement  of  the 
importations  of  wool  costing  8  cts.  and  under, 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  during  the  years  1839, 1840, 
and  1841,  compared  with  the  previous  3  years. 

Inl836 2,256,887  pounds. 

1837 2,108,582 

1838 2,515,883 

1839   -    -    _    -    -   683,535 

1840 566,468 

1841   -   .    .   -   .  8,870,799 

"The  French  blockade  of  Buenos  Ayres  in 
1839  and  1840  diminished  the  exports  of  those 
years,  and  consequently  swelled  those  of  1841 
when  the  blockade  was  raised.  The  annual 
average  of  the  3  years  was  3,373,600  lbs.  That 
of  the  preceding  3  years  was  2,293,784  lbs. ; 
making  an  excess  of  the  average  of  the  last  3, 
over  that  of  the  first  3  years,  of  1,079,816  lbs. 
— an  increase  of  about  47  per  cent. 

"It  was  the  extraordinary  quantity  of  fine 
wool  thus  cheapened  in  the  market  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  thrown,  in  large  quantities,  upon 
our  own,  that  suggested  the  necessity  of  the 
introduction  of  the  word  'coarse'  into  the 
clause  in  question.  Its  intended  effect  was,  to 
subject  to  the  higher  duty  all  wool  not  coarse, 
though  costing  less  than  7  cts." 

This  higher  duty,  which  applies  to  all  wool 
costing  over  7  cts.  a  lb.,  and,  according  to  Mr. 
Slade's  construction,  to  all  wool  not  coarse, 
whatever  may  be  its  cost,  is  3  cts.  a  lb.  and  30 
per  cent,  ad  valorem.  Hence  the  duty  on  wool 
costing  10  cts.  at  the  place  whence  imported, 
is  6  cts.  a  lb. ;  and  on  wool  costing  20  cts.  o 


WOOLLEN  RAGS 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 


cts.  a  lb.  This  is  a  large  per  ceiitage,  we 
admit;  but  not  so  large  as  that  t  jtablished  by 
the  Tariff  o{  1832,  which  on  all  wool  over  8 
cts.  a  lb.  levied  a  duty  of  4  cts.  a  pound  and 
32  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  On  wool  costing  over 
8  cts.,  the  duties  daring  all  the  years  embraced 
in  the  second  of  the  above  tables,  except  a  part 
of  1842,  were,  on  an  average,  as  high  as  they 
are  now.  We  wish  this  fact  to  be  particularly 
noted ;  for  it  affords  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  small ness  of  the  importations  of  wool  since 
the  new  Tariff  went  into  operation,  is  not  oc- 
casioned by  that  Tariff.  It  is  occasioned,  in 
part,  by  the  market  having  been  over-stocked 
with  coarse  wool  during  1841  and  184^  (nearly 
17,000,000  lbs.  having  been  imported  during 
those  2  years  from  Buenos  Ayres  alone), — 
partly  by  the  prostration  of  carpet  manufactur- 
ing in  this  country  for  the  last  year  or  two,  on 
account  of  low  prices  and  the  scarcity  of  mo- 
ney,— and  partly  by  the  cheapness  of  wool  grown 
in  Ike  Unitefl  Slates.  This  last  is  what  is  going, 
very  soon,  to  nullify  the  Tariff,  and  importa- 
tions too,  so  far  as  wool  is  concerned.  We 
have  no  doubt  that  in  10  years — perhaps  less — 
we  shall  become  a  wool-exporting  country  to 
soch  an  extent  that  protection  against  imported 
wool  will  be  as  effective  as  it  now  is  against 
imported  cotton  ; — and  no  more  so.  [We  still 
lay  a  dnty  of  3  cts.  a  pound  on  cotton,  which 
does  neither  hurt  nor  good.]  The  great  west 
is  coming,  with  her  immense  prairies,  admi- 
rably adapted  to  sheep, — and  she  will  soon  de- 
luge the  country  with  wool  and  sheep-skins,  as 
she  now  does  with  hogs,  bacon,  pork,  lard,  lard- 
oil,  soap.  &c. 

VVO(M.LEN  RAGS.     S«e  Ra». 

WORK.     See  Labour. 

WOULIDGB,  or  WOOLRFDGE.JOHN.  An 
early  English  agricultural  writer.  But  little 
more  is  known  of  his  history,  than  that  he  was 
a  gentleman  who  was  a  great  lover  of  rural 
affairs  and  gardening.  Of  his  works  I  am  only 
acquainted  with  the  following:  —  1.  Systemn 
AariniUtirte :  The  Mystery  of  Husbandry  disro- 
vered  and  laid  open,  1669—77—81,  1687,  folio, 
1716,  8vo.  2.  Treatise  on  Husbandry,  1675, 
folio.  3.  Systema  HorticnUwra ;  or.  The  Art 
of  Gardening,  1677.  4.  Vxnetwn  Britannicum, 
1678 — 91,  8vo.  5.  The  most  easy  way  of  mak- 
ing Cyder,  1678.     6.  Jipiarium,  1691,  12rao. 

The  Systema  jigricuUura  was  the  most  bulky 
folio  volume  on  agriculture  that  had  yet  ap- 
peared, and  its  comprehensive  themes  are  all 
.set  forth  in  its  first  page.  The  authors  of  those 
days  seemed  to  consider  it  essential  that  their 
readers  should  have,  in  the  title-page  of  a  book, 
a  complete  summary  of  its  inviting  contents. 
Woolridge  was  evidently  of  this  opinion,  for 
his  title-page  announces  that  this  was  the 
"Systema  Agriculturae,  or  the  Mystery  of  Hus- 
bandry discovered  ;  treating  of  the  several  new 
and  most  advantageous  ways  of  tilling,  planting, 
sowing,  manureing,  ordering,  improveing,  of 
all  sorts  of  gardens,  orchards,  meadows,  pas- 
tures, corn-lands,  woods,  and  coppices;  as  also 
of  fruits,  corn-grain,  pulse,  new  hays,  cattle, 
fowl,  beasts,  bees,  silk-worms,  and  fish,  with 
an  account  of  the  several  instruments  and  en- 
gines used  in  the  profession ;  to  which  is  added, 
Kalendarium  Rusticum,  or  the  husbandman's 


monthly  directions;  also  the  prognosticks  of 
dearth,  scarcity,  plenty,  sickness,  heat,  cold, 
frost,  snow,  winds,  rain,  hail,  thunder,  &c.; 
and  Dictionarium  Rusticum,  or  the  interpreta- 
tion of  rustick  terms ;  the  whole  work  being 
of  great  use  and  advantage  to  all  that  delight 
in  that  most  noble  practice."  It  is  dedicated 
to  the  gentry  and  yeomanry  of  England,  and 
opens  with  a  preface  laudatory  of  agriculture. 
Notwithstanding,  however,  the  ill  aspect  of 
this  heavy  title-page,  the  book  contains  more 
useful  and  more  enlightened  observations  on 
many  points  of  husbandry  than  any  which  had 
preceded  it.  He  was  a  warm  friend  to  the  en- 
closure of  commons  and  other  waste  land,  and 
he  suggested,  what  in  fact  he  appears  (p.  21) 
to  have  carried  into  effect  in  1665,  at  Wilton, 
the  erection  of  water-works  for  the  purpose  of 
flooding  meadows,  an  improvement  of  which 
I  think  not  nearly  so  much  has  been  made  as 
is  possible  in  this  land  of  steam  and  steam- 
engines.  He  was  evidently  well  acquainted 
with  the  management  of  water-meads,  and  his 
directions  with  relation  to  them  are  practical 
and  sensible.  He  advises  that  sandy  meadows 
should  be  chalked,  and  ashes  applied  to  sour 
rushy  grasses.  When  speaking  "  of  several 
new  species  of  hay  or  grass,"  he  enumerates 
clover-grass,  trefoyle,  St.  Foyn,  La  Lucern, 
ray-grass,  «&c.  He  also  recommends  the  deep 
ploughing  or  digging  of  land,  and  on  all  occa- 
sions seemed  alive  to  any  improvement  in  the 
implements  of  agriculture.  After  giving  an 
account,  at  some  length,  of  the  rude  and  clumsy 
contrivance  of  Gabriel  Platte,  for  a  dibbling- 
machine,  he  elaborately  and  earnestly  advocates 
the  use  of  a  drill,  an  engraving  of  one  of  which, 
primitive  enough,  it  is  true,  in  its  appearance, 
he  gives  in  his  work.  "To  remove,"  he  says, 
"all  manner  of  errors  or  inconveniences  that 
can  be  found  in  setting  or  hoeing  of  corn,  I 
shall  here  give  you  a  plain  and  perfect  de- 
scription of  an  easy  and  feasible  instrument 
that  shall  disperse  your  corn,  grain,  or  pulse, 
of  what  kind  soever,  at  what  distance,  and  in 
what  proportion  you  please."  The  farmer 
may  be  curious  to  know  the  construction  of 
this  drill  of  a  century  and  a  half  since.  It  had 
a  coulter,  a  pipe,  a  hopper,  wheels,  and  axle- 
trees.  He  was  the  first  English  author,  I  be- 
lieve, who  suggested  the  use  of  the  manure- 
drill,  for,  when  speaking  of  the  drill,  he  says 
(p.  52),  "By  the  use  of  this  instrument  also, 
you  may  cover  your  grain  or  pulse  with  any 
rich  compost  you  shall  prepare  for  that  pur- 
pose, either  with  pigeon's  dung,  dry  or  granu- 
lated, or  any  other  saline  or  lixivial  substance 
made  disperseable,  which  may  drop  after  tli«» 
corn,  and  prove  an  excellent  improvement;  for 
we  find  experimentally,  that  pigeon's  dung, 
sown  by  the  hand  on  wheat  or  barley,  mightily 
advantageth  it  by  the  common  way  of  hus- 
bandry; much  more  might  we,  therefore,  ex- 
pect this  way,  where  the  dung,  or  such  like 
substance,  is  all  in  the  same  furrow  with  the 
corn,  where,  in  the  other  vulgar  way,  a  grea* 
part  thereof  comes  not  near  it.  It  may  either 
be  done  by  having  another  hopper,  on  the  same 
frame,  behind  that  for  the  corn,  wherein  the 
compost  may  be  put,  and  made  to  drop  suc- 
cessively after  the  corn,  or  it  may  be  sowm 

1171 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

with  another  instrument  to  follow  the  former, 
which  is  the  better  way,  and  may  both  dis- 
perse the  soil,  and  cover  both  soil  and  seed." 

Woolridge  was  evidently  an  observer  who 
was  able  and  willing  to  think  for  himself.  He 
advocated  change  of  seed  "from  dry,  hungry, 
barren  land,  to  rich  and  fat  land;  also  from 
land  inclining  to  the  south,  to  land  inclining 
towards  the  north,  and  the  contrary;"  all  cf 
which,  he  well  adds  (and  the  reader  must  re- 
member that  Woolridge  was  writing  when 
ebemistry  existed  only  in  name),  "are  mani- 
Atl  signs  that  there  is  some  particular  thing 
wherein  each  .seed  delights,  which  if  we  did 
bat  understand  we  might  properly  apply  it,  and 
gain  riches  and  honours  lo  ourselves ;  but  be- 
cause we  are  ignorant  thereof,  and  are  content 
ao  to  remain,  we  must  make  use  of  such  soils, 
dungs,  composts,  and  other  preparations  and 
ways  of  advancement  of  the  growth  of  vege- 
tables as  are  already  discovered  and  made 
Me  oC"  (p.  57.) 

He  extols  the  use  of  steeps  for  seed-corn, 
mentions  with  approbation  for  this  purpose 
nitre,  common  salt,  as  well  as  urine,  and  gives 
a  recipe  for  making  a  kind  of  liquid  manure 
with  sheep-dung  (i  bushel),  saltpetre  (^  lb.), 
and  common  salt  (I  lb.),  boiled  together  for 
ten  miaules  in  water  (20  quarts),  and  this  he 
eommeods  very  highly  as  a  steep ;  and  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  something  of  this  kind 
of  rich  liquor,  more  especially  if  the  seed  was 
mAerwards  dried  by  being  sprinkled  with  some 
of  ibe  very  fine  manure  powders  at  present 

E posed,  such  as  the  urate  of  the  London 
Dure  Company,  the  composition  of  M.  Poitte- 
via,  the  gnano,  gypsum  powder,  &c.,  might  be 
■Nd  more  profitably  by  the  cultivator  than  at 
ftrat  sight  he  may  be  inclined  to  believe.  He 
was  in  favour  of  paring  and  burning  on  some 
•oils,  and  had  the  good  sense  to  discern  the 
advantages  capable  of  being  derived  from  the 
permanent  improvement  of  the  soil  by  the  use 
of  earthy  manures.  He  devotes,  therefore,  a 
chapter  to  the  soils  and  manures  taken  from  the 
earth  (p.  65) ;  notices  the  uses,  for  this  pur- 
pose, of  chalk,  lime,  marl,  clay,  fuller's  earth. 

The  value  of  sand  as  a  fertilizer  did  not 
•aeape  our  author's  attention.  He  notices  the 
value  lo  some  soils  of  that  of  the  calcareous 
•hores  of  Cornwall,  and  of  the  Suffolk  craig 
Amnalion,  and  of  that  which  he  advises  the 
ftnner  to  lay  under  his  farm-yards  and  sheep- 
paas. 

The  excrements  of  fowls  were  strongly  re- 
commended by  Woolridge  as  a  fertilizer.  He 
deacribes  those  of  pigeons  and  hens  as  "incom- 
parable,—one  load  is  worth  ten  loads  of  other 
dang;"  commends  the  use  of  "all  marrow- 
bones, fish-bones,  horn,  or  horn-shavings ;" 
but  he  fell  into  the  error  with  regard  to  those 
which  it  required  a  century  and  a  quarter  to 
remove,  viz.,  he  fancied  that  all  the  enriching 
qualities  of  the  bones  were  to  be  attributed  to 
the  grease  they  contained,  instead  of  to  their 
phosphate  of  lime.  He  advocated  the  mixture 
of  peat,  saw-dust,  and  tanners'  refuse  bark 
with  dung-heaps,— a  plan  which  is  even  now 
not  nearly  so  extensively  adopted  as  its  merits 
deserve.  Indeed,  as  hoi'est  John  Woolridge 
cv»»icludes  his  section  (p  85),  "The  well-pre- 
1172  ^ 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

TpSLring  of  dung-mixt  is  a  piece  of  husbandry  not 
to  be  slighted,  on  which  point  of  good  or  ill 
husbandry  depends  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
rents  or  values  of  many  farms  in  this  king, 
dom." 

Every  account  of  live-stock  given  by  the 
earlier  agricultural  writers  betrays  the  total 
want  of  attention  then  paid  by  the  farmers  lo 
the  breeding  of  stock,  or  if  they  do  mention  the 
points  to  be  commended  in  an  ox  or  a  sheep, 
they  are  precisely  those  which  a  modern 
breeder  endeavours  to  avoid.  For  instance, 
the  chronicler  HoUingshed  commends  the  Eng- 
lish cows  for  their  largeness  of  bone,  and 
even  Woolridge,  writing  centuries  after  him, 
although  very  elaborate  on  most  points  of  hus- 
bandry, treats  of  the  farmer's  live-stock  in  a 
manner  that  clearly  indicates  that  in  those 
days,  to  use  a  Norfolk  phrase,  "a  cow  was  a 
cow,  and  a  sheep  a  sheep."  Thus  all  the  in- 
struction he  gives  the  breeder  with  regard  to 
the  selection  of  a  cow  is,  that  "  the  best  sort  is 
the  large  Dutch  cow,  that  brings  two  calves  at 
one  birth,  and  gives  ordinarily  two  gallons  of 
milk  at  one  meal."  His  account  of  sheep  I 
will  also  give,  without  abridgment,  for  its  facts 
will  sound  still  more  novel  to  a  modern  farmer: 
— "There  are  divers  sorts,  some  bearing  much 
finer  wool  than  others :  as  the  Herefordshirt 
sheep  about  Lemster  bear  the  fairest  fleeces  ol 
any  in  England.  Also  they  are  of  several 
kinds  as  to  their  proportion :  some  are  very 
small,  others  larger.  But  the  Dutch  sheep  are 
the  largest  of  all,  being  much  bigger  than  any 
I  have  seen  in  England,  and  yearly  bear  two 
or  three  lambs  at  a  time.  It  is  also  reported 
that  they  sometimes  bear  lambs  twice  in  the 
year."  This  seemed  to  convince  Woolridge, 
and  very  naturally,  too,  of  their  value,  for  he 
adds,  "  It  may  doubtless  be  of  very  good 
advantage  to  obtain  of  those  kinds  and  also  of 
Spanish  sheep  that  bear  such  fine  fleeces." 

The  scientific  modern  breeder,  when  he 
smiles  at  this  negligence  and  folly  of  a  by-gone 
race  of  farmers,  must  remember,  however,  the 
difficulties  under  which  they  laboured,  not  only 
from  lack  of  knowledge,  but  also  of  the  means 
to  improve  at  a  reasonable  rate  their  ill- 
shaped,  large-boned,  and  slow-feeding  race  of 
oxen.  He  should  recollect  that  they  had  not 
had  the  advantage  of  a  Bakewell,  a  Culley,  or  a 
Collings,  to  labour  during  a  lengthened  period 
for  their  improvement, — the  days  of  the  Smith- 
field  Club,  and  of  the  Highland  Society,  were 
yet  far  distant.  They  had  not  even  a  suspicion 
of  what  improved  breeding  would  effect ;  and 
if  they  were  ignorant,  as  they  evidently  were, 
that  their  breeds  were  inferior,  we  can  hardly 
wonder  that  they  were  content  to  labour  on, 
since  the  very  first  step  to  improvement,  a  be- 
lief in  greater  excellence  being  possible,  was 
wanting. 

The  opinions,  however,  of  Woolridge  with 
regard  to  plantations  of  timber-trees  were  evi- 
dently more  enlightened;  for  although  he  lived 
a  century  before  the  days  of  our  modern  ex- 
tensive planters — of  such  men  as  the  Lords 
Athol,  D'evonshire,  and  Fife,  and  of  Sir  Henry 
Steuart — yet  he  earnestly  advised  the  planting 
of  the  poorer  soils  of  our  island;  he  asked  the 
landowners   of  his   time,  after  describing  to 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

them  the  profit  they  might  derive  from  such 
foresighted  enterprise,  "What  can  be  more 
pleasant  than  to  have  the  bounds  and  limits  of 
your  own  property  preserved,  and  continued 
from  age  to  age  by  the  testimony  of  such  grow- 
ing and  living  witnesses,  in  the  spring  yielding 
a  reviving  cordial  to  your  winter-chilled  spirit, 
giving  you  an  assurance  of  the  approaching 
summer  by  their  pregnant  buds  and  musical 
inhabitants  1  In  the  summer,  what  more 
delectable  than  the  curious  prospect  of  the 
variety  of  greenness,  dark  shades,  and  retire- 
ment from  the  scorching  sunbeams?"  He 
well  knew,  too,  what  some  of  ray  northern 
friends  are  only  now  proving  to  be  practically 
the  case,  that  "woods  also  finely  refrigerate 
the  air  in  the  summer's  parching  heats,  and 
qualify  the  dry  and  injurious  winds,  both  in 
winter,  spring,  and  autumn."  He  devotes  a 
long  chapter  to  the  profits  and  pleasures  of 
fruit  trees,  and  ridicules  very  quaintly  the  ob- 
jection too  commonly  made  to  such  plantations, 
viz.,  "  that  their  fruit  would  be  stolen."  "When," 
he  says,  "they  become  more  common,  they 
will  be  little  regarded  by  these  filchers,  or  if 
they  do  borrow  a  few  sometimes  in  their 
pockets,  or  to  make  a  few  apple-pies  withal, 
yet  that  is  a  poor  discouragement  to  an  inge- 
nious spirit,  and  much  like  that  rustick  humour 
of  one  that  would  not  improve  a  very  good 
piece  of  ground  for  that  purpose  with  fruit 
trees,  because  the  parson  would  have  the  deci- 
mation of  it,  and  so  denied  himself  the  nine 
parts,  because  the  parson  should  not  have  the 
remainder." 

Of  the  ploughs  employed  l.'SO  years  since,  he 
mentions  the  double-wheeled  or  Hertfordshire 
plough,  the  lurnwrest  or  Kentish  plough, 
"  which  surpasseth  for  weight  and  clumsiness" 
the  one-wheeled  plough,  the  plain  plough,  and 
the  trenching  plough. 

Woolridge  gives  also  sundry  directions  for 
angling,  fowling,  bird-catching,  horse-breeding, 
and  sundry  other  rural  affairs,  and  finally  he 
winds  up  with  a  Kalendarium  Rusticum.  In 
these  he  gives  various  monthly  directions,  of 
which  one  specimen  will  suffice,  of  the  mode 
of  farming  then  commonly  adopted.  In  May 
he  directs  the  farmer  "  to  kill  ivy,  to  feed  down 
or  mow  rank  corn ;  to  sow  barley,  buckwheat, 
pease,  hemp,  and  flax,  clover-grass,  St.  Foyn, 
and  other  French  grasses ;  to  pare  and  burn 
land,  and  wean  lambs."  He  every  month,  as 
if  in  rivalry  of  the  almanac-makers  of  former 
generations,  treated  the  farmer  to  some  poetry, 
often  of  a  most  absurd  description ;  thus,  in  the 
month  of  March,  after  having  told  them  that 
"this  month  ushers  in  the  most  welcome  sea- 
son of  the  year,"  and  that "  now  gentle  Zephyrus 
fans  the  sweet  buds,  and  the  caelestial  drops 
water  fair  Flora's  garden,"  he  could  not  help 
adding  some  of  his  own  poetry,  telling  them 
what  must  have  been  indeed  novel  informa- 
tion, that  now 

"The  lofty  mountains  standing  on  a  row. 
Which  but  of  late  were  perriwigg'd  with  snow, 
DorTiheir  old  coals,  and  now  are  daily  seen 
To  stand  on  tiptoes  all  in  swaergering  green  ; 
Meadows  and  gardens  are  prankt  up  with  buds. 
And  chirping  birds  now  chant  it  in  the  woods   * 

Woo  ridge  labo  ired  hard,  however,  in  spite 


WORLIDGE,  JOHN. 

of  occasional  absurdities  of  expression,  to  ele* 
vate  the  science  of  agriculture;  and  that  it  was 
deemed  a  science  in  the  17th  century,  is  evi- 
dent in  this  opening  address  to  the  farmer, 
when  he  says,  "Agriculture  hath  been  (not 
undeservedly)  esteemed  a  science  that  prin- 
cipally teaches  us  the  nature  and  divers  pro- 
perties and  qualities,  as  well  of  the  several 
soils,  earths,  and  places,  as  of  the  several  pro- 
ductions or  creatures,  whether  vegetable,  ani- 
mal, or  mineral,  that  naturally  proceed  or  are 
artificially  produced  from,  or  maintained  by. 
the  earth."  This  he  promises  the  husbandman 
he  will  do  "after  a  plain  and  familiar  method." 
He  soon,  however,  begins  to  illustrate  his 
"plain  and  familiar  method,"  by  talking  of  the 
"  secret,  mystical,  and  mechanick  indagations 
of  nature,  the  universal  spirit,  or  spirit  of  mer- 
cury and  of  salt ;"  and  gives  us  but  a  mean 
opinion  of  his  natural  philosophy,  by  gravely 
telling  us  that  "  soon  will  horse-hairs  receive 
life  lying  in  rain-water  but  a  few  days  in  the 
heat  of  the  sun  in  spring-time." 

But  in  spite  of  these  occasional  mistakes, 
the  book  of  Woolridge  was  perhaps  the  most 
practical,  and  therefore  the  most  useful  book 
which  had  yet  appeared  treating  of  agriculture 
and  rural  affairs.  The  very  publication  of 
such  an  expensive  folio,  of  326  pages,  betrayr 
the  increasing  thirst  for  knowledge  of  the  cul- 
tivatorjj  of  those  days,  and  the  same  remarks 
apply  generally  to  those  of  Platte  and  of  Hart* 
lib  ;  in  truth,  both  agriculture  and  agricultural 
writers  could  hardly  fail  to  keep  pace  with  the 
rapid  increase  to  the  general  stock  of  know 
ledge  which  the  age  in  which  they  flourished 
received  to  so  remarkable  an  extent;  and  this 
improvement  was  not,  as  my  brother,  Mr. 
George  Johnson  remarks  (Hist,  of  Gard.),  in 
only  one  branch  of  knowledge,  but  in  the  whole 
circle  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  reforma- 
tion was  not  confined  to  religion.  By  deliver- 
ing the  human  mind  from  servile  thraldom,  and 
teaching  man,  instead  of  bowing  blindly  to 
custom,  merely  on  account  of  its  antiquity,  to 
have  a  self-dependence,  it  gave  an  impulse  to 
improvement  which  no  tyrant  opposition  of 
either  bigotry,  indolence,  or  self-sutficiency 
could  check.  Such  men  as  Bacon,  Peiresc, 
and  Evelyn  arose,  and  whilst  the  first  traced 
the  path  which  men  of  science  should  tread,  the 
two  latter  lent  their  talents  and  their  wealth  to 
sustain  them  in  the  pursuit.  Bacon,  it  has 
been  truly  observed,  was  the  first  who  taught 
men  that  they  were  but  the  servants  and  inter- 
preters of  nature,  capable  of  discovering  truth 
in  no  other  way  than  by  observing  and  imitaN 
ing  her  operations ;  that  facts  must  be  collecied 
instead  of  speculations  formed,  and  that  the 
materials  for  the  foundations  of  true  ."^y stems 
of  knowledge  were  to  be  discovered,  not  in  ♦he 
books  of  the  ancients,  not  in  metaphysical 
theories,  not  in  the  fancies  of  men,  but  by  care- 
ful, and  laborious,  and  patient  experiments 
and  observations  in  the  external  world.  Peiresc 
was  a  munificent  man  of  letters ;  his  advice, 
his  purse  were  open  to  the  votaries  of  every 
art  and  every  scfence  ;  his  library  was  stored 
with  the  literature  of  every  age  and  nation,  his 
garden  with  the  rarest  and  most  useful  exotics, 
and  these  last  he  delighted  to  spread  over  the 

1173 


WORM. 

9P9ntry.  Wbc».  indeed,  we  cast  our  eyes  over 
a  list  of  the  meo  of  science  and  literature  of  all 
that  adorned  this  age,  especially  in 
and  in  botany,  the  two  sciences  per- 
haO»  of  all  others  the  most  important  to  agri- 
eoltare,  we  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  how 
rApidiy  it  was  rising  from  being  a  mere  art  of 
•mpiricism  *  and  when  we  note  how  rapidly 
the  ibi.it  for  foreign  research  was  prevalent, 
we  can  easily  perceive  how  improved  modes 
of  colture  and  new  plants  were  acquired  to 
afrieallure.  Cavendish,  but  especially  Ka- 
tttigfc  by  their  visits  for  lucre  as  well  as  fame 
fo  Ibe  Spanish  settlements  of  America  in 
IMO-8,  led  the  way  in  a  path  which  Lancaster 
••d  Baymond  <^ollowed  in  1791,  and  laid  the 
iMindatioQ  of  that  anomalous  copartnership  of 
MMBmercial  monarchs,  the  East  India  Com- 
yaajr.  Annual  fleets  now  returned  from  the 
fMtand  west,  laden  with  the  curiositie5  of  both 
dM  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms ;  of  these 
IIm  potato,  tobacco,  and  tea  need  alone  be  in- 
ttanced ;  and  although  the  views  of  men  were 
noC  yet  liberal  enough  to  prompt  them  to 
voyages  of  discovery,  with  an  unmixed  desire 
•f  eitending  the  field  of  science,  or  an  enlarged 
wUk  In  benefit  mankind,  yet  new  plants,  in 
tfliMion  with  other  hitherto  strange  natural 
prt4ttcts,  altraded  their  attention,  and,  though 
•I  irel  imported  as  novelties,  soon  became  by 
4ipr«ea  to  be  desired  and  sought  for  as  the 
lotriee  and  neeessaries  of  life.  (Quart.  Jour. 
Jgr.  vol.  xti.  p.  4«0.) 

WOBM.  See  CcT-wenx,  Earth-worm, 
Wiai-wuB«,  Ac. 

WORM-SEED  (Ckenopodium).    See  Goose- 


WORM8.  INTESTINAL.  A  troublesome 
•on  of  vermin  foand  in  the  intestines  of  horses 
§mi  other  animals.  There  is,  perhaps,  nothing 
•0  destructive  to  the  health  and  appearance  of 
IIm  horse  as  worms.  When  they  have  obtain- 
•d  a  settlement  in  the  intestines,  neither  the 
kboar  of  the  groom  nor  the  liberality  of  the 
■aster  will  prove  of  any  avail  towards  im- 
pnMrinf  the  aniaial's  condition :  for  as  fast  as 
lbs  ebjrie  is  formed  from  the  aliment,  which 
oagbl  to  be  converted  into  blood,  these  nume- 
IWM  fnesis  intt  satiate  their  craving  appe- 
iMSk  and  leave  bm  a  scanty  supply  for  the 
«bM»led  system  of  the  horse,  so  that  a  double 
■II0  vanee  of  com  would  not  preserve  a  healthy 
MMet  becaase  the  digestive  organs  cannot  ex- 
ill  an  extraordinary  power  for  any  length  of 
lUM.  withooi  prodaeiafr  snch  a  state  of  debility 
as  10  render  them  incapable  of  performing 
aAerwardx  their  proper  office. 

In  these  animals,  the  most  common  kinds 
are  the  fnllowin?:—!.  Bots,  which  many  young 
borses  are  subject  to  in  the  spring ;  2.  Those 
that  resemble  eartb-worms,  and  which,  by  phy- 
iiMAas,  are  catted  hmhrki;  3.  Those  that  are 
abeat  the  sian  of  Iba  largest  sewing-needles, 
wilbaatbeads.«aUedaaearides;  4.  Thatspecies 
«rf  worm  cal led  f«NM,  or  tape-worm.  See  Bots 
FtrKK-woRn,  dec.  * 

WORMWOOD  (.^rtemina,  so  named  in  ho- 
aour  of  Artemisia,  wife  of  King  Mausolus,  or 
uf  Diana  a^t^).  There  are  four  perennial- 
bitter  aromatic  herbs  included  under 
le,  and  culuvated  solely  for  medicinal 
1174 


WOUNDWORT. 

purposes: — Common  wormwood  (ji.  aiy 
!  sinthium)  is  a  native  of  almost  every  part  of 
i  Europe,  and  in  England  is  found  by  road-sides 
on  heaps  of  rubbish,  &c.  It  is  an  erect  under 
shrub,  with  hoary  tri-pinnatisert  leaves.  The 
flowers  in  small,  globose,  nodding,  racemose 
panicles.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the 
drooping  sea-wormwood  (./?.  maritima),  which 
is  found  on  salt  marshes  and  the  sea-coast. 
Roman  wormwood  (A.  pontica)  is  a  native  of 
Italy;  and  Santonicum  or  Tartarian  worm- 
wood (.4.  Santonica),  which  is  a  mere  variety 
of  j1.  maritima,  of  Persia  and  Siberia.  The 
soil  best  suited  to  the  growth  of  these  plants  is 
one  that  is  dry,  light,  and  poor,  otherwise  they 
become  luxuriant,  and  are  defective  in  their 
medicinal  qualities,  as  well  as  in  their  power 
to  withstand  the  rigour  of  the  winter.  Any 
situation  will  suit  the  common  and  the  sea- 
wormwoods  that  is  open  and  unconfined  ;  but 
the  exotic  species  require  to  be  sheltered  from 
the  severe  aspects.  In  a  severe  winter,  the 
Tartarian  can  only  be  preserved  under  a  frame. 
The  sea-wormwood  seldom  flourishes  from  the 
want  of  a  genial  soil;  the  application  of  salt 
would  undoubtedly  be  beneficial. 

They  are  all  propagated  by  seed,  as  well  as 
slips  and  cuttings,  the  first  of  which  may  be 
sown  in  March  or  April,  and  the  latter  planted 
during  June,  July,  and  beginning  of  August. 
The  seed  is  sown  thinly  broadcast,  and  when, 
the  plants  arrive  at  a  height  of  2  or  3  inches, 
are  weeded  and  thinned  to  6  inches  asunder; 
and  those  taken  away  pricked  out  at  a  similar 
distance,  water  being  given  if  the  weather  is 
at  all  dry.  The  slips  and  cuttings  are  planted 
in  a  shady  border,  about  8  inches  apart,  and 
water  given  regularly  every  evening  until  they 
have  taken  root.  They  are  all  to  be  trans* 
planted  finally  early  in  the  following  spring,  by 
whichever  mode  they  are  raised,  setting  the 
plants  at  last  18  inches  apart.    See  Mugwokt, 

and  SoOTHKRNWOOD. 

WOUNDWORT  (Stachys,  from  stachys,  a 
spike,  alluding  to  the  mode  of  flowering).  A 
genus  of  rather  weedy-looking  plants,  hardly 
worth  cultivating  for  ornament.  They  all 
succeed  in  common  garden  soil.  The  peren- 
nial kinds  are  easily  increased  by  dividing  the 
roots  in  spring  or  autumn.  The  seeds  of  the 
annual  kinds  should  be  sown  in  spring,  in  the 
open  border.  As  a  vulnerary  these  plants  have 
no  power.  There  are  five  indigenous  species: 
the  hedge  woundwort  (S.  sylvatica)  ;  the  ambi- 
guous woundwort  (S.  ambigua) ;  the  marsh 
woundwort  (S.  palustris) ;  the  downy  wound- 
wort (S.  germanica) ;  and  the  corn  wound- 
wort (S.  arvensis).  The  marsh  woundwort 
has  a  fleshy  root,  creeping  extensively;  throw- 
ing out  in  autumn  a  number  of  tuberous 
shoots,  which  render  it,  in  low,  wet  ground, 
very  difficult  of  extirpation.  This,  therefore, 
should  be  attempted  in  summer  before  these 
knobs  are  produced,  when  the  flowers  are 
appearing. 

Several  species  of  woundwort,  or  hedge- 
nettle,  are  found  in  the  United  States.  One, 
called  S.  sylvatica,  is  found  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio,  on  the  skirts  of  thickets,  giving  out  the 
same  fetid  odour  as  the  European  species. 
The  flowers  arc,  however,  paler.    (NuttalL) 


YAM. 


YAM  (Dioscorea  sativa).  A  climbing  plant, 
cultivated  in  the  East  and  West  Indies.  Its 
roots  are  very  large,  flattened,  sometimes  pal- 
mated.  It  is  boiled  or  roasted  like  the  potato, 
and  is  wholesome,  palatable,  and  nutritious. 
The  flour  is  also  used  for  puddings  and  bread. 
The  D.  alata  is  equally  cultivated;  its  root  is 
3  feet  long,  and  often  weighs  30  lbs.  Of  both 
kinds  there  are  numerous  varieties. 

YARD-DUNG.     See  Farm-Yard  Manure. 

YARD  OF  LAND.  A  quantity  of  land 
which  in  some  counties  in  England  signifies 
15  acres,  in  some  20,  and  in  others  24,  30,  and 
34  acres. 

YARROW  {Achillea).  A  genus  of  showy, 
free-flowering  plants,  succeeding  well  in  any 
common  soil,  and  readily  increased  by  divid- 
ing the  roots.  The  species  are  possessed  of 
aromatic,  bitter,  tonic,  and  stimulating  quali- 
ties. In  England  the  following  are  indigenous 
perennials: — 

1.  Sneezewort  yarrow,  or  goose-tongue  {A. 
ptarmica),  which  grows  in  wet  hedges,  or  about 
the  banks  of  rivers,  flowering  in  July  and  Au- 
gust. The  root  creeps  widely,  and  is  diflicult 
of  extirpation  where  the  soil  is  moist  Stems 
upright,  about  2  feet  high ;  corymbose  at  the 
top.  Leaves  sessile,  linear,  pointed,  equally 
and  sharply  serrated,  and  of  a  glaucous  green. 
Flowers  numer^s,  small,  milk-white  in  the 
disk  as  well  as  in  the  radius,  with  an  irregular 
number  of  ligulate  florets.  The  whole  plant 
has  a  pungent  flavour,  provoking  a  flow  of 
saliva,  and  this  flavour  renders  it  acceptable, 
as  Schreber  asserts,  to  sheep,  who  delight  es- 
pecially in  saltish  food.  The  sneezing  caused 
by  the  dried  and  powdered  leaves  is  rather 
owing  to  their  little,  sharp,  marginal  prickles. 
Its  name  is  derived  from  this  property  of  caus- 
ing sneezing. 

2.  Serrated  yarrow  {A.  serrata).  This  is  a 
much  less  common  species,  in  which  the  root 
is  fil)rous,  leaves  linear,  lanceolate,  downy, 
deeply  serrated.  Flowers  of  a  yellowish-white 
or  buff"  colour,  not  half  the  size  of  the  forego- 
ing. The  whole  herb  has  a  powerful  aromatic 
scent  and  bitter  flavour,  somewhat  like  tansy. 

3.  Common  yarrow  or  milfoil  (A.  milli/o- 
linm),P\.9,k\  This  species  grows  abundantly 
in  English  meadows  and  pastures.  The  root 
is  creeping,  with  smooth,  reddish,  subterrane- 
ous shoots,  which  are  warm  and  agreeably 
pungent,  partaking  of  the  flavour  and  salivat- 
ing quality  of  the  pellitory  of  Spain  (A.  py- 
rethum).  Stems  furrowed,  erect,  about  a  foot 
high,  Leaves  doubly  pinnatifid,  hairy;  seg- 
nr^nt.s  linear,  toothed,  pointed.  Flowers  nume- 
n  as,  white,  occasionally  reddish  or  purple. 
The  whole  herb  is  astringent,  and  weakly  aro- 
matic. Although  considered  a  bad  weed  in 
pasture  and  arable  lands,  in  consequence  of 
its  creeping  root.  Dr.  Anderson  and  others  have 
recommended  it  for  cultivation ;  but  its  pro- 
ductive and  nutrient  properties  are  very  inferior 
to  many  other  plants  equally  adapted  to  light 
soils;  64  drachms  of  the  leaves  and  stems,  cut 
when  in  flower,  afforded  98  grains  of  nutritive 
matter.  Linnaeus  says  that  its  properties  are 
vulnerarv  and  styptic.    An  essential  oil  is  ex- 


YEAST. 

traded  from  the  flowers;  and  an  ointm,flii 
made  of  the  leaves  is  reckoned  good  agamst 
the  scab  in  sheep.  A.  moschata,  an  exotic  spe- 
cies, a  native  of  Italy,  is  sudorific  and  acrid, 
and  makes  a  wholesome  food  for  cattle. 

4.  Woolly  yellow  milfoil,  or  yarrow  (A.  to- 
mcntosa).  This  species  grows  about  dry  hilly 
pastures  in  Scotland  and  Ireland.  The  root  is 
woody,  slightly  creeping,  with  many  long  fibres. 
Stems  scarcely  a  foot  high,  curved  at  the  base, 
then  erect.  Leaves  doubly  pinnatifid,  woolly, 
segments  linear,  crowded,  acute.  Flowers 
densely  corymbose,  on  woolly  stalks,  of  a 
bright  golden  yellow.  The  whole  herb,  as  well 
as  the  flowers,  has  an  aromatic  scent  when 
rubbed.  It  serves  to  decorate  rock-work  in 
gardens,  but  will  not  bear  wet  or  shade. 

YEARLINGS.  A  term  applied  to  calves, 
colts,  and  other  young  stock,  when  they  have 
completed  their  first  year. 

YEAST.  The  froth  or  scum  which  rises  on 
beer  during  the  act  of  fermentation.  (See 
BuEwixG  and  Fermentatiox.)  It  contains  a 
variety  of  components  ;  among  others,  carbon, 
acetic  and  malic  acids,  alcohol,  potassa,  lime, 
a  saccharine,  mucilaginous  extract,  gluten,  and 
water. 

Yeast  is  an  article  of  the  greatest  importance 
in  domestic  economy,  forming  a  necessary  in- 
gredient in  the  manufacture  of  bread,  which 
would  otherwise  become  heavy  and  unwhole- 
some. When  put  in  contact  with  saccharine 
matters,  at  a  temperature  of  between  50°  and 
60°,  it  causes  fermentation,  and  changes  the 
sugar  into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid.  Yeast 
may  be  dried  and  yet  retain  its  properties,  but 
a  temperature  of  212°  destroys  it. 

The  yeast  prepared  by  the  Hungarians  will 
keep  for  a  whole  twelvemonth.  During  the 
summer  season  they  boil  a  quantity  of  wheaten 
bran  and  hops  in  water ;  the  decoction  is  not 
long  in  fermenting,  and  when  this  has  taken 
place  they  throw  in  a  suflicient  portion  of  bran 
to  form  the  whole  into  a  thick  paste,  which 
they  work  into  balls,  that  are  afterwards  dried 
by  a  slow  heat.  When  wanted  for  use  they 
are  broken,  and  boiling  water  is  poured  upon 
them  ;  having  stood  a  proper  time,  the  fluid  is 
decanted,  and  in  a  fit  slate  for  leavening  bread. 
See  Bread. 

"The  substance  called  yeast  or  ferment,  de- 
rives  its  name  from  the  power  it  possesses  of 
causing  fermentation  in  sugar,  or  saccharine 
vegetable  juices.  It  possesses,"  says  Liebig, 
"  all  the  characters  of  a  compound  of  nitrogen  m 
the  state  of  putrefaction  and  eremacausis. 

"Like  wood  in  the  state  of  eremacausis,  yeast 
converts  the  oxygen  of  the  surrounding  air  into 
carbonic  acid,  but  it  also  evolves  this  gas  from 
its  own  mass,  like  bodies  in  the  state  of  putre- 
faction. (Colin.)  When  kept  under  water,  it 
emits  carbonic  acid,  accompanied  by  gases  of 
an  oflfensive  smell  (Thenard),  and  is  at  last  con- 
verted into  a  substance  resembling  old  cheese. 
(Proust.)  But  when  its  own  putrefaction  is  com 
pleted,  it  has  no  longer  the  power  of  inducing 
fermentation  in  other  bodies.  The  presence 
of  water  is  quite  necessary  for  sustaining  the 
properties  of  ferment,  for  by  simple  pressure 
its  power  to  excite  fermentation  is  much  di 
minished,  and  is  completely  destroyed  by  dry- 

1176 


YEAST. 

w.  Its  action  is  arrested  also  by  the  tempera- 
mn  of  boiling  water,  by  alcohol,  common  salt, 
M  excess  of  sugar,  oxide  of  mercury,  corro- 
fire  sublimate,  pyrol igneous  acid,  sulphurous 
acid,  nitrate  of  silver,  volatile  oils,  and,  in 
tlM>rt,  by  all  antiseptic  substances. 

••  Tht  maoluble  part  of  the  subttance  called  fer- 
mmU  do€»  not  cauu  fermeniation.  For  when  the 
jmst  from  wine  or  beer  is  carefully  wa*  hed 
with  water,  care  being  taken  that  it  is  always 
covered  with  this  fluid,  the  residue  does  not 
produce  fermentation. 

•*  7%e  tolmbie  part  of  ferment  liketaise  does  not  ex- 
tUt/ermtntatioH,  An  aqueous  infusion  of  yeast 
may  be  mixed  with  a  solution  of  sugar,  and 
preserved  in  vessels  from  which  the  air  is  ex- 
eJaded,  without  either  experiencing  the  slight- 
Mt  change.  What  then,  we  may  ask,  is  the  mat- 
ter in  ferment  which  excites  fermentation,  if  nei- 
ther the  soluble  nor  insoluble  parts  possess  the 
power!  This  question  has  been  answered  by 
Colin  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner.  He 
has  shown  that  in  reality  tV  is  the  soluble  part. 
it  obtains  this  power,  the  decanted  in- 
most be  allowed  to  cool  in  contact  with 
the  air,  and  to  remain  some  time  exposed  to 
its  action.  When  introduced  into  a  solution 
ot  augar  in  this  state,  it  produces  a  brisk  fer- 
OMBtation ;  but  without  a  previous  exposure  to 
dw  air  it  manifests  no  such  property. 

••  Dunng  the  fermentation  of  sugar  by  yeast, 
both  of  these  substances  suffer  decomposition 
at  the  same  time,  and  disappear  in  conse- 
qWDce.  But  if  yeast  be  a  body  which  excites 
fermentation  by  being  itself  in  a  state  of  de- 
composition, all  other  matters  in  the  same  con- 
dition should  have  a  similar  action  upon  sugar; 
aad  this  is  in  reality  the  case.  Muscle,  urine, 
iaioglass,  osmazome,*  albumen,  cheese,  glia- 
gluten,  legumin,  and  blood,  when  in  a 
of  putrefaction,  have  all  the  power  of 
prodacing  the  putrefaction  or  fermentation  of 
a  solaiion  of  sagar.  Yeast,  which  by  con- 
tinued washing  has  entirely  lost  the  property 
of  inducing  fermentation,  regains  it  when  its 
pairefaction  has  recommenced,  in  consequence 
of  its  being  kept  in  a  warm  situation  for  some 
time. 

**  If  we  consider  the  process  of  the  fermenta- 
tion of  pure  sugar,  in  a  practical  point  of  view, 
we  meet  with  two  facts  of  constant  occurrence. 
When  the  quantity  of  ferment  is  too  small  in 
proportion  to  that  of  the  sugar,  its  putrefaction 
will  be  completed  before  the  transformation  of 
•11  the  sugar  is  effected.  Some  sugar  here  re- 
mains undecomposed,  because  the  cause  of  its 
transformation  is  absent,  viz.,  contact  with  a 
body  in  a  state  of  decomposition. 

••  But  when  the  quantity  of  ferment  predomi- 
nates, a  certain  quantity  of  it  remains  after  all 
the  sugar  has  fermented,  its  decomposition  pro- 
ceeding very  slowly,  on  account  of  its  insolu- 
bility in  water.  This  residue  of  ferment  is 
still  able  to  induce  fermentation,  when  intro- 
duced into  a  fresh  solution  of  sugar,  and  re-  i 
tains  tne  same  power  until  it  has  passed  1 
Arongh  all  the  stages  of  its  own  transformation. 

**  Hence  &  certain  quantity  of  yeast  is  neces- 

•.*.;?Lt*VK".'i^'  ■"''"*'  matter  on  which  the  peculiar 
S^^L  r'lr*.?^'  »uppo«d  to  depend  ;  hence  its  name, 
a%m  Uie  Greek  for  odour  and  broih. 

U76  ' 


YELLOW-WOOD. 

i  sary  in  order  to  effect  the  transformation  of  a 

I  certain  portion  of  sugar,  not  because  it  acts  b^ 

I  its  quantity  increasing  any  affinity,  but  because 

its  influence  depends  solely  on  its  presence, 

and  its  presence  is  necessary,  until   the  last 

atom  of  sugar  is  decomposed. 

"  We  have  seen  that  ferment  or  yeast  is  a 
body  in  the  state  of  decomposition,  the  atoms 
of  which,  consequently,  are  in  a  state  of  mo- 
tion or  transposition.  Yeast,  placed  in  contact 
with  sugar,  communicates  to  the  elements  of 
that  compound  the  same  state,  in  consequence 
of  which,  the  constituents  of  the  sugar  arrange 
themselves  into  new  and  simpler  forms,  name- 
ly, into  alcohol  and  carbonic  acid.  In  these 
new  compounds,  the  elements  are  united  toge- 
ther by  stronger  affinities  than  they  were  in 
the  sugar,  and  therefore  under  the  conditions 
in  which  they  were  produced  further  decompo- 
sition is  arrested. 

"  We  know,  also,  that  the  elements  of  sugar 
assume  totally  different  arrangements,  when 
the  substances  which  excite  their  transposition 
are  in  a  different  state  of  decomposition  from 
the  yeast  just  mentioned.  Thus,  when  sugar 
is  acted  on  by  rennet  or  putrefying  vegetable 
juices,  it  is  not  converted  into  alcohol  and 
carbonic  acid,  but  into  lactic  acid,  mannite, 
and  gum. 

"  Again,  it  has  been  shown,  that  yeast  added 
to  a  solution  of  pure  sugar  gradually  disap- 
pears, but  that  when  added  to  vegetable  juices 
which  contain  gluten  as  well  as  sugar,  it  is  re- 
produced by  the  decomposition  of  the  former 
substance. 

"  The  yeast  with  which  these  liquids  are  made 
to  ferment,  has  itself  been  originally  produced 
from  gluten. 

"  The  conversion  of  gluten  into  yeast  in  these 
vegetable  juices  is  dependent  on  the  decompo- 
sition (fermentation)  of  sugar;  for,  when  the 
sugar  has  completely  disappeared,  any  gluten 
which  may  still  remain  in  the  liquid  does  not 
suffer  change  from  contact  with  the  newly  de- 
posited yeast,  but  retains  all  the  characters  of 
gluten. 

"Yeast  is  a  product  of  the  decomposition 
of  gluten ;  but  it  passes  into  a  second  stage 
of  decomposition  when  in  contact  with  water. 
On  account  of  its  being  in  this  state  of  further 
change,  yeast  excites  fermentation  in  a  fresh 
solution  of  sugar,  and  if  this  second  saccha- 
rine fluid  should  contain  gluten,  (should  it  be 
tvort,  for  example,)  yeast  is  again  generated  in 
consequence  of  the  transposition  of  the  ele- 
ments of  the  sugar  exciting  a  similar  change 
in  this  gluten. 

"  After  this  explanation,  the  idea  that  yeast 
reproduces  itself  as  seeds  reproduce  seeds, 
cannot  for  a  moment  be  entertained."  {Liebig.) 

YELLOW-BEAR.     See  Caterpillar. 

YELLOW-TOP  {Agrostis  alba).  A  variety 
of  Herds.  Called  also,  in  the  New  England 
states,  White-top. 

YELLOW-WEED.    See  Weld. 

YELLOW-WOOD  (Virgilia  lutea).  This 
tree,  says  Michaux,  is  confined  to  that  part  of 
West  Tennessee  which  lies  between  the  35th 
and  37th  degrees  of  latitude,  where  it  is  com- 
monly designated  by  the  name  which  is  here 
adopted. 


YEOMAN. 

This  tree  grows  of  preference  on  gentle  de- 
tlivities,  in  a  Icose,  deep,  and  fertile  soil,  and 
us  usually  accompanied  by  the  led  mulberry, 
coffee  tree,  sweet  locust,  black  walnut,  and 
other  species  whose  presence  evinces  the  rich- 
ness of  the  land.  It  rarely  exceeds  40  feet  in 
height  and  1  foot  in  diameter,  and  in  general 
it  does  not  attain  even  these  dimensions.  Its 
trunk  is  covered  with  a  greenish  bark,  which  is 
smooth  instead  of  being  furrowed  like  that  of 
most  other  trees. 

The  leaves  of  the  yellow-wood  are  6  or  8 
inches  long  on  old  trees,  and  of  twice  this  size 
on  young  and  thriving  stocks.  They  are  com- 
posed of  two  rows  of  leaflets,  smooth,  entire, 
nearly  round,  and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
diameter.  The  leaflets  are  3,  4  or  5  on  each 
side,  borne  by  short  petioles,  and  surmounted 
by  an  odd  one,  which  is  supported  by  the  com- 
mon footstalk.  As  in  the  buttonwood,  the  lower 
part  of  the  footstalk  contains  the  bud,  which 
becomes  visible  in  plucking  the  leaf. 

The  flowers  form  elegant,  white,  pendulous 
bunches,  a  little  larger  than  those  of  the  lo- 
cust, but  less  odoriferous. 

The  seeds  of  the  yellow- wood  also  nearly 
resemble  those  of  the  locust,  and  are  con- 
tained in  pods  that  differ  only  in  being  a  little 
narrower.  The  seeds  are  ripe  in  the  vicinity 
of  Nashville  about  the  15th  of  August. 

YEOMaN.  a  terra  applied  to  the  first  or 
highest  degree  of  cultivators  in  England.  The 
yeomen  are  properly  freeholders,  and  such  as 
cultivate  their  own  lands.  This  term  has  been 
derived  from  various  words  by  different  au- 
thors. Dr.  Johnson  seems  to  incline  to  the 
word  gemuH,  Frisick,  a  villager;  Fortescue  de- 
rives it  from  gemen,  or  yemen,  Saxon  for  a  com- 
moner. Sir  Thomas  Smith's  definition  of  a 
yeoman  is,  "a  free-born  Englishman  who  may 
lay  out  of  his  own  free  lands  in  yearly  revenue 
to  the  sura  of  40x." 

YEW  TREE  (Taxu$).  A  genus  of  orna- 
mental evergreen  trees,  well  adapted  for  under- 
wood, as  they  thrive  under  the  shade  and  drip 
of  other  trees ;  they  are  also  very  ornamental 
when  planted  to  form  hedges.  They  will  grow 
in  any  moist  soil,  but  succeed  best  in  loams 
and  clays.  They  are  chiefly  propagated  from 
seeds,  which  should  be  sown  as  soon  as  ripe; 
but  can  also  be  increased  by  cuttings  formed 
of  either  one  or  two  years'  wood,  and  planted  in 
a  shady  border  in  the  beginning  of  April  or  end 
of  August.  In  England  the  common  yew  tree 
(T.  baccata)  is  the  only  indigenous  species. 
The  trunk  is  straight,  with  a  smooth  decidu- 
ous bark.  Leaves  two-ranked,  crowded,  linear, 
flat,  about  an  inch  long,  dark  green.  Fruit 
drooping,  consisting  of  a  sweet,  internally  glu- 
tinous, scarlet  berry.  The  leaves  are  fetid  and 
very  poisonous,  and  prove  speedily  fatal  to 
cattle  accidentally  tasting  them  when  young 
and  tender.  The  berries  have  a  sweet  mawk- 
ish taste,  and  may  be  eaten  without  danger. 
The  wood  of  the  yew  tree,  being  of  extremely 
slow  growth,  is  hard  and  tough,  formerly  high- 
ly valuable  for  making  bows,  but  now  chiefly 
used  for  fine  cabinet-work  or  inlaying.  It 
makes  handsomer  chairs  than  many  exotic 
woods, 

YOKE.  A  f-ame  of  wood  fixed  with  bows 
148 


YOUNG,  ARTHUR. 

over  the  necks  ofoxen,whereby  they  are  coupled 
together,  and  harnessed  to  the  plough,  &.c.  It 
is  sometimes  written  "  yoak,"  and  is  composed 
— 1.  of  a  thick  piece  of  wood  that  passes  over 
the   neck,  and  is   strictly  called  the  "yoke;" 

2.  of  a  bow,  which  encompasses  the  neck;  and 

3.  of  the  "  wreathings,"  or  "stitchings,"  that 
serve  to  connect  the  whole.  Besides  these 
parts,  there  are  employed  a  ring,  denominated 
the  "yoke-ring,"  and  a  chain  for  securing  the 
traces. 

YOKE  of  land.  In  England,  the  quantity  of 
land  which  a  yoke  of  oxen  can  plough  in  a 
day.  Hence,  in  some  parts  of  Kent,  a  little 
farm,  from  its  only  requiring  a  yoke  of  oxen 
to  till  it,  is  called  a  "  yokelet." 

YOLK.     See  Egg,  and  Wool. 

YOUNG,  ARTHUR.  A  celebrated  agricul- 
tural  writer  and  farmer;  perhaps  the  most  popu- 
lar author  on  rural  affairs  that  England  or  any 
other  country  has  produced.  His  character- 
istics were  great  zeal,  enterprise,  and  energy, 
with  a  copious  flow  of  plain  and  intelligible 
language,  which  the  meanest  capacity  could 
readily  comprehend;  and  although  he  pos- 
sessed few  claims  to  be  ranked  as  a  scientific 
farmer,  yet  he  succeeded  by  his  labours  in  ex- 
citing a  general  love  of  agriculture  in  the  up- 
per classes  of  his  countrymen,  which  has, 
since  his  day,  never  materially  subsided.  And 
this  feeling,  although  attended,  through  a  want 
of  practical  information,  with  considerable  in- 
dividual loss,  has  yet  produced  great  public 
advantages.  It  has  been  remarked,  indeed,  of 
the  writings  of  Arthur  Young,  that  thoy  pro- 
duced more  private  losses  and  more  public 
benefit  than  those  of  any  other  author.  A  me- 
moir of  this  extraordinary  man  was  published 
soon  after  his  death  by  Dr.  Paris,  his  friend 
and  medical  attendant. 

His  services  to  agriculture  were  important, 
and  they  would  have  been  still  more  valuable 
if  he  had  confined  himself  to  the  improvement 
of  the  science  of  agriculture,  and  avoided  al! 
those  many  political  and  party  themes  of  which 
he  was  ever  too  ready  to  be  the  champion. 
This  morbid  feeling  he  can  ied  with  him  to  the 
Board  of  Agriculture ;  and,  in  consequence, 
both  Arthur  Young  and  the  board  of  which  he 
was  long  the  chief  spirit,  experienced  the  same 
fate, — they  obtained  the  support  of  only  a  sec- 
tion of  the  farmers  of  England,  and  they  much 
too  often  laid  themselves  open  to  the  charge 
of  being  more  intent  upon  the  advancement 
of  the  interests  of  their  party  than  of  those  of 
practical  agrifculture.  Thus  the  very  first  sen- 
tence of  the  first  volume  of  the  Annals  of  Agri' 
culture,  published  in  1790,  is  as  follows  ; — "The 
parties  of  one  country  and  the  debility  of  an- 
other having  at  last  extinguished  the  torch  of 
discord ;"  and  the  entire  essay  comprehends 
hardly  any  thing  else  than  a  political  survey  of 
the  state  of  the  kingdom,  and  its  possessions, 
fisheries,  &c.  It  speaks  with  much  zeal  of  the 
French  Revolution,  union  with  Ireland,  cus- 
toms, exports,  tonnage,  produce  of  the  taxes, 
population,  national  debt,  West  Indian  planta- 
tions of  Great  Britain;  indulge-:  :.  all  kinds 
of  visions  ;  gives  a  statement  of  what  the  edi- 
tor would  do  if  he  were  made  a  king,  &c.,  &c.; 
and  hardly  a  page  is  reserved  for  practical 
5G  1177 


YOUNG,  ARTHUR. 

i^cuUarc  of  which  his  work  was  to  be  "  the 
annals." 

Anhur  Toanj?  was  the  descendant  of  a  re- 
spectable family,  who  had  resided  on  their 
estate  at  Bradfield  Combust,  near  Bury  St. 
EdmaDd's,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  for  more 
than  two  centuries ;  he  was  born  in  London, 
on  the  7th  of  September,  1741.  His  father,  the 
Reverend  Arthur  Young,  rector  of  Bradfield,  had 
three  children ;  John,  and  a  daughter  Elizabeth ; 
the  third  was  Arthur,  ihe  subject  of  the  present 
meiooir,  who  was  educated  at  Lavenham,  a 
•cbool  about  six  miles  from  Bradfield  Hall. 

Arthur  Young  was  brought  up  for  mercantile 

Earsuits,  in  a  merchant's  counting-house  at 
ynn,  where,  at  the  age  of  17,  he  commenced 
his  literary  career  by  writing  a  political  pamph- 
let, entitled  2Tfc«  Theatre  of  the  present  War  in 
KertkJmmea;  and  then  four  novels— jTAc  Fair 
Jhmriamt  SirCharU$  Beaufort^  Lwy  Watson,  and 
JulmBtfUon,  or  the  Innocent  Sufferer.  In  1763 
Im  retorned  from  the  residence  of  his  uncle  in 
Loadon  to  his  mother  at  Bradfield  Hall,  with- 
oat  any  prospect  of  a  pursuit,  profession,  or 
emplovment  His  whole  income,  during  the 
life  of  his  mother,  arising  from  a  copyhold 
farm  of  20  acres,  and  producing  only  as  many 
poands,  she  was  anxious  that  he  should  reside 
with  her}  and,  as  the  lease  of  her  farm  of  80 
teres  would  shortly  expire,  she  urged  him  to 
vndertake  its  cultivation,  a  scheme  so  much  in 
aoiaon  with  his  taste  and  wishes,  that  he  did 
•ot  long  hesitate  in  accepting  her  proposal,  and 
he  embirked  as  a  farmer.  Young,  eager,  and 
totally  icnorant,  as  he  then  was,  of  every  ne- 
cessary detail,  it  is  not  surprising,  as  he  used  to 
say.that  he  should  have  squandered  large  sums, 
aadier golden  dreams  of  improvements,  especial- 
ly as  he  had  a  thirst  for  experiment,  without  a 
knowledge  of  what  is  demanded  for  its  success. 
In  this  year  (1765)  he  married  Miss  Martha 
Allen,  of  Lynn,  and  in  the  year  1767  undertook 
Ihe  management  of  the  farm  of  Samford  Hall, 
in  Essex,  which  consisted  of  about  300  acres 
of  laad.  Various  unforeseen  circumstances, 
and  embarrassments  from  the  want  of  capital, 
sooa  indoced  him  to  give  100/.  to  a  farmer  for 
lakiag  the  estate  off  his  hands ;  and  this  far- 
mer, by  the  advantages  of  capital,  realized  a 
fortune  upon  iL  It  was  here,  uniting  the  plough 
with  the  pen,  that  he  wrote  his  work  entitled. 
Political  E*$ay»  on  the  Present  State  of  the  British 
fibqpirt,  bat  which  was  not  published  until  1772, 
ia  1  Tol.  4to.  He  now  advertised  for  another 
farm,  and  the  knowledge  which  resulted  from 
viewing  the  different  estates  that  were  on  this 
occasion  presented  to  his  notice,  furnished  him 
with  the  materials  for  his  tour,  which  he  called 
The  Six  WoM  Tmtr  through  the  Southern  Coun- 
Ht$,  By  the  advice  of  his  Suffolk  bailiff,  he 
hired  a  farm  of  100  acres  in  Hertfordshire; 
and,  from  viewing  it  in  an  uncommonly  favour- 
able season,  they  were  both  deceived  in  the  na- 
ture of  the  soiL  "  I  know  not,"  said  Young, 
"whal  epithet  to  give  this  soil;  sterility  falls 

short  of  the  idea;  a  hungry,  vitriolic  gravel 

I  occupied,  for  9  years,  the  jaws  of  a  wolf.  A 
naboh's  fortune  would  sink  in  the  attempt  to 
raise  good  arable  crops,  upon  any  extent,  m 
such  a  country :  my  experience  and  knovlelge 
aad  increased  from  travelling  and  from  prac- 
1  ITS 


YOUNG,  ARTHUR. 

tice ;  but  all  was  lost  when  exerte  I  upon  such 
a  spot.  I  hardly  wonder  at  a  losing  account, 
after  fate  had  fixed  me  upon  land  calculated  to 
swallow,  without  return,  all  that  folly  or  im- 
prudence could  bestow  upon  it."  It  will  be 
here  naturally  asked,  why  he  did  not  go  to  land 
decisively  goodi  He  answers  the  question  very 
satisfactorily.  "  It  was  on  account  of  the  houses; 
for,  although  I  saw  numerous  farms  that  would 
have  suited  well,  they  had  wretched  hovels  on 
them." 

Finding,  about  the  year  1783,  that  his  in- 
come was  barely  sufficient  to  meet  his  expen- 
diture, he  engaged  to  report  the  parliamentary 
debates  for  the  Morning  Post ;  this  he  continued 
to  perform  for  several  years ;  and  after  the  la- 
bours of  the  week,  he  walked  every  Saturday 
evening  to  his  farm,  a  distance  of  17  miles 
from  London,  from  which  he  as  regularly  re- 
turned every  Monday  morning.  This  was  the 
most  anxious  and  laborious  part  of  his  life:  '-I 
worked,"  says  he,  "  more  like  a  coal-heaver, 
though  without  his  reward,  than  a  man  acting 
only  from  a  predominant  impulse."  In  1774, 
he  published  Political  Arithmetic,  a  work  which 
met  with  high  consideration  abroad,  and  was 
immediately  translated  into  several  languages. 
Mr.  Young  has  left  a  memorandum  which  states 
that  he  received  for  his  different  writings,  in 
the  interval  between  the  years  1766  and  1775 
the  sumof  3000Z. 

In  1784  he  commenced  the  publication  of  his 
Annnls  of  Agriculture,  in  which  he  appeared  in 
the  double  capacity  of  editor  and  author,  a  work 
which  he  continued  to  the  period  of  his  blind- 
ness; it  extends  to  45  vols.  8vo,  and  presents  a 
vast  store  of  information  upon  subjects  of  agri- 
culture and  political  economy.  The  plan  upon 
which  it  was  conducted  was  one  which  ought 
to  have  ensured  for  it  more  extensive  and  pro- 
fitable patronage,  for,  instead  of  recording  ano- 
nymous correspondence,  it  refused  admittance 
to  any  paper  that  had  not  the  name  and  address 
of  its  author;  it  can  accordingly  boast  of  com- 
munications from  the  most  exalted  and  enlight- 
ened characters  in  Europe,  at  the  head  of  whom 
stands  our  late  most  gracious  sovereign,  who 
transmitted  to  Mr.  Young  for  publication  an 
account  of  the  farm  of  Mr.  Ducket,  the  able 
cultivator  of  Petersham,  which  is  recorded  in 
the  7th  volume  of  the  Annals,  under  the  signa- 
ture of  "Ralph  Robinson."  During  the  pro- 
gress of  this  work  he  travelled  (and  he  pub- 
lished a  popular  description  of  his  travels) 
over  most  parts  of  England,  into  Ireland,  and 
in  France. 

In  1793,  animated  as  he  always  was  by  the 
spirit  of  adventure,  he  could  not  resist  an  op- 
portunity that  occurred  for  realizing  the  favour- 
ite speculation  he  had  so  long  entertained — that 
of  cultivating  a  large  tract  of  waste  land.  He 
accordingly  completed  the  purchase  of  4,400 
acres  of  waste  in  Yorkshire.  But  his  fates  had 
decreed  other  things  for  him.  The  Board  of 
Agriculture  was  established  in  the  August  of 
1793,  and  he  was  immediately  appointed  its 
secretary.  An  individual  is  rarely  appointed  to 
an  official  situation  on  account  of  his  possess- 
ing in  an  eminent  degree  those  qualifications 
which  its  duties  require ;  but  in  the  instance 
of  Mr.  Young  this  was  undoubtedly  the  fact ; 


YOUNG,  ARTHUR. 

his  general  and  profound  knowledge  in  agri- 
culture was  ihe  only  circumstance  that  marked 
hira  as  the  most  proper  person  to  fill  a  situa- 
tion in  every  respect  so  important  and  honour- 
able. "The  gratification,"  says  he,  "of  being 
elected  into  so  respectable  a  situation,  in  which 
opportunities  of  still  giving  an  humble  aid  to 
the  good  cause  of  the  plough  could  scarcely 
fail  of  offering,  would  not  permit  me  to  decline 
the  appointment;  although,  to  a  person  esta- 
blished in  the  country,  the  salary,  with  the  resi- 
dence annexed,  was  not  that  pecuniary  object 
which  has  been  represented;  and  I  must  have 
improved  on  bad  principles  indeed,  if  it  would 
not,  in  a  few  years,  have  turned  out  a  more 
profitable  speculation.  (The  salary  was  400/. 
per  annum,  with  a  house  free  from  all  charge.) 
What  a  change  in  the  destination  of  a  man's 
life !  Instead  of  entering,  as  I  proposed,  the 
solitary  lord  of  4,000  acres,  in  the  keen  atmo- 
sphere of  lofty  rocks  and  mountain  torrents, 
with  a  little  creation  rising  gnadually  around 
me,  making  the  desert  smile  with  cultivation, 
and  grouse  give  way  to  industrious  population, 
active  and  energetic,  though  remote  and  tran- 
quil; and  every  instant  of  my  existence  mak- 
ing two  blades  of  grass  to  groto  where  not  one  was 
found  before — behold  me  at  a  desk,  in  the 
smoke,  the  fog,  the  din  of  Whitehall.  '  Society 
has  charms;'  true,  and  so  has  solitude  to  a 
mind  employed.  The  die,  however,  is  cast, 
and  my  steps  may  still  be,  metaphorically,  said 
t')  be  in  the  furrow." 

At  the  Board  Arthur  Young  continued,  to  his 
death,  zealously  employed  on  all  occasions  as 
its  secretary,  in  the  service  of  agriculture; — 
old  age  at  last  crept  on ;  he  became  blind,  and 
afflicted  with  the  complaint  which  caused  his 
death.  He  was  attended  (concludes  Dr.  Paris) 
by  Mr.  Wilson,  Mr.  Chilver,  and  myself;  and 
although  the  incurable  nature  of  his  disease 
defied  every  hope  of  permanent  relief,  yet  his 
sufferings  were  greatly  palliated  by  the  re- 
sources of  art,  and  he  died  without  entertain- 
ing the  least  suspicion  of  the  malady  under 
which  he  suffered.  Pious  resignation  cheered 
him  in  his  illness,  and  not  a  murmur  of  com- 
plaint was  heard  to  escape  his  lips.  On  the  I2th 
of  April,  in  the  year  1820,  at  his  house  in  Sack- 
ville  street,  after  taking  a  glass  of  lemonade,  and 
expressing  himself  calm  and  easy,  he  expired. 
His  remains  were  conveyed  to  Bradfield,  and 
deposited  in  a  vault  in  the  church-yard. 

I  have  thus  offered  a  brief  sketch  of  the 
principal  labours  of  Arthur  Young,  a  man  who 
filled  a  large  space  in  the  public  eye  for  a  long 
series  of  years,  but  whose  name  and  talents 
appear  to  have  commanded  still  greater  notice 
and  respect  in  foreign  countries  than  in  his 
own.  That  he  reflected  lustre  on  the  age  and 
the  country  in  which  he  lived  can  be  hardly 
denied.  Of  what  other  philosopher  can  it  be 
oaid  that  at  one  time  he  entertained,  under  his 
humble  roof,  pupils  of  seven  different  nations, 


ZAPZIEGER. 

each  of  whom  had  been  sent  to  him,  for  in. 
structions  in  agriculture,  by  his  respective 
government!  I  was  lately  informed  by  his 
daughter,  that  the  late  Duke  of  Bedford  break- 
fasted at  Bradfield  on  one  of  the  mornings  of  a 
Newmarket  race-meeting,  and  was  met  by  pu« 
pils  from  Russia,  France,  America,  Naples 
Poland,  Sicily,  and  Portugal.  His  numerous 
works  are  distinguished  by  vivacity  of  thought, 
quickness  of  imagination,  bias  to  calculation, 
and  fondness  for  political  speculation;  and  had 
they  been  less  successful,  posterity  might  per- 
haps have  regarded  these  traits  of  genius  as 
fatal  defects,  and  as  pregnant  sources  of  fallacy 
and  disappointment. 

YUCCA  (commonly  called  Adam's  needle). 
An  American  genus  of  plants  found  on  the 
sandy  sea-coasts  of  the  Southern  States  and 
tropical  regions,  several  of  which  are  made  to 
subserve  valuable  purposes.  Nuttall  gives  the 
following  description  of  the  characters  of  the 
genus  and  individual  species: — 

Proper  stem  none;  caudex  inconspicuous 
or  assurgent  and  shrubby;  leaves  comose  (or 
crowded  and  terminal),  ensiform,  spiny  at  the 
point,  sometimes  with  a  sphacelate  filamenti- 
ferous  margin;  flowers  in  a  terminal,  irregular 
panicle,  each  protected  by  two  spathes;  corolla 
white,  roundish  campanulate. 

Species.  1.  Y.  filamentosa.  2.  Angustifolia. 
Stemless;  leaves  glaucous,  long,  linear,  and 
mucronate,  margin  filamentose;  capsules  large 
and  dry,  oblong-obovate.  Habitat  on  the  banks 
of  the  Missouri,  from  the  confluence  of  the  river 
Platte  to  the  mountains.  Flowers  large  and 
white  ;  leaves  scarcely  half  an  inch  wide. 

3.  Recui-vifolia.  In  sandy  fields.  North  Caro- 
lina. 4.  Gloriosa.  Capsule  internally  filled 
with  a  sweetish  pulp  of  a  purple  colour.  This 
plant  is  called  petre  by  the  Mexican  Spaniards, 
and  used  for  cordage,  ropes,  &c.,  as  well  as 
for  packing-cloth,  and  is  extremely  durable. 
.5.  jiloifolia.  There  is  also  a  6th  species  of  this 
genus,  discovered  by  the  late  Mr.  John  Lyons, 
improperly  called  Y.  angustifoHa  by  the  garden- 
ers around  London ;  it  is  nearly  allied  to  F. 
Jilamentosa,h\it  has  much  narrower  leaves;  with 
its  specific  characters  I  am  unacquainted. 

The  soil  and  climate  of  East  Florida  are  be- 
lieved to  be  well  adapted  to  the  culture  of  these 
and  many  other  plants,  the  fibres  of  which  are 
converted  into  fabrics  and  cordage  of  great 
value.  The  general  government,  a  few  years 
since,  granted  a  large  tract  of  land  in  that  terri- 
tory to  the  late  Dr.  Perrine  for  the  purpose  of 
encouraging  the  introduction  of  the  Sisal  hemp, 
and  other  filamentous  plants  and  tropical  pro- 
ductions. The  recent  melancholy  massacre  of 
this  gentleman  and  his  family  by  the  Indians 
have  frustrated  these  attempts,  for  a  time  at 
least.    See  Hemp. 

ZAPZIEGER,  or  SAP- SAGO,  a  kind  of 
cheese  made  in  Switzerland.  See  Cheese  and 
Sap-Sago. 


THE  END. 


im 


ir 


f'  /  /{  U 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

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Tel.  No.  642-3405 
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-^O 


^ 


LD21A-50m-2,'71  „  . General  Library     , 

(P2001sl0)476— A-32  University  of  California 

Berkeley 


/^    /o^?9  ? 


